directed by Antoine Fuqua
written by Richard Wenk
After watching the first trailer for Antoine Fuqua's remake of the 1980s television show The Equalizer, which starred Edward Woodward, I found myself quite keen on seeing it. I was mainly interested in seeing Denzel Washington kick ass once again. While I have long been a fan of Washington's performances in general, it is especially gratifying to me when he plays a bad-ass, like the one he first portrayed in 2004's Man on Fire, and the others he played in films like The Book of Eli and Safe House.
Robert McCall (Washington) leads a quiet life as an employee at a Home Mart hardware store in Boston, Massachusetts. He is well-liked by his co-workers and lives comfortably, if somewhat simply. He has trouble sleeping at night, though, at spends the wee hours of the morning reading books at a diner that is open 24 hours, where befriends child prostitute Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), whom he tells can change her world when she is disconsolate about her lot in life. At one point, Teri, whose real name is Alina, tries to fight back when an abusive customer hits her, and ends up incurring the ire of her pimp, Slavi (David Meunier), who then beats her within an inch of her life to make an example of her to the other girls. After visiting her in the hospital, McCall then displays an extraordinary set of skills that he picked up from his past life as a black ops operative, as he not only punishes Slavi but takes down all of his body guards in the span of half a minute. Unfortunately, it turns out that Slavi is the representative of someone much bigger, a Russian crimelord named Pushkin (Vladimir Kulich), who dispatches his brutal problem solver nicknamed Teddy (Marton Csokas), who, together with a crew of corrupt Boston cops on Pushkin's payroll, may prove too much for even the highly resourceful McCall to handle. Or maybe not.
I feel this was a movie that would have benefited from a much more muted marketing campaign than the one that made its main fighting sequence the centerpiece of the trailer. The narrative seemed, to me anyway, structured so that McCall's lethal skills are supposed to come to the viewer as a complete surprise, but thanks to the trailer with that magnificent fighting scene, it becomes precisely what the viewer looking for action is looking forward to, which is not a good thing because as it turns out, it's all downhill after that.
To be fair, the fight choreography (or the little of it that can be seen) is exceptional, and just as he did in The Book of Eli and Safe House, Washington shows outstanding onscreen fighting skills to complement his nigh-legendary acting talent. The problem is that, after the first fight, which was expertly staged with its judicious use of slow motion and close-ups to "show" the audience how McCall scans his environment just before walking into an explosive situation, followed by some truly hard-hitting fighting moves, every other fight scene that comes afterwards is spoiled by overly dark lighting or too-quick editing. The idea, I suppose, is to show off McCall's cunning over and above his martial arts skills, but truth be told, I felt the movie would have benefited from more Taken or Bourne style fighting sequences than just the one. Instead, for the climax, the filmmakers provided a somewhat ludicrous finale set in the hardware store, which felt like a more brutal version of scenes from another 1980s television show I grew up with, MacGyver.
(spoilers)
It also annoyed me no end that the script went to some lengths to establish Csokas' character Teddy as a truly fearsome villain, narrating his background as a Russian Secret Service agent and showing in one scene just how brutal he could be, and then completely backed out of having him and McCall slug it out at the end. The script clearly called for a "boss battle" between the two, but ultimately McCall's ultimate slugfest was with a decidedly generic bald Russian goon, with Teddy's fate being decided by something other than fists. It was bad enough that the writing felt utterly by the numbers, and even worse that the filmmakers couldn't even be bothered to deliver on one of the few decent payoffs the script clearly teased.
(end spoilers)
As an action film, the movie often feels rote, with even some of the more striking storytelling devices like the aforementioned slow motion environment scanning having been cribbed from other movies like Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, but the somewhat earnest efforts of Washington and many members of the supporting cast, particularly Moretz, who trades in her Hit Girl tights for a hooker's miniskirt and push-up bra here, save the film from direct-to-video territory, but only just. Richard Wenk's script isn't much to write home about at all, but Washington makes it work, even as he retreads the impossibly wholesome/unflappable characters from films like the aforementioned Eli and the late Tony Scott's Unstoppable to imbue McCall with a nobility that seems somewhat incongruous with the brutality he displays in killing people.
The film's box-office success has ensured that a sequel will eventually hit movie theaters, and next time I honestly hope the filmmakers fix at least some of this film's more glaring flaws. I wasn't really expecting to be quite as disappointed in this film as I was, especially considering my fondness for most of films starring Denzel Washington that I have watched, but not even my predisposition towards liking Washington's movies could overcome this film's somewhat cookie cutter script, poor pacing, and even worse editing.
One final gripe I had was the complete absence of Stewart Copeland's old instrumental theme for the TV show on which it was based. Even a little homage would have been nice.
5.5/10
Friday, October 10, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Pleasantly Surprised: A Review of The Maze Runner
directed by Wes Ball
screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin
based on the novel by James Dashner
After spending several days far away from home, one of the last things on my mind was watching a movie. Thanks to heavy rain and traffic between the airport and my house, though, waiting a few extra hours suddenly seemed like a good idea, and to pass the time my wife and I caught a late screening of The Maze Runner. I knew next to nothing about the film and had only seen one trailer, and basically walked in with no expectations whatsoever. This turned out to be a very good thing as I might otherwise have been inclined to dismiss this strange, spiritual retelling of the seminal novel The Lord of the Flies as yet another post-apocalyptic, Hunger Games knock-off, which it certainly is not.
A young man (Dylan O' Brien) wakes up in a rapidly ascending elevator, which brings him to a forest glade populated by several other young men and which is surrounded by high concrete walls. The young man, who at first cannot recall his name, receives guidance from Alby (Aml Ameen), the most senior of the young men who have come to call themselves "Gladers," and learns more about the situation he is in; basically the lot of them are trapped in the Glade, which is surrounded by a gigantic maze which is open during the day but which closes at night. He learns the ropes from Alby, as well as two of the Gladers he befriends, Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Chuck (Blake Cooper). The Gladers live by a few simple rules, one of the most important of which is never to wander into the maze, a rule honored by all save for a select few of the Gladers known as the maze runners. At night, the maze is prowled by the deadly Grievers, monsters that no Glader has ever seen and lived to describe, whose bloodcurdling howls can be heard in the Glade at night.
As the young man's memory comes back in pieces, though, he comes to remember his name, Thomas but little else, at least by way of coherent information. One thing he doesn't need his memory to realize, however, is that he has to get out of there, a growing preoccupation that does not sit well with a few of the Gladers, particularly the hulking Gally (Will Poulter). When all kinds of strange new developments turn up, though, such as the abrupt arrival of the only girl ever to enter the glade, the mysterious Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), and a few other frightening occurrences, it becomes clear that leaving the maze is not simply a matter of personal liberty but of survival.
The film is hardly groundbreaking, but it's got quite a bit going for it. For one thing, even on a shoestring budget it offers some really striking visuals, as not even the Hunger Games films can boast a set piece as striking as the enormous maze that surrounds and menaces the Gladers. More importantly, however, the filmmakers, presumably taking their lead from the novel (which I haven't read), keep their narrative cards quite close to their chest, shrouding almost everything that goes on outside of the Glade and the maze in mystery until the very last few minutes of the film, and even then only giving away just enough to let viewers know that there will be more adventures to come. Such storytelling economy isn't all that common in an era of two-and-a-half-hour blockbusters, a goodly chunk of which is usually spent on considerable exposition, and it is a breath of fresh air. Structurally, though, the film feels a little flimsy, and I'm sure I could pick apart the logical gaffes in the film if I really sat down to think about it. To their credit, though, director Ball and his crew kept things moving along briskly enough for me to surrender myself to this movie and its world for the duration of its running time.
I wouldn't call this a great movie, anyone waiting at a mall for traffic (or rain) to ease up, and thinking of a movie to watch and pass the time could do a lot worse than this.
7/10
screenplay by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers and T.S. Nowlin
based on the novel by James Dashner
After spending several days far away from home, one of the last things on my mind was watching a movie. Thanks to heavy rain and traffic between the airport and my house, though, waiting a few extra hours suddenly seemed like a good idea, and to pass the time my wife and I caught a late screening of The Maze Runner. I knew next to nothing about the film and had only seen one trailer, and basically walked in with no expectations whatsoever. This turned out to be a very good thing as I might otherwise have been inclined to dismiss this strange, spiritual retelling of the seminal novel The Lord of the Flies as yet another post-apocalyptic, Hunger Games knock-off, which it certainly is not.
A young man (Dylan O' Brien) wakes up in a rapidly ascending elevator, which brings him to a forest glade populated by several other young men and which is surrounded by high concrete walls. The young man, who at first cannot recall his name, receives guidance from Alby (Aml Ameen), the most senior of the young men who have come to call themselves "Gladers," and learns more about the situation he is in; basically the lot of them are trapped in the Glade, which is surrounded by a gigantic maze which is open during the day but which closes at night. He learns the ropes from Alby, as well as two of the Gladers he befriends, Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Chuck (Blake Cooper). The Gladers live by a few simple rules, one of the most important of which is never to wander into the maze, a rule honored by all save for a select few of the Gladers known as the maze runners. At night, the maze is prowled by the deadly Grievers, monsters that no Glader has ever seen and lived to describe, whose bloodcurdling howls can be heard in the Glade at night.
As the young man's memory comes back in pieces, though, he comes to remember his name, Thomas but little else, at least by way of coherent information. One thing he doesn't need his memory to realize, however, is that he has to get out of there, a growing preoccupation that does not sit well with a few of the Gladers, particularly the hulking Gally (Will Poulter). When all kinds of strange new developments turn up, though, such as the abrupt arrival of the only girl ever to enter the glade, the mysterious Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), and a few other frightening occurrences, it becomes clear that leaving the maze is not simply a matter of personal liberty but of survival.
The film is hardly groundbreaking, but it's got quite a bit going for it. For one thing, even on a shoestring budget it offers some really striking visuals, as not even the Hunger Games films can boast a set piece as striking as the enormous maze that surrounds and menaces the Gladers. More importantly, however, the filmmakers, presumably taking their lead from the novel (which I haven't read), keep their narrative cards quite close to their chest, shrouding almost everything that goes on outside of the Glade and the maze in mystery until the very last few minutes of the film, and even then only giving away just enough to let viewers know that there will be more adventures to come. Such storytelling economy isn't all that common in an era of two-and-a-half-hour blockbusters, a goodly chunk of which is usually spent on considerable exposition, and it is a breath of fresh air. Structurally, though, the film feels a little flimsy, and I'm sure I could pick apart the logical gaffes in the film if I really sat down to think about it. To their credit, though, director Ball and his crew kept things moving along briskly enough for me to surrender myself to this movie and its world for the duration of its running time.
I wouldn't call this a great movie, anyone waiting at a mall for traffic (or rain) to ease up, and thinking of a movie to watch and pass the time could do a lot worse than this.
7/10
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Over the Top In the Best Possible Way: A Review of Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends
directed by Keishi Otomo
based on the manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends picks up immediately where its predecessor, Kyoto Inferno, left off, with Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), formerly Battousai the killer, having washed up on a beach after jumping off the ship of the villainous, murderous Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), right where, as fate would have it, his old master Hiko Seijuro (Masaharu Fukuyama). Kenshin realizes that, to defeat Shishio and prevent Japan from plunging into chaos and death, he will need to dig deep and learn a technique he has never mastered before, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Time is not on his side as Shishio, from his floating fortress of a battleship, is now closing in on the government, despite even the efforts of the likes of Saito Hajime (Yosuke Eguchi) and Kenshin's other allies to stop him.
The stakes are sky-high in this sequel, which really pulls out all the stops in terms of its action sequences, in which, even more than in the first film, the filmmakers proudly embrace their film's anime/manga heritage.
The surprising aspect of this particular film was how long the filmmakers took to arrive at the action sequences, which, basically, are the highlight of the entire affair. It's forgivable, considering that, the action, when it finally arrives, is for the most part, sublime, but there are parts where the film feels a tad ponderous, even though the intent is clearly for Kenshin to do some soul-searching.It's not so much that the "quiet time" scenes felt unnecessary; it's just that Otomo didn't pace them well enough to keep them from feeling like they were dragging out the running time a bit too much. This movie is supposed to be the payoff of two films, which is why the additional exposition this late in the game feels a tad superfluous.
The good news is that the imagery of the film is very much in keeping with its themes; the first film, in which Kenshin followed Shishio's trail of death and mayhem, was steeped in a lot of gray and black. In this film, the bamboo forest in which Kenshin and his master duel captures the introspective, quieter nature of these scenes as Kenshin looks inside himself for the answers to the challenges facing him. As odd as this may sound, for me, the duelling scenes between Kenshin and his master are the most riveting of the film, even if they're arguably the least flashy. Also, they feel like they carry more narrative weight as they cap off the long exchanges of meaningful (though occasionally ponderous) dialogue between Kenshin and his master.
There's a real satisfaction in the climactic duels that end the film, which I will not spoil though any "Samurai X" fan worth their salt knows the outcome; suffice it to say the battles are well-realized, though the big fight at the end perhaps went a little too far over the top.
All in all, however, it's still a lot of great fun at the theater, and anyone still smarting from having watched the wretched 47 Ronin adaptation earlier this year will be well-served by watching this, which also happens to feature renowned Japanese actor Min Tanaka in a pivotal role.
For fans of the anime that showed on Philippine television for several years before this series of live-action adaptations came out, their cups should pretty much run over.
7.5/10
based on the manga by Nobuhiro Watsuki
Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends picks up immediately where its predecessor, Kyoto Inferno, left off, with Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), formerly Battousai the killer, having washed up on a beach after jumping off the ship of the villainous, murderous Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara), right where, as fate would have it, his old master Hiko Seijuro (Masaharu Fukuyama). Kenshin realizes that, to defeat Shishio and prevent Japan from plunging into chaos and death, he will need to dig deep and learn a technique he has never mastered before, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. Time is not on his side as Shishio, from his floating fortress of a battleship, is now closing in on the government, despite even the efforts of the likes of Saito Hajime (Yosuke Eguchi) and Kenshin's other allies to stop him.
The stakes are sky-high in this sequel, which really pulls out all the stops in terms of its action sequences, in which, even more than in the first film, the filmmakers proudly embrace their film's anime/manga heritage.
The surprising aspect of this particular film was how long the filmmakers took to arrive at the action sequences, which, basically, are the highlight of the entire affair. It's forgivable, considering that, the action, when it finally arrives, is for the most part, sublime, but there are parts where the film feels a tad ponderous, even though the intent is clearly for Kenshin to do some soul-searching.It's not so much that the "quiet time" scenes felt unnecessary; it's just that Otomo didn't pace them well enough to keep them from feeling like they were dragging out the running time a bit too much. This movie is supposed to be the payoff of two films, which is why the additional exposition this late in the game feels a tad superfluous.
The good news is that the imagery of the film is very much in keeping with its themes; the first film, in which Kenshin followed Shishio's trail of death and mayhem, was steeped in a lot of gray and black. In this film, the bamboo forest in which Kenshin and his master duel captures the introspective, quieter nature of these scenes as Kenshin looks inside himself for the answers to the challenges facing him. As odd as this may sound, for me, the duelling scenes between Kenshin and his master are the most riveting of the film, even if they're arguably the least flashy. Also, they feel like they carry more narrative weight as they cap off the long exchanges of meaningful (though occasionally ponderous) dialogue between Kenshin and his master.
There's a real satisfaction in the climactic duels that end the film, which I will not spoil though any "Samurai X" fan worth their salt knows the outcome; suffice it to say the battles are well-realized, though the big fight at the end perhaps went a little too far over the top.
All in all, however, it's still a lot of great fun at the theater, and anyone still smarting from having watched the wretched 47 Ronin adaptation earlier this year will be well-served by watching this, which also happens to feature renowned Japanese actor Min Tanaka in a pivotal role.
For fans of the anime that showed on Philippine television for several years before this series of live-action adaptations came out, their cups should pretty much run over.
7.5/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)