The Good: The Avengers
I wonder if the bad guys will wait around for us to kill them?
Let me start by saying that I am not a comic book fan. I’ve
never really collected a super hero comic and I couldn’t even finish Jonathan
Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude.
Accordingly, my interest in the DC and Marvel comic movies has nothing to do
with their accuracy or trueness to the original series. So I approached the
latest instalment of the comic series with the expectation of an entertaining
action film.
As far as the cast is concerned this does not disappoint.
The nature of the film doesn’t require any in depth characterisation and their
interactions are amusing if brief. The cast of misfits are predictably raucous
in their efforts to stop the bad guy and only pull it together at the last
moment. The pacing is good for the most part and moves through the predictable
plot points smoothly.
The main problem with this film is the final massive battle
sequence. Interestingly, most people I have spoken to loved this part but I
found it tedious and drawn out. The sheer stupidity of the bad guys to restrict
themselves to a 10 block radius and letting the good guys pick them off one by
one is just the start of the issues. The length of this scene was mind numbing
and I found myself checking my watch awaiting its predictable end. Also, the
fact that the 2 human and unarmed heroes are able to survive against laser
armed flying machines defies belief.
Overall, this is a solid instalment in the comic movie
series. The action is fast and frequent with the appropriate amount of comedy.
The ending is a little drawn out for my liking but doesn’t detract from this
entertaining movie.
The Bad: Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman
This is a good Ridley Scott film worth seeing. Forget Prometheus ever existed.
Thank goodness for Charlize Theron. She is the saving grace
of both these atrocious films that prove that using a tried and true formula
does not guarantee quality.
Firstly to Prometheus and Ridley Scott’s massive faux pas.
The major issue I had with this film is that the previews made it look so good.
The suspense and air of excitement made me keen to see it and thus only
heightened my disappointment at what it had to offer. After a solid start and
our introduction to the alien landscape, the film descends into a series of
ridiculous plot jumps that leaves the viewer wondering if aliens removed Scott’s
brain during post-production. The stock standard sci-fi characters start making
the dumbest decisions ever and acting like manic depressives with mood swings
the size of the Milky Way. One of my favourites was when Charlie (the lead male
scientists) decides to take up drinking just because the aliens have the same
DNA. Just think about it: you literally landed on this intergalactic planet 6
hours ago and after one look at the alien life forms you decide that it has all
been a bust. The other was when Elizabeth (the lead female scientists)
miraculously recovers from a mini-circular saw cutting through her stomach to
remove an alien to be able to hurdle rock falls and sudden ravines in the film’s
final scenes.
The one good thing about this film was the work of Charlize
Theron as Captain Vickers and Michael Fassbender as David. These two rescue this
ridiculous story line with some strong performances that are actually
believable and realistic. Although their subplot is as subtle as the US
government’s attempts to extradite Julian Assange, they manage to create an
interesting dynamic that kept this reviewer at least partially interested.
Snow White and the Huntsman is as bad as Prometheus but in
an entirely different way. It seems that someone thought that if Kristen
Stewart just continued acting as if she were in Twilight and Chris Hemsworth
continued acting like Thor and they had a lot of special effects then everything
would take care of itself. Throw in a mixed bag of fairy tale characters and a
convoluted plot that went for 30 minutes too long and you have this piece of
rubbish. In fact, one of the scenes in the film summed it up best. Hemsworth
and Stewart and travelling through the dark woods, as they do because the all
powerful king killing morphing queen is too lazy to just kill Snow White
herself, and they encounter a troll acting like a bridge. Just as the troll is
about to kill Hemsworth he stares at Stewart for what seems 10 minutes before
walking off seemingly depressed. Maybe like the rest of the audience he too had
had enough of Stewart from Twilight.
Once again, the only good thing about this film was Charlize
Theron. Her evil witch character is far more engaging than Stewart’s Snow White
and she actually shows a range of emotions, unlike Stewart’s pained expression
throughout. That being said, nothing can rescue this piece of crap that plods
from obvious plot point to obvious plot point and ends not soon enough.
The Ugly: The 5 Year Engagement
Maybe they were as disappointed as I was?
Jason Segel is not a pretty man. In fact, his continued
presence in movie comedies always comes as a surprise to me as he is neither
attractive nor particularly funny. His latest offering is not that much
different and is downright indifferent.
Romantic comedies have a certain story arc that makes them a
staple of the movie business. This in itself is not a bad thing and allows the
viewer to have certain expectations about what they are paying their money for.
The 5 Year Engagement does not try to deviate too much from this formula. You
have the happy couple, numerous comedic interruptions, the inevitable break up
and the final heart warming reunion. This is all performed serviceably by Segal
and Emily Blunt with the supporting cast suitably weird, aggressive or creepy
in their roles.
The disappointment with this film is that it is so
predictable and reliable in its story arc that I almost felt cheated for having
to pay to see it. Compared to something like Friends with Benefits, which is
predictable but has enough surprises to keep it fresh (not to mention Mila
Kunis), this seems like a cookie cutter film done in someone’s spare time.
Moreover, the messages about women’s careers and small towns can’t help but
seem old fashioned and out of date.
Overall, this is a standard offering that lacks any spark to
separate it from the plethora of romantic comedies released this year. I would
say that it would be worth seeing on DVD but then again, I would rather
re-watch Friends with Benefits.
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