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Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Assassin's Creed (2016) in Movies
May 4, 2017
Action sequences (4 more)
Cast
Practical and CGI effects
Plot
Highest free fall performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years.
Apple of Eden (1 more)
Not as much Past sequences as I'd like
Nothing is True...
Okay, so I have been a huge fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise since the beginning and have enjoyed, at least to some extent for certain ones, all of the games that have been released thus far. I was so excited for this movie once I heard it was being made and spent the years waiting, worrying. Videogame Movies have had nothing but a bad rep throughout the many years and this was one I was hoping did not fail, or at least not be a failure for me.
To give an example of what I mean, the Prince of Persia film was one I actually really enjoyed but to the world it was a flop and people despise it and dread to talk about it. Yes it's not as great as it could have been but neverless I enjoy what they tried to do with it. This film is both similar and yet different for me, because I didn't enjoy what they tried to do, I enjoyed what they did.
Though many will disagree with me I would like to at least get my view of the film across so that other might understand how someone can enjoy the film. So here it goes;
First of all Michael Fassbender is brilliant as both Callum Lynch and Aguilar de Nerha. As Callum he brilliantly portrays the anger, confusion, intrigue and then of course the characters progression into his focus and his determination to fully understand what it means to be an Assassin, not just in the past but in the present. As Aguilar we watch as Fassbender portrays to us his ancestral character as a much more skilled individual. Someone you can tell has been through years of intense training, has been taught to focus his mind on the task at hand and to understand that nothing is more important than his mission. Even if that means that people, no matter how close they are to him, must not be mourned in death until the mission is complete.
Other cast members such as Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard, are brilliant in their roles as their characters each have their own goals, and both require Callum Lynch, so their interactions together are shown in very different ways, although both are sincere.
The action in this movie is brilliant and is almost very reminiscent of the games themselves (the later games in the series at least, since the combat becomes more evolved and fluent compared to the first game/s). The actions of the Assassins such as the air assassination, the free running, the leap of faith and others, are exactly what I wanted to see in this film. The best part about them is that they are practical effects. The cast are actually free running, they are actually fighting, and doing somersaults (with the help of stunt doubles of course) and my favourite, the leap of faith is actually performed using a crane and a crash mat, by British gymnast and free runner Damien Walters. He free falls from the crane lift at 125 feet in the air, and in 3 seconds, he lands on the crash mat. This is actually the highest free fall performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years.
The connections to the games are beautifully blended into this new and refreshing plot that we haven't seen before. Everything from the different Assassin Insignias, to the leap of faith, the weapons, Abstergo Industries, and of course the Piece of Eden, is everything the fans wanted and possibly more. They even included a version of the Bleeding Effect that we haven't seen the likes of before, which I adored.
Probably my only issue with this film is the Apple of Eden, simply because, unlike the game, it doesn't do anything, except glow. The look of it is beautiful, just like all the other props and clothing in this film. However, when the orb is activated, there's simply some lights thrust out of it but it doesn't do anything besides show some pretty lights. In the game it can control minds, even break them and kill, or make someone run away in fear. Besides that, I have no real important issues with the film. The plot is, to me at least, brilliant and whilst there are some minor nit picks here and there, I love this film enough to not let them bother me. I saw this film twice in the cinema and would have gone a third time if I had the chance. Sadly I was too busy.
If you're a fan of the game franchise I highly recommend you give this film a chance. If you don't like it, like most people, then that's fair enough, but as I say about most films such as this, and comic book movies, give them a chance...you never know, you just might like it.
To give an example of what I mean, the Prince of Persia film was one I actually really enjoyed but to the world it was a flop and people despise it and dread to talk about it. Yes it's not as great as it could have been but neverless I enjoy what they tried to do with it. This film is both similar and yet different for me, because I didn't enjoy what they tried to do, I enjoyed what they did.
Though many will disagree with me I would like to at least get my view of the film across so that other might understand how someone can enjoy the film. So here it goes;
First of all Michael Fassbender is brilliant as both Callum Lynch and Aguilar de Nerha. As Callum he brilliantly portrays the anger, confusion, intrigue and then of course the characters progression into his focus and his determination to fully understand what it means to be an Assassin, not just in the past but in the present. As Aguilar we watch as Fassbender portrays to us his ancestral character as a much more skilled individual. Someone you can tell has been through years of intense training, has been taught to focus his mind on the task at hand and to understand that nothing is more important than his mission. Even if that means that people, no matter how close they are to him, must not be mourned in death until the mission is complete.
Other cast members such as Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard, are brilliant in their roles as their characters each have their own goals, and both require Callum Lynch, so their interactions together are shown in very different ways, although both are sincere.
The action in this movie is brilliant and is almost very reminiscent of the games themselves (the later games in the series at least, since the combat becomes more evolved and fluent compared to the first game/s). The actions of the Assassins such as the air assassination, the free running, the leap of faith and others, are exactly what I wanted to see in this film. The best part about them is that they are practical effects. The cast are actually free running, they are actually fighting, and doing somersaults (with the help of stunt doubles of course) and my favourite, the leap of faith is actually performed using a crane and a crash mat, by British gymnast and free runner Damien Walters. He free falls from the crane lift at 125 feet in the air, and in 3 seconds, he lands on the crash mat. This is actually the highest free fall performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years.
The connections to the games are beautifully blended into this new and refreshing plot that we haven't seen before. Everything from the different Assassin Insignias, to the leap of faith, the weapons, Abstergo Industries, and of course the Piece of Eden, is everything the fans wanted and possibly more. They even included a version of the Bleeding Effect that we haven't seen the likes of before, which I adored.
Probably my only issue with this film is the Apple of Eden, simply because, unlike the game, it doesn't do anything, except glow. The look of it is beautiful, just like all the other props and clothing in this film. However, when the orb is activated, there's simply some lights thrust out of it but it doesn't do anything besides show some pretty lights. In the game it can control minds, even break them and kill, or make someone run away in fear. Besides that, I have no real important issues with the film. The plot is, to me at least, brilliant and whilst there are some minor nit picks here and there, I love this film enough to not let them bother me. I saw this film twice in the cinema and would have gone a third time if I had the chance. Sadly I was too busy.
If you're a fan of the game franchise I highly recommend you give this film a chance. If you don't like it, like most people, then that's fair enough, but as I say about most films such as this, and comic book movies, give them a chance...you never know, you just might like it.
RÉX Regent (349 KP) rated Saving Private Ryan (1998) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019 (Updated Feb 25, 2019)
Groundbreaker mired in slop
Contains spoilers, click to show
Regarded as one of the best war films ever made, it certainly qualifies. The opening twenty minutes are still as breathtaking, shocking and disturbing realistic as they were back in 1998. It is hard to imagine that it has now been over twelve years since Saving Private Ryan broke the mold of World War II film making.
Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Director for Spielberg, Best Cinematography, and Sound, which was astonishing, even by today's standards, it failed to win Best Picture, losing out to Shakespeare In Love. Shakespeare In Love! Don't get me wrong, it's a good film, but easily forgettable compared to Ryan, only proving yet again that if you touch upon the British monarchy you get Oscars.
The film is a fictional account of four brothers, all serving in the U.S. Army, three of which were killed in action on or around the D-Day landings. The fourth, James Ryan played by Matt Damon is somewhere in Europe, and Tom Hanks with his platoon are sent to bring him home, to spare his mother anymore heartache.
Tom Hanks, who was also snubbed at the 1998 Oscars for his perfect performance as Captain Miller, the everyman who was losing himself in the horrors of war, underplayed his role perfectly. He is believable on every level, emotionally, physically and has a sense of subtly with makes him of Hollywood's greats.
The action is visceral, gritty and horrifying. But never played for crass effect. Scenes of soldiers intestines spilling out, limbs flying a sunder and brutal killing left, right and centre are recreated for one purpose. To truly demonstrate the horrors of war, and to change our perceptions of the global conflict which had almost become a joke, a setting for gung- ho action films, where the Yanks reign supreme and single-handedly win the war.
This shows troops crying, hurting and making decisions which should not be made under any moral circumstances, but you understand why, whether you agree or not. There is no doubt that Spielberg is not innocent of making an American film, but it is about as even-handed as you might expect, with the exception of Tora! Tora! Tora! or The Longest Day.
So, the action is first-rate, graphic and perfectly toned to recreate to horror of the last century's greatest and most of destructive conflicts. But that's only half the story.
The other half is the talking, reminiscing and the almost sepia tone is more than a little cloying. The U.S. General's monologues, which seem to consist almost entirely of Lincoln quotations are overly sentimental, erring on the side of sloppy patriotism rather than Jingoism, which is hardly a bad thing but it isn't good either.
The civilian scenes, such as Mrs Ryan, washing a plate as she sees the car drive down to road to inform her of her sons deaths are so sentimental that they jar against the realism of the war scenes. It's not so much contrast as it is as extreme as black and white.
The action is obviously interspersed, as all war films are, with rest stops and moments of talking, pondering etc., but the scenes drag on too long and disrupt the tone of the film. On the other hand, the direction is brilliant when explaining the situations during and around the action, but Spielberg seemed to think that we needed these sloppy and often boring moments, such as The Church, and the outside the cafe in Ramelle, to express the emotional torment of the characters, but I think that these scenes are so boring and pointless that I' can hardly remember them, as my attention drifts off during them! But I do have an understanding of the soldiers, and this was achieved, quite adorably without these scenes.
Overall, this is a film of two halves if ever there was one. The battle scenes and the journey through war-torn France are brilliant, gritty and educational, but the scenes of American sentimentality are in danger of derailing the whole film. Many feel that is the best war film of all time. I do not agree, favouring Black Hawk Down over this, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that Blank Hawk Down owes a debt to Saving Private Ryan, by opening the door to the gritty war dramas of the naughties and to the style itself.
This film is on of the most important contributions to cinema ever, and has done so much to finally show to true nature of WWII and war in general. But even though I would rate this 10/10 if it was just for the war scenes, the slop just gets in the way and devalues what should have been perfection.
Winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Director for Spielberg, Best Cinematography, and Sound, which was astonishing, even by today's standards, it failed to win Best Picture, losing out to Shakespeare In Love. Shakespeare In Love! Don't get me wrong, it's a good film, but easily forgettable compared to Ryan, only proving yet again that if you touch upon the British monarchy you get Oscars.
The film is a fictional account of four brothers, all serving in the U.S. Army, three of which were killed in action on or around the D-Day landings. The fourth, James Ryan played by Matt Damon is somewhere in Europe, and Tom Hanks with his platoon are sent to bring him home, to spare his mother anymore heartache.
Tom Hanks, who was also snubbed at the 1998 Oscars for his perfect performance as Captain Miller, the everyman who was losing himself in the horrors of war, underplayed his role perfectly. He is believable on every level, emotionally, physically and has a sense of subtly with makes him of Hollywood's greats.
The action is visceral, gritty and horrifying. But never played for crass effect. Scenes of soldiers intestines spilling out, limbs flying a sunder and brutal killing left, right and centre are recreated for one purpose. To truly demonstrate the horrors of war, and to change our perceptions of the global conflict which had almost become a joke, a setting for gung- ho action films, where the Yanks reign supreme and single-handedly win the war.
This shows troops crying, hurting and making decisions which should not be made under any moral circumstances, but you understand why, whether you agree or not. There is no doubt that Spielberg is not innocent of making an American film, but it is about as even-handed as you might expect, with the exception of Tora! Tora! Tora! or The Longest Day.
So, the action is first-rate, graphic and perfectly toned to recreate to horror of the last century's greatest and most of destructive conflicts. But that's only half the story.
The other half is the talking, reminiscing and the almost sepia tone is more than a little cloying. The U.S. General's monologues, which seem to consist almost entirely of Lincoln quotations are overly sentimental, erring on the side of sloppy patriotism rather than Jingoism, which is hardly a bad thing but it isn't good either.
The civilian scenes, such as Mrs Ryan, washing a plate as she sees the car drive down to road to inform her of her sons deaths are so sentimental that they jar against the realism of the war scenes. It's not so much contrast as it is as extreme as black and white.
The action is obviously interspersed, as all war films are, with rest stops and moments of talking, pondering etc., but the scenes drag on too long and disrupt the tone of the film. On the other hand, the direction is brilliant when explaining the situations during and around the action, but Spielberg seemed to think that we needed these sloppy and often boring moments, such as The Church, and the outside the cafe in Ramelle, to express the emotional torment of the characters, but I think that these scenes are so boring and pointless that I' can hardly remember them, as my attention drifts off during them! But I do have an understanding of the soldiers, and this was achieved, quite adorably without these scenes.
Overall, this is a film of two halves if ever there was one. The battle scenes and the journey through war-torn France are brilliant, gritty and educational, but the scenes of American sentimentality are in danger of derailing the whole film. Many feel that is the best war film of all time. I do not agree, favouring Black Hawk Down over this, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that Blank Hawk Down owes a debt to Saving Private Ryan, by opening the door to the gritty war dramas of the naughties and to the style itself.
This film is on of the most important contributions to cinema ever, and has done so much to finally show to true nature of WWII and war in general. But even though I would rate this 10/10 if it was just for the war scenes, the slop just gets in the way and devalues what should have been perfection.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Good popcorn nonsense.
âRemember who we are. The Shaw family. We never, never, never give up.â
(That title is especially for my friends the Shaw family!).
Well, the patchy British summerâs just about up, and autumnâs chilly fingers are touching up the UK. And yet I still hadnât seen the summer hit âHobbs and Shawâ! Until last night.
Itâs utter nonsense of course, like most of the âFast and Furiousâ films, but I have to admit itâs done with some tongue in cheek style.
The plot
A vicious cyber-soldier, Brixton (Idris Elba) tries to steal a deadly virus but is thwarted by brave MI6 agent Hattie (Vanessa Kirby). To help recover the virus, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is recruited in London by CIA agent Loeb (Rob Delaney, the ânon-superâ hero Peter in âDeadpool 2â). In an interesting piece of related casting, the Eteon Director (Champ Nightengale â LoL, a cameo for someone far more famous) recruits Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in LA as a part of the team.
Both agents know they are heading for trouble⌠but do they really appreciate how much the pair hate each otherâs guts?
The trail leads from London to the Ukraine to (a very picturesque) Samoa in a race against time to both defeat the undefeatable Brixton and save Hattie: now a ticking time bomb of global destruction. And Hattie has relations!
Absurd stunts.
As a âFast and Furiousâ film there are of course some truly absurd car stunts involved and â unlike the Mission Impossible films â you are never quite sure what is ârealâ and what is CGI generated. Which is a shame.
For me, the gold standard for chases remains Tom Cruiseâs chase through Paris in âMission Impossible: Falloutâ. Here, the car chase through London â whilst impressive â never quite reaches the seat clenching tension of MI6.
And a final stunt with a helicopter is â Iâm sorry â just plain ridiculous. If a chopper can partially lift 5 x load then why canât it completely lift 1 x load. Give me a break!
To round things off, there is one of the most unbelievable â100% survival of a car crashing off a cliffâ scenes in movie history!
Acting
The acting is largely from the Arnie Swartzenegger school, with Johnson and Statham giving it the old shtick. Dwayne Johnson may be one of Hollywoodâs most bankable stars (the boy has done REAL good for himself), but he canât do serious acting. His âpathosâ scenes with his daughter (a vibrant Eliana Sua) are excruciating.
Dropping in as class acts are Helen Mirren as the elder Shaw and the excellent Vanessa Kirby as Hattie. Kirby gets a lot more to get her teeth into than in the last Mission Impossible movie, and is really very good. Mirren is rather too posh to be the incarcerated East End con, but is a fun turn nevertheless.
Also excellent, as always, is Eddie Marsan as the key scientist. Marsan really turns in a splendid performance in every film heâs in. Heâs top of âDivision 2â in my books. Never the star, but always starring.
Mexican actress Eiza GonzĂĄlez (from âBaby Driverâ) also crops up as an unfeasibly good-looking Russian femme fatale.
âI hate youâ. âNo, I hate youâ. Blah, blah, blah.
Writers Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce do a good job at keeping the script light and fluffy. The animosity between Hobbs and Shaw is played to 110%, and for me the interplay frankly became a bit tiresome. But itâs a fun-enough film to entertain, although itâs bladder-testing running time of 2 hours 17 minutes is at least 30 minutes too long. There is a natural Ukraine-based finale, but itâs not taken, and the film goes on⌠and on⌠and onâŚ. and on. Enough already.
Iâve said many times before that comedies shouldnât last more than 90 minutes, and although an âaction filmâ this is fundamentally a comedy and the rule should apply. It would have been a much better film if it was compacted.
Sexism diverted.
I did criticize âFast and Furious 8â for scenes that brazenly objectified women. And there was a moment â just one, fortunately â with a gyrating bikini-clad beauty â where I thought âuh, ohâ â this franchise has not moved with the times.
But actually, this was the only scene where I thought that. Cinema has moved along massively in the last two years, driven by the âTimes Upâ movement. Here the women are all given pretty leading âkick-assâ roles, and they generally show the muscle-bound morons up, often saving their arses.
Final Thoughts.
Itâs summer popcorn nonsense, but its well done popcorn nonsense. Probably not a film high on my list of films I want to see again, but as an entertainment vehicle it was not too shabby.
(That title is especially for my friends the Shaw family!).
Well, the patchy British summerâs just about up, and autumnâs chilly fingers are touching up the UK. And yet I still hadnât seen the summer hit âHobbs and Shawâ! Until last night.
Itâs utter nonsense of course, like most of the âFast and Furiousâ films, but I have to admit itâs done with some tongue in cheek style.
The plot
A vicious cyber-soldier, Brixton (Idris Elba) tries to steal a deadly virus but is thwarted by brave MI6 agent Hattie (Vanessa Kirby). To help recover the virus, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is recruited in London by CIA agent Loeb (Rob Delaney, the ânon-superâ hero Peter in âDeadpool 2â). In an interesting piece of related casting, the Eteon Director (Champ Nightengale â LoL, a cameo for someone far more famous) recruits Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in LA as a part of the team.
Both agents know they are heading for trouble⌠but do they really appreciate how much the pair hate each otherâs guts?
The trail leads from London to the Ukraine to (a very picturesque) Samoa in a race against time to both defeat the undefeatable Brixton and save Hattie: now a ticking time bomb of global destruction. And Hattie has relations!
Absurd stunts.
As a âFast and Furiousâ film there are of course some truly absurd car stunts involved and â unlike the Mission Impossible films â you are never quite sure what is ârealâ and what is CGI generated. Which is a shame.
For me, the gold standard for chases remains Tom Cruiseâs chase through Paris in âMission Impossible: Falloutâ. Here, the car chase through London â whilst impressive â never quite reaches the seat clenching tension of MI6.
And a final stunt with a helicopter is â Iâm sorry â just plain ridiculous. If a chopper can partially lift 5 x load then why canât it completely lift 1 x load. Give me a break!
To round things off, there is one of the most unbelievable â100% survival of a car crashing off a cliffâ scenes in movie history!
Acting
The acting is largely from the Arnie Swartzenegger school, with Johnson and Statham giving it the old shtick. Dwayne Johnson may be one of Hollywoodâs most bankable stars (the boy has done REAL good for himself), but he canât do serious acting. His âpathosâ scenes with his daughter (a vibrant Eliana Sua) are excruciating.
Dropping in as class acts are Helen Mirren as the elder Shaw and the excellent Vanessa Kirby as Hattie. Kirby gets a lot more to get her teeth into than in the last Mission Impossible movie, and is really very good. Mirren is rather too posh to be the incarcerated East End con, but is a fun turn nevertheless.
Also excellent, as always, is Eddie Marsan as the key scientist. Marsan really turns in a splendid performance in every film heâs in. Heâs top of âDivision 2â in my books. Never the star, but always starring.
Mexican actress Eiza GonzĂĄlez (from âBaby Driverâ) also crops up as an unfeasibly good-looking Russian femme fatale.
âI hate youâ. âNo, I hate youâ. Blah, blah, blah.
Writers Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce do a good job at keeping the script light and fluffy. The animosity between Hobbs and Shaw is played to 110%, and for me the interplay frankly became a bit tiresome. But itâs a fun-enough film to entertain, although itâs bladder-testing running time of 2 hours 17 minutes is at least 30 minutes too long. There is a natural Ukraine-based finale, but itâs not taken, and the film goes on⌠and on⌠and onâŚ. and on. Enough already.
Iâve said many times before that comedies shouldnât last more than 90 minutes, and although an âaction filmâ this is fundamentally a comedy and the rule should apply. It would have been a much better film if it was compacted.
Sexism diverted.
I did criticize âFast and Furious 8â for scenes that brazenly objectified women. And there was a moment â just one, fortunately â with a gyrating bikini-clad beauty â where I thought âuh, ohâ â this franchise has not moved with the times.
But actually, this was the only scene where I thought that. Cinema has moved along massively in the last two years, driven by the âTimes Upâ movement. Here the women are all given pretty leading âkick-assâ roles, and they generally show the muscle-bound morons up, often saving their arses.
Final Thoughts.
Itâs summer popcorn nonsense, but its well done popcorn nonsense. Probably not a film high on my list of films I want to see again, but as an entertainment vehicle it was not too shabby.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Slaughterhouse Rulez (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Form-Prefect of the Dead.
The Plot
Meredith Houseman (Simon Pegg) is housemaster of Sparta house in Slaughterhouse school: an ancient public school establishment steering Englandâs future greats to greatness (which probably explains a lot about the current Brexit mess!). Houseman is not in a happy place, given that his girlfriend is now in deepest darkest African doing âgood worksâ with handsome French doctors, and particularly that she is played by Margot Robbie: I would be also be sad⌠#punching!
New school starter Don Wallace (Finn Cole) is equally unhappy as he is a northern teen dragooned into attending the school by his well-meaning Mum (Jo Hartley). His strange room-mate Willoughby (Asa Butterfield) seems to be a chronic depressive; he is being picked on by the prefect-bully Clegg (Tom Rhys Harries); and his bed was previously occupied by a Viscount, since deceased under unpleasant circumstances that no-one wants to talk about. At least he has the distraction of the upper-sixth school goddess Clemsie Lawrence (Hermione Corfield) to take his mind off his woes.
All this washes over âThe Batâ â the schoolâs headmaster (Michael Sheen) â since he is engrossed in some shady deal with an evil corporation doing fracking in the school grounds. The fracking though seems to be doing more than just causing a few minor earth tremors, as ancient forces are unleashed.
The Review
The movie is positioned as a âcomedy/horrorâ, along the lines of âShaun of the Deadâ. The film also has Frost and Pegg as executive producers and they also have starring roles in the film. But there the similarities really end: this is a âCornetto filmâ without a cone of solid chocolate lurking at the bottom to enjoy.
The script (by director Crispian Mills and first-time screenwriter Henry Fitzherbert) is nowhere near as sharp as the Frost/Pegg scripts for their famous collaborations. The story overall makes precious little sense: itâs a hodge-podge of elements from many Harry Potter films (especially âThe Chamber of Secretsâ), Lindsay Andersonâs âIfâŚâ; and Roy Boultingâs âThe Guinea Pigâ; with also a sprinkling of the anarchic essence of Michael Palinâs classic âTomkinsonâs Schooldaysâ. The whole thing never manages to gel into a cohesive whole.
After the second reel, the film completely loses sight of the plot: thereâs a whole lot of running, screaming and dying going on but thereâs little logic behind any of it that I could fathom. What didnât help my comprehension of what was going on were some âCornetto-esqueâ sequences of manic editing. Images were thrown onto the screen so subliminally that any clever nuance was lost. Iâm sure at one point there was a droll (if gross) segue at a âRoman orgyâ of a girl receiving oral sex before being âeaten outâ in an entirely different way. But you would need a Blu-ray and a frame-by-frame pause function to get the joke.
Thatâs not to say that I didnât laugh a few times along the way. There are some sight gags â for example, Wooten (Kit Connor) as the lad at the bottom of the bullying pecking order, chained to a U-bend â that made me laugh, and some running jokes â for example, Frost as the head of the anti-fracking camp offering the kids drugs at every encounter â that mildly amuse. But once again hereâs a British comedy that, like the atrocious âThe Brits are Comingâ, thinks that âfunnyâ largely revolves around swearing a lot â how useful that âfrackâ sounds so similar to another word â with added bodily dismemberment.
The turns
Pegg and Frost ham it up with their usual comedy schtick well enough, and it was quite fun to see Sheen try a comedy role for a change as the conniving and supercilious headmaster. Elsewhere all the young cast put their hearts into it, but itâs again Asa Butterfield that your eyes gravitate to, due to his striking features. I last saw Asa in the excellent if harrowing WW1 drama âJourneyâs Endâ, and he here proves again that he is a One Mannâs Movies âname to watch for the futureâ.
Final thoughts
Thereâs a lot to irritate in this film. From the âzâ in the title to⌠well⌠about 80% of the film. There is no nuance or subtlety to either the writing or the direction. I think thatâs a great shame. The film has a good premise hidden in there. An adult comedy set around the ridiculous rules and rites of public schools (away from the light nonsense of âSt Triniansâ) is overdue. And the whole subject of fracking, and the conflicts surrounding the controversial techniques, hasnât yet â to my knowledge â been explored in a fictional movie. The film does have a few very funny moments. But as a whole I left the cinema with that âwasted two hoursâ feeling. Not recommended.
Meredith Houseman (Simon Pegg) is housemaster of Sparta house in Slaughterhouse school: an ancient public school establishment steering Englandâs future greats to greatness (which probably explains a lot about the current Brexit mess!). Houseman is not in a happy place, given that his girlfriend is now in deepest darkest African doing âgood worksâ with handsome French doctors, and particularly that she is played by Margot Robbie: I would be also be sad⌠#punching!
New school starter Don Wallace (Finn Cole) is equally unhappy as he is a northern teen dragooned into attending the school by his well-meaning Mum (Jo Hartley). His strange room-mate Willoughby (Asa Butterfield) seems to be a chronic depressive; he is being picked on by the prefect-bully Clegg (Tom Rhys Harries); and his bed was previously occupied by a Viscount, since deceased under unpleasant circumstances that no-one wants to talk about. At least he has the distraction of the upper-sixth school goddess Clemsie Lawrence (Hermione Corfield) to take his mind off his woes.
All this washes over âThe Batâ â the schoolâs headmaster (Michael Sheen) â since he is engrossed in some shady deal with an evil corporation doing fracking in the school grounds. The fracking though seems to be doing more than just causing a few minor earth tremors, as ancient forces are unleashed.
The Review
The movie is positioned as a âcomedy/horrorâ, along the lines of âShaun of the Deadâ. The film also has Frost and Pegg as executive producers and they also have starring roles in the film. But there the similarities really end: this is a âCornetto filmâ without a cone of solid chocolate lurking at the bottom to enjoy.
The script (by director Crispian Mills and first-time screenwriter Henry Fitzherbert) is nowhere near as sharp as the Frost/Pegg scripts for their famous collaborations. The story overall makes precious little sense: itâs a hodge-podge of elements from many Harry Potter films (especially âThe Chamber of Secretsâ), Lindsay Andersonâs âIfâŚâ; and Roy Boultingâs âThe Guinea Pigâ; with also a sprinkling of the anarchic essence of Michael Palinâs classic âTomkinsonâs Schooldaysâ. The whole thing never manages to gel into a cohesive whole.
After the second reel, the film completely loses sight of the plot: thereâs a whole lot of running, screaming and dying going on but thereâs little logic behind any of it that I could fathom. What didnât help my comprehension of what was going on were some âCornetto-esqueâ sequences of manic editing. Images were thrown onto the screen so subliminally that any clever nuance was lost. Iâm sure at one point there was a droll (if gross) segue at a âRoman orgyâ of a girl receiving oral sex before being âeaten outâ in an entirely different way. But you would need a Blu-ray and a frame-by-frame pause function to get the joke.
Thatâs not to say that I didnât laugh a few times along the way. There are some sight gags â for example, Wooten (Kit Connor) as the lad at the bottom of the bullying pecking order, chained to a U-bend â that made me laugh, and some running jokes â for example, Frost as the head of the anti-fracking camp offering the kids drugs at every encounter â that mildly amuse. But once again hereâs a British comedy that, like the atrocious âThe Brits are Comingâ, thinks that âfunnyâ largely revolves around swearing a lot â how useful that âfrackâ sounds so similar to another word â with added bodily dismemberment.
The turns
Pegg and Frost ham it up with their usual comedy schtick well enough, and it was quite fun to see Sheen try a comedy role for a change as the conniving and supercilious headmaster. Elsewhere all the young cast put their hearts into it, but itâs again Asa Butterfield that your eyes gravitate to, due to his striking features. I last saw Asa in the excellent if harrowing WW1 drama âJourneyâs Endâ, and he here proves again that he is a One Mannâs Movies âname to watch for the futureâ.
Final thoughts
Thereâs a lot to irritate in this film. From the âzâ in the title to⌠well⌠about 80% of the film. There is no nuance or subtlety to either the writing or the direction. I think thatâs a great shame. The film has a good premise hidden in there. An adult comedy set around the ridiculous rules and rites of public schools (away from the light nonsense of âSt Triniansâ) is overdue. And the whole subject of fracking, and the conflicts surrounding the controversial techniques, hasnât yet â to my knowledge â been explored in a fictional movie. The film does have a few very funny moments. But as a whole I left the cinema with that âwasted two hoursâ feeling. Not recommended.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Blade Runner 2049 (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
A stunning visual triumph.
I was a sufficient nerd to buy a âBack to the Futureâ T-shirt to celebrate âfuture dayâ from âBack to the Future 2â two-years ago, and I will probably be a sufficient nerd to buy a âBlade Runnerâ T-shirt in two-years time to celebrate the setting-date for the original film. One thingâs for sure⌠2049 is never going to be long enough away to see the world of the new Blade Runner movie come to fruition: so I look forward to ironically buying that T-shirt too (assuming I make it to 88!). But I digress.
I lived in fear of this film since it was announced⌠having loved the original, a sequel was always going to be a risky prospect. But my fears were slightly quelled when I learned that Denis Villeneuve (âArrivalâ) was at the helm. And having now seen it I am pleasantly relieved: this is a memorable film.
In 2049 the first-generation Nexus replicants of the original film are still causing problems, and Ryan Gosling is âKâ â a blade runner employed by LAPD lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright, âWonder Womanâ, âHouse of Cardsâ) to track them down and liquidate them. On one of these missions, K uncovers a buried secret that brings the LAPD into a desperate race for a pivotal prize, against replicant-builder Niander Wallace (Jared Leto, âDallas Buyerâs Clubâ) and his henchwoman Luv (Sylvia Hoeks). The mission leads to K searching out his illustrious predecessor Deckard (Harrison Ford), who is not keen to be found.
Firstly (and most impressively) this is a spectacle to watchâŚ. âIâve seen thingsâŚâ! The visuals are just gorgeous, from the junk-yards of Greater Los Angeles to the radioactive ruins of Las Vegas, vividly glowing amber to glorious effect. Hardly a surprise with Roger Deakins (âHail Caesarâ, âSicarioâ) behind the camera, but Adam Heinis (âRogue Oneâ) and the rest of his special effects team deserve kudos for the effects never feeling overly âCGI-likeâ.
The music (by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, via a replaced Johann Johannsson) pays suitable tribute to the spirit of the original Vangelis soundtrack. (Itâs curious though that âTears in the Rainâ from the soundtrack is a reworking of the Vangelis original, but Vangelis doesnât seem to be credited anywhere! Vangelis and Ridley Scott clearly had a SERIOUS falling out!).
On the acting front, Ryan Gosling is his dynamic self as usual! (But here, somewhat justified). Harrison Ford is given very little screen time, but what he does do he does exceptionally well â his best performance in years. Itâs some of the supporting parts though that really appeal: Dave Bautista (âSpectreâ) is just superb in the opening scenes of the film, and I particularly enjoyed Ana de Armasâs portrayal of Kâs holographic girlfriend Joi. Iâve seen comment in other reviews that described this relationship as âlaughableâ and a downward step for âwomanâs rightsâ compared to Villeneuveâs previous strong female characters (of Louise from âArrivalâ and Kate from âSicarioâ). But I disagree! I found the relationship truly touching, with Joiâs procurement of a prostitute (Mackenzie Davis) to act as a surrogate body being both loving and giving. And as regards âwomanâs rightsâ, come on! Get serious! This is a holographic commercial male companionâŚ. the âAlexaâ of the futureâŚ. Iâm quite sure the male version looks like Ryan Reynolds! Sex still sells, even in 2049!!
My favourite character though was a cameo by Barkhad Abdi (âCaptain Phillipsâ) luxoriating under the name of Doctor Badger!
I was less comfortable with Jared Letoâs dialogue which â for me at least â was barely audible. In general this film is both a challenge for those aurally challenged (with some fuzzy dialogue/effects/music mixes) and those visually challenged (with 8 point font for the on-screen text that was almost impossible to see on the cinema screen, so good luck with the DVD!).
I really wanted to give this film 5-Fads. But I canât quite get there. The story â while interesting and having emotional depth â is lightweight for a film of this length (a butt-numbing 163 minutes!) and it moves at such a glacial pace that Iâm ashamed to say that my mind wandered at times. (Specifically to how many different ways I could imagine harm being done to the American guy in front of me, who was constantly turning on his Apple watch and at one point (to whisperings of very British outrage!) his full-brightness iPhone!) The screenplay was by Hampton Fancher (one of the original Blade Runner writers) and Michael Green (âLoganâ, âAlien: Covenantâ) but even with this track record, itâs the filmâs Achilles heel.
Itâs a relief that Blade Runner revisited is not a complete disaster: quite the opposite in fact. It doesnât quite match C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate (what could)⌠but its a damned good attempt.
I lived in fear of this film since it was announced⌠having loved the original, a sequel was always going to be a risky prospect. But my fears were slightly quelled when I learned that Denis Villeneuve (âArrivalâ) was at the helm. And having now seen it I am pleasantly relieved: this is a memorable film.
In 2049 the first-generation Nexus replicants of the original film are still causing problems, and Ryan Gosling is âKâ â a blade runner employed by LAPD lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright, âWonder Womanâ, âHouse of Cardsâ) to track them down and liquidate them. On one of these missions, K uncovers a buried secret that brings the LAPD into a desperate race for a pivotal prize, against replicant-builder Niander Wallace (Jared Leto, âDallas Buyerâs Clubâ) and his henchwoman Luv (Sylvia Hoeks). The mission leads to K searching out his illustrious predecessor Deckard (Harrison Ford), who is not keen to be found.
Firstly (and most impressively) this is a spectacle to watchâŚ. âIâve seen thingsâŚâ! The visuals are just gorgeous, from the junk-yards of Greater Los Angeles to the radioactive ruins of Las Vegas, vividly glowing amber to glorious effect. Hardly a surprise with Roger Deakins (âHail Caesarâ, âSicarioâ) behind the camera, but Adam Heinis (âRogue Oneâ) and the rest of his special effects team deserve kudos for the effects never feeling overly âCGI-likeâ.
The music (by Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, via a replaced Johann Johannsson) pays suitable tribute to the spirit of the original Vangelis soundtrack. (Itâs curious though that âTears in the Rainâ from the soundtrack is a reworking of the Vangelis original, but Vangelis doesnât seem to be credited anywhere! Vangelis and Ridley Scott clearly had a SERIOUS falling out!).
On the acting front, Ryan Gosling is his dynamic self as usual! (But here, somewhat justified). Harrison Ford is given very little screen time, but what he does do he does exceptionally well â his best performance in years. Itâs some of the supporting parts though that really appeal: Dave Bautista (âSpectreâ) is just superb in the opening scenes of the film, and I particularly enjoyed Ana de Armasâs portrayal of Kâs holographic girlfriend Joi. Iâve seen comment in other reviews that described this relationship as âlaughableâ and a downward step for âwomanâs rightsâ compared to Villeneuveâs previous strong female characters (of Louise from âArrivalâ and Kate from âSicarioâ). But I disagree! I found the relationship truly touching, with Joiâs procurement of a prostitute (Mackenzie Davis) to act as a surrogate body being both loving and giving. And as regards âwomanâs rightsâ, come on! Get serious! This is a holographic commercial male companionâŚ. the âAlexaâ of the futureâŚ. Iâm quite sure the male version looks like Ryan Reynolds! Sex still sells, even in 2049!!
My favourite character though was a cameo by Barkhad Abdi (âCaptain Phillipsâ) luxoriating under the name of Doctor Badger!
I was less comfortable with Jared Letoâs dialogue which â for me at least â was barely audible. In general this film is both a challenge for those aurally challenged (with some fuzzy dialogue/effects/music mixes) and those visually challenged (with 8 point font for the on-screen text that was almost impossible to see on the cinema screen, so good luck with the DVD!).
I really wanted to give this film 5-Fads. But I canât quite get there. The story â while interesting and having emotional depth â is lightweight for a film of this length (a butt-numbing 163 minutes!) and it moves at such a glacial pace that Iâm ashamed to say that my mind wandered at times. (Specifically to how many different ways I could imagine harm being done to the American guy in front of me, who was constantly turning on his Apple watch and at one point (to whisperings of very British outrage!) his full-brightness iPhone!) The screenplay was by Hampton Fancher (one of the original Blade Runner writers) and Michael Green (âLoganâ, âAlien: Covenantâ) but even with this track record, itâs the filmâs Achilles heel.
Itâs a relief that Blade Runner revisited is not a complete disaster: quite the opposite in fact. It doesnât quite match C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate (what could)⌠but its a damned good attempt.
Bird (1700 KP) May 4, 2017
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) May 4, 2017