Finding Dory is directed by Andrew Stanton and is the long-awaited sequel to 2003's Finding Nemo. Set a year after the events of that film, Finding Dory sees the attention shift onto one of Pixar's most loveable side characters ever Dory, a fish suffering from short-term memory loss. However, as she begins to remember fragments of her past life with her parents, she along with Marlin and Nemo set out on a journey across the ocean to find her missing family. I'm unashamedly a huge fan of Pixar and Finding Nemo was one of those animated films I would pop in and watch over and over again. So naturally, I went into Finding Dory with a healthy mix of excitement and scepticism.
To my surprise, Finding Dory is actually a lot better than I was anticipating. It's a consistently entertaining animated film which caught my attention from the very start and didn't drop it until the credits started to roll. There's enough in here to make you laugh and cry, to make you excited and emotional. In actuality, it's a very charming movie but charming in a way which feels smart as opposed to incredibly forced. It's a perfect animated film in that it can work for people of all ages, be them very young, very old or somewhere in between.
Right off that bat I think the animation, while not as breath-taking as it was for the 2003 original, is fantastic, vibrant and colourful with immense detail put into the sea and land environments as well as the character's themselves. I don't think I'll ever stop rambling on how well Pixar can animate the eyes, but they seem to have it down to an absolute science. It's a wonderful film to look at, but that's what we come to expect with the standard of animation these days being so high. But what makes this movie great like other Pixar efforts is it's perfect blend of action, comedy and heart, on top of some really good voice acting and some memorable characters.
Ellen DeGeneres as Dory is stellar and is the standout in a movie filled with really great amalgamations of voice acting and character animation. But what this movie does so well is understand who the character of Dory is. Let's face it, if we had to hang around Dory all day she would irritate us to no end. But what makes Dory such a good character is that even though you acknowledge how much she'd irritate you, you can't help but empathize with her. When things go wrong for Dory, you feel the desperation she does. When things go well for her, you can't help but silently cheer. And that's what a main character she be, likeable, because if you weren't routing for Dory this movie would fall flat on it's face.
It was also nice to see Marlin and Nemo back in the movie in a way which didn't feel forced, in fact their presence their felt organic to the story the movie was trying to tell. But the other characters who will stick in your mind after you watch this movie are some equally hilarious and memorable side characters. Pixar always seems to create really great side characters which propel the story along and add in good amounts of comedic relief, and Finding Dory is no exception. Hank the Septopus is a brilliant addition as he and Dory's dynamic is one of the film's obvious strengths. Other great additions include Destiny the Whale-shark and Bailey the beluga, but my absolute favourite was this clam character Marlin and Nemo came across, who actually made me laugh more than anything else in this entire movie.
But like other Pixar movies what really makes this movie hit home is how emotionally relatable it can be for people of all ages. While I don't think the movie's emotional moments hit quite as hard as I think they were intending them to (compared to films like Inside Out), they still work and they do give you the feels when it is supposed to. Despite not really making me cry or all that upset, it still works on an emotional level as it does make you feel something, or at least it did for me. On top of this, Finding Dory is a very smartly written film when it comes to how it presents and teaches kids about disability. I think this movie can teach kids valuable lessons; the first being how disabled people can make it without being totally dependant, but the second being how it can be acceptable to make light of a disability you may have. Sometimes, disability is not all doom and gloom and I really appreciated the angle Pixar went with it.
My only true issue with this film is that because this story is trying to be bigger and crazier than Finding Nemo, the situations and scenarios our main characters end up in are incredibly bizarre. On top of this, they almost always seem to place them in life-or-death type situations, which the characters don't seem all that concerned about. It made for a varied, intriguing and well-paced film but it still went against the characterisations they had built up in the previous film. Aside from one minor complaint, I have nothing but praise for Finding Dory.
It's a fairly short review but its a fairly simple movie to whittle down. It's consistently entertaining, has a perfect mix of action/adventure, mystery/intrigue, laughs and emotional moments to give you a varied and fun movie-going experience, and is accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages. It doesn't try to be as creative or original as Inside Out, but what it does do is make you believe that this was a necessary sequel to make and that there was a pretty cool story to be told. The animation's great, the voice work is brilliant, some of the side characters are really funny and memorable and it delicately presents social commentary on disability in a unique way which I didn't think could be done. It's a fine animation and one which deserves to make all the money that it is:
Suicide Squad is directed by David Ayer and is the second DC Extended Universe film to come out this year alone which has seen an enormous critical backlash and huge contrasting opinions amongst fans. Set in a world post the death of Superman, ruthless government operative Amanda Waller firmly believes a contingency plan should be set up should the next Superman be bad. This contingency plan goes by the name of Task Force X, or the Suicide Squad, made up of a team of numerous villains from DC Comics. When a catastrophic event befalls Midway City, the squad of misfits and criminals are tasked with solving the situation with a high risk of them losing their lives.
The real question here is do I think this movie is the disaster piece a lot of professional movie critics would have you believe? No! Suicide Squad for me was a hugely entertaining film from start to finish even if there are numerous storytelling, editing and script issues I could find with it. But for me, what makes this movie as entertaining as it is are the performances on show and the strength of its characters. For me it can boil down to one simple statement; the first act is close to perfect, the second becomes a little messy and loses some steam, but the third act sees an exciting and emotional climax which pulls everything together in a strong finish, winning me over in the end.
What I really appreciate about this film is how unashamedly bold, stylistic and charismatic this film is. David Ayer really goes for it with his direction of this film, making clear statements that this movie is meant to have a huge amount of fun with the awesome characters it has at its disposal. The overall tone created by the dialogue, the use of humour, the visuals, cinematography and soundtrack give this movie a huge amount of character, but in my opinion it also has enough substance to pull it through and create a good comic book movie. And on top of this, I have no complaints with how Ayer filmed the action sequences. They're nothing hugely memorable or ground-breaking, but I did really like how there was no use of shaky cam or quick-cut editing to mask poor stunt work. They serve a purpose in the end and are very entertaining.
And this movie is also the funniest in the DCEU so far, and the way they interject humour into the story makes the film a lot more enjoyable. After all, humans tend to gravitate towards humour and do try and deflect serious situations with jokes. And I believe it is done just the right amount so it doesn't become like a Marvel movie (like Guardians or Ant Man) or doesn't detract from the seriousness of the story.
The main performances are all fantastic and some of my favourite individual moments of the film either are a big character moment for one of them or see two or more characters interact and bounce off of each other. I was a little concerned with Will Smith's Deadshot going into the film but coming out I have nothing but satisfaction for what was done with the character. He never overshadows the whole movie, but has a good amount of emotional substance behind him for him to be humanised and for you as an audience member to care. Smith's comedic delivery was as on point as always, and I really enjoyed the way he bounced off of Joel Kinnamen's Rick Flag, another character who I surprisingly cared a lot about. I'm not a huge fan of Kinnamen but I did enjoy his character particularly the fact that he had a personal reason for being there and a vested interest in the outcome of the situation.
Another actor I'm not necessarily a huge fan of is Jai Courtney. But honest to God, he is phenomenal as Captain Boomerang, a character with no moral compass whatsoever. I love this character so much, and while this movie does tend to humanise a lot of its characters by showing them their backstory and how they got to where they are today, some characters are just assholes. Boomerang is one of them. Only he could crack open a can of beer when a horde of creatures are coming over to kill him. He is a hilarious character, and Courtney knocked it out of the park. But my favourite character in this entire movie was Diablo. He has a fantastic arc in his film, one which has a huge pay off once revelations are made about his character and stuff he has done in the past. He's the one I connected to the most.
Viola Davis plays Amanda Waller really well but two other standouts include Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Jared Leto's Joker. Harley Quinn pretty much steals every single scene she is in and because you see snippets of her past like Deadshot, you do strike a connection with her even if at the end of the day she is a crazed lunatic. The Joker's role in this film is very minimal and I can tell that will disappoint people. But his purpose is to flesh out Harley Quinn's character, a purpose he serves very well indeed. I enjoyed Leto's insane mob boss route he took and loved just how far he went with his committed performance. As for the character, the scenes with him in the past are the best, and the scenes with him in present day are the weakest. And ultimately, I wanted a lot more of him than just "the wild card". But hopefully, I'll see more of him in movies to come.
Some characters aren't as fleshed out as others but I feel that was always going to be the case. Killer Croc is essentially just used as comic relief, Katana is humanised a little bit but when it happens it seems too little too late, and calling Slipknot a plot device is an insult to plot devices. And this is where even though I had a huge amount of fun and entertainment with this film, I still found a fair amount of things I thought could've been handled better. Like Batman v Superman, my biggest issues stem from the editing. The first act is edited together perfectly, but the second feels as if there are so many scenes missing. From one watch alone, I could tell there were scenes involving The Joker, Harley Quinn, Rick Flag, Amanda Waller and the movie's villain were just left on the cutting room floor. In the theatrical cut of BvS, a lot of the movie's cut moments were essential character moments. In Suicice Squad, it feels as if scenes which acted to stitch the narrative together were cut out which is ultimately a lot better than cutting key character moments out, but still makes the middle of the film feel disjointed.
There are also a lot of random scenes edited in there which felt out of place and didn't necessarily have the smoothest transition between them. For example, there is one scene of Harley Quinn's past life with The Joker and another involving Katana, both in the second act of the film which made it feel slightly choppy and messed up the narrative in some places. If these DCEU movies have taught us anything, it is that editing out those connective scenes is a really bad idea, and that Warner Brother's executives need to trust their filmmakers when it comes to the movie's final cut.
There are other moments of weak writing here and there which involve Diablo's character arc, a big moment with Rick Flag and the whereabouts of Amanda Waller, but I don't personally understand the criticisms people have of the eventual turn some characters make towards the end. In my opinion, the fantastically written "bar scene" is what made their turn believable to me. But for me the biggest disappointment was the villain. I didn't buy into the romance a certain character had with the person she possessed, and I believe the film struggled to write around the powers it had given her. But the worst thing about the villain is that it has no motivation for the things it is doing at all. That is the biggest aspect you're supposed to get right about an antagonist, and unfortunately the movie's script just does not give it any.
My personal flaws with the movie lie with its villain and some of the editing and storytelling in the film's second act on top of the way The Joker is used in scenes which occur in the present day. Like Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad has a load of really great pieces on the table, it just seems like studio interference means that these pieces aren't always put together in the best possible way. For me though Suicide Squad is a great time due to the performances, the fantastic characters, the brilliant soundtrack and the nods it has to it's growing cinematic universe. I don't agree with how harsh this film has been treated, and I will enjoy revisiting this movie many times more to refine my opinion on it in the future. For now, just know I had a blast with a movie which may at times feel messy, but overall has great things in it to enjoy:
Jason Bourne sees the return of both Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass to the franchise in a movie which tells the story of Bourne after the events of the original trilogy. When a former ally returns into Bourne's life with information concerning his past, he sets off on a mission to uncover the truth of those events and to exact revenge upon those responsible for doing him harm. I was hugely anticipating this film given that you have the exact same talent behind it that made the original trilogy of movies so fantastic, and I'm also a huge fan of competently made action. While I have to admit this movie doesn't quite capture that exact same sense of awe and mystery the first three films of this franchise did, this doesn't change the fact that this film is an entertaining and well made summer action flick with some memorable sequences and overall a strong set of performances.
It goes without saying that Matt Damon is great as Bourne as he slips back into this role as if he hadn't been away from it for almost a decade. But this is something you already knew would be the case given how well he understands the character, but I was hugely surprised with the directions they decided to take this already fascinating character in. While for a time this movie feels like the original three with Bourne searching for answers, the second half is really a tale of revenge which I thought was an effective direction to the steer the character in. Also, I give major props to Damon for coming back and once again committing himself into the stunt work and the action sequences.
What this movie lacked a little bit for me was Bourne's physical and emotional vulnerability, even if there are some strong glimpses of it throughout. For me, what makes an action movie great is having your protagonist feel vulnerable, as if he/she is always prone to making mistakes and/or dying. Just a smidgen more would've made the already brilliant action sequences even more thrilling and investing. The direction of this film is very strong, as I feel nobody better understands this character and the need for fast-paced storytelling than Greengrass. I also feel he utilises his typical shaky cam techniques to the best possible use. Although its usually something I loath, Greengrass' technique doesn't give you motion sickness and isn't used to hide poor stunt work. I believe his documentary style of directing and editing is perfect for this franchise and I hope if a sequel were to be made he would return to helm it.
The action in the movie is helmed beautifully. It's thrilling, investing, tension-filled and you actually do care about what is happening on screen. And as a bonus its coherently shot so you can actually tell what is going on. In my opinion, the stunt team did an excellent job on this film, as did the filmmakers tasked with shooting and editing all the action footage together. As an action film, this does not disappoint with three memorable sequences that stick to mind; a bike chase through the rioting streets of Athens, a car chase down the Vegas strip and a white knuckle fight scene towards the movie's climax.
I also think for the most part the performances given by supporting actors were really strong, as were the characters they were portraying. Tommy Lee Jones is unquestionably a talented performer and I feel he played a great antagonist, and enjoyed how like other Bourne movies, the antagonist isn't an out-and-out villain. Yes he has a questionable moral compass, but his agenda is completely accessible and understandable if you were to place yourself in his shoes. The other villainous character goes by the name of "the asset" and I enjoyed the attempts to humanise him and give him motivation and a personal connection to Bourne, something I feel was done just the right amount.
But for me it was Alicia Vikander who stole the entire film. Her character is as smart as she is cunning, as manipulative as she is likeable, and is one of the best new faces this franchise has ever seen. The direction they take her character is the most fun the movie's screenplay has as you're never quite sure as to where her allegiances lie and exactly what is motivating her actions. She's a very ambitious woman with a fabulous streak of deviance. If there's one thing I am looking forward to the most in future instalments in this franchise, it is the dynamic between her and Bourne.
One thing that did really irritate me about her performance in the first half of the film though was her inconsistent accent, where she doesn't lock down whether or not her character has a British or an American one. And unfortunately that wasn't the only issue I had with some of the acting performances in the film. With the exception of one moment which delivers a strong emotional punch, I was disappointed with the performance given by Julia Styles. Maybe I'm just being harsh but there was something about her line delivery that didn't immerse me into her character, and I never truly got behind what she was saying.
Minor flaws aside, my biggest personal issue with this film is the way the screenplay handles a sub plot involving the launch of this social media platform. It's not a dead end plotline as it does tie into stuff going on with the CIA and Tommy Lee Jones' character, but it's the most un-Bourne thing in the entire movie. Every time it cuts away to it, the movie lost my interest. One of the clear strengths of this franchise in the past has been how even when attention is not on Bourne, the conflicts between the human characters trying to find him always pull you in. In this film, I didn't care about the Mark Zuckerberg-type character they introduced, and thought it detracted from the overall point of the film, which was Jason Bourne pursuing vengeance against those who had wronged him. I understand they were trying to bring Bourne up to present day and I appreciate the attempts at presenting a personal rights vs. public safety debate, but that wasn't what I was there for. I was there to see Bourne kick a load of ass.
Overall, Jason Bourne is far from a disappointment, it's just not as intriguing or as magical as the first three movies were. It's a great action movie with a decent yet flawed story. It's well acted for the most part, the action is directed really well and it presents some interesting character conflicts throughout. So because of this, a few issues I had with some of the acting, story and dialogue don't detract from the fact this was a thoroughly enjoyable time at the movies:
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice currently sits on a 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been panned by both critics and fans alike. Even though I will still standby the fact that overall I did enjoy the theatrical cut of the film, I still found a host of issues concerning the film's narrative, the editing and the motivations and presentation of a few of its characters. When an Utimate Edition was announced, people like myself were ecstatic at the possibility of viewing Zack Synder's actual vision of the film, free from the shackles of a studio who didn't want either an "R" rating or a near 3 hour runtime. After watching the Ultimate Edition, I will never view the theatrical cut again. It is such an improvement in so many areas and feels as if Zack Synder is finally able to tell us the complete story he intended to before so many scenes were shaved off.
At times it felt as if I was watching a completely different movie. The editing here is ridiculously superior to its theatrical counterpart, where changes made to the ordering of scenes and the length of them make a much more cohesive and accessible end product. Due to the nature of the film there is still a lot of jumping between around 5 different story arcs, like a standard episode of Game of Thrones. Only this time, because the movie is pieced together so much better you no longer feel as if you're constantly bouncing between them so much. Scenes are allowed to take their time and give the movie much needed space to breathe, and there is much greater cohesion between the story arcs of Batman, Superman, Lex and Lois Lane. On top of this, a lot less is left to the imagination concerning multiple plot points, giving the narrative some much needed clarity and a far superior flow to events. And because the story is expanded in all of these areas, you care more about the characters on screen and empathise with them a lot more. Therefore, when the action starts to go down, it's awesome as you feel that emotional investment the theatrical cut definitely lacked.
It's not like all the issues I had with the film have been magically solved, but every issue which could've disappeared with an improvement in the editing department I no longer have. Yes, the Knightmare sequence (while both visceral and memorable) still lacks context within this film's narrative. Yes, the Justice League cameo scenes (while incredibly crowd pleasing) still could've been presented better with improved screenwriting. And yes, Doomsday is still underdeveloped as a third act antagonist, but these were never going to change. Also, if you have issues with Batman killing people and the "Martha" scene, those issues won't go away. But all of this doesn't take away the fact that the Ultimate Edition is such a superior edit that it makes the narrative flow better, improves the development and presentation of certain characters and makes you more invested in the action sequences towards the end.
The Nairomi incident at the beginning of the film is fleshed out to the point where it actually starts to make sense and you're able to grasp certain plot points, for example as to why there is such animosity towards Superman in the aftermath of it. The trial sequences involving Senator Finch are greater expanded upon and the Capitol bombing sequence is done so much better, to the point where you really start to feel for Superman afterwards. There are scenes added in with Clark's Mum and Dad which expand him as a character, and you also get to see him go to Gotham and investigate the mysterious "bat vigilante", which gives Superman more motivation when it comes to him wanting to fight Batman. The "bat branding" is also given plot relevance, as you learn that is another part of Lex's master plan to pit Batman and Superman against each other.
Because you see Clark Kent with his parents and actually going to Gotham to investigate who this bat vigilante is, you start to care a lot more for his character. Superman is really dragged through the dirt in this movie, and in this cut you can see with much more clarity the burden he feels as every act he does is put under immense scrutiny. His story arc is fleshed out tremendously well and gives him motivation. On top of this, the addition of various lines of dialogue and extended sequences realises Lois Lane's plot relevance with similarly greater clarity. Her scenes no longer felt like abrupt departures from everything else due to the extension of the Nairomi incident, the bullet investigation and the Capitol bombing sequence.
While Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Lex Luthor is still not quite to my liking, he irritated me so much less this time round as I believe his motivation was spelled out so much better, and all it took were 3 or 4 extra lines of dialogue! Also, because you begin to see the various parts of Lex Luthor's plan take shape (such as the Nairomi incident, the trials, the Capitol bombing, the letters to Bruce Wayne and the branding murders), his master plan is made so much clearer. Yes, it still doesn't make a lot of sense but it works for this movie as you can actually see it developing naturally through the narrative, which is again thanks to the superior editing. You really feel as if Lex was the puppet master from scene 1 behind everything that was going on. At this point I've come to accept that Batman and Superman were not fighting due to differences in ideology as their main motivations, but Lex's plan in this cut really works for the world Zack has created even if it does break the boundaries of logic still on a few occasions.
Every issue I had with this movie in terms of its editing has been completely resolved, and as a result numerous other issues to do with its storytelling and character development have been solved as well. However, I still am a little unclear as to how Superman knows Batman is Bruce Wayne, although I do now think its completely plausible to due improved presentation and ordering of events. And while I have no issues with the Martha scene (save the ignorant Internet backlash to it), I still would've liked a scene between that and Batman and Superman being friends; it wouldn't have felt 100 to 0 like it did in both cuts. But, those are 2 minor complaints I have with an Ultimate Edition which has ironed out 99% of the issues I had with the theatrical cut's narrative and storytelling.
The Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition is a serious improvement. It is the cohesive and accessible story Zack Synder wanted to tell, with extended sequences and improved ordering of scenes benefiting the film's storytelling, character development, character motivation and its action scene pay offs. It is not devoid of flaws by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the only Batman v Superman cut I will ever watch again in my life time. I'm now glad I live in a world where a truly good and cohesive cut of Batman v Superman exists in the world.
And I think a lot of people owe Zack Synder an apology. If anyone deserves backlash its the studio for shaving off so many scenes and cutting down various sequences. Zack is the right man for Justice League (coming out next year), and if the studio let him do his thing we'll have a truly good and enjoyable movie on our hands:
Captain America: Civil War is directed by Joe and Anthony
Russo and is the 13th instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
and the first film of this franchise’s third phase. Acting as both a
continuation of the narratives of both Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(which the Russo brothers also helmed) and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Civil War
is essentially the moment the MCU has been building up to ever since the first
Iron Man movie came out 8 years ago.
This is the movie, like The Winter Soldier before it, that places
it’s superheroes under the microscope, highlighting all of their flaws and
making them feel human despite their larger than life abilities. This time,
Civil War goes that one step further and finally shifts the attention on to the
consequences of superhero’s actions, because when an alien horde invades New
York and a megalomaniacal AI hell-bent on global destruction drops a city out
of the sky, people get hurt and people die. Civil War tells the story of a
world where governments have had enough of the Avengers acting as their own
private organisation, and mounting political pressure has forced the Avengers
to sign the “Sokovia accords”, which essentially strips the Avengers of their
autonomy meaning they can only act when consented by the world’s governments.
This ideological divide which arises with these accords comes at the exact
wrong time for our heroes, particularly Captain America, fracturing the team.
Feeling an insurmountable amount of guilt for his role in the destruction
caused in Age of Ultron, Tony Stark immediately enlists, as do a few others.
However, Captain America, fearful of the control of governing bodies due to
events in the past, does not sign on to the accords, thus commencing a conflict
and a civil war between two opposing factions of the Avengers.
From the synopsis I’ve just given, you’d probably be
justified in thinking that this movie is one massive “event” type film where they
build up to a fight, the fight happens and then there’s some sort of
resolution. In reality, the way this movie was structured surprised me a
considerable amount. The actual “civil war” that occurs in Civil War is a
bi-product of the real story that’s going on in this movie, to which the
villain “Zemo” is very central to. Civil War is a self-contained narrative
which continues on the more mature, realistic themes of The Winter Soldier
whilst simultaneously adding in more themes of friendship, betrayal and perhaps
most poignantly, vengeance. Having mulled over this film for a few days to
rationally collect my thoughts on it, I have come to the conclusion that this
is my favourite movie that Marvel has ever produced and one of the best comic
book movies of all time. I’m not what you would call a traditional “fan boy”
who’s blind to inherent storytelling and screenwriting flaws (read my Batman v
Superman review if you wish), but I am a fan of well-made and rewarding
entertainment which sucks you into the world, invests you in the action and the
characters and gives you those moments which make you cheer, cry and clench
your fists. Captain America: Civil War is one of the best comic book movies of
all time and for me is a monumental achievement on the part of both the
directors and writers, because I honest to god have no idea how they managed to
pull this one off and put all of the puzzle pieces together.
This movie has a lot of moving parts, but everything feels
as if it is part of one, self-contained narrative that flows seamlessly from
scene to scene without ever feeling choppy, messy or incoherent, which is
credit to the people who were tasked with cutting together the final edit of
the film. But the main reason for me why this movie was so great was because it
got its characters so right, giving them all interesting arcs, character
development and clearly spelled out motivations that are understandable. There
are an incredibly large amount of major players in this movie and everyone gets
their moment to shine, but the movie also understands it is its own cohesive
story with 4 central players; these being Captain America, Tony Stark, Bucky
Barnes and Zemo. With the majority of the screen time devoted to these
characters, the movie is really an emotional and personal story involving these
4 with the “Civil War” conflict being of secondary importance. This movie
somehow manages to devote enough screen time to all of these characters and
give them all their moments to shine, but it is still distinctly a Captain
America movie where his personal struggles and ties are central to the plot.
But on top of that, you have an onslaught of other fantastic characters, and
when I say fantastic I really do mean that because Civil War spoils you with
them.
I think it goes without saying that Chris Evans was
absolutely superb once again as Captain America and excels in an assured and
confident portrayal of the character. It has gotten to the point now where he
really has made the role his own, and assumes the role of Steve Rogers the way
Hugh Jackman does for Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds does for Deadpool or,
coincidently, Robert Downey Jr. does for Iron Man. Downey is equally brilliant
as Tony Stark and in my opinion gives the best performance of the entire film.
There are moments in the movies final act where Downey takes his character and
this story so seriously that he almost moved me tears. And even though I went
into this movie as Team Cap and stayed on his side for the entire runtime, I
completely understood where Stark was coming from. You could feel the guilt
crushing down on Tony’s shoulders and towards the end of this movie when the
final fight is going down and the movie is really dragging Tony through the
dirt; I was on the edge of my seat and really feeling bad for him. Plus, the
film gives Tony even greater character depth by using Pepper Pott’s absence to
full effect, which was good screenwriting on behalf of the filmmakers. I
wouldn’t say Captain America: Civil War is a movie where you’re constantly
flipping back and forth as to which side you’re on, but it is one where both
sides of the conflict are evenly fleshed out to the point where both Stark and
Roger’s motivations make complete sense.
Much like the trailer promised, Bucky Barnes and his
friendship with Captain America is integral to the plot and Cap’s motivations
for his actions. Sebastian Stan, I feel, deserves serious credit for his turn
in this movie and goes to places with his character that The Winter Soldier
movie promised us he could. I love how they portray the friendship between
Bucky and Cap, but for me the most intriguing aspect of Bucky’s character is
that for long periods you’re never quite sure where he stands; you never know
if he’s being loyal to Steve or whether or not HYDRA is still impacting him. I
mean, you don’t just act as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin for 70 years and then
not have it have a toll on you personally! Plus, I was a big fan of how they
tied in events of Bucky’s past and made them central to the emotional climax of
this movie, although I feel some die-hard fans will be smart enough to see this
reveal coming if they’ve been paying close attention to past instalments in the
MCU. Nevertheless, this reveal is done really well, bringing me onto the
villain of the movie; Zemo. I know a lot of people have complained and argued
that Zemo doesn’t actually need to be in the movie at all, and I can’t disagree
more with them. The main focus of this movie is the personal relationship
between Cap, Bucky and Tony, and Zemo is the thing that connects all of this
together. In fact, the actual “civil war” fight is of secondary importance to the
actual point of the movie. So to say the movie would have been better without
Zemo would change the movie’s narrative entirely. I was a big fan of the
character of Zemo, with Daniel Bruhl delivering us a different type of villain
that the MCU has never seen before. He has a simple backstory and
understandable motivations for his actions which I was a really huge fan of,
plus has quite an emotionally powerful end to his character arc in this film
(no spoilers).While I do like him, I
feel his character could have been improved upon by making his evil plan a
little less complicated because at times it does reach a bit too far in terms
of conveniences and actually making sense, but that’s it. And one final word of
warning, this is definitely not the Zemo from the comics. Zemo in this film is
a pure product of the MCU and events which have happened previously, and I
shall leave it at that!
On top of giving us a self-contained story of friendship and
vengeance and a conflict between two sides of the Avengers team, Civil War is
also tasked with planting even bigger seeds for the future by introducing two
characters which have already been hinted at in the past. The first of which
was Black Panther, who I absolutely adore. T’Challa himself has a really good
arc in this film, with the filmmakers giving him a valid reason for being there
in the first place and good motivation for his actions (which is apparent for
everyone in this film).His costume is
one of the most badass looking things I’ve ever seen in a movie, plus the way
they physically portrayed the Black Panther character was as close to perfect
as it could have been. And while the trailer may give away that he is siding
with Team Stark, it’s not as clear cut as they ; he has his own agendas. The
second character they introduced was Spider-Man, and I freaking love Tom
Holland in this role. Everything about Spider-Man he completely nailed; the
humour, the teenage awkwardness, his morality, all handled excellently. I loved
Peter Parker’s introduction to the movie even if it did feel as if it was a
slight departure from everything else, and Spider-Man himself in terms of the
way he fights and the way he acts as our viewpoint as audience members was
absolutely stellar. He’s one of the most relatable characters on screen and I
am so pumped for his solo film, just like I am for Black Panther.
As I’ve said before, this movie spoils you with fantastic
characters, all of which get the right amount of time to show us what they’re
all about and nailing all of their motivations for being there. Even Vision and
Scarlet Witch’s relationship, which looks like it is going in the direction it
does in the comics, was something else they managed to put into the movie
without it feeling out of place with the rest of the narrative. Both characters
have really interesting arcs in the movie, even if they’re expectedly
overshadowed by Cap, Bucky and Tony. But it doesn’t stop there, Falcon is as
sharp as ever, Hawkeye has his moments of sarcastic humour, War Machine’s role
is more important than ever, Black Widow has an interesting moral dilemma as to
where she stands within the conflict, and Ant Man was comedic perfection where
every single joke landed.
I know all throughout this review I’ve said that the actual
civil war which plays out during a fight scene at a German airport is of
secondary importance to what is really going on, and I’ll stand by it. But,
that doesn’t take anything away from a 20 minute fight sequence which may well
be my favourite extended sequence that I’ve seen from any comic book movie, and
one of the best action sequences of all time. The action is well helmed with no
shaky cam, everyone is involved and has their moments, everything is completely
coherent and while the stakes are really high, they all still manage to pack in
classic Marvel moments of humour which bring out their personalities as they’re
fighting. Seriously though, that fight scene is something special and has more
than one moment where you will be sat there in awe, screaming internally. It’s
the most rewarding thing you could wish to see in a comic book movie, being equally
funny and enthralling. Two words; Ant. Man. That is all.
The rest of the action, with the exception of maybe a few
instances of shaky cam and hyperactive editing, is all handled just as well.
The Russo’s clearly have a great understanding of how to film hand-to-hand
combat sequences whilst making them as impactful as possible, you really feel
every single punch and kick that is thrown. And I was so hooked emotionally
during the final confrontation of this film where everything built up to this
one moment, and Tony, Steve and Bucky go after each other in a fight which even
felt bloodthirsty at times. Like for the first time in a Marvel movie, I
thought that a hero was going to kill another one. Whether that happens or not
I can’t disclose for fear of spoiling what actually does happen, just know the
final fight is as emotional and as brutal as they could possibly have made it.
If The Winter Soldier and Civil War tell us anything, it’s that the Russo’s are
the absolute right people to take on Infinity War. They both understand how to
introduce and develop characters in the right way plus helm action sequences
like no other directors in the MCU.
Captain America: Civil War is a movie that I will continue
to praise for many years to come, and is incredibly successful at maintaining
its status as a self-contained story whilst giving you incredibly rewarding
moments as a fan when these two factions of heroes collide. It gets its
characters spot on and somehow manages to place together all of the puzzle
pieces into a coherent whole which never relents in terms of its action, humour
or emotional moments. Civil War feels like the moment the MCU has been building
up to ever since its inception, and knowing that there are even bigger and
(potentially) better things on the way (Infinity War) just makes me so happy to
be alive in this golden age of comic book movies. And please don’t leave during
the credits (surely you know the drill by now) as there are two scenes which
set up future movies to come in Phase 3. Civil War has changed the MCU
landscape forever, and has changed what it is possible to achieve with a comic
book movie. It’s not a perfect film and I do have some minor flaws with it, but
that doesn’t change the fact that it’s undoubtedly one of the best comic book
movies I’ve ever seen, and could be my favourite MCU movie to date:
Never in the history of cinema has a large, comic-book
blockbuster polarised opinion like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has done
in the days after its release. Tipped to be the start of a DC Comics movie
universe, Batman v Superman has seen critics unleash a barrage of unprecedented
hatred against it whilst on the other hand fan response has been mainly
positive.
Batman v Superman tells the story of a world where Superman
exists as a figure of huge controversy. His actions at the end of Man of Steel
which saw him battle General Zod to the death in a clash which nearly flattened
Metropolis has meant every action he does now is put under intense public
scrutiny. There are those who hail him as a saviour, and others who believe him
to be a threat to society. One of those in the latter camp is Bruce Wayne,
played by Ben Affleck, who was personally impacted by the events of Superman’s
fight with Zod. Being an experienced vigilante with increasingly brutal methods
and a past which continues to haunt him, Bruce decides to undertake his own
quest into acquiring a certain object as he prepares to battle Superman.
Meanwhile, villainous tech developer Lex Luthor is devising his own nefarious
masterplan with the intention of pitting both superheroes against each other,
and his schemes may go as far as endangering the human race itself in order to take
Superman down.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating this movie for what seems
like an eternity, yet I can remember the 2013 San Diego Comic Con announcement
that this movie was to be released in theatres like it was yesterday. Now that
it is finally out, opinion is mixed to an unprecedented degree with some fans
calling it one of the best comic book adaptations of all time to critics
calling it one of the worst the genre has ever seen. Now I’m definitely not a
critic but I am a huge fan of well-made entertainment and I love all of these
characters having grown up with them. But what is my opinion on Batman v
Superman? To put it simply, I really enjoyed the movie and I’m super excited to
see future instalments in this cinematic universe, but I feel as if a lot of it
could have been better. It’s a fun and satisfying movie-going experience which
keeps on dragging me back to the theatre (I’ve seen it 3 times now) but there
are things in it I felt could have been done a lot better than they were. It’s
definitely not the best “Batman vs. Superman” movie we could have gotten but
it’s still a fun time at the movies which I cannot deny.
For me, my biggest complaint I can direct towards Batman v
Superman is that the actual conflict between the two superheroes is nowhere
near as compelling as it should have been, and often became of secondary
importance compared to other plot elements of the movie which tried to set up
the building blocks for future movies. I feel like the root of all of the
problems Batman v Superman has lies in the editing room. The editing for this
movie borders atrocious a lot of times during this movie as it constantly cuts
back and forth between about 5 different story arcs going on at the same time.
It just felt really jarring to me. That’s not to say I disliked the stories
this movie was trying to tell, in fact I enjoyed pretty much everything that
was going on in this movie. However, that doesn’t change the fact the way this
film is edited makes the narrative feel choppy and discombobulated to the point
where story arcs which should have fluidly connected with each other in
actuality did not feel cohesive with each other at all.
There are lots of small little moments where you feel as if
the screenwriting makes no sense at all and I firmly believe the reason why
Batman v Superman has those moments is because a lot of this film was left on
the editing room floor. In fact, I’m curious to see the director’s cut of the film
(which they are releasing) to see if a lot of the plot holes that I think this
movie has will be filled in, or whether it makes the movie’s narrative feel
even more disjointed. I will do a spoiler review during which I’ll talk about
this in more detail. I just hope that in that director’s cut we get to see more
of the Batman v Superman conflict, because there needed to be more of it in the
theatrical cut. But again, it’s difficult for me to criticise this movie and
argue that not enough time was spent on the two superhero’s conflict with each
other when I was actually kind of enjoying the other stuff they were spending
time on. For example, the famous “Knightmare” sequence was one of the stand
outs of the movie. The cameo scenes for the other 3 members of The Justice
League were all very satisfying, crowd-pleasing moments. But like most things
in this movie, I have mixed feelings towards them. Yes, the Knightmare sequence
was visually stunning and tension filled, but it does feel out of place with
the movie’s main narrative. Yes, The Justice League set up stuff was really
awesome to see but the screenwriting surrounding it was incredibly lazy and it
just felt kind of shoe-horned in there.
I’m mixed on a lot of things in this movie, but there is one
thing I do just outright dislike. My biggest fear going into this movie was how
Jesse Eisenberg decided to play the character of Lex Luthor yet I went into it
feeling optimistic he’d have something great up his sleeve. Instead, his
performance as Lex let me down as much as I feared it would. It’s partly the
actor’s fault but it’s also partly the fault of both director and screenwriter
who all believed that this interpretation of Lex Luthor, one of DC’s most
interesting and menacing villains, was only going to work for this movie if he
was a socially, awkward, twitchy psychopath. What I appreciated about him was
just how villainous he was, I mean some of the stuff his character does in this
movie is just as unsettling as it is devious. However, because this movie insists
it that Batman v Superman coming together to fight each other is all part of a
Lex Luthor masterplan (which is overly convoluted and relies way too much on
conveniences to make sense), I feel his character needed more in terms of
motivation. Yes I get he has a huge problem with God and directs this hatred
towards Superman, but I feel his character needed more substance behind him to
really pack in a more emotionally impactful punch in the film’s third act. I
don’t know why they decided to go with a twitchy Luthor and not create a
character in a similar vein to Superman: The animated series, which gets the
character of Lex Luthor so right.
That is pretty much every major criticism I have with Batman
v Superman. Yes the editing is awful, yes some of the screenwriting surrounding
certain characters and Justice League set up was unforgivably lazy and yes
Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex wasn’t to my liking, but the rest of the movie I
either liked, am mixed over or flat out loved. I hate to be that “I told you so” guy when it
comes to Ben Affleck as Batman, but I was on board with it from the day I heard
it was announced and he totally crushed it as Bruce Wayne/Batman. His
performance as Bruce Wayne really made you care about him and sold the fact
that this Batman is one fuelled by loss and the rage he feels not being able to
protect those he cares about. This Batman is withered, wearied and clearly
tired of all of the bullshit to the point where those who stand in his way are
brutally beaten, branded or straight up killed. This movie’s portrayal of the
character of Batman as a brutal fighter, a detective, and as a demon to be
feared was as close to perfect as it could have been. I know a lot of people
are sceptical at the fact Batman kills people in this movie, and I’m kind of
holding out my judgement until future films. I really feel as if this is
something to explore in the future but for now I have to admit it would’ve been
nice to see a scene which explained why he is so pro-killing all of a sudden.
It makes for an interesting take on the Batman character though and I firmly
believe this is the best the caped crusader has ever been on the big screen,
both visually and thematically.
I feel as if the movie really got it right when it came to
Batman’s motivation. You physically see him lose people he cares about during
the Battle of Metropolis and you feel the rage he has directed toward Superman,
but you also get the sense there’s more there. We as audience members get the
sense that this Batman has failed those he cares about in the past (Jason Todd
surely being one of them) and the rage he has is blinding him from what made
him become Batman in the first place. Plus I loved the back and forth between
him and Jeremy Iron’s Alfred, who by the way was utterly brilliant in the role
as both a resourceful, caring and sarcastic Alfred which brought about for some
funny moments.
Equally brilliant as the other titular character, Henry
Cavill is marvellous in the role of both Clark Kent and Superman. In my opinion
his performance completely embodied everything I understand the character of
Superman to be. One of the main criticism’s I’m hearing is that in his own
movie, Superman becomes a side character, which I honestly cannot disagree with
more. Superman has an incredibly important role in this film, and the writing
surrounding him was (with one exception) pretty brilliant. When this movie
delves into the debate as to whether or not there should be a Superman, Batman
v Superman becomes a riveting thriller with I think prominent religious and
political themes running through it. And this movie is supposed to make you
feel for Superman. I mean, he’s just a regular guy from Kansas who’s trying to
do the right thing, yet everything he does is put under intense public scrutiny
despite his good intentions. To me, Superman has always been that shining light
of good who performs acts of heroism because he has a strong sense of morality
and in this movie they simultaneously illustrate that whilst also make you feel
as if one day he could just snap and throw that out the window. What I feel
Superman was lacking in this movie was motivation for fighting Batman. What I
feel they were going for was a moment where Superman snaps on Batman as he
fails to reason with him, they do show in the movie that Superman does have a
problem with Batman’s form of justice. Remember the “do you bleed?” scene? I
just feel they should have put in a scene where Superman has a clear reason for
fighting Batman. Maybe he feels frustrated that in a world where a vigilante
can perform acts of intervention and no one bats an eye (pun intended) he is
similarly exposed to intense public scrutiny?
I feel as if because this movie is trying to set up the
Justice League film and because it tries to wrap up the Batman v Superman
conflict in an overly complicated Lex Luthor masterplan, the movie loses the
opportunity to give us a great battle between 2 superheroes in a world where
people I wrestling with what superhero it needs.If you’ve seen Daredevil Season 2, you’ll
probably agree that the best episode was probably episode 3 where both
Daredevil and The Punisher spend the entire episode talking to each other about
their similarities and differences in their form of justice. Going into Batman
v Superman, this is what I expected the movie to have within it. But again I
come back to the main problem I have with my own criticisms towards this film.
Yes I would’ve loved a fleshed out ideological conflict between both
superheroes, but I was still enjoyed watching all of the Justice League cameos
and various tie-ins. I just feel because of the route they decided to take the
story, Superman’s motivations for fighting Batman were not as clear as they
could have been.The film gets the
Batman’s motivations down to a tee, but I feel was missing something there with
Superman which I think stems from the fact everything is meant to be a chess
piece in Lex Luthor’s masterplan and not a clash of ideologies between Batman
and Superman.
Back to praising this movie, Wonder Woman played by Gal
Gadot steals the limelight in every scene she’s in. I’ve said before that while
her character does feel shoe horned into the story, her actual entrance as
Wonder Woman in the final fight of the movie was one of the best moments of the
entire film. I also thought Gadot did well with her performance selling both
the charming Diana Prince ego and the Amazonian Warrior alter ego as well. In
fact there is one moment in particular in the movie’s final fight which I feel
was an incredible piece of visual storytelling which got the character of
Wonder Woman down to a tee and made me very excited for her solo outing. In the
final fight, after she’s been put on her backside, she gets back and up and
releases a cheeky little smile. It’s great visual storytelling; it says in one
shot even though she has a heart of gold, deep down she loves a good fight. I
need to see that Wonder Woman solo movie as soon as possible as I want to find
out more about her, where she’s from and what motivates her to do the things she
does. Wonder Woman, even though she does feel shoe-horned in, is a crowd
pleasing character I can’t wait to see more of her.
One of the biggest complaints people had with Man of Steel,
aside from the “excessive” destruction of Metropolis during Superman’s fight
with General Zod, was the romance between Superman and Lois Lane. And I have to
admit my biggest personal gripe with Man of Steel is the fact the romance does
feel incredibly rushed. However, to my surprise, I really bought into their
romance in this film which I think is credit to the performances of both actors
involved and the on screen chemistry between them. I’ve always said that Amy
Adams plays a very good Lois Lane and her character does have her moments to
shine in this film as there is an entire subplot involving her investigating an
item found in one of the film’s earliest scenes. While I would’ve cut out the
Lois Lane story arc in this movie entirely just to devote more time to the
Batman v Superman conflict, it’s still a story arc with a few interesting
reveals as you discover various pieces of information with her. That being
said, in the final 50 minutes of this movie Lois Lane struggles to hold down a
relevant place within the movie’s narrative, finding herself on the periphery
of Superman’s battles with either Batman or other nefarious threats. She finds
herself in the possession of a certain item; she gets rid of it, then retrieves
it again plus divulges into nothing more than a damsel-in-distress. She’s a
strong female character for two-thirds of this movie before becoming nothing
more than a plot device needed for Superman. I hope her character is handled
better in the future as I’m certain she has an important role to play in
upcoming projects.
Even though Zack Synder as the director of this film is
receiving a lot of criticism due to the film’s narrative, screenplay and
editing flaws, it would be unfair not to acknowledge the talent this man has
when it comes to both visual storytelling and making a shot more epic than it
has any right to be. As someone who does appreciate the work which goes into
shooting scenes for movies, I have to admit that this may be one of the most
visually pleasing movies I have ever watched. The cinematography for this movie
is breath-taking to the point where you feel as if specific moments from
various comic book stories have leaped onto the big screen in all of their
awesome glory. Not only does it look great, but the action sequences are all
helmed magnificently. The fight between Batman and Superman, while brief and
rushed slightly in its resolution, is a fantastic scene filmed perfectly by a
man who understands how to please the hard core fans of the source material.
The final fight at the end was equally spectacular in all of its CGI glory, but
the action sequence which stands out to me is a scene involving Batman laying
waste to a group of hired criminals in a warehouse. It’s as close to perfect as
they come, showing Batman’s physical brutality as well as his tactical ability
in using his various gadgets to take all the criminals out. It’s a wonderful
scene which in terms of the way its shot, the stunt choreography and the
execution of the stunts is as close to perfect as I could have dreamed. It was
like the gameplay of the Arkham video games in the cinema. And I must give a
quick mention to Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL for composing a fabulous musical
score and memorable character themes for all the major characters in this
movie. Wonder Woman’s theme is a standout.
I will be doing a spoiler review to list of some more things
I liked about Batman v Superman and some more criticisms I have without fear of
spoiling the experience for anyone who hasn’t already seen it. But to summarise
I would have to say that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is nowhere close to
the best “Batman v Superman” movie we could have got, yet it’s still incredibly
entertaining and rewarding for fans of these characters like myself. It’s a
movie made for fans, not critics, which understands that not all superhero
movies need to be completely child friendly and stacked with humour. What I
appreciated about Batman v Superman the most was the fact that it just goes for
it in terms of building a world for a shared universe of DC comics characters.
The best way I can describe Batman v Superman is by comparing it to a jigsaw
puzzle; I pretty much liked every single piece on the table, I just wasn’t
always a fan of the way the filmmakers decided to piece the puzzle together.
Sure it has narrative and editing flaws abundant within it, but the fact is
they got the character of Batman pretty much spot on and I can’t wait to see
upcoming movies in this DC Extended Universe. They have all of the pieces there
in front of them; I just hope that when Justice League Part 1 comes around the
filmmakers give us a much more cohesive story. It’s not even close to perfect,
but to call it a terrible superhero movie just doesn’t do the film justice
(sorry, I couldn’t help myself).
If Deadpool is of a valid indication of what's to come in 2016, we're about to enjoy the greatest year in comic book movie history. Directed by Tim Miller, Deadpool sees Ryan Reynolds return to the role of "The Merc with a mouth" in an attempt to do the iconic Marvel Comic's character justice at the second time of asking. The plot is nothing ground breaking and can be summarised as both a love story and a tale of revenge, but what Deadpool does do is successfully flip the superhero genre on its head whilst deconstructing it to its very core. I loved this movie to pieces.
If anything, Deadpool is a shining example of how a movie with varying tones should feel. It successfully manages to be thrilling in the action sequences, raunchy with its romance on top of being one of the funniest movies I've ever seen in a movie theatre. This movie is a relentless, non-stop laugh riot from the opening credits to the post credits scene. It's filled to the brim with fourth wall breaks that actually work for the film, nods to the comic books and previous movies in the superhero genre and self referential humour which never fell flat.
And while it'd be easy to dismiss this as a pure action-comedy with no real dramatic, emotional weight, you'd be wrong to do so. There are a couple scenes spliced in there which worked on a dramatic level, which made the experience of watching this movie all the more gratifying. Serious credit has got to go to the screenwriters for this. You'll be quoting this movie for weeks to come.
While the movie could've stopped being original after the fourth wall breaks and self referential humour, Deadpool goes one step further to feel even more different from the superhero origin stories we've seen in recent years. I often find that when a movie attempts to adopt a non linear structure of storytelling it kind of disjoints the overall narrative as you're constantly shifting back and forth in time. To my surprise, Deadpool manages to pull this off majestically and worked to keep the movie's humour and action at a steady, consistent pace.
The action sequences were also refreshingly ballsy and violent, exactly how it should have been in a comic book movie with a hard "R" rating. Considering the movie's low budget, the action is filmed brilliantly. There's no shaky cam or hyperactive editing involved, like most good comic book movies the action is filmed with wide takes and excellent stunt work which immerses you into the moment and makes the action all the more thrilling and impactful. On top of this, I thought the CGI in the movie was used cleverly to enhance all the practical stuff, and the slow motion effects never felt out of place or gimmicky.
But what really makes this movie one of the best comic book movies of recent times is Ryan Reynolds portrayal as the character of Deadpool. This is the role he was born to play and when given the right screenplay, he really shines as this character and lights up the film. The character of Wade Wilson, while a complete asshole, is one you can not help but love. His enigmatic personality and amazing sense of humour makes him become a guy you genuinely attach emotions towards, making you want to see him succeed. As I've said before, there's no point in making a movie comedic and self referential if there isn't a solid dramatic base to it. Because you actually care about Wade Wilson and you want him to succeed, the action becomes more gratifying and the humour more rewarding.
The supporting characters in this movie all know their roles and play their roles very well. But the 2 standouts from the supporting cast were X-Men Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. I enjoyed the humour surrounding the "Negasonic" character, and thought Colossus was a very smart choice of a character to utilise as it made for an epic contrast of styles between himself and Deadpool. They don't come across as dead weight and deliver in a lot of the movie's most memorable scenes and spawn some of it's most memorable lines. "In this whole mansion I only seem to run into the 2 of you. It's almost as if the studio couldn't afford another X-Men..."
Finally, Ed Skrein did everything right as Ajax, the movie's primary antagonist for the film he was in. He was nothing truly memorable, but excellently functional for the role he was supposed to play. Maybe he doesn't possess a lot of motivation that the screenplay should've illustrated better and maybe the hero/villain relationship isn't as personal as I wanted it to be. These are my only 2 gripes with this movie, but sometimes I have to hold back and think well maybe sometimes its ok for the main villain to simply be a sadistic bastard with the intent of making everyone's life around him a misery. Sometimes, things just need to be delightfully simple.
And that's what Deadpool is; a delightfully simple movie delivered in the most surprisingly effective ways. This movie floored me as to how funny it was, how well the action sequences were filmed and how well it grasped and satired the current political climate of superhero movies. Thanks to a group of talented and enthusiastic filmmakers who clearly devoted a lot of time, effort and love into this project, Deadpool has raised the bar as to what comic book movies can be and how they can be delivered. This movie is nothing but a love letter to the fans who wished it to be made, and in this scenario we are the victors. I implore you to see this film if you haven't done so already:
Rating - A
Don't forget to stay after the credits... it's a good one trust me!
Spotlight is directed by Tom McCarthy and stars Michael Keaton, Rachel
McAdams and Mark Ruffalo and tells the true story of the Boston Globe's
"Spotlight" team and their investigation into a large child
molestation scandal within the Catholic Church. Spotlight is considered by many
to be this year's front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars, and with good
reason. It's an authentic film which emotionally creeps up on you from scene to
scene and one thoroughly enjoyable theatre going experience, even if the
subject matter can be quite disturbing at times.
This year many quality films have been released, during which the real star
of the film is the director. For example, despite Leo's excellent physical
performance, the true star of The Revenant is director Innaritu, who imposes
his style of long tracking takes and fluid camera motions to bring that story
to life. The Hateful Eight was a movie where director Tarantino stole the show
with his typical rapid-fire dialogue and balls-to-the-wall violence. Spotlight
is quite the opposite of the aforementioned films.
Director Tom McCarthy's style of direction for this project is
purposefully subdued so the dramatic beats of the plot and the emotional weight
of the script come to centre stage. McCarthy intentionally holds back with this
film and as a result, all the remaining components of filmmaking such as the
narrative, the screenplay and the acting performances all take centre stage.
It's not a character driven film as such, but what rises to the top in this tale
is the imperative need for justice for the victims of the degenerate Catholic
priests. I really appreciated how McCarthy helmed this project, and I was
absorbed into this story from scene one.
This film has such an authentic overall feel to it and because this
script does such a good job at immersing you in from very early on, at times it
feels like you're watching real events unfold before you. It doesn't feel like
actors performing in front of a camera, it feels like real people having real
conversations. That is again testament to what is a phenomenally written
screenplay and a collection of excellently subdued performances from an
ensemble of truly talented actors.
Michael Keaton comes off of his excellent turn in Birdman, this time
delivering a more meditative and calm performance as the leader of the
Spotlight team. I think we all knew after Birdman that Keaton still had some
proper acting chops, and Spotlight solidifies this claim showcasing he still
possesses the entire spectrum of emotional range. Also, Rachel McAdams
continues to choose good projects and does some very good work here in what has
been a very successful couple of months for her. However, the one who takes the
spotlight in Spotlight (pun intended) is Mark Ruffalo.
Fresh off of another Oscar nomination (and justifiably so) Ruffalo,
like his co-stars, delivers a subdued and nuanced performance. However, there
is one scene in particular which took me completely off guard because it felt
uncomfortably real. Usually in a film like this where an actor is subdued
throughout and then starts to scream and shout in one scene alone it sticks out
like a sore thumb. But because you can feel the emotion radiating off of him,
you do not get that with Ruffalo. He is terrific in this film. He may not beat
Stallone to the statue, but if he continues the way he is he has one coming his
way I'll tell you now.
With the exception of a few instances during which the script
purposefully stops the narrative to directly explain things to the audience,
Spotlight is such an immersive movie due to its well realised script that
fleshes out its main characters and sets up emotional intrigue at every turn it
can. But what I loved the most about Spotlight was its portrayal of the media
in a positive light. It's very easy to criticise mass media for its rampant
commercialism and questionable representation of migrants and other ethnic
minorities in today's society (believe me, it's what I'm studying at
university).
But Spotlight focuses on the journalists, the actual people behind the
news. It does an excellent job at showcasing how difficult and time consuming
yet how rewarding investigative journalism can be. It does a fine job at
showcasing both the practical and ethical constraints under which these people
operate, including the pressure to meet deadlines and how careful they have to
be when interviewing victims. It shows how sudden tragedies like 9/11 can happen
which ultimately put long-running stories like this on hold. As a student of
the media, I was fascinated by all this movie had to say about modern media
through a positive lens.
But you don't have to be a media student to fully appreciate this
film. If you like an engaging and emotionally impactful story with fleshed out
characters, well-written dialogue and thoughts which will provoke you long
after you leave the movie theatre, then Spotlight is definitely a film to seek
out. Some may find the pacing to be slow and others may find the source
material difficult to digest due to religious reasons, but just judging it as a
film Spotlight is pretty darn good. If it goes on to win Best Picture, you will
hear no complaints from me:
The Big Short is directed by Adam Mckay and stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt and is the true story of a group of various Wall Street analysts who predict the crash of the US housing market and the collapse of the world economy. Having received universally positive reviews from critics and loved by the Academy, I was looking forward to viewing The Big Short. However, every single year there is that one "Oscar" movie that everyone else seems to love bar myself. Last year, it was Foxcatcher. This year, it's The Big Short.
Don't get me wrong I by no means hate this movie as there's definitely a lot of good things within it which I enjoyed very much. For one, Christian Bale's performance is utterly terrific, playing the one guy who predicts the financial fallout before anybody else. I thought his performance was grounded and believable, plus I enjoyed the socially awkward aspect of his character. He's definitely a strange person but the movie takes time to explain to you why he is the way he is, and it bought for some funny moments with the supporting cast. He deserves his Oscar nom in my opinion.
Also, Steve Carell once again proved the point that comedic actors can in fact be very capable dramatic actors through his rage-filled performance as a man who is just fed up with and baffled by the sheer amount of both fraud and stupidity which made up the housing market. Like Christian Bale's character, he still felt like a human being and you understood exactly why he was the way he was as the movie's screenplay again attempts to ground this man in humanity.
Brad Pitt was not in the movie for very long but I thought he did a sound job in every scene he was in. He also really delivers in what might be my favourite scene of the entire movie when he rips into the 2 young characters for celebrating betting against the world's economy to collapse. That was when The Big Short intrigued me on an emotional level, because it's all well and good going "I told you so", but the consequences of this collapse affected real people in the world. People lost their jobs, they lost their homes, and I enjoyed when the movie focused on that aspect of the story.
Along with helming this project, Adam McKay had a hand in writing the screenplay and what I will say is it does have enough humour and basic emotional intrigue to keep it at a watchable level, but I don't think I'd ever want to watch The Big Short again simply because of its irritating and imposing style of direction. Odd musical choices, weird crash zooms, purposefully off-focus and unsteady camerawork and dim lighting all were meant to come together to make The Big Short present itself like a documentary. However, my view on this is don't go out of your way to make your movie look as unprofessional as possible! Why not transfer that creative energy and just do the opposite?
McKay's writing and direction for this film was stylistically bold and I will give him credit for trying something different, however I just couldn't get behind the way this movie was directed. On top of that, there are numerous attempts at a fourth wall break which just come across as awkward and incredibly out of left field. And don't even get me started on the shoved-down-your-throat celebrity cameos this movie uses to try and get you to understand all the complicated banking jargon.
The screenplay definitely goes out of its way to dumb-down some of it and for some this will be enough. For me, while the way normal conversational dialogue is written in this film is done very well, the attempt to simplify various elements of banking jargon wasn't handled very well in my opinion; it just came across to me as clunky.
And my final issue with this movie is the character played by Ryan Gosling. He's a talented actor which he has shown in movies such as Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines, but his character in this movie is an annoying asshole I just couldn't get behind. Don't get me wrong, I got the point, it's just compared to the rest of the cast he felt aloof. As the narrator of this story, he didn't feel organic or anything like a real person. More interesting characters in the movie such as those of Bale or Carell are more enjoyable to watch as they feel like real people grounded in reality. It almost felt like Gosling didn't really need to be in the film at all.
Again I'll emphasise I don't hate this movie and I feel there is a lot of enjoyment to be had from it. I enjoyed the acting performances, the attempt to flesh out our main characters and thought it was extremely well edited. However, while I understood the artistic choices made with McKay's directorial style and the screenplay, they just didn't work for me and detracted from my enjoyment of the film. It's not terrible by any means, just personally disappointing:
We're finally in the year 2016, the year where Warner Brother's and DC attempt to launch a shared cinematic universe for their comic book characters. We will finally see a film universe in which iconic characters such as Batman, Superman, Lex Luthor and The Joker all share the same plane of existence. I'm incredibly excited to see what WB have up their sleeve, and after viewing various clips from the CW special "DC Films presents: The Dawn of the Justice League", my excitement levels have just gone through the roof.
Wonder Woman
With director Patty Jenkins kindly agreeing to showcase some brand new footage from the Wonder Woman movie, set for a June 23rd 2017 release, we get our first proper look at the Amazon Princess in her own solo outing. What this footage confirms to me is that after we meet her character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we will get to find out more about her and learn exactly who she is and what motivates her. It seems that her arc in this film surrounds the idea of whether or not humanity is worth protecting, causing her to go on a quest into the human world to find out the answer to that question. I believe the time frame for this film is during World War 1, so around the year 1915.
I was pleasantly surprised not just by the look of Wonder Woman herself, but the general aesthetic of the action sequences showcased. My only concern for this film is Gal Gadot herself, whether she has the acting chops to bring this iconic female superhero to life. Hopefully after Batman v Superman, I'll be itching to see more of her.
Flash
Along with an extended look at Wonder Woman, the CW special gave us some early glimpses at the other 3 characters who will make up the Justice League roster, one of them being The Flash. This incarnation of the character is separate from the Grant Gustin one currently on TV, but the actor portraying him in the movies (Ezra Miller) is confirmed to be Barry Allen and not Wally West.
It seems that The Flash's character arc is constructed in a similar way to the TV show; his mother is killed, his father falsely blamed for it, Barry becomes obsessed with forensic science to find out the truth before being struck by lightning and gifted incredible speed powers. But what intrigues me most is the possibility surrounding this character. In fact, I think at one point Geoff Johns and Ezra Miller suggested his speed powers allow him to break free from the space-time continuum and enter alternative dimensions. How cool is that? We will see Ezra Miller's Flash a tiny bit in Batman v Superman before expanding his role in both Justice League movies and his 2018 solo outing.
Aquaman
It's been known for a while that Jason Momoa's Aquaman will make a small appearance in Batman v Superman, but this TV special offered us a greater look at his costume as well as a compelling character arc to expect from him. Arthur Curry is a son of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, and as a result feels as if he doesn't belong in either world.
Despite the fact he may not belong ideally in either world, he has a great sense of morality and feels a responsibility to protect both the world under the waters and above it. Another fascinating aspect of his character I really hope to see them explore is the fact he is incredibly inexperienced dealing with powers he doesn't entirely understand. That makes for both a compelling protagonist and a vulnerable hero you want to route for. Bring on Aquaman, who I think is going to blow audiences away and stop all of the petty popular culture jokes once and for all!
Cyborg
Skip to the last third of the above clip to her Geoff Johns and Kevin Smith discuss the character of Cyborg, who might be the most relatable, compelling character introduced to us so far. Cyborg is constantly connected to the Internet, awake 24 hours a day constantly absorbing data, and for that reason could prove to be a valuable asset to the Justice League in such a digital age. I feel audiences will liken to him as a result.
But what makes me so excited is the potential character arc I think they're going to run with in the movies. Victor Stone, after his accident, is left fatally wounded and can only survive if transformed into a machine. What I think the movies will revolve around is Stone trying to hold on to his humanity whilst his body becomes more and more artificial. It's a great idea from DC here, and proves that what they're doing is creating movies which take care with their title characters. We'll meet a load of these heroes in The Justice League part 1 or maybe even Batman v Superman, but their solo outings will delve deeper into the characters and let us as audiences know exactly who they are.
My major question concerning Cyborg is when will we see his transformation? Is there enough room in Batman v Superman to add in this side plot? I'm not sure, but again only time will give us the answers.
Green Lantern(s)
I can't find the actual clip, but during the CW special Geoff Johns confirmed that Green Lantern would be joining our heroes in The Justice League part 1. However, it won't just be Hal Jordan. In fact, the Green Lantern Corps is suggested to play a big role in the upcoming 2 part Justice League film. So we will have our Justice League comprising of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg and the entire Green Lantern Corps fighting beside them.
The Corps are a group of intergalactic police, and the fact they will appear in these movies as well as a planned solo outing in 2020 suggests DC are listening to what the fans want to see.... people like John Stewart and Kyle Rayner alongside the most famous GL Hal Jordan. But if in the Justice League movies the JL have to fight huge intergalactic threats such as Brainiac or Darkseid, it could easily tie the GL Corps into the story.
The Suicide Squad and the DC villains
At the end of the special, we were treated to a brand new Suicide Squad trailer during which the worst of the worst of DC villainy jump from shenanigan to shenanigan, edited perfectly to the beat of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. From this new trailer, I took out the following:
- Harley Quinn still looks like the scene stealer with some gut busting lines of dialogue.
- Her origin and how that ties into The Joker will probably be the main focus point of the movie even if it isn't marketed as such. I feel her current predicament and The Joker's are tied to Ben Affleck's Batman's past. Maybe after the 2 were incarcerated and the death of a certain Robin occurred, that's when Bruce hung up the cape and cowl. Now the 2 are roaming "free" again, Bruce has another reason to come out of retirement besides kicking Superman's ass!
- The film may link into a future trilogy of solo Batman films, with the "Under the Red Hood" storyline being almost a certainty to occur. We'll have to wait and see.
- The movie is going to be knowingly light hearted and willingly funny, something other DC films have been criticised for lacking.
- Joel Kinnamen's Rick Flagg doesn't actually look too bad. "What is wrong with you people?!" is delivered so well by him that it's actually my favourite line of the trailer.
- They're holding back on Jared Leto's Joker, whose hopefully great interpretation of the character is kept under wraps until we go and see the movie in August of this year.
- This movie, if it is both commercially and critically successful, will spawn off a whole entire sub section of the DC Extended Universe during which the villains, not the heroes, take centre stage. The possibilities are endless!
Add on top of all of these projects a new saga of solo Batman films, a possible Superman standalone and a Shazam movie starring The Rock as Black Adam, we have a lot to look forward to in the DC Extended Universe. And it's coming sooner rather than later!
