2010-2019, Film Review

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

Posted on June 26, 2016April 29, 2018 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – Film Review

Cast: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Lea Seydoux, Michael Nyqvist

Director: Brad Bird

Synopsis: The IMF is disavowed following a mission, and must use any means they can to take down a growing terrorist threat, bent on global destruction.

Review: If there is one movie star today who absolutely commits himself to every stunt he does, for the sole purpose of giving the audience the ultimate thrill, edge-of-your-seat action, then look no further than Tom Cruise. In this fourth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise, Cruise really decided to up the “holy shit” factor by actually scaling the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and in doing so produced one of the best set pieces ever put to film.

Of course, this is one exhilarating and intense action sequence in a movie jam packed with amazing sequences and some really great characters, all under the supervision of animation veteran Brad Bird. The IMF has been disavowed after a pretty catastrophic event which they are subsequently blamed for, and it is up to them to clear their name and find the real perpetrator. From a thrilling prison break sequence in the beginning, a daring mission in Moscow, the aforementioned scaling of the Burj Khalifa, to a climatic chase in Mumbai. The action sequences are thrilling and very intense at times, and can certainly lay claim to some of the best in the franchise. Yet, there are plenty of moments to allow the audience to catch their breath.

Aptly for the fourth film in the franchise, the IMF has four key players, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Benji Dunn (Pegg), and newbies Jane Carter (Patton) and William Brandt (Renner). Together the four of them make a pretty effective team, although it’s not always happy times, as Agent Carter has a vendetta, specifically against the secondary antagonist played brilliantly by Lea Seydoux. Each of the actors give excellent performances. Sure Cruise’s Hunt is the main character but the team play an important role too and that is stressed throughout out this movie, they are a team, and they get stuff done as a team. Pegg’s Benji is there to provide the humour, and he does so wonderfully well. Lea Seydoux appears as a secondary antagonist, but she is a much more compelling villain.

The real trouble here is the main villain, Nyqvist is fine in the role, but he is a bit generic. A madman who wants to wreak global nuclear destruction, not exactly anything new in the genre of spies and espionage movies. However, it serves to help the plot move forward, which also in itself is a little bit generic, as it tries to create a new Cold War, except this one wouldn’t be so cold as to very very hot one. Nevertheless, it remains a very exciting movie to watch, and a stylish one at that! When a franchise reaches its fourth instalment, there are times when a franchise needs to be put to bed, or it proves to provide awesome entertainment that ensures it keeps going. The latter is applicable here and when the fifth instalment came out last year, it went on to produce even more greatness for the franchise.

Gripping action sequences, with top performances from its cast, especially from Cruise, the Mission Impossible franchise continues to accept its missions, and with great style too!

2010-2019, Film Review

The Nice Guys (2016)

Posted on June 19, 2016January 17, 2017 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

The Nice Guys – Film Review

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Margaret Qualley, Angourie Rice

Director: Shane Black

Synopsis: Two unlikely detectives are pitted together to solve the case of the death of a porn star, and soon find themselves on the hunt for a missing girl.

Review: Everyone loves a story about a detective, or a private investigator. Stories such as these are packed into popular culture with the many portrayals of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock coming to mind. So often you think of these private investigators as good guys, doing a job for the good of the community, investigating crime and so on. Yet in the case of the comedy duo at the centre of the new film from Shane Black, as the film’s poster suggests, they’re really not nice guys, but they do try to make the world a better place and are given the chance to do just that when a case falls into their hands.

Shane Black’s last directorial outing, Iron Man 3, was a little bit different after his smash hit and directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but here he returns to that genre with great aplomb. It’s 1977 Los Angeles, and our two detectives Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) and Holland March (Ryan Gosling) become involved in the hunt for a missing girl named Amelia, whose disappearance leads to a whole series of interconnected events that are occurring. The duo are the most unlikely partners and given how their first meeting goes, it is somewhat amazing that they agree to work together. Yet this makes their relationship all the more interesting, and hilarious to watch as their efforts to crack this case develop.

The script, penned by Black and co-writer and Anthony Bagarozzi, is absolutely hilarious. The laughs are packed throughout the run time of the movie, which may be odd given the nature of the story about a missing girl, but they make it work, they make it work very well. Part of that is down to the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe, their characters are completely opposite to each other in terms of their methods, but as they say opposites do attract and it’s certainly applicable here. The daughter of Gosling’s character, played by Angourie Rice is also excellent. Young actors can be the kiss of death in movies, but she is not the kiss of death in the slightest. The script also keeps you hooked as you watch the case develop and see all the clues that they acquire gradually form the big picture.

While Iron Man 3 is far from the greatest Marvel movie ever made, Black showed there that he certainly knows how to handle action sequences, and he demonstrates that here once again. There are some gripping and tense shootout scenes, packed with some terrific camerawork, that again manage to weave humour into them and it’s done very well indeed. Black from his previous written works certainly knows the genre well and how to make it pretty damn entertaining.

There are some characters that you would have maybe liked to have seen a bit more of, but it cannot be denied that Black has come up trumps with a very witty, hilarious and original piece of film-making, packed with some great performances, that will have you laughing all the way through.

Brilliantly funny, with great lead performances from Crowe and Gosling, with an amazing script, the King of the Buddy Cop movies is back on his throne!

2010-2019, Film Review

Me Before You (2016)

Posted on June 10, 2016April 29, 2018 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Me Before You – Film Review

Cast: Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, Charles Dance, Janet McTeer, Jenna Coleman, Matthew Lewis, Brendan Coyle

Director: Thea Sharrock

Synopsis: After losing her job, a young woman finds herself work caring for a young disabled man, and the two form an unlikely bond.

Review: The twist on the common love story, where one of two of the people involved have a tragic set of circumstances is a route that many romantic films seem to be taking these days. The likes of 2014’s The Fault in our Stars, a tale of two young people stricken by illness. In this tale crafted from the novel of the same name by JoJo Moyes, who is also on screenplay duties, one half of this unlikely pairing has his life changed forever after a tragic road accident. The other is a down on her luck woman who is employed by his parents to be a full time carer.

Full time caring is almost certainly not an easy profession in the slightest and life for plucky and chatty Louisa Clark (Clarke) is certainly that in the initial stages as her patient Will (Claflin) is cold and detached towards her. His accident has left its mark and he is bluntly unwilling to communicate with many people. Yet through her resilience and charm, she cracks that hard exterior and the two begin to build a relationship. Clarke is a bit irksome in the early stages of the film, she is certainly not the Mother of Dragons here. Having said that, overall her performance is compelling as their relationship grows. Claflin too also delivers a superb performance. Their chemistry together is believable and you will them to cherish the other’s company. The rest of the cast certainly bring their best, but it is the performances of the two leads that drive the film forwards.

The script tries to manage comedy, love and tragedy at various points, to mixed results. The dialogue is far from the atrocius levels of say Twilight, but it could certainly be improved in more than few places. There are some humorous moments of course, but ultimately the story, being centred about a man who has essentially lost control of his entire body, is a little bit sombre. Yet there are some positive and cheery messages that the viewer can cling to if they find themselves in the face of adversity or times of hardship. As one character says “You get one life, it’s your duty to life your life as fully as possible.” It can be easy to feel regret the circumstances, but above all, you must not lose heart, and cherish those closest to you.

Controversy over the film’s handling of the subject matter has surfaced, with the ending of the film being the main focus of the criticism. It is understandable criticism, but one would hope that the film’s positive messages can leave the viewer hope and encouragement when the credits begin to roll, even if the tears are flowing, which they probably might.

The performances of Claflin and Clarke are excellent, and despite the film’s sombre tone, there are plenty of positive messages for audiences to cling to.

1990-1999, Film Review

Independence Day (1996)

Posted on June 5, 2016April 29, 2018 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

Independence Day – Film Review

Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Vivicia A Fox, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch

Director: Roland Emmerich

Synopsis: After a wave of alien attacks obliterate several major cities of the world, the remaining human forces that survive prepare to launch an assault on the extra terrestrial invaders and fight back.

Review: When a movie features several recognisable landmarks such as the White House, or The Empire State Building being blown to smithereens, then you know what kind of movie you are in for, particularly if said movie is directed by one Roland Emmerich. A director who has since gone on to make his name with a handful of disaster movies, many of which also feature big global destruction. Disaster movies are certainly his M.O and while sometimes it works, sometimes it really doesn’t (see Godzilla 1998.)

It is on the eve of the Fourth of July and all of a sudden, these colossal sized alien spacecraft appear out of the sky and poise themselves above many of the world’s major cities. Of course, these alien beings aren’t here to play sports with us and be friendly, no they’re here for one purpose, global destruction. Soon enough, they pull the trigger and blow the aforementioned cities to hell, and what remains of the human race, led by the President Thomas Whitmore, must find a way to repel the hostile visitors, and it is certainly an entertaining, but bumpy ride!

With these disaster films, you’re not here for brilliant Oscar winning performances and or well written, well developed characters with gripping dialogue. The main reason you are here is to watch shit get blown up, and Emmerich certainly brings that in abundance. Of course, this can be boring as hell to watch without any substance to it, but there is some substance to it. The iconic shot of The White House being blown to kingdom come has certainly become an iconic moment of cinema, and the action scenes that accompany the arrival of these big bad aliens are very well shot and well handled. The CGI for the alien ships, especially at the time of the release, is also very impressive. You really feel the scale of these ridiculously large ships as they hover over the cities of the world, with many fatalities once the trigger has been pulled.

That being said, you can have things getting blown to bits, and write some interesting characters in there as well. But sadly, these interesting characters are few and far between. By far the most developed, and most interesting characters are David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) a computer expert who may have the key information that is needed to defeat the alien invaders, and pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith.) It is these two performances in particular that prevent the movie from slipping into just mind numbing action mediocrity, but they are by no means Oscar worthy. Bill Pullman also aids their cause as the President of the USA, but beyond these three, the rest of the characters are largely forgettable, and in some cases, just flat out annoying to watch.

The film’s script does leave a lot to be desired and is a little bloated in places. Certain scenes could have been a lot shorter, and some could have been cut out of the movie altogether to reduce the 2 hour 20 minute run time. Yet the film serves its purpose as a big dumb action movie where the audience should just leave their brain at home, and throw popcorn in their face while they watch the action in all its ridiculousness unfold. The film knows what it is, and it plays on that to great extent. With a fair bit American patriotism thrown in there, as you would expect with a film revolving around an American holiday, you have yourself a cheesy and entertaining 90s action movie!