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The Apprentice – Film Review

Cast: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, Maria Bakalova, Martin Donovan, Catherine McNally and Charlie Carrick

Director: Ali Abbasi

Synopsis: Charting the rise of New York real estate businessman Donald Trump in the 1970s and 80s under the tutelage of a ruthless lawyer…

Review: If there is one name that everyone on planet Earth has become extremely familiar with in recent years, it would be Donald Trump. For years, he was the face of a reality TV business show billed as the “ultimate job interview” on the back of his career as a businessman. Yet this was a mere prelude to a successful run to become the most powerful person in the world, the President of the United States of America. An intensely divisive figure during his campaign and while in office, his first stint as the leader of the free world was tumultuous, to say the least, and ended in disgrace. Consequently, as he stands to be returned to the job once again, this biopic which depicts the beginnings of his career as a wealthy New York businessman couldn’t be timelier, or scathing in its assessment of the man who is once again poised to become the most powerful person in the world.

It is 1973, and while on a date at a restaurant frequented by the city’s wealthy elite, years before he ever uttered the words “You’re fired” on TV, Trump (Stan) meets the unscrupulous and uncouth lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn (Strong). With the federal government pursuing a lawsuit against his father’s business empire for racial discrimination, Trump recruits Cohn as his lawyer to get the lawsuit dismissed, using underhand means. Eager to move away from his father’s sphere of influence, Cohn takes Trump under his wing as the latter moves to strike out on his own and looks to develop a hotel at a derelict site in the city. Along the way, Cohn teaches Trump his three vital lessons to live life by: “attack, attack, attack”, “admit nothing, deny everything” and “always claim victory and never admit defeat”. The last of those feels particularly significant and ominous, given the circumstances in which he refused to concede defeat in an election, which resulted in a violent insurrection at the heart of the US government decades later.

Much like the central figure of this biopic, controversy has followed this film from the get-go, as one of its early funders reportedly attempted to stop it from being released. Further legal action even came from Trump’s legal team to prevent the film from ever being released and it also became the subject of an angry social media tirade from Trump himself (nothing new there then). With the days of his first stint as President still all too fresh in many people’s minds (as well as the events that followed following his 2020 election defeat) Gabriel Sherman’s screenplay wisely avoids his time at the Oval Office, and instead focuses on the dynamic between these two men and how Trump takes a leaf out of Cohn’s book in terms of being utterly ruthless and determined to let nothing stand in his way from achieving what he wants, including musing about a run for President in the future, which the film takes some very unsubtle hints to demonstrate, including what would become his campaign slogan. It is a sobering reminder of the rampant ego Trump has always possessed. Here is a man who you can show all the loyalty in the world, and yet he will not hesitate to cast aside anyone who gets in his way, even the man who mentored him.

To portray a polarising political figure, especially one revered by some and loathed by others, is a daunting challenge for any actor. While there have been many comedic portrayals of Trump over the years, Stan’s performance is firmly grounded in reality. Even though the story is set decades before most people outside of New York knew who he was, Stan illustrates that significant research has gone into his role. He captures Trump’s unique mannerisms and way of speaking in a manner that never feels like parody or mockery, all while depicting his callousness and desire for power above all else. Alongside him, Strong delivers an equally outstanding performance as Cohn, skillfully bringing forth Cohn’s thoroughly unlikable qualities that make viewers uncomfortable each time he appears on screen. Strong is no stranger to the cutthroat world of power struggles and backstabbing, having showcased his talent in HBO’s award-winning series, Succession. It is a testament to his acting skills that even while playing someone as monstrous and unredeemable as Cohn, Strong manages to add a layer of sympathy, considering the circumstances he faced towards the end of his life.

The concentration on the relationship between Trump and Cohn and how that unleashes the monster that became the leader of the free world does mean that the relationship between Trump and his first wife Ivana ( an underutilised Bakalova) is not given as much screentime as it perhaps could have. However, it does include an explicit scene based on a divorce deposition Ivana filed against her ex-husband, which she then later recanted. Whether factual or not, it is a further illustration of this man’s contemptible character and his clear misogyny, which was further demonstrated by the now-infamous Access Hollywood tape. One can argue that this biopic doesn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already known. While that may be true, it shines a light on the scruples (or lack thereof) of a man who stopped at nothing in his pursuit of power and serves as a reminder of who the man entrusted with one of the most important jobs in the world really is.

While it doesn’t have the bite or shocking new revelatory details one might have hoped from a biopic of one of the most controversial figures of the 21st century, The Apprentice packs plenty of punch thanks to the performances of Stan and Strong.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Film Review

Cast: Chris Pratt, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, Sylvester Stallone

Director: James Gunn

Synopsis: The Guardians of the Galaxy are put in a perilous predicament when their base, and one of their own, comes under attack…

Review: It seemed unthinkable back in 2014 that a film based on a very obscure comic, which featured a sentient raccoon and a talking tree, could have been such a runaway success and brought a new dimension to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aided by a banging soundtrack, perfectly well-drawn characters who developed a strong sense of camaraderie, along with humour and heart, this is precisely what James Gunn brought to the table when the first Guardians of the Galaxy film blasted its way into cinemas. A sequel was inevitable, which had its moments but fell short of reaching the lofty heights set by its predecessor. Following on from their team-up with Earth’s mightiest heroes, a holiday special, and amid a rocky road to the big screen following the initial firing and subsequent rehiring of Gunn, everyone’s favourite team of rag-tag, lovable outlaws-turned-heroes is back for one last emotional adventure.

The Guardians, Star-Lord (Pratt), Drax (Bautista), Nebula (Gillan), Mantis (Klementieff), Rocket (Cooper) and Groot (Diesel), have established their base on Knowhere and are enjoying a rare moment of peace after their years of saving the galaxy from an assortment of creatures, from a living planet to the Mad Titan Thanos. Star-Lord (Pratt), in particular, is still reeling from the loss of his lover Gamora after Thanos sacrificed her and is spending a lot of his time drowning his sorrows. Their brief respite from galaxy-saving is halted when their base comes under attack from a terrifying new threat, putting the lives of specific members in immediate peril. Forced to regroup and assess the new threat they face, the Guardians set out on a deeply personal quest (which sees them cross paths with alternate-timeline Gamora) to find out who is targeting them and neutralise them before they bring about the end of the team as we know it.

Right from the moment we first met them as an out-of-sorts bunch of criminals who became the galaxy’s defenders, there has been an ever-present strong sense of camaraderie between this unlikely team of eccentric beings from all over the galaxy, a togetherness arguably stronger than any other team-up in the MCU to date. They were united by a common bond of being looked down on by the galaxy for one reason or another, which drew them closer together and made them a family, just not one related by blood. Having gone off to work with DC to give their equivalent to the Guardians some CPR, while his situation with Marvel was up in the air, Gunn’s screenplay continues to build on the strength of the togetherness and bonds that this team have built over the years, especially for a mission where the stakes are just as high when compared to the previous two films, but for a very different reason this time around. No spoilers to be found here, but while Vol. 2 explored Star Lord’s origins at length, this time around, as Gunn himself admitted, the key motivation for coming back to conclude the trilogy was to finish telling Rocket’s story.

The examination of this origin story, and the deeply personal nature of the ensuing mission make it the most personal film for the team, and by extension for Gunn himself. A recurring theme which has been recurring throughout the franchise is the idea that everyone deserves a second chance, and Gunn emphatically drives this point home here. There’s lots of emotion at stake here, not just for the Guardians who are fighting to save one of their own but are coming up against by far their most compelling antagonist yet in the High Evolutionary, portrayed terrifyingly by Chukwudi Iwuji. To say this guy has an ego (no, not that one) would be an extreme understatement. He is obsessed with creating essentially a utopia, to the extent that he will stop at nothing with experimentation, and Rocket is the key to all of his plans. The film goes into detail with the backstory of how Rocket came to be the lovable and awesome badass that he is, which isn’t afraid to explore some thought-provoking and heavy themes, and also really packs an emotional punch. Every character gets their moment to shine, but make no mistake, this movie belongs to Rocket.

The film is a little rough around the edges in places and could have benefited from a little bit of fine-tuning to trim down its two-and-a-half-hour runtime. However, given the status of this concluding chapter was up in the air for so long and there were real question marks as to whether Gunn would get to close out this chapter, those can be forgiven, especially when the characters have established this deep bond, not only as a team but with the audience themselves. Gunn’s attention now turns to DC to oversee the revamp of its own cinematic universe, but this franchise has always been his baby. Therefore, after nine years since we first (fooled around) and fell in love with these characters, the impact they have had on the MCU is immeasurable, and it is immensely satisfying to see Gunn close this chapter of the galaxy’s favourite bunch of a-holes in mighty fine style.

Easily the most personal story in the trilogy, Vol. 3 combines the humour, action and establishes a deeply felt unity and togetherness like no other Marvel team-up. A fittingly awesome and emotional send-off for the galaxy’s favourite collection of misfits-turned-heroes.