Good-Looking Mess: Why Alice Through The Looking Glass Fizzles!

The Good: Good effects, Moments of theme, Sacha Baron Cohen
The Bad: Dull plot, Obvious character work, A number of terrible or inconsistent performances
The Basics: Even Johnny Depp's occasional energetic performance cannot save the dismal Alice Through The Looking Glass from its own issues.


Summer Blockbuster Season is, predictably, chock full of sequels. One of the more anticipated and direct sequels to drop in 2016 is Alice Through The Looking Glass, which is a sequel to the live-action Tim Burton film Alice In Wonderland (reviewed here!). Alice Through The Looking Glass has the honor of being the final credited film for the late Alan Rickman and his very minor role in the film bookends his career in an unfortunately mediocre way.

Alice Through The Looking Glass is directed by James Bobin instead of Tim Burton and it reunites most of the cast of Alice In Wonderland. Bobin's work retains the look and feel of Burton's work, at least after its initial straightforward set-up. Alice Through The Looking Glass relies heavily upon information from the first film and stands poorly on its own, making it feel very much like a sequel. Like its predecessor, Alice Through The Looking Glass prioritizes style over substance for the bulk of the film.

Opening in 1874 in the Straits Of Malacca, Alice Kingsleigh is commanding her father's ship as it outruns pursuing pirates. Her skillful maneuvers allow her ship to escape and they return to London safely. In London, Alice discovers that Hamish now runs the company that sent her on the expedition to China and he leverages her boat and home against the young woman. After Hamish's maneuver to get Alice to surrender her ship, Alice follows a butterfly through a mirror to a drawing room in the sky through which she enters Underland. In the magical world of Underland, she learns that the Mad Hatter is not well . . . in a way that is inconsistent with his usual madness.

Meeting with the Hatter, Alice learns that when he found his very first paper hat, the Mad Hatter leapt to the conclusion that if the hat could survive the Jabberwockey attack, then his family must have survived as well. The White Queen, Mirana, sends Alice to Time to use the Chronosphere to rescue the Hatter's family on the day they die and return them to the future to make the Mad Hatter sane and well again. Time rejects Alice's request and when the Red Queen, Iracebeth, arrives, Alice uses the distraction to steal the Chronosphere. Persued by Time into the past, Alice attempts to save the Hatter's family and then prevent the accident which made Iracebeth into a villainess.

Alice Through The Looking Glass is predicated largely on the idea that Alice has a deep love for the Hatter that was hardly indicated in the prior film. The character leap that viewers are asked to take initially is that Alice would risk life, death and the temporal ramifications of time travel to help save the life and, relative, sanity, of the Hatter based on how she feels for him. That emotional bond is not developed in the two films well-enough to be a realistic motivation at the outset.

The film is dominated by style, so the initial problem with character is quickly matched by problems on the acting front. Mia Wasikowska plays Alice and she delivers lines that are strong and emphatic, while having a physical performance based on the same wide-eyed disbelief and uncertainty, which is a troubling acting choice. While she gets eye-lines right for her interactions with virtual characters, she fails to bring anything new or significant to the role of Alice with her acting.

The usually amazing Anne Hathaway is surprisingly bland as Mirana. Hathaway resumes the body language of her prior part, without having the wonderful, strange, off-putting detachment the character had in the first film. While Hathaway's vitality and range of emotional expression play well and fine for the scenes in the past, the scenes in the "present" stand out as problematically incongruent with the established character. Johnny Depp's performance is one of his most bland, with him simply blithely lisping through his lines. With the themes of distant fathers being explored in Alice Through The Looking Glass, Depp's performance seems troublingly derivative of his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (reviewed here!).

In fact, the most instantly energized performer in Alice Through The Looking Glass is Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen once again creates an entirely new and different persona for himself as Time. Cohen's Time is weird and awkward and he steals his scenes, even when they are not especially good. Cohen's Time quickly overshadows Helena Bonham Carter's Iracebe to draw the eye and capture the viewer's attention.

Amid lines that play off every cliche about time, Alice Through The Looking Glass tries to marvel the viewer with bright colors and generally-competent computer generated effects. The effects are one of the few things going for the film.

Unfortunately, it is not enough. Alice Through The Looking Glass attempts to blend past and present, reality and Underland, into a story that seeks to both reinvigorate wonder and illustrate the drastic consequences to attempting to change time. It fails to satisfactorily impress or entertain viewers. The result is a good-looking mess that is a poor end to the legacy of Alan Rickman.

For other works with Matt Lucas, please check out my reviews of:
"Thin Ice" - Doctor Who
"The Pilot" - Doctor Who
"The Return Of Doctor Mysterio" - Doctor Who
"The Husbands Of River Song" - Doctor Who
Paddington
Bridesmaids

2/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Peter Jackson Convinces Fans To Return To Middle Earth One More Time With The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies!

The Good: Decent performances, Generally good effects, Much of the plot development and theme resolutions, Special effects
The Bad: Light on character development, Predictable plot repetition, Begins at an awkward place/resolves oddly
The Basics: Likely to work much better in context, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies holds up poorly on its own, though it is entertaining-enough!


As we reach the end of the year, the final big film of the year has hit theaters. It is, of course, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, the final of three films in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is a final act in the three-film journey that had Bilbo Baggins joining a company of Dwarves on their quest to retake the Dwarven land of Erebor. The thing about The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is that it becomes the perfect argument against what Peter Jackson did with turning the single novel The Hobbit into three films. The final film of The Hobbit stands very poorly on its own.

Filled with subplots and the end of character arcs, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies hits the ground running without any explanation, prologue or attempts at explicitly connecting to the prior film. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is an immediate follow-up to The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (reviewed here!) and opens with the world of Middle Earth turned up on its end and it ends with an anticlimax that returns Peter Jackson to his horror roots. At least he does not force the audience to endure multiple endings, a la The Return Of The King (reviewed here!).

With Smaug furious and released from his mountain prison in Erebor, the dragon turns his attention on nearby Laketown. Burning Laketown down with his flame breath, Smaug runs afoul of Bard, who was imprisoned by the master of Laketown. Using the ancient weapon designed for such purpose, Bark kills Smaug and news soon spreads through Middle Earth that Smaug is dead and Erebor is ill-defended and filled with treasure beyond measure. Inside the mountain stronghold of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield becomes obsessed with finding the Arkenstone and he is driven mad with desire for the treasure. Confirming that Thorin’s condition is not likely to get better should he get the Arkenstone, Bilbo keeps the stone hidden from him. Seeing that Thorin’s party has survived, Fili, Kili and those who were stuck in Laketown head to Erebor, with Kili telling the elf maiden Tauriel he is in love with her.

When the Elves and refugees from Laketown arrive at Dale, the human ruins adjacent to the Dwarven kingdom, Thorin feels threatened. Gandalf is rescued from his prison by Galadrial, Radagast, and Saruman, in the process pushing the non-corporeal version of Sauron back in the process. As Gandalf makes his way to the ruins of Dale, Bilbo sneaks out from under Thorin’s nose to do the same. There, Bilbo tries to broker a deal between Thranduil, King Of The Elves, and Bard before war breaks out. Thorin is withholding promised gold to Bard and the refugees and the return of gems stolen from the Elves; Bilbo presents Thranduil with the Arkenstone to use in trade for the treasures Thorin is holding. Thorin’s determination to let the Elves and humans attack is bolstered when the main force of the Dwarven Army arrives to repel them. Almost immediately, though, Orcs attack and the humans, Dwarves and Elves find themselves united against two armies of Orcs led by Azog The Defiler. As the struggle for Middle Earth is fought before them, Thorin shakes off his dragon sickness to begin a very personal fight against Azog!

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is surprisingly fast-paced for a film with a running time over two and a half hours. Despite having plotlines that seem incongruent with the main plot surrounding Thorin Oakenshield and his madness fueled by greed for the Arkenstone, like the Kili and Tauriel love story, the recurring weasel Alfrid, the rescue of Gandalf, and the conflict between Legolas and his own father (Thranduil), the pacing of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is remarkably tight.

In fact, almost all of the actual issues surrounding The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies involve how the film fails to stand on its own or how it fits into Peter Jackson’s larger Middle Earth Saga. On its own, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is a film that is mired by its failure to explain itself. It begins with Thorin mad and having achieved most of his goals. In The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, Thorin has a somewhat unexplained obsession (the importance of the Arkenstone is vastly understated in the film), goes mad and overcomes it on the strength of his own will (not reason or the threat of being wiped out). Similarly, Gandalf’s imprisonment is not explained within the film; the whole Necromancer concept seems dropped in The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies!

In the context of Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth Saga, the big issue in The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies is Legolas. Legolas has one truly huge character moment in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings Saga (reviewed here!). Legolas witnesses Elven death at the Battle Of Helm’s Deep and it leaves him shocked and shaken (in the commentary tracks, Jackson talks about how he has never seen Elves die because they are otherwise immortal). With that in mind, Legolas’s place in The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies seems utterly ridiculous. We are meant to believe that Legolas arrives at the field of battle, albeit late, and sees none of the elven bodies around that his father does?! Come on!

That said, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies has pretty wonderful acting, getting viewers to invest in the characters, no matter how minor they are. The film has issues in the larger context, like how the eagles play the same trick as in The Lord Of The Rings (Tolkien’s fault, not Jackson’s) and a bloated cast that leaves the majority of the dwarves in the company unexplored as far as fleshing out actual characters, but the performers all play credibly in the environment. Luke Evans shines as Bard and Richard Armitage manages to make Thorin’s tormented persona pop on the screen.

Ultimately, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies finishes Peter Jackson’s tenure as a master of Tolkein’s works for screen with a film that ties everything together, even if it does not stand very magnificently on its own.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
To Write Love On Her Arms
The Voices
Love, Rosie
The Seventh Son
Song One
Match
Vice
American Sniper
Paddington
Inherent Vice
Selma
Still Alice
Predestination
Expelled
Annie
Comet
The Imitation Game

6.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Journey Builds, But Is Not Resolved, In The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug

The Good: Decent acting, Special effects, Moments of character
The Bad: Very much a transition movie
The Basics: Suffering from all the expected problems of a middle act, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is entertaining, but holds up less well on its own.


In the history of film and plays there have been few things more difficult to pull off successfully than a middle act. Middle acts within a work have the responsibility of moving the plot along and bringing characters to a situation that will require the final act to resolve. The benefit of the middle act is that it can usually move unencumbered by character establishment. As a result, middle acts can be great for character development, but on the plot front there is little in the way of resolution and some people dislike middle acts because – in order for the plot and character development to actually occur, the sense of conflict usually reaches its peak in the middle act. That usually makes middle acts darker and more moody than the initial and final acts.

In terms of trilogies, the middle film usually bears a responsibility that is tough for viewers to reconcile. Many times, they lack the initial spark of the first film in the series and the viewer does not get the elation of resolution that the final film brings. In my mind, the most successful middle act films have been limited to The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) and The Dark Knight (reviewed here!). Unfortunately for fans of Peter Jackson’s interpretations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings (reviewed here!), The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is not going to break that tradition.

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug picks up where The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (reviewed here!) left off as the prequel story of Bilbo Baggins’s journey with the dwarves that made him an outsider among the Hobbits of the Shire. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is, foremost, not a tight film; the movie meanders with side stories that flesh out the various characters and the setting of Middle Earth. But, given how characters like Legolas pop up in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug without feeling absolutely essential to the main storyline and how Smaug would have been sufficiently villainous without the extensive backstory Peter Jackson includes in the film (courtesy of other volumes Tolkien wrote), the film feels more like an exploration of a fantastic setting rather than a tight character journey that is pushed by the strength of Bilbo Baggins, the menace of Smaug or the failings of Thorin Oakenshield (though all those are factors in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug).

Following the attack on the Dwarves and Bilbo, the assemblage regroups by fleeing into the residence of a skinchanger (a man who can turn into a giant bear), who hates the orcs more than he hates the dwarves. With Gandalf heading out on his own, the Dwarves and Bilbo enter Mirkwood Forest. There, they encounter giant spiders and Bilbo is instrumental in saving the dwarves from their webs and bites. The elves of Mirkwood surround the Dwarves and capture them. Bilbo helps the Dwarves escape the elves and gets them closer to the Lonely Mountain, where Thorin intends to reclaim the Dwarven homeland. After the barrel ride downstream, the fellowship arrives at the human village of Lake-town. There, the humans warm to the Dwarves as they have been menaced by Smaug once they are exposed and their shifty leader sees an opportunity to usurp the threat.

Thorin calls upon Bilbo to make good on the contract he has with him and Bilbo is sent into the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo enters Smaug’s lair and there he encounters the dragon, setting into motion the events that push Middle Earth toward a war.

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug does a decent job of foreshadowing the fatal flaw of Thorin Oakenshield. While The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey painted Thorin as the obvious hero of the prequel Trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug starts to insinuate that Thorin is not an honorable Dwarf and that his motives for getting into the Lonely Mountain and reclaiming the dwarven kingdom is not based on a noble intent.

The film also does a good job of making Bilbo Baggins seem more morally ambiguous than some of the other Middle Earth films – especially the prior film. Baggins was hired as a thief and while he does several heroic things in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, he illustrates an aptitude for escape and light-fingered thievery. In fact, in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Bilbo Baggins’s actions actually bring surprising destruction at the breath of Smaug. If Thorin’s anger and greed are foreshadowed, it is Bilbo who goes a long way to instigate the incidents that bring those defects to the surface.

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug is entertaining and it illustrates well the range of both Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage. While fans may geek out over the return to the franchise of Orlando Bloom whose career seems to have it its high with The Lord Of The Rings (reviewed here!) and the addition of Evangeline Lilly from Lost (reviewed here!), the real story for The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug comes from Freeman and Armitage. Richard Armitage does a good job of taking a pretty monolithic character of Thorin Oakenshield and adding layers to him. While many of those layers come from written lines, it is Armitage’s performance, his bearing that sells the underlying emotions of the character. Armitage emotes with a fire in his eyes that actually resonates and sells some of the lines that do not quite resonate.

Martin Freeman might well be one of the best comic actors of our time. In The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, he pushes the range of what he can do. He’s been sidekick in Sherlock and an able supporting comedic presence in films like this year’s The World’s End (reviewed here!). As Bilbo Baggins he manages to present a more serious character who is still fun to watch and engaging. In other words, despite moments of goofy body language, Freeman holds his own as a serious and viable character who is fearless in the face of the virtual dragon. Freeman plays Bilbo with a straight face and a sense of moral ambiguity that fits the character perfectly, all without hinting at being the same actor who played any of the other roles he has! Freeman is a perfect chameleon actor in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug and that sells the reality of the film wonderfully. One never feels like they are watching Martin Freeman; like Ian McKellen (who is all Gandalf all the time he is on screen), Freeman completely embodies his character in the real and virtual sets of Middle Earth.

But, ultimately, even at nearly three hours (one struggles to guess what Peter Jackson will put back into the film for the inevitable Extended Edition), The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug feels like it is just getting started when it reaches its climax. Like most middle act films, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug leaves one wanting more and feeling like they are dependent upon the final act to make a true judgment on how much they enjoyed this film on its own.

For other works with Lee Pace, please check out my reviews of:
Breaking Dawn, Part II
Lincoln
Marmaduke
When In Rome
Pushing Daisies - Season 1
Wonderfalls

7/10

For other film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Pointless Agony Without Genuine Surrealism Is What One Finds In A Handful Of Dust!

The Good: People look good, generally
The Bad: It's impossible to care. Dull, Poorly written, Poorly put together, Agonizingly bad characters
The Basics: In the terribly boring movie A Handful Of Dust, a couple, together for no apparent reason, splits for little reason and the woman ends up poor and the man ends up in the jungle.


Every now and then, a movie comes along that makes you sit up and say "What?!" This is not that movie. Following watching A Handful Of Dust, I was so bored and disgusted at the waste of time, I popped the disc out of the DVD player before it could crap up any future discs that would occupy the space. The most response I could muster up was "Why did I sit through all of this?" The answer, ultimately, was that I am just not the kind of person to give up on a movie.

A Handful Of Dust tells the story of Tony and Brenda Last, a well-off British couple living in the past. I could look up the year, but it's not worth it. Truly. Here's the plot. The movie begins, it plods along, and then it (mercifully) ends. The film starts with Tony and Brenda together and Tony seems quite busy with his own stuff and Brenda seems quite bored. Brenda finds herself in the company of John Beaver, who is infatuated with Brenda and whom Brenda seems inclined to play around with. Brenda desires a flat away from Tony, so Tony puts up the money for it and Brenda essentially sets up a love nest.

The results are not steamy, sultry, or even interesting. Instead, any genuine love happens off-screen (this movie is PG) and there is little or no real passion between Brenda and John or Tony and anyone. So, while Brenda and Tony are separated from one another, their little foul-mouthed child dies, Brenda is put on an allowance at her new dive and everyone runs out of money. Tony ends up in the jungle with a crazy man and by that point, we wonder why we sat through it.

I desperately hope A Handful Of Dust was not Sir Alec Guinness's last film. If so, that makes his death even more of a tragedy. Where to start? What's good: the people look good. They are well-costumed and the cinematography is pretty decent.

But even the cinematography is compromised by a series of bad edits. Throughout the film, there are disturbing and abrupt cuts where the image changes drastically. There is little to no cohesive flow between scenes or even within several key scenes.

The acting is terrible. Not a single actor or actress stands out as giving a performance that is remotely interesting to watch. Kristin Scott Thomas and James Wilby are both terribly bland and there is absolutely no chemistry between them, begging the question from the first frames "why were they chosen for this film?" Wilby is especially monolithic and fails to emote in any meaningful way throughout the movie. Thomas progresses her character into an affair without any real passion or motivation. Rupert Graves is similarly underused and wasted as John Beaver. And it is a miracle that Judi Dench, Anjelica Huston and Sir Alec Guinness agreed to be in this movie; their roles are entirely minor and their talents are wasted in the piece.

None of the characters are likable or even interesting. Aside from being portrayed as bland by actors who seem bored from their earliest parts in the film, the characters themselves are uninteresting. They have no spark of life, no zest. One talks about work and is boring, the other sits around bored. And when the movie shifts - with some abruptness - into the jungle, the pace does not pick up, we just sit and wonder why we haven't turned it off yet.

Are you bored yet reading this? If not, I have failed to do my job. This is a thoroughly uninteresting movie with nothing to recommend it. It is slow, passionless, and agonizing in its lack of intrigue. Instead, it plods along pointlessly and my desire to write no more about it is eclipsed only by this sentiment; if you go against my advise and watch A Handful Of Dust, you are likely to be impressed that I mustered up enough energy afterward to write this much.

[Thud, as my head hits the keyboard] ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . .

For other works with Anjelica Huston, be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Big Year
50/50
The Darjeeling Limited
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Mists Of Avalon
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

1/10

For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2005 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Disappointment From The Science Fiction Humor Branch: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

The Good: Moments of humor, Decent casting
The Bad: Nothing superlative on the acting, character or plot front, Pacing, Special effects
The Basics: In a disappointing film, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy fails to make me laugh or go anywhere.


From the beginning, with what little I know about his works, I knew that Douglas Adams's science fiction humor series that began with The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy would be almost impossible to translate into a successful film. Why? It's all about Adams's writing style. What makes the few chapters of his books I've read so funny is not what happens in them, but rather the asides Adams makes or the phrasing he uses. Adams goes on tangents that are quite funny, but they make it almost impossible to make a movie version that is anywhere near as funny as the book.

Enter Arthur Dent, a Brit who is standing up to keep his house from being demolished by the State so a new expressway can go through. He is abducted by his eccentric friend Ford Prefect just before the Earth is destroyed by galactic construction workers who are making a galactic expressway. Prefect and Dent escape only to find themselves at the whim of the bureaucratic Vogons and the eccentric space captain Zaphod Beeblebrox. Accompanied by the self-deprecating robot Marvin and another human survivor, Trillian, Dent works to survive in the galaxy and do what he can to find a home now that Earth is destroyed.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy left me with a real "ho-hum" feeling that one does not want to leave a comedy with. First off, the pacing was rather off. This movie is less than two hours long, but it felt much, much longer. The movie does not have a real strong sense of going somewhere. Instead, we are supposed to be amused by where we find ourselves, just looking around to see what the galaxy is like. And it's not enough. Expecting the setting to carry the movie does not work.

Outside the destruction of Earth, the special effects are terrible. The Vogons look like they were put together by the BBC. There's nothing extraordinary or even visually intriguing about the special effects. Some, like Beeblebrox's switching heads, are just plain silly.

None of the characters pop, save Ford Prefect. Arthur Dent is a common, ordinary guy who is thrust into circumstances well beyond his control or reckoning. And while that might be an intriguing premise, he is a common man and therefor is terribly uninteresting to watch until he rises above that and by that time, frankly, the viewer does not care. Instead, we're left wondering why the alien Prefect would have saved Dent as opposed to someone more interesting.

Prefect, on the other hand, is flamboyant, funny and quirky. He is smooth-talking, educated in the ways of the galaxy and knows how to get around. His character works and is more than just a "type." Trillian is relegated to "female lead" and Beeblebrox is just a crazy space captain. None keep our attention like Ford Prefect.

Prefect is played by musician and actor Mos Def. He plays the part well, with articulate grace and humor that makes him the character and the performance to watch. Mos Def carries almost every scene he's in and he makes the movie bearable.

Similarly, Martin Freeman adequately plays Arthur Dent. Freeman is not given much to work with, but he does a good job playing an everyman. He sells us on Dent as the common man and that is, I suppose, his point.

But in the end, this movie is simply not all that funny. I laughed once or twice, but for the most part, I waited. I waited for humor. I waited for something intriguing to happen. Ultimately, I was just waiting for the movie to end. At least it ended.

I don't know who would like this film. I went with someone who was a big fan of the books and she was as disappointed as I was. If you're looking for a good time and a funny movie, this isn't it, though.

For other science fiction comedies, please visit my reviews of:
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Alien Trespass
Planet 51

3/10

For other film reviews, please be sure to visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the movie reviews I have written!

© 2012, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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As Much As I Love Blackadder, Blackadder Back And Forth Is A Tough Sell To Non-fans!

The Good: Moments of humor, Some decent acting, Good-enough DVD bonus features.
The Bad: Repetitive humor from the series, Requires a lot of information not in episode, SHORT!
The Basics: A curtain call made for the fans, Blackadder Back And Forth is a Blackadder time travel adventure that puts the series to rest well!


For those who might not follow my reviews regularly, with this review, I have now finished my review of all things Blackadder, but do not despair! Coming this month and until I am done with them will be reviews of the episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus! Yes, I cater to geek culture! The truth is, the two collections of British comedies are truly great and worthwhile ones and while I ultimately "recommend" Blackadder Back And Forth, my real recommendation is always going to be that people go out and buy The Complete Blackadder (reviewed here!) instead, as the complete collection is a far better overall value.

But on its own, Blackadder Back And Forth reunites the principle players in the Blackadder saga for one last go-around. It is more an homage to the series Blackadder than it is a standalone episode, but at a little over the thirty minute mark, Blackadder Back And Forth caps off the franchise in a way that has the distinction of not being as depressing as the episode "Goodbyeee" (reviewed here!) did. Fans of the franchise are likely to enjoy that as there was such melancholy in the last moments of that other episode. And while several of the performers are showing their age and while many of the jokes are so similar to those from the television series, Blackadder Back And Forth makes for a decent addition to the franchise and sends it out on a high note.

Edmund Blackadder is throwing a party for his friends on the eve of the Millennium changeover, December 31, 1999. As his witless friend friend George goes on about an optimistic future and his religious comrades Melchard and Darling back him up, Edmund finds himself disagreeing. Instead, he takes the much more bleak view that humanity is filled with wars, pestilence and horror that shall not simply be overturned with the changing of the date. The point becomes moot when the party begins to break up because of the cooking of Edmund's septic tank cleaner, Baldrick. To scam his friends - which seems pretty easy in the case of the lushy Elizabeth - Edmund introduces his friends to his newly-built time machine with which he wagers he can retrieve objects from the past in order to win bets with each.

Much to the surprise of Blackadder and Baldrick, the time machine Baldrick has built from one of DaVinci's notebook's plans actually works! Instead of having to scam his friends, Edmund and Baldrick kill off the dinosaurs using Baldrick's trousers before acquiring the authentic items Edmund promised his friends, plus a Shakespeare autograph! Upon returning to the present, though - after discovering themselves lost in time for a period - Blackadder and Baldrick discover their meddling with time has irrevocably changed history and they must attempt to undo some of their temporal infractions!

Because this is a comedy, things are hardly ever as dire as they might seem. So, for example, upon returning to the present, Blackadder discovers no one is impressed that he has William Shakespeare's autograph. Shakespeare, having taken a berating and a beating from Edmund on behalf of four hundred years of students, apparently took the ball-point pen Edmund had him sign the title page to The Tragedy Of MacBeth with and became known instead as the inventor of the ball-point pen! Shakespeare is played brilliantly in a cameo by Collin Firth and Firth is given surprisingly little to do, save be kicked by Atkinson's Blackadder. Firth pulls off the humor well, though, as he takes on a nervous affect and takes the beating.

Fans of the Blackadder franchise will enjoy the return to one of the most popular settings: the court of Queen Elizabeth the first. Edmund finds himself there and bribes her with a Lifesaver mint, which saves his life from the mood swings of the queen. Of course Melchard is there as well, but fans are likely to enjoy the five frames on screen Nursie has in the scene! There is a feeling of returning home with wonderful, beloved characters and it works perfectly in Blackadder Back And Forth.

Not content to simply recycle and revisit the already established Blackadder time periods, Blackadder Back And Forth presents at least two periods unique to this presentation. Viewers are treated to the Roman version of Blackadder - who complains wickedly about Hadran's wall - and to an encounter with Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Hood is an extension of the jokes with Flashheart from the series as he is an oversexed, somewhat crazed man whom Edmund escapes using his cunning. And Robin Hood is played by the same actor who played Flashheart and it is a welcome reprisal.

As well, the battle of Waterloo is featured, which allows viewers to see the past Darlings! In fact, Tim McInnerny's scenes are largely independent of Atkinson's and those who love the franchise might similarly be disappointed by the lack of screentime Hugh Laurie has as George. The actors successfully step back into the shoes of their established characters and in that way, Blackadder Back And Forth works.

But it is Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson who rule the Blackadder saga and this is still the case in Blackadder Back And Forth. Atkinson is sarcastic and debonair as Edmund and Robinson is appropriately clueless as Baldrick. Still, too many of their lines are delivered for the audience, as opposed to in character. So, when Robinson delivers his catchphrase about having a cunning plan, he draws it out, almost like he is saying good-bye to the line. Again, this is wonderful for the fans, but it holds up poorly for random viewers.

On DVD, Blackadder Back And Forth has a video diary of the Blackadder saga and a function that explains the historical allusions some might not otherwise get. There is no commentary track and fans might well be left feeling like it is ultimately a draw. Those who have not been into Blackadder will likely find things like the mechanic Tyrannosaurus Rex and the space battle effects utterly campy, but those who love British comedies will appreciate the camp quality.

In other words, Blackadder Back And Forth is best appreciated by the fans as the humor in it tends to be so self-referential as to be stifling to those not already invested in the series. And for those who are, there might be no greater good-bye than this one.

For other works featuring Colin Firth, please check out my reviews of:
The King's Speech
A Christmas Carol
Love Actually
Bridget Jones's Diary
Shakespeare In Love
The English Patient


5.5/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to check out my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Daring To Not Be Funny As Blackadder Goes Forth Reaches Its End!

The Good: Funny, Poignant, Some decent performances
The Bad: Medium
The Basics: Blackadder Goes Forth closes with "Part 2," a generally darker video to embody the darkness of the Great War.


Sometimes, there is an instinct within me to bump some of my favorite things up a notch or two just because I enjoy them and with the Blackadder saga, I have found I have held to my standards pretty well over reviewing the different seasons and episodes. So when I reached the final episodes of the final regular television series of Blackadder - Blackadder Goes Forth - I found myself actually having to review my objective standards to not rate the tape, Blackadder Goes Forth Part 2 too high. This is because the video has three episodes, one great, one good and one terrible.

As always, I find myself in this case griping some about the medium: Blackadder Goes Forth on video could have fit the entire series on a single video, so splitting it into "Part 1" and "Part 2" is somewhat wasteful, even for VHS. And while I ultimately recommend this video, it is a much better deal to find the episodes on DVD. This final tape for Blackadder Goes Forth has the last three episodes of that series, with "Private Plane," "General Hospital" and "Goodbyeee."

In "Private Plane," Blackadder's loathing of the war reaches a new high when he practices duck and cover during an air raid, only to discover the flyby is by British pilots. The pilot in question is actually Squadron Commander Flashheart and the lusty pilot lives up to family's promiscuous and sexually powerful line. After being knocked about by Flashheart, Blackadder realizes that the best way to survive the war might well be by becoming a pilot.

Attempting to get airmen training from Darling, Blackadder finds himself shut out. However, Melchard soon approves it and with five minutes training from Flashheart, Blackadder is set to join the twenty minute club. With Baldrick as his navigator, Blackadder stays in the air for less than twenty minutes, crashing on the German side of the lines where it looks like the war might be over for the reluctant soldier!

In "General Hospital," Edmund finds himself disgusted when - after a thoroughly witless game of "I Spy" between George and Baldrick, George is nearly blown up by a German bomb. Recovering in the hospital, he finds himself fancying Nurse Mary and writing letters to one of his many uncles. He is then recalled the headquarters where paranoia is running higher than usual.

There is a spy, it seems, in hospital and General Melchard wants Blackadder to go there to smoke out the guilty party. Darling, distrustful as ever of Blackadder, convinced Melchard to let him go to hospital to spy on Blackadder. Shot in the foot by Melchard, Darling then spies on Blackadder as he susses out the German spy!

In "Goodbyeee," Blackadder, George and Baldrick begin reminiscing about the war and their lives when they are given notice that the big push is to begin the next morning. Faced with the likelihood of certain death, Edmund becomes despondent and opts for the less-than cunning plan he picked up in the Sudan: to fake insanity. George, buying the act entirely, sends for General Melchard and Blackadder revels in the possibility of surviving the war.

When Melchard arrives, though, he mentions shooting soldiers who faked insanity, prompting Edmund to quit his charade. With the big push only hours away, Blackadder is stuck philosophizing with Baldrick and George on the very nature of war and peace and as dawn breaks, all three lives - and that of Darling - are changed forever.

The problem with Blackadder Goes Forth Part 2 is that it is irregular. "Private Plane" has the return of Flashheart, one of the characters who appeared in "Bells" (reviewed here!) in Blackadder II. He is still oversexed, horny and quite crazy. This incarnation is given an even bigger part than the earlier one, though his self-absorption is still as high as his ancestors. As the Squadron Commander, Flashheart provides a screwball adversary for Blackadder for an episode and that works wonderfully to shake things up.

Unfortunately, "General Hospital" is possibly the most mundane episode of the entire franchise and it sucks this video down like nothing else could. Not nearly as funny as the others, the return of Miranda Richardson - this time as a nurse - is welcome, but her part does not give her nearly enough to do to impress the viewer and it holds up poorly over multiple viewings.

What gets even better with subsequent viewings is "Goodbyeee" which does not even attempt to be funny. Instead, this episode muses on war and peace and the interchange between Baldrick and George on the subject might well be the best exchange Tony Robinson gets in the entire franchise and Hugh Laurie's sputtering as George in response to Baldrick's simple question of "what if we just stopped fighting?" is priceless. It is not funny, though. The episode treads toward the philosophical and clever, avoiding humor, save in the scenes where Edmund plays as crazy.

This video sends the Blackadder franchise off well, though it is hard for those who are not fans already to appreciate the significance and darkness of "Goodbyeee." Sure, casual viewers can understand the antiwar arguments, but the emotional resonance of the final scene of Blackadder Goes Forth is intended entirely for those who have been watching the series from the beginning. Again, writer Richard Curtis does not aim for funny, but he manages to be quite meaningful and the result is arguably one of the best series finales of all time, certainly of a comedy.

In the end, which this is for Blackadder, the episodes are held together largely on the consistent acting talent of Rowan Atkinson. As Blackadder, he is given the chance in these three episodes to step away from his deep sarcasm - at least in the final two episodes - and portray Edmund with a stronger sense of humanity. Atkinson loosens Edmund's body language and this sells the viewer on the idea that his character is truly someone who wants to live, to survive the great war.

And the Blackadder franchise - at least as a weekly television series - closes there with Edmund and Baldrick in World War One and the end feels very much like an end. Despite the problems with this tape, it is a worthy end to the characters and the series as it is.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be Blackadder Goes Forth, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love Blackadder will find Blackadder - The Complete Series to be an even better buy, reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]

6/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Enjoying It More Than I Remember Before, Blackadder Goes Forth Part 1 Is Surprisingly Good!

The Good: Funny, Good characters, Decent acting
The Bad: Medium, Repetitive humor
The Basics: Funny and with more universal humor than I remembered it, the sarcastic Blackadder returns for Blackadder Goes Forth, Part 1 in World War 1!


Only those who have seen the other seasons of Blackadder are likely to find Blackadder Goes Forth anything less than absolutely incredible and original. After all, if one has not seen any of the earlier incarnations of the historic comedy, it is unlikely they would find the sarcasm, wit and articulation of Edmund Blackadder to be anything other than unique in the history of comedy. Moreover, the buffoons who surround Blackadder are played by comic geniuses like Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, so the show is brimming with talent and it appears to be unique.

But for fans of the Blackadder franchise, by the time Blackadder Goes Forth begins, the premise is obvious and most of the jokes are beaten deader than a dead horse after St. Beatings Day. Blackadder, in this incarnation, is a Captain in the British Army in World War One, stationed at the front and desperate to do anything to stay alive. Blackadder Goes Forth, Part 1 is a collection of the first three (of six) episodes from this series of Blackadder.

In "Captain Cook," Captain Edmund Blackadder intuits that General Haig's next plan for winning the war is the same plan as the prior seventeen times. Rather than go over the top into certain death, Blackadder entertains one of Baldrick's brilliant ideas, which turns out to be utterly unfeasible. However, when General Melchard reveals that "King And Country" needs a rousing patriotic portrait, Blackadder sees his opportunity to get out of the trenches.

Having swindled Lieutenant George out of just such a painting, Blackadder enthusiastically heads to high command in hopes of being reassigned to Paris. Unfortunately for him, Darling and Melchard have something else in store for him. As premiere artist of the day, Blackadder is assigned to draw a map of No Man's Land!

In "Corporal Punishment," Edmund manufactures one communications problem after another to ignore the persistent orders to push forth into No Man's Land and get killed. In his efforts, he pretends his phone is not working, disregards a telegram that abbreviates his name and ultimately shoots a prized pigeon which was General Melchard's only childhood friend. Arriving at the front, disgusted at the lack of advancement on Blackadder's part, Melchard learns of the death of his pigeon and charges Edmund with disobeying orders.

Edmund turns up for his court martial, dismayed that George will be his legal defender, only to discover that Darling is the prosecutor and the judge is none other than Melchard himself. Sentenced rather quickly to death, Blackadder awaits a firing squad, cursing his fate and his friends, hoping for any last resort, even the aid of Baldrick!

In "Major Star," Blackadder's distaste for Charlie Chaplin puts him on the outs with his subordinates, who are in love with the works of the American actor. However, when General Melchard arrives with news that the military is looking to form a troupe to entertain both the troops and the civilians in London, Edmund sees his opportunity to get away from the front. Conniving to be put in charge of the production, Blackadder wrangles talent from his unit, including the newly marxist Baldrick and the happy-in-drag George.

Disaster, however, strikes Blackadder's plan when Melchard, not realizing Georgina (George's drag act) is not a woman and he becomes infatuated with her. George, happy to play along, finds himself in the position of possibly being engaged to Melchard and Blackadder must keep the two apart and get out of the situation before Melchard learns the truth!

It is a rare thing that I end up calling a VHS a poor use of the medium. Indeed, it is a poor medium, but the use of it is often limited only to being that medium. In the case of Blackadder Goes Forth, Part 1 it is a poor use of the poor medium: the entire fourth season of Blackadder could easily have fit on one video whatwith its running time being under three hours. That said, it is still funny and I found I enjoyed it more this most recent viewing.

Blackadder Goes Forth is a wonderful mix of historical one-liners that make obscure references to British and European history and universal, timeless humor. So, for instance, in "Major Star," there are numerous allusions to various actors, like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, while "Corporal Punishment" has such basic and obvious humor as Blackadder feebly covering up the bones from the pigeon he has just eaten while denying its death and a trial where the judge is also the prosecution's star witness. There's a good balance between the was jokes about sex and jokes about the specifics (lack of) battle plans during World War One. The balance makes for a smart and simultaneously universal show.

As well, the characters are fun and interesting. Edmund is hilarious with his cold sarcasm and Lieutenant George and Private Baldrick are utter idiots. Fans of the Blackadder franchise will likely enjoy seeing Edmund as the smartest man in the trenches in Blackadder Goes Forth and the points when he must talk to oblivious commanding officers are funny with the way he gets in jabs that go completely over their heads.

On the character front, these first episodes of Blackadder Goes Forth are fleshed out with General Melchard who is presented as a lunatic with a giant mustache and Captain Darling, his cowardly, sycophantic assistant. Watching Edmund spar with Darling (in prior incarnations, he has sparred with the Melchard character) shakes things up some and keeps the actors from simply repeating their past performances.

The acting is great as well, whatwith Rowan Atkinson taking the title role of Edmund Blackadder. Atkinson is given a fairly unique acting challenge: the present essentially the same character (Blackadder) a different way while keeping the performance fresh and funny. Atkinson does this by altering the delivery of his lines. In this season, he infuses every line with a tired quality, as if his character is sick of the war and the waiting. The tired quality makes some of his deliveries even sharper as he sounds entirely unimpressed by everyone and everything he encounters! Atkinson makes for a credible leader in this series and he plays off the sniveling, yet powerful sarcasm that Tim McInnerny presents with Darling wonderfully.

In short, anyone looking for a hilarious war comedy will find it with Blackadder Goes Forth and this video is the one to start with!

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be Blackadder Goes Forth, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love Blackadder will find Blackadder - The Complete Series to be an even better buy, reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]


7/10

For other television reviews, please check out my Television Review Index Page by clicking here!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Great War Takes Its Toll When Blackadder Goes Forth!

The Good: Funny, Good character development, Interesting DVD bonus features
The Bad: Short, Some of the humor is more predictable than in the past.
The Basics: Funny - and daring to not be funny - pushes Blackadder Goes Forth out of "average" territory on DVD.


There are only a few television comedy series' found on my shelf. This is largely because I am not so much into humor because I see that it tends not to endure all that long. Humor is largely based upon surprise and as a result, it is hard to find truly great comedy series' that I want to add to my permanent collection. One of the few is the television series, from the BBC, called Blackadder.

Blackadder is a historical comedy, and each season was set in a different time period. By the fourth and final season, the show was up to roughly Modern times and Blackadder Goes Forth, the final regular series of Blackadder was set in the trenches of World War One. The basic concept was to take a twist on British history and make a situation comedy that would have an immortal quality to it. Largely, series creators Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson succeed because the humor is both universally funny and historically smart. This series relies on British wit and Atkinson's amazing sense of comic timing. And it works.

With only six episodes in this season, Blackadder Goes Forth tells the story of Captain Edmund Blackadder, trapped in the trenches fighting Germany in World War One. As the Great War reigns, Blackadder looks to survive and he is accompanied by the idiotically patriotic Lieutenant George and the just plain dim Baldrick. Given orders by the oblivious General Melchard and sparred with by Captain Darling, Blackadder finds that war truly is hell.

From the trenches, Blackadder attempts to survive the war by feigning communications problems to prevent him and his troops from going over the top (an act that gets him court martialed), posing as a great artist and sneaking into HQ as a cook. As well, he gets his troops out of the trench by making them into an acting troupe (which almost leads Melchard to marry George in drag) and by joining the air force, which gets Blackadder captured.

Blackadder Goes Forth tells a darker story of living in war and what people will do to survive. The wit in the show is colder and the comedy - when not being predictable to those who are fans of the series - is utterly hilarious. In fact, it is so funny one wonders why the BBC has a laugh track to it; there is plenty that is amusing without the tiresome laugh track going off letting viewers know when it is appropriate to laugh. I mention this because this series has one of the most intrusive and annoying laugh tracks of any series I have ever seen. The only time the laugh track is not engaged is for the bulk of the final episode, "Goodbyeee," which is a strong, unfunny, antiwar episode that works beautifully to enhance the characters and provide viewers with something truly new, even if it is not funny.

The only other real strike against this series is the fact that it was released in the late 1980s and it looks like it was released in the 1980s. The special effects are campy even by BBC standards and it is clear this was never the top of the BBCs list for cleaning up when making the transfer to DVD. As a result, there is quite a bit of footage in the series that is grainy and some that even has lighting washouts.

But what makes Blackadder Goes Forth worthwhile, timeless and funny is the quality of the writing. Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson wrote scripts with fairly straightforward plots with Edmund suffering much like most downtrodden and loathed protagonists. This series is preoccupied with Edmund surviving using his razor wit. And in that, there are some absolutely hilarious bits. For example, when dealing with HQ and pretending the phone has gone wonky, Blackadder goes through an impressive array of voices and noises to convince Captain Darling that he could not possibly be understood. And in the trial, when General Melchard enters as one of the judges, it is impossible to not laugh, especially considering he is the one bringing the charges against Edmund!

But more than most comedies, certainly the ones that are this short - Blackadder Goes Forth episodes are less than thirty minutes long each - this series is about characters. Here are the primary characters of "Blackadder Goes Forth:"

Edmund Blackadder - Captain in the royal army. Having survived the war in Africa, he considers colonization foolish and he treats his men with disdain, but does his best to keep them alive. Frequently ignoring orders to go over the top, Blackadder tries every way he knows how to get out of the trenches in ways that will keep him alive,

Lieutenant George - Dimwitted subordinate of Edmund, he is eager to die for King and Country, witlessly believing that going over the top is a chance for glory (Edmund soon illustrates the error of such thinking). He becomes a leading lady for Blackadder's acting troupe and is wounded protecting his captain,

General Melchard - An idiot with a giant mustache, he unquestioningly follows Field Marshal Haig's witless orders to keep sending British soldiers in front of German machine guns,

Captain Darling - Sycophantic assistant to Melchard, he is a coward who frequently spars with Edmund when Blackadder comes to HQ,

and Private Baldrick - The idiot noncom, he tries his hand at poetry, balancing a slug on his upper lip to impersonate Charlie Chaplin, and painting with bodily fluids. Resourceful, but stupid, he is Edmund's most loyal companion.

The characters are vivid and the acting is pretty decent, all things considered. Hugh Laurie's George is ridiculous and funny in a way most American audiences would be surprised, given his performances on "House, M.D." Similarly, Tim McInnerny's return to the Blackadder franchise as Captain Darling is a welcome one with him sniping at Blackadder as his equal, instead of his dimwitted sidekick.

It is Rowan Atkinson who holds most of the series together and moves it. He has a great sense of comic timing and he delivers his period-specific references beautifully with the complete sense that he knows just what it is he is saying. As well, he is adept at physical comedy, erupting when necessary to flinch, jump or fall as needed to sell the physical gags that balance out the scripted comedy.

On DVD, Blackadder Goes Forth has three bonus features, plus trailers for other BBC DVD releases. These simplistic features include cast biographies of all of the major players in the Blackadder series, narrated references to historical events alluded to in the series and an extensive interview with Richard Curtis that describes his take on the history of comedy. The historical information is actually intriguing and some of the more obscure allusions, like to specific military personnel, provide information that I did not have before watching the series.

Those looking for something different from a comedy will find much to enjoy with Blackadder Goes Forth.

For a more complete idea of exactly what is in this DVD set, please check out my reviews of the individual episodes at:
"Captain Cook," "Corporal Punishment," "Major Star"
"Private Plane," "General Hospital," "Goodbyeee"

And while the one-disc season is fun and interesting, I certainly prefer "The Complete Collection" (reviewed here!) because part of the fun of Blackadder is seeing how the line evolves over the various "generations!"

5/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Gosford Park Illustrates Both Sides Of The Social Mirror!

The Good: Most of the acting, Elements of characterization (when characters actually are granted character here!).
The Bad: Direction, Far too many characters
The Basics: Quick camera cuts and an abundance of characters makes Gosford Park a less than inspired murder mystery.


Every now and then, there comes a film we want to like. Right out, we want to be prejudiced toward it and feel like we want to recommend it on some intangible level alone. Gosford Park was one of those films for me, when I first picked it up. Then I watched it.

Gosford Park is, most simply, a story about London in 1932 when several upper class folks get together for a shooting party and bring their servants. The film is split between the world of the rich and those who wait upon them. Rather cleverly shot, there is not a single scene that does not have a member of the serving staff present to witness the actions and words of the wealthy. Being that this is more than just a social treatise, there are all sorts of intrigues that appear to center around Sir William McCordle, whose estate the action of the film occurs on. The intrigues include questionable heredity, questionable marital status, infidelity, promiscuity, and questionable social standing as well as economic shortages and professional envy. The plot reaches a peak when McCordle himself is killed. All of the intrigues lead any one of the characters to have a solid motive for murder.

And there are a ton of characters. There are no less than eleven wealthy primary characters and their servants. At a minimum, then, there are twenty-two people competing for airtime in this two hour, eighteen minute flick. There's a reason I only mention Sir William; there are too many others to mention to do justice to the characters. In fact, I believe it impossible to give a description (or even listing) of the characters that would make the film sound either remotely interesting or without giving everything away. Either way, the list would be quite long.

Therein lies one of the film's major problems. There are too many characters to keep track of. I'm not saying that like some nincompoop; I have an eye for detail that noticed the bottle of poison in the first scene and that it was moved to the left side the next time it was seen. The problem was not in the details, it was in the sheer number of people to attempt to keep track of. Several of them look similar enough to be problematic.

In this case, I think part of the fault sits with the film's director. I know it's heresy to claim Robert Altman isn't the best director in the universe, but in this particular film, his directing is problematic. In an effort to create an atmosphere that is filled with movement and the sense of busy urgency like that of a waiting staff - which Altman does wonderfully here - he sacrifices the chance to focus on the characters and deliver any genuine sense of personality to the characters.

The lone exception to this is Mary, the servant to the Countess. Mary becomes the focus of the film as the only one who seems to be able to put together the truth about the murder and a few other of the plot lines. On a character level, this is problematic because there is another character whose entire place in the film seems to be to live both sides of the wall. His name is Henry Denton and his character would have been an ideal one to figure everything out as he lives - in the film - as both a servant and later as a man of some importance in the social circle upstairs.

But, this is not the way the film goes. It becomes Mary's film as she unwittingly puts together the pieces in the murder that the arrogant Inspector never does. Bully for her.

The main problem is that it's hard to care who committed the murder because Sir William was unlikable and everyone wanted him dead. But more than that, any of the people who could have killed him never live up to their full potential of being even a remotely interesting or developed character.

Conversely, the acting in Gosford Park is wonderful. Mary is played wonderfully by Kelly McDonald. She makes the role both naive and knowing, balancing the two with facial expressions and subtle eye movements that clue us in to her very thoughts. The always wonderful Emily Watson appears as one of the head servants doing her usual fabulous job of being something more than simply eye candy. And while the film is littered with wonderful actors giving great performances, - the list truly is too long to go into - Richard E. Grant steals every scene he's in as George. Not the best character necessarily, but well played by Grant and every time he's on the screen, his presence demands attention.

So, who would like this film? Beats me. I think it's ideal for people who like those stuffy PBS BBC imports. It's slow, confused on the character level and sometimes melodramatic. But it does have moments of humor and it is a murder mystery. Did it grab me? No. I think The Usual Suspects and Bound (reviewed here!) are far superior. But if you wanted the 1932 stuffy British slow to develop answer to the action and mystery of those films, well then, I suppose Gosford Park would be a place you might want to hang out.

For other British dramas, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The English Patient
A Room With A View
Elizabeth

6/10

For other film reviews, please check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Blackadder II - Funny In Any Medium, The Second Part Is Hilarious!

The Good: Funny, Good character work, Surprisingly wonderful acting
The Bad: Medium
The Basics: Hilarious and enduring, Blackadder II, Part 2 holds up with humor over many viewings with a man and his schemes in Elizabethan England!


It is a rare thing that I end up calling a VHS a poor use of the medium. Indeed, it is a poor medium, but the use of it is often limited only to being that medium. In the case of Blackadder II, Part 2 it is a poor use of the poor medium: the entire second season of Blackadder could easily have fit on one video whatwith its running time being under three hours. As it is, Blackadder II, Part 2 contains the last three episodes of the second season of Blackadder, a historical comedy set in the Elizabethan Era.

In "Money," the Bishop of Bath & Wells interrupts Blackadder's activities with a prostitute to inform him that a loan of one thousand pounds Blackadder took out the year prior with the Church is now due. Threatened with torture, Blackadder begins to scheme to try to get up enough money to pay the Church back. This shocks Percy who has believed Blackadder's web of lies involving his personal wealth and is dismayed to learn that Blackadder is almost destitute.

While Percy attempts to learn alchemy in a day, the Queen repeatedly calls Blackadder to court as a prank. Drained of his purse each time he goes, Blackadder works with Baldrick to try to save his behind from the Church, selling favors to sailors and ultimately his house in the attempt!

In "Beer," Blackadder prepares to entertain his Puritan aunt and uncle, a meeting which could secure him a hefty fortune for an inheritance. Eager that nothing should go wrong, he orders Baldrick to prepare for the faithful vegetarian's arrival. As Baldrick prepares his turnip surprise, Blackadder is called to the Queen's court where Melchard is on death's door. Only, Melchard is not on death's door, he is simply suffering from a terrible hangover.

Blackadder challenges Melchard to a drinking duel, which Queen Elizabeth becomes excited and fascinated about, eager to see what men are like when not around her. So, Edmund deals with two parties in one night that must be kept carefully segregated: his aunt and uncle and his drunken friends. And when the queen - disguised - crashes the party, things really begin to get out of hand for Edmund!

In "Chains," Edmund finds himself at Queen Elizabeth's court ridiculing a friend of Melchard's who has managed to get himself captured by the French and is being held for ransom. After advising Elizabeth to not negotiate with the hostage-takers, Edmund is captured by Germans. Moments later, Melchard is captured as well and the two wake up in the hands of a tormentor they do not understand.

As Percy and Baldrick attempt to entertain Elizabeth, Melchard and Blackadder struggle with their captivity and make an effort to escape their deranged tormentor. But then they meet the brains behind the operation, a scarred German who they have met in their pasts, a master of disguise, leaving Edmund to come up with a cunning plan on his own lest he never see Elizabeth and England again!

Blackadder II is a pretty tight mix of historical one-liners that make obscure references to British and European history and universal, timeless humor. So, for instance, in "Money," there are a number of references to the depravity of the Church, specifically the Bishop Of Bath And Wells. Mixed in with that is the plain humor of descriptions of acts of sexual depravity that leave a lot to the viewer's imagination, but are clear enough to be quite laughable. As well, there is the utter hilarity of Percy in Elizabethan leather S&M wear. Seriously, it is on-the-floor laugh-out-loud funny!

Despite occasionally obscure or dated humor, the characters are fun and interesting. Edmund is hilarious with his schemes to try to get ahead and Percy is an utter idiot. Fans of Blackadder will enjoy Edmund's wit in episodes like "Beer" where he works to come up with a truly convincing explanation for one of the horrible things that happens and he sits, contemplating it, working it all out in his mind before laying it out for his Aunt. This Edmund has some real brains! On the other side, Baldrick is a complete idiot and takes the brunt of virtually all of Edmund's schemes.

On the character front, these last episodes of Blackadder II are fleshed out with Melchard, whose piousness takes a bit of a hit when the viewer learns of his nocturnal activities with sheep (classic British humor!) and Queen Elizabeth who continues to be characterized by violent mood swings. The finale, "Chains," though, actually depends upon the character of Nursie and the way that is woven together is absolutely brilliant.

The acting is pretty decent as well, whatwith Rowan Atkinson taking the title role of Edmund Blackadder and making him into one of the most beautifully demented British comedy roles ever to grace the television. Atkinson has both a great wit with verbal comedy and a pretty impressive sense of physical comedy. In "Chains," he has to act expressively without the use of his body (he is locked into a torture box) and he pulls it off with perfect execution.

In fact, the only real strikes against this video is that is it not living up to its capacity and the ridiculous (even for the time) special effects. There are still moments when the lights wash out the film and that seems ridiculous that it would happen in a program in the 1980s, but one supposes Blackadder II was not the big budget item for the BBC at the time! In general, it's a wonderful collection of humor that holds up well over multiple viewings.

This is exceptionally funny and anyone looking for something different from their comedies will likely enjoy these episodes of Blackadder, regardless of the medium!

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be Blackadder - The Complete Second Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love Blackadder will find Blackadder - The Complete Series to be an even better buy, reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]

9/10

For other television reviews, be sure to check out my organized listing of all of the television reviews I have written by clicking here!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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