Surreal And Sublime, A Monster Calls Intrigues!

The Good: Great effects, Decent performances
The Bad: Simple plot, Off-putting mood
The Basics: A Monster Calls is very much an art house fantasy, which might have felt more fresh and original had similar works not been produced first.


What largely seems to separate art house films from major theatrical releases is the prioritization on mood. Art films tend to focus on creating a mood, while the best major theatrical releases focus on telling a story (though most focus on big, bright special effects, at least for the most banal blockbuster releases). Both try to create memorable characters and use them for the story they are attempting to tell, but when the characters fall out of balance, art house films (as a general rule) prioritize mood, mainstream theater released prioritize story (often storytelling twists). A Monster Calls is definitely an art house film; the film is preoccupied with mood, slow and cerebral.

And often off-putting.

A Monster Calls is good, but the longer the film went on, the more I felt like I probably would have enjoyed it more had I not seen Tideland (reviewed here!) and Pan's Labyrinth (reviewed here!) before seeing this child-centered fantasy film. A Monster Calls is all right, but it is not truly extraordinary, as it is preoccupied with imagery and mood over making its protagonist, Connor, more fleshed out. A Monster Calls is based upon a novel by the same name. It is worth noting that I have not read the novel upon which A Monster Calls is based, so this is a review purely of the film.

Connor O'Malley has a recurring nightmare of a nearby church getting swallowed into the ground; a nightmare where he tries to save his mother from being sucked into the abyss, but fails. The twelve year-old boy spends his days being bullied at school by Harry and his two friends and he returns home to his mother, who is losing a battle with cancer. Connor wakes every night at 12:06 from his nightmare, but one night, at 12:07, a giant tree monster visits him. Much to his chagrin, the monster threatens Connor with telling him three stories and after the third story, Connor must tell the monster his own truth.

As Connor reacts to his dying mother, his grandmother who comes to help with her ailing daughter, his school bully and a visit from his otherwise absent American father, Connor is visited again and again by the monster. The monster tells Connor stories, which help him to cope with his grandmother's presence, his internal rage, and the feelings he has of being invisible when he is not punished for lashing out at his bully and trashing his grandmother's living room. Connor is given hope when his mother is given treatment from a yew tree, after learning that his monster is made from yew trees, but his mother's condition progresses and he falls into despair.

A Monster Calls is a pretty straightforward allegory story; Connor is pushed by his dreams to understand how to emotionally deal with his real life. The story the monster tells about the Evil Queen who is not truly an evil queen quickly becomes obvious in the face of how hard Connor's grandmother is trying to deal with both Connor and her dying daughter. By the time the third story comes up, the connection between the monster's stories and Connor's psychological issues are pretty transparent.

Connor might not be the most interesting character - his struggle is very real and he is fleshed out occasionally with bursts of artistic ability, but he is largely defined in A Monster Calls by his reactions to his mother's illness and his school bully - but he is very well-portrayed by Lewis MacDougall. MacDougall is given top-billing, above Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones, and he earns his status despite this being the first motion picture he has headlined. MacDougall plays off the virtual elements of the monster quite well, getting eyelines right and emoting strongly opposite (what for him was originally) nothing. MacDougall manages to play strong emotions well, without treading into juvenile melodrama, which is quite a feat.

Weaver and Jones, predictably, make the most out of their supporting roles. Jones plays a dying woman well and Sigourney Weaver has the whole conflicted affect down pat to make the grandmother seem like a woman struggling to adapt to her life's sudden changes.

Ultimately, A Monster Calls is good, but it is simple, like a fairy tale. This is a decent fairy tale and allegory for young people struggling with change and death, but it is surprisingly direct, despite the layers of imagery. While it is useful and well-assembled, A Monster Calls is predictable in many ways and the mood makes it initially inaccessible and uncomfortable. The result is a movie that I watched and could admire the merits of, but lacked a spark that made me enthusiastic to recommend it . . . or talk much about it.

For other movies currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
The Great Wall
War On Everyone
Underworld: Blood Wars
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

5.5/10

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

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Almost Subversive, The Lego Movie Hedges Its Bets!

The Good: Good voice cast, Themes, Good plot progression
The Bad: Overstates itself, “Twist” guts the adult aspects, Predictable
The Basics: The Lego Movie has a strong start, but becomes unfortunately obvious and thematically heavy-handed.


There are only a handful of films from 2014 that I am still looking forward to seeing. Near the top of the list was The Lego Movie and so, as the new year gets under way and my wife and I have more date nights, it was one of our first choices to pick up and watch. The Lego Movie initially lives up to its promise of being a smart, thematically-subversive film intended far more for adults than the obvious children’s audience. With its impressive voice cast, most of whom are familiar to adults as opposed to children, The Lego Movie is a fun film.

In fact, the real issues with The Lego Movie come from overstating itself. In the last fifteen minutes of the film, there is a twist that nails the themes home in such a way that The Lego Movie pretty much mortgages its own themes and cleverness. While The Lego Movie makes allusions to things like The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) and has some generally adult themes on the nature of capitalism and social order, it plays a number of its jokes over and over again, making it a tougher sell than it should have been.

Emmet is an ordinary worker in the Lego block world that is surprisingly mundane. He is a construction worker who follows all the rules and has a very regular schedule. President Business runs both the government and the big business in the world and the citizens are thrilled when he announces the forthcoming Taco Tuesday. As Emmet is leaving his construction site, he sees a mysterious stranger, Wyldstyle, who is sifting through the rubble for something. Emmet wakes up with a device – the Piece Of Resistance - stuck to his back, in the custody of Bad Cop. Emmet is rescued by Wyldstyle, who takes him to Vitruvius.

Vitruvius explains that Emmet is The Special, a man of prophecy. It is his destiny to bring the Piece Of Resistance to Lord Business’s Kragle weapon and stop the villain from unleashing his weapon upon the many Lego realms. Pursued by Bad Cop’s forces (after President Business removes his “Good Cop” alter-ego), Emmet, Wyldstyle, and Vitruvius try to escape using their imaginations to reorganize their vehicles. Rescued by Batman, the heroes head to Cloud Cuckooland where all of the disparate Master Builders are meeting to plan how to get the Piece Of Resistance to the Kragle. But Bad Cop’s forces break things up and soon the heroes are fleeing once again. While Emmet slowly learns how to live up to his potential, Lord Business begins to reveal his maniacal plans!

For a film that is basically an advertisement for every property Warner Brothers is affiliated with (the DC Comics universe, Harry Potter, LEGO The Lord Of The Rings), The Lego Movie does a decent job of attacking corporate mechanisms. Lord Business utterly screws over his most loyal lieutenant and that plays well throughout the film.

The Lego Movie utilizes an incredibly talented voice cast. Led by Chris Pratt as Emmet, The Lego Movie has fun vocal performances from Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day and Will Arnett. Each member of the cast is expert at emoting using only their voice talents and whatever problems exist with the film, the cast and their line deliveries are not at fault.

The Lego Movie looks good and has moments of charm, but it plunges into average territory as it progresses and takes a safe, albeit somewhat surprising, route. The departure from the main narrative beats home the themes the film was building to and it undermines the imagination and style of the film. The result is that The Lego Movie is good, but far from flawless.

For other works with Chris Pratt, please visit my reviews of:
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Her
Movie 43
The Five-Year Engagement
Moneyball
Bride Wars
Wanted
Strangers With Candy

5/10

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

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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More Of The Same: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Still Entertains!

The Good: Very funny, Decent performances
The Bad: Predictable plot and character arcs
The Basics: Cameos and incongruently hilarious lines (along with a surprising amount of social commentary), make Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues a worthwhile sequel!


As we reach the end of the year, I find myself catching movies I missed over the last year. I was actually surprised to discover that Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues came out a whole year ago! I guess that illustrates how excited I was about the Anchorman sequel. My wife, however, is a huge fan of Will Ferrell, so with the release of the trailer to Get Hard, she’s been eager to catch up on the Ferrell films she’s missed over the last two years. We started with Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. We opted for the extended edition of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues because what the hell is the point of the theatrical version when you can have half an hour more of Ron Burgundy?!

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues picks up right after Anchorman (reviewed here!) and for those who have not seen the first film, there is almost no humor in the movie that depends upon the first film. In fact, outside the introduction of Brick Tamland, the humor in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues stands entirely on its own. But for those who are fans of Anchorman, while Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is enjoyable, it is largely a continuation of what came before without much new . . . other than the lines. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is funny and continues the humor of Anchorman which worked best as a collection of hilarious lines, more than a humorous narrative. Like the first one, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the funniest when it is just playing with funny lines as opposed to moving the film in wacky directions.

After the success of Ron Burgundy and Veronica Corningstone working on the nightly news in San Diego, the pair moves to New York City. There, Veronica is offered a position as a major network news anchor and Ron Burgundy is fired. Six months later, Ron Burgundy is working at Sea World, getting drunk, fired and then unsuccessfully trying to kill himself. Offered a position at GNN, a new 24-hour news network in New York City, by Freddie Shapp immediately after his aborted suicide attempt, Ron Burgundy reunites his old news team to take the job at the cable news company. After getting Champ Kind, Brian Fantana, and Brick Tamland out of their current situations, the quartet goes to New York City where they meet their new boss, Linda (where they are shocked by working for a black woman).

Ron Burgundy adapts poorly to working at the cable station where the primetime anchor, Jack Lime, is better-looking and more popular than he is. While Brick falls for a secretary working for GNN, Ron ends up in a fight with Jack. Challenged to beat Jack’s ratings, despite being at the 2 A.M. timeslot, Ron creates soft news (infotainment) in an attempt to win. When infotainment makes Burgundy a national hit, his formula leads him to unprecedented success. He begins to present his own stories – like smoking crack on the air – and the results are awards, women, and even more success. But Burgundy’s new relationship with his boss and his attempts to keep his old family (winning them back) leads him to real conflict that puts him at odds with his oldest friends. When sweeps week puts him at odds with his ex-wife and his news team,

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is, at best, a series of hilarious lines strung together by a thin plot involving Burgundy’s attempt to dominate cable news. As such, the film includes a pretty time-consuming subplot involving Brick and Chani, musical numbers, and otherwise incongruent comedic exchanges (condoms, horse piss, and the shock of working for a black boss). The film is funny, but is actually quite a bit smarter than one might expect.

Loaded with a social commentary that actually explores the degradation of journalism. While Burgundy creates feel-good pieces and ratingsbait, the commentary is actually impressive. Burgundy sinks a hard-hitting piece on how airplane parts are falling off planes and killing people because the corporate sponsors of GNN have a major stock interest in the airline that is criminally negligent. But, to appease the corporate owners of GNN, Burgundy eagerly jettisons the significant story in favor of a car chase. That Ron witlessly does the wrong thing is one thing, but as an audience able to evaluate the work, it is clear that writers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay had something to say.

It’s easy to overlook the commentary in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues amid troublingly blatant jokes surrounding Ron Burgundy’s racism and the ridiculous plot development of Rob going blind. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues starts to feel repetitive for those who have seen the first Anchorman as Ron refocuses his life on Veronica and his son. The film loses some of its focus as it transfers from being a story of an ambitious idiot working his way up the cable news ladder to achieve popularity when it takes a right turn with Ron and his son Walter rehabilitate a shark they find washed up on the shore of the lighthouse Ron moves into after he goes blind.

The performances in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues are exactly what one expects from a Will Ferrell film that utilizes the strongly comedic cast that was assembled for the first film, along with newcomers (to the franchise) like Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, and Meagan Good. Even Dylan Baker, who usually plays straightlaced, powerful dramatic characters, plays Freddie as goofy and hilarious which is unlike any other performance of his I have seen.

The leads in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: Will Ferrell, David Koechner, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd each reclaim their roles from the first film and they manage to make their characters distinct and funny. The film is funny, entertaining, and has more substance and commentary than the first, though it is more repetitive and familiar than it is audacious and originally. Still, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continued is worth watching!

For other works with David Koechner, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Cheap Thrills
Piranha 3DD
Paul
Extract
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
Sex Drive
Get Smart
Let’s Go To Prison
Farce Of the Penguins
Thank You For Smoking
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Waiting . . .

5.5/10

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

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Flight Meets Taken With Non-Stop

The Good: Decent acting, Good pacing
The Bad: Very familiar plot/character structure
The Basics: Liam Neeson and a strong supporting cast make the very familiar elements of Non-Stop into a cinematic experience that is nonetheless enjoyable.


I wonder how Liam Neeson feels about being an action hero at his age. Having watched Neeson establish himself on films like The Mission (reviewed here!) and Schindler’s List (reviewed here!), it seems interesting that he changed the direction of his career (or allowed it to be changed). With his latest film, Non-Stop, he is once again playing more of an action hero than a cerebral character. Non-Stop is smarter than most hostage dramas or action thrillers, but it does degenerate into a pretty typical action movie.

The most refreshing aspect of Non-Stop is actually in how conventional it actually is. Early in the film, it appears like Non-Stop will change into a painfully predictable psychological thriller; Non-Stop has a man using a Blackberry-style smartphone and the early clues make it seem like it might be Bill himself orchestrating the threat to the plane he is on. Fortunately, Non-Stop is not an aerial Hide And Seek (reviewed here!) and the hero is appropriately heroic and the villains of the movie actually make enough sense to have orchestrated the events surrounding Bill Marks and the transatlantic flight.

Bill Marks is aboard a non-stop flight to London, drinking, and stressed. He is seated next to Jen, who is an incredibly calm woman who switches to take a window seat. At 10:53 P.M., Bill gets a text message over the plane’s secure network. The message reveals that there is someone aboard the plane (as they reference Bill going into the bathroom and smoking) who wants $150 million transferred to a specific account or someone on the plane will die in twenty minutes. Marks has to reveal himself as an air marshal when the threat is made and he enlists Jen and the flight attendant, Nancy.

Watching the footage of the video cameras, Bill realizes that the other air marshal, Jack Hammond, is the one making the extortion attempt. Confronting him, Bill has to kill the other marshal in order to incapacitate him. The TSA Agent back in the U.S., Marenick, relieves Bill of duty and has the pilot take away his badge and gun when it seems that the text messages Bill received were from an account in his name. Reviewing Hammond’s phone, Marks realizes that Hammond was being extorted for a briefcase full of cocaine he was transporting. Regrouping, Bill, Nancy, and Jen search for the extortionist before they can kill again.

Non-Stop takes its time getting going. The film works to establish Bill Marks well before he is revealed to be an air marshal. He seems like just a strung-out alcoholic who hates flying and has a little bit of a temper. But once in the air and menaced, Marks becomes a surprisingly sober, methodical investigator and it is easy to empathize with him. The film has several of the genre conceits; the plucky sidekick (Jen) and the obvious element that needs protecting (there is a little girl on the flight who Marks helps calm down and actually get on the plane), but the idea that there is a conspiratorial network as opposed to a single villain plays out well in Non-Stop.

On the acting front, it’s hard not to be thrilled to see Corey Stoll in something new. Stoll was a breakout performer in the first season of House Of Cards (reviewed here!) and Non-Stop uses his ability to play irritated and somewhat tormented well, while still giving him the chance to go deeper as Austin Reilly. Director Jaume Collet-Serra might focus the camera on Stoll in ways that immediately arouse the audience’s suspicion, but Stoll does a decent job of making Reilly interesting-enough on his own.

The film’s leads, Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore are solid as Bill Marks and Jen Summers, respectively. Neeson does fine as Marks, but he does not give the viewer anything they have not seen from him before. Similarly, we’re used to seeing Julianne Moore as smart, perceptive, collected characters, so Summers is no stretch for her, either. That said, the two leads are smart and gracious enough to give the supporting actors Scoot McNairy, Anson Mount, Michelle Dockery (who adds the realistic human element in the form of Nancy the flight attendant), Nate Parker, and Lupita Nyong’o the chance to shine and make their minor characters have a similar amount of depth in the world of Non-Stop as the leads. All of the characters feel like they fit into the world as Non-Stop presents it and the actors have a lot to do with making the one-dimensional characters seem deeper.

Non-Stop is not a great film or an overly original thriller, but it uses the familiar conceits well and in a way that does not insult the viewer’s intelligence, which is refreshing for a February film release!

For other action films, please check out my reviews of:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Never Say Never Again
16 Blocks

6.5/10

For other film 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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Survivalist Horror In Alaska: The Grey Does Only What It Sets Out To Do!

The Good: Generally good plot development, Most of the performances are good
The Bad: No character development, Crap direction near the end
The Basics: With The Grey, Joe Carnahan delivers a (mostly) realistic narrative focused on the survival of a group of oil workers whose plane crashes in Alaska.


Lately, it seems like my wife has been getting me to watch a number of movies that are largely survivalist movies. It is not a genre that I have a fundamental desire to indulge in, and yet, my wife is a bit of a fan. After she admitted that the movie she was not generally thrilled with, Open Water (reviewed here!), was actually pretty terrible, but representative of the genre, she had us watch The Grey. After seeing a man vs. man-type survivalist movie with the new film Enemies Closer (reviewed here!), it struck me just how little variation there are in films where humans are hunted by animals as compared to humans being hunted by other humans.

The Grey is a marginally-interesting survival story, brought down some by the fact that none of the characters – including the lead protagonist, Ottway – are particularly likable or truly compelling. In fact, one of the most sympathetic and interesting characters, Hendrick, has almost none of the movie’s focus until almost the very end of the film. Hendrick is played ably by Dallas Roberts and it is a role unlike the others he has played, which makes him more of a chameleon actor than the film’s lead, Liam Neeson. Neeson, of course, is brilliant at Ottway, but considering he has to be dark, moody, and growl his way through most of the film while still articulating survival techniques in a credible way. Of course, the rough and tumble men around Ottway believe his strategies to survive; it’s Liam Neeson!

Ottway has isolated himself from society, working with ex-cons and others on an oil rig in Alaska while he pines for his wife. On the flight back to Anchorage, the small plane with the oil workers crashes. After one of the passengers, split open upon impact, dies and Ottway helps ease his passing, the survivors get together in the wreckage. Seven of the workers survive and under Ottway’s direction, they get a fire going. That night, Ottway tries to rescue the stewardess’s corpse from a wolf and is bit in the process. Concerned that they might have landed in the heart of the wolves territory, Ottway organizes the survivors to dispose of the corpses and find food.

After the first night, the wolves take out one of the survivors and Ottway recommends they move their encampment to the distant treeline. Hoping to survive better there, they begin the long trek across the frozen expanse. The straggler, a survivor who had been drinking the plane’s alcohol, is taken out and the five survivors are forced to continue toward the trees as night falls. Pursued by the wolves, the quintet survives and even kills a straggler wolf before the elements and the wolves start cutting them down. As they search for water and warmth, they struggle to outlast the environment and the predators.

Ottway versus the wolves is a conflict that is minimized whenever convenient to focus on man versus environment fights. The wolves are not constant antagonists and they even fall out of the viewer’s consideration given that they are neither seen, nor heard for chunks of the film as the survivors fight hunger, cold, and one another’s bad moods. As a result, the casualties in The Grey are not all the result of the wolves. Cold, falls, and possibly the worst luck ever account for a number of the deaths! The point of that not-quite-spoiler is that the film does not set up a strong adversary for the conflict and as a result, The Grey meanders with a realism of a true survival story.

Unfortunately, the survival elements are often undone by effects and performance elements that make the film seem far less realistic. None of the guys stutter from the cold, their bodies resist wind, but none seem truly fatigued (until the very last shots of the movie). In fact, there is a ridiculous quality to the men trudging side by side through the snow when it gets deep (why wouldn’t they go single file to better survive?!)?

The performances are good, but none are truly superlative because they do not truly sell the environment (though Dallas Roberts does an amazing job in his underwater scene). Liam Neeson plays Ottway as a supposedly bad man among other bad men, but he does not truly seem as rough and tumble as most of the other guys (who are pretty much summed up by an early scene featuring a pointless bar brawl).

Even so, The Grey is not horrible; it has some reasonable biological information on both humans and wolves. The situation, despite the mediocre acting, has an element of realism to it that is entertaining and interesting. Even so, the film lacks a compelling quality that would make it worth rewatching.

For other works with Dallas Roberts, please visit my reviews of:
The Walking Dead - Season Three
The L Word - Season Four
The L Word - Season Three
Walk The Line

4.5/10

For other movie 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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Generic Ninja Jedi: The Qui-Gon Jinn Mighty Muggs Figure Flops!

The Good: Costume looks more or less right.
The Bad: Dumb animated look, Giant head, Heavy, Looks very little like Qui-Gon.
The Basics: The Qui-Gon Jinn Mighty Muggs figure does not look enough like Liam Neeson to make it worth buying!


The Star Wars Mighty Muggs toy line is one that I pretty much loathe. The toys, which are from Hasbro which has proven they can make virtually lifelike action figures and statues, are ridiculous-looking. One of the worst of the line has to be the Qui-Gon Jinn Mighty Muggs figure.

Mighty Muggs toys look like they might be plush as they feature animated versions of recognizable Star Wars characters. However, the cartoon-like heads atop disproportionately smaller bodies simply revealed that the heads and toys were solid, like ceramic (they are, in fact, made of a super-hard, heavy plastic). This is as true of the Qui-Gon Jinn as it is of other Mighty Muggs figures.

For those unfamiliar with Qui-Gon Jinn, he only appeared in The Phantom Menace (reviewed here!) as the mentor to Obi-Wan Kenobi. He leads Obi-Wan around Naboo and Tatooine before ending up in a climactic battle with the villainous Darth Maul.

The Mighty Muggs Qui-Gon Jinn figure is pretty terrible and anyone who has seen how Qui-Gon Jinn actually looked will recognize this bears a poor resemblance to Qui-Gon Jinn. This looks like a cartoon version of the Jedi Master.

Basics

Qui-Gon Jinn is a human Jedi, seen on Coruscant, Naboo, and Tatooine throughout The Phantom Menace. The figure stands 7" tall. Qui-Gon Jinn is dressed in a brown cloak over a cream-colored and tan outfit that is painted solidly onto the puffy body of the toy. There are no additional costume details on the toy, though this version has the dark brown cloak over the lighter tunic that Qui-Gon Jinn wears.

This toy is a poor sculpt which looks like an oversized, fattened up LEGO figure and the Mighty Muggs figure has a solid body that looks like dress bottom. The hands are open slightly and this allows Qui-Gon to hold his ridiculous plastic lightsaber. Qui-Gon’s facial expression is a slightly angry one, with his eyes looking fierce and downturned mouth covered by the painted-on beard and mustache. The face looks like a classic ninja, more than anything even remotely like Liam Neeson.

Accessories

Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Master as he is, comes with one accessory, his lightsaber. The three inch long choking hazard fits in Qui-Gon Jinn's right hand. This is a monolithically molded silver and translucent green cylinder which looks vaguely like a lightsaber.

Playability

The Mighty Muggs toy line was designed for no good reason I can find, perhaps just because someone realized Star Wars fans would buy almost anything (which, given how many waves of Star Wars Mighty Muggs figures there were, seemed to be a good assumption!). This heavy toy can be harmful to children and is more intended as a display statue. Sure, it’s a ridiculous display statue, but that’s about it.

Qui-Gon Jinn comes with only three points of articulation, all of which are simple swivel joints. He has joints at the shoulders and neck. The elbows do not extend, so all arm posing is straight-armed. To be fair, the figure does stand up.

Collectibility

The Qui-Gon Jinn is part of the Mighty Muggs Star Wars collection, which no one I know would ever spend money on. The value of these is already declining because it’s a ridiculous concept executed poorly.

Overview

Qui-Gon Jinn is another insultingly bad Mighty Muggs figure that is not worth the time and money of the consumers.

For other Star Wars Mighty Muggs toys, please check out my reviews of:
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Younger)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Older)
C-3PO
Luke Skywalker
Hoth Han Solo
Hoth Luke Skywalker
Grand Moff Tarkin
Bespin Luke Skywalker

1/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Disney Trades The Music And Style Of The Little Mermaid For Substance And Sophisticated Themes With Ponyo!

The Good: Voice acting, Characters, Environmental themes, Sense of whimsy and fantasy
The Bad: Animation style is a bit erratic.
The Basics: In the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo, Disney remakes The Little Mermaid with a greater sense of menace and magic, but without the distinctive music.


I am not ashamed to admit that children’s animated films have a much, much harder time with me than adult films. While I can respect the creativity and style of many animated movies, I usually an unimpressed by how predictable children’s movies are and, more importantly, not wowed by how they talk down to children. I guess I’m of the school that children will learn faster by being presented with complex ideas, situations, and language when paired with adults who are patient enough to answer the questions they have, as opposed to creating works that are written-down to children and do not challenge them. My point here is that it is exceptionally rare for me to rate an animated movie for children very high, especially as high as I am Ponyo.

Ponyo is the Studio Ghibli-created, Disney-distributed version of The Little Mermaid (reviewed here!). The classic myth is retold in (fairly) modern Japan with a sense of wonder and magic that blends with science and modern technology. For my money, Ponyo is a delightful surprise that is sufficiently sophisticated to engage viewers from childhood well into adulthood.

Under the sea, a scientist observes and feeds all manner of sea creatures. There, he witnesses a tiny being that looks like a fish with a human head. One of these mysterious creatures leaves its family and rides a jellyfish to land where she sees the child, Sosuke. In evading a boat, the little creature ends up trapped in a glass bottle, from which Sosuke – who identifies her as a goldfish – rescues her. The sea itself and the scientist – who claims the fishgirl is his daughter – attempt to stop Sosuke from removing her from the sea, but Sosuke puts her in water and nurses her back to health. Sosuke names her Ponyo, feeds her ham, and protects her (in her bucket) while he goes to school.

After vowing to protect Ponyo, Sosuke loses the goldfish with the human face to the Scientist and the sea. Trying to console his mother when his father has to take additional work on the sea, Sosuke feels responsible for the loss of Ponyo. Under the sea, Ponyo rebels against the scientist, refusing to eat the food he provides and demanding he call her by her new name, Ponyo. While she uses her willpower to transform, the scientist forces her to revert. But Ponyo’s desire to be human and love Sosuke is strong and Sosuke’s desire to be reunited is equally great and through tsunami, the machinations of the scientist and sheer force of will, the two work to return to one another. Once they are reunited, Ponyo learns about life above the sea and uses her magic to make Sosuke happy, not knowing the price her magic might come with.

The story is by no means an original one, though the desires of Ponyo to be human and live on land with Sosuke feels fresh in this incarnation as Ponyo takes time to both create a realistic childlike sense of wonder (“Ham!”) and a sense of realism for the shock a seadweller would have suddenly acclimating to land (Ponyo’s curiosity at the act of preparing ramen noodles is delightfully rendered). Also blended well into Ponyo is a strong environmental message and a subtle anti-capitalist one. The scientist, Fujimoto, is deeply concerned with maintaining the natural balance of the environment under the sea and in virtually every shot of the sea near land, pollution may be seen. The subplot involving Koichi, Sosuke’s father, is a subtle indictment of capitalism and how servicing the economy puts good people in outrageously dangerous situations and has the potential to cause more destruction than good.

One of the resounding themes in Ponyo is the importance of taking responsibility – with Sosuke quickly taking responsibility for Ponyo’s fate. Oddly, there are no significant consequences for Fujimoto when he spills his elixirs into the ocean, but that is comparatively minor in the overall story.

The vocal performances in Ponyo are excellent. Utilizing the talents of Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchette, Betty White, Cloris Leachman, and Matt Damon, along with younger talents like Noah Lindsey Cyrus (Ponyo) and Frankie Jonas (Sosuke), Ponyo’s characters are emotive in appropriately real ways. Cyrus infuses enthusiasm and love into almost all of Ponyo’s lines and Jonas portrays Sosuke equally well. They make the characters very easy to empathize with and believe in the magical properties of.

The animation of Ponyo is consistent in its color richness, but erratic in the level of detail, especially on the character. The detailing differences are somewhat ironic considering how consistently detailed the fish and sea creatures are all along. Still, Ponyo is visually pleasing for the most part.

On DVD, Ponyo comes with an entire second disc of bonus features. The featurettes on the making of Ponyo are interesting and worth checking out. Ponyo succeeds because it does not talk down to children (describing how eating soup and sandwiches helps a new mother make milk for the baby is something lacking from American children’s movies!) and it tells an engaging story surprisingly well, making it very easy to recommend.

For other Disney animated films, please visit my reviews of:
Wreck-It Ralph
Brave
Tangled
Toy Story 3
A Christmas Carol
Up
The Princess And The Frog
Bolt
WALL-E
The Incredibles
Lilo & Stitch
Monsters, Inc.
The Lion King
Lady And The Tramp
The Sword In The Stone
Sleeping Beauty
Fantasia

8.5/10

For other film reviews, check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the films I have reviewed!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Christopher Nolan Makes Superhero Films Respectable With The Dark Knight Trilogy!

The Good: Interesting characters, Great thematic development, Amazing acting, Generally good plot progression.
The Bad: Pacing, Predictability of the final act
The Basics: With Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of the Batman mythos with The Dark Knight Trilogy, viewers are treated to a sufficiently adult superhero story that nevertheless drags at times.


As one who does not go back and re-rate products and media, it is a rare thing for me to have an opportunity to make commentary on something that I might have rated unfairly the first time around. When considering individual films versus the entire series or boxed set of a movie, there is the opportunity to consider how the pieces fit together. Sometimes, the sum of the parts is greater, like with The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (reviewed here!), but more often than not, the full video collection forces one to realize that the pieces might not fit together as well as fans hope. With The Dark Knight Trilogy, watching Christopher Nolan’s Batman films back to back to back, one realizes how much the final act truly suffers in comparison.

I am one of the rare critics who was not entirely bowled over by Batman Begins; I found it slower and more ponderous than clever and engaging. Rewatching it, the pacing does not bother me nearly as much, and while I respect the thematic development in the movie, his exploration of fear is not as well-developed as the themes in the other movies. On the other end of the Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises seems disturbingly predictable, formulaic, and unsophisticated coming off the complexity and perfection of The Dark Knight. Viewed in order, in the eight hours of The Dark Knight Trilogy is, hands-down the best superhero film series yet made and it owes much of that to the writing and the able direction of Christopher Nolan, but it is not at all perfect.

Comprised of: Batman Begins (reviewed here!), The Dark Knight (reviewed here!), and The Dark Knight Rises (reviewed here!), The Dark Knight Trilogy assembles the three films and adds the value of two bonus discs.

In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne returns from years of wandering the world to explore what gives criminals their power to Gotham City, a city his murdered parents were influential in cleaning up. There, he rejoins his father’s company and uses the research and development department to equip himself for a nighttime war on crime in Gotham City. As Batman, he begins to strike fear into the mob, while during the day posing as an irresponsible playboy. Bruce Wayne’s efforts clash with the machinations of Dr. Jonathan Crane, the psychologist at Arkham Asylum, where he experiments on the criminally insane and the League Of Shadows, which seeks to destroy Gotham City as a statement against the decadence of the world.

After years of fighting crime, The Dark Knight sees the potential to retire when Gotham City’s new district attorney, Harvey Dent, begins his own war on crime in the city by prosecuting the mobsters. Wayne’s romantic life is complicated by the fact that his childhood love is romantically involved with Harvey Dent and his vigilante actions are met with resolve of the psychopathic Joker. Meant to bring chaos to the attempts at order of Batman and Jim Gordon, the Joker strikes at the heart of the city by attacking Rachel Dawes and working to corrupt Harvey Dent.

Eight years later, with Batman having been vilified, a mysterious woman breaks into Wayne Manor to steal a copy of Bruce Wayne’s fingerprints. As Wayne Enterprises stock suffers, with the research and development department sitting on an incredible power source that could be perverted into a weapon, a thug named Bane makes an assault on the Gotham City stock exchange. Bane shatters Bruce Wayne and deports him while taking over Gotham City. Cut off from the rest of the world when Bane steals the reactor and destroys the bridges out of the city, Bane crushes the spirit of the city by exposing the deception of Jim Gordon and holds Gotham City hostage. Bruce Wayne must physically recover, return to Gotham City and resume his role as Batman to save the people who turned against him.

The Dark Knight Trilogy smartly develops themes in each film and those themes interact well with one another. From fear to the struggle between order and chaos to an exploration on the nature of consequences, The Dark Knight Trilogy strives to be more than just a repetitive saga of superhero films. By developing themes over the course of the three films, Christopher Nolan and his co-writers manage to shake up the familiar and often formulaic superhero stories.

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy is an epic of ever-increasing sacrifice on the part of Bruce Wayne. Starting as the man who has everything, Bruce Wayne’s character arc is far less defined by his romantic entanglements, as it is by the steep curve of his level of sacrifice. Bruce Wayne gives up more and more in order to combat evil in Gotham City. While his mansion is rebuilt, Bruce Wayne’s adherence to rules and his singleminded ambition are challenged before he encounters an enemy who he might have to give up his life to defeat.

The Dark Knight Trilogy is supported by wonderful supporting characters. Bruce Wayne is not in his fight alone. Supported personally by the family butler, Alfred, supplied professionally by his father’s trusted aid Lucius Fox, and directed on the streets by the one uncorrupted cop, Jim Gordon (and later Blake), Bruce Wayne becomes a viable character who seems to have a reasonable investment in the city he is trying to save. Instead of simply being a superhero motivated by some sense of idealism, The Dark Knight Trilogy instead develops a character whose family ties and then his own friendships motivate him to fight organized crime.

Just as the characters in The Dark Knight Trilogy are compelling and developed enough to have complex motivations that make for a surprisingly sophisticated series of movies, the performers are all top-notch and playing at the top of their game. Consistently great are Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne), Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), and Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), with wonderful supporting performances by Cillian Murphy (Dr. Crane), Liam Neeson, Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), Heath Ledger (The Joker), Nestor Carbonell (the Mayor), Anne Hathaway (Selina Kyle), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Blake).

On DVD and Blu-Ray, The Dark Knight Trilogy includes the three films, with bonus discs for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, with enough behind-the-scenes content to please the fans.

Cinephiles enjoy The Dark Knight Trilogy and while the fans of superhero films reasonably go gaga over the set, discriminating film critics have to admit that the Trilogy is hardly perfect. It’s close, but the pacing and inevitable predictability of The Dark Knight Trilogy is off enough to make it just shy of absolute perfection.

For other live-action DC superhero works, please check out my reviews of:
Green Lantern
Jonah Hex
Watchmen
Superman Returns
Catwoman
Batman
Supergirl
Wonder Woman - Season 1

8.5/10

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

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Gangs Of New York Is A Lacking Tale Of Revenge And History

The Good: Daniel Day-Lewis, Moments of directing
The Bad: Howard Shore's soundtrack, Lack of use of quality actors, Romantic subplot, Idiot characters
The Basics: When gangs ruled the Five Points of New York City, Irish immigrants rise up against the Native New Yorkers in a dull tale of revenge and confused character types.


Most everyone says that Martin Scorsese is a genius and it's easy to see why when watching The Gangs Of New York. Scorsese has a great eye for movement and framing and using the camera to tell the story he wants to tell. He populates his film with talented actors and has a decent sense of pacing. Unfortunately, there is little that lives up to his potential genius in this film.

The Gangs Of New York begins with the slaughter of the Dead Rabbit gang in the Five Points in New York City (made even more distracting by the time frame of the massacre being given after the battle as opposed to before). This is not a big plot revelation as anyone who knows movies can figure that Liam Neeson's character will not survive given he is not billed near the top in the credits. Priest Vallon is killed and sixteen years later, his son, Amsterdam, comes looking for revenge. He quickly absorbs into the corrupt New York City run by Boss Tweed and Bill the Butcher, the man who killed Priest. Amsterdam gets closer to Bill until he is exposed and leads an Irish revolution against the "Native" New Yorkers and the Civil War draft changes everything.

First, the high points. Daniel Day-Lewis is phenomenal as Bill the Butcher. He brings William Cutting to life with a crooked grin, an expert sense of timing and a fury and ferocity that is unlike anything he has ever done on film before. There is no trace of his subtle and likable character from The Last Of The Mohicans, nor his dull, plodding character from The Age Of Innocence. Here, Day-Lewis performs and convinces the viewer he is someone and something totally different, a corrupt killer. In short, he does everything an actor is supposed to with smashing results.

Unfortunately, Day-Lewis is the exception to the rule. A lot of talented actors appear in The Gangs Of New York and are woefully neglected and/or ignored completely. Jim Broadbent's Tweed is decent, but remains almost entirely a peripheral character. The acting talents of John C. Reilly and Brendan Gleeson are almost entirely wasted in the bit roles they perform in this movie. Similarly, Liam Neeson's performance is too easy to neglect given that the entirety of his performance is in the first fifteen minutes of a 166 minute epic.

The real loser of The Gangs Of New York (outside the viewer who sits through the entire thing), is the story. We've seen revenge stories before. I happen to like a decent story of revenge and intrigue. This is not that. It has all of the same, old cliches. Parent is killed, disappears, returns years later with vengeance on their mind, gets close to killer, is discovered, the situation moves to a resolution. Even the confused, out of the subtext ending that might surprise some, seems canned and serves only to rob the film of a decent catharsis. Instead, the conflict between Amsterdam and the Butcher seems simply like it wasn't worth resolving. It's a lot of blood and violence to lead to a vengeance not worth the effort to resolve.

Moreover, the romantic subplot, and I use the term "romantic" loosely, in The Gangs Of New York between Amsterdam and Jenny is both entirely cliche and tacked on. There is an attempt to make triangle issues between Amsterdam, Jenny and the Butcher, but it feels like a cheap romantic tool used to add a woman to the mix. In short, Cameron Diaz's Jenny feels like a character added at the last moment so there could be some sort of romantic interest for Amsterdam and it fails to engage the viewer. Instead, we feel like we are being cheated because it distracts from the emotional intensity of the revenge plot. This is a rare instance where the film would have been fine without trying to balance the cast and it might have made a more powerful commentary to show the obsession of the vengeful son to not include anything as redemptive (or in this case, obscuring) as a romantic attachment.

Like Jenny, many of the characters are simply archetypes that fit into a rather generic role in the larger storytelling mythos. The problem is, we - as viewers - want actual characters and end up woefully disappointed by The Gangs Of New York. The let down here is that almost all of the characters turn out to be complete idiots in the end. For example, Brendan Gleeson's world-weary warrior Monk transforms in an instant from a battle-hardened soldier and mentor to Amsterdam into an idealistic moron who is willing to turn his back on the greatest villain he has ever known. And unfortunately, he is not the exception in this movie, he embodies the rule. All of the characters defy their better judgment and the common sense of the viewer by reversing their own wariness and anger.

My final problem with The Gangs Of New York was Howard Shore's derivative score for the movie. As a big fan of The Lord Of The Rings saga (reviewed here!), I was surprised while watching The Gangs Of New York to find many similarities in the soundtrack to the Trilogy, especially in the battle scenes. This disappointment was amplified when Howard Shore's name came up in the credits; the similarity was the result of Shore's sudden lack of musical imagination and it plagues the movie as Shore attempts to link (musically) gang-ridden New York City to Middle Earth. That's just wrong.

In short, The Gangs Of New York may have had potential and there are stylistic elements like directing and costume design that work in its favor, but the potential is never reached because the actors are underused or are playing characters with such contrast to sensibility that they are almost unwatchable and ultimately not relatable.

For other films with Jim Broadbent, be sure to check out my takes on:
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Inkheart
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe
Nicholas Nickleby
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Smilla’s Sense Of Snow
Brazil

5/10

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

© 2012, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Grim But Neither Dismal Or Disappointing, The Dark Knight Rises Will Please The Discriminating Fans.

The Good: Acting, Plot, Character, Themes, Continuity/Style
The Bad: I could have lived without Miranda Tate/Marion Cotillard, Some of the premise is hard to buy.
The Basics: In the sprawling conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s take on Batman, The Dark Knight Rises pits Bruce Wayne against a brutish general and a catburglar who inspires him to once again take up the mantle of Batman.


Christopher Nolan had a near-impossible task in following up The Dark Knight (reviewed here!). The difficulty was not in how to follow the plot or where to take the characters, but how to develop Bruce Wayne (and Batman) from where he was left into a new story that is both compelling and utilizes villains in a way that does not feel familiar from prior Batman films. In that sense, The Dark Knight Rises is the success many of the fans have been clamoring for. The film effectively concludes the current Batman Saga and it does so in a way that is (it is hard to call such a depressing film “satisfying”) consistent with the mood and direction of its predecessors.

The Dark Knight Rises is not one of Christopher Nolan’s perfect films, but it is close and it remains better than at least ninety percent of the other films ever made (or, at least, that I’ve seen). Because there seems to be a lot of vehemence by fans (who have not seen The Dark Knight Rises) against critics who do not consider the film “flawless,” I’ll dispense with the negatives right up front. First, The Dark Knight Rises hinges on a premise that is somewhat hard to buy. Without explicitly referencing the Joker, The Dark Knight Rises proves his ultimate thesis from The Dark Knight; that when the chips are down people will turn on one another like a pack of dogs. When Gotham City comes under siege, the masses turn on one another and seem to largely accept Bane's rule as "freedom." As an anti-capitalist, it is pretty offensive to think that The Dark Knight Rises equates tearing off the shackles of economic slavery with the willingness to follow a criminal psychopath. Moreover, the idea of "exile" from the beseiged Gotham works fine for winter, but it was not winter when the city fell; how there was not a mass exodus of swimmers is a bit tough buy.

The only other issue of note with The Dark Knight Rises came in the form of Marion Cotillard’s Miranda Tate. Cotillard plays opposite Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and the two have no real chemistry and the character of Miranda Tate did not add enough to the mix to justify her presence. I could have lived without her in the film and felt the movie would have done just fine with a strategic rearrange around her character. Sure, her character brought symmetry to the Trilogy - and it is highly recommended viewers rewatch Batman Begins (reviewed here!) before checking this film out, but for the die-hard fans, Cotillard's true role is utterly unsurprising. In fact, for a film that makes so many implicit connections - like Holly being Selina's sister, the iconic moment where Bane injures Batman, etc. - based on the established Batman universe of the books, Miranda Tate's role is more insulting than enlightening. But more than that, outside the convenient symmetry, she adds nothing to the mix. In other words, in a ship filled with familiar characters and compelling new ones – Bane, Selina Kyle, and John Blake – Miranda Tate just felt like deadweight or a symbol.

Eight years after Batman had Commissioner Gordon begin a chase that allowed Harvey Dent to die as an apparent hero, times have changed in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne is no longer the flamboyant playboy and Commissioner Gordon and his police force have effectively cleaned up the streets of Gotham City. While Bruce Wayne is drawn out of his seclusion in the rebuilt Wayne Manor by Wayne Enterprises business, he encounters Selina Kyle at a benefit for Harvey Dent. When Kyle steals his mother's pearls and his fingerprints, Bruce Wayne sees a larger plot brewing. Forewarned is not forearmed, though, and soon Bane begins a series of attacks on Gotham City.

Liberating prisoners to create his own private army and capturing Bruce Wayne to make him suffer as he destroys the peace of Gotham City are steps in Bane’s larger plan, a plan that is solidified by isolating the island and arming a nuclear weapon. As Gordon and John Blake work to find Bruce Wayne and stop Bane, Selina Kyle faces her own demons and as Gotham City crumbles, Batman must overcome the wounds Bane left him with and return to Gotham City to save its populace.

Bane is a much more convincing and interesting character than he has been portrayed as on the big screen before now. In fact, seeing Tom Hardy as Bane made me go back to look up Bane’s appearances in the Batman graphic novels, as he is in the only Batman book I have in my collection, Knightfall (volume 1 is reviewed here!). In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is an effective and ruthless general. Nolan is smart to make him more than simply an agent of chaos; he is not just a villain who wants to watch the world burn. While Nolan's motivation for Bane as a criminal agent of freedom is fine, it is not quite as compelling as Selina Kyle's motivations (i.e. to save her sister and get a clean slate). While Nolan ultimately gives him sufficient motivation by the end of the film to make him a compelling villain, in many ways, Bane is just a tool. And he is damn near impossible to understand in many moments with his mask in place!

As for the special effects, the best thing that can be said about the special effects is that the film does not feel like a special effects film. Instead, the various tech elements that Lucius Fox cooks up and Batman utilizes look and feel very real, lending a credibility to the action scenes. The grounding of the special effects helps the viewer remain rooted in a very dark, but compelling world.

Which brings us to the themes. One of the key elements that has separated Nolan’s Batman films from other cinematic Batman endeavors is the strong use of compelling, deeply-intelligent, well-developed themes. More than simply a generic battle of good versus evil (Superman, I’m looking in your direction!), Nolan’s Batman endeavors have a thematic resonance to them that outlasts the action-adventure elements. In the case of The Dark Knight Rises, the film is deeply concerned with consequences and responsibility. The theme is developed well with both Bruce Wayne/Batman and Selena Kyle as she grows throughout the film.

On the acting front, the returning cast gives their usual impeccable performances. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine provide constants that help the viewer buy into the fact that this is the same general world we left at the end of The Dark Knight. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a wonderful addition to the ensemble and he brings an energy and enthusiasm as John Blake that replaces well the character of Rachel Dawes. My perennial favorite Anne Hathaway takes the role of Selina Kyle and makes it her own. I suppose I shall have to go back to my argument advocating Hathaway for Wonder Woman (that’s here, be sure to check it out!) and change all the “if’s” in relation to her pulling off the action role of Catwoman to “now that she has” because Hathaway is entirely convincing when she does the physical work as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.

Tom Hardy is unrecognizable and wonderful as Bane. A far cry from a role like Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis, the role of Bane requires him to be both the tactician and the brute and he pulls it off. Hardy is at his best, though, when he must use his body language (not just brute strength) to emote in scenes opposite Christian Bale and he lands those scenes.

As for Christian Bale, he returns as Bruce Wayne with the intensity that has made him so plausible in prior outings. He is given more to do as Bruce Wayne that requires him to be a more physical actor and he lives up to all our expectations of him.

Ultimately, The Dark Knight Rises might not be flawless, but for the discriminating fans who have been dreading that the film cannot possibly live up to the hype, it is time to relax; The Dark Knight Rises is a worthy conclusion of a dark story that refuses to give viewers an easy answer or replace substance and reality with a feel-good ending.

For other live-action DC superhero works, please check out my reviews of:
Green Lantern
Jonah Hex
Watchmen
Superman Returns
Catwoman
Batman
Supergirl
Wonder Woman - Season 1

9/10

For other film reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the films I have reviewed!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Transformers, The Borg, And Brooklyn Decker's Breasts All Sink Battleship.

The Good: Generally decent view on the contributions of soldiers
The Bad: Terribly predictable plot, Mediocre special effects, No character development, Mediocre acting.
The Basics: As bad as one might expect, Battleship is a terribly predictable science fiction invasion movie that is so formulaic as to be utterly unwatchable.


When I heard that there was going to be a film based upon the board game Battleship, I had exceptionally low expectations. When I saw the first trailer, I was absolutely convinced the film would be a lemon. It doesn't matter that Liam Neeson appears in the film Battleship; Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (reviewed here!), which Battleship bears many similarities to, had Leonard Nimoy and other big budget special effects films try to draw viewers in with one or two quality actors. Battleship has serious flaws and Peter Berg's direction oscillates between obvious and terrible.

Fortunately, Battleship bears very little resemblance to the game upon which it is based. The game, which involves two players who cannot see one another using a grid to guess where their opponents' ships are in order to try to sink the ships, does use the "sensor blind" conceit. As well, the movie includes alien weaponry that is very similar to the pegs that are used in the game Battleship. That, actually, is one of the few clever elements in Battleship. The alien "peg" weapons bore into the Navy ships are basically cylinders like the game pegs. One of the few superlative scenes in Battleship is one where they swarm a single destroyer.

Late one night, Samantha walks into a bar where brothers Stone Hopper and Alex Hopper are out drinking. Samantha wants nothing more than a chicken burrito, so Alex - eager to impress her - breaks into the convenience store across the street and steals her one. Upset by his delinquency, Stone tells Alex that he will follow Stone into the Navy. On the eve of wargames in the Pacific, Alex tries to work up the courage to propose to Samantha, despite the fact that she is the daughter of the Admiral Shane, his commanding officer.

When the war games commence, following a particularly brutal soccer loss to the Japanese contingent, the international force - led by the Americans - encounters four alien crafts that have landed off the coast of Hawaii. Ensconced in a force field which prevents the outside from contacting them, Alex is forced to take command of the surviving ship to combat the alien threat. While on land, Samantha and a wounded former Navy officer, meet Cal near the radio transmitters that first lured the aliens to Earth. As they try to do what they can to stop the aliens, Alex and his former adversary, Nagata, strike a blow at the vessels still in water.

Battleship has a pretty standard "alien invasion" plot and this movie adds nothing new to the genre. With remarkable similarities to Battle Los Angeles (reviewed here!), Battleship presents one of the more mundane sets of alien invaders to grace the big screen. The creatures are essentially a pale copy of The Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation as evidenced by the way they target the technology of the Navy, while often ignoring the organic lifeforms. The creature design of the aliens in Battleship is particularly lazy.

That said, the weaponry design for the CG special effects is watchable, though the film owes a lot of its "look" more to the Transformers franchise than the Battleship boardgame. The suits the alien invaders wear have transforming elements and the alien battleships that "hop" along the water also are in a pretty constant state of physical flux. The film rather mundanely presents both and - possibly to keep the budget down, possibly to evoke the boardgame - eliminates special effects altogether on occasion simply to present the enemy forces as abstract graphics.

As for the characters, they are all "types." Admiral Shane, briefly in the film, is the archetypal protective father and military hardass (it is rare when Liam Neeson cannot save a role!) and his daughter is little more than eye candy. Though, in current blockbuster tradition, a passing effort is made to give her some character; she is a physical therapist. This ends up being more of a plot point, which allows her to try to challenge the Lieutenant Colonel patient she is working with. Moreover, the way director Peter Berg focuses on Brooklyn Decker's breasts undermine the attempts to make her a serious character.

The main characters, however, are Stone and Alex. Stone is very much the archetypal Naval officer and Alex is a slacker bad boy who is trying to turn his life around. Alex's attempt at reforming goes poorly and his character arch is remarkably predictable. The conflict between Alex and Nagata is more formulaic than organic and the resolution to it is obvious from the moment the two first fight.

On the acting front, Battleship has decent casting, but nothing extraordinary in the way of performances. Peter MacNicol has what is essentially a cameo where he plays pretty much the same character he played on Ally McBeal and Numbers and Hamish Linklater is the comic relief with his dry wit, much like he is in virtually everything else he has been in. Alexander Skarsgard plays serious, like he pretty much always does.

But the film is led by Taylor Kitsch and he is particularly bland in the role of Alex. Battleship is characterized by Kitsch's mediocre deliveries and utter lack of charisma. Rihanna's role is dull and her supporting performance is basically an exceptionally limited role with one extended bit of dialogue that seems only in the film to appear in the trailers. And, without insulting the real-life servicemen and servicewomen who appear in the film, there are several supporting performances by people who are not actors . . . and it is obvious.

Ultimately, even going into Battleship with exceptionally low expectations will not redeem the film for anyone who has a love of movies . . . or even the desire to spend their time watching something that makes real sense.

For other films featuring Liam Neeson, please check out my reviews of:
The Dark Knight Rises
Unknown
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader
The Next Three Days
The A-Team
Clash Of The Titans
The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Batman Begins
Love Actually
Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Schindler's List
The Mission


1.5/10

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

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

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