Review: Logan

Year: 2017
Director: James Mangold
Screenplay: James Mangold, Scott Frank, Michael Green
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant, Dafne Keen.

Synopsis is here:

I cannot say I loved Logan, although I do admire it. The superhero movie that’s making grown men cry has gained many apostles, but I’m just not a devout follower. I fear part of this may be down to how I feel about The Wolverine character as a whole. There’s also the issue of how we finally got to a Wolverine film that’s actually interested in the character. If the other films had done their jobs fully, I could feel myself having more resonance with myself. For that, we could blame some poor choices on Fox’s part. Getting James Mangold to take the mantle a little earlier could have helped amongst other things.

Logan’s stripped down, 90’s road movie aesthetic is actually quite appealing after the overtly slick, all spectacle approach of X-men: Apocalypse. Marigold’s intention to make something that is clearly set within the world, yet not of the same style is the approach that has been deeply needed in the growing hemogenic realm of the “superhero movie” sub-genre. The irreverence of Deadpool and the cynical nature of Logan are steps in the right direction. Not just a refreshing change of pace but a change of focus. By sliming the stakes and adding finality to proceedings Logan doesn’t feel like yet another piece to a needlessly complicated puzzle. It finds a solid reason for a viewer to care about what’s on screen. We might not see everything reset itself two years down the line. Even though as I say this, words about the future of these characters have already been hyped.

For now, Logan appears to be a somewhat fitting conclusion to an awkward spin-off series. It plays with meta well and doesn’t feel the need to aim towards humour to keep things interesting. It’s also generally quite upsetting. Death follows our characters throughout this movie. Unlike the shallow lip service paid to the likes of Ironman 3 (2013), there’s a true feeling that regret weighs heavily on Weapon X. That everything he touches simply makes things worse. A tragic sequence during the second half of the movie is particularly despairing for this very reason. When Logan lets his guard down. There’s a good chance that innocent people could get hurt.

The film is a rather crowning achievement for its main star; Hugh Jackman. After 17 years of inhabiting this character, Jackman’s performances have always remained relatively consistent even if the film’s stories and plots have not. In Logan, Jackman infuses his character with far more bitterness and resentment than before, but also more pathos. Some of the films more compelling scenes come from the now fraught relationship that is held with Logan's former mentor; Charles Xavier (an on-form Patrick Stewart). Again, seeing the tension displayed here is as frustrating as it is entertaining. There’s a dull ache that resides in scenes in which they talk about what could have been. It’s painful not only because of the strength of the performances, but because there’s always the slight feeling that it’s a meta nod to the incoherency of the X-men film series itself.

The big question for some is whether Logan is better than The Dark Knight (2008). Not in my eyes. While it’s easier now to see flaws with Nolan’s comic book hero works, I still find The Dark Knight a better-paced blockbuster, featuring a stronger antagonist and set pieces which stick in the mind long after the film finishes. In terms of personal taste, I also found Logan’s cynicism harder to contend with. It’s a film in which death weighs heavy on the shoulders and even the outcome of secondary characters is tough going. One can’t help but think that some of the plaudits are simply because we see more bloodshed. If that is the case, it is somewhat troubling as Logan never truly feels cathartic.
Let it be said, however, that Logan is one of the more notable Superhero movies of this cycle as it dares to be different. The film’s finality is a shot in the arm for the superhero genre in general. The film’s grim tone, may not be for everyone, but this third and possibly final entry in the wolverine series does well to remind the audience that the stakes don’t always have to be saving the world. They can be about saving one soul.

Review: Furious 7

Year: 2015
Director: James Wan
Screenplay: Chris Morgan 
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham

Synopsis is here: 

Note: Review features a spoiler for the 6th entry of the series.

My review starts with the end of the film. Furious 7 completes with an ensemble moment, before delivering a simple metaphor. One that can be observed as Christian symbolism due to its overtones. It’s also an ending which remarks on a real life tragedy and its relationship to fiction. We consider the Fast and Furious series to be one that lacks subtly. Yet here its final moments become a quiet gesture that marks an end of an era. Both of the films and reality. Is it easy to suggest that the actors we’re watching are merely acting?

Not since Gladiator (2000) have I felt so aware of an actor’s death in a movie. More talented performers than Paul Walker have passed on. Yet to me, their final films have never felt as painfully self-reflexive. There’s no surprise that Furious 7’s final moments finish with such an affecting tribute to Walker. 

Then again, as the Fast and Furious films have grown, they've always been highly aware of themselves as well as their audience. The films evolved, the audience grew, and so did the diversity of both product and consumer.   The film's large opening box office may have had one or two morbidly fascinated viewers, but in the grand scheme of things, this has been a series that has catered to its audience in a way the likes of The Expendables (2010) have struggled with from the first film. Both franchises are inherently silly, yet Fast’s candour sets it apart.

As the Fast films have worn on, they have of course, became more comic book-like in their nature. They’ve also picked up the motifs of 80's actioners. We only have to witness Dwayne Johnson picking up a drone mini gun in Furious 7 to notice this. However, the Fast series (in particular 7) have dealt with coming to terms with the finite aspect of life with slightly more poignancy than say Marvel. Some of this has occurred via cosmic calamity, but also via its plotting. The death of Han for instance. 

An on screen death after the credits roll, of the previous film, suddenly becomes more than a plot device. A fatalistic cloud hangs over Furious 7.  Not just because of Walker's death. The film itself has his character Brian, struggling with the rigours of family life and misses “the bullets”. He finds it hard to settle. This is also part of the reasoning behind his move away from FBI agent to career criminal from the first film onwards. His love of the rush. Furious 7 has lots of nonsense going on throughout it. A hodgepodge mixture of a revenge flick, heist caper and erratic foreign policy, with some cyber espionage thrown in. The one through line that seems to stick (when the film has time to go back to it) is the wish to regain a sense of normality. We see Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty suffering from the same sort of flittering PSTD symptoms that got Iron Man in a funk and wishes to reclaim her sense of self. Vin Diesel’s Dom endeavours to help her recover throughout. These smaller character beats often play off as corny (Morgan’s script is a cornucopia of cheddar) but give the film a relative sense of weight and balance. 

Softer stuff aside, Furious 7 brings out all the action tropes it can, as the filmmakers clearly know why your butt is on the seat. The streams of obvious expository dialogue. The facial closes ups and musical stings that are held for a timing that often feel more comedic than dramatic. Furious 7 is the HAL 9000 of absurd action films. It's fully self-aware. 

But it's earned the right to be. It's a film in which its action sequences are not only insanely constructed and controlled, but feel far removed from what we expect. Mission Impossible: 4 scaled Dubai skyscrapers, so Furious 7 smash into Abu Dhabi landmarks... three times. Iron Man 3 enjoyed drone warfare, but in the bland eighties stalwart: the docks. Furious feels it’s to use the whole of LA. The film also appears to reference the Italian Job (1969), in a way that only they could.

Screenwriter Chris Morgan, Director James Wan and the stunt crew have really outdone themselves in terms of the sheer scale of the action. Wan; whose always been more known for his lower budget shock fair, balances the various amounts of set pieces like this isn’t his first rodeo. Showing clear growth in his setups since the likes of Death Sentence (2007).

As mentioned, most of the film’s plot is bobbins. From Tyrese's awkward comic relief, to Dwayne Johnson cracking arm casts with his muscles. At one point Kurt Russell, winks directly at the camera to remind you that he knows what type of film he is in. The film labels Jason Statham’s character a “ghost”, to hilariously ensure they don't have to explain how he pops up into the thick of the action without a thorough explanation. Consider this with the fact that the films McGuffin, is a Dark Knight-lite device which allows all smartphones to be hacked into as remote GPS’ for whoever operates it. Statham’s enters scenes as if he already owns what he’s chasing. 

That said, Furious 7 likes to show that it is fun bobbins that is smart at being dumb. It also likes to see who’s keeping up with what. The Row Three Superticket podcast was quick to pick up on the scantily clad women who take up less about two minutes of screen time, but say very little to the five lead females who all have their own (thinly spread) sense of purpose throughout. This mainstay aspect of the series is not the most welcome, and yet it’s clearly the one that is becoming more minimalized as the series moves on. 

Due to the Fast series not being based on any previous materials other than themselves, the series has slowly become a driving force for diversity.  The fact is Furious 7 understands its intent and audience. It cottoned on to diversity years ago and now feels like a trailblazer while the likes of Sony during their hack and Deadline articles have been sneering their noses at the idea of BAME characters going above the imaginary station these people believe exist. While buffoonery and dubious gender politics still exist within the framework. Furious 7 actually handles mixed race relationships with a commanding force. The series has clearly become all the better for it. Its box office numbers are fascinating. Not just because they’re large, but because of whose going and why. For a dumb film, it’s brilliant at pushing the boundaries that smarter films don’t.   

Furious 7 knows for a fact that I'll never buy it (or any of the other entries) for keeps, yet the films stupid jokes, kinetic action and united colours of Benetton casting still serve up a deliriously absurd time at the cinema in a way other films failed. It's a film is smart enough to know how dumb it is. For that I raise a glass to Mr Walker, Mr Diesel and the others for their "one last ride". 

DVD Review: The Rover

Year: 2014
Director: David Michôd
Screenplay: Joel Edgerton, David Michôd
Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Patterson

Synopsis is here

The Rover is a brutally grim apocalyptic thriller set 10 years after a "collapse" which ravaged Australia, possibly the world. As we enter this world, we see Australia as a sparse and deadened wasteland ravaged by the titular "event". The collapse could possibly refer to an event that has occurred within Eric (Pearce); the protagonist of the feature. If the exterior event displays the degradation of the materials we currently take for granted, then the insular collapse inside Eric is a crumbling of character and spirit. Despite this, there is a defiance within which we don't fully understand until the film's final moments. The final act by Eric will frustrate, upset and maybe even hearten. However, for a film goer like myself, writing this a day after viewing, it may also be difficult to forget.

The Rover is a lean cut of a film. There's little in terms of plot to really grasp on to, and that works in its favor. Pearce's Eric is drowning his demons in a bar before three thieves make off with his car. By chance, he captures the lead thief's brother (Robert Patterson) and the two of them work towards finding the trio and the missing vehicle.

David Michôd's second feature is much more of a mood piece than a solid set adventure. The film is far more interested in the brittleness of those who have lost everything, than a clear destination. An underlying tension pulses through many of the scenes. We find Pearce's Eric already nearing the brink of being mentally shattered. The theft of his vehicle only pushes him further down the decline. The word hardened doesn't give the man justice. Pearce again shows the type of intense performance that, we sometimes forget that he's very good at (the last thing I saw him in was the forgettable Iron Man 3 (2013))

Robert Patterson brings a jumble of man-child tics together to unleash a transformative display. Once again stepping away from the glittery vampire movies that placed him on the map, his role of Reynolds has a slight "Sling Blade (1996)" vibe to proceedings and yet, Patterson still manages to hold his own in an expressive performance that still manages to capture the despondent nature of the film.

Visually stark and with a hard edged tone that is difficult to shake off, The Rover doesn't bring everything together with the same completeness as other desolate features such as The Proposition (2008), nor does it have the same kinetic energy that the likes of Mad Max brought to post-apocalyptic worlds. But if Mad Max was about the insanity of staying mobile when everything is depleted, The Rover taps into the insular feelings of emotions themselves breaking down that Max only really held as a side note. There's the same cold feelings of dread felt here that could be found in the likes of Wake in Fright (1971) and The Road (2009), although The Rover slips at fully taking us into the world as those two examples did. That doesn't mean The Rover can't stand on its own two feet. It just means it holds good company.

Review: Captain America: The Winter Solider

Year: 2014
Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
Screenplay: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell, Robert Redford, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Synopsis is here 

I do say to myself that I’m tired of this current stream of comic book movies. I still find it astonishing how some of my friends keep themselves psyched for each upcoming entry. I guess they do well to avoid the teaser teaser trailers and constant click bait articles which break down said trailers shot by shot.  Of course you ignore these things as much as a mainstream film fan can, one can still suffer from comic book fatigue. Evidence can be found in the hammer headed -marketing campaign that The Amazing Spiderman 2 is leading.

I complain about these things and yet due to this blog, the current film environment and that fact that I'm full of self hatred, I find myself settling down with popcorn to watch these things. I have become more partial with the superheroes. I abstained from Thor: The Dark World, for no other reason than I'm not especially interested in that strand of the Avengers (Loki excluded). Yet I found myself hitting Captain America: The Winter Solider on the opening weekend. Reason being, I simply want to see what they do with Steve Rogers thread.

Captain America: TWS pleasantly reminds me why I find myself coming back to comic book franchises.  This is a solid extension of what has come before with its head firmly placed with where it wishes to go. The basics still remain; Roger's is still the slick haired, Boy Scout action man, whose heart is so securely in the right place, you'd need power tools to wrench it loose. Yet there's a stern sense of growth. Evans deals comfortably with Rogers as a man who is a step out of touch with the world, but with the willingness and ability to adapt.

Observing at how the screenplay deals with an extraordinary man thrust into a modernised cynical world, makes me consider just how crooked the likes of Man of Steel feels against this. True the Marvel studio has had time, but it only takes a few scenes to see the deftness of touch. One scene based inside Washington's Smithsonian Institution balances Rogers as the relic he was and the hero he is. It's executed with a grace that displays a sense of assurance the Russo brothers clearly have, considering these are directors whose recent history is been more successful with smaller screen comedies (Arrested Development, Community).

The film still suffers from conflict. The presence of Robert Redford, paranoid mood and knowing establishing shots of the Washington monument do suggest 70's thriller the film aims for, but once the action kicks in, the tone sometimes gets swallowed up by Marvel's action style. While we gain more physicallity than we've seen in previous entries, most of the action itself still feels pretty typical of what we know. Less Parallax View, more powerhouse punches, although it's hard to think of the target audience noticing.

Joe Johnson created a Captain America with a similar tradition to the likes of The Rocketeer (1991). The first film's buccaneering style and compositions feel more comfortable with the comic book source. It's difficult not to feel that that The Winter Solider does sometimes feel at odds despite its larger, more confident set pieces.

 The Winter Solider still maintains some neat touches. In a film that talks about the enemy within, it's interesting to see Rogers have a book on George Bush on his shelves. Early talk about R&B singer Marvin Gaye starts off as an amusing aside, but reminds us of the artist's socio political leanings as well as his death by the hand of his own father. Consider this when we discover the identity of The Winter Soldier.

The uncomfortable notion that no one can be trusted is becoming key to this incarnation of this Marvel universe. The Winter Solider toys with the strand as effectively as the other entries in the universe. Unlike Iron Man 3 however, there's less awkwardness in the carrying out of the theme, revelations feel less like pulled rugs, while red herring play out more than adequately. A small yet effective piece of editing seems to turn attention to a character that isn't surprising, but hints at a dormant conflict that would throw up interesting outcomes.

I found it hard not to think of more Paul Greengrass more than Alan J Pakula. Evans has the kind of conflict of interests that bother Matt Damon and while he takes on the unassuming role well, the superhero aspects make him a little less affecting than the likes Gene Hackman, Warren Beatty or Donald Sutherland. That said, these films have a different agenda than their influences, or fan canon for that matter. People like me need reasons to keep coming. If Marvel keep generating curiosities such as Captain America: TWS, I guess I'll keep spending.

Review: Iron Man 3

Year: 2013
Director: Shane Black
Screenplay: Shane Black, Drew Pearce
Starring: Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau

Synopsis is here:

NOTE: The following review contains what could be considered explicit spoilers. The film may have raked in all the money, but one must believe that not everyone visiting has seen it. 

"Since New York, everything changed" states an anxious and perturbed Tony Stark. It is a statement I wholeheartedly agree with. The billion dollar blockbuster which was The Avengers showed us just how big Marvel and Disney want to make these comic book franchises. The Avengers may be mostly based within the state of New York, yet in terms of the stakes, you can sense just how high they have become.

The Avengers also brought about a straight headed frothiness often forgotten in this kind of venture; happily reminding us that these comic books can not only manage grandeur but can do so while being bright, breezy and colourful. Iron Man 3 feels rather wearily like two steps back. Now, we have "final" entry that is little too romanced by The Dark Knight than it needs to be. While the second film didn't much the scale of The Dark Knight, so much of Shane Black's screenplay has the tinge of Nolan's adaptation, that the film near loses its own identity. However, there was a good chance of that happening anyway, as Iron Man 3 also harbours an awkward mesh of Disney and ultra violence that comes close to undoing the work that the first two films happily put forth. Yes, that's an admission that I didn't hate the second film.

My main issue with Iron Man 3, stems from its jarring tonal shifts. The film looks set to delve into the more curious aspects of Tony Stark, who is now having nightmares and panic attacks due to the events in New York. Unfortunately, despite the large amount of time Stark spends out of the suit, the film does very little to look at his demons effectively.

In fact Stark and friends feel the best of curing what ails him is with ludicrous and abrasive violence. The kill count of the good guys is not only high, but doesn't feel wholly justified when put in consideration to the villains badly realised motives. We should be fine with Iron Man blasting away indiscriminately because he spends lots of time with some latchkey kid during the second act. Stark's Real Steel moments suffer from the same kind of clumsiness that affects Spielberg at his so called worst, and yet due to the "cool" factor that comes with Robert Downley jr, this seems to be bypassed. The jump from Fisher Price my first mechanic to blasting fools with little regard becomes a harsh discourse.

I began to find the whole thing reductive. As a Disney/Marvel franchise feature, going dark could be problematic, but hiring Shane Black makes a clear statement of intent. Black's traits are everywhere for all to see, but are shoved awkwardly into a third feature which had its character under a different arc. One where its character evolved from selfish arms dealer to all into someone who begin to understand the responsibility he held in his blood stained hands. IM3 decides to effectively blast that away for some kick ass action scenes. That said, sky-diving set piece aside, the films spectacle is only intermittently engaging.    

 Iron man is far happier dulling my expectations by messing around with its main villain, The Mandarin. It's understandable that some of the more controversial and prejudiced aspects of the character needed to be exercised, but why after to the blood and sweat are we left with yet another white collar industrialist as the man behind the curtain? The series has cumbersomely come full circle.

On the positive side, the cast are still finely tuned to everything thrown at them. Downley Jr and Paltrow bounce off that fantastic chemistry that makes them such a fun couple to watch. Black's screenplay does much to keep them separate, yet their moments together are still effective. Sir Ben's Kingsley guzzles scenery like toffee and I really can't fault anything Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle or Rebecca Hall have done recently, let alone here.

A lot of the dialogue is snappy and chucklesome and individual moments and scenes hit their mark as you'd expect from a writer of Black's calibre. Yet the entire feature doesn't settle well in the pit of my stomach. As murky as the politics were in Nolan's Dark Knight Rises, the film still managed to fit within its universe of necessary evils and chaos that its characters are meant to inhabit. At least Batman kept it all about the turmoil of Bruce Wayne, Iron Man 3 seems happy to dismiss Stark's relationship and anxiety as fussy, uninteresting and easily micro managed by an 11 year old. That may not bother the cool kids or bean counters, but it gave me food for thought.