My final movie for Action Month is, in my humble opinion, one of the best all out action movies of the last decade... and NOBODY went to see it! The idea was to bring back something no one was really asking for in 'Judge Dredd'. The original Stallone film had its fans, but for the most part, it was seen as pretty bad. Therefore, when this was coming up, no one seemed to pay much attention to it. However, once it was released on home video (all too quickly), word got around that this was actually a really cool action flick. This one takes place in a dystopian future where the metropolis' police force have been given the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner due to the massive increases in the cities violence and overall crime. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) has been teamed up with a rookie named Anderson (Olivia Thirlby); a mutant with psychic abilities. Together, they are sent to take down a gang leader and drug lord named "Mama" (Lena Headey). The drug in question is "slo-mo", a narcotic that makes it seem like time slows down to super slow motion, and the effects make everything look sparkly and shiny. It's very often portrayed throughout the film, almost to a fault, unfortunately. But, it's a neat effect when it's all put together. With that said, though, that's pretty much your plot in a nutshell. From there, it acts as another "non-video game movie" (the concept I brought up when talking about 'John Wick' in which a movie feels like it could be based on a video game) It's quite literally an hour and a half of nonstop action, only pausing to fit in the necessary dialogue. And for as quick as it moves, there's actually plenty of character development going on as we go, namely in the character of Anderson. If I was to compare this to anything, I'd probably compare it most closely with something like 'The Raid: Redemption' with hints of 'Die Hard'. It's just one of those movies that brings back the idea of action for the sake of action, but while having a good, simple story going on. It's even complete with one-liners, reminiscent of Schwarzenegger's work... okay, maybe that's a stretch, but still, enjoyably cheesy and bad ass. If you've ever watched 'Judge Dredd' and thought to yourself "hey, this is rated R but feels like PG-13", this is a movie that absolutely lends itself to its R rating. It's brutally violent, often in slow motion, the language is nice and Headey's character can very well be compared to her Cersei Lannister. Mama is a little more quick and to the point though. Either way, I have to hand it to Lena Headey for doing such a good job with her villains. But what about Karl Urban as Judge Dredd? To be frank, it's not like I really know how the character is supposed to be portrayed, but for my money, he does a good job with what he has. It makes me think of Christian Bale's Batman. It's a great series with great storytelling and great characters, but there's still something kinda goofy about the lead character. And that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case, 'cause I think there's a part of this movie that's self-aware. It knows how the last movie did, so it's allowed to be a bit silly here and there. In any case, it's a nice and short, shoot-'em-up good time of a movie. Just bear in mind that the violence can get a little over the top, and to have some patience with the slo-mo scenes. If I have one complaint at all, it's that those went on far too long. But I mean, that's about it.
0 Comments
Somewhere along the way, the 'Mad Max' series picked up one hell of a following. Eventually, as with a lot of movies these days, we also felt the need to revisit the nostalgic universe. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't, but this is definitely a case of things working out for the best. If you were to ask a 'Mad Max' fan what his or her favourite 'Mad Max' movie was before that, the odds seem to work out that 'Road Warrior' is by and large the choice. A lot of people go for 'Thunderdome' as well, but I tend to find it kind of like comparing 'Empire' and 'Jedi' - One's just fantastic, but the other is really good in its own right. 'Fury Road' decided to capitalize on the idea of 'Road Warrior', but bring in some new and interesting things. For instance, swinging back and forth on those poles, and of course, some random creature type dude wailing away on a flame-spitting electric guitar. That was one hell of a cheesetastic badass piece of awesome and most of us tend to agree. But perhaps the most important addition to this one is Imperator Furiosa, portrayed by Charlize Theron in perhaps her most bad ass role, now only really balanced with 'Atomic Blonde'. She ends up taking a bunch of innocent girls away from the clutches Immortan Joe - a tyrannical madman who rules over a post-apocalyptic Australia (or part of it, anyway). He has full control of the populous' water, and the flow of "mother's milk" which is, well... mother's milk, being harvested as a hot commodity for trade in these post-apocalyptic times. The girls Furiosa takes with her are Joe's wives, meant for the sole purpose of breeding. One of them being pregnant with a new son kinda makes shit hit the fan for everyone. Along the way, of course, Max (Tom Hardy) joins the party in all his awesomeness, and lends aid to these women. They are also joined by a psychotic worshiper named Nux (Nicholas Hoult) who is convinced that one day Joe will take him with him to the gates of Valhalla, but may or may not end up finding his own humanity when crossing this group of women with Max. There's actually a lot more to like here other than just the action, but the action IS largely what makes this movie so awesome. Try to think of it as one long car chase with slight breaks in between. However, I will say this about it - there is a bit of a "Big Screen Big Deal" thing going on with it. This is the term I now like to give the type of movie that will give you a significantly better theatrical experience than on your TV at home. 'Avatar' and 'Gravity' are my prime examples of this. However, this still has a lot to be admired about it based on some of its original ideas, and of course, a complete smorgasbord of practical effects. But if you wanna see it in full force, theatrical 3D was the way to go. So, if it ever finds its way back into theaters with the option (never say never, 'T2' did it last year) it's a high, high recommendation for any action junkie. That said, I still recommend it either way, as probably one of the best action films of all time. Check this one out if you need that adrenaline to flow. Let me take you back to a time before Michael Bay took over childhood pop culture like 'Transformers' and 'Ninja Turtles'. And no, I'm not being completely critical of those movies, but it does seem to be about the point for people to get split into two when concerning his direction. Of course, that's after 'Pearl Harbor' as well, which basically everyone hated. But there was a pre-'Pearl Harbor' phase when Bay was actually pretty well-respected as an action movie maker. For my money, these have been a couple of his best two films to date, despite their very low Rotten Tomato scores. See? I go against the grain sometimes. Without having to dig up anything from our childhood, these two movies may very ell represent Bay's quality stamp. They are every Michael Bay stereotype, rolled into a neat little buddy cop package. In other words, if you're looking for seriousness and realism, you won't really find it here. But you will get a couple of nice pieces of brain candy, and the enjoyment of action for the sake of action. In the first film, detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), protect a witness to a murder (Téa Leoni) while investigating a case of heroin that had been stolen from their police precinct's evidence room. The first film is almost more of a comedy than an action, although the action elements are there just as well. It's likable enough, but when all said and done, 'Bad Boys II' is just better. 'Bad Boys II' involves the same two cops, now recognized in the narcotics division, investigating a steady flow of ecstasy coming into Florida from a Cuban drug cartel. It sounds less exciting than it really is though, as this one is packed with some pretty intense action, including one of the most amazing car chase scenes in cinematic history (at least, that's my humble opinion). If you've ever seen 'Hot Fuzz', and how much Danny Butterman is obsessed with this movie as an action fanatic, I'm kinda sorta right there with him on my opinion of it. Now, what makes it okay to have an action movie like this as compared to 'Transformers' and 'Ninja Turtles' which I tend to be on the more critical end of? Well, for starters, I just like other versions of these things from my childhood a bit better. But really what it boils down to is that these are Michael Bay's answer to buddy cop films, and have a bit of an originality about them in that they don't borrow from any sort of pop culture aside from, well, other buddy cop films. In their own right, they're almost satire (especially 'Bad Boys II') or your stereotypical action films. I think the best preset day comparison I can draw here would be something like the 'Fast & Furious' movies. It's action for the sake of action, you check your brain at the door, and you hold on for the ride. Many would say the same about the 'Transformers' and 'Ninja Turtle' movies as well, and that's cool too, IF it works for you. The bottom line is that Bay is a director not to be taken too seriously. He has admitted to the masses that he makes movie for teenage boys, and I can't deny that's kinda what we've been getting with his new stuff. But these movies have some nice solid R-ratings to them, thus highlighting a time when he made movies for adults. Of course, in the end, this would all be followed up with 'Pain & Gain', which is decently rated, well-liked, and on my "Catching Up" list. It may very well take these movies' place these days, I'm not entirely sure. But one thing I am sure of is, despite the low ratings these movies get, general audiences still get something out of them. For example the first 'Bad Boys' has an RT rating of only 42%, but an audience score of 78%. 'Bad Boys II' is even more impressive with a measly 23%, but an audience score of 78%. So you see, sometimes you've just gotta give those critics the back seat and enjoy yourself without being over-analytical. These movies are as much a Michael Bay stamp as 'Sixth Sense' is to Shyamalan, or 'Jurassic Park' is to Spielberg. So, a couple of things to get out of the way off the bat on this. I give both 'John Wick' films a solid 5/5, but this isn't a review so much as a recommendation. Secondly, here's a link to the 'Chapter 2' review, if you care you read my thoughts on it, after reading my thoughts on this. The very basic plot involves John Wick (Keanu Reeves) losing his wife to Cancer. While John mourns, he receives one last gift from her - some words of her love to him, and an adorable puppy the audience almost HAS to fall in love with right off the bat. And we do. John soon confronts a kid (Alfie Allen) outside of a gas station, who wants to get his hands on John's car, a 1969 Mustang. He refuses, and the kid along with his cronies hunt John down, jump him, do something almost every movie-goer truly despises and steal his car for themselves. From there, it is a flat out balls-to-the-wall revenge film, involving the incredibly intriguing and awesome style of "Gun fu". This is one of those movies I lump into an incredibly specific category. There's not enough of these I can think of to make a top 10 list out of, but a few titles coexist with it. I call them "non-video game movies", in the sense that they are in no way based on a video game, but if they were, the movie would be the perfect adaptation of it. It's sequel follows suit pretty well, and I'd put movies like 'Raid: Redemption' and 'Dredd' on the list just as well. All of which are, at least to myself, very reminiscent of first person shooters. Anyway, there's really not a whole bunch to say on the matter. It's just one of those revenge films that works incredibly well, and contains next to no padding. When I say this is a balls-to-the-wall revenge film, I mean that. Hell, John is even blessed with his own mythos to him, referring to him as "Babayaga" (the Boogeyman). Except John's not exactly the Boogeyman. Hes' the guy you send to kill the Boogeyman. So, if you're in the mood for some interesting stunts, nonstop action, and guns a blazing, this is another high recommendation. I'd even say it's a better 'Punisher' movie than 'The Punisher' (I don't care which version, pick one). The catch, you've gotta watch 'Chapter 2' immediately afterwards. Make it a revenge night marathon. |
Categories
All
Archives
September 2022
|