RED 2 - REVIEW

RED 2 - REVIEW

Mary Louise-Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis all reprise there roles from the fun action packed joyride, Red, for the overplayed mediocre gung-ho sequel, Red 2.

The film reunites Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses with his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.

My biggest problem with this film is probably one of my biggest gripes with many sequel films, which is the fact that they are lazy and Red 2 is extremely lazy.

There are many potential avenues for a film like this to go and yet all that Red 2 is, is a rehash of the first film. Instead of getting a fresh film we get a retread of everything that was done with the first film. Many times in the film you will get a heavy dose of déjà vu, as the two films really are that close in terms of style and plot.

The film does have some fun moments, action madness that’s thrown together with some humour and even then, the film really tries to be its predecessor as opposed to its own film.

The approach of the film seems to be a tad bit nihilistic which doesn’t help it much as characters show a blatant disregard of there own sense of danger, trying to sell a joke at the wrong time. While it may work with others writers, directors and actors, it just seems to be distracting, as there never seems to be a sense of danger for any of the characters.

The cast of the film is probably the films biggest selling point with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Neal McDonough and Byung-hun Lee all joining the ranks this time around.

Its this blend of cast and characters that may certainly distract you from the fact that this film is quite derivative, as each new cast member plays a new character that you might find you like.

Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a Katja a Russian secret agent, who had a relationship with Bruce Willis’ character, Frank Moses. Jones has a lot of freedom with role as the character has many different facets about her; sexy, cunning, sincere, deceitful, loyal, deadly…

Byung-hun Lee is definitely proving to be one of the coolest kickass badass action Asian stars in recent times. Lee plays the top contract killer in the world, Han Cho-Bai, who he plays with such a calm demeanor. Hopefully this will lead to Lee gaining more roles in future as he certainly proves in this film that he has the charisma as well as fighting skills to become one badass action headliner star.

Red 2 is a lackluster sequel that takes all the same twist and turns as its predecessor and hardly does a good job at that. The storyline isn’t very good, some of the humour falls on its face but the action is good and cast of the film will certainly get your attention.

Red 2 really is a mediocre joy ride with an impeccable cast that will coheres your senses to keep watching while your brain slowly shifts into screensaver mode.    

My Rating

5/10

2 GUNS - REVIEW

2 GUNS - REVIEW

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg team up to bring us a buddy cop action comedy that’s reminiscent of all the old good buddy cop films that we come to love. Its old school in its approach, with much of the film resting on the chemistry and charm between our two leads. 

The story revolves around DEA agent Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and U.S. Navy intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) who have been working under cover as members of a narcotics syndicate for the past year. The twist: Neither man knows that the other is an undercover agent. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, their superiors disavow the men. Trench and Stigman must go on the run lest they wind up in jail or in a grave.

The plot of 2 Guns quickly gets convoluted and all twisted up with the navy, CIA, DEA and a Mexican Cartel all thrown into the mix for good measure. Each one is after the money for various reasons but when you spend more then a minute thinking about everything that has happened, some of it just doesn’t make sense.

Thankfully 2 Guns is really a film that doesn’t require you to put your thinking cap on. Instead the film is really just a set up to see Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star in an action fest, with this marking the closest we will ever see Denzel to a comedy.

It’s really Wahlberg and Denzel’s chemistry that sells this film. Everything you love about a typical Wahlberg role, he manages to kick up a notch in 2 Guns, while Washington gets in a joke or two, its really sense of dry humour and interplay with Wahlberg that really make them a dynamic duo.

Paula Patton, James Marsden and Bill Paxton are the supporting players in the film, and they have just as much fun as our two leads.

Especially Bill Paxton, who plays a CIA agent hell-bent on getting the money back. Paxton plays the role with such swagger and yet he really is an intimidating force.  

James Marsden on the other hand, plays a Navy officer with a cool bravado while showing he has what it takes to be taken seriously as an action lead, playing the role with a physical intensity.

Overall the film is a fun comedic action romp with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg proving to be worth the price of the admission ticket. 2 Guns proves to be a fun filled action film regardless of the fact that the plot and some characters needed a lot of work.

My Rating

6.5/10

PERCY JACKSON: THE SEA OF MONSTERS – REVIEW

PERCY JACKSON: 

THE SEA OF MONSTERS – REVIEW

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is the sequel to Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief, a film that wasn’t exactly magnificent but it was fun, enjoyable and entertaining. In other words, The Lightening Thief didn’t set the bar to high for the sequel, and yet somehow the sequel managed to be nothing more than ordinary.

The story centers on Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, who continues his epic journey to fulfill his destiny, as he teams with his demigod friends to retrieve the Golden Fleece, which has the power to save their home and training ground, Camp Half-Blood.

Sea of Monsters never really tries anything new, it never tries to set itself apart from the Lightening Thief. Instead it tries and hit all the same notes from the previous film without offering anything new.

The one big plus about the Lightening Thief was the characters, their relationships and the fun surprise cameos, that really made it something worthwhile.

While the story has certainly not improved, the writing of the film seems to have gotten worse, with humour that falls flat and narrative that simply drags.

The film does have its moments, but because it so few and far bar between, its simply a film that will fade from memory by the time you left the cinema after watching it.

Nathan Fillion’s cameo as Hermes in the film is probably the best thing about the film, giving us those good-natured funny moments we come to expect from Percy Jackson, while Douglas Smith played Tyson probably the most annoying character in the film.

While characters like Annabeth (played by Alexandra Daddario), who was a strong female character in the first film, is reduced to love interest without a sense of self, and Grover (played by Brandon T Jackson) who was the comic relief in the first film, now is relieved from the majority of the film.

The sequel didn’t try to strengthen the first film’s weaknesses; it didn’t even try and on build on the first films strength, instead its derivative of itself. The film could and should have been better than what it was.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is a film that is shrouded in a veil of mediocrity that perfectly balances the good and the bad of story telling and sequels to an unexceptional perfection.

My Rating

5/10

ELYSIUM – REVIEW

ELYSIUM – REVIEW

To say that fans of South African director, Niel Blomkamp, eagerly anticipated Elysium would certainly not be an understatement. The success of District 9 certainly positioned Blomkamp as one of the top young upcoming directors in Hollywood, who has taken the industry by storm with new ideas and expansive worlds, as Elysium would showcase.

In the year 2154 two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn't stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (played by Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that if successful will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

While District 9 served as an allegory for racism and apartheid, Elysium is much more a metaphor of first world countries, immigration and healthcare policies and the social issues surrounding it. We are treated to a grim reflection on the state of our world through the veil of a Sci-Fi extravaganza, making Elysium something much more than just a popcorn flick.

Yet, Elyisum is so easy on the eyes, with amazing visuals that will simply have you in awe and wonder. The CG work in Elysium is one step above the rest, as the wonder and magnificent plant known as Elysium comes to life.

This is not to say that Elysium is not without fault. There are some major problems with Elysium, in terms of its characters and its story.

The characters in Elysium are certainly one-dimensional and more often then not they come across as caricatures. There’s really no real development, the rich are the villains and the poor are the heroes with no intrinsic motivations attached to either.

This fault primarily derives from the films endeavor to protest about the injustices in our world, rather than focusing on its own story. It wags its finger at the world around it, yet it forgets to reveal how its world got to this point; what do the inhabitants of Elysium feel about this whole situation? Do they all turn a blind eye to the struggles of the earth? Are there any members of the Elysium populace that are against the injustice of this new world?

Although Elysium offers us many interesting ideas, it fails to truly capitalize on the world that was created instead it focuses on giving us a generic “one man saves the world” type-story.

While this is wont go down as one of Matt Damon’s greatest roles, he certainly has fun with the material. On the other hand, South African Star, Sharlto Copley, looks to cement his rising star in Hollywood, with yet another memorable performance as the malevolent assassin, Kruger.

One thing that really turned me off about the film was Jodie Foster’s voice, which was redubbed for the film. In some scenes the dub was so bad that the sync was completely off. I don’t know why they decided to redub Jodie’s voice, as it certainly distracts from the film every time she starts speaking.

Elysium is by no means a perfect film, yet Elysium manages to be a film with a brain that explicatively says something about the world we live in while dazzling us with beautiful imagery and spectacular CG work. It’s a fun entertaining film that stands head and shoulders above all the big Sci-Fi films that have released this year and yet, it could have been so much better than it was.  

My Rating

7/10