Tomb Raider

I am going to open this with a very bold statement I think that Tomb Raider may be the film that breaks the cycle of bad video game adaptions. First off let me just say that this film is not without its problems, some problems were just little things some were fundamental issues. The most prominent being the pacing, the film itself is far far too long. Some sequences feel needlessly drawn out and, others feel rushed. Additionally, whilst the screenplay is mostly quite good in parts it does feel a little too familiar to the games in a way that makes certain sections quite predictable. Furthermore, some of the dialogue seemed quite cliched and stilted, really taking me out of the film. On the positive side, Alicia Vikander is a great Lara Croft.Vikander captures the look of Lara Croft perfectly, (especially when you compare her to the new Crystal Dynamics Lara Croft). Vikander also manages to capture that sense of adventure that so drives Lara as a character. What’s more, Vikander’s heroine is incredibly likeable, charming and warm. Continuing on, the theme of fathers and daughters in this film is quite touching, yes it is somewhat predictable and has been done before but, I think it is done quite well here. Unlike in the recent games, her father Richard Croft is quite a big part of the overall story. Overall Lord Richard Croft is quite a memorable character thanks to a well-acted performance from Dominic West. West manages to elevate a lot of the dialogue and really sells this emotional bond between Richard and Lara. The film has a lot of nods to things fans of the game series would recognise, some subtle some not so subtle. All of these fan service moments feel quite natural and not forced in for the sake of it. The comedy of the film comes from Max played by Nick Frost. Frost’s character is a welcomed change of pace in the few scenes he’s in. Another good aspect of the film is the score which is incredibly well done with a lot of the music adding to the themes and message of the film. Furthermore, the non-diegetic sound for this film is also brilliant with all the grunts and moans from Lara being very reminiscent of the recent games where we can see the physical toll that adventuring has on her. Walton Goggins’ character of Vogel is a menacing presence for the films second act if a little two dimensional. However, by the third act, he starts to unravel and makes baffling choice after baffling choice. Though the ending of the film was shameless sequel bait, I believe it was quite well done as it sets up a whole lot of directions that the series could move in if this film proves popular. I would recommend this for fans of the game series and newcomers alike.
3.5/5
Reviewed by Luke

Gringo

Gringo is a comedy film centring around a trip to Mexico to look into the development of a weed pill that is the next breakthrough in medical marijuana. The company who is developing the marijuana pill has been selling to the cartels and, the trip is also to stop that much to the cartel’s annoyance. That is the main summary of the plot which is at times baffling with aimless subplots and pointless characters running amok throughout. The subplot that is particularly egregious is the love triangle between Charlize Theron’s character of Elaine Joel Edgerton’s character of Richard and, Thandie Newton’s character of Bonnie. This subplot adds absolutely nothing to the main plot and, feels as though it should have been cut out. Whilst it adds a small amount of character development for Theron’s character, it just feels completely unrelated to the rest of the film and, shows a complete lack of focus on the part of the director Nash Edgerton. In many ways, you can tell that this is Nash Edgerton’s first dive into the world of directing because the inexperience rings true throughout leading to a lot of problems. Theron is completely wasted in her role though she does have a few memorable moments. Furthermore, Amanda Seyfried’s character of Sunny is just pointless only really serving as a girlfriend character and, as an optimist to balance Harold out when he gets down. She is given no agency here and has very little to do, making it almost head scratching why Seyfried signed on for this project in the first place. Then there is the titular character of Harold played by David Oyelowo who whilst more likeable and, flushed out than the others is still nothing more than average. The main issue with the cast is that at there best they are nothing more than average with none of them having satisfying arcs and mostly just being wasted. Really this genericness is the issue of the film with it being very familiar in a bad way. The cartel boss who could have been a good and memorable villain is reduced to nothing more than a stereotype with bad jokes. The fundamental problem with this film is that the script is just very poorly written and, that is clear to see in the final product. Sharlto Copley does his best to save the film and, gives probably the best performance of the whole film but it just isn’t enough. The cinematography and score are just further examples of how the film squanders it’s potential with there being moments of greatness in both.
To conclude really other than Copley’s performance as the ex-mercenary Mitch there really isn’t a reason to go and see this. This film is simply a bad lazy comedy film and, not worth your time.
1.5/5
Reviewed by Luke

Red Sparrow

On the surface, one could easily confuse Red Sparrow as a cold war thriller, not unlike last years Atomic Blond. The plot centres around Jennifer Lawrence’s character of Dominika, as she is brought into the world of geopolitical espionage. Lawrence perfectly captured the essences of being brought into a new world and have to adapt to survive. However, her performance wasn’t up there with her co-star Jeremy Irons’ performance. Irons who plays with relish the character of Vladimir Andreievich Korchnoi. Irons’ performance oozes menace, from the second he is introduced, whilst also bringing an air of class to proceedings. From a plot standpoint, the first 45 minutes is pretty standard genre fare, with the start especially being slow. The pacing is all over the place, really being quite detrimental to the film. However, towards the end, the film picks up and really captured my attention. The ending itself does feel well set up and satisfying, with the twists being good but not reinventing the wheel. Joel Edgerton’s Nate Nash is quite bland and doesn’t really leave much of an impression, definitely being the weak point of the cast overall. The world building here is excellent, thanks in part to the strong direction of Francis Lawrence. The world itself feels real and gritty down to the last detail. However, in many ways, that grittiness is taken too far with the film trying too hard to be shocking in many of its scenes. An example of this is shown in the films torture scenes, that come across as gratuitous. Also being shown in the themes of sexual violence throughout. The action scenes are quite standard, with only one truly exceptional knife fight sequence that was outstandingly well choreographed. The romantic subplot between Nate and Dominika does feel forced, being quite clichéd. Lawrence’s character is well written and it is hard to tell a lot of the time who’s side she is on. Leading to a satisfying end twist that I believe is the best thing about this film. The highlight of the film is the training process to become a sparrow, with the Matron played by Charlotte Rampling stealing every scene she is in. This sequence is the saving grace of the film. Overall I would only recommend this to the most hardcore of action fans but even then, temper your expectations, it is a mostly dull ride throughout.

2/5
Reviewed by Luke

Black Panther

Black Panther is the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the last before Infinity War. This film is the gem in Marvel’s crown, being both the most unique and stylistically different. This fresh style helps to give the film a real sense of identity, although parts of it do follow the usual Marvel formula. The direction of this film is very strong, with Ryan Coogler, making this a very distinct film, that juggles a lot of different themes and is still a coherent thought-provoking film. The script is marvellous managing to deconstruct and flip some classic tropes on their heads. The humour is the usual Marvel fare, with only a few jokes really working for me. Honestly, humour plays a much smaller role in this film than it does in other MCU films, for the most part, the tone is quite serious. The characters are all spectacular, with Chadwick Boseman making a great Black Panther delivering both humour and emotion with ease, whilst also being very believable. The two standouts from the cast, at least for me personally, were Danai Gurira as Okoye and Letitia Wright as Shuri. Gurira was fantastic as Okoye because of the sheer physicality of her performance, all the action sequences featuring her were very impressive. Wright’s performance was great because right from the first scene she was my favourite, she stole the show for the most part and had some of the funniest lines in the entire film. The other performances were also pretty solid with Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross being very enjoyable. On the villain front, this film is quite unlike the other MCU films, both the villains in the film are outstanding, with Michael B Jordan’s Killmonger, being particularly compelling. His character motivations are all understandable and believable, adding a sense of moral ambiguity to the whole preseedings. Klaue played by Andy Serkis is another returning character from the MCU, having appeared in Age of Ultron. I loved every minute Klaue was on screen he chewed every piece of scenery in the way every great villain should. Where most MCU films have no great antagonists, this film thrives and has two. This film is not very connected to the larger MCU with the returning characters and references being the main connective tissue. However, I believe that it was a wise decision as it gives the film a much more personal feel. Furthermore, this allows this film to focus on its worlds and its characters, making them feel real. Despite all this praise, there are a few issues, mainly underused characters and plot holes. Daniel Kaluuya’s character of W’Kabi is an example of this. W’Kabi’s character does things in the later portion of the film that makes no sense as he flips emotions with no real reason. Making you question why he would do that. In short bad writing. Furthermore, the film does suffer from a little blot in its second act, with it running on for a little too long. All of these negatives are completely out weighted by all the positive, so whilst this may not be in the top 5 MCU films it’s definitely important and a very enjoyable film.
4/5
reviewed by Luke

12 Strong

At its core 12 Strong is a standard war film with ideas of grandeur. It needs to be remembered when we talk about 12 Strong that it is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same man who produced Black Hawk Down, so there is a degree of pedigree to this film. Furthermore, this film is beautifully shot; with some stunning vista and establishing shots that really paint a picture. Also, there is a number of interesting decisions by the director Nicolai Fuglsig, such as his use of shadow in certain shots from the base camp scenes that add an artistic flair to proceedings. The character work is strong, but only in one character, Abdul Rashid Dostum; the leader of the Alliance, Played by Navid Negahban. Negahban brings a heart to this film, being the only truly memorable character after the credits roll, his bond with Hemsworth’s Mitch Nelson is very believable and remains good throughout. Michael Pena’s character of Sam Diller is completely one note, and until writing this review I couldn’t even remember his name. Diller is mainly a comic relief character, only the problem with that is that most of his jokes aren’t very funny, just being bad. Secondly, Michael Shannon’s character of Carl Spencer is given more to do and does have some genuinely touching emotional beats, but somehow manages to feel wasted, especially when you compare his performance to that of Hemsworth. Following on from that Chris Hemsworth in this is bland, that’s putting it mildly, really anyone could play his role as he brings so little to it. Hemsworth’s shortcomings are really apparent when compared to Shannon’s performance which managed to be memorable if only brief, and one is left to ask why they didn’t give Shannon the lead role. The biggest issue with this film is the plot, for a start, they have a subplot which revolves around the 12 man team splitting in half, one half goes off to fight, the other stay at the base camp. The issue comes from all the scenes that cut away from the 6 out fighting and goes back to the base camp, these scenes drag on and feel wholly uninteresting when compared to the other scenes away from the base camp. Thankfully this subplot is wrapped up halfway through the runtime, and everyone is reunited. What’s more is there are leaps in logic akin to that of a Michael Bay movie, (the movie also manages to match his level of explosions), which really bring you out of the film. An example is early on in the film, it is revealed that Hemsworth’s Mitch hasn’t killed anyone and that he doesn’t have “Killer Eyes”. However later in the film, he can just kill people indiscriminately, with only one short scene explaining the shift and the toll that change brings to him psychologically. The film in many ways tried to have similar elements to Kathryn Bigelow’s Hurt Locker, even to the point that one of the soldiers in 12 Strong befriends a young boy, just like Jeremy Renner’s character in the Hurt Locker. Furthermore, the film seemed to think that it had something to say, a commentary on war or something of the sort, in a similar vein to Zero Dark Thirty, but it really just comes off as standard and generic fair when compared. To end on a positive the sound design is solid throughout, with the non-diegetic sound during some of the action scenes making it very tense, this does help to elevate the action.

Overall, I learned something from this movie that I didn’t already know it was an interesting perspective. Shannon and Negahban give wonderful performances, and it is stunning to look at in some scenes, however, that aside there is little to elevate it beyond standard genre fare, and the whole thing is rather generic.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke.

The Commuter

This Liam Neeson lead action film is the latest collaboration between, Neeson and director Jaume Collet- Serra. This is, in fact, the fourth movie that the duo has worked on, with the others being Unknown, Non-Stop and Run All Night, and this film is much of the same fair as the rest. It is nice to see Liam Neeson a man of 60, still being given action hero lead billing, and more importantly still being believable. Neeson is as charismatic as ever in the role of Michael MacCauley, a man recently without a job and put in a dangerous game, on his train ride home from work. Enter Vera Farmiga’s enigmatic Joanna, who gives MacCauley the chance to win big money if he does, “one little thing”. Whilst she isn’t present much Farmiga shines in every scene, easily being the best thing about this movie; being able to present a genuine threat. The opening sequence that cuts together multiple mornings to make it appear all as one, is quite a nice directional choice and gives an impression of the monotonous effect of not trying anything new in a while. This contrasts nicely with the unexpected nature of the later events, which highlights both situations well. However, that is where the praise ends, there are a plethora of issues that plague this film. Firstly is the plot, which is at best wholly unbelievable, at worst ridiculous, with as many plot holes as there are passengers on a busy train. These, however, aren’t critical issues, as these leaps in logic are typical of most action movies, and really should be expected. The movies most dire issues are twofold, firstly is the wasted side characters, whilst a little light is shined on these characters back stories, (really just enough to make them interesting), it never feels enough. These characters feel almost entirely one-note and ultimately bland, you will not remember them when you leave the cinema. Furthermore, to add to this problem the little that is shown of these side characters back stories set up subplots, and these are never satisfactorily resolved, leaving you feeling less than satisfied. The second key issue is that the twists and turns the plot take feel played out and obvious, with everyone in the audience working out who MacCauley is looking for a good half the film before he does. Furthermore, the twists regarding, Patrick Wilson’s character are signposted a mile away, and a bit off topic but why Wilson took this role is a good question because his character is entirely forgettable. Ultimately, this isn’t a bad movie, it’s well shot, well acted by its two leads, but at the same time, it’s entirely forgettable. The film itself is a waste of potential really all round, with it just being kind of a generic action movie, which maybe check it out one day when it’s on Netflix, but for now, unless you’re a hardcore for the action genre give it a miss.

2/5

reviewed by Luke