Rating: 4 1/2 Shurikens
Tonight, I saw the Robin Hood movie starrring Russell Crowe as the legendary leader of the Merry Men. This latest retelling of the venerable tale is a bit more edgy and dark in its depiction of life in 12th century England. The violence is a bit more graphic than the Kevin Costner and Erroll Flynn portrayals, more in line with what today's audiences expect from an action movie.
The movie begins in France, where King Richard the Lion Heart is waging a battle against the French on his way back from the crusades. Robin and his men serve as archer in His Majesty's army, but right before the battle to take the castle, he tells the king something which the king doesn't like, so Robin and his men are stockaded during the battle when King Richard gets killed. Robin and his men escape, and Robin takes the identity of Robert Loxley to get back home. He delivers the crown of King Richard to England, and then goes to the home of Loxley, where he meets Lady Marian.
It is like the origin story of Robin Hood. He does very little of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. There is adventure and intrigue, and the dialog is riveting. The whole movie is good versus evil, and good wins, mostly. It does have sequel written all over it, but as an origin story, you've seen Robin Hood enough times that you practically know the whole story before filming even begins. Perhaps the best thing about this Robin Hood is its departure from the re-retelling of the same old story.
Cate Blanchett plays Lady Marian, although the strong woman character seems a little bit strained at times. I guess the 20th-century audience expects strong women, but Lady Marian goes a bit far. She is stereotypical as the Lady of the Manor, having to run the place with an absent husband and a blind father-in-law. I can't really say too much without giving away important plot lines, but I will say that the reaction to being put in one situation is entirely believeable and satisfying, while later, you may find yourself wondering what she is doing other than extending her role in the movie.
The character of the Sherriff of Nottingham, played by Matthew McFayden, is not the major villain in this version. MAcFayden has been cheated in this role, because he once played the role of Mr. Darcy in the big-screen 2005 movie, Pride and Prejudice, a mushy chick-flick based on a novel by Jane Austen. Austen was the original romance novelist, who made her female characters strong and self-directing, rather than passive girls waiting to be married off. In that context, the role of Mr Darcey is an important one, as he is the leading man who gets to kiss the girl. As the Sherriff of Nottingham, he is cowardly and without honor or dignity.
The big villain is Sir Godfrey, played by Mark Strong. Godfrey is a traitor to the Crown in the employ of the evil French King Philip. You will remember Strong from his big villain roles in Kick Ass and Sherlock Holmes. He plays a very good bad guy, even though his motivations are far from clear. He seems to be doing evil for the sake of evil, rather than for any tangible rewards, but he does do some very dastardly deeds. He is very convicingly evil, and I can't wait to see him play the villain in the first Green Lantern movie.
William Hurt has been in some pretty good movies, including the Incredible Hulk from a couple of years back. I tend to like his movies, and he plays a good supporting role as the Chamberlain to King Richard and King John. I fully expected him to be killed in this movie, but I can say he doesn't complicate the plot by being killed off. Another big-name actor, Max von Sydow, plays the father of Loxley, and does a tremendous job of it.
The three Merry Men in this story are Little John, Alan A'Dale, and Will Scarlett. They make a great team, and none of them has to die to be avenged. Little John is played by Kevin Durand, most noted for his role as the Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Interestingly, he played a bit part in a previous Russell Crowe remake of 3:10 to Yuma in 2007.
Robin Hood is a good movie, with lots of action, lots of violence, and an epic battle scene towrds the end. The interactions of the characters are realistic and mostly believable, the portrayals are accurate for a large part, and the story flows smoothly from the start, although some of the details are hard to work out at the beginning. Many action movies work through their inablity to create believable action by using too many camera angles and changing them frequently, but this movie doesn't do that too much.I highly recommend this movie as the first choice of movies to see this week, and grant Robin Hood four-and-a-half shurikens.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Iron Man 2
Rating: 5 Shurikens
I just got in from seeing Iron Man 2. I have to say it was a fine piece of cinematic artistry. It really doesn't get much better than this. The action is fast-paced without being too dizzying, the characters have real depth in spite of their comic book origins, and the cast is full of really good, big-name stars.
Robert Downey, Jr., reprises his role as the flamboyant playboy industrialist, Tony Stark, who is the alter-ego of Iron Man. Just as in the first movie, he captures the essence of the comic book character, and gives it real depth. Tony Stark's ego is exaggerated somewhat, compared to the character in the comics, but the big screen provides a medium that allows many more dimensions than 8 1/2" x 11" newsprint.
Downey is backed up by a slate of really excellent actors and actresses. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's love interest. She does a beautiful job of bringing a rather neglected character to life. Scarlett Johanssen plays Natasha Romanov, who is known as Black Widow from the old Avengers comics. Scarlet threatens to overshadow Gwyneth, but fails. Gwyneth is a better actress, and Scarlet's Hollywood lips are a detriment to her facial features, in my opinion. As Black Widow, Johanssen gets a nice action sequence of her own, and may well end up playing Black Widow in a feature film, the way Elektra was spun off from Daredevil.
Don Cheadle plays Colonel James Rhodes, Tony's liaison with the Pentagon. Colonel Rhodes often wore a suit of armor in the Iron Man comic books as War Machine, and was a sort of sidekick to Iron Man. In the first Iron Man movie, Rhodey, as he was referred to by his friend Tony Stark, was played by Terrence Howard. I like Don Cheadle's acting, and as a name actor, he has better recognition than Howard. He does a really nice job in the role, although it seems rather unnecessary to change actors between movies like that. That said, the character is strongly featured and true to the comic book.
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his previous cameo appearance from the tail end of the screen credits of Iron Man. He plays Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a super-secret agency of the U. S. Government, kind of like a super CIA with high-tech weapons and operatives. James Bond would be right at home with S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is plays a larger role in the story, adding some continuity to a rumored upcoming Avengers movie.
The villain in the story is Whiplash, a man with energy whips that was one of Iron Man's signature villains. Played by Mickey Rourke, he comes across as a significant threat, but he is humbled early on. After some adjustments to his weaponry, and with the help of Justin Hammer, a rival millionaire industrialist of Tony Stark, Whiplash rises again. I won't say any more about that, because I am not a spoiler. You will have to see it yourself. Justin Hammer is played by Sam Rockwell, who also played Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
All in all, Iron Man 2 is an amazing accomplishment, and a tribute to the writers and artists who originated the characters over forty years ago. Some of them aren't alive to see it, but if they could, they would be proud. Also, Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as the man who Tony Stark mistakes for Larry King. The action is superb, the story is excellent, the acting is top-notch. And at over 2 hours long, it is a good value for a comic book movie addict like myself. I give it all five shurikens.
Be sure to stay after the credits for a teaser.
I just got in from seeing Iron Man 2. I have to say it was a fine piece of cinematic artistry. It really doesn't get much better than this. The action is fast-paced without being too dizzying, the characters have real depth in spite of their comic book origins, and the cast is full of really good, big-name stars.
Robert Downey, Jr., reprises his role as the flamboyant playboy industrialist, Tony Stark, who is the alter-ego of Iron Man. Just as in the first movie, he captures the essence of the comic book character, and gives it real depth. Tony Stark's ego is exaggerated somewhat, compared to the character in the comics, but the big screen provides a medium that allows many more dimensions than 8 1/2" x 11" newsprint.
Downey is backed up by a slate of really excellent actors and actresses. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's love interest. She does a beautiful job of bringing a rather neglected character to life. Scarlett Johanssen plays Natasha Romanov, who is known as Black Widow from the old Avengers comics. Scarlet threatens to overshadow Gwyneth, but fails. Gwyneth is a better actress, and Scarlet's Hollywood lips are a detriment to her facial features, in my opinion. As Black Widow, Johanssen gets a nice action sequence of her own, and may well end up playing Black Widow in a feature film, the way Elektra was spun off from Daredevil.
Don Cheadle plays Colonel James Rhodes, Tony's liaison with the Pentagon. Colonel Rhodes often wore a suit of armor in the Iron Man comic books as War Machine, and was a sort of sidekick to Iron Man. In the first Iron Man movie, Rhodey, as he was referred to by his friend Tony Stark, was played by Terrence Howard. I like Don Cheadle's acting, and as a name actor, he has better recognition than Howard. He does a really nice job in the role, although it seems rather unnecessary to change actors between movies like that. That said, the character is strongly featured and true to the comic book.
Samuel L. Jackson reprises his previous cameo appearance from the tail end of the screen credits of Iron Man. He plays Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a super-secret agency of the U. S. Government, kind of like a super CIA with high-tech weapons and operatives. James Bond would be right at home with S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is plays a larger role in the story, adding some continuity to a rumored upcoming Avengers movie.
The villain in the story is Whiplash, a man with energy whips that was one of Iron Man's signature villains. Played by Mickey Rourke, he comes across as a significant threat, but he is humbled early on. After some adjustments to his weaponry, and with the help of Justin Hammer, a rival millionaire industrialist of Tony Stark, Whiplash rises again. I won't say any more about that, because I am not a spoiler. You will have to see it yourself. Justin Hammer is played by Sam Rockwell, who also played Zaphod Beeblebrox in "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
All in all, Iron Man 2 is an amazing accomplishment, and a tribute to the writers and artists who originated the characters over forty years ago. Some of them aren't alive to see it, but if they could, they would be proud. Also, Stan Lee makes his obligatory cameo as the man who Tony Stark mistakes for Larry King. The action is superb, the story is excellent, the acting is top-notch. And at over 2 hours long, it is a good value for a comic book movie addict like myself. I give it all five shurikens.
Be sure to stay after the credits for a teaser.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Losers
Rating: 3.5 Shurikens
I went to see The Losers recently, because it originated from a comic book. The intense action and the flow of the story made for an entertaining movie-going experience. This is a good movie to watch in the theater, because the explosions and most of the action are great on the big screen, with serious sound. I wouldn't spend the money to watch it twice, though. The second time would be on disc, at home.
The story is basically a team of five highly macho mercenaries plus one very beautiful woman. Th woman is tough, a heck of a good fighter, and very sexy. She has a plan for The Losers, but she is secretive about it. The movie begins with a mission gone astray, and the Evil Boss Leader tries to destroy the losers at the end of the mission. He fails, of course, or there wouldn't be a story.
The Losers are stranded in Bolivia, thought dead, when the beautiful woman picks a fight with Max, the leader of the team. She offers a plan for The Losers to get their revenge, and much of the movie is the implementation of the plan, which requires a vast amount of money. Somehow the woman has the money to pay for everything, so the story continues to flow.
The Evil Boss Leader is a real a-hole, who wants to obtain new kinds of weapons, which are science-fiction, and don't correspond to anything in the real world. This is obviously from the comic book story, and it is refreshing to see something like that not get replaced by nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. It keeps the comic book feel in the story. Anyway, the villain kills a few people somewhat gratuitously, reinforcing his evilness. He also has an endless supply of minions who can be killed or maimed by The Losers.
Much of the story is formulaic and predictable, but the characters are realistic and likeable on a personal level. There is an undercurrent of wisecrack comedy, as we have seen in comic book teams through the years. With a good pace to the action and some spectacular scenes involving fire and explosions, The Losers entertains.
In the end, there is betrayal, the woman's secret is revealed, and the door is open for a sequel, but I won't say anything more. No spoilers here. You will just have to go see it yourself. You should go soon, because it will be probably be out of the theaters once Iron Man 2 arrives. I give it 3.5 Shurikens.
I went to see The Losers recently, because it originated from a comic book. The intense action and the flow of the story made for an entertaining movie-going experience. This is a good movie to watch in the theater, because the explosions and most of the action are great on the big screen, with serious sound. I wouldn't spend the money to watch it twice, though. The second time would be on disc, at home.
The story is basically a team of five highly macho mercenaries plus one very beautiful woman. Th woman is tough, a heck of a good fighter, and very sexy. She has a plan for The Losers, but she is secretive about it. The movie begins with a mission gone astray, and the Evil Boss Leader tries to destroy the losers at the end of the mission. He fails, of course, or there wouldn't be a story.
The Losers are stranded in Bolivia, thought dead, when the beautiful woman picks a fight with Max, the leader of the team. She offers a plan for The Losers to get their revenge, and much of the movie is the implementation of the plan, which requires a vast amount of money. Somehow the woman has the money to pay for everything, so the story continues to flow.
The Evil Boss Leader is a real a-hole, who wants to obtain new kinds of weapons, which are science-fiction, and don't correspond to anything in the real world. This is obviously from the comic book story, and it is refreshing to see something like that not get replaced by nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. It keeps the comic book feel in the story. Anyway, the villain kills a few people somewhat gratuitously, reinforcing his evilness. He also has an endless supply of minions who can be killed or maimed by The Losers.
Much of the story is formulaic and predictable, but the characters are realistic and likeable on a personal level. There is an undercurrent of wisecrack comedy, as we have seen in comic book teams through the years. With a good pace to the action and some spectacular scenes involving fire and explosions, The Losers entertains.
In the end, there is betrayal, the woman's secret is revealed, and the door is open for a sequel, but I won't say anything more. No spoilers here. You will just have to go see it yourself. You should go soon, because it will be probably be out of the theaters once Iron Man 2 arrives. I give it 3.5 Shurikens.
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