Welcome to the Emporium of yours truly, Donlevy! You will find here reviews and fun write-ups of various movies and games! Please enjoy my silly and/or fascinating takes on retro and modern gaming, and of films both new and old!
Today, November 15, 2014, makes it one year to the day that I've been doing this whole review/blog thing! Way back when I was doing this on Tumblr, mind. So yeah, to anyone who's been reading what I say for the past year, thank you so much! And if you happen to enjoy it (and I hope you do) hey, even better! I'm glad I could and still can be informative and/or entertaining, and I continue to hope that you all find as much enjoyment out of my writing as I have doing the actual writing! And finally, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of both me and the Emporium this past year! It means a lot, and it's because of you awesome folk that (on top of keeping me sane this past year) I'm always looking at more things to do in the future, including a possibly-maybe-hopefully new video (or series.... ;) ). So thanks again guys! Here's to another year (or more)!
- Donlevy
Now then...
Interstellar is director Christopher Nolan's latest original film after Dark Knight Returns, and it's damn massive in scope. Faced with a dying Earth, Interstellar follows Matthew McConaughey's Cooper as he and several NASA scientists race to the stars to find a habitable planet for the purpose of population. From black holes to wormholes, it's the final frontier for Nolan and his desperate astronauts.And for Cooper, it's a race against time to save both his family and humanity at large...as every action undertaken costs the team precious years, or possibly decades. Interstellar is no doubt a marvel of visual and audio design, but it's unfortunate that the ambitious and larger-than-life story ends up weighing it down from being something truly great. Despite strong acting and a tantalizing story hook, the film can't escape its own gravity being continually bogged down by meandering exposition and an uneven and lacking final act.
I won't use more gravity puns, I promise.
In the near-future, resources on Earth have all but depleted, leading humanity to re-prioritize their production efforts in a desperate bid to stem their eventual fate. After Cooper and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy) stumble upon a facility run by the remnants of NASA and led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine), Cooper learns that Brand has an even better idea: get the hell outta dodge. Or in other words, look to the stars, and leave the Earth. Realizing that Earth is on its last legs, Cooper, a former test pilot and engineer, agrees to accompany a group of scientists, including Professor Brand's daughter, Amelia (Anne Hathaway), on a space voyage to another galaxy, courtesy of a mysterious wormhole appearing near Saturn. The caveat however is that the wormhole leads to a system in proximity to a black hole, and the gravitational force exerted makes time dilate on the extreme. The team must investigate the planets for signs of hospitality, but they must choose wisely, for each minute or hour spent is years away on Earth. And for Cooper, those are years he won't be seeing his daughter.
I find that to be quite a strong premise overall, and it certainly makes for a dramatic choice faced by the scientists in the early-to-mid parts of the film. Great acting all around too, especially McConaughey who, jeeze, is on a freaking roll lately. I give big props to the voices of the AI robots that travel with the crew, especially, and also the surprise actors/actresses that appear later on. All of the actors face the drama up front, and the crew in particular convey equal parts awe and desperation. For added effect, the crew continually receive video messages sent from family back on Earth, as the years begin to tick away back home. They make for some really special and intimate moments, and allow the story to progress back on Earth years into the future without feeling jarring. Interstellar is quite deliberate in its pace early on, also evident by how little the film needlessly lingers back on Earth before Cooper leaves (which is to say, it doesn't).
As you approach the end of the movie however, you might find that the film can be...mmm...a bit of full of itself. What I mean is that, and without spoiling, the exposition and progression the film quite successfully managed in the beginning and middle acts is squandered by constant repetition of said exposition and delayed resolution in the guise of a forced and artificial tension. Basically...dialogue and circumstance between characters do little for story advancement and more for wasting of time. It's frustrating, and it makes what would otherwise be important story moments more of a relief than anything when they occurred.
I will say though that throughout most of the film, the science behind everything is handled and explained fairly well without what I'd consider to be oversimplifying. I suppose one could argue that Interstellar asks a lot of the viewer in order to follow along, but come on man, space is cool. Sure, I'm in no way an expert in any field of science of the cosmos, but damn, at the very least it looked freaking cool.
Indeed, Interstellar has some hugely impressive visual effects and composition. It's immediately clear that the film was expertly shot, and the use of both VFX and miniatures is excellent. The various planets feel fantastically alien, yet with a hint of familiarity, unintentionally or not, that make for fascinating and interesting locales. The cinematography flows more with the mechanics of the spacecraft, rather than with the astronauts, (in contrast to say, Gravity) and situates to make gorgeous vista views and horizons. A select few scenes even make fantastic use of rotation to make for some memorable and excitingly tense moments. Careful with this film if you have a tendency to get motion sickness.
And of course, of course, the music. It's always the damn music. Well it's damn good music! Haha! And who else should be behind it than Hans Zimmer. It goes without saying, but without the music that Zimmer provides, Interstellar would have been a very different movie. There's an enormous and empowering presence of organs in the soundtrack for the tense scenes, and a softer more melancholy approach to the sombre moments. His music sets the tone of the entire film, and it's what makes otherwise more subtle scenes stand out as epic and moving. I understand that some might have wanted a more underscored arrangement for those subtle scenes, for various reasons, but you can't argue with the results. My one criticism might be that by the end, the sheer amount of all those organs goes a little overboard.
To touch on it briefly, there are most definitely more than a few nods to science fiction works of the past, likely most notably of all 2001: A Space Odyssey. One scene in particular, that I wish I could spoil but I can't, is an extreme version of a particular scene in Odyssey involving a ship and station. And it's an amazing scene here. One of the several awesome set piece moments found in Interstellar.
So yes, for all it does on a technical level, those plot issues really do keep Interstellar from achieving true greatness, falling short of the heights of the films it pays homage to. Even so, it's a pretty good movie on a visual and audio level alone, and I feel that that makes it very watchable, even if its near three hour runtime is a bit daunting. If nothing else, Interstellar is certainly ambitious.
YAY
Visually stunning. Space is cool, y'all.
Great acting all around. McConaughey has been on fire recently. Also shout out to the voices of the AI's!
Crazy music by, of course, Hans Zimmer.
More than a few nods to past Sci-Fi movies, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Story deals with pretty hefty physics, and articulates it well without "dumbing down" too much.
The set piece moments are sweeeeeeeeet.
NAY
Artificial tension, particularly in the final act, is rather silly.
Plot teeters on "going off the deep end."
Story gets bogged down almost needlessly by repeated exposition.
Similarly, the film could have used better time management (how ironic), by which I mean, spend less time drawing out said tension, and more time resolving. Again, mostly in the final act.
This weekend, Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens in North America, and already reviews are pinning it as one of the best Marvel movies around, so hey, I thought it's as good a time as any to look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole (and maybe possibly a Donlevy Review for Cap in the future). The MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, is a collection of movies and television shows (and other supplementary material) that make up one large inhabited setting and universe within the Marvel Comics continuity. Well, parts of the Marvel continuity. Mainly due to licensing reasons, some of the other big Marvel franchises, like X-Men and Spider-Man, are not included within this shared universe. It gets a bit strained when looking at what specificallycan't be a part of the MCU, but suffice to say, the following movies with Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, and many, many others, most assuredly are. The movies that have been released, as well as those that are in the
making, make up one of (as of now) three "Phases," with each phase
culminating in an ensemble film. It's been a tremendous process years in the making, but Marvel has successfully crafted a huge connected world that continues to get larger and more entwined with every movie. So, from the beginning, here's a little overview of where the MCU stands with it's films and characters, and what's to come in the near future.
In the beginning, there was Iron Man. Released on May 2, 2008, Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a wealthy, extravagant, playboy and mechanical genius who runs Stark Industries, the producer of high quality militaristic weapons and devices. After a life-altering event in which Stark has a change-of-heart in his technological pursuit, he shuts down the weapon manufacturing development of Stark Industries, and focuses his time and money into a suit that is powered from his life-saving energy device now in his heart. Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, and uses his self-powered suit to help those who are being assaulted by terror cells that use the weapons he helped create. Stark initially hides his work from his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his friend Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard), but is continually pressured into revealing his work from his father's friend and Stark Industries manager Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).
Iron Man was a critical and commercial success, and was not only a boon for Marvel, whose plans now formulated around the film, but also to Robert Downey Jr., who received a re-invigoration of his career thanks to his fantastic and memorable portrayal as Tony Stark. Iron Man also introduced us to Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) who is interested in Stark's work and resolve. Coulson would become a fan favourite, and a mainstay in nearly every Marvel movie to come, and even currently leads a show of his own in the form of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. As well as Coulson, the character of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) was also introduced as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., who brought to Stark's attention the Avengers Initiative...which we'll get to shortly. Also, the manner in which he was introduced was part of new Marvel mainstay in the form of the famous post-credits scene.
Not to be confused with Ang Lee's Hulk from 2003, The Incredible Hulk is something of a reboot for the character(s) of Bruce Banner/The Hulk. Released a month after Iron Man on June 13, TIH starred Edward Norton as Banner, a brilliant scientist specializing in gamma radiation who, after an experiment designed around weaponization, is afflicted with a condition wherein he transforms into the...uh...hulking green giant (hehe...green giant on steroids) that you are most likely familiar with. The Hulk. The Hulk is big. The Hulk is green. The Hulk smashes. And the Hulk smashes some more. In TIH, he grows at odds with his girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who is fearful of his condition, and her father General "Thunderbolt" Ross, who sees The Hulk as an out-of-control weapon of mass destruction. Also after Banner is Emil Blonsky, a soldier who yearns for the destructive power of The Hulk, and who later in the movie becomes famed Hulk villain The Abomination.
In terms of the MCU, The Incredible Hulk features probably the least amount of overarching continuity, save for a few names that are referenced here and after, as well as the main events that future characters associate Banner with (and of course, THE HULK). Edward Norton also didn't reprise his role as Banner in The Avengers, which instead was given to Mark Ruffalo, who is looking to reprise his role for future instalments in the MCU.
Two years after the success of Iron Man, it's sequel Iron Man 2 was released on May 7, 2010. Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, who after revealing himself as Iron Man at the end of the previous movie, begins to associate himself and the suit directly as one entity, becoming a world-wide peacekeeper but also continually hounded by the military for the technology of the suit, of which Stark refuses to divulge out of fear of weaponization. Pepper Pots returns as Stark's assistant, friend, and burgeoning love interest, and introduces Natasha Romanoff, a S.H.I.E.L.D agent otherwise known as Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson. James Rhodes also returns, but this time played by Don Cheadle, replacing Terrance Howard from the first film. New this time around though is Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist whose family was once scientific partners with the Stark family. Vanko swears revenge onto Tony Stark, and produces his own version of Stark's personal energy reactor to take him out, and becomes the character of Whiplash (though he is never actually called by this in the film itself). Aided in his endeavour is disgruntled rival weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer, who aims to bring down Stark Industries in it's entirety.
There's a decent amount of more action in this film compared to it's predecessor, with significantly more flashy scenes early on and a particularly explosive finale, where Rhodey even gets to don a militarized version of the Iron Man suit and becomes War Machine, next to Tony's newly upgraded suit. Iron Man 2 also shows off Romanoff's skill-set as an elite operative, as well as more of the character of Happy Hogan, Stark's friend and bodyguard/chauffeur from the first movie played by Iron Man 1 & 2 director Jon Favreau. Like Iron Man before it, Iron Man 2 has many of it's best scenes with the focus on Tony's ingenuity and discovery (or rediscovery), with RBJ continually at his prime. Even so, however, Iron Man 2 is often looked at as the weaker entry in the MCU, but I still hold it's by no means a bad movie.
Things got interesting when Thor was released on May 6, 2011. Now having enough success and momentum with them, Marvel brought Asgard and the demigod himself to the big screen as production ramped up for the upcoming Avengers movie. Thor introduced the titular hero, played by Chris Hemsworth, as the brash and egotistical heir to the throne of Asgard, which is held by the powerful and legendary Odin, Thor's father. After a poorly handled confrontation involving the Frost Giants on Jotunheim, with his friend Sif and The Warriors Three, along with his notorious brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor is cast out of Asgard by Odin, who banishes Thor and his powerful hammer Mjolnir to Midgard, also known as Earth. On Earth, Thor meets scientist Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who helps Thor realize his own humility and humanity, all while together helping defend Earth from sinister forces hailing from Jotunheim and Asgard.
Thor is quite significant in the MCU in that it brought modern audiences far into the outreaches of Marvel's continuity with characters that inhabit other worlds, a feat that is to soon be repeated again with Guardians of the Galaxy (down below). Thor is also a primary catalyst for future MCU material, particularly The Avengers, where events occurring in Thor have enormous repercussions throughout the movies. Thor also happens to be a damn good movie, and also one of the shortest films of the MCU, not overstaying it's welcome, but delivering a lot of info and cool scenes in a compressed form. Also of note is the first appearance of famed sharpshooter Clint Barton, or Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner.
Thor also attracted some pretty silly controversy in the form of, you're not going to believe this, the badass character of Heimdall, here played by the awesome Idris Elba. Why was this controversial? Because Heimdall was black, where in the comics, he is mostly portrayed as white. Yeah. I shit you not that's what caused people to get mad.
And two months after Thor came Captain America: The First Avenger on July 22. The film stars Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, a sickly and feeble, yet impassioned and determined soldier during World War II, who undergoes an experimental chemical procedure that transforms him into a super soldier with uncanny and visceral strength, vitality and reflexes. Donning a patriotic outfit and the moniker Captain America to inspire his fellow troops, Rogers undergoes operations to stop the Nazi-affiliated HYDRA led by Johann Schmidt, who is revealed as villain Red Skull, played by the memorable Hugo Weaving. HYDRA is in possession of a powerful and mystical blue cube known as the Tesseract, an item that is originally referenced in Thor, and plays an increasingly larger part in the MCU over the course of the following movies. Along with Rogers is Colonel Chester Phillips, played by Tommy Lee Jones, and officer Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, who both train Rogers as he develops the persona of Captain America. Also of note is his friend Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, who aides Rogers on the battlefield throughout the movie.
Captain America: TFA is definitely a more unique Marvel film than what may be readily apparent. Taking place during WWII, likely to the surprise of audiences, the film has a decidedly more sinister and violent tone than previous Marvel outings, largely due to the presence of the Nazis. On top of that, the portrayal of Captain America is highly self-referential and has almost a tongue-in-cheek feel about it that, in the context of the film (and later movies) works really well in establishing the persona of both Captain America, and Rogers who inhabits it. There's also some noted references and relations to Tony Stark in the presence of his father, Howard Stark, who works with Rogers over the course of the film. Cap also serves as a near direct lead in to the next Marvel outing, as Rogers is left in a cryogenic state, and reawakens 70 years later, his legacy remembered and also renewed.
And now we come to The Avengers, released on May 4, 2012, and the final movie in Marvel's "Phase One" of film collections, featuring an ensemble cast of Iron Man, The Hulk (now played by Mark Ruffalo), Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, as well as plenty of S.H.I.E.L.D personnel like Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, and Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill. Also featured is Thor character Loki, once more played by the great Tom Hiddleston, as the primary villain. When Loki emerges from the depths of space with an alien army of Chitauri, hell-bent on enslaving the human race, Nick Fury calls together the ultimate defence: The Avengers. Now, tasked with working together to stop Loki's campaign, the Avengers must contend with not only each other over ideological differences, but with an increasingly paranoid S.H.I.E.L.D. that seeks more powerful and destructive methods to combat external threats.
And it's awesome.
What we get is an incredible and satisfying showcase of the best of the best in Marvel's Universe up to the point of the The Avengers. It's a movie where the odds were always against it.The Avengers is a film that, by all accounts, should never have worked. But it does. And it does so superbly, with multiple crowd-pleasing moments, thrilling action, and a fantastic pace that makes it an entirely enjoyable and memorable film of which all future ensemble superhero movies will now have to match. There were plenty of moments when it could have all gone wrong, but The Avengers beat expectations and came out showing a bright future ahead for the MCU, and assured movie-goers everywhere that Marvel had the superhero movie formula down to a science.
So how do you follow up something like The Avengers? Well, by featuring the man who started it all come to grips with the aftermath. Iron Man 3 was released on May 3, 2013, one year after The Avengers, beginning Marvel's "Phase Two," and returned to the life of Tony Stark as he tries to come to grips with his traumatic experience in Avengers, all while being haunted by a past mistake involving the Extremis program, as well as a new threat in the form of the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a mysterious bomber who angers Stark to the point of obsession. Suffering from PTSD after New York, Tony becomes irrational and frustrated, and his careless calling out of the Mandarin results in catastrophe that sends Stark far from California, where he must piece together not only his suit, but the mystery surrounding the Mandarin, Extremis, and it's creator Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) while he is believed to be dead back home.
Iron Man 3 also features returning characters Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) now assuming the mantle of the Iron Patriot in the wake of Stark's presumed death. It's a pretty crazy film, and is waaaay more in-depth than it's predecessor Iron Man 2, and also boasting some memorable, and surprising, twists that might throw even the most stalwart of comic readers off. If you were turned off by Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 is Tony Stark's redemption.
The most recent Marvel film, as of this writing, Thor: The Dark World is the obvious direct sequel to Thor, and like Iron Man 3 before it, also a pseudo-sequel to The Avengers, and was released on November 8, 2013. This movie was actually my first "review," of sorts, so I'm going to shamelessly plug it by saying you can find Here! TDW follows Thor and his comrades Sif with the Warriors Three as they tend to the chaos in the Nine Realms around Asgard that has resulted from the destruction of the rainbow-like portal Bifröst at the end of the original Thor. Loki is imprisoned from his actions in Avengers, and peace is slowly returning to the realms with Odin and Thor's guidance. However, on Earth Dr. Jane Foster discovers a strange portal that leads her to an ancient weapon called the Aether, which infects her and alerts the Asgardians. The Aether is a weapon of universal destruction planned to be used by the Dark Elves, old enemies of Asgard. With the Aether activated, the Asgardians realize that something called the Convergence has begun, of which could result in universal annihilation. Thor journeys to Earth to take Jane to Asgard, where she may be helped. This causes a chain of events that awaken the Dark Elf Malekith, played by the fantastic Christopher Eccleston, and causes Thor to release Loki to help combat the threat.
Thor: The Dark World continues the trend from the first Thor of continually expanding the MCU outside of Earth, with a specific scene of the film involving Thor and Odin making a passing reference to what is sure to be a huge part of films farther down the line, involving the origins and nature of the Aether and Tesseract, the blue cube seen in the past movies (what will later be known as Infinity Stones). TDW also brings a lot more action to Asgard than the previous film, and it makes for some exciting scenes that give a hint to what kind of out-world design that is going to prominent in Guardians of the Galaxy. Speaking of which, look out for a mid-credits scene involving Benicio Del Toro as the Collector, a character next to be seen in GotG!
And now the movie releasing in just a few short days on April 4, 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Starring Chris Evans once again as Steve Rogers/Captain America, the focus this time around, compared to something like Thor, is much more internal involving the workings and secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D. first alluded to in The Avengers. Returning once more is Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Joansson as Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff respectively, and also featuring new character Alexander Pierce, played by the legendary Robert Redford. The action in this movie looks heightened and drastic, and Winter Soldier is looking to be another strong hit for Marvel, with critical praise, and some really cool trailers. Check it out this weekend!
Due later this year on August 1, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy is likely going to be the most obscure and far-out Marvel movie yet. I mean, there's a talking raccoon named Rocket. Yes. Rocket Raccoon. Voiced by Bradley Cooper. Talking raccoon named Rocket. And you know what? This movie looks freaking awesome! Just look at this trailer:
I KNOW RIGHT? A fantastic trailer and premise has me quite excited. With Chris Pratt (from the recent Lego Movie!) as Starlord, real name Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, along with previously mentioned Bradley Cooper as Rocket, the misfits all make up the group known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. What's interesting about Guardians is that the film will be the ultimate test of seeing how far Marvel can keep the interest in the grand continuity in modern audiences with a movie based on source material that most people aren't familiar with. I will say that so far, the trailer enough has me interested, and from what I understand, I'm not the only one who's excited!
Also of note is Karen Gillan as the warrior Nebula, who you can see in the trailer with the blue complexion! Her character is a soldier for Thanos, and that's a name Marvel movie-goers will get familiar with in no time. Thanos appeared in a mid post-credits scene in The Avengers, by the way. Yeah, that weird dude with the sinister smile? That's Thanos. And he's a bad mofo.
And last, but not least, the end for "Phase Two" comes in Avengers: Age of Ultron. There's not a lot of assured info yet that I can really say, apart from the the introduction of the two mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. This is REALLY weird, considering that Quicksilver is appearing outside the MCU in X-Men: Days of Future Past, with another actor and everything. Figure that out.
Ultron is an A.I (artificial intelligence) that aims to control Earth through a means not yet revealed, and will be played by James Spader. Apart from that, expect the return of the original cast of Avengers, as well as maybe some cameos from the Guardians.
There was also short teaser that was released recently:
And....that's that! I hope you liked this little overview of the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Future plans for "Phase Three" involve Ant-Man, a rumoured Doctor Strange movie with Johnny Depp, and of course, a major Avengers movie involving Thanos. So there's some killer stuff coming soon! And until then, we've got some awesome movies to see as well. It's a good time to be a Marvel fan!
It's the latest team up of old-school action stars, and here we have one partnership that's been a long time coming! The Terminator and the Italian Stallion together at last, that is, when they're not being Expendable. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone star together in Escape Plan, with Stallone as Ray Breslin, a security professional who specializes in testing prisons first hand -- by breaking out of them himself. Taking a CIA job offer that puts him in a prototype, state-of-the-art maximum security prison, Breslin soon realizes that the job is a ruse, and someone wants him there permanently. Befriended by fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), the two take it upon themselves to break free from their unknown prison, by any means necessary. Escape Plan is something of a novelty, and while it's concept and actors are up to the task, Escape Plan feels more a mediocre afterthought than a proper team-up.
Escape Plan actually starts out promising enough. The opening scene with Breslin in the prison is exciting, and cool to see how it plays out in an un-lengthy manner. There's obviously some suspension of disbelief involved; a few methods are incredibly outlandish, but it's interesting and neat nonetheless. This feeling carries throughout the movie, and it does add to certain suspenseful and timely scenes. When Breslin lands in the maximum security prison after the opening, the pace continues well, with the film allowing some nuance as Breslin analyzes and struggles with what is supposedly the perfect prison. It's here he meets Rottmayer, and where we get to see Schwarzenegger and Stallone converse and plan. Stallone is...well he's Stallone, so if you're familiar with his movies, you know what to expect from him. The same goes for Schwarzenegger. I did, however, find that both of them had a decidedly more subtle and underscored performance, which was cool at first...but I found it didn't really change as the movie went on, and the novelty of seeing both Stallone and Schwarzenegger together began to wore off. There's a lack of notable dialogue between them, and while both have some good scenes on their own, together it's lacking. The one fight scene between them showed promise, but barely lasted a short time. Besides those two, the other characters are split between inside and outside the prison. Breslin's team consists of Abigail Ross and Hush, Amy Ryan and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson respectively, trying to find his whereabouts, with the Warden, his right-hand man, and Dr. Kyrie working in the prison. The performances on both ends range from good to average, with the action and sub-plot involving Breslin's team feeling rather tacked-on, only offering a not-really-needed breather from events in the prison. The Warden, Willard Hobbes (played by Jim Caviezel), is sly, brooding, and ruthless, and Caviezel's performance is admirable at first, but ends up feeling mediocre and unsubstantial. Sam Neill of Jurassic Park fame plays Dr. Kyrie, a kind of strange role that has him tired of the daily prisoner interaction, and sympathetic to Breslin's plea. Unfortunately, his character is not very well developed, and his story isn't resolved in the slightest. Kind of a funny side note: there's a scene where Breslin and Rottmayer are surveying and analyzing a few armoured guards around their area, and they give them descriptive names like "chicken-man" and the like. These faceless guards are given just about as much characterization as some of the supporting characters.
The context for what goes on during the middle of the movie inside the prison makes sense, and includes the previously mentioned rather good individual scenes with Breslin and Rottmayer, but there's a lot of unnecessary info passed around other characters that either doesn't amount to anything in the prison, or is used too sparsely outside involving Breslin's team. The build-up, or rather, escape plan, does have it's cool moments though, despite being a little too long overall. Tension and close-calls help make these parts more exciting, and the lengths at which the pair will go to in order to get the slightest bits of info is equally notable. The film's climax is pretty decent too, all thing considered. There's a pretty big "HELL YEAH" moment involving Schwarzenegger, and a very 80's-esque explosive finale, but, sadly little more than that. Even so, the ending wraps up nicely, and doesn't linger longer than it should.
But by the end, Escape Plan feels like something of a missed opportunity. It's a pretty harmless movie, and it has elements of that 80's style that Stallone and Schwarzenegger are known for, but there's a lack of anything that truly stands out. It's a good concept, and there's some cool and tense scenes, but EscapePlan feels lacking in many respects. So while it is indeed neat to see Stallone and Schwarzenegger together, I think I'd stick to The Expendables.
YAY
Respectable performances from Stallone and Schwarzenegger, with some really good individual scenes.
Cool concept that stays relevant and somewhat interesting.
Actually decently paced early on.
No particularly bad acting from the supporting cast.
Cool seeing Stallone and Schwarzenegger together, but...
NAY
...the novelty eventually wears off.
Lack of stand-out action.
Suffers from predictable twists.
Drawn-out, with some entirely unnecessary moments.
Alright, time for some RoboCop! The remake/reboot of the 1987 original, simply named RoboCop, was released only a couple days ago. But screw that, I'm talking about the OG RoboCop from 1987! Ha, if people still say "OG." Anyway, as action movies from the 80's go, RoboCop is pretty notable, and memorable, for the time. Sure you had The Terminator, and Rambo, but you know what was missing? A cyborg cop! Yeah, the merchandising for this movie must have been a field day. RoboCop had enough weight to follow up with two sequels, both of which I hear are nowhere near as good as the original, but we don't care about those movies today. No, what you're here to know is if the original is worth watching. And you know what? It definitely is. As action movies go, RoboCop is damn good. It's got some crazy violence and action, great effects, and one badass cop. It's aged better than I though it would have, and while it still suffers from an overly-ambitious plot, RoboCop is definitely a noteworthy action flick.
In a near-futuristic Detroit (2014, as a matter of fact), crime and corruption has eroded much of the city, where everyone from the police to the government is at the mercy of corporate giant OCP (Omni Consumer Products). Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is reassigned to a local precinct with officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen) as police officers contemplate a strike, and on a routine patrol, chases after known crime boss Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith, ie. Red from That 70's Show!). Murphy is shot down and effectively left for dead, but OCP uses his body as the basis for their new RoboCop program, and they transform Murphy into...well,RoboCop. Did you expect something else? RoboCop then proceeds to be a badass and takes on the scum of Detroit, all the while OCP watches over him. Watch the movie to know the rest!
To get the main criticism with the movie over with first, the background plot is pretty underdeveloped, and a lot of supplementary material is kind of left hanging, or unaddressed. There's a lot of background events happening over the course of the film, like the aforementioned police strike, as well as a brewing war overseas. They're nice touches that add to the setting, but have little to no impact on any events in particular. A lot of this is told through simulated TV news briefings, with an 80's flair, and while the stories follow a beginning and end over the course of the movie they offer no real payoff, and ultimately, they become rather unnecessary. The whole thing with OCP and their limitless reach is a neat concept, and I like how it's already a given, but it feels a little too convenient at times, although to the film's credit, much of it IS actually addressed.
But the rest of the movie knows what it's all about: the flow of the film is top-notch, with an immediate and adequate display of awesome from RoboCop as soon as he's complete. His introduction is short, but neither slow nor hasty, and he quickly gets into the groove. One-liners abound as RoboCop dispenses his robotic justice to the felons of Detroit, and so efficiently that his effectiveness is readily apparent. Later in the film, and without spoiling much, RoboCop removes his helmet, and it goes a long way to show how good Weller is in the role. There's a strange subtlety in his movements, and it's really cool as he begins to show a little more humanity each minute. But damn, if there's one character to watch, it's freaking Smith's character Boddicker. Slimy, sly, and cold, the performance is just so good. The use of the character is such that he continually amounts a stronger offensive force against RoboCop at each meeting, and the final shootout against Boddicker and the rest of his gang of memorable thugs is very, very cool.
The one prominent effect in RoboCop, besides the plethora of blood and explosions, and one really far-out toxic waste effect (all of which are really cool) is the stop-animation used for the ED-209's. They're menacing and powerful, and it really shows in the face-off between ED and RoboCop at the top of the OCP building. The effect is really cool and natural, and not afraid to add a slight gag every now and then (one in particular reminiscent of Star Wars). On that, there are just a couple of bits of humour thrown in to offset the otherwise dystopian setting. Characters or one-liners, or even really weird and sexist commercials, add a bit of "light-heartedness," that surprisingly doesn't feel out of place. I mean, jeeze, when you think about it, the whole movie is about a mechanical cop giving off a few catchphrases every now and then. How serious can you really be?
The action is great, the pace is smooth, the effects are slick, and the performances are of the top quality. RoboCop is most definitely a fine film indeed. Sure, some of the plot is up in the air, or sometimes meaningless, but the rest of the movie's action and enjoyability make up for it. Go watch this movie. Yeah, watch it! Don't go see the remake. Watch the original. It's a damn good time!
