A War This Time (Terminator: Salvation, 2009)

Six years later, the studio wanted to try and reboot the franchise. The biggest twist of the film this time around? No time travel. The beginning of a planned trilogy set during the war, Christian Bale takes over the role of John Conner.

The film focuses upon Marcus, who awakens in the middle of the war and starts trying to figure out what is going on. He ends up on the run with Kyle Reese and young mute girl Star. When they run into other survivors, they come under attack by the machines who kidnap Star and Kyle. Marcus ends up seeking the help of John Conner, believing they need to work together to save and the others from Skynet.

Truthfully, the film has mostly decent effects and it is full of very talented actors…but I never feel really drawn into the story. It tries to surprise us, but the set-up at the beginning telegraphs to much…?

The visual effects are very good (though a CGI Arnold is pretty rubbery looking) and there are a lot of exciting action scenes. But we get a lot of “machine perspective” shots, which in the previous films gave us insight into the Terminators…but it just feels performative here, because who cares what the random flying machine or motorcycle perspective is.

This is not a terrible film, but it is more a sci-fi war movie that happens to have terminator machines in it than a Terminator movie. And to be honest, I never found myself wishing for a huge focus on the war itself, feeling that it works better as a background part of the story.

June 24, 2020 0

Fast Cars and Overheating Egos (Ford Vs Ferrari, 2019)

I confess…the subject of the film is not close to my heart. Cars are a utilitarian tool for me. So, I confess, the trailers did not excite me much. Damon and Bale are pretty proven variables…and Mangold has shown himself to be a skilled director.

Dramatizing the events of Ford’s attempts to beat Ferrari in racing and the team Ford assembled to pull it off, this got pitched as a dad movie. Which, I mean, I guess dads will like it… but really it is a film that fans of creative innovations and risk will find appealing.

Forced to stop racing Carroll Shelby is recruited by Lee Iacocca (for Henry Ford II) to create a race car that can beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He reaches out to his friend, driver Ken Miles to help. Reluctant at first, as he gave up racing to focuses on his life with his family, Miles becomes dedicated. However, execs at Ford are not keen on having Ken as the driver, believing him too difficult.

The drama is terrific in the film, with the hard work, successes and disappointments as they fight to succeed against the odds. Damon and Bale have a very real connection as friends with a somewhat adversarial relationship.

There is some really solid cinematography on display here. One of my favorite shots is Ken sits on the training track with his son as the night is falling. Just beautiful. I also thought the racing sequences were nicely played out.

Ford vs Ferrari is an engaging film worth watching, whether you are a dad or anyone else.

February 26, 2020 0

Rage Against the Machine (The Dark Knight Rises,2012)

It was becoming clear that Nolan was planning to form a trilogy. The Dark Knight ended with Batman on the run, taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s death. It suggested Batman would be hiding in the shadows in his fight against crime. There were no real casting controversies this time. Generally, people seemed okay with announcements of Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway.

After the Dark Knight, people seemed to trust the team making these films. So there was much anticipation when the Dark Knight Rises arrived four years later.

And right from the start? The film kicks off with a nice little plane hijacking by the villain Bane. This Bane appears to be a pretty brilliant criminal and Occupy Terrorist. And yet? The terrific setup from the Dark Knight is not used at all. The film picks up eight years later with Bruce Wayne having retired Batman. The police did their job, so Bruce retired the persona shortly after the events of the Dark Knight. Apparently, no weird bad guys appeared after the Joker. Wayne is in rough shape, physically speaking. The years as Batman took a real toll. He catches Selina Kyle busting into his safe during a party, Kyle is a morally ambiguous character. She is a thief of course, but she is not entirely without conscience.

Commissioner Gordon is deemed a hero, but this is eating away at him…and he keeps a letter on himself at all times confessing what really happened to Harvey Dent. This certainly could have been a real damning situation. Admittedly, I felt it would have been better to bring Two Face back as the central villain, out to humiliate and expose (and destroy) Gordon and the Batman.

Bane starts to wreak havoc on Gotham’s social and financial districts. Forcing Batman out of retirement and into a confrontation, Bane breaks Batman’s back and tosses him in hole. Ultimately Bruce Wayne must climb to the top to get free. The film is a bit on the nose.

It turns out that Bane is teamed up with another villain, who is revealed to have ties from the first film. And their plan just makes no sense. They trap the entire police force underground and plan to blow up a bomb.

What makes the Dark Knight Rises so disappointing as a followup is that it is incredibly sloppy in it’s storytelling. How and why things occur are not fully thought out. The film is full of exciting sequences…but they don’t bring the film together. The film is heavily focused on being a “last Bruce Wayne” story for the Nolan version. But the villains activities don’t really have a satisfying connecting moment. There is, technically, an “Ah HA!” moment. But it still leaves a lot of Bane’s overly elaborate scheming kind of pointless.

As a follow up to the Dark Knight (and Batman Begins) this is a well cast movie full of plot-holes to the point of Swiss Cheese. Catwoman is a fun character, and Hathaway’s performance is great, without drawing on earlier film versions. Freeman, Cain and Oldman are great in their roles, vital to the enjoyment of this film. As a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he is always welcome, and his tenacious cop Blake (in spite of a “groaner” of a name reveal at the end) is likable…he is also pretty obvious the out of they wanted to make a fourth film without Bale, as the Bale Batman seems to have run it’s course. That Bat Voice starts to grate on a viewer, especially after three movies.

I wish Nolan’s series could have ended on a higher note, but that was not meant to be. We have a movie with some fine performances, some good action scenes and a rather hard to buy into massive plan by villains even taking into account this is a movie about a guy dressed as a bat.

August 26, 2016 0

It Was a Dark and Stormy Knight (the Dark Knight, 2008)

The recasting of Rachel Dawes with Maggie Gyllenhaal might have been the biggest casting controversy if not for the announcement of Heath Ledger as the Joker. Oh, the internet exploded. And then the movie came out and made a lot of people eat crow. The late Heath Ledger gave one of the best takes on the Joker. An anarchist who just wants to watch the world burn, The Joker starts out appearing like he is trying to take over the mob, only for them to be shocked as he proves he does not care about their goals at all.

The Dark Knight improves on the action scenes, showing how much Nolan learned. The story is mostly quite strong. They introduce the heroic Harvey Dent, a new DA with no fear of the mob…causing Bruce Wayne to question if Batman will be necessary any more. Of course, Dent is doomed to be twisted into a brutal caricature of justice.

The Dark Knight is full of twists and turns, as well as challenging questions in regards to spying and information gathering. How far do you go to stop someone? Admittedly, the film tries to have it both ways, allowing Batman to go to far, but for it to be a one time deal.

The film also struggles a bit with exactly what it wants to do with Two Face…and it really squanders an opportunity that could have played into the next film. While the Joker story line seems so carefully plotted, the Two Face story line just feels rushed. But in the end, the overall film ties together nicely.

As noted, Ledger’s Joker borders on brilliant. The performance is downright unnerving, helped by musical queues that make it feel all the more disturbing. The returning cast are all excellent, and Gyllenhaal holds her own (as pretty much the only woman of consequence in the film) with heavyweights like Oldman, Freeman and Caine.

Nolan has shown Great vision for Batman, and only improved on Batman Begins. It is an intense and exhilarating ride of a film.

August 25, 2016 0

When I Was a Kid (Batman Begins, 2005)

It took until 2005 for Batman to return to the big screen. From the start, we knew this was going to be a more serious take on the character than the previous films. They were starting over and taking their inspiration from Batman: Year One. Warner Brothers brought in Christopher Nolan (director of Following and Memento) to craft a Batman for the modern movie age. They started to announce their cast and people started to get excited. Christian Bale. Gary Oldman. Liam Neeson. Literally the most controversial casting choice was Katie Holmes…and that was more after the film was released.

Batman Begins is a refreshing take on the character. It followed closely the stories such as Year One. And instead of going with villains we had already seen, they opted for two that had not been used in film before. Ra’s Al Ghul was a longstanding comic book Bat Nemesis who ruled over the elite league of assassins.

Young Bruce Wayne struggles to come to terms with the death of his parents at the hands of low level thug Joe Chill. He plots to kill Chill, but is convinced by Rachel Dawes (Holmes) to not give into the revenge. So Bruce drops off the grid and wanders the planet getting into scrapes and apparently lots of prisons…until he meet Ducard, the mysterious emissary to Ra’s Al Ghul. After training with the league of assassins, Bruce discovers that the League has plans to erase Gotham off the map, believing it is beyond saving.

When Bruce returns to Gotham, he decides that he needs to use his training to combat the decay of the mob and other criminal activity. The film also focuses on Detective Jim Gordon and his attempts to deal with corruption inside and outside his force. As Batman, Bruce Wayne realizes he has an ally. Of course, the League of Assassins has no intention of giving up their plan.

Nolan was not known for being an action film director prior to this, and it shows. Sometimes things are to tightly framed making the action hard to follow. There are great action sequences, but there are times where they are not as easy to follow.

The story is not hard to follow, and unlike previous Batman films, the multiple villains does not ruin the pacing. And how the villains are tied together makes sense. Nolan and his time understand how to intertwine the elements of a tale.

The film is also nearly perfectly cast. Bale sells the notion of a man with a singular purpose. Michael Caine’s Alfred is a new and unique take on the character in film and television. He is a bit rougher and has a military background. You can see he was hired as much for his strength as his support. He can be tough, wise and gentle when it is called for.

And then there is Gary Oldman’s Detective Gordon. He is struggling to try and keep things together, but not out of incompetence, but simply because Gotham is falling apart and the seems, and at times, he seems alone in trying to stem the tide. It is great to see the movies finally elevate his presence. He is a far more important to the Bat Mythos than Burton or Schumacher ever seemed to realize.

As Ducard, Neeson brings an self righteous arrogance that sees him in a role of dangerous judge and jury. Lucius Fox is played by Morgan Freeman in one of those Freeman roles where he is wise and underestimated. Cillian Murphy’s psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Crane is creepy, even before he dons his Scarecrow mask. Holmes is the weakest link. It is not that she is terrible, but she is out of her depth with the rest of the cast.

Gotham is no longer a hyper stylized city with crazy architecture. Instead, it is a rundown city, with a recognizable look that could be the streets of a large metropolis. It is very effective.

Batman Begin’s is a solid start to a new series of films. It is the path I wish Bryan Singer had followed with Superman. We are introduced to an exciting world with much potential (as hinted in the final moments of the film).

August 24, 2016 0