I'll answer these questions right off the bat...no, this movie is not "Transformers 4" and yes, people did actually make a movie based on the old board game named "Battleship." It seems that anything can be made into a movie nowadays and while some ideas turn out to be better than they appear, I was extremely skeptical of this sci-fi blockbuster. But as always, I walked into "Battleship" with an open mind and in the end...well, I'm really not sure.
Before I plow through the details, know that "Battleship" has a very simple plot. Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) likes a girl, the girl has a very menacing father who is in the Navy (Liam Neeson), so Hopper must prove his worth in RIMPAC naval exercises where countries come to compete in games on land and sea (kind of like the Olympics for the Navy). There is just one tiny, intergalactic problem: the games are soon interrupted by an overused and often butchered form of story-telling...or you could just say...aliens. Hopper's ship along with two others become trapped in a force field with three opposing alien ships and if his crew can not find a way to destroy this great threat, then the aliens will contact their planet and bring in reinforcements to enslave the planet.
Now there are a lot of great things to like about "Battleship." First off, the way that they incorporated the board game into the film was genius and it made for some great entertainment and explosive action. The action of course is the main focus of the film along with some impressive CGI. The filmmakers handled the action with great care, really making me feel the suspense so that when something blew up, I was excited at the results (I may have shouted out in excitement once or twice). But the climax of the film was the best part. In a last ditch effort, Hopper and his surviving team climb aboard an old battleship to make a last stand. They are aided by retired veterans who add a lot of comedic quips to the young ones and overall this was a very nice ode to the Navy.
And while I would not call the acting in this movie "great," it was much better than I anticipated. When I first saw the trailer I laughed when I saw Rihanna's face on the screen, but I was very surprised at her acting and she often had some good/humorous dialogue. Of course Liam Neeson is enjoyable as always, borrowing a little from his character in "Taken" to play a no funny business Navy Admiral. As for Kitsch, I have never been a big fan of his acting since he did not do the character of Gambit justice in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"(granted none of the actors did much in that film) but he is suited for action movies and if he sticks to that, he'll have a good career.
OK, here is the bad thing about the movie, the thing that washes out all of the good stuff and leaves only disappointment...the script. Cheesy, cliche, laughable, terrible. All of these things can describe the horribly written screenplay. Granted there were a few funny bits but more often than not the film was trying to be funny but fell flat on its face. There was even one moment when, after a line was delivered, I leaned forward to put my face in my hands, in agony of what I had just heard (do I hear a Razzie nomination?)
Also, regarding my quip about this not being "Transformers 4", it practically is. "Battleship" has the EXACT same formula as the Transformers series. The beginning tries to be funny but then it gets serious, there is a very attractive female love interest (except this time she's not dumb), it involves people fighting big alien robots, and so on. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, I guess it's up to the viewer.
I am very conflicted with where I stand on "Battleship." I think to myself, there was great action, special effects, suspense, and a killer soundtrack (AC/DC). On the other hand...the script was cringe worthy. In the end I say this, if you ever watch "Battleship" keep the film muted the entire time, you will not have a hard time understanding it and it will turn out to be a great film. If you prefer it with sound, prepare to see exciting explosions ruined to terrible one-liners. I give this film two stars out of four.
"Battleship" has a running time of 131 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, violence, and destruction, and for language.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Marvel's The Avengers
Way back in 2008 when Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) appeared in the first "Iron Man" and spoke the words, "Just call us S.H.E.I.L.D." all Marvel fan boys knew what was coming. They were actually going to do it. Marvel was going to attempt to bring some of the world's biggest and greatest super heroes onto one screen to form "The Avengers." Many thought it impossible, while others thought that it would result in a cheesy action flick, but I for one remained optimistic. After four long years of anticipation I have finally gazed upon the glory of Marvel's latest blockbuster...and it is worth the wait.
Yes, if you haven't seen a Marvel film in the past few years you will probably be a little confused with the plot. The film centers around the Tesseract (the blue cube from "Captain America") and how Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) wants it to enslave the world. Now the head of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), must quickly put together the world's greatest heroes to fight this villain and his alien army that he summons.
The roster features the billionaire playboy Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the WWII soldier Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), the Norse god of thunder Thor, and the gamma radiated Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). On their side are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Together these hero's must unite against this great threat...but they need to learn how to get along first.
A big part of "The Avengers" is the humor. Comic-book fans know that whenever heroes meet for the first time, there will be some insults thrown and some punches dished out. This film is loaded with this much needed element and the results will make you crack up. The funniest character is without a doubt Tony Stark. Downey brings life to this beloved character once again and whether he's making fun of Thor's Shakespearean dialect or calling Captain America an "Old Man", he sarcasm will never get old. All the characters have their own humorous lines but in the end it may actually be the Hulk who wins the award for biggest laugh (I'll give you a hint...it involves smashing!)
The highest of praise for director Joss Whedon, who has also produced an incredible screenplay/script. This guy knows what he is doing. The nearly two and a half hour film gives an equal amount of time to each and every character in the cast which I thought to be nearly impossible. It's not "Iron Man 3" and it's not "Thor 2." It is "The Avengers" and it stands entirely on its own. He also did an outstanding job with the character development. Black Widow and Hawkeye are basically new characters to the Marvel Universe, but after the film, I feel like I've known their characters for years. And the way Whedon writes Captain America blows the actual "Captain" film out of the water; this is much more classic and lovable Cap, the way he should be.
And the screenplay is backed up from top notch performances for every actor. The most notable is Mark Ruffalo. He is the third actor to play Banner in the last 10 years and he is by far the best. His Banner is the perfect balance of calm, hesitant, and genius (with the occasional outburst of anger). He steals the scenes he is in and I would certainly enjoy a new "Hulk" film with Ruffalo at the lead. The other worthy of noting is Hiddleston's Loki. After this film I can say with full confidence the Loki is the coolest and greatest Marvel villain to ever be portrayed on screen. Hiddleston's amazing acting makes Loki shine as the cunning, cruel, and downright nasty villain who never seems to lose his smile even if things aren't going according to plan. Evans and Hemsworth are great just like the rest and with Jackson's no-funny business Fury, "The Avengers" boasts a well rounded cast.
Oh and did I mention that there is action and lots of it? If you have been let down by some of the climactic battles in the last several Marvel films...join the club. But don't worry, the final half hour of this film delivers some of the most jaw-dropping action to ever be displayed on the silver screen. Just seeing these iconic heroes fight together sent chills down my spine. Imagine the coolest thing that you have seen each hero do in past film, double that (maybe triple), and you've got what to expect in "Avengers." I was never more happy to hear the words "Hulk Smash."
As a proud comic book nerd, I could have been very easily let down by just the slightest wrong in this movie. But there was no wrong. Whedon has accomplished the impossible and created something incredible. Just the fact that he could bring all these big characters together in one movie and make it work is simply MARVELous. My friends, "The Avengers" will satisfy every expectation you may have and is not only the best Marvel film to date, but is a landmark for the super-hero genre and all of cinema. I give it four stars out of four.
"The Avengers" has a running time of 142 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
Yes, if you haven't seen a Marvel film in the past few years you will probably be a little confused with the plot. The film centers around the Tesseract (the blue cube from "Captain America") and how Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) evil brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) wants it to enslave the world. Now the head of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), must quickly put together the world's greatest heroes to fight this villain and his alien army that he summons.
The roster features the billionaire playboy Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), the WWII soldier Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), the Norse god of thunder Thor, and the gamma radiated Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). On their side are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Together these hero's must unite against this great threat...but they need to learn how to get along first.
A big part of "The Avengers" is the humor. Comic-book fans know that whenever heroes meet for the first time, there will be some insults thrown and some punches dished out. This film is loaded with this much needed element and the results will make you crack up. The funniest character is without a doubt Tony Stark. Downey brings life to this beloved character once again and whether he's making fun of Thor's Shakespearean dialect or calling Captain America an "Old Man", he sarcasm will never get old. All the characters have their own humorous lines but in the end it may actually be the Hulk who wins the award for biggest laugh (I'll give you a hint...it involves smashing!)
The highest of praise for director Joss Whedon, who has also produced an incredible screenplay/script. This guy knows what he is doing. The nearly two and a half hour film gives an equal amount of time to each and every character in the cast which I thought to be nearly impossible. It's not "Iron Man 3" and it's not "Thor 2." It is "The Avengers" and it stands entirely on its own. He also did an outstanding job with the character development. Black Widow and Hawkeye are basically new characters to the Marvel Universe, but after the film, I feel like I've known their characters for years. And the way Whedon writes Captain America blows the actual "Captain" film out of the water; this is much more classic and lovable Cap, the way he should be.
And the screenplay is backed up from top notch performances for every actor. The most notable is Mark Ruffalo. He is the third actor to play Banner in the last 10 years and he is by far the best. His Banner is the perfect balance of calm, hesitant, and genius (with the occasional outburst of anger). He steals the scenes he is in and I would certainly enjoy a new "Hulk" film with Ruffalo at the lead. The other worthy of noting is Hiddleston's Loki. After this film I can say with full confidence the Loki is the coolest and greatest Marvel villain to ever be portrayed on screen. Hiddleston's amazing acting makes Loki shine as the cunning, cruel, and downright nasty villain who never seems to lose his smile even if things aren't going according to plan. Evans and Hemsworth are great just like the rest and with Jackson's no-funny business Fury, "The Avengers" boasts a well rounded cast.
Oh and did I mention that there is action and lots of it? If you have been let down by some of the climactic battles in the last several Marvel films...join the club. But don't worry, the final half hour of this film delivers some of the most jaw-dropping action to ever be displayed on the silver screen. Just seeing these iconic heroes fight together sent chills down my spine. Imagine the coolest thing that you have seen each hero do in past film, double that (maybe triple), and you've got what to expect in "Avengers." I was never more happy to hear the words "Hulk Smash."
As a proud comic book nerd, I could have been very easily let down by just the slightest wrong in this movie. But there was no wrong. Whedon has accomplished the impossible and created something incredible. Just the fact that he could bring all these big characters together in one movie and make it work is simply MARVELous. My friends, "The Avengers" will satisfy every expectation you may have and is not only the best Marvel film to date, but is a landmark for the super-hero genre and all of cinema. I give it four stars out of four.
"The Avengers" has a running time of 142 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference.
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