The Wolverine

 

Hugh Jackman has always been the perfect actor for the role of ‘Wolverine’ and the latest instalment within the ‘X-Men’ franchise is no exception. Amazingly this is his fifth time taking on the role and like the previous films, Jackman is sufficiently unhinged as the mutant with metal claws and an accelerated healing ability.

The movie focuses on Logan’s (Jackman’s) life post the events of the original X-Men trilogy, tying in quite nicely to that story, but still holding up well as a standalone movie. It also has a slightly darker edge than the previous X-Men films, which is effective given the story and the character the action is set around.

The film begins with Logan being in what could be described as a bad place. Emotionally devastated from the events in the last X-Men film, he has become something of a hermit as he tries to distance himself from the world and the people in it. He is then summoned to Japan by an old friend who wishes to free him from his curse of immortality. This is where things get interesting and the action kicks off. Surprisingly, the movie has more plot twists than your average action film, which keeps you engaged even if the action scenes and special effects weren’t enough to do the job.

James Mangold is the director for ‘The Wolverine’. He has an impressive list of films in his resume, including the likes of ‘Walk the Line’ and ‘Girl Interrupted’. Interestingly though, he doesn’t have much in the action genre, so it was always going to be interesting to see how this one turned out. As a first run at a proper action film (if you don’t count the likes of ‘Knight and Day’) I’d say he’s done a pretty good job. Aside from a slow patch in the middle of the film, the movie was well paced. The action sequences and fight scenes were well executed. Even the comedy had me laughing out loud, as it didn’t fall victim to the cheese that most action flicks do when they try to be funny.

As far as performances go, not only does Jackman look the part of the rugged and wild Wolverine, but he also has the acting ability to pull off the more dramatic scenes, as his character battles with the loss of so many of his friends in the previous X-Men film. The supporting characters will be largely unknown to western audiences, save only for Hiroyuki Sanada who featured quite prominently in ‘The Large Samurai’. Rila Fukushima plays a great sidekick to the Wolverine, saving him from a few dicey situations with her own set of ninja moves.

‘The Wolverine’ was hard to fault and is a definite improvement on the previous ‘Wolverine’ film. It has a good story, exciting action scenes, sufficient drama and even some laughs along the way. It wasn’t exceptional though, so perhaps most aptly described as a jack of all trades but a master of none. I give it a 7 out of 10. 

The World's End

Wouldn't you know it, Simon Pegg and his mate Nick Frost are in another film where they are battling to survive in small town England. They defeated a murder conspiracy in ‘Hot Fuzz’, survived a zombie massacre in ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and now fight an army of alien robots in ‘The World’s End’! If you enjoyed their two previous films, then you’ll probably love ‘The World’s End’ too.

A monologue from Simon Pegg’s character (Gary King) about when he and his friends attempted and failed to conquer a pub crawl in their youth (The Golden Mile) sets the scene for the film. King having not moved on mentally from his teens goes on a mission to enlist his old chums in a reattempt on The Golden Mile. While King’s friends have all moved on with their lives and are successful with their careers, wives and families, King has not. This disparity between King and his old school pals circumstances becomes something of a hand break on the comedy in the opening scenes of the film. Then before you know it, the movies in full swing with the discovery of the robots and the main characters fight for survival. With all the seriousness gone and the level of the characters intoxication up, it’s a laugh a minute as you no longer have to worry about King’s unsuccessful life and the gap that has grown between him and his friends.

It’s not surprising that the three aforementioned films are similar when you consider that all three were written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, with Edgar in the director’s chair for each.  The film had a good pace and was surprisingly good in its action and effects. The fight scenes were so well choreographed, it had me wondering how these 30 something’s, who grew up in a small town and now have white collar jobs, could fight so well. The special effects too were surprisingly effective for a mid budget film with very little CGI.

Pegg and Frost share the stage with three others as they set off on a quest to recapture their youth, but it’s the two of them that provide most of the films laughs. The other most notable actor in the gang is Martin Frost, known most recently his role as a young Bilbo Baggins on the Hobbit. Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher, Pride and Prejudice) plays the films love interest and we even get something of a cameo appearance by Pierce Brosnan playing one of the head robots.

The film is an entertaining watch when the movie gets to the main action of the story line. Simon and Nick are solid as usual with expert delivery and timing. My belief is that the film could have been better if it had just stuck to one tone as opposed to going from serious, to whacky, to downright silly. I give it a 6 out of 10.

This is the End

If you enjoy watching the likes of Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill and James Franco in comedic roles then you’re in for a treat. ‘This is the End’ combines a number of Hollywood’s ‘Apatow Mafia’ in a hilarious apocalyptic disaster film, where the movies main characters play themselves. A film concept that you’d expect to be something of a disaster in itself, the result however is very entertaining.

‘This is the End’ is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s third time writing a film together after ‘Superbad’ and ‘Pineapple Express’, but their first in the director’s chair. This along with the ‘apocalypse plot’ might have a lot of movie goers being dubious about the result. I’d have to say though, for a first run at directing they’ve done very well. The script and its delivery are at times brilliant, having me in hysterics throughout the film. The screenplay on the other hand was a little scattered, with a few downright silly scenes. As it’s a relatively low budget film the effects weren’t overly flash, but were sufficient to depict scenes you might expect to see on Judgement Day.

The film starts with Seth’s good friend Jay visiting from Canada and them both going to a party at James Franco’s. When the apocalypse starts, the party quickly disperses and we’re left with the core group of funny men, hunkering down at Franco’s fighting over who gets to eat the Milky Way. This all after a number of Hollywood stars get eliminated in a less than graceful fashion. From there it’s an odd sort of survival story. The film mainly focusing on the general hilarity and interplay between the five comic geniuses stuck at Franco’s house and the various dilemmas an actor finds himself in during the end of days.

James Franco and Jonah Hill get the first listing in the credits, because they are probably the most well known out of the bunch, but the movies underlying story is around the relationship between Seth and Jay. Jay plays the part he needs to play well, but never has you laughing out loud. Seth Rogen is just Seth Rogen and pretty much acts as he always does, which is still hilarious. Instead of Jonah Hill playing Jonah Hill (so to speak), he plays a caricature of himself that portrays him as something of an oversensitive phony, which proves to be quite amusing.  James Franco was surprisingly funny and there were a few times in the film that he had me in stitches.

By no means a flawless performance by Seth and Evan in their directorial debut, but the delivery and scripting were just so good and have you laughing so much that you forgive them for creating a film that wouldn’t be described as polished. If you don’t mind crude humour, love good dialogue and expert delivery then definitely give ‘This is the End’ a watch. I give it 7 out of 10.

Man of Steel

Superhero flicks are now seemingly compulsory for each of the major studios in the North American summer movie season. So I guess it seemed a little silly that the most powerful of all superheros has been left out in the cold for so long. After the mixed success of ‘Superman Returns’ in 2006, it was high time for Hollywood to have another stab at making a decent Superman film.

‘Man of Steel’ like ‘Batman Begins’ gives the audience an insight into the protagonists’ early life and therefore his motivations and the source of his power.  This could be due to the fact that Chistopher Nolan had a hand in writing the story for both films. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder known for 300 and Watchmen. I thought this to be a match made in heaven because of Nolan’s talent as a writer and Snyder’s flair for impressive action sequences such as those in his previous films. This turned out to be true to a degree. While the film was well pieced together, with scenes leading from one to the next with adequate logic, it could be argued that the amount of time spent on each was a little off. If perhaps more time was spent on the story and character development and less on action sequences, the film would have been less rushed and the dramatic scenes would have been more impactful. In saying that, the film does have its touching moments and the special effects and action are a huge step up from the earlier superman films. When Superman and General Zod clash, it’s entirely the way in which you would expect super people to fight.

Henry Cavil is a fantastic superman. Not only does he very much look the part, he also does a great job of portraying a young superman who hasn’t yet found himself and is unsure of how to play his part in the world. He at times looks genuinely vulnerable as he struggles with the responsibility of the power that he finds himself with. Michael Shannon plays the films main villain (General Zod). He too plays his part fittingly, displaying a sense of warped morality that you can understand and therefore connect with. Amy Adams is Lois Lane and is sufficiently cocky and headstrong as we know the character to be, but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The film has a very impressive support cast, including Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner as Superman’s Kryptonian and Earth based fathers. Whilst the films leads are arguably the least known out of the all star cast, they manage to steal the show with their impressive performances.  

‘Man of Steel’ is definitely an improvement on the last somewhat dull instalment in the Superman franchise. While a little on the cheesy side, I think they’ve laid a solid foundation for subsequent sequels. I’d give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. Its action sequences are intense and visually spectacular.