.jpg)
So, I decided to hit up QFC and grab a couple packets of M&Ms ( a good ole late night munchie fix) and prepare for a long night. I hit up the Redbox and rented some movies that I have been wanting to see for a while but haven't had the time with finishing up school and all- so I figured tonight was as good a time as any to check them out.
- Push
- Legion
- Quantum of Solace
I'll try to keep the reviews to a minimum since I'll be reviewing three of them, but knowing me, I'll elaborate way too much, but eh- nothing but time tonight.
To kick things off, I began writing this blog after I watched Push, so I'll be able include that one here. Let the good times roll-booyah!
Starring Djimon Hounsou, Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, and Dakota Fanning
Despite the very-well put together cast and the concept of mutant excitement, the movie fell short of my expectations. The optimist in me is trying to muster the strength to say this movie was good; however, the comic geek in me is beating the living dung out of the optimist.
yeah. That gnarly.
I won't critique everything, but here are the main things that disappointed me the most.
- The plot
- the action
- the ending
The plot is disappointing mostly because it's another one of those the-government-is-bad-just-because scenarios. Plus the division responsible for the action is, well, named "the Division" i.e. not really exciting or particularly threatening. But in any case, it's known about me, I don't care if the plot is reused (which is almost inevitable these days) as long as it's done well; this was not. It is mostly lackluster because the Division never really expands on why it is bad. Outside of the mutants saying "Oh, man, Division is SO not cool", there is so sustenance as to why they are the bad guys. I mean, yeah, of course a couple of eggs are broken (Chris Evans' father is murdered, etc), but you never know why they are evil, except for the ONE time they mention developing a serum that will eventually create an army of mutants for the mutant-hunting branch of government. And if this is confusing you, then I am doing a good job of explaining why the plot is poorly done- because it is mondo confusing. Usually by the end of a movie, things are solved and everyone feels better, but this one isn't. There are a subset of mutant named "Watchers" who have differing methods of foresight, and just knowing that they exist and know everything is confusing enough because the entire movie you're thinking "WTF mate- don't the Watchers already know what is going on?" and when they don't you again say "WTF mate?!"
yeah. It's mondo confusing.
The action was just disappointing because the ones with the coolest powers of the film hardly used them until the end of the film, which felt more like they were catching up on action as opposed to having the build-up of action actually make sense. Chris Evans and Neil Jackson were both Movers (telekinetics) and quite honestly, even compared with the Pushers (telepaths), were the best and seemingly most powerful mutants of the movie, although the Pushers technically are. Whenever they used their powers, you got excited, however, it never lasted long i.e. 'sad day'. The Pushers had a neat power, but it was overshadowed with the graphics being put into the Movers' scenes. I mean, by the time the Pushers eyes' glazed over with the mind-control juice, a Mover could have chucked 'im across the room. Overall, the action was akin to the stuff seen in Heroes season 1- you knew everyone had something just AWESOME power that you wanted to see more of, but whenever they did it as quick and almost anti-climactic.
The ending- just doesn't feel resolved. Chris Evans is chalked up to be the hero of the film, which ends up happening, but it the progression of his character takes place too quickly and it doesn't develop who he is or why he was appointed the Alpha-Lead of the rag-tag group of mutants. The ending could segway into a sequel, but I kind of hope it doesn't. If things were done better the first time around, then yeah, I'd love to see them put out another one, but right now, they'd have too much to work on to pull it off right.
The Upsides:
- Acting
- Comic Attraction
Quickly put, the acting wasn't the downfall of the film. Even the supporting cast pulled off solid characters. There was one actress, the Watcher for the Chinese Triad group, that didn't seem to pull as much weight as the others, but I was willing to let it slide because of how strong the other acting was. To be honest, if Chris Evans pulls off that kind of acting with Captain America, I think he'll truly pull it off.
The Comic attraction means this: Ever since Spider-Man, Hollywood has been pumping out movies, TV shows, radio jingles, etc, of meta-human characters and their adventures. Regardless of how they stack up against one another, there has still been a tremendous output of comic book-esque cinema, yet Push still grabbed the attention of people, and even though it might have been a let-down, I was still excited for it even after I heard reviews from other people. It held some sort of fascination that I was determined to see, and for that, I commend it.
Total rating: 2 High Fives.
No comments:
Post a Comment