Month: May 2021

Starring: Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Ella Purnell (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children), Omari Hardwick (Power), Ana de la Reguera (Eastbound & Down), Theo Rossi (Sons of Anarchy), Mattias Schweighöfer (Valkyrie), Nora Arnezeder (Safe House), Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat), Tig Notaro (One Mississippi), Raúl Castillo (El Chicano), Huma Qureshi (Viceroy’s House), Garret Dillahunt (Burn Notice)

Director: Zack Snyder (Man of Steel)

Writers: Zack Snyder & Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) and Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword)

Runtime: 2 hours 28 minutes

Release Date: 21^st May (Netflix)

Zack Snyder stepped onto the public stage with his divisive remake of Dawn of the Dead, reimagining George Romero’s classic with fast-moving zombies and a more abrasive sense of humour courtesy of James Gunn’s screenplay (it also had some bizarre Islamophobic and homophobic undertones that weren’t in the original or Gunn’s script, which…yeah, not cool). Now, after having spent much of his following career adapting comic books, Snyder has returned to the world of the undead and the concept that began its life as the sequel to his Dawn. It’s got everything you could possibly want from a Snyder movie: slow motion, excessive violence, sad covers of classic rock and pop songs, a bloated running time, and unconvincing attempts at sentimentality. However, despite all these excesses, it also has a sense of self-restraint that so few vanity projects have, as well as something Snyder so rarely allows his movies to be: gratuitous, unpretentious fun.

Army of the Dead is a film that relies far more on premise that it does story or even plot. The screenplay is mostly an excuse to get a diverse cast of bold personalities into a zombie-infested Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean no care has been put into crafting a coherent narrative. The first act is easily the film’s weakest as, after fifteen minutes of prologue and opening titles, the inciting incident is immediately dropped on us and then its just a mad dash to introduce the entire cast and their motivations. However, once our heroes cross the barrier into the quarantine zone, the film really ups the ante in terms of set pieces and exploring its unique take on zombie lore. The pacing is strong from here on out and rarely feels its two-hour-plus length, striking a strong balance between action, tension and character. There’s not a great deal of startling plot twists, poignant character moments or intriguing commentary to discuss, but there is some solid banter and one-liners, as well as a few unsubtle digs at the Trump administration. This puts it at a disadvantage to something like Mad Max: Fury Road, which it is clearly trying to emulate at times, especially in how it builds the tribal culture of the Alpha Zombies.

That said, Army of the Dead has no real pretentions about being something deeper, and cashes in all its chips on “fun” and “cool”. It is undoubtedly a movie where you can turn off your brain and enjoy the carnage, but it has enough intriguing concepts that you don’t necessarily have to, and it never has to succumb to being dumb or offensive to do so. Unfortunately, the ending does leave a lot to be desired. There are bunch of character threads that are abruptly cut short or never resolved, the emotional pay off is cliched and underdeveloped, and its final coda is somehow both preposterous and predictable. Snyder and Netflix clearly have big plans for Army of the Dead as a flagship franchise, having pre-emptively greenlit both a spin-off feature and an animated series, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a lot of potential for this to be a creative sandbox for undead stories, but it falls into the trap of mistaking leaving its first film unfinished with enticing audiences with more. As much as I’m intrigued by the prospect of more, I prefer movies can do that while still being completely satisfying on their own.

It may seem crazy at first to mash up a zombie movie with a heist film, but both genres have one big thing in common: they are only as good as their characters and how they play off each other. Army of the Dead thankfully nails this camaraderie and pulls together a team that captures a dynamic most analogous to the Fast & Furious crew. Dave Bautista is as charismatic as ever as team leader Scott Ward, but he is unfortunately saddled with being the straight man for much of the film, and his motivations are a pretty basic “reconnect with my daughter” storyline that goes how you’d expect. Ella Purnell as said daughter Kate puts in a solid performance, sitting right on that line between righteous and reckless and just about avoids being another damsel in distress. Ana de la Reguera’s Maria and Omari Hardwick’s Vanderhoe are pretty fun but very underdeveloped, whilst Theo Rossi puts in a great creep performance as the predatory refugee guard Burt.

Raúl Castillo is a blast as cocky YouTuber Mikey but doesn’t get enough screen time, which applies to an even greater degree to Samantha Win as his buddy Chambers; at least she gets a pretty standout action sequence as compensation. Hiroyuki Sanada is only there to motivate the plot as shady billionaire Tanaka, and it’s easy to see where Garret Dillahunt as his protégé Martin is going to go from a mile away. Nora Arnezeder is a standout as the stoic guard Lily, mining a charming and badass performance out of a character who could have been easily perfunctory; I just wish she got a little more development. Tig Notaro brings her trademark sarcastic wit to the role of helicopter pilot Marianne and has great repartee with the rest of the cast; this in spite of the fact most of her footage was shot in isolated reshoots. The obvious MVP, though, is clearly Mattias Schweighöfer as the timid safecracker Ludwig Dieter. An audience surrogate done right, he is equally funny and relatable as he darts between horror, confusion and glee at the situation he’s found himself in, and the relationship between him and Hardwick is a nice subtle mini-arc. It’s easy to see why they’ve chosen Dieter to lead the already-shot spin-off.

It’s rare to see a zombie movie made on a blockbuster scale. The only other example that comes to mind is World War Z, which ended up making a lot of concessions on violence to be viable to Hollywood. Luckily, this being a Netflix production, such worries aren’t a problem and Army of the Dead is left free to blow its budget as well as undead brains. The action sequences are a lot of gory fun and feature some pretty unique kills that will equally make you laugh and squirm, the production design is Apocalypse 101 but done with grandeur you rarely get in the genre, and the cinematography by Snyder himself is beautiful and tacky in all the right ways; it’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to a Michael Bay zombie flick. Tom Holkenborg’s score is as solid and pumping as ever, the soundtrack choices are on-the-nose but enjoyable regardless, and the special effects meld practical and digital so well as to make them often indistinguishable. Honestly, the only CG that stood out as dodgy were the occasional seams in how Notaro has been stitched into the film in post-production.

Army of the Dead is simultaneously everything you’d expect from a Zack Snyder film and yet a massive evolution to his approach to filmmaking. For the first time since his debut, he hasn’t made something overly self-serious, deconstructive or tonally confused, and without that baggage his positive qualities are allowed to shine. This is no-holds-barred sandbox filmmaking and, whilst it doesn’t completely hold together, it delivers entertainment where it counts. Unlike so many other filmmakers who’ve given into their worst instincts when allowed complete freedom by Netflix, Snyder of all people found the discipline to practice a little restraint and put fun first. With this and his cut of Justice League, 2021 is a good year to be Zack Snyder.

FINAL VERDICT: 7/10

Starring: Amy Adams (Arrival), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Fred Hechinger (News of the World), Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street), Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight), Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Director: Joe Wright (Atonement)

Writer: Tracy Letts (August: Osage County)

Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes

Release Date: 14^th May (Netflix)

A story about a woman struggling with mental health whilst being trapped in her own home doesn’t sound as interesting as it would have two years ago, does it? The paranoic chills of The Woman in the Window might have hit harder if it had released in cinemas as intended back in October 2019, but this is yet another Hollywood project that’s been through the wringer of test screenings and reshoots before being dumped unceremoniously at Netflix’s doorstep. When that happens despite the film’s distinguished creative team, Oscar-calibre cast and being based on a popular novel, it’s very easy to presume the film is a complete flop. Unfortunately in this case, and very much like the movie itself, that first presumption is ultimately the correct one.

The Woman in the Window makes no secret of its influences at any point. In its opening moments, it borrows the foreboding tracking shots and moody lighting of David Fincher thrillers, and a scene from Rear Window playing on a television telegraphs its obvious inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock classic. These alone wouldn’t make The Woman in the Window a bad movie, as even some of the greatest films have been homages to other stories. The problem is that the plot is fashioned almost entirely out of the scraps of other, better films, and doesn’t even use those ideas to say anything particularly interesting.

What follows will be utterly predictable to anyone with even a mild interest in mystery thrillers, as trope after trope is thrown at the screen, with the only surprises being the result of assuming the filmmakers wouldn’t stoop so low as to be that obvious. The story itself is told well enough cinematically, and by the midpoint it does a commendable job of ramping up the tension and fear that puts you in the mindset of its unreliable protagonist. However, after a stunningly facepalm-worthy second act twist, the film only further spirals into a final reveal and climax that is not only unoriginal but works actively against one of the core themes of the story. For a movie that attempts to sympathise with those struggling with mental illness, it seems surprisingly eager to also jump on stereotypical negative depictions of them. Ultimately though, it’s just a symptom of a movie that is trying far too hard to sensationalise what might have played better if grounded in reality.

With a high-profile director like Joe Wright in the director’s chair, it’s no wonder such a stellar cast assembled for the production, but the results are middling at best. Amy Adams takes centre stage as the titular woman Anna Fox, rarely even leaving the screen for the duration, and she does a solid job with the material given to her. It’s pretty obvious from the get-go that Anna isn’t exactly lucid, and Adams is great at making her sympathetic and putting you into her confused mindset, even managing to pull some humour in the midst of its darkest moments. Also providing strong supporting performances are Wyatt Russell as Anna’s beleaguered lodger David and the prolific Brian Tyree Henry (seriously, isn’t he in everything these days?) as the compassionate Detective Little. Anthony Mackie even manages to put in some decent work despite spending most of the plot as a voice on the phone.

The rest of the cast don’t fare as well. Gary Oldman, having recently won his Oscar working with Wright on Darkest Hour, flips back to his scenery-chewing ways as the cantankerous Alastair Russell. It’s a performance that seems like it was pulled from an even more exaggerated film than this, with Oldman delivering every line in either a foreboding whisper or an abusive yell. Julianne Moore also seems to be acting at a slightly higher dial than everyone else, immediately signalling there’s something more sinister about her character, whilst Jeanine Serralles is aggravating as the stereotypical dismissive victim-blaming cop, and Jennifer Jason Leigh is relegated to a mere prop; methinks her role was one of the main victims of the extensive reshoots. However, the film’s biggest liability both story and acting-wise is Fred Hechinger as Oldman’s son Ethan. Whilst never outright stated, the character has been clearly coded as on the autism spectrum, and Hechinger’s performance ticks every trope on the checklist. It’s hard to elaborate further without going into major story spoilers, but any savvy viewer only has to watch his first scene with Adams and imagine the worst and most obvious thing they could do with the character, because that’s what happens to him.

Even in his more regrettable projects, Joe Wright always manages to make a great-looking movie if not necessarily a great-feeling one. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel makes the most of the film’s restricted setting and photographs Anna’s empty house in an artful and elegant way; by the film’s end, you practically have the house’s floor plan burned into your head. Danny Elfman’s score is also suitably eerie and foreboding, and the film’s scattered editing adds to the uneasiness whenever Anna’s mental state starts to deteriorate.

The Woman in the Window is too well-made on a technical level to be a complete disaster, but good cinematography and some decent performances can’t save a story constructed by stitching together pieces of every other mystery thriller ever. Joe Wright is certainly better at impersonating David Fincher than he was aping Baz Luhrmann with Pan, but even so this screams of a film made by a reluctant journeyman looking for a paycheque. It’s often too easy to assume every troubled production inevitably results in a bad film when that is far from the case, but subpar movies like The Woman in the Window are what reinforce that misconception. With such a glut of great comparable films already available on Netflix and other streaming services, you’d be better off watching one of those than this disposable dreck.

FINAL VERDICT: 3.5/10

Starring: Lewis Tan (Wu Assassins), Jessica McNamee (The Meg), Josh Lawson (House of Lies), Tadanobu Hosano (Thor), Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl), Ludi Lin (Power Rangers), Chin Han (The Dark Knight), Joe Taslim (The Raid), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine)

Director: Simon McQuoid

Writers: Greg Russo and Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984)

Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes

Release Date: 23^rd April (US/HBO Max), 6^th May (UK/PVOD)

The phrase “there’s no such thing as a good video game movie” generally holds water, but an exception to many is 1995’s adaptation of the arcade classic that introduced us to fatalities, digitized graphics and the Entertainment Software Rating Board: Mortal Kombat. Sure, the story was formulaic, the dialogue was cheesy, and it lacked the trademark gore of the franchise, yet it had enough charm and gnarly 90s techno to gain affection in the hearts of fans everywhere (its 1997 sequel, Annihilation, however…has few admirers for good reason). Even so, Mortal Kombat has for ages been begging for a cinematic reboot to fully capture the totality of the series: more characters, more special moves, more gruesome finishing blows. Those wishes have finally been answered in 2021’s Mortal Kombat and, whilst it’s not a flawless victory, it delivers enough B-movie fun to satiate the bloodthirsty.

Rather than following the tournament structure of the early games or the first movie, the new Mortal Kombat spends most of its running time building the world and developing its heroes and villains. This approach leaves the film feeling like an overlong prologue, spending its time between fights mostly spouting exposition about tournament rules and character backstories. It places the film in a bit of an awkward middle ground, being neither detailed enough to please fans nor simple enough for laymen to invest in. The movie does get to explore avenues previous adaptations have often looked over, like the rivalry between Scorpion and Sub-Zero or the camaraderie of Sonya and Jax, but to do so the basic tenets of storytelling are often warped from the pressure of cramming so much in with less than two hours.

After a compelling cold open, the film’s first act seemingly swallows up most of the remaining runtime, with much of the story taking place in one location as the characters train and banter for nearly an hour. All of this build-up and anticipation does lead to a pretty satisfying finale that delivers on much of what the film promises, but it still does feel like the filmmakers are holding a lot back for a sequel they are far too confident they’ll get to make. Ultimately however, the film holds up in spite of all this simply because it captures the spirit and heart of the games so well. It has its grandiose mythology, its twisted sense of humour, its brazen self-awareness and, above all, its commitment to fun above all else. If you can’t get on board with that, that’s more than understandable but, for better and worse, this is undeniably a Mortal Kombat movie made by and for Mortal Kombat fans.

Much like the original film, what carries the story is the charm of its characters, and Mortal Kombat delivers a healthy dose of fan favourites, obscure deep cuts and, most surprisingly of all, a brand-new challenger in the form of our protagonist. Lewis Tan does a commendable job as Cole Young, creating a character with charisma and relatability in spite of his generic backstory and motivations. He is at first too grounded compared to his more colourful supporting cast, leading him to sometimes get lost in the shuffle, yet by the climax he comes into his own and narrowly edges himself a satisfying arc. I doubt he’s going to become anyone’s favourite character, but if Cole ever becomes playable in the games, I’d certainly give him a few rounds. I mean, he’s certainly got more character and a unique move set compared to the countless forgettable fighters the series has had in its near-thirty-year history.

Jessica McNamee nails Sonya Blade’s terse yet noble personality, though she is unfortunately saddled with not only a lot of expository dialogue, but also a problematic subplot about her worthiness to compete in the tournament. Being the only female character in the film with any development, it’s pretty disappointing to see her arc boil down to a poorly-concealed glass ceiling metaphor. Mehcad Brooks fares better as Jax, capturing both his bravado and his insecurities, though he is out of commission for much of the second act. It seems odd at first to place Liu Kang, the usual protagonist of the series, in a supporting role but this allows the film to poke fun at the character’s stoicism without turning him into a joke, and Ludi Lin does well balancing that line. Whilst Max Huang does get in some great moments as Kung Lao, he enters the film quite late and leaves pretty quickly, and Tadanobu Asano’s po-faced performance as Raiden has neither the grandiosity of the game character nor the humour of Christopher Lambert’s 1995 interpretation.

Though their screen time together is mostly relegated to the bookends of the film, Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim make for a great combo as Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and the way the film uses the language barrier between them to add conflict is a unique touch that adds a little authenticity. Chin Han does a great job of matching the bravado and intimidating presence of Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa’s performance as Shang Tsung, but he’s in the film far too sporadically to have a real impact. Much of the rest of the rogue’s gallery is made up of disposable jobbers with barely a handful of lines between them, with only Kabal getting much personality or connection to the other fighters. Most disappointingly, fan favourite Mileena is relegated to this henchman role and is sapped of not only her origins but her unsettling personality too; if they weren’t going to do her justice, they should have saved her for the sequel and thrown in another throwaway villain like Tanya or Ashrah. With all that said, the film’s big secret weapon is Josh Lawson’s hilarious performance as Kano. As soon as he’s introduced, the movie drastically improves as the Australian backstabber quips his way through the rest of the film and threatens to steal the whole production. He is the movie’s Jack Sparrow, and if anyone in the film deserves to become a breakout star, Lawson should.

If you came to Mortal Kombat looking for blood, you are going to find it and much more. Limbs are severed, skulls are split, hearts are ripped out, people are burnt alive and frozen to death; everything an edgelord would love and a conservative parent would hate. Unfortunately, punches are pulled in the most literal sense, because the fights are surprisingly the film’s biggest weakness. Though the 1995 version was hardly a Bruce Lee masterpiece, it understood how to not only stage its brawls, it knew how to edit them. Mortal Kombat blatantly suffers from the pervasive Hollywood problem of not just having too many cuts, but placing them in a way that robs the fights of their full impact. The choreography is perfectly fine when it’s comprehendible, working in plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle references to moves from the games, but it desperately needed someone like Chad Stahelski to step in and supervise these sequences.

It’s a massive shame, because the film otherwise does a fantastic job of capturing the aesthetic of the games. Some of the locations are bland, with most scenes in Outworld looking like it was shot in the same quarry as every other episode of Doctor Who, but those pulled right out of the games are startingly accurate and it’s great to see a lot of on-location filming as opposed to green screen sets. The visual effects are generally pretty solid, especially on fully CG characters like Reptile and Goro, but there is only so much one can do to make these insane character designs feel tangible. The cinematography captures some gorgeous moments, the costumes strike a great balance between being source material-accurate and being stagey, and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is a suitable mix of Zimmer-inspired bombast and techno-infused modernity that works in that classic “Techno Syndrome” beat in every chance it gets.

Fans love the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie because it’s dumb fun, and its 2021 successor continues in that fashion. Its greatest flaws lie more in trying to do too much rather than not trying enough, which is certainly the more admirable way to fail, but what it gets right more than makes up for those shortcomings. More than any previous video game adaptation, this captures not only the look of the game but the feeling you get when playing it: giddy, excited, and wincing at all the right moments. The Mortal Kombat games never strived to be high entertainment, and this film shouldn’t be held to a different standard just because of the change in medium; you don’t denigrate a food truck burger simply because it’s not a porterhouse steak. This movie is a food truck burger, and judging it as such, it’s a pretty damn good one that needs less mayo and a little more time on the fryer. If you’re not a fan of the games, knock a point off my score if you want. Otherwise, strap in and try not to puke.

FINAL VERDICT: 7/10

Starring: Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Jamie Bell (Rocketman), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Bret Gelman (Stranger Things), Colman Domingo (Selma), Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3)

Director: Stefano Sollima (Sicario: Day of the Soldado [AKA Sicario 2: Soldado])

Writers: Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) and Will Staples (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3)

Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes

Release Date: 30^th April (Amazon Prime)

Every adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Ryanverse so far has only focused on the eponymous Jack Ryan, but the series has had several protagonists over the years and few more notable than John Clark. Featured as a supporting character in the film versions of Clear and Present Danger and The Sum of All Fears, efforts to start a solo series featuring the character have been going since the early 90s with actors like Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Tom Hardy attached to the role at various points; Hardy’s version was even meant to be a spin-off to the failed 2014 Ryan reboot Shadow Recruit. Now after decades of development hell, the origin story of how a former Navy SEAL became the legendary leader of Rainbow Six has finally arrived…and it’s pretty underwhelming.

An incredibly loose adaptation of the 1993 novel, Without Remorse is a standard espionage action thriller…and that’s all that really needs to be said. From its opening moments, the film quickly whips out the list of cliches and starts checking them off. A mission gone wrong, the tragic death of a family for motivation, an unhinged hero out for revenge, potential brink of war, doesn’t know who he can trust, yadda yadda yadda, you know where this is going. Save for a few standout moments and a timely thematic coda, the screenplay frankly feels like it was written on autopilot, but its formulaic plot could be forgiven if it had a unique style and moved at an entertaining clip. Unfortunately, the film delivers neither. Despite having a story only a few steps removed from GI Joe, Without Remorse takes itself way too seriously and moves at frustratingly leisurely place, with nearly half its runtime being set-up that could have been explained within twenty minutes. The second half picks up the pace a bit, but by that point it’s hard to even care what’s going on, and the film otherwise makes little effort to make itself stand out. By the time it reaches its sequel-baiting mid-credits scene, it’s hard to care about seeing the further adventures of John Clark if they’re going to be as generic and forgettable as this.

If there’s anything that keeps Without Remorse from being completely unremarkable, it’s Michael B. Jordan’s performance as Clark. Going by his birthname John Kelly for much of the runtime, Jordan throws himself into the role and creates a fascinating character with a lot of hidden potential. He’s an aggressive and often scary protagonist, pushing morality to its limits in order to complete his mission, but he never crosses that line where he truly becomes a villain. It’s clear Jordan (who is also a producer on the film) is passionate about the character and he gives it his all, and if given a script that actually had a little meat and spice to it, this could have been a career-defining role for him. Sadly, that’s not happened. The rest of the supporting cast acquit themselves well but don’t stand out. Jodie Turner-Smith continues to prove herself a rising star to watch as Kelly’s CO Karen Greer, Jamie Bell gives a somewhat confused performance as CIA operative Robert Ritter, whilst Guy Pearce is serviceable but unexceptional as Secretary of Defence Thomas Clay.

If there’s anything that can make an otherwise basic action movie memorable, it’s a few good set piece sequences. Without Remorse does have several of those, but beyond an intense jailhouse brawl where Jordan really shows off his chops, the sluggish pacing renders most of these scenes boring; that’s honestly the worst thing an action movie can be. A lot of these issues can be traced back to the editing, which seems to be trying to draw out and linger on shots to create suspense, but they only end up frustrating. An early sequence involving a raid on Kelly’s house is the most damning example, stretching out the build-up to the point of tedium and leaving the final impact blunted. Otherwise, the film is pretty unremarkable on a technical level, even with veteran cinematographer Phillipe Rousselot behind the lens and Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi doing the score; with the exception of Jordan, it’s like everything this film touches turns dull.

Without Remorse isn’t an unwatchable film, but it does very little to justify its existence beyond being yet another generic thriller with Tom Clancy’s name slapped on the poster. Michael B. Jordan has proved before he has the chops to be an action star, and his strong efforts here only affirm that, but this is unlikely going to be a role he’s going to be remembered for decades down the line. Unless you’re a diehard Clancy completist, give this one a miss and seek out one of the dozens of better films of its ilk; chances are whatever you pick will have more fun and originality than anything in this disappointing bore.

FINAL VERDICT: 4/10