Movie Review: World War Z

Almost overnight, the world’s population begins to succumb to a vicious virus that transforms its host into zombies almost instantly. Former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) finds himself at the center of the madness as he is tasked with finding patient zero and a cure for the virus. With the fate of the world, not to mention his own family, hanging in the balance, Gerry travels across the globe in order to put together a working vaccine and save humanity as we know it.

Any review of World War Z would be, in my opinion, incomplete without at least mentioning its relationship to the book it is (extremely loosely) based on. I read Max Brooks’ “oral history of the zombie war” a few years back and loved it. It is one of the most intelligent, uniquely structured pieces of science fiction in recent years and as I read it I could easily envision a fantastic film. This is not the film I envisioned. Production on World War Z was an absolute disaster as tension between Pitt and director Marc Forster was so thick that they reportedly would not speak to each other on set. The third act of the film had to be completely reshot after it became apparent that the conclusion was entirely too dark and the budget ballooned to a reported $400 million dollars (the most expensive movie in history). Somewhere in all of that the foundation of the novel was lost entirely. As we learned more and more about the movie, it became readily apparent that the film would have almost nothing to do with the book save the title. I was angry. I’m not one of those people that needs a movie to be EXACTLY like the book it is based on but I’ll never understand the point behind spending the money to acquire a book if you’re not going to use the book at all in the formation of your film. As such, I expected World War Z to be a total train wreck.

I was wrong. Perhaps it was my incredibly low expectations, but World War Z worked for me on virtually every level. It works as a horror movie, as an action movie, as a piece of post-apocalyptic (or in this case pre-apocalyptic) sci-fi and the elements the film borrows from each genre come together into a shockingly cohesive whole. This is one of the most intense action movies I’ve ever sat through and it uses scare tactics appropriately. That is to say, the film doesn’t go out of its way to create scares but rather allows the more horrifying aspects to come to the surface naturally. Meanwhile, the narrative develops quite well and I found myself much more invested in the lives of the characters than I ever imagined I would be. This is a smart zombie film that plays sort of like a combination of Steven Soderberg’s Contagion and The Walking Dead (on a $400 million budget). I felt like most of the twists and turns in the story made sense (save for a handful of MacGuffins in the second act) and Pitt does an excellent job of selling his character’s motivation, both on the micro (his family) and macro (the world) level. The third act comes together perhaps a little too neatly but somehow, despite a myriad of production issues that should have derailed the entire thing, Forster puts forth a conclusion that seems completely fitting to the film as a whole.

Against all odds, World War Z is a legitimately, shockingly good blockbuster that even borders on becoming great at times. It has almost nothing in common with the book from a narrative standpoint but it does share the novel’s intelligence and maybe that’s the most important thing in the end. Lastly, and perhaps most unexpectedly, there is a streak of hope that runs through the center of World War Z that you almost never encounter in a movie like this and the film feeds off of this subtle positivity in ways I never would have imagined, helping this film to become one of the best movies of the summer. Grade: A- (Rated PG-13 for violence, generally scary images, and mayhem)

Movie Review: Man of Steel

With the destruction of his home planet, Krypton, imminent, a newborn named Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is sent off by his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) in a spaceship bound for earth, bearing within him the codex for Krypton which will ostensibly allow for the planet’s rebirth. Once here, Kal is adopted by Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane) and finds that he is greatly empowered by the proximity of our yellow sun. Gifted with startling abilities that he cannot fully grasp nor understand how to use, Kal (now named Clark Kent) drifts through his first 33 years, occasionally stopping in his travels to save someone’s life but never realizing his full potential. But when General Zod (Michael Shannon), a deranged exile from Krypton shows up in search of the codex with plans to destroy earth’s population, Kal must decide to fully embrace his ability in order to protect the world that has become his home. I feel kind of stupid summarizing the plot to a Superman movie given that his is one of the most well-known mythologies in the world, but one Man of Steel’s bright spots is its reinvention of the source material. Similar to what JJ Abrams did with Star Trek, the team behind this film (writer David S. Goyer, director Zack Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan) took what had become a fairly tired story and breathed a bit of new life into it while still holding (relatively) true to (most of) the established backstory. Man of Steel plays like an actual reboot rather than a remake of the 1978 Superman and in my mind that’s a good thing. To be frank, Superman himself is the most boring of superheroes in my mind and all of the previous Superman films are kind of terrible. The version of Superman presented here is much more approachable than any previous Superman has been and the darker tones that Man of Steel delves into serve the character well. It’s not a perfect script, especially when it comes to the dialogue and exposition, but it gives this franchise a much better foundation than I would have expected.

The cast of Man of Steel give quality performances and this goes especially for Cavill who was a huge question mark coming in. I’ve seen Cavill perform in perhaps three other films and was thoroughly unimpressed with his effort in each entry but here he embraces both the human and superhuman aspects of Superman quite well. He might not be Christian Bale but he’s certainly no Brandon Routh either. Shannon, truly one of the industry’s best actors, doesn’t get as much to work with as I might have hoped but takes advantage of every opportunity he gets. Of the two fathers, Crowe gets the lion’s share of the screen time but Costner’s limited scenes might be the most emotionally relevant of the film.

There’s a lot to like about Man of Steel and plenty of flaws that could be overlooked in most cases. Unfortunately, however, much of it is undone by the horrific direction, especially in regards to Snyder’s film technique. I was nervous about Snyder’s involvement when his name was announced but tricked myself into believing that the studio (and more importantly, Christopher Nolan) wouldn’t let him screw up a huge tentpole film like Man of Steel. I was wrong as it seems to me that the entire film is just a 145 minute adventure in Snyder showing off all the cool tricks he knows how to do with a camera. I’m not opposed to the hand-held/shaky camera style of filming. The format has its merits and can be very effective in the right situation and in the right hands. But a massive, all-encompassing, CGI-laden superhero blockbuster like Man of Steel is not the right situation and Snyder’s are clearly not the right hands. Almost the entirety of the film is shot in shake-camera format, much of it is out of focus, and Snyder continually insists on shooting in close-up. If you’ve ever wondered what Superman’s nose hairs look like, Zack Snyder has an answer for you. The film moves way, WAY too fast for the camera to keep up and as a result of all of this, the visuals within this film are brutally disorienting and headache-inducing. My wife wanted to leave and if we had been so foolish as to purchase 3D tickets, I think I might have walked out. It’s that bad from a visual standpoint and for me, Snyder’s massive missteps strip Man of Steel of almost any merit it may have beyond a general hope that someday there will be a sequel that Snyder is not involved in. Grade: B- (Rated PG-13 for comic book violence, some harsh themes, maybe a little language)

Note: My grade started out as a C/C+, jumped up to a B as I was writing the middle paragraphs, and finally settled in at a B-. Basically, it comes down to how much I appreciate the path Goyer has set this franchise on versus how much I loathe Zack Snyder's hideous work behind the camera. I recommend skipping this film in theaters and watching it on DVD/Blu-Ray when the maddening visuals will be less horrifically disorienting.

Movie Review: After Earth

A thousand years in the future, after the inevitable world war that nearly destroys the planet, earth rebels against the human race and forces us to relocate. Humanity eventually sets up shop on an alien planet that is unfortunately inhabited by an uber-predator known as the Ursa that locates its prey through sensing its fear. Enter General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), humanity’s greatest soldier who teaches himself to be fearless and therefore invisible to the Ursa. He struggles, however, to relate to his gifted son Kitai (Jaden Smith) who wants nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps. While on a routine interstellar trip that will ostensibly help the two bond, their ship crash lands on (you guessed it) earth, leaving only Cypher and Kitai alive. But Cypher’s legs are broken and, unable to move, he is forced to send Kitai off alone into the dangers of earth in order to find a tracking beacon that will bring the help they so badly need.

As a longtime fan of science fiction, it pains me to see a good idea wasted on a bad movie, but unfortunately this happens far too often within the genre. After Earth should be at the very least an interesting, enjoyable film and probably would be in the right hands and yet it manages to miss on even the lowest level of goals. At one time, M. Night Shyamalan was one of the most ambitious, exciting directors in the industry and stood at the helm of three films I love. Now, however, he has fallen so far that the studio behind After Earth refused to use his name in the advertising for this film and did everything they could to keep his involvement under wraps. The reasons for this move become clear early and often. The script is littered with bad dialogue (and even worse techno babble) and the plot is paper thin. Meanwhile, the direction of the film is just as spotty and the pacing in particular misses the mark quite badly. At his best, Shyamalan was never great at character development (Signs would be the real exception in my book) but he was tremendously talented at creating tension and developing the plot. These skills have left him, however, and as such, After Earth struggles mightily both in the progress of the narrative and the would-be emotional relevance that the film so badly needs but never can piece together.

Shyamalan’s shortcomings, however, only serve to distract from the biggest issue at work within After Earth, that being the awfulness of Jaden Smith. I have always been a huge Will Smith fan and I will continue to contend that he is an extremely talented actor who is capable of great things. Somewhere along the line, however, he became obsessed with three things:

1.)    His image and legacy; 2.)    Making an absurd amount of money; 3.)    Nepotism.

His kids are everywhere, which is exactly what Smith wants and exactly what the world does not need. It would be one thing if Jaden was a good or even decent actor. But he’s not. Now, I try very hard in my reviews not to bash on child actors because, after all, they’re just kids. But Jaden Smith is exempt from this rule because his dad has done everything he can to force him into the spotlight and he should be evaluated not as a child actor but simply as an actor. As such, let me just say that Jaden Smith is not just a bad actor; he’s epically, historically, unbearably awful. He is the worst child actor to take a starring role in a mainstream movie since Jake Lloyd. Not only did I not buy him as an action star (which this movie tries mightily to push upon us), I did not buy him as an actual human being. With each wooden line delivery and each awkward action scene, Jaden’s mere presence in the film (and possibly the world) grated on me more and more to the point that I found myself actively rooting for the creatures of earth to kill him. He’s just so incredibly bad. If he isn’t nominated for a Razzie award this year it will be either because the Razzies are too nice to nominate a kid or his dad threatened to turn the Independence Day aliens loose on them. Whatever positives After Earth carves out for itself are immediately crushed and beaten into the dead ground by Jaden’s immense lack of talent, making this one of the worst films that Will Smith has ever put his name on. Grade: C- (Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence)

Movie Review: Fast & Furious 6

When a gang of international criminals led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) eludes all attempts at capture, special agent Hobbs (Dwayne The Rock Johnson) has run out of options. With nowhere else to turn, Hobbs approaches retired criminals/street race drivers Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) with the promise of information on the whereabouts of the believed-to-be-dead Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) in exchange for the capture of Shaw. Dom’s reassembled crew of crooks teams with Hobbs to track down Shaw but they soon find that he is a much more capable adversary than anyone they’ve taken on before.

I was in high school when the first Fast and Furious came out and I embraced it as a bit of a guilty pleasure. The second and third installments, however, are brutal; genuinely bad movies (two especially). A second chance presented itself, though, as through the magic of HBO I was reacquainted with the series with number four and by the time Fast Five rolled around in 2011 (seriously one of the most enjoyable, rewatchable action movies of the last decade even if you’ve never seen another Fast and Furious movie), I was fully invested in the series again. I’ll make no bones about it: I love the Fast and Furious franchise. There is something extremely appealing about an action movie that knows exactly what it is and never takes itself too seriously and that is exactly what this series has become. Everything escalates from film to film but in some weird way each jump seems to be the next logical step for the franchise to make and Fast and Furious 6 is no different. It is bigger, badder, and more explosive than the last film which is exactly what it intends to be and exactly why I love it.

Look, this is not a film (or a series) that should be viewed with an overly critical eye. All reality must be suspended to sit in for Fast Six and if you can’t do that then you absolutely should not see this movie. If, however, you can leave not your brain but your, “That’s not possible!” sense at the door, you are unlikely to find a more entertaining, fun movie this year. Diesel and Walker, now completely comfortable in their characters and I believe thoroughly in on the joke, complement each other in a way that every romantic comedy pairing can only dream of. They are the Jordan and Pippen of driving fast cars and as a longtime fan of the franchise, it really is hilariously joyous to watch them work together (I truly, truly mean this). The surrounding cast play off of Diesel and Walker quite well with Ludacris, The Rock, and even Tyrese Gibson (long the black sheep of the Fast and Furious family) hitting the right note more often than not. Evans’ Shaw is the sort of solid if uninspiring villain that the franchise has been missing and given the events of the film (no spoilers), I can only guess that the ante will be upped tremendously in the next installment.

The real star of Fast Six, however, is director Justin Lin, just as it was with Fast Four and Fast Five. (By the way, I completely understand how ridiculous all of this sounds. The titles are probably the greatest weakness of the franchise.) You can definitely question Lin’s ability to structure dialogue and narrative or whether or not he understands the basics of physics, but you cannot question the man’s incredible grasp of action. I would go so far as to say that no one in the industry right now consistently produces better action sequences than Lin does and Fast Six is a brilliant example of this. His shot selection is impeccable and his mix of CGI and practical effects is nearly perfect. His ability to capture the coolness of a car chase, a heist, a shootout on the longest runway in the history of mankind is what makes Fast Six an absolute blast of a movie. Forget the plot holes and the massive leaps in the realm of what is actually humanly possible and instead, live your life a quarter mile at a time and just enjoy the NOS out of this one. Grade: A- (Rated PG-13 for some language, general comic book-ish violence, and some sexuality)

Review: Argo

The opening of Argo came at a bad time for me and despite my extreme excitement for the film, it caused me to wait a week before making it to the theater. In that time, the hype surrounding this movie went into full-on hyper drive, leaving me with an expectation level that stood somewhere between “top five movie of the year” and “greatest movie in the history of mankind.” I hate when this happens as it is supremely unfair to hold a film to lofty expectations that could not possibly be reached (see: The Dark Knight Rises). As such, you know you’ve just seen a GREAT movie when you go in with absurd expectations and it still manages to completely blow those expectations away. Such is the case with Argo, a spectacular endeavor that stands as nothing short of a masterpiece. During the Iranian Revolution of 1979, a large group of American citizens was taken hostage at the US Embassy and held for over a year. Just as the takeover began, a small group of six Embassy employees snuck out a backdoor and were harbored by Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber), hidden away from search squads and forced to become hermits. With the pressure of the situation mounting, CIA exfiltration expert Tony Mendes (Ben Affleck) devised a strange plan to bring them home by having them pose as a Canadian film crew in Iran to scout locations for a Star Wars knockoff known as Argo. As the Iranian army comes closer and closer to discovering the stowaways, Mendes makes a daring gamble that puts both his life and the lives of his compatriots at stake.

What a difference a few years makes. Six years ago, if you and I had made a $50,000 bet that in 2012, Ben Affleck would direct and headline the best movie of the year, then right now you would be in possession of a worthless IOU because you would be right but I don’t have $50,000. The guy who once starred in Gigli, Paycheck, and Jersey Girl back to back to back has become, through great effort and a rededication to his craft, one of the best filmmakers the industry has to offer and a personal favorite of mine. It’s a shocking turn of events, really. It started with Gone Baby Gone, a film that gets better and better over time, and continued with The Town, a film I absolutely love that doesn’t get nearly enough credit in my opinion. Argo, however, takes all of the promise, potential, and skill Affleck displayed in those previous films and ramps it up into an incredibly well-made and painstakingly attentive film going experience.

From the first moments, Argo sets the tone for what the audience should expect by throwing you directly into an insanely tense atmosphere that does not let up until the credits roll. It’s a very organic and natural progression that Affleck allows his story to build through and as it goes, so does the drama. Near the very end of the film, I found myself taking in a giant gasp of air that should only be reserved for trips to the surface of a pool after jumping off the high dive and realized that I’d barely been breathing for, oh, a solid hour. The first hour sets the stage meticulously for what is to come in a slow but still thrilling manner and in the final hour, as every aspect of the setup collides together, I found my pulse quickening and my heart pounding as if my own life depended on Tony Mendes’ plan. Without question, the second hour of Argo is simultaneously one of the most satisfying and intense hours of film that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. This is the very definition of a nail biter, and I mean that quite literally as the bloody stumps that used to be my fingers will attest. The simple way in which Affleck creates such a rich and thoroughly compelling dramatic thriller is an absolute stroke of genius that should (and will) be rewarded by every award committee worth its salt.

Across the board, the performances within Argo are on par with the direction and the narrative itself. These are subtle, understated portrayals turned in by one of the greatest cast of supporting players I can ever remember. The film’s IMDB page is a Who’s Who of tremendous character actors, all of whom fit their respective roles like a glove. Kyle Chandler, Bob Gunton, Chris Messina, Rory Cochrane, Scoot McNairy, Titus Welliver and more all receive various levels of screen time and all hit their marks wonderfully. The cast’s true glory, however, belongs to the trinity of Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and American Treasure John Goodman. As Mendes’ boss, Cranston brings a savvy mix of intensity and compassion to his role, making his character’s spring into action incredibly satisfying. It is great to see Cranston take on a film role that is equal to his immense talent after a recent string of less-than-stellar appearances. Arkin plays the fake movie’s producer and truly nails the no nonsense approach required by the role. You could argue that this is just Arkin being Arkin but my response would be, why mess with something great? He fits his role perfectly. And as a make-up artist with a CIA past, Goodman is…well, Goodman is magnificent. He maximizes his limited screen time beautifully, ensuring that every second he is on screen is memorable. When he is on his game, there are few in the industry who do supporting work better than Goodman. All of these performances (and many more I do not have time to highlight) serve to highlight the strength of Affleck’s own subdued portrayal which suits the film quite well.

Every aspect of Argo works in conjunction to create a film that everyone should be able to find merit in. It is well-shot, well-written, and extremely well-acted movie and one that I plan on seeing many, many more times and it might just be enough to make us all forget about Affleck’s past acting transgressions. Or maybe not. Gigli is really stinking bad.

Argo Director: Ben Affleck Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Scoot McNairy Rated: R (language, intensity) Recommended For: Every movie fan 12 years and up. Seriously, go see this one.