Can you smell The Rock going Faster?

Faster (2010)

Director: George Tillman Jr.

Stars: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Jackson-Cohen

It was only a matter of time before Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson decided to return to the action fold. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s creditable for someone who started out as a wrestler looking to stretch his acting skills a little. Southland Tales, Be Cool to name a few plus those silly kid films, Dwayne’s been using that great charisma and presence in different ways.

But everyone just wants to see him kick ass. He’s back for Wrestlemania in April so it’s about damn time he returned to layeth the smacketh down. And with April nearly here, you’ve got two barrel loads of his action skills. First up is Faster.

Though to call Faster an action film is an outright lie. It’s more of a revenge thriller with a perpetual sense of continuous movement.

From the first moment you see Johnson’s Driver pacing about angrily in his jail cell, you get that theme of always going forward in the revenge tale. Within moments, he gets out of jail and just starts jogging down desert roads to find a car and a swish looking snub revolver. Then Driver goes to layeth the smacketh down on those who’ve wronged him and killed his brother in the process years ago.

While Driver goes off on this vengeful rampage, there’s a Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) trying to follow the murderous crime spree and also a Killer (Jackson-Cohen) a multi-millionaire who has decided to excel himself at bumping people off. They start tracking Driver’s movements and eventually like all good revenge films, their paths will cross.

Now while I don’t mind an array of colourful and OTT characters in this sort of B-movie fluff, the fact that these are three very different characters makes it a bit of an oddity. You have Johnson who is supposed to be the real driving force of the movie, the wronged man committing acts of horrific violence against those who wrong him and seemingly satisfied he’s walking the dark path. Thorton is a ex-junkie cop who’s days near to retirement and trying to provide for his family. And Jackson-Cohen seems to be emitting a mid-life crisis for a billionaire who’s done everything and wants to satisfy his ticks before marrying his beautiful girlfriend. The balance of characters is just weird here in this triangle.

There is this theme of redemption and forgiveness that runs throughout and that’s fine here. But I still think the mixture of these three characters is a little too much.

I personally would have liked to see things just kept focused on Johnson and it would have been a great dark revenge thriller. Johnson has the presence and his small amount of dialogue lets him convey emotion more visually in his facial reactions and he’s still the best of the WWE bunch to ever grace the big screen. It’s a nice role to get him back into the genre we all know he belongs in.

While I’ve got no issue with Thornton’s presence, only to add some sort of gravitas to a usually cardboard character, and while I know that Jackson-Cohen’s British hitman might grate some people, Faster would have worked so much better focused on one character. Driver, it’s actual main character.

Faster is visually pleasing and it has its entertaining (even though predictable) moments but when the main character has to play third fiddle to the other characters, it seems a bit diluted in the end and the revenge tale becomes somewhat like a weird urban dream.

Well, on the plus side, it isn’t named Faster: Action Revenge Film like Dwayne’s next production.

The Green Hornet: It’s a helpful sting for the masses

The Green Hornet 3D (2011)

Director: Michel Gondry

Stars: Seth Rogen, Jay Cho, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz

January is widely acknowledged by cinephiles as either two things when it comes to summing up what appears at the multiplexes.

1. The Awards Season (Example - The King’s Speech)
2. Dumping Ground for shite or below-the-radar  films. (Example – Season of The Witch or Henry’s Crime)

When you look at it from a neutral point of view, there isn’t really much joy to be found for your general cinema audience. A general audience would steer clear of The King’s Speech because it doesn’t look appealing as a mainstream film. A general audience would likely steer clear of films like Season of The Witch due to its poor reception and maybe films like Henry’s Crime because they have little or no idea what the film is about.

I didn’t know about Henry’s Crime until last week when Keanu Reeves showed up on Graham Norton to say he's made a new film. That’s how under the radar these films can be dumped in January.

Audiences should be thankful, somewhat, for The Green Hornet. Based on the 30s radio show and 60s television serial, The Green Hornet emerges as the first mainstream blockbuster of 2011 that will likely cater to that general audience looking for something that satisfy them by explosions, action, laughs and eye candy. I don’t expect everyone to enjoy The Green Hornet but when it’s either an prestige film or a schlocky piece audiences can easily tell is shit, a lot of people would likely bite the bullet and go on the crime fighting adventure.

The Green Hornet comes, finally, to cinemas after a long production process. Talent like Stephen Chow was involved to star and direct before dropping out before Gondry took the director's chair. Nicolas Cage was suppose to take part as the film’s baddie before Christoph Waltz jumped in at the last minute.  It also has had the issue of shifting release dates, originally due in 2010 before being thrown into the early part of 2011. Then it got a 3D conversion. I’ll talk on that later. But when you consider the problems the film’s had in its conception, it doesn’t sound like The Green Hornet is filling movie experts with confidence. 

Bad film then? No, anything but. I think The Green Hornet is a very good slice of popcorn entertainment.

The best way I could really sum up Green Hornet is think if The Apatow clan made a superhero crime fighting movie. This is one possible outcome. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, writers of Superbad and Pineapple Express, it essentially meshes their ideas for comedy and action here. And occasionally, it works. Rogen and fellow co-star Cho as Britt Reid and Kato respectfully have this very odd, mostly amusing, working relationship. Almost like a daft bromance of crime fighters. If you are fans of Rogen and Goldberg’s work, you should feel at home here.

But, like I said, it won’t be for everyone. If you don’t find Rogen amusing, this could push things to breaking point. He does tweek the hero motif a little, making Reid a bit of a douchebag despite his best intentions. I suppose it makes a change from the always heroic moments of valour but it’s up to you how much you like Rogen.

Cho, the man who follows in Bruce Lee, as Kato is a good straight partner for Rogen to have. He’s likable, carries himself well (even with his broken English) into a fun character. Kato’s fighting sequences are especially fun to watch with the Gondry edge here and there. 

There are some corking action sequences. One could argue that they are a little over the top. Especially the finale where a lot of cars get wreck, things explode and half of a building gets wrecked but I think it’s nothing badly out of place for this outlandish tale of crime fighters. It needed solid action to work and it’s presented very, very well here in The Green Hornet.

Another plus is Christoph Waltz, the film’s nemesis Chudnofsky, essentially is playing Hans Landa with a mid-life crisis. Not very original for the actor but at least he adds comic relief when he becomes almost threatened by the lack of fear he craves from his enemies. If I was offered the choice of Oscar winners, I’d take Waltz in this role over Cage.

There are some issues with The Green Hornet. Michel Gordy’s direction isn’t anything special. Kato-vision and the odd visual flair help spice up things but it’s a pretty generic looking crime fighting film. Nothing that really screams wow. It’s polished, it looks like the money’s been spent on the film but it just doesn’t have the visual edge you’d see on something like Be Kind Rewind or Eternal Sunshine. 

Cameron Diaz is a little bit wasted as the object of affection. You’d think they do something a little bit more with a talented actress and her plotline. But you can’t have everything can you.

Then there’s the 3D which, honestly, was never needed in the first place. That’s my true issue with The Green Hornet. I enjoyed it, I really did and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to have some slam bang fun on a Saturday night. But why doesn’t Sony have the balls just to release this in 2D? It’s a real shame but that is the state of the world film industry though. Bollocks.

But these nibbles aside, The Green Hornet makes very entertaining viewing if you’re willing to give it a chance. It’s hardly a film that deserved to be dumped in this dangerous time of the year – especially when The King’s Speech is dominating everything.

Tron Legacy - Quick! Someone give it an story file update!

Tron: Legacy (2010)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen

Disney have been pushing this one heavily over the last year promising something on equal par with Avatar and delivering a film many fans of the original would be very happy to see. I think they might want to reconsider that prediction.

Let's get this out of the way first, Tron: Legacy looks brilliant. It features the best 3D since Avatar and it certainly looks like they spent a lot of time creating this updated computer world with top notch special effects. Complied with an electronic epic score from Daft Punk, which I'd easily write here and now is one of the best soundtracks of 2010. So, at a casual glance, Tron: Legacy could get a comfortable good box office haul over Christmas for its first week at least. It's perfect for all men who like a good sci-fi tale, from the teenagers to the grown ups.

Yet, somehow, Tron: Legacy will not be able to hold a candle anywhere near the staying power of Avatar and the many audiences that came to see it over and over again. The reason? The great fault that plagued Avatar despite the film's success - story.

The first half of Tron: Legacy is very entertaining. Sam Flynn (Hedlund) gets zapped into the Tron universe after trying to find his missing father (Bridges) and ends up taking part in the deadly games this universe knows and loves. Crazy disc flinging games, light cycle showdowns, this is great.

Then he goes to the digital mountains to find his father...where not much happens and a lot of exposition gets dumped on everyone. If you know your technobabble, this might be a nice moment of computer fun. Everyone else could get bored out of their skulls.

And this is where Tron drops the ball big time despite shifting its story in the second half to stage a great escape from the computer world. Now if I look at Avatar by comparison, yes the story was a little hokey and all the jokes about Pocahontas in Space aside, actually had some fun moments in its bloated runtime. Plus there was an appeal for all audiences, a love story, science fiction, robots, aliens, monsters, battle scenes. All the boxes were ticked despite the flaws and I hate to admit that!

Tron doesn't tick all those boxes. It has a few moments after the promising first half but it never recovers. It's just too serious.

You can't fault the cast, they try the best they can. Jeff Bridges, now pretty much putting The Dude into any role nowadays, is always watchable. Hedlund makes good typical generic male lead, yet I think he might have benefited from a better director that deals with actors. Olivia Wilde makes fine eye candy and Michael Sheen pretty much goes into overboard in his brief fifthteen minutes of fun at a nightclub.

You know you're a badass when your playing a mock electric guitar as a fight breaks out around you. That or possibly easily distracted by noises.

I don't regret my time with Tron: Legacy. I'm happy with the visual aesthetic and Daft Punk's amazing score. The problem is that there's just no joy to be found anywhere else. And considering the lengths they went to make this film for the fans, for the geek community that thrived with films like Avatar, it really doesn't work. There's something way too serious about this nostalgia and not a lot of audiences are going to like it. Especially from a big blockbuster. That's why it won't get a continuing audience after opening weekend. How can you appeal a film like this to every audience?

Saying the words Tron and 3D just doesn't cut it.

When all of 2010's Xmas releases look dull, dire, and unexciting, you'd hope Disney would have downloaded a fun patch to keep this film head and shoulders above the others.

The download failed.

Iain doesn’t care that Stone Cold Steve Austin is The Stranger.

The Stranger (2010)

Director: Robert Liberman

Stars: Steve Austin, Erica Cerra, Adam Beach

About a week ago, I posted a blog review of Hunt To Kill, a cheesy actioner if not mildly entertaining at times. These were good signs for Steve Austin films. So, cue another bored night, Cinematic Dramatic had been recorded and I thought “You know what, I’m in the mood for something silly, let’s go with The Stranger.”

The film tells the story of an amnesiac FBI agent (Austin) who’s on the run, doing the occasional job, trying to remember what happened to him. Other FBI agents are trying to find him so they can crack the case of Russian and Mexican drug lords and a spat of missing money.  FBI Agent Stone Cold Steve Austin is your only hope for answers.

And I can’t give two f**ks.

Now, if The Stranger was nicely paced, had silly moments of entertainment then it would be another experience similar to Hunt To Kill. The problem with The Stranger is that it’s dull. Dull, dull, dull. The story goes at a painfully slow pace. Sure, there are moments where Austin opens up cans of whoop ass and goes to town but between all that is the usual cliché riddled tedium of FBI agents, money, and betrayals.  Betcha someone wrote the script in a day.

It’s not hard to guess what happened and it’s not hard to guess who the bad guy is.

There is absolutely nothing engaging or entertaining about anything The Stranger offers. Hard To Kill was more entertaining simply because of its simplicity and actual bad guys that weren’t bad to watch. Annoying, possibly. It might have had Gary Daniels, yeah. But Hard To Kill was a lot more fun to watch than an amnesiac Stone Cold Steve Austin traipsing about going “I don’t remember.” There’s a moment where Steve Austin is told by people monitoring him that he goes place to place, different names, different jobs. That would have been more interesting to see. Not random people talking about moles in the FBI.

Then there’s a god damn sequel set up that’s f**king retarded and aggravating after things have been revealed.

If you really love the guy, rent it. Anyone else not fussed, avoid and possible go out and rent Hunt To Kill or maybe Damage. They’re much better films. Trust me.

This is more entertaining….click the picture to see the funny short the image comes from on Funny Or Die.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is a born hunter. That’s why he made Hunt to Kill.

Hunt To Kill (2010)

Director: Kenoi Waxman

Stars: Steve Austin, Gil Bellows, Gary Daniels, Eric Roberts

I’m surprised Stone Cold Steve Austin hasn’t been doing more film work since now. I remember when he was part of WWF Raw (you know before it became WWE) and occasionally cropped up in a handful of shows. Celebrity Deathmatch, Dilbert, Nash Bridges, Austin cropped up and even though it likely didn’t have the best of lines, he always gave that indomitable impression. Even when he cropped up in later films like The Longest Yard as an evil prison guard or as angry fist pounding henchman in The Expendables, I wonder why he hasn’t done more. It seems like a perfect combination for the generic action films to get some Stone Cold Stunners.

Things have changed this year, he’s done at least three films. One, obviously being The Expendables. Two of them direct to dvd affairs. The Stranger and Hunt To Kill. I do own both of them but I’ve just recently watched Hunt To Kill.

Why Hunt To Kill first? Well, it has Gary F**KING Daniels in it! Anything Gary Daniels, I’ll be there to watch it. Even if he has a short moment before being bumped off in a silly manner. Though truthfully those moments will never top his Expendables exit. But, regardless, that promise of Daniels and Austin smackdown was enough for me to watch this

Story wise, think Cliffhanger clone, just set in the woods of Montana. Ranger Stone Cold Steve Austin* and his daughter get caught up in a tiff between a group of thieves (Bellows, Daniels to name some of them) and their ex boss (Michael Hogan) who is trying to sneak into Canda through the woods with all the money they stole in Vegas. Typical criminal tiff and dragging the good guys into their sordid affair. What follows is 90 minutes of walking around the woods hunting for the money while Austin tries to find a way to escape with his daughter. It will ultimately end in a lot of killing and Stone Cold stunners!

I may have made the Stone Cold Stunners part up. Oh well, one can dream.

It’s nothing remarkable. However, I wasn’t expecting anything else but something to be midly amused with. Hunt To Kill is decently made, occasionally looking slightly more than a TV movie at times thanks to that high definition feel on the blu-ray. Austin still has a presence on the screen and can handle the action scenes well. As if I needed to think that through following the epic Stallone smackdown in The Expendables.  Hunt To Kill succeeds at giving cheap thrills.

The obvious set piece that stands out is the finale twenty minutes where Austin becomes villain hunter as he stalks about the woods, cammo painted and armed with improvised cross bow taking on everyone who stands in his way. He even spears a poor unsuspecting villian by throwing a log spike down a cliff. And yes, he does fight Gary Daniels. Daniels kicks Austin a lot with his martial arts skills, Austin smacks Daniels a lot old school WWF style. I’m a happy bunny. Like I said, cheap thrills on display here.

The only annoyance I had was simply the wait until Austin actually got on beating the villains. There’s plot to be made, sure. But at least try to make our troubled situation interesting. Why spend 75 minutes showing that the group of villains hate one another and like shouting a lot. Plus roles played by people like Eric Roberts and Michael Hogan are pretty much glorified cameos.

But are we expecting high class art from a Steve Austin straight to dvd film? No. We’re looking for an easy distraction on a boring night in. Hunt To Kill ticks the boxes and I hope Austin can progress from here.

* - Ranger Stone Cold Steve Austin is not Steve Austin's name in the film. But let's be honest, it's a kick-ass name in comparsion to Jim Rhodes.

The Interceptor - Cold as Ice

The Interceptor (2009) 

Director: Konstantin Maximov

Stars: Igor Petrenko, Aleksandr Baluev, Andrey Chubchenko and Aleksey Dmitriev

The Interceptor was a film I’ve been meaning to see for a while. I picked it up cheaply on blu-ray for a small price, nothing I would complain about after watching the film. I had seen the trailer and, like Night Watch and Day Watch, looked like a great visual spin on science fiction.

I had watched a Russian sci-fi prior to this, Paragraph 78. A group of commandos get locked inside a quarantined research bunker and get infected with a deadly virus. Their decision, fight to the death – last one blows it all up. Fun times indeed, it saddens me that it’s still yet to get a release anywhere outside Russia (or Brazil).

But I’m digressing. The Interceptor from first glance seems to keep up the good work modern Russian cinema has had lately. If anything, The Interceptor is definitely visual with some great stunt work.

Apart from that, it just feels cold to its audience.

The basic plot sees mystical powerful people from a future time over watching Russia in 2013. These people identify that a great evil is coming to take over and decide to select a Russian special agent called Matvey (Petrenko) to be their weapon of justice against the growing evil. The evil creature, who looks like a villain from Resident Evil, takes its own host in this special’s agent former partner, Kurylo (Baluev), now arms dealer. Thus begins to journey towards their inevitable fight to the death.

Just first, throw in random subplots involving violent political vigilantes, a forgotten romance and a deadly psychosis weapon that can kill. Yep, silly games indeed. Oh a mysterious man who will teach Matvey the secret powers he's been keeping dormant.

As I said earlier, The Interceptor is filmed beautifully. There are some stonking barmy action sequences involving a car driving under a flipping jeep, as well as a great little punch up in a warehouse. There has clearly been a budget and its been used well. More entertaining that a fast cut MTV style actioner anyday.

The problem with The Interceptor is just it feels cold to anyone watching it. You don’t really get a sense of danger or a remote sense of connection with your ice cold hero, Matvey. He just plods from point a to b, effortlessly kicking ass, learning more powers. That’s it. He’s not really that charming. Plus it might require extra viewings to even remotely get an understand what the hell is going on with these mystical sci-fi lords that just pop in and out as we go on.

I could sum it up nicely as Highlander meets Bourne to a degree. If you like the current crop of Russian action and science fiction, The Interceptor is at least one watch. Just don’t expect it to be grateful for your time.