Category: Movie Reviews

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Movie Reviews

John Wick

Lionsgate, 2014

John Wick is for Keanu Reeves what Taken was for Liam Neeson. At a time when Reeves was churning out sub-par dramas and straight-to-DVD atrocities, this was a breath of fresh air and resurgence for Reeves to shoot back into the public consciousness. The revival is well earned too, John Wick is a demonstration of a perfectly crafted revenge film, with copious amounts of blood, intense hand-to-hand combat and one seriously cute dog that sparks a night of complete carnage.

If you haven’t seen John Wick – which is unlikely given that it is one of the most popular action flicks in recent memory, and the third film in the franchise is set to hit cinema screens soon – it revolves around Reeves as the titular “reformed” assassin. I use quotation marks here because in this world no one really ever gets out of the hitman game, and while John may think he has found peace with his new wife, her untimely death rattles him to his core. Add to that the fact that Russian mobsters have recently murdered his newly befriended puppy – the last gift his dying wife gave him – and you have one seriously pissed-off Keanu Reeves on the loose. One of the best weapons in the film’s arsenal is the build-up to Wick unleashing his inner-assassin. We spend the first 40 minutes of the film building the character of John as a man coming to grips with the loss of his wife and transferring that love and affection to his new pet, and watching other people react to the news that Iosef (Alfie Allen), the son of Russian mob boss Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist), has killed Wick’s beloved beagle. To say John has a reputation is an understatement, and after all this build-up it’s immensely satisfying to watch his skills in action after we’ve heard so much about them. You’re always rooting for Wick because we have that emotional investment, and it’s a good thing too, because John does some pretty horrifying stuff to some people.

Lionsgate, 2014

In a genre flooded with mediocrity and boring, repetitive action, it was a stroke of genius to hire long-time stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski to make his directing debut here. Stahelski clearly has a grip on how to film a convincing fight scene and all the action is shot beautifully. There is clearly a focus on practical stunts here and the cinematography benefits from this greatly. We get plenty of long shots that don’t cut away like most conventional action scenes and this allows us to see the brilliant work of the stunt performers. It also means the viewer is never lost in a fight scene and always has a sense of the geography and where the major players are. John Wick was also a major proponent of the “Gun-Fu” fighting style which had mostly been confined to Hong Kong action films previously. This involves Kung-Fu style action sequences using guns instead of more traditional weapons and it is absolutely breathtaking to watch. The fact that it really is Keanu Reeves in most of these action scenes is a testament to his craft in particular. A great example comes through a midnight siege on a busy night club; the way the lighting, music and action all mix together is so engaging – easily making it the best club fight scene in action movie history.

The story also takes a deep dive into world-building, providing a fair amount of lore, which is expanded upon in the sequels. Once he decides upon revenge, John operates out of a hotel which acts as an assassin headquarters of sorts, where every service necessary to perform a hit is offered; from gaining access to kill contracts to accessing the services of a clean-up crew to tidy up a vicious murder scene. It all serves to immerse you in the world, as well as serving as a story device, and it shows that writer Derek Kolstad has put that little bit of extra care into the script rather than serving up another paint-by-numbers Taken knock-off. What also helps to deepen the world and the lore is the characters that populate John Wick. From the Hotel Manager (Lance Reddick) who explains the hotels rules and offers their multitude of services, to Adrianne Palicki as rival assassin Ms. Perkins. They all flesh out the film and have their own unique personalities and traits, making it so much more enjoyable than just watching John cut through a room full of goons.

Lionsgate, 2014

I mentioned that this was a film instrumental in Reeves’ comeback and it’s because he delivers some of his finest acting work here, in addition to the action previously touched on. While it may not require some of the dialogue heavy scenes of some of his earlier work, the amount of emotion and intensity conveyed through looks and body language is astonishing. John Wick barely speaks in the first 30 minutes and we’re so invested in his story and understand his loving relationship with his wife and dog perfectly. Other standouts in the film include Ian McShane who plays hotel owner Winston with the perfect mixture of snark and warmness, and Alfie Allen, who – fresh off his work as Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones at the time – really gets to play with the role, making Iosev Tarasov a disgusting, spoilt character that we are actively cheering on Wick to deal with. Michael Nyqvist plays the arch-villain of the film with a little more over-the-top dramatic flair – providing memorable so-bad-they’re-good lines such as “He’s not the Boogeyman. He’s the one you send to kill the Boogeyman”. It comes across as almost a tribute to the ridiculous action film villains of the 80’s, albeit toned down to fit with the rest of the film, and it really is good fun to watch him chew the scenery as he reacts to Wick murdering his way though the mob.

While it may be easy to just accept the John Wick franchise as the beast that it has become today, the first film came seemingly out of nowhere at the time and injected some much needed energy and Gun-Fu into a stale action genre. The importance of the film on the genre as it stands today cannot be understated. John Wick is a master-class in action cinema, combining quality performances from an all-star cast led by a resurgent Keanu Reeves with intense, vicious action that places it among the very best of modern action movies.

Lionsgate, 2014

John Wick stars Keanu Reeves, Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Ian McShane and Adrianne Palicki and is available to view on streaming and home entertainment now.

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Movie Reviews

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Warner Bros Pictures, 2019

Pokémon is a franchise that has been in my life since I was a child. I’ve played all the games as they’ve come out and watched the show religiously every morning. So it’s fair to say that I was equal parts excited and nervous about the series first foray into live-action cinema. The possibilities were endless, but why base the movie on a spin-off game majority of the franchise devotees had avoided? I’m happy to report that I was wrong. Pokemon Detective Pikachu is a great entry point into the live-action Pokémon world that, despite a somewhat paint-by-numbers story, always manages to leave you in awe at the creature realised on the big screen.

Let’s start with the most important point: the Pokémon. A lot of work has clearly gone in to redesigning these creatures to live in the real world. From the more prominent like Charizard, Bulbasaur and the little furry detective himself, to the lesser known like Rufflett and Octillery, a ridiculous amount of attention to detail has been utilised here to make each individual Pokémon seem like a living, breathing part of the environment. I never stopped being wowed by each new creature that stepped into frame and I found myself constantly scanning each scene for hints of new Pokémon. The visual effects team has done a marvellous job and it is a testament to their work that, in a film whose primary draw is to see these monsters realised on screen, this is easily the best and most rewarding part of the movie: trying to catch ’em all as you watch.

Warner Bros Pictures, 2019

What isn’t as jaw dropping, however, is the story. Pokemon Detective Pikachu centres around the disappearance of Harry Goodman, the father of our protagonist Tim (Justice Smith) and partner to Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds). In order to deal with his father’s disappearance, Tim travels to the utopian Ryme City, a place where Pokémon and people live in harmony. He soon teams up with the talkative Pikachu, who he can mysteriously understand, and the two embark on a journey to unravel the mystery of what happened to Harry. Along the way Tim and Pikachu meet up with plucky young investigative reporter Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) and her Pokémon partner Psyduck, a headache stricken duck who explodes if his stress levels rise. The story is all a bit basic, with twists and turns you can see coming from a mile away. What makes it forgivable though, is that it’s really just an excuse to see a range of Pokémon in their unique environments. While this may seem like an excuse, the cast, especially Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, imbue the story with enough heart to get you through the somewhat lazy writing and on to the next big Pokémon reveal.

Reynolds shines as the titular detective, bringing the same level of humour and heart that he gives to his Deadpool character, albeit toned down here for a PG rating. His jokes, while they feature no swearing, will largely go over most kids heads and are there for the parents. However there are still plenty of jokes and slapstick humour for the little ones, making it a great choice for a family film, instead of something darker like Avengers: Endgame. The motion capture work done by Reynolds is top-notch, with Pikachu conveying a wealth of different facial expressions, whilst always remaining a believable, adorable little Pokémon. Justice Smith gets a chance to prove his acting chops here after a pretty lacklustre turn in last year’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Rather than scream at the sight of anything remotely scary, Smith gets more to work with here – allowing him to show some emotional range as someone who feels abandoned by his father and who has isolated himself from the world and those around him, including Pokémon, as a result. It’s a testament to his acting that he is never overshadowed by Reynold’s yellow furball, holding his own and showing some quality comedic timing – the scene involving the Pokémon Mr. Mime in particular is hilarious, showing some strong physical comedic acting.

Warner Bros Pictures, 2019

Kathryn Newtwon seems like she is in a different movie the first time we see her, playing the intrepid news reporter character very over-the-top, almost to the level of an anime character from the television show. She seems to have a better handle on the character the next time we see her and soon comes to play a major role in the proceedings. Where the acting gets really schlocky, however, is with Bill Nighy and Chris Geere’s father/son philanthropist duo Howard and Roger Clifford. It’s clearly a paycheck movie for Nighy, who channels about a tenth of the intensity from the Pirates of the Carribbean movies, and you can’t help but feel that he doesn’t really have an understanding of what he’s saying when it comes to Pokémon. Geere is, not to put too fine a point on it, ridiculous, making Kathryn Newton’s first appearance seem like she was in The Godfather. The way he delivers his dialogue and his physical acting in scenes is so over the top I was having trouble not laughing out loud at how bad the acting was. Apart from that, Ken Watanabe gives a solid performance as the police chief of Ryme city, and the pairing of him with the grumpy dog Pokémon Snubbull was a stroke of genius and leads to some of the best jokes in the film.

As an introduction and proof of concept of a live-action Pokémon world, Pokémon Detective Pikachu works wonderfully well. Despite a somewhat bland, obvious plot and some shoddy acting, Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith and the army of VFX animators give you enough to fully invest in the world and the main relationship between Tim and Pikachu. I was always engaged by these two characters and was willing to go where the story took them, even if it did get a bit ridiculous at times. As a lifelong Pokémon fan, I was awestruck that my childhood had come to life on the big screen and I had a smile on my face for the entire runtime. I’m willing to forgive a few small missteps in story and acting if it means we get to spend more time in this world.

Warner Bros Pictures, 2019

Pokémon Detective Pikachu stars Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newtown, Ken Watanabe & Bill Nighy – in cinemas now.

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Movie Reviews

Long Shot

Lionsgate, 2019

Jonathan Levine faced a difficult task with his latest film Long Shot: making a modern romantic comedy that feels fresh during a time where most similar movies are generic and cliché-ridden. While Long Shot does occasionally employ a few of these clichés, the chemistry and comedic timing of Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, the timely political setting and messages, as well as a veritable smorgasbord of amazing comedians in supporting roles, elevates the film above the rest of the pack.

Long Shot follows Fred Flarsky (Rogen), a talented yet hotheaded journalist who loses his job writing for a local paper due to his opinionated stance on the company’s acquisition by a media conglomerate. When Fred stumbles into US Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Theron) at a party, he and his childhood babysitter make awkward conversation, eventually resulting in an unlikely job offer – accompanying Charlotte around the world on a press tour as a speech writer. From here the story hits those familiar beats: the pair travel the world, becoming closer as they go until a relationship blossoms, they are then confronted by outside forces attempting to drive the pair apart – can they survive it? What differentiates Long Shot from its contemporaries the most is the heavy role politics has to play. The film is as much a commentary on the current political climate as it is a romance or comedy story. A key arc for Theron’s character is getting the environmental bill she has championed agreed to by world leaders, and it’s a topic that is more relevant now than it ever has been. Then there’s the push for Theron to run a presidential campaign, which asks the question “shouldn’t we elect the person who cares and is best suited for the job?”. Whilst Flarsky is a staunch democrat, the movie also looks at the the republican side of the debate too, raising issues about the increasing problem of blind public declarations of political support without a thorough understanding of both sides of the argument.

Lionsgate, 2019

The best aspect of Long Shot is undoubtedly the chemistry between the two main leads. Rogen has shown that he is more than capable of playing the wild one in a relationship, just look at his brilliant turns in Knocked Up and Neighbours, but here he gets to play someone out of his depth. Flarsky is out of a job and down on his luck when he meets Charlotte, who is the complete opposite – well put together and at the top of her field. It’s a laugh riot watching Rogen try to ingratiate himself in Charlotte’s world, while at the same time resisting and voicing his opinions on every facet of her political world that he disagrees with. Some of the best jokes come from Flarsky’s misunderstanding of the life of a political candidate and, not to spoil anything, we get the obligatory Seth Rogen drug scene, which – in keeping with form – is hilarious and had the cinema howling with laughter. Charlize Theron proves that she can do no wrong and that she’s much more than just her Mad Max: Fury Road role, showcasing some serious comedy chops. She plays the character with just the right mix of seriousness and lightheartedness, which when combined with Rogen, makes for one of the most endearing on-screen couples in recent memory.

My favourite part about Long Shot however, has to be the stellar supporting cast. The film really helps shine a light on some brilliant comedic actors who might not be as well known to the general public. June Diane Raphael is wonderful as Theron’s assistant Maggie, and acts almost as a surrogate for the audience, in disbelief that this relationship is even a thing. Delivering her lines with a deadpan that will cut you to the core, she shines in the role and I genuinely hope that this pushes her into more roles in the future. The standout though is O’Shea Jackson, who has so many laugh-out-loud moments that I was almost annoyed when he wasn’t on-screen. He plays Rogen’s best friend Lance, who takes it upon himself to cheer Fred up following the loss of his job, and a scene where he leaves work in order to go party might have been the funniest of the film. Between this and an upcoming role in the new Godzilla movie, Jackson is forging a path for himself in Hollywood without relying on his father’s status, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. The film also features a slew of great actors in minor roles, all of whom crush their small parts, such as: Paul Scheer as a misogynist news anchor, Bob Odenkirk as a television actor turned president (sound familiar?), and Andy Serkis as a prosthetic laden, scenery chewing manager of a media company who vehemently opposes Charlotte’s environmental bill. It’s these small parts that really work to flesh out the world and bring in some comedy when the film decides to forego jokes from the leads to focus on the romance, and everyone gets a chance to shine.

Lionsgate, 2019

While this may all sound perfect, there are still some flaws to be found in Long Shot. At a little over two hours, the movie is too long and enters some dry stretches where some cute romantic things happen, but nothing of real consequence to the story. This is here to flesh out the relationship more but it’s unnecessary given how invested we are in their relationship already through the jokes the couple share. The third act of the film also devolves into typical romantic comedy story beats, which was a shame given the stellar two acts that had come before. I was still invested in the characters, I just would have liked to see the momentum carried into the final act with some more jokes or a better executed finale.

Overall, Long Shot is a hugely enjoyable romantic comedy which will be a big crowd pleaser in a box office otherwise dominated by those avenging folk. While it does lose some of its momentum in the final act, there’s still plenty to love here and the chemistry and humour of Rogen, Theron and the entire supporting cast will ensure you walk away from this movie having gone through a pretty gruelling ab workout. Whilst it isn’t the best rom-com ever made, it doesn’t have to be and it certainly sits at the top of the pack in regards to recent offerings in the genre.

Lionsgate, 2019

Long Shot stars Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, June Diane Raphael, Andy Serkis and Alexander Sarsgård and is in cinemas now.

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Movie Reviews

Avengers: Endgame

Marvel Studios, 2019

It’s almost impossible to talk about Avengers: Endgame, the latest and possibly greatest offering from Marvel Studios, without spoiling it. The film is filled to the brim with the Marvel goodness that fans have come to love and expect over the 11 year franchise and there’s something for everyone to be found here; whether it be the jokes, the bonkers action (on FULL display here) or the perfectly crafted character interactions that make us all feel like kids playing with our action figures again. While the film will undoubtedly please most and shatter box office records, an uneven pace and some odd character choices may leave some slightly dissapointed.

Let’s start with the story, which I can only describe without spoiling things, as truly epic in scope as the Avengers must come to terms with the losses they have sustained and formulate a plan to fight back against Thanos (Josh Brolin). There’s been a lot of talk lately surrounding this film and the term “love letter” has been thrown around a lot. There’s really just no better way to describe it. Endgame works as its own individual story remarkably well, although it’s really a reward for the people who have stuck with the franchise through the last 21 films. The references are numerous and range from the totally obvious to the tiniest easter egg and I can’t wait to revisit the film time and time again to discover new tidbits, as I’m sure most Marvel fans will. The Russo Brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely prove once again just how adept they are at taking the traits that we love about these characters and playing them off one another in new and exciting ways. This shouldn’t be a surprise given how great the character interactions were in Infinity War, but the additions of Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in particular, inject some new life into proceedings after so much of it was turned to dust. Rudd in particular gets to showcase why his particular comedy senses work so well in the Marvel universe and watching him interact with the founding Avengers was comedy gold.

Marvel Studios, 2019

Speaking of the founding Avengers, they all turn out the usual stellar performances which have been honed since their first stand-alone features, with Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. in particular proving why they are the faces of this truly massive franchise. Downey really gets to play with the psyche of Tony Stark in ways we haven’t seen before and it’s a joy to watch him tip between an overwhelming sense of failure and a rousing desire to fight back. Josh Brolin delivers another impressive turn as Thanos, imbuing the character with a sense of righteousness and confidence which is a hallmark of the best villains: he believes what he is doing is fundamentally right. Whilst Brolin’s motion capture work is extraordinary, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk proves that he is one of the most impressive actors working today to sport the green tights and face dots. He’s given a lot more to work with here than in previous Avengers instalments and it is remarkable to see him stretch his dramatic and comedic acting muscles, displaying so much emotion through facial expressions alone. Speaking of comedy, an interesting decision was made here in regards to the treatment of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who is saddled with the task of carrying majority of the film’s humour on his back. While he certainly manages it, and believe me there were some big laughs from him, the choice just seems like an odd overreaction of Thor’s response to the emotionally weighty events of the last film, and I can’t help but wish they’d done something different with him which stuck closer to how the character was represented in Infinity War.

Marvel Studios, 2019

Endgame clocks in at a meaty 3 hours and while this is necessary to conclude this chapter of the Marvel story, the pacing of the film suffers as a result. While we start off at a clip, carrying the momentum over from Infinity War, the film almost stalls and restarts as momentum must be rebuilt moving into the action-heavy final act. It’s an understandable shift given the events that happen yet it’s still jarring, and I found myself slightly let down that the film seems to lose the sense of urgency it establishes in the beginning at certain points. The scenes that do feel stretched out are weighted down by jokes and it almost feels at times as if the writers have been forced to meet the “Marvel quota” for laughs. While these scenes never stopped me from enjoying my time watching the film, they did diminish some of the emotional weight carried over from Infinity War. It doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom, but Marvel has proved before that they are more than capable of throwing in jokes that fit with the tone and don’t distract from the story being told.

Marvel Studios, 2019

As far as action goes, Endgame delivers in every way possible with some of the most ambitious fight scenes ever put to film. I won’t spoil anything but the last hour is jaw-dropping and worth the price of admission alone. The Russo Brothers began their Marvel career helming some of the best action set pieces in the franchise (the excellent elevator fight scene in Winter Soldier) and continued to top themselves in terms of scope in the Airport fight scene in Civil War and the Battle of Wakanda in Infinity War. This is easily their largest fight scene to date and it is ridiculously impressive how the duo managed to pull off fights this large in scope, whilst keeping the action completely grounded with the characters. The audience always has a sense of what is going on because the action is always tied to one of the heroes we have grown to love in past films.

Avengers: Endgame marks the end of an era, the culmination of an unprecedented franchise spanning 11 years and 22 films. Whilst not perfect, this is a wonderful celebration of the Marvel universe and a reminder of why we fell in love with these movies in the first place: they allow us to escape from our normal lives and enrapture ourselves in fantastical stories and characters that show us just how great we can be, whilst still being human and relatable at the same time. I felt like a kid again, sitting there staring at the screen in wide-eyed joy with a huge smile on my face for 3 hours. Is that not one of the most pure cinematic experiences you can hope to have?

Marvel Studios, 2019

Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Karen Gillan, Brie Larson and is in cinemas now.