Category: Movie Reviews

Mortal Kombat (2021)

Post author By Mark
Post date May 2, 2021

Of all the sub-par video game adaptations over the years that have faded from the collective memories of audiences, 1995’s overly-cheesy Mortal Kombat remains bizarrely revered and loved by fans. Perhaps it’s due to the tongue-in-cheek tone that both does and doesn’t take itself too seriously or (and this is the correct answer) maybe the incredibly 90’s techno theme song whose mere mention will have you screaming “MORTAL KOMBAT” at the top of your lungs. However even die-hard fans can’t deny that the acting and story of that outing were atrocious, with wooden performances and non-sensical plot points souring the much anticipated film debut of the iconic video game franchise. The world of those games is a rich (nether)realm of story-telling with layered and complex lore practically begging for the for the cinematic treatment and Warner Bros has tasked first-time director Simon McQuoid with the franchise’s return: a fun if extremely messy affair that strangely respects and disrespects the franchise’s legacy at the same time.

In what marks the start of a string of odd decisions for the reboot, we follow a newly created character in Lewis Tan’s Cole Young; an MMA fighter with his best days behind him providing for his young family through cheap paycheques from lacklustre amateur fights. When his family is attacked by the ice-powered assassin Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and rescued by former military man Jax (Mehcad Brooks), Cole learns that he is part of a chosen few who have been selected to defend the Earth in a fighting tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Teaming up with Jax’s partner Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee) and the sharp-tongued mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson) the trio set out to uncover the Thunder God Lord Raiden’s (Tadanobu Asano) temple, hoping to learn more about the battle to come and to prepare. Once there the group meets fellow combatants Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang) and come to learn that their opponent in the tournament, the evil wizard Shang Tsung (Chin Han) is not above breaking the rules of the tournament, ambushing the fighters before it has even begun in order to ensure victory.

The film comes out of the gate swinging, with an emotionally and physically brutal opening scene which sets up the conflict between bitter rival ninjas Sub-Zero and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada). Taking place in feudal Japan, the scene showcases a serious tone, gut-wrenchingly ferocious violence and the exploration of the franchise’s arguably most interesting story to terrific effect, setting up an emotional core to what looks to be a grounded take on the franchise in comparison to the 1995 version. Unfortunately that isn’t the case. Scorpion and Sub-Zero are swiftly relegated to side-characters with varying degrees of presence going forward and the audience is introduced to Cole’s story. While not awful by any means, this main storyline is essentially the same as the original film; not a sin in itself, but disappointing after the superb opening. Lewis Tan is fine in the role of Cole, and his martial arts prowess helps to sell some of the more intense fight scenes, but nothing can really hide the poor writing on display. Cole is our window into the world of Mortal Kombat but he himself is something of a blank slate, lacking emotion or even surprise as he encounters fireball-wielding men and Thunder Gods, with scarcely a driving force outside of the generic cliché of protecting his briefly-seen family.

The same can be said for most of the supporting characters within Mortal Komat. Everyone from Liu Kang to Sonya Blade is extremely serious and dour throughout proceedings, constantly discussing the end of the world or how slim the chances are of survival. It all gets to be a bit much after a while, especially considering how handily our heroes dispatch their “fearsome” foes, (with the exception of Sub-Zero) and makes the contributions of the wise-cracking Kano all the more hilarious by comparison. Josh Lawson steals the film as the foul-mouthed Australian, letting loose a constant series of diatribes against everyone he comes across, dropping more F-bombs in a 10-minute stretch than Seth Rogen does in an entire film. His character is the only levity to be found in the entire film, dealing out meta jabs and insults that rip his fellow combatants apart more viciously than the series’ trademark fatalities, and the scenes without him tend to be weaker for it. After all, this is a story dealing with four-armed alien warlords, hell-bound ninjas and men with saw-blade hats; if you don’t stop and laugh at yourself every now and then it becomes ridiculous.

What you come to a Mortal Kombat film for is the fights, and there are a lot of them here to be found, with varying degrees of quality. Any scenes involving Scorpion or Sub-Zero, you may have guessed, tend to be gold, with the real-life martial artistry of the stars translating to the characters and allowing McQuoid to simply point the camera and let it roll, showcasing the skills of these talented fighters as they leave it all out there in their decades-long quest to vanquish one another. Everything else generally suffers without the skills of these real life fighters, with McQuoid editing around the action to disguise the constant cuts and piece-meal approach to constructing the scenes rather than the long, fluid choreography of the ninjas. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell what is actually going on within later fight scenes in the film and this isn’t aided by constant cuts between different fights in different locations, a montage of carnage that actually shows you less than if you had fewer bouts more carefully thought out. The expected gore is there for the vicious fatalities, but these are few and far between with barely a drop of blood outside of these handful of scenes. McQuoid also makes the divisive choice of throwing lots of characters into the film. Outside of those already mentioned, the film features franchise staples Kabal, Mileena, Nitara, Reiko and Gore, all of whom barely get anything more than a scene to really shine, which will surely disappoint fans, and whose presence detracts from the amount of characterisation able to be given to the core cast of heroes and villains.

Whilst considerably better than the two previous live-action versions of the franchise, Mortal Kombat is still something of a disappointment, sacrificing solid characterisation and action in favour of a balls-to-the-wall blowout of character appearances and carnage that ultimately lacks much substance. Joe Taslim and Hiroyuki Sanada easily outshine the rest of the cast with an emotionally engaging story and brutally excellent fight choreography, but their limited presence and the decision to focus on Lewis Tan’s Cole instead seems like a misfire from which the film never recovers. Viewers hoping for the next great video-game adaptation should look elsewhere but if all you’re looking for is a fun, mindless action film with wacky characters and over-the-top gory kills, then do what Scorpion tells you to do and GET OVER HERE.

Mortal Kombat stars Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang & Hiroyuki Sanada – In Australian cinemas and streaming on HBO Max in the US now.

Tags Chin Han, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Josh Lawson, Lewis Tan, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Mehcad Brooks, Mortal Kombat, Simon McQuoid, Tadanobu Asano, Warner Bros

Movie Reviews

Concrete Cowboy

Post author By Mark
Post date April 11, 2021

Ricky Staub’s debut feature Concrete Cowboy – the story of a difficult child sent to live with his estranged father in Philadelphia – doesn’t do much to drastically change the typical coming of age drama formula, nor does it seek to. Instead Staub leans into the trappings of the genre, with an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” attitude elevated by two rock solid performances from leads Caleb McLaughlin (of Stranger Things fame) and Idris Elba. What really differentiates Concrete Cowboy from its genre counterparts is the inclusion of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club; a collection of African-American horse riders in the northern part of Philadelphia who teach important skills to black youth through the care of their horses and community at large – ultimately allowing for a deeper, more thematically rich story to be told.

Cole (McLaughlin) is in a bad way. Expelled from school for fighting and looking at police action if any future altercations arise, the 15 year-old is unceremoniously dumped at his father Harp’s (Elba) doorstep by a mother at her wit’s end. The transition to Philadelphia is rough for Cole, who immediately rejects his father’s cold demeanour and tough love teachings in favour for the renewed friendship of old pal Smush (Jharrel Jerome), a small-time drug dealer with big dreams but bigger enemies. Faced with the choice of joining Smush on the streets or adapting to Harp’s way of life, Cole finds himself drawn towards the unorthodox world of horseback riding, bonding with the other members of the club and his own unruly horse Boo. Just as Cole begins to consider his new environment home, no sooner does the law begin to crack down on the stables, risking the future of everything Cole and Harp have built for themselves.

Tropes within a genre become established for a reason: they work. Not every film or piece of media needs to constantly challenge the genre constraints and diverge in weird new ways. The job of the director and writer is to tell the story at hand in the most effective and powerful way, and for Concrete Cowboy that works largely within the confines of the tried and tested coming-of-age stories audiences know well. Understandably the story contains a few surprises that audiences won’t see coming and hits all the emotional beats you would expect but that central relationship between Harp and Cole is so well realised and acted by Elba and McLaughlin that you are locked into their struggle for the entire runtime.

McLaughlin shows remarkable promise and abilities beyond his youth as the struggling teen whose story is all too familiar, especially to those taken under the wing of the real Fletcher Street cowboys. Seeing his struggle between the world of his father and the stables and the pull of Smush into a life of crime and (in Cole’s eyes) financial success results in a far greater emotional investment when those defining moments eventually unfold, with McLaughlin’s emotional cries for help stunning in the silence of the quieter scenes. Harp is yet another phenomenal character that Elba inhabits, with the rough and tumble leader struggling to take on the weight of raising his son and juggling the problems of the club. The lessons that he delivers through the teachings of horseback riding are deceptively simple but you can feel the impact on Cole, as Harp shapes him into a young man with morals and a positive outlook on the future.

The story takes on an interesting sub-plot through its use of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. Far more than a gimmick, Staub and co-writer Dan Walter have carefully crafted the story around Cole first and foremost, but the film also acts as a showcase for the great community-focused work the club provides to underprivileged youth. It also opens the narrative up to explore the gentrification of black communities, with a significant amount of time spent expounding on the constant threat of having the stables taken away from the community. While the events that unfold to give rise to a rather beautiful and poignant moment, the discussion of gentrification never feels like it is resolved within the narrative, diverting back to Cole’s story without being mentioned again. There are hints that things have worked out well for Harp and Cole but the effect on even their circle of friends is never touched on again. Nevertheless the inclusion of the storyline does allow Staub another avenue through which to explore the father-son relationship at his film’s core; Harp has opened up Cole to a whole new lens through which to view life.

Adding a Western flavour and urban gentrification storyline to an otherwise typical coming-of-age story is Concrete Cowboy’s saving grace, providing a somewhat unorthodox and different environment to hit those familiar story and emotional beats. Staub’s script is at its best when it is really digging into the central relationship between Harp and Cole, and Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin are more than up for the task, delivering an authentic, flawed portrayal of a father and son whose relationship couldn’t be worse and which requires immense work on both parts to fix. It may not be to everyone’s cup of tea due to the familiarity of it all but there’s no denying that the message at the heart of Concrete Cowboy is worth telling and Staub’s debut feature is a competently made, heartwarming tale.

Concrete Cowboy stars Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Ivanna-Mercedes & Method Man – Streaming on Netflix now.

Tags Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy, Idris Elba, Jharrel Jerome, Method Man, Netflix

Movie Reviews

Nobody

Post author By Mark
Post date April 8, 2021

It’s safe to say that the John Wick franchise rejuvenated the action genre in the most significant way since Liam Neeson’s Taken. Taking that formula and placing an actor in a role they are not typically known for was elevated by action that blew audiences’ minds and introduced them to levels of over-the-top gunplay and hand-to-hand combat that had never been so brilliantly choreographed. Derek Kolstad – the writer of that revolutionary franchise – is back at it again with his latest ultra-violent revenge flick Nobody; only this time around the ass-kickings are being delivered by funnyman Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad fame. Talk about an inspired casting choice. That unique comedic energy adds just enough of a different flavour to the consistently brilliant action scenes to set it apart from the Keanu Reeves-starring counterpart and keep things fresh, even if the story leans all too often into that familiar territory with its structure and villain; an easy sin to forgive for a film as fun as Nobody is.

Hutch Mansell (Odenkirk) is your typical nine-to-five everyman, working for his wife Becca’s (Connie Nielsen) family in a nothing accounting job and hating every second of it. Having lost his lust for life, an attempted break-in one fateful night is enough to trigger a long-dormant part of Hutch’s past: a former life as a fixer for American intelligence agencies, sent in as the last man to wrap up loose ends and leave nothing alive. On a mission to retrieve his daughter’s stolen kitty cat bracelet and high off the adrenaline, Hutch instigates a brutal bare-knuckles brawl with a gang of hoodlums on a local bus, leaving them wishing they had never crossed the father of two’s path. Unfortunately for Hutch, one of those men was the brother of high-ranking Russian mobster Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov) and what began as a small-scale scrap soon escalates into all-out war as Hutch is forced to use every weapon in his arsenal to protect his family; stopping at nothing until the entire Russian gang hunting him is bruised, bloody and buried six feet under.

The strongest and most unusual weapon in Nobody’s arsenal is undoubtedly Odenkirk. Physically he is completely transformed from previous roles into an action hero worthy of the Wick pedigree; not necessarily a hulking mass of physicality, but lithe and impactful during the incredibly choreographed fights, of which Odenkirk himself performed a large portion of the stunts. That winning streak of charming smartassery also shines through in these action scenes, with Hutch not as capable as Keanu when dispatching hordes of Russian enemies. He gets knocked on his ass. A lot. But it is that confident smirk as he reads an opponents move and expertly counters or the quiet quip he mutters to nobody in particular after being tossed through a window that give the fights personality and flavour; this isn’t the silent assassin effortlessly creating corpses but rather the neighbourhood dad let loose; slogging his way through a scrap whilst worrying about the bills. It makes for some extremely watchable and fun sequences that differentiate the film enough from its genre counterparts to stay fresh.

The story is where your mileage may vary. Coming to Nobody for a mind bogglingly original concept isn’t going to leave you satisfied, as Odenkirk’s performance quite rightly takes centre stage over the rather lacklustre and forgetful mob boss Yulian. There are attempts to give him personality through awkward karaoke sing-a-longs and some unexpected wise cracks here and there but he is largely played as the typical Russian mercenary with a violent mean streak. These scenes can sometimes detract from the pacing, especially after a particularly thrilling Hutch sequence, but are ultimately necessary to give the sense that some development is being given to the villain of the piece, even if his contributions in the final conflict are woeful. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the only other actor who comes close to stealing the show from Odenkirk: Doc Brown himself Christopher Lloyd. As the nursing home bound geriatric father of Hutch, Lloyd is hilarious, talking a tough game and delivering some sharp tongued insults at his son before delighting in murderous glee when he inevitably becomes embroiled in the Russian’s war against Hutch. Some of the most laugh-out-loud moments come from the simple looks of elation on his face as he mows down baddies with a heavy-duty necklace full of shotguns. It’s ridiculously good fun.

A tired retread of John Wick this is not, as Derek Kolstad’s script delivers enough humour and character moments to delineate itself from his defining franchise and (hopefully) launch a brand new ass-kicking oldies one. While it doesn’t stray too far from the path in terms of its setup and story, it more than makes up for it with the sheer delight of seeing Odenkirk and Lloyd tear through armies of Russians with reckless abandon. Fight scenes of this calibre are hard to come by and the sheer fun in their execution hasn’t worn off yet, with a bodycount bordering on the ridiculous dispatched in wildly inventive and gory ways. If this is your first exposure to Odenkirk, then you certainly won’t be able to consider him a nobody after seeing the sheer carnage he delivers on-screen. Highly recommended.

Nobody stars Bob Odenkirk, Aleksey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, RZA & Christopher Lloyd – In cinemas now.

Tags Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, Connie Nielsen, Derek Kolstad, Nobody, RZA

Movie Reviews

The Courier

Post author By Mark
Post date April 2, 2021

Benedict Cumberbatch’s latest film The Courier is yet another notch in his belt of quintessentially British films set during war time, and despite its familiar storyline, it is further proof that he is one of the finest actors working today and isn’t content to rest on his MCU laurels when it comes to telling riveting, emotionally stirring stories. This time around Cumberbatch is joined by Russian actor Merab Ninidze in expounding the true exploits of an ordinary British businessman tasked with ferrying Soviet secrets out of Russia in an effort to prevent Nuclear War. This pairing is by far the film’s greatest strength, with the chemistry between the actors acting as the glue which holds the film together through its many tonal shifts and genre switches. That might sound like a lot from a fairly standard espionage plot but director Dominic Cooke takes it in stride, crafting a surprisingly funny and lighthearted caper which isn’t afraid to steer into more uncomfortable territory to do justice to the story of Greville Wynne.

In his day-to-day business as a salesman, Wynne (Cumberbatch) is a largely unremarkable individual, wooing potential clients to scrape together a living for wife Sheila (Jessie Buckley) and son Andrew (Keir Hills). When his particular brand of international trading presents an opportunity for a joint operation between MI6 and the CIA to obtain Soviet secrets from defecting GRU colonel Oleg Penkovsky (Ninidze), Greville is approached by Dickie Franks (Angus Wright) and Emily Donovan (Rachel Brosnahan) from the respective agencies with an offer to serve his country. What begins as an initial trip to Moscow to arrange contact between Penkovsky and the secret services soon turns into a full-scale operation as Wynne travels back and forth between Russia and Britain under the pretence of business, all the while ferrying Soviet secrets that could be the defining factor in de-escalating nuclear tensions between Russia and America. As the men’s friendship deepens and Wynne’s trips become more frequent, the threat of capture increases, with increased Soviet surveillance threatening to bring the entire operation crashing down.

For a film about the true story of men that helped stop nuclear war, the tone of The Courier is surprisingly light for the first half of the film. This is largely due to Abel Korzeniowski‘s jaunty, upbeat score which accompanies many of Greville’s earlier dealings with Petrovsky and other Russian businessmen. It goes a long way towards emphasising the innocence with which Wynne approaches his task and the fun-loving nature of the man. Kept largely in the dark about the actual secrets he is ferrying, there is a sense that the entire endeavour is very James Bond-ish to Greville and it is not until the stakes are made abundantly (and violently) clear later in the piece that the score shifts to a more menacing, tense affair – emphasising the uncomfortable revelation that the British businessman is faced with. Cumberbatch is far more lively in this performance than say his turn as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game (another overtly British production) and that energy goes a long way towards investing you in the story. There is a sense that he has made mistakes in his past and isn’t the stand-up citizen he purports to be to his clients, but the presentation of Greville as a somewhat clueless everyman makes him a great deal more relatable than your average spy hero; a trait which works doubly well when the screws are tightened and Wynne finds himself in some unfortunate and alarming predicaments. This is where Cumberbatch really shines, as we see Greville’s persona gradually shift as he begins to accept his situation and the graveness of his involvement, with equal parts resilience and desperation shining through in Cumberbatch’s beaten and bruised facial expressions.

If Cumberbatch’s character brings something new to the table in his ordinary citizen spy then Merab Ninidze’s Oleg Penkovsky is the familiar experienced agent of espionage, carefully and methodically planning his path to defection to ensure that his family will be safe and free from Russian retribution. Despite not benefitting from having his familial connections as fleshed out as Cumberbatch, Ninidze is no less convincing in his exploration of the weight of his actions. There is always a sense that each secret photo taken or coded message delivered could be the one to doom the entire operation and Ninidze clearly grapples with these decisions and the effects it could have on his young daughter and wife, ultimately choosing to endanger himself to provide for them. It is a commonality which the two men bond over and makes for some insightful and emotional conversations between the pair, never feeling expository but rather earnest in their desire to succeed but never by placing their families in harm’s way. When difficult choices are made to ultimately remove Oleg from Russia, the weight of the choices made by Greville feel almost insurmountable and the consequences fatal. For Greville in particular, that fear is compounded by Jessie Buckley’s characterisation of his wife; a strong, proud woman who suspects her husband of having an affair. Even if they succeed in their mission, that fear of losing his family remains for Wynne; unable to explain the situation to Sheila due to the classified nature of the operation.

It all makes for an utterly enthralling and emotional espionage film, with real stakes and weight conveyed through its characters and their actions rather than huge expository dumps about the state of things that often run rampant in the genre. The story itself may not be not be overly original but its historical importance cannot be overstated and the performances are top notch, investing an audience who is never sure whether the next trip will be Greville’s last or if his wife’s facade of strength will finally crack, throwing his life into unrecoverable turmoil either way. Come for the Britishness of it all, stay for the surprisingly emotional and tense spy thriller.

The Courier stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Jessie Buckley, Angus Wright, Keir Hills, Kirill Pirogov & Rachel Brosnahan – In cinemas now.

Tags Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic Cooke, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan, The Courier

Movie Reviews

Tom and Jerry

Post author By Mark
Post date April 2, 2021

Very rarely can a classic piece of media be updated for modern audiences in a way that encapsulates the spirit of the original and remains fresh. Times, and audiences, have changed since cartoon mega power Hanna-Barbera’s feisty feline and his rodent frenemy were at the height of their power in the swinging sixties and history has not been kind to them. Like The Smurfs and Yogi Bear before it, the 2021 reboot of Tom and Jerry is about as obvious a cash-grab as you can get; hurling the anarchic animals into a completely juvenile and nonsensical story with not a moral value in sight. Filled with lame jokes, acting and a hokey animation/live-action style that hasn’t been done well since the glorious days of Looney Tunes: Back in Action (long live Brendan Fraser), there simply aren’t any redeeming factors or reasons for this mess of a movie to exist outside of parents getting some “me time” by dumping their kids in front the TV for two hours.

The setting for the mindless shenanigans is none other than New York City, as we find a jobless Kayla (Chloë Grace Moretz) stealing a resume and impersonating someone else as she interviews for a position at the prestigious Royal Gate Hotel. Much to the chagrin of high-strung events manager Terence (Michael Peña), Kayla is hired by Rob Delaney’s clueless hotel manager and set to task assisting Terence plan the wedding of the century for New York socialite couple Ben (SNL‘s Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda). Things are thrown into chaos with the arrival of Jerry the Mouse, who has settled on the hotel as his new abode and Kayla is tasked with his removal before the wedding. With her newly stolen job hanging in the balance, Kayla relies on years of predatory evolution and turns to Tom the Cat as the obvious solution to remove Jerry, instead of, you know, exterminators. As the cartoon pair rip the hotel apart and cause havoc on every wedding plan imaginable, Kayla inexplicably decides that she has done a bad thing and sets out to earn her position the right way, by ensuring Ben and Preeta make it to the altar.

If it seems like I’m not giving the film a fair go off the bat let me set the record straight: I loved the Tom and Jerry cartoons growing up. They were a staple on the TV and their unique brand of loud and brash, yet largely silent violence was a constant source of laughs. But this is 2021 and no one, not even myself, was hanging out to see Tom and Jerry fly drones or ride skateboards through New York City. Yes, this is that kind of film, where product placement lies around every corner, so obvious the studio may as well fly a drone into your face – it would be less painful. The drone stuff in particular is so overdone that it is almost all that Colin Jost’s character speaks about, making him sound like one of the ridiculous personalities he would skewer on SNL. I’d like to tell you that there was some kind of a story which these product placement scenes fit into but it almost seems like the film was developed the other way around; a series of scenes bought and paid for by the highest bidder, which needed to be stitched together by some sort of a story. Some bright spark over at Warner Bros realised they were sitting on a couple of bankable characters in Tom and Jerry and here we are: a movie. That isn’t to say it’s a short movie, oh no the film encroaches on an unbearably long two hour mark, complete with an intro featuring a Tribe Called Quest song performed entirely by animated pigeons that lasts almost two minutes.

It truly feels as if Tom and Jerry were an afterthought in a film literally named after them, with barely any screen time at all in-between the half-baked antics of Kayla. Chloë Grace Moretz’ character here is truly awful, a despicable human being who robs another woman of a job she deserves without a care in the world, only stopping to assess her actions after chasing a cat and mouse around a hotel kitchen and through a wedding procession (we’ve all been there). Her character’s motivations are so paper thin and inexplicable that it is impossible to side with her. The bland, painful dialogue does nothing to explain her motivations and the self-assessment she eventually undertakes comes out of nowhere, likely because the writers remembered they couldn’t allow a character in a children’s movie to set a bad example. It may seem like I’m overanalysing for a film about Tom and Jerry but other studios have shown that you can cater to children and adults without pandering and still deliver a coherent and compelling story and characters, just look at Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Michael Peña, to his credit, adds some flavour to his role with solid comedic timing and slapstick comedy that lends itself to the style made famous by the titular duo, but it simply isn’t enough to hold back the tides of blandness that flood the screen. For what it is worth Tom and Jerry do manage to get a couple of solid slapstick gags in, with a scene involving Tom attempting to fly into an open window providing a solid few minutes of chuckles.

Tom and Jerry is the type of lazy studio filmmaking that comes around every now and then when some easy money can be made by playing off established franchises and pummelling audiences with endless product placement. While young children may find some enjoyment to be had with the slapstick shenanigans, most parents and older children will be thoroughly bored by the lack of story and any likeable characters; resulting in a film that is completely and wholly forgettable. In a world where powerhouse animation studios like Disney and LAIKA are releasing thoughtful, gorgeously crafted films aimed at children that constantly raise the bar and also manage to entertain adults, there really is no place for the hackneyed banality of Tom and Jerry.

Tom and Jerry stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney, Colin Jost, Pallavi Sharda, Patsy Ferran, Jordan Bolger & Ken Jeong – In cinemas now.

Tags Chloë Grace Moretz, Colin Jost, Ken Jeong, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney, Tim Story, Tom and Jerry

Movie Reviews

Godzilla vs. Kong

Post author By Mark
Post date March 28, 2021

Despite the epic nature of the creatures that inhabit it, Legendary studio’s MonsterVerse has been quietly chugging along for the past 7 years – one of the more successful shared universes – on the way to one hell of a final brawl: Godzilla vs. Kong. This is easily one of my favourite franchises of the last decade and, despite the obvious story flaws, it continues to amaze with the incredible Kaiju action on display. The latest and final entry (for the time being) shoots for the stars in its story’s scope, leaning heavily into the wackiness of Godzilla’s storied cinematic history and titanic clashes between the titular mammoth movie monsters. All the usual issues with the human elements appear, perhaps more pronounced than ever, and there are times where you wish director Adam Wingard had followed Dr Serizawa’s advice from the first film and simply “let them fight” but when he does and the shackles are off Godzilla vs. Kong is truly a spectacle; a testament to these cinematic titans who have stood the test of time.

If the story of 2019’s King of the Monsters was too bonkers and non-sensical then Godzilla vs. Kong is unlikely to convert audiences, taking place years after the big lizard’s last appearance as the alpha titan has seemingly turned on the humanity he once defended, leaving a wake of destruction as he rampages across the globe. With his motives a mystery to monster hunting group Monarch, the head of a mysterious cybernetics company Apex, Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) recruits Dr Nathan Lind (Alexander Skaarsgård), champion of the theory of a Hollow Earth – a monster filled world in the core of the planet – to lead a daring expedition to the mythical land in the hopes of finding a way to repel the mad titan. In order to get there, however, they require the aid of another titan whose DNA is hardwired to locate the Hollow Earth: enter Kong. Joined by Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) – longtime researcher of the great ape – the group set out on their journey, hampered along the way by Godzilla until the ultimate showdown between the pair takes shape. Whilst the multitude of supporting characters race to uncover the evil organisation pitting these two forces together, the fate of the world hangs on the outcome of their brawl.

These films have always encountered a challenge in constantly having to find new and unique ways to reinvent what essentially amounts to the same set-piece: monsters wailing on each other. Like a boxing film there really are only a few basic structures and twists on the tale that can be told and unlike the Rocky franchise Godzilla and Kong are hampered by over 35 previous films between them, showcasing just about every variation of their fighting styles you could imagine. I’ve realised now that I come to these films just as much for the anticipation as the actual fights. Those moments before all out war breaks out, when the competitors square off and attempt to rattle their opponent through intimidation displays of roars and chest beatings can and often are just as exciting than the fights themselves. That feeling of knowing what is to come but simultaneously not knowing how this particular fight will play out is enough to set the hairs on the back of your neck up with unparalleled excitement.

The 2014 Godzilla nailed this anticipation, crafting scenes that promised and promised until the levee broke and the resulting action exploded onto the screen in spectacular fashion. It may not have been enough to satiate most audience members but there can be no denying that the build-up was phenomenal. King of the Monsters, arguably the superior film, understood the importance of the build-up whilst giving the audience exactly what they asked for in plenty of fierce battles interspersed with the naturally less interesting human aspect. That film wore its appreciation for the big lizard’s legacy on its sleeve, taking you through a roll call of classic monsters and giving each of the big Kaijus a chance to shine on the way to a spectacular, all-out finale. Wingard’s approach in Godzilla vs. Kong is a snowball of anticipation and action, rapidly setting up small skirmishes within the overarching fight, each with higher stakes than the last thanks to the introduction of a new weapon or a change in who has the upper hand. It is almost a sensory overload at times but creates a natural rhythm that constantly elevates the action and stops it from devolving into an endless slugfest of punches and tail flicks.

It’s a hard task for anyone to craft a story that can draw out more of these set pieces when the audience seems largely, and rightfully so, focused on the fights. Nevertheless Wingard and writers Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein embrace the weird and go for broke, crafting a story that is impossibly strange and nonsensical but which pays homage to the sillier entries of certain Godzilla films. Less monsters means more development is needed for the King of Skull Island, who only benefitted from a single film compared to Zilla’s two. Naturally then we spend a large amount of time with Kong, particularly focused on a charming and deep friendship between the giant gorilla and a small mute girl (Kaylee Hottle) from the island. It’s a clever tool to instantly make us sympathise with Kong, who you can’t help but root for considering Godzilla’s apparent new motive of destroying anybody he passes. There unfortunately isn’t too much of the king of the monsters until the third act where, thankfully, he is completely unhinged and hungry for a fight. The final 30 minutes are truly jaw-droppingly epic and will have you fist pumping and booing in equal measure for your chosen competitor.

As is to be expected, none of the actors hold a candle to the spectacle of seeing Kong and his lizard brethren duke it out on-screen but an all-star cast does make the ridiculous dialogue and ludicrous story somewhat more palatable, even if we see far too much of them compared to the monsters. Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skaarsgård and Demián Bichir are the strongest, with Bichir in particular chewing up the screen as the stereotypical, obviously evil head of the shady Apex corporation. His bombastic speeches and blatantly menacing turns to camera show a willingness to play into that cheesy history of the Godzilla franchise and the film is all the better for it. The same can’t be said for the film’s secondary storyline, involving Millie Bobby Brown’s returning Madison Russell and newcomers Josh (Julian Dennison) and Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) attempting to infiltrate a secret Apex facility. Henry’s ridiculously annoying podcaster/Kaiju fanboy is instantly grating and never improves throughout an arc that frankly didn’t need to be in the film and which leads to a moment so laughably, cartoonishly bad that it threatens to rob the climactic fight of any stakes.

A consistent boon for this universe has always been the considerable boost in budget compared to older entries in the respective franchises, allowing for Godzilla to appear in a far more realised way than the oftentimes hokey man in a costume of yesteryear. All of the creatures look phenomenal and those who had doubts about Kong’s size disadvantage from Skull Island need not worry; he is more than equipped to take the fight to Godzilla. The Hollow Earth sequences are upsettingly short, showcasing an amazing world that you are hungry to explore before being whisked back to the surface for a showdown in a gorgeously neon-lit city. Seriously, I could frame half a dozen shots from this sequence and proudly display them on the wall. Tom Holkenborg’s score is also a fantastic addition to the film, with bombastic horns rippling through speakers and taking full advantage of that Dolby Atmos sound as they threaten to blow them away. Godzilla’s theme in particular is spine-chillingly menacing whenever it booms to life; a thundering signal of the destruction to come that I have been listening to on-repeat ever since.

There will be those that can’t get past the kookiness of Godzilla vs. Kong’s plot and for good reason, with far too many human elements at play for its own good. Monster movies in general, especially those with such beloved characters like these, face an interesting, age-old challenge of finding the perfect balancing act between the giant creatures and the characters that inhabit the world. Too many humans and audiences rebel claiming they haven’t got their money’s worth. Constant battles and boredom sets in far too early to sustain the film. Godzilla vs. Kong goes for broke and Adam Wingard should be praised for that; his understanding of the visual language of these creatures and the accelerated cycle of anticipation and payoff goes a long way towards extending the longevity of these fist-pumping, awe-inspiring fights. The story of a monster movie on this scale was never going to win any Oscars but the combination of almost everything else more than makes up for it with a thrilling celebration of the MonsterVerse that should be seen on the biggest screen available to you.

Godzilla vs. Kong stars Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Kyle Chandler, Julian Dennison, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Kaylee Hottle & Demián Bichir – In Australian cinemas now and on HBO Max and in US cinemas on March 31st

Tags Adam Wingard, Alexander Skarsgård, Brian Tyree Henry, Demián Bichir, Eiza González, Godzilla vs. Kong, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Legendary, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall

Movie Reviews

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Post author By Mark
Post date March 22, 2021

Director’s cuts are not an uncommon occurrence in the movie industry. We’ve seen classics like Blade Runner and Apocalypse Now improve upon the already iconic finished products and some not as successful attempts (sorry George Lucas). Zack Snyder’s Justice League may be the most deserving of all for its director to be given a second chance, with the original 2017 film caught in a storm of personal grievances and restrictive studio mandates which eventually led to his replacement by Avengers director Joss Whedon. The resulting product was a surface level fight-fest, with nary a full character arc in sight, that attempted to please studio executives rather than the fan base rampant to see out Snyder’s vision, which began with 2013’s excellent Man of Steel. Finally, after years of vehement online support, Warner Bros acquiesced, allowing Snyder to present his full, gigantic 4 hour vision of the ultimate DC super-hero team-up on streaming services around the world. Does it live up to the hype? Yes and no. Let’s get into it.

For the uninitiated, the broad strokes of Justice League centre around Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) attempting to recruit a team of super-powered individuals to fight against the oncoming threat of Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), an intergalactic being hell-bent on destroying the Earth and cultivating it into an apocalyptic wasteland for big bad Darkseid (Ray Porter). In order to do this, he must collect the DC equivalent of the Infinity Stones, the Mother Boxes; three cubes scattered across the globe which, when combined, create an unstoppable force to change the planet to the user’s will. As the newly formed Justice League – now including Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) – clash with Steppenwolf, they begin to realise that their only way to achieve victory may be through some less than ethical means and a recently deceased Kryptonian.

Simply put, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the vastly superior version of the film, feeling like far more of a thematically and tonally consistent sequel to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman than Whedon’s cut. Narratively it is a very similar beast, with majority of the big action set-pieces remaining intact, but where Whedon’s version threw away character development and story in favour of quippy one-liners and mindless filler scuffles, Snyder restores these aspects, with a particular focus placed on the characters of Cyborg and Steppenwolf, two of the most underserved and generic characters from the 2017 film. Cyborg’s origin and relationship with his father is the emotional centre of the film, leaving the baffling question as to why Whedon chose to remove the only fully fledged character arc from his movie. Fisher is wonderful as the troubled half-man half-machine, conflicted over his feelings towards his father’s work that left him alive but cost him his mother and any semblance of a normal life. No longer does Cyborg simply become a hero after a pep-talk from Wonder Woman, but from some serious soul-searching and forgiveness, a theme Ben Affleck’s caped crusader learnt the hard way in Batman v Superman.

Ciarán Hinds’ incompetent villain Steppenwolf is also reworked into a more sympathetic character this time around, less concerned with collecting macguffins to destroy the world than he is to serve out a debt owed to Darkseid and win back his place as the right-hand man of DC’s answer to Thanos. Sure this may be shown in something of a clumsy and eerily relatable way, with Steppenwolf communicating with his boss via a series of magical Zoom calls, but using redemption as a motivator following an implied betrayal of Darkseid makes for a much more interesting character. Steppenwolf’s revamp extends to the visual side as well, marking a significant upgrade for the creature who has gone from a poorly rendered, gladiator armour wearing alien to a ferocious, spike clad minion of death, worthy of the threat Snyder insistently reminds us he is to the newly formed league of heroes. The scenes involving Steppenwolf also showcase a new feature of the Snyder Cut: the R rating. Gore features heavily as Steppenwolf slices and dices his way through scores of Amazonian and Atlantean soldiers, who explode in puffs of viscera at the blade of his lethal axe. It’s an unneeded touch for sure, likely to alienate the ever-present audience of young children who come to these films to see Superman and Wonder-Woman kick butt without any evidence of actual harm, but it certainly fits in with Snyders MO of throwing everything at his likely last outing in the DC universe.

That’s right, all the quirks that come with Zack Snyder’s style are present here on a scale larger than anything we have seen before. That includes some truly cringe inducing dialogue, a return to the gritty, grounded characters of before (gone is the giddily childish humour of Whedon) and as much slow-motion action that the human mind can physically endure before exploding. Seriously, at times it feels like a quarter of the film is just slow-motion shots of our heroes narrowly avoiding a bullet or pushing something out of the way of harm. The lack of a restriction on runtime allows for all sorts of overindulgence on Snyder’s part, from an extended scene of hymns to Aquaman sung by an Icelandic village to an almost Return of the King number of endings, including the much hyped “Knightmare” sequence, which serves as an intriguing, if unfulfilling look at where Snyder’s proposed trilogy of films would have gone. Jared Leto’s singular scene as the Joker here is better than the entirety of Suicide Squad, even if it is about a fraction of the length of that mess, but doesn’t elevate the film significantly or warrant a complete viewing on its own merits.

The continued narrative of Superman continues to be Snyder’s greatest contribution to this iteration of the DC universe, even if he doesn’t lean into the character’s moral compass as much as in Man of Steel, with his endlessly positive message of hope ringing louder now than ever. It is genuinely exciting to see him return to save the day, and the touches of Hans Zimmer’s Man of Steel score in Thomas Holkenborg’s completely re-recorded and otherwise rather generic score are goosebump inducing during the climactic fight scenes. Cavill’s performance is one for the ages and the fact that this may very well be the last time we see him don the blue and red (or black this time around) suit can’t help but feel bittersweet, especially given this film’s lack of importance to the overarching DC story going forward, with Warner Bros declaring Whedon’s cut the canonical entry in the franchise. There is some retribution in knowing that Cavill’s last appearance as the Man of Steel isn’t marred by a digitally removed moustache (Google it) but here’s hoping it isn’t the last time we see him on-screen.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a fascinating experiment of a film. Whilst it is an undoubtedly good thing that Snyder was allowed to see out his full creative vision, the fact remains that this version of the superhero epic – whilst superior to Whedon’s – is at times a bloated, directionless cluster bomb of a movie, with the director let loose to throw everything and the kitchen sink into the viewer’s eyeballs: the good, the bad and the godawful slow-motion (seriously stop doing that). As a continuation of his previous DC work, this feels like a satisfactory, suitably epic conclusion, even if the epilogue scene doesn’t convey that sense of finality. While it is easy to look at the Snyder Cut as a win, it also represents something of the toxic side of fandom, where “fan ownership” of characters leads to the bullying of studios and individuals into getting what they want. I’m more than curious to see what Zack Snyder would do with the sequels to this film and I genuinely hope they get made, but only if the creative team has genuine interest and supports the project, not as a result of a bunch of bullish, entitled fans. When part of the fandom turns as dark as Darkseid’s minions, no one wins.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Ciarán Hinds, Amber Heard, Joe Morton and Henry Cavill – Streaming on HBO Max in the US and on Binge in Australia now.

Tags Amber Heard, Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Ciarán Hinds, DC, Diane Lane, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, J.K. Simmons, Jason Momoa, Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg, Justice League, Ray Fisher, Willem Dafoe, Zack Snyder, Zack Snyder's Justice League

Movie Reviews

Cherry

Post author By Mark
Post date March 20, 2021

After crafting the biggest movie of all time you could be forgiven for resting on your laurels for a while. Not so for Joe and Anthony Russo – directors of monster Marvel hits Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame – who dove headfirst into an epic of a different sort with the Tom Holland starring Cherry. A sprawling, multiple year spanning odyssey of one man’s journey through a seemingly normal adolescence in Cleveland through to a PTSD-inducing stint in the army and a subsequent life of crime and crippling addiction, Cherry may be framed as a dissection of the opioid addiction crisis rampant in America, but it is as much a love story between two people who are simultaneously so right and so wrong for each other. The leading duo of Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo are phenomenal, but the Russo’s throw every cinematic trick in the book at their first post-MCU outing, constantly threatening to derail the whole thing with a jarring and bizarre mixture of film techniques.

A drifter by nature Cherry (Holland) moves about his life in Cleveland without direction, passing through a string of dead-end jobs and finding himself infatuated with college classmate Emily (Bravo). A casual dabbling in drugs is just a taste of what is to come as Emily and Cherry’s relationship begins to turn serious and a fight one night prompts a drastic reaction from both parties, with Emily threatening to head to Canada and Cherry enlisting in the US army. Inexplicably drawn back to one another, the couple stick together throughout Cherry’s two-year stint in the army, dragged through the worst of the worst as a combat medic and suffering from severe PTSD on his return to the States. A prescription of OxyContin to treat his illness serves as the entry point for Cherry’s addiction, abusing the painkiller and hooking Emily before the couple turn to a life of heroin abuse. The junkie lifestyle proves unsustainable for the young lovers however and, desperate to pay off their debt to dealer Pills and Coke (Jack Reynor), Cherry turns to a life of crime to sustain them, robbing banks at gunpoint to feed the vicious cycle as his guilty conscious begins to creep up and eat away at him.

The relationship between Cherry and Emily is the centre of Cherry, the connective tissue that pulls you through the three distinct periods of this young man’s life. Those eras may fluctuate in quality and the style choices made by the Russos (we’ll get to those later) may draw your attention away at times but Holland and Bravo’s performances are simply phenomenal, fully investing you in this intense, toxic relationship between two people who could not be more wrong for each other but, like the drugs they inject by the boatload, can’t seem to kick. It’s easily Holland’s most ambitious performance to date, a far cry from the wholesome, boyish charm of Peter Parker and more akin to the darker side of his character in The Devil All the Time. Indeed it seems to have been a difficult role for the young actor – with multiple interviews covering the intense places he went to for the performance – but it pays off. The look of sheer terror in this young man’s eyes when his friend is blown apart in battle is harrowing to watch and the subsequent heart-shattering breakdown make you want to reach through the screen and give him a hug.

Spending the time to show a significant portion of Cherry’s military journey makes that eventual turn to drugs all the more debilitating for the audience. This kid has survived so much and come out on the other side but with a mental trauma that no one should ever experience, especially not a young 20-year-old in the prime of his life. His turn towards something that can numb his pain may be understandable to a degree but it is no less disheartening and watching the transformation of this wide-eyed, fresh-faced person with the world before him into a shell of a man, ravaged by drugs and mental disease is a hard thing to do, which is a testament to the strength of Holland’s performance. That performance doesn’t work nearly as well without the presence of Ciara Bravo’s Emily to balance it. In the younger years of their relationship, Emily makes some strong choices which ultimately impact the couple’s entire life, and Bravo wears the pain and stress of these decisions throughout the entire film; never forgiving herself for what she has caused Cherry and unable to bring herself to stop using the drugs that temporarily halt that pain. These two performances are so all encompassing that there is nary a supporting character in sight, with Jack Reynor’s clumsily named drug dealer and a handful of Cherry’s friends operating on the periphery, influencing the key couple’s relationship but never intruding on that bond. At the end of the day Cherry and Emily only have each other – and the Russo’s succeed in showing the strength of that love against all else.

Where they go wild however is in the construction of the film. Seemingly free from any shackles imposed on them during their Marvel days in keeping a distinct, grounded visual style across multiple films and franchises, the brothers throw every trick in the book at the screen to spice up a grounded drama that really requires no fancy trickery that takes away from the performances. That’s what these tricks ultimately do, distracting from Holland and Bravo constantly with awkward, gaudy colour grading during scenes of drug abuse; flooding the screen with an ugly grey sheen and popping colour in as a representation of the trip or turning the whole screen red during somewhat pretentious title card scenes, indicating new chapters in Cherry’s story. Awkward voiceover and fourth wall breaks from Holland dilute the potency of the performances in scenes that require no explanation of what is going (again a hallmark of The Devil All The Time) and perhaps the most jarring and unwarranted effect arrives during Cherry’s military experience: a complete aspect ratio change that reduces the widescreen format to a square box in the middle of the screen, a frankly bizarre choice that will have you checking your TV settings for an explanation. I questioned at times whether this over-stylisation of the film was an attempt at a Goodfellas-esque crime epic, but where that film glorified the violence and excess Cherry admonishes it, with all these awkwardly utilised techniques working against the very grounded story the Russo’s are trying to tell.

Cherry represents an awkward step away from the multi-billion dollar franchise that made the Russo brothers household names but a welcome willingness to keep working when they very well could have taken some much earned time off. While it may seem at times that the brothers are working against themselves, hampering the strength of their commentary on the opioid addiction crisis through over-the-top stylisation, the performances of Holland and Bravo and the central relationship between the pair win out, keeping you locked into a love story that is more interesting and emotionally engaging than the drug commentary. It isn’t the home run into prestige drama that many were expecting but it is an interesting change of pace for the Russo brothers, and an exciting prospect of what the future holds for these two incredibly talented filmmakers.

Cherry stars Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Forrest Goodluck, Jeff Wahlberg, Michael Rispoli & Jack Reynor – Streaming on Apple TV+ now.

Tags Anthony Russo, Apple TV+, Cherry, Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor, Joe Russo, Tom Holland

Movie Reviews

Coming 2 America

Post author By Mark
Post date March 16, 2021

Making a comedy is an inherently hard thing to do. To make someone laugh at carefully choreographed moments is an arguablely harder form of emotional manipulation than say, making the audience cry in a drama, due to the subjectivity of comedy. When a good comedy comes along that appeals to a large audience and stands the test of time it is something of a minor miracle. Enter Eddie Murphy’s 1988 hit Coming to America, one of the comedian’s biggest films with a legacy lasting decades. Continuing that Hollywood trend of never letting a good thing exist on its own, now we have Coming 2 America, a film that nobody asked for and that Amazon paid a pretty penny to add to their streaming offerings. Does it live up to the promise of the original? Not even close, but it isn’t the complete failure that many were anticipating (Zoolander 2 this is not) with a few genuine chuckles and strong supporting characters amidst a muddy story that gets just about everything else wrong.

Following his trip to New York in the eighties, Prince Akeem Joffer (Murphy) is now living a prosperous life in his home nation of Zamunda, married to Lisa (a returning Shari Headley) and father to three daughters. With the passing of his father King Jaffe (James Earl Jones) imminent and under threat of war with neighbouring Nexdoria, Akeem is forced to return to America with loyal aide Semmi (Arsenio Hall) in search for his bastard son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), who he plans to marry off to broker a peace deal with the Nexdorians. As the training of the new prince commences back in Zamunda, Lavelle begins to question whether he truly fits in with his new surroundings, and Akeem is forced to consider what kind of a king he plans to be for Zamunda and his family.

The opening scene of the sequel quickly introduces us to Akeem’s new brood before swiftly whisking us to the opening of a McDowell’s burger store in Zamunda, the first of many references to the original film. The scene is charming enough, with a returning John Amos and Louie Anderson supplying the laughs with a spoof of the current fad of Beyond burgers. Before long, however, you start to realise just how much the second entry in Akeem’s chapter is dependent on the first, constantly namedropping and calling back to the first film, even to the point of replaying entire scenes. Not a quick flashback to relay how that past event has influenced the current predicament, but the complete sequence presented again. It feels lazy and doesn’t seem to place any trust in the viewer. This isn’t a Christopher Nolan movie, the audience isn’t missing much if they don’t know who the rapping twins from the first film’s nightclub are. Rehashing characters also doesn’t do the film any credit, with the uproarious barbers played by Murphy and Hall returning to painfully unfunny effect. Where once there was over-the-top, completely silly banter, has now been replaced by stilted jokes that feel rehearsed rather than off-the-cuff, seemingly hamstrung by the film’s unwillingness to lean into the raunchy side of its predecessor.

That isn’t to say there aren’t some funny moments here and there, mostly delivered by the delightful supporting cast that play on the periphery of the action, jumping in with an absolute zinger when you least expect it. Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan do the most of this as Lavelle’s mother and uncle, bringing street knowledge and a lack of decorum to the prim and proper palace life of Zamunda to hilarious effect. Eddie Murphy, the man who should be cracking most of the jokes, is strangely subdued this time around, tasked with delivering almost all of the big emotional moments instead of tapping into his tremendous comedic sensibilities. It’s almost seems as if director Craig Brewer doesn’t trust anyone else to deliver these emotional beats, instead leaving them to deliver the comedy. Jermaine Fowler – not to be unkind – is no Eddie Murphy and his character is painfully underwritten, flipping on a dime to upheave his life for Zamunda before inexplicably changing his tune after one conversation with the first girl he sees. This jarring, nonsensical development does nothing to get the audience on-board and from then on you’re just sitting through the predictable mess hoping for a chuckle or two. A vague attempt to challenge gender stereotypes with Akeem’s eldest daughter Meeka feels half-baked and is forgotten for most of the film until an incredibly obvious resolution, leaving nothing else to be desired other than that elusive joke that works.

After more than a 30 year wait, Coming 2 America arrives lacking the two most important aspects of the first: the emotional earnestness in Akeem’s simple, pure desire to find a wife and the counterpoint of the raunchy, hilarious shenanigans he constantly found himself in. Instead what we’re left with is a string of disjointed, lacklustre SNL-style skits which fail to make good use of one of the most extraordinary comedic talents of all-time, tied together by a generic, paper thin plot that never strikes any kind of emotional chord with its audience. If you don’t want the memory of your first trip to America with Akeem tarnished then choose to revisit that instead of this tired rehash.

Coming 2 America stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, Jermaine Fowler, John Amos, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne & James Earl Jones – Streaming on Amazon Prime now.

Tags Amazon, Arsenio Hall, Coming 2 America, Eddie Murphy, James Earl Jones, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes

Movie Reviews

Raya and the Last Dragon

Post author By Mark
Post date March 14, 2021

Disney films are like comfort food. Those classic tales like Aladdin or The Jungle Book that instantly take you back to childhood with epic, sweeping adventures that transport you into a fairytale world. 84 years on and Walt Disney Animation Studios shows no signs of slowing down, constantly innovating and changing with the times to deliver new stories to generation after generation. Their latest film Raya and the Last Dragon is a delightful throw-back to the lauded classics of Mulan and Hercules, a traditionally structured, if somewhat predictable story of a young woman destined to bring together the warring clans of her heavily South-East Asian influenced homeland Kumandra. With a swift pace aided by constant additions to Raya’s band of loveable brigands and an emotional centre that will warm and break your hearts multiple times, Raya is a film that respects the studio’s past and evolves it, with an authentic representation of Asian culture.

Set in the ancient land of Kumandra, we follow Raya (Kelly Marie-Tran) who, 6 years after a catastrophic mistake, has set out on a mission to unite the 5 pieces of the ancient Dragon Gem, created by Sisu (Awkwafina) – the last of the dragons – in a last-ditch attempt to thwart the ancient evil of the Druun. The locations of these pieces are all known to Raya thanks to her extensive knowledge of the history of the dragons and the once united land. What stands in her way are the different tribes – each named after a section of the dragon – that lay claim to a piece: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon and Tail. Teaming up with a recently resurrected Sisu, Raya journeys through the vastly different areas, encountering myriads of enemies and traps, and collecting more than a few friends along the way including faithful Armadillo-like steed Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk), kid shrimp salesman Boun (Izaac Wong), the hulking but friendly warrior Tong (Benedict Wong) and Noi (Thalia Tran), a seemingly helpless baby who moonlights as a con artist with her three monkey companions, the Ongis. The already dangerous journey is hampered further by Namaari (Gemma Chan), a fearsome warrior and childhood rival to Raya from Fang, who is in constant pursuit of the group as they try to unite the pieces and vanquish the Druun once and for all.

What is instantly striking about Raya is the vibrancy of the world of Kumandra. The standard of animation on display is nothing short of stunning, filling each land with their own vivid colour palettes and distinct detailing. Tail is a vast wasteland of desert, an arid climate reminiscent of an Indiana Jones style adventure with ancient stone temples filled with booby traps. Talon is the complete opposite; a bustling, water bound marketplace – inspired by the floating markets of Thailand – lit by vibrant hues of orange and red from lamps that line the busy streets. Spine is a more traditional wooden village within a sprawling snowy forest of towering trees and bright crimson leaves, befitting the old-school warrior types that inhabit it. Everywhere you look is seeped in Asian culture, from the design of buildings and structures to the tiniest markings on swords and tapestries. Objects and traditions are pulled from Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and more to create a unique melting pot and celebration of Asian heritage, giving Raya a fully realised world that feels both familiar and foreign.

While the story within that world will feel familiar to anyone who has seen a Disney animated classic before, the updates that Raya makes bring it into a modern climate without losing any of that sense of fun and adventure. Raya herself is the ideal Disney heroine, strong and in command of herself and the situations around her, but without the need for any romantic entanglement to fill in the blanks. She has flaws, as does any character, but overcomes them and the challenges presented to her through perseverance, trust and sheer force of will. You don’t need to give Raya a man to pine over when you establish an emotional bond as strong as the one she has with her father. This acts as all the motivation needed to propel you through two hours of movie, and her father Benja’s (Daniel Dae Kim) teachings of trust and accountability are a wonderful message that is accessible for younger audiences to grasp onto. If we trust one another and work together, as Raya does with her varied compatriots from wildly different areas of Kumandra, then you can achieve the impossible. It’s a simple but important message that isn’t thrust in your face but rather woven into the fabric of the narrative, naturally presenting itself as the only option for success.

Terrific voice acting round out the package, with a stellar lineup of Asian and Asian-American talent lending their vocals to the animated spectacle. Kelly Marie Tran is phenomenal as Raya, imbuing her with a fierce determination to overcome all obstacles in her way. In the quieter moments when this veneer of confidence drops and we see the young girl who has turned her back on the prospect of unity is when the emotion shines through, as we see the toll her past mistakes have had on Raya and the pain she carries with her. Awkafina proves a perfect pairing to Tran, as Sisu possesses the exact opposite qualities to Raya. Bright and bumblingly confident at the prospect of uniting Kumandra and working together in harmony, Sisu shies away from the thought that she herself possesses an innate power, similar to her siblings, whose sacrifice led to the creation of the Dragon Gem. The pair’s chemistry instantly hits, forging a leading duo that has the audience onside right up to the very end, making those emotional gut punches the Mouse House likes to pull all the more potent. Benedict Wong, Izaac Wang and Gemma Chan all bring something different and unique to their characters, rounding out a diverse and endlessly fun central group of heroes and villains.

Applying a fresh coat of paint to a classic formula proves to be Raya and the Last Dragon’s biggest strength, combining the tried and tested Disney story of a heroine overcoming all of the formidable odds laid before her with a rich and deeply layered South East Asian inspired world, in a narrative that places character and its messages of trust and unity over male pining or other old tropes. With sumptuous animation and excellent voice-work, Raya is filled with delightful characters and a world that you will want to return to again and again. Unlike the dragon, let’s hope this isn’t the last time we see Raya.

Raya and the Last Dragon stars Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Izaac Wang, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Alan Tudyk, Lucille Soong & Benedict Wong – In cinemas and streaming on Disney+ with Premier Access now.

Tags Alan Tudyk, Awkwafina, Benedict Wong, Daniel Dae Kim, Disney, Gemma Chan, Kelly Marie Tran, Raya and the Last Dragon, Sandra Oh