Tag: Idris Elba

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Post author By Mark
Post date April 11, 2022

The original Sonic the Hedgehog film was a refreshingly uncomplicated, fun road-trip movie that knew exactly what it was. It didn’t shoot to directly adapt the stories of the video game series, but rather adapted the characters to a real-world setting and let the blue blur run wild with jokes and heart, in a way that was accessible for adults and kids, fans and newbies alike. This latest instalment ramps things up in typical sequel fashion; with more characters, bigger action and some questionable dance battles all thrown into a wildly entertaining, if somewhat inconsistent time at the movies.

Following his defeat of the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is enjoying the spoils of victory, splitting his time between his loving adopted parents Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter) and moonlight as a heroic, if slightly dangerous, vigilante speeding through crime across the country. With Tom and Maddie away on a Hawaiian vacation, Sonic is left to fend for himself, an easy task that takes a turn with the return of Robotnik from his mushroom-filled prison, alongside newcomer Knuckles (Idris Elba), a prickly red echidna with some shared history and a pretty big bone to pick with Sonic. Forced to team up with yet another new arrival – the technologically gifted, two-tailed fox Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) – Sonic races against time to ensure that Robotnik does not get his hands on the infinite power of the legendary Chaos Emerald.

In keeping with the first film, the plot here is not the most original, boiling down to a series of MacGuffin hunts that follow your tried and true hero’s journey arc. Thankfully it mostly moves at a pace befitting of Sonic, save for a few drawn-out, uninteresting sections that shift the focus from Sonic and Robotnik to Tom and his Hawaiian antics; and while these are necessary to set up an emotional finale, they do take their time, no doubt causing some restlessness in younger viewers.

Where the sequel truly shines, similar to the first, is in its combination of heart and humour. The emotional changes Sonic and his pals undergo are simple but wholly effective in endearing the audience to them as they figure out their place in the world while fighting evil. Writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller and John Whittington are able to harness some extra goodwill this time around by emphasising the found-family aspect of Sonic’s relationship to not only Tom and Maddie, but also to Tails and Knuckles; a device you could argue is cheap and cheesy, but which never fails to induce an “aw” from the audience.

Then there’s Jim Carrey, who continues his rejuvenated, high-energy performance as Dr. Robotnik on a level that makes you feel as if you are watching him perform in his 90’s prime. The joke delivery and improvisation is so fast and hits so much of the time that Jeff Fowler simply lets Carrey run wild with his scenes, ensuring he hits the story beats while leaving everything else up to the comedic genius. Robotnik almost rivals Sonic for screen time this time around and it’s a good thing too, with James Marsden and Tika Sumpter’s characters reduced to little more than filler as the series begins to flesh out its world with more complex elements from the game franchise.

The introductions of Elba’s rage-filled Knuckles (reminiscent of Dave Bautista’s Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy) and Colleen O’Shaughnessey’s timid but brilliant Tails are welcome counterpoints to the brash confidence of Schwartz’ Sonic, making for some excellent comedic banter as well as an interesting examination of Sonic’s place in the world and how he carries himself. It’s largely surface level, but a little extra depth in a film that also includes dance battles to Bruno Mars songs is always welcome for the adults.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is yet another delightfully light, enjoyable video-game movie in a genre famous for self-serious adaptations. It doesn’t shoot for the moon its loose retelling of the Sonic lore (perhaps to some game fans’ chagrin) and it is all the better for it, thanks to its talented cast of comedic powerhouses – led by Carrey and Schwartz – and while the film’s pacing at times falls behind the kind of blistering speed Sonic is known for, this is by and large another fantastic family film for kids of all ages. Stick around for the post-credits scene, it’ll have you racing to the inevitable sequel faster than Sonic himself.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Lee Majdoub & James Marsden – In cinemas now.

8/10

Tags Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, James Marsden, Jeff Fowler, Jim Carrey, Lee Majdoub, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Tika Sumpter

Movie Reviews

The Suicide Squad

Post author By Mark
Post date August 13, 2021

What does the director of two of the most popular Marvel films do when the studio fires him? Well if you’re James Gunn you get to work for the competition, with the reboot/sequel to 2016’s dismal Suicide Squad, conveniently and confusingly titled The Suicide Squad. It certainly doesn’t seem like Gunn holds any ill will towards the MCU which has now re-hired him but it’s hard to imagine there wasn’t a little revenge channelled into what amounts to DC’s own version of Guardians of the Galaxy, only better in almost every way. With a surprisingly endearing core cast of outsiders and plenty of gore and crass humour, The Suicide Squad is an endless ride of entertainment, even if it does steer into familiar territory for Gunn.

For those who wisely steered clear of the 2016 original David Ayer directed film, have no fear, you will miss out on absolutely nothing plot-wise, as the concept of the squad – outlaws with bombs implanted in their heads sent on dangerous missions in exchange for reduced sentences – is quickly explained within the opening minutes. From here its all cylinders firing as the returning Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) gathers her team of misfit criminals – the central crew consisting of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), team leader Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Idris Elba’s assassin Bloodsport, John Cena’s peace-loving mercenary Peacemaker, clinically depressed Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), the rodent controlling Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) and King Shark (voiced by the great Sylvester Stallone) – and sends them on their merry way to infiltrate and destroy a defunct Nazi base on the South American island of Corto Maltese which secretly houses a scientific project with world-ending potential.

It’s a deceptively simple plot that Gunn manages to wring every last drop of movie out of, throwing in side-quests and more than a few twists and turns to keep the viewers on their toes. Not the least shocking of these is his commitment to live up to the name of the film. No one is safe and while the central team consists of those previously mentioned, there are many other obscure DC characters assigned to the mission, not all of whom make it out alive. This is explained to you through a brutally bonkers opening scene that sets the irreverent tone Gunn continues to build on perfectly: he might bring in one of your favourite comic characters who otherwise would never have had a chance at a big screen feature, only to blow their heads off a few minutes later.

At this point Gunn has all but trademarked his signature style of film, favouring stories of found families and disparate, conflicting personalities that must be brought together for the greater good and honing it with each retelling. Now, unrestricted by PG ratings and having to tie the story to a larger shared universe, the writer/director has perfected the formula, with a superbly written script that really understands the interplay between these huge, criminally insane personalities. It says a lot that he can take a character like the Polka Dot Man – a guy who literally excretes and shoots multicoloured, corrosive polka dots from his skin – and make him such a deeply sympathetic and dryly hilarious figure. A man who hates himself and has completely resigned his fate to death but who can’t help but find some gleeful joy in being a super-hero. Even a throwaway comment lamenting a largely pointless side-character’s demise does a lot to highlight the depth of the writing – these characters are more than their goofy superhero gimmicks, they’re fully rounded people that you can’t help but root for.

The casting is obviously a huge reason that the writing succeeds in the way it does. Dastmalchian is excellent as Polka Dot Man alongside other standouts in Elba, Cena and Stallone. Elba’s Bloodsport is the most obvious leading man stereotype of the bunch and it’s plain to see that Gunn is having a great time deconstructing that stereotype, giving the character a crippling fear of rats before plonking him on the same team as someone who literally controls all of them. And Elba goes for it, cowering from the rodents and turning his back on the team time and time again in a way that other leading men of the 80’s and 90’s would never do for fear of diminishing their masculinity. When push comes to shove he doles out the expected level of ass-kicking but just knowing that small flaw goes a long way to being able to attach to the character amidst all the chaos.

If Bloodsport is the stoic, quietly calm assassin, then John Cena’s Peacemaker is the complete opposite: a boastful, arrogant mercenary who doesn’t care how many people he has to kill to achieve it. It is easily his best performance to date, still as physically imposing as ever but unintentionally and hilariously self-deprecating in the complete paradox he has devoted his entire being to. The sheer stupidity Gunn has Peacemaker saying at times – delivered with a deathly serious, almost militaristic deadpan – is absolutely hilarious and the constantly bickering, macho rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport ensures that there is always a joke or exasperated sigh to put a smile on your face, even in the middle of a massacre. Then there is King Shark, a giant half-man, half-shark dullard who steals every scene he is in. That’s largely due to the inherent hilarity of him being voiced by Sylvester Stallone, whose line readings sound like even he doesn’t know what is going on (Gunn gets bonus points for having Rocky himself repeatedly say “nom-noms”). He’s more than just another Groot-like animal sidekick however, with a sweet friendship with Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher 2 that hits on an emotional level more than it has any right to.

The downside of making three consecutive films in a row with similar plots and character archetypes is that the audience starts to notice the rhythm and crutches that Gunn tends to rely on. Just about every time we build to some kind of profound dramatic or emotional moment we cut to a comedic moment instead, which at this point is less funny and jarring than it is annoying. You know it is coming but sometimes it would feel far more gratifying to actually see these characters hit their big emotional beats rather than cut away and imply that these are already known. The bizarre positive of that is that Gunn builds a strange sense of anticipation in the audience when he gears up for one of these moments. You know that a big tonal shift is coming and the fact that it could be anything from a dick joke to somebody being dismembered keeps things fresh in a way that the Guardians films could never achieve without the shock factor of an R rating.

What could initially be seen as ill fortune has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for James Gunn, who has crafted his most outright enjoyable and sharply written film to date with The Suicide Squad. Taking a left turn where most superhero films would go right ensures that things stay fresh throughout the motley crew’s adventure; whether that be through the sheer insanity of the characters on-screen, the over-the-top gore or the constant stream of NSFW gags. If this is what the man can do with characters like Captain Boomerang and The Detachable Kid (as stupid as it sounds), then give James Gunn the keys to the whole DC kingdom and watch him go.

The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson, Nathan Fillion, Sean Gunn, Flula Borg & Sylvester Stallone – In cinemas now and streaming on HBO Max in the US.

9/10

Tags Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, DC, Idris Elba, Jai Courtney, James Gunn, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, Margot Robbie, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, The Suicide Squad, Viola Davis

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

Hobbs & Shaw

Post author By Tydus
Post date August 10, 2019

Does anyone remember the original The Fast and the Furious all those years ago? The tale of an undercover cop infiltrating a street racing ring on the coast of California was a fresh and exciting bit of action that went on to be a huge hit. It gave the people what they wanted at the time, featuring a cast of rough yet likeable outsiders, neon-lit Japanese cars and a decent sprinkling of action here and there to keep things interesting. I start here as it’s easy to forget those early days with how far the series has come since, as the franchise now pumps out some of cinema’s biggest action blockbusters with no end in sight. Following the record-breaking 8th instalment, Fast & Furious has just delivered its first-ever spinoff with Hobbs & Shaw, aiming to give the series a chance to experiment and shake up the formula after almost 20 years. I can tell you that, while what we’ve received is certainly different from what we’ve all come to expect from the franchise, it’s still the same charged-up adrenaline shot at its core – only a whole lot more furious.

This outing sees Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their respective roles as the hulking American Diplomatic Security operative Luke Hobbs and ex-villainous British black-ops agent Deckard Shaw, with the two taking centre stage here for the first time. Hobbs has become a series regular since entering the scene in Fast 5, and Johnson has no problem in moving his character up into lead position. His spot as one of the headliners also shifts the tone of Hobbs & Shaw from what we’d usually get from a Fast & Furious movie, with the comedy and laughs constantly flowing. Not one to shy away from the spotlight himself, Shaw completes the titular duo with Statham bringing his trademark clean-cut British bruiser style to the role in spades. Shaw gets far more screentime than what he’s been given in the series before, fitting into the action perfectly like one of his own finely tailored suits. Despite their differences, the two have a decent amount of chemistry – at least enough to carry an action movie through its paces. While at times seeming like a drawn-out contest to prove who’s top dog, their relationship develops and alters over the course of their wild and explosive ride.

Centre to their mission is the film’s third lead, Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby). As her name suggests, Hattie is the younger sister of Deckard, and she’s found herself dead in the sights of a high-tech underground cell, who are (of course) out looking to end the world in some way or another. Kirby does very well with the role, not afraid to jump into the action at a moment’s notice to prove she’s more than just a token damsel in distress. She helps keep her counterparts grounded and in check, with her relationship between both male leads giving all three heroes a clear purpose and goal. Rounding out the film’s big names is Idris Elba, who plays the cybernetic supersoldier and self-titled “bad guy” Brixton Lore. Elba gives the role his best, but he’s been given some pretty average dialogue and limited time on screen, both of which work to restrict what could have otherwise been a pretty interesting villain. Brixton’s sci-fi, almost cyborg enhancements and abilities also highlight that the spinoff entry isn’t afraid to take the Fast and Furious series down new and unexplored roads.

On that note, you’ll find that this entry isn’t particularly big on its cars, at least compared to the role they’ve played throughout the franchise’s history. There’s not a single epic drag race to be seen, and there’s really only one noteworthy ride on show throughout the entire movie. Instead, Hobbs & Shaw goes hard on the laughs, sliding at least a hint of comedy into almost all of its scenes. Even tense and serious moments are generally undercut with some scathing banter between friend and foe alike – plus there’s several one-liners and a few big name cameos sprinkled throughout purely to get the audience going. It all works to the film’s credit, and it helps to remind us that it’s not taking itself too seriously. This sort of self-awareness certainly doesn’t hurt it either, as the action scenes in this movie are straight-up outrageous. You’ll be rolling your eyes as our heroes leap from skyscrapers, launch vehicles through walls and pull helicopters from the sky – but you’ll do it with a laugh. Hobbs & Shaw is absolutely bonkers, and it knows it.

You’ll have a great time if you don’t think too hard about how all the on-screen action is possible, otherwise the fully stacked two and a half hour run can start to come apart. There’s quite a few scenes and plot decisions that make very little sense other than to move us along to the next adrenaline rush, with special mention given to the final third of the movie where any remaining believability is quickly cast away. The camera work and effects keep up pretty well for the most part – especially when crafting the bedlam on screen – however there are a few rough patches where it’s fairly clear that our heroes aren’t as deep in the action as the cameras would like us to believe. Though with all this being said, it still reads like the summary of any other big action blockbuster – and it’ll be just as successful as most. No one is going into this kind of film expecting sweeping, dramatic performances or drawn out emotional scenes. We roll in to switch off and see some action heroes wreck fast cars, knock some heads together and generally get around blowing things up. If Hobbs & Shaw wants to deliver all this to us with a bunch of laughs on the side, we’re hardly going to turn them down.

A bunch of fun for those who know what they’re getting into, Hobbs & Shaw is definitely one of the biggest action movies to arrive this year. While not quite reaching the same level of polish and heart of some of the earlier entries into the series, the spinoff’s fresh cast and comedic approach help it to carve out its own successful piece of the franchise. It certainly won’t do anything to convert those not already faithful – but if you find yourself looking for an outrageous, globetrotting action joyride, then buckle up and let Hobbs & Shaw show you how it’s done.

Hobbs & Shaw stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba, Eiza González and Helen Mirren – In cinemas now.

Tags Dwayne Johnson, Fast & Furious, Hobbs & Shaw, Idris Elba, Jason Statham, The Rock, Universal Pictures, Vanessa Kirby