Jamie Bell | Screenlife Reviews

You’d be forgiven for expecting greatness from Amazon’s new Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse. After all it stars one of the finest young actors working today in Michael B. Jordan, who has consistently proven himself capable of transforming his body for action heavy roles, finally taking command of his own John Wick-style franchise. Add veteran scribe Taylor Sheridan into the mix, writer of gritty, character-focused thrillers like Sicario and Wind River and you’ve got yourself a surefire recipe for success. Unfortunately for Stefano Sollima’s film Jordan is the only redeeming quality in a big budget mess of jumbled, predictable plot-lines and barely there characters, which never manages to excite or intrigue for any longer than a few scenes at a time.

Jordan plays the typically Clancy-esque hero John Kelly, a hulking mass of special forces masculinity and muscle whose world is turned upside down when a rescue mission in Syria takes a turn for the worse as he discovers his team has unknowingly infiltrated a Russian arms den. After a brutal Russian retaliation leaves John clinging for life in the hospital and his world in tatters, he is forced to rely on his deadly training to avenge his family, cutting a bloody path through a complex web of shadowy military and underworld figures. Aided by fellow operative Karen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and with the reluctant help of CIA agent Robert Ritter (Jamie Bell) John soon discovers that there are powerful forces at play and that he is merely a pawn within the political machinations of a group hell-bent on forcing a US war with Russia. Not knowing who to trust, John must rely on only his skills and wits if he is to survive the deadly game afoot.

This is the ninth adaptation of a Clancy novel – outside of the several decades long video-game franchises – and it is fair to say that the once taut and exciting thrillers, which boldly dealt with political tensions and webs of espionage, are beginning to show their age. The opening scene sets up a conflict so muddy and unclear that the film never manages to recover, with what seems like a clear case of revenge takes on a larger and more menacing scope once Kelly decides to go on the warpath. But the reveal of who is actually pulling the strings raises more questions than it answers. How did this person not foresee John’s retaliation? How was John not dealt with sooner, given the wealth of knowledge the villain has? It all amounts to nothing of much consequence by the end, with a hasty conclusion laying the foundation for sequels at the expense of a compelling conclusion. The final reveal should be a moment of great emotional significance and release for John, instead ending in a somewhat flat scene without the expected violence that John was more than willing to unleash on the boss’s underlings.

The sequel-bait is hardly a surprise given how much Amazon appears to have spent on ensuring Jordan’s starring turn is a hit. Amazon hasn’t released any financial information but given the torrent of advertising out there and the scale of some of the set-pieces on display it’s safe to assume they have broken the bank, but for what? Splashy scenes don’t matter all that much if they aren’t compelling and these are about as unmemorable as you can get. An airplane crash scene is the only exception, grand and nerve-shattering to behold, but ultimately doesn’t serve to further the plot other than to showcase Jordan’s impressive ability to hold his breath underwater. The hand-to-hand combat is competently done but again, won’t stick in your brain any longer than the few seconds it takes to process the punches thrown.

Jordan is expectedly great at being gritty and menacing, and the physical transformation is truly commendable – the man could snap his enemies in half just with a cold stare – but the character is so one-note and underdeveloped, his relationship with his family barely shown before it is ripped away. It’s almost as if the writers simply expect you to root for Kelly off the weight of the crimes against him rather than out of any actual attachment to the character; a shame considering the glint of solid chemistry we see between Jordan and on-screen wife Lauren London all too briefly.

Amazon’s attempt to bring another Tom Clancy hero to our screens in pursuit of an eventual shared universe falls short with Without Remorse; a bland, cookie-cutter regurgitation of the Cold-War era espionage films of the 80’s that doesn’t translate to 2021 and which fails to make use of its incredibly talented lead and writing team. The action is serviceable and it is all shot competently, but the budget is needlessly excessive and wasted, the story is short on character development or any semblance of excitement and the conclusion is rushed and hackneyed. Jordan remains a bankable superstar and there is surely another franchise out there worthy of his talents but this is still a disappointing setback and adaptation of Clancy’s work. If you’re still hanging for some Clancy, give the criminally underrated Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit a watch instead.

Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse stars Michael B. Jordan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Jamie Bell, Lauren London, Merab Ninidze & Guy Pierce – Streaming on Amazon Prime now.

Elton John is one of the most larger than life figures in musical history, donning ridiculously over-the-top outfits as he belts out tunes on his trusty piano. As such, one would expect a biopic about the man’s life to delve deep into the factors and events that made John the icon he is today, both the good and the bad. Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman certainly delivers in being larger than life – a true story told in the style of Mamma Mia – with characters bursting into song in the middle of a scene and a powerhouse performance by Taron Egerton as the Rocketman himself. The choice to incorporate these fourth wall breaking musical performances into the story is also something of a double-edged sword; lessening the impact of the story that should be told.

Rocketman explores the life of Elton John from his experiences as a child – under his real name Reginald Dwight – dealing with his parent’s divorce through to his life of rock and roll excess until his inevitable fall from grace and admission into rehab. Throughout all of this there is the common theme of Elton’s search for love that he has been denied his whole life. He is constantly derided by his parents and those around him – apart from his grandmother (Gemma Jones), who supports his initial musical endeavours, and his best friend and writing partner Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) – and as a result Elton surrounds himself with people that he mistakenly trusts with his wellbeing who are actually after his fame and fortune – enter John Reid (Richard Madden), Elton’s lover and business manager. The film focuses on the toll this struggle takes on Elton and the physical and mental effects that inhibit his ability to truly connect with those around him as his star burns brighter and brighter in the musical world.

What differentiates Rocketman from its contemporaries is the way in which the story is told, with most scenes transitioning into full fledged musical numbers featuring the hits of John. These scenes serve as visual representations of Elton’s emotional state over the course of the story and are generally extremely well performed – often relying on the full cast to help belt out the tunes. Whilst entertaining, these sections of the film also take away any opportunity for real investment in the plot. Every time the film gets close to some sort of a realisation or major moment in Elton’s life, a song and dance number breaks out with everyone involved. It’s frustrating and I often found myself getting invested in a scene only to be taken out by some ridiculous aspect of a musical number – such as Elton floating mid-concert as if on the moon. It’s almost as if the real Elton John, executive producer of the film, didn’t want to paint himself in any negative light and so used these musical performances as a way of skirting around uncomfortable interactions where he admittedly has done some pretty terrible things. It is a real shame given the life the man has lived, with audiences surely looking for a biopic that told the story in all of its detail – good or bad – rather than this airbrushed attempt at telling the highlights of Elton John’s life while literally dancing around the darker side of his actions.

Due to this odd story structure, it’s no surprise that the character we spend the most time with is Elton himself, who is played to perfection by Taron Egerton. From a purely physical standpoint, the effort that has gone into making Egerton look like Elton is astounding, from the teeth and the way he smiles to the outlandish outfits and the way he carries himself in them. Egerton is the only actor in the film with something of a narrative arc as he plays the transition from an innocent outcast in the streets of England with dreams of being a rockstar to the drug addicted mess that Elton ultimately becomes believably, making the audience empathise with him in the brief moments before a musical performance beats them over the head. There is a strong supporting cast around Egerton who rarely get time to shine due to the laser focus on John, but Jamie Bell as Elton’s best friend and confidant Bernie Taupin is a highlight and the best performance after Egerton. He plays the role with a sense of wonder and innocence at the musical world, with less drive to succeed than Elton. Where Elton is critical and unsatisfied, Bernie is simply happy to be around these people he has admired his whole life and Bell brings a lot to the table – making Bernie the most relatable character in the film. Bryce Dallas Howard and Richard Madden both deliver good performances as Elton’s mother and business manager/lover but they are ultimately thankless roles, written as one-dimensional plot devices that get Elton from point A to B.

Rocketman is a film that could have been great. With a truly incredible performance from Taron Egerton and the story of one of music’s biggest icons to follow, it’s hard to see it play out so wrong. The bizarre and jarring style of presenting the musical performances as asides to the narrative, rather than as performances in the narrative of the film, means that the plot is robbed of any urgency and weight – ultimately making the whole affair feel irrelevant. This glossy, one-sided film is not the full account of this legendary rockstar’s life fans came to see, and one can only hope that a filmmaker comes along in the future with a clearer vision – one that doesn’t have Elton John himself on the payroll.

Rocketman stars Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden & Bryce Dallas Howard – In cinemas now.