Month of Superhero Film Reviews 2: Judge Dredd

Howdy people of the north, south, east and west, and welcome to Day #24 of Month of Superhero Film Reviews 2! During this month I’ll be reviewing of some of the best, average and worst comic book adapted films. Today talking about that film where “I AM THE LAW!” is a very funny thing to say, I am of course talking about Judge Dredd.

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW! Haha, Judge Dredd, oh yeah I remember this film. This is another film I’ve seen before and I consider it fun for all the wrong reasons. These days officially we have a much better version of this character with 2012’s Dredd, but before that awesomeness we have this version from the 90’s which is an experience to say the least.

The story can be summed up as the following:

“In a dystopian future, Joseph Dredd, the most famous Judge (a police officer with instant field judiciary powers) is convicted for a crime he did not commit while his murderous counterpart escapes.”

The story is certainly interesting but the execution is terrible. This is a tale of good versus evil, but also about betrayal, deception and revenge, that all sounds good on paper but the way this film handles these elements is very messy, muddled up and confusing. Had the film just streamlined itself and taken out a few of the narrative elements tied to other characters it would have been so much better. It also doesn’t help that there is a massive tonal inconsistency, the film is trying to be serious, but with all the one-liners, generic plot points and terrible comic relief you can’t take it seriously so when the film is trying to add drama or some emotion it feels out of place because of the cheesy and comedic tone. Also what is the scriptwriters obsession with the law? I understand that it is a very important aspect of the film, but all of the characters feel the need to mention it in every second sentence that they speak, its ridiculous and you could probably make a drinking game from it too. You’d be smashed afterward for sure.

Now let’s talk about the cast. Firstly there’s Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd. Listen Stallone, I like him he’s a good actor, however, he was just terrible here. Sometimes you can’t understand what he’s saying because he’s shouting or mumbling which makes his words hard to comprehend, it also doesn’t help that he’s full of cheesy dialogue and one-liners that get old pretty fast and for a person whose supposed to be emotionless Dredd certainly likes to be a douche to people and does a lot of smiling and scowling.Rob Schneider as Fergee… This guy, he just pissed me off. Schneider tries his very best to be one of the most over-the-top, wise-cracking, wacky, silly and annoying people to ever come into existence in a film. Fergee thinks he’s witty and smart, but he’s just a fool who moans about everything and is such a little pain in the ass, I wanted him to die so many times. Oh but the person that takes the cake when it comes to over-the-top is Armand Assante as Rico Dredd. What the actual fuck man? This guy seemed like he was on some kind of drugs as he was so hyperactive, crazy, animated and ridiculous. If he’s not being creepy getting up in people’s faces then he’s shouting his lines at the top of his lungs, it does make for some humourous moments for sure but Assante is just on another level of madness.

I liked Diane Lane as Judge Hershey. This lady is smart, loyal, confident and logical, she’s also tough and can speak her mind and Lane acts with the most amount of realism and restraint out of the main cast. Max von Sydow was good as Chief Justice Fargo, like Lane, Sydow acted with restraint and realism and wasn’t cheesy in his performance. The same can’t be said for Jürgen Prochnow as Judge Griffin, he was fine up until a point and them went a little hammy towards the end. And finally I want to give a shout out to James Earl Jones as the Narrator at the beginning of the film, it was nice and I felt like Mufasa was reading me a bedtime story or something haha.

Now let’s talk about the presentation. Visually the film is okay but messy.  The film was trying very hard to be visually distinctive with the look of the city and the use of special effects, but it doesn’t look to polished and the green screen and CGI doesn’t look real enough to work in the advanced environment these characters live in. The costume design was also a bit bulky and silly and I think could have been slimmed down and refined for the Judges. As for the soundtrack, Alan Silvestri does a decent job with the score creating these dramatic and heroic themes, though the use of some them in certain scenes really doesn’t match what’s happening on-screen.

And lastly how does it compare to the comics? I have unfortunately not read the source material so I can’t comment.

So to conclude Judge Dredd is pretty bad film. I can understand what it was trying to do but it failed due to its messy story, over-acting and bad dialogue. Upon second viewing things that I didn’t like were more noticeable and while I can still laugh at the film it’s not that funny this time around. This is another one of those films you can only watch if you’re in it for the comedic aspects and if you’re drunk.

Rating: 4/10

That’s 24 reviews done, only 6 more to go. So have you seen Judge Dredd and if so what are your thoughts on it? Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts yo! Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a new film review online, until then peace out!

 

Month of Superhero Film Reviews 2: Flash Gordon

Howdy people of the north, south, east and west, and welcome to Day #23 of Month of Superhero Film Reviews 2! During this month I’ll be reviewing of some of the best, average and worst comic book adapted films. Today talking about Flash Gordon.

This is one of those films I’ve heard so much about over the years but just never got around to watching. The only piece of Flash Gordon media I’ve ever been invested in was the 1996 animated series, it was fun to watch and had a pretty kick ass intro song that I’ve never truly forgotten. Anyway, I’ve always been curious about watching the 1980 film especially after watching Ted in 2012 and hearing about the new film that’s currently in the works. So today I decided to give it a try.

The story can be summed up as the following:

“A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.”

The story is pretty strange but also good. Put simply this is a classic tale of good versus evil, but more than that it is about average people being thrown into a situation larger than themselves and using their courage and skills to stay alive and save the lives of many from a maniacal individual. There is a lot of like about this film from its funny one-liners and light-hearted tone to its adventurous nature and action-packed sequences. Plus the film is very absurd, but seems self-aware of that, a lot of things take place just like a classic superhero/comic book adventure, but also feels like the film serials and TV shows of old. This film is not perfect though, there are a lot of random and downright weird things that take place which make you wonder why those decisions are made, I was also surprised with how sexual this film felt with some of the characters, clothing and dialogue as well. The light-hearted and cheesy nature of this film also means that a lot of the film isn’t very realistic or relatable and will lead you question the logic of what’s happening throughout the film.

Now let’s talk about the cast. Firstly there’s Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon, Flash is quite a straightforward character, he’s not too smart, but he’s courageous and heroic, and Jones plays this character with just the right about of charisma, charm, cheesniess and seriousness. Melody Anderson as Dale Arden is also good too. Dale is sweet and gentle, but also knows how to be tricky and kick some ass, while Anderson acts like a bit of a helpless and lovesick individual, she’s very beautiful and engaging in the role. Max von Sydow as Emperor Ming the Merciless is great, this guy is just evil but he’s classy, cruel and loves it when he gets his way, but is quick to anger when he doesn’t. Sydow is totally enjoying himself in this role and it isn’t one you can take seriously. The same can also be said for Chaim Topol as Dr. Hans Zarkov, this man from the beginning seems like a crackpot, but he’s also quite smart and humorous too.

And then there’s Ornella Muti as Princess Aura… Damn! Muti is one gorgeous piece of woman in this film, Aura is one crazy seductress, using her hotness to persuade men to do their bidding, but beyond that she is quite smart, cunning and affectionate. The issue with this girl is that you can’t trust her or get attached to her because she acts like a bit of a slag, but I guess that’s part of her personality. Once again Muti is super hot in this role and it is impossible to not be attracted to her. Timothy Dalton was also good as Prince Barin, while Brian Blessed was totally awesome as Prince Vultan, Blessed is loud, charismatic and very memorable in this role and he stands out in most of the scenes he’s in. I also loved Peter Wyngarde as General Klytus, while you couldn’t see Wyngarde’s face, it was his voice that made me like him so much. Klytus was so strict and aggressive, he reminded me a lot of Alan Rickman. Oh and finally Mariangela Melato was fun as General Kala, she was quite over-the-top but entertaining in the role.

Now let’s talk about the presentation. Visually the film is alright. I love the costume designs as they are over-the-top, but very creative, colourful and distinctive. The art design for the worlds and interiors is pretty interesting and the special effects are okay, I really like waht they did with the sky and wormhole in space as it looked quite crazy and psychedelic, but considering that this was after Star Wars had come out, this film doesn’t look as good by comparison. As for the soundtrack, the awesomeness that is Queen handled that department while Howard Blake crafted the orchestrated. This soundtrack is very 80’s and it sounds awesome, but the main reason this soundtrack is so memorable is because of “Flash’s Theme“, long before I hand ever seen this film, this song was pretty much embedded in my mind since childhood and til this day it is one of the coolest and most manly songs in the history of life and it’s just the best thing ver in this film. I also have to note that parts of the film score sounded like it belonged on a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis with the low-pitched electronic twang that was part of the old console’s trademark sound.

And lastly how does it compare to the comics? I haven’t read the comic strips or seen the old film serials this film was based on so I can’t comment on this department.

So to conclude Flash Gordon is one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen and yet is so cool! The film definitely is an acquired taste and some probably won’t be able to take in the cheesy, strange and unrealistic nature of the film, but for those who have yet to see it, give it a try.

Rating: 7/10

That’s 23 reviews done, only 7 more to go. So have you seen Flash Gordon and if so what are your thoughts on it? Drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts yo! Come back tomorrow and I’ll have a new film review online, until then peace out!

 

The Star Wars: Episode VII Cast Announced!

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen and today I’m here to talk about some very important film news that was announced a little while ago today. The following information comes from superherohype:

Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm have announced the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII! Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film. Click the photo above for a bigger version!

Director J.J. Abrams says, “We are so excited to finally share the cast of ‘Star Wars: Episode VII.’ It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Star Wars: Episode VII is being directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, and John Williams returns as the composer. The movie opens worldwide on December 18, 2015.

So damn, it’s happened. The truth is out. The information that us fans have been desperately wanting to know has finally been discovered. WE HAVE CAST CONFIRMATION AND ITS AWESOME! Finally, finally, finally we have the information on the primary cast of the next instalment in the Star Wars film series and my god it is glorious, for the most part. Now the obvious part is that we have the original cast back with our three main leads, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, there was no doubt in my mind or most fans minds that they would return, but just having this confirmation means so much and pretty much puts everything in perspective. Even getting Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhem and Kenny Baker makes me smile too. But I think the bigger news the new cast members who have been added to Episode VII. Some of these names have been rumoured while others are completely unexpected. To be honest I only know a few of these names. I know of John Boyega, but I’ve never watched Attack the Block, but good on him for coming so far in his career and getting into a massive franchise like this. Seeing both Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac makes me so happy, both of them were pretty good in Inside Llewyn Davis, especially Isaac though. But the main name that stand out to be is Andy Serkis. ANDY FRIGGING SERKIS! YES! To say that I love Serkis would be a huge understatement, I’ve been a fan of his ever since Lord of the Rings Trilogy and have loved most of the films he’s been and to see him land a role in the massive franchise that is Star Wars, I’m SO happy for him and I honestly am even more excited to see this film than before.

Also having that image above to see all the cast and director together just makes me grin. You can just see things happening and it makes me giddy. Now I just want this film to start shooting and then get to 2015 where we’ll see the next episode of Star Wars.

So what do you think of the cast news? Are you happy about it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them below in the comments and let me know. Laters people. 🙂