Howdy ladies and gents, time for a new film review and today I’m going to be talking about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the long-awaited sequel from Marvel Studios. Now back in 2014 I loved Guardians of the Galaxy, it was an unexpected surprise of that summer and so creating a sequel that would equal or exceed the previous film was going to be a mammoth task. But anyway I saw the film yesterday/this morning as part of a double bill at Cineworld and now I’m reading to pass judgement!
The story can be summed up as the following:
“The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.”
At this point in time I’m finding it a tad difficult to formulate my thoughts into works. Guardians Vol. 2 is an interesting beast, it is really good and an overall fun adventure, however it’s also uneven and not as cohesive as the first film. So depending on how you felt about Guardians 1, this film will be more of what you enjoyed before or be a disappointment.
If the story does one thing well it is covering the main theme of family as this film has a strong emphasis on the ties between Peter Quill and his father, Gamora and Nebula, and of course the Guardians team themselves. This film shows what it means to be a family, whether you’re blood related, adopted or have a strong connection to someone and we also see the highs and lows of those relationships. Another strong element was the fact that the story also got quite emotional and dramatic and I didn’t expect that, but it was a welcome surprise. As for the humour, one the first film’s strongest points, it was a little hit or miss, some of the jokes were amazing and other didn’t land as well, plus they were coming a little too frequently for my liking, so anyone annoyed with the frequent humour in Marvel films won’t be a fan of this film. And lastly for the first time in a while Guardians Vol. 2 feels like a standalone adventure with ties to other films or the larger MCU being next to non-existent and there not being any major set up for future films. Now of course there is some set up for a sequel and some great references to the comics, but otherwise this was an isolated film, so anyone hoping for MCU connections definitely be disappointed.
As for the cast they were all very good, though some stood out more so than others. Chris Pratt is a standout as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, he has not only a great sense of timing for his humour but he’s incredibly engaging and has good dramatic moments too. Zoe Saldana was solid as Gamora, she had some good moments with Peter and Nebula, but like the last film I wish I had seen more from her. Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer like the last film had some great comedic moments, and some unexpected subtle dramatic material too, some of his jokes didn’t land but otherwise, good stuff. Baby Groot was adorable, hilarious and used well throughout, and Rocket Raccoon had some really solid moments in this film and like before, Bradley Cooper’s voice work was really great. Other returning cast members including Karen Gillan as Nebula and Michael Rooker as Yondu do really well, Nebula got a lot of additional story material that really enhanced her as a character and while Gillan’s performance was a little overdone at points I still liked her, oh and Rooker was incredible as Yondu having more dramatic and hilarious material than before and I loved the character. As for the new cast members Kurt Russell did well as Star Lord’s dad Ego, I thought he brought a dramatic sense of flair, personality and humour to this role and his scenes with Peter was great. Pom Klementieff as Mantis was so cute and funny, I liked her abilities and interactions with the guardians team and Elizabeth Debicki was interesting as Ayesha, she had some funny scenes, but other times it was a little awkward. I also appreciated the appearances from Sean Gunn, Laura Haddock and Sylvester Stallone.
When it comes to the presentation it was really solid. Visually like the previous film, we are treated to a gorgeous film with a vivid colour scheme, good cinematography, great artistic direction, really detailed CGI and action sequences that were fast, ferocious, inventive and fun to watch. The soundtrack for this film was pretty good, though not as recognisable and as varied as the previous film, and Tyler Bates returns for the film score and he crafts some really nice music, some returning themes and some new material that works well with the on-screen action.
So to conclude Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a solid sequel, it did well to advance the story of the characters, had good action, humour and heart. However, the uneven story, misuse of certain characters and a not so solid humour prevent it from being the amazing sequel I thought it could be. And so how would one compare this film to the other MCU films. Well as a sequel I’d say it’s better than the worst two films, Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World, and Iron Man 3, so I’d say it’s sort of on the same level as Age of Ultron, okay now here me out before you verbally attack me. Age of Ultron is a film I that had a lot of great elements within but overall wasn’t as consistent and enjoyable as the previous film and I felt a similar way about this film, while not as disappointing, I felt like this film wasn’t as straightforward or consistent as the last adventure, but it’s still worth a watch.
So have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and if so what did you think of it? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, time for another film review and today we’ll be talking about another one of the big films of 2017; Fast & Furious 8 aka The Fate of the Furious… However this time it’ll be in audio form via my podcast, Film Focus!
Check it out below:
This episode went out last Saturday and I was meant to post about it on my blog last week, however I got a little too busy so I had to wait until now. I probably won’t do a written review so this will be the only review I do for this film, hopefully you find it informative and fun to listen to as it allows me to express my feelings on a film to the highest degree. Also if you have any feedback or suggestions I welcome them so be sure to holla at me in the comments section.
So if you have some spare time on your hands and would like to listen to the ramblings of a passionate/strange man then please check it out, and share it with your friends if you can. Also you have any feedback or if you’d be interested in joining on future episodes be sure to let me know, until next time, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents time for a new film review and today I’ll be talking about The Last Witch Hunter. While the trailers haven’t blown me away, I’ve been looking forward to this film just to see what’s up and whether it would be worth my time. So is it good or not? Well read on and find out!
The story for the film can be described as the following:
“An immortal witch-hunter is tasked with the job of coming between the covens of New York City and their goal to destroy humanity by way of a horrific plague. In order to accomplish this, he must partner up with a beautiful female witch, something he thought he would never do.”
“My fear for this film is that it is just going to be another generic action film with a lazy/boring story that only serves to justify the action like the recent Clash of the Titans.”
So it was interesting to see how this statement ended up being half right. The main strength in this story lies in its history and mythology, there is a lot of interesting things to learn about the witcher-hunters, how magic works, how witches exist coexist with humans and rules that have been kept in place to stop evil from happening. It is quite intriguing and engaging. The journey of the main character Kaulder and his unlikely partner Chloe is a familiar one, but there are enough unique elements to keep their adventure from feeling too generic… That being said there are certain clichés and standard plot points you can see coming, and for all of the interesting history and knowledge of this world I feel like it could have been so much more. If this had been in the hands of a more established or confident director and had a more polished script with better dialogue, this film would have been more enjoyable.
The cast do what they can with the material given to them, but it is Vin Diesel who steals the show as Kaulder. Diesel is very similar to his persona in other films, except here he’s a little more talkative, aggressive and emotional (yeah you read that last part right). As usual Diesel is very charismatic, has a magnetic screen presence and is pretty cool to watch when he’s being a badass, I think I liked this film a little more because it gave Diesel a chance to be someone other than Dominic Toretto and while his dramatic scenes won’t sway harsh critics, I just liked seeing some varied emotions from him. Rose Leslie as Chloe was decent, her character fluctuated between being nice and interesting, to being annoying and troublesome. Leslie was awesome in Game of Thrones, but here she’s not nearly as cool, fierce or enticing as she was on TV. Elijah Wood was alright as the 37th Dolan, but he was severely underutilized and even though his character gets a bit more interesting towards the end of the film, it’s not enough to save his character. Michael Caine as Father Dolan was fine, Caine’s role in this was as interchangeable as he is any other film in the action, sci-fi or fantasy genre where he’s a main or secondary character. Julie Engelbrecht was suitably strange and over-the-top as Witch Queen (it’s just a shame that Engelbrecht’s face was covered under all that make-up because she’s quite pretty underneath it all). Oh and it was fun to see Bex Taylor-Klaus from Arrow as Bronwyn as well, everyone else was okay to forgettable to be honest.
As for the presentation it was nice. Visually the film has some good CGI, art design, interesting monsters and pretty sweet flame sword, I also liked some of the fight sequences (even though the camera was a little too close in certain shots) and the soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky was fine, but didn’t have that trademark energy I know he can bring to films especially ones in the action genre.
In conclusion The Last Witch Hunter was a decent if somewhat flawed film. There’s a lot of interesting ideas with the mythology, Vin Diesel is good in the central role and some of the action scenes were pretty cool. Unfortunately the film’s a little by-the-numbers when it comes to action, story and characters, it is still fun but I’m sure it won’t be looked upon kindly by anyone outside Diesel’s fan base.
Rating: 5.5/10
So have you seen the The Last Witch Hunter and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comment section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents and welcome to another trailer review. It feels like I barely do any of these types of blog posts regularly any more and yet besides my film and TV reviews I always seem to find time to talk about trailers when I’m in the right mood. Anyways, today I get to talk about the teaser that dropped online recently for the upcoming Vin Diesel film, The Last Witch Hunter. I’ve been looking forward to finding out more about this film ever since it was announced way back when and I’m glad that we finally have some footage to work with. So is it good or not? Well read on and find out!
Check out the trailer below:
So my first thoughts after seeing the trailer? Looks interesting enough, I have to see more.
I guess with the first images that were released for this film, I hoping for a more fantasy style of film with action and adventure thrown in, this seems like an action film with some fantasy elements, and while it is too early to tell what the story is going to be like, it does look fairly large in scope. From Michael Caine’s monologue it seems like Vin Diesel’s character has been up to a lot, he’s done many things and it has been documented, he’s a good soldier and that’s his story isn’t over yet. Seems like Diesel is some sort of chosen one to do battle with the forces of evil armed with different weapons including a gun and flame sword. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of combat this film gives Diesel to work with. Oh and going back to Caine again, from his attire it looks like he’s a priest right? So I assume that this film will have something to do with religion and have close connections to church and god and stuff? Possibly? I don’t know I’m just taking stabs in the dark here.
It seems like there will be a lot of different locations some taking place in fancy interior locations to the snowy mountains and even in the USA as well. While it is not specifically mentioned, from the way Caine’s character talks about Diesel, it seems like Diesel’s character is pretty old, maybe this character’s been living for years slaying witches and now has to do it again in modern times? Who knows? But that’s the vibe I’m getting from this film. There looks like there will be a lot of travelling as there are many locations on display and that again adds to the scope of this film. Oh and in the trailer you can see Game of Thrones‘ Rosie Leslie looking nice and Elijah Wood too, man where the hell’s he been all this time? Hope they have decent parts in the film.
My fear for this film is that it is just going to be another generic action film with a lazy/boring story that only serves to justify the action like the recent Clash of the Titans. I like Vin Diesel, I think he’s a fun and charismatic person and deserves to take on new films that aren’t part of long running series’ like Fast & Furious or Riddick.
In conclusion The Last Witch Hunter looks interesting. It could either be pretty good or really pants, it is hard to judge until I see more footage and get an understanding of what the story is going to be. I hope that it is good though.
So have you seen the teaser for The Last Witch Hunter and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comment section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀
Howdy people of the internet, today I am here to review a film I’ve been waiting to see for AGES, I am of course talking about Furious 7. After the good times with Fast 6 in 2013 I was ready for the next film especially after secret ending with frigging Jason Statham showing up as the villain. So now we have the seventh chapter in this crazy series that just can’t die and it promises a lot of fun, action and drama. Is it good or bad? Read on and Find out!
The story is as follows:
“Dominic Torretto and his crew thought they left the criminal mercenary life behind. They defeated an international terrorist named Owen Shaw and went their separate ways. But now, Shaw’s brother, Deckard Shaw is out killing the crew one by one for revenge. Worse, a Somalian terrorist called Jakarde, and a shady government official called “Mr. Nobody” are both competing to steal a computer terrorism program called God’s Eye, that can turn any technological device into a weapon. Torretto must reconvene with his team to stop Shaw and retrieve the God’s Eye program while caught in a power struggle between terrorist and the United States government.”
The story was good, this is a tale of drama, revenge, family and remembering who your are and what you stand for. This film changes its style again becoming more of an action thriller with spy elements, and that in turn gives this film a bit more realism and familiar codes and conventions. For the most part things were fun, cheesy and emotional, though I feel like this story did get a little too busy and too melodramatic at times. That being said what I appreciated the most was the way in which this film incorporated the several elements from all of the previous films and put it into one film, and it really is fun for long-term fans of the series. If this was the last film in the series then it would have been a great ending because it is ends in such a lovely way.
Now when it comes to the cast, these actors continue to give us some good performances with nice chemistry and plenty of charisma. Firstly Vin Diesel as Dom Toretto was great, the guy is still the cool badass we’ve come to expect, but is also very caring and determined. And Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner was also good, this time his character has a little more depth to him with him adjusting to life as a parent. Walker nad Diesel have such a great connection as long-term friends/brothers and you can tell that it expands beyond the films into real life because of their good chemistry. Walker’s performances have never been of the best quality, but I would say that this is my favourite in this series, it is kind of hard to watch knowing he’s not part of this world anymore so it was nice to see him in another fun film. Oh and the send-off Walker got in this film, beautiful. Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, wow. While Johnson wasn’t used as much as he was in the previous films, when he was on-screen he had some of the best lines and fight scenes. I loved him. But now its time to talk about Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw. Man, these days I love Statham, while his roles don’t vary much, he knows how to be charismatic, fun and badass and this has to be one of his best roles in a while. He is a threat, can fight against the toughest men and unlike some of the previous villains I feel like Statham was an actual threat that had good motivation for his actions and he was always in the thick of the action.
Michelle Rodriguez was once again good as Letty Ortiz, Rodriguez was more fun and charismatic this time around and seeing her intact with Dom and get stuck into action was awesome. Plus, Rodriguez looked incredible, I almost fell in love with her all over again. 😛 Once again he have some good times with Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris as Tej Parker and Roman Pearce. They have good banter and are mainly there for comic relief, though there was a little more for both of them to do. Tej got a little more action time, while this film established that Roman was clearly the joker of the group, he’s a fool, but a funny fool for sure. Kurt Russell as Frank Petty was someone who I got a lot of fun from in terms of his dialogue and persona, he was both serious but also humourous. And finally Jordana Brewster was good as Mia Toretto, Nathalie Emmanuel from Game of Thrones was pretty and good as Megan Ramsey, Djimon Hounsou was unexpected, but good as Jakande and Tony Jaa was totally badass as Kiet, such a badass with his martial acts.
When it comes to the presentation this films continues to deliver the goods as it is frigging awesome. By now you’ve come to expect the over-the-top, crazy and unrealistic action sequences and this film gives you more of the same, except MORE HARDCORE! If you’ve seen the trailers you know what I’m talking about. There are people falling out of the sky in cars, surviving explosions and falling from high distances, crashing cars through skyscrapers and so much more. It is absurd and I love it. The filming of the action is done in more intricate ways than before with more variety in the cinematography and an increase tracking shots especially when it comes the hand-to-hand fight scenes. They are wonderfully shot and had some shots that reminded me of Kingsman: the Secret Service if you look at the way some of the shots are framed. The soundtrack by Bryan Tyler is once again very good offering up a film score that’s energized, powerful and yet soft in the emotional moments.
In conclusion Furious 7 is great, it continues the momentum from the previous two films again with cars, beautiful women, chaotic action, one-liners and fun performances from the cast. James Wan has done such a great job at taking over the reigns as director, he gets the look and feel of this series right and continues to fuel the fire aggressively. Sure the film is ridiculous, over-the-top, and a bit messy at times, but the pros outweigh the cons for sure, and for fans of the series, you owe it to yourself to see this, it is hella good.
Rating: 8/10 (It’s over-the-top fun at its finest yo)
So have you seen Furious 7 and if so what do you think of it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you lot on the next film review, laters! 😀
Howdy ladies and gents, time for a new trailer review and today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on the latest film in the Fast & Furious series, Furious 7.
Check out the trailer below:
So my immediate thoughts after seeing the trailer? Cool, I’m down, gimme.
This trailer doesn’t hold back on the crazy, over-the-top stunts and action sequences that this series has been known for since 2009 with Fast & Furious 4. I mean the first scene involves Dominic Toretto and his crew, in cars, driving out of a plane, landing on mountain side road, then rescuing a girl from an armoured van with guns and Brian O’Connor escaping the same van as it falls off of a cliff and grabbing on to a moving car after jumping. If that doesn’t sound of look inside then I don’t know what is. It is ridiculous, but it is the kind of ridiculous action that I like.
So in seems like the theme of this film is revenge. New villain Ian Shaw (Jason Statham) lost his brother to Toretto’s gang, so he’s taken Han-Seoul-Oh from them and now both sides want a piece of the other. I like stories involving vengeance, it also adds an extra layer of tension and drama to any genre and it works here because of the personal connections that each character has to said person. I can see that Teretto and Statham are gonna butt heads at some point and I can’t wait.
Beyond that it looks like the trailer is ready to give you exactly what you’ve come to expect from this series, with drag racing, fancy cars, lavish locations, hand-to-hand combat, firefights with guns, pretty ladies in skimpy outfits, themes of family and Dom’s crew being targeted by some form of law enforcement. I can see that there is a lot of Paul Walker in this trailer, so I assume that he filmmakers want to give him the best farewell possible and show of the man’s skills one last time. Also we have your standard cool Vin Diesel moments and Dwayne Johnson looking all muscular and badass and Jason Statham looks like he’ll be making some big waves in this franchise which I can’t wait for. It is montage of madness, but it is looking so delightfully slick, stylish and chaotic and I’m actually really liking the way this film looks and I want it now.
In conclusion Furious 7 looks like more of the same except with different locations, stakes and the addition of Jason Statham. If this film is half as good as the trailer suggests then I’ll be having a good time with this film next year. Fast 5 and Fast 6 took this film series to new heights and has shown that series has a fire in its belly that hasn’t gone out yet and I can only hope that this film follows in their direction.
So what do you lot think of the first trailer for Furious 7? Are you down with it or not? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to leave them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next blog post, laters! 😀
Good day to you ladies and gents, time for a film review I was meant to have done last week Friday, I am of course talking about the film that’s on fire in the cinema right now, Guardians of the Galaxy. At this point in time I’ve already seen the film twice and I’m not going to hide the fact that I think this film is incredible and I’m going to tell you why in this review!
The story for this film can be described as the following:
“Brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits-Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand-with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.”
The story in this film basically involves a group of misfits from very different backgrounds coming together to become something more and take out a common enemy. Yes this a type of story that has been done many times in the past and very recently with Marvel’s Avengers film that came out two years ago, but this film is so delightfully different in its execution that it easily stands on its own two feet. Guardians of the Galaxy is not only a very different kind of Marvel film but also a different brand of superhero film too. And in a way I wouldn’t even brand it in the superhero genre as this film is clearly of the science fiction genre and it has all the great codes and conventions of what makes the genre so fun to watch. The film is incredibly strange and quirky, it is not typical in any way, there is so much unexpected moments for humour spread throughout and luckily the humour isn’t over-bearing as it has a reason for being there. In addition to the comedy there is a surprising amount of heart to this film. I feel like Marvel Studios are diving deeper into emotional territories and producing very intriguing stories with intimate character moments that are well-crafted and engaging. This film has a great balance of humour and seriousness, and that’s the thing that I think will surprise people. For all the comedic moments there are also some moments to think and reflect, be melancholy and a lot more.
The performances were all great and the core team of heroes are probably the best set of characters together since the Avengers were assembled. Firstly Chris Pratt just ruled as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, he is a man with history and now lives life on the edge sleeping with women and obtaining special treasures. It is not until he sees the danger of the item he holds that he decides to do something that benefits the galaxy and not just himself by assembling his group of misfits. Pratt has so much energy and charisma and it makes for such an engaging, funny and well-rounded performance. Zoe Saldana as Gamora is awesome, she is deadly, sexy and a totally cool warrior. Gamora is clearly a woman with a troubled past and wants to start life anew but happens have run into some complications along the way involving her sister and Quill. Saldana is no stranger to action and sci-fi and she is so beautiful and good in this role. Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon was pretty much the best thing ever. The character is the source of so much humour but also so much drama as well. Every line Rocket had been super memorable and funny as hell and Cooper’s delivery of his lines are so good as well. Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot was great, I know he just says “I am Groot” all the time, but the different ways in which he said it was very cool and versatile and just hearing Diesel scream and shout was so cool and reminiscent of The Iron Giant. One surprise for me was Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer as he was a lot more enjoyable in the role than I expected. Drax is a maniac driven by revenge and hatred, but he is also very literal and simple-minded and loves chaos. I loved how many funny lines and moments this character had and I really liked what Bautista did with this role, that being said there was some moments where the delivery of his lines could have been better.
Lee Pace as Ronan The Accuser was pretty decent, he was an evil, corrupt and power-hungry individual who ultimately wanted to rule over all the inhabitants of the galaxy, he was a serviceable villain, but did fall into the trap of Nero from Star Trek and Malekith from Thor: The Dark World in the sense that he ends up not being as well-developed or as interesting as the heroes he is fighting against. Karen Gillan as Nebula was totally hot and great as this female villain who clearly has sibling rivalry with Gamora and hearing about her history with Gamora and Thanos makes her seems really intriguing. Another person of interest is Michael Rooker as Yondu, Rooker is always a joy to watch and he was just as enjoyable as ever here as a man who is closely linked to Quill’s history and a man who looks out for number one and takes out anyone in his way. Rooker was so funny, cool and charismatic, he was such a joy to watch. Benicio Del Toro was great as Taneleer Tivan / The Collector, I feel like he was a little more serious and less cartoony than he was in Thor: The Dark World. I really liked Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer, he was intimidating and badass as hell. Even though it his inclusion was small, Josh Brolin as Thanos was totally cool and gave us a wonderful look into what to expect from the Mad Titan in the future. And finally the performances from Glenn Close and John C. Reilly as Commander Rael and Rhomann Dey are pretty good too.
When it comes to the presentation I think it is incredible on both the audio and visible side of things. Visually the film is incredibly unique, distinct and just bursting with colour and detail. Along with the story, the cinematography and CGI work on space, planets and even the characters instill a great sense of wonder and mystery to the film and anyone who is well versed in sci-fi will feel glimpses of Star Wars, the J.J. Abrams Star Trek films and Serenity too. The soundtrack maybe just as impressive if not more so than the visuals. This film is filled to the max with nostalgic songs from the 1960’s and 70’s and it is a very eclectic soundtrack which is very unconventional when it comes to Marvel films, but it works on three levels, a) Because of Peter Quill’s love for the music he grew up with, b) It adds to the film’s quirky nature and c) For those who are old enough, it is like stepping into the past and having a crazy nostalgia rush with some really good music. In addition to the great selection of songs, the score by Tyler Bates is pretty good and has some beautiful and epic moments throughout.
In conclusion the Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely a different kind of superhero film, in a way it hardly a superhero film at all. It is truly a film of the science fiction genre with all sorts of humour, action and fun. and I can’t wait to see it again lol.
Rating: 8.5/9 out of 10 (Seriously liked this film a lot though I’m not sure it is 9 material yet)
So what did you think of the Guardians of the Galaxy? Did it live up to your expectations or not? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them in the comments below.
Howdy people of the interweb, time for me to review a new film and today’s first film will be Riddick. I watched Pitch Black (last night) and Chronicles of Riddick (a long time ago) and I think I’m ready to review this third entry in the series. Is it good one or should the series have stayed buried in the past? Read on in this review to find out!
So when it comes to the plot in can be summarised like this:
“Betrayed by his own kind and left for dead on a desolate planet, Riddick fights for survival against alien predators and becomes more powerful and dangerous than ever before. Soon bounty hunters from throughout the galaxy descend on Riddick only to find themselves pawns in his greater scheme for revenge. With his enemies right where he wants them, Riddick unleashes a vicious attack of vengeance before returning to his home planet of Furya to save it from destruction.”
I thought the plot in the film was decent, it does feel like a retread of Pitch Black just updated for modern times and while that’s fine, I had hoped for more. I mean one could argue that I may be asking for a bit too much considering the series’ track record, but it’s been like 9 years since the last film, this would have been a great reason to come up with a great and interesting story to expand the Riddick mythology and I feel like what we get in this film is serviceable and has a few moments of awesomeness, but not the entire package. I like how the film starts out with Riddick picking himself up after being stranded and learning to survive alone, but after that point the film’s pacing really gets a bit patchy for me and slows down a little too much. There are points where I just wanted there to be more danger and a sense of urgency.
As for the cast they were good for the most part but I only cared about very few of the characters. Let’s start with Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick, he’s the most important person in this film and he plays his role well. He’s about as cool as he was back in Pitch Black, but not nearly as aggressive, Riddick is hardcore, laid back, funny and does a fair amount of ass-kicking and that’s what I wanted from him. Unfortunately he didn’t really evolve or become any more badass which I had hoped for by this point in the series.
Jordi Mollà as Santana was an alright villain as the main bounty hunter, he had some funny lines of dialogue but he’s one of those kind of douchebags that you don’t care if they live or not. Matt Nable as Boss Johns had a bit more layers to his character and I liked his military approach to things and when he wanted to be cool he was. Katee Sackhoff as Dahl, let me just say that she was super hotness, very pretty, that aside Sackhoff was pretty badass. She wasn’t just a pretty face, Dahl had some decent dialogue and got to kick some ass and that was nice. And lastly Dave Bautista as Diaz was decent, I was watching him closely because obviously he’s gonna be Drax in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy and his character was fine, but the role didn’t show off too much for me to judge his acting talent, but I saw glimmers of hope there so let’s hope he kills in the GotG next year. Everyone else was easily forgettable, oh besides Bokeem Woodbine he was cool!
When it comes to the presentation it is pretty good. Visually the film is very nice especially when I got to see it on a large IMAX screen, after watching Pitch Black its incredible to see how far the CGI has comes, and Riddick while not as unique as the first film does continues to have a visually distinctive style with interesting camera angles, interesting colour filters and very detailed CGI when it comes to the aliens and fancy guns. I was kind of disappointed with the amount of action and had hoped for fancier fights and action set pieces, but when the film does go hardcore and shows off its violent side it is very nice. As for the soundtrack it was alright but nothing too fancy or memorable.
In conclusion Riddick is a good film and is a return to form for the series, that being said it’s not too amazing and I was hoping for a much more involving plot and fancier action, but if you’re a fan of Pitch Black you’ll like it and I recommend it to the fans of the series.
Rating: 7/10 (Better than Chronicles and just about as good as Pitch Black)
So what did you think of Riddick? Did it meet your meet, exceed or fall below your expectations? Whatever your thoughts are drop them below and let me know.
Howdy friends and other people of the internet, time for some film news to be delivered to you! Now over the last two weeks there has been a fair amount of information given regarding the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film and I’ve just decided that I’m gonna just a news round-up of all those important stories and put them on this blog today.
Oh and before we begin let me just say that the following information comes from ComicBookMovie.com
“It was a hasty, precise post on Facebook back in June that first revealed Vin Diesel was in talks with Marvel Studios for an unspecified role in one of their upcoming cinematic outings. And while the Riddick star boasted at the San Diego Comic-Con last month that a big announcement about his involvement was forthcoming, Diesel took to his social network (yet again) earlier today and updated his cover photo hinting that he was joining Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation. And sources of Deadline now confirm that Vin Diesel is negotiations to lend his gravelly voice to Groot, the sentient tree creature and charter member of the Guardians team.”
Well this is pretty much public knowledge now to all the people that’s been following Vin Diesel’s movements at Marvel recently, but yeah it seems like it’s all but confirmed that he’ll be doing the role in this film. So how do I feel about this? Pretty good actually. Granted the character only says “I am Groot”, but I think it’d work for Diesel due to his deep voice similar to what he did in The Iron Giant. I think the filmmakers should at least allow Diesel to do motion capture for the character as well just so the role would feel so small.
Bradley Cooper On Marvel’s Radar For ‘Rocket Raccoon’, Source:
“With The Fast and the Furious star Vin Diesel all but confirmed to voice the treelike alien Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, the gun-toting Rocket Raccoon is the only central character that has yet to have an actor attached. While principal photography for the Marvel film has passed the midway mark in the U.K., the movie scoopers over at Latino Review have found out director James Gunn’s “dream guy” for the talking carnivorous tactician. Apparently Marvel Studios has made an offer to Academy Award-nominated thesp Bradley Cooper to have him lend his voice for Rocket Racoon in Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Well when I heard about this I was kind of surprised. While I’m not saying that Cooper is a bad choice, I just think he’s an odd one when compared to a lot of other actors. I seriously thought Marvel would look into an English actor or maybe even Nolan North because of his popularity with fans and his work with other Marvel projects. Obviously nothing has been confirmed yet but I think Cooper could be awesome in the role as long as he still uses an English accent.
“They are an unlikely band. It’s pure circumstance that brings them all together throughout the course of the movie. Rocket has been genetically and mechanically altered, he’s an experiment from one part of the galaxy. Groot is a species that happens to look like trees look, and is quite communicative if you can understand the different inflections in the way he says, “I am Groot.” Peter Quill left Earth in the mid’80s, but when we meet back up with him he’s very much a citizen of the universe. Drax has one goal and one goal only, which is to kill Ronan because of a past tragedy. When we meet Gamora, she’s a bad guy working with Ronan and Nebula and Korath, and by extension for Thanos. Gamora doesn’t necessarily like doing that anymore, and tries to find a new path for herself. But she has a reputation as the deadliest woman in the galaxy that people aren’t greeting her with open arms.”
I like the way Feige talks describes the details of the characters, it sounds totally cool. I’m just liking the way each character seems to have a colourful backstory that’s different and how they come together just by chance. The most interesting person seems to be Gamora, her backstory seems like it’ll be very complex especially if she’s on the side of the enemy before joining the team, can’t wait to see how she changes sides.
““The general answer is yes,” Kevin Feige said when asked whether Guardians of the Galaxy takes place at the same time as Marvel’s other “Phase Two” movies, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. “It’s not exactly revealed what year or month it is in relation to the other Phase Two films. But yes, it’s the same time.” So, while it may take place at the same time, just how connected will it be to the aforementioned films? “Certainly more than the others. We’ve already said that Thanos plays a part in it and is a character in it. That in and of itself should tell you it’s connected to the other worlds.” Talking of Thanos, many fans expected the Mad Titan to be the main villain in the sequel to The Avengers, but it was recently confirmed that it will be Ultron who fills that role. So, will he be the main foe in Guardians of the Galaxy? Not quite! “Ronan The Accuser is very much the main bad guy. And Thanos is lurking above it all. You will learn more about Thanos in Guardians, for sure. Certainly you’ll get more than the one turn around and smirk. You’ll get much more than that!””
Firstly I’m glad to hear that there will be more Thanos in this film than there was shown in The Avengers, however I’m glad that he isn’t the main villain as he’s really more of an Avengers type of problem than one for the GotG. I don’t know too much about Ronan The Accuser besides The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but he seemed pretty badass so I hope he’ll be a good challenge for the team. As for what point in time the series takes place, since it’s in the Phase Two MCU I can only it’ll be between, during or after Iron Man 3, Thor 2 and Captain America 2.
So yeah that’s all the news I got for now. What did you think of all this stuff then? Whatever your thoughts just drop me a comment below yo. Until next time people, laters! 😀
Honestly I never thought this series would make it this far. After Fast and Furious 4 back in 2009 I thought the series was done, but then Fast 5 came out in 2011 and was a massive success breathing new life into the series. So here in 2013 we have Fast 6, a film that looks even more insane than the last and adds new and old faces to the frame. Is it some good stuff or stupid stuff? Read on and Find out!
Story is as follows:
“Fast & Furious 6 follows a professional criminal gang led by Dominic Toretto who have retired following their successful heist in Fast Five, but remain wanted fugitives. U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs offers to clear the group’s criminal records and allow them to return home in exchange for helping him to take down a skilled mercenary organization led by Owen Shaw and his second in command, Dominic’s presumed-dead lover Letty Ortiz.”
These films are never really watched and admired for the story but for what it was it was good. The plot got from point A to point B at a swift pace, it was really funny at points, there was some nice connections to previous films in the series and while the story and dialogue are a bit cheesy to take in at times for the most part it doesn’t ruin the film. Also there is this theme about family that has always been present in the series and it definitely applies in this film, the group as they are now, you feel like they are a family, that they’re connected and I like how that element of the film stays true throughout.
Now it’s time to talk about the characters of the film and luckily all of them are good for the most part. Vin Diesel as Dom Toretto is still cool as hell. He is well-connected with his crew, still knows how to drive and has some cool moments of action too. He’s all-round cool and I can’t fault him. Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner was good too, though I really dunno what else to say about his character because it’s always been a bit plain. Now let’s talk about Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, Johnson was such a badass in this film and he was ripped as hell! I loved his dialogue and action scenes and he’s just got a great natural charisma on-screen.
And then there’s Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris as Tej Parker and Roman Pearce. They were great in the film, with Ludacris’ character being the tech expert while Roman was another driver who also got a bit of action time too. I loved the interaction between Tyrese and Ludacris they had good screen time together and there was plenty of laughs to be had from those two especially with Tyrese, that guys is funny.
As for Michelle Rodriguez as Letty Ortiz, it was great to see her back in the series and find out what happened to her. Also Sung Kang and Gal Gadot as Han Seoul-Oh and Gisele Yashar were also good in the film and it was great to see the return of Jordana Brewster as Mia Toretto, though she wasn’t in the film as much as I’d hoped the screen time she did get was great.
As for the new cast members, Luke Evans as Owen Shaw was nice as the new bad guy in this film. He was smart, decisive and was always a few steps ahead of Dom and his crew. And lastly there’s Gina Carano as Riley, holy man she was hot as hell in this film. Besides being a nice addition to the film she kicks so much ass in the film, literally! Carano definitely puts her fighting background to good use here and when she was beating people up or just delivering the pain I dunno why but I got a very sexy vibe from her. Don’t ask me why that’s just the way she makes me feel! XD
When it comes to the presentation it is easily the best element of the film. The Fast & Furious series has always been known for its over-the-top action, crazy set pieces and law defying moments in time and this film is no different. Fast 6 introduces tanks and planes into the mix along with all the fast cars that’s defined the series for so long and its all handled in a fine and stylish manner. I love the way the action is shot, there’s some nice camera angles and a lot of the driving sequences reminded me of Need For Speed Underground and Carbon. And then there’s the other side of the action in terms of the fights and holy man the fights in this film are cool, nicely choreographed and hectic as hell! These fights are brutal, nice to look at and sound very pain thanks to the use of good sound effect, and it is here where Gina Carano and Joe Taslim really shine here and put their skills to use is some really impressive scenes.
In conclusion Fast 6 is just some good summer movie fun yo. Its ridiculous, action-packed and throws the laws of physics out the window. The film knows what it is and knows how to entertain where it counts and you can’t ask any more from a film then that right? Whether I like this film more than Fast 5 remains to be seen, but I’d say they’re pretty on-par with each other. Honestly go out and see Fast 6 it’s some kick ass stuff yo! 🙂
Rating: 8/10 (It’s over-the-top fun at its finest yo)
So did you like Fast 6 or did you hate it? Also are you fan of the series as a whole or do you think it should die? Whatever your thoughts are drop them in the comments below and I’ll see you lot on the next film review yo! 😀
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