Review: Red 2

Red 2
Cert: 12A / 116 mins / Dir. Dean Parisot



I'm not sure how they've managed it, but Summit Entertainment and DC have pooled resources to create a two hour slew of car-chases, shoot-outs and bomb-countdowns, which is also one of the dullest things I've seen in a long old time. As slick as the fight choreography and stunt driving are, there's a palpable lack of excitement throughout, and it's not helped by a script which feels like it has been lifted directly from the comic version*¹. A lot of the delivery is fine, but the timing seems to have been destroyed by the edit; and jokes which work in the trailer are left floundering in awkward silences in the final movie*².

I suspect it's this same edit which is responsible for so many of the action scenes falling flat, too. The screenplay takes us from country to country, set-piece to set-piece, and plot-twist to unremarkable plot-twist with no real care in telling the actual story. And there is a story there; It's nowhere near as convoluted as the movie would have you believe, and it should be far more fun than it is. For the record, I rather enjoyed the first movie, but there seems to be a lot missing this time round.

The ensemble cast jostle for position from time to time, but are generally on very good form, and at least play it like they mean it*³. Welcome additions in the smaller roles include David Thewlis, Brian Cox and Neal McDonough (who are nonetheless reduced to one-dimensional snapshots). With more focus in post-production, Mirren and Hopkins could well have saved this.

I really did want to like Red 2 more, but there's a far better film to be made from this.

No. It's a lot tighter for a start.



Sadly, not.



No.



The explosions and chases look nice on the big screen, but you'll not lose much by watching it on DVD/BLU.



No.



Only if I watch 1 and 2 back to back in preparation for 3..



Not that I heard. I mean, come on.

It's not just me, is it? Is it me?

*¹ I know that 22 pages limit the amount of dialogue you can realistically work with. 116 minutes do not.
*² The most awkward of which were in the cinema itself, as the audience sat silently through 90% of the verbal quips.
*³ With the honourable exception of Mr Willis, who's on a strict auto-pilot. Yes, I know that'll surprise you.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Side Effects

Side Effects
Cert: 15 / 106 mins / Dir. Steven Soderbergh



Although Soderbergh's latest film is slightly less along the lines of Daily Express panic than one of his recent efforts, it's still not too far off. Once The Incident™ occurs*¹ the story settles more into problem-solving mode and less 'make people needlessly (even more) scared of pharmacautical companies'. Unfortunately, the downside of this is that we spend more time in Jude Law's company and less in Rooney Mara's. While I genuinely believe Mara's performance in this film is nothing short of outstanding, everyone else seems to be phoning it in (with the exception of CZJ, who seems to be aiming even lower by reprising her role from Rock of Ages, but without singing).

And it all coasts along quite nicely until the last twenty minutes, which seems to have been when the cleaners came in late one Friday afternoon and typed a new ending because they'd accidentally destroyed the original. From a story point-of-view, it makes some sense, but stylistically, it's quite baffling. A bit like falling asleep watching a thriller on Channel 5, then waking up to their late-night schedule. I imagine.

All in all, Side Effects works well enough, but it's nowhere near as smooth as it'd like to be. That said, it's worth watching for Rooney Mara. The woman has a serious talent.

MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS (highlight to read): See? It wasn't the evil pharma companies what done it this time! It was THE EVIL LESBIANS! You had your hand, and you played it like a fucking hero, Steven. I look forward to your film, The Evil Immigrants Done It. What's that? You're retiring?. Yes, I suppose that is for the best…

The whodunnit? is nicely executed; the whydunnit?, not so much.

Mmmm, not really.



Mostly.



Yeah.



DVD.



No.



No.



No.





*¹ And in fairness, when The Incident™ did occur, I winced and heard plenty of audible gasps in the cinema. That moment was well played.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Review: Broken City

Broken City
Cert: 15 / 108 mins / Dir. Allen Hughes



What a mess. Director Hughes, writer Brian Tucker and editor Cindy Mollo don't seem to know the difference between "complex", "convoluted" and "makes no sense".
Broken City fits neatly into one of these categories.

Elsewhere, CZJ looks thoroughly embarrassed as she delivers dialogue written as part of a teenager's homework project. Too many minor characters are platespun ineffectively, and the whole thing screams contractual obligation.

Some nice ideas, horribly executed.

Kinda.



Occasionally.



No.



Telly.



Yes.



No.



No.





DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.