Alpha (2D)
Cert: 12A / 96 mins / Dir. Albert Hughes / Trailer
Well, if there's one good thing to come out of Albert Hughes' boy-meets-dog adventure Alpha, it's that we've finally unlocked the secret to preventing Sony from cramming their movies with retail-product placement. Okay, that secret involves setting the story approximately 20,000 years in the past, but if that's what it takes...
Anyway. Imagine the digitally enhanced filmscape of Life of Pi but with minimal dialogue and any sense of broader metaphor stripped away, and you'll get a good idea of what Alpha feels like. Separated from his ice-age tribe, young Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) has to journey home across the tundra, befriending an injured wolf along the way, which turns out to be the beginning of mankind's relationship with dogs*1. It's not quite as sentimental as one might imagine, but it's not quite as satisfying either.
Credit where it's due, there's some stunning scenery on display here. But the film's visual excesses play their hand early on, after which the audience is never sure whether they're appreciating the work of the cinematographer or the visual effects teams. There's no reason why these can't work hand-in-hand of course, but sections of Alpha are so heavily CGId that you'd wonder why they didn't just save time by animating the movie in its entirety.
Similarly, Kodi Smit-McPhee doesn't feel quite right in the leading role as the tribal chieftan's callow son. He puts in a good turn and is naturally suited to the characteristics, but it's like the part itself hasn't been finalised on the page, so he'll never be able to nail it. Again, a CGI (or better still, anime) story would have skipped straight over this.
But the core of the film is the relationship between Keda and his rescued companion, Alpha. At only 96 minutes including the setup-time, this never really gets deep on an emotional level, and some of the more enhanced shots of our canine friend make it look like a different animal altogether (still a wolf, just a completely different one). But the isolation of the pair at least allows for uninterrupted development, even if the film's convenient invention of pull-toys and the game of fetch feels a little on the nose.
Overall, Alpha is an interesting idea, unevenly executed. It's a shame the film's technical ambitions aren't matched by its narrative ones, and that none of it really holds together as a result. I suspect that both director Hughes and screenwriter Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt had greater ambitions for the project, which got sanded down or lost on the long, arduous journey to the screen…
The last five minutes are good though, because dogs are awesome.
Not particularly, although it'll look nowhere near as impressive on your TV.
You'll probably only get one watch out of this; stream it.
I'm taking a point off for Morgan Freeman's opening and closing narration.
Completely unnecessary, thoroughly phoned-in and the easiest 15 minutes work he's ever banked a cheque for, the lazy hack.
What's worse, without this, the film would have no real dialogue (the language spoken by the characters was created specifically for the production and is subtitled on-screen), so could be enjoyed by hearing-impaired audiences without the need to wait for a fully-subtitled performance, being effectively 'on the same level' in terms of understanding the speech. This is still the case since Freeman's bookends add literally nothing to the movie, but without it this could have been a marketing tool in the film's favour.
Probably.
Nope.
Level 2: Kodi Smit-McPhee is in this, and he was in that X-Men: Apocalypse with Rose 'Dormé' Byrne and Oscar 'Dameron' Isaac.
*1 Okay, it was Keda who injured the wolf in the first place, but that's not the point. If they'd framed Alpha as the prehistoric origins of Stockholm Syndrome, it might have been even more difficult to market... [ BACK ]
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.
I know I was pre-warned by the film's title itself, but Slow West is almost stationary. That trailer makes things seem quite dynamic, but rest assured, that's pretty much all of the film's action, right there.
If you love the full range of wild landscapes New Zealand has to offer, this is the film for you, and you'll have plenty of time to appreciate it as the narrative progresses at literal walking pace. Imagine Lord Of The Rings, if everyone was a cowboy and no-one seemed in any particular hurry to drop off The Ring. The (necessarily) linear nature of the plot sees McPhee and Fassbender plodding through a series of vignettes, punctuated by a series of McPhee's continuing flashbacks, and the episodic nature of his prevents any kind of real flow (other than 'Oh, I see they've lost their trousers again', and even that isn't as interesting as it sounds).
Although at least by heading consistently West, the characters are moving in one set direction, unlike Fassbender and McPhee's accents, which wander about so much that their passports are already fully stamped by the third act. Luckily, when the Irishman playing an American and the Australian playing a Scotsman run vocally aground, the film drafts in another Australian in the form of Ben Mendelsohn, to show them how it's done. I can't imagine the lesson will stay learned.
Cinematographer Robbie Ryan uses a beautifully quiet lens, but it's perhaps too quiet for a film where little else is happening other than the scenery. Even the burst of character-arc-closing violence in World Of Sheds at the end of the film is no real consolation, as I'd been hoping for at least one of them to get shot for the previous hour anyway. The film exudes atmosphere, certainly, but it's the atmosphere of the kind of Western I don't particularly care for. The fault here lies entirely with the viewer, I know.
Slow West is a beautifully filmed journey in need of some serious direction.
I imagine you'll enjoy it; I'm usually wrong about this sort of thing
Oh, I have no idea.
Rent it first; best be safe, eh?.
*looks over spectacles*.
Again, I have no idea.
Not really, but I will question you at length about your thoughts on it.
Nope.
Slow West stars Ben Mendelsohn who is [currently] heavily rumoured to be appearing in Star Wars: RogueOne.
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.
I'm going to try my best to convey my reservations about Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, whilst still recommending that you go and watch it. You'll understand my reticence shortly. The thing is, I was ready to see this at the weekend. Cineworld had their Secret Screening set up for the Tuesday beforehand, and in all honesty even I wouldn't have put money on a national advance screening being of a film that was due to open less than 48 hours later. Well played, World of Cine, well played…
+ + + + +
So, as much as I enjoyed DotPotA (and I did enjoy it), I have to say that its hamstrung by some of its most central aspects. You might not think that 130 minutes of watching two societies simultaneously fall victim to prejudice, in-fighing, scapegoating and general xenophobia is going to be a fun ride for a Summer Blockbuster Movie™. And you'd be right; it's not. It makes for an absolutely compelling watch, but it's not what could be described as fun. The few touching moments of bonding and affection from the film's predecessor are nowhere to be found, since even the quieter scenes between Caesar and his simian family are marred with the furrowed brow of impending war.
Matters aren't helped any by some pretty awful casting for the human characters. Jason Clarke pulls the right faces at the right times, but really isn't a strong enough actor to lead a film like this, whereas Kerry Russell has never been great (imho, obvs) and to make matters worse is saddled with the role of The Woman One Who Is Also Handily A Nurse™. Last but by no means least is Gary Oldman, who seems to have landed Distinguished Actor Hired For Smaller Part To Bring A Bit Of Gravitas To The Whole Thing™, presumably because Morgan Freeman wasn't available at the time.
Believe me when I say that every human in the film is out-acted by CGI apes, and that's not a term I use flippantly; the collaboration between the mo-cap actors and the digital artists who've brought their performances to life is nothing short of astounding, and fully deserving of awards I suspect they'll go on to win. To the point where I wish there had been fewer humans in the film, frankly. Andy Serkis is, as you can probably imagine, worth the price of admission alone. Although you could quite easily knock a couple of quid off that price by seeing the 2D version. The stereoscopy is there, but even the frames where things are thrown directly at the camera are underwhelming. Removing the need for 3D glasses may well be the only way to brighten up this film.
As far as allegory and subtext goes, DotPotA is hardly delicate, but from a story point-of-view it's exactly what's needed. If you enjoyed Rise Of… you'll get a lot out of this, and if you didn't then you're not likely to be seeing it anyway, right?
As a regular movie, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes is clunky and contrived, its reliance on spelled-out metaphor only relieved by its outstanding effects work. As a Planet Of The Apes movie, however, the film is a thing of quite savage beauty, fitting seamlessly into the narrative gap and detailing all the things we want to see, how we want to see them. As a very casual fan of the franchise, both of these facets were at the forefront of my mind throughout the run-time; thankfully the second one more than makes up for the first.
And I do recommend that you see it.
Pretty much.
It was more of a sustained wince, but in a good way.
With in the Planet Of The Apes spectrum, it certainly does.
Cinema if you like 'em big and loud, but don't bother with the 3D.
I won't.
As much as I enjoyed it, probably not for some time.
Pretty certain there is, yes; when one of the humans is trying to crawl under a car to safety and is dragged away before he can make it.
Shouldn't 'Dawn Of…' been the title of the previous movie and 'Rise Of…' been assigned to this one? Wouldn't that make more sense, chronologically and narratively?
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.
