Tag: Blockbuster

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Review

Godzilla Proves To Be The King of the Big Screen!

After the disappointment of the 2014 Godzilla reboot, which was directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One, Monsters), and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Godzilla), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla, MCU), and Bryan Cranston (Argo, Breaking Bad), I’m sure fans were skeptical when news of a King Kong reboot was on the way in 2017. Luckily, audiences got the spectacular Vietnam-period piece which was Kong: Skull Island. So, when word that a straight up sequel to Godzilla was coming with an entirely (mostly) new cast, my ears perked up. Then the first trailer was released, and I’ll never forget the feeling of utter thrill and joy I felt when it ended with Godzilla and King Ghidora running at each other at full speed. As the next trailer started in the theater, I looked over at my girlfriend, heart beating out of my chest, and I saw the same look of excitement on her face. The film lives up to the incredibly well-done set of trailers that were released, and the reason why is that the filmmakers knew exactly what they were making: a monster film.

The first attempt at Godzilla was bogged down by the human factor. While Bryan Cranston’s storyline was ultimately tragic in nature, the major draw of a monster movie should not be the human element. We didn’t even get to see a full image of Godzilla until the third act. Even though it was a bearable film, I haven’t watched it again, yet. That says something right there. King of the Monsters on the other hand is absolutely rewatchable. The film begins during Godzilla’s battle in San Francisco from the point of view of Kyle Chandler’s (Argo, Friday Night Lights) character, Mark Russel, and his family. Suffering a tragic loss, the film then jumps ahead to present time. The Russel family is split up and they are dealing with the loss in different ways. Mark is off doing his own thing, upset at the “monsters” as he calls Godzilla, while his wife, Dr. Emma Russell, played by Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air), and daughter Madison, played by Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland), are working for Monarch on some unknown mission.

Emma creates a device that can essentially communicate with the monsters by the use of “Alpha” channels, which they test out on a larva version of Mothra. When Mothra is woken up she is NOT happy, but Emma’s device works and Madison gets to go pet the docile thirty story creature. Enter our villain, Alan Jonah, played by Charles Dance (Last Action Hero, Game of Thrones), an eco-terrorist who plans to use Emma’s device to wake the other Titans (AKA Monsters/Kaiju) so that they can bring the world back to a purer, more basic state of affairs. The only problem with his plan are the millions and potentially billions of innocent people who would become collateral damage. Jonah absconds with Emma, Madison, and the device, while Mothra goes into cocoon.

Sally Hawkins (Godzilla, The Shape of Water) and Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai) revisit their characters from the first Godzilla as scientists who urge Congress to embrace Godzilla, rather than treat him as an enemy, on the behalf of Monarch, the secret organization which monitors the activity of Godzilla and the Titans via bases situated throughout the world. They also have a few new team members in the form of Thomas Middleditch’s (The Wolf of Wall Street, Silicon Valley) Sam Coleman and Bradley Whitford’s (Get Out, Cabin in the Woods) Dr. Rick Stanton who has some of the films’ best one-liners. Once word of Emma and Madison’s kidnapping reaches them, they team up with Mark and a special ops team led by Colonel Diane Foster, played by Aisha Hinds (Assault on Precinct 13, 9-1-1) and Chief Warrant Officer Barnes, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Den of Thieves), to try and get them back before any real damage can be done. Unfortunately, they are unsuccessful and Ghidora is woken up, which causes a whole bevvy of other problems.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is successful because Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat, Krampus) is at the helm. Dougherty has referred to his movie as “the Aliens to Gareth’s Alien.” He is of course referring to the drastically different tones of those two classic films. Dougherty embraces the sort of quirky humor Aliens embraced when following up the ultra-dark sci-fi horror gem, Alien, directed by master director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator). It’s clear that all of the projects he has worked on thus far have led him to this point. He is fantastic at creating genre pieces, as Trick ‘r Treatredefined the horror genre and his screenplay for X2: X-Men United produced easily the best X-Men live action film. Dougherty is the perfect choice for this film, looking back, and I’m glad the studios made the right call this time around. 

This film embraces the true nature of monster/Kaiju movies, which is the monsters themselves.  It also does away with the ultra-realism the first film had. In this film, the technology is inexplicably updated to the point that some of Monarch’s gear/weaponry/planes are extremely sci-fi. I’m so glad the makers of this film had the good sense to know what to make of importance. Obviously, the technology and human element (for the most part, there is still some good old’ fashioned human drama in play) aren’t nearly as important as the look, feel, and especially sound of these magnificent creatures. Godzilla hasn’t sounded this much like himself since 1954 and King Ghidora’s intense scream is so exhilarating. Each of the different Titans has a different and unique sound, so don’t worry about the potential for confusion when all hell is breaking loose. The choreography (if you want to call it that) of the Titan battles is never out of control to the point that it is confusing.

Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, 10 Cloverfield Lane) composed the music for this film, and it is yet another reason why the film is so good. The Walking Dead has definitely prepared him for this film, with subject matter that is totally unrealistic, yet dramatic at the same time. In the smaller, more delicate scenes, soft strings play soothing sounds of regret, hope, and wonder, whereas the big battle scenes boast blaring horns. McCreary also utilizes some of the original soundtrack, such as Godzilla’s theme, to great effect. We saw the film in Dolby Atmos, which really goes above and beyond with the sound/speakers in the theater. When Godzilla is rearing up to do battle and his theme song played, everyone cheered. 

I recommend seeing this film in the best theater you can, whether it is Dolby Atmos or IMAX. Monsters as tall as skyscrapers deserve to be seen on the biggest and best screen possible. If you can’t, I still recommend seeing it on any big screen, as there is something fun about watching a bunch of giant monsters laying waste to Boston. Talk about some kahma (Go Blues!). The filmmakers behind these “Monarch” films have really outdone themselves this time, and it’s exhilarating and exciting that this cinematic universe is continuing so well. Let’s just say that the bar is set very high for the next major monster film in the series, because Godzilla: King of the Monsters was a smashing success! 

Dark Phoenix Review

The Fox X-Men Franchise Goes Out With a Bang

The long running X-Men franchise has had plenty of hit films, yet, it’s hard to forget The Last Stand. In that film, Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix) botched the Dark Phoenix Saga, written by John Byrne, Chris Claremont, and Dave Cockrum. The Last Stand had way too much going on plot-wise, which negatively affected how Dark Phoenix was handled. A lot of fans were upset, and it literally resulted in the franchise being shut down for five years until it was rebooted with the new James McAvoy (X-Men Franchise, Wanted) led cast in X-Men: First Class. We aren’t going to talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Without a doubt there was much trepidation and fear when it was revealed that Simon Kinberg was assigned not only to write Dark Phoenix, but also to direct it. Critics haven’t been too nice to it, and in this writer’s humble opinion it seems like a lot of this backlash is still aimed at The Last Stand as Dark Phoenix is a complete success in my book.

The most recent X-Men film before Dark Phoenix was Apocalypse. In this film a good amount of the new cast are introduced, such as Jean Grey, played by Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones, X-Men: Apocalypse), Scott Summers/Cyclops, played by Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One, Mud), Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In, The Road), and last but not least, Ororo Munroe/Storm, played by Alexandra Shipp (Shaft, Straight Outta Compton). While critics haven’t been too kind to that film either, I believe it was a natural progression from the excellent adaptation of Days of Future Past. While Oscar Isaac’s (New Star Wars Trilogy, Ex Machina) iteration of Apocalypse left much to be desired, the film accomplished its’ goal. The X-Men are finally respected by the leaders of the world and humans and mutants live in harmony. This is exactly where Dark Phoenix picks up several years later, this time in the 90’s.

With the X-Men now directly helping the President under the guiding hand of Charles Xavier, NASA’s latest mission has a catastrophic failure when it hits an unknown force. Against the wishes of Raven/Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games Films, Silver Linings Playbook), Charles sends the X-Men into space for the first time in the long-running franchise. They arrive to find the shuttle spinning hopelessly, with no way to contact the crew. Cyclops uses a periscope gadget to amplify his powers to stop the shuttle from spinning, while Nightcrawler and Quicksilver teleport into the shuttle to gather the crew. They quickly retrieve everyone and teleport back to the ship only to realize they’ve left the ships’ captain behind. Again, against the wishes of Raven, Charles insists they leave no one behind, which causes Nightcrawler and Jean to teleport back to the shuttle. Amidst all the confusion, while the mysterious force threatens to destroy the shuttle, Nightcrawler finds the Captain of the shuttle, but can not get back to Jean in time. He teleports without her as the cosmic entity overtakes the ship and gets absorbed into her, while bursting into a giant explosion, seemingly killing Jean. As the X-Men temporarily mourn Jean’s loss, they realize she somehow survived.

Back on Earth, the X-Men celebrate their victory as the young students at Xavier’s School for the Gifted whisper about Jean Grey’s miraculous survival. They give her the nickname, Phoenix. As Jean struggles to control her powers, mysterious shape-shifting aliens arrive elsewhere. These aliens are the D’Bari, whose home world has been destroyed by the Phoenix Force, and are led by Vuk, who quickly morphs into Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, It: Chapter Two). Jean realizes her abilities could put the ones she loves in danger, so she leaves the X-Mansion, not knowing what to do and unbeknownst to her she is followed by Vuk and the D’Bari.

Dark Phoenix is probably the most intense and gritty X-Men movie made to date, not including the R-rated Deadpool films. The second act features a lot of surprise turns of character and introduces us to Magneto who is living happily on an island with other mutants, which, with a closer look at the credits can only be Genosha. It was disappointing that this wasn’t made clear in the actual film, because Genosha has plenty of lore behind it in the comics and X-Men: The Animated Series, which came out in the 90’s. As more and more characters team up to either save or kill Jean, the film ramps up to an exciting climax on a train in the third act.

While I think the Dark Phoenix saga was adapted better than The Last Stand’s attempt, I believe in the future, in the hands of Marvel and Kevin Feige, it could be done even better. It saddens me that critics and fans can’t seem to enjoy this version though. The film deals with trauma and how characters deal with it in a realistic manner, set in an unrealistic universe. The action scenes are thrilling and exciting, we get to see the younger X-Men use their well-controlled powers in unique ways, and Hans Zimmer (Inception, The Lion King) creates a dark score which sucks viewers in from the very beginning. Unfortunately, the Disney-Fox merger negatively impacted this films’ chance of success. As the pre-production/production had already been well under way before the merger happened, Dark Phoenix was suddenly to be the last film in the long-running franchise. I can’t be sure, but I can only imagine this wasn’t Simon Kinberg’s initial intention, and the fact that the film underwent extensive reshoots seems to support that theory. It’s always a bummer when business/politics negatively interfere with a popular franchise.

All in all, Dark Phoenix was a fun ride. If you go into it with that mindset, I imagine you will enjoy it. If you’re going into the theater with unrealistic expectations, you’re only going to be disappointed, which most of the superfans/comic book fans seem to be. By no means do I expect everyone to hold the same opinion as me, yet, I do wish that more people today could separate themselves from some of the toxic fandom which seems to be everywhere. In a social media age, it is nearly impossible to make something that is universally accepted. Although Endgame seems to be the exception to the rule. Hopefully the X-Men can be adapted in new and interesting ways now that the characters have finally come home to Marvel. As for this version of the X-Men, thank you for the many years of excellent storytelling and intriguing characters.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All… Well, Most of ‘Em, That is.

Detective Pikachu Review

Detective Pikachu is the first live-action Pokémon movie, and naturally there were lofty expectations, and for the most part these expectations were met. Directed by Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens, Goosebumps), Detective Pikachu instantly captures the spirit of the Pokémon universe with a thrilling action sequence involving Mewtwo, followed up by an adorable attempt by Justice Smith’s (Paper Towns, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) character, Tim Goodman, to catch a Cubone. With inside jokes about Cubone’s motherly issues, I instantly recalled the episode in the popular cartoon series when Ash finds out why Cubone cries and I was drawn into the film.

Although the story hitches at times, overall it is well done. Tim is notified of his father’s death and must meet with Ken Watanabe’s (The Last Samurai, Godzilla Reboot Franchise) Lieutenant Hide Yoshida in which Tim finds out his father had a pet/partner Pikachu. Upon looking through his father’s apartment Tim meets the aforementioned Pikachu, voiced hilariously by Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool Series, Waiting), and realizes he can understand him! Once the two team up to figure out Harry’s (Tim’s father) death, they begin to unravel an insidious mystery, which follows the classic tropes of film noir. With the help of a perky news intern named Lucy Stevens, played by Kathryn Newton (Supernatural, Big Little Lies), they are determined to get to the bottom of it for various reasons. Add in Bill Nighy (Hot Fuzz, Rango) as the aging head of the news organization Lucy works for and his greedy, ruthless son, played by Chris Geere (Modern Family, You’re the Worst), and the classic Team Rocket-esque conspiracy unfolds delightfully under the scribes Dan Hernandez/Ben Samit (The Tick, One Day at a Time), Rob Letterman, and Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic World).

While I, and I am sure plenty of other fans, was disappointed that the traditional Pokémon theme song wasn’t utilized, I must say that Henry Jackman (Kingsman films, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End) did a bang-up job with composing the score. It isn’t easy to follow up arguably one of the most well-known scores in videogame/cartoon history and Jackman’s bold decisions make it clear why he is one of the most sought-after composers today. With slight hints to the cartoon/videogame’s music, Jackman’s score is purely original with notes of film noir-ism as well as excitement during some of the film’s more intense action scenes. Jackman’s score is worth a listen or two, as are most of his scores, which are reminiscent of the great composer, Alan Silvestri’s amazing body of work.

One of the biggest concerns for fans was that live-action Pokémon would, plainly said, look weird as hell. Luckily, for the most part, the Pokémon are extremely well done. Instead of landing somewhere within the uncanny valley, the Pokémon are legitimately cute and adorable. Many times, during our screening, I looked over in glee at my girlfriend due to the instant callbacks to my childhood. Whether it was a marching troupe of Bulbasaur (s?) or the firemen Squirtle’s (you read that correctly), it was truly tear-jerking to see so many Pokémon brought to life in Ryme City, where the film is based. I have to say, I think Psyduck may have stolen the show from Ryan Reynold’s adorable Pikachu, which brings me to my next point: how the Pokémon sounded. The sound team did a spectacular job with the unique voices of the respective Pokémon, which proves the hard work/research that went into it. While there wasn’t nearly as much fan service as in Avengers: Endgame, which you can read about in my spoiler-free Endgame review, the team behind Detective Pikachu clearly made this movie for the fans.

All in all, Detective Pikachu was a pretty alright first live-action outing for the Pokémon universe. The story was decent, the performances, especially the Pokémon’, were great, and the instant callbacks to a childhood in the 90’s were superb. Of course, I wish we could have heard the OG Pokémon Theme Song, but maybe we will hear it in another live-action Pokémon movie one day. As a Pokémon fan, I felt that the film was pretty good, but could have been better. Hopefully Pokémon series creator, Satoshi Tajiri, is proud, but perhaps nothing will top the original creativity of the Blue/Red and the cartoon series. Only time will tell.

John Wick 3: Parabellum, a Brilliant Entry in an Already Cult-Classic Series

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum Review

Chad Stahelski (John Wick Series, the upcoming Highlander) and Keanu Reeves (John Wick Series, The Matrix Trilogy) have created one of the coolest characters of all time, not to mention the ridiculously deep world building that has been done over the course of three films. John Wick introduced us to the retired assassin, played by Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix Trilogy). The reluctant assassin, who was mourning the loss of his wife, was brought back into the fold when the punk son of a Russian mobster kills his dog and steals his car. After killing all the people responsible John adopts a new puppy and he retrieves his car in John Wick: Chapter 2.

 Having buried his life as an assassin once again, John is instantly pulled back into the fold when he is presented with a marker by Santino D’Antonio, played by Riccardo Scamarcio (Master of None, The Ruthless), which is essentially a blood oath to do a favor. Unfortunately, Santino double crosses John and places a bounty on his head. John survives and after killing all of Santino’s henchmen, with the help of Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix Trilogy, Black-ish), who plays the Bowery King, yet another sect of assassins who pretend to be homeless beggars and communicate via pigeons. Santino finds sanctuary in the New York Continental, the hotel for all the assassins, in which no “business” can be done. After goading John about this fact, John promptly shoots Santino in the head, instantly forfeiting his good standing with the Continental.

 Chapter 2 ends with Winston, played by Ian McShane (Deadwood, Game of Thrones), who is the manager of the NY Continental, informing John that he will be “excommunicado” after an hours’ time, which essentially means John is cut off from any facilities related to the Continental, including medical assistance, weapons, and allies. This all while the 7-million-dollar bounty on John’s head is doubled to 14 million by the High Table, which control the world John Wick lives in. At the end of the film, John is running through Central Park with his dog, nervously watching all the people around him picking up their phones, unsure of who is trying to kill him or not.

Parabellum opens seconds after Chapter 2 ends with John running away with his dog. After sending his dog to the NY Continental’s concierge, Charon, played by Lance Reddick (The Wire, John Wick Series) John heads to the NY Public Library to pick up some supplies, where he is brutally attacked by a giant assassin, played by NBA star Boban Marjanovic. After dispatching him, John continues to run through New York, being relentlessly pursued by all sorts of assassins. The film is a non-stop action-packed thriller with arguably the best fighting choreography of all time. John must figure out a way to right his wrong with the help of old friends, Sofia, played by Halle Berry (X-Men Series, Swordfish) and Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family, The Life Aquatic) who is a mysterious ally who reveals some of John’s background. On another front, an Adjudicator, played by Asia Kate Dillon (Orange is the New Black, Billions), is going throughout New York finding any and all people who have helped John and serving out exacting punishments straight from the High Table.

Parabellum is a bit larger in scope than the previous outing, but what really makes it a success is how utterly intense it is. Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman himself and the director of the John Wick movies, creates some of the most exciting fight scenes in cinematic history. Being the ultimate assassin he is, John goes about killing in all sorts of ways, using knives, swords, and even horses to kill his enemies, and that requires master direction to deter the fighting from getting stale. The writing of Derek Kolstad (John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2), who is also a former stuntman, helps Chad and Keanu come up with all the thrilling fight scenes. This time around there are motorcycle samurais, highly trained attack dogs, and high-speed horse chases, oh my!

The John Wick movies also work so well due to the excellent music composed by Tyler Bates (John Wick Series, Atomic Blonde) and Joel J. Richard (John Wick Series, Triple Threat). As the movies continue to evolve, so does the musical score, which is gritty and intense. Bates brings the dark guitar sounds from his time of touring with Marilyn Manson which, in combination with the electronic score, combine to make one of the more memorable movie compositions in recent history. Excommunicado, Tick Tock Mr. Wick, and Winter at the Continental really stand out as interesting twists from the music these two composers have already created in John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2.

John Wick: Parabellum is a rare example of a sequel which is better than its’ predecessor. In fact, the entire series just seems to be getting better and better as the movies continue to come out. Keanu Reeves perfectly embodies John Wick and since Parabellum made more money than its’ predecessor in less than 10 days and John Wick: Chapter 4 has already been greenlit; it seems audiences will be able to see more John Wick for the foreseeable future. The only question is how will Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves keep raising the stakes? I’m sure it will be interesting to say the least.

Avengers: Endgame Review

Spoiler-Free Review

Avengers: Endgame Review

            The MCU, or Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been building to this moment for a decade over the course of 21 interconnected films. If that statement doesn’t make your jaw drop, I honestly don’t know what will. Against all odds, the MCU has created a cohesive universe of films, which will undoubtedly be taught in history classes in the years to come. Endgame has also broken all sorts of box office records, making it the 2nd All Time Domestic/Worldwide Release (at the time of this writing). Not only is it a financial success, it is also a critical success, with a 94% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Endgame is the culmination of the MCU, which has been split into three different “Phases” of films thus far. Spiderman: Far from Home will complete the third phase of the MCU, with all three phases being dubbed the “Infinity Saga.”

            The Russo Brothers have had experience making Marvel movies. They have directed some of the best in the franchise, starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The scope of Endgame is quite daunting, as the bar was raised to incredible heights with the release of Avengers: Infinity War. Somehow the Russo Brothers manage to top it. They coherently balance the many different character and action beats into a story, which is impressive to say the least. Without giving too much away, the movie picks up directly where Infinity War left off. Thanos’ (played by Josh Brolin) snap has successfully destroyed 50% of the life in the entire universe, leaving the Avengers struggling with the fact that they lost. Each character deals with this loss in their own way, which is an interesting approach to a Marvel film. While these characters are superheroes, the film perfectly depicts how human beings deal with grief and loss in a multitude of ways.

            Without spoiling anything (although, if you haven’t seen it by now you should probably slap yourself), Endgame pays off in huge dividends. If there were one word to describe this movie, it would have to be: fan service… anybody want a peanut? The Princess Bride jokes aside, the film manages to throw in as many cool moments as it can, including my personal favorite iteration of the Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo) yet. The best way to experience the film had to be seeing it on opening night when all the super fans came out in droves. We cheered at moments in the film so many times I lost count. Endgame was able to balance the lightheartedness and seriousness masterfully. While there are plenty of laugh out loud moments, especially with Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), the film doesn’t shy away from its’ serious subject matter of mass genocide. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the Avengers assemble to undo Thanos’ snap.

            The performances in the film were absolutely the best in the MCU movies to date. Robert Downey Jr., whose portrayal of Iron Man kicked off the MCU 11 years ago, gives a powerful, heartfelt performance. Chris Evans completely embodies the role of Captain America and Chris Hemsworth turns in a truly hysterical performance as Thor. Jeremy Renner finally gets some screen time as a broken Hawkeye who has turned to a life of vigilantism under the guise, Ronin. His character is involved in one of the coolest long-take action sequences I’ve ever seen. Marvel has also strongly embraced its’ female characters with Scarlet Johannson (Black Widow), Karen Gillan (Nebula), and Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) giving incredibly strong performances. Brie Larson also returns as the truly overpowered Captain Marvel. Bradley Cooper continues to impress as the voice of Rocket, who is the only surviving member of the Guardians of the Galaxy (not including Nebula).

            Alan Silvestri (Back to the Future, Predator) returns to compose the now iconic music that the Avengers movies have to offer. He composed the music for the first Avengers film as well as Infinity War. Given the plot of the film, Silvestri had his hands full with all the different musical cues going on and he did NOT disappoint. The music never overtakes what’s happening, it just does a fantastic job of enhancing everything on screen. Thanos’ theme is as dark as ever, while the Avengers theme is sure to go down as one of the best superhero themes ever created. Silvestri likes to use lots of brass instruments to emphasize despair and it was interesting to hear musical cues that reminded me of the original Predator score. Silvestri does a fine job of combining some of the music from most of the MCU films to date.

            Endgame is a strong film through and through and will be a lot of people’s favorite Marvel film, even though it does run at just over three hours long. The film had so many cheer-worthy moments that fans couldn’t help but be overcome with emotion as this chapter of the MCU ends, even though technically Spiderman: Far from Home is the end of this phase/saga. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the MCU and how on Earth-66 Kevin Feige will top this film. Kevin Feige has been the executive producer of the majority of the MCU films and has been the mastermind behind the cohesiveness of all these films. But of course, none of these movies would exist without the great Stan Lee. Rumored to be his last cameo in the Marvel films, everyone in the theater cheered when Stan made his heavily awaited appearance in Endgame. Stan Lee, of course, is the creator of many of the Marvel characters and he passed away in November 2018 before he was able to see Endgame. I’m sure he was watching up in Heaven and had one word to say about it: Excelsior!

Alita: Battle Angel Review

Spectacle wins over plot and character in this sci-fi action blockbuster.

                Alita: Battle Angel is a visually stunning, cinematic masterpiece, that falls a little short of its’ lofty goals in the story department and wonderfully succeeds in pushing the technological envelope in cinema, which its’ creators intended. The film is directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, The Faculty) and produced/co-written by James Cameron (Avatar, The Terminator), and based off the popular manga Battle Angel Alita. Alita has been in development for years in the hands and mind of James Cameron, but when the Avatar sequels began to take too much of his time the reins were handed over to Robert Rodriguez to bring Alita to fruition, which was done with mixed results.

                We are instantly transported to Iron City in the 26th century in a dilapidated, techno-infused society based on two things: bounty hunting and motorball, a sort of cross between inline skating and Death Race. In this world, there used to be fantastical sky cities until an event happened, known as The Fall, and now only one sky city remains: Zalem. This mystical city is what the inhabitants of Iron City, who are made up of cyborgs, known as hard bodies and humans, known as meat bags, attain to reach. The movie opens on Dr. Ido, played by Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained), wandering through a scrapyard, picking up spare robotic parts that are falling from Zalem, when he happens upon a humanoid robot. He takes it back to his lab and fixes it up to a body and BAM: Alita is born.

                Alita, played by Rosa Salazar (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials & Maze Runner: The Death Cure) is full of child-like innocence in a city full of killers, bounty hunters, and jackers, which are essentially street punks who violently saw off parts of cyborgs and sell them for scrap. Dr. Ido is her father figure and does his best to shelter her from the darker parts of Iron City, while Hugo, played by Keean Johnson (Nashville, Spooksville) tries to be her guide and pseudo-boyfriend. Vector, played by Mahershala Ali (True Detective, Green Book), is the ruler of the shadowy underground and the head of the Motorball competition, which can ultimately send the best Champion up to Zalem. Vector wants Alita dead for albeit mysterious reasons, with the help of his main thug Grewishka, played menacingly by Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Shutter Island), and Chiren, played by Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream, The Rocketeer), who has a connection to Dr. Ido.

                While Alita is interesting enough and the CGI is spectacular, the film seems to fall short for a few reasons. The first issue is that it is setting itself up for a sequel or two, which takes away from the story that was being told in this film. During Alita, two things are happening, the main plot & the necessary world building and exposition to help launch sequels in the future. Living in a day and age where cinematic universes are all the rage, this was inevitable, given the rich history of the manga comics. The second issue is the uncanny valley effect. Basically, the uncanny valley is the emotion we feel when we see a CG or artificial being resemble a human being. The closer it gets the more interesting it becomes, until a certain point, where we feel a sense of revulsion. Alita is probably the closest I’ve seen to overcoming the uncanny valley, as her big manga eyes contain so much emotion, but it wasn’t the eyes that got to me, it was her smile and specifically her teeth. Once I noticed that, it was hard to forget about it, but, like I said, it is probably the best CGI I have ever seen, which was to be expected with both Peter Jackson’s WETA and James Cameron’s Light Storm combining to work on the CGI.

                Robert Rodriguez’s direction was solid throughout the film and it moves along at a good pace. Tom Holkenborg, AKA, Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool) composed the film, which adds a lot of tenderness to Alita and Hugo’s intimate scenes, and really is the heart of the film. Almost every scene in the movie was punctuated by Holkenberg’s score, which otherwise would not have held the same emotional value. All in all, I believe spectacle won out over the plot and characters in Alita: Battle Angel, but if you’re in the mood for a wicked cool action movie, head to the theater right now.