Fantastic Four

http://www.fantasticfourmovie.co.uk/

I will admit that I was not looking forward to seeing Fantastic Four and one of the reasons I wanted to attend Cineworld's unlimited screening of it 3 days ahead of release, was to get it out of the way. 

I had no problem with the studio changing the colour of Johnny Storm's pre-firey skin. In honesty I didn't really have a problem with the studio re-telling the story with a much younger cast. After all, if they were going to re-make the story as an origin film, a younger cast would be needed. No, my problem was that we didn't need this film at all. 

In an age where strong female characters seem to be getting shafted out of superhero movies, we didn't need a remake of an existing franchise. What we need is a female lead superhero movie. There. I said it.

Now let's get to the synopsis so I can really start tearing a hole in Fox's reboot and why it really didn't work.

We open on a young Reed Richards who needs a power converter for his teleportation device. He starts a highly unlikely friendship with tough kid Ben Grimm and together they zap a toy car to who-knows-where. Skip a few years and Reed is at the forefront of teleportation technology and on the brink of being able to send matter to another dimension. After making a breakthrough and getting hammered, Reed, Ben, Johnny and Victor Von Doom decide to take a joy ride in the teleporter and boldly go to the other dimension to explore. Needless to say it all goes horribly wrong, and in the process they lose Victor and all exhibit 'powers' upon their return. Including Sue Storm who wasn't part of the landing party but was in the lab when they all returned looking slightly worse for wear. Skip to the end and after a more sensible party is sent to the other dimension, Victor is found. And surprise surprise, he's pissed. Wonder why?

This was an origin story where they seemingly couldn't actually be bothered to tell the story. The early scenes of Reed and Ben could have been really in depth, building not only their relationship with each other, but also allowing the audience in on that too. Instead, the whole film just seems rushed, and like none of the characters have been properly developed. The drunken mission just seems incredibly unlikely given the people involved are supposedly some of the worlds brightest minds, and poor Sue, being the woman of the hour here is given virtually nothing to do for the whole film except listen to music. 

The end fight scene comes around far too quickly and is over before it begins. I will give the film it's due and say that at least it isn't a scene for scene remake of the 2005 Fantastic Four, but it also doesn't improve on that film either. And for a movie that is being made 10 years later I expect leaps and bounds, not baby steps.

Like I said at the start of the review, I had no problem in the changes made to Johnny Storm's character from the original comic book creation. Characters can evolve from their original intentions. Evolution is all good. But there was one major change to a character that I just couldn't get on board with. Billy Elliot as Ben Grimm. Come on Fox, what the hell were you thinking? Ben is supposed to be the muscle. You said it yourself in the trailer. So why cast the shortest and skinniest actor you could find? It makes no sense at all. 

My cinema buddies commented on how it would have been nice to see some scenes of them coming to grips with their powers, how they controlled them, mishaps along the way etc, and I agree. Any kind of character development on the part of any of the characters would have been nice. But we weren't given that opportunity. It's time to give the toys back to Marvel now Fox. You've had your chance twice, and you're clearly not making the most of what you've been given.

Please can we have a Black Widow movie now to counteract this crap? 2 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 4th August 2015

UK Release Date - 6th August 2015

Cast Overview:

Miles Teller ~ Reed Richards

Kate Mara ~ Sue Storm

Toby Kebbell ~ Victor Von Doom 

Michael B Jordan ~ Johnny Storm

Jamie Bell ~ Ben Grimm

Reg E Cathey ~ Dr Franklin Storm

Tim Blake Nelson ~ Dr Allen

Director ~ Josh Trank

Writers ~ Simon Kinberg (Screenplay), Jeremy Slater (Screenplay), Josh Trank (Screenplay). Based on characters by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Man On A Ledge

Mini Blog

http://www.manonaledge.com/

Much like The Darkest Hour, the trailer for Man On A Ledge seemed to be around for ages before the film actually came out. Despite the terrible title for the film the trailer did at least intrigue me enough to make me want to see the film.

And boy am I glad I did. I actually saw Man On A Ledge twice as I enjoyed it so much. The premise is simple, the 'man' of the title is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), an ex cop who was sent to prison for stealing a $40 million diamond. The only thing is that he says he didn't do it. So he escapes from prison during a day release for his father's funeral and steps out on the 'ledge' of the title to prove his innocence.

I am the first to admit that from the title alone this sounds like a bad film, the trailer doesn't make it look that much better but if you take a chance on this film I think you will find that it's a tense, slick, fast paced thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat within the first 10 minutes and hold you there for the next hour and a half. The actors have all been perfectly cast for their individual roles, even if they're not always a perfect match with their accents. If you can put that one niggle aside this is a great film that will continue to play on your mind long after you've left the cinema.

One of the most exciting thrillers I've seen in a while. Brings to mind how I felt when I saw Disturbia, under-rated, surprisingly good and made me want to see it again. 8.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 9th February 2012

UK Release Date 3rd February 2012

Cast Overview: 

Sam Worthington ~ Nick Cassidy

Elizabeth Banks ~ Lydia Mercer

Jamie Bell ~ Joey Cassidy

Anthony Mackie ~ Mike Ackerman

Genesis Rodriguez ~ Angie Lopez

Ed Harris ~ David Englander

Kyra Sedgwick ~ Suzie Morales

Edward Burns ~ Jack Dougherty

Titus Welliver ~ Dante Marcus

William Sadler ~ Valet

Director ~ Asger Leth

Writer ~ Pablo F Fenjves

The Eagle

http://focusfeatures.com/the_eagle

The Eagle is a strange one for me to peg. I'd only seen the trailer once and wasn't particularly fussed about seeing the film either way. But as I've said before, I always feel I should get the most out of my Cineworld membership and so I try to see as many films as I can, that are as diverse as Cineworld allows.


So I went to see The Eagle. I wanted to see Limitless again, if just for the sight of Bradley Cooper in his tiny black shorts, but my cinema buddy wanted to see The Eagle over Limitless so we went with The Eagle.


The film is set around 140 AD, the Roman's have invaded Britain and set up their stronghold in the south. Roman Centurion Marcus Aquila decides to undertake a journey to the savage north to retrieve 'The Eagle', an artifact lost by his father when he commanded the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army and brought disgrace to the family name. Aquila, determined to bring back 'The Eagle' and restore his family's reputation, sets out on this journey with only his British slave Esca to help him navigate the treacherous north.


Despite the film not really being my cup of tea I was pleasantly surprised by The Eagle. For one, the acting's not half bad. Channing Tatum, who I expected to just stand around with his shirt off looking pretty, actually pitched in with the fighting, getting as mucky as everyone else, and looking pretty beaten up and really quite sickly in some scenes. Hats off to him for at least getting in on the action. Jamie Bell, who I've never really taken to, was similarly watchable and both were convincing enough in their roles. 


What I will say is that the film really does try. It tries, and I would say succeeds, at not being a Gladiator rip off, it stands apart and tells a different story entirely. The only similarity being the 'swords and sandles' description which the film unfortunately can't escape being saddled with. It is what it is. But for me the similarities end there. It also tries to be as historically accurate as it can be, with depictions of how and why Hadrian's Wall was built, the inhabitants of the north during that time, how Romans built their fortresses etc. 


Despite it's efforts I still found the film to be a little dull in places but as I said, it's not really my cup of tea. I don't mean to be vague, I also don't want to sound as if I'd given up on The Eagle before I walked into the cinema but some films, no matter how much you want to like them, don't work for whatever reason. For me, I felt that The Eagle worked better than I expected it to, but that doesn't mean I loved it.


If you're a guy, or particularly like your swords to be wielded by men in skirts and sandles, then you'll probably really enjoy The Eagle. If you're a girl, chances are you'd rather re-watch Dear John or Step Up. 6 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 29th March 2011

UK Release Date - 25th March 2011

Cast Overview:

Channing Tatum ~ Marcus Aquila

Jamie Bell ~ Esca

Donald Southerland ~ Uncle Aquila

Mark Strong ~ Guern

Tahar Rahim ~ Seal Prince

Denis O'Hare ~ Lutorius

Douglas Henshall ~ Cradoc

Director ~ Kevin MacDonald 

Writer(s) ~ Jeremy Brock (Screenplay) and Rosemary Sutcliff (Novel)