2012. Dir: Tony Gilroy. Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Stacy Keach and Oscar Isaac. ●●●○○
Perspective depends very much on how you look at things. Well, duh! No, I mean that seriously. So as a child when I experienced new movies I was instantly astounded, prepared to proclaim them as cinematic masterpieces. Disney's The Fox and The Hound was the best film ever, Clue a work of comic genius, even the first 18 film I ever saw (Arnie's The Running Man) was claimed as a milestone in on-screen entertainment. For the record only one of those statements would I still describe as true. But what has this to do with my review of The Bourne Legacy? Well, friends, I have never seen a Bourne movie. I have never watched Matt Damon kill someone with a Sunday supplement, nor imagined the moral dilemmas of waking up a programmed Government assassin. So, unlike nearly every other reviewer on the web, I cannot judge Tony Gilroy's franchise extension against the previous trilogy, a comparison that doesn't favour the new film by all accounts, all I can do is compare it to thirty something years of watching action films.
And it's a perfectly acceptable slice of cinema, neither great nor bad, but diverting and fun to watch but utterly disposable.
Given my ignorance of the original movies I'm almost certainly not the target audience, the entire movie concerns a parallel story of The Bourne Supremacy bookended between Paddy Considine's journalist assassination and the trial of David Strathairn's shady CIA controller (brought back in the form of a pointless cameo with Joan Allen and Albert Finney, all of them no doubt enjoying substantial fees for one day's filming). Meanwhile numerous references to secretive projects and Government agencies make very little sense to the casual viewer. The crux being, as the advertising handily suggests, there was never just one. Never just one unaware killer and never just one corrupt agency building an army of unquestioning assassins.
As the news of Bourne's re-integration into society buzzes around the intelligence community, Jeremy Renner's supersoldier Aaron Cross is on exercises in the forests of North America, working his way across mountain and river to Oscar Isaac's isolated cabin. He's an impressive specimen, fighting off wolves bare handed, leaping across vast chasms and breaking records for reaching the shelter. Whilst he and Isaac's sulking number 3 get better acquainted Ed Norton is in damage control mode, pulling strings and closing programmes with cold efficient calculation, and soon Cross has to be taken out of the picture. Cue the start of a long game of cat and mouse where Norton and his cronies scream into telephones whilst Renner trots around the globe, always one step ahead, picking up Rachel Weisz's imperilled scientist and searching for the blue and green pills that stabilize his enhanced capabilities.
The drugs are nothing more than an international McGuffin, explained away with all the pharmacological veracity of primary science project. As the moral implications of taking an injured Iraq vet, with questionably too low an IQ to make an informed decision about his future (yes, this really is a modern Charley) turned into a fit, intelligent junkie able to volunteer for the most complex and dangerous spy missions, not to mention the extraordinary capacity to kill or maim highly trained combatants, are swept aside so Renner and Weisz can have a motorcycle chase on the bustling streets of Manila.
Renner does good action hero, suitably buff yet perennially tortured he has the perfect physicality for this sort of work. Not that he's given much chance to act, there's a nice exchange or two with Isaac, but alas much less chemistry with Weisz, possibly because here character is so underwritten and panicky. Don't get me wrong, no-one does emotional collapse quite like Rachel, but the arc is both predictable and forced.
Where the film sings is the set-pieces. A massacre in a lab is played out in real time with cold, patient camera-work and the extras acquitting themselves well as their plead or bleed through their last moments. Then a major plot twist in Weisz's house is played exceptionally well, switching from an uncomfortable interview to a chaotic gun battle in a blink of an eye. Even the final bike chase, whilst a little too long, showed some great stunt work and some excellent marksmanship.
On directorial and scripting duties Tony Gilroy brings the same high-quality, unimposing style we saw on Duplicity and Michael Clayton but alas he doesn't give his creations the zingy dialogue or intellectual sparring he brought to previous work, leaving us partly detached from the proceedings.
As I said at the beginning The Bourne Legacy isn't a bad film, but it's no great one either. Probably worth renting but not the trip to the cinema. Although personally I'm going to have to fork out on the original trilogy before watching it again.
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
The Bourne Legacy
Sunday, 29 April 2012
It's a Man's World (Out this week - 27/04/12)
Another really crowded this week, but where there is a fundamental difference between last week huge selection of mid-level players fighting for attention and the box office giant hogging the screen this weekend. Indeed the other 11 new releases combined are in around a third the number of cinemas that this weeks comic geek mastubatory fantasy inhabits (that's an unfair comment as I hear the film is very good but the number are extremely shocking when you sit back and consider them). And as well as being the official start to the blockbuster season (the hors d'ouevres of John Carter, Hunger Games and Battleship not really counting) we also see the official end to 2011 Oscar season with the last mainstream feature nominee (excluding Foreign language and documentaries) getting it's UK release. Naturally the contest for the RLAG film of the week lies between these two extremes - the box office behemoth and the art-house breakout - but in the end a man can't change who he is so I opt for Albert Nobbs as the top choice.
It comes as no surprise that my box office predictions will go the other way, with Avengers Assemble likely to sweep everything else out of it's way at the multiplexes, indeed it's first day take on Thursday was larger than Battleship last week so were pretty much guaranteed a win there. The only questions is how the property will fare in the longer term, in the UK The Hunger Games has just past a gross of $35m which is slightly above the historic ceiling for comic book adaptations so it will be interesting to see if Joss Whedon can steer his superhero troupe ahead of Katniss in the next few weeks. Last weekend the aforementioned board-game adaptation just about stayed afloat at the top of the charts with Salmon Fishing nipping at it's heels. Needless to say I was smug about that prediction for days.
Albert Nobbs
Glenn Close's passion project has been waiting for funding for about 20 years as she reprises her acclaimed stage role of a 19th century cross dresser trying to make a living in hypocritical Dublin society. Justifiably picking up three Academy award nominations (Close, Janet McTeer and makeup) but drawing severe criticism for the pace it'll be interesting to see if it can get an audience.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●●●●○○○
Read on for invulnerable tag teams, worthless horses and the return of an American Indie treasure, as well as all of this weeks trailers in just one post!
Hands up if you think the loud American voiceover in this trailer actually makes the film less appealing.
Avengers Assemble
Renamed in the UK so we don't go in looking for Steed and Diana Rigg, this is the much anticipated Marvel hero mash-up bringing together the subplots of every one of their releases over the last few years, with the other films effectively acting as trailers for this one. It'll be very interesting to see whether the combination of the stars and characters makes for a substantially bigger box office return. The all star cast includes Robert Downey Jnr. (Iron Man), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Gwynneth Paltrow. Phew!
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Damsels in Distress
There are many critics who point at Whit Stillman and laud him as one of the most influential American Indie directors of the last 20 years, yet I have never seen any of his movies. I doubt that will change soon judging on the divided critical reception to this college comedy, his first in 13 years.
Runs like a Gay Excitometer: ●●●●○○○○○○
Le Moine
Vincent Cassell is the not altogether sane monk at the centre of this Middle Ages set French/Spanish co-production about a renowned and popular man of God confronting temptation. Cassell's always worth the money and I here he brings everything he's got to the role in the third act.
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The Assault
Based on the true story of the 1994 Air France hijack this multi-narrative piece replays the chain of events through the eyes of the kidnapper, the emergency command HQ and the captain of the assault team sent in to rescue the hostages.
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Ee Adutha Kaalathu
The first in our trio of Bollywood releases this week utterly baffles me with is tagline "Reality is a movie... Starring only you...". Does that mean no-one else is in my reality. Someone get me a philosopher my brain is hurting.
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Hans Kloss Stawka wieksza nic smierc
Exciting looking Polish WW2 movie that sees the hero Hans Kloss going behind enemy lines to prevent some Nazi plot (forgive me my Polish is rusty) and cause general mayhem. Lots of action, sex and violence that should do well in it's limited release.
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Mithevedi
Translated as Minefields, this Tamil movie explores the continued presence of Landmines in Sri Lanka which sounds like a worthy and fascinating topic, however the acting style will still alienate many Western cinema goers.
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Outside Bet
There's a whole host of British stars who really should know better including Bob Hoskins, Adam Deacon and Jenny Agutter in this low-rent comedy about a bunch of working class heroes and that horse that makes their fortune. Probably not worth putting a punt on it, though.
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388 Arletta Avenue
Canadian stalker thriller that proves Nick Stahl is still alive even if his career seems to have taken a turn for the worse, completely filmed with 'hidden cameras' I think we can all guess where the plot goes.
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Strippers vs. Werewolves
You know there's something about this campy, poorly produced 'B'-movie trailer that actually works for me, it's as if the team behind it almost knew from the get-go that they wanted to make something crass and cheap for a Friday night beer and movie marathon. But there's nothing that will persuade me to spend £8 on it.
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Tezz
You won't believe the central conceit of this Anglo-Indian co-production, there's a bomb on a London to Glasgow train speeding up the country (Yes, it's speeding which shocked me) whilst a collection of only Hindi speaking police must catch the man responsible before it's too late.
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Last week I, unfortunately missed out
Grave Encounters
yet another found footage horror briefly visiting a tiny number of screens before making it's DVD debut. Not that you can blame me, it manages to look both derivative and dull in two minutes.
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Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Thor
2011. Dir: Kenneth Branagh. Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Stellan Skarsgaard. ●●●●○
The dominance of Marvel comics over the summer schedules for 2011 has got off to a good start with the fun and gorgeously designed Thor. Hopefully for them they can keep the ball in the air with the rest of the slate which now has a lot to live up to.
The film opens with a piece of Lord of the Rings style backstory with Sir Anthony Hopkins booming out the relationship between the Norse mythology, our Godlike heroes of the film and the villainous Frost Giants. It's a tale of bloody combat with the Frost Giants virtually totally annihilated and Odin's (the king of the Gods and father to Thor) appetite for war spent. So far so medieval monarchy, you could transplant Odin for any European king in the dark ages, any anti-hero from Jacobean theatrical tradition and his motivations would be a perfect fit, suddenly the decision to hire Kenneth Branagh as director makes perfect sense.
Flash forward many centuries (the Gods appear to age slower than men, although this leaves a small plot hole where a very young Thor would not have made an impact enough to be written about by ancient Scandinavian cultures) where Thor, all smirking self-confidence and irritatingly impatient, is about to attend his coronation. A small team of Frost Giants break into the Asgardian vaults so Thor mounts a war party to seek revenge for this infringement. For this thoughtless lack of diplomacy Odin banishes his firstborn to Earth with his mighty hammer and the hope that he'll learn some humility and the concept of self-sacrifice.
The film then breaks into two parallel storylines. In one, a delightful New Mexico set comedy, Thor is getting to grips with life on Earth and falling for Astro-physicist Natalie Portman, whilst in the other Odin's other son, Loki, is plotting and schemeing his way onto the throne of Asgard.
Chris Hemsworth gives a solid central performance, cocky and unlikeable in the first act, he shows great comic timing in his interactions with the mortals and even when he's given awful dialogue (there are some strange phrases that seem neither Asgardian in tone or like someone trying to fit in) he commits so much it works. When he goes into a pet shop it's a great comic scene that sells the character and his relationship with the world around him. Plus he is extraordinarily cut. Portman doesn't have much to do, sure she comes across much better than most Marvel heroines, clearly able to hold her own intellectually with the rest of the characters and doesn't have a scene where she needs to be rescued, however she mainly spouts unlikely scientific statements and builds up a desire for Thor. The other earthbound cast are fine, Stellan Skarsgaard and Kat Dennings as Portman's colleagues are great value, with the former particularly struggling to keep a straight face.
There are so many characters in Asgard few of them get enough of an opportunity to build character, only Tom Hiddleston's Loki with his multiple Machiavellian schemes (it's truly difficult to keep track on what he's actually doing) displays any conflicting emotion and whilst he did the job well here I think there's more and better work coming from the young Brit. Idris Elba, as gatekeeper Heimdall, was wasted in a role that promised much but I suspect was left partly on the cutting room floor. On that note at 114 minutes, including a pointless post credits extra scene with Samuel L. Jackson; just pointing the way to The Avengers heavyhanded given the few chucklesome mentions of other characters which had slipped in the script ("Is that Stark technology?", "I have a colleague working on Gamma Radiation" etc.), the time flew by and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a significant number of deleted scenes once the DVD roles around.
Branagh shows a sure hand with the comic and Asgard formal scenes, clearly using all his experience from adapting Shakespeare, and he is surprisingly adept with the action set-pieces I found I knew exactly what was going on during them, however there is a slight issue with the character, if you know Thor cannot be killed as he is a God then the tension is drained. Only the final battle in Asgard surprised me in it's conclusion, and it's clearly open for a sequel I just hope that possibility isn't just dusted over in The Avengers.
My major complaint about Thor is the totally unnecessary 3D filming. Not only does very little happen that justifies the additional expense, but the murkiness of watching through glasses totally ruins the spectacular design of Asgard. I can honestly say that watching the trailer on my cheap laptop was a superior experience because of the bright and crisp colours that watching the print at the cinema. Alexandra Byrne's costumes and Bo Welch's production design deserve so much more than showing the film in 3D.
Overall I'd say Thor is well worth the trip to the cinema. Sure it's no X2 but it's a fun comic book adaptation with some fine performances that will keep you entertained throughout. That said do your best to watch in 2D.
Friday, 7 January 2011
Jeremy Renner
Happy Birthday to
Jeremy Renner
40 today
Like Robert Duvall a couple of days ago Renner is likely to pick up a nod from the Academy this year. He was electric in Ben Affleck's The Town, building on his already solid reputation. He's set to be eveywhere over the next couple of years as he's in both The Avengers and Mission: Impossible franchises.
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
2010 in Review: Best Supporting Actor
Supporting actors were difficult to assess this year, on the one hand you have a very recent film that I could have easily put three of the men into here, on the other there were huge swathes of the year where nothing was standing out. Here are my final picks:
1. Bill Camp as Glen McCreavy in 'Tamara Drewe'. The film didn't really hold together but Camp's performance as a Hardy obsessed writer slowly falling for his hostess was a priceless mix of observatory comedy and nervous affection. A missed gem of a performance.
2. Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang in The Ghost. How do you perform a character clearly based on a real person, whilst evoking that person but not doing an impression? Just look at Pierce not doing Tony Blair and you'll know what I mean. Utterly convincing as a man proud but haunted by his place in history.
3. Colin Farrel as Valka in The Way Back. Any one of the supporting cast of The Way Back could have taken this spot but it's thoroughly deserved by Colin as a Russian criminal you can't take your eyes off. The film literally diminishes in energy when he leaves.
4. Christopher Plummer as Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station. You could argue this is a lead performance, in that the whole story is about other peoples relationship to the venerable author and philosopher, but given most of the film involves him being swept along by stronger characters I'm going for supporting. And few actors are able to support a story in the way Plummer does here.
5. Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin in The Town. Renner continues to prove he's a superb versatile actor with this on edge performance in Ben Affleck's latest crime movie. You really can believe Renner may explode at any moment with a palpable sense of menace.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
The Town
2010. Dir: Ben Affleck. Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively. ●●●●○
I shall start this review with a small confession. Earlier this year I read an American blog that noted the US cinematic release of the Red Riding trilogy had subtitles for the audience who couldn't decipher Yorkshire accents. I laughed at the time but now I have to confess there were moments in Ben Affleck's stunning The Town where subtitles for the Boston accents would have been useful. Not that understanding the intention of the scenes is at all hard, the actors providing enough non-verbal communication to fully compensate for any difficulties in the language.
The cliche ridden plot concerns a highly efficient quartet of Charlestown, Boston based bank robbers led by actor/director Ben Affleck and the FBI squad intent on bringing them down as personified by Jon Hamm. Over the course of three robberies the heat increases on our criminal heroes, not least due to the hot-headed Jeremy Renner, the kidnap of Bank manager Rebecca Hall during the initial robbery and the subsequent attempts by Affleck to pacify the situation by falling for Hall.
The qualities of the film though do not lie in the plot, if anything Affleck fully embraces and glorifies even the most obvious tropes, but in the excution. Each of the robberies highlights a different aspect of the genre from the meticulous planning of the first, the fanatastic car chase of the second and the thunderous Michael Mann inspired shootout in the final act.
Affleck handles the action in these scenes very well, proving he was paying attention during the less distinguished moments of his acting career. He can also handle the more sombre scenes, the prison scene with his father, as played by Chris Cooper, and the tense conversations with kingpin florist Pete Postlethwaite perfectly counterbalance the action. There is also an underlying sense of uncomfortableness in the scenes between Afflek and Hall, highlighting the vague sense of recognition from their first encounter. On a side note I can imagine Afflecks speech about his mother easily becoming an audition favourite in years to come.
The writing, especially for the working class characters, is excellently observed and most of the actors bring their bes work to the screen. I was especially impressed by the bristling energy of Jeremy Renner and Blake Lively's good time girl also stood out.
The film was less comfortable with the police procedural side, the criminals were just far more entertaining and - frankly - too good at their job to give the FBI characters much to work on.
Some of the visual tics Affleck relies on were a little tired and ths didn't have quite the same impact as his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone however this does underlinewhat an interesting talent he has and I will certainly beinterestedin seeing the next project he signs up for.
