movie night

Movie Night [National Superhero Day]: Avengers Assemble

Dr. K26 Comments

In 1995, Marvel Comics created “National Superhero Day” and, in the process, provided comics and superhero fans the world over with a great excuse to celebrate their favourite characters and publications.

Released: 4 May 2012
Director: Joss Whedon
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Budget: $220 million
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson

The Plot:
When Loki Laufeyson (Hiddleston) arrives on Earth wielding a mind-controlling spear and in search of the Tesseract, Nick Fury (Jackson), director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) activates the “Avenger Initiative”. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Downey Jr), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Evans), Doctor Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Ruffalo), Thor Odinson (Hemsworth), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Johansson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Renner) are called into service and must find a way to co-exist before they can combat this otherworldly threat.

The Background:
The development of an Avengers film began in 2003 with an outrageous plan to release a series of solo films for each character before having them all meet up, similar to how the Avengers formed in the comics back in 1963 courtesy of Martin Goodman, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers. It was an unprecedented move, one which saw fledging studio Marvel Studios roll the dice on lower-tier heroes such as Iron Man and win big time with a slew of massively successful and popular superhero films, each one hinting towards a much larger, shared cinematic universe. When the time came for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to finally meet onscreen, Marvel Studios turned to Joss Whedon to rewrite the script and direct the film and included Iron Man (Favreau, 2008) and Iron Man 2 (ibid, 2010) director Jon Favreau as an executive producer. After some differences of opinion, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige chose to recast Edward Norton in the role of Banner/Hulk and easily the biggest superhero film of all time was officially underway. The Avengers (known as Avengers Assemble here in the United Kingdom) was an absolutely phenomenal success, making over $1.500 billion at the box office, receiving rave reviews, and kicking off the extraordinary blockbuster success we know of today as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The Review:
Avengers Assemble was the first time we had ever seen superheroes come together in a big screen, big budget movie. Before the MCU, before Iron Man, superheroes always existed in isolated bubbles and never interacted and, as a big fan of the interconnected world of the comics (not just in Marvel but in DC Comics and pretty much ever comic publication), I was excited to see these characters come together onscreen for the first-time and will always lean towards an interconnected, shared continuity. It was a risky venture taking admittedly B to D-tier characters like Iron Man and Captain America and shaping a series of movies around them but Avengers Assemble totally justified that risk, allowing these volatile egos and characters to share the same screen and mixing fantasy, science-fiction, magic, and technology all together in one action-packed adventure.

Loki comes to invade Earth and realise his grandiose desires for power and servitude.

Loki’s threat is immediately established when he suddenly arrives on Earth and makes short work of Fury’s men and then uses his spear to take control of Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Barton. Though only a singular villain, one whom Thor has been able to best in combat before, Loki is a significant threat to the world since he is, effectively, a God and he has the entire Chitauri army at his command. Before the Chitauri arrive, though, Loki is formidable enough to justify bringing in Iron Man (despite Fury’s earlier reservations) and Cap since Thor wasn’t supposed to be able to get back to Earth. When Thor does arrive, his mission to capture Loki and bring him back to Asgard is hampered by Earth politics (since Fury wants to hold Loki accountable for the death and destruction he’s already caused) and as a result Loki manages to manipulate the fledgling Avengers into bickering and fighting with each other rather than him, allowing him to take possession of the Tesseract and bring the Chitauri to Earth. While he avoids active, physical combat, Loki is a daunting opponent when he does engage in battle, able to go toe-to-toe with Thor (thanks, largely, to Thor holding back out of love for his brother), easily catching Hawkeye’s arrow, and tossing Stark out of a window with just one hand. His downfall comes not only through the unification of the Avengers but is spelt out by Stark, who monologues about how, win or lose, they would hunt down and hold Loki personally responsible to ensure that he never truly wins, and, of course, more explicitly through the sudden and hilarious beat down he receives at the hands of the Hulk.

It’s a rough experience for Cap, who has awoken to a world that has radically changed.

Essentially, the film is a significant chapter in Cap’s story; since Captain America: The First Avenger (Johnston, 2011) ended with Cap being dethawed in the modern day, this was only the second time we had seen him in action; unfortunately, because of the nature of the film, Cap’s reintegration into society is largely glossed over and, rather than being dwelled upon, is replaced with Cap wishing to be given a mission, a focus, a reason to fight in the modern world. As a result, he unquestioningly follows Fury’s directions primarily out of instinct, duty, and a need to have a reason to go on in a world that has largely passed him by; he clashes with Stark’s rebellious attitude, believing that they should follow orders like soldiers, but is convinced enough to investigate further and is disgusted to find Fury in possession of Chitauri technology and with contingencies in place to combat the Avengers since they have the potential to be a threat to humanity. Cap is all business when in battle, instinctively taking command and exuding leadership even though he is the most out of touch and out of place of all the characters; his initial antagonism with Stark is eventually put aside to lead the team during the Chitauri invasion and Cap fights to the bitter end even when he is vastly overpowered by the alien forces, taking the most damage of any of his team mates (including the “weaker” members like Natasha and Barton).

Stark joins the team with his own agenda but eventually comes to respect and defer to his peers.

Stark is just as stubborn and snarky as ever; he’s clearly insulted by Agent Phil Colson (Gregg) and Fury’s decision to relegate him to a “consulting” role in the Avengers Initiate despite his claims to not want to be part of the team and believes himself to be the only one smart and capable enough of combating Loki’s impending threat. He comes aboard with the program purely out of a selfish desire to lord himself over Fury and the other Avengers and to learn more of S.H.I.E.L.D.s secrets, using them to call Fury out on his hypocrisy, and constantly goading his team mates (particularly Banner) into being themselves and rejecting Fury’s orders and control. While the prevailing arc for the entire team is learning to work together, Stark personifies this as he is the most antagonistic and reluctant to work as a team; he’s the most affected by Coulson’s death due to him knowing the agent the best, his experiences witnessing death and suffering first-hand in Iron Man, and his inability to properly cope with death and loss. Coulson’s death galvanises Stark, turning his incredulity to vengeance and giving him the motivation to not only put aside his ego to work with the team but also acknowledge Cap’s superior leadership skills.

The naturally apprehensive Banner has attained a measure of tenuous control over the Hulk.

Banner appears very differently to where we left him in The Incredible Hulk (Leterrier, 2008); fearing the unpredictability and ferocious nature of the Hulk, he has stayed in hiding, suppressing the Hulk with some success, but is unable to deny his innate wish to help others in need with his scientific and medical expertise. Banner has managed to keep the Hulk at bay not only through a risky and unique technique (he’s “always angry”, indicating that he constantly keeps his emotions at a level where the Hulk is satiated but doesn’t actually emerge) and a vehement refusal to acknowledge or speak the Hulk’s name. Banner is convinced to help advise on Loki’s spear by Natasha’s beauty and simply her asking him nicely, rather than forcing him to comply, but, while he is clearly excited to be working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Tesseract and forms a fast, budding friendship with Stark (with Stark goading Banner and acting like an annoying brother to him), he quickly comes to realise that Fury’s intentions aren’t entirely noble and questions the validity and ability of a team that is little more than a “timebomb” of ego and emotions. When the Hulk is forcibly unleashed as part of Loki’s plan, he is unbridled rage and fury, lashing out at everything and everyone around him in a mindless rage since the transformation was against Banner’s will. Later, during the Battle of New York, Banner initiates the transformation willingly and the Hulk is much more…maybe not “docile” but let’s say willing to cooperate, taking Cap’s orders and specifically targeting to Chitauri threat while protecting and aiding his teammates. A measure of Banner’s influence and the Hulk’s intelligence is seen as the Hulk makes the effort to save Iron Man from his fatal fall and his dismissive grunt of “Puny God!” after beating the piss out of Loki.

Thor’s complex relationship with Loki is a pivotal plot point throughout the film.

Thor’s arrival on Earth comes out of nowhere and is quickly waved away with a brief line about “dark energy”; personally, I never liked this or understood why the filmmakers had the Bifrost be destroyed in Thor (Branagh, 2011) when they knew very well that Thor would be back in Avengers Assemble but it is what it is and Thor is there. Thor is handicapped by his emotions towards his brother; he is elated and heartbroken to see Loki alive after believing him dead and just wants his brother to abandon his crusade and come home. Loki, however, is too full of jealously, rage, and resentment and constantly taunts, defies, and dismisses his brother, who finds himself unable to simply wade in, muscles bulging, and retrieve Loki thanks to opposition from Iron Man, Cap, and Fury and the greater issue concerning the Tesseract. Thor offers knowledge of another world, another level of understanding, that is unique amongst his teammates and spends much of the film believing his brother still has good in him and wishing to return him home. After Loki kills Coulson before Thor’s eyes and tries to kill him with a trap intended for the Hulk, Thor reluctantly gears up and enters the fray, so determined to stop his brother’s mad schemes that he’s willing to fight alongside the Avengers and submit to Cap’s orders since he, like Cap, is a stranger in this world and still learning how to navigate modern, human society.

Natasha remains a mystery despite the showcase of her skills and hints towards her past.

Natasha is still relatively new in this film since audiences only saw a fraction of her true character and abilities in Iron Man 2 so it’s good that she gets a solo action scene at the start of the film to showcase her physical and manipulative abilities. We learn bits and pieces of her character and backstory through her interactions with Banner, Loki, and Barton but she remains very much a mystery even by the end of the film. This would, of course, continue over the years since Black Widow was one of the last of the original Avengers to get a solo film, meaning an air of mystery constantly surrounds her, but much of her arc is focused on her relationship with Barton (which is one of duty, gratitude, and mutual, platonic respect) and her commitment to Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Like Cap, she follows orders unquestioningly but it also feels like she has her own agenda and reasons for going along with S.H.I.E.L.D.; while she, like Barton, is one of the weakest links in the Avengers, she’s still capable enough to hold her own against the Chitauri…for a time, at least.

Though he spends the majority of the film under Loki’s spell, Barton proves a formidable opponent.

Barton, who is only referred to as Hawkeye once in the film, spends most of the movie under Loki’s command (though this does harken back to his comic book beginnings as a villain); as a result, all we know about him is the few bits and pieces Natasha reveals about their relationship and their background. However, we do get to see him in action on more than one occasion; he’s a crack shot, almost to superhuman levels, and is able to bring down an entire Helicarrier with a single, well-placed arrow. He is an essential soldier in Loki’s army, offering him insight into Fury’s operation and resources, but is also able to provide the Avengers with key information regarding Loki after Natasha literally knocks some sense into him. He proves himself capable enough in the finale by providing much needed and peerless cover from a high vantage point, from which he is able to take out multiple Chitauri with a few well-aimed shots. He’s easily the least developed of all the characters thanks to the role he plays in the film but it works for the plot and means we’re left wanting to know more about him and his backstory. Fury plays a much larger role in this film than in the previous MCU movies since he’s a pivotal supporting character rather than a mere cameo; he believes that Loki represents a very real threat to humanity but also believes wholeheartedly in the concept of heroes and the ability of the Avengers Initiative to combat Loki’s threat.

Coulson is the glue that connects Fury’s Avengers and his death galvanises the team into action.

Fury opposes the World Security Council when they dismiss the Avengers as a legitimate solution and when they order a nuclear strike on New York which, along with his own brand of snark and dry wit, makes him a rebellious and layered character in his own right. However, he’s also a secretive and manipulative individual, constantly telling everyone only as much as they need to know and a handful of half-truths (as Stark says: “Fury’s secrets have secrets!”) and believes in having contingencies against any and all possible threats, both foreign and domestic. While he doesn’t fight alongside the Avengers in the final battle, he’s crucial to their formation and is a charismatic and alluring figurehead for their group. Sadly, this was as prominent as Fury would be for some time, with him quickly going back to being either a cameo or supporting character over the years, which is a shame as it’s always great to see Samuel L. Jackson in the role and interacting with these characters. Similarly, Coulson also gets much more screen time and development this time around; still acting as Fury’s go-to and the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, Coulson (whose first name is revealed to be “Phil” rather than just “Agent”) is the relatable man among Gods, the common thread that links all of these volatile personalities together. Initially, all they really have in common beyond their heroic tendencies is their relationship with Coulson, with Stark having the closest link to him and Coulson being especially in awe of Cap, his hero and idol, and Coulson’s death is both sudden and heartbreakingly brutal. It’s a fantastic moment that serves to galvanise and motivate the them and, as much as I’ve enjoyed some episodes and seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013 to 2020), it did annoy me that his dramatic death was undone so soon after the film’s release. Thankfully, the MCU movies don’t acknowledge Coulson’s resurrection so his tragic death remains the principal motivating factor behind the coming together of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Considering the large cast of bombastic, unique characters and actors, Avengers Assemble is fantastically well paced; sure, Natasha and, especially, Barton don’t get anywhere near as much screen time or development as established guys like Cap or Stark but they get several character defining moments and character beats that help to keep them relevant and integral to the plot. The film isn’t full of non-stop action but it never feels slow or like it’s wasting time; any time there isn’t some kind of physical conflict, there’s a conflict of character, beliefs, or ideologies as each of the characters interacts with each other in different ways. The central conflict in the film is between the individual Avengers as much as it is with Loki as each one must learn how to interact and co-operate with the other, which leads to some friction between Rogers and Stark, disdain from the God-like Thor, and distrust from the understandably agitated Banner. This all comes to a head in one of the film’s most intense moments where the fledgling Avengers argue over Fury’s manipulations, the threat each of them oppose, and their conflicting egos in a scene that is easily as powerful as any of the film’s fight scenes. Here, each character talks and argues over each other; lots of fingers are pointed, egos are bruised, and accusations are made thanks to the influence of Loki’s spear, which exacerbates their most negative aspects and fuels the distrust and tension between the group. It’s an amazingly realised scene, with lots of dynamic camera work on offer and allows the characters to vent their frustrations and concerns about each other, the mission, and the inevitable escalation of conflict that threatens Earth now that it has experienced otherworldly threats and, in it, these conflicting personalities actually grow stronger as a result of their brutal honesty.

Seeing these colourful and volatile individuals interact is every fan’s dream come true!

However, amidst this, there are also numerous amusing little moments that help to add to the film’s levity and develop each character: Rogers handing Fury a $10 bill after being awe-struck by the Helicarrier, Stark pointing out that one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents is playing Galaga (Namco, 1981), Thor’s humiliation regarding Loki’s actions and heritage, and Banner’s flashes of anger all help to make the characters real and relatable. One of the best examples of this is Cap’s confrontation with Loki in which he, despite being “out of time”, recognises Loki’s evil and potential threat and openly opposes him just as he did a similar dictator in World War Two and engages him in combat despite Loki’s clear physical advantage over him. Cap’s whole character is that he continues to fight no matter the odds and that is continuously seen in Avengers Assemble as, even when outclassed or outnumbered, he continues to get back up and go on with the fight until it’s done, one way or another, and fails to give in to intimidation from concepts beyond his time such as Gods, aliens, and advanced technology. Their interactions with each other are equally impressive, with the heroes just as likely to come to blows as they are to work together; this means we get to see these bright, colourful costumed characters fighting with each other as much as alongside each other. Iron Man fights with Thor, Cap joins in to make it a triple threat, Black Widow fights with Hawkeye, and Thor memorably goes toe-to-toe with the Hulk to set up a friendly rivalry that would be fantastically revisited in Thor: Ragnarok (Waititi, 2017). It’s a staple of superhero team-ups that the heroes simply must fight at least once and Avengers Assemble delivers on this in spades; we’ve watched each of these characters in their own films, or be involved in other MCU films, over the years so to see them match wits, trade blows, and fight together is a true fanboy’s delight.

The Chitauri are, admittedly, underwhelming antagonists but they serve their purpose.

The finale is little more than a battle against mindless, indistinguishable alien hoards who, conveniently, operate in a hive mind and are “easily” shut down by Stark tossing a nuclear weapon at their mothership. I honestly expected a version of the Masters of Evil for the first Avengers movie, with Loki joining forces with Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) outside of the Realms and then teaming up with Emil Blonsky/The Abomination (Tim Roth) and/or Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) once they reach Earth for a smaller scale, six on six style team vs. team movie and, in some ways, it is a bit disappointing that the Avengers only went up against one villain and an army of drones but it really works in the film since the entire point of the movie is to bring these volatile characters together. The actual antagonist could have be anyone or anything and it wouldn’t really matter but it being Loki works wonders thanks to Tom Hiddleston’s iconic performance; he’s truly a snake in the grass, a wily, manipulative, vindictive villain who is intelligent and cruel enough to match wits with each of the Avengers both physically and vocally and the only previous villain I could see being able to do anywhere hear as good a job would be Hugo Weaving.

The Avengers win the day but a greater, far more powerful threat looms in the background…

One issue I have though is that, as much as I loved the “Avengers Assemble!” scene we eventually got, I still don’t get why we couldn’t have heard that iconic cry during that awesome panning shot of the team standing back-to-back. I think we definitely could have heard this cry in each of the team-up films and appearances of the group and it wouldn’t have taken away from that impactful scene; if anything, it would have added to it since it would be a rallying cry for the reunited heroes. Still, the Battle for New York is amazing in its scope; the Chitauri may be interchangeable alien drones but they are relentless. The Avengers are able to combat them and easily defeat them but their numbers are legion and, apparently, inexhaustible and it isn’t long before they are overwhelmed even with the might of Thor and the Hulk. The Chitauri’s larger reinforcements and advanced weaponry and sheer numbers mean that it is simply a matter of time before the Avengers, for all their power, are overwhelmed and Loki is successful, meaning that the Avengers’ main concern is holding the line and keeping the invasion at bay while their team mates confront Loki and cut off the source of the invasion. All throughout the film, Loki converses with “The Other” (Alexis Denisof) and is clearly being given power and resources from an unseen third party, revealed at the very end of the film to be none other than Thanos (Damion Poitier). At the time, we could never have anticipated the extent to Thanos’s threat and importance to the MCU but the bringing together of cosmic characters like Asgardians and threats like the Chitauri and Thanos only hinted at how large and varied the MCU was destined to become.

The Summary:
Avengers Assemble is still one of the biggest and most entertaining movies in the MCU and, perhaps, ever made. Of all the movies in the MCU’s first phase, it’s easily my favourite and, for me, set the standard not just for subsequent MCU team-up movies but for every film in the MCU going forward. No longer were these characters going to exist in their own isolated bubble; they would interact with their fellow characters, reference the larger world we finally saw in all its glory, and be part of something much bigger and greater than a series of self-contained films. For me, this is the greatest appeal of the MCU; before Iron Man, superhero films were always solo affairs and we never saw heroes interact with each other. Thanks to the MCU, all of that changed and, finally, the movies came to resemble the comics by having a shared universe that has a tight continuity and an actual tangible, long-term plan. The film is alive with character moments, an amusing dry wit, and action-packed sequences but, as thrilling as the bombastic fight scenes can be, it’s all the little interactions and interpersonal conflicts that really make this film so entertaining and appealing to me even to this day.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Avengers Assemble? How do you feel it holds up now that the MCU has become this massive, multimedia juggernaut? Were you disappointed that the film focused solely on the one villain and side-lined Hawkeye with a mind control sub-plot or were you satisfied with Hiddleston’s performance and the interpersonal conflicts between the characters? Which of the Avengers is your favourite and which of the comic’s characters are you excited to learn more about or see join the team? Which of the MCU movies, shows, or characters is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating National Superhero Day today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and be sure to stick around for more superhero and comic book content throughout the year.

Movie Night [Robin Month]: Batman & Robin

Dr. K20 Comments

In April of 1940, about a year after the debut of arguably their most popular character, Bruce Wayne/Batman, DC Comics debuted “the sensational find of [that year]”, Dick Grayson/Robin. Since then, Batman’s pixie-boots-wearing partner has changed outfits and a number of different characters have assumed the mantle as the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin have become an iconic staple of DC Comics. Considering my fondness for the character and those who assumed the mantle over the years, what better way to celebrate this dynamic debut than to dedicate an entire month to celebrating the character?

Released: 12 June 1997
Director: Joel Schumacher
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $160 million
Stars: George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Jeep Swenson, and Michael Gough

The Plot:
Gotham City is under siege from Doctor Victor Fries/Mister Freeze (Schwarzenegger), who is intent on freezing the city in order to save his critically-ill wife, Nora (Vendela Kirsebom). At the same time, Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (Thurman) finds herself endowed with a poison kiss and irresistible pheromones, which she uses to turn Bruce Wayne/Batman (Clooney) and Dick Grayson/Robin (O’Donnell) against each other and distract them from her plot to turn nature against humanity.

The Background:
With the release of Batman (Burton, 1989), “Batmania” swept across the world as part of Batman’s much-needed reinvention into a far darker and grittier interpretation. When the sequel, Batman Returns (ibid, 1992), upset parents and sponsors with its macabre content, Warner Bros. turned to Joel Schumacher to lighten up their live-action Bat-franchise with the often under-rated Batman Forever (Schumacher, 1995), the success of which spurred them to immediately greenlight a sequel. When Warner Bros. again shot down Schumacher’s plans for a darker, more cerebral follow-up, the director begrudgingly acquiesced to their desire for a lighter, more kid-friendly movie by leaning into the campy styling of the classic 1960s television show and comic books. With the troublesome Val Kilmer absent from the title role due to “scheduling conflicts”, the up-and-coming and popular George Clooney was picked as his replacement specifically to portray a lighter version of the character and Arnold Schwarzenegger was convinced by a hefty $25 million salary to portray the film’s primary antagonist. Thanks to the sequel’s rushed production and deadline, shooting was a chaotic time for the cast and crew, with Schumacher repeatedly urging the actors to treat the film as little more than a live-action cartoon and toy companies being heavily involved in the look and content of the film. All of this came to be reflected in the film’s dismal box office and scathing critical reception, which derailed plans for a potential follow-up. In the years since, Clooney has never been shy about voicing his disdain for the film and the late Joel Schumacher would (perhaps unfairly, due to him being under immense pressure at the time from Warner Bros. to deliver a specific interpretation of Batman) shoulder much of the blame for the film’s failings.

The Review:
Although it’s easy to pretend that Schumacher’s films are in their own bubble, that they’re not related to Tim Burton’s early, far darker efforts, Batman & Robin is clearly a sequel to Batman Forever and still in the same (loose) continuity as the Burton films. Think of these older Batman films like the James Bond franchise; some actors change, some stay the same, but there are enough references and allusions to the previous films to keep them in the same wonky timeline. For example, because Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Jim Carrey) destroyed the Batcave and the Batmobile in Batman Forever, it makes sense for there to be new toys suits and vehicles and such. The Riddler and Harvey Dent/Two-Face’s (Tommy Lee Jones) costumes can even be seen in Arkham Asylum, further tying the films together, though there’s strangely no mention of Doctor Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman); Bruce is, instead, dating Julie Madison (Elle Macpherson) and has been for a long time. It’s a minor inclusion in the film that really serves no narrative purpose and it would have been much simpler to not have a woman on Bruce’s arm at all, to be honest.

The only distinction between Clooney’s Batman and Bruce is the anatomically correct rubber suit.

Val Kilmer might not be everyone’s cup of tea in Hollywood but he was a far more fitting choice for the dual role of Batman and Bruce Wayne than Doctor Doug Ross. Clooney’s Batman can be seen as an evolution of Kilmer’s since, in Batman Forever, Bruce came to terms with his pain and grief but he’s at the extreme other end of the spectrum, basically having transformed into the Adam West Batman; he’s chatty, polite, makes numerous public appearances, and is a revered superhero through and through. Despite being the only Batman to truly have a “no kill” policy in place (and even that is debatable when you factor in the big chase sequence between Batman, Robin, and Mr. Freeze), Clooney is pretty much the worst Batman ever in a lot of ways; he lacks the physical stature of Kilmer and the raw intensity of Keaton. He’s also pretty short and uninspiring in the role, despite the work of his stunt man, and there’s no real distinction between his Bruce Wayne voice and his Batman one except that, as Batman, he’s a little more…I don’t know, professional, maybe? Either way, the lines between the two are marginal, at best, and the only thing he brings to the role is an impressive emulation of Adam West’s iconic portrayal of the character. You can really see this in all the little nuances and inflections he utilises as Batman but, what makes his portrayal stand out is the unique narrative he gets in his building tension with Dick and his emotional arc with his father-figure, Alfred Pennyworth (Gough).

The film explores Bruce’s partnership with Dick and relationship with Alfred.

Dialogue between Bruce and Alfred reveals that Bruce doesn’t trust Dick to not get hurt and the crux of Bruce’s arc in this film; he’s afraid to trust, afraid to love, and afraid of the concept of them being a true family and partnership. He initially balks at this since he trusts Alfred but Alfred gently advise that he “shan’t be [there] forever”. He desperately tries to talk sense into Dick, whose resentment is fuelled by Poison Ivy’s influence, and his arc is about recognising the family dynamic they all have and trusting Dick to be responsible in his own way. Similar to Kilmer’s arc in Forever, though, the resolution to this is somewhat anti-climatic as Bruce is eventually able to get Dick back on side by repeating his own words about trust and family back to him in an exchange that includes a standout line (“She wants to kill you, Dick”) that never fails to get a snort of laughter out of me. Ultimately, though, there are a lot of Clooney apologists out there who will swear blind that he is capable of putting in a good performance as the character with a better script or direction; well, I would counter argue that these beliefs are based on Clooney’s abilities today; back in 1997, he was a goofy, bland choice (even he admitted that he was miscast in the role) clearly motivated by the actor’s popularity on ER (1994 to 2009) and, while his inclusion isn’t the worst part of the film, it’s certainly a significantly disruptive cog that left the franchise dead in the water and no amount of accolades or improvements in his ability can ever shake my dislike for Clooney as an actor.

Poison Ivy’s influence exacerbates Robin’s feelings of resentment towards Batman.

Luckily, though, Stephen Amell Chris O’Donnell returned as Dick Grayson, now portraying Nightwing in everything but name and sporting a fantastic red-themed replica of his suit and all his own gadgets and such. Far from the angst-filled biker boy of the previous film, Dick has matured into a respectable young man and hero in his own right and much of his conflict with Bruce stems from the fact that he is on the cusp of breaking away from Batman’s shadow and becoming his own man. While they work well together as partners, Batman is shown to be overly critical and condescending towards Robin, admonishing him for nearly breaking a priceless vase, leaving him to tackle Mr. Freeze’s thugs, and even reprimanding him when he comes to save him from Freeze’s ridiculous rocket ship. Ultimately, the first real signs of tension between the two come after Robin is frozen by Mr. Freeze after acting on his reckless impulses. Bruce punishes him by ordering him to spend “ten hours in the simulation training” (though it’s unclear if this is a virtual reality simulation or a real-life simulator of sorts), which frustrates Dick since he believes that he’s being unfairly punished for making a simple mistake and that Bruce doesn’t trust him. In Bruce’s defence, Bruce would mostly likely take a small mistake just as seriously and train himself to do better both to improve and as a form of punishment. Still, Poison Ivy’s subsequent influence over both of them (but especially Robin) exacerbates Robin’s feelings of resentment towards Bruce into aggression; in these heated exchanges, we see that Dick feels that Bruce is holding him back and keeping him from being all he can be and being overly protective. All he wants is Bruce trust and respect and for them to work together on equal ground but his hot-headedness, intensified by Ivy’s manipulations, brings all these deep-rooted feelings to the surface and results in a series of arguments and even the two coming to blows.

Mr. Freeze is, thematically, all over the place, switching from mania to pathos on a dime.

All of this serves as additional drama amidst the unrelenting crime spree of Mr. Freeze, a character largely more concerned with making every ice-pun in the book and revelling in destruction rather than exuding the intelligence and pathos audiences came to expect from the character after the excellent “Heart of Ice” (Timm, 1992) episode of Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1999). Instead, Freeze is a bombastic cartoon villain for kids and Arnold is clearly having a good time in the role but it’s difficult to believe that this man was ever a Noble Prize-winner scientist or a doting, loving husband. It’s similar to Two-Face, who was so maniacal and over the top and introduced already as a crazed supervillain so we never got a chance to see or truly appreciate the true tragedy of the character. Instead, we’re left with a Saturday morning cartoon villain garbed in fantastical intricate and well-crafted suit of armour. Still, Mr. Freeze is such a weird dichotomy of extremes; he’s this cringey supervillain, forces his minions to sing in his frozen lair, is a relatively eloquent and sophisticated man at times (especially when puffing on a big fat cigar and relating his plans to steal diamonds and hold the city to ransom with his giant freezing cannon), and also a tragic figure haunted by his past and his wife’s condition. One minute he’ll be yelling and acting like a petulant child but the next he’s weeping icy tears and pining for his cryogenically frozen wife. It’s a chaotic mess of conflicting emotions and makes any sympathy we might feel completely redundant because he’s so over the top! The film even tries to pull at the same heartstrings as “Heart of Ice” but it fails miserably even as an imitation of that ground-breaking episode, which really should have been the template for Freeze’s characterisation and motivation. Again, like in Batman Forever, the film would have worked much better if everything had been played completely straight (but especially Freeze), with only Ivy as the zany, madcap villain to allow the comedic elements to come naturally out of the straight-faced camp.

Rather than being killed by toxins, Isley becomes a sultry femme fatale with a deadly kiss.

Getting on to Poison Ivy, like the Riddler in the last film she is actually afforded an origin story and first introduced as Pamela Isley, a kooky and awkward scientist obsessed with genetically crossbreeding plants with animals so that they can fight back against the “thoughtless ravages of man”. She seals her fate when she happens upon her boss, Doctor Jason Woodrue (John Glover), using a bastardised version of her research to transform the deranged serial killer Antonio Diego (Michael Reid MacKay) into a mindless super-soldier Woodrue christens as “Bane” (Swenson). The idea that Woodrue had this whole evil lair right beneath Isley’s laboratory is ridiculous and it’s insane that she never stumbled across it until Woodrue was in the middle of showcasing his formula and auctioning Bane off to a group of terrorists and other unscrupulous individuals. Still, Woodrue’s subsequent attempt to kill Isley results in the poisons and toxins genetically altering her into Poison Ivy, a pheromone-induced supervillainess with a deadly kiss who begins a crusade against Bruce Wayne since he once funded their work. Whereas Nygma was already a bit of a nutjob before being spurned by Bruce Wayne and exposed to his “Box”, this transformation instantly alters Isley into an alluring, confident, half-crazed femme fatale who is obsessed with using her newfound abilities to manipulate men into aiding her cause to allow plants to overtake the world. Ivy’s “pheromone dust” is an effective way of stoking the tension between Batman and Robin and she’s not quite as maniacal as Freeze, Two-Face, or the Riddler but she’s still a massively over-dramatic, cartoony villain who monologues at every opportunity, cackles with glee, and even throws in an elaborate cry of “Curses!” when she’s defeated. Ivy is willing to kill millions of people to allow the planet, and plants, to thrive once more; like with Nygma, Bruce is patient and sympathetic to her cause but cannot sanction any action that causes such a death toll and, although Pamela’s presence appears to have an alluring effect on him, it’s at the auction where she, as Poison Ivy, truly begins to influence both him (as Batman) and Robin with her pheromones.

Bane, a neutered shadow of his usual self, was little more than a glorified henchman.

So smitten by her allure are they that they begin a very public, very childish bidding war for her services, resulting in one of the most cringe-worthy moments in not just a Batman movie but all of cinema…yet, in a bubble that sees this as an extension of the bright, campy sixties Batman, you can see this as a fun (as in “daft”) scene. When Mr. Freeze crashes the party, Ivy is immediately in awe of his strength, conviction, and direct approach; when her pheromones have no influence on him, she becomes even more interested in him as a potential partner and, just as Robin is infatuated by her, she comes to be enamoured with Freeze. To that end, she and Bane break Freeze out of the ridiculously elaborate Arkham Asylum (literally a gothic castle on a storm-swept island!) and, when he continually shoots down her advances, she kills off his wife out of jealousy and to sway him into an alliance to freeze first Gotham, and then the world, and have her animal/plant hybrids rule what’s left alongside them. Far from the intellectual mastermind of the comics, Bane is a hulking, mindless brute who follows Ivy’s commands simply…because (she’s never shown using her pheromones on him so it’s unclear exactly why he submits to her). As in many interpretations, Venom is both his strength and weakness, making him simultaneously superhuman but also reducing him to a quivering, helpless wreck when his tubes are severed. He exists simply because Bane was popular at the time thanks to the influential Knightfall storyline (Dixon, et al, 1993 to 1994) but could easily have been any other Bat-brute; I’m thinking Waylon Jones/Killer Croc would have been a far better fit.

She’s not much more than eye candy but Alicia was servicable enough as Batgirl.

To help even the odds a bit, Batman & Robin brings a version of Batgirl into the fold; traditionally, it is Commissioner Jim Gordon’s daughter, Barbara Gordon, under the cape and cowl of Batgirl but, here, it’s Barbara Wilson (Alicia Silverstone), Alfred’s hitherto-unknown niece. A minor change, to be sure, but one that I’m actually onboard with since Gordon (Pat Hingle) is so inconsequential in this film and it helps to both make her slightly more relevant to the story and reveal hidden layers to Alfred’s character and backstory since he’s never mentioned her or his extended family before because of his stringent commitment to decorum. While the experience was quite harrowing, to say the least, for Silverstone, it can’t be denied that she doesn’t exactly impress with her acting chops and is easily the weakest link in the film, but she’s fantastic as eye-candy and plays the part of both flighty, innocent schoolgirl and bad girl racer well enough, Barbara’s intentions are also quite interesting in that she arrives at Wayne Manor to liberate Alfred from what she sees as a life of servitude; she initially doesn’t understand or appreciate the family dynamic Alfred has with Bruce and Dick and takes part in dangerous, illegal street races to win the money she needs to take him away from his life. Naturally, Dick is immediately attracted to her; she mostly deflects his advances and obvious flirting, preferring to focus first on racing for money and her love for Alfred and then her commitment to helping Batman and Robin as Batgirl. Essentially, Batgirl exists to sell more toys and to allow for a fight scene with Poison Ivy; Batman and Robin are never seen even throwing a punch Ivy’s way so this allows for a more “even” fight to occur between the two females.

Alfred’s emotional side-plot really belongs in a better Batman movie…

Finally, there is the whole sub-plot regarding Alfred’s advancing age, illness, and mortality; although we see Alfred flinching in obvious pain and discomfort during the film’s bombastic opening, it’s only after Barbara arrives that the true extent of his illness is brought to light. This sub-plot is the true heart of the film as Bruce, Dick, and Alfred himself must come to terms with Alfred’s mortality; seriously ill, he makes preparations to have his brother takeover his duties but is unable to reach him and (similar to his actions with Dick in Batman Forever) surreptitiously puts Barbara on the path to becoming Batgirl. The film’s standout moments come in the heart-warming (and heart-breaking) exchanges between Alfred and Bruce about the merits of family and trust, with the two sharing a truly emotional scene where they profess their love and admiration for each other. It’s a fantastic side plot that really belongs in a better movie and there’s a twist, and nuance, to this side story as Bruce is haunted by flashbacks of his childhood with Alfred rather than the traumatic deaths of his parents, which is a refreshing change.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Essentially, Batman & Robin is almost beat-for-beat the same movie as Batman Forever: the score is largely unchanged; there’s a suit-up scene at the start with a cringey one-liner; a big, explosive fight with the new supervillain; a cliché villain team-up, a falling out between Bruce and Dick; and a new Bat-character is introduced, learns of their identities, before joining them for a big, climatic showdown featuring new suits and vehicles. Honestly, I actually dig the film’s costume design; the Batsuit isn’t that great but I actually like that it’s lacking any yellow colouring, Robin’s Nightwing suit is picture perfect, and Batgirl’s tight outfit is great for showing off her curves. Yes, the suits have nipples and clearly resemble rubber more than armour but I kind of get what Schumacher was going for with the design and it’s honestly not as distracting as some people make out. Frankly, if you’re spending your time fixated solely on Batman and Robin’s nipples then I think you might have a bit of a problem since there’s a lot of worse stuff in the film (the zany, madcap presentation, for example, is far worse since it’s just a hyperactive kids’ movie and little more than an expensive advertisement for a new line of Batman toys).

The film’s action sequences are completely cartoony and over the top!

Each of the film’s action sequences is like some kind of chaotic acid trip! Take the opening sequence, for example: Batman and Robin intercept Mr. Freeze at the Gotham Museum, contending with “the hockey team from hell”, performing all manner of physics-defying stunts and tricks, and conveniently sporting ice skates in their boots! Mr. Freeze freezes a dinosaur statue to cover his escape in a rocket that fires from his absolutely ridiculous Freezemobile! Batman follows and is left to freeze to death in space before Robin rescues him and they surf through the night sky on doors of the rockets to pursue Freeze, who sprouts wings from his armour! Having said that, though, the Batmobile/Redbird chase against the Freezemobile and Mr. Freeze’s goons is pretty good but would be even better if they weren’t racing across the building, iron biceps of a gigantic statue!

Mr. Freeze puts Gotham on ice but Batman eventually defeats him and appeals to his better nature.

However, as bombastic and over the top as Batman Forever’s finale was, Batman & Robin’s really takes the cake with Mr. Freeze using his diamond-powered gizmo to transform Bruce’s massive new telescope into a giant freezing cannon and cover the city in ice. Batman, Robin, and Batgirl race across the frozen city streets in their fancy new toys vehicles, scale the mountainous telescope, and then battle both Bane and Mr. Freeze over control of the telescope, maddeningly using satellites to…somehow…reflect sunlight from across the globe (why was satellite control even programmed into the telescope’s controls? Mr. Freeze wouldn’t have needed it for his plan and I don’t see how moving satellites would help with observing stars and planets…) to thaw out the city and put an end to Mr. Freeze’s mad designs. In the end, though, Batman takes pity on Mr. Freeze and appeals to his better nature, securing both a cure for Alfred and arranging for Freeze to continue his research at Arkham Asylum. I find it very interesting that the filmmakers utilised Mr. Freeze, of all of Batman’s rogue’s gallery, and can’t help but think that Doctor Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow would have made for a far better villain (why is he even called “Mr. Freeze” anyway? The guy’s got a PhD! He’s underselling himself! He should be “Dr. Freeze!”). They could have consolidated Freeze and Ivy’s storylines into one villain, since both of their goals are easily adapted to suit Scarecrow, and told a far more grounded, intricate story about fear and overcoming it but that probably wouldn’t sell anywhere near as many toys now would it? While Batman doesn’t partake in any direct instances of murder in this film, Mr. Freeze is quite dark at times, declaring at one point his intention to “pull Batman’s heart from his body and watch it freeze in [his] hands” and there’s a lot of double entendre sand innuendo involving Poison Ivy that I find amusing was deemed acceptable by all those soccer moms who complained about how dark and inappropriate Burton’s films were.

Fight scenes are often spoiled by their cartoony nature and zany sound effects.

Gotham City is more neon-drenched and outrageous than ever, filled with even more giant statues, cramped streets, ornate skyscrapers, and other impractical architecture (even Bruce Wayne’s observatory is a garish, steampunk-like construction built into a mountain!) Fight scenes, though comical, are fast and frenetic and full of unfeasible physical stunts and actions but, again, at least we’re seeing a physically capable Batman and Robin. Sadly, fights are often spoiled by their cartoony nature, which includes accompanying zany sound effects wherever possible. Gotham is populated by a garish variety of street thugs; the neon-clad gang for Batman Forever return and a variety of undesirables are present at the underground race, from Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971) lookalikes to punks and biker gangs. While the public, and police, are massively dependant upon Batman and Robin, more so than ever before, and revere the two as protectors and heroes (they are called in at the first sign of trouble and even make highly publicised appearances at things like auctions and police crime scenes), these types of gangs and criminals don’t get much focus in this film. Like in Batman Forever, street criminals are no longer Batman’s focus since he’s too busy fighting supervillains as a “superhero” rather than being the scourge of criminals across the city. The implication is that criminals are afraid of Batman enough that they no longer cause violent crimes but the gang was clearly planning to rape that girl in Batman Forever and the bike race is extremely dangerous in this film so you’d think Batman would put some effort into curtailing these criminal elements but…apparently not. This is kind of why I dislike the idea of Batman as a “superhero”; his focus should always be street level and against corruption and organised crime first. Sure, supervillains exist in Gotham but I feel like they’ve overshadowed Bruce’s original mission, which was to protect others from random acts of violence like the one he witnessed as a kid; Batman & Robin is a glaring example of the extreme other end of the spectrum and I wish I could say modern Batman stories aren’t routinely obsessed with large-scale, supervillain threats to Gotham but the sad truth is that they often are. Give me a dark, gritty tale focusing on corruption, street crime, and maybe the machinations of a colourful/maniacal rogue over city/world-dominated plots any day.

It’s clearly a product of a different time but its themes of family and trust are surprisingly poignant.

Annoyingly, the Bat-Cave still opens up and activates when there’s an intruder only now it’s even worse since a Max Headroom (Matt Frewer) version of Alfred politely greets any intruders. Though only a brief inclusion, the very idea that Alfred was somehow able to “program his brain algorithms into the Batcomputer” is both ludicrous and startling in its implications. I also love that Robin renders Ivy’s poison kiss mute with rubber lips when, arguably, it’s the saliva from her kiss that is venomous rather than just skin-on-skin contact but, to be fair, the film does present it as this latter way rather than the former so I guess it’s okay…? Finally, Batman is far more accepting of Barbara as Batgirl than he was of Dick as Robin, potentially because they are heading into the cartoony finale of the film so there’s no real time to focus on his reaction to her dynamite debut, instead accepting it right away and with a couple of one-liners. If I’m Robin, I’d be a bit annoyed at this since Barbara has far less training and experience and is something of a liability for all her enthusiasm (she clearly flounders in her fight with Ivy before winning with ridiculous ease because the script says she must). Still, she takes to her new role amazingly well and is easily able to use all of her suit’s gadgets, and to hold her own in fights against Poison Ivy and Bane. She then shows the unique talent she brings to the role in her computer skills, though I find it hard to believe that Batman, of all people, wouldn’t be able to handle such a task. The scene, however, is framed in a way to show Batman accepting of the help of others and the two of them as his partners and family.

The Summary:
As a kid, I remember seeing this film at the cinema and absolutely loving it; I was firmly of the belief that the Batman movies just got better and better with each new film, adding more and more characters, villains, and recognisable elements from the comics I so enjoyed. I watched all the live-action films, the sixties movie, and was reading Batman stories from the sixties to nineties at the time and never had any trouble distinguishing between them. It was just Batman in different forms, and I was excited to see more of him, especially with Robin by his side. As an adult, it’s much harder to excuse the film since it’s a far cry from the dark, brooding Batman that is generally favoured but, when you view it as a love letter to the sixties Batman television series and bright, campy comics of that same era, you can kind of excuse a lot of its more glaring faults. It’s supposed to be a fun, mindless kids’ film; a live-action cartoon intended to sell toys and reap the rewards of its many and varied merchandise opportunities. It’s far from the guilty pleasure that Batman Forever is and it’s not the Batman I would prefer to see and I don’t like to hate on it because, for all its faults, at least it had the balls to use Robin and to tell an interesting story with both him trying to become his own man and hero and the side plot involving Bruce and Alfred.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

Whew, well, that’s Batman & Robin, a divisive film, to say the least. What is your opinion on the film, its cast, and Schumacher’s unique direction for the character and franchise? Do you think George Clooney was a poor choice for Batman or do you also believe he could do the role justice with a different script? What did you think of the film’s portrayal of Mr. Freeze, interpretation of Batgirl, and Robin’s character arc? Would you have liked to see another Batman film under Schumacher’s direction? Whatever your thoughts, good, bad, or indifferent, please feel free to leave a comment below and come back next Tuesday for the last entry in Robin Month.

Movie Night [Robin Month]: Batman Forever

Dr. K14 Comments

In April of 1940, about a year after the debut of arguably their most popular character, Bruce Wayne/Batman, DC Comics debuted “the sensational find of [that year]”, Dick Grayson/Robin. Since then, Batman’s pixie-boots-wearing partner has changed outfits and a number of different characters have assumed the mantle as the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin have become an iconic staple of DC Comics. Considering my fondness for the character and those who assumed the mantle over the years, what better way to celebrate this dynamic debut than to dedicate an entire month to celebrating the character?

Released: 9 June 1995
Director: Joel Schumacher
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $100 million
Stars: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O’Donnell, Michael Gough, and Pat Hingle

The Plot:
As Gotham City is terrorised by former district attorney turned acid-scarred supervillain Harvey Dent/Two-Face (Lee Jones) and Edward Nygma/The Riddler (Carrey), Bruce Wayne/Batman (Kilmer) struggles with his life’s mission and to discourage Dick Grayson (O’Donnell) from following the same dark path.

The Background:
Batman (Burton, 1989) was a massively successful adaptation of the DC Comics character, whose popularity had been somewhat waning and was in the midst of a dark, gritty reinvention. Although director Tim Burton was initially not interested (to say the least) in returning for a sequel, he was persuaded when Warner Bros. afforded him substantial creative control over the film’s production. However, while Batman Returns (ibid, 1992) brought in over $280 million in worldwide revenue against a $65 to 80 million budget, the film was criticised for its far darker presentation. While the film enjoyed mostly positive reviews, Warner Bros. were dissatisfied with its box office compared to the first film, parents were outraged by the film’s dark, macabre content, and McDonald’s were equally upset at being associated with such a gruesome movie. In response to this, Warner Bros. made the decision to replace Burton with a new director, eventually settling on the late Joel Schumacher, while keeping Burton on in a token producer role.

Returns‘ more ghastly aspects frightened investors, leading to a more light-hearted Bat-romp.

Although Schumacher initially wanted to produce an adaptation of Batman: Year One (Miller, et al, 1987), Warner Bros’ weren’t too keen on this idea and pushed, instead, for a more light-hearted affair that would sell toys and be more akin to the popular Batman television show of the sixties. This approach held little appeal for Michael Keaton, the star of the previous two Batman movies, and the role was recast with the notoriously-difficult, but far more physically-imposing, Val Kilmer assuming the mantle. Despite the wildly different tone of the film, Batman Forever contained a number of allusions, call-backs, and references to the previous films to set it in roughly the same continuity (save for recasting Harvey Dent from smooth-talking Billy Dee Williams to the maniacal Tommy Lee Jones). Warner Bros’ new approach appeared to be successful, with the film making over $330 million at the box office and pleasing parents and corporate sponsors, though the film garnered a somewhat divided critical reception. Much has been made of Schumacher’s aesthetic choices and direction, though the film but has earned a cult following compared to its grandiose sequel, with many calling for the release of an extended version to restore many of the excised scenes that added a darker subtext and scenes to the film.

The Review:
Right from the moment Batman Forever begins, you can tell it’s a very different film to its predecessors; gone is Danny Elfman’s iconic theme, the Gothic, enclosed sets, and the vast majority of the cast, replaced by an admittedly heroic and boisterous (if a bit over-played) score, a vast, near-incomprehensible Gotham City filled with neon, towering skyscrapers, and impractical architecture, a host of new faces, and, of course, a whole load of new toys. First, there’s the new Batsuit; though no longer as armour-plated as the Burton-era suits, this suit seems much more form-fitting and famously included nipples to give it a more anatomically-correct look. Unlike in the previous films, where Keaton was forced to be very stiff and was heavily restricted by this suit, Kilmer (and his stunt and fight double) move much more freely. He’s still not able to move his head, sure, but he’s far more agile and capable in his fight scenes, delivering easily the best live-action Batman fights at that point in time. With a new suit comes new gadgets, a new Batcave, and a new Batmobile, all of which are far more stylised and elaborate than in Burton’s movies and are introduced in a pretty cool “suiting up” scene during the opening credits. However, as much as I defend this movie, I do feel this scene is tarnished a bit by that cringey “I’ll get drive thru” line which, while amusing and I’m sure made McDonald’s happy, is a bit out of place. A simple “Don’t wait up” would have sufficed.

Kilmer was a pretty decent, physically imposing Batman and haunted Bruce Wayne.

I haven’t had much exposure to Val Kilmer in my life but, as much as I love Keaton’s intensity and the dark edge he brought to the role, Kilmer is actually pretty good as Batman. In Batman Returns, we saw that Gotham City was starting to become acclimatised to Batman but, in Forever, he’s very much in the public spotlight as a widely celebrated “superhero”. To clarify, I feel there’s a difference between a superpowered superhero like Clark Kent/Superman and a street level vigilante like Batman or Oliver Queen/Green Arrow. They are, technically, superheroes but I feel they shouldn’t be publically celebrated or acknowledged in-world like a Superman; in these Batman movies, though, Batman is pretty much the only masked crimefighter out there and, here, we see that he openly works with Commissioner Jim Gordon (Hingle) and appears in public, when necessary. Like Keaton, Kilmer assumes a deeper, gravelly “Bat Voice” for the role that is somewhere between a growl and a whisper. He tries to emulate Keaton’s intense glare but, where he fails in that regard, he succeeds in his imposing physical stature, appearing far more physically fit for the role than the slighter, shorter Keaton. Kilmer’s Batman is also much chattier than his predecessor, sporting a dry wit and a pragmatic drollness that would be amusing if not for the film’s excessive, over-the-top and cartoonish humour elsewhere. Kilmer is also pretty decent as Bruce Wayne; he doesn’t betray much emotion but he’s both awkward and charming when interacting with Doctor Chase Meridian (Kidman), arranges for full benefits for Fred Stickley (Ed Begley Jr) and his family after his apparent suicide, and is very patient with the fanatical Nygma when they first meet.

Carrey channels Gorshin’s spirit for his zany turn as the Riddler.

Speaking of Nygma, if you’re not a fan of Jim Carrey than a) What’s wrong with you? and b) This really isn’t the film for you. This was peak Carrey, with the actor riding a wave of well-received comedies, and he really gives it his all here, stealing every scene he’s in with a madcap, zany performance that is part Frank Gorshin and part classic Carrey. As Nygma, Carrey is a hyperactive and overly-enthusiastic employee who is completely obsessed with Bruce Wayne. Carrey brings a natural manic energy to the role, hogging the spotlight and stealing every scene he’s in with his rubber-faced antics and you really get that this guy is a fanatical individual who is infatuated with Bruce Wayne and desperate to showcase his mind-manipulating invention. This proves to be his downfall, however, as Bruce cannot in good conscience approve Nygma’s brain-altering invention, which crushes Nygma’s spirit and turns his heroic worship of Bruce into a sadistic mania. Nygma takes to sending Bruce threatening riddles (though Bruce is able to solve each one almost immediately, he spends the majority of the film completely stumped as to who sent them and what they really mean) but doesn’t descend into full-blown supervillain territory until seeing Two-Face in action. As the Riddler, Nygma is a completely unhinged maniac, teaming up with Two-Face to put his 3D “Box” in every house in the city to increase his intelligence and wealth. Amusingly, as Nygma transforms into a successful businessman and bachelor, he begins to borrow Bruce’s look and mannerisms but becomes increasingly unhinged as the Riddler, eventually setting himself up on a ridiculously elaborate island and freely partaking of the knowledge of all those connect to his Box.

For a guy who “couldn’t sanction” Carrey’s buffoonery, Jones sure does ham it up!

While the Riddler gets much of the film’s focus, Two-Face’s tragic origins and complex relationship with Bruce and Batman is almost completely glossed over; we’re introduced to Two-Face (annoyingly and constantly referred to as “Harvey Two-Face” for no discernable reason) after he’s already suffered his horrific scarring (here rendered in a far less disturbing manner, with a ridiculous straight line literally splitting Harvey’s face in two) and there’s only ever the briefest hint towards the character’s nuance and fall from grace. Instead, we’re left with a frenzied clown, a character far removed from the dark, tragic supervillain of the source material and more akin to the Joker, for lack of a better comparison. Ruled by his obsession with duality, his double-headed coin (which he is perfectly happy to flip over and over again until he gets the result he wants), and killing Batman (since he blames Batman for his condition), Two-Face is a ludicrous, flamboyant carton of a villain who would make Cesar Romero blush. I can only assume that it was Schumacher’s decision to make Two-Face this overexcited buffoon since Tommy Lee Jones, apparently, detested Carrey’s ostentatious antics and yet seems to be going out of his way to try and match Carrey’s far more amusing and far less grating physical humour.

Dick grows from an angry bad boy with an attitude to a selfless costumed hero.

Two-Face’s inclusion, though, allows Batman Forever to do something I will forever hold it in high regard for and that is introducing Dick Grayson/Robin. As a kid, I grew up watching the sixties Batman TV show and reading a number of different Batman comics, many of which included Robin in various forms and I remember being super excited about Robin’s inclusion here. In a fantastic example of adaptation, Robin is a combination of Dick (name/origin), Jason Todd (bad boy attitude), and Tim Drake (costume); garbed in motorcycle gear, with a piercing in his ear, he’s clearly an angst-ridden rogue who has no time for the luxury of Bruce’s lifestyle and wishes only to avenge the death of his family. Even better, the film does a great job of retelling Batman’s origin through the parallel of the deaths of Grayson’s family, which triggers Bruce’s flashbacks of his own parents’ deaths and delivers a haunting scene where, in relating the parallels between the two events to Alfred Pennyworth (Gough), Bruce slips on his wording and mutters “I killed them”, providing a glimpse into the survivor’s guilt and responsibility he feels. Bruce sympathises with Dick and takes him in; though he is angry and hungry for revenge, Dick is convinced to stay through a combination of Bruce appealing to Dick’s love for motorcycles and Alfred guilt-tripping the troubled acrobat with hospitality. Alfred plays quite the sly role this time around, offering Dick understanding and comfort but also subtly influencing his discovery of the Batcave and transformation into his own masked persona. Dick’s first instinct, though, is obviously to steal the Batmobile and take it on a joy ride; after taking his anger and pain out on some colourful street thugs, Dick directs these same emotions towards Batman when he arrives to confront him, blaming him for his family’s murder but, having vented his emotions, becomes insistent on Bruce training him to be his partner to give him the means to bring Two-Face to justice. Bruce is angered at the very idea and discourages him at every turn, not wishing Dick to go down the same path as he, much less commit murder.

Chase is the horniest psychologist you’ll ever meet. It’s fantastic!

Finally, there’s Chase Meridian; Kidman is absolutely gorgeous, of course, but man is her character one horny bitch! Chase is immediately fascinated, sexually and psychological, by Batman; she, like pretty much all of the public, isn’t deterred by Batman’s appearance and is, instead, in awe of his presence and attracted to his mystery and physique and even goes so far as to use the Bat-Signal as a “beeper” to tell him things about Two-Face that he already knows and are painfully obvious and to explicitly voice her interest in Batman in her attempt to seduce him right there on the rooftop! She is overwhelmed by the sexual magnetism and allure of Batman as the “wrong kind of man” and the mystery about what drives him to do what he does but is just a enamoured by Bruce, seeing him as something of an enigma who is haunted and hiding more than he lets on. It’s not the same as her attraction to Batman, which is very primal and sexual, but it eventually grows into the more “grown up” choice on her part and she is clearly elated to find that the two are one and the same.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Batman Forever is a loud, bombastic action film; essentially, it’s a live-action cartoon, with every set and action sequence having a garish, over-the-top presentation. The film starts off, as Two-Face says, with a bang; the sequence of Batman hanging from Two-Face’s helicopter looks pretty shit but I can appreciate the blending of practical stunts, early-CGI, miniature sets, and the age of the film, to let it go and the entire set piece of Batman’s chase after him is explosive and frantic and really helps open the film with a huge amount of energy, albeit energy that screams “live-action cartoon featuring a lauded superhero” rather than a dark, broody piece about an urban vigilante. Also, people think that Schumacher’s Batman films were all light-hearted and campy and, yes, they are but while Batman isn’t as vicious or brutal as before and is much more of a “superhero” than a brooding vigilante, he still directly and indirectly causes a lot of death and destruction, including the death of Two-Face (something he specifically ordered Dick not to pursue).

There’s maybe a little too much bombastic slapstick and cartoony elements, to be sure.

Easily the star of the show, for me, is Jim Carrey as the Riddler. While I think Batman Forever would have benefitted all the more if Nygma had been the only elaborate comedic element in a film full of straight men, I am a massive fan of Carrey and his work in the nineties and the way he hogs every scene is just fabulous to me. I just love his many garish costumes, his elaborate movements, the way he emulates Bruce Wayne, and how he switches between manic energy and a sinister glee on a dime. Ultimately, neither Riddler or Two-Face are much of a physical threat to Batman and, far from the master of puzzles and conundrums of his comic counterpart, Riddler opts to force batman into making the now-cliché “choice” between the love of Bruce’s life and his crimefighting partner. Having faced his demons throughout the film and been reminded of why he became Batman, Bruce chooses to save both, reducing Nygma to a gibbering, crazed wreck in the process and finally putting to rest the demons that have haunted him all his life. Of course, it’s naïve to pretend like Batman Forever is perfect; it’s mindless entertainment for kids, to be sure, but is maybe a little too loud, bombastic, and slapstick for parents or hardcore Batman fans. There are a few narrative inconsistencies as well, such as Bruce inexplicably deciding to retire Batman and settle down with Chase. I never quite got the logic here; Bruce seems to think Batman is no longer needed but it also seems like he’s willing to give up his crusade to be with Chase since he can’t justify being Batman anymore (despite the fact that, as Dick says, “there’s monsters out there” like Two-Face and the Riddler). Then there’s the ridiculously cartoony security guard from the start of the film, the garish new Batmobile, the way in which the Batcave opens up and comes alive every time there’s an intruder, the ludicrous moment where the Batmobile drives up a wall to safety (how the hell did it get down from there?), the sheer ineffectiveness of Gotham’s police department (seriously, the cops are completely useless and call for Batman at the first sign of any trouble), and the overly cartoony sound effects that punctuate a lot of Carrey’s scenes and the fight sequences.

Two-Face is easily the weakest and most annoying part of the film.

For me, though, the weakest part of Batman Forever is clearly Two-Face; he’s just a grating, annoying villain who goes way, way over the top at every moment. He’s also an absolute idiot; he holds the circus hostage under the belief that Batman is present or that someone there knows who Batman is, which is a bit of a reach, constantly goes against his modus operandi, and ends up being tricked to his death in the simplest way possible. The only positive to his inclusion is that it fuels Dick’s need for vengeance; Bruce lectures Dick about how killing Two-Face won’t take away his pain, how he’ll end up becoming an obsessed vigilante taking his anger and pain out on countless others if he kills Two-Face, but Dick’s only wish is to kill Two-Face for what he did and it’s only in sparing Two-Face’s life that he (Dick) comes to evolve into the same selfless hero we saw him to be when he risked his life to save the circus from Two-Face’s bomb.

It’s fantastic to see Robin done in live-action and used as a thematic parallel to Batman.

Make no mistake about it, this is a great film if you’re a fan of Robin and Stephen Amell O’Donnell perfectly encapsulates the “mad, broody youth” vibe they were going for. After Dick forces himself into Batman’s business, Bruce is livid at Dick’s recklessness and continually attempts to talk him out of pursing the same life as him. In the end, though, with Chase in need of rescue and his motivations resolved (Bruce remembered that he promised his parents that no one would ever have to suffer like he would, that he would take his revenge upon all criminals to safeguard others no matter the cost), Batman throws on his “sonar” suit and is in the middle of choosing between his Batwing and Batboat (all new toys for kids to buy/pine for) when Dick, now Robin, arrives and the two reconcile. Personally, I love this moment; the two basically acknowledge that each other were right, that each of them has their own path, and that they have converged into one destiny. Robin even admits that he can’t promise he won’t kill Harvey but Batman accepts this, and that Dick must walk his own path, and they solidify their partnership with a firm handshake…only to immediately be separated upon reaching Nygma’s island. Regardless, I’m continually entertaining by film’s smart use of Robin as a thematic parallel to Bruce. I’d love to see this concept revisited in a new Batman movie one day; skip retelling Batman’s origin again and, instead, have a darker, more jaded Batman begin to stray from his path but be brought back from the brink by adopting Dick, whose origin can be used as a direct analogy for Batman’s. Sadly, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing that in a film any time soon but Titans (2018 to present) has done a really good job, in my opinion, of exploring similar ground with an even better version of Dick/Robin and taking that to its logical conclusion (the debut of Nightwing).

The Summary:
Batman Forever is a hugely entertaining kids’ movie which has a lot of potential that is sadly squandered by its execution. A lot of time is spent exploring Bruce’s psyche and motivations; not as much as was originally intended but far more than we had seen in live-action up until that point. The film suggests that Bruce has become so lost, so blinded by his pain, anger, and guilt, that he’s forgotten why he became Batman in the first place (to protect the innocent) and is, instead, lashing out at criminals out of habit. Dick is expertly used as a parallel to Bruce’s life and background; his anger is raw and in need of guidance. Bruce was guided by the bat he encountered as a child but Dick simply wants to kill Two-Face and has no clear focus beyond that. Bruce knows first-hand that killing the man responsible won’t bring Dick the peace or closure he so desperately seeks and that he’ll end up exactly like him, “Running out into the night to find another face. And another. And another!” It’s not massively dwelled upon but the film suggests that Bruce can use his experience to guide Dick in such a way to focus his rage and pain in a more productive way, one that sees him walk the same path but not so tainted by darkness and heartache. This turns out to be the case as Dick refuses to kill Two-Face, turning away from becoming a mindless killer and towards being an agent of true justice, which is something Bruce also learns to do through his relationship with Dick and Chase, which finally sets him towards a more productive path. Sadly, though, the film’s themes and explorations are hampered somewhat by the madcap nature of Schumacher’s world; thanks to several subtle references, this is clearly the same world as Burton’s Batman movies but much bigger, grander, and more…operatic. Gotham City is awash in garish neon and giant, impractical statues and skyscrapers and the film has a manic energy thanks not only to Carrey’s scene-stealing antics but the infantile characterisation of Two-Face and his goons. Cartoonish sound effects permeate many of the film’s action sequences and I can’t help but think the film would have been more appealing if everyone played it entirely straight except for Carrey. Clearly, Schumacher is leaning heavily towards the sixties television show, which is fine since that is a classic in every way and a guilty pleasure, but what made that show work was that everyone played it straight, which only served to make the ridiculousness more entertaining. Here, it’s ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous so when there are moments or genuine humour (mainly from Batman and Alfred and Carrey’s less zany moments) they get drowned out by the overabundance of cartoonyness and Tommy Lee Jones’ grating performance as Two-Face.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What are your thoughts on Batman Forever? Where does it rank against the other Batman movies of its era, or even now? What did you think of the cast, particularly Kilmer, Carrey, and Jones? Were you excited to see Robin brought into the franchise or do you prefer Batman to “work alone”? What did you think of Schumacher’s version of Batman, his world, and his rogues? Would you like to see an extended cut of the film or do you think it’s best left as it is? Whatever your thoughts, go ahead and drop a comment below and be sure to come back next Tuesday for my review of the much-maligned sequel!

Movie Night: Star Trek: First Contact

Dr. K7 Comments

Released: 22 November 1996
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $45 million
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell, and Alice Krige

The Plot:
After intercepting an attempted invasion of Federation space by the Borg, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart) and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E pursue their foes back in time to the mid-21st century where the Borg, represented by their alluring Queen (Krige), intend to use their nanotechnology to assimilate the Earth and change the course of not just human history, but the history of the entire known galaxy by disrupting the fated first contact between humans and extraterrestrials on this day, 5 April, in 2063.

The Background:
It’s the age old question, isn’t? Which do you prefer; Star Trek (1966 to 1969) or Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 to 1994)? Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) or Captain Picard? Personally, since I grew up with the original series movies rather than the television show, I’ve always been more of a Next Generation and beyond kinda guy. Regardless, after Star Trek wrapped up, the original cast reunited for a series of movie spin-offs and executive and producers were able to coerce creator Gene Roddenberry to spearhead an all-new Star Trek television show to breathe new life into the franchise. Star Trek: The Next Generation became so popular that it too branched out into feature films, with the first being the appropriately-titled Star Trek Generations (Carson, 1994), which brought Kirk and Picard together but failed to impress critics despite performing relatively well at the box office. For the next film in the franchise, writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore decided to merge together their two most popular ideas for the franchise’s thirtieth anniversary: time travel and the Borg, with the two kicking around different ideas for the time period the movie would be set in and many different drafts of what would become the film’s final incarnation. Long-time cast member Jonathan Frakes, who had directed a number of episodes of the show, was chosen to helm the film, which delved into the Borg hierarchy, expanded upon their memorable appearance in the “Best of Both Worlds” (Bole, 1990) two-parter, and allowed the usually diplomatic and authoritarian Picard to become more of an action hero archetype. Star Trek: First Contact received widespread acclaim, particularly directed towards its gruesome special effects, and, filmed on what now seems like a paltry budget of $45 million (for comparison’s sake, Star Trek (Abrams, 2009) boasted a hefty $150 million budget), the film did very well at the box office, beating its predecessor by some $30 million.

The Review:
One of the things I’ve always respected about the Star Trek movies is how they don’t really waste a lot of time pandering to audiences who are unfamiliar with the concept or the television series; this generally allows the films to, largely, stand alone and work as products attached to, but also independent from, the show. Star Trek: First Contact differs from this formula in that it directly references, and is built off of, one of the most celebrated Next Generation episodes ever. Accordingly, the film opens with a brief revisitation of Picard trapped on the Borg Cube; if you didn’t know that he was transformed by the Borg, this is a quick and effective way to show that he is still haunted by memories of those experiences. Of course, if you’re not a fan of eye horror, this isn’t a scene for you but it also shows off the amazing updates to Borg technology and how their implants work going forward.

Star Trek: First Contact showcases a number of new sides of Picard’s character.

Of course, this opening sequence is just one of what is implied to be many recurring nightmares on Picard’s behalf and it is interrupted by the report of the Borg’s impending invasion. Despite the all-new, all-powerful Enterprise-E being the “most advanced ship in the fleet”, Picard is annoyed to inform his crew that they’re being kept out of the battle against the Borg; I love how the Romulan threat is so neutered by this point that even Counsellor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) is incredulous as to their assignment to patrol the Neutral Zone and that the Borg are considered such a threat that all it takes is one of their ships to be classified as an “invasion of the Federation”. This all sets up Picard’s tone, character arc, and conflict as Starfleet believes (rightly so, as it turns out) that he shouldn’t face the Borg again given the trauma he faced at their hands. While Commander William Riker (Frakes) disagrees, who gives a shit what he thinks? That guy couldn’t make a decision to save his life! Still, he’s right to an extent as Picard disobeys their orders and is then able to turn the tide against the Borg Cube using his knowledge of their defences and technology; however, as the film progresses and Picard launches guerrilla tactics against the Borg, it’s clear that he is driven by his rage, vengeance, and hatred of the cyborgs rather than his usual calm, measured demeanour.

The Borg Queen brings Data closer to humanity than he ever thought possible.

Just as the Original Series was often framed around Kirk, Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the Next Generation movies primarily revolved around Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data (Spiner), who, as an android struggling to understand and become more human, was very much The Next Generation’s version of Spock. Data still has his emotion chip installed, which was his big plot point in Star Trek Generations, and is manipulated here by the Borg Queen, who plays upon Data’s wish to be more human by appealing to his emotions, stimulating his sensations, and even grafting organic skin onto his outer shell. This forms Data’s character arc as he appears to give in to the Borg Queen’s temptation and allows them to turn him into something more akin to a cyborg. It is, of course, all a ruse on Data’s part to allow him the perfect opportunity to scupper the Borg Queen’s plans but, given what we saw of him in the “Descent” (Singer, 1993) two-parter, the way the film is framed, and that this is the closest to Data’s dream of becoming human, it’s very easy to believe that he has turned against his friends and crewmates.

Cochrane is a far cry from the near-mythical figure of Starfleet teachings.

Far from the legendary, near-mythical figure of Starfleet teachings, Zefram Cochrane (Cromwell) is a disillusioned, selfish, greedy drunkard; he plays along with the crew’s predictions of the future and assists them in completing the Phoenix but is scared of the fate they readily inform him off and angered that he becomes such an influential figure when his intentions were less than noble. He tries to literally run away from this fate and is convinced to see it all through but not by lectures about how the Phoenix ushers in this new, golden age for humanity, and, instead, partially off-screen and partially through the “don’t be a man” quote from Riker. Either way, in the end, he accepts his role as the figurehead for inter-species relationships.

Lily acts as the audience surrogate and Picard’s conscience.

Cochrane’s assistant, Lily Sloane (Woodard), starts out as an angry, confrontational revolutionary who initially believes she has been kidnapped by opposing forces but is quickly convinced of the Borg’s threat by Picard. For me, she’s probably the weakest part of the film; it’s not enough to drag it down in my estimation but I’ve never been a fan of the actress or her portrayal of the character, who comes across as annoying and a liability at some points. Still, she acts as both an audience surrogate through which the uninitiated are taught about the Borg, the ship, and the future world Picard is from. If there’s one downside to the film, it’s that the remainder of the crew don’t really get a lot to do since so much of the plot revolves around Picard overcoming his trauma and Data’s temptation by the Borg Queen. Beyond her amusing drunk scene, there’s not a lot for Deanna to do here, unfortunately; similarly, Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) exhausts most of her importance after fleeing the Borg attack, though she does later personify the crew’s general blind obedience to Picard’s orders. Riker, also, is largely inconsequential to the away team mission, with Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) getting most of the focus, though this is most likely because of Frakes pulling double duty behind the scenes as well. It’s therefore all the more obvious that the never-before-seen Lieutenant Hawk (Neal McDonough) is going to suffer the fate of most Star Trek “redshirts” since he gets a lot of screen time and focus for a guy who isn’t a part of the main cast so you know he’s doomed even without a deep knowledge of Star Trek. Similarly, Geordi leaves Porter (Eric Steinberg) in charge of Engineering and he and his female co-worker are summarily assimilated but cameos by the Doctor (Robert Picardo) and Lieutenant Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) help to add to the film’s charm and expand the Star Trek world.

The Borg are treated as a gruesome, terrifying, and formidable force.

The film only has one space battle, which is disappointing, but it’s a fantastic way to showcase the slaughter that the Borg, even a single Cube, is capable of inflicting. The Borg are, apparently, now so advanced that they can just casually manifest a “temporal vortex” through unknown means to travel through time; it’s very convenient and not really explained much but it gets the plot moving quickly and is a much faster way to get everyone back to past. When the Borg are attacking and assimilating the crew, the film resembles a horror movie; the Borg are kept in shadows, attacking off-screen, and are not seen in full view until Picard leads a team to try and stop them before they can spread beyond Deck 16. It’s a very effective way to introduce some tension and horror and the stakes of the film since Picard emphatically orders his team to fire at will rather than leave any assimilated crew members alive despite the fact that de-assimilation is a thing and he knows that. The Borg are treated as a zombie-like, relentless force, one that will not attack unless provoked or they perceive a threat; once they do attack, there are slow and persistent, stoically allowing their numbers to fall until they learn to adapt and continuing their assault regardless, assimilating crew members without conscience or mercy.

The Borg Queen was an alluring, ghastly presence that altered the Borg dynamic.

The Borg Queen introduced a dynamic to the Borg “collective”; until this moment, the Borg were a unified voice, with no hierarchy or individuals. The closest they came to having such a central voice was Locutus and when Lore (Spiner) manipulated that rogue contingent in the aforementioned “Descent” episodes. Here, though, the exact nature of the Queen’s relationship is left somewhat vague; it appears as though she is merely a physical manifestation of the collective but she also orders the drones about and they adhere to her commands (and she refers to herself as “I”, indicating that she is their “leader”, as Data suggests). It’s clearly a filmmaking technique to allow audiences to have a clear antagonistic figurehead to focus on and, while it does work since it expands the nature of the Borg society, it does somewhat diminish the horror of their collective consciousness. Regardless, the Borg Queen is a charismatic, seductive, and manipulative presence; oozing confidence, sex appeal, and a gruesome body horror, she represents Data’s desires for humanity and Picard’s fears of the Borg since it is heavily implied that the Borg Queen personally supervised his assimilation, perhaps even sexually abused him, and that the Borg Queen has assumed numerous physical forms over the years. Her introduction is also one of the most horrific and impressive special effects shots in all of Star Trek and her make-up design looks both incredibly uncomfortable for the actress and ghastly in its execution.

The Nitty-Gritty:
There are a few conveniences, instances of hand-waving, and missed opportunities in the film, if I’m being brutally honest: there’s the aforementioned ease of time travel, the massively convenient explanation for getting Lieutenant Commander Worf (Dorn) back on the Enterprise, and I would have liked to see a little more exposition about how, why, and when Geordi decided to swap out his trademark visor. Still, one of the (many) things I enjoy about Star Trek: First Contact is the vastly improved uniforms for the cast and crew, despite how hot and uncomfortable they appear regardless of their high quality. Everything about the film is so much more cinematic and of a much higher quality than all of those that came before it; the Enterprise-E bridge is massive and far more detailed and the ship itself is much more like the traditional Enterprise but meaner and more capable of combat. Like the Klingons before them, the Borg benefitted greatly from the cinematic redesign; no longer appearing like pale men in black leotards with plastic attachments and hands in clear prosthetics, they appear as disgusting zombies with their cybernetic implants crafted into, or entirely replacing, their limbs in sequences that are extremely horrific for a 12-rated film and easily the most gruesome of any Star Trek production.

Picard’s obsession threatens to destroy him, his ship, and his crew and causes much conflict.

The film mainly switches between the away team, led by Riker (who must work with Cochrane and convince him to help them and where the bulk of the film’s humour and levity is seen), and the main ship where Data is tempted by the Borg Queen and Picard becomes a far more pro-active and action-orientated individual in this film. Picard adopts a sleeveless variant of his uniform, showing off his physique for the first real time, and he is portrayed as an almost John McClane (Bruce Willis) type of action hero, hiding in engineering vents and striking against overwhelming odds. One of the film’s most engaging sequences is the space walk Picard, Hawk, and Worf are forced to take to keep the Borg from calling for reinforcements; it’s a rare instance of weakness for Worf, who dislikes the disorientation caused by zero-g environments, and unique in that the whole scene technically takes place upside down on the underside of the ship. Another memorable scene is, of course, the blazing confrontations between first Picard and Worf and then Lily and Picard. While the rest of the crew may disagree with Picard’s unwavering belief that they must fight the Borg no matter the cost, Worf is the only member of the crew to object to Picard’s orders, believing (rightly so) that Picard is letting his personal feelings influence his judgement. It’s an extremely tense moment as the two close allies and comrades almost come to blows, it seems, and leads to an awkward moment of reconciliation between the two after Picard reluctantly agrees to set the Enterprise-E to self-destruct.

Picard not only ensures the future of humanity but also confronts and overcomes his demons.

Lily (who acts as Picard’s conscience throughout the film, questioning his motivations and notes, with dry criticism, how aggressive and uncompromising his actions have become) also unashamedly criticises Picard’s decision and confronts him, leading to a dramatic and heated exchange between the two in which the extent of Picard’s obsession and pain is revealed. It’s a very humanising moment for Picard, usually so authoritarian and composed, and here stripped down to a tormented victim of unspeakable abuse. In the end, Picard mounts a solo effort to rescue Data and is willing to sacrifice himself, his ship, and Data to distract the Borg Queen and end her threat. Paralysed with fear and confusion regarding the Queen’s appearance, Picard is only able to win the day thanks to Data’s deception and subsequent release of plasma coolant to liquefy the Queen’s organic components and end her threat. Picard finds some closure in snapping the Queen’s neck and the two of them actually mourn her for her force of will and uniqueness amongst the generally zombie-like Borg. It’s a cathartic end to the trauma that has haunted Picard since his assimilation and allows him the chance to step away from the brink of self destruction and take proactive, measured action against one of the franchise’s most formidable foes.

The Summary:
Star Trek: First Contacts a fantastic Star Trek film (and a great science-fiction movie in general) that showcases a completely different side to Star Trek and, especially, Picard; ever since “The Best of Both Worlds”, Picard has been haunted by his experiences with the Borg but, while some episodes of The Next Generation dabbled in how his assimilation affected him, it was never explored as deeply as it is here. Picard is literally haunted by the Borg, able to sense their presence and hear the mutterings of the collective and is driven to animalistic rage whenever he battles them head-to-head. It drives him to an obsession that blinds him to the losses he is suffering; all he cares about is opposing the Borg rather than compromising as they have on so many other occasions. He wants them dead, to make them pay, and to take his revenge upon them no matter if it costs him his ship, his crew, or his life. It’s a powerful character arc, and series of scenes and moments, that humanises Picard and makes him a far more relatable character and a stronger man for it after he realises what his fixation with the Borg has turned him in to. In many ways, it’s a very small-scale film, much more concerned with such interpersonal deconstructions; the away team are simply constructing a warp-capable ship, Data faces temptation from the Borg Queen, and Picard is engaged in guerrilla warfare with the Borg. There’s only one space battle and no real star trekking, with even less diplomacy, making the film both grounded but also outlandish thanks to its time travel plot and the use of one of the franchise’s most horrific and persistent antagonists. It remains easily my favourite of the Next Generation films and, potentially, my favourite Star Trek movie because of its themes, presentation, and intensity of the plot.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Are you a fan of Star Trek: First Contact? Where does it rank for you compared to the other Star Trek movies? What did you think to the film’s time travel plot or the use of the Borg? What about Picard’s characterisation and Data’s character arc? Are you a fan of the Borg? If so, what are some of your favourite episodes and, if not, why is that and which enemy would you have preferred to see in the film? Where do you stand on the Kirk vs. Picard, Original Series vs. Next Generation debate? Whatever your thoughts on Star Trek: First Contact, or Star Trek in general, feel free to leave a comment below and be sure to check out my other Star Trek content.

Movie Night: Stung

Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 3 July 2015
Director: Benni Diez
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Budget: $2,500 (estimated)
Stars: Matt O’Leary, Jessica Cook, Clifton Collins Jr, Cecilia Pillado, Eve Slatner, and Lance Henriksen

The Plot:
Paul (O’Leary) and Julia (Cook) cater for Mrs. Perch (Slatner) when the elaborate affair is attacked by genetically mutated wasps!

The Background:
If there are two genres of horror movies I always have time for it’s the body horror and horror/comedy sub-genres; I grew up watching classic films of this kind like John Carpenter’s The Thing (Carpenter, 1982), The Fly (Cronenberg, 1986), and Tremors (Underwood, 1990) so I was naturally intrigued when I came across Stung a while ago while browsing through Bloody Disgusting. Helmed by German director Benni Diez, Stung was a crowd funded independent horror/comedy that began life as the winning script for a screenwriting contest hosted by German production company Rat Pack. With such a low budget, the filmmakers had to be careful when casting the film but, with little more than a whim and just for the fun of it, opted to ask Lance Henriksen to join the production and, to their surprise, he agreed. Stung premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film festival, where it was a noted highlight, before receiving a wider theatrical release later that year snd earning mixed reviews that focused on the quality of the special effects or the film’s ridiculous concept and tone. Because of its limited release, Stung only made $75,000 in worldwide gross but it did win the Best International Film award at the 2015 Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival.

The Review:
Like any good horror film worth its salt, Stung sets itself in a largely familiar environment with a variety of normal, everyday characters; while the unfamiliar is a perfectly good setting for horror, I find some of the best takes place in places where you could conceivably, believably, and easily find yourself. Stung’s narrative primarily revolves around Julia, a caterer, and Paul, her assistant; Julia, having inherited the company from her father, is somewhat highly strung and has little time for Paul’s clumsy flirting and buffoonery. Paul, meanwhile, is clearly attracted to Julia and feels somewhat underappreciated for his efforts; he may play the fool at times but it’s mainly for levity and to help encourage Julia to relax since he puts a lot of work and effort into setting the venue up and tending the bar despite his tomfoolery.

While the well-to-do fall victim to the wasps, the working class have the moxie to survive.

Mrs. Perch’s shindig may be an intimate affair but all kinds of guests are in attendance, including her quirky son Sydney (Collins Jr), Larry the piano player (Daniele Rizzo), the cook and an old family friend of Julia’s, Flora (Pillado), and Mayor Caruthers (Henriksen). When Larry, Mrs. Perch, and Flora quickly become victims of the giant wasps, the remaining survivors are forced into Mrs. Perch’s vast estate where they attempt to barricade themselves within while being stalked by the giant wasps that were once their friends, family, and acquaintances. While hiding out in the estate’s fortified basement, the survivors get a bit of breathing time to interact and flesh out their characters a bit: we learn about Paul’s instinct towards saving lives from his time as a lifeguard and he begins to bond with Julia, who clearly exhibits a fondness and attraction for him but is only really driven to expressing those feelings because of the astonishing situation they find themselves in.

Caruthers proves to be a cool-headed and supportive character.

Sydney, meanwhile, already an eccentric and awkward character, descends into irrational fear and paranoia after witnessing his mother’s brutal transformation and reveals resentment towards his family. However, it’s thanks to him that the wasps have undergone their dramatic mutation since he mixed growth hormones with imported plant fertilize. Conversely, Mayor Caruthers is largely presented as the pragmatic voice of reason and a seasoned, rational presence; he compliments Paul and Julia for their ability and adaptability to the situation and approaches the horrific circumstances with a rational calm thanks to his experiences as an infantryman. He also exhibits a dry sense of humour and a gruff approach to both Sydney’s attitude and the growing intelligence of the wasp creatures.

Sydney becomes a brief secondary antagonist thanks to the wasps’ influence.

While the film features a few additional cast members such as these and numerous guests, they all quickly fall victim to the wasps and Stung, first and foremost, revolves around Paul and Julia; they end up the sole survivors and we learn the most about them and watch their relationship evolve throughout the course of the film. Unexpectedly, Stung mixes things up a bit by featuring an articulate antagonist; when Sydney is stung, his transformation is radically different as he’s influenced by (if not out-right controlled by) the smaller wasp parasite that emerges from his shoulder that forces to do the bidding of his “mother”, the giant queen wasp that burst out of Mrs. Perch.

The Nitty-Gritty:
There are several themes at work in Stung amidst its ridiculous horror/comedy presence; the brutality and adaptability of nature, for one thing, and the lethargy of the capitalist elite (it’s notable that it’s the working class characters who are the most capable and forced to save the day), for another. Another prevalent sub-plot concerns Paul’s attraction to Julia, which is initially played for laughs and generally a vehicle to showcase Paul’s relatable awkwardness but also shows the differences between their social classes. Julia, while mostly not a complete bitch, is desperately trying to be professional and to make a good impression on Mrs. Perch and her high class guests in the hopes of increasing her business profile but she’s clearly Paul’s boss first and above him in the pecking order as he’s left doing all the heavy lifting and manual labour.

Stung‘s practical effects are as gruesome and top-notch as they are ludicrous.

Of course, any good monster movie lives and dies on the strength of its creature design and Stung is certainly unique in its approach to this; whenever a character is stung by one of the giant, mutated wasps, a parasite soon hatches from within them, bursting out in truly gruesome fashion. The first time we see this happen, it is honestly an impressive and ghastly effect achieved though a clear combination of practical and special effects that is both shocking and disconcerting as the unfortunate victim is literally split in half and the resulting creature stalks further victims with the girl’s head still impaled on one of its arms! The second time, poor old Mrs. Perch literally explodes in a shower of gore and viscera!

There are many different variants of monstrous wasp for our heroes to contend with.

After the initial emergence of the wasps, the film slows down and becomes a much more intense, atmospheric experience as the survivors hide in the estate’s basement and attempt to come up with a plan to escape. This gives the film time to breathe, allows for some commendable character development and moments (particularly from Paul and Mayor Caruthers, the two most appealing characters in the film), and builds a creepy sense of dread and atmosphere. There’s a sense that the wasps could break in at any moment and, indeed, several are already stalking through the mansion thanks to Mrs. Perch, creating an ominous ambience that only escalates when Sydney undergoes his unique transformation. The effect of seeing the wasp parasite emerge from his shoulder is as grisly as it is amusing and, alongside the wasp that emerges from the little dog, helps to keep the creature effects varied and interesting. It’s not just a swarm of mutated wasps or giant, man-sized creatures coming after the survivors, so they’re forced to constantly adapt and meet each new threat as it emerges while, thankfully, never descending into in-fighting or class warfare.

The CGI is pretty commendable considering the budget and used sparingly, and to decent effect.

Thanks to the tension built up in the film’s slower, more atmospheric scenes, Stung’s creature effects and gore become so much more visceral when they are onscreen; sure, the CGI effects aren’t as polished as most big budget affairs but, for a low budget, independent horror film, they’re decent enough and the filmmakers more than make up for it with some impressive practical effects. The giant wasps are dripping in blood and guts and are, for most of the film, kept in darkness to both hide the effects and augment their horror. By the time Paul and Julia escape the estate, day has dawned and we get to see a fully CGI giant wasp in all its glory and it works, for the most part, since there’s a blending of practical and special effects, and the result is a creature that is both threatening but absurd in its appearance (which, to be fair, is a large part of the point and appeal of the film).

The Summary:
I really enjoyed Stung, to be honest. It was a wacky, over the top horror/comedy with a truly outlandish concept but I found it incredibly enjoyable. The creature effects and practical work is amazing considering the budget and the special effects and CGI are serviceable and forgivable enough for me (I’ve certainly seen worse, even in big budget movies!) Beyond the gore and the visceral brutality of the film’s unique creatures, I also found the leads very appealing; I totally bought Paul and Julia as believable, everyday people just trying to get by and being flawed, relatable characters and Lance Henricksen is always a pleasure to see (I really got the sense that he was just enjoying himself in the role and being on set). Not every film, certainly not every horror film, needs to be this deep, thought-provoking masterpiece; sometimes it’s perfectly fine and fun to just switch off and enjoy a good, old-fashioned creature feature and Stung certainly delivers in that regard, balancing its horror with an easy and believable humour and moments of surprising dread through clever pacing and filmmaking techniques. It’s obviously not going to be for everyone but, for fans of similar horror/comedies like Tremors and Slither (Gunn, 2006) there’s a lot to like here and it’s worth a watch for gore hounds and the absolutely outrageous ending that would make for an even more ludicrous concept were a follow-up ever produced!  

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever seen Stung? If so, what did you think of it? What did you think to the concept, execution, and special effects and how did you find the characters and more amusing elements? Are you a fan of old school creature feature horrors or do you prefer a different horror sub-genre; if so, what is it? Is there a creature feature concept you haven’t seen yet and would like to? What’s your favourite giant monster movie? No matter what you think, feel free to leave a comment down below and be sure to check back in for more horror content throughout the year!

Movie Night: Daredevil: Director’s Cut

Dr. K6 Comments

Blind lawyer Matt Murdock first made his debut in Daredevil #1 in April of 1964 and was co-created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with input from the legendary Jack Kirby. While perhaps not as mainstream as characters like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Daredevil has become one of Marvel Comics’ greatest creations and has featured in a number of ancillary media and merchandise, included a questionably-received big-screen adaptation in 2003 and this critically-successful Netflix series.

Released: 30 November 2004
Originally Released: 14 February 2003
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Budget: $78 million
Stars: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, and Joe Pantoliano

The Plot:
After being blinded by radioactive waste as a child and discovering his other senses are superhumanly keen as a result, Matt Murdock (Affleck) works as a lawyer by day and devil-garbed vigilante by night. While falling in love with the mysterious and beautiful Elektra Natchios (Garner), Daredevil draws the ire of Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin (Duncan), who hires the assassin Bullseye (Farrell) to rid him of Daredevil’s interference once and for all.

The Background:
Following his creation in 1964, Daredevil has been no stranger to multimedia ventures; while Angela Bowie’s 1974 proposal for a television movie was never produced, the character made his live-action debut in The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (Bixby, 1989), portrayed by Rex Smith, and made occasional appearances in various Marvel cartoons, particularly in the nineties, and a live-action movie was in the works since as far back as 1997 but could never quite get off the ground thanks to Marvel Comics’ legal issues at that time. Development finally gained traction in 2000, with 20th Century Fox (who would also find success with another of Marvel’s properties, the X-Men, around this time) distributing the film and Mark Steven Johnson signed on to both write and direct. Taking inspiration from the “Guardian Devil” (Smith, et al, 1998 and 1999) storyline and Frank Miller’s celebrated work with on the character, Daredevil was poised to be one of the darker, grittier superhero films of its time. Despite turning a sizeable profit, making nearly $180 million in worldwide gross (and having a rocking soundtrack that propelled one of my favourite bands, Evanescence, into mainstream popularity), Daredevil was less-than-favourably received upon release, with even star Ben Affleck speaking out against the film after its release (despite all the positive comments he had made to market the film…) The “Director’s Cut” of the film (which restored an entire sub-plot, swear words, and was far more violent) released about a year later, is generally regarded by many (including myself) to be the definitive version of the film, however, though the critical and commercial failure of spin-off Elektra (Bowman, 2005) and Affleck’s refusal to revisit the role put an end to any hopes for a sequel and Daredevil would not reappear in live-action until Marvel Studios regained the rights to the character about ten years later.

The Review:
Daredevil was released at a time when superhero movies were just really starting to hit their stride; they weren’t the multimedia juggernaut they are today thanks to the efforts of Marvel Studios and Disney so, while there were many highly regarded and influential superhero films released in the early 2000s, not all of them were guaranteed smash hits and even the ones that were haven’t exactly aged well (or have been done better) since then. As a result, most superhero films tended to feature a major focus on the character’s origin, a lot of fast-paced and frenetic action scenes, and a plot that moved at a relatively brisk pace to cover a lot of ground as quickly as possible. They, like many other action films of the time, were also heavily influenced by (or blatantly ripping off) The Matrix (The Wachowski Brothers, 1999) so black leather, “wire-fu”, and CGI were plentiful during this time and, of all the superhero movies released in the early 2000s, perhaps nowhere are all these now-cliché elements more apparent than in Daredevil.

Daredevil is framed by a flashback to Matt’s childhood to tell his origin story.

Daredevil begins in medias res with the titular vigilante wounded, seemingly fleeing from the police, and seeking sanctuary at Father Everett’s (Derrick O’Connor) church. As he lays incapacitated and hurt, Murdock begins to narrate his childhood and life up until that point under the illusion that his life is flashing before his eyes as he dies; this flashback-heavy first portion of the film separated Daredevil from its contemporaries as, while the Spider-Man films (Raimi, 2002 to 2007) featured a bit of narration from the main character, most superhero films started at the beginning and progressed from there, with us following the hero along his journey and learning alongside him/them. This technique, though, means that we experience Daredevil from a uniquely different perspective, that being through the haunted, tumultuous memories of its main character.

Jack discourages Matt from fighting and wants him to grow up to be a success.

We’re thus introduced to Murdock first as a battered and injured vigilante and then, very quickly as a young kid (Scott Terra) from Hell’s Kitchen who is constantly harassed by a gang of local youths. These bullies like to rag on young Matt because his father, Jack Murdock (David Keith), is not only an over-the-hill, washed up prize-fighter who once fought under the name “The Devil” and wore a devil-themed robe to the ring but has now taken to working as an enforcer for Fallon (Mark Margolis), a local mob boss. Matt, maintaining a staunch belief in his father’s glory days, accolades, and abilities, stands up to such bullies and trash talk and takes a beating as a result, much to the dismay of his father. Jack, however, wants more from Matt and discourages him from fighting, wishing instead for Matt to devote himself to his studies and to make something of himself and it is clear from their brief scenes together that the two have a very strong relationship, one built on mutual trust, respect, and dependency. Jack is determined to have Matt grow up unafraid, to be the best version of himself, and to not be a “bum like [him]” but this goes so far that he is too ashamed and too despondent to admit that he really has been forced to rough people up on Fallon’s behalf in order to provide for his family. The very next scene shows Matt witnessing this and, distraught and heartbroken, he flees from the sight only to end up narrowly avoiding a collision and being blinded by a biohazardous waste product as a result.

Blinded by toxic waste, Matt’s remaining senses are enhanced to near-superhuman levels.

Similar to Spider-Man, an elaborate CGI sequence shows us the effect this has on Matt’s DNA and, when he awakens in hospital, he is immediately bombarded with sensory overload as, while he has been rendered permanently blind, his remaining senses (particularly his hearing, which gets the most attention) have been augmented to near-superhuman levels. Unlike in the character’s debut appearance, where Matt barely flinched at being blinded, very little time was spent dwelling on how he or his father felt about it, and where Matt never once struggled to adapt to his new abilities, Daredevil adds a few wrinkles to this turn of events. Firstly, because Matt’s accident happened as a direct result of him running away from his father, Jack feels a tremendous amount of guilt and shame about the accident; secondly, Matt is overwhelmed to the point of terror at his newfound abilities and struggles to get them under control. However, the two have such a strong bond, love, and dependence upon each other that Matt doesn’t bare a grudge and the two resolve to redouble their efforts to overcome their limitations, with Jack getting back into training and back into the ring and Matt continuing his studies using Braille and discovering that his echolocation provides him with a version of sight. In experimenting with his newfound abilities, he loses all sense of fear as he easily traverses rooftops and overwhelms his tormentors (who “dare” him to fight them) with little more than his walking stick and his dexterity. Of course, Daredevil is still a superhero story and what superhero origin is complete without a dash of tragedy? It turns out that Fallon has engineered Jack’s comeback and threatens both him and Matt to coerce Jack into taking a dive in his next fight; with his son in the crowd and refusing to compromise his principals, Jack refuses and wins through heart, determination, and brute strength/force of will. However, Fallon’s goons jump Jack after the fight and beat him to a pulp before an unseen third assailant delivers the finishing blow, beating Jack to death and leaving a red rose on his bloodied corpse.

Matt plays the role of “unassuming blind man” well but suffers the consequences of his double life.

Tragically, Matt hears it all and is absolutely heartbroken when he comes across his father’s beaten and bloody body. He resolves to keep his promise to his father to help those that others wouldn’t and seek justice one way or another, with the film glossing over his time in college and law school and jumping ahead several years to find him fully grown into Ben Affleck. The older Murdock is a haunted, heavily conflicted individual; in order to block out the constant barrage of noises, he sleeps in a sensory deprivation tank and regularly chews a number of pills and painkillers to dull the constant pain from the many wounds he has suffered in his nightly jaunts. The effects of his double life can be immediately seen not only in his weary expression but also the multitude of scars, bruises, and injuries his body exhibits; though Matt’s abilities make him faster and stronger than the average man, he’s still human and we constantly see him suffering blows and injuries during his activities as Daredevil, taking hard shots to the ribs and even losing a tooth during the film’s first big action scene. I’m no fan of Affleck (largely because of the way he crapped all over this movie after professing to be such a big fan of the comics during its marketing) but he’s actually really great as Murdock; the special contact lenses he wears are only a small part of selling him as a blind man as Affleck assumes a slightly skewed posture and thousand-yard stare, always positioning himself in such a way that you can tell he’s lacking his sight. Additionally, Murdock uses Braille to identify his belongings, and even folds his notes in certain ways to recognise them (though it’s not entirely clear if he needs to do this, since we know he doesn’t, or if it’s all part of playing up his persona as a simple blind man), all of which go a long way to showcasing how a blind man might life his life.

Matt is a brutal and resmorseless vigilante when he dons his Daredevil garb.

Affleck is also able to showcase a multitude of emotions with a surprising amount of nuance; Murdock is a pragmatic, yet passionate, bastion of the innocent in the court room, has a fantastically realised love/hate relationship with his friend and colleague Franklin “Foggy” Nelson (Favreau), and transforms into this violent, sardonic, brutal vigilante when donning the incredible blood-red leather outfit of Daredevil. It’s clear that Murdock is a man of many conflicting emotions and suppressed rage and that Daredevil is his outlet for those sensations; he takes deep offense to those who flaunt or break the law or who are under the clear influence of the mysterious Kingpin of Crime and takes it upon himself to bring such individuals to justice. His methods to achieve this are vicious and violent, involving the unrelenting beating of any law breakers and even more direct and indirect murder as he moves fast enough to avoid bullets that other thugs then take and not only willingly knocks Jose Quesada (Paul Ben-Victor), an obvious rapist and all-round bad person, to a gruesome death by train but even takes the time to mock him before his grisly dismemberment.

Favreau is great as the loveable, if goofy, Foggy Nelson.

Clearly a tortured, haunted individual, Matt keeps others at arm’s length and actively sabotages his relationships because of his unwavering commitment to bringing criminals to justice as Daredevil and his unresolved issues. Foggy makes this abundantly clear as he calls Matt out on his bullshit time and time again while still being in quiet awe of Matt’s adaptability, dedication towards helping those in need even when they receive very little payment (or payment in fluke or sports gear, which makes for an amusing running gag), and his capability in the court room. Their relationship is a real highlight of the film, with the two sharing banter, matching wits, pulling pranks on each other, and even using Matt’s disability to wind up strangers or to win the sympathy of the jury. Any time these two are onscreen together, it’s a joy to see; Favreau is instantly charming and likeable as the goofy Foggy and, while he was always able to stand out by questioning Matt’s approach to the women in his life, the Director’s Cut expands Foggy’s role and gives him a character arc where he is able to resolve Dante Jackson’s (Coolio) case and help lead the authorities to the Kingpin.

Duncan exudes an arresting aura and jumps from eloquent calm to unbridled rage!

Speaking of Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin…how amazing was Michael Clarke Duncan? The man had such a charisma and a presence not only because of his massive frame but also his charming smile and deep, dulcet tones. Though traditionally a white character, Duncan is a perfect fit for the role and exudes power, charisma, and a commanding respect from the moment he is introduced in the film garbed in a flashy suit and puffing away on a chunky cigar. Though the character was an eloquent and calculating individual in the theatrical cut, the Director’s Cut goes even further in establishing Fisk’s threat when he is seen viciously bludgeoning two of his underlings (one with his massive cane and the other by first throttling and then breaking his neck), which makes it all the more ominous when he later lays a seemingly innocent hand on the shoulder of Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari) and gets his large hands on Daredevil in the film’s conclusion. The added runtime afforded by the Director’s Cut also adds further nuance to Fisk’s character; on the one hand, you could argue that we don’t really learn much about him and that he’s every typical, one-note criminal mastermind but, on the other, you can really see a number of layers to Duncan’s performance. Like Murdock, Fisk is keeping his raw, animalistic urges and primal rage at bay with a suit (literally a business suit); he explodes in a burst of rage and pure, unbridled power then immediately calms and composes himself and is so eager to put his abilities to the test against Daredevil for the climatic final fight that he all but invites the vigilante in to take him on man-to-man. Cold, calculating, but also articulate and oozing menace, Duncan portrays Fisk as a man at war with his clearly street-smart upbringing and the sophistication required of his role. Indeed, while he takes immense pleasure in the suffering of others, he also maintains that none of his actions have ever been personal; it’s with a glimpse of regret, maybe even sorrow, that he admits to Daredevil that his entire criminal enterprise has only ever been “business” and nothing more. Fisk’s “business” finds itself somewhat compromised not only by Daredevil but also the continued attempts by reporter Ben Urich (Pantoliano), whose speciality is urban legends, to expose the Kingpin. Fisk solves that problem by hiring Bullseye, a charming, animalistic, cold-hearted, sadistic, masochistic hitman, to kill Natchios. Unlike Murdock and Fisk, we learn very little about Bullseye save that he is a ridiculously good shot who talks little, kills on a whim, and has a flair for the dramatic. Like Fisk, Bullseye enjoys killing but takes a perverse pleasure out of it rather than revelling in his power like Fisk does; he’s also incredibly egocentric and takes it personally when Daredevil causes him to miss a shot, happily accepting an extended contract to take out both Daredevil and Natchios’ daughter, Elektra.

Matt and Elektra flirt but sparring in a playground. It’s not awkward at all…

Of the three main characters in the film, it’s Elektra who I feel brings the weakest performance; I’m not really a fan of Jennifer Garner and find her to be a bit of a blank slate who is sleepwalking through the film. She phones it in well enough to portray Elektra as a strong, independent, and forceful character when she needs to be but her romance with Matt is incredibly rushed and convenient. He basically becomes infatuated by her on scent alone and they have an absolutely cringe-worthy flight/flirt in a neighbourhood playground that seems more like Matt stalking and forcing himself upon her than a genuine attraction. However, she respects Matt’s ability to perform heavily choreographed wire-fu enough to give him her name and the time of day. To be fair, Elektra is a fairly layered character; she hates being under the constant supervision of her father and her bodyguards and wants her independence yet is incredibly devoted to him and her family. She is feisty and strong-willed but also lonely and you get the sense that her relationship with Matt is the first time she’s really been able to open up to someone. After her father is killed, though, she turns into a cold, venge-seeking individual, blanking out Matt’s pleas to turn away from vengeance and showcasing her formidable martial arts and sai-based combat skills in preparation to take out the man she believes responsible for her father’s death: Daredevil. All-in-all, Daredevil’s cast is pretty solid, ranging from top notch to mediocre performances that do a serviceable job given the film’s run time. And there is a lot happening in this film, especially in the extended Director’s Cut, yet the film’s pace is relatively speedy all throughout, glossing over such things as how Matt was able to construct his suit, multi-purpose cane, and the “Devil-Cave” compartments of his apartment and often padding out action scenes or stunts with some very dodgy CGI. I remember the effects not being that bad at the time but they really haven’t aged well now, with the CGI Daredevil, especially, looking particularly rubbery and cartoony as he ludicrously jumps from building to building or battles Bullseye up a ridiculously large church organ. The film is at its best when the action and fight scenes are simple, raw, and gritty, such as the one-on-one action between Daredevil and Elektra, Bullseye, and, especially, Fisk. Perhaps because of the success of Spider-Man, though, and definitely because of the popularity of The Matrix, Daredevil seeks to portray not just Daredevil but also Elektra and Bullseye as being capable of performing incredible, physics-bending stunts. While this is somewhat fitting for Daredevil, who is generally about as agile and adept as Spider-Man in the comics, it definitely feels like the film would have benefitted from downplaying the more nonsensical stunts and focusing on more dark and gritty action and fights.

The Nitty-Gritty:
In contrast to the beliefs of some, one of the best things about Daredevil, for me, has always been its soundtrack; sure, either the score or a host of licensed tracks are usually playing over every scene in the film but Daredevil boasts some rocking tunes and uses them to really help establish the mood or the character onscreen at the time. Murdock drowns out the sounds of the city with some Seether, for example; Nickleback’s “Learn the Hard Way” plays while Daredevil kicks the crap out of Quesada and his goons (who all need to “learn the hard way” that their actions have consequences), Fisk is introduced to the sounds of N.E.R.D.’s “Lapdance”, the appropriately-named “Man Without Fear” by Drowning Pool and Rob Zombie brings a manic energy to Bullseye’s elaborate motorcycle chase against Natchios, and, of course, the iconic “Bring Me to Life” and “My Immortal” by Evanscence feature prominently to set the stage for Elektra’s grief and her thirst for vengeance. Honestly, I don’t give a damn how much music is in the film because when a film’s soundtrack is as bad-ass as this one, all you can really do is sit back and rock out!

The film is full of explicit religious imagery.

Fittingly, Daredevil is also rife not only with references to some of the character’s most influential writers (John Romita, David Mack, Joe Quesada, Brian Michael Bendis all get name dropped, Frank Miller and Stan Lee pop up for brief cameos, and, most egregiously of all, Kevin Smith has the gall to appear as a coroner named “Jack Kirby”) but also with religious imagery; the opening of the film provides a perfect excuse to recreate that iconic shot of Daredevil clinging to a cross atop a church, Matt is only able to control his newfound abilities by focusing on the ringing of a church bell, the Director’s Cut features a handful of quasi-dream sequences where Matt is visited by a Nun (actually his deceased mother), Daredevil subdues Bullseye by causing a sniper’s bullet to pierce his hands in the style of the stigmata, and Matt frequently finds solace in Father Everett’s church. In the theatrical cut, Everett was the only other person who knew of Matt’s dual identity and he strived to turn Matt towards a more righteous path; here, this role is largely the same but slightly different as the film focuses more on Matt’s dark path and the violence of his life. We’re led to believe that this comes to a head when he spares the Kingpin but, arguably, Fisk deserved to die more than any of Matt’s other victims. Instead, Matt is happy (or, at least, willing) to kill small fry like rapists in the opening but not the primary crime lord of New York simply to serve a wonky character arc and to set up sequel bait.

Matt is haunted by his past, his pain, his anger, and his struggle to reconcile his emotions.

One thing the Director’s Cut really brings to light is just how conflicted and full of anger Matt is; his violent double life is clearly at odds with his Catholic upbringing and is taking its toll on him, as expertly seen by a new scene where Matt is literally haunted by the screams and suffering of those he cannot help in the city. He lashes out at criminals when under the mask and takes his anger and frustration out on both them and his Devil-Cave when he is unable to save Natchios and, unlike in his original debut, Matt is a flawed and fundamentally broken character; he struggles with his newfound abilities at first and his quips are more like cruel taunts than light-hearted whimsy. There’s a sense that he does what he does out of a sense of duty to his father and because of his abilities but it’s also pretty clear that he’s using Daredevil to exert all of his emotions and rage; when he sees a child cower in fear of him, he is stunned and desperately tries to convince himself that he’s “not the bad guy”. Finding little solace in Father Everett’s talk of faith, Matt struggles to reconcile his actions and inner turmoil and he is noticeably tetchy and short with Foggy the next day as a result. This all goes to great lengths to explain why he was unable to get through to Elektra at the funeral since Matt is hardly a bastion of virtue. How can he hope to convince someone not to seek vengeance when he does it every night?

It might look impracticable and uncomfortable but Daredevil’s suit is straight up bad-ass!

Another thing I always enjoyed about Daredevil was its dark and gritty aesthetic and the costume design; when taking to the streets as Daredevil, Murdock dons a thick, uncomfortable-looking but super bad-ass leather outfit that is a fantastic blood-red and is one of the few live-action superhero suits to actually use lens over the eyes. The practicality of this suit might be in question but it sure looks awesome (…when it isn’t rendered in shitty CGI), though I do find myself questioning how Matt was able to make it and the many duplicates hanging in his Devil-Cave. Matt also, of course, wields his multi-purpose cane (seriously, it’s a baton, nunchaku, a grappling hook, and even an axe!) but I find it hard to believe he could do both to such a high standard and exactly how does Matt manage to change into Daredevil in the middle of the city? There’s no way he’s wearing that suit under his clothes and he can’t be that close to his apartment all the time so either it’s a convenience for the sake of keeping the film’s frenetic pace going or Matt has stashed spare costumes all over the city!

Despite all her abilities, Elektra is no match for Bullseye…

Bullseye and Elektra don’t fare quite as well as Daredevil on the costume front, unfortunately, with both opting for black leather and relatively simple attire despite Bullseye demanding a “fuckin’ costume” from Fisk. Still, Bullseye makes up for it with a preposterous bullseye scar on his forehead and an absolutely gorgeous Matrix-style trenchcoat that he even uses to disorientate and distract Elektra during their fight. This whole sequence is a bit of a let down, to be honest; earlier, in their civilian clothing, we saw Elektra and Matt go toe-to-toe and that they were largely evenly matched until Elektra got the better of him. Considering Matt’s augmented strength and reflexes, this is a pretty impressive feat and, overwhelmed by hatred and her desire for revenge and helped by the fact that Matt refuses to fight her, we see Elektra again able to best Daredevil in a fight, incapacitating him with a stab to the shoulder that, for all intents and purposes, leaves Daredevil seemingly near death! After discovering the truth about her father’s murder, though, she immediately redirects her anger towards Bullseye, a man we have seen exhibit absolutely not fighting prowess up until that point, and is summarily overwhelmed! Seriously, I get that Bullseye is agile and all about the misdirection and the perfect shots but he toys with Elektra all through their fight and kills her without barely breaking a sweat!

Daredevil and Kingpin settle their differences in a good, old-fashioned fist fight!

Daredevil’s fight against Bullseye isn’t much better as not only are they depicted as being physical equals (though at least Daredevil has the excuse of being badly wounded), the fight is hindered by the worst instances of CGI in the film that sees them leaping and hopping up about the place like in a videogame, Daredevil catching all of Bullseye’s shurikens with swift movements of his club, and Bullseye expertly snagging every single shard of broken stained glass and tossing them at Daredevil (who avoids them all with a superb series of well-timed backflips). It really hasn’t aged too well and is ridiculously over the top for what should have been a simple, brutal affair. Thankfully, the climactic fight between Daredevil and Kingpin makes up for this even more in the Director’s Cut; in the original version, this fight is depressingly short but, here, it’s noticeably longer and stands out from the rest of the film by beginning with the simple, raw sounds of the two adversaries kicking the crap out of each other. Thanks to his immense strength and Daredevil’s wounds, Fisk is able to subdue Daredevil with a concussion-induced blow to the head and a rib-breaking toss into a concrete pillar; like the bullies of Matt’s youth, Fisk is incredibly amused to find that his rival is “the blind lawyer from Hell’s Kitchen” but finds himself on the back foot when Matt uses the sprinkler system to focus his radar sense and brutally bring the Kingpin to his knees. Driven to the floor in pain and at Matt’s mercy, Fisk is spared and handed over to the police despite promising that he’ll get out, and tell others of Daredevil’s identity. Matt, however, is unfazed, believing that no one would believe Fisk’s story and vows to be ready for Fisk when he gets out, setting the stage for a rematch and an escalating conflict that, sadly, we never saw. Like when Matt threw Bullseye out of the church window and to what should have been his death (he survived but was left in a full body cast so I guess that makes it okay…?), this is treated as a heroic, character-defining moment as Matt finally choose the higher, more noble and heroic path…despite the fact that he’s killed before, both directly and indirectly, and leaving Fisk alive is arguably more dangerous to both him and the city.

The Summary:
While many of the CGI shots and fight/action scenes haven’t aged too well, there’s actually a lot to like here; Daredevil’s suit is incredible and, while the costumes are very Matrix-y (as are the fights), they still work and allow each character to stand out from each other. The cast (with the exception of Elektra) is also really strong; Affleck may have talked shit about the role but he’s really good, shaking off a lot of his boy scout persona and really selling the idea that he’s a blind man and an emotionally tormented sole trying to do good through violent actions and getting lost down a dark path, and Duncan is phenomenal as the Kingpin. He has a real weighty presence, exuding power and intimidation but also layering the character with subtle nuances; it’s like he’s constantly keeping his anger and brutality in check through the veil of civilisation and decorum and is itching to let his emotions loose. Daredevil allows Matt to do this but Fisk has few opportunities to do it; the only one not hiding behind some kind of a mask is Bullseye, who is unapologetically sadistic through and through The soundtrack is also incredible; sure, music and songs fill nearly every scene but the hard rock, metal, and nu-metal tracks are a welcome inclusion for me. It’s not perfect; the plot is kind of all over the place, even in the Director’s Cut, and full of conveniences and contrivances but it does a really good job of establishing this world and it’s a shame we never got to see this cast all come back for at least one more film. Seriously, we got two mediocre Fantastic 4 movies (Story, 2005 and 2007) but we couldn’t get a sequel to Daredevil? As much as I loved the Netflix series, I still think that’s a real shame since the intention was clearly to do something akin to “Born Again” (Miller, et al, 1986) in the follow-up.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think about Daredevil: Director’s Cut? How do you think it compares to the theatrical version? What did you think to Ben Affleck in the title role, and the film’s cast in general? Did you enjoy the film’s soundtrack or did you find the constant influx of songs distracting? How well do you think the film holds up compared to its modern equivalents? Perhaps you prefer the Netflix series (I mean, who doesn’t, right?); if so, why and what are some of your favourite moments from that? Do you have a favourite Daredevil character or storyline you’d like to see adapted into live-action? Whatever your thoughts on daredevil, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Movie Night: Deadpool

Dr. K16 Comments

Released: 8 February 2016
Director: Tim Miller
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Budget: $58 million
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapičić/Andre Tricoteux

The Plot:
After mercenary for hire Wade Wilson (Reynolds) contracts terminal cancer, he turns to Francis Freeman/Ajax (Skrein), who subjects him to round-the-clock torture to activate his latent X-Gene. The experiment is a success, transforming Wade into a near-immortal Mutant but also horrifically disfiguring him and leading him on a bloody quest for revenge.

The Background:
Deadpool was created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld back in 1991; originally an antagonist who featuring in the duo’s New Mutants comics, the self-styled “Merc With a Mouth” gained significant popularity over the years, especially once he became self-aware and began breaking the fourth wall. This popularity eventually led to his own solo title, a series of team-ups with other Marvel heroes, appearances in Marvel/X-Men-related videogames, and even a cameo appearance in the beloved X-Men animated series (1992 to 1997). Deadpool made his live-action debut in the much-maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hood, 2009); here, the character was expertly portrayed by Ryan Reynolds (who had been eyed for the role as far back as 2004) and his inclusion was intended to setup a solo spin-off for the character. After X-Men Origins was critically panned and following the poor reception of the Reynolds-led Green Lantern (Campbell, 2011), however, 20th Century Fox (who had bought the film rights to the X-Men franchise some time ago) got cold feet about producing an expensive superhero film full of violence and cuss words. Yet, after director Tim Miller’s early test footage mysteriously leaked online to an overwhelmingly positive response, Fox committed to releasing the film as the director and actor wished but with a much smaller budget than traditional superhero films. As it turned out, however, the studio was wrong to be apprehensive and right to produce the film on a tighter budget as Deadpool eventually brought in over $780 million in worldwide gross which, alongside it’s overwhelmingly positive critical reception, more than justified the greenlighting of a sequel and a continued investment in the character on their part.

The Review:
As described by Deadpool himself, Deadpool is, at its heart, a traditional love story of boy meets girl, boy contracts terminal cancer, boy acquires superhuman powers, boy gets girl. It’s the classic, age-old tale we’ve all come to know and love…just with more crotch shots and gratuitous violence than you might remember. Right off the bat, Deadpool opens with an impressive slow-motion shot right in the middle of Deadpool unleashing the carnage on a busy highway while Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” plays and numerous sight and visual gags fill the screen (the majority of them poking fun and the cast and crew of the film and setting up Deadpool’s trademark crude humour). This highway sequence acts as a bridging device as Deadpool, directly addressing the camera and through the power of voiceover, explains his origin up to that point and we continuously return to the highway to see Deadpool blowing the brains out of Ajax’s men and skewering them with his blades.

Seriously, who wouldn’t fall in love with Morena Baccarin?

It turns out that Deadpool was just as childish and sadistic before he acquired his powers; as a mercenary for hire, Wade took on a variety of jobs issued to him by his kind-of-sort-of friend/business acquaintance Weasel (Miller). While he is characteristically coy about the exact specifics of his past, using dark humour to twist the exact truth of his background, he openly admits to having a “soft spot” and wishing to make some kind of small difference to people’s lives. It’s in the midst of this cavalier lifestyle that he meets Vanessa (Baccarin), an absolutely gorgeous woman who appears to be just as snarky and unhinged as he. The two immediately hit it off and spend an entire year doing little other than screwing like animals and falling in love. Right as Wade begins to feel alive again, though, he (literally) falls ill with terminal cancer and, unwilling to drag Vanessa into that “shit show” (as he calls it), packs up and leaves to die alone.

Thankfully, Ajax isn’t just another “guy in a suit”; he’s a sadistic bastard through and through.

For a character who is known for little more than cutting people’s heads off, spouting crude jokes and nonsensical one-liners, and engaging in mindless violence, Deadpool is a surprisingly tragic and relatable character even after he has become a nigh-unstoppable one-man-army. Reynolds excels in the role and I literally cannot imagine anyone else bringing as much humour, heart, and snarky bad-assery to the role. It’s easily the part he was born to play and you can tell that he relishes every last blood-soaked moment of it. Opposing Deadpool is Ajax, a role that demands little more from Ed Skrein than to be a stereotypical “British villain” but which he brings such a slimy arrogance to that you can’t help but want to see Deadpool get his hands on him. A former patient of the same facility Wade ends up in, Ajax’s mutation leaves him incapable of feeling pain (or anything else) and not only superhumanly strong but completely sadistic as well. As a result, he’s not only the perfect kind of amoral asshole but also a formidable threat in his own right since he can’t feel pain and Deadpool can heal from any injury, allowing the two of them to just go absolutely nuts on each other once they finally face off.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead is ballsy enough to match wits with Deadpool.

Ajax is joined by Angel Dust (Carano), a Mutant who is superhumanly strong; as is the crutch of the majority of the henchpeople in X-Men films, the role doesn’t really require much from Carano other than to stand around looking intimidating and bring the pain when required but it’s refreshing to see a woman in the role of the “muscle”. Her presence is inoffensive enough and she even manages to work in a few subtle character traits of her own here and there (she constantly chews on toothpicks and is even somewhat flustered in her fight against Piotr Rasputin/Colossus (Kapičić/Tricoteux)). Speaking of Colossus, this isn’t the underutilised character you know from previous X-Men films as portrayed by Daniel Cudmore; instead, Colossus is a colossal (pun intended) fully computer-generated character and always shown in his organic steel form. Sporting a true Russian accent and portrayed as a veteran of the X-Men, Colossus acts as Deadpool’s conscious and would-be-mentor figure as he attempts to persuade Wade away from the blood-soaking path he has put himself on and become a true hero as an X-Man. Joining Colossus is an entirely new character to these films, the preposterously-named Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Hildebrand); a typical moody, anti-social, and rebellious teenager, Negasonic mainly exists to be the butt of Wade’s numerous pop culture references, to spout equally-mean comments back to him, and to explode in atomic bursts for the film’s finale. While they could have used any other teenage X-Man for this role, the filmmakers specifically selected the character based on her striking name and had to negotiate with Marvel Studios in order to include her. While her powers may be different, she’s a decent enough character in her own right, especially coming into her own in the battlefield.

Deadpool‘s violence is just part of the film’s appeal.

What separates Deadpool from other superhero films, though, is its presentation. Superhero films have been violent before; they’ve had swearing and killing and blood but they’ve never quite been like Deadpool. The film is an action/comedy, full of visual gags, constant one-liners and insults, and more violence than you can shake a stick at. Deadpool is relentlessly brutal in his methods, blowing brains out, splitting guys in two, and even cutting his own hand off to escape custody. He’s an insatiable killing machine, full of righteous anger but also with a surprising amount of pathos built into his character. While it’s hard to believe that the damage done to his face is enough to truly turn off any woman, much less one as devoted to him as Vanessa, the way his monstrous appearance affects his usual bold-as-brass confidence is affecting and it’s easy to buy into his quest for revenge against Ajax.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Deadpool is a brisk, non-stop action piece; the film hits the ground running and even in its slower, more poignant moments, it never drags or feels extraneous. Rather than worry itself with the disastrous continuity of the X-Men films, Deadpool exists instead in its own bubble that is adjacent to, and directly inspired by, the existing X-Men franchise but very much its own thing and it never shies away from poking fun at the films that have proceeded it or the mess Fox made of their continuity.

Deadpool is full of clever and entertaining references.

Speaking of which, the film goes out of its way to not only mock the treatment of Deadpool in X-Men Origins (Deadpool clearly acts as though that film never happened or was some kind of awful nightmare) but also Reynolds’ experiences on Green Lantern. Very little escapes the film’s humourous grilling, either; Deadpool references having to perform sordid act on Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in order to get his own film, regards Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) as a bad father for always allowing his family to get taken, stages its entire finale on what is clearly the remains of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and features two incredibly fun “cameos” from Jackman himself.

Deadpool‘s CGI and budget is put to good use and never overwhelms the film’s action or story.

Having a smaller budget really benefitted Deadpool; it meant that what little money it had had to be put to good use rather than on elaborate special effects and gratuitous CGI. It also allows the film to tell a far more grounded and focused story; the spotlight is on Deadpool the entire time, as it should be, and though it does include the X-Men they are used sparingly and in service of the film’s greater narrative rather than clogging the film’s runtime up with pointless cameos and fan service. Deadpool’s wise-cracking nature, jokes, and violent actions are fan service enough and, thankfully, remain the central hook for the film from start to finish.

The Summary:
I wasn’t really the biggest fan of Deadpool going into this film; I find X-Men comics very dense and nearly impenetrable so I hadn’t really read too much about him beyond what I saw online. This actually benefitted me in a lot of ways; it meant I wasn’t too bothered by how badly 20th Century Fox neutered the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and it meant that I would be seeing the film without high expectations. And, yet, Deadpool exceeds those expectations continuously the more I see it. I honestly find it difficult to talk about Deadpool; comedies are a difficult genre to really describe at the best of times, I find, and the only way you can really appreciate Deadpool’s humour and appeal is to just watch it for yourself. It really is an impressive and incredibly enjoyable action romp; even if the film hadn’t been full of gratuitous violence or swearing, there would still be loads left over to enjoy, I think, but the fact that the filmmakers just went in balls deep and decided to do an unapologetically true adaptation of Deadpool’s unique character is truly admirable. I honestly thought that the one-two-punch of Deadpool and Logan (Mangold, 2017) would open the doors for R-rated action films to once again be successful in Hollywood. That resurgence didn’t really come to pass, unfortunately, but we did get a pretty decent sequel out of it (I honestly struggle to pick my favourite of the two and often settle for just watching both back to back) and that doesn’t dilute the fact that Deadpool is an incredibly bad-ass and hilariously enjoyable experience from start to finish.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Deadpool? Do you feel it did a better job of capturing the character’s essence than X-Men Origins: Wolverine or were there parts that disappointed you? What did you think of Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal and can you think of any other pitch-perfect castings in films? What was your first introduction to Deadpool and what do you think of him as a character? How are you celebrating Deadpool’s debut this month? Whatever your thoughts on Deadpool, and the X-Men, drop a comment below.

Movie Night: Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back

Dr. K11 Comments
Pokemon1stMovieLogo

Released: July 1998
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
Distributor: Toho
Budget: $5 million
Stars: Veronica Taylor, Philip Bartlett, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, Madeleine Blaustein, Ikue Ohtani, and Kouichi Yamadera

The Plot:
Cloned from the genetic material of the rarest Pokémon of all, Mew (Yamadera), and enraged at its mistreatment at the hands of humans, the Psychic Pokémon Mewtwo (Bartlett) lures Ash Ketchum (Taylor) and his friends to its island to witness its plan to enact revenge against all humanity.

The Background:
So, by now, you’re well aware of Pokémon (Nintendo/Creatures/Game Freak, 1995 to present), a role-playing videogame in which you capture, raise, and battle little monsters and which dominated playgrounds and friendships in the late nineties. After rushing out to purchase Pokémon: Blue Version or Pokémon: Red Version, kids soon became engrossed in every piece of Pokémon merchandise there was, and that included the still-ongoing Pokémon (1997 to present) anime series. Though somewhat removed from its videogame source material, the anime was popular enough to warrant the release of a feature-length animated movie that revolved around one of the most powerful and popular Pokémon, Mewtwo, and its ever-elusive biological counterpart, Mew. Mewtwo represented the ultimate challenge in the original videogames; capturing it meant you had easily the strongest Pokémon the game had to offer and the creature was seemingly tailor-made for the game’s Master Ball, which captured any Pokémon without fail. In comparison, Mew wasn’t actually available in the original videogames outside of Japan, resulting in a slew of wild theories on how to capture it and kids either breaking their games with glitches or buying a Game Genie to get their hands on the mysterious little critter. For me, Pokémon: The First Movie has never been matched by other Pokémon movies in terms of its spectacle and hype. This was peak Pokémon, when the games and anime were at their most popular for my generation (matched only by the release of the follow-up titles), and the appeal of Mewtwo and mystery surrounding Mew was at the forefront of my mind and the minds of my friends and peers. Best of all, hints and glimpses of Mewtwo had been peppered throughout the anime: Giovanni (Ted Lewis) had used it in a battle against Ash’s rival, Gary Oak (James Carter Cathcart), and we’d seen it escape from Giovanni’s headquarters in explosive fashion. Never again would the anime so explicitly tie into one of the movies and the hype for Pokémon: The First Movie was palpable as a result.

The Review:
Pokémon: The First Movie opens with Mewtwo questioning its memories, its identity, and the reason for its creation. These issues haunt Mewtwo throughout the film and are the reason for its rage against, and hatred of, humanity; cloned from a single cell of the mythical Pokémon Mew, Mewtwo is tormented by visions from a life it doesn’t remember and feelings it can’t reconcile. Add to that its “awesome Psychic powers” and Mewtwo doesn’t waste any time in breaking out of its containment tube and demanding answers from the Team Rocket scientists that created it. Incensed at the their lack of care for its feeling or condition, Mewtwo flies into a rage, destroying the lab and killing everyone within. This opening sequence effectively sets the tone for what is to follow; although the film is rated U for everybody, it’s a far darker and more sombre affair than the usually fun-loving anime series thanks, largely, to the changes made to Mewtwo’s motivations by producer Norman Grossfeld. This involved cutting an entire opening sequence which made Mewtwo a far more sympathetic figure and changing the Pokémon from a more ambiguous and tragic figure and into one that is clearly evil and motivated by anger.

Pokemon1stMovieHatred
Mewtwo’s hatred for humanity makes it an aggressive and dangerous foe.

However, this doesn’t make it any less a tragic figure; Mewtwo suffers nothing but abuse and betrayal in its short life and its outrage is completely understandable. Determined to take revenge against the human world, Mewtwo organises a Pokémon tournament on its island; after winning a Pokémon battle against a random trainer (in unbelievable fashion), Ash, Brock (Stuart), and Misty (Lillis) are invited to attend but soon find themselves opposed by a sudden storm. This world-covering tempest is actually a result of Mewtwo; in the dub, Mewtwo causes a storm that threatens all life on Earth rather than to simply cloak its island and, while debating how to brave the storm, Ash and his friends hear a story that is also exclusive to the dub. They are told of a time long ago when a storm wiped out countless lives; so heartbroken by the devastation, the surviving Pokémon’s tears “somehow restored the lives lost in the storm”. Though it obviously has many holes, this ridiculous premise actually works to help justify what happens at the end of the film and simplifies the film’s events for the younger viewers that made up the majority of its audience. Regardless, Ash and his friends manage to reach Mewtwo’s island thanks not only to their Pokémon (despite them being described as being “too weak” to brave the storm) and, partially, to assistance from their long-time enemies from Team Rocket, Jessie (Lillis), James (Stuart), and Meowth (Blaustein), all of whom largely fulfil their usual roles as comic relief.

Pokemon1stMovieClones
Mewtwo plans to replace life with its genetically superior clones.

Once they reach the island and encounter Mewtwo, Ash immediately opposes Mewtwo’s plot to wipe the planet clean of all life, human and Pokémon alike, and replace it with its genetically superior clone Pokémon. What follows is an inevitable conflict between the naturally born and trained Pokémon of the trainers present and Mewtwo’s clones and a debate about the merits of fighting and the difference between nature and nurture. Now, obviously, the dub makes these aspects so on the nose and in your face that you’d be hard-pressed to miss them; the characters literally have an entire conversation in the middle of a no holds barred fight between the clones and the originals where they simply repeat “fighting is wrong” over and over. As a kid, this was a frustrating experience as those who didn’t understand Pokémon or who thought it was stupid would criticise this moment as all Pokémon ever seem to do is fight but I would argue that there is a clear difference in the games, anime, and in this movie and its subsequent sequels between battling for sport and in the name of friendly competition and fighting to the death.

Pokemon1stMovieThemes
Both Pikachu and Meowth refuse to fight their clones.

No one exemplifies the refusal to take part in such a pointless fight more than Pikachu (Ohtani); seeing it pointedly refuse to fight its clone and getting smacked around as a result was utterly heartbreaking but it serves to drive the point home extremely well. Even Team Rocket come to realise the pointlessness of such conflict, with Meowth also refusing to fight its clone and musing that individuals have more in common than they might think. Of course, all this surprising character growth and development is then rendered completely mute when Mewtwo wipes all of their memories, meaning that the only one who really learns a lesson is Mewtwo but, given that it was hell-bent on destroying all life on Earth, I guess that’s preferable. Even after all this time, and despite some of its flaws, Pokémon: The First Movie is still a great film for me. Of all the Pokémon movies released, this, in my opinion, is still the best one; nostalgia obviously plays a large part in this but, while I enjoyed some of the later movies, none of them had quite the same appeal as this one. It introduced a few new Pokémon from the upcoming sequel games, showcased my favourite Pokémon (Mewtwo), and brought Mew into the spotlight for the first time. It’s telling that every single Pokémon movie that has followed has featured either a Psychic Pokémon or a Pokémon capable of speech/communicating and that they often have similar themes of an evil or misguided, stupidly powerful Pokémon having to be quelled. Pokémon: The First Movie did it first, and best, in my opinion, though.

The Nitty-Gritty:
I mentioned just now that the film has some flaws and, yeah, it would be ignorant not to address them. Compared to later movies in the series, Pokémon: The First Movie isn’t quite as crisp or as smoothly animated; indeed, the animation is clearly a step up from the regular anime but far from the gorgeously slick rendering of later films. While you could argue that the producers really didn’t need to replace certain aspects with computer-generated images (doors, some camera movements and effects and the like), I didn’t actually mind this; sure, it sticks out a bit but it’s harmless enough.

Pokemon1stMovieChanges
The dub changes Mewtwo’s motivations but it’s still a complex character.

Of course, the changes made to the script, specifically Mewtwo’s origin and motivations, irked many people but it was never really an issue for me; sure, I’d like to see it either redubbed or subtitled in the original Japanese format but I grew up with the dubbed anime and this version of the movie. It’s all I’ve ever known and I’ve always been happy with it despite how unapologetically the script hammers home its obvious themes. It is a bit weird, though, how the script makes a few errors in identifying Pokémon; it makes an ironic sense that lifetime bunglers like Team Rocket would mistake Sandshrew for Sandslash (even though they look very different) but it is a bit odd that a trainer would misidentify his own Pokémon. Mistakes like these are surprising but hardly a deal-breaker; it smacks of laziness and a lack of quality control but hardly derails the movie.

Pokemon1stMovieConflict
Mewtwo and Mew clash in a test of will and power.

Frankly, they could have screwed the names of all the Pokémon and I still would have been happy just to see the long-awaited fight between Mewtwo and Mew. Apparently evenly matched in terms of raw power, their fight disappointingly descends into them simply ramming into each other’s protective shields but it’s nonetheless quite brutal and exciting. It’s even quite surprising how vicious Mew is; it is portrayed the entire movie as this mischievous little pixie but, when push comes to shove, is more than happy to trade energy blasts with its monstrous counterpart and fight to prove its point.

Pokemon1stMovieDespair
Still a heartbreaking moment all these years later…

This, of course, brings me to one of the most heartbreaking moments you could experience as a kid; Ash, desperate to stop the fighting, leaps between the two and is inexplicably turned to stone. The moment is shocking (even for me…and I’ve never been that big a fan of Ash) but quickly becomes absolutely heartwrenching when Pikachu, confused and in despair, tries to rouse its master with little pushes and shock after shock. The fighting stops; friend and foe alike gaze in disbelief as Pikachu fails to awaken Ash and bursts into tears of grief. It’s absolutely heartbreaking even now just seeing Pikachu in such a desperate state. Luckily, that “tears of life” story pays off and the collective tears of all the Pokémon restore Ash but I never expected the movie to have this sudden, abrupt turn into the feels and it still gets me to this day. Pokémon: The First Movie was a rousing success, earning over $170 million at the box office and kick-starting a slew of movies to follow. The producers circled back around to Mewtwo a couple of times after this, first in the direct-to-DVD sequel, Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns (Sonoda, 2000), which answered a few lingering questions from this film, and then Mewtwo and Mew also appeared in Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage (Yuyama and Fujita, 2006). Mewtwo also featured in Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (Yuyama, 2013), though that film inexplicably and quite ridiculously featured an entirely different Mewtwo, and Pokémon: The First Movie was remade entirely in CGI in 2019 around about in time for the first film’s twentieth anniversary and, of course, who else but Mewtwo would feature as the principal antagonist in Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (Letterman, 2019), a film that explicitly referenced Pokémon: The First Movie when discussing Mewtwo’s origins.

Pokemon1stMovieBanner

The Summary:
Never doubt the power of nostalgia; it can make even the crappiest polygonal graphics seem timeless and the most outlandish movies memorable. I still like Pokémon but I don’t really play the games anymore and am nowhere near as invested in the franchise as I was when Pokémon: The First Movie came out; I would scour magazines and comic books for glimpses of the film and the mysterious new Pokémon we knew nothing about and went out of my way to get a bootleg VHS of the movie just so I could watch it and see my favourite Pokémon in action. I admit that nostalgia plays a large part in my affection for Pokémon: The First Movie but it is still a really solid entry in the Pokémon movie series and a decent animated feature in its own right. It’s not as action-packed as the later entries and nowhere near as well animated or scripted but the hype was real and seeing Mewtwo and Mew go at it in this classic will never got old. It got me then and it still gets me now.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What did you think of Pokémon: The First Movie? Where does it rank for you compared to the other Pokémon films? Do you think it still holds up to this day or do you think it’s seen better days? How are you celebrating Mewtwo’s birthday this year? Whatever you think about Pokémon: The First Movie, Mewtwo, and Pokémon in general, leave your thoughts in the comments below

Movie Night: London Has Fallen

Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 4 March 2016
Director: Babak Najafi
Distributor: Focus Features
Budget: $60 million
Stars: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Alon Moni Aboutboul, Waleed Zuaiter, Angela Bassett, and Morgan Freeman

The Plot:
When the world’s leaders arrive in London for the funeral of the British Prime Minister, a group of mercenaries led by Kamran Barkawi (Waleed Zuaiter) launch a co-ordinated attack on the city. Amidst the death and destruction, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler) is forced to traverse the war-torn streets of London in a desperate bid to keep United States President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) safe and end the terrorist threat.

The Background:
Though Olympus Has Fallen (Fuqua, 2013) received largely mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, making over $170 million against a $70 million budget (which was about $50 million more than a similar, far more expensive film released at the same time). A sequel was put into production a few years later, though director Antoine Fuqua was unable to return and the film’s release was pushed back after the original date coincided with the tenth anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Though London Has Fallen received far more mixed to negative reviews than its predecessor, it was also much more successful at the box office, making over $205 million and ensuring the production of a third entry in the franchise.

The Review:
While Olympus Has Fallen had many similarities to Die Hard (McTiernan, 1988), London Has Fallen actually has more in common with Die Hard with a Vengeance (ibid, 1995) in that it takes the bombastic, explosive action of the first film and expands it out into a desperate fight for survival across an entire city. Just as the last film’s unique selling point was the absolute decimation and hostile takeover of the White House, London Has Fallen makes the bold decision to place Mike, Asher, and all the returning characters in a completely different country, thus eliminating the home turf advantage Mike had in the first film.

With fatherhood looming, Mike begins to consider retiring from active duty.

After the events of the last film, Mike is back to his old self; his relationship with President Asher is as strong and amicable as ever, his wife Leah (Radha Mitchell) is pregnant, and he’s contemplating resigning his commission in order to be closer to home and provide for his growing family. There’s a definite sense of growth for the character, who is no longer burdened by guilt or grief and is, instead, struggling with giving up his beloved position in the Secret Service in order to be a more attentive husband and father. Once again, there isn’t really anything for Leah to do except be Mike’s moral compass and supportive rock; because she’s pregnant, she can’t accompany him to London and is left to watch in horror when the city is aggressively attacked. Her primary reason for being in the film is to lend Mike some additional humanity and motivation, and this is doubled this time around since Mike is naturally apprehensive (and a little overly protective) about the prospect of being a father.

London falls victim to a devastating, co-ordinated terrorist attack.

This time around, our antagonists are Pakistani arms traffickers and terrorists led by Aamir Barkawi (Aboutboul); when the British military initiate a pre-emptive missile strike to take them out, Barkawi’s son, Kamran, leads a counterattack that sees London bombarded with a full-scale terrorist assault during the British Prime Minister’s funeral. Forty of the world’s governmental powers are in attendance for the funeral, the abruptness of which naturally puts Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Bassett) on edge despite the reputation the British government has for security and routine. Mike is just as efficient and prepared as ever; the trip to London equally perturbs him because of how little time he has to prepare for it and a host of unknown factors but even he could never have prepared for the violence that suddenly erupts in the streets of London. Kamran arranges for car bombs and suicide bombers, has his men pose as emergency services and members of the Queen’s Guard to rain gunfire and grenades into the visiting delegates and crowd, and destroys a variety of iconic British landmarks.

Mike is forced to adapt on the fly and go on the defensive to keep Asher safe.

The initial attack results in Jacobs’ sudden and violent death and forces Mike to flee into the London Underground with Asher; with the two compromised and under the constant threat of attack, the film becomes more of a protracted escort mission for Mike, who must constantly think on his feet to find ways of keeping Asher safe. This means that there’s a lot more for Eckhart to do this time around; he’s no mere helpless politician and, though the attack and violence of not just the terrorists but also Mike shakes him, he still retains that same defiant attitude and moxie as before and even orders Mike to kill him rather than let him be captured and publicly executed. Many of the characters from the previous film return, including now Vice President Allan Trumbull (Freeman), Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan (Melissa Leo), and General Edward Clegg (Robert Forster). These are joined by White House Deputy Chief of Staff DC Mason (Jackie Earle Haley) and a host of new characters from the British government, including Commissioner Sir Kevin Hazard (Colin Salmon), MI6 agent Jacquelin “Jax” Marshall (Charlotte Riley), and SAS Captain Will Davies (Bryan Larkin).

The odds are stacked even heavier against Mike this time around.

As in the previous film, everyone gets a little onscreen blurb so you know who they are and what their position and title is but it’s these latter two who get the most influential screen time as, while the governmental figures debate with Barkawi and co-ordinate with Mike, Jax is instrumental in tracking down their mole and Davies and the SAS team provide him with actual, practical support in his effort to reach the captured President. Compared to the terrorist forces of the previous film, Kamran and his cohorts aren’t quite as blunt and vicious but are no less premeditated in their approach. Through subterfuge and technological innovation as much as brute force, Kamran is not only able to bring London to its knees and position his mercenaries across the city in an effort to track down Asher to have him executed but also able to effectively neuter any possible large scale counterattack since his men are posing as emergency services. Like before, though, a traitor to the ideals of freedom and justice allows Kamran the foothold he needs to launch this devastating attack as it turns out that MI5 Counter-Intelligence Chief John Lancaster (Patrick Kennedy) has betrayed his country.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Given that its setting has moved from the confined hallways and rooms of the White House to one of the biggest and most confusing cities in the world, London Has Fallen has a much wider variety of action scenes than its predecessor. Accordingly, we get an exhilarating car chase through the busy streets (that sees Mike driving in reverse at high speed at one point), widescale destruction of iconic landmarks, a massive helicopter crash that kills Jacobs, and a full-scale firefight in the narrow streets of London between Banning and his SAS support team and Kamran’s forces. Once Mike is left in charge of Asher’s safety, we once again get to see how meticulous, strategic, and adaptable he can be as he brutally murders one of Kamran’s men (who is posing as a police officer) and relieves him of his weaponry to clear out the London Underground station he initially flees to. In the process, he viciously beats and tortures one of Kamran’s men, slowly killing him and forcing Kamran to listen.

Asher helps humanise Mike and gets much more to do this time around.

Mike’s brutality shakes Asher and Mike has to work to keep him focused and calm but remains a relentless, uncompromising machine when the shit hits the fan who never misses a trick (he has a knack for sensing when things are too quiet prior to an action sequence and even spots Kamran’s men by noticing that they’re not sweating). Having Asher with him allows Mike the chance to have someone physically there to talk to, which helps remind us of how flawed and relatable he is; he might be a cold, vicious killer who is able to meticulously beat, stab, and gun his enemies to death but he’s also very much an “Everyman” character, one who has concerns about fatherhood. Having Asher there gives Mike someone to build a rapport with in the heat of a pitched battle; he and Asher’s relationship if one of trust and respect and they share a brotherly bond, of sorts, that sees them trading quips and digs at each other to help relieve the stress of the situation. Asher is even able to pull his weight by shooting one of Kamran’s men to save Mike’s life rather than being a mere hostage this time around.

Mike’s indomitable will and unshakable patriotism once again wins the day.

Of course, he does eventually become a hostage and Mike is once again forced to rely on guerrilla tactics to keep himself and Asher safe. This culminates in a tense sequence shot in near pitch darkness where Mike picks off Kamran’s men one by one to get to the President; it’s much more of a gruelling gauntlet than the last film and requires a different level of adaptability on Mike’s part. He’s far better equipped this time around, though, thanks to Davies, which means that he’s far more likely to rely on firearms or knives than straight-up hand-to-hand combat. Though he does end up in a brawl with Kamran at the end of the film, it’s not much of a challenge for him even after he is stabbed up a bit since Mike’s iron will and patriotism make him an indomitable force to be reckoned with.

The Summary:
London Has Fallen is a much bigger, far grander story than its predecessor; by opening the film up and expanding its scope, it gives us the opportunity to see how well Mike adapts to different scenarios and showcases a slightly different side to his personality and nature. Although no longer hampered by grief, he’s nonetheless seriously considering retirement in the face of his impending fatherhood, but the entire experience galvanises his resolve to continue his commission and, even in the face of overwhelming odds, he remains steadfast and resolute. Again, the overall themes of patriotism are kind of lost on me but the film has slightly more appeal since it’s set in my home country and there’s plenty for action movie junkies to enjoy here, from Mike’s occasional dry sense of humour, to all-out firefights and explosive action, to some brutal melee combat. I’m not really sure why the film didn’t resonate with critics as well as the first one as it’s a decent escalation of the previous movie; maybe it’s the fact that it moves away from one man’s desperate, lone attempt at fending off terrorists to a much wider, urban environment or the far less compelling villain but I thought it was decent enough and may, actually, prefer it to the first film in some areas (specifically the most important parts: the action and the characterisations, especially of Mike and Asher).

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What are your thoughts on London Has Fallen? Did you prefer it to the first film or did it not resonate with you in quite the same way? What did you think to Mike this time around and the way he was presented compared to the first film? Were you happy to see President Asher have a more proactive role or would you have preferred to see Jax or Davies get more screen time? What did you think to the terrorist threat and the depiction of widespread destruction in London, as opposed to America, and which of the Fallen trilogy is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on London has Fallen go ahead and exercise your constitutional right to leave a comment down below.

Movie Night: Westworld

Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 17 August 1973
Director: Michael Crichton
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Budget: $1.2 million
Stars: Richard Benjamin, James Brolin, Yul Brynner, and Alan Oppenheimer

The Plot:
Following a messy divorce, Peter Martin (Benjamin) is treated to a much-needed vacation by his friend, John Blane (Brolin). The two journey to Westworld, a Wild West-themed amusement park populated by sophisticated androids, and indulge in a number of fantasies. However, when the machines begin to not just break down but go on a murderous rampage, the two find themselves fighting for their lives against the machines, in particular the aggressive Gunslinger (Brynner).

The Background:
Many years before he came a household name thanks to Jurassic Park (Crichton, 1990), Michael Crichton had already achieved significant success as a writer and had even directed a television film. Wanting to break into the Hollywood mainstream, Critchton produced an original screenplay for his feature-film directorial debut. The result was Westworld, a film that was ahead of its time in many ways, being one of the first examples of a computer virus driving robots or machines into a murderous frenzy, and pioneered several unique filmmaking techniques despite the tight budget, rushed production schedule, and interference from the film studio. Still, Westworld went on to become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s biggest box office success of that year; it also received high praise at the time, particularly for its effects and Brynner’s chillingly menacing performance. A favourite of mine since childhood, and a clear precursor to science-fiction greats like The Terminator (Cameron, 1984), Westworld inspired both a critically-panned sequel in 1976, an obscure television series that ran for five episodes in 1980, and, after years of speculation regarding a modern-day reboot, an extremely well-received and award winning HBO series that is part-reboot, part-sequel. Considering today is the day that HAL 9000 first came into being in Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal work 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), this seems like a great opportunity to talk about other instances of A.I. and machinery gaining sentiency and running amok against their human masters.

The Review:
Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Westerns; I often find them to be slow and dull and boring to look at as there’s a lot of arid locations and I’ve just never really connected with them. Westworld, though, cuts through that bias thanks in large part to its infusion of science-fiction elements. The film spends quite a bit of time selling us on its premise, which was obviously very new and unique at the time, literally opening with quite a long-winded, if amusing, sequence wherein spokesman Ed Wren (Robert Hogan) introduces the concept of Delos and their android-populated theme parks. He interviews a few random visitors to sell the unique concept of highly sophisticated and realistic robots offering a fully immersive experience and the confidence Delos has in the excitement, safety, customer satisfaction, and appeal of their theme parks

Pete and John make for charismatic and likeable protagonists.

If you’ve seen any sci-fi film before, much of this will be easily absorbed but, while this opening scene may drag a little bit, it’s pretty effective at establishing that Delos is fully confident in their facilities and we’re soon introduced to our extremely likeable protagonists, Pete and John. Benjamin and Brolin are two immediately amiable guys who have good chemistry and believable banter together; John is the expert as he’s paid a thousand dollars a day to visit Westworld before but, as it’s his first time, Pete’s conveniently full of questions and scepticism. Clearly the more highly strung of the two, it takes Pete a little while to acclimatise himself to the whole experience, which annoys and frustrates John who just wants him to relax and have a good time, but it’s a great way to sell Pete as an audience surrogate since it’s our first time, too, and he quickly becomes immersed in the unique experience Westworld has to offer. While listening to Delos’ introductory video package, we are sold the idea that Delos’ attractions offer a completely immersive, but completely safe, experience; they’ve “spared no expense” to recreate each World and ensure the visitors that “There are no rules” and that “Nothing can go wrong” on a continuous loop which…well, if that’s not a pretty glaring red flag then I don’t know what is!

Westworld‘s machines are so realistic that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart from humans.

Delos has gone to immense lengths to recreate the details of each World down to the smallest detail, offering visitors period-specific costumes, weapons, and accessories. Their machines are so lifelike that it is pretty much impossible to tell them apart from humans or other lifeforms except for their hands, which “haven’t been perfected [yet]”. Accordingly, they talk, act, and even bleed like a human, making the experience all the more realistic.

Delos’ technicians control every aspect of the resort from their sophisticated bunker.

To mix things up a bit, the film continuously cuts away to the engineers and puppet masters behind each World, who toil in a hot, highly sophisticated bunker of sorts. Using massively complicated computers, they control and dictate the routines and activities in each World, including the machines. They clean up the dead bodies once night has fallen (conveniently there’s apparently not much of an external nightlife in Delos’ resorts), program infidelity into the Queen (Victoria Shaw), cause bar fights to happen, and pretty much have their fingers in every aspect of the resort from their elaborate control room. Delos have, however been smart enough to program a safety feature into the revolvers of Westworld; they will only fire if the target has a low body temperature, ensuring guests don’t accidentally kill each other. How this works in the sword-based Medievalworld is not explained, however, and the virus that ends up spreading from machine to machine also ends up overriding this safety feature.

The bar fight scene is a particular highlight of the film’s humour.

If there’s one negative to Westworld, however, it’s the pacing; being a product of the seventies, the film isn’t exactly action-packed from the get-go and it likes to take its time explaining or establishing its concept and its world and acclimatising the audience to the fiction it is presenting. This isn’t really a bad thing; it’s much faster than 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968) or Alien (Scott, 1979), for example, and it leads to some fun scenes like Pete’s liaison with a robot prostitute, a few looks at how Delos run their operation behind the scenes, and an extremely amusing and exciting bar fight where Pete and John lackadaisically sit and play cards until their game is ruined. Plus, once the robots start running amok and the film’s climactic chase kicks in, Westworld really steps up and becomes this incredibly tense and engaging quasi-horror film.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Delos’ Chief Supervisor (Oppenheimer) explains that their machines are so sophisticated that even the technicians don’t fully understand them; many of them are built by other machines and are so advanced that their internal mechanisms are something of a mystery. He is horrified when a robotic snake manages to injure John despite it (and, presumably, all the machines) being programmed not to cause physical harm to the guests. He suggests, to chagrin of his peers, that the machines could not only have a degree of autonomy outside of their control but also that a virus is spreading throughout the resort, affecting each machine in turn. These days, that’s a well-accepted concept but, here, it is met with ridicule and scorn and seen as a mysterious, unknown enemy threatening the safety and security of their facilities. Quite how it comes about isn’t explained and is somewhat irrelevant once the machines go crazy and start killing mercilessly until they eventual break/shut down.

No matter how many times he’s put down, the Gunslinger keeps coming back for more.

Pete first runs afoul of the Gunslinger while choking down a whiskey at the local bar; dressed exactly like Chris Adams, his famous character from The Magnificent Seven (Sturges, 1960), Brynner delivers a cold, inhuman performance and speaks in blunt, antagonistic tones. Pete easily bests him in their first encounter, only for the machine to be fixed up and return to accost John later in the film. Again, Pete is able to put him down and the Delos scientists equip him with a few experimental upgrades to improve his performance. It surely breaks the immersion, somewhat, to have the same machines return to the resort after being “killed” and it’s left somewhat ambiguous whether the Gunslinger has been programmed to seek revenge or whether he is doing so of his own free will since, of all the machines, save the Black Knight (Michael Mikler), the Gunslinger is the only one to hold a grudge and specifically target a particular guest. As a result, when the Gunslinger shows up after the machines have started running amok, he immediately confronts Pete and John once more rather than joining his fellow machines in their rampage. He guns down John in cold blood and a lengthy, intense chase scene takes up the majority of the film’s final act as the Gunslinger toys with Pete, chasing him across the resort and dragging out his kill while Pete stumbles across the dead bodies of other guests and the inert forms of the machines.

The Terminator clearly owes a debt to the Gunslinger’s relentless persistence.

This is where Brynner’s performance really shines; he exudes a stoic, fittingly-machine-like demeanour that clearly set the standard for performances in the Terminator movies (Various, 1984 to 2019). Relentless and persistent, the Gunslinger pursues Pete on horseback or at a measured, leisurely pace; terrified out of his mind, Pete is unable to compose himself enough to get a clean shot at the Gunslinger and is forced to turn to more practical means, such as tossing caustic acid in his face and finally setting him on fire. Seeing Brynner’s features melt and his human façade break away to reveal his gruesome metallic insides is a truly chilling moment and when the Gunslinger finally collapses in a smouldering heap of sparks and fire, it’s easy to feel the same sense of grief, relief, and shock that Benjamin’s expression and body language display. As mentioned, the Gunslinger isn’t the only mechanical menace in this film; one of the other guests (Norman Bartold) sets himself up as a Lord of the castle in Medievalworld and, as a result, is forced into a duel with the Black Knight. From what we see of the Delos technicians, this is a pretty standard storyline for Medievalworld as they program the fight to always go in favour of the guest and look forward to watching it go down. This time, however, the Black Knight lands a killing blow and the Chief Supervisor immediately orders all the machines to be shut down. By this point, however, it’s too late; the virus has progressed so far that not only are the machines beyond the control of the technicians but they are locked in their bunker as all the doors as magnetically sealed. As a result, for their hubris they are left to slowly suffocate and die, powerless to save themselves or the guests from the robot rampage occurring across the resort.

The Summary:
The idea of a themed resort where guests can indulge their every whim and which is populated by advanced robots is extremely unique and interesting and Westworld does just enough with the concept to sell you on the potential and scope of this world appearing, at first, to be little more than sci-fi buddy comedy/action film of sorts and then descending into a horrifying tale of man versus machine for its incredibly tense finale. Many of Westworld’s concepts have since been perfected elsewhere or improved upon by numerous other films, videogames, books, comic books, and television shows but none of that dilutes the impact that Westworld still makes thanks to the unique way it presents these elements. The idea of a computer virus making machines go nuts might have been new and somewhat awkward to convey at the time but the film does a masterful job of showcasing it without really having to delve into the exact specifics of how and why it occurs; it’s a mystery, one that quickly escalates to become so dangerous and deadly that the only thing that matters is surviving rather than trying to figure out the how and the why of it all. Even better is the fact that the film’s effects are obviously all achieved through practical methods; while they would obviously be perfected over the years, it’s still admirable to see the lengths Crichton went to render the machines’ thermal vision through early digital effects and the horrifying, skull-like, almost alien inner workings of the machines once the Gunslinger’s face is dislodged. Punctuating the film’s simple but effective cinematography and presentation is a pretty engaging soundtrack; from a suitably Western theme to a highly effective, pseudo-synthetic score that really sells the tension and desperation of the film’s big chase scene, Fred Karlin’s fantastic score is always used to great effect to sell whatever’s happening onscreen and, for me, really helps to keep Westworld as appealing today as it was when I first saw it all those years ago as a kid.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Have you ever seen Westworld? What did you think of it and how do you feel it holds up today? Perhaps you’re more a fan of the recent television show; if so, what are some of your favourite moments? How are you celebrating the birth of HAL 9000 today? Whatever you think about Westworld, or if you have other examples of A.I. going rogue, feel free to drop a comment below.