Iron Man 2

Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke & Gwyneth Paltrow

An entertaining sequel that whilst not as fun as the first film due to a disappointing middle act and too many set ups for future Marvel Comics films, is still enjoyable thank in large part to Downey Jr.

An unexpected hit both critically and commercially in 2008, Iron Man revived the Marvel Comics film franchise after the poorly reviewed Spider-Man 3 and even stole some of the spotlight of the, then upcoming, The Dark Knight. Thanks in due part to a well received performance from Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role, which also cemented Downey Jr. as a star once again, and to the direction of Jon Favreau. Not wanting to ruin a winning formula, both star and director return for Iron Man 2 which, while retaining much of what made the first film enjoyable, suffers from the ambition of the studios to use scenes to promote future Marvel Comics films and suffers from a disappointing middle act.

After revealing his identity as Iron Man to the world, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) faces downsides to his increased celebrity status. He faces the government wishing to seize the Iron Man technology on the grounds that it’s a weapon and wish to adapt it for military purposes, a competing military contractor in Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who wants to put Stark out of business and Ivan Vanko (Rourke) the embittered son of an inventor who was muscled out of his share of the fortune Stark’s father made from technology he helped design. When Vanko manages to re-create the technology Stark invented to power his Iron Man suit to make a weapon of his, attacking and injuring Stark, Vanko is then contacted by Hammer wishing to use Vanko’s skills to create his own army of suits to rival Stark’s. With enemies coming from various directions, Stark has his own health problems to contend with as the materials he needs to power the device keeping Stark alive, is also poisoning him.

When Iron Man was released in 2008, it was expected to do good Box Office, but its success both commercially and critically was much higher than expected, eclipsed only by that year’s The Dark Knight amongst the year’s blockbuster films. With the future of the, then, newly formed Marvel Comics Films studio resting on the success of this film and The Incredible Hulk, the success of Iron Man was very good indeed and with much success being given to the film’s star and director, both were brought back for the sequel with the added intention of using the sequel to build up future Marvel Comics films. Iron Man 2 then is still a very enjoyable movie, but where the first surprised, the sequel has expectations to meet and unfortunately does not meet them all. Downey Jr. certainly impresses yet again as Tony Stark but the direction on behalf of Favreau suffers. This is not all down to Favreau as the intent of the studios to promote future films through Iron Man 2 is obvious whenever Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury appears on screen and whose role and scenes contribute little to the overall arc of the film. The arc of the film too, while starting strong, struggles to capture the fun of the first film with a slow and overly drawn out middle act where Stark’s self-destructive behaviour culminates in a poorly conceived drunken state at a birthday party and fight with his best friend. The arc while intended to give Stark a kind of emotional journey through the film generally distracts from the other leading arcs, that of an enemy born out of his pre-Iron Man past and another in the form of a business competitor taking on Stark, and Iron Man, from different directions which ultimately results in a climax featuring more men in suits fighting men in suits.

Fortunately, the casting helps save the film. Downey Jr., aside from the drunken birthday sequence where even he fails to make his character charming, is otherwise great as Stark with witty one-liners and plenty of charisma in the role he seemed born to play. Sam Rockwell is great as Stark’s business competitor, a man who has Stark’s ambition but none of his charm, ethics or ability who is always slimy but his ambition making him dangerous still. Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko, AKA Whiplash, is enjoyable when trading a war of words with Stark or with Hammer but is somewhat of a pantomime villain when it comes to taking action though is still decent. Gwyneth Paltrow continues to impress as Pepper Potts with great onscreen chemistry with Downey Jr., while Don Cheadle fills the role of Rhodey, originally performed by Terrence Howard, with ease making you wish he played the role all along and Scarlett Johansson is likewise enjoyable in a role that could have been little more than pouts but is actually more fun.

Overall, Iron Man 2 is certainly an enjoyable sequel to the first film but doesn’t equal it. Some obvious set up for future Marvel Comics films and an overwrought emotional arc for Tony Stark that results in a disappointing middle act to detract from the overall enjoyment but the performances of the cast, the generally fun tone maintained at other times and a few enjoyable action sequences mean the film is still an enjoyable superhero film.

Rating: 3/5

Centurion

Director: Neil Marshall
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West & David Morrissey

A decent enough historical thriller that while light on plot and high in violence is still entertaining enough as a chase film and features a good cast.

Constantly striving to show that UK cinema can compete with the USA in creating action thrillers even on a small budget, the films of Neil Marshall has been consistently entertaining despite placing emphasis on action over plot and frequently finding influence from better known and better received films. Marshall’s latest, Centurion, is his first to play with an actual historical event, that surrounding the Roman Ninth Legion which disappeared on a march into Northern England. Around this mystery, Marshall has developed another action thriller based around an unknown band of survivors. The result is still an entertaining thriller though again emphasises action and violence overall.

Quintus Dias (Fassbender) is a Roman centurion stationed in England who is taken prisoner after an assault on his garrison by native rebels known as the Picts. When he escapes he crosses paths with the Roman Ninth Legion led by Titus Virilus (West) who have been charged with wiping out the Picts to complete the Roman conquest of England at whatever cost but a trap laid by their Pict scout Etain (Olga Kurylenko) sees the Ninth Legion massacred with just Quintus and a small band of survivors left who then find themselves on the run for safety and hunted by the Pict forces who, unbeknownst to Quintus, are driven by revenge by the Pict leader of the death of his child at the hand of one of Quintus’ men.

Built around some energetic action sequences, though high on violence and gore, Centurion works fairly well as a straight action thriller. The main characters are on the run, literally with the punishment of a violent death facing them if they slow or falter. There is some predictability involved in the assemblage of the survivors on the run with them filling certain personality types and the fates, even order of fates, somewhat easy to predict but, unlike the recent Clash of the Titans remake, more members of this band of men get to have moments to actually demonstrate character which is helped by the cast involved. The ending of the film is to be expected since history already shows no survivors were ever seen but this only detracts a little from the overall enjoyment. What does detract more from the enjoyment is the facelessness of the antagonists. Some comments are made in regards to the Picts, the country’s native inhabitants, being justified in their hatred due to decades of violence at the hands of the Romans but aside from this there is little done to humanise them or portray them as anything more than savages. The main Pict character, the scout Etain that tricks then traps the Ninth Legion, is a mute. Any drama to be had at really deciding who are the victims and who are the guilty considering the Romans are part of an invading force is rarely touched upon.

Centurion does feature some decent performances from several good actors. Michael Fassbender, following on from the acclaimed performances in Hunger, Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds shows that he is capable of leading more commercial films in bigger roles while his band of survivors feature a mixed bag of performances from Liam Cunningham, likeable and grumpy; David Morrissey; Riz Ahmed, sneaky and untrustworthy and Noel Clarke whose character is generally unlikeable. Dominic West relishes the chance to play a loutish yet charming Roman General in Titus and Imogen Poots is likeable as a possible love interest for Quintus. Olga Kurylenko is perfectly convincing as a savage but there is otherwise little that is memorable about her performance though the underwritten nature of the character holds some blame.

Centurion is a decent action thriller with some novelty over the period of history in which it is set. There are a few likeable performances and Fassbender makes for an able leading man and some of the action sequences do thrill but there otherwise the film is generally average with the high level of violence, number of underwritten characters and predictable plot preventing this from being a great action film instead of just an average one.

Rating: 3/5

Extract

Director: Mike Judge
Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis & Ben Affleck

An average comedy from Mike Judge that has some funny moments but is too laid back in its pacing to offer anything memorable.

Still best known for the popular TV series Beavis & Butthead and King of the Hill, Mike Judge’s forays into cinema have been mixed. Starting off strong with the little seen Office Space which garnered positive reviews and a cult following then came the overly ambitious Idiocracy which suffered poorly in reviews and reception and now comes Extract. Dialling back the scope to more of the workplace based humour that succeeded so well with Office Space, Extract has some amusing moments and has a good cast but the ambition has been pulled back too far with the film too laid back, slow in its pace and in its comic timing that while nice, doesn’t leave the film feeling particularly memorable.

Joel Reynolds (Bateman) owns and runs his own extract business, producing a popular food flavouring and providing Joel with the autonomy to be his own boss and be more of a friend to his workers than a manager. However, feeling particularly unfilled with his sex life at home, seeing an accident occur at his factory that leaves him open to a lawsuit and interest in a buy out coming from a larger business, Joel finds his life becoming more stressful and unfulfilling than he’d like. With the arrival of Cindy (Kunis), a drifter and con-woman (unbeknownst to Joel), Joel is convinced by his bartender friend Dean (Affleck) that he could be happier in his life and love life if he gets someone to seduce his wife thus allowing himself the freedom to pursue Cindy without the guilt of adultery. Things don’t go to plan and Cindy’s own plans on profiting from Joel’s situation threatens bring down Joel, his business and his marriage.

Despite a good cast and some enjoyable laughs, it is initially difficult to find any characters to like or root for in Extract unlike with Office Space. That the lead character even contemplates tricking his wife into committing adultery to allow him the freedom to commit adultery himself does make it difficult for Joel to be a sympathetic character until much later when he realises his selfishness and struggles to repair the damage he’s done and still his emotionally distant wife is the more sympathetic character. The other characters in the film, mostly workers in the extract plant, are a generally entertaining group of misfits and small-town stereotypes but as much humour can be derived from these characters, the situations they become involved in and in Joel’s situation too are often too infrequent with Mike Judge’s pacing throughout the film feeling far too laid back even when compared to similar, more successful efforts from the director in the past. The jokes themselves even lack the sharp insight into working environments that Judge brought to Office Space and to King of the Hill. There is nothing particularly bad in the film in regards to the jokes themselves or most of the characters but nothing particularly stands out as being memorable either.

Extract does boast a good cast. Jason Bateman is decent in the lead role of Joel, ably demonstrating the character’s dissatisfaction and lack of ambition and his struggles later to fix his situation but the performance suffers due to the role itself with Bateman’s Joel a less sympathetic or witty version of characters Bateman has played in films or TV shows like Arrested Development. Ben Affleck puts in a generally enjoyable performance as Joel’s even more laidback bartender buddy Dean continuing the actor’s recent streak of enjoyable supporting roles though the other main performance in the film, Mila Kunis’ as the con-woman Cindy is much less likeable. While the likeability may be part of the point in regards to her character’s intentions, Kunis’ performance is muddled and attempts to be likeable failing. J.K. Simmons, Beth Grant and Clifton Collins Jr. put in decent performances as fellow factory workers, particularly Collins Jr. whose accident at the plant places him in the manipulations of Cindy and Kristen Wiig is generally sympathetic as Joel’s wife and while Dave Koechner plays against his usual type of loud, brash character as Joel’s annoying neighbour, it feels like his annoying nature is Judge’s attempts to create another character in the mould of Office Space’s Bob Lumberg but failing.

Extract has a decent cast and some decent laughs but generally feels too slow and lacks likeable characters making the film pretty disappointing overall. Mike Judge’s laidback style works well on TV and with the film Office Space that had a much sharper script, but here he struggles to create anything memorable for good or bad.

Rating: 2/5

Whip It

Director: Drew Barrymore
Starring: Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig & Drew Barrymore

Enjoyable even though the plot and themes often feel too familiar, Whip It is an enjoyable directorial debut from Drew Barrymore.

Having already been seen on screen promoting girl power in films with mixed success (see the Charlie’s Angels films); actress Drew Barrymore has turned her eye towards directing a film of her own. Adapting the novel Derby Girl, Whip It is fortunately much better than might be expected and while it’s tale of a girl trying to find her own individuality, her own voice through a niche activity might seem familiar and the lead role played by Ellen Page also feeling somewhat familiar to roles Page has played before, Whip It is still quite enjoyable.

Tired of entering beauty pageant after beauty pageant at the behest of her mother and with uncertainty over her future living in a small town, Bliss Cavendar (Page) happens across a group of girls while out on a shopping trip that a part of a local roller derby team who revel in ignoring more common expectations upon what they should be and are out to have fun and do their own thing, that being the small and relatively forgotten sport of roller derby. Feeling inspired by these girls, one of them named Maggie Mayhem (Wiig) tells Bliss to be her own hero, inspire herself and Bliss takes the chance to join the team even though it means keeping it secret from her family. Of course Bliss soon realises that roller derby is not a sport for the uncertain and Bliss must find her own confidence and strength to compete which then also influences her confidence in other aspects of her life.

Whilst generally a female orientated film in its largely female cast and heroines, messages of girl power and striving to break free of old gender expectations and making your life your own, Whip It could easily appeal to audiences of either gender when it comes to finding your own individuality. While the manner in which the film goes about having Bliss find herself through a sport is something that has been seen before (see Bend It Like Beckham) it is nevertheless handled quite well by Drew Barrymore making her directorial debut. Barrymore tackles the theme quite maturely yet also knows to keep humour present to make Bliss’ journey a worthwhile one. The film is also largely about bonding too with Bliss building relationships with similar misfits tired of the expectations they’ve been expected to withhold to and the interaction of the team is often fun with their joy in being the number two team and lack or real care at being a success. The team being in it for the fun makes them more endearing even though the added support this might generate within the audience still builds up towards a climax that doesn’t cheat the characters but is, yet again, something that has been seen before.

The cast in Whip It are generally quite enjoyable. Most of the cast play familiar personalities but are still enjoyable regardless. Ellen Page makes a likeable lead in Bliss, less sharp and witty than the character she played in Juno, Page still plays a character with a similar disregard for conforming to expectation yet Bliss and Page’s performance is generally sweeter and more likeable overall. Daniel Stern and Marcia Gay Harden are enjoyable as Bliss’ parents with Harden at first playing a role that might recall association with more steely, uptight roles in the past but soon finds it being tempered with warmth and concern. The Hurl Scouts, the roller derby team which Bliss joins, are memorably cast with sporty and/or comedic actresses like Zoe Bell (Death Proof), Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore herself and Juliette Lewis as the bitch Iron Maven who switches teams and turns against them.

Whip It doesn’t really add much new to the sports genre or films dealing in empowerment and finding one’s individuality but it is still quite enjoyable with plenty of good humour and a likeable cast and makes for a decent debut from Drew Barrymore as a filmmaker.

Rating: 3/5

How to Train Your Dragon

Director: Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois
Starring (voices of): Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler & America Ferrera

A fun and energetic adventure that features great animation, fun characters and plenty of thrilling action sequences to entertain audiences young and old.

Originally based on the novel by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon ended up going through re-writes mid production with the current version now only loosely based on the source material yet still remaining faithful to the central concept. The finished film is one that is energetic, fun and features impressive effects and bears some similarities to the recently released Clash of the Titans remake yet easily outdoes that film overall. How to Train Your Dragon is very enjoyable.

Hiccup (Baruchel) is a Viking and the son of Stoick the Vast (Butler), the mighty leader of the village. Unlike his father however, Hiccup is not a mighty warrior and is instead spindly, weak and prone to making inventions than developing his physical prowess yet he is still determined to impress his father and fellow villagers by engaging in the common activity of defending the town and killing the dragons that frequently prey upon their livestock and attack the townsfolk. When a device brings down a legendary, and never seen, Night Fury, Hiccup discovers the injured dragon is not what he expected and that it and other dragons only attack out of defence. Building a friendship with the dragon and creating another device that enables the dragon, named Toothless, to fly again with Hiccup’s assistance, Hiccup becomes the talk of the town when he uses inside information gleaned from Toothless to fell dragons harmlessly but the townsfolk and his father’s blood thirst for the dragon they view as threats threaten to doom Toothless and the other dragons if Hiccup can’t find a solution to save them all.

Fast paced and with plenty of humour, How to Train Your Dragon is a very enjoyable affair. Less sweet and more action driven than the original source novel, the film still features much to appeal to younger audiences such as colourful characters, creatures and the fun of imagining what it would be like to fly on a dragon. There are plenty of elements too that would also appeal to adults such as the action sequences which are quite well planned and executed and the humour fairly sharp and quick witted. The story of man into hero, of living up to the standards of a father, of fighting mythical beasts and a finale with a creature of Kraken-like proportions raise much similarities with the recent Clash of the Titans remake but, where that film lacked humour, characterisation and was driven by the set pieces and effects, How to Train Your Dragon outdoes that film with a more fleshed out hero and an emphasis on character and humour with the action and the effects supporting the story rather than driving it. The film is, of course, a children’s film so certain developments and outcomes are easily predicted when a happy ending is expected and there is a little stumbling in the early scenes as the characters get established before the main plot can truly begin, but these are to be expected and generally don’t detract from the enjoyment.

Featuring a voice cast consisting of familiar teen/young actors popular today such as Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (both of Superbad fame) and America Ferrera (of TV’s Ugly Betty), the performances are led by Jar Baruchel in the role of Hiccup and Gerard Butler as his father Stoick. Baruchel is a fitting choice for Hiccup, imagining that the actor’s own thin frame and nervous demeanour influences his performance as Hiccup who develops courage in spite of his fears and nerves. It is a fun and likeable performance. Gerard Butler seems to revel in the role of Stoick, a man filled with strength and machismo. Butler too feels like ideal casting, the role of a Viking suitable to the actor’s persona and he interacts well with Baruchel, the two playing a rather awkward father and son dynamic well. Also, the role of Toothless the dragon, whilst not voiced and instead a purely digital creation is impressive. The producers have done a great job at making Toothless a living, breathing character with a wide range of expressions.

Plenty of fun, with good action, humour, effects and characters, How to Train Your Dragon is a very enjoyable film and certainly shows the makers of Clash of the Titans how to make an adventure feel epic without scrimping on character.

Rating: 4/5

Clash of the Titans

Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson & Ralph Fiennes

A big budget remake of the 1980s blockbuster that falls victim to some of the same flaws of the original film on which it is based with wooden or hammy performances from the cast, a plot driven by action sequences but with CGI effects that lack the charm of Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion effects in the 1980s.

While there have been many ‘Swords and Sandals’ films produced over the past decade following the success of Gladiator, the success though of 300, an adaptation of the comic book of the same name, in 2007 has seen another resurgence in such films with an emphasis on action and spectacle over plot and character. A remake of the 1981 film of the same name, itself better known for it’s effects than for the quality of it’s script, Clash of the Titans arrives and succeeds in maintaining the same sense of effects and action of story that the original had though the result is a film that is less satisfying despite the advances made in special effects. Clash of the Titans has it’s moments of spectacle but is somewhat disappointing overall.

Found in the ocean as a child and raised as a fisherman, Perseus (Worthington) had often dismissed the talk of him having a great destiny before him that his adoptive father believes. When a battle between humans and the minions of the God Hades (Fiennes) results in Perseus’ family’s deaths, he finds himself caught up in a destiny which reveals him to be the son of the God Zeus (Neeson) who has taken notice of Perseus whilst in the midst of succumbing to his brother Hades’ demands for war with the humans to reclaim their fear and worship of the Gods that they now rebel against. Threatening to unleash a mighty beast named the Kraken upon the city of Argos, Perseus ends up joining a band of warriors in hunting for the means to defeat the Kraken before it’s arrival and may see Perseus having to accept the non-human heritage if he is to succeed and save Argos from the Gods.

The original Clash of the Titans in 1981 is not a film that is fondly remembered for the quality of its plot of for its performances but rather his remembered for the effects of Ray Harryhausen and the casting of Lawrence Olivier as Zeus. Remade with modern special effects technology, the new Clash of the Titans had the opportunity of being an improvement over the original film however it struggles throughout to really engage and ultimately suffers from similar problems that affected the enjoyment of the original film. Clash of the Titans is a film driven by set pieces and effects over depth of plot or characterisation. Characters are generally underwritten, even the heroic lead of Perseus. The set pieces themselves, which seem the focus of the film, are generally unimpressive with a confrontation with Medusa all flash and no suspense and the climactic battle with the Kraken given less time than the build up to the Kraken’s arrival on the shores of Argos. Perseus’ allies are given modest characterisation but are often despatched swiftly and unceremoniously and the only set piece that stands out as entertaining involves giant scorpions in the desert. The special effects are also somewhat unimpressive with many creatures feeling that they’ve been seen before (the Kraken itself is reminiscent of Cloverfield’s rampaging beast) and the rush to add 3D elements following the success of the film Avatar, adds little.

Despite some impressive names in the cast such as Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, performances in Clash of the Titans, like those in the original film are often over the top and not particularly enjoyable or memorable. Even Neeson and Fiennes as Zeus and Hades make little impression and Sam Worthington, in the lead role of Perseus, has little to work with but play the stoic, serious hero much like his roles in other films like Terminator: Salvation and Avatar though still less enjoyable. There are a few likeable performances amongst members of the troop with which Perseus travels such as Liam Cunningham and Mads Mikkelsen but some get little to work with outside of fighting creatures while other talents like Pete Postlethwaite and Danny Huston are underutilised and less satisfying actors like Gemma Arterton are given too much screen time in roles that largely involve providing exposition.

Overall, Clash of the Titans is a disappointing remake of a film that wasn’t fondly regarded beyond its special effects in the first place. Despite a bigger budget, the effects here struggle to impress and the performances similarly unmemorable. The set pieces provide some moments of enjoyment like the scorpion attack but are, again, only average.

Rating: 2/5