Film Review: Tomorrowland

I expected this movie to suck. Most reviews I see have written this off as just another fluff piece with too much CGI, too little story, and a message that seems to make everyone sick. Given all the negativity, I got the impression that I'm not supposed to enjoy this.

And yet, I found myself captivated by the film, and I became enamored by the escapist experience.

You could write this off as just another advert for a Disney theme park. The film definitely strives to wow the audience with fantastic visions of futuristic cities, rockets, jetpacks, flying cars, robots, laser guns, and more. In between all this utopian scenery, the film maintains its pace by constantly putting the characters in peril, forcing them to run from one dangerous situation to another. Action scenes are pretty frequent, and include such cool things as laser-gun firefights and robots with martial arts, all of which are captured in very solid and steady photography. In between the action, the film maintains a light and colorful tone, with plenty of snappy dialogue and humor.

The story is brimming with adventure, the likes of which would be on-par with The Neverending Story or Last Action Hero, or something along those lines. It plays into the standard scenario of a kid finding out that there's another world, and sets out to find it. The actual plot doesn't have a whole lot of dots to connect; much of the runtime is devoted to the characters leaping from one peril to another, to the point where it becomes one thing after another. There are a few parts that are unbelievable, and there may be some plot holes, but given the fantastic nature of the story, the creditability of various scenes seems to defeat the point of the picture. As far as characters go, I grew to love them; the main character is a perfectly lovable kid with passion that drives the plot, and it provides an apt reflection on the other characters, who in turn have their own motivations that make them compelling.

Plotting is not so much the highlight of the film, as it is the ideas. Tomorrowland offers a pretty fun sci-fi scenario in which the world's greatest and brightest built a utopian paradise of innovation, hidden from the rest of the world. As the characters work to find their way there, an even greater theme emerges, and all of the film's conflict becomes hinged on pessimism versus optimism. The film asserts that our world is so full of doom and gloom, and our future could become a self-fulfilling prophecy of disaster if we let it. Naturally, the characters' struggle sides with optimism, to the point where it seeps out of the picture and becomes infectious. The theme resonates with me personally, because I am a firm believer in what the film says - that the future is what you make of it. In the end, I personally found the film's message inspiring, and moving in its own way. Walt Disney himself originally built Tomorrowland into his theme parks with the motive to foster inspiration, imagination, and invention.  That same spirit permeates through the Tomorrowland picture; many folks find it distasteful, probably because the film wears its heart on its sleeve all too well.  I realized that this is something you won't find in any other movie this year; for once, this is a movie that made me smile, and left me feeling hopeful.  Movies don't usually set out to paint a pretty picture or tell the audience that you can make things happen through your actions; this one does, and I personally find it refreshing, inspiring, and moving.

This film has good-looking photography and editing. Acting is good for what it is: Britt Robertson is perfectly colorful and fun in her role, George Clooney plays it pretty grumpy most of the time for decent effect, and Hugh Laurie is awesome. Writing probably could have been a little sharper, but I appreciated most of the dialogue. This production spares no expense on the sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Sound design is great. Music is alright.

A lot of people won't be so easily charmed by this film, maybe finding it sappy, messy, or stupid. I think this attitude only proves the film's point; if you feed the negativity, you will hate the film. If all you see is shallow CGI, then you won't care about anything the film has to say. If you can approach this optimistically and become swept away in this adventure, then maybe the film will speak to you the most. As such, I can only recommend it as a rental to those interested. I think it's a perfectly good family film, and its message is far more inspiring than anything a Marvel film or a Michael Bay film can provide.

4/5 (Experience: Good | Content: Good | Film: Good)

Gods Among Men: Excerpt Chapter 11

With the recent release of Mad Max:  Fury Road, I thought it would be fun to look back on a manuscript I've written and post this thrilling action scene, inspired by the original Road Warrior.

My novel, Gods Among Men, depicts a future in which superheroes started appearing around the world, and they fought a major war against the human race.  In the aftermath, they built a huge walled city, where heroes serve to protect men.  Outside of the walled city is a lawless wasteland.  In this setting, Troy Gaines is a man who wants to become a superhero, but has no special abilities; he relies on an invention to teleport himself, and to prove his worth, he goes on an investigation that leads him to the desert.  Inevitably, he and his partner are captured by a violent wasteland gang.  After surviving an arena fight, the two heroes hijack a vehicle and flee.  What follows is a sprawling chase scene with vehicular carnage.  Hope you enjoy it and have a lovely day!

This is all still part of the rough draft, and may be subject to change.  I'm considering making one of the enemy vehicles an ice cream truck.
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    Pushing as fast and far as he could, Troy [teleported] himself and Victor to the other side of the camp.  They materialized in a penned area, where a number of motorized vehicles were kept.  Most of the cars were broken and run-down, left as rusty wrecks sitting in the dusty ground.
    Victor took the time to run by the vehicles, and he took in whatever electric energy he could from the batteries left in the cars.  Troy ran to a buggy at the far end of the pen; despite its crude construction, the vehicle looked rugged, durable, and more aerodynamic than most of the others.  Its wheels were well over two feet wide, with massive heavy treads.  The canopy was well-enclosed, and appeared to have a roll-cage installed.  Pleased with the vehicle, Troy jumped into it and regarded the dashboard.  It was fully-fueled and charged; all he was missing were keys.
    Then, a thug came up to the vehicle, dressed in filthy overalls.  Troy looked up at the enemy; he was surprised to see that the mechanic was a woman, but even more shocked to see a full beard on her face.
    Holding a wrench in her hands, the bearded lady demanded in a husky voice, “Where do you think you’re going, boy?”
    Troy smirked and said, “It’s been a charming carnival, but it’s time for us to leave.”
    “You’re going nowhere!” the enemy shouted, swinging her wrench at him.
    The wrench made contact with the car’s frame, making a loud reverberating clang.  Troy seized the mechanic’s hand and pulled on it, slamming her body into the vehicle’s side.  While she was close, he reached into her front pocket and pulled out a set of keys.  He then shoved her away, and she stumbled into the ground.
    Fumbling the keys into the ignition, Troy turned it and started the vehicle up.  After several seconds of sputtering, the car hummed to life.  Victor ran up to the buggy and exclaimed, “They’re coming, Troy!”
    “Get in,” Troy said. “I know I’ve had enough of this place.  I never liked the circus anyway.”
    Victor hopped into the passenger seat, and Troy rammed his foot into the gas pedal.  As the tires spun, they kicked up a huge puff of dust.  Jerking forward, the buggy raced through the camp.  Driving the car south, Troy ran down several smaller tents, their fabric crumpling beneath the buggy’s huge wheels.  Smashing through crates, tables, chairs, and chests full of junk, torrents of broken debris flew off of the buggy’s grille as it plowed forward.
    Finally, the buggy cleared the camp and raced toward open land.  A pair of towers made of crude scaffolding overlooked the southern border of the camp; snipers in each tower aimed carbines at the buggy as it rushed across the desert.  Their shots rang out in the open air, and their bullets ricocheted off of the car’s armor plating and steel framework.
    Driving forward for several seconds, the camp fell behind Troy and Victor and became a diminished cluster of specks in the distance.  Patting Troy on the back, Victor laughed and said, “Man, that was crazy! I never thought we would have survived that!”
    “That makes two of us,” Troy smirked. “How much electricity did you gather back there?”
    “Maybe five kilowatts.  It’s a little hard to draw power from vehicles that aren’t running.”
    “What can five kilowatts do?”
    “Aside from running a few cars? It could give a bad guy a good shock, or run a good-sized electric appliance.  It could fill up your teleporter’s power reserve a good ways.  Should I give you a charge?”
    “Sure,” Troy said. “But I plan on saving it for when we really need it.”
    Victor planted is hand on Troy’s chest, and transferred electricity into his vest.  With electricity gently leaking from Victor’s hands, Troy squirmed and said, “It tingles.”
    “So, do you have any idea where we’re going from here?” Victor asked.
    “Anywhere but the Carnival.  I’m hoping the Tierra de Muerta is ahead.”
    Suddenly, loud gunshots could be heard echoing through the air behind them.  Turning, Victor saw a narrow hovercraft gliding over the desert toward them.  As it zoomed over the flat land, it left a trail of dust in its wake.  The vehicle was as crudely-built as the other Carnival vehicles, and there were several gangsters lined up along its railings with guns in their hands.
    Looking in the rear-view mirror, Troy saw more dust trails in the distance behind them.  Even though they had a strong head start, the Carnival was relentlessly chasing them with their full fleet of vehicles.  It would only be a matter of time before they caught up to them.
    Pulling ahead, the hovercraft kept pace with the buggy, while the goons onboard started shooting at Troy.  A hail of bullets rushed at the buggy, ricocheting off of the metal plating and framework with loud snaps.  One shot came close to Troy’s head, whistling past his ear.
    Swerving away from the hovercraft, Troy gained distance from it.  The buggy suddenly rolled over a hill; the vehicle bounced heavily as it jumped from the hill and landed on the ground again.  Troy and Victor were roughly jostled in their seats.
    Watching the hovercraft, Victor said, “Take us closer.  That thing is producing a good amount of power.”
    Steering the buggy toward the hovercraft, Troy brought the vehicle side-by-side with the hovercraft.  As he came closer, one of the gangsters jumped over and landed on the buggy’s roof.  The enemy held on tightly to the frame, fighting against the rushing air and the buggy’s movements.
    Reaching out, Victor sensed the hovercraft’s battery and drained it of its power.  Electricity streamed from the vehicle’s hood and into his hands, blasting a smoldering hole in its chassis.  When the vehicle ran out of power, its motors stopped working, and it slammed into the ground.  Hitting the hard dry ground, the vehicle’s hood was crumpled in, before its body spiraled and spun in the air.  All of its passengers were flung off, to land roughly on the ground.
    Crawling on the buggy’s roof, the last goon appeared over the vehicle’s canopy.  Taking a grenade from his vest, the villain pulled out its pin and dropped it into the buggy’s seat.  It landed directly in Victor’s lap; he frantically grasped it and held onto its safety spoon tightly, to keep it from exploding.
    With his free hand, Victor pointed to the thug on the roof and released an arc of electricity at him.  With a short, high-voltage burst running through his body, the enemy shivered uncontrollably and lost control of his body.   Unable to hold onto the buggy, he slipped off and tumbled into the ground behind the vehicle.
    Still holding the grenade, Victor frantically cried, “Holy sh&t, what should I do with this?”
    “The longer you cook it, the less of a fuse you have,” Troy warned. “Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
    Ahead, there was a mesa that rose up sharply from the ground.  Troy angled the buggy to the right, hoping to loop around the giant stone mound.  As he curved and approached the stone, he saw that their pursuers were cutting across at an angle, trying to flank the buggy.  It took only a matter of minutes for the swarm of Carnival vehicles to gain up on the buggy.
    One enemy car bounced across the desert and cut in front of the buggy.  As the car straightened, it fishtailed erratically, throwing a plume of dust up in front of the buggy.  With the cloud stinging his eyes and filling his nostrils, Troy veered out of the car’s trail and pulled up beside it.  With the car driving in between the buggy and the mesa’s cliff face, the car was sandwiched.  Troy veered into the car and sideswiped it, sending it careening into the cliff side.  As its side scraped against the rock, its panels were crunched in, before the car flipped and landed on its roof.  The car skidded to a halt upside down.
    Looking into the mirror, Troy saw several other vehicles chasing him; they all rolled in line behind him and started driving parallel to the mesa’s side.  One of the trucks rammed into the crashed car, making it spin and throw shrapnel all around.
    As the enemy vehicles chased the buggy, a number of goons stood and leaned out of their vehicles and fired their guns at Troy.  Bullets zoomed past the buggy, occasionally ricocheting off of the buggy’s side and blasting holes in the side of the mesa.  Troy weaved the vehicle side-to-side to evade the gunfire.
    Still holding onto the grenade with one hand, Victor used his free hand to peel off a part of his rubber suit.  He carefully wrapped the piece of rubber around the grenade, so tight that it kept the safety spoon depressed.
    An enemy vehicle sped forward and pulled up beside the buggy:  a windowless car rigged with large wheels and heavy armor plates.  It veered over and rammed the buggy; the impact jerked the vehicle sideways toward the mesa wall.  The buggy came within inches of hitting the stone surface; the stone howled past Troy’s ear.
    Victor chucked the wrapped grenade at the vehicle; it bounced over the hood and landed directly in the driver’s lap.  Panicking, the driver took his hands off the wheel to handle the grenade; the vehicle drifted toward the mesa wall, until the corner of the hood scraped against the rock.  As the vehicle fell behind the buggy, the grenade went off, engulfing the entire chassis in fire.  Pieces of metal flew from the explosion, bouncing off the ground and landing in the dirt.  One metal plate spun into another vehicle, cleaving into the hood and rupturing the engine; the vehicle drifted away with smoke and liquid leaking from its ruptured front.
    The buggy continued to drive around the base of the mesa, looping around it until it headed south.  Pulling away from the rocky formation, Troy stamped on the gas pedal, and the buggy rocketed forward.  The vehicle bounced roughly as it tumbled over rough ground and small hills.  As all the enemy vehicles followed Troy in a line, they struggled against the uneven terrain to keep pace.  One enemy car launched itself off a small hill and landed on top of a boulder; its front grille flew off as the chassis crunched against the stone.
    One of the enemies pulled out a bazooka and aimed it at the buggy.  With the rough movements of the cars, the enemy’s aim was erratic.  When Troy saw the bazooka’s rocket pointing at him, he slammed on the brakes, and the buggy slid on the dirt.  The other cars sped past him, just as the goon fired his bazooka.  His rocket blasted away with a plume of smoke, and it struck the ground with a thunderous boom.  The projectile left behind a crater, with pieces of dirt and rock raining all around it.  One of the other enemy vehicles drove over the hole, causing its wheel to bounce up and send the car rolling onto its side.
    Pressing on the gas again, Troy tried to pick up speed again.  As the buggy started to roll forward, an enemy jeep rammed him in the rear, causing the buggy to lurch forward.  More gunfire erupted, rattling against the buggy’s chassis.
    Turning in his seat, Victor leaned his torso out of the window, and reached out toward the vehicle behind them.  An electric arc sizzled between his fingers and the jeep; with its power drained, the jeep’s engine died with a sputter.
    Still accelerating, Troy kept the gas pedal depressed as he swerved away from the main group of vehicles.  As he arced further south, the enemies curved with him; one truck came up beside the buggy, armed with a 50-calibur machine gun on its bed.  One of the goons manned the gun and started pummeling the buggy with gunfire; with each thumping of the weapon, giant holes appeared in the buggy’s metal armor plates.
    Victor kept his head slumped behind the door panel, but he snaked his arm out the window and discharged an electric bolt.  Lightning shot from his fingers and touched the machine gun; electricity curled around the weapon and ran through the gunman’s hands, making him shudder and convulse.  As he shook, he fell to his knees, and swung the machine gun forward.  As his finger muscles contracted, he gripped the gun’s trigger tighter, sending gunshots into the driver’s seat.  A splash of blood shot across the hood, before the truck drifted away from the buggy.  Rolling over a hump, the truck flew briefly in the air, before it came down into a ditch and landed hard on its side.  The sounds of crunching, twisting metal filled the sky.
    “That felt good,” Victor remarked. “I’m out of juice though.  I need to drain more.”
    “Don’t worry, I have some ‘juice’,” Troy winked. “Take the wheel for me.”
    “What?”
    In an instant, Troy grasped Victor by the shoulder, and they both teleported to trade spots.  Finding himself in the driver’s seat so suddenly, Victor swore and frantically grabbed the steering wheel.  While he kept the vehicle straight, Troy returned to a vaporous form, and floated out of the buggy.
    Flying backwards, Troy’s essence free-floated for an instant, drifting toward one of the pursuing vehicles.  He appeared on top of the car’s hood, and he promptly kicked the driver through the open window.  Grabbing the steering wheel, Troy jerked it hard, and sent the car veering sharply sideways.  He vanished just as the car smashed into another vehicle; both of them rolled and tumbled over the dirt, with metal debris and broken car parts spraying all over the place.
     Only two vehicles remained, driving in tandem behind the buggy.  One goon stuck his head out of the window of one of the cars and started shooting at Troy’s misty body with a pistol.  The bullets pierced the air and passed through Troy’s cloud of particles.  Swooping down toward the enemy, Troy appeared for a split-second just outside of the car.  In that instant, he grabbed the gun out of the goon’s hands, and vanished with it.
    Pushing himself ahead, Troy flew in front of the car and appeared on its hood.  No sooner did he appear than the driver swerved the car side-to-side, shaking Troy off of the vehicle.  He slid off the hood and teleported before he could hit the ground.
    Moving ahead, Troy returned to the buggy and returned to human shape on the roof.  With his legs firmly clenched around the vehicle’s frame, Troy aimed his stolen pistol and shot at the car.  Sparks flew off the car’s roof as the bullets ricocheted off of it.  One shot penetrated the car, passing through the driver’s head and killing him instantly.  The passenger frantically grabbed the wheel to keep the vehicle straight.
    At that moment, the other enemy car veered in between the two vehicles, directly in front of Troy. Its passenger threw something into the air at Troy; it looked to be a crude pipe bomb.  Troy shot it in mid-air; the bullet struck the detonator and it detonated in the air.  A puff of fire and smoke filled the air, and quickly fell behind them.
    Aiming at the enemy, Troy fired his pistol.  Gunshots sparked against the car’s roof with loud pings.  After just a few shots, all the bullets ran out, and the gun stopped firing.  Tossing the weapon away, Troy teleported himself into the car’s seat.
    Appearing in between the driver and the passenger, Troy grabbed both men by their heads and slammed them against the dashboard.  While the driver was stunned, Troy seized the passenger and heaved him over the dashboard; he skidded across the hood and fell over the grille.  The vehicle bounced as the wheels ran him over.
    Recovering from the attack, the driver swung his arm into Troy.  Blocking the punch, Troy threw his fist out into the enemy’s cheek.  His leg stamped on the driver’s foot, forcing him to depress the accelerator.  As the car sped up, Troy grabbed the steering wheel and pulled on it suddenly.
    The combination of speed and the sudden turn caused the car to drift across the desert; a trail of dust billowed from the car’s tracks.  Its tires struck a large rock, causing it to jump in the air and roll.  Even when the car landed, it continued to tumble along its side, its chassis becoming dented and wrecked.  One of its tires was flung off, to land fifty yards away.
    Teleporting out of the crashing car, Troy strolled on the cracked Earth and watched the vehicle come to a halt.  Its twisted hulk made one last groan before it slumped on the ground; the driver hung out of the window with blood dribbling from his mouth.
    Turning around, Victor drove the buggy back and pulled up beside Troy.  Out the window, Victor said, “You do have this habit of leaping before looking.”
    “Nonsense,” Troy smirked. “I do both at the same time.”
    “How much power do you have left?”
    Checking his wrist meter, Troy replied, “None.”
    “I figured as much.”
    “Don’t worry, it’s power well-spent.  How much gas does the buggy have left?”
    “About half a tank.  It’s a real gas-guzzler, and I doubt we’ll be able to find a usable gas pump anywhere.”
    “The nearest town I know of is Blood Gulch…probably a good five hundred miles to the east.  Do you think we can make it?”
    “Not in this beast,” Victor sighed. “No matter what we do, I think we will have no choice but to walk some of the way.  I don’t know about you, but my desert survivalist skills aren’t that great.”
    “Surviving in the wastelands isn’t hard, as long as you know what you’re doing,” Troy said, as he went around the vehicle and got in through the passenger door. “I grew up out here, so the desert doesn’t scare me.  If we want to preserve gas, I recommend putting this thing into neutral and letting it roll for a while.”
    As instructed, Victor drove the buggy a short distance before shutting off the engine and letting it run on neutral.  The vehicle traversed a good ten miles on its own momentum, treading on the flat landscape.  It rolled down a hill and gained substantial speed and distance.
    Crossing another flat stretch of empty wastes, Victor probed, “So, was gas rare in your home town?”
    “It’s rare everywhere.  Why else do you think all city vehicles run on hydrogen fuel cells?”
    “I mean, gas-powered cars are still used heavily out here, so you got to have a healthy supply of oil somewhere, right?”
    “It’s all mostly scavenged from pre-war reserves, ruined gas stations, or the occasional wrecked tanker.  Most of it is plundered by the various gangs and warlords all over the desert; another commodity they can control and sell to the various towns and settlements all over the place.  There was a community that once took control of a working oil pump, but it was overrun by a gang, and it fell under the control of a man named Gordon Thurgs.  He pumped the well completely dry, and that was the last of the oil that can ever be produced in this country.  Whatever is left to be found out there are likely hoarded by gangs, like these Carnival freaks, for their own pleasure.”
    “It makes me wonder what will happen when the very last of the oil in the wasteland is gone.”
    “You’d be surprised as to how well people can adapt in the wasteland.  Some of the cleverest people have already adopted electric vehicles.  There are plenty of talented inventors and engineers who have built solar-power or fuel-cell vehicles using only scavenged parts.”
    “Really?”
    “How do you think my teleporter was made?” Troy indicated. “Good old Nash, he could make something out of anything.  Some people called him the ‘Alchemist of the Wastes’ because of his skill.”
    “If this Nash guy was so smart, why didn’t he make your suit solar-powered or anything?”
    “This was the prototype, he said.  He wanted to develop this design further, to incorporate the possibility of alternate methods of power regeneration.  As it is, he said this thin, flimsy design only permitted dynamic motion generation.  At the time, I felt it was more than enough for me.”
    “You know, when I look back at what happened, I still feel a little p!ssed off that you led us all on,” Victor scorned. “If I knew that you were just another guy, we could have taken a Pantheon airship all the way out here.”
    “We probably could have taken one regardless,” Troy sighed. “I was a little overconfident in the integrity of my own equipment.  Understanding that none of us could have predicted what happened, I think it’s best to just forget about it, and focus on what we’re going to do now.”
    “What are we going to do? Even if we find this Tierra de Muerta, how will we ever get back to Theopolis?”
    “That is a question that is best left to fate, for we have no idea what we’ll find in the Tierra de Muerta.”
    “Things would be a lot easier if your teleporter got fixed,” Victor suggested. “Any ideas about that?”
    “We’d have to find Nash,” Troy explained. “I hope he’s still hanging around in Roswell.  Of course, that’s a good distance past Blood Gulch, probably a good six hundred miles away.”
    “There’s just nothing close, is there?” Victor sighed. “Alright, let’s just wait and see what comes up ahead here.”
     For the next few miles, Victor continued to let the buggy coast along the flat, arid desert.  When the vehicle slowed down too much, Troy and Victor both pushed in the buggy until it gained speed, and jumped into the seats.  They continued in this fashion for another ten miles.
    It was well after noon before they stopped the vehicle completely.  Coming up to a cluster of cacti, Victor pressed on the brakes, while Troy jumped out of the buggy.  He took the knife he had pocketed from the Carnival, and cut into one of the cactus.  Water spurted from the stem immediately; Troy gathered some of it in his hand and slurped it.  He then cut off a larger chunk of the stem and passed it to Victor, who sucked out its water and bit into its inside.
    While they rested and ate, Troy became aware of a noise from the distance.  It was the airy roar of a motorized vehicle, still far away from them.  Looking to the horizon behind them, Troy could see a small trail of dust rising from the horizon, coming from a large black speck.  The speck grew bigger as it came closer, and Troy realized with dread that it was another Carnival vehicle.  It was particularly large and fast, and grew more menacing in appearance as it came closer.
    Seeing the approaching vehicle, Victor immediately started up the buggy, and Troy jumped in.  They took off at full throttle, frantic and desperate.  Even after all the miles they had covered and all the enemies they eliminated, they were still being pursued.

Film Review: Mad Max: Fury Road

"If you can't fix what's broken, you'll go insane." - Tom Hardy
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The world of Mad Max has progressively become madder and madder; 30 years after the third film, Fury Road presents a fresh, new tale in the mythos of the legendary road warrior. This time, the picture the film paints of the future is far more vivid than anything that's come before. Against the backdrop of harsh desolation and vicious tyranny, the stage is set for a new round of intense vehicular carnage: what follows is a relentless onslaught of bullets, fire, and bloodshed.

This film starts off fast and furious, and it keeps the pacing up all the way to its finale. It can be generalized as one two-hour chase scene, but that's not to say that the action ever becomes dull, or that the film never takes the time to breathe; like any great blockbuster experience, it's a rollercoaster ride so full of ups and downs that it keeps the audience exhilarated constantly. The film's chases are the biggest highlights; there are a plethora of incredibly well-designed vehicles that crash and burn in phenomenal ways, while the characters fight and struggle across the moving cars. The film is consistently loud, explosive, and intense. When the characters do manage to catch a break, the characters struggle against each other and against the elements, so there's hardly any drag at all.

Within and outside of the action scenes, the film tells the story it needs to, and it does so with minimal use of exposition, very effectively showing more than it tells. In the same vein as The Raid, Dredd, or Duel, which were simple stories centered around the situation, so too does Fury Road use its central chase scenes as a basic skeleton from which to add on more to the characters and story. The characters are a compelling bunch; Max is reintroduced to us as a broken man, still haunted by events of the past (which are shown in rapid-fire flashbacks, and differ vastly from what's shown in Mad Max). Max's journey becomes entwined with that of Furiosa, a tough and brave woman whose motivations are revealed as the plot moves on. Together, Max and Furiosa represent two characters who are broken in some way, and join forces to fight their way to liberation and freedom. Some audiences have said that Furiosa is more the main character than Max, but I find that both share screentime equally, to complement each other the same way Max had to share time with everybody else in The Road Warrior. What might throw people off is that Max doesn't speak much in this film; what little he says is gruff and crude, and he fills the rest of the space with a few grunts and noises. However, Max remains the narrative focus of the film, as it tracks his journey in and out of bondage, and finally to liberation, to become a legendary drifter once more.

Few people have taken offense to the way the film demonizes men and emphasizes the struggle of women characters to fight them and free themselves, to the point where they feel Max is a diminished character and the film actively pushes a feminist agenda. I am of the mind that such complaints are unwarranted; even though the film is certainly about women struggling for freedom, they do so with the help of certain male characters, against a whole society that's been conditioned by a mad tyrant. If you replaced the women with men, the story would still hold water (except for all the bits concerning Immortan Joe's heirs). The narrative's focus on liberation is universal. It just happens to revolve around tormented women because that's the condition of the world they live in: a brutal place where women are mistreated and abused, solely to reap the benefits of their bodies. It also just so happens that the War Boys are conditioned to be berserkers who just want to fight, pillage, and plunder; they are not that way just because they're male, but because they're controlled, and effectively enslaved in their own way. Max enters this world unwillingly, and he helps in the fight against it because he shares a common goal with Furiosa. She might match his machismo, but she never undermines it, and Max remains just as heroic here as he is in the older films. If the film is anything, it's purely anti-dictatorship and pro-freedom, and I find it compelling that way.

This film is captured with fantastic photography and punchy editing. Color schemes are very bright and vivid. Filling in the shoes that Mel Gibson left behind, Tom Hardy plays Max Rockatansky with a phenomenal presence, and with blunt, animalistic dialogue, which is fitting for the primal world he inhabits. Charlize Theron plays it tough as Furiosa, but with enough distress to elicit sympathy for her struggle, and make her character well-grounded and well-rounded. Nicholas Hoult is surprisingly lovable in his role, and Hugh Keays-Byrne exudes a phenomenal presence as Immortan Joe, who stands as one of the most chilling villains I've seen in a while. Writing is concise and it gets the job done. This production has loads of superbly detailed sets, props, and costumes, all of which brings the post-apocalyptic world to life fantastically. It all contributes to showing and illustrating the culture of the War Boys, which shows plenty of well thought-out ideas and concepts. Most stunts and crashes were done practically; what few special effects the film has are used precisely and effectively, and are great. JXL's music score adds to the experience admirably.

Mad Max: Fury Road is easily the best-looking film of the series, and it boasts the biggest and most brutal action scenes. It's a perfect example of how a simple premise can be used to tell an invoking story and craft an exhilarating experience. Best of all, it does so using the power of images and sound, just as cinema should.

5/5 (Experience: Perfect | Content: Perfect | Film: Perfect)

Film Review: Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... dyin' time's here..." - Edwin Hodgeman
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Max Rockatansky survived onslaughts of biker and motor gangs, becoming a fierce warrior of the desolate future. His journey now takes him to the humble beginnings of a new society, in a place called Bartertown, where disputes are settled in a deadly arena called the Thunderdome.

In this third entry in the Mad Max universe, we are thrown headlong into a more populated world, far more dense than before. This is not a simple matter of Max out-running or out-gunning enemies; he becomes entangled in a conspiracy that turns him into an outcast and a villain, forced to fight for his life, before wandering the wastes and finding the most unlikely resources to retaliate against his enemies. In the film's beginning half, there is some gladiatorial bloodsport, which is a wicked sight. In the film's last half, there is a grand chase scene involving even more of those crazy buggies that made The Road Warrior so memorable; only now, the chase involves a train and a plane as well.

Unfortunately, the experience of this film is nowhere near as intense or compelling as the last two in the series. Once Max winds up in the hands of a group of feral children who descended from plane crash survivors, the film becomes a bizarre post-apocalyptic version of Peter Pan, with Max leading the lost boys out of the desert to salvation. Not only does the pacing slow down during these scenes, but the film loses all sense of savagery and intensity that made Mad Max so poignant to begin with. A plethora of goofy antics makes the film light in tone and silly in execution, making the experience rather goofy.

However, the story has merit. This is a more complex tale that incorporates some of the tropes and archetypes of a western - complete with a corrupt sheriff-like villain, who seeks to control methane power the way they used to control railroads or oil in those old movies. Max walks into things as a rogue element, but leaves as a prophetic hero; his role as both fits comfortably in the two settings he's made to blend into, and his journey in and out of the Thunderdome proves to be a satisfying one in the end.

This film is crafted with decent photography and editing. Mel Gibson continues to play it tough as Max, although his performance seems much more playful in this than in the last two movies. Tina Turner hams it up as the villain, and every other performer does their part well. Writing is okay. This production uses a lot of great-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. Music is not bad.

This film is usually considered the weakest of the Mad Max films, thanks largely to its goofier parts, but it is still an exciting adventure with plenty to behold.

3.5/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Content: Okay | Film: Good)

Film Review: The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)

"In this maelstrom of decay, ordinary men were battered and smashed... men like Max... the warrior Max. In the roar of an engine, he lost everything... and became a shell of a man... a burnt-out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland. And it was here, in this blighted place, that he learned to live again." - Harold Baigent
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In another time, Max Rockatansky was a cop who watched his wife and son brutally run down by violent bikers in a world that kept getting madder and madder. After crossing the threshold of sanity and becoming "Mad Max," the world has now become a desolate wasteland, taken over by motor gangs who pillage and plunder the innocent, forever searching for gasoline to keep them going. Once again, Max is forced to match their brutality with his own.

The Road Warrior is best remembered for painting a vivid and hard-edged vision of the future, where bandits are leather-bound psychopaths who drive around in inventively-scrappy buggies and bikes. These are just a few of the details that ordains the film; the picture is filled with an incredible amount of detail that makes the post-apocalyptic wasteland look real and threatening. In this setting, the film tracks the reluctant hero Max as he confronts bandits, struggles to gain trust, and ultimately gives into a frantic escape plan. The film builds up to a memorable and well-crafted chase scene, in which a whole group of crazy vehicles run after a fortified rig. There are explosive crashes, brutal lashes of violence, and plenty of imagination to behold in this adventurous film.

The film presents its story as a kind of myth, romanticizing Max as a heroic drifter who breezes through and does what he has to. Like so many other heroes of this type, he is a reluctant one, who starts off with selfish intentions, but circumstances cause him to risk everything for the greater good. Thus, Max transforms from an antihero to a more classic form of hero, and his journey makes the film most endearing. The story advances smoothly from beginning to end with minimal drag, culminating in a satisfying climax.
This film boasts decent photography and good editing. Mel Gibson exhibits decent machismo as Max, and everybody else provides decent performances. Writing is good. This production uses very detailed and very real-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. Music is good too.

Although the first Mad Max film has its share of action and style, The Road Warrior is the film that paints the most definitive picture of a post-apocalyptic world - complete with fantastic chase scenes - and it defines Max as a hero we can root for.

4/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Good | Film: Good)

Film Review: Mad Max

"You and me, Max, we're gonna give them back their heroes!" - Roger Ward
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Max is a cop in an undetermined future, where law and order approaches its breaking point and the world is starting to become overrun by violent, anarchic gangs. Max becomes mad when these gangs harass him and push him to the edge. When the madness takes over, Max will not stop until he runs down all his enemies.

Right from the start, Mad Max establishes itself as a thrilling new breed of dystopian sci-fi with a frenetic highs-speed car chase. Car chases is the big draw that would persist through the whole film and in its famous sequels. In the case of this film, the chases are pretty simple, but they are well-filmed to emphasize speed, destruction, and violence. The vehicular carnage is often awe-inspiring, but in between the action, the film continues to captivate with its hard-edged portrayal of crazy villains and tormented heroes. The film's last half exudes suspense as the villains hone in on Max and his family, before the film wraps up with a wicked sense of justice.

To be honest, the film never was completely enthralling to me personally. At first glance, the film felt rather slow, drab, and disconnected. Only on repeat viewings would I find the film so engaging; the film's appeal ultimately hinges on how well you can relate to the characters, the crumbling world they live in, and the film's style. In time, I found myself becoming more and more enamored by the characters and the film overall.

The film embodies the structure and form of a typical American western, and the characters fulfill familiar archetypes of various heroes and villains. As such, the story is made to be pretty straightforward, but it implicitly carries themes of social decay, and the conflict between civility and barbarism. These themes fit into the setting perfectly; it's a bizarre post-modern world where things appear to be in shambles, but the last vestiges of society linger. In this world, the film is ultimately all about a man gradually losing his humanity, until he crosses a certain threshold and becomes the very monster he always feared. The film's first half tends to be rather unfocused, but the events of the second half become much more engaging; it builds up to the compelling transformation of "Mad Max," so filled with tragedy and rage.

The film captures this tale with very superb photography. Camera angles are really great, and the film is very concisely-edited. Max was Mel Gibson's breakout role, and he pulled it off really well, becoming a hero who looks cool but also elicits empathy. I developed quite the soft spot for Joanne Samuel's performance, which is tenderly-emotional but still well-grounded. Aside from her, everybody's performances (even Mel's) tends to get pretty nutty and over-the-top at times, but it fits in with the film's anarchic view of the near-future. Writing gets the job done. This production didn't have much of a budget, so many of the props and costumes were done on the cheap. Can't say I'm a fan of the police car designs, or how some scenes seemed to be cluttered with modern-looking items. Fortunately, the film's budgetary limitations rarely show, as the film makes apt use of real locations and real materials to bring its scappy view of the future to life. Brian May's music score is really decent.

Even though future Mad Max films would improve on budget and ambition, this original film kicked it all off with a simple, but emotional and powerful tale, of a man succumbing to chaos. Even though I found the movie a bit dull at first glance, I wound up loving it, especially in the way it crafts its story with a few simple images that gives it am emotional punch. Among those images, the scene with a single shoe bouncing on the open road as the bikers roar by is still one that exudes tragedy and desperation, and it's one of those scenes that hits me the hardest. For all those well-crafted moments, the film is worth seeing at least once.

4/5 (Experience: Good | Content: Good | Film: Very Good)

Film Review: Ex Machina

"Isn't it strange, to create something that hates you?" -  Alicia Vikander
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How can you tell if an intelligence machine actually has a consciousness, the way a human being does? The Turing Test is a scientific method developed to answer this question by, simply, interacting with a machine in conversation to see if a human being can be fooled.  Chatterbots have recently made waves in this field, especially with the news of Eugene Goostman personality, which allegedly won the University of Reading's 2014 Turing Test.  The film Ex Machina goes a step further, to assert that an AI might be capable of such human-like development that they can fool us in more frightening ways.

This movie is pretty much all about two dudes and a robot, in a high-tech home in the middle of nowhere. You might think this movie will get boring fast with such a limited cast and scope. Even though the film suffers a little drag, there's always tension between the characters that culminates into palpable suspense. The film's greatest strength is in subtly creeping insinuations into the audience's heads, getting them to sympathize with certain characters and making them believe that the plot is heading in one direction, before pulling out some twists that challenge our perception and biases. The finale is one diabolical turn of events with potentially chilling implications.

Ultimately, it's the story and its ideas that make the whole affair interesting. Characters aren't particular standouts, but there's enough dimensionality in them to drive the plot dynamics and dig up fascinating themes worth thinking about. In the context of AI development, the film successfully evokes thought concerning the nature of consciousness and what could happen if it's put into a machine. Would a conscious robot be capable of feeling love? How would it view the world? Can it be considered a real person? Above all, how far will it go to preserve its own life? The film explores the best and worst of this speculative technology.

The film is crafted with decent photography, with some shots that are brilliantly-composed and spectacular. Sharp editing, combined with the music and sound design, help make this an even more evoking experience, especially in the last act. Acting is generally good; Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac show appropriate skill and nuance for their given characters, but it's Alicia Vikander that dazzles the most through her combination of expression and movement. I also thought Sonoya Mizuno was hot. Writing is quite high-brow, and is good overall. This production makes excellent use of its limited sets, props, costumes, and special effects, and they all look fantastic. The rock and electronic music score by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow is a thing of beauty too, and accentuates the film perfectly.

Ex Machina is a twisty thriller that offers plenty to think about. Sci-fi fans might get the most out of it, especially if you have an interest in pondering the implications of artificial intelligence. It's worth seeing at least once.

4.5/5 (Experience: Good | Content: Very Good | Film: Very Good)

Film Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

"I know you're good people. I know you mean well. But you just didn't think it through. There is only one path to peace... your extinction." - James Spader
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Ever since the coming of Marvel's Avengers, the world has not been the same. In the real world, the film set the gold standard for how to pull off the cinematic-universe model of filmmaking, and it did so with such iconic status that it'll remain a landmark for generations young and old. Within the universe Marvel created, the Avengers opened up the Earth to staggering possibilities of war with god-like entities from other worlds. Since then, the events of Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier would cut the strings off of the Avengers team and force them to face a new challenge on their own.

The film immediately kicks off with a destructive brawl in Sokovia, where the Avengers come pre-assembled to pummel the hell out of a Hydra base. In the process, they run across more superpowered villains, and a stark vision of a dismal future. This leads to the rise of Ultron, a new breed of villain that actively splits the team apart from the inside out. The Avengers fight themselves, quite literally in a few scenes, including a chaotic sequence between the Hulk and Iron Man. They come together in the end for one lengthy climax that pits them against a whole army of machines, while the fate of the world hangs in the balance. With all of this going on, it goes without saying that there's definitely loads of superpowered action to behold. At the same time, the film is careful to keep things lightweight with bursts of witty banter and humor.

The story strikes me as being a grade more mature than the last Avengers film, which was little more than an alien invasion that prompted heroes to band together. Now, it's a robotpocalypse that threatens to tear the team apart; in spite of that, the characters are explored a little more in-depth, often with surprising insights into each characters' strengths and weaknesses. Not every viewer will enjoy the sudden relationship between Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff (and I agree that it's rather weird; she was practically afraid of the guy in the first film). Also, not every viewer will find Ultron a striking villain - he is not necessarily menacing like Ronan or a "bad guy we love to hate" the way Loki is - but I found him interesting and nuanced, especially as a "child" of Tony Stark who inherits some of his same traits, which gives him a twisted sense of purpose. Through Ultron and his motivations, the film unearths strong themes of evolution and the progress of mankind; themes that were common in the X-Men, but were rather implicit in the other Marvel films up to now.  Parallels are blatantly drawn between Ultron and Pinocchio, but I couldn't help but to compare Ultron to V'Ger from Star Trek: The Motion Picture - they are both "child-like" intelligences that threaten mankind and strive for evolution, but while V'Ger meant no harm in the end, Ultron exudes hostility and angst beneath his playful sarcasm, and I think that makes him more remarkable. In spite of these insights, I thought the film's story was quite intriguing.  Ultron's diabolical plot gives the Avengers team a twisty mystery and a larger-than-life spectacle, which might strain logic in a few places, but it also leads the characters into different directions by the end.

The film boasts pretty good photography. It tends to be very choppy and shaky in the action scenes, much unlike the first film, which felt much more smooth and solid. However, this film does have some good-looking shots. Color schemes are notably darker and more drab. Editing can be rather choppy. Acting is fine for what it is: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson are as enjoyable to watch as ever. James Spader breathes life into Ultron superbly. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are pretty good in their roles, and there are a few welcome cameos by Don Cheadle, Ibris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, and Anthony Mackie. Writing is pretty decent. This production spares no expense on the sets, props, costumes, and special effects; it all looks a grade more polished and more real than the first film. The music score by Bryan Tyler and Danny Elfman reprises the same themes that Alan Silvestri introduced, but also contributes some strong compositions throughout the picture.

Avengers: Age of Ultron delivers bigger action, with an intriguing story that gives the titular team a more desperate fight. I don't think it's quite as breezy as the first film, and I find the first film's action scenes easier on the eyes. If you're following the Marvel movies, however, this is the apex of Phase 2, and it's worth the time.

4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Content: Very Good | Film: Good)

Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (Revisited)

"Why would you want to save the galaxy?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" - Bradley Cooper and Chris Pratt
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Back when Marvel kicked in Phase 1 of its cinematic universe, we all knew who Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America were. All these films were destined to be hits to some degree. But...the Guardians of the Galaxy? Who are these a-holes? If you're like me and never read comics, you may be asking the same question. Seriously, a gun-totting raccoon? A walking tree? David Bautista? WTF?

If box office numbers are any indication, the risk paid off tremendously. The film wastes little time in plunging the audience into the deep end of the most outlandish and far-out reaches of the Marvel universe. From the desolate ruins of an abandoned planet to the thriving heart of an interstellar civilization, this space-faring adventure cuts across colorful nebulae and imaginative worlds, the likes of which have only ever been topped by the Star Wars universe. The film has no shortage of action, as characters fight with their fists, knives, and futuristic guns against an onslaught of bad guys. There is a huge all-out battle in the end, with thousands of space ships filling up the screen. In between the exciting parts, the film moves fast and fluidly with plenty of spot-on comedy, and just enough drama to give the characters a little more depth.

The story covers pretty basic ground, using the same old type of Macguffin that Avengers and Thor: The Dark World used. The villain of this film is a pretty flat, one-dimensional fellow who's best remembered for his presence, and little more. What makes this film stand out will be the protagonists. Peter Quill (the self-proclaimed "Star-Lord") has charm, but thanks to the film's opening scene, he provides an emotional anchor we can all latch onto. Drax is a warrior driven by vengeance, but is so blunt that he can't comprehend metaphors, and hilarity ensues. Gamora is a fierce fighter as well with an allure of her own. Rocket is a hard-drinking gun-happy raccoon with attitude. Groot is a walking tree, who can kick some butt, but also provides some of the most lovable moments. This whole gang is very much in the same vein of space outlaws as in Firefly or The Cowboy Bebop; each character provides enough emotional investment and attention so that they stand out and become heroes we can root for, no matter how bizarre or unlikely this union seems. The film is also loaded with a plethora of side characters, who all stand out in their own ways, to the point where I wished they could have had more to them (especially Thanos, who's obviously going to be a major player somewhere down the line; Nebula, who I thought was cooler than anything; the Collector, who's not given that much to do here; and Yondu, who clearly shares a history with Quill, but it's hard to tell where his loyalty is). Through the character interactions, the whole team emerges as a dysfunctional crew that stands up to tyranny in their own rebellious way, and their evolution from bickering individuals to literal Guardians of the Galaxy is quite the fun trip.

This film is crafted with solid and precise photography and editing. Acting is top-notch; you'd probably never expect much from this cast, but everybody does their best to make the characters stand out. Chris Pratt is not too shabby as the main hero; I enjoyed watching Zoe Saldana; Dave Bautista's performance is surprisingly solid; voices by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel get the job done well. Everybody else contributes admirably. Writing is pretty good. This production spares no expense on the outlandish and imaginative sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is decent.

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most well-rounded blockbusters since Marvel's own Avengers. It balances action, comedy, and storytelling very well. It defies all the odds and presents this obscure group of misfits as a thrilling new franchise for the masses..

5/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Content: Very Good | Film: Very Good)

Film Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Revisited)

In the first phase of Marvel's cinematic universe, Captain America made his appearance as The First Avenger; that film proved to be a fine adventure and a fine introduction to the character, but the best had yet to come. We got to see a decent sampling of Cap's heroics in Marvel's Avengers, but in the aftermath, the man would kick some serious butt in the modern age, while fighting the Winter Soldier.

Captain America's second film in the Marvel franchise is pretty much an action film with a strong political-thriller undercurrent that shifts character alliances and cranks the stakes to huge levels. It starts off with a thrilling hostage crisis on a boat, which sets off a series of events that causes the characters to go on the run and fight against massive odds. There are loads of great fight scenes, all fast-paced, hard-hitting, and choreographed with expert precision. The stuntwork is a thing of beauty. But that's not all; scenes in-between the action remain engaging thanks to the suspense and the personality of the characters. The film culminates with a fantastic climax involving a huge amount of mass destruction.

What really makes the film great, however, is the constant stream of peril the story dishes out. It is a huge challenge that makes for a very thrilling plot (and will undoubtedly serve as a paradigm shift for whatever may happen in Avengers: Age of Ultron). The film does take its time to let the characters shine a little (and character conflicts make up the most relevant dynamic for the various conflicts involved). Underneath it all, the film daringly underscores the threats of the modern world, so troubled by the loss of privacy and liberty through surveillance and technology. It's a world where Captain America finds himself way out of his element, but that's also what makes him the perfect hero for this story, because it's only his old-fashioned down-to-Earth mindset that gives everybody a chance. In the end, the film provides a relevant reflection on modern-day geopolitical issues, and the film hints at the scary notion that our world could be subverted. It's a captivating paranoia-thriller, inspired heavily by similar thrillers of the 1970s (such as Three Days of the Condor), but with big-scale action the likes of which only Marvel can dish out.

This film sports some fine photography; it's very solid most of the time, but tends to get jittery during the action scenes. Editing can be rather fast and hectic, but it gets the job done without being too overbearing. Acting is swell; Chris Evans is still apt as Captain America, and it is especially impressive seeing how physically demanding the fights must have been. Sebastian Stan elicits a good amount of sympathy for his character, and he has quite the presence. Scarlett Johansson is given quite a bit of screen time as the Black Widow; her character seems way more sarcastic than usual, but she's still easy on the eyes. Robert Redford is quite suitable in his role. Everybody else does alright. Writing is okay. This production features lots of good, slick-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is okay too.

Despite having some shakey camera work in the action scenes, the film is pure excitement, and still has room to breathe and make a few relevant points on the characters and their ongoing struggles. As one of the better films in Marvel's repertoire, it comes casually recommended.

4.5/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Very Good | Film: Very Good)

Film Review: Thor: The Dark World (Revisited)

Thor - Norse God of thunder and perhaps one of the most surprising additions to Marvel lore - returns to his fantastic universe that blurs the line between ancient myth and science fiction. Kenneth Branaugh's film has always felt like a "good but not great" affair, so this sequel had nowhere to go but up.

Naturally, there are loads of great action scenes throughout the film, with Asgardians, humans, and dark elves fighting on land, sea, air, and space. Among the film's highlights, the elves' raid on Asgard is a fantastic sequence with spaceships zooming around the city with dazzling laser beams and mass destruction. The final act presents a wildly imaginative sequence with characters duking it out across multiple worlds. In between, the film goes through plenty of compelling drama, but a lot of it is ultimately crushed by the comedy; hardly a moment goes by without something funny or ridiculous.

The story continues after the first Thor film and The Avengers in a logical manner, continuing the established character arcs. The plot goes through a pretty standard structure, but it is far from predictable; there are a few surprising twists and turns, and the film takes the characters to bold new directions. A lot of the characters are fairly one-dimensional (especially Thor himself, the main antagonist, and the scientist characters, who are there mostly for comic relief), but everybody's favorite supervillain, Loki, easily steals the spotlight. Fortunately, most of these characters are likable (save for Darcy, who I think is cute, but many complain is overbearing). It's largely the villain who comes out as the weakest link, lacking in depth or range.

This film pretty standard photography, with some good movements and angles, which let the action scenes flow and speak for themselves. Editing struck me as being a little screwy in a few scenes, but is mostly spot-on. Acting is good: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Anthony Hopkins all reprise their roles admirably (Hiddleston has especially grown into his role most comfortably). Natalie Portman continues to play a rather ditzy love interest, but she is given more to do in this film. Everybody else is decent, although I don't think Christopher Eccleston stood out much at all. Writing is not bad, although I felt that the film's explanation of the Aether and its connection with things like dark matter and the universe in general was pretty weak (pretty much technobabble just for the sake of it). This production has decent-looking sets, props, and costumes. Most special effects are cool, but I thought that some of the backgrounds and starfields looked a little low-rez. Music is alright.

I find Thor: The Dark World is a grade more enjoyable than the first film, and it's worth seeing to see the characters' progression and plenty of otherworldly action. It's an easy recommendation for fans of the Marvel films.

4/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Pretty Good | Film: Good)

Film Review: Iron Man 3 (Revisited)

So now it comes to this. Iron Man started off beating the snot out of terrorists and confronting the Iron Monger, all while trying to right the various wrongs of his life. Then he was challenged by Whiplash, and made to face a number of personal challenges. Lastly, he helped save Earth from an otherworldly invasion, and he personally passed through a wormhole to deliver a nuke to the Chitauri mothership. Where does Tony Stark stand after all this?

The third Iron Man film pits Tony Stark against more challenges, which elevates the stakes to a more personal level. He has his home taken away, before his friends and loved ones are thrown into peril, and he's forced to find answers on his own. It all culminates in a final gambit that involves an attack on the entire nation, and the emergence of a powerful new race of people. The endgame is a chaotic sequence in which multiple Iron Man suits wreak havoc on a freighter loaded with Extremis terrorists, and it is quite the explosive setpiece.

There is definitely a ton of action and quality special effects to behold here, but unfortunately, the pacing tends to sag between the action scenes. Aside from some sporadic action and comedy, very little of the film stands out, especially when compared to the last two films. In fact, the film's tone, atmosphere, and style never seems to mesh well with Jon Favreau's work, and as a result, the film is overshadowed.
The story that Iron Man 3 tells is full of high stakes, and it is notable how it rounds off Tony Stark's progression through the whole saga, providing some satisfactory closure. However, the film explicitly states that he's a changed man, but it's hard to really see such change; he remains his same old self throughout the whole runtime. He is a character so full of color and personality that he's entertaining to watch, but he ultimately delivers more of the same. The villains he confronts lack such personality, and elicit no sympathy; there is a twist behind the Mandarin's character that has upset countless film fans, and other characters never really stand out.

This film is competently-made with good photography and editing. Acting is as great as ever; Robert Downey Jr. is still apt as the title character, Gweneth Paltrow is still great, and so is Don Cheadle (although his role is rather limited). Ben Kingsley is rather cheesy, albeit on purpose, and I found him amusing that way. Guy Pearce is superb, even if his character is less memorable. The writing is generally good. This production has plenty of fine-looking sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is pretty cool.

Iron Man 3 has its moments, and it feels like it tries to be bigger and more relevant than its predecessors. Unfortunately, it's not as memorable, not as fun, and the substance isn't quite as deep. It will satisfy some and disappoint others, so I'd only recommend it as a rental to fans.

3/5 (Entertainment: Average | Story: Mixed | Film: Pretty Good)

Film Review: The Avengers (2012) (Revisited)

"If we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it." - Robert Downey Jr.
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In five years, we saw the coming of Iron Man, a talented engineer who built a powerful exosuit; the Hulk, a scientist whose rage can cause him to explode into a beast of furious strength; Thor, a god-like extraterrestrial who can summon storms; Captain America, a supersoldier from the past. Combined with the tough and skilled agents of SHIELD, all these heroes would join forces to defend Earth against threats that couldn't otherwise be faced.

From the start, Marvel's Avengers jumps right into the universe it set up in all previous films, and it wastes no time in jumping into the action. Loki's arrival immediately brings peril and destruction, causing the heroes to assemble and clash in big, explosive brawls. It all builds up to a massive half-hour climax, where everybody contributes to the fight. The action is often jaw-dropping, as heroes fly all over the city and wrestle with huge waves of extraterrestrials. The heroics are as epic as they come. But even when there's no fighting, the movie remains effortlessly entertaining, thanks to its endearing combination of thrills, humor, and personality.

The story could be described as the same thing Seven Samurai was: the simple tale of heroes defending a place. In this film, the heroes are a mis-matched family, where some characters connect and others butt heads. The volatile concoction of personalities is what makes the team so special; each character is given a chance to shine, and together they form a uniquely dysfunctional dynamic that makes their dialogue sharp, their drama tense, and their teamwork compelling. It even goes so far as pumping newfound color and life into characters that existed in previous films, but never had a chance to shine until now (particularly Loki, whose devilish mischief steals the show often; Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Agent Coulson stand out much better in this film as well).

The film looks spectacular, with quality photography and editing. There are a lot of unusual camera angles in this movie, and I think it looks awesome. Other shots are crafted in very dynamic ways that not only show off the action, but the characters in evoking ways. Acting is a joy to watch from the whole cast; Robert Downey Jr is as enjoyable as ever as Tony Stark, while Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans provide decently commanding performances. Mark Ruffalo is probably the most pleasant surprise from the cast, who provides a balanced and compelling portrayal of Bruce Banner. Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, and Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg are all fun to watch, and Tom Hiddleston nails it as a bad guy we love to hate. Writing is quite sharp and precise, for great effect. This production uses great-looking sets, props, costumes, locales, and special effects. Alan Silvestri's music score is appropriately heroic and catchy.

Avengers comes close to being the end-all-be-all superhero film: one epic experience that brings together multiple heroes for one grand fight, in a manner that feels so naturally entertaining and harmonic.

5/5 (Entertainment: Perfect | Content: Very Good | Film: Perfect)

Film Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (Revisited)

"A weak man knows the value of strength." - Stanley Tucci
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With Marvel's Avengers slated for 2012, only one hero’s origin story remains untold. Falling in line with Thor, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk, Captain America showcases the rise of Steve Rogers as the title character. Unlike the other films, which take place in modern times, this one goes way back to WWII, showing the Captain kicking Nazi butt! With a lot of Wolfenstein-style occult mystique and a slight Indiana Jones sense of pulp adventure, this movie has a number of solid action sequences, and plenty of imaginative special effects and setpieces. With its references to various characters and concepts of other Mavel movies, it fits into the franchise really well. It might take some stretch of the imagination to believe that Nazis could be this futuristic, but for a superhero movie, it’s all good fun.

The story in this case is pretty solid. The main character shows strong development, and for most of the movie, you really root for him. There’s nothing more thrilling than watching the underdog getting the upper hand. As it goes on, much of the character drama and story development gets pushed aside by the action, but it still works. By the end, voila, we have the lead-in for the Avengers film.

If there’s any complaint for this film, it’s that it's rather uneven, and there could have been more to it. The film's first half may be lacking in action, but it carries the full burden of the character-building, and it's where the most compelling scenes are. By the last half, the villain is reduced to a one-dimensional boogeyman, and the story's reduced to a continuous montage of heroics, which would have been more welcome as a number of longer setpieces.

The film is competently made, with decent (but rarely exceptional) photography. Editing is good for the most part, but I am not a fan of the montage in the middle of the film that makes the entire war campaign whiz by. A couple of action scenes seemed a little sloppily-edited, but it’s barely noticeable. Acting is swell; Chris Evans is surprisingly strong as the main character, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving in their roles. Writing seems pretty good. Production value is high, featuring lots of good (if not overly-slick) sets, props, costumes and special effects. Music is appropriately upbeat and adventurous.

In the end, I’d say the film met my expectations, but never fully exceeded them. But it is a decent WWII adventure film with fine superpowered action. And it, along with an all-too-short sneak preview after the credits, provide the necessary bridge to the Avengers film.

3.5/5 (Entertainment: Good | Story: Okay | Film: Pretty Good)