When I saw the trailer for this movie, I have to admit, I was pretty pumped. Because I know whenever I walk around, and especially when I pursue women, a bunch of dudes always c**k-block me. Gotta support the underdog.
Alright, that’s a gross simplification of this movie. Synopsis ho!
David Norris (Matt Damon) is an up-and-coming New York politician fresh off his …. unsuccessful bid for Senator. Prior to his concession speech, he meets a charming woman, Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) who somehow snuck her way behind the scenes of the venue (and into the men’s bathroom). But she didn’t know that she also snuck her way into Norris’ heart (actually it was pretty clear that she knew that). When Norris meets her again on the bus- after Some Strange Black Guy (Some Strange Black Guy) failed to prevent him from getting on said bus- and gets her number, Norris arrives at work. However, upon entering, a bunch of Strange White Guys (bunch of Strange White Guys) are erasing memories of his co-workers. Startled, Norris attempts to flee, but is captured and told that these strange men comprise the Adjustment Bureau, who make sure that people’s lives follow the path outlined for them… even if that path doesn’t include the beautiful professional dancer Elise that Norris is in love with…
I mentioned that I wanted to see this movie when I saw the trailer. I actually saw this movie on a flight months after it was out of theaters (they said something about paying for headphones, but I had my own so uhhh the movie was free)… and uhhh… soooo…. Here’s what I thought.
THE AWESOME:
1) THE CAST
It’s a very small cast, or at least it’s one of those casts where you don’t need character names. The guys in suits? Bad guys. Except maybe the one. Handsome white guy? Hero. Check. You know, stuff like that.
No one has an insanely difficult character, but all roles are performed admirably. It’s impossible not to root for Damon’s Norris, as he literally fights fate, or the forces of fate. Although Norris’ campaign is a little too Barack-y for me (young guy runs for Senate, Presidential hopeful within a few years of win perhaps), he is very likeable, which makes it all the more frustrating that Blunt’s Sellas does not understand the forces at work that make Norris appear like an asshole. For long stretches of the movie, Sellas allows herself to be victimized again and again (and keep in mind the movie takes place over several years). It’s an interesting relationship that they develop; I imagine it’s similar to having a very loving relationship with a paranoid schizophrenic. I think the key word here is passion. Both actors utilize it throughout the romantic thriller, and it keeps what becomes a monotonous story more interesting.
Everyone working for the Bureau has a name, but honestly, who gives a sh*t, because I can’t remember any of them. I don’t even know if they mentioned the names during the actual movie. I had to look up the one’s name that I put in the synopsis. The member with the most screen time kinda looks and sounds like Jigsaw, so no matter what his name was, he’s Jigsaw to me. Anyway, I digress, these guys are mysterious obviously, but I found myself most of the time getting bored or confused with them. We’re supposed to empathize with them- hey, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it- but it’s never really clear WHY they have to do their jobs. The actors did a good job though, handling roles that were surprisingly bland as hell.
2) THE CHASE(S)
A lot of this movie is running from the Bureau, in that clichéd you-can’t-outrun-your-fate kinda deal. Some of them are short, some are long, some are interesting, some aren’t. I include them all though, because I’m sort of retroactively comparing them to the final chase, which was, in a word, sweet. Despite not seeing Inception, the final chase was something I imagine could just as easily belong in that movie. I don’t want to describe it in any detail in case you want to see the movie, but trust me, it’s worth the wait and it’s an impressive use of effects that don’t make you want to gorge your eyes out from overusage.
3) THE PREMISE
I am not going into detail- you’ve read the synopsis I hope.
THE NOT AWESOME:
1) THE STORY
I know what you’re thinking. How can you like the premise, but not the story? Aren’t they very related?
Yes, yes they are. But hear me out.
This movie was loosely based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick; people controlling a lot of sh*t and reality not being what you think was kinda his thing (Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and Blade Runner were all based works of his, to name a few). Why do I mention this? Because it was a SHORT story. There is a reason it was a short story. There’s simply not enough in it to sustain a novel, or in this case, a movie.
I felt for most of the movie that I was waiting for the big twist, the game-changer, the reveal, something that would immediately affect this story to the climactic chase. And, for the most part…. They’d tell you some tiny bit of news (“Hey, look at this! This doesn’t make any sense!”), and the other characters would agree (“We agree”), and I’m sitting there waiting for that information to manifest itself in advancement of the story. Like, okay, we’re getting all the puzzle pieces, now to see the big picture!
This movie, to me, felt a giant tease. There needed to be more to this story. More twists, more intrigue, more character development, just more. I think the writers forgot that this movie was feature length and just stttrrrreeetttccchhhhed everything out to fit the format.
2) THE ENDING
This pissed me right the f**k off. I was expecting a bit more. It seemed really abrupt and really predictable, and very clichéd. They don’t even try to wrap it up very nicely. I would have preferred some lesson to be learned, or some inner truth revealed. Instead, it was more of a “Alright, you win!”
What’s that? You say that there is a lesson?
I suppose. I can think of maybe three ways to put it.
(1) “Free will and determination can overcome any circumstances.”
(2) “True love will always find a way.”
(3) “If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free, expands to new territory, and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously.”
I’m going to debunk each of these one by one, starting with the easiest.
(3) This was a line spoken by Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park.
(1) Um. No matter how bad I wanted to be a professional basketball player, no matter how bad, I am way too white, way too slow, way too short, and way too bummed-legged to do it. Especially now, since there are players two years younger than me in the League currently, and I am out of college. No amount of determination or choosing to practice will ever get me a check from the NBA. Although with this whole lockout deal coming up…
But you get my point. Some things just aren’t meant to be, and there’s nothing that we can do about it.
(2) This is really the same thing as (1), just concerning love. And therefore IT IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DANGEROUS.
There was this girl I crushed on for a while. I’m going to change her name to protect the innocent. Let’s call her “Smchessica Smchalba”, or SS for short.
Now, let’s say I possess this book which tells me that SS and I are meant to be together. It’s totally fate, I have "proof". Now, I know this was meant to be, so obviously the only rational decision is to stalk her for years to try to convince her that when I was watching Sin City I knew we would live a wonderful life together.
But to my surprise, she does not believe that we’re destined for each other. Imagine that.
Now, this is the danger that is inherent in this movie: according to this movie, HER OPINION DOESN’T MATTER. At no point in this story was Blunt’s character really given a conscious decision on the matter, not any one that could be trusted or that she could really think about. If it’s fate, it’s going to happen anyway, and if it’s not, don’t worry, the man’s going to make it fate. This movie justifies, or can help to justify why stalkers exists! Sorry SS, I will continue to call you and hang outside the gates of your mansion in Beverly Hills! SOMEDAY YOU'LL REALIZE!
Note: I am well aware that women stalk as well. (Leave me alone Bethany!)
The bottom line is I don’t think this movie was aware of the implications of the ending, especially when considering that (believe it or not!) women have a say in the relationships.
Here’s how I would have ended it. SPOILERSSSSS
The Bureau finds Damon and Blunt together and ready to kill them or do whatever it is they’re going to do (in the movie it sounds like a lobotomy) for defying “the plan”. Just then, the Chairman contacts the members of the AB to forget about it. The members leave, with no explanation to the couple as to why this has happened. It’s just over for them. Congrats!
Then….
(A) Back at the HQ for the AB, the Chairman reveals to the AB members that THEY TOO have a fate that they are following, and the entire movie was about how THEY have veered off course.
(B) Back at the HQ for the AB, the Chairman reveals to the AB members that the book they have been using this whole time was an experiment or otherwise NOT book of fate as they were led to believe.
Or (C) The Bureau members get in a helicopter and notice a Pterodactyl flying off into the sunset.
Any of those endings would have been better. It’s what Rod Serling would have called “the ticket”, the twist, the WTF moment. It would have made you think!!!
Sorry for all the b**ching. So did the Adjustment Bureau prove its worth to the people, or get cut from next year’s budget?
Overall, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being sh**ty and 10 being mind-blowing, The Adjustment Bureau gets a….
5.5: This isn’t a terrible movie. This isn’t a good movie. And in retrospect, trying to review this SOB, I found myself constantly thinking that it is a fairly forgettable movie. I can’t say I would recommend to film to anyone, unless you were really interested in it already (as I was). But your time and money is much better spent on other movies, like Blade Runner. I got the vibe that this movie was trying for a Matrix-style “what is reality/freedom?” thing without the martial arts or mysticism to accompany it, and it really showed. As I mentioned earlier, there’s just not enough to this movie, and while rooting for the underdog is fun (and easy to do), there’s an utter lack of imagination that becomes more and more noticeable as the film wore on. It feels like half of a film.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Awesome Reviews: X-Men: First Class
I love X-Men. I love them so much. It’s a story that I think lends itself to the big screen much better than other superheroes, save for maybe Batman. Before I dive into the review, just a few housecleaning items.
1) I did not see X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so if they are any discrepancies between that movie and First Class, I can’t comment on them. (EDIT: However, I just borrowed Wolverine from a friend, so there may be a further edit of this review)
2) When I saw the trailer for the film, my expectations, despite my experience with X3, were enormous.
3) The vast majority of my X-Men knowledge comes from the film series, the animated TV show, and random bits of information. I did not read the comics much, and I am not an expert by any means.
So without any further adieu, let’s get rolling with that synopsis, shall we?
There will be spoilers in this review, but if you’ve seen practically any of the other movies, you know all of them already.
It’s the 1960s- the cold war, John F. Kennedy, and the civil rights movement origins for mutants. (Your textbooks said it was for African-Americans, but nah it was totally mutants). Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is working for the CIA, looking for a potential traitor in the shady American political underground, who may be giving secrets to those pesky Soviets. After witnessing what can only be described as “some pretty funky shit” [citation needed], she enlists the help of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a telepathic mutant himself who also has the ability to bend bullet trajectories around Angelina Jolie. The government takes interest in several mutants to help their investigation, including one revenge-seeking concentration camp survivor Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), with the power to manipulate metal. However, just because Xavier and Lensherr work together doesn’t mean they see eye-to-eye…
THE AWESOME:
1) Professor X and Magneto
Let me clear something up here. X1 and X2 were great films largely because of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKlellan. X3 wasn’t a total piece of shit because of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKlellan. So it’s pretty damn important that Xavier and Lensherr have a strong relationship. That’s a lot of pressure on McAvoy and Fassbender, but they completely deliver. We see their earliest memories, why they are who they are and we are SHOWN, not told, their philosophies on mankind. It just works. Fassbender in particular was phenomenal, and while I had a little trouble seeing McAvoy growing up to be Stewart, Fassbender effortlessly convinced me that McKlellan was on the way. Great performances.
2) THE STORY- SPOILER ALERT
I won’t say that the writing was awesome, but the story was. It kind of reminded me of a spy movie- appropriate for the time period, I suppose. (SPOILER ALERT) Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) manipulates everyone around him in order to set up a nuclear war scenario, and it is very interesting to see how he does it- by playing his hand very carefully.
The best compliment I feel you can give a movie is that you don’t notice how long it is. X-Men: First Class clocks in at 2 hours and 15 minutes but with this solid of a story, and pretty good (occasionally great) writing, it doesn’t feel that long AT ALL. It sucks you in from the first moments and keep it going the entire way- a solid execution of a good script.
3) THE MUTANTS
How can I put this?
Remember all the cool X-Men? Your favorites? Go ahead, think of that particular one- your absolutely favorite mutant.
You got him/her?
Alright, bad news. Overwhelming odds are, that mutant is not in this movie. Which makes it all the more impressive that they were able to attract me to the characters and make them so damn likable. More importantly, they seemed to learn from X3 that quality over quantity is better- the mutants that we encounter in this movie, we really get to know.
I can’t say any of the mutants besides Professor X and Magneto really stood out- I mean, the acting didn’t blow me away or anything (for a variety of reasons)- but the roles were competently handled and the cast had great chemistry. If I had to pick, I’d say Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast) probably did the best job from a supporting standpoint, but then again, the beauty of the X-Men is that there are so many interesting characters and relationships that you tend not to notice individuals (apart from their mutant powers/abilities, obviously), and you see groups instead.
4) THE EFFECTS
I am a big hater of CGI. It’s overused and makes every film look the same after a certain point. HOWEVER, this film expertly uses to CGI, particularly in its action sequences and its background. Simply put, I knew I was looking at CGI, but it wasn’t the distracting oh-my-god-the-animators-are-really-going-overboard CGI, but it actually ENHANCED THE MOVIE (imagine that).
That being said, I can appreciate the sequences- most notably the early scenes with a young Magneto that realistic stunts were performed. It seems like a rarity nowadays in superhero movies. I don’t want to say too much more and ruin the fun of these scenes, but they were pretty cool.
5) CAMEOS
I could only spot two (although IMDB said there was three). Really cool for those who really pay attention, even though one cameo is blatant.
THE NOT AWESOME:
1) MYSTIQUE
Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is a f**king disaster for long portions of this film. And it’s certainly not Jennifer Lawrence’s fault- it’s the writers.
Is this girl mental? I’m serious, does she have some sort of problem that prevents her from having coherent thoughts about how she sees the world and the basic interactions that humans have with one another?
I can deal with confusion- it’s only natural that a young girl (beginning of the movie) and young woman born with layers of blue prosthetics all over her body would feel awkward in a society where having dark skin makes you a second rate citizen (remember it’s the 1960s)- I get that. But there’s a difference between being confused or uneasy with your place in society, and being uncomfortable HAVING THOUGHTS.
Maybe it’s just me, but I do NOT see this character growing up to be Rebecca Romijn’s confident portrayal, particularly in X3.
2) CONTINUITY
I have heard two theories regarding the continuity of this film in relation to the others in the series:
a) it’s a direct prequel- everything is supposed to flow exactly into the other movies.
b) it’s kind of a direct prequel- it could go into the other movies and the general plot points and scenarios apply, but a lot of the specifics the audience is supposed to look the other way
So, if it’s A:
MAJOR ISSUES come up, especially with characters relationships, ESPECIALLY concerning X3. I realize this is tough to counter- how could those films have known about the plot of this one?- but it’s just really hard to swallow. Again, Mystique was really poorly handled in this regard (specifically in relation to Professor X).
If it’s B:
What the hell does that mean? Okay, so I’ll ignore some parts (from what I understand this mostly applies to the Wolverine movie details), and this spares most of the criticism of Mystique, but I just don’t get what they mean. It seems like a cop-out, just in case they want to use this as a reboot for the franchise (oh God please no).
NOW, all this being said, will this ruin this particular film?
No, the continuity only causes problems if you’ve seen the only films or are picky or both.
3) MINOR ISSUES
- the writing got a little lazy and awkward at times. This refers to dialogue, specifically a few scenes meant to showcase philosophy (see Prof X and Magneto in AWESOME). Not a killer, but noticeable. Like they were trying to give a wink to hardcore fans, but missed a bit.
- Kevin Bacon is an extremely talented actor, but there were so many times I just laughed and laughed at the prospect of his playing the main villain. I think it’s from watching Footloose and Tremors so many times. Especially Tremors. God I love Tremors.
- Even if you haven’t seen any of the other movies, or know much about the story at all, you can see almost everything coming.
- the pivotal moment of the film between the Americans and Soviets is just about the corniest sh*t I’ve ever seen in a superhero movie. This includes Spiderman 3. The dialogue is just so terrible….
- This movie is not Tremors.
Verdict time! So does this movie has Class 5 mutant awesome in it, or does it reek like Juggernaut’s jock strap?
Overall, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being sh**ty and 10 being mind-blowing, X-Men: First Class gets a…
7.5: This may be the best film in the X-Men series. There’s a lot going on this film, and it’s quite a ride. I highly recommend it to any comic book/superhero fans. I haven’t mentioned this word yet, but the movie felt HUGE. It felt EPIC, like this sh*t mattered. It’s what made X1 and X2 work, and what was missing from X3. I didn’t even mention a lot of the mutants specifically, but almost all felt necessary to the story, and some were BAD ASS. This movie deserves to be seen on the big screen. Not a perfect movie, and I don’t think it was better than Spiderman 2, but it was pretty sweet. Go see it!
1) I did not see X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so if they are any discrepancies between that movie and First Class, I can’t comment on them. (EDIT: However, I just borrowed Wolverine from a friend, so there may be a further edit of this review)
2) When I saw the trailer for the film, my expectations, despite my experience with X3, were enormous.
3) The vast majority of my X-Men knowledge comes from the film series, the animated TV show, and random bits of information. I did not read the comics much, and I am not an expert by any means.
So without any further adieu, let’s get rolling with that synopsis, shall we?
There will be spoilers in this review, but if you’ve seen practically any of the other movies, you know all of them already.
It’s the 1960s- the cold war, John F. Kennedy, and the civil rights movement origins for mutants. (Your textbooks said it was for African-Americans, but nah it was totally mutants). Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is working for the CIA, looking for a potential traitor in the shady American political underground, who may be giving secrets to those pesky Soviets. After witnessing what can only be described as “some pretty funky shit” [citation needed], she enlists the help of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a telepathic mutant himself who also has the ability to bend bullet trajectories around Angelina Jolie. The government takes interest in several mutants to help their investigation, including one revenge-seeking concentration camp survivor Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), with the power to manipulate metal. However, just because Xavier and Lensherr work together doesn’t mean they see eye-to-eye…
THE AWESOME:
1) Professor X and Magneto
Let me clear something up here. X1 and X2 were great films largely because of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKlellan. X3 wasn’t a total piece of shit because of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKlellan. So it’s pretty damn important that Xavier and Lensherr have a strong relationship. That’s a lot of pressure on McAvoy and Fassbender, but they completely deliver. We see their earliest memories, why they are who they are and we are SHOWN, not told, their philosophies on mankind. It just works. Fassbender in particular was phenomenal, and while I had a little trouble seeing McAvoy growing up to be Stewart, Fassbender effortlessly convinced me that McKlellan was on the way. Great performances.
2) THE STORY- SPOILER ALERT
I won’t say that the writing was awesome, but the story was. It kind of reminded me of a spy movie- appropriate for the time period, I suppose. (SPOILER ALERT) Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) manipulates everyone around him in order to set up a nuclear war scenario, and it is very interesting to see how he does it- by playing his hand very carefully.
The best compliment I feel you can give a movie is that you don’t notice how long it is. X-Men: First Class clocks in at 2 hours and 15 minutes but with this solid of a story, and pretty good (occasionally great) writing, it doesn’t feel that long AT ALL. It sucks you in from the first moments and keep it going the entire way- a solid execution of a good script.
3) THE MUTANTS
How can I put this?
Remember all the cool X-Men? Your favorites? Go ahead, think of that particular one- your absolutely favorite mutant.
You got him/her?
Alright, bad news. Overwhelming odds are, that mutant is not in this movie. Which makes it all the more impressive that they were able to attract me to the characters and make them so damn likable. More importantly, they seemed to learn from X3 that quality over quantity is better- the mutants that we encounter in this movie, we really get to know.
I can’t say any of the mutants besides Professor X and Magneto really stood out- I mean, the acting didn’t blow me away or anything (for a variety of reasons)- but the roles were competently handled and the cast had great chemistry. If I had to pick, I’d say Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast) probably did the best job from a supporting standpoint, but then again, the beauty of the X-Men is that there are so many interesting characters and relationships that you tend not to notice individuals (apart from their mutant powers/abilities, obviously), and you see groups instead.
4) THE EFFECTS
I am a big hater of CGI. It’s overused and makes every film look the same after a certain point. HOWEVER, this film expertly uses to CGI, particularly in its action sequences and its background. Simply put, I knew I was looking at CGI, but it wasn’t the distracting oh-my-god-the-animators-are-really-going-overboard CGI, but it actually ENHANCED THE MOVIE (imagine that).
That being said, I can appreciate the sequences- most notably the early scenes with a young Magneto that realistic stunts were performed. It seems like a rarity nowadays in superhero movies. I don’t want to say too much more and ruin the fun of these scenes, but they were pretty cool.
5) CAMEOS
I could only spot two (although IMDB said there was three). Really cool for those who really pay attention, even though one cameo is blatant.
THE NOT AWESOME:
1) MYSTIQUE
Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is a f**king disaster for long portions of this film. And it’s certainly not Jennifer Lawrence’s fault- it’s the writers.
Is this girl mental? I’m serious, does she have some sort of problem that prevents her from having coherent thoughts about how she sees the world and the basic interactions that humans have with one another?
I can deal with confusion- it’s only natural that a young girl (beginning of the movie) and young woman born with layers of blue prosthetics all over her body would feel awkward in a society where having dark skin makes you a second rate citizen (remember it’s the 1960s)- I get that. But there’s a difference between being confused or uneasy with your place in society, and being uncomfortable HAVING THOUGHTS.
Maybe it’s just me, but I do NOT see this character growing up to be Rebecca Romijn’s confident portrayal, particularly in X3.
2) CONTINUITY
I have heard two theories regarding the continuity of this film in relation to the others in the series:
a) it’s a direct prequel- everything is supposed to flow exactly into the other movies.
b) it’s kind of a direct prequel- it could go into the other movies and the general plot points and scenarios apply, but a lot of the specifics the audience is supposed to look the other way
So, if it’s A:
MAJOR ISSUES come up, especially with characters relationships, ESPECIALLY concerning X3. I realize this is tough to counter- how could those films have known about the plot of this one?- but it’s just really hard to swallow. Again, Mystique was really poorly handled in this regard (specifically in relation to Professor X).
If it’s B:
What the hell does that mean? Okay, so I’ll ignore some parts (from what I understand this mostly applies to the Wolverine movie details), and this spares most of the criticism of Mystique, but I just don’t get what they mean. It seems like a cop-out, just in case they want to use this as a reboot for the franchise (oh God please no).
NOW, all this being said, will this ruin this particular film?
No, the continuity only causes problems if you’ve seen the only films or are picky or both.
3) MINOR ISSUES
- the writing got a little lazy and awkward at times. This refers to dialogue, specifically a few scenes meant to showcase philosophy (see Prof X and Magneto in AWESOME). Not a killer, but noticeable. Like they were trying to give a wink to hardcore fans, but missed a bit.
- Kevin Bacon is an extremely talented actor, but there were so many times I just laughed and laughed at the prospect of his playing the main villain. I think it’s from watching Footloose and Tremors so many times. Especially Tremors. God I love Tremors.
- Even if you haven’t seen any of the other movies, or know much about the story at all, you can see almost everything coming.
- the pivotal moment of the film between the Americans and Soviets is just about the corniest sh*t I’ve ever seen in a superhero movie. This includes Spiderman 3. The dialogue is just so terrible….
- This movie is not Tremors.
Verdict time! So does this movie has Class 5 mutant awesome in it, or does it reek like Juggernaut’s jock strap?
Overall, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being sh**ty and 10 being mind-blowing, X-Men: First Class gets a…
7.5: This may be the best film in the X-Men series. There’s a lot going on this film, and it’s quite a ride. I highly recommend it to any comic book/superhero fans. I haven’t mentioned this word yet, but the movie felt HUGE. It felt EPIC, like this sh*t mattered. It’s what made X1 and X2 work, and what was missing from X3. I didn’t even mention a lot of the mutants specifically, but almost all felt necessary to the story, and some were BAD ASS. This movie deserves to be seen on the big screen. Not a perfect movie, and I don’t think it was better than Spiderman 2, but it was pretty sweet. Go see it!
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