Review #1,377: 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' (2018)

After the fate-of-the-universe shenanigans of Avengers: Infinity War just three months ago (two months if you live in a country where football isn't that popular), Marvel's twentieth entry into their unstoppable cinematic universe, or MCU, understandably plays the role of palette-cleanser. Infinity War included every Marvel superhero so far, except Hawkeye, and while we still await a solo outing for nobody's favourite Avenger, Ant-Man - who was also absent from the cosmic battle against Thanos - is back for a sequel. The first Ant-Man somehow survived the loss of director Edgar Wright and emerged as a lighter, smaller-scale branch of the ever-expanding MCU. It may have followed the formula of Iron Man's origin very closely, but it was incredibly inventive when its hero suited-up and scaled-down to dodge everything from huge feet pounding a dancefloor, a hungry rat, or the sight of his giant best friend naked. Without the comforts of the origin story however, Ant-Man and the Wasp and returning director Peyton Reed are at a loss which direction to go, and end up throwing multiple storylines at the wall to see what sticks. Sadly, not much does.

It's been two years since Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), aka Ant-Man, was drafted into Captain America's crew for a battle against Tony Stark and the Sokovia Accords in Germany. As we saw from the ending of Captain America: Civil War, Lang was imprisoned, but is now being allowed to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, under the watchful eye of FBI agent Jimmy Woo (a scene-stealing Randall Park). With his new friends off fighting global threats and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) not talking to him for stealing one of his suits, Lang passes the time building huge play-houses for his superhero-obsessed daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson), as well as playing drums, watching a lot of television, and crying reading The Fault in our Stars. At night, he is plagued by nightmares of the Quantum Realm, the microscopic world he found himself in during his showdown with Darren Cross, where time and space become irrelevant. He doesn't know it, but Hank and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) are also thinking about the Realm, in the hope of finding their wife/mother Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), who disappeared thirty years earlier during a mission with her husband. When Lang starts to receive strange messages seemingly from Janet, Pym has no choice but to bring the cat-burglar back into the fold in the hope of nailing her location.

The first Ant-Man kept its exposition zippy, sweeping you up into its flow so that all the scientific jibberish being explained simply washed over you. Ant-Man and the Wasp must hold the world record for the number of times the word 'quantum' has been used within two hours. Janet can communicate with Lang through quantum entanglement, where particles interact in ways that essentially make them indistinguishable, even when they are separated by a huge distance. The film's 'villain', Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) experiences molecular instability due to an accident during a quantum experiment, meaning that she can phase through solid matter at will. At one point, Lang questions if the boffins tasked with explaining all of this to us simply put the word 'quantum' in front of everything. This is played for laughs, but doesn't necessarily absolve the film of the problem. Also thrown into the mix is slimy businessman Sonny Burch, played by a wasted Walton Goggins, who wants his greedy hands of Pym's tech and will stop at nothing until he has it. For a series that now prides itself on a lighter tone, it's a lot of plot to take in. The trippy Quantum Realm was teased in the first Ant-Man, and it remains a tease here. There's literally a whole new world to explore at sub-atomic level, yet it remains a frustrating mystery.

While there's way too much going on plot-wise, Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn't disappoint with its set-pieces. As glimpsed in the trailer, the heroes turn everything from a salt-shaker to a Hello Kitty pez dispenser into a weapon, normally hurled at their enemies and used to block their path. With her ability to fly and shoot from the wrist, Wasp gets to kick the most ass, dispensing a vehicle full of baddies with speed and efficiency, and all brought to life with stunning special effects. Lang's motor-mouthed associate Luis (Michael Pena) also returns for a beefier part, with his gift for story-telling once again proving a highlight. Laurence Fishburne helps establish some gravitas whenever he is on screen as Bill Foster, Pym's former co-worker on the G.O.L.I.A.T.H. project and whose existence was teased as far back as Iron Man 2. It's ultimately two hours of fluff and Peyton Reed (along with his five writers, including Rudd) knows it, and while this was very much part of the character's charm the first time around, many jokes here fall flat. There are nice touches, such as Pym's laboratory, populated by giant ants carrying out maintenance work and tiny objects blown up in size stitching the whole thing together, which can be shrunken down to luggage size with the click of a button. Lang's relationship with his daughter is also very touching. But Reed never fully commits to one idea and refuses to run with the many promising ideas the film touches on. With the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok willing to embrace the crazy, Ant-Man and the Wasp was always going to pale in comparison.


Directed by: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Hannah John-Kamen, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Walton Goggins, Randall Park
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,208: 'John Wick: Chapter 2' (2017)

John Wick was the sleeper hit of 2014, elegantly combining kinetic fist and gun fights, fluid camerawork, and an effective, stoic performance from its lead, Keanu Reeves. There was a beauty in its simplicity: a former assassin grieving over the recent death of his wife gets done over by a small gang of scumbag Russian mobsters, who proceed to beat him to a pulp and kill his dog, and who are soon running for their lives as the slick-suited killing machine routinely takes them out one by one. Animal lovers can breathe easy as no dogs die in this sequel, although the anti-hero has found himself a new four-legged sidekick. The film's surprising success, as well as the shady underground universe it only hinted at, had action fans salivating at the thought of a follow-up.

Fans will be pleased that stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski is back at the helm, as is writer Derek Kolstad, who, although obeying the expected rule of sequels by making everything bigger and louder, both ensure that everything that set our pulses racing the first time around is present and suitably breathtaking. Opening with what can only be described as a ballet of fisticuffs and impressive stunt driving, we are instantly on familiar grounds. Having done everything but retrieve his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 as he took his vengeance on anybody stupid enough to stand in his way, Wick lays siege to a dingy chop shop ran by Russian Abram Tarasov (Peter Storemare), the brother of Viggo from the first film. With pal Aurelio (John Leguizamo) restoring the classic vehicle, Wick can finally move on with his life. Only clearly somebody hasn't informed him that he's in a sequel. Soon enough, old colleague Santino (Riccardo Scamarcio) is at his door insisting on a favour.

Wick politely refuses, but Santino lays down a marker which symbolises an unbreakable oath. Although they kill mercilessly for a living, these contract killers have a code and a set of rules they must obey under penalty of death. Having left the game, Wick isn't having any of it, but the quick destruction of his home soon has him jetting off to Rome to carry out the job. His target: Santino's sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini), who was chosen by their father to take his place at the high seat of international crime bosses. The organisation of the underground assassins only hinted at previously really opens up in Rome. Met by the boss Julius (Franco Nero), Wick is soon getting fitted for expensive suits and choosing his arsenal with the assistance of Sommerlier (Peter Serafinowicz) for his so-called 'impossible task'. A smooth operation wouldn't make for a particularly exciting time, so Wick quickly finds himself under threat from bodyguard and colleague Cassian (Common), and Santino himself, who wants to leave no loose ends.

John Wick: Chapter 2 could have easily gotten ahead of itself. By opening up what was such a personal and emotional revenge mission last time into a continent-hopping world of hotel safe-houses and spies masquerading as the homeless, this could have become very silly very quickly. Instead, the film hypnotises you by making the action even more bombastic, and infinitely more violent (if you liked The Joker's death-by-pencil in The Dark Knight, just wait for this one). Even when events take strain credibility to the max by introducing the 'Bowery King' (Laurence Fishburne, in a nice reunion with Reeves), a man in charge of a huge network of tramp hitmen, and revealing that a startling number of the general public are in fact one text away from slitting your throat, you'll be too busy admiring the balletic carnage to roll your eyes. The bad guy may be even less interesting than the already-bland big boss from the previous movie and it's lost that element of surprise, but I was ready for part 3 the second the credits started to roll.


Directed by: Chad Stahelski
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose, Common, Laurence Fishburne, Claudia Gerini, Lance Reddick
Country: USA/Hong Kong/Italy/Canada

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,162: 'Passengers' (2016)

Some of the greatest science-fiction films ever made are creepily prophetic, depicting a not-too-distant future in which technology has become a necessity rather than a luxury. The characters in Morten Tyldum's Passengers are in the middle of an intergalactic journey to another planet, with Earth now seemingly picked clean of all of its natural energy and resources. While this somewhat terrifying idea may seem unlikely (or maybe I'm giving humanity too much credit), the technology on board the starship Avalon, such an electronic meal dispenser and the android bartender, could very well happen tomorrow in our increasingly tech-reliant times. Passengers does well in setting up some big ideas, before descending into a tonally-uneven rom-com-cum-disaster movie.

Along with 5,000 others, mechanical engineer Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) is on his way to Homestead II, a newly-established colony for humans rich or skilled enough to earn their place. 30 years into a 120-year journey, the Avalon is struck by a meteor shower which causes parts of the ship to malfunction. While the ship is highly capable of repairing the damages, Jim's hibernation pod glitches and opens 80 years too early. At first, he believes that he has a month of luxury and socialising to enjoy before arriving at his destination, before he is hit with the realisation that he is the only one awake, and will die of old age long before any of the other crew members will wake up. Spending his time trying to break into the ship's control room and drinking his sorrows away with android Arthur (Michael Sheen), he spots sleeping beauty Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence) and starts to fall in love with her video profile.

After an entire year alone, Jim makes the decision to wake her up, essentially condemning her to die with him. She is naturally devastated at first, but hits it off with the charming and handsome Jim, who has convinced her that she was awoken due to a ship malfunction also. Aurora is also a gold-star member, which means that she has access to lattes and bacon while the working-class Jim has been enduring instant coffee and porridge. A happily-ever-after space romance would not make for a very interesting movie, so the couple are torn apart when the Avalon starts to experience some serious hitches and Arthur blurts out the truth to Aurora. With the ship going haywire, Chief Deck Officer Gus (Laurence Fishburne) is also woken up prematurely, and it doesn't take him long to realise that the ship is overloaded with trying to fix the multiple problems caused by the meteor shower two years earlier, and may not last much longer.

While establishing itself early on as a character study asking some interesting questions and teasing us with the idea that our protagonist is in fact not the dashing charmer one has come to expect of Pratt, but a morally-conflicted creep, Passengers becomes eager to please the wider audience. Essentially turning into a formulaic love story with some generic action thrills, the film manages to get by on the strength of its two highly charismatic leads. While its clear they are pretty much playing themselves, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the two certainly have chemistry to burn and enough screen presence to dismiss the need for the CGI thrills that follow. It received a rather unfair roasting from the critics, but perhaps they were (understandably) expecting much more from what is an enticing set-up that ultimately chickens-out of its potential. I went in expecting mediocrity, but what I got was passable, if forgettable.


Directed by: Morten Tyldum
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,007: 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016)

With the phenomenal success of Marvel's 8-year (and still going strong) moulding of their cinematic universe, the fashionable goal for studios now seems to be to create a vast world for their ensemble of characters to co-exist and occasionally cross paths. Marvel's output now includes some of the highest-grossest films of all time, so it was never going to take other studios too long to realise the potential in their comic-book property. Fox's X-Men franchise expanded itself this year with Deadpool, and the box-office success of Man of Steel in 2013 now have publishing behemoth DC flexing their muscles.

Subtlety isn't something Zack Snyder, director of 300 (2006), Watchmen (2009) and Sucker Punch (2011), is known for. Like Joss Whedon at Marvel before his departure, Snyder has been employed as head honcho for DC's expanded universe. Rather than taking the time to build the world from the ground up and teasing fans with what's to come, Snyder throws everything (including the kitchen sink in one scene) at Man of Steel's follow-up, which introduces a seriously pissed-off Batman into the mix, as well as a hoard of famous and not-so-famous fellow superheroes who are all due their own stand-alone movies in the future. To summarise, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is a colossal mess.

Picking up during the climax of Man of Steel that saw Superman (Henry Cavill) cause mega-destruction and the deaths of thousands of people during his fisticuffs with General Zod (Michael Shannon), Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) arrives at Metropolis to witness the carnage first hand. This older, more damaged Batman holes up in his mansion and discusses Superman's alien threat with his trusted butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons). An unsupervised being of almost unlimited power, Wayne sees Superman as a threat to humanity and hopes to turn the public against him using his influence at the Daily Planet newspaper.

Meanwhile, billionaire eccentric Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) takes a special interest in Superman, and convinces Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) to allow him access to Zod's fallen spacecraft as well as the General's body. Wayne learns of Luthor's activities and attends one of his gatherings in the hope of stealing encrypted files, and learns that a mysterious woman by the name of Diane Prince (Gal Gadot) is also seeking the same thing. Knowing that Superman and Batman will always stand in his way, Luthor imports Kryptonite from the Indian Ocean and begins to set in motion a great battle between the two, from which surely only one will walk away.

The plot seems to only concern itself with the bigger picture, with its eyes firmly on the Justice League movie due next year, Without any sense of immediate threat and with such an emotional detachment from its characters, it's extremely difficult to care about much that happens during Batman v Superman. It's all too much, too soon. On top of the muddled plot, Snyder throws in glimpses of future members of the superhero team - The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) - that act like mini-trailers jammed into the middle of the movie without much thought, and a seemingly random, yet beautifully captured, dream sequence that foreshadows the big bad Darkseid.

Most of the characters motivations are left unexplained too. While Superman's actions with Zod left catastrophic damage, the public are pretty clear that they view him as a hero fighting an alien threat, even concocting a monument in his honour. So why is Batman so utterly pissed at him, especially when Superman doesn't even harm him during their first encounter when he could have snapped him like a twig? Luthor, played by an Eisenberg who seems to believe he is on the set of Adam West's 1960's TV show, is hell-bent of neutralising Superman's threat. Does he have daddy issues? A fear of God? Luthor rants like a teenager hyped-up from sugar and video-games and hints at these and many others, but no real explanation is given. And just what was he hoping to achieve by unleashing the part cave-troll, part what you couldn't flush down the toilet this morning, at the end?

The movie's main positive is Affleck. The groans echoed throughout social media when his casting was announced, but he nails both Bruce Wayne and Batman. He is the Darkest Knight there has ever been, with a brute physicality that could flick Christian Bale's incarnation across the screen. Snyder has the skill to bring a comic book panel to life better than anybody, and Batman v Superman is frequently astonishing to look at. Gadot also excels during her small amount of screen-time, and is the only one appearing to be having any fun. Of the smack-down itself, it's an exciting and brutal affair, brought to a close by one of the most ridiculous moments of mutual enlightenment in cinema, ever. Like Man of Steel, Batman v Superman has defied mixed (and some utterly unforgiving) reviews and stormed the box-office, so I think it's safe to say that the DC train will plough on.


Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter, Scoot McNairy
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #669: 'Man of Steel' (2013)

Dumping the light tone of the original Richard Donner Superman films (1978/1980) and their ridiculous sequels, as well as Bryan Singer's failed reboot, Zack Snyder's Man of Steel adopts the Christopher Nolan approach. With Nolan as producer and co-writer, this is Clark Kent seen through the eyes of a steely, saturated lens, with Henry Cavill's somewhat stoic and monotone Superman battling inner demons as well as General Zod (Michael Shannon). It's a typically long, convoluted modern blockbuster, but Man of Steel prevails thanks to some surprisingly dedicated focus by Snyder, who abandons the slo-then-fast-mo stylings of 300 (2006) and Sucker Punch (2011) for something much more grown-up.

The movie begins on Krypton, where Jar-El (Russell Crowe), delighted with the planet's first natural birth in centuries in his son Kal-El, pleads with the leaders to help save the planet from inevitable destruction. Enter the usurping Zod, who is leading a coup to overthrow the leaders and re-establish Krypton as a real power. Zod is furious at the birth of Kal-El aka Clark Kent, but Jar-El manages to blast his son off into space towards Earth before Zod overpowers him. Cut forward some years and Kent is working on a fishing vessel, at ease with his powers. When the military discover an alien craft in the Arctic, Kent infiltrates the mission and discovers his origins from the preserved conscience of his father. Meanwhile, Zod is approaching Earth with plans to use the planet to re-create Krypton.

It's clear from the off that this is no regular superhero origin film. Snyder manages to somehow bring a grounded realism to Krypton - giant human-carrying dragonflies and all. We then skip Kent's entire upbringing to witness his natural inclinations for good as he saves some oil rig workers from certain death, displaying the powers he is now at ease with. Through some beautifully realised and melancholy flashback scenes that evoke the style of Terence Malick, Kent's parents (played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), gradually teach him that he is different and has a much greater purpose than he could imagine. Costner is superb in these moments, bringing an old-hand, gravel-voiced weight that I have never seen from him before. Similar to Snyder's Watchmen (2009), these flashbacks are peppered throughout the film, yet don't damage the flow of the central story.

Where the film fails is in the action-heavy climax that lasts for pretty much the entire final hour. Zod and his cronies battle Superman and smash each other to a pulp. It's very similar to the climax of Thor (2011), that also had impossibly strong super-beings battle ten tons of shit out of each other because, well, what else can they do? Buildings collapse, explosions litter the screen, but there's very little tension. It switches the action between Superman and the Daily Planet, where Laurence Fishburne's Perry White serves no purpose other than to save some people from falling rubble. Perhaps it's setting the scene for future instalments, but they seem rather intrusive here.

The same could also be said about Amy Adams' Lois Lane, who is a spunky, determined character diminished to a simple love interest for Kent without any real chemistry. Of course she's important to the Superman universe, but there is no real dimension to her persona. Michael Shannon, however, is reliably excellent in his role, and his Zod incarnation is by far the most interesting thing about the film. He's a sympathetic bad guy akin to Tom Hiddleston's Loki, to the point where you can fully understand his reasoning. The man plans on genocide, but this was the role he was raised to play, and his determination to re-establish his race is certainly understandable. You can even see that Superman knows this, but he always knows that he must destroy him, whatever the odds.

Overall I was extremely impressed by Man of Steel, and its flaws can certainly be forgiven. This is a mature movie with underlying themes. Superman is God, an indestructible force (to us mere humans) that possesses too much power to be at ease with, even when he assures them that they are on the same side. The religious metaphors are embarrassingly obvious at times, but it's a thought-provoking sub-theme and a nice alternative to the crash-bang-wallop of the action scenes. Although it's not up to the ridiculously high standards set by Christopher Nolan, this can sit nicely alongside his Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012) in the re-imagining of DC's universe.


Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Antje Traue, Laurence Fishburne
Country: USA/Canada/UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #482: 'King of New York' (1990)

Crime lord Frank White (Christopher Walken) is released from prison, and on his long drive back to New York City, witnesses the filth his city has descended into since his incarceration. His old friend Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) has just wiped out a Colombian drug operation and welcomes Frank back with a suitcase full of money and cocaine. Eager to win his city back, and also help fund the saving of an inner city hospital through his drug operation, he sets the wheels to his crowning in motion. But cops Roy Bishop (Victor Argo), Gilley (David Caruso) and Flanigan (Wesley Snipes) are on his case, but after struggling to bring Frank in under regulations, resort to more illegal methods of getting him off the streets.

King of New York was booed upon its initial screenings, with mass walk-outs and cult director Abel Ferrara being bombarded with uncomfortable questions. Audiences were apparently appalled by the films seemingly glamorous depiction of man who was essentially a homicidal maniac, encouraging violence and sleaze wherever he went. The film is certainly guilty of that, but the character of Frank is a little different to the likes of Tony Montana or Henry Hill. He seems to style himself as a champion of the lower-classes, using his influence and vast wealth to push a councilman to put forth the money to save a hospital in a poverty-stricken area, and then fund it himself when that fails. He and his girlfriend Jennifer (Janet Julian) are robbed on the subway by inner-city youths. Frank shown them his gun, and they back off, but Frank throws them a wad of money and tells them there is work for them if they want it. A crime-lord he may be, but is he any worse than the fat politicians that soak up the city's money, or the bent cops that are on his back?

In Walken's hands, White is a charismatic, unconventional crime boss, and is in turns charming, strange, and deranged. It's a fabulous performance, but for me it was Laurence (here still credited as Larry) Fishburne that steals the show, as the swaggering, loud-mouthed gun-man Jimmy ("yo, where the chicken at?" he says after killing a cop), a man of such ridiculous posturing that he almost becomes a cartoon character. And this is one of the main reasons I loved this film. It is, at times, so outlandishly over-the-top that it should betray its gritty roots, but its so steeped in atmosphere and that key element, grime, that it becomes a fantasy-laden, insane ride amongst a decaying city and one its most colourful characters.

For anyone who has seen the work of Abel Ferrara, especially two of his most popular films, The Driller Killer (1979) and Bad Lieutenant (1992), will know what they are in for. His New York is not the one you see in the earlier works of Woody Allen, but one of whacked-out prostitutes, cocaine-sniffing criminals, inner-city poverty, and angry, sweaty, middle-aged detectives. We do glimpse the glitzier side of the city in King of New York, as Frank often mingles with the politicians and power-players, but it is a world of black suits and orange lighting, and a world that shares the same depravity and sleaze as the lower-classes. It's a grim thing to see through Abel Ferrara's gaze, but boy is it brimming with atmosphere. This will always play second or third fiddle to the likes of Scarface (1983), but King of New York is the film the former could never be, and in its own depressing way, is a much better film. Undoubtedly Ferrara's finest, and most 'polished' work.


Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes
Country: Italy/USA/UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #325: 'Contagion' (2011)

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) arrives back in America after a trip to Hong Kong displaying symptoms of a serious illness. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) rushes her to hospital after she suffers a violent fit, only for her to die there. Puzzled about the virus, doctors quarantine Mitch and alert Dr. Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) of the CDC. Cheever sets about growing the virus to find a potential cure, and sends Dr. Mears (Kate Winslet), an Epidemic Intelligence Officer, to begin the investigation. Internet blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) runs with the virus and apparently cures himself from the disease by taking forsythia, an alternative medicine, and therefore causes a mad panic for the drug. While Dr. Orantes (Marion Cotillard), an epidemiologist, travels to Hong Kong to discover the root of the virus.

Similar to director Steven Soderbergh's film career, Contagion is a mixed bag. The first two thirds of this film are quite exceptional - exciting, intelligent, and often fascinating. Yet it burns itself out towards the end, as the distribution of the vaccine becomes the central focus, and the film loses its edge. But at the same time, the film's dedication to realism is admirable, even though it does affect the films quality. The ultra-talented and multi-Academy Award nominated/winning cast are exceptional, with Jude Law's slimy, dentally-challenged journalist, and Winslet exhausted yet dedicated investigator proving the stand-outs. I usually hate Jude Law, but he is at his best when he plays arseholes - Closer (2004), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), I Heart Huckabees (2004) - and he is at his most despicable here.

Law's character is at the centre of one of the film's themes about mass hysteria and panic, as he uses the power of the Internet to send the country into a spiral of looting and violence. It's an interesting commentary on how small the world has become with the introduction of blogging and social networking, and how this can be abused for personal gain. Krumwiede has no scientific fact or support behind him, just a webcam and a computer, and the results are quite terrifying.

Soderbergh wanted to make this as realistic as possible, and Contagion received praise from scientific institutions for its accuracy. Similar to his excellent 2000 film Traffic, Soderbergh explores the subject from the ground floor upwards. From Damon's struggling father trying desperately to shield his daughter from the virus, way up to Fishburne's CDC agent fighting against it on a global level. Watching it unfold, and seeing the political and social implications that stems from it is quite fascinating. But when that final third arrives, story threads become stale, and Soderbergh seems to lose interest in certain characters (Cotillard suffers the most), and the film fizzles out. Disappointing, but the film's thrilling beginning and middle certainly make the film worth a watch.


Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow
Country: USA/United Arab Emirates

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #3: 'Predators' (2010)

It's been a long-time coming. Every since 1987's Arnie classic Predator and it's less impressive sequel, a franchise continuation has been frequently discussed and considered by many a director. It's strange that it's taken such a long time to arrive. The fanbase is already there, waiting intently, and the fact that the star is the beast itself means waiting for a big name actor to sign up doesn't really come into the question. When it fell into the hands of Robert Rodriguez, I had mixed feelings. He can do action well (Desperado (1995)) and not so well (Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003)), but apart from the odd dodgy film choice (The Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl (2005) - seriously, why?) his films have been at a good standard. But then I found out he was only going to write and produce it, and a director called Nimrod was going to direct instead, so my expectations lowered slightly.

The film opens with a buffed-up Adrien Brody awakening as he falls from a plane onto a strange landscape, to be later joined by other characters unaware of where they are and how they got there. The characters eventually reveal themselves to be members of various elite forces from across the globe, including Israeli sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga), Spetnaz grunt Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), and nerdy doctor Edwin (Topher Grace), whose inclusion confuses the group. It soon dawns on the group, after some keen observation by mercenary Royce (Brody), that they are a subject of a hunt and are being tested as they are the best of the best at what they do.

Whereas in the original two, it was one Predator hunting Arnie, Danny Glover and the huge teeth of Gary Busey in our environment, in Predators they have been dropped on an alien planet seemingly set up to train young Predators, and unluckily for Brody and the gang, there's three of the horrible bastards. So they must combine their own specialist skills and work out how to combat invisibility, high powered weapons, super strength and an annoying character in Stans (Walton Goggins).

It's nice to see the Predator back in it's own movie after being raped by Paul W.S. Anderson in Alien Vs. Predator (2004), and back in similar terrain as the original 1987 film. Unsurprisingly, it's not as good as the original but it does have it's moments. A pretty cool sword fight between one Predator and the mysterious, silent Yakuza Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and a welcome return for the 'classic' Predator, the same kind that battled with Arnie in the first film. But these are few and far between and are ruined by stock archetypal characters and an ill-advised 'Predator dogs' attack which are basically crap CGI inventions, and an excuse to put a bit of action into the film.

Fans will no doubt enjoy it, but I feel the talent of Rodriguez could have added something different about the film. And a bit of nasty gore wouldn't have gone amiss. The film just seems a bit too tame. It's practically a retread of the original with different actors and more Predators. At least it does try and devlop the mythology, and it's nice to see Adrien Brody tackle a different type of role and pull it off confidently.


Directed by: Nimród Antal
Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie