Here are the three films we watched in the last week:
We saw In The Bedroom on video, an Oscar nominee from a year or two ago. I wasn’t keen on this as it looked a bit dull, but I went with it as it came highly recommended and enjoyed it a fair bit. It starts slowly and gradually gets interesting. It then takes a nasty turn and gets a bit miserable, before changing again half an hour before the end into something more sinister. Good performances and an interesting film. Three and a half stars.
Also on video, we say Spy Game starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. Whilst not a bad film there was little in this to deserve its cast and I was left feeling disappointed. Two stars.
The big one of course was X Men 2. I liked it a lot. I’ve read reviews which praise this film saying that it’s not as dull and clinical as the first film, but I think that’s unfair on the first film, which I didn’t think was dull and clinical - I thought it was a good film which did a good job of introducing the characters and concepts to non-fans like me and also managed to be fun and interesting. Anyway, the second film expands on the characters from the first (mainly Wolverine) and introduces some cool new ones. Great fun and not as dumb as it could have been.
Pity the guy who plays Cyclops – the dullest of all the X Men. What’s his mutation? – he has a laser gun in his head and has to wear sunglasses all the time. That’s not very cool when his mates get to teleport, heal instantly and read minds. I bet he’s bitter inside. He probably fears his friends only take him along for his firepower. If he dies his chums would be sad for a bit, and then go out and buy a gun to replace him. I suppose that’s the nature of random mutation. Perhaps elsewhere in the X Men universe there are mutants with utterly rubbish powers, like being able to digest paperclips (but no other metals). Or harmful ones, like being able to lose all your limbs at will (a power that can only be used once).
It’s a great blockbuster action flick, but one criticism I have is that there were too many “exciting” climaxes at the end, which tended to lessen the overall impact. I’m a bit sick of this trend in recent action movies. The ending goes something like:
“Oh no – all the mutants are about to be wiped out – PANIC!”
“Oh wait, it’s OK, they’ve been saved.”
“But look, now all the human’s are going to be killed – YIKES!”
“Oh, hold on – they’ve been saved now too.”
“But wait one more minute - the building’s going to collapse. Our heroes are surely for it now!”
“No, no. They’ve escaped – look.”
“Oh yes, so they have. But feel my dismay as I see that their aircraft is about to be engulfed in a huge amount of water!”
“My goodness you’re right. Oh would you believe it – saved again.”
I was tiring by now of these shrinking threats, and half expecting it to continue…
“Oh no, now Wolverine’s shoe-laces are undone. What if he trips over?!”
“No, he’s seen them and tied them now.”
“Oh yes, so he has, but look – a sparrow has flown into the windscreen of the aircraft!”
”It’s OK – the sparrow is only stunned. He’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
…etc.
Another criticism: other than in one (good) fight scene, Kelly Hu’s Lady Deathstrike is underused. Also, her blades come from her fingertips, rather than from the knuckles like Wolverine’s. By my reckoning this means that she’ll have much less power behind her strikes. Wolverine can lock his arm and put the whole of his bodyweight behind his attacks, but this poor girl had better have mighty fingers! And how can she clench her fists when her blades are retracted? The adamantium knives, which can’t be bent, would surely rip through her fingers and hand. Unless they retract all the way into her forearms, I suppose. Oh yes, that must be it.
(Hold on – also why doesn’t Cyclops’s laser burn through his eyelids, or the inside of his head? If you think you’ve spotted an inconsistency which could bring down the whole X Men universe and make it not believable any more, add a comment below.)
Criticisms aside I enjoyed this witty, action-packed blockbuster. Four stars. (I’m tempted to give it more but feel I’d probably be letting my childlike excitement get the better of me.) Let there be more sequels please.