Spectre (6/10): Doesn't live up to the standards set by Skyfall

“You are a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr Bond.”

Sam Mendes did a fantastic job sitting in the director’s chair for Bond’s previous movie, Skyfall, so expectations were really high for what he could deliver in his follow up: Spectre. If there is something that Daniel Craig has brought to the franchise is that he has turned Bond into a serious character from the start. Casino Royale is still my favorite Bond film, but I’ve enjoyed all of his films, which wasn’t the case when Pierce Brosnan was playing the titular role. After the success of Skyfall it would be impossible to live up to the expectations Mendes had built with his now demanding crowd, so it is only normal that Spectre feels like an average spy thriller. The film still continues to look gorgeous, but the story did lack some originality and for that it feels predictable and familiar. Spectre also has pacing issues, but I’d say the main problem is that we’ve seen better spy films released this year. Mission Impossible raised the bar in its action sequences, while Spy was a comedy action film that barely missed a beat. If Spectre would’ve come out any other year it might have been a bit more interesting, but after the fresh success of both those films I felt like this was a letdown. As much as I love Craig as Bond, he didn’t have much to work with here and the villains didn’t present much of a threat either. Spectre has the look and feel of the rest of Bond films, but it fails to entertain or bring anything new to the table. Out of the four films Craig has played Bond this is probably the most formulaic one.  

Spectre opens with a rather impressive sequence in Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebration, which was a perfect opportunity for the marketing campaign to include the cool looking skeletons in the posters and the trailers. Bond (Daniel Craig) follows a gorgeous women through the crowded streets of Mexico during the parade to her hotel room, kisses her and walks out to the balcony saying he’ll be right back. That is when we realize he’s actually on a mission and a series of gunshots, explosions, and chases ensue. It was a great opening sequence but the film failed to build up the momentum from then on.  What we get next is what we’ve seen before, Bond arrives in London and is suspended by M (now played by Ralph Fiennes) for causing so much caos without being authorized to actually be in Mexico. Bond is working on his own because he doesn’t know who he can trust after the previous M left him a secret message before being murdered. Her message is what led him to Mexico in the first place and then to Rome where he discovers a secret organization responsible for several terrorist attacks that is led by a man named Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). Blofeld discovers Bond and sends his assistant, Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista) to try to stop him. In order to uncover what this secret organization is all about, Bond enlists the help of the daughter of one of its former members, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux). Naomi Harris and Ben Whishaw are also back playing the roles of Moneypenny and Q respectively. 

Spectre is a little over two hours long and the pacing really doesn’t help the film either. You can feel it take its toll because the action sequences are far from being impressive and the plot is predictable. As cool as Craig is playing Bond, we’ve seen him do it so many times that we need more now. Waltz is a talented actor, but he seems to excel only when working with Tarantino. Here he doesn’t get much to do really and at times his character seems a bit cartoonish. Bautista is menacing, but he says one word in the entire film. Lea Seydoux is the Bond girl and she looks great, but there isn’t much more she can do to add to the story. Spectre isn’t a bad film, but the success of Skyfall raised the bar and left us a much more demanding audience. I think the major issue here was the screenplay which felt rather weak and bland. There is some fun to be had with the movie, but it ends up being forgettable in the end with a rather unsatisfying climax. Spectre has its moments but it is just too dull when compared to the other Bond films.  

My Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (9/10)

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy."

Before I actually get into the review of this film I want to get my emotions out of the way first. All the wait and the hype for Guardians of the Galaxy was finally over and I was not disappointed for one second. This was exactly what I was looking forward to and what all Summer blockbusters should feel like. It was a fantastic experience with great action sequences, interesting characters, and hilarious dialogues with plenty of pop cultural references. I actually enjoyed the comedy more than the fantastic action scenes and found this to be the funniest film of the year. It kind of builds on what Whedon did with The Avengers, but I think James Gunn took it to another level and delivered a rare superhero film that I actually wouldn't mind revisiting over and over again. Although more than a superhero film this seemed like it belonged to the Star Wars franchise, and I felt like a geek all over again. I was blown away by this despite some minor issues and I would rank this as the best Marvel film to date. It was fresh, witty, cool, and despite having many characters they all get sufficient screen time and a distinct personality of their own. Seven months into 2014 I can say this is my favorite film of the year so far just ahead of X-Men Days of Future Past. This was purely entertaining and had some wonderful performances as well.

Before this film I had no prior knowledge of this comic so you can imagine how pleased I was with the way each character was introduced and how easy the story was to follow. The film has a lot of heart as well and each one of the characters have flaws which give them a more humane aspect. Chris Pratt has always been an actor that stands out in his secondary roles, but here he is given a lead role which he absolutely nails. Just like Robert Downey Jr. personified Tony Stark with incredible charisma, Pratt does the same with Peter Quill (aka Star Lord). He is irreverent and full of energy. The supporting cast is also strong. Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper do fantastic voice work with their CGI created characters, Rocket and Groot. Vin Diesel really didn't have to say much, but the way he delivers the same line over and over again made for some funny moments. Dave Bautista really impressed me as Drax because I thought he would basically be the muscle of the film and focus on the action scenes, but his character is funny mostly because he takes things literally all the time. He was great. Zoe Saldana as Gamora was also a stand out as she had some great action scenes and wasn't just in the film to be the girl that needs saving all the time. The way these characters came together was part of the unique experience this film provided. The villains may have been weak, but I didn't really care much because my attention was on the interaction between the heros and seeing them come together. I also want to give a shut out to John C. Reilly and Michael Rooker who provided for even more funny scenes.   

I wasn't really a fan of director, James Gunn's previous superhero film, Super, but I did appreciate his unique sense of humor and how different that film felt from other superhero films. Guardians of the Galaxy is a huge step forward and he really delivered the entertainment here. The soundtrack was amazing and I enjoyed how he combined that music from the 70's with this modern action film because it's not something you usually see in a movie like this. It was just such a fun experience all together and can't wait to revisit it again. It had the type of humor I enjoy and each one of the characters delivered perfect notes. The two hours fly by thanks to an excellent paced film and a well written script. It was charming and if you haven't seen it than please do!

My Review: The Man with the Iron Fists (2/10)

¨When it comes to money, things get funny¨

The Man with the Iron Fists is yet another early contender for worst film of the year. It seems like this year I have watched far too many terrible movies, and am in desperate need for the first breakout movie of the year. RZA directs this kung fu action/comedy film which fails at many levels. First of all it has too many characters crammed into one film. RZA intended this movie to be over four hours long and divide it into two parts, but instead of that they edited everything and made it into one 100 minute movie. That really hurt the pacing of the film which moves at a ridiculous pace and seems to hurry everything. The film doesn’t works as either an action film or a satire because in the first place the action scenes are quite terrible and in the second it is far from being funny. The script also lacks some clever lines and a better story, while the acting in this film is terrible. I know that in some way this film tries to pay homage to the 70´s Shaw Kung fu films, but it still was messy, and the spoofs really didn’t work. This is one of those movies I really don’t want to spend too much time talking about because I feel it was a complete waste of time. The film may be presented by Quentin Tarantino (because he is friends with RZA and has had his music on many of his own screenplays), but it is far from his work. RZA could have used some help from Tarantino because this is another proof that making violent films isn’t an easy thing.

The film begins by introducing several different characters which are all linked to Jungle Village. A blacksmith (RZA) narrates the action as he tells us what is going on. The leader of the Lion´s clan, Gold Lion (Kuan Tai Chen), has been brutally murdered by Silver Lion (Byron Mann) and Bronze Lion (Cung Le) after they hear that the Governor´s gold is going to pass through their village. Gold Lion was assigned the task of protecting the gold while it was being transported, and now that he has been betrayed, Silver and Bronze Lion prepare an army to steal the gold. In the meantime, Gold Lion´s son, Zen Yi (Rick Yune) decides to avenge his father´s death and attack those responsible. Zen Yi is defeated however by Brass Body (Dave Bautista), who works for the Lion´s clan, but before he´s killed, the blacksmith manages to save him and escape. Silver and Bronze Lion manage to steal the governor´s gold and hide it in Madam Blossom´s (Lucy Liu) brothel. Jack Knife (Russell Crowe), an emissary of the Emperor, happens to be staying at the brothel when all this occurs. While these events are taking place, the blacksmith is caught by Brass Body and has his arms severed. Jack Knife decides to help the blacksmith and makes iron arms for him. They join forces along with Zen Yi and together they face the Lion clan in a blood bath.

As you can tell there are a lot of different things going on at the same time and way too many characters for a short film like this. Everything just seemed so disconnected that it never even worked as a spoof. I really didn’t care much for any of the characters either, and to say that there is no character development whatsoever is an understatement. I also had a lot of issues with the editing of the film with so many chops here and there. The action scenes never felt believable, and everything felt like a complete waste of time. This film may have had some interesting actors working here, but it is just terrible. Please skip this film.

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