The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (6/10): Will you follow Peter Jackson one last time into Middle Earth?

“Will you follow me, one last time?”

Not only is Thorin asking his dwarves to follow him one last time into battle, but Peter Jackson is also asking us to join him one last time in experiencing his vision of Middle Earth. We all know The Hobbit was one short book (about 300 pages), but Jackson decided to adapt it into three full length movies so there is going to be a lot of characters and elements included that aren’t in the book. J.R.R Tolkien fans might be upset and most audiences agree that Jackson made a mistake in stretching the material because this trilogy hasn’t had the same emotional impact as the Lord of the Rings trilogy had. However, Jackson is still asking us to accompany him one last time into Middle Earth in order to tie everything together. He and the producers may have experienced their share of dragon fever by getting greedy and wanting to bank on the success of their first trilogy (it is kind of ironic when you take into account that the underlying message of the novels is that greed destroys the soul), but they are asking us to join them for one last time, and they deserve it. If you are a fan of the franchise this will be an emotional moment for you, but if you don’t care much for this world then you will find the film annoying. It does tie in the first two films of The Hobbit trilogy very well with The Lord of the Rings so it serves as a sort of closure for these epic films. At 144 minutes, this is the shortest film of the franchise and you sort of get the feeling that Jackson doesn’t know how to sum things up in less than 3 hours because this film feels rushed and overstuffed with characters and subplots. It also happens to be action packed with a battle scene lasting for almost an hour. It may be a bit too much, but there is no denying that Peter Jackson cares deeply for the material here and is devoted to it. Despite not being nearly as engaging as The Lord of the Ring trilogy, The Hobbit has its emotional moments with strong action sequences and some solid performances. Jackson is asking us to follow him for the last time, but it is up to us to decide if his passion and dedication is worth the journey. I joined him and was mildly entertained although I found several flaws. Despite not being as entertaining as The Desolation of Smaug, this is still an improvement over The Unexpected Journey.  

The Battle of the Five Armies picks up right where The Desolation of Smaug left us, giving me the feeling that I had paused the film and waited a whole year before hitting the play button once again. It took me a while to recall everything that had been going on, but with the opening action sequence I had to rush those memories in order to understand everything that was going on. The Hobbit is actually one film divided into three parts which makes it difficult to analyze apart from each other. There is a sense of cohesion among these films and we finally get the concluding chapter after an agonizing and extended fist part which felt completely stretched out and an entertaining second chapter where we were introduced to new and familiar characters and an impressive dragon voiced by the great Benedict Cumberbatch. This third chapter picks up with that very dragon destroying the nearby village where Bard (Luke Evans) and his children are. The film begins with an impressive action sequence and then the next hour is dedicated to build up what will be the ultimate battle scene with five different armies preparing for battle. This is where the movie begins to feel convoluted and overstuffed with subplots that feel too rushed. But at times the film does succeed when it centers on the relationship between Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and Thorin (Richard Armitage). We know that Jackson knows how to deliver spectacular visuals and action sequences, but what was missing from The Lord of the Rings trilogy was that character development we finally got to see here with these two characters. Unfortunately there are other elements included that don’t work too well (like the love triangle between Kili, Legolas, and Tauriel that feels misplaced). The build up and the action scenes might be a bit too much for audiences, and ultimately the film fails to stand out from other epics. It is an average film that has its ups and downs, but still manages to bring closure. Unfortunately this trilogy never lives up to the grandeur of The Lord of the Rings.

Dracula Untold (3/10): There is nothing untold about it.

“My father was a great man, a hero, so they say. But sometimes the world doesn't need another hero, sometimes what it needs is a monster.”

If you are going to make a film about the origins of one of Hollywood’s most fearful monsters then you better have a solid script that focuses on the character development of Dracula rather than overstuff the film with special effects and action scenes. Director Gary Shore may have tried to give us an origin story, and he even gave it the title Dracula Untold, but what he really does is deliver another cliched and familiar action film. We really don’t learn anything new about this classic character in the film other than the fact that he was a good fighter and a loving family man who sacrificed himself to protect the people he cared for. I would argue there isn’t much of a unique idea in that premise and that the title untold is a bit deceiving. There just isn’t anything unique or appealing about this character to claim that you are delivering an origin story. The only thing Shore tries to do here is humanize the monster and make him seem engaging. Instead of trying to focus on the character however, Dracula Untold delivers one action scene after another relying on its computer generated special effects. The film might captivate some audiences who are looking for a fun time, but there is nothing memorable or legendary about it. I can imagine a documentarian making a film about Hollywood’s portrayal of Dracula and mentioning all the films that have centered on this monster but leaving this unremarkable film out of the list simply because it is easy to forget and it never seems to be a film about Dracula really. You can add Dracula Untold to the never ending list of tiresome and uninterestingly generic vampire films. The only pleasure I got from Dracula Untold was that it made me feel good about my decision of not having seen I Frankenstein.  

The script for Dracula Untold is probably responsible for the failure of the film because the cast did a pretty decent job. I thought Luke Evans delivered an interesting performance. He has some entertaining action sequences and looks the part as well. Dominic Cooper might not be menacing in this film but he gave a decent performance. Sarah Gadon was beautiful as Dracula’s wife and inspiration. I did’t have an issue with the performances at all, but it was mostly the overload of action scenes that didn’t manage to keep me interested. They seldom do (Hercules might be the only exception this year and it wasn’t a film I was crazy about either). I didn’t care too much for the CGI either so there was really very little this film had to offer me. I was just disengaged with the story and found it overly generic and too familiar. If you are going to give your film the title of Dracula Untold, you might as well give us something original and unique that hasn’t actually been told before. 

My Review: Fast and Furious 6 (8/10)

¨You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do.¨

Fast and Furious 6 and The Hangover Part 3 were both released today in what looks to be a tight box office race for the Memorial Day weekend. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago which film I would prefer to see, I would have definitely chosen to go see The Hangover Part 3 because I loved the first movie and thought it was a great comedy; I also enjoyed The Fast and The Furious film but wasn’t too pleased with the following three sequels. Then in 2011 when both Fast Five and The Hangover Part 2 came out, things completely changed for me. I was hooked with The Fast and Furious franchise while part two of The Hangover was a major letdown. That is why this weekend I decided to go for Fast and Furious 6 without a doubt, and I wasn’t disappointed. This might not be as good as the last film (which I think is the best in the franchise), but it lived up to expectations and was highly entertaining. This is Justin Lin´s fourth time in the director´s chair in this franchise and he seems to have had a great effect on these movies converting them into entertaining thrillers with some great action scenes. Screenwriter, Chris Morgan, is also back for the fourth time and he has managed to actually put some brains to these fast car races and create better characters. He´s developed these characters very well and made them interesting, and has also done a decent job at creating some memorable villains. The film is fast paced, has several thrills, great car chases, and some decent character development. Of course there are several flaws as well: unbelievable and laughable scenes involving guys jumping off moving vehicles and landing safely all the time, and some very predictable moments and foreseeable twists. I still had a fun time with this film and laughed more than I thought I would.  

If you thought that Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O´Conner (Paul Walker) were retired after their latest heist in Rio, then you were wrong because Detective Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) has an interesting proposition for them. He is pursuing some dangerous criminal mercenary drivers led by Shaw (Luke Evans) who have been creating chaos all over Europe. In order to stop them, Hobbs knows that he will need the help of Toretto. Hobbs discovers that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Toretto´s former love interest, is alive and working for Shaw, and therefore convinces Toretto to help him. The rest of his crew decides to come out of retirement as well and try to bring Letty back home with them. In exchange, Hobbs promises these men full pardon, and they accept without hesitation because they are tired of running and not being able to return home. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris ¨Ludacris¨ Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are all back in order to help Toretto and O´Conner to stop the ruthless criminals pursuing them from London to Spain, but Shaw and his men seem to be always a step ahead of them.

This sixth film in the franchise seems to tie some loose ends from the third and fourth installment in a very thrilling and entertaining way. The franchise has really picked up and it seems to have a lot of life left in it. It even ends with a cliffhanger, so it is certain that the seventh film will be coming out soon as well. Most everyone in the franchise is back again (only missing Tego Calderon and Don Omar) and the interaction between these characters is very entertaining. Ludacris and Tyrese pretty much steal all the laughs in the scenes they are together in, while Gadot and Kang bring in the romantic touch. Toretto and O´Conner have put aside their differences from the first films and their bond is pretty strong now as they are family. Despite some of the insane and absurd action scenes, this film stands above most other action films thanks to a strong performance from the cast. This film is really a lot of fun as long as you don’t think too hard of all the physical impossibilities of what they are achieving. The franchise just continues to grow faster and faster, and it works really well for a summer blockbuster movie. Fans won´t be disappointed, it is a very satisfying film.   

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My Review: The Three Musketeers (5/10)

¨All for one and one for all¨

Here comes another adaptation of Alexandre Dumas`s famous novel of the same name, this time directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (the guy responsible for bringing us the Resident Evil franchise game to the big screen). I have to admit I was a fan of the Resident Evil movies, but that is about the only films I enjoy coming from Anderson, and with The Three Musketeers that only makes my position even stronger. This film was totally massacred by Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies, the men responsible for adapting the screenplay. It`s really hard to bring such a famous novel to the big screen and most films have failed in doing so, but I have to admit this is one of the weakest efforts. Anderson really takes his work lightly here and tries to give us a modern version of the Three Musketeers, but despite all the special effects he does nothing to make these characters interesting. They are all entirely one dimensional with no exceptions. There are several talented actors in this film, but not even Christoph Waltz as the infamous Cardinal Richelieu seemed to fit the part. Being a musketeer is what every boy dreams of, but after watching this film my guess is that very few will feel like being Athos, Aramis, Porthos, or D`Artagnan because the film focused on the special effects, flying ships, explosions, rather than on the great characters that Dumas created in his novel. The Three Musketeers should focus on the characters, not on the special effects. Anderson tried to approach this novel in a much lighter way, but it didn`t work at all. The film felt empty, the characters had a huge void, and the best performances actually came from the villains than the heroes.    

Everyone who is familiar with Dumas`s novel or that has seen any of its numerous film adaptations knows the plot. We are first introduced to our main characters: the three musketeers; Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Aramis (Luke Evans), and Porthos (Ray Stevenson) who serve as King Louis XIII (Freddie Fox) of France`s personal guards. However there seems to be no much more need for the three musketeers since Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) has everything under control with his special guards who serve under the leadership of Rochefort (Mads Mikkelsen). The King is too young and naïve to control the country and the Cardinal wants to take advantage of that and take over the kingdom. The three musketeers spend most of their time getting drunk and starting fights with Richelieu`s guards. Their descent began a year ago when Athos was deceived by his lover Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich) who stole some secret plans from them containing information on a powerful weapon, and gave them to the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) so now England can have the advantage over France if a possible war ensues. This is exactly what Richelieu wants: to provoke a war so the people of France rely on a much stronger leader, himself. This is where D`Artagnan (Logan Lerman) enters the scene; the son of a former musketeer himself sets out to Paris in order to become one himself. Despite being hot headed and young, he inspires the rest of the musketeers with the values they have long lost: courage and fidelity to the King.  

A film about the Three Musketeers should focus on the characters, but this movie like most of its predecessors fails to do so. Logan Lerman, known for his work in Percy Jackson & the Olympians doesn’t have the charisma that his character, D`Artagnan needed. The three musketeers aren`t developed really well either as the movie decides to focus more on the special effects and the action rather than on the characters. One would also expect a lot more sword fighting in this movie, but there are actually more explosions and gunshots than anything else. The heroes aren`t done justice in this film and I was disappointed despite not expecting much from it either. I have to admit it`s always a difficult task to bring a highly loved novel to the big screen, and Anderson isn`t the right guy for the job as he is mostly known for focusing on the action rather than on the characters. The Three Musketeers isn’t a terrible film; it just doesn’t do the story justice. Some people may enjoy this light film since it is nonstop action, but it just wasn`t what I was expecting. There are some funny scenes however involving Orlando Bloom`s character and his discussions about fashion with King Louis. Those were the highlights of the film for me, and that is about it. I didn’t have a terrible time either, I just don`t think the three musketeers were made justice.

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