Time Is The Enemy

Director
Sam Mendes

Starring
George MacKay
Dean-Charles Chapman

Set in the titular year on the western front of the first world war, an isolated group of nearly two thousand men are walking into a trap, as highlighted by new aerial photos, and two English lance corporals, Blake [Chapman] and Schofield [MacKay] are given priority orders to call off the attack. With less than a day to cross over into no man’s land and span ground that the Germans have supposedly retreated from, the two young men cautiously proceed with the added pressure that one of the men they’re trying to reach is Blake’s older brother.

It is impossible to talk about this movie without first addressing the method in which it was executed. To boil the sprawling madness of WWI to a simple personal story isn’t necessarily a difficult task but through a series of vignettes intercutting a straightforward objective, it does make for a unique guided tour of the conflict. Creating such a spectacularly devised microcosm must have required so much forethought and deliberation; more than that, I would wager that more planning and consideration went into this film than the entirety of WWI. But to reduce the achievement for a moment, it is ultimately a gimmick and one that can initially be quite distracting as audiences start to look for the potential cutting points and camera hand-offs. Yet as the story unfolds, the technical wonder is superseded by the emotional tale of survival.

Furthermore as much as the camera work is a marvel, there are so many technical aspects performing truly above and beyond, cementing this release as one that ideally needs to be seen in a cinema. The sound is delightfully immersive and the accompanying tense, building score by long time Mendes collaborator Thomas Newman, while devoid of a lot of his signature sounds, is magnificent. Case in point, the rat tripwire scene is easily more engrossing and tense than most recent horror films that are overly reliant on jump-scares and aggressively staccato sound work. And the final icing on the cake is the lavish production design which, while jaw-droppingly bleak, evokes such a morbid beauty owing to the recreation of the twisted, buckled landscape, period accurate costumes and props and the maddeningly precise set arrangement necessary to achieve the ambitious shots.

No amount of technical aptitude can entirely carry a movie and if this film had subpar performances, it would die on its feet. As such, so much is put upon the two relatively unknown leads but I believe they succeed marvellously. One could argue that some of the more nuanced camaraderie and interminable waiting of trench warfare is lost, so in essence portrays a fairly unique view of the great war but the general back-and-forth between Blake and Schofield, flitting between abject dumbstruck terror and light-hearted anecdotal joking to cope with the reality of the situation, is a solid compromise. I also genuinely appreciated the acknowledgement of diversity within the various passing regiments, too often global conflicts of the twentieth century were branded as a white man’s war but the whole essence of a world war is that every nation is involved. And while it is an entirely different animal from an entirely different war, it’s worth brining up something like Dunkirk which could also be considered a high budget claustrophobic drama with a novel central contrivance. As stated, these are two different projects with two different agendas but I found 1917 significantly more humanising and impactful in its delivery; if only for the narrow and intimate focus.

**spoilers**
If I was forced to identify a fault or frustration, it would be something said by Mark Strong’s character Captain Smith. Entering the narrative at a particularly sensitive time (for both the lead and the audience), Smith is a figure of kindness and convenience and as such whatever he says is somewhat elevated in importance. Most notably, he warns Schofield that when he delivers his orders to Colonel Mackenzie [Benedict Cumberbatch], ensure there are witnesses. Regardless of the orders’ origins, Smith subtly explains that “Some men just want the fight.” This sets up such an interesting additional level of fear and concern because we had simply assumed the story would end if and when the orders were delivered but then we learn there may be an additional fight for the instruction to be read and followed. Regrettably this transpires to be foreshadowing that never delivers and is the only real anti-climax or flaw of the movie. It turns out Mackenzie is just a commander who is fed up of the war and thinks he is seizing the opportunity to end it.

As an example of continuous creeping paranoia and fear, the pacing is such that you don’t realise how much time has passed and once the film reaches its conclusion, you are left a little depleted in the wake of the experience. Subsequently, 1917 joins All Quiet On The Western Front, Gallipoli, A Very Long Engagement and Paths Of Glory as one of the best films set during the first world war and will likely be remembered in deservedly high regard.

Release Date:
10 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
After the only clear and intentional cut of the movie, the narrative shifts from day to night and the reveal is absolutely fantastic cinema. With the general low light, fires burning in the distance, passing flares and so many moving elements, it is an absolute testament to the mastery of Roger Deakins. Paired with this to enhance the whole experience is the phenomenal sound design and Newman’s soaring score. It’s just a surreally beautiful heart-pounding moment.

Notable Characters:
The officer cameos punctuate the various vignettes and serve to highlight the different attitudes found in the army, from Andrew Scott’s jaded ambivalence to Mark Strong’s stoicism and Benedict Cumberbatch’s frustration. It’s a marvellous tapestry that helps reinforce the idea that despite the urgency of their mission, the two leads are treated with a general insignificance because life is being squandered on such a scale that the individual is irrelevant.

Highlighted Quote:
“It’s just a bit of tin, it doesn’t make you special”

In A Few Words:
“A genuine triumph of plain emotional storytelling and filmmaking technique”

Total Score:

5/5

Based On A Real Scandal

Director
Jay Roach

Starring
Charlize Theron
Nicole Kidman
Margot Robbie
John Lithgow

Set largely during the early days of the election campaign that would lead to the Trump presidency, we are introduced to four key individuals working at Fox News. At the top is Roger Ailes [Lithgow], the man who built the network from the ground up and through his broadcasts, actively shaped how many Americans see the world. In his older age he is more frail but he controls his company with an iron fist, maintaining a clear direction over everything that is shown on his network. One of Fox’s lead anchors, Megyn Kelly [Theron] is a veteran broadcaster and acts as the introductory individual to this world, highlighting what makes Fox unique. We are then introduced to Gretchen Carlson [Kidman], another veteran anchor who has fallen out of favour with Ailes and been bumped to an unenviable afternoon slot and has contracted lawyers to start a sexual harassment case to counter the toxic environment she is expected to work in. Finally we have Kayla Pospisil [Robbie], a young up-and-coming researcher who leaves Carlson’s team to try and get on a superior career path but in doing so finds herself in Ailes’ sights.

Adopting the quirky style utilised by Adam McKay for features such as Big Short and Vice, Bombshell felt like it had the potential to be a whip-smart, irreverent yet sobering look at a horrific series of events through the prism of comedy. Regrettably, this overall approach is dropped fairly early on and what starts off as satirical comedy quickly veers to project a rather thin note of uplifting optimism. In a way, I was reminded of The King’s Speech which closes with nationwide celebratory scenes despite heralding the start of the worst conflict of the twentieth century. Ultimately, because this film can’t seem to decide what kind of story it wants to be, we end up with lacklustre pacing, a tonally mixed bag and central characters side-lined for (in story) months at a time.

In terms of the events being depicted, the reality is blisteringly tragic. In a time of such social and political division, there will be those who argue that it is incredibly hard to sympathise with those who work at Fox News but Bombshell does a great job of humanising the issue, raising it above politics and reminding the audience that this is an affliction that happens in all types of working environments; essentially challenging victim blaming just because the individuals affected work for the right wing press. Nowhere is this more aptly addressed than Kate McKinnon’s character: a staffer who works on Bill O’Reilly’s team who is in fact a Democrat voting lesbian. She acts as both counsel to Kayla but also serves as a reminder that for some individuals this is just a job and one that doesn’t reflect their actual worldviews, it also illustrates the blot on people’s curriculum vitae that traps them in the organisation because of their affiliation and association. Having said that, regardless of the subject matter and the implication of the very title, Bombshell never really crashes down with force, so the final result feels a surprisingly touch light with a handful of powerful, shocking scenes.

If there was a reason to watch this film (other than the importance of the issue presented), it would be the central performances, which are fantastic. The triumvirate combination of two specific examples and one amalgam is a nice touch, allowing the writers to draw audiences in with the authentic scandal while affording them the flexibility of several other similar stories in one followable thread. Backing this up is a grand, sprawling cast which doubles as a conveyer belt of notable cameos who all add their own touch and signature to this piece; with examples ranging from Richard Kind as Rudy Giuliani to Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch.

As I said in my Just Mercy review, we are seeing a changing landscape in the types of stories that are getting mainstream attention and promotion. While this will by no means be the last movie to address the subject of sexual harassment, it is a tale told in the eye of the storm – which is entirely absorbing and engaging at the time but cannot figure out a conclusion because society hasn’t reached one yet. And while that’s fine for certain releases (Margin Call’s heralding the pending fiscal crisis for example) it doesn’t seem to establish this tone or agenda from the start, setting itself up as an explanatory exposé but never really delivering, which is a damn shame.

Release Date:
17 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
No matter how many characters defend him, the film offers several examples of Ailes being an absolute monster. One remarkably cruel outburst, as he loads up multiple doughnuts from a crafts services table, takes place immediately after Carlson has done a piece on raising awareness of the over-sexualisation of women and opting to not wear makeup for the entire segment. Ailes’ bitter rant comes to a head when he storms off crying out, “no one wants to watch a middle-aged woman sweating through menopause.”

Notable Characters:
While Kayla is the composite character, I’m hesitant to use the word fictional. Her transitional journey from keen and hungry for success to filled with regret and shame is one that an uncomfortable amount of audience members may be able to relate to or identify with. Nothing is ever explicitly shown but her reactions alone sell the absolutely appalling dilemma she finds herself in. Her initial scene with Ailes is presented without music, little background noise and probing camera angles making the entire experience remarkably uncomfortable. This is underlined when Kayla is summoned back to his office, unsure of what to expect. En route she briefly meets Megyn and Gretchen (who become slowly aware of what is going on) and the entire segment is accompanied by a tense yet playful rhythm that wonderfully enhances the practically dialogue-free scene.

Highlighted Quote:
“News is like a ship, you take your hands off the wheel and it pulls hard to the left”

In A Few Words:
“A noble effort but ultimately too drifting in its execution to be the hard-hitting revelatory drama it aspires to be”

Total Score:

3/5

Every Generation Has Its Hero. Meet Ours

Director
Destin Daniel Cretton

Starring
Michael B Jordan
Jamie Foxx
Brie Larson

Set in the late eighties and early nineties, Just Mercy is the story of young defence attorney Bryan Stevenson [Jordan] who, after an experience interning with death row inmates, is moved to represent them when no others will. Once he receives his degree from Harvard he moves from Delaware to Alabama and is instantly met with resistance from the local community for “helping set murderers free.” Bryan establishes the Equal Justice Institute with Eva Ansley [Larson] and they get to work addressing the death row cases of the main penitentiary. One case in particular is that of Walter McMillian [Foxx], known locally as Johnny D, who was arrested for the murder of teenager Ronda Morrison. With Ronda being a young white girl and both Bryan and Johnny D being African-American, the case quickly becomes more than a murder trial, addressing the nature of institutionalised racism and a broken society that only represents half of its constituents.

A film of this nature requires cold analysis of its execution, dispassionate and separate from the real events. Over the coming years there will definitely be a shift as US cinema slowly comes to terms with its history. Granted, there have been stand-out dramas concerning racial inequality and tensions over the last seventy years but it feels like these releases aren’t solely confined to the independent scene. One of the standout moments, which was utilised in all of the marketing, is addressing the concept of being guilty from the moment you’re born; the idea of being a second-class citizen in your own country who is a good enough scapegoat because of prejudice views held by others. As stated, this isn’t a new concept but it’s a painful reality and one that is extremely well explored in this film.

From a technical standpoint, Just Mercy is a very subtle example of exceptional work. The direction is strong and the beautiful almost washed out cinematography create an overall pleasing visual style. All of which is enormously enhanced by the gentle, tender, soulful and ultimately uplifting score – which I will come back to later. But what sets this film apart from other courtroom dramas is that it is illustrated very early on how flimsy the case is. Subsequently, the movie’s strength is the fight against the system, rather than the ambiguity of did Johnny D commit the crime or not and the agonising frustration of banging your head against a bigoted brick wall. It also pulls a parallel to the message of To Kill A Mockingbird in that it delves into the question of whether the law is absolute or if it is something malleable to be hijacked and warped by the holder of the gavel. The discussion then continues to run with the notion that if the system is rigged against you, no amount of last minute evidence will magically fix things and when the truth is not enough, can you support or even believe in the supposed ideologies and tenets of justice?

Just Mercy manages to maintain its steady pace and heartfelt sincerity due to the sublime performances from a really impressive cast. In particular, Michael B Jordan continues to utterly dominate the screen as Bryan and Foxx gives an incredibly controlled but emotionally-charged performance as Johnny D.I was also extremely impressed by Rob Morgan as the PTSD afflicted veteran Herbert Richardson; having only seen him in television roles and a few minor supports in a handful of features, Morgan really stood out and although his character is a bit of a formulaic warning to highlight the process and horrors of execution, he performs the role admirably. I also liked that the characters of the Sheriff and prosecutor weren’t too cartoony. With this kind of feature it’s all too easy to have the representations of oppression as soulless evil beings when it’s much harder to deal with someone who believes they are in the right and only act to protect their image. There’s also the kick-in-the-teeth hypocrisy of so many of the obstinate individuals happily promoting the Mockingbird museum and how revered it is, as if to say they couldn’t possibly be bigoted or racist because Monroeville happens to be the birthplace of Harper Lee.

**spoilers**
Despite the touching portrayals and commendable functionality, the film is flawed and there are elements that feel half-baked and underdeveloped. The biggest issue is the lack of any real sense of prevailing tension. Other than the example listed below, the audience is never in any doubt of how the film will conclude; or put more bluntly, that Johnny D will be exonerated. On top of that, Brie Larson’s character is underused and while you might expect the pressure on these characters to increase the closer they get to an overruling, other than a bomb threat and harassment experienced by Bryan, there isn’t a great deal of maintained and continual persecution to sustain that fear and urgency. I also really didn’t need the racist cop turnaround. Bryan’s first experience of the Monroeville establishment is a prejudice cop forcing him to strip for an illegal search. It serves to immediately establish the hostilities and resistance Bryan will encounter and works well because it is degrading, humiliating and wholly unnecessary. But don’t worry, that particular cop has a change of heart when he witnesses an actual execution and has two or three moments of kindness with Johnny D. It may be true, it may be a representation of the power of sincerity but it stood out and felt like a softball to the people in the audience who may be feeling guilty. I get why the character is a son of a bitch but I feel his vindication is akin to the Scandinavian prince in Aladdin, a completely unnecessary superfluous addition. Speaking of which, it’s always difficult to criticise narratives based on real people, so I can’t fault the flow of events too much as they have a designated path to follow, but the film doesn’t want to end and goes through multiple stop/start attempts at a conclusion, which was unfortunate.

On many levels Just Mercy has a lot going for it but due to a handful of decisions made, it falters ever so slightly. Naturally, this doesn’t detract from the overall message but it certainly tarnishes what could have been a lasting and profound story.

Release Date:
17 January 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
**spoilers**
I was rather impressed with Joel P West’s score and the way it plays with y our emotions and expectations. During the first trial scene, the score leads you to believe, in typical court drama fashion, that Meyers’ testimony will be enough; that the truth will literally set Johnny D free. This plays equally well when it re-emerges and you cautiously hope for the best, even when you blatantly know how this film will end.

Notable Characters:
Tim Blake Nelson never fails to impress and despite only turning up a handful of times, really shines as Meyers, the eccentric criminal whose statement is the reason McMillian is facing the electric chair.

Highlighted Quote:
“If you can’t see the danger in what you’re doing, you need to ask Harvard for your money back ’cause you’re smarter than that”

In A Few Words:
“An extremely capable, if a little conventional, drama with a lot of heart”

Total Score:

4/5

An Anti-Hate Satire

Director
Taika Waititi

Starring
Roman Griffin Davis
Thomasin McKenzie
Scarlett Johansson
Sam Rockwell

Set in Nazi Germany during the last days of World War 2, we are introduced to the ten year old Johannes Betzler [Griffin Davis], affectionately dubbed Jojo. He is an extremely enthusiastic supporter of the Third Reich but being only ten years old, does what he can for the Hitler Youth with the intent of being promoted to Hitler’s personal guard. This feverish devotion is heightened by the fact that he has an imaginary friend in the form of a whimsically silly and childish Adolf Hitler [Waititi]. After being picked on during a retreat, Jojo attempts to prove his machismo by snatching a grenade and flinging it deep into the woods. This backfires, literally, and Jojo is left scarred and confined to his house with only his mother, Rosie [Johansson] for company. Jojo’s life is further disrupted when he meets Elsa [McKenzie], a young Jewish girl being hidden in the walls of his sister’s bedroom. Conflicted, Jojo and his imaginary Hitler decide the best course of action would be to interrogate the stranger and write a book all about Jews, which he can then present to the fuhrer to curry his favour.

Falling on the wrong side of history is often a mark of eternal regret, shaping a nation’s identity for decades to come but when a child is indoctrinated to follow suit, it’s utterly heart-breaking. Such is the tricky line that Jojo Rabbit walks. The tone of this movie is perfectly set within the first few minutes, from the Beatles/Hitler cult of personality juxtaposition to the irreverent goofiness of fake Hitler’s supportive comments, Jojo Rabbit wastes no time setting out what kind of movie this will be; a delightfully whimsical and charming story with an undercurrent of forlorn sorrow. Owing to its simple approach, this film is also as much a journey of shame and forgiveness as it is a standard coming of age dramatic comedy. But unlike Waititi’s other whimsical coming-of-age releases – Boy and Hunt For The Wilderpeople – Jojo Rabbit is more stylised in its execution, akin to an early Wes Anderson film, with its quirky cinematography and Giacchino’s score.

Part of the reason this film is such an easy sell is the calibre of acting on display. Griffin Davis and McKenzie carry the narrative magnificently, juggling light-hearted playfulness with sombre undertones of hardship. While it would be easy to descend into a cutesy portrayal, the script and performances allow for some genuine moments of immaturity and childlike self-centredness. A prime example would be the Nathan letters. After meeting Elsa, Jojo learns that she was proposed to by her boyfriend, Nathan, before he fled to join the resistance. In a moment of (admittedly conflicted) jealousy, Jojo pens a letter from Nathan that he claims to have found, the contents of which are actually remarkably cruel but when he realises how hurtful his actions have been, he starts to pen new letters apologising for being mean but maintaining that Nathan is still a bad person – in a hopeless attempt to protect his ego and elevate his own potential standing in Elsa’s eyes. They are simple interactions but afford the leads the chance to cement themselves in the audience’s favour and illustrate that despite the rhetoric that Jojo spouts, he is still a sweet innocent boy underneath it all. Having said all that, the film never manages to pack enough of a punch when compared to something like The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, to the film’s detriment.

The adult actors carry this heightened sense of absurdity with two in particular standing out. The first is the fatigued, disenfranchised Captain Klenzendorf [Rockwell], who is aware the war is coming to an end and that his side will likely lose. In a parallel with his character in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, throughout the story we are given the growing impression that, despite being a decorated Nazi officer, Klenzendorf is a decent human being who doesn’t believe in the cause; a roll which Rockwell is magnificently suited for. Then we have the manifestation of Jojo’s internal turmoil and conflict against ideologies, Waititi’s Hitler. At times childlike and mischievous while others erratic and intimidating, Waititi’s character is the very embodiment of a bully who calls himself a friend. In that way, it’s a great performance but we will come back to the problem with clowning an individual like Adolf Hitler. I also have two more characters to highlight but they too are respectively covered later in the highlighted character and scene sections below.

Walking away from this movie, I was imbued with a sense of warmth from this heartfelt tale. The emotional journey is endearing while the message is clear but the more I think back on it, the more this initial reaction tempers. Ultimately this film is surprisingly straightforward, predictable and blunt in its execution and while it is incredibly honest it doesn’t say anything new. Naturally, it would be nice to think “Nazis are bad” is the most rote thing one could say but the state of affairs in this day and age means victories are not won outright and this kind of on-the-nose satire could genuinely be quite helpful… were it not for the fact that all the villains are remarkably stupid and silly. Robbing such a violent and horrific regime of their prestige weakens them – as seen in something like The Producers but it also illustrates them in an amusing light and perpetuates the dangerous concept that intolerance will only ever arrive in an elaborate costume with a funny voice. Thankfully there are some tense moments that attempt to dismiss this but to maintain the overall comedic tone, these are few and far between. Having said that, sometimes intolerance is so widespread that you need a blunt instrument to break through the rhetoric.

Is Jojo Rabbit going to alter the way you look at the world? Very likely not. It is a fun, light film whose heart is in the right place? Almost certainly. And sometimes, that’s all a movie needs to be to get an important message across.

Release Date:
03 January 2019

The Scene To Look Out For:
**spoilers**
Scarlett Johansson performs magnificently as Rosie from start to finish. Playful, supportive and loving, she quickly endears the audience to her as an almost impossibly perfect mother and all-round good person. I was particularly impressed when Jojo demands to see his (presumably dead) father and Rosie storms off to grab his jacket, wipes soot across her face to make a faux-beard and berates her son for talking to his mother in such a way. It’s creative, simple and taps into the frustrations that she cannot really share with her child. I also really enjoyed the shoe-based signposting, for the tragedy that takes place in the third act, dotted throughout the movie.

Notable Characters:
Stephen Merchant is a wonderfully ridiculous individual. He is an obvious choice for comedic roles but it is when he is given the opportunity to be more human or menacing that he truly stands out. And although his appearance is brief, I think being a both menacing and hilarious gestapo agent strikes the perfect tone for this release, in the same way that he stood out as a stellar choice for things like Logan and Portal 2.

Highlighted Quote:
“We were chosen by God! You were chosen by a weak little man who can’t even grow a full moustache!”

In A Few Words:
“A sweet and earnest, if somewhat simple, feature with its heart in the right place”

Total Score:

4/5

The Must-See Musical Event

Director
Tom Hooper

Starring
Francesca Hayward
Judi Dench
Idris Elba
Jennifer Hudson

In early 20th century London, a young cat named Victoria [Hayward] is abandoned in an alleyway. There she meets a group who call themselves Jellicle Cats and learns about the selection process called the Jellicle Ball, wherein an elderly cat named Old Deuteronomy [Dench] selects a cat who will go on to the Heaviside Layer and be granted a new life; essentially it’s a talent contest and the winner gets reincarnated. And that is the best I can do to squeeze out some sort of synopsis from this bizarre tale.

Before we get in line with every film critic under the sun and rightly shred this feature to ribbons, let’s take a moment to appreciate the handful of things the film succeeds at. First of all, there is a tremendous energy and earnestness to each and every performance and you would be hard-pressed to claim that any of the cast were simply phoning it in. There are also plenty of interesting visuals, from the high quality set design, significantly helping to ground everything, to the CGI fur which is extremely impressive and accomplished.. providing the subjects are filmed up close and stay static. Regrettably, all of this quickly disappears once both the camera and the actor start moving and by the time the human-face-on-animal-body mice and cockroaches appear, it becomes almost impossible to defend. Especially when there’s nothing on-screen that desperately needed to be CGI when practical make-up and costume work would have worked perfectly well.

Like a despotic emperor at the height of their power, making absurd demands of their subjects, Cats is a prime example of what happens when a bad idea is given full reign to experiment. To elaborate, I’m not saying cinema shouldn’t have any freedom to create unique oddities but Cats is not the same thing as subversive independent cinema, it’s lunacy brought to life and told with complete sincerity. But it’s not just that the concept is farcical – after all something like Star Wars requires suspension of disbelief – it’s more that Cats is so ill-conceived that I don’t know what is required to enjoy it. From the very first scene the entire production is immediately jarring, confirming suspicions that this was never going to be a good idea and seeing the physical representation of cat/human hybrids is as odd a visual as the pilot episode of Thundercats wherein they’re all naked. But in my opinion, this film was doomed to fail because it tried to take something off the stage and put it on screen (not so much a negative in and of itself) using technology to enhance the photorealism of the core concept.

I have no problem with musicals, I think they are as unique and worthy as any other cinematic genre but Cats is shit. I appreciate it has won countless awards, performed on sold-out stages around the world and is loved by a great many but it’s still shit. Structurally, thematically and musically, it’s a state. Subsequently, if you weren’t already aware that this movie was a direct adaptation of a multi- billion dollar making stage success, it would be a hard sell. What surprised me the most (at least at first) was Hooper’s decision to, in no obvious way, update the music, meaning what we have is a repetitive synth nightmare, plagued by nauseating leitmotifs and “clever, poignant” lyrics such as “a cat is not a dog.” And while Memories is still a genuinely decent song, everything else is forgettable and nonsensical.

Then we have what could generously be described as the story. Despite trying to force some sort of cohesive narrative, the film can’t escape its source material being little more than a list of cats introducing themselves and on-screen it is remarkably boring. But to remain somehow faithful to the musical, none of the mythology is explained and the sheer lack of world building is flabbergasting. Certain cats wear clothes while others don’t and Jennyanydots [Rebel Wilson] can take her skin off? Some cats are magical, others are not. Old Deuteronomy selects a cat to be given a new life but little detail is given as to how or why. Macavity [Elba] is a feared and mischievous cat but we are never given a reason to hate or fear him other than being told to. And then there’s Jennifer Hudson as Griselda who is a sorrowful outcast but it is never clarified why she is such a pariah. More than that, the word jellicle is a nonsense phrase that means everything and nothing but the movie never attempts to really explain what jellicle is. Arguably this shouldn’t leave a stale taste but with so much heavy emphasis on the word jellicle repeated over-and-over without offering any expository description of what it is, it’s hard not to assume a climactic reveal was coming.

In fairness, I will commend Cats for committing wholeheartedly to its creepy vision but it is such an uncomfortable anomaly that it is so very hard to lose yourself in the experience. It doesn’t help that for every competent aspect, you cannot shake the unavoidable fact that the lack of structured story means the entire ordeal is awkward and dissatisfying; a prime example of an artist’s reach exceeding his grasp and likely a cautionary tale for studios for decades to come.

Release Date:
20 December 2019

The Scene To Look Out For:
The Jellicle Ball is such a strange concept; the idea that an elder selects a worthy individual to ascend into the sun to be destroyed and reincarnated. It has so much in the way of cultish overtones that simply do not fit the whimsical setting and vocalised passion of the central characters. And when the moment comes and the dawn arrives, the remaining cats sing their final ballad to the sun and all I could see was the horrified expressions on the Trafalgar Square lions and the realisation that the coveted prize is the sweet release of death. And by the film’s denouement, one sympathises.

Notable Characters:
There are two ends of the spectrum for this film. On one hand you have Jennifer Hudson belting out a heartfelt tragic tale (providing you don’t actually listen to the lyrics) worthy of a standing ovation for the energy, skill and emotion on display and on the other you have Ray Winstone gruffly singing about being a cat on a barge in the Thames. The two are so disparate in tone and ability yet both exist side-by-side in this ridiculous endeavour.

Highlighted Quote:
“You should need no interpreter”

In A Few Words:
“A thoroughly poorly conceived baffling nonsense fever dream of a film”

Total Score:

1/5

The Saga Ends

Director
JJ Abrams

Starring
Daisy Ridley
Adam Driver
John Boyega
Oscar Isaac

Not long after the events of The Last Jedi, whispers spread that the long deceased Emperor Palpatine [Ian McDiarmid] has returned. In an effort to consolidate his power and crush all opposition, Kylo Ren [Driver], now Supreme Leader of the First Order, uses an ancient navigational device to locate Exegol – the hidden home-world of the Sith. Meanwhile, the now tiny remaining force of the Resistance continue to strike back against this rise of evil where possible but the odds seem insurmountable. Uniting for one final mission, Rey [Ridley] is joined by Finn [Boyega] and Poe [Isaac] to track the location of a mighty First Order armada and in the process, discover Rey’s true identity and destiny.

If you haven’t already guessed, this review is going to delve heavily and unabashedly into spoiler territory, so please be warned that this entire write-up is an analysis to be read post viewing.

Now that we are at its end, it is evident that the entire sequel trilogy has effectively emulated the formula and structure of the original trilogy and for that reason, this film was always sort of doomed to fail because Return Of The Jedi is a pretty bad movie. I have fond memories viewing it as a child and some of the visuals and score work standout as some of the finest in the entire series but that doesn’t alter the fact that it is a structurally dry slog. Similarly, The Rise Of Skywalker follows the same pre-trodden path with its own speeder bike chase, rescue mission and final ground and aerial assault watched over by the central hero who battles an evil Emperor in a clash of wills leading to a final redemption of the central antagonist, etc.

One thing it does have that ROTJ didn’t is an extremely rushed pace. Where Jedi was languid and bisected, TROS is hurried and strained with character arcs. It also, most likely for the nature of its finale, pushes more of a comedic tone than its two predecessors (but for the most part, I found it amusing) which The Last Jedi was unforgettably lambasted for. And yet for a two and a half hour movie, so much is clearly on the cutting room floor, with scenes missing and connecting shots sacrificed with the goal to make this behemoth palatable. In the process, what we end up with is something quite overwhelming and excessively indulgent, feeling somehow sickly and bland at the same time.

But these things were always somewhat inevitable due to the nature of escalation. Not only does this film have to be bigger than the last two Star Wars films, it has to be bigger than everything that came before it and the plan to accomplish this was to seemingly be everything to everyone. There are quests for Indiana Jones style McGuffins, an X-Men power-stand-off with outstretched hands, Lord Of The Rings death fake-outs and ex machinas and an endless myriad of Star Wars cameos, references and callbacks throughout.

In my review for The Force Awakens, I had high praise for JJ Abrams. I still maintain that by jump-starting the franchise, Abrams was a spectacular choice to helm this opening chapter. Over time my opinion of TFA has shifted ever so slightly but after rave reviews and one of the highest box office performances of all time, giving rise to the rebirth of a previously toxic intellectual property, Abrams felt like the right choice to return and finish what he started. However, as Abrams proved with his other return sequel (Star Trek Into Darkness) he may be perfect for setting up threads but not to continue or conclude them. Throughout this movie there is plenty of spectacle but no impact, very heavy-handed storytelling and lots of little niggling nuances that seem present solely to serve an algorithmically timed action sequence (hyper-jumping Falcon that is somehow followed by TIE fighters as one throwaway example).

But this is not a question of capability, it is one of suitability. Once Rian Johnson pushed the trilogy forward – for better or worse – the Episode IX director had a choice to double-down or regress and Abrams does seemingly both and neither at the same time. As a quick and simple example, Johnson established that Ren and Rey are linked and can communicate across vast distances through a powerful force user. It was a bold new ability that not everyone got along with, nevertheless it was innovative and interesting. But the way in which Abrams presents it often felt jarring. At times it is shot with expert skill and very cleverly, on Ren’s ship over Kijimi for example, or it fails to establish to the audience what is real and what is a vision, such is the case during the lightsaber duel on the ruins of the Death Star wherein it’s not immediately clear if Kylo is actually there or not.

From the moment Darth Vader’s true identity as Anakin Skywalker was revealed in The Empire Strikes Back, this franchise became heavily mired with the concept of legacy and destiny. With the arrival of the prequels, that was all it was about and the nature of progeny and neatly connected characters meant it devolved into a tale of specials and grandfathers, those who are part of a secret bloodline and those who are background fodder. Subsequently, this galaxy far far away now very much resembles a small British town in a soap opera where everyone knows everyone and they’re all somehow related. And while the newly introduced characters of the sequels at first seemed fresh and disconnected, they too fell to the mighty bloodline story.

To rush through this a little, I still feel Kylo and his redemption arc are the most interesting thing at work in these movies. I also felt that there were more questions raised about Finn than answered – was it ever established what he “never got to tell Rey?” – and the work done with the unused footage/CGI hybrid Leia was both tasteful and fitting. In one of the film’s strongest points, the sheer chemistry and comedic interactions at work have been consistently pleasing in all three features and here they are one of the film’s strongest points as well as a welcome treat. However, in my opinion, two characters were dealt incredibly short-shrift: Rose and Poe.

Rose, the best new character from The Last Jedi played by Kelly Marie Tran, is completely side-lined here. More than that, she feels like a pale imitation, a lacklustre reimagining of someone who risked her life to save Finn from a suicide mission, at the potential expense of the entire future of the rebellion/resistance, only to witness him do the exact same thing but suppressing intervention without clear reason. The stakes are the same but she acts differently. Speaking of which, we need to talk about Poe’s character reset. At the end of the last film, Poe is humbled, he is reminded of his station and earns the respect of everyone around him as someone to be followed because he knows when to strike and when to fall back but at a terrible price. Leia even gives the literal handover with “what are you looking at me for? Follow him.” Yet throughout this movie he’s back again with a distinct lack of plans and vision. And the most frustrating part of his final moments is the script rushing in to reward him for his failure. To clarify, The Last Jedi puts out a sombre and rather bleak reality that in their final moment of need, the Resistance’s call was sent out and reinforcements simply didn’t come. So when the final onslaught of The Rise Of Skywalker turns out to be exactly the same thing, I was curious where the script would end up. More specifically, I didn’t want to be proved right in my prediction – but I was. There’s nothing wrong with the universe rallying to a central cause, if anything it’s an oft-occurring element of real life wars that art and mythology have drawn on for hundreds of years, but doing the same thing twice and getting a different result needs to have some sort of justifiable impetus; as far as I can tell, the only change here is Lando showed up.

This film has also cemented Sheev Palpatine as the most ridiculous character in the Star Wars canon. Whether positive or negative, events proceed according to plan or as foretold or foreseen and none of it ever really works; like a bungling magician dropping his deck of cards and saying “I meant to do that.” The Sith, the Empire, what is the point of any of it? What is the objective? For the sheer wealth of expositing and monologuing, we never learn what motivates or drives him other than the eradication of the Jedi (who have proven to be pretty ineffective and far from formidable adversaries) or even how he’s back from the dead in the first place. I’m not talking about a twenty minute flashback but a few sentences would have been nice. Then we have the muddled convolution of what the Sith are. Nine Skywalker saga movies and I still can’t tell you what the Emperor is. We have so many analogies to explain the force (some really good ones) but nothing about the nonsense of the opposition’s master string-puller. As the film hurtles toward its final scenes, Palpatine instructs Rey to strike him down and allow the Sith to live through him in her. While Rey manages to resist, she stands to face the Emperor with the last of her energy and wipes him out. Which one could describe as striking him down but there’s no fallout. As with Poe’s dilemma, the audience witnesses characters presented with inescapable odds only for them to be overcome by doing the same thing one last time but with some added conviction. Which means this entire story ended with that age-old classic, “the magic was inside you all along.” Additionally, before moving on, I will note that “And I am all the Jedi” came off as a rather uncomfortable rehash of “and I am Iron Man” from Avengers: Endgame. But I digress.

I thought both Rogue One and Solo, for all the ways they succeeded, gave too much in the way of fan service but this film chokes its audience with familiarity and insists some big stupid reveal is what the masses must want. Subsequently, this is what you get – nay, what you deserve – when you are consumed by nostalgia. This is the curse of fan-service, delivered. Personally, giving Chewbacca the medal was the last straw. Rather than presenting someone with an Oscar for their achievements, deciding to hand them someone else’s doesn’t hold the same weight and is a slap in the face frankly. But all of this stems from decades of hardcore Star Wars fans watching the first film over-and-over and absorbing every minutiae, which gives rise to feeble justifications like the exhaust port on the Death Star being an intentional weakness or Jango Fett banging his head on the door to Slave One. These concessions don’t drive the story forward, they pat the head of those who have spoken out the loudest and giving those people credence is the worst thing any 21st century blockbuster can do.

But the truth is, despite all this pent up frustration and venom, there are a great many positives at work. Some of the visuals are incredibly impressive and atmospheric, the performances are passionate and engaging, the sound, music and production design are all as stunningly breathtaking as ever and the filmmaking craft at work is undeniable. The Rise Of Skywalker is still – functionally, technically and in full hindsight – much better than the prequels if only for the energy involved in its construction but at best it feels like one of the weaker MCU films that has squandered some truly great storytelling potential for a calculated, unambitious denouement. Much like the ending of Game Of Thrones, if you establish a pending big final reveal, when you come to that inevitable concrete conclusion, adding it to inescapable canon devoid of uncertainty, it becomes a binding agent that some will relish while others will wholly reject. For me, I felt a lot of this movie was rote and surprisingly unimaginative and pandering… for others that will be more than enough.

In a word, this conclusion is fine. Neither poor enough to warrant lasting vitriol nor accomplished enough to garner praise, it’s just fine. And with all the world-building, setups and high-quality talent involved “fine” truly is one of the worst things for a Star Wars film to be.

Release Date:
20th December 2019

The Scene To Look Out For:
In the very first frame of this movie, the opening crawl starts with three foreshadowing words: “The dead speak!” This is a dumb sentence. If you handed a script to a studio with this as the opener, you would be laughed out of the room. It’s hokey, it’s farcical and it confirmed this film’s intent to me. As stated in my review for The Last Jedi, I despise force ghosts; I find the whole thing massively underdeveloped and lacking. But even they are not ghost Han Solo. And he wasn’t even a ghost. Kylo Ren interacting with the manifestation of a memory of his dead father was painful. Of all the ways to push Ren over the edge and have him transition from dark to light, a cringe-inducing interaction full of low-blow platitudes and callbacks was not the way to go about it. And the icing on the cake? “I know.” Get in the fucking bin.

Notable Characters:
Daisy Ridley shoulders a lot of the burden with this movie; arguably with the whole trilogy. But despite the maddening nonsense of her being the granddaughter of Palpatine, facing constant visions (including one of herself as a Sith which was clearly generated solely for marketing purposes) that would look like nonsense to an onlooker and some absolutely dire dialogue, she comes out the other side in tact and that takes an acute level of charisma and talent.

Highlighted Quote:
“People keep telling me they know me. I feel no one does”

In A Few Words:
“An overly predictable and lacklustre crossing of the finishing line for the Skywalker story”

Total Score:

3/5

Make Yourself At Home

Director
Bong Joon-ho

Starring
Song Kang-ho
Choi Woo-sik
Jo Yeo-Jeong
Park So-dam
Jang Hye-jin
Lee Sun-kyun
Lee Jeong-eun
Jung Ji-so
Jung Hyun-jun

From the film’s opening, we are introduced to the Kim family who are down on their luck and struggling to chisel out a living. Struggling to make ends meet, all four members of the family pitch in to get by. This all changes when Ki-woo’s [Choi] friend explains he is going abroad to study and wants the young man to pick up his tutoring job; partly to help the Kim family out and partly because he has feelings for his student and doesn’t see Ki-woo as a threat. Forging university documents, Ki-woo heads to the residence of the wealthy Park family, headed by the trusting, semi-neurotic Yeon-gyo [Cho] and is welcomed with open arms into the family home. Seeing an opportunity to gain employment for the remainder of his family, Ki-woo manufactures reasons to fire the current household staff and instead employee his family members, all posing as conveniently timed recommendations. But what starts out as a rather light and silly comedy of deception beautifully shifts to a bitter, simmering tale of acrimony and scorn; to put it bluntly, Parasite is a perfect movie.

**spoilers throughout**
Before starting, I should highlight that this review is not for anyone who has yet to see the film – this is a place for analysis and unfettered praise. Like a broken record, I have been saying for nearly two decades that South Korea has been producing some of the world’s greatest and underappreciated cinema. From the subject matter of the stories, to the technical execution, the innovative direction and the blisteringly good performances, South Korea is an absolute powerhouse modern movie maker. And Bong Joon-ho is a prime example of one of their finest assets. Just a simple oral description of the camera placement or the circumstances the characters find themselves in can in no way do justice to the sheer level of complexity and nuance injected into every single frame. This may sound extremely hyperbolic but as with something like Roma, there has to be some trick to explain how something so simple can be so utterly captivating and mercilessly emotional.

On the surface it’s very hard to point to a still image and detail what makes it so special. One could argue the cinematography is safe and functional, the camera movements are clean and simple and the set design is functional – but in actuality what Bong and cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo have orchestrated is the most subtle performance of the entire piece, burning from start to end with markers, foreshadowing and reward. More than that, the film does so much with silence and subdued spatial work that really sets the bustling world of the city and the almost suffocating world of the luxurious house apart. And the final layer that elevates the whole thing is a decaying score by Jeong Jae-il that compliments everything spectacularly with its light, gentle piano opening giving way to the deep bass and frantic string elements we usually associate with horror films.

The acting on display is genuinely stunning – in every sense of the word – with so much being conveyed so sophisticatedly that to replace any element or to imitate it via a remake would lose so much in the process. As a character study, the film is also a phenomenal look into the preservation of family, populated by unscrupulous individuals on both sides, to the degree that it becomes very hard to identify and sympathise with anyone, as well as the rising uncomfortable feeling of relatability. With its seething resentment between the haves and have nots and the frankly monstrous twists in the third act, one could quite easily argue that part of the reason this story is so good is because it feels intrinsically timeless. If I were to describe this movie’s plot and the general themes of disdain between a wealthy and impoverished family, neither of whom escape the movie without tragedy and then said it was set in pre-revolutionary France or post war America or even feudal China, it would be completely plausible.

As stated at the start of the review, I genuinely cannot fault this movie, the only reservation I would have is that I cannot recommend it to every type of cinemagoer and there are those who will feel it is slow or a little dull in places but I think that would be extraordinarily harsh and unwarranted.

Release Date:
7th February 2020

The Scene To Look Out For:
Once the twist (if one could call it that, it’s more an escalation) has revealed itself, learning what happened to Da-song on his birthday is so subtly hilarious and tragic. Taking place at the bridge between the whimsical opening and the sobering finale, it retains elements of both and feels as playful as it is unfortunate.

Notable Characters:
The chemistry between the actors who play the Kims is second-to-none. From the opening scene their bond and singular drive is astonishing. Everything that comes at them is dealt with as a unit and speaks to the motivation and cohesion born of their desperation. More importantly, each of the four performances feel magnificently real and lived-in. A prime example of this would be during the lightning storm. The Parks go on a camping trip for their son’s birthday and the Kims decide to stay in the house for the duration, drunkenly fantasising about what it would be like to live there permanently. The whole interaction is glorious and there isn’t a single weak component. Not to mention the scene then leads to a flipped performance and a rather terrifying additional one.

Highlighted Quote:
“You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all”

In A Few Words:
“An intensely superb cinematic achievement”

Total Score:

5/5

Level Up This Christmas

Director
Jake Kasdan

Starring
Dwayne Johnson
Kevin Hart
Jack Black
Karen Gillan
Danny DeVito
Danny Glover

A year after the events of Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle the four students have graduated high school and are attending separate universities. With the holiday season in full swing, they all return to their home town to meet up. However, Spencer Alex Wolff] is extremely disenfranchised with university life and living in New York is extremely difficult for him. Feeling he wants to recapture the courage and strength he possessed as Dr Bravestone [Johnson], Spencer repairs the video game console and re-enters the game. Worried by Spencer’s silence, Fridge, Bethany and Martha go over to his house, only to be greeted by Spencer’s grandfather Eddie [DeVito] and his old friend (who have clearly fallen out) Milo [Glover]. Realising Spencer has gone back, the others commit to save him but with the machine broken, it drags Eddie and Milo along and assigns them all random avatars for a new adventure.

As with the previous instalment, the direction, score and sound work are all perfectly functional and I was as surprised as anyone that this drastic shift in tone worked out rather well. Granted the script was a little repetitive with certain jokes and both the editing and CGI left quite a lot to be desired and frankly very little has changed. In a way, with so much of the same elements at play, this movie feels like an intended seamless continuation filmed back to back with the first part. But this is as much a negative as it is a positive, as the film never pushes forward confidently and takes a wafer-thin plot that doesn’t maximise on the potential of the concept of a broken video game and recycles a few “old men are cantankerous and slow” jokes to death.

Speaking of the old men, the inclusion of Eddie and Milo makes for a half-decent juxtaposition on the nature of friendship. More specifically, the film attempts to address the idea of maturing relationships, contrasting the difference between high school and college relationships and pushes a message about overcoming stubbornness and communicating. Even if it is a little on-the-nose, it’s a positive and simple message and one you would expect from a family adventure film of this standing. Unfortunately, for the levels of tenderness that give the film a sense of development, many of these are largely abandoned in favour of loud, showy action sequences that lack a level of imagination. Frustratingly, I feel you could map the levels/stages of the respective game narratives in each film and they would align fairly easily. While this is something a wittier script could have utilised to explore the concept of rinse and repeat triple A video game titles, it is never really covered and leaves the film feeling a little familiar.

As with Welcome To The Jungle, The Next Level relies heavily on both the body-swapping antics and the sheer charisma of the cast and delivers extremely well, continuing to sell what is, admittedly, a retread of an incredibly flavourless story. Having said that, considering the calibre of the cast involved, no one is really fully utilised and the whole thing feels surprisingly safe. To focus on the new inclusions is an unusual one; in essence both Danny De Vito and Danny Glover are only in the film for a few short scenes but the remainder of the cast spend their time doing impressions of them. Again, this is the same for half the principal cast for both movies and falls heavily under the nature of body-swapping features, effectively allowing actors to depart their comfort zones and do something exceptionally silly or fun. The other major additions are Rory McCann as the villain and Awkwafina as a new playable character. Starting with McCann, Jurgen the Brutal is fairly unremarkable and very much a carbon-copy of the Van Pelt adversary from the previous release. There’s nothing terrible about the performance but the writing makes for an extremely uncompelling foe whose presence in the film could be easily substituted with anything else and it wouldn’t be missed. As we spend more time with Ming Fleetfoot, Awkwafina gets more to do but even then, it’s only slightly neurotic and restrained or the DeVito impression that is passed around and as someone who really enjoys Awkwafina as an actor and was truly blown away by her performance in The Farewell, this just feels like a missed opportunity for something more challenging.

As stated before, this film is very much more of the same and is arguably just as enjoyable as the last film. The main problem is that it doesn’t do much to push either the characters or the environment, relying on a handful of played-out jokes and circumstances. There’s also a rush to ensure a sense of peril and urgency, meaning that we are offered a handful of really dumb scenes that are solely designed to extraneously whittle down the character’s lives count, which is remarkably disappointing. But that’s not to say that what’s on offer isn’t good, far from it, Jumanji 3 proves itself to be more than competent, capable and captivating, it’s just a little unfortunate it didn’t do more with what it had.

Release Date:
13th December 2019

The Scene To Look Out For:
As an example of reprocessing the same material, this story calls for Ruby Roundhouse to fight in another dance battle, albeit this time in a huge brawl setting. I found myself a little bored with this because it didn’t land as well as the first time it was used. Where previously it had been a distraction method that turned into almost choreographed dance combat, this was just a fight in a room brought about by the use of the same cassette player and exact same song.

Notable Characters:
DeVito is great. Even when only present in a handful of scenes, just his character snapping about not needing any help then stumbling around wrecking everything around him just serves as a reminder of what an amazing physical comedian that man is.

Highlighted Quote:
“Getting old is a gift, I forget that sometimes”

In A Few Words:
“The Next Level is the textbook definition of resting on your laurels but will likely satisfy its target demographic”

Total Score:

3/5

Unseen. Undivided. Unstoppable

Director
Elizabeth Banks

Starring
Kristen Stewart
Naomi Scott
Ella Balinska
Patrick Stewart

Established as a sequel to both the TV series and the early 2000s films, the Townsend group has expanded to a global initiative headed by a number of “Bosleys” with their own international teams of angels. The film opens with a successful mission in Rio de Janeiro headed by contrary angels, the slick and semi-recalcitrant Sabina [K Stewart] and the no-nonsense former MI6 heavy-hitter Jane [Balinska], which is then followed by the retirement of the first Bosley, played by Patrick Stewart. We are then introduced to Elena Houghlin [Scott], the head of a programming team for tech conglomerate Brock enterprises. Elena has finished work on a project named Calisto which can act as a new renewable power source but Elena is concerned that the current design means the device could be weaponised and should therefore continue development. With her manager disagreeing, Elena breaks rank and contacts the Townsend group, only to be ambushed and caught up in a major conspiracy.

The first and overall standout takeaway from this release is that no one is having as much fun in this movie as Kristen Stewart. I will admit that many years ago, I did my fair share of Stewart-bashing off the back of her presence in the Twilight films but like her co-star she has gone on to forge a truly impressive career in independent cinema and expands that diverse range with this incredibly funny and pleasing performance. Scott also proves once again that she is an incredibly reliable and entertaining addition to any story and Balinska decently holds her own alongside her co-stars. The angels also have fairly decent chemistry but this could largely come down to Sabina’s excess of personality bleeding into the other characters. Also as a bit of a side-note, while the remainder of the film is populated with plenty of dumb, obnoxious men, Saint is a refreshingly ridiculous character that stands out as one of the few decent, selfless examples.

Banks is still new to directing but already she has proved she can handle mainstream releases with ease and while Charlie’s Angels is very different from something like Pitch Perfect 2, the action is cleanly directed and edited action and everything flows commendably. Having said that, there are some examples of some questionable Photoshop and CGI work – explosions in particular – but these are minor quibbles. The real frustration is that despite this film seemingly hitting all the right notes, something still feels missing with everything coming off as somewhat low-stakes. The script is filled with international espionage, female empowerment, snappy dialogue, plenty of action solid scenes and the franchised Townsend operation is a decent plot device but the story threading all of these elements together fails to captivate enough to justify this film existing in the first place. Having said that I feel any of this film’s flaws will be unnecessarily magnified because despite the amount of progress we feel cinema has made, it’s still a female led feature film and therefore will undergo amplified scrutiny. Although the biggest drawback is how significantly formulaic the story is, unaided by obvious misdirects, it’s no worse than something like Hobbs and Shaw which will be infinitely more successful in spite of these issues.

Regardless of preconceptions and what people think they want from a release of this nature, the fact that Charlie’s Angels doesn’t cut any new territory or bring anything especially revolutionary means it ultimately feels disappointing and very disposable. Thus I’m torn because despite this not being a functionally very good feature, I found myself enjoying it for the most part and genuinely wouldn’t mind a continuation with this team.

Release Date:
29 November 2019

The Scene To Look Out For:
Part of the trouble with this feature is that, in truth, almost nothing stood out to me. There was no heightened action sequence or emotional exchange that stuck with me enough to single out as a noteworthy positive or negative; which is probably the very best summation of this film’s foible. Having said that, there is a strange moment before the initial presentation of Calisto that calls for Elena to set one of the units on a podium next to a lit candle. Then, for seemingly no reason, she starts a capella rapping the opening lines to It’s Tricky by Run DMC. In terms of context, setting and the fact that she is stood in front of an audience of press and peers, it’s a really tonally-weird moment.

Notable Characters:
**spoilers within**
In addition to directing, Elizabeth Banks also plays the role of Bosley (another one), the group’s senior liaison. Her character is quickly embroiled in a twist which plays out rather predictably but I like the idea of her character. As the plot progresses we learn that Rebekah is the first former angel to be promoted to the rank of Bosley and thus holds a degree importance and prestige, which is a plot point I found myself genuinely enjoying.

Highlighted Quote:
“The world is on fire, Alex, but I’m sure your generation is going to figure it out”

In A Few Words:
“Light action comedy fluff regrettably devoid of any real presence”

Total Score:

2/5