“From Within”
We landed safely.
According to the sensors, there was no major damage to the ship despite what it had just been through. Facing such a large force is never a simple affair. But this foe is week.
To retrieve the package we now had to face the enemy along with the internal defences of the colony.
-“Move out!” Shouted our captain as me and my crew mates sealed our combat helmets. Steam filled the cabin as the heavy doors of the APT opened. With a loud war cry we dove into enemy territory, guns blazing.
The idea behind their weapons was that they were supposed to shoot this gelatinous acidic matter with the purpose of melting us down for easier digestion. Unfortunately for them however, this matter’s chemical composition was completely useless against the alloys that make up our armour. Our skin was very sensitive to it but with our combat suits on, they could’ve been throwing half pounds of melted butter at us.
Their strength was in their numbers complemented by the power of their physical attacks. Those claws could rip through our armour, ironically like a red hot knife through butter, and they could secrete that gelatinous acid directly into our suit, melting us from within. Our goal was therefore to keep our distance and shoot them before they get to us.
-“Ok boys, listen up! Our mission is to retrieve a package of utmost importance. It is hidden somewhere in this colony and all we have to locate it is a beacon lodged inside. We can use our HUD to find it. We move as one team, firing at whatever moves in front of us and those in the back covering our collective ass. Simple enough?”
-“YES, SIR!”
And with that, we entered the beast.
The first thing I noticed was that it seemed like the entire structure was built with tunnels. After about thirty minutes of sneaking through tight corridors and hallways, we didn’t encounter any large room or cave. Only tunnels, filled with thousands of enemies.
They always attack in swarms of hundreds or sometimes even thousands. Our ammo can cut them down easily as their carapace is made up of that gelatinous crap, only hardened. Our bullets are heated arrowhead-shaped projectiles made up of the same alloys used in our suits. In these cramped quarters, the tunnels serve as bottlenecks and their large numbers is actually a weakness. We easily slaughtered thousands of them without suffering a single hit before reaching the first large chamber, apparently where the package was located.
A little girl.
She was about 4 years old, maybe five. Her fragile little body was lying peacefully on a metal table and some sort of steel tube was penetrating her belly.
From what we knew of the species, they reproduce by building a being from uncorrupted genetic material mixed with their own, then massively reproducing until all the individual of the previous generation are replaced. They seem to always use a young offspring of any species.
We could not allow that to happen to this child.
Our medic approached the table and examined the girl.
-“She is alive. I can feel her pulse but her body is too warm. Let’s get her out of here and put her in quarantine right away.”
His voice echoed loudly in the otherwise empty room. It was enormous, circular with the walls covered in hundreds of pods containing what appeared to be previous “victims” of other species. Our science officer would’ve kept us in here for days. Thankfully he stayed with the ship.
As our medic removed the tube from her belly the child awoke. She stayed silent and seemed very weak, pale. I wrapped her in a blanket and picked her up. She was my responsibility now as we made our way back to the ship.
The way was completely clear. We encountered no enemies.
We climbed on board the APT and everyone removed their helmets as soon as the door sealed shut.
The little girl in my arms was still very calm but she was now smiling.
As I put her down next to me I notice some dark smoke coming out of her mouth, eyes, ears and nose. She is still smiling but I need to hold her or she will fall off her seat, like a doll.
The medic sitting in front of me begins to scratch the back of his neck and he coughs. He looks at his hand and his fingernails are all bloody.
Suddenly, as the cabin fills with smoke, his flesh begins to slowly disappear, revealing muscles and bones with blood dripping on the cabin floor. As I begin to scratch the back of my neck, my crewmates begin to scream in agony, afflicted with the same condition.
I suddenly realize what is happening, as billions of enemies begin to eat my flesh.
The little girl falls to the floor, dead.
Slowly and painfully, I feel myself dropping next to her.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Star Trek - A Review
I absolutely LOVED Star Trek.
There. Review completed.
This is a film that I believe is very hard not to love. It is how a reboot should be made and I think that on some level, it is also how a sequel should be made.
Endearing characters masterfully played, excellent and compelling story that both link to the original material AND begins anew, jaw-dropping, gorgeous special effects, mindboggling sounds and music, it is even Oscar-contending material to some degree. A movie hasn’t come this close to perfection in years, if not decades.
Star Trek is an origin story from start to finish. It shows us how the original crew of the star ship Enterprise came together through an event that also changed the course of the timeline that all trekkers and trekkies have grown to know and love.
Like the tagline says, “forget all that you know”… to a certain point. This is still Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty we’re talking about.
I had some reservations about the casting when I first started reading about Abrams’ version of Star Trek. I didn’t know most of these actors, except for John Cho and Karl Urban. My fears, as they were, have been put to rest. I can’t see another film in this series without these actors and if they ever start another television series, I don’t think it could be successful without these same people.
Chris Pine as Kirk was perfect. He is cocky, impulsive, and charismatic. Pine plays Kirk very well. He gets a beating in Star Trek though. Talk about trial by fire. Wow. I used to be a Picard worshipper myself but after this my faith is shaken. Young Kirk makes an awesome Captain (thanks to some great writing of course).
Zach Quinto had some rather large shoes to fill. Leonard Nimoy IS Spock. But Quinto does an admirable job in the role, his physical resemblance to the character being a great help. I honestly had a problem in seeing someone other than Sylar on screen. Emotionless, with a few bouts of extreme aggressive behaviour…
Karl Urban seemed possessed by the ghost of Deforest Kelley. He was channelling the actors’ portrayal to near perfection, from the awesome control of the particular speech pattern of Bones (no small feat; Urban has a thick New-Zealand accent in real life) to the little eye twitch the character always had. He makes Robert Downey Jr’s performance in Tropic Thunder look like a bad theatre rehearsal. Every scene Urban is in, he steals it. I had chills.
Zoë Seldana plays Uhura competently but since the character was never predominant in most episodes of the original show, here the material the actress is given mostly serves to flesh out the character. She is still the Uhura we know and love. She is tough, self-assured and extremely competent. In Star Trek she serves as the love interest of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-To-Avoid-A-Major-Spoiler and for support to Kirk when he needs it the most (so yeah, it’s not Kirk).
John Cho is pretty good as Sulu although maybe a bit underused. I have a feeling some of his scenes are going to be on the DVD as deleted ones. I wanted to see more of him, especially since he is in one of the more entertaining scenes in Star trek…
Anton Yelchin plays Chekov and the v/w + rolling R factor to hilarious effect. He plays the character with innocence and with a natural self-confidence. This works very well. He is a very effective comic-relief in the film.
Simon Pegg as Scotty? An Englishman as a Scott? What? He is Simon Pegg with a Scottish accent. If you like the actor you will probably love the character. A pretty good but surprising casting choice.
Rounding out the cast is Eric Bana as the main and forgettable villain Nero. His antics only serve as a pretext for the crew of the Enterprise to get together and work as a team. He’s violent and crazy but Bana is no Ricardo Montalban… We also have Wynona Rider, Rachel Nichols (totally hot, can’t wait to see her in GI Joe), Ben Cross as Sarek (Spock’s father) and… Well… Go see the movie…
Orci and Kurtzman have expertly managed to write a complex story that is understandable to the neophyte while keeping the same Star Trek feel and adding much more action and tense moment. I have a feeling this is what Nemesis tried to do but only achieved epic failure.
Star Trek is a reboot/prequel hybrid; much like Brian Singer’s Superman was a reboot/sequel (the latter failed miserably where the former will undoubtedly succeed). The way the plot is constructed, they managed to expand on the Star Trek universe while at the same time hitting a reset button but without completely wiping out what we have known and loved about this world for over forty years. In other words, if the film succeeds, the producers can take the franchise in another direction if they so wish. If it fails, it becomes a great addition to Gene Roddenberry’s legacy and the franchise can now rest in peace, knowing it didn’t end with Nemesis…
To the acting and the story add some of the best special effects ever seen in a Hollywood movie, sounds that will blow your mind from the hum of the Enterprise’s engines to the familiar but updated phaser fire noise and the great music, and we are presented with one if not the best work of American cinematography of the year so far.
It is well worth the high price of admission, including snacks. Go see it.
...
...
NOW!
9.5/10
There. Review completed.
This is a film that I believe is very hard not to love. It is how a reboot should be made and I think that on some level, it is also how a sequel should be made.
Endearing characters masterfully played, excellent and compelling story that both link to the original material AND begins anew, jaw-dropping, gorgeous special effects, mindboggling sounds and music, it is even Oscar-contending material to some degree. A movie hasn’t come this close to perfection in years, if not decades.
Star Trek is an origin story from start to finish. It shows us how the original crew of the star ship Enterprise came together through an event that also changed the course of the timeline that all trekkers and trekkies have grown to know and love.
Like the tagline says, “forget all that you know”… to a certain point. This is still Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty we’re talking about.
I had some reservations about the casting when I first started reading about Abrams’ version of Star Trek. I didn’t know most of these actors, except for John Cho and Karl Urban. My fears, as they were, have been put to rest. I can’t see another film in this series without these actors and if they ever start another television series, I don’t think it could be successful without these same people.
Chris Pine as Kirk was perfect. He is cocky, impulsive, and charismatic. Pine plays Kirk very well. He gets a beating in Star Trek though. Talk about trial by fire. Wow. I used to be a Picard worshipper myself but after this my faith is shaken. Young Kirk makes an awesome Captain (thanks to some great writing of course).
Zach Quinto had some rather large shoes to fill. Leonard Nimoy IS Spock. But Quinto does an admirable job in the role, his physical resemblance to the character being a great help. I honestly had a problem in seeing someone other than Sylar on screen. Emotionless, with a few bouts of extreme aggressive behaviour…
Karl Urban seemed possessed by the ghost of Deforest Kelley. He was channelling the actors’ portrayal to near perfection, from the awesome control of the particular speech pattern of Bones (no small feat; Urban has a thick New-Zealand accent in real life) to the little eye twitch the character always had. He makes Robert Downey Jr’s performance in Tropic Thunder look like a bad theatre rehearsal. Every scene Urban is in, he steals it. I had chills.
Zoë Seldana plays Uhura competently but since the character was never predominant in most episodes of the original show, here the material the actress is given mostly serves to flesh out the character. She is still the Uhura we know and love. She is tough, self-assured and extremely competent. In Star Trek she serves as the love interest of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-To-Avoid-A-Major-Spoiler and for support to Kirk when he needs it the most (so yeah, it’s not Kirk).
John Cho is pretty good as Sulu although maybe a bit underused. I have a feeling some of his scenes are going to be on the DVD as deleted ones. I wanted to see more of him, especially since he is in one of the more entertaining scenes in Star trek…
Anton Yelchin plays Chekov and the v/w + rolling R factor to hilarious effect. He plays the character with innocence and with a natural self-confidence. This works very well. He is a very effective comic-relief in the film.
Simon Pegg as Scotty? An Englishman as a Scott? What? He is Simon Pegg with a Scottish accent. If you like the actor you will probably love the character. A pretty good but surprising casting choice.
Rounding out the cast is Eric Bana as the main and forgettable villain Nero. His antics only serve as a pretext for the crew of the Enterprise to get together and work as a team. He’s violent and crazy but Bana is no Ricardo Montalban… We also have Wynona Rider, Rachel Nichols (totally hot, can’t wait to see her in GI Joe), Ben Cross as Sarek (Spock’s father) and… Well… Go see the movie…
Orci and Kurtzman have expertly managed to write a complex story that is understandable to the neophyte while keeping the same Star Trek feel and adding much more action and tense moment. I have a feeling this is what Nemesis tried to do but only achieved epic failure.
Star Trek is a reboot/prequel hybrid; much like Brian Singer’s Superman was a reboot/sequel (the latter failed miserably where the former will undoubtedly succeed). The way the plot is constructed, they managed to expand on the Star Trek universe while at the same time hitting a reset button but without completely wiping out what we have known and loved about this world for over forty years. In other words, if the film succeeds, the producers can take the franchise in another direction if they so wish. If it fails, it becomes a great addition to Gene Roddenberry’s legacy and the franchise can now rest in peace, knowing it didn’t end with Nemesis…
To the acting and the story add some of the best special effects ever seen in a Hollywood movie, sounds that will blow your mind from the hum of the Enterprise’s engines to the familiar but updated phaser fire noise and the great music, and we are presented with one if not the best work of American cinematography of the year so far.
It is well worth the high price of admission, including snacks. Go see it.
...
...
NOW!
9.5/10
Monday, May 4, 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - A Review
As far as Hollywood entertainment goes, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a pretty good film.
It sticks to the recipe very closely and has everything for everyone. Action, comedy, romance, drama, special effects, some coarse language, very pretty ladies and a shirtless Hugh Jackman throughout and no Big Blue Dong!
How can anyone ask for more?
I read some reviews before going in so I was expecting disappointment. However those reviewers did not represent the film very well, mostly focusing on one or two failures of the work and then destroying it based on those. No one lied here but they did exaggerate a bit.
Wolverine is a good summer film, nothing more.
I wouldn’t even say it’s that great for fans of the character because from what I remember of the comics and cartoons, many liberties were taken in order to make this origin story fit with the beginning of Brian Singer’s version of X-Men. The feel is there but many details were omitted or modified.
For example, in this version Logan has claws from birth, made of bone. He first uses them when he experiences a traumatic event in his young life. In the comics and cartoons, if I‘m not mistaken, the claws are a side-effect of the adamantium application and so is his loss of memory, which is of a different origin in the film and, for me, this aspect of Wolvy’s personality was very poorly implemented.
It felt rushed and tacked on, like the writers didn’t know how to do it and they included this element at the last minute.
The story has many twists and turns and although I usually welcome those in any film, here again it is done in a somewhat amateurish way. They are mostly predictable and most don’t really add to the story, with a few exceptions.
Many characters show up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Blob, Wraith, Gambit, Silverfox, Emma Frost, Agent Zero, Stryker, Volt, Sabretooth, Deadpool and even one I won’t mention as it is a big spoiler :)
Sabretooth is nothing like the one we know from the first X-Men film and aside from him not dying at the end of Wolverine, there is no attempt at turning him form a very smart and clever assassin to the big dumb bodyguard who doesn’t remember Logan is his brother in X1.
Gambit is SEVERELY underused here. He attacks our anti-hero for no reason whatsoever, unless this is to cram more special effects into the movie.
He flies a plane for Logan and squints a lot. That’s it.
I found that for a movie with so many characters that so many people want to see more of (let’s face it, with their comic histories all these people could get their own movie in the future) X-Men Origins didn’t suffer from the same syndrome as X3 and Batman and Robin. Everyone gets just enough background for us to care, without taking the light away from Wolverine, with perhaps the exception of Deadpool.
I admit, I know next to nothing about Deadpool. He’s a product of the Weapon X program (explored in great detail in Wolverine) that helped him get rid of his cancer with a regenerative healing power at the expense of his face (he was disfigured in the process) and his sanity (he’s crazy). That’s all I know of him.
From this limited knowledge, I can say that the liberties taken with Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine are immense. I can’t go into it because it involves more spoilers but let’s just say that by the end of the film, I really wanted a Deadpool movie.
He’s VERY cool!
There is a lot of good entertainment in Wolverine. The acting is surprisingly good for this type of film, with Hugh Jackman taking the cake. Liev Shreiber is perfect as Sabretooth. I didn’t think he would be though because, as many others have said, we are used to seeing him in more “cerebral” roles. He definitely nails the part to our great enjoyment. He is all creepy, nasty and scary, not to mention a real threat for the main hero of this tale.
I think hardcore fans of X-Men will be disappointed in this movie but for the rest of us, it is a very good summer film, entertainment that should sell a lot of popcorn.
Until Star Trek beams in… next week!
7/10
It sticks to the recipe very closely and has everything for everyone. Action, comedy, romance, drama, special effects, some coarse language, very pretty ladies and a shirtless Hugh Jackman throughout and no Big Blue Dong!
How can anyone ask for more?
I read some reviews before going in so I was expecting disappointment. However those reviewers did not represent the film very well, mostly focusing on one or two failures of the work and then destroying it based on those. No one lied here but they did exaggerate a bit.
Wolverine is a good summer film, nothing more.
I wouldn’t even say it’s that great for fans of the character because from what I remember of the comics and cartoons, many liberties were taken in order to make this origin story fit with the beginning of Brian Singer’s version of X-Men. The feel is there but many details were omitted or modified.
For example, in this version Logan has claws from birth, made of bone. He first uses them when he experiences a traumatic event in his young life. In the comics and cartoons, if I‘m not mistaken, the claws are a side-effect of the adamantium application and so is his loss of memory, which is of a different origin in the film and, for me, this aspect of Wolvy’s personality was very poorly implemented.
It felt rushed and tacked on, like the writers didn’t know how to do it and they included this element at the last minute.
The story has many twists and turns and although I usually welcome those in any film, here again it is done in a somewhat amateurish way. They are mostly predictable and most don’t really add to the story, with a few exceptions.
Many characters show up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Blob, Wraith, Gambit, Silverfox, Emma Frost, Agent Zero, Stryker, Volt, Sabretooth, Deadpool and even one I won’t mention as it is a big spoiler :)
Sabretooth is nothing like the one we know from the first X-Men film and aside from him not dying at the end of Wolverine, there is no attempt at turning him form a very smart and clever assassin to the big dumb bodyguard who doesn’t remember Logan is his brother in X1.
Gambit is SEVERELY underused here. He attacks our anti-hero for no reason whatsoever, unless this is to cram more special effects into the movie.
He flies a plane for Logan and squints a lot. That’s it.
I found that for a movie with so many characters that so many people want to see more of (let’s face it, with their comic histories all these people could get their own movie in the future) X-Men Origins didn’t suffer from the same syndrome as X3 and Batman and Robin. Everyone gets just enough background for us to care, without taking the light away from Wolverine, with perhaps the exception of Deadpool.
I admit, I know next to nothing about Deadpool. He’s a product of the Weapon X program (explored in great detail in Wolverine) that helped him get rid of his cancer with a regenerative healing power at the expense of his face (he was disfigured in the process) and his sanity (he’s crazy). That’s all I know of him.
From this limited knowledge, I can say that the liberties taken with Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine are immense. I can’t go into it because it involves more spoilers but let’s just say that by the end of the film, I really wanted a Deadpool movie.
He’s VERY cool!
There is a lot of good entertainment in Wolverine. The acting is surprisingly good for this type of film, with Hugh Jackman taking the cake. Liev Shreiber is perfect as Sabretooth. I didn’t think he would be though because, as many others have said, we are used to seeing him in more “cerebral” roles. He definitely nails the part to our great enjoyment. He is all creepy, nasty and scary, not to mention a real threat for the main hero of this tale.
I think hardcore fans of X-Men will be disappointed in this movie but for the rest of us, it is a very good summer film, entertainment that should sell a lot of popcorn.
Until Star Trek beams in… next week!
7/10
Monday, March 16, 2009
Watchmen - A Review
Let me start by admitting that the only thing I know about the Watchmen brand is that it is a graphic novel of some popularity and that seeing genitals on the screen outside of porn still freaks me out a bit.
I didn’t like Watchmen too much.
But I’m having a hard time figuring out why.
The movie is very well filmed and directed. The actors, most of them relatively unknown (I know who Carla Gugino is as well as that midget in the jail, although his name eludes my memory – He was Kramer’s pal on Seinfeld and I probably saw him in Willow) did a great job; the story is complex and interesting and the setting yields great ideas and potential for future instalments.
Perhaps it was the structure of the script? I feel there could’ve been more time allotted to Rorshachs’s (I know, SP?) investigation of The Comedian’s murder and less given to a pointless and predictable love triangle that only serves to fill time. Most of the love story could’ve been reserved for the DVD/Blu Ray in my opinion.
The pacing is also very, very slow. The last ten to twenty minutes of the film are pretty good action sequences but the rest of the film serves as introductions to the characters but aside from Rorschach’s (his had me almost in tears) the intros are simple bla bla bla affairs that seem there only to again fill time. Also, there are no villains.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The viewer doesn’t need intro stories to enjoy their darkness and heavily flawed personalities. These are more than the teen angst of Peter Parker or the “fear of bats because of his father’s death” of Bruce Wayne. The guys and gals of Watchmen are mostly psychopaths who believe that justice can only be served by the violent death of its detractors.
I enjoyed that part. Superman’s goody goody attitude always bugged me. I am a strong believer that in order to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.
Watchmen probably shows us what could happen if ordinary people, today, would become Superheroes. I feel we do need them but because of this story I understand why they don’t and probably will never exist. It’s a hard life that of the hero and our time with it is hard enough as it is. Why spend it in fights with the scum of humanity?
I give Watchmen 7/10.
Oh and to Dr. Manhattan: Materialize yourself some frakking pants please!
6/10
I didn’t like Watchmen too much.
But I’m having a hard time figuring out why.
The movie is very well filmed and directed. The actors, most of them relatively unknown (I know who Carla Gugino is as well as that midget in the jail, although his name eludes my memory – He was Kramer’s pal on Seinfeld and I probably saw him in Willow) did a great job; the story is complex and interesting and the setting yields great ideas and potential for future instalments.
Perhaps it was the structure of the script? I feel there could’ve been more time allotted to Rorshachs’s (I know, SP?) investigation of The Comedian’s murder and less given to a pointless and predictable love triangle that only serves to fill time. Most of the love story could’ve been reserved for the DVD/Blu Ray in my opinion.
The pacing is also very, very slow. The last ten to twenty minutes of the film are pretty good action sequences but the rest of the film serves as introductions to the characters but aside from Rorschach’s (his had me almost in tears) the intros are simple bla bla bla affairs that seem there only to again fill time. Also, there are no villains.
The characters themselves are very interesting. The viewer doesn’t need intro stories to enjoy their darkness and heavily flawed personalities. These are more than the teen angst of Peter Parker or the “fear of bats because of his father’s death” of Bruce Wayne. The guys and gals of Watchmen are mostly psychopaths who believe that justice can only be served by the violent death of its detractors.
I enjoyed that part. Superman’s goody goody attitude always bugged me. I am a strong believer that in order to make an omelet, you gotta break some eggs.
Watchmen probably shows us what could happen if ordinary people, today, would become Superheroes. I feel we do need them but because of this story I understand why they don’t and probably will never exist. It’s a hard life that of the hero and our time with it is hard enough as it is. Why spend it in fights with the scum of humanity?
I give Watchmen 7/10.
Oh and to Dr. Manhattan: Materialize yourself some frakking pants please!
6/10
Monday, March 9, 2009
Death Race – A Review
I don’t remember watching the original, Death Race 2000 and when I saw this remake in the theater I was pleasantly entertained by the gritty, violent images that flowed on the screen.
A cross between The Fugitive, Speed Racer and every prison movie ever made, Death Race is a real Guy Flick, with Jason Statham, hot babes, awesome cars and guns, guns, guns. Entertainment… for men.
It is violent, foully dialogged and loud, with a touching basic plot that serves only as motivation for the main character to do the most damage possible.
Jensen Aims, named after the car, has just received his last pay check from the closing steel mill he was working for. With his meager three hundred dollars he heads home to wife and daughter. That day isn’t over yet when he is attacked, his wife murdered and him in shackles, heading for Terminal Island, a prison where inmates are forced to participate in the Death Race, a competition where the winner is released and pardoned.
Jensen is blackmailed into secretly replacing Frank, a legendary hero of the race who gives hope to people and ratings for the warden (played by Joan Allen), who has died in the last race.
It’s all very predictable, not particularly clever but a lot of fun to watch nonetheless.
The death scenes are raw, bloody and numerous, Natalie Martinez is über-hot and Ian McShane serves as mentor to the hero. That can’t be wrong and it’s great entertainment.
Where things do go wrong, aside from the simplistic plot, is when we are presented with an especially nasty vehicle and how it serves to shorten the story and the race itself and the ease of which it is disposed of, the constant showing of Statham’s body, especially in the first half-hour, which borderlines on gay soft-porn (or is that my own sense of insecurity?) and the final ending, which feels tacked on and unnatural.
I can’t say Death Race was a good movie. But I can say it was good entertainment. The acting is ok and enjoyable, especially from McShane and Allen, the races are fast, intense with plenty of action and gore to satisfy genre fans and Natalie Martinez perfectly fills the role of movie babe of the day.
Rent it and watch with your buddies, with beer and chicken wings.
5.5/10
A cross between The Fugitive, Speed Racer and every prison movie ever made, Death Race is a real Guy Flick, with Jason Statham, hot babes, awesome cars and guns, guns, guns. Entertainment… for men.
It is violent, foully dialogged and loud, with a touching basic plot that serves only as motivation for the main character to do the most damage possible.
Jensen Aims, named after the car, has just received his last pay check from the closing steel mill he was working for. With his meager three hundred dollars he heads home to wife and daughter. That day isn’t over yet when he is attacked, his wife murdered and him in shackles, heading for Terminal Island, a prison where inmates are forced to participate in the Death Race, a competition where the winner is released and pardoned.
Jensen is blackmailed into secretly replacing Frank, a legendary hero of the race who gives hope to people and ratings for the warden (played by Joan Allen), who has died in the last race.
It’s all very predictable, not particularly clever but a lot of fun to watch nonetheless.
The death scenes are raw, bloody and numerous, Natalie Martinez is über-hot and Ian McShane serves as mentor to the hero. That can’t be wrong and it’s great entertainment.
Where things do go wrong, aside from the simplistic plot, is when we are presented with an especially nasty vehicle and how it serves to shorten the story and the race itself and the ease of which it is disposed of, the constant showing of Statham’s body, especially in the first half-hour, which borderlines on gay soft-porn (or is that my own sense of insecurity?) and the final ending, which feels tacked on and unnatural.
I can’t say Death Race was a good movie. But I can say it was good entertainment. The acting is ok and enjoyable, especially from McShane and Allen, the races are fast, intense with plenty of action and gore to satisfy genre fans and Natalie Martinez perfectly fills the role of movie babe of the day.
Rent it and watch with your buddies, with beer and chicken wings.
5.5/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
