Change Your Image
blade399
Reviews
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Still Has Potential, But Lacks A Push
The Amazing Spider Man (the questionable reboot to Sam Raimi's trilogy) is merely the beginning to this messy plot-fest that is The Amazing Spider Man franchise.
The sequel is a good film. However, the messy plot continues with Peters search for answers about his parents. It feels like they're making mountains for the sake of being complicated and to add depth, which feels unnecessary and a bit too forced. Maybe by the end of the franchise it will all add up, but for now it only acts as a pointless pendulum for Peters emotions.
But that's not what I want to focus on, my main focus is the villains. After Spider-Man 3 I've found any film that tries to handle more than 1 villain to fall short, and TASM2 does just that. Electro was rushed and not really explained, with a weak motive to carry him forward. His transformation to villain (a tub of eels) was pretty underwhelming too and the way his power works was inconsistent. One second he doesn't know how it works, the next he's flying. One second he's electrical, the next he's wearing a body suit. These inconsistencies only add to the frustration of not getting a villain who actually does ANYTHING. Electro is there for one second and gone next. There's no jeopardy in this movie until the finale, which brings me to the Green Goblin.
Dane Dehaan was brilliant in the role of Harry (probably nudging James Franco) but is again wasted. This is the problem with trying to develop two major villains in such a short space of time. They're underdeveloped and rushed, leading you to really question their motifs. You don't care for these villains, they simply become a hindrance.
With such brilliant actors and performances I feel the biggest let down in this movie is what every super-hero movie is defined by, the enemy. Having recently come off The Winters Soldier, I can't help but be majorly disappointed with Electro and Goblin (thankfully we'll see more of the latter).
The entirety of the film can be summed up in one sentence 'Peter Parker doesn't know if he wants to be Spider-Man or stay with Gwen, but due to the fact she died he's inspired to carry on saving people'. That's high-concept movie making in a nutshell. It's a shame really, because had they just used one villain and put them consistently against Spider-Man within the movie, it would have been a better film.
Which brings me back full circle. Sam Raimi. The entire plot is drawn straight out of his sequel to Spider-Man (with Peter Parker questioning his obligation to do it or to stay with his girl). Gwen Stacey dying was the catalyst I think this franchise needed to really push on. But Marc Webb needs to learn to not go bigger, just go better. Unfortunately I don't see that happening, with a Sinister SIx movie just round the corner.
All this franchise needs is one entry, with ONE villain more grounded and understandable than that of Lizard. A villain who truly hates Spider-Man for reasons not forced but developed for us to see. A movie where Spider-Man is under constant threat, both as Peter and his alter-ego, by this force of evil. This is something we haven't seen this the Green Goblin and Doc Oc, from the previous Spider-Man films.
It's all there to be explored. The potential is trying to seep through but is trapped behind the compulsive need Hollywood has to stick a dynamite and blow-up the movie for a spectacle. By taking a leaf out of Mr Raimi's book, (or even Mr Nolans 'Dark Knight' trilogy)... Heck, even The Winters Soldier! We may see an 'Amazing Spider-Man' film with consistency, depth and a villain to go up against Spider-Man, that will truly make us fear for his life.
Serbuan maut 2: Berandal (2014)
Better Than The First
My main issue with the first film was its poor plot. Although the fighting and action was brilliant, it was held together with a weak narrative. Then comes the bigger budget..
The Raid 2 surpasses its predecessor in every way. The action is better, the tone is better, the cinematography is better, choreography, directing etc Everything was better and, most importantly, the plot was too.
There was actually something to cheer for and villains to understand. Things weren't as dictated as the first movie and you are more understanding to its violence and gore as a result.
It seems Gareth didn't want to only up the levels from the first film, I also got the sense he wanted to outdo himself as a filmmaker. The way he holds the shots after every climatic moment lets you take in what's just happened fantastically. The uses of mid-shots for most of the fights lets you appreciate what the choreographers have worked so hard to achieve. This film was a piece of art crafted from someone who cares about this genre and understands what he wants to show us. The gore is cut off in extreme moments and left to the imagination in others. There isn't an instance in the film where the gore felt like it was there to be gory, it was more an addition to what was being shown (like how CGI is used to add to the scenes in other films)
The additions of some characters (like Hammer Girl) were brutal but brilliant, and this specific character added a nice break from the other uses of female characters in this movie (being nothing other than prostitutes)
Overall, it's a brilliant film and builds on the strong foundations of the first. Worth a watch.
Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
Kick-Ass... But not so hard this time
There's not much to say really, it just wasn't as good as the first.
(Spoilers will be marked)
The story felt disjointed and lacked that sense of being grounded within it's a world. The opening scenes were done well (spoiler) with Kick-Ass being trained by Hit-Girl. In particular the first fight scene of the movie, where Kick-Ass is acting as bait, had that bit of an edge which the first film carried throughout (spoiler end)
However, the bits that come in between and the high school "chick-flic" story that followed were good for the character but detrimental to the flow of the film. Wadlow seems to have a hard time grasping drama within this very eventful film and although the core sequences are done well (spoiler) Stars and Stripes being brutally murdered (spoiler end) there are many moments that just felt empty, such as (spoiler) Mr. Lizewski's death (spoiler end)
I'm not hating on Wadlow because he preformed strokes of genius in every scene that featured Chris D'Amico and can craft very good action sequences. But there was no edge. Everything felt like it ended too quickly which ultimately left me feeling like there was an hour or so missing from the film.
(SPOILERS)
Kick-Ass breaking up with Katie was a 5 second scene. There was literally nothing but a small comedic exchange. These moments of drama were weak. It felt like it was going on scene-to- scene with the dialogue being exactly the same.
"I don't wanna be Kick-Ass/Hit-Girl" "But Kick-Ass/Hit-Girl is who you really are!"
Bland.
The climax was the ultimate downer. Gone was the long build up from burning warehouse, to Red-Mist shooting Hit-Girl, to the torture scene, to the apartment shoot-out. GONE! Instead are a nice build up of evil events from "The Toxic Mega C***" that leads to a shallow stand off between the Heroes and Villains.
I know there's not much detail, but this review is ironically reminiscent of the film I watched 30 minutes ago. It feels like there's a lot missing and more to be explained.
From someone who hails the first film as my personal favourite, this was a let down and I wish Matthew were back to direct such brilliant actors (Hats off to Jim Carrey and Christopher MP on their outstanding performances)
7/10, thank you