Hardcore Henry
BOOM!!! Inspired by “first-person” shooter video games, this film is bad ass!
So the movie starts and the audience is seeing
everything from the point of view of an eponymous “Henry”, a tattooed
man who lost his arm, his leg, and much of his features in some unknown
battle with a villain we are guaranteed to meet
early on. He’s given cybernetic replacements by a wife he can’t
remember and things immediately go to hell when the villain makes his
entrance, forcing Henry to flee before certain procedures can be
completed. And away we go!
“Crank” fans will probably see a lot of
similarities between the two films as “Henry” subs for Statham’s Chev
Chelios and is partly sent on the run and sent on a mission of vengeance
when he has to rescue his wife from the Villain (who
has telekinetic powers of some sort) and help his only friend in all of
the mess, Jimmy. The movie is almost all non-stop action and all told
from the point of view of the audience- so there’s quite a bit of
shaky-cam work, but it all makes sense with regard
to the narrative of the film.
Oh, and then there’s the grue factor- this film
gets downright bloody and nasty with what it delivers. Heads exploding,
bodies cut into pieces, knives through hands, and more than small fair
share of other exploitation moments.
Hardcore Henry is a solid 4 out of 5.
Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice
I don’t hate Zack Snyder.
In
point of fact, I really enjoy Snyder’s body of work on the whole and I
think he has a very unique and expressive visual style. I think he
approaches material with an eye for detail and a mind toward exploring a
number of themes; individuality, fighting despite the odds, and
perseverance. He’s a director who took the source material from the
Watchmen and actually had the cajones to insert a rebuttal to the
nihilism of Moore’s original work near the end. He took an opportunity
to explore a passion project that was, essentially, a remake of “One
Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” and dressed it up as a fantasy adventure
with “Sucker Punch”. And so I was incredibly eager to see his rendition
of Superman with “Man of Steel”- and I was overwhelmed with the
disappointment of it. Still, I had some hope- I saw stirrings of the
Superman I wanted to see in Henry Cavill and I just knew that Snyder had
a good superhero film in him- but then I saw the trailer for “BvS: Dawn
of Justice” and all hope seems dashed to the wind. The reviews poured
in- nothing really good in the echo chamber, but I knew I had to see the
film for myself. Some friends liked the film- there had to be something
worthwhile here?
Right?
Green Lantern wasn’t the worst film I had ever seen but it was largely panned… surely this couldn’t be that bad?
And
it’s not- it really isn’t as bad as people are claiming, but there are
things that don’t work and there is definitely a “fan edit” on the way.
Someone is going to cut the useless “dream” material- someone is going
to cut about thirty minutes from this two and a half-hour slog in order
to deliver a more concise narrative that tells a much more direct story.
It’s just unfortunate that this person was not Zack Snyder and it
wasn’t Warner Bros. and it wasn’t anyone who will really count when all
is said and done.
The GOOD:
Ben
Affleck is great as Batman. To be honest, the script seems to be
written with the events of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in mind-
moments from both films are lightly referenced in dialogue and a 20 year
history is blatantly spelled out as Alfred interacts with Bruce in
casual conversation. The Dark Knight Rises, however, seems to not have
been made during the first draft of this script and so there are no
references… which is good, because I don’t think that was a good end to
Nolan’s “trilogy”.
Gal
Gadot literally SHINES on screen in the role of Diana Prince (AKA:
Wonder Woman) and I was really looking forward to her appearance later
on in the events. Disappointing as the finale was, it was awesome to see
Wonder Woman standing where she belongs in the DC iconography.
Henry Cavill works HARD to be Superman- and he has a few great moments.
The
initial reason for Batman’s mistrust of Superman is compelling- the
film opens on a note made very sour for many viewers of Man of Steel;
specifically the dismissive loss of life that occurred during Zod and
Superman’s battle above the Metropolis. Bruce investigates a way to take
on the Man of Steel and Superman seems too aloof to confront on a
social level- much less on the personal level in which Batman witnesses
during that rampaging battle in the skies. This is a compelling story at
its core… but more on that later.
THE BAD:
Lex
Luthor. What?!?!! What was Eisenberg thinking throughout this
performance? Honestly- my wife really enjoyed it and pointed out that he
was a creepy, uncomfortable, and completely psychotic paranoid
megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur- and that makes an awesome
villain. It just doesn’t really make a Lex Luthor-type sociopath driven
to destroy Superman. But never mind that-
Because there’s the freaking plot.
Here’s
the thing- Batman doesn’t trust Superman, Luthor nudges them into a
fight, and the two titans do battle. That’s simple- unfortunately,
Batman isn’t really nudged by Luthor. Luthor somehow figures out the
secret identities of both heroes and that revelation comes very late and
without any degree of explanation. Batman, also, seems to be plagued by
dreams of a “future” that may or may not come to pass- it includes an
image of The Flash with a warning and an extended scene with minions of
Darkseid ruling the barren post-apocalyptic wasteland of Earth. None of
which has any sort of influence from Luthor or his supposed
“machinations”… all leading to a huge battle that ultimately ends
because Superman and Batman both have a mother named “Martha”.
I
shit you not. And yes, that’s a spoiler that I gave without any degree
of warning because I simply give no figs about it. They stop fighting
because their mom has the same name and that stops Batman from striking
the killing blow… and to his credit, Affleck is able to pull off the
hesitancy in a believable manner but the damage is done. “Our moms are
both named Martha!” I imagine two kids on a schoolyard claiming before
they become the best of friends.
Stupid.
And then Luthor makes Doomsday. With Zod’s body.
And
Superman is just plain DEPRESSING… can we get a single real Superman
moment from one of these films? Please? Just one happy moment where he
actually does rescue a cat rather than having Bruce mock such moments in
casual dialogue? Please?!?!! Pretty please?!?!!!
5.5 out of 10.
