Only God Forgives (2013) Review

Two years after his massive success with Drive, Refn brings us Drive 2: Bangkok Drift! Or at least that seems to be what people are expecting, but the truth is that it is far away from Drive. The only similarities would be Refn´s visual style, Martinez´ music and Gosling´s silence.

After hearing about the booing at Cannes and reading the first couple of reviews (who were mainly negative) I was very worried going into the film. In fact I was almost dreading seeing it based on what I had heard. For an opening night the theatre was surprisingly empty, though you could feel a sense of uncertainty hanging over the audience. As the film began, I was dreading it, however after 10-15 minutes I started getting what Refn was aiming for and the film went from being a jumbled mess to a rather captivating film.

For the sake of liking the film I think it is vital that you find the point where you understand the style so to speak. It is very dreamy, surreal, almost Lynchian at times, but not in a very direct way so that you find yourself not fully getting the right mind-set for the film. The film requires you to view it in a certain way I think, and so if you don´t it will come off as ridiculous, silly and empty. Throughout the film it borders on the line between horrific and silly, but if you are not with the film it easily topples over to silly.

The film´s style is so impressive that it works in its own right as a pure style over substance film. There is neither character nor a driving plot in the film, something that many have pointed out as the main problem. It is true that these two elements are absent, something that would break most films, however to my big surprise the film manages to be fairly interesting. While its character may not be interesting, it makes up for it in how it becomes a Freudian study in violence and sexuality. Through its surreal style it studies many sides of the simple human need for sex and excessive violence, as well as other Freudian ideals such as the Oedipus Complex.

Refn displays a master class in directing by keeping an unsettling surreal tone throughout while carefully placing these psychologically interesting elements beneath his immense style. He directs the actors in a way that make even them feel dreamlike. Compared to drive it one that asks far more from its viewer, perhaps a bit too much. It is not a film that gives you a whole lot to work with, but once you find the right set of mind I think you will come to realize this is far more substantial than it seems, while still keeping the jaw dropping style. You may even come to realize that it may in many ways be superior to Drive. Then again you may not, as others have noted.

4.5/5

The Great Gatsby (2013) Review

The great Dicaprio, in3D, which is of course very necessary and enhances the viewing experience I many ways. So it is finally here, the full-length version of one of the coolest trailers ever made, bringing us more of all the things we liked about the trailer. Except not at all.

Baz Luhrmann is not a man that I am a huge fan of, but one that I do have great deal of respect for. He is not a man who wants to make the big earner or the critics favourite, but he wants to make his film, for better or for worse. As it often is with his films, the result is mixed.

On one hand the film is quite visually enthralling, with some interesting visuals and good cinematography. On the other hand it is an empty, uneven piece of story telling that doesn’t quite know where it is going. To begin with the film has made the decision having narration through Nick Carraway writing about his experiences (I have not read the book so I am unsure to what extent this is in the book). This is a grand example of films narrating directly from the book which they´ve adapted, which in this reviewers opinion, seems very lazy.

The character of Nick Carraway, who is in fact the lead, becomes a very shallow character. This works to a degree as his role is more that of an observer, yet I couldn´t help but feel like he was lacking in character. The enigma Jay Gatsby on the other hand is much more interesting and in many ways the sole driving force of the film. Finding out more about him is what really keeps the viewer engaged throughout the film and so the fact that almost everything was revealed when there was about an hour left seemed like an odd choice. Both these characters were well acted, and so were most the roles, with one very major exception, Carey Mulligan as Daisy. I usually think she is a great actor, but something about her was very off this time around. It seems as if she were directed to add a lot of melodrama in her every line delivery, making her painful to watch.

There is one issue that did bother me more then anything in the film, the fact that I found Jay Gatsby to be somewhat despicable despite the film portraying him as a good man. I think this has a lot to do with the book being written in the 20s and despite Luhrmann´s attempt to modernize it, it doesn´t feel relevant.

All this being said, we do of course have to talk about the style of film and well…eh. Like mentioned above, the trailer was one of the coolest, most stylish trailers I have ever seen, sadly the style shown in the trailer is on and off during the film. At times it is very cool to look at, but then the style fades out and it becomes ordinary, which is disappointing considering it feels like a style over substance film, but one that isn´t always stylish.

While the film is miles away from bad, it is very underwhelming after the great trailer. It has many fun moments and sequences, but overall it becomes too bland to be more then just ok.

3/5

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Review

Furious 6 (which is the actual title according to the director) is just one of those films. It is one that will leave you thinking and bring up important questions about life, such as “what laws of physics weren´t broken?” or “why is Paul Walker still in these films” or simply just “why was this so damn fun?”.

 

Director Justin Lin has finally mastered the big dumb action genre, creating one of the most entertaining films of the year. One could argue that most likely it is required that it is viewed with a full audience, all shoving popcorn in their face. Rarely do I feel the good vibrations going through the audience during a film and it really showcased that this is a film that is meant to be watched with good friends and popcorn.

Now let us get this out of the way, yes the film is quite dumb, in fact it makes no sense whatsoever. Physics is but a mere myth in the film and every single person in the film seems to have superpowers. The plot, while surprisingly engaging at times, takes many shortcuts to get the action moving, but again it gets the action moving. People usually say to leave your brain at the door with these films, but as I need my brain to get to my chair I always bring it anyways, however the wonder of this film is that it turns it off for you. Never once did I question the film logic whether it was characters making decisions that make no sense, people flying several meters and landing without a scratch or airport runways the run for about the length of a marathon. The clue here is that it is fun.

It is hard to pinpoint what it is that makes it fun, but for one it is good direction. Justin Lin allows us to get in the action, using as many real stunts as possible, as well as not relying on cheap tricks such as shaky cam during action scenes. That being said you got to give them some credit for being creative, surprisingly enough. Almost every major action set piece in film has a certain twist to it that is quite unlike any action scene in recent memory. They find creative ways to break boundaries of logic, something that we blindly accept because of the fun spectacle on screen. There were several moments during the film where audience members would cheer or even clap in joy.

While dialogue and acting is not the main focus of these films, it has to be mentioned. The dialogue is cheesy, but in a way the overall execution of the film is so good that it feels at home. So do most of the somewhat cheesy performances, however Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in particular have such great charisma that they both pull it off very well. Sadly we also got Paul Walker, who has always been the weakest part of the franchise. Not only is his acting incredibly wooden and boring to watch, he is barely even likable. He is supposed to be one of the main good guys, but while there is nothing making me not like him, I simply do not care about him one bit and so the scenes that focus on him (one in particular that should have been cut out) are the worst moments of the film. Luckily the main character is mainly Vin Diesel´s likable crook, Dom.

This may not win the hearts of film elitists, or may not even work without a good audience, but if you watch this film with a group of friends and with the right mind-set, you will have an absolute blast. The action scenes are so ludicrous, yet the tone and execution of the film make an experience that is just too damn much fun, now please just give Paul Walker some acting lessons.

4/5

Star Trek Into Darknes (2013) Review

This has to be the best Star Wars film sinc- what´s that? This is Star Trek? That odd TV show with those strange alien creatures that is on TV sometimes? Oh…

The first film in the new Star Trek universe took many by surprise back in 2009 and four years later we finally get a sequel before Abrams moves on to make Star Wars: Episode VII. Despite not being a trekkie at all, I have to admit I had very high expectations for this film. The trailer looked like the film was exactly what I was hoping for in this sequel.

My introduction here was not just for sake of failed humour, but also to emphasize how much the film reminded me of the original Star Wars films. That being said I have to admit I am not a huge fan of Star wars in general, that does of course not mean that I don´t enjoy them. Luckily this film captured everything that I enjoy about Star Wars, while emitting most of what I don’t like.

The film starts off by reintroducing us to the characters in a thrillingly adventurous opening sequence. The sequence perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the film, one that is emotional, funny and adventurous.

From it´s opening shot the film is gorgeous. It doesn´t take long to see that this is an Abrams film; his style is splattered all over the film. The lens flare is of course the most obvious one, but while there is a lot of it, I didn´t find it nearly as distracting as I usually do. However, what there is also lots of here that I love with Abrams is those beautiful shots where he has one smaller object like a person and a much larger object, where he films the large object as if it were the smaller object, greatly emphasizing the scale.

The CGI is some of the best I have seen in a while, putting Iron Man 3 to shame and making Oblivion´s visuals not all that impressive after all. I said in my Iron Man 3 review that there was a sequence in the film that few films would be able to match this year, but well I guess I was wrong. There is at least one sequence here that is on par with the one I mentioned there, which is a testament to how great the CGI is, as the one in Iron Man 3 was done with quite a lot of practical effects. The ones that come to mind from this film were most definitely CGI, yet it was so well executed that it just felt amazing.

If there is one thing that could have been better it is the script. The story was arguably weak, yet it was enough to drive the film forward without doing anything extraordinary in its own right. I also thought it had some weird plot development in the first act, rushing through, a lot, while the second and third act felt like a TV episode. Saying it felt like a TV episode is actually a compliment, considering the film is over two hours long yet it went by at the blink of an eye.

The acting is for the most part very good, though some of the supporting cast in the minor roles could have been better. The three standouts are Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto and of Benedict Cumerbatch who is amazing in his first big Hollywood role. I would not be surprised if, when looking back at 2013, his portrayal of John Harrison will be remembered as the best villain of the year.

The film does have some flaws here and there and it may not go boldly where none has gone before, but it is one of the most fun theatre experiences I have had in quite some time. It doesn´t have the strongest plot, but it is one of the most fun cinema experiences in recent memory, beating out any of the Marvel films, as well as many other recent summer blockbusters. It is safe to say that summer has finally arrived!

4.5/5