So, over the past week, I visited the cinema two days in a row. I had a bit of a crazy week as I recieved my long-awaited GCSE results (which I was happy with if you were wondering) and these two visits provided me with what I needed around this time. One I saw the day before my results, making it serve as a last-minute cleanser, and the other I saw on the day I received them, serving as a reward of some kind. But, beyond that, the reason I am combining them is because I don't have much to say about either and what I do have to say about them is similar stuff. Both action, both cheesy, both part of franchises I like, and so on.
Hobbs and Shaw
This film is a 12A, was released on August 2nd 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
This film puts the characters of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham on a mission to stop an evil Idris Elba from getting his hands on a deadly virus. I actually really like the Fast and Furious franchise. As much as it is ridiculous and over the top, I do get some genuine enjoyment whenever I watch one of them. Well, I'm not huge on 1-4, it's only 5-8 that I'm a proper fan of, with 7 being my favourite. However, its biggest issue is that it feels very pretentious whenever they attempt to be dramatic among stuff like cars jumping out of planes or between buildings. However, I hoped this would finally be an entry into this series that didn't take itself seriously at all, so I was excited to see it.
THIS MOVIE IS SO STUPID AND I LOVE IT. What makes Hobbs and Shaw work is that the filmmakers understand that the audience want to see these two characters doing some awesome stuff as a team, and they have a fluid definition of awesome. The stuff that happens in this movie is so proposterous that even the mere thought of it for one second makes you realise how it absolutely cannot happen in the real world. But, who cares. This film reminds me why I enjoy cinema so much. It's not a work of art in the slightest, but it embraces the fact that cinema is about taking us to a different world, one that may not play the rules of our own, and that makes it more enjoyable. Additionally, you can't help but laugh at some of these stunts. The climactic battle involves a chain of four cars clinging onto a helicopter and being suspended above a cliff edge, and that was so gloriously bonkers that I laughed until I cried. What also makes this film work are the characters, Hobbs and Shaw are a great duo and their banter between one another makes for some entertaining moments. The Rock and Statham are two actors I really get a kick out of watching in ridiculous settings such as Rampage or The Meg, so this was a great combination. Idris Elba was great as a cheesy villain, and Vanessa Kirby did a good job as Shaw's sister. It was also a huge relief to see this movie didn't take itself seriously. There is drama in the film but it's hardly prominent. Took you long enough, Fast and Furious.
The film is far too long. I can watch a feature based around these characters with this premise but it feels stretched out. I feel like a solid 90 minutes would've been just fine but the extra 45 minutes is really pushing it. The action also gets a bit dull after some time, whenever it isn't being proposterous and completely stupid in a good way, it feels quite uninteresting. The hand to hand fight scenes were the main culprit as I was more interested in the things going on with the cars. It's also really generic and lazily put together as an excuse for these characters to team up. The biggest problem is that this really isn't much of a film as much as it is a series of set pieces involving the same characters.
Overall, this is probably one of my favourites in the series. Hobbs and Shaw is ridiculous, stupid, absurd, fatiguing, generic, and I loved it. The fact that we finally have a Fast and Furious film that doesn't have any pretentions and understands how great the implausabilities of the action are is simply wonderful. I really enjoyed this film as it offers what I've been so desperate to see from this series ever since I became a fan. It isn't quite as consistent or even as other entries like 5 or 7, but it's one I'd pick to watch again as opposed to the rest.
I'm going to give Hobbs and Shaw a 7/10
Angel Has Fallen
This film is a 15, was released on August 21st 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
Mike Banning is framed for the attempted assassination of the President after he was the only person to survive an attack. I like the 'has fallen' series well enough, it's good for a round of trash filmmaking that is enjoyable. Olympus has Fallen is decent, enough action and cheesy lines to keep it afloat, and London has Fallen is so terrible with ridiculous action and cheesier lines that I actually like it more, even though it is much worse. Going into Angel, of course I didn't have high hopes. I wasn't keen to see a truly great film, I just wanted to have some fun.
This film definitely delivered. What sets this apart from the previous films is that the formula they had has been ditched. It was always an initial attack on a nation, Banning escaping, the president being held hostage and at gunpoint, before Banning saves him and all is good. This time, it's Banning himself that is in danger. This made the film feel instantly more engaging as it's only the lead who is in danger, not an entire nation. The film also delivers in terms of the action. While there isn't an individual set piece that stands out like the last films, there's consistent amounts of action throughout the film and it is entertaining and even tense sometimes. Gerard Butler does a great job as Banning, he is a really likeable hero in all of these films, but when his father, played by Nick Nolte, enters the mix, it gets better because the two have a fun dynamic that is really entertaining. This film also felt more refined than the others and more as if it was trying to be good film, which it somewhat succeeded at because I could see some competency on display.
This movie is quite predictable, you know how it'll go based on the set up. The action can be quite unremarkable at times and thus feel less enjoyable, and it is overly long and a bit tiring at points. But, inevitably, this isn't a genuinely good film. Even though it has more competency than before, I'm still unable to take this series seriously because most of the enjoyment I got was ironic, and I was riffing on the film with my friend the whole time it was on. So, despite the series' best efforts, I still can't respond in the way they were probably intending.
The best of the trilogy. Angel has Fallen offers a different narrative into this series which makes for a competently made, and somewhat entertaining, action movie. It's not good by any means, but I got some decent enjoyment out of it and would rather revisit it than any of what had fallen before this.
I'm going to give Angel has Fallen a 6/10
THIS MOVIE IS SO STUPID AND I LOVE IT. What makes Hobbs and Shaw work is that the filmmakers understand that the audience want to see these two characters doing some awesome stuff as a team, and they have a fluid definition of awesome. The stuff that happens in this movie is so proposterous that even the mere thought of it for one second makes you realise how it absolutely cannot happen in the real world. But, who cares. This film reminds me why I enjoy cinema so much. It's not a work of art in the slightest, but it embraces the fact that cinema is about taking us to a different world, one that may not play the rules of our own, and that makes it more enjoyable. Additionally, you can't help but laugh at some of these stunts. The climactic battle involves a chain of four cars clinging onto a helicopter and being suspended above a cliff edge, and that was so gloriously bonkers that I laughed until I cried. What also makes this film work are the characters, Hobbs and Shaw are a great duo and their banter between one another makes for some entertaining moments. The Rock and Statham are two actors I really get a kick out of watching in ridiculous settings such as Rampage or The Meg, so this was a great combination. Idris Elba was great as a cheesy villain, and Vanessa Kirby did a good job as Shaw's sister. It was also a huge relief to see this movie didn't take itself seriously. There is drama in the film but it's hardly prominent. Took you long enough, Fast and Furious.
The film is far too long. I can watch a feature based around these characters with this premise but it feels stretched out. I feel like a solid 90 minutes would've been just fine but the extra 45 minutes is really pushing it. The action also gets a bit dull after some time, whenever it isn't being proposterous and completely stupid in a good way, it feels quite uninteresting. The hand to hand fight scenes were the main culprit as I was more interested in the things going on with the cars. It's also really generic and lazily put together as an excuse for these characters to team up. The biggest problem is that this really isn't much of a film as much as it is a series of set pieces involving the same characters.
Overall, this is probably one of my favourites in the series. Hobbs and Shaw is ridiculous, stupid, absurd, fatiguing, generic, and I loved it. The fact that we finally have a Fast and Furious film that doesn't have any pretentions and understands how great the implausabilities of the action are is simply wonderful. I really enjoyed this film as it offers what I've been so desperate to see from this series ever since I became a fan. It isn't quite as consistent or even as other entries like 5 or 7, but it's one I'd pick to watch again as opposed to the rest.
I'm going to give Hobbs and Shaw a 7/10
Angel Has Fallen
This film is a 15, was released on August 21st 2019, and this review will contain NO SPOILERS
Mike Banning is framed for the attempted assassination of the President after he was the only person to survive an attack. I like the 'has fallen' series well enough, it's good for a round of trash filmmaking that is enjoyable. Olympus has Fallen is decent, enough action and cheesy lines to keep it afloat, and London has Fallen is so terrible with ridiculous action and cheesier lines that I actually like it more, even though it is much worse. Going into Angel, of course I didn't have high hopes. I wasn't keen to see a truly great film, I just wanted to have some fun.
This film definitely delivered. What sets this apart from the previous films is that the formula they had has been ditched. It was always an initial attack on a nation, Banning escaping, the president being held hostage and at gunpoint, before Banning saves him and all is good. This time, it's Banning himself that is in danger. This made the film feel instantly more engaging as it's only the lead who is in danger, not an entire nation. The film also delivers in terms of the action. While there isn't an individual set piece that stands out like the last films, there's consistent amounts of action throughout the film and it is entertaining and even tense sometimes. Gerard Butler does a great job as Banning, he is a really likeable hero in all of these films, but when his father, played by Nick Nolte, enters the mix, it gets better because the two have a fun dynamic that is really entertaining. This film also felt more refined than the others and more as if it was trying to be good film, which it somewhat succeeded at because I could see some competency on display.
This movie is quite predictable, you know how it'll go based on the set up. The action can be quite unremarkable at times and thus feel less enjoyable, and it is overly long and a bit tiring at points. But, inevitably, this isn't a genuinely good film. Even though it has more competency than before, I'm still unable to take this series seriously because most of the enjoyment I got was ironic, and I was riffing on the film with my friend the whole time it was on. So, despite the series' best efforts, I still can't respond in the way they were probably intending.
The best of the trilogy. Angel has Fallen offers a different narrative into this series which makes for a competently made, and somewhat entertaining, action movie. It's not good by any means, but I got some decent enjoyment out of it and would rather revisit it than any of what had fallen before this.
I'm going to give Angel has Fallen a 6/10
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