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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
This review is for both Parts 1 & 2
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, not to be confused with the live action film The Dark Knight, is a two part animated straight to DVD release by DC Comics and Warner Home Video based on the classic graphic novels by Frank Miller. In this story a fifty-five year old retired Bruce Wayne is called back into action by Gotham City plunging into chaos as a result of a new and deadly gang and their brutal mutant leader. In Part two of the films we see that his return is not met exclusively with positive reaction however, as many are understandably against a self-regulated masked vigilante being such a key aspect in the cities safety, including a newly appointed police commissioner and even the United States president.
These films are excellently animated with a stunning use of angles and lighting being clearly considered of the utmost importance in the drawing of every single frame. The movement of the characters and objects very fluid and at no point appears to be preformed half- heartedly. However, the title character of Batman/Bruce Wayne himself does often seem out of place when standing next to other characters because of how he is drawn as too large and almost gorilla like at times.
The voice acting by every single member of the chosen cast is excellent with each member, even Conan O'Brian, never once feeling out of place. Peter Weller in particular does an amazing job bringing proportional weight to the voice of a largely figured Batman/Bruce Wayne.
The cast of characters is very strong; especially with the second part bringing in some additional iconic characters as a surprise. The first half introduces a new villain and although some argue that it should have been a more recognizable character others would argue that the fresh face brought forth an element of unpredictability and was excitingly different and effective.
The overarching topic of discussion within the movie's narrative is if the extreme cases that make a character like Batman a possibility justify the presence of said character or not. Is there a point where a vigilante can be, or should be, above the law or government? For the most part these films do a tremendous job of showing both sides of this argument, although it does lose something in its clear bias in favour of the hero's perspective throughout.
From a personal perspective I view this film, both of its parts together, as the ultimate superhero movie despite its occasional faults. It isn't held back in what he can do and say because of its intended audience being adults, although I wish they had gone more in depth about the ideological debate and that it had not definitively chosen its side preemptively. I would recommend this film to anybody interested in superheroes that are old enough to withstand some of the more graphic scenes within.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013)
This review is for both Parts 1 & 2
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, not to be confused with the live action film The Dark Knight, is a two part animated straight to DVD release by DC Comics and Warner Home Video based on the classic graphic novels by Frank Miller. In this story a fifty-five year old retired Bruce Wayne is called back into action by Gotham City plunging into chaos as a result of a new and deadly gang and their brutal mutant leader. In Part two of the films we see that his return is not met exclusively with positive reaction however, as many are understandably against a self-regulated masked vigilante being such a key aspect in the cities safety, including a newly appointed police commissioner and even the United States president.
These films are excellently animated with a stunning use of angles and lighting being clearly considered of the utmost importance in the drawing of every single frame. The movement of the characters and objects very fluid and at no point appears to be preformed half- heartedly. However, the title character of Batman/Bruce Wayne himself does often seem out of place when standing next to other characters because of how he is drawn as too large and almost gorilla like at times.
The voice acting by every single member of the chosen cast is excellent with each member, even Conan O'Brian, never once feeling out of place. Peter Weller in particular does an amazing job bringing proportional weight to the voice of a largely figured Batman/Bruce Wayne.
The cast of characters is very strong; especially with the second part bringing in some additional iconic characters as a surprise. The first half introduces a new villain and although some argue that it should have been a more recognizable character others would argue that the fresh face brought forth an element of unpredictability and was excitingly different and effective.
The overarching topic of discussion within the movie's narrative is if the extreme cases that make a character like Batman a possibility justify the presence of said character or not. Is there a point where a vigilante can be, or should be, above the law or government? For the most part these films do a tremendous job of showing both sides of this argument, although it does lose something in its clear bias in favour of the hero's perspective throughout.
From a personal perspective I view this film, both of its parts together, as the ultimate superhero movie despite its occasional faults. It isn't held back in what he can do and say because of its intended audience being adults, although I wish they had gone more in depth about the ideological debate and that it had not definitively chosen its side preemptively. I would recommend this film to anybody interested in superheroes that are old enough to withstand some of the more graphic scenes within.
The Legend of Hercules (2014)
This movie is not good at all
'The legend of Hercules' is a re-imagining of the story of the titular Greek mythological character, Hercules. In this version of the story the stepfather of Hercules is a warlord who for reasons left ambiguous needs to be stopped so much that his wife preys to the goddess Hera for a way to stop his reign of terror. The result of said prayer was of course for Hera's husband to impregnate the warlord's queen. Twenty years later the demigod son falls in love with a princess from another kingdom that was prearranged into a marriage with Hercules' half brother. He is sold into slavery because of this and must fight his way back for her and to save Greece from his step-father.
This film doesn't stick very closely to the source material as it tells its story. In fact it even at times seems to go out of its way to include more and more clichés in some sort of attempt to spice up the drama but ultimately falls flat to deliver an interesting story by doing so. This story takes several moments from other Greek mythological heroes that are not credited to Hercules, and credits them to Hercules! There are times when the script is so all over the place that it feels like you're watching random scenes from different movies.
The acting in this movie is somewhere between sub-par and terrible, with the only acceptation being Roxanne McKee who actually managed to deliver in her role as Hercules' mother and made her the single interesting character in the film. Two particularly bad performances were from Kellan Lutz, who played the lead titular character, and Scott Adkins, who played the tyrannical step-father. Scott Adkin's take on the antagonist he is portraying is to utter every single line of his dialogue with either shouting or growling, which makes his character come across as laughably cartoony as best. The lead actor of this film, Kellan Lutz, is wooden, dull, and fails on every single dimension to bring any kind of presence to the epic character he is playing.
The special effects for this film were on occasion fun and held up exceptionally well compared to some independent Youtube videos. However, at a budget of seventy million dollars the CGI was unacceptably cheap looking and blatantly intended for 3D effects, with the occasional effect taken straight from the five-year-old's play book of sword-under-the-arm technology (which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the armpit on the camera's side). The far too short fight sequences utilized a special effect taken straight from 300 where the camera slightly zooms in and goes to slow motion just before an attack connects. This effect worked in 300 because to choreography was centred around that aspect, whereas here it's haphazardly thrown in and seems very out of place and overused.
The soundtrack to this film is by far its most redeeming quality. The tracks were kept simple but effective with this ambiance of an epic tale unfolding in front of you. The composer to these songs was very clearly inspired by the source material of the film and created one of the best sword and sandal film scores I've ever heard.
Ultimately, my opinion comes down to this: Buy or listen to the soundtrack, skip the film. Kellan Lutz has shown me that he would be far more qualified to play the lead in an underwear commercial than he would be in another major motion picture. I watched this film twice, the first time I admit I was amused by it because of the banter between myself and those I witnessed it with. Because of this I thought the movie was merely mediocre. The second time however I did so alone and was able to truly experience what it had to offer. It sounds great, but it also looks bad, it's acted poorly, It's uninteresting, uninspired, boring, cliché, and hard to sit through.
Non-Stop (2014)
Non-Stop is a fun film, but it isn't perfect
Non-Stop is a film starring Liam Neeson wherein he plays the part of a troubled air marshal who must solve the mystery of who is murdering people on a jet airliner every twenty minutes while being taunted through a string of anonymous text messages. This plot lends itself to many situations where a strong suspension of disbelieve is crucial if the viewer has any intention of having a good time sitting through it.
The ultimate strength of this movie comes from its exceptional use of misdirective writing and the amount of red herring incidents found within the screenplay. There is several times where the plot will convincingly mislead the viewer to suspect the wrong character, including moments where doubt can seep in and make some even question the main protagonist himself. With all that said the actual big reveal and explanation of the antagonist's motives are extremely disappointing and lack any great deal of sense.
The pacing of this film varies from mind numbingly slow and deliberate to heart pounding speed and action. This does lend itself to some dull moments, as well as times were things are happening at such an alarming rate that you might not catch every important detail, all despite its interesting writing.
The soundtrack to this film is mostly subtle, as it should be, but when it isn't the music can be seen as an irritating and overly deliberate attempt to maximize suspenseful moments. A more subliminal soundtrack would have been better to try and achieve this affect throughout all the scenes.
The camera-work for this film is absolutely superb and does an amazing job at capturing the claustrophobic elements of the narrow spaces within an air plane. However, there is some moments during action sequences where some may find the shake-heavy movements of the camera to be jarring or even distracting.
Non-Stop is the kind of film that is Liam Neeson's bread and butter and if you don't find the typical Liam Neeson film stale, than you will definitely adore this movie. However, this film does not differentiate itself enough in this reviewer's opinion to warrant any significant praise not also owed to those other films. It's more of the same. It's a simple movie that is pretending to be complex but does a fun job in doing so.