While not quite as good as either, this movie is solid action fun. The plot has has enough twist to keep it interesting and Travolta is very good as the manic ‘operator’ who specializes in wet work. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the wannabe agent who gets more than he bargained for when assigned to help Travolta on a mission. The Paris background is not bad to look at and there is enough action, gun play, and violence to keep most males entertained throughout the movie. I would wish the gun handling was more realistic, but this is an over the top caricature of cloak and dagger work and realism doesn’t sell tickets. There is the obligatory car chases and explosions of course, drug cartels and bad guys of every ethnicity. You’ve seen it before and you’ll probably see it again. If it’s done well with some witty dialog and memorable characters, then I’ll spend the money and enjoy the ride.
Archive for February, 2010
Part costume drama and part horror flick, this movie is entertaining and pays homage to those great horror films of the 1930’s and 40’s. The first shot we see of Benicio del Toro resembles Lon Chaney Jr. to a remarkable degree. The story is vaguely similar to the 1941 original in that there is a gypsy camp (but no Bela Lugosi or Maria Ouspenskaya) and Larry (or Lawrence) Talbot gets bitten by a werewolf. The real homage is to the makeup. The original Wolfman is so distinct to those of us who were terrified by it as kids in late night reruns that anything too different would spoil it for us. Benicio’s wolfman is updated, but in the vein of the original. The transformation scenes parallel the classic, and add some new technology to make it somewhat more realistic. Why Sir Anthony Hopkins is in this I can’t explain. As the father, he takes the plot wildly out to left field and it fails for me in that sense. If you have no knowledge of the original, then this may make no difference to you. The gore and violence of modern movies do not make them scarier. What they did 70 years ago with lighting, sound, and camera angles created more tension than we see today. I liked this Wolfman, but there really is only one and that will always be Lon Chaney Jr.
This is a very good movie. It was even better and more original when it was Tender Mercies (1983) and Robert Duvall gave an Oscar winning performance. Jeff Bridges does a great job and is worth a nomination to be sure. These small character studies are not big money makers. Duval was also listed as a producer and had a cameo to add some more star power to the mix. The big surprise was Colin Farrel as a country music star. A small role and he seemed a bit out of place. Still that shows that this is an acting movie and actors like good roles and working with good actors. We see these riches to rags to riches stories and we like seeing people redeemed and getting their act together and this is a worthy production. The music and soundtrack are wonderful. Homage is paid to legends of country music and the educated will hear a snippet of the great Townes Van Zandt which is more than fitting as his tale didn’t have such a positive ending. Does the Dude deserve an Oscar? Maybe, maybe not, but we can appreciate these performances and this fine film.
Do we ever get tired of big evil companies and government conspiracies? I don’t know, but Edge of Darkness is mostly a retread of any number of political thrillers like The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor, Enemy of the State, and a host of others. In this one Mel Gibson dons a wicked Baaastin accent and does his best to unravel the mystery of his daughters death. You’ve seen it all before. The car chases, the killing of everyone connected, corrupt politicians, shadowy government entities etc, etc, etc. So, does this measure up to say Frank Sinatra in The Manchurian Candidate? No, but it’s not so bad either. Gibson does OK as the grieving and gritty detective. The weaselly villain is easy to despise and the action scenes are well done. The story is rather James Bondish and makes suspending disbelief that more difficult. Mediocrity may rule these days, so Edge of Darkness fits right in.
