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Movies

Dark Angel (1990) a (wickedly) belated review

There are certain films you see way back when they’re released that you want to see again.  There are others you don’t see but regret having missed and long to catch up with them at some point or another to see if they were any good.

So is the case with Dark Angel, or as I knew it, I Come In Peace.  I’m not quite sure why the film has the two names but when I first saw the trailers, it was advertised as the later rather than Dark Angel.  See for yourself:

Regardless of the title, for whatever reason I was unable to catch the film way back then but always was curious to see it.  Though his range as an actor may be limited, I like Dolph Lundgren.  He most certainly has a strong screen presence, though he’s usually at his best playing cold-blooded villains.

Seeing Mr. Lundgren in a starring role and in a sci-fi/action mix had me intrigued.  I liked the way the original Predator mixed army action with sci fi and this film decided to mix the buddy cop action genre so popular at the time with sci-fi.  Would the combo work?

For the most part, it did.

Now bear in mind, Dark Angel (I’ll refer to it by its video release name) is a very low budget affair and, at times, this is quite obvious.  Having said that, I have to give credit to the film’s makers for pushing that budget as far as they did.  There are an awful large number of pretty impressive explosions in the film along with some great stuntwork which makes this low budget feature look far more impressive than it would have.  The soundtrack, by the way, was created by Jan Hammer of the TV series Miami Vice fame and I couldn’t help but think because of this and the film’s visual style that it played out like a particularly wild Miami Vice episode!

Anyway, the plot goes like this: Detective Jack Caine (Lundgren) loses his partner while the man was in the process of infiltrating a drug deal.  After his partner is killed, a mysterious white haired giant of a man appears and kills off most of the bad guys with the use of a strange razor sharp disc that slashes the drug dealers’ throats.  Afterwards, this blonde haired stranger takes all the heroin and disappears.  As Caine checks the wreckage of this botched drug deal, the Feds move in to claim jurisdiction of the case.

Caine is then forced to partner up with Special Agent Smith (Brian Benben), a too-young and too-cocky Fed whose allegiances are suspect.  While his cocky attitude is a turn off, we, like Caine, are left to wonder if this new partner has a hidden agenda in this case.

As the movie goes along, it becomes clear the menace they face is extraterrestrial in origin.

What does the white haired alien want?  And who is the black haired, equally giant other alien pursuing him?  Can our bickering heroes triumph against something much stronger, faster, and far more heavily armed than they are?

I enjoyed watching Dark Angel but, once again, I can’t help but think that modern audiences might find the film’s pace a little too slow for their tastes.  Still, I enjoyed the meaty script and found that this forgotten little film held up pretty well considering its age and budget.  As it played out, I couldn’t help but feel this is one of those films that might benefit from a modern remake.

Hell, they could get Dolph Lundgren to play the bad guy alien this time around!

So if your taste is like mine and you are curious to see a buddy cop action film married to an alien threat type film, you’ve got it!

An aside: I’ve come to the conclusion that the folks at Shout! Factory either read my mind or are my dopplegangers when it comes to many of the films they’ve recently released.  Dark Angel, among several other films like Without Warning, Firepower, Supernova, The Fog, Prince of Darkness, Phantasm II, Lifeforce (I’ll get to these last two soon enough) and the upcoming Escape From New York are all features I’ve recently purchased from them.

You guys keep this up and I’ll be broke in no time!

Movies

Firepower (1979) a (incredibly) belated review

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Firepower is one of those films I saw once way, waaaaay back when it was released, perhaps in 1979 or 80 and never again.  Yet certain parts of it stuck with me and, when I learned it was going to be released to BluRay, I pre-ordered it.  On Tuesday it arrived and yesterday, for the first time in some (gulp) 35 years, I once again saw it.

How did I feel about revisiting it?  Read on, read on…

Let me start by saying I can’t really explain why the film stuck with me during all this time.  I couldn’t recall the movie’s plot but certain things remained: James Coburn’s cool machismo.  Sophia Loren’s absolute, undeniable beauty.  And yes, O. J. Simpson’s fate.

These three are the principles in the film, which to its credit begins with a couple of really BIG bangs (pardon the pun).  Which is good because after that explosive (jeeze) start, things settle down a little and the plot unfolds for a bit before we’re hit with the next wave of action.

The plot?  It goes like this: Sophia Loren is Adele Tasca and, in the movie’s opening minutes, she becomes a widow.  Afterwards Adele is eager to get revenge on the man she feels is behind the killing: Reclusive and, except for one very old photograph, unseen billionaire Karl Stenger (he’s basically a Howard Hughes type).  The U.S. Government, like Adele, are eager to get their hands on Stenger but, unfortunately, he is hiding out somewhere in the Caribbean and beyond U.S. extradition.

Adele suggests to the Feds they hire mercenary -and former flame- Jerry Fanon (James Coburn) to take up the job of bringing Stenger back to face justice.  They eventually do just that and Fanon, accompanied by right hand man Catlett (O. J. Simpson), and Adele all find themselves on Antigua and in pursuit of their prey.

I don’t want to get into too many spoilers beyond this point, but suffice it to say the film winds up being filled with double crosses, violence, and action.

As I said, I didn’t remember much of the film, but as it played out, I couldn’t help but think that the film plays out like a more violence filled episode of the original Mission: Impossible.  In fact, it plays out that way so much that it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the original script was intended for that TV show and was expanded for this feature.

The cast alone makes the case for me: Coburn is essentially Jim Phelps, Sophia Loren is the female star (Cinnamon or Lisa or Dana), and O.J. Simpson is a combination of Barney and Willy, simultaneously brains and muscle.  There is no use of disguise, but there is a…well, as I said before, I won’t get into spoilers!

The film moves reasonably well though, as with other older films, modern audiences may find the pace a little too slow.  In re-watching the film, I also came to the conclusion that Sophia Loren, rightfully considered a screen legend, was nonetheless miscast in the principle role.  Her character needed to be more of a femme fatale, but Ms. Loren was a little too aloof for this role.  I got the feeling she was simply reading her lines and moving along.  This particularly hurt toward the end of the film, which features considerable revelation and double crossing.

In conclusion, revisiting Firepower proved an interesting experience.  I don’t believe it is a particularly “great” film, but it is an entertaining bit of action that features a meaty and, to be fair, at times preposterous, plot.  Nonetheless, it is entertaining enough to spend some time with.

TRIVIA: When the film was in the works, the producers originally wanted Clint Eastwood for the Fanon role but he ultimately declined.  Charles Bronson was also considered for the role (he and director Michael Winner had worked together on many features) but supposedly dropped out because he wanted his then wife Jill Ireland in the movie but she couldn’t be accommodated into it.

Movies

Housebound (2014) a (mildly) belated review

Ever since (perhaps before!) Abbott & Costello bumped into Frankenstein, there has been this cinematic sub-genre which mixes horror with humor in equal doses.

Perhaps one of the most famous relatively recent successes is Evil Dead II (1987), which featured literally buckets of blood poured onto its lead character -the immortal Bruce Campbell- who, as the film moved on, became a real live cartoon character.

The New Zealand movie export Housebound exists in the same general sandbox, though the movie doesn’t feature anywhere near the amount of gore/blood or cartoonish characterization that made Evil Dead II so delightful.

But that doesn’t mean the film didn’t succeed on its own!

The lovely Morgana O’Reilly (her eyes are sooo damn expressive!) is Kylie Bucknell, a young hooligan who, at the start of the movie, attempts to steal the money in an ATM machine.  Assisted by her (it turns out very quickly) completely useless boyfriend, she manages to get the loot but is unable to make her getaway.  In short order she is arrested and sent before a judge for sentencing.

Because of previous arrests, all involving petty criminal activities, Kylie is sentenced to house arrest.  She’s to wear an electronic monitor around her ankle and spend the next eight months at her home, a place we find she has little desire in returning to.

As it turns out, her relationship with her somewhat (!) daffy mother is very strained while her relationship with her stepfather (her father divorced and doesn’t communicate with either Kylie or her mother) is virtually nonexistent.  Worse, there’s this creepy neighbor living next door and at night she hears weird sounds…

Oh, and her mother believes the house is haunted.

What works so well for Housebound is the way the characters first appear as one note constructions yet over the course of the film become multidimensional people.  Kylie’s daft mother, for instance, turns into an interesting person who, while still daft, clearly means well.  Her stepfather’s silence is revealed to come from a pain he carries with him.  The officer in charge of monitoring Kylie’s home arrest, delightfully, is revealed to be much more than he first appears.  And even the creepy neighbor next door turns out to be not quite what you think.

But what makes the movie work is the fact that on top of the interesting characterization there’s a solid story being presented.  Is Kylie’s house haunted?  If so -or not- what secrets does it hide?  And what happened a number of years before in the house which may be the reason for all the eerie stuff happening now?

I’m being deliberately vague because I don’t want to get too deeply into spoiler territory.  Suffice it to say that I recommend the film…with some minor reservations.

Housebound does take a little time to get going and Kylie’s character, at least at the beginning, is very hard to root for.  However, by the time we get to the idea there may be ghosts in the house, the film starts to take flight and keeps you interested and surprised by its various reveals.

While it may not be the very best horror/comedy I’ve ever seen, there is plenty to like about Housebound.  If you have the patience to give it a few minutes to get started, you’re in for some great fun.

Movies

Lucy (2014) a (mildly) belated review

I’ve been intrigued by the last few features starring actress Scarlett Johansson.  She’s been on a roll, starring as the Black Widow in The Avengers, then playing a genuine black widow in intriguing (but to my mind ultimately flawed) Under The Skin.  Despite the success of the Marvel related films, as of yet there has been no indication that a Black Widow movie was in the works.  Perhaps it was because of this that Ms. Johansson decided to “take the bull by the horns” and star in her own action/adventure film.

That film, of course, is Lucy.  As directed by Luc Besson, a man who has made a fair amount of pretty damn good action films and produced/co-written a truckload more, the film concerns Lucy (duh), a woman living an aimless life in Hong Kong who, at the movie’s opening, is being implored by her current squeeze to deliver a suitcase into a building.

Lucy knows something is off by her boyfriend’s request and is very reluctant to do this for him.  That is, until the boyfriend handcuffs her to the case and tells her the key to unlocking it is inside that building.  Not being all that terribly bright (for now) Lucy does what the boyfriend wants and enters the building with said suitcase.  Turns out there are new, experimental drugs inside it and a homicidal Hong Kong crime boss with little patience waiting for them.

Poor Lucy is beaten and drugged, though her fate turns out to be better than her boyfriend’s, and awakens to find that she has been operated on and forcibly turned into a drug mule for the crime boss.  Inside her is one of the bags of drugs she had brought to him.

Fortunately/Unfortunately for her, she is beaten and nearly raped (!!!) in her cell and the bag within her ruptures.  It winds up giving her super-mind powers (what, no one experimented on this drug before hand?!?), and she effectively becomes a superhero out to stop the other drug carriers before her system burns out.

What many wound up objecting to when this film was released was the long ago disproved concept that humans only use 10% of their brain and that if they could use more, they might become like Gods.  If accepting this well discarded premise bothers you, then seeing the mighty Morgan Freeman spout that babble for most of his scenes will undoubtedly make you wince.  A lot given he’s supposed to be this highly intelligent scientist who has devoted his life to researching this nonsensical idea.  Even worse, Mr. Freeman chooses to deliver his silly dialogue soooo daaaaammn sloooowwwwly that I couldn’t help but wonder why the highly evolved Lucy, on time clock as it is, didn’t just jack into his brain and suck out what little she needed (by that point in the film she was capable of this, by the way).

Unfortunately, that is only one of the film’s sins in my eyes.  Luc Besson appears to be trying to make a La Femme Nikita-meets-Inception/2001: A Space Odyssey type film and the mix just didn’t work.  He gives us weird scenes involving predatory animals that hit you over the head with the danger Lucy is in early on, scenes that were unnecessary as we already knew exactly the danger she was in.  He goes further and gives us prehistoric scenes as well, which clues us in to our Lucy’s name being symbolically tied with the prehistoric Australopithecus Lucy.

Why exactly?  I guess the prehistoric Lucy is meant to be the equivalent of the “next level” of evolution just as our modern Lucy will be for us in the present.  Otherwise, it is more unnecessary symbolic overkill, though I’d be the first to admit the scene where (MILD SPOILER!) the two Lucy’s sorta/kinda meet was the emotional high point of this otherwise ridiculous film.

There, I’ve said it: The film is ridiculous.

And not in a good way.

If it isn’t clear already, let me spell it out: Lucy strives mightily to be more than “just” an action film.  And while one can admire the attempt, the end result just doesn’t work for me.

Yes, there are some decent action sequences and the film looks like a million bucks and Scarlett Johansson remains an intriguing screen premise, but let’s face it: The film’s story is hard to take seriously from the get-go and with each passing minute that silliness proved harder and harder to swallow.

Alas, Lucy is a pass for me.

Movies

The Guest (2014) a (mildly) belated review

I heard quite a few good words regarding last year’s The Guest, a low budget suspense thriller/horror film, and was curious to see it.  Yesterday I finally had a chance.

Did it live up to what I read?

Yes…and no.

The Guest has a simple enough plot: A stranger who calls himself David (Dan Stevens, who for the most part is excellent here) appears at the front door of the Peterson family home, which is in a remote, rustic town and introduces himself to the lady of the household (Sheila Kelley) as a soldier who fought alongside her recently deceased son.

Anna Peterson is taken aback by David’s story and excuses herself to have a cry.  When she composes herself and returns to the man’s side, she finds him looking at photographs on her mantle.  One of them, David points out, shows him with her son’s squad.

David then says he has to go but Anna Peterson will not have it and invites him to stay over for at least a little while.

Big mistake.

For as the film plays out and the members of Anna’s family, including her husband, her other son and daughter, meet David and have different reactions to him, we find that the charismatic soldier may not be quite who he says he is.  All the while, things escalate out of control and the body count rises.

I’ll say this much for The Guest: It wastes very little time in delivering its premise while building up tension.  The acting, for the most part, is uniformly good and, as already mentioned, Dan Stevens delivers a terrific charismatic/creepy performance as the titular guest.

But when all is said and done, The Guest wound up leaving me with too many questions while delivering a climax that was equal parts silly, ridiculous, and sadistic.

Among the questions I had, the biggest one was this: Why did David bother going to the Peterson family in the first place?  It was made quite clear in the film that he is a self-sufficient man who thinks on his feet and is quite capable of disappearing into the woodwork.  Without going too deeply into SPOILERS, why does David tie himself down to this one place and, effectively, risk making himself known, especially (OK, MILD SPOILERS HERE!) to those who want to get at him?

It makes no real sense.

The lingering questions and your all too typical “bad guy isn’t quite killed” finale cliche (is it written in some movie making bible that every horror movie with a boogeyman type killer has to end this way?!) wind up hurting the movie just when it was about to cross the finish line.

Because of this, I can only offer a mild recommendation for The Guest.  Despite some very good acting and some effectively creepy moments, the film’s lack of answers for many questions and cliched ending hurt what is for the most part a very effective piece of work.

A special note: I loved the use of 80’s alternative electronica music in the film.  I suspect the filmmakers were going for a John Carpenter type vibe (the movie has more than a couple of nods to the original Halloween).  It worked!

Movies

Predestination (2014) a (mildly) belated review

There is nothing more frustrating, in my opinion, than a very, very good film that falls just short of being a great film.

That, in a nutshell, is what I feel regarding Predestination, the Ethan Hawke/Sarah Snook time travel film.

Based on All You Zombies, a justifiably famous (and crazy) Robert A. Heinlein short story, Predestination adheres to that story’s plot faithfully, though it does add elements, particularly those involving a mysterious bomber, to the story to expand it to the feature’s length while providing some action/suspense.  This expansion didn’t bother me at all and, when the film ended, proved to cleverly form a “loop” to all that we had seen up to that point.

But as I said before, the film left something to be desired, and it is frustrating how close it was to being a great work.  In the early going the film spends, in my opinion, waaaay too much time on Sarah Snook’s (who is absolutely terrific) Jane character.  While much of the information is pertinent to what follows, other parts could, and should, have been trimmed down (just off the top of my head: Did we need to see the child Jane spying her orphanage handlers having sex?  Did we need to see the character getting into so many fights?)

Toward the end (and I’m trying to avoid spoilers here), when the revelations started coming as to who is who, it became too obvious where we were going with the added story elements.  Again, brevity might have been better here as well.  Also, some of the dialogue, while clever in the opening bits at the bar (the chicken/egg joke clues you in well with what’s coming), became so obvious in the later parts of the film, especially when John talks to a woman about a typewriter, that I felt I was being hit over the head with “meaningful” lines.

Having said all that, Predestination is nonetheless a good film worthy of your time.  It offers a faithful take on Robert A Heinlein mind-altering story yet adds its own decent elements to the mix.  While the film does dwell a little too much on details that might have been better cut and some of the dialogue towards the end is way too obvious, the film is nonetheless still worth seeing.

Movies

The Saint in New York (1938) a (mind-bogglingly) belated review

Though probably not as well known today as it was for much of the twentieth century, author Leslie Charteris’ character Simon Templar aka The Saint was a fixture of the entertainment media for many decades.  From his first appearance in 1928, Mr. Charteris would pen novels featuring the character until 1963, when he allowed others to ghost write the character’s adventures.  The Saint would subsequently appear in movies, comic books, and the radio during that time.  He was perhaps most famously featured in a TV show starring soon-to-become 007 Roger Moore between 1962-69.

The series showed how much of an influence The Saint had on James Bond and vice-versa and I wouldn’t be surprised if this series proved an extended audition for Mr. Moore as Bond.

For in The Saint you had many of the elements that would appear in the James Bond series.  Simon Templar, like James Bond, is a suave, sophisticated yet deadly man who the police and society at large view as a criminal yet who works against the criminal underworld from within (a spy, you might say).  While he doesn’t have a “license to kill”, he is not at all adverse to knocking out villains with extreme prejudice.  His adventures, like James Bond, would take him to exotic locales where he would confront at times garrish villains.  He would also meet intriguing women who he’d seduce or who would, alternately, try to seduce him.

Way, waaaaay back in 1938, a mere decade from The Saint’s first appearance in print, the character would make his first theatrical appearance in The Saint in New York.  Louis Hayward would be the first actor to portray the character, though this proved his one and only time doing so.

The plot of the movie goes as follows: New York is in the middle of a deadly crime wave.  A council of high level functionaries meet to discuss what can be done.  A (presumably) high up inspector in the police department is the last to arrive at this meeting and shows his incredible frustration in the current situation.  He states that the police have no problems arresting the criminals out there but these same criminals walk within a day or two after being arrested thanks to the courts. (Sounds familiar?)

After the chief of police leaves, the remaining members of the council mull what to do.  One of them notes the actions of The Saint and the members resolve to find and hire him to take out the trash.

I guess its a sign of my aging, but these early scenes, frankly, struck me as chilling.  These high level members of society effectively decide that the only solution to their criminal problems lies in hiring an outside vigilante, a man the world thinks is a criminal himself, to (let’s not mince words here) murder the criminals plaguing New York.

To that end, one of the members of the meeting flies off to various countries in search of Simon Templar, eventually finding him in South America, where he is about to start some kind of revolution.

Simon Templar is exactly as described above: Suave, sophisticated, well dressed and well versed.  He hears the offer and decides traveling to New York isn’t such a bad idea.  Once there he gets a lay of the land and a list of five or so criminals he needs to take out.  In short order he takes the first of them out just before the criminal shoots the high level police inspector who walked out of the initial meeting at the start of the film.

As Templar continues his “work”, he acquaints himself with that inspector (who is more than willing to look the other way) and a mysterious and beautiful woman who is somehow in the middle of this criminal lot but who is more than willing to help Simon take them out.  As things move along, Simon realizes there is one big man above them all, and that once he takes that master villain out, New York will be “free”.

For a 75 plus year old “B” film, The Saint in New York isn’t all that bad though, again, the implications of the story are alarming.  One would hope the highest levels of governmental official would have some confidence in their justice system rather than bringing in an outside gunman to clean up their mess.  But if you can overlook this rather startling concept, the movie proves a decent enough distraction.

The movie’s age and pace will probably be difficult for some modern audiences to take.  We’re very far down the road from the action-fests that populate modern cinema.  Yet there is a fascination in seeing a prototype of a James Bond-like character, minus the gadgets, on screen.

A curiosity, for sure, yet an interesting one.

Movies

Coherence (2013) a (mildly) belated review

There’s something intellectually satisfying in seeing a film that challenges your imagination in all the right ways.  If done well, you leave the experience with a sense of wonder.  You admire the fact that the creators of this work have delivered something truly new and (hopefully) unique.  Something that keeps the gears in your brain moving as you sort out the pieces in this particular jigsaw puzzle…

Which is a very nice way of saying the James Ward Byrkit written/directed Coherence is one hell of a mind-fuck of a film.

The story starts out simple enough: A group of disparate friends get together for a dinner.  Though they are all friendly enough, there are noticeable tensions here and there between them, though nothing Earth shattering or soap opera level outrageous.

That same night a comet is scheduled to pass close to Earth and, as it does, the electricity in the household -and neighborhood- is knocked out.

But the friends in the house realize that another home some two blocks down still has light.  Two of the guests decide they should go there and investigate…

What follows from that point on is quite the journey.

Before I get to the very good of this film, first let me point out the not so good.  To begin with, Coherence is a very, very low budget feature and it shows.  The direction/lighting/editing, while not terrible, isn’t as sharp as one would like and at times, especially toward the beginning, it feels as if you’re watching home movies of a not so interesting party.

But if you get past these opening scenes (about fifteen minutes or so worth of them), the film suddenly takes off and finds its voice and pace.  By then you understand the individual characters (the cast consists of only eight people) and are as fearful for their situation as you are curious about what will happen next.

For that’s when all the really trippy stuff begins.

I’m tempted to not go any farther than that for fear of spoilers, but offer this much: The movie involves split realities and the interactions between alternate versions of these eight characters.  There are many surprises, both subtle and not so subtle, and an ending that kicks you in the teeth (pay attention to protagonist Em’s story of the Norwegian comet early in the movie…it clarifies what happens toward the end).

Though low on budget, this movie’s story is incredibly, deliciously high in concept and very smart.  The best way to describe Coherence is that it is like a really great extended Twilight Zone episode.  Considering how much I admire The Twilight Zone, this is very high praise.

If you like your science fiction to be challenging and intellectual, Coherence is a (pardon the pun) no-brainer.

Highly recommended.

Movies

Planet of the Vampires (1965) a (ridiculously) belated review

Way back in 1965 cult Italian movie director Mario Bava directed Planet of the Vampires, a stylish sci-fi horror movie that would inspire (some would argue be shamelessly copied by) 1979’s Alien.  Though the creators behind Alien may deny it, it is hard to argue Planet of the Vampires didn’t do just that.

The movie begins with two spaceships chasing down an emergency signal originating from an unexplored planet.  The ships head in to investigate and that’s when all hell breaks loose.  One of the ships is temporarily lost, the other nearly crash lands and, afterwards, the crew loses their minds and starts viciously fighting each other.  It’s as if they’re no longer in control of themselves.

The crew manages to recover before anyone is killed and, eventually, they find their lost sister ship and go investigating.  Later still, they find another, more ancient vessel that comes complete with giant skeletons of that ancient crew.

And did I mention our hero’s horseshoe shaped ships and the foggy, eerie planet they’ve landed on?

There is simply no denying it: Watching Planet of the Vampires is like seeing the visual -and to some degree writing- inspiration for Alien.  But does that make this now fifty year old film worth checking out?

Let’s be blunt here: The acting is for the most part quite wooden.  The dialogue has been dubbed (the film was likely made in some Italian/English combination -the movie’s lead is played by American actor Barry Sullivan).  The effects are decent enough…for a very low budget film made in 1965, but anyone looking at them today will find them varying from ok to deficient.

But what makes the movie worth watching besides its obvious inspiration to Alien, is the eerie environment and the visuals it presents.  Planet of Vampires is essentially a “haunted house in space” movie, where our protagonists are presented with a fearsome and deadly set of circumstances and try to beat them…all the while members of their group slowly are picked off.

While the story may ultimately not be as memorable as the visuals it presents (I saw the film before, maybe five or so years ago, and was surprised by how little I recalled of the actual story), in some cases this is arguably enough to get you to see a film.

In the case of Planet of the Vampires, despite the wooden acting and some less than great special effects, any fan of Alien or science fiction films in general should get a kick out of seeing this work.  I most certainly did.

Recommended.

(Watch the below original trailer for the film at your own peril…first because it is so grainy.  The film, especially on BluRay, looks quite beautiful, but secondly and more importantly the trailer gives away pretty much all the movie’s mysteries!)

Movies

John Wick (2014) a (mildly) belated review

When John Wick was released last year, I was really intrigued.  The critics were for the most part warm to the film, noting it featured terrific stunts and a driving, hard edged plot.

Sounded like my cup of tea!

Though I tried hard to catch the film in theaters, my free time remains very tight and there simply was no chance to catch it.  The inevitable wait followed as the film left theaters and, eventually, made it to home video.  Yesterday, finally, I got a chance to see it.

And for the most part, I wasn’t disappointed.

John Wick is indeed a hard charging, lean and mean action film.  The plot is incredibly simple: John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is an ex-assassin and general bad-ass who left behind his life of crime for the love of his life.  Unfortunately, his wife succumbed to one of those trademark Love Story-type movie diseases that kill you slowly yet leave you looking absolutely beautiful.  In anticipation of her eventual death, Mrs. Wick has a puppy delivered to her husband after her passing.  The puppy punctures Wick’s sadness (and possible suicidal feelings following his wife’s death) and gives him a small amount of joy in a dark time.

Unfortunately, while out to get gas for his screamin’ 69 Mustang (oh the troubles that might have been avoided had Mr. Wick opted for a Prius!), the car catches the eyes of a trio of unsavory Russian mobster types.  They approach Wick and ask him how much he wants for the vehicle.  He tells them he isn’t selling it.  The leader of the group, unaccustomed to not getting his way, then says something profane in Russian and Wick surprises the man by responding in kind…in Russian.

Later that night, Wick’s house is broken into and Wick is beaten and his puppy killed.  This is done to rob him of his Mustang.

As the saying goes, these guys messed with the wrong man.  What follows is Wick’s journey back into his old environs where he takes revenge on the man (and, eventually father of the man and his one-time boss) who robbed him of his car and killed his puppy.

The best thing about John Wick is that the movie doesn’t waste time.  As mentioned before, this film is a lean machine, propelled from one set piece to another with almost no filler.  The action sequences are for the most part terrific, with my personal favorite perhaps being the confrontation between Wick and Ms. Perkins (Adrianne Palicki), a very adept femme fatale assassin.

The film builds on and on, reaching its climax and conclusion and leaving at least me hoping to see more (word is, a sequel will be made).

Having said all those positive things, the movie does have a couple of problems that, frankly, irritated me.

First up, it seems awfully coincidental and hard to believe the people who initially assaulted John Wick so soon after his wife’s funeral happen to be related to the man Wick worked for up until his retirement…and neither knew the other!  In terms of coincidences, that’s a pretty big one to swallow.

My second issue is with the fate of the already mentioned Ms. Perkins.  Without giving too much away, I thought the filmmakers missed out with her character.  She deserved far better than the fate given within the film.  At the very least, there should have been a re-match, right?  If not in this movie, then perhaps in the sequel?

Anyway, apart from these two issues, I thoroughly enjoyed John Wick.  No, the film isn’t Citizen Kane or The Godfather.  No, it won’t scare away any other Oscar contenders, but it is a pure escapist action/adventure film that delivers on the goods.  Recommended.