If you don't start watching this show, a kind of... countdown will begin
SPOILERS Breaking Bad is my favorite television show of all time.
I know, colossal shock. But it's been my favorite show for several years now, long before it hit the zeitgeist and became everyone's favorite show, culminating in Sunday's finale raking in over 10 million viewers, unheard of ratings for a cable network. As much as I like to have been one of the people onboard before the show arrived on Netflix, that's what really gave Breaking Bad an audience. And as I posted after last year's midseason finale, Vince Gilligan and his team of writers had done so well after 54 episodes. However, many a series falters in its final stretch of episodes, as the writers occasionally struggle to deliver a fully satisfying conclusion. There's a reason why the ending of The Sopranos is so controversial, as is the polarizing ending of Lost. There's always that possibility that even the best team of writers (and with Breaking Bad, you're getting the very best) will overdo it in their attempt to deliver, give an ending fitting to the series but ends up alienating the core audience, or simply drop the ball and not stick the landing (case in point: the Dexter finale of a few weeks ago, or even the final season as a whole, which just plain sucked). So, even with only 8 episodes left, all the way down to Sunday night, that inevitable feeling was there that this might be the moment where Breaking Bad falters after years of success.
Thankfully, this wasn't the case. The last eight episodes of Breaking Bad may constitute the best final season in the history of television, and also reveals the show for what it always really was: a modern Shakespearean tragedy. Though I have some small issues with the very last episode, that Shakespearean structure generally makes up for them.
Give that Shakespeare idea a thought. There are 5 seasons in Breaking Bad, which may well constitute 5 Shakespeare acts. Act I establishes the characters and sets the wheels in motion for the tragedy to come. At the end of the first season, Walt, despite killing several adversaries and rejecting an opportunity to make an early exit from the meth game, is still a relatively sympathetic figure who we've come to know and root for up to that point. He's essentially an inverted Macbeth figure, as instead of a promise of future glory in kinghood, he's given a portent of doom in his inoperable lung cancer, driving him into a dark corner where he feels that the criminal life is the only escape. Act II pushes the story forward, as Walt slips deeper and deeper into darkness and his lies gradually grow larger, while his bad decisions begin to damage the lives of those around him. Jesse is first forced out of his family's lives, and then loses the love he found as a replacement in Jane. As Walt rises to a more prominent position in the meth world, his family life begins to crash to the bottom. Act III is the climax, where as a result of Walt's actions, Skyler becomes embroiled in his criminal life, Hank becomes a victim of his collateral damage, and he and Jesse are forced into a barely inescapable corner, where only yet another evil act can save them (to continue the Macbeth comparison, Gale acts as a sort of Banquo figure). Act IV begins the falling action, where Walt finally makes his true descent into evil by, as Macbeth does, conspiring to kill the king (in this case, Gus), but doing it by manipulating his closest ally. Act V, is the resolution, where all the remaining characters and conflicts come together to conclude the story, features Walt's realization of what he has become, as well as his self-actualization that his motives were far more selfish than he himself had wanted to believe.
However, I find that the Shakespeare comparison applies even more to this final half-season. Consider Act I beginning with Hank emerging from the bathroom, fresh from the revelation that his brother-in-law is the Heisenberg he's been searching for all along and move forward from there. And now, I'm going to get onto the analysis, episode-by-episode, after the jump. Again, FULL SPOILERS for the entire series may lie ahead.
Act I (The Establishment)
"Blood Money"
Me after 5 hours of Badger and Skinny Pete babbling about Star Trek... bitch.
I must say, I was expecting a far slower beginning to this final stretch than what we got. I thought Hank would go deeper into investigating his hunch on Walt over the first few episodes, culminating in Hank truly revealing himself to Walt around the halfway point. This is just how television usually does it, drawing it out and building suspense for the big reveal, so when it finally happens it feels like an earned shock to the system. However, this can also lead to some shows drawing it out unnecessarily for the big twist (case in point, the "twist" from season 6 of Dexter). So, having Hank and Walt's first confrontation occur at the end of the FIRST DAMN EPISODE made it an immensely satisfying beginning of the end. The rest of the episode (as much as I enjoyed Badger's Star Trek monologue) was exactly the pace I expected from the first four episodes, as Jesse's aimless remorse for his actions and Walt's attempts at future anonymity slowly setting things in motion. But when Hank closed the garage door, everything got cranked up to 11. "Tread lightly" may already be one of the most iconic closing lines to an episode of television, and that haunting last shot (this episode was wonderfully directed and acted by Bryan Cranston, by the way) perfectly whets the appetite for the events to come.
"Blood Money" gets a 9 out of 10.
"Buried"
As much as I'm excited for Better Call Saul, I want these guys' spinoff
"Buried" is probably the least of these last 8 installments, but that's more of an observation than an active criticism. It's a table setter, giving hints towards the lines of battle and alliances that will come to fruition in later episodes, while also providing the poetic battleground of the To'hajiilee reservation where Walt and Jesse first cooked in the pilot. It also reintroduces us to Todd, his uncle Jack, and the gang of unscrupulous Neo-Nazis that will ultimately serve as this final season's antagonists. Also, we get the amazing above shot of Huell and Kuby having a rest on Walt's giant $80,000,000 pile of money, the latest installment of "Walt hastily scrambling to protect his life/money", and that tantalizing last shot of Hank entering Jesse's interrogation room.
"Buried" gets an 8.5 out of 10.
Act II (The Building Tension)
"Confessions"
I'm putting laser pointers on the waiter next...
As Act II of this 8-episode tragedy begins, we get our first real classic episode of this final stretch. "Confessions" is a powerhouse, featuring one of Walt's most overtly evil moments of deception in the form of his spectacularly performative "confession" video. The scene where Hank and Marie watch the video features utterly breathtaking work by director Michael Slovis, as it becomes clear how far Walt is willing to go to shield himself from his enemies. The Schraders are completely and utterly shocked by how deeply their own family has screwed them over, and it's almost matched by the restaurant scene where (jovial waiter notwithstanding) family tensions come to a boil, and Marie even suggests Walt kill himself to spare his family pain. And then there's Jesse's begging for truth, as he simply asks Walt to stop bullshitting him, in the very last scene where these two will meet while still on the same terms. And that's due to his (long due) revelation about Walt's poisoning of Brock, leading him to abandon his exit from his old life in the pursuit of vengeance, with this season giving us a tantalizing cliffhanger for the third straight week as Jesse ragingly pours gasoline onto the White homestead. Whatever status quo this show had is all falling apart now.
"Confessions" gets a 9.5 out of 10.
"Rabid Dog"
Now, how do I dispatch my surrogate son and brother-in-law without killing them? Hmm...
More than anything, "Rabid Dog" is one of the best episodes for Aaron Paul. After watching Jesse be subdued, depressed, and generally devoid of all emotion for three episodes, here he is a volcano, filled with rage as he finally snaps on the realization that, to Walter White, he has never been more than a pawn, despite Walt's fatherly feelings for him. The episode is exquisitely structured, first showing us the events from Walt's perspective as Jesse has suddenly disappeared from the premises after dumping a tank of gasoline on the White home floor. Skyler and Marie both begin to ease into Lady Macbeth roles for their spouses, as Skyler suggests Walt could kill Jesse, while Marie is willing to do almost anything to allow Hank to bring Walt to justice. After showing Walt in the hotel, it abruptly cuts back to the cliffhanger, and brings the beginning of Jesse and Hank's alliance. In particular, the line "HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT!!" is so simultaneously riveting and heartbreaking, and may be the single best bit of acting Paul has delivered in the show's history. As Hank manipulates Jesse and Walt manipulates his son, there are few sympathetic characters left now. Jesse, damaged and vengeful as he is, is the only real character left worth rooting for at this point. Everyone else has their own agenda, their own plan, and they are more than willing to have deaths along the way. Hank was willing to sacrifice Jesse to catch Walt, going full Ahab, and Walt suddenly becomes more willing to allow Jesse to die at the hands of the Neo-Nazis. Jesse just wants Walt to get what he deserves.
"Rabid Dog" gets a 9 out of 10.
Act III (The Climax)
"To'hajiilee"
Dammit, I can't die! I've got a Cinnabon and a spinoff to manage!
Despite being the fourth-to-last episode of the series, "To'hajiilee" has many elements that would not have been out of place in a series finale. Hank successfully catches and arrests Walt, multiple different characters and plotlines converge on the titular location (with post-commercial break establishing shots echoing some from the opening of the pilot), and Walt gives himself up in a manner not unlike when Gus threw himself in the paths of the sniper back in season 4 (echoing Walt taking on the traits of his felled enemies). However, when Hank gives an overly self-congratulatory phone call to Marie following his success, coupled with Walt's earlier delivery of the money coordinates to Jack and the Neo-Nazis, you know that the show will continue. And continue it does, as the climax reaches the tension and imagery of a Leone film. Hank and Gomez's Mexican standoff with the Neo-Nazis promises to forever change the landscape of the series, and once again, this final season gives us a cliffhanger to have us chomping at the bit for an entire week. "To'hajiilee" is another all-time classic produced by this final season, and it represents some of the most nail-biting tension that Breaking Bad has ever had to offer.
"To'hajiilee" gets a 9.5 out of 10.
"Ozymandias"
Just a note: during this episode I briefly forgot I existed.
More than any episode in the history of Breaking Bad, "Ozymandias" came in with some pre-conceived hype and expectations. It features the return of Looper director Rian Johnson, who previously helmed the polarizing (beloved by me) season 3 episode "Fly, as well as the atmospheric (if a little less noteworthy) season 5 episode "Fifty-One". And then Vince Gilligan stated that he considered "Ozymandias" to be the best episode of the series, which gave it an enormously high bar. And well? It mostly pulls it off. "Ozymandias" is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best episode of this final stretch, and it's the full-blown climax of the series. Is it the best episode of the series? It might not be my absolute favorite (I still have a lot of love for "One Minute", "Face Off", and the aforementioned "Fly"), but it's definitely a top five all-time. As the picture above states, this is where Walt finally must accept the consequences of all of his heinous actions. Beginning with the death of Hank. Hank (and Dean Norris) is given a devastating and perfect final scene, where he refuses to beg Jack for his life, and tells Walt that for all of his brains and schemes, he can't stop a man like Jack from doing what he wants. And the cost of Walt believing he can talk or buy his way out of anything is nearly all of his money. Also, Jesse's life continues its downward spiral, as Walt coldly informs him of his role in Jane's demise, and he becomes Jack and Todd's slave meth cook, with Andrea and Brock's lives serving as his motivation. And then comes the destruction of Walt's ostensible series-long motivation: his family. Before we know it, he's abducting Holly, calling Skyler and absolving her of blame by leading the cops off her, and getting into a van headed for New Hampshire. In many ways, this is the end of Walter White's story, with the final two episodes serving as the epilogue.
"Ozymandias" gets a perfect 10.
Act IV (The Falling Action)
"Granite State"
Walter White is dead. Long live Heisenberg.
Walter White has dropped off the face of the earth, replaced with the nondescript and reclusive Mr. Lambert, who lives in a cabin in the woody boondocks of New Hampshire. "Granite State" represents a visual and emotional departure for the series, trading in the sand and cacti of the New Mexico deserts for the cold, icy snow landscape of New Hampshire (though it was probably actually filmed in northern New Mexico). As Shakespeare's final acts usually become simpler, shorter, and more pointed, so does the storytelling of Breaking Bad. "Granite State" is very much the "Brutus sees Caesar's ghost" episode of the season, as Walt finally comes to grips with how he's lost everything. Sure, he has that $10 million barrel of money, but what can he do with it? His family (exemplified by his phone call to Flynn that echoes an exchange from the first season: "Just die already") wants nothing of it, nothing that connects them to the now very public shame of Heisenberg. He can't really spend it, because he's mostly confined to his middle-of-nowhere cabin, lest he get caught. He can't entrust it to Ed, his vacuum cleaner-selling caretaker (cast perfectly with Robert Forster), as Ed points out that he would only be lying to himself to do that. All he can do is dole out small amounts of it to Ed to keep him alive, as well as paying him $10,000 to stay for an extra hour to receive some small vestige of human contact. And that represents the first sympathy I have felt for Walt in a long time. As much as he has dug his own grave, it doesn't make his fall any less heartbreaking. Walt is all set to give himself up and face the music (as Saul suggested earlier in his final appearance pre-Better Call Saul), when the Schwartzes appear on the bar television, telling Charlie Rose that he gave no contribution to Gray Matter, and that Walter White, the man they knew, is gone. And damn it, I got goosebumps as the theme started playing over the episode's close. Heisenberg now has nothing left to lose. Also, Jesse lost Andrea as his downward spiral of misery continues. Pre-finale, I wasn't sure what hope was left for him, other than my hope that he would get to kill Todd, that slimy, cold, emotionless robot. As the poster at the top says, the theme of this final season is "Remember My Name".
"Granite State" gets a 9.5 out of 10.
Act V (The Resolution)
"Felina"
Walt in the shadows, as Heisenberg ascends.
As I said above, series finales are a tricky thing to pull off. "Felina" has a title with three meanings. One is an obvious example presented within the episode itself: The Marty Robbins song "El Paso", which Walt listens to in the car in the opening, and hums while later assembling his death weapon. Another is that it is simply an anagram for "Finale". And the third and most vague is that it can also be read as "FeLiNa" or "Iron/Lithium/Sodium", which, as many have pointed out, can mean "Blood, Meth and Tears". It is, without a doubt, the perfect title to the series finale of Breaking Bad. But did "Felina" pull it off? Did it fulfill the hype and expectations that come with being one of the most beloved television series of all time?
With one major caveat, yes. Yes it did. "Felina" is a riveting conclusion, one that ties up almost every single loose end left on the series' chain (It does leave a few things to mystery, though, with the primary one being Walt's grudge against the Schwartzes over Gray Matter, but that doesn't matter all that much) and delivers us an emotional and surprisingly cathartic ending to the journey of Walter White. While one might argue that catharsis isn't the right emotion to be feeling at the end of this series, I feel that Walt's change in behavior in this episode justifies it.
As I said in the photo caption, "Felina" could best be described as "Heisenberg's Ascension". And by that, I mean it is the fulfillment of Walt's character arc. Originally, Walter White was merely a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher. He felt cheated by life, missing out on success and fortune that the Schwartzes received at Gray Matter, working at a job that he is extremely overqualified for and teaching students who couldn't give less of a shit about chemistry (including one Jesse Pinkman), and also working a demeaning second job where he is consistently browbeaten and emasculated by his boss. Couple that with a stable and loving but unfulfilling home life and an also more-successful-than-him brother-in-law, and you've got a recipe for someone on the brink. His lung cancer is simply the final straw that let the beast out of its cage. As Walt finally says to Skyler in one of the key scenes of "Felina": "I did it for me. I liked it, I was good at it. I was alive." I mean, most of us got the idea that by the time Walt was threatening rival dealers to "stay out of my territory", that he was enjoying himself, but it was clearly so Walt could finally have something (namely, money and power) that he had always felt cheated out of before. But with this rebirth as a criminal came some unsavory additions to his personality. He became a man self-obsessed with posturing and stroking his ego (look to the performative douchebaggery from "Confessions" or the bravado-laden speech from the opening of "Say My Name", or even his memorable quotes: "I am the one who knocks." "I'm in the empire business." "Nothing stops this train. Nothing."), and the showiness of his Heisenberg persona and porkpie hat. What "Granite State" taught him is that his shaven head, his hat, and his bravado can ultimately lead to nothing if put in a position with nothing left to lose. So, in "Felina", Walt's entire MO has changed. He's now hiding in the shadows and background of every scene. The Heisenberg legend has preceded him, so he no longer has to impress his enemies. He simply has to quietly intimidate them, or manipulate them into believing he's far weaker than he is.
That caveat I mentioned earlier is that the one fault of "Felina" is its predictability. I myself called numerous things that ended up happening in the episode (Jesse strangling Todd with his chains, Lydia being the ricin victim). But at the same time, it may be one of its strongest selling points. Walt's plan goes off without a hitch, and everything works out so predictably as he's planned because of the way he goes about it. When Gretchen and Elliott arrive home, Walt's sitting there in the shadows, not even immediately noticeable in the frame. He casually strolls into their home, allowing them to startlingly discover his presence there. He uses Badger and Skinny Pete (in one final appearance) to threaten them in a very lackadaisical way. He simply goes back to his old house and casually greets his neighbor Carol (as shown in the flashforward from "Blood Money") instead of hastily approaching the house armed (as he did in the opening of "Rabid Dog"). When Lydia and Todd enter the coffee shop, he's just sitting there at the counter and THEY DON'T EVEN NOTICE HIM. Jack and the Neo-Nazis don't even register him as a threat because of his weak and unkempt appearance. Walt has never tried to remain unseen before, so when he appears before them, they're basically in shock, allowing him to get one over on them quite easily. Gilligan (who wrote and directed this last installment) has Skyler talk to Marie on the phone, not choosing to reveal Walt's presence in the room until after she hangs up, leading to the "I did it for me" line, and an emotional last scene where Walt sees Holly for the last time, and watches Flynn enter the house from afar. Walt does bad things in "Felina", much as he has done in other episodes, but unlike many of the other instances, his reasons are actually altruistic. It's not exactly a full redemption for the character, but it does allow us to root for him in this final Heisenberg plan.
There is one single moment of improvisation in Walt's entire plan, and that is his tackling of Jesse to save him from the M60's bullets. Walt was angry that Jack had seemingly teamed up with Jesse for personal gain, after promising to kill him. But when he sees what Jack and Todd have done to him, he immediately reverts to his old role as Jesse's father figure, and saves him. It's Walt's best moment of the finale, and even manages to allow Jesse to nod at Walt, maybe not forgiving him, but coming to an understanding. And thus, Jesse drives off into the night, unexpectedly re-energized by surviving what seemed to be a hopeless situation. And I can't argue that the closing scene is basically perfect, as Walt admires the meth lab equipment while waiting for his bullet wound to bleed out (the only thing that may have made it better is if Walt tried the product, and said something like "A+, Jesse"). And of course, "Baby Blue" by Badfinger is the perfect song to close the episode.
"Felina" is not the best episode of Breaking Bad (it certainly isn't "Ozymandias", nor maybe even "To'hajiilee" or "Confessions"), but it is an honorable, definitive, cathartic, and oddly, sort of happy conclusion to the series. It doesn't praise or condemn Walt for his actions in the episode or the series as a whole, but it does allow him some small semblance of closure.
"Felina" gets a 9.5 out of 10.
More than anything, the finale ensured that Breaking Bad's legacy will not be tarnished. Its 62 episodes is one of the greatest modern stories, and is an example of television at its best. There may never again be anything like it.
A lot of people never bothered to learn Rule #1: Cardio
If the above caption doesn't sell it, I am a fan of zombie movies. Granted I'm a recent convert to the horror subgenre (courtesy of Zombieland and AMC's The Walking Dead, though I've since turned against that show; again, the Telltale game is 100 TIMES BETTER THAN THE SHOW), but I generally prefer apocalyptic zombie stories and the social commentary they provide to the dumb teenager stuff of slasher flicks. So, when I hear that Brad Pitt is making a big-budget blockbuster zombie movie, I was naturally intrigued. And then 2011 and 2012 happened, where we got way too much zombie stuff, which broke me to the point where I was only sort of excited about Naughty Dog's obvious masterwork The Last of Us (I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it right now, but look for my review later). Point is, the zombie genre has become way overdone, and when Warm Bodies (obviously the zombie version of Twilight) came out earlier this year, I figured that the undead were on their way out. And the trailers for World War Z did nothing to dissuade me. I swear to god, I thought it was a prequel for I Am Legend, with the saccharine family interplay and the impossibly bad CGI. Then there were the behind-the-scenes stories, where it was said that they had no idea how to end it, so they brought in Damon Lindelof (of all people) at the 11th hour to try to fix things. Then I heard things about Drew Goddard writing it instead, which sounded a little better; after all, he did The Cabin in the Woods. But my main concern this whole time has been Pitt's unfortunate choice of director: Marc Forster, who has the distinction of making Quantum of Solace, one of the worst Bond movies ever, which is only amplified by the fact that it came out between two of the best. Suffice it to say, unlike Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Man of Steel, I was not remotely excited for this movie, other than to see shit blow up and watch Brad Pitt get into fisticuffs with the undead. I haven't read the Max Brooks novel (which I hear it's only barely related to), so I couldn't give a damn about the source material. But anyway, my review after the jump.
THIS IS WHAT A ZOMBIE IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE. Not the PG13 version.
Though I enjoyed it more than I expected to (for reasons I'll get to in a moment), World War Z ultimately came off as little more than a hacky combination of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and 28 Days Later, watered down, safe, and lacking in much originality. No humor, real genuine emotion, or acting to be found here. Just a tired soulless blockbuster, much like Quantum of Solace (though it is better than that atrocity). Time for pros and cons. Also, SPOILERS from here on out.
SPOILERS
The Good
- The Third Act. Seriously, for all the grumbling I heard about them having trouble with the ending, the third act is actually the high point of the movie, particularly the WHO lab sequence. It felt like something out of a George Romero film, and oddly enough, it was the only action scene in the entire movie that didn't require a huge budget. Pitt's performance goes up a few notches here, and he actually sells the fear in this scene. I also felt that the McGuffin of warding off zombies by creating a vaccine from dangerous pathogens was actually quite clever. It was a legitimate idea; after all, zombies wouldn't be hungry for sick flesh, as that would be like humans eating contaminated food. Also, the plane crash was suitable intense and immediate. For one scene, we had Zombies on a Plane, and it was pretty damn cool. The crash was almost as cool as the crash sequence in Flight. The ending was safe, but everything leading up to it actually managed to surprise me a bit.
- Segen. One of the few characters in this movie that I actually gave a shit about, as Daniella Kertesz did a good job with the horror of being bitten, and the pain and disconnect of losing a limb in such a harsh world. Also, she was a badass, as she was right back up on her feet a few days later, shooting zombies and kicking ass.
- The Tone. The producers said they wanted to convey a "Bourne Identity meets Walking Dead vibe, and at the very least, the mood was well-executed, as everything around the main characters was strange and unfamiliar, while also being suitably apocalyptic.
- Parts of the score were nice, and surprisingly from the guy who brought us James Bond CGI cars, the action was always tense and slow-building, really selling the scale of such a big-budget zombie flick.
- David Morse. He was onscreen for like, 5 seconds, but he totally nailed it. One of the few times where any life was breathed into the movie.
I'm Batman. SHHHHH.
The Bad
- Everything with the family. I wish they had actually got Matt Damon, and made it The Bourne Zombies, because God, the last hero this movie needed was a family man. One reason that a movie like 28 Days Later works so well is that Cillian Murphy's character wakes up all alone in an unfamiliar world, and has to fight every inch for his life. Gerry Lane? Not so much. His family hangs out on a cushy aircraft carrier, and then at a seemingly pleasant refugee camp in Nova Scotia, while he gets into all sorts of shit. But because he's the hero in an action movie, I never once felt like his life was in danger. Mireille Enos' performance basically amounted to "show up and say lines", while the kids were UNABASHEDLY AWFUL. Between such memorable lines as "Daddy, what's martial law?" and utterly boring, tension-breaking family interaction, they're the opposite of what I liked about Ty Simpkins' Harley in Iron Man 3.
- Pacing. The first 30 minutes of the movie move with such whiplash that there's no time to establish an emotional connection or catch your breath before getting to the next setpiece. The movie jumps from one location to another without getting to know the people at any of them. Other than Gerry, Segen, and a couple of guys at the WHO lab, we spend barely more than 5 minutes with anyone, and the people who we do see, we never get to know. It's like there was a studio mandate to keep the movie under two hours, because an end-times movie like this needed at least 135 minutes to properly stretch its legs.
- Everything goes to shit in like, four hours. We go from a normal day on the street, with some SLIGHT concerns about a rabies outbreak, to zombies everywhere and people dying in downtown Philly, to people hiding out from the hordes in their homes in Newark in the span of an afternoon. Things progress way too quickly, and they try to root this zombie problem in real-world facts. A good example of showing an epidemic causing worldwide distress in a realistic way is Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. At the very least, that movie showed how people were dying by the millions, but it was taking at least a few weeks to get to that point where everyone was hunkered down. I know the zombies infecting people would speed up the process at least a little, but it would still take more than one day for people to become fully aware of the degradation.
- Everything with the zombies. First off, see the picture above, because I repeat: THAT IS WHAT ZOMBIES, BRAINLESS MONSTERS WITH A THIRST FOR HUMAN FLESH, are supposed to look like. As far as I was concerned, no zombie in this movie ever bit someone, as none of them had decayed jaws, or blood running down their face. But because this is a PG-13 $200 million blockbuster, we can't see any of that, so it just has to roll with making less sense. And don't even get me started on how it takes about six seconds after someone dies from zombie bite to turn. COME ON. Even The Walking Dead had it take at least a few hours (you know, until the writing got sloppy and Shane turned right away at the end of season 2).
- Brad Pitt. I've seen Inglourious Basterds. I've seen Fight Club. Hell, I've seen Seven, which is less showy than either of the formers but far more real and emotional. Pitt is just totally slumming it here. He doesn't try to put any life into the character of Gerry, besides the script telling us THAT GERRY LURVES HIS FAMILY SO MUCH. I got to like him a bit more once he was striking it out on his own, but then the movie had him hold up that sign to the security camera (you know the one I mean), and I was reminded the family existed again, and I threw up a bit in my mouth. Pitt wanted the pomp and circumstance of having his own big-ass action franchise, like Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, and now Marky Mark (see next year's seminal masterpiece Transformers 4) before him. Other than that, he basically put in the minimal effort possible. I saw his onscreen glances at Forster, as he said "ERHMAGERD WHERE'S MY GODDAMN PAYCHECK?!?!".
- Matthew Fox. Why exactly was he there?
Matthew Fox's life = Bit parts and Tyler Perry movies
- James Badge Dale. Why exactly was HE there?
Can I have a shaved head, fire powers, and beat up Jon Favreau again?
- Marc Forster. Once again, some action scenes were well-done, but this felt like Forster cranked it directly from the Paramount Studio Backlot of Blockbuster Films. He used these big, sweeping tracking shots to convey fear and terror, when Joss Whedon did the same thing in The Avengers just by keeping a level steady shot of the carnage below, as did Zack Snyder in last week's Man of Steel. And thus, Forster's transition from Indie Drama Darling to Big-Budget Journeyman Hack is complete. Can he turn back?
So, yeah, I didn't like this one. And if my past reviews are any indication, I'm not that hard to please as a moviegoer. Basically the only bad review I ever gave was for Transformers 3, and that was A MICHAEL BAY FILM. I didn't review Pirates 4 or Green Lantern, but I would've given those shitty ratings, too. And World War Z has some redeeming qualities that those trainwrecks didn't, mainly keeping a smooth tone and some crackerjack action sequences, particularly near the end. But maybe a megabudget zombie movie just wasn't meant to be.
Oh well. I'm looking forward to Pacific Rim.
World War Z gets a 5 out of 10. Just watch 28 Days Later or Shaun of the Dead again. And play The Last of Us. It's far more tense and entertaining than anything you'll get here.
You'll believe a man can fly. And shoot laser beams. And decimate a city.
Superman's had a rough go of it on film. While 1978's Superman: The Movie was the movie that launched the superhero genre in the first place, it was subsequently followed by a series of diminishing returns. Superman II maintained enough of Richard Donner's verisimilitude charm to still work, but the seams were starting to show in the behind-the-scenes calamities. Not to mention all of the odd, extremely out-of-character moments for the title character (he quits being Superman for sex, cheerfully tosses a depowered General Zod off a cliff and kills him, and exacts petty revenge on an asshole biker). Superman III is a watchable Richard Lester farce featuring Richard Pryor with a couple of strong scenes (the chemical plant sequence, Clark Kent vs. Evil Superman, and the Gave-Children-Nightmares scene of Robo-Lady), but nothing more. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, spearheaded by the penny-pinching Cannon Films, is a disaster on every level, with poor scripting, bad acting, and hilariously bad visual effects. The only constant in these films was Christopher Reeve, who will always probably be the most definitive version of Superman onscreen. After multiple failed attempts to revive the franchise, including the almost-epic-disaster Tim Burton-directed, Nic Cage-starring Superman Lives and the radically altered mythology of J. J. Abrams' Superman: Flyby, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns promised to be a revival of the character. Instead, we got a two-decades-out-of-date homage to Richard Donner, complete with another Lex Luthor real estate scheme and lots of creepy scenes where Superman stalks Lois Lane (and Superman not throwing a single punch). With Warner Bros. and DC desperate to reintroduce Superman successfully, they turned to their biggest source of superhero success: Christopher Nolan. With Nolan on board to produce and Batman Begins screenwriter David S. Goyer to pen the script, Watchmen director Zack Snyder was brought on board. And thus, we've got Man of Steel. My reaction after the jump...
Henry Cavill certainly looks like he belongs in the suit... and enjoys Slurpees...
To put it mildly, Man of Steel has received a divided reaction. It's got a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has a 55 on Metacritic, and has general received a mixed reception by critics and fans alike. Well, count me among the positive, as Man of Steel isn't quite the Superman movie I've always wanted to see, but damn, is it close. But the thing is, I can see where most of the non-fans of the film are coming from. This is not a perfect movie, nor is it what audiences have come to expect from a Superman movie, or superhero movies in general. If I was going to give out an award for Most Daring Film of 2013, it would probably go to Man of Steel. It takes a load of chances, some of which pay off, and some of which don't. But the ones that pay off, MY GOD. It's pretty easy to categorize the positives and negatives of this film, so I'll do it in a Good/Bad style, as opposed to my usual reviewing style of just rattling off how I feel in essay form. The Good after the jump. Also, FULL SPOILERS from here on out.
You believe your son is safe? I will find him. I will find him. I WILL FIND HIM!!
LAST CHANCE TO TURN BACK FOR SPOILERS
THE GOOD
- The Plot: Snyder and Goyer took elements from virtually every version of Superman, from Mark Waid's Birthright (The most obvious influence; I highly enjoyed the smash cut from Kal-El's ship to the boat), to John Byrne's The Man of Steel, to the first two Reeve films, among other sources. What I especially liked, though was the way that it would present these typical Superman origin tropes (Krypton prologue, Kal-El in the ship, the Fortress of Solitude, the Daily Planet), and then throw in a few twists, which were surprisingly well-constructed and logically presented. Lois Lane investigating Superman before he was Superman was an entirely new idea, and it works extremely well, not only improving Lois' character, but also giving her and Superman a stronger relationship from the start. Also, the way that Clark's upbringing is presented, through following the main plot in the present with flashbacks to his childhood with the Kents in Smallville, completely removed the original obstacle of a Superman origin: that it takes him an hour to get in the costume. By showing us Clark's trials and tribulations, both as he wanders through his adult life and as he learns to control his powers with Jonathan and Martha's guidance, we connect to him better as a character, and spend less time wondering "Damn, when is Superman going to show up?" After he finds the Fortress (Again, reimagined as a Kryptonian scout ship that he can activate with his ship controller), the plot begins to centralize around Superman, and the flashbacks become less frequent, before going full-focus into the climax. And the best part: There are virtually no plot holes or logical gaps whatsoever. There's a few issues (see "The Bad" section), but overall, the story makes sense, and presents Superman as he would be received by the modern world. In the vein of Nolan, well done. Also, my favorite twist? Removing Kryptonite, and having the conditions of Krypton's atmosphere produce a Kryptonite-like effect that causes major disorientation for Superman and the villains alike.
- Krypton: HOLY CRAP KRYPTON IS SO F***ING AWESOME. It's a complete ground-up redo from the crystalline-tech world of the original movies, that takes elements primarily from the aforementioned The Man of Steel and Birthright, and yet also is its own new thing. From the domesticated alien pterodactyls, to the updated inclusion of Kelex (Seriously, I was SO, SO HAPPY when the world "Kelex" came out of Russell Crowe's mouth) as a cell phone/robot assistant/ship guard, down to the design of the Kryptonian costumes, that opening prologue was truly a sight to behold, as were all the recurrences of Krypton tech throughout the rest of the movie.
- The Cast: As is the case with Nolan's version of superheroes, the cast is basically outstanding across-the-board. Particular praise goes out to Michael Shannon, who had the excruciating challenge of separating his version of General Zod from Terence Stamp, and I think he succeeded. His Zod is, at least initially, a far more tragic villain that Stamp's megalomaniac, one who commits every atrocity out of a sense of duty to Krypton's future. Only once that dream is shattered does he become the Stamp-esque genocide-crazy monster again, and once that General Zod emerges, it is still quite entertaining to watch. Among others, I can easily praise Kevin Costner, who despite short screentime, delivers a truly emotional and heartfelt performance as Jonathan Kent. I really believe that this is the man who made Superman who he is, and his death scene is easily the most affecting version of the character's end ever. Amy Adams manages to overcome her not looking like the comic book character, and is easily the most well-rounded and strong version of Lois Lane on film yet, as stated above (With all due respect to Margot Kidder, of course. Kate Bosworth, not so much). Russell Crowe is also extremely well-cast as Jor-El, and thanks to some sci-fi trickery, he's in a lot of the film, and even gets to do some action stuff. I did enjoy the alien stolidity he brought the role quite a bit as well. As for the Man himself, Henry Cavill, I must say, it's really impressive that while watching his performance, I did not once think of Christopher Reeve. Cavill's version of Superman is a far more introverted and subdued take on the character that fits the world created here well, and he's easily the most physically able man to ever don the suit. I guess that's basically it. Oh, and Antje Traue is an awesome, badass femme fatale as Faora.
- Hans Zimmer: Hans Zimmer, Hans Zimmer, Hans Zimmer. Seriously, this score is INCREDIBLE, so different from his Batman scores, but equally as epic. The only downside is that the theme itself only plays over the end credits, when I wish it had been used the whole time.
- The Ending: The film as a whole presents Superman with a choice: which side will he embrace, his nature, Kryptonian, or nurture, Human? That's the question that still hangs over his head as Zod threatens to incinerate innocents with his heat vision. And then Superman makes a choice that, if handled wrong, could completely break the character: he's snaps Zod's neck. Many, including Birthright writer Mark Waid, have argued that this moments irreparably damages the movie. I, however, feel that in juxtaposing the limits of his options (he's got Zod in a headlock, but can't move him or restrain him for much longer, and Zod's getting ready to beat him by attacking the innocent) with his search for which side he's truly on, and as such, Superman makes his choice. And man, does he feel conflicted about it. And less, "What should I eat?" conflicted, and more "My dad is Darth Vader" conflicted:
The feral scream he lets out is incredible
This scene is the high point of Cavill's performance, and it's just plain epic. Follow this up with the coda at Jonathan Kent's grave and the Daily Planet, and you've got a nice franchise starter on your hands.
THE BAD
- Collateral Damage: The one thing that I found really disheartening about the movie was Superman's seeming lack of regard for the world around him. In Smallville and the final battle in Metropolis, the fights incur enormous amounts of damage, including much of central Metropolis. All of this action is visually stunning and awesome to watch, but the amount of collateral damage ensuing makes me wonder if Superman is thinking about the innocent civilians at all. This Superman does seem a bit more concerned with the big picture than the everyman, and while he does catch and save a few people here and there, I would have liked more scenes of him hauling ass to save lives.
- Power Levels: Again, they kind of totally blew it on the level of how every individual Kryptonian dealt with his powers. Superman had his entire life to develop his powers, and Zod and the others show up, and they've already basically mastered them. Granted, Zod never flies, and whenever one of their helmets is removed they become really disoriented from the X-ray vision and super-hearing, but still, Superman should have been kicking them around the block, and it was the other way around.
- More Heavy-handed Christ Imagery: Christ imagery is fine, especially when you're dealing with his pop-culture stand-in, but like in Superman Returns, they just got too carried away. From the scene where Superman consults the priest with a stained-glass picture of Jesus in the background, to him launching off the Kryptonian ship and floating in the water (half-naked with a beard, no less) in a Crucifixion pose (just like after he pushes the landmass in Superman Returns), a little more subtlety would've been more than welcome. Also, Superman is 33 years old in this movie. 33. YEARS. OLD. That's a bit too much.
- Exacerbating the Clark Kent Problem: One correction I was hoping this movie would make is explaining why no one could recognize bespectacled mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent as Superman, and it actually managed to make it worse. Now, Clark Kent is introduced to the Daily Planet, without a slouch in his step or combed over hair, RIGHT AFTER THE ENTIRE WORLD SAW SUPERMAN SAVE THEM. I like that Lois is in on the secret now, as there will now be no rehash of the Clark/Lois/Superman love triangle from the Donner movies, but seriously, no one recognizes him?
- Superman could smile a bit more: This is more of a gripe, but still, I wish Superman would take a bit more joy in having superpowers. The scene where he flies for the first time is truly powerful, and I wish we could have had more of that.
All the flight stuff is TOTALLY EPIC, though.
However, in spite of these flaws, I truly enjoyed Man of Steel. It may be more of a sci-fi movie than a superhero movie, but it's a truly gutsy and daring reinvention of the character of Superman. We need a little less playing it safe in Hollywood (I enjoyed Star Trek Into Darkness, for sure, but boy, did that movie not take many chances), and this movie certainly supplied that. It may not be on the level of Batman Begins, but it definitely has great potential as the start of a new Superman story. Because, in the end, the entire movie ends at the point where Superman completed his first save. It basically ends at the point in Superman: The Movie where Superman saves the helicopter, only on a much grander scale. Next time, let's get a full-blooded Superman movie.
Man of Steel gets a 9 out of 10, if only for sheer balls.
Two more days to order this Mondo poster, people. DO IT.
Still here? Okay, then, last night on Game of Thrones, this happened:
Even as a book reader, Pregnant Belly Stab was DEVASTATING.
The Red Wedding. Non-reading viewers had no idea it was coming, and readers had basically anticipated it since the inception of the series. It's the crowning moment of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, one where he says, "Ned's death didn't convince you that no one is safe? Well, TRY THIS."And it was amazing, devastating, and horrific all at the same time.
Not doing a full recap here, but just wanted to put my two cents in. I've found this season to be a little slower and less consistent than its predecessors (the perils of adapting only half a book), but "The Rains of Castamere" was uniformly excellent. With the exception of "Blackwater", it's at the top tier of the entire series.
Damn that generic title. Luckily, it's the worst thing about it.
I'm a very rare breed of Star Trek fan in that director J. J. Abrams' original 2009 reboot Star Trek is actually what converted me to the franchise. Before that, I had always been a Star Wars stalwart, preferring Jedis, Death Stars, and grand pyrotechnics over the headier and more philosophical take on science fiction spawned by Gene Roddenberry. Then Abrams comes along, and suddenly, Star Trek very much resembles the other, with big action setpieces, musings on destiny and war, and a lot of good old-fashioned fun. After viewing it, I proceeded to watch what many (including myself) to still be the high watermark of Star Trek (give or take a "The Best of Both Worlds"): Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Without ever having scene an episode of the television series, I was immediately drawn into the world of Kirk, Spock, and the moral quandaries, fearsome foes, and themes of life of death. As such, I have now seen most episodes of the TV series (along with the follow-ups), and all of the films. And Abrams' sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, represents the first time I am entering a Star Trek film with prior knowledge of the larger universe. For many, this represents a bit of a test drive for Abrams, as he's (as I have previously discussed) been selected to helm the highly anticipated Star Wars Episode VII. After the photo, my response. (AND SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM, DO NOT PROCEED. IT IS BETTER IF YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING GOING IN).
Um... what? Oh, right, right. The response. I was... distracted for a moment.
As I walked of the theater, my response was this: Star Trek Into Darkness is, for all intents and purposes, The Wrath of Khan in reverse. And this may not be as bad a thing as it could have been. Much of the hubbub surrounding this film was its secrecy, and the identity of the villain, played by Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch (and an actor who I've wrote extensively about already). Guesses ranged far and wide, even after he was given the name "John Harrison". Many suspected him to be Khan Noonien Singh, the iconic genetically enhanced foe of Captain Kirk from the Original Series episode "Space Seed", as well as the aforementioned Wrath of Khan, previously portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán. Others put forth the name of Gary Mitchell, from the series' second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Others still insisted (and hoped) he was a fresh antagonist, one we had no seen before. I was kind of hoping for a new enemy, but ultimately, Abrams' two Trek films to date have been primarily about putting a new spin on prior Star Trek iconography. Hence, Cumberbatch's "John Harrison" is actually Khan in disguise. This fits in perfectly with his two movies' inclusions of Romulans, Klingons, the originalUSS Enterprise, Captain Pike, Carol Marcus, Khan, Section 31 (I LOVED that the movie acknowledged Deep Space Nine, which is (IMHO) the best Star Trek show), and the Original Series crew, all updated and reinterpreted for a new timeline, the sole remnant of the previous series being the appearances of Leonard Nimoy's "Spock Prime". Star Trek Into Darkness is a flawed and deeply imperfect film, for reasons I shall get into, but it's also a ton of fun. It is roughly on par with its predecessor, with deeper valleys, but also higher peaks.
More than anything, though, I can describe the movie as thus: It ends with Spock fighting Khan Noonien Singh on a moving platform in downtown San Francisco, with Khan attempting to crush Spock's skull with his bare hands as Spock attempts to mindrape him. Seriously.
It is probably fair to accuse Star Trek Into Darkness of totally ripping off the plot of The Wrath of Khan, much like the lousy Star Trek: Nemesis (in general, the Next Generation movies mostly suck, with the possible exception of First Contact). However, it has many merits that the former does not. For one, instead of taking the hollow shell of Wrath of Khan and plastering a new sheen on it (as Nemesis did), it instead reinterprets the material, serving us up a far different storyline, as well as an extremely compelling villain (Tom Hardy is a great actor, but his Shinzon lacked basically any coherent motivation whatsoever). Many have complained that Khan is played by the British (and very Caucasian) Cumberbatch, as opposed to the Hispanic origins of Montalbán. Originally, Abrams sought Benicio del Toro for the role, which may have been a more accurate similarity, but I pose this question: If we can have a black Human Torch (as the rumors state for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot), black and Asian Norse gods (Thor), and a Hispanic actor play the supposedly Indian-born Khan, then why can't a white actor essay the role? And especially when it's one as tremendous as Cumberbatch. MY GOD, Cumberbatch. Since watching Sherlock, I knew he was great, but I have a strong feeling that Star Trek Into Darkness will be his big breakout. He plays Khan as a mixture of the original incarnation of the character from "Space Seed" with Hannibal Lecter, as a master manipulator, genius intellectual, and truly worthy challenge for the Enterprise crew. CumberKhan easily outstrips Eric Bana's bland revenge-driven Romulan Nero from Abrams' 2009 film, and gives Montalbán a fair run for his money, even if he's not quite as iconic. For my money, though, Cumberbatch would have absolutely killed it as Q.
The rest of the cast also shows up, in fine form. Chris Pine continues his mastery of the cocky, arrogant, and young James T. Kirk, bringing his Han Solo-esque "never tell me the odds" mantra, but also giving him a new arc, as he matures into a more able leader deserving of his captain's chair. Abrams said that Star Trek Into Darkness would be about Kirk earning his command of the Enterprise, and that absolutely comes through. And as Kirk grows, so does his relationship with Spock. Where Spock dealt with his conflict between his human and Vulcan heritage in the last film, he now fights his conflict of emotions. He attempts to find peace in death early in the film, only to alienate Uhura. He has difficulty understanding Kirk's sense of camaraderie with him. However, when driven to a point, his emotions emerge, and he begins to act a bit more like his captain. And Zachary Quinto, too, is great. He's so good that he gives Leonard Nimoy a strong challenger, playing Spock a bit colder, but also with emotions that run deeper. And for Nimoy fans, yes, he pops up in a (somewhat gratuitous) cameo, which runs concurrent with one of the film's main flaws, which I'll get to. As for the rest of the cast, Karl Urban and Simon Pegg continue to provide excellent interpretations of Bones and Scotty, even if they are occasionally underutilized. Anton Yelchin's Chekov voice is great, though I wish his character had more relevance than serving as a Scotty stand-in for a large chunk of the movie. Peter Weller's Admiral Marcus serves as the secondary villain, and RoboCop plays him pretty damn well, as a militaristic leader hellbent on war. As for the female roles...well...I'm getting to them now. Abrams' direction is as good as last time, significantly elevating the holes in the script from writers Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman. Michael Giacchino's score is also consistently excellent, as his Trek theme continues to grow on me. The movie is also very well-lit, with Abrams doing away with many of his lens flares, and the editing keeps things fast-paced when the plot falters.
Now, on to the flaws, and while I think Star Trek Into Darkness rises higher than its predecessor, it also sinks lower. It changed my directorial perception of Abrams as a man who never takes risks, because in the last act of this film, he took some HUGE ones. Some stuck, and some don't.
- The Female Characters: The two main female characters in the movie: Zoe Saldana's Uhura and Alice Eve's Carol Marcus, are both woefully underused and misused. Uhura's only purpose is to be an angry girlfriend to Spock, talk to Klingons, and to shoot Khan in the final fight. Other than that, she may as well have not been there at all. This is even more egregious with Marcus, introduced ostensibly to serve as Kirk's love interest and to tell more on the new torpedoes, only to spout expository dialogue and occasionally show skin (see picture above). For a series that has given well-drawn characters of both genders in the past, it falters heavily here.
- A Convoluted Plot Riddled with Holes: As much as I think the general idea of the movie works, it just remains that the plot is messy, and has many oversights. For one, Kirk is being sent back to the Academy, then he returns as First Officer, then he's Captain again because Pike is dead, and he's going after CumberKhan on Kronos with Advanced Torpedoes that do... what? Then they fight Klingons and CumberKhan on Kronos, then capture him, then fight the Vengeance, then take it down from the inside, then fight Khan, then save the ship from crashing, then Spock chases Khan and fights him, and so on and so forth. Too many threads in this movie with too many of them being underdeveloped. This is clearly Abrams' attempt to do a classic Star Trek movie style plot, with many threads and twists and turns, but it's just too twisty. Khan's a bad guy, then a prisoner, then an antihero, then a villain again, and the full intricacies of Admiral Marcus' plan are never fully explained. Then there's the transwarp beam that Khan uses to get from his shuttle in San Francisco to Kronos. MY GOD. If that tech exists, WHY ARE THERE STILL FRIGGIN' SPACE SHUTTLES??!! Also, did Khan's blood Lazarus serum just remove all consequences from any Star Trek movie, ever, or was it a one-time plot device to resurrect Kirk that will never be mentioned again?
- A Massive Overabundance of Fanwank: The third act of this movie moves from "Same villain, different plot" into straight up homage territory with The Wrath of Khan, and in attempting to please fans, it goes too far. Direct line callbacks, the presence of Carol Marcus despite her being generally unneeded, McCoy's constant "I'm a doctor, not a..." lines, and the Enterprise facing off against a secretly commandeered Federation ship. But as I said above, it does it in reverse. And while I actually like the clever reversal, it attempts too much. Spock faces off with Khan on the ship's bridge, while Kirk goes into the radiation chamber. Kirk saves the ship, but is fatally hit with radiation poisoning. The glass separation. "Ship? Out of danger." "I'm your friend". The hands touching against the glass. Kirk slumps over and dies. And, in the movie's silliest/greatest moment, the music swells, Spock coarses with range, and he.....
KHAAAAAAAAANNN!!!!
While, arguably, Quinto's delivery of the line is great, and he really sells the emotion in it, it doesn't change that it totally feels ridiculous.
But again, despite the plot issues and the fan wanking, I enjoyed the hell out of Star Trek Into Darkness. The movie's deeply flawed, but it also succeeds at Abrams' winning streak of making superbly entertaining blockbusters. If Star Wars Episode VII is as good as this, I will be sufficiently pleased.
Star Trek Into Darkness gets a 7.5 out of 10.
When exactly did they trek into darkness? Or anywhere?
Also, for the third film, whether Abrams directs it or not, my bet is on the Borg. You could have Kirk and crew go out into to space, and maybe the Borg were drawn in by the destruction of Vulcan. Kirk and Spock never faced the Borg, so while still culling elements from prior incarnations, it could indeed be very interesting. Just leave the Borg Queen out; they're more threatening when they're faceless.
Tony Stark meets Johnny Gossamer. God, I wish they sold this masterpiece.
Saying that Marvel Studios had a tough act to follow this year is a bit of an understatement. Not only was The Avengers the highest grossing superhero movie of all time, but it also deserves the honorable title of being the highest grossing film not directed by James Cameron. Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended with a bang. But because money, the wheel continues into Phase Two, offering up the potential for some new superheroes, as well as to allow some new filmmakers to step into the comic book movie pot. And since Marvel needs to make sure Phase Two starts successfully, they began by returning to the original source of their universe's success: Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark, so much so that I never want to see anyone else play the role (despite the inevitability that it will happen, as producer Kevin Feige has already speculated on "James Bonding" it once Downey has had his fill), and director Jon Favreau served up a great comic book movie in his own right back in 2008. However, the 2010 follow-up, Iron Man 2, was more problematic. While still being eminently watchable and entertaining, the sequel was stuffed with forced Avengers tie-ins (to the point of feeling like a 2-hour commercial for it at times), subplots, weak villains, and a rather skimpy amount of action. Needless to say, after this, Favreau decided to back out of directing the third film. However, in his place, a far more exciting filmmaker was selected: Shane Black, writer of the first two Lethal Weapon movies, and director of the underseen and underrated buddy-crime-comedy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Downey was the star of the latter, and it is credited as one of the movies that helped resuscitate his drug-hindered career, so it was only natural that Black be in the running. And now, we finally have the beginning of Phase Two, Iron Man Three (as Black refers to it in the end credits sequence). My response to the movie itself after the jump.
This looks... familiar.
As the above picture implies, yes, in some ways, Iron Man Three is the Tony Stark version of The Dark Knight Rises. Both films attempt to bring both the plot and arc of the character full-circle, and to tie up the loose ends from previous films. However, Black's interpretation of this fulfillment of the character's story is quite a bit different from Nolan's, as I will explain.
SPOILERS AHEAD. TURN BACK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, OR READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK. THOU HATH BEEN WARNED.
From the Marvel fanbase, Iron Man Three has been receiving quite a bit of backlash, particularly for three reasons: the alterations to the source material (in particular, the film's interpretation of Iron Man's archenemy, the Mandarin), a recurring focus on comedy over superheroics, and the lack of Iron Man action.
When it comes to the first caveat, I totally understand for hardcore Iron Man comic fans, but I am not one of them; as such, I have no emotional attachment to their interpretation of the Mandarin. On the whole, I found the reveal of Ben Kingsley as drunken actor Trevor Slattery to be a genuinely surprising and hilarious twist. Really, when "the Mandarin" first appeared, looking like the most generic copycat terrorist ever, started talking about a bombing in Kuwait, and then awkwardly muttering "I... I did that", you didn't suspect something a little fishy was up? Yes, I know some people wanted Tony Stark to duke it out with ten magic rings, but that wouldn't have fit with what Black was trying to do here.
For the second and third angles, I present this definite, inarguable fact: Iron Man Three is a Marvel Studios movie filtered through the lens of Shane Black. It's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with superheroes.
It's got all of Black's fingerprints on it: the Christmas setting (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the buddy cop/action-comedy formula (Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the Johnny Gossamer-esque pulp mystery style (again, see the above poster), and the goofy comedy. And all of this is then thrown into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Tony Stark dealing with PTSD after the events of The Avengers, and bringing back the question Steve Rogers asked him in that film: "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?" At the time, Stark wittily answered "Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist", but that question may have hung on him. And thus, the central question of Iron Man Three is posed: Does the man make the suit, or the suit make the man? And by the end, we have our answer. Which brings me back to my two latter points. In regards to the overabundance of comedy, that question is not only answered by Black's style, but by the fact that the movie was mis-marketed. Don't believe me? Let's check out that first trailer from last October again:
Yep. A little darker than the final film, ain't it? This trend continued all the way until the film's release, where people were basically blindsided by the overabudance of Blackisms, from the goofy one-liners to the Riggs-n-Murtaugh relationship between Tony and Rhodey. Same goes for Harley, the kid. Normally, the introduction of the kid would be a kiss of death, but Ty Simpkins is no Jake Lloyd, and Tony's rather frank and rude treatment of Harley circumvents the normal pitfalls, making the kid's precociousness funny instead of grating. As for the lack of Iron Man action, that would run counterproductive to the film's themes. By keeping Tony in Tennessee, and having him solve the mystery of the Mandarin like a Johnny Gossamer, they make him a real hero, as opposed to just a narcissist in a power suit. There still is Iron Man stuff, like Tony's visually stunning rescue of the passengers of Air Force One, as well as the spectacular shipyard climax, it's just not the focus of the movie. As for the complaints about the Extremis soldiers tearing off Tony's armor (when Thor, a demigod, only managed to bend it), the Mark XLII and his Iron Legion were mostly prototypes that he was still tinkering with. His original seven suits (the ones he built and used during Phase One) were all destroyed in the helicopter attack. The power levels are still a bit off (as they were in The Avengers, where a gamma-powered Hulk was able to toss Loki, another demigod, around like a rag doll), but it never gets in the way of the overall movie.
The actors, are, of course, great, as they always are in the Marvel Studios fold of films. Downey delivers what may be his most complete performance as Tony Stark yet, one that only affirms his vital importance to the character, giving us his snarky and vulnerable sides, sometimes at the same time. Gwyneth Paltrow is given more to do here than she ever has as Pepper, and while it may not be up to her previous performances in the role, she sells the more interesting bits of this outing (Super Pepper). Don Cheadle proves me wrong, with a far superior performance to his bland outing from Iron Man 2. By giving him and Tony a buddy-cop dynamic, they overcame the weaknesses of the character, allowing Cheadle to overtake Terrence Howard from the first film, and making Iron Patriot (despite not being as cool a name or look as War Machine) pretty damn cool. Guy Pearce has the toughest role of the film, as the biggest weakness of Iron Man Three is the lack of depth from Aldrich Killian, the true "Mandarin" and the film's real villain. However, it says something that I don't even mention the film's real villain until way late in the review, as there just isn't much there. Killian basically wants revenge on Tony just for leaving him waiting out in the cold. And while some weak argument of his "desperation" is presented later, I just never understood the quantum leap from meek, disabled nerd to Extremis-enhanced douchebag. For sure, Pearce's douchebagginess is entertaining as hell (especially when Killian's creeping on Pepper), and that part where he breathes fire is the single greatest moment in cinematic history, with Ben Kingsley as Slattery going "Oley, oley, oley oley!!" running a close second. Here's a picture, just to refresh your memory of the moment where Aldrich Killian from Warren Ellis' Extremis meets the Mandarin meets a Fin Fang Foom:
Seriously, this is AMAZING. Screw the haters on this one.
But, yeah, as I said, Killian's motivations just aren't that convincing. Neither are those of the Extremis soldiers (other than Stephanie Szostak's Brandt), despite James Badge Dale also being an entertaining glowing douchebag. Though I do appreciate the attempts to fit in Coldblood and Firepower, two obscure Marvel villains who probably otherwise would never have seen the light of day on film, making them into glowing monsters doesn't entirely work. As for Maya Hansen, she's probably the weakest character in the film. She was the secret villain of the entire Extremis story arc, and she's basically wasted here. Her motivations change twice, and she dies like a punk, thus robbing us of any emotional investment in her character. I honestly don't know why they bothered to cast Rebecca Hall, as a far less exceptional actress could have done the same job she did for way cheaper. Apparently they cast Jessica Chastain first, which is even more insane. In general, the villains are by far the weakest part of the movie, as they have been in both previous Iron Man films (Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane was interesting until he became a generic evil robot pilot, and Mickey Rourke's Whiplash was quirky but completely ineffectual).
As for the technical stuff, Brian Tyler's score is excellent. Tyler's a great composer who's been stuck in the doghouse until now, scoring movies like AVP Requiem and Battle LA, and he establishes himself here, not only crafting a great soaring theme for Iron Man that's he's been sorely lacking until now, but also giving us the backdrop for Black's virtuoso end credits sequence, the fantastic 60s-Batman-esque "Can You Dig It?". See here: http://www.hypable.com/2013/05/07/iron-man-3-end-credits-sequence-officially-released-in-hd/ . John Toll's cinematography also crafts my favorite look for an Iron Man film yet, far more bright and colorful than the more streamlined work from Favreau's films.
My verdict: Iron Man Three is the third-best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after The Avengers and the original Iron Man. It's a BIG step up from Iron Man 2, and may be the most cleverly funny superhero movie ever. Ben Kingsley is easily the best thing in the film, as he plays both shades of his role so damn well. Black was an inspired choice, and other than some weak villains (and the curious lack of S.H.I.E.L.D., which Feige said will be explained in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier), this is a rollicking good time at the movies. It comes highly recommended.
Iron Man Three gets an 8.5 out of 10.
I'll see you again in Phase Two come November, with the release of Thor: The Dark World.
NOTE: SPOILERS FOR ALL THREE BIOSHOCK GAMES FOLLOW.
Way back in summer 2011, I posted an article in which I discussed the current state of the BioShock video game franchise, expressing my love for the first and general ambivalence for the second. Irrational Games' original vision of the underwater city of Rapture remains one of the most captivating video game experiences of all time, and its 2K Marin-developed sequel, while fun and worth playing, amounts to little more than a tack-on. However, a few months after the release of the aforementioned BioShock 2, Irrational announced that their secret project, formerly codenamed Icarus, was in fact the next installment of the franchise, titled BioShock Infinite. However, it eschewed the concept of what a sequel usually is, trading in a well-worn retread of Rapture for the high-flying sky-city of Columbia, and jettisoning most of the franchises' most iconic features, from the city itself, to Big Daddies, to Little Sisters, to Splicers. Game director Ken Levine stated that while "the core" of what makes a BioShock game BioShock was still there, from the unfamiliar setting to the still-solid FPS/RPG hybrid gameplay. Plasmids became Vigors, Tonics became Gears, and EVE became Salts. And so, fans salivated for two and a half years, and a few delays, in anticipation of its release. Check to see of BioShock Infinite was worth the wait after the jump, and the requisite GIF:
I. LOVE. MURDER OF CROWS.
BioShock Infinite is a masterpiece. There's no way of getting around that. Levine has created a game that ascends to the level of the original, and possibly soars above even that. It gives this series not only a shot in the arm, but it actually (and wonderfully) redefines what exactly this series truly is, from a narrative standpoint. The core gameplay is basically the same, with the same deal of shooting, powers, scrounging, collecting, and general mayhem. But it's in the story, the one area where BioShock 2 ulitmately fell flat, that Infinite truly rises to the occasion. On the initial surface, the story of ex-Pinkerton Booker DeWitt attempting to retrieve a girl, Elizabeth from the sky-city in order to clear some mysterious debts sounds simple enough, but as the plot progresses, the narrative becomes increasingly complex and labyrinthine, introducing Elizabeth's powers (the "tears"), the Songbird, the antagonist of the Prophet, Zachary Comstock, the Vox Populi resistance led by Daisy Fitzroy, and Booker's past. But when you think about it, nearly every single element of the plot has a direct comparison to the original BioShock. This is intentional on the part of Levine, as it allows him to truly get at the meat of his ideas. Jack, the outsider thrust into the mad, mad world of the city, is Booker. Comstock, the cultish leader who built the city due to his disagreement with the world's ideals, is Andrew Ryan. Daisy Fitzroy, the revolutionary who ultimately plays a role in the city's downfall, is Atlas/Fontaine. The Songbird is like one giant Big Daddy, with Elizabeth as his Little Sister. The Lutece twins are Dr. Tenenbaum. To replace the threat of the Big Daddies as mini-bosses, we get the Handyman, and the Motorized Patriots. As Andrew Ryan conveyed his Objectivist ideals through his secluded underwater Art Deco metropolis, Comstock forces his hyper-fundamentalist and nationalistic cult (to a racist, insane fault) into every pore of his airborne Kensington. And just as in Rapture, not all in Columbia is as it seems.
For a large portion of my time spent with Infinite, I was essentially giddy with joy at the wonder that Levine had put in front of me. And yet, I felt like something, just SOMETHING was missing. I felt like that when I looked back on the game in future years, it would not be as indelibly printed on my brain as the original BioShock. Was Slate or Fink as memorable as the mini-bosses of Dr. Steinman and Sander Cohen? Was any area of Columbia as unforgettable as Rapture's terrifying Medical Pavilion? I was unsure; the only things that I felt would remain on my brain long after putting the controller down were Elizabeth, the Songbird, the Luteces, and Comstock. The only real wrinkle was the tears. I figured the game would have a neat twist at the end, a parallel to the still-gut-punching "would you kindly" twist from the original, probably to do with the tears. And I figured I would say it was great, but not as good as the original.
But I didn't get one game-ending twist. I didn't get two, or three, or four, or zero. I got, well, Infinite.
SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING FOLLOW.
So anyway, in the final act of the game, Booker drowns Comstock in his little baptismal pool/birdbath thing, and him and Elizabeth seize control of the Songbird in order to destroy the final threat of the Vox Populi, before finally leaving Columbia forever. They successfully utilize the Songbird's power to destroy their opposition, but then Booker loses the controls. Songbird immediately comes after him, forcing Elizabeth to transport them through a tear, to an entirely different place. Where, you ask? (LAST CHANCE TO AVOID SPOILERS)
Elizabeth rejected Columbia. Instead, she chose something different. She chose the impossible. She chose... RAPTURE.
That's right. Rapture. They took a tear into Rapture. At this point I practically exploded with pure fanboyism delight, as Booker and Elizabeth took the reverse out of Rapture in the bathysphere, the same way Jack came in in the original game. Booker makes a comment about the ridiculousness of an underwater city, and I explode with joy. And then, Twist #2 (or Twist #Infinite) arrives:
Ah. I get it now.
And thus, the true meaning of the title BioShock Infinite comes to the surface. Levine said he meant for it to refer to the "infinite possibilities" of the game concept. I thought that was dumb, because it meant that they were naming the second game in this high-concept idea Infinite when others may come afterwards. However, I now get that Levine's a game goddamn genius. Infinite really means that through every tear, every permutation of every possible universe, there are a million different BioShocks out there. A million different strange worlds, all entered through a lighthouse.
Um.
MIND BLOWN INFINITE TIMES
I see now what this is. Maybe Comstock was right, after all. Maybe this ending is divine retribution for the end of Mass Effect 3, which took a series with thematic depth and complexity equal (and possibly surpassing) the BioShock franchise, and then dumbed it down to a alien RoboBaby's choice of red/blue/green explosions.
And the thing is, there's still like, 20 minutes left in the game at this point, in which there are multiple more twists, one in the last 30 seconds of the game, all of which completely re-contextualize everything that came before. It's like infinite "would you kindly"s, back-to-back-to-back. None of them probably reach the single sheer brilliance of the original game's big twist, but unlike the original game, they all know how to follow up from there, whereas the original sort of lost its way in the final acts post-twist, culminating in an unnecessary Big Dumb Boss Fight.
This guy ain't half as threatening as one Big Daddy.
Sure, the ending(s) that came after that were great, iconic even, but Infinite doesn't trivialize. Rather than having you fisticuffs with an elderly Comstock, or having you fight the Songbird or something ridiculously implausible (like a guy ADAM-ing himself into mutant land like good old Atlas pictured above), they throw Columbia's kitchen sink at you, and force you to very quickly strategize your victory, leading to the utter NPH-mindblowing awesomeness described earlier. Also, the game has one, definitive ending. Levine was clearly more interested in a standalone story here than a morality play, and because Booker's ending is his own redemption in and of itself, multiple endings would muddle the impact.
So yeah, I liked this one. 2013 Game of the Year? Maybe, but it's a bit early for that. This year, after all, does also have The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, and the launch of the next generation of consoles. Does BioShock Infinite hold up to the previous GOTY (IMHO) of this generation? Is it better than the original BioShock, Grand Theft Auto IV, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Mass Effect 2, Batman: Arkham City, or Telltale's The Walking Dead (which, again IMHO, is 100x better than the TV series)? Well, it certainly belongs in that pantheon. And it probably doesn't best Levine's original, if only because it cribs its entire gameplay framework from the former. Nevertheless, it's a game that EVERYONE should play, as with that ending, there's nothing quite like it.
BioShock Infinite gets full marks.
Meathead DudeBro pandering on one cover, pure art on the other.
