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Star Trek: Into Darkness * * * 1/2

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writers: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof

Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho

Running Length: 133 minutes

Synopsis: When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving their world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

Review: With the series reboot in 2009, Star Trek is no longer a movie franchise that solely appeals to a niche “Trekkie” audience. J. J. Abrams had made Star Trek cool and mainstream, and many people will walk into Star Trek: Into Darkness, four years later, with raised expectations (myself included). The good news is that Into Darkness manages to outdo its predecessor(s), raising the bar yet again for the Star Trek franchise. Into Darkness has something for fans of many genres – sci-fi, action, even drama, and although it has once again taken liberties with the “established” Star Trek canon, there’s very little to complain about otherwise.

A caveat: now that it’s the second movie post reboot, audiences will need to have watched the first movie in order to make sense of the interpersonal relationships aboard the starship Enterprise, as there is very little exposition in the film to cast more light on the Enterprise crew list. That does free up the narrative of Into Darkness, and instead of cast introductions, the film kicks off straight in the deep of a really fun, slightly implausible action sequence that sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

The original cast are back for the sequel, and as a whole the performances are more than adequate, with even the usually subpar Chris Pine having a few memorable moments. However, all performances pale to Benedict Cumberbatch’s tour de force turn as the central villain of the movie, and a mid-movie reveal will leave Trekkies gasping for breath (either in horror or in appreciation of the way Abrams has paid homage to the Trek films of yore). The intensity of Cumberbatch’s performance is astounding, and manages to outdo Eric Bana’s banal villain (pun unintended) in the first film many times over.

Into Darkness is yet another post-processed 3D film, which means that there’s really very little reason to view it in 3D. Save for a couple of scenes which displays reasonable three dimensionality, there’s no significant value-add shelling out the extra money for a 3D screening.

The screenplay has almost everything in it save the kitchen sink, deftly switching from action to comedy to character drama, and managing to pull off most of it with aplomb. The only flaw is in the film’s final reel, which feels like an unnecessary addition after what was ostensibly a climactic finale. The film thus ends on a whisper instead of a bang, but even this irregularity doesn’t detract too much from the enjoyment of the movie as a whole. And that’s essentially the reason why Into Darkness is a successful film – it manages to consistently entertain, and yet boasts a depth that is not commonly seen in summer blockbusters.

Unfortunately, with directorial duties for Star Wars looming, it is unlikely that J. J. Abrams will be behind the camera for the next Star Trek installment. However, he has laid such excellent groundwork for the franchise to continue, that it would take a large amount of ineptitude for the next director to screw it up.

Rating: * * * ½ (out of four stars)

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Iron Man 3 * * *

Genre: Action

Director: Shane Black

Writers: Shane Black, Drew Pearce

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall

Running Length: 131 minutes

Synopsis: Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle.

With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Review: Now that Iron Man is a firmly established franchise together with the Avengers, it’s hard to feel any surprise about this third installment of Iron Man. Whilst no one can be accused of dialing in their performances (which are in fact quite good given the genre), there’s this overall sense of not really trying too hard with this film. The requisite action sequences are in place, as well as Robert Downey Jr’s by-now trademark wisecracking take on Tony Stark/Iron Man, but the change of directors to Shane Black brings nothing new to the table. Not that change is a necessity, but since this should be the swansong for the Iron Man franchise, I had truly expected the trilogy to end on a higher note.

This is essentially the darkest Iron Man film to date, focusing on the more intimate aspects of the Iron Man universe – Stark’s inability to cope with the events that unfolded in The Avengers, his relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and his personal vendetta against the terrorist figure known only as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). Robert Downey Jr. actually spends a fair amount of time outside the suit, and apart from a lengthy, overly cheesy and somewhat unnecessary “buddy movie” sequence with a young boy, his performance as a superhero is impressive and only a distant second from Christian Bale’s incomparable turn as the Dark Knight. Ben Kingsley is the most seasoned actor amongst the cast, and despite a limited number of scenes, easily steals the limelight from everyone else, Downey Jr. included.

Action set pieces are on the whole quite well done, especially the scene involving Air Force One, but my personal opinion is that the climactic showdown in the final reel is a letdown. Having a whole bunch of Iron Man suits fighting the villain’s henchmen makes it look like a scaled down version of Transformers, and honestly the entire denouement fails to make much sense on most levels. The finale also attempts to inject some emotionality to the proceedings but it’s not a very successful attempt (as compared to, for example, the final sequence in The Dark Knight Rises).

This is the first Iron Man film to be in 3D, but like many conversions to 3D, it is not necessary to watch the film in the third dimension. There’s very little depth to the picture, and 3D actually makes the image muddy and causes a lot of strain to the eyes. Having caught the film once each in 3D and 2D, I can safely say the viewing experience is far better in 2D.

Iron Man 3 is a perfectly fine start to the summer blockbuster season for 2013, and only the fussiest moviegoers will walk out of the cinema not feeling entertained. It is unlikely we will see Iron Man as a standalone feature moving forward, but Tony Stark’s appearance in related franchises (next up in Avengers 2) should leave fans satiated.

P.S There is a post credits sequence which is quite amusing but inconsequential – whether it’s worth sitting through the ten minute credits crawl is of course, a personal choice.

Rating: * * * (out of four stars)

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Skyfall * * * 1/2

Genre: Action Thriller

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade

Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney

Running Length: 143 minutes

Synopsis: In Skyfall, Bond’s (Daniel Craig) loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Review: This was the Bond film that almost never came to be – given MGM’s financial woes, production was suspended on Skyfall for a year, but thankfully things turned around and the film managed to be released in time for Bond’s 50th anniversary. This fact alone is due cause for celebration, because after the somewhat disappointing Quantum of Solace, Skyfall is a return to form for the franchise, and immediately ranks amongst the best Bond films (though still falling slightly short of the seminal Casino Royale). Perhaps it’s the sensibilities of a director like Sam Mendes, or that Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Javier Bardem is possibly the best combination of Bond, M and Bond villain in the franchise’s 50-year history, but everything just falls into place beautifully, resulting in not just a great Bond film, but an excellent action thriller as a whole.

The film opens with a huge bang, with an excellent chase sequence that sets the tone of the film action-wise. Seguing into a classic Bond credit sequence with a theme song (sung by Adele) that is definitely the best in recent years, Skyfall makes no pretense about its intentions – this is meant to be a throwback to the best years of the Bond franchise, and it does so with great aplomb.
 
Great action sequences are almost a given nowadays, and Skyfall more than delivers in this aspect. What Sam Mendes brings is an added dimension to Skyfall, an emotional engagement that is rare in the franchise. Daniel Craig masterfully peels back the layers of Bond cool, and displays a scarred vulnerability that makes Bond more three-dimensional and accessible than ever before. This iteration of Bond can be hurt physically and emotionally, and it’s not hard to see the parallel between Craig’s James Bond and Christopher Bale’s Batman. Javier Bardem plays the fey yet menacing antagonist Silva, and although Bardem puts forth a most impressive performance, Craig never feels like he’s being outdone or overshadowed.

However, the most memorable performance in the film has to go to what must be the oldest “Bond girl” ever – Judi Dench’s M is a pivotal character in the movie and her role in Skyfall outweighs her previous six outings combined. From the grittier moments to the most introspective portions of the film, Dame Judi Dench doesn’t ever falter, and much like Daniel Craig, she has become the most iconic M in the franchise’s history. Bond films are not known for thespian quality, but since the Casino Royale reboot this has been turned on its head.

Skyfall boasts incredible visuals, and is a very handsome film from start to end – kudos to Roger Deakins, who may just get a nod at the Academy Awards for the fine work he’s put in here. In particular, the skyscraper scene set in Shanghai really ups the game, presenting an action sequence in a breathtakingly new light (both literally and figuratively). Thomas Newman, Mendes’ longtime collaborator, merges old and new together in his scoring of the film, and that familiar guitar riff makes an undeniable impression multiple times in the show (as compared to the two previous films scored by David Arnold, which pretty much eschewed the classic theme from a majority of the proceedings).

It’s hard to innovate in a film franchise which has been around for half a century, but that’s exactly what Mendes and crew have managed to achieve. It’s an interesting dichotomy – on the one hand James Bond has been further updated for modern times, yet it’s the callback to the classic Bond that makes the movie stand out.  The only more tangible flaw that Skyfall has is the need for a tighter edit, yet even this doesn’t really detract significantly from the cinematic spectacle that the rest of the film is.
 
Rating: * * * ½ (out of four stars)

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The Dark Knight Rises * * * *

Genre: Action

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, based on characters written by Bob Kane

Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Running Length: 165 minutes

Synopsis: It’s been eight years since the events that unfolded in The Dark Knight, and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is now a shadow of his former self, broken both physically and emotionally, casting himself into self-seclusion. An encounter with the sexy cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) jolts him out of his stupor, and with a new villain Bane (Tom Hardy) in Gotham City threatening the city’s survival, Bruce has to decide whether to become the caped crusader again. He is aided by his trusty butler Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), his right-hand man at Wayne Enterprises, and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman). Several other characters also enter the fray, including police officer John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as well as Wayne Enterprises board member and potential love interest of Bruce Wayne, Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard).

Review: All good things have to come to an end, and after 7 long years, the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s game-changing Batman trilogy has finally arrived. The Dark Knight is a very tough act to follow, and whilst The Dark Knight Rises does not manage to reach the same heights that its predecessor attained, the film is about as good a sendoff to the series as one would hope to get.  

Let’s get the downsides out of the way first: there’s a slight sense of overreach when it comes to The Dark Knight Rises, as though there really isn’t enough time (even in a movie that runs close to 3 hours long) to cover every aspect of the complex narrative web that Christopher and his brother Jonathan have weaved. There are just a touch too many characters involved in the proceedings, to the point where it does seem that some of these characters have been given short shrift – even Batman himself doesn’t take centerstage all that often, despite this being a movie that ostensibly revolves around him.

Yet, these are merely minor quibbles in the grander scheme of things, and The Dark Knight Rises satisfies in ways that few superhero movies can hope to do. Things are never simple in Nolan’s cinematic universes, and in the realm of his Dark Knight, the characters carry far greater emotional weight than one would expect for a superhero movie, and the universally excellent performances (except perhaps for a blander than usual Marion Cotillard) help to give multi-dimensionality. Combined, this means much greater audience investment into the outcomes of these characters, which is never a bad thing.

The Dark Knight Rises also focuses on something that is usually left by the wayside for a superhero movie – it reminds us that beneath the mask, Batman is a normal human being. From the walking stick that Bruce Wayne now depends on, to Alfred’s questioning his intentions for returning as Batman, the caped crusader’s physical vulnerability is underscored repeatedly.

Christian Bale continues to give a superlative performance as Bruce Wayne and Batman, and despite the significant female presence in the movie (Anne Hathaway is particularly memorable as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, although it’s very different from Michelle Pfeiffer’s campy Catwoman), the best emotional sequences arise from interactions between Wayne and his butler Alfred. Christian Bale and Michael Caine will quite possibly be the best iterations of these two characters ever, much like how the late Heath Ledger has completely overshadowed any other actor that have been (or will become) the Joker. Tom Hardy’s Bane is menacing and yet charismatic, though his performance is somewhat hampered by the large mask that he wears. An additional caveat: the distortion of Bane’s voice does makes some of his dialogue almost unintelligible.

The Dark Knight Rises is equally accomplished on the technical front. This is an incredibly good looking film, benefiting from Wally Pfister’s excellent cinematography and Nolan’s masterful framing of shots. Over an hour of footage has been shot on IMAX film, and the movie is best appreciated on an IMAX screen. Nolan is known for avoiding CGI whenever possible, and there’s an organic feel to the movie (which is entirely shot on film as well) which is hard to find in any action movie these days. Hans Zimmer’s score also forms an integral part of the movie, punctuating the action sequences with percussion heavy cues, but also judiciously using silence and dialing back on the pomposity whenever needed.

Without giving anything away, let’s just say that Nolan has given as much closure to his trilogy as possible, but has still left the door slightly open for the studio’s benefit. The denouement of The Dark Knight Rises isn’t as ambiguous as Inception, but this is without a doubt a “thinking man’s superhero movie”, requiring a consistent engagement of the mind. It’s a change of pace from most summer action films, but the film remains thrilling and engrossing throughout, despite its extended running time.

Both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have largely missed out on Oscar action, barring Heath Ledger’s posthumous Supporting Actor win. Hopefully the Academy will belatedly recognize the greatness of this genre-bending trilogy, and we’ll see a more representative list of nominations for what is undoubtedly the best superhero movie to be released this year.

Rating: * * * * (out of four stars)

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Ice Age 4: Continental Drift * * 1/2

Genre: Animation

Directors: Steve Martino, Michael Thurmeier

Writers: Michael Berg, Jason Fuchs

Voice Cast: Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifa, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lopez, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes

Running Length: 85 minutes

Synopsis: The trio from the previous Ice Age movies returns – Manny the wooly mammoth, Diego the sabretooth tiger, and Sid the sloth – embark upon their greatest adventure after cataclysm sets an entire continent adrift. Separated from the rest of the herd, they use an iceberg as a makeshift ship, which launches them on an epic seafaring quest. Manny and the gang are challenged like never before to become heroes and do the impossible, as they encounter exotic sea creatures, explore a brave new world, and battle ruthless pirates. And Scrat’s reunion with his cursed nut catapults him to places no prehistoric squirrel has gone before.

Review: There really isn’t much reason for this movie to exist, and it shows – although Ice Age 4: Continental Drift is superficially entertaining with a plethora of funny and cute animals, the plot is virtually nonexistent and the social message feels tacked on. It has been a decade since the first Ice Age, and yet the franchise does not seem to have improved with time, with a large part of the film feeling like nothing more than a rehash.

The entire concept that Ice Age 4 revolves around also feels like an uneasy marriage – having the main characters duke it out on a newly formed ocean on “ships” made from icebergs feels almost too human for a bunch of creatures in the Ice Age. The additional subplot involving Manny the wooly mammoth’s rebellious teenaged daughter is even more uninteresting, and the way it plays out and resolves itself is very perfunctory.  

Credit to be given where it’s due though, Ice Age 4 looks great (like almost every computer animated film these days), and the usage of 3D is rather impressive, especially for younger audiences. Scrat, the iconic squirrel chasing after his acorn, is still as entertaining as ever, providing much needed diversion from the clunky main plots. Many of the new characters are actually more interesting than the original Ice Age gang, with the most memorable being Sid the sloth’s grandmother, wonderfully realized by Wanda Sykes.

Special mention must be given, however, to the best part of the show, which actually occurs before the start of Ice Age 4. Do not miss out on the excellent short film The Longest Daycare, starring Maggie of The Simpsons – the four and a half minute short is brilliant, packing more creativity, wit and heart than the entire movie that follows. For Simpsons fans like me, this short film alone is worth the price of admission.

Rating: * * ½ (out of four stars)

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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter * * 1/2

Genre: Action

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Writer: Seth Grahame-Smith, based on his novel of the same name

Cast: Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Marton Csokas, Jimmi Simpson

Running Length: 105 minutes

Synopsis: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter explores the secret life of one of the U.S.’s greatest presidents, and the untold story that shaped that country. Producer Tim Burton and director Timur Bekmambetov reimagine Lincoln as one of history’s greatest hunters of the undead.

Review: Given the names of the visionaries that are backing Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, it’s truly a surprise that the end result is such a middling movie. It’s almost as though producer Tim Burton and director Timur Bekmambetov (Daywatch, Wanted) couldn’t make up their mind whether the subject matter functions better as a satire or a straight up horror/action film, and the eventual execution, whilst perfectly serviceable, lacks the qualities to be memorable in any way.

One would assume that with a concept of turning the president of the USA into a vampire hunter, the film would be quite “out there”, but the tone is far more serious than it should be. The first half of the movie is the better half, with the “origins story” of how Abraham Lincoln becomes an axe-wielding vampire slayer, but once the narrative moves toward marrying fact (Abraham Lincoln: President) and fiction (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), it starts to falter.

It doesn’t help that the vampire hunter premise already feels tired after the first two reels, and becomes multiple variations on the same (old) theme. The acting is pretty much mediocre throughout, with Benjamin Walker being the biggest offender – he has absolutely no charisma as Abe, and when the film ages him with somewhat dodgy makeup, it becomes even harder to look past his subpar acting chops.

With Bekmambetov helming the camera, it’s almost a given that the visuals will be impressive, and for the most part they are (although the 3D implementation feels half-baked). In fact, if not for the great action set-piece near the end, involving a train heist, hand to hand combat and a burning bridge, the second half of the movie would have been pretty much a downer.  This becomes one of the few redeeming points of the movie – but whether it’s enough to justify the price of entry would depend on one’s threshold for the chaff that makes up the remainder of the film.

Rating: * * ½ (out of four stars)

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The Vow * * 1/2

Genre: Drama

Director: Michael Sucsy

Writers: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, Michael Sucsy

Cast: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Jessica Lange, Sam Neill

Running Length: 105 minutes

Synopsis: A car accident puts Paige (McAdams) in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo (Tatum) works to win her heart again.

Review: Despite a “based on true events” premise, The Vow is about as rote a romantic drama as it gets. In fact, it almost seems Nicholas Sparks had a hand in it, even though that’s not actually the case. This is a movie squarely targeted at the women, and its box office success in the US is testament to the power of this demographic. Unwilling husbands and boyfriends will no doubt be dragged to the cinema to catch this, and while it won’t be an entirely moot outing, it’s hard to imagine any (straight) men getting into this movie.   

The best thing about The Vow is Rachel McAdams, who puts forth a great performance despite the limiting material here. There is, however, little real chemistry between her and Channing Tatum, and as a result their tortured romance post-trauma never comes across as being quite believable. Channing Tatum is obviously here as a pretty face and body, and although he tries hard to emote (with uneven results), Tatum would be most remembered for his multiple bare-bodied scenes here, including one where he shows off his bubble butt. Jessica Lange and Sam Neill seem to be downgrading their career trajectories by appearing in a film like this one, but at least Lange gets one good scene out of the movie, essentially out-acting every other cast member in those few minutes.

The Vow isn’t afraid to come across as being a cheesy melodrama, and it embraces both aspects with aplomb. In its own way, that’s a charming thing to do and The Vow works well as a date movie. Unfortunately, those looking to vesting more emotion into the movie may find themselves somewhat disappointed – very little is done with the premise of the movie, and eventually the script writes itself into a corner with no way out. The Vow avoids some of the expected clichés – no second bump on the head to magically restore Paige’s memory, for example – but the scribes add nothing in to replace the void. There’s no pat denouement apart from an end title card detailing the outcome of the real life couple, but at least Michael Sucsy has managed to resist injecting forced tragedy into the tale, unlike how a Nicholas Sparks novel/movie would have panned out.      

Rating: * * ½ (out of four stars)

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Wrath of the Titans * * 1/2

Genre: Action

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Writers: Dan Mazeau, David Johnson, Greg Berlanti

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Rosamund Pike, Edgar Ramirez, Bill Nighy, Danny Huston

Running Length: 100 minutes

Synopsis: A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington) – the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) – is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned…

Review: Few films in recent memory have benefitted from lowered expectations like Wrath of the Titans has – after all, its predecessor was a pretty terrible mess, from the clunky dialogue to the awful tacked on “3D” (the most 3D aspect being the Mandarin subtitles), and it really wouldn’t take much to improve upon that travesty of a remake. This time round, the story comes with much less baggage, and despite another post production 3D conversion, looks far better than the first film. That’s not to say that Wrath of the Titans is a masterpiece, but at least it’s much less painful to sit through, with a number of decent action set pieces, and the injection of much-need levity into the proceedings. It also helps to view this film on as large a screen as possible (IMAX 3D being the most ideal), as it amplifies the cinematic experience and makes the film’s flaws more tolerable.

And there’s no shortage of things to pick on in Wrath of the Titans, if one is inclined to do so. The dialogue is painfully clunky, with characters often delivering dialogue solely for exposition’s sake, and the script borders on incoherence very often. The production team does seem to be aware of that, and occasionally poke fun at themselves (at one point, one character tells another to “avoid the big speech”), which makes it a little more tolerable. There’s also a lot of soap opera going on for an action movie, and these exclusively male, uncomfortably melodramatic scenes really weigh down the narrative.

Still, the film largely looks good, and the action sequences are quite impressively choreographed, with the most memorable not being the climactic showdown, but rather a “smaller” scene involving a number of Cyclops and the lead characters. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes bring higher quality acting and gravitas to the table, while an almost unrecognizable Bill Nighy steals the show with his high energy portrayal of Hephaestus. Action junkies should still leave the cinema feeling sated, but here’s hoping that if there’s a third film in the franchise, that it would be a higher quality production all round.   

Rating: * * ½ (out of four stars)

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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Genre: Action

Directors: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor

Writers: Scott M. Gimple, Seth Hoffman, David S. Goyer

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ciaran Hinds, Johnny Whitworth, Fergus Riordan, Idris Elba

Running Length: 95 minutes

Synopsis: Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) – still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter – is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy – and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

Review: It’s probably a sequel that not many people had expected – after all, the original Ghost Rider movie in 2007 wasn’t exactly a trailblazer, even though it did score a pretty healthy box office taking. This time round, the cheesy humour that was so prevalent in the first film is toned down (although there is an absolutely brilliant joke about Twinkies), and the directorial duo behind the Crank franchise seems a little out of their depth when putting together larger-scale action set pieces that aren’t as organic as those found in Crank. 

The acting in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is simply rather uninspired, and even Nicolas Cage doesn’t tap that frequently into his “mad side”, a departure from the first Ghost Rider movie. However, Cage has always been an intense actor, and even though the audience will only get it in small doses it’s still an indication of what Cage is capable of. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast do not do as well, and many seem to be sleepwalking through the whole film.

Many audience members choose to watch a superhero movie to be visually dazzled by the CG and the action sequences, and in both aspects Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance falls a little short. Some of the CG is impressive but quality is rather uneven, and the addition of 3D feels mostly superfluous. The action sequences are also a little subpar, and doesn’t really impress excepting a handful of scenes. The climactic showdown turns out to be just a little anticlimactic, although it is preceded by a nicely choreographed car chase.   

The superhero movie genre has been transformed since films like Batman Begins came onto the scene, and whilst Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance would have been a perfectly serviceable genre film in the past, it quite simply will not be good enough when compared to the other superhero films that are set to be released this year.

Rating: * * ½ (out of four stars)

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J. Edgar * * *

Genre: Drama

Director: Clint Eastwood

Writer: Dustin Lance Black

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench

Running Length: 137 minutes

Synopsis: J. Edgar explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

Review: J. Edgar is not one of Clint Eastwood’s strongest works, despite an excellent lead performance and a number of compelling scenes. Perhaps this is due partially to Dustin Lance Black’s script, which seems reluctant to delve deeper into J. Edgar’s psyche, choosing instead to present a rather superficial view of the man. There are lengthy scenes in the film which are very low key, and this is likely to lead to an emotional disconnect with the audience members.

The narrative structure of J. Edgar is, surprisingly, rather clunky, although it depends on the usual flashback and flashback-within-flashback shorthand. Although brownie points should be given for tackling a story that spans 7 decades, the segue between “present” and “past” is sometimes rather clumsily done. What is also extremely jarring is the subpar makeup, and the worst offender is that of Armie Hammer, who looks like he’s two hundred years old under a layer of overdone speckled makeup that truly detracts from audience immersion.    

The only actor to rise above the makeup is Leonardo DiCaprio, who puts forth a career-best performance as J. Edgar, perfectly portraying every aspect of the man. He disappears into the role, which is an essential part of any successful biographical depiction. It’s certainly an Oscar-worthy performance, but DiCaprio is unfortunately snubbed in this year’s nominations. Unsurprisingly, the only other actor that impresses is Judi Dench (mercifully not drowned under makeup) in her small handful of scenes – the scene where she utters the chilling “I would rather have a dead son than a daffodil for a son” is certainly one of the most emotionally impactful.  

What the script doesn’t shy away from is J. Edgar’s sexuality, and this is possibly one of the most overt depictions of J Edgar’s asexuality/homosexuality. Although it takes a while to get to J Edgar’s proclivities, when it does get there, the film is enlivened to such a great extent that his sexuality becomes the film’s focus. Not that there’s anything wrong in that, and this does make parts of the film somewhat akin to a tender love story (particularly the denouement), but given that plenty of J. Edgar’s life and career have been left out of the movie despite its length, one can’t help but feel slightly underwhelmed by the time the end credits roll.     

Rating: *** (out of four stars)

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