Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) review

Well… this film has had quite a history. Practically ever since it was first announced, the second installment of Disney’s line of Star Wars spin-off films separate from the new trilogy of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and next year’s Episode IX has been subjected to some of the worst luck to ever befall a film production in recent years. Right out the gate, several Star Wars fans were hesitant over the idea of there being a dreaded ‘prequel/origin story’ film centered on one of the most beloved characters in the entire saga, Han Solo. It certainly didn’t help matters when it was made clear that, given the context of the story, Han wouldn’t be played by Harrison Ford this time around, effectively putting tons of pressure on whoever ended up taking on the role to live up to what Ford had done with it. Thankfully, some of these fears were alleviated when the duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were brought in to direct. Over the course of the past decade, Lord and Miller have become well-known for helming highly successful projects that, at first glance, seemed like they wouldn’t amount to anything special. They turned a very simple children’s book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, into one of the most visually vibrant and hilarious animated films in recent memory. They turned the obscure television show 21 Jump Street, known only at the time for being the show that launched Johnny Depp’s career, into one of the funniest comedies of its year. This was then followed by a sequel, 22 Jump Street, which went on to become one of the rare comedy sequels that was not only ‘as good’ as its predecessor, but arguably better. And they turned what could’ve been a massively blatant cash grab, The LEGO Movie, into a charming and fantastically animated adventure that paid loving tribute to the product that it was based on. Thus, with the two of them behind the camera, it seemed as if things would go quite smoothly for this new Star Wars film…

…that is, until June 20^th, 2017, when all hell broke loose. In a stunning development, Lord and Miller announced that they were stepping down from the film’s production despite there being a few weeks left of filming due to creative differences with Lucasfilm. Not long afterward, it was then revealed that the two were basically ‘fired’ from the film due to the overtly comedic direction that they were taking with it, with producer Kathleen Kennedy reportedly being at odds with them since the start of filming. And while Lucasfilm quickly rebounded from this dilemma by hiring the legendary Ron Howard to step in and finish the film, the damage was already done at that point. Despite being an industry mainstay, as well as being no stranger to the studio having starred in George Lucas’ 1973 classic American Graffiti, many deemed Howard as being ‘too safe’ of a choice to take over for the likes of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Simply put, Solo: A Star Wars Story basically became the equivalent of Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man, which also went through an infamous directorial shakeup when Peyton Reed took over for Edgar Wright, who backed out of the project due to, you guessed it, ‘creative conflicts with the studio’. And while the Star Wars franchise’s run under the Disney banner has led to three critical/commercial hits so far, the equally scandalous production of the previous spin-off film, Rogue One, and the borderline hostile polarizing reaction to The Last Jedi did not put the studio in as high of a regard amongst those on the internet compared to Marvel Studios. But let’s just ignore all that noise for now and just look at the film itself now that it’s finally hitting theaters, because despite such a notorious production behind it, Solo is a highly entertaining foray into the Star Wars universe.

Like Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story takes place in-between the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope at a time where the Imperial Empire is in complete control of the galaxy. It is in this war-torn world where we meet Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich), a brash, young wannabe pilot who manages to escape his rough living conditions on the planet Corellia. After a brief, disastrous stint in the Imperial Navy, Han crosses paths with a band of criminals led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), who ends up recruiting Han for a heist on a shipment of valuable hyper fuel. During the process, Han also meets and befriends a Wookiee named Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), who ends up tagging along with him on the mission. However, when the heist ends up being a bust, Han, Chewie, and Beckett find themselves in hot water with their ‘superiors’, a criminal syndicate known as Crimson Dawn led by Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). To appease Vos, Han boldly suggests an alternate plan to acquire the hyper fuel, which involves them acquiring it in an ‘unprocessed’ form from the planet Kessel. Given the seemingly impossible nature of the mission, Vos has his top subordinate Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), who happens to be Han’s former lover who he was forced to leave behind on Corellia, accompany them on the operation to help ensure that it goes smoothly. As a means of procuring a ship for the mission, the group also recruits the notorious smuggler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), owner of the Millennium Falcon, the fastest ship in the galaxy.

Since the whole directorial shakeup, much speculation has been made over how much of the film was reworked under Howard’s direction. By most accounts, it appears as if he re-shot about 70% of the film, meaning that it’s likely that there are still some parts in the final film that were done by Lord and Miller. Thankfully, there’s no real indication of inconsistency between their directorial visions in the final product. For all intents and purposes, it seems as if Howard did his best to match what Lord and Miller were going for in a manner that would make the production run a lot smoother (e.g. not relying heavily on improvisation). And as for the film itself, it’s a fun ride from beginning to end. If there’s one major advantage that it has over Rogue One, it’s better pacing. As I noted a few years back in my review of that film, Rogue One started off on a bit of a slow note but eventually found its groove by the end, highlighted by its big action-packed finale on the planet Scarif. By comparison, Solo gets things rolling right out of the gate and doesn’t relent for the rest of its near two-and-a-half-hour run-time. Sure, it maybe loses just a bit of steam at the end, but that doesn’t prevent this film from having some of the best pacing in the entire franchise. But as for how the film handles the origin story of one of the saga’s most iconic characters, one’s mileage may vary over how effectively it’s handled. As for me, though, I personally enjoyed all the ways in which the film set up Han’s character. The scene where he first meets Lando Calrissian? Awesome. The scene where he first meets Chewbacca? Heartwarming. The scene where him and Chewie co-pilot the Millennium Falcon for the first time and make the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs? So. Damn. Satisfying! Sure, this is easily one of the simplest plotted outings to come out of the franchise, but what is there is handled nicely.

Alden Ehrenreich obviously went into this film having to deal with some of the most intense pressure that an actor has ever experienced due to him having to take on a role that Harrison Ford had turned into an iconic part of cinema thanks to Episodes IV through VII. Thankfully, Ehrenreich slips into the role with ease, conveying all of Han’s notable quirks, including his tendency to make things up as he goes along, with charisma that almost nearly equals that of Ford’s. At the same time, Ehrenreich also has terrific chemistry/camaraderie with each of his main co-stars. It all begins, of course, with Chewie, as Joonas Suotamo continues to be a worthy successor to Peter Mayhew in the role of Han’s trusted sidekick. Then, there’s Donald Glover as arguably the film’s biggest standout, the younger Lando Calrissian. Granted, Lando surprisingly doesn’t factor into the film as much as one might expect going in (he’s honestly only in about a third of it), but Glover is practically pitch-perfect in terms of replicating the same swagger that Billy Dee Williams brought to the role back in the original trilogy. Ehrenreich also has great chemistry with Emilia Clarke as the film’s main female lead, Qi’ra. Obviously, most Star Wars fans know how this relationship is going to turn out given Han’s relationship with Leia in the other films, but the ways in which they develop Qi’ra for a potential follow-up or two are quite fascinating. Closing out the main core group is Woody Harrelson, perfectly sly as Han’s mentor figure in this film, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the franchise’s newest memorable droid character, L3-37, who’s a fun mix of the energy of BB-8 and the sarcastic wit of Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO from Rogue One as Lando’s primary co-pilot on the Millennium Falcon.  

Now with all this said, I know damn well that this film is shaping up to be one of the most polarizing installments of the Star Wars saga. Hell, most people have clearly already made up their minds about this film before they even saw it because they’re still upset about the whole Lord and Miller fiasco. And that’s a damn shame because the film is ultimately not the disaster that a lot of its critics thought it was going to be. Sure, the fact that Phil Lord and Chris Miller were kicked off the production in the middle of filming instead of during pre-production may have seemed problematic, but Ron Howard does a damn fine job of taking over for them and keeping the final product from being a disheveled mess. And as for the film itself, it’s a fun little sci-fi adventure through the Star Wars universe. Is it the franchise’s best outing? No, not at all, but that’s by no means a criticism given the quality of the Star Wars films that have been made since Disney took over. Simply put, Solo: A Star Wars Story succeeds at being a neat little foray into the past exploits of the franchise’s iconic protagonist. Granted, not everyone will like the ways in which it handles Solo’s backstory, but casual Star Wars fans like myself will no doubt get a kick out of seeing how Han met Chewbacca for the first time and the first time that the two stepped foot in the Millennium Falcon, amongst other things. And to his credit, Alden Ehrenreich manages to live up to a lot of the expectations that were thrust upon him by being a wonderful successor to Harrison Ford as everyone’s favorite ‘stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder’ (“Who’s scruffy-looking?”). Now, would I’ve loved to have seen what Lord and Miller might have done with this story? Yes, but as was also the case with Edgar Wright and Ant-Man, that’s all in the past now. I’m not going to debate about this film being a case of a studio limiting their filmmakers’ creative vision. Instead, I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the ride because, contrary to what some on the internet may claim, the Star Wars franchise is doing totally fine now despite some of its most scandalous behind-the-scenes dilemmas.

Rating: 5/5!

Star Wars Episode IX - Colin Trevorrow Out, J.J. Abrams Back In

Well, we’ve got yet another directorial shake-up on our hands in the Star Wars universe. Just a few months after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were booted from the Han Solo spin-off film and replaced by Ron Howard, the same has now happened with the ninth installment of the main series, Episode IX. Originally, the film was set to be directed by Colin Trevorrow, who was fresh off 2015’s worldwide smash hit Jurassic World… and this year’s critically derided Book of Henry (more on that in a bit). However, like Lord and Miller, it was recently announced that Trevorrow had backed out of directing the film due to, what else, creative differences with Lucasfilm. But, once again, the search for a new director did not last long, and in this case, it was an old familiar face who stepped in to finish the job. Yes, folks, J.J. Abrams, the man, myth, and legend who kick-started the new Star Wars trilogy on the right note with The Force Awakens is coming back to write and direct Episode IX. Given the critical/commercial success of TFA, it seems like this would be a well-received decision, right? Well, not exactly… Yes, folks, the Star Wars franchise has been in quite a state of flux as of late due to several of the recent developments surrounding its upcoming films. This is the second time in a row now that a Star Wars director has been ‘fired’ from the job due to creative differences with the studio and producer Kathleen Kennedy (three if you count the time when Josh Trank stepped down from helming a spin-off film presumably due to his behavior during the disastrous production of the 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four). This has, unfortunately, put Kennedy in a tough situation as she’s been subjected to tons of flak that, dare I say, verges a bit on sexism. I’ve gone over this before when I discussed the Han Solo incident so I won’t repeat myself too much here other than the fact that, given her prestigious career in the industry, Ms. Kennedy doesn’t deserve all this criticism over something that could happen to any film producer.

I mean, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; film productions don’t always go perfectly. There will be times where a film will be affected by problems that may often require something along the lines of reshoots, script rewrites, and so on and so forth. However, just because a film has a troubled production doesn’t automatically mean that it’s doomed to failure. Seriously, it’s because of incidents like this that I’m extremely happy that social media wasn’t around in the time of films like Jaws and the original Star Wars; good lord, we would’ve never heard the end of those films’ production woes had that been the case. And in terms of what’s going on right now with Episode IX, at least this wasn’t like what happened with the Han Solo film where the director switcheroo occurred more than halfway through filming. Episode IX, on the other hand, hasn’t even started production yet. In fact, not long after J.J.’s hiring was confirmed, it was also announced that the film had been pushed back to the franchise’s preferred release month of December 2019, which effectively gives J.J. more time to prepare for it instead of rushing through it so that it’d be out by its original May 2019 release date. Now, granted, I am aware that these recent bits of production turmoil have been somewhat of a common occurrence as of late with the Disney-owned era Star Wars films. Aside from these recent directorial hiccups, there was also, of course, the dilemma that Rogue One faced when it had to go through reshoots, namely to rework its third act. Ultimately, though, all the hubbub surrounding these events is just a consequence of an age where we can practically know anything about a film’s production.

With that said, though, let me make something clear; unless proven otherwise, I’m 100% confident that Trevorrow wasn’t kicked off Episode IX because of the negative reception towards The Book of Henry. I’ve talked before about how the internet over-reacted quite a bit when the film came out to the point where several articles posed the same exact question; ‘Is Episode IX in trouble?’… even though the film wasn’t even in production yet. Heck, even the polarizing reaction to Jurassic World played a factor into the hesitation surrounding Trevorrow’s hiring. It got to the point where, apparently, some people were ‘happy’ when the news broke of his departure. This ties into something that I’ve always questioned about the online film fan community and that is its tendency to focus more on films that they dislike rather than those that they did like. I mean, seriously, if Trevorrow had truly gotten canned just because of Book of Henry, then J.J. Abrams could’ve been denied from directing The Force Awakens just because of the blowback that he got over Star Trek Into Darkness’ use of elements from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Heck, imagine if this mentality was implemented with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films; I guarantee you that NONE of the MCU directors would’ve even been hired if judged solely for their misfires. I mean, after all, the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films did write the live-action Scooby-Doo films. Or remember when the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War directed You, Me, and Dupree? Bottom line, the validity of a director’s qualifications for a certain project shouldn’t be judged solely because of one bad film that they made. Case in point, even though Trevorrow attracted a lot of flak for Jurassic World and Book of Henry, he did also direct 2012’s indie hit Safety Not Guaranteed.  

Thus, prior to these recent turn of events, I was optimistic about Trevorrow’s hiring and confident in his ability to make an entertaining Star Wars film. But, of course, that isn’t happening anymore so now we get to look forward to another J.J. Abrams-directed Star Wars film. Hurrah! However, as noted in the intro, the news of J.J.’s return hasn’t really gone over well with everybody and the main reason why is that some feel that he’s too ‘safe’ of a choice to direct the film. That might have something to do with the one thing that I’m sure many of you have already guessed about when I said the word ‘safe’. Yep, it’s the common criticism of The Force Awakens’ shared similarities with Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Really, there’s not much more that I can bring to this discussion other than my belief that the internet’s just beating a dead horse at this point. Heck, even Ron Howard’s hiring for the Han Solo film was deemed as a ‘safe’ pick to replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller. All this just goes to show the increasing pressure that the franchise has been under recently from fans who have been demanding that they enlist more ‘auteur’ directors who can bring something ‘new’ to the franchise. And while I’m not against that, for the record, from what I can gather, the main reason why Lord, Miller, and even Trevorrow were let go was that their directorial personalities clashed with Lucasfilm’s vision for the franchise. And as controversial as it will undoubtedly sound to some of you, I think that this was ultimately for the best. Again, I’m all for new takes on the Star Wars franchise. However, the amount of creative clout that a director is given on a film can sometimes end up having a severely negative effect on it (e.g. Batman Returns, Sucker Punch). Heck, this has even happened before with this franchise; just look at when the prequels came out.

And it’s a shame, really, that these recent ‘studio vs. director’ controversies have had a negative impact on J.J. Abrams’ return to the franchise. Given the ever-present ‘it’s just a rehash of A New Hope’ argument, it feels like the internet’s collective opinion of The Force Awakens has changed quite drastically since it came out. It’s legitimately at the point now where I’m beginning to wonder if it and Rogue One were truly the critical/commercial hits that they were. Oh sure, they both did well with critics and have collectively grossed over $3 billion at the box-office, a total which will surely increase by another $1-2 billion once The Last Jedi comes out. But in an age where shows like Honest Trailers and Cinemasins are becoming more and more prominent, it’s becoming a lot harder for films to maintain the positive reputation that they had upon their initial release. It also just goes to show how Star Wars is easily the most scrutinized film franchise of all-time, as the expectations for it are bigger than the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings franchises combined. Even when it’s doing well, there are always plenty of naysayers out there who will try and bring it down. And given these recent turn of events, it feels like this is all just putting more overt pressure on Rian Johnson to truly deliver with The Last Jedi. However, despite all the behind-the-scenes drama that’s been going on as of late, I’m still looking forward to these next few Star Wars films. Because if they do turn out great, then all the pre-judgmental backlash directed against them will have just been utterly pointless. And while I know that I’m undoubtedly biased because he’s one of my favorite directors working today, the announcement of J.J. Abrams’ return for Episode IX just makes me even more excited for it because of how much I loved The Force Awakens. In other words, to quote the classic hashtag created by popular Star Wars Youtuber HelloGreedo, #InJJWeTrust.

And, just for the hell of it, it’s time for the return of a classic meme that I created prior to the release of The Force Awakens. Feel free to use it as you see fit.

The 'Han Solo' Debacle

Well, folks, it looks like we have another Ant-Man situation on our hands and this time, it just so happens to come from the biggest franchise in pop culture history; Star Wars. It’s recently been announced that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have been working on a Star Wars spin-off film based around the series’ iconic character Han Solo, have departed the project due to creative differences with Lucasfilm, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan. Basically, it’s been reported that Lord and Miller’s comedic sensibilities as directors did not gel well with the overall tone that Kennedy and Kasdan were going for with the upcoming film, which is still set to come out in May 2018. And this situation is, overall, rather fascinating because the film has already been in production for a few months at this point. However, it’s also been reported that this creative clash has been going on since Day 1 and that the production had recently gone on a brief hiatus to review everything that’s been filmed so far. So, yeah, this is quite a controversial situation that we have here today. Already, there’s been quite a lot of uncertainty over this upcoming film given that it’s a new take on arguably the most popular character in the Star Wars franchise. And if that wasn’t enough, this will be the first time where Han Solo isn’t played by Harrison Ford; instead, Alden Ehrenreich will take on the role of the beloved smuggler. However, when Lord and Miller were brought on to direct, I think that some of this uncertainty was dialed back given their track record with films that didn’t seem like they’d amount to much; films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 and 22 Jump Street, and The LEGO Movie. But now, with this news of their departure, it seems like that uncertainty has once again returned.

However, incidents like this are nothing new. As I noted in the intro, a similar situation happened with another Disney-owned franchise, Marvel, in 2014 when Edgar Wright left Ant-Man due to creative differences with Marvel Studios’ now disbanded Creative Committee. Despite many on the internet speculating that it would end up being Marvel’s first misfire, Ant-Man ended up proving most of its critics wrong when it was finally released in 2015 after being in development for almost a decade. Heck, this isn’t even the first time that something like this has happened to a Star Wars film. As we all know, last year’s spin-off Rogue One had to go through re-shoots to rework parts of the story, specifically the ending. And while the film did ultimately manage to do well with critics and audiences, this ‘reshoot’ situation was well-documented online prior to its release… and by that, I mean that there were TONS of articles published that wondered if it was going to be a mess before anyone ever even saw the damn film. You see, that’s sort of the thing when it comes to how the internet reacts to reports like this about how a film is going through re-shoots or a change in directors. Most of the time, the internet prematurely assumes that this means that the film is going to be a disastrous mess. And yet, this isn’t a rare thing in big-budget blockbusters of this nature. Some of the most successful films of all-time have gone through some truly troubling production issues and yet have ended up being solid successes at the end of the day. In fact, you know what film managed to overcome its numerous production issues to become one of the most beloved films of all-time? Oh, I don’t know, a little film called STAR WARS?! Yes, even the original Star Wars film from 1977 went through a rather hellish production… and look how that turned out! We wouldn’t even be here today if it didn’t end up being the landmark that it was.

But, honestly, here’s the thing about this whole situation that I’m the most pissed off about, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the film itself. Instead, it’s the backlash that producer Kathleen Kennedy has been getting online because of her role in Lord and Miller’s departure (or, to put it more bluntly, firing). In other words, it’s that old debate about producers asserting control over the films that they make at the expense of the directors that they’ve hired. And this has gone as far to the point where I’ve seen several articles that have posed the question of whether Lucasfilm should appoint new leadership, given that Kennedy’s currently the head of the studio after she took over for George Lucas in 2012. But here’s where I call major bulls*** on that. First off, let’s not forget that Lawrence Kasdan also clashed with Lord and Miller’s methods; I don’t see him getting thrown under the bus as much as Kennedy has. Also, going back to Marvel and Ant-Man for a second, I sure as hell don’t recall seeing any articles from 2014 that suggested that Kevin Feige should be replaced as head of Marvel Studios after the Edgar Wright incident. And, yes, I know that this was mainly the fault of Marvel’s Creative Committee but that’s not my point. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is that it’s just sad to witness what Kennedy is going through right now. This woman has been in the film industry for a long time and has produced several classics over the years, including several Steven Spielberg films like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park. Since she became the head of Lucasfilm, she’s had a big part in the revival of the Star Wars film franchise and, so far, things have turned out quite well for it, as both The Force Awakens and Rogue One have each grossed over $1 billion worldwide. And yet… this latest directorial-related incident has suddenly made her public enemy number 1. It’s a damn shame.  

Thankfully, though, they’ve already found a replacement director. It’s just been announced that the legendary Ron Howard will be stepping in to direct the new film, and overall, I support this hiring; sure, some will argue that some of Howard’s more recent films haven’t been very good, but that shouldn’t even remotely detract from the great films that he has made in the past, like Apollo 13 and Rush. Hell, I can even do a whole different editorial on how the internet tends to judge filmmakers more for their misfires than their successes. Coincidentally enough, the idea for that editorial stemmed from another Star Wars-related debacle. This past weekend saw the release of The Book of Henry, directed by Colin Trevorrow, who will be directing Episode IX in 2019… and, to be perfectly blunt, Book of Henry did not do well with critics. Thus, several articles popped up online posing the question of whether Trevorrow was still a good choice to direct the film, something that’s persisted since he was first hired due to the generally polarizing reception towards 2015’s Jurassic World and despite the critical acclaim of his directorial debut, 2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed… but that’s another story, back to Han Solo. Bottom line, I’m still very much looking forward to this film and I do think that Ron Howard is a nice choice for director. And because this crisis was dealt with in a timely manner, it seems like the film won’t be pushed back to December as was feared when Lord and Miller’s departure was first announced. Yes, it’s sad that this happened to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, but I’m sure that they’ll recover from this the same way that Edgar Wright recovered from the whole Ant-Man situation with next weekend’s big release, Baby Driver. Meanwhile, it’s a shame that Ron Howard is now going through the same scenario that Peyton Reed went through when he had to step in for Wright on Ant-Man. Yeah, I know that it currently seems like the odds are very much against this upcoming Star Wars film but, to quote the film’s title character himself from The Empire Strike Back, “Never tell me the odds!” Given Disney and Lucasfilm’s excellent track record so far with these new Star Wars films, this new film could indeed work despite this scandalous turn of events. 

In the Heart of the Sea (2015): Short Review

(It’s only a short review this week because, well, with you know what coming out soon I wanted to make sure this review was done before I ‘go dark’ on social media on Monday to avoid unwanted spoilers. In the meantime, please enjoy this review of ‘In the Heart of the Sea’.)

When it comes to ‘Great American Novels’, stories that became a vital part of America’s cultural history, arguably none are more famous than ‘Moby Dick’. Written by novelist Herman Melville in 1851, ‘Moby Dick’ told the story of Captain Ahab and his obsession with killing the titular Moby Dick, the sperm whale that had destroyed his ship and took one of his legs. While the novel failed to attract much attention commercially upon its initial release, it ended up getting more and more attention over time until it became one of the most iconic stories of all-time. In the film/TV world, ‘Moby Dick’ has been seen quite a few adaptations over the years. There have been some straight-forward adaptations, with the most famous being the 1956 John Huston directed film starring Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab, some ‘retellings’ through classic cartoons like ‘Tom and Jerry’ and ‘The Flintstones’, and some films have even implemented references to the novel into their stories, like ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ with many of Khan’s quotes lifted directed from the novel itself.  But what some of you may not know is that the story of ‘Moby Dick’ was partially inspired by a real-life incident involving a giant whale; the 1820 sinking of the whaling ship Essex. In 2000, this story was told via the novel ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ written by Nathaniel Philbrick. 15 years later, Ron Howard directs the film adaptation of the event that inspired one of the most classic stories of all-time. And while the film may not entirely capture the ‘epic’ scale of its source material, it’s still a very engaging old-fashioned adventure.

For the record, if you’re going into this film expecting a lot of whale-ship action, you might be a bit disappointed because that only takes up about one-third of the film. Instead, the film is more about the crew of the Essex as they try to survive after being shipwrecked. Though with that said, for a story as grand in scale as this one, admittedly it feels a bit truncated at times. By that I mean certain parts of the story feel a bit rushed. The film is only two hours long and it does fly by really quick. As a result, it does feel like the film sort of glosses over some important parts of the plot, like the rivalry between Essex’s First Mate Owen Chase and Captain George Pollard Jr., the former being an experienced whaler and the latter being an inexperienced seaman who mainly got the position of Captain as a result of his heritage, and some parts of the crew’s days lost at sea. Though ultimately while the film could’ve definitely benefitted from a heftier runtime, I still found myself admiring the film for its simple old-fashioned execution via Ron Howard’s direction. It’s a simple story of man vs. nature and while the film may not carry as much emotional depth as it’s looking for, there are still quite a few excellent moments peppered in here and there. In particular, the big sequence involving the whale attacking the ship is definitely a highlight and an intense action sequence. And despite the shortcomings with story and character development, the film does feature a solid cast of leads from Chris Hemsworth, who undergoes quite a physical transformation unexpected from someone like the God of Thunder, to new Spider-Man Tom Holland.

Ultimately if you’re in the mood for a simple, old-fashioned tale of survival, you’ll probably enjoy ‘In the Heart of the Sea’. It has some flaws but overall I still recommend it.

Rating: 3.5/5

Rush (2013) review

In the world of sports, there have been plenty of rivalries that have stood the test of time, including Yankees-Red Sox, Celtics-Lakers, and Duke-North Carolina. On the racing circuit, there was one rivalry that was certainly on the same level of those iconic rivalries, and that was the rivalry between Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, which came to a head during the 1976 racing season. The story of these two drivers is the focus of director Ron Howard’s newest movie, ‘Rush’, a film that succeeds at appealing to both fans and non-fans of Formula One Racing. That is because the film is incredibly well-written in its depiction of these two men and the rivalry that defined both of their careers. Of course, the two outstanding performances from the two leads also help the movie very much. All in all, ‘Rush’ is an exhilarating thrill ride from beginning to end.

 

In the year 1970, a rivalry develops between British driver James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Austrian driver Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) while they are racing in Formula Three. A few years later, the both of them move up to the Formula One circuit, with Lauda being signed by Ferrari (after buying his way onto the circuit) and Hunt joining McLaren after his initial company runs out of money in 1975. Their rivalry continues into the 1976 season, as the two battle each other for the championship, both attempting to one up each other in the process. However, things start to change after the German Grand Prix, as Lauda gets caught in a near-fatal accident, putting him in a fight for his life as he tries to get back onto the track.

 

‘Rush’ is a movie that can appeal to those who aren’t fans of Formula One; not just because of the exhilarating race sequences, but also because of the writing and how it handles the whole ‘rivalry’ between Hunt and Lauda. It doesn’t try to make either one of them ‘the villain’ of the film and gives you reasons to root for both of them. You see them go through their own unique highs and lows. It’s just interesting to see how these two were driven by each other to do their best, especially because of their different personalities. Hunt is the playboy/womanizer with something to prove while Lauda is the cold and calculating tech genius. Sure, it seems like the movie’s a bit more focused on Lauda’s story (technically, the story is told from his perspective), but the two of them are given equal screen-time.

 

Of course, this movie wouldn’t be anything without terrific performances from its two leads. As Hunt, Chris Hemsworth once again shows off the charm that has worked so well for him in films like ‘Thor’ and ‘The Avengers’. As Lauda, Bruhl gives a star-making performance in the role, and the two of them work off each other well. However, while the relationship between them is well-developed, their relationships with their wives are another story. Now, I’m not talking about the relationship between Lauda and his wife Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara); that’s actually handled really well. I’m referring to the relationship between James Hunt and his wife, Suzy (Olivia Wilde). She plays a very, very minor part in the film (Wilde is really not given anything to do); the two of them are married (rather abruptly I might add; I don’t know if that’s how it was in real life, but that’s how the movie plays it out like), they have very few scenes together, and then they split. There needed to be more between them because what is there is very weak in terms of character development.

 

This film reminds me of 2011’s ‘Warrior’, mainly because that film also revolved around two characters that were both likable despite the fact that only one of them would come out on top in the end. Both films also manage to appeal to those who are not fans of their respective sports, MMA in the case of ‘Warrior’ and Formula One racing for ‘Rush’, because of how well-written they are. The whole relationship between James Hunt and Niki Lauda is very compelling because of how each of them used the other to better themselves as both drivers and people. Hemsworth and Bruhl both give terrific performances, and the film is very exciting throughout. I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of director Ron Howard’s work but this is easily one of his best efforts to date. ‘Rush’ is definitely a must-see during this awards season.

Rating: 4.5/5