Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) review

In 1996, director Roland Emmerich released what would become his first major foray into the disaster film genre, Independence Day. Starring a large ensemble cast that included Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman, the film revolved around a massive alien invasion and the efforts of various people across the world to combat the alien threat, which just so conveniently happened to occur during the Fourth of July weekend, hence the title of the film. Independence Day was a massive commercial success upon release, grossing over $817 million worldwide and becoming the highest grossing film of its year. Seriously, no other film released that year even came remotely close to reaching those kind of numbers at the box-office. But even though the film ended up being one of the most successful blockbusters of all-time, it took quite a long time for a sequel to get made. It wasn’t until a few years ago when Emmerich and Dean Devlin, who co-wrote the original film with Emmerich but hadn’t worked with him since 2000, finally got an idea down for not one but two sequels to the original film with the goal being to shoot them back-to-back. And while it’s unclear at the moment if a third film will ever get made, we finally have a sequel in the form of Independence Day: Resurgence. Mirroring the gap in years between films, this new film takes place 20 years after the events of the original film and once again finds the people of Earth dealing with a massive alien invasion. And even though the film is most certainly just as cheesy as its predecessor in terms of its execution, it also carries the same sort of playful tone that is just enough to make it an enjoyable popcorn flick even when taking its shortcomings into account.

It has been 20 years since the aliens’ initial invasion of Earth was thwarted by the human race, primarily thanks to heroes like then-U.S. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman). Since then, humanity has come together to not only rebuild in the wake of the devastating attack but to also prepare for the likelihood of the aliens’ return. The latter goal comes primarily through the formation of the ESD AKA ‘Earth Space Defense’, a united global defense program led by fellow war hero David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) and whose military force is captained by the late Steven Hiller’s son Dylan (now played by Jessie Usher). As the 20^th anniversary of the ‘War of 1996’ approaches, David finds an intact alien ship in Africa that had been drilling a hole leading to the planet’s molten core prior to the aliens’ defeat 20 years prior. This ship also ends up sending out a distress signal which leads to a new mothership that is, to quote David, ‘definitely bigger than the last one’ arriving to attack the planet, once again causing a considerable amount of collateral damage. With the odds once again stacked against them, David, Whitmore, and Dylan, along with others including Whitmore’s now grown-up daughter Patricia (Maika Monroe) and her fiancé, pilot Jake Morrison (Liam Hemsworth), once again look to stop the aliens before they can harvest the heat of the Earth’s core and destroy the planet. To do so, they end up acquiring the help of some of the aliens’ biggest ‘enemies’ who hold the key to defeating them.

Like the original film, there’s no denying that this alien invasion film is very, very cheesy in terms of its plot and overall execution. In fact, it’s so cheesy that if it wasn’t for the more elaborate modern-era visual effects, you’d swear that this film was made back in the 90’s when the original was made. But even with that in mind, the film actually does manage to maintain the same sort of light-hearted and action-packed atmosphere of the original Independence Day even after all of these years. A lot of this comes from the light-hearted comedic banter between characters that was also present in the original film, something that I’m sure was at least one of the reasons why the film was as successful of a crowd-pleaser as it was. Admittedly Resurgence does have a bit of a slow start and like its predecessor, more focus is spent on the action than it is on developing the plot and its large cast of characters. However, as the film went on, I gradually started to become more and more engrossed by it all to the point where I was totally hooked by the time the finale rolled around. Sure it may not carry much of the emotional depth that it wants to have but it’s still full of fun and exciting action sequences. It certainly isn’t boring, which is something that I’ve seen a few critics argue. Obviously the gap between films means that the sequel uses a lot more CG than the previous film, which actually did utilize quite a lot of practical effects. And with that said, the visuals in this film are quite excellent and they very much up the scale when it comes to epic alien vs. human action. That has usually been the case with most of Emmerich’s disaster films. For as ludicrous as they can get plot-wise, he certainly delivers when it comes to scenes of epic destruction.

The film’s ensemble cast is a mix of both new and returning characters, although some of the latter were re-cast. Specifically, Dylan Hiller is now played by Jessie Usher, having previously been played by Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Ross Bagley in the first film, and Thomas Whitmore’s daughter Patricia is now played by Maika Monroe, with the latter recasting attracting quite a bit of controversy over the supposed dismissal of Mae Whitman, who played the part in the 1996 film. But of course one of the most talked about developments regarding the film was the fact that Will Smith wasn’t returning to reprise his role as Steven Hiller. I’ll admit that I thought he was going to make some sort of cameo despite all of the denials but it’s true; the sequel is very much Will Smith-less as it’s established that his character died a few years prior to the events of the film. As a result, the film does lose a bit of the original’s charm that came courtesy of its charismatic lead star. But even if there may not be any ‘award-worthy’ performances in this cast, as was the case with the previous film, the cast still seems to be quite game for a film of this nature. While Smith doesn’t return, both Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman return as David and Whitmore, respectively, and both are still just as memorable as they were in the previous film, with Goldblum once again providing plenty of the film’s humorous moments and Pullman yet again proving to be quite a badass ‘leader’ as the former President that gave one of the most epic speeches of all-time in the original film. Plenty of the new additions are solid as well, particularly Usher and Liam Hemsworth who do actually manage to provide a good chunk of the charisma that someone like Smith was able to provide. Though as is the case when working with a large ensemble cast, some characters are fairly underused, including both new characters like David’s co-worker Dr. Catherine Marceaux (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and even some returning characters like Hiller’s widow Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox).

I’ve noticed that reviews for this film have gotten much more negative these last few days. For the record, it was faring pretty decently reception-wise before its release date, hovering around a 50% on RT. But once opening day rolled around, suddenly reviews for it started to get much more vitriolic with plenty of people calling it ‘one of the worst films of the year’ and so on and so forth. And I’m rather surprised by that because the film really isn’t as bad as those recent reviews imply. Now don’t get me wrong, this film is by no means perfect. Like its predecessor, it is very, very cheesy and definitely doesn’t really do that much in terms of story and character development. It could very much be argued that this is one of those cases of a sequel that came way too late given how much blockbuster films have evolved in the years since the original ID4 as this film feels very much like its predecessor in regards to feeling like a 90’s-esque action film. And yet by the end, I was legitimately hooked by it. Yeah it’s totally stupid but it is what it is. At its core, it’s just a fun little popcorn flick that never really tries to be something that it’s not. Yeah it does start off on a rather awkward note but it does manage to smooth things out for the most part by the end. And sure, the film does end on one hell of a blatant ‘sequel-baiting’ note and it’s unclear if a third film is even going to happen given the generally negative reaction to this film. Still, I won’t lie in saying that I would be interested in seeing how Emmerich and Devlin plan on concluding this supposed trilogy. Hopefully if a sequel does get made, it won’t take 20 more years to happen like it did the first time.

Rating: 3/5

Finding Dory (2016) review

In 2003, Pixar released what would become one of their most beloved films, Finding Nemo. Directed by Pixar mainstay Andrew Stanton and inspired by his personal experiences of being an over-protective father, the film told the story of a clownfish named Marlin who was forced to step out of his comfort zone and travel across the ocean in order to save his son Nemo after he is abducted by divers. Simply put, the film was a colossal hit. How big, you ask? Well by big I mean it grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide, passing $900 million when it was re-released in 3-D in 2012, and is the best-selling DVD of all-time with over 40 million units sold. And of course it ended up winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature that year. For many people, one of the best parts of the film was the character of Dory, the optimistic Pacific regal blue tang suffering from short-term memory loss voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. And now, 13 years after the original film’s release, Ellen’s iconic character takes center stage in her own sequel, Finding Dory, once again directed by Stanton. This time around, Dory finds herself on a journey to reunite with her family, whom she has separated from for many years. But as many of you know, fans of Pixar have been rather critical towards the studio’s attempts at doing sequels to their classic films, especially after their first non-Toy Story sequel, 2011’s Cars 2, became the first Pixar film ever to receive primarily negative reviews. However, I’m pleased to report that Finding Dory ultimately ends up being more than, to quote what certainly must have been a large chunk of folks on the internet, ‘an unnecessary sequel’. Not only does this film avoid being a ‘direct’ carbon copy of its predecessor but it also succeeds in being just as heartfelt and charming in terms of its story and the characters that inhabit it.

The main plot of this film takes place about a year after the events of Finding Nemo, after the overly-concerned clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) successfully rescued his son Nemo (now voiced by Hayden Rolence), who had been abducted by divers, with the help of their friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a Pacific regal blue tang suffering from short-term memory loss. One day while helping Nemo’s teacher Mr. Ray (Bob Peterson) during a field trip to witness the stingray migration, Dory suddenly starts to remember her long-lost parents; her mother Jenny (Diane Keaton) and her father Charlie (Eugene Levy). However, due to her short-term memory, the primary thing that she remembers about them is that they lived somewhere that is known as ‘the jewel of Morro Bay, California’. Marlin and Nemo join her on her journey back home and the trio end up at what they learn to be was Dory’s childhood home, Morro Bay’s Marine Life Institute, where sick fish are taken care of and are then either released back into the wild or moved to a new permanent residence at an aquarium in Cleveland. Realizing that her parents must still be there, Dory travels through the various parts of the Institute hoping to find them, gaining the help of some new allies including an ill-tempered octopus named Hank (Ed O’Neill) who lost a tentacle (resulting in him being referred to as a ‘septopus’ by Dory) and is looking to be taken to the Cleveland aquarium instead of being released back into the ocean, a beluga whale named Bailey (Ty Burrell) who believes that he’s lost his echo location ability following a recent concussion, and her old childhood friend Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a near-sighted whale shark.

When this film was first announced, I will admit that I was a little bit concerned that it was just going to rehash the exact same plot of the first film. Given that the title is Finding Dory, one could have easily just assumed that it would be just like Finding Nemo except that this time Dory would be the one who got abducted. Thankfully this is not the case with the actual film, as it instead focuses on Dory’s journey to find her parents. But at the same time this new film does maintain the same general story structure as its predecessor as far as being a light-hearted sea adventure in which the trio of Dory, Marlin, and Nemo end up in a strange place (in this case, a Marine Life Institute) and come across an eclectic bunch of characters that help them along the way. And ultimately that’s a good thing because at the end of the day this film manages to be just as charming and heartfelt as its predecessor through the different themes that it explores. Those themes include ideas such as the strength of family and teamwork and the ability to overcome one’s disability, which of course in Dory’s case is her short-term memory loss. All of these themes are handled perfectly and the film is full of both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, as you would obviously expect from a Pixar film. And also as is common with Pixar films, the animation is excellent. In fact, I’d say that the Nemo films have been some of Pixar’s absolute best films animation-wise. The animators just do phenomenal jobs in regards to bringing the ocean to life in animated form. Pair that with Thomas Newman’s once-again excellent/eloquent score and you have a pair of films that evoke what I find to be a really nice sense of relaxation.

Of course this time around Ellen DeGeneres takes on leading role status as Dory and once again she is absolutely phenomenal in the role. Dory is just as lovable, and just as charmingly forgetful, as she was in the first film and this film also allows her to embrace her shortcomings (e.g. her short-term memory loss) instead of feeling ashamed about them. Albert Brooks also returns as Marlin, who’s just as apprehensive but still very much kind-hearted as he was in the previous film. As for Nemo, the 13-year gap between the two Finding films obviously means that he’s voiced by a different actor this time around due to the fact that his original voice actor, Alexander Gould (who has a voice cameo in the film), is now too old for the role. But like when Blake Clark replaced Jim Varney as the voice of Slinky in Toy Story 3, Hayden Rolence proves to be a solid replacement. He maintains a practically pitch-perfect Nemo voice compared to Gould’s in the first film, so much so that those unaware might not even notice a change in voice actor. Finding Dory also introduces a slew of new characters who are just as lovable as the original protagonists. First there’s Ed O’Neill as Dory’s ‘primary’ new ally Hank the Octopus and while he can be rather curmudgeonly at times he still has a good heart, or technically 3 given that an octopus has 3 hearts (a fact that is mentioned in the film). Dory’s childhood friend Destiny is just as bubbly as Dory is personality-wise and there’s also quite a couple of new humorous characters as well, including Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale who mistakenly believes that he can’t use echo location (Bailey and Destiny have a fun rapport with each other) and Idris Elba and Dominic West as a pair of easy-going sea lions who get annoyed when their fellow sea lion Gerald tries to sit on their rock.  

You might recall in some of my previous Pixar reviews that I’ve started to use the term ‘15/10 masterpiece’ when talking about the company’s output. Well that of course was in reference to the fact that the expectations towards Pixar are so high nowadays because of how successful they’ve been over the years that any film of theirs that is not outright critically acclaimed is treated like some kind of criminal offense. And no I’m not kidding I’ve actually seen some people describe their lesser films in that manner. Thankfully that doesn’t end up being the case with Finding Dory, a sequel I find that people were either really excited about due to their love of the original film or really apprehensive about given Pixar’s ‘track record’ with sequels. But at the end of the day, this film manages to very much be proof that Pixar can produce quality sequels (disclaimer: though if you ask me they already proved that three years ago with Monsters University) that are not directly connected to the Toy Story franchise. Finding Dory wisely does not copy the exact same plot of its predecessor, instead opting for a story in which Dory, easily this franchise’s most popular character, embarks on a journey to find her parents after being separated from them for so long. But at the same time, the film does what any good sequel does and maintains the same level of charm and heart as its predecessor. The end result is yet another fantastic and, for lack of a better term, ‘unforgettable’ effort from Pixar in every possible way that will very much appeal to those who grew up with Finding Nemo as well as those who were born after the first film’s initial release and are potentially general newcomers to the franchise.

Rating: 5/5!

Now You See Me 2 (2016) review

May 2013 saw the release of director Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me, a magic-themed caper centering on a group of magicians known as the Four Horsemen who performed a series of elaborate heists during their performances, gave the money they stole to their audience, and always stayed one step ahead of the FBI. While the film received generally mixed reviews, with some criticizing the film’s twist-filled screenplay, it was actually a surprise hit at the box office, grossing over $350 million worldwide. I say ‘surprise hit’ because, to reference the review that I wrote for the film, I have the feeling that magic acts a la David Copperfield (who’s actually one of the sequel’s producers) and Penn and Teller haven’t really been as popular in recent years as they once were. However, that didn’t end up affecting Now You See Me in the slightest and of course, that’s now led to a sequel: Now You See Me 2. The majority of the first film’s cast return for this new film, with the only major exception being a change in female leads, but this time around there’s a change in director. Instead of Louis Leterrier, Jon Chu (director of another franchise sequel, 2013’s G.I. Joe Retaliation, as well as last year’s rather infamous critical/commercial bomb Jem and the Holograms) steps in to direct the Four Horsemen’s next adventure. And believe it or not, Now You See Me 2 actually manages to be a superior sequel to what was already a pretty solid magic-based thriller. Like its predecessor, this film is full of twists and turns as well as plenty of really cool magic-related visuals. Ultimately though there are some things that this film does, namely in terms of pacing and plotting, that actually help make it a stronger film as a whole.

It has been a year since the Four Horsemen; street magician J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), sleight of hand illusionist/card throwing expert Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), and escapist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, who did not return to reprise her role in the sequel) pulled off a series of elaborate heists all across the country, all of which were revealed to have been orchestrated by FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) in order to strike back at those who were directly and indirectly responsible for the death of his father, magician Lionel Shrike. When the team, now including new recruit Lula May (Lizzy Caplan), is reunited to pull off another heist, this time against a tech magnate, they are suddenly exposed when a mysterious figure publicly reveals their secrets, including the fact that Jack faked his death in the previous film and that Dylan is their ‘leader’. As they try and escape from the FBI, the team suddenly find themselves halfway across the world in Macau, China and are forced to work for tech prodigy Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe), who was the one who publicly outed them. Walter blackmails them into stealing for him a special computer chip that he had developed with his former work partner, the aforementioned tech magnate, before he had been ‘screwed over’. With no other options for them to get back on their feet, the Horsemen agree to steal the chip for Walter and find themselves having to pull off their biggest heist yet in order to set things right.

Like the first film, this film’s plot is full of twists and turns and admittedly you might end up figuring some of them out from a mile away before they happen. Either that or you’re probably going to notice some plot-holes if you really start to look deeper into the plot. But even with that in mind, like the first film Now You See Me 2 benefits greatly from its unique premise of combining a heist plot with the art of magic. And while I’m very much well aware that quite a few of the ‘tricks’ pulled off in the film were done with CGI, it still results in some really cool visual moments, from the Horsemen tossing a playing card containing the computer chip around so that guards won’t notice it to Daniel manipulating rain during an appearance in London (and for the record, the film does explain how he was able to do this). Ultimately though there are two main reasons why this film actually manages to surpass its predecessor. For one thing, Chu gives the film a much more energetic atmosphere as well as stronger pacing, which definitely helps keep things lively at all times. And second, this film actually focuses more on the Horsemen this time around. Because in the first film, the focus was split between the Horsemen and the FBI, prior to the reveal that Rhodes was the ‘fifth’ Horsemen, and admittedly it felt like the latter group were focused on more, which turned out to be quite a bit of a detriment in regards to the Horsemen. Now that Rhodes is revealed to be working with the Horsemen, this film very much gives them more screen time while the FBI is more or less a non-factor this time around. And ultimately that is a good thing as it allows for the group to have stronger character development and for the film to spend much more time on them pulling off heists.

As noted earlier, of the original Four Horsemen, only Isla Fisher is absent this time around due to her recent pregnancy. And admittedly the way that the filmmakers handle her character’s absence is the usual ‘relationship issues with the main character’ card that always tends to get pulled in a situation like this (e.g. Mila Kunis in Ted 2). Thankfully, Lizzy Caplan proves to be an excellent replacement for Fisher. Caplan works well with her main co-stars and her character’s extremely chipper personality ends up being one of the many contributors to the film’s livelier feel. Of course, like last time, the main quartet that make up the Horsemen (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Franco, and now Caplan) are excellent. They work off of each other well and they all benefit from being given more focus plot-wise. Heck, Woody Harrelson even gets to be in a dual role this time around as the film introduces Merritt’s twin brother Chase, who is shown to not really be on the best of terms with his brother. Now a part of the team for good, Mark Ruffalo actually gets a lot of good material to work with here as the film further fleshes out Dylan’s character. While he may not get to do anything magic-related like he did in the Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe proves to be a pretty darn enjoyable villain who can be both hilarious and even a little odd at times. Finally, the film also sees the return of Morgan Freeman, who’s character Thaddeus Bradley, a magic debunker who frequently crossed paths with the Horsemen in the first film, once again proves to be a wild card in the film’s plot, and Michael Caine, who like in the first film is admittedly barely in this film as the Horsemen’s former benefactor Arthur Tressler.

You’ve probably noticed in my past few reviews that I’ve covered quite a few sequels recently that I feel actually managed to outdo their predecessors and that is very much the case with Now You See Me 2. I really liked the first Now You See Me because while it did have some flaws, I quite enjoyed it for its magic-based premise, which led to some pretty darn cool visual moments. As someone who grew up with the Harry Potter films (which is a fitting reference by the way considering that Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, stars in the sequel), I’ve always liked the concept of magic and quite enjoyed the idea of a heist film about magicians, which probably explains why I ended up liking the film as much as I did. And as for the sequel, it actually manages to outdo its predecessor. Not only does this film benefit from a much more energetic feel, both in terms of pacing and its overall tone, but the fact that the film spends more time on the Horsemen and doesn’t try to split focus up between them and the FBI actually helps give the main characters, and the film as a whole, more dimension. Sure at the end of the day the film may still be a bit predictable at times and you’ll probably notice some major plot-holes if you really start to analyze the plot. But thanks to Chu’s confident direction and a stronger sense of kinetic energy, Now You See Me 2 ends up being not only another highly entertaining magic-themed caper but also a superior sequel in almost every way. So in other words, if you didn’t like the first Now You See Me, there’s a good chance you might actually like this one more.

Rating: 4.5/5

  

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 3 'Review'

Are You Inhuman?

(WARNING: SPOILERS)

X-Men: Apocalypse - SPOILER POST

“Everything they built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we’ll build a better one!”

(WARNING: SPOILERS)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) review

The 2014 reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was certainly one of the most controversial films in recent memory. Pretty much ever since it was first announced, every major bit of news surrounding it was subjected to major scrutiny from fans of the franchise. First off, the fact that it was to be produced by Michael Bay made many fans worry, even though he was only producing it, due to his heavily derided work on another popular 80’s franchise, Transformers. But then in March 2012, the backlash towards the film peaked when Bay claimed that the new film would give the Turtles an alien origin. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and the film ended up maintaining the Turtles’ traditional origin. However, upon release, the film ended up exactly like the Transformers films and was savagely decimated by critics. Though that ultimately didn’t stop the film from grossing nearly half a billion worldwide. So because of that, we now have a sequel; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. This time around, Dave Green (director of 2014’s found-footage family film Earth to Echo) is behind the director’s chair for a sequel that actually showed promise, as crazy as that might seem to those who were highly critical of the first film. The primary reason for that was the sense that the film would stick much closer to the franchise’s roots, partially exemplified by the addition of classic franchise characters like Bebop and Rocksteady. And ultimately that is very much the case with this new TMNT film. Sure, at the end of the day, it’s still very much like its predecessor in terms of being a rather mindless affair but at the very least it’s a film that I think fans of the franchise will be far more satisfied with as a whole.

A year after defeating their arch-nemesis the Shredder (now played by Brian Tee), Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello (portrayed through motion-capture by Pete Ploszek (who also voices Leonardo this time around after being replaced by Johnny Knoxville in the first film), Noel Fisher, Alan Ritchson, and Jeremy Howard, respectively) have continued to protect the city of New York but are still forced to live in the shadows unsure of how people will react to them. During this time, the Shredder manages to escape from prison with the help of the Foot Clan and scientist Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and briefly ends up within another dimension where he meets alien warlord Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett). The two plan to retrieve three pieces of a portal device that are scattered around the world so that Krang can unleash his unstoppable war machine, the Technodrome, upon the world. To help them collect the parts, Shredder enlists two street criminals, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE’s Sheamus), and uses mutagen provided by Krang to turn them into a mutant warthog and rhinoceros, respectively. As a result, the Turtles, along with the help of their friends April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), as well as a new ally in former corrections officer turned street vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), are pushed to their limits but end up learning that the mutagen could work in reverse and turn them into humans, which could mean that they won’t have to live underneath the streets of New York anymore.

The best thing that I can say about this film is the fact that, at least when compared to the first film, this very much feels more like a proper TMNT film. Of course part of that comes from the addition of some of the franchise’s classic characters like the mutant duo of Bebop and Rocksteady as well as Shredder’s partner in crime Krang and his weapon of mass destruction the Technodrome. It should also be noted that none of these characters have ever appeared in a live-action TMNT film until now, having only appeared in the franchise’s numerous TV series as well as the comics. But another big reason why this film sticks closer to the franchise’s roots is that it benefits from having a much stronger atmosphere than its predecessor. The first TMNT film admittedly tried to be a bit too serious at times, which definitely didn’t feel right for a franchise called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This film, on the other hand, is very much aware of how silly it is and just goes with it. In fact, it could also be argued that this film has a much brighter look to it than the first film, especially in terms of the visuals (e.g. the design of the Turtles). And yes, like the first film, this is admittedly a pretty damn mindless film. But, to reiterate the point that I made in my review of the previous film, that’s pretty much this whole franchise in a nutshell. I mean to put it simply, there’s a scene in this film in which the Turtles are being pursued down a river in Brazil by a mutant warthog and mutant rhinoceros who are manning a tank. At this point in a case like this, you just got to do what this film does and just roll with it.

Like the first film, the Turtles are very much the best part of the film. The camaraderie between Ploszek, Fisher, Ritchson, and Howard is quite excellent and they all perfectly capture their characters’ respective personalities, from Mikey being the fun-loving/pizza-loving surfer dude to Raph being the aggressive and independent rebel. Even better, compared to the previous film, they’re given much more focus whereas in the first film the focus was arguably more on April O’Neil. But this time around, the filmmakers made the smart choice of relegating the human leads to supporting roles. As April O’Neil, Megan Fox is, well, about the same as she was in the first film. It’s by no means a ‘great’ performance by it’s also not the worst thing either and just like in the first film, it’s good that these newer films have given her more to do instead of just having her be a damsel in distress. The film does benefit from a pretty darn great new addition in the form of Green Arrow himself, Stephen Amell, as Casey Jones, who very much accustoms himself with the general silliness of the plot. The same can be said for Tyler Perry, who very much chews the scenery as Baxter Stockman, and the duo of Gary Anthony Williams and Sheamus who, like the Turtles, work off of each other quite well as the mutant warthog/rhino duo. But while Brian Tee is a much more memorable Shredder, if only due to the fact that his version of the character doesn’t spend the entirety of the film behind a mask or in shadows, without giving much away the character is rather insultingly written out of the film prior to the beginning of the finale.

I conclude with the same point I made last time in my review of Alice through the Looking Glass in that those who weren’t a fan of the previous TMNT film might not like this new film because it’s still just as mindless as one would expect from a Michael Bay-produced TMNT film. However, I actually think that, despite what critics might say, it’s very likely that fans of the franchise are going to be much more satisfied with this film. And that is because, at the very least, this does feel like a much more proper entry in the franchise, tonally speaking. And yes, at the end of the day it’s just as silly and stupid as its predecessor. But of course that’s what you’d expect from this franchise (not just the Bay produced films) and this time around the filmmakers are very much aware of that and just roll with it. In short, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a film that stays much truer to what fans of the franchise have always loved about it. Sure the first film didn’t go as far as to pull that ‘alien origin’ concept as was initially reported but this film definitely benefits from a much more appropriate light-hearted atmosphere. As a result, this is very much one of those cases of a sequel that is better than its predecessor. Obviously, for many that’s not really saying much considering the first film’s predominantly negative reception. Ultimately though, I think it’s a good thing in this case because, again, this film, unlike its predecessor, doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. There’s reportedly one more film in the works so hopefully that one ends up being more like this one and not the first film.

Rating: 3.5/5

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) review

(Disclaimer: The following review of Alice Through the Looking Glass will not be addressing the recent domestic abuse scandal surrounding its star Johnny Depp. Just like the sexual abuse lawsuits that Bryan Singer dealt with prior to the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Depp’s domestic issues are not connected to this film in any way.)

In 2010, Disney released what would become their first big ‘live-action reimagining’ of one of their classic animated films; Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Tim Burton, the film was a ‘sequel’ to the original story of the same name written by Lewis Carroll (which of course served as the basis for Disney’s 1951 animated classic) and followed a teenaged Alice as she returned to the world of Wonderland, or to be more specific, ‘Underland’, as it’s referred to in the film. Upon its initial release, the film received mixed reviews, attracting praise for its visual style but also criticism for its writing. But when it comes to its box-office performance, that’s another story because the film actually managed to join the billion-dollar club. I’m still in shock that it was able to do so given its extremely polarizing reception, though from what I hear this was primarily due to the fact that A.) since it was released in March, there wasn’t much competition in terms of family-friendly releases and B.) it was also released in 3-D, which was still a big deal at the time thanks to James Cameron’s Avatar unlike nowadays where it rarely gets attention anymore. So because of it, we now have a sequel in the form of Alice Through the Looking Glass, though like the previous film, this film is only loosely inspired by the story that shares its name (in this case, Carroll’s 1871 sequel, Through the Looking Glass). Tim Burton isn’t in the director’s chair this time around, however. Instead, in his place is James Bobin, who most recently helmed Disney’s last two Muppets films; 2011’s The Muppets and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted. And like the first Alice, this film has been subjected to generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. It’s clear that when it comes to these films, people either really love them or really hate them. As for me, I’ll admit I lean more towards the former. Because while the film definitely isn’t perfect, there are still some genuinely good things about it that make it worth seeing.

The film opens up three years after the events of the previous film, which ended with young Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) taking up her late father’s business in overseas trade. However, when she returns home to London, she learns that her ‘former’ fiancé, Hamish Ascot (Leo Bill), has taken over his father’s company and plans on buying her father’s ship. Amidst all of this, Alice soon finds herself summoned back to the world of Underland to help deal with a pressing matter regarding the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). She learns that the Hatter has been in a funk recently, claiming that the rest of his family, who supposedly died during the Jabberwocky attack (as seen in the previous film), is still alive. With his health slowly deteriorating, Alice, following the suggestion of Mirana the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), travels to the castle of the physical manifestation of Time itself (Sacha Baron Cohen) in order for her to travel back in time with the use of his ‘Chronosphere’ device, which powers all of the time in Underland. In doing so, she finds herself traveling through time, back to when the Hatter, the White Queen, and the rest of their Underland friends were young, in order to save the Hatter’s family from their supposed doom. But in doing so, Alice not only runs amok of Time himself but also finds herself once again crossing paths with Iracebeth the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), who seeks to use the Chronosphere herself in order to change a certain event in her past that caused her to become the big-headed (figuratively and literally) tyrant that she is today.

Like the first film, this film definitely deserves recognition for its visuals and overall visual style. Clearly a lot of time went into making all of the film’s intricate visual effects and they do look really nice. With that said, however, like the first film, some might find all of the film’s CGI, which was pretty much done in the same way that the Star Wars prequels were by having the majority of Underland done in CG save for the human cast members, to be a bit overkill at times. And admittedly the writing is about the same as it was in the first film, tending to be rather messy and sometimes even a bit meandering at times in terms of its plot. However, even with that in mind, the film does at least have one major advantage over its predecessor and that is that it carries a much more pleasant color scheme in terms of its visuals. Whereas the previous film was very much a Tim Burton film with all of its gothic designs, this film has a much more vibrant look to it as a whole, which is definitely an upgrade if you ask me. Plus, the film doesn’t pull any of the rather extreme punches that the original did that did make you question if it was right to be rated PG, namely infamous scenes in which the Dormouse takes out one of the Bandersnatch’s eyes and another scene where Alice crosses the Red Queen’s moat on the heads of her unfortunate victims. So because of that, this film will definitely be easier for kids to handle than the first film. And at the very least, regardless of the film’s scriptural flaws, there really are some good messages for younger audiences, like being true to yourself and your friends and the fact that it’s okay to be a little weird sometimes. There’s actually even a few rather effective heartfelt moments.

A good chunk of the film’s heart and strong messages are exemplified by its main female lead Alice. While in the first film she spent a considerable amount of time questioning the fact that she was in Underland, resulting in her being a bit too passive of a protagonist at times, this film’s Alice is much more assertive and as a result actually becomes a pretty great ‘role model’ for young women. There’s a really great sense of confidence to her, not only in how the character is portrayed this time around but also in Wasikowska’s performance. As for Johnny Depp as the Hatter, it’s exactly what you would come to expect nowadays from Johnny Depp whenever he steps into a role that allows him to don quirky costumes, makeup, and/or accents. At this point you’re either fine with it or you’re really sick of it; me I don’t mind it. Plus, the Hatter is much more toned down this time around, though admittedly that’s primarily because he does spend most of the first half of the film in a muted state. In fact, this film definitely feels a bit more toned down in terms of how campy some of the performances are compared to the original. Though with that said, Helena Bonham Carter still relishes her role as the Red Queen, camping it up whenever she’s onscreen. The same goes for Sacha Baron Cohen as Time, although not as much as Carter. In short, I can say that, at the very least, the ensemble cast is a bit stronger this time around, mostly as a result of Bobin not cranking these characters’ personalities up to 11, which is sort of what Burton did with the previous film.

So here’s the deal with these live-action Alice films. As both of their critical receptions clearly suggest, these two films very much have their critics and quite a few of those critics have been very vocal in expressing their dislike of them. However, at the same time, it’s also clear that these films actually do have a pretty decently sized fan-base. This really can partially explain why the first film did as well as it did at the box-office and while this film hasn’t been doing anywhere near as good as the first film did from a commercial standpoint, I can tell that there will still be quite a lot of people who are going to like this film. And as someone who did like the first film, I can see why. Yes, the film does share some of its predecessor’s issues, namely in terms of the writing. Plus, like before, critics of CGI are no doubt going to take issue with the film’s very extravagant use of CG. However, this film really isn’t as bad as its low 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes may suggest. Because despite its flaws, the film definitely deserves merit for its impressive visuals. Visually speaking, this is easily one of the best-looking films of the year. And in some ways the film actually does improve on its predecessor, namely in regards to a much brighter color scheme and a much more confident lead performance courtesy of Mia Wasikowska as Alice. So in short, if you weren’t a fan of the first film, then suffice it to say this film ain’t gonna win you over because it’s very much a sequel to Burton’s original film and fans of the books in particular are most certainly not going to be pleased with how the world and its characters are being portrayed. But if you’re someone who was a fan of the first film, then I’m sure you’re going to like this film just as much.

Rating: 3.5/5

(Closing Note: On a sad note, this film serves as the final performance of Alan Rickman, who reprises his role from the previous film as Absolem the Caterpillar (now a Butterfly). The reason why I didn't bring him up in the review is because, well, he actually isn't in the film that much. He only appears in the scene in which Alice first returns to Underland.)