Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) review

Of the many classic children’s books that author Chris Van Allsburg has written, one of his most famous is 1981’s Jumanji. The story follows two kids named Judy and Peter as they come across a magical jungle-themed board game named Jumanji that forces them to endure realistic versions of the various obstacles that they come across in the game. Upon publication, the book was so successful that it earned Van Allsburg his first Caldecott Medal for being the year’s ‘most distinguished American picture book for children’. In 1995, the book was adapted into a feature film by former VFX artist turned director Joe Johnston that starred Robin Williams in the role of a man who ends up trapped inside the game for 26 years. And while the film didn’t necessarily do too hot with critics, it was a sizable hit at the box-office and is still very much regarded as a beloved 90’s classic. Thus, it was that legacy that made fans quite skeptical towards the announcement that a new take on Jumanji was in the works, especially since it was first announced only a year after Williams’ tragic death in 2014. And yet, instead of being a straight-forward remake of the original, 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a sequel that re-imagined the world of Jumanji as a video game that the film’s main protagonists get sucked into. Upon its release, the film surprised many by doing solidly with critics and managing some impressive staying power at the box-office as it grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. And because of this, a sequel was promptly put into development once again directed by veteran comedy director Jake Kasdan and headlined by the quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. Sure enough, all this talent in front of and behind the camera results in yet another highly entertaining popcorn flick even if it does retread a lot of familiar territories.

It has been three years since high school students Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner), Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman) were sucked into the dangerous world of the video game Jumanji and turned into the game’s eclectic group of playable avatars. The four teens ultimately managed to escape their predicament by coming together as a group, which effectively changed their lives for the better once they got out. However, while his friends have all managed to move on with their lives, Spencer finds himself having a lot more trouble when it comes to re-adjusting back to life in the real world. Thus, Martha, Fridge and Bethany soon discover that Spencer ended up ‘fixing’ the game (which they had destroyed at the end of the previous film) and has gone back into it, forcing them to go back in as well to rescue him. Upon their return, however, they quickly realize that things are a bit different this time in the world of Jumanji. While Martha reprises her role as dance-fighting commando Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), Fridge ends up switching to the role of cartographer/curvy genius Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black). And instead of having Spencer and Bethany by their side out the starting gate, the two learn that Spencer’s crotchety grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his estranged friend Milo Walker (Danny Glover) have been sucked into the game as well. Now Eddie inhabits the role of Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), the strong, muscular archeologist with the power of smoldering intensity, while Milo becomes Bravestone’s ‘backpack guy’, zoologist/weapons specialist Franklin ‘Mouse’ Finbar (Kevin Hart). And so, Martha and Fridge are now forced to adjust to the personalities of their new comrades as they set out to find Spencer and Bethany, which involves them embarking on another adventure to save Jumanji from an imposing new threat.   

Jumanji: The Next Level is admittedly one of those cases of a sequel that doesn’t try to deviate too far from the things that made its predecessor the massive hit that it was. Namely, it retains almost the exact same general plot structure of its predecessor right down to its main conflict of the group trying to stop a bad guy who stole a mythical jewel. And just like Welcome to the Jungle, most of this film’s humor is still based around how the main characters’ personalities are translated to their video game avatars. That said, though, the best aspect of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was its humor, which means that The Next Level is just as much of a top-notch comedic riot throughout. It also helps that this film properly retains the solid character development that the lead quartet of Spencer, Martha, Fridge, and Bethany gained in the previous film. Whereas the pre-game sequences of Welcome to the Jungle were some of the weakest moments in that film, those same moments flow a lot better in this film (as does the humor in those parts) because of the main characters’ vastly improved camaraderie. In other words, if there are two things that The Next Level does better than its predecessor, it’s that the humor is a lot more consistent this time around and the main characters get to start out as the endearing quartet that they were at the end of the previous film. And while that technically means that the new character development that they get in this film isn’t necessarily as substantial as what they had in the previous film, it still results in another entertaining adventure with a feel-good ending. Plus, despite its adherence to the previous film’s formula, The Next Level does switch things up in the best way that it possibly can by trading the previous film’s jungle setting for fun, new action set-pieces in both the desert and the wintry mountains.

It goes without saying that one of the best aspects of Welcome to the Jungle was getting to see the lead quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan take on the personas of their real-world counterparts, whether it was Dwayne Johnson acting like an easily scared nerd or Jack Black embodying a self-absorbed teenaged girl. Sure enough, this concept is once again handled brilliantly in The Next Level as each member of the quartet gets to take on a new personality over the course of their latest adventure. The hilarious results that stem from this are so delightful, in fact, that I can’t even mention them all here (outside of Johnson and Hart’s spot-on impressions of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, respectively) because I’d be delving into spoiler territory. But just like before, these four have an utterly phenomenal camaraderie that’s also well-reflected by their real-world counterparts as Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman all benefit greatly from the solid character development that they got from the previous film. Meanwhile, Danny DeVito and Danny Glover are a fun pair of additions to the ensemble (in their admittedly minor roles outside of the time their characters spend in Jumanji) as is Awkwafina as the game’s newest avatar, thief Ming Lightfoot.  Unfortunately, as was the case with the previous film, The Next Level’s biggest shortcoming is its villain, warlord Jurgen the Brutal. Sure, it’s revealed that Jurgen was the one who killed Dr. Smolder Bravestone’s parents in a ‘cut-scene’ flashback, but just like with Bobby Cannavale’s Van Pelt from Welcome to the Jungle, Jurgen is adversely affected by his generally limited role in the plot despite Game of Thrones alum Rory ‘The Hound’ McCann’s best efforts in the role.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was easily one of the most entertaining films of 2017. Sure, it may not have been the most thought-provoking film to come out of the action-adventure genre, but the phenomenal comedic performances from Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan effectively made it a good, old-fashioned crowd-pleaser. Thus, while it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to its writing, Jumanji: The Next Level dutifully retains everything that made its predecessor such a big hit, resulting in an arguably superior follow-up. Even though it does repeat practically every major story beat from its predecessor, The Next Level does have the advantage when it comes to not having to deal with the more awkward bits of set-up from Welcome to the Jungle. And because of this, the whole film flows a lot better when it comes to its humor, pacing, and overall camaraderie between its main characters. This, in turn, also helps when it comes to the film maintaining the simple but effectively heartwarming emotional beats that have always been an element of these films, like in the original Jumanji when Alan Parrish learned about how much things changed when he got sucked into the game. Because of all this, Jumanji: The Next Level is another solid entry in this growing franchise, although I will say that if they end up doing another one, they should probably try to do something a little different story-wise. One way could involve the incorporation of elements from the original book’s 2002 follow-up Zathura, which had a pair of brothers go through a similar scenario but with a space-themed board game. That book got an enjoyable albeit commercially underrated film adaptation in 2005 via director Jon Favreau, and while Favreau did try to distance it from the original Jumanji film since he wasn’t a fan of it, it could be fun to see a new spin on Zathura that’s in line with what we’ve gotten from these last two Jumanji films.

Rating: 4.5/5

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (2019) review

The Fast and the Furious franchise has undoubtedly been one of the biggest film franchises in recent memory. While it has been around since 2001, the series truly started to hit its stride with its fifth installment, 2011’s Fast Five, which surprised many by being the first entry of the series to attract generally positive reviews from critics. For many, this was largely due to a new addition to the cast in Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, a burly, no-nonsense agent working for the Diplomatic Security Service. While initially established as somewhat of an antagonist for series lead Dominic Toretto and his gang, Hobbs ends up becoming one of their key allies for subsequent films. Another major standout for the series came in the form of Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. First introduced in the mid-credit scene of 2013’s Fast and Furious 6, Shaw effectively became the main antagonist of 2015’s Furious 7 but would later transition into an anti-hero in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious. And while Shaw’s new characterization proved to be rather controversial amongst fans given that he was responsible for the death of Han, one of the series’ main protagonists, many agreed that the scenes between Johnson and Statham were the best part of the film. As such, we now come to a first for the Fast and Furious franchise via a spin-off centered on its two most popular characters, Hobbs and Shaw. For this film, directorial duties go to David Leitch, who’s fresh off last year’s superior follow-up to 2016’s superhero smash hit Deadpool. What follows is exactly what you’d expect from a Fast and Furious film; a completely ridiculous but all-around super fun popcorn flick.

During a mission to retrieve a deadly virus known as ‘Snowflake’ from the mysterious terrorist organization Eteon, a group of MI6 agents are attacked by Eteon’s top agent Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a former MI6 agent who’s been turned into a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier. Almost every member of the team is killed save for team leader Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby), who injects herself with the virus to avoid it getting into Lore’s hands. Thus, Lore and Eteon manage to pin the whole incident on her, forcing her to go on the run. In their efforts to track her down, the CIA recruits two special operatives for the mission; DSS agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Hattie’s brother, former British Special Forces agent Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who also happens to have a considerable history with Lore. The only problem is that, as exemplified by their past encounters, Hobbs and Shaw do not get along in the slightest. However, given that the virus within Hattie will end up killing her in a few days and will then be unleashed upon the world to kill countless more, the two ‘frenemies’ are forced to work together just to ensure that none of this ends up happening. And because Brixton Lore and Eteon consistently prove to be a massive thorn in their side, the three realize that they’ll have to embrace their familial roots if they want to stand a chance against their enemies.    

Nowadays, the ongoing narrative surrounding the Fast and Furious films usually revolves around how incredibly over-the-top they’ve gotten. What was once a simple street-racing franchise has now evolved into a series of films where its characters pull off incredibly ludicrous stunts that defy every single law of physics, whether it’s jumping a car across tall skyscrapers or driving them out of an airplane. And because these films consistently continue to up the ante when it comes to their insane action sequences, it’s legitimately gotten to the point where fans have been speculating for years now if the franchise will ever head into space. As for Hobbs and Shaw, it’s basically a full-blown superhero film at this point since the plot revolves around the titular duo taking on a genetically enhanced soldier who’s so powerful that he straight-up boasts that he’s ‘Black Superman’. As such, this film is ultimately yet another example of what we’ve now come to expect from this franchise. Simply put, if you’re among those who aren’t even remotely fans of Fast and Furious, then you’re clearly not going to get anything out of this since it basically maintains every single one of the series’ long-standing tropes. In fact, you’ll probably just look at this and lament how this franchise keeps managing to get even sillier with each new installment. But if you are a fan of this franchise, this film does continue to feature everything that you love about it, from the cheesy comedic dialogue to the action sequences that, no matter how insane they get, are still a lot of fun to watch. And while it does occasionally feel like David Leitch is being forced to keep some of the fight sequences under the PG-13 rating, there are still plenty of cases where he gets to show off his knack for excellent stunt choreography.

But perhaps the most surprising aspect of this film is how effective it is at handling what is easily the franchise’s definitive theme, the importance of family. Yes, as fans of the franchise are undoubtedly aware, Fast and Furious has constantly prided itself on the strong camaraderie between its main characters. However, it does seem like this bond has been tested in recent years, especially after Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson’s heated feud on the set of The Fate of the Furious that, as it turns out, was partially due to the announcement of this spin-off. Still, there’s no denying that family has always been a key element of this franchise’s success, and Hobbs and Shaw is quite arguably one of the best entries in the series when it comes to conveying this since it directly defines the character arcs of its titular leads. Shaw’s involvement in the plot primarily stems around the need to protect his sister (who he’s been estranged from for several years) while Hobbs ends up returning to his home in Samoa and reuniting with his family, who play a major role in the film’s finale. Now to be clear, this is still Fast and Furious that we’re talking about so this is by no means an Oscar-winning script; and yet, it could be argued that this one handles the ‘family’ aspect a lot better than some other entries in the franchise. And as to be expected, Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham continue to be excellent in the title roles thanks in large part to their excellent camaraderie and the hilarious banter that stems from it. They’re then backed by Vanessa Kirby’s equally excellent turn as new female lead Hattie Shaw, with Kirby more than holding her own against her two main co-stars when it comes to the action sequences. And to close out the main cast, Idris Elba is clearly having a lot of fun in the role of main antagonist Brixton Lore, who does prove to be a considerable threat to the main characters despite a few instances where his characterization feels a bit one-note in favor of setting up a new overarching series villain in the currently unknown director of Eteon.

While it is primarily a spin-off of the Fast and Furious series, the fact that Hobbs and Shaw revolves around the franchise’s two most popular characters ultimately resulted in a situation where many people were looking forward to this film more than the impending Fast and Furious 9, which is set for a May 2020 release. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s been confirmed that Johnson and Statham won’t be returning for the ninth film due to their commitment to this spin-off. As such, only time will tell if this will have any sort of impact on Fast and Furious 9, especially given how Johnson’s involvement with the franchise was one of the key factors behind its unexpected resurgence. But as for Hobbs and Shaw, it’s easy to see why this one attracted so much hype before its release. Bolstered by the terrific camaraderie of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, this film once again reinforces why Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw have become one of the best mismatched buddy duos in film since Martin Riggs and Roger Murtagh. Sure, just like the other recent installments of the Fast and Furious franchise, Hobbs and Shaw doesn’t let up in the slightest when it comes to the increasingly ludicrous nature of both its plot and its action sequences. Because of this, it’s clear that those who aren’t already fans of the franchise probably won’t be swayed by this new installment. But, of course, when it comes to the franchise’s devoted fanbase, they will most likely find this to be another solid entry in the series thanks to its great cast, highly entertaining action sequences, and solid direction from David Leitch. It’s already grossed over $588 million worldwide, once again reaffirming the Fast and Furious franchise’s status as one of the most dominant film franchises around.

Rating: 4.5/5

And don’t forget that there’s still plenty of time to vote for your favorite film from the Summer of 2019 in Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual ‘End of Summer’ Fan Poll. Just head to the following link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NQ3FZN2) to make your selection. Voting ends this Saturday, August 31^st; as Doctor Strange would say, “We’re in the endgame now…”

Rampage (2018) review

Well, it seems like Warner Bros. went double or nothing this year in terms of potentially producing the first ‘great’ film based on a video game. Last month, they released Tomb Raider, a reboot of the series’ film franchise that was based on the more recent entries in the video game franchise. And while the film didn’t really end up breaking the dreaded ‘video game film curse’, it did technically fare better than most films of its genre both critically and financially. With that in mind, we now come to Warner Bros.’ second major video game film adaptation of the year, which is a rather fascinating one considering its source material, Rampage. Rampage was an action arcade game developed by Midway in 1986 in which players took control of three gigantic monsters who, as the title suggests, rampage through various cities and cause all sorts of property damage. Upon its release, the game proved to be a huge hit, which helped Midway a lot considering that it came out just three years after the video game industry’s infamous period of recession in 1983. As a result, the game ended up getting four sequels and a puzzle-based spin-off, and even though the most recent installment of the series came out more than a decade ago in 2006, Rampage now makes its big return into the world of pop culture via a feature film adaptation headlined by the one and only Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The film also sees Johnson reteam with director Brad Peyton, as the two previously collaborated on the 2012 family adventure flick Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and the 2015 disaster flick San Andreas, two films that proved to be big box-office hits despite receiving generally mixed reviews. And this trend ultimately continues with their latest endeavor, because while Rampage still isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about the potential for quality video game adaptations, it is at least a decent popcorn flick that’s very much bolstered by its charismatic lead actor.

At a wildlife preserve in San Diego, ex-Special Forces soldier Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) works as a primatologist. During his time there, he has developed a strong connection with the preserve’s collection of primates, most notably a rare albino gorilla named George whom he rescued from poachers at a young age. However, their peaceful lives are soon threatened when debris from a destroyed space station results in canisters of a mysterious pathogen crash-landing all over Earth. This pathogen then proceeds to affect all animals that come across it, including George when one canister ends up on the preserve. Because of this, he starts to grow considerably larger and begins to develop a more aggressive behavior. Soon afterward, Davis is approached by scientist Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), who tells him that George has been subjected to a genetic editing experiment codenamed ‘Project Rampage’ that was developed by a company called Energyne. However, while Caldwell (a former Energyne employee) had intended for the experiment to be used to cure diseases, Energyne CEO Claire Wyden (Malin Akerman) and her brother Brett (Jake Lacy) have instead used it as a biological weapon. Thus, when Claire uses a transmitter to coerce George into traveling to the company’s headquarters in Chicago so that he can be studied, Davis and Kate find themselves in a race against time to try and find a cure for George’s condition before that happens or the military ends up taking him out. This situation is only compounded further by the arrival of other creatures affected by the pathogen, including a flying gray wolf named Ralph and a giant crocodile named Lizzie.

Back in my reviews of the Tomb Raider films, I mentioned that arguably the most important thing for a film based on a popular video game to do is to maintain an accurate representation of its source material. If anything, it’d give the film an advantage over something like 1993’s Super Mario Bros. or the multiple adaptations that were directed by Uwe Boll because, at the very least, it wouldn’t completely alienate fans of the games by being such a radically different take on the source material to the point where it doesn’t even remotely resemble it. With Rampage, though, admittedly it goes about this in a 50-50 manner. Obviously, there wasn’t that much to the plot in the original games aside from destroying everything in sight; thus, the film attempts to bring a little more depth to the story by having a main human character who shares a special bond with one of the three original monsters, all of whom do appear in the film, for the record. However, there is one notable difference from the games, and that is that instead of having the creatures be portrayed as mutated humans who were subjected to all kinds of experiments by an evil corporation, here they’re just regular animals who were subjected to such experimentation. Despite this, however, along with sharing the same narrative issues that plagued the new Tomb Raider film by having its biggest action sequences be reserved for the third act, Rampage does boast one major advantage over Tomb Raider; it never feels sluggish at any point. Now don’t get me wrong, this is very much one of those mindless action films with little to no character development. Still, when the film does get into the franchise’s main selling point of seeing monsters cause all sorts of chaos, represented here by the big finale in which the monsters tear through Chicago, it does pave the way for some highly entertaining action sequences.

And really, if there’s anyone who could have potentially been able to break the ‘video game film curse’, it would be Dwayne Johnson. Despite all its silliness, this film serves as further proof as to why he’s one of the most charismatic actors in the business. Because while this is obviously by no means an Oscar-worthy screenplay, Johnson does give it his all here just like he does with every other role that he takes on. In the case of this role, a lot of this is due to the solid friendship that he shares with George even though, technically speaking, the two of them spend a considerable amount of the film’s run-time separated from each other. Just like what Andy Serkis and company did in the recent Planet of the Apes films, George is portrayed via motion capture, and actor Jason Liles does an excellent job of making the character sympathetic even with all that he goes through in the film. Johnson also happens to have solid chemistry with Naomie Harris; sadly, though, she ends up being quite underused in this film. Despite a plotline that establishes a ‘dark’ past for her character, whose reputation was tarnished when she was fired by Energyne when she tried to expose their sinister intentions, she’s mostly just a simple love interest for Okoye who ultimately doesn’t contribute that much to the overall plot. But then there’s the other major standout of the cast, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Harvey Russell, a government agent who Okoye and Kate constantly cross paths with, though it should be noted that he is not a villainous character. Like Johnson, he brings much charisma to the role and the tense dynamic between the two results in some of the best character moments in the entire film.

So, in conclusion, I admittedly find myself repeating quite a few of the same points that I mentioned in the conclusion of my review for the new Tomb Raider film in this review. Like that film, Rampage isn’t exactly going to be bucking the trend of mediocrely received films based on popular video games. Now, granted, also like Tomb Raider, it has managed to maintain a higher score on Rotten Tomatoes than most other entries in the genre. Still, aside from a recent animated TV series adaptation of Castlevania that premiered on Netflix last year, we’ve still yet to see a freshly-rated video game film adaptation. But for what it’s worth, I surprisingly found myself enjoying this film a bit more than Tomb Raider, which is saying something considering that I have more experience with that franchise than I do with Rampage. I mean, sure, it does share the same general plot structure of that film, meaning that it doesn’t get to its biggest action set-pieces until the finale. But to its credit, when the film does get to these action set-pieces, they are at least entertaining and live up to the franchise’s premise of having giant monsters wreak havoc in a city, even if the plot itself isn’t the most faithful of adaptations as far as this genre is concerned. Plus, this film boasts stronger pacing compared to Tomb Raider and is bolstered by a pair of terrific lead performances from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Jeffrey Dean Morgan; heck, they’d even be the main reason to go see this film if it wasn’t for all the fun monster action. In short, while this is very much a dumb action film, if you’re just looking for a decent popcorn flick that attempts to resurrect a classic video game franchise from the 80’s/90’s, you could obviously do far worse than this one considering all the other films in its genre.   

Rating: 3.5/5

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) review

In 1981, author Chris Van Allsburg published Jumanji, a fantasy picture book about a pair of siblings who come across a mysterious jungle-themed board game. What they soon learn, though, is that the various dangers that they encounter in the game end up coming to life and will not go away until the game is finished. 14 years later in 1995, Allsburg and veteran director Joe Johnston brought Jumanji to life on the big-screen, headlined by the one and only Robin Williams in the role of a man named Alan Parrish who ends up getting trapped within the game for several decades. While the film wasn’t much of a hit with critics, it did do quite well at the box-office as it grossed over $262 million worldwide. Thus, the film has very much become a staple of its time when it comes to 90’s cult classics. But now, the time has come to return to the world of the jungle via a sequel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. This time around, the premise shifts from Jumanji being a board game that comes to life to a video game that directly sucks its players into its world. Comedy director Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Bad Teacher) directs this new take on a classic IP with an ensemble cast headlined by big comedic stars like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. But for many fans of the original Jumanji, they’ve been wondering if this new film will manage to live up to the legacy of its predecessor. Well, I’m pleased to report that it does do so, for the most part.

On an average school day, teenagers Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman), Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), and Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner) end up in detention for various reasons. While serving out their punishment of cleaning out the school basement, the four come across a mysterious video game titled Jumanji. After selecting their avatars from the available roster of characters, they suddenly find themselves sucked into the game, where they’re transformed into the avatars that they’ve selected. The nerdy Spencer becomes the group’s muscular and charismatic leader Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson) while football jock Fridge is demoted to the role of Bravestone’s weapons valet Franklin ‘Mouse’ Finbar (Kevin Hart). Bookworm Martha becomes the badass commando Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan) and pretty girl Bethany faces a severe case of culture shock when she becomes the ‘overweight, middle-aged’ male cartographer Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black). The group soon learns that they each have three lives and must finish the game without losing them all in order to escape it. Thus, they embark on a perilous journey through the jungle in order to lift a powerful curse that has been placed upon the game world by Bravestone’s old associate, an explorer by the name of Van Pelt (Bobby Cannavale).

The first question that a lot of people had when this film was first announced was in regards to how it would be connected to the original Jumanji. Although it was initially announced as a ‘remake’, the film is ultimately more of a sequel. While it is set several years after the original film, a connection is still established with it thanks to a major nod to Robin Williams’ character Alan Parrish. And while it is understandable if some may scoff at the idea of how the film re-imagines Jumanji as a video game, it does, at least, make sense for a modern take on this story. With that in mind, the film does manage to be a solid follow-up to its predecessor. Given that it mainly takes place within a video game, the film throws in plenty of fun gaming references; everything from the backstory-spewing cut-scenes to the NPCs (non-player characters) that always spout the same bits of dialogue over and over again. And on that note, Jumanji sports a solid hit-miss ratio when it comes to its humor. Now, granted, this is mainly after the main characters get sucked into the game, as most of the humor that occurs in the real world does admittedly fall a bit flat. But even with that in mind, along with the fact that the plot is a fairly simple one in which four teens go through a transformative experience that ends up changing their lives for the better, the film is quite consistent with its humor during the stretches of it that are set within the game world. Plus, for his first major foray into the action genre, director Jake Kasdan does a solid job with the film’s various action sequences.  

Ultimately though, the biggest highlight of this film is seeing the four main leads go out of their comfort zones to portray teenaged characters who find themselves transferred into the bodies of their in-game avatars. While both Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan have had plenty of experience when it comes to action films (in Johnson’s case, the numerous action films that he’s starred in, and in Gillan’s case, her turn as Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), the sight of them acting like shy and nerdy teenagers paves the way for plenty of great comedic moments. The same scenario applies to the other two leads as well; Kevin Hart as the football jock turned practically useless* (in terms of combat) weapons valet and Jack Black acting like a teenage girl. In short, the four leads are easily the best part of the film, as they all have great comedic timing and work incredibly well off each other. The other big name in the cast that’s worth noting is Nick Jonas in the role of the game’s fifth playable avatar, pilot Seaplane McDonough. Jonas works great alongside the other four leads in a role that, without giving anything major away, shares quite a few similarities with one of the original film’s main characters. But whereas all of the film’s main leads are solid, the same can’t exactly be said for the main villain Van Pelt. To his credit, Bobby Cannavale does bring the right amount of creep factor to the role, namely in regards to the character being possessed by a jewel that allows him to control animals. However, Van Pelt is just ‘there’ for the most part, unlike the previous film where the character of Van Pelt (played by Jonathan Hyde) had a far more substantial role in the plot.

When this film was first announced, there was quite a lot of backlash towards it (as is quite frankly the case with any major revival of an old IP nowadays) from fans of the original, especially given the fact that the initial reveal occurred just one year after the death of Robin Williams. I will admit, though, that I wasn’t too bothered by this development because, to be perfectly frank, I don’t necessarily view the original Jumanji as one of the best films of the 90’s. Don’t get me wrong, I do still like the film, but that doesn’t mean that I think that it’s a masterpiece or anything. It’s just a fun and simple fantasy adventure bolstered by the always terrific Robin Williams. This same mindset applies to the sequel as well; it’s by no means perfect but, at its core, it’s not trying to be. At the end of the day, it serves its purpose of being an entertaining action-adventure comedy that does a solid job of reworking the original concept of Jumanji in a new direction without disrespecting any of the stuff that came before it. Sure, the plot is a simple one and not every joke hits, but a lot of the film’s humor does work thanks to the excellent lead quartet of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. Simply put, these four are the main reason why this film is worth checking out. And for those who still uncertain about it, fear not because it treats the original Jumanji, along with all the work that the late Robin Williams put into it, with genuinely wholehearted reverence.

Rating: 4/5

The Mummy Trilogy (1999-2008) Retrospective

Universal Studios is perhaps best known for the numerous monster films that they produced over the span of four decades (i.e. the 20’s to the 50’s). Classic films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man were huge critical and commercial hits back in the day, and have since been regarded as some of the most iconic films in the horror genre. One of these films was 1932’s The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff in his second major Universal Monsters role after playing the monster in Frankenstein as an ancient Egyptian priest named Imhotep who is buried alive when he attempts to resurrect his forbidden lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-Amon. Centuries later, he is re-awakened by a group of archeologists and continues his quest to reunite with the love of his life. I previously reviewed this film during my Universal Monsters retrospective this past October. In that post, I noted that while I felt that it was one of the weaker entries in the Universal Monsters lineup, it still had some great elements to it, from some effectively atmospheric moments to Boris Karloff’s underrated turn in the title role; at least, underrated when compared to his turn as Frankenstein’s monster. After the original’s release, it was followed by four sequels in the 40’s and 50’s, though the term ‘sequel’ is used loosely in this instance because these films focused on a different Mummy, Kharis. The last one even featured comedy duo Abbott and Costello in what was one of their many crossovers with the Universal Monsters, including the previously reviewed Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Four years after Universal’s franchise ended, famed horror studio Hammer Films would create their own Mummy franchise. It ran from 1959 to 1971 and the first film, simply titled The Mummy, starred the studio’s biggest icons, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, the latter of whom played the title role.

But today, we’re looking at Universal’s first major attempt at rebooting this classic franchise; an attempt that shifted this horror classic into an action-adventure series. In 1999, director Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy was released in theaters and it became a massive commercial hit. It was so successful that it spawned two sequels, a spin-off prequel that spawned a few sequels itself albeit direct-to-video ones, an animated series which ran for two seasons on the Kids’ WB block in the early 2000’s (one that I do distinctly remember watching as a kid), and a popular roller-coaster ride at several Universal theme parks. This week, Universal revives this classic franchise with a new reboot, starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella, in what is intended to be the first installment in a new line of Universal Monster films set within a shared universe. Only time will tell if this ‘Dark Universe’ (as they’re calling it) manages to work, but in honor of the new Mummy’s release, today we’ll be looking back at the previous Mummy trilogy, which ran from 1999 to 2008 and starred Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. To be clear, I’m only covering the theatrically-released Mummy films. I will not be reviewing any of the direct-to-video Scorpion King films. However, just for the hell of it, I will be including the theatrically-released Scorpion King film from 2002 in this retrospective because it is the series’ official spin-off. And, really, this is the only instance where I could possibly do so because I am not planning on reviewing those direct-to-video sequels anytime soon and probably never will. With that in mind, it’s time to do what Brendan Fraser does best in these films; ‘Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world’. Okay, maybe not all that but, still, here are my reviews of the recent Mummy trilogy.

THE MUMMY (1999)

It all started in 1999 when director Stephen Sommers released his remake of Universal’s seminal horror flick, The Mummy. But instead of maintaining the atmospheric horror elements of the original, Sommers opted for a big-budget action-adventure blockbuster reminiscent of the Indiana Jones films. And while watching this film, you can certainly sense the similarities that it shares with a film like Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s nowhere near as iconic as Raiders, mind you, but it is still entertaining even if it’s basically just a dumb action flick. Most of the film’s action set-pieces are solid as is its overall production design. The visuals, on the other hand, though… yeah, the CGI in this film has dated quite a bit, something that’s quite noticeable anytime that it pops up (e.g. the titular Mummy (Imhotep) when he’s first re-awakened, many of the wide shots, etc.) despite being one of the major elements of the film. As for the cast, Brendan Fraser is solid enough in the role of lead Rick O’Connell, Rachel Weisz is arguably the biggest standout of them all as female lead Evelyn Carnahan, and John Hannah provides some funny bits of humor as Evelyn’s bumbling brother Jonathan (“Americans…”). In short, the 1999 remake of The Mummy is far from perfect, but as an old-fashioned summer blockbuster, its unabashed spirit is there in spades and that’s at least appreciated. Sure, it’s aged quite a bit compared to today’s standards (pun not intended since this film is about mummies), but it does deliver, for the most part, on what it’s trying to be.

Rating: 3.5/5

THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001)

After the first Mummy proved to be a smash-hit at the box-office, Universal immediately greenlit a sequel; thus, Sommers and the main cast returned for the fittingly titled sequel, The Mummy Returns. This film notably served as the feature film debut of the one and only Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who plays the villainous ‘Scorpion King’. However, his role in the film is ultimately a minor one; he only appears at the beginning of the film and at the end (somewhat; I’ll explain in a bit). It wasn’t until the character’s spin-off the following year when he finally ascended to the status of leading man. As for Returns, though, it’s basically the same general situation as its predecessor. Admittedly, in some areas, this one is more entertaining, kind of, due to a faster pace. But, at the same time, this means that the film is basically an onslaught of action sequences that leave little time for any character development. By comparison, the first film, even though it, too, was a dumb action flick, at least took the time to flesh out its main characters. Like the original, though, the film does have some solid action set-pieces and a great production design which, for the most part, makes up for the visuals which, once again, have dated horribly. I mean, many have already pointed out the infamous scene in which Rick fights the re-awakened Scorpion King (hence what I said earlier about Dwayne Johnson’s ‘appearance’ in the finale) but, really, the same can be said for almost all the film’s CGI effects. For a film that had a budget of $98 million, a budget that clearly must’ve been focused on the effects… I have the feeling that these effects were regarded as subpar even back when it was released. Thus, I ultimately find myself rating this film the same way that I did the first; it’s entertaining in parts but there are other elements in it that have not aged well.

Rating: 3.5/5

THE SCORPION KING (2002)

Before he became known as one of the most charismatic actors in the business, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was transitioning from his career in wrestling to one in film in the early 2000’s. As noted earlier, he made his official film debut in The Mummy Returns. But, as noted earlier, he basically only had a cameo in that. However, the studio liked his character, Mathayus the Scorpion King, enough that they decided to give him his own spin-off. Thus, one year later, the Rock finally got his first leading role in The Scorpion King, in which his character was re-tooled into a protagonist. And, overall, it’s very much a spin-off of the Mummy films; it’s a generally mindless affair and it’s even a bit derivative at times. For one thing, the main character’s love interest is a sorceress who will lose her powers if she loses her virginity… you know, like Solitaire from Live and Let Die? But even with this in mind, I will admit that I found it to be an entertaining film, even if its kick-ass theme song, ‘I Stand Alone’ by Godsmack… is basically the only thing that people remember about this film nowadays. For one thing, I will give the film credit for not taking itself too seriously, as there is a pleasantly light-hearted feel to it. Sure, this does sometimes result in bits of humor that try way too hard to warrant laughs, but at just 92 minutes long, this is an easy watch. Plus, after the highly mediocre effects of The Mummy Returns, this film does at least utilize as many practical effects and stunts as it possibly can (e.g. Dwayne Johnson recently revealed in a YouTube video that real killer ants were used in the scenes where Mathayus is about to executed by the main villain’s guards). And while it may only be his first leading role, Johnson does show some early signs of that great charisma that he’s well-known for. Thus, while it may be a bit forgettable, The Scorpion King is, at the very least, a decent attempt at a spin-off… a spin-off that somehow managed to warrant a prequel and two sequels in the years since despite Johnson’s absence.

Rating: 3/5

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (2008)

This rebooted franchise concluded in 2008 with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. As the title suggests, it shifted the action from Egypt to China and it also saw a change in direction, with Rob Cohen (director of the original Fast and the Furious) taking over as director. However, it’s also the weakest installment of the trilogy by a long shot. The potential for some decent action sequences is wasted via shoddy editing and cinematography which, based on what I’ve heard about Cohen’s infamous adaptation of Alex Cross, is sort of becoming a common factor in his films. And, once again, the film’s visual effects are quite mediocre; seriously, this franchise never managed to catch a break when it came to CGI. Ironically, though, this film had the biggest budget of any entry in the series to date at around $145 million (Here’s hoping that the new Mummy will have better effects). Another big detriment is the loss of Rachel Weisz in the role of Evelyn. Though, to be fair, if she didn’t come back because of the script, which is one of the rumored reasons as to why she didn’t, then I wouldn’t blame her. Maria Bello takes over the role in this film and while she is a good actress, she’s severely underused and her chemistry with Brendan Fraser lacks the great dynamic that he and Weisz had. As I alluded to earlier, I’d argue that Rachel Weisz was the best part about the first two films, as her character was both the most charismatic and most interesting (e.g. in the second film, we learn that, in a past life, she was an Egyptian princess). Here, though, the character isn’t given anything to do despite what we’ve seen from her in previous films. It also doesn’t help that the film overdoes it when it comes to humor; seriously, even The Scorpion King was better at this. In short, I don’t mind the idea of this franchise exploring different ‘mummy-type’ scenarios outside of Egypt. However, that concept went nowhere because Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, despite doing as well commercially as its predecessors, ended up being a massive dud that effectively killed the franchise, hence why we have the new film that’s coming out this week.

Rating: 0.5/5

Baywatch (2017) review

Well, we’ve got another theatrical revamp of a classic TV series on our hands. In this instance, it’s an R-rated adaptation of the cult classic TV series about sexy lifeguards running in slow motion; Baywatch. Created by the trio of Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, Baywatch debuted in 1989 on NBC. It only lasted one season on the network but would see new life in syndication, ultimately ending at 11 seasons with a total of almost 250 episodes. The show, about a bunch of lifeguards who deal with all sorts of trouble, not just the stuff that happens on the beach, starred David Hasselhoff in the role of head lifeguard Mitch Buchannon. The show was also known for launching the career of Pamela Anderson, who starred in the role of lifeguard CJ Parker. Which brings us back to 2017 with this new adaptation that, as noted earlier, strives to be an R-rated action comedy. It certainly has some good people working on it; for one thing, it stars one of Hollywood’s most charismatic stars, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, in the role that Hasselhoff portrayed on TV. Add in other big names like Zac Efron and Priyanka Chopra and you have a promising ensemble cast. In the director’s chair is Seth Gordon, who’s had a solid career in the industry so far thanks to solid hits like his 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and one of the many surprise hits of 2011, Horrible Bosses. Seems like a solid assembly of cast and crew, right? Well, unfortunately, despite the best efforts of this film’s cast, this new adaptation of Baywatch is one of the most underwhelming comedies in recent memory.

On a sunny beach in Florida, Mitch Buchannon (Dwayne Johnson) runs the beach’s lifeguard division known as Baywatch alongside second-in-command Stephanie Holden (Ilfenesh Hadera) and veteran CJ Parker (Kelly Rohrbach). During their annual recruitment session, they end up bringing in three new recruits; Holden’s friend Summer Quinn (Alexandria Daddario), nerd Ronnie (Jon Bass), who has a crush on CJ, and former Olympic swimmer Matt Brody (Zac Efron), who won two gold medals but embarrassed himself in a team relay event. Despite Mitch’s insistence that Brody doesn’t have what it takes to be a Baywatch lifeguard, his superior, Captain Thorne (Rob Huebel), encourages him to bring Brody onto the team to help keep the program running, as the city’s been repeatedly cutting their funding. While this is going on, Mitch and crew start to find traces of drugs all over the beach. Things get even more complicated when the body of a city official winds up on the beach as well. Immediately, Mitch deduces that all the recent troubles on the beach are directly tied to businesswoman Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra), the new owner of the local nightclub. Thus, despite being constantly reminded by his superiors that this type of work is beyond his jurisdiction, Mitch leads Brody and the team on an investigation into Leeds’ operation.

Now, for the record, I have never watched a single episode of Baywatch prior to seeing this film. From what I’ve read, many feel that while the show was quite cheesy (we are, after all, talking about the show that’s perhaps best known for the scenes where the lifeguards run in slow-motion), it was still rather entertaining to watch despite this. As for this new take on the franchise, though, from the perspective of someone who’s generally unfamiliar with Baywatch, it doesn’t seem like this film represents its source material in a positive light. Again, from what I’ve read, the show, despite its cheesiness, played things straight despite its rather ludicrous plot of lifeguards delving into non-lifeguard situations. The film, though, strives to be a comedy, which is perfectly fine… except the jokes REALLY don’t hit here. I mean, the film isn’t completely humorless; there are a few chuckle-worthy moments here and there. But overall, in terms of humor, this has one of the worst hit-to-miss ratios that I’ve ever seen in a comedy. I wouldn’t say that this is because the film tries too hard to be an R-rated comedy, complete with numerous sex jokes as well as some jokes that poke fun at some of the show’s campier elements. In fact, I’d dare say that the film is quite tame compared to other hardcore R-rated comedies. At the end of the day, it’s just a mediocre screenplay. And as for the film’s other element taken from the show, the action, it’s not much better. I mean, the chase sequences are handled fine for the most part. The fight sequences, though, are another story, as those suffer from some very erratic editing.  

It’s a shame, really, that the film is severely lacking in humor because it comes at the expense of a solidly assembled ensemble cast. While it seems like everyone on the cast had a lot of fun making this film, most of them get stuck with mediocre material; not just in terms of humor, but also in terms of character development, which is practically non-existent save for Brody’s arc of trying to redeem himself after his colossal screw-up at the Olympics. And even then, the film’s handling of that plotline is iffy at best. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Zac Efron do have great camaraderie with each other and both have proven themselves to be great in other comedies… but here, neither of them get anything to work with. The same goes for Priyanka Chopra as the main villain, Victoria Leeds. Again, she’s clearly having a lot of fun playing a villainous character… and yet she doesn’t get anything to work with. This is the same situation for the other female leads in the film as well, like Alexandria Daddario and Kelly Rohrbach. They’re generally underutilized in favor of Mitch and Brody, who of course as I just noted earlier, don’t get much to work with either. Ultimately, the biggest standouts of the film end up being members of the supporting cast. Jon Bass does get a lot of the best moments in the film as the nerdy Ronnie, mainly through his attempts to flirt with CJ. General newcomer Yahya Abdul-Mateen II also gets some funny lines as Sgt. Ellerbee, who constantly reminds Mitch and the Baywatch crew that they’re not the police; they’re just lifeguards. 

  

Oh boy… this one was a major dud. It’s a shame, really, because they were really building this film up to be the big comedy hit of the summer. Just look at all the marketing that went into this. Unfortunately, though, the film ends up being a disastrous adaptation of a popular TV show. I honestly don’t know what went wrong here; it’s not really because of the film trying to be an R-rated take on Baywatch. In fact, the film doesn’t even really live up to what it wants to be, as it’s one of the tamest R-rated comedies in recent years. If they truly wanted to make it a ‘hard-R’ comedy, they should’ve just gone all the way with it. And as for the humor, most of the jokes ultimately land with a thud instead of a bang. Thus, the film’s cast is stuck with mediocre material packaged around an equally mediocre plot (Disclaimer: I’m not going to compare this to the film adaptation of 21 Jump Street, which has a similar plot, like a lot of other critics have been doing). Like I said before, I’ve never seen the original Baywatch series. I probably will check it out someday, but as far as this film is concerned? Let’s just say that if you’re like me and you’ve never watched Baywatch before, this film doesn’t paint a positive image of the show at all! I mean, I know that the show is not considered to be a masterpiece or anything, but I’m sure that it’s at least better than this.

Rating: 1/5

The Fate of the Furious (2017) review

I think it’s safe to say that when the original Fast and the Furious came out in 2001, not many people figured that it would eventually lead into one of the biggest film franchises in recent years. And yet, here we are now at the eighth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Seriously, it’s crazy to see how far this series has come since its early days. Who would’ve thought that by the time that its fifth installment came about in 2011, the franchise that had always attracted a mixed-to-negative response from critics would manage to turn things around and start to do just as well with critics as it’s always done with audiences? Whether it’s due to the shift from street racing to action heist plots or the addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as fan-favorite Luke Hobbs, the series has seen a major increase in both critical and commercial success thanks to its most recent outings. Case in point, the most recent entry, 2015’s Furious 7, became the first film in the series to gross over $1 billion worldwide. Of course, part of the reason for this was that the film was impacted by the death of franchise star Paul Walker halfway through shooting. Thus, the film ended up becoming a poignant send-off to one of the series’ original stars, while still being another enjoyably over-the-top entry in the series. But the story isn’t over yet for Dominic Toretto and his crew. Now under the direction of F. Gary Gray, fresh off 2015’s smash hit Straight Outta Compton, the crew finds themselves up against their most intimidating adversary yet, one of their own, in The Fate of the Furious. Yes, you may snicker at that title, but if you’re a fan of Fast and the Furious, you’ll be pleased to know that this film features more of the same great over-the-top action that this series is known for.

Things have been going quite well for Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew ever since the events of Furious 7. No longer having to worry about dealing with anyone that’s trying to hunt them down, they’ve been spending most of their time living in peace, with Dom enjoying his honeymoon with his wife, Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), in Cuba after she regained her memories of their marriage in the previous film. However, when the team is called in to steal an EMP device from a military complex in Berlin, they are surprised when Dom shockingly betrays them by taking the device and getting their ally, Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), arrested by the local government. As they soon come to find out, Dom is in cahoots with the most elusive cyberterrorist on the planet, Cipher (Charlize Theron), who unbeknownst to them has managed to coerce Dom into working for her thanks to a crucial ace in the hole. Thus, Letty, Hobbs, and the rest of the crew; fast-talker Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), tech expert Tej Parker (Ludacris), and hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), find themselves in a difficult situation as they’re now forced to combat their longtime friend. With the aid of their old ally, government agent ‘Mr. Nobody’ (Kurt Russell), the team embarks on their latest mission; to take down Cipher before she instigates nuclear war and to, hopefully, get Dom back on their side. They even gain an unexpected ally in their old nemesis, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who they had imprisoned at the end of Furious 7.

Well, seeing how this is the eighth entry in the franchise, I’m well-aware that I’m just repeating myself at this point when it comes to talking about these films. Let’s be honest, folks, eight films in, you know exactly what to expect from this series. You’re not going to get anything Oscar-worthy out of this film’s straightforward ‘stop the bad guy from doing something terrible’ plot. But, of course, that’s not what you’re here for. You’re here for the ridiculous and yet still all-around awesome action sequences that defy all logic and physics with characters who are basically superheroes at this point. And, of course, this film has plenty of that to go around, including an epic chase through New York City involving an army of cars remotely controlled by Cipher. Seriously, though, if you’re one of those who scoffs at the sight of Dwayne Johnson pushing away a torpedo (that has been fired by a submarine) with his bare hands or Vin Diesel managing to finish a street race all while his car is almost entirely on fire, then this film isn’t for you. But, for those who are fans of the series, this doesn’t disappoint when it comes to delivering exactly what this franchise is known for. But, at the same time, it’s all handled with solid execution from a directing standpoint. F. Gary Gray, who’s no stranger to action films having directed the 2003 remake of The Italian Job (which, fittingly enough, starred Charlize Theron and Jason Statham), handles the action well and the film’s overall tone is probably the most consistent that it’s ever been at with this series since Fast Five. In other words, it’s a well-balanced mix of fun, over-the-top action and light-hearted banter with just enough dramatic heft in there that never overshadows the previous two aspects. Because at this point, the franchise is very much self-aware when it comes to not trying to be something that it isn’t.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Fast and Furious film without arguably the most definitive aspect of the franchise (yes, even more so than the action), family. Yes, despite the scandalous feud between stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson that clearly isn’t ‘just a publicity stunt’ and this film’s big plot-line of Dom going against his family, the camaraderie amongst the cast is as strong as it’s ever been. And the big reveal surrounding Dom’s actions, without giving anything away, are, surprisingly, well-handled. It isn’t anything too outlandish like I know some were assuming when the first trailer came out. Instead, it manages to tie in with the whole ‘family’ aspect quite well. Of course, the rest of Dom’s crew is just as solid as they’ve ever been, from Tyrese getting a lot of the best humorous moments as Roman to Dwayne Johnson being his usual badass self as Hobbs. Hobbs also gets quite a lot of memorable scenes with Deckard Shaw, as Jason Statham thankfully gets a much more substantial role this time around. Sure, the idea of him becoming an ally to Dom’s crew may seem like a major stretch considering that, in the last film, he killed their crewmate Han but I’ll admit that I’m interested in seeing how they handle this going forward. Plus, it does lead to one super entertaining action sequence that he’s directly involved in. And then, there’s the main villain Cipher, who most certainly ends up being one of the series’ best villains. Charlize Theron plays the part excellently and while she does spend most of the film monitoring the action instead of being out in the field (which may come as a disappointment to some given Theron’s clear skill in terms of fight sequences as evident from Mad Max: Fury Road and the upcoming action thriller Atomic Blonde), her ability to coerce Dom into working for her makes her an entertainingly cold villainess.  

I won’t lie, folks… this may have just become my new favorite entry in the Fast and Furious franchise. I’m kind of reeling at the surreal nature of that statement; I just said that about the eighth (eighth!) installment of the franchise. The only other instance in film history where that was even remotely possible was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 back in 2011… and that’s not even my favorite entry in that series, so this is a first for me. But, as a fan of this franchise (at least since the fourth film), this delivered on everything that you’ve come to expect in a Fast and Furious film. Yes, it’s just as simply plotted as its predecessors. And yes, the action is insane… and yet it’s still so damn awesome. Somehow, someway, the filmmakers are continuing to raise the bar in terms of the crazy stunts that this series is known for. And despite what I just said about the film being just as silly and over-the-top as its predecessors, its handling of the whole ‘Dom going rogue’ storyline is surprisingly well-handled. Yeah, it easily could’ve gone a lot worse but the way that they handle it does make sense once you realize the specific reason why Dom is forced to go against his team. Pair all that with the same great over-the-top action and the strong camaraderie of its cast and you have another super entertaining action thrill ride. And with a record-breaking weekend at the global box-office in the books (over $532 million to be precise), this series clearly isn’t slowing down. And you can bet that I’ll be looking forward to the next two installments of this apparent new ‘trilogy’ that the filmmakers are implicating is being set up by this film.

Rating: 4.5/5

(P.S. As it turns out, my next post on here will be the 500^th post that I’ve published on Rhode Island Movie Corner. With that in mind, stay tuned for an extra special post to celebrate this momentous occasion.)

Top 10 Favorite 'Fast and the Furious' Stunts

The Fast and the Furious franchise is one that needs no introduction. It’s been one of Universal’s most successful franchises, having been around since 2001, and it’s still going strong today. The eighth (yes, eighth!) installment of the series, The Fate of the Furious, hits theaters this weekend and is sure to deliver more of the entertainingly high-octane and goofy action that we’ve come to expect from these films. Thus, in honor of its impending release, I decided to do a Top 10 list of my personal favorite action sequences from this smash hit of a franchise. Though, again, who’d thought that this series would manage to last this long? Not only that, but this series has also somehow managed to get better with each new installment. For the record, yes, they’re completely ridiculous films with action sequences that defy all logic and physics… but they’re also highly entertaining to watch. And, yes, there are those out there who absolutely scoff at these films, questioning why they became so gosh darn successful despite being so silly (looking at you, CinemaSins). But, at the same time, it’s clear that this franchise has one hell of a fanbase. Heck, it’s a fan-base that I myself am a part of, having been a fan of the franchise ever since the fourth installment. Now, with this list, I only have one ground rule that I’m maintaining and that is that I wanted to have at least one stunt from each of the previous 7 films. Because if I didn’t, then this list would’ve most likely been made up almost entirely of sequences from films 5 through 7. So, with that in mind, rev up your V8 engines (complete with NOS boost) and prepare yourselves as we delve into some of the craziest and yet awesome stunts from the Fast and the Furious franchise.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

I’ve got not one, not two, not three, not even four, but five Honorable Mentions to list. What can I say? This franchise knows how to do awesome action sequences. First up, there’s the scene from the climax of the original Fast and the Furious in which Dominic Toretto’s crew tries to hijack a semi-trailer truck but then must deal with the driver’s heavily armed response. Brian O’Connor manages to come in to help them out of this situation but this then leads to him having to blow his cover as an undercover cop when he calls for medical support for an injured member of Dom’s crew. Overall, a solidly tense action set-piece that culminates in that big reveal. Then, from the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, there are the two primary drift races between Sean Boswell and Takashi AKA ‘D.K.’ (Drift King). I’m listing them both instead of just one because both are good in their own unique way. The first is fun because we get to see a clearly inexperienced drifter like Sean go up against a drifting expert like Takashi. Suffice it to say, Sean doesn’t do so well in the race and he ends up decimating his car, which he borrowed from Takashi’s business partner (and, as we learn later, a former member of Dom’s crew), Han Lue. But, by the time the second race rolls around, Sean has become more experienced with drifting. This results in a much more neck and neck battle between him and Takashi as they race on a treacherous mountain track, culminating in Sean beating Takashi to become the new Drift King.

Next up, from film #4, Fast and Furious, there’s the first true ‘street race’ of the film, in which Dom and Brian race through Los Angeles so that they can be recruited to a team that transports heroin across the U.S.-Mexico border for drug lord Arturo Braga, who both are trying to take down. All in all, it’s another solid street race that shakes things up from previous street races by having them drive through traffic, unlike the ones in the first two films where those involved in the races got the streets closed and, therefore, free of any traffic and police. That and this sequence is also minimal in its use of CG compared to previous films, where they primarily used it for shots of the cars’ engines. It’s also quite funny to see Brian argue with his GPS (provided to them for the race) when he ends up going off-course. Finally, from Fast and Furious 6, there’s the big finale in which Dom’s crew pursues Owen Shaw’s crew, who are escaping via plane on a ridiculously long runway. This admittedly long (about 13-15 minutes to be precise) but exciting sequence is full of epic and over-the-top stunts both inside and outside the plane (e.g. when Hobbs launches into the air to knock out one of Shaw’s goons who’s being held down by Dom). And it all culminates in the plane being brought down by Dom’s crew and Dom’s car crashing through the nose of the plane in gloriously ludicrous fashion, as one would expect from this franchise at this point.

And while it isn’t an action sequence, I also want to highlight the ending of Furious 7, namely because of how it serves as a fitting tribute to series star Paul Walker. Of course, as we all know, Walker tragically passed away in a car accident in November 2013, during a break from filming. The filmmakers then reworked the ending so that Brian could be given a proper send-off. Thus, after they defeat Deckard Shaw, Dom and crew decide that it’s time for Brian to retire so that he can be with his family; his girlfriend, and Dom’s sister, Mia, their son Jack, and their incoming second kid. As Dom goes off for a drive, Brian catches up with him and as they go on one last ride together, we cut to a montage of moments from the previous films, all set to ‘See You Again’ by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth and a touching monologue from Dom in which he notes “No matter where you are, whether it's a quarter mile away or half way across the world, you'll always be with me. And you'll always be my brother.” It’s a monologue that’s clearly referring to both Brian O’Connor the character and Paul Walker. Finish with a shot from above of the two driving off in separate directions and you have a guaranteed tear-jerker ending that’s sure to affect any fan of this franchise. And think about this for a moment; this is coming from a franchise that’s primarily known for crazy action sequences and not its writing. It just goes to show that all this talk about ‘family’ that keeps getting brought up throughout the films is an accurate reflection of the great camaraderie of the franchise’s ensemble cast.

10. THE FINAL RACE (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS)

It’s only fitting that we start this list off with a scene from the original Fast and the Furious from 2001. It was a simpler time back then. Before the physics-defying stunts of its most recent outings, this series started out as a simple street racing franchise… as well as being an unofficial ‘remake’ of Point Break but that’s another story. Anyway, kicking off this list is the final race between Dom and Brian after taking down gang leader Johnny Tran. When Brian catches up to Dom, the two end up in a quarter-mile drag race. This race culminates in an awesome moment in which the two cross a railroad crossing just as a train passes through. Unfortunately, for Dom, he then immediately rams into an oncoming truck, resulting in his trademark 1970 Dodge Charger R/T flipping in the air before crashing. Fortunately, for him, Brian ends up giving him his car so that he can get away from the cops. After all, as noted earlier in the film, Brian did owe him a ‘ten-second car’ after a confrontation with Tran’s gang resulted in Brian’s previous car, which Dom had just won in a street race, being blown up. Like I said before, the simplicity of this action sequence is why it ends up being so memorable. The only thing holding it back, really, is that the slow-motion shots of Dom and Brian in their cars before passing the railroad crossing are a bit too much. However, with that said, the shot of Brian handing his keys over to Dom is one of the most iconic images in the franchise’s history, even after all these years.

9. THE FREEWAY RACE (2 FAST 2 FURIOUS)

Next up, we have a scene from 2 Fast 2 Furious, which admittedly is the weakest entry in the series. This is primarily due to a mediocre plot which culminates in an anti-climactic finale with an equally mediocre villain. Not even this film’s action sequences can save this from being the ‘worst’ in the series. However, there are still some memorable action sequences from this film, like the one chase scene near the end where Brian and company have a bunch of street racers drive out of a garage to distract the police. But, for this list, I’m going with the race that takes place on a crowded Miami freeway. In this scene, Brian and his best friend Roman Pearce race a bunch of other drivers to acquire a package from an impounded car so that they can be recruited by drug lord Carter Verone to be his drivers. In a film where some of the racing sequences were more CG-based, especially compared to the ones in the first film, this one was done practically and features some great stunt work, including one where a car ends up getting crushed when it gets caught in-between two trucks (though, let’s be honest, that car’s driver CLEARLY died in that moment) and another where Brian does a 180-degree turn and drives backwards for a bit. Now, admittedly, he mainly did this just to show off in front of Roman but it’s impressive to note that Paul Walker really did do this stunt himself. And, because of aspects like this, this scene gets a slight edge over the final race from the first film and lands at the Number 9 spot on this list.

8. OPENING HEIST (FAST AND FURIOUS)

2009’s Fast and Furious served as the long-awaited return of the series’ original stars. It was the first time that the series’ main leads (Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Michelle Rodriguez), had appeared together in a Fast and Furious film since the original and while it ended up being the worst-reviewed entry in the series, with a mediocre 28% on Rotten Tomatoes, I’d argue it’s rather underrated. Now, admittedly, this is mainly because THIS was the film that got me into the franchise. I remember seeing the film’s Super Bowl ad and was interested in it despite having never seen any of the other films beforehand. I didn’t end up seeing it in theaters but I did watch it when it came to HBO, so yes, this was the first Fast and Furious film I ever watched. But, I’m getting off-track here; aside from being perhaps a bit too serious for a Fast and Furious film, I’d say that this film was like a better-directed version of the first film. It was the second film in the series to be directed by Justin Lin and while the series wouldn’t truly start to shine until the next installment, this one still has its moments. For one thing, it starts off with a pretty epic opening heist in which Dom and his crew, including his girlfriend Letty Ortiz and Han from Tokyo Drift, hijack a large fuel tanker in the Dominican Republic. However, like the truck driver from the climax of the first film, the tanker’s driver soon starts fighting back once he realizes what’s going on. This time around, though, they do manage to steal a good amount of the tanker’s fuel sources and the sequence ends with Dom and Letty narrowly avoiding the tanker as it crashes towards them in a crazy but awesome stunt that was seen in all the trailers, including that Super Bowl ad I mentioned earlier. I guess you could say that thanks to this scene, I officially became a fan of the Fast and the Furious franchise.

7. CHASE THROUGH TOKYO/HAN’S DEATH (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT)

As we’d come to find out, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, despite being the third film of the series to be released in theaters, was not the third film from a chronological standpoint. Instead, it took place after the events of the following three films; Fast and Furious, Fast Five, and Fast and Furious 6. This explains why Han appears in those films as a member of Dom’s crew despite what happens during this sequence from Tokyo Drift. It all starts when Sean, Han, and company are confronted by Takashi over a theft that Han had pulled on his family, who are tied to the Yakuza. Thanks to a diversion from their friend Twinkie, Sean, Takashi’s ex-girlfriend Neela, and Han manage to escape with Takashi and his sidekick Morimoto right behind them. This leads to a tense but exciting chase through the city. There’s even one point where they must drive through a crowded street, resulting in a pretty nice shot when they drift through the crowd. And while Sean and Neela manage to get rid of Morimoto, who presumably dies after crashing into an oncoming car, Han, unfortunately, ends up being hit by another car after managing to get away from Takashi. Before Sean can save him, the car explodes, bringing a sad end to easily the best character in the film. This scene would later be revisited during the mid-credits scene of Fast and Furious 6, where we learn the identity of the driver who hit Han’s car; none other than Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, setting up the epic confrontation between him and Dom’s crew in Furious 7.

"Dominic Toretto. You don't know me... you're about to.

6. TRAIN HEIST (FAST FIVE)

After Fast Five opens with a bang as Dom is broken out of a prison bus by Brian, Mia, and their crew (a scene that was teased at the end of Fast and Furious), the film then sets the stage for the first big action sequence set in its main locale, Rio de Janeiro. In this sequence, Dom, Brian, and Mia, along with their old friend Vince (who last appeared in the first film, released a full decade prior), attempt to steal a bunch of cars from a train with the help of some locals. When Dom overhears one of the locals, Zizi, mention that he’s primarily interested in one of the cars, a Ford GT40, he has Mia ride off with it instead. Of course, this then leads to trouble as Dom and Brian must then deal with Zizi and his henchmen. They barely manage to escape, as the scene culminates in an epic stunt in which the two end up driving off a cliff and jump out of their car before it crash-lands into the water below. Unfortunately, for them, this results in two things happening. First off, they are immediately captured and are then confronted by Rio’s primary crime boss, Hernan Reyes. And, as they come to learn, the GT40 contained a computer chip that was full of information regarding Reyes’ criminal empire. But then, because Zizi killed three DEA agents during the heist, this results in DSS agent Luke Hobbs being called in to capture them when they’re framed for the murders. In short, a lot happens in this scene and, fittingly enough, it’s an excellent sequence with great stunt-work and camerawork. You could even say that it began the series’ transition from street racing to action-filled heist plotlines. Either way you look at it, this scene clearly helped when it came to making Fast Five the most critically/commercially successful entry in the series at that time.

5. JUMPING TOWERS IN ABU DHABI (FURIOUS 7)

Yep, can’t forget about this one. During the sequence where his crew attempts to steal a powerful computer device known as the ‘God’s Eye’ from a billionaire in Abu Dhabi to help them find Deckard Shaw, Dom and Brian escape from Deckard Shaw (so… really, no need for that God’s Eye device but hey, this is a Fast and Furious film; who seriously goes into it for the plot?) by driving the fancy new Lykan HyperSport out of the Etihad Towers. And how do they do this? By jumping across the complex’s three towers with the car, of course. What else would they’ve done, take the elevator? In all seriousness, though, this is yet another awesome set-piece. And while some parts of the jump were clearly CG (including CG Paul Walker, even, as this was one of the scenes that required the use of his brothers Cody and Caleb Walker as stand-ins), you’d be surprised to find that there was still quite a bit of practical stunt work involved in filming this scene. Obviously, they didn’t ‘really’ jump the car through the towers, but most of the shots in which they go in and out of them were done practically on a set, highlighting the great efforts of the filmmakers to do as many practical stunts as possible even as this franchise continues to get more and more insane with its set-pieces. After jumping out the first tower (right in the middle of a lavish party), Dom and Brian then crash through the second tower on a floor that’s under construction. They then jump out that tower and crash through the third tower, right in the middle of an art exhibition, before jumping out the car before it falls out the tower and descends to the ground below. And while this does mean that the HyperSport (1 of only 7 in the world) gets totaled, it did see more action in this moment than it did when the billionaire they were stealing from was just keeping it locked up in his penthouse. Dom said it best, “Nothing sadder than locking a beast in a cage”. Too bad we didn’t get to see Brian punch the guy in the face like he said he was going to do. Ah well…

4. DOM VS. HOBBS (FAST FIVE)

At Number 4, we have the only action sequence on this list that doesn’t primarily involve cars. However, it’s still an epic sequence regardless, as it consists of Dom finally going one-on-one with Hobbs when the latter comes in with his team to arrest Dom and his crew. Suffice it to say, this highly-anticipated showdown between Vin Diesel and the Rock lived up to the hype. And as many will agree, the addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to the series’ ensemble cast is arguably the primary catalyst behind the Fast and Furious franchise’s unexpected rise in quality. The smack-talking but still all-around charismatic DSS agent proved to be a great addition to the franchise and the build-up to his confrontation with Dom was well handled by Justin Lin and his team, from his very first scene where he immediately starts preparing to hunt Toretto once his team arrives in Rio (him to Rio’s chief of police: “Stay the f*** out of my way!”) to the scene where he and his team confront Dom and company at a street race but are driven away by the street racing community of Brazil. But when the two finally go toe-to-toe, all bets are off. Over the course of three minutes, the two crash through several glass windows and the fight ultimately ends with Dom nearly bashing Hobbs’ head in with a pipe wrench, a callback to the first film where it was established that Dom nearly beat a man to death with a socket wrench after he had killed Dom’s father during a stock car race. Mia’s pleas for him to stop are what ultimately keep Dom from pulling the same move twice. 

3. DRAGGING A GIANT SAFE THROUGH RIO (FAST FIVE)

In Fast Five’s big climax, Dom, Brian, and their crew pull off their big heist on Hernan Reyes. How so? Well, by having Dom and Brian drag a giant safe containing his money through the city of Rio with their cars, of course. What other option would there be? What follows may arguably be the series’ first truly physics-defying action sequence, as the safe becomes a battering ram, smashing through everything in its path. Not only does it smash through several cars, both police and civilian, but it also smashes through a few buildings as well, including a bank. Han and Roman also help Dom and Brian out by getting rid of some of Rio’s extensive police force in police cars that they themselves stole earlier in the film. This chase through the city ultimately ends up on the bridge leading out of the city, with the police, Reyes, and Zizi in hot pursuit. Realizing that there’s no way that they can outrun them all, Dom has Brian go off without him while he stays behind to deal with their pursuers. And, of course, he gets rid of them with the safe, as multiple cars are launched in the air and into the water below. It all culminates in Dom ramming the safe into one of the two remaining cars before jumping out of his car as it launches into the air due to the safe’s recoil and slams into Zizi’s car, critically injuring Reyes, who is ultimately killed by Hobbs for revenge against the death of his team earlier in the film (Zizi is killed by Brian, who came back to help Dom). But while Hobbs has Dom and Brian leave the safe with him, giving them a 24-hour head start before he goes after them again, he finds that they had switched the real safe with a fake one during the pursuit, allowing them to successfully pull off their big heist.  

2. CARS PARACHUTING OUT OF A PLANE (FURIOUS 7)

When the first trailer for Furious 7 premiered, it immediately gave us our first look at one of the film’s crazy stunts; Dom and crew airdropping their cars out of a plane to ambush a mercenary convoy in the Caucasus Mountains in Azerbaijan to rescue hacker Ramsey. What more can I say? These films continually manage to up the ante with their crazy stunts with each new film and this sequence is no exception. But you know what’s even crazier? A lot of this sequence was done practically. I mentioned this earlier when I talked about the ‘car jumping the towers’ stunt but I wanted to bring it up again because that’s ultimately one of the coolest things about the recent entries in this series. While there are certainly some stunts in these films that implement CG in some way, they still try to do as many practical stunts as possible, no matter how crazy these set-pieces get. And in this instance, they literally sent these cars out of a plane. Obviously, shots of Dom and crew at the wheel were done in front of a blue-screen but, for the most part, those are real cars soaring down from the sky and that’s quite an impressive feat. The ensuing chase is great too, from Dom and Letty ripping the back of the convoy’s large bus off with hooks to Brian climbing out the side window of the bus and running up its side to get back onto the ground before it falls off a cliff. And even after Dom, with Ramsey in tow, is cornered by the mercenaries and their leader, Jakande, they manage to get away by driving backward off the mountain. And even though their car ends up getting totaled on the way down, they survive. Why? Because this is a Fast and the Furious film, of course. These characters are basically superheroes at this point.

(P.S. Also, in one of the best humorous moments of the series, Roman initially backs out from dropping out of the plane, resulting in Tej forcibly dragging him out of it by activating his parachute while he’s still on the plane. If I haven’t mentioned it already, Roman usually gets a lot of the best lines/funny moments in these films and this is easily one of his best.)

1. CARS VS. TANK (FAST AND FURIOUS 6)

For my Number 1 pick, I’m going with a scene from Fast and Furious 6 which, at the time I’m writing this, still stands as my favorite entry in the series to date. Overall, it’s a toss-up between this and Fast Five in terms of being my ‘favorite film’ of the franchise. For now, the sixth film wins out by a slim margin for various reasons. One of these reasons is that it has a stronger villain in the form of Luke Evans’ Owen Shaw, who operates on a mantra where he views his crewmates as expendable, a sheer contrast to Dom’s crew and their familial bond that has been such a definitive element of this franchise. Not only that, but when we first meet his crew, we see that Letty, who supposedly died during the events of Fast and Furious but is revealed to have survived albeit now suffering from amnesia, is working with them. And in the first of the film’s two climactic action sequences (the other being the plane chase), Dom and his crew pursue Shaw’s crew when the latter attempts to steal a computer chip from a NATO base in Spain so that they can build a device that can block all military communication on Earth. However, they soon realize that Shaw is instead gunning for the military convoy that’s transporting the chip away from the base. When they get there, Shaw and his crew have already hijacked the convoy and are now running around in a big tank. As it begins to bulldoze its way through a busy freeway, crushing cars left and right, Tej remarks that they need a Plan B… or Plan C… or Plan D… or Plan E, bottom line, “We need more alphabet!”

I picked this as my favorite action sequence from these films because it basically has it all. The set-up is so simple (cars vs. a tank) and yet so effective, with Dom and crew running around trying to avoid the tank and its gunfire while they do what they do best which, as Brian notes, is to ‘improvise’. At one point, Roman’s car is about to be crushed by the tank, resulting in him having to jump over to Brian’s car, which had gotten over to that location after doing a sick jump off a ramp made of broken pieces of a bridge that the tank destroyed. And then the scene ends with an epically ridiculous stunt. To stop the tank, Dom and crew end up flipping it by sending Roman’s damaged Mustang, which he had tied to the tank with a cable, off a bridge part of the freeway to use as an anchor. However, this results in Letty, who was outside on top of the tank when this happens because Shaw ordered her to deal with the cable, to be sent flying off it. To save her, Dom ends up launching out of his car and catches her in mid-air over a big drop before they crash down onto a car on the other side of the freeway. Is it a ridiculous moment that defies all logic? Yes. Did it elicit a great reaction from the audience when I saw this in theaters? Hell yeah! That’s another reason why Fast and Furious 6 is my favorite entry in the series; it resulted in one of my all-time favorite theater experiences, as I saw it with an enthusiastic crowd who reacted to every major stunt in the film, including this one. It really goes to show how far this series has come, as it’s amassed a large and dedicated fan-base who are always along for the ride and I’m proud to say that I’m one of them.

And those are my Top 10 favorite stunts from the Fast and the Furious franchise. Be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own favorite stunts from these films. And you can expect a review of The Fate of the Furious sometime this weekend.