Movie Review - The Fate of the Furious

The Fate of the Furious

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Luke Evans, Elsa Pataky, Kristofer Hivju, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, and more.

Directed by: F. Gary Gray Written by: Chris Morgan Based on characters created by: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography by: Stephen F. Windon Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: During his honeymoon in Cuba, Dom gets trapped by a mysterious woman. She's picked him specifically. And she's made sure to get something which will force him to choose to do things her way. First on her to-do list, get Dom to betray his family - that which he holds most dear. As the group tries to figure out why Dom has gone rogue, they get rounded up by Nobody. They want them to help find Dom but to also aid in putting a stop to Cipher's plans. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Charlize Theron as Cipher was multi-layered and fun (in an evil, despicable way that is :P). Very much enjoyed watching her taunt Dom and act like she has all the answers; even as we see her struggling to understand how he can feel the things he feels. And looking a little jealous. Like I said - fun! Jason Stratham and Dwayne Johnson as Deckard and Hobbs look to have the most fun in the film. The in-joke/subliminal advertising for Moana was rather cute. Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez speak volumes with glances. There's lots of witty banter and fun. Good job all!

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: As we've come to expect from the F&F series, there's a ton of special effects of all kinds. We've got engines catching on fire, crashes galore, subs, tanks, planes, explosions, and more! 

They did some cool stuff with the sub and the iced over lake. And the torpedoes? Sweet!

The "rain" in Manhattan was fabulous! The whole Manhattan section was divine. The fight on the plane was also super. Bullet holes galore. Add in Stratham and the "package," and you're in for a whole lot of fun! (So unexpected and yet so awesome! lol. My most favorite part of the film.)

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Science and physics always take a back seat in these movies. This time is no exception. EMP doesn't mean the same to these guys as it does to everyone else. lol. And though they cut away from the scene, there's still no way for that sub to get in the water! They do make it all look good, though! 

Even though it may hide their hands and faces, you do not go out onto the icefields in Russia without appropriate gear! Oh, you touched that bar with your bare hand outside in sub freezing temps? You just left a layer of skin stuck there. :P Sometimes I do wish they'd try a little harder to cover the easier things. 

Definite kudos on the little hints dropped here and there as to how Dom might not be quite as subdued as Cipher thinks he is. They do a replay to show the audience what they missed and a little more. So you won't miss anything, even if you do. :P I did like how they wove in a lot of people and history from the other films back into the plot. 

No real surprises in the plot, but still fun. Just watching all the insane destruction is half the entertainment. Add in some lovely fights, and voila! 

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: There are a ton of gags! Between the fire, the ice, the bullets, the car and people chases, the hand-to-hand and the close weapons combat, the department was kept incredibly busy. Add in a little CGI, and the bar got raised a ton!

I have to mention that the fight at the prison was all levels of fun. A chase within a breakout, within a free for all. Nice! 

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of interesting sites in the film. Iceland, Cuba, Ohio, Georgia, New York, Germany, even a glacier! And the way they incorporate the names into the landscape is a nice trick. Some lovely spanning views of all the exotic places. 

Conclusion: The Fate of the Furious is fast and crazy and full of more cars and stunts than ever. It's enough to fill any action junkie's want list. :) Leave the laws of physics at the door, and strap in for a wild ride. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Furious 7

Furious 7

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Lucas Black, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Tony Jaa, Elsa Pataky, Eden Estrella, and more.

Directed by: James Wan Written by: Chris Morgan Based on Characters Created by: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography by: Marc Spicer and Stephen F. Windon Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: The older brother of a defeated foe has decided to wreck vengeance on Dom's team. Hobbs sends Mr. Nobody to help them out, since their new enemy, Deckard Shaw, is a trained assassin and covert ops specialist. Bur help comes at a price - the group needs to rescue a missing programer for them. If they do, Mr. Nobody has permission to let the team use a highly classified program to track Shaw down as well as give support. Only problem is, Shaw doesn't seem to want to wait that long to play with them. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The main members of the well known cast are back. Though Paul Walker passed before the film was finished, the filmmakers were able to used past footage and members of his family to fill in the gaps. Paul will definitely be missed, but for anyone not knowing of his passing, they won't realize anything is amiss in the film. So kudos to the actors for smoothing out any holes and doing some one sided conversations to cover for their lost comrade. Family is what the Fast and Furious crew have always been about.

Watching Statham go toe to toe with Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson will make many hearts (those with and without testosterone) flutter. Talk about looks that can kill and snappy comebacks. Nice work guys!

Not to worry, the girls don't allow themselves to be left behind, with some great work coming from Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and newcomer, Nathalie Emmanuel.

Kurt Russell as Mr. Nobody was great! Kept you just a little insecure on whether or not he might be up to something. He made his own pile of comments and jabs. It was great to see him back on the big screen!

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: There were lots of awesome special effects, outstanding stunts, explosions, and car daring do! I sort of wish they'd not shown as many of them as they did in the previews, though. A couple of them would have had a lot more impact if they'd been left as a surprise - like the bus with the cliff and the car at Abu Dhabi.

I don't know if the airplane car drop scenes were a mixture of real and CGI, but dang they looked good! No idea how the heck you'd control or guide a car with chutes. All I know is it looked amazing!


3) Story/Plot - Neutral: The plot on this one is one of those that you don't want to look at too closely or it won't make sense or quite add up.

The storyline about Letty and Dom and them trying to work through her lack of past memories and the kinks it puts in their relationship worked rather well. When added to Brian and Mia's own unexpected issues now that he's a father, they made a nice mix. Family has been at the core of most of the Fast and Furious films, and this one, as the ending/tribute shows, is no different.

Most of the problems come from the other places. (Do not read further if you want your action and testosterone fest to go unsullied! You've been warned!) The fact Shaw somehow always knows where the group is and what they're doing, yet no one seems to wonder how the heck he's doing it or even that he's doing it - and never a even a hint of how he knows! (And you don't think therefore he might be expecting you to find him after you get God's Eye? REALLY? And that he might set a trap for you? So you BRING the only copy of God's Eye with YOU?!?! Add to that a missile armed helicopter and drone being brought from overseas by terrorists, and no one seems to notice their obvious breach of US airspace, or the fact the air force takes twenty plus minutes to even make their presence slightly felt while major havoc is wreaked in a major US City. Mr. Nobody's assistance/support seeming to vanish like smoke, even though he's not dead. Though the worst one was probably (despite the fact it did make for a great entrance!) the one with Hobbs and how he took care of the drone - the timing, especially since he couldn't see it, would have been virtually impossible to sync. (Yes, I can be a party pooper. :P)

Again, with a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, the story does move well. But in general, it paled, in my opinion, to that of FF6's, on several levels.

There were some unexpected fun bits. The biggest  was a couple of repeating villains! Dom had Shaw from the start, then Brian picked up Kiet, and then the group also got tagged by Jakande as he went after Ramsey and whoever was with her. It was rather unexpected and added a bit of flavor, and gave the audience multiple points of a "payoff".

Some in-jokes were sprinkled here and there as well - both for Statham and Kurt Russell - those were fun.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The hand to hand combat scenes are definitely worthwhile - even though they decided to do funky things here and there with the camera. Tony Jaa brought a little "Jackie Chan" flavor to the film and had several nice combat scenes.

Like I mentioned in the Special Effects section, it was too bad they gave away so many of the big stunt/special effects moments in the previews. There were plenty of other shots they could have shared to get people excited to come see it and left these to surprise the audience, thus ramping the excitement level even more. The car drop scene and the Abu Dhabi flying car scenes were definitely awesome.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Thumbs Up: The film covered several fantastic locations for mayhem. Abu Dhabi was a definite treat on several levels.

The opening scene where Shaw is visiting his younger sibling in London pans into a giant revelation as Statham and the camera move back from the hospital bed and he strides on through the hospital - major kudos for how that was laid out.

This being said, however, some of the gimmicky techniques got taken a little too far. I don't mind new angles and ways of making things seem fresh, but too many of these repeated back and forth over a short span of time, do not work well. Early on there's a section where the camera zooms in and then way out then back in then way out again that almost ruined the chase. Some odd sweeping shots on closeups then turning to another character and sweeping the shot in the opposite direction, back to back to back, was too much. A lot of the driving, fights, and action would have been just fine straight forward. It almost made it seem as if they were trying too hard?

Conclusion: Ignoring the plot holes and going in with a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, Furious 7 will definitely entertain. (Though I didn't feel it was as good as FF6). Tons of eye candy for the guys - both female and four wheeled and then some. Lots of stunts and hand-to-hand combat. Plus an ending that will leave your eyes moist.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

Movie Review - Resident Evil: Retribution

Resident Evil: Retribution

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer, Bingbing Li, Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Robin Kasyanov, Kevin Durand, Ofilio Portillo, Oded Fehr, Colin Salmon, Shawn Roberts, and more.

Directed by: Paul W S Anderson Writing Credits: Paul W S Anderson Cinematography by: Glen MacPherson Original Music by: tomandandy (Tom Hadju and Andy Milburn)

Premise: Captured after the unexpected attack by a brainwashed Jill at the end of "Resident Evil: Afterlife," Alice finds help from an unexpected source - her sworn enemy, Albert Wesker. His agent Ada and a small team of men have been tasked with setting Alice free and destroying Umbrella's underwater Siberian base. The Red Queen, Umbrella's AI, who has now taken over the facility, will not make the task easy. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The film gives unexpected avenues for the stars to show their acting acumen. Milla Jovovich has always done well in her action film roles, but we get to see another side of her talents in the early Suburbia section of the movie as a suburban housewife fighting for her life and reacting from it. Michelle Rodriguez also gets to show a different side as she too has multiple roles in the film. Aryana Engineer gave a good and layered performance despite her young years. The fact her character was handicapped and used voice and sign to communicate allowed for deeper layers for the character of Becky.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: As with each of the preceding "Resident Evil" film, the budget for this one was high, and they made great use of it. Some true hard work went into the film and it showed.

They did a great job integrating the zones of the base with computer simulations and tracking systems used by the Red Queen. They made great visuals and also kept the audience informed on who was where. The attention to detail was high and really came through as the groups traveled through the different zones.

There were fights and explosions galore. And in a nice reversal, we even got chainsaw wielding zombies! The amount of flying bullet casings was quite impressive as well. Dumb zombies, hungry zombies, Russian smart zombies,  even armed and rocket launcher wielding zombies, it was a veritable smorgasbord of 'zombiness', which was a lot of fun.

There were the occasional segments of infinite bullet syndrome, but they did make the attempt to stay realistic on occasion.

The opening sequence was both unusual and attention grabbing. The franchise has always been very good with their openings - this one was one of the best.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: In previous reviews of the franchise I'd made the statement that as the budget went up, the story quality went down. I am rather pleased to say that in this instance, they broke the pattern. Of a whole, they kept the story simple and strait forward, which helped to keep it from careening into plot holes or other issues the "Resident Evil" films have shown in the past.

For those who've not watched the previous films, they have a quick recap picking up some of the most important details to share with the audience so they know what's what. For those who've watched them all, you'll get the added treat of seeing many of the characters from some of the previous films brought back, though not exactly as you've met them before. Made for some fun contrast and also gave some of the actors a chance to shine in a different line from the usual action personas.

A definite fun bit was the recreation of the opening sequence where the virus first showed up in Tokyo, Japan in "Resident Evil: Afterlife." They even got the same Japanese Business Man (Takato Yamashita) and the J Pop Girl (Mika Nakashima) to reprise their roles. Nice!

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The choreography during the fights were 'top notch.' Combine them with the great special effects, and it made for a fabulous viewing experience. The fight with Alice, the chain, the gun, and the Japanese zombies will stay with me for a long time - it was a work of art. Everyone gave their best and then some.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The panning scene where you see exactly where Alice is when she escapes part of her prison was utterly breathtaking. Water was a recurring theme and used in some very imaginative ways. Loved the visual with Michelle Rodriguez towards the end.

The recreations of New York, Moscow, Tokyo, and American suburbia were exquisite. It made the contrast even better when the illusion would occasionally crack and show the facility beneath. There were several rooms in the base proper that had great impact due to the use of light. Loved the lighting up sequence at the central hub. Lots and lots of visuals to keep the eyes occupied.

Conclusion: A lot more fun than I was expecting. Definitely one to check out. Just the high doses of action will keep the audience's adrenaline pumping to high levels throughout. And yes, we get left in a cliff hanger - AGAIN.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price to See Again)