Cast:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt                Tobias Ellis

Omid Memar                            Vedat

Aylin Tezel                                Gokce

Carlo Kitzlinger                         Micheal Lutzmann

After a small vacation in the Dominican Republic, I felt it was time again to put fingers to keyboard and complete another review for “Was I entertained?”. I have pretty much gone through all of my unwatched blu-rays that I had collected prior to my retirement, so I am now relegated to either purchasing a new film or seeing what Amazon or Netflix has in store for us. With that in mind, I handed my wife the remote for Amazon and told her to select something good. While some of you may think that by giving my wife the remote we would be destined to watch a RomCom with Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon or some type of musical, I have found that my wife can usually find something that will be pretty much obscure, yet entertaining. 

I went and grabbed a dram of scotch to enjoy whatever the choice would be and by the time I returned I saw that she had selected 7500 for the nights’ entertainment. I had seen 7500 in the menu on Amazon Prime for a while, but I knew that any movie that centred around flights usually caused my wife some angst, so I never selected it as I did not want to affect our upcoming vacation. However, as we had just returned from one, my wife must have decided that it was time to watch it. 

With that in mind, what is 7500 about. This film is basically a “Hijack” film. While this genre of films was huge in the 70’s and 80’s due to the fact that terrorists/activists would tend to hijack a flight to make their political statements. After 9/11, this type of film kind of went to the back-burner unless it was of course about 9/11. In my opinion, 7500 has built upon the foundation of the historical acts that involved hijacking and real events. In this film, we have Gordon-Levitt as the co-pilot for a European airline. Joining him, there is Capt Lutzmann (Kitzlinger) his partner and love, Gokce (Tezel), who happens to be a flight attendant as well. While the aircraft is getting reading for loading, we are shown some airport security cam footage of the likely suspects purchasing some alcohol at the Duty Free. Back in the cockpit we observe the usual banter between the crew as well as the couple of Ellis/Gokce (Gordon-Levitt and Tezel). At this point, I find the film somewhat interesting as it really focused on some of the details of the cockpit and what the crew does in preparation for a flight. This flight is from Berlin to Paris, a relatively short flight, actually a flight that is probably just a few minutes longer than this film. So you know action will have to start almost immediately. (Spoiler alert).The plane takes and the cockpit crew settle the aircraft on autopilot and the standard announcement is made about the in-flight service. The flight attendant knocks on the cock-pit door and is admitted. Now comes the action, the aforementioned “suspects” who were making purchases at the Duty Free have smashed their bottles and are now using the broken glass as knives to take over the aircraft. One of them makes into the cockpit and after a scuffle is laid out, but not before he wounds both pilot and co-pilot. 

It is at this point that the rubber hits the road in the film. Our “hero” has taken back the cockpit and has declared a “7500” this term is the code word to inform the controllers that the flight has been hijacked. The aircraft is now under his control and he is alone to make all the decisions. The bad guys are trying to break in and demanding that he let them in or they will kill some of the passengers. While Elis does not let them in, via CCTV he can see what is happening just outside of the cockpit door. 

I really don’t want to go further in the plot, as it is a short film, and if you decide to watch it, there should be some surprises for you. But let me tell you one thing, once the attack took place, my wife and I were on the edge of our seats. The tension in the film was amazing as well as the acting, specifically from Levitt. He is really the one and only actor in this film. For at least 45 minutes, we observe a roller coaster of emotions, action, and decisions made by him to try and ensure that he can get everyone to safety. 

As I have mentioned, there is really only one actor in this film and it is Gordon-Levitt. He has sure come along way since I had first seen him in the sitcom “Third Rock from the Sun”. While that show was not my favourite, Lithgow’s character would make me laugh on occasion and I would check out the show if there was nothing else on. I never really cared for Levitt’s character and so I kind of dismissed him for years. It was not until “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Looper” in 2012 that I actually started paying attention to his films again. It was at that point, we, the audience were really being introduced to his scope of talent. However, until this film, I had not really seen what he was capable of. His acting was incredible. You actually felt his stress, his indecision, and his love for his partner in a tumultuous journey between him and the terrorists. Throughout the whole film we felt that we were part of his struggle, not only his physical one, but also that of his mental anguish as he was always trying to do the right thing and bring the plane down and save the passengers. I especially liked the chemistry that developed between Ellis (Gordon-Levitt) and Vedat (Memar). They played off of each other extremely well and the conflicting emotions that they both portrayed were extremely believable and kept us watching. This was a truly wonderful character for Gordon-Levitt and he did it justice. 

What else did we like about this film. Well the cinematography was great! At first I was a bit unsure of the camera work and angles, but it actually added to the intensity of the film itself. After doing a bit of google research on the film afterwards, I found that this was not filmed on a set but on an aircraft that the production company bought for the purposes of the film. Thus the tight angles and the sometimes intense close-ups. But all of these features added to the grittiness of the film. Another thing that I really enjoyed was the fact that it seemed like everything being done in the cockpit was realistic. Not like some other films where the crew flips switches at random hoping that it will look believable. I also found out in my “google research” that the pilot Lutzmann (Kitzlinger) was actually a pilot for Lufthansa prior to acting and he ensured that all movements were accurate. A subtle touch, but one that ensured that all would enjoy the film and not have too many WTF moments. 

Even though the film kept us riveted, especially once the hijacking was underway, there were a few moments that made us shake our head. In this post 9/11 world that we are in, a few bad guys with broken glass would not have held back over 100 passengers. I am certain that in todays world there would have been a determined rush against them and they would be eventually overcome. (Spoiler alert), Also, after landing in Hannover and the police capturing the fleeing hi-jackers, why didn’t they board the aircraft from behind. The remaining hi-jacker did not have the necessary skills or even the tenacity required to hold them back. He would have been overcome in short order. There is also one last trivial observation about the security camera’s in Berlin’s airport. Would not have the writing on the camera been in German vice English? Also, I have been in most of Europe’s major airports and never have I seen them that unoccupied, even when I had to wait 6 hours through the night for my next flight then what was portrayed here. But hey, it’s a film. 

So overall, were we entertained? Yes! This was a film that I did not expect much from, but ended up making us glued to our seats to watch. Levitt’s performance was stellar and the story moved at such a pace to ensure that we would not wander from the screen. A truly great film that I believe was under rated. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good drama/thriller, and especially anyone who is a fan of Gordon-Levitt.

Our rating: 7/10

Till Next time!

Cast:

Ryan Reynolds              Michael Bryce

Samuel L. Jackson         Darius Kincaid

Salma Hayek                 Sonia Kincaid

Antonio Banderas         Aristotle Papdopolous

Morgan Freeman          Michael Bryce Senior

Well here we are again, time to put fingers to keyboard and eke out another review. It has been pretty busy in the nations capital of Canada of late. We have battled the last version of COVID, stores are opening, restaurants are back and soon all other restrictions will depart. Also, here in Ottawa we have had to endure the Freedom Convoy and all that entailed and now that is done, we are being inundated with news of what is happening in Ukraine. It seems that we are reliving the last century all at once, and instead of 100 years, we are trying to condense it to two. So with all this in mind, we decided to try and find a film that had some great stars, and most importantly some levity. The solution appeared to be the sequel to “The Hitman’s bodyguard”. So I grabbed the blu-ray, put it in the player, lit the fire, poured the wine and got ready to be entertained.

Before I get into what I liked, didn’t like, scratched my head in WTF moments, or even the odd shout of “seriously”, lets take a quick look at the slim plotline (very slim plot). The “Hitman’s wife’s bodyguard” is the sequel to the 2017 film “The Hitmans’ Bodyguard” starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson and Selman Hayek in the lead roles. That film had the recently discredited Michael Bryce (Reynolds) becoming the bodyguard to Darius (Jackson). Of note, it must be mentioned that Darius (Jackson) is the reason that Bryce (Reynolds) lost his triple A rating as a bodyguard and was shamed publicly in the occupation due to the fact that Darius (Jackson) had killed Bryce’s (Reynolds) client. Needless to say, in the first film, the two overcome their issues, manage to save the relationship of Darius (Jackson) with his wife Sonia (Salma), patch up Bryce’s relationship with his better half and naturally save the day. So when the sequel arrived we were naturally looking forward to it. The first film was very fun and entertaining and as it starred some of our favourite actors/actresses, so we were totally onboard with this!

The film starts and we see our stalwart hero attending therapy for his mental malaise. With the help of his therapist he decides to take a small sabbatical, and that is when everything starts to go pear-shaped. Lounging on his chair with his noise reduction headphones on, the world around him goes to hell. People are being shot, everything is going crazy while he sits oblivious to it all. Enter Sonia (Hayek) who takes him in hand to explain the latest situation. Without giving out too much and causing spoilers, here is the story in a nutshell. Darius (Jackson), Sonia (Hayek) and Bryce (Reynolds) must save Europe from an evil madman Aristotle (Banderas) who wants to destroy the economy of the leading nations so that he can save his beloved homeland of Greece. Throughout, they must rescue Darius (Jackson), fight Aristotle (Banderas), reconnect with family, that being Bryce Snr (Freeman) and save the day. There are a few twists and turns along the way, a surprise here and there, and of course some laughs where we find out that our heroes will be successful. All in all, a mildly amusing action/comedy romp with some stellar stars. But let us take a closer look at what was good and what I considered bad with this film.

1. The scenery – For a couple who has been so hungry to be able to travel again, it was awesome to see all the sights that this film took place in. While predominately in Croatia, it epitomized what we love about Europe. The scenes were well done and we really loved all the panorama shots and coastlines, beaches, old towns etc. That part was fantastic.
2. Chemistry - As this was the 2^ndfilm that all the principle stars were in together, it was clear that they enjoyed working together and they easily fed off of each other to enhance the scene or dialogue.
3. Plot – Ok, the plot here was pretty weak and extremely predictable for the most part. It was only on 2 occasions in the film that I was actually surprised by the twist. That was with the introduction of Morgan Freeman’s character as Bryce Snr, and the final scene/epilogue of the film. All the rest I could have predicted with my eyes closed and one arm tied behind my back.
4. Action – There was plenty of action in this film to go along with the comedic sequences. The comedy was far more prevalent in this film compared to the original. While as mentioned previously, the plot was predictable, the action sequences and comedic interludes were enjoyable.
5. Characters – This was a bit of hit and miss for me. While I enjoyed the original 3 of the cast, I found that Banderas was kind of miscast in this one. Additionally, while Morgan Freeman as Bryce senior was always enjoyable to watch, for some reason, besides the twist to the character it did not seem to fit for me. On another note, Bryce’s (Reynolds) girlfriend from the first film was no where to be seen or mentioned in this film. You would think that the importance that she played in the first film, that somehow in this film she would have made an appearance or at least a mention. 

While on the subject of the cast lets look at them at this time.

Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce: I have to admit, my wife and I are huge fans of Reynolds. We remember him when he was on the sitcom “Two guys, a girl and a pizza place” and he was pretty much the star of that program. From there, we enjoyed his performances in various films, Van Wilder, Foolproof, Blade: Trinity, Just Friends, X-Men Origins, Deadpool (1&2), and of course the first Hitman’ movie, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. In each film his sarcasm, wit, comedic and action talent shone through. Of course he has made some pretty lame films as well i.e. Green Lantern, but overall we like pretty much most of his films/shows. In Hitmans’ Wife’s Bodyguard, he was following a character that was already made and he just had to follow through with what was created already. He delivered on the action and comedy, but it in this case, it did not seem fresh and new. Maybe it was the Deadpool films (where he does an excellent job) that made this character somewhat lacking. In the action sequences I was almost waiting for an arm to be broken and repaired or appendage to be cut off and regrown. With the appropriate quips to go along with the action. Yes, it was funny at times, but not laugh out loud like some of the aforementioned films that he starred in. Furthermore, the script required him to have a level of sensitivity and insecurity that did not really play out well in the film writ large. As I have mentioned, we enjoyed this character, but not as much as some of his other performances. 

Samuel L. Jackson as Darius Kincaid: Jackson is a perennial favorite of ours as well. No one can say “Motherf*&cker” like he can, and most importantly, get away with it. As with Reynolds, this was a character that also was a repeat, so we were not required to have any backstory or build up of the character. His chemistry with all was great as always and his scenes were bang on. I have to say that his facial expressions are also one his greatest assets in the film. With just a glare or a head tilt he can convey numerous expressions or emotions, and in this film he still delivers. One thing I did notice, as Jackson is 70 plus years old now (even if he doesn’t look it), his physical action sequences were reduced quite a bit. But, it still did not take away from the film. Overall, we enjoyed Jackson as Darius, while not his greatest role, it was still fun to watch. 

Salma Hayek as Sonia Kincaid: Hayek also returned for this film as Darius’ wife, Sonia. As with the other two, this character seemed to have received and portrayed the most growth. While only playing a minor role in the first film, she was the impetus and driving force of the sequel. It was her desire to help her husband and start a family that initiated the adventure. As with the other two principle characters there is great chemistry between Hayek and all the principal stars in this film. Hell, she has starred with all of them in the past, so there was proven chemistry already in place. Her character is still a spitfire of a lady and she has learned to curse like Jackson. In this film, Hayek is actually my favourite as she is playing a role that is not normally associated with her style. Yes, she has been the heroine or femme fatale, but not with the same intensity in her action sequences as in this production. A good performance by Hayek that helped ensure that this film was enjoyable.  

Antonio Banderas as Aristotle Papdopolous: For me, this is where the film starts to lose it. I could not buy him as a Greek Tycoon/criminal. His Spanish accent cannot be hidden! As it was a European set film, just keep him true to form and make him Spanish, not Greek. It actually made me laugh a bit, though I don’t think that this was the intent of the directors/producers with this role. However, having said all that, he did play an ok villain, though I prefer him in the heroic role. While his chemistry was fine, I found his role was lacking and he could have been utilized better in this production. For Banderas, this outing was not his best by a long shot, however, nor was it his worst. 

Morgan Freeman as Michael Bryce Senior: Here was a surprise casting and character for me. It did get the requisite laugh when he was introduced and allowed for some comedic interaction between the principle characters. But, as with Banderas, I found he was under-utilized in this film. Not only in scenes that required gravitas, but also in the comedic sequences as well. He was not able to stretch his talent to the full width and breadth that he is known for. An accomplished actor, for me, this role was just one that was done for friend (Apparently he has known Jackson since they were young actors starting in the biz). I don’t know if that was the case, but as with Banderas, this was not his finest role at all. His scenes while important and mildly effective could have been so much more in my opinion. However, Freeman is still a fantastic actor over all and you just can’t but help but being entertained when he is on screen. 

So, now comes the question. Were we entertained? Yes we were. This film is light, has enough action and comedy to keep you watching and has a phenomenal cast, even if they were not employed to their best capabilities. While this film left an opportunity for a sequel open, I really hope that they don’t. It was stretched enough as it was for this outing if they hit the well one more time for these characters it might one time too far. Part of the reason is that some of the principal characters are starting to get quite a bit older (Jackson) so that the believability and possibility of the film would become even more ridiculous and would take away from the success of the first film (and the limited success of the sequel). Let the characters and franchise come to a stop with this film and call it a day. Would I recommend this film? Actually, yes I would. Especially if you are fan of the original and the principal stars. Don’t expect Deadpool or Shaft, but just enjoy it for the ride that it is.

My rating: 5/10

Till Next Time!

Cast:

Gal Gadot                                 Diana Prince

Chris Pine                                 Steve Trevor

Kristen Wiig                              Barbara Minerva

Pedro Pascal                             Maxwell Lord

Robin Wright                            Antiope

Connie Nielsen                          Hippolyta

Lilly Aspell                                Young Diana

For this edition of “Was I Entertained” we visited a film that came out last year between the COVID lockdowns in Canada. This film is Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84). As I was born in the 60’s, the first time I remember watching Wonder Woman was on Saturday morning cartoons, if I recall correctly it was a cartoon called “Superfriends” though I may be wrong on the actual title. We then moved to the mid 1970’s when Wonder Woman appeared during prime-time television. That version starred Lynda Carter, at that time, every adolescent boy had a crush on her, and every girl wanted to be her. It was a campy show that provided enough story and action to entertain pretty much everyone. So like anything else of that time period it came to an end, as well as the general fascination by everyone with superheroes. 

When the late 80s and early 90’s came about, the whole super hero genre was reborn. We had Batman, Superman, then came Spiderman in 2002. They all provided us fans with a story of good vs evil and that in the end, everything that is good will triumph. From then on, audiences were provided a constant stream of comic book heroes that were brought to life via Hollywood and CGI. But alas, Wonder Woman was not in the first wave nor the second wave of big budget films. It was not until 2016 “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” that Wonder Woman graced the big screen again. I remember when that film came out, there was a lot of speculation on how Gadot would perform. Many said she had big shoes to fill (in a manner of speaking) to replace Lynda Carter. However, in my opinion, I think she did a great job, and I assume so did many others as she managed to have a film series of her own as well as co-starring in the 2^nd Justice League film. 

Now, let us take a look at Wonder Woman 84. The film commences with a flashback sequence that has a young Diana competing against some much older Amazon warriors in a quasi Olympic, Ironman (or should is say woman) contest. Though far younger, it is clear that she is faster, stronger and much more agile than her competitors. What she lacked was experience, and maybe some maturity, (watch the scene to see what I am talking about), she made up for in athleticism. After that, we see Diana (Gadot) at the Smithsonian talking with a co-worker Minerva (Wiig) as they peruse an ancient item that was sent over for analysis. Not really giving out any spoilers as it is on the box, we find out that this artifact grants the bearer one wish, yet it must also extract a price for that wish. 

Concurrently we are introduced to a slick TV celebrity who portrays the façade that he is a very rich Oil baron and who is an awesome investor and basically for all intents and purposes a modern King Midas. The truth is that he is a bit of a hack, but he has discovered that the museum is in possession of this magical artifact and manages to steal it. But this is not before Minerva (Wiig) and Diana (Gadot) both manage to make their own wishes. The film continues we see that Minerva (Wiig) gets her wish to be more like Diana (Gadot), and Diana (Gadot) gets her only love, Steve (Pine) back from the dead. Both wishes do come with consequences. Concurrently we find the antagonist, Lord (Pascal), having figured out a hack with the device, starts granting a bevy of wishes worldwide. This results in the fact that his wishes start destroying the planet and civilization while he continues to become richer and more famous.  

Wonder Woman (Gadot), with the help of her lost love Steve (Pine) figure out the problem and together they search out Lord (Pascal) in order to retrieve the artifact and make the world right again. Naturally, this also comes with a price as Wonder Woman (Gadot) has to not only combat Lord (Pascal) and his minions, but also a fierce combatant called the “Cheetah”, who is in actual fact Minerva (Wiig). The Cheetah does not want to give up her new found strength and battles Wonder Woman in a long drawn out fight sequence before the world comes back too normal and Wonder Woman (Gadot) saves the day. Ok, this was not a spoiler guys, we knew this was going to happen, so let’s continue with our review.

What didn’t I like about WW84? Well, first of all, I found the film a little long. Some of the fight sequences were drawn out to the nth degree. Sure, these are supposed to be what is exciting about a film, but if it takes to long to get the end of the fight, it can lose me. Also, in this adaptation, Wonder Woman only uses her Golden Lasso, where is her sword and shield from the previous films. She has more in the armoury than a rope! It actually made some of the fight sequences more comical than exciting. If she would have had the other weaponry, she would have been able to fight the Cheetah far more efficiently, and I actually think would have enhanced the films action sequences. I also did not care for the invisible plane that was used in the film. As this was taken from an American airfield, I would expect an American fighter/bomber, not one that was a make believe configuration. Have spent pretty much my whole working life in the military, I can pretty much identify most aircraft in the western militaries and many of the Russian airframes as well. When I saw this plane, it looked sort of familiar, but could not put my finger on it. It was not until I did some research that I found that an F-111 Aardvark and the wings and tail of a Panavia Tornado were used. Why? Could they not use an aircraft from the era? Besides making up the plane, no fighter from that era would have enough fuel to make it from Washington to Egypt in one tank of fuel, how did they get there? PFM? (Pure F(&^%&ing Magic). But I have digressed, while these points were minor in reality, they did cause me to shake my head several times. 

What was good about the film? Hmmm…I have to say the use of the 1980’s style, music, props etc were hilarious. It really brought me back to memory lane in several scenes. Steve (Pine) was entertaining in the WW84 version of Pretty Woman’s changing montage and his constant admiration of the fanny pack made me laugh out loud. The story moved on at a good pace, and besides a few things that irritated me was enjoyable overall. Minerva (Wiig) and Lord (Pascal) were great as antagonists. CGI was well done and the script flowed well. I also admired the chemistry between all the characters, which greatly enhanced the flow of the film. 

What did I think about the main characters of WW84? Let’s see:

Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman: I have to say I am a fan of Gadot. I have pretty much liked her in almost every film that I have seen her in, even if they were only small parts. To me, she pretty much has nailed the Wonder Woman character and it would be very difficult to find a replacement for her in this role (Not like Batman, Spiderman etc who have changed actors more than some people have changed underwear). She had great chemistry with her love interest Steve (Pine), and also played off well with friend and future adversary Minerva (Wiig). I really believe that due to her athleticism, she can play that role far better than that of my childhood crush Lynda Carter. Additionally, even her accent fits the character more, sure she is Israeli, not of Grecian descent, but it works. Overall another good performance by Gadot.

Chris Pine as Steve Trevor: Pine is another actor who has done exceedingly well over the years. He has a sarcastic kind of style that I like in films. The first time I had seen him was in one of my wife’s favourite films “The Princess Diaries 2”, then shortly afterwards in a film that I liked, but my wife did not “Smokin Aces”. In both films I thought he did quite well. Then came the Star Trek reboot. I know that some people did not care for his portrayal of Captain Kirk, but I thought he did great in it (including the sequels) and also did well when he played Jack Ryan in that reboot of the famous Tom Clancy character.  He has a natural sort of arrogance about him, and just enough sarcasm to make whatever film he is in fun to watch. As Steve Trevor, the supporting hero and love interest to Gadot, Pine made the character entertaining and believable. There is great chemistry between the two main stars and it shows throughout the film. What I also found entertaining is that he can pull of the “child like innocence” as well as the action hero when needed, and both in a very entertaining fashion. While his performance is not “Oscar” worthy, it is still enjoyable. This is another role in his resume of films that he should be proud of.

Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva: Most of the time I can take Wiig in a film, but not really enjoy the character, with a few exceptions (Bridesmaid, Paul, The Martian). However, I must say that in WW84, Wiig did extremely well. She started the film with her typical mousy, insecure character that we have seen her play numerous times, and slowly transformed to a confident lady and somewhat of a diva. The final transformation to the Cheetah went over quite well and I really enjoyed the scenes that she was in. In my opinion, the only fault was that the final conflict scene lasted way too long, but that is not the error of the actress, but that of the writer and director. I also felt that her chemistry with all the key characters was spot on and it was a joy to watch. I do like the fact that they did leave the opening for a return of the Cheetah in future films, as I did really like her character. 

Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord: Pascal played an excellent TV grifter. He oozed slime and desperation in such a way that you were not sure whether you should like the character or be disgusted. The snake-oil salesman in him was present at all times, yet you could not shake that he was hiding his fear of failure and that he could disappoint his son at all times. He performed the role of Maxwell Lord to a T. He was entertaining when he had to be, slimy when required, weak on demand and desperate at all times. I am sure it is difficult to portray all those emotions in one character in one feature but he managed to play it well. I also liked his chemistry with all his principal co-stars, and I look forward to seeing him in the Mandolorian whenever that comes off of the Disney channel and becomes available on some of the other streaming services. 

Lilly Aspell as Young Diana: Having only seen Aspell in one other film (that is the original Wonder Woman), I really had no other film or tv show to see her talent in this feature compared to any other. I am only including her in this portion as I found out after watching the film that she performed all of her own stunts as she could do it better and more believably then the stunt person who was hired for it. In that light, I must give her props for abilities in the stunt department. As for acting a petulant 12-year-old in the film, well she is a child, so I am sure it was not that much of a stretch. I was just totally impressed with capability to finish all the stunts. Well done her!

So, all in all, were we entertained? Yes, we were, WW84 was a light adventure/action movie with characters whom we were already familiar with. The performance by all key actors were solid and the chemistry between all were evident. As I mentioned before, it was a little long, and I was a little surprised that she did not have the sword/shield to fight the bad guys, but that would have made the film a little darker than it was. This film was suitable for children, while some of the other superhero films would be more tuned to the tweens and up vice the younger kids like this one. I would recommend this film for anyone who is a fan of Gadot and Pine or is into the whole superhero genre. 

My score: 7/10

If you are interested in any other features starring the main cast, please consider the following recommendations:

Gal Gadot                     Fast and Furious, Fast & Furious 5-7, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, Justice League,  

Chris Pine                     Smokin Aces, Star Trek (Franchise), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, The Finest Hours

Kristen Wiig                  Bridesmaid, The Martian, Paul

Pedro Pascal                 Narcos, Game of Thrones, Equalizer 2

Till Next Time!

Cast:

Russell Crowe               The Man

Caren Pistorius              Rachel

Gabriel Bateman           Kyle

Jimmi Simpson              Andy

Happy New Year everyone! I know it has been a few months since my last review, but hey, I’m busy with my life in retirement! However, having said that I have my promised my brother “aka, the Chairman” of Notinhalloffame.com that I would give him reviews of shows from time to time. Over the last little while though, there has not been much on tv or Netflix/Amazon that I felt like reviewing. Come on, it was Christmas time, so we were inundated with a plethora of syrupy Christmas films that my wife likes to watch. Ok, there are a few that I did not mind as there were enough sarcasm, comedy, or gratuitous sex scenes peppered in so that I could sit through the film. But in the genre of Christmas films, these things are sometimes hard to find. No matter how much I tried to tell my wife that Die Hard and Lethal Weapon are Christmas movies, she does not seem to get it!

So here we are, a new year and a new review. For this blog’s selection, I decided to pick the movie “Unhinged” starring Russell Crowe as “the Man” or nemesis in the film. The reason for this selection is as follows:

1. Russell Crowe usually makes great films, i.e. The Gladiator, Proof of Life, Cinderella Man, Broken City, Robin Hood to name but a few. (ok there were a few crappy ones too, Noah comes to mind)
2. This movie was actually released during one of the small windows of the pandemic that the cinema’s opened. So my thought was that if the movie industry was brave enough to release it during Covid, it was worth a try.
3. I had seen Pistorius before in “Offspring” a show that both my wife and I loved, and thought, hey she was ok in that, she might be alright in this film.

Unfortunately, my reasoning for watching this film were found to be erroneous.  I was wrong on so many levels. I know that you say, this can’t be true! Wrong on an opinion about a film before watching, say it isn’t so! But alas, “Unhinged” joins a long list of films that over promised, under delivered, and were just large piles of fecal matter. 

Before continuing on what I did and did not like about the film, let’s give a general outline of what it is about. The prologue of the film is a series of clips that outline how much road rage is hitting the country and that really no one is safe from it. Then the film really starts with a close-up of an obviously distressed man. At first glance, I thought it was John Goodman from years past, but no, this is a rather plump, heavy, bearded Russell Crowe. He is full of angst, popping some kind of pills like they are tic-tacs while looking at a home. Finally, he loses his proverbial shit, goes up to the house, breaks in, kills the occupants and sets it on fire. Then he returns to his truck and drives off. 

Cut scene to see a family trying to have breakfast. We are now at the home of Rachel, which she shares with her son, brother and I think his girlfriend. We are seeing all kinds of scenes on where they are trying to live a normal life, well almost normal for Rachel (Pistorius) for whom we find out that she is in the middle of divorce proceedings and her ex is trying for everything, and her career is in the proverbial toilet. Of course, she is now late for work, late for dropping off her kid at school and just basically having a crappy morning. So taking the freeway, she gets stuck in traffic and tries to find another way to try and recover her timings. In the process she pulls up behind the aforementioned truck. Still in a hurry, which the truck driver does not seem to be as he waits through a light, Rachel (Pistorius) goes nuts on her car horn, swerves around the driver while giving various hand gestures to the driver of the truck. Of course we know the driver is “the Man” (Crowe). He follows her, cuts her off a few times and then the fun begins. So, without giving out the whole storyline, we know that it is a serious case of road rage and fixation between “The Man” (Crowe) and Rachel (Pistorius), and that it will naturally end in a way that will be violent, bloody and oh so predictable. So as you can see from the quick synopsis, there is nothing here that screams Oscar winning storylines, or even acting. 

What did I like about the film…well not much really. The story line was weak and predictable, the dialogue appeared forced and there was little to no chemistry between any of them. But wait, I said what did I like about it. I would have to say the character of Andy, played by Jimmi Simpson. It does not matter what role I see him in, I always enjoy his slimy character portrayals. There is something about his characters that I always like. Unfortunately, he did not have much screen time and his character did end up as another victim of the man, sorry for the spoiler readers. But two minutes into the film, you would have figured it out anyways.

What didn’t I like? Well, it was nice to see Crowe in another product, but who knew we were going to see so much of him. I know that some actors gain/lose weight for roles, and I applaud them for that. However, in some instances is it really necessary for the story-line? In this case I don’t think it was necessary, he could have still portrayed the man who has lost it all with nothing left to live for without the massive weight gain. In my opinion that portion of the character was not really required. Hmm what else was there beside wooden performances from all of the characters…yes, the predictability. I felt like Nostradamus while watching this film, I could predict with uncanny accuracy what would happen next. There was no mystery for the film, no, what will happen next. See scene, know within 10 seconds what will happen in that scene and the next. For example, introduce young man at the gas station who offers our young heroine some help…you know his life span will only continue till the end of the scene and that he will be run over. No mystery here. There are so many examples of bad storytelling in this film that I could write a small book on them. Instead, I will content myself with this review. 

There were a few throwaway characters in the film, besides Andy (Simpson), the brother and his fiancée were included in the film to be merely cannon fodder for the rage of “The Man” (Crowe). You didn’t know why they were there in the first few minutes, thus I knew their characters would meet an untimely end in the film. If there was a little bit more mystery and maybe fleshing out some of the characters, it might have proved to enhance the film. I also found some of the technical aspects of the film to be way off base. For example, our young heroine starts her Volvo, and the dashboard has warning lights blazing that would put a Christmas tree to shame. Yet, she takes it on the highway and while being pursued by “The man” she drives it through hurdles that I am sure I saw on the Dukes of Hazzard. It really made me want to buy a Volvo, if it had that many issues and still could do all that…man, I need to buy me one! Also, for an individual who complained about the traffic and whose driving skills did not seem to be the best, she did learn fast and I was impressed on how the traffic would always clear for her when she was going down the congested road. A little too fake for my tastes.

Also, I found the role of the son, Kyle (Bateman), to be a little under developed. There seemed to be little to no chemistry between him and his mother. Yes, the character is important as there is nothing that can drive a storyline like a mother defending her child, in this case it just did not seem to work for me. 

As the characters in this film were so shallow, that the depth was that of a small puddle, I won’t go into how they were portrayed and what was good or bad about them. Just leave it to say that this was not a shining moment for Crowe (pretty much on par with his character of Noah in the film of the same name). I really hope that in Gladiator 2 (that is supposed to be in development) that he finds his mojo back and he returns as the actor that we all know that he is.

As for Pistorius, this is only the second character I had seen her in, and I hope that her choice of roles improves as to me, this was not a great leap for her, and did not display her talents. Will see what comes in the future.

Would I recommend this film, was I entertained? No on both counts. I would not recommend this film to anyone, even die-hard Crowe fans. Unless you can’t find anything else to watch on Netflix or Amazon, then maybe give it a try, other than that, I would give this film a hard pass and maybe watch an old classic with Crowe, i.e. Gladiator, Master and Commander to name but a few examples. 

Our rating: 2/10

If you are interested in any other GOOD film starring Russel Crowe, please consider the following recommendations.

Gladiator, Robin Hood, Master and Commander, Proof of Life, The Nice Guys, Broken City, The Next Three Days, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man, L.A. Confidential

Till Next time!