F9: THE FAST SAGA

 Vin Diesel     Michelle Rodriguez     Jordana Brewster     Tyrese Gibson     Ludacris

Nathalie Emmanuel     Thue Ersted Rasmussen     Helen Mirren     Kurt Russell

 

If car racing, heists, and spying—with all the special effects that one can think of—is your thing, and you don’t mind absurdity, then F9 is the movie for you.  This is the 10^th full-length version of the theme since it first appeared in 2001.  Another theme puts great emphasis on family, a motif repeated across the series, with the star Vin Diesel as Dominic always implying that family is sacred and of the utmost importance.  (“Family” includes all the people one is close to as well as those biologically related.)  The problem in this newest iteration is that Dominic’s estranged brother Jakob (Cena) has suddenly appeared on the scene. 

Jakob is clearly less principled than Dom, and is easily drawn in by nefarious schemes, this time with Otto (Rasmussen), with whom he plans on getting his hands on an object that will allow him and Otto to rule the world.  They have captured Dom’s nemesis Cipher (Theron) and put her in a glass box so she can assist them, but she shows only disdain for Jakob.

The movie will take us on a world tour (London, Tokyo, Central America, Edinburgh, Azerbaijan, Tbilisi in Georgia, even outer space) as a way I presume of making the story more exciting.

The biggest problem with the movie as I see it is that practically all of it takes place on streets in big cities with cars and people getting hit and scattered every which way, punctuated with fist fight free-for-alls.  A little dialogue will transpire, but soon it’s back to car chases and fist fights.  It is a tiny bit to their credit in my book that the women are just as ferocious and active as the men; not one hesitates to blast with a gun, her body, or fist…AND with a computer.

All of the movies in the franchise have been big box office draws, although critics tend to be much less enthusiastic.  That has to do with the numerous implausibilities (e.g., cars being shot out over large bodies of water and an actual trip into space) and contradictions (characters seemingly rising from the dead) replete in the series.  But promoters of the film advise viewers just to sit back, suspend realistic considerations, and just enjoy the movie with your popcorn.

Director Justin Lin—who has previously directed three Fast films—is also scheduled to direct the final(?) two adventures.  He knows exactly how to please enthusiastic fans of the franchise, helped along by the special effects crew, cinematographer Stephen F. Windon, and composer Brian Tyler.  

 

F9 remains true to the franchise in its daring thrills and main characters, with the cast cast headed by Vin Diesel as usual.

 

Grade:  C-                             By Donna R. Copeland

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Chris Pratt     Zoe Saldana     Dave Bautista     Vin Diesel     Bradley Cooper     Kurt Russell

Michael Rooker     Karen Gillan     Pom Klementieff     Elizabeth Debicki     Sylvester Stallone

     The complex action, visually capturing special effects, dry humor, and honest human emotions that were in the first GOTG are just as present here.  Director James Gunn co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Abnett, based on Marvel’s Comics, with credit given to the creators of certain characters.  Tender or heated dramatics with Quill’s curious circumstances around his history help balance the story with ferocious, fast-action battles and the, sometimes, hilarious arguments between protagonists.

     To open, we see a snippet of Quill’s parents during their courting days 34 years earlier in Missouri, his dad showing his mother a special plant that has great promise for him.  Jump to 2014, and Captain Quill (Pratt) and his team [Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), Baby Groot (Diesel), and Rocket (Cooper)] are being congratulated by Ayesha (Debicki) for doing good work.  Unfortunately, there is a kink in the good will when she discovers that some of her special batteries were stolen.  Feeling betrayed, she and her army are on their tail before long, and when that is a failure, she hires another group led by Yondu (Rooker), Quill’s father figure, to join the posse.  Adding complexity to the plot include mutiny, the resurfacing of Gamora’s evil sister Nebula (Gillan), and the appearance of Stakar Ogord (Stallone) to remind Yondu of his going against the code and the reason for his exile.

     Of course, the pièce de résistance is the arrival of a weird-looking spaceship that no one recognizes.  Out comes Ego (Russell), claiming to be Quill’s biological father who takes him and his crew to his very own planet.  As expected, there will be explanations, exclamations, and struggles as Quill tries to cope with this information and his father’s plans.

     The combination of entertaining characters and their interactions with one another made this film for me, although I did enjoy the special effects, especially the stunning weapons greeting a group of predators who thought they had Quill and his team captured.  The flirtatious teasing between Quill and Gamora and Drax and Mantis, along with Rocket and Groot becoming friends with everyone makes this a fun view.  But it’s more than that; it comments on the human condition in a most entertaining way.

     Chris Pratt shows his talent in combining the traits of a hunk with a genuine, caring regular guy (as he does here and recently in Passengers).  Kurt Russell is on a roll with this, The Fate of the Furious, Deepwater Horizon, and The Hateful Eight; but this role seems more substantive, and should win him more deserved recognition.  As well, the rest of the cast adds color and depth to their characters, contributing to a remarkable film.  And I would like to underscore the artistic merit of the music by Tyler Bates and cinematography by Henry Braham. 

Delightful entertainment balancing emotional valence with impressive special effects.

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

Vin Diesel     Donnie Yen     Toni Collette     Samuel L. Jackson

Deepika Padukone     Kris Wu     Ruby Rose     Tony Jaa     Nina Dobrev     Ice Cube

          My impression:  That this film was made purely to highlight its special effects and bring a videogame look to film—not that others haven’t had that purpose before.  So if this is your thing, you will love xXx:  Return of Xander Cage.  Story is secondary to the legendary (and unreal) acumen of Xander (Diesel), whom everyone thought was dead, but was only in hiding.  The CIA searches him out, and recruits him to retrieve Pandora’s Box, a deadly weapon they had in their hands until a band of phenomenal intruders literally snatched it away from Jane Marke (Collette), a CIA higher-up. 

         But first, we get a treat of seeing Xander doing incredible athletic stunts to establish his credibility as not only an unbelievable athlete, but a patriotic, conscionable citizen--and lover--as well.  (He brings television broadcasts to soccer fans in Central America.)  He is against “men in suits” and a champion of the people.

      After Jane Marke recruits him, Xander is unbelievably quick in bringing her the information she needs by being an “undercover agent.”  (The sexual and macho symbols are replete throughout the film, meant to please the 15-40 year-old male viewers.)  Now the fun begins as Pandora’s Box, the ultimate deadly weapon, is located as being in the hands of two people in the Philippines, Xiang (Yen) and his partner Serena (Padukone).   

     Marke introduces Xander to his retrieval “team”, all males, who are completely unacceptable to him.   He dispatches them immediately as pussies, and brings his own people on—both men and women with special skills.  Marke is cagey, and although complaining, she allows him to lead his own team in the assault on the couple in the Philippines who have Pandora’s Box.  They are Xiang (Yen) and his partner Serena (Padukone) who have a fleet of amazing fighters of their own.

          Xander puts his people in place, and they make an assault amidst a party.  (Sex and violence are a must in this film).  What follows are a crafty shake-up, as well as the identification of the real villains.  Changing alliances and the representation of noble motivations give this film a little more quality beyond the technical achievements. 

          D. J. Caruso’s film shows how government agencies can be corrupt and self-serving, but it does not suggest any viable alternatives.   Well, perhaps the final scenes with Pandora’s Box does.

A love letter to Vin Diesel and his phenomenal abilities.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

FURIOUS 7

Vin Diesel   Paul Walker   Jason Statham   Michelle Rodriguez   Ludacris   Dwayne Johnson 

                                Tyrese Gibson   Kurt Russell   Nathalie Emmanuel   Djimon Hounsou

In Furious 7, 7 refers to the 7^th iteration of a series of action films that make up a franchise of revving cars, high speed chases, fearsome artillery, high tech equipment, and just plain old fist fights that seem to go on for hours.  In an odd play on carnival bumper cars, two regular cars intentionally come at each other full speed not once, but twice.  (If something’s really good you always do it twice, right?).  Not only that, cars in 7 can actually fly up into the air and more than once drive off cliffs, and miraculously, no one is killed (that is, the good guys).

            What story there is, is about the brother of Owen Shaw, Deckard (Statham), coming over from Britain to avenge his death; he’s a fierce fighter who carries around bombs like they were confetti he likes to toss.  He’s lethal as well in smarts and skills, in that he used to be in British special forces until he was dismissed. 

            Another strain of the story involves a billionaire, Mr. Nobody (Russell), who engages the team of Dominic (Vin Diesel) et al. to rescue a professional hacker who has devised software that will locate anyone anywhere any time.  Bad guys are after the software creator (Emmanuel), but Mr. Nobody realizes how dangerous such an invention would be in the wrong hands, so engages Dominic’s (Vin Diesel) team to intercept them.  What follows is harrowing scene after harrowing scene with engines revving, furious car chases (even cars flying through buildings), bombs going off, people jumping from car to car or jumping out and rolling to safety, helicopters that rain down fire on their targets, drones that do the same, and on and on and on.

            Obviously, millions of people like these kinds of movies that are almost entirely action (a la the above), no matter how unbelievable, with only a dab of emotion and a smidgen of intentional comedy in the plot.  Oh, a tender relationship is thrown in here and there (Dom and Letty; Brian and Mia), and family is referred to in capital letters, but mostly the film is very loud with special effects violence and well-choreographed fights between men and between women.  Roman (Gibson)—a driver, a distracter, and a blowhard—is something like comic relief, but the lines written for him are not actually laugh-out-loud funny.  But after all this, at the end of the film, there is a moving tribute to the actor Paul Walker who plays the part of Brian O’Connor and who was killed in a car accident last year that was devastating to his fans as well as his family. 

            Clearly, this is not a film I would choose to go see on my own, but I do acknowledge some interest in the plot (such as software that will track everyone, and, like Mr. Nobody says, change police searches forever), and admire the talent of director James Wan, the actors, and crew.  Still, I can’t see the purpose or value in films like this that are mostly loud and more like watching a video game that has little relevance to reality.

A movie for Nascar fans.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland