VANQUISH

Morgan Freeman     Ruby Rose     Patrick Muldoon

 

            Astonishingly clever!  With a cool script, incredible cinematography (Anastas N. Michos) and music (Aldo Shilaku), Gallo et al. have recreated the genre in a very different way.  Morgan Freeman in his inimitable way and Ruby Rose bring it to life.  

            The story begins with headlines obscured by film credits of a hero policeman, Damon (Freeman) being shot and confined to a wheelchair.  Later, when we see his “confession” at church it’s a bit puzzling.  But all will be explained during the course of the movie—the whole movie.

            Damon is sitting on the wharf at his glittering white mansion contemplating.  What is he thinking about?  When he is back in the house, his trusted caretaker Victoria (Rose) appears with her daughter—whom she is devoted to—wanting to serve dinner.  Very soon, it seems urgent for Damon to talk to her.  He wants her to do five errands for him.  These errands are related to her past life, which she has foresworn.  She argues with him, not succumbing to temptation.  He insists, appealing to her devotion to her daughter.  

            She has no choice; he has her over a barrel, so we see her donning special equipment and roaring out on a motorcycle, special helmet on head.  Her assignment is to pick up packages at five locations and bring them to him.  She isn’t informed about what they will be (although she seems to know), but eerily, at every stop she encounters someone who knows her from her past—a murky past.

            Cinematography and music play a dominant role in the plot, accentuating emotions evoked in the viewer.  When the mood is scary, weird, tense—whatever—every element works to bring you along.

            This is a story that, it turns out, is simple and direct, once all the elements are in place.  Maybe it’s one that some people will figure out right away, but I was led down the garden path, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

        Not a great film in the grand scheme of things, but well done with notably artistic cinematography and musical renditions.

 

Vanquish is teeth gritting much of the time, but the underlying story is one of substance.

 

Grade:  B                              By Donna R. Copeland

THE MEG

Jason Statham     Bingbing Li     Rainn Wilson     Winston Chao     Ruby Rose     Page Kennedy

     The Meg has a lot going for it:  thrills, intrigue, humor, and fairly good character development.  It opens with a rescue mission that ends up with wins and losses, and Jones Taylor (Statham) being faulted for his role in it.  Five years later, the setting changes to a research station off China, run by Dr. Zhang  (Chao) and his daughter Suyin (Li).  They’ve made an amazing discovery that the floor of the ocean is deeper than previously thought, and they want to explore the boundary between our world and the one they hypothesize lies beyond.  Newly arrived to inspect the operation is its funder, billionaire Morris (Wilson).  He is impressed with what he finds and is gung-ho to proceed.

     The research group makes its initial voyage, and do seem to find something major that will be the find of centuries—a whole different ecological environment containing different species from our own.  But…they encounter something huge that rocks their water vessels violently.  They will soon discover that the entry they used to get to the new discovery has been used by a huge shark, a megadon believed to be extinct, to enter our system.  

     The rest of the story involves the threats posed by the animal and the team’s efforts to survive it and protect the rest of the world from its destructiveness. Within this context, a number of personal relationships complicate the story and provide interest beyond the adventure.  Some of the crew were in the previous mission with Jones Taylor, and still hold a grudge. One is a physician, and one is Taylor’s ex-wife.  In the current emergency, they all agree with Dr. Zhang that Jones is essential to the operation.  He will need to be persuaded to come, however, and if he does, interpersonal conflicts will have to be dealt with.

     While these “human interest” vignettes make the film more appealing, some have clearly been inserted simply for that purpose, and this is obvious.  One example is Suyin’s daughter who is present on the research station.  Her interactions with Jones especially have a false quality, particularly when her lines are not plausible “child-speak.”  Another is a romance sparked in the midst of disasters, which is OK, but once again, a little forced.

     Jason Statham nails his role as a hero bordering on super-hero on the one hand and a kind of charm on the other, even though mostly he is sardonic.  This is where the screenwriters have done a good job in developing his and some of the other characters into believable figures.  For instance, the Suyin character is interesting in her assertiveness and self-confidence, something not usually shown in Hollywood’s female characters.  But Li gives her spark and appeal so well she captivates.  Rainn Wilson is miscast in my opinion; I never could see him as a billionaire sponsor.

     The main “beef” I have with the film is that it extends the story too long, simply to add on special effects and more and more disasters and near-fatalities.  It could easily have ended after the first encounter with the megadon, rather than wearying us with additional emergencies.

A gripping tale that excites and captivates—up to a certain point.

Grade:  B                                                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