Mortal Kombat

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Mortal Kombat is an adaptation of the video game series of the same name, in which a number of champions from different 'realms' or dimensions dule it out in the Mortal Kombat tournament. Within this film we follow MMA fighter, Cole Young, who is sought out to join the champions of Earthrealm in their struggle against the dark forces of Outworld. The strength of the feature is centred within that which you would expect: the stunts and fight sequences. Whenever there was a fight scene that did not depend on visual effects, but rather streamlined choreography and lethal action; there was certainly something worth watching. The cinematography throughout the feature often brought out a degree of appeal in the setting and especially worked hard to enhance the fights with gripping, well-framed shots.

 

Joe Taslim, who played Sub-Zero, is one of the subtle stand outs in the film; Taslim's quiet vindictiveness towards Sanada's Scorpion and Tan's Cole Young makes him the strongest and most interesting antagonist to watch. Mehcad Brooks, who played Jax, is a stern guardian who throws himself selflessly into combat for the sake of others; Brooks contrasts his role's bravado in combat with the pain of losing his limbs for robotic appendages really well.

However, the best performance came from Josh Lawson, who played Kano. This role lives in a very moral grey area initially, which made him a lot of fun to watch. Kano is a reluctant champion of Earthrealm, full of himself and with little inclination to help the heroes of the story. Watching Lawson belt curse after curse at our heroes, all the while grandstanding and lauding his own ability makes for a fun dynamic the feature otherwise lacks. Kano is so much fun to watch because he has a really unpleasant sense of humour, this hard yet likeable edge that allows you to laugh with him even if you don't really like the man. Lawson presents Kano as a volatile figure, prone to bursts of rage in one moment while simultaneously switching to a more lazy and careless persona in the next. I often felt like Kano raised the film up because he wasn't tethered to the confusing mystical realms duking it out, rather he was this crude, funny character who performed within said mystical setting.

Mortal Kombat is swift in joining the long line of films that have attempted to adapt video games into film format and failed terribly. This is a feature with an often confusing setting; we spend half the feature in a fantastical setting in which our heroes portal through different realms in order to duke it out with one another. Meanwhile, we have our main protagonist, struggling MMA fighter Cole Young, who lives in a very ordinary city and is constantly trying to ground aspects of this outlandish story in a familiar setting. The problem is that neither type of world want to gel nicely together; meeting Cole for the first time is jarring and his subplot with his family is quite a small blip in an overly ambitious plot. The larger story of the heroes getting ready for Mortal Kombat leads to a lot of dull training scenes, watching our heroes slowly get superhuman powers or have personal asides about feeling 'totally' unprepared' over and over. The inevitable confrontation between the heroes and the villains is a messy slugfest that holds little meaning to the audience because the nature of the worldbuilding is so vast and confusing while the characters have each barely had much time on camera that you don't really care who wins or loses. Every moment the film introduces a new ability, character or key moment within the film it is often with little foreshadowing; instead hoping that there are plenty of video game fans watching who'll have prior knowledge of what's being discussed. The editing within the film cuts poorly multiple times and sets a poor flow even within fight sequences. The visual effects used throughout are this decade's Avatar: The Last Airbender; with multiple visuals failing to blend in with the scene and many looking so crudely fake that you have to wonder how thin the budget was stretched. The score for the film often fell into the background and any moment it tried to draw inspiration from the games we received a track that was really jarring in tone compared to what was taking place onscreen,

Lewis Tan, who played Cole Young, is probably one of the more disappointing aspects of the film; as a protagonist Tan really struggles to hold his own and feel like a leading man in his own story. Jessica McNamee, who played Sonya Blade, comes across as nothing like a military figure; this leaves her only defining trait as an exposition deliverer which comes across as more than a little dull. Matilda Kimber and Laura Brent, who played Emily and Allison respectively, come across as pieces that don't really fit in the film they are in; this 'modern day family' element seems like it is more there for the audience than because it belongs in the story. Tadanobu Asano, who played Lord Raiden, doesn't feel imposing nor very powerful even though he is playing what is described as an 'Elder God'; Asano enters a scene with little regality and gently mutter lines under his breath consistently. Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Scorpion, is in this movie to be a counter to Taslim and not really to play his character; even the big grief scene Sanada really does a pretty generic job of things. Ludi Lin, who played Liu Kang, is quite a small presence in the film often dwarfed by the other mediocre talent in a scene; Lin's character is another geared more towards exposition making him as boring to watch as McNamee. Chin Han, who played Shang Tsung, seems rather comfortable giving one of the most stereotypical big bad performances I've seen; his excessive posturing and loud proclamations of his own evil plan wear pretty thing pretty fast. Max Huang, who played Kung Lao, is about one character too many for the protagonists' team; Huang's role never really serves any purpose when he isn't actively in a fight or special effects sequence. 

A decent martial arts film on one hand but one of the worst video game adaptations we've had in recent years on the other. I would give Mortal Kombat a 3/10.

 

Thunder Force

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Thunder Force follows estranged friends, Lydia and Emily, who manage to reconnect after one develops a formula for superhuman abilities. Working together to become heroes, the pair band together to protect Chicago from the evil powered foes known as 'Miscreants'. While this film never had much going for it I liked that it took the time to have fun with the loose world building it had established. Toying with superpowers and the unique character personalities that came from a superhero film led to some entertaining moments scattered within the feature.

 

Taylor Mosby, who played Tracy, is clearly a very talented up and coming young performer who really pushes herself more than this film deserves; Mosby has this real sense of joy and wonder at being part of creating and developing a superhero team which makes her one of the more genuine roles in the film.

However, the best performance came from Jason Bateman, who played The Crab. This is a morally grey role who is a little sleazy mixed in with some charm; a place Bateman has been strong in before. I find with more outlandish characters who have a certain antagonistic quality to them Bateman really leans in to them without pushing it too far, he commits hard to the essence of the thing he is playing. The Crab is fun because he isn't necessarily the most imposing supervillain, in fact he's more of a cowardly lapdog to the big crime boss. But the way the film plays him against both the big bad and the heroes makes his polarising personality a treat to watch. Bateman also has a lot of fun being the charming object of McCarthy's affections in the film, becoming the bad seed worthy of redemption in a fun if not inevitable twist in the plot. 

Thunder Force is the superhero film no one either wanted nor asked for, with so much outdated content and writing it felt like watching a bad blockbuster from the early 2000s. Any moment that the film wants you to take seriously is so devoid of real emotion that it's impossible to connect or the scene is ridiculously put together. The start of the film frames things in a very convenient way to give only bad people powers, pushing our protagonist to 'make' their own superhuman abilities. A strange plot-holed origin to the film that gives a strong indication that the easy will be taken at any chance this film gets. The film relies heavily on the friendship between Lydia and Emily, the two protagonist who jump from being estranged to not in the blink of an eye. This pair have little chemistry together and watching the film revolve around them just mildly talking to one another before launching into poorly choreographed fight or pratfall scenes is extremely dull. The film also has the most generic supervillain plotline revolving around a criminal tycoon trying to edge in on city politics while controlling the most powerful supervillain henchmen. The film is extremely disinterested in exploring a good plot, often why the story of the film comes across as boring or generic; instead it always shoots to be more of a comedy. The problem? The film struggles to be funny when Jason Bateman isn't onscreen. There is a moment in Thunder Force where a minor character fails a knock knock joke remarks that he realises it wasn't funny and then proceeds to fail retelling the joke four more times. I couldn't think of a more apt metaphor for the nature of the comedy presented to the audience in the film. The cinematography isn't very appealing and takes to a very simple style, never making an effort to shoot for more. The special effects utilised throughout the feature are shockingly bad, closer to the expectation I'd have for a bad superhero TV show than a film. The score for the film isn't really present and fades very far into the background, while the soundtrack is a mismatched jumble of attempted moments of comedy.

Melissa McCarthy, who played Lydia Berman, showed up to this movie to be funny and had no interest in acting; McCarthy's entire performance seems undercut by her need to drop one-liners or perform impressions that often take away from a scene and fall flat. Octavia Spencer, who played Emily Stanton, is such a dull performance that fails to find any real emotional arc or grounded character motivation; Spencer flounders in the comedic scenes of the feature making her a strange casting choice for this type of film. Bobby Cannavale, who played The King, just doesn't have the imposing presence required to be the intimidating main antagonist; Cannavale often feels like he has the air taken out of him just as he's hitting his stride and never rises to truly strike fear like his role is implied to be capable of. Pom Klementieff, who played Laser, is a generic femme fatale hechwoman ( as the film even has the gall to point out); Klementieff''s role is paper thin with no guiding motivation and zero personality beyond blind obedience and a desire to kill. Melissa Leo, who played Allie, is very much awkwardly wedged into the feature and never really justifies being there; Leo is this stern figure with way too much power in developing the superhero team given her role is never really defined nor even explained to the audience. Ben Falcone, who played Kenny, has found yet another way to wedge himself into a terrible role in one of his own features; Falcone has no ability to deliver comedy and is allowed to be present in this film for longer than is ever really necessary. Bria Danielle, Tai Leshaun, Vivian Falcone and Mia Kaplan, who played Young Emily, Teen Emily, Young Lydia and Teen Lydia respectively, all have the responsibility to introduce us to the leading roles and define the background of their relationship; this is a task which is failed miserably and leads to the defining relationship of the film coming across as little more than boring.

This is a superhero film that looks closer to a CW TV show episode and is far less capable of humour or heart. I would give Thunder Force a 1.5/10.

Voyagers

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Voyagers follows a crew of bio-engineered teenage astronauts who confront the nature of their existence and the rules that govern their small society in what is a very thinly veiled adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. I was really pulled in by the opening act of this film, it really set up an interesting environment and scenario that our protagonists found themselves within. The significance of these individuals being crafted for an otherworldly space mission in an effort to save humanity and repopulate a new world was very high stakes. I think there was a unique depiction of choice (at least in the first act), wherein the crew was compelled to a certain motive because they were bred for it; then this drive was furthered by the drugged liquids they were ingesting. Watching the characters struggle with these factors and subsequently divert from the mission parameters, becoming more wild or free-spirited was a fairly compelling inciting incident to get thing underway. Also watching this young crew gravitate around the older mentor figure, Richard, makes for quite an important relationship; seeing the way in which this respected leader is viewed twist and warp are some of the more interesting character moments. The cinematography for Voyagers is one of its biggest triumphs, combining fast-paced tracking shots with intimate angles to make full use of the cramped space shuttle environment. The score for the film was this eerie, tense thing; I often found myself enamoured by a moment due to the soft nature of the music yet this could be flipped at a moments notice to heighten the tension of the piece.

 

Tye Sheridan, is a really solid protagonist throughout the feature and fits well into the leadership role; I liked seeing Sheridan balance out the portrayal of being free with a level-headed rationale towards the ensuing obstacles he faces. Colin Farrell, who played Richard, has a lot of charm as the gentle mentor and father figure to this space-faring crew; seeing the subtle longing and pain Farrell brings towards his role's old Earth memories makes him a memorable point of Voyagers.

 

However, the best performance came from Lily-Rose Depp, who played Sela. This is a role who is always the steady and well-meaning voice of reason throughout the feature. I think Depp had a huge job in portraying the role because she was responsible for portraying the ideal by which the crew would come to live by. I really enjoyed watching her performance as she subtly shifted from a more calm and calculating role while on the serum, to an individual with a tremendous amount of compassion and an ironclad will. Depp's ability to hook the viewer in from the start by showing a connection to Earth and this longing for an experience she has never actually personally had is wonderful. You watch Sela as she grows afraid at becoming the victim by the hands of her fellow crew, then this is moulded into a fiery resistance. This is the performance that delivers the conscience of the film and it is remarkably well-performed.

Voyagers is an interesting beast because it starts out really fresh and unique, providing a very interesting scenario for the audience to be drawn in by. However, the fact that this becomes a very pale imitation of Lord of the Flies is where this film takes a sharp plunge in quality. When these characters start getting wilder and out of control, doing irrational things, these moments are often where the plot gets quite over the top. The film likes to deal in extremes to really push home its message but the result is the film loses the ability to remain grounded. Suddenly we have some very stilted dialogue driving conflicts that spark quite abruptly, tense scenes riddled with plot holes or ominous attempts at heavy-handed theme work. Seeing the antagonist of the film ahve his key criminal act exposed halfway through the feature with no consequences is a tough sell, to then justify the crew really redeeming themselves after this moment even more so. The film pushes an optimistic message at the end, wanting us to believe in the good of humanity but it is so quick to show violence or sex for shocking impact rather than to serve the narrative. It's a muddied script that has no business describing itself as an original screen play considering how deeply it plagiarises from the classic text it's clearly adapted from. The editing in the film also had some slow-paced cuts, the wild transitions comprised of Earth shots also served to really push the viewer out of the moment a number of times over.

Fionn Whitehead, who played Zac, starts the role fairly well but leans into the melodramatic as the narrative progresses; Whitehead often feels out of sorts as the alpha-male aggressive type. Chante Adams, who played Phoebe, really adheres to the stereotype of her role more than trying to craft a character; her wheezing nerd just felt like a push to create an outcast type rather than a persona. Quintessa Swindell and Isaac Hempstead Wright, who played Julie and Edward respectively, are essentially treated as miscellaneous cew characters; Hampstead Wright has an arc with the alien entity that goes nowhere while Swindell is awkwardly shunted into sex-obsessed female character. Archie Madekwe, who played Kai, is pretty generic as the main muscle/henchman to Whitehead's antagonist; Madekwe has really wooden approach to line delivery and seems to be awkwardly working his way through the script.

A unique concept with a brilliant aesthetic that delivers a rather dull and over-exaggerated take on Lord of the Flies. I would give Voyagers a 6/10.

 

Nobody

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Nobody follows a former hitman, who has regressed into a 'normal' working man style of life, steadily awaken to his old violent tendencies after a break-in at his family home. Our protagonist, Hutch, manages to get on the wrong side of the Russian mob, leading to a wild firefight raged across the city. The big thing going into this film for me was the fact that both Nobody and John Wick shared the same roots in their writer, it became impossible not to wonder if this would feel like watching an action feature similar to the one already told. But I was really impressed by the narrative of Nobody, it worked to generate a character who in a lot of ways felt more fleshed out than John Wick did. Hutch Mansell feels like a very mundane person when first you meet him, he seems weak-willed and almost deeply withdrawn. The film pushes him into a scenario that places him and his family in danger and he doesn't outwardly appear to be confrontational in the moment. Yet after this point there seems to be something new in Hutch, a rage bubbling below the surface and another aspect of himself desperate to be let out; ultimately seeing him get his revenge on the burglars and then putting a stop to a crime before it happens later. The ensuing vendetta between himself and the Russian mob that spirals out of his actions is really fascinating to watch as he is forced to strip back layer after layer of this everyday person he is pretending to be. The film takes a very careful and deliberate approach to revealing how much of himself Hutch has repressed and just how much he is willing to let out in order to save himself and his family. This is a character worth watching, one who is really explored in depth and who you will never stop rooting for all the way up to the credits. There's a really strong use of wit and levity in this film that heightens how fun this is to watch, Hutch is a much lighter figure than Wick and so inadvertently places himself in more comedic scenarios. The cinematography looks absolutely excellent, having a unique visual language with some amazing tracking shots during those high stakes action sequences. The editing sets a creative visual pace and I loved the unique spin on transitioning through a week and telling a character's story through precise cuts rather than just through exposition. The score for the film is masterful and keeps the pulse pounding, while the soundtrack used features some absolute classics that are hilarious in their delivery.

 

Christopher Lloyd, who played David Mansell, might certainly look and sound older but he is still a masterclass performer; Lloyd leans in to what seems a very geriatric character to then contrast this with a very gleeful and capable approach to violence. Colin Salmon, who played The Barber, was a perfect means of subtly conveying the larger more intricate world Hutch Mansell came from; Salmon delivers exposition coolly and with an elegance that added a layer of mystery to his intriguing role. Paisley Cadorath, who played Abby Mansell, is a really charming young performer; the onscreen chemistry between Odenkirk and Cadorath marks them as a perfect father/daughter pairing.

However, the best performance came from Bob Odenkirk, who played Hutch Mansell. I'm a big fan of Odenkirk, he makes the transition from highly witty roles to starker dramatic ones seamlessly; a trait that is capitalised upon in Nobody. When we start with Odenkirk's Hutch, he seems downtrodden, unable to quite make everything in his life come together and work for him. Hutch is a man who wants to do well but isn't really respected, he is easy to percieve as being weak due to how mild an individual he is. But Oden kirk really subtly shows some cues that Hutch is a lot more quick-thinking and capable than out ward appearnces would have us believe. The bond and love he has for his family are such a nice overarching motivator that when he feels his daughter has been wronged, it is the moment that unleashes the rage within him. Odenkirk leans into his role's past by making him this more cold, calculating individual when upon the streets. He walks around with so much fury and desire to mete out justice in a manner he used to that this leads to a very gruelling scene of punishment and violence. What works for this character is watching him strip apart this ordinary family man persona and bring forth the hitman he used to be, the blend between both is the ultimate goal and Oden kirk finds this really easily. Hutch Mansell is a man with a vendetta who is easy to like and relate to, he is an individual that is impressive like John Wick but more than that he feels like a character with heart and wit in spades.

Nobody is thus far the standout action feature of the year for me but it certainly did take some time to connect with. Too often I found Nobody treated Hutch's ordinary life as a gag, the story would get quite over the top to note how down on his luck and ordinary he was perceived as. When the film ended with him and his wife having a generic open home visit and he was back to being quite mild before going stark serious again I felt the film itself was showing how steep a contrast it often set. I also thought the motivations behind why Hutch decided to retire from being a hitman could've been explored in greater detail or in a more convincing way; slapping it on as exposition delivered to dead bodies felt somewhat rushed and unnecessary.

Aleksey Serebryakov, who played Yulian Kuznetsov, wasn't the most original take on a Russian protagonist; the decadent rich crime boss with wild tendencies to violence is pretty played out. Connie Nielsen, who played Becca Mansell, is extremely stoic in what is quite a bland role; Nielsen plays to the distance between herself and Odenkirk but fails to actually develop that into anything more as the film goes along which is rather disappointing. Michael Ironside and Billy MacLellan, who played Eddie Williams and Charlie Williams respectively, don't seem as present as obstacles for Hutch like they should be; Ironside quietly makes himself known in scenes while MacLellan really blusters himself up without delivering the intent behind the lines. RZA, who played Harry Mansell, is quite an underwhelming role in the feature; the movie spends a lot of time building him up only for RZA to really have little to no chemistry as siblings with Odenkirk. Araya Mengesha, who played Pavel, was a strange henchman role who served as a punchline around his nationality; it was a strange choice to include Pavel at all more than anything. Gage Munroe, who played Blake Mansell, is very stereotypical as the sullen teenager with issues towards his father; Munroe never found a moment of genuine emotion or connection with his fellow castmates which let the family dynamic down.

A combination of really engaging action-thriller alongside a really committed performance by Bob Odenkirk marks this as an action feature worthy of John Wick levels of acclaim. I would give Nobody an 8.5/10.

Godzilla vs. Kong

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Godzilla vs. Kong pits our two titular leading titans against one another as they grapple for dominance as Alpha Titans, while the nefarious organisation Apex Cybernetics brings humanity once again into the crosshairs of these giant monstrous beasts. While watching this film I was impressed by this atmosphere of anticipation and wonder that was built up for several key scenes. The big mid-ocean fight sequence was such a heavily anticipated moment because of the unique terrain, and the Hong Kong battles were so easy to enjoy because the film busted out all the stops to make these colossal event moments feel significant. I also had a real sense of fascination with the beauty of exploring the 'Hollow Earth' environment, it was a moment of visual and world-building based payoff that really strongly came together. The cinematography used throughout was really dynamic and built to be big, there was a really talented eye for shooting effects behind the camera which make this an appealing feature to watch. The visual effects is probably the strongest quality of the film, Godzilla and Kong grappling and interacting with one another looks fascinating and the Hollow Earth creatures and environments are extremely well-generated.

 

Alexander Skarsgård, who played Nathan Lind, works pretty well as one of the scientific leading characters in this film; I enjoyed watching Skarsgård play a more morally grey hero possessing some cowardly tendencies and a capacity to ask hard questions no other role would want to undertake. Millie Bobby Brown, who played Madison Russell, is one of the strong returning performers who carries the corporate espionage storyline on her back; this young actress comes at her scenes with this intense curiosity and bravery that makes her the protagonist of her story arc. Rebecca Hall, who played Ilene Andrews, is one of my favourite performances in this feature; Hall's onscreen motherly bond with Hottle is brilliant and the amount of empathy she shows in her role marks her as one of the better leading roles. Demián Bichir, who played Walter Simmons, is probably the best human antagonist in one of these films since Samuel L. Jackson in Kong: Skull Island; I was really impressed with how Bichir navigated scenes with finesse and elegance to manipulate matters into his character's way of thinking.

However, the best performance came from Kaylee Hottle, who played Jia. This character is a soft, kind-hearted human connection to Kong, the compassionate link in this film between man and beast. Hottle is a deaf actress portraying the power of communication by being the first human role to form a language alongside one of our title characters, intertwining her with Kong in a major way. I love how she portrays this compassionate, caring young role who is so fearless in bonding with this massive beast. As a child actress Hottle achieves what so many older performers throughout the past Monsterverse films have failed to achieve; she has crafted a human character who has believably crafted a rich, meaningful and interesting relationship with an entirely CGI character. This is a masterful and genuinely heart-warming performance.

This film is a culmination and an event of every Monsterverse film we've had thus far and a special effects heavy spectacle everyone is abuzz about. But when I sat down to watch this movie and the first scene opens with Godzilla destroying this big corporate facility I was leagues from impressed. This should've been it, the big kick off to what was going to be two hours of the pinnacle of the Titans. Instead I watched as a crazy conspiracy theorist role mumbled through what I imagine was meant to be comic relief and began us down the road of what was going to be the glaring flaw of Godzilla vs. Kong: the plot is terrible to non-existent. The plot is basically broken down into two main storyline threads; one plot focusing on our aforementioned conspiracy theorist and his two young groupies looking into some shady corporate matters and humans trying to utilise Kong to work their way into the monster-infested 'Hollow Earth'. The issue with the corporate storyline is that the characters are very hard to believe in; this conspiracy theorist is such a strange amalgamation of comic relief and bizarre behaviour that he feels outlandish and the two younger roles feel sort of tacked onto him for little reason other than Millie Bobby Brown was in the last Godzilla. Everything about this plot just sets up a secret antagonist without ever doing anything actually interesting or worthy of taking up so much runtime. The central focus of the film is on lugging Kong from Skull Island to Antarctica, from Antarctica to Hollow Earth, from Hollow Earth to Hong Kong. It's just this long linear push that gives a lot of time to quibble through some very dull personal subplots all while we wait for the creatures to get shunted to the locations in which they're going to pummel one another. This is a film that went "let them fight" but wasn't interested in doing any of the work to make a film around those exquisite fights. More disappointing than that, the film drops a lot of characters and history from the past three films just to make this one; such a large host of new characters with little reference to the old makes this a rather empty sequel to watch. The score for the film was probably the most generic of the series yet, with a lot of fanfare but no strong theme for key moments; the soundtrack randomly kicking in for certain Kong moments was also quite the strange touch.

Brian Tyree Henry, who played Bernie Hayes, pops in at the top of this film like a big red warning sign of bad film to come; Henry's garbled delivery and nonstop chatter marked him as an annoying role and the way he pushed the conspiracy theorist element to the far side of weird and crazy made things quite over the top. Shun Oguri, who played Ren Serizawa, was the henchman antagonist to Bichir and really fell into the backdrop pretty fast; Oguri went into this film with little autonomy and came away looking like a glorified prop. Eiza González, who played Maya Simmons, has really picked more dud roles than good ones at this point; González lacks screen presence and she never leans powerfully into a role making her characters appear mild or featureless. Julian Dennison, who played Josh Valentine, is an embarrassing New Zealand export on our part; Dennison's every passing attempt at comic relief falls flat in each of his scenes making his inclusion in this film redundant. Kyle Chandler, who played Mark Russell, looks as confused to be in this film as I am that none of his other formers cast mates (excluding Brown) joined him; Chandler seems disinterested to be in this sequel and considering the underwhelming babysitting role they put him in, I can't blame him.

 

A special effects spectacle of a brawl, but the other hour and a half truly has nothing worth watching. I would give Godzilla vs. Kong a 5.5/10.

 

Crisis

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Crisis is a film with three branching storylines each with a message about opioids and how this drug is affecting America at different levels. One storyline tracks a university professor attempting to expose a harmful painkiller big pharma is bring to market, another shows a federal agent attempting to bust an opioid drug ring and the final story witnesses a former opioid-addicted mother investigating the overdose of her son. Initially I was thrown by the almost anthology style of presentation, but once you grow invested in the storylines this becomes an extremely engaging film to watch. If anything, breaking the story up across several contained smaller stories aids the pacing immensely. The grieving mother story and the federal story both follow similar paths, examining how the illegal sale of opioids invades communities and then pacing that back through the runners, suppliers and eventually distributors. Seeing a very personal, human story told in parallel to a tense, methodical crime story is a real master stroke because there is something in this for a majority of viewers. I often found myself incredibly moved by Claire's journey as she uncovers big and small details around her son's death, the scene in which she recounts how he died and what that experience would've been like is a powerful watch. At the same time watching Agent Jake Kelly desperately hold his undercover drug bust operation together by a thread, almost falling apart at several instances is a nail-biting watch that sets this film with more familiar and well-practised thriller elements. However, in spite of its isolation from the other storylines, the strength of a story about one university professor against a big pharma corporation is by far the most powerful storyline. Watching a man weigh the risks of basically imploding his life for the moral responsibility of reporting a harmful drugs risks before it goes on sale is a powerful watch, this is a figure who knows that he is going to lose and allows his life to be steadily dismantled anyway in an effort to do what is right. By the end of the film I had watched several wonderfully written and acted characters fight against opioids with varying success, the whole experience felt almost akin to harrowing and it was hard to face the reality of what this very real crisis actually looks like in America. The cinematography looks exceptionally crisp, drawing stark colour from a range of environments and keeping even basic dialogue exchanges engaging to watch.

 

Armie Hammer, who played Jake Kelly, is a stoic figure who plays well to the tough undercover federal agent role; Hammer's strength in this role is the severe desperation he portrays in trying to keep his character's operation together in spite of things steadily falling apart around him. Evangeline Lilly, who played Claire Reimann, is strongly motivated by grief in this film and portrays it in a truly moving manner; Lilly's intense fixation on justice and the truth marks her role as a compelling character and one of the truly interesting storylines to watch. Greg Kinnear, who played Dean Talbot, has a warm chemistry with Oldman onscreen that cements their characters friendship; I found the way Kinnear deconstructs this relationship and painfully betrays Oldman one of the more tragic aspects of that storyline. Guy Nadon, who played Mother, is quite an unpredictable and imposing crime boss antagonist; Nadon presents a highly paranoid figure who acts brazenly yet with a certain degree of cunning. Veronica Ferres, who played Dr. Meg Holmes, is fantastic as the main antagonist to Oldman; Ferres has this cold detached approach to fighting her battle that greatly contrasts Oldman's more frantic and concerned manner.

 

However, the best performance came from Gary Oldman, who played Dr. Tyrone Brower. This is a teacher figure at a university who immediately seems well liked and has an easy charisma in his classes. Oldman fixes his role as one who is well respected and respects those around him almost immediately, generating a warm aura in any scene he's in. However, when he begins pushing his findings that the drug he was testing for a big pharma company is not safe for public sale this role begins being treated like a ticking time bomb. Watching Oldman act with outrage and concern that his efforts to unveil the truth are being met with disgust, anger or indifference at every turn is easy to empathise with. This is a character who doesn't know how to navigate whistleblowing and reacts cautiously, but it isn't enough to prevent him from being torn apart by those he used to trust or even count on as friends. Seeing Oldman portray a man torn between the decision to salvage his reputation and job or do the right thing is a hard watch but remarkably well-executed by this acting veteran.

 

The most glaring flaw of Crisis is the branching narratives first and foremost, if you lose an audience member of any one of these threads then it is very easy to suddenly have a third of the film not expressly interesting to that aspect of the audience. I felt this quite strongly with the Federal drug bust story at first, it had this cold methodical execution to it that didn't hook me, it wasn't until there was some personal level of danger that I really became invested in this storyline. There is some frustration in that the big pharma storyline and the drug bust/grieving mother storylines don't crossover whatsoever. It leaves you with the impression that there were two ideas for a feature and neither was long enough for a script by itself. In saying this the weakness of the two storylines that do converge is probably how over the top their final act becomes when these characters collide; the big dhowdown becomes a little less grounded than the rest of the film making it an incompatible moment with the rest of the feature. The editing for the film can be inconsistent, ranging from a slow pace to some very abrupt cutting that leaves a peculiar flow to the events of the film. The score in this feature is practically non-existent and is mainly a discordant noise that you could easily tack on to any crime thriller. 

Michelle Rodriguez, who played Supervisor Garrett, does not fit the federal bureaucrat role whatsoever; Rodriguez struggles at matching the intensity of a performer like Hammer and doesn't seem at place in the collected leadership figure. Luke Evans, who played Dr. Bill Simons, seems completely miscast in this film; Evans doesn't feel like he is committed to being this big sales executive for big pharma and is strangely in the background of a lot of his scenes. Lily-Rose Depp, who played Emmie Kelly, gives the most cookie cutter portrayal of drug addiction I've ever seen; more than that you don't really see her and Hammer as siblings due to a complete lack of connection. Martin Donovan, who played Lawrence Morgan, feels like the potential for an intimidating figure but is severely underutilised; Donovan's stoic and at times generic portrayal of the wealth behind big pharma isn't as engaging as it could be. Eric Bruneau, who played Guy Broussard, is a pretty stereotypical drug-addicted gang member role; Bruneau's content with falling quietly into place ina scene and doesn't have the same intensity as Nadon for instance.

In spite of a very disjointed style of storytelling, this is a unique thriller that really holds a spotlight up to the current opioid crisis. I would give Crisis a 7.5/10.

Judas And The Black Messiah

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Judas And The Black Messiah is a biopic about the rise of Fred Hampton, chairman for the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther movement, and the man sent by the FBI to betray him. This film begins with a lot of found footage, which actually has a serious level of impact in terms of the film and what it represents going forward. In one of the interviews a man states "these ain't riots, this is a revolution"; a powerful moment because it is framed alongside black protestors being harassed and harmed by police officers from that era. In this way the film very deliberately draws a clean parallel to many of the civil rights struggles going on today, more than this it highlights the frustration that black people still have to fight for justice and freedom. I also have really struggled to understand the Black Panther party all my life, stories around the NAACP or other civil rights groups often getting highlighted or made into film. I really valued how precisely this film manages to show all aspects of the Black Panther party, you see the value of action they brought to their community and a complete breakdown of the values that their party stood behind. This film had a focal point around infiltration and espionage and it managed to instil a sense of tension quite well because of this. The editing throughout sets a fine pace in contrast to the narrative pacing, each cut feels perfectly timed and spaced throughout most of the feature. The score for the film has this intense, discordant jazz/blues sound to it which heightened those tense scenes where everything was spiralling out of control; yet there was also a melancholy to it that paid tribute to the unity and history of the era.

 

LaKeith Stanfield, who played Bill O'Neal, takes his time to find his feet but once you get to see the really frantic nature of his character in the second half it is clear what Stanfield has accomplished; this character is duplicitous but more than that he is grounded in extreme fear and cowardice. Jesse Plemons, who played Roy Mitchell, is quite a charismatic figure with something rotten in him below the surface; this is a figure of authority who blows apart the livelihood of a group of people with little remorse and in a calculated manner. Dominique Thorne, who played Judy Harmon, feels like everything a Black Panther fighter was supposed to represent; Thorne portrays what it's like being a female fighter equal amongst her fellow members of the movement exceptionally well. Martin Sheen, who played J. Edgar Hoover, is a complete reprobate of an antagonist which is everything the film needs; Sheen portrays a figure who wields power for prejudice with a cruelty that is undeniably terrifying to watch.

However, the best performance came from Daniel Kaluuya, who played Fred Hampton. Almost from the start of this film it is clear that this is going to be one of Kaluuya's strongest performances to date. The moment he stands upon a stage and delivers his first passionate monologue inciting revolution and unity in the face of prejudice you realise the strength of this role. Fred Hampton throughout has this charisma that feels both natural and earned, he connects to everyone he meets and more than that, he inspires. I like that Kaluuya has a subtle development around his character of initially being quite headstrong and quick to act, but he becomes more considering and wise as the film progresses and fatherhood looms for him. There is no question that Hampton is a fighter, but he builds an image of strength to help convince others to join the fight for education, healthcare and justice for those who need and deserve it. This is an inspired, revolutionary role and the best performance I've seen from Kaluuya since Get Out.

 

The structure of this film is set to be slow and, at times, downright sluggish. Judas And The Black Messiah contains a number of very important messages throughout but there isn't going to be much shock factor for anyone here. O'Neal's eventual betrayal of Hampton is an event fixed from the opening scene and so the slow, gradual examination of the two characters across two hours towards that singular event is a very drawn out process. For a long portion of the film Hampton is in prison, so we lose the most interesting role for a lot of the runtime. This hurts the second act because we're left with a lot of the supporting cast who haven't had much of a strong presence up until this point anyway, and don't really serve to strengthen the plot much at all. A large problem with biopics, particularly those centred around civil rights movements, is that they follow a formula of stretching out the first and second act so you get a complete breakdown of your protagonist(s). Then when you reach the final act they pour everything they have into one big stakes 'big scene' that the whole film has been centred around; which for this film is the police storming the Black Panther chapter resulting in Hampton's demise. I think it's hard to make a biopic not confined to similar elements these days but a film loses its power when it struggles to find a unique way to present itself. The cinematography throughout the feature has a poor approach to switching from being in motion to remaining static, there are also several scenes which are framed poorly or in quite simply blocky ways.

Dominique Fishback, who played Deborah Johnson, has little to no chemistry with Kaluuya and the pair feel poorly paired together; Fishback also doesn't have the same presence as some of the other Black Panther members in the film so the strength of this role is lost from that.

A slow burn biopic that never really manages to tread new ground but projects several messages well worth listening to. I would give Judas And The Black Messiah a 6/10.