Disclaimer: I've got a backlog of things I want review/blog about, but real life got in the way and prevented that from happening. Hopefully things will be a bit more settled now and I can do some catching up. I'll start with something more current to get the ball rolling
After months of ice and snow (and a non existent spring), summer has arrived and with that comes heat waves, thunderstorms, ice cream, and summer blockbusters. This month, two of the year's most anticipated movies; Godzilla and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, open in theatres to fans worldwide. Both once again bringing beloved characters (and in Godzilla's case monsters) to the big screen. But the real question is, are they worth your money? While I'll be going into a bit more detail in each of the film's review; to sum it up beforehand, both are a good way to kill a couple hours, but aren't must see films by any means.
The Amazing Spiderman 2
When I saw the first Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, I not only loved the performances and chemistry between the characters, I was excited about the potential that the spiderman movies now had. But as they revealed more and more details about the latest spiderman flick, that excitement began to turn to apprehension as the small liberties that Sony and Marc Webb had taken with the last film turn into a narrative that I didn't think I was going to like.
I finally saw the movie and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but the same amazing performances by Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, and Sally Field couldn't carry the movie with it's poor pacing, plot, and questionable future. Sure OSCORP has always been a sinister corporation, but to make them responsible for EVERY villain in the Spiderman universe is just sloppy writing and doesn't make as excited for the third movie. Maybe third time's a charm, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Verdict: 5.5/10
Godzilla
Based on the positive reception that Pacific Rim got last year, This year's Godzilla seems to further set the trend of bringing back the "Kaiju" movies of yore. But in a way, all the great teases that we had of the famous giant lizard prior to its release built up a little too much hype. The titular monster has an important role to play in the movie, and yet he seems to be just sort of there... like the elephant in the room, if that elephant was scaled, breaths fire and fights other monsters.
The action sequences are wonderfully shot, building the epic scale required for this kind of movie. However the performances leave much to be desired. They aren't awful, just not inspiring (which on a side note doesn't fill me with much confidence for Avengers 2, as both Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are playing big parts in it, but that's a subject for a different post). In fact my favourite characters are the scientists who just stand there saying "that's impossible" and "could it be?" (trailing off forcing more suspense).
Unlike Spider-Man though, I'm eager to see if there is a future for the King of Monsters.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Based on the positive reception that Pacific Rim got last year, This year's Godzilla seems to further set the trend of bringing back the "Kaiju" movies of yore. But in a way, all the great teases that we had of the famous giant lizard prior to its release built up a little too much hype. The titular monster has an important role to play in the movie, and yet he seems to be just sort of there... like the elephant in the room, if that elephant was scaled, breaths fire and fights other monsters.
The action sequences are wonderfully shot, building the epic scale required for this kind of movie. However the performances leave much to be desired. They aren't awful, just not inspiring (which on a side note doesn't fill me with much confidence for Avengers 2, as both Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen are playing big parts in it, but that's a subject for a different post). In fact my favourite characters are the scientists who just stand there saying "that's impossible" and "could it be?" (trailing off forcing more suspense).
Unlike Spider-Man though, I'm eager to see if there is a future for the King of Monsters.
Verdict: 7.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment