Furious 7

When I think back to the first time I watched 2001's The Fast and The Furious -- probably about 13 years ago -- I remember liking it but not loving it. I can safely say I never thought that six movies later the franchise would be stronger than ever, and that I also would be disgustingly excited for each new entry. I've been counting down the months, weeks and days until the latest franchise entry. Maybe you've heard of it, a little movie released in theaters this past weekend, Furious 7.

Having put their mission in England and Spain behind them in putting away Owen Shaw, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew of street racers and drivers have moved on. Well, that's the plan at least. Having moved back to his old stomping grounds in Los Angeles, Dom, friend and partner and crime, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), and his sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster) barely survive an explosion from a bomb sent their way by Shaw's older, more dangerous brother, Deckard (Jason Statham). Worse than that? Their friend, Han (Sung Kang), has already been killed by Deckard who has vowed to dispatch anyone involved in the attack on his brother. As if the younger Shaw hadn't been good enough, now Dom, Brian and the crew are going up against the very best. Their best hope of getting Shaw before Shaw gets them? Teaming up with a government agent who knows the perfect way to bring that confrontation into reality.

Let's start with the uncomfortable. Star Paul Walker tragically passed away in November 2013 as filming was in high gear for this action-packed sequel. His death left the production in a troubled state. Should they continue on or abandon the project? How would the Brian character be treated in terms of a send-off? In stepped Walker's brothers Caleb and Cody who helped stand in for their brother in scenes that hadn't been filmed yet. Some brotherly look-a-likes, some quick CGI work, yeah, it stands out at times the scenes Walker wasn't there, but it's never distracting. Is it a difficult movie to watch at times knowing it will be Walker's last? Hell yes, but it is a fitting send-off for an incredibly likable actor and movie star.

The movie itself, well, it continues on without missing a beat. In steps director James Wan, replacing Justin Lin who had directed the last 'Fast' entries starting with 'Tokyo Drift.' I was a little wary, but Wan follows the formula that's made these movies so successful and amps it up quite a bit. The biggest compliment I can give here is that this is the type of fun, ridiculously over the top entertainment that movies SHOULD be. These movies are F-U-N from beginning to end. 'Furious' is the longest such entry at 137 minutes, but it never even remotely feels long. The pacing and story actually fly by. It's far from the most pointed story and drifts along with crazy action sequences filling in the blanks, but you go along for the ride. Pun intended by the way. This is a popcorn movie at its absolute freaking best.

Yes, the action is ridiculous and will be discussed later. I have thought and continue to think that the heart of these movies is the characters. Seven movies in, you're familiar with them. You like them and you're rooting for them. That starts with Vin Diesel as Dominic Toretto, the team's leader, a philosophizing, growling street racer who holds family and loyalty above all else. Mess with his family and brace to incur his wrath. The most important relationship is between Dom and Walker's Brian, a brotherly relationship that has gotten better and deeper with each passing movie. These aren't the youngsters of 2001's original film. They're a little older, a little wiser, but they're still two of the best, most skilled drivers around. Their dynamic throughout is the real heart of the movie, two friends off-screen who allow that friendship to carry over onto the screen.

But wait, there's more! Basically the whole team is back. Unfortunately Dwayne Johnson isn't around much for his part as muscle-bound, one-liner spewing Agent Hobbs. He's there at the beginning and end but not the middle. When he's there, it's prime stuff. He just brings an energy to the character no matter how long he's around. Along with Brewster's Mia, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, and Ludacris are all back. Rodriguez's Letty is slowly getting her memory back and gets some surprisingly effective scenes with Dom about their past. Tyrese as fast-talking jokester Roman Pearce and Ludacris as tech and hacker extraordinaire Tej provide some comic relief, a one-two punch who consistently get laughs from their bickering back and forths. Kang and Gal Gadot make quick appearances in footage from the previous movies and in a cool touch uniting the seemingly disjointed timeline of the franchise, Lucas Black reprises his role from Tokyo Drift as young driver Sean Boswell. Just a fun cast who are familiar with their characters and continue to bring them to life.

What would a successful franchise be without some fresh blood? Expanding on his surprise appearance at the end of 'F+F 6,' Statham has some fun as Deckard Shaw, a brooding, menacing villain who isn't given much to do other than pop up and wreak havoc at the least opportune time. I wish he was given more to do, but it's Statham in villain mode. That's rarely a bad thing. Other new faces include Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey, a world-class hacker, Djimon Hounsou as an international terrorist and Tony Jaa as his brutal enforcer, and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey as a bodyguard who tangles with Rodriguez's Letty. My favorite new part? Kurt Russell having a blast as Mr. Nobody, an incredibly capable, dangerous government agent who teams up with Dom and Co. to bring Shaw to justice. Russell is smiling almost every scene he's in, and it looks like he's genuinely having some chaotic fun.

Most movies would be hard-pressed to improve on the action of its two predecessors, Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6. '7' manages to do just that. The action is flat out, over the top, ludicrously nuts, never possibly exist in this reality type of action. Car chases in abundance, Statham taking on Hobbs early and then Diesel in the finale, Rodriguez and Rousey tearing each other up (in some classy gowns at that), it is all NUTS. It works though because the story and characters commit. It never plays out like a spoof. So yes, there's cars dropping out of a plane and parachuting to take down an armored convoy. Yes, the attack is nuts. Yes, Dom and Brian crash from one skyscraper to another....and another in Abu Dabi. The finale itself is probably about 30 minutes long and just a smorgasbord of excessive action on the streets of Los Angeles. Car chases, fist fights (with wrenches), helicopters and missile-loaded drones....and very few cops in sight. Go along with it and have some fun.

I read heading into this sequel that Wan and Co. filmed a poignant tribute to Paul Walker for the finale. Yeah, about that...it's a perfect, moving ending. And no, those aren't tears in my eyes. I'm allergic to something, anything, whatever. Don't Judge Me!!! The final scene and a quick montage of Walker's involvement in the series is beyond a perfect send-off to the very popular movie star and actor. If this is the end of the series, so be it. This was a more than worthy finale. If it isn't -- supposedly there's at least 2 more sequels coming -- I'll welcome them with open arms. This is that rare series that has gotten better in the second half of its run. Judging by the box office money on opening weekend, I'm not the only one to feel that way. It made $400 million this weekend internationally. 400 MILLION!!!! That perfect popcorn movie and a fitting finale for Paul Walker's Brian O'Connor character.

Furious 7 (2014): ****/****

Guardians of the Galaxy

The summer of 2014 hasn’t exactly been a stellar one for big, huge, gigantic, popcorn-guzzling blockbuster flicks. Yeah, I liked 22 Jump Street, Edge of Tomorrow, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but for the most part, there hasn’t been a Batman, a Superman, an Avengers, a HUGE summer movie. What’s been the flick that made the most money? One that deserves its distinction as the summer’s highest-grossing flick, 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

It’s 1988 and young Peter Quill runs from a hospital room where his mom just died. As he sits in an open field, a spaceship flies over him, a huge light shining on him. Some 20 years later and now all grown up, Peter (Chris Pratt) has become an outlaw, dubbing himself Star Lord, with a growing reputation (so he thinks) in a far-off universe made up of countless planets and species. He’s managed to steal a seemingly normal orb for a buyer, but he’s stumbled into something bigger than he knows. The orb is incredibly powerful and whoever possesses it could control the universe. With some unwilling allies, including Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an experienced assassin, Drax (Dave Bautista), an enormous warrior, Rocket (Bradley Cooper), a genetically-mutated, talking raccoon who’s become a bounty hunter, and Groot (Vin Diesel), a humanoid tree capable of regenerating), Peter must prevent the orb from falling into the wrong hands…if this crew can pull it together.

If there’s a such thing as a “risky” flick in the Marvel Universe, this one was it. No huge stars, no Iron Man or Captain America or Thor or Hulk, and a story in a far-off universe where many to most viewers have no history…yeah, I guess that is a little risky. Now all that said, $500 million at the international box office seems to indicate that movie-going audiences don’t really give a crap. If it looks good, we’ll give it a shot. Director James Gunn turns in a gem, a movie that shrugs off all those concerns to tell a story in a far-off universe with all sorts of weird characters and species that’s a heck of a lot of fun. Dramatic, funny, entertaining, well-written, action-packed, unique and transporting viewers to a really cool universe. An easy one to recommend.

This is a movie that knows where it comes from in terms of the science fiction genre. It has touches of everything from Star Wars and Star Trek and The Avengers. On another level, it eats up a chance to add a new layer to the men-on-a-mission concept with films like The Guns of Navarone and The Dirty Dozen. Touches, yes, but this is its own movie. It seeks out its own identity. This is a popcorn movie, a true blockbuster that is well-acted, well-told, but mostly? ‘Guardians’ just wants to have some fun. It is stylistically aware of itself without being overbearing. The soundtrack with a lot of 1970s/1980s pop could be aggressively over the top, but the script finds a way to blend it seamlessly into the story. A big, colorful movie that embraces all the good – and very little – of the blockbuster concept. Yeah, the story can be confusing at times with so many characters and planets and situations and history, but it finds a groove pretty quickly.

What’s the best thing going here? The aforementioned men-on-a-mission angle similar to The Avengers and countless other movies. The concept is simple. You put a disparate group of individuals together, some specialists, mostly outcasts in one way or another, and give them some impossible mission to achieve. Here, it works effortlessly, a tribute to the talented cast. Pratt is a huge rising star, the roguish Peter Quill who desperately wants to be an infamous outlaw who’s name precedes him. Saldana is sexy and smooth, Cooper is at his scene-stealing best as the fiery, feisty Rocket (yes, Bradley Cooper provides his voice to play a raccoon), Bautista – an MMA fighter/WWE wrestler – an underplayed laugh machine, and Diesel having some fun as the one-liner repeating Groot. Yes, Vin Diesel plays a tree who has one repeated line, albeit with some different inflections.

More than the action, more than the other-worldly exploration, more than all that flashy stuff, I found the script to be the best thing going here. Working with Nicole Perlman and based off a series of graphic novels, Gunn brings these people to life. That's the men-on-a-mission angle; five disparate, different individuals forced to put their differences aside to get the job done. So many scenes are memorable, most of them worthwhile because of a sight gag among the group or a quick, witty one-liner. They may not always get along, but our Guardians are gonna keep at it. My favorite scene comes late, a staple of the specialist idea. Faced with impossible odds, they have to decide if they should go on, knowing full well many may not make it back. The build-up is hysterical as they talk it out (some would say criticize each other), and the pay-off is sublime, Cooper's Rocket absolutely killing a quick monologue. It is those moments that stick with me days after seeing the movie.

Also look for Glenn Close and John C. Reilly as high-ranking officials and staff on Xandar, the universe's capital. If there's a relative weakness, it's the villains, including power-seeking Ronan (Lee Pace) and his fiery daughter, Nebula (Karen Gillan). Michael Rooker has a lot of fun as Yondu, leader of the Ravagers who kinda sorta likes Peter but also knows he can't fully trust him. Last seen in Thor 2, Benicio Del Toro makes a quick appearance as The Collector while Djimon Hounsou is wasted as a tough guard who is on Peter's trail. 

No point overanalyzing this one. Risky though it may have seemed, it is a gem, ranking up there with The Avengers as one of my favorite flicks from the Marvel Universe. Yeah, the story can be tough to follow early on. Yeah, the villains could use some pumping up, but these complaints are almost wasted. This is a FUNNY movie. I laughed here more than I did in intended comedies. For goodness sake, Bradley Cooper lends his voice to play a wisecracking, weapons slinging raccoon. Vin Diesel plays a tree. A TREE. 'Guardians' is everything that's right about summer blockbusters. Can't recommend this one enough. The easiest of recommendations.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): *** 1/2 /****

Gladiator (2000)

The age of the historical epic has long since past, the 1950s and 1960s full of three-hour movies with a cast of thousands, scale to spare and a window into a historical time long since past. It's hard to beat these movies in terms of pure entertainment quality, a time when Hollywood -- a pre CGI Hollywood -- was willing to drop a lot of money for that quality. Over 40 years later though, there was and still is a demand for movies like that, and when done right, they rank up there with the best of the past, especially 2000's Gladiator.

Having won a brutal victory for Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) in Germania, Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe) is betrayed and left for dead for when Marcus' son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), forcibly takes the throne away from his aging father. Maximus races home to find his wife and son tortured, raped and murdered, but in the aftermath he is scooped up by a traveling caravan and as a slave is sold to Proximo (Oliver Reed), the owner of a gladiator school in Zucchabar. At first wanting nothing to do with this life, Maximus realizes that with each win in the gladiator ring, he takes one step closer to meeting Commodus again, and for the general-turned-slave-turned gladiator, all he wants is one more shots at meeting the Roman emperor who took his life away from him.

If the story has a little bit of a scatter-brained quality, I apologize. That's more on me trying to condense a 155-minute movie into a paragraph synopsis. Fans of 1960s epics will no doubt recognize some of the story; it borrows somewhat liberally from 1964's The Fall of the Roman Empire and does use some real-life historical basis for its story. Some historical inaccuracies aside, director Ridley Scott has an epic gem here. It has the feel and look of an epic, and sometimes that alone can be enough. Is the portrayal of ancient Rome spot-on in terms of accuracy? No, not especially, the screenplay taking some liberties there. But traveling from the gloomy battlefields of Germania to the far-off desert communities of the Roman provinces to the glory and majesty of Rome, Scott gets it right in spite of any historical inaccuracies.

A respected and at least somewhat well known actor who'd been working in Hollywood for years, Russell Crowe became a household name courtesy of this movie and his starring role. Crowe won the Best Actor Oscar for his part as Maximus, the betrayed Roman general who must avenge his family's murder at all costs. It's appropriate that Crowe was chosen for the part because he has the star-power quality of a Charlton Heston or John Wayne. As an actor, he belongs in big, expansive epics where that star power can shine through. A story of an obsessed man looking for revenge can be tricky, but Crowe makes Maximus likable which sounds easy but is essential to the movie's success. He is an ultra-capable commander, a brutally effective and skilled warrior, and a stout and ready leader of men. Great lead performance.

Without the huge A-list supporting cast, Gladiator is probably a little better for it. The cast -- big names or not -- does not disappoint, the depth of the cast making up for any lack of star power. Phoenix is uncomfortably evil as Commodus, the power-hungry but ultimately insane Roman emperor. He sneers and glares as he scoops up power, wanting nothing more than an incestuous love from sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen in a very strong supporting part). My favorite character is Reed's Proximo, a former gladiator granted his freedom and now an owner of a gladiator school. A cynic looking for the biggest payday, Proximo sees that potential in Maximus -- dubbed the Spaniard in the gladiatorial ring -- but also starts to see more than that, sees there's good and bad, right and wrong, more than just money. Reed unfortunately died before production wrapped, but it is a scene-stealing performance. The same goes for Harris as Marcus, an aging, dying emperor looking to right wrongs he's done and save Rome from itself.

Beyond those key supporting roles are several more, a little more in the background but just as important. This was my first introduction to Djimon Hounsou who plays Juba, an African slave turned gladiator. He bonds with Maximus, both men having been violently separated from their families. Ralf Moeller is also very good as Haken, a bear of a man and a Germanic gladiator who sides with Maximus and Juba. Derek Jacobi plays Gracchus, a strong-willed member of the Senate who hates what Commodus has done to Rome, with David Schofield and John Shrapnel as other Senators of varying loyalty. Tomas Arana plays Quintus, Maximus' former second in command, with Tommy Flanagan playing Cicero, Maximus' aide in camp. David Hemmings also has a brief but memorable part as Cassius, the Colosseum's announcer.

With the epic story moving all over the Roman Empire, one thing rises above all others as I rewatched Gladiator recently, and that's the scale and blood-splattered quality of the action sequences.  Oh, and there's plenty of them. In creating these sequences, Scott uses computer-generated images, but he never overdoes it. The opening battle in muddy Germania is a bloody, chaotic mess, the action then moving onto the equally bloody but beautifully photographed gladiatorial fights. The fights in the provinces are efficient and bloody, the scale more impressive once Maximus, Proximo and Co. reach Rome and the Colosseum. All of the action is aided by composer Hans Zimmer's score, everything you hope and want an epic musical score to be. Listen to a sample of a battle sequence music HERE. Action galore and on a gigantic scale, you should not be disappointed in that department.

The only thing I did come away somewhat disappointed on my recent viewing was the talky quality of the movie as Commodus takes power in Rome. Yes, they're necessary scenes to establish characters and motivation, but dialogue scenes of Rome, republic, the mob, and the Senate become a little tedious. Scott seems to know it too, never waiting too long to unleash another action sequence in our direction. That said, the last 45 minutes are nearly perfect, the pieces all falling into place for one final showdown. Epically dark and cynical as betrayals, backstabbing and murder rule the day, the last half-hour plus does not disappoint, helping make up for some of the slower portions building up to it.  An epic and a great one at that. They're getting rarer these days so enjoy them as much as you can.

Gladiator <---trailer (2000): ****/****

Push

Just recently I reviewed this summer's semi-blockbuster, Cowboys and Aliens, a genre-bending action movie with an alien invasion taking place in the wild west.  Science fiction has always translated well to action movies, and we're not just talking aliens and far-off galaxies and cute, little Ewoks.  There's been a trend of late where science fiction goes back to its roots, uniqueness and originality in regular settings.  Go back to the 1980s with Blade Runner and more recently with movies like Inception and on a lesser level (and somewhat disappointing level), 2009's Push.

The beauty of these created sci-fi worlds is that none of it has to make sense.  In writing a story like this, you're given a blank slate to create a world as you see fit.  Want people to be able to bend the world quite literally in half?  Well, have fun. That's what Push tries to do. Late in WWII, Nazi scientists tried to harness the power of physics, turning them into unstoppable soldiers.  Unfortunately it never worked, but the science was always there so governments around the world created their own people to do that, dubbed 'Division.' Now there are unique individuals with powers/gifts just trying to survive. There are watchers, people who can see into the future, movers, individuals who can literally make things move, and pushers, those who can manipulate the mind of others to do something on command. Pretty cool ideas, huh?

Ten years after his father was killed at the hands of a Division attack, Nick Gant (Chris Evans) is basically wasting his life away in a dingy apartment in Hong Kong. Nick is a mover -- able to move objects with his mind -- who has let his skills deteriorate over the years. One day he is approached by a 13-year old girl, Cassie (Dakota Fanning), who claims she needs his help. Cassie is a watcher and can see into the future, seeing a future event here that could save thousands of lives and with a rather lucrative $6 million pay-off.  Somewhat suspicious of everything, Nick goes along with it. What he doesn't know is that Cassie's future has them both dying in the effort. A Division agent, Carver (Djimon Hounsou), is gunning for them as he tries to capture Kira (Camilla Belle), a physic more powerful than anyone he's ever worked with. All four individuals are on a violent collision course. 

Having sat through this and genuinely trying to keep an open mind throughout, my first reaction is that this movie had so much potential....and did very little with it.  Comparing it to 2010's Inception isn't fair because they're completely different movies, but the same basic, unique and smart science fiction principle is there.  With Inception, director Christopher Nolan created this ultra-unique, mind-bending and ultimately bizarre but entertaining universe where we can explore our dreams.  It didn't always make perfect sense, but you went along for the ride and the necessary pieces fell into place.  I felt like that never happened here as director Paul McGuigan assumes that Fanning's monologue over the opening credits will explain everything. It certainly lays everything out for you, but in a very general sense.

The movie is this exploration into a different world where these people with powers and crazy mind skills are in a desperate war to survive.  Beyond that, I never felt like there was a good enough explanation for the craziness.  More could have been done to show this world.  Instead, I felt like I was racing to keep up with the watchers, the movers, the pushers, the sniffers, the bleeders and blah blah blah.  Take a little time, and develop things out as necessary.  The Hong Kong setting is a great choice but even that gets hamstrung in the process.  Too much slow-motion movement and an emo-rock soundtrack just seems out of place.  And of course -- because what would a movie be without it? -- there is a lost love story, two individuals finding each other in all this craziness.  I certainly didn't see that coming around the corner.

It's a funny thing when a movie has this potential to do something new and innovative that audiences haven't seen before.  Evans' Nick can move things with his mind. Hounsou's Carver and Belle's Erika as pushers can put a thought into your mind against your will.  Put that together and you've got guns floating through the air, and nameless henchmen moving on command with no regard for their lives.  Sounds like some pretty cool action sequences, doesn't it?  You'd be right, but McGuigan to his credit doesn't over-do those sequences.  For the action, think a blend between Inception and the hallway fight and the Matrix series at its best.  If anything, I would have done more with the action which is original and fun to watch and most importantly, easily watchable.  It isn't edited so heavily that everything becomes a blur.  If that means anything to you, seeing the movie. 

Three of the four main leads are pretty good, starting with Evans as Nick, a character that is never really developed beyond 'orphan adjusting to loss of father, crazy mind skills available.' Evans is an underrated actor, and he makes the best of it. His scenes with Fanning are interesting, the two having a solid chemistry on-screen, and the teen actress again shows what kind of talent she's working with. Hounsou is an underwritten badass, a villain who should have been used more.  And Belle?  Well, she sure is pretty!  But that's about it though. She doesn't bring much personality to the part, looking confused most of the time. Her character's struggles require that, but come on! Show some signs of life!

I wanted to like this movie more than I did but never really got into it.  I can understand the love and/or hate for the movie, but I'm coming down right in the middle.  It's clear producers thought this would be a success because the ending leaves the door open for sequels or even a series, but I don't see that happening.

Push <---trailer (2009): **/****

The Island

When I reviewed Transformers 2 last summer, I wasn’t too shy about letting director Michael Bay have it with both barrels.  It is never a good sign when you become a punch line for your profession.  Oh, a movie with stupid amounts of action, in your face style, and all at the expense of those old stand-bys like story, character and any sort of plot development...that must be a Michael Bay movie!  As was the case with Transformers, the movie wasn’t trying to be anything but a stupid action movie so it’s easier to judge that because it is what is, a bad movie.  But what about when Bay ruins a perfectly good movie with his abrasive filmmaking style?  So goes 2005’s The Island.

One genre that has definitely benefited from the advances in computer generated imagery is science fiction.  Previous sci-fi movies had to use the very limited capabilities at their disposal or find some way to create what they needed to shoot.  The end result may have been groundbreaking at the time but now ends up looking very dated. Advances in CGI – while expensive – made directors’ jobs that much easier. The first hour of The Island is an example of what good CGI can do before Bay gets his over-the-top hands on that story and goes to town.

In a futuristic society following an Armageddon-like event known only as ‘the contamination,’ humans live in a totalitarian society where their day-to-day decisions are made for them by an unknown and unseen power.  The humans are given jobs and live in posh apartments where everything is provided for them.  In charge is a Dr. Merrick (Sean Bean) who monitors these surviving humans through their actions and emotions.  All the humans have some free will and an ability to question their existence, but it a naïve questioning that is reminiscent of a child’s mind.  Everyone lives from day to day with the hopes of winning the Lottery where the winners get to go to the Island, an experience of living even greater than the lives they knew before.

Generally, these humans are content to wait for their chance and hopefully win the Lottery and get their long awaited trip to the Island.  But one human keeps bringing up questions as to what is going on.  His name is Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), and he is confused about everything that surrounds him with his existence.  He begins to investigate the strange goings-on and when he figures out what’s happening escapes with a fellow human, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson).  Merrick needs these two humans back and brings in an ex-Special Forces soldier, (Djimon Hounsou), to track them down and bring them back.

Stop reading if you don’t want to know what’s actually going on at the Island.  SPOILERS from here on in SPOILERS  This futuristic world isn’t so futuristic, it’s only a decade or so into the 2020s or so.  These humans are clones purchased by rich individuals to help prolong their lives.  In case of an organ transplant or horrific accident to their sponsor, these clones are told they’ve been chosen to go to the Island when really they’re just cut up and hacked to pieces for the necessary parts.  This isn’t much of a spoiler like I’m ruining the end of the movie.  This is all revealed about 60 minutes into the story. It’s a unique twist though and really keeps the first hour moving as Lincoln pieces things together.

I absolutely loved the first hour of the movie because it is a prime example of how good sci-fi can be when things are handled right. It’s a picture of ‘what if?’ that asks what our world could become.  Those first 60 minutes are stylish and a sight to behold at this futuristic, gigantic apartment building, a nice, little microcosm of what society can be.  It is a different lifestyle entirely where anything and everything is controlled in everyday life.  Like many sci-fi/dystopian stories, some troublemaker has to start asking questions. 

This first hour is effective thanks to the casting with MacGregor and Johansson as the two humans.  Lincoln questions more than Jordan does because he just isn’t satisfied with life as he knows it.  Jordan is more content to live each day and have fun, only to change her mind when Lincoln starts bringing up all his questions.  In a sci-fi action movie, the casting as a whole is very impressive.  Bean’s Dr. Merrick is perfectly creepy who’s doing something morally wrong, but he believes he’s helping the world (and making a pretty penny in the process).  Bean is at his best when playing the villainous parts like here.  Character actor extraordinaire Steve Buscemi is perfectly cast as McCord, a janitor who may know more than he’s letting on and is a good friend of Lincoln.  Michael Clarke Duncan is wasted in a small part that clues Lincoln as to what’s happening.  Hounsou is an incredible presence on-screen, but his character is given so little to do and with so little background, he’s hardly more than a cardboard cutout.

All these characters – interesting in their own rights – are introduced through the first hour, but over the next 76 minutes any more development is left by the wayside.  Bay’s action tendencies kick in, and we get an extended chase full of action and explosions and CGI.  Does it look great? You bet it does, but like any Bay movie, it could have been toned down.  It wouldn’t be an issue, but the first hour is so good that it raises expectations for the second half which it just can’t live up to.  It’s all great to watch, but it comes at the expense of these cool characters and highly interesting story.

Comparing the two halves of the movie, the first half is clearly better than the second.  As a whole though, the movie is still pretty decent and kept me entertained, but I wasn’t blown away in the end.  The finale is a bit disappointing.  It’s easier though to look at The Island as two halves, a science fiction side and a heavy-duty action side.  Know what you’re getting when watching this Michael Bay extravaganza, and you should be safe.

The Island <----trailer (2005): ** ½ /****

Blood Diamond

Out of conflict comes the good and the bad.  There are those who try and do something with the idea of accomplishing something good, and then there are others who try to profit from the suffering all around them.  Then somewhere in between are the unwilling and unlucky caught in the middle just fighting to survive.  Based in Sierra Leone in 1999, 2006's Blood Diamond has a character pertaining to each description.

This is an action movie with a message -- an undervalued and under appreciated sub genre in action movies.  Basing a story in war torn Sierra Leone is not the basis for a feel-good, up story, and director Edward Zwick tries to show his story without any unnecessary upbeat feelings.  A repeated line is 'TIA...this is Africa.'  Here's the situation, deal with it.  As government troops battle rebel forces, both sides seek to control the diamond fields where prisoners search for blood diamonds that will be used to fund the fight by buying arms and ammunitions.  Amidst the chaos is the story of three people, a man looking for riches, another searching for his family, and a journalist trying to do something right.

With previous movies like Glory, The Last Samurai, and Defiance, Zwick has proven adept at handling big, sweeping pictures.  Add Blood Diamond to the list because this is a big movie, especially in terms of scale.  The movie was shot in Africa -- benefiting greatly from it -- and gives you a real sense of what surviving amidst a civil war must have been like.  It is a chaotic trip through war-ravaged Sierra Leone with death around every corner.  But for all the brutality and violence, there is a beauty to the movie as Archer and Vandy trek across the expanses of the countryside with the beauty of the nature shining through.  Credit there goes to cinematographer Eduardo Serra and composer James Newton Howard for blending the visual and audio so seamlessly.

It's late in the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999 and poor fisherman and father Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) has been torn away from his family by rebel forces and forced to work in the diamond mines.  Vandy finds an enormous diamond which he manages to hide as government troops overwhelm the mine, but he's thrown in jail.  There a Rhodesian smuggler and arms dealer, Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), hears of his find and arranges Vandy's release. Danny himself was thrown into jail for smuggling diamonds and now owes his boss (Arnold Vosloo) a hefty sum.  Vandy suspiciously agrees to lead Archer to the diamond if he will help him find his family.  With help from a do-good journalist (Jennifer Connelly), Archer agrees and they set off into the chaotic, brutal countryside, the smuggler dreaming of the riches that await him, the fisherman yearning to see his family again.

Since his star-making part in Titanic, DiCaprio has shown an ability to take on some pretty meaty roles and not just playing the romantic lead.  He was nominated for best lead actor here and it's a nomination he really deserved.  His Archer is a bit of a wild card in that it is almost impossible to read him.  Sure, he says he's trying to help Solomon, but he has also shown that he looks out for himself and his own well-being above all else.  This is a 3-D, flesh and blood character that DiCaprio brings to life.  He is a deeply flawed individual with a past that still haunts him.  And on a much lighter note, he gets to do another interesting accent, pulling off a South African accent nicely.  This isn't an easy character to read or root for, but Danny Archer is certainly interesting to watch.

Like DiCaprio, Hounsou was also nominated -- for best supporting actor -- for his part as Solomon Vandy.  I was first introduced to Hounsou with his supporting part in Gladiator and have liked him ever since.  He is able to combine a quiet dignity with emotions that might explode at any minute.  This man is going to do anything he can to ensure the safety of his family.  The scene where he discovers his son has been taken by rebel forces is difficult to watch because we're seeing a man come apart at the seams as the anger and pure hatred coarse through his veins.  It is a great performance and one that matches DiCaprio's powerhouse role.  Connelly's character is nothing new -- a journalist exhausted at the ways of the world who gets a sick thrill from what she's doing -- but she pulls it off well.  Her Maddy could have felt like an add-on to the story, but she ends up playing an important role in the cross country trek.

Like any movie, certain scenes stick with you longer than others.  Looking to examples like Glory (the assault on Fort Wagner) and Last Samurai (the final battle), it's a safe statement to say that Zwick puts together epic action scenes as well as any director around.  They're interesting to watch, but they also resonate emotionally because there's an attachment to the characters and their situation.  Two sequences come to mind here.  One, Archer and Solomon race through city streets as rebel forces invade, and two, an air strike is called in on a rebel camp as Archer and Solomon look for his son and the blood diamond.  Both action set pieces have an enormous scale that is a pleasure to watch, all building to a final chase as they head for an airfield and a plane that will take them to safety.

My complaint here is that Blood Diamond is a long movie at 143 minutes.  It's never dull, and looking back I can't think of scenes I would cut to shorten it.  But it feels really long, like I was watching for much longer than 2.5 hours.  It's hard to put a figure on it because the pacing is all right, and the characters certainly take you for a ride.  Maybe it's just that the story takes a long time to get where it wants to be.  None of this is enough to deter me from recommending it, but it is something that bothered me just the same.  A very good movie all around with great performances and a sweeping story.

Blood Diamond <----trailer (2006): ***/****