Movie Review: Independence Day: Resurgence

Independence Day. It is this country’s greatest holiday and a classic film. What film is more suitable to watch on Independence Day? It was yet another trampoline for Will Smith’s career, a film that cemented the name Bill Pullman and a blockbuster in which our country became unified during one of its most desperate times. Inspiring, explosive and dark yet hopeful, Independence Day is one of the best action films ever made.

This is why Independence Day: Resurgence should have caused an uproar. I will never understand the hatred for this Ghostbusters remake. Is Ghostbusters a classic? Yes. Should it have been remade? I’d have to say no because its originality alone defies the term “franchise”. Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t able to churn out the same delicacy despite following the same recipe. I’m unsure why this new crew thinks they can do what the original ensemble couldn’t but I digress. We’re talking about a film that is far worse than Ghostbusters 3.0. We’re talking about Independence Day: Resurgence.

Resurgence is a fun one, let me tell ya. An aged Goldblum, a pretty face Hemsworth and an elderly Pullman.

I will give 20th Century Fox some credit. They made this film look enticing.

For two minutes.

In the trailer. (It’s been one of the best trailers of the year)

It looked like it was supposed to look: a big visual snare.

No one expected Resurgence to be better, at least no one sensible. Classics can’t be remade. That’s what makes them classic. They are truly one-of-a-kind. While we may see films steal components, no one will ever be able to put together another Independence Day. There will never be another one, which should make us cherish the ’96 jewel that much more.

The best a remake/sequel, or in this case, film’s version of a defibrillator, can do is shock some life into a dormant fan base. There will always be a fan base for Independence Day. One of if not the only way a film can try to best its superior is by using the skills it has been born with. Those skills, in 2016, are special effects. Believe it or not, film hasn’t changed that much in the last 20 years. The writing hasn’t magically gotten better. Actors haven’t become more talented. The only element that’s really changed is a studio’s ability to birth visual splendor. It might not be pretty but we can make it look pretty sometimes.

Independence Day: Resurgence is not pretty. It is an action film that leans far too heavily on its special effects team. Few computer squads can bail out a roster of filmmakers. Visuals can astound and mask glaring faults but no amount of makeup can cover the mistakes that protrude as far as the ones exhibited in ID2.

Characters with no heart are especially troubling and overly calm, leaving little reason to invest in the experience or be alarmed a rather bland looking spacecraft just wiped half of the planet like duct tape on chest hair. You would think this scene in particular would give us cause for concern but there are no shots except for one of people fleeing from the chaos. We have shots of apparent empty streets being obliterated by a monstrous vessel and of course we can’t forget the landmarks, a fourth wall breaker that serves a very slight smirk but is overall consumed by my lack of amusement with everything else here.

There’s also Emmerich’s thirst for obliviousness. For instance, this spacecraft, which keep in mind is bigger than the Atlantic is wide, stops its razing of the Earth’s surface on the White House lawn. Such convenience, that a ship that rivals the size of a continent took it upon itself to stop feet short of the White House masonry! That is quite something! So considerate these aliens are.

The thing about convenience in film is you need to build something first before dabbing convenience all over like a preschooler finger painting. If you don’t, absurdity is more readily noticeable and audiences are far less likely to overlook it.

One of the biggest scenes in the film should be the boundless obliteration. Instead, it breeds indifference. It can’t even birth hate. It’s just there and nowhere close to interesting enough to gauge a passing glance. Liam Hemsworth again demonstrates he’s not worth top billing, Goldblum and Pullman pick up little more than cameo checks and the rest aren’t even worth mentioning.

It’s near impossible to root for characters who resemble mannequins, the action has a dog collar, strait jacket, life vest and seat belt on it’s so constricted and Emmerich’s direction has the control of a man on crutches trying to cross a pond of ice and the attentiveness of a cat with ADD. Subplots arise to include original characters who aren’t needed and we can’t forget about a romantic twist of course and a conclusion that is far too perfect.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.  

90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Avengers, The Babadook)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Olympus Has Fallen, The Cable Guy, The Cabin in the Woods, Tears of the Sun, Edge of Tomorrow)

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (Batman, Free State of Jones, The Running Man, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Creed)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Batman Forever, The Crow, Hardcore Henry, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Underworld, The Do-Over, X-Men: Apocalypse, D-Tox/Eye See You, Constantine)

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Underworld: Evolution, Batman & Robin, Bloodsport, War, The Ridiculous 6)

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (The Crow: City of Angels, Centurion, Planet of the Apes, Stonados, Redemption)

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (Avalanche Sharks, Catwoman, The Gunman, The Visit, The Fantastic Four)

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (The Coed and the Zombie Stoner, The Forbidden Dimensions, Cyborg, Outcast, Sabotage)

My score for Independence Day: Resurgence: 31.

Without fervor or thrill and action without punch, dialogue without zing and wistful explosions, Independence Day: Resurgence is a disgraceful piece that serves as a blight to Emmerich’s reputation and more importantly, a mark on Independence Day. It will always be great, that’ll never change but now we’ll all remember that one time someone thought its story needed continued and made failure look so effortless.

Movie Review: Equilibrium

You get this gem today and then the new series I’ve been talking about for weeks will finally be getting under way on Friday: Winners & Losers. Enjoy!

“To seek out and eradicate the true source of man’s inhumanity to man: his ability to feel.”

I would argue the true source of man’s inhumanity to man is insensitivity and the inability to feel. The above statement doesn’t make much sense to me. Alas, that is how Kurt Wimmer’s sci-fi unfolds.

Dystopian films are becoming their own genre these days, a genre I readily engage myself in at every opportunity because I, like most people, find myself obsessed with the future. What does it hold in store for me? What will go wrong or right for the world? Lots of trivial and not so meandering thoughts swirl through the endless recesses of the mind, searching for clues to questions that will remain unanswered.

And all of the above is why the genre never gets old for me. The same goes for post-apocalyptic material. Lots of pandering about civilization, societal norms and the necessity or lack thereof for law and order. What would happen if the world went haywire always seems to keep my attention, partly because it allows the viewer to explore the unknown. As much as I love dramas, original scripting is paramount to making original stories. Classic scripts seem to become as rare as items in the U.S. that read “Made in America” at times. Therefore, land unexplored, such as the futuristic action hook we see here, are much more profitable and entertaining.

Equilibrium doesn’t start out great, running with a shoddy premise at best that was a “just go with it” element and if you’ve been reading this blog fairly regularly then you know that I hate such elements. Movies should not require realism to go on a Sheetz run in order to be entertaining.

Laughable stunt choreography emulated lazy work behind the camera and further agitated me, which brings me to my next point.

Thank God for Christian Bale. The guy is cinema gold. Sure, he has a blunder here and there but Bale is one of Hollywood’s brightest stars right now, plain and simple. He’s got plenty of potential and I can’t wait to see what he churns out next.

Here, John Preston (Bale) has the spotlight and will retain it from curtain to curtain, leaving little room for anyone other than expositional characters, narrowing our focus to Preston’s inner turmoil. Preston lives in a society where signs of emotion are a deathly offense and anything that channels emotion, such as love, art or literature, must be destroyed. Medicine must be taken to suppress feelings and individuality is frowned upon. When Preston decides to not take the dosage and begins to feel, he’s unsure which path to choose.

Another Kurt Vonnegut spin-off. Yay!

Jokes aside, Equilibrium isn’t stealing from Vonnegut, although the argument could be made that Equilibrium really wanted to be The Matrix. The idea has a Swiss cheese complexion but still finds a way to be tasty on occasion. Note on occasion does not mean regularly.

Because as much as I wanted to like Equilibrium, there wasn’t enough substance to hold me over despite its modest run-time. Bale is great and the highlight of the film but a lack of secondary depth hurt the final product when a few stand-ins could have ignited the dormant coals in the oven.

The tools to start the fire were there, too. William Fichtner and Sean Bean were present for filming. Giving the guys roles where they did something significant would have been a good start. Instead, Bean plays dead, again and Fichtner’s given a role that could have been given to some guy off the streets it was so meaningless. Wasted talent in films is like benching your star players for the big game. If you benched Mike Trout for the World Series, you’d never have a job again. Even McDonald’s would be like, “Sorry dude, you’re too stupid for us.” Why directors continue to get away with giving fourth-string roles to capable actors is one of the most perturbing questions on my mind when it comes to cinema.

Something else that shouldn’t be a thing? These action takes. Impossible to be taken seriously and choreographed to be mocked by yoga instructors and physical therapists, Bale’s robotic ligament movements and odd postures make it look like he’s posing for a photo shoot. If anyone actually tried to fight like this, they’d get shot in the face and be left to rot. It was original, Wimmer, I’ll give you that but the answer is no. No, I’m not watching that with a shred of seriousness and no, it was not a good idea to try to put that on film. You made the great Bale look like a porch monkey. Nice job, idiot.

I laughed at the stupidity and got some entertainment out of it but it stilted the tempo and tone of a film clearly aiming at a dramatic payoff.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.  

90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Interstellar, Chappie, American Beauty, Gone Girl, Mulan)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (The Cable Guy, The Cabin in the Woods, Tears of the Sun, Edge of Tomorrow, The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, Snowpiercer, The Family, When the Game Stands Tall, Black Hawk Down)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Black Sheep, Twisted, Parker, House at the End of the Street, The Raven)

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Run All Night, Rage, Zoolander, The Expendables 3, Homefront)

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Erased, I, Frankenstein, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Billy Madison)

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (Centurion, Planet of the Apes, Stonados, Redemption, Pride and Prejudice)

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (The Colony, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, The Grey, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Thor: The Dark World)

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Sabotage, Gallowwalkers, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Safe, Watchmen)

My score for Equilibrium: 76.

Critics bashed the film for stealing material and the argument could definitely be made but Wimmer tries to flavor Equilibrium to separate himself from his predecessors. In some ways he succeeds but standing alone on stilts is a hard trick to pull off. Bale keeps the film standing long enough to create a fair impression but not one that will grasp to my memory strands for too long.

Movie Review: Black Hawk Down

I was scrolling through my blog yesterday and I realized something: I hadn’t written a review on a good film in a while. The last time I reviewed a film that scored in the 70’s or higher? The Red Dawn remake on August 13. Today is September 12. A month of cinematic incompetence? “No,” I said to myself. “I will not go a whole month without writing at least one movie review with a 70’s or higher score.”

To be truthful, I did re-watch volumes one and two of Kill Bill but I didn’t want to write a review on those just yet. I want to keep some of the classics around for later.

I have some films on the shelf that have yet to be opened that I’m anxious to open up and throw in but I felt like something else. Despite all the wrongs Netflix has committed against me (although I admit partial responsibility), I continue to go back to it. Among the top picks for me was Black Hawk Down.

I saw some of this on TV once but I never got to finish. Based off what I saw, I wanted to see the whole product.

There are a lot of faces I recognized in this film, such as Josh Hartnett and Ewen Bremner from Pearl Harbor and Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana and William Fichtner. Tom Sizemore from practically any war movie but especially Saving Private Ryan, nice to see you. A young Orlando Bloom and Tom Hardy were aboard for the ride I see and Jason Isaacs a.k.a. Lucius Malfoy. You can’t hide from me behind that Texas drawl!!! I WILL FIND HIM!!!

Alas, this film might have had a minor case of OBCLD. For those of you who didn’t read my Expendables 3 review, that means Over-Bloated Cast List Disease. Thankfully, these aren’t all big-name stars so this film isn’t neglected or blanketed by the opening credits and familiar faces. I’m just saying I noticed.

With that said, I was expecting some stuff with Black Hawk Down. I’m a heavy war movie addict. The brotherhood/camaraderie features, world dialogues and brutal realism get to me. They’re not always “fun”. Sometimes they make you hate people, despise the world and wonder why you’re still in it. Other times, it’s about showing not everything can be done the clean way. Somebody needs to get down in the trenches and dig out the mud. Should it happen? No, but it does and while we will never be able to attain the experiences of veterans, the least we can do, in my opinion, is seek out ways to empathize with them. Cinematic carnage gives us a chance.

Somalia’s a corrupt, anarchist state run by one general who gains followers by starving them out. That’s some dark stuff. I’m a history buff but I can’t say how precise director Ridley Scott’s visual novella is. Setting aside its historical truths or inaccuracies, Black Hawk Down is about leaving no one behind and putting others before yourself.

It’s admirable stuff that could have been done better. The OBCLD is partly to blame here but there are so many faces, so many parties involved that trying to remember where everyone is location-wise and personality-wise can become an arduous task. I don’t think I can call them subplots because they all interact with the main problem, which is thousands of Somalians with AK-47’s and happy trigger fingers. That rather large ripple in this film’s metaphorical pond is a stalwart try but the film’s time in the oven leaves the attempt well-done. The same can be said for the overall piece in my mind.

Aside from the empathy bid, there’s not a whole lot of character here despite the many at Scott’s disposal. At the end of the movie, Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), which is a play on names (every man), says that we all changed. The context is understood but I still found myself asking, “Did you though? Did you really?” Keep in mind I’m speaking of the character, not the conflict and those who actually served in it. There isn’t any time set aside for character drama. It’s a war zone, yet war films usually incorporate these reflective character sessions into the story. Saving Private Ryan had them. Braveheart had them. We Were Soldiers had them. The Patriot had them. Fury had them. Every memorable, exceptional war movie has them. Black Hawk Down does not.

Coming from the same guy that made Gladiator, I was surprised. Ridley Scott has made portraits fine, great and exceptional. Among his previous sculptures, I’d consider Black Hawk Down in the greats but with a stronger leading arm could have been exceptional.

The Academy graciously awarded Black Hawk Down two Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound but I found the action to be rather tame compared to some of the other bloodshed I’ve observed. I’m not saying it needed to be mind-bending brutality but I think this could have gotten heavier, darker and more representative of the burdens our veterans carry. War is no light matter. Black Hawk Down concurs with the previous statement but for an R-rated film, it edited itself far below the ceiling an R-rating incites. If you want to make a conflicted film all ages above 18 can enjoy, this is probably the way to do it without turning anyone off to the material. However, sometimes it is the things that spur debate that are the greatest, like Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech for example. If you let public opinion object your creativity, you’re doing yourself an injustice. People don’t know revolutionary until you put it in front of them.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.  

90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Jack Reacher, Godzilla)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Tears of the Sun, Edge of Tomorrow, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Young Guns, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too.(Red Dawn(2012), Maleficent, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Transporter 2, Battle: Los Angeles)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Rubber, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The Transporter, Speed)

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (The Expendable 3, Homefront, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Vantage Point, The Starving Games)

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Billy Madison, A Haunted House, 300: Rise of an Empire, Cowboys and Aliens)

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (Centurion, Planet of the Apes, Stonados, Redemption, Pride and Prejudice)

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (The Grey, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Thor: The Dark World, The Sum of All Fears)

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Gallowwalkers, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Safe, Watchmen, Clash of the Titans)

My score for Black Hawk Down: 77.

The story had a lot of potential but the normal cuts and jabs we expect from Scott don’t show up in Black Hawk Down. I’m not sure if it’s on Ken Nolan and the screenplay, book author Mark Bowden or on Ridley himself but this had more buzz and certainly more talent to be explored. I’m sure I’ll find my way back to this for another viewing but in no way does this even attempt to make the climb to war movie classics.