The Dark Knight Rises Movie Review

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Cast : Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy
Director : Christopher Nolan
Producer : Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas
Studio : Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating : 4/5




Once in every few years, a film’s expectation reaches fever pitch. Yet, only a handful ever have lived up to it. The last of the “Batman Trilogy”, to the delight of fans, does. That it does so, while continuing on the same themes it addressed before, is a feather hardly any film franchisee has claimed.

Seven years since Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) retired as Batman, a new villain Bane (Tom Hardy) threatens not only Gotham’s peace, but its very existence. When the entire city is taken hostage by Bane’s men and the police are locked up, Batman must return, and fight an impossible resistance with a handful others.

The least one expects from a very popular, self-professed end of a series film is a grand scale. Most commercial cinema merely increases the effects and physical action. While Nolan indeed delivers on these, he goes beyond.

A bank or even a building being held hostage is well-known in cinema. Did you ever imagine an entire city held hostage for months? Like in the second part of the series, Nolan then asks the question: Would normal citizens rise up to become heroes?

Yet, morally and metaphorically, ‘The Dark Knight’ was stronger. There he asked the same question, but to individual citizens and in the climax on the two boats, to an opposite group of people. There, Batman wins because people in the two boats beat their instinct for self survival by refusing to kill the others for their own sake. In that scene, everyone becomes a superhero. Everyone becomes Batman.

That edginess of script, that triumph of true courage, is missing in this part. It compensates by rising on other counts.

The Nolan brothers (Christopher and Jonathan) know how to intermix a grim story of power, corruption, control and heroism with a spectacular razzle-dazzle. In a very powerful screenplay, the brothers bring attention to the corruption, the power structures and the chaos of the affluent class.

And the brothers, in creating villains that are alter-egos of Batman, and in often giving them ideals as high as him but in the end showing these anarchist villains failing, perhaps makes the greatest joke, the greatest metaphor on the state of the world today.

Perhaps the hidden, dark message is that no matter how much one resists - be it Batman or his villains - a corrupt power structure and affluence will survive. The brothers perhaps want to say that resistance, eventually, proves futile. Perhaps they want to say the opposite, that good and bad, light and darkness and falling and rising take turns and that no matter what, one has to resist.

Nolan is a man in absolute control of his craft. You’ll be hard pressed to find a man with such ability to interplay sound and visuals to create a three-dimensional vision in your head.

Hans Zimmer assists him with superlative yet gentle and sombre background score, while as expected, the special effects division delivers the wares without going overboard.

Nolan carries forward the themes from the previous two films - fear, death, anger, corruption, heroism and chaos, and rounds them up into a perfect whole.

In the end though, the true hero that rises from this series is Christopher Nolan. In the wasteland of commercial Hollywood cinema, he is the best thing that has happened in a long time. May his clan increase everywhere.

Verdict - Dark, knightly and rises to expectations

 

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Brave Movie Review

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Director : Mark Andrews
Producer : Katherine Sarafian
Banner : Walt Disney Pictures
Rating : 4/5







Wisdom is a funny thing. When you could really make good use of it, especially during the strength of your youth, you have very little. Youth too is funny, because when you have the strength to change the world, you lack the wisdom.

Between the strength of youth and wisdom of age, lies a no-man’s land called generation gap, where people have fought since the beginning of human civilization.

“Brave” is a film situated in that place, trying to decimate fences on both sides of the warring parties in a fun, light-hearted and poignant way.

Merida (Kelly Macdonald), a young princess in a kingdom ruled by tradition, dislikes her mother who’s perennially trying to wean her away from her archery and horse riding into more ladylike pursuits. She evokes a spell to change her mother not realising that it will literally change her physical appearance.

Mother-daughter must come to resolve their differences if the queen has to convert back. Turns out that understanding the other’s perspective wasn’t so hard after all.

“Brave” is a very unselfconscious, fun, well-written and well-executed film that blends history, myth, humour and fantasy with an impeccable animation that delivers an entertaining punch.

It is a film for the whole family as you’ll find kids and adults on the two sides of the generation gap relating to it.

The heady detailing of animation makes you realise why Pixar is called the mother and father of modern animation.

A scene of Merida shooting an arrow is shot in slow motion: as the bowstring is released, the arrow bends with the intensity of the force pushing it forward, before it straightens mid-air and hits bull’s eye.

The meticulous working in this scene becomes an analogy for the detailing in the entire film as well as in most Pixar fare.

Yet, at the core of it, Pixar understands that what humans relate to are emotional stories. The brilliant animation work works only to complement a well thought out and written screenplay, which in the tradition of children’s art entertains kids as much as it enlightens them. And at the end, there’s a lesson for everyone to take home and ponder - young and old alike.

The lesson is simple. It is not that parents are always right and kids always wrong. There’s a middle ground where both generations can coexist and thrive.

“Brave” delivers a moral without letting the moral out. It teaches not just kids to listen to parents, but parents to be wise enough to listen to their kids and accommodate their strengths and enthusiasm into their wisdom. And it delivers this message with an emotional and humorous punch.

It talks of tradition and that it need not be followed without thought. It weaves magic without making the magic, the film or you feel out of place. And that is magical indeed.

You come out with the feeling that no war, be it literal, attitudinal or generational is inevitable but wisdom, understanding and peace can always be. Only a film brave enough to attempt so much, can do so.

Verdict : Fun, emotional adventure ride

 

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Rock of Ages Movie Review

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 Cast : Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, and Tom Cruise
Director : Adam Shankman
Producer : Carl Levin, Matt Weaver, Scott Prisand, Tobey Maguire, Jennifer Gibgot
Banner : Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating : 4/5





If you have been following the news lately, you’d have heard of Assistant Commissioner of Police Vasant Dhoble. The ‘dabangg’ cop is wreaking havoc on Mumbai’s already depleting night life by landing unannounced at parties armed with hockey stick, camera or an entire police force.

Dhoble has an enemy now - “Rock of Ages” - that takes off from where his vigilantism begins to deliver the funniest rock film since “This Is Spinal Tap”.

After his live music joint is threatened by moral police led by Patricia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Dennis (Alec Baldwin) must find ways to save it.

Hope comes in the form of Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), the popular rocker going solo, and his own waiter Drew (Diego Boneta) who is inspired by his singer girlfriend Sherrie (Julianne Hough) to have rock dreams of his own.

Things, however, will take a turn for the worse.

If one were to look at this as a simply Rock and Roll movie, one is bound to be disappointed. For one, the songs in the film are not at all rock and roll with generous dosage of pop, love ballads and a slight sprinkling of the blues.

However, look at the film as a farce, a satire on everything including rock and roll, and you’re on a hilarious ground hardly ever traversed so well after.

“This Is Spinal Tap” captured the imagination of the masses. In the true essence of a farcical comedy, this musical, based on a Broadway musical directed by Kristin Hanggi with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, mocks rock and roll and its icons and their self indulgence.

Thus Tom Cruise’s serious rocker act becomes a spoof on all rockers and their overindulgence in sex and alcohol and their hilarious sense of persecution when they were all along enjoying life.

The serious journalist from Rolling Stones magazine, who almost ends up having sex with an ageing rocker she seems to hate, is a spoof on all ’serious’ rock and roll journalists.

Its tacit message: Don’t burden music like rock and roll with too much of meaning. Enjoy it and forget it.

The film’s irreverence to the same things it seems to be valorising is its funniest gig.

Tom Cruise is a sheer delight. His slow, meanderingly paced act as the indulgent rocker, who cannot seem to stay in his senses, is simply stunning and different from anything he has done. Despite some good competition from others around, especially the perennially delightful Paul Giamatti, and the lovely Zeta Jones, Cruise cruises along brilliantly.

The film will be of particular interest to the generation that grew up listening to song of bands like Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison and Europe. The way some of their popular songs are used, misused and often mutilated, is simply delightful.

It is a film that ACP Vasant Dhoble must watch for it just might be the pill that will ease him up a bit.

Verdict : Funniest rock comedy since ‘Spinal Tap’

 

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Prometheus Movie Review

Prometheus Hollywood Movie Review, Prometheus Movie Review, Prometheus Review, Prometheus Movie Rating, Prometheus Movie verdict, Prometheus Movie story, Prometheus Movie climax, 

Cast : Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron
Director : Ridley Scott
Producer : Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David Giler, Walter Hill
Banner : 20th Century Fox
Rating : 3.5/5





Few of us get an opportunity to better something we may have done before. Fewer have the guts to take that opportunity. And rarer still are those who create that opportunity for themselves. With “Prometheus”, director Ridley Scott gives himself that opportunity, returning to familiar territory.

In the end of the 21st century, after discovering signs that lead to the origin of man in another planet, a private corporation sends the ship Prometheus to investigate. In an alien, hostile planet, they discover a place that is almost like a sanctuary with its own atmosphere.

However, in that place loom both the secrets to the origin of man and a horror that could lead to our end.

As you watch the film unfold, you get the creepy feeling that you have seen it before; the plot, the story, the space ship, the creatures. As the story progresses, so does the sense of deja vu. Till the very last scene, screams out the word that was looming in your head - ‘Alien’.

The reference to the alien universe is so endless, that it will take someone completely unfamiliar with it to not notice.

The script, despite being smart, is loose in certain ways. For example, when humans first encounter the new planet and discover tell-tale signs of intelligent life, there’s no real surprise on their countenance. It is as if like Scott, the audience have been here before too.

Or perhaps Scott was too busy diverting audience attention from the ‘Alien’ similarities of the film to pay attention to these small details in the script that would have made the film much more enjoyable.

Even for those unfamiliar to ‘Alien’, it is a predictable film. It plays with the known cliches of the genre, while trying to go beyond in its visual spectacle. The little philosophical tirade about the origins of humanity, is also a little uncalled for.

What redeems the film are its brilliant effects and the cast. Filmmaking technology has advanced so much in the last three decades since Scott made the first film, that it gives him a rare chance to better visual spectacle by a great margin.

Secondly, the cast is impeccable. Michael Fassbender as the cyborg does a perfect job. Though you miss Sigourney Weaver, in Noomi Rapace you have a perfect, fiery candidate.

Scott makes her survive more treacherous ordeals than he made Weaver go through. The attempt, even here, is to outdo the original.

Thus, “Prometheus” does not disappoint you. But it does not satisfy your attention completely either.

In trying to find the origin of man, Scott smartly finds the origin of aliens. Humans in the franchise have always been greedy to harness the alien as a weapon. Turns out someone already outdid us.

In that sense, the alien is like a metaphor for everything that is bad and greedy in us and our insane desire to play with fire to destroy those like us.

“Prometheus” is one of the smartest ways to reboot an old franchise. Not only do you keep the elements that made the first such a success, but you introduce new ones while keeping the audience in the dark about its connection to the old.

In that respect, this is a masterstroke by Ridley Scott.

Verdict : Smart reboot of a franchise 

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Snow White And the Huntsman Movie Review

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Cast : Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron
Director : Rupert Sanders
Producer : Joe Roth, Sam Mercer, Palak Patel
Banner : Universal Pictures
Rating : 3/5






Fairytales have a unique ability. Depending on one’s perspective, one can see them as either light or heavy, as funny or serious. So, while barely two months back you had “Mirror Mirror”, now you have “Snow White And the Huntsman” - both different and unique renderings of the Snow White fairytale.

While “Mirror Mirror” was a light, funny reading, this one’s mood is dark and mysterious.

After killing Snow White’s (Kristen Stewart) father, Ravenna (Charlize Theron) becomes queen and imprisons Snow White in the castle. She preys on young women to maintain her own beauty. When she is told by her faithful mirror that the only one who can permanently give her youth or take it away forever is the pure and innocent Snow White, she sends for her.

Snow White escapes into the dark woods and Ravenna sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to find her and bring her back. But on realising who she is, the Huntsman and a ragtag group of dwarfs join her in her quest to return her kingdom to its former glory.

“Snow White…” begins on shaky ground. The scene conceptualisation and execution seem lacklustre and uncertain in the beginning, but it picks up pace as it progresses.

The film tries very hard to be dark and gloomy. But despite a good try, it does not entirely reach its intention.

The shooting locations are fabulous. Some of the scenes use fantastic imaginations to thrill the viewers. The cinematography, production quality and costumes are simply stunning. However, the biggest let down is the direction, which fluctuates from excellent to average.

Chris Hemsworth is his usual groggy self in the film, while Kristen Stewart looks clueless throughout the film and her transformation, from a damsel in distress to one who leads an army, is not convincing. The dwarfs, who for a change are played by actual tall characters then digitally altered to look small, aren’t exciting either.

However, it is Charlize Theron as the evil queen Ravenna who is the best. She steals the show with her villainous, ruthless act.

Overall, there was much scope to better the film, but it remains unutilised. One cannot accuse it of not trying. It tries really hard. All you can accuse it of is not succeeding.

Verdict - Good try, but full potential untapped

 

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Men In Black 3 Movie Review

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Cast : Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement
Director : Barry Sonnenfeld
Producer : Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes
Banner : Columbia Pictures
Rating : 3.5/5




Science fiction and humour can be a potent mix. Imagine having almost an endless array of things to play gags with. In such a scenario, one is limited only by one’s imagination.

While the last outing of “Men in Black” wasn’t a patch on the original, this part manages to get the fun and humour of the series right back and tops it up with the right dosage of sentiment, sprinkled just at the right time.

Though it does not trek unchartered territories, choosing to stay in its now familiar universe, it works up a fun film.

Agent J (Will Smith) is always busy either trying to make his partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) smile or wondering the reason for his seriousness.

After Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from a prison, goes back in time, kills agent K and unleashes destruction that will end the world, J too has to travel back in time, team up with the young K (Josh Brolin) and try to save the world.

What he does not know is how this is as much about saving the world and K, as it is about him.

The strength of film, despite the obvious and a very linear plot, is that it manages to include the idea of a popular science fiction film and mesh it up into a convincing film.

Thus, it has a tug-of-war between our heroes, shows the earth at great risk, throws in some cool gadgets, a dangerous extra-terrestrial villain while managing to add an extra spice: a good dose of emotional engagement right at the climax of the film.

The characters are also memorable. Josh Brolin as a fun, younger version of Tommy Lee Jones does well. The villain is ugly and deadly and inspires fear in the viewers.

Yet, what takes the cake is the ending.

You have the actual climax of cool and intelligent action demonstrated by our man in black. But beyond this, the film relies on another climax, an emotional one that rounds up the story and missing explanations (for example, how did he remember the time before time was changed) and sets you off smiling from the theatre.

Will Smith does well to keep the humour going. He is as at ease with Tommy Lee Jones as he is with Josh Brolin. Together, the trio make it a worthwhile watch for lovers of both comedy and science fiction films making this outing a film not to be missed by fans of either.

Verdict : Funny with right emotional tinge

 

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The Avengers Movie Review

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Cast : Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Fuffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
Director : Joss Whedon
Producer : Kevin Feige
Banner : Walt Disney Pictures
Rating : 4/5




In a multi-hero film it is tough to do justice to each character. Imagine a multi-superhero film? Yet to the delight of movie lovers, second-time feature director Joss Whedon proves himself to be a superhero as he pulls the impossible with fun, humour and unbelievable panache in “The Avengers”.

SHIELD director Nick Fury (Jackson) manages to assemble six superheroes when Loki (Hiddleston) threatens to destroy the Earth. Sadly, strong personalities don’t make a good team and our superheroes fight with one another.

It is only when everything seems lost, that our superheroes realise that alone they might be lost, confused souls, but together they become something they never thought they could be - the invincible avengers.

The film is so engaging that despite some flaws, you choose to ignore these. It is witty, smart and funny, with enough comic-book humour and elements of delight for everyone from a five-year-old to an 85-year-old.

So, everything you can imagine in a film with multiple superheroes - great action, good costume, witty writing, good subplots and most of all, the superheroes fighting one another - is there in the film. It’s been designed for success and this design works like a charm.

Not one character has been given extra attention while giving enough time to establish the characters of the two who don’t have a separate film yet - Black Widow and Hawk Eye.

“The Avengers” thus become a surprising example of too much being put in one film, yet it working out in the end.

The long-winding, extended climax is an absolutely delight. The length is just perfect. Any shorter and it would have not done justice to the characterisations and any longer would have made it boring.

Yet, you do miss a few elements while a few others jar. A cameo by Natalie Portman (from “Thor”), like that of Gwyneth Paltrow is missed. “The Hulk”, who so far we learnt couldn’t control his anger, in the climax suddenly develops it becoming an adorable green monster who’s as strong as he is cute. A little on how he got there, would have been better.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the evil but vulnerable villain outdone by his megalomania, does the best job of “acting”.

“The Avengers” is a watershed film because it is a new concept. It is the culmination of the build-up of multiple films - two “Iron Man”, “Hulk’, “Thor” and “Captain America”. This culmination also marks the beginning of a new franchisee.

Thus, this multi-hero film itself becomes a metaphor and a tribute to the literally thousands upon thousands of people who worked in unison in the films mentioned above to lead to this very satisfying end which is also a beginning.

Each one of them showed, like the film’s main theme of brotherhood, what it is to work together for a common goal. Perhaps in it lies a message for real life, that our governments could do the same with the world. For even in real life, planet Earth is in desperate need of saving with no superheroes in sight.

Verdict : Ups the bar for superhero franchisee

 

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John Carter Movie Review

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Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe
Director: Andrew Stanton
Producer: Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, Susan Montford
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Rating: 3/5





In recent times, a new sub-genre where sci-fi and its opposite, the historical, is fused, has emerged a la “Thor” and “Aliens Vs. Cowboys”. And though Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “John Carter” has been in the making for over eight decades now, it comfortably fits into this modern sub-genre, warts and all.

A soldier from the American Civil War, John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is transported to the planet Mars where being able to jump great distances on Mars’ reduced gravity, makes him a kind of superhero. In a war that threatens to destroy the planet, he is asked to choose sides. He refuses only to realise that he still has a kind, loving heart and cannot just walk away.

“John Carter” is the creation of the same mind that gave us Tarzan. However, here Burroughs places the Tarzan-inspired character of Carter in Mars, fighting against and alongside alien beings. This strange, mesmerising story, if all had gone well, would have been the first full-length, animation feature from Disney back in 1931. However, fate willed otherwise.

And so the story passed through different people and studios to finally land in the hand of a very unlikely candidate, a Steve Jobs protege Andrew Stanton, who has written and directed such delectable films like “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E”.

But one look at “John Carter of Mars” (the original title) and we know why it did not go to other seemingly other worthy contenders - there is perhaps too much special effect for the comfort of a ‘normal’ director and delight of an animated one.

Grand special effects, great set design and delectable costumes are indeed its strengths. After all too much time, money and effort have gone in to make this an eye-popper. However, the altar where it falters is also the holy grail of most commercial cinema — the writing.

For the original idea and the skeleton for the film might have been­ Burroughs’, the final product, its wit and humour is very modern, and mostly cliched.

Again, looking at just the story, one can clearly see the influence of “Avatar” with the similar themes of an outsider adopting a lost cause. Yet it lacks the depths, the universal metaphor and association that make the James Cameron flick so magical.

Thus, though it sincerely tries, unlike its character, it fails to take off from the familiar earth to take the leap of faith in Mars.

Yet, for those wanting a safe, comfortable two-hour watch, this is as good as it gets.

Verdict: leaps, but fails to soar

 

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Safe House Movie Review

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Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Producer: Scott Stuber
Studio: Universal Pictures
Rating: 3.5/5




As the Wikileaks expose last year - that shamed governments the world over - shows, one man’s act of defiance - Private Bradley Manning - and another man’s desire to help him - Julian Assange - can indeed change the world. “Safe House” pays homage (without perhaps intending to) to the Manning-Assange episode by building a credible and fast paced thriller.

Like other films in the sub-genre, most notably “Training Day”, “Safe House” pits a rookie CIA agent with and against a highly experienced one. Here too Denzel Washington plays the wizened and toughened older man with a mission, while Ryan Reynolds plays one who has to both protect and fight him. The two together are pitted against adversaries greater than the rookie’s wildest imagination.

Washington, as has been his forte, plays his character with many shades of grey with aplomb. However, as more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are revealed, his character undergoes a transformation not only in the mind of the perennially on-edge young agent, but also the audience. The mystery, though expected, gets a grand sweep thanks to the corruption in espionage as exposed by the Wikileaks episode.

The film is backed by a credible performances from both Washington and Reynolds. The first plays the experienced, expert manipulator, while the latter is good as the man both scared and awed by his senior.

Another high-point of the movie is its action. Those bred on the “Transformers” type special effects-laden-action will be bored, but those who like the “Bourne” style of action, will be thrilled by its raw, gritty fight sequences, gun battle and car chases through Cape Town, South Africa.

Yet, there are many things which the film could have done better. Despite a very good pace throughout, it falters towards the end, slowing down to deliver its messages. That could have been edited. In a film, the best message is the one which is not delivered, yet felt by the audience.

Secondly, though the film takes material from various sources and mixes and them, it does not really do anything original with them despite making an attempt. Perhaps it was the inexperience of debutant director Daniel Espinosa that is to be blamed for this.

Yet, beyond all its flaws, what holds the film strongly together is the power-packed performance of its actors, especially Denzel Washington. Unlike many others before him, he seems to have gotten better after an Oscar, developing an uncanny ability of taking anything offered to him, and raising the bar with his compelling acting. “Safe House” is safe, because Washington is in it.

Verdict: A snappy, serious thriller 

-IANS

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LOL Movie Review

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Cast : Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, Ashley Greene and Douglas Booth
Director : Lisa Azuelos
Producer : Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
Studio : Lionsgate Films
Rating : 3.5/5






The battle between the generations has always made for enticing cinema. Yet nowhere in history has the generation gap between the young and the little older been more apparent than in our technologically advanced world where there are so many websites to ‘connect’ us all yet so less ‘human’ connection.

“LOL” navigates in the no man’s land between the two generations and though there’s really nothing new, its light, breezy manner and gentle humour that thankfully works to push the drama forward than trying to force you to laugh and works to make a pleasant and fulfilling film.

And with its various shades of love — between teenagers, people way past their romantic prime, mother and daughter etc, it becomes the perfect film to watch on Valentine’s Day.

As if dealing with her complicated love life with a cheating boyfriend, who she breaks up with wasn’t enough, under-18 Lola has to content with her divorcee mother having an affair with her father.

To ‘complicate’ things further, she finds herself falling for the best friend of her ex-boyfriend.

Lola navigates the minefield that is teenage life, through the complicated multiple lives she lives on social media and in school that result in sometimes tearful and at other, poignant moments.

It shows in very interesting manner how despite so much technology that is meant to ‘connect’ them, teenagers often find it difficult to connect with those around, be it their lovers, friends or parents.

“LOL”, a remake of a 2008 French film of the same name, navigates its material well.

Though there are many subplots, it does not lose way or get too gregariously close with any one of them. It resolves them with a lightness of writing and direction that makes it a very pleasing watch.

There is no attempt at making a melodrama and neither does it dwell on the seemingly frivolous complaints and heartbreaks of the kids in the film. This command perhaps comes because writer and director Lisa Azuelos’s last film was the original French.

If there were any mistake in the original, she obviously has had enough time to improve upon it.

Demi Moore plays a conflicted and overwhelmed single mom unsure when to be strict and when to be lenient with her daughter. She confidently sheds her ’sexy’ image in a role that will perhaps herald the second innings of her acting career.

Though the film is about love and generation-gap, it is something everyone would relate to in their own way. It could have been made anytime and would have worked. However, in our times of too much technology with sufficient technology infused in the film, it works even better.

It is a must watch for parents struggling to connect with their ‘connected’ kids and for young people who don’t know why their parent’s can’t understand them.

Verdict : Predictable but fun Valentine’s Day watch 

 - IANS

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Journey 2 The Mysterious Island Movie Review

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Cast : Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, The Rock, Anita Briem, Michael Caine, Luis Guzman, Kristin Davis, Michael Beasley
Director : Brad Peyton
Producer : Beau Flynn, Tripp Vinson, Charlotte Huggins
Studio : Warner Bros. Pictures
Rating : 2.5/5

The adventure begins when Sean (Josh Hutcherson) a rebellious teen and scientific explorer believes that he has picked up a coded message in a radio signal, which is sent to him by his grandfather, explorer Alexander (Michael Caine).

With the help of his new stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson) an ex-Navy man, Sean decodes the message which, according to him, is the co-ordinates for Verne’s Mysterious Island, which also happens to be Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels.

Restless to reach his destination, Sean is hell-bent to make his journey alone. Hank is fun, kind, supportive of his stepson’s enthusiasm for adventure. So, after an opportune obligatory tête-à-tête with Sean’s mom (Kristin Davis) about bonding with her son, Hank is off for the ride as well.

They land on Palau, nearest destination to the mysterious Island’s alleged co-ordinates. Unfortunately no one is willing to ferry them to their destination.

It’s only when they bump into a local opportunist tour-guide Gabato (Luiz Guzman) who is willing to take them across the formidable journey for a princely amount, do they embark upon it.

Gabato is accompanied by his pretty daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens), clearly the love interest for Sean.

The first hurdle in this, so far so good, quest is when the helicopter is hit by a hurricane. The aircraft crashes on the island, which turns out to be a lush tropical wonder, full of enormous insects, miniature elephants, giant lizards, Gold Mountain and a blazing volcano.

They soon find Alexander (Caine), who’s enjoying himself hugely dressed as a hunter and taking on the ‘Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park’ type role.

The film is witlessly enjoyable, mostly, thanks to the affable presence of Dwanye Johnson, who has a brilliant screen presence. Fortunately, he’s on screen for the bulk of the film. The parts without Dwanye lack energy.

However, the characters and the story are competent. Hutcherson, who was in “The Journey to the Centre of the Earth”, “The Polar Express”, “Zathura” and “Firehouse Dog”, among others, is turning into a shrewd, effective young actor. The rest of the cast is left with little more than stock reactions and exposition.

Visually, the prequel to this film broke ground as the first narrative feature to employ the fusion System, a sophisticated digital 3D camera rig developed by James Cameron and cinematographer Vince Pace, and subsequently used on “Avatar”.

Not surprisingly, the “Journey 2″ filmmakers returned to the Cameron Pace Group for state-of-the-art strategies and equipment to capture the depth and scope Peyton wanted to achieve in a range of real-world environments.

The far-fetched fantasy is loaded with perils that can be dismissed off as ridiculous - but is fun, and kids will love it.

Verdict : Fun, and kids will love it

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