Riddick Review: There Have Been Worse

 

Director: David Twohy

 

UK Release Date: 4th September 2013

 

Running Time: 119 minutes

 

Starring: Vin Diesel, Dave Batista, Katee Sackhoff, Karl Urban 

Riddick is the third film based in the Chronicles of Riddick film series. Vin diesel takes his place as Riddick in the titular role. He is joined on screen by  Dave Batista, Katee Sackhoff and Karl Urban who are three of the better known actors that feature in the film. There is also a small role for singer Keri Hilson.

The film takes place on an unknown planet after Riddick is left there alone and is fighting for survival every day. On the horizon he notices a big storm which to him is a sign to leave the planet. He sends out a distress signal and two ships come down but not to save him. They are there to take him out as he is a wanted fugitive. It's then a case of Riddick vs the two teams and whether he can get off the planet before the peculiar storm hits. It reminded us of a reversed horror film. In a horror film the characters the audience usually root for are the ones who are being attacked/hunted/haunted. In this case we are obviously in support of Riddick who is doing the chasing and this is something fresh and different to view. 

 

We found the film quite enjoyable and not necessarily one where you need to have watched the previous two to understand. You are provided with a light recap of the story in the opening scenes. Even though it was a film that we quite liked it did for us have some setbacks that we were not that impressed with. 

We found a few of the fighting scenes to be pointless with odd moves and body parts being chopped off left right and centre. We understand the need for the fight scenes but in ways they were over the top. Having said that Riddick's use of knives as his weapon of choice was entertaining to watch. It made the film quite enjoyable when you knew he was going to fight someone - it was something to keep looking forward to.

 

"When the chains come off, you go in the first five seconds." - Riddick

 

We felt that the graphics and set design were poor. The whole film felt strange and the lighting was peculiar. Obviously it was made that way for a purpose but for us it didn't work and made the actual watching of the film slightly frustrating. The film graphics were very unbelievable. Obviously, the film involves creatures from other planets but they looked quite poorly designed. This was probably the biggest issue we had with the film.

There were some more comical parts of the film that we enjoyed. Some of the script was amusing but this was also put along side very cringe-worth scenes, especially at the very end so look out for that.

Even with these small gripes we came away from this film having enjoyed it, whether that's because we didn't have high hopes before hand, we don't know. But something worked in our eyes and this film would not be a bad watch if you are looking for something different or a film to have on in the background. 

M+F Rating: 6/10
 

Reviewed by M+F Reviews.  

The Wolverine Review: Mutant's Should Stick Together

 

 

Director: James Mangold

 

UK Release Date: 25th July 2013

 

Running Time: 126 minutes

 

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Tao Okamoto

 

First of all, it is important to note for this film to make any real sense it would be worth watching the X-Men films (yes, we do recommend all of them - come on, we do love films!). However if you are not keen on watching all of them, you should at least view X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) as this film picks up where it left off. 

 

Hugh Jackman returns as our favourite angry motorbike rider, Logan in this action packed movie.  In case you need another introduction for who Jackman plays, here is one of our favourite quotes of the film:

 

"What kind of monster are you...?

The Wolverine!!" 



That's right Logan is The Wolverine and faces a nemesis in the form of Viper, a skin shredding, venom spitting, snake like female mutant.  But that's not all - he is also up against a very large adamantium (for those who are not X-men fans, adamantium is the metal that Wolverine's claws and skeleton are made out of) built robot, manned by none other than the character he saves at the start of the film.  In true X-men and Wolverine style the film features lots of action, and in this case it happens to take the form of martial arts fighting.  This is down to where the majority of the story takes place - in Japan. 

 

If you are a Jackman fan then you will certainly want to watch this film.  The actor is pumped up for the majority of the film and this is a testament to how hard he would have had to work to get in to shape for this film. What is disappointing is that the rest of the cast and storyline fail to live up to the standards we should expect from a Marvel X-men related film.  Having said that, the film did rate better in a critical sense compared to its predecessor X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).  For a film of this billing it was disappointing not to see any other large named actors on the screen. This is not to take away from the rest of the cast - it just felt like the film lacked the usual punch compared to other X-Men films. 

 

 

 

The storyline was somewhat disappointing for us at M+F Reviews but we do think it could have been a hell of a lot worse.  If it was not for Jackman or the typical comic one-liners that often creep into films of similar genre (or other Marvel films) this film would have been a huge let down.  It was quite easy to predict what was going to happen throughout with no real effort and you could quite easily have watched this film without paying too much attention to detail.

 

We did have very high hopes for The Wolverine and maybe that's why we feel it was not as good because we expected too much - something that any film fanatic would have experienced sometime or another.  The film was not all bad though and had good action scenes and a few graphical scenes that we liked and you should look out for:

• Wolverine cutting into his own chest with his claws.
• Viper shredding her skin and hair.
• Wolverine being brought down by countless (no exaggeration) arrows.

We really enjoyed these scenes and felt they gave the film a bit more kick - which it did generally lack with The Wolverine being the only big name mutant on the screen.  It would have been great to see The Wolverine along side other well known mutants and exploring there relationships - something that could have been done while still diving into the troubled life and mind of the Wolverine himself. We do understand this is a Wolverine spin off and not a full X-Men film but one or two extra mutants would not have gone a miss.

 

The Wolverine is a film that you should watch as part of the X-Men film series but it is not one of the better movies.  However, it can still be enjoyed especially if you like martial arts and lots of action.  Jackman shows his raw strength as an actor (and his physical fitness) by holding this movie together. With news of a third film in the X-Men: Wolverine franchise it will certainly be interesting to see what direction they take it in and whether they add any other big name mutants to the cast (our recommendation). Do watch The Wolverine if you have not already and make up your own mind up it is still an enjoyable and easy film to watch.

 

M+F Rating: 5/10 

 

 

 

Reviewed by M+F Reviews.

Machine Gun Preacher Review: Truth or Critical Response?

 

Director: Marc Foster

 

UK Release Date: 2nd November 2011

 

Running Time: 129 minutes

 

Starring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon

 

Machine Gun Preacher is a film based on the real life of Sam Childers.  Gerard Butler stars as Childers and the films title is a true reflection on what the film is about.  In short, Childers was a biker who recently released from prison, is hooked on drugs and alcohol. However he turns his life around after finding Christianity with his wife and goes on to save the lives of children in South Sudan against the Lord's Resistance Army.

Butler plays the role in a convincing manner having that 'biker-ish' look and was able to stand out in the film as the lead.  The other characters all pop in and out throughout with no one in particular standing out impressively. What is portrayed very well in this film is the emotions between characters and between wanting to something good while not having the money or resources to do so. Butler does a great job and you can really feel the emotions he is having when torn between helping the children in South Sudan and leaving his family behind which causes his relationships with his wife and daughter to suffer.

Critically the film was not a success and at the box office it flopped. Here at M+F Reviews we believe that the audience can take a different meaning away from the film rather than just whether we enjoy watching it or not.  Obviously most of us watch films or go to the cinema to have a good time but with this film the true story of Sam Childers is a difficult one to like and there are a few reasons as to why.

1. Sam Childers was a drug addict and alcoholic and although he found Christianity it can be difficult for the audience to associate with a character linked to taboo subjects.
2. The topic centres around the problems in South Sudan where the Lord's Resistance Army were attacking and killing innocent civilians.  Like Hotel Rwanda (2004), this topic/subject is difficult to enjoy watching. 

Due to these two factors the content is overlooked and other aspects are examined under increasing pressure leading to bad reviews critically.  However, the film tackles real issues and troubles and should be applauded for this and its efforts to bring it to a larger audience.  It is obviously an ongoing problem in our world from the Holocaust, to genocides in Rwanda, Sarajevo, South Sudan and in current times, Syria.  Problems portrayed in this film are still ongoing and more needs to be done to get the word out for support and film is a great medium for this. 

This however takes us into another dimension - truth in film.  Can truth be portrayed in film or does the fact that huge budgets and pressure to receive good reviews critically override and alter the truth?  This film focusses on the positive - Childers turns his life around to help save children who are suffering - however reports have surfaced about Childers story.  Questions have been asked as to whether his story is true and reports have surfaced on how well looked after the children are that have been saved by Childers.  The fact that the truth is somewhat being questioned makes it even more difficult.  However, director Marc Foster has interpreted the story for the big screen and while some parts of the story may not be true - the film does convey a message and this consists of truths. 

Although Machine Gun Preacher suffered badly at the hands of the critics it is definitely a film people need to watch.  It addresses world issues that cannot be ignored and the fact that it can be shown through film is great as it means these issues can reach a wider audience.

 

M+F Rating: 7/10

 

 

Reviewed by M+F Reviews.