Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

After the sensation that was the first How to Train Your Dragon in 2010 Dreamworks has returned with the highly anticipated sequel. Dreamworks continues their overall trend towards greatness with this film. While I don’t think it quite matches up to the original in all aspects it still hits incredibly close to the mark.

The Premise

It has been five years since we have last seen Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) , Toothless, and the village of Berk. We catch up with Hiccup and Toothless exploring the world the Vikings inhabit like they never were able to before. Mostly in an effort to avoid Hiccups father Stoick (Gerard Butler). At the same time in Berk we are getting to see just what has happened to the village under siege from the last film. The village has boomed since we last saw it. More magnificent and lavish than ever before, the addition to a giant windmill to the town and several fancy new houses adorn the islands face. We get to see the harmony that the people of Berk and they dragons they care for have created. Living, working, and playing together. All is not well though when Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrera) run into a band of dragon bounty hunters lead by a Viking named Erit (Kit Harington). These bandit Vikings are searching the islands looking for dragons to bring back to Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) a treacherous man who is creating an army of dragons and will not stop until all dragons are under his boot heel. Hiccup has to work to stop this menace in any way he can. Gaining new allies and learning some new tricks along the way.

The Good

There are just so many things about this film I absolutely love. The first thing that struck me was the lavishness of everything. The amount of detail, and love put into every object in this world is breathtaking. I didn’t think the world could get that much better compared to the first How to Train Your Dragon but I was amazingly wrong. The detail in Hiccups new helmet and Gobbers (Craig Ferguson) new assortment of hand replacements is stunning. The new dragons are a lot of fun and really flesh out the scale of the world with new shapes and designs we have never seen before. There are many moments when the dragons really steal the show, which is great! The animation and effects are top notch as well. I kept noticing a lot of great throw in gags by the animators. Little ways that they added to the shots or kept the characters alive and interesting as the scenes progressed. The effects too were just superb the fireball effects are still here from the last film but more surprisingly there are some ice effects that really blew me away each time they were implemented. I also need to take a moment and really express how amazingly happy I am about the decision to age these characters up five years. It tends to happen that studios do sequels so that they can save money and not recreate characters from scratch, it enables a cost savings will still leaving a lot of things open to be creative with. I understand the logic of it and I think that is why I am so surprised that Dreamworks went to such length as to redesign the characters to be more age appropriate. Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), were all aged up and for the most part look really great with their new designs. Lastly the villain of the film Drago Bludvist is incredibly interesting, in his creative execution. Everything from his look, to his mannerisms, to his way of speaking all creates this incredibly vivid villain for the story to revolve around. This villain is pure and simply, no conflicted emotions with this guy, each time we see him he is either plotting or doing something really terrible. That kind of characterization is generally seen as lazy in story terms but the character is just so dynamic I never cared while watching the film and put him as one of my favorite villains of recent years.

The Bad

After saying all that is there anything I didn’t like? Well of course. There are a few things that bothered me throughout the film. The main one being that Astrid seems to have been pushed off to the side story wise. She played such a huge and integral part of the last film that seeing her relegated to more of a supporting role away from Hiccup almost entirely was a bit of a let down. The scenes that Hiccup and Astrid are together are really wonderful and reminded me of the amazing fun we had on the first film, I just wanted there to be so much more of that. Speaking of Astrid I feel like her age update was clearly the weakest of them all. They really messed with her proportions. In the first film she was a really styleistic character. She had very cartoon proportions which worked perfectly in the style of the world they had created. In this film they updated her to be MUCH more realistic in terms of her proportions both physically and with her facial design. I feel like her facial design was the biggest let down. They reduced the size of her eyes a lot (or so it felt) which made her feel older sure, but it also made her feel like a different character. Through the whole film I felt as if I was watching a live action film where they replaced the actress who played Astrid. I already said the dragons were amazing in the film and they were. All the principle dragons created for the film were absolutely amazing. But a lot of the background dragons seemed to have incredibly pushed color pallets. Some of these dragons looked more like sports cars than they did dragons. We of course want brightly colored dragons in the film; it creates a sense of visual interested and depth. But when I can only stare at the bright purple dragon in the corner of the screen because it is so brightly saturated it brings me out of the film and away from the characters and story. I am not saying this was a huge problem but it was persistent and present through large chunks of the film. Lastly I will say that the absolute biggest problem I had with the film, isn’t a problem with the film at all. The very first trailer released for the film several months before the films release absolutely spoiled a gigantic story beat in the story. That is incredibly unfortunate, because while watching the film I saw an incredibly gripping and engaging sequence which would have been super impactful had I not already known what was about to transpire in the coming scenes because of the trailer. I feel like had I not seen that trailer I would have enjoyed the movie that much more. Lets be honest too, this film is the sequel to one of the most successful animated films ever. I feel like they didn’t really have to show much at all and the tickets would have pretty much sold themselves. Having them spoil a major plot point in the film was not only unnecessary but also really disappointing as a movie goer.

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a great time at the theater. The story moves along at a good clip and never once did I feel bogged down by any one scene. While the sense of adventure and discovery is a bit lost with this new film the new things we get to see and experience certainly fill that void. It feels more like an evolution as opposed to a continuation of a story line, which is interesting but feels organic and allowed the storytellers to really branch out and tell a really dynamic story with a lot of heavy, heartfelt, and thrilling moments. The new dragons are great to watch and be surprised by and the scale is larger than ever if you can believe that. I cant imagine anyone not going out and seeing this film, it’s a ton of fun and worth every penny at the box office. What are you still reading this for? Go to the theater!

Final score 5/5

Movie Review: Wreck it Ralph

Wreck it Ralph is the newest animated film from Disney. It also happens to be very well done. After years of mediocre films Disney finally turned the corner with Tangled in 2010 a very strong film that fell within the princess films genre from Disney. Wreck it Ralph takes a completely different path but is just as entertaining and heartfelt. I think that Disney is turning the corner in a big way. If they can keep making animated films of this quality then they have a very bright future ahead.


The Premise

The hardest part of describing Wreck it Ralph is describing the world. The characters in wreck it Ralph are video game characters. They exist inside their own worlds which are arcade cabinets. The characters can leave their arcade cabinets and visit game central station, a hub of all arcade cabinets in the video arcade. The story revolves around Ralph (John C. Reilly) a character from a game called Fix it Felix. Ralph is the villain of his game and is thrown in the mud at the end of every level as Felix the hero is given a medal. After not being invited to the 30th anniversary party of the fix it Felix game Ralph gets into an argument with some of his fellow game characters and says he is going to go out and get a hero medal just like Felix. Ralph leaves his game and goes to get his hero medal in another game. After finding a medal Ralph accidentally goes to another game where his medal is taken by Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) a glitched character from a game called Sugar Rush who uses the medal to buy her way into a race. Fix it Felix realizing that Ralph has left the game goes after him in an effort to bring him back to their game. The rest of the movie revolves around the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope and Felix trying to find Ralph and bring him home.

The Good

Wreck it Ralph has an amazing premise. This is a world that those in my generation are intimately familiar with but it is shown to us in a way we never expected. That makes us feel right at home as we get to know the characters, the locations, the worlds and rules of the new games that we get to see throughout the film. The Characters themselves are all amazingly fun and interesting. Ralph is a wonderful character that we feel for through the film; he is the emotional anchor that holds all the other characters together. He is the perfect looking glass to see this world from. Fix it Felix (Jack McBrayer), Vanellope von Schweetz, Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch), and King Candy (Alan Tudyk) are all great characters that really flesh out the world and offer up a lot of fun and heartfelt moments throughout the film. The animation in the film is amazing as well; some absolutely amazing work was done throughout the film. The design work was great, jumping from game to game opened up a lot of different design possibilities to explore and all of them were fantastic. Going from world to world was simply a visual treat.

The Bad

The film is great and I really love it. If there was one thing that I could say was weak it would be the fact that the story and themes that the film uses have been done so many times that it made it a little tiring to see again. How many times can the idea of being yourself and finding happiness in your own world and situation be explored before it gets tiring? Putting fresh jokes, interesting, characters, and a lot of visual flare on top helps, but the fact remains that the core structure of the film has been done so many times that there is very little excitement left to be had. Basically the core of the story feels fairly tired. I don’t want to give the impression that the story itself is bad, its not. It is just that there are very few surprises to be had through the film and as an audience you will probably know where its headed.

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

I think that this film is a heck of a lot of fun. Great characters, an interesting world, and some really great jokes makes this a must see for almost everybody. The couple of complaints I had about the story won’t bother most people and are more ambient complaints of films that have come out over the last decade or so. I think that Disney has really developed a wonderful film here and I want to say congratulations to everyone that had a hand in creating this film. It’s a wonderful time at the movies and I don’t think anyone will regret seeing this one in theaters. GO SEE IT!

Final score 5/5

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Let me start by saying that it would be very easy to let this review dip into a comparison between this film and the previous Spider-Man films.  With that in mind I am going to avoid that all together.  Director Marc Webb is doing this film after his amazing success with 500 days of summer.  I have to applaud Mr. Webb for a lot of his stylistic choices.  I feel that his choices pretty accurately reflect the comic incarnation of the character of Spider-Man which is a real treat to see.  I always applaud film makers who will unabashedly take the source material of a comic character and directly translate it to the screen.  The thing about Spider-Man is that his origin is already so good that a direct translation is not a bad idea at all. 

The Premise

I think most people are aware of the origin story of Spider-Man but I will cover it anyway.  The fact is the origin is not too different here.  Really all the key elements are in place.  Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is a nerdy social outcast at school who lives with his Aunt May (Sally Fields) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) after Peter’s mother and father die when peter is still a young boy.  Peter is shown to be a kind hearted person who tries to stand up for people who aren’t able or don’t stand up for themselves.  These actions lead Peter to meet Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) a girl that Peter has a bit of a crush on.  Peter finds a briefcase that belonged to his father in his aunt and uncle’s basement it leads him to Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) A genetic scientist working on a serum to splice together human and animal DNA.  Peter goes to Oscorp in an effort to get some answers from Dr. Connors about his parents and what happened to them.  While at Oscorp gets bitten by a genetically altered spider which gives peter amazing spider like abilities.  Peter uses his new abilities for his own gain which leads to friction at school and at home.  This culminates in a blow up where peter goes out one night and Uncle Ben follows him.  While Uncle Ben is out looking for Peter he is shot and killed by a thief.  Peter grief stricken dons a mask to hunt down the thief and bring him to justice.  This leads to the creation of the Spider-Man costume and web shooters.  Meanwhile Dr. Connors injects himself with his serum and transforms into the Lizard.  Peter now Spider-man after having decided to protect people has to stop the Lizard from hurting the people of New York. 

The Good

I have to say that I am so happy that Spider-Man is finally moving the way Spider-Man always moved in the comics.  The amazing flexibility and agility of Spider-Man is on full display in this film which really makes every action sequence a great treat.  The thing that made this possible was the choice to make almost every action oriented scene be computer generated.  This really freed up the cinematography to do some really awesome shots and some impressive animation and effects.  I have to say that the acting was also really great through the film.  The dynamic between Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield is so strong and compelling it really is the driving force of the film in a lot of ways.

The Bad

The Amazing Spider-Man has quite a few faults.  Most of the problems are not story based but more based around polish and presentation.  I found a lot of the music to feel a bit forced and more than a couple times I was drawn out of the experience of the film just to take mental note of the score.  By the same token there are a few times where incredibly cliche or grating sound effects are used to cue up actions.  These cinematic tropes are so over used and well defined that they almost felt like a joke.  Now most movies have something like this in the presentation but the effect is cumulative.  One or two of these types of things is passable because they aren’t really bad but just kind of annoying and distracting from the cinematic experience.  The CG effects are pretty solid through the film in most parts.  However there were a few scene were it could have been much better.  The lizard just never seemed to look right, he always just felt so fake.  I feel that part of it was the design of the character but also the composting of the character into the frame just wasn’t done as well.  The other element that is quite frustrating is the uneven delivery of ideas.  Certain things are pounded into our brains repeatedly with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.  While other more interesting elements are brushed over to quickly and would have really fleshed out the transition of the characters and their thought process. 

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

Ultimately the film suffers from surprising problems.  It seems that these big budget films generally suffer from a rushed story or too many plot holes.  However this film just has a series of odd choices and a number of polish things that would have helped the film score higher with me.  The story of Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker is expertly handled with such care that it’s a shame the actual Spider-Man business couldn’t have been given the same amount of love and attention.  I have to say I struggled to rate this one.  I was initially thinking I would give it a 4 but after thinking it over there are just too many elements that are distracting and kind of nerf the enjoyment of the film for me.  The film is still fun, it is still entertaining and I do recommend seeing it.

Final score 3/5   

Movie Review: Prometheus

Ridley Scott returns to the science fiction genre after 30 years with his new film Prometheus. When the production of this film was announced to the public a couple of years ago it was sold as a prequel to Scotts sci-fi horror epic Alien (1979). While that may have been the original intention it seems that over the development process things changed. I won’t say that the drift away from the Alien was a completely bad thing though. Ultimately the film audiences have received is only loosely tied into the alien story but still has the world and the tone that so clearly personified the first Alien film.

The Premise

After years of research and archeological discoveries Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) have found a series of hieroglyphics created by several ancient and remote tribes of people all over the earth. These hieroglyphics all show the same pictogram of people worshiping a pattern of dots in the sky. This pattern aligns perfectly to a star system so far away from earth that these primitive people could never have found this solar system by themselves. After looking at the solar system it was shown that one of the planets had a moon with the capability to support life. The ship Prometheus has been sent to this planet in order to see what if anything is on this alien planet.

The Bad

The film overall has a sense that we have been here before. Themes are explored that have been done in other films more thoroughly and there seems to have been some confusion on the part of the film maker as to which direction to take the film. There are two or three different ideas that the film tries to juggle at any one time. Now while it works to a certain level it just seems unnecessary. I can clearly think of one entire story thread that could have been removed without affecting the rest of the film. That is valuable time which could have been spent developing these other ideas to be stronger, more interesting, and ultimately more worthwhile to the story. The film has Ridley Scotts clear brand of horror and suspense science fiction filmmaking. While that is a benefit most of the time a lot of the elements of the film particularly the pacing, and the build up to large events is very similar to Alien. That being said if you have seen Alien then the surprises probably won’t have as much punch and the dynamic between the characters is going to be clear and evident from the start. More than a couple times there were moments where a large revelation happened but by that point it wasn’t a surprise simply because it felt like the clear choice that Ridley Scott would make.

The Good

The main thing I think that is a benefit to this film is simply the world that Ridley Scott created; it was a clear benefit to the overall feeling of the film. You never get the sense that anything is off or shouldn’t be working. Everything seems real and tangible and we never feel that the film makers quickly threw something into the background to fill space. This fleshed out world really allows us as an audience to let ourselves get pulled into the story of the Prometheus crew and their mission. Speaking of the crew, some of the performances were absolutely wonderful. Michal Fassbender as the robot David was a pitch perfect performance all the way through the film. Everything from the way he moved to the way he spoke worked perfectly for the character. Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw was also a great performance. She is the anchor that drives the film forward and we get a very clear arc and development of her character through the film. It doesn’t hurt that she manages to get a couple of the most interesting and terrifying scenes in the film. Overall the performances in the film are excellent with some great supporting roles done by Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers and Idris Elba as the ships captain Janek. Besides the performances the special effects were absolutely on point through the whole film. From the landscapes of the alien planet to the ship as it flies through space, it all looks great. The musical score was also a solid addition to the film with a perfect blend of wonder and an impending sense of doom. So much is said with just the score that I could not write this review without mentioning it.

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

Overall the film is entertaining. It has a nice blend of suspense and action with some great performances and awesome visuals. While the film has a certain amount of been here done that feeling if you are a fan of Alien or of Ridley Scott you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect to be blown away either. Ultimately I feel like this film is very solid, I am only disappointed that it could not have been streamlined and polished to become the sci-fi classic that is clearly visible in the film but never materializes. If you like sci-fi horror and action then go see Prometheus it’s a good time at the movies and another solid summer blockbuster under our belt for 2012.

Final score 4/5

Movie Review: The Avengers

The long awaited team up film of some of marvels greatest super heroes is finally here.  After years of building and preparation and hype the film has amazingly delivered on its promise of an epic team up of some of our favorite heroes.  Blending so many characters and weaving a story dependent upon so many other films and elements is no small task.  But director Joss Whedon managed to juggle all of these elements and make a fun engaging experience.

The Premise

The Avengers revolves around the organization S.H.I.E.L.D. which is a quasi government operation with cutting edge technologies and a directive of ensuring earths protection from unusual threats.  The threat in this film is Loki (Tom Hiddleston) Thors brother who has teamed up with a race of hostile aliens in an attempt to take over the world.  This extra ordinary threat forces Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to initiate the long gestating avengers initiative.  Bringing together Iron Man ( Robert Downey Jr.) Thor (Chris Hemsworth) Captain America (Chris Evans) The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).  This team up has a rough beginning with characters disagreeing, fighting, and struggling to get this amazing team up working correctly before the final confrontation with Loki.

The Bad

This movie is a very tight and well crafted.  There were a couple things however that did bother me.  The main issue being that I was somewhat confused as to what Lokis motivation was.  I had seen Thor and I knew that Loki had been beaten by Thor and I was left to kind of assume that Loki was trying to get revenge from the last movie.  I just wish a bit more time was spent on Lokis motivations since he is such a driving force through the entire picture.  I was also somewhat confused on Lokis plan.  We are giving a couple of different ideas as to what Lokis intention actually was but they never play out on screen.  At one point we are given the idea that Lokis plan somehow includes the Hulk.  But that element never really plays out fully and ultimately felt like a clunky set up some action.

The Good

For the couple of things this film gets wrong it gets almost everything else right.  The idea to blend so many key characters into a single movie sounds like it would be a disaster.  It would have been too had all of these characters not been giving time to breathe in the films that preceded this one.  Taking out the origins of all of these characters and focusing heavily on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the formation of the team and foregoing any origin information really gave the film time to play with and give each character at least a couple of great moments.   All the actors in the film did a wonderful job.  I can not think of a single performance in which I was taken out of the movie or distracted by the acting.  The special effects were wonderfully done as well.  Hulk looked great, the aliens looked really cool, and some of the sets and places we go to in the movie looked amazing. 

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

This film I think most people were really excited to see but were also very worried about the potential for it to be horrible.  The blending of so many characters with such large and imposing personalities is a daunting task to say the least.  I think though that the director Joss Whedon did an amazing job bringing all of these elements together.  The visuals are great, the acting is great, the story is solid, and the pacing was pitch perfect.  The Avengers is a great time at the movies and if you are a comic fan or a fan of marvels previous movies then don’t hesitate to go see the avengers.  This film comes highly recommended. 

Final score 5/5   

Movie Review: John Carter

John Carter is an entertaining film that works towards a greatness that is never quite achieves. I had seen the trailer and it looked promising, but what interested me more was that it was the live action directorial debut of Andrew Stanton, director of Finding Nemo and Wall-E. I went primarily to support Mr. Stanton but since I am also a big science fiction fan and enjoy the fantasy genre I thought John Carter would be right up my alley.

The Premise

John Carter revolves around the main character of John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) a former confederate soldier who is on the hunt for gold out in the American west during the late 1800’s. Through a series of events Carter finds himself in the possession of an object that transports him to Barsoom AKA Mars. Here he encounters a tribe of indigenous people, gets caught between warring factions, and saves a damsel in distress Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). During all of this John Carter is trying to get back to earth.

The Good

The films visuals are quite good. The CG elements are all well tailored for their purpose. The creatures, the vehicles, the world itself are all very impressive and create what feels like a complete alien world for us to explore as we watch the film. I don’t think any of the effects ever got to the point of being distracting or pulled me out of the film. I think that is perhaps the biggest compliment I can give any special effect these days. Beyond that the acting in the film is quite impressive the two leads Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins do an excellent job of portraying their characters. I was particularly impressed with Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris. She feels like a real person that exists inside of this world. She has a lot more going for her than just being the counterpart to the hero of the film, which is a welcome thing to see.

The Bad

While John Carter is entertaining it suffers the fate of many film adaptations of books in that the film attempts to tell a story far too large for the run time. Lots of great ideas are introduced but we as an audience are never given enough time to sit back and enjoy these ideas before the next great idea comes along to distract us from it. The ideas happen so quickly and things change gears so fast that a lot of the time I was barely able to keep up with what the motivations of the characters were. At times I was unsure of where these characters were going, and ultimately what the point of a lot of the on screen action was.

Final Thoughts

While the film has impressive visuals, some good acting and has a plethora of good ideas, these elements never come together in a solid way. Hopefully on the next film things can be simplified or more time can be given to let these great ideas be fleshed out. If that happens maybe we will be given time to absorb some of the wonderful places and ideas that are being shown to us as an audience. When I left the theater I have to say I was a little sad that a film which had so much promise failed to collect itself in time for its theatrical release. I think this is a film people should see at least once. But you might consider waiting and renting it.

Final score 3/5