Succinct Sunday: March Movies

Red Sparrow

Director:
Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, I Am Legend, Constantine)

Starring:
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, mother!, American Hustle)
Joel Edgerton (The Gift, It Comes At Night, The Great Gatsby)
Matthias Schoenaerts (The Danish Girl, Far From The Madding Crowd, Suite Francaise)

Plot:
A promising and talented Russian ballet dancer (Lawrence) suffers a career-ending injury and once recovered must enrol in a government-run spy program in order to support her ill mother.  She must become a 'Sparrow', specialising in seducing her targets in order to find their secrets.  However when she is tasked with seducing an American CIA agent to uncover a mole within her own government, her alliances are tested.

Opinion:
For a film boasting high-quality actors such as Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, Ciaran Hinds and Charlotte Rampling, you'd really think the writers would have given them worthwhile material to work with instead of such mediocre dialogue and cliched plot points.

Nothing about Red Sparrow grabbed my attention, apart from the constant wavering Russian accents.  The film spends most of its first act within the grounds of a self-proclaimed 'Whore School'  where the Sparrows learn their trade, and whilst it tried to pass itself off as a moment of true character building for Lawrence's dancer-turned-spy, it just came across as lecherous and wrong-footed, giving me a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the running time. 

Red Sparrow believes itself to be a much more stylish and accomplished film than it actually is.  

Red Sparrow carries itself with an air of superiority that it does not deserve.

Red Sparrow is a spy film that failed at every spy film's main objective: be interesting.

Rating:
3/10

Black Panther

Director:
Ryan Coogler (Creed, Fruitvale Station)

Starring:
Chadwick Boseman (Captain America: Civil War, Gods of Egypt, 42)
Lupita Nyong'o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 12 Years A Slave, Queen of Katwe)
Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Fant4stic, Chronicle)

Plot:
Carrying on a week after the events of Captain America: Civil War, T'chaka (Boseman) returns to his home (the fictional and un-colonised country of Wakanda) to be crowned their new King and 'Black Panther' after his father's passing.  However a mysterious outsider claiming to have a birthright to the throne threatens T'chaka's reign, as well as Wakanda's safety.

Opinion:
This film deserves much more praise and commentary than I am currently giving it, but unfortunately the opportunity to write a timely and relevant review has passed, so there probably isn't anything I can tell you about this film that you haven't already seen yourself or heard from a friend/social media as it currently sits just outside the Top Ten Highest Grossing Films Ever.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has often threatened to grow stale, has been revitalised by films such as this and Thor: Ragnarok; films willing to take a chance and provide audiences with experimental ideas, characters and visuals.  No other film in the MCU has the same look and heart as Black Panther and it's impact around the world has been easily visible.

The film has truly become a cultural landmark regardless of it's box office both here and abroad, as a country like Wakanda, and a noble and passionate hero such as the titular Black Panther have provided people around the world with representation in the biggest movie franchise in history.

Apart from the obvious cultural significance, Black Panther is an incredibly enjoyable film, filled with attention-grabbing action scenes, a witty and hard-hitting script, but ultimately brilliant performances by it's entire cast, especially Michael B. Jordan.  Jordan's Killmonger is possibly the greatest villain in the MCU and the film is worth watching, if just for him.

How are Marvel doing it?  How are they going from strength to strength in what's coming up to their twentieth installment in ten years of the same saga?  It's incredible and I cannot wait to see what Infinity War brings later this month!


Rating:
8/10



I, Tonya

Director:
Craig Gillespie (Fright Night, Lars and the Real Girl, Mr. Woodcock)

Starring:
Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Legend of Tarzan)
Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Martian, Logan Lucky)
Allison Janney (American Beauty, The Girl On The Train, Juno)

Plot:
Tonya Harding became world-famous in 1994 when she and her team went to extreme lengths to become the best figure-skater in the world, but the story behind how she got there is a much darker one than you have probably heard.

Opinion:
Before seeing I, Tonya, I had heard the review that it was "the Goodfellas of ice-skating films" and whilst the film is very entertaining, with great direction and brilliant acting performances, it is no way worthy to be in the same sentence as Goodfellas.  Even though I've put it in there twice now.  

(I mean, I don't mean to go on about this but, in terms of ice-skating films, this has to be the Goodfellas, right?  Since the other ice-skating films are... Will Ferrell's Blades of Glory and... Disney's The Ice Princess.  So is it fair to call Flushed Away 'the Goodfellas of Talking Mouse movies' compared to Ratatouille and Babe?  Sorry, I'll drop this now.)

Regardless, special mention has to go to Robbie and Janney's performances.  They really give their all portraying their real-life counterparts, Harding and her mother respectively.  Their animosity and chemistry really seethes off the screen and whenever they appear together, despite the fact that it is not always the most pleasant conversation, damn, they grab your attention and won't let it go.

I, Tonya accurately portrays the early-mid 90s in staggering detail, with fashion and hairstyles meant to give you just the right nostalgia kick, and whilst the news around Harding wasn't as massive over here in the UK as it was in the USA, I felt similar feelings of regret when watching Asif Kapadia's documentary Amy a few years ago.  When detailing how the late singer Amy Winehouse got to the position of national punch-line through drug abuse and wrong crowds, I truly felt guilt-ridden at having mocked someone in need of help, and I imagine the US audiences will feel the same way when discovering what led Harding to do what she did.

I'd definitely seek this film out as it's a rag-to-riches-to-rags story that truly makes you sympathise with a person who you never thought you would.

Rating:
7/10


Tomb Raider

Director:
Roar Uthaug (The Wave)

Starring:
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, Jason Bourne)
Dominic West (The Affair (TV), The Wire (TV), 300)
Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Lincoln)

Plot:
Lara Croft is on the brink of inheriting her family's vast fortune.  All she has to do is sign a contract admitting her father is dead after he disappeared a decade earlier.  However Lara believes him to still be alive and so sets out to find him in his last-known destination; an 'island of death' on the coast of Japan.

Opinion:
Urgh.  I really didn't have high hopes for this film, but I expected it at least to be better than the Angelina Jolie version, since this Tomb Raider film is based off the reboot version of the video game, but unfortunately not.  Whilst a tough-as-nails survival game might benefit from the gritty realism of the reboot, the film unfortunately could have done with a little more humour and campiness, which Jolie's had in abundance.

Whilst Alicia Vikander steals my heart every time she is on screen, I don't believe she is suited for the role as Lara Croft.  Nothing to do with her bust size, as many idiots have voiced their displeasure online, but what happened to the charismatic and intriguing Vikander who starred in Ex Machina?  Instead, we get a bland protagonist who never really inspired me to root for her.

Combine that with a shaky plot filled with holes, supporting performances that leave a lot to be desired and enough undeserved sequel-building that you'd think Tomb Raider was taking place in Universal's Dark Universe, it's pointless, boring and not even entertaining enough for me to recommend it as a brainless popcorn film.

Rating:
2/10

Until next time, thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed what you read...

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Mike-Dunn-Reviews 

Instagram: @mikedunnreviews
Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/rKj9

Twitter: www.twitter.com/MikeDunnReviews