Movie Trailer: Fast X

Movie Review: Pathaan

 

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

An enjoyable dumb-fun action film from India. 

This is not the type of movie; you want to stop and think about the storyline while watching but if you come to it with the right mindset, you will enjoy yourself. This is about as over-the-top and silly as an action movie can get, but to complain about the over-the-top action scenes here is like complaining about the ones in the Fast and the Furious movies, they are exactly what the filmmakers intended them to be. Not only are these scenes quite a bit of silly fun, but they are also well staged and paced. The storyline is nothing special, but it does its job. It moves at a quick pace and keeps the viewers' interest from start to finish. Also for a film with such a simple storyline that runs nearly 2 and a half hours, it somehow doesn't feel padded. The characters, while not exactly deep are quite likable and easy to root for. This is helped by really good chemistry between Shah Rukh Khan (this is intended as a bit of a comeback film for him as he hasn't played a major movie role in four years) and Deepika Padukone, who play off each other very well. Naturally all the sexy costumes that the beautiful Deepika Padukone wears here definitely helps keep the viewers' attention and fits this type of spy action movie perfectly. This film also had a really fun villain. It is becoming rarer that we get movie villains that simply enjoy being evil this movie serves as a great reminder why these types of villains are so much fun, especially as John Abraham Though there are not as many musical numbers as in many other Bollywood films, the ones that are here are a lot of fun. 

This film's sense of humor definitely is not its strong suit. Nearly every comedic moment falls completely flat and some of them are just embarrassing. There is also some really fake looking CGI throughout this movie. When compared to how real the CGI looks in many mainstream movies today, this feels all the more apparent. There is also some awkward and clumsy dialogue here. However, the biggest fault of this movie is just how much it feels exactly like so many other movies, much of the time. Many scenes here will immediately remind moviegoers of scenes from other movies, which often times are not as great as they are in the other movies. If one is familiar with the James Bond, Marvel and Fast and Furious films, these scenes will be all too familiar and you can't watch them without automatically comparing them to those movies. 

This is by no means a great movie, but if you just want to turn your mind off and have a nice trip to the movies, this film will provide you with that. 

Movie Review: Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

This movie offers you exactly what you expect, no more no less. While this movie is definitely nothing that is going to stick in your mind much after you watch it, it is a fun time at the movies.

What works best in this film is our three lead characters. These characters are immediately likable and there interplay with each other is great. The three actors (Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby) have perfect chemistry and are a joy to watch together. This leads to much of the humor of the film which comes more from the characters than anyone else. Most often it is the actors delivery that makes a joke funny, rather than the joke itself. For instance the faces our two male protagonists make at each other provide the biggest laughs in the movie. Naturally this is an action movie, and it certainly gives you lots of action. There are explosions happening constantly and each action scene seem to be building up on the last. Helping these scenes is that we care about the characters and the action is often undercut with humor. Also sometimes it is fun to just watch things blow up.

This movie does however suffer from overlength. 2 hours and 15 minutes of almost non-stop action can make the movie feel monotonous at times. Because of this even with all the explosions on screen it is easy for your mind to drift at times. Another problem with this film is the villain. With how fun our protagonists are the villain is just bland and boring. This is nothing fun or interesting about this character at all. Idris Elba turns in a good performance but he can't make this cliché character interesting. There is also the fact that you know what is going to happen in each scene because you have seen all these story points before. Still you knew that coming in.

While I would never call this a great movie, it is certainly an enjoyable one.

-Michael J. Ruhland      

Movie Review: Stuber

Michael's Movie Grade: C+

A dumb turn your mind off kind of movie, but if you are in the right mind set it's fun.

This film has a unique premise, but other than that you know where it is going to go at all times. This is a story we have seen before quite often and will see again quite often (the logic of it all also doesn't often make sense). Despite this though I admit I had fun watching it. While not every joke is incredible, there are no jokes that are really bad either. On top of that some of the jokes are quite funny. Much of the humor comes from the interplay between our two main characters (Dave Bautista, Kumail Nanjiani). Luckily this is the movie's strongest point. While the tough guy and the wimpy but good hearted guy is a typical movie comedy pairing, I couldn't help but enjoy the way these two played off each other. The chemistry is darn near perfect, and the dialogue between them is often quite well written. I also love how both complement the other, with one's strength being the other's weakness. This makes them feel like a real team and a perfect match story-wise as well as comedy-wise.  Also delightful and adding a lot to this movie is Vic's (Dave Bautista) daughter (Natalie Morales). She has good chemistry with both the two leads and provides the film's only real sense of heart (Stu's romantic life doesn't really achieve the heart that it is going for). The action is quite good (if at times needlessly bloody) and this part of the film certainly delivers some good-old fashioned excitement.

This is never going down as a great movie or a work of art, but for what it is, it provides 93 minutes of dumb escapist fun.

-Michael J. Ruhland