I could write forever about movies like these. Not that there’s much going on worth writing about but big event movies such as this one represent all that’s bad about Hollywood. But whoa, don't assume that I hated it, I didn't. It’s actually an entertaining adventure film that succeeds at doing what it intends to do. But that’s about it. Mr. Bruckheimer, always the showman, invested a lot of Disney’s money to produce a generic movie that most of us will forget about in a few weeks. Sure the set pieces are wonderful, if a little cliché and stereotypical, and the performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton are fine, but there’s nothing really special about the whole endeavor. You can tell that a lot of work went into making this movie and Mike Newell does a good job with an average script but when I think about how great this film could been I cringe. I guess it could have been worse considering the source material was a video game (which I confess I’ve never played) but there are so many promising elements that the writers could have exploited for a better experience. Raiders of the Lost Ark this film will never be, but it could have been. More time devoted to character development would have helped. True, some narrator (who never is hear from again) tells us some exposition and we have a scene where Dasten's brothers find him goofing around in a friendly fight when he is supposed to be at their side preparing for war, but I wouln't call that very extensive. Perhaps some more thought into the paradox of time travel vs. destiny, considering destiny is mentioned in the first part of the film. Or is that too high brow for a summer movie? One big problem I find is with the endless parade of repetitive fight sequences, which I admit are cool for the first few exchanges, but after while it’s clear they don’t add to the plot. We watch our hero escape one group of soldiers, hopping from building to building parkour style only to have to escape another bunch of soilders in another city. Cool, yes, but some of it could have been cut without effecting the story. I find it strange too that Hollywood still casts movies as if it’s 1950. Am I the only one who found it ironic that in the behind the scenes featurette on the Blu-Ray the production designers kept stressing authenticity when the casting director selected actors without Middle Eastern decent? No wonder foreigners hate American. What a refreshing change it would have been to watch a movie like this one without a white actor or actress anywhere on screen. I’d be insulted by this whitewash but I know the motivation is purely monetary, not racial; modern movies need bankable stars to find funding to get made, even a film like this one. This is not going to change any time soon. The CGI work was on par with other blockbusters of late, looking more like a video game than real life. Moments like these always make me wish the director would have decided to use another visual technique instead. Still when you ignore all of this and let yourself go with it, it's good escapist fun. Just don't expect anything more then that. Grade: B.
Spoiler: a bit about predictability. I saw how this entire movie would unfold as soon as it became clear that we were talking about time travel. Yet I can’t devalue the movie because of this. Certainly we knew Dasten would be given a second chance but it’s what I, the audience member, wanted to see happen. I want him to win the girl’s hand and save his brothers’ lives. Any other ending would have been too hard to swallow.
No comments:
Post a Comment