Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid, Temuera Morrison, Frank Oz (voice)
REVIEW:
Attack of the Clones, George Lucas’ second installment in his Star Wars prequel trilogy, falls into the “middle chapter” syndrome that Empire Strikes Back managed to avoid, feeling less like a satisfactory stand-alone story unto itself and more like a bridge between The Phantom Menace and what would become Revenge of the Sith (eventually supplemented by the seven-season animated Clone Wars series which does a lot of expanding and plugging what happens in between). Part of why Clones falls into the pitfall that Empire avoided is simply that Empire was a stronger, more accomplished motion picture. Clones evidences, and—and in at least one plotline—magnifies some of the flaws of Phantom Menace: an uneven pace, stiff performances, and clunky dialogue. It all eventually culminates in an epic battle royale, but it takes a lot of tedium to get there.
Continue readingSpider-Man (2002)
DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi
CAST: Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Bill Nunn
REVIEW:
Spider-Man represents just about the perfect kind of summer blockbuster comic-book movie- flashy, fast-paced, faithful to the spirit of its source material, competently-acted, and achieving a nice balance between its serious moments and others where it’s not afraid to lighten up and poke fun at itself. Continue reading
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson
CAST: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis
REVIEW:
The origins of this epic film trilogy date back to the early 1930s, when a British scholar named J.R.R. Tolkien began writing an equally epic series of books. The first to be completed and published was The Hobbit in 1937, but Tolkien had a more ambitious story in mind. Originally setting out to write one enormous novel, he ultimately realized that such a tale as he was spinning was too vast to be contained in one book, and instead formed it into a trilogy. Parts one and two, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, were released in 1954, followed by the climax, The Return of the King, in 1957. Together, the trilogy was known as The Lord of the Rings. The significance of this fantasy series cannot be understated. Tolkien’s books were adored by millions the world over during his time, and since his death in 1973, they have remained a beloved and integral part of the fantasy literature genre. With such a following, it was inevitable that film versions would at least be attempted, but few filmmakers had either the inclination or the means to tackle such a daunting production. Mediocre animated versions of both The Lord of the Rings and its prequel The Hobbit were made—and flopped—in the 1970s, with the poor quality of the animation and various story omissions rankling fans. Two more decades passed, and finally New Zealand director Peter Jackson has taken on the ambitious task of bringing Tolkien’s epic trilogy to the big screen with the backing of New Line Cinema’s investment of nearly $300 million for the package deal of all three installments. Those worried about whether it is even possible to translate The Lord of the Rings intact to the screen can breathe a sigh of relief, at least if this first installment is any indication. Jackson and his cast and crew have succeeded on every level, and the result is not only a definitive film adaptation of part one of one of the most popular fantasy stories ever written, not only a majestic, enthralling adventure in its own right, but itself a pinnacle in filmmaking, one of the most colossal film productions ever made, and raising the meaning of “epic filmmaking” to a whole new level. In the future all epic fantasy adventures—including its own sequels—will have a high bar to hurdle. Continue reading
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Ahmed Best, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, Terence Stamp, Ray Park, Frank Oz (voice)
REVIEW:
No release of any movie in recent memory had been anticipated as much as the first of George Lucas’ long-gestating Star Wars prequels. The sixteen year wait also gave Star Wars’ large and passionate—sometimes downright fanatical—fan following plenty of time to build expectations so astronomical that perhaps no movie could have realistically lived up to them. Looking back with the objectivity of years of hindsight, neither blinded by the eye-popping visuals or bitterly disappointed by some of the most banal dialogue in film history and other glaring flaws, it’s possible to see that The Phantom Menace is neither as terrible as its detractors accuse, nor as good as its defenders would argue. It’s also possible to see that, while some of the fan backlash was over-the-top and venomous—a backlash that would eventually turn George Lucas off to all things Star Wars and lead him to sell off the franchise to Disney—some of the blame also lies squarely with Lucas’ own questionable choices, poor judgment, and a self-indulgence that was already starting to rear its head in 1983’s The Return of the Jedi but by 1999 had ballooned as large as Lucas’ ego and controlling tendencies.
Continue readingLethal Weapon 4 (1998)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Joe Pesci, Chris Rock, Jet Li, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Steve Kahan, Mary Ellen Trainor, Kim Chan
REVIEW:
Lethal Weapon 4 is a classic example of a sequel that was assembled to make money, not because of necessity or because there was even anywhere particularly fresh to take the story. There were rumors of its production since 1992, but development only rushed full-steam ahead once the reluctant Mel Gibson was convinced to return with a massive paycheck. In retrospect, no one should have bothered. Lethal Weapon 3 wasn’t as good as the first or second installment, but it would have been a much better place to end the popular series than this. Lethal Weapon 4 is a mess of a movie, a big, bloated, unwieldy, sputtering, past-its-prime cash grab that has a few entertaining moments scattered around but not enough to justify its existence, and creaks as badly as aging action heroes Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s joints. Continue reading
Alien Resurrection (1997)
DIRECTOR: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
CAST:
Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Dominique Pinon, Gary Dourdan, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, Leland Orser, Kim Flowers
REVIEW:
Like many a film franchise, the Alien series started out strong, then didn’t know when to quit. Greed to make more money overrode the artistic integrity of stopping when the series was ahead and had fresh, original places to take the story. Alien Resurrection is at least not the dreary, depressing experience of the morbid Alien 3, but that’s damning with faint praise. Continue reading
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
![Retrospective] Why 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' Is a Better Sequel Than It Gets Credit For - Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/jp-lw-1.jpg)
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
CAST: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Richard Schiff, Vanessa Lee Chester, Arliss Howard, Pete Postlethwaite, Peter Stormare, Richard Attenborough
REVIEW:
When Jurassic Park debuted in 1993, it ushered in a special effects landmark, bringing dinosaurs to the screen that looked so astonishingly real that audiences were effectively ooed and ahhed into being easily forgiving of a generic narrative and thinly-drawn characters. Alas, four years later, the “wow” factor has worn off to the point that the special effects don’t quite compensate for the limitations this time. Steven Spielberg and Industrial Light & Magic are back, but while The Lost World has its highlights, it’s missing some of the magic.
Continue readingLethal Weapon 3 (1992)
DIRECTOR: Richard Donner
CAST:
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Joe Pesci, Stuart Wilson, Steve Kahan, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Mary Ellen Trainor, Nick Chinlund
REVIEW:
With the third time around, Lethal Weapon shows beginning signs of age (although it has not yet worn out its welcome as much as it would by the fourth outing ). Lethal Weapon 3 is entertaining, but it lacks the freshness of the first and second installments, settling into a tried-and-true formula. Continue reading
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Meyer
CAST:
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Iman, Kurtwood Smith, Rene Auberjonois
REVIEW:
WARNING: This review discusses elements of the film’s plot
The end of an era came in 1991, when Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hit theaters, featuring the adventures of the Enterprise with her original crew for the last time. Continue reading
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
DIRECTOR: James Cameron
CAST:
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton, Earl Boen
REVIEW:
With 1984’s The Terminator , then fledgling filmmaker James Cameron displayed narrative prowess, a deft hand with action sequences, and economical use of a limited budget. Continue reading