Prometheus (2012)
DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott
CAST:
Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Rafe Spall, Sean Harris, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson
REVIEW:
WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL MENTION SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE FILM’S PLOT
One’s appreciation of Prometheus might be heavily-influenced by what one goes in expecting. Despite Ridley Scott’s attempts to downplay Prometheus‘ description as a prequel to his 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien and have it viewed as a stand-alone story, many were disappointed by its loose connections and markedly different aims to its predecessor. While it does contain elements of horror, Prometheus is less single-minded in its intentions than Alien and has far broader themes it’s trying to tackle. Chief among Prometheus‘ flaws is that it bites off more than it can chew, but it’s still an intriguing sci-fi entry for those not expecting too much xenomorph action. Continue reading
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
DIRECTOR: Rupert Wyatt
CAST: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo, Andy Serkis
REVIEW:
Following Tim Burton’s unsuccessful 2001 attempt to reboot the Planet of the Apes franchise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes (which bears no connection to Burton’s loose remake of the original 1968 film) is technically a prequel, but is really intended as a springboard for a new rejuvenated series based on the famous property. The movie accomplishes this well enough to get the job done–a second installment is due out in July 2014–but suffers from a rushed pace, thin characters (with one somewhat ironic exception), and the open ending that is a frequent symptom of prequelitis. Continue reading
X-Men: First Class (2011)
DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn
CAST:
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Zoe Kravitz, Jason Flemyng, Oliver Platt
REVIEW:
Back when he wrote and directed 2000’s X-Men, Bryan Singer eschewed an origin story, jumping into the action with the X-Men already formed, deeming origin stories unnecessary and constraining. A decade later, Singer (who helped develop the story and served as producer here) and director Matthew Vaughn decided to tackle the ‘origin story’ after all, not only of the ‘first class’ of X-Men, but the friends-turned-enemies Charles Xavier/Professor X and Erik Lensherr/Magneto. While 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine failed to do anything interesting with its central character, Vaughn and company have righted that wrong here. First Class is easily ahead of The Last Stand, and might well top out X-Men and X2 for the best installment the series has produced so far. Continue reading
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
DIRECTOR: Gavin Hood
CAST:
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Will.i.Am, Daniel Henney, Dominic Monaghan, Kevin Durand
REVIEW:
Prequels rarely avoid feeling unnecessary, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn’t an exception. The spin-off for the character embodied onscreen in three X-Men films by Hugh Jackman (who produced here) is not exactly a train wreck, but it’s a bit of a disorganized mess that doesn’t escape a feeling of generic, uninspired redundancy. Continue reading
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
DIRECTOR: George Lucas
CAST: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Oz (voice), Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Jimmy Smits, Christopher Lee
REVIEW:
As Darth Vader once solemnly intoned to Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1977’s A New Hope, the circle is complete. George Lucas has brought things full circle by closing out his prequel trilogy that began with 1999’s The Phantom Menace. To this end, Revenge of the Sith is probably the strongest of the prequel movies; the flaws of Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, while not absent, feel less conspicuous. Revenge of the Sith is a flawed but frequently rollicking and—-as is inevitable for anyone who knows where things are fated to end up—-an increasingly dark and emotionally bruising experience.
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Red Dragon (2002)
DIRECTOR: Brett Ratner
CAST:
Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Mary-Louise Parker, Harvey Keitel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anthony Heald, Bill Duke
REVIEW:
Following in the footsteps of 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs and 2001’s Hannibal, 2002’s Red Dragon was purported to complete the Hannibal Lecter ‘trilogy’ (but then came the ill-conceived flop Hannibal Rising, detailing Hannibal’s childhood and thus removing the last shred of the character’s enigma- and whose bright idea was it to try to make a Hannibal Lecter movie without Anthony Hopkins?). Actually, Red Dragon is a remake of 1986’s Manhunter, which was itself an adaptation of author Thomas Harris’ book Red Dragon, the first to feature the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, meaning although it was the last made, Red Dragon is chronologically the first in the series.
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.
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