Here is a review of a movie I refused to see in theaters after being so disappointed in the film's predecessor, Matrix Reloaded, although I did see it later on DVD. However, that was like five years ago, so I decided to give The Matrix Revolutions another chance because, honestly, I really didn't remember a lot about it. Anyway, The Matrix Revolutions is the final film of the Matrix Trilogy. Released in 2003, the movie was written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers (although now one of them is technically a sister, but that's not relevant here) and stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Hugo Weaving, and a whole lot of other people. In The Matrix Revolutions, Neo (Reeves) and his girl Trinity (Moss) choose to stop the evil that is agent Smith (Weaving), who seems hell-bent on destroying everything in its path, while everyone else retreats to the great city of Zion to defend the town against the invading machines that control the Matrix. A few notes about this film, and there will be SPOILERS, so if you haven't seen the movie, read carefully.
- What's strange about The Matrix Revolutions is that hardly any of the film takes place in the actual Matrix itself. About 85 percent of the movie takes place in the 'real' world controlled by machines, most of it either concentrated on the machines' attack of the dock of Zion or Niobe (Pinkett-Smith) and Morpheus' (Fishburne) attempt to sneak their ship into Zion through a mechanical line. As a result, this film is probably the least impressive of the three Matrix films as far as action is concerned, and unfortunately, the story is not nearly compelling enough to make up the deficit.
- In the original Matrix movie, the plot revolved almost entirely around Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. In the second film, it was pretty much more of the same. However, in The Matrix Revolutions, Morpheus and Trinity take a major step back, as all Morpheus does for the most part is co-pilot Niobe's ship and sit back while everybody else goes to war, and Trinity is merely a supporting player in Neo's flight to the machine city. Even Neo is not immune from this shift, as he goes at least 45 minutes straight without being featured in a scene. Instead of focusing on the characters we all know, the Wachowski brothers focused large amounts of screen time on such characters as Sati, Captain Mifune, and the Kid (yes, that's what he was credited as), characters that either serve no purpose (Sati) or we have no idea who they are, so we really don't care what happens to them.
- For all the talk about how philosophically deep The Matrix trilogy is, this movie bludgeons the viewer over the head in explaining it's underlying themes. Neo is presented as a Christ-like savior, as a lot of the dialogue is spent on characters either expressing faith in Neo as the 'Chosen One' or people doubting that he is what he's supposedly proclaimed to be, and the film even has Neo assume a cross-like pose towards the end of the movie. Also, every character in the first thirty minutes or so just can't help but mention that Neo and Trinity are so in love with each other that they'd die for each other, and Agent Smith spends most of his screen time mocking human emotions such as love. There's also a lot of allusions to the importance of choice and free-will, as the Oracle spends most of her time in this movie telling characters to make their own decisions.
- Even though this movie seems to try it's hardest not to let their best actors shine, there are a couple of highlights to speak of. Weaving as Agent Smith is just as evil and compelling as ever, although after a while his ad naseum talk of the inferiority of humans becomes a little tiresome. Also a highlight is Ian Bliss as Bane, the soilder who is taken over by Agent Smith in the real world. Bliss does a nearly spot-on impression of Weaving, and seems even more menacing in doing it. What's interesting about Bane's metamorphasis into Smith is that it takes forever for Neo to realize what's actually happened. You would think he would get after the sixth time Bane calls him Mr. Anderson, but not our man Neo. As far as Reeves' performance, it was about what you would expect.
- As I mentioned before, the action sequences in the Matrix Revolutions were the weakest of the three Matrix movies. The shootout with Trinity and company at the Merovingian's nightclub was poorly-lit and the camera shook so much that you couldn't tell what was going on. Meanwhile, the climatic fight scene between Smith and Neo looked cool, but basically followed the same pattern for 15 minutes (exchange of strikes, big punch that knocks both men back and causes an earthquake, flying towards each other, repeat). The best action scenes were probably the scenes where the machines come in to Zion's walls and meet resistance by these giant robot looking crafts with machine guns called APUs, although it kind of lost its luster after 20 minutes or so.
- Before I conclude this review, I want to talk about the ending, which although it's presented as happy and all seems to leave the humans back at square one. Yes, Smith is dead, but so is their Chosen One and while the machines retreated from Zion due to Neo's actions in getting rid of Smith, they still not only killed lots of people and destroyed a huge chunk of Zion, but also still have the majority of humans plugged into the Matrix and still harvest them for energy. However, it does somewhat leave the door open for a sequal when the Oracle mentiones to Sati that perhaps we will see Neo again (even though I don't see how that's possible).
Overall, I will say that I liked this movie more than The Matrix Reloaded. Then again, that's damning with faint praise since I strongly dislike Reloaded. Both movies would have probably been better as one movie and at least half the scenes in each movie could have been cut out, but sometimes art is sacrificed for profits, and this is the case here. As far as Revolutions goes, the main problems were that it decided to shift the focus away from the characters so vital to the Matrix franchise and center large parts of the story around characters which they really didn't even bother explaining their importance to the story. Plus, the whole idea of the humans and machines somehow teaming up to save the world flies against the original notion of the series, which was basically man vs. machine, and really makes the machines' attack on Zion seem like a waste of energy in retrospect. The action scenes were hit-or-miss, the acting was decent at best, and the film was as subtle as a sledgehammer. Overall, it's not the worst sequel ever, but it's not all that great either. I'd give it a 4 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you any ideas for future posts, or thoughts about this post, than either leave a comment on the blog or send them to me at e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
Showing posts with label Monica Bellucci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monica Bellucci. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Canon Movie Review: The Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm is a 2005 film that was directed by Terry Gilliam and stars Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the titular brothers. The Brothers Grimm also stars Lena Heady, Peter Stormare, Jonathan Pryce, and Monica Bellucci. In this film, brothers Will (Damon) and Jake (Ledger) are paranormal investigators who pull off elaborate hoaxes of legends to fool villagers in 18th century Germany. However, the French capture the Grimm brothers, and force them to investigate the disappearance of many young girls in an enchanted forest of a small French village. They receive some assistance from a villager named Angelika (Headey), who knows the forest better than anyone and also has a personal stake in this, as two of her sisters were amongst the girls abducted. As it turns out, the forest is enchanted, and the girls are being used in a spell to restore the youth of a 500 year-old queen (Bellucci) who wants to regain her beauty and rule the land again. So, it's up to the Grimm brothers to save the day. A few notes about this film, and there are SPOILERS, so read carefully.
- This film wastes very little time before diving right in to the story. There's a quick scene at the beginning where a young Jake buys magic beans to cure their sick sister, and Will gets angry and fights him because of it. All of a sudden, the film moves to the future and the Grimms are trying to catch a witch. Other than that one scene that shows Jacob as a believer in folklore and Will as a realist, there isn't exactly a lot of depth to the Grimm brothers' characters. Will's just a generic dashing womanizer type character, while Jacob is your typical bookworm type who's always in Will's shadow. Also, while I like both Damon and Ledger, there seems to be something a little off about their performance. In my view, I think the movie may have been better had they switched roles, as they were originally slated to do.
- The Brothers Grimm is about a pair of German brothers and set primarily in France. So naturally it would make sense that Stormare (who played Cavaldi, the person assigned to keep the Grimms in check) to speak in an Italian accent while Ledger, Damon, and Heady all adapted British accents. Oh wait, that doesn't make sense at all. My fault.
- It may have been just me, but I thought that Will was kind of a jerk throughout the whole movie. He's constantly berating his brother for having his head in the clouds, refuses to believe that anything in the forest could be enchanted, tries to woo Angelika while a) knowing that Jake has feelings for her and b) doing so just seconds after kicking Jake out of the room, and generally acts as if he's somehow above everyone else. Even in the scene where he expresses concern about watching over Jake, it comes off as if Will thinks that Jake is too stupid to live without him. I don't know, I just really didn't dig Will as a character at all.
- Even though The Brothers Grimm features an original story, the story does heavily borrow some elements made famous by the tales of the actual Grimm Brothers. There's references to Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretal, Snow White, and other tales, and I found it somewhat interesting how the writers were able to blend all these pieces into the narrative. Or at least attempted to, as the actual plot itself was decent at best with many holes and a lot of unexplained elements to the tale.
- Even though I've been mostly negative about this movie thus far, I will say that The Brothers Grimm looked great. The enchanted forest setting in particular was a highlight of the film, along with its trees with extending vines and the queen's large castle in the middle. Gilliam is a master of creating larger than life worlds in some of his movies, and this is no exception. Also of note is the costuming and the cinematography, which was done quite well despite the fact there were two different cinematographers hired for the role.
- A story almost more interesting than the movie itself was the behind-the-scenes machinations of The Brothers Grimm. The film was delayed due to a lack of financial backing, then MGM decided not to distribute the film, so the Weinsten brothers over at Dimension films stepped in as distributors. They also drove Gilliam crazy with their constant suggestions, and the two sides developed a rift that not only delayed the release of the shooting, but really did a number on the film itself. In Gilliam's own words: [I]t's not the film they wanted and it's not quite the film I wanted. It's the film that is a result of [...] two groups of people, who aren’t working well together." Really sums it up right there, doesn't it.
At the end of the day, The Brothers Grimm is the result of having too many cooks in the kitchen, and as such is a directionless film that isn't funny enough to be a comedy, scary enough to be a suspense film, and epic enough to be a true fantasy film. It's also too violent to be a kids movie, yet too hokey to be an epic drama. There are some positives to The Brothers Grimm, but overall this movie is less than the sum of its parts. One only wonders what Gilliam would have done had he not felt so compromised, but it is what it is. Overall, I'd give this film a 4.6 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you any ideas for future posts, or thoughts about this post, than either leave a comment on the blog or send them to me at e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
- This film wastes very little time before diving right in to the story. There's a quick scene at the beginning where a young Jake buys magic beans to cure their sick sister, and Will gets angry and fights him because of it. All of a sudden, the film moves to the future and the Grimms are trying to catch a witch. Other than that one scene that shows Jacob as a believer in folklore and Will as a realist, there isn't exactly a lot of depth to the Grimm brothers' characters. Will's just a generic dashing womanizer type character, while Jacob is your typical bookworm type who's always in Will's shadow. Also, while I like both Damon and Ledger, there seems to be something a little off about their performance. In my view, I think the movie may have been better had they switched roles, as they were originally slated to do.
- The Brothers Grimm is about a pair of German brothers and set primarily in France. So naturally it would make sense that Stormare (who played Cavaldi, the person assigned to keep the Grimms in check) to speak in an Italian accent while Ledger, Damon, and Heady all adapted British accents. Oh wait, that doesn't make sense at all. My fault.
- It may have been just me, but I thought that Will was kind of a jerk throughout the whole movie. He's constantly berating his brother for having his head in the clouds, refuses to believe that anything in the forest could be enchanted, tries to woo Angelika while a) knowing that Jake has feelings for her and b) doing so just seconds after kicking Jake out of the room, and generally acts as if he's somehow above everyone else. Even in the scene where he expresses concern about watching over Jake, it comes off as if Will thinks that Jake is too stupid to live without him. I don't know, I just really didn't dig Will as a character at all.
- Even though The Brothers Grimm features an original story, the story does heavily borrow some elements made famous by the tales of the actual Grimm Brothers. There's references to Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretal, Snow White, and other tales, and I found it somewhat interesting how the writers were able to blend all these pieces into the narrative. Or at least attempted to, as the actual plot itself was decent at best with many holes and a lot of unexplained elements to the tale.
- Even though I've been mostly negative about this movie thus far, I will say that The Brothers Grimm looked great. The enchanted forest setting in particular was a highlight of the film, along with its trees with extending vines and the queen's large castle in the middle. Gilliam is a master of creating larger than life worlds in some of his movies, and this is no exception. Also of note is the costuming and the cinematography, which was done quite well despite the fact there were two different cinematographers hired for the role.
- A story almost more interesting than the movie itself was the behind-the-scenes machinations of The Brothers Grimm. The film was delayed due to a lack of financial backing, then MGM decided not to distribute the film, so the Weinsten brothers over at Dimension films stepped in as distributors. They also drove Gilliam crazy with their constant suggestions, and the two sides developed a rift that not only delayed the release of the shooting, but really did a number on the film itself. In Gilliam's own words: [I]t's not the film they wanted and it's not quite the film I wanted. It's the film that is a result of [...] two groups of people, who aren’t working well together." Really sums it up right there, doesn't it.
At the end of the day, The Brothers Grimm is the result of having too many cooks in the kitchen, and as such is a directionless film that isn't funny enough to be a comedy, scary enough to be a suspense film, and epic enough to be a true fantasy film. It's also too violent to be a kids movie, yet too hokey to be an epic drama. There are some positives to The Brothers Grimm, but overall this movie is less than the sum of its parts. One only wonders what Gilliam would have done had he not felt so compromised, but it is what it is. Overall, I'd give this film a 4.6 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you any ideas for future posts, or thoughts about this post, than either leave a comment on the blog or send them to me at e-mail at KtheC2001@gmail.com.
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