Tag Archives: Denzel Washington

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Review

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The original Pelham film was definitely a solid one and I had pretty good hopes for the remake as well. The story has a strong foundation after all so I don’t see any reason why the remake would be any different. You’ll be pretty engaged the whole time with what’s going on and while the original would still take the win, this one can definitely hold its own. The film has to succeed in spite of the technical aspects that threaten to hold it back though.

The film starts with Ryder and a bunch of other terrorists running into a train and taking it over. These guys are professionals and trap it in the middle of a tunnel. It will be difficult for anybody to get in there and do much of anything now. Their demands are simple, they want 10 million dollars and they want it in 1 hour. The MTA employee who gets the call is Garber and so you can say that he’s really drawn the short straw here. He’s been dealing with a lot himself as he was demoted after being accused of taking a bribe. Garber declares that he is innocent but the investigation is still ongoing. If anybody dies during this event, it won’t exactly help his case.

There is a lot of tension the whole time since the majority of the film is really about the conversation happening over the phone. Garber is trying to prevent anyone from dying but of course he ultimately doesn’t have much control over that. He is dealing with somebody who is absolutely crazy and so you can never tell exactly how such an encounter will go. There is a professional hostage guy here to help out but even for him this is ultimately a bunch of guesses based on prior experience. The same tactics don’t always work.

Over the course of the film the villain begins to feel a connection with Garber as two men who were betrayed by the system although he never actually gets through to Garber to see it that way. Garber won’t let himself be pulled into the lies and the only time I would say he really faltered was when he allowed Ryder to dictate the terms and make him confess to a crime. I was originally thinking Garber would just fake it in order to appease the guy but I guess in the end he just wasn’t very innocent here. That part was too bad since it would have been nice if he actually did have everything together and didn’t make such a big mistake. Everyone is entitled to make mistakes of course but it would have been a good way for Garber to break away from the narrative that he was similar to Ryder in any way.

Regardless since it’s under duress I assume the confession couldn’t be used for much. Garber definitely takes a lot of real chances during the negotiations and of course it is a lot easier to backseat drive than to be in the situation. Ultimately I think you can never go anywhere with terrorists and you have to try going out fighting. Take out the gun and at least nail one or two of them. Inside of the train, one guy ultimately can’t think of a plan and just tells the villains to shoot him. They oblige and it was nice that he took the bullet for another passenger but if you’re going to die anyway, I say you should at least make a play for the gun.

Your odds are slim but at least they’re not 0 like when you give up. The instant you give up is when it is all actually over. You have to prolong that period for as long as you can. I would also bring up the numbers advantage but realistically you can’t count on any of the passengers. Odds are that they will fold or back out when the going gets tough. So if you make a move, it’s with the understanding that you really could die there. Not an easy thing to have to contend with.

As for the villain himself, Ryder was definitely real unhinged. The guy was smart enough to have a big plan and everything but it was definitely clear that he wasn’t afraid to die either. He was taking a big swing and absolutely did not want to live through any outcome other than victory. So he really made sure that winning or dying were his only two options. Most of his speeches ultimately come down to the crazed ramblings of your average villain but they’re still entertaining enough. The film did a good job of showing just how unhinged the terrorists can be.

The Mayor also has a fun role here. He’s definitely not the nicest guy but he has quite a bit of backbone in this version and can back up his tough talk. The guy has a lot of unhappy constituents but he does try to help in the end. Additionally I appreciated that he had Garber’s back in the end. It seems like otherwise everyone was going to railroad him even after helping out during the adventure which would have been annoying considering just how many risks he took by this point. It would have been such a bad look for everyone.

I will say that part of the ending was a bit contrived though. The film really wanted to finish off on a personal note but it relies on plot armor with the cops not making any kind of move. Realistically I would have expected either Garber or both him and the villain to have been shot. It’s rare to see the cops just standing around while actual gunfire goes out. I get the overall message but they could have implemented it better.

The only particularly weak part of the film is the soundtrack and directing though. The opening song is so bad that you’re just rolling your eyes the whole time. Then for the directing, there is way too much slow mo to the point where you think your TV is starting to lag. Then you have the zoom ins when people talk as if this is a comedy show. The film is doing a whole lot but none of it really services the film. I would have removed all the freeze frames, all the slow mo, and definitely had less camera shaking during the event. These things just felt like elaborate distractions and they did not pay off.

Overall, This was a pretty fun movie. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time and the writing was really solid. In the ending I would have liked Garber to have gone home with a whole gallon of milk but you can’t have everything. It takes a very different approach from the original film in different ways and that does help to keep things fresh. It means that you have a good reason to watch both versions of the film since they won’t be ultra similar to each other. As long as they can keep it fresh, I’ll welcome more versions of the story.

Overall 7/10

John Q Review

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It’s time for a pretty intense film about a guy who is given the run around by a hospital until he finally snaps. You may be getting some Luigi flashbacks around this point although the circumstances are still different. It’s a pretty good movie with a lot of tension and a pretty intriguing plot. Additionally John really tried every legal method that he could until he was eventually forced t take drastic measures. With a film like this you naturally aren’t rooting for the lead to go and shoot everyone but you definitely get how he came to this point. After a while there really aren’t any other choices to be made.

The movie starts by introducing us to John who is rather down on his luck right now. The hours at the factory he works at have been shrinking in each pay period and it is getting hard to provide for his wife and son. The tax collectors have even taken away his car. John says he will fix all of this but it’s an old tune at this point and his wife isn’t sure about that. Well, one day the kid suddenly faints while on the baseball field and it tuns out that he is in critical condition. He will need a heart transplant but it turns out that John’s insurance changed classes recently and so they don’t cover it. Meanwhile the hospital won’t even add him to the chart as a possible donor until John coughs up thousands and thousands of dollars. So John decides to take drastic action and takes over the emergency room by force with his gun. Either his son gets the proper treatment or none of them are walking out of that room.

It’s definitely a drastic situation and I’d say the most intense thing about it is how possible the whole thing is. Obtaining a gun doesn’t seem like an impossible feat for someone who is properly motivate and most locations just aren’t equipped to handle someone with a gun. Now it may not happen as smoothly as it did in this film but someone could definitely take over for a while like in this film. It’s all about what happens from there. Clearly the gunman won’t escape but it’s more about the damage he could do in the meantime. You don’t want to listen to his demands since it could inspire copycat killers but at the same time you can’t just sacrifice all of the hostages in there. It puts the cops in a tough spot.

The main focus here is really on the determination John has in making sure that his kid is okay. Throughout the movie there are a lot of people telling him to give it up and just accept the death but John won’t take no for an answer. It’s not like he is a pro at this either so he does make his share of mistakes but he is trying to keep the situation contained the whole time. You definitely have to give him a lot of credit there. Things easily could have gone real sideways real fast there. Particularly when it comes to money you can definitely get biter about how things are set up. John really tried his best and worked a really hard job but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.

Meanwhile it’s not quite the best portrayal for the hospital but realistic. They hear countless stories all the time about sick people who can’t pay and have their lives at stake. it does make sense that they can’t take every case or they would be out of business. The main contact lady is particularly antagonistic the whole time with her delivery but what she said was mainly correct. You either have the money or you don’t and if the insurance doesn’t cover the operation then that’s really the end of the story. Changing the laws is the only way to really stop that, otherwise their hands are tied. It’s certainly not the most satisfying answer but at the end of the day that really is the response to this situation.

Frank does the negotiating for the police here at least when he isn’t being compromised by the chief of police. They definitely clash heads quite a bit in this film with their different approaches. Frank is trying to de escalate and see what he can do while the Chief wants a quick end to this. Both plans have their merits. The chief comes across as a jerk the whole time but he did seem to have more of an endgame to his plan. It may have failed but I didn’t have any qualms with taking the shot. The instant John took hostages, he was not just an “innocent man” the way the reports were describing him. Taking him out using lethal means was absolutely a valid plan and I don’t even think it’s a particularly controversial one. Yes the optics don’t look good but the #1 objective is to save the hostages.

Meanwhile John’s wife does good in not selling him out or falling for any traps. She was on his side the whole time and didn’t waiver. I also appreciated that while they had some fights throughout the movie, it never became a big deal or tore them apart. They stayed strong under stress and kept on pressing. They worked as a good team when trying out all available options. It may not have worked but they did make all possible attempts which is good.

While the film is fairly tame, I should note that there are some medical procedures in the film. As a result you do see a live heart for example which is a bit on the intense side. So you’ll want to keep that in mind but otherwise the worst thing that happens is somebody getting roughed up a bit. Both times the guy getting beat up definitely took actions that led up to that point as well. You want to be real careful who you make upset in a situation like this.

If the film has any issues, it can be that it’s a little heavy handed with how antagonistic it makes everyone who opposes John. For example you have the cops laughing it up as they plan to murder him, the chiefs not taking things seriously, the main hospital director smirking as she declines coverage, etc. Almost everybody in the film comes across as a jerk. Then you have the nicer ones but for example the young doctor in training has a very jaded view on the whole hospital business so he talks about how they plan to cheat people out of coverage, etc. It’s all a grand, sinister plan to keep people sick and dying. It’s definitely a bold accusation although we do know that those insurance companies can get really shady.

Overall, One of the big morals here is to make sure you don’t drive while in a rush. If you have to get somewhere quickly, allow yourself to be late instead of trying to speed during a curve. It’s just not worth it, likewise with running through a yellow light. Sometimes you just need to hold the massive L because at least you’ll keep your life. The movie itself is definitely a solid one. You’ve got a sad situation and a father doing his best to make the most of it. There are a lot of fun philosophical and ethical questions to ask about the situation as well. It’s the kind of film that works well with debate as there are a lot of different positions you could take here. The film is fairly long so it gets to spend a lot of time on the story without rushing things. I’d definitely recommend it.

Overall 7/10

Out of Time Review

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Out of Time is a film that I definitely have quite a few issues with. The main character is very unlikable. Trust me I’ve seen worse but my main problem is that in most instances the film recognizes that he’s not a good person while in this case that’s not happening. He basically gets rewarded the whole time so I’m afraid the story got lost in the sauce. That said, lets dive in here and see what happened.

All right so the film starts off by introducing us to Matt who is the chief of police. He recently helped pull off a major drug bust and is really at the top of his game professionally. Personally his life is a mess though. He is in the middle of divorce proceedings with Alex and is cheating on her with another married lady in Ann. Matt’s one of those guys who needs to learn the value of commitment but that’s not happening anytime soon. It turns out that Ann is terminally ill and will be dying soon so she quickly makes Matt the beneficiary of her life insurance since her husband Chris is abusive and doesn’t deserve the money. Matt doesn’t want to give up yet though so he breaks into his own police vault and steals the drug money. He gives it all to Ann who quickly dies in a house fire along with Chris.

Case closed right? Wrong! The FBI is coming over to grab the drug money so Matt needs to stall them now while he gets more money. Additionally it’s looking like Matt is the main suspect for murdering Ann as his wife Alex starts to close in on the case. Matt keeps lying and doing his best to get in the polices’ way but he can only stall for so long. Can he get to the bottom of this conspiracy in time or is he just completely and utterly doomed?

A big problem here is that Matt is really digging his own grave here. The first problem that is completely indefensible is when he gave Ann the drug money. Yes he wants to help her out with the experimental treatment but he needs to dip into his own savings then. Dip into the retirement or take out a loan but you can’t just give her money that isn’t yours. That is a complete no no and is really taboo. No matter what leaps in logic you want to use, that money was just not his to give and is a huge part of the problem that he is in.

Then he also should have just come clean with the cops about how he knew her. Yeah it’s pretty awkward to admit that you were cheating with someone who’s married because that’s just plain despicable but you did it so you gotta own up to it. If Matt wasn’t constantly getting in Alex’s way during the investigation then things would have moved a whole lot sooner. Yeah Matt would be taken into custody too for misusing the funds but that’s what he gets. So every time he is getting in the way it’s just really annoying.

Because of that I would also say that he gets off way too easily. You’re expecting him to die in the end or at least go to jail but none of that happens here. The very ending is actually awful in just how good things go for him. Alex has the most unrealistic response to this situation that I’ve ever seen. Keep in mind that they were literally divorcing due to a lot of petty arguments involving their jobs. So things weren’t on good terms and finding out that he’s been cheating should have really been the last straw. Instead she asks him a soft question about if he actually liked Ann and Matt gives the most textbook, cliché cheater’s response.

Yeah he didn’t really care about her, it was just one of those things, he was caught up in his fields, it was a mistake, blah, blah. You hear those kind of excuses online all the time and I continue to roll my eyes at them each time. There are “mistakes” like perhaps in a moment of weakness smoking a cigarette, saying a swear word, or even stealing something. You realized it was wrong afterwards and stopped. Cheating? That’s a completely different animal. It’s a huge intentional act that you continue to do because you’re enjoying it.

Matt would have absolutely continued to be with Ann if she didn’t die in the house fire. It’s another reason why you don’t buy into his excuse. The guy doesn’t actually regret anything. Yeah I was actively rooting against him in the whole film so that ending was a huge downer. I won’t go as far as to say it was one of the worst endings I’ve seen in a while but it was definitely not a good one. You do not want to see this ending when you are finishing up a movie.

Now in terms of the thriller aspects the film could be solid. I did like the tension of the cops getting closer to the truth little by little. Matt really had to sweat it out for a while there and it was only a matter of time before they would end up catching up. Alex was a good character who was serious about her job and didn’t want any extra drama. She was doing what she had to and even if that meant working with Alex, wasn’t getting distracted. That speaks volumes about her character and work ethic.

I also liked Chae a lot. He’s a really good friend, probably better than what Matt deserves here. The guy put his own career on the line to help the guy out and was consistently helpful. If Matt was in a jam then Chae was always around to try and bounce him out of it. The guy is good at what he does and is very quick on the uptake. Then you have Chris who is a fairly vanilla villain. As a domestic abuser the guy naturally doesn’t rank at all. By the end of the film he looks even worse as more of a pawn who isn’t very smart. This is definitely a film where you aren’t watching for the antagonist.

Then you have Ann and I can’t say that I like her either. I tend to put most of the blame on the guy in events of cheating but she still takes a considerable share. She is also married after all and no matter how things are going, cheating isn’t the answer. There was a safety issue so of course I won’t say that it’s easy to get out but she needed to do better than what she was doing prior. There are some twists by the end and so she gets some strength points but loses some intelligence ones. Lets just say that the more you think about the climax…..the worse it gets. There are easier ways to do things and complicating matters isn’t always the best.

Overall, Out of Time is a movie that is at its best when it is focusing on the mystery/thriller elements. Honestly make Matt a better character and the entire film would get a lot better. As it stands he does hurt things because the whole time you are rooting for him to lose rather than to get out on top. That takes some of the bite out of the film. It also suffers from an incredibly awful romance here and all of the affair scenes are brutal. It makes this a bit of a rough re watch if you were ever going to check it out again and even on the initial viewing it just isn’t going to compete with the higher end titles. You can definitely do better than this one.

Overall 4/10

The Bone Collector Review

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This review is of the edited TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

The Bone Collector is a film where you have a gut feeling that it won’t be very good from the jump. Films about solving mass murders can be interesting when they focus on the detective work of course but usually when it’s about one still in progress it can be shaky since the guy is still out there bumping everyone off in every other scene. This movie stays rather gritty throughout the film and never ultimately gets past that.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Lincoln who is in a rather tough state. He suffers from seizures and can no longer walk or move around. He is permanently trapped to his bed and so he has decided to end it all. Lincoln fears that another stroke could send him to a vegetative state and so he wants to end on his own terms but right before it’s time for that operation, a mass murderer appears and Lincoln may be the only one who can stop this guy. It’s hard to say what his motive is, but he’s going around murdering people in disturbing ways. Lincoln will have to solve this case quick and so he requests that the new agent Amelia be brought onto the case.

Naturally it’s a little irregular to be bringing someone new onto the front lines for a big case like this but Lincoln liked the way that she handled the crime scene. Throughout the movie there is a little tension with the other cops as the main boss in particular resents this. Ultimately Lincoln and Amelia are the two people best equipped to handle this though. Amelia will have to tackle darker parts of the job than she ever intended to though and may need to rethink her career path after this. Either way this will not be easy.

Making Lincoln unable to move is something that from the jump seemed to be added so you could be worried for when the villain finds him. I think that’s the entire point of the plot since it’s inevitable that they would come face to face but of course there would be no way for Lincoln to fight him. We do actually get a struggle at one point but it’s hard to buy into any of it playing out the way that it did. Remember that Lincoln can barely move at all so the villain really has to drop his guard for this to be an even fight.

It ends up being a rather gritty battle for sure and not a climax fight that ends the film on a great note. You definitely do feel bad for Lincoln the whole time though because that’s a really rough situation to be in. Apparently there is no cure for him and also no way to predict when the seizures will occur so in a way he’s always forced to live in fear. It’s hard to imagine going through the day like that and he did well to still stay focused and help out in the mission.

As for Amelia, she’s a solid main heroine. Naturally there are times when this gets to be a bit much for her since she has never had to deal with a big murder case like this before but it’s always understandable. Lincoln asks a whole lot out of her and while it’s because he believes in her potential, you don’t blame her for walking out several times. This is really not what she signed up for in the slightest.

The cast is fairly small though because there aren’t many other big characters here. You have the police chief who shows up to try and get in everybody’s way but there’s not much to him beyond that. You have Lincoln’s nurse Thelma who does a good job of watching over him. She does her best to keep the atmosphere light and prevent Lincoln from making any big mistakes. Then you’ve got the villain but he is hidden for almost the whole film. He’s just your average murderer though and there’s not a whole lot to his character when he does pop up.

Ultimately what holds this film back is that it just goes out of its way to be really dark the whole time. I wouldn’t even call it super violent although it certainly has its moments but the film makes sure that everything happens in the most disturbing ways possible. Nobody actually gets an ordinary death here, there’s always got to be a whole production around it. Sometimes keeping it simple is just the better way to go about it.

There also isn’t time for almost any happy scenes throughout the film either. It’s always very dreary and depressing in part because even when the heroes are not talking about the case they’re thinking about Lincoln and the fate he has chosen. There’s definitely a lot to digest there for the characters and at the same time it’s hard for them to tell him not to go through with the operation because they don’t really know what it’s like to live like that. The film at least has a happy ending though. For a while there you’re really not sure how that’s all going to play out. These films don’t always end on a nice note like that.

Overall, The Bone Collector is a film that you definitely want to stay far away from. There aren’t a lot of good things to say about it and I would struggle to find some serious reasons to actually recommend it to someone. You can definitely find better thrillers and mystery films if you really try. Titles that would absolutely destroy this one and so there’s no reason to check this title out. I could see a film about archaeologists collecting bones to have some potential though. Maybe it could have some Indiana Jones type traps or something.

Overall 3/10

Fallen Review

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This review is of the edited TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

This next film is definitely a different take on your usual murder mystery. After all, we’ve got some supernatural elements here. The film throws this part in rather early on so I would say it is part of the actual plot. It’s certainly one of those films where you feel the hero has no chance from the start so you’re wondering what he will do to try and extend his time.

The movie starts with John visiting the mass murderer that he caught. The guy is about to be executed but wanted some last words with John. He starts speaking a lot of gibberish, singing songs, and trying to grab John. John lets the guy have his fun but then leaves so he can get his seat for the execution. The guy is promptly smoked to death and that should have been the end of it, but the murders start up again in the same exact way. The issue is that the murderer keeps changing. Here’s the thing, there was never just a man murdering everyone. John has to figure out what all these cryptic warnings mean before it’s too late. Then again…..it may already be too late.

You see this kind of predicament in a lot of horror films where the average joe angers some kind of lost spirit and has to figure out a way to win. Sometimes the main character did something wrong that comes back to bite him and sometimes it’s just a demon that wants to mess with people. This one is more the latter and the demon has taken a special interest in John. Azazel is his name by the way. Now the tricky thing with this is when you write a character that can’t possibly be stopped.

The Grudge and the Ring are examples of this where it’s a supernatural monster that has the powers to do just about anything so how are you going to stop it? Sometimes these creatures even allow you to find out their weakness like Freddy Krueger but then at the end of the film you find out they were trolling all along. That’s basically how it is with this guy. He’s portrayed as so invincible that you don’t see how the humans will ever have a chance.

Azazel has the ability to possess people. A fairly basic ability on its own I suppose but if you murder him then he can just body hop to someone else. He can possess anyone just by making physical contact with them. For those who have abnormally strong supernatural defenses, he can bypass them by dying and accessing his astro form. His only limitation is that he can only fly 1/6th of a mile when he is in his astro form so in theory the way to beat him is to try and murder his poor host somewhere where there isn’t anybody around. The film is fair about explaining why this weakness isn’t a big deal early on but it’s a small scene so I won’t spoil the twist there.

Now you know that sometimes the hero can activate a plot shield or something to try and get out of this mess but otherwise you can’t see how John will come out on top. It’s why you usually want to either not make the horror villain too out of the realm where nobody can do anything or give the main character some way of fighting back. That said, I suppose it’s not quite as crazy as some other monsters in that this one can’t alter reality or anything like that.

John’s a good main character. He’s really always done his best to do the right thing and help people out when he can. He doesn’t want to compromise on his ideals and makes that clear in the opening scene. He’s been pretty good at his job throughout his career and he handles this case as well as he can. If there’s anything he could have done differently, I’d say it would be to have just have talked to Gretta more. Maybe have her train him in the art of psychic defenses or something. I liked the scenes where he would have an internal monologue though. It felt like something out of a Noir title and was always interesting to listen to.

That said, when it came time for a battle she got wrecked anyway so that may not have really helped him at all either way. She talked a tougher game than she could back up when it was all said and done. Gretta was a decent character even if maybe she was a bit too reluctant to give him details, but who wants to get involved in a demonic fight anyway right? She probably figured that staying away was her best bet.

John’s colleagues were also fun. His best friend was quite loyal and in general it was a pretty good work atmosphere. Fallen is not a very happy movie though so usually John doesn’t really have time to just pal around with the gang or anything like that. Some kind of tragedy is always occurring. Azazel puts John into a lot of unwinnable situations. Where the film has most of its tragic elements is in how nobody can possibly understand what Azazel is doing so John just looks crazy any way you slice it. It’s just not possible for him to get people to help him against a supernatural threat.

Overall, Fallen is really about putting the lead in a completely hopeless situation. It’s rough because there is really absolutely nothing he can do about all of this. He was just unlucky enough to have angered a demon who wants vengeance on him. Azazel taunts John throughout the film by singing, quoting the Bible, and destroying John’s reputation as well. By the end of the film there isn’t much that can be salvaged. The film has a true horror type ending which was definitely pretty intense. Fallen’s a little tamer than I had expected but I wouldn’t call it a good film. My main problem with films that have a completely hopeless outlook for the main character is that you wonder what the point of it all is. If there is nothing John can do against the demon, then the journey of him trying to resist it just won’t be all that fun.

Overall 4/10

The Equalizer Review

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This review is of the edited TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative.

I vaguely remember seeing posters for the Equalizer back in the day but didn’t know anything about it. Seemed like just another one of those films about a guy with a gun taking people down. With Mission Impossible being the greatest version of that plot I figured this one was toast. Still, it turned out to be a pretty solid movie. It’s got a strong plot and the key part here is that Robert makes for a very solid main character. He may be equalizing things by taking villains down in a rather lethal way but most of the time he does give them an out and if the villain takes the deal then they get to keep their lives.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Robert. He has a very respectable job at a supply store that’s like Home Depot and always takes time to visit his favorite café and get an order of coffee. He likes everything to be very precise and throughout the film you see him making sure that things are neat and tidy. Another regular at the shop is Alina and the two of them always make a bit of small talk. One day Alina is badly beaten by her boss for not continuing with her job despite a client going beyond his boundaries. Alina hopes to be a singer someday so she can leave this kind of nightwork behind but wasn’t quite able to leave in time. Robert decides to get involved personally and begins to go after the Russian mafia. On the villains side they have sent a man named Teddy to take down Ralph. Now it’s a matter of who will go down first.

Robert is quite skilled at fighting and espionage. This is made pretty obvious from the start like with how he just walks into the Russian base with no difficulty whatsoever. He’s also very confident and quite sure of himself at all times. I like this demeanor, it’s always quite effective for a hero if you ask me. You don’t have time to be questioning yourself when you’re in the middle of a fight after all. Like Sherlock Holmes Robert always focuses on the situation at hand and finds the most efficient path to victory. Then he takes it and heads off to victory. He had another such impressive scene at the very end of the film. The last action scene has him tie up a few loose ends and it’s another great showing since he was so outnumbered.

At his core Robert isn’t even a guy who looks for trouble. He just doesn’t like to see any injustice and makes sure to balance the scales. It’s likely why he chose the title of Equalizer. Making things equal out is something he enjoys doing. Even at the end when he gets a final scene with Alina as closure you can see how it helped him realize that this whole journey was worth it. He probably saved quite a large number of lives by taking the villains down but in particular he saved Alina’s and that was something very tangible that he would always remember. It’s a pretty solid ending to the movie as well.

I wouldn’t call the film very upbeat or anything as it does have a lot of serious tones. There is a considerable body count and not all of the good guys get out of this one. Still, the ending is pretty upbeat and that makes for a great ending scene. Robert had a friend named Ralph who was also pretty good. He may not have been straight with Robert about what happened at the restaurant but he likely made up the story to keep Robert safe as well so at least the intentions were good. Ralph was a solid guy and he did well for himself at the end of the film and didn’t back down when things got tough.

Then you have the main villain Teddy. He’s the only one who is actually able to keep up with Robert for most of the movie. They have a lot of cat and mouse confrontations during the movie which are always fun to see. He does quite a lot of damage to the villains in his own way too though. There’s one scene where he starts a fight with them and ends up bumping off at least 4-5 to make an example out of them. It’s a pretty intense scene but since he would have been blown away without his right hand man making some clutch shots I don’t know if I can call it a good plan. The guy makes for an intense antagonist but he was never shown to be quite equal to Robert so I wouldn’t call him a big threat.

Then you have the big boss Vladimir but that guy doesn’t show up a whole lot anyway so there’s not much to say about him. he wasn’t quite ready for this. The music in the film is pretty intense and definitely works out pretty well. The effects are on point as well. Some of the action scenes can definitely get quite violent though as Robert takes them all out in rather gruesome ways. He uses whatever he has on hand after all so sometimes that doesn’t leave him any room for a clean cut.

Overall, The Equalizer is a solid film. I think part of why it succeeds is in large part due to how great Robert is as a character. In a way it’s why the sequel will have to be careful with how they follow this up. I imagine that they will want to give Robert more of a challenge next time but part of the fun here was in how easy it was for him to defeat all of the challengers. I hope that even if he doesn’t look quite as good next time, he doesn’t make any huge mistakes or anything like that. The movie also tackled some pretty dark themes without going too in depth the way some titles do for a gritty feel. It’s an intense movie but I wouldn’t call it edgy or over the top. If you want to check out a solid action film then I would recommend this one. It’s a very solid start to the series.

Overall 7/10

Deja Vu Review

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deja-vu
I know that some like to spell “Deja” with a few symbols above the letters, but I prefer to just write it out like this. The title can already tell you that this is either the next Groundhog Day or it’s going to involve time. I can safely say that it’s the latter although it’s a bit of a trick question since Groundhog Day did involve time. It’s a decent film, but I am hesitant to say that it’s much more than that. The film doesn’t really end up leaving a big impact on you. You watch it…and it’s gone. (Like Battleship)

The plot involves special agent Doug as he tries to solve a case before it even begins. A terrorist attacks a ship and destroys over 500 people in the process. Nobody knows who did it or where the person went, which is where Doug comes in. Doug is the first person to confirm that it was a terrorist attack and he is then brought on to the elite squad. With the use of satellites, they can watch just about any spot on the planet as of 4 days ago. So, they can wait 4 days to see who did it, but it may be too late by then. Moreover, there is no rewinding available so they need to be able to identify the person right away. The plot thickens when Doug finds out that another person was murdered prior to the explosion and thrown into the ocean to make it appear as if the person was just another victim. Doug is now personally invested in this case and he’s ready to solve this case. Now, what if there is more to this satellite technology than meets the eye? What if Doug can stop the crime before it starts? That’s when the real film begins!

Well, the satellite thing is actually pretty scientific. I recall reading about it recently that at least 4 satellites are typically trained on the area. From there, it gets a little hazy since I don’t really think that the satellites would typically be able to look through buildings and get clear 1080P footage while you’re in a dark alley at night. It’s certainly possibly in theory though and it’s interesting to think about. If our government actually had perfected the tech to this extent though, the world would either be a really good place or our civil rights would be even more dismantled than they currently are. (America is still one of the best at protecting us though) Things get more than a little hazy once they start explaining about how you can actually look at the past with the satellites. That means that it’s fiction time!

I do give Doug credit for deciding to change the past while the others said that it wasn’t possible. If time travel was actually possible, then I definitely think it could be altered. The two events go hand in hand. If you can go back in time, then you can change it. If not, then time and the events within it are simply unchangeable. That’s always been my stance on the matter.

Doug is a decent lead. He definitely wants to solve the case and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to succeed without doing anything that’s really unheroic. This is the kind of character that you could call a little generic and get away with it. There’s nothing about him that really stands out and he’s only decent in a fight. His final stand off against the main villain was actually pretty bad since he was on the defensive the whole time. One could argue that his end is also a little tragic and not what you would expect while others can argue that it had to happen due to the plot. I dunno, I think he could have put in the extra effort and just moved to the Hotel California to avoid any missteps.

Claire is the main heroine and a lot of bad things happen to her in a very short amount of time. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a whole lot of street smarts. She gives away her home address to a random guy over the phone that wanted to buy her car. If you’re going to sell a car to someone, at least arrange to meet in a busy section that has a McDonalds. (Or a sports bar, since the guys inside can definitely fight) Her second big mistake is to open the door when she hears a sound outside. First rule of living in any area is that you never open the door unless you know exactly who’s outside. (And you should recognize their tone to know if they’re being held at gunpoint. Although, there’s not much you can do at that point) So, that was a really rough start for her and that leads to the events that transpire afterwards. She’s a decent character overall, but negative things happen to her left and right. She can’t really find any peace at this rate. This also means that she doesn’t get a whole lot of time for character development and the romance is pretty non existent. (It’s pretty one sided until the end where it’s probably both ways, but still rushed)

Oerstadt is the terrorist in the film and he’s as crazy as you may have expected. I doubt I’ll ever like a terrorist character in a film and that’s a good thing. Films shouldn’t even try to make them sympathetic or likable since they’re just bad people when it all boils down to it. Oerstadt is certifiably insane as he wants to murder everyone to show the United States that they need more patriots. He wants them to wake up and start controlling the world since they have the power. Instead, Oerstadt is woken up to the fact that he didn’t think this through and that his only escape options are death and life imprisonment. Not the best set of options right?

One of the complaints that I would have with the supporting characters is that they can be slow on the uptake. Take Doug’s partner. He gets a message informing him that a terrorist is going to blow up the boat so he heads there to stop him. He sees the guy get into the van so he runs towards him. “Stop….Stop…hands in the air” is basically what the agent says. The guy just takes out his gun and shoots him…..eh? When you’re dealing with a terrorist, you quickly let everyone know and you don’t just walk up to the window. At the very least, shoot all of the wheels so that the guy can’t escape. Then, don’t go in front of the window so the shot will at least be a little more difficult. This guy was an agent so I’m sure that he’ll have enough connections to inform the NSA that something’s up.

The film is also pretty gritty. The main heroine’s plight is pretty serious and the partner’s demise is also pretty gruesome. The film shows the aftermath of the terrorist attack and it’s grim as you would expect. They don’t want to make light of such a situation, but these three scenes are still not really any fun. The heroine’s plight happens twice. The first one is off screen and then we see part of the second until the guy is interrupted. That was good at least, but it’s still a bit much since we know what would have happened.

Finally, this film actually has some fanservice, which is a definite no no. I wasn’t really expecting any since I’ve actually gotten lucky on that angle recently. Most of the films that I’ve seen have actually stayed away from that angle. Not here. Doug and his co-workers decide to spy on Claire through their super satellites to see what happens and they definitely take a while to turn the camera. They’re spying on her constantly and that is decidedly unheroic. It’s okay when she’s in proper attire, but they should otherwise change the view immediately. Not a good move “heroes!”

There’s not much of a soundtrack of course. Luckily, that was to be expected here. We had a bit of a red herring involving the main agent in charge since he acts incredibly suspicious the whole time, but his plot never amounts to anything. At least it gives the viewers something to think about. His role is very small and I still wonder if the writers just forgot about him.

Overall, Deja Vu is a pretty standard film. It does end up losing some extra points for the gruesome violence and the fanservice though so it ultimately becomes a little sub par. The main character wasn’t bad and I always like a good time travel story, but the film just wasn’t terribly exciting or interesting. You sort of want to find out what’s going to happen, but you’ll find yourself to be pretty detached from the current events. It’s hard to really get into what’s happening and you could say that it’s a bit of a negative. A film should really keep you on the edge of your seat. An example of this is the big car chase scene. It’s a fun concept, but it’s not as thrilling as you would expect. Maybe the cars just weren’t going fast enough or it’s because I already saw Need For Speed. Well, I wouldn’t really recommend this one and I think you’d be better off watching The One for parallel universe explanations.

Overall 4/10