Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Rated M (action violence). 142 minutes. Directed by Marc Webb. Screenplay by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner.

Verdict: A bloated Spider-Man outing that both rewards and tests our patience.

Given the saturation of superhero films, avid movie-goers could be forgiven for waking up in the middle of a dream starring the big, flickering Marvel logo. The studio’s output can only be described as prolific, and the trend for their films to run way too long is perfectly encapsulated in this Spider-Man sequel, which balances precariously on the edge of riveting human drama and an experience you might also find yourself waking up in the middle of.

What keeps it interesting is Andrew Garfield’s return to the title role. Garfield, like Captain America’s Chris Evans, constantly threatens to out-class the material, and his tortured, soulful Peter Parker gets as much screen time as his daredevil, smart-mouthed Spider-Man.

Cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Star Trek) unleashes a frenetic combination of moods and tones, while Webb places us firmly at the heart of all the action. What emerges, though, is the distinct impression that Garfield is more at home deep within the drama than the acrobatics, which accounts for the beautifully played scenes between Peter and Emma Stone’s perfect Gwen Stacy, Sally Field’s divine Aunt May, and Dane DeHaan’s outstanding performance as Peter’s childhood friend Harry Osborn/Green Goblin.

Jamie Foxx’s Electro starts out brilliantly, but ends up with far too much screen time, most of which is too effects-heavy to ever be totally convincing or as interesting when compared to the characters that remain resolutely human in the face of all the tedious, electrically-charged chaos and destruction. When DeHaan’s more relevant and invigorating Goblin eventually turns up, it unfortunately feels like someone has just served you up your nineteenth helping of apple pie and ice-cream.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Divergent

Divergent. Rated M (science fiction themes and violence). 139 minutes. Directed by Neil Burger. Screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. Based on the novel by Veronica Roth.

Verdict: A new young force to be reckoned with makes her debut.

Like The Hunger Games, Divergent bursts vividly onto the screen with a crystal clear intention: to win the hearts and minds of its devotees who have catapulted 25-year-old Veronica Roth’s award-winning trilogy onto the prestigious New York Times best-selling list. As obvious as the comparisons are (The Hunger Games’ Katniss is closely related to Divergent’s Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior), the success of the novels and their respective cinematic incarnations has created a force to be reckoned with.

At the centre of this compelling genre are determined and independent young women who take extraordinary risks to forge their individuality and purpose in life. In Divergent, a post-apocalyptic world is a divided into factions, in which humans of similar personalities are cloistered away from each other. There are the clever people who populate ‘Erudite’ and the peace-loving hippies of ‘Amity’, but it is the fearless avengers of ‘Dauntless’ who attract the attention of the restless and ambitious Tris (Shailene Woodley). As soon as she has the opportunity to choose her own faction, Tris leaves the respectable family home and begins an adventure that will challenge everything she knows, and thought she knew, about the world in which she exists and her place in it.

Woodley (who was excellent as George Clooney’s eldest daughter in The Descendants) is great as Tris, and manages to beautifully encapsulate the central character’s foibles, strengths and over-riding curiosity about the strange new world she has literally jumped into, feet first. Theo James is perfect as the mysterious ‘Four’, while Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard) brings Eric, the cruel trainer of the new Dauntless initiates to life equally well.

Burger (Limitless), Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and Taylor (Game of Thrones) have kicked off this trilogy in energetic form, and even though it eventually limps over the finish line, the promise of all that is to follow in the next two movies (Insurgent and Allegiant) is smartly and tantalisingly defined.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Rated M (action violence). 136 minutes. Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Verdict: Another successful outing for Captain America.

This sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) reunites writers Markus and McFeely and introduces new directors, the Russo brothers (Arrested Development). It is a mostly happy union at the helm of one of Marvel Comics’ cinematic universes, helped enormously by the return of the regular cast members and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America in particular.

Evans is a fine actor, and the time this film takes to explore Captain America’s past is extremely rewarding. Rogers’ reluctance to be a pawn in SHIELD’s defensive plans against future terrorist attacks (three monstrous Helicarriers capable of destroying millions of ‘targets’ at a time) is countered by the realisation of who the ‘Winter Solider’ (Sebastian Stan) really is, providing Evans with an opportunity to bring a superhero with a conscience to life beautifully.

The big action set pieces are fantastic, and even though they are over-edited, they still stand up. The Russo brothers have opted for less CGI and more live action, which lends the film a gritty realism that results in the central conflict being much more effective than the effects-heavy, boom-crash-destruction finale. The car chase sequences are brilliant, with the stand-out being the scenes when SHIELD’s Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) fights for survival after being ambushed by the Winter Soldier and his rogue warriors on the streets Washington D.C.

While it’s great to see the venerable Robert Redford strolling through the film as SHIELD leader Alexander Pierce, it’s the high-impact, energetic performances of Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) as Falcon and the fabulous Scarlett Johansson’s return as Natasha that provide Evans with valuable support.

The two sequences during the closing credits guarantee we will be seeing a good deal more of Captain America, which based on the quality and entertainment value of this latest outing, is something to look forward to.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.