Are you siting comfortably? Good, then I shall begin.
There was a time, an eight year period, from 1997 to 2005 when anyone working for Warner Brothers would have been hung, drawn & quartered for even daring to whisper one word. A word that was deemed so abhorrent and vulgar that it could have not only dispatched the unlucky someone who uttered it to the unemployment line. It would have also certainly cost them a pound of flesh, their soul and their Blockbuster video membership card. What word could provoke such a harsh reaction I hear you ask? What utterance could have been responsible for having someone publicly shunned, pointed at and HR asking for their desk to be cleared? No not “Belgium”, not even a word spoken by the loose lipped, devil may care hard core types. The sort of people that wouldn’t even think twice about using the word “flange” in conversation would baulk at using this word within earshot of the general populous. This two syllable word was beyond the pale, never to be spoken without first checking over your shoulder and making sure the coast was clear.
The word in question is Batman….
So how did this come to pass? How did we end up with a franchise that had George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Uma Thurman to name but a few had in its last film and it have been regarded as a failure? There are two simple reasons for this a far as I can tell. Firstly it was the only Batman film that failed to recoup its budget at the box office. Secondly and I hope I don’t lose anyone here with terminology or by being too geeky or in depth, it was shit.
Tim Burton’s first Batman outing back in 1999 been seen by most as an “Event” film and Jack Nicolson as the Joker had been inspired casting. The problem was that the bar had been raised and set to a very high standard and the three films that came after just seemed to be progressively inferior from the film it followed. The casting of George Clooney as Bruce Wayne in Batman’s forth film outing had “sure thing” written all over it. He was riding high on the crest of a popularity wave, due in no small part to his success on ER. How could he not pull the job off as the Caped Crusader? Good looks, chiselled jaw and his CV was faultless. How can anyone who’s been asked to commit to celluloid the following line of dialogue “That’s the bravest thing I’ve ever seen a tomato do” (IMDB 1988, look it up) not be right for the part!
However flop it did and with some style. There’s a line from Batman & Robin spoken by Mr Schwarzenegger where he says “A freeze is coming”. It was quite prophetic as it would be nearly a decade before anyone was allowed to take Gotham’s finest out of the fridge.
Credit must go in some small part to the heroic employee of Warner’s who thought that the time could have been right to bring Batman back. It was never going to be an easy sell but thankfully someone bought into the idea. In late 2003 enquiries were made to find a prospective director to reboot the Batman franchise and thankfully a man was found who had an original idea on how to do it. An up and coming British director who had had critical and more importantly I suspect for Warner’s, Box Office success with Memento and Insomnia came up with a premise that had never been dealt with before. Why not make Batman real? Instead of transporting us to his universe why not base him in ours. Ground him in reality and use real cities not sound stages as the backdrop for the story. This stroke of genius was the premise for which the now completed trilogy was based and it worked to perfection.
For those not in the know and to bring everyone up to speed and singing from the same hymn sheet I will give I quick rundown of the first two films and how we got to the start of “The Dark Knight Rises”. The First film, “Batman Begins” Has an English Director, Christopher Nolan. A Welsh Batman, Christian Bale and two Villains played by Irishmen, Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy. It is what the “Kids on the street” would describe as “Top Banana” and also introduced the world to the coolest Batmobile the silver screen had ever witnessed. The second film again has the same English Director and if you will a “Taffy” Batman but this time they threw in a rather good Australian thespian to play the quintessential bad guy “The Joker”, Heath Ledger. A role that he was so good in that it earned him an posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor. A first for a film based on a comic book and I would speculate an accomplishment that will be a long time in equalling.
The Dark Knight Rises starts eight years after the climactic finale of last film, The Dark Knight and See’s Bruce Wayne as a broken man and a self-exiled recluse. His Alter ego Batman has taken the fall for Harvey “Two Face” Dents crimes, an act that he commits for the greater good and to keep the streets of Gotham safe, Bruce spends his days wandering around the recently rebuilt Wayne Manor with his only contact with the outside world being is his ever faithful butler Alfred, played by Michael “Charlie Croker” Caine. The only other resident of Gotham who is aware of the sacrifices Batman has made is Police Commissioner Gorden, portrayed by Gary Oldman. Gorden is racked with guilt and has had trouble with his conscious keeping this secret covered up. However on the eighth anniversary of Dents death Commissioner Gorden attends a party at Wayne manor where he intends to read a speech he has written revealing the true facts about that fateful night.
This party is where we are given our first glimpse of Selina Kyle, Anne Hathaway. Who’s there with her own personal agenda, theft and from what we are shown she’s very good at it. From the very first to the very last the Cat Burglar steals most of the scene’s she’s in. Although Interestingly Ms Kyle is never referred to as Catwoman by any other character throughout the entire film.
Where do you even start with The Caped Crusader adversary Bane? He has never been the main villain of a Batman film before and only those of you who have read the DC comics would probably even be aware of Banes existence prior to this film. There was always going to be a lot of speculation about how Christopher Nolan was going to top the performance that Heath Ledger gave in the last film. What character was he going to use and who would play them? Most people, myself included had the Riddler down as the next Gotham ASBO friendly citizen. As I mentioned earlier there has always been a sense of realism about these stories and I think The Penguin may just have been the bridge to far. So when Bane was announced as the outlaw that would finish the trilogy off back in early 2011 the next big question was who would play him? The easy thing to do would have been to get someone from The MMA world (Mixed Martial Arts for those not in the know). Someone who already knew how to be physical and has the body to go with it but to Nolans credit he hired an Actor to play the part, Tom Hardy. This was inspired casting. Tom’s Bane is brutal and every equal to Batman mentally and superior to him in strength, agility and hand to hand combat. The First time Batman and Bane encounter each other is in Gotham’s sewers and Bane’s treatment of Batman is both ruthless and ferocious, ending in Batman’s “total” defeat.
Then there’s the voice. Much had been made of the unintelligible voice Bane had when The Dark Knight Rises prologue was released last year, attached to the start of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Work has obviously been done in some form or another as when Bane speaks it’s now clear and with purpose. Not only that but he gets given some imposing dialogue too. “Let the games begin” is spoken as though it’s being delivered at a packed coliseum with its occupants baying for blood.
I won’t give too much of the rest of the story away as there’s no real way to do it without heading over to a little town I know called “spoilerville” but I will say this. The Dark Knight Rises clocks in at an impressive two hours and forty five minutes long but it won’t feel like you’ve been parking your posterior in a cinema seat that long at all. This film is stunning in its action and in its narrative. The set pieces alone are worth the price of admission. Just a quick note to say that if the purse strings allow it this film should be seen on an IMAX screen. Nolan shot over an hour’s worth of footage using IMAX cameras and it shows. It’s the equivalent of HD for the cinema and even though the technology for it has been around nearly forty years, nothing else even comes close to it.
As with most films I do have a few niggles with some of the plot but without going into detail I can’t really justify my arguments here. I will say this though, once you’ve seen the film ask yourself these questions. Why do ALL of Gotham’s Police Force (Including every single officer who’s off duty) conveniently go underground? How does Bane eat and am I the only person who thinks that the ending has similarities to The Avengers???
So where does Batman go from here? Director Christopher Nolan has been quite clear along with several other actors in the series in saying that this is the last film in the Bruce Wayne chronicles and I believe he won’t be back behind the camera in Gotham again. However the previous two films made just south of 1.4 Billion at the box office and The Dark Knight Rises has just had the biggest ever opening for an non 3D film in history at 165 Million. So Warner Brother will not be scared to utter the B-word with their hallowed corridors anytime soon. What form Batman’s return takes, whether it’s in the mooted Justice League film, a reboot or even someone brave enough to try and continue the current story on from where it’s been left, one thing is certain. It won’t be eight years before Bruce Wayne and Batman grace the big screen again….
Twitter review:
Dramatic & Spectacular ending to the Nolan Gotham stories. The most consistent Superhero trilogy committed to film.
#TheDarkKnightRose
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokKUqLcvD8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8evyE9TuYk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk2IteR2QxQ
Thursday 26 July 2012
Tuesday 17 July 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man
Ten summers ago Sam Rami brought us his interpretation of Marvels Spider-Man universe with Toby Maguire as the geeky and quintessential web slinger. It was perfect bubble gum superhero fare. It ticked several boxes and with the two sequels that followed the franchise took over two and a half billion dollars. So the question that needs to be asked is this. Do we really want, need & require a reboot so soon?
To answer that question you need to know why it was even considered in the first place. The third and last Spider-Man film released in 2007 was a very clumsy affair. Filled with too many villains and a script that never really captured the audience’s attention in the way the first two films had. It was pretty much panned by critics across the board as being lacklustre, overcrowded and devoid of emotional investment. However it does go to show that we, the paying movie goers are a fickle bunch, as the third film had the highest box office take of all three.
That still doesn’t really explain why the powers that be decided to go back to square one with this A-List comic book character. There were a plethora of unresolved plot points left up in the air from the previous film that they could have chosen to run with. Also if they’d had the foresight to see how big the Avengers film was going to be and been quick off the mark they could have asked very nicely if “good old spidey” could have come and played with them instead.
I think the main reason for the reboot lies in the fact that Sam Rami walked away from the director’s chair and was very closely followed by Mr Maguire about forty eight hours later. Columbia Pictures may have gotten cold feet with the idea of someone else playing Peter Parker and given the problems that Warner Brothers had with three different actors playing Batman over four films during the nineties I can’t say that I’m surprised with the decision.
So then, back to this new incarnation. The film starts with Peter Parker being given by his mother and father to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, played by Martin Sheen & Sally Field respectively, to be looked after. We the audience are never given the reason why Peter’s parents do this but from what we are shown, it seems to be very much a case of pack quickly and get the hell out of dodge.
Jumping forward about twelve years or so, we are introduced to Peter in his late teens at High School. Unlike the previous three Rami films Peter is never really portrayed as a teenager with issues. He doesn’t seem to have any worries, he always has perfect hair (not jealous, honest) and he doesn’t appear to be bullied in any way shape or form. In fact it’s his decision to stand up to the school “Jock” that causes the only High school dispute we see. Peter does get entangled in another fight on the subway later on but this is a very clumsy affair and it’s almost pitched at the viewers as farce. Just think Mr Bean meets the fight scene from Bridget Jones and you wouldn’t be too far wide of the mark.
As the film moves on and Peter gets ever closer to the inevitable “bite” I found myself thinking that New York has become a lot smaller than I remember. For example, there is a theory that states that everyone is connected to everyone else by “six degrees of separation”. In this film you’d be forgiven for considering that it was two or three at the most. Peter’s love interest is Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, who just happens to be the daughter of the Chief of Police, portrayed by Dennis Leary. She also happens to be the assistant to the main bad guy Dr Curt Connors, who is hammed up to perfection by Rhys Ifans. Now I do understand that characters in a film have to know and communicate with each other but this just seems to be a bit too easy and is borderline lazy when it comes to the story. As I writing this I’ve just had a flashback to Disney’s “it’s a small world after all” ride and that dear reader is something a film should never ever be able to do.
So, the day comes when Peter goes to see Gwen at work, for reasons that never really become clear and wouldn’t you know it he happens to stumble across the only room full of genetically altered spiders within a thousand mile radius and before you can say “plot point” he gets bitten by one of them. Now it’s never really made clear what these spiders are doing in this room. From the few visual clues that are available I would have to surmise that they were either all weaving a very nice intricate rug or possibly looking for the Higgs Boson particle. Hopefully more light will be shed on this in the sequel.
Once Peter has started his journey down the “arachnid road” he soon realises that with his new found skills and abilities he can make a difference in the city and get results that the cops can’t whilst they work within the law. However as vigilantes have gotten a bad rap over the last decade Peter decides that a costume will be required to maintain his anonymity and so sets about designing one. The inspiration for the final outfit comes from him falling through a roof and landing in a wrestling ring, where he sees a poster of a masked man. (You can almost see the light bulb above his head when he first sets his eyes on it). However my main problem with this is Peter manages to put together an immaculate, perfectly fitting, crime fighting uniform that is not only seamless but also looks like it costs north of ten thousand dollars.
Which leads me on to sunny point Number two. For some reason, logic notwithstanding, Peter seems to have this annoying habit of taking his mask off at the drop of a hat. Now I don’t claim to be an expert of superhero dos and don’ts but I guessing somewhere one page one of the rule book is a sentence or three that covers the importance of secrecy and concealment. Mr Parker seems to be more than happy to de-mask every time he meets someone breathing in and out. I wouldn’t mind betting that he has an instagram account dedicated to just such occasions. Apart From Lois Lane, who must go down as the worst investigative journalist in history as she can’t seem to spot the difference between someone wearing glasses and not wearing glasses, it must surely be of critical importance that you must maintain your secret identity. You’d never catch Batman popping off his cowl in public. No siree bob!
Which brings me back to the main villain of the piece, Dr Curt Connors. A one armed scientist who used to work with Peter's father and may or may not have something to do with Peter's parents disappearance. There is nothing wrong with the way Rhys Ifans plays the part but there may well be problems with the way it’s written. After taking a serum that Peter has played a part in developing, our one armed man (no, not the one from the fugitive) turns into a lizard. The problem with this is that our reptilian bad guy doesn’t actually look that scary or menacing. In fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was a deleted scene where he sings “It’s not easy being green”. As the Lizard he wouldn’t look out of place in a Mario game and it’s never easy to buy into the fact that New York is in danger because of him. Another problem that seems to be glossed over is how a one armed man on the run from the police and Spider-Man seems to be able to set up and underground base in the sewer system of Manhattan whist A, doing it on his own and B, not being spotted. Again I can only hope that this little nugget of information is given to us in the sequel, set for release in the summer of 2014.
I’ll finish by saying this. This is more a story about Peter Parker than it is of Spider-Man, regardless of how “Amazing” he is. It’s more about connections and relationships than it is about special effects and bang for your buck. This film does contain some of the best 3D seen on screen since Avatar but you never really get the feeling that it’s being used to drive the narrative forward properly. It does however have the best Stan Lee cameo that I’ve ever had the privilege to see in a Marvel film and there have been a lot.
It may appear that I’m being too hard on Mark Webb and his film and that I’m expecting too much from it. It is after all a superhero movie not Citizen Kane. Maybe it should be OK to walk into a cinema knowing that you can leave your brain at the door for two hours and just sit back and be entertained. The problem with this is that I do want more from my blockbuster movies these days. The bar has been raised with The Dark Knight and The Avengers, both of which took over a billions dollars themselves. I see no reason why studios shouldn’t be willing to invest as much time into the story and script as they are with the CGI and merchandising spin offs.
Twitter Review
The Amazing Spider-Man doesn't fall flat on its face but only because he has a web as a safety net.
#spiders,lizards&masks,ohmy
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948470/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpKPiHYJc54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16AwVWvjQhY
To answer that question you need to know why it was even considered in the first place. The third and last Spider-Man film released in 2007 was a very clumsy affair. Filled with too many villains and a script that never really captured the audience’s attention in the way the first two films had. It was pretty much panned by critics across the board as being lacklustre, overcrowded and devoid of emotional investment. However it does go to show that we, the paying movie goers are a fickle bunch, as the third film had the highest box office take of all three.
That still doesn’t really explain why the powers that be decided to go back to square one with this A-List comic book character. There were a plethora of unresolved plot points left up in the air from the previous film that they could have chosen to run with. Also if they’d had the foresight to see how big the Avengers film was going to be and been quick off the mark they could have asked very nicely if “good old spidey” could have come and played with them instead.
I think the main reason for the reboot lies in the fact that Sam Rami walked away from the director’s chair and was very closely followed by Mr Maguire about forty eight hours later. Columbia Pictures may have gotten cold feet with the idea of someone else playing Peter Parker and given the problems that Warner Brothers had with three different actors playing Batman over four films during the nineties I can’t say that I’m surprised with the decision.
So then, back to this new incarnation. The film starts with Peter Parker being given by his mother and father to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, played by Martin Sheen & Sally Field respectively, to be looked after. We the audience are never given the reason why Peter’s parents do this but from what we are shown, it seems to be very much a case of pack quickly and get the hell out of dodge.
Jumping forward about twelve years or so, we are introduced to Peter in his late teens at High School. Unlike the previous three Rami films Peter is never really portrayed as a teenager with issues. He doesn’t seem to have any worries, he always has perfect hair (not jealous, honest) and he doesn’t appear to be bullied in any way shape or form. In fact it’s his decision to stand up to the school “Jock” that causes the only High school dispute we see. Peter does get entangled in another fight on the subway later on but this is a very clumsy affair and it’s almost pitched at the viewers as farce. Just think Mr Bean meets the fight scene from Bridget Jones and you wouldn’t be too far wide of the mark.
As the film moves on and Peter gets ever closer to the inevitable “bite” I found myself thinking that New York has become a lot smaller than I remember. For example, there is a theory that states that everyone is connected to everyone else by “six degrees of separation”. In this film you’d be forgiven for considering that it was two or three at the most. Peter’s love interest is Gwen Stacy, played by Emma Stone, who just happens to be the daughter of the Chief of Police, portrayed by Dennis Leary. She also happens to be the assistant to the main bad guy Dr Curt Connors, who is hammed up to perfection by Rhys Ifans. Now I do understand that characters in a film have to know and communicate with each other but this just seems to be a bit too easy and is borderline lazy when it comes to the story. As I writing this I’ve just had a flashback to Disney’s “it’s a small world after all” ride and that dear reader is something a film should never ever be able to do.
So, the day comes when Peter goes to see Gwen at work, for reasons that never really become clear and wouldn’t you know it he happens to stumble across the only room full of genetically altered spiders within a thousand mile radius and before you can say “plot point” he gets bitten by one of them. Now it’s never really made clear what these spiders are doing in this room. From the few visual clues that are available I would have to surmise that they were either all weaving a very nice intricate rug or possibly looking for the Higgs Boson particle. Hopefully more light will be shed on this in the sequel.
Once Peter has started his journey down the “arachnid road” he soon realises that with his new found skills and abilities he can make a difference in the city and get results that the cops can’t whilst they work within the law. However as vigilantes have gotten a bad rap over the last decade Peter decides that a costume will be required to maintain his anonymity and so sets about designing one. The inspiration for the final outfit comes from him falling through a roof and landing in a wrestling ring, where he sees a poster of a masked man. (You can almost see the light bulb above his head when he first sets his eyes on it). However my main problem with this is Peter manages to put together an immaculate, perfectly fitting, crime fighting uniform that is not only seamless but also looks like it costs north of ten thousand dollars.
Which leads me on to sunny point Number two. For some reason, logic notwithstanding, Peter seems to have this annoying habit of taking his mask off at the drop of a hat. Now I don’t claim to be an expert of superhero dos and don’ts but I guessing somewhere one page one of the rule book is a sentence or three that covers the importance of secrecy and concealment. Mr Parker seems to be more than happy to de-mask every time he meets someone breathing in and out. I wouldn’t mind betting that he has an instagram account dedicated to just such occasions. Apart From Lois Lane, who must go down as the worst investigative journalist in history as she can’t seem to spot the difference between someone wearing glasses and not wearing glasses, it must surely be of critical importance that you must maintain your secret identity. You’d never catch Batman popping off his cowl in public. No siree bob!
Which brings me back to the main villain of the piece, Dr Curt Connors. A one armed scientist who used to work with Peter's father and may or may not have something to do with Peter's parents disappearance. There is nothing wrong with the way Rhys Ifans plays the part but there may well be problems with the way it’s written. After taking a serum that Peter has played a part in developing, our one armed man (no, not the one from the fugitive) turns into a lizard. The problem with this is that our reptilian bad guy doesn’t actually look that scary or menacing. In fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was a deleted scene where he sings “It’s not easy being green”. As the Lizard he wouldn’t look out of place in a Mario game and it’s never easy to buy into the fact that New York is in danger because of him. Another problem that seems to be glossed over is how a one armed man on the run from the police and Spider-Man seems to be able to set up and underground base in the sewer system of Manhattan whist A, doing it on his own and B, not being spotted. Again I can only hope that this little nugget of information is given to us in the sequel, set for release in the summer of 2014.
I’ll finish by saying this. This is more a story about Peter Parker than it is of Spider-Man, regardless of how “Amazing” he is. It’s more about connections and relationships than it is about special effects and bang for your buck. This film does contain some of the best 3D seen on screen since Avatar but you never really get the feeling that it’s being used to drive the narrative forward properly. It does however have the best Stan Lee cameo that I’ve ever had the privilege to see in a Marvel film and there have been a lot.
It may appear that I’m being too hard on Mark Webb and his film and that I’m expecting too much from it. It is after all a superhero movie not Citizen Kane. Maybe it should be OK to walk into a cinema knowing that you can leave your brain at the door for two hours and just sit back and be entertained. The problem with this is that I do want more from my blockbuster movies these days. The bar has been raised with The Dark Knight and The Avengers, both of which took over a billions dollars themselves. I see no reason why studios shouldn’t be willing to invest as much time into the story and script as they are with the CGI and merchandising spin offs.
Twitter Review
The Amazing Spider-Man doesn't fall flat on its face but only because he has a web as a safety net.
#spiders,lizards&masks,ohmy
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0948470/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpKPiHYJc54
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16AwVWvjQhY
Thursday 5 July 2012
The Usual Suspects
I’d like to start by inviting you to join me on a trip. A journey that will take us back in time to a world that seemed far more innocent and carefree than the one we currently inhabit. A world that has yet to see an iPhone. A world that is blissfully unaware of the Reality TV juggernaut that is currently hurtling towards it and dear reader, a world that has yet to see the destruction of the Star Wars franchise.
The voyage that we are about to embark on will require no passports, malaria jabs or packing suitcases on your part. No hitchhiking on a passing TARDIS and will not be cancelled due to any volcanic ash cloud, regardless of whatever size it happens to be. Just sit back, relax and think of master criminals…
The year is 1995 and this is the story of The Usual Suspects.
In 1993 three friends John Ottman, Christopher McQuarrie and Bryan Singer made a film called Public Access together. John covered the Score and Editing, Christopher was the Screenwriter and Bryan the Director. Although this film didn’t get much in the way of good reviews or break any box office records it did put them on the map and get them noticed. So much so that when Kevin Spacey met Bryan Singer after the films release he told him he wanted to be in his next movie.
Christopher McQuarrie then went away and started to work on some ideas he’d been having which had been inspired by a magazine article he had read called “The Usual Suspects”. After several drafts Christopher took his screen play back to Bryan and the rest as they say is history.
In a year that brought us such celluloid classics as Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”, Mike Figgis “Leaving Las Vegas” and the tragically overlooked at the Oscars, Paul Verhoeven “Showgirls”. I will always remember 1995 as the year I went to the cinema five times in eight days to see one film. A film that had such a profound effect on me the first time I saw it I that an usher had to tell me the credits had finished and asked me politely to leave so they could clean the cinema for the next viewing.
To say this first viewing caught me off guard would be an understatement and I’ll explain why. For those of you who have yet to see this film, there is a twist at the end. And when I say twist I do mean twist. You can keep your Sixth Sense and Crying Game third act revelations. As far as I’m concerned this films blows them out of the water by some considerable distance for pulling rabbits out of hats. There will be those people that claim they saw the ending coming a mile away and that’s fine. That doesn’t matter. What matters is The Usual Suspects is unique in being a film that will give you a completely different viewing experience the second time you watch it.
The plot of the film centres around five criminals played by Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Tero, Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne’s “good cop gone bad”. These felons are arrested following a truck hijacking in New York. A crime for which they all deny responsibility for. After the Police line up all five of them put together a plan to get revenge on the cops and salvage a little self-respect. The operation is carried out without a hitch however they soon start to feel the influence of the legendary, almost mythical criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. It then becomes clear that all five of them have wronged Soze at some point in their past and that they only way they can clear this debt of wrong doing is to do a job for him. This payback job leaves ninety one million dollar’s worth of drug money, a boat explosion and twenty seven dead bodies scattered around the dock at San Pedro. Customs are called in to try and make sense of it all and pressure the only remaining survivor from the original five crooks, the cripple Verbal Kint played by Kevin Spacey who is now back in police custody, to reveal all and the whereabouts of Soze.
The Usual Suspects isn’t a blockbuster or event film in the traditional sense of the word. It has no computer generated images. No corny one-liners, no “If you only see one film this year” bobbins draped across its advertising campaign and wasn’t adapted from a timeless literary classic from years gone by. The film, in my opinion, can lay claim to the title “Masterpiece” for two simple reasons. Firstly the quality of acting talent on display which I think can only be matched by films like Heat or Glengarry Glen Ross, which also stars Kevin Spacey and secondly its script for which Christopher McQuarrie won the Oscar for best original Screenplay.
The story never lets up and holds your attention and just when you think you’re getting a handle on what’s going on it takes a left turn at the lights and leads you in a completely different direction.
Then of course comes the “twist” at the end. When I went to see this film the reviews I had read all made reference to this astonishing finish and climax and I must admit that when I went into the cinema I had a fairly sceptical attitude of “I bet I see it coming”. Well not only did I not see it coming, by the time I was about fifteen minutes into the film I was hooked and had totally forgotten that there even was a twist. My advice to anyone who has yet to see this film or to somebody that sees a copy of the dvd or Blu ray on sale in a shop, would be please adhere to the following instructions.
1) Once you’ve bought your copy of the film buy a second (the first one could be faulty!)
2) Set aside 110 minutes on two consecutive evenings where you know you’re not likely to be disturbed.
3) Sell children if necessary to make sure the 2nd instruction can be observed.
4) Unplug the landline and turn off your mobiles.
5) Watch The Usual Suspects.
6) Pick jaw up from floor.
7) Watch it again on the 2nd night and marvel at everything you didn’t pick up on and how it leads towards that stunning ending.
8) Speak to social services about the “Selling of Children”. Offer to cut them in on the money if the conversation looks like it isn’t going well.
The Usual Suspect has been my favourite film for over seventeen years now and in that time I’ve seen a lot of movies. However I’ve still never managed to find another film that I can happily watch again and again and again. Even knowing the ending doesn’t diminish its appeal or impact for me. My worry has always been that some silly sod will convince some silly Hollywood executive type that there’s money to be made in a sequel or even a prequel and if that day does ever come to fruition, dear reader, I may end up doing ten to fifteen years with good behaviour.
And like that, he’s gone………..
Twitter Review:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. Soze may well have just found his mobile number.
#Epic
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MjV4EwR7Mg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4u5MejfFzA
The voyage that we are about to embark on will require no passports, malaria jabs or packing suitcases on your part. No hitchhiking on a passing TARDIS and will not be cancelled due to any volcanic ash cloud, regardless of whatever size it happens to be. Just sit back, relax and think of master criminals…
The year is 1995 and this is the story of The Usual Suspects.
In 1993 three friends John Ottman, Christopher McQuarrie and Bryan Singer made a film called Public Access together. John covered the Score and Editing, Christopher was the Screenwriter and Bryan the Director. Although this film didn’t get much in the way of good reviews or break any box office records it did put them on the map and get them noticed. So much so that when Kevin Spacey met Bryan Singer after the films release he told him he wanted to be in his next movie.
Christopher McQuarrie then went away and started to work on some ideas he’d been having which had been inspired by a magazine article he had read called “The Usual Suspects”. After several drafts Christopher took his screen play back to Bryan and the rest as they say is history.
In a year that brought us such celluloid classics as Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart”, Mike Figgis “Leaving Las Vegas” and the tragically overlooked at the Oscars, Paul Verhoeven “Showgirls”. I will always remember 1995 as the year I went to the cinema five times in eight days to see one film. A film that had such a profound effect on me the first time I saw it I that an usher had to tell me the credits had finished and asked me politely to leave so they could clean the cinema for the next viewing.
To say this first viewing caught me off guard would be an understatement and I’ll explain why. For those of you who have yet to see this film, there is a twist at the end. And when I say twist I do mean twist. You can keep your Sixth Sense and Crying Game third act revelations. As far as I’m concerned this films blows them out of the water by some considerable distance for pulling rabbits out of hats. There will be those people that claim they saw the ending coming a mile away and that’s fine. That doesn’t matter. What matters is The Usual Suspects is unique in being a film that will give you a completely different viewing experience the second time you watch it.
The plot of the film centres around five criminals played by Kevin Pollack, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Tero, Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne’s “good cop gone bad”. These felons are arrested following a truck hijacking in New York. A crime for which they all deny responsibility for. After the Police line up all five of them put together a plan to get revenge on the cops and salvage a little self-respect. The operation is carried out without a hitch however they soon start to feel the influence of the legendary, almost mythical criminal mastermind Keyser Soze. It then becomes clear that all five of them have wronged Soze at some point in their past and that they only way they can clear this debt of wrong doing is to do a job for him. This payback job leaves ninety one million dollar’s worth of drug money, a boat explosion and twenty seven dead bodies scattered around the dock at San Pedro. Customs are called in to try and make sense of it all and pressure the only remaining survivor from the original five crooks, the cripple Verbal Kint played by Kevin Spacey who is now back in police custody, to reveal all and the whereabouts of Soze.
The Usual Suspects isn’t a blockbuster or event film in the traditional sense of the word. It has no computer generated images. No corny one-liners, no “If you only see one film this year” bobbins draped across its advertising campaign and wasn’t adapted from a timeless literary classic from years gone by. The film, in my opinion, can lay claim to the title “Masterpiece” for two simple reasons. Firstly the quality of acting talent on display which I think can only be matched by films like Heat or Glengarry Glen Ross, which also stars Kevin Spacey and secondly its script for which Christopher McQuarrie won the Oscar for best original Screenplay.
The story never lets up and holds your attention and just when you think you’re getting a handle on what’s going on it takes a left turn at the lights and leads you in a completely different direction.
Then of course comes the “twist” at the end. When I went to see this film the reviews I had read all made reference to this astonishing finish and climax and I must admit that when I went into the cinema I had a fairly sceptical attitude of “I bet I see it coming”. Well not only did I not see it coming, by the time I was about fifteen minutes into the film I was hooked and had totally forgotten that there even was a twist. My advice to anyone who has yet to see this film or to somebody that sees a copy of the dvd or Blu ray on sale in a shop, would be please adhere to the following instructions.
1) Once you’ve bought your copy of the film buy a second (the first one could be faulty!)
2) Set aside 110 minutes on two consecutive evenings where you know you’re not likely to be disturbed.
3) Sell children if necessary to make sure the 2nd instruction can be observed.
4) Unplug the landline and turn off your mobiles.
5) Watch The Usual Suspects.
6) Pick jaw up from floor.
7) Watch it again on the 2nd night and marvel at everything you didn’t pick up on and how it leads towards that stunning ending.
8) Speak to social services about the “Selling of Children”. Offer to cut them in on the money if the conversation looks like it isn’t going well.
The Usual Suspect has been my favourite film for over seventeen years now and in that time I’ve seen a lot of movies. However I’ve still never managed to find another film that I can happily watch again and again and again. Even knowing the ending doesn’t diminish its appeal or impact for me. My worry has always been that some silly sod will convince some silly Hollywood executive type that there’s money to be made in a sequel or even a prequel and if that day does ever come to fruition, dear reader, I may end up doing ten to fifteen years with good behaviour.
And like that, he’s gone………..
Twitter Review:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist. Soze may well have just found his mobile number.
#Epic
Useful Links:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114814/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MjV4EwR7Mg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4u5MejfFzA
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