I saw this about a week an half before it came out... What would have been useful for people would have been if I reviewed it then. Unfortunately I'm pretty lazy... but at least you're getting it eventually, right?? On with the show.
This Star Trek is actually the 11th film in the franchise, this is of course in addition to the 5 TV series and various video games associated with it. In case you never realised, Star Trek is kind of a big deal.
Marketing types would have you believe that J.J. Abrams is kind of a big deal too. Personally I could take or leave... well, mostly leave, all of his TV ventures and I had pretty much written him off. Then I saw Cloverfield. To my surprise, I really liked Cloverfield. Even now I still think about it - no mean feat for a popcorn movie. Mind you, sometimes what I think about it is how it made me feel so terribly ill... but sure, at least I'm thinking about it. So when I heard that J.J. was doing the new Star Trek film I was... curious. I'd have watched a lot of Star Trek on TV over the years but the only ST film I really liked was Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. They just never looked that interesting... but a J.J. Abrams one? Well ok.
So it was with these things in mind that I went along to the blue carpet premiere in Dublin. I mention this because one of the things I've noticed is that a movie always seems better when it's free. Also, when you see it with 700 or so other people who are also seeing it for free, that makes it better too. So anyway, sat down in the theatre, Rick O'Shea said hi and had a chat with a dressed up Trekker, they gave out some prizes. Stage set. But was this going to turn out like Indiana Jones? I mean I liked Indiana Jones but I know a lot of people were annoyed about it.
Opening scene. Awesome. And I don't use that word often. Though I will say, I did think the Romulan ship looked a bit like the Shadow ships in Babylon 5. Not that it matters, I'm just saying in case anyone else thought the same - did you? Anyway, a great start to a great film. Star Trek (11) is a success in many different ways; it has an interesting plot, it makes good use of the main characters, it's appropriately funny, there are some great action scenes, my favourite Star Trek character is well represented (and that is important - to me as it will be to many people, albeit they may have different favourites - like I said, Star Trek is kind of a big deal.), the effects are great... what more do you want?
I've heard some people saying the plot is a bit confusing, I didn't think it was but to be honest, it hardly matters at all. This film is just a great ride. Now's probably a good time to mention Chris Pine. That man is going to be all over the place soon. Right now, I would watch him in anything and I'd say I'm not the only one. Leaving Mr. Pine aside, everyone else is strong as well. I had been worried about how Simon Pegg was going to fit into a Hollywood blockbuster. It turns out he fitted in just fine. I could go on but tbh just take it that I recommend this film to anyone who's interested in eating a load of popcorn and seeing an excellent summer(ish) blockbuster film. It's great.
If you don't want to eat a load of popcorn, or even see an excellent summer(ish) blockbuster film, then don't go to Star Trek. I'm a great believer in people watching films that work for them. Just because I say it's a great film doesn't mean everyone should watch. Just like not everyone should watch the fantastic film, Crank. Watch films that you feel you will appreciate. If you absolutely hate sci-fi or you want a film that you can think about, don't go see Star Trek and moan about how everyone was saying it was great but you didn't like it. It wasn't made for you. If you don't mind sci-fi and you just want to be entertain then definitely, go and see it. Go and see it now.
I'm starting to realise that this is a very long review but I still feel the need to ramble a little while longer... I just wanted to make something utterly clear. While I think this was a highly entertaining film, it'll never be a cult classic for me. It's great fun, it'll make stars out of some of the cast and undoubtedly it will rejuvenate the Star Trek franchise... but at the heart of it, it's candy. There's no meat to it, there's no real emotion, there's nothing beyond the sparkle it'll put in your eye for those couple of hours. I had a great time at the premiere but after, I went home to the real world. The old Star Trek had its roots there.
9/10
Showing posts with label J.J. Abrams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label J.J. Abrams. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Friday, 1 February 2008
Cloverfield (2008)
From the team that brought you Felicity, Cloverfield is a heart-warming tale of a man searching for a love that he had tried to deny. Kind of. Mostly it's about a monster attacking Manhattan.
Cloverfield is really the first big "event" film of 2008. The buzz around the trailer when it was first shown before Transformers was immense. Also, given that it's produced by J.J. Abrams, creator of the hit TV series Lost and director of Mission Impossible III, it was bound to have a marketing juggernaut behind it. Though possibly not quite what we're going to see for Sex and The City: The Movie.
But anyway, is it any good? The answer from me is yes. I really enjoyed Cloverfield, at the time. It's one of those popcorn movies, turn off your brain and don't think too much... in fact best if you don't think at all.
There's no particular plot (aside from what I mentioned in the first line of this... no, really!). All it is is a giant monster attacking Manhattan. Actually there is a tiny bit of plot at the beginning which you will have seen in the trailers - the party for Rob - and in my eyes it does go on for a little too long at approximately 15 mins but mostly the film is untroubled by a narrative. What you do get is 85 mins of some hapless New Yorkers running around in absolute mayhem which I can tell you takes little time to unfold. The whole film proceeds at breakneck speed, pretty much assaulting you with noise, flames and falling debris. It's exactly how the trailer makes it look (and no more) and what more can you ask for from a giant monster movie? I will say this, it's not particularly scary or shocking but there are a good few moments where you think "Oh my god!" along with the characters and you can't help but wonder what you would do if you were in the situation.
Given that it's set in Manhattan and involves its destruction I'm sure there are many people who'll draw parallels with September 11th and there'll be more who will talk about whether the film is a comment on the progression of society. If you look at the current political climate, at how big corporations exploit the environment, is the monster a product of the "decline in social responsibility"...? Whatever, I've really no interest in pondering about that. There's a great hulking monster destroying New York and there's nothing more to it than that if you don't want there to be.
Anyway, like I said, I really enjoyed the film however it is not without its flaw - singular, but it's a big one. It is entirely shot through the view of a handycam. While it's all great for the realism and it really does work in context; I get pretty bad motion sickness and the theatre I saw it in was pretty warm so I did have to look away from time to time. Then again, it's only 85 mins long so it was tolerable and there were plenty parts where you can look away without fear of missing anything (unless you particularly like watching the feet of people running). For me, the good outweighed the bad and I highly recommend it if you're looking for 85 mins of destruction but to be honest if it were any longer there's no way I could have taken that shaky camera work.
8/10
Cloverfield is really the first big "event" film of 2008. The buzz around the trailer when it was first shown before Transformers was immense. Also, given that it's produced by J.J. Abrams, creator of the hit TV series Lost and director of Mission Impossible III, it was bound to have a marketing juggernaut behind it. Though possibly not quite what we're going to see for Sex and The City: The Movie.
But anyway, is it any good? The answer from me is yes. I really enjoyed Cloverfield, at the time. It's one of those popcorn movies, turn off your brain and don't think too much... in fact best if you don't think at all.
There's no particular plot (aside from what I mentioned in the first line of this... no, really!). All it is is a giant monster attacking Manhattan. Actually there is a tiny bit of plot at the beginning which you will have seen in the trailers - the party for Rob - and in my eyes it does go on for a little too long at approximately 15 mins but mostly the film is untroubled by a narrative. What you do get is 85 mins of some hapless New Yorkers running around in absolute mayhem which I can tell you takes little time to unfold. The whole film proceeds at breakneck speed, pretty much assaulting you with noise, flames and falling debris. It's exactly how the trailer makes it look (and no more) and what more can you ask for from a giant monster movie? I will say this, it's not particularly scary or shocking but there are a good few moments where you think "Oh my god!" along with the characters and you can't help but wonder what you would do if you were in the situation.
Given that it's set in Manhattan and involves its destruction I'm sure there are many people who'll draw parallels with September 11th and there'll be more who will talk about whether the film is a comment on the progression of society. If you look at the current political climate, at how big corporations exploit the environment, is the monster a product of the "decline in social responsibility"...? Whatever, I've really no interest in pondering about that. There's a great hulking monster destroying New York and there's nothing more to it than that if you don't want there to be.
Anyway, like I said, I really enjoyed the film however it is not without its flaw - singular, but it's a big one. It is entirely shot through the view of a handycam. While it's all great for the realism and it really does work in context; I get pretty bad motion sickness and the theatre I saw it in was pretty warm so I did have to look away from time to time. Then again, it's only 85 mins long so it was tolerable and there were plenty parts where you can look away without fear of missing anything (unless you particularly like watching the feet of people running). For me, the good outweighed the bad and I highly recommend it if you're looking for 85 mins of destruction but to be honest if it were any longer there's no way I could have taken that shaky camera work.
8/10
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Just click...
