I am Legend

This film disappoints. It just doesn’t live up to the hype and to what it could have been. I expect Will Smith action films to be non-stop and bigger than life, but this film just wasn’t that. It has to live up to the standard set by the original (The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston) and it can’t. Why? I blame the director.

Hollywood is too quick to give the helm of major films to music video directors and films like this are the result; all style and no substance. Francis Lawrence makes a mess of what could have been a good film by spending too much time showing us how great the sets are and how spectacular he can shoot a chase scene and forgets to tell a decent story. He ignores pacing and basic storytelling which results in a slow paced, rather thin film…. sounds a lot like a music video, doesn’t it?

Lawrence tries to use flashbacks to keep us interested in Will Smith’s character and to make-up for the lack of other characters in the first two-thirds of the film, but the flashbacks only provide shallow back story and reveal nothing that we don’t already know about our lead character. Then he commits a mortal sin — the main character begins to act against his own character and starts doing things that have you scratching your head. For a character that is supposed to be very smart, Smith misses huge signs indicating what is happening around him. I blame the director for this because the signs are there — which means the screenwriter put them into the story but Lawrence either ignored them or was too obsessed with his sets to care.

In the end it’s not a bad rental but in the hands of a more talented director (maybe one who understands story!!) this could have been a great film.

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Film’s website: http://iamlegend.warnerbros.com/

August Rush

This is a film that I wanted to love, that had all the elements there for me to love, but in the end disappointed me. Why didn’t I love it? I’m not sure director Kirsten Sheridan knew exactly what film she wanted to make since there are so many story lines and characters that get introduced but never fully developed. Is this film about the unbreakable bond between child and parents, or finding one’s true love, or following one’s passion, or fixing the foster care system or something else? With so many characters and story lines no one gets to be developed deep enough to connect with the audience. It’s a shame because there are some very strong performances here. Young Freddie Highmore as the musical prodigy is very strong, Robin Williams is his usual self as a crazy-homeless “Fagin” and Terrence Howard provides a great supporting performance as a concerned social worker. What I didn’t like were the performances by Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers who play the boy’s parents. They seem to be whining and grimacing throughout the film and tend to be too reactionary as characters.

The plot also seems to be too random. Too many times in the film events would happen to push the story forward that had me and my wife asking, why and how? Whether this was an issue with the screenplay or the directing I’m not sure, but it makes watching the film difficult. It’s a shame, since the idea of this film is wonderful and the cast had the potential to make it great, but the execution falls short of the mark.

It’s not a bad rental on a slow night, mainly because it’s a feel-good movie that is very family friendly.

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Film’s website: http://augustrushmovie.warnerbros.com

21

“21″ is a new drama based on the true story of how some MIT students conquered Vegas in a card counting scheme that reaped them millions of dollars. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t live up to the success of its real life characters by falling into all too familiar cliches and predictable storylines. The acting is relatively good but the film lacks a standout performance to carry the drama. I think that is what is most disappointing since two of my favorite actors, Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne, are in this film but their characters are mostly in the background. Instead, screenwriters Peter Steinfeld and Alan Loeb focus on the antics of the students who we never really get to know or care about. Four of the students might as well not be there since we never learn a single thing about them. The main character (Ben Campbell played by Jim Sturgess) carries the storyline but we never care about him since we don’t spend much time learning what motivates him. Is he just a poor kid trying to make a buck? Sorry, but that doesn’t get me too interested. There has to be more back story and motivation to get me to care about this guy. The cliche love interest played by Kate Bosworth is equally frustrating. Why is she even in this film if we don’t get a chance to get to know her? Robert Luketic direction is capable, but a far more courageous vision would have delved deeper into the romantically dangerous allure of gambling and how it can destroy lives and relationships. More emphasis on Spacey and Fishburne’s backstory could have given this film a much deeper dramatic story and connected it to the student’s obsessions, but Luketic plays it safe and in the end makes a film that is ok to watch, but leaves the viewer wanting so much more. Wait for the DVD on this one.

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Film’s website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/21/

Vantage Point

I’m conflicted by this film. I really want to love it, but I just can’t. Pete Travis directs this mystery-thriller with a nod toward Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” and falls short of the mark when he reverts to a stereotypical Hollywood ending when anything but that was needed. I love it when writers and directors take creative chances and try something new with an old formula (which is why I loved Atonement, Crash and Traffic), but Travis doesn’t seem to trust himself with the ending. It’s either that, or the studio got in the way and wouldn’t allow a non-traditional ending. The more I think about this film the more I think this is true. I just can’t fathom a director making the first two-thirds of this film and then suddenly deciding to deviate from his narrative style so drastically in the final third. It’s either this or Travis got so lost editing that he forgot what kind of film he set out to make. So, did I hate it? Actually, no… for the first half. I really liked the idea of seeing this event unfold from several different points-of-view. While there were moans in the audience the third time the clock was reset (I heard an “oh, jesus” more than once) I had no problem with it. It was unique, original and kept me thinking where we were going next. The acting is strong, the cinematography and editing flawless and the narrative pacing fine. Where the film begins to fall apart is when we get to the third story and begin seeing too much of the same thing. I wanted the narrative to go much further with each “vantage point” and provide me with significant new information. Each one spends too much time recapping the mayor’s speech and not enough time moving the narrative forward. And then there is the end. It’s just absurd. Too impossible to believe and way too coincidental. It was forced, like somebody said, “ok, let’s end the film now” without regard to how the story had been developing. Some of the stunts were so unbelievable the audience was actually laughing. This is a film that started strong, had all the makings of a great movie, and then crashed and burned in the end. If you like the beginning, go out and rent Kurosawa’s “Rashomon” and see what this film could have been if made by a master director.

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Film Website: http://www.vantagepoint-movie.com/index.php