A couple of days before going to see this movie, I had the misfortune of having the entire thing spoiled for me in an online forum. One effect of that was to work harder to clearly indicate when I would be giving spoiler information about books and movies. The other was to make me very scared. It seems things are moving along in the Indiana Jones universe. As much as we might like, we cannot randomly return to the setting of these adventures and expect Indy to always be in his 30s and fighting the good fight. If this were a book or comic series, it would be easy to shoe-horn stories between existing adventures. But actors get older and trying to use make-up or CGI to make them appear far younger for the length of an entire movie is, among other things, too depressing to conceive.
It's clear from the outset that the wheel has turned. No longer is Indy dealing with Nazis or unscrupulous collectors—the enemy this time is the Soviet Union and all the evil they signified in 1957. And pretty early on, we can see that there is a shift in the danger Indy faces as well, as KGB agents led by Cate Blanchett break into America's warehouse of weirdness for a specific object, while ignoring the Ark of the Covenant, the centerpiece of the movie that got all the attention. No longer is mysticism the focus of Indy's work; it is technology that turns the world now, and the Russians wants what we have. If this isn't clear enough, the first extended chase scene is closed with the 20th century's worst nightmare, the explosion of an atomic bomb. The faces of mannequins burn off in a subtle allusion to the close of Raiders of the Lost Ark, when that same Ark melts the faces of Nazis who presume too much.
Unfortunately, the story has to deal with the years since we last saw Indy. We find out that he fought for the OSS in World War II, continuing his escapades and receiving may honors for them. This is not enough, however, to keep the taint of the red scare from him; since he has now dealt with KGB agents, the CIA has no way of ensuring his loyalty and so they black-list him. On his way to his new job, he is found by Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) who has come to him at his mother's direction to enlist Indy to rescue her from her kidnappers (that it is the same KGB agents really comes as no surprise). And off they go to the Amazon (completing another interesting circle with the opening of the first movie) to find Mutt's mother and friend.
What follows is the standard series of adventures based on the slimmest of clues. While Indy is once again brilliant in his deduction, it becomes painfully obvious that he is pretty clueless about people. This is not a side of him with which we are familiar: we know he is focused when on an adventure, but he is actually written to be pretty obtuse about personal matters here. It's not really a problem—more of a quirk—and his lack of deduction allows major reveals to come as surprises to some of the audience. The storytelling is wonderfully fun, hearkening back to the set pieces that were so exciting in the earlier films. And the CGI work is breathtaking, in a much more understated way than in most summer blockbusters. Unfortunately those set pieces skew a little close to earlier works of Lucas and Spielberg, enough to actually become something of a distraction, but not enough to ruin the movie for me.
What I find most interesting is the clamor against the general direction of the conclusion of the adventure. To be hoest, it was this that had me worried when it was spoiled for me. But all I can say is that it works for me. I would have preferred something in the tenor of the first three films, but I understand why the movie went where it went, so long as the movie is considered as the end of a generation. Again, paranormal is replaced with technology. At one point Indy mourns his father and companion Marcus, while at another he reminisces about his adventures as a child (a nice reference to the unfairly ignored series, Young Indiana Jones). The movie concludes with a new day dawning, both in the general thrust of the adventures of Indy and in his personal life. The door has been closed on a chapter of history and culture marches on.
Harrison Ford is stalwart as Indy, fitting back into the role much as into a pair of comfortable slippers. LaBoeuf is solid as Mutt, a young man who has interesting traits that make him something more than the standard sidekick. Karen Allen is also good in her return as Marian Ravenwood. Blanchett chews the scenery nicely as the lead KGB agent with an interest in unexplainable phenomenon. It is clear that the door remains open for a new series of films featuring Mutt, but it is my hope that they are never made. The series has progressed from the classic 30s and 40s serials to the campy B-grade science fiction movies of the 50s and early 60s. It is a natural progression and Mutt a fine character for them. But the focus of the series has been Indy, and he has entered a more relaxed place in his life—including a cushy new position. The potential for further adventures for him is apparent, but the character is only going to get older and become something of a self-mockery. I'm fine with the place that the series ends up.
Now if they want to figure out a way to tell some of the stories of Indy in the OSS, that would be something worth seeing.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Speed Racer
I'm having a hard time coming up with a review of this movie. The discussion of it I have seen has been nearly universally negative, with the notable exception of At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper. When I tell people that I went to see Speed Racer, the response has generally been fear and concern for my well-being. And yet, I really enjoyed the film and find myself feeling really defensive about it.
First off, there's the plot. You don't have to know anything about the Racer family to get into the movie. Everything is explained in a nice series of interspersed racing moments and flashbacks in the first fifteen minutes. The Racer family builds and races cars, Speed is obsessed with racing as a child and grows up to become one of the world's best race car drivers, and something mysterious happened to his older brother Rex whom Speed nearly worshipped. I have some quibbles with how the fortunes of the world's finances seem to depend on the outcome of races, but I understand the conceit as it is described. I'm willing to let it go as partial hyperbole from a narrator who is too close to the action. And I can also shrug it off as a future world where I don't know the details of the inner workings. I just accept it, recognizing it as the lynchpin that the movie is based upon and then move on.
Eventually Speed's family is threatened by the evil corporations and he fights back in the only way he knows—by racing them. And those race scenes are a whole lot of fun. It's a little jarring to find that Speed usually races I the Mach 6 while the Mach 5 is his personal vehicle, but it makes sense within the story. Most of the time, Speed races on tracks, so the Mach 6 doesn't have any gadgetry other than the jacks—and in this movie, all of the race cars have those jacks. But when Speed sneaks off to race in a road rally, the Mach 5 is modified to contain all the cool gear that we remember from the cartoon. Each device is deployed at least once, except for the remote controlled camera hawk, which actually was my favorite gadget from the show. And their use is ingenious and fun.
As for the actors, I think they do a really strong job giving life to the fairly flat personalities from the animated series. John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox just shine as Pops and Mom Racer and Racer X, perfectly carrying off the caricatures and expanding them as far as the plot will allow them to grow. Christina Ricci lights up the screen as Trixie, though she is underused in the story. Paulie Litt embodies the annoying little brother, Spritle, really well, and his chemistry with his monkey Chim-chim, is dead on as well. Roger Allam just chews the scenery as the diabolical Royalton, and it works because this is a movie of excess. The worst performance in the bunch was Emile Hirsch as Speed. His delivery is flat throughout, showing very little emotion about anything, even when he is supposed to be extremely angry or happy. Nicholas Elia, who plays Speed in the flashbacks, shows a lot more range in his acting than we ever see from Hirsch.
As for the rest, it is eye candy. The scenes are filled with vibrant color and motion, making it clear this is about movement. The cinematography is fun, using interesting methods for scene cuts, and moving camera angles. And the race scenes are just over the top, pushing CGI to its current limits and probably expanding the technology such that what we see here will be commonplace in the future. The races are thrilling, even if they defy the laws of physics, but I didn't come to this movie expecting realism. Generally the events in the races are easy to follow, despite the jump cuts, flying camera angles and brilliant flashes of light and color. In fact, I understood those scenes better than I could figure out the fight scenes in Transformers.
And so I don't know why Speed Racer is being panned. It never promised to be a sweeping drama about the life of a young race car driver. It is a fine adaptation of a childhood favorite, almost slavishly following the storylines and themes of the animated show. It never felt to me that it had any pretense of being other than what it was, and it turns out to be a whole lot of fun. I think kids would just fall in love with it, especially with Spritle and Chim-chim, and adults who were fond of the show really don't have any reason to complain. Even adults just looking for escape should enjoy it. I don't feel any compulsion to see it again, but I'm really glad I did see it, on the big screen and with digital sound, before it unfortunately is relegated to half-price movie theaters. I'd recommend it to anyone, but they should try to see it before it gets away.
First off, there's the plot. You don't have to know anything about the Racer family to get into the movie. Everything is explained in a nice series of interspersed racing moments and flashbacks in the first fifteen minutes. The Racer family builds and races cars, Speed is obsessed with racing as a child and grows up to become one of the world's best race car drivers, and something mysterious happened to his older brother Rex whom Speed nearly worshipped. I have some quibbles with how the fortunes of the world's finances seem to depend on the outcome of races, but I understand the conceit as it is described. I'm willing to let it go as partial hyperbole from a narrator who is too close to the action. And I can also shrug it off as a future world where I don't know the details of the inner workings. I just accept it, recognizing it as the lynchpin that the movie is based upon and then move on.
Eventually Speed's family is threatened by the evil corporations and he fights back in the only way he knows—by racing them. And those race scenes are a whole lot of fun. It's a little jarring to find that Speed usually races I the Mach 6 while the Mach 5 is his personal vehicle, but it makes sense within the story. Most of the time, Speed races on tracks, so the Mach 6 doesn't have any gadgetry other than the jacks—and in this movie, all of the race cars have those jacks. But when Speed sneaks off to race in a road rally, the Mach 5 is modified to contain all the cool gear that we remember from the cartoon. Each device is deployed at least once, except for the remote controlled camera hawk, which actually was my favorite gadget from the show. And their use is ingenious and fun.
As for the actors, I think they do a really strong job giving life to the fairly flat personalities from the animated series. John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, and Matthew Fox just shine as Pops and Mom Racer and Racer X, perfectly carrying off the caricatures and expanding them as far as the plot will allow them to grow. Christina Ricci lights up the screen as Trixie, though she is underused in the story. Paulie Litt embodies the annoying little brother, Spritle, really well, and his chemistry with his monkey Chim-chim, is dead on as well. Roger Allam just chews the scenery as the diabolical Royalton, and it works because this is a movie of excess. The worst performance in the bunch was Emile Hirsch as Speed. His delivery is flat throughout, showing very little emotion about anything, even when he is supposed to be extremely angry or happy. Nicholas Elia, who plays Speed in the flashbacks, shows a lot more range in his acting than we ever see from Hirsch.
As for the rest, it is eye candy. The scenes are filled with vibrant color and motion, making it clear this is about movement. The cinematography is fun, using interesting methods for scene cuts, and moving camera angles. And the race scenes are just over the top, pushing CGI to its current limits and probably expanding the technology such that what we see here will be commonplace in the future. The races are thrilling, even if they defy the laws of physics, but I didn't come to this movie expecting realism. Generally the events in the races are easy to follow, despite the jump cuts, flying camera angles and brilliant flashes of light and color. In fact, I understood those scenes better than I could figure out the fight scenes in Transformers.
And so I don't know why Speed Racer is being panned. It never promised to be a sweeping drama about the life of a young race car driver. It is a fine adaptation of a childhood favorite, almost slavishly following the storylines and themes of the animated show. It never felt to me that it had any pretense of being other than what it was, and it turns out to be a whole lot of fun. I think kids would just fall in love with it, especially with Spritle and Chim-chim, and adults who were fond of the show really don't have any reason to complain. Even adults just looking for escape should enjoy it. I don't feel any compulsion to see it again, but I'm really glad I did see it, on the big screen and with digital sound, before it unfortunately is relegated to half-price movie theaters. I'd recommend it to anyone, but they should try to see it before it gets away.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Comics for 14 May
There was enough interesting stuff last week that I’m going to write about a weeks’ worth of comics. I feel very tentative about this for some reason, as though I’ve fallen out of practice.
Spoilers ho!
Batman 676 – R.I.P. begins with this issue, and typical of Morrison, we’re introduced to a grand spate of characters that are unfamiliar, calling themselves the Black Glove and led by Doctor Hurt. I don’t know that any of them have appeared in any of Morrison’s stories to this point, but they are setting up what they call the Dance of Death for Batman. The writing is generally quite good, spending time with Batman and Robin in pursuit of another failed costumed villain before returning home. We find that Bruce Wayne and Jezebel Jet are an item now, and that she knows his secret identity and appears willing to accept it, even talking to him about the time when Batman’s mission is complete, including his ability to recognize it being done. At the same time, Robin and Alfred have a very discerning conversation about the emotional roller coaster Batman appears to be on, and the state of the Batman family. It’s actually fairly touching to see something like a familial moment here, and Alfred is written particularly well—stalwart and compassionate at the same time.
But when the Joker gets introduced to the mix in what feels in some ways like a four-page coda to the main story, things get all garbled up. I’ve read those four pages probably twenty times trying to figure out what is going on and where we are, and while I have some ideas, there is nothing to firmly answer my questions. Perhaps more will be revealed in the next issues—and solicitations make it clear that Joker plays a vital part in this story—but my experience with Morrison and the unanswered questions awaiting responses is that they really get answered. It’s no help that Tony Daniel’s art, strong throughout the issue, is especially compelling in these pages, but it doesn’t help to answer the questions that he pages raise.
It’s a strong start to what is supposed to be the most important storyline in years for Batman (this time everything changes!), but I admit to being a little pessimistic, both in the successful completion of this story and its place in the Batman canon at large.
Titans 2 – If you’re going to bring back the Titans, there really is no better way to do it than by bringing Trigon back as well. Writer Judd Winick is weaving an interesting story of revenge, as Trigon aims to settle the score with the Titans. Raven returns to her home dimension to suss who is attacking the Titans, while the rest of the team at first rescues another captured titan and then waits for the results of Raven’s sussing—results which arrive fairly explosively and with a big reveal. The story has potential, a lot of it actually, especially for true Titans fans.
Unfortunately, there are two glaring weaknesses. First, the art is horrible. I don’t recall any art specifically from Joe Benitez anywhere else—which I consider a good thing; while not good enough to stand out, it also wasn’t bad enough to stand out. But this is really bad stuff; all of the characters look like Stretch Armstrong caricatures, all drawn out and thin. I swear the model for Flash is Plastic Man, especially when we first see him with a jaunty pose Wally has never affected before. But as bad as the men are, the women are far far worse, with wide expanses of forehead leading to tight faces taking up very little space on the front of the head. It’s just not enjoyable to look at.
Secondly, Winick is failing massively at finding the voice of the Titans. They are more than friends; they are family, each with their own voice but with all sorts of embedded connections. What Winick has, written, however seems like a loose confederation of allies coming together to fight a common cause. Especially telling is the portrayal of Gar Logan, Beast Boy, as some sort of comic prop. In the past, he has been the comic figure, but he has grown past that in recent years and stories. Winick writes him as if he was 12 years old again and generally stupider than he actually was at that age. It’s grating and distracting from what could be a cool story.
I’m going to keep reading this for a bit, just because it is the Titans, but these two issues are enough to make me drop the title soon if they don’t get fixed, no matter the potential of a good Titans story. (And this morning, having seen the cover for Titans 5, I’m not optimistic…).
Wonder Woman 20 – I think I have made no bones about how much I like Gail Simone. And now she has gone something unexpected, reaching back into DC’s fantasy past, bringing back characters that I have found to be filled with unrealized potential from the DC implosion. With this issue, Wonder Woman meets Stalker and Beowulf, with hints that we are going to see Claw as well. Simone’s characterization of the implosion characters feels dead on, and she uses them to insert Wonder Woman in a fantasy world with gods and magic, which to be honest often feels like it is where she should be most often. I’m delighted with this first part of the story and looking forward to how it plays out. And Aaron Lopresti turns in some really strong art work to go with the story, especially in close-ups of characters’ faces.
And some related Gail Simone news--convention reports indicate she will be doing an ongoing Secret Six series, with art by one of my favorites, Nicola Scott. Huzzah!
Spoilers ho!
Batman 676 – R.I.P. begins with this issue, and typical of Morrison, we’re introduced to a grand spate of characters that are unfamiliar, calling themselves the Black Glove and led by Doctor Hurt. I don’t know that any of them have appeared in any of Morrison’s stories to this point, but they are setting up what they call the Dance of Death for Batman. The writing is generally quite good, spending time with Batman and Robin in pursuit of another failed costumed villain before returning home. We find that Bruce Wayne and Jezebel Jet are an item now, and that she knows his secret identity and appears willing to accept it, even talking to him about the time when Batman’s mission is complete, including his ability to recognize it being done. At the same time, Robin and Alfred have a very discerning conversation about the emotional roller coaster Batman appears to be on, and the state of the Batman family. It’s actually fairly touching to see something like a familial moment here, and Alfred is written particularly well—stalwart and compassionate at the same time.
But when the Joker gets introduced to the mix in what feels in some ways like a four-page coda to the main story, things get all garbled up. I’ve read those four pages probably twenty times trying to figure out what is going on and where we are, and while I have some ideas, there is nothing to firmly answer my questions. Perhaps more will be revealed in the next issues—and solicitations make it clear that Joker plays a vital part in this story—but my experience with Morrison and the unanswered questions awaiting responses is that they really get answered. It’s no help that Tony Daniel’s art, strong throughout the issue, is especially compelling in these pages, but it doesn’t help to answer the questions that he pages raise.
It’s a strong start to what is supposed to be the most important storyline in years for Batman (this time everything changes!), but I admit to being a little pessimistic, both in the successful completion of this story and its place in the Batman canon at large.
Titans 2 – If you’re going to bring back the Titans, there really is no better way to do it than by bringing Trigon back as well. Writer Judd Winick is weaving an interesting story of revenge, as Trigon aims to settle the score with the Titans. Raven returns to her home dimension to suss who is attacking the Titans, while the rest of the team at first rescues another captured titan and then waits for the results of Raven’s sussing—results which arrive fairly explosively and with a big reveal. The story has potential, a lot of it actually, especially for true Titans fans.
Unfortunately, there are two glaring weaknesses. First, the art is horrible. I don’t recall any art specifically from Joe Benitez anywhere else—which I consider a good thing; while not good enough to stand out, it also wasn’t bad enough to stand out. But this is really bad stuff; all of the characters look like Stretch Armstrong caricatures, all drawn out and thin. I swear the model for Flash is Plastic Man, especially when we first see him with a jaunty pose Wally has never affected before. But as bad as the men are, the women are far far worse, with wide expanses of forehead leading to tight faces taking up very little space on the front of the head. It’s just not enjoyable to look at.
Secondly, Winick is failing massively at finding the voice of the Titans. They are more than friends; they are family, each with their own voice but with all sorts of embedded connections. What Winick has, written, however seems like a loose confederation of allies coming together to fight a common cause. Especially telling is the portrayal of Gar Logan, Beast Boy, as some sort of comic prop. In the past, he has been the comic figure, but he has grown past that in recent years and stories. Winick writes him as if he was 12 years old again and generally stupider than he actually was at that age. It’s grating and distracting from what could be a cool story.
I’m going to keep reading this for a bit, just because it is the Titans, but these two issues are enough to make me drop the title soon if they don’t get fixed, no matter the potential of a good Titans story. (And this morning, having seen the cover for Titans 5, I’m not optimistic…).
Wonder Woman 20 – I think I have made no bones about how much I like Gail Simone. And now she has gone something unexpected, reaching back into DC’s fantasy past, bringing back characters that I have found to be filled with unrealized potential from the DC implosion. With this issue, Wonder Woman meets Stalker and Beowulf, with hints that we are going to see Claw as well. Simone’s characterization of the implosion characters feels dead on, and she uses them to insert Wonder Woman in a fantasy world with gods and magic, which to be honest often feels like it is where she should be most often. I’m delighted with this first part of the story and looking forward to how it plays out. And Aaron Lopresti turns in some really strong art work to go with the story, especially in close-ups of characters’ faces.
And some related Gail Simone news--convention reports indicate she will be doing an ongoing Secret Six series, with art by one of my favorites, Nicola Scott. Huzzah!
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