Movie Review: The Bourne Identity

I haven't posted in a while, and for that I'm sorry. I've been doing a lot of screenwriting which has been taking up my time. I'm going to try to post more often in the future. So, here's a movie which would be better titled "Generic Action Film".

The Bourne Identity follows Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), who should be dead. Really, he should be dead. He's not a superhero, so please someone explain to me how he survived being shot dead and drowning in the Mediterranean sea. He's left with no memory of who he is and why he is not dead when he is picked up by a fishing boat that is passing by. He then sets out on a quest to find out who he is and why everybody seems to want him dead with the help of the gypsy Marie (Franka Potente).

The movie is shot in a sort of documentary style to try and make the viewer feel like it's more realistic. They do it in a fashion that was uncommon for the time when it was made, along with making use of a much more gritty style of cinematography which was popular in 2002.

Matt Damon is great as Jason Bourne, and this was a decent follow up to what is possibly his best role in Saving Private Ryan. That said, none of the other acting is really a standout. It's not bad, it's just not particularly good.

The movie doesn't really have a great plot, or any plot so to speak of. It attempts to make up for this with lots and lots of action. Fistfights, gun fights, car chases, you name it, this movie has it.

Overall: 2.5 out of four stars. If you love action movies, this one is for you. If you don't, you could probably find something better to watch.

Reference scale:
The Bourne Supremacy < The Bourne Identity < The Bourne Ultimatum

Movie Review: Snowpiercer

Wow. This movie is really depressing. If you're going to watching it, I would not recommend doing anything vaguely negative the rest of the day.

Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic story about a train carrying all of what remains of the human race after a failed global warming experiment freezes the planet. At the front of the train is a near-Utopian society, where passengers can get almost everything that they want. However, the further you go towards the back, the more impoverished it becomes and a class society forms. A citizen of the tail of the train, Curtis (Chris Evans), stages a revolt to equalize the power on the train.

The film's violence is really over-the-top and is probably my least favorite part of the film. They could of done a lot less of the blood and gore and still had a good movie.

Everything else, however, is well above average. It's a very provocative film politically, with a lot of moral questions front and center.

The acting is superb, from the lead in Chris Evans to the supporting cast of actors not only from the US but also Korean and European actors. Chris Evans gives in my opinion the best performance in a role that is at times hard and gritty but at others very touching.

It's a very serious and dark movie. The days have past when even the most serious movies would crack a joke or two, this movie is incredibly hard core and no-nonsense. I would consider this movie in the same category as Blade Runner in that it's very serious and violent.

Overall: 3.5 out of four stars. If you can stand the gory, on-screen violence, it's a provocative and interesting film.

Reference scale:
Blade Runner < Snowpiercer < Looper

Have you seen Snowpiercer? What did you think? Comment below!

Movie Review: Benchwarmers

Sometimes a movie's opening reflects the content of the rest of the movie. This movie opens with a fart joke.

The Benchwarmers follows the story of three older guys who decide to form a little league team in order to avenge their failures as kids. It's a decent concept, but my real beef with this movie is everything except for the concept.

The script is only so-so, I felt like it relied way too much on nerd/jock stereotypes than it ought to. Character development was minimal and although it made me chuckle in a few places, it had a lot of room to improve.

My biggest problem with this movie is the acting. It's terrible. Even for a kids movie, the acting either seems forced or underdone. They deliver their lines like they're kids in a WB Mason commercial.

The plot is relatively simple, which is understandable given its intended age demographic. The humor also uses the same excuse and it would be better if the screenwriter at least used a little tiny bit of subtlety. It's riddled with jokes about farts and other subjects on the same level of maturity. It's rated PG-13, so I think it kind of fell into that dead zone where its rating prevented its intended audience from seeing it but was too immature for those who were allowed to watch it.

Overall: 1 out of four stars. It's directed by the same guy who directed Grown Ups 2 so you can expect the same level of complexity.

Reference scale:
Grown Ups < The Benchwarmers < Happy Gilmore

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

Star Trek and Star Wars had a baby who grew up and smoked weed with The Avengers. That's what Guardians of the Galaxy is.

Guardians of the Galaxy follows the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who was taken from earth as a boy by space traders. In this movie he must protect an orb of infinite energy from the ruthless Ronan. If Peter and his group of misfits don't stop him, Ronan will kill billions of people.

It's a great superhero movie all around, I would say that I enjoyed it more than The Avengers. The acting is great, Bradley Cooper steals the show as Rocket Raccoon. All around, though, the acting is good, from Chris Pratt's definitive interpretation of Star-lord to Zoe Saldana as Gamora.

It's also one of the funniest movies I've seen this summer. The first half of the movie is almost a comedy. It's laugh-out-loud funny for the first forty five minutes to and hour, and then the tone turns more serious. They still crack jokes and one-liners, but the tone is more grim overall.

The characters and writing are great, and I got a little choked up at the end. It touches you, and is not just surface deep like most superhero movies. And come on, in what other movie do you have a raccoon whose best friend is a tree? I found myself worrying for the characters even when there was no present danger, because James Gunn makes you care so, so much about them that you really want them to be safe more than anything else.

Overall: 4 out of four stars. It's teh best movie I've seen to come out of 2014 (that said, I haven't seen Boyhood yet).

Reference scale:
Avengers < Guardians of the Galaxy < Is this the greatest comic book movie ever?

Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy? If not, go see it now. Now. Why are you still on this blog? If you have, what do you think? Is this the greatest comic book movie of all time?