Category Archives: Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

@JonRoyalty Review | The Three Separate Films Found in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

As a 6th Grade English Language Arts teacher, I have read many essays. The biggest error I notice is the lack of coherency. Instead of focusing on a singular objective or point and developing it, kids introduce many claims and fail to substantiate each one with fidelity. Such was the fate of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (henceforth referred to as BvS), a film with the coherency and development of a 6th grader’s english essay.

For this review, I will discuss the “separate films” inside BvS that, if made into standalone movies, could be fairly solid. My main go-to line with my kids is “You’re making a lot of good points here, but you’re not developing each one enough. Choose one to focus on, and build it to fruition.” BvS will get the same thesis in this review:

Film 1: Dark Batman “Origin” Film that takes place before Man of Steel

Origin is worse than some swear words in the superhero film genre these days. “We already know how Bruce Wayne became Batman; We don’t need to be told that story again!” When I say origin, I mean the origin of how this Batman came to be the way he is. Ben Affleck (henceforth referred to as Batfleck), the best part of this film, portrays an aged and fatigued Batman. However, he is so vigorous and relentless with his justice distribution. His two big scenes were a grand car chase and a hand-to-hand showdown with an entire floor of bad guys. You can assume that many of the thugs in BvS die instantly or later succumb to the wounds inflicted on them by Batman.

SLAM!

Batfleck also does a great job portraying the Bruce Wayne millionaire playboy mystique and much of the “World’s Greatest Detective” moniker when he sneaks around downloading secret files. Jeremy Irons’ Alfred was also stellar and a nice foil to Batfleck.

We can infer that either a singular event or his body of experiences turned Batfleck into this type of Batman, but which one and/or what was it? This is important because we never get a true sense of where he stands on the morality line. Does he refuse to kill people? Or does he refuse to kill people directly, but is okay with people dying because of his actions? He brands criminals who murder and kill, but then does the same thing and, again, outright plans to Superman!

Batfleck is definitely the high point in the film, and we should have gotten to spend more time with him.

Film 2: Superman’s “Hopeful, Political Thriller Synthesis” Sequel to Man of Steel

After the events of Man of Steel, Superman has become a controversial figure. There are those that see his existence as  a bright beacon of hope, a savior of some kind. Others see him as an alien creature with godlike power who has proven to be a serious threat. Superman is so distraught about people’s perceptions of him and the complications people fabricate regarding him saving people.

Holly Hunter’s Senator [name] had a lot of interesting dialogue with other characters in interviews. “Does the world need a Superman?” “What should he do?” Amy Adams’ Lois Lane is serviceable. She’s in love with Superman and basically exists to handle plot macguffins.

This Photo Lied!!

Jesse Eisenberg’s “Lex Luthor” is terrible. His motivations are unclear. He hates Superman because he’s either a) jealous of his power b) has a complex about God and gods c) has daddy issues or d) wants to destroy the world by creating Doomsday who, if he succeeds in doing what he was creating for, will kill Superman (yay!) but kill the entire human race afterward (yay?). His performance is less Lex and more Joker. Kevin Spacey and Gene Hackman already gave us campy quirky Lex; when can we get the Clancy Brown, cold and caculated Lex from the Bruce Timm series? I just wasn’t on board with what Eisenberg was going for.

The Superman stuff basically ends there. The world has mixed feelings about him while politicians and journalists argue. Instead, a follow-up to Man of Steel should be a hopeful tale of Superman’s redemption in the eyes of the public. He goes on to save people while the people argue about him. Superman is a figure that is to inspire hope; the “S” on his chest stands for “hope” on Krypton in this Zack Snyder lore. A proper Man of Steel sequel should articulate through Superman that even though you may make great and destructive mistakes, people should eventually realize your true intentions and be appreciative. The idea that people argue over Superman even though he does the right thing even feeds into the Lord Jesus Christ metaphor that permeates Man of Steel, since a plethora of people had a problem with Jesus performing miracles and challenged him.

The Baddest Pharisee in the Land

Film 3: A Justice League Recruitment Film?

You could argue that the third film found in BvS is a Justice League Recruitment film. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman (I’m so happy that this is print so I don’t have to risk mispronouncing her name) was better than I expected. Without spoiling anything, she doesn’t do much action-wise until the end. Along the way she’s a woman of mystique and basically an object to facilitate the big Justice League mini-teasers that would be post-credits scenes if this was the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Any further discussion regarding the Justice League setup and recruitment would invite spoilers.

Should you see it?

I suppose you could do worse than BvS. The overall narrative has no coherency at all. The action sequences are filmed well enough. The titular fight is about 3% of the entire running time. Character motivations aren’t clear or sufficient, except Batman. In fact, most things in this movie aren’t great except Batman; see it for Batman at least.

You can read this posts and others just like it at JonathanMKing.Wordpress.com and can Follow this writer on twitter @JonRoyalty

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Batman (1989)

Big spoilers here…it has been out for over 25 years afterall.

Tim Burton’s Batman is the prototype characterization of Batman that we see today. After Batman’s popularity had sunk throughout the 1970s, mainly due to the camp version no longer connecting with audiences, several producers (primarily Michael Uslan) looked to restore the dark, serious version of Batman. Many movie studios scoffed at the idea though until Warner Bros. decided to take a chance on it. It still took years to for Warner Bros. to truly believe in a Batman film adaptation project. This mainly happened because of several successful comics depicting Batman as that serious, dark character (The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns for example).

Ultimately this direction worked. While the film isn’t perfect by any means, it set the tone to which DC Comics and Batman especially uses today. Batman has two major positives that outweigh pretty much all of the negatives. For one, it’s visually impressive. Batman looks great, the Joker looks great, the set pieces look pretty cool, especially since the film was made in the 1980s. The film’s dark look also helps the Joker stand out, which is a positive. Lastly, I should point out that the Batmobile is pretty awesome as well.

The other major positive that makes Batman work is that Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Batman is very good, and Jack Nicholson is incredible here as the Joker. Had those two performances not worked we may be looking at an entirely different way comic book films are looked at. Nicholson outright steals pretty much every scene he’s in. Most of the memorable scenes in the film involve him. The defacing of the artwork. The parade. “The pen is truly mightier than the sword”. And of course, his first appearance as the Joker.

It’s interesting that Batman v Superman has gotten so much heat for not being fun when this film is pretty much just as depressing. Roger Ebert made this argument that it looked like it was a depressing experience for everyone, even those who made the film. Perhaps Nicholson’s Joker was fun enough that no one cared? Maybe it was what people wanted from the comic book characters in 1989, especially from Batman? I’m not sure, but it definitely worked here.

There’s really not much else that’s to write home about in Batman. Kim Basinger is bland as Vicki Vale (no reaction whatsoever from finding out Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person?). The plot is pretty basic with several changes from the comic book that would infuriate comic book fans today (like Joker being the one to kill Bruce Wayne’s parents).  The only other standout is that the music is great and really sets the dark and gloomy mood.

But none of these negatives really matter. Batman is about two comic book icons (or freaks, as Tim Burton put it) creating one another and then finally having their big fight. It’s about two characters who operate with different levels of freedom: one operates in the shadows while the other opening mocks the city he’s attacking. And both characters are done exceptionally well. That’s what mattered.

Pros:

+Jack Nicholson as the Joker is amazing.

+Michael Keaton also works well as Bruce Wayne and Batman.

+Great change of the darker version of Batman that served the prototype for many future comic book films.

+Visuals are pretty good.

Cons:

-Outside of Keaton and Nicholson no one stands out whatsoever and Kim Basinger falls flat.

-Nothing special about the plot.

One of the most influential films in history that inspired some of the biggest comic book blockbusters in history. And it even holds up thanks to the performances of the main characters.

Grade: A

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.), Uncategorized

Two Things Ghostbusters 2016 WON’T Be

♠ … A Pretty Big Twinkie indeed. To celebrate Women’s History Month 2016, we’re going to analyze the new Ghostbusters 2016 trailer (it’s mildly annoying that I need to put a “2016” after the title to distinguish it from the 1984 film because they didn’t bother to put a subtitle behind it) and make some inferences regarding its final form in film this July.

Naturally, this movie’s very existence invites comparisons to the original Ghostbusters film from 1984, as unfair as it may be to do; ’84 is a timeless supernatural comedy classic and ’16 is still only two trailers. Peep it the latest international one:

Familiarize yourself with what you just viewed, as I will be referring back to it continually as we discuss the two things that Ghostbusters ’16 WON’T be: ♠

THE HORRIDLY UNWATCHABLE TRAVESTY PEOPLE ARE CLAIMING IT TO BE

Photo Credit: Imagefli…WOW! That’s how you feel about me??

♦ Honestly, this movie doesn’t look that terrible. We’ll talk about the aesthetics of the film first, followed by its humor.

They definitely got the look of the Ghostbusters right. The ’84 guys weren’t handsome studs and these woman aren’t costumed or made-up to be the female equivalent.

Considering the weapons, they’re satisfying from the trailer. The original ’84 team all wielded the same proton pack and nuclear accelerators. This time around, it looks like each member has her own unique weapon. Though they do have the iconic ’84 weapons, Kate McKinnon’s Holtzmann, an engineer, dual wields some type of nuclear accelerated pistols while Melissa McCarthy’s Yates punches out ghosts with some sort of proton punching gauntlets (1:13 in). The team gets bonus points for building giant bear trap ghost traps (39 seconds in). However, the question on everyone’s minds is, will it make us laugh?

It stars four  women comedians who are supposedly decidedly funny (including Saturday Night Live alumni from what I’ve read). The film is going to include gross-out gags like ghost vomit in the form of slime (20 seconds in), awkward pieces of dialogue that undercut an expected epic line from a lead character in ironic fashion (1:00 in), and, to my personal dismay, Leslie Jones’ Patty as the loud angry black woman #4 (1:25). The majority of the comedy featured in the trailer doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, but it looks somewhere in the range of mediocre to serviceable.

katemcholtzmann

As for the broad appeal of the film, two of director Paul Feig’s previous films are Bridesmaids and Spy, which have scores of 90% and 94% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, both “Certified Fresh.” 

There’s only one mindset that I infer would facilitate people seeing this film as distressingly appalling or abhorrent, because Ghostbusters ’16 won’t be… ♦

AS GREAT OR LEGENDARY AS GHOSTBUSTERS ’84

♥ Seriously, anyone who compared this film to the original ’84 film was setting themselves up for disappointment. To focus this blurb, we’ll talk about what the comedy genius of ’84 was grounded in.

Most comedies simply write funny things for characters to say. Instead, ’84 had four principle characters and each with distinct personalities. The writers then created genuine dialogue for these characters: words they would use, inflections they would truly exhibit. The comedy came from the organic interplay between the characters and how authentic the characters felt. Disclaimer: The video below features clips from Ghostbusters 2 as well, which didn’t work as well as the original, in my opinion. Give a listen:

Notice, at about 35 seconds in, there is nothing inherently funny about someone’s hobby being that he “collects spores, molds, and fungus.” However, it’s funny because the character of Egon Spangler, played by the late Harold Ramis, or a real person like Egon, would say something or have a hobby like that. It’s believable.

At about three and a half minutes in, Peter Venkman, portrayed masterfully by Bill Murray, says that he’ll go back to Sigourney Weaver’s Dana’s apartment to “check her out,” soon after claiming that he meant to say “check out her apartment.” Because Venkman is written as a sleazy, quippy, gameshow host-like scientist, this line sounds authentic.

I could do this analyses for basically every line in ’84, but instead I’ll cite the scene about 3:50 into the video. Winston Zeddmore, played by Ernie Hudson, is the everyman character. He’s the “audience surrogate,” meaning that he’s our connection to what’s happening on the screen. If written well, these characters should say and think what we do as the audience. Winston recounts the point that the plot has gotten to, almost with disbelief, since things have gotten fairly unbelievable. Egon listens intently to everything Winston stated and out of everything he says, he comments on the fact that Winston said “Babylonian” instead of “Samarian.” Again, a genuine reaction.

Seriously, I felt like these guys could have actually been friends and colleagues in real life.
Seriously, I felt like these guys could have actually been friends and colleagues in real life.

The ’84 Ghostbusters film was probably written as: “Let’s write four distinct characters, give them authentic things to say, and make their reactions to what’s happening genuine.” The comedy in the ’16 film seems to be the following: “We found four funny women so let’s write funny things for them to say and do.” ♥

Either way, I’m curious to see what the final product looks like come July 2016 when Ghostbusters 2016 (ugh…) hits theatres. And if you haven’t seen the original Ghostbusters films (which is surprising if you read this far having not), give them a view!

You can read this post and others like it at JonRoyalty’s blog at JonathanMKing.Wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @JonRoyalty

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Big spoilers here. Of course, any prequel discussion invites comparison to the originals.

Say what you want about the prequels, but the fact of the matter is the prequels did end on a strong note with Revenge of the Sith. With expectations mostly gone due to Episode I and II’s direction, all Revenge of the Sith had to deliver was the birth of Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker’s transition to Darth Vader. And for the most part, it does that. But we get so much more out of Revenge of the Sith that gets buried by the failures of the previous two prequels  (I know I gave Episode I a great review, but this was and still is the fan perception).

So why does Revenge of the Sith work? Because it took out most of the stuff the hardcore fans didn’t like in the first place. There’s no comic relief here. There’s no horrid love story. We’re all-in on the demons Anakin is facing. The film from beginning to end is almost non-stop action, and each scene seems to matter. Another big reason it works is because Hayden Christensen went from an F in Attack of the Clones to about a solid C+ here. While a C+ doesn’t sound all that great, he absolutely has his moments this time around. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Natalie Portman’s Padme.

It’s satisfying to see Palpatine’s evil plan come to fruition. Ian McDiarmid is great here once again. And while one may roll their eyes at McDiarmid hamming it up in some scenes, that is how the Emperor acted in Return of the Jedi as well.

As for the action, there are no less than five lightsaber battles and they range from good to awesome. Anakin getting revenge on Count Dooku? Really good, especially the finish. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. General Grievous, really fun. About Grievous, stupid cough aside, I thought he was a really fun side villain that also seemed like a bad ass. Mace Windu vs. The Emperor himself is probably the weakest of the battles, but still solid. Of course, the finish to that is Anakin’s turn to the dark side. The two finals battles are also a lot of fun, as Yoda takes on the Emperor and Obi-Wan and Anakin have the best lightsaber battle in the whole series. There’s so much more action here too. The opening sequence is probably in my top 5 favorite openings. We get to see some battles on other planets, including one with all the wookies. That’s also pretty awesome. The actual Order 66 declaration sees the Jedi get gunned down by their former allies, a combination of more action and some really good emotion.

I mentioned earlier there wasn’t a horrid love story here. But there is a decent, even ranging on good one here. Yes, some of the dialogue still sucks. But when Anakin and Padme aren’t going for cheesy lines they’re providing some strong emotional scenes. The scene where Padme tells Anakin she’s pregnant? It’s pretty awesome and Hayden really pulls it off with a mix of concern and happiness. How about when they’re both in separate rooms when Windu is going to face the Emperor and Anakin starts crying? That’s pretty awesome too.

One more point about Anakin. Once he turns evil…he looks awesome. I have little doubt at that point that he is Darth Vader. When he destroys Gunray he looks awesome. When he’s standing on that small flying droid in the battle against Obi-Wan, he looks awesome. It always felt earlier that Anakin was held back, to see him go on an all-out assault on Obi-Wan is satisfying.

Yeah, there are some silly scenes at the end. When Vader becomes Vader, we get a ridiculous NOOOOO! And we also learn Padme died of a broken heart, which was hilarious in itself. But we also get a few chilling scenes too…with Vader looking at the Death Star from a Star Destroyer, and Owen holding a baby Luke.

I didn’t even get into the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise, Obi-Wan Kenobi being pretty fun here or a bunch of other stuff. What can I say, it’s a film with a lot of good stuff in it.

Pros:

+Hayden Christensen is passable, and sometimes even more than passable, this time around.

+The transition from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader works well.

+Some of the love scenes are actually pretty good this time around.

+Action scenes are really good.

+Lightsaber battles are really good.

+Emperor Palpatine is really good.

Cons:

-Some silly scenes still.

-Natalie Portman is still pretty bad.

Revenge of the Sith, without a doubt, is the best Star Wars film. It may get the same grade as Empire, but Revenge had a lot more to it and didn’t have the benefit of being able to shock people like the “I am your father” line did. Revenge of the Sith had almost everything. And if this was the only Star Wars prequel ever made, people would regard it highly as well.

Grade: A

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Beauty and the Beast

Massive spoilers here…the film has been out for 24 years now.

Once Disney rediscovered the formula to win back movie goers and fans that they had lost through the 70s and 80s it was inevitable that Beauty and the Beast would be made. Beauty and the Beast was considered way back in the 30s, and Disney found out with The Little Mermaid that the animated epic fairy tale was the way to go.

And wow what a film Disney produced here. To be clear, Beauty and the Beast arguably has no weaknesses (although I’ll argue one in a bit). It has two great primary protagonists in Belle and The Beast. A great villain in Gaston. Incredible supporting characters. A great story. Great songs. Great animation. Great everything.

There are two main stories here. The first one, told by stain glass windows (awesome idea in itself) tells of a selfish Prince who turned away an old woman who offered a rose in order for shelter in the castle. The Prince refuses, then is shocked as the old woman turns into a beautiful enchantress and puts a spell on not only the Price, but his servants and castle as well. In order to break the spell he must find someone to fall in love with him before the rose wilts away. If he fails, he remains a beast forever. The second one involves Belle, the most attractive woman in the village who lives with her father. She’s a bookworm who also is quite bored of the life she’s living in the village. Gaston, the town hero, believes because he’s the most attractive man and that Belle is the most attractive woman that they should be married and constantly asks Belle to marry him. She rejects him at every turn. When her father takes a wrong turns and ends up a prisoner at the castle, Belle goes out to find him and exchanges herself for him. The clock is ticking now for the Beast, who’s running out of time to break the spell, to get Belle to fall in love with him. It’s a great set-up, with the Beast being very aggressive about the situation and Belle having none of it.

Speaking of Belle, she’s one of the all-time great Disney characters. She’s strong willed, sacrifices herself to save her father and doesn’t give into any situation she’s not interested in. She’s constantly made fun of by the town for how she acts (with her head always in a book) and how she resists Gaston (who every other woman wants), yet she never changes course. Of course, the one weakness of the film regards her as well…she’s arguably too perfect.

The Beast is just as awesome. There’s so much anger within him and it shows from the first moment you see him meet Belle’s father. Even when he realizes that he needs to be charming, his anger still comes out (I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN FOR DINNER…I’LL BREAK DOWN THE DOOR!). It’s easy to fall in love with the character throughout the film and if you don’t it’s hard not to at the end when he makes the ultimately sacrifice because he truly loves Belle.

Before I get to Gaston, let’s talk about the supporting characters. They’re all awesome. Lumiere and Cogsworth are a great comedy duo, while Mrs. Potts and Chip also have their moments. They all represent The Beast’s family in a way and they’re all memorable. Belle’s father Maurice has his moments, as does Gaston’s sidekick LeFou.

So why is Gaston so awesome? Well, he’s really not a villain. He’s the town hero! He’s the most handsome man in town! Everyone loves him! Instead of Disney just telling us he’s the bad guy, or making it clear he’s the bad guy, he’s just a guy who just wants what he believes he deserves. He doesn’t want to take over the castle, or kidnap Belle or anything, he just wants to marry her! And that’s why he’s such a great bad guy. We have other reasons not to like him. He’s arrogant. He’s brash. We probably see someone like this in our lives all of the time. When Gaston says things like “It’s not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking…” you know he believes it. He’s also who the Beast was before he was transformed…only the Beast was punished for it while Gaston gets away with it. Even when Gaston’s jealousy over Belle’s feelings for the Beast leads him to wanting to kill the Beast…there’s an argument to be made that he might honestly be doing the right thing. I mean, how safe really is the village with a Beast in a castle not too far away? And remember, the whole town goes with him in this because logically, it makes sense. What a great character.

Yeah, the songs are great too. “Be Our Guest”, “The Mob Song”, “Gaston’s Song”, “Tale as Old as Time”, “Little Town” and even the 2002 released “Human Again” are all memorable.

The animation is great as well. Some of the indoor scenes in the castle just look beautiful.

+Every character is memorable and great.

+Animation is amazing.

+Songs are great.

+Main characters are exceptional.

+Belle and the Beast actually take time to develop their relationship.

+Gaston is a unique and ultimately great Disney villain.

Cons:

-Is Belle too perfect?

No surprise this was nominated for Best Picture in 1992. First animated film ever to accomplish that.

Grade: A+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie

Big spoilers here. Not that anyone’s really going out of their way to see this one…

You know how everyone decreed that the Star Wars Prequels were absolutely awful and such? Well, Star Wars: The Clone Wars actually is that awful.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars was basically made as a commercial for the Clone Wars animated series. While not the strongest reason to make this film, I’m surprised (and not in a good way) by the direction the film went.

The story on paper sounds solid. Set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are battling the separatists all over the galaxy on behalf of the republic. Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped, and since the Hutts control important routes through space that would aid either side in the war, Yoda has Kenobi and Skywalker rescue the Hutt child. Count Dooku though is in fact setting the republic up, making it seem like the Jedi were in fact the ones who kidnapped the child, and Dooku himself is going to rescue him. Also, Yoda decides Skywalker can have an apprentice and Ahsoka Tano comes along for the adventure.

Let’s get the good out of the way because it’s quick: the action scenes are pretty cool. In fact, if the entire film was just action scenes it would have served as a great commercial for the TV show. Also, Asajj Ventress, a Sith warrior, is also pretty cool.

Alright the bad. Everything else. Skywalker’s apprentice is one of the most annoying characters I’ve seen in a feature film. Between calling her Skywalker “Skyguy” and complaining about almost everything Skywalker asks she’s unbearable. There’s a scene where Skywalker and Tano are hiding in a container, Tano actually complains about now being able to crouch too long and that she needs to stand up, blowing their cover. This is someone who wants to be a Jedi. She does have the occasional moment I guess. Speaking of unbearable, once the Hutt child comes into the picture the story moves from the Clone War to taking care of a sick Hutt. The Hutt son is just as annoying, if not worse. It’s also a lot less interesting.

Obi-Wan Kenobli could also obtain the unbearable tag, although luckily in small doses. Everything he says is some positive cliché, and he’s also involved in one ridiculous scene where he tries to set up a surrender. I won’t spoil it here, but if you ever watch it try not to shake your head on how stupid the idea is.

There’s also an entire 3rd act that’s completely unnecessary involving Jabba’s uncle, Queen Amadala and a storyline twist that seemed completely random.

But hey, the actions scenes were good.

Pros:

+Action scenes.

Cons:

-Annoying characters.

-Stupid plot choice.

-Missing major Clone Wars characters. Where’s Savage Oppress, Darth Maul and General Grevious?

Avoids an F for one reason…the action scenes really are cool.

Grade: D

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews The Little Mermaid

Massive spoilers here…the film has been out for 26 years now.

Let’s talk history first. The Little Mermaid was THE film that began the Disney Renaissance. The first fairy tale animated film since Sleeping Beauty, Disney knew they had to do something different than what they did over the past 15 years to regain the critical success they had achieved earlier. To say they succeeded with The Little Mermaid would be an understatement. You know how it seems like Disney owns everything right now? ESPN? Star Wars? ABC?  Marvel? Well you can trace all of that back to the success of the The Little Mermaid.

Now just because The Little Mermaid made money; it nearly became the first animated film to gross $100 Million and sold 64% better than Disney’s previous film Oliver and Company, doesn’t necessarily mean it was a great film. Did it stand the test of time? Is it still a great film?

The answer is a resounding yes. This was my first viewing in probably over a decade and The Little Mermaid somehow is better than I remembered it…and I remembered it as being great in the first place. The Little Mermaid hits everything. The characters are awesome. The songs are timeless. The animation at times would probably be considered great for 2015 (if 2015 still did non-computer animated stuff) so I can only imagine how well it was regarded for 1989. Disney needed to hit a homerun here and it ended up hitting the ball not only over the wall, but out of the whole damn ballpark.

So let’s talk about our characters. We have Ariel, a 16 year old Mermaid. Within five minutes we already get great characterization regarding her. She’s rebellious. She doesn’t always follow the rules. We don’t get told this, we get shown this right away when Ariel doesn’t show up to a concert performance (and Sebastian, who we’ll get to, mentions she never comes to recital). It turns out she’s off exploring a sunken ship looking to add items to her collection of things from above the shore. Within five minutes, we know her motivations and we know the character. Awesome.

We have Prince Eric. Big bonus here as unlike some Disney films where the Prince is kinda just there, Eric has his own personality. He’s fun. He jokes around. His associate Grimsby makes a statue for him and he has no issue pointing out just how stupid it looks. He has a personality.

King Triton may be the best character in the film. He’s the King of the Seas and Ariel’s father. His actions towards Ariel could be considered overbearing, but at the same time older viewers (especially parents) may find them appropriate. He doesn’t want Ariel to go towards the surface or even remotely interact with humans, but not because he’s a jerk, but because he wants her to be safe. And everytime he gets angry with Ariel or puts his foot (fin?) down, he does it convincingly. But each time he looks away from Ariel you see the pain in his face (especially after he destroys some of her stuff). Those few frames of animation that show a pained Triton really established the character.

The last main character, Ursula is a sea witch who once ruled the seas. She is another really well done character. You could even make the case that she’s not completely evil until later on. Yeah, she “looks evil” and isn’t the nicest, but she made a fair deal with Ariel and she just wants the Kingdom for herself. It’s not until she interferes with the deal to make sure she wins where you can say she’s evil no doubt. Evil is a point of view after all.

The minor characters are all memorable as well. Flounder is Ariel’s friend and even he has a whole personality of his own (while Ariel is rebellious and a risktaker, Flounder is much more cautious). Sebastian provides tons of comic relief as a crab who is tasked to look over Ariel, and basically everything he does is memorable. Buddy Hackett’s Scuttle is also hilarious.

The songs are incredible. The three main ones: “Part of Your World”, “Kiss The Girl”, and “Under The Sea” are all timeless. “Part Of Your World” is especially incredible; you really feel for Ariel and want her to accomplish her goals.

Lastly, some of the animation is incredible. When I saw Ariel come to the surface while fireworks follow Eric’s ship I can’t help but think “wow”. There are tons of moments in this film like this as well.

Are there any criticisms? There’s one that’s debatable. The Nostalgia Chick pointed out that Ariel didn’t really learn anything. She wants something, there are obstacles, she overcomes them and gets what she wants. But I disagree. The sequence where she apologizes to her father about the situation she’s in I think is her realizing she went too far.

Pros:

+Every character is memorable and great.

+Animation is amazing.

+Songs are incredible and timeless.

+Father-daughter relationship with Ariel and Triton is really well done.

+Price Eric and Ariel actually take some time to fall in love and is also really well done.

+Ursula is a top tier Disney villain.

Cons:

-Did Ariel learn anything or did she just get what she wanted in spite of everything?

Film is amazing. No wonder the Disney Renaissance began here.

Grade: A+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Shaun the Sheep: The Movie

I can keep this one mostly spoiler free.

Shaun the Sheep the Movie is a delightful film that hits its main goal, which is to be cute and entertaining. It doesn’t hold back, looking to make the audience laugh at every opportunity and succeeding in that respect. Shaun the Sheep the Movie is a silent film and as a result the visuals tell the story. The film succeeds in this respect as well.

All of the visuals in the film really hit their marks. Each character, from the random people in the city to every animal in the farm is memorable because of how they are portrayed on screen. Every moment on screen has value. This helps the main characters as well. Each main character, from Shaun to Bitzer to even the human main characters all are represented strongly based on how they act. You understand each character’s motivations.

In what works and works against the film is that Shaun the Sheep is quite simple. There’s not much of a lesson to be learned or moral. On one hand that’s good to have a simple movie. On the other, Shaun the Sheep doesn’t have much long term value.

Pros:

+Innocent and fun.

+Great visuals.

+Fun characters.

+Quite funny overall.

Cons:

-Very simple film.

-Some unnecessary music tracks in what was otherwise a really good silent film.

Grade: B+

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Big spoilers here. Of course, any prequel discussion invites comparison to the originals.

One thing that Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones didn’t have to deal with that Episode I did were outrageous expectations. Because Episode I’s reviews were bad to mixed, no one really expected Episode II to be much better. Unfortunately, this showed in the box office as well. I don’t think Episode II is awful or anything, but it has two things that really hold it back: it’s quite boring and Anakin and Padme’s love story.

Yes, Episode II for the most part is boring. All of the criticisms that many used against the prequels I see here. Too much political talk about war. Too much exposition. Not enough action. The title of the film is Attack of the Clones, but we don’t really see this attack until there are twenty minutes left in the film. There are some parts that work, but most of them don’t.

The main plot point of Episode II is that Padme (Queen Amidala) is the target of an assassination attempt. She mentions something about thinking Count Dooku is behind it, although we have no clue who Dooku is. This leads to a split up that’s similar in a way to how The Empire Strikes Back was structured. A grown Anakin Skywalker is left to protect Padme, while Obi-Wan Kenobi tries to find out information about one of the Queen’s attackers. Let’s be clear, the Anakin-Padme side is unbearable. Hayden Christensen is awful here, and Natalie Portman isn’t far behind. It’s not even that the actors do poorly, but the writing is a wreck as well. No one cares about Padme’s first kiss. No one wants to see the future Darth Vader having a picnic. Awful all around.

Obi-Wan’s journey to find out who the Queen’s attacker is does lead to some interesting scenes. When he ends up on the planet Kamino he finds out that the Republic possesses a Clone Army (which is boring), but confronts the bounty hunter Jango Fett (which was pretty cool). But most of Obi-Wan’s side of the adventure either shows the audience about the Jedi Order (where we meet the younglings) or get exposition about Count Dooku and the Emperor’s plan. I will say that the Emperor’s plan is well done, and Christopher Lee’s Count Dooku is a bright spot. Attack of the Clones is a smart film in this regard as Dooku doesn’t make it clear he’s a bad guy, he’s just someone who doesn’t believe in the Republic and even pretends to try to get along with Obi-Wan (which Obi-Wan has none of). All of this though isn’t enough to save the film.

There are three major action scenes. The first is a flying car chase which is fun. When the Clones attack that leads to another good scene. The final lightsaber battle is short and disappointing compared to what happened in Episode I, but seeing Yoda battle was pretty cool. Again, none of this is enough to save the film.

It should be pointed out there is a lot less Jar Jar Binks, which is good, but the return of the C-3PO and R2D2 pairing might have been a nod for old school fans, but it’s not memorable or anything here.

Pros:

+The actual attack of the clones was awesome.

+Christopher Lee as Count Dooku is a great choice.

+Jango Fett is pretty cool.

Cons:

-The attempted love story sucks.

-Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker was awful here.

-Pretty boring overall.

Attack of the Clones is still better than I expected it to be and I don’t think it’s much worse than A New Hope. Then again, I thought this was the worst ever at one time and found there was definitely some good stuff in it. I still wouldn’t go with “good” though.

Grade: C

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

Big spoilers here. Of course, any prequel discussion invites comparison to the originals.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace had expectations that were just impossible to meet. The first Star Wars film in sixteen years has the challenge of bringing in new fans as well as satisfying those who were loyal to the brand (which isn’t much different than the upcoming The Force Awakens). Unfortunately, the Phantom Menace disappointed pretty much all of the Star Wars loyalists, and really it’s a shame because this film is brilliant.

Our story places Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the middle of a dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo. It turns out the Trade Federation is dealing with Darth Sideous and is about to start a war to occupy Naboo. Queen Amidala escapes the Federation invasion with the two Jedi and they end up traveling to Corusant in order to plead their case to the Republic. On the way they pick up a very young Anakin Skywalker during a stop at Tatooine, a planet chosen because it was hidden from the Federation and their ship needed help. Palpatine…who anyone who saw the originals know is Sidious, is causing all kinds of chaos in the Galactic Senate in order to gain power for himself. He uses the Naboo-Federation dispute to his advantage…but seems surprised when Amidala wants to return to Naboo to fight. Ultimately, our protagonists  come out victorious in Naboo, although victory comes at a price as Qui-Gonn is killed by Sidious’ apprentice Darth Maul. The Phantom Menace introduces a ton of characters at viewers to establish a story that would lead us to A New Hope. It mostly does a good job.

Let’s talk about the worst part of this film. Jar Jar Binks. Binks is a character that Qui-Gon and Ob-Wan run into early, and Jar Jar joins them on their adventure. He’s annoying and clearly there for the kids. He’s a terrible character overall, and while the film would do best without him (which is what The Phantom Edit did), he doesn’t ov’rshadow the rest of the film. Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon does a great job often playing the straight man in any “comedy” Jar Jar is a part of, and he’s pretty great at it. It’s almost as if Neeson knew how ridiculous the Jar Jar character was and decided to make it look bad at every opportunity. Somehow, it works.

The other part old school fans didn’t like was child Anakin. I really don’t understand this one. I thought Jake Lloyd  did a great job showing just how innocent Anakin once was, which in turn really puts over just how strong the Darkside of the Force really is.

As a character, Palpatine is awesome. He’s just so evil and the way he manipulates everything and everyone provides a brilliant character arc. Obi-Wan Kenobi is pretty good here too. I don’t care for Amidala or Padme, and to be honest Natalie Portman seemed pretty bland here, but it could have been a lot worse.

Something that seems to never come up when someone talks about The Phantom Menace is just how much emotion is in this film. First off, Anakin loses not only his mother, but a father figure in Qui-Gon as well all in a short period of time. The scene where he leaves his mother is one of the strongest in the entire saga. Obi-Wan Kenobi loses his mentor as well. There’s a lot our main characters have to go through. It’s a shame that in future installments we don’t really hear about what Qui-Gon meant to Anakin.

I also liked the Gungans and how they helped the Naboo. One of my biggest problems with the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi is that they pretty much own “the empire’s best troops”. Here, the Gungans know they’re getting slaughtered and that their role is to just kill time. It’s a very smart decision that helps the end of the film. Speaking of the end of the film, the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul lightsaber battle is incredible. There has to be some extra credit as this was the first lightsaber scene since Return of the Jedi, and really, it puts all of those lightsaber battles to shame. Darth Maul’s appearance and the double lightsaber reveal is also one of the best moments in the saga.

I didn’t even get to pod racing and how fun and awesome that is. Shame that didn’t get brought back in later installments either.

Pros:

+A lot of emotion that really sets up our main characters in the future.

+Some great moments (Anakin leaves his mother, Darth Maul reveal).

+A lot of awesome characters here. Palpatine and Qui-Gon are especially strong characters. Darth Maul is just cool.

+Appearances from some of our older characters, like C3PO and R2D2 are very fun.

+Music and visuals are both top notch, although the visuals do look dated now.

Cons:

-Jar Jar Binks is pretty bad.

-Some characters are boring, like Padme.

The Phantom Menace may have not been what fans expected, but it shouldn’t have taken them away from what turned out to be a great start to the prequel trilogy. Unfortunately, it did.

Grade: A-