The Creator (2023)

With a basic narrative that will feel very familiar to fans of popular media (a man has to ferry a child from A to B while trying to stop people from realising how important/powerful the child is), I can see why The Creator didn’t really make the impact that writer-director Gareth Edwards would have been hoping for. That’s a shame though, because The Creator is a visual feast that ends up being more than just the sum of its parts. 

John David Washington plays Joshua, a former soldier who is tasked with heading into enemy territory and taking ownership of a weapon that could turn the tide in an ongoing battle between humans and A.I. robots. The weapon doesn’t look like a weapon though. It looks like a child (Madeleine Yula Voyles), albeit a robo-child, and details are revealed that make the situation increasingly complicated for Joshua.

The cast is a big plus here, and Washington continues to deliver great performances in everything he’s attached to. Voyles is also very good, playing her innocent and powerful character with just the right amount of constant vulnerability. Gemma Chan doesn’t get much screentime, but she plays a pivotal role in the proceedings, and Allison Janney once again shows how effortlessly badass she can be, this time playing a badass military figure. Other familiar faces include Amar Chadha-Patel, Ralph Ineson, and Ken Watanabe, all being as reliable as our lead.

The other big plus, and the main selling point, is the gorgeousness of the full world that has been realised onscreen. Edwards knows how to stretch every dollar of a budget, and the spectacle he presents here rivals that of many movies that would have cost two or three times what this cost, if not more. Although it doesn’t take time to dwell on every detail, this is a film that feels as if a whole world keeps on turning just beyond the edges of the frame. The score from Hans Zimmer works in perfect harmony with the visuals, and sci-fi fans should find plenty to soak up and enjoy here.

The script is where things fall down. Working with Chris Weitz, Edwards is unable to craft any dialogue or set-pieces worthy of the world that the characters inhabit. There are very good moments here and there, and it’s still engaging thanks to the central characters, but things are dragged down by a mix of predictability and stretched plausibility. The backstory for Joshua doesn’t seem to fit pieces together as well as it’s supposed to, but maybe that’s just me being cynical.

Weakness be damned though. I loved The Creator. The strengths ultimately outweigh the weaknesses, and I am happy we have this kind of originality to savour, even if it’s as derivative and faltering as some other movies I might judge more harshly, depending on my mood and the timing.

8/10

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Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

The extent of my Pokémon knowledge is very limited. I know that people have "gotta catch 'em all". I know the best way to get Pikachu on a bus . . . poke 'im on. And I know that the mobile game was massively successful, and seemed to be the latest thing that everyone was obsessed with when it was released, for all of a month. I was also vaguely aware of the Detective Pikachu videogame. That's it. So I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing that I enjoyed this movie so much.

Justice Smith plays Tim Goodman, a young man who travels to tidy up some affairs after the death of his father, Harry. He ends up finding a Pikachu that seemed to belong to his father. He can even understand what it is saying, while others only hear sounds like "pika pika". The pair team up to find out what happened to Harry, which leads them to big battles, interrogating a creature that communicates via the medium of mime, and crossing paths with Mewtwo.

I've looked into this (these reviews aren't just slapped together without any care or effort, you know . . . not all the time anyway) and it seems that Pokémon Detective Pikachu is an entertaining movie that manages to satisfy both fans and newcomers alike. There are numerous nods and references scattered throughout every scenes, and the main storyline makes good use of some familiar characters. If you're going to make a movie from this particular brand, this isn't a bad way to go about it.

Smith is a good young lead, and he quickly builds a nice chemistry with his Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds). The two are a classic mis-matched duo, and Pikachu is nicely realised with some perfect CGI. Having said that, I cannot think of any mis-steps here, on a visual level. Every character is rendered in a way that aligns with their traits (some are a bit more cartoonish, some more realistic) and the production design is often gorgeous. As for the other humans, Bill Nighy and Ken Watanabe lend their not-inconsiderable talents to the proceedings, and it's amusing to watch them have some fun, Kathryn Newton is a plucky investigative journalist, Lucy Stevens, and has great onscreen presence, and you have some fun support from Chris Geere, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora, and Karan Soni (the latter two having much less screentime than the others).

Director Rob Letterman also helped to write the screenplay with Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Derek Connolly, from a story also co-created with Nicole Perlman, and this may be his best work yet. His animated movies always felt like second-tier efforts (especially Shark Tale), but his live-action work has been on a steady upward trajectory, from Gulliver's Travels to Goosebumps and now this. 

What could have been a painful cash-in is instead an impressive and amusing detective flick that benefits from the care taken with it, from the writing to the many details tucked away in every scene. Although not a traditional Pokémon story, it manages to treat all of the characters, and the whole universe, with respect. Fans of the series should have a lot of fun with this, and movie fans who don't know much about the games can also have a lot of fun. I THINK it's a very good Pokémon movie, but I KNOW it's a very good movie.

8/10

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You can watch the full movie, for free, here.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

Oh boy, I was pumped for the latest big-screen outing for Godzilla. I fully bought into the hype. The trailer worked for me, advance word was that it made up for the lack of action in the previous American Godzilla movie, and knowing the other monsters were going to be getting some screentime had me practically salivating.

Reviews weren't always kind, however, when they started to appear. But there seemed to be a clear divide. Those who were happy with the monster fights, and those who seemed to miss the point and think that the failings elsewhere (poor script, thin characterisations) would bother Godzilla fans who went along to see a titanic smackdown.

I have to say that I am in the camp of those who seem to have missed the point, despite believing that I really do GET the point. I don't think a blockbuster of this type needs to have such poor writing or characterisation in place but I can overlook it if the action is pleasing enough. That wasn't the case here, for reasons I will delve into shortly.

The basic plot concerns a group of people who are using a machine to wake up the titans (giant monsters that are now known to the world, and being debated by governments). They have a plan to bring balance back to the planet. That plan goes out the window when King Ghidorah sets itself up as the apex predator and leader of the titans. This means that the only hope us puny humans have is Godzilla. If he can be put in the right place at the right time, and if he wants to help. Although other giant monsters are shown, this is a battle between Godzilla and King Ghidorah, with some nice set-pieces involving Rodan and Mothra, both separately and together. Which is enough to keep many fans very happy, especially with the quality of CGI on display.

Directed by Michael Dougherty, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Zach Shields, what we have here is a bloated disaster movie in the shape of a kaiju flick, and you can see the boxes marked off that particular checklist if you look out for them. The big opener and then standard scenes of character establishment, the one person who rallied against a certain invention that is now the cause of all their problems (in this case it's a way to kind of communicate with the titans), the tough decisions made about who can be helped and who must be left to die, and the moments of noble sacrifice. Although I almost daren't say his name in relation to another incarnation of Big G on film, this is almost more like a Roland Emmerich movie in terms of the structure and plotting. I do like Dougherty. I just think he got carried away here with the set-pieces and the opportunity to create visions bigger than anything he'd previously been able to get close to.

The human cast are a mixed bag. I really like Kyle Chandler, who plays the lead, a man personally invested in fixing the situation as he attempts to locate his ex-wife (Vera Farmiga) and his daughter (Millie Bobby Brown), both of whom are currently being dragged around the planet by the sorta-villain played by Charles Dance. Chandler ends up in a group that includes Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe, reprising their roles from the 2014 movie, Zhang Ziyi, Bradley Whitford, Aisha Hinds, and Thomas Middleditch. David Strathairn, CCH Pounder, Joe Morton, and O'Shea Jackson Jr also help to fill out the supporting cast, some for what seems like mere seconds of screentime.

What hurts everyone is the script, which just gets worse and worse as the film plays out. Character motivations seem murky, at best, any moments that are supposed to feel powerful and moving are exactly the opposite, and it's all weak filler in between the action beats.

And I understand that many others have been pleased by those action beats. They have been able to overlook the obvious failings elsewhere because, to them, this delivers the goods. It throws major devastation around onscreen as if it's making a statement in direct response to the Gareth Edwards movie (which I like more nowadays, the more I think about it). I just don't know how other people weren't bothered by sore eyes and headaches as I was. The action here is shot by people who just graduated from the Michael Bay School Of Making Every Frame Busy And Letting An Epileptic Octopus Be In Charge Of The Editing (that's a real school, honest). I have yet to be beaten into submission by any film that I have opted to see in the cinema, but I came perilously close to walking out of this one after being so pained by the first big fight between Godzilla and King Ghidorah. Overdo everything, make sure to add cloud and rain and debris

Look, I'm not completely oblivious to the charms of this movie. There are quite a few shots throughout that are stunning, in terms of scale and shot composition (and most of the scenes with Mothra are beautiful). And the idea of these giant creatures fighting is great, obviously. I'll also admit that the plotting works when it comes to the actual behaviours of the monsters. And every moment featuring Rodan is fantastic. There's also a superb score by Bear McCreary. But none of these things really make up for the fact that so much of the film is such a chaotic mess that it can cause actual pain.

And none of this negative take on the film has stopped me from pre-ordering it to check out again on a smaller screen (where I might end up actually enjoying it slightly more, being able to enjoy the scale and effects without feeling over-stimulated by the busy visuals and noise).

4/10
Upgraded to 5/10 as I really cannot have it at the same lowly rating as the Emmerich movie.

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Bonus Review: Godzilla (2014)

Let me start this review by reminding people that I was in the minority when it came to Monsters, the cinematic feature debut of Mr. Gareth Edwards. I thought that the film was good, but not great. Edwards had the potential to do much better, I thought. When the news came that he’d been handed Godzilla, I was as excited as anyone else. And as the hype machine started to gather speed I was definitely eager to be wowed by this movie. I paid extra for IMAX tickets, I picked the best seats available, and I slipped on the 3D glasses.

And two hours later I walked out of the cinema with a feeling of disappointment.

What’s the plot? Well, after a fantastic credit sequence, we get to see Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) trying to figure out what to do about tremors that he fears may cause problems for the Japanese nuclear power station he works at. Those tremors do cause problems. Major problems. Fast forward by fifteen years and Joe is still obsessing over just what happened. The area is, apparently, dangerously radioactive, but Joe thinks that something is being covered up. When he’s arrested for trespassing, while trying to access his own home (abandoned in the middle of the disaster, it has some of his work/research that he desperately needs), it’s up to his son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), to travel to Japan, pick him up and try to keep him out of further trouble. Ford had just started to enjoy some leave time from the military, settling down with his wife (Elizabeth Olsen) and son (Carson Bolde), but picking up his dad will soon be the least of his worries. It’s not long until a MUTO – Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism – shows up and starts to make a mess, to put it mildly. And then, well, it’s only a matter of time until the titular creature makes an appearance.

Godzilla is not a BAD film, and many fans of the big guy have expressed their absolute delight with the final product, but it’s a film that highlights just how small the bag of tricks is that director Edwards is working with. Most of the movie can be summed up in this way – camera looks at character, character looks awestruck, camera then moves to reveal part of whatever is inspiring reaction. Seriously, remove every shot just like that and you could probably shave ten minutes off the runtime. Some have complained about the slow build, but that really didn’t bother me. Patience is a virtue, and it’s fair enough to make people wait and wait for the main event. It’s a shame, however, that an early trick/gag of cutting away from some monstrous action is then repeated on so many occasions that you start to suspect that the whole thing is one big leg-pull. The big third act was interrupted a few times, each time cutting away to scenes that seemed painfully boring compared to what viewers knew they were missing out on.

It’s also a shame that everything felt as if it was taking place in a large studio lot, as opposed to a city full of people. I know that evacuation measures were put into place, but I find it hard to believe that the location of the final battle would be cleared out so quickly. The end result is something that feels impressive, but also feels as if it is taking place in a vacuum. This is a failing highlighted by just how potentially great the mid-point sequence in Hawaii is, but that set-piece is one of those just used to tease the audience on the way to the grand finale.

The acting from everyone concerned is just fine for the film. I thought Taylor-Johnson was decent enough as the rather bland military man who ends up stuck in the middle of a monster mash, Cranston is the human highlight of the cast, but isn’t around for long enough, and Olsen has to look concerned a lot of the time, which she does. Ken Watanabe gets a few choice lines, he’s a man who knows what Godzilla is and how he should be respected, while Sally Hawkins hangs around beside him and isn’t given all that much to do at all. And then there’s David Strathairn, who does well as the Admiral trying to save as many lives as possible. While nobody, Cranston aside, is on their best form, complaining about the acting in a Godzilla movie is like complaining about there not being enough sex and violence in a Pixar film. The two don’t really go together, so just sit back and enjoy it for what it is.

The other main stars are pretty superb, it must be said, with Godzilla looking the best that he’s ever looked. He may be a CG creation, but he feels real, he has weight, and his appearance mixes new touches with the established, classic template. Similiar praise can be heaped upon any other creatures onscreen, although it’s a shame that the main MUTO feels a bit too much like a blend between the creature from Cloverfield and Super 8.

The script by Max Borenstein is okay, bringing a seriousness back to the franchise that was missing in the much-maligned 1998 movie (a film which most like to dismiss, but I enjoyed). But giving the movie a serious tone and forgetting to include ANY sense of fun are two very different things. Aside from one cheeky gag – a big showdown being played on a news report – the film is a pretty po-faced and humourless affair. Thankfully, it does include plenty to appease fans, and at least consistently tries to deliver spectacle on a grand scale.

Last, but by no means least, I have to mention the superb audio work. The score, by Alexandre Desplat, is almost flawless throughout, and I’ll happily admit that there have been few sounds to impress me in the cinema half as much as hearing that mighty Godzilla roar.

Even if you end up as disappointed as I was, this is a film to see on the big screen, accompanied by a superior sound system. Although it falls down on a number of main points, there are also still many great moments in the movie. Edwards has done what he set out to do. Put Godzilla back on the big screen, atomic breath and all, in a movie that gives him the respect he deserves. Maybe next time he’ll also respect the audience a little bit more.

6/10

While waiting for the Bluray further down the line, quench your kaiju thirst with this collection - http://www.amazon.com/Godzilla-Collection-Yuriko-Hoshi/dp/B000VXWK86/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1400613055&sr=1-2&keywords=godzilla