Prime Time: Daredevil (2003)

While most people really seemed to dislike the film when it came out, I've always had a soft spot for Daredevil. It has since been overshadowed by a superior small-screen interpretation of the character, but it still retains a certain charm, feeling even further removed nowadays from the many other bombastic superhero movies that always seem to pit the main characters against either god-like enemies or potential world-destroying threats.

Written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, this is the tale of Matt Murdock/Daredevil (Ben Affleck), a blind man who works as a lawyer by day and serves up any extra justice required by night. Things are getting tougher on the streets as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) starts to tighten his stranglehold on the criminal network. At least there's a beautiful woman, Elektra (Jennifer Garner), to get to know. But there's also the dangerous and quite bonkers Bullseye (Colin Farrell) looking to push in for his own particular dance.

It's hard to think of a film that feels more absolutely 2003 than this, from the cast to the stylistic choices made for the visuals, from the soundtrack to the attempts at grittiness. If you haven't seen the film in a while then I tentatively recommend giving it a go, especially when you get to the early scenes that show our hero happier than most to push some villains right off the mortal coil.

Affleck isn't the best fit for the lead, sadly, although he tries. This was during a time when he seemed a bit too smooth and smug, traits that seep into his portrayal of a character who is much more captivating when worn down and roughed up (as they try to make him by the third act). Garner isn't given much to work with, and I think she fares much better in the spin-off movie, but she tries to make the most of a couple of moments that allow her to flex her action skills. Duncan is superbly imposing as Fisk, really helping to lift the movie up on his broad shoulders, and Farrell . . . well, Farrell is an absolute blast for every moment that he's onscreen. He just seems to be in a different movie from everyone else, but that's the more fun and entertaining movie. Jon Favreau is an amusing "sidekick", and the cast also includes Ellen Pompeo, Joe Pantoliano, Leland Orser, David Keith, and Erick Avari, as well as one or two other familiar faces (and, yes, there's also a Stan Lee cameo here). 

It's a shame that the tone wasn't consistent throughout. The same can be said for the action. The film works best when it has some darkness and weight onscreen, but other times (a playground "flirt fight") are almost painful when trying to be a bit too cute. And once Bullseye appears onscreen then it's game over. He's the one you really want to see for the rest of the runtime.

There's still plenty to enjoy here, including the way we're shown Daredevil's reading of the environments and a good musical score from Graeme Revell, but this remains more of a miss than a hit. It's neither as slick or visually-impressive as many other modern spectacles, nor is it as entertaining and brutal as the more recent take on the character. I'll retain a soft spot for it, but I probably won't revisit it again for another decade or so, if ever. 

6/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Armageddon (1998)

The odd thing about rewatching Armageddon, a film I have watched a number of times before, is that it is somehow both worse and better than I remember. It's quite ridiculous, but manages to be ridiculous in many right ways to balance out the times that it's ridiculous in many wrong ways.

Most people know the story. There's a giant rock hurtling towards Earth. The only way to save our planet is to travel into space, land on the giant rock, and drill down into it to plant some major explosives. There's no way astronauts could manage that. The world needs the best drilling workers, and those drilling workers come in the shape of Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis) and co. There are some lame attempts to make things tense, there's plenty of heroism and "America: F**k Yeah!" throughout almost every main sequence, and you get to remember how much you love or hate Aerosmith singing "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing."

It might be Jonathan Hensleigh and J. J. Abrams credited in the writing department, with a bit of input from Tony Gilroy, Shane Salerno, and Robert Roy Pool, although I couldn't say how much any one person added into the mix. It's easy to see the overwhelming stamp of director Michael Bay all over it though. There's no subtlety, of course, and no desire to keep the action clear and watchable. In fact, I would argue that Armageddon is at its worst when viewers have to suffer through the poorly-shot and messily-edited action beats.

Willis may not be doing his best work, but he's fine in blockbuster star mode. Ben Affleck, playing the younger and more hot-headed "drill Jedi", who also happens to be in love with his boss's daughter, Grace (played by Liv Tyler), is also fine, although he has never been as comfortable in these kinds of films as he is in less mainstream fare. Tyler does what is asked of her, and is a welcome presence, despite being constantly pushed offscreen by the tide of testosterone. The supporting cast is pretty great though. Billy Bob Thornton does well, Will Patton and William Fichtner are both as dependable as ever, and there's a lot of fun to be had with any scene involving Steve Buscemi and/or Peter Stormare. You also get Owen Wilson, Keith David, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jason Isaacs, and very brief appearances from Eddie Griffin, Grace Zabriskie, Udo Kier, Shawnee Smith, and Matt Malloy.

There's plenty of impressive hardware on display, the bombastic score from Trevor Rabin ensures that nobody gets to forget the heroism and machismo of our main characters for even one minute, and John Schwartzman tries hard to impress with cinematography that is undermined by the horrible editing so familiar to anyone who has watched any other Michael Bay movie.

Armageddon is not good, but it's comfortingly ridiculous for a lot of the bloated 151-minute runtime. I would put almost every other Bay movie ahead of it, and there are a number of Bruckheimer-produced movies from this time period I would also put ahead of it, but I cannot deny that I can still happily sit down with it once every ten years or so, like treating myself to an unhealthy bit of fast food that makes me hate myself as soon as I've swallowed the last tasty morsel. 

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

The Island (2005)

When The Island was released back in 2005 it quickly became the excuse that everyone needed to give director Michael Bay a bit of a kicking. It was a big-budget sci-fi action movie that didn't perform half as well as it was expected to, it pretty much led to (or certainly contributed to) the end of the Dreamworks SKG studio as it was established at that time and there were cries of plagiarism from anyone who had seen The Clonus Horror (a film that I've yet to see, but the fact that Robert S. Fiveson was able to bring a copyright infringement suit to court and have Dreamworks settle before the case could go to trial would seem to suggest that there was certainly a fair bit of common ground). There was also the strange idea to show a 45 minute preview of the movie at Cannes, which was almost like slapping numerous film critics in the face with a wet cod. The marketing maching rolled on and on and the movie went out into the wild with two good names in the leads and some interesting ideas but it was all far too late. Every interview seemed to become a minefield for anyone trying to avoid being quoted out of context and the knives were well and truly out.

I like The Island and I think it was unfairly treated when it first came out. In fact, I know a number of people who have since seen it on DVD or TV and grudgingly admitted that they thought it a damn sight better than a number of other Michael Bay movies that made lots more money.

The story is all about clones Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson). They don't realise that they're clones, nor do any of the other clones around them. Every day it's a similiar routine - wake up, eat whatever nutrients are recommended, dress from their unvarying wardrobe, work on a number of tasks and just wait until the lottery announcements are made. The lottery is the highlight for everyone, the winner gets to head off to The Island. But does the island even exist? Lincoln Six Echo starts to have serious doubts and when Jordan Two Delta actually wins the lottery there's no time to find out more so he takes her and they go on the run, opening up a whole can of worms in the process.

Mixing in action and thrills with some very interesting ethical food for thought, The Island perhaps tries a bit too hard to please the action fans while also pleasing those who like more thoughtful fare and maybe that's yet another reason why it didn't perform as well as expected. There are a number of potentially horrifying moments here and there throughout the movie but they lose their impact slightly by the time things move on to yet another typical upward-pointing 360 shot from Bay.

The script is pretty good, although a couple of characters could have been better developed (Michael Clarke Duncan should have bagged a bit more screentime and Djimon Honsou is let down by the writing in the final 20 minutes or so), and the direction is as you'd expect from Bay. I happen to think he's usually okay with anything that includes a bit of bang for your buck. Yes, he makes some bad choices like the harsh, harsh overediting of what should have been a fantastic car chase in The Rock, for example, but he can oversee some BIG set-pieces and put it all together in a glossy and entertaining package.

Last, but by no means least, we come to discuss the acting in The Island. This was also criticised by many people but I don't see anything wrong with it, really. Ewan McGregor, for most of the movie, has a strange American accent but who's to say that he was actually supposed to be getting it spot on anyway - he's a clone, actually only a few years old, and we don't know what influences he was exposed to in his formative period. Scarlett Johansson doesn't have any accent to put on but she does just as well as McGregor when it comes to playing up the innocence and vulnerability of their characters. Steve Buscemi is a delight for every minute of his limited screentime and Sean Bean oversees everything in a role that feels like a rerun of his role in Equilibrium. As already mentioned, Michael Clarke Duncan should have been in the movie more and Djimon Hounsou does well with what he's given. There's decent support from Kim Coates, Ethan Phillips and Brian Stepanek and Glenn Morshower also puts in a very brief, but very funny, appearance.

The Island is a very good slice of sci-fi action that I'd recommend to most people. There is, of course, a chance that you do end up disliking it and thinking that it deserved to perform as poorly at the box office as it did but I hope that's not the case. Mind you, if you absolutely loathe everything that Michael Bay does then this isn't going to win you over. If you can tolerate his style and are curious to see him do something that's a bit different from his normal output then you may just find this film as enjoyable as I do.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share