Netflix: Robin Hood (2018)

AKA Robin Begins. This is an attempt to make the character of Robin Hood cool and modern and sexy. If that appeals to you then you should find enough to enjoy here. If you would much prefer your Robin Hood to be more like either Errol Flynn or the fox from the Disney animated version of the tale then I would suggest you move along.

Taron Egerton is our Robin here, accompanied back from his time at war by "John" (Jamie Foxx). Upon his return to England, Robin finds that his beloved Marian (Eve Hewson) has started another relationship with Will (Jamie Dornan), believing that Robin died overseas. He also finds the people being forced into poverty by the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). Thus begins a campaign that turns into "rob from the rich to give to the poor". Robin makes many enemies, but he also maintains a few valuable allies, including Friar Tuck (Tim Minchin).

Although director Otto Bathurst has no other theatrically-released features to his credit, there's nothing here that shows him unsuited to this kind of thing. Whatever criticisms you might have about this film, and there are many things to be critical of, it at least makes decent use of a good cast to stop it from being anywhere near the actual nadir of blockbuster entertainment. The same can be said of writers Ben Chandler and David James Kelly. They may not be as sharp or clever as they think, but they're far from the worst offenders when it comes to the plotting and dialogue (although I could have really done without the narration basically telling us "you think you know the story of Robin Hood, but here's the REAL story as you've never seen it before").

There are a few decent action set-pieces, enough to make the 116-minute runtime feel just right, but your opinion of this may very well depend on how you feel about Robin Hood being given the bombastic style usually used with more modern action heroes. I'm still not sure if that in itself is a bad idea or if I was irritated by the times that overused the same tricks and effects.

Egerton is a good choice for the lead, having shown us before how well he can do the charming rogue figure. He's a great fit, and always believable, even as the stunts become wilder and more dangerous. Foxx is a fantastic partner for him, and seems equally capable in the inventive action beats. Hewson is an appropriately lovely Marian, Mendelsohn is an appropriately nasty Sheriff of Nottingham, and they complete a central quartet good enough to make up for the lethargic Dornan and a sorely mis-cast Minchin.

Arguably too old-fashioned in content for younger viewers and too modern and flashy for older viewers, I'm not surprised that this didn't set the box office alight when it was released. I wouldn't have minded if it did better though. I may not rush to rewatch it, and I'm not sure who in my friend circle I would recommend it to, but I'd prefer to watch a sequel to this than watch yet another Sony superhero movie.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: 24 Hours To Live (2017)

Ethan Hawke stars in this action thriller, the kind of slick, violent fare that you would be forgiven for assuming had Luc Besson in a producer role. It's generic stuff, but it's fairly well put together and has a very small role for Rutger Hauer (always welcome).

Hawke is a top assassin named Travis Conrad. He wants to enjoy a holiday but is pestered back into the field by his colleague, and friend, Jim (Paul Anderson). It's an important job, and the pay available for it reflects that. Despite his skills, Travis is shot and killed. But that's just a temporary setback, and the company soon have him back on his feet and ready to finish the job. For 24 hours anyway (hence the title). Travis quickly realises that there's more to this job than just taking out someone who deserves to be dealt with. There's something not right about the whole thing.

Directed by Brian Smrz, 24 Hours To Live is fast-paced and full of decent action moments. Considering the premise of his previous feature, Hero Wanted (his directorial debut), it would seem that Smrz has an affinity for movies in which guys drag themselves out of hospital beds to head off and kill lots of people. Nothing wrong with sticking to what you know, and as I have yet to see Hero Wanted I cannot say if there are many other similarities.

The plotting, although obvious, is perfectly acceptable in the way the premise is set up and played out. Writers Ron Mita and Jim McClain (who have been writing together for a few years now, judging by their filmography), and Zach Dean keep everything at just the right level of enjoyable silliness. This is not a film designed for anyone who wants to overthink things, but it manages to avoid seeming completely unbelievable, even during some of the bigger set-pieces (with a sequence showing Hawke trying to keep his "target" safe from various sharpshooters being a definite highlight).

Hawke is fine in the lead role. He's surprisingly believable as a shooter who can also win out in hand-to-hand combat, especially when the odds are stacked against him. Andersdon does okay in his role, although he's hampered by some of the more predictable script elements, and Liam Cunningham has a lot of fun in his limited amount of screentime. Xu Qing (playing a guard of the main target) should have been given more to do, instead of becoming the main motivator for Hawke's character, but she fares better in the first half of the film, when actually given some of the action, than in the second half.

I doubt this is going to be a film that will be remembered years from now, and it's not one that anyone should rush out to make their top priority, but it's a decent way to spend 90 minutes. And if they found a way to extend the lifespan of Hawke to give him Another 24 Hours To Live then, yes, I would be up for watching that.

6/10

The disc is available here.
Americans can buy it here.

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'71 (2014)

Okay, now is not the time for a history lesson. Neither is it the place. But to be fully aware of the tension running through '71 you have to at least be slightly aware of the situation that tore apart Northern Ireland, and sometimes spilled over into areas of the UK, known colloquially as The Troubles. It was a war over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, with the Unionists (who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK) on one side and the Republicans (who wanted to break away and form one united country of Ireland) on the other. A heavy military presence, with most soldiers transferred over from the UK mainland, was required, which didn't go down well with those living in the region. Religious views also helped to keep the battle raging, and that's about all I'll say just now. Please take this paragraph as nothing more than an attempt at a VERY brief overview of a complicated situation that scarred Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom for decades. There's plenty of material out there, by much smarter people, for those who want to read up further on it.

'71 stars Jack O'Connell as Gary Hook, a young British soldier who finds himself isolated from his unit on the streets of Belfast. It's 1971, hence the title, and he is in serious danger. The republicans will kill him if they find him, and there's even a chance that some of the undercover personnel on his side will turn hostile if they think that he could undo all of their hard work. It's going to be a long night for the young lad. IF he's lucky enough to survive it.

Director Yann Demange has been doing some great work on TV over the years (including being at the helm of the superb Dead Set) and he makes the transition to the big screen with no small amount of confidence and skill. It helps that the script, by Gregory Burke, is as good as it is. Although it mixes moments of immediate danger with moments showing characters grappling with choices that they must make, the tension remains high for every minute that keeps our main character in such dangerous territory.

O'Connell has been a rising star for a good few years now and this is yet another fantastic performance from him, with the movie making the most of his youthful looks to underline just how out of his depth he is. He carries most of the movie, despite not always being the focus of every scene, but he's helped by some other great actors. Sean Harris lends his usual intensity to proceedings, Paul Anderson and Sam Reid do decent work, and Corey McKinley makes a strong impression, portraying a boy who is shown to be much more than just your average young lad.

'71 is a film that requires patience and concentration, but it rewards viewers with a movie experience that mixes visceral thrills with intelligence and a roster of well-sketched characters. In other words, it's highly recommended.

8/10

This is the disc available just now, from right here in the UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/71-Blu-ray-Jack-OConnell/dp/B00O7LYMIO/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1420307913&sr=1-2&keywords=71

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