Roofman (2025)

This may not be the kind of film you'd expect from director Derek Cianfrance, but, to be fair, it's also not the kind of film you expect from pretty much anyone nowadays. It's a mix of drama and comedy that allows the main cast members to be as charming as possible, it's fairly low-to-mid-range when it comes to budget (for modern budgets anyway), and it's not using an established IP or an abundance of explosions and CGI to win over those with short attention spans.

Based on a true story, the film takes viewers on a journey with Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum). Jeffrey has a particular way of seeing the world. It doesn’t help him with job prospects, but it does help him when he decides to try his hand at robbery. Entering through the roof, trying not to hit anyone, Jeffrey soon has a reputation as “roofman”. The police soon come calling though, which leads to Jeffrey settling into a hiding space that is in the middle of a large toy store. And that's how he gets to know Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst).

A tale that would be impossible to believe if it wasn’t actually true, this is a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. You get to appreciate some of the resourcefulness of the main character, you get enough supporting characters to be equally interested in, and there’s a real bittersweet nature to hoping that the truth will out during the final act while also hoping that people are spared some broken hearts. The screenplay, co-written by Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn, certainly keeps the focus on Tatum's character, but it makes plenty of time and space for Dunst, as well as characters played by LaKeith Stanfield (a man who can help create false identities for people who can afford them), Peter Dinklage (the manager of the toy store), Ben Mendelsohn (a friendly pastor), and Lily Collias and Kennedy Moyer (the teen daughters of Leigh). 

Whatever you think of the real-life events adapted into film form here, none of this would work if it didn't have the right people being used in the right ways. Tatum gives one of his best performances in some time, making the most of his charm and his willingness to sometimes look foolish. Dunst is a sweet and lovely presence who manages to enjoy a strong connection with a new man in her life without seeming like a blinkered idiot. Collias and Moyer give very naturalistic performances, whereas Dinklage enjoys going in the other direction, and each artistic choice fits nicely with the respective roles. Stanfield is always good, Mendelsohn feels kind and caring without seeming too false, and the only downside of their inclusion is that they don't get even more screentime.

It's not a film that will have many people shouting about it from the rooftops, no pun intended, but Roofman is a low-key feature full of low-key delightful moments. The many scenes that could have felt too cutesy or saccharin are always balanced out by the constant reminders of sour ingredients that are lying in wait to infuse the third act. I would easily recommend this to people who want something entertaining that isn't tied to an extended cinematic universe, isn't making use of some currently popular genre trends, and feels somewhat original, especially when compared to so many other mainstream titles released in the past few years. 

7/10

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The Toxic Avenger (2023)

While it's hard to deny that we live in some truly dire times (I mean . . . *gestures at everything around us*), it's also pleasing to note that we now live in a world that has given us a new Toxic Avenger movie. And not just any Toxic Avenger movie. This is written and directed by Macon Blair, and has a cast that includes Peter Dinklage in the main role, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood,  Julia Davis, and Sarah Niles.

Dinklage plays Winston, a man who will eventually be transformed into the titular (anti/super)hero, although his character is brilliantly portrayed by Luisa Guerreiro. Anyway, Winston is trying to bond with his step-son, Wade (Jacob Tremblay), both still grieving the loss of the main woman they loved, but has his standard routine of drudgery and self-doubt interrupted by a chain of events that lead to his body being dumped into a load of toxic sludge. And that's when The Toxic Avenger is born, just in time to help a plucky investigative reporter (J. J. Doherty, played by Paige) reveal the truth about a corrupt pharmaceutical company headed by Bob Garbinger (Bacon).

The first thing I want to say about The Toxic Avenger is that it's a bit too long, the runtime is just over 100 minutes, and it could have moved things into place in the first act much quicker than it does, but there's a very satisfying pay-off for most of the plot points set up here. While I enjoyed a lot of it, I feel that the pacing really works against it, and others may well feel the same.

Everything else I have to say about the film is pretty positive though, despite me not being as completely won over by it as others were. The cast is uniformly great, with Paige being an essential strong heartbeat for a film so populated with over the top villainy and silly grotesqueries. Dinklage has a lot of fun as the loser who watches his life go from bad to worse to toxic, Tremblay is able to be both a bit sullen and very vulnerable, as required, and Bacon, Wood, and Davis are a dangerous trio that wouldn't look out of place in a big-budget Batman movie. It's Toxie front and centre, but Paige plays her part so well that she helps to ground the ridiculous gore and gags, reminding you that there are people onscreen who are desperate for help . . . even if it comes in the shape of a very unlikely "hero".

It may keep itself slightly distanced from the worst elements of Troma Entertainment, where the main character originated, but fans will be happy to find that it has a spirit, and a commmitment to excessive amounts of gore and bodily harm, that aligns it nicely with body of work we've had throughout the decades from "Uncle Lloyd" and co.

There's room for improvement here, and room for even more detached limbs and geysers of blood, but Blair has done a hell of a job to walk a perilous tightrope. This should please both fans of the original movies and relative newcomers who go into their viewing with some idea of what it's aiming for. I'll be rewatching it, probably more than I would ever rewatch any of the other movies in the series, and I encourage others to at least throw some rental money towards it. How else am I going to get my long-gestating Class Of Nuke 'Em High remake made?

8/10

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Wicked (2024)

I am fortunate to have seen the musical Wicked live on stage in Edinburgh. It's one of those musicals that almost everyone has seen nowadays, or so it seems, but there's also a prohibitive price element to live musical theatre that makes any major movie adaptation an appealing option to those unable to afford the time and money of a big trip to a live show. I'm not making any major complaint here, by the way, but just putting forward a reason why this film would seem like such a great idea in the first place. You have a built-in fanbase and you have a whole group of people who may be converted into fans once they finally get the chance to experience it.

Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba, a young Oz resident with green skin who has a natural talent for magic. That puts her on a path that will one day lead to her being known as the Wicked Witch Of The West, of course, but we end up seeing the start of her main journey at Shiz University, where she ends up sharing a room with the vain and slightly ditzy Galinda/Glinda (Ariana Grande). Elphaba also has a wheelchair-bound sister (Nessarose, played by Marissa Bode) that she cares about more than anyone else in her immediate vicinity, although she soon starts enjoying her time being privately tutored by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). She's doing so well that she may end up actually gaining an audience with The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). There's also an anthropomorphic goat (Dr. Dillamond, voiced by Peter Dinklage) teaching history classes, a young man who thinks life is better for those who don't bother applying themselves to their studies (Fiyero, played by Jonathan Bailey), and a munchkin (Boq, played by Ethan Slater) who finds himself spending time with Nessarose for the sake of impressing Galinda.

Written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, adapting the book by Holzman (with music by John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, the latter having written the music and lyrics for the stage version), itself adapted from the book by Gregory Maguire, stemming from the evergreen classic fantasy tale from L. Frank Baum, Wicked is helped by a great blend of wit, earnestness, and eye-catching choreography that allows everything to gather momentum on the way to a final act that makes the film feel much shorter than the 160-minute runtime. Director Jon M. Chu is also a valuable asset, and this is a reminder of just how many times he has done excellent work with major song and dance elements, either in his features or in his many music videos. It's a shame that I don't have time to list off every other main contributor though, because this has great care and attention to detail running throughout every scene, from the gorgeous costuming and accessories to the sets, the shot choices and framing, the makeup, and so much more.

Then we have the cast. Erivo has been a huge talent to keep an eye on for some time now, which makes it no surprise that she's such a great choice for her role. Grande, on the other hand, is making a huge leap here, but she does absolutely fantastic work for every minute that she's onscreen. Obviously able to handle the singing and dancing, she shows a great knack for playing the naïveté and comedy of her character. Bailey also provides a good bit of comedy, as well as obvious complications when everyone starts having feelings that aren't necessarily reciprocated, while both Bode and Slater try to do their best in characters that may yet become more important before the full tale is told. Because, yes, it's good to remember that this is only the first of a two-parter. Dinklage does his Game Of Thrones voice well, with a layering of goat noises, Goldblum is a perfect choice for the charming charlatan that is the Wizard, Yeoh is her usual regal and imposing greatness, and there are very satisfying, and unobtrusive, cameos from Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (AKA Elphaba Prime and Glinda Prime).

I was worried during the opening scenes, struggling to remember how the stage musical began and when I might recognise a memorable song, but things improved massively once the opening titles came up. The characters start to interact in fun and interesting ways, and the music really starts to have the desired effect by the time our leads belt out "What Is This Feeling?" Other highlights include "Dancing Through Life", "Popular", "One Short Day", and, of course, "Defying Gravity". Not every number is great, but the better ones more than make up for those that don't quite hit the highest heights.

I put this viewing off for far too long. I won't be making that mistake when part two is released. This is a very rewarding and rewatchable musical treat. Fans of all things Oz-related should find plenty to enjoy, and newcomers should also end up being won over as they watch the familiar story of a young woman being villainised simply for refusing to be passive and controlled. There is wickedness on display here, but it doesn't come from who might be the most likely candidate in your own preconceptions.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Living In Oblivion (1995)

This is yet another film I had heard about decades ago, when it was first released, but sadly didn’t get around to. Everyone I took notice of gave this plenty of praise, proclaiming it a smart and funny film that worked particularly well on people with even passing knowledge of the chaos and egos that can often occur while films are being made. And, once again, everyone I took notice of proved to be absolutely correct.

Living In Oblivion shows us the trials and tribulation of a director (Steve Buscemi) trying to get his film made. He has a superb leading lady (Catherine Keener) to help, but everyone else seems to bring extra problems to the filming process, whether it’s an egotistical male lead (James Le Gros) or a cameraman who keeps trying to change the shot (Dermot Mulroney). There’s a focus puller (Kevin Corrigan) who doesn’t always stay focused, another temperamental actor who comes on the scene later (Peter Dinklage), and tension whenever the sound mixer (Michael Griffiths) is trying to ensure that anything caught on camera has good enough audio to accompany it.

Written and directed by Tom DiCillo, a director with a small filmography that you could find in a dictionary alongside the definition of “quirky”, Living In Oblivion is entertaining and amusing from the earliest scenes, and then just gets better and better as it all builds towards a satisfying, and hilarious, finale. Roughly split into three distinct acts, and moving between moments of colour and moments shown in black and white, this is a fairly low-budget and small film that never feels confined by the limited resources. Because the focus is always on a director just trying to get one main scene finalized it feels natural to be observing that one main scenes, with the repetition and frustrations being the main point of the film. The script is brilliant, with almost every line and moment featuring either a gag or a knowing commentary about life on a low-budget film set, from the dubious selection of goods available to eat and drink to the tension that can arise when a relationship spurs between two colleagues.

Buscemi is great in his role, a typical director with a vision often exceeding the resources he has available to him. It’s his film, because the film within the film is HIS film, and he gives one of his absolute best performances, which is high praise indeed when you think of everything he’s done. Keener is easily equal to him, and understandably steals every scene that focuses on her (which makes up a lot of the screentime), as viewers are shown how much the camera and crew are enthralled by her performance. She has the tougher role than Buscemi, and her effortless greatness shows why she has long been someone that movie fans love to see appear in any role she takes. Mulroney and Corrigan are both fun, Le Gros is an entertaining douchebag, and Dinklage gets to have the second-best outburst in the film (nothing tops Buscemi’s outburst about 20-30 minutes into things). Everyone else deserves praise, from Griffiths to Danielle Von Zerneck (playing the main assistant to Buscemi’s character), and there’s not one weak spot in the entire cast, with even the smallest roles feeling absolutely spot on.

If you enjoy comedies then you should enjoy this, especially if you’re also a fan of any of the main players. If you have even a passing familiarity with how much blood, sweat, and tears it can take to make any movie, however, then this could well become a firm favourite. I know it is now one of mine.

9/10

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Prime Time: I Care A Lot (2020)

The easiest, and most flippant, way to summarize I Care A Lot is to make some joke about how I didn’t really care for it. I enjoyed it enough while it was on, and the central casting helps a lot, but the whole thing lacks any plausibility, which means it lacks any real bite it should have.

Rosamund Pike plays Marla Grayson, a woman who has built up a very successful business around becoming guardian to numerous elderly individuals. This allows her to drain their assets, bill them for hours spent dealing with their cases, and generally profit from the misery of someone spending the last of their days in a care home environment. Unfortunately, Marla targets Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), a woman who is connected to the very dangerous Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage). This puts Marla and her partner, Fran (Eiza González), in mortal danger.

Written and directed by J Blakeson, this is a film that feels like it wants to be a few different things. It could be a comment on how we treat the elderly. It could be a taut and entertaining thriller. It could be a damning indictment of a system that leaves people with nothing as they simply aim to remain healthy and alive in a society that has already deemed them as having no (or very little) value. The fact that it fails to fully commit to any of these aims means that it ends up an unsatisfying middle of them all, with no one aspect handled as well as it should be.

It all looks clean and cool throughout, although I wouldn’t even say there’s anything particularly standout about the visuals, and the score from Marc Canham is decent, but there’s a distinct air of everything being competent, as opposed to actually good.

The only area of excellence is the cast, and Blakeson really stops the film from being a complete disaster by having such a great selection of main cast members. Pike is superb in a role that feels very similar to one of her best cinematic performances (you will know what one I am on about), and Dinklage is an excellent menacing presence. Wiest is the most pleasant surprise though, making the most of her small amount of screentime to remind everyone that she still excels in any role she is given. To be clear, the surprise isn’t her level of talent, it is seeing her get a couple of real moments to shine in a role that could have easily been no more than a fleeting cameo. González is fine, although not given much to do, and there is some excellent scene-stealing by Chris Messina (playing a slick lawyer) and Macon Blair (playing the son of someone scammed by Pike’s character).

It loses points for having the most ineffective onscreen killers not wearing stormtrooper uniforms, it loses points for not using the obvious Faith No More song choice, and it loses points for an ending that doesn’t feel half as pointed and/or clever as Blakeson may think it is. In fact, the entire third act is more silly than anything else.

I Care A Lot? Nope. And I doubt others will.

5/10

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The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

A cinematic return to Narnia, with many of the same people both in front of and behind the cameras, Prince Caspian both benefits and suffers from the fact that it's not just the first film all over again. It's good to visit Narnia for a tale that isn't as familiar (to those who haven't read the books anyway), but it's also not so good when you realise that the tale being told this time around, well, it's just not quite as enjoyable.

Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are once again transported to Narnia, this time called by a magical horn, unbeknownst to them. Over a thousand years have passed since they were last in that world, although it has only been about a year in their own time, and much has changed. There has been division and war, and there's currently a young man (the titular prince) who may improve the situation, if he is kept alive long enough to ascend to the throne.

As well as the Pevensie siblings returning to our screens, we also get some more screentime for Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson again) and the White Witch (Tilda Swinton). But it's the new characters who make the strongest impressions. Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis are two Narnian dwarves, with the former getting almost as much screentime as any of the other leads, Eddie Izzard is the voice of a swashbuckling mouse named Reepicheep, and Ken Stott voices a knowledgeable badger named Trufflehunter.

Everyone onscreen does well enough, with most of the younger cast members slightly improved compared to their previous work. Ben Barnes is Prince Caspian, and manages to portray his character as a good man without ever becoming annoying pious, and his main enemies are played well by Sergio Castellitto, playing his character of King Miraz in over-the-top pure villain mode, and Pierfrancesco Favino (who plays a General to the King, torn between duty and considering how to play out events in a way that will allow him an escape).

Director Andrew Adamson does well enough at the helm, once again, but his best work is done in the script department, once again alongside Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus. This feels like a more mature work than The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, yet it is all put together in a nicely uncomplicated, but also unpatronising, way. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it is as consistently entertaining as it could be. From the very opening scenes through to the finale, there's always the sense that viewers should be caring more about the events unfolding onscreen. A little bit of restructuring would have helped to improve this, perhaps starting with the Pevensies being whisked back to Narnia and letting viewers discover the changes and dangers of the world that was once very familiar to them at the same time as the main characters.

And, as a recurring way to end these Narnia-focused reviews, can we all just agree that Aslan is a Superlion who could always help everyone a lot sooner than he does? Bloody poser, just waiting for his big moment in the finale to save the day and then pretend it was a close call.*

*Yes, I plan on also ending my next review with this statement.

6/10

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Americans can get the movies here.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

I HOPE that anyone who knows me, even a little bit, knows that I am never a contrarian just for the sake of stirring the pot or getting people into a state of anger. In fact, I try as often as I can to ignore the extreme negatives and positives you can find everywhere on the internet and continue to just form my own opinion about movies, which is the way everyone should do it (then you can have more fun later discussing things with those who agree, and those who don't).

So I didn't make the decision lightly to label the much-loved Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri the worst film directed by either of the McDonagh brothers. You have to remember two things here. First of all, I am one of the few people who really enjoyed War On Everyone. Second, I am not saying this is a terrible film. It's still better than Transformers: The Last Knight, for example. Just not by that much.

The plot revolves around Frances McDormand's character, Mildred. She has been waiting too long to get any justice after her daughter was raped and murdered. So she decides to use three billboards situated on a fairly quiet road to question the work ethic of Sheriff Willoughby (Woody Harrelson). This upsets Willoughby and his staff (particularly the dim and abusive Dixon, played by Sam Rockwell), it upsets Mildred's son (Lucas Hedges), and it starts to turn the town against Mildred as they fail to understand why she would make such a statement.

The performances in this film are, for the most part, pretty great. McDormand does brilliant work, Rockwell is as great as ever, and Harrelson does well (when he isn't delivering lines in voiceover like he's reading the back of a packet of Coco Pops). Caleb Landry Jones is also very good, playing the lad responsible for leasing out the billboard space, Hedges is excellent as the teenage son watching his mother make a stand he doesn't see as being of any use, Peter Dinklage is a lot of fun as someone hoping to take Mildred out on a date, and John Hawkes is an a-grade asshole. The main weakness in the film is Abbie Cornish, who gives what feels like a half-hearted performance, hampered by the fact that she is also given the worst of the dialogue in the film and just seems far too young for her character (she plays the wife of Harrelson's character).

Direction is good enough, with McDonagh really pulling out the stops in a couple of moments that hammer home (almost literally) some of the damage that characters are willing to inflict upon one another, and there's definitely an interesting theme being clumsily explored here, but it's all almost undone by the script, surprisingly enough. While there are gems here, especially in the scenes that have McDormand interacting directly with the local law enforcement, there are also lines that drop in the middle of scenes like anvils looking for a Wile E. Coyote to squash into an accordion shape. And that's just individual lines I am talking about (poor Cornish, I felt genuinely sorry for a couple of the lines that she had to deliver, which could have only been made a bit less cringeworthy if McDonagh had given her any decent characterisation beforehand). As the film starts to develop in the overlong second half, everything starts to become more heavy-handed and also a bit, well, implausible and ridiculous. What began as a small, impactful, drama turns into something that feels unsure of how far it wants to take things, and in what direction it wants to go. Yes, this is in line with the main characters but it doesn't feel deliberate or well thought out. It feels careless, displaced, and even rather immature.

There's enough here to enjoy, and I feel sorry for those trying to dismiss the movie as something it isn't (I can't say any more because of spoilers), and I still encourage people to support the McDonagh brothers ahead of so many other writers and directors who never try to engage and challenge their audience, but this didn't work half as well for me as it seems to have worked for so many others.

6/10

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

For anyone mad enough to care about such things, my reviews of the previous X-Men movies can be found here (the first), here (the second), here (The Last Stand) and HERE (First Class). I've also reviewed X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. Sadly, I've still not read any of the actual comics, but I've enjoyed, to varying degrees, every cinematic outing for the superhero squad.

Bryan Singer returns to the director's chair for this instalment in the X-Men movie franchise and it's not long until he reassures fans that they are back in safe hands. A lot of people enjoyed X-Men: First Class, but I was a bit disappointed by it. It was entertaining enough, sure, but really felt lacking in the action department. Five minutes into X-Men: Days Of Future Past and the action is thick and fast. Mutants are being wiped out by giant robots, called sentinels, that can absorb mutations and add them to their formidable arsenal of weaponry. Many have died, with a small group staying alive thanks to the unique gift of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page). If an attack begins, and they can save some precious time for themselves, Kitty can send the consciousness of someone back to an earlier time, that person can then warn everyone, and the attackers arrive to find nobody around. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) want to end the war, and they think that Kitty could be the key. Unfortunately, she would need to send someone back decades, not just hours or days, and the mind can't handle that. Unless it's a mind that can repair itself almost as quickly as it's being broken to pieces. Yes, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) ends up being the one chosen to travel back in time. He has to find the young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), and the young Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and he has to ask them both to help him find Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). She doesn't know it yet, but it's her blood that could lead to the death and destruction of all mutants.

Although rooted in a darker storyline regarding the planned extermination of all mutants, this remains a surprisingly light and upbeat film (something that Singer also managed with the first movie - both started with scenes featuring a holocaust). This is thanks, mainly, to the large ensemble cast all clearly enjoying themselves, and also to the pacing of the movie, with at least four fantastic set-pieces helping to make the 131-minute runtime just fly by. When the action kicks in, it's almost as if everyone involved is so relieved to not be explaining "the science part" that every set-piece is taken up a notch thanks to the additional exuberance of all involved.

Jackman is the star of the show once again, after his fleeting appearance in the previous movie, but there's plenty time to enjoy the performances of McAvoy and Fassbender. Lawrence would have benefited from more screentime, but that's more a comment on how great she is onscreen than a criticism of Simon Kinberg's script. Nicholas Hoult gets to Beast out, impressively, on a few occasions, and Peter Dinklage is enjoyable as the potential villain of the piece. As well as Stewart, McKellen and Page returning to their roles, we get Halle Berry back (stuck with her character, Storm, being as useless in the movies as she has been from the beginning), Shawn Ashmore reprising his role as Iceman, Josh Helman portraying a young Maj. Bill Stryker, Evan Peters stealing a few scenes as Quicksilver, and Bingbing Fan making a great first impression as Blink (seriously, she's probably the coolest one that I was previously unaware of). There are many, many more, old and new, but I don't want to spend more time just reeling off the names.

Because of the time travel element, there's plenty of room here for references, in-jokes, and plot holes. Having said that, I never once sat and thought about any major mistakes in the developing timelines. The movie may (in fact, probably does) have the kind of errors/paradoxes that most other time travel movies also contain, but it's so polished and consistently entertaining that it doesn't matter. You also have to admire the skill shown in ret-conning the franchise so effectively. By the time the end credits roll (and wait for the post-credit tease, of course), fans can leave the cinema happy with the way things have been set up for the cinematic future of this franchise.

It may not be the best of the series, I still think 1 and 2 are a pretty unbeatable double-bill, but this is a return to great form for the X-Men. In fact, it's almost impossible to think of any fans who will dislike this one.

8/10

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April Fools: Knights Of Badassdom (2013)

When I first saw the trailer for Knights Of Badassdom I knew that I was going to love it. Well, I felt very strongly that I was going to love it. It had a great cast and a premise that I thought couldn't fail. Unfortunately, the film was held back for a long, long time before finally being released, after a great deal of studio interference, apparently. It would be nice to see the original movie that director Joe Lynch intended people to see, but it's hard to think of any improvements that would turn this into something truly great. As it stands, it's massively disappointing, mainly because of how it fails to fully exploit the brilliant central idea.

Steve Zahn and Peter Dinklage play a couple of guys who enjoy a bit of LARP (Live Action Role Playing) now and again. They drag their buddy (Ryan Kwanten) along to a big event, in order to cheer him up after he was unceremoniously ditched by his girlfriend, and start to play. Unfortunately, one of the props being used for the game is a bit too real, and one of the main character unwittingly summons a demon that quickly starts preying on the helpless LARPers all around.

What do you think? Sounds fantastic, right? It really does, and it was that central concept that had me salivating for a long time, eager for the film to get any kind of release that would allow me to at least see the damn thing. Well, maybe Joe Lynch has some super-duper extended cut that rejigs everything and magically turns the movie into what many people hoped it would be, but I'm not holding my breath.

The main problem seems to lie with the screenplay by Matt Wall and Kevin Dreyfuss. It just doesn't pack in enough mirth, doesn't throw enough gore in to compensate, and spends far too little time with the best characters, played by Zahn and Dinklage (both on fine form). Kwanten is someone I like, but he's not treated well here. I spent many of his scenes just wishing that his character had been wiped from the movie, he was simply unnecessary and uninteresting. Summer Glau brightens things up slightly by being Summer Glau, and Jimmi Simpson is pretty hilarious for almost every moment that he's onscreen, but there's still not enough to raise this to the level of something even average.

The direction from Lynch seems to add to the mishandling of the material, but maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe all of my problems with the movie DO reflect on the studio interference more than the potential that the movie had to be something great, but we can always only ultimately critique whatever we have available to us, and this IS Knights Of Badassdom. For the time being, at least. And, in this incarnation of the movie, Lynch seems happy to go along with the undercooked helpings served up by Wall and Dreyfuss, before using the finale to turn off anyone who has watched all the way through and tried to convince themselves that it was worth the wait.

Not badass. Just bad.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Badassdom-Blu-ray-Peter-Dinklage/dp/B00HOGRJQG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392233506&sr=8-1&keywords=knights+of+badassdom