Film Review: Shazam!

"Billy Batson, I Choose You. Say My Name So My Powers Will Become Yours..."

With Marvel managing to sneak in the release of the rather excellent, Captain Marvel, earlier on last month, the originally titled superhero of the same name hits cinemas this week under the mantra of Shazam!, an alias which DC's most colorful character yet has been burdened with since the early 1970's after a drawn-out legal battle regarding copyright issues and other boring nonsense. Acting as the next chapter in the slightly improved re-invention of the DC Extended Universe, Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation director, David F. Sandberg, helms a superhero movie which carries on the silly and enjoyable sensibility of 2018's Aquaman as we are introduced to the character of Asher Angel's Billy Batson, a troublesome orphan who amidst attempting to locate his long lost family who abandoned him as a child, is quickly handed down the magical and mystical powers belonging to Djimon Hounsou's (Serenity) titular aging wizard in an attempt to locate his long awaited successor and battle against the evil spirits of the seven deadly sins. With Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman setting the high benchmark for entries into the DC Universe, Sandberg's movie doesn't exactly hit such lofty superhero heights, but with a charming, lighter tone and a shorter sense of scale which trades the end of the universe for much quieter stakes, Shazam! is slapstick fun with the added stern baldness of Mark Strong, an element which every film should include. 

Coined by myself as Man of Steel meets Instant Family, Sandberg's journey into the world of comic book heroes does seem like the first entry into the DC universe to actively evoke the joyous family-friendly nature of Marvel's equivalent gargantuan franchise, a movie which trades gloomy impending doom for a more down-to-earth tale of a hero who after being blessed with such enormous power, does not have the slightest idea in how to use them properly. With the central role shared between Angel and the excellently cast, Zachary Levi, (Thor: Ragnarok) the film's biggest strength is the relationship between both the reluctant hero and the superhero obsessed, Freddy, as played by Jack Dylan Grazer of It- Chapter One fame, and whilst it would have nicer for the film to indulge ever so slightly more on the relatable elements of the piece, the film does work best when left in the company of the leading duo as they find out the best ways in which to make the most out of such awesome power. Whilst it's unfortunate for most of the top-end comedic gags to be wasted in the film's trailers alongside a concluding fight scene which seems to go on for the same length as the Brexit negotiations, Shazam! is the lightest and most Easter egg ridden entry into its' respective universe so far, and with DC somehow not managing to produce a stinker with its' last two releases, it seems to fair to say the DCEU is finally heading on the straight and narrow path after all this time. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Captain Marvel

"Superhero, Space Invasion, Big Car Chase... Truth Be Told, I Was Ready To Hang It Up. 'Till I Met You Today..."

Teased ever so delightfully during the post credits scene of the universally accepted brilliance of Avengers: Infinity War last year, Captain Marvel acts as the final chapter in its' respective franchise before the hotly anticipated, Avengers: Endgame, as it attempts to offer up a slice of background and characterisation to a figure before dropping her amidst our grieving survivors suffering from the murderous snap of Josh Brolin's Thanos. Acting as the twenty first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and helmed by the American directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Mississippi Grind), filmmakers who adequately fit the recent Marvel mould by being independent filmmakers given a chance to expand their horizons with a much larger budget, Captain Marvel finally brings forth the first female led chapter in the franchise, with the Academy Award winning Brie Larson (Room) taking the role as the titular heroine who attempts to both save Earth from the threat of Alien invasion after crash landing after a space battle gone awry, as well as digging deep into her own ambiguous and murky past which is haunted of visions of a yet undetermined previous life. Whilst not as groundbreaking or epic as the likes of Infinity War, a particular big screen feat which has now set a very high bar for every Marvel feature which follows, Captain Marvel is a thoroughly entertaining and fan-pleasing origins story which above all else, reaffirms the notion that Thanos is in deep, deep trouble indeed. 

As per the likes of Black Panther, Captain Marvel begins in surprisingly jarring fashion, introducing Laron's annoyingly named, Vers, on her Kree inhabited planet as we see her dream of the mysterious figure of Annette Benning (American Beauty) whilst being trained by the steely-eyed demeanour of her mentor, Yon-Rogg, as played in superb fashion by Jude Law (The Crimes of Grindelwald). With her powers and abilities already established in the opening act, the narrative plays with the audience from the offset as it gently lifts the lid of Ver's mysterious youth and young adulthood as we progress through the story, and whilst the opening act features a very familiar Guardians of the Galaxy-esque sensibility, due in part to the return of Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou, the film doesn't really heat up until the story diverts to Earth, where Vers soon begins a blossoming relationship with Samuel L. Jackson's trim looking Nick Fury in an attempt to thwart the plans of the simply brilliant Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One) as Talos, a shift shaping terrorist with a knack for taking deception cues from the likes of X-Men's Mystique. With more laugh out loud humour than one might expect amidst a lovely, 90's setting revolving gag which features Blockbuster and a continuous anxiety regarding the loading speed of the internet, Captain Marvel may indeed fit the mould of the a-typical superhero origin story, but with superb performances all around from both the movie's leads and supporting acts, a genuinely interesting and surprisingly twisting script, and of course, a cute ginger cat named Goose, the latest Marvel flick may be just another side-note in the buildup to Endgame next month but when the side-note is this damn enjoyable, you can't help but admire the sheer entertainment factor such a movie evokes. Team Captain Marvel all the way. 

Overall Score: 8/10

Film Review: Serenity

"Say Fate Gave You The Choice: You Can Get The Lady, Or You Could Catch That Tuna That's In Your Head. Which One Would You Choose..?"

On the one hand, Serenity is thankfully not an attempt to reboot the Firefly live-action spin-off of the same name from 2005, and instead is a movie which this week manages to pull off the contemporary trend of being released both on the big and small screens in a supposed attempt in order to gather an excessive amount of viewers on its' opening weekend. Backed by the behemoth that is Sky Movies, whose previous endeavors, including the likes of Anon and Final Score, haven't exactly set the critical underworld alike, Serenity is the latest from Peaky Blinders creator and Locke director, Steven Knight, who returns to the big screen with an absolutely bonkers and unbelievably stupid neo-noir thriller which has already been tipped as the front-runner heading into the next Razzies ceremony. Led by the usually respectable figure of Matthew McConaughey, (Interstellar) Knight's movie sees the Oscar winning American as Baker Dill, an alcohol ridden, musky small-time fisherman whose quiet life on the island of Plymouth is soon interrupted by the re-emergence of ex-wife, Karen, played in equally over-the-top form by Anne Hathaway, who reunites with McConaughey after their work together on the masterful Interstellar. 

With an opening camera swoop which feels like a sub-90's porno flick as we are swiftly introduced to the glowing sands and seas of the film's idyllic locale, the tone of the movie is laid faced down almost immediately, with gobsmackingly awful dialogue and monologues about life-chasing tuna one of the many highlights of a piece which you can't help but stare at in complete shock as you try and piece together how on earth such a raspberry pudding of a movie came to be. With a central narrative which blends together fantastical romance with some sort of supernatural mystery, the opening hour is stuffed with unintentional hilarity as we become subject to some of the most awful, ham-fisted acting performances I have seen for a very long time, typified by McConaughey himself who seems to have taken the material as serious as his work on Dallas Buyers Club and just ends up making a complete and utter turkey of himself as he drunkenly stumbles and screams his way through a performance which gives The Room's Tommy Wiseau a run for his money. Awful editing and effects aside, the real talking point of the movie is undoubtedly the final thirty minutes of the piece in which Knight goes full on M. Night Shyamalan with an already infamous and thunderously stupid jack-in-the-box twist, and whilst it's obvious to class Serenity as a work of complete and utter nonsense, I cannot shy away from the fact that it made me laugh more times than most American comedies, and whilst such comedy is clearly unintentional and stems from Knight's soon to be sectioned and ludicrous mind, the fact that certain points were actually quite enjoyable means that Serenity isn't the worst film I've ever sat through, but it may indeed just be the silliest. So bad, it's almost good. 

Overall Score: 4/10

Film Review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

"I'm Not Getting Drawn Into This Mess! There's An Army Of You, There's Only One Of Me..!" 

Oh, Guy Ritchie. With a career which began with the promising flourish of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the independently made British gangster flick which not only launched the career of everyone's favourite action star, Jason Statham, but was too a brilliantly audacious black comedy which included The Stone Roses on the soundtrack and Vinnie Jones as, well, Vinnie Jones, it seemed that ever since his much publicised mess of a marriage to Madonna, the "saviour" of all things cockney geezer went on an outstanding run of woeful cinematic failures, with the likes of Swept Away and Revolver being the two much maligned examples of Ritchie's failed promise. One divorce later and middling return to success with the Robert Downey Jr. led Sherlock Holmes movies, of which I can state to not being a massive fan of due to the success of the BBC led series at the time, Guy Ritchie returns once again to the limelight with yet another big-screen adaptation of the legend of King Arthur, utilising the skills of Sons of Anarchy and The Lost City of Z star, Charlie Hunnam, in the titular leading role in a movie which is as barmy and OTT as it is messy and overblown. Some would call it Snatch in kilts; who I am I to disagree?

After the death of both father and mother at the hands of Jude Law's power-hungry, megalomaniacal King Vortigern, Charlie Hunnam's Arthur Pendragon is raised from child to man in the heart of a slumber town brothel, taking ques from the criminal fraternity around him in order to build a reputation and presence of power with an ultimate goal of leaving for a better and more prosperous life. A touch of a sword and an god-awful David Beckham cameo later, the long lost King of Camelot is finally arisen, bringing with it ear-grating dialogue, stupidly dull action sequences and a swarm of yawn-inducing special effects which turns the latter half of the movie into some form of lifeless video game. Among these many issues, Ritchie's tenderness for the cockney geezer camaraderie is quite easily the worst element of the movie, with one scene in particular near the start of the movie in which our hero is forced to remember the day's events via flashback coming across as a somewhat Lock, Stock/Snatch parody sketch which literally left me draw-dropped at how misjudged and awfully ludicrous it seemed. Even with all these obvious issues, Legend of the Sword is the type of movie which although at times is trying to say the least, does offer a sense of "so bad its' good" in its' wacky sensibility which works in tandem with the campy hiss, boo performance of Jude Law as the film's main antagonist. Messy and narratively twisted, Ritchie's interpretation of the mighty King himself is a cinematic raspberry, but when put up against the likes of Unlocked and Sleepless recently, is a slightly enjoyable raspberry.

Overall Score: 5/10