Film Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - BLACK RIBBON'S 400th POST!!!

"We Have Hope. Rebellions Are Built On Hope..."

In a year in which summer blockbusters have been somewhat below par, and that's putting it nicely, we close 2016 with another venture into the galaxy far, far away, with Rogue One attempting to bridge the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope with a merry mix of old and new characters and a storyline which delves into the theft of the infamous death star plans, the red herring-esque of a plot device which paved way for the entire Star Wars universe. With Gareth Edwards on directorial duty, the man behind Monsters and the rather awesome recent reinterpretation of Godzilla, Rogue One is a much darker and melancholic tale than perhaps we have seen previously in the Star Wars canon but one which also contains the adventurous thrill ride we have come to expect, culminating in a final act which ranks up there with the best visual experiences not only in the Star Wars universe but in the variety of blockbusters within the modern era of cinema. 

Although narratively Rogue One begins in a striking sense of anti-climax in comparison to other Star Wars movies, we are swiftly introduced to Jyn Erso, a disconnected wanderer who is captured by the rebellion in order to help seek out her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) who is at the heart of a mysterious weapon development for the pre-A New Hope Galactic Empire, ruled over by the key figures of Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic, a digital reincarnation of Peter Cushing's Tarkin and of course, the menacing Sith Lord, Darth Vader, whose appearances are brief but terrifyingly effective. When Rogue One eventually kicks into gear around the half hour mark, the sense of joy many fans get from re-watching the classic original adventures fuels the journey into a truly classic tale of outlandish planets, wildly inventive alien beings and enough canon nods to leave fans beaming with joy. With Felicity Jones embracing the lead role of Jyn as a mix of Lara Croft and Princess Leia herself, she inevitably has the meatiest role of the movie alongside undeveloped performances from the likes of Mikkelsen, Whitaker and Diego Luna but the real magic of the movie is in its' fan appreciation, answering questions the canon has had for decades and proving the Star Wars universe is an endless pit of cinematic possibilities, particularly when they are as successful as Rogue One. 

Overall Score: 8/10  

Film Review: Monsters: Dark Continent

World War M

 As someone who now tends to watch new cinematic releases from a critical point of view, my number one priority when doing so is to go into a film with an open mind, unaware of what other, and much more highly regarded, film critics have said about something before I get the chance to see it myself. In the case of Monsters: Dark Continent, this fundamental rule was not adhered to, mainly because of the absolute battering the sequel to Gareth Edward's Monsters, was getting from almost everyone (except Empire who seemed to love it), highlighted by its' dismal rating on Rotten Tomatoes of just 21%. What could be so bad about a film combing action and aliens I hear you all scream? Get ready for some answers.

First off, Dark Continent is a much better film than 21% on Rotten Tomatoes. Set a decade after the original, Tom Green's sequel moves away from the quarantined zone of Mexico and into the middle-east, where the US army have set up measures to extinguish the residing creatures whilst combatting a potential spore-like virus that the creatures omit. In an aim to recruit more numbers for this task, a team of four friends from the decrepit area of Detroit are enlisted in order to help aid such a mission but soon find themselves up against more than they bargained for. Much of the complaint over Dark Continent has been the lack of the titular monsters within the films' overlong two-hour runtime, with the film being branded as misleading and false. Sure, the film does have a lack of monster action on screen, but so did the first, and instead of doing a carbon-copy of its' predecessor, Dark Continent, attempts to expand its' monster-ridden universe by progressing into a completely different environment, something of which I felt was bold and courageous, and in my mind paid off. Where the first attempted to highlight not only a relationship between the two leads but an underlying political tone, Dark Continent attempts to highlight the brutal and bloody effects of war and combat, something of which I thought was highly effective, much more than the same notion that was tied in American Sniper. 

Sure, the sheer fact that I am talking about the way the film portrays war instead of how it portrays monsters does seemingly bring the argument of it being misleading to the floor, yet the monsters are there, and there in style, with their design and the CGI looking as flawless as ever. Sure, the film does have some problems in regards to its' length, structure and a whole lot of box ticking in regards to a film based around war, but for the time it was on screen, Monsters: Dark Continent was rather enjoyable. It may yet crawl its' way out of all the negativity surrounding it. I hope so anyway. 

Overall Score: 7/10

Godzilla - SPOILERS - Review

Hey guys!, So once again, exams, essays and life has simply got in the way of everything recently. Now I'm back, Youtube content will be back and plenty of reviews will be back in action! X-men next!

Godzilla stands at the pinnacle of the monster movie genre. It's very nature is primal and built upon the fact that people want to see destruction. We want to witness carnage and giggle manically while people and buildings are torn to shreds and men in white coats begin to descend on you. Last year we had the fantastic Pacific Rim. Godzilla 2k14 has some real competition for craziest monster movie,  unless you count the undeniably disgusting Sharknado and its inbred cousins. Or the majority of Syfy shows...So yeah, Godzilla needed to earn a place in my heart. With trailers cleverly mixed to conceal the story completely, the aura of mystery and a giant roar is way to difficult to ignore. If you were wise enough to ignore the spoiler filled trailer, you are in for a surprise if you've never experienced much of Godzilla.

Upon seeing the movie, I really enjoyed it. Although, I cannot agree with comments about it being the new 'Jaws'. The story was extremely generic. I understand that it wants to retain the past style that made monster movies what they are, but I can't sit through watching a man trying to get to his family while he faces off with the threat. Featuring Bryan Cranston in the trailers over and over and killing him in off in the first half was just a weak move. Yes, not expected at all but portraying him as the sole heart of the movie with Aaron Taylor-Johnson tagging along for the ride, only to become the main for the majority almost feels like Cranston is nothing but a seat filler and used simply because he's become popular recently. Then we have the fact that Godzilla faces off with the "MOTO's" (Kaiju) but they skimp out on it at several opportunities trying to make it funny rather than exciting while trying to hold onto until they get to the big finale which lacks the Pacific Rim ferocity and opts for a repetitive sequence of movements that simply just aren't working. Don't get me wrong, the movie was fun and is entertainment that really numbs the minds to the outside world, yet I can't help thinking that money and production bodies seems to have their claws dug deep into the crotch region of Gareth Edwards (Director).

Visually the movie was astonishing. The pure scale of Kaijus' must have made the task of generating them huge. Buildings toppling with explosions everywhere and general chaos all captured well with the occasional flaw that made it looks like it was filmed in a Universal theme park. Obviously, there was a lot of effort that went into the iconic roar of Godzilla. For the rest of the sound, it was alright. Nothing that really grabbed the attention. Composed by Alexandre Desplat (Harry Potter – Deathly Hallows), the overall outcome resembled white noise generated from some headphones at the other end of the room. I can’t remember much of what was actually used and its a real shame.

 Only just finding out the Elizabeth Olsen is actually in this movie as one of the mains, I have to admit that she is far superior to her relatives. Yet the actual extent of her acting cannot convince me of anything with real conviction. Now the real reason that this movie is going to succeed - Bryan Cranston. So for the few moments he is on screen, he was fairly good but with his potential, he wasn't given a chance to truly demonstrate what has made him so popular. Finally the lead - Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Kickass was a very weird, yet great movie, but the acting needed for it is very different and Johnson cannot display an army bomb disposal hardman.

I won't drag on but the movie did lack some real key moments that should have been done to really impact the overall excitement of the movie. Its a real shame that the action was repetitive and the action was subpar in relation to prior Legendary project, Pacific Rim. For the fun factor, the choice is simple. Its fun, mindless entertainment and worth 7/10 for a total score.