Yes, I saw Len Wiseman’s remake of the 1990 big-budget-totally-’90s Paul Verhoeven/Arnold Schwarzenegger pseudo-classic and was sufficiently underwhelmed. While the original was almost laughable in its preposterousness and overwrought wannabe visual grandiosity, it didn’t try to be anything it wasn’t, specifically, anything more than a big-budget action movie. It wasn’t some would-be examination of the disparity in social standing between the working class and the intellectual elite. Wiseman’s version wasn’t either, but damn, it tried to be. First, the bad. Maybe it’s “the obvious,” but Wiseman should probably stick to vampires vs. werewolves, where manufactured class warfare can pass as social commentary. Once that dogmatic haughtiness is applied to regular people (present or future), it takes on an air of disingenuousness because it doesn’t offer any real solutions to the problems, just a misguided cry to revolt. In this version, the downtrodden face subjugation (on its way to extermination) by the elite, led by (of course) one super-evil, super-powerful, super-bad guy (the annoyingly miscast Bryan Cranston). He is thwarted by (of course) one super-good-looking, super-bad-ass, super-confused/conflicted good guy (Colin Farrell), who may or may not actually be one of the bad guys. Anyway, along the way some super-hot, super-tough super-dedicated chicks (Jessica Biel and Kate Beckinsale) fight for their right to party with/over the dead body of Farrell. The performances in a nutshell: Farrell: earnest and honest. Cranston: ridiculous. Biel: her usual nothing spectacular-yet-enjoyable effort. Beckinsale: convincing, but just a smidge over the top. Yeah, she’s married to the director. The good: the visuals were out of this world. The vertical expansion of the future world was spectacular, and very reminiscent of “Blade Runner.” The action sequences were completely preposterous (would you expect anything less from Wiseman?), but they were actually kinda useful. There was a whole lot more plot than story, and the action/fight sequences were enough to distract from that glaring deficiency. Maybe my expectations were too high. The original was a beloved staple of my action-movie playlist, and I had hoped for a “Star Trek”-esque update with visuals worthy of the rich story potential. Still, it was decent enough to warrant a viewing just for the visuals and Farrell’s performance. I urge Wiseman to either stick with monster fantasy or keep his politics to himself… $3
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 23:14:46 +0000
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