Thor: The Dark World (2013) Review

Thor: The Dark World

At this point the Marvel train is moving full speed ahead and is not likely to stop anytime soon. “The Avengers” and “Iron Man 3” certified that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here to stay, and now it is up to the other Avengers to keep the ball rolling. Luckily, “Thor: The Dark World,” while nothing Earth-shattering, is up to the task against the rising expectations of this ambitious series.

The ever-branching story picks up right after “The Avengers” with Loki being imprisoned for his actions, and then jumps to some time later. Back on Earth, Jane and Darcy discover a mysterious substance in London called the Aether that latches onto Jane. The reemergence of the Aether after thousands of years awakens the Dark Elves in deep space, who wish to control the Aether for regaining power over all the worlds. Thor, whose grandfather once defeated the elves in their attempts long ago, senses Jane is trouble and returns to her aid, although he may need help from an unlikely ally in this struggle.

Of all the Avengers characters, Thor is certainly the toughest to digest even after “The Lord of the Rings” brought greater popularity to the fantasy genre. Marvel and director Alan Taylor (carrying over his “Game of Thrones” experience) realize this by emphasizing the spirited adventure over potentially plodding melodramatics. Humor is in high supply here, and many of the most memorable scenes are the funny bits, particularly when one familiar character makes a surprise appearance.

Not so surprising is the highlight of the Thor/Loki brother relationship. As charismatically gruff as Chris Hemsworth is as the title character, Tom Hiddleston has arguably eclipsed him at this point as the mischievous sibling. One almost wants to root for Loki to win instead. Natalie Portman gets more to do this time as Jane too; not only is her chemistry with Hemsworth more refined but Jane even plays an important role in the inventively cool, portal hopping climax.

A big dent in this movies armor is the villain Malekith played by the wasted Christopher Eccleston. Malekith defies being labeled as a character and functions more as a plot device driving things forward, so much so that even calling him one-dimensional feels generous. Imaginative costumes and production design on the Elf front can only go so far. If it weren’t for the high energy and fun infused into the battle scenes they would fall flat from the paper-thin villainy.

Other small issues arise like plot contrivances and holes wondering how this connects to that. Mileage for Kat Dennings will vary for many (though I generally found her funnier and more useful here than in the first “Thor”), and the same goes for the final scene. It is to the credit of “The Dark World” that it works so well in spite of these holdbacks. It proves that a little gusto and a deftly light touch can go a long way in smoothing over rough edges.

3/4

Pain and Gain (2013) Review

“Pain and Gain”

Michael Bay is tough to like. He makes the kinds of movies I like (crazy action movies), and yet with a few exceptions I don’t like most of his movies. I found the first “Bad Boys,” first “Transformers,” and “The Island” enjoyable, but the only one I could say was good was “The Rock.” All his other movies ranged from average (“Armageddon”) to painfully terrible (“Transformers 2”). With a stroke of luck though, his new movie, “Pain and Gain,” overcame the trepidation that comes with him and came out as easily his best movie since “The Rock.”

Much of this can be attributed to the fact that “Pain and Gain” is based on a true story, and one that proves to be an engagingly loopy one filled with muscle-bound protagonists and pitch-black comedy. Three bodybuilders, fed up with being on the outs, decide to rob a millionaire whom they believe doesn’t deserve his success. For the ringleader, Daniel Lugo, his rationale is that this man doesn’t care much about exercise while him and his cohorts Paul and Adrian do.

These three are perhaps the most self-absorbed, narcissistic and dim-witted main characters to come by in a long time. The key difference here, and why this one works better than many of Bay’s previous movies, is that we aren’t supposed to like them. One of big problems I have with Bay’s movies is that we are supposed to like characters that are doing horrible/annoying things (the cheeriness that Marcus and Mike have while driving over dead bodies in “Bad Boys 2” for instance). Here, there isn’t that pretense. Daniel, Paul and Adrian are terrible people, and we laugh at their antics, not with them. When they cross the line from the already bad extortion and torture into flat-out murder, these guys have what’s coming to them.

Even with though their actions are reprehensible, “Pain and Gain” finds plenty to laugh at in their general boneheaded nature. In this regard, The Rock (sorry Dwayne, you will always be known as The Rock to me) completely steals the movie as the Jesus loving, coke-snorting maniac that is Paul. His mannerisms and ways of speaking, especially when coked out of his mind, frequently got some of the best laughs out of me.

Still, this not to disregard Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie’s work as Daniel and Adrian respectively. Mackie unfortunately gets the shaft compared to Wahlberg and Johnson, although he gets his moments to shine every now and then. Wahlberg, meanwhile, is lucky enough to not only have good comedic timing, but also many of the scripts more memorable lines. In fact, surprisingly for a Michael Bay movie, the script by “Captain America” writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is the best thing about it. I was shocked at how many hilarious quotes were sticking in my mind after the movie finished.

While “Pain and Gain” definitely contains more good than bad, its weaknesses are familiar to those in other Bay movies. The most obvious is that it is much too long. Bay still hasn’t learned that not every movie needs to push its way over the two-hour mark, especially when it’s a comedy with scenes that don’t add to the movie in any significant way. One where Wahlberg heads up a neighborhood watch could have easily been just an amusing Blu-ray deleted scene. Also, the multiple scenes of damaged millionaire Kershaw dealing with a diarrhea-prone patient mate in the hospital were not only unnecessary, but just plain gross when the movie didn’t need to rely on such low-brow material.

There’s also the matter of an overabundance of narration. It would have been fine had it only been used for Daniel, Paul and Adrian, but other minor characters get their own scenes too when they would have been better without it. Narration can be a useful storytelling tool, but an overreliance on it can be a cheap crutch, and giving it out to too many characters is erratic and jarring.

Still, even with this unevenness that is typical of Bay’s other movies also, “Pain and Gain” mostly succeeds because of the fine cast assembled here (I’ll give this to Bay, he knows how to put together a great cast of character actors, including Ed Harris and Tony Shalhoub) and the absurd story that provides it with so much material to mine. A word of warning, the trailer makes it look like an action comedy, whereas it really is just a super dark comedy with small bits of action. And as a no-boundaries type of comedy, it largely works, even some bloat and excess keeping it from totally soaring.

3/4

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Review

The Dark Knight Rises

With death threats towards negative critics and the tragic shooting in Colorado, I would be lying if I didn’t say my anticipation for “The Dark Knight Rises” had all but dissipated. The excitement had dialed down, and eventually I thought, “I’ll just see it when I see it.” Finally I came around to it on my beach vacation in a small theater without the massive crowd that would otherwise annoy me, so I could just relax and watch without distraction. As I walked out of the theater, an overwhelming sense of finality swept over me, as I realized that regardless of any minor speed bumps along the way, Christopher Nolan brought his interpretation of Batman full circle to an incredibly satisfying close.

In the eight years since the events of “The Dark Knight,” Harvey Dent has become immortalized as a hero of Gotham, allowing the Harvey Dent Act to be created and basically wipe most of the organized criminals off of the streets. During this time, Bruce Wayne feels that he has accomplished what he set out to do (find someone to “replace” Batman), and has retired the cowl while becoming a bit of a recluse himself. When the League of Shadows, lead by the mastermind Bane, returns to wreck vengeance on Wayne and Gotham for the death of their master Ras Al’Ghul, this forces Wayne to suit up again and put an end to them. But he has more to deal with on his hands than just Bane, as the police (Commissioner Gordon notwithstanding) have branded Batman an outlaw, and the duplicitous Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman) is working on twisting both sides for her own benefit.

Ever since “Batman Begins,” director Christopher Nolan (along with co-writers Jonathon Nolan and David S. Goyer) has been developing the idea of Batman as a symbol, something that can go beyond simple crime fighting as a man and inspire others to do good also. This opportunity arrived with Harvey Dent in “The Dark Knight,” which seems to have worked even if the Joker temporarily mucked things up by turning him evil. While “Rises” is much more influenced by “Begins” than “Dark Knight,” the efforts of Gordon and Batman to hide Dent’s malicious doings come back to haunt them.

While the film spends a lot of time with it’s ensemble cast, the focus is definitely on Bruce Wayne’s arc as he works himself back into shape towards the path of Batman’s redemption. This is a franchise best performance from Christian Bale on display, as he painfully navigates through the emotional and physical torments the character goes through, and “Rises” isn’t afraid to put its hero through the ringer at his lowest possible point. What sets the film apart from its intimidating predecessor is in the structure of its plot, building towards a final 40 minutes of action and catharsis rather than employ nonstop tension like the Joker’s exploits caused.

Even though I’ve name-checked the Joker about a couple times now, “Rises” makes absolutely no mention of the tricky Clown Prince of Crime. There’s no telling how this final chapter would have played out had Heath Ledger not passed away, but Tom Hardy is more than capable of taking over the villainous duties. Sporting an eccentric accent and the immense muscle mass left over from “Warrior,” Hardy creates an engaging adversary through both smart intellect and sheer brute force. Bane is also the first villain since Ras that can go toe-to-toe with Batman, and the times they match blows are easily the best fisticuffs in the whole series. Nolan has significantly stepped up his game in the action department since the awkwardly constructed set pieces of “Batman Begins,” and every punch and kick comes through with bone-crunching intensity while the mostly practical effects sell the spectacle of the vehicular action. The Bat-Pod makes a great return, but it’s The Bat, which is essentially Nolan’s version of the Batwing, that steals the show as it rumbles through Gotham in the extended action climax.

As the stakes escalate and Bane holds the entire city hostage, Batman cannot handle everything all by himself and reluctantly must turn to Selina for some help. Selina is a true enigma, armed with only razor-edged high heels and sharp intuition, she’s only out for herself as she straddles the line between being on the wrong side of the law and becoming a heroine. It’s a tricky double act to pull off, and Anne Hathaway uncannily switches between faux vulnerability and being in total control as fast as a finger snap. She exudes the sex appeal inherent in the character without hamming it up like Michelle Pfieffer’s incarnation, and consistently steals her scenes even against heavyweights like Bale. If there is a fault, it’s that with so much going on in the plot, the relationship between her and Bruce doesn’t get the attention time to breathe, especially once his character arc has to take over the story.

In the midst of all the chaos of costumed heroes and menaces is John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a cop working under Gordon’s wing who is more useful and integral to the story than you might think. The script takes some shortcuts with Blake’s street-smart abilities (his deduction of Batman’s identity is frustratingly thin and implausible), but he eventually proves his worth. While I would love to delve into how Blake figures into the plot some more, and how it is one of the better aspects of the film, it is also a huge part of the ending that I wouldn’t want to spoil for first-timers.

This has been a long review for me because there’s just so much stuff to talk about in just this one film. That means there’s a ton of material to like and some that may not have been entirely necessary (such as Matthew Modine’s character), but once all is said and done, Christopher Nolan has brought his version of Batman to the close it has been set up for since “Batman Begins.” The legend has indeed ended with “The Dark Knight Rises,” but it will live on in some way shape or form.

3.5/4