Film Reviews by JD

I cant help but feel this film is held together for the most part by Jack's great acting and Denis's clear directing talent. The film, taken literally is odd, confusing and contradictory.

For us we needed to do some googling to find what was really happening, and indeed lots of people pretend to understand but eventually we found someone who's explanation made sense.

What do i make of it? No idea.

I was a kid when i watched the disney version and ive never read the original tale (im assuming there was one?) so cant really compare them all.

But Del Toros version has plenty of depth and oozes quality through out.

I dont really like the tale as its a bit sad - but here with some skilled story telling the darkness is offset by how the characters develop to what is ultimately a satisfying conclusion. Its is a joy to watch.

At the end of the day, this is Del Toro work so it going to be good. And it is.

Last time i saw this film i was a kid, and i enjoyed it everybit as much now as i did then. Even seeing it through very different eyes it remains a great film. And one that holds up well today. There are odd things that stand out, convenient coincident, 20 shot six shooters and gunslingers who have clearly never held a gun in there lives etc.

But the acting and the story all remain strong.

And now having watched the Sergio films its clear this draws strongly from them. Even the score sounds like an amateur trying to be Ennio! But it doesnt detract from a dark and fascinating revenge flick.

This wont be winning awards at Festival de Canne. But its fun.

Unlike most modern, fully western films, this one appearing to be aimed at Chinese audience, just plays for entertainment. There is no messaging or telling you what think. This is just traditional fun.

Its great to look at, convincing cgi, wholesome plot (although the monsters were a bit 2d bad guys) and easy to watch. Just try not to think to hard about whats going on!

I like some robot on robot action, and transformers always gives some great action. And at times the visuals are nicely spectacular.

However, it feels like its running out of steam and its attempts to be bigger and better are washed up.

The final action scene is mostly tedious and even gets a bit daft (and thats saying something being brains already switched off!)

But what really turned me against this film was our supposed human heros seemed to not give a monkeys about the men dying in front of them. Police officers or security guards deaths are literally ignored when happening right in front of them. I started rooting for the bad robots in the end.

It does get a fair one star from me (not a desire that there was a zero star rating!) There is the odd piece of dialogue, the odd action scene etc that are ok. But overall its a pretty bad film.

When i was a lad, my dad told me this was a brilliant film.

30 years later - i watch it for the first time. And yep, its brilliant.

Its no wonder this is a staple of best film ever lists. Having recently also watched 12 angry men for the first time, I do wonder whats gone wrong in the movie industry that despite all the learnings and improvements - these very old films stand out as exceptional by modern standards.

This is a truly fantastic film and id highly recommend after watching it, to watch something that explains why the characters are played like they are - what seems to be the main character seems to play a back seat and feels awkward until you know why this is done - and its genius stuff.

Indeed, most people who rate the film low will critisice the characters - not understanding what Denis has done. (I had no idea either till i tripped over someone explaining it)

The Action here is also worth a mention. Its not the bloated, unrealistic fantasy we get in most films. Its short and brutal and as such is far more tense and effective.

And the same goes for character interactions, they are short and sharp. Its a film thats quality over quantity.

Personally i class this film as a masterpiece.

Re watching this today its a film that certainly shows its age. Both good and bad.

The plot is robust and lacks the pointless complications you find in todays films, it doesnt preach to the audiance and despite the number of rounds loosed off and various explosions, it also refrains from going utterly ott. The bad guys are utterly believable, as are there actions (for the most part) other players have there part, but arent over done. The slimy salesman isnt the nasty villain he would of been today and the girl boss, is a girl boss. She's second in charge and this is made clear with her subtle interactions. Nobody shouts it, she just is.

I also like how the bad guys all have MP5's. No raiding the prop cupboard here - they are an organised group and the weapon of choice is uniform. Subtle, but its one of those classic ways a good film tells you a story without saying a word.

But as solid as the film is, there are 2 things that makes it stand out.

The first is the rough Bruce Willis. He's not great and looks pretty uncomfortable with his weapon handling. But it adds to the charm and his rough, fly by night approach perfectly offsets the films greatest asset - Alan Rickman. Yes, its a brilliantly written villain but Rickman in his first role completely owns it. This is top drawer stuff and Rickmans villain is easily one of the best in movie history. Rickman alone is 10/5 stars.

Also, the Police officers are a superb light hearted addition. The Police chief, the SWAT commander and the FBI agents are all highly entertaining. They arent 2 dimensional idiots. It looks to me they mess up in a funny way so as to not make them look like dimwits.. which in turn makes the bad guy look more dangerous.

Alan Is no longer with us and Bruce with his health issues has not had a great end to his career. With Die Hard we can enjoy these fantastic actors over and over.

Like all MI films, its utterly ridiculous and as is the habit in holywood, or anything these days there is a need to 'raise the bar' on each release... leading it to getting sillier and sillier.

Physics, biology, common sense etc are not things in the MI univierse to there is no point even starting to question it.

Rather its a series of actions scenes over some global threat.

The male cast makes me feel young. Although this tells me 2 things. Firstly they dont want to risk tanking the box office (which this did anyway from what i gather) by moving in new faces and of course, the lack of potential new faces to replace them with. And lets face it, your going to struggle to make a MI film without the fantastic Tom Cruise.

Perfectly watchable and enjoyable, but its nothing new and nothing special.

5stars?

There is no opening action scene. So i was bored straight away.

Its actually in black and white so there no pretty colors flashing over the screen at all times. This made it hard to watch.

The cast is solely males. And if that wasnt bad enough, white males. I felt offended and triggered.

And, everyone could act, there were distinct characters (12!) who by the end you felt you knew personally, each having there own arc and path to conclusion.

Its an incredibly wholesome plot. In a system we only ever hear failing - this demonstrates success as it was meant. Wholesome stories are so old fashioned.

And worst of all, there was no scatter gun firing of humour during serious moments to spoil the mood.

All in all. This is no modern film.

But this is one seriously impressive film.

I found the film very interesting, giving some food for thought where both the negative and postive aspects of how the US operates were demonstrated. Having taken a interest in geopolitics over the last few years, the film was indeed very interesting in this regard.

The acting is fantastic and the whole production is extremly well done. This is a film that has been polished to within an inch of its life and in this respect alone, its fantastic.

However.

The film is bloated. Bare in mind there is no science in this film. What tiny bit there is, is accompanied with simplistic explanation. There is also very little definition of the destruction these weapons cause. These subjects seem to of been brushed aside to focus on the people and events.

And there is the biggest flaw. Youll notice most people are keen to say they understood the film and thats because it jumps around between different times and storylines in a very fragmented way - Im not fussed to admit it, both me and my GF couldnt keep up with it all. It doesnt make you stupid, or invalidate your not-5 star rating. It just means you cant be bothered playing a memory puzzle while watching some entertainment and eating pizza.

A good film yes, but 5 stars, no. There are far, far better films out there.

Nothing against the acting, that was top notch (Jessica Lange is superb as ever) but the film was just, well, i guess for a very specific type of viewer.

Thankfully they didnt stretch it out as is often the case these days so it doesnt over stay its welcome. But it might be worth considering not even letting it in in the first place.

Proof if ever there was an all star cast doesnt make a great film.

Its watchable - there is far worse out there. But it does feel a bit like its an opportunity for us paying public to watch the rich and famous smell there own farts.

Wannabe film reviewers will love it, and ultimately this is a film for them. Not anyone really interested in being entertained.

The MCU is in a bit of mess now, and the last one i watched, the Dr Strange one was utter rubbish (lets ignore the latest spiderman movie, that was exceptional by any standerd) Ive not even bothered renting tripe like the eternals, marvels etc.

But id heard this one was ok. And indeed it is. The humour is carpet bombed and damages the film. Some of it lands and is in keeping with the Guardians, but there is simply to much.

The film in general is also a bit shallow, its not something you are going to remember or be desperate to see again. Its a film that feels like parts of it were done by a team of 5 year olds.

However, it is saved by 2 things. Firstly, and mainly is Rocket. This irritating character has his back story told. And boy is it sad and superbly done and really brings a new dimension to this character. This is MCU story telling at its very best.

And the second thing is the least favoured, least populer set of characters - if you didnt know them already. For some reason it just works.

Hopefully its over now, we dont need anymore.

And it hurts me to say this as they dont deserve our money, but its worth watching.

Thoroughly watchable and a good idea for a film.

However it falls flat with shallow characters (the 2 main characters) and a complete lack of depth or substance to the plot.

Nothing is explained, nothing odd is investigated with any depth 'oh look something interesting - lets forget about it move on with the story' And the human/emotional side just leaves you guessing.

Somethings need to be left to you imagination, but the entire story and every single detail is pushing it a bit. I get the feeling this is one of those films where the screenplay was made up as they filmed.