Category: Reviews

Released: February 2020

Director: Ivan Silvestrini

Run Time: 95 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Distributor: Universal 1440 Entertainment

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Cast:
Joseph Milson: Darius
Jack Kane: Lukas
Carolina Carlsson: The Snake
Tam Williams: The Scorpion
Richard Ashton: The Wolf
Ross O’Hennessy: The Bear
Helena Bonham Carter: Siveth

When I made that post about franchises that just don’t seem to die, there were a few franchises in there that were unexpected: Tremors, The Scorpion King, and Dragonheart.  While these films certainly have an audience, I honestly didn’t expect that to be enough to warrant multiple entries, yet here we are:  6 Tremors films, with a 7th on the way, 5 Scorpion King films, and now 5 Dragonheart movies.  Quite a world we live in, right?  Honestly, Scorpion King and Tremors were franchises where sequels were not outside the realm of possibility.  Dragonheart, though?  The original film had a pretty definitive ending, so a sequel didn’t seem possible.  For some reason, though, A New Beginning was released back in 2000.  It was a movie that just doesn’t make sense.  Given how much time had passed between the original and the second, having a dragon suddenly show up after the last living dragon was killed in the original film made no logical sense.  The third, fourth and fifth films are all prequels to the original, so THAT makes sense.  For this review, I’m taking a look at Dragonheart: Vengeance, the fifth entry into the Dragonheart franchise.

Dragonheart: Vengeance follows young Lukas as he witnesses his family being murdered by a group of raiders.  Seeking revenge for his family’s death, he heads to the nearby castle to look for help.  After encountering Darius, a local mercenary, Lukas is then pointed to a nearby forest to seek help from a dragon, Siveth.  This particular dragon was banished from the kingdom because of an incident involving the king and she has been living in exile ever since.  After hearing the boy’s story, Siveth, along with Darius, team up to help Lukas find justice.  It’s as straight-forward a story as you can get in a fantasy film.  It checks all the boxes that are required for a film like this.  It’s not a terrible story and it does have a message about the dangers of vengeance, but the lack of subtlety is pretty front-and-center.  Then again, you’re not going into a film like this for a life-changing experience.  No, you’re going in it for a tale of good versus evil, dragons and epic battles.  The plot is there to just move things along, and it does alright with what’s here.  For a direct-to-video sequel, it’s not that bad, actually.

Let’s get the acting out of the way first.  The acting here is pretty standard for a DTV film.  There are a couple of standouts here, though.  Joseph Milson plays Darius, the sell-sword who teams up with Lukas, and I have to say, he’s pretty fun to watch.  I would have to say that the character of Darius is the Dragonheart-equivalent of Han Solo.  While I wouldn’t say the character is a total anti-hero, he is a rogue with a heart of gold.  That knows how to swing a sword.  Jack Kane as Lukas?  There are times when he’s convincing and there are times when he’s clearly over-playing it.  He can handle himself pretty well, physically, but when it comes to the emotional aspect of the character, he falls kind of flat at times.  The villains are pretty much your standard card-board cut-out villains.  You have four main villains with a particular theme: The Snake, The Bear, The Wolf, and The Scorpion.  Only The Snake and The Scorpion seem to pose a threat.  The real star of the show, however, is Helena Bonham Carter as Siveth, a female, ice-breathing dragon.  It’s a first for the series in more ways than one.  In my opinion, she’s the best person to voice a dragon since Sean Connery in the original film.  While Carter is known for playing really quirky characters and bizarre villains, she gives Siveth a noble and warm presence despite the fact that the character breathes ice.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Carter modeled her performance after Connery’s, and that’s not a bad thing.  She’s quick-witted with a biting sense of humor, but also gives the character a sense of grace that we haven’t seen since the original film.  I absolutely loved what she did here.

Dragonheart: Vengeance is a pretty low-budget feature and you can definitely tell at times.  However, a lot of the film was shot on location in Romania, and there is definitely some pretty stunning cinematography here.  The CGI is not bad.  I wouldn’t say that the CGI on the dragon was as good as the third film, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the second and fourth films, in my opinion.  There’s just enough done right to make Helena Bonham Carter’s personality come through, that makes it interesting to watch.  Other-wise, everything else is done practically.  Epic battles?  Not really.  We get to see the aftermath of some, but the fight scenes that ARE there are done pretty well.  There’s some decent sword choreography going on.  The set and costume designs aren’t actually that bad, surprisingly.  Unfortunately, the budget does show up in a bad way at times.  Some of the writing is just….awful.  Especially when it comes to the humans.  It’s not as bad as The Room or anything, but there needed to be a few more re-writes here and there.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Dragonheart: Vengeance.  It’s not super-violent, so families can watch this one, but there are some violent moments here and there.  I really like the chemistry between Darius, Lukas and Siveth, as those are really the standout performances here.  Of the villains, I would have to say that The Snake is the standout.  She is as vicious as she is beautiful.  At the end of the day, I would argue that while Vengeance isn’t the greatest film in the world, it’s definitely a better sequel than A New Beginning and Battle for the Heartfire.  Helena Bonham Carter’s Siveth makes for the best dragon since Sean Connery’s Draco in the original film.  While the film definitely has its issues, and most of that is due to its budget, I would say Dragonheart: Vengeance is worth at least a rental.

My Final Recommendation: Dragons are awesome.  Anybody who says otherwise is wrong.  It’s a scientific fact.  8/10.

As a huge movie buff, I love all kinds of movies.  Everything from Action to Bollywood to Horror, I watch it all.  I certainly have my preferences for certain genres and certain kinds of movies.  I love action movies.  Big explosions, intense gunfights, white-knuckle chases, and heavy-hitting fight scenes get my adrenaline pumping.  Action movies are my drug of choice.  I love all different kinds of action movies.  If it looks interesting, I’ll check it out.  Everything from Indiana Jones to John Wick is probably within my wheelhouse.  I like smart action movies and I love silly action movies.  I also happen to like big dumb blockbusters like Michael Bay’s Transformers.  Yes, I said it.  I enjoy those movies.  That’s because I’m willing to shut my brain off and enjoy watching giant shape-shifting robots blow the shit out of everything.  I’m also okay with The Expendables with aging action stars that are in better shape than me doing crazy stunts and other things like that.  I’m okay with that, because I can suspend my disbelief for about two hours.

There is a franchise that’s gotten bigger and louder over the past two decades: The Fast and The Furious.  What started out as movies about car races and the people who drive them turned into heist movies by the fourth film.  That was probably the best decision the Universal Studios had made with the franchise.  Each subsequent film got bigger, louder, crazier……and dumber.  I mean, Fast Five ended with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker dragging a bank vault through city streets.  Implausible, but it was all done practically.  It was the sixth film in the series where I started to check out, especially with that ridiculous final sequence with the plane.  The film was fun up until that point, but then it just got silly.  Furious 7 I decided to give chance, despite the fact that it looked insane.  I gave it a shot because it was Paul Walker’s final film and he was killed in a tragic accident while making it, so I’m giving Furious 7 a pass.  It was a ton of fun and it sent off Walker’s character into the sunset.  The ending was very touching.

The Fate of the Furious is where I threw up my hands as the film just threw any sense of plausibility and physics to the four winds.  But the moment they brought in a nuclear submarine at the end was my breaking point.  I understand that the Fast and Furious movies are popcorn action flicks now and it kinds of requires you to suspend your disbelief quite a bit.  However, I have my limits.  When your films start saying that the laws of physics no longer apply, I’m absolutely flabbergasted that people are still willing to shell out money for this.  I realize that there are fans of Vin Diesel, I’m one of them, but I would rather see another Riddick film than another Fast film.  I also know that these films are very self-aware and they are willing to go full-throttle, and I applaud their dedication, but when people start going, “Really?,” you’ve kind of gone a little too far.  The less said about Hobbs and Shaw, the better.  I enjoyed that movie, but holy moly guacamole, it stretches credibility to its absolute breaking point.

That all brings me to F9: The Fast Saga: The ninth entry into the series(tenth if you count Hobbs and Shaw).  As soon as I finished watching the trailer, I was literally shaking my head.  This is what we’ve come to now?  I’m not even going to go into the plot, because what’s the point?  There are so many things in this trailer that just blow my mind and not in a good way.  For one, are we supposed to accept the fact that WWE superstar John Cena is playing Vin Diesel’s brother?  Were we even supposed to know that Dominic Toretto had a brother?  This is the 9th film in the main series and we’re just finding out NOW that Toretto has a brother?  Not only that, Cena teams up with the previous film’s main villain, Charlize Theron to take down Dom.  Towards the end of the trailer, John Cena drives his car off of a cliff that is caught by a “magnet” plane.  Right after that, Dom drives HIS car off the cliff while the car gets attached to one end of a busted rope bridge.  At that point, I was banging my head against a wall.  Sir Isaac Newton’s brain would be exploding in so many different ways if he could see all this.  At least some of the Transformers films adhered to some of those laws of physics.  The Fast and the Furious franchise basically says “fuck it” to all of that.  Oh, yeah, I almost forgot:  A character that was killed at the end of the THIRD film makes his return in this one: Sung Kang as Han.  He was in the fourth, fifth, and sixth movies.  They’ve screwed up the timeline so bad that you have no real idea when each movie is supposed to be taking place in relation to each other.  I realize that I haven’t seen the film yet, but judging from what I’ve seen in this trailer, F9 is NOT on my list of must-see movies.  It really isn’t.  This is a series of movies where stupidity and implausible action take priority over making any sort of logical sense at all.  Again, I’m all for a dumb action movie, but the Fast and Furious have taken dumb to a whole new level.  The worst part?  They’re planning on at least one more after this!  JUST STOP!!! PLEASE!!!!

Released: October 2019

Director: Siddarth Anand

Run Time: 154 Minutes

Not Rated

Distributor: Reverie Entertainment

Genre: Action/Bollywood

Cast:
Hrithik Roshan: Kabir
Tiger Shroff: Khalid
Vaani Kapoor: Naina
Anupriya Goenka: Aditi
Yash Raaj Singh: Saurabh

As an obvious an avowed movie buff, I’ve avoided the whole Bollywood scene for a long time.  I’d heard about how their movies have dance numbers in them, despite the subject matter of a particular film.  I had seen images and they all looked really strange to me.  It wouldn’t be until a few years back when I caught video clips of one Tiger Shroff on YouTube.  It was from a movie called Heropanti and I got see him do some pretty spectacular action and stunt-work.  So, I decided to check the film out.  While I can’t say I was super-impressed with the overall film, I did catch on to how fantastic Shroff was in doing action.  He’s also a hell of a dancer as evidenced in the musical numbers.  After doing a little bit of research into India’s film scene, I came to the realization that those musical numbers are part of who they are as a people.  Truthfully, I wouldn’t change that for the world.  Because of those goofy elements, Bollywood has a flavor that is incredibly unique.  Some of those musical numbers are pretty catchy and very well made.  After seeing more films like Baaghi, Baaghi 2, Commando 2, and War, I’m honestly really starting to dig the whole Bollywood thing.  Yeah, it seems silly to a Westerner such as myself, but there’s degree of talent and honesty in these films that you really don’t see a lot of in other movies around the world.  That brings me to the latest action bonanza that is War(not to be confused with the Jet Li and Jason Statham film from 2007).

War follows Khalid as he is tasked with hunting down his former mentor, Kabir.  Years prior, Kabir had recruited Khalid to be a part of his elite team tasked with hunting down terrorists and criminal organizations that posed a grave threat to India.  At some point, it seemed that Kabir had gone rogue hunting a particular terrorist.  So, not only does Khalid have to bring down his former partner, he also has to contend with the same terrorist that Kabir has sworn to kill.  Most Bollywood stories tend to be pretty straightforward, with a defined hero and villain.  That’s been my experience with Shroff’s previous films.  The story in War, while not particularly original, has enough creativity to change things up about half-way through the film.  Does it always work?  No, but they tried anyway and for a film like this, I went along with it.  The film changes its focus from Khalid to Kabir periodically, so we begin to see how Kabir is dealing with the situation and there certain twists and turns in this film that I won’t spoil for you.  It’s nothing terribly groundbreaking, but for a Bollywood action flick, it’s a bit of a game-changer, and I absolutely loved that aspect of it.  Especially towards the end.

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way:  You don’t go to a movie like this for award-winning acting, and for the most part, acting in Bollywood films is a little over-the-top at times.  I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, because it’s a part of the show.  I have to be honest, the acting in War is probably the best I’ve seen so far in a Bollywood film, at least the ones that I’ve seen thus far.  While I wouldn’t say that Tiger Shroff is a great actor, he does get to stretch those muscles a bit more in this movie, and when the film starts focusing more on Hrithik Roshan’s character, there’s definitely a lot more effort in trying to make a particular actually care about anything more than his job and country.  The scenes between Hrithik and Vani Kapoor’s character come a little late in the game, but they felt a lot less cheesy than what we’ve seen in other films.  These are actually some fairly compelling moments.  Vani, in addition to being a stunning woman, is also a decent actress in her own right.  I think she plays pretty well off of Hrithik despite the fact that she’s not in the film a whole lot.  Outside of these three characters and actors, though, the acting is what you would expect from a Bollywood movie.

With a title like War, you would expect there to be some action, right?  Well, let me tell you:  If there’s one thing that War definitely delivers on, it’s the action.  War features some of the coolest action that I’ve seen in a while.  You’ve got big explosions, car chases, motorcycle chases and a pretty good parkour chase about half-way through the film.  Most of the action is well-framed.  There are definitely moments were slow-motion is used, but it’s not as much as what I’ve seen in previous productions from India.  The fight choreography, especially with the scenes involving Tiger, are pretty good.  If there’s one complaint that I have with the action in the film, though, is that some of the action scenes have too many close-ups and shaky-cam moments.  I get that Bollywood films like to focus on their good-looking actors and actresses, but when it comes to action sequences, the audience needs to be able to see these guys actually do that.  For the most part, though, the action is pretty spot-on.  The cinematography in War is some of the most incredible I’ve seen, especially in high-definition.  We get these really gorgeous shots of cities, mountains, and other landscapes that can rival some of the stuff we’ve been able to do in the west.  In all honesty, War feels more like a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster than what we’ve come to expect from this part of the world, and that’s no easy feat.  Yeah, there’s definitely some CGI and some of the effects are painfully obvious, but again, like the dance numbers, that’s part of the experience.  One other thing: The dance and musical numbers are pretty damn good.  The pacing is also pretty quick.  War is probably the most action-packed Bollywood film that I’ve seen.

It’s weird:  I never thought that in a million years that I would ever become a fan of Bollywood movies.  But I’m on my way to becoming one.  Of the four Bollywood action flicks that I’ve seen thus far, only one was a massive disappointment: Commando 2.  I know that Tiger Shroff has another Baaghi film coming out and he’s starring in the Bollywood remake of Rambo.  When it comes action movies, India is really starting to flex its muscles and I’m genuinely excited for what they’ve got coming up.  I’m definitely paying attention.  If you have any sort of interest in action movies, especially from other countries, then I would recommend War.  It’s a really solid effort that shows that India can stand toe-to-toe with Hollywood and Hong Kong when it comes to action movies.

My Final Recommendation:  9/10

Over the past couple of years, I’ve made it known that I’m not entirely against the idea of rebooting or remaking a popular franchise.  Far from it.  If handled correctly, a reboot or remake can take an ailing franchise and give it a new direction and new energy.    A good example of this is Star Trek.  After the dismal box-office results of the final Next Generation film, Star Trek: Nemesis, Paramount Pictures opted to reboot the franchise, by setting it in the James Kirk/Spock era when they first met.  The resulting film gave the franchise new energy and new purpose.  It was a fantastic film.  The same thing could be said for Man of Steel and X-Men: First Class.  Those were really good films that took their respective franchises in a new direction and infusing them with new ideas.  Did it always work?  Of course not.  The follow-up films often left a bit to be desired.  But those initial films showed new interest and new promise.  Sometimes that can be enough to get a project off the ground.  Sometimes it can’t or shouldn’t.  A more recent example of a reboot/sequel that probably shouldn’t have happened was Terminator: Dark Fate.  I enjoyed the film a great deal, but it felt way too much like the first two films tossed in a blender.  It was the third attempt at rebooting the franchise.  After three failed attempts at bringing that franchise back to life, they’ve currently opted to not go for new movies for a while.  The question to be asked is this:  Does a film franchise need to be rebooted in the first place?

I bring this subject up because according to an article on horror website, Bloody Disgusting, there is a renewed attempt to reboot The Crow, a film released back in 1994.  The original film featured Brandon Lee, son of the legendary Bruce Lee, play Eric Draven, a rock star who was brutally murdered along with his girlfriend on the night before Halloween.  The film followed the character as he rose from the grave to exact revenge on his murderers.  Based on the James O’Barr graphic novel of the same name, The Crow was a dark and Gothic action film that had a powerful and emotional core in the form of Brandon Lee.  Sadly, Brandon was killed in a freak accident involving a prop gun that misfired.  The rest of the film had to be completed using a body double and CGI.  It was done well enough, that you really couldn’t tell.  The film was a hit with fans around the world and ended up being a major cult classic, but you couldn’t escape the fact that there was something off about the film.  Not from a film-making standpoint, mind you, but rather from a more metaphysical aspect, you could say.  Some would point to the fact that the film was popular and successful, because of the news surrounding Brandon’s death.  Would the film have been received differently if Brandon had lived?  It’s hard to say, but I would certainly point to Brandon’s passing as having an affect on the film’s popularity, regardless of how morbid that sounds.  Over the years since Brandon’s death, the film has gained a massive following.  We got video-games, a short-lived TV series starring Mark Dacascos, and three less-than-stellar sequels.  I personally hold the original Brandon Lee film as one of the best films based on a graphic novel.  It wasn’t a perfect, but it didn’t need to be and the flaws that were evident were overshadowed by an emotionally gripping story and a powerfully strong performance by Brandon Lee.

That brings me back to the idea of rebooting The Crow.  In 2008, Stephen Norrington, who directed Blade, announced that he would write and direct a “re-invention” of The Crow.  Ultimately, he would leave the project in 2011.  Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was tapped to direct with Bradley Cooper to star in the role.  Due to certain “legal” issues and apparent scheduling conflicts, Cooper bowed out and Fresnadillo was no longer attached.  Mark Wahlberg was in talks to star along with Ryan Gosling and Channing Tatum.  Still, nothing really happened.  In May of 2013, Luke Evans(Dracula Untold, No One Lives, The Hobbit)was confirmed to take the lead.  Unfortunately, he would be dropping out of the role, because the project had stalled yet again.  Over the next couple of years, more names would be tapped to helm the role of Eric Draven: Jack Huston, Sam Witwer and Jason Mamoa.  Between the constant delays and the overall dissatisfaction of the sequels to The Crow, it seemed like the franchise was suffering from some kind of curse.  I don’t think it’s a curse, but rather the desire to get it right.  Not just to honor the fans, but also to honor Brandon Lee and the source material.  If you think about it, any attempt at rebooting The Crow would have audiences and critics ultimately compare the new film to the original, and that’s a legacy that’s really hard to live up to.  The fact that there hasn’t been a successful attempt at bring The Crow back tells me that the folks involved want to make it, but they don’t want to tarnish the reputation of the original.  Again, that brings me back to the question of should it be rebooted?

While I tend to be open-minded about most reboots, The Crow is the one that I have to say shouldn’t be touched.  It’s not that I think it couldn’t be done.  It very well could.  It could be a hell of a movie.  But it could also be a major stinker.  Considering how most people view the original film, there is no way in hell that any new movie could ever live up to what was achieved in that first movie.  The fact that the reboot has had so much trouble getting off the ground over the past decade should tell most people that this is one property that should be left well enough alone.  The original film showed Brandon Lee at his very best, even if it was his final performance.  The story was incredible and the visual aesthetic of the film was superb.  It bothers me that they are still trying with a new writer and director, who have yet to be announced.  To them, I say this:  Please stop.  Let this ghost rest.  We don’t need another attempt, especially one that has no chance of being anywhere near the film that the original was.  To me, the original film is a classic.  The first sequel was alright, but almost everything else was not very good.  Even the TV series with Mark Dacascos didn’t fully deliver.  So, my personal answer is that The Crow SHOULDN’T be rebooted.  Again, I don’t think the series is cursed, but it does have a specific kind of audience and you really don’t want to be pissing those people off.  I know, I’m one of them.  But, that’s just one man’s opinion, and I’m certain others have a different view.