This IS the big one.
If you didn't LOVE this
movie, you don't like Action Movies.
Jack Gill killed with the Action! #StandUpForStunts I 'get' this
one. It delivered, and how!!
I cannot understand the
negative scuttlebutt on this movie. This movie is FUCKING AWESOME.
It
seems to have an image problem, beginning with the poster. The
official posters suck (yeah all of them). Even the usually exciting
EMPIRE cover is blah. I
like what someone did with this poster. I wouldn't like it if I was Ryan Gosling but at least it represents the relentless action of
the film a little bit. It could have had such an exciting poster! The one
chosen looks too
much like just another spy Drama. This Action Movie is so much more.
So what
are people looking for in an Action Movie that they can't find in
this one . . .?! Beats me. To quote Samuel L. Jackson "Action
Movie,
Motherfucker."
It's got
EVERYTHING! Even from the opening scene dialogue, the writing is
good. When the Action starts (almost immediately) it never lets up
and keeps getting more and more exciting and dangerous.
A Big Beefy Hero It
has more than one! When a movie has Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans,shut up and eat your awesome. Plus
Ana de Armas kicking ass, plus Dhanush, plus, plus . . .
All of them are so excellent in their
roles you can't take your eyes off the screen. Their
chemistry is great.
Who's on
the Right Side
They do a great job of making Ryan Gosling's character
sympathetic. This goes a long way to understanding why he's such
a bad ass, and what his motivations are. In some ways, it's Aliensand his paternal instincts kick in to protect a
version of his younger self.
With Skills MAD
skills and hats off to Ryan Gosling for selling it.
Everyone in this movie with action in a scene is pushing it to
the limits. If you weren't already impressed with Ana de
Armas after No Time To Die, you should be now. A couple times, Gosling's
character uses appearing to be non-threatening to lull his
captors into a false sense of security. Loved that. If you think
someone's napping, you don't expect instant-attack readiness.
The moment you think he's the most harmless is the moment he's
most lethal. This is all in the writing, folks, so don't
discount writing for action! The way Ryan fought reminded me of a Donnie Yen
movie.
Who Makes a BIG DOG
Entrance In a way . . . he's a "FLORIDA Man" LOL.
Explosions and Chases
There's PLENTY of explosions. They even use colored smoke
(and lighting) throughout (fireworks, flare guns, a fire
extinguisher, etc.) to great effect (try to
look past your stupid knee-jerk reaction that they are trying to 'hide' anything and
just
appreciate the artistry). The location of the first big fight is
so creative, it's 'explosive'. There's
even a crash that you might think you've seen before in a
Mission: Impossible e or Fast & Furious movie but that thought
should disintegrate as fast as the plane. This is epic effects/epic stunt work.
We take way too much for granted. Appreciate, people!
Boy Toys-Gadgets, Weapons,
Vehicles, and the always-welcome-bonus: Weapons mounted on Vehicles :).
There are a a wide range of vehicles used and destroyed.
Too many to list. This fight-or-flight/flight-inducing reveal
below
reminded me of the big gun scene in Rambo. If I was there in
real life, this would have been the come-to-Jesus moment for me.
What the hell kind of weapon is that?! (I checked IMFDb.com but
they have not done their thing—yet, hopefully they will.
A Close-Quarters Fight
Several, and some great knife fights. I thought the fight
choreography was excellent and the actors really sold it. Ryan
Gosling was way better than I expected. Comparisons will be made
to John Wick and they are deserved. He handled himself. He
looked super beefy, and there was never a moment I didn't think
he was up for the task. You can't see the figures in this first
shot below but Four and Six are fighting in the purple smoke at
the center. How jaded are you if this was not an impressive
moment?
You can just see Six in red being
chased by Four.
Again, just a split-second shot,
but moments like this took my breath away . . .
A High Killcount
And how! The sound of bullets rained like The Matrix
marble lobby scene. This movie would be great in surround sound.
Before the big gun battle in the square, the killcount is
already 30. Six narrowly escapes death at the 53 mark in a scene
that brings T3 to mind for a huge crash. I did a conservative
estimate and it came out to 80 total.
The Gnarly Kill
You be the judge . . . This was my favorite. You can
just make out his head near the pavement at the end.
Trash TalkingThe dialog is great. I mean, if the hero and the bad guy
have no banter, what are we watching for? Evans keeps running
his mouth til the very end. This is Trash Talking with payoffs! Several
descriptions of Six really build his character up.
Even the fact
that they pluck him out of jail is a flex.
Cheesy One-Liners
Sprinkled throughout. I
kinda think "Just another Thursday" would have made a good
title.
Camaraderie and Dominance
This movie, from the start, and including the
backstory, is all about dominance. Camaraderie plays a big part
in the character interaction. The interaction between Dhanush
and De Armas, and even the chemistry between Gosling and Evans is great.
When they had to bring in whole teams "Alpha", "Bravo", and
"Delta" to fight our boy and they were monitored
Colonial-Marines-style like this you know the carnage level is
off the charts. Plus, they introduce the evil bad ass "Lone
Wolf". Love the code names. All the CIA/military jargon,
procedures, and the breaking thereof just added to the fun.
A Whiner It's
a stretch but it could be said the dummy who get shot after asking to be paid was
taking a crap the whole time.
The RUSH!!
For an Action Movie to be really good, even
if it has all the above elements, it still has to have
the good guys win and leave you feeling all is right with the
world, which this does. And it does such a good job of getting
to this point that it seems like the best way. It leaves it open
for a part two, and I'm all in!
So, all boxes checked! What is
there not to like? #rhetorical because, to quote The Rock, "I don't
care what you think!"
Funny/not funny: LOVED how they bring his backstory
front and center for the final fight. Talk about a payoff.
SERIOUSLY, anybody faulting this movie brought issues to it because
it has everything Action AND a good story.
As a bonus, they hop
to beautiful exotic locations around the world á la Mission:
Impossible.
We enter BANGKOK through a haze of fireworks that
brought the
ending of Woody Allen's epic Manhattan opener to mind
(you should watch the whole video—the movie if you never have—but
at the 3:00 minute mark if you want to skip to the fireworks). As
well as the jellyfish fight scene in Skyfall with the
drumbeats. Later, Ana de Armas has a silhouetted fight with the
skyline and fireworks in the background of an enormous picture
window and for maybe two seconds of footage, it's PF
spectacular. The fight on the barge that is shooting the
fireworks was really unexpected. Heaping praise on whosever idea
that was.
The location of this house in HONG KONG
is breathtaking as are the views! Giving Michael-Bay-rubbing-it-in-our-face-on-social-media-places-only-he-can-afford-to-stay-while-working vibes. And at night, even more
beautiful. What they do with lighting here, again, even during a
fight scene, super creative.
This "Croatian" castle
( (Chateau
de Chantilly, France) is
a Lifestyles-of-the-Rich-and-Famous kind of vibe, and at night,
the
Skyfall helicopter attack. This armored patrol boat and
helicopter really looked out of place and therefore more
menacing.
"The CIA in Langley, Virgina?"
line from the first Mission: Impossible came to mind when I saw
this last location. What a beautiful house. I really want movies
to take me to beautiful places I've never been, and this movie
more than delivered.
I think the most enjoyable thing of all, and
unexpected (a little, I mean he is a great actor) was how effective
Ryan Gosling was as Six. His character is not always in control, but it's what he does
with what happens to him that makes him exceptional. And what Ryan
Gosling did with this role is make him relatable without going
overboard. He was barely emotional. Even a scintilla more would have rung
false. I think it worked because from the start you could see the
pain in his eyes. He was the character. Now I gotta add him to the
Bad Ass list!
action movie freak
It
seems to have an image problem, beginning with the poster. The
official posters suck (yeah all of them). Even the usually exciting
EMPIRE cover is blah. I
like what someone did with this poster. I wouldn't like it if I was Ryan Gosling but at least it represents the relentless action of
the film a little bit. It could have had such an exciting poster! The one
chosen looks too
much like just another spy Drama. This Action Movie is so much more.
