Film: July 2005 Archives
The other day I decided to go see Michael Bays The Island. Despite the horrendous reviews, I wanted to see what the fuss was. The last Bay movie I saw was Armageddon, and that was just painful. Cool effects, but painful.
What happens if cloning humans becomes a reality? The storyline of the film isn't that deep, but it is interesting. I really had no idea what this film was about until I actually started watching it. In that sense, I was led along as just another captive audience member. The performances by all the main actors, Steve Buscemi, Scarlett Johannson, Ewan McGregor and Sean Bean, were fairly well done. Djimon Hounsou continues to impress. He was Papa Midnite in Constantine, among other films. All the roles by all the actors in the movie were played level, no over acting it seems, but definitely some over directing. Lots and lots of wild camera moves, wild effects, several "how did they get out of that?" scenes. Luckily nothing overtly pro-American, like Armageddon was.
Visual effects wise, ILM (they touch EVERY film, don't ya know?) and Black Box are the ones I remember. I was not really focused on the visual effects, for once. They did stick out, but I wasn't really bothered with it. Lots and lots of greenscreen work, some digital double work, and expansive matte paintings are some of the more obvious shots.
As an action movie, I'm fairly impressed. It did go long at times, two hours and fifteen minutes is way too long to tell a story of this simplicity. A couple of scenes could have been cut for sake of timing, but it seems that if it was huge and crazy, it was in the film. I quite like the giant iron wheels rolling down the freeway, and the destruction of the cars and the like are quite impressive. Practical effects rule.
There wasn't a time that signified when this cloning would take place, except for a comment Sean Bean makes about human cloning being illegal as set forth by a law set in 2050. Which is all fine and good, but then don't make the technology 2005! RX-8s and Dodge Magnums and Chargers roam the streets, and Cadillac has debuted a supercar called the Cien. Which, apparently, is still the new thing in 2050 or after. Save for that one comment, I would have enjoyed most of the film and not have said, WTF? There's a Dodge Magnum. In 2050. Ugh.
Overall, decent film. No Americanism, perse, which is good. Hopefully this film will appeal to the rest of the world with its look on cloning. 6 out of 10.
Ah yes. The reviews have been pouring in. I just recently saw this movie, and while I wasn't sure what to expect, it didn't totally suck. I haven't really read any of the FF comics, so I'm approaching this movie as a general audience member who does visual effects on the side.
From it's 56 million dollar opening weekend, to some good word of mouth around the studio and from friends, I had to see this for myself. A good friend was compositing supervisor for one of the sequences (you go girl!), and several others (you go boys and girls!) worked on other areas of the film.
I broke down and ended up buying the two disc Collectors Edition of Constantine. Well, I didn't really break down. I wanted it since I worked on the film. :) It just came out today, and I had heard rumors that some of the color was taken out for the DVD release!
I managed to catch War of the Worlds on Sunday, and while it didn't exceed my expectations, it did meet them. I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Cruise, and this film only solidifies that opinion.
Let's start right off the bat with the visual effects. Amazing. To say the least, some of the most well done invisible compositing in a long time. Lots of dust and debris compositing, combined with digital stunt doubles and digital machinery truly evoke a sense of panic several times in the movie. As the crowd melees away from the first tripod, you definitely feel trapped in their situation, and it's an awesome feeling, however dreadful it may be. I haven't been truly impressed with the level of an invisible effect like the minivan shot in a long time. The last time was during Contact, when young Ellie (Jodie Foster) runs up the steps to the medicine cabinet. In WotW, Cruise and family are in a minivan, and while they are talking, the camera does and long and deliberate 360 degrees around the minivan, sometimes coming into the vehicle as it speeds along. It's a great shot, and kudos to the team that accomplished that! I would love to see those breakdowns.
The mechanical tripods are done very well, however the people eating anus brought imagery from Evolution to mind, and I could have done without that specific sequence. Like I wrote above, the heat rays were excellent, and I think that the sound effects team did a great job of bringing the horror of being evaporated into reality, if there could be such a reality.
The actors got the job done, and Tom Cruise as the derelict, inept father figure works well. I'm impressed with Dakota Fanning, and I have a feeling she'll be a great actress in the future, as long as she doesn't burn out! Her and Haley Joel Osment are definitely the child actors of our time that will turn out to be great. Tim Robbins does a great job with his portrayal of Harlan Ogilvy, even though it's a small sequence in the film.
All in all, I'd give this movie an 8 out of 10. Some great visuals, and a decent story (even if it's a century old). This is something the film reminded me of; if you have shields on your mechanical ships, you can survive anything.
What did you think?
