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Summer report card - so far
The summer movie season is only about half over, but since we’re headed into the long holiday weekend, I figured it was a good time to provide my quick takes on what’s come out so far. Remember - not all the fireworks are in the sky this weekend.
Grades link to full reviews.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The follow-up to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe improves on the first installment, with much more lively action scenes, more realistic-looking effects, and a religious allegory that isn’t so baldly obvious. It takes a little too long to get going, but once it takes off, the movie works very well. Ben Barnes impresses as the titular prince, and the sword-fighting mice are charming and funny additions to the gang. At the rate this series is going, the third movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, due in 2010, looks very promising indeed. GRADE: B+
Get Smart
The ’60s TV spy spoof makes for a decently engaging big screen comedy. Its biggest mistake is that it tries too hard to be an action movie, and comedy director Peter Segal is unskilled and clumsy in this genre. Still, it works because of the two leads, Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, who are always eminently watchable. GRADE: B
Hancock
The ads for the film make it look like it’s about a superhero who really doesn’t care to be a hero - and that part of the movie is the part that works best, thanks to some sharp writing and direction. Then, about halfway in, the plot twists and the movie becomes a completely different animal. The two halves don’t mesh very well, but even in the movie’s rough patches, it works because of the very likable cast of Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. It’s inconsistent, but entertaining. GRADE: B
The Happening
It’s neither an unmitigated disaster, nor a misunderstood gem. Instead, M. Night Shyamalan’s movie is a confused mess. It can’t decide whether it wants to be a Hitchcockian thriller, a goofy B movie or a message picture about being nice to Mother Nature. The director’s visual style is still potent enough to create some suspenseful scenes, but that’s not enough to overcome the jumbled tone. A fascinating misfire, but a misfire all the same.
GRADE: C
The Incredible Hulk
More like the “Just Kinda OK Hulk.” Marvel tries to atone for the alleged sins of the 2003 Hulk movie by making a new one that’s more of an action flick. The problem is, in making the new movie more muscular, they’ve also made it dumber than Ang Lee’s version. The action scenes are decent, and Edward Norton is good as Bruce Banner, but Liv Tyler is badly miscast as the love interest, and the villain is bland. There may be visual fireworks, but there’s almost nothing to care about. GRADE: C+
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The first Indiana Jones film in 19 years succeeds as both a blast from the past and the future. The breathless action scenes crackle once again, and Harrison Ford returns to form with his liveliest performance in years. Shia LaBeouf is fun to watch as Indy’s sidekick, and Cate Blanchett finds the scenery quite delectable playing a Russian villainess. There are a few disappointments. Marion (Karen Allen) isn’t used very well, and the finale underwhelms because there’s not enough of a sense of danger, but I still came out much happier than when I came in. GRADE: B+
Iron Man
Terrifically exciting launch of the summer movie season with an Oscar-quality turn by Robert Downey Jr., a fun performance from Gwyneth Paltrow, lively direction by Jon Favreau, and a clever mix of old school and new school effects. Major debit: a lame and obvious villain played by Jeff Bridges, a great actor who’s not so great at being nasty. GRADE: B+
Kung Fu Panda
DreamWorks’ animated movies usually emphasize gags over character, but this is a delightful exception. Yes, the movie has funny (if often obvious) jokes, and the animation is great, but the main reason it works is the lead character is utterly lovable. I felt for the big furry lug as he struggled to fit in with a group of kung fu masters he worshipped, but who couldn’t stand him. Great, touching fun. GRADE: A-
Lawrence of Arabia
I know, it’s not a summer movie, except in the sense that it’s playing at the Ultra Cool Films series at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton this weekend. But it IS the greatest epic of all time, and if you haven’t seen it in a theater, you haven’t seen it at all. Go. GRADE: A+
Sex and the City
The Fab Four (the female version, that is) move to the big screen, and the transition is fun if not enthralling. Instead of feeling like one long episode, the movie feels like five episodes that have been inelegantly jammed together. The 21⁄2-hour running time is excessive. What holds the movie together, though, is the powerful chemistry between Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. Parker, in particular, has never been better. Fans of the show ought to be pleased, and men who aren’t virulently against chick flicks should come away not wanting to slit their wrists. GRADE: B
WALL-E
Simply put, it’s one of the very best movies of all time, animated or otherwise. Who would have guessed that such a moving love story could be made from two mechanical objects who don’t speak English? Pixar tops itself again, as it so often does. I don’t expect to see a better movie this year. GRADE: A+
Wanted
Take part of The Matrix, part of Fight Club and part of Shoot Em Up and what do you get? A derivative bore. James McAvoy is such an annoying wimp in his early scenes, I wasn’t interested in seeing him growing a spine. Sure, there are some wild action scenes, but this is, as a classy writer once put it, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”
GRADE: C
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Comments
By Allie D.
July 9, 2008 12:25 PM | Link to this
I always expect to see a better movie, even better than the one that is so far the best this year. It keeps me from excluding things that just may actually be better. ;) I am very much looking forward to The Dark Knight. And Hellboy 2, actually. Guillermo Del Toro looks like he went all out on the visuals here.By jemcx
July 3, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
I’ve only seen Wall-e out of all of these movies, but I have to agree it will take a lot to top it. I don’t see something like Hellboy 2 doing it, I will admit. I am looking forward to the Dark Knight to see Heath Ledger’s Joker, however, I don’t see that topping Wall-e in my view.