Posts Tagged ‘expendables’

I’m not sure what film some of the people who had reviewed Colombiana had been to see but it’s not the same one I went to.  Colombiana is not a classic film but its been given some really harsh reviews that often seem to amount to it not being Leon.

Colombiana is the latest Luc Besson action film and this time he’s gone back to some of the themes that made him famous with Nikita and Leon – assassins and revenge.   That makes it hard to review without referring the earlier film.  Leon had three truly memorable characters: Leon (Jean Reno), Mathilda (Natalie Portman) and Stansfield (Gary Oldman).  Colombiana has Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) and a variety of less developed supporting characters.

Personally I’d like to have seen more made of one of:

• Danny Delanay (Michael Varta) and his relationship with Cataleya
• FBI Special Agent Ross (Lennie James) and his teams pursuit of Catelyna
• Emilio Restrepo (Cliff Curtis) and Catelyna family
• The bad guys/CIA played by Jordi Mollà, Beto Benites and Callum Blue

These were all sketched in and developing any of two of those could have elevated the story.  However doing so would either require changing the pacing by losing a set piece or increasing the length of the film by 15 to 30 minutes.

What it lacks in deep characterisation of villains and allies it makes up for by putting its central character on screen and action.  The opening chase scene in Columbia and the assassination in the police station are memorable and the third is clever.

The climactic encounter with the villains is the weakest of the set pieces but it remains coherent compared to the confused mess that was The Expendables ending.  The fight scene was reminiscent of those found in the Bourne films especially the later, Paul Greengrass, directed offerings with their handheld, in the fight style.

Another thing in its favour is a sense of humour closer to the quips of a good Bond film that is more effective than the forced comedy littered through many modern action films.

So yes, this isn’t Leon or a classic, but if you can get past that while Colombiana is a fun Luc Besson action movie.

Since its the time of year when people post lists here are the top 11 most visited of my blog posts for the year.

1. The Expendables

2. Yes, Prime Minister

3. Stephen Fry at the Royal Albert Hall Review

4. RED – Retired Extremely Dangerous – Review

5. Chavasse Park Ride

5. Lime Street Station Uncovered

7. Liverpool’s Pyramid – William Mackenzie Tomb

8. Doctor Who: The Big Bang

9. A Town Called Eureka – Season 2

10. Rotating Yates’s Wine Lodge Building

11. Pancetta, Chorizo and Broad Bean Risotto

Reviews have done well and some of the pictures I’ve been posting have picked up a healthy number of eyeballs too

Potted review: The Expendables is OK but a bit of a missed opportunity – was Stalone been eating Quiche while writing?

I went to see The Expendables last night.  I had worried that the Arnie, Bruce Willis and Stalone scene was going to turn out to be flan;  that the whole of it might have been used for the trailers.  Fortunately it hadn’t been so it was a fan pleasing moment.  It wasn’t Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Heat but it was three of the biggest box office stars of the 80s on screen together.

However it set up a pattern for the rest of the film.  Stalone has a scene with Statham.    Stalone has a scene with Rourke.  Stalone has a scene with Li.  It would have been nice to see Statham with Li or Li with Rourke.   Despite all the screen time he had Stalone’s character felt like the least well developed.  His motivation for going back badly drawn pretty much coming down to a facial tick when he first sees Sandra.

Now I’m not saying that any ‘80s action film needed more than that but this film wasn’t a true ‘80s action flick.  It felt like someone was eating quiche while writing it.  It kept trying to be something a bit more modern.   The dialogue in all those scenes between Stalone and an other actor was subpar Tarantino.  The inclusion of, the sadly underused, Charisma Carpenter just reminded me how Joss Whedon turned the heroine needing the male action star coming to her rescue cliché on its head.

The action sequences at least were very much in the ‘80s action style.  There wasn’t a lot of obvious CG or a reliance on slow mo / fast mo to try and make the action more exciting.  There were car chases, fights, explosions, big guns and all the other elements you’d expect.  Sadly the final big fight had one element I’d hoped would be avoided – confusion.  As it progressed it just wasn’t clear who was doing what or who was fighting who.  At one point I thought Stalone was in a fight and then realised it was Statham.  More shots of them working as a well practiced unit like they did in the opening boat sequence could have raised the saved the finale.  It wasn’t Street Fighter confused but it lost narrative in favour of things going bang.

It also felt at times like it was trying to set up a franchise rather than do what it should have.  Jet Li’s whole family thing needed to be developed and explained rather than be left hanging.  Dolph Lundgren’s miraculous return from a “fatal” wound now in therapy / treatment for the ride into the sunset.  Is Stalone hoping he’s set up a new action franchise that he can pick and choose from a cast of action stars for?

So overall I’d come away saying The Expendables was another so-so action film.  It’s on a par with  The A-Team, The Losers or Salt each of which had flaws but, for me, Inception is still leading the pack with Solomon Kane getting an honourable mention for trying to be different.  There is at least one challenger left for the 2010 action crown – the trailers for R.E.D. look good.  Can Bruce and friends teach the youngsters a lesson?