Preview Impressions: In the Name of the King

Interestingly, at the beginning of the preview to In the Name of the King, when the soldier is describing how his forces got wiped out, I was having flashbacks to Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Only after watching for a few more seconds did I realize that the film isn’t a comedy: the soldier was trying to express panic and fear. This doesn’t bode well for the acting in this film. And did someone hypnotize Burt Reynolds (the king)? Wow. Once again, at the end of the preview, with the villain’s final line, I thought that perhaps In the Name of the King is a parody. Is the villain (Ray Liotta) simply a nutcase? Where are they going with this? Done right, a comical, cruel, insane villain might work in a film like this, but it would take excellent execution. After watching the preview a second time, In the Name of the King does look to be a standard tale of swords and sorcery, with perhaps a couple of original characters.


Online Videos by Veoh.com

The preview does a good job of giving you a peak at many of the elements in the movie. At a glance, I was impressed with the sword fighting, yet thoroughly unimpressed with the visual effects for magic. The hero looks physically unimpressive (Jason Statham), but it is nice to see a beautiful woman (Claire Forlani). The story looks quite traditional.

In the Name of the King is tied to the role-playing game Dungeon Siege, but this looks to be solely for marketing purposes. The film will release in December of 2007. This is a film to watch for me, but I’m a big fan of swords and sorcery films, even if they’re bad.

Prediction: 33 (Good fighting, awful story)

Technorati Tags: , , , , , ,

Review: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

lara_croft_tomb_raider_cov.jpgYear: 2003
Director: Jan de Bont
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Gerard Butler, Ciarán Hinds
Kaboom Review Action Movie Rating: 53

Plot
Lara Croft tries to stop a megalomaniac Jonathan Reiss from releasing Pandora’s Box upon the world.

Quick Review
The problems with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life drag it into mediocrity. The frosty, snide performance by Angelina Jolie makes it too hard to like Lara Croft. The back half of the movie suffers from too much general sloppiness, which weakens the moderately entertaining action. These two factors hurt the decent story, the fairly tight first half of the movie, and some decent acting by supporting actors.

Full Review
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is in many ways a carbon copy of the original film. Angelina Jolie is back as Lara Croft. There is much the same sense of globe-trotting adventure. If you liked the first film, you’ll like the second. If you are like me, you’ll find the second film just as luke warm as the first, for many of the same reasons.

Much like the first movie, Angelina Jolie is physically perfect for the role of Lara Croft. She looks even better in this film than in the first, and there could be no better choice from a appearance standpoint. However, much like the lara_croft_angelina_jolie_2.jpgfirst movie Jolie, plays Croft as arrogant, conceited, and cocky. I commented in my review of the first movie that it’s hard to like Croft as played by Jolie, and I felt even more so this time through. It’s hard to empathize with a main character that is so removed, moody, and demeaning.

The story, pacing, and premise of The Cradle of Life are a bit better than the first movie. The first half of the movie is actually quite tight. Scenes are connected nicely, the plot moves along quickly, and most actions are reasonably plausible. The back half of the movie suffers from serious stretching of the premise. In a couple of spots Lara’s sidekick Terry Sheridan (played by Gerard Butler of 300 fame) finds Lara in the most implausible ways. I don’t want to spoil things too much for you, but the movie makes finding someone in Africa as easy as locating your own nose. There are other places where the movie just doesn’t make sense. For example, important transactions are handled trying to pass the goods to a hovering helicopter in a tight downtown square. In another situation, lara_croft_skydive_6.jpgeveryone hikes miles into the final location of the film instead of flying in readily available helicopters. These things are silly and premise-shattering. What you end up with is a back half of the movie that fits the story around the action. The movie loses strength because of this.

The film also tries to add a romantic element by putting Lara Croft together with Terry Sheridan, who was an old boyfriend. While I applaud the film for trying some sort of character development in the movie, ultimately this aspect of the movie fails miserably. The two actors banter back and forth about trust and betrayal but it does little more than waste time, and never really goes anywhere.

The action is not particularly gripping, but for the most part it is moderately entertaining. As pointless as it was, I especially liked the hike toward the end of the movie. The visual effects here were solid and the mood was tense. Good stuff. Some of the stunts in the movie are entertaining, including a spectacular free fall from a skyscraper in Hong Kong.

In the acting department, things are decidedly mixed. As I mentioned earlier, Angelina Jolie never finds the right vibe with Lara Croft, and this is probably the greatest reason why this film never takes off. She does get some good support from the consistently solid Gerard Butler, as her sidekick Terry Sheridan. Ciarán Hinds plays the lara_croft_angelina_jolie_1.jpgmain villain Jonathan Reiss. Despite mediocre visual appeal as a villain, on the whole he does a convincing job. I liked the script in this film better than in the original, but it’s still not memorable.

As for Babes and Hunks, as much as I’m not a fan of Angelina Jolie, I have to admit she looks fine in this film. Gerard Butler makes for a handsome companion. The Babes and Hunks scores are high solely due to their role.

On a final note, the music of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life was infinitely better than the original movie, which was a cacophony. In this film, the music does a decent job of supporting the film.

In the end, however, the problems with Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life drag it into mediocrity. The poor performance by Angelina Jolie makes it too hard to like Lara Croft in the movie. The back half of the movie suffers from too much general sloppiness. These two factors hurt the decent story, the fairly tight first half of the movie, and some decent acting by supporting actors.

Fun Fact
This film was banned in China for portraying the country in a bad light.

Related Reviews
Lara Croft Tomb Raider

Score
Pace: 64
Plot: 58
Action: 64
Consistent Premise: 41
Script/Quotes: 40
Characters: 44
Acting: 52
Villain: 61
Body Count: 35
Time to First Dead Body: 11 minutes, 42 seconds
Babes: 72
Hunks: 84
Explosions: 8
Special Effects: 55
Stunts: 74
Ending: 61

Overall: 53

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,

Up Next: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

A few months ago, I reviewed the original Tomb Raider film, and was fairly unimpressed. I watched the second film shortly after that, but never wrote the promised review. Last night I rewatched the second film, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. This time I aim to complete the review to wrap up this pair of movies. I hope to post my review on Thursday.

Review: Live and Let Die

live_and_let_die_cover.jpgYear: 1973
Director: Guy Hamilton
Starring: Roger Moore, Jane Seymour, Yaphet Kotto, Gloria Hendry, David Hedison
Kaboom Review Action Movie Rating: 73

Plot
James Bond investigates the disappearance of three agents who were monitoring the dictator of a small Caribbean Island.

Quick Review
Live and Let Die is a revitalizing addition to the Bond series. Moore nails his role as Bond. All the critical elements of a good action movie take a jump in quality. There are weaknesses for sure, but the strengths of this film outweigh them.

Full Review
After a disappointing Diamonds are Forever, I wasn’t sure what to expect with Live and Let Die, which is a watershed in the James Bond series. Roger Moore takes over from Sean Connery as James Bond, and with him comes a new era. I’m happy and surprised to say that Moore breathes new life into a series that was fading over the last three films. Unlike Diamonds are Forever and You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die pays attention to the details that make a good action movie. And unlike George Lasenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Roger Moore nails the role of James Bond.

In many ways it’s not one element of Live and Let Die that makes it good, so much as it is an elevation of all the parts that go into a movie. On almost all the major ingredients of a good action Live_and_Let_Die_Roger_Moore.jpgmovie—story, pacing, premise, and acting—Live and Let Die does admirably well.

But let’s start with Roger Moore. When I was young, we always argued over was who was the best Bond, Sean Connery or Roger Moore. I sided with Moore, which was based on the fact that I had only seen Connery’s last two movies, whereas I had seen the majority of Moore’s films. While I think Connery’s early work exceeds Moore, I do think that Roger Moore in Live and Let Die is better than Connery in Diamonds are Forever and You Only Live Twice. Moore brings a fresh, sophisticated, and ultra cool edge to Connery’s tired interpretation of the character. Moore also hits the right combination of hard professionalism and likeability. With Moore, Bond is back, and the series comes back to life.

The story, script, pacing, and premise in Live and Let Die are much more polished than in recent installments in the series. The story of Live and Let Die is crisp, largely believable, and well delivered. The script fills the story out nicely and has some genuinely funny one-liners. The pace in the movie is solid. Scenes connect well, and there is a solid balance between action and plot. The only notable exception here is a bayou boat chase that drags on much too long. As with most Bond movies, there are problems with the premise. Most commonly, the arch villain puts Bond in numerous deadly traps rather than killing him outright. At one point a control center of guards suddenly and inexplicably only contains two people. For the most part these problems with the premise never cross the line to ruin the movie, and in many places the movie plays more attention to premise than other movies in the series: it was refreshing at the beginning of the film to see Kanaga casually order his henchmen to take Bond out and shoot him. It’s also worth noting that the editing in this movie is excellent. In an action film, the little transitions can make all the difference, and Live and Let Die gets nearly a perfect Live_and_Let_Die_Powerboat_Jump.jpgscore with regards to moving us through scenes.

The acting in Live and Let Die is greatly improved from that of Diamonds are Forever. All across the board, we’ve got solid performances to support Roger Moore. Of special note, Jane Seymour is convincing in her role as Solitaire the fortuneteller. The villains in Live and Let Die rock. Yaphet Kotto is outstanding as the head villain Kanaga. His seething, vicious edge makes Kanaga one of the more compelling Bond villains to date. He also is surrounded by the best set of accomplices in a Bond movie so far. Geoffrey Holder as the rhythmic Baron Samedi, Julius Harris as the hook-armed Tee Hee, and Earl Jolly Brown as the immense yet quiet Whisper all deserve mention for the flavor they add to the movie.

The action in Live and Let Die is not the strong point of the film, but it does provide for some good entertainment and advances the series nicely. With Live and Let Die, the Bond series embraces the thrills and stunts that would define its escapist flair in the future. We’ve got boat chases, fights, sharks, crocodiles, cars out of control, escapes in buses and planes. There are some solid stunts here and quite a few things explode. Visual effects are insignificant, as would be expected for a film this old.

Live_and_Let_Die_jane_seymour.jpgThere are some scenes that go too far in terms of humor, logic, and balance. The boat chase, as mentioned before, goes on much too long. By contrast, the final battles are much too short, are a bit anti-climactic, and weaken the ending. The humor in some of the action scenes can make them a bit too casual and lighthearted. In the boat chase scene, Clifton James plays a southern sheriff, who is funny, yes. But he gets too big of a role, and ultimately his humor wears thin. Lastly, a couple of the scenes involving snakes are unconvincing. On the whole, however, the action has a modern feel to it that pulls it out of the past.

As for Babes and Hunks, Jane Seymour is elegant and beautiful, but at times she seemed caked in makeup. Still, it’s hard to hide her beauty, and the Babe score benefits greatly from her presence. Gloria Hendry as a CIA agent on Kanaga’s payroll, was a bit clunky, but quite attractive. Moore scores well as Bond, and Kotto and the supporting cast add points as well.

Lastly, I don’t usually mention the soundtrack, but the song Live and Let Die, by Paul McCartney and Wings, is a powerful theme song for this movie. It helps set the mood and energy of the film.

Overall, Live and Let Die is a revitalizing addition to the Bond series. Moore nails his role as Bond. All the critical elements of a good action movie take a jump in quality. There are weaknesses for sure, but the overall quality of this film outshines them.

Fun Fact
The 110-foot powerboat jump in this movie set a world record which would last for three years.

Score
Pace: 62
Plot: 73
Action: 78
Consistent Premise: 63
Script/Quotes: 55
Characters: 86
Acting: 74
Villain: 87
Body Count: 22
Time to First Dead Body: 1 minute, 31 seconds.
Babes: 82
Hunks: 84
Explosions: 52
Special Effects: 26
Stunts: 68
Ending: 59

Overall: 73

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

New Page: Action Movie Reviews

I’ve added an Action Movie Reviews index to Kaboom Review. This page will house the numerical ratings for all our action movie reviews. One cool aspect of this page is that all the reviews are sortable by each category. You can sort our action movie reviews by action rating, overall rating, special effects ratings, name, etc. There are also links to the full reviews from this page as well.

The page will be permanently accessible via the “Reviews” link on the top right of our site.

I’m excited about this index and think it will go a long way to making the site more useful in finding good action movies. As always, I welcome feedback, either by posting a comment or dropping an email.

Enjoy!

← Previous Page — Next Page →