DREDD 3D.

I was never sure what to think about this movie from the trailers. It looked pretty. Karl Urban looked like a cool Dredd. And the story reminded me--like many others--of Raid: The Redemption. So how did it really stack up? Here's the story: In the future, America is down to one Mega-City filled with 800,000,000 people. This city--MegaCity 1--is kept in some form of control by the Hall of Justice run by Judges, the law enforcement who are Judge, Jury, and Executioner all in one. One of the best is Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) who is assigned to take on a rookie named Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) to see how she stacks up on a day on the job. She borderline failed all exams, but she's also a psychic and can be useful. So as soon as they go on the job for the day, they pick an assignment at the Peach Tree living quarters--a giant tower slum run by Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), who just so happens to be in charge of distribution for a new drug called Slo-Mo. But instead of letting the Judges escape with any kind of proof of this, Ma-Ma locks down the tower and orders anyone willing to take the Judges down.

So, in other words... it's Raid: The Redemption, but without the martial arts. Actually, my comparison here is similar to that of the book versions of Battle Royale to The Hunger Games. BR is the better of the two; it's grittier, cooler, and has the better action. The Hunger Games puts a more clearly sci-fi twist to it, brings it down a few notches, keeps it entertaining, but handles a very similar idea in a different kind of way. So in this comparison, Raid is Battle Royale and Dredd is Hunger Games... but without the love triangle.

Likewise, my thoughts that Karl Urban looked like a cool Dredd was spot on, too. He plays the character perfectly, and he's just a total badass. The way he handles the situation and never loses his cool is great to watch. Even in the middle of all the chaos, he treats it almost like just another day, and he never forgets that he's assessing Anderson. He constantly asks her for her thoughts on what to do and then tends to go with it, giving a really interesting dynamic. Olivia Thirlby plays Anderson well, and she does get some badass moments of her own (I loved the mental interrogation scene and wished that was a little longer, even). And Lena Headey was menacing in a very down-played performance. Still, it was Karl Urban that completely steals the show, as he should. And no, he never takes off the helmet.

The one character I couldn't figure out my thoughts on, though, was a guy named Kay played by Wood Harris. He's one of Ma-Ma's top lackeys who gets arrested by Dredd and Anderson near the beginning and is basically held in their captive for the majority of the film. But here's why I couldn't figure out if I liked this or not: he was clearly a smart and sadistic character, but for at least the first half of the movie... he's just background fodder. He doesn't try to fight back. He doesn't try to escape. He doesn't try to get anybody's attention when they're trying to hide and/or stay silent. He just stands or sits there with the two Judges not making a sound, seemingly willing to do what they ask. At the same time, though, he does eventually start playing some mind games (mainly with Anderson), and it's more like he's just biding his time--but how did he know he had time to bide? And why risk it when the entire building is coming after these two? Anyway, it just seemed like a bit of a forced plot point, and it's a big one, which didn't help my thoughts much.

I also figured this movie would be pretty... and it was. The aesthetic of the film is nice. It's gritty when it needs to be and shiny when it needs to be. Overall, they gave it a really great look, from the sets to the costuming to the CGI Slo-Mo. And speaking of that... one worry I had was that they would over use the Slo-Mo. They didn't. In fact, practically every Slo-Mo sequence in the film is shown in the trailer. If I had any complaints about it, it's that I would have liked to see it used just a little differently. For instance, there's a scene where some guys are forced to inhale it and then tossed over the railing to fall down the building. This could have been a great vertigo-inducing fall sequence, but it's never used to its full potential here. They kind of do it again, and much better, later on, though. That kind of made up for it.

Unfortunately, where this movie lost some of its points was in the action department. Perhaps it's just because it's so easily compared to Raid that it's even harder for it to live up to those action stylings. Most of the action in this movie is gun-related, which isn't incredibly exciting for a whole movie of it. Where it does regain points, though, is with those badass guns. The Judges' guns are sweet, able to do so many different things that it helps to really keep variation throughout. So I guess my complaint here is that it goes from one gun setting action sequence that lasts 30 seconds to a non-action sequence that lasts 5+ minutes to another gun setting action sequence that lasts a minute, etc. It felt like the balance of action to "walking around corridors" wasn't quite right... but it was almost there. (But don't get me wrong... the action that was there was a lot of fun in the realm of violence and excitement.)

Overall, it was a solid effort. Of course I'm going to say I prefer Raid over this in the action department in terms of this story. But in terms of characters and whatnot, Dredd is a total badass, and I could watch Karl Urban as Dredd all day. He was just so much fun. And Olivia Thirlby was good, too. Will I be going out to buy it the second it hits the shelves? Probably not. But if it comes on TV or a friend wants to check it out, I would definitely stop to watch it again. And I would check out a sequel, too, if Urban reprised the role. It was fun.


I Am McLovin!

(P.S. The 3D was pretty good. There were some excellent shots with it... but it's not necessary to see it with the 3D. Still, you won't be disappointed if you do. It's done quite well.)

V.G. Movies #21: Doom.

[Welcome back to the Evolution of Video Game Movies series. Every week, I will be moving forward through time, starting with the earliest and ending with the most recent of video game movies. I will be detailing the histories of the games and how the films came about, and both my and fan reaction to the adaptations. Practically all of my background information is either common knowledge or from Wikipedia. So without further ado, let's move on to the next film on the list.]

THE HISTORY

It's the year 1992, and a man named John Carmack has developed a new 3D game engine. And with that game engine came a new game with a strange origin. It was all-around inspired by three films: Aliens, Evil Dead II, and The Color of Money. Yes, that one with Tom Cruise. While ideas for characters, atmosphere, and story came from the former two films, the third brought us the famous title. In the film, Tom Cruise is asked "What do we have here?" to which Cruise replies "Doom."

So in 1993, a company called id Software released a first-person shooter game, Doom. In fact, it is the game that popularized the genre, making it one of the most popular gaming genres, even today. And if you don't know what first-person games are, they're basically when you see things from the eyes of the character (usually involving a weapon/gun immediately in front of you on the screen). The first game has you take on the role of an unnamed space marine who is posted on Mars. While acting as security for the UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation), a UAC experiment goes wrong. You see, UAC was experimenting with teleportation between the moons Phobos and Deimos. Unfortunately, they accidentally opened up a gateway to Hell itself. So you, as the space marine, are sent to Phobos to see what's going on.

The game grew so popular that it was estimated in 1995 that there were more computers with the game installed worldwide than Windows 95. This fact even made Bill Gates consider buying out id Software, but instead made a Win95 port to help sell the game and the operating system. A lot of its popularity came from it specializing in and popularizing the "deathmatch" mode--basically the origin of online competitive gaming, which is so popular today in such games as Halo and Black Ops.

The game wasn't without its controversy, though. With high levels of gore and violence--not to mention satanic visuals and themes--it was hit from multiple organizations (including many religious groups). It again gained controversy in 1999 when it was revealed that Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were avid fans of the game. They even compared their actions to things they could do in the game. This is why, in part, video games have been near the top of the list in teen violence arguments, but has since been scientifically debunked. Also, along with Mortal Kombat, this game was a large reason the ESRB came into play and video games now have a ratings system.

But none of that stopped the 1995 sequel, Doom II: Hell on Earth. It picks up where the previous left off, and the space marine realizes Earth has been invaded by Hell, as well. It was received well. A couple other games came out, not direct number-wise. Doom 3 didn't come out until 2004, and it was a reboot of the franchise, disregarding the stories of the previous games. Why a reboot? It's said to take advantage of new-gen technology. But it also didn't hurt that a movie was in the works... a movie that is adapted from said game.

Universal and Columbia Pictures originally had the rights, but the film was never greenlit. So when they lost the rights, it was given over to Warner Bros. in the promise they would greenlight it within the year. And when that didn't happen, Universal re-bought the rights and began production in 2004. John Wells, the film's producer, was fully aware of how many video game films have sucked, and was adamant this one be done well and even include a first-person shooter sequence, since Doom without first-person would be a "miscarriage of justice!" He had high hopes and a lot of good ideas for how the film should be, making it similar to the game. He even said that if this film did well, they would immediately greenlight a sequel. But apparently the director didn't agree, since the opening weekend barely grossed $15m--the following weekend only adding another $4m--and a sequel was quickly forgotten.

Now let's find out why.

THE FILM

I actually saw this one in theater... but I don't believe I've seen it since. Maybe a quick scene here or there, but that's it. The only thing I remember is the fan backlash on how it was nothing like the games' story. This story follows a group of marines as they're called to investigate a quarantine issue on a science facility on Mars. It's led up by Sarge (The Rock) and also included Reaper (Karl Urban), Destroyer (Deobia Oparei), Duke (Razaaq Adoti), Portman (Richard Brake), The Kid (Al Weaver), Goat (Ben Daniels), and Mac (Yao Chin). When they get there, they meet up with Reaper's sister, Samantha (Rosamund PIke), a scientist at the station. Of course, they slowly begin to realize that the experimentation going on went wrong, and now monsters are attacking and killing/transforming everyone.

I've never played the game, but I know it's a poor adaptation of the story just from what I know. The biggest thing about the game is that you're fighting demons from Hell, due to an open portal to said place. Here... it's just a virus gone wrong that can either turn you into a super human or make you a monster... depending on how much evil is in your soul or genomes or something like that. Also... fun drinking game: any time the movie says the words "game" or "hell," take a shot. It's quite aware that it's based on a game that involves Hell, but instead of adapting it as such, it instead would rather make references to what it could have been.

The acting is pretty piss-poor here, too. The Rock is often picked on in this feature, and yeah... he's bad. But in my opinion, Rosamund Pike is worse. You know, she actually turned down Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to do this flick (well, this one and the most recent Pride & Prejudice, also considered a poor adaptation. Yeah, she makes great choices, huh?). To be fair, Goblet of Fire is arguably one of the worst adaptations of the series, anyway, so she was screwed no matter what. The best performance here is from Karl Urban. He's not great, but he's better than the rest.

Another fun fact--Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg were offered the chance to give the script a treatment, specifically to better the dialogue. They refused. Good on them. But the script did need a few more revisions. In particular, there's a lot of head-scratching moments surrounding the character of Sarge. Not only does he seem to continually contradict his own orders, but he just goes nuts for no reason in the third act. He wasn't infected or anything. He just... snaps. There's no build up to it, nothing to explain it. Just one second he's fine, and the next... he's a raving madman. It's really bizarre.

There is something really fun that comes out of this, though: the 5-minute first-person segment near the end of the film. Unlike the rest of the film, it plays up the fact it's based on a Doom video game. It's bloody, action-packed, silly, and very cheesy. It totally doesn't take itself seriously, and because of that, the whole sequence is a lot of fun. There's another similar moment a little earlier where The Rock gets the BFG and goes "Big... Fuckin'... Gun." And then his reaction to shooting it is great, too. These moments play to the fans, unlike the rest of the film.

On the whole, the film isn't bad bad. It's just... not good. Even technical stuff like the lighting and the camera work (outside the FPS segment) is poor. The acting is laughable and the characters, particularly Sarge, make no sense. And if they were going to make so many damn references to Hell and even have a religious character and portals involved... why not go that route to begin with? Why do the whole virus thing? That just doesn't make sense, especially since it's clear they want to at least attempt something fans would appreciate. A lot of people consider it one of the worst video game movies. I don't. It's just wildly mediocre.


Stop Saying OK! OK.


(P.S. This same director isn't done with me yet, either. I happened to see his next feature in theater, as well... and not since. And that one is infinitely more painful... but we'll get to that in a few months.)

STAR TREK.

This will probably be the shortest movie review for a movie in theater I've ever done. To start off, I am not nor have I ever been a fan of Star Trek. Not for any negative reasons... I just never got into any of the shows or movies. I knew a few things about it, of course, but not a hell of a whole lot.

That being said, this movie was flippin' brilliant. The action was great. The music was epic. The visuals were stunning (no pun intended). The acting was as expected. Karl Urban had the best character in the movie (and according to my mother, who was a Trek fan via her father, he was dead-on with the original). The movie was exciting, suspenseful, and hilarious. I might even go see it again (this time in Digital), and I'm definitely going to get it on DVD. I can only account for fans through the opinions of my mother, but I would wager that this is a movie for fans and non-fans alike. Unless you're an uber-purist... then I've heard you might not like it a whole lot. But otherwise, you definitely need to see this.

If you want any criticisms against this, I'd give it three: First, they actually managed to give Anton Yelchin and even more questionable voice (I wouldn't say annoying, though, because he wasn't). Second, Simon Pegg doesn't come in until nearly the end (and I love me some Simon Pegg). And finally, there's a bit at the very end where....

SPOILER


Somehow Nemoy Spock is suddenly at their base when they had left him on the ice planet... doing exactly what he had previously and specifically told Kirk not to do. I know there's the whole speech about it, but still... it seemed counter-productive.


END SPOILER

But otherwise, it has become one of my favorite sci-fi films. I know this is a lousy review of nearly endless praise, but I'm not sure what else I could possibly say about the film.


Royale With Cheese