I was disappointed in the absurdly thin plot divises used to further the action, as for example the total inability of the principals to recognise deliberate sabotage, apparently assuming that stopcock handles can turn themselves and then leap off the valve and throw themselves on the floor, apparent suicides. That said, one isn't entirely disappointed in the actors, who are almost uniformly pleasant and attractive, with the exception of the piece's almost absurdly transparent villain and his doltish assistant, who weren't easily distinguished from those of the commedia dell'arte. All in all, a moderately pleasant diversion, and fairly typical of the genre.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Narrow Margin
(1990)
Maxwell Smart meets low-budget James Bond
8 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This film was almost constantly annoying. The main character, supposedly an ex-Marine, manages to get his hands on actual guns several times, which might well have evened up the odds a little in his attempts to escape the assassins sent to kill his charge, so of course the screenwriter inserted bits of business each time to let the "hero" screw it up. He loses one gun whilst he stops to preen himself in a mirror, t'other whilst he tosses off a quip evidently meant to display the screenwriter's facility with Bondish repartee, and is so stuck on himself that he fails to notice when the obvious decoy on the train makes goo-goo eyes at him, ignoring countless real hunks in the process, and so sets up the mandatory denouement in which the decoy (quelle surprise!) acts out the perfect "villain taunting the hero" scene and is vanquished mid-taunt, whilst Bond... pardon... one or another of the Marx Brothers, utters the perfect quip, which in real life would have allowed the decoy to escape and kill both witness and the main character, but of course it doesn't, since the screenwriter couldn't let that happen, so it didn't, but only through brute force, wrestling a happy ending out of a bloody mash-up.
I don't mind a little suspension of disbelief, but I prefer honest slapstick to whatever the heck this was.
I don't mind a little suspension of disbelief, but I prefer honest slapstick to whatever the heck this was.
War of the Worlds
(2005)
Unbelievable
23 November 2013
It's interesting how times have changed. The original book by H.G. Wellsfeatured a protagonist whose first actions are generous and kind, rushing forward t try and help when he encounters the first of the invaders thinking that they'd been injured or trapped in their ship of space due to the crash following the plummet of their craft to the earth.
By way of contrast, the hero in this version seems merely stupid, taking no care whatsoever for his own safety at first, much less the safety of other human beings, including his young daughter, who depend upon his continued safety and survival. The story rapidly degenerates into a testosterone-fueled series of set-pieces which amply demonstrate the shallow immaturity of both the hero and his teen-aged son, as well as their utter lack of intelligence. Luckily, the deus ex machina which partially propels the original is still available for this "modern" spin on the classic tale.
For all the special effects, I'd much rather read the book.
By way of contrast, the hero in this version seems merely stupid, taking no care whatsoever for his own safety at first, much less the safety of other human beings, including his young daughter, who depend upon his continued safety and survival. The story rapidly degenerates into a testosterone-fueled series of set-pieces which amply demonstrate the shallow immaturity of both the hero and his teen-aged son, as well as their utter lack of intelligence. Luckily, the deus ex machina which partially propels the original is still available for this "modern" spin on the classic tale.
For all the special effects, I'd much rather read the book.
Drum Beat
(1954)
Sentimental drivel
19 July 2013
Captain Jack, the Modoc leader, is depicted as a murderous savage throughout, despite being somewhat admired by the white hero, Alan Ladd, yet the film fails to mention that until the early 1870's the State of California was still offering bounties on Indian scalps, men, women, and children.
The Modocs had been deported to Oregon, and forced to share the reservations of their tribal enemies, and had only returned to their homes in California because they were being murdered.
In fact, it was the white immigrants to California who had murderously attacked, enslaved, and persecuted the Modoc Indians, because they happened to live in "Gold Country," and the more-or-less official policy of the California Government was to "drive the native Indians into the sea," if at all possible, but in the meantime they could legally be sold and used as slaves, despite the fact that California was nominally a "Free" State.
The Modocs had been deported to Oregon, and forced to share the reservations of their tribal enemies, and had only returned to their homes in California because they were being murdered.
In fact, it was the white immigrants to California who had murderously attacked, enslaved, and persecuted the Modoc Indians, because they happened to live in "Gold Country," and the more-or-less official policy of the California Government was to "drive the native Indians into the sea," if at all possible, but in the meantime they could legally be sold and used as slaves, despite the fact that California was nominally a "Free" State.
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