Film Review: Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Manners maketh man . . .

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (15)

Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Julianne Moore & many more

Director: Matthew Vaughan

The Plot: The Kingsman organisation is wiped out in spectacular fashion by Poppy (Moore), a deranged drugs kingpin who puts into play a plot to hold millions to ransom using contaminated drugs. Surviving members Eggsy (Egerton) and Charlie (Mark Strong) are forced to seek help from their American counterparts the Statesman to take her down, and they're surprised to find the Statesman are looking after an amnesiac Harry Hart (Firth) - very much alive, but with no memory of being a Kingsman . . .

Review: The original Kingsman: The Secret Service was a surprise hit in 2014. It was rude, it was funny, it had great action sequences and its tongue was firmly in cheek. The odd-couple relationship of Eggsy's chav and Harry's upper-class gentleman worked really well, and people realised that seeing Colin Firth kick arse was cool as fuck. Given its success a sequel was inevitable, and on paper everything about The Golden Circle looks good: the original cast returns, a slew of top class actors have joined them, Matthew Vaughan returns to direct and also co-writes again with Jane Goldman. I'm sorry to report that despite this great mix, the film fails to live up to the original.

It actually starts off pretty well, with an exciting car chase sequence that re-introduces us to Eggsy, firmly loving his life as an active Kingsman agent - having taken over as Galahad from Harry - and his relationship with Princess Tilde. Yes, the Swedish princess who offered him anal for saving the world is now his girlfriend. But it all begins to go downhill from there when Kingsman is wiped out by the film's villain Poppy.

Unceremoniously killing off the returning Roxy, a.k.a. Lancelot (Sophie Cookson, who was great in the original film) and the new Arthur (played by Michael Gambon, without any kind of introduction as to who he is), the action shifts away from the UK and the home of the Kingsman to the USA and the Statesman. This is where we're to spend the majority of the film's far too long 141 minute run time, despite brief excursions to Italy and the Glastonbury festival (which features a particularly tasteless scene where Eggsy fingerblasts a woman to plant a tracking device in her), and it doesn't quite work. The Britishness has been lost - quite deliberately, of course - and it suffers for it.

The script is the culprit here. The story splits into two main threads: stopping Poppy's scheme, and restoring Harry's memory. Both of them take too long to achieve and the whole thing is very clunky, hopping from scene to scene unhurriedly and also trying to cram in several sub-plots - Eggsy's deteriorating relationship with Tilde, Ginger Ale (Berry)'s desire to become a proper agent - that don't get enough time devoted to them, despite the film's long run time. It also doesn't help Poppy herself isn't a convincing villain: she's supposed to be insane, a lunatic living in a recreation of 50's Americana alongside robotic attack dogs, but she just comes across as eccentric and nonthreatening.

Among the other new cast members, it isn't just Julianne Moore that's under served by the script. Despite being featured prominently in the trailers and advertising, Channing Tatum is here merely as a cameo, getting shelved almost immediately after we meet him (but he's great, to be fair), and the same goes for Jeff Bridges. Halle Berry gets the most screen-time as the Statesman's equivalent of Merlin, but as previously mentioned her character's arc is given far too little attention.

There's plenty here that makes this a Kingsman film: the suits, the gadgets, the action, including a familiar fight scene in a bar. The action set-pieces are fantastic, even if they can't match the standout sequence in the church from the first film, but overall it just doesn't quite feel like the first one. It doesn't help that it isn't as funny either. Some laughs still come from Eggsy's brief lapses into his chav background, but it says a lot when an extended cameo by Elton John repeatedly telling people to fuck off is the film's funniest moment.

Perhaps the biggest let down though is the relationship between Eggsy and Harry. While Egerton and Firth are both very good, the two characters no longer have the mentor-student relationship that sparked so well in the first film. When (spoiler alert) Harry gets his memories back I would have liked to have seen a more emotional payoff than what we get. However, seeing the two of them suited up and kicking arse together is unquestionably cool.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Kingsman's "difficult second album" can't live up to the original. An excellent cast and terrific action sequences are spoiled by a long, clunky and unfunny script that tries to incorporate too much into it's long run time and doesn't do any of the plot threads particularly well. Disappointing, but hopefully not the end for the Kingsman franchise.    

Film Review Round-Up: American Assassin, Wind River & mother! (2017)

While I've continued to go to the cinema as frequently as usual, lately I've been completely preoccupied playing Destiny 2 so I'm a bit behind schedule when it comes to getting reviews done. So here for the first time ever at The Welsh Geek Reviews is a triple feature; a round-up of three films with much shorter reviews than usual. Hope you enjoy!

First up . . .

American Assassin (18)

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton, Taylor Kitsch

Director: Michael Cuesta

The Plot: When his fiancé is killed during an attack by Islamic terrorists while on holiday, Mitch Rapp (O'Brien) devotes himself to destroying those responsible. Training himself in weapons and martial arts, his actions draws the attention of the CIA, who recruit him into an elite unit run by Stan Hurley (Keaton). His first assignment is to prevent a Russian terrorist from assembling a nuclear bomb, but the real threat is from Hurley's former protégé Ghost (Kitsch) who is masterminding the attack.

Review: This is a fairly standard action thriller that's heavy on the violence - which I'm all for, as I do like a lot of action in my action films - and actually starts off pretty well, very effectively playing to the state of affairs in today's society with a hard-hitting depiction of the terrorist attack that kills Rapp's fiancé, but goes downhill in the third act when it lapses into a clichéd hunt for the nuclear bomb. O'Brien is solid enough (and portrays his character's grief effectively in the few scenes he's allowed to show it) but Keaton chews the scenery here while Kitsch is saddled with a stereotypical villain. The action scenes are great, but the film is too long and attempts to cram in too many sub-plots.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

A watchable enough action thriller with a likeable cast, but unfortunately suffers from being predictable and much too long.

Wind River (15)

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen

Director: Taylor Sheridan

The Plot: On an Indian reservation in Wyoming, veteran tracker Cory Lambert (Renner) discovers the dead body of a young Native American woman, the evidence pointing to the woman having been raped and fleeing from person(s) unknown. Calling in the FBI, they're only able to send rookie agent Jane Banner (Olsen) and, unprepared for the lack of resources and harsh winter conditions, she enlists Lambert's help in finding the culprit. For Lambert the crime is all too personal, as his own daughter died in similar circumstances . . .

Review: This is an absolutely fantastic film, already in the top 5 of films I've watched this year. I'm a big fan of Taylor Sheridan, whose previous scripts for Sicario and Hell or High Water produced amazing films, and he not only writes but directs here as well. The film skilfully blends a crime thriller, a study of loss, grief and the desire for revenge, and a social commentary on the injustices faced by Native American women. It's beautifully shot and Sheridan directs with confidence, and he produces two fantastic performances from the leads. Olsen is excellent as the inexperienced Jane, but Renner is absolutely phenomenal here, a masterful performance of a man still battling the grief from losing a child and now given the chance to avenge another.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
A phenomenal film with a powerful story, beautifully shot and featuring an outstanding performance from Jeremy Renner in particular. This is a must-see.

mother! (18)

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer

Director: Darren Aronofsky

The Plot: I don't even know if I can describe this accurately. Mother (Lawrence) shares a house with her writer husband Him (Bardem) that she has been restoring after a fire. The arrival of two strangers - Man (Harris) and Woman (Pfeiffer) - sparks the beginning of truly bizarre sequence of events that will forever alter their lives. I'm being ambiguous as possible because, really, what the fuck.

Review: I'm all for directors taking risks and making films that are challenging for audiences to watch - case in point, my review of A Ghost Story last month. I'm also a fan of Aronofsky, as I think Black Swan is a masterpiece. But I have no idea what the fuck he was attempting with this appalling mess of a film, which he's been quoted as saying he wrote in 5 days during a "fever dream", which I think was actually PCP as this is some of the weirdest shit I've ever seen. The film is split into two hour-long halves, the first of which is bizarre enough and feels like a claustrophobic play, but the second half loses any sense of plot cohesion and descends into utter chaos as a legion of Him's fans invade the house, culminating in a truly awful scene featuring the murder and cannibalisation of a newborn baby that made me feel sick. I'm not making that up - what the serious fuck. I'm sure there are some audiences who will be able to connect with all the symbolism that's apparently going on in this film, but I wasn't one of them, and left the cinema without a clue as to what the fuck I'd just watched or what Aronofsky was trying to do with this.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

An awful, confusing mess of a film which I'm giving one star to purely for the effort Jennifer Lawrence puts into her performance. I cannot even begin to describe how insane the second hour of this film is. Truly dreadful.

Film Review: IT (2017)

We all float down here . . .

IT (15)

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Jaeden Lieberher, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard

Director: Andy Muschietti

The Plot: Something evil is lurking in the sewers of Derry, Maine - "It" (Skarsgard), a murderous, shapeshifting entity that takes on the form of a clown and calls itself Pennywise. After hibernating for 27 years, It emerges for a year to stalk and kill children, feeding on their fears to take on the form they will find the most terrifying. After It kills his younger brother George, 12 year-old Bill Denbrough (Lieberher) and his group of friends that call themselves "The Losers Club" are targeted by Pennywise. The kids decide to fight back against It, but will they be able to overcome their deepest fears?

(Before I begin, if you've read my previous review of The Dark Tower you'll know that I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, so I hold my hands up now and admit that I'm not exactly an impartial reviewer here. Anyway, on with the show.)

Review: Many people have not-so-fond memories of the previous adaptation of Stephen King's phenomenal novel It: the 1990 made-for-TV series features an iconic performance by Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who has been credited with making generations of people frightened of clowns as a result. However, to watch it now the series feels very dated, and despite it's sprawling four-hour runtime as it portrays the novel in its entirety, it omits or glosses over many important scenes. If you haven't read the novel, it's split between two time periods as The Losers Club battle It both as children and then 27 years later as adults, and the narrative switches back and forth quite seamlessly between the two.

For this new adaptation, the writers and director have wisely decided to focus the film solely on the events that happen when the characters are children, taking all of the material and molding it into a cohesive story that works as both a stand-alone tale and also as a setup for a second part. I'm pleased to say that the results are terrific, giving a satisfying adaptation for King fans and also just a really good horror film.

(At time of writing, a second film has not been confirmed, however the title "IT: Chapter One" appears on the closing credits and, with the positive critic's reviews and opening box office results of over $100million in the USA, it's very likely that Chapter 2 will be made. Based on this film, that's a very good thing.)

While the film is very faithful to the source material, one or two changes have been made. The first thing of note is the time line: King published the novel in 1986, and so in it, the kids events took place in 1958 and then, 27 years later, the adults events take place in 1985, pretty much modern-day for readers at the time. For this film, the kids events have been moved forward in time to 1988; I don't see this as a bad change at all, as the time period is still nostalgic enough for modern audiences like myself and it also sets up the potential Chapter 2 to take place in 2015, essentially modern-day. The other notable change is to poor Georgie Denbrough: in the novel, Pennywise severs his arm and the child bleeds out in the rain, a neighbour finding his body after hearing his screams - Bill thus spends the rest of the story knowing George is dead and dealing with that grief. In this film, Pennywise not only takes George's arm but his body as well, and so to Bill, George has only gone missing, the first of many child disappearances that plague the town. Again, this is a change that I was okay with and actually think works well - it sets up Bill's biggest fear to overcome as acknowledging that George is really dead and not just missing, and also allows for a very effective scene where Bill's father, angry with grief, yells at him to accept his brother's death.

Whilst undeniably a horror film, IT plays out as more of a psychological horror rather than bombarding you with jump-scares. There are some moments designed to make you jump, and these work well, but the film is more about getting inside your head than making you jump out of your skin, and this is a really good approach to take as it mirrors Pennywise himself, a being that delights in manipulating its victims by picking through their brains for their worst fears. Aside from the horror, what the film really nails is the sense of childhood. Something that King has always been remarkably good at, not just in It but in many of his novels, is writing kids and presenting that nostalgic image of youth that many of us have fond memories of. The strong themes of friendship, first loves, and the banter/squabbles that come with a group of close friends have been brought across from his pages to the screen incredibly well here, thanks both to the sharp script and to the likeable group of actors playing the kids. Their connection is the emotional core of the film and its done incredibly well.

Bill Skarsgard has the unenviable job of living up to the memories people have of Tim Curry. I'm pleased to say that he's excellent as Pennywise: given a new, decidedly scarier appearance (but still carrying those red balloons), he attacks the role with a very physical performance and is genuinely creepy, his voice alternating between almost sing-song sweet and malice. While he features prominently, he isn't overused and every time he appears it's an event. There's a nice nod to the 1990 series when Richie (whose biggest fear, ironically, is of clowns) enters a room full of them in the house on Neibolt Street - one of the clowns prominently in the shot is wearing Pennywise's original outfit.

The kids are all excellent and, in what I felt was a good move, are played by largely unknown child actors. The only one really recognisable is Finn Wolfhard, if you've seen the amazing Netflix series Stranger Things, but you'll have also seen Jaeden Lieberher before if you've watched 2016's excellent Midnight Special. They're all given a chance to shine and we get to know each of the characters individually, what makes them tick and why they each fear the thing that scares them the most. This is impressive given the fact that, despite having a lengthy runtime of 135 minutes, the film still has so much to try and include. They all work really well together and there's a lot of laughs that comes from their banter - yes that's right, there's a great deal of humour in IT as well. I was impressed with all of the actors, but particularly with Wolfhard as the loud-mouthed Richie and Sophia Lillis as Beverly, who deals with some particularly heavy scenes involving her father and its clear to see where her fear of becoming a woman comes from.

 

The film looks terrific, capturing both that small-town feel of Derry and of the eighties time-period. There's some excellent cinematography going on here, from the iconic look of Georgie in his bright yellow rain slicker in the pouring rain to the dank sewer tunnels the kids have to go down in their pursuit of Pennywise. When they finally arrive at his underground lair, the shot of the towering mound of personal items from the children he's killed over the centuries rising up to a great height, complete with the bodies of the children he's killed that year floating around it, is breathtaking and reinforces the horror of what the kids are witnessing. Sound and music is also used to great effect, both in setting the scene and creating tension and scares as Pennywise's voice comes at you from all angles. Really good stuff.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A terrifying, emotional adaptation of (part of) King's much-loved novel, this is the version of It that fans have been waiting for. Completely nailing both the horror aspect and the themes of childhood, this is a terrific, well-acted horror film that aims to get under your skin rather than constantly make you jump out of your seat. Directed with confidence by Andy Muschietti, this is a both a great set up for the concluding chapter of the story and an excellent stand-alone tale. Brilliant.

Film Review: Patti Cake$ (2017)

Introducing . . .

Patti Cake$ (15)

Starring: Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay

Director: Geremy Jasper

The Plot: Patricia Dombrowski (Macdonald), a.k.a "Killa P", a.k.a. "Patti Cake$", is a young woman from New Jersey who dreams of being a rapper. Despite being genuinely talented, her being both white and overweight makes it tough for her to be accepted within the hip-hop community. As she struggles with the hardships of her life, working two jobs to support her alcoholic mother (Everett) and sick grandmother, she's supported by her friend and fellow rapper Jehri (Dhananjay) who, along with an unusual musician known as Basterd, they form a group called PBNJ. When given a chance to perform, will Patti have the confidence to deliver?

Review: Let's be honest to begin with - the underdog story is well-trodden in cinema. We've seen it countless times in many genres. You could even argue that we've already seen a version of Patti Cake$ itself before in 2002's 8 Mile, the story of Eminem's rise from a nobody white man to rap star. These days an underdog story needs to be something special to stand out from the inevitable predictability, and I'm happy to report that Patti Cake$ is just that. This isn't a rag-to-riches story but rather a rags-to-rags one, and it's told with such passion and talent that, come the end, you'll understand why this film received a 10-minute long standing ovation after it was screened at Cannes.

A film like this needs a strong central performance to carry it and, as Patti, Danielle Macdonald is outstanding. Her dedication to the role is incredible - the Australian actress took lessons to learn a New Jersey accent, which is impeccable, and spent over a year learning how to rap. She performs all of Patti's raps in the film herself (the lyrics were written by director Geremy Jasper) and she's genuinely good. Even if you're not a fan of rap music, you can appreciate the skill she shows off here. But it's not just the musical side where she's strong, as she puts in an emotional performance: we feel her pain and humiliation at the mocking she suffers from other rappers, we feel the sadness and anger she has for the state her mother is in, we feel the love and respect she shares with her best friend Jehri. She's completely believable and as the audience we get behind her 100%, which is what a story like this needs.

She's surrounded by a strong supporting cast. As Patti's alcoholic mother Barb, Bridget Everett elicits both sympathy and pity. A washed-up singer who has turned to the bottle, she doesn't believe in Patti's rap dream and subsists off of her daughter's menial labour. She's alternately cruel and kind, which is reflective of how much her character has drunk, but despite their arguments it's clear she has a genuine love for her daughter. Patti's best friend Jehri is a somewhat clownish figure and provides a lot of the film's light-hearted moments, but Dhananjay never takes this too far and remains a likeable character throughout. Jehri has an unwavering belief in Patti's talents and continually supports and encourages her, forgiving her for the mistakes she makes, and it's clear how important his friendship is to Patti. Stealing all of the scenes she's in is Cathy Moriaty as the wheelchair-bound Nana, Patti's sick grandmother who, unlike Barb, is a believer in her talents and refers to her as her "superstar." One of the funniest aspects of the film is that, having been taken along to Basterd's recording studio (a.k.a. a decrepit shack), Nana becomes the "N" of their group PBNJ after they sample her voice. Posing for a group shot for the cover of their EP, Nana lifts her balaclava to berate the photographer with "Will you hurry up and take the fuckin' picture?"

The film is shot very well and captures the gritty locations of Patti's world in New Jersey. There are some particularly nice shots at nighttime where Patti sits atop her car writing lyrics as as the bright lights of Manhattan shine in the distance, both a physical representation of, and a metaphor for, Patti's goals. Given the nature of the film the soundtrack is also excellent and (unsurprisingly) grounded in hip-hop, with Macdonald's rap performances the clear standouts.

But. To come back what I was saying earlier about predictability, it's something that the film can't quite overcome, as good as the story and the performances are. It was very easy for me to guess where the film was going, what particular beats it was going to take and what events were going to happen. In fairness to director Geremy Jasper, who also wrote the screenplay, it's incredibly difficult to write an underdog story that's entirely fresh and original. I know I wouldn't be able to do it, if I were tasked to sit down and write an underdog tale. It's a shame, but not something that blame can really be attributed to. 

Score: 4 out of 5 stars

An emotional, funny and feel-good story featuring a stand-out performance from Danielle Macdonald. The nature of the tale means it suffers from being predictable, but this doesn't stop this from being an excellent film. Highly recommended.

Video Game Review: Uncharted - The Lost Legacy (PS4)

Nathan who?

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017)

Format: PS4 exclusive

Publisher: Sony

Developer: Naughty Dog

What is it: An action-adventure game that's a continuation of the incredibly successful Uncharted series, set shortly after the events of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Treasure hunter Chloe Frazer is in India, hunting for a rare artifact called the Tusk of Ganesh. Teaming up with mercenary Nadine Ross, they head into the remote mountains in search of the lost city of Belur, home of the tusk, but they face opposition from the dangerous Asav, leader of an insurgent group that's waging a civil war in India and wants the tusk for himself.

(Just a quick note before I begin - all the screenshots you'll see below have been captured directly from my own PS4, which is why you'll see a trophy notification in one of them. I wanted to show just how damn gorgeous this game is.)

Review: Naughty Dog have enjoyed great success over the last twenty years, producing titles exclusively for Sony's various games platforms (Sony actually bought them in 2001, a very smart move). They're responsible for the game that has become my favourite of all time - The Last of Us, for which a sequel is due in 2019 and to say I'm ecstatic about that is an understatement. But arguably their biggest success story overall is the Uncharted series, four action-adventure games starring treasure-hunter and all-round dashing rogue Nathan Drake. Widely acclaimed by critics and gamers alike for the quality of its storytelling, humour, visuals and gameplay, 2016 saw Nathan's story concluded with A Thief's End. But as it turns out, Naughty Dog weren't quite finished.

Originally conceived as a paid DLC for Uncharted 4, the scope of The Lost Legacy grew to the point that Naughty Dog decided that it deserved a stand-alone release, and I'm glad they did as for this to be labelled as just an add-on to Uncharted 4 would be doing it an injustice. It's not a full-length game; it features nine chapters, around 10-12 hours of gameplay, and so it doesn't have a huge price tag, retailing at £24.99. But given the quality of the game, trust me when I say you're getting a bargain.

If you've played any of the previous games in the series then you'll know what to expect here. The game is a mixture of action sequences and combat, adventuring and puzzle-solving, exploration and bombastic set-pieces. The series has always borrowed heavily from Tomb Raider, which isn't a bad thing, but perhaps the only criticism I can throw at it is that there's nothing particularly original going on here. After the four previous games nothing that happens in The Lost Legacy will take you by surprise, especially when you take into account that this began life as an expansion to Uncharted 4, but when it's done as well as this, it's really difficult to make it a criticism. The final chapter in particular, where you fight your way along a moving train, is particularly well done.

And boy is this game spectacular to look at. Naughty Dog have always produced games that are a treat for the eyes, and The Lost Legacy continues that tradition as it features some of the best graphics I've seen on the PS4, really pushing the system to it's limits. The developers have taken the beautiful location of India and run wild with their imagination, producing some stunning results that compliments the storyline as Chloe and Nadine explore the various ruined locations their exploration takes them to.

It's not the beautiful graphics or the exciting gameplay that's the highlight here though - it's the story and the relationship between Chloe and Nadine. A fan-favourite character returning from previous games in the series, Chloe takes centre stage and partners with Nadine, one of the antagonists from Uncharted 4. It's an unusual combination, Chloe the cheeky treasure-hunter and Nadine the hard-edged mercenary, but it's one that works. Brought to life with terrific voice acting and motion capture from Claudia Black and Laura Bailey, the characters go on a journey from uneasy alliance to mutual respect, to falling out to firm friendship, all with the trademark humour of the series present and correct. It's a joy to watch them interact and it proves that these characters are more than capable of holding the spotlight.

Apart from the main story campaign, The Lost Legacy also comes with the full multiplayer from Uncharted 4 which is a nice bonus. Your mileage of this will vary, but it comes in PvP and co-operative horde mode flavours, and introduces new characters and skins as well. There's unlockable artwork and graphics filters for the main story, obtained by collecting the various treasures hidden around the maps, and there's also a very funny photo mode, that allows you to pause the game at any moment and, amongst other options, apply a number of different silly facial expressions to Chloe:

I did this a lot.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A beautifully-presented, enjoyable addition to the Uncharted series that's a bargain for the price. While there's nothing particularly original here, when it's done to the high standards of Naughty Dog it's really not something to complain about, especially when it features such a likeable storyline between two strong female characters. With any luck, the Uncharted series will continue with Chloe and Nadine as it's new main stars, and the future looks bright if that's the case.