Change Your Image
mcguev
Reviews
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
A strong contender for worst movie of the year
And also, one of the worst sequels ever to be made. The truth is, like some other films, Independence Day: Resurgence didn't have to be made. Why it was made, I can't tell. Perhaps 20th Century Fox needed a to resurrect this brand to compete with other studios. And as the ending makes sufficiently clearly, there's more coming (please, spare us from it!). There's truly nothing to be recommended here: the story is dumb, the script very poor (some lines or scenes are unintentionally laughable), every single joke falls flat, the characters are one dimensional, the performances from the veteran actors could have been phoned in, and those from the young ones are rather stiff and uninspiring. Relationships have no chemistry and one doesn't really care for anyone. Boring is a good word to describe what happens on screen at every turn. There's never any real tension built, nor there is ever a sense of urgency. And they make the mistake of merely making the threat merely bigger (absurdly so; then again, Star Wars has recently stumbled upon that same rock). The film boasts a democratic, all inclusive, multicultural, globalist vibe. It also features a very prominent same-sex relationship from a significant, albeit secondary, character. It may be a SJW dream of a movie, since every requisite box of social justice is checked. In this sense the movie turns out to be quite lofty. If it proves anything, it is this: than the inclusion of such topics, or their filmic depiction per se do not better a film. It may just have the opposite effect, since all felt rather tiresome and fabricated. The movie fails in every department: story, script, acting, soundtrack, editing. But also in special effects. Imagine that! One of the main draws of the original ID4 was, precisely, its SFX. This one also boasts special effects galore, but they aren't of very good quality. It looks like everyone is in front of a green screen all the time. Objects don't have weight to them and all the presentation feels very cartoony. If you stay away from this movie, you will have made yourself an enormous favor. You won't have wasted any money nor two precious hours of your life.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
A masterpiece. You may just not know it yet.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, contrary to what many, many critics have said, may just be Snyder's tour de force. The love invested in the project is quite palpable. Snyder himself has said that he is "a comic book guy" and that he has "made the movie as much as (he) could based on that aesthetic". He has, therefore, intended to translate such a medium, that of the graphic novel, to film to the best of his abilities. And he has delivered: other comic book films are just that, films based or inspired in comic book films; this is something quite different and special. It is, very much, a comic book come to life. It is visually brilliant and almost operatic. The editing, which has been absolutely panned by the critics, even lends itself to the translation Snyder has set off to achieve, and, at least for me, is no mistake. It catches the feeling a reader has when reading a comic, and moving his eyes from one vignette to the other. And this is achieved without any special effect; it is just how the editing is done and the scenes are ordered, which is indeed remarkable. The script is also very well written; one should remember this are comics, not Shakespeare. And yet, it has a heft that most superheroes lack. Down the road, lighter, more frivolous forays into superhero films (the majority of those that have come before) will loose their shine and be promptly forgotten, while this one may become more appreciated and better stand the test of time. For my part, I sincerely wish Snyder does not stray from this path, for he is not merely interested in making a buck, nor in pleasing a crowd for an afternoon, but in comics films as art. Mr. Snyder, from me, you get a standing ovation.