After a summer of watching giant robots do all the action its refreshing to watch a film that is neither a sequel nor a remake (well sort of) filled with real live humans and a stunning view of Sienna Millers cleavage through 99% of the film. Much like the hype created in 2007 when our eyes were graced with the iconic Megan Fox bending over the hood scene in transformers, Sienna Millers leather cat suit is sure to recreate that kind of attention.
Until I watched this movie never have I thought a director could match the king of action himself, Michael Bay. Stephen Sommers not only matches Michael Bay’s ridiculous action scenes but also makes them more watchable. One of the more appealing aspects of the action scenes in this film is the fact that you don’t find yourself squinting and scratching your head trying to figure out who is punching who and what the hell is going on.
The film constantly uses flashbacks to piece together elements of the storyline and although many are predictable, to someone who isn’t initially a fan like me this film holds many surprises and twists. It is a breath of fresh air to walk into a summer blockbuster that is not yet another over-inflated action sequel Hollywood is forcing down everyone’s throats and be completely and utterly blown away.
Normally it would take the likes of Heath Ledgers first scene in The Dark Knight to give me goosebumps but one action scene in this film did that for me. This scene is the chase scene through Paris, anyone who has seen trailers for the film will know the outcome of the scene but the build up truly is the definition of action films for me now. This films bumblebee which of course is Snake eyes adds a certain heart to the film through his conflict with Storm Shadow and his brilliant body language by Ray Park accounting for his yet again lack of speech (poor guy).
Although this film does have its flaws with Marlon Wayans trying way too hard to be funny (saying that I did find his ‘bust a cap’ line hilarious in the final act). Brendan Fraiser’s very brief cameo is cool if not a not a little stupid in a role reminiscent to the less flattering parts of Sylvester Stallone’s career. Even to a non-fan (until this film) the tag line references are unmistakeable such as ‘knowing is half the battle’ and ‘Yo Joe’ which were a little too much. Admittedly Joseph Gordon Levitt’s real American heroes’ line was a nice touch.
Based on advertising Christopher Ecclestons Mccullen/Destro is being billed as lead villain but does not deserve that credit compared to Joseph Gordon Levitt’s Darth Vader of performances. Indeed after the film his character is up there with the likes of Davros and Darth Vader purely because of Josephs convincing performance and sinister take on ‘The doctor/Cobra Commander’.
So there you have it, a review from a newcomer to the franchise and it has left me with high hopes for a sequel from the much open ended film. A summer blockbuster that delivers in every way it should. With adrenaline filled action sequences that beats transformers largely ridiculous and over the top scenes but doesn’t match the intelligence of the likes of Public Enemies.
5/5 Stars