Today I will vent about a vizarded villainous victim carrying out his vindictivolence against a government body. Whatever it takes.
Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I would like to say that I love this movie.
Explosions, wordplay and violence.
Furthermore, you have Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Fry and a plethora of British actors giving arguably one of their best performances ever.
Now, I could sit here and give it a ravensmark, but I think the why is more important at this stage.
So, let's begin!
Story: This story is an adaptation of the Vertigo comic book series of the same name.
In a futuristic England, the church has taken power and rules with an iron fist. One man, a former subject in a series of experiments, seeks to take down the government dressed in black and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.
With the help of a young woman by the name of Evie Hammond, V takes down every major political figure and teaches Evie about fearlessness by breaking her psychologically.
It's a powerful story about governments, heroes and justice. The corruption of these three things come under scrutiny and shows that with time, even the most altruistic person will fall.
As Lord Acton once said, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
We, as an audience, get to witness to destruction of power, which is returned to the people.
Cinematography: Everything from the lush decor of the Shadow Gallery, to the dark bleak rooms of the corrupt governed power, we see intense atmosphere. Lighting, framing, shaky cams...nothing is used unnecessarily.
The movie is framed in such a way that you can see the contrast between the people and the Government. The framing for the government is ordered and centred, with each item within the frame perfectly set out.
Those frames regarding the people that the government are supposed to serve have people standing off centre, and are somewhat cut chaotically.
The lighting is set out to fit the dark style of the comics, with reds standing out heavily against bleak blacks and greys. Red has always been the colour of power, passion, blood and revenge, which are all appropriate for this film.
Audio: Dario Marianelli composed the audio. The music is subtle and atmospheric for the most part, but hearing Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture over the loudspeakers makes it both humourous and awe-inspiring.
I preferred this subtle approach they took as opposed to including Sex Pistols or some other UK punk band during the film. It brought a certain elegance and flair to the entire movie.
Overall: I cannot stress how much I love this movie. From the visuals to V's charismatic visage, to the set design. I just love it all.
On top of this, you also have incredible performances by Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman, amongst many of the other cast members.
I was immersed and honestly a little frightful of just how real all of this could possibly be.
This movie felt very real for a comic book adaptation.
5 stars.
Author's note: This concludes hero movie month! Movies are reviewed every Wednesday, with books being reviewed by the time I finish them. Some take longer than others.
Please let me know what you'd like me to review next!
Please feel free to share your thoughts!
Always happy to take recommendations!
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Showing posts with label superhero movie month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superhero movie month. Show all posts
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
(Movie) Zero to Hero...a look at Kick-Ass
Before Kingsman: The secret service, director/producer/writer Matthew Vaughn adapted a comic book series known for taking average people and asking:
What makes a superhero?
I remember seeing this movie at the cinema and walking away shocked. I'd never come across something that was both inspiring and terrifying at the same time. In retrospect, it was probably because of its plausibility.
While it may not hold its shock factor anymore, has it aged well?
Let's find out!
Story/Dialogue: Dave Lizewski is an average kid who has had enough of being average and getting picked on. He dons a wetsuit and becomes Kick-Ass, a real life superhero.
I love how this movie could have been based on a true story. Like if they had covered Phoenix Jones (Seattle superhero) or someone along those lines.
This story deals a lot with identity (a theme I love) and a desire to protect (a basic human instinct,) so when the ideals of Kick-Ass clash with his super friends Big Daddy and Hit Girl, it changes the status quo.
I think the only thing that really bugged me about the story is that the stakes were at their highest when Kick-Ass is captured by the mob. Having them beat on him was probably the highest point of tension in the story. Everything else from there just kind of went downhill.
The dialogue can only be described as relevant for its time. Mentions of MySpace and celebrities that were big at the time are common for Vaughn to incorporate (See Iggy Azalea comment in Kingsman and use of YouTube, etc.) As for the rest of it, I often found myself cringing at comments like, "I don't care if she's 11 I'd save myself for her." Even as desensitised as I currently am, stuff like that weirds me out.
Dave's internal monologue and references to comic books make the movie worthwhile, as you often find yourself in his shoes asking the same questions. How would you deal with conflict if you came across a mugging or something like that? Could you?
Cinematography: This movie is visually beautiful. Each frame fills your eyes with vivid colours, tight framing and well cut action scenes. The costumes stand out against richly toned backgrounds and make the characters almost feel as though they're a part of a moving comic book as opposed to a movie.
The VFX left much to be desired, such as the scene where Kick-Ass and Hit Girl are flying away. Another instance was seeing them reveal their secret identity to each other and the lighting was more blinding than illuminating.
The camera work was wonderful and I would love to see a behind the scenes to work out whether they used dollies or did it by hand.
Audio: One scene I want to particularly talk about is where Hit Girl is killing everyone while Banana Split by the Dickies plays in the background. Its innocent tune contrasts with the violent scene to the point of it being jarring. Another example would be the rag time music combined with the dark and violent settings of games like Bioshock and Fallout.
Other than that, the music was pretty generic. Nothing really stood out or was overly memorable.
Overall: For all the brow beating I gave this movie, I do enjoy it. Not just for its gratuitous violence or Nicholas Cage being Nicholas Cage (It's like watching Stan Lee act in a movie, if I'm being honest,) but because it asks a lot of questions and challenges the audience.
This movie was a wild ride that ended on a dull note. Like eating a muffin top only to find that the bottom hasn't been fully cooked yet.
3.5 stars.
What makes a superhero?
I remember seeing this movie at the cinema and walking away shocked. I'd never come across something that was both inspiring and terrifying at the same time. In retrospect, it was probably because of its plausibility.
While it may not hold its shock factor anymore, has it aged well?
Let's find out!
Story/Dialogue: Dave Lizewski is an average kid who has had enough of being average and getting picked on. He dons a wetsuit and becomes Kick-Ass, a real life superhero.
I love how this movie could have been based on a true story. Like if they had covered Phoenix Jones (Seattle superhero) or someone along those lines.
This story deals a lot with identity (a theme I love) and a desire to protect (a basic human instinct,) so when the ideals of Kick-Ass clash with his super friends Big Daddy and Hit Girl, it changes the status quo.
I think the only thing that really bugged me about the story is that the stakes were at their highest when Kick-Ass is captured by the mob. Having them beat on him was probably the highest point of tension in the story. Everything else from there just kind of went downhill.
The dialogue can only be described as relevant for its time. Mentions of MySpace and celebrities that were big at the time are common for Vaughn to incorporate (See Iggy Azalea comment in Kingsman and use of YouTube, etc.) As for the rest of it, I often found myself cringing at comments like, "I don't care if she's 11 I'd save myself for her." Even as desensitised as I currently am, stuff like that weirds me out.
Dave's internal monologue and references to comic books make the movie worthwhile, as you often find yourself in his shoes asking the same questions. How would you deal with conflict if you came across a mugging or something like that? Could you?
Cinematography: This movie is visually beautiful. Each frame fills your eyes with vivid colours, tight framing and well cut action scenes. The costumes stand out against richly toned backgrounds and make the characters almost feel as though they're a part of a moving comic book as opposed to a movie.
The VFX left much to be desired, such as the scene where Kick-Ass and Hit Girl are flying away. Another instance was seeing them reveal their secret identity to each other and the lighting was more blinding than illuminating.
The camera work was wonderful and I would love to see a behind the scenes to work out whether they used dollies or did it by hand.
Audio: One scene I want to particularly talk about is where Hit Girl is killing everyone while Banana Split by the Dickies plays in the background. Its innocent tune contrasts with the violent scene to the point of it being jarring. Another example would be the rag time music combined with the dark and violent settings of games like Bioshock and Fallout.
Other than that, the music was pretty generic. Nothing really stood out or was overly memorable.
Overall: For all the brow beating I gave this movie, I do enjoy it. Not just for its gratuitous violence or Nicholas Cage being Nicholas Cage (It's like watching Stan Lee act in a movie, if I'm being honest,) but because it asks a lot of questions and challenges the audience.
This movie was a wild ride that ended on a dull note. Like eating a muffin top only to find that the bottom hasn't been fully cooked yet.
3.5 stars.
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