So here's three more movies I was able to squeeze in before the end of the year. It's an interesting mix of styles and genres, but all try to be theater-filling blockbusters, with very different results. Some are definitely better than others, here. Anyways, here's my last "Recently Watched" for the year!
Like I said in the previous article, I ended up watching these out of order. However, as I anticipated, it would not end up mattering all that much, as any of the connections to the MCU didn't really reference The Eternals at all. However, setting aside all the meta, this film is actually a pretty solid stand-alone film, turning this particular corner of the universe into a martial-arts fantasy roller-coaster ride.
Shang-Chi is raised by his father to be an assassin, but he defects and goes to live in the US as Shaun, hoping to stay in hiding. However, his father's men find him, eager to steal an amulet Shang-Chi got from his dead mother. This eventually leads him and his estranged sister to meet with their dad again, who is eager to "save" their mother from another dimension. However, the father is being led astray by an evil demon, and the siblings have to stop their father from inadvertently unleashing the Dweller-in-Darkness.
The story is conventional, as most of these films are, but the details make up the difference. Simu Liu does a decent job of carrying a fairly predictable reluctant hero who has to confront his childhood traumas, but Tony Leung nearly steals the film as the distraught father eager to finally reunite with the love of his life, and won't let anyone get his way, even his own children. The rest of the film does have some pretty solid action scenes, as one would hope with this level of wuxia fantasy. The fight on the bus makes good use of the environment, and while the final battle does get a little hard to follow, as you have CGI dragons and monsters all over the place, it makes for a solid, if not completely satisfying conclusion. (At least not until they let the other shoe drop on the karaoke joke; that was dang funny!)
This is probably the best film of this so-called Phase 4 so far. While Black Widow was amusing and Eternals tried too hard only to fall flat, this one really stands pretty well on it's own. However, I will admit some of the world-building details do get me a little excited for the Marvel films again, though I don't think I'll be in a rush to do so. At least this was a better wuxia film than that live-action Mulan turned out to be.
After working my way through the franchise in a bit of a blitz, I came to the conclusion that the series had kind of built a decent franchise out of the ridiculous stunts and car fetishes. However, I guess in the time since I wrote that article, I had forgotten how stupid these movies can be. So when I finally decided to take a look at the latest installment of the Fast and Furious franchise, I was mostly looking forward to a decent, fun action film, and was hit smack in the face with all the stupid they could muster.
Seriously, the dialogue is downright awful. Not only do you have the low-effort man-drama between Dom Toretto and his estranged brother, but the exposition is awkwardly shoehorned in, especially when they start retconning things in ways that feel like the worst of comic book continuity. Oh, and the sheer lack of physics continues from Hobbs & Shaw, as our heroes' plot armor is thicker than ever, allowing them to survive the dumbest of deathly circumstances, despite the physics involved. They introduce this super magnet, and while they do some entertaining stunts with it, it's obviously very selective with what it chooses to attract. And worst of all, you have these moments where both the heroes and the villains try to exercise some meta-humor about the series that kinda lands with a thud. I think I laughed more at this film than with it.
So other than all that, I guess the movie was just above mediorce. The plot is a pretty silly sci-fi-spy thriller about a secret device that can hack "anything," but it allows for a lot of chase scenes and shaky-cam fights, so I guess it serves its purpose. They also make a bit of an effort to bring back some of the gritty street-racing vibe, as well as a bunch of cameos from previous films, which I admit was kind of fun. Probably not a highlight of the franchise, but just another mindless explosion fest that tries to be about more, and basically fails.
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I know I was extremely excited for this movie back in 2019 when it was announced that Legendary Pictures got the rights and that Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve would be in charge. I knew at the very least it was going to be a well-shot film. I remember loving the book when I read it in high school, and the early trailers showed a lot of promise. Now that the film is finally in theaters (after an understandable one-year delay), I am pleased to tell you that it lived up to my expectations. This movie is great.
The movie intelligently adapts just the first half of the book, showing the story of how Paul Atreides ends up on the desert planet of Arrakis, how his family is betrayed in an act of galactic politics, and how we starts his path in becoming the anticipated messiah figure of the powerful Bene Gesserit cult that schemes behind the galactic scenes. The story is definitely complex, as it introduces quite a cast to follow. Fortunately, the movie is not in a hurry to tell its story, but takes its time to let the scenes breathe and let audiences really get a feel for the locations and intrigues going on. It definitely needs its near 3-hour runtime to pull these pieces together. It also finds a decent stopping point, as Paul and his mother successfully integrate themselves into one of the indigenous tribes of the planet called the Fremen.
As expected, the film is beautiful. Villeneuve has a great cinematic eye, and knows to let the camera sit on a scene so that the audience can properly absorb all that's going on. Arrakis feels perfectly sandy, hot, and foreboding, and contrasts well with the opening scenes on the Atreides wet and lush home planet of Caladan. All these visuals are held together by an inspired and atmospheric soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. The cast also does a great job, with Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, balancing between being a good leader and a good father to Paul. Rebecca Ferguson gives a powerful, emotional performance as Leto's consort and Paul's mother. And Timothée Chalamet does a great job as the conflicted, young hero Paul. When needed, he shows Paul's weaknesses and insecurities, but also provides the promise of greatness with his acts of nobility and grace. This contrast will only help bolster Paul's transition to who he becomes later in the book, when the second movie comes around.
While I have no plans of making a Top 5 list for his year, Dune is easily the best movie of 2021. It understands that great, complex stories need to be told well, with clear and deliberate pacing. It requires a solid cast who knows their characters' purpose in the story. It requires a great soundtrack that matches the mood of the scene and the characters feelings. It requires a visionary director who knows how to craft the unreal into reality. And Dune was blessed to have all of this and more, and expect nothing less from the sequel. October 2023 cannot come soon enough!
Well, that should do it for the year. I know folks have been talking up the latest Spider-Man film, but I don't when I'll get to that. Maybe early next year.
My next article will be my regular Anticipated Movies list, though I am doing that one a little differently. From there, I don't know what else I'll do for the website. I admit I haven't been writing as often as I have before, partially because my other blog has taken up a lot of my attention. I'll try to keep writing, though, and I'll be sure to post whatever I come up with here.
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