MULAN Review

As always, context is important and when it comes to Disney's 2020 re-imagining of the story of Mulan it should be noted that I was twelve years-old when the original animated film was released. That film, coming in between the likes of Hercules and Tarzan would signal the end of Disney's animation renaissance of the nineties and in many ways-though there are live-action re-imaginings of The Little Mermaid and Hercules among others in the works-this new Mulan somewhat feels as if it also signals the end of this particular brand exercise. What's most disappointing though, is this very easily could have felt like a turning point instead of a conclusion, but alas director Niki Caro's (Whale Rider, McFarland, USA) re-imagining of the material fails to inspire its own identity despite diverting the most from the original blueprint. Having now seen live-action adaptations of most if not all of those Ashman and Menken collaborations along with the likes of the classic princess tales (surely Disney won't make its own Snow White, Peter Pan, or Pinocchio again after so many iterations already having been produc...*googles furiously*...oh no) it would seem this trend has more or less run its course with more critical failures than successes even if most have knocked it out of the park in terms of box office. How this pertains to Caro's vision of the fictional folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties of Chinese history though has to do with how audiences have come to perceive the film. Once regarded as the opportunity among the other, more formulaic fairy tales to become an authentic historical epic with sweeping visuals, large battles, and a brave female lead the sequence of events that have led Mulan to landing on Disney+ for an added premiere price seems to have reduced the impact of said opportunity. It's impossible to say if first impressions might have been stronger had the initial experience with Caro's film been on the big screen rather than from the comfort of my own home, but given some of the blatantly bad CGI work in a handful of shots it could have certainly come across worse as well, I guess. This is all to say that 2020's live-action version of Mulan funnily enough ends up making many of the same mistakes as its predecessors despite trying the hardest not to. This Mulan removes many of the elements that infused so much life and energy into the original without bothering to substitute them with anything new or substantial even as that seems to be the intent and not to simply strip away your favorite childhood aspects (and save money on a CGI dragon) for the hell of it. Good intentions are always honorable (at least, one would hope), but the danger in adjusting a narrative that already worked so well and leaning more heavily into a certain theme tends to undo the crucial balance that was struck-likely not easily-before. As someone who found not only the music, but the arc of the camaraderie between our heroine and her newfound peers along with the strong tonal balance the animated film exhibited alarmingly well as a child I had hopes that as an adult Caro's version-while clearly leaning into the more historical, less-musical side of things-might find its own balance and sense of self-being as well, but the biggest issue with Caro's film is that it knows it needs to be a massive, epic adventure, but doesn't really have any idea what it wants to be.       

xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Review

It is with great pleasure that I report xXx: Return of Xander Cage is as dumb and ridiculous as it should be. First and foremost I guess it is important to state that there was no need for this third outing in the xXx series, but as with so many franchises these days we get a lot of what we didn't think we needed, but that they're going to give to us anyways. It makes sense given the whole "brand recognition" line of thinking within the studio system at the moment, but while many of the fruits of this line of thinking yield final products as pointless and joyless as expected given their inherently unwarranted status it is nice that every once in a while such thinking yields something as fun and self-aware as xXx: Return of Xander Cage. It has been fifteen years since Vin Diesel took on the mantle of a James Bond figure via the X-Games in what was no doubt intended to be a spiritual successor of sorts to the original The Fast and the Furious as Diesel re-teamed with director Rob Cohen for xXx the year after The Fast and the Furious became a surprise smash. Like he did initially with the Fast franchise, Diesel opted not to return for the xXx sequel in 2005, State of the Union, which picked up Ice Cube as Darius Stone to fill Diesel's Xander Cage's spot in the xXx program with it being reported Cage died in Bora Bora a few years after the events of the original film. And now, as he did with Fast in 2009, Diesel has returned to a franchise he started and then abandoned after efforts outside such franchises haven't worked out as well as the actor/producer/social media champion likely hoped they would. It's hard to blame the guy as he approaches the age of fifty this summer and undoubtedly understands he won't be able to make such movies (or such money) for much longer. The persona Diesel pulled off as Cage at thirty-five already feels somewhat strained here-especially in scenes engineered to make Diesel look like the baddest dude on the planet-but director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) and his editors keep things moving along at such a quick pace and with so much energy it's difficult to get caught up on any one detail. It also doesn't hurt that F. Scott Frazier's (The Numbers Station) screenplay layers in multiple team members to take some of the pressure off Diesel carrying this entire thing on his aging shoulders while simultaneously becoming another casualty of the Avengers effect where it's now more lucrative and enticing to have a team of xXx-er's rather than a sole ambassador of bad ass.     

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Review

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet." It is with these words that the original Star Wars introduced fans to a galaxy far, far away nearly forty years ago; despite the nearly four decades between then and now though, those words couldn't be more relevant today. It is in these two short, but descriptive sentences that one can understand the basis of where Rogue One comes from and its relevance in setting up the dots that will be connected throughout the original trilogy of films. For a Star Wars fan, this is nothing if not incredible-that the smallest of details from within the universe can be fleshed out so as to expand upon the rich layers of the world George Lucas created all those years ago seemingly opens up endless possibilities. For writers Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) though, one could see how this might be more than a little intimidating to take on. As one might be inclined to do in such a situation Weitz and Gilroy have more or less crafted an old school genre film out of a franchise brand that has more or less become a genre of its own. And so, Rogue One is a genre film executed in a film universe that has defined the science fiction blockbuster genre since its inception forty years ago. That may sound inherently disparaging, but it really isn't. Rather, adjusting the Star Wars universe to fit that of a "(wo)man on a mission" template is rather inspiring and director Gareth Edwards (Monsters. Godzilla) has skillfully adapted the rich and textured aesthetic of 1970's sci-fi to this story that takes place just before Princess Leia sent her trusty droids to seek out an old Jedi friend. Though Rogue One may not ultimately break any new barriers and will undoubtedly serve more as the rule than the exception when it comes to this new breed of Star Wars stories we'll be receiving consistently for as far as Disney's bank accounts can go (hint: they go really far) it is still a more than competent action/adventure story that introduces a few new memorable characters, worlds of which we've never seen before, and a narrative that despite every single person in the audience knowing where it's headed still manages to keep us on the edge of our seats.

New Trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

Since the teaser trailer dropped for Rogue One four months ago a lot has changed. That initial teaser gave us a glimpse of the Star Wars universe from a perspective we hadn't really seen before-through the lens of an actual war film. Director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) had clearly become accustomed to operating on a large scale while focusing in on the character intricacies that take place within that scale. Though there has been talk concerning production drama as producer/writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) was reported to have first been brought in for reshoots and has since been bumped up to supervising the final edit of the movie. While the studio is certainly downplaying the negatives of what this could imply it is hard to be overly confident in a product that gets the board room treatment rather than the original vision of a director that you supposedly hired for their unique vision. I rather loved the first teaser we received and hoped Edwards final film reflected the tone and space of mind that trailer conveyed, but with reports of such post-production troubles I doubt we'll see that original vision. Still, this is a Star Wars movie and I'm going to see it regardless-hopefully the changes won't be too drastic and this will ultimately still be Edwards film. If you're not up on what is going on, Rogue One will take place just prior to A New Hope as it tells the story of the rebels who set out on the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. Chrs Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) penned the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) credited as coming in and overseeing necessary changes. All of that said, this new trailer still looks fantastic and I can't wait to see this portion of the Star Wars universe on the big screen. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, and Jiang Wen, and opens in theaters on December 16th, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE Starring Vin Diesel

Confession time: I've never seen 2005's xXx: State of the Union. Do I need to? Because I really don't care to and yet, part of me is excited to see Vin Diesel return to the role he originated in 2002 in the wake of the original The Fast and the Furious' success. Diesel was all kinds of set to be the next big action star after he completely dominated that 2001 street racing Rob Cohen movie and no doubt secured the paycheck for Chronicles of Riddick soon after, but was also the guy who would churn out another Rob Cohen picture before deciding not to return for 2 Fast 2 Furious in '03. While we may have been upset with Mr. Diesel at the time for letting his new found BFF Brian go off to Miami alone and reunite with Tyrese it would all work out in the end. Deciding to make xXx rather than a second Fast & Furious film is certainly proving helpful now as the actor is having his cake and eating it too. Not only is he secured by at least three more F&F films, but he is now bringing back those one-off's that he also didn't commit to sequels to (see the aforementioned State of the Union) in order to fill in the paycheck gaps between F&F films. I don't want to sound too negative as the actor is part of the insanely solid cast of the much anticipated Ang Lee film, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, that will surely be an Oscar contender this fall, but was there really any need for another entry into what will be a fifteen year old property by the time this new movie arrives in theaters? No, but like I said-I'm not as opposed as I might have been once upon a time. The original xXx was a fine enough action flick that capitalized on the cheesy guilty pleasures of the genre at that point in time and while I don't remember much of the movie something in me hopes this new film will play in that same tone of not being overly self-aware or serious, but rather just a good time in the moment that we won't remember a few hours later. xXx: Return of Xander Cage also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Deepika Padukone, Rory McCann, and opens on January 20th, 2017.

First Trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

It seems strange now in (very short) retrospect that Disney and Lucasfilm didn't place a "sneak peak" type feature of the next Star Wars story on the Blu-Ray release of The Force Awakens this week. Not that fans needed another reason to go out and buy (or purchase a digital copy) of the film, but this extra incentive of being able to see the first footage from Rogue One certainly would have been a worthwhile bonus. Instead, Disney and Lucasfilm have waited a mere two days after Episode VII's home video release to deliver our first look at director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) first installment in what is expected to be an expanded universe of Star Wars films. If you're not up on what is going on it basically boils down to the fact Disney spent $6 billion dollars on the Star Wars brand and they're intent on milking it for all it's worth meaning we'll be getting some type of Star Wars feature once a year for the foreseeable future. In accomplishing this goal, Disney has put together highly credible teams and casts to tell these stories. Rogue One will take place just prior to A New Hope as it tells the story of the rebels who set out on the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. Chrs Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) penned the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) credited as coming in and overseeing necessary changes. The trailer looks downright fantastic and might even capture the balance of old with a twist of new in a way even The Force Awakens didn't manage. I'm not quite sure yet though, let me go watch it about five hundred more times. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, and Jiang Wen, and opens in theaters on December 16th, 2016.