Thursday, March 15, 2012

21 Jump Steet Review


21 Jump Street is the latest TV series from the 80’s to be adapted for the big screen. The original 21 Jump Street was gritty crime drama in which baby-faced cops go undercover in high school, and it helped launch the career of Johnny Depp. However, instead of following this format, the filmmakers made the new version an action comedy film. It’s sort of the same thing that was done with Starsky and Hutch and The Green Hornet. However, this didn’t turn out to be a bad idea.

21 Jump Street follows two immature police officers Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) as two immature cops who are sent to 21 Jump Street, which is a revived police unit. The two have to go undercover as siblings attending a local high school to find the supplier and distributor of a new dangerous party drug that makes ecstasy look tame.

However, the two officers weren’t exactly best friends back in high school. Schmidt was a nerd donning fashion cues from Eminem, which gave him the nickname Not-So-Slim Shady, and Tatum was a cool, but clueless jock. Naturally, there is conflict between the two as Schmidt is trying to find popularity and Jenko is struggling with the fact on how much high school has changed. For example, Eco-friendly kids are now cool and no one wears their backpack with just one strap anymore.

All of the performances are very good. Hill is as funny as ever, whether he’s thin or fat. Channing Tatum is surprisingly hilarious in the film. We are used to seeing him in a plethora of dull romance movies and mindless action films that we hardly see his comedic side. Here’s hoping that he’ll play in more comedic roles like this. Plus Hill and Tatum have amazing chemistry together as they play off of each other so well that I wouldn’t mind seeing them in other movie together. The script, written by Michael Becall, is filled with raunchy humor and gross out gags, but that’s to be expected since he wrote the outrageous party movie Project X, which came out a few weeks ago. Becall also co-wrote the script for the underrated comedy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. So if you’ve seen Scott Pilgrim you can see where 21 Jump Street gets some of its quirky humor from.

The film is more of a spoof of the gritty drama series instead of an accurate portrayal of the series. Fans of the original TV show probably won’t like that, but the film still works in its own way. Plus some viewers probably can’t get over the fact that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are supposed to be in high school. It’s definitely stretching the premise thin as Hill is 28 and Tatum is 31, but there are some clever lines in the script that address this situation. In addition, some of the action scenes are clunky and the standard car chases are just plain routine, but there are a few twists in the scenes to make them enjoyable. Also the third act isn’t as strong as I hoped it would be. Nevertheless, there is a surprise cameo in the film that should excite everyone.

21 Jump Street is a fresh and entertaining 1980’s reboot which pays off most of the time. If you can get past some of the ridiculous elements of the film then you’ll enjoy it.

21 Jump Street - 3/4

Friday, March 9, 2012

Green Lantern Review

Green Lantern is a very popular comic character, but for some reason the character has not been adapted into a movie until now. I was expecting to hate this film, but I enjoyed this somewhat. However, it could have been much better.

The movie is full of exposition so you better pay attention or you might miss a couple of things. The main plot is about a test pilot named Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) who is accepted into a group called the Green Lantern Corps. It is made up of a brotherhood of warriors who have sworn to keep intergalactic order. Each Green Lantern wears a ring that gives them superpowers based on their strength of will. However, a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and only Jordan can defeat him, despite never harnessing the infinite powers of the ring before.

The visual effects save this film from being a complete failure. The rings the Green Lanterns wear give them the ability to create anything based on how fearless and willful they are. Jordan wears the power ring and is able to generate many effects that are great to look at. I just wish we got a good story to back up the visuals.

The main problem with this film is that it is just too formulaic. It is a typical origin story, but it did not have the spark to make it an exceptional origin story like Iron Man or Batman Begins. Ryan Reynolds is okay, but I felt they could have gotten someone better for the role. I like that the film does not take itself too seriously. Nevertheless, I really never felt a real danger in the film. To be honest I really did not care what happened to any of the characters as none of them were really engaging. It is probably because most of them are thinly written. I will admit that Sinestro (Mark Strong), who is a Green Lantern who later betrays the Green Lantern Corp, does well with the limited material he is presented with.

Green Lantern is a decent superhero, but I do not know how faithful it stays to its source material. I am sure some fans are finally happy to see a Green Lantern, but judging from its box office I say that they were disappointed also. I am sure there are better stories in the comics to adapt than the one we got.

Welcome to First Class (X-Men: First Class Review)

The X-Men series has always been a mixed bag for me. The first one was good and I loved the second one. It was my favorite comic book movie until Spider-Man 2 was released. The third had plenty of action, but was short on heart and character development. That is because the director of the previous films, Bryan Singer, left and went on to do Superman Returns. However, that turned out to be a super bore. Do not even get me started on X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I had low expectations going in to X-Men: First Class because it was a prequel, and most of the time prequels turn out to be bad. However, I ended up enjoying it.

The film is set in 1963 and tells the story of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). Before they took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their mutant powers for the first time. Charles is able to read and control people’s minds, and Erik is able to control and manipulate metal. Before they were archenemies, they were close friends who were trying to stop Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a mutant who can absorb kinetic energy, and he now wants to take over the world. So Charles and Erik must find other mutants and destroy Shaw before his plan succeeds.

Unlike the last X-Men movie, we feel compassion for the characters as they actually have character development this time. The film is centered on the genuine friendship between Charles and Erik and it works well. McAvoy does a pretty good job as Charles Xavier, but Fassbender is the main star of this film. We feel Magneto’s pain throughout the whole film and how he represents a tragic hero. The rest of the cast is also well rounded, and it is refreshing to see mutants that have not been seen in the previous films before. Some new mutants are: Havok, Banshee, Angel, Darwin, Azazel, and Emma Frost.

The action scenes, special effects, and editing are all first class. In addition, the script is well crafted and smarter than the majority of summer blockbusters. The film is also able to incorporate real life events to deal with interesting issues like civil rights, discrimination, and the threats of nuclear war. It even uses archive footage from John F. Kennedy’s speeches.

The only bad thing I can say about this film is that it is a prequel so we already know what is going to happen in the future. Also, there are some talky moments that slow the movie down sometimes. Plus, some of more popular mutants in the previous movies like Storm (Halle Berry), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Rogue (Anna Paquin) are missing. Those hoping to see Wolverine will just have to settle for a cameo.

This is a good blockbuster and definitely worth a purchase, especially on Blu-ray. Recently 20th Century Fox ordered a sequel so I will be excited for that! And remember, Mutant and Proud!