Tron Legacy

It was not hugely popular on release, but has accumulated a huge cult status as being one of the best video game themed film of all time and now the story of Tron is continuing with Tron Legacy.

Tron Legacy follows Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) the son of original protagonist Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) as he searches for his father who went missing at the end of the last film. To find him he must enter the computer game world of Tron where each pixel has a mind of it’s own.

A lot of the original motifs and ideas from the 1982 film have been kept in by given a 21st century, big budget make over. The green screen and CGI look fantastic and it is likely that the 3D will be done incredibly well. Also Jeff Bridges plays his younger counterpart and the CGI has been used superbly to make him look identical to how he used to look back in the first one. This is likely going to have huge box office ratings when it is released on December 17th.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Scott Pilgrim is certainly aimed at a very specific niche, which would explain its US box office flop, only making $30 million back on its $60 million budget. The source material was written for slackers about slackers, not geeks or teenagers, but slackers, which isolates a lot of the movie going public. With all this in mind I still highly recommend everyone to go and see it, even if the genre is not inside your comfort zone, as it is a truly amazing film.

The movie (so the avid fans say) sticks close to the original comics, ok ‘graphic novels’, by Bryan Lee O’Malley.  In these novels Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), the base guitarist for the unsigned band ‘Sex Bob-omb’, falls head over heels for the enigmatic Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). However to be with her Scott must first defeat her seven evil exes who all want to kick the crap out of him. It’s the relationship between Scott and Ramona that is the core of the film and the different dynamics in it are what make this film score high points. Between all the great visuals, dialogue and music (which I will get onto in a second) the film looks at real, relatable issues, if in a surreal setting. With Scott we see all the usual insecurity each of us feels when we start dating a new person: awkward, obsessed, nervous, cocky, doubtful. Scott goes through all these stages and we go through them with him. And with Ramona we witness what it is like running away from your past, but never fully escaping and having it come back to hurt those around you instead. Winstead does a great job making Ramona seem both strong and fragile at the same time, apologetic for her past, but not regretful.

A film with this many layers might be a surprise for a comic (sorry graphic novel) based movie, but it certainly isn’t for an Edgar Wright film. Both his previous movies, ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Shaun Of The Dead’, had many layers of heart beneath the comedy. However Wright has certainly pulled away from his old British team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in order to have an all American and Canadian cast. It also has a far larger budget that is put to good use. The entire film is a fusion of 80s video games and retro comics. The scenes shift and change as if you were reading a comic book, which can disorientate viewers at first, but trust me sticking around is worth it. The fights themselves are taken straight from video games such as ‘Street Fighter’, being both fast paced and intense, but lasting for the exact right amount of time. The timing of the film is absolutely perfect, with neither action nor dialogue going on for too long or becoming tired. The sound track is also as explosive as the fight scenes, even for one who is more comfortable with the top 40 than indie rock. Legendary alt-rock artist Beck wrote all of Sex Bob-omb’s songs while Canadian musicians Metric and Broken Social Scene penned the tracks for the other bands. The playlist is so good that a 2-CD soundtrack has been released and has got acclaimed reviews.

Even with all these great qualities, what truly makes ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs the World’ an exceptional film is the great cast and dialogue. Michael Cera is still playing the same slightly dorky character he has played in ‘Juno’ and ‘Super Bad’, but this time the character is also a douche. This grumpy, self-centred attitude that Scott often displays makes the character all the more real and believable and Michael Cera’s charm wins you over to rooting for him in every fight. As I’ve already mentioned Winstead is perfection, even under all the colourful wigs she had to wear. However, what most stands out is how rounded the supporting characters are. Each evil ex feels complete even though some only get a few seconds of screen time. Easily the two best exes were Chris Evan’s Lucas Lee and Brandon Routh’s Todd Ingman who each deliver hilarious performances. But the characters that rise above everyone else are Wallace (Kieran Culkin) and Knives Chau (Ellen Wong).  Wallace is Scott’s gay flatmate and is rare in the fact that he is not gay first and everything else second. Instead Wallace is witty, likable and insightful before being gay. Knives Chau on the other hand is the most lovable character you meet through the entire 112 minutes. Knives is the 17 year old school girl that Scott is dating when he meets Ramona and her bubbly, naïve, adoring attitude almost makes you want Scott to not bother with Ramona at all. Wong certainly provides the warm fuzzy feeling of the film. As for the script it is top notch with every character getting at least one funny line; except Shota Saito and Keita Saito who are twin actors from Japan and don’t speak any English. From one-liners, such as the ‘Hasbian’ insult, to topical jokes, such as the Vegan police, the script is both playful and insightful, lacking in neither imagination nor charm.

Ultimately Scott Pilgrim is a growing up story that has real heart and flare. Between the fights and the music is a clever, funny, moving story that deserves to gross higher than it has done in the States. However, even if it doesn’t do as well here as it should do, if you go see it and you like it you can feel good in the knowledge that you like a cool trendy film that will reach cult status in only a few years.

Degree: 1^st

A film that is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but is

still awesome. It has all the makings of a cult classic.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

The Prince of Persia started life as a critically acclaimed video game in 1989 and has since become a huge franchise that has spread across two decades and several different mediums from graphic novels to next generation consoles. Now, it hits the big screen. The new film, The Prince ofPersia: The Sands of Time, is set to be the summer blockbuster to rival Marvel’s Iron Man 2 and it certainly has all the usual trappings of an action-adventure flick. We have an attractive male protagonist, Dastan (Gyllenhaal), who with the help of an equally attractive love interest, Princess Tamina (Arterton), must defeat the less attractive antagonist, Nizam (Kingsley). Between the opening and ending credits Dastan will travel around Persia, create a mismatched group of followers and be a part of some impressive fight scenes; if this all sounds familiar to you then you are likely to have seen the producer’s other big hit The Pirates of the Caribbean. However, though Prince of Persia sounds as if it is cut from the same cloth, it sadly falls short of what Pirates of the Caribbean achieved. The characters are not as developed, the settings not as compelling and the plot not as engaging.

Although Gyllenhaal portrays a far more competent and interesting character than Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner (who ironically was rumoured to have been originally playing this part) he isn’t as entertaining or as dynamic as Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow. Arterton’s Princess Tamina also falls short of being an impressive heroine; the flirtatious bickering between Dastan and Tamina is not only typical of Hollywood blockbusters, but it’s rather poorly executed. Instead of coming across as strong, independent and free thinking Tamina simply seems annoying and whiney. Location also causes gripes. Set in Persia, but filmed in Morocco, the movie jumps quickly from one location to another without properly showing the beauty of the landscape. Sadly it seems that Morocco will look more impressive in Sarah-Jessica Parker’s up-and-coming chick-flick Sex and the City 2 than it did here. Along with jumpy scenes, the plot bounded from location to location and fight to fight with very little congruency or tension. The premise of the film is explained within the first 40 minutes and the audience is given no new surprises.

Despite these deficiencies, the film is not without merit. It provides a lot for lovers of action; the fight scenes are well choreographed with many acrobatic tricks accompanying each sword fight. There is also an element of free running introduced to the film which is a subtle homage to the game the movie is based on. And the sequence of rewinding time is a particularly impressive feature of the film; this beautifully crafted CGI sequence is the one bit of originality in the movie. All together the sequences took a year and a half to finish, but visually it was worth every second. However, these tiny moments are not enough to redeem the rest of the 116 minute running time; anyone who is being dragged to see it should go on Orange Wednesday when at least their ticket will be free.

Degree: 3rd

A dumb action flick that delivers in special effects, but lacks in characterisation,

script and everything else important in a good film.