Van Helsing (2004)

I know that this movie has been a pet hate for a couple of friends who used to do a great movie double bill podcast, so when Van Helsing appeared on TV, I had to see if it really was that bad.  Yes.  It's that bad.  I could end the review there, it's almost not worth taking time over, but hatchet jobs are so much more fun than fawning over the latest Chris Nolan film.  So here goes.

It starts off in an almost promising way.  It's quite a nice idea for the beginning to start at the end of Frankenstein, hypothesising what might happen next.  However by the time it cuts to a year later and Van Helsing is introduced it all goes to shit.  So the promise only lasts about 5 minutes then, it soon fades and crapness abounds.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

I thought I remembered X-men Origins: Wolverine being far worse than it really is.  For example, I'd forgotten that Stryker (Danny Huston) puts together a team of mutants at the beginning of the film.  I'd forgotten that the intro credits are really cool showing the passage of time as the two brothers (Jackman and Schreiber) grow up and demonstrates their indestructibility.  I'd forgotten that Ryan Reynolds was in it and his sword wielding character is pretty cool.  I hadn't realised that Game of Thrones screenwriter David Benioff wrote the screenplay for it.  All I really remember are the badly rendered claws, the farcical action (including the most ridiculous casual walk away from a huge explosion), and a really shoehorned in ending so that it ties in with the first X-men film.  And that’s the problem with it; they’re the bits that everyone remembers.

So, like I say, not all that bad, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston are all accomplished enough actors to prop the movie up, and the story is interesting enough; it just gets woefully let down by the ill judged central act.  But, well, you know, that’s just, like, er, my opinion, man.

Real Steel (2011)

For a film about boxing robots, I really enjoyed Real Steel. Rather than concentrating on the action and the huge robots, the heart of the film is the relationship between Charlie (Hugh Jackman) and his son Max (Dakota Goyo). Charlie abandoned Max and his Mum while Max was still very young. Fast forward 11 years and Mum is now dead after an accident, but before her sister takes custody of Max, Charlie wants to spend one summer with him. Little do they know that this summer Max will find Atom, a sparring robot that will help cement the father-son relationship as they take him to fight the big time.

Hugh Jackman is good as the father who wants to do one thing right in regards to his son; he also has the physique and presence to be great as the ex-boxer turned robot boxer. Evangeline Lilly is fine as Bailey Tallet, the daughter of Charlie's old trainer, and essentially the love interest. The real surprise is the performance from Dakota Goyo. It is a very strong performance from one so young and put me in mind of Hailee Steinfeld's in True Grit; assured, slightly cocky, and more than able to hold his own acting alongside Hugh Jackman. It is very much a role-reversal relationship between Max and Charlie, with Max often telling his Dad what they're going to do, his eye on the big picture rather than Charlie's short-term outlook on life. Dakota is fine with this, his way of dictating to his Dad is never forced, and provides a lot of humour in the film.

The design of the film is also really cool. Rather than go with lots of CG robots, all of them were actually built, leading to a production that is very "realistic". Therefore lots of the robot effects were done in camera, which always looks better than anything post-production, and it gives the actors something to react and respond to, leading to a better performance. Of course a lot of the fights would have CGI, but the option was there to use a "real" robot for the slow or static shots. All of the little gadgets are all nicely designed as well, mobile phones and the controllers for the robots; all are very slick and help to place the film in the future, but not too far.

Essentially this is Rocky, particularly the end fight, with one advantage: everyone is a better actor than Stallone, even the giant robots. A fun film with a great dynamic between the two main characters, great design and a big heart. I enjoyed it much more than expected.

The Prestige (2006)

Exact science, Mr Angier, is not an exact science.

Two magician friends are reaching the climax of their show, when the final act goes horribly wrong resulting in the death of the beautiful assistant. The assistant just happens to be the wife of one of the magicians (Hugh Jackman), and this accident causes irreparable damage to his friendship with his partner Christian Bale. So begins a war of attrition as both magicians try to upstage the other with the newest trick. However, not is all as it seems.

Filmed with typical flair, The Prestige has all the hallmarks of director Chris Nolan. Clever script, non-linear timeline, great cast, beautiful photography, and the feeling that something is not quite right. Nolan favourites, Christian Bale and Michael Caine, are both great with Bale particularly giving a brilliantly accomplished performance, something that he never quite manages in Batman; and Wally Pfister's photography is once again glorious. Hugh Jackman is also great, and displays the kind of screen presence that works so well in the X-men films. David Bowie is a strange choice as the electricity-obsessed scientist Nikola Tesla. His performance is good, and Bowie is enigmatic enough to pull off the role; but he does look like the love-child of Ricky Gervais and David Bowie! Quite disturbing! To add more weird, his assistant is Andy Serkis!

A very enjoyable film, especially knowing next to nothing about it. Chris Nolan continues his ability to craft very intelligent films and get big movie stars to turn in down-to-earth, no-nonsense, yet excellent performances.