- 686
Christian Bale & Hugh Jackman are rival Magicians. Err, thats the plot really. But this is a Christopher Nolan film (Memento) & he really knows how to direct (& bemuse). Theres Michael Caine in there who plays the backstage man & Scarlet Johansen as the eye candy, i mean assisstant.
The 3 main actors (Chrstian, Hug & Michael) are excellent in this. Even if Hugh's accent wavers a bit (bizarrely to american) & even Christian's cockney accent sounds fake for some reason. Michael Caine is just brilliant as always. It's only Scarlett that disappoints. It's not her fault, it's just her part is wasted, all she does is walk, pout & look (VERY) cute. David Bowey is there briefly too, now his accent is odd. I still say he is related to Pierce Brosnan some how.
Now the film. Well it's the opposite of the film i reviewed yesterday (Casino Royale), the 2nd half is alot better than the 1st. The 1st hour is watchable, but not really gripping. But as soon as the 1st clever twist is thrown at you, it picks up. I agree that the it is often not as clever as the director thinks it is. There is a huge bombardment of twists towards the end. Some are very clever, others are not. I mean, one i guessed after about 10 minutes. Basically, its sometimes very clever.
The only thing that bugs me about this film really is that it got such good reviews and there are films out there quite similiar in terms of style & twists. Like Revolver & Lucky Number Slevin are far superior films & yet didn't get anywhere near the reviews this got. And in Revvolver's case it was so clever people slagged it off cause they were thick.
To summarise, you will forget the slightly crap 1st hour as soon as the 2nd hour picks up. Its very good towards the end & am sure there are twists here people won't see coming.
8/10
The 3 main actors (Chrstian, Hug & Michael) are excellent in this. Even if Hugh's accent wavers a bit (bizarrely to american) & even Christian's cockney accent sounds fake for some reason. Michael Caine is just brilliant as always. It's only Scarlett that disappoints. It's not her fault, it's just her part is wasted, all she does is walk, pout & look (VERY) cute. David Bowey is there briefly too, now his accent is odd. I still say he is related to Pierce Brosnan some how.
Now the film. Well it's the opposite of the film i reviewed yesterday (Casino Royale), the 2nd half is alot better than the 1st. The 1st hour is watchable, but not really gripping. But as soon as the 1st clever twist is thrown at you, it picks up. I agree that the it is often not as clever as the director thinks it is. There is a huge bombardment of twists towards the end. Some are very clever, others are not. I mean, one i guessed after about 10 minutes. Basically, its sometimes very clever.
The only thing that bugs me about this film really is that it got such good reviews and there are films out there quite similiar in terms of style & twists. Like Revolver & Lucky Number Slevin are far superior films & yet didn't get anywhere near the reviews this got. And in Revvolver's case it was so clever people slagged it off cause they were thick.
To summarise, you will forget the slightly crap 1st hour as soon as the 2nd hour picks up. Its very good towards the end & am sure there are twists here people won't see coming.
8/10
