Guillermo Del Torro. Hellboy. Loved it. Hellboy 2. Liked it a lot. Pans Labyrinth. Loved it. Blade 2. Enjoyed it a lot. Screenplay for 'The Hobbit' trilogy? Hell yes! He isn't a Spielberg, his IMDB credits don't make you scroll down multiple times. This time it is different. Each of his previous films dabbles with an idea loosely based on history and a fictional, science fiction/ fantasy solution to the problem. I say that this film is different because I felt that it is probably his worst film to date.
For me the name 'Guillermo Del Torro' is equivalent to a very good movie that is either based on a graphic novel or has a strong sense of Historical relevance with a solution that has been hidden from us. Essentially what I am trying to say is that the solutions and heroes that feature in his films could actually be possible. Maybe not the heroes in this film but previously, the idea of secret agents that possess weird and slightly abnormal abilities is becoming more and more possible. The idea of people teaming up in giant suits and protecting us from alien creatures that are bigger than these heroes in giant suits does not, yet, seem realistic. This film is the least 'Del Torro' movie that I have watched and that is probably the reason why I will not be adding it to my collection and re-watching it.
It seemed scripted from start to finish. In this world it is very difficult to create an original screenplay. Every idea that you have is loosely, or not so loosely, based upon a story that you heard or a film that you watched, a book that you read etc. There is almost nothing original about any film, song, book or play anymore. The problem with this film is that- if it had been the first of this type of movie that I had seen I would be thinking that it was a fantastic film., however, it wasn't and I don't because the other films that I listed at the start of the movie were so much better. 'Pacific Rim' has potential but not enough for a series. The action was good but the filler in between was, at times, lacking. When there weren't giant monsters to fight there wasn't really anything to capture your attention and keep you interested. The movies flows but it felt short and this is never a good thing. This is a fairly recent movie (by recent /I mean with the last 10-15 years) and that signals the two hour mark (which in a boring film can feel way too long) and this just seemed to fly though the movie without really taking that much needed pause.
I can't say much about the leads. The acting wasn't bad, it wasn't particularly great either and Idris Elba was not good in his role. This guy is great with anger and not so great with anything else. When he isn't angry he turns in to an emotionless robot. The hair cut and the moustache did not work for him either. This wasn't a good fit for him and he in turn needs to look at his character here and work out how to draw things from it. Even when he was supposed to be emotional in a controlled way the look wasn't there, the eyes that normally accompany were missing. He can do better.
I haven't even heard of Charlie Hunnam which is saying a lot because even if I don't recognise the name I can normally associate the face with a movie. I couldn't. Judging from his performance in this movie I can see why I don't know his name. It's not one that I am likely to remember. If I were playing his character I would be more stubborn and more emotional than he was. He was destined to be the hero and at times he acted like it but he acted too much like a soldier and not enough like a guy who considers himself responsible for his brothers death. This character did not exist. In a movie, for the audience to be unable to connect to the character is a sign of a bad movie. Sometimes, if the character is poorly written then you as the actor need to take more responsibility for the character, like Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow. They hated the way that he played the role but the rest of the world loved it. Be brave- even good directors can be wrong.
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