Film Reviews - AvPGalaxy's Own Critics!

[Hubbs]

Derailed (2005)

So I was gonna watch the JCVD thriller called 'Derailed' but after the first five minutes I realised I had the wrong film haha so I stuck with this despite Aniston being involved.

Honestly I was pleasantly surprised with this thriller, you don't think its a thriller and you don't see the quite decent twist in the plot, but its actually pretty good. I won't go into the plot for fear of spoiling it but its all about double cross, setups, scams...basically naughty lying laced with blackmail.

Bottom line the film is carried by an excellent performance from Cassel who is really quite evil looking and convincingly aggressive. His scrawny frame is deceiving as is his change in character to get into Owen's life which gives him the kind of presence that sends shivers down your spine, the fact that he won't stop makes him nasty and scary.

Owen does a good job as the husband in dire straits as he battles against the demands of Cassel's character, he looks the everyman and plays it well. Unfortunately Aniston simply cannot shake her comedic background and just cannot convey a decent performance in drama as far as I'm concerned, she just isn't convincing, purely a TV actor period.

For some reason someone thought the casting of 'Xzibit' and 'RZA' was a good move for this film, errrr no, they add nothing in their roles and I don't understand why they were even considered when simple more toned down characters would have been better. And can someone explain to me whenever these 'musicians' are cast in films the end credits always seem to role with a lame rap song? is that part of their deal or something!? completely wrong choice of music for the end credits here, totally ruins the feel.

From a slow start which feels like its gonna be crap to a pretty good thriller which does get you involved as the plot gets deeper. I didn't see the plot U-turn and it really makes things interesting as you root for Owen's character, before that its a little annoying as you tend to blame Aniston for his ever mounting problems but after the twist you see why.

[Hubbs]

Paycheck (2003)

Another classic Philip K. Dick story is brought to the big screen only this time its been 'Woo'd'. To be very very honest this is pretty much a poor mans 'Minority Report' with a bad cast, accept for the big chinned Eckhart, why this short story has not been given the same care as 'MR' I don't know.

The film plays out with Affleck (yes -_-) as a 'reverse engineer' who...actually I still have no idea really what he is suppose to do in his role, all I know is it involves having his memory wiped after he's done each job but this time he has been used and set up by the evil Eckhart.

Cue allot of running around, guns blazing everywhere, your typical Woo car/motorbike chase with standard silly slow motion stunts and of course your typical standard Woo point blank face off...or Mexican standoff. The concept for the film is pretty neat, not totally original in today's film world but it has promise, unfortunately like 'M.I.2' Woo was totally the wrong director for such a decent sci-fi story.
The whole thing looks bad, especially during the finale which looks like its been filmed on a set from the 60's Batman TV show, plus the acting is poor and hammy from almost everyone. Its all too predictable and quite simply its been done allot better with other films.

[Hubbs]

The Mummy (1999)

After many many different ideas and approaches a final concept was agreed upon and this franchise was kick started, note...I really will try not to mention Indiana Jones too much.

A very loose 'remake' of the classic Karloff horror film this was completely re-imagined and given the 'Indy' treatment with minor horror aspects. To be honest the film is actually a little scary in places with a few jump moments, bugs eating people and getting under their skin and lots of decaying mummies with good close ups, like 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' the film achieves the family adventure status despite actually being close to the bone here and there.

The film of course had dated now and the effects that were break through for the day now look pretty dreadful in places, the cgi on the main mummy is dire, bluescreen work is obvious, sets are obvious and the sand effects also look poor. This is of course looking at the effects now, as I said back in the day they were pretty neato, the best examples that still actually look good today are probably at the finale battle with a group of Egyptian mummy soldiers and some real time models, suits and makeup, the severed forearm crawling for the sword is a good 'Evil Dead' moment.

I always did hate the way Imhotep turned into a mini sand tornado for his vanishing act and kinda flew out the window, really nasty video game effects and idea there, looked dumb then...looks dumb now.

The plot is cheesy and simple as are most of the performances, you can easily tell who's gonna die right from the start because most of the character actors here are the usual cannon/monster fodder in other films. I know the film is suppose to be a kind of homage to B-movies and those old daring black and white adventure matinee flicks but the cast do really give the film a rough n ready feel, its almost as if they couldn't attract anyone else. Everyone is pretty well cliched to the hilt here with your toff sounding British accents, trigger happy yanks, the horrendous Kevin J. O'Connor, the odd but well cast Vosloo who plays it deadly straight and a nice little turn for British comedian Omid Djalili in a rather stereotyped role.

Its definitely one of if not the best period adventure type flicks that can hold a candle to old Indiana Jones, the only other few films that can challenge 'Dr Jones' in my opinion are 'The Rocketeer' which would be a flying Indy hehe and probably 'The Phantom' and 'The Shadow'. Looking back is was a good fun ride, nowadays its still fun but more like a bad video game of sorts. I think they tried too hard and went over the top with all the guns, stunts and stuck in too much slapstick, sure it was meant to be a blockbuster (and that's its problem really) but less is more right.



The Mummy Returns (2001)

The one thing I can say about this sequel straight away is kudos for the continuity, Sommers has managed to gather all the original cast to carry on and this does wonders for an otherwise very average film. Usually you tend to see the odd character played by someone else which always looks poor in my eyes.

Any who we kick off again with more nasty villains after treasure and power which we all know will end in tears...and probably some kind of horrible face melting death, there I go with my 'Indy' comparisons again. This time we have the combination of Imhotep back for more punishment with his reincarnated love, the Scorpion King which doesn't really serve much purpose other than to give 'The Pebble'....I mean 'The Rock' a spin off franchise and a small group of nasty well spoken cads led by British thesp Alun Armstrong.

The main problem with this follow up is thus, they gave the now happily married heroes a son as baggage, this of course automatically equals a much kiddie friendly film with allot more slapstick, dumb humour and much much less horror. Of course the first film did very well so you can't blame them for opening up the film for an even wider audience but of course they lose allot of integrity and faith from the more mature fans. I should really point out that they take the Indy comparisons a bit too far by actually dressing all the villains henchmen in the same type of costumes as in 'Temple of Doom'....really that was the last Indy thing I swear.

The entire film is much more of a cgi show this time around, that wouldn't be an issue but the cgi really has not dated well, even less so than the original film, hell even at the time this cgi wasn't too good. Add to this allot more over the top action which becomes too silly, terrible bluescreen shots, a laughable effort at a cgi scorpion cross 'The Rock' monster and almost the same sequences shot for shot from the first film in places...did I mention the horrific cgi?

Yes you get what you pay for here, you want more ludicrous mummy blasting action? you got it, you want action figure characters all dressed in desert coloured attire spouting the most idiotic, state the obvious exposition dialog? look no further. Unfortunately like many blockbuster sequels they just get carried away and completely lose your suspension of disbelief. Can't complain too much as you know exactly what to expect from this and it doesn't pretend to be anything else, personally I think it was just a poor glossy rehash which is more cartoon than film. The final 20min as the action all comes together is one of the biggest cgi messes I've seen ever, everything looks really very clearly artificial, but hey the Egypt setting was an enjoyable ride.



The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Probably the best film of the trilogy in my opinion, the first was a nice idea but they tried too hard, the second felt like a complete rehash with terrible effects but this is quite a fun romp. Its very silly (having abominable snowmen help out at one point and a rather daft plane crash sequence) and over the top, but the likeable Fraser and classic boy's own adventure style really shines through. The cgi is really smart in this film, its very good, crisp and realistic (accept for a dodgy dragon transformation sequence).

I must admit you do get an 'Indy' shiver down your back (duh!) maybe we have seen this all before, especially the predictable story line involving father n son action and even a hint at Peru for another possible story, Indy went to South America didn't he hehe. Did I mention Indy there again? no no no no no...well maybe yes, it can't be helped, really it can't!

The setting in China adds a nice or different type of mystical feel, another countries mummies and history well explored, and a touch of class which you always seem to get when a film is set in the East, the landscapes look awesome in the final battle scenario also.
The final 20mins of the film are really good, really takes the film up a notch, excellent use of cgi for some epic army visuals and some great magic and monster fun.

Better than the lame 'National Treasure' films and a darn good Indy style flick in my personal opinion...I know everyone hated this.

[Hubbs]

The Scorpion King (2002)

So oddly enough this character was actually loosely based on a real Egyptian leader which does make things a little more interesting, not a franchise saver by any means but its cool to read up on it. This spin off is set 5000 years before the events of 'The Mummy' which does seem rather a long time to me.

Great title, slightly dull execution, we all knew what to expect here, Johnson running around half naked killing endless enemies with no apparent fighting skills. I will be completely truthful here and say this film isn't too bad, if you squint at it its almost pretty good, the fights are solid along with the stunts, cast does the job for the type of film this is and more importantly it actually looks good without any silly cgi to spoil the broth.

If you took out the historical setting you could quite easily say this was a sequel/prequel to the 'Conan' franchise really, its your basic swords n sorcery fantasy just without any monsters, its better than the recent official Conan effort. So yeah...this is not too bad, Kelly Hu looks lovely and Johnson is clearly learning the ropes showing promise.



The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008)

Right now this is a prequel to the first Scorpion King film showing 'Mathayus' as a young lad and up n coming warrior. The lead for this film is a guy called Michael Copon and to be honest he does actually look like a young Johnson, credit where credits due the guy does pull off a reasonable young Johnson.

The same cannot be said for the dreadful Couture who can't act to save his life, the guy is a meat head and should only be used for fight sequences with his stature, why anyone would wanna use him for a speaking role is beyond me. The rest of the cast aren't too bad with a sexy young female, an intellectual Greek poet, a Chinese acrobat and a few mercs, quite a cute little band in a 'D&D' or 'LOTR' type way.

There are still some reasonably high production values here as the film just about looks OK, there is a battle against a Minotaur which could have been worse but has some good editing and a foray into the underworld which has some nice visuals. The finale is rather flat and does have a nasty cgi scorpion to deal with but overall I have seen much worse (this chapter is a bit more mythological), it still could have been much better of course, dealing with a young Scorpion King is good material to be mined but we have what we have.



The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)

I don't get Ron Perlman I really don't, the guy is a pretty big Hollywood star yet he still takes jobs like this! I know he does act in allot of cheap sci-fi/fantasy and some of it can be good cult stuff but surely he could see how bad this was gonna be.

So this is now the sequel to the first film as we follow an older 'Mathayus' as events lead up towards what would happen before 'The Mummy 2'. Usual appearance for the film of course but its notably cheaper looking with lots of really bad background extras hehe if you watch the battles (of which there are many) most of them haven't a clue what they are doing.

The plot is all jumbled up and dull, its all about over throwing this king or that king and getting another for assistance or whatever...I dunno really, I wasn't sure who is wanting what but all you need to know is everything looks cheap, even the fights don't look convincing.

I just find it hard to believe they even got the well spoken Billy Zane and Temuera Morrison in this! Morrison does actually look the part with his shaven head and Zane as always injects some humour into the proceedings which is probably the best thing in the film, the Scorpion King is played by some guy I have never heard of.

Its all terrible, pretty wooden, obvious shell sets, a big fat oaf sidekick character because its funny when he burps apparently and some dubious Mortal Kombat style magical characters at the end, I was not amused.

[Hubbs]

Death Trance (JAP, 2005)

An apocalyptic samurai, ninja, sci-fi western fantasy with characters that wouldn't look out of place in Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat and various other Japanese RPG videogames, that is how I can best describe this eye popping flick, odd title though.

The main star here is again the ultra cool Tak Sakaguchi, here in a kind of supernatural samurai mode as a mythic character who drags a coffin behind him everywhere he goes (and an odd little girl in your typical Japanese 'The Ring' spooky fashion) as he basically slaughters all who stand before him. His name is 'Grave' and he searches for the ultimate battle....rock on that!

This film is pretty similar to 'Versus' in the location (a forest), it stars Tak as some kind of super hero again and the fact the story is really quite bizarre and makes no real sense, plus it appears to be in a place and time that don't exist. So basically Tak has nicked the coffin from a temple and is taking it to a spot in the forest so it can grant him anything he wants...it seems the coffin can do this. Or does it? a monk is also after Tak and the coffin to stop it being opened and releasing the Goddess of destruction who will kick start an apocalypse...that's not a good thing. The monk is aided by...wait for it...Steven Seagal Jr. yep that's right, or his real name Kentaro Seagal (sounds like a Mortal Kombat character), all of them battle bandits and non human creatures to reach their respective goals.

The film is fast and furious with fights breaking out all over the show and many of them being...well kinda average actually. Most seem too frantic and you can see the hits aren't making contact, also to be honest Tak isn't really a well built guy, he's cool but he doesn't really come across as tough and never really looks like he could really be whipping hordes of bad guys endlessly.

The look of the film is really what sets this apart, all the costumes are a kind of cross between traditional Japanese period wear with 'Mad Max', 'Water World', 'Conan', 'Krull' and many other fantasy type films throw in, it all looks highly stylish. Add to this a complete 'Army of Darkness' approach to the dark humour, camera work, extreme supernatural entities and wickedly evil looking weapons which do also include a kind of samurai 'boomstick' hehe.

Put it this way, the director of this film is Yuji Shimomura and he was the action director for 'Versus' (eh eh...you see, you see I came full circle there) and Devil May Cry 3 so I think you can get the gist of what I'm trying to explain here, the film is pretty much an explosive visual videogame. Its probably better than 'Versus' in my personal view as I reeeally didn't follow that a tall haha this is easier to follow plus it looks ace. I dunno why but the Japanese are just good at this kind of stuff, had this been a Hollywood flick with the usual overpaid names it would have been trash.

[Hubbs]

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Black horror comedy for teens starring Megan Fox? indeed. Ooook first problem here is the fact this film is rated R, so teens can't see it, at least young teens who lust after celebs like this and adults will find this complete and utter poo soooooo......

Plot is utterly utterly inept and simply revolves around a rock band sacrificing a vacuous Fox to the devil so they can become rich n famous, yes that's what I just typed...believe it. Turns out Fox isn't a virgin (ahem) so when the guys kill her she somehow becomes possessed by a demon (why?) who just happens to need flesh and blood to survive, dumb teen flesh and blood, not adults just teens, cue the 'horror'.

It ain't scary and it ain't funny, its just laaaaaame lame lame with Fox being really annoying because the film is clearly made to advertise her as the sexiest female around, she ain't. Acting is poor, effects are minimal and poor, you don't actually see anything gory and its completely pointless. Fox looks no where near as hot as in 'Transformers' because she isn't covered in a thick layer of orange tan makeup, so instead she looks normal, ergo not as hot as we all thought.

Can't see anyone liking this unless your a male under the age of 15 and that's only because there is some weak ass 'seduction' scenes and a tiny bit of lesbian kissing.

[Alienseseses]

My problem with Jennifer's Body is that it promises a kick-ass transformation from geeky girl to badass in prison, but instead, explains that away as

Spoiler

a side effect of being bitten by a demon.

[close]

I wanted to see a character arc.

[Hubbs]

Excalibur (1981)

Set in the wilds of Ireland and with a pretty full cast of Irish actors which set in motion the careers of both Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne whilst also utilizing some classic/cult British names for spice.

Like Robin Hood there are many stories of the legendary King Arthur and his Knights of the round table but this film is probably the most accurate in terms of an adaptation from original writings. This film is based around the tales from Le Morte d'Arthur and seems to follow each 'segment' quite closely (haven't read it so I'm not sure).

The overall essence of this film is like a fairytale of sorts, a kind of slightly cheesy shiny armoured fantasy with glittery sets, soft colours, strong religious/iconic imagery and a Clannad vibe running through it. The film reminded me of the classic British TV series 'Robin of Sherwood' which also starred the dastardly Robert Addie and the classic British fantasy film 'Krull', I think the latter took inspiration from the look of 'Excalibur'.

The design and look of this film is really very good, its clearly rather dated but it still has a high polish to it and looks quite epic. The locations are really well used and do give an impression of old medieval England and the costumes all make the sale. Of course this being the 80's the armour does look a bit fake, plastic and too shiny in places, there is a kind of music video feel to the proceedings in places haha some sets look a bit too sparkly, some characters have some dubious haircuts and to be utterly honest the acting/dialog is pretty hilarious in places but you can't deny the effort and scope of this historical fantasy.

This being in the days before cgi and when historical epics were all the rage the battle sequences here are small with some blood and minimal gore. You can easily tell they didn't have allot of people to make grand battles so clever editing is used with lots of darkness and fog hehe luckily Old England was a foggy place...or so I've been led to believe. The other slightly amusing thing was the soundtrack, there was original work here but the use of classical pieces slapped on top of key moments didn't really work. The combination of certain scenes and certain pieces of music felt very rickety and really did seem crowbarred in badly, you can see what the director was going for but it comes off more like something out of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.

The plot is straight forward and it doesn't get dull despite the heavy romance of the tales, the film is rich and vivid in design and imagery giving the whole production much flare and class which works brilliantly because you know these were the days when everything was hand crafted. The film is a cult classic with a powerful poster that demands your attention, oh and Nicol Williamson as 'Merlin' is also another good reason to view with his unique quirky take on the character spouting some glorious moments, 'oh that's grand'.

High Spirits (1988)

So I'm betting this is a Neil Jordan film many haven't come across, a classically 80's production with a mix of your most well known 80's stars and some soon to be major stars. 80's golden boy Guttenberg is the lead here, alongside him are Beverly D'Angelo, Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Tilly, Peter Gallagher and Martin Ferrero, not forgetting British legends Peter O'Toole and Liz Smith with 'Fawlty Towers' star Connie Booth and Hollywood megastar Liam Neeson, hows that for a cast line up.

The film is pretty spooktacular in a quirky 'Beetljuice' type fashion, crammed packed full of fun effects that admittedly now look pretty ropey but definitely part of the charm. Glorious location with the real Irish Dromore Castle as the backdrop and a plot that focuses on Ireland's ghostly folklore in a family fun 'Addams Family' way. Some sequences are actually a little eerie though, the nuns with 'Jawa' like eyes, skeletal spectres flying around, various shots of the castle from afar and some nice interior corridor/room work makes you feel in the mood

Lots of hokey set/model work which still just about works, some really nice corpse makeup in places, a good kooky soundtrack befitting Ireland and the supernatural element plus the odd good chuckle. Think of this as a slightly more grown up version of 'The Haunted Mansion', a nice sweet film with Daryl Hannah looking her best.

[Hubbs]

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Probably Myers greatest creation which managed to eclipse 'Wayne's World' in terms of money made and cultural influences, the first film did well but this second outing did even better.

So we know the score with 'Powers', we know what its all about and this film merely doubles on that and goes balls out for a greater Bond spoof than before. Everything in this is almost a cultural reference to something, there are many in-jokes and clever gags which some young viewers may not catch, despite the incredible amount of lunacy involved the film is actually very sharp and witty.

Personally I'm not really a fan of Myers so you may think its crazy to watch a film where he plays all the lead roles, well yes..your right, but I must admit to having a guilty pleasure in watching 'Dr Evil' crack the whip and spew some excellent verbal. For me its all about 'Dr Evil', without this one creation I wouldn't be interested and luckily you get plenty of him here.
Myers limit is exposed in my opinion here as he literately shows us all he can do...childish spoofery (as we all know with 'WW') and a Scottish accent...and that's pretty much it. We know this because he uses his only other skill (Scottish accent) for 'Shrek'...which is also a spoof. I think if it isn't a spoof or doesn't involve his favourite accent he's pretty much screwed.

Also gotta be honest with the fact this second film isn't tooooo different from the first film, the first was fresh but this does seem a tad repetitive, probably why we got 'Mini Me' so 'Dr Evil' had more to go with. Its still darn funny in places and with continuity kept up with all major characters returning with original cast and everything looks as you would expect but is obviously boosted up thanks to the success from the original.

The whole film has that kind of trashy cheap B-movie look which also in-turn does have that kind of expensive trashy cheap B-movie look hehe but it does work, kinda like 'The Naked Gun'. Overall its just more of the zany Bond spoofery with a hint of added grown up humour which does make it more appealing over the first, less childish slapstick and more sn***ering silliness for childish adults

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Never mind the 60's the 90's are dated enough jez! this film brings back so many memories of my teen years and how this film really made an impact on those times, not me...just the time.

So apart from bad personal memories what else does this film offer? well actually its pretty good and probably one of the best Bond spoofs/parodies you will see. With a wide range of Bond films spoofed it covers all the regular cliched bases, all the set ups, costumes, plot ideals that you would expect from Bond plus allot of clever smutty humour hehe.
Actually Myers does really well with the whole British comedy thing, he does nail or encapsulate the genre very well, you could almost say its a modern 'Carry On' film.

Seeing as this is the first film its not quite as good as the second for me, everything is obviously being set up with characters etc...and the abundance of cameos was slightly worrying at first, kinda assumed it would be a mass celebrity ego trip but surprisingly it all adds to the fun quite nicely. The small cameos by Lowe and Ferrell are good (and fast) but the brief Tom Arnold cameo was probably the best if you like blatant toilet humour.

Hard to tell who this is aimed at really as there is much slapstick and childish humour but also some knife edge stuff also, lots of sexually visual gags and naughty names which are very suggestive but admittedly smile inducing
A much more easier character to get on with than 'Wayne Campbell' of 'Wayne's World' and a more universal concept methinks. Every possible stereotype is lanced, all costumes, sets, music, vehicles etc...are correctly presented as this juggernaut of the 60's era steams along with some crazy wild vintage kitsch and a performance from Myers that Carrey would envy.

[Hubbs]

Lost in Space (1998)

Hey you remember Matt LeBlanc? he was in 'Friends' for virtually the entire of the 90's and just like Jennifer Aniston he simply can't shake his 'Friends' persona, yes...him -_-

So this is an adaptation of the rather lame US TV series of the same name which always kinda seemed like a rip off of 'Star Trek' with kids. Being you typical 90's action flick the film is chock full of terrible cgi from a really nasty looking space alien monkey thing to lots of shockingly bad looking light/space effects.
There is a combination of model work which in places does look reasonable but alas most other areas of the film such as the sets are really poor and rubbery in appearance, whilst costumes are merely dull and unoriginal.

The plot is a complete jumbled jigsaw of a mess involving the age old notion of time travel, unfortunately you really have to have a tight plot to pull this off annnnd this doesn't. You don't care about any of the characters down to stale acting, Lacey Chabert looks as if she's been swimming the whole time and is oddly quite sexy with her squeaky voice, she was 16 at the time I believe, should I be locked up?. Even Hurt can't inject quality into this pantomime, Oldman fares somewhat better but there really isn't anything he could of done.

The original series was camp family space age fun so of course the film was never gonna be serious sci-fi but clearly they wanted it to be semi serious. This was the problem because the whole thing is basically a cartoon or as I like to think of it 'Batman and Robin' in space...with Matt LeBlanc who was clearly added to capitalize on his moment in the limelight. Just another attempted fast food franchise rolled off the Hollywood factory line, badly conceived, poorly made and vanished into obscurity.

Double Dragon (1994)

Set in the future of 2007 hehe well I didn't think it would happen, why do all these poor adaptations get set in post apocalyptic futures where gangs roam the streets in outfits you wore under the age of 15?

Again your typical 90's trash that went straight to the video shop and didn't even pass go, its called 'Double Dragon' but bares no resemblance to the videogame what so ever accept for character names and the fact the brothers 'fight' against various punks.

The film is pretty much like the first 'TMNT' film albeit a very bad version, its completely aimed at kids so everything is watered down to a babyish level which inturn comes off as hilarious. Like other kids action films of the time its all very colourful and quite imaginative but its so utterly pointless, action sequences are clearly added simply to make the film more 'exciting' when really you wouldn't miss them if they weren't there, point...less.

All characters are totally cliched and all look ridiculous in their costumes/face paint, your typical post apocalyptic gangs of punks dressed in horribly retro 80/90's fashions. Robert Patrick must have suspected this was gonna be a big blockbuster otherwise I'm sure he wouldn't have signed on for this, mind you the casting of B-movie action star regular Dacascos should of given him a hint.

This just feels completely not needed, un-required, no point in creating in the slightest. Its like they have a videogame that is/was popular so they just had to throw out a film of it no matter how it turned out, just to capitalise on the franchise, they just couldn't help themselves, and what has it achieved? absolutely zip.

[Xenokiller]

Does anyone other then Hubbs post reviews here anymore? 

[Shasvre]

I think most people just post in the Last Movie You Watched thread.

[coolbreeze]

I think most people just post in the Last Movie You Watched thread.

That's where I go for film reviews. 

[TheMonolith]

Does anyone other then Hubbs post reviews here anymore? 

I do sometimes when I really want to go in depth. School has swamped me a bit though and I am trying to get back into other sections of the forum.

[Hubbs]

I think this thread is better for indepth reviews as Monolith said, 'last movie' is more for a quick mention.

The King of Fighters (2010)

You can't expect this to be really closely based on the popular SNK fighter as we all know how these type of films fare and this is no different frankly.

With a small selection of characters from the game and an overly convoluted plot this film feels way too bogged down with mindless dialog and not much fighting. Game franchises like this tend to have rather silly overblown stories behind their characters which tend not to make much sense or have any proper continuity, I give you 'Street Fighter'. This film is a let down as the creators have tried to encompass as much back story as possible but all that ends up doing is boring and confusing you with endless Japanese sounding names, places and objects which mean nothing unless you are a fanboy.

The fighting is pretty limp really and that's the killer blow, Ray Park growls and snarls his way through the film as the main bad guy and to be honest he looks the part..but that's it. The rest of the cast are nobodies accept for the overrated Maggie Q and there isn't really anything of interest to comment on.

Unoriginal fights, dull costumes, uninspired effects (what little there was) and some bad looking sets all make this a poor waste of your time. Its not horrific as was 'Street Fighter', much better than 'Double Dragon' (not hard) but nowhere near as fun as 'MK' and even 'Tekken' had some reasonably fun fights with the pretty boy cheese meister Luke Goss. Main problem here is they tried to make it way too seriously and it just doesn't work basically.