Posts tonen met het label John Cena. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label John Cena. Alle posts tonen

zaterdag 10 juni 2023

Movie Review - Fast X

Director:
Louis Letterier
Genre: Action/ Crime/ Adventure
Runtime: 141 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Vin Diesel, Jason Momoa, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Natalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren, Scott Eastwood, Brie Larson
 
Description: Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family are targeted by the vengeful son (Jason Momoa) of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.

Review: Let’s just start by saying that I’ve never been a fan of the “Fast & Furious” series. Cars are not something I’m particularly interested in, the characters I don’t care about and the action gets more and more ridiculous. Can “Fast X” change my mind? NOPE!

Movies that rely on elaborate special effects or 3D experiences are best viewed in a movie theater. The same goes for this film, because visually this movie is stunning. And lots of non-stop action. But that’s as far as I can go with the positives. I truly hated this movie.

In this already tenth installment of the series, Dante Reyes wants revenge on Dom Toretto and his family, for killing his father. He sets up a trap to get them all together and tries to kill them. But Dom fights back.  
The first film was okay, I don’t dislike that, it was about street racing. A cop versus a street racer and they became friends. But as this series has continued, the street races turned into stunt shows, with one car stunt even more ridiculous and over-the-top as the next. It’s like they are trying to make each movie even more implausible than the previous one.

This film series has almost every modern-day action star in it, from Vin Diesel to now Jason Momoa. Call me old school, but I do prefer the Schwarzeneggers and Stallones of this world when it comes to mindless, fun action flicks. An although Vin Diesel is the heart and soul of this franchise, and it’s very clear he puts everything in his role, the rest of the cast I couldn’t care less about (I barely remember the names of these characters, that’s how invested I am).

Jason Momoa is the newest addition to this series, as the villain Dante Reyes. He was the only reason I was a tiny bit excited to see “Fast X”. But even that was ruined. Momoa’s take on his villain role is pretty silly. He feels like a Joker-like villain, a cheerful psychopath. But he made it cartoonish. It kind of felt like a Roadrunner versus Wil E. Coyote cartoon, the way he was going after Dom and his family.
I also got a little tired of those let’s-bring-back-every-character-that-was-ever-in-this-franchise reveals, as some clever surprise that nobody would ever expect.  

I know these movies aren’t supposed to be taken too seriously, they are self-aware and that I can at least appreciate. But overall, “Fast X” is just not a good movie. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s crap, but I honestly can’t take another ‘Fast & Furious” movie. There will be more, for sure. Maybe next they will go to space!

Rating: 2/ 5

maandag 6 mei 2019

10's Movie Review - Bumblebee

Director: Travis Knight
Genre: Action
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendenborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, John Ortiz, Angela Bassett, Peter Cullen, Justin Theroux

Description: On the run in the year of 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

Review: It was 2007 when the first Transformers film came out in theaters. The film was a success, but for the real fans a disappointment. Many sequels followed, but somehow it looked spectacular but there was no depth or any layers. One of the stars from the franchise, Bumblee, gets his own film. And it’s a more authentic Transformers film. The best of them all actually.
We meet Bumblebee, probably one of the most recognizable Transformers aside from Optimus Prime. This story is a prequel, that is set before the first movie. It’s the year 1987 and the movie opens with a battle on Cybertron: Autobots versus the Decepticons. The massive CGI spectacle is limited, luckily. From this moment on, there is an actual story and it does have depth.
The Autobots lose and flee from Cubertron. Bumblebee gets one task from Optimus Prime: hide on planet Earth and wait for back-up. Here we meet Charlie. After her father’s death, she never found her way back and can’t move on. She loves working on cars, because that’s something she did with her dad. When Charlie finds an old yellow Beetle, she tries to hide in her garage. And then she meets Bumblebee.
The story is not spectacular, but there at least is one. It’s mostly focused on Charlie’s connection with Bumblebee. Hailee Steinfeld, who playd Charlie, really does a fantastic job. All the Transformers spectacle is taken back a notch and it gets more personal. It even makes you care about the Transformer.
It’s not a very surprising movie, but that’s not really what a Transformer movie needs. The power is in the little, more human moments of the film. Charlie is a strong leading character and her bond with Bumblebee will really touch you.
“Bumblebee” is the best film in the Transformer universe and I really enjoyed this film. It’s still popcorn entertainment, but with a little bit more depth to it.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

maandag 25 maart 2019

10s Movie Review - Blockers

Director: Kay Cannon
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ramona Young, Gina Gershon, Gary Cole

Description: Three parents try to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night.

Review: Blockers is short for cockblockers, an American term that people use when they want to stop someone from having sex. According to Wikipedia the term became popular due to the movie “Superbad”. And like in “Superbad”, teenagers made a pact to lose their virginity at the end of the school year. In “Blockers” it’s about three girls though and the ‘blockers’ are their parents who try to prevent their daughters to make a mistake.
Julie, Kayla and Sam are three best friends that are about to graduate. Julie decides she wants to use her virginity on prom night, to her boyfriend Austin. Kayla wants to join in and picks her lab partner as her date. Sam wants in, because she feels left out and she is secretly a lesbian. When Julie’s mom and Kayla and Sam’s fathers find out about their ‘sex pact’, they try to stop the girls.
The film has some really funny moments, but it also has some typical juvenile comedy like we are used to in films with this theme. John Cena is actually really funny, as the big sportsfanatic dad with an emotional side. And I also liked Ike Barinholtz. The three parents don’t have a lot of chemistry though.
“Blockers” is more fun then I expected.

Rating: 3/ 5

vrijdag 21 augustus 2015

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 100: Trainwreck

Director: Judd Apatow
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Runtime: 125 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, LeBron James, Tilda Swinton, Vanessa Bayer, John Cena, Ezra Miller, Daniel Radcliffe, Marisa Tomei, Method Man

Description: Having thought that monogamy was never possible, commitment-phobic career woman Amy (Amy Schumer) may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy.

Review: Amy is a writer for a popular magazine. She drinks a lot and sleeps with lots of men, because she doesn’t believe in monogamy. Amy takes care of her father who has MS and is close to her younger sister. When Amy has to write a big article about sports doctor Aaron, she realizes she is falling for him. Can Amy have an actual relationship or not?
Amy Schumer is a very popular comedian and has her own sketch show, “Inside Amy Schumer”. With her friendly face she messes with everyone and makes jokes about booze, sex and especially herself. Schumer writes the show herself and director Judd Apatow noticed that. Schumer wrote “Trainwreck” and Apatow directs. And the story is partially based on Amy’s real life. Besides sharing the name, she is close to her sister and has a dad with MS. The movie version is a younger and more enhanced version of herself.
Schumer does fine in her lead role. Besides the jokes she obviously succeeds in, she is also convincing in the more serious scenes. Bill Hader is a good choice for the love interest. Hader, who is also most known for his comedic performances, creates a very likeable character. Although I do prefer him as the funny guy. Surprising is the role by LeBron James, who plays himself, who is really funny. And also Tilda Swinton, who plays the boss from hell. She is normally a very serious ‘ice queen’, she was seriously hilarious n “Trainwreck”.
Amy Schumer is known for her humor and that it might cross some boundaries. She plays the role that normally a man would play in a movie like this. In “Trainwreck” there are a lot of lines crossed, jokes about sex, tampons, monogamy, penises. The plot is standard and there are lots of conventional romcom clichés present. But Amy Schumer’s character makes it all original, that’s why you’re never bothered by it. Two hours is a bit long for a movie like this though.
“Trainwreck” is a fresh romantic comedy with rising star Amy Schumer. The harsh humor and sometimes improvisation, make this movie to a success.

Rating: 3,5/ 5