00s Movie Review - The Great Debaters

Director: Denzel Washington
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker, Kimberly Pearl, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Gina Ravera

Description: Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) is a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school’s first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Review: “The Great Debaters” is a very nice film about the emancipation of the black community in the US. It’s about racial inequality in schools (and society) in the 1930s.

Denzel Washington plays teacher Melvin Tolson, who inspires students to start the first debate team, eventually challenging Harvard University.

Denzel Washington is a fantastic actor, but also directed “The Great Debaters”. He proved earlier with “Antwone Fisher” that he is capable of directing a good film. And he shows it again with “The Great Debaters”.

Overall, “The Great Debaters” is an inspirational story, well-told and performed. A film I believe many people have not seen yet.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

80s Movie Review - Good Morning, Vietnam

Director: Barry levinson
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Runtime: 121 minutes
Year: 1987
Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, J.T. Walsh, Bruno Kirby

Description: In 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) begins to shake up things, when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 30: A MOVIE RECOMMENDED BY YOUR DAD
 
Review: “Goooooooooood Morning Vietnam”, those are the words DJ Adrian Cronauer starts his radio show with, while being assigned to the U.S. Armed Service radio in Vietnam. The people listening to his how, love him. His superiors not so much.

Fans of Robin Williams will have a blas with “Good Morning, Vietnam”.  The actors is especially in the first half of the film, in top form with a lightning-fast succession of jokes that he makes up on the spot. If you’re not a fan of Williams, you won’t like this movie, since Williams is the heart and soul of “Good Morning, Vietnam”. I especially loved how a film set during a war, is lighthearted at times. It doesn’t shy away from the heavy imagery or topics either.

I really loved “Good Morning, Vietnam”, realizing again what a treasure Robin Williams was.

Rating: 4/ 5

00s Movie Review - Street Kings

Director: David Ayer
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime/ Action
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2008
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Common, Amaury Nolasco, Naomie Harris, Terry Crews, Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr, John Corbett

Description: An undercover cop (Keanu Reeves), disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer (Terry Crews) and must struggle to clear himself.

Review: Detective Tom Ludlow has a bad reputation when it comes to doing police work by the book. Ludlow’s motto is: shoot first, ask questions later. Even in his latest case, in which he managed to save two girls, the suspects don’t live to tell the tale. Fortunately, Ludlow can count on the protection of his superior, Captain Jack Wander. But then it turns out that Ludlow’s former partner, Detective Terrence Washington, is planning to rat him out. That could cost Ludlow his job. And so he takes matters into his own hands an decides to teach Washington a lesson. The Washington gets involved in a brutal crime and the trouble truly begins. Captain James Biggs smells trouble and starts investigating Ludlow.  
Two things really spoke to me: the script was co-written bij James Ellroy, whom we now as the writer of “L.A. Confidential”. Second, the great cast, including solid actors such as Forest Whitaker, Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie and Chris Evans.
The tension and intrigue builds nicely as Ludlow gets further and further into trouble, with some really strong action scenes. The film has a twist, but it’s not very surprising or original. And because some characters we don’t really get to know very well, their personality changes seem a bit implausible.
The acting, however, is very solid. Whitaker in particular. The visual aspect of the film is also strong, a good visualization of South Central L.A.
“Street Kings” is a solid police thriller, that sadly had to suffer the obligatory plot twist. But overall, it’s a good film that never loses your attention.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Burden

Director: Andrew Heckler
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 118 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker, Tom Wilkinson Andrea Riseborough, Usher Raymond

Description: When a museum celebrating the Ku Klux Klan opens in a South Caroline town, the idealistic Reverend Kennedy (Forest Whitaker) strives to keep the peace even as he urges the group’s Grand Dragon to disavow his racist past.

Review: In its opening scene, “Burden” introduces a group of white men of low economic status from South Carolina who could be condescendingly called ‘rednecks’. But judging them from these opening scenes, there is no need to use such an insulting term. Main character Mike Burden, for example, seems like quite a fit guy. When he comes to single mother Judy’s house for work to confiscate things because of the debts her ex-husband has left her with, Mike manages to arrange for her to keep the television so that her young son can continue to watch his beloved NASCAR races. And in an old vacant movie theater building, Mike and his friends cheerfully set about doing something new with it. Hard workers, nothing to look down on. And then suddenly it is revealed what they have established here: the Ku Klux Klan museum.
Because yes, evidently these men have no qualms about calling themselves rednecks. And the new function of the building implies that they don’t shy away from equally offensive terms for people of other ethnicities either. Their interest in the Ku Klux Klan, by the way, goes beyond a hobby, because at night they stand with conviction under white hoods burning crosses. The local black community did not let this provocation pass and , under the leadership of the activist Reverend Kennedy, begin a peaceful yet loud protest. The museum’s operators respond with what appears to be a southern kindness, but when the situation seems to escalate, Mike is immediately positioned with a loaded rifle on the roof of the museum to shoot the black pastor when needed.
Despite his involvement in this hateful club, Mike’s good nature ensures that he gets a relationship with the aforementioned Judy, for whose son he proves to be a remarkably suitable father figure. This does not mean, however, that Judy out of love turns a blind eye to Mikes racist activities. When his surrogate father and local Klan leader thinks to liven up a dinner with a racist joke, she immediately leaves the table. It is typical of her character: no lifted finger, but also no patience for other’s people’s nonsense. Judy is from the same region as Mike and his friends, but she absolutely does not consider herself better than her black fellow man and she dares to say so openly. In principle, that should be admirable, but probably few would blame this penniless single mother in rural South Carolina in 1996 if she took Mike’s ideas for granted.
Judy, then, serves as the key figure of “Burden”, setting in motion a development in Mike. It is clever how this is done by staying close to the events that inspired the film, instead of falling back on easy script tricks. For example, it would have been extremely easy to make Judy a black woman or give her a child that she had with a black man. Instead, she belons to the same group of people as Mike, that the KKK claims to stand up for. Her aversion to the ideas of Mikes company thus does not stem from a personal agenda; she is simply a good person. And despite her misfortune, she does not choose the path of least resistance but instead presents Mike with a choice: get out of the Klan or get out of my house. Fortunately, he makes the right decision. This all makes Judy the best character in the film, without a doubt.
With that, “Burden” already seems to have reached its happy ending halfway, but the film goes on for a while. For the right choice turns out to have a high price. In retaliation for his ‘betrayal’ the Klan turns Mike and Judy’s lives upside down in such a way that in no time they are jobless and homeless. However, they get help from an unexpected source: the aforementioned black minister Kennedy. He gets the chance to put his oft preached forgiveness into practice, but taking in a former Klan member with the necessary misdeeds on his record, gets him absolutely no sympathy in the black community. Once again, making the right choice doesn’t necessarily make a life easier.
With his debut as writer and director, Andrew Heckler makes a remarkably good first impression. “Burden” is a pleasantly enervating film, with enough surprises to keep one’s attention. Unfortunately, it ends with a rather clumsy activist appeal. While Forest Whitaker and Tom Wilkinson are the big names in this film, it’s Garret Hedlund and Andrea Riseborough as the central couple who make the most impact, with Riseborough being the absolute star as Judy. A classically trained British actress playing a southern women of low income rarely works out well, but Riseborough proves that she can completely disappear into a role.
“Burden” is definitely a film you should check out.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

10s Movie Review - The Experiment

Director: Paul Scheuring
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2010
Starring: Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet, Clifton Collins Jr., Ethan Cohn, Fisher Stevens, Travis Fimmel, David Banner, Jason Lew, Damien Leake, Maggie Grace

Description: 26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.

Review: The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological research that took place in August 1971. The research was led by Philip Zimbardo, psychologist and professor at Stanford University. Zimbardo wanted to investigate to what extent character traits influences the interaction between prisoners and guards. Zimbardo himself played the role of director. The ‘guards’ were given clothes that matched their status, as well as a police bat they were allowed to use. The ‘prisoners’ were given prison clothes and ankle cuffs, and their names were replaced by numbers.  
There were all kinds of rules the prisoners had to follow, the guards were allowed to use disciplinary measures, as long as they did not become violent. The test subjects were much more absorbed in their roles than Zimbardo expected, and a large number of guards showed sadistic traits. Even Zimbardo got carried away in his role as prison warden.
“The Experiment” remains partly faithful to the original experiment, and emphasizes the power and sadism the guards displayed. The main roles are played by Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker. Brody is a pacifist who, as a prisoner, is forced to revise his pacifist ideas and Whitaker plays an apparently gentle man who soon turns out to be loving the power he gets.
The shaving of a rebellious prisoner “The Experiment”, just like “Das Experiment”, is based on the book Black Box by German writer Mario Giordano, but the effect is totally different. Hirschbiegel’s film is sibtly constructed, with a lot of attention for character development. The American film adaptation of Paul Scheuring looks more like an episode of “Prison Break”, and that’s not totally strange, since Scheuring is the big man behind the TV series. From the beginning “The Experiment” comes across as rather raw, and the film also goes beyond the original experiment. Personally I think this is a weakness, because Zimbardo’s experiment is interesting enough even without excessive violence.
Although the effect of the story is disappointing, the acting is good, especially Whitaker is sublime. Unfortunately, the script limits the actors in their possibilities and some characters are not given enough attention. For example, the romantic subplot is only partially worked out in the film, making the role of Maggie Grace irrelevant.
I wasn’t impressed by “The Experiment”.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

 

00s Movie Review - Panic Room

Director: David Fincher
Genre: Thriller/ Crime/ Drama
Runtime: 112 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 41: A MOVIE MADE BY DAVID FINCHER

Description: A divorced woman (Jodie Foster) and her diabetic daughter (Kristen Stewart) take refuge in their newly-purchased house’s panic room, when three men break-in, searching for a missing fortune.

Review: Meg Altman, recently divorced from the rich Stephen, moves into a new house with her daughter Sarah. It is a beautiful building; three floors, hardwood floors, an elevator and… a very special room. The previous owner was a paranoid rich guy who had a shelter build, a so-called panic room. This room has concrete walls with thick steel plates, its own telephone circuit, an intercom system with security cameras and enough supplies to survive a small war. On their first night in the house, Meg and Sarah go to sleep quietly while a big thunderstorm rages outside. They don’t realize that three burglars are accessing their house. The intruders didn’t expect anyone to have inhabited the house, so they are just as surprised. Just in the nick of time Meg and Sarah manage to escape into the panic room, closing themselves in. Meg did forget to connect the separate phone line, which means they are safe from the burglars, but also trapped like rats. Because what the men are looking for, is in that room.  
“Panic Room” is a very exciting thriller. Most outstanding is the flawless camerawork, which looks amazing. But also the editing and directing, combined with an atmospheric soundtrack. From the smoot and beautiful computer-enhanced camera movement through the house, to the oppressive dark cinematography, everything has been done to maximize the tension.
Jodie Foster shows what and excellent actress she is. And so does a very young Kristen Stewart. Forest Whitaker shines as the sympathetic bad guy.
What makes the film so exciting is the interaction between the two ‘camps’ of Meg and Sarah versus the burglars. They keep outsmarting each other and that creates an unprecedented tension. Unfortunately, director David Fincher has not received the praise he deserves with this film. And although movies like “Se7en” and “Fight Club” are of course better and are now modern classics, “Panic Room” is an exciting thriller and an underestimated work of a director in his element.

Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Reviews - Black Panther

Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 134 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurai, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis

Description: T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the King of Wakanda, rises to the throne in the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but his claim is challenged by a vengeful outsider who was a childhood victim of T'Challa's father's mistake.

Review: In “Captain America: Civil War” we saw how the king of Wakanda dies, due to a bombing. Wakanda is a country, secluded from the rest of the world. Son T’Challa is the rightful heir to the throne, but there are people that think otherwise. Because of this battle, Wakanda’s well-hidden secrets could be out in the open.
Wakanda looks like a normal third world country, but when you dig deeper you step inside a hidden world. Wakanda is far ahead when it comes to technology and it’s a very advanced nation. Their country is build on land filled with Vibranium (which is also the metal where Captain America’s shield is made of).
Gangster Klaue is one of the only outsiders that ever managed to enter Wakanda, which is also protected by the Black Panther. The second role the Wakanda king has.
Most Marvel film have loads of humor, which works for the most part. “Black Panther” doesn’t use it and that’s a good thing. It wouldn’t fit here. It’s basically limited to T’Challa’s siter Shuri and tribe head M’Baku, who steal the show comedy wise.
Chadwick Boseman fills in his role as Black Panther very well. “Black Panther” is the last piece of the puzzle, before “Avengers”Infinity War”.

Rating: 4 / 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 165: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Director: Gareth Edwards
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelson, Jimmy Smits, James Earl Jones

Description: The Rebel Alliance makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.

Review: Hollywood loves nostalgia and uses it to please movie fans. And off course “Star Wars”, mother of all fan franchises, couldn’t be left behind. With “The Force Awakens” the series got a new life and it’s ready to fascinate a new generation. But we go back in time, before the Death Star was destroyed. And if you want to know how this plan was born, you have to see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”.
We all know what happens to the Death Star, but we never knew how much trouble the Rebellion had to go through to reach that goal. Leading character is Jyn Erso, a troubled young woman who is asked to help the rebels to find her father, Galen Erso. Galen was taken by the empire when she was very young, to help Krennic build his ‘dream of death’. Galen does manage to inform the people on the outside and that’s where Jyn comes in. Together with rebel captain Andor she is trying to find the truth behind the Death Star.
Gareth Edwards directs this movie and it looks like he was the right choice, after he reinvented the success of “Godzilla”. He gave it a darker look and he does the same with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. The heroes aren’t as heroic as the characters in the original films. The rebellion still has to finds its way. The film has moral depth and the characters have dimension as well. And the movie doesn’t have a dull moment.
Off course there is some nostalgia present. A cameo from R2D2 and C3PO and the seamless transition to “Star Wars: A New Hope”. But most of all Darth Vader. What a joy to see him on the big screen again.
Not knowing what to expect from this film, I was very happy to see how good “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” actually is. A must for every “Star Wars” fan.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 152: Arrival

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg

Description: A linguist (Amy Adams) is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications.

Review: When Canadian direcot Denis Villeneuve signed to direct the lon awaited sequel to “Blade Runner”, it didn’t get the fans excited. Villeneuve did make some successful, dark thriller, but had no experience with science fiction yet. It’s “Arrival” that has to change those minds. And this is without a doubt one of the best science fiction films of the past ten years.
Twelve unknown spacecrafts arrive on planet earth and are spread out over several locations on our planet. Of course people panic. If you expect anything like “Independence Day”, you’re wrong. Villeneuve’s take on this theme is on a smaller scale. Linguistics expert Louise Banks is called in to help the military to communicate with the extra terrestrials. A tough job, because the aliens have nothing in common physically and linguistically with humans. Louise has to build up to that one question: Why are you here?
The communicatiosn with extra terrestrials isn’t a new given in Hollywood, just look at “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” or “Contact”. “Arrival” lifts it to another level though, to center this theme completely. Villeneuve captivates us with a very impressive lesson in linguistics. He goes deep into that and it’s fascinating. Louise has to teach the aliens the basics of the human language, when the respons she gets is anything but easy to understand. They are simply circle shaped signs, that disappear as fast as they appear.
Villeneuve manages to weave tension and stuff to think about. If you think that it will lead to a dull film with lots of info about communication, you will definitely be surprised. It’s a battle against time for Louise, a battle against the prejudices. Amy Adams does this very convicing, she carries this film easily. Adams proofs she is one of the best actresses out there. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are both solid.
I was already a fan of Villeneuve’s previous film. But now he showed us he can handle science fiction too, so that “Blade Runner” sequel is in good hands. “Arrival” is one of the best films of 2016.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 145: Southpaw

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 124 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Naomie Harris

Description: Boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) turns to trainer Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) to help him get his life back on track after losing his wife (Rachel McAdams) in a tragic accident and his daughter to child protection services.

Review: When the first promotional images for “Southpaw” were released, there was lots of respect for Jake Gyllenhaal. Before this he was a skinny dude in “Nightcrawler” and he turned into a very muscled man for “Southpaw” in a short period of time.

The life of Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is about two things: boxing and his family. After successfully defending his world title, Billy is so hurt that his wife Maureen (Rachel McAams) convinces him to quit and spend more time with his family. His plans are disturbed by an emotional incident and Billy loses everything he cares about. He seeks the help of boxing coach Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker).

Besides the impressive physicals change he went through, Jake Gyllengaal is again very convincing in his role. He keeps delivering great performances, now it’s just waiting for that first Academy Award. The supporting roles are also strong. Rachel McAdams and Forest Whitaker are fantastic as well. Even Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson is solid.

The story is not very original. It has lots of clichés and the downwards spiral Billy is going through is a bit too long. It might lead to apathy from the viewers. Acting makes up for that, because you really hope that Billy eventually gets out of it. Where the movie manages to distinguish itself from other boxing movies is the great camera work during the realistic fights. Sometimes we see it from the point of view of the boxer.

Not the most original film, but “Southpaw” is good and has great performance.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 64: Zulu

Director: Jéróme Salle

Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime

Runtime: 110 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Orlando Bloom, Forest Whitaker, Tanya van Graan, Natasha Loring, Roxanne Prentice, Sven Ruygrok, Patrick Lyster, Conrad Kemp, Kelsey Egan, Joelle Kayembe, Richard Lothian, Lise Slabber, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Khulu Skenjana, Adrian Galley, Inge Beckmann, Dean Slater

Description: Policemen Ali Sokhela (Forest Whitaker) and Brian Epkeen (Orlando Bloom) investigate the brutal murder of a young white woman, apparently provoked by the availability of a new illegal drug and somehow connected to the disappearance of black street children.

Review: Since “Seven” the police genre has gone in a more dark and stylistic direction, story wise. “Zulu” (also known as “City of Violence”) also goes in that direction.

The movie is set in Cape Town, a city tortured by drugs and violence. The biggest part of the South African people live in poverty. The rich, mainly white, elites are living behind big and safe walls in big houses. When the daughter of the local Rugby coach is found dead, those two sides come together. The white girl, that lived prosperous, died of a drug overdose. Detective Ali Sokhela and his partner Brian Epkeen are the ones investigating the case. It leads them to the darkest edges of the criminal town.

The story sounds very promising. And it does execute it well, but not completely. It sometimes falls in those uninspired clichés. Many typical characteristics for the genre. For starters the detective with mental issues or the alcoholic detective who is divorced and neglects his son. The actors do a wonderful job, but it’s not original.

How stereotypical the characters are, at least they have depth and an interesting background. Eventually director Salle has more attention for the characters then the story. It sometimes lacks credibility. The story is pretty dark, but it does stay interesting and shocks at times.

“Zulu” is a pretty good film, with flaws. Still worth your time.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 45: The Butler

Director: Lee Daniels
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 132 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, James Marsden, Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Howard, Cuba Goodingg Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Liev Schreiber, Jane Fonda

Description: As Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Review: The story of “The Butler” is inspired by real-life butler Eugene Allen, who worked at the White House for 34 years. Here the main character is called Cecil Gaines. We see how he goes from working the cotton fields with his parents to being a butler in the White House.
Director Lee Daniels wanted to make a film about the position of Afro Americans in their battle for equality. It looks promising, but Daniels bit off more than he could chew. He is known for his heavy themes, like the film “Precious”. There it works a bit better, because he focused on the life of one girl. “The Butler” is set in a timespan of almost 90 years. He simply doesn’t have enough time for that, so his story is a bit lost.
Forest Whitaker does his task. His performance is solid and convincing and it’s better than the movie itself. Oprah Winfrey probably gave her all, but she doesn’t bring it. David Oyelowo, who played Cecil’s son, did a fantastic job. The rest of the cast is hard to judge, because they simply don’t get the room to exploit.
I understand where Lee Daniels was going with this film and the result is definitely not bad, because I enjoyed watching “The Butler”, but I think this project was too ambitious.

Rating: 3/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 44: The Last Stand

Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Genre: Action
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Peter Stormare, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzmán, Jamie Alexander

Description: The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his inexperienced staff.

Review: With the comeback of action star Arnold Schwarzenegger you expect muscles, cool one-liners and explosive action. They are all present, but not like back in his glory days. But his role as sheriff of a dull town is perfect for him and his constraints.
The escape of Cortez is spectacular, but because he spends most time in a racecar you don’t take him too seriously as a villain. There is not a lot of tension when it comes to confrontation with Cortez. Peter Stormare, as sidekick villain Burrell, is a more intimidating bad guy. The last shootout in the town is the most exciting scene of the movie and we see that Arnie is still one of the best action heroes. He even busts out a couple of fun one-liners.
Director Kim Jee-Woon made a visually good looking movie and the camerawork is also pretty impressive. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in his element as sheriff. He’s still not a fantastic actor, but I always like to watch his films. Arnie is back!

Rating: 3/ 5