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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Thrilling but unoriginal
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit spoiler free review
The latest Jack Ryan movie may be generic in some ways but it is still a well-made action thriller with good performances and superb direction. The movie opens in a way you won't expect it would. It takes 20 minutes for the main plot to get started.
Chris Pine plays a young, vulnerable Jack Ryan and he does it well. Kevin Costner is good. It's nice to see Kevin Costner in more movies. Kenneth Branagh plays the menacing Russian villain and directs the movie which he excels in both.
The action scenes are not new but there exciting and well shot. The script has problems. There are some pacing issues but overall Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a thrilling movie. It's better than Sum of All Fears but not as good as the other 3 Jack Ryan movies.
Overall rating: 8/10
Lone Survivor (2013)
The "Black Hawk Down" of this Decade
Lone Survivor Spoiler Free review
Lone Survivor is another brutal portrayal of war. It may not be the best one but it is still an intense movie. Lone Survivor is the story of 4 NAVY seals trying to survive Afghanistan terrorists. The result is a touching and intense movie. The action scenes are well shot by Peter Berg who had directed Battleship. Whenever a soldier gets shot, you feel it. The movie does a good job of giving a good portrayal of how war is. It's not all explosions. Our heroes are being surrounded, taking all the shots and just trying to survive. The first 45 minutes is the set up which isn't really that good. There is no development for the characters. You know how they look like but you may not know there names. Sometimes you just don't care for them. All the performances are good. All the actors do a good job of portraying the real life soldiers who were in that dangerous situation. Lone Survivor is a really good war movie with intense action scenes and good performances. The character part of the movie may disappoint some people. Just like Black Hawk Down, an intense movie about soldiers in Somalia but also suffers from lack of character development.
Overall rating 9/10 Intense portrayal of real life events.
The Legend of Hercules (2014)
Unoriginal awful film. Don't see it!!!
The Legend of Hercules spoiler free review
This movie is HORRIBLE. Where do i start. The acting is just laughable and bad. Kellan Lutz is bad as Hercules (Hopefully Dwayne Johnson will do better in the next Hercules movie). Every line is said horribly. Did i mention the dialogue is BAD.
The script is horrible. It has nothing to do with the original mythology. It tries to be like 300 and Gladiator but fails horribly. The romance is so cheesy with the worst romance dialogue i have ever heard.
Are the action scenes good?....No....Far from good. It always uses slow motion just like 300 (which was used better) but it was obnoxious and gets old and annoying.
The visual effects and green screen is horrible and this movie has a budget of over 70 million dollars!!! What?! Movies with lower budgets look more convincing then this.
Overall rating 1/10 One of the worst movies i have seen all year and we're still in January!!! Hopefully the Brett Ratner version is better and obviously it will be. You can't get lower than this.
Man of Steel (2013)
The Best Super Hero Movie of 2013
Man of Steel Spoiler free review
An Underrated film and soared high above my expectation (Sorry). Man of Steel starts exciting on Krypton (No spoiler) but does become a bit slow after that until Clark Kent puts on the suit.
The acting is good. Best performance of the movie was Russell Crowe as Superman's real father. I think it's one of his best performances next to Gladiator. Henry Cavill is good as Superman. All the other performances are good.
The action sequences are amazing and bad-ass though there is a lot of destruction and mayhem. Zack Snyder's direction is the best he has ever done. The script has flaws though. There is a lack of character development and this movie is a bit dark for a Superman movie but that's what i love about it. It shows a Superman that is mature. It's not like the other Superman movies where they are a bit cheesy.
Overall rating 9/10 Superb Superman movie.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
Huge Improvement over the First film.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Spoiler free review
The second film in the The Hobbit Trilogy is a HUGE Improvement over the first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The pacing is fast and exciting with some huge action set pieces. There is this Barrel sequence that is just plain awesome.
The characters are more fleshed out in this movie though some are still not developed properly. New additions to the trilogy are Legolas and Tauriel. Both were Bad-Ass. Though I know they were shoe Horned into the movie but they made some of the action scenes awesome. There is a love triangle in the movie. That could bother some people.
The Best part in this film is Smaug the Dragon voiced and motion- captured by Benedict Cumberbatch. Smaug was menacing. The CGI of Smaug was Amazing. The performances are still good especially Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lily, Lee Pace, Luke Evans and Sir Ian McKellen..
There are a few problems. The movie has a lot of differences from the book but it does expand the universe. There are a few CGI shots that could have been polished.
The soundtrack by Howard Shore is good but no the best. The credits song "I see Fire" is pretty good, too.
Overall rating 10/10 Fantastic thrill ride.
47 Ronin (2013)
Good movie with cool action and visuals but has pacing issues.
47 Ronin spoiler free review
47 Ronin stars Keanu Reeves, Rinko Kikuchi and some other Japanese actors. Keanu Reeves is Kai, A Half Breed outcast who helps the 47 Ronin avenge their fallen master.
47 Ronin has some problems. The first 30 to 40 minutes is slow and could have been cut into a 7 to 10 minute prologue. Some pacing in other scenes is sometimes boring, slow and makes you wish they would move onto another scene.
The movie also lacks action but the action is BAD-ASS. The set pieces are entertaining and cool to see. Sadly most of them is revealed in the trailer.
The Direction is good with with some sweeping shots of the beautiful landscape (some are CGI). The movie is visually great. The CGI looks cool. There is a spider scene (no spoiler) that is just cool to look at because of the visuals. The acting is also fine. Rinko Kikuchi who starred in Pacific Rim steals every scene she is in. Keanu Reeves is good...ish. The guy who plays the samurai Oishi is a bad-ass.
Other problems is the lack of character development for some characters. Some characters just stand in the background which is a shame but the biggest complaint that other people have is the movie doesn't respect the source material which didn't bother me.
Overall 47 Ronin is an entertaining movie with problems but is beautiful to look and has great direction.
7/10 Good but not Great.