Everyone loves magic tricks. The wonder has been ingrained in us since our childhood. And movies about magic are usually just as enjoyable. This one is no exception.
Four individual magicians--each with a different specialty--get summoned by some mysterious master magician to join together and perform "tricks" to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Meanwhile, a frustrated FBI agent, played by Mark Ruffalo, can't seem to figure out how it's all happening. He teams up with a female Interpol agent (Melanie Laurent) to put a stop to the madness.
The dynamics among the magicians are fun and kept very light. The tricks they perform are, at times, very fascinating to the point that we wish we could go to Vegas to watch their show. We become invested in the lives of these people because the writers let us. But then something happens--our focus is forcibly changed.
For the last 60-90 minutes we are pretty much solely focused on Ruffalo's character. We don't want to be, but we are. And as we travel deeper into the story, the befuddlement steadily increases. Luckily, the film makes itself fairly easy to focus on to somewhat help negate the convolution.
It helps to rewatch this movie. But then again, seeing behind the curtain--which is the ending--may cause you to feel like you've been manipulated. Realizing the filmmakers trick you into seeing what they want you to. And depending on how much you like magic tricks, you may or may not be happy about it.
But see, putting together a movie is different than live magic tricks. Filmmakers can make up their own rules, using cuts and edits to change your perspective--not slight-of-hand--making much of it feel contrived. Personally, I wouldn't say that it bothers me. It just feels too easy here.
We do get a good bang four our buck with plenty of subplots. There is one about Morgan Freeman who plays a magic debunker smugly trying to crack these elaborate tricks. He has a rivalry with Michael Caine, who acts as a financier for the magicians' performances. Caine exits about an hour in, but Freeman has much left to accomplish. And amidst all the action, there is an obvious romance building between Ruffalo and Laurent.
But all of the story-building amongst the characters only helps to thin them all out in the process. There is little depth. And the depth that's established feels forced.
Mind you, none of this changes the fact that this film is wildly entertaining. How can you call it anything but? It's gripping from beginning to end, and the way it's set up, you will probably end up wanting more. Give it huge points for that. Beyond that, though, I can see why people feel slighted.
Twizard Rating: 84
Vin Diesel's charisma may not be enough to save a movie that is this pedestrian. A rough script is one thing--I men, Diesel has been known to take a couple--but at it's best it's just a stylistic exposition with too many rules built into the film universe.
Full of plot holes and convoluted details is The Last Witch Hunter, a tale about a man (Diesel) cursed with immortality by a witch in the middle ages, only to ward off the same evil 800 years later in New York City.
I applaud the film for a couple of clever plot twists that keep the audience involved and attentive, but I constantly feel like I'm playing catchup with everything else. It will give us a motif or a totem to remember early on and then refer to it much later, after not mentioning it in between, assuming that we remember its significance. More or less, the plot is simple enough to follow. But the confusing details surrounding the events feel included to stretch out the premise.
The Last Witch Hunter is attractive stylistically as it utilizes some cool props and spells, but the use of CGI--albeit few and far between--reminds us that we're watching a movie.
The film tries creating depth for our lead character by showing us flashbacks of his wife and child. But the only thing is they serve no purpose to the story--literally. It's forced and keeps the movie untrue to itself, reminding us even more how little depth he has. We really just want to see Diesel go around hunting witches--as the title describes.
Another sign of forced-depth is the use of trite dialogue that merely sounds good in the moment, while having no real meaning or relevance to the premise.
The Last Witch Hunter isn't a boring movie at all--perhaps is strongest trait--but after it's finished we long for a better understanding of what we just watched.
Twizard Rating: 69
"Kingsman: The Secret Service" may not have a perfectly consistent tone, but it has a consistent style.
Harry
(Colin Firth) attempts to stop the evil mastermind, Valentine (Samuel
L. Jackson), from committing mass genocide on the planet amidst the
recruiting of new agents to his top secret spy agency. One of these
agents, Eggsy (Taron Egerton), is the son of a former agent who died on
the job. The film is as much about Eggsy's self-realization as it is
about stopping Valentine from destroying the world.
Despite it's
personal-growth-filled background, the film lacks some depth for an
origin story. Part of this is due to it's inability to take anything
seriously, including several genocidal acts--one of which occurs as
Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" wails in the background.
The film
is cliche in certain aspects and dialogue is a little pedestrian--that
is, when Colin Firth isn't spewing out profound wisdoms to the younger
recruits.
But regardless of anything negative you can say about
this movie, it's ridiculously engaging throughout. The movie's style and
set pieces are incredibly unique. It does everything possible not to
make the viewers feel like it's generic--and it works! It tips its hat
to classic spy films while becoming a one in its own right.
The
cast is just fine. Jackson does a great job as the flamboyant and
sinister villain, and Firth is undeniably believable as a spy--so much
so that it feels like he could be the next Bond.
It won't be the best film of the year, but it may be many people's favorite. It's definitely worth watching.
Twizard Rating: 88
