Review THE GREEN LANTERN:

Green lantern is a super hero who is someone I’m completely ignorant about. This movie is the first time I’m getting into the GL universe. For someone who has no idea about how the universe works, this movie succeeds in explaining most of the things that I needed know. The rest I would attribute to the uneven script. Is this movie good? I did work for me in parts. But something that I can definitely tell you is that it is not as bad as it is being thrashed around by the critics.

Green lantern is the story of Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is daring and is a maverick kind of a guy. On one not a very fine day he is chosen by the ring which takes him to a dying purple alien who gives Hal a ring and thrusts upon this irresponsible (which is spoon fed to the audience in more than one scene) human great responsibility of being a part of the green lantern corps. GLC are the peace keepers of the universe and their main source of energy is WILL power. Their nemesis is parallax, a powerful creature that thrives upon fear of others and uses it to grow. What follows is an uneven ride about the age old battle between the powers of will and fear with some really cool visuals and 3D.

The movie has a certain few things going for it. First of all, the visuals and the 3D were great. The GL’s planet OA looks as gorgeous as Blake Lively who I’m told is not a part of the CGI. The creatures and their suits and the powers of GL are well imagined and executed. They all look colorful and beautiful. Ryan Reynolds tries very hard and succeeds for most part in bring Hal Jordan to screen. Sometimes he looks too cool to be in any real danger. Rest of the cast especially Mark Strong and Peter as sinestro and Dr.Hector perform pretty well. Blake Lively looks drop dead gorgeous although I think I might have suggested that already.

What definitely didn’t work for the movie was its uneven script. Yes there were funny lines and interesting scenes every once in a while, but the movie felt too long in the middle part and had pacing issues. It also had embarrassing lines that made me laugh. There is a scene where Hal tries to walk away from something and Carol (Blake Lively) tries to talk him into it. Just as she tries to speak, Hal has a look in his face that said “oh no not again” That exactly was my reaction to it too. The whole plot of will against fear felt a bit old and it was handled in a clichéd manner.

The film falls prey to being too generic and trying to play it too safe for its own good. Courage inducing affection from little children, long boring speeches about the importance of will power and so on, the film packs up everything that you would expect in a super hero movie of the 90’s.

Another major thing that works against this movie is the standard set by movies like fast five, Thor, Kung fu panda 2 and the Awesome X men First Class. Well it’s no real excuse for churning out a 90’s script but it is true. Green Lantern is an average flick and I hope they come back around for a second time hopefully with a better script.

MY RATING: 6/10

- V

P.S: The only Will power I know of is the power of Will Smith at the box office.

Review X-MEN: FIRST CLASS:

When I first saw the posters of X men first class I was way too disappointed. Then there was the trailer which brought back some confidence. Then there were some bad posters and cool trailers. I had no idea what to expect when I walked into the theatre. Mr. Matthew Vaughn I am so sorry that I doubted you from the lame posters. Let me say it loud and clear right at the beginning, X MEN first class is my most favorite X men movie (at least as of now).

X Men first class takes us back to the time when Charles Xavier used his mutant powers to flirt with girls and Eric (Magneto) had nothing but revenge in mind. The film deals with how these two young mutants together along with a few other mutants, stop Sebastian (Kevin Bacon loves the name I guess) and frost from starting off a nuclear war between the U.S and Soviet Union.

The film succeeds on so many different levels that I don’t even know where to begin. In terms of acting, James and Michael as Charles and Eric are revelations. James Mcavoy brings a kind of cool fun loving Charles Xavier to screen and gradually transforms into the confident leader that Professor X was. Michael Fassbender gives a performance as Magneto/Eric that will long remain as one of the best performances in a comic book movie ever. Every time he is on screen, something amazing happens. He is strong, silent and AMAZING. The rest of the mutants that these two go on to hire are interesting and play their part appropriately.

The movie benefits a lot from the deft writing that cleverly integrates some real events into the plot and makes it all the more interesting. Funny lines and masterful scenes are spread throughout the movie which makes it a pleasure to watch. Matthew Vaughn is a director to look out for. His “Kick Ass” handling of the action sequences (especially the one in Argentina involving Magneto) and how he manages to balance the fan boyish fun and the serious and interesting transformation of the characters are outstanding. Not for a moment he loses his control over the movie.

Although this is a near perfect film there were a few short comings. The repetition of how humans would never accept mutants and the fact that some of the side cast that lost in the crowd is the only problem I had in the movie.

X MEN FIRST CLASS is a much welcomed fresh start to the series. I really hope they continue in this pattern. I really cannot recommend this movie enough. To sum it all up in a single line, X MEN first class is just that, FIRST CLASS.

My Rating 10/10

- V

P.S: “Kick ass” was kick ass fun. First Class is First class. May be Matthew Vaughn’s success is in his movie’s titles. What’s next?

P.S 2: With the dark knight rises releasing only next summer and green lantern managing to garner negative reviews, would this end up being the best comic book movie of the year? I won’t bet against it.

REVIEW - UNKNOWN:

Unpredictability is not always a good thing, especially when you compromise logic for achieving it. Unknown does exactly that. It has twists and turns, some of which are not predictable but it makes the plot so ludicrous that it feels quite silly. Liam Neeson plays a micro biologist who goes to Berlin to attend a conference along with his wife. He gets into an accident and goes into coma for four days. When he wakes up, his identity is taken up by a different man and his wife doesn’t seem to know him at all.

As things unfold, logic gradually gets thrown out of the window. The first hour or so is genuinely gripping and interesting. Liam Neeson fresh from the knock out performance in Taken, proves his mettle once again. Without going into too much about how things progress, it is safe to say that even though things look so made up, it is still fun. If it ever intended to be an out and out fun action thriller, it would’ve succeeded. Unfortunately the movie tries to be a smart thriller which it is definitely not, hence one cannot avoid feeling a little let down.

The action sequences are fun to watch. It would’ve really helped the movie if Liam kicked more arse than he does here. Diane Kruger plays an immigrant taxi driver who helps Liam putting the pieces together and she does a fair job. Apart from them, January Jones and the others have very little to do. The role of Jurgen was a pleasant surprise. Although the technical aspects of the film were good, it doesn't really stand apart. The action sequences were well shot but to be honest I liked the car chase sequence in THE HANGOVER PART 2 better than the ones in this movie.

All said, Unknown is not a stand out smart movie but it is briskly paced and keeps you interested for some time before throwing it away in the final act. If all you want is some fun at the movies Unknown is not a very bad choice.

MY RATING: 6.5/10

- V

P.S: Diane Kruger cannot be a taxi driver. You cannot get into a Cab and see Diane Kruger as your driver. Its just impossible.