BOTS AND THE BEASTS

 

MOVIE
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Director Steven Caple Jr
Reviewer Ray Chan

THIS reviewer has been critical of director Michael Bay in the past, whose movie trademark seems to be wanton destruction of cities and vehicles in scenes that drag on interminably.
   His handling of the Transformers franchise kicked off no differently, with the various instalments  seemingly packed with plenty of pandemonium and little else.
   So it was with much relief when Bumblebee, directed by Travis Knight, came along with a completely different style of storytelling — heartfelt, sweet and funny, and lacking in awful racial stereotypes and people screaming and sweating while explosions substituted for storytelling.
   Bumblebee was an exceptional offering, and brought hope back to fans of these weird, shapeshifting robot alien protagonists.
   The trend continues with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, this time directed by Steven Caple, Jr, although Bay still lingers around as producer.
   Once again, the film isn’t a direct sequel as much as it’s simply a continuation, another adventure wherein the Transformers, stranded on Earth, ally themselves with a small group of humans in an effort to save the galaxy.
   A massive planet-eating being known as Unicron seeks the mysterious Transwarp Key which will open portals through which he can travel the universe and destroy everything in his path.
   He has a set of evil robot minions called Terrorcons, led by the nefarious Scourge (Peter Dinklage), who have been scouring the stars to find the cosmic contraption.
   They eventually discover it, and of course it’s in the USA. Upon finding out about the artifact, Optimus Prime and his cohorts Bumblebee (still mute and using random collections of recorded voices to communicate), Mirage and Arcee seek to use the tool to return to their home planet, Cybertron.
   Prime and his gang form an uneasy alliance with two humans – Noah and Elena – and also encounter another race of Transformers known as Maximals, robots who can transform into giant animals, hence the title of the movie.
   They are led by giant gorilla Optimus Primal (*groan*), voiced by Ron Perlman, and his lieutenant Airazor, a giant falcon (voiced by Michelle Yeoh, who continues to be featured in movies everywhere all at once).
   Ludicrous as the premise might be, Caple makes it work, crafting an energetic and charming adventure film, devoid of the cheap laughs that Bay glorified, instead going for genuinely funny lines that aren’t at anyone’s expense, with a likable, capable cast that feels like real people, not just stock characters with no personality.
   The action is chaotic and wild, but serves the story well as the film travels the world – including a trip to picturesque Peru – and uses actual cultural touchstones to explain some of its sillier plot points.
   Primal, like Prime, share solemn intonations about trust and belief and helping friends. It’s laid on far thicker than it needs to be, yet the constant noble proclamations are what make some fans come back again and again to watch the series.
   Rise of the Beasts runs just over an hour and a half: a comfortable viewing time, especially when compared to many other pictures competing on the silver screen … or what passes for one in this modern age. But don’t be too quick to leave your cinema seat: stay for the end credits for perhaps the most unexpected highlight, when the production hints at the introduction of another line of characters manufactured by the Hasbro toy and game conglomerate.

#transformersriseofthebeasts @universalpicsau

 

COOL RUNNINGS

 

MOVIE
The Flash
Director Andrés Muschietti
Reviewer Ray Chan

THE butterfly effect is literally a tale as old as time. Even the smallest change in history will lead to much larger and different consequences in the future.

    And in this movie, that’s where the troubles start for Barry Allen, who, as the Flash and a newly-minted member of the Justice League, has recently discovered he can travel back in time by moving faster than the speed of light.

    Barry epiphanises that he can use this new skill to help acquit his father of wrongful murder charges against his wife. The incident can be traced back to one can of tomatoes – if his mother hadn’t forgotten to buy them earlier that fateful day, his father would never have gone out to the grocery store, an intruder wouldn't have thought the house was empty, and his mother would never have been killed.

    Barry duly voyages to the past, planting the tomatoes in his mother's shopping cart so that different circumstances would prevail, thereby saving her life.

    The result is chaos, as the whole universe then starts to unravel.

    Barry ends up in a reality where he loses his powers, meets up with a doppelganger who he has to train to take up the Flash mantle, and finds out that there are no other metahumans around.

    There is a Batman though, although different to one that Barry knows. This version is the 1989 movie hero portrayed by Michael Keaton, who, now retired, is enticed to team up with the two Allens to help battle the arrival of the Kryptonian tyrant General Zod.

    Indeed, Keaton’s much-publicised return is an admirable and well-conceived callback for the fanboys and baby boomers who flocked to the film when it premiered more than three decades ago … a joyful resurrection embellished by the sight of the sleek Batmobile and the iconic Batwing silhouetted against the moon, all to the original Danny Elfman theme.

    With no Superman around in this world, a new hero emerges in the form of Kara Zor-El, the civilian name of Supergirl (although she is not referred to as such here). As she is also Kryptonian, she soaks in the super powers imbued by the Earth’s sun, and together with the Flashes, attempt to contain Zod and his armies.

    The interaction between the two Allens as they team up gives the picture a human, relatable edge missing from so many super-hero offerings in recent times, in particular Marvel misses like The Eternals and Ant-Man: Quantumania, where watchers are dragged through interminable inter-galactic or outworldly sequences.

    Miller gives his characters the perfect jittery, hyper-energetic quality expected from someone who views people in his surroundings moving at a snail’s space. And he’s not let down by the cast members, all of whom pull their weight with distinction.

    The flashpoint of the movie (pun intended) occurs when the heroes fail to bring down Zod despite a valiant effort, resulting in the sacrifice of one of them. Barry surmises he can once again go back in time again and again to try and reach a nexus where the villain is defeated.

    It’s at this juncture that viewers of a certain age, this reviewer included, will discover the production’s most riveting moment: trapped inside a multiverse, Barry witnesses variant versions of Earth created due to his meddling with time, some with heroes, some without. In a stroke of genius, to represent these divergent individuals, director Andrés Muschietti calls in a string of the different versions of various DC characters from throughout the years, from across stage, screen and television.

    Identifying the cameos is just half the fun: discovering some unexpected appearances is another source of joy, which will guarantee a return screening for many.

#universal #flashmovie #dccomics