Action
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
Assault on Precinct 13USA/France 2005
Director: Jean-François Richet
This remake of John Carpenter’s 1976 film would’ve had to do something very special in order to come close to the innovation and originality of its source material. Unsurprisingly, the new version is absolutely average and ultimately empty.
Following the pattern set by the recent Dawn of the Dead remake, producers chose an up-and-coming director to helm a cult classic re-imagining. However, unlike Dawn, this director fails miserably.
The film begins promisingly, with an interesting drug sting, but quickly devolves into cliché and formula. The cast, with talented actors such as Laurence Fishburne and Gabriel Byrne, is wasted on a weak script. Ethan Hawke tries to act haunted and tortured but simply comes off as whinging. The only interesting performance comes from John Leguizamo as a strung-out, conspiracy-spouting junkie (an albeit familiar character). Laurence Fishburne seems lost, essentially playing an urban Morpheus. If he isn’t careful he’ll slide into Jack Nicholson territory, simply playing himself in role after role.
The visual style of the film is too obvious, too flashy. Some of the camerawork used is disorienting and unnecessary, including an expensive CGI zoom out that draws far too much attention to itself. There is one interesting sequence however, though it’s far too short: a quick three-shot track right, showing the criminals paired off with the cops.
The inclusion of hard motives and complex motivations ironically seems to detract from the film. The original version was so interesting because of the seemingly random nature of the siege, almost as if it were a group of mindless animals attacking rather than a vicious gang. Normally adding deeper characterisations enhances a film, but here it seems forced and out of place. Is this film a drama or an action/thriller? The director doesn’t seem to know.
Assault on Precinct 13 had great potential, but ultimately became just another muddled actioner from Hollywood.
Colin Le SueurCasino Royale (2006)
Casino RoyaleUSA/UK/Germany/Czech Republic 2006
Director: Martin Campbell
As someone who grew up watching James Bond (Roger Moore was my favourite, don’t ask me why), I found myself less and less satisfied with the recent Bond films. Goldeneye was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but after that things just sort of fell apart. Plots got sillier and sillier, gadgets and special effects spun out of control, and Bond himself started becoming a live-action cartoon. Thankfully, everything changes with Casino Royale, starting with the man himself, Daniel Craig.
I know there were a lot of people opposed to Craig as Bond (seemingly simply because he has blonde hair), but I knew going into it that he had what it takes to bring Bond back to basics. The Bond from Fleming’s novels is not a nice guy: he’s a ruthless trained killer. Craig brings a quiet intensity and razor-sharp determination to the role, giving Bond an edge not seen since Timothy Dalton. This version of Bond is also the toughest to date, with Craig showing amazing physical charisma. For instance, I can actually see Craig’s Bond as a former SAS man, unlike Moore’s gentleman charmer.
Along with Daniel Craig’s excellent performance, the supporting cast delivers as well. Eva Green parries back and forth with Craig, never falling into the typical Bond girl trap of all style no substance. Mads Mikkelsen plays his role perfectly, a sinister gambler with a waxy poker face. Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, a supporting Bond character left idle too long, is also quite good; I just wish we could’ve seen more of him.
The action in Casino Royale is exciting and believable, with standouts being the incredible free-running chase through a construction site and tense embassy confrontation. None of the stunts seem forced or unrealistic, as in Die Another Day. Director Campbell keeps the film grounded at all times and this pays off in credibility.
I think that’s the keyword of Casino Royale: credibility. The previous Bond films had lost it but Campbell and Daniel Craig have managed to return the Bond franchise (or a reboot as some people are calling it) to former glory. If the forthcoming films can maintain this quality and credibility, I see a long and interesting future for 007.
Colin Le SueurCoffy (1973)
CoffyUSA 1973
Director: Jack Hill
In the 1970s, in the days before political correctness sanitised everything for our protection, there was a very popular, very violent subgenre nicknamed blaxploitation, literally black exploitation. Started by films such as Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and Shaft (both from 1971), blaxploitation pictures featured heavy doses of stylised sex and violence, usually set in gritty urban centres, with strong black leading characters. Coffy represents one of the most popular blaxploitation films and helped to establish Pam Grier as the queen of the genre.
This film is violent, misogynistic, and racist (some would argue). In our current culture of political correctness, Coffy represents a guilty pleasure, a look back at a time when films weren’t worried about offending anyone (though I imagine Coffy would offend many people, even in the 1970s). Pam Grier as Coffy kicks a lot of ass and kills a lot of drug dealers in her pursuit of revenge on the pushers who hooked her sister on junk.
Granted, this film isn’t a masterpiece. The acting is bad (Pam Grier’s Jamaican accent is laughable) and there are gaping plot holes, but Coffy is a lot of fun. Grier’s charisma and presence carry the film; it’s no wonder she went on to have a long and successful career. Sid Haig, most recently seen in Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, is very effective as a creepy thug, an archetype he returns to several times in the blaxploitation cycle.
Though exploitative and sensational, Coffy is an entertaining action film, worth seeing for Pam Grier’s performance alone.
Colin Le SueurCrank (2006)
CrankUK/USA 2006
Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor
Jason Statham is carving out quite the little niche for himself in action films. Though he started his career in British gangster films, he’s recently starred in a number of high action spectacles that showcased his physical strength and charisma. There is a good actor under all of the action, though buried under physicality and aggression. Crank, the latest in Statham’s action résumé, is loud, violent, misogynistic, but also a lot of fun.
Almost literally a video game come to life, Crank feels more like an adaptation of Grand Theft Auto than another entry in the Transporter series. Beginning with a POV sequence straight out of a first-person shooter, Crank rarely lets the action stop, littering the screen with sex, explosions, and drug use. The film is almost surreal in its imagery and content, with a kinetic and dynamic visual style mixed with genuinely strange characters and situations.
For the most part the acting is good, though almost everyone is over-the-top. Statham plays his role well, though neither his acting nor his stunts are as impressive as his earlier work. Amy Smart seems like she should be in another movie, but that disengage works well with the surrealist tones of the film.
With its mix of weirdness, sex, and violence, I have a feeling this film will go on to grow a decent cult following. While nothing special, Crank is an entertaining way to spend 87 minutes, though I think I’d have more fun playing Grand Theft Auto.
Colin Le Sueur