Noah

I have no great knowledge of the bible, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of the events in Noah, but I can imagine some things, were embellished, heightened or just plain added into make this one of the most interesting biblical epics in a long time.

I realise, that Noah has come under some flack in a variety of circles, mainly religious groups, either because of depiction, story or that they show Noah himself, a prophet. Something that certain religions take offence to. Before going to see it, you really need to push all of this out of your mind and take the film on its own merits and adaptation of the story. As essentially it is an adaptation, yes of a sacred tale, but this is Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handels (co-writer) take on this most memorable story.

Noah is Aronosky’s sixth feature film and bar 2006’s The Fountain his most ambitious and visually arresting. It follows more in the vein of The Fountain, than his other works, which have been more grounded and intimate stories such as Pi or The Wrestler, in that it is a story told on a grand scale, befitting the original story.

The film follows Noah and his family, after he receives a message in a dream where the Creator tells him that there is going to be a great flood to wash away all of the wicked and evil people in the world. Most of us will have heard the story, or at least be familiar enough with it, but Aronofsky does offer up a few surprises along the way.

Russell Crowe is kind of the go to man for historical epics as he is able to bring a weight and believability to the role and considering how well known this man/character is, the film needed a actor to invest in. The Noah we are given here, is very much a man suffering under the weight of the task given to him as well as the apparent contradictions that come with it. All of this is slowly and brilliantly portrayed by Crowe as Noah’s beliefs and understanding are constantly under attack, leading him to make a terrible promise to his son, Shem and his wife, Ela.

Noah looks stunning from first shot to last shot. While some of the big ark scenes are completely computer generated, they still hold up next to the rest of the cinematography by Matthew Libatique. The Watchers (fallen angels appearing as rock creatures) and especially the growth of a river sequence is probably my favourite in the film.

The siege of the ark sequence, which comes around half way through, is up there with the great modern action scenes of its kind, a much shorter Helm’s Deep. It feels dirty and frantic as the rest of the world (seemingly) battles to get onto the ark as the rain begins to fall.

Artistic licence has undoubtedly been taken with original story, the rock giants and Cain’s people I believe, aren’t mentioned in it. But to me at least, they bring more to the film than they take away. It adds a grand scale to the story and also a more personal/idea edge to it.

If I were to have a complaint about the film, it would be that it could have done with being five to ten minutes shorter. But while there is no one sequence or scene that stands out, towards the end some people in the cinema, most notably the man next to me, were starting to huff and puff and move about in his seat.

You will have heard bad things about it the film, but don’t believe them. I heard one radio personality refer to the rock creatures as Transformers, a statement so laughable I looked down my car radio in disbelief.

While it may not adhere strictly to the bible story itself, it is no doubt a sweeping, entertaining and engaging cinematic experience. It needs to be seen on the big screen.

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Writers: Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel.

Still Searching: Thoughts on the Uncharted Film

A few months ago there was an announcement that there would be a film adaptation of The Last of Us, arguably one of, if not the greatest video game ever created. It combined addictive gameplay, a masterfully plotted story, stunning visuals and some of the most layered and detailed characters you will find anywhere in any medium.

When Naughty Dog, the studio behind The Last of Us, went beyond and set a new benchmark, it was highly likely that someone would come along and want to make this sweep storm into a film. For me a mini-series on something like HBO would be the best way to approach this kind of adaptation, but no one is listening to me.

There is one huge question you have to ask when contemplating a The Last of Us adaptation.

Where the fuck is Nathan Drake?

In what would be undoubtedly an easier adaptation and one that offers guaranteed sequels and a regular presence in the summer blockbuster dogfights, its baffling that the often rumoured Uncharted adaptation is still nowhere to be seen. So far.

The Last of Us, is hardly a family friendly jape. It’s misery and despair wrapped in a ball and tossed down a road to an eventual horrible death.

For those of you unfamiliar with the series (go and buy a Playstation 3, all three games and book a week off work).  In the meantime, I’ll give a brief outline of what Uncharted is. At least to me.

In terms of videogames, it’s probably closest to something like Tomb Raider, it was in fact dubbed “Dude Raider” (or something close to this) on the release of the first trailer. If you were to compare it to a film, it stands pretty firmly as an updated version of Indiana Jones.

During the games, you traverse the globe, searching for some kind of treasure or lost civilization. This search is usually made a tad challenging by either being pursued by, or in a race with a mercenary or secret society, out to claim it for their own.

So let’s look at what kind of film we would get from an adaptation Uncharted. Tonally, it is a lot lighter than The Last of Us, there is a lot more humour, even if it is often sarcastic and very dry at points. The series is a reflection of Drake as a whole. Adventerous, charming witty, but also dangerous and ruthless.

The way I see it, is that it would sit somewhere between an Indiana Jones film, most likely one of the Nazi ones as their tone was just that bit more serious. Then mixing it with a modern action film like Casino Royale as Drake is very capable of getting his hands dirty, especially up close and personal.

Humour would play a significant part in the film, but not one that would tip the film into the action/comedy genre, something that the Marvel films have done, to the detriment of some of its films. Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan, Nate's older partner and the man who has essentially raised him, have a really quick 'back and forth' relationship, filled with jokes.

The obvious risk with a film like Uncharted is that it could easily turn into a CGI filled forgettable action fest. Yes, the set pieces and really big moments in the game are spectacular, the rooftop escape and train sequence in Among Thieves are two of the best you will play through anywhere, but it’s the characters that people care about. In the same way that Spielberg did with Indiana, and other clever directors have done with other big characters, sticking to practical effects is a must. Most audiences are smart enough to realise when you switch to a digital version of a character and at least for me, I check out of those moments.

A case in point, would be the Mr Smith fight in The Matrix Reloaded, the first half of it is impressive, it’s Keanu Reeves or stunt perfomer and it looks great, but when it changes to a digital Neo (yes technology has advanced), it just isn’t the same, the movement is off and there is a lack of emotional investment as a result. So if we do have lots of supernatural or cursed bad guys in the series, get out the make up and latex and leave the pixels at home.

Contrast that with The Last Crusade and the tank chase in the desert, arguably a bigger and longer set piece, yet almost all of it was practical, there is a real man hanging from the tank or jumping onto the horse. There is a connection there to the action, we know the limits. It’s this kind of direction that the Uncharted film should take.

For me, the weight and quality of any big budget film isn’t in the big action sequences, it’s when you realise the stakes and the consequences for the action and decisions that the main characters are involved. What is left of their world, if this or that happens.

When things get bleak, or we get into dark part of the film, is it severe enough, is it scary. Think of Temple of Doom, we see a man have his heart taken out, we’ve seen the fate of the slaves in the mines and what people will do keep the temples secrets undiscovered. If they don’t get out, Indy and the others will die badly or spend the rest of their lives as slaves to a cult. They are stakes that you can believe in.

I’ve talked about the series, but without its main man, this series would lose its spirit. A weird blend of John McClane, Indiana Jones and James Bond, with the seeming invincibility of Matrix (Commando). He’s a genuinely likeable guy, funny and for the most part does the right thing. But it’s in those other moments, where Drake really comes to life, the difficult decisions and realisations that he is only human and that there are somethings he just can’t do.

As with any big tentpole film based on something that already exsists, fans will wait for the inevitable announcement of will play the main character, or any character and then proceed to go crazy on messageboards and Twitter.

So just for fun, I’ll quick put forward three possible names for who could bring Nathan Drake to life.

Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt and Jake Gyllenhaal. While Cooper and Gyllenhaal are both established A-listers and would undoubtedly lend this franchise the weighty star power it would need at first, Pratt is a rising star and with this years Guardians of the Galaxy looking good so far, it wouldn’t be a stretch to someone like him, who has shown a good body of work, to grab the role.

Gyllenhaal is probably the closest physically to Drake, not that something like that should really come into consideration. If an actor gets the role and character, then give him the job. But Gyllenhaal would also bring probably the darkest interpretation of the character, especially considering the roles he has played recently and done the best work with.

Cooper, brings arguably the biggest name, at the moment and probably the most bankable too. His comedy timing, especially the more cutting stuff would fit in with the way that Drake talks and delivers some of his most memorable lines.

Each man would have their advantages and disadvantages, but luckily, there is a plethora of actors out there capable of doing the job.

I won’t throw any writers (I’m free though) or directors names forward for the job, instead I’ll talk about what would be an even more important aspect of this adaptation. The writing. It is something that Naughty Dog takes very seriously, especially as Uncharted is an on-rails experience for the most part.

As I covered earlier, it is the relationships between the core characters that is one of the series’ greatest strengths. You’re given people to care about and root for. This is something that no matter how good the gameplay is, cannot be cheated out of. Call of Duty is a pretty good first person shooter, but can you honestly say there are any characters you a deeply invested in?

Focus on the characters, the spectacle is easy, Naughty Dog have already given you three games worth off stunning set pieces. Worry about giving us real people, characters who are interesting, bring them to life like the games did.

So if you get into a conversation about The Last of Us, even if you are a fan of the idea, ask the person the question I posed earlier on. Because that is a series that deserves and would work as a film.

Where the fuck is Nathan Drake?

He’s still waiting

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Note: There are no spoilers for The Winter Soldier, but some plot details for The Avengers are given away.

I have openly said that the first Captain America film The First Avenger was, and still is the worst of all the Marvel Studio’s films (It also sits in my bottom three of all time), as it served as little more than an extended introduction to The Avengers. With Phase Two (set between the first and second Avengers films) part of Marvel Studio’s plan, we are seeing a lot more character specific films and ones that don’t entirely exist to set up a future film.

The basic story, as I will try and avoid spoilers here, for The Winter Soldier, is after a number of attacks on SHIELD's assets and officers, leading to an assassination attempt on one character'slife, which Cap has information on but can’t say anything about, Captain America is then forced to go on the run to try and clear his name.

Led by Chris Evans as Captain America, who still carries a hope that everything can be clear and that people will do the right thing, even though he himself works in a suspect organization, built on factions within other factions, each one with their own morals and objectives. His struggle with this, even though somewhat marginalized at times, is similar to Superman’s in Man of Steel, as he wants to trust the world and do good, but just can’t push aside all of his doubts.

Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury is as entertaining as he has been in all of his performances, although this time there is more to it, he is vulnerable and open to serious challenges regarding his direction of SHIELD.

Scarlett Johansson, reprises her role as Black Widow, the arrogant but very competent assassin. Bar The Avengers, this is the film that has given us the biggest glimpse into her past and the crimes that she has committed in the price, as well as showing just how far she is willing to go. It’s a welcomed change of pace, to see more of this character that at times has been an underdeveloped character.

The action sequences in The Winter Soldier are light years ahead of what we see in The First Avenger, they have tried to minimize the amount of green screen and dependence on CGI, instead choosing to shoot as much as they can in camera. The first thirty minutes has the best sequences in the film, a night raid on a ship and one of the best, if at times over the top, car chases you will see this year. The only shame is that Cap isn’t in the car chase, which is probably the action set piece in the film.

As the film goes on, some of the action sequences begin to go on for too long, far past the time when the ‘this is awesome’ or ‘look how cool this is’ factor has left the scene. There are about ten or twenty extra dead (and incompetent) henchmen than we really needed.

But do not let this put you off the action is entertaining and there are genuine stakes and moments of peril within these sequences. Something that was lacking in the previous film and the majority of Marvel’s films.

One common thread running within the Marvel films (bar Tom Hiddleston) is that the villain often seems neglected or under developed, they are evil for the sake of being evil. Here, with The Winter Soldier (I will avoid giving away his identity), we have a villain, who is actually dangerous and evil with a caveat, but due to his mystery and anonymity, he becomes more interesting to watch.

He comes across as a lesser version of The Joker from The Dark Knight as he just  from nowhere and causes havoc and destruction while clocking up a staggering body count around him. I know the The Winter Soldier has a personal relevance to Cap, more so than Joker to Batman, but in terms of the way the character is utilised, he shares cinematic similarities. 

He isn’t given the dialogue or scene stealing moments that Joker had, but while that does fit the character, it would have been nice for him to be given one or two dialogue driven scenes to give him more depth. Sebastian Stan, does well to create a character and not a caricature with a largely silent performance.

This is the first Marvel film where they have tried to inject any kind of real world subjects or questions into it. There is an obvious and under acknowledged thread about surveillance and then later on a line or two about whistle blowing.

Unfortunately, these ideas are the ones that elevate a film and give it weight, while it may not have been Marvel’s aim to give us these big weighty ideas and questions, I feel that they missed a real opportunity. Anyone comparing this to a Tom Clancy, political thriller had better stop now.

The problem of shared cinematic universe is for me starting to raise some questions for me about the rules Marvel have set, while in the cinema, I turned to my wife and asked, “Where's Iron Man? Hulk? Thor? Or Hawkeye?” It’s hard to believe that not one of these would have shown up considering what was going on.

Yes, they are not all on great terms, but at the end of The Avengers they at least get on (the same can be said for Iron Man 3). Also, the events of the last three solo films do not take place at the same time, the TV show Agents of Shield has proved this. So if you are going to have this kind of interconnected films and shows, you had better start justifying why they aren’t helping each other.

While it didn’t quite reach the hype that it had coming in, this is probably Marvel Studio’s best film to date, as it curbs the humour significantly and focuses on making it’s characters interesting whilst giving them an engaging plot to follow them through.

Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo. Joss Whedon (post credits scene).

Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (screenplay). Ed Brubaker (story).