The first time I saw this flick I enjoyed it but I didn't really think it was anything special.
However, with repeat viewings it's really grown on me and has some how ended up becoming one of the best bitter sweet comedies that I've seen in the last ten years or so.
Easily the best of the Star Wars prequels, this is the one where we find out that Lucas was actually using them to tell us the story of Palpatine's rise to power rather than Anakin Skywalker's descent to the dark side.
Featuring a superb performance from Ian McDiarmid and some enjoyably cheesy dialogue this represents one of my all time favourite sci-fi flavoured guilty pleasures.
Now & then there are times when I've had a hectic day, don't have the energy to watch something that requires me to think and to be perfectly honest just want to watch something that's fast paced, slick and can manage to entertain me in a relatively effortless way.
Therefore it's safe to say that this is a flick that I tend to revisit only when I'm in the mood for something that falls into more of a 'popcorn' flavoured movie category.
I will admit that when I first saw this flick, I actually found it pretty hard to take Keanu Reeves seriously in an 'action hero' type role...in fact I required a large (table spoon sized) dose of suspended disbelief to stop myself from wondering how 'Ted Theodore Logan' had actually ever managed to join the FBI.
However, after appearing in movies like 'Speed' and 'The Matrix' I have to say that it's really much, much easier now to just sit back and fully appreciate the '100% pure adrenaline' that this flick has to offer.
Now this is quite simply an amazingly powerful flick, a movie that I've seen many times before and will watch many times again as it is, IMO at least, unquestionably a modern classic.
It's also rather brave as it's central character, despite being a racist, is extremely charismatic and consequently whilst you don't necessarily agree with his views, it's actually difficult not to see a small degree of logic in them...at the beginning at least.
As this flick progresses, it soon becomes abundantly clear to both him & the viewer just how many holes are contained in his belief system and consequently watching him initially reassess & then subsequently rebuild his life represents a truly powerful & quite emotional cinematic experience.
Overall this represents the very definition of a 'must see' movie and it's one I would highly recommend to anyone that hasn't already been fortunate enough to see it.
With my expectations being set by this flick's rating on IMDb (currently 7.4/10) I have to say that I found this movie to be a little bit of a disappointment.
It's not that there was anything wrong with it as such, it was just...slower than I expected it to be and I don't think it's unfair to say that it never really ever got going (I will, however, concede that the characters themselves are all very well written & very well performed by what is unquestionably a very talented cast).
Overall I'd still say this is a flick that is worth catching (albeit maybe one that's not quite worth pursuing) but I'd also point out that this really is one of those movies that's best served with a rather large pinch of patience.
There's not a hell of a lot that I can (or actually want to) write about this flick, very much a stereotypical slasher movie filled to the brim with barely adequate performances...excluding perhaps Carrie Fisher who managed to make her character just a little bit more interesting & consequently more sympathetic than everyone else.
If you're a fan of the genre then you may find that watching this flick actually turns out to be a passable experience otherwise I have to say that this really isn't worth going out of your way for.
Despite really liking this flick, it's hard to ignore that having R. Lee Ermey in it actually represents a bit of a hindrance.
Because he pretty much owns the first half of the movie (with what can be only be described as a truly memorable performance), what follows the training scenes (excluding the odd piece of very quotable dialogue) really struggles to match the quality of what has gone before therefore it's hard to leave this flick behind without feeling the slightest hint of disappointment.
This is a real shame as the second half of this movie is solid, really solid in fact but despite that section attaining a more than respectable level of quality it's still very hard indeed to view this flick as anything other than uneven.
I originally thought (because of the trailer) that this movie looked like yet another 'run of the mill' dramatic thriller that really wouldn't be worth my time...but when I'm wrong (which doesn't happen all that often) I am willing to hold my hands up, therefore I'll admit that this was actually better than I'd expected it to be.
The performances from the three main leads were really very good indeed and I was able to empathise, to an extent at least, with each & every one of them. I was also quite surprised by just how much of herself Amanda Seyfried put into this flick...if you know what I mean (can't really say that was the case with Julianne 'Boogie Nights' Moore).
Overall I'd describe this as a movie that's well worth keeping an eye out for as it has more than a few solid twists & turns as well as containing a conclusion that, at the very least, can be described as reasonably satisfying.
Pretty much watched this movie on a whim (there was nothing better on at that time) as I've never really had that much of an interest in the comic book itself (although I will admit to really enjoying both of the two most recent live action adaptations).
In the end I thought this animated flick was just okay, there was nothing really wrong with it and it certainly passed the time pleasantly enough but I can't say that it's a movie I could ever see myself returning to in the future.
Although I believe that the comic book genre does have something to offer all age ranges I do think that this was geared towards the lower end of the age scale and perhaps that's the reason I wasn't particularly taken with it.
The first time I viewed this movie I found it to be a solid post apocalyptic thriller with decent performances from everyone involved & although that opinion still holds, I will admit that there was something I missed previously which has forced me to make a slight reassessment.
The reason for this is that it contains a twist towards the end of it's running time that is soooooooooo ridiculous that I didn't even consider it as a possibility first time around. Maybe I had my brain completely switched off on that first occasion but considering what had gone before there's really no way you can suspend your disbelief and buy into the concept the makers of this flick are trying to sell to you (although I'm not going to jump into spoiler territory and reveal the actual nature of this brain numbingly stupid one eighty, I will just dip my toe and say that it utilises a reverse of a plot device previously used in a few martial arts flavoured movies).
Overall this is still worth a watch IMO but be prepared for the strong possibility that the ending of this flick will leave you feeling slightly irritated.
This blog represents an ongoing list of flicks watched by my good self. Every movie viewed will be awarded one of seven ratings ('Unmissable', 'Superb', 'Very Decent', 'Decent', 'Decent Enough', 'Watchable' & finally 'Worthless') and any flick that falls under one of the first three ratings categories will also be awarded 'Razorsharp' status (which means it's pretty much a 'must see' movie in my not so humble opinion).
