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The Fate of the Furious - The Fast & Furious 8
The formula has been stripped down to the bare bone.
All that is apparently required of an action flick now is that it features a combination of the genres stars; or all of them if they are available, some exotic or iconic locations, a liberal dose of action, and big effects.
Big big effects.
A plot is an afterthought.
Something that links the crashes, explosions and the fights.
There's a time and place for movies that you can switch off and just enjoy.
But there's switching off your brain, and then there's voluntarily going for the lobotomy option just to enjoy it.
The latest instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise is closer to the latter than the former, but not quite as bad as Diesels return to his XXX persona, or the truly depressingly awful Statham outing in the second Mechanic movie.
There will be people involved in the making of this movie that could, and probably should, win awards, but unfortunately they are not in the ranks of the scriptwriters or the cast.
The stunt crews, the fight scene choreographers, and the team covering the cgi are the real stars of this, but it could have been so much better if they just got a storyteller involved.
Just one would do.
The verbal sparring between Statham and Johnson seems to be an attempt at humour, but it sounds like someone took the dialogue from a facebook tiff between two fourteen year olds.
Then again maybe that's the target audience.
If so then well done.
And Helen Mirren.
Seriously.
She must have lost a bet.
It's the only explanation.
Maybe the same bet Tommy Lee Jones lost that seen him appearing with Statham in Mechanic: Resurrection.
How could you?
Alien: Covenant
Ridley Scott isn't pulling any punches with Covenant.
It should have been called Gods and Monsters.
For those who were disappointed with the the lack of action in Prometheus and cried out for more xenomorphs and blood then here is the movie you were waiting for.
The chests bursting, backs bursting, face hugging, and liberally splashing of blood about, will no doubt keep you all satisfied.
And equally for those who dug the more cerebral instalment that was Prometheus they will be pleased to know the story arc isn't sacrificed for the kill count either.
There is a point to the slaughter.
It's a movie were more of the jigsaw pieces are slotted into place, but not all.
A very real work in progress.
As a sequel to the prequel, prequel 2 if you wish, there are some loose threads tied off that Prometheus left dangling, but also more left hanging that may draw some criticism, but with a little patience, and faith, could well be addressed in the next two, or three as touted, outings.
In fact fans can probably be assured that they will.
As a whole it seems that Scott has it all planned out, and the sneaking suspicion creeping in is that once he links it all to the original Alien then what we will have in our hands will be the science fiction franchise that towers head and shoulders over the rest.
A fully formed alternative universe that sweeps all others devised by directors out of its path and sets the bar for everything that follows.
It's partially mind boggling to think that this was spawned from the claustrophobic Alien movie from 1979.
Who could have envisioned that the tight taut survival take on science fiction horror could have been the catalyst for these epic sized prequals?
The only issue that should realistically be considered is that there is no date for part three revealed just yet.
That's a huge downside as when the closing credits rolled I would have happily had a short bathroom break and returned to my seat for another few hours in Scotts world.
Okay, okay, Blade Runner is coming, but more Alien please.
I want it all now.
I might even have to stamp my feet a bit.
How could you?
Ridley Scott isn't pulling any punches with Covenant.
It should have been called Gods and Monsters.
For those who were disappointed with the the lack of action in Prometheus and cried out for more xenomorphs and blood then here is the movie you were waiting for.
The chests bursting, backs bursting, face hugging, and liberally splashing of blood about, will no doubt keep you all satisfied.
And equally for those who dug the more cerebral instalment that was Prometheus they will be pleased to know the story arc isn't sacrificed for the kill count either.
There is a point to the slaughter.
It's a movie were more of the jigsaw pieces are slotted into place, but not all.
A very real work in progress.
As a sequel to the prequel, prequel 2 if you wish, there are some loose threads tied off that Prometheus left dangling, but also more left hanging that may draw some criticism, but with a little patience, and faith, could well be addressed in the next two, or three as touted, outings.
In fact fans can probably be assured that they will.
As a whole it seems that Scott has it all planned out, and the sneaking suspicion creeping in is that once he links it all to the original Alien then what we will have in our hands will be the science fiction franchise that towers head and shoulders over the rest.
A fully formed alternative universe that sweeps all others devised by directors out of its path and sets the bar for everything that follows.
It's partially mind boggling to think that this was spawned from the claustrophobic Alien movie from 1979.
Who could have envisioned that the tight taut survival take on science fiction horror could have been the catalyst for these epic sized prequals?
The only issue that should realistically be considered is that there is no date for part three revealed just yet.
That's a huge downside as when the closing credits rolled I would have happily had a short bathroom break and returned to my seat for another few hours in Scotts world.
Okay, okay, Blade Runner is coming, but more Alien please.
I want it all now.
I might even have to stamp my feet a bit.
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