Orel Dawson – Google

Tell me if you've heard this one. Spy wants to retire in a nice Italian town, but he has to defend himself against one last person who wants him dead. Is the movie well made and well acted? For sure. Is there a plot? Intriguing characters with motivation? Rising action? Stakes? Reason to care about anything? Not at all. This feels like a studio needed to produce a film within a week and a half to fulfill some kind of contractual obligation, so they took a cookie-cutter script, slapped an A-lister on it, did the exact minimum, and gave it a quiet veneer to convince the audience that it's supposed to be simple.

Murphy doesn't have as prominent of a role this time around, as he shares the spotlight with Levitt and Paige who both do their jobs perfectly well. And Kevin Bacon gets a little more time than traditional villains, because it's Kevin Bacon. With that said, Axel F is a wonderfully fun and faithful sequel that knows what it can do and doesn't try to do anything more. It hits the right notes of action, familial melodrama, and comedic nostalgia. This definitely deserved to be made!

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau proves his star power, here. Heartbreaking, viscous, full-tilt. And Jon Bernthal. Something in me is always telling me that I'm not supposed to like this dude as an actor, but he proves me wrong every single time. Goodness. The story itself is a hair far-fetched, but the performances more than make up for it in such a way as to take the film beyond whatever point you even care. The pacing it flawless, or at least the editing is so well-executed that I didn't notice any flaws. Simple and well-executed. Entirely worth the minutes.

I wanted to hate this movie, mostly on the grounds that it's impossible for anyone to be duped by such an obvious scam. Then I googled it. This movie is 100% a true story except for names and locations, which were changed. My goodness. So in that regard, I can definitely see why this film was made. However, the production value of the film is still quite awkward, and the pacing is terrible. This is probably due to the choice to stay 100% accurate in every detail, though. So I'm torn. So I don't hate the movie and I don't hate that it was made. I'm not upset that I learned something new, but I can't say that qualifies the movie as something that people should watch and expect to be entertained at all.

It's another Liam Neeson movie, and this time he doesn't even necessarily have a particular set of skills. It's a pretty weak plot with some weak legs, but it's good enough that you won't regret the time you spent watching it. By far, though, it has a very redeeming quality in the occasional dark slapstick comedy, especially considering the game it plays every time someone dies. I laughed some real laughs, and in quite enjoyed myself watching this!

While the entire second half of the movie is one massive fire fight, and while all the tension is plenty present, it is BEYOND obvious that Lurie (director) prioritized the experience not of action heroes but of a bunch of kids in their 20's and 30's who earned their stars and medals that day, and of exceptionally strong leadership from men who had greatness thrust upon them, so to speak. Dozens of long tracking shots, watching guys in basketball shorts sprint the length of a football field under fire, mixed with static shots of bloodied soldiers in full gear camping out in a broken truck because there is nowhere else to go, and the spectrum emotions that could possibly fill that truck, mixed with explosions and plenty of hot metal... Everyone does a phenomenal job, but Caleb Landry Jones broke me. Unbelievable performance, especially at the end while he's talking to his therapist. And the interviews of survivors during the credits, some of whom returned to portray themselves in the film. My goodness. There are a few special effects that could have used a bit more TLC, but this might have been some of the best directing I've ever seen from someone who isn't just trying to make Oscar bait films. It wasn't necessarily as tight and as clean as something like 13 Hours or The Covenant, but it has way more heart and way more care poured into it. I almost turned it off in the beginning because I wasn't sure where it was going or what I was supposed to be invested in, but I was bawling by the end. Once the "big one" starts, I was both feet in. Brilliant. People here are complaining about too many jokes in serious moments, or weird interactions between soldiers, but this movie was made by someone who served. He knew what he was doing and, having done a bit myself, every awkward moment was spot on. These are guys who don't get to interact with the real world. Guys who have to entertain themselves in completely isolated social environments with completely different rules and hierarchies. If there's a line of dialogue that doesn't seem like it "fits", that's because these dudes actually act like that in real life, and especially on deployment. It certainly adds to the immersion when you can recognize how real it is. It shouldn't take away from it. There's a reason The Last Action Hero was a parody of hyper-tough action films.