Home Media Catch Up - The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Director: Breck Eisner

Cast: Vin Diesel, Elijah Wood, Michael Caine, Rose Leslie, Julie Engelbrecht

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 107 min

Home Media Catch Up is a series dedicated to reviewing films released within the same year or prior year that I either missed upon theatrical release or have not got around to viewing on home media yet. Therefore, they won't contain the historical depth of a Retrospective Review, nor the initial reaction of a Theatrical Review, but more so something in between.

Even though Vin Diesel appears to be a muscle bound meat head (the Fast and Furious franchise asserts this), he is truly a nerd at heart. Diesel is notoriously a fan of Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy based game that is immensely popular amongst nerd type crowds. Diesel also pours his heart and soul into each of his Riddick films, a series that represents his most nerd-like sensibilities with their vast mythos and world building. It seems that for every successful Fast and Furious film, Diesel partakes in either a science fiction or fantasy based film that pleases his nerd tastes. Therefore, it came as no surprise when Diesel starred in The Last Witch Hunter in 2015, a fantasy film that might as well have been Diesel's answer for a Dungeons and Dragons type film starring himself. 

Unfortunately, the The Last Witch Hunter turned out to be nothing more than a critically reviled flop, a weak and uninspired attempt at jump starting a franchise that more closely resembled Diesel's previous science fiction flop, Bablyon A.D., than a truly fleshed out genre epic like Diesel's Riddick series. Not only is The Last Witch Hunter a lazy retread of previous science fiction/fantasy films, most notably Blade, Constantine, and Highlander, but it barely features any action amidst its fantasy world building. The Last Witch Hunter is 2015's fantasy equivalent to Hitman: Agent 47, a pair of dull and emotionless action films with nothing but unnatural conversations about exposition and plots that make absolutely no sense. You know your movie sucks when you can't even top Constantine.

Am I hotter or Kaulder?

Kaulder (Vin Diesel) and his witch hunting buddies go after the Queen Witch and her followers in the opening prologue of the film set in medieval times in order to vanquish the source of the Black Plague. When every witch hunter falls, only Kaulder is left to stand up against the Queen Witch. Even though he defeats her, she strikes back and curses him with immortality in her final moments. Fast forward to the present day where Kaulder is now the last witch hunter in a world where witches and humans live in peace due to a truce. However, a witch decides to break the truce in order to bring back the Queen Witch to the present day. Kaulder, along with the help of his witch hunting buddies, Nolan the 36th (Michael Caine), Nolan the 37th (Elijah Wood), and Chloe (Rose Leslie), go after the Queen Witch and try to prevent the Black Plague from being cast upon the world once again.

The Last Witch Hunter owes a lot of its plot, character, and genre to Russell Mulcahy's flawed but fan favorite fantasy actioner, Highlander. It duplicates Highlander's time bending fantasy, as well as its never ending war between various factions and persons. It also grounds its action in gun and sword play, a distinct element of the Highlander franchise. Even Kaulder, who would most likely be a villain in a Highlander film because his name starts with a "K," is a rip-off of Connor MacCleod with his curse of immortality and collection of ancient artifacts. However, The Last Witch Hunter fails where Highlander and its counterparts succeed because it features no distinct style of its own. It's a corporate made studio film with no imagination and lazy fantasy designs that prove that no heart and soul was put into the picture at all.

One of The Last Witch Hunter's greatest sins is its failure to explore the implications of immortality. Even Highlander, which is a silly fantasy offering in the first place, is memorable because it places a huge emphasis on the effects of immortality and what it would be like to live forever. Highlander, along with its music video-esque style, would be nothing without its exploration of said theme. Whereas The Last Witch Hunter, a dull and lazy reworking of the Highlander mythos, features a protagonist who doesn't seem bothered by his immortality. Therefore, not only does Kaulder show no character in the first place, but he doesn't even seem to care about his own predicament. Talk about a forgettable and unrealistic fantasy protagonist.

I can at least admit that the Queen Witch's design is original.

The film also features several similarities to the Blade series. Kaulder is apparently feared by all witches as the ultimate witch hunter, more or less the way that Blade is feared by vampires. However, imagine if Blade had no personality or charisma to him, and you would have The Last Witch Hunter's protagonist, a character who is lazily nicknamed "the Weapon." Come on guys, "the Weapon?" That's the best you could come up with? The film also features witches who are referred to as "dream walkers," much the same way that Blade is referred to as a "day walker." These similarities are so shocking that The Last Witch Hunter might as well be a re-spray painted version of Blade, but with none of the awesome action or atmospheric horror.

Speaking of action, The Last Witch Hunter features very little of it, which is damning considering the monotony of the film's dull plot that will put viewers to sleep in the first place. Although I expected the film's affective prologue to simply be the bottom of the hill, it turns out that the dark and violent opening sword fight is where the film's action peaks. From there, Diesel partakes in very few supernatural fights and shockingly short set pieces that barely even classify as sequences. Even the finale, which pits Diesel and friends up against a tree-like monster and the Queen Witch, lacks any imagination or style and operates as an anti-climax to what desperately wants to be a blockbuster film. For those hoping to see Diesel duke it out with other witches using his sword and gun, don't get your hopes up.

Another damning criticism of Diesel's fantasy is that it features some of the most unnatural world building that I have ever witnessed in a wannabe franchise. It's much the same as 2005's Constantine, another "this world versus this world" kind of fantasy film where the world is established through conversations and dialog instead of natural cinematic language. Kaulder and friends spend most of the film walking around and explaining elements of their fantasy world to one another instead of inhabiting or developing said world in a natural or engaging manner. Combined with the film's extremely lazy fantasy designs (seriously, a tree monster and a plague of flies?), The Last Witch Hunter is as low rent as fantasy fiction comes.

Here's your trio.

Although I expect Diesel to appear in schlocky B-movie affair like this, it pains me to see the rest of the film's cast flounder in a fantasy fiction undeserved of their talents. Poor Michael Caine plays Dolan the 36th, more or less the film's equivalent to Whistler, Kris Kristofferson's mentor in the Blade series. Caine has to spout ridiculous dialog about the world of witches and the Axe and Cross and this and that, purely to receive a pay check that can go next to the ones he earned for similar schlock-fests Jaws: The Revenge and On Deadly Ground. His screen time is so short anyways that you just might forget he is in the film after all.

The other hilarious supporting performance comes from Elijah Wood. It's sad to see the mighty fall, as Wood has gone from The Lord of the Rings, the greatest fantasy series of all time, to this. Viewers will be able to call Wood's allegiance's from the get go and will find his performance possibly the most cringe worthy. It's no insult to Wood, I love the guy, but he's always been a rather cheesy performer. Therefore, if you pair the guy with cheesy material, you are going to score laughs.

The last piece of the wasted talent puzzle is Rose Leslie, who more or less acts as the co-lead of the picture next to Diesel. Leslie, much like Wood, is most well known for one of contemporary media's greatest fantasy stories, the Game of Thrones television series. To see her stoop from that to this is just about as cringe worthy as it sound.

Fire sword! Activated!

The Last Witch Hunter is a desperate franchise starter that offers up barely enough material to suffice a franchise, let alone one film. Director Breck Eisner, who I have failed to mention until now, barely suffices as a competent director either. If you pair Eisner's bland style with the film's awful script and lazy fantasy designs, you have yourself one bland fantasy film that somehow made its way from the Syfy Channel to theaters. At least it's not as bad as Highlander: The Source. While Diesel may be fun to watch in fantasy affair like this, even he appears tired and lazy in a film that is nothing more than routine. Despite the film's horrendous reviews and lukewarm box office, Diesel has guaranteed that a sequel is on the way. While it may be fun to see how much worse this series could get, I would prefer that Diesel focus his cinematic efforts on his much beloved Riddick series. Heck, I'd rather see The Pacifier 2 than another The Last Witch Hunter.

Rating: 3/10 - Let's hope that this is the last The Last Witch Hunter. Enough said.

Home Media Catch Up - Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)

Director: Aleksander Bach

Cast: Rupert Friend, Zachary Quinto, Hannah Ware, Ciaran Hinds, Angelbaby

Country: United Kingdom / Germany / United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 96 min

Home Media Catch Up is a series dedicated to reviewing films released within the same year or prior year that I either missed upon theatrical release or have not got around to viewing on home media yet. Therefore, they won't contain the historical depth of a Retrospective Review, nor the initial reaction of a Theatrical Review, but more so something in between.

When I recently made my Top Five Best (And Worst) Action Films of the Year List, I mentioned that several films did not appear on my list because I never got around to seeing them. As with most years, I tend to play catch up with my 'to watch list' and end up checking out several films on home video. While it is always great whenever you unearth an undiscovered treasure from the previous year, such as Bone Tomahawk, it is also painful whenever you watch a turd that you should have avoided in the first place, such as Hitman: Agent 47.

After 2007's Hitman, which was honestly a mild success, 20th Century Fox decided to give the I.P. a second chance with a new reboot. Although the reboot received far worse reviews and made a tad less than its predecessor, Hitman: Agent 47 was still a minor success considering its R rating. Critics were particularly harsh with this one though, trashing it so much to the point where the film received an embarrassing 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. Let's be clear: Hitman: Agent 47 is not a good film. However, it does not deserve a rancid score as low as that. Those critics must have not see such direct to video filth as Ernie Barbarash's Pound of Flesh or Wych Kaosayananda's Zero Tolerance, as those action films were far worse in every way imaginable. Therefore, let it be known that Hitman: Agent 47 is not garbage, although don't expect me to defend the film in public.

The first of many kills.

Adapted from the video game series of the same name, Hitman: Agent 47 tells the story of Katia van Dees (Hannah Ware), a woman with strange abilities in search of her past and father. It turns out that her father, Dr. Litvenko (Ciaran Hinds), created the Agent Program, a program that brainwashed new borns into emotionless yet perfect super assassins for the International Contracts Agency. One of those assassins, Agent 47 (Rupert Friend), is in search of Katia because she can lead him to her father. However, 47's mission is complicated when Brian (Zachary Quinto), a member of the Syndicate, repeatedly intervenes. Once 47 gets ahold of Tatia, he explains to her the origin of her powers and that she was a part of the same program as him. The two team up in search of Dr. Litvenko, all the while taking on the Syndicate's agents.

Hitman: Agent 47 is yet another bland and dour adaptation of a video game series that once again proves that video games with weak stories should not be adapted to the big screen. It's almost funny how there has yet to be a single critically acclaimed or beloved video game to film adaptation in the last thirty years, but it's true. The last time that I personally tackled a video game to film adaptation on the blog was John Moore's Max Payne, a film with many the same problems as Hitman: Agent 47. To be honest, I personally love both of those game series, as each features stylish action and notable lead protagonists who operate as fun vessels for the player to inhabit a violent world with. Unfortunately, all of their feature film adaptations pale in comparison to the video games, or at least barely represent the games at heart.

I believe it is important that I attempt to tackle the age old question within this review: Why has nobody been able to create a solid video game to film adaptation so far? For the most part, many video games don't have particularly great stories. They tend to be made better by their interactivity and playability, after all, they are called "video games" for a reason. Both the Max Payne and Hitman game series are essentially glorified shooting galleries in disguise as a game with a story. Therefore, filmmakers have the uphill struggle of crafting a film out of something that doesn't have a fleshed out story in the first place (also see: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mortal Kombat). It makes one wonder why filmmakers don't attempt to adapt modern video game series such as the immensely mythological and layered Halo and Bioshock series. Until filmmakers can either a) choose a video game source with a layered story, or b) create their own layered story instead of relying purely upon spectacle, video game to film adaptations are always going to fail.

"We just met an hour ago, you trust me, right?"

Although Rupert Friend portrays the titular hitman, he pales in comparison to the character's previous player, Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard). Olyphant possessed a magnitude and gravitas in Hitman that Friend lacks entirely here within the reboot. Whether the film's direction or Friend's lack of leading experience is to blame, he makes for a particularly forgettable Agent 47. In fact, the reboot was originally supposed to star Paul Walker of the Fast and Furious series before his untimely fast and furious death in 2014. It would have been interesting to see a boy scout actor of Walker's pedigree portray such a dark and emotionless character as Agent 47. Plus, the film would have most likely been more successful and launched a franchise considering Walker's stardom and likability. However, if this was the script that Walker had to work with, than even he could not have saved the film that much.

One of the film's biggest problems, which is entirely attributable to its horrendous script, is that the titular Hitman himself is reduced to a supporting player in his own movie. Instead, the character of Tatia, portrayed by Hannah Ware, is truly the protagonist of the film, as the film is more or less her story. Even though 47 gets involved in her story, the film never becomes about him and instead uses him as an unstoppable killing machine and mentor to Tatia's apprentice. The only other notable supporting player in the film, besides 47, is the villainous Brian, portrayed by Zachary Quinto of Star Trek fame. His character possesses a metallic endoskeleton, thereby making him impervious to 47's bullets. Brian is truly the biggest joke of the film, as he is more or less a rip off of the Universal Soldiers found within the Universal Soldier series, which was more or less a rip off of the Terminator cyborgs found within the Terminator series. Although without him, the film would have been far less watchable. He may be a joke, but at least Brian makes for a fun and watchable right hand man.

The majority of Hitman: Agent 47's problems lies within its script and screen story written by Skip Woods, a screenwriter who specializes in ruining great characters with his awful screenplays (see: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, A Good Day to Die Hard). The story is a complete mess, as the movie gives you the littlest of exposition possible to base a plot around in order for everything to appear confusing all of the time so that the film can slowly reveal things to make it seem clever or twisting. Woods crafts an artificial sense of discovery within his script, as the viewer discovers key character motivations and plot points towards the end of the film that most other films would give you up front. Not only that, but every single conversation is purely about explaining mechanizations of the plot and nothing else. Imagine a film where no character speaks like a human being, but instead a robot, and you have Hitman: Agent 47, a film that features one emotionless assassin and a mechanized cyborg-like villain already!

This is basically as bad ass and exciting as the film gets: double gun posing.

Thankfully, Hitman: Agent 47 is rated R, its one saving grace. Although far from great or visibly comprehensible, the bloody action set pieces are the only reason to check out this video game to film adaptation. A sad truth is that the film's action peaks in its opening scene in which 47 lays waste to a group of armed guards in the film's most grounded and exciting action set piece of the entire picture. David Leitch (John Wick) is credited with some of the action choreography and additional action found within the film. Although I cannot confirm what portions of the film have his stamp on them, I'd bet that the film's more gun fu-centric sequences, such as the opening shootout, belong to him.

Unfortunately, the film is plagued by numerous computer generated moments that cover up the film's non-existent practical stunt work or bloody squibs. Lame CG centric moments, such as a plane engine sucking in agents or digital agents sliding down ropes while shooting, reveal a small scaled/mid budget film with desperate blockbuster ambition. Coupled with its numerous foreign locations, Hitman: Agent 47 sacrifices practicality and reason for maximum international appeal.

While the film's plentiful gun fights make for the film's only enjoyable action mayhem, every physical bout is particularly awful due to the film's weak cinematography. The shaky photography and rapid editing, the bane of contemporary action, is due to the inability of the film's performers to enact believable action. It also doesn't help that the film features not one, not two, but three physical fights between 47 and Brian, portrayed by two physically inept actors, Friend and Quinto. Therefore, their fights come out the worst due to their lack of physical experience. Fortunately for them, but unfortunate for the viewer, director Aleksander Bach covers up their lack of skills with as much shaky cam as possible.

That's it, throw on the smolder.

As to how a film could be titled Hitman: Agent 47, and not reveal its titular character's reasons for his actions throughout the entire film until the final scene, boggles my mind. Coupled with the absolutely embarrassing final shot of the film in which Agent 48, an exact replica of Agent 47, shows up to take on him and Tatia, reveals a film that absolutely crumbles a part in in its final moments. Hitman: Agent 47 is an amateur affair, with amateur fights, amateur computer generated action, and amateur story telling abounding from start to finish. Besides some sleek gun fu action and a decent score by composer Marco Beltrami, this reboot of Square Enix's famed game series doesn't offer up much. It's not a train wreck, but pretty close to derailing off of its track and crashing and burning into the dirt where its script was found.

Rating: 4/10 - Ultimately a bland studio actioner with decent action set pieces, immensely bland characters, and a horrendous script.

Home Media Catch Up - Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Director: S. Craig Zahler

Cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Lili Simmons, Richard Jenkins

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 132 min

Home Media Catch Up is a series dedicated to reviewing films released within the same year or prior year that I either missed upon theatrical release or have not got around to viewing on home media yet. Therefore, they won't contain the historical depth of a Retrospective Review, nor the initial reaction of a Theatrical Review, but more so something in between.

While Westerns have been made since the dawn of cinema, many declare John Ford's 1939 masterpiece, Stagecoach, to be the turning point in which the genre was finally taken seriously. Few genres flourished as much as the Western initially did when it became popular, dominating the cinematic conscious from the 1940s through the 70s. Unfortunately, once Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate bombed commercially in 1980, the genre started its slippery slope into cinematic obscurity. Even though certain filmmakers continued to make Westerns, such as Clint Eastwood, the genre somewhat became a thing of the past, just as the Western frontier did itself.

Nowadays, it is always a celebration amongst genre fans whenever a true Western comes out, as they tend to rarely get made anymore. Fortunately, the tail end of 2015 has offered up a wealth of Western material, with big budget-awards season offerings such as The Revenant and The Hateful Eight supplying genre fans with their Western needs. However, one low budget contemporary Western offers genre fans a different kind of thrill, or at least a different kind of sub-genre altogether. Bone Tomahawk, a true Indie picture from first time director S. Craig Zahler, offers up Western atmosphere along with the gruesome gore and terror of a cannibal picture. It also features Kurt Russell and that awesome mustache and beard of his from The Hateful Eight in a much smaller picture. While in no way for the faint of heart or those with little patience, Bone Tomahawk is an exceptionally well made, although slightly over long and occasionally sadistic, Western for those looking for a truly visceral viewing experience.

You've been warned. Proceed with caution.

Bone Tomahawk opens with a disturbing scene that sets the tone for the rest of the picture as two thieves, Buddy (David Arquette) and Purvis (Sid Haig), rob and steal from campers. Upon walking further into the desert, the two stumble upon a burial ground owned by Troglodytes, cave dwelling cannibals who show no mercy to their victims. Purvis quickly finds himself attacked and sliced open by a cannibal, while Buddy high tails it out of there thinking of himself.

After arriving in the small town of Bright Hope, Buddy earns the attention of backup deputy officer Chicory (Richard Jenkins), who finds his appearance and actions suspicious. When he informs Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell), the two of them confront Buddy, which leads to Hunt shooting him in the leg. Hunt is left in the town jail overnight and sought after by Samantha O'Dwyer (Lili Simmons), the town doctor and wife of Arthur (Patrick Wilson). Unfortunately, the cannibals tracked Buddy back to Bright Hope, and abduct both him and Samantha in the night. Therefore, Hunt, Chicory, Arthur, and an upper class man, John Brooder (Matthew Fox), set out to find the two and bring them back.

Bone Tomahawk is a success story for any aspiring filmmaker looking to produce a cheap film. It's incredible that first time director S. Craig Zahler produced the film on a mere $1 million budget and found a way to entice such recognizable actors as Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins to the project. After watching the behind the scenes documentary, as well as having a friend familiar with the area of Southern California, I discovered that the film was shot in a Western town and in the wilderness of Malibu, California. The clearly clean looking sets and outfits do somewhat spoil what could have been a more immersive Western experience given a bigger budget, but Zahler mostly does a great job getting as much as he can out of his limited budget, especially once the film moves purely into the wild. The film also features some truly fantastic special effects, especially during any sequence involving gore, gun fire, or bodily dismemberment. Therefore, any aspiring filmmaker or movie buff will want to give the film a watch simply for Zahler's success story alone.

"I was on Lost."

Due to its limited budget, Bone Tomahawk mainly relies upon dialog and character over spectacle, although it does go all out in its final act. Therefore, the bulk of the film rests upon Zahler's ability to write and direct interesting dialog and compelling characters. For the most part, he succeeds. After all, the first two acts of the film are all about establishing character. In fact, it takes the film around 40 minutes to get to the point in which the main plot kicks off, thereby affording the first 40 minutes the task of purely establishing the characters. 

However, the film's over long run time may be felt by the viewer, especially during the slow burn of act two. Some of the scenes and accompanying dialog don't feel entirely necessary at points, such as Wilson's reading of a poem, and could have possibly been left on the cutting room floor. Thankfully, the great performances help get the viewer through most of the film's slower points, as any minute of screen time with Kurt Russell and his beard is infinitely more watchable than one without him. It's a tough balance, but a strong reminder that dialog is going to dominate a picture when a mere $1 million are at your disposal.

Speaking of performances, every one brings their A-game to Bone Tomahawk. The four main leads form a likable team of players.  Russell is his usual bad ass self, Wilson is his usual boy scout self, and Jenkins is his usual kind hearted and adorable self. I was most surprised by Matthew Fox of Lost fame though, who gave a show stealing performance as a rich uppity gunslinger with a unique moral code. The film is also jam packed with numerous cameos, including David Arquette (Scream), Sid Haig (The Devil's Rejects), Sean Young (Blade Runner), Kathryn Morris (Cold Case), Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers), and James Tolkan (Back to the Future Trilogy). Many of these cameos are mere moments long though. In all honesty, Sean Young completely skipped past me on my first watch, as I don't even remember her appearing on screen.

Wilson takes aim and fires in one of the film's most memorable scenes.

Bone Tomahawk is a part of a very rare type of sub-genre, the Western horror to be exact. In fact, it crosses over into cannibal territory as well, which is its own sub-genre in and of itself. Therefore, fans of either Cannibal Holocaust or Unforgiven will find something to like here, as Bone Tomahawk caters to both the Western and horror fan alike.

The bulk of the horror doesn't arrive until the film's dynamite final act in which all kinds of blood and gore is unleashed on the screen. The exact moment in which Zahler lets loose with the blood and mayhem is so unpredictable, that those who have started to snooze off from the slow second act will most likely have to rewind in order to catch up again. There's no denying that the final act is exceptionally brutal. The film will most likely go down in history amongst genre buffs for one particular scene of brutal murder that caused even myself to cover up my eyes. After all, I typically swear off cannibal films because I find them too sadistic and gruesome for my taste; I haven never even seen the likes of Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, or Eli Roth's latest The Green Inferno because I know I won't find any enjoyment in them. Therefore, whenever Bone Tomahawk crossed over into hardcore cannibalism, my mouth gaped and my eyes squinted.

While I typically excuse brutal violence, especially when it is part of the action or Western genre, I felt that Bone Tomahawk's most gruesome moments were unnecessary and fairly sadistic. For example, when a character is scalped in gruesome detail, I felt that Zahler could have cut away from there and left the rest to the viewer's imagination. Unfortunately, Zahler continues to show the man eat his own scalp and than be sliced in half down the middle of his body, followed by all of his entrails pouring out onto the dirt. This moment was so sadistic and evil, that it made me question whether I liked the film at all. Another sadistic moment includes a cannibal slicing open a character's stomach and forcing a hot tin into their body. However, nothing compared to one of the film's final moments in which it is revealed that the cannibals own two blind and crippled women purely for reproducing. That might be more disturbing and vile than any moment of on screen violence purely for its horrendous implications. Therefore, let me stress that Bone Tomahawk is not for the weak, as it truly goes where few other films go.

If you can't handle this image, than you won't handle Bone Tomahawk.

Even though Bone Tomahawk's gruesome gore and torturous sequences will make any viewer's stomach churn, the film balances it out with some thankfully satisfying and realistic action to boot. Therefore, it's not just torture and gore, but revenge and escape as well. S. Craig Zahler has crafted quite a unique Western; one that features A-list actors, a $1 million budget, and some of the most gruesome imagery to be put upon the screen. Horror fans will find themselves in heaven, while others might feel alienated or distant from the film's hardcore proceedings. While the gruesome gore may be too sadistic for my taste, the film's rather slow start is the film's biggest downfall. If Bone Tomahawk had been a tad shorter, as well as a tad less violent, than I could easily sing its praises to everyone. Even with its apparent flaws and my own personal taste set aside, the film is still a hidden gem that true genre fans are going to want to seek out. Just remember to bring either a barf bag, a remote to fast forward through a scene or two, as well as your own trusty hands to cover up your eyes.

Rating: 7/10 - While immensely sadistic and slightly overlong, Bone Tomahawk excels as a visceral Western horror.

The Hateful Eight (2015) - 70mm Roadshow Version

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Tim Roth

Country: United States

Rating: R

Run Time: 187 min

Quentin Tarantino's latest, The Hateful Eight, is his second Western after 2012's Django Unchained. Whereas Django Unchained was a hero's journey that spanned the scope of the Southern frontier, The Hateful Eight is a claustrophobic who-dun-it picture occupied by eight or so flawed bastards who barely qualify as heroes. Mainly confined to one location, The Hateful Eight makes for one of the most unbearably tense and nail biting cinematic experiences in recent years. Imagine if the tavern sequence from Inglourious Basterds was an entire film, and you have The Hateful Eight. Tarantino acts as the puppeteer of suspense here, pulling on the strings of his cinematic marionette to the point where audience members will find themselves squirming in their seats. Easily Tarantino's most vicious and vile picture to date, The Hateful Eight tosses a bunch of players from post-Civil War America into a confined space and allows them go to town on one another.

It's worth mentioning that I saw The Hateful Eight in 70mm as part of Tarantino's Roadshow Version of the film. The Roadshow Version of the film treats it as if it were an actual stage play or a broadway musical, much the same way that prestige pictures like Ben Hur and Lawrence of Arabia were treated back in the early 60s. The Roadshow Version comes complete with a physical program, a musical overture, and an intermission, thereby expanding the film's 167 minute run time to a whopping 187 minute cinematic experience. 

While Tarantino has stated that his film stands on its own, even separated from the event-like lavishes of its Roadshow cut, I personally believe that the Roadshow experience greatly affects one's experience and opinion with the film. As soon as the Overture title card popped up and Ennio Morricone's music blared across the soundtrack, I immediately felt entranced. Morricone's music not only sets the tone for the horrific picture, but hypnotizes you with its gothic sound. The intermission also comes at the perfect moment within the film, thereby allowing viewers to soak in the previous triumphant scene, discuss the film with their friends, and most likely get up and go to the bathroom. The Hateful Eight may be a great movie, but the Roadshow Version of the film makes for an unforgettable experience that arguably amplifies The Hateful Eight's filmic affect. 

Eight bastards brave the worst blizzard of all time.

The Hateful Eight opens with one Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) stumbling upon a stagecoach occupied by the bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his prisoner Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Ruth informs Warren that he is taking Daisy to Red Rock in order to have her hung and to earn the reward for her capture. However, an unforeseen blizzard complicates matters, thereby forcing Ruth and his captive towards a stagecoach lodge for shelter. When Ruth arrives at the lodge, he immediately suspects that one of the lodge's attendants is not who they say they are, and that somebody is plotting to break Daisy free of her chains. What follows is one hell of a nail biter as friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and backs are both metaphorically and literally stabbed.

Tarantino's latest is similar to John Ford's Stagecoach in which a bunch of strangers are thrown together into a live or die situation. In fact, many of his extreme wide shots recall the great Ford's work on many classic Westerns. Tarantino also pays tribute to Robert Altman's McCabe and Mrs. Miller and even Sergio Corbucci's The Great Silence by setting his Western theatrics amongst the snow. Few snow Westerns ever get made, so it's a pleasure to finally have another after who knows how long. The film also recalls John Carpenter's The Thing in how it drops a group of people into the snow and forces them to play mental chess with one another as they try and figure out who is who. It's all the more ironic that The Hateful Eight stars not only The Thing's Kurt Russell, but even features a score by The Thing's composer, Ennio Morricone. 

Tarantino's previous two films, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, were particularly enjoyable to watch in how he set his novelistic adventures amongst crucial points in U.S. history. Inglourious Basterds confronted the Nazis and World War II head on by eliminating Adolf Hitler altogether in a fantastical matter while Django Unchained confronted the harsh issue of slavery by allowing a black hero the chance to fight back against white slavers. The Hateful Eight tackles another hot blooded point in U.S. history, that of post-Civil War America, by placing former Union and Confederate characters against one another. It's tense enough that The Hateful Eight's characters have to shack up underneath a cold roof while one bounty hunter investigates who is trying to free his prisoner, but the underlying tension of the Civil War makes the experience all the more palpable. History and genre buffs will get a kick out of Tarantino's subversion and incorporation of both the Western genre and the tension of post-Civil War America.

John Ruth and Major Marquis talk it out.

Every Tarantino film features a selection of unforgettable characters, and The Hateful Eight features exactly that. He provides the viewer with several characters to root for as well as some to rally against. What makes The Hateful Eight such a fantastic viewing experience is that Tarantino plays with the viewers' expectations as to who is a morally righteous character and who is a backstabbing liar. In fact, Tarantino purposefully pits characters against one another early on in the film in order for the viewer to hate one and love the other, only to find them team up later on due to a common cause. It is this subversion of the audience's expectations, as well as the deeply layered characters who inhabit the film, that makes The Hateful Eight a character driven dream to watch.

Performances are excellent all around, with everybody giving their A-game to go along with their excellent characters. Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson are especially fantastic as the film's two lead characters. Each gives one of the best performances of their career here, fully embodying their malicious but righteous characters. Supporting performances by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Bruce Dern, Walton Goggins, Michael Madsen, Demian Bichir, and even Channing Tatum are a delight. While no character comes out of the film unscathed or unbattered, everyone leaves an impression. Viewers will find themselves debating which character they adore the most, as well as who was the most vile and deserved their gory end.

Tarantino also extracts a lot of great comedy out of his film and actors. There's a great repeating joke about a door that won't shut, so the characters have to constantly hold it closed and hammer nails into it. Pretty much any line that comes out of Sam Jackson's mouth is hilarious or bad ass, especially whenever he drops a curse word here or there. Demian Bichir, who is mostly unknown to American audiences despite appearances in Machete Kills and The Heat, is absolutely hilarious as Bob the Mexican. Even Tim Roth, who hasn't been seen in a major film of this caliber in a long time, is extremely bubbly and joyful to watch. No Tarantino film, despite how vicious or malicious, ever fails to get a laugh out of the audience. By the end of The Hateful Eight's violent proceedings, you'll be hard pressed not to have laughed at either an honest joke or simply the film's darkly comedic set up.

Jackson "sticks it" to Madsen.

While every Tarantino film may be packed to the brim with substance, the filmmaker became such a household name because of his memorable style and admiration for blood and gore. The Hateful Eight definitely doesn't hold back on the gory antics that Tarantino has built a career on, especially once one makes it past the intermission. Once the first blood vomit hits the screen, its an all out gore fest from there. He holds back nothing in this film. Characters' heads explode, balls are shot, and even arms are chopped off.

I also personally found the film to be Tarantino's most disturbing and vicious flick to date. Although one's opinion of a film is entirely subjective, several scenes made my stomach churn or my eyes squint, especially a detailed massacre that could have been depicted off screen. Unlike previous Tarantino films, the violence found here is not glamorous or heroic in nature or purpose. Instead, characters murder one another, including unnamed innocents, for their own selfish goals. It's tough to watch at points, but that's Tarantino for you, always pushing the envelope. Although, it was pretty fun to watch one unnamed actor's head explode on screen, considering their pedigree and public image.

The last masterstroke in Tarantino's latest is the score by veteran composer Ennio Morricone. After all, Tarantino always steals from Morricone's extensive library of music for most of his films. Therefore, it makes sense for Morricone to finally come aboard and compose an entire Tarantino film. Tarantino apparently convinced Morricone to come out of retirement in order to compose the film. Thank God for Morricone's break from retirement, because his score for the film is one of his all time greats. It stands next to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Mission, and even Cinema Paradiso in how unique and memorable it is. It's an utterly iconic, and especially haunting and gothic, piece of score that music and movie fans will celebrate alike. I know that it might sound quick to call something a destined classic, but The Hateful Eight's score is exactly that.

"You're not getting a warning, but a bullet."

Upon initial viewing, The Hateful Eight will probably disturb some viewers and leave them quite winded. It's not often that three hour films, especially one this malicious, are set within one location. However, upon dwelling on the film's powerful effect, count me in as a fan. Tarantino has done it again by going back to his Reservoir Dogs roots and setting his latest film within a confined location and with a minimal cast. It's also fun to see that at least six of the "hateful eight" are Tarantino regulars. Although hardly a Western, it's more a game of Clue, The Hateful Eight is one of this year's most brash and daring character studies. Story and character are the name of the game, not plot or spectacle. Tarantino fashions his snow Western off of the mechanics and staging of a stage play, thereby making the film, as well as its Roadshow Version, an unforgettable time at the movies. It may be a tad too malicious for my taste at points, but The Hateful Eight is a great film through and through.

Rating: 8/10 - An immensely vicious and vile picture that finds a way to get laughs out of the viewer while making them squirm in their seat at the same time.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Spoiler Filled Review

Director: J.J. Abrams

Cast: Daisey Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fischer, Andy Serkis

Country: United States

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 135 min

Most people believed that George Lucas' Star Wars saga had officially ended when Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released to theaters in 2005. Lucas' complete saga consisted of six films that told a cohesive, although flawed, space opera that focused on the history behind the Skywalker family. However, Lucas made a momentous move when he sold his Star Wars property to Disney in 2012, thereby giving them the chance to make more movies and continue the story of Luke Skywalker and friends. After several years of speedy development and much anticipation, the next film in the saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has finally arrived in theaters.

I have witnessed an unparalleled amount of buzz and coverage for this film on social media. Few films, besides Lucas' own The Phantom Menace and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, have garnered as much anticipation as J.J. Abrams' latest. Therefore, I believe that many fans are simply drinking the Star Wars Kool Aid and setting aside their film criticism glasses for this one. The Force Awakens may be a solid and well crafted blockbuster sequel, but its sentiments ring too similar and its action scenes are mostly devoid of tension. The film is an exercise in going with the motions, as Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan hinge their Star Wars plot on the framework of A New Hope's tried and true classic story. The two emulate the original trilogy, which was two thirds penned by Kasdan, as much as possible. Much like this year's Creed, The Force Awakens heavily emulates its classic predecessor in order to pass its franchise onto a new generation. While this may be a certified way to earn fans' adoration, there is no denying that a fresher experience would have proven more gratifying and satisfactory. Still, I'd be a sour puss if I were to deny the pleasures of a Star Wars film, even if it is one that feels too familiar and predictable.

Our new heroes; male, female, and droid.

Also, I should preface this review with a warning that it will be filled with spoilers. I see no point in reviewing the film with generalizations, as every critic is already hailing how much they love the film in as general a fashion as possible already. Therefore, I am going to dive head first into spoilers from beyond this point. 

Since the events of Return of the Jedi, a new force of evil, the First Order, has arisen to oppose the Republic. Led by Emperor Snoke (Andy Serkis) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the First Order seeks a map that leads to Luke Skywalker's location amidst the galaxy. They wish to eradicate him, along with the Resistance, in order to cleanse the galaxy of all Jedis and First Order offenders. When a pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), gets caught with said map, he places it inside of a droid and sends it off into the distance. The droid, BB-8, eventually bumps into Rey (Daisey Ridley), a lower class woman who lives on her own on Jakku. An escaped stormtrooper, Finn (John Boyega), also finds himself on Jakku, and quickly befriends Rey upon locating BB-8. Pretending to be a member of the Resistance, Finn helps Rey escape Jakku. The two go in search of Luke Skywalker, all the while battling Kylo Ren every step of the way.

The most common point/criticism made in every review for The Force Awakens is that it heavily emulates A New Hope. Both film's plots are extremely similar to the point where The Force Awakens' story beats are entirely predictable and devoid of surprise. The framework of A New Hope, that being of a down on their luck lower class citizen joining up with a rebellion in order to stop an evil political party from using their giant planet destroying space station, is exactly what The Force Awakens models itself after. It's clear that Disney, as well as Abrams and Kasdan, went the safe route and made a Star Wars film that they knew fans would recognize and love instead of one that would try something new and alienate them a-la the dreaded prequels. Therefore, The Force Awakens holds few surprises, besides characters' relations to one another and Luke's whereabouts after all of these years. 

What a nerd. Kylo Ren is such a Vader fan that he went and dug up his mask.

The Force Awakens introduces a butt load of new characters and brings back several old friends for another go around in a galaxy far far away. In fact, several of the film's new characters are directly modeled after characters from the A New Hope. Rey is Luke, Poe is Han, Kylo is Vader, BB-8 is R2, and General Hux is Grand Moff Tarkin. You could also compare Snoke to the Emperor, Captain Phasma to Boba Fett, and Maz Kanata to Yoda, although their characters weren't introduced until The Empire Strikes Back. Not only does Abrams and Kasdan introduce us to a new array of characters based off of tried and true classic characters, but they also have them interact with said classic characters. The only new character who seems to not be based off of a recognizable character is Finn, a disillusioned stormtrooper who makes for the film's funnest and most original character. After all, we have never seen a stormtrooper develop character and become the focus of a Star Wars film before. That is unless you count the whole clone trooper element from Attack of the Clones in which the clones are modeled after Jango Fett, but that doesn't count.

Performances are uniformly excellent all around. Everybody, besides the clearly unseasoned Carrie Fischer, gives the film their A-game and helps make their characters as lively and memorable as possible. Newcomers Daisey Ridley and John Boyega breathe immense life into their starring characters, especially the incredible Boyega. Boyega's Finn feels as if a Star Wars fan were dropped into a Star Wars movie at times thanks to his sense of humor and nerd-like energy. Adam Driver also does great work as Kylo Ren, the saga's newest Darth Vader-esque character who proves to be more emotional and dangerous than Vader. Ren's occasional immaturity and over confidence bears a strong similarity to the characteristics found in Anakin in the prequels. Other character highlights include the surprisingly charismatic and likable BB-8. It's tough to make a robot who can't speak likable and energetic, but Abrams and crew did a fantastic job with making BB-8 both one of the funniest and likable new characters. I can't help but root for the little droid when I see him rolling around spouting beep noises.

Of course, no one can go without mentioning the classic characters and their reappearances after a nearly 40 year time gap. Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew are back as Han Solo and Chewbacca and have plenty of screen time in this film. The two were clearly envisioned to have as much time together on screen as their classic partnership is destroyed by the film's end. I don't think I can go on without discussing Han's death, as it heavily mirrors Ben's death in A New Hope when he allows himself to be killed by Vader in front of Luke. Here, Rey and Finn watch as Han pleads to his son, only to die like a chump. I personally saw this death coming from a mile away and felt it was out of character for Han to walk out on to a scaffolding the way he did. I also feel that his death wasn't as emotional as it could have been, as the relationship between Han and his estranged son is barely touched upon within an already overcrowded film. I'm bummed to see Han go, but would have preferred a hero's death. Oh well, at least Harrison is free of the character after all of these years.

BB-8 gets the Better Clear On Out The Back seal of approval!

Leia and Luke also appear in the film, although neither character has much screen time and is clearly set up for greater things in future sequels. Carrie Fischer is particularly awful, as her face cannot emote more than C3PO at this point. However, Mark Hamill's one scene appearance instilled hope and joy inside of me, as I cannot wait for the character to return, and speak as well.

Abrams and company take a page out of the original trilogy and design an immense amount of practical creatures for the film. You know that a film's makeup and art design is good when you wish you could pause the film and take in every creature as they pass. And while the immense amount of creatures will please any monster fan like myself, the film sports two motion capture characters who stick out like a sore thumb and plague the film's otherwise mostly practical design and aesthetic. Maz Kanata and Supreme Leader Snoke should have been designed in a practical or realistic matter in order to blend with the rest of the film's characters. Abrams mostly pulls from the classic trilogy with his creatures, but gives in to modern technology and echoes the likes of James Cameron and Peter Jackson with two motion capture characters who simply should have been redesigned from the get go.

The action in The Force Awakens ranges from exciting and fun to formulaic and devoid of tension. Abrams, whose action pedigree is particularly solid considering the likes of Mission: Impossible III and Star Trek, can't seem to conjure up the same level of excitement or grit that he previously instilled in his earlier efforts. Only the first set piece in which Rey and Finn fly the Millenium Falcon away from a group of Tie Fighters conveys the classic notion of Star Wars excitement. As the film moves on though, the action grows weary and becomes routine in nature. In fact, the entire sequence set aboard Han Solo's freighter involving two groups of pissed off pirates and tentacle creatures adds to the plot in no way at all. The film's entire finale is especially disappointing. After all, the raid on the Star Killer Base is so similar to A New Hope's finale in the trenches of the Death Star that one wonders if Abrams and company said to themselves, "Well it has to end like this, it's Star Wars." There may be stakes, but the viewer doesn't feel them nearly as well as they should.

The final lightsaber fight is also disappointing, as Abrams fails to shoot the action in a pleasing matter, opting for medium close ups that cover up the fight choreography. When the camera does pull back, it reveals a fight that simply doesn't contain the emotion or drama of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi's classic lightsaber fights. Rey and Kylo simply swing their sabers around, passing the screen time until one of them gets the upper hand over the other. I could go on forever about the details of this film and this fight, but it's clear that Rey had it far easier than Luke ever did. 

Until next time Kylo.

The final damning criticism that I have to lay on the film concerns its surprisingly routine musical score. John Williams returns for the seventh time to the series and composes what may be his final Star Wars film concerning his elder age. While the score may hit all of the familiar notes that one expects from a Star Wars film, Williams fails to compose any notable new music that sticks out upon first watching the film. Say what you want about the prequels, but all three of the scores for those films contained absolutely excellent pieces of individual music that stood out upon first listen. In fact, each prequel soundtrack is worth listening to on its own separate from the film. The Force Awakens on the other hand, not so much. Maybe I need more time with both the film and the soundtrack, but this is simply an initial reaction that I had to the film's music.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a solid and safe film that will most likely set up a greater sequel that will be made by a greater filmmaker. However, Disney has to push forward from here. They can have their safe reboot, but they can't make routine and familiar Star Wars films forever. I fear that Disney will fall into the syndrome of Marvel Studios and churn out similar products that don't differ from one another or push the envelope of cinema. At the end of the day, The Force Awakens is more Avengers: Age of Ultron or Jurassic World than it is Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation or Mad Max: Fury Road. It gives you what you know you like and nothing more. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or push the envelope as Christopher McQuarrie and George Miller did this year with their respective blockbusters. Therefore, here's to the future of Star Wars. Let's just hope that the Force is with Disney as far as future sequels come.

Rating: 7/10 - A routine, safe, and predictable soft reboot/sequel that gives you what you know you like with new likable characters that are destined for greater things in hopefully more envelope pushing sequels.

Taken 3 (2015) - Theatrical Review

Director: Olivier Megaton

Cast: Liam Neeson, Forrest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott, Leland Orser
Country: France
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 108 minutes

There's no clever way to introduce this or fun way to beat around the bush. Therefore, I am just going to get right to it. Taken 3 ends the Taken trilogy on a whimper with the queasiest action scenes yet. It wasn't enough that director Olivier Megaton ruined Transporter 3 back in '08, the man had to get his silky fingers all over Taken 3 and drag it down to the same depths of queasy cam hell. Also, talk about a bad time for third installments lately. The Expendables 3 was an atrocious installment in an otherwise good action franchise that relied upon old fashioned bad ass entertainment. And now we have Taken 3, the final installment in a franchise that started off on fire but has since burnt out to nothing but ashes. It's a shame because even though Taken 3 takes a tired franchise in a fresh direction, the execution is what brings the film crashing down.

"Give me my $20 million, I'm done with this Bryan Mills crap."

Taken 3 places Bryan Mills into the biggest, boldest, and grandest crisis of his life yet. After the events of Taken and Taken 2, Mills continues his life in Los Angeles near his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). Kim is grown up now and living with her new boyfriend while Lenore is back with her ex-husband, Stuart (Dougray Scott taking over for Xander Berkeley). When Stuart shows up at Bryan's apartment one day, he tells him to stay away from Lenore in order for him to mend his relationship with her better. Bryan reluctantly agrees and continues on with his day to day life. However, he receives a text from Lenore the next day asking if he can meet up and speak with her. Knowing that Lenore may be in serious turmoil, Bryan agrees to meet her at his apartment. Upon arriving, Bryan finds Lenore dead with her throat slit. The police arrive on the scene at the exact moment and suspect Bryan to be the killer. Therefore, Bryan kicks into fugitive mode, escapes the police, and sets out to find his ex-wife's true killer all while clearing his own name.

Even though Taken 2 was different from Taken, the film rang eerily similar in its motions and events. The sequel showcased both a crucial phone call to a loved one and had one of Bryan's loved ones be taken from him yet again. Many people decried the film as a lazy rehash of the original for these things. Screenwriters Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen must have taken this criticism to heart because the two did a fantastic job at taking the franchise in a new direction for its final installment. Instead of telling another story about one of Bryan's loved ones being physically taken from him, Besson and Kamen wrote a trilogy capper that placed their hero in a The Fugitive-type situation where he has to go on the run and clear his name. Not only is Bryan's ex-wife taken from him forever, but his life is essentially taken as well. Audiences love "innocent men on the run" plots because it makes for exciting and engaging entertainment. I love this fresh direction so much and wished that Taken 3 had found a way to deliver on such a premise. But alas, this is what happens when Besson assigns a hack director like Olivier Megaton to a film.

I have written before that the action scenes featured in Megaton films like Transporter 3 and Taken 2 are mediocre and average at best. His action scenes typically feature extreme close ups and rapid cuts, thereby rendering the action visually incoherent. And while I originally thought that the fight scenes in his films were bad, I didn't know how bad Megaton could get until I saw Taken 3. The action scenes in Taken 3 are some of the worst, if not the worst action scenes in cinema history. Megaton takes his rapid cutting and close shooting to a new extreme of awful. As I sat and the watched the film, I consistently thought to myself, "I have no clue what is going on this action scene. I can't tell if Bryan just killed that character or not." Car chases, fist fights, and foot chases are incoherent to the point of nauseaum. The action photography in Taken 3 is so bad, that you could find better photography in a found footage horror film for goodness sakes!

This image is more bad ass as a still than in motion. Trust me.

I only found two slightly cohesive action beats in all of Taken 3's muddled mess. In one action scene, Bryan and a Russian henchman shoot at one another through a rack of wine bottles in a liquor store. The scene makes for some great carnage and features some of the film's only coherent action photography. I also enjoyed the concept behind the film's final action scene in which Bryan must infiltrate a Russian mob boss' penthouse. Even though the photography is awful during the sequence, a few choice moments of violence make it through all of the clutter to deliver some excitement. Bryan has an especially awesome one on one gun fight with the mob boss in his apartment that makes for a cool shootout. 

The Taken franchise is notorious for its violence being neutered upon theatrical release but eventually restored upon home media release. This time around though, I don't know if an unrated cut would make much of a difference. Even if extra moments of violence were added, I don't know if I could catch them amongst the film's many cuts and extreme close ups. It should be noted that Taken 3's violence is shockingly tame as well. I miss the days when we could actually see Bryan shoot a henchman in the face. Now we get a simple cut away and a sound effect letting us know what happened. Oh boy, how exciting.

Liam Neeson seems to be going with the motions more than ever as he nearly reaches the point of self parody with his turn in Taken 3. Neeson's gruff statements and actions seem lazier than ever. It's a damn shame that the great Bryan Mills goes off on such a low note because Mills makes for a great screen character when treated correctly a-la Taken. Returning cast members Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, and Famke Janssen do a fine job as always with respective franchise characters. However, Taken 3 adds a new character dynamic to the film in the form of Inspector Dotzler (Forrest Whitaker). Whitaker plays an Inspector on Mills' case that comes off as a combination between Whitaker's character in The Last Stand and obviously Tommy Lee Jones' character in The Fugitive, a film that was clearly an inspiration on Besson's screenplay. Whitaker's realization of Mills' innocence is entirely predictable and nearly a beat for beat recreation of Jones' realization in The Fugitive. While I commend Besson for adding an inspector dynamic to the film, I decry the man for duplicating The Fugitive beat for beat.

Schindler's List 2: Schindler's Pissed

Taken 3 easily ranks as one of the most disappointing and devastating finales in action history. After the runaway success of Taken and the mediocrity of Taken 2, I had a lot of excitement going into this film. A third film could easily rectify the franchise even if the second installment was weak and tired. But alas, Megaton found a way to make Taken 3 even worse than Taken 2. As a whole, the Taken trilogy is a weak franchise. Individually, each Taken film gets worse than the previous, with the first film being the only excellent installment in the trilogy. Taken 3 is not only the worst installment in the series, but one of the worst installments in any action franchise ever made. The film's incoherent action scenes, predictable villain, and beat for beat recreation of The Fugitive's well known inspector dynamic makes for a truly dreadful viewing experience. Unless something else comes along this year and drops the ball as badly, Taken 3 looks like an early contender for most disappointing action film of 2015. And we're not even two weeks into the new year...

Rating: 4/10 - A dull and dreary finale to a trilogy that simply should have never been a franchise in the first place.

Franchise:
Taken (dir. Pierre Morel, 2008)
Taken 2 (dir. Olivier Megaton, 2012)
Taken 3 (dir. Olivier Megaton, 2015)

Top 10 Most Anticipated Action Films of 2015

In recent years, action cinema has been at the top of its game. The last two years have delivered some absolutely incredible action films: The Raid: Redemption, Django Unchained, Looper, Dredd, Snitch, The Wolverine, Drug War, etc. Unfortunately, 2014 has been an incredibly weak year for action cinema so far. I expect the fall to fix this problem with bad ass cinema like The Guest, John Wick, Fury, and eventual foreign films making their way to the U.S.

Therefore, I think it is time that we look forward to 2015; the year that is being dubbed the biggest year of blockbuster/franchise cinema in movie history. However, I am looking forward towards the more typical action films depicting ordinary people in extraordinary situations, epic shootouts, and lengthy fist fights. Therefore, I have selected the 10 action films I am most excited for confirmed for release in 2015. I have excluded foreign films because their U.S. release dates are impossible to predict until about a few months before they come out. Therefore, this is more of a list on American productions and co-productions that I am stoked for. I am excluding huge films like Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars Episode VI because they are more like science fiction adventures than straight forward action films. Terminator: Genisys is different because it's more action packed and reliant upon real world guns than light sabers and Hulks.

10) Transporter Legacy (dir. Camille Delamarre) - After the dismal Transporter 3, it seems right to reboot the series. I had no issues with Jason Statham in that film, but director Olivier Megaton ruined that film with his awful taste in editing and camerwork. This new Transporter film will act as a prequel to the original 3 films. I know that I shouldn't expect a lot out of this film but I still find myself a little excited to see the character and his bad ass martial arts and car driving skills return.

9) Run All Night (dir. Jaume Collet-Serra) - Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra reunite for the third time for this new action film. The film pits Neeson up against a former mob boss in an act to protect his family. Man, Neeson sure is churning out these action films isn't he? Anyways, this film sounds more action centric than Neeson and Serra's previous two films Unknown and Non-Stop. Let's hope it delivers the goods.

8) The Gunman (dir. Pierre Morel) - After delivering the parkour goods in District: B13 and showing us how bad ass Liam Neeson could be in Taken, it seems that Morel is back to deliver another gritty action film. The film stars Sean Penn, an actor never known for action cinema, in a film packed with A-list actors like Javier Bardem and Idris Elba. This seems like another attempt at placing an aged actor like Liam Neeson or Denzel Washington into an action role. Now that Pierre Morel is no longer making films for EuropaCorp, I hope that he can churn out an amazing action film devoid of Luc Bessons's PG-13 fingers.

7) Blackhat (dir. Michael Mann) - Blackhat lands on the list simply because it is directed by an auteur of action/crime cinema. Michael Mann is a fabulous filmmaker well known for his masterful action films like Thief, Heat, and Collateral. And while Mann's previous output lacks his older works' expertise and is unfortunately filmed in bizarre looking High Definition Digital, Blackhat is a return to the kind of character driven R rated action that Mann used to excel at so long ago. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor), I highly anticipate this January release.

6) Tak3n (dir. Olivier Megaton) - Just take a gander at that screenshot and tell me you aren't excited for this? Anyways, this film can go two ways. Taken 3 can redeem Olivier Megaton's terrible track of weak action filmmaking or it can continue to prove that Megaton is one of the worst action filmmakers in the business. The plot of this is a mix between The Fugitive and Taken, an awesome combination if you ask me. I am extremely excited for this film and hope that Neeson can deliver the goods one final time as everybody's favorite ass kicking dad. It's surprising to see that Liam Neeson is churning out action films faster than Jason Statham or anyone else at the moment. Way to go Neeson.

5) Terminator: Genisys (dir. Alan Taylor) - We are now moving into big budget action territory. The previous five films have small to medium sized budgets. But everything from here on now is definitely blockbuster filmmaking with a focus on action. I still can't believe Terminator 5 is actually happening. Unlike the Transporter franchise or something small like that, the Terminator franchise is a legendary film series that started off with the highest of highs. I have major hesitations about this film because it looks to reintroduce time travel, star current day Arnold Schwarzenegger (an actor whose recent output has been incredibly weak), and be directed by Alan Taylor who butchered Thor: The Dark World. I am still excited for this because it is the Terminator franchise that we are talking about. We'll have to wait and see but I am incredibly hesitant about this one.

4) Mission: Impossible 5 (dir. James McQuarrie) - Now this is what I'm talking about. McQuarrie and Cruise killed it with Jack Reacher, an absolutely incredible action film from 2012. With the two bringing their action mastery to the newest Mission: Impossible film, I couldn't find myself more excited. The last MI film was great and this should be a sure fire success. This film is unfortunately coming out the same time as Star Wars Episode VI and will hopefully not lose money because of this.

3) Fast and Furious 7 (dir. James Wan) - Few recent films have had as much turmoil behind the scenes as this one. With the loss of Paul Walker in 2013, Fast and Furious 7 was forced to reshoot and rearrange its script into something workable. Regardless of how you feel about this series, this is easily the most anticipated of the entire franchise considering the amazing ending of Fast and Furious 6 and Paul Walker's passing. With icons like Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, and Tony Jaa joining the cast, Fast and Furious 7 is gearing up to be one of the best action films of 2015. It'll also be interesting to see how the filmmakers salvage what was left of Paul Walker's footage and pay tribute to him at the same time.

2) Bond 23 (dir. Sam Mendes) - Mendes delivered one of the finest James Bond films ever made with 2012's Skyfall. Even though it seemed that Mendes would not return, he apparently has confirmed that he will return for Bond 23. No one knows anything about this film really, but it's James Bond! You're sold already! Craig's performances as Bond are some of the greatest in action cinema. I hope that Bond 23 can stack up to Skyfall and deliver the same level of fabulous storytelling and hard hitting action.

1) Mad Max: Fury Road (dir. George Miller) - Star Wars could be cancelled this year for all I care because Mad Max is back! George Miller, the director of the original Mad Max trilogy, is also back! Words can't describe my anticipation for this post-apocalyptic piece of awesomeness. Vehicular mayhem and gun fire will reign supreme when this film comes out and blows everyone's minds. This is exactly what I want from an action film and we're getting it from Warner Bros. of all studios. Whether it is rated PG-13 or R, vehicular mayhem will always look impressive.