Passion from Zach Bainter on Vimeo.
Monthly Archives: March 2014
300: Rise of an Empire
The film 300: Rise of an Empire is a stunning visual treat, with most of the battles taking place in the sea, and supported by an excellent 3D design. But one has to navigate through the slush of blood and gore, to appreciate it. Other than the tone and texture, this movie doesn’t have much in common with 300, that was released in 2007.
A few excerpts from Forbes review. (Web link here)
The film is technically more of a “side-sequel” to Snyder’s 300, with most of the film taking place at the same time as the first picture. The picture has bits of back story and continues after the first film concluded, but mostly it is a concurrent story, showing the same major overall battle on the brutal and unforgiving seas.
She(Eva Green) is worth the price of admission all by herself, and if there were more female roles of this nature in major studio releases I’d complain a heck of a lot less
The film once again shows that be it as a director or a producer, Zack Snyder is among the very best filmmakers in terms of big-scale fantasy action. Everything looks dazzling and everything is perfectly framed and coherently edited for maximum razzle-dazzle.
The first film played well across all demographics, offering beefy eye-candy for women and gay men and large-scale action for men and women of both orientations. This one does the same, with Eva Green also offering prurient interest for those so inclined while also giving the best performance in the film.
The burning question is whether or not seven years is too long to wait for a sequel to 300.
Couldn’t agree with Scott Mendelson more. I saw 300 in 2007, in San Frisco. And it is a long wait indeed 🙂
Non-Stop…
The first movie I saw, that involved an airplane hijack was Passenger 57 (1992) (In Shalimar, Hydearbad?).
Wesley Snipes played the role of an onboard security expert who has to battle out a bunch of terrorists and secure his passengers. The film is a terrific build up of action and also features a nice little interlude outside the aeroplane as well, giving the necessary relief. And, with Mr.Snipes in the lead role minus any need for histrionics, plus a no nonsense action movie format, the movie races ahead to its logical conclusion. There have been several other films set in an airplane, but Passenger 57 is a good example of how to keep things simple.
Passenger 57 (Theatrical Trailer)
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Liam Neeson’s latest offering ‘Non-Stop. He plays a psychologically troubled agent who has to pull himself together to save the passengers onboard. While this characterization is good enough for a drama (like Denzel Washington’s ‘Flight’), it doesn’t really beef up an action movie, without a motive for his desperation to complete his mission. If your lead actor is confused, how can one enjoy his punches and fist fights? As if to match his weak characterization, the bad guys are made out to be even weaker and that makes the confrontation less tasty.
On top of it, ‘Non-stop’ attempts to induce suspense/mystery into an action movie resulting in a mishmash that keeps you interested in the movie alright , but does not deliver the right dosage of entertainment.
May be, the film makers should have attempted a remake of Passenger 57 with a focused Liam Neeson and a worthy opponent. How about Wesley Snipes himself? And that would have been a treat both for the action movie lovers and his fans, who now, will have to remain satisfied with another viewing of ‘Taken’.