Detroit Serves As Being A Hard-Hitting, Gut-Wrenching And Deeply Moving Experience Thanks To Kathryn Bigelow's Masterful Skills At Storytelling

       

       When bringing historically based stories to the big screen, the key to making them successful is the authenticity that each of their respective filmmakers bring to the table. The stories not only have to be compelling ones that'll keep the audience invested in both the plot and characters, but the execution has to be both believable and convincing. With Detroit, Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow who previously helmed The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, goes all in with bringing 1960's Detroit to the big screen in a fashion that's​ both intense as well as being hard-hitting from start to finish. Released in August 2017, the film received strong reviews from critics but was largely overlooked during its initial award season. The latter proves to be a shame as Bigelow once again brings history to the big screen in a form that's not just compelling to watch, but manages to serve as being a powerful and gut-wrenching experience that also feels reflective of today's world despite the stories setting taking place in 1967 Detroit.

      Based on true events, the story for Detroit centers around the infamous 12th Street Riot which rocked the city of Detroit to its core in July 1967, that was followed by alleged sniper fire at the Algiers Motel which ultimately caused the Detroit Police, the Michigan State Police, and the National Guard to seize control of the motel and its guests. Upon doing so, a small group of gung-ho police officers and their ring leader (Played by Will Pouter) abusively interrogate the motels guests and ultimately kill three men with the other 11 suspects being brutally beaten and tortured. Detroit's plot is one that's pieced together from numerous facts and testimonies of those involved with Bigelow effectively taking audiences back in time with them receiving the full experience of witnessing the mistreatment and injustice that the 11 individuals being held at the motel endured during their detainment with police. She makes no attempts in holding back on the horror and brutality those individuals endured during their questioning, with her presenting audiences with an accurate testimony of a dark chapter in American history while positioning the story as being a reflection of today's issues regarding police brutality and the outrage it inspires. With Detroit, Bigelow once again puts both her skills and craftsmanship as a filmmaker on full display with the film instantly pulling audiences into the story from the start and not letting up until the credits roll. It's an extremely tense, haunting, and timely moving experience that audiences of all backgrounds should absorb and take in at least once. Detroit provides audiences with a hard and sobering reality that those we deem to be the ones that would come to our aid are not always whom they appear to be. One cannot think of a more qualified filmmaker to bring the story of Detroit to the big screen than the filmmaker who gave us highly effective work such as The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. In an era that's riddled by fatal police shootings as well as the murder of George Floyd, that sparked riots across the country, Detroit feels like the film that's absolutely needed in the present with it carrying nothing less than a firm grip on its own form of storytelling.

      As well told as Detroit is in regards to Bigelow's directing, it's the fantastic performances from its main cast that sell it as being an extremely powerful moviegoing experience. The performances given here range from being raw to deeply unsettling work with everyone bringing their A game to their roles, while approaching each part with a certain amount of humility and understanding. There isn't one performance given, that ranks as being poor nor lackluster with everyone giving their all with the best performances from the film coming from John Boyega, Will Poulter, and Algee Smith in their respective roles of the real life individuals they portray. Boyega continues to shine as well as extend his growth as a serious dramatic actor with his role as private security guard Melvin Dismukes, whose assigned to protect a grocery store from local looters during the riots while integrating himself with the Guardsmen who end up taking over the motel. Boyega does a great job of conveying his characters silent fear and disapproval of what's happening around him in the motel between the police and those detained with his character having no choice but to go along with it. He shows the conflict his character goes through eternally in being fully aware of the injustice occurring around him, while doing whatever subtle things he can to help other people of color avoid being brutally tortured and killed by police. If one wasn't won over by his acting in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, they'll be won over by his range here as being a serious dramatic actor. Will Pouter greatly impresses as corrupt police officer Philip Krauss, who leads the charge in holding members of the Dramatics R&B music band as well as the rest of the motel guests for questioning, while beginning to demonstrate his clear and unapologetic abuse of power. Poulter's character is shown as being crooked from the start with him chasing down and shooting a looter in the back with a shotgun prior to the events in the motel with his character being allowed to remain on duty until his superiors can decide whether to deliver murder charges or not. Poulter effectively plays his character as being an on edge racist cop, who consistently abuses his power of authority behind closed doors with him ultimately realizing the mistake he made in regards to holding as well as beating the motel guests with him choosing to silence those who'd dare speak out against his actions. Poulter succeeds in making the audience completely despise his character along with being outraged at the lack of accountability he receives for his actions afterwards. Whereas both Boyega and Poulter largely impress with their performances, it's Algee Smith whose the true standout of the three with him playing Larry Reed, the lead singer of the R&B group called The Dramatics. Smith's performance is one that's both powerfully unsettling as well as deeply haunting to watch with the audience first seeing his character as being passionate about wanting to make it as a singer to him being too traumatized about wanting to perform again after what his group endured at the hands of the police. Smith brings an enormous amount of emotional weight to the role with audiences being able to completely empathize with him. The rest of the films supporting cast is stellar with them delivering highly effective to noteworthy performances such as Jacob Latimore playing another member of the Dramatics group Fred Temple, with Jason Mitchell also being effective as motel guest Carol Cooper. Both Hannah Murray and Kaitlyn Dever deliver strong performances as the two young caucasian girls Julie Ann Hysell and Karen Malloy, who befriend the Dramatics group at the motel while being dragged into brutal questioning with the rest of the group. Other noteworthy supporting roles include Jack Reynor as unstabally corrupt police officers Demens and Ben O' Tool as Flynn with both Anthony Mackie and John Krasinski delivering effective supporting roles as Vietnam war vet Karl Greene, who gets wrongfully harassed and beaten by police, and Krasinski as the crooked coups defendant Auerbach. As shown, the cast for Detroit is well-put together and plays their roles with pure devotion in bringing their story to the screen in the most realistic way possible. Much of the films power in terms of being an emotionally gripping experience comes from the remarkable efforts the main cast puts into making the story work with them ultimately succeeding. The film wouldn't be as strong and memorable as it turns out to be without their involvement with everyone being perfectly cast in their parts, as well as mirroring their real life counterparts. 

      When it comes to directing, Kathryn Bigelow once again proves to be on top form with bringing another fact-based story to the big screen, along with making it an absorbing experience for audiences. Bigelow draws her audience in with the films title sequence, which informs the audience on the facts leading up to the riot with Bigelow instantly placing audiences in 1967 Detroit while steadily building up the suspense from there. She uses the same filmmaking style that she put forth on her previous works such as The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty with her using shaky camera work which gives the film a documentary style feel to it with its cinematography. The film is given a pace that's slow-burning yet builds up the suspense of the story as the events unfold. For audiences that aren't familiar with the events surrounding the 1967 Detroit riots or those that occurred in the Algiers motel, the story works as being a nail-biter for them. The film also thrives in the technical department with its authenticity regarding both the costume and set designs being appropriately used to place audiences in the films setting. The soundtrack also does well with combining music that properly fits the films 1960's setting, as well as the culture explored in the story. On a directing front, Bigelow doesn't disappoint and goes all in with delivering a gritty account of the infamous 12th Street Detroit riot. She shows the anger, fear, and frustration that many of those involved felt, as well as showing the targeted harassment and racism that was directed towards populated African-American communities by police. She makes no efforts in shying away from the sheer brutality of the moment, and aims for maximum effect with her abilities to get the sincerest performances out of her cast while effectively re-staging the events of the 1967 Detroit riots to give audiences the full picture of what happened. One of Bigelow's strongest traits as a filmmaker has always been her ability to place audiences in the moment while getting into the minds of the characters. It's a strategy that proved to work exceptionally well with her previous two directorial projects, and manages to do so again here.

      The films script written by Mark Boal, serves as being the anchor that connects the audience with the events unfolding in the story. Boal succeeds in creating a strong foundation for the main characters to be fairly developed without the screenplay ever losing sight of the narratives main focus, which is the 12th Street Riot and its aftermath. Boal effectively establishes all of the films key players such as the the members of the Dramatics band to the corrupt Detroit police officers, that inevitably take over both the motel and its guests, with Boyega's character finding himself standing between the guests being brutalized by the police and the latter seeking his loyalty in helping them cover up their mistakes that night. The film also makes it a point to humanize all of its key players in a way which makes the audience understand the motives of the characters. The key police officers portrayed in the film are shown to be both young and inexperienced cops, who often let their own prejudices get in the way of performing their duties. The Dramatics are shown as being a young R&B group, who carry a thirst for making it big as a musical group with them finding themselves getting wrongfully caught up in the riot with tragic consequences. The script also does a notable job of covering all of the stories essential themes in the screenplay regarding police corruption, abuse, brutality, racism, premeditated murder, along with others that played into the emergence of the riots such as inequality, poverty, anger, fear, injustice, breaking the law, loss, survival, one struggling to start over, and both a bias and corrupt judicial system. The script effectively weaves all of these themes into the story without the films story-structure or narrative ever feeling as if it's being compromised. With Detroit, Boal waste no time in putting audiences at the center of the riots by masterfully showing the boiling of tensions occurring around the city in regards to its citizens view of the police mistreating them and vice versa. The audience is shown attempts by the neighborhoods district political figures to calm the crowd down amid rising tensions with little to no success as its citizens become tired of the injustices, as well as the inequalities that they face both economically and socially. The script for Detroit does a fantastic job of piecing together all of the main key events that occurred during the 1967 Detroit riots, while appropriately filling in the blanks with logical guesses that are fact-based along with the use of traditional dramatic licensing. The screenplay was always going to be the key as to whether the film succeeds of fails at being a worthy representation of one of the darkest chapters in American history. Thankfully Boal succeeds in balancing out the facts surrounding the riot, along with fleshing out the key players and giving audiences the full scope of how significant the 1967 Detroit race riots were in American history at the time with many of the films themes still at play in today's world.

      With a film like Detroit, audiences are bound to be a bit hesitant in approaching it due to its power of reopening wounds that still feel fresh in the minds of many audiences choosing to either watch or avoid it. The film aims to entertain, inform, and ultimately get audiences to think about and reflect on the past while simultaneously reflecting on the present. Much of the films themes and scenarios draw frightening parallels to present day with Bigelow presenting audiences with the grim reality that the events that occurred in 1967 Detroit are not much different than the Ferguson riots, or the ones that preceded George Floyd's death at the hands of police. Detroit serves as being an emotionally gripping and deeply moving experience that feels surreal in its presentation, but is made with the noblest of intentions in showing the wrongs of the past, while making a conscious effort to wake its audience up to the ones that are being committed today in a similar fashion. It's a genuine shame that Detroit was totally overlooked during its initial awards season as the film warranted award nominations for Boyega, Poutter, and Smith's performances, as well as Best Picture, Director and Screenplay nominations for Bigelow and Boat. Detroit is one of the rare pieces of dramatic storytelling that not only manages to be faithful in bringing its subject matter to the big screen, but does so in a way that qualifies it as being essential viewing for historical purposes. One can only wonder what type of reception this film would've received had it came out in Dec 2017 during the height of that winters award season compared to a late summer release. One of the 2010's overlooked gems.

Final Verdict: For history buffs and those looking for thorough representation of African-Americans in film, Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit is an absolute must see with it grabbing the audience instantly from the start and not letting go until the end with it bound to remain with them long afterwards.

Escape Plan 2: Hades Fails In Virtually Every Aspect As Being A Sequel To An Original Film That Was Never Good In The First Place

      

 Every major actor/actress often has a film on their resume which stands out as largely paling in comparison to the quality of their overall body of work with audiences finding themselves questioning their involvement in such a project. Add to that, a sequel which virtually nobody asked for to an original film that wasn't very good to begin with. Audiences clearly have and will most certainly ponder over those questions while watching Escape Plan 2: Hades, which brings back Sylvester Stallone from the first film which he co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here, audiences are left wondering about the need for an Escape Plan 2 when the first wasn't exactly a box office smash nor a strong enough film to leave anybody particularly craving for one. Receiving a direct-to-video release this time in comparison to the first films theatrical showing, Stallone's role is reduced to about a good 20 minutes of screentime tops with Dave Bautista, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, Huang Xiaoming, Jaime King, Jesse Metcalfe, Titus Welliver, and Wes Chatman joining the series cast. With such an interesting and strong cast of actors/actresses, it's a legitimate shame that they didn't have much better material to work off. Escape Plan 2: Hades is not just a disappointing sequel for those who enjoyed the first Escape Plan, it's an all around pointless and badly made sequel that feels unnecessary and ultimately ranks as being one of the worst films Stallone's ever been apart of. 

      The plot for Escape Plan 2: Hades takes place years after the events of the first film with Ray Breslin (Played by Sylvester Stallone) organizing a new top-notch security force after fighting his way out of an inescapable prison. Upon discovering that one of his team members went missing, Breslin realizes that in order to rescue him, he must return to the prison he once narrowly escaped from. While watching Escape Plan 2, the audience finds themselves asking two questions during the entire ordeal such as why did Stallone allow himself to be apart of this film if his role was going to be largely reduced this time around, with the second question being why wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger brought back as well. The storyline for Escape Plan 2: Hades feels both uninspired and poorly written with no real thought being put into trying to develop the main characters from the first one nor improve on that films issues. Escape Plan 2: Hades is a sequel that has no point of existing other than being a quick cash grab for fans of Stallone. This is one of the worst films the latter as ever starred in as there's really not much for his character to do throughout most of the film. The new characters don't appeal to audiences nor share the same on screen presence that both Schwarzenegger and Stallone shared in the first Escape Plan. While that film wasn't particularly memorable, it at least had its main leads to guide the audience through its painfully generic story. There isn't one character shown in Escape Plan 2 that audiences ever find themselves latching onto, not even Stallone's this time. Designed as being an action and mystery thriller, Hades royally fails on both counts with the whole experience being a largely forgettable one for audiences once they finish it. The first Escape Plan wasn't​ a good enough film to prompt a follow-up with the greatest insult being directed towards those, who actually did enjoy that film being how little the crew behind Hades actually tried to make the second one work. The new film serves as being a lifeless and lazily written follow-up to the first film, which should've always remained as being a standalone film. 

      Generally the acting performances from the cast can help to make up for the shortcomings of certain films in regards to both writing and directing. That doesn't appear to be the case here with the cast for Escape Plan 2 feeling as if everyone essentially phoned in their performances to receive a paycheck. There isn't any performance in the film that stands out as being genuinely impressive nor scene-stealing with everyone delivering passable work at best. The lack of enthusiasm from the main cast directed towards the project shows with Stallone appearing as if he's only in the film for the sake of both continuity, along with receiving a paycheck. Here he reprises his role of escaped prisoner Ray Breslin from the first film, now a leader of a security company that's met a reasonable amount of success. Stallone isn't given much to do here with his part, and mostly just phones in his performance for both continuity and money sake. The most insulting aspect of the film is how willing it is to waste Stallone's talent as both an actor and writer-director with this poor excuse of a sequel. Along with Stallone feeling both unneeded for the sequel as well as being enormously underused, Guardians Of The Galaxy's Dave Bautista also carries a similar feel in terms of him being wasted in the film as Trent DeRosa, a former associate of Breslin security. It's neither Bautista's fault or Stallone's in terms of why such talented actors are being horribly underused in this film with the newer faces lacking the charisma of both stars. Huang Xiaoming, Jesse Metcalfe, and 50 Cent deliver serviceable performances as Shu Ren, the protege of Breslin, Metcalfe as Lucas, also a protege of Breslin, and Cent as Brains computer hacker Hush. Wes Chatham tries his hand as Jasper Kimbral, Breslin's former protege turned warden of Hades prison, who seeks revenge on Breslin. Chatman's character serves as being the main antagonists of the story, though his character comes across as being extremely one-dimensional and poorly written in comparison to Jim Caviezel's role as the evil Warden in the first film. Jaime King also makes the most of her part as Vice President of Breslin Security, Abigail Ross. The performances in Escape plan 2: Hades are exactly what one would expect from this type of production, which are to be painfully average with no real inspiration or emotion behind them. No one appears to be enthusiastic about being apart of this project with it being glaringly obvious to those watching it. While the acting in the first Escape Plan wasn't anything spectacular either, the audience at the very least had the back-and-forth chemistry between Stallone and Schwarzenegger to rely on as well as Jim Caviezel's performance as the films main villain.

      In addition to the performances being lackluster, not much can also be said about the films directorial efforts. The directing by Steven C. Miller feels uninspired and lacks genuine excitement for bringing the sequel to the big screen. The work that Miller gives the film feels relatively standard for a modern direct-to-video feature with zero risks being taken filmmaking wise in regards to creativity, as well as craftsmanship. Much of the action that Miller gives the film falls within the category of being formulaic with the pacing both keeping the film moving briskly, while keeping the action frequent with it largely consisting of martial arts violence. The battle sequences from the first film remain present in the sequel with the weaponary being used by the prisoners being high-powered. The violence shown consists of generic punches, kicks, and characters being brutally tortured and killed. The cinematography is average work at best with the editing allowing for a brisk pace along with quick cuts during the films action sequences. The films score consists of music borrowed from the first film composed by the Newton Brothers. In terms of the films technical elements, Escape Plan 2: Hades attempts to create the same kind of dark and gritty atmosphere of the first film with less satisfying results this time. Nothing about the work put into the film by its filmmaker shows excitement about making this sequel. Although the film remains consistent with the level of action it carries, nothing will stand out as being truly memorable in the audiences mind long after its over because of how generic everything feels.

      Along with Hades poor production values, the script commits the greatest assault on the films quality with the writing by Miles Chapman being poorly handled, as well as lacking any form of substance. Despite being set-up as being a follow-up to Escape Plan, the sequel feels as if it aims to distant itself from the original while loosely connecting it by including Stallone's character in a brief role to help bridge the two stories together. Though Breslin returns in the sequel, his character isn't given much to do this time around with the audience being genuinely disappointed that Stallone isn't a consistent lead throughout the film. Instead of his character being the main central focus, audiences are treated to Huang Xiaoming's character being the main lead. Although Xiaoming gives off a decent vibe of being an action star, his character is too paper-thin for him to be considered more interesting or compelling than Breslin's. The character development presented here is flat with the audience finding themselves not being able to connect with any of the main characters dilemma, nor finds their plot to escape from the brutal prison even remotely compelling. The plot is presented as being dry and feeling slapped together without much thought or effort being put into it. The first Escape Plan carried with it themes pertaining to betrayal, ambition, greed, privately owned prisons, and prison escape with an overall message that emphasized not giving up as well as stressing the knowledge of whom one can trust while always ensuring they have a plan B. While the sequel lifts many of the themes from the first movie and incorporates them into its script, it does so with little effort in regards to exploring them further. The Hades prison is never explored more in-depth nor the politics behind the insistence of having the prisoners fight each other. The film carries with it brief yet ineffective moments of humor such as Bautista's character quickly solving a Rubix cube infront of a computer geek. The relationship between his character and Breslin's is shown but is presented as being so vague that audiences find themselves not caring much. The script for Escape Plan 2: Hades had potential to go further with the main films themes and story, but instead sacrifices both story and character growth for more action.

     As pale of a film that Escape Plan was in its attempts to replicate the 1980's action film tone with a plot that closely resembles other films of that era (Stallone's Lock Up comes to mind), there was a certain amount of fun in seeing both Schwarzenegger and Stallone together on the big screen. Whereas the film surrounding them essentially fell apart, they provided audiences with a much-anticipated lifeline to get through that films whole ordeal. With Escape Plan 2, there's no lifeline that's present with nothing to help ease the audiences experience of enduring the films 105 minute running time. One cannot understand why this film was chosen as being a direct-to-video feature instead of a full-blown Hollywood production like the original with virtually every element of the sequel being worse than the first in regards to quality. The production for this film is both sloppily handled and graceless with audiences ultimately being frustrated at why both the studio as well as Stallone bothered to do a follow-up to the first if they weren't going to give it the full effort required in order for it to properly work. The film is so badly made and heartless that even action movie junkies won't find much enjoyment in watching it. The only escape plan that audiences should be thinking about ultimately, is a way to avoid watching this completely pointless and unnecessary sequel as it ultimately adds up to being a total waste of time. Escape Plan 2: Hades has the misfortune of ranking as being one of the worst action movie sequels ever made in a vein similar to Speed 2: Cruise Control with that film possessing more watchability due to its awfulness unlike Hades.

Final Verdict: Fans of the first Escape Plan or Sylvester Stallone in particular should avoid Escape Plan 2: Hades at all costs, and seek a more satisfying action film experience. 

Geostorm's Impressive Global Destruction Sequences Can't Make Up For A Confused Narrative And A Sheer Lack Of Creativity And Enthusiasm Behind Making it

 

      One of Hollywood's most reliable genres of films which often result in enormous amounts of success, are those of disaster flicks. The latter has ended up becoming a staple in Hollywood since the genre first blew up during the 1970's era. When crafting a disaster-themed story, one of the most important elements that generally determines the success of the film besides its showcasing of top notch visual effects, is the type of story the film carries along with characters that the audience can get behind and ultimately find themselves rooting for. What makes a disaster flick entertaining as well as memorable are both the freshness and creativity behind its concept. In the case of Geostorm, the 2017 box office flop bears strong similarities to disaster flicks such as Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow and Michael Bay's Armageddon. Boasting Gerard Butler as the films main lead, Geostorm​ borrows the climate change subplot from The Day After Tomorrow along with replacing the Astroid from Armageddon with malfunctioning satellites threatening mankind with a storm of epic proportions. The end result ends up being a film that essentially feels as if it borrows every major Hollywood cliche from past films of the disaster genre, with it heavily placing style over substance. Geostorm is a film that brings absolutely nothing new to the table in regards to its story along with the film being not as effective as the surprisingly strong disaster flick Greenland (Which also stars Gerard Butler). Despite its shortcomings, the film utilizes enough elements from previous disaster films along with some impressive CGI action sequences and an appealing cast to make it a mildly entertaining misfire, that serves as being solely enjoyable based on the fact that the film is so bad it's fun to watch due to its awfulness.

      The plot for Geostorm centers around a hot-headed scientist (Played by Gerard Butler) being called into action to help track down the cause of an advanced system of satellites with the ability to control extreme weather going haywire before the planet is ultimately destroyed by a series of intense storms. The plot for Geostorm borrows heavily from the Roland Emmerich films of the disaster genre including both The Day After Tomorrow as well as 2012. If one has seen those films, they've essentially seen Geostorm as the film lifts every type of character arc and subplot that's been seen before in previous disaster blockbusters. It's a film that desperately aims to give audiences a thrilling experience, but doesn't quite know how to be original in doing so. What keeps it from being a total misfire are the films stunning destruction set-pieces that are both well-executed and exciting to watch, along with the appeal of its main cast. Although there isn't much originality when it comes to the plot with audiences having experienced Geostorm's concept from other previous blockbuster disaster flicks, the film puts in a sizable effort to make its plot a serviceable one for audiences to get a reasonable amount of entertainment from. While the latter manages to somewhat succeed in providing minor entertainment, the story often finds itself struggling with trying to balance out three different versions of the film it wants to be such as a mindless global destruction blockbuster combined with a political thriller full of twists and turns regarding whose causing the satellites to go haywire, and the third being a powerful statement on the issue of Climate Change in a tone similar to The Day After Tomorrow. The biggest problem with the film lies within its desire to be all three with it ultimately going excessively over-the-top in its efforts to try and appease its target audience. Geostorm serves as being a typical disaster flick that's so cheesy as well as being relentless in its ambition to dazzle audiences with its striking visual images of global destruction, that audiences can't help but find some form of enjoyment out of the whole ordeal, regardless of how messy it feels.

      Whereas the script for Geostorm nearly collapses under its own weight in an effort to thrill audiences, the films cast manages to deliver with performances that appear to be both strong and charismatic in playing their roles. The cast seems well aware of the type of film their making, yet still go out of their way to make it as convincing and believable as possible with their efforts. The films main star, Gerard Butler, is appealing in his role as satellite designer Jacob Lawson, who gets reprimanded by the United States Senate sub-committee for bringing a series of climate-controlling satellites called Dutch Boy online without approval in doing so. Butler plays his character off as being a bad boy scientist, who unsurprisingly becomes the only one who can save the planet and figure out why Dutch Boy is suddenly going haywire. Those going into this film know what kind of performance to expect from Butler with him once again delivering his tough guy persona with his character being a big-brained scientist, who carries all the answers to Dutch Boy's functions and isn't afraid to tell off politicians criticizing his work. Along with Butler's work on the film, Jim Sturgess also impresses as Jake's younger brother Max Lawson, who ends up replacing Max as the chief architect of Dutch Boy. Sturgess like Butler, delivers a performance that ranges as being both likable and charismatic even if audiences don't fully buy them as being brothers on screen. Abbie Cornish also proves to be fun to watch as U.S. Secret Service Agent Sarah Wilson, along with secretly being Max's fiancee. Cornish work here provides the film with not just the action but a strong female character who both acts professional with her line of work, while keeping her personal life separate due to work rules and barriers. Adding to both the strong performances as well as the solid appeal of the main cast, the hugely talented and always reliable Andy Garcia and Ed Harris deliver highly-effective performances as both U.S President Andrew Palma and Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom. Other noteworthy supporting cast members that deliver impressive performances are Alexandra Maria Lara as space station commander Ute Fassbinder, and Zazie Beetz in a scene-stealing yet underused role as highly skilled cybersecurity expert and loyal friend of Max named Dana. While Geostorm goes both upwards and down in regards to quality, the one aspect of the film that remains consistent straight through is the hugely reliable performances of its main cast with it even being stated that they literally save the film from being a complete disaster while ultimately elevating it to the level of being watchable. The performances from the cast even come across as being charismatic, particularly Butler, Cornish, and Beetz surprisingly with both Harris and Garcia bringing their A game once again regardless of the type of story their acting in. The one thing that can be said about Geostorm's acting is that everyone did their best to make the most out of their roles, regardless of how eye-rolling and silly the story comes across.

      Directed by Dean Delvin at the helm, who previously collaborated with Roland Emmerich as writer on previous disaster flicks such as Independence Day, Godzilla, and Independence Day: Resurgence. With Geostorm, Delvin sets out to create his own disaster spectacle with a visual look and style that closely resembles that of both The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Delvin proves himself capable of working with CGI as well as setting up key VFX sequences that ultimately become the films main attraction, as well as being the sole reason anyone should bother watching the film as it both lives and dies based on the destruction sequences shown of locations such as Hong Kong, Moscow, and other major cities getting wiped out by huge Tsumani's or fire coming out of the ground. Delvin's directorial work makes him feel like the younger sibling of Emmerich, whose finally getting the opportunity to try his hand at directing a disaster-themed spectacle with the end result lacking the confident directing style that Emmerich typically puts on his films. The films cinematography is effective in capturing the films breathtaking destruction sequences with the pacing moving Geostorm's story much faster in comparison to the disaster films Emmerich directed, which usually run as long as 2.5 hours compared to Geostorm's 109 minute running time. Those choosing to watch Geostorm know what type of film they're getting themselves into as Delvin doesn't hold back on the films usage of CGI, and exploits it in the same vein as Roland's work. Those who've seen Emmerich's films are aware that the filmmaker has an enormous tendency with his disaster based films to throw out the suspension-of-disbelief contract with Delvin taking the same approach here. Although not as skillful as Roland when it comes to crafting brainless popcorn entertainment, that pays direct homage to the classic 1970's whodunnit and popular disaster films of its time such as The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and Airport, his work here is passable enough in creating a tense atmosphere that's heavily effects driven, while managing to hold audiences interest as the film shifts from being a global disaster story to a mystery political thriller that's ultimately merged together for maximum effect.

      The films greatest shortcomings stem from it's confused and messy script, which attempts to blend three different types of films merged into one. The screenplay also written by Delvin with Paul Guyout, aims to be a political mystery thriller with the audience being led to constantly guess on whose forcing Dutch Boy to go haywire with fingers being pointed at the obvious suspects, along with the film shifting back and forth from this subplot to deliver the traditional world destruction sequences mainly because it wouldn't be a true disaster film without them. Delvin sets the stage for the films main plot with the opening narration explaining that the year 2019 leads to the creation of an international coalition following a series of catastrophic natural disasters, ultimately giving birth to Dutch Boy. The script for Geostorm aims to carry a message which says that we all share one future and one planet with simply one climate, and that we should ultimately do everything possible to keep it from being destroying. Whereas the film carries a strong message behind it, the script isn't well-developed enough to truly make audiences connect with it as the film struggles with juggling to be a popcorn style thriller, traditional disaster flick, and a story that stands as being a hard-hitting statement on the issue of climate change. The films character development is about what one would expect from a typical disaster flick, which is to be minimal with characters that appear as being one-dimensional, showing how pivotal it is that the actors performances made those characters believable. The one area of the script where it does surprisingly well in regards to character development, is the establishing of the female characters in multiple job positions as being strong-willed individuals with the brains outside of Butler's character being portrayed as a know-it-all when it comes to Dutch Boys functions. Examples are Abbie Cornish's character being shown to be a complete badass when it comes to protecting the President against the films antagonist, who wishes to control the satellies for their own sinister purposes or Beetz's character being enormously skilled at her profession. Despite the brief moments where the script shows strength in regards to both its storytelling and character development, the overall work ends up being extremely messy and confused on what exactly it wants to be. The plot will encourage audiences to perform multiple eye rolling throughout various points of the story, particularly when predictable and extremely cheesy subplots are being thrown at them such as the unveiling of the true mastermind behind Dutch Boy going haywire, and the inevitable climactic self-sacrifice that feels like its been directly lifted from Michael Bay's Armageddon with another plot twist placed on top of it. The scripts excessive use of twists and turns regarding the plot doesn't do much in terms of exciting audiences, but shows the sheer desperation on the filmmakers part to compensate for a thinly developed plot that ultimately feels like every other disaster film made prior to its release. The concept of a category 4 storm being caused by out-of-control satellies, is an extremely laughable premise that won't win over any new fans to the disaster genre, but there's enough Sci-Fi mayhem, as well as a combination of action sequences ranging from global destruction to shootouts and car chases, that'll satisfy action junkies if they don't look too deep into the films plot or character growth.

      With Geostorm, audiences can't help but question whether the big-budget disaster genre is running out of steam, as this was the best attempt that the filmmakers behind it could give audiences. There's nothing about the film that justifies the amount of time, money, and effort that went into making the film with even the films visual effects, though impressive, not being groundbreaking enough to make up for an extremely bland story with thin character development and poor exploration of the films themes and messages. Watching the film, it becomes apparent that the filmmakers didn't know which direction they wanted to go with the story with the end result being a entertaining hot mess. Geostorm is every other global disaster film ever made with the overall plot getting stupider, yet the film is no less entertaining than the ones that Emmerich occasionally throws at audiences. It's a film that should never be looked upon as being a high form of art, but it carries enough elements from other disaster films to make it watchable at the very least. Though if audiences are looking for a far superior disaster story that places both characters and story over overlong sequences of global destruction, they're highly encouraged to check out Amazon Primes Greenland to see how solid storytelling for a disaster-themed story is done. Whereas Geostorm provides mild entertainment as being an intriguing misfire, Greenland serves as being a more rewarding experience from start to finish. It's a shame that the filmmakers behind Geostorm weren't inspired to follow suit in a similar fashion with its sound rejecting​ from audiences during its initial box office run being ultimately deserved. The film is a pure mess but within that mess is a certain amount of enjoyment to behold.

Final Verdict: Geostorm is only mildly entertaining if one can overlook the endless amounts of cliched and generic subplots lifted from other similar films. Fans of the disaster film genre as well as those of Gerard Butler should watch Greenland instead of Geostorm, as the latter is only watchable due to its key destruction sequences and solid cast with Greenland providing a more satisfying experience overall in regards to story.

Keeping Up With The Joneses Serves As Being A Generic Spy And Action Comedy That's Kept Afloat By Its Talented Cast

       

      One of the key elements that can make a comedy successful is the uniqueness behind its plot, which allows the main cast to exercise their talents as being both charismatic and comedic actors. One of the most clever and generally successful type of comedies are those that are Spy themed with both its concept, as well as its main cast making the whole experience a thoroughly fun and entertaining one. With Keeping Up With The Joneses, the plot is ideally crafted to work as being a Spy comedy with it bearing similarities to films such as Mr And Mrs Smith, Date Night, This Means War, Game Night, and True Lies. With a plot like the one Joneses carries that blends both elements of the Spy genre as well as action and romance, one would assume that the film would end up being as successful as the other films mentioned. Surprisingly that wasn't the case as the film not only flopped at the box office grossing only $14 million domestically on a budget of $40 million, but was critically panned by critics upon its release. Despite the films underperformance, the end result serves as being a fairly decent effort and ultimately undeserving of the type of reception it received. While it can be argued that Keeping Up With The Joneses comes across as being a bit too formulaic and borrows heavily from the other films mentioned, it ultimately works as being a fun-spirited and goofy comedy that's​ not only a hybrid of all the key genres merged into its story, but is ultimately made watchable due to its main cast regardless of how generic the rest of the film appears.

      The plot for Keeping Up With The Joneses centers around an ordinary boring couple (Played by Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher), discovering that their flashy new neighbors (Played by Jon Hamm and Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot) aren't who they appear to be with them being revealed as spies, ultimately making both couples embroiled in international espionage. The plot for Keeping Up With The Joneses is nothing groundbreaking and may indeed come across as feeling relatively generic, but the concept is decent enough to allow it to be a charming and reasonably entertaining comedy with both its talented and well-established cast making it feel fresh and often hilarious to watch. The film nicely waves elements of a Spy thriller together with humor, action, and romance that makes it feel like an ideal Friday night film to watch. The film knows what it wants to be which is nothing more than being hilarious entertainment, and manages to do so with its cast being the main element that makes both the story and overall film work. What Keeping Up With The Joneses carries that makes it a genuinely fun experience despite its script often making it feel like a by-the-numbers action-comedy that lacks innovativeness, is the charm its concept allows it to possess with both the performances and action making for an experience that succeeds as being harmless and passable entertainment, even if the end result doesn't fully live up to the maximum potential of its clever concept.

      Whereas the concept of Keeping Up With The Joneses presents audiences with a relatively fun scenario, it's the energy and enthusiasm of the films main cast that make it appear as being both believable and hilarious. The cast of both talented and funny actors appeals with the ensemble possessing great comedic timing, as well as being able to improv comedic bits during scenes of intended humor. Both Zack Galifianakis and Isla Fisher are perfectly cast and convincing in their roles at playing Jeff and Karen Gaffney, a bland married couple with too much time on their hands after sending their young kids away to camp with both struggling to find some new excitement in their lives, welcoming in their new neighbors with them soon suspecting that the newbies appear all too perfect with there being more to them than meets the eye. Galifianakis and Fisher manage to make their characters likable enough with them bringing a great deal of charisma to their roles. The same can equally be said with John Hamm and Gal Gadot in their roles of playing the suspicious new neighbors Tim and Natalie Jones, with them appearing as being both a welcoming and flawlessly attractive couple, who appear as if they can do no wrong along with being more concerned with keeping up with appearances while searching for information regarding their mission as spies. Both Hamm and Gadot play their parts very well and manage to share strong chemistry not just at playing lovers/spies, but also with Galifianakis and Fishers characters. All four actors bring some much-needed charm and spark to a script that's largely devoid of both with the side actors adding to the overall fun experience such as Matt Walsh and Maribeth Monroe as Jeff's friends Dan and Meg Craverston with Patton Oswalt in a surprisingly funny yet minimal role as the films main antagonist Bruce Springstine/Scorpion, as well as Kevin Dunn as MBI's head of security and Jeff's co-worker Carl Pronger. The cast for Keeping Up The The Joneses is a strong one, and is ultimately the main sole reason that anyone should watch it as everyone does their best to make the most of a rather bland script, that contains both hit-and-miss bits of humor. The actors all work well together as an ensemble with each receiving their key moments to shine in the film regardless of how stereotypical their characters often come across as being. Despite how one feels about the rest of the film as a whole, it can be agreed upon that the cast made their strongest and most noblest attempt to make the most of their experience with them ultimately creating an atmosphere that manages to be both goofy and warm-hearted.

      Whereas the acting stands as being one of the films strongest points, the directing by Greg Mottola comes across as being standard for a typical action comedy flick with the film being given a tone that makes it feel like a Spy film mixed with being a romantic comedy. The films action sequences are well-handled and relatively clean in both the violence and blood department given the films PG-13 rating. They never come across as being particularly thrilling nor amazing to watch, but they're serviceable within the confines of the story. Mottola supplies the action with mostly explosions and gunfire to keep in line with both the Spy aspect of the story, as well as it's family-oriented rating. The film also carries moments that spices up the story and ultimately making it feel sexualized such as a scene involving both Isla Fisher and Gal Gadot's characters being caught together in a fitting room wearing nothing but lingerie, that's later followed by a sequence in which they share a passionate kiss in an effort to distract the bad guys. Mottola keeps the laughs, action, and story moving at a relatively fast-paced for its 100 minute running time. The films music does well with complimenting the Spy aspect of the story with the score feeling like a combination of Mr. And Mrs. Smith meets Date Night. As a whole, the directing of the film falls within the category of being effective with Mottola presenting the story with an atmosphere that's both absurdly fun as well as being ridiculously goofy for audiences. 

      The one area of the film that both works and falls short of its full potential is the screenplay written by Michael Lesieur. The script is at its strongest when boasting interesting themes regarding long-term relationships and friendships with a positive message that encourages audiences to not judge a book by its cover, along with friendships being born under the most unusual circumstances if those involved allow it. The screenplay for Keeping Up With The Joneses has something it wants to say regarding both marriages and friendships, that's buried within the action and comedic aspects of the story with its biggest issue being that it doesn't do the best job of exploring them as the concept is interesting, but the overall story comes across as being both cliched and predictable. Outside of Galifianakis and Fisher proving that they can make the most of being given characters who come across as being relatively flat, that's ultimately how their characters feel with the audience never truly becoming invested in their marriage dilemma once their kids are shipped off to camp. Hamm and Gadot's characters also feel the same, though the idea that the former is tired of his job of being a Spy is a noble attempt to make their characters appear to be more down to earth and relatable. There isn't much difference with the side characters as everyone else feels like stereotypical generic ones, that you often find in an action comedy. Patton Oswalt's character is too over-the-top and minimal of a part for audiences to genuinely care that he's the bad guy, with the same being said about Kevin Dunn's character and Jeff's co-worker Dan. Other themes that the script teases or plays with are stress of one's job, anxiety, disatisfaction with one's job profession as evidenced by Hamm's character, the desire to spice things up in one's marriage as evidenced by Gadot's character encouraging Fisher to make herself more lustful towards her husband, secrets regarding both Hamm and Gadot's character not telling their neighbors the truth about their real job professions with Gadot's character later arguing with Hamm about not being truthful regarding his tiredness of being a Spy, expectations, perfection, depression, honesty with each other in relationships with Hamm and Gadot's couple serving as a prime example, and morality. The main issue with the writing for Keeping Up With The Joneses that's become common with many action comedies with appealing stars, is how reliant it becomes on the talent of its main stars in order for it to work with little effort going into making the story feel less predictable and more exciting, while still managing to be hilarious and heartfelt. 

      Despite the films main shortcomings regarding its writing, Keeping Up With The Joneses manages to pass as being charming, fun-spirited, and light-hearted entertainment that's often funny largely thanks to its strong cast who manage to make it feel fresh. It's not as fleshed out and well-executed as it could've been had stronger effort went into making it, but it stands as being a fairly satisfying fun escape for audiences who are looking for an ideal distraction for an hour and a half. The casting for the film is its strongest asset with Galifianakis, Fisher, Hamm, and Gadot all proving to be pitch-perfect choices for their parts with the latter two rounding out a strong set of comedic talents. The story their given is predictable and borrows heavily from other films with similar narratives, but they manage to make an entertaining experience out of it with good old fashioned laughs accompanying it, as well as thoughtful themes regarding marriage, identity, and friendships. Could the film have explored these themes more effectively? Absolutely, but audiences still manage to get the gist of the plot and get a kick out of the films logic which says that living in a Surburban cul-de-sac neighborhood isn't always a boring experience. Those who enjoy fast-paced and goofy action-comedies with doses of both charm and hear to them such as Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Game Night, and Date Night will find a sizable amount of enjoyment out of Keeping Up With The Joneses, even if it manages to feel a bit too familiar at times. If anything else, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed for its main cast who ultimately make it worth watching as well as it serving as being a reasonable time waster.

Final Verdict: For action comedy fans as well as those of the films main cast, Keeping Up With The Joneses provides predictable yet fun entertainment.