'Widows' Review

A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future not their own terms, Veronica joins forces with the other three women to pull off a heist that her husband was planning.

Based on an '80s TV miniseries of the same name, Widows is director Steve McQueen's follow-up to the Academy Award-winning film 12 Years a Slave. In addition to helming the crime drama, Mc-Queen co-wrote the screenplay alongside Gone Girl and Sharp Objects scribe Gillian Flynn. The prestige names circling the picture don't stop there though, as the ensemble is stacked with all-star acting talent I'll discuss momentarily, and acclaimed film composer Hans Zimmer even scores the intricate heist flick. Whether Widows will be a prominent player in the awards race remains to be seen, but I believe it's rightfully earned its spot in the conversation for some coveted Oscars.

From the get-go, McQueen captivates audiences with an intense getaway intercut by glimpses of the tranquil domestic life shared by the four thieves and their spouses. Throughout the film, false reflections are employed as a reoccurring symbol which is not only beautifully photographed by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, but indicative of the struggle of grieving a loved one as Veronica is often haunted by an image of her deceased husband Harry when she looks out the window. It's also worth mentioning that Widows contains the most unique camera placement I've seen all year, as a one-take conversation inside the back seat of a car is shot from the front passenger side exterior to highlight the change in locale from a poverty-stricken neighborhood to a wealthy one (there's deeper meaning to it, I promise).

On that note, Widows is loaded with commentary related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, political corruption, police brutality, and violence to name the topics most prominent in the narrative. However, the film never feels overburdened by the abundance of subject matter. In fact, everything eventually coalesces in an incredibly satisfying manner within a tense, enthralling thriller. Though it should be mentioned that Widows is not an action-heavy heist movie as it's being marketed. Action is present and incredible in execution, but not abundant. McQueen and Flynn are much more concerned with exploring the ensuing character drama, and Widows is all the better for it.

As I alluded to earlier, Widows has a star-studded cast, and everyone brings their A-game. Viola Davis is sensational in the lead role, demonstrating extensive range that should garner her another Oscar nomination at the very least, while Elizabeth Debicki and Michelle Rodriguez each turn in career-best performances. Cynthia Erivo, who was recently a highlight of Bad Times at the El Royale, continues to show a knack for acting as she matches her experienced costars at every opportunity while Liam Neeson, Jacki Weaver, and Carrie Coon are relegated to small but vital roles.

Brian Tyree Henry and Daniel Kaluuya portray Manning brothers Jamal and Jatemme respectively, lending a sense of gravitas to their characters which makes their screen presence all the more intimidating and impressionable. Kaluuya is only onscreen for about ten minutes, but he really makes the most of it by exhibiting a razor-sharp intensity and collected composure which will surely place him among the year's best supporting performances and most intimidating antagonists. Meanwhile, Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall juxtapose them as a father-son duo of scheming politicians.

I still need to watch American Animals, but for now, Widows easily curb-stomped Ocean's Eight and snatched its crown as the year's best heist film. Unlike the year's other diverse female-lead heist, Widows rejuvenates the genre with stylish filmmaking techniques and a sense of purpose. McQueen's got plenty to say and a lot of ground to cover but somehow gets away executing a complex smash-and-grab without ever sacrificing quality or entertainment value.

Film Assessment: A+

'The Fate of the Furious' Review

The Fate of the Furious flips the Fast & Furious franchise on its head when Dominic Toretto suddenly betrays his team in the midst of a non-sanctioned operation. The crew then are assembled by Mr. Nobody and must partner with an unexpected ally, former foe Deckard Shaw, if they have any hope of stopping Toretto and the cyberterrorist organization behind his shifted alliance. 

If you told me that Fate of the Furious was directed by Michael Bay, I'd probably buy it due to Straight Outta Compton filmmaker F. Gary Gray's decision to switch gears into full Transformers territory. The two franchises might as well cross over at this point because they've both got slo-mo, explosions, choppy editing, and shaky cam galore! 

Gray and his technical crew absolutely deliver on piecing together ridiculous action set pieces comprised of a standard street race in Havana harkening back to the roots of  The Fast and the Furious, an absurd chase through the Big Apple involving thousands of remotely controlled auto-driven cars, and the gang casually skidding over the frozen tundra and a nuclear submarine in efforts to stop World War III to name a couple. 

Despite Fate of the Furious' best intentions at delivering a commercialized blockbuster, the film feels devoid of the energy that bolstered previous entries (possibly due to Paul Walker's absence). Now I can suspend my disbelief of nonsensical action and overlook the bad dialogue provided I'm reasonably entertained, but Fate of the Furious never quite found that niche. I can't fault the film itself for this but Universal's marketing department plastered the coolest moments everywhere on the internet so Fate of the Furious never took me by surprise. I occasionally laughed at the senseless situations the crew found themselves in or the cheap one-liners but I was rarely invested in the insanity. 

Furious 7 tied up all the loose ends of the series nicely with a neat, little bow but veteran F&F screenwriter Chris Morgan returns to unravel that with his sixth consecutive F&F screenplay. Fate of the Furious can't help but feel like an extraneous extension of the saga because of how nicely Furious 7 wrapped things up, especially when minimal character growth occurs over the 136 minute runtime and the ending seemingly leaves little room for anywhere I could conceivably see the franchise headed. One thing that especially bothered me was that there were no lasting consequences or any aftermath from choices made by these characters. It doesn't help that the characters are virtually invulnerable either, these people are practically superheroes at this point. 

On top of that, the formulaic nature of these F&F movies is becoming more and more apparent with each new installment and I'm convinced the last four or so practically have the same ending. However, two things I can credit Morgan for are writing decent hamstrung one-liners and constructing a convincing motivation for Toretto to turn on his family (probably the only surprise in the movie). Aside from that I was awestruck at how easily entertained the people around me were, they audibly gasped and aw'ed at predictable clichés I saw coming from a mile away. 

For the most part, the cast fill out their prescribed duties but it's noticeable the material they're given is rather lackluster. Vin Diesel gets to tread new waters as Dominic Toretto explores the inherent internal conflict that accompanies betrayal. Diesel demonstrated more range in this film that I feel was missing from some of his previous performances in this franchise and lent itself well to the precarious position his character found himself in. Michelle Rodriguez's scenes opposite Diesel provides the soap opera-esque relationship drama for Letty and Dom, which is incredibly melodramatic and over-the-top but somehow works thanks to the chemistry between the two. 

Amongst the supporting roster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hams it up as Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham's Deckard surprisingly steals the show now that he's on the good guy's side (watch out for his plane sequence that's an absolute delight and demands a spin-off). Statham and Johnson's verbal sparring turned out to be a highlight as both get a few good insults while Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson serve as supporting comedic relief with their characters Tej and Roman competing for the affections of Nathalie Emmanuel's Ramsey. Emmanuel gets to spout technical know-how and hack plenty of databases in the same vein as her role in Furious 7 but sadly has little else to do. Kurt Russell returns as the franchise's Nick Fury, Mr. Nobody, and he's brought Scott Eastwood and accomplished actress Helen Mirren along with him because clearly the ensemble wasn't crowded enough already. 

In the antagonistic department, Charlize Theron enters the fray and you'd expect a certain level of gravitas to accompany an Academy Award winning actress like Theron in a villainous role. However, Theron absolutely phones it in as Cipher, making her the blandest foe the team have come across yet. Cipher doesn't ever trade blows with the crew, which is incredibly disappointing when you take her stint as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road or the trailers for her upcoming action flick Atomic Blonde into account (both of which serving as sufficient evidence she can handle an action sequence). It's probably worth mentioning to keep an eagle eye out for cameos since there were a few familiar faces I didn't expect to see and there's no post credits scene so you can race out of the theater once it's over. 

When it's all said and done, I'm not really sure Fate of the Furious was a necessary addition to the franchise. It feels driven towards financial rewards rather than furthering the characters or story in a meaningful way. Legitimate fans and casual viewers of F&F who have loved each installment and are simply seeking a good time will be more than satisfied with Fate of the Furious, but anyone hoping for an interesting continuation of the F&F family story will probably be let down. The Fate of the Furious has just about everything longtime viewers of the series have come to expect; outrageous vehicular stunts, cheesy quips, and a strong focus on family, but it fails to deliver an engaging adventurous atmosphere for our characters.

Film Assessment: C-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Fast & Furious'

Sorry for the delayed review but I decided to instead just knock two birds out with one stone and continue my series of Fast & Furious reviews by releasing my thoughts on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast & Furious. Films I hope to see and review in 2017 that I didn't get around to in 2016 include Collateral Beauty and Passengers.

'Fast & Furious' Review

Fast & Furious is the fourth entry into the Fast & Furious franchise refocusing on the core cast from
The Fast and the Furious as Brian O'Connor, now with the FBI, must reteam with Dominic Toretto to bring down a drug lord. While Fast & Furious doesn't exactly revolutionize the franchise, it does begin the transition to more watchable entertainment.

Justin Lin returns to direct and the step-up in production value is evident as the stunts are crazier, the acting's slightly improved, and the cinematography is competent. Not that this will surprise anyone but there's little substance or story in Fast & Furious. It's all about the number of fast cars and attractive women they can stuff into one production.

I'm convinced this about the time that the Fast & Furious franchise found it's niche: ridiculous stunts involving cars. It's not till the subsequent entry that they find an adequate balance between that and a suitable story. The action is much more exhilarating than previous installments as the cars are faster and I guess the characters are more furious?

Chris Morgan's screenplay builds some generic character arcs but these are much better than those found in the last three entries. Morgan also throws in some nice twists and turns that show some characters at their most vulnerable and just managed to better dress ongoing events.

The performances are improved for sure as Vin Diesel gets to showcase some range, Paul Walker has some charisma to him now, and Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez make the most of what they're given. Gal Gadot makes her debut to the franchise, making a convincing hench-woman of sorts, and John Ortiz is an evil drug lord and does what he can to make an impression.

Again, Fast & Furious offers up everything you expect from the franchise but everything's slightly more refined than usual.

Film Assessment: C-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Fast and the Furious'

Sorry for the delayed review but this week's Throwback Thursday Review is over The Fast and the Furious and I realize it makes absolutely no sense why I would be reviewing this in December. However, there's a lot of major blockbusters coming out next year including Fast 8 (The Fate of the Furious) and I'm trying to review a majority, if not all, of their predecessors and figured I could cram in the first few Fast & Furious films in the slow weeks of December. Next week I will be reviewing West Side Story to coincide with La La Land's minuscule limited release that weekend, I managed to get passes to a screening on December 13th that I'm absolutely thrilled to be attending and will get my thoughts on the film out on the internet ASAP because La La Land is surprisingly one of the films I've been most excited for this year. Reviews you can expect for the remainder of the year include Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Sorry for the delay on this one), Rules Don't Apply, Miss Sloane, La La Land, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Collateral Beauty, Passengers, Sing, Assassin's Creed, Fences, and Throwback Thursday Reviews over West Side Story, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Fast & Furious.

'The Fast and the Furious' Review

In The Fast & the Furious, Los Angeles police officer Bryan O'Connor must go undercover in the street racing arena to discover the culprits responsible for a series of big-rig heists. Rob Cohen directs and had to be somewhat aware of how cheesy this blockbuster is because he let it persist among the silly screenplay, awful acting, and hip-hop heavy soundtrack interchangeable with a racing video game like Need For Speed or Grand Theft Auto.

Director of photography Ericson Core does a great job capturing the cars as they speed away but Cohen's decision to utilize slow motion and shaky cam is outright laughable in some moments, with neither really necessary for the dramatic or emotional impact intended. Also, The Fast & the Furious has not aged well because a lot of the pump and circumstance comes across as a little outlandish and the 2000's sheeny filter covering it all certainly didn't help.

BT offers a pop synth heavy score that sometimes makes for decent accompaniment to ongoing events and races but other times feels a tad ill suited and almost inappropriate bursting in after a tense moment, it's really not at all surprising to see that he actually later went on to work on the soundtrack for Need For Speed: Most Wanted. The screenplay penned up by Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, and to my surprise David Ayer, based on magazine article "Racer X", has some of the campiest dialogue I've ever heard and spotlights a nonsense story at its core.

The performances are almost a joke as Vin Diesel delivers dialogue with a steely gaze as Dominic Torretto, Paul Walker is burdened to carry the heavy handed emotional arcs as Bryan O'Connor but honestly can't handle it as he simply can't act (at least not decently yet). Chad Lindberg plays a squeamish wimp, Johnny Stone and Matt Schulze are the muscle and Michelle Rodriguez, Jordan Brewster, and a host of street race babes are the pin-up sex appeal. Rick Yune makes an okay villain that has at least one good interrogation scene but gets swallowed up in the cheese of the franchise.

The Fast & the Furious is loud, proud, and kind of obnoxious, making it synonymous with street cars and that audience but it's somewhat of a guilty pleasure. Undoubtedly, The Fast & the Furious is one of the cheesiest entries in the franchise and that's probably why many people like it but I'm personally more into the action-heavy later installments that embrace the over the top outrageousness so the original pales in comparison. The high octane street races and heists are amusing, but nothing compared to what the franchise's future has to offer in terms of upping the ante of ridiculous stunts involving Diesel & diesel.

Film Assessment: D+

'Furious 7' Review

I saw Furious 7 recently and really enjoyed it. I believe the best parts of the film were the crazy stunts action scenes, and the performances. The franchise has really changed throughout it's seven films with a greater focus on crazy stunts and action scenes and less focus on car races. The action scenes are even larger and more convoluted than they were in the last installment with a few major scenes that were showcased in the trailers featuring cars dropping from an airplane, a car jumping across two buildings. Going into the film I was worried all of the big action scene were spoiled but there is much more to these scenes than what is shown in the trailers. The performances in the film were also very enjoyable. I really enjoyed Michelle Rodriguez and Vin Diesel's chemistry as both are quite enjoyable to see onscreen together. Tyree Gibson does what he dopes best and delivers some hilarious lines and is mainly in the film for comedy like the previous installments. Ludacris is also hilarious and it is fun to watch him tease Gibson's character. Jason Statham delivers a very convincing performance as the film's villain but seems to provide more of a "Winter Soldier" role to the story as a trained spec ops agent that seems to be in the right place at the right time merely seeking revenge. The Rock delivers his cheesy lines with a lot of gusto however be aware that the Rock is not as large a part of this film as he has been in the previous two installments. And I am aware that Paul Walker didn't actually film all of his scenes due to his tragic death but his character has some of the best action and fight scenes. I will say that they handled the Paul Walker situation perfectly with a touching sendoff with a montage of clips that featured him from the previous Fast And Furious films. I am not necessarily connected to the franchise given that the first Fast and Furious film I saw was Fast Five however I did cry because of the suggested bigger picture and larger meaning to this scene and thought it was the best way for Paul Walker to have exited the franchise in a way that doesn't come across as offensive or a cruel version of Paul Walker's actual death from a car crash.  Overall, Furious 7 is definitely the best installment of the franchise so far and I do think this film provides a nice ending to the franchise but after a $143 million opening box office this weekend I doubt the franchise will end soon. I highly suggest watching the film if you are a fan of action films, Fast and Furious films, or want to watch Paul Walker one last time.