Movie review - "6 Underground" (2019) **1/2

The opening car chase is thrilling and Ryan Reynolds is likeable as always - indeed, the acting is strong (as it so often tends to be in Michael Bay films). There's some funny lines and Bay's direction is energetic as always.

But it's not much of a story -the premise could possibly have been turned into something interesting but there's no real character work. They don't do anything interesting with the idea of someone being dead to do good deeds. The plot - to overthrow a corrupt dictator - is way too simple with no twists or complications. It's also very easy for the heroes to do it all.

Production values are first rate. Character work is awful.

Script review - "The Rock"

A very good script - every scene pushes the action forward, there's three showy star parts, all different (the tormented general villain, the British agent, the expert Goodspeed), some funny lines, clever action bits. The basic story is solid with its ticking clock.

Maybe some of the supporting characters could be developed - like Womack the FBI guy or the daughter/girlfriend parts. And I felt the offsider for the Ed Harris character would have been better off just being the one person.

But very readable and entertaining. I actually like this better than the film.

Movie review - "13 Hours" (2015) ***

I wanted to like this more than I did. It's such a great story - a real old fashioned siege epic, a bunch of guys (and a few girls) fighting off massed hordes - and there's plenty of good things about it: the photography, production design; the action sequences were well done; some of it is engrossing.

But it's tonally off. There's a lot of whingeing and posturing - the heroes, whom I think we're meant to think are awesome, strut around, heave their manly chests, posture, and complain. The head of the CIA is dumb, the CIA agents are dumb, the Libyan allies range from comically in-manly to inept. There's too many beards, scenes of men introducing themselves to each other and worrying about their families (the families that they consistently, regularly leave to go work overseas even though they don't have to).

As in Black Hawk Down the locals barely feature - faceless killers, wailing women; even the people who saved the Americans at the end are hardly in it. But unlike Black Hawk Down our heroes aren't understated professionals, they feel like NRA members on a weekend shoot out. And the movie overly panders to the Red State audience prejudices - loving shots of ammunition, dialogue like "Americans are dying", whingeing about the lack of air support during the siege, preference given to "saving lives" over actual work that could help stabilise the region which could save more lives. 

The acting doesn't help. Pablo Schreiber's posturing makes it seem like he's sending up the whole thing. So does Toby Stephens. John Krasinki (presumably trying for a Chris Pratt style career evolution) is annoying. Max Martini impresses as the most understated mercenary.

Look, to be fair - the movie is told form the point of view of the contractors, and thus has its own integrity in terms of point of view: they considered their jobs the most important out there, and that's the attitude the film takes. It has plenty of pace and action and I did enjoy watching it - I just wanted it to be a classic.

Movie review - "Transformers" (2007) **1/2

The idea of combining Michael Bay and toys sounded immensely unappealing but to many people's surprise this turned out to be bright blockbuster excitement, and made tonnes of money. It's a very good, commercial story: a seventeen year old high school boy with a crush on the hot girl discovers that is new car is a good transformer and He Is The Only One Who Can Save The World Because He Owns The Special Thing.

To add some extra appeal there's Megan Fox as an alien (okay that's mean - as an improbably gorgeous creature who is meant to be the same age as Shia Le Bouf), Josh Duhmanel for some male handsomeness, Rachel Taylor to play a girl with a brain (a hacker who disappears from the story), Anthony Anderson for black comic relief, John Turturro and Jon Voight for acting fred. Bay's hyperactive directing style gets irritating at times, though it does suit the action involving the fast moving creatures, and there is a sense of fun.

Some solid scenes too like the tape player turning into a creature on board Air Force One, and Anderson's rants as a hacker. It felt as though it went on too long and got dumber and more like a video game but it's fine.

Movie review – “Armageddon” (1998) ***

Silly, over the top action/sci fi film, which has a terrific central idea – oil riggers sent to help blow up an asteroid – and benefits from a typically excellent Jerry Bruckheimer cast, including Steve Buscemi, Will Patton and a young Owen Wilson. Liv Tyler is nothing in a nothing role but I did enjoy the schmaltz at times and it moves along at a fair clip. Michael Bay has to hype every sequence and that gets irritating.