Movie Review: Amistad (1997)

Genre: Historical Drama

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, Morgan Freeman

Running Time: 154 minutes

Synopsis: In 1839, slaves being transported on the Spanish vessel La Amistad stage a mutiny, killing most of the crew members. The ship is eventually intercepted by the US navy and the slaves are held in New Haven. A legal case to determine their fate - murderers or freedom fighters - ensues, with political ramifications resonating all the way to the White House. Slave leader Cinqué (Djimon Hounsou), defence lawyer Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), abolition activist Joadson (Morgan Freeman), ex-President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins), current President Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne), Secretary of State Forsyth (David Paymer) and the young Queen of Spain (Anna Paquin) are all interested in shaping the outcome of the trial.

What Works Well: Director Spielberg and writer David Franzoni treat the historical events with reverential respect, connecting the lines between one mutiny, a broader national dilemma, international relationships, and a looming war. The flashback scenes of slave mistreatment prior to the mutiny are brutal, heartbreaking, and necessary. The complex trial machinations, arguments, and counter-arguments are patiently explained, and an impressive cast ensures prominence in every role. The rich production design brings the 1800s to life, from squalid marine conditions to White House grandeur.

What Does Not Work As Well: Excess defeats subtlety as every opportunity to over-dramatize is eagerly embraced, and John Williams' incessantly sappy music triple-underlines the Key Moments. Although an important narrative device, the language barrier is overplayed and frustrates the cinematic experience. The running time is drawn out by an over-elaborate John Quincy Adams climactic speech.

Conclusion: An impressively invested history lesson.



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Movie Review: Serenity (2019)

A film noir drama, Serenity is ambitious but deeply flawed, with a dumbfounding plot twist undermining the narrative into fatal irrelevance.

In the fictional Caribbean-like enclave of Plymouth Island, where everyone appears to know everything about everyone else, Iraq War veteran Baker Dill (Matthew McConaughey) operates the Serenity as a tourist fishing boat. But instead of looking after his customers he is obsessed with catching an elusive big tuna, and he can barely afford to pay his loyal second-in-command Duke (Djimon Hounsou). Dill provides sexual favours to Constance (Diane Lane) in return for desperately needed cash.

Dill's ex-wife Karen (Anne Hathaway) arrives unexpectedly and offers him $10 million to kill her current abusive husband Frank (Jason Clarke). She urges him to commit the murder for the sake of their son Patrick, who is suffering in an abusive household. In the meantime tweedy sales rep Reid Miller (Jeremy Strong), incongruously dressed in a suit and tie, offers Dill a fish tracking device to help him snag the big tuna. Dill starts to suspect all is not what it seems.

Written and directed by Steven Knight, Serenity ought to be applauded at some level for trying something new. But unfortunately, the second half is unsalvageable, veering into weird waters and blowing a hole in its own hull. Once Knight starts to pull back the curtain on the story he really wants to tell, no worthwhile emotional investment can be justified in the characters or events.

The opening half is a decent enough modern noir mixing reasonably engaging ingredients. Dill is a sweaty and deeply flawed protagonist hiding out in an exotic locale, chasing his unattainable fish, lamenting separation from his son, and never expecting to achieve anything beyond selfish survival and control over his boat. Karen arrives with a tolerable approximation of a femme fatale, offering breathy remorse and unimaginable money in exchange for the small matter of murder. Intended victim Frank oozes slimy evil, a perfect shark food candidate if ever there was one.

Dill agonizes over Karen's offer, and the early involvement of fish-out-of-water sales agent Reid Miller is an initially edgy angle. But then all the promising metaphors and moral dilemmas dissolve into something much more obtuse and remarkably uninteresting. Serenity lists, then just sinks.



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Movie Review: Push (2009)

A science fiction superhero thriller, Push crashes into an incomprehensible plot and burns on the fuel of witless character definition.

Various people who have enhanced psychic abilities are hunted down by an evil government group called The Division, made up of baddies who also have psychic powers. Nick (Chris Evans) a "Mover" who can manipulate objects with his thoughts, is hiding out in Hong Kong having been hunted all his life by Agent Carver (Djimon Hounsou). Now Nick is approached by young Cassie (Dakota Fanning), a "Watcher" who can see and draw snippets of the future.

Cassie needs Nick's help to locate Kira (Camilla Belle), a Pusher who escaped the Division after proving resilient to the strongest experimental injection. Kira and Nick have a history, but now she in possession of a case with mysterious contents that can bring down the Division and save Cassie's captive mother. In addition to Carver and his goons, a Chinese family featuring the intimidating Pop Girl (Xiao Lu Li) and men who can scream their enemies to death are also chasing the action.

Pushers, Watchers, Movers, Sniffers, Shifters, Wipers, Bleeders, Stitchers, Shadows...whatever. It takes no longer than 10 minutes for Push to collapse in a heap of nonsense overload, writer David Bourla and director Paul McGuigan clueless as to how to assemble a coherent narrative out of assorted hokum. Some of the visuals are impressive, but the film's style and good use of Hong Kong locations don't come close to saving the inept story.

Among the barely explained core elements are the reasons behind the prolonged war between two groups of psychics, the types of experiments being conducted by the Division, and why anyone is supposed to care. If weaponization is the objective, the current abilities on display by all sides, including stopping a hail of bullets with bare hands, influencing enemies to kill each other in a blink of an eye and predicting enemy movements, appear quite effective already.

Meanwhile, the film is riddled with internal inconsistencies related to how and when the psychic superpowers can be deployed. The case everyone is chasing takes pride of place as a most boring MacGuffin, and the bewildering revelation that it contains a serum already developed by the Division adds to the confusion. How or why a single syringe of a drug already in use will change the world order is a mystery abandoned for another day.

Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning are defeated by the material, while the other cast members don't even try and surrender quickly to superficial overacting. All the characters are dropped into the action with barely any background or context, with the notable exception of Cassie's mother, who is evidently central to the plot but never makes an appearance. She was doubtless being saved for the sequel, which was mercifully never pushed out.

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Movie Review: Gladiator (2000)

An epic drama set in the glory days of the Roman Empire, Gladiator is a rousing story of one noble warrior's quest for revenge against the evil forces of a corrupt Emperor. Director Ridley Scott reinvigorated the grand historical epic genre, while star Russell Crowe established himself as a charismatically intense hero, comfortable in any epoch.

The Roman Empire, in 180 AD. Ageing Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) is in poor health and reaching the end of his life. His army, under the command of General Maximus (Crowe), crushes the Germanic tribes and the Empire stands unchallenged. Marcus has a power-hungry but weak, unworthy and immoral son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), and a clever daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who long ago was Maximus' lover. Maximus is a phenomenally skilled warrior and strategist, but longs to return to his farm in Spain, where his wife and son are waiting.

Maximus, preparing to give the battle order: At my signal, unleash hell.

With corruption running rampant through Rome, several Senators, including Gacchus (Derek Jacobi) and Gaius (John Shrapnel), are disillusioned with the Emperor and seek the creation of a Republic. Marcus regrets a life preoccupied with warfare, and decides that the respected and honourable Maximus should succeed him as Emperor to bring political stability and good governance back to the Empire. Before Marcus can publicly announce his decision, Commodus kills him and seizes power and orders the death of Maximum.

Maximus escapes, but his wife and son are brutally killed by Commodus' men. The former general is sold into slavery, eventually becoming the property of Proximo (Oliver Reed), who owns a stable of gladiators in the far reaches of the Empire. Maximus proves himself a popular killing machine, and establishes a reputation among the blood thirsty crowds as "the Spaniard". He also befriends fellow slave gladiators Juba (Djimon Hounsou) and Hagen (Ralf Möller).

In Rome, Commodus struggles to rule, while Lucilla is caught between loyalty to her brother, worry about his intentions towards her young son, and the restless Senators. Commodus tries to improve his popularity by sponsoring 150 days of games, including returning gladiator battles to the Colosseum. Eventually Proximo and his men are invited back to compete, allowing Maximus to return to Rome. He is single-mindedly determined to find his revenge against Commodus, but first has to survive the brutal gladiator battles.

Maximus, revealing his identity: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Inspired by actual history but very much a work of fiction, Gladiator offers more than 150 minutes of rollicking action and tumultuous human conflict. The film is unrelenting in offering up awe-inspiring scenes of combat and carnage interspersed with healthy doses of character development driven by themes of loyalty, mistrust, ambition and cold revenge. At its core the film is about a conflict between two men who both insist on having their own way with history, and neither will settle until the other is destroyed.

The battle scenes deliver tense excitement, Scott able to mix close combat with enough strategic perspective to maintain coherence. Whether the death and destruction is unleashed deep in the Germanic forests or the relatively tighter confines of the Colosseum, Scott and cinematographer John Mathieson adopt an often jerky soldier's eye view of battle, with just enough wider shots to provide context. There is plenty of blood, gore and dismemberment to convey ferocity, with individuals who matter frequently placed in harms way to ensure that the danger registers.

But the strength of the film lies ultimately with character depth rather than stacks of corpses. As simple as the story is, it is also undoubtedly compelling. Maximum is as pure and humble as a man as he is merciless as a battle warrior, a loyal soldier who kills Rome's enemies as needed but always yearns to return to the peacefulness of home. Commodus is his antithesis, morally bankrupt, power hungry despite being undeserving, and caring much less about the glory of Rome than personal adulation. Heroes and villains don't come much more white and black than what Gladiator offers, but both men are presented as unyielding and flawed. Maximus allows his quest for revenge to consume him, while Commodus becomes obsessed with the need to publicly usurp and humiliate the popular gladiator once he returns to Rome.

In the wings are two other characters facing moments of truth. Lucilla is forced to navigate the treacherous path where her brother is an unworthy Emperor, her young son is heir apparent and therefore in mortal danger, and her former lover is intent on causing mayhem in the hallways of power. Proximo's story is much more modest: a former gladiator himself, Proximo finds himself in possession of the purest killing machine that can provide him with unlimited riches. But Proximo grows to realize that the Spaniard is destined for a higher purpose, and men like Proximo get to choose their side of history, but don't get to shape the outcome.

Proximo, to Maximus: Then listen to me. Learn from me. I wasn't the best because I killed quickly. I was the best because the crowd loved me. Win the crowd, and you will win your freedom.

Visually, Scott offers a spectacular recreation of Rome in all its glory, including breathtaking views of a reconstructed Colosseum brought back to raucous life. Many scenes feature seemingly thousands of extras, with live actors blended seamlessly with CGI effects. And in one battle, a few angry tigers enter the fray to join in the bloodletting. In the middle of it all, Russell Crowe commands the action with unflappable self-belief, oozing star power with the confidence of a man on a mission he believes to be absolutely righteous. Joaquin Phoenix manages the unenviable task of creating a hateable villain, his Commodus consisting of insidious lies, barely concealed deceit, and soulless betrayal in the pursuit of power.

Oliver Reed and Connie Nielsen offer commendable support in the main secondary roles. Reed passed away partway through filming, and his scenes where completed with the help of doubles and imaginative computer trickery. Djimon Hounsou gets a rather underwritten role as another gladiator in Proximo's stable who befriends Maximus.

Gladiator is a towering achievement, a celebration of the clash between the worst and the best that manhood offers: from pathetic selfish self-aggrandizement to saving the soul of an Empire.

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Movie Review: Blood Diamond (2006)

A geopolitical action drama about the trade in African war zone diamonds, Blood Diamond is a masterpiece. With remarkable fluidity and through an engrossing story, the film delves into the multiple woes inflicted on Africa in the name of greed, power and the chase for personal fortunes.

In Sierra Leone, the family of fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is shattered by the raging civil war. Solomon is enslaved by the brutal Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and put to work in a diamond mine. His son Dia is also eventually captured by the RUF and transformed into a child soldier. While working in the mine, Solomon finds a rare large pink diamond. In the chaos caused by a government troop attack, he hurriedly manages to bury it.

Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a scrappy arms dealer who illegally trades weapons for diamonds, and then exports the gems out of neighbouring Liberia. Born in what was Rhodesia, orphaned at an early age and trained by South Africa's apartheid army, Danny is cynical about the prospects of Africa ever breaking out of the violence cycle. When his latest deal goes bad, Danny spends the night in jail where he crosses paths with Solomon and hears about the large pink diamond. Danny also meets journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), who is investigating how the illegal trade in diamonds helps to finance Africa's civil wars.

With the RUF gaining in strength and attacking the capital Freetown, Danny pressures Solomon into showing him where the buried diamond is. In return Danny promises to help find Solomon's family. As the country disintegrates into chaos, South African mercenaries enter the conflict to try and seize control of the mines. Danny relentlessly pursues the diamond, Solomon remains intent on reuniting with his family, and Maddy realizes that Danny has all the information she needs to link Africa's agony with the international diamond trade.

Directed by Edward Zwick, Blood Diamond is an example of how to expertly construct a beautiful message film. The Charles Leavitt script tackles not only blood diamonds but also the horror of child soldiers, the agony of mass civilian displacement and the continuous anarchy of violence that grips Africa, and does it through a provocative story that ties international consumerism with the convulsions of a continent in turmoil. Blood Diamond is never preachy, but through its human-centred and action-packed narrative, its makes its points with devastating power.

At 143 minutes, the film has epic ambitions, and it does not disappoint. Against a canvass of multiple themes, the focus on just the three characters works remarkably well. Archer as the cynical mercenary both benefiting from and perpetuating turmoil, Solomon as the local victim caught up in the greed of other and Maddy as the idealistic but determined foreign observer provide plenty of opportunities for Zwick to vigorously chase after the threads that come together in the mines, villages and cities of Sierra Leone.

The action set-pieces are delivered with explosive bombast. Highlights include the RUF's attack on Freetown and the mercenary army's helicopter pummeling a diamond mine, in both cases Zwick capturing what it means to be caught up in the chaos of a battle zone. Cinematographer Eduardo Serra and the understated but poignant music by James Newton Howard contribute to the majesty of Africa's landscape and misery of squalor, death and destruction.

But for all the weaponry and brutality on display, Blood Diamond is much more about story than action. This is a lament about a continent blessed with beauty and natural resources but cursed with conflict, barbarism and death. The script spares no villains, and points fingers at international corporations, outside meddlers, local governments, barbaric revolutionaries, internal strife and unadulterated greed. The uniforms on all sides are different and range from suits to ragtag fatigues, but their actions have the same outcomes and harm the same victims, men, women and children displaced, enslaved, militarized, hacked and killed.

Leonardo DiCaprio delivers one of his career-best performances as Danny Archer. DiCaprio sustains a cocky Rhodesian / South African accent and attitude, an African man who has personally experienced the worst that the continent has to offer and in return is contributing to its decline. Djimon Hounsou as Solomon is equally authoritative as Archer's counterpoint, a simple man who survives on pure optimism about his family's future. Jennifer Connelly does her best in the lesser role of journalist Maddy Bowen, a character that required more grime, less glamour and more pragmatism than the script was able to offer.

The film's themes are captured in two simple metaphors, the acronym TIA (This Is Africa) and the red soil that feeds the continent and hides its riches. Before his quest for the large diamond is over, Danny Archer will understand his true role in both. Blood Diamond is an absorbing experience, an eloquent yet hard-hitting exploration of the agonizing tragedies afflicting a continent and shaming the world.

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