Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Chris Garrett (B) on August 06, 2004 at 21:48:44

In Reply to: Re: Well... posted by PdL on August 06, 2004 at 12:17:47:

saw both and both are worth the time (both at/around 2 hrs) and expense.

If you saw Bourne Identity, try and watch it again if you haven't seen it recently and then see BS, as many of the same characters are present in the sequel and a refresher is in order. I don't want to spoil it for you, but while there is plenty of action in BS, it just seemed to paced be a slightly slower rate than BI, but that could have just been my mindset kicking in. As AuPu states, there is a herky-jerky style to the camera work in many scenes that can be unsettling for some, but I thought it was interesting, if not a bit dizzying.

The plot carried on with the theme from the first to a degree, in that he's still looking for his true identity and he is on the run. The Moscow car chase was pretty wild, right up there with the two in Ronin and The Italian Job, but slightly more unbelievable than the Mini Cooper chase in the original. You'll be double checking your seatbelts on the way home. As somebody said here, you can see a third installment being made, so we'll just have to see.

Now, the second feature was Collateral, a film I didn't catch wind of until last week for some reason. Hey...I'm a Tom Cruise fan and love most of his movies so I don't give a fuck about what people say. My biggest gripe was with him being cast for the lead in THE FIRM and that misgiving was based solely on the character's perceived age in the book, more than TC NOT being right for the part for reasons of tradecraft (a spy term!)

Anyhow, this is a pretty good flick. TC is stoic and makes a pretty brooding and well coiffed assassin. The plot takes some suspension of disbelief, but look at that pizza guy who had the bomb strapped around his neck and told to go rob a bank, kaboom...so shit happens.

The basic storyline is mapped out in the trailer (killer has a cabbie drive him around to his hits all in a matter of hours one night in LA) and it's just the interaction between a nerdy, conservative, dreamer (Jaime Foxx) and a suave, ruthless, existential killer that keeps you in your seat. It's no Shakespeare, but it's not your typical shoot 'em up even though there's a high body count. You kind of flow with the situations and things don't always go according to plan, which is ironic given the fastidiousness of TC's character Vincent.

I've read some reviews before and after and I think TC is good in this role, but some have felt that he's just not believable as a stoic hitman, so to each his own. There is some irony to the ending, which was neat for me.

Anyhow, I've recently enjoyed: I, Robot, Spidey II, BS and Collateral, so I'm on a roll compared to last summer, when I was a tad disappointed. I'm really waiting on Alien vs. Predator next week, so we'll see on that one.

Take care, Chris