The story was formulaic and the plot was too convenient - no surprises there - but it was remarkably enjoyable, fairly sophisticated, and the time travel aspect of the story made the final act less ridiculous than it would have been in an average action flick.
But what really made this movie stood out from the other EPIC type of films was the fact that it was surprisingly coherent and fun. It did somehow follow the Pirates of the Caribbean formula by combining equal doses of action, wit, humor and charismatic characters, but I thought it worked perfectly well in their advantage - it should be pointed out that this film was produced by the same studio that brought us Pirates of the Caribbean and it certainly shows.
The actors, I thought, collectively did a good job with the material they were given. Jake Gyllenhaal was shockingly charismatic as the main lead. He didn't exactly look the part with his slightly goofy looking demeanor but he certainly played the part. I thought he executed all his action sequences really well. Sure, he wasn't Persian but that Pirate in the Caribbean wasn't a pirate as well. Haha. So, there's that.
Gemma Arterton, on the other hand, was a revelation. I thought her performance was a huge improvement from her bland performances in Quantum of Solace and Clash Of The Titans. She managed to inject wit, charm and emotion into her character, not to mention looking exquisitely beautiful at the same time. Oh, and her chemistry with Gyllenhaall was unbelievably palpable. Like, stupidly unbelievable. Haha.
The supporting cast was a mixed bag though. Some were a delight to watch with good comic timing like Alfred Molina, while some were slightly disappointing like Ben Kingsley. Granted, Kingsely acted great in his role but I felt like it just didn't match to his standards. Alfred Molina has a funny supporting role and the rest of the cast did quite a good job, although I wish a little characterization would come from this.
Now, on a technical standpoint, everything was on point. The movie - from start to finish - was filled with well-choreographed fight scenes, fantastic special effects, top notch cinematography, lavish production design and sweeping musical score.
Ultimately, this movie was exactly what it sets out to be - a well made blockbuster film that is guaranteed to entertain. It's flawed - no question about that - but it was, as I've said, immensely enjoyable. So, if you want to take a little escape from reality, I guess this is the movie to enjoy.
Dare I say: Robin Hood > Prince of Persia > Iron Man 2 > Clash Of the Titans > Percy Jackson
RATING: 8/10
4 comments:
The film was OK for me. I enjoyed it. But not the type of movie where I'd give an applause in the end.
The finale, for me, was like "yun na yon?".
The fight choreography were good: all the gymnastic moves and slow mo jumps etc were entertaining... but deprived. I wish that there were more fight scenes and some more never-before-seen moves during Jake and the Snake Guy's scene (im too lazy to google his name sorry, LOL).
And also, they could've given a full blast costume parade for the ladies, especially for the princess.
But again, I like the film, it's just that.... kulang... hehe
Hmm. I thought it just had the right amount of everything. It didn't feel kulang to me. The fight scenes were more than enough and more of that would be a total overkill - at least to me.
The final act, I thought, was warranted naman by the time travel aspect. Without it, the ending would seem ridiculous but it didn't. Frankly, I can't think of any other non-cheesy way of ending the film. So, that's good enough for me. :)
fair enough :)
this must be the very first film that we both didn't agree hahaha
Haha. Yeah. And I suspect we will disagree on other movies to come. :P
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