Did It Suck Movie Reviews
Archive for the ‘Action’ Category
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated: PG
If you take; Aladdin and Indiana Jones, some Tomb Raider, National Treasure and lots of Parkour, mix them together you’d get Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
Plot: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 fantasy–adventure film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard; directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film is loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.
We follow Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a street urchin in the Persian Empire in the sixth century. After standing up to some royal guards, he is adopted by the king as his third son. The two older brothers are Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell). He grows up as part of the royal family and then finds himself on an adventure like no other… (more here)
Did It Suck? I really liked this movie despite all the negative reviews. This is a fun movie with lots of action, sword play, and Parkour. The acting was generally good throughout, though some of the dialog might have been a little goofy. It was a little tiresome watching the constant lovey-dovey eyes between the two main characters and some of the the comedy relief was really not needed. Overall this was a good movie and probably the best movie yet that has been based on a video game; definitely Worth a Ticket.
Add Or View Your Comments Here
- Dan Kersey
MacGruber
Review: 2.5 Stars Rated: 14-A
Revenge in the hands of MacGruber is a nasty story and if you’re the bad guy, I’d be worried.
MacGruber is a recurring sketch on the NBC television series Saturday Night Live, first appearing on the show in January 2007. .. (more here)
The cast includes: Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph.
Plot: Will Forte brings Saturday Night Live’s clueless soldier of fortune to the big screen in the action comedy MacGruber. In the 10 years since his fiancée was killed, special op MacGruber has sworn off a life of fighting crime with his bare hands. But when he learns that his country needs him to find a nuclear warhead that’s been stolen by his sworn enemy, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), MacGruber figures he’s the only one tough enough for the job. more here
Did It Suck? I’m not going to make this a long review because it’s really not worth my time. MacGruber has a few genuinely funny parts, but for the most part it pushed the toilet humor envelope too far in trying to get a laugh. I found myself laughing at the stupidity rather than laughing because it was supposed to be funny. Don’t get me wrong, far-fetched reality and toilet humor comedies have their place, but MacGruber just doesn’t have my vote as a good comedy. MacGruber’s Saturday Night Live fans will probably want to see this film, however I encourage you to Wait For The DVD.
Add or View Your Comments Here
- Paul Holmes
Robin Hood
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated: 14-A
A bow and arrow is a good weapon of choice for a soldier in 1199 and Robin Longstride (Russel Crowe) is one of those soldiers. Robin Hood is directed by Ridley Scott telling a story before the legend of Robin Hood begins. The cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow and William Hurt. See full cast here
Plot: It is late 12th century England and Robin Longstride (Russell Crowe) is a common archer in the Third Crusade. Following the death of Richard the Lionheart in battle, Robin and three other common soldiers attempt to return to their homeland, having spent ten years fighting abroad. -More
Did it Suck? I was expecting something different from this film but it was an unexpected surprise. This movie is like a history story of the beginnings of the legend of Robin Hood.
The bigger battle sequences were good for the most part however the camera angles were up close and shaky to add effect, but, it really seemed to take away from the battle and the ability to see the full scale of what was going on. The main story is easy to follow but the inner stories are a little obscure and don’t really explain themselves. Overall the movie was really good and I was happy to pay to see it on the big screen. If you’re looking to go see an epic adventure with Robin (action) Hood you will be disappointed. This is an interesting film with depth surrounding a legends beginnings. Worth a Ticket but it will also be a Great Renter as there is nothing you will miss seeing it on a smaller screen.
- Dan Kersey
Iron Man 2
Review: 4 Stars Rated: PG
Iron Man is back in this highly anticipated sequel. Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Gwyneth Paltrow star in Iron Man 2
Plot: It is the sequel to 2008′s Iron Man, and the second film in the planned trilogy, all of which are, or will be, directed by Jon Favreau. The first Iron Man finished off with Stark (Robert Downey Jr) revealing his identity as the “Iron Man”. Currently… Stark is now resisting calls by the United States Government to hand over the technology. The Villain Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) has duplicated the technology and has built weapons of his own.
Did It Suck? Back in 2008 Iron Man set the bar for Super Hero movies. Iron Man 2 is fantastic and is an excellent follow-up to the first movie, however, it still sits in the shadow of the first one. Iron Man 2 is a fast paced action adventure Super Hero flick that never lets up, at all. The movie is like the Energizer Bunny, it never stops moving, the film keeps you from wanting a bathroom break because you just might miss something.
Iron Man 2 is more story then action, however, it never gets dull. I would have liked to have seen the movie spread out a little better with more action sequences. I also felt there were a few stupid director decisions in some of the scenes but they didn’t take away from the movie as a whole. Over all it was a very good sequel and a most excellent movie. Worth a Ticket in my book.
- Dan Kersey
The Losers
Review: 4 Stars Rated: PG
Lock and load people. The Losers hit fast and hard and if your the target, your already dead.
A film adaptation of Vertigo and DC Comics‘ comic book series of the same name. Directed by Sylvain White, the film features an ensemble cast that includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana and Chris Evans. (more here)
Plot: An elite Special Forces unit sent to the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. But the team—Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar—soon find that they have become the target of a deadly double cross, instigated from the inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max.
Did It Suck? A very fun action movie that never lets up. Lots of action and explosions in this film; it’s one of those movies that you can sit back and watch with out any mental strain or yawning waiting for the good part. The movie moves along from one scene to the next while getting to know the characters without slowing the pace down. The story line is simple and easy to follow, it has a touch of comedy thrown in and some good-old bantering between the group of colleges. Most of the action sequence’s are up close and in your face, but nothing that impressive, however, it gets the job done because this movie doesn’t just rely on the action. Although there’s not much your going to miss if watch this on a smaller screen, and the movie seems a little low budget, I still feel I got my money’s worth on this ride so I’m going to say … Mostly Worth a Ticket.
-Dan Kersey
Kick Ass
Review: 4 Stars Rated: 18-A
Look-out bad guys there’s a new hero in town and he’s nothing short of average. Kick-Ass is a superhero film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. More info here
Plot: This is A story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, who sets out to become a real-life superhero only to get caught up in a bigger fight and gets in way over his head. Will our fearless crime fighter be tossed into the cold streets never to be heard from again? Not this time; Kick-Ass is saved by none other than Big Daddy and Hit-Girl who have an agenda of their own…. kill the Bad guy who destroyed their lives.
Did It Suck? So watching the trailers I figured this is going to be some cheese-ball action comedy. Well after seeing this movie I was extremely shocked at how good this film was. This is not a kid’s movie by far, in fact, it’s quit the opposite. It has very harsh language and violent gore. The dynamics of this film are impressive and key to making this movie work the way it did. There is not much I didn’t like about this film, however, I could have done with a little less of the foul language from 12 year old Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl). She drops the ‘C’ word among other colourful lines. Worth a Ticket.
- Dan Kersey
Date Night
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated: PG
Its not every day you can Impress your long life partner on a date, but, this Date Night is one to remember.
Plot: The Fosters, Steve Carell and Tina Fey, are on another weekly scheduled date night, however, this particular night is going to get a little weird. The Fosters take someone else’s reservations at a dinner club and then become a target in a blackmailing scheme due to a case of mistaking identity. The Fosters, now on the run and caught in the middle of a scandal, try and find away to get their names clear.
Did It Suck? This is a good simple comedy with some action sequences that keep you entertained throughout the movie. I was not overly impressed with the story however Steve Carell and Tina Fey make this movie worth watching. I did lol (laugh out loud) a good number of times even though the comedy was fairly tame and low-key, but yet effective. I’m going to give this movie a, mostly Worth a Ticket vote, just because the entertainment value was there and I didn’t feel t0o bad paying to see it on the big screen. However, you’re not missing anything if you Wait For The DVD.
- Dan Kersey
Clash of the Titans
Review: 3 Stars Rated: PG-13
It’s Round 2 for Zeus, Hades, and of course The Kraken! Join the fight against the gods in Clash of the Titans.
Plot: A Demigod, mortal son of the god Zeus, embarks on a perilous journey to stop Hades, the god of the underworld, and his minions from spreading evil to Earth. Perseus, one man destined to fight against the gods. Director: Louis Leterrier Actors: Sam Worthington (Avatar 2009), Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Alexa Davalos.
Did It Suck? Aficionados of the original 1981 movie shouldn’t be too disappointed by this update. The plot is very close to the original, with a few changes, but overall if you know the first movie you’ll be able to follow this one and know what is coming next. I did find the hops between the different segments of the quest to be quite abrupt in that you’d have a ‘big’ scene, then a short bit of travelling, then the next ‘big’ scene. This made the movie not quite as fluid as I would have liked.
The fight sequences were good, but way too short, and there were not enough of them. The movie would definitely have been better if they had drawn it out longer or had paced it out so you got more story from it. The effects were OK, but nothing special for this day and age; however, I like to think that Ray would have approved. I quite liked the acting by the major players as they seemed to have more feeling for their characters than is evident in other movies recently viewed by Did It Suck. Overall this was an enjoyable movie, but not spectacular and not as good as I hoped from the hype.
Final thoughts: I saw it in 3D but this added nothing at all and I would strongly suggest saving the extra few dollars and sticking to 2D. This movie is Mostly Worth a Ticket for the fantasy enthusiasts. But still not worth the 3D price.
-Andy Hughes
Repo Men
Review 2 Stars Rated: R
You can’t afford to die, but can you afford to live? Ask yourself this before buying an artificial organ, because if you default on the payment the Repo Men will be coming for you.
Plot: Jude Law plays Remy, the best organ repo man in the business. That is until an accident causes him to be fitted with an artificial heart and he realises it’s not the job for him anymore. However, their motto of ‘a job is just a job’ comes back to haunt him when he falls behind on his payments and his former friends come looking for him. If you’ve seen Logan’s Run you will likely recognise similarities in the plot.
Did It Suck? The movie is set in the near future, and while the ‘city’ effects were quite impressive they’ve all been done before, particularly in Blade Runner. The characters spent a lot of time moving between high-tech offices in the city to run down slums and it just didn’t really mesh well. The story was easy to follow and there was a good twist at the end (but no spoilers). Due to the nature of the movie’s subject it is quite dark and foreboding, and much of the humour was the same. There are some very gory parts but as with many gory movies they become darkly humorous because of it.
I didn’t feel that the acting was anything special, no one stood out, and everyone just seemed to be plodding along with little feeling for their characters. This, combined with there being nothing else that really stands out in the movie, mean that while I did enjoy it I can only really suggest that you wait for it to come to TV, you certainly won’t miss anything on the big screen and I don’t really think it’s worth renting either, unless you especially want to see people getting cut open. Final verdict … Don’t Bother.
-Andy Hughes
Green Zone
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated 14A
“Hide and go seek” and “Capture the flag” are good themes for this movie except that it’s one sided. The seekers can’t find the hidden and the flag hunters can’t capture a flag that’s not there. Green Zone is inspired by a non-fiction book written by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Green Zone stars Matt Damon and is directed by Paul Greengrass, who has worked with Damon on two of the three Bourne series films.
Plot: Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) and his team of army inspectors are given missions to find weapons of mass destruction in the Iraqi desert. Moving around from one site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but find nothing. Roy Miller is questioning the accuracy and the source of the intelligence he has been receiving. He is frustrated and is getting no where, his troops are placing themselves in constant danger, so Miller finds himself looking for answers elsewhere leading him to stumble upon a cover-up.
Did It Suck? The movie keeps moving along nicely and never really lets up. It has some good intense moments and good action sequences. The acting was ‘in your face’ and fluent, making it a “true to life” type movie. The shaky cam affect in some sequences was done well and not overly done. Over all this was a good war film but not the best. The political side to the story was actually interesting and Damon was quite good playing his role. For the most part I didn’t feel bad about paying full price to see it on the big screen, however, I’d Wait for the DVD.
- Dan Kersey
Brooklyn’s Finest
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated: R
Good cops, bad cops, undercover cops, rookie cops, and dead cops. Director Antoine Fuqua shoots his way through the dark side of police work in Brooklyn’s Finest. Starring: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes (who, BTW, is back after a 5 year break).
Plot: Three New York police officers take us into their lives as we see them struggle against the streets of Brooklyn. Eddie (Gere) has seven days left until he retires; life and 22 years on the job has already killed him. Tango (Cheadle) is an undercover cop who wants his life back because he’s forgetting who the enemy is. Sal (Hawke) is a narcotics officer who needs money and is desperate to support his three kids and sick pregnant wife. He risks his job and life trying to pocket drug money after police raids.
Did It Suck? As expected this was a slow character driven movie. In saying that, all the actors played their parts incredibly well and this made it easy to connect with each of the different characters. The story line was a little loose, there wasn’t much of one until the end of the movie where all three cops end up in the same location. Not the best cop movie but over all it was a half decent film. Final verdict …. Not worth spending full price at the theater, Wait For The DVD.
- Dan Kersey
The Crazies
Review: 3 Stars Rated: R
Therapy and medication is not going to help these folks get better. A remake of the 1973 classic film by George A. Romero finds a way back to infect the big screen again.
Plot: A small farming town’s water supply is contaminated and causes irrational thinking and behavior among the community. We follow Sheriff David Dutton, his wife Judy, and deputy Russell Clank, as they try to escape this plagued town that the military is trying to lock down and contain. The Crazies stars Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, and Joe Anderson, and was directed by Breck Eisner.
Did It Suck? You are either going to like this film or view it as a waste of time. It’s a slow paced movie with a few good jump scenes and a little bit of that horror movie gore thrown in. It wasn’t too bad for a remake, but, the in between scenes really played out the drama role in the movie and it was a little boring. I think the main problem, for me, while watching this movie was the lack of intensity needed to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. I did like the film but the big screen offers very little for this movie, Wait For The DVD.
- Dan Kersey
Cop Out
Not Yet Reviewed: 4 Stars Rated: 14A
Here comes the bacon with a side order of ham, pork, and a few knock-knock jokes in this crazy cranked-up comedy cop caper film called Cop Out, directed by Kevin Patrick Smith
Plot: Nine year NYPD partners get themselves suspended when a set-up goes south. Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges, played by Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, track down a thief who stole Monroe’s rare baseball card. This then leads them to a Mexican drug dealer and more trouble.
While I really enjoyed Cop Out it comprises two distinct genres that are seemingly incongruous, but, in this case they work together pretty well. The story follows the two mismatched cops while they battle a drug cartel and handle a wisecracking thief (Sean William Scott). The two main characters play off each other very well and while not a pairing you might expect to see it definitely worked. Watch out for Sean William Scott who did, in my opinion, steal every scene he was in.
The movie had the entire audience in peals of laughter many times, but this was tempered by some pretty brutal scenes; there is no real gore or hard core violence, but you know what is going on without it being shown. The comedy and the ‘hard’ violence are mostly kept separate, and I think this is what lets them work together, the movie makers didn’t try to make the violence funny. If they had I don’t think I would have enjoyed it so much. The comedy does come and go, but there were two scenes where it was hard to breathe from laughing. I would say that the first 5 minutes alone definitely makes this Worth a Ticket so that you can experience the laughs with others. Make sure you stay into the first part of the credits!
-Andy Hughes
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Review: 2.5 Stars Rated: PG
Unlike a Greek salad; there’s some good fun in store in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief . A mythological adventure awaits in this story of young Percy Jackson, born 1/2 human, and 1/2 god. This movie is based off a book series by Rick Riordan.
Plot: (Logan Lerman) is not just your average teen going through rough times, he’s got bigger problems. Born the son of Poseidon Jackson has been blamed for steeling Zeus‘s Bolt. Zeus wants his toy back and if he doesn’t get it soon its going to be trouble for earth.
This movie was OK, not that great and not that bad. A good supporting cast, but not a lot of action in this film. It was manly driven by the story of three friends venturing off on their quest. It has a few good laughs and even better special effects. I’m quite confident it will be popular with the teens but unfortunately this movie didn’t have enough to warrant money well spent, and book readers will probably be disappointed as well, Wait For The DVD.
-Dan Kersey
From Paris With Love
Review: 3.5 Stars Rated: 14-A
Boom, Pow, Wack, pew-pew-pew, look-out below, Bang-splat. These are some good words to look for while watching this action packed movie. Director Pierre_Morel, (Taken, 2008), puts us on a fast moving ride inside the jobs of special agents, there here to save the world by stopping the bad guys.
Plot: Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has a job with government intelligence but feels he isn’t working to his potential. Then one day; Reece’s hard work finally pays off as he gets a new assignment and is partnered up with Charlie Wax (John Travolta). Wax is much more then Reece anticipated as he struggles to get a grip on Wax’s methods.
This was a fun action packed movie that never let up. Everything moved along quickly without any need of explanation to why or how. Wax had all the right moves, all the right tools and knowhow to get the job done in each situation. Two things I didn’t like; the bad guys were stupid and real pushovers and Jonathan Rhys Meyers‘s acting was a bit cheesy in some scenes. An easy movie to follow with good action sequences finds Did It Suck ranking it, Mostly Worth A Ticket.
-Dan Kersey
