Breaking Dawn Part 1 Review

The Prequels We Never Wanted

When the word "prequel" comes to mind, we usually think of the latest Star Wars Trilogy and the agony "wesa" fans went through. But for the most part, we got what we wanted from George Lucas; the origin story of classic characters and how they developed into the heroes and villains we recognized in their futures and our pasts. Who didn't want to know who was really underneath Darth Vader's helmet? How long did the viewers wonder how an intimidating galactic empire rose from the shattering of a strong republic? Legitimate questions, aren't they? 

What questions seldom come to mind however are, "I wonder how Fred Flinstone got over his gambling problems?" or "Just when did the Little Mermaid learn to sing?" Yes readers, I'm talking about the later developed prequels that we cringed to hear, heckled the concept of, and strangely enough, caved into watching for the sake of our curiosity. 

Not all prequels end up terrible, however. Red Dragon serves as an interesting perspective into the lengths one Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter will go to in achieving revenge on his jailer. Yet this remains to be almost shunted aside when the filmmakers decide to go for a much deeper analysis of this serial killer's past when Hannibal Rising came into the picture. Or what of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom? I'm tempted to bet you didn't even know that film was in fact a prequel. Indeed, when the famous Dr. Jones' endeavours in Indiana are set in 1935 and his search in Raiders of the Lost Ark take place only a year later, you can't help but wonder why the writers decided to make it a prequel at all. 

And yet, it's the terrible origin stories that we just can't scrape out of our skulls. Though fans enjoyed The Mummy remake trilogy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, they didn't expect to see an entire movie dedicated to Dwayne Johnston (then called The Rock) and his character of the Scorpion King and his heroic days in Egypt. Well, given that by the end of the film he's a buffed-up, sword slashin' warrior who just overthrew a villain, it leaves the audience completely clueless as to why he suddenly chooses world domination by the opening scene of The Mummy Returns. 

We could even look back on the popular comedy, Dumb and Dumber. When the film's attention is devoted solely to the performances of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, it really doesn't give the audience much incentive to want to check it out when neither comedians return and are instead replaced by two Twenty-something actors who are just going for imitations and not giving the same natural comedy as the original. We didn't want a prequel, we wanted a SEQUEL! 

Or even back to my original example of the Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. Ever wondered if Hollywood's gotten completely bored in coming up with ideas? Well there's your answer. Returning us to the ill-received film adaptation of this prehistoric comedy, little is received to entertain children and the concept's just too juvenile to make the adults laugh. Not to mention that a floating green alien was crammed in at the last second of writing just for the sake of "mating rituals." 

I think the pain itself can be felt through that last sentence. 

Name below some of the prequels you just shook your head at...   

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Green Lantern Review

Another superhero flick for the month; this one I only wish could be as super.

Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a test pilot who comes across a dying alien and member of the intergalactic Green Lantern Corp. Charged with succeeding the alien as a Green Lantern, Hal discovers he’s far less alone in the universe than he believed. Now, a force that the Green Lanterns have feared has broken loose, and Hal may be the only one that can stop it.

Let’s make this clear; this is not a bad superhero movie. This is a lame superhero movie. Many of the cast members feel very dry in their delivery and don’t appear to be having fun with their roles. Joined with clunky direction, it just makes for a dull first impression.

Even the movie’s villain, Hector Hammond, is practically wasted. Yeah, you heard me right. The movie’s antagonist was practically useless. Only with good prosthetic makeup on both him and the character of Sinestro are you really intrigued at looking at them.

Green Lantern features action that resembles that of a video game cinematic, save for maybe one or two fight scenes. And it’s juiciest visual effects lie in that of it’s alien landscapes and creature designs, which still have room to impress you. But at the end of the day, you’re still wishing that you could have gained more before the screen fades to black.

X-men: First Class Review

Admit it, you thought this movie was going to suck…we all did. But once again, I’m eating my own hat for my false prophecy as I praise with comments, X-men: First Class.

Set in the 1960s, the world has been recently shown to contain several humans that possess mutant abnormalities that grant them superpowers. Charles Xavier (James MacAvoy) sets out to find these mutants with the help of the CIA, who want to use their gifts to save the world from the threat of the Cold War. In the midst of this is Erik Lensher (Michael Fassenbender) who joins up with the team for his own agenda. Its in the partnership of these two that will eventually create two opposing forces in a war that will forever change the future of our world; the conflict between Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants and Professor X and his X-men.

With the fresh direction of Matthew Vaughan and X-men veteran Bryan Singer producing, this prequel/reboot captures the feel of the time period and at the same time doesn’t skimp out on giving us a good insight to these characters and their principles. Shades of grey are very evident in this film, with roles that will surprise you. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique brings new flavour to our once all-but-silent shapeshifter, and Kevin Bacon as main antagonist Sebastian Shaw ties both sides together for great action.

Action here differs from the previous installments in that here, the mutant powers, both old and new, are seen from a wider perspective. And sprinkled with a wonderful soundtrack makes for a movie that revives a franchise that fans feared to be dead.