The Ridley Scott Issue

Partial Education Presents

The Ridley Scott Issue

Featuring Partially Educated Reviews of

American Gangster

Body Of Lies

Robin Hood

Prometheus

and

The Counsellor

On Boxing Day, Ridley Scott's latest film Exodus: Gods And Kings will arrive into cinemas and for the first time since I became aware of who Ridley Scott is (that would be the day my Dad took me to see Gladiator), I'm finding it really hard to get excited about it. Looking at Scott's most recent five films, this is why:

In it's first 30 or so seconds, American Gangster pulls a bit of a masterstroke, but does so in a way that dogs the rest of the film with expectation. The opening scene is a short, brilliant stab of brutal violence that provides a backdrop for any subsequent action undertaken or word spoken by Harlem gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington). No matter how many nice things he does for his family or how committed he appears to them, the scene will stay with you as a constant reminder that Frank Lucas is, first and foremost, a dangerous man. Sadly though, those few seconds work in the same way that the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan did for the rest of that. American Gangster is not in a rush and the first hour stretches out a portion of story that a lot of films would tell in 10 minutes. Though this does lead to some nice moments, a lot of it feels like filler. This is particularly evident when it involves Russell Crowe's character, Richie Roberts. As a detective whose staunch honesty hasn't exactly endeared him to the rest of the force, Crowe manages to shrink away from the usual hero persona, to feel like an everyman type and he does this very well. The problem is that it takes far too long for Roberts to catch the scent of Lucas. The events that lead to this are fairly predictable and feel far too familiar a story to warrant the time that is spent on them. Thankfully, the second hour does pick up and develop some tension and excitement. This isn't a film that is concerned with action though and, to some, the lack of a final explosive confrontation will disappoint. There's a solid shootout, but it's certainly not groundbreaking. The build towards Washington and Crowe finally meeting feels awfully similar to that of the wait for De Niro and Pacino's eventual meeting in Heat, but when we arrive at that point, it lacks that magic spark that Heat had. Also, the supporting characters do get a bit short changed and feel rather clichéd, a shame when you consider that there's some brilliant actors here, including Josh Brolin and Chiwetel Ejiofor. American Gangster is a good film and could never be accused of being boring. It coasts though, relying a bit too much on it's two fantastic lead performances and this leaves it feeling like a decent story, rather than an immersive look into an interesting and complex world.

THREE out of five

Though Body Of Lies gives us another collaboration between Scott and Russell Crowe, the selling point is not the moderately reliable director-actor pairing, but instead the potential new one between Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio. In this respect, it delivers as DiCaprio is fantastic. With The Departed and Blood Diamond helping to shed the boyish image from DiCaprio that had hung over him for perhaps a little too long, Body Of Lies served as the first film in which that issue was now completely gone. His beautifully layered performance means that despite the grim surroundings and events that he is mired within (an ongoing hunt for terrorist Al-Saleem), he always provides some ray of hope through his ultimate search for happiness that cares little for how the world perceives him. In fact, performance-wise, Body Of Lies packs in a load of great ones. Crowe is good fun as DiCaprio's boss, with his sporadic appearances meaning that the dry, slightly sardonic wit displayed by his character is kept fairly fresh. Mark Strong also delivers a phenomenal performance and it should be mentioned that this film came before Strong had fully established himself as the reliable screen presence that he now is. What helps is that it's a brilliant character, a Jordanian informant to DiCaprio's character that, while retaining the necessary shades of darkness and mystery, feels human, as averse to the usual shady foreign informant. If it weren't for DiCaprio's equally fantastic performance, Strong would have stolen this one. Unfortunately, the story lets it down, not because it's awful, but because it doesn't feel particularly new. Relevant it may be, but it follows a fairly standard narrative and though it may lead to an impressively gruelling final act, there's not quite enough here to justify the 2 hours and 10 minutes running time, though a nicely played unrequited romance between DiCaprio and Golshifteh Farahani (as a nurse that treats DiCaprio) does go some way to helping with this. Body Of Lies is worth a watch, but it's far from a game changer.

THREE out of five

As great as Gladiator was, it hasn't half cast a shadow over both Scott and Crowe's careers ever since (out of all the films they've done since, that's usually the one that they go back to for promotion purposes). This has never been more evident than it was with Robin Hood. The plot and character similarities are obvious, with Crowe's dispute with the current monarch, following his place in the previous monarch's army, being practically identical to the superior plight of Maximus Decimus Meridius. There is still plenty to like though. The cast are, without exception, solid to excellent, including Crowe in the title role despite his much maligned accent, which goes for Northern, but somehow covers the entire United Kingdom throughout the course of the film. Special mention must go to Oscar Isaac, as the arrogant, yet perennially jealous King John. Though the role may be slightly inferior to the Joaquin Phoenix counterpart, he's still thoroughly detestable and Isaac seizes your attention whenever he appears. There's also a much, much better array of characters than is often present in Scott's films. Of the five reviewed here, this has by far the biggest array of characters that don't just appear when it's necessary for them to serve the main characters. The pace is also fairly well measured, marking the only one of the three films here that breaches two hours, but doesn't particularly feel overlong. What doesn't help Robin Hood at all though is that it consistently feels like an introduction to a better sequel and this is now made worse by the fact that there's no guarantees of that sequel ever coming. Though the chance to take the legend of Robin Hood and explore the possibility of that legend's true origins is a cracking concept, it does feel as though this loses something by steering away from the more fantastical elements that legend would allow. Some slightly more over the top moments appear, but the tone of the film makes them feel out of place (the excellent marksmanship of Crowe feels overly cartoonish by the end of it all). This is the point where a trend becomes established, because Robin Hood is merely good.

THREE out of five

(I apologise for the rhyme. I didn't realise until I'd written it and couldn't be bothered to come up with something else.)

When I first came out of watching Prometheus, in the ancient old year of 2012, I was maybe a little dramatic about it. In fact, a friend even remembers my, shall we say, liquid induced self declaring it to be the worst film ever made. For the record, it isn't that. I probably didn't even think it was at the time and was instead just reacting to the disappointment in that most petulant of fanboy ways. Nonetheless, the necessary re-watch of Prometheus beckoned for this review and I really didn't want to do it. Turns out to be a good thing, as Prometheus continues the trend of this review. It's alright, I guess. In fact, on it's own merits, it's a perfectly serviceable sci-fi film. A lot of the acting is excellent, with Charlize Theron being a particular stand-out, in full on bitch mode without the headache inducing melodrama of her Snow White And The Huntsman performance. Some dodgy old fart make-up ruins one performance (which I can't really give away) and Noomi Rapace's OK, but is far off the mark when it comes to Scott's obvious intention of making her the new Ripley. Other than that though, no complaints on the acting. It also looks pretty good. Scott has smartly steered away from trying to replicate the dark claustrophobic corridors of Alien and gone for the more open surroundings of an entire planet. A lot of the horror actually takes place in full visibility, still managing to retain some feel of danger and menace. Alien, however, is the problem. As I said about Robin Hood, it feels like an introduction to a better film that may never come. Prometheus, on the other hand, IS an introduction to a better film that already exists. Furthermore, though I would have welcomed an addition to the franchise with open arms, the last thing I ever wanted was the whole thing explaining because it didn't really need it. Hell, I'd have sooner welcomed a 2 hour collection of different ways to destroy copies of the Alien VS Predator films and wouldn't half have loved it. Prometheus feels like a gift that you thought you wanted, but soon realise you should have never asked for. There are things to recommend, but when you consider the legacy that it follows, it can only be seen as a disappointment

THREE out of five

And so we end with The Counsellor and, let's get this stated, we also end the three out of fives. I had to watch The Counsellor in two parts, which I normally hate, but I didn't have time to watch it all in one go and get this review written by today. After watching the first hour on Tuesday, the last thing I wanted to do was watch the second hour on Wednesday. Alas, I'm not about to review a film I've only watched half of, so watch the rest of it I did and here is my honest opinion on it. The Counsellor is a seedy, misogynistic pile of filmic bile. Feeling like a tribute to the mainstream bridges into erotica that Michael Douglas kept making in back in the 90's, The Counsellor isn't even clever or sophisticated enough to be compared to those films. If anyone's had the unfortunate experience of watching Douglas and Demi Moore in Disclosure, allow me to be clear: that's better than The Counsellor. Michael Fassbender (just the tip of the talented cast that's wasted) stars as the titular counsellor, who is getting himself involved with Javier Bardem's dodgy businessman in a nightclub business, whilst also getting himself involved in the world of drug dealing. The twisty and, frankly, depressing plot is a tricky one to follow, which isn't always a bad thing, but when it's down to bad pacing and a lack of clarity it very much is. Written by the exceptionally talented novelist Cormac McCarthy, the script is a dud through and through. Every line feels like it's designed to be quotable, but most of them are either inept, poorly delivered or (most of the time) both. Not everything fails, as the odd glimpse of McCarthy's decent writing shows through, but these rare appearances of his skill are not enough to make up for the rest of it. There's also his shoehorning in of mature subjects which feels trivialising and occasionally pathetic (await the arrival of snuff films at your peril). Some of the acting is dreadful as well, with Brad Pitt on particularly wooden form as a stereotypical shady businessman and Cameron Diaz's femme fatale aiming for sultry and alluring, but landing nearer repellent. Fassbender, Bardem and Penelope Cruz (as Fassbender's fiancé) all do well enough, though Cruz deserves a far better character than she has here. As for Scott, he appears to have developed a horribly leery eye, particularly with his female characters who appear only as victims or for the purposes of titillation. The only one who gets some real characterisation is Diaz and that serves to make her become more and more hateable as the film progresses. When your most notable moment is having sex with a car windscreen, something's gone horribly wrong.

Here comes the explanation bit. Until now, the lowest score I would give is a one out of five, but I've always said that I would be willing to give out a zero out of five. This is something that I'm saving for the gratefully rare occasion that I think a film goes beyond bad, to being harmful for cinema. To me, The Counsellor represents a horrifically seedy regression for cinema in which a nasty, grimy world is explored not by simply taking a look at that world, but by becoming a nasty, grimy film in the process. In short (and with apologies to my mother for the language), The Counsellor pissed me off.

ZERO out of five

The Issue

So there we have it with regards to Scott's recent output. The only thing left is a brief final bit on Exodus. It's not that I don't want to see it, merely that I'm not all that excited. It's not even because of The Counsellor, which I see as a VERY unfortunate blip, as I can't imagine Exodus ever being that bad. The thing is that Ridley Scott is a director known for the undeniably great films he has created, but I'm starting to wonder if he's still capable of making something that goes beyond just being good. If he does achieve that with Exodus, I will be delighted, but I await finding that out with trepidation.

Next Time (27th August)