On Missing Ingredients in Star Trek Into Darkness

How do you find the missing ingredient in a film that is undeniably fun? At a little over two hours long, Star Trek Into Darkness moves at such a quick pace that it feels only an hour. The film grabs a hold of you and imposes itself through a series of action set pieces and melodramatic scenes all tinged with knowing humour; knowing of its genre.

Yet something feels like it is missing, something that the first of the reboot, Star Trek (2009) had, and that is two fold. The narrative appears to lack a middle third. There is an overlong set up and a loud and spectacular final third, yet the middle is rushed and this could account for the incongruous seeming running time.

Additionally, as good as Benedict Cumberbatch is a Khan, the duality of his motives falls harder on the side of empathy than anger. Whereas Nero in the first film had understandable motives, his actions towards Starfleet were firmly immoral. Conversely, Khan is exacting vengeance upon a corrupt and despotic leader of Starfleet. This is hard to ignore and consequently it is hard to root for Kirk and his Enterprise crew. However, none of this negates from the pure enjoyable spectacle that Into Darkness is. It just means that it does not sit quite well afterwards. 

On the Curiosity of Bernie

A new Richard Linklater film is always a moment to saviour and we may be spoilt this year with the conclusion to perhaps the most honest love story captured on film with Beyond Midnight finishing off the Ethan Hawke / Julie Delpy three decade love affair.

Before that we have Bernie, a curious film, remarkably based on a true story. It is best to arrive to Bernie knowing as little as possible and be swept along by its fantastic performances and ability to capture with real vividness the essence of a place.

What can be mentioned without ruining the effect is that Bernie is mostly told through the use of to camera interviews, which is an interesting choice, but not necessarily a beneficial one. The reason behind this is clear at the beginning, but its use becomes less effective as the film progresses and by the mid point, we are yearning for more dramatic scenes. As a piece of work it feels more descriptive than analytical and instead of really knowing Bernie, we know what people think of Bernie, which creates a false representation (a paradox for the medium).

Despite this it still stands out from other recent offerings and is worth seeing for its performances alone. 

On the End of a Hero with Iron Man 3

To evaluate the success of Iron Man 3 or analyse its attributes as a film seems superfluous. It will likely prove a huge box office success in the same manner Iron Man and Iron Man 2 were. As a film it is indistinguishable from other Marvel films in its structure and three-part narrative. There are moments of fun and tension, but the sense of déjà-vu is inescapable.

What is significant and far more worthy of mention regarding this film is its dénouement, which suggests the end of Iron Man as an independent film series. If true it is a brave move and one in the right direction. Superhero films continue to be massive financial success. This in turn leads to less and less creativity in film as producers and studios are unwilling to invest in more daring, less certain projects. To remove one of the most profitable characters from the superhero cycle could suggest the end of the superhero cycle (and all genres have a cycle, with the exception maybe of horror) is nearing.

Yet optimism quickly abates, as Iron Man will appear in The Avengers 2, soon to appear and break box office records everywhere. Even earlier will be Thor 2 and can the Hulk be far behind? Certainly we know of more Spider-Man films and Man of Steel, like Thor 2 will be appearing this year. Rumours of further Marvel collaborations are rumoured, as is a Justice League film. So, if this were the final third of the cycle of superhero films, it will be a lengthy final third and like all over long films, packed with moments of tedium. 

On Didactic Filmmaking with Promised Land

With a title such as Promised Land you would not be surprised to find biblical references in Gus Van Sant’s latest film and they are there. However, the film has more in common with Springsteen’s Promised Land (here referenced by a mass karaoke session) and the singer’s consistent effort to highlight the plight of working America.  

Promised Land, like Springsteen, wears its politics on its sleeve and social justice is at the heart of what writers and stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski have achieved. And they achieve it well with a film that may not be subtle but makes its point and does so while managing to mostly feel well balanced. A skill not to be underestimated.

More than anything Promised Land comes across as being incredibly well researched. The fact that it is well researched means its characters feel real and relatable, with the exception of a few mistimed third act moves. We leave feeling that we understand a little more about fracking and natural gas and this may have well been the intention; an educational piece of mass entertainment and it is easy to imagine that all involved will feel they’ve done their job if audiences (especially in mid America) understand a little more about a very current issue. And for this Promised Land is to be congratulated and seen. 

On Ambitious Filmmaking with The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines is something of an oxymoron insomuch as it is a high concept, low budget independent film. Derek Cianfrance’s first feature, the excellent Blue Valentine (2010) was the simple story of love from its origins to its demise. The film was remarkable for Cianfrance’s honest direction, the candidness of his script and the performances he drew from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

 

Much of what was to be admired in Blue Valentine can be admired in The Place Beyond the Pines. This second feature is beautifully shot in 35mm and his script again manages to capture the brutal honesty of relationships. The acting is also superb. Where audiences may struggle with Beyond the Pines is in the ambition Cianfrance displays, which rather than projects the film forward, holds it back.

For a second feature, Beyond the Pines is a narrative that spans three generations all connected by massive coincidences and inextricably linked by the eponymous location the significance of which is never that clear.

A result of this multi stranded story, told via a triptych is that we never feel that connected to the characters; the connection we feel to them is forced, fake even. We know how we are meant to feel about them as Cianfrance’s mise-en-scene communicates so much, but the truth is we leave Beyond the Pines feeling impressed but empty. The audience are required to implant their own experiences into this film to make the characters really work and because of the reputation of the actors and the director many will do this and mistake it for genuine powerful filmmaking. This story of fathers and sons lacks authentic emotion and in this way it has the style but not the substance of Blue Valentine. 

On Failing to Impress with Oblivion

Thematically similar to Moon (2009), with some of Wall-E’s (2008) visual style and a dénouement straight out of Independence Day (1996), Oblivion calls on many great films from the science fiction genre but fails to establish itself as a individual product.

The story is sound and after the film’s conclusion when one thinks back on it, the idea provokes debate. Yet, it is a fault of the direction that during the film, especially the first two acts, Oblivion is boring. The actors (all great in previous films) deliver their lines without passion and Oblivion seems to rest on it’s settings, hoping these will impress us enough to forget the drawn out story and poor direction. CGI should be there to complement the story whereas in Oblivion it takes priority over it. Unfortunately the CGI, while impressive, is nothing we haven’t seen before.

By the time the third act comes, the film comes to life, but it is not enough to secure Oblivion a worthy place in the canon of science fiction cinema. In the hands of a better director Oblivion could have been something. A Spielberg for example would have really highlighted the story’s ethical questions, rather than disregarding them as if they were too complicated for audiences. However, it appears we will be given another chance at seeing a similar story delivered with more skill when Elysium arrives later this year.    

On Trance

Never one to make the easy choice by working in a similar genre or take an easy directing choice, Danny Boyle follows his we-all-know-how-it-ends-story, 127 Hours (2010) with Trance. Trance is about and partially set inside the mind and therefore draws thematic links with recent philosophy of the mind cinema such as Memento (2000), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Inception (2010). However, Boyle has been quite clear that Trance is his tribute to Nicolas Roeg.

If it were nothing else, Trance is visually a beautiful film. Boyle plays with colour, light and shadow to create an aesthetic treat, relevant for a film to do with art. However, Trance is so much more that visually pleasing, yet it does require one giant leap of faith. We are required to suspend our disbelief that hypnotherapy can have a powerful hold over people to the extent that the hypnotherapist can influence them to do anything. This, Trance tells us, is possible with only 5% of the population. Whether this is true or not, on film it falls more into the realm of fantasy than reality and that only adds to Trance’s appeal.

If you accept the hypnotherapy the film is gripping. The script, by Joe Ahearne and John Hodge is impressively intelligent, balancing the complex inner outer mind shifts with skill and ensuring the conclusion is clear. Characters are also very smartly drawn and force us to question who we think is right and wrong. Yet, perhaps most impressive in a film so routed in fantasy and abstract imagery is that the story is heart wrenchingly real and ultimately a tragic love triangle.

Trance is many things and defies easy categorisation, much like Boyle himself. But whatever it is, it deserves seeing.