Rocketman (2019) Movie Review

ROCKETMAN (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Director Dexter Fletcher and seemingly overnight leading man Taron Edgerton team up again to depict the fabulous life of Sir Elton John. With their first collaboration in 2015's Eddie The Eagle being a success with casual movie-goers, it seems only right that they give the coin other toss in the form of Rocketman. Managing to delight the same demographic seems to have worked but Fletcher could have trouble snagging critics of the bio-pic genre. Especially with Bohemian Rhapsody being fresh in their minds. 

Musical bio-pics have more often than not been successes both financially and critically. Films like Walk The Line and most recently Bohemian Rhapsody have proved that there is high demand for musician's lives to be retold on the big screen. Glitz and glam was always a main stay of John's life and all of this is shown in raw detail and leaves little to no stone unturned. Beginning from when he was young, we are shown that his family life was a miserable time for the pop star and rapidly becomes the driving force for his future songs as depicted through musical performances. A phenomenal idea for Fletcher as these quick bursts of energy is exactly what Elton was known for and let the audience enjoy what they knew him for. High octane performances accompanied by beautifully orchestrated music. These also helped make the film stand out from others in the genre. All but one which came out not too long ago. 

Perhaps the biggest criticism Rocketman has received is its similarities to Bohemian Rhapsody and while some is warranted, most of the critique given to writer Lee Hall isn't exactly fair. The main issue is timing. Bohemian Rhapsody took years upon years to get green lit and was actually only given the go in 2018. Rocketman on the other hand was being written around the same time and most likely did not even know when the 'competition' was going to be released. Unfortunate circumstances and bad timing resulted in these two similar personalities and stories to be released within months of each other. If Rocketman had waited just those few extra months or even a year, we could witness a much larger buzz surrounding not only the film but Taron Edgerton's performance as Elton. Delivering a meaningful and honest depiction of any well-known figure is tough to do. Having already portrayed another famous personality in the form of Eddie Edwards defiantly aided Taron but while a good performance, it does come across at times he is simply doing an Elton John impression rather than trying to capture the emotion and mannerisms that made Elton a household name. 

In the end Rocketman was a really good experience. It's hard not to compare this movie to Bohemian Rhapsody but if you can try and ignore the latter, Rocketman did many things a bio-pic should. It depicted beautiful and vulgar relationships, showed his most famous moments and songs alongside wonderfully choreographed musical numbers and introduced a generation to a music legend they somehow do not know. Go into this one without comparison and you'll have fun tapping your toes and humming along to each song. 

OVERALL

7 / 10

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) Movie Review

POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Since their inception in 1995, fans around the world have been seemingly obsessed with the world of Pokemon. Whether it be their cute demeanour or the story behind them, pocket monsters as they were originally known in Japan quickly became a world-wide phenomenon even to this day as this latest motion picture proves. Nearly 20 years after the very first Pokemon motion picture Detective Pikachu certainly stands in a much larger shadow and even though nostalgia for the games and movies may cloud a lot of people's judgement, Detective Pikachu manages to be a fun family film with something for the most casual or hardcore fans of the franchise. 

Simple stories equal satisfied customers. After his detective father mysteriously disappears, Tim Goodman seeks out to find out what happened. As a result, he discovers his father's Pokemon partner, a Pikachu only Tim can communicate with. Pikachu wants to be like his partner and be a detective and Tim wants to find his dad, prompting the two to team up and travel all over the neon-lit Ryme City to find their respective partner and father. Being a film directed primarily for younger audiences, the plot for Detective Pikachu would be forgiven for appearing to have a simple plot but ultimately as the film progresses, the story becomes increasingly more complicated and makes you second guess what will actually occur. This is aided by the movie's overall feel which is that of a noire/buddy comedy film. Two genres that on paper shouldn't work well together manages to blend relatively well and is helped immensely by the chemistry between our two main protagonists Tim and Detective Pikachu.  

Both Tim and Detective Pikachu (Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds respectively) do a great job in the movie and props to director Rob Letterman for providing the actors with good direction in terms of their character as in terms of playing off one another, Smith and Reynolds do this incredibly well. Now that's not to say the movie isn't without it's flaws. Certain scenes, particularly those which consist of high emotion, the actors don't really do a great job. That's not to say they are terrible but it just feels like they are holding something back, Justice Smith being the perfect example of this towards the climax of the movie. Far from ruining the movie but it did take me out of the movie at certain points which is a real shame. Other actors in the movie include Kathryn Newton who pops up late in the first act and tags along with Tim and Detective Pikachu throughout the rest of the movie. She actually became one of my favourite things about the movie as she brings a sense of realism to a movie about pocket monsters and humans living alongside one another. Quirky and courageous, her character was written very well and while the acting isn't out of this world, it gets the job done. 

Overall Detective Pikachu is a movie I liked but one I wanted to love. If you are looking for a fun buddy comedy mixed with a noire-type film then this video game movie will be right up your alley. Full disclosure, besides the actual Pokemon, the film has little to nothing to do with the TV show and is more based on the video games which I was more than OK with. Having genuinely funny moments, good chemistry and a plot that is more complex than a kid's movie has any right to be, Detective Pikachu is an enjoyable movie and one that I would have no trouble recommending to children and adults of any age.

OVERALL

7 / 10

Avengers: Endgame (2019) Movie Review

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Since it's inception in 2008, the Marvel cinematic universe has been through its fair share of struggle and success. Beginning with Jon Favreau's portrayal of Iron Man, his take on super hero movies ultimately paved the way for the near two dozen films that would follow. Introducing new characters and fan favourites to general audiences would prove invaluable for Marvel as the amount of critical and commercial success garnered in the years to come would help shape these films into a household name. All of which has led us to the final film of the first saga of Marvel movies, aptly named Endgame. 

After the events of Infinity War, the surviving heroes of the universe must assemble one final time to undo Thanos' extinction of half of all living beings and bring order back to the universe. At the end of Infinity War, considering the theme of that film was failure, the logical step for this movie was to build up the emotion of triumph and make it seem like the Avengers have a real chance to undo everything. Which is built upon tremendously. Throughout Endgame you really do get the feeling that this is the final Marvel movie despite the fact that this is only the final film in this saga. Still a massive deal regardless. The way the remaining Avenger's plan is executed as believably as a film starring a talking raccoon can be believable. Realism, however, isn't something you shouldn't be looking for when it comes to superhero films but when it comes to emotion, you can bet your bottom dollar Endgame has plenty of. 

Avengers: Endgame is one of those rare superhero movies that hold so much genuine emotion that it takes you by surprise and shock. Taking into account the events that occurred in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame builds on those events and amps it up to eleven more or less straight out of the gate. Despite the three hour run-time, the movie does not feel like its advertised length and actually makes the audience want more from it. Alot of this is aided by the star-studded cast featured from the previous movies in the cinematic universe. Majority of the superheroes and villains featured do a great job at capturing the emotion and torment brought upon them considering the circumstances. Standout actors and actresses include Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers who both bring new layers and ultimately become their characters in the best performances of their characters yet. Also coming into their own in the franchise is Karen Gillan as Nebula who is given actual emotions and character arcs to work with to make Nebula arguably one of the main characters in this movie which Karen goes a great job at doing. 

Overall, Avengers: Endgame is one of the hardest movies for me to rate. There was so much to enjoy in a penultimate movie like this that it transcends being just another film to rate but rather an event as it truly is the end of an era/saga. It has taken over 20 movies and over a decade but it has finally reached its kind of conclusion. And the Russo Bros. absolutely knocked it out of the park and despite all legitimise criticism I could give this film, I'm not going to be giving Avengers: Endgame a traditional score out of ten this time around but rather sum it up with this phrase...

'...22 Films, 12 Years, 1 Endgame.'