crash20015 Reviews

Inside Man: Most Wanted (2019)

Just the right amount to be watchable

[4/10 · 7 February 2021]

I watched the original, and this is as ironic as it gets. The plot is based around a copy-cat heist from the first movie. Which is funny because, this movie itself is a copy cat version of the movie it's based off. It doesn't off any additional creativity. In fact, it does the opposite and expose many of its core weaknesses. The first, the main leads. None of which you really care about, because they're shallow and don't really develop throughout the movie. There's no chemistry between the two from the start, until it's thrust upon us in the last half. They're not likeable, either. Secondly, the main antagonist doesn't hold a candle to Clive Owen's in the first. Not menacing, not convincing, and about as wooden as one could get. However, the twist at the end may help to explain why. Lastly, the plot - largely borrowed from the first - does nothing to expand on the original idea. It's even less believable here, because they've supposedly upped the ante and managed to capture something much larger. Either way, there's just enough cheesy antics, cringe dialogue, and manic pacing going on to trick you into thinking it's a watchable movie. I managed to make it the whole way through, which is why I gave it 4/10. However, as my rating would suggest, it's not even half the movie the original is.

Monsters and Men (2018)

A good message, muddled by disjointed story-telling.

[5/10 · 6 June 2020]

This movie starts off well, and tries to tell a story of police brutality and the injustices done to people of colour, but it doesn't give the audience enough time to resonate with the character in front of them. It begins telling the story from the perspective of one person, just to pass it off to another in the height of that characters development. The overall message continues throughout, but because of the passing off between central characters and story-lines, it deprives the viewers of any real emotional connection into the story they're trying to tell. It does have its moments, but they're few. If I'm to give praise, it's because all of the actors involved did a commendable job of playing their characters, despite that it comes off as slow, and disjointed.

The Night Comes for Us (2018)

No guts no glory SERIOUSLY put to the test, here.

[8/10 · 30 November 2018]

Guts spilling out of the stomach? Check. Someone getting stabbed in the inside of their cheek with a box-cutter? Check (Eli Roth, eat your heart out). Not for the faint of heart. You're going see action, fast pace fighting, stabbing, mutilating, all in a nicely tucked bow of redemption, betrayal, and man's quest to turn his life around, no matter how bloody the cost! A great cast of actors. However, I do have a gripe with the direction of the antagonists character. His motives seem to be all over the place (at no fault of the actor, of course!), which makes you question whether to root for him, or shake your head in disgust. He's obviously troubled, but his personal agenda seems muddled. Overall, if you're a fan of The Raid Redemption, and other like-minded movies? give this one a shot.