Movie critics have condemned quite a few films in recent weeks, and their reviews came as no surprise. No one expected, for example, the Tim Allen sci-fi comedy Zoom to be anything but disposable entertainment. And the formulaic basketball flick Crossover was a failure—plain and simple.
But what has happened here? How could it be that All the King’s Men is receiving almost unanimous rejections from film critics?
It could have been a contender. All the King’s Men is based on Robert Penn Warren’s fantastic, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It was directed by Oscar winner Steve Zallian. It boasts a brilliant cast that includes Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, and Jude Law.
And yet, even though this story about the rise and fall of a crowd-pleasing Southern politician paints a profound picture of ambition, greed, and corruption, the film just isn’t working for critics.
That goes for most of the Christian press critics too.
Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) writes, “Watching All the King’s Men, it is hard to believe that … Zaillian is an Oscar-winning screenwriter (for Schindler’s List). For that matter, it is hard to believe that this film was made by the same guy who previously directed Searching for Bobby Fischer and A Civil Action, two very fine films about, respectively, a young chess prodigy and a personal injury lawyer whose greed is thwarted by pride, obsessiveness and, ultimately, a sort of moral self-reflection.”
Chattaway concludes: “All the King’s Men is just murky and muddled throughout. This film was originally going to come out one year ago, but it was held back because those who saw it found it confusing and hard to follow. Zaillian spent months re-editing the film, but apparently to no avail; all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put this movie back together again.”
Greg Wright (Looking Closer) says, “For a film that is about shameful manipulation, both personal and political, Zaillian disingenuously and shamelessly pulls the audience’s strings.”
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) is similarly bothered. “Like its demagogue protagonist, [the film] aspires to greatness. Yet, while achieving it to some measure, both movie and man fall short.”
Frederica Matthewes-Green (Frederica.com, originally published in The National Review) files a complaint about certain cast members. “Penn is a terrific actor … but the accent suits him like a bad toupee. … I say this as a native southerner. I have heard a lot of accents across the south. I grew up in Charleston. I have lived in New Orleans. I never encountered anything like Mr. Penn’s accent outside of movies like this.” And she adds that Jude Law “does no better ….”
Marcus Yoars (Plugged In) acknowledges the insights about corruption offered by this tale, but he concludes with some disappointment that the film is so unrelentingly bleak. “All the King’s Men isn’t trying to score any religious points. It’s certainly not trying to tell us who has the ability to turn our darkness into light, our bad into good, our soil into flesh. It won’t even acknowledge that such supernatural hope exists. It’s dedicated to preaching, as Time‘s Richard Schickel notes, unrelenting and unavoidable blackness and bleakness.
Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) stands up for the film. “[All the King’s Men] vividly illustrates the adage that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. … [T]he film sneaks up on us and delivers a vivid, powerful conclusion, ending with a final image that reveals the wages of sin. Whatever its drawbacks … All the King’s Men is, in the end, a memorable story that sticks to your soul.”
Mainstream critics are not giving the film any points for the potential it fails to fulfill.
Fearless a fitting finale
Jet Li has declared that this movie—Jet Li’s Fearless—will be his last martial arts film. But the reviews are enthusiastic, so Li’s audience may be hoping for a comeback.
Fearless features a Chinese freedom fighter battling a musclebound American. But for all of its violence, Li comes in peace, hoping to encourage his viewers to realize that true strength comes from within.
Christian film critics are responding in surprise and admiration at the film’s emphasis of virtue over violence.
“Whether true or not, the story Fearless actually tells is a moving and effective tale of a man who overcomes his greatest enemy—himself,” writes Todd Hertz (Christianity Today Movies). “The movie’s Huo Yuanjia learns from his mistakes, reevaluates priorities and works to become a better man. Beautifully shot and well choreographed, Fearless has the feel of an old-fashioned martial arts journey film. While it may not have quite the universal themes and crossover appeal as grand epics like Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this may be Jet Li’s finest film and a fitting finale.”
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) raves that the movie’s conclusion “unequivocally affirms that true strength lies in one’s heart and that the ultimate test is not defeating others but self-mastery.” He adds that the director “delivers balletic fight choreography, elegant visuals and a solid story, buttressed by Li’s poignant performance and a redemptive theme about the futility of violence and revenge.”
Bob Hoose (Plugged In) says that “Li does a fine job (even with subtitles) of helping us see and emotionally connect with Huo’s journey toward understanding and acting on it. Li plays a hero we can root for, in spite of the fact that we (Westerners) are sort of the bad guys. His fight scenes are intricate and graceful and flow with their own kind of dancing beauty.”
Flyboys never gets off the ground
In 1917, when some young American soldiers volunteered to start their engines, take to the air, and fight German pilots in an effort to defend France, their team—the Lafayette Escadrille—blasted their way into the history books.
It’s a thrilling story, and Flyboys aims to bring it to life. But a movie just won’t fly unless it has a solid screenplay and strong performances. Flyboys falls short on both counts, and thus never gets off the ground.
“We aren’t really invested in what they’re trying to accomplish,” says Camerin Courtney (Christianity Today Movies), “and as such, I often felt more like a spectator at an air show than a viewer rooting for our boys to return home victorious.”
Courtney says it feels like “the directors and producers spent so much time on the visuals that they forgot to tie them all together with needed transitions … plausible action … realistic timeframe … and believable dialogue … . So while Flyboys has lots of heart, eye candy, and likable characters, its lack of more grit, believability, and substance stops it from truly inspiring.”
Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) writes, “Flyboys is, we’re told, ‘inspired by a true story,’ but it’s hard to see how adherence to actual facts could have made for a less interesting story. An intriguing historical premise … gives way to a by-the-numbers story … .”
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says it’s “a story that deserves a better telling,” and calls Flyboys “uninspired.” He calls the combat scenes “visually impressive,” but concludes that, because of weak storytelling, these sequences “lack emotional impact.”
Christopher Lyon (Plugged In) raves about the effects sequences, and adds, “It stunningly recaptures the boyhood rush of imaging oneself locked in 3-D air duels with the Red Baron or, more likely, piloting an X-Wing Tie Fighter against Darth Vader in deep space.” But he agrees with other critics about the film’s weaknesses. “When earthbound, these pilots mostly feel two-dimensional, keeping the story from ever achieving a real epic quality.”
Frederica Matthewes-Green (Frederica.com, originally published in The National Review) remarks, “War movies are the Dinty Moore Beef Stew of cinema: meat, potatoes, coupla carrots, and no surprises. … If this is the kind of movie you relish, Flyboys will hit the spot. … Perhaps there is no way to tell it that doesn’t sound familiar, because heroes everywhere have some things in common.”
Mainstream critics agree that the film’s screenplay sputters, even as its special effects soar.
Half Nelson: “Redemption, connection, transformation”
Ryan Gosling, the impressive young star of such disparate films as The Notebook, The Believer, and Stay, is earning some of the year’s strongest praise from critics in the acclaimed new film Half Nelson.
Director Ryan Fleck’s film introduces us to an inner-city public school history teacher whose life is falling apart under the influence of drugs. When he gets caught by one of his students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), they develop a friendship that will challenge him and make a difference in Drey’s troubled life at home.
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) says, “Despite its bleak subject matter … Fleck’s gritty film is ultimately about redemption, connection and transformation, and is buttressed by emotionally honest performances that illuminate flawed humanity and a taut script that avoids cliché , easy answers or oversentimentality.”
“Half Nelson is a small and sad little film, but a deeply profound character study of a unique man who both attracts and repels us,” says Brett McCracken (Looking Closer). He concludes, “The clearest thing about Half Nelson is that the culmination of its numerous complexities adds up to a compelling, deeply affecting experience.It’s not an easy film, but it is one that—like its title implies—demands to be wrestled with.”
Mainstream critics are similarly impressed. Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader) says, “One might also argue that a crack addict couldn’t be responsible enough to be a good teacher, but he’s the most believable protagonist in any American movie I’ve seen this year. … [W]e can’t really dismiss him without dismissing some part of ourselves.”
Jackass 2:Wasn’t once enough?
Jackass: Number Two debuted at Number One at the box office last week, thus demonstrating just how many moviegoers are still happy to applaud sophomoric, frat-boy behavior.
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says, “The point seems to be this: How much pain can a group of men inflict upon one another and survive? And who can top the rest in disgusting pranks? … Believe it or not, a man eating horse manure is arguably not the movie’s most disgusting scene.”
Inexplicably, a surprising number of mainstream critics actually like this (jack)asinine movie.
More reviews of recent releases
Everyone’s Hero: Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films) says, “Everyone’s Hero isn’t just Reeve’s last film, it’s also a tribute to the late filmmaker from the colleagues and family who finished the film in his name. As a memorial, Everyone’s Hero is a little, well, forgettable—old-fashioned, sweet, but ultimately disposable family fare with echoes of better films from Toy Story to The Iron Giant.”
The Last Kiss: Christa Banister (Crosswalk) says, “what are supposed to be ‘real’ and ‘gritty’ portrayals of modern relationship woes come off as nothing more than the rotten fruit that results when people only focus on themselves. And if the one-dimensional, whiny characters weren’t bad enough, there’s the horrendous dialogue that’s as clunky as most 16-year-olds’ first car.”
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