Netflix's The Old Guard Offers Audiences An Engaging Superhero Tale That's Intense, Exciting, And Surprisingly Mature In It's Storytelling

      

      When it comes to popular streaming services, one of the most reliable ones that audiences turn to in terms of content is Netflix. The streaming giant has become more of a powerful force in recent years with them not only churning out popular TV shows, but also putting out film content of their own. Such popular hits from Netflix include Cloverfield: Paradox, Bird Box, When They See Us, and Extraction. With The Old Guard, Netflix aims to take things one step further with a superhero style storyline that promises lots of intense action along with a kick-ass performance from female action heroine Charlize Theron in the main role. The end result is a film that delivers on the grounds of being reasonably solid entertainment with high-octane action and terrific performances from its main cast. Whereas the plot isn't anything that audiences haven't seen before, the film has much to offer in terms of excitement and thrills with the appeal of both its main cast and female star being the primary driving force of the film working as well as it ultimately does.

     Based on the popular comic book series, the plot for The Old Guard focuses on four ancient warriors (Played by Charlize Theron, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, and Luca Marinelli) who possess the ability to heal from their battle wounds, take on covert missions with the intent of protecting humans over the course of many centuries. When a ruthless pharmaceutical mogul (Played by Harry Melling) becomes hell-bent on kidnapping them in order to find and profit off their immorality secret, they realize they not only have to protect themselves but also look after a young woman (Played by KiKi Layne), who discovers that she can't be killed. The plot for The Old Guard is an interesting one that feels like a cross between X-Men and Wolverine. It serves as being compelling enough of a story to both excite and thrill audiences with an appealing cast of talented actors and actresses to help sell the plot to audiences. The story is handled in a way that feels mature with its concept instantly drawing audiences in, particularly when they see KiKi Layne's characters abilities early on. Much in a similar fashion that Bryan Singer approached the X-Men franchise with the 2000 film, Gina Prince Bythewood gives the film a realistic and serious tone with it only revealing its shades of comic book origins when dealing with the healing abilities of the characters, as well as the films terrific action sequences that are mostly led by Charlize Theron's brilliant and electrifying performance. The Old Guard works best as being solid popcorn entertainment with a plot that carries with it brains along with stellar action scenes to back it up. Its tone is different than the average MCU or DCEU comic book film, but it aims for the same level of enjoyment while adding some thoughtfulness to its plot. While it can be said that the film sometimes feels confined to the conventions of the comic book genre, there's still much here to behold which makes The Old Guard a fun ride that audiences will enjoy taking and feel mostly satisfied with if they go in with the right expectations. 

      As creative as the story is and thrilling as the action appears, it's the performances of the main cast that help make the story as believable as it comes across as being. The main cast all work well together in regards to delivering performances, that are effective and add to both the intensity and excitement of the film. The strongest work in the film comes from Charlize Theron in the main role as Andy/Andromache of Scythia. When it comes to doing action type roles, Theron is one of the best female action stars out there as she brings her A game to the part of playing the head of a group of immortal warriors disguised as mercenaries. Theron brings the right amount of seriousness to the part with her character carrying the right balance of toughness and emotion. Few actresses are able to pull off being dramatic and an action star simultaneously, but she manages to do both perfectly. KiKi Layne also impresses as former US Marine Nile Freeman, who got fatally harmed during a mission in Afghanistan with her discovering that she carries healing powers. Layne plays the role very well and brings the right amount of toughness, vulnerability and strength to her character. Her moments with Theron are effective in regards to conveying the tension of the story with audiences, as well as their characters eventually growing to understand each other throughout the course of the film. The heart of the film was always going to rely on how the role of Nile is played and thankfully Layne manages to rise to the occasion and make her character a likeable and worthy member of the team. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a solid performance as former CIA agent James Copley, who is shown grieving the loss of his wife from ALS with him pursuing the mercenaries in hopes of helping the rest of humanity with fighting diseases by learning more about their special abilities. Ejiofor succeeds in making his character complex in which the audience essentially views him as an antagonist at first, but ultimately turns out to be a sympathetic figure as he doesn't want any of the mercenaries to be harmed and disagrees with many of Steven Merrick's extremes in regards to capturing and experimenting on the team. Harry Melling shines in his role as the films main antagonist, Steven Merrick. Though Melling's character comes across as feeling like the greedy and generic corporate villain (Who misguides people into thinking he's after the scientific research of the immortals in hopes of helping people, but is actually doing it for personal gain), that can be found in this type of comic book or Sci-Fi story, he manages to take the role and still make it effective in regards to playing a bad guy that audiences ultimately despise the more the film progresses. The rest of the mercenary team/ancient warriors deliver noteworthy performances with Matthias Schoenaerts shining as Booker, a former French soldier who fought under Napoleon. Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli also give strong and likeable performances as Joe, a Muslim warrior who participated in the Crusades, as well as being Nicky's lover and Marinelli playing Nicky, a former Italian Crusader who began as an enemy of Joe before becoming lovers after both discovered their immortality. As a whole, the cast for The Old Guard lays down a solid foundation in creating an ensemble team that works effectively well off each other with every performance being convincing while adding to the films suspense. As good as the entire cast turns out to be, it's the performances that both Theron and Layne deliver that really make the story work. Both actresses not only convey a toughness to their characters, but also reveal their vulnerabilities with both ultimately leaning on each other for comfort. The entire cast delivers performances that are believable along with adding to the thrill and suspense of the story.

      The films directing by Gina Prince Bythewood proves to be solid work overall as she gives the film a mood and atmosphere that feels appropriate for the story. While the films origins are comic book oriented, Bythewood treats it as an afterthought with the overall film not feeling like a typical Hollywood superhero flick that comes from a major studio with it carrying more of a Logan or Wolverine style feel to it. One of the most surprising elements of the film besides its impressive second unit directing, is how much emotion the audience feels for both the story and the characters. The director clearly wants the audience to walk away feeling something for the characters rather than just being mildly entertained by the action, and she succeeds at doing just that here. The action sequences are well put together and solidly executed with them not only being creative, but carrying a sense of excitement and brutality which makes them appealing. The films editing feels both steady and well-balanced from start to finish. Although the story can feel slow moving at times, particularly in the beginning as the characters and plot are being established, the pacing accelerates once the action starts up with the editing doing a fine job of alternating between the films quieter and intimate emotional moments with the characters, as well as the large scale and loud action scenes. The films cinematography comes across as being both noteworthy and visually striking with the outdoor shots of France and the desert being beautifully lit with full brightness, as well as the night and indoor moments having a distinct yet rich style to them. On a technical front, The Old Guard is well-executed and appealing to watch visually with the film having the right look for its story. As far as directing goes, Gina Prince Bythewood largely impresses with her ability to juggle kinetic action with emotional storytelling. She also demonstrates a confidence with being able to work with a ensemble cast of talented actors, along with getting the best performances out of them. She gives the film a look and feel that separates it from most mainstream comic book oriented films of today with a more serious approach to telling its story, that often feels like it dares to challenge its label. One can clearly see the dedication and effort that Bythewood put into making the film as she treats the story as being her baby. 

      The films screenplay by Greg Rucka (Who created the original comic book storyline and brought in to adapt it on film format) is well-written with the film doing a solid job of introducing the mythology behind the story, as well as positioning it to kick-start a new franchise​ which Netflix unquestionably is hoping for it to achieve. The characters presented are fairly well-established with the development going specifically to the team of mercenaries with Theron and Layne's characters being the driving force of the story. As well-handled as their characters are along with the rest of Theron's team, the scripts main issue lies with the lack of a true villain for the story given its running time. While Harry Melling does a decent job of making his character effective as being the main antagonist of the story, he often comes across as feeling generic and underdeveloped with his character being nothing particularly groundbreaking in terms of the audience not seeing anything new before with his motives or overall presentation. Given that the mercenaries all possess remarkable healing abilities, Melling's character often doesn't feel as if he poses much of a threat to them and feels like a typical mad scientist found in a science fiction movie, who wants to steal ones special abilities for their own personal gain. Chiwetel Ejiofor's character also feels generic with his characters dilemma feeling like a misguided scientist, who blindly sides with the main villain believing their intentions to be as noble as theirs only to discover the exact opposite with them ultimately regretting their decision. Whereas these character traits feel both formulaic and familiar, they still manage to work within the context of the story. The screenplays narrative and story-structure remain straight-forward for the most part with audiences being able to follow the story without being left confused on what's unfolding in regards to the plot. The flashback sequences that show the main mercenary team in previous time periods, are minimal though effective in giving the audience just enough information needed about Theron's character and her team for the audience to become connected with them without the script feeling overdone in terms of character exposition. The development of the characters for the most part is medium though effective with the most attention being given to Theron and Layne's roles. What makes the script for The Old Guard work so well is how the film explores its themes pertaining to immortality, grief, survival, saving humanity, regret, guilt, and destiny in a way that's both entertaining​ and thoughtful with the films ultimate message saying how immortality can ultimately be a bad thing, being both a hard-hitting and eye opening one for audiences given all the sequence of events that occurred within the story regarding the teams supernatural abilities. The films scriptwriting is noteworthy in how it goes each of its key main characters moments to shine, while balancing out the pros and cons of immortality before coming to the films eventual conclusion regarding it ultimately doing more harm than good. 

      As far as Netflix original films go, The Old Guard stands as being one of the stronger ones with it being exciting and overall satisfying to watch. The film isn't without its share of faults with it at times feeling that it doesn't fully live up to the maximum potential, or scope of its story along with the film needing a stronger main antagonist. The script sometimes feels as if it rushes the establishing of the characters to get them introduced to the audience with the promise of further development with the sequel, and the films soundtrack feeling excessively over the top despite being overall effective. Despite those issues, the film still manages to deliver in the entertainment department while establishing a solid foundation for future sequels to build off the story and characters introduced here. The film owes much thanks to Theron and the rest of the cast for adding credibility to the realism of it with Theron's character serving as the guide for taking the audience through the story and getting them engaged with the appeal of her character through her performance before switching over to the side characters in the story. Her work here ends up being the driving force of the film and is what immediately brings the audience into the story from the films opening sequence, while keeping them engaged until the end. Once again, Charlize Theron further demonstrates that she's a natural female action star whose not only extremely appealing and charismatic when she's kicking ass, but looks as if she feels most comfortable when working within the genre. She is the main reason to see this film other than the solid action the film contains and it's intriguing premise. For some, The Old Guard may not do it's premise complete justice but for others, the film will surprise and satisfy with both its watchability as well as its desire to entertain audiences while making them think about the films premise. In an era where comic book films are either Marvel or DC based, it's refreshing to see one that arrives right in the middle of the two worlds with the same intentions to entertain and dazzle while beginning its own set of films that carry their own style and remain separated from each side. For Netflix, the film represents an improvement in quality as well as a confidence that they can spawn their own set of comic book films without being bound to the two competing universes. Though the film may still feel the confinements of being a Netflix original film with the budget being a reported $70 million which is relatively low for a comic book film, the enthusiasm and attention-to-detail that went into the films making more than makes up for its shortcomings. The Old Guard for all intents and purposes, proudly stands as being one of the more surprising hits of 2020, as well as showing Netflix to be continuously growing in regards to its content.

Final Verdict: For comic book fans as well as fans of Charlize Theron, Netflix's The Old Guard is a surprisingly decent piece of popcorn entertainment that will entertain and thrill audiences with both its solid premise and action. 
      

Little Women 2019 Is A Charming And Faithful Reimagining That Rightfully Does It's Source Material Justice While Feeling Timely

   One of Hollywood's most successful and noteworthy set of films, are those in which they're based off popular best-selling literature. For some of these stories, they become such timeless classics that numerous filmmakers add their own interpretations of them with their own versions of the story being put onto film. In the case of Greta Gerwig's Little Women, the newest version serves as being the seventh film adaptation of the classic 1868 novel of the same title written by Louisa May Alcott. Whereas the plot has been retold before by numerous filmmakers, it's the distinct style that each one brings to the story that makes them stand out with audiences with the end result generally being successful. Boasting a talented young female cast that includes the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen, the newest film adaptation does a surprisingly noteworthy job of not only reintroducing the story to a new generation of filmgoers, but maintaining the charm as well as the heart, sincerity, romance, feministic approach, and love for family that it's classic novel inspired. Little Women 2019 is the seventh version of Alcott's story brought to the screen, but manages to feel both fresh and sincere in its intentions to retell the story with what's perhaps the best version of it brought to the big screen thus far. It rightfully earns its spot as being one of 2019's strongest films with terrific acting performances from its cast, as well as impressive writing and directing backing it.

     Based on the classic coming-of-age tale with the same title, the plot for Little Women plays out virtually the same as its novel, as well as its six other previous film versions of it. The story revolves around four sisters juggling growing up along with exploring their options together as they approach adulthood. The main sister Jo March (Played by Saoirse Ronan) reflects back and forth on both her life, as well as her sisters with her ultimately writing their experiences into a novel with each sister being determined to live life on their own terms. What makes Little Women's story one that feels universal in regards to audiences embracing it is how it explores gender roles in society, while showing the strength of young women making their way without relying on support from men. The concept is timeless not just because of those themes but how it shows the strength of a pair of siblings, who chose to stick together regardless of what kind of experiences life throws at them. Although the story takes place in an era that's outdated, the themes and overall message of the film resonates with audiences in today's world with the movie further emphasizing the timelessness of the plot with Greta Gerwig's masterful directing being backed by a stellar cast, who all deliver terrific performances with solid production design and a firm touch of sincerity for telling the story behind its directing. As a piece of filmmaking, Little Women proves to be well-made and handled with great care and passion behind presenting its story. What's most impressive about it is how Gerwig manages to take the story and adapt it for the screen in a way that makes it feel fresh for today's audience, as well as being more of a charming, uplifting, and ultimately empowering experience for women than what's been previously shown before, making it a richly awarding one for audiences. Gerwig's Little Women is a brilliant reimagining of the story, that feels noble in it's ambitions as well as sincere in it's desire to be both artistically and structurally different than any previous film adaptation of the plot. It's a film that feels exceptionally made from top to bottom with a timely message regarding the empowerment of women, that couldn't arrive at a better time than how much it's desired now. Whereas many reimagining's of classic source material end up paling in comparison to their predecessors, Little Women 2019 rises to the occasion while managing to refresh both its plot and themes for modern audiences in a way that's smart, thrilling, and feels impeccably made with an appealing cast.

     As skillful and well-handled as Greta Gerwig's directing comes across as being, the film ultimately works as well as it does thanks to the performances of its main cast. The lead actresses all do a fantastic job of playing their parts along with sharing chemistry as a whole that feels natural, making the audience believe they're watching a group of siblings grow up and experience adulthood. Although all the four lead actresses do terrific jobs in their roles, it's the performances of Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh that stand out the most with Ronan's character providing the anchor for the audience in regards to being drawn into the story, as well as becoming connected with the main characters. Ronan delivers a solid performance as Jo March, a teacher in New York City who seeks to have a story she's written published that's based around the lives of her sisters. Ronan excels in portraying her character as being both independent and strong-willed with her character feeling as if she doesn't need to be tied down in a marriage like her siblings in order to be successful. The audience sees the story from her perspective with Ronan being able to convey all the right and appropriate emotions that the role requires. Florence Pugh does equally well as Jo's youngest sister Amy March with Pugh playing her character as being young and immature with her realizing that marriage isn't about financial stability but revolves around love. Her character is shown with struggling to play the role that society demands of young women at the time, which meant getting married to someone wealthy and being financially set even if they don't necessarily share genuine feelings of love for that person. Pugh does well with showing her characters struggle with maintaining that expectation, which was placed upon young women at the time while learning to be more independent and free-spirited with her thinking. Both Ronan and Pugh's performances are terrific with both actresses rightfully earning their Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Supporting Actress. Emma Watson also shines in her role as Jo's older sister Meg with her character desiring to be able to afford the things she wants, but realizes she can't afford it on her and her husband's budget. Her character experiences a meaningful change in which she realizes that she's ultimately happy being with her husband rather than being able to afford fancy clothes. Watson brings a sense of charm to her role much like Ronan and Pugh do with her performance holding up in between. Eliza Scanlen gives a moving yet heartbreaking performance as Jo's second youngest sister Beth. Unlike the other three actresses, Scanlen's role is more quieter and reserving with her character having a more emotional core compared to the others due to her falling ill throughout the course of the story. Scanlen surprises and impresses with her work here, showing that she not only can hold her own with the other actresses but showcases a great deal of emotion through her facial expressions with moments where she doesn't share as much dialogue. The rest of the supporting cast shines with Laura Dern giving a fantastic performance as Jo's mother Marmee March. Dern brings both class and grace to her role as an independent mother struggling to do the best she can in providing for her children while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. Dern works well off the younger actresses and has some powerful moments with them, particularly in the scenes where she helps her daughter's grow up. Meryl Streep is fantastic as usual with her playing the March's old-fashioned and rude grandmother, who tries to convince her young granddaughters that marrying for wealth is more important than love in order to ensure the family is taken care of. Streep's role here is minimal compared to her usual work, but she manages to take her character and create a scene-stealing performance with the audience automatically disapproving of her character. Other noteworthy performances are Timothee Chalamet as Laurie, the March's wealthy yet isolated orphan neighbor who shares strong feelings for Amy's character. Chalamet plays his part well and manages to work well off the four main actresses with his relationship with Amy being the core of the story. He appears to be an outside observer of the March sisters in regards to watching them grow up and become more independent. He gives them unwarranted critiquing much to their disapproval at time, but deep down means well and cares about them. Chris Cooper also gives a solid and warm performance as Laurie's father Mr. Laurence, who takes a fondness of Beth playing the piano as she reminds him of the daughter he lost years prior. As a whole, the cast for Gerwig's Little Women does a terrific job of working together as a stunning ensemble cast. Each actor and actress feels perfectly cast for their roles with them giving the right amount of dedication to their parts, that the source material demands. None of the performances are of poor quality with everyone bringing a certain amount of charm and heart to their characters with their work ultimately making the film a more enjoyable and moving experience.

      In addition to the films strong acting performances, the directing by Greta Gerwig stands as being both admirable and well-handled with her bringing the right amount of sincerity, craftsmanship, and heart to the film. She not only manages to assemble a brilliant ensemble cast, but is able to generate raw emotion from them while giving the story both a mature and heartwarming feel to it. Gerwig allows her actors enough freedom to bring their characters to life, as well as control the scenes their in with them finding ways to work off each other. She gives the film a distinct look that rightfully fits the stories time period with both the set and costume design transporting audiences back to the late 1860's era. The movies cinematography is striking with the look of the film appearing as if each frame could be posted as an image on a holiday card. While the film is given an atmosphere which feels relaxing with a few slow-motion shots added to keep the screen from appearing stale, the cinematography does a fabulous job of bringing a post Civil War era 1860's New England to life for the audience to experience with the film being given the appropriate look and realism. The editing stands as being one of its most impressive elements with the story appearing to jump back and forth with a unique timeline, that meshes present scenes together with flashbacks of the main characters. Though this technique can become confusing to audiences if they don't closely follow the story or character subplots as they unfold, it adds a unique stamp to the overall film while presenting a different style of story structure for the classic novel than what audiences have been previously accustomed to with earlier film adaptations. On a technical front, the film is top notch with the look and style of the novels setting being wonderfully displayed on screen to absolute perfection. In regards to directing, Greta Gerwig proves that she's more than capable of adapting a well-established novel and giving it a new cinematic form. She not only shows that she can juggle a large ensemble cast of talented actors and get great performances out of them, but can rearrange elements of the story to make it appeal to audiences in a way that's both unique and engaging. She effectively modernizes the story for today's generation to become attached to, and take away some of the films key themes and overall message. As Little Women demonstrates, Gerwig is a skillful up and coming filmmaker with a firm grip on her craft.

      One of the more intriguing aspects of the film is the way the story is told with the constant jumping back and forth of its timeline. The script written by Gerwig, presents a different style of telling the story of the March family compared to what's been shown before previously. The film incorporates many of the novels themes which young women in today's generation can find relation to on a personal note. Gerwig's screenplay tackles themes revolving around family, gender roles, women making their own way in the world without the assistance of men, making money, financial stress, the loss of loved ones, options for women, marrying for convenience rather than love, domestic struggles, jealously between siblings, siblings rivalry, privilege, sacrifice, and heartbreak. All of these themes are essential to the story of Little Women with Gerwig masterfully incorporating them into the script in a way which the audience can understand the motive and struggles of the March sisters. One of the key elements that makes Little Women such a timeless story for both readers and film audiences, is how universal its themes feel as they can be applied to any generations struggle regarding young women trying to make it on their own independently along with remaining united as a family.  The script effectively explores the numerous options that women have in regards to being successful, while also showing the limitations and setbacks they face in their journey towards independence. All of the characters in Gerwig's script are well-deserved and each given their appropriate time to shine in the film. The dialogue is intelligently written and encourages audiences to think about and reflect on the actions of certain characters in the story. The transitioning of the March sisters from young women into adulthood is handled convincingly and feels natural without it appearing forced. Their family tree is one that's presented as being strong and relatable to audiences with Dern's character sharing great key moments with her daughter's, particularly the scene where she asks questions Jo on whether she truly loves Laurie despite rejecting his feelings for her. Gerwig's script stays true to the source material with her portrayal of the March's as being a simple family, who are shown to be fun-spirited and well natured with scenes in which they joking play with each other, as well as being giving people with them being shown to offer their breakfast to another family who needs it more. Despite the moments of immaturity that the March sisters show, the audience understands and see's them grow as young girls into strong independent women with the best character arcs being that of Jo and Amy. The screenplay for Little Women is both beautifully and wonderfully written with the story being cleverly retooled to appeal to modern audiences, along with the characters being properly developed to the point where the audience becomes invested in their growths​ into adulthood, while seeing the other side characters being both affected and inspired by them.

     What could've easily ended up being an average to mediocre retelling of a classic novel, that's been fairly well adapted before previously on the big screen by other film versions of it, Greta Gerwig's Little Women manages to be a pleasant surprise in terms of its overall execution and noble intentions to speak to today's generation of young women. The film is extremely well made with stellar performances from its main cast along with a powerful message that emphasizes family love being a gift that should be cherished, along with a conclusion that says no one makes their own way with family being the starting point. Of all the previous film adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's novel, Greta Gerwig's reimagining of the story serves as being the strongest with it destined to be seen and enjoyed by audiences for generations. Having seen the film, it's no secret as to why the 2019 version turned out to be as successful as it ultimately ended up being (The film grossed over $209 million worldwide while garnering a total of six Oscar nominations). The story for Little Women is one that speaks to generations of women with Gerwig's approach being one that's smartly written, steadily directed, and feels time-sensitive to many of today's messages regarding women's desires for independence, as well as strong ideals of feminism represented through the character of Jo. The most remarkable trait that the films story possesses, is how the concept could be taken out of its current era and placed in another with its themes and messages carrying just as much emotional weight as they would in the setting the story occupies. For a novel that didn't scream for another film adaptation of it, Greta Gerwig's film makes the strong case for being warranted and well-deserving of its success.

Final Verdict: For fans of the classic novel as well as the previous film adaptations it spawned, Little Women 2019 is a must see.

Escape Room Succeeds In Delivering​ Old-Fashioned Suspense And Thrills Despite Minor Faults

     

      When it comes to horror films, one of the most successful style of films within the genre are those which contain survival type story arcs. Survival style horror films generally prove to be highly successful due to the escapism their stories provide audiences with, along with the thrill of seeing the main set of characters work together in fighting for their own survival. Some of the best examples of the types of horror films where the main characters end up in a deadly game of survival are 1997's cult classic Cube, 1999's House On Haunted Hill, 2004's Saw along with it's set of sequels, and M Night Shymalan's 2010 thriller Devil. What draws audiences to these films are the sadistically brutal, yet clever nature of their plots with them ultimately getting a legitimate thrill out of watching these strangers trapped together in the same locations, work together in order to survive with their desperation to live becoming more rampant. In the case of Escape Room, the film offers horror fans a scenario which plays out in a similar fashion to the previous films mentioned while bringing its own style of suspense and thrills to the table. It's a different film than both Cube and Saw, but it maintains the spirit of those films while making its own mark within the horror genre. While the film may disappoint in regards to presenting anything that's truly groundbreaking or innovative to audiences, it succeeds in delivering the thrills and adrenaline that's expected of it in regards to thoroughly entertaining its audience while keeping them at the edge of their seat. Whereas Escape Room may look and feel like a scenario that's been done before, it still manages to surprise and impress audience with it's determination to be surprising despite utilizing a successful yet familiar concept.

      The plot for Escape Room centers around a group of six strangers accepting a mysterious invitation to participate in an escape room that's designed to be a completely immersive experience. As they begin solving puzzles, they realize that they all share something in common while realizing that the challenges presented to them are real with their lives ultimately depending on figuring out what's behind it all. Escape Room relies on old-fashioned suspense and thrills while borrowing elements from both Saw and Final Destination to create it's own nail-biting experience. While the film itself doesn't land on the classic status as those films nor 1997's cult-classic Cube, Escape Room checks off all the essential ingredients required to make its story work as well as being exciting. Given that the film is a PG-13 style horror flick, it doesn't have the gore of the Saw franchise but still proves to be highly effective despite not carrying the gore aspect of typical survival horror flicks. What does work for the film is it's intriguing premise that comes with the uncertainty of what's behind each door for both the characters, as well as the audience. The characters are presented as being fairly established and likable to where the audience doesn't fall in love with any person in particular, but they also don't despise them to the point where they automatically root for their demise. The film manages to keep the audience at the edge of their seat in regards to leaving them guessing on whose going to die next with each new puzzle or trap being both unexpected as well as unpredictable. Escape Room doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table in regards to being innovative with it's storyline, but it still manages to succeed in delivering loads of excitement and fun while adding it's own flavor to the survival horror aspect of the genre. There's enough twist and turns here to please horror fans without them focusing much on the films shortcomings, which are rightfully overshadowed by it's positive elements.

      In addition to the films well-execution of its suspense and thrills, the cast as a whole does a strong and noteworthy job of bringing suspense to the films story. While their performances are nothing groundbreaking to write home about, they turn in work that comes across as feeling both realistic and convincing overall. The films most impressive and noteworthy performance goes to Taylor Russell as young physics student Zoey Davis. Russell brings alot of empathy and emotion to her performance, which makes her character both likable and sympathetic to the audience. The latter finds themselves caring a great deal about her characters well-being given that she's the youngest of the group, but also possesses the brains in regards to helping solve the deadly puzzles. The second strongest performance in the film goes to Logan Miller as a young stock boy named Ben. Like Russell, Miller brings a sizable dose of strength and humility to his character as he plays someone with a troubled past, whose often misunderstood but becomes one of the stronger individuals trapped in the deadly game. Deborah Ann Will impresses in her role as Amanda, a tough Iraq War veteran who through the course of the game experiences PTSD. Woll delivers a solid performance with her making the most of her part with the audience wanting to see her character survive or die heroically saving the others. Another actor that shines in his role is Jay Ellis as Jason walker. Ellis does an impressive job playing a snobbish and self-centered wealthy day trader, whose only concern is saving himself rather than caring about the people around him. Although Ellis character fits the generic type of blatantly rude and selfish individual that can be found in movies carrying this particular formula, he does a good job of making his character one whom the audience understands his motives but overall disapproves of. Other strong performances in the film are Tyler Labine as truck driver Mike Nolan, Nik Dodani as escape room enthusiast Danny Khan with Dodani's character being shown to have misguided enthusiasm for the game, and Yorick van Wageningen in a sinister yet creepy role as the Gamemaster. As a whole, the cast for Escape Room deliver noteworthy performances with the group demonstrating both strong and natural chemistry working together as a group playing a deadly game of survival. Every performance proves effective in maintaining the audiences interest in the story, along with adding mystery to the films story. Escape Room needed a cast that's reliable in order to make it work as being the fun and tense thrill ride it ultimately turns out to be. Thankfully, the cast and crew found the right balance of talented actors to bring the story to life with their skills being put on full display here.

      The films directing by Adam Robitel proves to be surprisingly effective in setting up an atmosphere that feels both tense and thrilling. Despite being grounded within the confinements of making a PG-13 style horror flick, Robitel pushes everything to the max in regards to what he can show with the films rating restriction. One can tell while watching the film that Robitel and the crew carried a great deal of excitement for making the film and it shows. The films set design is striking with the overall look being impressive, as well as creative given its minor budget. The cinematography blends well with the design of the puzzles to make for an experience that feels inventive in a visual sense. The film has visual moments which makes each set-piece feel separately distinct while allowing them to take a form of their own. One example includes a room being designed to represent a pool hall, that also includes a fully stocked bar and mid-month billiards table. However, the audience soon discovers the surprise twist of such sequence with it being revealed that the entire set is upside down. The camera does an effective upward rotation that not only confuses the audience, but throws them off balance in regards to where the scene is heading with the main characters. This sequence is an example of the clever form of trickery that the filmmakers play on the characters, as well as the audience with Robitel using all of the films visual elements at his disposal. He also manages to give the film a brisk pace that doesn't allow neither the characters nor the audience to get too comfortable before the next puzzle set-piece emerges. The films soundtrack is noteworthy in adding to the suspense of the film with it enhancing the overall experiencing much like the films visuals. On a technical note, Escape Room looks appealing and instantly draws the audience into this bizarre yet deadly world of maybe. As far as directing goes, Adam Robitel succeeds in giving the film the appropriate look and atmosphere that its story required, with the films key set-pieces being well-staged and thrilling to watch. With the films death traps, Robitel makes each puzzle detailed and functioning in their own way so they never come across as feeling repetitive, but maintain both the mystery and excitement of the story. In terms of being imaginative while creating suspense that keeps the audience at the edge of their seat from start to finish, Adam Robitel does a fairly decent job of making the story work on the big screen despite some of the scripts questionable decisions.

      The films screenplay by Bragi F. Schut and Maria Melnik proves to be a solid effort in regards to introducing the concept of the deadly puzzle game with the story being at its strongest when it maintains the mystery behind the whole scenario. The character development presented is about medium with the audience being given just enough information regarding the main characters to become connected with them, but not excessive to the point where the story feels bogged down with endless exposition. The first half hour of the film is properly utilized with introducing all the key players with the audience getting a feel for each persons personality, while showing them all receiving the mysterious invitation that brings them together with little to no knowledge of what they're about to experience. Each of the films key set-pieces are properly spaced out throughout the film, giving both the audience and characters minimal time to recover and question what just happened as well as what's coming next. In terms of story structure, the film plays out in a similar fashion to Cube with the main difference being that the audience see's the main characters outside of the trap before being placed in it whereas Cube showed all of the main characters waking up in the room with no recollection of what happened prior. One of the reasons why Cube works as being the stronger film of the two is the mystery the film maintains in regards to never showing the audience what's outside of the Cube or how the main characters ended up there. Escape Room works to its fullest potential when it hangs onto the mystery surrounding the deadly puzzles in a direct inspiration from Cube before it attempts to throw in a Jigsaw/Saw style angle to it in the films third act by giving audiences the truth behind the game. The revelation itself isn't devastating enough to ruin the momentum the film builds up prior in regards to it's strong yet steady suspense, but it brings it somewhat to a halt as the mystery behind the whole scenario is evaporated. The script feels as if it wants to be both films and designs its script in a way which it borrows elements from both movies, though the end result slightly suffers from the desire to have both worlds rather than choosing to leave everything ambiguous for the audience to ponder on long after the credits roll. The scriptwriting for Escape Room isn't a bad nor terrible effort by any means, it's just not as strong nor groundbreaking as it could've been with the film often feeling as if it leans too much on past movies with similar plots for comfort rather than taking the similar kind of risks the films visual atmosphere dares to go.

      In the end, Escape Room thrives as being a genuinely fun and exciting thriller but it's not the great horror movie classic that it could've been had the film not tried so desperately to give the origins behind the deadly puzzles, and just aimed for being completely ambiguous. What made films such as Cube and Saw work so well was how much they kept from the audience regarding their respective scenarios with the audience being uncertain of the main characters intentions, along with having fear of the unknown. What Escape Room has going for it is the sheer thrill of seeing it's deadly traps at work with the main characters being forced to work together in order to survive with the audience not knowing much about them making the situation even more compelling. The films production designs are breathtaking and intricate with the detailed designs going into making each distinct puzzle being commendable. For the most part, the film remains deeply intense, exciting, and unpredictable with it's action sequences being both disturbing and frightening to watch. The performances are solid work that help to elevate the films into being an experience, that feels believable for the audience with the production design giving the film a 1950's B- movie feel in a vein similar to Cube. One just wishes that the films third act remained just as vague and ambiguous as the it's first two with the reveal of the shadowy organization responsible for the creation and functioning of the escape room, feeling unnecessary and ultimately undoes the steady yet skillful suspense the film was building up prior. The film also goes out of its way to lay out the groundwork for a sequel due in theaters in 2021. Even though the film isn't without its share of flaws, Escape Room thrives for the most part as being captivating entertainment with there being enough good stuff here to make up for it's shortcomings. There's a saying that things can be much scarier when you don't know the reasonings behind them. One wishes that the filmmakers behind Escape Room took that knowledge to heart and chose to redo the films third act as it's ultimately what keeps it from being the exceptional survivor horror film that it could've possibly became.

Final Verdict: For fans of survival style horror films such as Cube or Saw, Escape Room is worth watching with it being a flawed yet highly entertaining piece of escapist entertainment.

Black And Blue Is An Entertaining Yet Formulaic Action Thriller Made Watchable Thanks To Naomie Harris Gripping Performance

      Whereas most films are made with the sole purpose of entertaining their respective audience, others can manage do so while also bearing reflections of key social issues that plague society. In the case of action movies, their purpose usually is to deliver both explosive and kinetic action while occasionally delivering a classic morality tale regarding good vs evil with the main hero/heroine ultimately fighting for what's right with them succeeding in most cases. However, fast-paced action thrillers can be particularly tricky to execute. Not only are their stories brisked pace but the filmmakers find themselves faced with the task of creating stories and characters, whom the audience can become connected to and want to see make it through the whole ordeal. With these films, both character development and timing are limited with the writers being forced to become creative with the films script. In the case of Black and Blue, the film chooses to pick a story that carries with it a great deal of social relevance in regards to today's world with the filmmakers utilizing the talents of Naomie Harris in the films main role as a faithful female rookie cop being forced to go into hiding when her body cam captures three other police officers committing an act of murder. Black And Blue carries with it a story that's not only designed to make for an efficient fast-paced actioner, but carries with it a concept that feels timely. As noble as the films intentions are in regards to shedding a light on relevant issues such as police corruption, its overall execution despite being mildly entertaining leaves much to be desired in terms of its intended impact with audiences.

      The plot for Black And Blue centers around an idealistic army veteran (Played by Naomie Harris) joining the police force in New Orleans as a rookie police officer with the intention of protecting her neighborhood. While doing so, she finds her loyalty being challenged with her bothers in blue as well as her community, that looks down on her as a black woman being a police officer. Complications arise when she witnesses three crooked police officers committing murder with her body cam capturing recording it, forcing her to go into running as the crooked cops seek to destroy the evidence. On paper, the plot for Black and Blue is one that carries with it a great deal of promise and potential in regards to not only delivering explosive action to it's audience, but also using the opportunity to make a powerful statement regarding corruption and how it can be hidden behind ones profession or uniform. The plot is certainly one that's formulaic but also riveting and feels appropriate for recent times, though the overall execution of it feels underwhelming in the sense the film didn't live up to the full potential of it's plot. What does work in its favor is the compelling performance from Harris in the films main lead. She creates a character whom the audience can empathize with as she struggles with being loyal to two different worlds such as her community that's predominantly African-American, as well as her profession of being a police officer with it being expected of her to fully embrace her new family of blue with little to no regard for regular members of her community. The script does well with showing this struggle with Naomie bringing the right amount of intensity and emotion to the part. The rest of the film however, doesn't feel as inspired as the performance she gives with the script feeling like it's a culmination of generic subplots lifted from other police-themed action thrillers despite the strength of the plot. The film as a whole works as being exciting to watch, but often can't shake the feeling that everything outside of Harris performance feels average with no new ground being broken or risks being taken. The film delivers on its promise of giving it's audience loads of action and solid suspense, but ultimately doesn't have the conviction to follow through with the themes and overall message its script desires to address.

      The films strongest asset lies within the believability of the story, largely thanks to the performances of the main cast with the strongest work easily going to Naomie Harris as U.S Army Veteran turned rookie cop named Alicia West. Harris brings the appropriate strength and vulnerability to the part as she plays a character, whose essentially stuck between two sides of the same city with her trying to balance her identity as a black woman within her community, while realizing that her loyalty to her peers is tested when she witnesses corruption first hand with her being targeted for evidence of the crime she witnessed on her body cam. The role proves to be a complex one that requires a talented actress with a firm grip on her talent to pull it off. With Harris, she not only shows audiences that she's up to the challenge the character requires, but helps elevate the film into being something more than just an average yet forgettable action flick. Her performance serves as being the heart of the film and at times is ultimately what keeps the audience invested in the story with them wanting to see her character survive and bring the films crooked cops to justice. The second strongest performance of the film goes to Tyrese Gibson in the role of Milo Jackson, a local store owner whose reluctant at first to hide Alicia when she's being pursued by the dirty cops. Although his performance isn't as strong as Harris, Gibson still holds his own and manages to deliver an impressive straightforward performance as a compassionate and friendly store owner, who appeared distant in communicating with Alicia at first due to her being a neighborhood cop, but ultimately comes around to befriending and helping her. He also manages to share good chemistry with Harris as well as deliver one of his more serious and emotional roles in recent times, with the audience ultimately being able to empathize with his character as well. Other noteworthy performances are Frank Grillo as the films main antagonist Terry Malone, Mike Colter in a scene-stealing supporting role as local crime kingpin Darius Tureau, whose tricked into placing a bounty on Alicia's head for the murder of his nephew Zero at the hands of the crooked cops pursuing her, Reid Scott as Alicia's partner Kevin Jennings who reminds her of the differences in regards to residing in the community she grew up in and the police department she now works under. Other notable supporting roles are Beau Knapp as dirty cop Smitty and Nafessa Williams as Alicia's childhood best friend turned enemy Missy with her character posing one of the greatest challenges for Alicia in terms of remaining connected to her despite wearing the blue. With a story like the one Black and Blue carries, a strong and effective cast was always needed in bringing both the intensity as well as  believability of the story to the screen. With the cast presented here, they manage to rise to the occasion with everyone delivering performances that feel real and ultimately convincing. As good as the supporting cast does with their parts, it's ultimately Naomie Harris who steals the show and essentially becomes the anchor of the film in connecting the audience with its plot through the perspective of her character. The film ultimately wouldn't be watchable without the intensity of her performance driving the emotional core of the story.

      The films directing by Deon Taylor can best be summed up as being gritty though standard work with the most interesting element that Taylor brings to the film is the intercutting of the action with body cam shots taken from Alicia's camera, further emphasizing the notion that the audience is seeing everything unfold from her perspective. Taylor's work on the film isn't bad but doesn't scream anything truly impressive nor innovative. He succeeds in keeping the action moving along at a swift pace, that manages to keep the audience at the edge of their seat while fairly allowing the plot to unfold throughout the films 108 minute running time. His directing gives the story a considerable amount of life and energy, though one wishes he slowed things down a bit to add more quiet moments with the characters as those are the ones that help make the story work. Taylor gives the neighborhood Alicia lives in and patrols a look that gives it an urban yet poverished appearance with the audience getting the idea that the area is riddled with crime.
The films cinematography proves most effective in keeping the action sequences both clean and visible with him adding a blue-tinted atmosphere to the background, which feels symbolic given the films synopsis centering around police who wear blue. The films score by Geoff Zanelli does well with enhancing the films tension in regards to the story with the soundtrack often feeling as if it wants to challenge the action for total domination within their respective scenes. As far as directing goes, Deon Taylor provides the film with a reasonably decent effort in delivering both the suspense and tension the story requires while keeping it tightly paced. The film isn't as masterfully structured, perfectly-paced, nor as well-executed as Antoine Fuqua's Training Day in regards to throwing the audience into the action, but it succeeds in keeping them on their feet with them itching to see what happens next with Harris character in terms of whether she makes it or not. The film doesn't feel as if its overlong or overstays it's welcome, it actually feels as if more time could've been utilized by the filmmakers to flesh out both its story and characters further. Taylor's work on the film is not a bad effort by any means, but it also isn't the groundbreaking nor innovative style that the story needed in order to truly standout to audiences rather than feel generic and familiar with its plot elements. His single biggest flaw as a director of the film is relying on impressively shot action and well-executed car chase sequences rather than steadily building up the suspense through the films script, which clearly needed more work beforehand in order for the film to truly work.

      As far as scriptwriting goes, the films screenplay by Peter A. Dowling feels average at best with the films themes and hard-hitting message making the story appealing. The film tackles themes pertaining to police corruption, drug dealing, lies, deception, and death of loved ones. What the script does well is crafting the story in a way that makes all of these themes revolve around it. The character of Alicia is fairly well-established with her character struggling to live as both a black woman in her neighborhood, along with being looked upon critically by the rest of the neighborhood due to her choosing to be a police officer given the poor relations between the local police department and its surrounding community. An example of a scene that shows the conflict Alicia's character experiences being both an African-American woman and female police officer is the opening sequence in which her character is shown peacefully jogging through her neighborhood. She ends up being stopped by two aggressive​ police officers, who both search and question her until she shows proof of being one as well. Rather than admitting to making a mistake and apologizing, the blatantly rude officer of the two insists that she must be new to the force. This scene proves to be an extremely effective opener because it effectively establishes the thin line that Harris character walks between the world of being a local member of her community, along with being a cop. The scenes that follow with showing her character receiving mistreatment, disrespect, and distance from other fellow members of her neighborhood due to her association with the local police department are well-staged and properly set up the dilemma her character faces. The script does well with showing the conflict that Alicia's character faces with her loyalty to both her community as well as her family in blue, who constantly remind her of what's expected in joining the department in regards to where her loyalties lie. The scripts problems arrive when it chooses to switch into full-blown action thriller mode when her character witnesses the corruption within her own department regarding the murder of an unarmed citizen by her fellow peers. This is where the film begins to lose the steady build up of its more thought-provoking themes and settles for being an entertaining yet generic action thriller. Rather than continuing to build on the films powerful themes regarding ones loyalty and ultimately having to decide where it lies when injustice occurs, the film chooses about midway to opt out of its well-written first half and instead embrace a formulaic approach with its latter half, which ultimately keeps it from being anything more than passable entertainment. In addition to the film not living up to the maximum potential of its story, it often feels as if it relies on old-fashioned cliches lifted from other classic police thrillers such as cops shown at first to be good turn out to be working with the crooked ones to help catch Alicia because of the evidence her body cam carries. Other generic elements are the films side villain such as the drug kingpin Darius played by Mike Colter, being misled into thinking Alicia killed her nephew with him ultimately placing a bounty on her head. Other elements that feel familiar are Harris character's childhood friend Missy (Played by Nafessa Williams) being resentful towards Alicia for leaving her behind with Missy being shown to go down a life of crime before ultimately supporting Alicia again once she see's the body cam footage. Overall, the script for Black and Blue feels like a mixed bag as the script contains elements such as its themes that could've elevated it into being something powerful and memorable, though its desire to rely on previously used subplots and generic action thriller cliches ultimately keep it from reaching its maximum potential.

      In the end, Black And Blue settles for being reasonable entertainment that's engaging to watch and even exciting at times with it's well-staged chase sequences. There's enough here to make it work as an enjoyable action thriller, but the reality is this film could've been much more as it feels like both its story and ultimately message demand for it to be. The film leaves audiences with a hard-hitting message, which says that bad guys are bad guys regardless of who they are and what type of uniform they wear. Such a powerful statement deserves way more effort placed into its story than what's ultimately presented here. As an exciting cop thriller, Black And Blue delivers with much thanks being directed towards Naomie Harris gripping performance. However, it becomes frustrating as good as she is that Harris didn't have a stronger script to back her talents up because this feels like a film that was appropriately made for the moment regarding all the controversy involving fatal police shootings while perfectly mirroring current times. Perhaps the filmmakers didn't want to make the film feel too relevant out of fear of stoking controversy that could harm its box office prospects, but such a risk shouldn't be a reason they don't further explore the concept even further in-depth. Watching the film, it becomes clear that the movie itself has something to say in regards to presenting its story. It's a shame that the filmmakers didn't follow through on the movies promise to give audiences an experience that's not only exciting but reflective and ultimately eye-opening. The real tragedy is what this film could've been had they gave it their fullest effort.

Final Verdict: For action thriller fans, Black And Blue works as being an average though ultimately forgettable cop thriller made watchable largely thanks to Naomie Harris terrific performance.