Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

I really enjoyed Fury Road when that came out in 2015. The film felt like being shouted at for two hours but not only was it a well directed film but it was well acted, a good plot and felt like a Mad Max film some 20 years after the last Mad Max film. It was strongly hinted in that film that there would be a Furiosa spin off but with each passing year that seemed less likely. Now, 9 years after Fury Road we finally get our Furiosa spin-off except we don’t have Charlize Theron but Anya Taylor-Joy who despite being a big fan, isn’t someone that I have considered for this role. 

This film tells how Furiosa became the Furiosa that we saw in Fury Road and this means that we get to see Immortan Joe again and he was one of the best things about Fury Road. It’s always a danger doing prequel stories because if a character appears and you know they are going to be in the original film then any peril or tension goes out of the window but thankfully they don’t really do that in this film. The main set up of the film is a civil war of sorts between Dementus and Immortan Joe but really is a vehicle to allow Furiosa to get revenge on Dementus. This leads to some really impressive action scenes which this franchise has become known for. I suppose the advantage of filming in Australia is that there are miles and miles of desert roads where you can do this sort of thing and not worry about running out of road.  

I mentioned how I wouldn’t have cast Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and how wrong I would have been. She is amazing despite not having much to say (which before anyone starts typing a response is something I know that is common in Mad Max films). She is one of those people that can say a lot with just her eyes and every time she is on screen she manages to show broodiness and anger at….well mainly at Dementus really. Dementus is a very good character just as good as Immortan Joe was in Fury Road. The only real issue I have with the film is with Chris Hemsworth’s accent. Despite being Australian, he comes across as someone who isn’t Australian trying to do an Aussie accent. It’s what Dick van Dyke would have done if he hadn’t done a cockney accent in Mary Poppins. His performance is really good and when he finally meets his end, then I found myself satisfied with the story and thats because I was engaged with the story and the characters and Hemsworth deserves as much credit as George Miller. 

Speaking of George Miller, can we take a moment to appreciate how someone who is nearly 80 is producing a film to this standard where people half his age are more concerned with making films that have messages that feel like you're being lectured at. Miller knows what works and I honestly don’t know if he will direct any more Mad Max films but if he doesn't then this is a very good way to sign off. 

I really enjoyed Furiosa. I don’t think that its up there with Fury Road but I wasn't expecting it to be and I am fine with that. A film should really only be as good as it can be instead of being made to just be as good or better than what came before it in a particular franchise.

Challengers (2024)

I think that Challengers may go down as my most disappointing film of the year. It’s not terrible but it was so frustrating that I can’t actually remember the last thing I felt like this. The film sees Tashi (Zendaya), Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) engage in a weird love triangle with the backdrop of tennis just there to add some ‘excitement’.

There are many problems with the film. Mainly that I didn’t care about who won or lost in the love stakes as all three seemed horrible people that probably do exist in the tennis world but that would be another reason why I am glad I am not a tennis player. The performances are good but I just found all three loathsome. Art was the least terrible but that was more out of the fact someone has to be the least worst. Despite giving a great performance, there isn’t very much to the character of Tashi despite the best efforts of Zendaya (who is also a producer).  

Other problems include the dance music; they use the same 10 seconds of dance music throughout the entire movie no matter what context the scene was in. There was one point where art and Patrick were in the sauna where the dance music was playing so loud that I could just about hear what Mike Faist was saying. I was never a fan of dance music to begin with but this film has given me a new level of hatred. However the final scene was just about the most infuriating that I felt. So there was one shot which must have taken about 2 minutes to take place. There comes a point where slow motion loses any tension any for me that's about 20-30 in, this went on for at least another minute so i had to summon all my energy not to shout ‘TAKE THE F*****G SHOT’. Somehow I don’t think that was the director’s intention. 

Despite this being one of the most frustrating films I can remember seeing. I don’t regret seeing it. I think that the central performances are at least interesting even if its for the wrong reason. I can’t blame Trent Reznor or Atticus Ross because they were probably just doing what they were told and I have liked their work in the past so its down to the director who seems to think that the same dance track needs to be played repeatedly and at a distracting high volume. 

On the plus side….well Luca Guadagnino did make me find tennis enjoyable even if it was just for two hours.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

This is the fourth film in a franchise I think has been weird overlooked. The three films that have come before have ranged from very good (Dawn) to slightly overlong (War) to ok (Rise). This is the start of a new trilogy which I didn't realise until after the film although it makes a lot of sense because there are plot points that wont be answered until later down the line.

The story takes place 'many generations' after Caesar dies although his shadow does linger throughout the film as Noa (played brilliantly by Owen Teague) who attempts to rescue his tribe/clan after there is an attack on it which leads to the death of his father. Along the way he comes across a human called Mae (Freya Allan) that can speak and she is of great interest to Proximus Caesar who is trying to get through a vault door because he believes he is entitled to it. William H Macy plays Trevathan who is the only other human in the main story although he seems to be unwilling to let Mae and Noa go through with their plan although I think that there was a large chunk of his story missing which would have fleshed out because we get a through away line from him but  that was in and I felt a little short changed from the character. It does feel like the apes are quite stupid because Mae and Noa seem to get into the compound with relative ease and not once did Proximus Caesar think about seeing if there was another way in.

Despite some slight mis-steps the film is an enjoyable one. The second half is where the story really picks up and I like how it feels like the human race is starting to get back on its feet again and this could potentially lead to another battle between humans and apes. The film finds the right balance of having the end of the world feeling that War and Dawn have and yet not as heavy like Rise. There is some more to Mae's story which will hopefully be explored further and Noa is a likeable leader.  

In my opinion, this is the strongest of the reboot series. I think that moving the story on from Caesar was a the smart thing as there was very little that could be done in that time period and moving things along makes the franchise feel fresher than most franchises that are four films in. 

The Fall Guy (2024)

I will admit that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to see this film from the trailers. It looked like it was a goofy comedy that seemed to be capitalising on the continuing popularity of Ryan Gosling fresh off his Oscar nomination. There were two things that made me take a more serious approach to this film. Firstly its based on the 1970’s US TV show which I remember being shown on ITV on a Saturday during the 1990’s. Another reason is because it was directed by David Leitch who is a director I like. I’m a big fan of Bullet Train & Atomic Blonde

The plot sees Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) taking part in a stunt for a movie whilst flirting with Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt)  when it goes wrong. The story moves forward when he asked by Gail Meyer (played in scene chewing form by Hannah Waddingham) to try and track him down. What the film ends up becoming about is Colt being framed for a death that the actor is is stunting for is responsible for. 

I really enjoyed this film. Not just because the stunts are amazing from the cars/trucks on the beach to the garbage truck tracking a skip along the streets of Sydney. All these action scenes look amazing and I would imagine most of the action was done in camera (meaning no CGI) but even after hearing ‘I was made for Loving You’ for what felt like the 100th time,  I still enjoyed the chaos that was on screen. 

The plot does take a bit of time to get going and also  at times come close to being convoluted but it manages to work. I think that this would have worked much better with a stripped down plot and let the stunts and the chemistry of Blunt and Gosling keep people engaged. The main reason why the film works is because of Gosling and Blunt. Blunt’s character isn’t the strongest but works when she is with Gosling’s Seavers. It doesnt feel like Gosling is acting as he natural personality seems to come through the rather normal character. 

I was genuinely impressed with The Fall Guy. I thought that it worked really well and was a rare thing in modern day movies in that it wasnt too long. It was just the right running time.