'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' review by Captain Raptor

'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' review by Jake Boyle

The shoes to fill have never been bigger. Record-breakingly profitable, internationally adored and lauded by critics and fans alike. But enough about me. The first Avengers film was an unadulterated triumph, matching exhilarating action with charismatic humour and showing just how amazing the end  result can be when four years are spent putting all the pieces together. Three years on from that and the universe has grown even more, and new additions looking to be added - all dependant on the success of this film.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Age Of Ultron is how immensely scaled up everything is, yet still able to remain cohesive and unrushed. For a film with over a dozen key characters, everybody gets enough time to shine, and the CGI destruction reaches truly insane levels at times, but never feels overwhelming in a bad way or incomprehensible. The action is jaw-dropping both in its enormity and in its seamless choreography - especially the group shots when we see Earth's Mightiest Heroes kicking ass in unison. The returning actors uniformly give performances of the incredibly high calibre they have been doing throughout the franchise, but the enjoyability of some characters is marred by the occasionally wonky characterisation. However, even when that does occur, the day is saved (as always) by Joss Whedon's inimitable flair for witty, inventive dialogue, be it through excellent running jokes, monologues, comebacks and one-liners. T-shirt manufactures can rest assured that there's another fifty or so quotes for them to print (even if they are going to keep excluding Natasha).

However, despite the brilliance of the dialogue, there are a small number of touching moments done quietly and silently - an impressive move for big-budget Hollywood fare. Mostly this works (Jeremy Renner is finally given the opportunity to give Hawkeye more depth, and Robert Downey Jr continues to nail the downplayed confliction he exhibited in Iron Man 3); however there's a romantic sideplot that does contains some sweet moments, but ultimately still feels awkwardly shoehorned in. It does still kind of work, however, and that hiccup is the biggest flaw the film has. The other new inclusions are all solid: Aaron Taylor-Johnson is charming, the introduction of Vision is gripping and James Spader is suitably menacing as the titular villain, and delivers the comedic lines sharply. The real joy, however, is in seeing the extended universe culminate in one place - small appearances from Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell and a criminally underused Idris Elba should delight anybody who's been following the whole Marvel story, and the last few moments before the credits tease of some truly spectacular things to come.

The pressing question for any sequel is always 'was it as good as the first film?'. And no, it must be said, Age of Ultron does not quite match up to the Avengers' first team outing, be that a slightly worse script, weaker uses of fantastic characters or simply the law of diminishing returns. However, being slightly worse than The Avengers is still a pretty difficult level of quality to obtain, and Age of Ultron certainly contains all the dazzling action and razor-sharp humour that you could possibly hope for. In no way is it a disappointment; quite the contrary - it's an invigorating, captivating, quick-witted thrill ride. Absolutely everything we were hoping for.

'John Wick' review by Captain Raptor

'John Wick' review by Jake Boyle

The role of John Wick could hardly be any more suited to Keanu Reeves unless it turned out the character's middle name was '...dude'. A man of few words, understated emotion and forever decked out from head to toe in black - casting must have been a no-brainer. It's been a while since Keanu had a foray into mainstream box office fare (and even longer since he had a good one), but this particular post-Taken action thriller seems to have put everybody's favourite expressionless hero back on the map.

As well it should. John Wick is a well-oiled, tightly engineered machine, establishing character and motivation within the opening 15 minutes and then letting the film's plethora of goons and assassins just get on with it. The expertise of stunt actors turned directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski is evident; every blow resonates, every gunshot excites. The action comes thick and furious, and barring a laughably machismo final showdown, it's all very well-paced, engrossing and at a level of brutality that's neither overkill or underwhelming. The ideas behind the film fall on an indeterminable location between interesting and cheesy (a man's desire for bloody vengeance fueled by the loss of his dog, a hotel that exclusively caters for a secret society of assassins), and the whole 'dead wife' backstory is becoming teeth-gratingly tiresome with every 'new' iteration, but John Wick knows what kind of film it is and smartly chooses to focus on its claustrophobic fighting environments, bloody headshots and minimal dialogue. 

This is all carried not so much by Reeves' angsty stoicism (although his performance is perfectly fine) but by a plethora of supporting characters who do most of the emotional and expository heavy lifting, as much as there is any. Ranging from acclaimed character actors like David Patrick Kelly and Willem Dafoe to fresh-faced TV stars like Alfie Allen and Adrianne Palicki, it's these people who craft the dark and forboding atmosphere with solid performances all around, mostly based on how absolutely terrified they all are of John. Helping to shape the mood is focused cinematography courtesy of Jonathan Sela, who frames the setpieces wonderfully and tracks the movement and flow with a sharp eye for the most enthralling angles. It's a wisely compacted film, so some of the more eye-rolling moments don't have the breathing room to become truly annoying, and the occasional more consciously stylistic moments are suggestive of a film that's making a genuine effort with its visuals and technique.

John Wick's action (and the features that work to enhance that such as camerawork and lighting) are excellent. The acting and the story are good enough. Leitch and Stahelski have crafted a memorable and invigorating massacre of a film (although perhaps an overly serious one), that pulls no punches and only rarely strays into the territory of the exaggeratedly ridiculous. The upcoming sequel is needless and sounds like a bad idea, but that's to no detriment of this movie, which wears its heart on its sleeve and pulls it off extremely well. 

'The Drop' review by Captain Raptor

'The Drop' review by Jake Boyle

As casting choices go, Tom Hardy as a timid, mumbling New Yorker isn't the most obvious of decisions. But, armed with a thick Bronx accent and a less superhuman-looking physique, last year he waded into The Drop, Michaël R Roskam's tale of ordinary people doing their best not to get (too) involved in the Mafia's business. It also marks the last film appearance of James Gandolfini, and a role as a bitter, resentful failed criminal allowed for a final showcase of the man's talent for lacing every word with acid.

If The Drop had to be summed up in one word, it would be murky. Murky lighting, murky locales, murky morality. It creates an authentically grim experience, and the forlornness of the atmosphere makes it never seem questionable that the characters would allow such awful goings on around them. While Hardy is absolutely brilliant (more on that soon), it's only made possible because of realistic performances of everybody surrounding him - while Gandolfini's swansong might not be the most challenging role he's ever taken on, he plays the part to a T; John Ortiz imbues a little more depth into a fairly standard-issue character, and Noomi Rapace conveys all the unspoken emotions that need to be seen below the surface. This all sets Hardy up for a stalwart, tour de force of a performance, full of subtle little mannerisms and complexities that allow him both a sense of weakness and of great frustration.

The narrative is nothing spectacularly different but it's strongly told, starting off incredibly stark and getting more and more loaded until one climactic turning point. The lead-up to this excels at creating the necessary tension - the formerly plain cinematography becomes rapidly fluid and stylistic, violins start to swell in the background and Hardy gradually becomes less nervous and more angry. The whole event is really a dollar store Scorsese, but its engagingly told and if you're going to be strongly influenced by somebody, Marty's a hell of a good choice. The film's got a perfectly balanced tone: dark and serious enough to portray the stifling, uncomfortable standard of life, but there are enough offsetting beats of lighter stuff (a genuinely interesting story about an adopted dog, amusingly petty discussions about etymology) that it never veers into brooding territory.

Good from the beginning and fantastic by the end, The Drop is a film that manages to make a little from a lot. The theft of an umbrella will make your hair stand on end. A two minute monologue completely turns the entire film and the characters within it on their head. Hardy staring at his shoes and muttering is some of the most compelling acting of last year. While its themes and characters are hardly unique there are few films that present them with as much conviction and seriousness as Roskam's English language debut. Gandolfini might not have been stretching himself, but viewed as a whole it's a great film to leave your audience with.