Posted on: April 27th, 2009 From The Vault: Week of April 27 2009
Welcome to the fifth installment of From The Vault, in this weeks edition, we cover it all laughs, drama, action and a twinge of romance. After a few weeks of leave I hope to return in full force and bring you your weekly dose of random DVD reviews and my thoughts on the special features that accompany them. So lets get this shin dig started shall we.
Get Smart
Maxwell Smart:
“Are you thinking what I am thinking?”
The Chief:
“I don’t know. Were you thinking Holy shit, holy shit, a swordfish almost went through my head? If so, then yes.”
Stars: Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrance Stamp.
Director: Peter Segal (The Longest Yard, My Fellow Americans, Tommy Boy)
In a world where Hollywood’s well of ideas has all but dried up, leaving studios to rehash or revisit past successes, it is a breath of fresh air when one of those types of film, comes along and pulls off the look and feel of being original. Get Smart is one such film. Though the story and plot are a little predictable, there is something that causes you to ignore that, simply because you are just happy to be there.
What sets Get Smart a part from other remakes/reboots or television show based films from the others is the approach to the source material. Rather than recycle the same plot or storyline used in the originals, it starts from scratch, while at the same time paying homage and respecting its roots. I would love to say that this was the first time that this was done, unfortunately, something similar was attempted in Bewitched with less then favorable results (side note, Steve Carrell who plays Maxwell Smart, had a small cameo role in Bewitched as Uncle Arthur). I am glad that it worked this time around however.
Get Smart is witty and enjoyable, I actually found it very surprising how the writers and Carrell approached the character of Maxwell Smart, from what I remember from the television series, Maxwell Smart was a bit of a bumbling, accident prone fool played very well by the late Don Adams. Though he remains accident prone, he does not come across as bumbling in the Carrell incarnation, but rather smart, resourceful and able to handle himself. Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 was really hit and miss with me, there are times where she plays off Carrell very well, while scenes that she did not share with him, seemed to be listless and dull to the point of forgetting about her entirely.
The casting of The Chief was fantastic, Alan Arkin stole virtually every scene he was in and at times more memorable then everyone else, in particular when he gets in a fight with the Vice President of the United States. I don’t recall if the orginal Chief was nearly as sarcastic and deadpan, but Arkin took The Chief and made him his own creation and it work very well within the films contexts. The biggest surprise for me had to be The Rock, (***Spoiler Alert***). We have seen him play the bad ass, the family man, a gay cowboy and even a villain of sorts. The Rock ends up playing the charismatic Agent 23, everyone reveres and looks up to him and want to be him. He mentors Maxwell and helps Maxwell get promoted from sound analyst to field Agent 86. It was good to see The Rock play a villain in a film less serious then Doom, where he can have fun with the role, and it shows.
If you enjoyed the original series, make some time for this one, as I am sure Don Adams would have been very proud of what was done, it never deviated from where it came from. If you have not seen the TV series, fear not, you can still enjoy it, since it fills in any blanks.
Versions:
Single Disk (FS and WS)
Two Disk Collectors Edition (WS only)
Special Features:
Single Disk:
- 1) Theatrical trailers, TV spots.
- 2) Play movie with Smart Takes. (throughout the course of the film the feature when turned on, allows the viewer to see not only alternate and deleted scenes where they were originally intended, but a gag reel of sorts, mostly actors flubbing their lines)
Two Disk Collectors Edition:
- 1) Theatrical trailers, TV spots.
- 2) Play movie with Smart Takes. (throughout the course of the film the feature when turned on, allows the viewer to see not only alternate and deleted scenes where they were originally intended, but a gag reel of sorts mostly actors flubbing their lines).
- 3) The right agent for the right job featurette. Goes over the casting process for the leads as well as a few glimpses of Anne Hathaways screen tests.
- 4) Max In Moscow Featureette. Cast and crew interviews on filming iin Moscow.
- 5) Language Lessons. Steve Carrell attempt to teach the world different languages based on his experience working on Get Smart.
- 6) The Making of Get Smarts Bruce and Llyod: Out of Control. A promotional on the spin off.
- 7) There is additional DVD Rom content however, the only available content I was able to find was the Digital Copy for my PC.
Another disappointing offering of special feature goodies from an otherwise enjoyable film. The featurettes are mundane and needless. They failed to delve into the areas of making the film that I enjoy, such as how they performed various stunts and the computer graphics. Also, with all the features, they relied heavily on Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway, which is fine, since they are the leads but it would have been nice to see more of The Rock, Alan Arkin and Terrance Stamp, they were all much underused in the features, particularly Terrance Stamp, who got the shaft. A word of caution when using the Smart Takes during the film, it gets really irritating after the first half hour of watching, as it becomes more of an interruption then a really cool feature, had they done it in a less intrusive manner, it would have been more enjoyable to watch. And finally the one feature that was worthwhile, though not good enough to merit purchasing the two disk edition, was the Language Lessons, I actually enjoyed it and if I remember correctly it had the shortest running time of all.
Constantine
Angela Dodson:
“Well, this has been real educational, but I don’t believe in the devil”
John Constatine:
“You should. He believes in you.”
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia Labouf, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare.
Director: Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Music Videos)
There is something about the portrayal of Catholicism/Christianity in film that really attracts me, especially if it’s done in a controversial and contradictory manner. Prior to viewing Constantine, I had no knowledge that it was actually based on the long running comic book series Hellblazer, and that lack in information enhanced my viewing experience, because after realizing it was comic book based, I read up on the history of the comic and some of its characters, and the writers of the film took a lot of liberties with the film, but that is for another post.
Constantine is one of those films that is rich with content, innuendos and symbolism which requires additional viewings to fully understand and appreciate it. I myself have viewed it three times and I discover something new every time I watch it. Also, because the story has such depth and can be convoluted taking the time to analyze it is recommended as well, there is more to Constantine then just some popcorn action flick.
The casting was well done, with perhaps the exception of the casting of John Constantine himself. The character required someone with more intensity, the likes Johny Depp, Christina Bale or a younger Gary Oldman, would have been better suited. That withstanding Reeves still manages to give us descent enough performance and breaks free from the typecast of dim wits or one dimensional action heroes. Rachel Weisz really steals the film. Weisz is a very talented actress with the ability to take all her roles to the next level, she does not just act the roles she is given, she becomes them. Constantine is no exception. She has a domineering presence whenever she appears on screen in the film, I found I was more focused on her then any other during the film.
Normally in other films, the supporting cast will sometimes be more entertaining then the leads, however, with Constantine, for the most part, they stay in the shadows of the Reeve and Weisz. This is a little surprising with the caliber of acting in the remaining cast of Shia Labouf, Peter Stormare and Tilda Swinton along with newcomer Gavin Rossdale of rock band Bush fame. With Labouf, there is a huge desire to see the character chew up the scenery and really walk away with the movie, but unfortunately due to a large feeling of restriction, Labouf’s role is reduced to a stereotypical sidekick role and give little to work with in terms of lines and screen time. So it is no entirely Labouf’s fault for the lack of scene stealing.
The shining lights for remaining cast have to be Swinton, Stormare and Rossdale. Swintons portrayal of an androgynous archangel Gabriel was perfect and engaging, and in the short time you see her on screen, you hang on every word she says and in the end you almost have pity on her character. Who ever cast Stormare as Satan knew what they were doing, they found someone who played the Devil with malice, apathy and ignorance. Satan is not someone I personally would like to ever meet myself nor do I ever want to like him or support him, Stormare manages to display those feelings up front and out in the open in the little moment he appears at the end of the film.
Normally I am against musicians becoming actors, because very few can ever pull it off or add any credibility to their name, Rossdale falls under the exception along with Cher and Will Smith. Why he has not pursued any further acting roles after this makes me wonder. He was outstanding as Balthazar, he added just the right amount of sleaze to give off a greasy and slimy vibe and yet still maintains a form of first class superiority.
Comic Book issues aside, Constantine has the right amount of everything to make it worth your time, though a bit heavy on content and had the tendency to lose you in all that, it really is enjoyable and gives new perspective on the enigma that is religion.
Versions:
Single Disk (WS and FS)
Two Disk Deluxe Edition (WS Only)
Special Features:
Single Disk:
- 1) Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
- 2) Director Commentary
Two Disk Deluxe Edition:
- 1) Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
- 2) Directors Commentary
- 3) Deleted Scenes and An Alternate Ending
- 4) Documentaries:
- i) Directors confessional
- ii) Collision with Evil
- iii) Holy Relics
- iv) Hellscape
- v) Visulaizing Vermin
- vi) Warrior Wings
- vii) Unholy Abduction
- viii) Demon Face (easter egg)
- 5) Passive by Perfect Circle Music Video
The special features for Constantine are very informative and provide some depth and understanding to the conceptualization and the transfer from paper to celluloid. From an artistic and story standpoint all these features are well worth the extra cash, I especially enjoyed Hellscape documentary, where they director and artists explain in great detail how they thought hell should look, the deleted scenes for the most part are bland and don’t add anything to what you have already seen, however the alternate ending is well worth a view, as its shows Constantine giving his final goodbyes to Chas (Labouf). A situation that happened with Frances Lawrence’s other film I Am Legend, the alternate ending was far better then the chosen ending.
All in all if you enjoy documentaries about your film and enjoy seeing the concepts being developed prior to the finished product, Constantine Two Disk Deluxe Edition is for you. They features are well thought out and presented and do not feel thrown together at the last second a very informative set.
What are some of your guys thoughts on this weeks From the Vault picks? Is there anything you wish to see in future installments let me know via the contact section of the website. Until next week, I’ll be in the vault.