Tag Archives: paul rudd

04.14.24
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

The Ghostbusters have reestablished themselves as the heroes of New York City, but the city soon faces its greatest threat yet when an ancient artifact unlocks a destructive force.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a solid tribute to the heart of the original film. This sequel has all the ingredients with none of the direction. The cast still has that charming energy, particularly the Spenglers played by Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, and McKenna Grace (with Paul Rudd stepping into the new stepdad role). Grace is the most interesting part of the film, but her role as the protagonist is watered down by an overabundance of characters. Dan Aykroyd, however, is very enjoyable in his role, as is Ernie Hudson, but the film tries to balance too many of these people, and the original cast ultimately was only there for fan service in a lesser way than the last film. Not to mention, Kumail Nanjiani is usually a standout in any film, but his character here is uninteresting, save for a few laughs. The action has some fun a bit of a retro vibe, with solid SFX editing as well, but the film’s runtime wanders through C-level subplots and the pacing lacks a consistent excitement. When we finally get to the villain, its yet another faceless ancient giant with apocalyptic intent, and the visual effects of the ghosts are also quite lacking. Ultimately, the film settles for a lot of the same, but its the sluggish pace that makes it a lot hollower and not as lively or meaningful as before. This may just be another instance of a beloved franchise going on for one too many films.

08.04.23
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

For years, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo have been trained in the ways of ninjitsu by their father Splinter, and have been told not to leave the sewers for fear of what the humans will do to them. But the turtles decide to foil a dangerous plot and become the heroes New York City needs.

After numerous iterations, the Ninja Turtles franchise finally has an installment that understands the tone this IP deserves to feel lively and memorable. The turtles are voiced by actual teens, so they really get to feel youthful and like genuine characters (as much as mutant turtles can), and perhaps animation was the best way to go all along. The live-action designs of the characters in the past always looked too silly or creepy, and the style always helps this film live up to the mayhem suggested in the title. The Spider-Verse-inspired animation style of 3D graphics and 2D coloring gives the film a teenage feel, but more than that, something imaginative, wild, and fresh that doesn’t demand to be taken too seriously like the Michael Bay-produced live-action iteration. The dynamic “camera movements” and hip-hop soundtrack gives the film a constant energy that always put a smile on my face. The packed voice cast is also great, particularly Jackie Chan as Splinter, who may secretly be the heart of the film. Chan gives the talking rat a soul that makes him unique beyond what could have been the typical strict parent in an animated movie. Ayo Edebiri is also lovely as April O’Neill, an aspiring teenage journalist who befriends the turtles instantly and is a refreshing departure from the hyper-sexualized it-girl April from past iterations. Ice Cube is a very entertaining villain whose personality and understanding motivations make it easy to enjoy his cliche evil plan. The only character I didn’t quite enjoy was Maya Rudolph’s Cynthia Utrom, not because of the voice performance but rather the generic archetype and motives that had nothing to elevate or make her feel necessary.

I’m surprised to say that I finally find the Ninja Turtles to be great, but this movie is incredibly funny and booming with imagination and heart. Though it does draw a lot tonally from the recent iterations of Spider-Man, it’s hard to complain when the animation and script are this much fun.

02.16.23
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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Scott and Cassie Lang, Hope and Janet van Dyne, and Hank Pym are all accidentally transported to the Quantum Realm and embark on an adventure that goes beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Though this threequel expands on the scale of the last two Ant-Man movies to the massive possibilities of the Quantum Realm, the film lacks the charm and wit that a movie with Paul Rudd as a shrinking superhero should have. The green screen and visual effects are hit or miss in terms of blending in with the actors, and the sets feel derivative of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, almost as if the production asked James Gunn to borrow a Guardians set for a day but without following through with the weird and quirkiness of what we’re seeing. Instead, the adventure just feels like it’s going through the motions until we meet Kang, who’s played strongly by Jonathan Majors. The stakes when it comes to his character are engaging but still too vague to give his character the depth beneath Majors’ stellar presence. Whenever the actors do get the chance to quip off each other or interact with bonkers new characters they meet, it makes for funny moments, especially due to Rudd’s undeniable talent and Kathryn Newton’s performance as Cassie, but any meaningful character development is nonexistent besides the characters revealing secrets or reiterating their love to each other. The movie’s themes about heroism and “looking out for the little guy” are sweet but only take it so far because of the unoriginal execution. The action itself has some fun moments and laughs, but ends up a standard adventure that isn’t inspired or clever enough to do its titular hero justice or advance his arc besides showing him the MCU’s new big bad.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a watchable movie without enough quirks to make the tone satisfying or enough complexity to make the conflict fascinating. Even for the Ant-Man trilogy, it’s simply fine and only needs to be watched to collect important puzzle pieces for the future of the MCU.

07.16.15
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Ant-Man

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The next movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally brings Ant-Man to the screen. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

As Marvel begins to enter a darker phase of films, with films such as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War coming out, it’s starting to adapt to a very likable new style, with tons of unpredictable humor being thrown into their movies. Ant-Man is able to partly convey it, but is a letdown considering the fact that its from Marvel Studios. Paul Rudd is a superb star, as he coveys all the humor and heart I wanted from him. Michael Douglas gives a decent performance as mentor Hank Pym. I was let down by Evangeline Lily and Corey Stoll. I was expecting a deeper and more emotional character from Lily, and a villain that was more incorporated into the script and convincing enough from Stoll. Michael Pena is able to deliver a charming performance as one of Lang’s buddies, and Bobby Cannavale does an awful job, not to anyone’s surprise.

The style the film takes on is fun, but doesn’t fulfill the story’s needs and character developments. The subplot involving Scott’s relationship and connection with his daughter (and his hatred of his ex-wife’s new fiance, who also happens to be a cop played by Bobby Cannavale) is extremely cliche and has been used hundreds of times in the past decade in cinema. Same with Scott’s training to become Ant-Man, it’s not anything we haven’t seen before or wouldn’t see coming. The dialogue needs a lot of improvement, with too much awkward dialogue and things that kept repeating themselves. I never felt so close to the characters, since they aren’t given enough time to connect with the audience, because the movie is way too rushed, not to mention it’s very short, with a run-time of only 115 minutes. However, the film still keeps the humor from its preceding Marvel movies, and does not fail to entertain. The movie even has a few callbacks to the Avengers to remind you that it’s a Marvel movie, and a post-credit scene worth staying for.

Overall, I was let down by Ant-Man due to its lack of convincing character development, its run-time, and its script, but it is still able to entertain and make you laugh. The film would’ve been much better with Edgar Wright sitting in the director’s chair. Moving forward, I have faith in Marvel that they will do a great job with Phase Three, but I was disappointed with Ant-Man, as it’s meant to be a more moving finale to Phase 2.

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