Film Forum: Tropic Thunder, Transsiberian, Star Wars - The Clone Wars
This is collection of reviews that I found interesting and helpful. The collection will be revised as I find more notable assessments online. Feel free to submit more reviews, or even your own, in the comments below.
TROPIC THUNDER
Anthony Lane - New Yorker:
Tropic ThunderTropic Thunderflailing and unfocussedThe PlayerHearts of DarknessApocalypse NowDodgeball
The filmmakers probably anticipated an uproar over Robert Downey Jr.'s impersonation of a black man -- or, more accurately, his impersonation of an Australian method actor who decides to transform himself in order to play a black man. And, to suppress such reactions, critics are jumping into action.
Christopher Orr - The New Republic:
Downey is not acting in blackface
Robert Davis - Daily Plastic:
funMinstrel shows laughed at black culture; Tropic Thunder laughs at the shallow appropriation of that culture.
Strangely enough, though, it's not Downey's role that's stirring up the most controversy. It's something else.
No doubt you've heard and read about the protests. Does Tropic Thunder make fun of the mentally disabled?
Easy answer, according to critics who have seen the movie: No. In fact, the film shows respect for the disabled by taking satirical jabs at the way Hollywood encourages the exploitation of the mentally disabled for the sake of showy compassion and awards-attention.
At Christianity Today Movies, Peter Chattaway explains:
Simple Jackthe target of the film's satire is not the mentally disabled themselves, but the way Hollywood romanticizes mental disabilities, and the way actors take on such roles as "stunts" in a bid to win awards.
At Crosswalk, Christian Hamaker agrees:
Tropic Thundertargets Hollywood pomposity, pampered actors and over-the-top movie clichés
Since people are making the huge mistake of calling out Tropic Thunder for mocking the disabled, hey, why not accuse it of mocking the military as well?
After all, even though the actors are playing actors, they are also wearing fatigues and carrying guns, so clearly this is an attack on the U.S. military. Right?
Amongst film critics who have seen the movie, you don't find criticism about the film's references to the disabled. Instead, you find assurance that the film is mocking egomaniacal actors and the exaggerated, extreme, excessive nature of Hollywood war-movies.
And yet, as I might have predicted, the Christian Film and Television Commission, Movieguide's Ted Baehr, launched his condemnation of the movie back on June 11th:
It is yet another cinematic insult to America's military.
And, staying in character, he proceeded to explain that if you attend this movie, you may as well align yourself with the Nazis.
Pray that Americans will avoid this movie. ... A ticket purchase for this movie is a vote AGAINST decency and morality.
While Baehr goes on eviscerating a film that apparently doesn't exist, critics who have actually watched the movie go on arriving at different conclusions.
Here's John Podhertz of The Weekly Standard:
Tropic ThunderTropic ThunderTropic Thunder
As a big fan of Ben Stiller's Zoolander, I'm eager to see what he does with a satire of Hollywood's war-movie factory. Coppola's half-crazed endeavors making Apocalypse Now are the stuff of legend, long overdue for a good satire. You can bet I won't praise or condemn it until I've actually seen it for myself. Who knows... maybe everybody else is wrong. Maybe I'll buy a ticket and discover a heartless condemnation of the disabled and U.S. military forces. Of course, by that point, I'll already have lost my salvation, and become an agent of all that is immoral and indecent.
TRANSSIBERIAN
At the Tomatometer, critics are lining up to praise Transsiberian as one of the best thrillers to come along in a good while.
But the reviews gathered at GreenCine offer a less enthusiastic reception.
And if I ask my friends, well...
J. Robert Parks - Daily Plastic:
And an ugly, barbaric plot it is,
Todd Hertz - Christianity Today:
It's a slow, menacing burn.
STAR WARS - THE CLONE WARS
Roger Ebert:
reduced to the level of Saturday morning animation?
...
The dialogue in the original "Star Wars" movies had a certain grace, but here the characters speak to one another in simplistic declamation...
The battle scenes are interminable, especially once we realize that although the air is filled with bullets, shells and explosive rockets, no one we like is going to be killed.
...
I'm probably wrong, but I don't think anyone in this movie ever refers to The Force.
...
You know you're in trouble when the most interesting new character is Jabba the Hutt's uncle.
J. Robert Parks - Daily Plastic:
Kung Fu Pandathe movie feels like a long video game
Harry Knowles - Ain't It Cool:[CAUTION: Harry believes that only a pile of obscenities will appropriately describe this film.]
hated the score, the animation, the shots, the characters and most of all the #$%@! idiot story.
Russ Breimeier at Christianity Today:
The Clone Wars is not bad, and not without its moments. The sequence where Anakin and Ahsoka lead troops in a battle up the side of a cliff is often breathtaking and clever. There are nighttime lightsaber duels framed against the light of a full moon that are stunning. And there are plentiful nods to classic moments from the beloved sci-fi saga, from sound effects and creature design to a few recurring musical motifs. And though most of the voice acting is handled by unknowns imitating the original actors—and doing a decent job of it—Samuel Jackson, Christopher Lee, and Anthony Daniels are on hand to reprise their iconic roles (as Mace Windu, Count Dooku, and C-3PO, respectively).
Unfortunately, about the most that can be said for The Clone Wars is that it reminds you of the other movies that you either loved or loved to hate. Though fans may enjoy the movie, no one would be foolish enough to put it on par with the original films — the special effects and design are all spot-on, but it's still an animated copy of the real thing. And those who disliked the tone of the prequels will find this to be more of the same — more political scheming by the Sith, endless explosions between robots and troopers, corny dialogue peppered with amateur one-liners, and lots of whining. Either way, it's not a good thing.
I gotta say, I actually cringe when the ads for Clone Wars come on. That's never happened before. I may start selling my collection of 1977 Star Wars memorabilia soon, because I just don't get the buzz of nostalgia that I once did. All I feel when I look at them is sadness.
Thanks, George.