I played some DooM some time, the entire four episodes of the first game, the secrets levels too, and I sequentially screencapped the voyage for future viewing. The port in use is probably Risen3D, though I've experimented with plenty. Enjoy the venture!
It is a project,
A project is a project,
A project is eh...
As the clock strikes zero zero,
I fear the hero,
Will come sweeping through my door,
On a weary Fearow,
I have the window open cause in here the air's slow,
I thought I was near going stone cold,
Now I'm just near cold.
Cause the winter dropped in,
It dropped in and told me: "You better knot some stockings!"
So I look like Mary Hoppins?
I'd rather opt in to YT,
There I'll blare some Hopsin,
Work out on verses till my lungs are sore,
And I've got hot skin.
The clock is zero twelve soon,
I need to delve into fumes,
I need to dive into dreams,
And be where I haven't been,
And see what I haven't seen,
And feel what I thought I told,
My soul to hide deep within it's hollow hole of cold control.
I hear the wind fly but my eyelids droop,
Such a good thing I'm still high on youth,
Though at times I feel I'm a hybrid goof,
Seeking truth whenever I quit snooze,
Until tomorrow, the sky's my roof.
It's zero zero,
Like the time is news.
An undercover Detroit cop navigates a dangerous neighborhood that's surrounded by a containment wall with the help of an ex-con in order to bring down a crime lord and his plot to devastate the entire city.
This movie is exactly the same as Banlieue 13, or District 13 as it was known as internationally. The director is new, but he uses Luc Besson's script, which is - with a few minor twists and details changed - exactly the same as Banlieue 13! David Belle plays Lino (formerly known as Leïto in the original) and Paul Walker (Cyril Raffaelli in the former) jumps in as his companion Damien. The villains are played by new actors, and Taha Bemamud has a new name - Tremaine Alexander. He's played by RZA, which is pretty cool, but not cool enough to keep this movie from being a total fiasco.
But maybe I'm being biased. I'm saying this because I loved Banlieue 13. It still stands as one of my favorite movies ever. I loved everything about it. I loved the soundtrack as much as I loved the filmography, the script, the fighting choreography and the characters themselves. The plot flowed perfectly and you were always in the loop, always on the front row seat savoring the detail and action and every tiny facet of the movie. Even the intro scene was perfect, the one that starts on the ground with heavy hiphop music and slowly pans up to reveal the walled-in view of the slum known as District 13, following a path of smoke and riddled bullet-holes in broken windows before the main character is revealed. Leïto. Even the district itself looked much better in the original, much grimier, as did the transitions.
What made the original even better were that both the main characters were great martial artists and masters in parkour, and it shows in their every movement, not just in the masterful fights. It's easy to see that Paul Walker isn't for real, even if he makes it seem like he always has things under control. The scene were he falls out from the ceiling after Lino just did one of his awesome stunt-jumps through a high-up hole in a wall is one much-needed jest at his talents, and yet David Belle, the former star, is the one commonly being told to shut up or get out of the way. Paul is the one unlocking his cuffs, twice, and usually the one telling him when to take it easy or stop or calm down. It's strange they seem like such good friends at the end when they never get along during the adventure itself, and the end is actually the only part where I start telling myself this remake might not be so bad after all. The ending feels alright... but everything up till that point is all but honorable homage.
No disrespect to Paul Walker, especially since this was his last official movie before his tragic (and much too early) death last year, but with his lack of skill and tactical finesse in this movie I feel he steals a spotlight he doesn't deserve.
Then again, the transition from French to American might have worked fine with everything short of David Belle himself. I was wondering if that was actually him at the intro, or if they were just using someone who looked like him, because he just didn't seem to be there. Even if his stunts are all new and all amazing, they just don't match up to the originals, and it feels like he lacks the same emotional output and intensity as he did in the original. I don't know if this is due to him feeling unfamiliar in the Hollywood setting or if that's just how the director wanted it - with Paul Walker in the spotlight. Or maybe he's not too fond of doing the exact same things all over again. Whatever it is, it doesn't work. It comes off a corny, undeserving remake of a masterful classic. And did I mention David Belle's voice is dubbed-over? That's the topping of the cake. Or rather, the bottom of this plate.
Despite this critique I can't lower the score too low though. I am biased. It might have been a great movie by itself, but comparing this to the original is like comparing a brick to a mansion.
rated 3/5: not bad
This movie is a mess.
I was hoping for greater things considering how Luke Goss plays a lead roll, but all he ever does is advice the rookie a little, and waltz around both office and home looking like he has no control over anything and would rather be at some other recording.
Ryan Guzman does a good job as the rookie, but considering he supposedly knows martial arts I'm thinking the fight choreography could have used a huge facelift (maybe fistlift'd be a word?)! The occasional gunfights are OK, but the fighting itself is virtually inexistent. Chases look forced, and even in enemy encounters there is just no perceptible tension between the characters.
The script is decent, but the filming doesn't capture the greater scheme of things at all. Even when there's emotion, it's just not enough; maybe it's malplaced. There's a terrorist plot the good guys are uncovering, one of them is undercover, and all parties involved are having family trouble on the side. Maybe the problem is that all emotion is placed in these scenes, rather than during the actual encounters. It's like the characters are moving along two separate paths, living parallel lives in and away from work, and all emotional drama happens in a sheltered environment far from the actual plot. Three wives (out of which two seem somewhat psychotic) all break down at different intervals, and the main character has a thing with his undercover bosses daughter, who at the end leaves him with a gun in her car.
But is that the end? Prepare for a totally incomprehensible twist that I hope will leave you as baffled as me! Or better yet: if you have some better titles on queue, just skip this one. I'm not sure it was worth watching.
I think the aspect in which it falters most is how it makes everything seem greater than it is. The terrorist plot is supposed to be elaborate and threatening, yet the bombs never go off, there are barely any gunfights and the final hangar has one single guard. There's just too little personnel for the scope of the movie. Same thing with the office. And the chase with scooters looks good only in slow-mo, as soon as they speed up it immediately becomes clear how slow they are really going, and excitement levels drop like... like April rain. This movie is a mess.
rated 2/5: decent
