Sunday Short Reviews

Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…

Iron Man 3
It’s rare that the third movie in a franchise is the best, but I consider that to be the case with Iron Man 3! Writer/director Shane Black brings his trademark brand of quippy dialogue and badass action to the series when it needed it most: following the sub-par Iron Man 2 (I don’t count The Avengers as an Iron Man movie). This, combined with the existing chemistry between Black and Robert Downey Jr. that we’ve seen before in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, makes Iron Man 3 a fun and funny movie that explores the dark side of Tony Stark’s psychology much more than any other Iron Man film to date, and still manages to be upbeat instead of depressing. It all culminates in a killer final act that is some of the best action we’re likely to see on-screen this year. I can’t say enough good things about Iron Man 3, and after such a strong third instalment, I sure hope that Black and Downey Jr. team up for a fourth one.
4.25 out of 5

Oblivion
Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to Tron Legacy is a similarly just-above-average science fiction film. Also like Tron Legacy, Oblivion features gorgeous production design and is a joy to behold, but on a script level it doesn’t bring anything really new to the table. The plot is a pastiche of ideas from other better (and worse) sci-fi films, and while everything in Oblivion fits together well and looks good, none of it is outstanding. Performances? Solid. Special effects? Pretty and well-realized. Story? Sure, it’s okay. Oblivion was good enough on a visual level that I will watch it a second time, but beyond that there is little for the discerning science fiction fan to sink his teeth into. This movie leans way more toward pleasing a crowd than provoking a thought.
3 out of 5

Evil Dead (2013)
The Evil Dead remake commits every remake sin imagineable, and it starts by taking away everything that made the original good in the first place. On a visual level, the film is far too polished, removing the gritty veneer that gave Evil Dead its raw, sleazy appearance. Sam Raimi’s innovative camera work is nowhere to be found, and the severe lack of disembodied evil force POV shots is another troubling change. Finally, there’s no Bruce Campbell! Nor is there even the character of Ash! And while this could have been a daring, interesting move, it’s completely wasted. The character replacing Ash’s role is bland and uninteresting, and there isn’t even a fraction of Bruce Campbell’s charisma between the entire cast. It’s just mistake after mistake with the remake of Evil Dead. The only things worth praising are the gore effects, which were solid and mostly practical. Beyond that, this film had me longing to revisit the original and pretend that the remake never happened.
1.5 out of 5

See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!

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