All the Right Moves
January 19, 2016
Creed (2016).
D: Ryan Coogler. DP: Maryse Alberti. W: Ryan Coogler & Aaron Covington. Starring: Sylvester Stallone/Michael B. Jordan/Tessa Thompson/Phylicia Rashad/Tony Bellow.
Although over in America Creed has been out since Thanksgiving, here in the UK we have just gotten the film and in the nick of time for award season. The seventh film to center on Sylvester Stallone’s iconic Philadelphia boxer, Rocky Balboa, Creed breathes new life into series so ostensibly linked to its star. Having written and directed the thought-to-be final film in 2006, Rocky Balboa, sixty-nine year old Stallone was convinced to step into the ring once again. And no one should be disappointed.
Director Ryan Coogler and young star Michael B. Jordan first teamed up for the 2013 Sundance success Fruitvale Station. The film centers on the fatal story of Oscar Grant who was shot by police in the San Francisco metro station on New Years Eve 2008. By that point Jordan had already been in Josh Tank’s Chronicle and would go on to join Fantastic Four when Tank took on the franchise. His pairing with Coogler is evidently a creatively fruitful one as it’s clear throughout Creed that everyone was making the same Rocky movie. Coogler, who has yet to hit thirty, has already made a name for himself and will be taking the reigns of the new Black Panther film for Marvel.
Creed follows a similar trajectory of the 1976 original that Stallone wrote, cultivating its underdog to take on a fight where he is the sure fire loser. The film is therefore able to center its emotional worth on Stallone as the reluctant coach and Jordan as his famous opponent’s, Apollo Creed, bastard son. Living in the shadow of the name alone Jordan’s Adonis aka Donny searches for identity within a sport that killed his father. Jordan is a rare combination of focus, charm, and a dash of ego as Donny, but never lays it on thick. In the rare emotionally vulnerable scenes between the mentor and his charge their connection is truly touching and a brilliant exploration of masculine emotion and care. Stallone doesn’t preach too much and the gentleness he has always brought to Rocky is still there.
Creed recognizes its canon and Rocky’s world, but brings the focus of the boxing into the personal. Unlike lesser boxing turns like last year’s Southpaw, this film also shoots its boxing scenes not like their matches to be aired on television, but rather through the dynamic of trainer and boxer. French cinematographer, Maryse Alberti, who also shot 2008’s The Wrestler brings an intelligent touch to this athletic hyper masculine space. A running shot of Jordan down the street is quite memorable. Jordan’s romance with Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is allowed to breathe and build without the routine racial struggle apparent. Thompson has long been working since her days on UPN’s Veronica Mars and it’s great to see her shine and create a character that is not the usual generic sports girlfriend.
Creed is a hit on all accounts right down to its music. It is hard not to feel your heart lift and your hand itch to punch the air when Rocky’s music comes on. Hopefully you feel as I did that this movie was made with tremendous love for its star Stallone and not for the money. Funny what we can find when we listen to our hearts and not our pockets.
A Studio’s Failed Recycling Project
August 15, 2015
Fantastic Four (2015).
D: Josh Trank. DP: Matthew Jensen. W: Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg & Josh Trank (based on Marvel comics by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby). Starring: Miles Teller/Michael B. Jordan/Kate Mara/Jamie Bell/Toby Kebbell/Reg E. Cathy/Tim Blake Nelson.
This summer’s comic book installments are ending on a rather low and controversial note. The release of Twentieth Century Fox’s new version of Marvel’s Fantastic Four has sparked twitter declarations from young director Josh Trank, claiming he’ll never work on a comic book movie again. Despite the hoopla I think it safe to say that regardless of creative intent some comic books are just not cinematic material. The Fantastic Four is one of them for me.
This Fantastic Four immediately segregates itself from Tim Story’s 2005 predecessor Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer in its realistic intent. This makes creative and marketing sense as the remake’s purpose is to allow Twentieth Century Fox to retain the rights to the Fantastic Four and not let them revert back to Marvel, now owned by Disney. This is the same reason Sony remade its Spider-Man franchise. Searching for a new direction hiring young director Trank seemed ambitious and exciting. Trank’s first directorial effort was 2012’s Chronicle. A feature about a group of friends who discover something supernatural underground that gives them all superpowers to disastrous effects. This cast includes Michael B. Jordan who appears as Johnny Storm here. A great memorable little film that resided on character rather than effects, Trank’s footing is surely gone in Fantastic Four.
The film runs through a brief original story of Reed Richards (Miles Teller) as he puts together a teleporter in his garage and befriends Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) whose family owns the junk yard Reed steals from. Discovered at a science fair, smelling a lot like Spider-Man here, Reed is invited to attend a prestigious institute run by Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathy). Dr. Storm’s children Johnny (Jordan) and Sue (Kate Mara) help Reed to develop his transporter with the guidance of misguided genius man child Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebball). The band of geniuses decide once their project works to send themselves to the new dimension they have discovered and voila, weird powers.
With only a few moments of humor and not a lot of charm Fantastic Four cannot save itself from its boring plot. Hard not to suspect a character named Von Doom, Kebball might be the best thing about the film. When he gazes at Mara’s Sue he looks like he might want to eat her viciously while everyone else is off playing scientist. When he returns it’s rather magnificent, his voice sinister without a mouth hearkening back to some sort of Star Wars nightmare I had as a child. Teller is alright, but better is other things he has done, same with Jordan. Bell is lost in his Thing, but it is digitally rendered very admirably. What makes the kids likable ultimately is Dr. Storm and the cheesy, but momentarily effective performance by Reg E. Cathy. His efforts to connect all of his children for a common purpose does eventually ring true, if not just in his anguishing discovery scenes of each kid’s powers.
Fantastic Four only runs about one hundred minutes, but feels vastly longer. Sadly the studio apparently meddled so much with Trank’s original cut that they demanded re-shoots. Even if unaware of this it is not hard to miss Mara’s wig she wears in the added scenes, a sad reflection of a dispute that has clearly upset Trank and ultimately the project. All in all the film is watchable, but rather lousy something I think I’d feel reading these comic books.