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Tomb Raider (2018)
You can watch this.
Movies based on video games, and games based on movies, never become prominent ones. This fact always disappoints fans, because after every successful movie/game with great action/plot they cry in the internet about continuation in another format. And it is not clear if everything must remain the same, or change things really hard. And results also often are unclear.
New Tomb Raider didn't become an exception. Based on the video game with the same name, the movie gets a shorter plot, worn characters, not the best action scenes and slightly lame picture. But not everything is so gloomy, so let go deeper.
The story is slightly different from the game, and it isn't bad at all, because it perfectly fit into movie timeframe without a feeling of a plot being cut. All magic things were cut out, all story explains nicely without it. And despite the fact, that movie was created based on a game, the plot doesn't look second-handed, there are similarities but they look more like references to the game not as lack of imagination. So I haven't any complaints to screenwriters.
Characters are worse (definitely), because despite there are only four of them, only one shows some charism (Lara), others are so cliched that you cant just omit this. Especially "good" are cliched ways to show characters: the villain will always by himself kill innocent worker for fail, and sidekick will risk his life for the girl who you know for little time, and who is the reason of your misfortune. And motivations are also really bad, but the story is driven somehow.
Also, the picture on screen disappoints (well it wasn't expected), because as we know, good CGI you will not notice, but in this movie, you will. And action in this movie also isn't good, of course, there is no need to sacrifice realism to reproduce game action, but you can make better. Airplane scene was good anyway.
But the movie does what must be done - it is fun to watch, and it doesn't matter if you played the game or not. The movie isn't a fail at all.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
With some problems but still nice Star Wars movie.
SPOILER: While watching trailers of "Solo. Star Wars Story" I was like: "Disney, is it possible that you will force me to hate Star Wars movies?". Well, they do not succeed in this - I like this movie, but....
Let start with the main problem of the movie, which was seen even before the trailers come out. It is a nice and fun movie about Star Wars universe, but it is a bad movie about Han Solo. The idea to start filming a movie about the greatest smuggler in the galaxy far-far away was bad, just because the character was entirely made by Indiana Joh... Garrison Ford. If I can imagine another actor to play others heroes of the classic trilogy, to imagine somebody other than Ford is impossible. Garrison Ford is Han Solo, even if he or anybody else didn't like it. But in this movie, they just show you Alden Ehrenreich and say that this is Han. No this isn't. Alden becomes a smuggler, friend of Chewbacca and pilot of Millennium Falcon, but he didn't become Han, and maybe nobody will. Someone also criticizes Alden for bad playing, but I watch Solo dubbed and Ukrainian cast was really good.
Even if we forget about Ford, Alden still lacks sarcastic look at the world, and it is noticeable. Well someone (I in my discussions with myself) may say that Han will lose his naivety and become more callous after the movie events, but hey, he grows up in bottoms of the world, about what naivety you can possibly talk. So yes, it is not Han, but still, it is the decent character.
Others actors and characters are so-so. Chewbacca is still old good Wookie, who fights, speaks and just is a friend, he looks just gorgeous, one minus that he believed Han too easily. Qi'ra - well Emilia Clarke is not so good actress to grow out of Khaleesi, and this movie is no exception. Lando Calrissian - hit the spot just right, you can praise Donald Clover for that. Beckett (smuggler and Han's sensei) - also is good, maybe more Han-ish than Han in this movie. Main villain - not bad, but not good either, what his name was again? But in this bunch of not-so-bad heroes greate evil exist - L3! It almost like Jar-Jar but droid and with an aftertaste of SJW in an offensive to everybody way. She was added just for comic effect, in the team where almost everyone is comic himself, and that's why she looks so artificial and outplaced.
All fauna in this movie looks great, extraterrestrials are good, and this creates a star-wars feeling. Also, nice locations, outskirts of galaxy and cantines with "decent" folks. But not only old revised things are good in this movie, the unexpected scene with the battle on the distant planet looks new but still good, space travel in a gas tunnel - it wasn't so in previous movies. So, by the look it still Star Wars.
Now about the story. It is interesting. Train robbery, stealing the fuel from the mines and classic cowboy clash at the end, I enjoy it all. But there is no significance for main saga story, as it was in Rogue One. Nothing new and important we do not find out. We already knew that Han was served in imperial troops, that he is the smuggler and that he won Millennium Falcon in the card game. Homeworld of Han and his first love - well it is new, but also unimportant. And the one thing that was important and new - first meeting of Han and Chewbacca - was so lame, for such fateful event.
One more bad thing - the ending, and the sith demonstration without any reason for this, except the fact that it will have a sequel. I want something more than just sith with the red lightsaber.
Rogue One (2016)
For fans, with love
So, almost everyone on this planet saw the original trilogy. If you did not - go watch the classic, you losing so many. And this is not a film for you. OK, Rogue One - is great, but with some conditions.
First impressions: at the last seconds of a movie, I almost cry, because of all memories that movie awaken in me. As for fan of IV-VI episode - this movie is the top of the cake. If you are the fan - go, you will not regret.
Story. It is not a secret that this is a movie about stealing of Death Star plans. And we all knew that this plans will be stolen (The start of New Hope). But the details was unknown (Extended Universe does not count). It was very interesting to follow the story for me, movie passed really fast, there was no boring moment in all film. The story is going around Jyn Erso, daughter of Galen Erso - one of the creators of Death Star. Jyn wants to find the father, rebels want to destroy Death Star, and the story go. It had no really unexpected events or unbelievable story turns, but it is interesting.
Characters. They are good and fit a movie well. I was afraid that it would be a movie about "impossible" task, for which the bunch of "heroes" with "unique" abilities needed. But it's good that it is not, our heroes are just people, not Jedy, not some other super-human, they are ordinary, but they fight against the empire. Everyone is interesting despite the fact, that their stories mostly was not told, but their simplicity make believing in their fillings and motives really easy. Droid K-2SO - great comical character, Baze - cool bad-ass warrior, Chirutt - a monk who believe in Force, Cassian - rebel soldier with dark past, and Jyn - who probably tries to find herself. They are not unique, but they fit this war drama just well.
Owerall. War - is the main theme of the movie. This war is darker and crueler that wars in other StarWars movies. There is no Jedi, there is only hope, and this hope is so small, that fighting only for this chance really hard. But it is worth to fight, what else you will do? This movie is dark, but it is Star Wars from the beginning to the end. Old desert spaceports with different aliens, war bases and spaceships of empire. Stormtroopers (still bad in aiming), space dog-fights and lasers all around. It's old good Star Wars, but with better graphics. Battles were awesome. The movie is really beautiful.
Cameo of our old friend also really good. Darth Wader - was just perfect. Tarkin - still so ruthless. And much more. This little moments creates the home mood around.
It is a great movie in Star Wars universe, and if you are the fan of the last one - you need to go. If you did not saw original trilogy (How it possible?) You probably did not understand many things, this movie is not separately standing one, but it complements other movies as it must be.
P.S. It must be 9/10, but I just cant=)
Arrival (2016)
Great story, not so great sci-fi.
Film "Arrival" based on short story "Story of your life" hard to judge. It is a great movie about First Contact with extraterrestrial life, determinism (fate) and some linguistic. Still, it had problems with science and some logic. Too many moments when you want to say "Enough. Call the real scientist". Despite all that I will write below, it is a great movie, but a question "Why they are here?" is not answered.
First thing: Do you know how many scientist are called, because of UFO? In the USA it two. Theoretical physicist and linguist. And at all, field laboratory looks just miserable, a dozen of tents and five pickups. Like, why someone should care about 500 meters flying egg?
And our two scientists must decipher language of aliens. Yep, the theoretical physicist is the right person to do it. In all movie, he did not do a thing as a scientist. All that he do in a movie, can be done by anybody without a degree. More of that, he is just for lulz. One scene from movie (approximately): "Ian: "Do you try to show them Fibonacci set, or etc.?" Colonel: "We can't even say hello to them, and you suggest so high matter. All laugh." Like intelligent space creatures will faster understand a word "Human" written on a table, but not science facts and laws which probably similar in the whole universe.
One more thing. The best linguist in the USA, and what did you do with her? Right, let she go inside the alien ship unprepared , where they control gravity, is possibilities of radiation and so on. It is safe of course. We check it twice. And you can use video connection between the inside of ship and laboratory, but why?
All these small details are so embarrassing that just destroy all science at the first half of the film. Of course, some science is good, and it was great to see WolframMathematica on theirs PC.
But mostly it is a drama about destiny and choice. The film is nice, story - great, picture - breathtaking and peoples in government are corrupt. I was not bored at all. Some flashbacks of the main character look unclear for the moment but their sense opens at the end.
It all opens at the end, and it is great. Bad thing is that answer for the question "Why they are here?" is StarWars classic "these aren't the droids for which you search". But if you are immune to this Jedi things, you can say: "Hey, but why did you come? Come back, now explain it to us, not just to Louise."