Second Opinion - Toy Story 4

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story 4.

Toy Story 3 had arguably the perfect sendoff to the original Toy Story trilogy, ending it on a very emotional high note. The enduring popularity of the Toy Story brand, however, would ensure this would not last long, as a fourth entry, Toy Story 4, was released nine years later in 2019. While this movie is arguably a good example of an unnecessary sequel - I remember liking it when I first saw it, even importing a 3D Blu-ray copy - I hadn’t actually watched it again until recently when revisiting the series for the next unnecessary sequel, Toy Story 5. I still liked it on a second viewing, but still felt it didn't quite reach the same emotional high as the third film.

Second Opinion - Logan (+ Logan Noir)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Logan and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

As the X-Men film series started going beyond the original trilogy, it was natural that the fan favorite Wolverine would receive his own solo films with the rough X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the improved The Wolverine. This would be later followed up on with the R-rated third film, Logan, and although Deadpool’s own R rating did not factor into Logan’s, Deadpool’s success paved the way for further R-rated superhero films in the Hollywood landscape, as well as Logan’s own critical and financial success. While I had barely any familiarity with the X-Men films on my initial viewing, extending only to the first two Deadpool films and maybe the original X-Men film, I thought it was one of the best comic book films I had ever seen, enough to also watch the alternate version, Logan Noir. During my recent deep dive of the X-Men films in release order, I found it interesting to rewatch Logan again in the context with the rest of the series, finding it to still be just as good as I remembered.

Stubs – True Grit (2010)

True Grit (2010) Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld. Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen. Screenplay by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen. Based on the novel True Girt by Charles Portis. Produced by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Scott Rudin Run time 110 minutes. USA. Color. Western, Drama, Comedy

It is not often a remake is better than the original. All too often what was made as a statement film is remade solely for the money. The Post Man Always Rings Twice is an example that remake does not equal better. But there are exceptions: The Maltese Falcon was made three times before they got it right in 1941 and made a classic. True Grit is another example. Originally made in 1969, the first True Grit starred John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby. And while John Wayne won Best Actor, it was one of those occasions when the Award was given not so much for a particular performance, but for an actor’s entire career. Wayne appeared in 170 movies and was only nominated twice for his acting.

The Coen brothers, who had made a name for themselves making well-crafted, but quirky movies, such as Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1989), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998) and No Country for Old Men (2007) turned their attention to remake True Grit, but wanted to more closely adapt the original novel. [The brothers had expressed a similar desire to remake Mildred Pierce (1945) since the film itself was very different than the James M. Cain novel.]

Charles Portis’ 1969 novel, True Grit, a first-person account about tracking down and killing her father’s murderer, is considered by many to be a great American novel. Compared favorably to Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man, the novel is described as funny, epic and original. So much of which was missing from the 1969 film, which features the “stunt” casting of the then popular singer Glen Campbell in a significant part.

The Coen brothers’ film is narrated by Mattie Ross (Elizabeth Marvel), who opens the film with the death of her father. She explains that her father was murdered by one of his hired hands, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) when she was a 14-year-old girl, played by Hailee Steinfeld.

Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

While collecting her father's body in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Mattie queries the local Sheriff there (Leon Russom) about the search for Chaney. He tells her that Chaney’s fled and is probably with "Lucky" Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) and his gang in the Indian Territory, where the Sheriff has no authority. She asked about a U.S. Marshall, and while the Sheriff mentions the grit of Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) he actually recommends another Marshall who is known for bringing in his man alive. But Mattie opts for Cogburn, whom she chases down to an outhouse and later to court where he is testifying about another crime.

Mattie finally chases Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) down at a courthouse.

Cogburn, who has only one eye, rebuffs her offer, not believing she has the reward money to hire him. She raises the money by aggressively horse-trading with Colonel Stonehill (Dakin Matthews), who had sold her father some horses, which she convinces him to take back.

Mattie raises the money she needs to pay Cogburn by out horse-trading a horse trader.

Meanwhile, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger, arrives in town. He is chasing Chaney for the murder of a Texas State Senator. LaBoeuf proposes to team up with Cogburn, who knows the Indian Territory where Chaney is thought to be hiding. The reward back in Texas for Chaney is quite high and the two men decide to split it. But Mattie refuses his offer, not wanting Chaney to be hanged in Texas when she wants the punishment carried out in Arkansas for her father's murder. Further, Mattie insists on traveling with Cogburn. She goes back to Stonehill, who wants nothing more than to get rid of her than deal anymore with her. But when she rides over to the Chinese Grocery where Cogburn lives, the grocer, Mr. Lee (Peter Leung), tells her that Cogburn has left without her. Mattie takes chase following Cogburn and LaBoeuf to the river.

Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) joins the chase for Chaney.

But she is refused passage and the ferryman (Ty Mitchell) tries to take her back to town as a runaway. Mattie manages to get out of his grasp and crosses the river on horseback. LaBoeuf is fed up with Mattie and takes a switch to her until Cogburn intercedes.

Later, the two men have a falling out over which side they were on and their activities during the Civil War. Cogburn ends the relationship and LaBoeuf rides off.

There is a bit of comedic relief in the proceedings when Rooster and Mattie arrive at a general store to ask about Chaney. Two children are out in front of the store bothering an animal, which Cogburn puts a stop to and then proceeds to kick the kids off the porch, not only on his way in but also on the way out. This is a good example of the kind of character Cogburn is. He has a rough exterior, but a soft side as well, but he won’t take guff from anyone, even a child. Cogburn does learn that Chaney is with Pepper.

They come across a man who has been hung quite high in a tree. Rooster has Mattie climb up to see if it’s Chaney. It is quite perilous, but Mattie does climb up and when it’s not Chaney, Rooster has her cut the body down to see if it is someone he knows. It is not. An Indian comes along the trail and takes the body to see if he can trade it.

Later, they hear a shot in the distance. Mattie learns that Rooster had asked the Indian to signal him if someone was following them. Thinking that it’s LaBouef, they wait for him to catch up. Instead, it appears that a bear is riding towards them, but it turns out to be a backwoods doctor (Ed Lee Corbin) dressed in a bearskin with the head still on. He is pulling another horse with the same body Mattie had cut down, having just traded for it with an Indian.

Here's something you don't see every day, a Bear riding
a horse. Actually, it's a Doctor (Ed Lee Corbin) in a bearskin.

Cogburn tells them they need shelter and the good doctor directs them to an empty dugout for shelter. The owner is out hunting and won’t mind it being used. However, when they arrive, they find two men are already inside. When Cogburn tries to find out who they are, there is a gunfight and Cogburn, with Mattie’s help, literally smokes them out. The two turn out to be outlaws, Emmett Quincy (Paul Rae) and Moon (Domhnall Gleeson), the latter of whom has been shot. Rooster tries to interrogate them and Moon seems to be acquiescing in exchange for promised medical aide. But Quincy pulls out a knife from his boot and cuts off several of Moon’s fingers before fatally stabbing the young man. Cogburn shoots Quincy dead. Before he dies, Moon tells Cogburn that Pepper and his gang are due back later that night.

Cogburn dispatches two outlaws in a cabin.

Cogburn and Mattie retreat into the hill behind the dugout to wait. But before Pepper returns, LaBoeuf arrives. He has an altercation with the gang and has a rope thrown around him and is dragged across the ground. Rooster shoots down from his perch and kills two of the four gang members, but Pepper escapes.

LaBouef nearly loses his tongue after an altercation with Pepper's gang.

Rooster tends to LaBoeuf’s injuries, including his tongue which has been nearly bitten through. Rooster offers to pull it out, but LaBoeuf desperately convinces him to let it heal. The next day, the men get into another fight and LaBoeuf again departs.

The next morning, while getting water from a nearby stream, Mattie sees Chaney on the far bank watering some horses. He recognizes her and talks to her like nothing had happened. She pulls out a gun and shoots him, but he is only wounded and takes her by force back to Ned Pepper, who forces Cogburn to leave by threatening to kill her. Cogburn seemingly obeys and is seen riding over the ridge. Ned doesn’t intend to hurt Mattie, but he is short a horse and leaves Mattie in Chaney’s care, ordering him not to harm her or he will not get paid after his remount arrives.

Mattie accidentally comes across Chaney (Josh Brolin), but she fails to kill him.

Chaney disobeys Ned and tries to kill Mattie, but LaBoeuf appears out of nowhere and knocks Chaney out. He tells Mattie that he rode back when he heard the shots and he and Cogburn devised a plan. They watch from a cliff as Cogburn takes on the remaining members of Ned's gang, riding with the bridle between his teeth and shooting with two guns. Cogburn kills two and wounds Ned, before his horse is struck and falls, trapping Cogburn's leg. LaBoeuf, from his perch four hundred yards away, shoots and kills Ned before he can kill Cogburn. But before they can celebrate, Chaney regains consciousness and knocks LaBoeuf out with a rock.

Cogburn rides straight at four members of Ned Pepper's gang.

Mattie seizes LaBoeuf's rifle from Chaney’s grip and shoots him dead in the chest. The recoil, however, knocks her into a deep pit. Cogburn arrives, but Mattie is bitten by a rattlesnake before he can get to her. Cogburn cuts into her wound to suck out as much of the venom as he can before LaBoeuf helps them out. Cogburn rides day and night to get Mattie to a doctor until the horse collapses from exhaustion. After that, he carries her on foot until he too collapses, but he does manage to get her aid.

Cogburn rides day and night to take Mattie to a doctor after she gets bitten by a snake.

The story jumps forwards twenty-five years later; Mattie (Ruth Morris) reveals her left forearm was amputated due to gangrene from the snakebite. Cogburn stayed with her until she was out of danger, but left before she regained consciousness. She never saw Cogburn again, despite a letter she wrote to him inviting him to visit and to collect the $50 she still owed him. Later she received a note from Cogburn inviting her to meet him at a traveling Wild West show he performs in, headlined by outlaws Cole Younger (Don Pirl) and Frank James (James Brolin). When she arrives, Younger tells her that Cogburn died three days earlier.

25 years later, Mattie (Ruth Morris), recreates the train ride that opened the film.

She has his body moved to her family cemetery. Standing over Cogburn's grave, she reflects on her decision to move his remains and the scandal it caused. She also reveals that she never saw LaBoeuf again, though she would like to, and observes that "time just gets away from us".

While Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon were the stars of the film, Hailee Steinfeld makes the biggest impression. Steinfeld was not new to acting, having appeared on TV and in short films prior, but her turn as Mattie in True Grit certainly put her on the map. Her career is still ongoing, having appeared most recently in Ender’s Game (2013) and Hateship, Loveship (2014).

Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie in True Grit.

It seems unfair to compare the acting of any of the 2010 stars to their 1969 counterparts. While John Wayne was one of the biggest stars to ever come out of Hollywood, he is not, perhaps unfairly, considered a great actor. Towards the end of his career, he seemed to be playing versions of his Duke persona for which Rooster Cogburn is a variant.

John Wayne and Jeff Bridges both played Rooster Cogburn.

Bridges, on the other hand, is thought of as one of the better actors of his generation, having played a wide variety of film roles. He gives a big performance for the larger than life Cogburn, a drunkard Marshal who rises to the occasion when required. He uses his position as a U.S. Marshal to seek his own kind of justice in the backwoods of the American frontier.

Likewise, Matt Damon’s acting has it all over Glen Campbell’s, whose casting in the original film version seemed a bit of stunt casting at the time, based on Campbell’s popularity as a pop/country singer. Damon easily acts circles around him, giving his LaBouef several layers that were missing from Campbell’s portrayal.

It should be noted that while Elizabeth Marvel narrates the film, she is doubled on screen by Ruth Morris, who was born without a left forearm. Morris receives more screen time than Marvel.

While I would not recommend the 1969 True Grit to anyone who is not a huge John Wayne fan, True Grit (2010) has a wider appeal. This seems to be a case where filmmaker and source material line up beautifully. The Coen Brother’s eccentricities seem to fit well with the Portis story. True Grit is not your standard Western tale and this movie does not try to make it fit squarely into that genre, the way the 1969 True Grit film tried to. This time around, the remake improved how the story was told and is a far better film.

Second Opinion - Transformers: Age of Extinction

Of all of the franchises to have been born from the eighties, it seems that few have had an enduring legacy or lasting impression quite like Transformers. Beginning with 1984’s The Transformers comic from Marvel Comics and cartoon from Sunbow Productions, the franchise has had several incarnations spanning a rich history and complex multiverse that few can fully wrap their head around, with a new series every few years and continuity so dense that TF Wiki has even had to designate continuity families to keep track of it all (because, officially, everything is canon in some way, even if it’s so incompatible that it becomes a micro-continuity all on its own). Like Beast Wars, Robots in Disguise, the Unicron Trilogy (Armada, Energon and Cybertron) and countless Japanese-only sequel anime before it, the 2007 live-action movie marked the creation of a new continuity, the Movie continuity, which has gone on to include two sequels, Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon, and inspire the creation of Transformers Animated along with Hasbro’s new Aligned Continuity (Prime, Rescue Bots, High Moon’s Cybertron games and the upcoming 2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon) due to renewed public interest generated by the original 2007 film (interestingly, the Movie continuity also has its own share of micro-continuities).

Now, in 2014, the movies have received their fourth entry/third sequel, Age of Extinction, which also has the honor of representing 30 years of the Transformers brand. Since I’m a fan of the franchise, though not to the same extent as my brother, I’ve witnessed a lot of the aforementioned continuities, as well as all three of the previous live-action films (I’ve actually seen each movie multiple times for one reason or another). To briefly address my opinions of those movies, I enjoyed Transformers (2007), really didn’t like Revenge of the Fallen and found Dark of the Moon to be a major improvement compared to ROTF. When I heard about Age of Extinction, I figured I would see it anyway, but, as with my brother, I became more genuinely interested when I saw more information and trailers roll in. This will probably spoil this second opinion a little, but when I saw a free screening at Paramount, I found myself to actually like Age of Extinction to the point where I no longer simply liked parts of it, but rather I liked it as a movie; I’d never hail it as one of the all-time greats, but as a Transformers movie (that is, a movie associated with the 30-year-old brand), it felt like a real step in the right direction. This week, I got to see it again in 3D, but this time in IMAX as well, which I feel has only enhanced the overall experience.

With IMAX, you can see all of the details of each individual ship.

There’s not much I can really say about the movie itself that hasn’t already been covered extensively in the earlier spoiler-free review, especially since I actually agree with all of it. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t give a quick recap on what Age of Extinction does right. The story is written solidly, with a greater emphasis on storytelling and striking the right balance between the humans and the robots. This time around, the Autobots not only receive more screen time, but have more developed and well-defined personalities that make them more memorable. Lockdown (Mark Ryan), a bounty hunter hell-bent on capturing Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and eradicating the remaining Autobots, is actually a pretty intimidating villain since he not only has clear motives and goals, but is also savvy and relentless in his pursuit of those goals. Granted, Optimus has more anger towards humans in this film, but it’s also a little understandable considering that he and the Autobots saved Earth from destruction three times and they’re repaid by being mercilessly killed (plus he’s been betrayed a few times already).

The humans are also written in a way that they don’t get in the way of the film’s enjoyment, with Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) as a fun protagonist who is overprotective of his daughter, Tessa Yeager (Nicola Peltz), and not very approving of her relationship with Shane Dyson (Jack Reynor). As the movie goes on, the three of them resolve their differences in a way that is very realistic, including the smart decision of not talking things over in the middle of a war zone. Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci also give strong performances respectively as Harold Attinger and Joshua Joyce, two humans who are clearly defined and understood in their end goals. Age of Extinction also benefits from having a strong supporting cast, featuring the likes of Bingbing Li and Titus Welliver. Even the voice actors for the robots give great performances, with John Goodman, John DiMaggio and Ken Watanabe respectively voicing Hound, Crosshairs and Drift in ways that only enhance their personalities.

Mark Wahlberg turns out a good performance as Cade Yeager.

As for the script, the more serious approach, combined with inspiration from multiple incarnations of the brand, makes for a more enjoyable experience, since the stakes are more clearly defined (noticing a pattern?) and the plot is much easier to follow, in fact flowing at a pretty quick pace in spite of the 165-minute runtime. The humor is also much smarter, throwing away all of the vulgar humor in favor of jokes that are funny in their own right and relate more to the situation at hand. Action scenes are handled better this time around as well, with a few smaller skirmishes, as opposed to one really big fight at the end, that are easy to follow thanks to the improved robot designs along with one substantial difference: the humans, rather than being reactionary, are more action-oriented. The protagonists actually contribute to the fights, especially Cade, who manages to fight pretty well in his own right against the antagonists, human and robot alike.

Having said all of that, the film was also better to watch a second time in IMAX. Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) have done some really incredible work over the course of the live-action films and Age of Extinction is no exception, in fact providing what may be the best effects seen thus far in a Transformers film (barring a couple extremely brief moments). When viewed in IMAX, one can see a lot more, perhaps previously unseen, detail on the robots that is easy to get lost in. I spent a lot of this viewing doing just that and found it mind-blowing just what the studio is capable of. Several shots are also much crisper and many 3D shots are enhanced by the uptick in visual quality, helped by the fact that the screen appeared to cover my entire vision as though it were immediately in front of me (in a good way). However, while I did enjoy the IMAX version more, I also noticed that the aspect ratio would sometimes change in a slightly jarring way, as well as the film quality (but only very slightly), making it pretty obvious which shots were filmed with IMAX cameras. Perhaps the print would have benefitted from having a more seamless transition between the two types.

So, is Age of Extinction an improvement over the previous movies? Yes, and though it’s not exactly perfect (what with the heavy sequel bait and all), it takes several steps in the right direction that make it likable not just as a Transformers movie, but also as a movie in general. Fans of Transformers should give this a shot and I would encourage those who have seen even one of the previous films to check it out and form their own opinion on it (the same applies to those who are on the fence). However, if you only plan to view it once, I would highly recommend viewing it in 3D IMAX due to the superior sound and film quality, the latter of which can let you see even the tiniest details and just what ILM is capable of. While the first three films are very debatable in terms of their quality, Age of Extinction is a worthy representative of the thirtieth anniversary of Transformers and, as the first in a new trilogy with an overarching plot, has me very intrigued for the first time about just where the Movie continuity will go.

Stubs - Second Opinion: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand. Staring the voices of: Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Leonard Nimoy. Directed by Michael Bay. Screenplay by Ehren Kruger. Based on the Hasbro action figures. Produced by Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce. Run Time: 154 minutes. U.S. Color. Science Fiction, Action

With the fourth installment of the most successful toy-inspired film franchise about to be released on the big screen, and in the case of IMAX, bigger screen, we thought it was a chance to take a last look at the third in the Witwicky trilogy, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). The review at the time of its original release can be found here.

While the welcomed departure of Megan Fox allowed for the franchise to move forward, she is not the only thing that was wrong with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), which while not as well received critically, still managed to outperform the original live-action film, Transformers (2007), at the box-office. Some connected to the production would blame the writer’s strike, which disrupted the rewrite of the script, with the film’s shortcomings, but it was probably more to do with having a set in cement release date, even if the film wasn't quite ready for public consumption. With profitability attached to summer blockbusters, there is no way a studio can afford any delays in getting the product out the gates.

Dark of the Moon starts with the premise that the Apollo moon landing was a government conspiracy to explore the lunar crash site of an alien spacecraft. In this case, Sentinel Prime’s (Leonard Nimoy) spaceship, shot down in the last days of the war for Cybertron between the Autobots and the Decepticons. On board the ship are pillars which, used together, can create a space bridge for teleporting weapons, troops and supplies. NASA doesn’t know what’s found when the astronauts get to the site.

The moon landing was just a government conspiracy.

The conspiracy idea never gets shaken as those connected with it, including Jerry "Deep" Wang (Ken Jeong), a programmer who works at the same company Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) lands a job in the mail room at. Wang is acted out in Jeong’s usual over-the-top anything-for-a-cheap-laugh-style (better suited to the Hangover films), but he is not the first over-the-top character Witwicky comes into contact with, nor is he the last. Pretty much every human character is portrayed as a caricature, from Sam’s first boss, Bruce Brazos (John Malkovich), to his parents, Ron (Kevin Dunn) and Judy (Julie White), to old nemesis, now turned ally, former agent, Seymour Simmons (John Turturro). Include in there Seymour’s personal assistant, Dutch (Alan Tudyk), and Charlotte Meaning (Frances McDormand), the Director of National Intelligence, and you pretty much have all the main “human” characters. All have done better work in other films, so this is not a high point in their acting careers with the possible exception of paychecks.

The only humans who are in any way believable and likeable are the Army personnel, led by U.S. Army Lt. Colonel William Lennox (Josh Duhamel), and retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Robert Epps (Tyrese Gibson). Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey), who is working on Earth for the Decepticons’ cause, is also, sadly, quite believable, but I wouldn’t say likable. He represents all that we think is wrong with the rich and privileged in that they will do anything for their own success and survival despite what happens to the rest of us. Gould is the embodiment of the financial top 1% all those protests were about a few years ago.

Replacing Fox as Sam’s love interest is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Carly Spencer, who works for Gould managing his large car collection. A model, Dark of the Moon marks Huntington-Whiteley's first film acting gig and while she is good and good-looking, one wonders why her savvy and successful character would settle for Sam except for as a plot device.

Sam (Shia LaBeouf ) saves Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) from Gould and the Decepticons.

In this film, Sam is portrayed by LaBeouf as angry, whiny and feeling like he is owed something for past events. He either seems to be screaming in anger or screaming in fear throughout most of the film before finally stepping up to save Carly’s life. While he is not quite the messenger in the previous films that Meaning makes him out to be, I’m not sure he is deserving of the special treatment he thinks he is. Nor is he deserving of his parents’ disappointment at not having landed a job on their time table, while they drive around the country in their oversized RV.

Frankly, I’m happy to see the Witwickys in the rearview mirror of this franchise as the films always seem to stop dead when they are on screen, especially the parents. They are supposed to be comic relief, but this film is crammed full of such characters that it makes the few who are not stand out as approaching normal.

The big switch-a-roo in this film is that Sentinel Prime, who is brought back to life by the well-meaning Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), is actually working with the Autobots' nemesis, Megatron (Hugo Weaving), not to end the war as much as to ensure that Cybertron survives. The film toys around with, but never actually resolves whether or not Sentinel Prime would have turned the tables on Megatron and ruled as the leader of the Decepticons.

All throughout his reign over the franchise, director Michael Bay has been tweaking fan expectations. While the special effects have been really great throughout, it seems at times that corporate interests and Transformers mythos have been at odds. As an example, the cars the Autobots transform into have been open to the highest bidder. Bay's Transformers film have also added characters to the universe as well as bathroom humor. Who can forget Bumblebee urinating on Simmons in the first Transformers and I’d like to forget Jeong pulling plans out of his underwear in the toilet stall in the men’s room in this one. One can hope that closing the door on the Witwickys will lead to a different and more uplifted approach to the humor and to the storytelling.

Come for the robots and stay for the action, Bay's strong suit.

I’m told that four years pass between the end of this film and the opening of the fourth installment, which I will let tell me what happens rather than speculate. I can’t believe I’m actually writing this, but I have to imagine Mark Wahlberg will be a huge improvement over LaBeouf as lead actor. I think that says something more about LaBeouf overstaying his welcome than it does about Wahlberg, as a lead actor, or myself as a viewer.

While every die-hard Transformers fan and their families has no doubt seen this film already, one would imagine they will flock to see Age of Extinction. But here is hoping, as a more casual observer and viewer, that they someday make one film that is just about the robots. These are the more interesting and compelling characters. No one is playing with a Witwicky action figure. They are what the people come to see and why they keep coming back.

All we need and all we want are the Transformers.

Stubs – Second Opinion: The Incredibles (2004)

The Incredibles (2004) Starring the voice of: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Elizabeth Peña and Brad Bird. Directed by Brad Bird. Screenplay by Brad Bird. Produced by John Walker Run Time: 115 minutes. U.S.  Color, Animated, Comedy, Action

By 2004, Pixar Animation Studios was considered to be on the leading edge of animation. They had burst on the scene in 1995 with Toy Story and had followed up every few years with A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003). All had been directed by original members of the Pixar team and all had been incredibly successful. During the same period, Brad Bird had moved from animator to writer/director with The Iron Giant (1999), a great film that flopped at the box office due in part to the lack of marketing by Warner Bros., which was gun shy after the boxoffice failure of Quest for Camelot (1998). But the film impressed John Lasseter, head of Pixar and an old friend of Bird’s.

If you think live-action features have a long lead time, they are nothing compared with animated films. Bird pitched the idea of The Incredibles to Lasseter in March 2000. Pixar signed Bird to a multifilm contract in May of that year. There were a lot of firsts in this film for Pixar: the director was not one of their own, there was only one writer on the project, Bird, and all the main characters were humans.

The Incredibles (previously reviewed on Trophy Unlocked here), in a family friendly way, covers many of the same themes that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons covered in the 1986 Watchmen comics, itself made into a movie in 2009. Society has become disillusioned with superheroes and tired of picking up the huge financial tabs super heroes leave in their wake. While Moore and Gibbons set their tale in a dystopian world, The Incredibles live amongst us in Middle America.

When the film opens, superheroes are in their prime. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is on his way to an important engagement, but has the time to get involved in a police pursuit, taking a few minutes to rescue a cat from a tree. Once again he helps out tracking down a purse thief and, with the help of Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), subdues the criminal. There is obviously an attraction between the two superheroes, but Elastigirl tells him that she has an engagement later.

A young and single, Mr. Incredible (Craig T.Nelson)

But one more stop on his way; Mr. Incredible foils a suicide attempt by intercepting the jumper on his way down and crashing him in through some windows in a bank tower. There, Incredible foils a bank robbery attempt by Bomb Voyage (Dominque Louis). But fanboy Buddy Pine (Jason Lee), self-proclaimed Incrediboy, who wants to be Incredible’s sidekick, interferes. This allows Bomb Voyage to escape, while Incredible removes a bomb from Incrediboy’s cape. The bomb goes off on the elevated track of a commuter train and while Incredible stops the train, passengers are injured.

Mr. Incredible has a date to keep with Elastigirl (Holly Hunter).

Still on an adrenaline rush, Incredible arrives at his destination, a church, where he married Elastigirl with his best friend, and co-crime fighter, Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) standing with him as his best man. But their future together isn’t all that rosy. The lawsuits that follow, from the suicide victim denied his effort and the injured passengers, not to mention the collateral damage done to the bank building and commuter train, lead the government to relocate the Incredibles.

Fifteen years after relocation, Bob and Helen Parr, formerly Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, live in the suburbs with their three children Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Spencer Fox), and baby Jack-Jack as a suburban family. Bob works as a claims agent at Insuricare, an insurance company, working for Gilbert Huph (Wallace Shawn), a job which he finds very unsatisfying.

After fifteen years in exile, Bob Parr works for Gilbert Huph (Wallace Shawn) at Insuricare.

Longing for the glory days, Bob meets up regularly with Lucius Best (aka Frozone) and they spend the night listening to the police radio and perform vigilante work, all while Helen thinks they are bowling. One night, under the watchful eye of a woman called Mirage (Elizabeth Pena), the two get involved in a burning building, rescuing several tenants, but accidentally break into a bank as part of the escape. They manage to elude the police, but Helen is not happy with Bob’s behavior.

Mr. Incredible longs for his Glory Days.

When Bob loses his temper with Mr. Huph and throws him through several walls when he won’t let him interfere with a mugging in progress, he is fired. His government handler, Rick Dicker (Bud Luckey), warns Bob about such outbursts and offers, for old time’s sake, to relocate the Parr family once again, but Bob turns down the offer.

Returning home, Bob finds a Mission: Impossible-style message from Mirage, who needs him to be Mr. Incredible again and help with a mission to destroy a malfunctioning robot called the Omnidroid, promising a substantial reward. Arriving on Nomanisan Island, Bob is able to defeat the robot by tricking it into ripping out its own power source.

Mirage (Elizabeth Pena) elicits Mr. Incredible's help with a project.

Bob is rejuvenated by being able to use his powers freely, improving his attitude and relationship with his family, and he begins rigorous training while waiting for more work from Mirage. Discovering a tear in his Mr. Incredible suit, Bob visits superhero costume designer, turned fashion mogul, Edna Mode (Brad Bird) for repairs. Edna decides to make him and his whole family new suits, unbeknownst to Helen and the children. She rejects Mr. Incredible’s desire for a suit, recounting all the supers who have been killed by accidents with their capes.

Mr. Incredible brings his suit to Edna Mode (Brad Bird) for
repairs. She makes him and his family all new outfits.

Leaving for Nomanisan once again, Bob discovers that Mirage is working for Buddy, now identifying himself as the super-villain Syndrome. Buddy, after being shunned by Mr. Incredible, took to weapons design, which has made him incredibly rich, but there are some weapons he has kept for himself, including the Omnidroid, which Syndrome has been perfecting at the expense of former Supers. Syndrome plans to release and then defeat the Omnidroid in Metroville, the Parr family’s hometown. Using controls he’s built into his own suit, Syndrome can manipulate the robot and become a hero himself. Then he plans to retire and sell his inventions so that everyone will become super, meaning that nobody really is.

Annoying Incrediboy grows up to be Syndrome (Jason Lee)

Meanwhile, Helen visits Edna, who shows her the new suits she’s gleefully designed. Edna tells Helen what Bob has been up to, making it sound like he’s having an affair with Mirage. She encourages Helen to find Bob, using a homing beacon built into his suit and go fight for him. The activation of the beacon gives Bob’s presence away and he is captured.

Syndrome captures Mr. Incredible.

Helen borrows a jet and heads for Nomanisan, but on the way she finds out Violet and Dash have stowed away wearing their own costumes, leaving Jack-Jack in the care of a teenage babysitter Kari McKeen (Bret Parker).

Syndrome picks up Helen’s radio transmissions and despite Helen’s plea that there are children onboard, sends missiles with destroy the jet. But Helen, along with the children, survives and makes it to the island, following the jet trails from the short range missiles, but Bob thinks they are dead.

Helen rescues Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Spencer Fox) by turning herself into a raft.

Leaving the children in a cave, Helen proceeds to the base to find Bob, discovering Syndrome's intentions to send the Omnidroid to Metroville in a rocket. Mirage, who is distraught when Syndrome acts indifferent to Incredible’s threat to kill her, releases Bob and informs him that his family is alive. Just when Bob hugs Mirage in celebration, Helen appears. Her suspicions realized, Bob has to convince her there’s nothing going on. The two end up racing after the children when alarms go off when they are spotted by security. Dash and Violet use their powers (Dash’s speed and Violet’s invisibility and force field capabilities) to escape their captors and are joined by their happy parents. But their freedom is short-lived when the whole family is captured by Syndrome; his plan is initiated.

The Incredible strike their iconic pose before being captured.

Violet manages to escape, but the family needs Mirage's help as well to get off the island. Using a security van, a rocket booster and Elastigirl’s stretchiness, they pursue Syndrome and the Omnidroid to Metroville. But the Omnidroid proves to be too intelligent for Syndrome and knocks the remote controls out of his grasp, knocking him unconscious and rampaging through the city.

Syndrome's Omnidroid about to wreck havoc on Metroville.

The Parrs and Lucius team up to fight the robot, but are losing until they use Syndrome's remote control and one of the Omnidroid’s detached pincers to blow a hole through the Omnidroid, the only thing strong enough to break inside, tearing out its power source and destroying it.

Lucius, aka Frozone, (Samuel L. Jackson) teams up with the Incredibles to stop the Omnidroid.

On their return home, the Parrs find Syndrome has taken over watching Jack-Jack from Kari, much to the teenager’s relief. But Syndrome intends to raise Jack-Jack as his own sidekick to seek revenge on the family. As Syndrome attempts to escape to his waiting jet, Jack-Jack, whom the family thought had no super powers of his own, shows that he has several, including turning into fire and becoming a lead weight. Syndrome drops the baby and Helen is thrown by Bob to intercept. Syndrome tries to escape in his jet, but Bob throws his own car at the jet, knocking Syndrome into the jet’s intake which catches his own cape in the blades of the engine, which sucks him in. The jet explodes and destroys the Parr's house, but Violet's force field shields the family.

Baby Jack-Jack, who no one thinks has any powers, becomes a handful for babysitter Kari.

Three months later, the Parrs have readjusted to normal life. Dash is allowed to participate in sports as long as he holds back. Violet has come out of her shell long enough to attract the attention of Tony Rydinger (Michael Bird), a popular boy at school, who asks her out. All seems right with the world, that is until a new villain called the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) tunnels up and invades the city. The family dons their superhero masks and prepares to face this new threat.

It wouldn't be a Pixar film without a vocal appearance by John
Ratzenberger, here appearing as a new villain, the Underminer.

The Incredibles would go onto win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and earn over $600 million at the worldwide boxoffice. Bird would take over the direction of Ratatouille (2007) and again win the Best Animated Feature Oscar. While the budget was 50% higher, Ratatouille, like The Incredibles would also earn more than $600 million worldwide. Bird would move on to live action films, directing Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011). He is currently working on Tomorrowland, co-written and co-produced with Damon Lindelof, and is expecting a release next year. And there are plans in the works for an Incredibles sequel.

It’s difficult for me to comment on the acting in an animated film. While the voice is very important, there are no screen captures, so much of the physical acting is animated. However, all the voices seem to hit the right notes so to speak.

The animation is typically amazing Pixar rendering. At this time the studio was setting the animation bar very high with not only incredible CGI, but amazing story-telling as well. That has arguably dropped off since, as Pixar, like all the studios, seems to rely on sequels: Toy Story 3 (2010), Cars 2 (2011) and Monsters University (2013) as they ramp up their output at the expense of invention. Their films seem to still do well at the box office, but the bloom of infallibility, which the studio once had, is off the rose by now.

Having recently watched The Incredibles again, I can tell you that it still holds up very well after ten years. It is still a lot of fun to watch and is definitely one of those family films that people over 10 can really enjoy. While I worry about Disney/Pixar going back to the well again, The Incredibles 2 is in pre-production, the magic is definitely present here and The Incredibles lives up to its name.