J-Bang Reviews Present: Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation follows Ethan Hunt and his disavowed "Impossible Mission Force" on a journey to expose and stop a secret group of terrorist known as the Syndicate. The Syndicate is basically the evil opposite of Ethan Hunt's I.M.F. so it's safe to say this proved to be a fun and exhilarating dynamic for this latest entry of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Rogue Nation is your typical summer action movie (which is funny because this film was originally supposed to be released the same time Star Wars was) filled with big moments and slick espionage, but the best characteristic of this movie is its unpredictability. Since the Syndicate is a shadow organization, it hard to tell who is either an innocent bystander or an agent of the enemy. There are twists and turns all over this film, and it is because of that, I never lost interest while watching it. That being said, the action is top-notch too. I was surprised to see that the biggest stunt of this movie just so happened to be in the first scene. I thought opening up with that action stunt was a bad move at first, but as the film progressed, evidently there were more action set pieces that were bigger and more fun to watch than the opening scene, my favorites specifically being the Opera House fight, water tank task and the motorcycle chase.

Rogue Nation's biggest strength also lies within it's characters, specifically Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Sean Harris, and notably Rebecca Ferguson, Ferguson's character, Ilsa, proved to be the most interesting character of the movie, simply because she was, in fact, unpredictable. Her allegiance to which side was questioned and unknown to both parties, she was cool and calm with her approach in situations and best of all, she wasn't a damsel in distress. She was simultaneously kick-ass and mysterious. Just as mysterious was the film's villain, Soloman Lane, played by Sean Harris. His methods seemed sinister and just his LACK of presence questioned the characters own motives. Like "Did we steal this, or did Lane want us to steal it as part of his bigger plan" type dynamic. It was cause for an interesting play of cat-and-mouse, trying to figure out who was who. The only flaws I had with Rogue Nation was that I had trouble comprehending Lane's true motivations. Did Lane want to destroy Ethan Hunt, keep his organization and himself secret or did he want to get rich and get revenge? It was kind of weird and murky towards the end. Plus, with all the swerves and 180's in the movie, I feel it's only worth seeing once rather than multiple times. Certain films like that tend to loose their novelty after one or two viewing because then, after the third time, you will know what's gonna happen. But that just an opinion of my own, it could be a different scenario for someone else, but that's just me. 

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a fun and engaging spy thriller that's sure to capture the attention span of those that view. it. Rogue Nation gets a rather compelling 4 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: Ted 2

Ted 2 debuted in theaters nationwide June 26th, I finally got around to seeing it...today! Today as in "July 23rd" today. I'm usually never this late to seeing a movie but with Ted, it just seemed like I never found the time. So since I've figured most of you have already seen Ted 2, for this J-Bangin Review, I've decided to do something rare. This piece will not only be a review but it will also be a "spoilercast," meaning I'll specifically talk about the things and scenes that I did, and didn't like in the film. Glad we cleared the air, now lets begin!

After the events that occurred in "Ted," "Ted 2" follows the foul-mouth talking teddy bear, Ted and his wife, Tami-Lynn's quest to adopt a baby. Once they find out they can't adopt a baby, they also find out that Ted is technically not a person, thus, he is considered property and has no human rights. Distraught over this revelation, Ted (Seth Macfarlane), his best friend, John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), and their new friend/ lawyer, Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) go on a mission to get Ted his rights back. The movie is hilarious, no question about it. When you get the same mind that has created "Family Guy" and "American Dad" to direct a comedy like this, that classic Seth Macfarlane humor is expected.

Ted 2's biggest strengths is the on-screen chemistry between Seth Macfarlane and Mark Wahlberg. The two of them together makes the idea of a grown man having a talking teddy bear as a best friend seem plausible. The jokes seem to be more gross than usual between the two as well. Whether it was smoking weed from a penis shaped bong, or being drowned in a sea of semen, Ted 2 isn't afraid to gross out the audiences. Ted 2 also gets bonus points for some equally hilarious cameos from celebrities. My favorite was definitely the Liam Neeson cameo that included a weird interest in Trix cereal. Ted 2 has it's moments, but not all of them are positive either. Some scenes ultimately didn't land there mark with me. Certain scenes ran longer than needed, such as the opening credits dance sequence. It first it was kind of funny how unorthodox it was, but the longer it went, the more quickly I wanted it to end. The same could be said for the library montage between Ted, John, and Sam. It was funny at first but moments later...meh. Another issue is that as the story continues, the plot seems to get lost among the jokes and somehow reverts back into the finale of the first movie, with Ted getting chased by his creepy stalker, Donny (Giovanni Ribisi) who somehow found his way back into the movie.I absolutely hate the character of Donny, not because I'm suppose to, but because he seems to come off as the Wile E Coyote villain from the old Roadrunner cartoons. He was fine in the first movie simply because he worked as the conflict the plot needed, but in Ted 2, he just seems like a straight cartoon character. Hell, he even dressed up as a ninja turtle to disguise himself.

By the end of this movie, I consider the first Ted to have a better story than Ted 2. Yet, Ted 2 has alot more funny moments than the first Ted. It kind of has a "Ying-Yang" dynamic to it, but overall, I found Ted 2 to be a fun good time, despite it's flaws. Ted 2 gets a score of 3.7 out of 5!

J-Bang Reviews Present: Ant-Man

Before it was released on July 17th, Ant-Man was being predicted as Marvel Studios' first flop, simply because of how ridiculous and unrealistic the title character's skill set was. I mean at first glance, a hero who has the power to shrink and control ants does sound a little ludacris, but such a synopsis didn't stop me from seeing it on opening day. 117 minutes later, I found myself gasping for air because I laughed too much and too hard from watching this film. To put it in layman's terms, Ant-Man is one of the funniest movies Marvel has produced since Guardians of the Galaxy. Besides its upbeat humor though, Ant-Man does manage to tell a compelling and entertaining story while depending on character motivations and actor performances instead of special effects (Although the Visual Effects were pretty rad too)

Ant-Man is still a superhero movie, but it is a heist film at heart. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) recruits common thief, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) to help him steal a militarized replica of the Ant-Man suit called "The Yellow Jacket," before it can get sold to warmongers by Pym's former protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll). As the story progresses, it feels like the main theme of the story is redemption. Whether it's Scott trying to redeem himself of his past crimes, or Hank trying to redeem himself of his past failures, every characters' intentions have a clear and understandable motive.   

And speaking of characters, everyone mostly fits into their roles. Michael Pena's Luis is a surprising show-stealer while Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly continue to give out the great performances you expect from them. Hell, even the ants have been given such good personality traits, that it even makes the most annoying of insects likable. The action is spread out gracefully, and fun to watch transpire on screen.

The only problems Ant-Man has are relatively small (no pun intended). The film, although perfectly spaced out, does feel somewhat short. Like out of all the Marvel movies that have come out since 2008, this feels like the shortest in terms of run time. (Which might be good for mainstream viewers) And the villain (Darren Cross/ Yellow Jacket) is problematic in a strange way. He's more sinister than he is evil. I can buy into his motivations before he puts on the Yellow Jacket suit, but after, he feels like he's suppose to put on the suit and become Yellow Jacket because the script demands a final showdown between the hero and the villain. Granted, the final battle is pretty entertaining and tastefully different from other superhero movies.

 

Other than it's minor problems, Ant-Man is a hilarious, good time at the theaters. Ant-Man gets a J-Bang score of 4 out of 5.

J-Bang Reviews Present: Terminator: Genisys

So I walked into the theater to watch Terminator: Genisys with zero expectations. My thoughts were if I were to see this movie with no opinions about it whatsoever, it would be easier for me to allow myself to enjoy it. (if that makes senses) Once the movie started rolling its credits, I was left, well, indifferent and uninspired.

 

Terminator: Genisys follows Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) time-traveling back to 1984 to stop a Terminator sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke).  Sarah Connor just so happens to be the mother of John Connor, (Jason Clarke) the leader of the resistance that fights an army of robots called Skynet in a post apocalyptic future. Instead of traveling back to save Sarah Connor, Kyle is transported into an alternate timeline, where Sarah Connor is a fearless warrior that is protected by a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent prior to 1984 to protect her. As they attempt to figure out what causes the alternate timeline, they rush to stop an artificial intelligence called "Genisys" (Skynet in disguise) from launching a catastrophic assault on humanity while also fending off John Connor, who is now a new version of a Terminator. Now usually, I would consider the whole "John Conner-conundrum" a "spoiler," but since the studio decided that they would release that bit of info any chance they could get in every trailer/ tv spot, I see that I am doing no damage whatsoever. Dumb move on the part of the studio, because that John Connor/ Terminator plot could have been a really good twist for the story. Too bad, I guess.

Anyway, the plot gets really confusing and somewhat repetitive as the plot progresses, (Which is predictable when it comes to time-travel stories) but for such an ambitious plot device, I was disappointed in how conservative they were with the time-traveling concept. For example, the only years Kyle, Sarah and the Guardian explored was 1984 (the past), 2017(not our present but I guess it was suppose to be?), and 2029 (the future). The best movie out of the Terminator franchise was and still is "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," so why not give us the chance to explore the nostalgia of the 90s? There were plenty of Easter eggs and nods of the original Terminator movie. The only nods to "Judgment Day" are basically small characters name-dropped in 2017 and the existence of the T-1000. This is unacceptable. What is also unacceptable is how surprisingly generic the action is. The basic blueprint of Terminator: Genisys's action scenes are basically: Shoot the indestructible robot with as many bullets as you can! (It won't do damage, but it's better than doing nothing...) Robot vs. Robot fight scene! Keep shooting! Human vs. Robot fight scene! Car chase! Are we out of ammo yet? Nope! Keep shooting! Chase scene but with helicopters! Robot vs. Robot fight yet again! and etc. Although there are a few cool moments in those action scenes, for me personally, they're not as memorable as the ones in "The Terminator" or "Terminator: Judgment Day." Besides its notable negatives, the positives of this movie do come from the cast itself. The character interactions are great between Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, and especially Arnold Schwarzenegger, who delivers a just as memorable performance as he did in Terminator 2. Arnold is a more humorous character in this film than he was in previous iterations, but he still kicks ass as an older model of a T-800. He is by far, the best character of the movie. Another thing I also liked about the movie is even though the action is somewhat generic, the finishes to them are spectacularly different in their own unique ways. Whether it's a bullet to the robotic neck, an acid bath, or a dive-bomb to a helicopter, I admire the different methods of defeat that keep this film from repeating itself.

 

If you want to go and see Terminator: Genisys, that is your choice and yours alone, but if you want to skip seeing Terminator: Genisys, believe me, you're not missing anything special. I give Terminator: Genisys a score of 3.5 out of 5.