Set in the year of Lion King and Four Weddings, Transformers : Rise Of The Beasts takes the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons back to 1994. Cue lots of cultural references which parents will appreciate, and a refreshing spin on the Transformers franchise.
The plot is exceedingly daft, and revolves around finding two halves of a magic key, but this is a fun ride. As with a lot of big budget movies, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is far higher than that awarded by the critic, but I think this is way more enjoyable and interesting than the brash Michael Bay Transformers films.
Amazingly, it's the seventh film in the franchise series, and contains a wicked soundtrack, including SWV, Tribe Called Quest, and Notorious B.I.G. I thought Dominique Fishback was a highlight as Elena, and my only criticism would be that the running time was a little excessive. Make your own mind up, but I have added this to my top ten most enjoyed films so far this year.
Sisu is a bit like John Wick set in the final days of World War 2, and sees our hero discovering a haul of gold in the desert, and attempting to pay it into the nearest bank. The downside is that the bank branch is miles away. Northern Finland has even fewer branches than Hyde. There's also the small matter of Nazis enacting a scorched-earth policy of razing any building to the ground as they retreat.
The violence is pulpy, and the film has a bit of a B-movie vibe. I'm glad it made it to the multiplex, as it was beautifully shot and contained nice moments of humour amongst the unrelenting gore. The unusual title 'Sisu' refers to a Finnish word that has no direct translation, but essentially means "a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwheming odds".
It reminded me at times of the best 80s action movies, and the 91 minute running time whizzed by. The Radio Times' critic described it as "popcorn gore at its absurdly enjoyable finest", and it was certainly satisfying watching the captured women take their sweet revenge on their smirking captors. If you are not a fan of violent films, this really isn't the one for you. But I liked the dry humour, comic book style chapters, and the lead performance by Jorma Tommila was ace.
Finally for this week, I caught EO on Blu-Ray. I think it's the first film I've seen which depicts the world through the eyes of a donkey, as we follow EO the grey donkey on his travels. He is naturally trusting of people, and that is not always rewarded sadly. It has a lot to say about our treatment of animals, and kindness, without ever feeling preachy or that it's guiding us towards what to think. Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has come up with something truly original, and it's definitely worth 90 minutes of your time. The cutest donkey since the miniature one in the Banshees of Inisherin.
