Tag Archives: Jason Statham

Mutiny

For a film director, a cat and mouse game on a large container ship presents a world of opportunities. Such a ship has all sorts of nooks and crannies, ladders and stairs to climb up or down, corners to lurk behind or spring from. Not to mention the containers and what might be inside them.

Intrigue in the innards of a ship (or above on various decks) has been a movie staple for decades, most famously maybe in Titanic.

Director Jean-François Richet has exploited these possibilities well in his new film Mutiny. It helps that he has the excellent action-adventure actor Jason Statham in the lead role. 

Cole Reed (Statham) is the security guy and driver for a Bangkok billionaire Tibu Campallo (Ramon Tikaram) who is selling his shipping empire. On the evening of the event marking his stepping away from the business, the billionaire is murdered and Reed is blamed. Reed, needing to disappear, manages to stow away on a cargo ship, the Artemis, that he discovers is involved in human trafficking.

In an early scene aboard the Artemis, captain Marko Madsen (Roland Moller) fondles a necklace in what may be a reverential nod to The Caine Mutiny in which Caine (Humphrey Bogart) nervously rolls steel balls around in his hands.

Angie Ellis (Annabelle Wallis) is a last-minute addition to the ship’s crew. She quickly sniffs out that something is not quite right. She soon becomes Reed’s ally in the effort to control the ship. She and he are the mice, moving throughout the ship to avoid being caught by the cats, the captain and his henchmen. She also adds sex appeal to a male-dominated cast. 

You might guess what some of the key elements of this drawn out battle are. Gunplay for sure. Knives and other weapons get their turn too. 

After Reed departs the Artemis, there’s more revenge to be taken before the film ends. Run time is just over 90 minutes. The film is tight. Never drags. Yes, it is filled with action-adventure clichés, but it satisfies. Director Richet and star Statham accomplish exactly what this sort of film sets out to do. Kudos to all!

Mutiny is rated R. No sex or nudity but violence galore.

Leave a comment

Furious 7

Furious 7 brings exhilarating vehicle chases, violent hand-to-hand combat, fiery explosions, a really bad bad guy, a tribute to a fallen star and… Kurt Russell!

Not to mention skydiving cars and trucks, a visit to the glossy Abu Dhabi, a major cat fight and computer snooping worse than anything the NSA has come up with.

But Furious 7 is not just about the spectacle of reckless actions in and out of cars. It’s also about the camaraderie of the ensemble. They are courageous (mostly) and cool to be sure, but they also have a bit of fun and some tender moments, too.

The poster for Furious 7 has a double meaning. It’s the 7th film in the series and the 7 people shown are the key characters. Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Hobbs (Dwayne [The Rock] Johnson), Tej (Ludacris), Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are the team that takes on the Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) and terrorist Jakande (Djimon Hounsou).

Shaw, a former British black ops killer, is bent on avenging the death of his brother (from Furious 6) and Jakande wants to grab the God’s Eye computer program. Meanwhile, the Furious crew is recruited by Mr. Noboby (Kurt Russell) to fetch the programmer who can help prevent God’s Eye from getting into the wrong hands. She’s the gorgeous Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).

Not that you should be concerned with the plot. Just enjoy the chases, the crashes, the close calls, the mayhem and the energy Furious 7 delivers to the screen. Director James Wan doesn’t let the respites from action last very long.

What about Paul Walker? He died 16 months ago when he crashed his Porsche, but his character Brian is a vital part of the film. Over half of the scenes were shot before he died. His brothers worked as stand-ins and CGI can do amazing things. There’s a nice sequence at the end of the movie that remembers Paul Walker.

Furious 7 is a review-proof movie. It will be huge. Last year’s Captain America: Winter Soldier set the April record with a $95 million open. Expect Dom, Brian and crew to zoom past that mark.

Leave a comment