But sometimes action films go overboard, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your taste. Can you live with the fact that someone fired 22 rounds without reloading? Or that no one could take a punch like that and get up? If so, then you should be fine with checking out these recent releases.
‘X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE’
Of all the characters in the Marvel stable, Wolverine has been one of the most beloved. And when the X-Men films were released, it was no surprise that Wolvie was the breakout character, making Hugh Jackman a star by playing the steel-clawed wildman.
It also was clear that by dint of the character’s popularity, a standalone film for Wolverine was in the cards, and X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (PG-13, ** 1/2 stars) is the result.
But the feral power and conflicted nature of Wolverine isn’t fully fleshed out in the film, and what we’re left with is a very familiar story that will leave comic book purists disappointed and average action fans underwhelmed.
As the title implies, the movie delves into how brothers Logan (Jackman) and Victor (Liv Schreiber) become Wolverine and Sabretooth, men/mutants of superhuman strength and regenerative ability.
Unfortunately, we get the same old stuff about a dictatorial general (Danny Huston), rogue team members, betrayal, and the murder of the woman that Logan loves, leading to his eventual agreement to be submitted to the Weapon X program, which eventually turns him into the adamantium-powered Wolverine.
This leads to the second-half of the film, which is filled with sloppy CGI fights, double-crosses and the kind of repetitive action that leaves a lot to be desired when you’re dealing with some of the genre’s best characters.
Should I blame director Gavin Hood, whose previous work includes somber dramas, for not being able to handle high-octane action? Or the screenwriter who felt it necessary to throw in everything but the kitchen sink, giving short shrift to just about every other character?
I’m not sure anyone was totally happy with the finished product, as this was undergoing reshoots up until the last minute in a frantic attempt to make sure the $150 million-plus budget would get recouped.
Wolverine fits Jackman like a glove, and the actor snarls and charges his way through the role. But somehow, Wolvie becomes less interesting the more we find out about him. I would have preferred a different kind of Wolverine movie, and maybe I’ll get it with the inevitable sequel.
‘CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE’
I write for a living, yet I’m not sure I can find the words to describe how crazy CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE (R, **) is. Yes, the first film is over the top, but this movie takes over the top and multiplies it by five, then pours a case of Red Bull on it and lights it on fire.
Imagine a live-action version of “Grand Theft Auto” and here you are. But video games and movies are separate entities, so while you can have fun wantonly committing crimes on your Xbox, you still need a plot to have an entertaining movie, which isn’t the case here.
At the end of the first film, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) fell from a helicopter, landed on a car and bounced onto the street. Dead, right? Apparently not, as a gang of Chinese Triad members scoop him off the street, take his heart out and implant an artificial one.
So when Chev wakes up, he goes on a one-man crime spree to get his real ticker back. In order to keep his fake heart powered, however, he needs the jolt of energy given by say, oh, attaching a jumper cable to your tongue and getting a charge.
And so Chev powers through the streets of L.A. simultaneously searching for his heart (which has been given to a lecherous Chinese gangster played by the late David Carradine) while avoiding the henchmen of the nefarious Ferret (Clifton Collins Jr.), who has his own personal reasons for going after Chev.
Writer-directors Neveldine/Taylor are seemingly comfortable with pushing the limits at every potential opportunity, but where there was originality and fun in the first film, there’s a much darker tone here, and I think it makes the cartoony violence and ugly characters less enjoyable.
And while I’m a big Statham fan, this is the first movie he’s been in where I didn’t like him – probably more a testament to the “screenplay” that Statham himself.
But if you’ve ever wanted to see a movie with Corey Haim and Ron Jeremy, public lovemaking at a racetrack, a dream sequence Godzilla fight, and Ginger Spice, this is the film for you.
‘HARPER’S ISLAND’
You don’t see many action/horror shows on TV these days, which may be part of the reason why HARPER’S ISLAND (unrated, ***) never found a bigger audience.
But this 13-week, one-season-only series about some really gruesome murders that take place “Ten Little Indians”-style during a wedding celebration was engaging, thanks to its shock value and central mystery.
At the time, I thought this was probably the most-violent show I’d ever seen on network TV, which made me surprised that it aired on CBS – but when you think about it, the Tiffany Network is home to arguably the most intense slate of shows on the air. (What that says about the 35-54 demographic, CBS’s bread and butter, is left up for debate.)
Anyway, this show revolves around the destination wedding of Trish (Katie Cassidy, now in the “Melrose Place” reboot) and Henry (Christopher Gorham) on the tiny Harper’s Island, just off the coast of Seattle.
Some 10 years before, however, a serial killer struck the island, leaving a deadly path in his wake. One of the wedding guests, Abby (Elaine Cassidy), saw her mother murdered, leaving her emotionally scarred upon her return to the island.
It doesn’t get any better for Abby when the bodies start piling up, although it takes awhile for people to start getting really concerned, or, for that matter, to call off the wedding.
Part of the fun is guessing which character will get it next, and I’ve got to give credit to whoever came up with the sick ways in which our victims get offed.
I was less satisfied with the “whodunit” angle of the show, which strained believability one too many times simply for the sake of moving the plot along, but I can live with that.
I’d like to see more shows do the one-and-done thing, but since CBS quickly shuffled this off to Saturday nights (the TV dead zone), I don’t expect it will happen anytime soon.
