Pacific Rim: That Was Great, But...

REWRITE: PACIFIC RIM (2013)

You ever have that moment when you see a great film (or even a marginally good film) and you leave the theater with your heart swollen in your chest and your adrenaline zipping like fire through your veins, and yet as soon as you hit the Exit sign, you hear yourself saying, "That was great, but..."

That happens to me far more often than I'd care to admit. So I figured I'd myself give a platform for it. We'll see how long this feature lasts. Basically, I'll make suggest a rewrite on a film and you guys get to either defend the film, side with the rewrite, or come up with your own. Naturally, I'm not going to do this for films like The Room, because we could spend all day in rewrite hell for that one, but just when I have something nagging at the back of my head, I'll pitch it and see what you all think. Capisce?

I'm starting with Pacific Rim (2013) because I did actually really, really enjoy that film. But...you know. That was great, but...(under read more for spoilers)

"Hush. The Devil Will Hear You."

DEADFALL (2012)

Keep up your everything, good sir.

The more I get into film--and I mean, really into film, dissecting films, writing films, reviewing films--the harder it gets to sit back and just enjoy a movie. It's Einstein's Law of Lovability, you take apart the things you love too much, and eventually you leave every theatre going, "It was great! But...[enter itemized minor nit-picky complaints for the next thirty minutes]." So it's rare a movie can draw me in, really draw me in, to the point where I stop critiquing and remember why I love movies so much in the first place.

Because they're just a hell of a lot of fun. 

Deadfall is just that. It's not a particularly perfect movie by any means. You're not going to finish it with a great philosophical weight lifted off your chest. But it's a fun, shameless movie about two quasi-incestual (aw, who are we kidding, they got all up in the incest) felons (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) who are on the fun from the cops. It's also about a cop (Kate Mara) with feminine issues (and it has nothing to do with her tampon) and a recently-released prisoner (Charlie Hunnam) who's dead set on avoiding his father for Thanksgiving. Basically, everyone's got a chip on their shoulder and, spoiler alert, everyone will have to very directly confront their shit in the third act. So maybe it gets a little heavy-handed by the end, and maybe some characters were redeemed that shouldn't have been, and maybe the CGI snow fell a little too awkwardly...

Whoops, there I go, critiquing again. The point is, while watching this movie, it's very easy to get sucked into the internal drama and--let's say it like it is--general fucked-upness of all the characters. Really, the main draw of the film is one Eric Bana, who plays the wild-card brother who will kill, threaten, and generally do what he has to in order to protect him and his sister (y'know, as long as no little kids are involved). He's a great, well-written character who keeps you engaged in his own internal demons throughout the entire movie; plus, I just really enjoy watching Eric Bana be a resourceful and mildly-sadistic fuck. The movie's honestly not that long (a clean 95 minutes) and it's on Netflix, so there's really no good reason not to watch it. Just sit back, turn off your brain, and enjoy a little good, solid, murderous fun. 

P.S.: This should also be known as the one time Olivia Wilde's face did not annoy me. And by "face," I mean "legs."