Independence Day (1996)

Directed by Roland Emmerich, this film was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year when it came out back in 1996, and it still stands up as one of the best examples of the disaster movie genre. And it is very much a genre film, ticking all the proverbial boxes with its many cliches and tropes.

As the fourth of July - Independence Day in the United States - approaches, a fleet of spacecraft are approaching Earth, and they don't seem to be coming in peace. In fact, as soon as they enter the atmosphere, they begin firing on most of the world's biggest monuments, leaving a path of great destruction.

President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) is immediately evacuated, along with his young daughter, and just in time, too: one of the many landmarks to be destroyed is the White House itself (this particular sequence was a huge shock when it happened in cinemas, and it is just as impressive as ever even today).

US President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman), with his band of advisors.

Ex-government advisor David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) is brought back to advise on a plan of action, as it seems he has an interesting insight into what the aliens might be planning: it seems they are indeed here to destroy all life on Earth, as they have done on several other planets already.

The military are enlisted to mount a massive counter-attack on the alien invaders, but it seems that everything they try isn't working. One of the many soldiers involved is Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith).

I won't go any further describing the plot; there are several other points I wish to make, however.

Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith).

The screenplay, by Dean Devlin & Roland Emmerich, is fairly typical of any film in this genre, and not in a good way. The characters are all simple caricatures, the standard characters one would expect to come across in any disaster movie. The plot too relies on cliche, and is far too predictable. While some might feel that these standards of the genre work to the film's advantage - given it is very much a genre film - I would respectfully disagree. Every single twist and turn of the plot can be seen and predicted far in advance, and the film doesn't tread any new ground whatsoever throughout its entire running time.

David Arnold's score is likewise predictable and cliched, and brings nothing new or noteworthy to the genre, or to the world of cinema. It is a score that could have been composed by anyone familiar with the genre, who need not necessarily have ever seen the film, as it is so typically standard of the genre, it could be transplanted into another similar film with no noticeable differences.

The cinematography, however, is interesting. While it is predominantly typical of the genre - surprise, surprise - there are some moments which still succeed in wowing an audience, primarily the sequences depicting the destruction of some of Earth's major landmarks, such as the aforementioned White House explosion scene. Most of these sequences were achieved with the use of incredibly realistic miniatures, but are shot in such a fantastic way as to not be obviously miniatures, adding to the realism of the moment.

The destruction of the White House is one of this film's most recognisable
sequences.

The performances of the cast are adequate for the genre, and typical of any such film, with no individual performance noteworthy enough to mention here. There is an appearance by Randy Quaid as former alien abductee Russell Casse - a character whose entire arc is again incredibly cliched, but nevertheless is an impressive performance.

Director Roland Emmerich has simply made yet another disaster film, that feels a little too much like a painting-by-numbers job. Having seen it several times now, including a recent re-watch for the purposes of this review, I can confidently state I wouldn't be too disappointed if I didn't watch it again, and there are not a lot of films which would make me say that.

4 out of 10.

Aladdin (2019)

The latest of Disney's live-action remakes of their classic animated films, this film tries to live up to the success of the 1992 original. And, in my opinion, it does a reasonable job.

I won't go into great detail on the plot, because I have already reviewed the animated version. But basically, Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is a young street kid having to steal on a daily basis just to get by.

One morning, he meets Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), who is in disguise, so he doesn't realise who she is. But the two of them connect on an emotional level, but due to their difference in status, it doesn't seem as though they can be together.

But Aladdin, desperate to see her again, breaks into the palace, where he is apprehended by Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), chief vizier to the Sultan (Navia Negahban). Jafar has his eyes on him, because he needs a common thief to go into the so-called Cave of Wonders and retrieve for him an oil lamp: a lamp he believes contains a genie who will help make his dreams come true, mainly his dream to become Sultan himself.

Aladdin ventures into the cave, but doesn't make it out again (at least at first). Finding the lamp for himself, he rubs it and releases a genie (Will Smith), who then gives Aladdin three wishes.

That ought to do for plot description. I'm sure most people reading this know the original film, so I'm just going to move onto the actual review.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, this version actually stands quite well as a film in its own right. Yes, the plot is almost identical to the original, and all the songs from the original are in this version, too. But there are some significant enough differences as well.

The music - by Alan Menken - is also of course the same, at least as far as the songs go. There is one additional song that was not in the original, but more on that later. All the new lyrics - both for the new song and some varied lyrics from the original lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice - are written by powerhouse duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (seriously, I am so in love with both of these guys; everything they write is absolutely sensational as far as I'm concerned).

There are also a couple of story/plot elements that are different, but I won't go into too much detail on those, as I don't want to spoil anything for you. The character of Jasmine is quite different in this version too; rather than being quite a passive character as she was in the animated film, she has her own strong desires and ideas, and is not afraid to voice them. She comes off as a very independent woman who knows what she wants, and what she deserves, and how to get both of them.

This is where that new song comes into play. The original film never had a strong, solo song for Jasmine to sing. But as the character here is that little bit different, this was something that needed to be incorporated: the so-called 'I Want' type of song that features in every musical. The song in question is titled 'Speechless', and is actually one of the best songs in the film; it is certainly the best performance of a song, with newcomer Naomi Scott being an incredible singer.

The entire cast are fabulous, actually. Naomi Scott - mentioned above - is by far the strongest character in this film. Mena Massoud as Aladdin also does a reasonable job with his portrayal, and Will Smith does what few people thought he could: bringing the genie - originally played by Robin Williams - to life in a way that pays great respect to Williams and his memory, but also makes the character his own in a wonderful way.

I must say, though, I didn't care much for Kenzari's Jafar. And I'm not just saying that because Jonathan Freeman - who voiced the character in the animated film - is amazing. Kenzari doesn't really bring any emotion to the role at all. He certainly doesn't bring any menace or threat which, for those who know the characters from the original, the character of Jafar needs in order to be any kind of decent antagonist to our band of heroes.

But the thing that makes this film the most different from the original is the sheer visual spectacle that it is. The large-scale musical numbers are absolutely gorgeous, thanks to production designer Gemma Jackson, costume designer Michael Wilkinson and, most of all, choreographer Leah Hill. These numbers feel even bigger and grander when performed by real people than they ever did in animated form.

All in all, the film is a wonderfully nostalgic journey back to the spectacle of the original animated film. The ending does tend to drag on a little, but overall, the film was incredibly enjoyable. I would certainly recommend it to fans of the original, there is enough about this film that is different, but also enough that is the same that you will enjoy it just as much.

9 out of 10.

(Note: You can read my review of the 1992 animated version here).

Focus (2014)

Nicky (Will Smith), a big-time con man, pulling in millions of dollars every year between his entire team of thieves, meets Jess (Margot Robbie), a small-time con artist, when she tries to get one over on him one night, and fails dismally.

She begs him to teach her the proper way to work a con, and teams up with his aforementioned already large team, including his closest friend and colleague, Farhad (Adrian Martinez).

Together, they execute one of the biggest cons in recent history, netting millions of dollars for only a few weeks work, culminating in a massive injection of cash from compulsive better Liyuan (BD Wong) in New Orleans.

After the job is over, however, they part ways, and not particularly amicably.

Three years later, they run into each other again in Buenos Aires, where Nicky is still conning wealthy people out of large sums of money, working for tech mogul Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro) and his bodyguard Owens (Gerald McRaney). Meanwhile, Jess has left that part of her life behind.

I can’t say any more than that, for fear of spoiling it for you. Suffice it to say, though, there are plenty of unexpected twists and turns before the film’s final, shocking conclusion.

The script by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa - who also directed the film - is incredibly clever, as you can probably guess. Any film of this type (such as the Ocean’s trilogy with George Clooney and Brad Pitt or, going back a little further, The Sting) has to have a very tight script, with plenty of twists as well as plenty of red herrings combined with plenty of action. This film has them all, and it is very enjoyable to experience these as a viewer. It had been some time for me between viewings (I saw this first in the cinema years ago, and then only once more for the purposes of writing this review), and it was like I was viewing them for the first time all over again.

The cinematography (by Xavier Grobet) is nothing particularly spectacular. I mean, it works fine, and everything is clear and well-framed, but there is nothing especially outlandish or noticeable about it.

Nick Urata’s score, however, is quite interesting. Almost none of the film is scored, believe it or not. There are a few songs in the soundtrack, but in terms of original score, it is very light. And this works so well for the film. Sometimes, the score can become distracting for the viewer, but that is not the case here. The portions which are scored are done so magnificently, with great subtlety, and the portions that are not (as I mentioned, this is the majority of the film) are able to take centre stage without being bogged down in unnecessary music.

Beth Mickle’s production design and Dayna Pink’s costumes are both stunning. I particularly want to mention the costumes here, specifically the myriad of outfits that Jess wears. These are all so well designed and fitted, it is truly a joy to behold.

The cast are all fantastic here, too. Those who needed it did actually have the instruction of a sleight-of-hand expert (and con artist) on set, in order to fine tune the necessary moves and misdirection they needed to learn. These moves are all executed flawlessly, to the extent that you can believe that they have been doing this stuff for years.

Of particular note is Margot Robbie’s performance as Jess, which is - in my opinion - one of the highlights of her career, certainly up to this point in 2014, if not beyond. Even though she is not the protagonist here (that, I would say, is Will Smith’s character), she most definitely steals the show with her portrayal of her character.

The directors (who, as you may recall, wrote the screenplay) have made a truly magnificent thriller here, one that I ought to see again, perhaps a little sooner this time around.

7 1/2 out of 10.