The Godfather
10-02-2005, 01:14 AM
Hey crew-
Just got back from seeing the movie with some friends. After all of the less than positive reviews, quite frankly we weren't sure what to expect. I can say that we were pleasantly surprised. Is it a good movie? Gosh, no. Is it a bad movie? No, not at all. It's a mindless two hour long popcorn film with a lot of beautiful scenery and some awfully good looking young bodies. So onwards then and please- be forewarned- there will be spoilers in this.
THE PLOT:
Sam (Alba) and Jared (Walker) are two lovers who spend the sum of their days on the water. She trains sharks and he's a scuba instructor. Or maybe a scuba tour guide considering that very instructors I know of would have actually passed some of the people he was down in the water with. Sam appears to be pretty content with their life, but Jared wants more. He wants the big find- the sunken ship with all of the dough that will set them up for life. Enter best friend from childhood Bryce (Caan) and his new squeeze, a girl he's known for less than 14 hours, Amanda (Scott). Bryce, being a criminal defense attorney, has access to one hell of a beautiful beachfront mansion and a pretty sweet boat. The foursome immediately take it out and during one of their diving expeditions, they come across a sunken planewreck- full of dead bodies and millions of dollars of cocaine. Close to the plane is another wreck- this one belonging to a slave turned pirate from 1865- the Zephyr is the name of the ship and well apparently back in 1865 it's loot was worth tens of millions so well, it's a hellacious find. Enter avarice. Enter villains. Enter underwater drama. Add the three together and there you go.
THE CHARACTERS:
There are really five main characters here.
The first is Jared , played by Paul Walker . Look, I love Paul to death. I could watch him turn the pages of a phonebook. No, really. And he was just fine here. I mean, he looked great, even though some of his tees were a bit...odd. However that was usually dealt with by just having him shirtless. Still, the character was the dreamer always searching for a way to make it big. In reality we have other terms for people like this, but it worked well for the movie. And as is usual for a Paul Walker character, Jared was bristling with self-righteous fury. The character was flat and largely heroic- given very few vices beyond his simple inability to hold down a job. Blah, blah. Still, acceptable.
Jessica Alba played the only character with any morals in the film- shark tamer Sam . Interestingly, despite her having been introduced as being familiar and comfortable with the great finned ones, this really wasn't used as much as you would expect. Yes, in the end there was a scene that I suppose you could derive was meant to imply her understanding of these massive creatures of the deep, but really, hmm. Anyhow, where as I suppose her ethical center should been refreshing in a film about greed. it was mostly just annoying. Not annoying in a manner that kills the movie, but rather in a way that makes you not really care when she's not on screen. When she's there, okay, fine, but when she's not, the movie didn't really slow as it probably should have. That said, Alba brought two things to the film- a fantastic always on-display body and a scene in the end where she got to kick some ass and it was hard not to cheer. Sam wasn't all that interesting, but she, too, like Walker, was a serviceable part.
Scott Caan played Bryce with the kind of swarmy charm that you either are amused by or you feel the need to go shower after watching. I read a lot of reviews that either called him boorish or charismatic and frankly, after seeing the film, I can understand the difference of opinion. Most of the group I was with, liked him. He was self-involved, a bit slimy and came off as having the common sense of a road turd and yet there was something oddly endearing about him. Here he was, this guy who comes swaggering in with a new piece of ass and he gets them all in trouble because all he can think of is his groin and his pocketbook and yet, when it counts, he comes through. He's also spiced with one scene that adds him a bit of depth- half-way through the film, there's a dance scene. Ashley's character Amanda has disappeared so he goes to find her. He sees with a drug-dealer, a bit too close. He steps in and says, "she's my girl". Amanda holds up some coke and offers to share. He tosses it away and the dealer says, "how you going to pay?" Amanda indicates that her body was to have been the price. Bryce snaps and punches the dealer. I thought it was interesting- the dude who has no problems selling the drugs for profit can't deal with using or the body trade. He was probably my favorite character in the film and honestly, I'm not completely sure why.
And of course, Ashley Scott played Amanda . The only real background we're given on her was that she raised in a Catholic boarding school. I guess somehow that rather fit the whole selling her body for drugs and as Sam later calls her, being a "coke whore". I'm not completely sure how the film wanted us to approach her character. Was she to be hated? If so, why an end for her that evoked probably the only genuine emotion in the movie? Was she too be pitied? No, I don't think so. This character wasn't bad, nor evil. She was greedy and while that's certainly not the best trait in the world, it's also hardly the worst. However it was enough to make the sweet innocence that was Sam despise her. Early on in the film, after the initial plane find, Amanda tries to take off with some coke and well Sam puts the kibosh on that. Later, the whole plan is simple- sell the coke in order to finance a grander expedition- to lay a claim to the Zephyr. This is silly, naive and rather idiotic, but it's hardly what I'd call evil. Her character was at best amoral, but the story treated her oddly. First, Bryce indicates that he'd just met her 14 hours before he meets up with Jared, and yet he's clearly romantically involved with her. Then Bryce tells Jared that he plans to cut Amanda out of the find- after all she's not family. Then just moments later, he decks the drug dealer for insisting on taking Amanda's body as payment. Maybe he's just being heroic, but frankly if all she is is a 14 hour sex toy, there's no real point to it. That scene indicated far more emotion than the actual lines of dialogue allowed for. Later on, after Amanda meets her grisly fate, Bryce again shows a good deal of emotion; but the dialogue once again betrays such by having him say he'd only known her for five days and why should he care. As such, despite the fact that her character is oddly the most well-rounded of all(which isn't much albeit), she's treated by the script as well, not even being a plot point. She's brought in for little reason and killed for less. Still, she's amply on display for much of the movie- including a scene on the boat in which she faces off with harbour patrol, completely topless. I'm not a fan of the hairstyle she employs in the film, but she still looked good for the most part.
The final character is played by Josh Brolin He's the captain of a salvager, but of course he's far more maniacal than that. He does well in the part, including have a few extremely funny lines- something about Santa Claus being a coke dealer- but again, he's largely just a cardboard villain. That said, his final battle with Jared at the end of the film was pretty cool and definately memorable.
OVERALL:
You might think from everything above that I didn't like the film. That's not true at all. Sometimes you go to movies looking for a hell of a story, something that will move you and make you think. Other times you go for two hours of mindless distraction and amusement. Tonight's film was certainly the latter of the two. It was a popcorn thriller- any easily digestible piece of exciting and beautiful fluff. I had problems with it- the script could have used some characterization assistance. Had I been writing this, I would have made Bryce and Amanda actual steadies. The script wouldn't have changed much, but it would have added a thin layer of emotional truth. And I think that probably would have been enough.
The film was gorgeous, of course. If you've ever had the fortune to go underwater, either scuba-diving or snorkeling, you know what I mean. The vibrant colors of the sealife below was breathtaking. And the actors all looked terribly natural in the water.
I probably wouldn't recommend this film for the late show. Spending ten bucks on it is a bit excessive, but if you hit a matinee or rent it from NetFlix down the line, I doubt you'll be overly disappointed. It's light and airy fun.
-Shawn
Just got back from seeing the movie with some friends. After all of the less than positive reviews, quite frankly we weren't sure what to expect. I can say that we were pleasantly surprised. Is it a good movie? Gosh, no. Is it a bad movie? No, not at all. It's a mindless two hour long popcorn film with a lot of beautiful scenery and some awfully good looking young bodies. So onwards then and please- be forewarned- there will be spoilers in this.
THE PLOT:
Sam (Alba) and Jared (Walker) are two lovers who spend the sum of their days on the water. She trains sharks and he's a scuba instructor. Or maybe a scuba tour guide considering that very instructors I know of would have actually passed some of the people he was down in the water with. Sam appears to be pretty content with their life, but Jared wants more. He wants the big find- the sunken ship with all of the dough that will set them up for life. Enter best friend from childhood Bryce (Caan) and his new squeeze, a girl he's known for less than 14 hours, Amanda (Scott). Bryce, being a criminal defense attorney, has access to one hell of a beautiful beachfront mansion and a pretty sweet boat. The foursome immediately take it out and during one of their diving expeditions, they come across a sunken planewreck- full of dead bodies and millions of dollars of cocaine. Close to the plane is another wreck- this one belonging to a slave turned pirate from 1865- the Zephyr is the name of the ship and well apparently back in 1865 it's loot was worth tens of millions so well, it's a hellacious find. Enter avarice. Enter villains. Enter underwater drama. Add the three together and there you go.
THE CHARACTERS:
There are really five main characters here.
The first is Jared , played by Paul Walker . Look, I love Paul to death. I could watch him turn the pages of a phonebook. No, really. And he was just fine here. I mean, he looked great, even though some of his tees were a bit...odd. However that was usually dealt with by just having him shirtless. Still, the character was the dreamer always searching for a way to make it big. In reality we have other terms for people like this, but it worked well for the movie. And as is usual for a Paul Walker character, Jared was bristling with self-righteous fury. The character was flat and largely heroic- given very few vices beyond his simple inability to hold down a job. Blah, blah. Still, acceptable.
Jessica Alba played the only character with any morals in the film- shark tamer Sam . Interestingly, despite her having been introduced as being familiar and comfortable with the great finned ones, this really wasn't used as much as you would expect. Yes, in the end there was a scene that I suppose you could derive was meant to imply her understanding of these massive creatures of the deep, but really, hmm. Anyhow, where as I suppose her ethical center should been refreshing in a film about greed. it was mostly just annoying. Not annoying in a manner that kills the movie, but rather in a way that makes you not really care when she's not on screen. When she's there, okay, fine, but when she's not, the movie didn't really slow as it probably should have. That said, Alba brought two things to the film- a fantastic always on-display body and a scene in the end where she got to kick some ass and it was hard not to cheer. Sam wasn't all that interesting, but she, too, like Walker, was a serviceable part.
Scott Caan played Bryce with the kind of swarmy charm that you either are amused by or you feel the need to go shower after watching. I read a lot of reviews that either called him boorish or charismatic and frankly, after seeing the film, I can understand the difference of opinion. Most of the group I was with, liked him. He was self-involved, a bit slimy and came off as having the common sense of a road turd and yet there was something oddly endearing about him. Here he was, this guy who comes swaggering in with a new piece of ass and he gets them all in trouble because all he can think of is his groin and his pocketbook and yet, when it counts, he comes through. He's also spiced with one scene that adds him a bit of depth- half-way through the film, there's a dance scene. Ashley's character Amanda has disappeared so he goes to find her. He sees with a drug-dealer, a bit too close. He steps in and says, "she's my girl". Amanda holds up some coke and offers to share. He tosses it away and the dealer says, "how you going to pay?" Amanda indicates that her body was to have been the price. Bryce snaps and punches the dealer. I thought it was interesting- the dude who has no problems selling the drugs for profit can't deal with using or the body trade. He was probably my favorite character in the film and honestly, I'm not completely sure why.
And of course, Ashley Scott played Amanda . The only real background we're given on her was that she raised in a Catholic boarding school. I guess somehow that rather fit the whole selling her body for drugs and as Sam later calls her, being a "coke whore". I'm not completely sure how the film wanted us to approach her character. Was she to be hated? If so, why an end for her that evoked probably the only genuine emotion in the movie? Was she too be pitied? No, I don't think so. This character wasn't bad, nor evil. She was greedy and while that's certainly not the best trait in the world, it's also hardly the worst. However it was enough to make the sweet innocence that was Sam despise her. Early on in the film, after the initial plane find, Amanda tries to take off with some coke and well Sam puts the kibosh on that. Later, the whole plan is simple- sell the coke in order to finance a grander expedition- to lay a claim to the Zephyr. This is silly, naive and rather idiotic, but it's hardly what I'd call evil. Her character was at best amoral, but the story treated her oddly. First, Bryce indicates that he'd just met her 14 hours before he meets up with Jared, and yet he's clearly romantically involved with her. Then Bryce tells Jared that he plans to cut Amanda out of the find- after all she's not family. Then just moments later, he decks the drug dealer for insisting on taking Amanda's body as payment. Maybe he's just being heroic, but frankly if all she is is a 14 hour sex toy, there's no real point to it. That scene indicated far more emotion than the actual lines of dialogue allowed for. Later on, after Amanda meets her grisly fate, Bryce again shows a good deal of emotion; but the dialogue once again betrays such by having him say he'd only known her for five days and why should he care. As such, despite the fact that her character is oddly the most well-rounded of all(which isn't much albeit), she's treated by the script as well, not even being a plot point. She's brought in for little reason and killed for less. Still, she's amply on display for much of the movie- including a scene on the boat in which she faces off with harbour patrol, completely topless. I'm not a fan of the hairstyle she employs in the film, but she still looked good for the most part.
The final character is played by Josh Brolin He's the captain of a salvager, but of course he's far more maniacal than that. He does well in the part, including have a few extremely funny lines- something about Santa Claus being a coke dealer- but again, he's largely just a cardboard villain. That said, his final battle with Jared at the end of the film was pretty cool and definately memorable.
OVERALL:
You might think from everything above that I didn't like the film. That's not true at all. Sometimes you go to movies looking for a hell of a story, something that will move you and make you think. Other times you go for two hours of mindless distraction and amusement. Tonight's film was certainly the latter of the two. It was a popcorn thriller- any easily digestible piece of exciting and beautiful fluff. I had problems with it- the script could have used some characterization assistance. Had I been writing this, I would have made Bryce and Amanda actual steadies. The script wouldn't have changed much, but it would have added a thin layer of emotional truth. And I think that probably would have been enough.
The film was gorgeous, of course. If you've ever had the fortune to go underwater, either scuba-diving or snorkeling, you know what I mean. The vibrant colors of the sealife below was breathtaking. And the actors all looked terribly natural in the water.
I probably wouldn't recommend this film for the late show. Spending ten bucks on it is a bit excessive, but if you hit a matinee or rent it from NetFlix down the line, I doubt you'll be overly disappointed. It's light and airy fun.
-Shawn