Dan Owen reviews

DAN'S   MOVIE   DIGEST

2 0 0 2   r e t r o s p e c t i v e

P a r t   F o u r

George Lucas' Star Wars 'prequilogy' continued with Star Wars Episode II - Attack Of The Clones; a more entertaining venture into ILM wonderland, cruelly let-down (again) by a mediocre Lucas screenplay. The technicalities of the film managed to impress those who love their spectacle big, the near-absence of Jar Jar Binks nipped fanboy rants in the bud, and drunken discussions debating the outcome of a Yoda Vs Neo fistfight ensued. A flawed guilty pleasure.

The tiny mouse Stuart Little returned for the imaginatively titled Stuart Little 2, now with a feathered girlfriend (voice by Melanie Griffith). Another fun adventure for the kids with some excellent special-effects for Stuart himself, voiced to perfection by Michael J. Fox. Cute harmless fun, although lacking the original's smart screenplay.

With best-friend Matt Damon turning into an unlikely action hero with The Bourne Identity, Ben Affleck jumped straight into the genre with The Sum Of All Fears. The film was another Tom Clancy adaptation starring the Jack Ryan character previously portrayed by Harrison Ford, who decided not to star. The movie performed adequately at the box-office, but the lure of Affleck as action-man just wasn't enough. Either that, or everyone realized the trailer gave the whole plot away!

Reese Witherspoon is being primed as the next Julia Roberts following her enjoyable performance in Legally Blonde. Let's hope she's not the next Alicia Silverstone as seems more befitting. The 'Spoon had a true smash-hit this year with Sweet Home Alabama, a rom-com with plenty of vacuous moments and touchy-feely good vibes. The Americans loved its sappy tones, the Brits avoided like the plague.

Films don't disappoint quite as annoyingly as The Time Machine � a second film adaptation of the H.G Wells novel. Guy Pearce played the love-sick Professor who builds a time-machine to stop the murder of his fianc�e (as you do) only to wind up 40,000 years in the future fighting cannibal Morlocks from Samantha Mumba's species of Eloi. Directed by H.G's grandson Simon, the project was cursed from the start. John Logan's script was solid - but a post-9/11 world demanded the omission of a key sequence that saw New York destroyed. The Morlock creatures were shoddy throwbacks to 80's animatronics, and Jeremy Irons' villain had less screen time than the film's trailer! Overall, a waste of time, and better suited as a TV-movie.

Nicolas Cage didn't have much luck this year. His months-old marriage to Lisa-Marie Presley ended in divorce, his dreams of starring as a superhero further diminished, and he also starred in another of John Woo's sadly multiplying cinematic turkeys. Windtalkers was to have been a kinetic tale of friendship set against the backdrop of World War II. It became this year's Pearl Harbor. Woo's style is at-odds with the period setting, Cage looks lost, and the action sequences are surprisingly tame. Must try harder, Woo. Someone give the man back his twin-guns and slow-motion playback.

The name's Diesel. Vin Diesel. xXx marked the supposed birth of the Next Action Hero� - with slap-head Vin Diesel having great fun trying to out-Bond 007 in Rob Cohen's preposterous marriage of espionage and extreme sports. Hardly the Hollywood-hyped threat 007 fans feared (thank God) mainly because it offered nothing new beyond its OTT stunts. Still, solid entertainment for those wanting pure visceral thrills with their popcorn.

THE Best Action Sequence Of 2002
The nerve-jangling Helm's Deep onslaught in The Two Towers. CGI has never been so effectively employed. George Lucas take note.

THE Best Newcomer Of 2002
Jake Gyllenhaal for Donnie Darko. An immediate star. Impressive, evocative, talented... you were just drawn to the screen.

THE Man of 2002
Tobey Maguire. Maguire has been around for years, but only found mainstream success and fame with his accomplished performance as Peter Parker in Spider-Man. A potentially dumb film was raised a notch or three by Maguire's sensitive portrayal of a well-meaning everyman.

THE Woman of 2002
Halle Berry. Fresh from Oscar success (the first black woman to receive a Best Actress Award - for Monster's Ball), Berry proved herself one of the best Bond Girls of recent times in Die Another Day.

THE Best Special Effects of 2002
Gollum for The Two Towers. The best CGI character ever created. Expressive, emotive, expertly realized and given life by actor Andy Serkis. A sterling effort and a landmark for special-effects.

THE Kiss of 2002
Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst for Spider-Man. Every teen's wet dream: you're given superpowers, you save the city from danger, then you get to kiss a wet-shirted Kirsten Dunst (upside-down).

THE Best Line of 2002
"With great power comes great responsibility. This is my gift, my curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man!" - Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man

THE Best Moment of 2002
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lay defeated on the ground at the feet of Count Dooku, Anakin's hand sliced clean off by a lightsabre. Just as it looks as if Dooku will make his escape, who should come shuffling into the room? Yoda. The best screen fight of the year is then played out to crowd-pleasing results. It could have been funny. Well, it IS funny. But funny in a cool way.

THE Best Mystery of 2002
Sadly not the plot of Scooby Doo, but the plot for Mulholland Drive. Just when you think you've got a handle on the film, the last Act arrives. Startlingly brilliant and bizarre, yet with the a surreal kind of drippy logic...

THE Sequel of 2002
The Two Towers. Not quite as good as Fellowship due to its limitations as a middle film, but still a supremely confident return to Middle Earth blessed with better effects and more rousing and memorable moments.

THE Disappointment of 2002
Panic Room. Still a very good movie, but expectation in the wake of David Fincher's master-class of movie-making Fight Club left audiences (and particularly fans) wanting so much more thrills...

THE Biggest Scare of 2002
Signs. Mel Gibson. Alone. Corn field. Torch. Alien... oooh...

THE Biggest Laugh of 2002
Austin Powers In Goldmember. Austin infiltrates Dr Evil's sub with the help of Mini-Me, by standing on the tiny clone's shoulders wearing a long trenchcoat. Then they're questioned by a henchman and given a medical examination...

THE Best Trailer of 2002
It has to be Spider-Man. Fresh, vibrant and funny. It also helped that it had fantastic backing music... and what a killer final line that 'Superman' jibe was! Excellent work that appeased critics that director Sam Raimi could handle such a big project.

THE Film of 2002
In reverse order, starting at #10:

10. Road To Perdition
09. Blade II
08. Signs
07. Minority Report
06. Die Another Die
05. Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets
04. Spider-Man
03. Mulholland Drive
02. Donnie Darko
01. The Lord Of The Rings � The Two Towers

And so onward to 2003. A year that should see the superhero movie dominate the box-office in the wake of Spider-Man with Daredevil, The Hulk, X-Men 2, League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and two Matrix sequels to look forward to. If you thought 2002 was big business, just imagine the combined takings of those beauties!

Then we have the return of Tarantino with Kill Bill, which also ensures 2003 will also be remembered for martial-arts � as it joins the ranks of the aforementioned Matrix sequels and Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai,.

Sequels are well-catered for (as always), with... deep breath... Matrix 2, Matrix 3 (have I mentioned those?), the final Lord Of The Rings epic at Christmas, Dirty Dancing 2, Jeepers Creepers 2, Final Destination 2, Terminator 3, Bad Boys 2, Charlie's Angels 2, Shanghai Knights, Freddy Vs Jason, Tomb Raider II, Legally Blonde 2, Jungle Book 2 and American Pie 3! Phew!

And the post-Phantom Menace vogue for prequels? Yes, with Dumb & Dumberer and Exorcist � The Beginning. So there.

See? Same-old-same-old...

Till next year then!

Happy New Year!

Dan Owen