KAREN RUTTER reviews
[star rating=”2″] VAN DER MERWE. Directed by Bruce Lawley with Rob van Vuuren, Reine Swart, Ian Roberts and Andre Swartz.
I like Rob van Vuuren and the work he does. I really do. But as far as the Van der Merwe movie goes, all I can do is repeat the words of the batshit nun who shook her bell behind Cersei in Game of Thrones: “Shame.”
The production is ostensibly an affectionate tribute to the much-loved South African character – or caricature – who is invariably the butt of a joke. A Van der Merwe joke, obviously. But there’s very little that’s funny about the film. It uses well-worn stereotypes about boere and soutpiele to drive a storyline about an Englishman who is going to marry an Afrikaans woman. The humour is slapstick, the acting is overcooked and the narrative is – well, let’s just be kind and stop the sentence there.
Not anybody’s finest moment.
[star rating=”3″] ATOMIC BLONDE. Directed by David Leitch with Charlize Theron, John Goodman and James McAvoy.
A retro eighties soundtrack, hot lesbo sex, and a cool Berlin backdrop. Plus – Charlize Theron. What’s not to like about Atomic Blonde?
Based on a graphic novel, and set in 1989 just before the Wall came down, Theron plays a British MI6 agent sent to Berlin to locate a vital list of names. She is also supposed to be on the lookout for a rogue double agent. Once in the city she’s teamed with a colleague (James McAvoy) and the hunt is on for the list. But nothing is straightforward in the espionage sector, and the ending comes with more than one unusual twist.
There’s nothing wrong with the narrative. Unfortunately, however, it feels a little stilted in the delivery. I’m not sure Theron makes a convincing agent – although her brutal fight scenes, of which there are many, are viciously hardcore. But she almost seems too stylish for her role. McAvoy plays his part well enough, and John Goodman is a solid CIA man. But somehow – the sum of the parts doesn’t add up to a really gripping whole. That said, the music, sights and action do have their charms. Ultimately, as the Guardian says, it’s like an X-rated, ultraviolent knock-off of a Duran Duran video. EXTRAS: Includes deleted scenes, a section on how Charlize Theron trained for her role and a bird’s eye view of Berlin.
[star rating=”3″] THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD. Directed by Patrick Hughes with Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman and Salma Hayeck.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a buddy movie on steroids, with mega car-chases and maximal slicin’-and-dicin’ taking up most of the two hours running time. And for the most part, it’s fun. Ryan Reynolds plays a top-rated protection agent who loses his status (and his girlfriend) when an assignment goes bad. He grudgingly takes on a job to protect a notorious assassin (Samuel L. Jackson) whose testimony at an international tribunal is crucial. If he succeeds, he gets his top rating back. But there are a lot of bad Russians standing in his way …
The film relies on high action scenes mingled with humorous bitching between the two men (who are anti-buddies to start with) to carry the momentum. It’s not a hard film to watch, and the banter is often amusing. Reynolds makes for an appealing bodyguard, while Jackson does the cool dude thang. Salma Hayek has a nice scene in a Honduran bar, and sort-of-South-African Richard E. Grant has a sweaty cameo as a drug addicted businessman. Basically, an easy-watching action movie with a few laughs. EXTRAS: Includes a director’s commentary, outtakes, and The Hitman’s Bodyguard: A Love Story, a nine-minute featurette on the “bromance” between Reynolds and Jackson.
[star rating=”3″] VICEROY’S HOUSE. Directed by Gurinder Chadha with Hugh Bonnieville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal and Huma Qureshi.
Viceroy’s House is set in Delhi in 1947, at the time of the dissolution of the British Raj and the establishing of an independent India. Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonnieville) is charged with managing the process from the British side, and arrives at the Viceroy’s House of the title with his wife Edwine (Gillian Anderson). Once of the biggest issues to resolve is whether India will remain one nation, as political leader Jawaharlal Nehru wishes, or whether Pakistan will split off, as Muhammad Ali Jinnah would have it. As a side issue, Mountbatten’s valet Jeet (Manish Dayal) is in love with Alia (Huma Qureshi), a difficult cross-religion relationship.
The film is sumptuously presented, and the design immaculate. It may not have a lot of political depth, but its main focus appears to be the more human side of the birth of a nation – well, two nations – and director Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham) makes her most of this. EXTRAS: Includes deleted scenes and a trailer.
WS
