Solid Snake

On the Statham scale that means what?

Osiris3657

That it's better than most films that Statham headlines? His films usually get lower ratings. That being said only 20 or so reviews are in.

Solid Snake

soooooo....so far it's a must see?

Osiris3657

yes.

Dan

Saw it tonight at a free screening. There's a LOT wrong with this movie... but it's a Jason Statham action flick, so... just don't expect too much, and you'll probably enjoy it. My wife's friend thought it was great, my wife thought it was "pretty good," and I laughed at a lot of unintentionally funny moments. Statham has a few good one-liners ("Don't lose sleep... he had it comin'.") but all of the supporting cast had very wooden dialogue. Actually, maybe it was just my theatre, but it felt like either most of the actors re-did all of their lines in post production (ADR), or the video and audio were out of sync.

If you have absolutely no intention of seeing it... or don't care about plot-based minor spoilers...


Also, after seeing The Raid a few weeks back, I have to say that the action here just doesn't compare. There's a few "OHHH SHIT!" moments, but nothing truly awesome.

Rypro 525

^yeah, The Raid, or hell many asian action movies from the past 12 years will shit on most American "hardcore action films"

DJariya

Going to see this on Sunday. Big fan of Statham and his action movies. I know his track record isn't always good and he makes a few turds here and there. After seeing The Cabin in the Woods yesterday and hating it, I need a badass action movie to make up for it.

Here's something funny I wanted to mention.

I rented Haywire from my local video store and in the previews before the main menu, they showed a trailer for Safe and at the end it said...."Coming Soon to DVD and Blu-Ray"

For the record, the Haywire Blu-Ray that I rented was the Canadian version from Alliance. So I'm wondering is Safe coming out soon for the Canadian market on DVD/BD?

Dan

Nope. That's very strange. It opened in a lot of theatres today, just like in the US. Maybe they just expect it to have a quick turnaround from theatre to Blu-ray.

Also... why does your local store have Canadian (Alliance) DVDs and Blu-rays? Why would they bother importing it?

Osiris3657

How did you rent Haywire? That doesn't come out until May on dvd/blu

DJariya

My local video store puts stuff out up to 10 days before Street date. They had Haywire out since last Wednesday.

DJariya

I've gone to this video store for almost 20 years and the manager imports some stuff from Canada to get around the street day restrictions from some studio titles. He actually imports WB Canada BDs (they have French writing on the back) and Alliance titles for Lionsgate movies.

Dan

I sometimes specifically import titles from the US so I don't have the French writing on the front and back.

d2cheer

I like Statham but this really looks like a Direct to DVD movie to me. I will check it out at some point though...

banthafett

We went to the first showing at 11:25. Was shocked to see as many people as I did, even more shocked they were all by themselves.(Ive never and will never go to the movies by myself. Just a weird thing with me, it looks creepy)

As for the movie. We enjoyed it. Yeah it should have be a Direct to DVD, but I will pay to see Chev Chelios on the big screen everytime. I was hoping it would have played at the drive in, but they are playing 4 turds this weekend.

Osiris3657

This was better than I thought it would be, I really enjoyed it. I'm admittedly bored during a lot of Statham movies when there isn't any action happening, but that's not the case here. I was genuinely intrigued by the plot.

I thought this was much better than recent Statham headliners like Killer Elite and The Mechanic.

The action was pretty solid. It suffers from the ultra fast editing that is so popular in Hollywood action movies but makes up for it in its brutality. Many broken limbs and shot up heads and bodies.

I also though the ending

I'll probably pick this up on blu. Recommended

Grade: B+

CaptainMarvel

That was by far my favorite part of this movie. I almost stood up and cheered.

Osiris3657

I couldn't quite pinpoint where I had seen the actor who played Alex and it turns out its Anson Mount, the lead in "Hell on Wheels". Awesome, barely recognized him without him being all dirty and scruffy.

DJariya

Just got back from seeing and agree with Osiris' review. Very entertaining action flick. Probably one of Statham's better ones recently.

My only real complaint (very minor) was how the fight scenes were shot. The camera movements were very shaky and I started to get a little nauseous trying to follow the action. They were pretty brutal though. I also thought the backstory on Luke (Statham's character) was razor thin.

and I seriously didn't recognize Anson Mount as Alex. He looks like a different person clean shaven.

If your a fan of Statham and B action movies like this, I highly recommend it.

B+

Patman

This was a live-action cartoon, somewhat in the vein of "Crank" in that Jason Statham's character, Luc, is a former stone-cold operative on the NYPD force, who kills if he's led to believe it's justifiable by his superiors, and in an elevated self-defense kind of way. The manner in which Luc dispatches so many would-be assailants in his path borders on this being a comedic-action farce. Luc, down on his luck, is ready to pack it in, but he finds a reason to live when he notices a little Asian girl (Mei) being hunted down by Russian mobsters in the subway. Mei has the ability to remember long strings of numbers, and the Chinese mob are using her to courier the numbers for some payday, and the Russians get wind of it, and mayhem ensues, and Luc finds himself in the middle of it because he's so determined to keep Mei safe.

But those looking for Stathem to put the hurt on some bad guys will get their money's worth, as some are straight-up brutal and wince-inducing.

I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B- for giving its intended audience want it wants in a Stathem action flick.

EdTheRipper

Just saw this today. It felt like the type of movie that could have been made in the 80s with Chuck Norris. It definitely had that vibe. I really liked it. It was a lot more fun than I was expecting it to be.

stingermck

Just watched it on Blu, holy shit did Statham kick ass. I wish I had seen this in the theater, and the ending was hilarious. Didnt see that coming.

Solid Snake

Finally saw this. It was pretty damn cool. I regret never seeing this. It's on Amazon Instant Video, free if you got Prime.

I'll make sure to get the BD when it gets a reasonable price.

hanshotfirst1138

The 1970s are over guys. Shaking your camera and scratching your film does not the 1970s make it. About usual par for a Statham vehicle, it's certainly not bad, and Stahelski and Perry do good work, although they're not exactly Corey Yuen Kwai. But it still feels like second-string, a glorified B-movie. Which is fine, but it just isn't much more than that. A bit of 70s grit and 80s action hero styling, likely to find its ultimate audience on video, which is fine.

inri222

I thought someone was going to post that Statham is bored of action movies.

RocShemp

Thanks for pointing out this was on Amazon Prime, Solid Snake. I just finished watching it there.

It's not the greatest movie ever made but it was certainly enjoyable. Yes, it has dreaded shaky cam but they did manage to use it well during that brief flight in a police vehicle. Wish the photography had been more creative as it was in that brief sequence.

I loved the final showdown. How it played out was beautiful.

It's funny that Robert John Burke was basically playing his same character from Person Of Interest. More so since Jason Statham's nemesis bears a striking resemblance to Jim Caviezel. I was surprised I didn't realize that was Anson Mount since almost every time I watch Hell On Wheels, I end up remarking how much he reminds me of Jim Caviezel.

Anyhoo, fun flick that I wouldn't mind owning if I found it dirt cheap. But not really a priority.