By Robin E. Simmons
TAK3N
As I write this, TAK3N is opening to a predicted $40 million weekend. That’s amazing for such a lame, lackluster, talky, clichéd and hackneyed film. That said, Liam Neeson somehow retains the audience’s good will throughout the often-incoherent direction by Olivier Megaton — that’s some name — who returns from the disappointing but profitable TAKEN 2.
The formulaic, predictable and preposterous plot has Neeson returning as ex black-ops expert Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex wife — nice to finally meet her — is cut short when she is brutally murdered. So off Mills goes on a rage filled quest to get the bad guys, avoid the authorities that think he’s the killer, and protect his daughter (a very fine Maggie Grace).
Does any of this sound familiar? No? Well, we can always look forward to T4KEN. I’m sure it’s in the pipeline. If all the expository dialogue were cut from this unnecessary film (Luc Besson was a co-writer!), it would be a fast passed thriller, but only about 20 minutes long. This is a far cry from the original 1988 film that never let up in its tight 88 minutes. Now playing.
NEW FOR THE HOME THEATER:
THE PALM BEACH STORY
Writer director Preston Sturges was at the top of his considerable comic powers during the war years (that would be World War II) when his masterpiece of marital mayhem was unleashed to instant acclaim. Joel McCrae and Claudette Colbert are Tom and Gerry, a New York couple with kids, confronting financial embarrassment and romantic malaise. Gerry high-tails it to Florida to find a fix for their money troubles and Tom follows.
What unfolds is a non-stop merry go-round of brilliant word play and physical comedy that delivers on all cylinders. This all-time classic of screwball antics is as good as the genre gets. It’s pure Sturges. Top-notch performances from the leads are matched by the supporting cast,
including Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor as siblings sucked into the crazy scheme that drives the plot. What makes this film so watchable is not juts the heartfelt love and emotion that that’s on screen, but also behind it. It’s a perfect movie that is truly timeless. How rare is that. The new 4K restoration is pristine. Generous extras include new interviews with writer and film historian James Harvey, and also with actor and comedian Bill Hader about director Sturges. A fascinating bonus featurette is Safeguarding Military Information, a 1941 propaganda short written by Sturges. Criterion. Blu-ray.
THE SWORD OF DOOM
This indelible samurai film from 1966 is set in the fading days of shogun rule and stars the great Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai. The story is about a wandering samurai, a superbly gifted swordsman (Nakadai) who exists in a vortex of violence. He is merciless and kills with a swift blade in a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. The classic swordplay is thrilling and chilling thanks to Kihachi Okamoto’s magnificent direction. This extraordinarily moral film is — ironically — also a viscerally exciting tale of a damaged man who chooses to devote his life to evil. Recently, someone suggested the film has strong parallels to AMERICAN SNIPER “hero” Chris Kyle. Criterion. Blu-ray.
robinesimons@aol.com
