Sunday, 12 June 2016

Special: Now You See Me 2/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows/X-Men: Apocalypse Mini-Reviews

Now You See Me 2:

Synopsis: THE FOUR HORSEMEN (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan) return for a second mind-bending adventure, elevating the limits of stage illusion to new heights and taking them around the globe. One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, the illusionists resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than WALTER MABRY (Daniel Radcliffe), a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

My thoughts: The first one blew me away when I first seen it since I really enjoy heist/tactical planning films so my expectations were high for the sequel and they were met. The magic choreography was stronger, especially Mark Ruffalo's fight scene though the end payoff wasn't nearly as entertaining as it's predecessor it's overall equally entertaining.

Final verdict: 5 card tricks out of 5.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows:

Synopsis: Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael return to theaters this summer to battle bigger, badder villains, alongside April O'Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), and a newcomer: the hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell). After supervillain Shredder (Brian Tee) escapes custody, he joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and two dimwitted henchmen, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE Superstar Stephen "Sheamus" Farrelly), to unleash a diabolical plan to take over the world. As the Turtles prepare to take on Shredder and his new crew, they find themselves facing an even greater evil with similar intentions: the notorious Krang.

My thoughts: Unlike the first entry, Out Of The Shadows isn't as memorable as it's predecessor. I will say they significantly toned down the Bay-style antics, however the humour isn't as prominent which makes it lose some luster as well even if it handles the out of the world elements in a more earthly way than you'd expect. But it's still the Turtles and it's still a solid popcorn flick.

Final verdict: 4 ooze containers out of 5.

X-Men: Apocalypse:

Synopsis: Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

My thoughts: Definitely one of the weakest X-Men movies, although that's more to do with the fact they have been continually excellent than Apocalypse being bad. It was fun but it was a little more jumbled making it less coherent than the original 2 in the trilogy. The acting was stellar as always but it seemed they took one too many liberties with the script and it affected the pacing.

Final verdict: 4 ancient Egyptian mutants out of 5.

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