a patchwork quilt of a movie

Rating: 5/10 (23 May 2006)

From the beginning I was left with mixed feelings. It bounces between being predictable and uninspired, but then you get these little moments which are memorable and worthy of the spirit of the first film of the series. Strangely, it is hard to identify the source of these good moments. Certainly some of it must come from the writers; but then why are there so many clichÃ©d moments? Is it in the direction? If so Ratner clearly had good days when shooting and bad days- in places the action and interaction just seems lifeless. The main area of appeal of course is in the visuals. The grading (clearly digital) is really bad, with harsh coloring that presumably undermines the actual photography. The pictures look nice but there is no tonality to speak of, perhaps a metaphor for the other elements of the production. On the other hand, many of the visual effects are stunning and well-conceived, and make a break from the sometimes tedious dialogue. In terms of the story, it is a well-structured house of cards that for some reason falls apart at the end, when you realise that many of the characters were completely redundant, and the others resort to the (perhaps unavoidable) game of paper-stone-scissors.