nujuv

...cinematographicaly speaking.

I remember being captivated by this when I was younger. I got into it from role-playing games and Monty Python.

It always stood out due to it's gross and cringe making humour and it's cruel and very bloody events.

I think if you come expecting a Python flick you will be disappointed.

It is closer in tone to Gilliams darker flicks. It reeks of a style and imagery that no other director has - rich in its visuals but laconic and obtuse in its portrayl of a mix of medieval fantasy horror and loaded with observations on the ridiculousness- and cruelty - of human nature.

And the camerawork is stomach churning and innovative for the time.

An oddly thought provoking and twisted fantasy.

****SMALL SPOILERS**** I'm simplifying, but only a little bit.

This guy - on track record - should not be able to make films like this.

He seems to fly in the face of convention - a man who appears to have an absolute passion for comic book nonsense, yet still comes up with twists of character AND manages to squeeze several massive egos (in terms of character and I dare say actors) onto the same film AND ALSO gets Disney to pony up a mega budget to do so.

This just does not happen.

And just to give two fingers to movie execs and critics alike - it is well written, chock full of jaw dropping set pieces and well acted.

Please note some of the best performances are from people in tin suits and glittery Halloween costumes. That's how good it is.

It makes you suspend your disbelief and get drawn in to a very strong parallel to modern politics - who exactly are the 'villians' anyway? - whilst managing to keep cringing moments of sentiment - see any Michael Bay flick - pretty much at arms length.

Most notable are moments of the Whedon trade mark - from Firefly in particular - where he totally goes against viewer expectations with regard to conflict outcomes.

Loki vs the Hulk is particularly brilliant on that front.

It's a big movie. It's completely over the top comic book action and a small miracle it is as good as it is.

My only gripe would be a few cheesy lines and the old US cliché of 'English accent = skinny villain' thing, but this is one hell of an action movie and a pretty good film in it's own right.

AND I don't even worship Marvel stuff. Horay for fat nerds everywhere.

...sort of.

SMALL SPOILERS In Blighty we called the style of move these 'grindhouse' movies are harking back to video nasties. They were seldom realised in the cinema and include classics of the like of Evil Dead (2, to my mind).

I would go further and add that in the states, the likes of Stalone and Arnies early gung ho shooters are an off shoot of that genre and are definitely being aped/mocked/revered (delete as you feel).

First up, it does not shock me that threads like - 'if you like this movie, you are sick...' have started up.

One, this is a very violent and gory film. The violence is not slapstick and is of a very brutal nature.

But, I refer you to my original comparison to Cobra style flicks.

The film - if you watch it - has an essential message of standing up against criminals and corruption. Is this something that makes a person 'sick'? I don't think so. The level of force a person uses, of course, is a matter of personal and moral choice...

And creative choice, in this films case. The manner in which the denizens of *uck Town meet their death at Drake's hands is as fascinating as well as shocking.

The two anti heroes - Abby and Hobo - are passionately played. Conventions are turned on their heads as the film progresses right up to the last reel.

It is a film that is full of metal-bondage-death metal style imagery, and if you filter out the extraordinary level of violence, the visual impact of this film is immense. It blurs a metal fantasy with a 80's Death Wish style image of the world.

You need to see the visualisation around the Plague when they turn up to see fully what I mean....

Performances are mesmerising from Hauer and Downey down to the craziest hospital staff you'll ever meet. Did I mention the Plague? See it to believe it.

There is more to this film than the violence which is will be reviled for. I can't help thinking that most of the hate this film will receive will be because the dealers of most of the retribution are a homeless man and a hooker.

If they were a muscled police officer and blonde with a boob job, I think a lot of this film's critics wouldn't bat an eyelid - which is possibly a point which the filmmakers are trying to make.