dave13-1

Not a lot happens here. The plot is thin and very linear. The demon-hunting main character goes into a place, finds a clue that leads him to the next place, goes there, finds the next clue. This is rather disappointing for fans of epically complex celestial intrigue involving angels and the fallen. Then again, John Milton never tried to produce a direct to DVD movie on a budget of less than a million.

The effects are cheap and occasionally unconvincing, but the opening montage where the main character does a bit of cartooning shows a strong visual sense. You get the feeling that the creators could have done a lot more, if given a proper budget. The script has a lot of ponderous exchanges on the subject of moral ambiguity and obligation, giving the viewer an impression that the writer would like to get into William Peter Blatty's intellectual space, but lacks for headroom. All that could be afforded was an urban action movie with some catholic mythology and that is delivered, with reasonable efficiency.

Comparison to Constantine is inevitable, but rather unfair given the difference in financing. It's a bit like complaining that a busker with a kazoos does not measure up to a full studio orchestra. Demon Hunter is a competently made B-movie with few ambitions above its station.

Imagine someone spent 60 million dollars to produce a live action episode of Inspector Gadget or Danger Mouse with an A-list cast and loads of expensive set pieces put around a thin, predictable cartoon plot involving a weather machine. It would still be better than this mess.

As I watched this thing play out on the cinema screen, I could not help but note how casually thought out the story was. Did the production's secretary knock out the treatment one Tuesday before lunch? Almost nothing happens in the first hour of the movie and what does happen is of little consequence. The movie takes forever to introduce the two principals and does so in long pointless scenes that serve no other purpose. Okay, John Steed is super cool and Emma Peel is super accomplished but we could have established as much in a thirty second long scene that ended with a handshake. And the sly, sophisticated humour of the original series was replaced with the single running gag that whatever anything out of the ordinary happens, the cast are totally unflappable owing to being English. Everything lanquishes along with no sense of urgency or threat.

Add to this the totally unbelievable conceit that Sean Connery's billionaire businessman, a national celebrity and admired public benefactor, would tarnish his reputation by plotting harm upon his own countrymen. This is the sort of anti-corporatist Hollywood nonsense that never fails to anger me. If the antagonist in the story is an evil corporation, even if the whole business is being played for farce, you know that the writers are a bunch of hacks. Try harder next time. If a real tech company came up with a working weather machine, they would immediately become the darling of the global warming crowd! There. I just put more thought into the movie's main story device in the ten minutes I have been writing this than anyone connected to the movie did in the months it was in pre-production.

This is the whole problem with this movie. Any creative thinking evident here went into prop gags and set dressings in the service of a script that could have been scribbled on a cocktail napkin between drinks. This is one of those movies where you get to the end and think, "THAT was the script they decided to go with?!" (I had the same reaction to Ghostbusters 2016.)

The Avengers is hardly the worst thing ever, or even the biggest disappointment of the 1990s. The Super Mario Brothers movie gets that title. But given the money and talent available, it is a clear wasted opportunity, and a waste of the viewer's time and attention.

...but in a surprisingly thoughtful way.

One of the most popular (to the point of cliche) anime genres is the 'harem sitcom'. An unassuming high school nobody joins a club whose other members are girls, and over time he wins them over. Yay. This is a relatable fantasy for the 95% of students who were not in the popular kid clique in school and the long endurance of the genre is proof of this. Both good and bad examples of the form abound, but I have never encountered one before that scrutinized the form itself so closely. Every cliched meet-cute, outing or other activity is minutely examined under the cold light of external logic. Would real people find anything meaningful in any of this? Are the behaviours of classmates genuine or are they just playing roles to help others understand how they slot into the larger picture. Is the popular jock really that one-dimensionally chivalrous, or is he acting according to the expectations of others? Is the brainy girl as well-organized and serene as she seems?

The show probes below the surface of the familiar in an attempt to find authenticity - the core element of the main character's personal philosophy - without turning meta or stepping outside itself. Looking for truth and substance within such a contrived and well-established form and doing so with no fourth wall breaks is a tricky task but the show runners are up to the challenge here and the result is extremely satisfying. The characters are slowly revealed to have insecurities and doubts, and become all the more relatable for this. And as the situation plays itself out, the drama feels fresh and original even though anime viewers have seen it all before.

I loved this series and waited almost breathlessly for each new season. Highly recommended.