bowmanblue

Over the years my expectations for 'straight to streaming' movies has become suitable lowered. Even if they star decent, recognisable actors, there's really no guarantee that they'll be any good. So I just kind of put 'Heads of State' on in the background and didn't even think I'd bother finishing it. Luckily, I was (eventually) proved wrong.

The opening is a bit 'meh' - the American President (John Cena) arrives in London to meet the British Prime Minister (Idris Elba). They don't really get on and things seem a bit awkward. The film is billed as an 'action-comedy' and neither of these sub-genres show up early on. However, once the action picks up, things definitely improve.

The two world leaders are forced to go on the run while hunted by hitmen and this is the point where the movie properly starts. It's helped by not just two excellent actors as the leading men and it's fun to watch them bicker at each other in between fighting for survival. But perhaps the film's greatest strength is that it never really takes itself seriously.

I don't think it would have worked if it had tried to be serious all the time, but it knows it's goofy enough to know when to put the laughs in and when to play it straight (some of the actions scenes are daft, but fun and reminded me of some Roger Moore Bond levels of silliness!).

As 'Heads of State' is on a streaming service and you're not paying cinema prices to watch it, if you're in the mood for a cheeky little action film with decent actors, you could do a lot worse than this one.

I never saw 'The Flash' at the cinema. It was - originally - part of the 'DC Universe,' but, by the time it came out, the film project had effectively been cancelled and most of the audience this was aimed at knew that, no matter what happened in this movie's story, nothing really mattered as it was due to be rebooted by James Gunn. Add to this the amount of internet chatter about what (leading man, Ezri Miller) was getting up to in his private life and the amount of reshoots that were going on with this project and I really didn't rush to make watching this a high priority. So, by the time I found this on a streaming service it's fair to say my hopes weren't high. And maybe that's the key to getting something out of it - severely lower your expectations.

It starts out strong. Not dwelling on the actor and concentrating on the character of 'The Flash' i.e. Barry Allen, he's actually quite funny and interacts well with other superheroes in the opening action scene. Plus the set-piece is fun and reasonably novel. A decent enough start.

Then the opening credits roll and I realise what the film reviewers were talking about when they said the special effects seem 'unfinished.' Whoa - they are not good in the credits. And, throughout the film, they are hit and miss in equal amounts.

Now, when this incarnation of The Flash was first introduced in 'The Justice League' he was effectively the 'comic relief' among the more serious heroes. And, he played that part as best he could. However, now effectively we have the comic relief as the lead role and - what's more - he travels back in time in order to save his parents, but inadvertently encounters another version of himself - one that's actually more annoying that the original.

What follows are long scenes of exposition. Never have a seen a film that has so many instances of two (sometimes three) people sitting around talking about things that have happened, things that are happening, things that are going to happen and a mixture of the three versions - played out in alternate universes.

Now, you can't talk about 'The Flash' without mentioning Michael Keaton, as he reprises his - arguably most famous - role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. And, yes, he's as good as you might expect doing this. For those of us who geeked out in the late eighties when 'Batman' was first brought to the big screen and given a Tim Burton-esque darker edge, it's a joy to see him back again.

Then you have further action scenes with both Flashes, Batman and even a Supergirl (who, although should have been Superman, is actually a decent addition). And these too are pretty good. I guess the main drawback is that, if you've already seen the preceding films in the franchise (i.e. 'Man of Steel' and 'Justice League') then you kind of know where all this goes, as you're really just seeing what you've already seen, only played out slightly differently in an alternate plain of existance.

Overall, I found definite enjoyment in parts of this film. I just wish that I could trim down some of the talking scenes, delete at least one of the Barry Allens and polish up some of the special effects. Shame Michael Keaton's return to the role was wasted on a project that wasn't up to his talents.

I don't know why modern films are just sooooo long. Maybe it's because they see how well dramas do on streaming services and think that more means better? Either way, a movie like 'The Accountant 2' should really be no more than an hour and a half (a hundred minutes, tops). Back in the eighties, an action film (let's say 'Commando') could easily fit everything it had to say in ninety minutes and was simple great fun. 'The Accountant 2' has all the elements in it to make it great fun, but it's just so full of 'bloat' that it makes it a real slog to get through.

But, there is good contained within - namely the two leads: Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal. They play a pair of brothers who, as well as having the usual grating relationship siblings tend to have on each other anyway, also happen to be trained assassins. The back and forth between them is great to watch and you get a real sense of the love-hate relationship between them.

Then there's the rest of the cast. Um, I can't remember much about them - mainly because all their characters are so wafer thin that you won't remember anything about them either once the credits (finally!) roll.

There are also a couple of good punch-ups and action scenes, but - again - these feel too sparse, due to all the sub-plots with the duller characters who take up way too much of this film's runtime.

If there was some way of releasing a 'director's cut' of 'The Accountant 2' which just keeps the two leads and any action scenes they're involved in, it would be pretty good. I guess that's why there's always a 'skip' function on DVDs and streaming services - you can just not bother with any scenes that don't include Affleck or Bernthal - you'll enjoy the film much more (and save yourself an hour or so of time).