TERMINATOR : DARK FATE - Tuesday 5th November 2019.

'TERMINATOR : DARK FATE' which I saw at my local multiplex earlier this week is an MA15+ Rated American Sci-Fi actioner Directed by Tim Miller in only his second feature film Directing gig after 2016's critical and commercial success that was 'Deadpool'.  This highly anticipated, much hyped and eagerly awaited film is Co-Produced and adapted from a story by James Cameron amongst others. It will be the sixth instalment in the 'Terminator' franchise and the first since 1991's 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day' to have franchise creator James Cameron involved. The first five films in the franchise have earned a collective Box Office gross of US$1.85B off the back of combined Production Budgets of US$463M. Cameron considers the film a direct sequel to his 1984 film 'The Terminator' and 1991's 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day', while 2003's 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines', 2009's 'Terminator Salvation', 2015's 'Terminator Genisys' and the television series 'Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles' are described as occurring in alternate timelines. This instalment cost in the vicinity of US$180M to bring to the big screen, has so far grossed US$131M, was released in the US last week too, and has received generally mixed Reviews and has failed to make the Box Office expectations initially thought.

Back in 1998, three years after halting the threat of Skynet, Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and John Connor (Edward Furlong) are living a free and easy life of peace somewhere near a beach in Guatemala.  Blissfully unaware that Skynet sent multiple Terminators back through time prior to eradicating the Skynet threat, they are attacked by a T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) which kills John before disappearing. Needless to say Sarah is distraught by what she has just witnessed and cradles the lifeless body of her young son in her arms.

Fast forward some twenty-two years, and a new, modified liquid metal prototype Terminator known as the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) is sent from the future to Mexico City in order to terminate Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), with a hybrid augmented human cyborg known as Grace (Mackenzie Davis) also sent from the future to protect Dani and ensure she survives at all costs. The two future time travellers arrive within a few hours of each other. The Rev-9 only needs to touch someone momentarily to be able to assume their whole identity and physical appearance, and so it is with Dani's father (Enrique Arce), who is replicated and naturally killed in the process. And so the Rev-9 as Mr. Ramos goes to Dani's and her brother Diego's (Diego Boneta) car manufacturing plant where they are both employed with the sole aim of killing Dani. Grace however, is one step ahead and is able to thwart the Rev-9 and escape with the brother and sister in a pick up truck.

The Rev-9 gives chase in a much larger truck trashing multiple cars on the freeway in its pursuit. En route, is also reveals its ability to divide itself into its cybernetic endoskeleton and a shapeshifting liquid metal exterior. It tears after them, killing Diego in the process and cornering Grace and Dani on a raised section of the freeway.

Sarah arrives just in the nick of time and temporarily disables the Rev-9 with a series of explosives. Dani, Grace, and Sarah retreat to a motel where Grace recovers from dehydration and is in desperate need of some vital medication, for fear of shutting down, which she steals from a local pharmacy en route, aided by Dani. 

Following her recovery, and back on the road, Sarah reveals that she was able to locate Grace because in the years since John's death, she has received encrypted messages detailing the locations of arriving Terminators, each ending with the phrase 'For John'. Grace responds that she had not heard of Skynet or John and that they do not exist in her time. Instead, humanity is threatened by an Artificial Intelligence called 'Legion', originally designed for cyberwarfare. Legion took control of all servers worldwide in the late 2040's and, out of desperation and the will to survive, humanity tried to neutralise it with nuclear devices, resulting in a nuclear holocaust and the AI building a global network of machines to eradicate all human survivors.

Grace is able to track Sarah's messages to Laredo, Texas as they continue to evade the Rev-9 and the local authorities. Arriving at an isolated house in the woods via a commandeered helicopter, they discover the T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) that murdered John all those years ago. Sarah, sighting the Terminator wants to kill it on the spot, but is prevented from doing so by Grace, who was led to his location from coordinates tattooed on her stomach before her arrival, with the message to seek him out if necessary. The Terminator states that he was left stranded in an altered timeline and left without any purpose after completing its objective, with no further instructions being forthcoming. As a consequence, the T-800 began to learn from humanity and eventually developed a conscience, taking the name 'Carl', starting a drapery business (can you imagine?) and adopting a human family. Learning of how its own actions had affected Sarah, it decided to send her messages to give her some purpose. 

Carl says his farewells to his family and tells them to escape, anticipating that the Rev-9 will arrive soon. Sarah reluctantly agrees to work together for Dani's sake. The group then makes a plan to ambush and destroy the Rev-9 by luring it into a kill box. Dani receives tactical weapons training utilising the huge stash of heavy artillery maintained by Carl in a locked shed on the property, anticipating that this day would eventually come. 

In order to lure the Rev-9 into their trap, they seek out a military grade Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) device from a serving military acquaintance of Sarah. The Rev-9 soon enough catches up with them, forcing them to steal a C-5 Galaxy military transport aircraft to escape. During the flight, Grace reveals that Dani is the future commander of the Resistance, as well as Grace's rescuer when she was orphaned at a young age after Legion seized control of the world. Sarah and Carl come to the realisation that they are fated to meet Grace and Dani, and Sarah concludes that her own history is repeating itself here in Dani. 

The Rev-9 boards their aeroplane by using a KC-10 Extender aerial refuelling tanker aircraft by smashing into the C-5 Galaxy mid-flight. The EMP is destroyed in the subsequent shootout, and Sarah, Dani and Grace are forced to jump from the plane while clinging onto a plummeting Humvee which parachutes and lands precariously on the lip of a dam before falling into a fast flowing river near a hydro-power plant.  

Shortly afterwards the Rev-9 and Carl are battling it out underwater, and gaining the upper hand the Rev-9 approaches the now submerged Humvee containing Dani and Sarah with the water rapidly rising inside the cabin. Sarah releases a parachute at the crucial moment enveloping the Rev-9 and sending him spiralling though the rivers fierce current. Having been washed downstream, the three are reunited, and begin the ascent up to the hydro-power plant, where they are joined by Carl, who by now is looking the worse for wear but still functioning. 

Down but not out, the group makes a stand inside the power plant with the relentless Rev-9 in hot pursuit. In the ensuing battle, Carl and Grace force the Rev-9 into a rapidly spinning turbine and destroy its liquid exterior, so causing an explosion which incapacitates most of the group and mortally wounds Grace. Before dying, Grace tells Dani to use her power source to destroy the Rev-9's surviving yet badly damaged endoskeleton which remains on its mission. Dani reluctantly retrieves Grace's power source from her stomach cavity, and as the Rev-9 gains the upper hand, Carl is able to restrain it, so giving Dani the chance to stab it in the eye socket with the power source. Carl drags itself and the Rev-9 over a ledge falling onto exposed rebar's many metres below. Both now pinned down, and the power source taking effect on the Rev-9, Carl calls out to Sarah 'For John', right before the power core explodes, destroying them both.

'Terminator : Dark Fate' is a good watch, but it's not great. With a marketed disregard for the third, fourth and fifth films in this franchise, this sixth film is intended to be a direct sequel to 'T2 : Judgement Day', which ably puts 'Dark Fate' in third place out of the six instalments seen to date. It's certainly a welcome return to have James Cameron's influence over the Production, and to see Schwarzenegger's and Hamilton's presence together on screen for the first time since 'T2' is also a welcome return to form for the franchise. And Tim Miller's deft Direction with the action sequences especially here proves his worthiness with the skills he clearly honed on 2016's 'Deadpool'. The story is relatable and kinda adds up and makes sense, although it is almost a carbon copy of 'T2' where Robert Patrick's liquid metal shapeshifting T-1000 was sent back from the future to kill John Connor, only to have the day and John saved by the pairing of Schwarzenegger and Hamilton. Are you getting a sense of deja vu here? That said, it's a respectable entry in the 'Terminator' canon that combines well executed action spectacle, a few moments of suspense and emotion, and some much needed levity by way of Carl's justification for becoming more human like, and Sarah's stance on saving the planet from complete oblivion. Worth the price of entry and worth seeing on the big screen for sure, but judging by the Box Office take, any further instalments now seem less likely.

'Terminator : Dark Fate' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 31st October 2019.

The International Rome Film Festival is a film festival that takes place in Rome, Italy, during the month of October, and this year ran from Thursday 17th through until Sunday 27th October.  The actual complete name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Even though it is quite a young festival, having been founded only in 2006, the importance of the hosting city as well as the strong economic investment has placed the Rome Film Festival among the most important film festivals in the world, with huge media coverage and world-famous artists in attendance.

This year, there were thirty-three films in Official Selection all aiming for the top awards and recognition. Among these were :-

* 'THE AERONAUTS' - from the USA, Directed by Tom Harper and starring Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Himesh Patel, Phoebe Fox and Tom Courteney. In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history.

* 'ANTIGONE' - from France, Directed by Sophie Deraspe and starring Nahema Ricci. Following the murder of her parents, young Antigone, her sister, two brothers, and her grandmother take shelter in Montreal, where they live a quiet life in a small apartment in a working-class neighbourhood. Tragedy explodes when one brother is killed by police while they are arresting the other, a small-time drug dealer.

* 'DOWNTON ABBEY' - from the UK, Directed by Michael Engler and starring Hugh Bonneville, Michel Dockery, Jim Carter, Imelda Staunton, Maggie Smith and Elizabeth McGovern. The famous British TV series 'Downton Abbey' becomes a film for the big screen, that picks up and continues the story of the aristocratic Crawley family, returning to their grand estate with the most illustrious guests that the Crawleys could hope to entertain, the sovereigns of the United Kingdom, King George V and Queen Mary.

* 'DROWNING' - from the USA and Directed by Melora Walters and starring Melora Walters, Gil Bellows, Mira Sorvino and Jay Mohr. A mother is forced to come to grips with suffering when, despite her worst fears and her best efforts to dissuade her son, he decides to join the army and go fight in Iraq.

* 'THE FAREWELL' - from the USA and China and Directed by Lulu Wang and starring Awkwafina, Tzi Ma and Diana Lin. Chinese-born, U.S. raised Billi reluctantly returns to Changchun to find that her beloved grandmother, Nai-Nai, has been given mere weeks to live, although everyone has decided not to tell Nai Nai herself.

* 'FETE DE FAMILLE' - from France, Directed by Cedric Kahn and starring Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Bercot. On a summer's day, a family gathers to celebrate mother Andrea's 70th birthday. Attending are the husband, the two sons – one with his wife and twins; the other with his new fiancee Rosita – a video-camera to capture the happy event and an eighteen year-old who grew up there, plus, the unexpected arrival of the youngest daughter Claire, who had disappeared some years before.

* 'HONEY BOY' - from the USA, Directed by Alma Har'el and starring Shia LaBoeuf (who also wrote the Screenplay), Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe and Natasha Lyonne, explores the life of a young actor, from his troubled childhood to early adulthood. He does everything he can think of to come to understand and reconcile with his father, by means of cinema, his own dreams, art as a form of therapy, or imagination as a form of hope.

* 'HUSTLERS' - from the USA, Directed by Lorene Scafaria and starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Julia Stiles and Cardi B. In 2007, Destiny has become a stripper so she can provide for herself and her grandmother, but her life will change when she meets Ramona, the star of the strip joint, and the two immediately hit it off. Destiny quickly learns the 'ropes' from Ramona and soon start raking in more money than they can spend, until the Global Financial Crisis of late 2008 occurs, when by necessity they have to change the rules of their game. 

* 'THE IRISHMAN' - from the USA, Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Graham and Anna Paquin. An epic crime saga of organised crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century.

* 'JUDY' - from the USA, Directed by Rupert Goold, and starring Renee Zellweger, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon and Jessie Buckley. In the winter of 1968, Judy Garland arrives in London to perform in a series of concerts. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in 'The Wizard of Oz' - her voice may have weakened, but its dramatic intensity shines increasingly bright.

* 'MILITARY WIVES' - from the UK, Directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring Kristen Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan and Jason Flemyng. Separated from their husbands and staring down the barrel of anxiety and loneliness, the quiet bravery and sacrifice of military wives goes largely unnoticed while they live with the dread of a fateful knock on the door. But Kate, an officer’s wife, bears it all with grace and stoicism. She finds freedom in song, and persuades a group of women on the base in the same situation to form the first Military Wives Choir.

* 'MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN' - from the USA, Directed by Edward Norton and starring Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Willem Dafoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. In 1950's New York, a private investigator and a loner, who suffers from Tourette Syndrome, is trying to get to the bottom of the murder of his mentor and only friend. Armed with just a few clues and his own obsessive intelligence, he starts to discover a number of well-kept secrets upon which the future of New York City depends. This film served as the Festival's opener.

* 'MYSTIFY : MICHAEL HUTCHENCE' - from Australia, Directed by Richard Lowenstein and starring Michale Hutchence and those family and friends closest to him. A powerfully intimate and insightful documentary portrait of the INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, a complex and sensitive man who with his extraordinary voice and reckless lifestyle, his charm and sensuality, enchanted audiences for an all-too-short time on and off the stage.

* 'NOMAD : IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE CHATWIN' - from the UK and Directed by Werner Herzog. When writer and adventurer Bruce Chatwin was dying, he summoned his friend Werner Herzog, asking to see his recent film about tribesmen of the Sahara. In exchange, as a parting gift, Chatwin gave Herzog the rucksack he’d carried on his travels around the world. 30 years later, carrying the rucksack, Herzog sets out on his own journey, inspired by their shared passion for the nomadic life.

* 'PAVAROTTI' - from the USA, Directed by Ron Howard and starring Luciano Pavarotti, Nicoletta Mantovani, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan. This documentary relies on original film clips and rare interviews with the singer's family and colleagues to illustrate the life, career and enduring legacy of an artist who was an icon of lyric opera, a giant in music and a man worthy of respect and admiration.

* 'RUN WITH THE HUNTED' - from the USA, Directed by John Swab and starring Ron Perlman, Michael Pitt, Tree Hemmingway and Mark Boone Jnr. A young boy commits murder to save his best friend from an attack, and is forced to escape the country town he was born in and leave everything behind. He thus escapes to the nearest city, where he becomes part of a gang of young street thieves.

* 'SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK' - from the USA, Directed by Andre Ovredal and starring Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris and Gil Bellows. In 1968 in a house, located on the edges of the city, Sarah, a girl who conceals terrible secrets, has transformed her tormented existence into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has reached beyond the boundaries of time. Stories that become far too realistic for a group of young people who, on the night of Halloween, delve into Sarah's terrifying case.

* 'WAVES' - from the USA, Directed by Trey Edwards Shults and starring Kelvin Harrison Jr., Taylor Russell, Sterling K. Brown, and Lucas Hedges. The future looks bright for Tyler, a young African-American who seems to have everything he needs: a wealthy family to support him, a spot on the high school wrestling team and a girlfriend he is madly in love with. But just when he is pushed to the limit, Tyler’s apparently perfect life begins to show cracks, and the stage is set for tragedy.

* 'WESTERN STARS' - from the USA, Directed by Thom Zimmy and starring Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa. This is a cinematic film version of Bruce Springsteen’s album of the same name, and offers the opportunity to see him perform all thirteen songs on the album. Springsteen’s first studio album in five years, the album marks a departure for the singer while still drawing on his roots.

For the full programme of events, you can visit the official website at : http://www.romacinemafest.it

And so turning attention to this weeks six latest cinematic offerings, we start with the sixth instalment in this hugely successful and influential franchise, but as seen by the film makers as a direct follow on to the second film, about a new type of liquid metal humanoid robot sent back from the future to hunt and destroy a hybrid cyborg human that is being aided by our titular gun totting heroine one Sarah Connor and her old T800 ally. This is followed up by an epic crime story from an acclaimed Director with an ensemble cast about a fella of Irish descent who turns hitman for the mob. Next up is a German film about a daring escape plan from the East to the West in 1979 concerning two families and their home made hot air balloon. We then turn to a comedy drama about a party hard New Yorker who gets a dose of reality from her doctor, and decides to shape up, get fit, loose weight and run a marathon all the while facing a few other life challenges along the way. Next up we have a sequel to a 2017 horror offering of the bitey kind that this time sees four female teenage divers come face to face with a school of great white's in the sunken subterranean depths of an ancient Mayan city. And we close out the week with a biodrama offering of a slightly off the rails young Cuban kid who is given the chance of a lifetime at a local dance school, where he discovers his true passion that ultimately leads him to international stardom in his chosen field.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six latest release new movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'TERMINATOR : DARK FATE' (Rated MA15+) - finally hitting our big screens this week is the highly anticipated, much hyped and eagerly awaited American Sci-Fi actioner Directed by Tim Miller in only his second feature film Directing gig after 2016's critical and commercial success that was 'Deadpool'.  The film is Co-Produced and adapted from a story by James Cameron amongst others.  It will be the sixth instalment in the 'Terminator' franchise and the first since 1991's 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day' to have franchise creator James Cameron involved. The first five films in the franchise have earned a collective Box Office gross of US$1.85B off the back of combined Production Budgets of US$463M. Cameron considers the film a direct sequel to his 1984 film 'The Terminator' and 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day', while 2003's 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines', 2009's 'Terminator Salvation', 2015's 'Terminator Genisys' and the television series 'Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles' are described as occurring in alternate timelines. This instalment cost in the vicinity of US$180M to bring to the big screen, and is released in the US this week too.

Set some 27 years after the events of 'Terminator 2 : Judgement Day', a new, modified liquid metal prototype Terminator known as the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) is sent from the future by Skynet in order to terminate Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), a hybrid cyborg human known as Grace (Mackenzie Davis), and her friends. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) comes to their aid, as well as the original Terminator - the T800 Model 101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) which has gained autonomy from its original programming and has integrated into human society and is now living a secluded life and known as Carl, for a fight for the future. Also starring Edward Furlong as John Connor and Diego Boneta.

'THE IRISHMAN' (Rated CTC) - already hailed as Martin Scorsese's finest film in twenty odd years, this American epic crime drama film is Directed and Co-Produced by the acclaimed Scorsese and based on the 2004 memoir 'I Hear You Paint Houses' by Charles Brandt. After languishing in development hell for about ten years, 'The Irishman' was confirmed as Scorsese's next film following 'Silence' in 2016. De Niro and Pacino were confirmed to star as was Pesci, who came out of his unofficial retirement to star after being asked allegedly fifty times to take the role by his good friend De Niro. The film tells the story of Frank Sheeran, a mob hitman and World War II veteran who develops his own particular set of skills during his wartime service in Italy. Now an old man, he reflects on the events that defined his career as a hitman, particularly the role he played in the disappearance of labour leader Jimmy Hoffa, his longtime friend, and his involvement with the Bufalino crime family. 'The Irishman' saw its World Premier screening at the recent New York Film Festival, has received widespread critical acclaim, goes on a limited cinematic release from 1st November and is then available via digital streaming on Netflix from 27th November onward. The film stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, Bobby Cannavale, Jesse Plemmons and Anna Paquin amongst others, has a run time of 209 minutes and cost US$159M - being one of Scorsese's most expensive films to date.

'BALLOON' (Rated M) - this true story is Directed and Co-Written by acclaimed German film maker, comedian, Actor, voice artist and author Michael Herbig whose previous hit films in his native Germany were 2001's 'Manitou's Shoe' and 2004's 'Dreamship Surprise'. It is 1979, East Germany at the height of the Cold War, and Gunter Wetzel (David Kross), a bricklayer, and his friend Peter Strelzyk (Friedrich Mucke), an electrician, have reached the end of their tether in the oppressive DDR regime. The two men and their wives Petra Wetzel (Alicia von Rittberg) and Doris Strelzyk (Karoline Schuch) commit themselves to undertake a mission to secretly build a hot air balloon from scratch that will carry them and their families over the border fence into West Germany and to their freedom. Over the course of the next eighteen months they sew 1,000 square metres of cloth, and gather countless weather reports from West German radio, but their first attempt fails due to adverse weather and the balloon crash lands just metres from the border. With the Stasi State Police hot on their tails having found the wreckage, they must now race against time to build a more robust weather resisting balloon that will ensure their success, before being caught. Also starring Thomas Kretschmann.

'BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON' (Rated M) - first time film maker and Screenwriter Paul Downs Colaizzo brings us this comedy drama offering that saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year, went on general release in the US in late August, has generated largely positive press and has grossed US$7M at the Box Office so far. Jillian Bell stars as Brittany Forgler a humorous, friendly, hot mess of a New York dweller who knows how to have a good time and party hard, but at 27, her late-night adventures and early-morning walks-of-shame are starting to catch up with her. When she stops by a doctor's office in an attempt to score some Adderall, she finds herself slapped with a prescription she never wanted. Forced to face reality for the first time in a long time, Brittany laces up her training shoes and runs around one city block working up a sweat. The next day, she runs two. Soon she runs a mile. Brittany finally has some much needed direction in her life and sets herself the goal of running the New York Marathon. But before she can do so, she must overcome a number of challenges along the way! Also starring Michaela Watkins, Alice Lee, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery and Micah Stock.

'47 METRES DOWN : UNCAGED' (Rated M) - here we have a sequel to the 2017 survival horror film '47 Metres Down' which grossed US$63M off the back of a less than US$6M Production Budget despite its mixed Reviews. Now just two years later we have the inevitable follow up that like its predecessor is Directed and Co-Written by British mistress of the horror genre Johannes Roberts. Also like its predecessor this film has garnered mostly mixed Reviews and has so far grossed US$37M from a US$12M Budget. The story here surrounds four teenage girls - Sasha (Corinne Foxx), Mia (Sophie Nelisse), Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Stallone) who decide to go scuba diving to a sunken Mayan city but soon discover that the sunken subterranean ruins are also a hunting ground for deadly great white sharks with evolved senses. With their air supply steadily declining, the frightened girls must navigate the underwater labyrinth of claustrophobic caves and eerie tunnels in their increasingly frantic search for a way out of their watery nightmare.

'YULI' (Rated M) - here Spanish Director, Producer, Writer and Actress Iciar Bollain brings us this biographical drama film about Yuli, the nickname given to Carlos Acosta (played by himself) by his father Pedro (Santiago Alfonso). From a young age, Yuli shied away any kind of discipline and education, instead preferring the streets of a run-down neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba where he learned most of his schooling. But Pedro knows his son has natural talent and forces him to attend Cuba’s National Dance School. Against his will and despite his initial indiscipline, Yuli ends up being captivated by the world of dance, and from childhood he will begin to forge his own legend, as one of the best dancers of his generation, often breaking taboos and becoming the first black artist to dance Romeo in the Royal Ballet in London, where he forged a legendary career as a principal dancer for seventeen years from 1998 through 2015. He has danced with with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and in early 2020 will become the Artistic Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. The music score for the film was written by Alberto Iglesias and the film has so far picked up four award wins and another thirteen nods from around the festival and awards circuit.

With six new release movies this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead, at your local Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

DEADPOOL : Saturday 13th February 2016.

'DEADPOOL' - which I saw over the weekend is the latest big screen adaptation to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will also see  another 'Captain America' instalment come April, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' following in May, 'Doctor Strange' in October, and 'Daredevil' on Netflix in March. Back though to the matter in hand! This is not the first time we have seen 'Deadpool' on the big screen, with the character making his first appearance in 'X-Men Origins : Wolverine' in 2009 when Ryan Reynolds portrayed this character back then too. Development of this first film kicked off way back in 2000, initially stalling and then passing through several Studios and Writers along the way. Tim Miller was hired to Direct in 2011 with filming starting in Canada in early 2015. Reynolds had always wanted to play the character of Wade Wilson/Deadpool since 2003 and was assigned to the project as it went though numerous iterations over the years. With this film greenlit, he stated that this adaptation of the Superhero character would be more authentic than the role he portrayed in the earlier 2009 'Wolverine' outing, and so he we are, and it certainly is that! Probably like no other 'superhero' we have seen before! Made for US$58M the film has so far grossed US$60M since it opened internationally from 10th February, and is expected to do great things financially.

The film opens with a credit sequence depicting an action scene frozen in time with the camera panning though the minute details of the carnage that would go otherwise unnoticed at full speed, as very tongue in cheek credits scroll across the screen that raised more than smile from the largely gathered male teenage audience I was sat amongst. This sets the tone for a very different Marvel Studio's adaptation of the latest character to get its own big screen treatment, and, it's a welcome change.

Once the opening title sequence is done, the action ramps up to the minutes before that frozen in time title sequence occurred, and we meet our character Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) sat in the back of a yellow cab driven by Dopinder (Karan Soni). The two strike up a conversation, like it's an every day occurrence that a masked man in a red and black suit brandishing samurai swords, semi automatic hand guns and knives, around what each of them do in their lives and what has brought them to this point - to create a bit of back story. When Deadpool needs to exit the cab on a bridge above a very busy freeway, he does so and jumps off the bridge and into the seat of a black 4WD below, which is part of fleet of such cars and motorcycle outriders headed up by the villain in the piece Ajax/Francis Freeman (Ed Skrein). The carnage that follows is loud, proud, brutal and bloody as our main man Deadpool dispenses with the bad guys in all manner of ways that leave nothing to the imagination - it's great fun! This then brings us up to speed with that frozen its time opening title sequence, and by now we can piece together the events that led us to this point, but there are more gaps still to be filled in.

After this, it's time to slow things down apace and we go back two years for the origins of how Wade Wilson became Deadpool. A former special ops soldier turned mercenary when his active duty came to an end, he now spends his time protecting young girls from stalkers and low-lifes in New York City. One night he meets up with Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin) an escort, and they quickly hit it off, and they spend the next twelve months having gratuitous sex. One night Wade proposes marriage to Vanessa, and after she accepts, he collapses and passes out. Consultation later with a Doctor reveals that he has terminal cancer.

Later still, Wilson retreats to the bar where he first met Vanessa and is met by The Recruiter (Jed Rees) who offers him a cure and enhanced powers if he undergoes experimental surgery, which Wilson scoffs at and says thanks but no thanks. He leaves, but with The Recruiters calling card. Days later, he has a change of heart when considering what will become of him and Vanessa as the cancer takes hold. He is taken to a 'hospital' where 'Project X' experiments, tests and surgery is conducted on both willing and unwilling patients to either reveal or harness that mutative powers, and where many perish. Wilson is strapped down, and injected with a special serum by Ajax/Francis Freeman overseen by Angel Dust (Gina Curano), who then sets about a series of 'tortures' lasting several weeks in order that his mutations may manifest themselves. With no success after this time Wilson is strapped into an airtight chamber and deprived of oxygen in a final attempt to release his mutations. This is successful which gives him increased strength, the ability to heal quickly, disfigures his skin in the process, and even more twisted sarcastic quick witted sense of humour than he possessed before. He is able to break out of the chamber and bring the facility down in an explosion which sees Ajax and Wilson face off, leaving Wilson for dead as the building burns around him and he is left impaled on an iron bar. But, Wilson is now immortal, and can heal from anything - even from impalings and being burned alive it would seem.

As we progress Wilson adopts the name 'Deadpool' after discussion with his friend and bar owner Weasel (T.J.Miller) who also runs a running bet in his bar on who of the mercenaries who frequent his fine establishment will die next - hence 'Deadpool'. Determined to wreak his revenge on Ajax/Francis, Deadpool begins taking out various underworld syndicates and lynchpins to determine the whereabouts of his ultimate quarry. One by one they meet with a grizzly and merciless end, as Deadpool refines his image and the practicalities of his suit and weaponry. Meanwhile we have come to know that Ajax is a mutant too with an inability to feel any pain - physical and emotional, and also has enhanced strength, and Angel Dust has superhuman strength and speed. However, maintaining the 'X-Men' tie-in quite nicely, Wilson visits the home of Charles Xavier and seeks the previously offered support of Peter Rasputin/Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and his teenage trainee mutant sidekick Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand). We are not introduced to any other X-Men, but there is ongoing reference to them throughout the film - Wolverine especially.

By now we've pretty much got the whole back story, and we come full circle to the opening scenes again where we have just Deadpool and Ajax remaining, but with Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead intervening, Ajax is able to escape. Ajax then wants to dispense with Deadpool once and for all and so hatches a plan to kidnap Vanessa and lure Deadpool out into the open for the final showdown. Of course the final set piece is delivered in spectacular Marvel fashion with Deadpool, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead facing off against Ajax and Angel Dust and a whole bunch of goons who all buy the farm in no uncertain terms. Deadpan gets his revenge, Vanessa and Wilson are reunited at which point she learns the truth about what he has been thorough and what has happened to him as a result, and the way is paved for Deadpool to join the X-Men as a bona fide paid up card carrying member of that elite team.

Throughout the film Wilson/Deadpool gives us a running commentary of his views on life, plot developments, back story, the X-Men, Wolverine, the film making process, his love of 80's popsters 'Wham', and his general wise cracks, quips, anecdotes and smart ass comments. Often he talks directly to the camera and references breaking the fourth wall several times, and it is this narration that sets 'Deadpool' aside from almost all of its predecessors (aside from 'Kick-Ass' perhaps!), plus the more graphic violence that is not seen in other Marvel offerings to the same extent.

Deadpool is a smart-ass bad-ass wise-cracking take no prisoners down to Earth grounded reluctant sexed-up rude crude superhero, that has knocked convention on the head and taken us along for a roller coater ride of bloody violent fast paced action, humour and pathos. It is great fun, not to be missed, and with a sequel already greenlit and Director Tim Miller offered the gig too, then the second instalment can't come soon enough. Watch out for the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, and if you can sit though the closing credits right to the end there is a final sequence involving Deadpool wearing a dressing gown and slippers setting the scene for a sequel, maybe, and a few other tongue in cheek messages to take home!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-