Bovie Movie

You can forgive Britain’s major movie magazines for not spotting the impact this audacious thriller was going to have. Few had even heard of director Bryan Singer or screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, and there wasn’t much feature potential in the jobbing actors of the mug-shot line-up. Yet, by the end of 1995, it was vying with Shallow Grave and The Shawshank Redemption for the number one spot in most people’s top tens and Kevin Spacey was suddenly the coolest actor in Hollywood. Was it because it gave the world the criminal mastermind Keyzer Soze? Maybe it was the intricacy of the flashback-packed script and the deft sleights of hand executed by its fledgeling director. Perhaps everyone admired the outstanding ensemble acting. Yes, Spacey stole the show and fully merited the best supporting actor Oscar for his mesmerising performance, but everyone in that rogues’ gallery played their part to perfection, not to mention the mysterious Pete Postlethwaite and confused cops Dan Hedaya and Chazz Palminteri. Or was it simply that noticeboard that kept coming back to haunt everyone? Whatever the reason, it’s a film that demands to be watched again and again — this is good old-fashioned pulp fiction told in the slickest 1990s style. 

Prepare to marvel at more death-defying feats as X-Men director Bryan Singer resurrects the Man of Steel for a new millennium. Newcomer Brandon Routh dons the cape as Superman and he carries two-and-a-half hours of preposterous plot with sheer charm, growing in confidence even as the plausibility of Clark Kent’s dual existence is stretched to breaking point. Routh’s eerie resemblance to Christopher Reeve is a bonus that also reflects Singer’s back-to-basics approach: the film is tinged with nostalgia for the original franchise, from the cheeky humour to John Williams’s trumpeting score. But Singer also takes advantage of new technology to create even-more breathtaking special effects, as when Superman balances an aeroplane on its nose. Kevin Spacey is adeptly sinister as Lex Luthor, although Parker Posey steals his thunder as sassy gangster’s moll Kitty Kowalski. And, while Kate Bosworth might be a little too timid for Lois Lane, her thorny relationship with the long-absent Superman provides a nice counterpoint to all the world-saving exploits. 

Director Peter Jackson realises his lifelong dream with this second remake of the 1933 classic. He lovingly honours the original, expertly re-creating exact sequences while embellishing them astutely to recapture its thrilling escapism for modern audiences. Set in the same year that the quintessential monster movie was made, the story sees maverick film-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black) save dancer Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) from the Depression breadline to star in his latest adventure that’s to be shot on mysterious Skull Island. But, just as a shipboard romance is kindled between Ann and scriptwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), she is kidnapped by nasty natives who offer her to their living god, Kong. Where this remake particularly impresses is with the poignantly fleshed out relationship that develops between Ann and her brilliantly executed CGI jungle protector, and this pays enormous emotional dividends when the giant ape escapes after being shipped to Manhattan. The scenes involving an exhilarating brontosaurus stampede, a scary T rex battle and a creepy giant insect gorge may add to the film’s extreme length, but Jackson’s return of the King nevertheless remains sensational entertainment.