situations as a secret service spy on a mission. This same premise has obviously been kept for the sequel, with English summoned from his place in a Tibetan martial camp back into the service of the M17 (the fictional version of M16). Yet somewhere along the way, the writers lost a certain magic. I was one of those who loved the first film, despite the less than pleasant reviews, but I really cannot see what the need for this sequel was. The situations English finds himself in are tame in nature; you can see what the writers wanted to achieve yet in no way or form did they achieve it. It is as if the audience are watching a series of skits on a mild comedy program, with the only common denominator being English. Director Oliver Parker has not portrayed the gravity of each situation English is in, so even if it’s meant to be funny, it isn’t. Even when he beats up the elderly mother of his boss, he is scolded like a five-year-old and come end scene, we forget all about it. Obviously the familyfriendly nature of the film prevents rationality to be taken too seriously, but even so, the magnitude of English’s misfortune is without measure. The film provides a few giggles, but these are mostly attributed to Atkinson’s hilarious facial expressions and overconfident persona. He conveys English’s awkwardness well, but the supporting cast are so dull Atkinson has no one to bounce off. Even Agent Tucker, played by newcomer Daniel Kaluuya, is wooden in his reception of the shambles that is Reborn. The chemistry from the first film between sidekick Bough (Ben Miller) and English was one of the shining points of that film and it’s disappointing that Reborn couldn’t replicate it. Adding to this is just plain lazy writing and direction. Reborn feels rushed, with the story having little time to develop in the viewer’s mind. The general premise involves discovering the identities of a group of assassins before they assassinate the Chinese Premier, but for a large proportion of the film, it seems like English is just jumping from scene to scene randomly with the story a convenient yet ambiguous way to join the dots. All up though, the film achieves what it set out to do; to be an undemanding and fun family film. It is an easy watch and watching Atkinson on screen is always a pleasure. This should be it for Johnny English though; I, for one, hope the mindlessness of English doesn’t generate another sequel.
www.ausm.org.nz
Real Steel
Directed by Shawn Levy Film Review by David Bellinger
(B+)
Back in the 1970s (yes I was around then, complete with platform sandals) I was introduced to this cool toy called Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots, where two players manipulated their controls to try and make their robot punch the head off their opponent’s robot. Full on battle noises resounded as two testosterone-fuelled boys dealt to each other vicariously through their robot toys. Ironically, at about the same time, robot-like actor Sylvester Stallone trotted out a small budget boxing movie called Rocky. Fast forward 30 years and in a sense matters have come full circle, courtesy of Real Steel. Directed by Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night), and based on a 1956 short story by Richard Matheson, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) as Charlie Kenton, a down on his luck robot boxing promoter around the year 2027. Charlie was a “real contender” in the boxing world, until the sport was revolutionised through 600kg robotic boxers taking the place of human fighters in the ring. Now Charlie tries to make ends meet by scraping together enough cash and scrap robot bits, to enter his latest robotic contender in various seedy underground mechanical boxing leagues. These underground arena fights are usually to the death and Charlie all too often winds up on the mortis end before the bell tolls for the final round. His robots are outclassed and outgunned by the opposition, but more often than not it is Charlie is the bad bet. Even his long time supporter, Bailey (Evangeline Lilly, Lost) is losing faith. Enter his estranged son, 11-year-old Max (Dakota Goyo). Having recently lost his mother, Max is supposed to be given into Charlie’s care. Charlie’s initial response to fatherhood is to sell custody to the boys’ wealthy aunt). But Max, refusing to be dumped, convinces Charlie to introduce him to the world of robot boxing, and soon stumbles upon an old second generation sparring robot in a junkyard.
Despite his father’s cynicism he sets out to prove this robot is the big break Charlie has been looking for. Along the way we are treated to the up and down ride of father and son trying to bond, interspersed with loads of robot boxing as they try to fight their way to that once-in-a-lifetime world championship. Therein lays the major difficulty with this film. Is it a father and son drama portraying the journey towards finding a semblance of family and belonging? Or is it a no-actionbarred smash fest as these large mechanical gladiators go hammer and tong in the arena? To a large extent, the film is stranded somewhere in between the two. It wanders back and forth from heart tugging drama to full on CGI fighting action. Did I enjoy this film? Hell yes! Even though the pace of the film slowed from time to time, the CGI and animatronics robot fights were loads of fun. This is a modern day screen version of “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” with a whole lot more eye candy. I came away from the film thinking “I want one”, never minding the cost of technological restraints. Biff, bam, boom, whammo! Bring on Rocky 2. Oops, I meant Real Steel 2.
Evanescence Evanescence
Album Review by Pooja Chandnani
(B+)
From being a small American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995, to assembling EPs and releasing their first full-length album in 2003, to releasing their highly awaited self-titled record after a threeyear sabbatical, Evanescence have come a long way. After 15 years into the business, the multi-platinum band has made the most collaborative, united album of its career. The album kicks off with What You Want, which was the fruit of an out-of-the-blue jam session in front woman Amy Lee’s living room. Not exactly heavy, it grabs your attention with its catchy chorus that is hard to forget. Following that you dive straight into heavy and
31.