ethanbresnett

After the painfully emotional and poignant 'Past Lives', I was expecting a strong follow up from Celine Song. Unfortunately everything that was great about that film is lacking here.

My primary issue with this film is that it just feels so lacking in emotion. I don't know how you manage to get three hot people, who all seemed to have great chemistry on the press tour, and end up with no passion on the screen. There was no yearning. No heart. No spark. I think this is for a few reasons.

Firstly, I do fear that Dakota Johnson is a bit of a charm vacuum. I've seen her in enough projects now to finally conclude that she just doesn't have movie star charisma. Evans and Pascal held up their end of the bargain, but they had little to bounce off.

I would also level some accusations at the script. It felt very vapid, with nothing of note to say about dating or love. A sexual assault subplot didn't feel particularly well handled, and the character arcs were entirely one dimensional. It was also hard to root for Johnson's character as she was just a bit awful.

Aside from this the film is rather beautiful, which makes it a real shame! Celine Song captured everything beautifully, and this was complimented by the lovely score. The wardrobe department did a great job too.

Such a shame as I feel like all the building blocks were there, but unfortunately some of them were a bit misshapen.

Fountain of Youth is a cheap imitation of much better films like Indiana Jones and National Treasure, but it's still fun enough.

John Krasinski is a perfectly serviceable lead as treasure hunter Luke, although he doesn't offer too much inspiration really. He isn't a character you care too much about and lacks a bit of passion. Natalie Portman is a far superior actor so she manages to eek out slightly more impact from the script, but it still feels pretty phoned in. Domhnall Gleeson similarly brings a bit more spark, but feels wasted.

The plot is exactly what you'd expect from this sort of thing. It trots the globe and has fist fights and gun fights and secret passages and all that sort of thing. None of it feels particularly groundbreaking, especially compared to classics like Indiana Jones. It's not bad by any stretch, but it just feels derivative.

The set pieces are relatively entertaining, again if nothing special. There's a good range of set pieces and environments and they are decently captured.

Overall though, I do think this film just lacks spark. It feels a little bit too buttoned up and lacks any real edge. It's not bad, but doesn't really get the pulse racing.

The Naked Gun is exactly what you'd expect it to be.

It follows the spoofy goofy formula with quick fire gags and puns galore. Whether you enjoy this very much depends on your sense of humour. It was hit and miss for me, with some really hilarious moments mixed with gags that just didn't land. Plenty of moments had the whole theatre laughing out loud, so it certainly hits the mark at times.

The plot is fine but that's somewhat incidental. It's all about the jokes and the plot is just there to facilitate them. That being said, it has a perfectly fine mystery running through it that is intriguing enough.

I wasn't entirely convinced by Liam Neeson in the lead role. I just don't think comedy is his forte and his delivery wasn't hitting the mark for me. Pamela Anderson was great though, it's always a treat to see her in a leading role.

Overall then, your enjoyment of this film will very much depend on your sense of humour. If you like silly gags this has them aplenty, but if you prefer a more sophisticated style of humour I'd steer well clear.