mattslim333

Deepwater Horizon is based on true events- the explosion of an oil rig in 2010, which created the worst oil spill in US history. The first act of the film is rather character driven and explores the life of Mark Williams, played by Mark Wahlberg. He does a great job in the role and as usual puts in a great performance. Other actors include John Malkovich and Kurt Russell who also do well with the solid script, which relies largely on banter in the opening part, and the film can be funny despite the sensitive topic. As the film continues, you know what's coming and the way tension is built though mechanical shots of the inner workings of the rig are clever, as this builds the tension.

The actual explosion is the rig is incredibly intense, and the film is gripping all the way through. Even though most know the story, Deepwater Horizon never lost my interest and this is credit to the director Peter Berg, who showed his action style with the also gripping Lone Survivor. The action was largely not done through CGI and therefore looks very realistic and this is crucial for a personal film such as this. The aftermath and closing section of the film is very moving- after the high tension of the explosion, the personal tragedy caused by the event comes to the fore here and makes for a terrific ending and tribute to those who lost there lives. The soundtrack is touching here, and this is no surprise with the excellent Steve Jabolonsky on scoring duties.

The film's only fault is there is little development of most characters and they rather get lost behind the weight of the story, apart in this case from Wahlberg's character. Overall, Deepwater Horizon is a intense and moving tribute to those who lost their lives in this tragic event, and it's personal touch is clear which makes for an excellent film.

Paul Greengrass always delivers on action and suspense, a case proved with the original Bourne films and Captain Phillips, so I knew what to expect but I wanted more than that. I didn't get it.

The plot of the latest Jason Bourne film is basically him trying to find out more about his past, whilst being hunted by the CIA, so little is different from the originals. The only difference is bigger action sequences, and I must say they are spectacular, primarily the Athens sequence and the Las Vegas chase, as they are both suspenseful and enthralling. These both happen at opposite ends of the film, which consequently leaves the middle section pretty empty and cumbersome. There's a lot of running about through buildings in cities around Europe, and this never really leads anywhere and makes the middle section fairly boring.

The acting is OK, with Matt Damon doing fine with his little dialogue, with Tommy Lee Jones and Julia Stiles doing fine also, but nothing pushes the actors. The best performance comes from Vincent Cassel, who plays a CIA asset, with his character being the most interesting and developed in the film. The ending is also a problem, which is only there for sequel baiting and it should of been the start of the next film. Jason Bourne offers nothing new to the franchise, and it keeps looking back when it should be looking forward. I would also criticise the subplot of the "Deep Dream Co-operation" which is entirely pointless and doesn't add to what is basically a 2 hour chase.

Overall though, the film is pretty enjoyable, and is by no means terrible, just a bit boring in the middle and the lack of new ideas is evident. The franchise must have a new director to take it foreword, so we start looking at Bourne's future instead of his past.

Well, this isn't technically the 3rd film in the ever expanding X-Men franchise, but it is the 3rd in the prequel trilogy, and it's hopefully the last. X-Men Apocalypse is about the alleged first mutant who wants to "cleanse" the Earth and keep alive only the strong. The X-Men try to stop him, and the film starts in Ancient Egypt and this is never a good sign as the plot has too many strands which makes it rather complex. This isn't a criticism as all the plot elements are nicely brought together and overall the plot is OK. Michael Fassbender returns as Magneto and his character is seen in a different light in the 1st act; it's good character development for Magneto. Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy do what you expect them to do, which is put in good performances. They aren't challenged as the script is nothing special but it's certainly not the worst writing I've seen.

So what I've said so far suggests the film is mediocre and this is true but it needn't of been. The part of the film, leading up to the final battle is actually pretty enjoyable. It moves along well and I was really getting into the film. Couple this with Quicksilver's scene( the best part of the film by a mile) and it looks like a grand finale is in store. However, the finale is very predictable, as you could easily guess what was going to happen and there was no intrigue there at all. It was very standard action movie CGI stuff, so I actually found it pretty boring and it really spoils the good work of the rest of the film. It feels like the film builds to a climax that isn't what is should be: it's just a CGI, seen it all before fest. Despite this, the newcomers Ben Hardy and Sophie Turner excel in there roles and show why they should be in more blockbusters in the future.

Overall, the decent script and decent acting can't help X-Men Apocalypse which loses it way in the final act, even though the promise was there. The predictability of the finale and the CGI heavy action really make it boring. I'm all for action scenes but this needed to feel more realistic (if that's possible in a superhero film) and more physical. I enjoyed parts of it, but it could of been so much better.