My Latest Obsession- part 4

And I’m back with the 4th of 5 posts regarding all the things ever (or at least the ones available to me in the US) done by Karl Urban. You’ve read 1, 2, and 3, right? There might be a quiz later.

Star Trek Into Darkness

To be fair, it was clear a year prior to the release of this film who the villain was and that created some animosity in my opinion towards seeing it. I mean, I knew I would see it, but I wasn’t jumping up and down to do so. The use of SPOILER Khan as the villain (in the second film, no less) set my hair on end because the first film effectively created a new timeline, complete with new experiences and events shaping it. Why would this event/person still be such a major player? There’s an entire universe of villains out there- can’t someone else cause our heroes some trouble?

I am one of the very few Trek fans who did not see this movie right away- not for lack of trying. I got really sick in May and missed out on 3 planned showings. And then all of my friends had gone without me- so I just recently caught up… Remember how I said the first of the reboots was a great summer blockbuster, but not a Star Trek film? Well… there’s so much in this one that just pisses a Trek fan off, that I have a hard time even accepting it as a summer blockbuster. Why couldn’t it have been a completely original story???

Dammit, Jim! I’m a doctor not an emo teen!

OK… I’ll stop bitching and move on to the important piece related to this series of posts- Karl Urban. Once again McCoy is one of my favorite characters in this new set of films- gotta love the snark! But once again, the character is not the focus and as such, is thrown into scenes and used as either a conscience or a source of information for the audience. He does have two great pieces- in the beginning of the film when we first meet up with his character and later when he becomes essentially the savior of the series (what would a reboot of TOS be without a Kirk?). But one question- if it was possible for McCoy to cheat death, how come none of the later series could do that? I know, you’re saying, “it’s a different timeline, different events have occurred!” True but… Khan and his eugenics buddies were onboard ship for a while in TOS, did McCoy not take a blood sample and do research? Sigh.

I don’t know… maybe I need to see this one again. I may have been biased to dislike it by all the fandom rants. One thing though- can we please have a completely original story in the next one? And perhaps more McCoy and Scotty?

Bourne Supremacy

This is probably my least favorite of the Bourne films- I know I saw it when it came out and probably two or three times since, but I had absolutely no memory of it prior to rewatching during my obsessive marathon. There’s nothing wrong with it. But it only serves the purpose of getting Bourne from where he was at the end of the first movie to where he needed to be in the third movie. Its sole reason for existing is to throw some turbulence into Bourne’s life and tie up some loose ends left from the first film; of course, it creates a whole new ball of crazy to be worked out in the later films.

Admit it, you like him dirty and psycho, too…

Now, since the focus of these posts in Karl Urban, let me write about him- he played a Russian assassin who was to kill Bourne in the beginning of the film and comes back in the end (after apparently spending the middle of the movie hanging out in a Russian club) to finish the job. I really liked him as a badass killer. I mean, there was no emotion (which I expect from someone who is supposed to be a hired killer) until he found out Bourne was still around and boom! he had to go kill the bastard! And damn… hot and lean and damn… when I need to have someone killed I’m calling “Kirill”.

My favorite part of the movie is the taxi bumper car chase through Moscow at the end. It’s full of action and moments where you yell at the screen telling Bourne which way to turn the wheel. Why couldn’t the entire movie be like this scene? Sigh. Oh, did I mention that one of the bumper cars is driven by Kirill? Maybe that’s part of my enjoyment.

I don’t have much else to say about this film- you need to see it as part of the series (it answers questions while posing some that get answered in later pieces) but it’s not a stellar movie. At least I don’t think it is. Even now, hours after watching it, I am having trouble remembering details. Hmmm…

Chronicles of Riddick

dangerous games are played…

This is the first film that I recall asking myself, “who is that hottie? What else has he done?”. Urban played “Vaako”, the bad guy’s number one, who is married to an evil schemer that wants him to be all powerful. Vaako himself isn’t a bad guy- he’s a little blinded by his beliefs, but he’s a strong fighter and theoretically a good general. He believes in what his people are doing.

Obviously, the Vaako storyline is not Riddick’s and thus, not the focus of the film. But because of his position with the bad guy, his path keeps intersecting with Riddick.

I loved Pitch Black and the character of Riddick. This film was a sequel. Without actually being a sequel. I mean, there were two other characters that survived the first movie, and their existence in this film connects the two movies but… there’s nothing of the first in this one. The third film just came out and from the previews it seems to connect the two, so that’s good, but that lack of connection made the two films so far apart… they had to be looked at separate universes. Vaako apparently also appears in the third, so that’s good. In my opinion. Hopefully, I’ll have some free time soon to go check it out.

Ghost Ship

Well… in the end of the 90’s I was working at a Blockbuster and enjoyed my free rentals. I remember picking this one up as I enjoy bad horror. I also used to enjoy Julianna Margulies. And Gabriel Byrne. But before rewatching this film for the posts I could only recall a tiny bit about the movie. I’m not sure if that is good or not.

The plot is this- a group of salvage workers get interested in a possible derelict ship and head out to check it out. Turns out to be a famously missing ship and worth a pretty penny if they can get it back to dock. So they attempt to get it moving and in doing so… well, you get the idea- it is a standard issue horror flick after all. The setting is different, the set dressing is fun, cast is fun… it’s not a horrible flick, it’s just not a great one. Mind you, I’m OK with that- it’s an hour+ of horror fun, that while not a new story is still a fun watch. Especially because the setting allows for some unorthodox deaths.

he’s all dirty and scruffy again… I’ll be in his bunk

Our hero, for the purposes of this series of posts at least, is Munder- one of the engineering grunts. I.e. he fixes things. And ~Spoiler~ he survives most of the movie! Personally, I don’t think I would complain if he was my mechanic. I’m just saying. Not the central character but a solid second string one- and the audience gets enough development to truly care about him.

All in all, if you have some free time, this isn’t a total waste of your time. I’d classify it as a decent B-movie. And good for a grey Saturday afternoon.

Tags: Action, Actors, Bourne, Chronicles of Riddick, Geekery, Ghost Ship, Horror, Karl Urban, Movies, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Star Trek