Category: Action

The Suicide Squad

Rated: MA15+The Suicide Squad

Directed and Written by: James Gunn

Produced by: Charles Roven, Peter Safran

Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Flula Borg, David Dastmalchian and Taika Waititi.

‘Is that rat waving at me?’

The opening scene sees the death of a pretty yellow bird.

Birds feature a lot in, The Suicide Squad mark II.

To the extent I was wondering by the end – what’s with the birds?!  Is it because they represent freedom?  Could be something in that, the squad been given a chance at freedom, etc.

Like the first film, potential members of Task Force X are found languishing in Belle Reve: the prison with the highest mortality rate in America.

Languishing until Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) offers them a deal they can’t refuse: 10 years off their sentence in hell.  Or for those not tempted by the reduced sentence, the promise not to incarcerate a ten-year-old daughter (Storm Reid) that would more than likely mean death.

Sent on another impossible bloody mission, this time to the jungle of Corto Maltese, there’s the same antics from characters such as Captain Boomerang (Michael Rooker) with a whole new cast of villains with unique skills like: Peacemaker (John Cena) who loves to walk around in his y-fronts, Bloodsport (Idris Elba) who really does not get along with Peacemaker, King Shark (Sylvester Stallone)  – apparently a god who now has a taste for human and amongst other new characters, Polka-Dot (David Dastmalchian): the man has issues.  With leader Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) back to direct the chaos.

The film has the same foundation as the first instalment, a squad of anti-heroes sent on a covert mission by the government – but way more extreme.

There’s still that manic fun tone, with the likes of Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) shooting her way to freedom with a demented smile, but I don’t remember the first instalment being so brutal.

Not that nasty is necessarily a bad thing.

I’m a big fan of gallows humour, and there were a lot of funny moments that tickled, sometimes unexpectedly like seeing the back view of Milton (Julio Cesar Ruiz), the bus driver, as he runs after the squad to ‘help out’ in his shorts and Crocs.

And making light of a trained rat, friend of Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), 2 because the first Ratcatcher was her father (Taika Waititi, yep Taika’s in it!):

‘Is that rat waving at me?

‘It appears it is’

…’Why?’

But sometimes the humour was just that bit too off-kilter – see above about the birds.

It was about 50/50 for me.  But when the humour hit, it tickled A LOT.

The narrative goes back and forth in time, highlighted by the inclusion of text in scene – leaves falling to write, ‘Now’.

There’s more clever with relief from the blood and guts when blood’s replaced with an explosion of flowers.

And that blending of scene continues with music played in the bus becoming the soundtrack, the, Pixies track, ‘Hey’ backing the squad as they walk into their next suicide mission.  Gold.

The attention to detail is impressive as director James Gunn pushes the boundaries so the humour’s darker, the violence more bloody, with an added extra tilt towards the demented.

Tending towards horror and comedy rather than action, there’s a lot of entertainment here but brace yourself, it gets twisted.

Gunpowder Milkshake

Rated: MA 15+Gunpowder Milkshake

Directed by: Navot Papushado

Screenplay by: Navot Papushado, Ehud Lavski

Producers: Andrew Rona, p.g.a. Alex Heineman, p.g.a

Starring: Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Chloe Coleman, Paul Giamatti, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela
Bassett.

Gunpowder Milkshake opens to the sounds of a thunderstorm as lone assassin Sam (Karen Gillan) is
completing a hit in her target’s apartment. A rhythmic thudding draws her attention so she turns toward the door. Behind it is a small militia with all guns drawn and pointed at her.

Later, when she is tucked up at home watching TV and casually stitching a flesh wound on her own arm, Sam receives a call summoning her to meet with Nathan (Paul Giamatti), her handler and front man for a shadowy cabal called The Firm.

She’s in trouble.

‘It was supposed to be a low profile gig, not a massacre.’

She has killed the wrong man and The Firm wants to cut her loose, leaving her unprotected.

One of the attackers Sam dispatched was the son of an influential crime figure that The Firm wants onside. When his henchmen find her, Jim McAlester (Ralph Ineson) has vowed, ‘to do terrible things’ to her.

There is only one place left for Sam to turn. The Library. A front and an armoury for a nest of female assassins.

Filmed in Berlin, director Navot Papushado’s city has that otherworldly, Dark City-esque sense of a city forever in darkness lit with glowing neon, a city we recognise but can’t quite identify.

In this parallel reality the violence is so extreme, so gratuitous and so utterly over-the-top that it has a cartoon quality, but it’s the crazily inventive and completely goofy situations that arise from the action that set this movie apart.

If Sam is to leave the Dental Surgery she uses as a makeshift hospital, she must fight her way out of an ambush with both of her arms paralysed.

For their side, the faceless men in black suits, The Firm’s board members and McAlester’s mafia-style crime family both represent rigidly hierarchical organisations. ‘They make all the rules and change them when it suits their needs’, always assured of their ability to muster overwhelming force.

When McAlester’s man Virgil (Adam Nagaitis) yells out, ‘You think you have a chance here? I’ve got an army!’ He means it. His boss has sent a bus full of men to take Sam down.

Sheltering from the gunfire behind the library’s check in desk with her mother (Lena Headey), Sam counters, ‘I’ve got my mum’.

Sam’s retort is pitch perfect and it beautifully encapsulates so much of the nuance in the movie. Not only does it acknowledge the fact of Sam’s dearly longed for relationship with her estranged mother in this desperate moment and the ferocity of her mother, she is a formidable ally, but also the way that the movie unobtrusively values the traditionally feminine arts such as sewing alongside gun slinging and close-quarters combat.

Never underestimate a librarian, or the emancipating qualities of good book. The women are kickass in this movie, taking it up to the men on their own terms, even while they have quietly created pockets of resistance that function beneath their notice and an ingenious method to hide their weapons.

This movie is just plain fun to watch.

Deliver Us From Evil (Daman Ak-ehseo Guhasoseo)

Rated: MA15+Deliver Us From Evil

Written and Directed by: Won Chan Hong

Produced by: Chul Yong Kim

Starring: Jung Min Hwang, Jung Jae Lee, Jeong Min Park.

Korean with English subtitles.

‘You don’t need to go this far.’

Deliver Us From Evil is the sort of gritty crime-thriller I hope to come across and will be going on my, ‘Best Thriller Movies,’ recommendation list.

Starting in Tokyo, In-nam (Jung Min Hwang) is an assassin for hire.

He has one last job, then he’s done.

‘You got a job.  A big one.’

Then it’s time to dip his toes into the ocean.

In-nam doesn’t look like a knife-wielding assassin. But when there’re shots fired in the dark, we see his blood splattered face – shh… shh… he says, as the life drains from his target.

Cut to Bangkok and the kidnapping of a young nine-year-old girl.

His daughter.

Enter Ray-The-Butcher (Jung Jae Lee).  Blood brother to his last target.  A man In-nam should have killed a long time ago.  A man who won’t stop.

In-nam is an assassin with a history.  He doesn’t get to just leave.

The story has several threads chasing In-nam (it really does feel like he’s hunted by the narrative): he wants to retire, he’s running to escape his past and people with scores to settle; but more than anything, he wants to save his daughter.

He makes contact with people in Bangkok, leading to lady-boy Yui (Jeong Min Park), his guide.  So there’s all the action of the backstory of his daughter’s kidnapping while In-nam and now Yui are chased by this mad-dog gangsta, The Butcher.

It’s non-stop set on the streets of Bangkok all captured by cinematographer Kyeong Pyo Dp Hong (he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on, Parasite) – non-stop action filmed using a stop motion technique so the hand-to-hand combat in hotel hallways or the confined space of a lift are all captured in detail for the audience to appreciate.

And then there’s the scenery from Japan to Korea to Thailand with the film captured in Bangkok immediately recognisable with the heat of burnt orange streets and a machine gun fight from the back of a took-took.

The film isn’t this superficial or flat feeling killing spree – there’s also these moments of humanity: the sweetness of a young girl and the assassin with dead eyes coming alive to save his daughter.

I couldn’t look away from the visceral carnage yet got teary because there’s a good story at the foundation of all the action.

And there’s care taken with the filming: a fleeting shadow, the slowing of a scene to the jolt of a car crash.  There’s nothing held back except holding off from a complete gore-fest so I was able to keep watching – a fine line between gross and gritty artfully kept so torture, stabbing and child organ farming are all part of the story but instead of sickening, the grit adds to the suspense.

Brutal, but if you’re a fan of a gritty crime-thriller, you’re in for a treat.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

Rated: MA15+Those Who Wish Me Dead

Directed by: Taylor Sheridan

Screenplay by: Michael Koryta, Charles Leavitt and Taylor Sheridan

Based on the Book by: Michael Koryta

Produced by: Steven Zaillian, Garrett Basch, p.g.a., Aaron L. Gilbert, Kevin Turen, Taylor Sheridan, p.g.a.

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen, Nicholas Hoult, Jake Weber, Medina Senghore, Tyler Perry, Boots Southerland, Tory Kittles, James Jordan, Lora Martinez-Cunningham, Howard Ferguson JR., Ryan Jason Cook, Laura Niemi.

“I did the right thing.”

Those Who Wish Me Dead has everything I expected from a Taylor Sheridan film.

The edge-of-your-seat suspense hits from the opening scene: with flashes to black to a parashuter, smokejumper Hannah (Angelina Jolie) falling into the smoke of a raging fire.

Then the layering of story, that impending doom as forensic accountant Owen (Jake Weber) flees with his son Connor (Finn Little) – there’s a directive to kill those who know too much.  No survivors.  It’s a zero sum game.

So father and son escape to the forests of Montana where Owen’s late wife’s brother lives – Ethan (Jon Bernthal), also a sheriff.

But if the worst happens, Owen gives his son a note with all his secrets, to, ‘Give to someone you can trust.’

When Hannah finds Owen wandering in the forest, is she someone he can trust?

She’s a firefighter, haunted by nightmares of her past.  She’s a tough cookie, loved by her team, her fellow firies who see the wild as she drinks, releases a parachute from the back of a truck while still attached.

What they don’t see is her guilt.  But Ethan sees her.  He’s also her ex.

The small town relationships are intertwined – a delicate balance as two hitmen, (Aidan Gillen, Nicholas Hoult) bring disaster, chasing down survivors.  Chasing a young boy who knows too much.

There’s a lot going on in this film but it’s all so well handled and balanced I felt like I was watching this intense story unfold in real time.  While gripping the arms of the cinema chair, holding my breath.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

As well as the suspense, there some shocks and jumps alongside the well-thought crime thriller.

There’s also the relationships, authentic characters and awe inspiring scenery (director of photography Ben Richardson (Wind River (2017)) – those huge expanses of landscape, the clouds and then the fire storm devouring everything like a monster.  Like Hannah’s demons come back to chase her.

But even more than a great story (love a movie based on a book if the screenplay is done right) and cinematic shots and detail like gunfire flashing light in the eye of a killer – every single character was perfectly cast and absolutely believable.

Angelina was made for this role – down to earth, tough, haunted, fighting her way back from guilt by saving this kid.

So there’s a focus on the drama in this film rather than a deep dive into the case the forensic accountant was running away from.  And wow, a rarity for me, the finely balanced intricacies of the drama was more compelling than the crime.  Very rare.

Yet still – that suspense!

Yeah, I liked this movie.  Every bit.

Twist

Rated: MTwist

Directed by: Martin Owen

Produced by: Ben Grass, Jason Maza, Noel Clarke and Matthew Williams

Starring: Raff Law, Sir Michael Caine, Lena Heady, Rita Ora, Franz Drameh, Sophie Simnett, David Walliams, Jason Maza and Noel Clarke.

Loosely based on the classic Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist, we have an older version of Oliver introducing the film as a story with, ‘No singing, no danc’n, and definitively no happy end’n.’

Twist is a fast-paced, modern day heist movie featuring orphans more the twenty-year old variety, in other words, old enough to drink.

The main character, Twist (Raff Law – yes, that’s Jude Law’s son and looks the spit of him) is described as an extreme graffiti artist – getting up high on buildings so more people can see his work.

He’s also a freerunner, the camera angles following front, above, a helmet cam looking forwards as he runs and jumps and… twists (tee, hee, couldn’t help myself).

Twist says, ‘I was better on my own’.

But then he meets Red (Sophie Simnett).

She’s a freerunner too.

And belongs to people.  To Fagin (Sir Michael Caine) who says thieving is surviving.

And to Fagin’s main crew, Batsey (Franz Drameh) and Dodge (Rita Ora); it’s like the family Twist thinks he doesn’t need but discovers he wants, ‘A family that eats together stays together,’ says Fagin.

Maybe Twist doesn’t want to be alone anymore.

And soon gets entangles in the next Big Job, only to discover there’s another player, Sikes (Lena Heady (Game Of Thrones)).  She doesn’t play nice.

There’s some fun moments here – who doesn’t like watching the trickery of freerunning?!  And some surprising violence.

The splice of music into the soundtrack from the radio or the jukebox was clever.

But sometimes it felt a bit trying, those light-hearted throwaway lines and inconceivable moments like landing in a carriage awaiting a bride and groom from a jump a good few stories above.

None of the jokes hit the mark.

And if you’re going to have the arrogance of strong-willed, baby-gangsters, some of that humour has to land otherwise it  just feels like they’re being brats.

That required optimism and I’m-immortal overtones dragged on some of the cooler ideas of art imitating life (there’s a nice piece that warms the heart), but the film twists the concept into a space that becomes unbelievably optimistic.

And that’s OK.  Because the film is directed at a younger audience.

Entertaining and although we all need some hope at the moment, Twist was a bit twee for my taste.

Mortal Kombat

Rated: R

Directed by: Simon McQuoid

Produced by: James Wan

Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Ludi Lin, Chin Han and Mehcad Brooks.

Death is just another portal.

The Tournament is coming.  Where worlds send warriors who have unlocked their arcana, their power of the soul, to fight.

The Outworld has won the last nine tournaments against Earthrealm, and is set to win the tenth by any means, giving them domination over the Universe.

Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), a Cryomancer, is determined to end the bloodline of Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada ) – dating back to Japan 1617, where Hanzo is seen living his day-to-day life with his family.  He says to his wife, ‘I am grateful and blessed to be with you.’

He’s a good guy.

Sent to hell.

His family left frozen amongst the flowers.

The film shifts to modern times, a jolt to MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan) getting a pep talk from his coach before walking into the cage.

He carries a mark he doesn’t understand.  A mark making him an Earthrealm champion.

He’s also a family man, about to take a beating.

I braced myself for the cheesy asides and family drama while Cole dodges Sub-Zero, Cole unaware of his heritage dating back to that fateful day in Japan where a baby is somehow overlooked and survives (how was this overlooked, I wondered at the time?).

But while Outworld’s Emperor, Shang Tsung sends his warriors to take down Earth’s champions before the high stakes battle even begins, the film introduces a pleasant (well, maybe pleasant isn’t the right word) surprise: chained-up rogue mercenary, Kano (Josh Lawson).  An Aussie meat-head that immediately disarms with comments like, ‘You don’t have the mongrel in you.’  And, ‘No skin off my sack.’ Ha, ha!

I wasn’t expecting crude humour in this video game inspired action fantasy, and was thankful for the risk, lightening the mood, adding to the already entertaining bloody action-packed fights.

Then the film got a little more serious with the good versus evil, or Earthworld versus the Outworlders as Cole finds the temple of Lord Raiden to train, to find his arcana.

Mortal Kombat is an entertaining action movie with good effects: frozen swords and triple, quadruple kicks and getting sawed in half and arms-frozen-off action.

Good on the big screen that gets bloody, with a splash of humour – while entertained in the cinema watching, immediately forgotten – I have to blame some of my distraction on the hellish (ha, ha, excuse the pun, those fans of Scorpion) – day.

There’s a few holes in the story that got me wondering about the why (fans of the video game franchise will notice nods to the game and get more out of the storyline).  But there’re enough surprises, laughs and satisfying wins to make Mortal Kombat (the movie) a good entertainer.

Nobody

Rated: MA15+Nobody

Directed by: Ilya Naishuller

Written by: Derek Kolstad

Produced by: Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Braden Aftergood, Bob Odenkirk, Marc Provissiero

Executive Producers: Derek Kolstad, Marc S. Fisher, Annie Marter, Tobey Maguire

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Aleksey Serebryakov and Christopher Lloyd.

Bloody, handcuffed and lighting a cigarette, to then reach into his pocket to open a can of tuna?  Kinda sums up the character that is Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk).

He’s a veteran.  But known only to be The Auditor.  A seemingly benign role that more likely means the last person you’ll ever meet.

But now, Hutch is a family man with a wife, Becca (Connie Niesen) and two kids.

The family moments are captured well, without overdramatising the sentiment – how is it kids know just the right thing to say to make you feel better?

Although, I was confused about the extent of Becca’s involvement or knowledge of Hutches previous life.

But the gist of the changed man was there; the family life where every day seems the same: ‘I may have overcorrected,’ is one aside from Hutch.

Until a pair of robbers break into his house.

Nobody has that classic formula of bad guy turned good until he’s wronged.  He’ll take punishment even though he knows he can retaliate.  He’ll take it until he’s pushed too far.

And if you think that sounds a little familiar the script is from Derek Kolstad (John Wick franchise).

The getting pushed was a little weak here.  But the retaliation was awesome.

Bloody and vicious with broken-bat-wiped-across-chest, and hit over the head with boiling tea kettle action (classic) included.

There’s a character in the credits named, ‘Big Brute,’ which aptly sums up the enemies Hutch has to take down.

And Odenkirk as Hutch is good fun with his asides and ever suffering demeanour – but he’s not too layered.  More, a need to break out of his self-made prison and to bloody his fists to feel alive again.

Christopher Lloyd as grandpa is a cracker.

But the story felt a little thin to me – maybe there’s a sequel coming with backstory?  AKA the John Wick series?  That would be a treat.

So without too high an expectation, well, I did go in with really high expectations being such a fan of Odenkirk, I was a little disappointed but overall still had a lot of fun.  Great ride.

Godzilla Vs Kong

Rated: MGodzilla Vs Kong

Directed by: Adam Wingard

Produced by: Thomas Tull, Jon Jasni, Brian Rogers, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod

Screenplay by: Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein

Story by: Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields

Based on: Godzilla by Toho King Kong by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir and Kaylee Hottie.

Kong bows to no-one.

But it’s a fight until one submits when it comes to the Alpha Titans.

A sequel to, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, here the ancient enemies, Godzilla and Kong are kept apart – Kong detained back at Skull Island and Godzilla keeping his peace with humanity. Until he attacks Apex Cybernetics seemingly unprovoked.

But there’s more to Apex lurking beneath the surface, Godzilla instinctively sniffing out any challenge…

There’s always an expectation with the mega monster movies of some cheesy moments, Godzilla Vs Kong the fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse – and there’s some borderline dialogue with cliché comments like Dr. Nathan Lind’s (Alexander Skarsgård), ‘I might have an idea, but it’s crazy.’

And, ‘No one keeps the reigns on Kong,’ from Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall).

But combined with Kong waking up, scratching his hairy butt before taking a morning wash under a waterfall, it all kinda blends into a light-hearted banter that keeps the film rolling in between explosive monster fighting action.

Godzilla Vs Kong is loud, colourful and at times I felt like I was on a roller coaster.

Going back into the history of the two ancient titans, with redacted documents flashing at the beginning of the film, I thought there’d be more to the story. But the backbone of the film is the fight to be the alpha titan: the fight not so much the why.

What was surprising was the effects as ships sped up to 600km through blue lights and exploding through a crack in the centre of the earth to break into the upside-down Hollow World that tilts back onto itself, filled with sparkling blue rocks and lush forests and bat-like vultures reaching out with strong legs to rip you apart.

I highly recommend viewing this film on the big screen.

Made for a younger audience with asides from returning character, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), along with, I’m-afraid-of-guns, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison); there’s also the conspiracy theorist, Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), and, ‘That podcast is filling your head with rubbish,’ from Madison’s dad – I was still able to have a giggle at the antics of the characters, while silently cheering for both Kong and Godzilla. Hard not to be a fan of both.

And while there’s nothing new here with the story (or didn’t feel like it,anyway), I enjoyed the spectacle.

For me, better than, Godzilla: King of Monsters but not as good as, Kong: Skull Island (John C. Reilly as Marlow: pure gold).

Cosmic Sin

Rated: MCosmic Sin

Directed by: Edward Drake

Written by: Edward Drake and Corey Large

Produced by: Corey Large

Starring: Frank Grillo, Bruce Willis, Brandon Thomas Lee, Perrey Reeves, Corey Large, Lochlyn Munro.

A sci-fi action movie that lacked a good hook and in the end, missed the mark.

Cosmic sin: When a species makes a pre-emptive strike, to commit genocide and wipe out an entire race – to stop a war that hasn’t begun…

A task General James Ford (Bruce Willis) has already had practice, wiping out 70 million souls when a colonised planet wanted to separate from the Alliance.

Cosmic Sin is a sci-fi that leaps through the years from 2031, the first colonisation of Mars, through to 2524 when humans make First Contact with an alien species.

‘We may not be alone in the universe,’ says Lt Fiona Ardene (Adelaide Kane), one of the only believable characters in the film.

Ethnologist Dr. Lea Goss (Perry Reeves) wants to know if the contact was positive or negative?

First contact was not positive.

Hence General Eron Ryle (Frank Grillo) making the call, bringing in the Blood General, in case they need to drop another Q-Bomb, to not just stop a war but to save the human race.

The clock ticks as minutes pass since first contact while a rag-tag team is put together to follow radio-active tracing back to the alien’s home planet.

To fight to save humanity.

It gets a little dramatic shown in the conversations between the team members provoking a feeling of forced sentiment that didn’t go anywhere because it was all glossed over, the emotion relying on strings in the soundtrack and some knowing eye contact.

I guess what you’d expect from an action movie, but I wanted more meat with this storyline of making First Contact – not just an immediate: us versus them.

It felt contrived: the honking horns, machine guns, smoking cigarettes.

The dialogue missed the mark as well, with only a rare moment of light-hearted exchange, mostly from the Bruce Willis character, ‘I’m just thinking,’ says his side-kick Dash, (Corey Large), who both wants to fight and buy his general a drink.

To which Ford replies, ‘Did it hurt?’

The effects were OK, with space ship battles like red laser tag while the team shot past in armoured space-suits.

The film was shot using Sony Venice cameras at 6K with Zeiss Master Anamorphic lenses.  The look of the film made by, “‘baking in’ a high contrast photographic look into the raw files, thus allowing the colorists to dial in the films primary colors: black and magenta.”

But the story felt choppy, like another draft was needed. And the forced emotion, l have to say, made me cringe.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train

Rated: MA 15+Demon Slayer

Directed by: Haruo Sotozaki

Written by: Ufotable

Produced by: Akifumi Fujio, Masanori Miyake, Yūma Takahashi

Voices: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitō,  Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Hiro Shimono, Akira Ishida

Early in the film, a motley band of friends is racing to jump aboard a steam train that has already begun pulling away from the station. They are hampered by their swords which they need to keep hidden from the other passengers. Even so, they all bring their swords aboard because, ‘You never know when a demon might appear.’

Their plan is to meet up with the revered Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku (Hiro Shimono), and join him in the Corps of Demon Slayers. Forty passengers have recently disappeared off the Mugen train and there are suspicions that demons have infiltrated the line.

One of the essential differences between this film and its western counterparts is the way that the bad guys are conceptualised. In the west the baddies are stars and their backstory and motivations are often the focus.

Whereas in the Japanese film, demons do not act according to reason. The Japanese demons are almost solely defined by their appearance and their actions. This, of course, switches the role of their heroes also.

I noticed this in particular when I compared Mugen Train with Wonder Woman 1984. While both films are about vanquishing demons there are some significant contrasts.

In Wonder Woman, the evolution of the villain from smarmy snake oil salesman type to world conquering demon is far more nuanced in comparison to the personal journey of the exceptional being graced with magical powers who swoops in to save humanity from a demon who is manipulating the population through their wishes.

In Mugen Train the aspiring demon slayers all hail from humble backgrounds. Even the Flame Hashira Rengoku has come from a modest home and has risen above some heart wrenching setbacks.

The demon slayers could be you or me if we were that devoted to a cause, with Inosuke (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka), the boar-headed one appealing to the lustier side of our natures.

While ravening demons that immediately regenerate may have an unfair advantage in battle, at least until they are beheaded, the demon slayers each have a spiritual core which aligns them to the vast elemental forces of the earth.

Rengoku is able to call upon the Blooming Flame Undulation and Blazing Universe forms to pit against Destructive Death: Air Type of the demon.  Life hangs in the balance as the monster Akaza (Akira Ishida) confronts him with his own mortality, ‘Strength isn’t a word to describe a body . . . If you refuse to become a demon I’ll kill you. You’ll die while you are still young and strong.’

In this film dynamic action sequences and epic battles with a slew of hideous, soul slurping demons, but there is also a deep reverence for the fragility of life this planet and the elements that support our being. This is a film that ends with the question, ‘What’s more important than grief?’ It is a question the film asks so delicately we barely notice that we have been asked, and yet it is asking us to identify what it is that we will fight to the death to save.

Whenever I think of adult animations I usually feel that I have outgrown them so I was in for a surprise. The animation is so sensitively wrought, visually rich and poetically resonant in a piece of filmmaking with subtlety and depth.

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