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Strider Gets Iced (2007)
Kubrick does Bond, if Bond was noir
Chris Smith's perfectly timed debut feature came as the world was in need of a new hero. Pierce Brosnan had retired his critically acclaimed take on James Bond, and Daniel Craig had yet to make the role his own.
It was also a time of societal flux, when the muscled, macho action movie archetype of the '80s had become anachronistic and audiences were demanding their male leads to be more layered and more emotional, yet to maintain a sense of threat. Smith straddles this line perfectly. His DC Dominic Strider is as fascinating as he is multi-faceted. If early scenes of him consoling a heartbroken blind old lady lead you to believe this man is a melodramatic soft touch, you couldn't be more wrong. The final showdown between Strider and the film's terrifying antagonist bristles with menace, but resolution is ultimately delivered via a tantalising battle of wits.
And don't be fooled, either, by this erudite denouement and a plot twist so shocking that it makes Roald Dahl's best work look as predictable as a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Stephen Hawking. Yes, this is at times high-brow cinema, but the action scenes, when they arrive, deliver in spades for adrenaline junkies. The confrontation in the bar, for example, is both a punch-perfect piece of fight choreography and a vicarious celebration of good triumphing over evil and how, at a time when toxic masculinity is quite rightly being denounced, traditional masculinity can still very much save the day.
Comic relief is, as tradition for the genre dictates, most welcome, too. What would Bond, John McClane, Indiana Jones or even The Terminator be without the occasional wise-crack to lighten the mood? Smith, while taking care not to simply apply tropes, understands that too much tension, too much palpable danger, and too much smouldering sex appeal can, ultimately, discourage repeat viewings. As impressive as it can be for a motion picture to envelop us emotionally, audiences tend, ultimately, to be seeking escape, to be wishing for entertainment, and to be energised, and when Smith delivers his one-liners, he helps them do all these things, and more - to laugh, over and over and over again, to re-watch, time and again, and to share with loved ones so that they, too, can laugh, over and over and over again. And perhaps, even, to dream. Smith knows the perfect action hero is a man who all men want to be, and who all women want to be with.
Truly, Strider Gets Iced is a masterpiece that transcends both time and physical space - literally. When our hero arrives at the theatre for an evening show, and the clock shows nine o'clock, yet it is daylight outside, we naturally assume the scene is set in summer. Of course, some of the most iconic action heroes are glamorously sun-splashed - Magnum, Tubbs and Crockett, Mitch Buchannon - so the viewer is teased with the potential for Strider to later sprint shirtless through the streets of Chester and dive selflessly into the sparkling waters of the River Dee and rescue a flailing, buxom damsel. And yet... this doesn't happen. Smith understands the value of scarcity, the importance of leaving an audience wanting more. And also, because there is a Christmas tree outside the theatre, suddenly questions are thrust to the fore. This is an ingenious tack, for the mark of good filmmaking is a script that leaves the viewers asking questions long after the curtain has drawn. Here, as Strider Gets Iced inevitably consumes us in the hours and days that follow, we ask ourselves: Why was there a Christmas tree on display on a summer's night? Or was it not summer after all? If not, how come it was light at 9 o'clock? Or did the clock's 12-hour face mislead us and it was actually 9 in the morning? If so, why did nobody tell the poor woman greeting arrivals with a "good evening"? What kind of theatre production is staged at such a time? Why are people drinking at such a time? This is Chester, not Rhyl. Isn't it?
Just like that, we are forced to question everything we thought we knew about time and space, and we realise Smith had been toying with us all along, leading us to think this was standard - no, classic - action fare, or ambitious noir repurposed for a popcorn audience, when actually he had, unbeknownst to us, been experimenting with genre, tearing up narrative convention, splicing dimensions in a way not seen since Kubrick's 2001. With this understanding, we no longer need to ask why one Italian character speaks with a "meerkat from those TV adverts" Russian accent, and the other in Wirral brogue. It's because Strider is everywhere and anywhere, at all times. Perhaps not literally, but certainly in the minds and hearts of anyone who has watched him. Chester, Rhyl, the Wirral, Italy, Russia, morning, night, summer, winter, it matters not. What matters is Strider is here, Chris Smith is here, and the world is a better place.
The Next Level (2022)
Wearing T-shirts in Antarctica
I give this 2 stars merely to separate it from its even-worse predecessor. At least this one makes a few attempts to explain the theory and holds some form of loose narrative structure.
But the subject matter and those presenting it are no better. It's just a random selection of talking heads you've never heard of, with no stated credentials, offering opinions, illustrated by the most fleeting snippets of "evidence", often provided without context.
As for the nature of the "evidence" provided, I needn't go over the more complicated science, but all you need to know is the scene that they claim is footage of truthers being turned away from their approach to Antarctica by a military ship. THE PEOPLE ON THE BOAT ARE WEARING T-SHIRTS! If somebody watches that and believes it is footage from the sea surrounding the coldest place on Earth, then there's no helping them.
In any case, the video can be found on Youtube (Warship Destroyer Intercepts Fishing Boat - HMAS Hobart). It was filmed off Australia, by fishermen, taken and used without consent to illustrate a point that the video is nothing about. In other words, it's a blatant lie by people who are trying to convince you that you're being lied to.
Tapia (2013)
Review by a boxing fan
As a boxing fan, I did not find this quite as engaging as I thought I would.
Of course, Tapia's story is utterly compelling and he proved to be a very poignant interviewee, but I don't think this movie told me anything I didn't already know.
Also, while understanding that it is a difficult task to work how to balance the personal story and the sports story, I felt it leaned a bit too much on the boxing side. There are any number of boxing champions whose sporting accomplishments are outstanding, so it is the life tales that stand out.
------ SPOILERS in next paragraph ------
Personally, I would have liked more time to have been spent on the revelation of his mother's killer and his father's true identity. Also, Johnny's own death should have been more than a footnote. I realise production had probably wrapped up by then, but it would have been worth it to go back and get reaction footage and re-edit. The climax would have been that much more powerful.
----- end of spoilers -----
For all that, it is still an accomplished piece of film-making which does its best to please both boxing fans and neutrals. It will probably please the latter group more as the story will not be as well known to them.