Hunter Killer

First Hit: As far as submarine-based films, it was OK, but the added ground team made it better.

My dad (who died 23 years ago today) loved submarine films. His favorite was the 1958 thriller Run Silent Run Deep. He’d sit there and watch it every time it came on television (after seeing it on the big screen) and recite the dialogue with the actors. Maybe it was because he loved the ocean, or that he was in the Navy, I don’t know, but when I see submarine films, I think of him.

In this movie, a U.S. submarine is, at close range, following a Russian sub under arctic ice in the Barents Sea. Then unknowingly, another Russian sub, hiding in a carve out slice of ice, torpedoes and sinks the U.S. Sub. Then there is an explosion and the Russian sub sinks.

Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common) with National Security Advisor Analyst Jayne Norquist (Linda Cardellini) advocates figuring out what to do and wants to send another submarine in to figure out what happened to the sub and if there are any survivors. Chief Joint Chief of Staff Charles Donnegan (Gary Oldman) is opposed to this and wants to gear up to start another world war against the Russians.

Meanwhile we get a short glimpse of SEAL Lieutenant Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens) and his team practicing maneuvers.

Then when Fisk sends the USS Arkansas sub commanded by newly inaugurated Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) to find the previously sunk U.S. Sub, they also find the sunk Russian Sub.

They hear something on the Russian Sub and make a rescue of the captain and two other men. When Glass shows the Russian Captain, Sergei Andropov (Michael Nyqvist) that his Russian sub was sabotaged and sunk by someone on board, he realizes that something is going on with his country.

Sensing Russian problems, Beaman’s team parachutes into the Russian base to find the Russian President Zakarin (Alexander Diachenko) is being held hostage by Defence Minister Dmitri Durov (Mikhail Gorevoy) who is instigating a coup.

The plan is to have Beaman’s team kidnap the Russian President and escape by getting on board Glass’s sub which will be guided into the Russian base by Andropov. All this is to prevent an all-out war between the two countries.

I thought some of the scenes in the subs were well done. I loved when the men on the con were leaning as the sub dove. I thought the attitude of the SEALs was perfect. I enjoyed the sharpshooting by the youngest member of this team. I enjoyed the grit and determination shown by Captain Glass, especially when he was challenging Andropov to help him.

There is a far amount of suspense in the film, but it does have an obviousness that we know how it will end. Thought that Donnegan’s character was over the top and don’t know if that was direction or just Oldman being over the top.

Butler was excellent as the come up from the ranks Captain of the USS Arkansas. There was a certain amount of grittiness in his approach that worked for this role. Common seemed a little out of his element in this role. He didn’t quite exemplify a Rear Admiral. Oldman's character was unprofessional, for the position, in the ranting he showed. Nyqvist was excellent as the closed mouth long time professional sailor. Diachenko was OK as the Russian President. He didn’t quite come off as being strong. Gorevoy was a poor choice as someone to pull off a coup. His character felt fearful and weak most of the time. Stephens was great and exemplified a Navy SEAL leader, rough, demanding and with a heart underneath. Cardellini was good as a NSA Senior Analyst. Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss wrote a good script. Donovan Marsh did a good job of directing this film. Some of the scenes in the sub were fantastic as were some of the on-land scenes. However, really thought that Oldman’s role was a big downfall as was the war room scene with the US President.

Overall: An OK thriller but it will not go down as an all-time great submarine-based film.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

First Hit: Whatever one might say about Tom Cruise or this franchise of films, this film was entertaining.

Improbable would be a word that would fit but so would entertaining.

Despite all the odd dialogue and character development, this film is entertaining. OK, enough already about how entertaining it was.

This highly improbable story comes together because the actors make it work. Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is one of the government’s leading IMS agents. He commands the storyline and the sequences as a lead agent needs to.

William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) is the “Analyst” who has a story to tell. Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg) is the techno-nerd of the group. The last member of this team is Jane Carter (played by Paula Patton) is the other hands-on physically skilled team member.

The story is simple, someone wants to start a nuclear war between the Russians and Americans. The protagonist Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) is a brilliant but slightly insane man who wants to be seen and counted on the world stage. Therefore he obtains the launch codes to Russian missiles and proceeds to make it the launching of a missile a retaliatory event.

This film is filled with great chase scenes and my favorite was the multi-story parking garage. This story also features the tallest building in the world and some of the shots brought up my, once thought gone, fear of heights feelings.

Cruise, despite what one thinks of him, has the ability to charm with good looks and be part of a chase scene and make it work well. Renner gives a strong performance as the Analyst with a story to hide. He's great in this role and provides added intelligence. Pegg is perfect as the odd-ball side kick with blather and brains. Patton is very good as a skilled fighter and her looks, as her character is required to be, fit the part well. Nyqvist is good as the steely man who wants to be seen. I liked Lea Seydoux as Sabine the assassin. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec did a great job of coming up with a story line that works and is entertaining. Brad Bird did an excellent job of keeping the film, light, active, engaging, and without waste.

Overall: I enjoyed this 4th film in this franchise and would watch a fifth.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Lofslottet som sprangdes)

First Hit: A good ending to a trilogy which I fully enjoyed.

The film begins with providing some scenes from the previous film which has Lisbeth (played by Noomi Rapace) being shot, buried, digging herself out, taking an ax to her father Alexander Zalachenko (played by Georgi Staykov), and being flown to the hospital. Both she and her father are in the hospital with the wounds they inflicted on each other.

Because her father was a spy from Russia the government had given him and a small band of others enough tools to execute covert actions in Sweden generally through force. Afraid that Lisbeth and her Alexander would expose this secret group, one of the older men of the group goes to the hospital to kill them both. He succeeds in killing only the father.

Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist) who has been Lisbeth’s friend through all three films is doing what he can to assist her for her upcoming trial. They try to prove her as insane because of her past actions and because she was sent to a mental hospital when she was young, but Mikael, working through his sister and lawyer Annika (played by Annika Giannini), are able to obtain evidence that Lisbeth has been set up from the beginning. She gains her freedom.

This film lacks the kind of action thriller scenes that the others had, however it ties the whole series together nicely.

Rapace is fantastic. I love how powerful she is on the screen each time the camera is on her. She holds character very well and when you see her give a slight smile you know the depth of her pain and joy. Nyqvist is wonderful as the magazine reporter who cares deeply about Lisbeth as both friend and one time lover. Giannini is good as Lisbeth’s lawyer and with being pregnant, smart, and focused she gains Lisbeth’s confidence. Lena Endre reprises her role as Blomkvist’s business partner and part time lover. She is effective. Ulf Ryberg accurately wrote the script from Steig Larsson’s book of the same title. Daniel Alfredson’s direction was very good and he did a great job of keeping all three films with the same look and feel making them easy to move from one to the other.

Overall: This was a wonderful end piece to this trilogy of films. It didn’t rely on action but intellectual suspense.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Flikan som lekte med elden)

First Hit: Good film, not as strong as the first of the series, yet interesting enough to be engaging.

Noomi Rapace reprises her role as Lisbeth Salander, "the girl" referred to in the title in the trilogy of films. Michael Nyqvist reprises his role as Mikael Blomkvist the journalist of the Millennium magazine.

Taking off from the first film “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”, this film picks up Salander vacationing in a foreign country. She looks rested yet her intensity is still obvious in her eyes as she stops her traveling and heads back to Sweden to take care of some unfinished business.

Upon returning, Salander breaks into her parole officer’s home and reminds him that she still has his number and expects him to continue to write positive reports about her. Her father, whom she set on fire when she was younger, is still alive and now after her by setting her up for murders being committed by his goon a big blond former boxer.

Blomkvist doesn’t believe police reports that Salander has murdered 3 people. He begins to investigate and through a couple of emails learns that Salander is thankful for his belief and help. As Salander makes her way to where her father is living she runs into the protective goon (the big blond man) who beats her.

After awakening she learns he doesn't feel any pain and that this big blond goon is her half-brother. Her father and the goon dispose of Salander but her perseverance has her rising from the grave to kill him. And Blomkvist, he arrives on time to keep her alive.

Rapace is unforgettable on the screen. Whether you watch her walk away naked with her full back tattoo, or hooded and disguised as she quietly sneaks her way across town, she captures the audience’s attention. Blomkvist is not a strong screen presence but plays his character with so much integrity I can’t help but be on his side, no matter what. Jonas Frykberg and Stieg Larsson wrote the screenplay from Larsson’s book of the same title. This story isn’t quite as strong as the first film. Daniel Alfredson directed the film in a way that was well paced and allowed the story to unfold rather than force it.

Overall: A good follow-up from the first film, but the story wasn’t quite as strong as the initial one and so it didn’t quite bowl me over.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

First Hit: Exciting, suspenseful, and an interesting Swedish mystery film based on the first book of a trilogy called "Millennium" by Stieg Larsson.

I must say I was a bit shocked by the level of sadistic and hostile sexual behavior as represented by 4 of the men in this film. In those moments it was hard to sit still without squirming. However, the Swedish title means "Man who Hates Women" and the screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg clearly dictated this tone.

However, this tone has a counter weight which lives in a internally raging but quietly intense Lisbeth Salander (played by Noomi Rapace), a young computer hacker, and a thoughtfully kind Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist), an investigative reporter who just lost a libel case.  

A powerful industrialist wants to find out what happened to his favorite niece who disappeared from his huge home on a family island some 40 years earlier. He hires Blomkvist because he is honest and a good investigative reporter.

Unbeknownst to Blomkvist, he is assisted by the tattoo and pierced laden Salander because she sees that he’s a honorable man. Eventually, Blomkvist discovers his hidden computer ally and together they work to resolve a string of very old murders.

This resolution also assists Salander in resolving some of her personal angst and sets her off on a new life.

Rapace is powerful and clearly the star of this film. Although she is on the screen less than Nyqvist, her character is what sets the mood, tone and temperament of the film. Every scene she is in, she captured my attention. Nyqvist is a little soft spoken and less driven than what I would have expected from an investigative reporter but he's a great counter to Rapace. The Director, Niels Arden Oplev, did an outstanding job of walking the line between the exploitation of sadistic behavior and providing enough of what drives Rapace and Nyqvist to find a resolution to the mystery.

Overall: Although I was uncomfortable at times, I was impressed with this film and if the other two novels from this trilogy hit the screen, I will be there to see them.