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Re: The Wing Kong Exchange (feat. Evil Dead II)
Ash Williams is time-warped to a medieval castle beset by monstrous forces. Initially mistaken for an enemy, he is soon revealed as the prophesized savior who can quest for the Necronomicon, a book which can dispel the evil. Unfortunately, he screws up the magic words while collecting the tome, and releases an army of skeletons, led by his own Deadite counterpart.
Evil Dead II had proven to be a success and given the ending of that film, it seemed obvious that yet another sequel would soon be forthcoming. However, instead of firing one out immediately after the last, Sam Raimi (and Bruce Campbell of course) went down a different road, making the film Darkman instead. Aside from being an early showcase for the talents of Liam Neeson, that film grossed three times its budget and met with wide critical acclaim. After that kind of success, the folks at Universal Studios had no problem giving Raimi free reign (and a big budget) for the third and possible final chapter in the Evil Dead series. Thus Army of Darkness was born and while it certainly showcases that bigger budget to full effect, there’s also a certain something missing. While the story is whimsical enough and drawn from classic sources, it just doesn’t feel the same as the first two in the series. Obviously that’s not a great thing, but at the very least Army of Darkness still manages to pack quite the entertaining punch.
"Tom Cruise without the mask."
Sam Raimi once again directed the film, and this time co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Ivan. They drew from many sources, including A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and Gulliver’s Travels, while also maintaining a heavy influence from the Three Stooges. The end result is a classic adventure tale on steroids, amped up for a new millennium and full of moxie. However, it also has a tendency to drift off on tangents from time to time, never quite sure exactly what type of movie it wants to be. Where the first two films in the series deftly mixed horror and comedy, this one almost tries too hard to do the same thing and it doesn’t always succeed. Negativity aside though, I actually did enjoy the screenplay itself and think it could be turned into a pretty funny book so there’s always that. Meanwhile, Raimi’s direction here is stellar and definitely his best work in this series. Even with the script issues, his pacing is perfect and he really gives his star a chance to shine. This is of course the best thing he could have ever done, because once again his star is none other than….
"Two words...fucking and awesome!"
That’s right, Bruce Campbell returned and really I don’t think the movie could have been made without him. Outside of that amazing scene above, Campbell is just all over this movie and in more ways than one. Not content to simply have Ash be amazing on his own, the Raimi brothers chose to imprint him all over the place, from an evil twin to multiple miniature versions. This all adds up to a healthy dose of awesome, as Groovy Bruce is just the man no matter how you slice it. While he’s never become a mega-star, the guy is just absolutely loaded with charisma and never before has it been better displayed than here. Once again he totally dominates the movie and leaves everyone in his dust, but this time the bit performers are talented enough to realize this and get out of his way. Embeth Davidtz is very nice to look at as Campbell’s love interest, but she’s pretty useless in the acting department. Thankfully the majority of her scenes are with Campbell, so he makes her look better than she is by proxy. Accomplished character actor Ian Abercrombie handles the role of Wiseman with some zest, while Marcus Gilbert also does a decent job as Lord Arthur. Still, as with the first two, it’s totally Campbell’s film and he is easily the best part of it.
"Kill the baddies, get the girl."
This film is unlike the others in the sense that it really gets to explore the character of Ash, and what we see is pretty refreshing. He is most certainly an antihero, but not like Snake Plissken or Dirty Harry. Those two may have no scruples about how their goals are accomplished, but the end result is always an act of heroism. Meanwhile, Ash is the farthest thing from them; he’s not heroic at all. He's a cocky loudmouth who is much more prone to cowardice than bravery. He screws up a lot more than he repairs but he’s just so damn cool that you can’t help loving the guy anyways. This in-depth view of the character allows us to get behind him even more than in the first two and that makes the whole experience better. At the same time, Raimi’s increased budget allowed him to really get the most out of his special effects this time around, and they’re a tour-de-force for the time period. The usual stop-motion animation stuff is here, as well as the buckets of blood we’ve come to expect. The problem is that sometimes they tend to distract from the action, but that’s part and parcel of the Evil Dead series in the first place so it kind of makes sense. As I mentioned earlier, the only trouble I really had with the film was the meandering script, but Campbell’s performance and Raimi’s direction more than make up for that flaw. Army of Darkness was pretty much the perfect way to end off the Evil Dead series and while there are always rumours of another in the pipes, perhaps it should stay finished. As confident as I am in Raimi and Campbell, why chance a poor entry in an otherwise great series?
"It's only a model."
Army of Darkness was shot on a budget of $13 million and grossed over $21 million at the box office, solid but not even as good as Darkman. Clearly it was time for Sam Raimi to head on to bigger things, and he would certainly do so, eventually directing both the Spider Man trilogy and Oz: The Great and Powerful. Meanwhile, Campbell would continue to work in both films and television and consistently proves why he’s one of the most underrated performers in the business today. Alright, love letter to Raimi and Campbell over, I have to say that Army of Darkness, while great, is my least favourite of the series. It’s still fun, but it just doesn’t say the same things to me that the first two did. Regardless, it’s definitely worth your time and sure to give you a real bang for your buck. 7/10.
"Beginning on Wednesday...what the hell are these things?"
Army of Darkness
Ash Williams is time-warped to a medieval castle beset by monstrous forces. Initially mistaken for an enemy, he is soon revealed as the prophesized savior who can quest for the Necronomicon, a book which can dispel the evil. Unfortunately, he screws up the magic words while collecting the tome, and releases an army of skeletons, led by his own Deadite counterpart.
Evil Dead II had proven to be a success and given the ending of that film, it seemed obvious that yet another sequel would soon be forthcoming. However, instead of firing one out immediately after the last, Sam Raimi (and Bruce Campbell of course) went down a different road, making the film Darkman instead. Aside from being an early showcase for the talents of Liam Neeson, that film grossed three times its budget and met with wide critical acclaim. After that kind of success, the folks at Universal Studios had no problem giving Raimi free reign (and a big budget) for the third and possible final chapter in the Evil Dead series. Thus Army of Darkness was born and while it certainly showcases that bigger budget to full effect, there’s also a certain something missing. While the story is whimsical enough and drawn from classic sources, it just doesn’t feel the same as the first two in the series. Obviously that’s not a great thing, but at the very least Army of Darkness still manages to pack quite the entertaining punch.
"Tom Cruise without the mask."
Sam Raimi once again directed the film, and this time co-wrote the screenplay with his brother, Ivan. They drew from many sources, including A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and Gulliver’s Travels, while also maintaining a heavy influence from the Three Stooges. The end result is a classic adventure tale on steroids, amped up for a new millennium and full of moxie. However, it also has a tendency to drift off on tangents from time to time, never quite sure exactly what type of movie it wants to be. Where the first two films in the series deftly mixed horror and comedy, this one almost tries too hard to do the same thing and it doesn’t always succeed. Negativity aside though, I actually did enjoy the screenplay itself and think it could be turned into a pretty funny book so there’s always that. Meanwhile, Raimi’s direction here is stellar and definitely his best work in this series. Even with the script issues, his pacing is perfect and he really gives his star a chance to shine. This is of course the best thing he could have ever done, because once again his star is none other than….
"Two words...fucking and awesome!"
That’s right, Bruce Campbell returned and really I don’t think the movie could have been made without him. Outside of that amazing scene above, Campbell is just all over this movie and in more ways than one. Not content to simply have Ash be amazing on his own, the Raimi brothers chose to imprint him all over the place, from an evil twin to multiple miniature versions. This all adds up to a healthy dose of awesome, as Groovy Bruce is just the man no matter how you slice it. While he’s never become a mega-star, the guy is just absolutely loaded with charisma and never before has it been better displayed than here. Once again he totally dominates the movie and leaves everyone in his dust, but this time the bit performers are talented enough to realize this and get out of his way. Embeth Davidtz is very nice to look at as Campbell’s love interest, but she’s pretty useless in the acting department. Thankfully the majority of her scenes are with Campbell, so he makes her look better than she is by proxy. Accomplished character actor Ian Abercrombie handles the role of Wiseman with some zest, while Marcus Gilbert also does a decent job as Lord Arthur. Still, as with the first two, it’s totally Campbell’s film and he is easily the best part of it.
"Kill the baddies, get the girl."
This film is unlike the others in the sense that it really gets to explore the character of Ash, and what we see is pretty refreshing. He is most certainly an antihero, but not like Snake Plissken or Dirty Harry. Those two may have no scruples about how their goals are accomplished, but the end result is always an act of heroism. Meanwhile, Ash is the farthest thing from them; he’s not heroic at all. He's a cocky loudmouth who is much more prone to cowardice than bravery. He screws up a lot more than he repairs but he’s just so damn cool that you can’t help loving the guy anyways. This in-depth view of the character allows us to get behind him even more than in the first two and that makes the whole experience better. At the same time, Raimi’s increased budget allowed him to really get the most out of his special effects this time around, and they’re a tour-de-force for the time period. The usual stop-motion animation stuff is here, as well as the buckets of blood we’ve come to expect. The problem is that sometimes they tend to distract from the action, but that’s part and parcel of the Evil Dead series in the first place so it kind of makes sense. As I mentioned earlier, the only trouble I really had with the film was the meandering script, but Campbell’s performance and Raimi’s direction more than make up for that flaw. Army of Darkness was pretty much the perfect way to end off the Evil Dead series and while there are always rumours of another in the pipes, perhaps it should stay finished. As confident as I am in Raimi and Campbell, why chance a poor entry in an otherwise great series?
"It's only a model."
Army of Darkness was shot on a budget of $13 million and grossed over $21 million at the box office, solid but not even as good as Darkman. Clearly it was time for Sam Raimi to head on to bigger things, and he would certainly do so, eventually directing both the Spider Man trilogy and Oz: The Great and Powerful. Meanwhile, Campbell would continue to work in both films and television and consistently proves why he’s one of the most underrated performers in the business today. Alright, love letter to Raimi and Campbell over, I have to say that Army of Darkness, while great, is my least favourite of the series. It’s still fun, but it just doesn’t say the same things to me that the first two did. Regardless, it’s definitely worth your time and sure to give you a real bang for your buck. 7/10.
"Beginning on Wednesday...what the hell are these things?"
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