In theaters
JASON X, directed by Jim Isaac, written by Todd Farmer. 93 minutes. Rated R.
Jim Isaac’s “Jason X” is the 10th film in the “Friday the 13th” franchise, which means that those turning out to see it are either there because the previous nine films somehow have left them wanting more or because with that title they’ll think porn has hit the local cineplex.
Fair enough.
What isn’t so fair is what Hollywood has done to Jason in “Jason X,” a film that inexplicably comes after 1984’s “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” and, even more curious, after 1993’s “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday,” neither of which was really final at all in spite of what their titles otherwise imply.
In “Jason X,” Isaac and screenwriter Todd Farmer have turned the machete-loving Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) into a cryogenically frozen space cadet who awakens in the year 2455 to go on a murderous rampage.
That Jason is asked to wield his machete on a spaceship filled with supermodels posing as barely clad scientists might sound like campy fun – think “Alien” by way of Hooters – but with everyone here taking themselves as seriously as Karen Hughes in her recent recommitment to motherhood, the film can’t even be enjoyed as a comedy, which is the only element that could have saved it.
“Jason X” is, in fact, so painfully, unrelentingly bad it makes “Battlefield Earth” seem like accomplished filmmaking. It has no story or character development beyond setting up its gore, which is, at best, serviceable. There is one clever moment in which a character’s face gets frozen in liquid hydrogen and then smashed to bits on the edge of a countertop, but since that scene is followed immediately by the rather pedestrian slashing of a cross-dresser in a pink teddy, the high isn’t sustained.
What’s interesting about “Jason X” is that even its score seems bored after 22 years of Jason’s antics. When he throws himself into the murder of yet another unsuspecting co-ed, the music remains detached, curiously flat, as in one scene in which a victim is chased around a corner only to take her last breath to the melodious sound of woodwinds.
At the very least, didn’t she – and audiences – deserve a heavy metal riff?
Grade: BOMB
On video and DVD
(Tuesday, April 30)
ALI, directed by Michael Mann, written by Mann, Stephen Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson and Eric Roth. 157 minutes. Rated R.
Michael Mann’s “Ali” opens in 1964 with a terrific blast of showmanship, one that fuses the political unrest of black Americans and the celebration of black culture to the man who would come to be revered by many as a major catalyst for social awareness and change: Muhammad Ali.
The film begins with a slick, impressionistic rush as Sam Cooke (David Elliott) belts out a searing string of ballads at a Harlem nightclub. As the legendary soul singer brings the crowd to its feet, Mann layers Cooke’s vocals over a montage of Ali’s life, starting with his back-of-the-bus childhood as Cassius Clay – his name before he converted to Islam – and ending with his title match against Sonny Liston (Michael Bentt).
In a movie filled with memorable moments, Mann’s re-creation of the Clay-Liston bout is superb, a beautifully conceived, blow-by-blow account that puts audiences squarely in the ring as Clay (Will Smith) scores a major upset by winning the match – and thus changing his life forever.
The 21/2 hours that follow aren’t as light on their feet, but the film never drags as it touches on the 10 most formative and defining years of Ali’s life. Culminating in 1974 with the infamous “Rumble in the Jungle,” in which Ali forged a spectacular comeback in his fight against George Foreman, the film builds to a stirring conclusion in Zaire.
With pitch-perfect supporting performances from Jada Pinkett Smith as Ali’s first wife, Sonji; Ron Silver as his longtime trainer, Angelo Dundee; and Jamie Foxx as Bundini Brown; “Ali” may not be the greatest film about Ali (that belongs to Leon Gast’s 1996 documentary “When We Were Kings”), but it does feature two great performances worth seeing – Jon Voight’s Howard Cosell and Will Smith’s Ali, each of whom are outstanding in a movie that connects more often than it doesn’t.
Grade: B+
Christopher Smith’s reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, occasionally on Fridays on E! Entertainment’s “E! News Weekend,” Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.
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