This movie is an effective comedy with good laughs and a solid plot. It has fun with the jock-dork stereotypes and subversion of their dynamics that is endearing instead of sardonic. I can’t speak to how well it adapts the source material; it stands well on its own, though I don’t think it has the staying power to be considered great.
Closest comparison: It’s like Donnie Brasco by way of Superbad.
Setting: High School Comedy
Plot: Detective
Tone: Buddy Cop
This move is just a long shootout, with enough setup to know the characters and what’s going on. It keeps you guessing initially about when the fight will start, and for the most part the action is pretty cool. It sticks to a more gritty realism tone than many other movies of this genre, but that only makes the more unbelievable aspects jarring when they come up. And instead of weaving the narrative into a cohesive surprise turn or diatribe against gun running, it basically just ends.
Closest comparison: It’s like the shootouts from The Salton Sea without the context of story or a satisfying ending.
Setting: Crime
Plot: Action
Tone: Action
There’s not a lot to redeem this movie. It seems to confuse ‘mean’ with ‘funny’, and does so repeatedly. The main character is unlikable and arrogant, which is a bad combination. Ben Mendelsohn steals the show, which is how badly the writers portrayed Sam Jackson’s character. The action scenes are dimly lit and shake around like the camera man is afraid he’ll miss something; that combined with choppy editing makes them a jumbled mess. The skrull make-up is phenomenal, though, and the plot turn is actually not half bad. The tone was very different from other Marvel movies and felt much more like J.J. Abrams’ Start Trek movies, so if you like those movies you’re in luck.
Closest Comparison: They tried to make Wonder Woman, but made Green Lantern instead.
Setting: Sci-fi
Plot: Action
Tone: A messy mess of Superhero, Action, and Comedy
It was a pretty fun action movie, but quite a few of the motivations didn't make a lot of sense and if you know a decent amount about guns then there are several plot type things that may bug you. Several of the scenarios seem motivated only by trying to set up gratuitous cinematography, but the result is gorgeous. If you want a beautiful movie with giant monsters fighting each other and tiny people getting sqashed, you could do a whole lot worse than this.
