Hmmmm
I'm about halfway through 'Renegade'. My man-crush on Michael Madsen compelled me to watch it, though the fact that it is a French film based on a French comic book about the American West relegated it to the 'put it on just before bed' list. The cast is respectable:
Vincent Cassel: never seen him, but he looks like a young Eastwood.
Juliette Lewis: fringe actress, good in everything.
Michael Madsen: Mr. Blonde Reservoir Dogs. Nuff said.
Ernest Borgnine: You name it, he's done it. Character actor.
Djimon Hounsou: Amistad, Gladiator Very strong male type.
Colm Meaney: Irish actor with very diverse body of work. TV, Mystery, Alaska, Con Air, Last of the Mohicans, Die Hard 2, etc.
Other parts of the world take to other styles of filmmaking. Asian movies, for the most part, don't work here. European movies, for the most part, don't work here. It's a matter of taste and culture. I can not warm up to this movie. Cinematography is outstanding. Individual performances are strong. I really want to like this film. However; it is European, and they take to a disjointed story carried out by visual vignettes rather than a straight story line filmed and edited accordingly. I do not.
I will watch it through, though, because of the merit of it's fractional components that work. That and it has Michael Madsen playing a badass.
One note. On technical merit. A major player in the story, but only briefly on screen, is the Apache Chiracahua. This places the events of the film in southeastern Arizona. I know. I spent six hours stranded in Chiracahua Canyon. That means that when you see the various actors who happen to ride in the film, ride on Spanish style saddles, you should note that it is correct. California and Arizona 'steaders were still influenced by the Spanish, if not by government, then by the families who held on to their land...
Vincent Cassel: never seen him, but he looks like a young Eastwood.
Juliette Lewis: fringe actress, good in everything.
Michael Madsen: Mr. Blonde Reservoir Dogs. Nuff said.
Ernest Borgnine: You name it, he's done it. Character actor.
Djimon Hounsou: Amistad, Gladiator Very strong male type.
Colm Meaney: Irish actor with very diverse body of work. TV, Mystery, Alaska, Con Air, Last of the Mohicans, Die Hard 2, etc.
Other parts of the world take to other styles of filmmaking. Asian movies, for the most part, don't work here. European movies, for the most part, don't work here. It's a matter of taste and culture. I can not warm up to this movie. Cinematography is outstanding. Individual performances are strong. I really want to like this film. However; it is European, and they take to a disjointed story carried out by visual vignettes rather than a straight story line filmed and edited accordingly. I do not.
I will watch it through, though, because of the merit of it's fractional components that work. That and it has Michael Madsen playing a badass.
One note. On technical merit. A major player in the story, but only briefly on screen, is the Apache Chiracahua. This places the events of the film in southeastern Arizona. I know. I spent six hours stranded in Chiracahua Canyon. That means that when you see the various actors who happen to ride in the film, ride on Spanish style saddles, you should note that it is correct. California and Arizona 'steaders were still influenced by the Spanish, if not by government, then by the families who held on to their land...
1 Comments:
I'm glad you are finally watching it. the exact reason i enjoyed it and didn't love it is for the reason you so eloquently stated it. enjoying the parts over the whole. the visuals are amazing and the acting is solid, but the story is missing something that pulls it all together. madsen is typical in this. if you want to see cassel in a completely different light, pull out the copy of irreversable i have in the closet. but be prepared to watch one of the most graphically horrifying films you've ever seen. and i'm not talking about horror or bloody.
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