Let's pretend for a moment that it's 1999. There is no Spiderman. The last Batman movie with Mr Freeze is a recent but quickly fading memory and we have not even heard of Chris Nolan...well outside of Australia at least, and the only thing we know of the transformers is that it's a plastic robot toy from the 80s that used to...hang on, that's right, turn into a truck or something... I'd also be 11 years younger and perhaps a little less cynical and forgiving of schmaltzy, clichéd stuff. So, in this imaginary world where we have a time traveling De Lorean or equivalent, I would have walked out of Black Lightning and thought "Man, what a cool movie. Those Russians really are breakthrough...how awesome was that!". "Yes it's a bit back to the future, but who cares...that was FUN!!"...
Except it's not 1999, and I am 11 years older. I've seen Spiderman where he discovers his gee whiz powers, where his gr amps gets killed, with great power comes great responsibility, etc. I've seen transformers where a beat up old car becomes something awesome. And i've heard the brooding music from Nolan's Batman. I've seen Iron Man take his enemy up in the sky until they both froze up and he ran out of fuel and dropped back to earth...should i go on?
So why the heck did they make this movie? Did they just assume that no one in Russia watched all of the above and they could put together a greatest hits compilation of some of the better super hero American fare? Probably. But for those of us who have seen these movies, Black Lightning (the name makes me cringe!) is a Frankenstein cut and paste, in many cases scene by scene steal of far better movies. It's b grade schlock made for an uneducated audience.
Yes, I'm being harsh. I enjoyed the movie for the first 30 or so Min's. It seemed fresh and interesting. Then at about the point where the car first takes off I felt this sense of dread. Oh oh...that bit looks like America's Greatest Hero...and that bit is Transformers...and that bit is Spiderman (why am I watching this again?...never mind...it'll get better)...and that bit is just like (well you get the idea)...And the flying Volga is actually more ridiculous than a flying De Lorean...
I should say some kind things about the film...let's give this a go. The heavy metal Russian soundtrack is pretty cool. The girl in the movie is rather lovely, but her flipping between the boys got old real quick. The special effects are not too bad considering it's a low budget film (although they are cheesy) and the surround mix is typically over the top for a 5.1 modern Russian film.
At the end of the movie I felt disappointed and embarrassed for all concerned with this production. And Bekmambetov really should have known better!
So if all the above disclaimers don't concern you, go ahead and watch it. But, you have been warned...
Except it's not 1999, and I am 11 years older. I've seen Spiderman where he discovers his gee whiz powers, where his gr amps gets killed, with great power comes great responsibility, etc. I've seen transformers where a beat up old car becomes something awesome. And i've heard the brooding music from Nolan's Batman. I've seen Iron Man take his enemy up in the sky until they both froze up and he ran out of fuel and dropped back to earth...should i go on?
So why the heck did they make this movie? Did they just assume that no one in Russia watched all of the above and they could put together a greatest hits compilation of some of the better super hero American fare? Probably. But for those of us who have seen these movies, Black Lightning (the name makes me cringe!) is a Frankenstein cut and paste, in many cases scene by scene steal of far better movies. It's b grade schlock made for an uneducated audience.
Yes, I'm being harsh. I enjoyed the movie for the first 30 or so Min's. It seemed fresh and interesting. Then at about the point where the car first takes off I felt this sense of dread. Oh oh...that bit looks like America's Greatest Hero...and that bit is Transformers...and that bit is Spiderman (why am I watching this again?...never mind...it'll get better)...and that bit is just like (well you get the idea)...And the flying Volga is actually more ridiculous than a flying De Lorean...
I should say some kind things about the film...let's give this a go. The heavy metal Russian soundtrack is pretty cool. The girl in the movie is rather lovely, but her flipping between the boys got old real quick. The special effects are not too bad considering it's a low budget film (although they are cheesy) and the surround mix is typically over the top for a 5.1 modern Russian film.
At the end of the movie I felt disappointed and embarrassed for all concerned with this production. And Bekmambetov really should have known better!
So if all the above disclaimers don't concern you, go ahead and watch it. But, you have been warned...