Two posts in two days seems like a lot, I suppose. I certainly is when compared to the year or so I spent not posting on this thing. I had this film in mind specifically, though, and so I feel that should probably take advantage of this initiative while it sticks around.
I had never heard of Leviathan before finding it on Netflix, and boy did I get lucky with this one. I believe I was initially motivated by the fact that it stars RoboCop himself, Peter Weller. RoboCop being involved is a good reason to do anything, if you ask me. The plot summary as provided by Netflix was a bit less inspiring, mentioning deep-sea miners investigating the wreck of a Soviet ship on the sea floor. I bet myself that everything would go smoothly and there certainly wouldn't be any dangerous, communist mutagens hidden somewhere on the ship.
They had to have pitched this movie as a deep-sea version of The Thing, and that's really what it feels like. Crew members turn into bloodthirsty monsters (literally), though there's no mystery involved here. Peter Weller's character is what we get instead of Kurt Ruessell's MacReady, and he does a credible job as the leading man. The real star, though, is this film's version of Childs.
Wayne State alumnus. Former Ghostbuster. The one, the only.
Ernie Hudson.
Yes, apparently when Winston Zeddemore said that he'd do anything so long as a steady paycheck was involved, he wasn't joking. In Leviathan, he's basically playing a more badass version of the Ghostbusters character and he is amazing. He's got some of the best one-liners I've ever heard coming out of the mouth of a human being, and he is no ordinary human being. He's a Ghostbuster.
The rest of the characters are pretty much pointless and exist only to be turned into monsters, but that's okay. We as the audience accept that no one but Peter Weller and Ernie Hudson matter, anyway. I think there's another character that doesn't get turned, but who cares about them, right?
The monster is, again, very similar to the monster from The Thing:
It's as though God got a little tipsy and played a game of "how many sea creatures and people parts can I sew together?" Seriously, though, that's how they designed the monster. The special effects aren't terrific but they're not that bad either. I don't remember it being especially scary or suspenseful at any point; it's mostly just a fun movie. It's the sort of movie that allows you to enjoy the Halloween spirit all year round. If you're a drinker (and you really should be if you're watching any of these), I suggest doing plenty of that while you're watching this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment