No.206 : The Interview (2014)

The Interview (2104) at the IMDb

There are a few ‘The Interview’ films out there, hence the year in the title bar. This one is easily the most famous and, when it came out in 2014, it could probably have laid claim to be the most famous ‘Definitive article’ film of all time. That’s why we didn’t review it then. Now that the dust has settled I watched it again and to be fair it still held up. Not sure if it still merits the hype driven 8/10 I gave it then, but I certainly enjoyed it second time around.

The familiar pairing of James Franco and Seth Rogan play a TV host and producer respectively. Franco’s talk show is a ratings hit with stars like Eninem, Rob Lowe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt all lining up to tell their tawdry tales and humiliate themselves. Fair play to them all for having a good old laugh at themselves. Despite the show’s success however, Rogan is unfulfilled and craves the respect of his peers in the mainstream news channels.

Opportunity knocks when a tabloid reveals that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s favourite TV show, along with ’The Big Bang Theory’, is Franco’s. They offer the despot an interview on the show and after a funny trip to China for Rogan, the meeting is set up in North Korea. The CIA however want a piece of the action. Mesmerised by  Lizzy Caplan’s cleavage Franco agrees to their plan to kill Kim by way of a poisoned handshake.

Soon the lads are in Korea and, despite a setback when a guard eats the poison which is disguised as chewing gum, the two have a meeting with the big man who turns out to be that bloke off ‘Veep’. Franco is initially taken with Kim who likes drugs, girls and swearing just like him. He swears off the plot and ditches the replacement poison before learning not all is what it seems.

Will the interview go ahead and will our guys get out alive? Will they stick to the script and is Kim’s love of Katie Perry just a front?

Along with ‘This is the End’ I’d say this is my favourite of the Rogan/Franco films. I don’t like the stoner stuff and this was a bit more measured in its humour. There were some scenes that went a bit far - the fingers getting bitten off for a start, but overall it was well paced and, whilst not believable, it was good fun and made some sort of sense.

It was no surprise that Kim was portrayed as a playboy but the guy from Veep was good value as the war-mongering psycho who liked puppies and boobs. Rogan was probably the better of the main pair with some funny scenes with the hot North Korean lady soldier. Franco seemed a bit erratic, being a complete doofus in places yet having some sharp insights in others.

The CIA angle was mostly well done although it was stretching credibility how switched on their operation was. It seemed unlikely that our Hollywood luvvies would buy into a murder plot so readily, but it worked well, with the 'will they won’t they' aspect keeping me guessing despite having seen the film only a few years back.

That’s not to say it was forgettable; there was just a lot going on, and I could see my having a different favourite scenes when I watch it again in five year’s time.

The ending was a bit pat, but it was well earned with some big laughs and decent stunts along the way.

THE Tag Line : Interview Gets the Job Done 76%

No.98 : The Sentinel (2006)

The Sentinel at the IMDb

 Michael Douglas stars in this routine thriller which is a kind of mash up of ‘In the Line of Fire’ and ‘Spartan’ but falls short of either of those films.

Douglas plays a head security man in the Secret Service charged with looking after the president. He also looks after the first lady too to the extent of having an affair with her - well she is Kim Basinger. The President, who has got promotion since he was in ‘Sledgehammer’, doesn’t know and relies on his army of security men to protect him from the dozens of nutters who threaten the top man each day.

Things get a bit hairy for Douglas when an agent is shot and the presidential helicopter is brought down without the main man on board. His affair proves to be an Achilles’ heel as the bad guys get photos of him doing the dirty and blackmail him to doing his bidding.

Rival agent Kiefer Sutherland hates Douglas for shagging his wife too, and he starts to put the screws on the greying G-Man. With all sides moving in Douglas goes rogue and tries to find the traitor within his organisation who is still plotting to assassinate the president. Can he save the day and will the lovely Kim help out? Will the terrible British bad guy with the goatee beard serve up any menace whatsoever and will Michael get an award for doing his own stunts? - well there were quite a few stairs in that hotel.

The first half of this film was a lot better than the second. The first twenty minutes was a behind the scenes look at presidential security and it was interesting to see all the background guys and snipers set against a familiar mix of fast cuts and CCTV shots. Once the agent gets shot it becomes more of a character piece and Douglas doesn’t really have one. He’s meant to be no nonsense and meticulous but then he’s pumping the first lady - where does she get the time? He tries to be cool wearing his designer shades and fingering his earpiece but the main thought you have is why hasn’t be been pensioned off?

His detection was logical but not so inspired and given he got tracked down every five minutes, not that effective. The motivations of the bad guys were barely examined and why they needed a tough talking but poor acting British guy who had all the threat of a sock puppet I don’t know. The fake White House and ropey helicopter explosion stood out like sore thumbs but apart from that a good cast and some tight dialogue and action saved this from being a total turkey.

The sub plot with Kiefer and rookie agent Eva Longoria was largely pointless but at least added a bit of glamour. I wasn’t buying Kiefer’s ‘hate him but respect him’ routine and when they team up at the end it was no surprise at all. The ending itself was somewhat confusing with the good and bad guys getting mixed up as the overlong gunplay spilled out over many rooms and areas.

You will see a lot worse films, but it was in essence a decent TV movie with some stars on the bill.

THE Tag Line - No Presidential Pardon Granted        52%