Cinema season is still holding up strong and we’ve been
to see three of the biggest, action-packed movies to be released this year. Brad
Pitt and Liam Neeson have both got new films out, so how are they?
Dredd 3D (Pete
Travis, 95 mins, 18 – out now)
Mega-City’s favourite crime-stopper is back in the big
screen outing that he deserves, ready to make you forget about the abysmal 1995
Stallone effort, Judge Dredd. Karl Urban stars as the titular law enforcer who
must fight his way through 200 storeys of hell to put an end to a violent drug
lord. The 3D is put to good use as you dodge bullets with the rest of the cast.
Fantastic, even if you’re never read the 2000 AD comics.
5/5 – bloody and
beautiful action which puts the 1995 original to shame
Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik, 97
mins, 18 – out now)
Brad Pitt has teamed up with director Andrew Dominik (The
Assassination of Jesse James) again and it is nothing short of brilliant. Covered
in more grit than roads in winter, Killing Them Softly may not be everyone, but
if you’re a fan of gangster flicks or the dark humour of Guy Ritchie’s Lock,
Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, you’ll feel right at home.
5/5 – overly violent
scenes may scare some away, but this is not to be missed
Taken 2 (Olivier
Megaton, 91 mins, 12A – out Oct 5th)
The original Taken went over surprisingly well back in
2008, so there was bound to be a sequel. Well, Taken 2 is here and it’s a huge
disappointment. Packed with more of the same, with none of the soul, Taken 2 is
a perfect example of how studios can ruin a sequel by having the same thing
happen to same person/people twice (see also: Die Hard 2, Home Alone 2, The
Hangover Part II).
1/5 – a cheap
cash-in that fails to entertain or earn your money
