April Rewind: The World's Fastest Indian

In a lot of ways, my rewind articles are my favorite to write. They expose the reader to great films they may not know about while at the same time give exposure to a great film that a lot of people don’t know about. What makes this entry so special though is that it’s the first entry for a film that’s based on a true story, even though the true story itself is so insane that even Ripley’s Believe it or Not would find this far-fetched.



The World’s Fastest Indian tells the charmingly true story of Burt Munro’s legendary 1967 record attempt at the Bonneville Flats. For those of you unfamiliar with the story of Burt Munro his story is one of the greatest in the history of sporting, right up there with Olympic “Miracle on Ice” and the Ali vs. Liston fight. It’s a truly inspiring story about a man who set his mind on accomplishing the impossible, and spent over forty years working towards just that.

First, some history on the event. One week a year an event is hosted at the Bonneville Flats called Speed Week. It’s a big deal in the racing community because the expansive salt flats are a perfect track for setting records and many speed records have been set at this event. It’s a place where the best and brightest drivers in the world show up with top of the line vehicles capable of incredible speeds. So imagine one day when this sixty eight year old man from New Zealand walks into your race…

 

And he’s trying to do it with this vehicle…

 

Oh wait, sorry, I meant this motorcycle…

 

A 1920 Indian Scout, a motorcycle that was never intended to go faster than 30 miles per hour, and Burt was trying to top 200 miles per hour with it. To top it all off, the man was bats**t crazy, removing entire segments and safety features of his bike in favor of smaller, lighter components. Things like shocks, brakes, and forks were removed or weakened to the point of breaking, and Munro didn’t have a single safety feature necessary for the flats such as a parachute or fire extinguisher. He didn’t do this overnight, in fact he spent 47 years of his life modifying his motorcycle for the event, getting into countless crashes and accidents along the way while perfecting his craft.

How was he allowed to race? Well, he was intensely lovable and friendly, making him a truly unique character in record-setting history, and he just sort of charmed his way into racing. It was also a different world back then, an America that was willing to take chances and explored the idea of thinking outside the box. If Burt Munro had shown up today with his motorcycle he would have gotten his ass kicked right out of the race It’s an incredibly interesting story about an incredibly interesting man set in an incredibly interesting time in America, and making his long journey into an accurate and faithful adaptation is a great idea that pays off big time.

The big draw of the film is seeing Anthony Hopkins act the hell out of his role. It got to the point where friends and family of Munro said that even though Hopkins didn’t look a thing like Munro they still thought it was him reincarnated, the same kind of praise that was given to George C Scott for his portrayal of General Patton. I’ve always been a huge fan of Anthony Hopkins (who isn’t these days?), but I’ve noticed that lately he hasn’t really gotten many roles that require him to be anything but Anthony Hopkins. So imagine my delight when I see Hopkins in a role so utterly different and unique that you forget that it’s Hopkins at several points.

The direction and story telling elements of the film are basic, but solid, offering a lot of interesting simple moments in an already interesting trek across the US by a foreigner. It’s a funny story even without the stuff that happens to the poor man along the way. Stories like this don’t need a lot of padding, so the writing and direction are perfectly what they need to be for the audience to get emotionally attached to the character of Burt Munro. It may seem like a simple film, but the neat story of Burt Munro and the solid writing never let the story and film feel like they are lagging before they get to the events at Bonneville.

Something else I really liked about movie was the way they portrayed the other American racers once he got to Bonneville. Most adaptations of a sports film would have them be a bunch of dicks as soon an Burt showed up, taunting him with things like “Hey old man, you expect to win this race with that thing?” followed by a round of dickish high fives and guffaws at the expense of the old man. It’s the easy way to get the audience to root even more for the protagonist, make him the underdog against a bunch of jerks like Daniel-san in The Karate Kid. It’s not even bad film-making to pull this kind of trick, it’s cheap and manipulative yes, but it’s effective as well because it strengthens that emotional connection we have with the character.

As much as I loved Steven Spielberg I’ll be the first to admit that he really over-relied on this tactic during his films. How do we make Chief Brody more likable in Jaws? Make him the lone dissenting voice amid a sea of dickish politicians. How do we make the characters in E.T. more relatable to the audience? Make the government agents trying to find him (agents who are doing this for national security mind you) unnecessarily cruel and cold. Yeah, Minority Report is really good, but how can we make the audience side with Tom Cruise even more? Make the agent tailing him a shallow and unlikeable career-hungry asshole instead of taking the time to create a well developed character.

Not the case in World’s Fastest Indian however. Once Munro finally gets all the way to the Bonneville Flats the film goes out of its way to talk about how great the other racers were to him, going out of their way to get around regulations so he could drive, setting him up with living arrangements (he had been living out of his car until that point), and generally doing everything they could do get Burt entered into the events. The film doesn’t resort to tropes in order to establish a stronger connection, and the movie comes out stronger for it.

The World’s Fastest Indian is a great example of a film that can go miles just by following incredible events that happened in real life without resorting to clichés. The surprisingly awesome Disney sports film Miracle followed this same blueprint and as I just mentioned, it came out surprisingly awesome. Sometimes real life truly is stranger and more magnificent than fiction, and this film does a great job of reminding the audience of the wonderful things that can be accomplished if you just stop being so afraid of taking risks like Burt Munro.

9 out of 10

I like directing my readers to other works they may enjoy, and for a great listen give the gentlemen on the podcast Reel Junkies a shot. A great and funny poscast featuring knowledgeable insight into film.

http://weekendronin.com/podcast/podcast.html

One Minute Reviews: Family Film Edition

The Pirates! A Band of Misfits-For those of you who love swashbuckling pirate adventures like the first Pirates of the Caribbean, but hate horrible films like the last three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, you may want to switch gears in favor of the infinitely superior Aardman comedy Pirates! A Band of Misfits. While it wasn’t exactly one of the highest grossing films of last year, it was certainly one of the most enjoyable.

The film focuses on the exploits and adventures of the main character Pirate Captain. Right off the bat this film gets an A+ for accuracy, since there is no way you are going to see a movie about a guy literally named Pirate Captain and not know what type of flick it is. The film offers the voices of countless talented actors such as Brendan Gleeson, Jeremy Piven, Martin Freeman, Hugh Grant, and my personal man-crush David Tennant.

What makes this film great is the combination of the two types of comic delivery I discussed in my Arrested Development review last year (http://www.gump-o-rama.blogspot.com/2012/02/toothpick-tv-arrested-development.html): gags and setups. While the film makes frequent and excellent use of both visual and recurring gags (falling gags are kept blissfully minimal), setups are also used to elicit the higher brow laughs that are usually so hard to find in family films like this. Where the film really shines however, is the idea of creating a setup joke that usually pays off with the use of a gag. It’s a hard trick to pull off in film, but proper use of this device (which Aardman has mastered with the Wallace and Grommit works) can lead to the highest forms of comedy, and in this movie they nail it.

This film is a great example of a family film that actually appeals to the entire family, and I’m happy to report that this is a trend in Hollywood that has steadily become more frequent. It used to be that a family film was typically loved by kids while being loathed by adults, but since films like Shrek, Toy Story, and How to train Your Dragon have come along it’s good to see that parents don’t have to be resigned to films like Baby Geniuses just for the kid’s sake.

9 out of 10

 

Wreck-it Ralph-Video game movies have had a despicable history in Hollywood to say the least. When you can say that the best examples of video game films are Max Payne and Prince of Persia, then you know you have problems with your genre. This is why as a gamer, I’m happy to report that Wreck-it Ralph is a film finally made by gamers, for gamers, that everyone can appreciate.

This film perfectly encapsulates the magic of a loaded arcade, from the diversity of games to the diversity of the players themselves. A real treat for children of the arcade generation, the movie does a great job developing characters that feel unique to both a Disney film while letting them feel like they belong in an arcade from the glory days. One of my favorite things about this film is the constant references to arcades and games of the past, something that the studio had to pay a great deal for. Everything from appearances by characters such as Ryu, Bowser, and Q-Bert, to a tiny gag from the Metal Gear Solid franchise, the references were great to see in the film because they are quick and simple, and not just overused pop-culture referenced easy jokes that are so prevalent in Seth McFarlane works. I also loved the subtle reference to Walter Day from Twin Galaxies, and fans of King of Kong will get a kick out of his “appearance” in the film.

One thing I wish they had explored more in this film was the idea of jumping from game to game. I loved seeing the fully flushed out and beautiful worlds of the games in this film, complete with real characters and built in rules that are fitting for an arcade. For example, you always regenerate if you die in your arcade, but if you visit another arcade and die, it’s permanent. But then after they go to the effort of creating these amazing worlds and locations, the second and third act take place in a world that looks like a glorified version of Candyland and it just feels like they settled on the least interesting place (despite the numerous brilliant candy themed puns). How great would it have been to see more of these game worlds in the film? Even if they did it in a collage like the door factory scene in Monsters Inc.

Luckily this is one of the only complaints I had about the film. A stellar lead by John C Reilly is vaulted to the front of a great supporting cast, with a special mention for Jack McBrayer as Ralph’s Frenemy Fix-it Felix Jr. The story of an anti-hero trying to change for the better is handled well for a family film, and kids and adults alike will love the well written jokes. The film will resound most with gamers and children of the arcade, but is good enough to be loved by anyone watching it.

9.25 out of 10

 

The Hobbit-Let’s get something straight, despite the polarized audiences out there The Hobbit was an incredibly enjoyable film. Now true, it doesn’t stack up to the original trilogy, and at times feels like having a burger after finishing your filet mignon, but you know what, sometimes nothing hits the spot like a good burger. And true, it may not technically be a “Family” film, but it’s tame and fun enough for people of all ages to enjoy.

While it doesn’t quite have the “oomph” of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is still a lot to like about this film thanks to the talented direction of Oscar winning director Peter Jackson. One scene in particular (which I included in my best of 2012 list) of the dwarves singing a song about their lost home in front of a roaring fire is worth the price of admission alone, and the battle scenes still have a lot of great things working for them. Peter Jackson has a tendency to inflate action scenes larger than they were originally intended, but in this film the scenes never feel overly long or bloated. The final scene in the goblin mines was particularly impressive.

Sir Ian and Martin Freeman do an admirable job in their roles as Gandalf and Bilbo, with the rest of the relatively unknown supporting cast bringing in strong performances. I also enjoyed seeing Sylvester McCoy (AKA the seventh Doctor) in his role as Radaghast the Brown, and Christopher Lee (while looking quite worn) was still commanding and intimidating as Saruman. Something I’ve always loved about these films were the sweeping landscape shots, and while they were still beautiful and plentiful in this film they felt much more processed and computer generated than the original films. One thing in this film that everyone can agree was truly amazing however was Andy Serkis’ return as the literary and film icon Gollum, and he was just as fantastic in this film as he was in the previous trilogy.

This newest incarnation of Middle Earth may not be as impressive as Jackson’s first foray into that world, but anyone who says this film is terrible is truly ignoring all of the great film work going into this movie. Likeable characters, strong storytelling, interesting arcs, and beautiful cinematography make this a strong film regardless of past works. If you can get past the small problems in this film, then you can enjoy a truly well made fantasy adventure film.

8.5 out of 10