Race

Dir: Stephen Hopkins

2016

****

Stephen Hopkins's rather straight-forward sports drama Race is as much about the Berlin Olympics as it is a biopic of the famed athlete Jesse Owens. The story unfolds through Owen's story but the US's involvement in the Berlin Olympics and the 'politics in sport' issue is rightly and correctly addressed through his eyes. It's refreshingly schmaltz-free, although it doesn't always stick to the facts. However, the message gets through. An example of this is the scene in which Hitler famously leaves the stadium early to avoid shaking Owen's hand after he won the gold. It's a myth, it never really happened. The truth is that Hitler didn't shake any of the winner’s hands but it was for the same reasons. He said at the time to Baldur von Schirach (the Nazi party's Youth Leader) "Do you really think that I'd allow myself to be photographed shaking hands with a Negro?" but in the film this line is delivered by Joseph Goebbels (played with vigour by Barnaby Metschurat). The message gets through and the film did well not to have Hitler as a central character but as a sinister presence instead. On the same hand though, the film is full of interesting facts about Owens and the games that I did not know and I found myself doing a lot of further reading after watching the film. A film can never give all of the facts as they happened, it is impossible. A good historical film will give you the important basics without sugar-coating or misleading and will inspire the viewer to research the subject further while also leaving them with an understanding of what it was all about, who was involved and why it was important. Race does that exceptionally well. I thought the scenes regarding whether the US should boycott the games was very well handled and suitably diplomatic, never once declaring which decision was right or wrong. Even after the outcome, it's still hard to say whether it was the right choice. The race issue was also brilliantly handled, indeed, the title is rather clever in this respect. It is shocking and utterly appalling that years after Owen's win, he still wasn't allowed in the front entrance of one of New York's most popular hotels for a dinner that was put on in his honour. In this respect it showed Owen's wonderful grace in the face of such ridiculous and ugly attitudes and should be congratulated. There is so much more to the story, I want to know more about Avery Brundage and Jeremiah Mahoney, I want to know more about what happened to Carl "Luz" Long after the games, what Eulace Peacock really thought and what he did in later life and why there hasn't been a film about the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl is staggering. It's an above average film with differing quality of performance but has certainly given me thirst for more knowledge on the various subjects covered which is a rare positive these days.

The Ghost and the Darkness

Dir: Stephen Hopkins

1996

**

Loosely based on the true events that happened in 1898 during construction of the Uganda-Monbase railway, screenwriter William Goldman first pitched The Ghost and the Darkness to Paramount in 1989 as a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Jaws. After seven years of development, I found the finished item to be more of a cross between Bridge Over the River Kwai and Jaws: The Revenge. The story goes that two Lions, acting most uncharacteristically, attacked, killed and ate 135 workers who were building a railway bridge in Tsavo, Kenya. The truth is that the number of people killed is more like 35 and the Lions are a completely different kind than the ones featured in the film. Val Kilmer's character John Henry Patterson was a real person, he oversaw the construction of the bridge and was hailed a hero by the workers when he killed both Lions, ending their reign of terror. However, Michael Douglas' character Charles Remington, is fictional. In fact, most of the film is fictional is even described in it's own synopsis as being 'A fictionalised account of a true story'. A pet hate of mine. If a story is worth telling, it is worth telling correctly. William Goldman is a great screenwriter but even he was disappointed with the film, claiming Douglas' portrayal of an aged hunter ruined the production. Personally I think Douglas' performance was the least of the film's problems, the main issue being that it is incredibly boring. There is absolutely no sense of terror or suspense. The story doesn't progress any further than the first twenty minutes. The editing is horrible and the performances are wooden. Only Bernard Hill and Om Puri give acceptable performances but both are short. The direction is fairly hollow too, the story goes round and round in circles without the viewer learning anything new about the situation, Stephen Hopkins gets nothing from his actors, and he barely even convinces us that Africa is hot. The sound was excellent though and the film deserved the Oscar, it's just a shame that the rest of the film wasn't handled with the same dynamic.

Predator 2

Dir: Stephen Hopkins

1990

****

Predator 2 became a victim of Predator’s success. 1987’s big action sci-fi horror film had become a hit and had made a lot of money and Arnold Schwarzenegger and director John McTiernan were happy to return if the price was right. It wasn’t. The studio wanted to make the sequel for the same amount of money as the original, so the lead and the director walked. Fair enough really when you remember that the first made a lot of money and McTiernan had made Die Hard in the meantime and Schwarzenegger had filmed the classics Red Heat, Twins and The Running Man, so their salaries had justifiably risen. It didn’t bother me though, I’m not sure why we needed to see the same hero from the first film, especially as the film moved from the Jungles of South America to the City streets of Los Angeles. Besides, the casting of Danny Glover of all people was an inspiration and having Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso and Bill Paxton to back him up was a dream come true. The film also boasts some interesting supporting actors, such as Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin and controversial TV and radio personality Morton Downey, Jr.  Schwarzenegger was quite damning of the film saying that moving the story to the city was a dumb move but I disagree, especially when you add the whole gang element to the mix. It’s a very different film and once again it was met with disdain and loathing by the critics but once more the film reached its fans and was a commercial success. It is now regarded as a cult classic, although not quite as much as the original. The film is mysteriously set ten years after the original in 1997. Los Angeles is enduring a heat wave and a turf war between heavily armed Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels. A Predator watches a shootout between the police and Colombians, led by El Scorpio (Henry Kingi), observing as Lieutenant Michael R. Harrigan (Danny Glover) charges in to rescue two wounded officers and drive the Colombians back into their hideout. The Predator attacks the Colombians, causing a disturbance that prompts Harrigan and his police detectives, Leona Cantrell and Danny Archuleta (María Conchita Alonso and Ruben Blades), to defy orders and enter the hideout. They find the Colombians have been massacred. Harrigan pursues the frightened El Scorpio onto the roof and shoots him in self-defense, believing El Scorpio is shooting at him when he opens fire at the cloaked Predator behind Harrigan. Harrigan catches a glimpse of the cloaked Predator, but dismisses it as a hallucination due to the extreme heat and his acrophobia. At the station, Harrigan is reprimanded by his superiors for his defiance. He is introduced to Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), leader of the task force investigating the cartels, and Detective Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), the newest member of Harrigan's team. Later that evening, several Jamaican cartel members storm the Colombian drug lord's penthouse in downtown Los Angeles. After they ritualistically murder him, they are attacked and slaughtered by the Predator. Harrigan's team enter the penthouse where they find the Jamaicans' skinned corpses suspended from the rafters, noting the similarities to the earlier Colombian massacre. Keyes arrives and kicks Harrigan's team out. Archuleta later returns to continue investigating and notices one of the Predator's speartip weapons in an air conditioning vent. When he climbs up to retrieve it, the lurking Predator kills him. Harrigan vows to find and bring down Danny’s killer, believing they are dealing with an assassin. Forensic analysis reveals that the speartip Archuleta recovered is not composed of any known element on the periodic table. Seeking answers, Harrigan meets with Jamaican drug lord King Willie (Calvin Lockhart), a voodoo practitioner, to discuss the recent killings in the city. King Willie tells Harrigan that the killer is supernatural, and that he should prepare himself for battle. Harrigan, even more puzzled, leaves before the Predator drops from the rooftops and kills King Willie after he draws his rapier sword, taking his skull as a trophy. For Harrigan's persistence, the Predator views him as his ultimate hunting challenge and decides to first hunt those closest to him to enrage him even more. Tracing a lead indicating Danny's killer had recently been in a slaughterhouse, Harrigan arranges to meet his team at a warehouse district to investigate. Cantrell and Lambert take the subway to the rendezvous when the Predator, hunting Harrigan's subordinates, suddenly attacks during a standoff between a gang and a group of vigilantes. The Predator kills the gang and multiple armed vigilantes. Lambert faces off against the Predator and is also killed. Cantrell is spared after the Predator's scan of her body reveals that she is pregnant. Arriving on the scene to find numerous armed civilians dead and Lambert missing, Harrigan continues down the subway tunnel and witnesses the Predator rip Lambert’s spine and skull from his lifeless body, taking it as a trophy. Harrigan gives chase to the fleeing Predator, but is intercepted by Keyes' men. Keyes reveals that the killer is an extraterrestrial hunter that sees in infrared, uses active camouflage, and has been hunting humans for sport throughout armed conflicts, most recently in Central America. Keyes and his team have set a trap in a nearby slaughterhouse where the Predator has been visiting to feed, using thermally insulated suits and cryogenic weapons to capture it for study. When the Predator arrives, the trap is sprung. However, the Predator uses its bio-mask to scan through various electromagnetic wavelengths to identify the light from the team's flashlights. It easily outmaneuvers and slaughters the entire team before heavily wounding Keyes. Harrigan attacks the Predator with a shotgun, badly wounding it before it rallies, destroys his weapon and closes in. Harrigan is saved by the sudden reappearance of Keyes, who tries to incapacitate the alien, but is killed by its throwing disc. Harrigan follows the Predator to a roof and the two clash, leaving them hanging from a ledge. The Predator activates a self-destruct device on its forearm, which Harrigan severs using the throwing disc. The Predator falls through an apartment window, treats its wounds and flees through the building. Harrigan follows it down an elevator shaft and finds a spacecraft in an underground tunnel. Inside the ship, after Harrigan briefly glimpses a trophy room with various skulls (including a Xenomorph from Alien), he and the Predator face off in a final duel, ending when Harrigan impales it using the throwing disc, killing it. Several other Predators appear and collect their dead comrade. Knowing he had won in a fair fight, the leader of the clan presents Harrigan with an antique flintlock pistol as a trophy. Harrigan escapes from the ship before it takes off. He reaches the surface just as the remainder of Keyes' team arrives. As Keyes' subordinate Garber (Adam Baldwin) curses their lost opportunity to capture the alien, Harrigan privately muses that the creatures will return. This time main Predator was designed to look more urban and hip than its predecessor. Design changes included tribal ornamentation on the forehead, which was made steeper and shallower, brighter skin coloration and a greater number of fangs. Describing the new Predator's design, Stan Winston said, "Broad concept's the same. The difference is, this is a different individual. A different individual of the same species. As in a snake is a snake, but different snakes are different. Their colourings are different, different parts of their characteristics, their facial structures, subtle differences.” Kevin Peter Hall returned to play the Predator once more and had studied African tribal dances, in order to get into the feel and flexibility of the new Predator, and to give him more personality. New director Stephen Hopkins was hired thanks to his work ethic as he had directed Nightmare on Elm Street 5 in record time and on budget. I think he did a great job, and with more than 20 different edits of the film, it is fair to say he was a perfectionist. One of the biggest things about the Predator sequel and why it is best remembered is down to a little detail towards the end. The appearance of the Xenomorph skull got fans into a fury of excitement, the Predator had been fighting the Aliens in the comics for some time but this made it feel like a full on Predator vs Aliens film was indeed possible. Fourteen years later us fans were reminded of the phrase ‘Be careful what you wish for’. Regardless, Predator is often regarded as not very good but in my opinion this is far from the case.