I was surprised by how watchable a movie about such an unwatchable sport ended up being. I also was not surprised by how much better it did in foreign territories than in the US (where we only pretend to care about soccer every four years).
4. Vinnie Jones
Sticking with Standing Back, it was nice to see Vinnie Jones get the chance to branch out of his traditional tough guy roles. It's always nice to see an actor stretching their range and trying something other than what they're known for.
3. Russell Crowe
Crowe once again shows that he is still one of the most talented actors working today with his complex performance as the ethically challenged, but determined scientist Dr. Hector Agrippa. More starring roles for Crowe, please.
2. Original Stories
All three of this round's films are considered original works (despite how derivative The Two Souls is) and they were all successful (at least financially).
1. Scion
This was a ballsy sci-fi movie with some very strong ethical and moral questions. Most sci-fi movies these days are either going for a Star Wars vibe or an Alien vibe, but Scion has a vibe all its own. I know a sequel is planned, but I am very interested to where Malone and Taylor take us next (especially since only two characters survived, neither a lead).
Two films released this round featured soundtracks, but both failed to add to the film they accompanied. Like most of the soundtrack's to Jack Ryder's other films, the music choices for Standing Back are far too on-the-nose (with two songs featuring a connection to soccer). When the songs used are good, I'm less likely to complain, but the songs aren't even very good. Meanwhile, The Two Souls is a futuristic sci-fi tale set in Japan set to American rap music - a genre that ages worse than most. Do we really think that people are going to be listening to that music not only that far in the future, but also in that region of the planet?
4. Karen Fukuhara
For some reason, Fukuhara is a favorite among some of the writers for the studio as she has now acted in more films for LRF than she has for all of the other studios combined. She isn't especially good at any one thing. Is it just because she's Asian? There are better options, writers.
3. The Two Souls
I'll be completely honest. I did not like this film one bit. The only salvageable aspect of the film was Brian Tee's performance. Ryan Reynolds was completely wasted as a character devoid of his own personality - a big waste of someone as charismatic and entertaining as Reynolds.
2. Lana Wachowski
If The Two Souls and the Wachowskis' dreadful former Netflix series Sense8 is any indicator, Lana and her brother/sister/whatever you're supposed to call them are a) done as interesting filmmakers or b) should only considering working as a duo. If you ask me, the work of anyone in Hollywood with the last name Wachowski has been all downhill since the first Matrix, with each project worse than the one before it.
1. Standing Back's Doctors
Who thought this was a good idea? Was Last Resort Films president too nice to tell Jack Ryder and Tom Hooper that it would be highly distracting to the audience to cast famous TV show doctors as the film's medical professionals? It's honestly just baffling to me, and pretty much ruined the film for me (granted, being about soccer almost ruined it before it started). Standing Back isn't a comedy, yet it tried to pull the kind of stunt casting usually reserved for spoofs.
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