Genre: Action/Superhero
Director: Scott Derrickson
Writer: Dominic Wilkins
Based on DC Comics characters
Cast: Edgar Ramirez, Hugo Weaving, Alice Eve, Rory McCann, Michael Rooker, Gary Cole, Amr Waked
Plot: In Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ramses II, an alchemist discovers a fallen meteor and he takes a shattered fragment with him and puts it on a scepter. He then presents the scepter and the rest of the meteorite to the pharaoh Ahk-Ton (Amr Waked). Right before the very eyes of the alchemist, Akh-Ton’s body transforms and he becomes the first Metamorpho. They bury him in a sarcophagus and place it next to the meteor in a pyramid. They believe they’ve killed him.
Rex Mason (Edgar Ramirez), a struggling soldier of fortune, is in bed with Sapphire Stagg (Alice Eve), daughter of his boss, Simon Stagg (Hugo Weaving). He’s unaware of their relationship, but one thing is sure, he wouldn’t approve. They see each other one last time before Simon leaves the country to go in Egypt, to try to find the mysterious Orb of Ra for Simon Stagg. They kiss while Rex dresses up and he leaves. A man is seen watching them from a window. When he recognizes Rex leaving, he picks up his cellphone and calls someone. The answer is too loud, which makes him drop his phone on the floor, surprised. It catches the attention of Rex, who turns around and realises something’s wrong. He talks to the guy quickly and asks if he works Stagg and it’s positive. Rex asks if he’s in trouble…
The man escorted Rex to Simon Stagg’s office and he throws a tantrum at Rex for sleeping with his daughter. He promises that if he catches them in bed again, he will personally cut his genitals. Rex adds that he will probably get Java to do it, which angers Stagg even more and it makes Rex laugh even more. Simon Stagg is an inventor and founder / CEO of Stagg Enterprises, a company responsible for pioneering new, innovative methods in the fields of engineering, chemistry and genetics. Stagg engineered a man, slightly dumb, but he looks very much like a normal human, if not for his immense strength. It’s his biggest feat to date. He named him Java (Rory McCann). Java works for Stagg as a personal bodyguard, chauffeur and handyman. Java joins them in the office and Stagg orders them to go in Egypt to find the legendary Orb of Ra. Rex and Stagg argue about Rex’s pay, as Rex thinks he’s being to cheap and he refers Rex to his finance department for that matter. When Rex leaves, Stagg makes sure that no one is near, or listening and he tasks Java to leave Rex in the pyramid and kill him, because he doesn’t like the relationship he has with his daughter. Java, who’s also secretly in love with Sapphire, accepts right off the bat. He doesn’t want to have to compete with Rex for Sapphire’s heart. He lets out that he she would choose Rex over him, which confuses Stagg, but he brushes it off. Rex is in the finance department, flirting with a woman for a bigger paycheck and he succeeds, and he flashes his check in Stagg’s face on his way out.
Rex Mason and Java land in Egypt and they head straight to the pyramid believed the hold the Orb of Ra in its unexplored cavities. Java pierces a hole in the pyramid with his bare hands, which impresses Rex, and with an ancient map, they’re able to walk in the pyramid without losing track of where they are. They finally find the Orb of Ra, still on the scepter. As Rex hums the Indiana Jones theme , reaching for the Orb of Ra, Java clubs him from behind and takes the Orb. He uses his freakish strength to push Mason down a hole, but it makes look like it’s an accident. Java leaves the pyramid with the Orb. Rex Mason lands on the ground, injured. He landed next to Akh-Ton’s sarcophagus, a pharaoh. He touches it to try to get back on its feet, but he knocks the cover down. Akh-Ton rises from the dead and he activates the power of the meteor., which confuses Rex. Rex nods that he would need plastic surgery, because he’s hideous right now. Rex starts to feel weird and feels his body transforming and there’s nothing he can do about it. His face is dark and his body isn’t human flesh anymore. Akh-Ton says that Mason is now Metamorpho and that he can finally rest in peace. Mason’s body transforms and he ends up looking like Akh-Ton’s, to Rex’s obvious disappointment. He passes out from the exhaustion.
Simon Stagg is looking closely at the Orb of Ra after Java brought it back. He also confirms that Mason is dead, because he pushed it down a deep hole and left him there. There’s no way that Mason is alive, he says. What they don’t know, is that there’s a undesired visitor in the Stagg mansion. An old enemy of Simon, Maxwell Tremaine (Gary Cole), a criminal scientist and former Nazi, entered the mansion and he wants to confront Simon. Maxwell never got over the fact that Simon got away with Mara, his wife, when they were both interested in her. It’s something Maxwell never understood and he’s been wanting to get back at Stagg ever since that day. Mara died since then, but who cares. But then, something, or someone, arrives at the Stagg mansion. It has a inhuman body, a white face, a dark pink body, legs both black and brown. Simon Stagg sends Java to kill him, but the being changes shape to avoid Java’s strike, changing into a cube the size of a small dice. Simon takes the scepter with him to try to use it as a weapon, but the Orb of Ra keeps the unhuman being at bay, it’s like it can control it. The being reveals itself, it’s Rex Mason, who now goes by the name of Metamorpho. He says that when Java accidentally pushed him down a hole, something extraordinary happened to him, but he’s now stuck into this freakish corpse. He said that since it’s Stagg’s fault that he went down the hole, he wants him, the famous Simon Stagg, to find a cure, to return to his normal appearance. Simon accepts, but deep down he knows it’s beyond his scientific abilities. Maxwell Tremaine, who spied on them the entire time, now wants the Orb of Ra, so he’ll be able to control Metamorpho and achieve his goal of getting back at Simon Stagg. Java, who ran away after he learned it was Rex Mason upstairs, is in the attic. He thinks about Sapphire and Rex together and thinks about the good moments he had with Sapphire while Rex was gone. He wants to kill Rex for good, so he sets the mansion on fire, with the hopes that Rex will stay trapped and he’ll be the heroic man who will save both Simon and Sapphire
When the fire alarm rings, Simon evacuates, but Rex has other plans in mind. He runs downstairs and grabs Sapphire Stagg, who was stuck in the bathroom. He changes into a bubble to protect her from the flames and smoke and she keeps screaming the entire time, because she has no idea what the hell is going on. When they get out of the mansion, he tells her that he’s Rex, but he now calls himself Metamorpho. She’s a bit freaked out, but she recognizes Rex under this unhuman appearance. He says his father will cure him, and he wants to be with her, even if he’s not good looking. Sapphire says her love for Rex is beyond his physical appearance, so she can cope with it. She says he could use his powers to good use, so people will accept him and look beyond his unnatural appearance. She says he only has to do it until her father finds a cure, she knows he will. Rex adds that there’s something else that can change shape, if you know what he means. Sapphire says he’s immature and Simon caught that. He tells Rex that he shouldn’t be with his daughter without supervision, he thinks he’s a threat for society and he has reasons to get back at Simon, so he’s not willing to let him be around his daughter right now, not until he’s only Rex Mason, not Metamorpho. The firefighters ask if there’s still someone inside and Sapphire notices that Java isn’t there, so she sends them inside to look for Java. They get inside, but none of them are getting out. Metamorpho goes back inside, taking the shape of a golf ball, rolling around the house with ease. He sees Java in a corner beating down firefighters. He realises Java is afraid of the fire and he changes into a ladder for him to get out. When they all get back together, Java says he started the fire with the hopes of killing Metamorpho for goo… but Simon cuts him before he finishes his sentence. They all berate Java for doing something so idiotic, especially since he’s afraid of fire. Sapphire makes them stop and to give Java a chance because he’s simple-minded, furthering Java’s crush on her. After the firefighters clear the area, they all get back inside, only to realise that the Orb of Ra disappeared. Maxwell Tremaine is seen running away with the Orb of Ra still on the scepter. Simon thanks Metamorpho for everything he did for them today, but with the Orb of Ra gone (and therefore no way to effectively limit his powers) Simon doesn’t want Rex around his house, so he kicks out Rex in he middle of the night.
Not far away from here, Kurt Vornak (Michael Rooker), Simon Stagg’s former assistant is also spying on them from a safe distance, with a pair of binoculars. One of the many enemies Stagg made in his life, Vornak wants to kill Stagg to get back at him for rendering him unable to use his left eye, after Stagg made an error when calibrating a machine and it rendered Vornak’s left eye useless. On top of it all, Stagg blamed Vornak for what happened. But to make amends, Stagg offered a permanent job to Vornak as his personal bodyguard, chauffeur and handyman. Vornak was then unceremoniously fired when Stagg created Java, despite their prior agreement. He has a flashback about the whole incident that made him lost his eye and he feels a sharp pain where his eye is supposed to be. He leaves the area when he can’t see them anymore and he goes back to the city, where he enters a building from an alley. Inside, a group of men were waiting for him. They all enter a van and head for a small bank, downtown. They start to assault the bank clerks and the customers. They’re somehow able to create a force field between the vault and the rest of the bank, which renders every police assaults useless. They flee the scene unscathed with the money in sports bags.
Metamorpho wanders in the streets, alone. He pleases kids that are scared of him by making different shapes with his arms (and whole body)which makes them happy, but makes the parents freak out, out of pure disgust It makes Rex infinitely sad, because people used to like being around Rex, but not anymore. All he wants is to come back to his normal self, so he can spend the rest of his life with Sapphire Stagg and being an adventurer, not entertaining kids in the streets like some circus animal. He tells all of that to a homeless man and in the end, Rex realises that he passed out from drinking too much, so he steals his alcohol. Maxwell Tremaine emerges from the dark of an alley with the Orb of Ra. He controls Metamorpho with it and he kidnaps him. He drags him with it to the airport, where they fly away in his private jet. During this time, Sapphire Stagg looks out her window, hoping to see the real Rex Mason arrive, just so he can be with her, all while Java is making ill-conceived advances at her. One thins is sure, they don’t hit the target. She couldn’t care less about the engineered and hideous looking man created by her father.
Maxwell Tremaine and Metamorpho land in Africa, where Tremaine has a home, after he was thrown out of Europe for his political beliefs. There, he collected a high amount of dangerous weapon and keep them active for an eventual world domination plan that he always pushes back every time the date arrives, but he says that the next time the date comes, he’ll start with Europe and with his weapons and now Metamorpho, he’ll be unstoppable. He connected all the weapons in his junkyard of doom together, so he can use them all at once in the control area. He soon realises that Metamorpho’s powers aren’t limited and you can’t control his mind, once he’s at a good distance of the Orb of Ra, so Metamorpho rebels against Maxwell. Metamorpho changes the shape of his arm, so he can grab the Orb of Ra with one hand and fight Tremaine and his junkyard of doom with the other. Tremaine gets in his control center and starts shooting rockets at Metamorpho, who uses his new body to dodge the attacks. Whether it’s by making a hole in his body, or by transforming it in various shapes, Metamorpho dodges everything and he enjoys it! It frustrates Tremaine even more and he shoots more missiles at Metamorpho, only for him to dodge them all again! Metamorpho grows tired of his enemy’s inability to do anything and he uses his body to turn the weapons around. An angry Tremaine just keeps on shooting and he makes the control center explode. Metamorpho laughs at him and he leaves with the Orb of Ra.
Metamorpho has absolutely no idea how to go back to America, so he changes into a huge bird and he flies across the Atlantic. When he gets back to America, he heads to Simon’s manor, where he transforms into a puppy and sneaks in Sapphire, who pets him. He slowly transforms back into his real form to Sapphire’s surprise. When Simon heard the commotion in Sapphire’s room, he knocked and entered. Rex goes out and grabs the Orb of Ra and gives it to Simon. As a thank you gift, Simon invites him to a posh charity ball, where he can go with Sapphire, but Simon has another plan in mind.
A few days later, Kurt Vornak is back again at the same spot he was before, still trying to find a way to get back at Stagg for what happened years ago. He knows a lot about their lives, including Java’s desire to be with Sapphire. When he thinks that nobody’s home, he breaks in and head straight to the laboratory. Vornak decides to destroy Stagg’s machine, so he can no longer work. That seems like a brilliant plan, especially if you want to get back at him, but the thing is, Vornak has absolutely no idea how to do it. He wanders around, pressing buttons, he’s frustrated because these aren’t the machines he worked with when he worked for Stagg. He’s interrupted by Java, who was asleep in the basement and woke up when he heard the noises. Java threatens to kill him, but Vornak tells him that he can help Java in return. If he destroys Stagg’s machines, he won’t be able to work for a lengthy period of time, which means that he won’t be able to bring back the real Rex Mason. This means that Java will have more time to seduce Sapphire! After a short moment of hesitation, Java accepts. It’s worth mentioning that Java doesn’t have the same abilities than humans, so he has no judgement whatsoever, so if Vornak tells him it’s the best option, that can only be true, right? After helping Vornak to press all the buttons frantically, the laboratory ends up exploding. The ensuing explosion transforms Vornak into a being of pure atomic energy. Java, who’s not really human isn’t affected at all. Vornak runs away with his newly acquired powers and freaking out a bit.
The same night, Metamorpho is making his first public appearance at a posh charity ball with Sapphire. What Metamorpho doesn’t know, is that they only invited him so he can entertain the guests with his powers by chilling wine bottles with his hands, or transforming in different shapes. After his little act is over, Metamorpho leaves with Sapphire, humiliated and devastated. He doesn’t want to be just an attraction, he never wanted any of this. Simon makes sure to send someone to follow them and when Rex notices him, he stretches his arm and increases the size of his hand to give him a giant-sized middle finger right in his face, all of this while he kisses Sapphire.
Kurt Vornak (and his newly acquired powers) is once again robbing a bank with his force field. The police try to get to them, but they can’t. During this time, Metamorpho notices a bunch of fake telephone wires around town. They are all linked and are each attached to a bank. They are all around town and attached to every banking institutions. Metamorpho transforms into a little plane and they fly above the building. Sapphire spots several police cars around one of the bank. Metamorpho stretches his arm and breaks the wire on top of the bank. Inside, the force fields wears off and the police can now shoot at the robbers. Vornak kills everyone inside with his atomic powers and the bank explodes. When he gets out, he sees Metamorpho flying away with Sapphire.
Rex and Sapphire go back to the Stagg Mansion, where Rex confronts Simon about the work he’s supposedly doing to cure him, and how he’s going to do it with all his broken and exploded machines. Simon dodges the question and talks to Java, instead. Rex says he can’t stand people looking at him a different way and people using him as he was some sort of object anymore. Simon renews his promise that he’ll do everything he can to help Rex.
Kurt Vornak arrives at the Stagg Mansion with only one goal in mind, killing Metamorpho for what he did tonight, after all, his little operation is over. When they see Vornak arrive, the Staggs and Java use Metamorpho to fly away. Simon has a plan to get rid of the new Vornak. They fly to the Stagg Enterprises office building and they break in a window. They begin to look for a nuclear device that can be used to kill Vornak. During this time, Vornak is attacking the citizens, killing them with atomic energy blasts. He also sets some building on fire with his powers, including the Stagg Enterprises building. Sapphire finally finds the device and they all get down in the streets.
They confront Vornak, who tells Simon that he wants to kill him as much as he wants to kill Metamorpho. He threatens to hurt Sapphire and Java runs at him, to defend the woman he loves. He’s stopped dead in his tracks by Vornak who transforms Java into a fossil, by rearranging his atomic structure. Metamorpho acts quick, he stretches his arms to open a service entrance to a tunnel that runs beneath the river and to push Vornak in it. He stretches his neck to kiss Sapphire one last time and he grabs the nuclear weapon, as Simon activates the self-destruction device on it. Down in the tunnel, they engage in a fight, where Vornak tries to kill Metamorpho by shooting atomic blasts at him, but Metamorpho dodges every single one of them by changing into letters of the alphabet, spelling Metamorpho. He uses his right arm to make little signs written 10 on it, as a way to congratulates himself. They stop for a while and face off. Metamorpho increases in size and tries to choke Vornak, but he stuns him and he’s able to get free. Vornak uses his powers to run incredibly fast at Metamorpho and the only way he’s able to get away from him is by changing into a liquid and following the current in the tunnel. They finally stop chasing each other, realising they’ve been running in circles the entire time. Metamorpho changes into a gas and enters Vornak’s body. He goes back to his normal form, tearing Vornak apart. Metamorpho realises he killed him and gets his head out of the tunnel from where he entered and says he got him, to Sapphire and Simon’s satisfaction. He looks down at the nuclear weapon and it denotates in two seconds. He only has the time to let out a “Oh fu..” and he changes into a huge balloon enveloping the weapon and absorbing all the radiation. Metamorpho is down and when the authorities arrive, they use Geiger counters to check if there’s any radiation and detect none. Simon Stagg gathers the immobile Java and the inert body of Metamorpho and, along with a heartbroken Sapphire, go back to the Stagg Mansion. He promises his daughter that he’ll do everything he can to bring him back to life.
First Post-Credit Scene: Java is brought back to life by Simon and he kisses Sapphire which repulses her. He tells them to stay silent and watch, it’s make or break for Metamorpho. He presses a series of buttons and Metamorpho’s eyes open.
Second Post-Credit Scene: On the planet Angor, the Extremists, Doctor Diehard (Christoph Waltz), Dreamslayer (James Remar), Gorgon (Dominic Purcell), Lord Havok (Jim Caviezel) and Tracer (Hafbor Julius Bjornsson) look for Survivors of their nuclear holocaust. Blue Jay (Tim Roth), a former hero on Angor shrinks until he measures only seven inches. He spies on them with the hopes that they won’t see him.
No comments:
Post a Comment