The new sci-fi action film debuted at SXSW’s opening night. The title says its all “Everything Everywhere All At Once” deals with the chaotic adventure of an exhausted Chinese American woman, Evelyn who is struggling to finish her taxes. But that’s not all she’s dealing with: a marriage on the fritz, her strained relationship with her daughter, and oh yea, the universes (multi) that are collapsing on each other.
Actress and veteran action star Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn. Yeoh is best known for her work in “Croching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” yet has been in over 40+ movies including “Shang Chi”, “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
While at a tax appointment, something strange happens (with her crazed tax auditor played by the iconic Jammie Lee Curtis), she finds herself experiencing alternate selves – versions of Evelyn that has bad-ass martial art skills, one that can speak English fluently, and strangest of all, one where she has hot dogs for fingers!
A full fledged multiverse that’s collapsing and only can be stopped with the help from all of her alt-world counterparts keeps the action and visual stimulation at peak levels with the story, though twisted, still present and accounted for.
The film will be released March 25 and stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Harry Shum Jr., Jenny Slate with James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis. Produced by the Russo Brothers of Marvel’s Avengers fame, initial release is for theaters and no streaming platform has been announced at this date.
Is Rian Johnson only a Master of the Sci-Fi Action Genre or is he a Jack-of-All-Genres?
Given his recent body of work, writer-director Rian Johnson has become known predominantly for sci-fi action projects. From “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to “Looper” to some of the most impactful episodes of “Breaking Bad,” you could reasonably expect Johnson’s next idea to follow in the same vein of blockbuster intensity. In fact, Lucasfilm has already signed him up for his own Star Wars trilogy project.
Before Jonson gets to work on that next big-budget Disney assignment, though, he has been having some fun pursuing a passion project with Lionsgate that will come out on November 27th. The film is called “Knives Out,” and while it may not be the cinematic epic that audiences have come to know Johnson for, it just might satisfy us all the same.
The Answer is Yes — He Masterfully Blends Comedy, Mystery, and All-Star Cast For this Fun-Filled Thrill-Ride
The premise of “Knives Out” has nothing to do with space battles or time travel. The movie is an action-comedy-drama about a family whose patriarch dies under suspicious circumstances and an eccentric detective who’s tasked with figuring out the truth. However, rather than having the film be a straightforward hard-boiled noir story, Johnson borderline parodies the genre, with hilariously hyperbolic characters moving the twisty plotline along with on-the-nose dialogue and wit.
These funky characters are portrayed by an all-star cast. Foremost, Daniel Craig plays the detective: a super-serious, inquisitive leading man dead-set on unraveling the mystery. Endearingly, Craig almost seems to poke fun at himself in this role, mocking his own performances as the latest, ultra-stoic version of James Bond.
Standing alongside Craig as members of the family are Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Christopher Plummer, and many others. Additional recognizable faces in the film include that of young Jaeden Martell from “It,” veteran Don Johnson from “Miami Vice” and legendary puppeteer, director, and actor Frank Oz, who reprised his famous role as Yoda in Johnson’s last Star Wars film.
Although it Came after Great Success Elsewhere, ‘Knives Out’ is Certainly a Passion Project Worth the Wait
Johnson first pitched the idea for “Knives Out” way back in 2010. He wanted to create a classic murder-mystery style film, drawing inspiration from Agatha Christie stories and retro thriller-comedies such as “Murder On The Orient Express” and “The Private Eyes.” The film was not officially announced until September 2018 and began filming in October 2018, wrapping at the end of the year.
“Knives Out” finally premiered at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival and met excellent reviews, being praised for its originality, humor, and star-studded performances. While the film mostly satirizes the bygone murder-mystery genre, it manages to keep the audience engaged and interested all the same. To sum it up in a word—critics deem the film incredibly fun, a thrilling treat bound to make viewers smile and enjoy themselves throughout.
So before we settle in for Johnson’s new Star Wars project, let’s return to something in the spirit of his earlier, indie-style work. Let’s be reminded of the filmmaker’s affinity for screenwriting, comedy, and getting the best out of talented actors. Let’s put franchise fandom and studio divisiveness on hold for a minute and have some fun.
It may not be clear on the surface, but the Rambo franchise has traditionally been one of the most politically timely franchises in American movies. Behind all of the action, violence, and testosterone, the four Slyvester Stallone-starring movies all have narratives that match senses of American morale at the time of their respective releases.
The series’ original trilogy came out during the Reagan administration and their depiction of American heroism very much fit the kind of national mythos that the country pined for at the time. 1982’s “First Blood” showed Rambo returning from Vietnam. While it showcased the vulnerabilities of Vietnam veterans in America, it more potently reaffirmed these vets as tough, hard-bodied war heroes.
The 1985 sequel then gave Rambo the chance to go back to Vietnam and rescue stranded POWs, rewriting America’s military failures as victories. Once again, it fit in with Reagan’s hyper-nationalistic vision of the country. “Rambo III” then took the character to Afghanistan and showed him as more of an aggressor. Nonetheless, the film depicted this aggression in a positive light, once again paralleling Reagan’s sense of America’s purpose in the world, and specifically its actions during the Soviet-Afghan War.
Then, the late 2008 sequel, simply titled “Rambo,” again showed Rambo rescuing Americans from foreign enemies. While a long way off from the Reagan administration, Rambo’s 2008 return was still timely, as it was fit for a post-9/11 America that perhaps yearned for 1980s-style Hollywood protagonists to come back and depict uncompromising, triumphant heroics on the screen. After all, this was the same decade that also saw the return of Indiana Jones, “Die Hard’s” John McClane, and Rocky.
The character’s history and its alignment with American politics then raises the question—why is Rambo coming back in 2019?
It has been over eleven years since Stallone last played Rambo. Now he is saddling up the guns, knives, bows, and arrows for what seems like the last time in “Rambo: Last Blood.” Rumors of a fifth installment to the franchise date back to 2010, when Millennium Films hinted at a sequel to their 2008 movie. Setbacks and wrong turns, however, have delayed the project until now.
So far, every Rambo movie in the franchise has had a new director—Stallone himself directed the 2008 installment. For “Last Blood,” those reigns have been handed off to Adrian Grunberg, an up-and-coming filmmaker who has far more assisting credits to his name than his three directorial titles. However, he likely has good source material to guide him, for Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick wrote the screenplay.
Plot-wise, “Last Blood” will focus on the aged John Rambo (even more aged than he was in 2008) rescuing his niece, who has been kidnapped by Mexican Cartel. It sounds quite similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1985 “Commando” and Liam Neeson’s Taken movies, employing the father-daughter (or in this case uncle-niece) kidnap and rescue trope. This convention is not a negative one necessarily. In fact it has produced some very good movies. Nevertheless, it has been done many times before.
At the same time, Last Blood also looks like it will mix up expectations a little by adding a dash of Western influence into its action narrative. Most of the movie is likely to take place in Mexico and the trailer shows Rambo living on a desert ranch, riding horses to the tune of a country remix of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road.”
After all, Rambo has always been a bit of a cowboy hero for a newer generation. Like Henry Fonda’s Wyatt Earp or John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards, Stallone’s Rambo is a loner, deadest on justice in an unjust society. Perhaps the version of Rambo we will see in “Last Blood” will be closer to Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn, though, the old cowboy who resurfaces for one final job in 1969’s “True Grit.”
Still, the original question remains—why is Rambo coming back now? And what kind of America will he be fighting for this time around?
Hitting a Nerve or Missing the Mark?
Despite how platitudinous of a statement it may be, America is very divisive at the moment, likely more so than when Rambo debuted during the Reagan administration or even than when he returned in the Bush years. What exactly is worth fighting for is not agreed upon across the country. Therefore, the larger socio-political interpretations of Rambo’s contemporary motivations will be harder to place.
Among the “Last Blood’s” themes will probably be revenge and redemption, as well as service, family, and pride. In today’s America, though, none of these terms are one-track, uniform signifiers. They have different definitions based on who you are talking to and what you are talking about. American mythos comes in many different forms, and Hollywood may be left-leaning when it comes to the stories it produces, but Rambo has traditionally been a red-blooded hero.
Nevertheless, it is not as if Rambo was walking around in the previous four movies with Reagan-Bush stickers pinned on his chest and anti-democrat slogans stitched on his sleeves. Politics were rarely made explicit in the films, and such interpretations, naturally, are voiced after the movie is finished and released to the general public.
Realistically, it is more likely that Rambo is coming back in 2019 because he is a valuable piece of intellectual property and studios want to capitalize on the retro-hero turned badass old-timer fad popularized by Hugh Jackman in “Logan” and Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween”.
Likewise, Stallone made a splashing comeback when he reprised Rocky in the Creed franchise, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. If he can still play Rocky to perfection after forty years, then why shouldn’t he be able to play Rambo?
Of course, no movie will ever be free from ideology, but “Last Blood” was, no doubt, made more with entertainment and marketability in mind than social commentary. After all, most people remember the Rambo movies not for their theoretical significance, but for their characterization, action, and excitement. In the end, there will be many ways to read “Rambo: Last Blood,” and they should be explored within the context of the franchise’s legacy.
For now, though, choosing to close the film theory and history books and simply enjoy the movie as good old, popcorn entertainment is viable, and quite possibly, the most appealing option.
