James Absolon explains how this Pope-themed film, despite its risky premise, works
Alex Pollard reviews Hollywood's biopic of the controversial Margaret Thatcher
Tower Heist is one of those films that come about after a financial meltdown that happily use the license to make a banker the villain. Here financier Arthur Shaw (played rather well by Alan Alda) has swindled millions, including the pension funds of then employees, in the luxury apartment complex unimaginatively named 'The Tower' where he lives. Hence, Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) starts the revenge scheme to get their own back by stealing 20 million dollars he apparently holds in his penthouse. All of which sounds fine. The trouble is that it never veers into interesting territory and seems to mention evil bankers without making points or real digs. In essence, it lacks teeth and as such laughs, as it tries instead to fall back on the odd bit of dirty humour. That simply cannot work within the confines of the desired 12A certification, and this sort of humour is rarely particularly funny anyway.
Therefore, perhaps the cast can find something to redeem it. Well, for the large part it certainly has a good one; Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, Casey Afleck and Gabourey Sidibe are all there but none of them seem to be able to do anything with the material with only the villain coming across as particularly interesting, if only as a hate figure. They simply can’t make the gags work and although their characters hold together, you don’t care about them. The films other star Eddie Murphy doesn’t raise many smiles either. Then again when was the last time he was good in live action comedy? After all he did win worst actor of the decade at the Razzies last year. So the film essentially lags, the characters aren’t interesting and the script fails. What does the director do? Well, it’s made by Brett Ratner, a real studio hack and the man behind the thoroughly disappointing X-Men Last Stand and a remake of Michael Mann’s phenomenal horror classic Manhunter that missed out entirely on the original’s scares, intelligence, meaning and point. Here, you can tell it’s the same man directing as in a similar way there’s little obviously wrong with it, but at the same time there is nothing special or exciting about it; simply it feels dry and unintuitive, but in fairness it hangs together.
Tower Heist is a film that feels like it’s been made by committee with the audience viewed as some sort of Venn diagram, which they desperately attempt to fit the most people in. So whilst there is nothing to offend in a film lacking any real bite or intelligence, and though it holds together and moves at a reasonable pace, it is simply dull and void of anything particularly interesting.
See Tower Heist at York's Reel Cinema. Visit http://york.reelcinemas.co.uk/ for more information
You must log in to submit a comment.
