Empire Australasia – August 2019

ALITA:BATTLEANGEL

OUTNOW/ RATEDM/121 MINS

A comic-bookadaptationthat’sbeenontheKing

OfTheWorld’sback-burnersincebeforethe

Titanicsank,RobertRodriguezrescuesJames

Cameron’sangelfrompurgatorybutstruggles

togivehera 21st-centurystorytomatchher

bleeding-edgevisuals.Alita’soversizedemoji-

faceis aneye-openingtechnicalachievement

forsure,theclosestHollywoodhascometo

capturingthespiritofmanga,butBattleAngelis

otherwiseanold-schooladventurethatstopped

downloadingnewupdatesinthe’90s(see:

scruffyurchinsplayingfuturisticstreetsports;

Britishcyber-punkswithMohawks;JeffFahey).

Yourmileagemayvarydependingonyour

toleranceforPhantomMenace-esquestory

beatsandblatantsequelset-ups,buttheaction

is sharpandwelldefined,andheck,sometimes

it’s funtowatchOscarwinners— threeofthem!

— slummingit inthemodern-dayequivalentof

a video-store cult classic.ALI GRAY

DUMBO

OUTNOW/PG/112 MINS

TimBurtonandDisneywerefamouslynot

a goodfitwhenthedirectorwasstartingout

in animation.Buttimeis a greathealer,and

nowhereheis withthislive-actiontakeon

beloved 1941 animation,Dumbo. Fromthe

lovelywordlessmontagethatopensit,Burton

is asplayfulandemotionallyhonestashe

hasbeensince2003’sBigFish, asColin

Farrell,EvaGreen,DannyDeVitoandvarious

circusfolk(Burtononceagaindelightingin

painting‘freaks’asheroes)trytoprotectthe

titlestar,thecutesyflyingelephant,fromthe

avariciousclutchesofMichaelKeaton’s

billionairethemeparkowner.Andthere’sthe

rub:whilethismayseemunusuallysweet

anddevoidofsatiricalstingatfirstglance,

considerthis:Burtonhasmadea Disney

movieinwhichthebadguyis,essentially,

WaltDisney.Maybethey’restill not quite

a goodfit.CHRIS HEWITT

BORDER
OUTNOW/ RATEDMA15+/110 MINS

Adaptedfroma shortstorybyLetTheRightOne
InauthorJohnAjvideLindqvist,Borderis another
freakyfableaboutbornoutsiders,unorthodox
loveandunusualgenitals.Whenunconventional-
lookingborderagentTina(EvaMelander)meets
equallyoddmaggot-smugglerVore(Eero
Milonoff),theyembarkona relationshipthat
yieldsoneofcinema’smostsurprisingreveals:
I won’tspoilit here,butlet’sjustsaythisis a folk
taleaboutfolkwithtails.Partlovestory,part
crimemystery,Bordertakesa surrealapproach
tonotionsofidentificationandfluidbodies,only
occasionallystumblingwithexcessiveexposition
anda deeplyuncomfortablechild-abusesubplot.
Butthere’spoignancyatitsheart,andMelander
is terrificasTina,projectingallsortsofemotions
throughlayersofpotentiallyrestrictive
prosthetics.NordicweirdnessmeetsTheLeague
OfGentlemen’s EdwardandTubbs;there’s
definitely something for you here.NEIL ALCOCK

TeamEmpireon

the month’sessential

movies

FIGHTINGWITHMYFAMILY

OUTNOW

RATEDM/108 MINS

Muchlikeprofessionalwrestlingitself,the

outcomeofFightingWithMyFamily— a tale

ofWWEsuperstarPaige’srisetostardom—

is fixed,butovera crowdpleasing 108 minutes

it revealsitselftohaveplentyinitscornerto

helpelevateit beyondthestandardsports

movieclichés.Toppingthatlistis Florence

Pugh,convincingwhethershe’ssellinga punch

orreckoningwithPaige’sauthenticself,andas

herbrotherwhomustcometotermswith

givinguponhisdream,JackLowden’squietly

devastatingturnis notfarbehind.Indeed,

youdon’tneedtobea wrestlingfanforthese

themes toresonate,andwriter-director

StephenMerchantdoeswelltomakethe

familialrelationships— whichconsistentlyget

analternatelyfunnyandwarmboostfromNick

FrostandLenaHeadey— hitjustashardas

any slam inside the ring.AMON WARMANN

CAPTAINMARVEL

OUTNOW

RATEDM/123 MINS

Pledginga fierceloyaltytotheMCU’sfirst

femaleoriginstory,CaptainMarvelis allatonce

a feministanthem,buddycaperandpossiblythe

studio’smostanti-Trumpchaptertodate.Setin

thegrunge-tinged’90s,BrieLarsonplaysVers,

anintergalacticKreesoldierwithfewmemories

ofherpast.AnencounterwithSkrullnemesis

Talos(BenMendelsohn),however,sendsour

heroineona journeytoEarthinpursuitofa

weaponthatwillchangethewarandherlegacy

permanently.NotsinceRobertDowneyJrand

IronManhasthetransitionbetweena starand

theirMCUcounterpartfeltsoseamless,and

Larson’spairingwithSamuelL.Jackson’s

deftlyde-agedNickFurymakesfora delightful

friendship. Tacklingtopicalthemesto

generationalbangersfromNoDoubt,Nirvana

andR.E.M.earnsthefilmbonuspoints,asdoes

Mendelsohn’s flair for alien ad-lib.BETH WEBB