REVIEW: THE QUAKE aka SKJELVET (2018)

THE QUAKE aka SKJELVET (2018)

Norwegian disaster flick is a sequel to Roar (Tomb Raider, Cold Prey) Uthaug’s The Wave and continues the story of Geologist Kristian Eikjord (Kristoffer Joner). It’s three years after the devastating wave in Geiranger and while Eikjord is seen by most as a hero, he himself is tormented with guilt that his warning could have been made sooner. He is separated from wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp) and his children, son Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) and daughter Julia (Edith Haagenrud-Sande), who now live in Oslo. When a friend’s death in a tunnel signals Kristian that a massive earthquake could be imminent there, the nightmare begins all over again as he tries to warn authorities and get his family to safety.

John Andreas Andersen takes over directing reigns from Uthaug with a script from Wave writers John Kåre Raake and Harald Rosenløw-Eeg. He does a great job not only in creating some intense drama to get us emotionally invested in the returning characters, but some nail-biting suspense when the inevitable finally happens. Much like the last film, it’s a bit smaller scaled than the typical CGI filled mega-budget Hollywood disaster films and focuses on the human drama, though the devastation is quite impressive. There are some truly gripping scenes as Eikjord tries to rescue his wife and daughter from the top floor of a collapsing hotel, with the help of his dead friend’s daughter Marit (Kathrine Thorborg Johansen). It can be quite intense and nerve-wracking, especially in the last act and the human melodrama is kept at a realistic level and thus far more effective than if it was over-the-top like most films of this ilk. The FX are once again top notch, for a moderately budgeted film and the Norwegian locations are a refreshing relief from the usual world famous big city locales these movies usually choose. If the film has any flaws it’s that it’s over a bit suddenly, when one expected more and characters are suddenly safe when they were still in the danger zone when last seen. Some transitional shots would have helped. These are minor complaints when stacked up against what director Andersen does deliver.

The cast all return as the Eikjord family. Kristoffer Joner once again makes a solid everyman hero. This time Kristian is a man tearing himself apart by guilt that he couldn’t have saved more in the tsunami in Geiranger, but must do it all over again in Oslo. A good actor making the part very human. Ane Dahl Torp is again strong as Idun. She still loves her husband and is trying to be understanding and sympathetic, even though his new warnings appear as paranoia to her. Jonas Hoff Oftebro is good as the now college age Sondre, though he doesn’t have all that much screen time and Edith Haagenrud-Sande is very solid as young Julia, especially as she is involved with a lot of the action. Pretty Kathrine Thorborg Johansen is also a welcome edition as Marit, the strong-willed daughter of Kristian’s lost friend and quite the action heroine herself.

Overall, it’s a fun movie and every bit an equal to it’s predecessor. It’s human drama is done on a realistic level and thus emotionally invests the audience in the characters. It’s title event comes in the last act and delivers some really nail-biting suspense scenes as the characters we’ve come to like are thrust into highly dangerous situations. The FX are spectacular for a modestly budgeted film and director John Andreas Andersen fills Roar Uthaug’s shoes quite nicely. A really solid and very entertaining disaster sequel from Norway. Would love to see a threequel if they could find a way to get Eikjord back in action without seeming forced or redundant which The Quake avoids.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) little girls who should have stayed in the car like dad told her to.

 

 

 

 

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REVIEW: THE WAVE (2015)

THE WAVE (2015)

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Norwegian disaster film from Cold Prey director Roar Uthaug sets up it story by opening with newsreel footage and documentation of real-life incidents of villages being destroyed by rock slides causing tsunami’s in the fjords. As our story opens, geologist Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) is on his last day at work monitoring the seismic plates of the mountains surrounding his small village of Geiranger, which sits on the shores of a fjord. There are some odd readings that concern him and continue to trouble him even after he leaves his job on the eve of moving his family to a new town and new life. But old habits die hard and Kristian is afraid that there may be a disaster approaching…and soon. While it’s the height of tourist season and no one wants to believe him, his fears prove right as a massive rockslide hits the fjord sending a devastating tsunami towards Geiranger and Kristian’s family.

Uthaug directs a fun and very intense thriller from a script by John Kåre Raake and Harald Rosenløw-Eeg. It’s a very modestly budgeted film and the SPFX are quite good, but it also is a smaller scaled movie and benefits from that greatly. While we forgo the big spectacle of Hollywood disaster epics, it instead focuses on the very likable Kristian and his efforts to rescue his family from the destruction. It makes it a more intimate portrayal of people surviving a catastrophe and brings the human element to the forefront. It’s a refreshing and more down-to-earth portrayal of this type of situation and is all the more intense and suspenseful as we are endeared to the characters involved. By avoiding the soap opera level melodramatics that these movies embrace, it is a more believable scenario filled with real people and not cliché stereotypes. Uthaug and the writers still fit in all the familiar tropes…no one wants to believe Kristian at first, it is during a tourist season and there is a plot device to keep Kristian’s wife, Idun (Dead Snow’s Ane Dahl Torp) and son, Sondre (Jonas Hoff Oftebro) in town during the evacuation. The film is still following the disaster formula, despite it’s less bombastic and simpler approach and this is what made it so satisfying. You can relate more to real people in a more realistic situation than something that is too over-the-top to be anything but a movie. On a production level it looks good for such a modest budget, the landslide and tsunami FX are really convincing and Uthaug brings a solid visual style which gives us some stark imagery. Cinematographer John Christian Rosenlund captures that imagery and the beautiful Norwegian scenery very well and Magnus Beite adds atmosphere and intensity with his score.

The cast really make this work, too by presenting a very likable family to become endeared to and root for. Kristoffer Joner is not the usual larger than life character these movies employ, but a very simple family man and passionate about keeping them safe. He may be moving on to a new town and career at the start, but his heart is in geology and his vigil over the mountains and their seismic activity. When disaster strikes he risks all to save his loved ones and anyone else he can. A brave and noble, yet very down-to-earth character played excellently by Joner. Ane Dahl Torp is equally strong as his wife Idun. She works at a local hotel and must bravely act when that hotel is struck by disaster and is filled with tourists. Idun is a woman who can take care of herself and those around her and also will go to extreme measures to protect her family. Ane Dahl Torp really nails the character and gives off a natural sexuality while doing it. Jonas Hoff Oftebro is good as their teen son Sondre who is feeling the effects of the move the most and Edith Haagenrud-Sande is adorable and very sweet and brave as their young daughter, Julia. A rock solid cast.

This was a very enjoyable and delightfully smaller scaled disaster flick. It had a more character driven perspective with some very likable characters and had a stronger emotional core because of it. Director Roar Uthaug brought some of the intensity he gave Cold Prey into this flick and delivers a thrilling and endearing story of a family trying to survive a catastrophe. It’s got a lot of the disaster flick tropes we expect, but in a more grounded tale of survival and unconditional dedication to one’s loved ones. Very highly recommended.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 and 1/2 (out of 4) fjords.

 

 

 

 

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BARE BONES: 22 JUMP STREET and RAGNAROK

22 JUMP STREET (2014)

21 Jump Street turned out to be a hilariously fun surprise with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum teaming up as Schmidt and Jenko, two misfit cops who get sent back to high school on an undercover assignment, a la the 80s TV show. Not only did Tatum show a gift for comedy but, the two really had a great chemistry and the flick was really funny. Two years later we are back for a sequel that this time finds the duo going to college to investigate a new drug that has already cost one student their life. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are back too and while this flick is not nearly as fresh and funny as the first film, it is still entertaining and their are still plenty of laughs. Hill and Tatum continue to be a really tight comic team and the fun they are having together translates to the screen and gets us through some of the more stale bits and more tired jokes. Overall, I was entertained by this second entry, in what appears to be a franchise in the making, but, the recently announced third installment is going to need some freshening up to keep us in our seats for more.

RAGNAROK (2014)

Heard some good buzz about this Norwegian monster movie but, those annoyed at Godzilla’s lack of screen time will really be frustrated with this one. Family style film finds a Norwegian archeologist (Pal Sverre Valheim Hagen) taking his kids and colleagues to Finnmark to a no-man’s-land of former Soviet territory to find evidence of the whereabouts of a lost Viking tribe. Instead he finds the horrifying truth of the reason for their disappearance in the form of a massive serpent that lives within a lake. Written by John Kare Raake and directed by Mikkel Braenne Sandermose, the film is well made but, takes over an hour for our CGI creature to appear and then it’s further appearances are briefer than Gareth Edwards Godzilla. In between we get a lot of Raiders of the Lost Ark cliche’s Norwegian style and while it isn’t boring, when all is said and done, not a lot happens and what does is nothing we haven’t seen before. An OK flick to pass the time and the Viking lore was an interesting angle but, too familiar and uneventful to be memorable.