Will Poulter Page 2

A wrenching saga of survival and revenge, Alejandro G. Inarritu's new epic is just as technically astounding as his Oscar-winning previous film Birdman. But it's a much muddier and bloodier, set in a a snowy, mountainous Wild West in which everything is a potentially fatal hazard. There may be some human villains on hand, but it's Mother Nature who holds the cards.

At the edge of civilisation in the 1820s, a group of fur trappers led by Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) is ambushed by a ferocious mob of Native Americans led by Chief Elk Dog (Duane Howard), who is looking for his kidnapped daughter. As the trappers flee from the attack, they are assisted by the guide Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), who knows these mountains because he has gone native, adopting an orphaned teen boy named Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), who now accompanies him. But as the survivors make their escape, Glass is badly mauled by a grizzly bear. Henry assigns the compassionate Bridger (Will Poulter) and the more cynical Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) to take care of him. But Fitzgerald snaps, leaving Glass for dead. Against the odds, Glass recovers and sets out to get vengeance.

The title refers to someone who comes back from the grave, which is literally what happens to Glass. And DiCaprio plays him with fire-eyed intensity that vividly shows his tenacious will to survive. Moody flashbacks reveal his back-story, and why living means so much to him. It's one of DiCaprio's most viscerally moving performances. Opposite him, Hardy is a bundle of unpredictable, terrifying rage, thankfully balanced by the expressively sympathetic Poulter and Gleeson's alert commander, the only person who takes the time to measure his thoughts. They're surrounded by a terrific supporting cast of sparky actors who appear briefly but memorably.

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There's nothing particularly original or insightful to set this teen-dystopia thriller apart from the crowd, but strong characters will build some anticipation for the next instalment in the franchise. Unusually for the genre, the film also has a remarkably masculine tone, centring on boyish jostling for control while leaving the women in just two small-but-pivotal roles. On the other hand, it's to thinly plotted that it's pretty forgettable.

The story opens in a scene of disorientation, as teen Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) emerges into the Glade, unable to remember anything about himself or his past. He's the monthly arrival to a community of boys anchored by Alby (Aml Ameen) and the runners who dash into the maze beyond the four tall walls that close in their isolated world. But the maze is full of dangers, and paranoid leader Gally (Will Poulter) thinks Thomas is jeopardising the status quo with his curiosity, bravery and desire to get out. As divisions appear in the community, the game itself seems to be changing as monsters called grievers become more aggressive. Thomas finds allies in Gally's second-in-command Newt (Brodie-Sangster), the lead runner Minho (Ki Hong Lee) and cheery youngster Chuck (Blake Cooper). Then a girl (Kaya Scodelario) arrives carrying a note that says, "She is the last one EVER." And now everyone knows that nothing will be the same again.

Essentially this is Lord of the Flies with the nasty bits taken out, as these boys create a relatively peaceful society until Thomas' arrival signals an apocalypse within the post-apocalypse. Through it all, Thomas has dreams revealing snippets of information about what's really going on here and who's pulling the strings (the fabulous Patricia Clarkson). Meanwhile, he has to learn the mythology of the Glade, which is carefully explained in painfully obvious dialogue ("That's what we call 'the changing'").

Continue reading: The Maze Runner Review

Lazy filmmaking undermines this sparky caper thriller, from paper-thin characters and convenient plot points to limp direction and corny editing. This is a real shame, because the bright rising-star cast brings real energy to the weak material. So audiences who can switch off their brains might have some fun watching this fast-paced romp. But everyone else should be wary.

It opens in Britain, where economics student Sam (Ed Speleers) is running an elaborate credit card scam with classmates Fordy, Yatesey and Rafa (Will Poulter, Alfie Allen and Sebastian De Souza). But when local gangster Marcel (Thomas Kretchmann) discovers their operation, he demands a £2m payoff to let them go. So Sam secretly manipulates his new girlfriend Frankie (Emma Rigby), who happens to work for a credit security firm, into getting them the key information they can use to stage a series of high-stakes cons in Miami. And when this plan falls apart, they decide to launch an elaborate sting to rob £20m of diamonds and set themselves up for life.

The premise isn't bad, but the script is packed with coincidental things that make it utterly impossible to believe. Frankie's job is one of these, as is the fact that Rafa looks just like the Prince of Brunei. And of course, since the plot needs some third-act suspense, Yatesey suddenly turns out to be a careless idiot. None of these things make any sense, leaving everything about the film feeling gratuitous, including the sunshiny beauty of the Miami Beach setting and the presence of inexpressive actress Rigby. Plastic, indeed.

Continue reading: Plastic Review

Consistently amusing but never uproariously funny, this comedy plays it relatively safely by gently subverting our expectations of Aniston and Roberts, while making rising-star Poulter the butt of most jokes. There's just enough rude humour to keep fans of adult-oriented comedies happy, even if the movie continually reveals a squidgy-soft underbelly of sentimentality. But it's fun while it lasts.

The chaos begins when happy small-time Denver pot dealer David (Sudeikis) is robbed, leaving him indebted to his supplier Brad (Helms). Then he's offered a way out: travel to Mexico and collect a "smidge" of weed to smuggle back across the border in an RV. To increase his chances of getting through without an inspection, he creates a fake family from his neighbours: desperate stripper Rose (Aniston), lonely geek Kenny (Poulter) and homeless tough-girl Casey (Roberts). And the fact that they struggle to act like a convincing family is the least of their problems as they're chased by two vicious goons (Sisley and Willig) and befriended by a too-friendly couple (Offerman and Hahn) along the road.

Yes, this is one of those road comedies in which something unexpected happens every step of the way. Sudeikis rides out the film relatively unruffled, while Aniston's big scene is a scorchingly over-the-top striptease performed to distract a drug kingpin. Roberts' only subplot is a silly liaison with a moronic skater (Young). These sequences are carefully calculated to be mildly funny but never embarrassing to the big American stars. On the other hand, acclaimed British actor Poulter (see Son of Rambow and Wild Bill) dives in to his humiliating scenarios with gusto, from an awkward romance with another girl (Quinn) to kissing practice with his "mother" and "sister" to a ghastly spider bite. In the process, he walks off with the whole film.

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Since their mum left nine months earlier, 15-year-old Dean (Poulter) has been taking care of 11-year-old brother Jimmy (Williams) by working in construction at the Olympic park. But Jimmy is failing at school and getting increasingly involved with a gang of local drug dealers (Gregory, Maskell and Rheon). Then after eight years in prison, their dad Bill (Creed-Miles) comes home, realising that he must show some responsibility to keep his sons from being taken into care. But they don't know him, and he doesn't know anything about being a father.

Continue reading: Wild Bill Review