Monday, April 22, 2013

Army of Darkness (Evil Dead 3): CR #33

After last week's review, and the fact that my birthday is today, I feel thee need to review a movie from one of, if not my absolute, favorite film franchises. It's the third one in the series and the one that takes the biggest departure, but is it still good? Let's find out in my review of...


PLOT
Taking place right where "Evil Dead 2" left off, "Army of Darkness" places our chainsaw-handed hero Ash into the medieval 1300's. He's been maned by the elders as a man a prophecy and the one who will save them from the deadites, demons that are relentlessly attacking the land. The only way to stop these demons is to get the necronomicon, A.K.A The book of the dead, and read the sacred words. But once he goes through hell and back for the book, he accidently unleashes the army of darkness. Now he must fight with the kingdom and train these primitive screwheads into warriors, and hopefully finally get home.



PROS
What makes this movie, and the "Evil Dead" franchise as a whole, is Bruce Campbell. That guys is one of the best comedic and instantly likable actors around. He gives a great performance in this movie and helps to really define Ash as a character, even if that definition is somewhat flimsy.

Sam Raimi, once again, brings his creative and fun camera work to this film. I love Raimi's creative camera tricks and love to spot them in all of his movies, this one is no exception.

While this is a sequel to "Evil Dead 2", "Army of Darkness" has little to no horror in it, it's mostly an action-comedy, which can throw some people off. While I do think the transition is jarring, I still love this movie's comedy. It's extremely reminiscent of "The Three Stooges" and what's not inspired by them is just as goofy.

The last scene of this movie, where they fight the army of darkness, is truly awesome. It's full of great special effects, exciting action, hilarious comedy, and stop-motion animated skeletons!



CONS
In the film, Shelia is a character introduced to be Ash's love interest, but they have little to no chemistry  She beats him with a rock, apologizes, is with him when he suits up, slaps him, then they become a couple. After that point, she does nothing until she herself is possessed. She just seems useless and forced.



CONCLUSION
I absolutely love this movie. While it is a huge departure from the rest of the franchise, I've learned to love and appreciate it. While not better that 2, "Army of Darkness" is a still a wacky, awesome, and fun time for those who seek it.


RATING
RUN TO

No comments:

Post a Comment