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Spiral - Movie Review

 ReviewKing reviews Spiral, starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.




Spiral is the night film in the soft franchise. and it stars Chris rock and Samuel l Jackson is helmed by Syres veteran, Darinlyn Vowsman. Who made two three and four working in the shadow of his father an esteemed police veteran played by Jackson brash, detective Azekil Zeg banks played by rock and his rookie partner take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are early reminiscent of the city's gruesome past unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery zig finds himself at the centre of the killer's morbid game . 

I just went ahead and read the official sydopsis released by lions gate because before the film started they asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement. So I cannot talk about the movie's secrets. I wouldn't have any way but there being like really stringent. and I just want to make sure that I'm being careful so I won't talk about the plot at all. I couldn't have seen the movie unless I signed the damp thing so I signed it um let's talk about spiral. which I believe I can say is a saw movie. I like some of the cell films the first one's really good. the second one's o kay six is not too bad.

 The most recent one jig saw was also ok. I liked some of the changes they did mostly that the direction was very smooth and assured and going to the spirit brothers. they did a good job behind the camera although it basically followed the same formula of all the saw movies this movie also follows a very similar formula to. the other saw films except this time they have someone. who's directed three of them already helming it one of the things I liked about the last film .jig saw was that they got rid of that hyper sped up effect that happens during traps this film. brings it back um much to my dismay but that's a kind of a nitpick people who watch saw movies. me being one of them I tend to expect things to be the same . 

I always got excited when a saw movie came out. but they're never as good as i want them to be it's kind of like. I'm in the trap and jigsaw is the so franchise every single time. i willingly go thinking like yes this one is going to be like the first and then it never is. but i still go every time .I don't know why one of the things that impress me right off the bad is that it does feel like there's a lot more money. behind this than most saw movies one of the reasons that they used to be able to make a saw movie. every single year was that they were very cheap to make and they could release one every single Helloween . and always make their budget back this feels a little bit more like the horror films of the two thousands. where they were still mid range budget and you could kind of do more things and have more locations. and the production design is really first rate and you have two atleast actors like Chris rock and Samuel l Jackson involved and it definitely looks better than most of the saw films.

 There's clearly a lot of money on the screen. when it comes to art direction production to sign us and monography all eyes are definitely going to be on Chris rock in this film . because not only did he come to lions gate apparently with a story treatment a being a fan of the saw movies. he had an idea for what he wanted to see in a sac sequel and his idea is pretty cool. i like it a lot i think that there are variations of it in other saw movies . but there's a unique spin on it here but it's obviously a very unorthodox. casting choice Chris rock is mostly known for his excellent stand up comedies. one of my favorite comedians .he had a really good turn and forgo apparently .I have not yet seen that show. I know every one says it's great so it was only natural for him to take a a horror roll or an action roll or something like that next to really flex his muscles . and he is mostly good in the movie. I think that he pulls it off and I love whenever someone who's known for one thing decides to do something else. it's a risk and I'm always going to appreciate that and Samuel l Jackson is always going to be very likable and watchable in anything he does and sometimes . he's great and sometimes. he's Sam Jackson and we already love him. and so it just works he's in the movie about as long as i figured he'd be he doesn't have a huge roll in the movie . his characterization is unfortunately limited. to dad there's not that much for him to do ah from an emotional standpoint but seeing him curse to people is always going to be fun. no matter what movie he's in it's just something that i enjoy seeing the biggest issue with the film is one of tone and this comes down to the director. just about every scene is that in eleven everything's very heightened the adrenalin is always high everything's always very important. there's a lot of screaming and shouting in almost every single scene people are yelling and this in theory sounds like. it would make the movie very tense and at times. it does I don't think this is a bad movie at all. but  i think it's kind of a okay. sauce equell. 

 I don't necessarily believe this is going to revitalize the franchise. I'm sure it will make money and probably do well because it has Chris rock and Sam Jackson. and it's a saw movie it just kind of works when it comes to money but one of the issues with having a film where every moment is that in eleven is that you don't have enough down time. it's very clear that a camp for the film could be the movie seven  there are certain elements in the movie that definitely follow a similar structure that seven did except for a few things .seven will have a scene like the sloth one or the lust scene both of them being elevens . so to speak but then brad pit and Morgan Fryman will go to a bar and they'll talk about life and psychology and they'll get really serious. and they'll digest what they've seen and we as the audience can digest what they've seen .spiral is all sloth in all lust for the whole movie and some of it is really exciting. i love this shit you know me a fucking love horror and bloody gory affects and all that all. that's really fun for me . i just wish that the characters had more of an opportunity to digest ,what they're going through the writers gave them opportunities to do that. but it's mostly in flashbacks and obviously the saw movies are filled with flashbacks but this one in particular has quite a bit .and it's less of the characters thinking about what they're going through or sort of working through. it and more of just telling the audience things that happened to them in the past in the easiest way ever a flashback and there are also some issues with those flashbacks . some of them were allowed into through Chris rock's character. we see him sitting down and thinking about something and then we  see a flash back. where he's a little younger with his father .won't it into details but then he leaves the room in the flashback and we continue in his flashback that he's having even though .he wasn't present any more for the rest of the conversation. we're seeing so there's issues like that as well with the flashbacks .where you don't really know where characters are getting this information. is it really that he's thinking about it the time or is it just for us .but since the film is only about ninety minutes long and everything is always at its max the pressure is always at its max. it doesn't feel like there's an ebb and flow to this suspense intention even a film like phone booth. which is basically non stop tension has moments where characters can connect with people .you know Colin Ferell can talk to somebody that he cares about force .

Whittaker can come over and have like a quiet conversation with him . and ask him why he's still there and and there's moments of ebb and flow. spiral doesn't have any it's just always yelling always shouting .and it kind of becomes noise eventually and unfortunately this all comes down to the direction the film is mostly listless from a directorial point of view the production design and art direction n and sets and all of that is really well done. but it's just not that well made and unfortunately. the tone is a major issue as i already said. sometimes Chris rock seems like he is in a certain place in a scene and moments. later he's in a different place and it's very easy for people to look at the actor in this moment and say oh he sucks or she sucks .she's not doing a good job a lot of that is on the director to sort of gently ease the performer into where they need to be in a moment. they have to see that in their head and understand it. the actor of course does too. but it's really on the director to make sure that they harness a sense of realism throughout their movie. where characters are acting in a way that makes sense the film .also struggles with flow of time when character might be at home the sun seems like it's in a certain place coming through the blinds the very next scene there in the police precinct the sun looks like. it's in the same place coming through the blinds .but somebody says hey i haven't seen you since yesterday or it was nice seeing you a couple days ago. when you realized o shit it's been like two days pass just now in a second and that happens a lot throughout the movie. where it all feels like a contained couple days but it's not like characters talk a lot about days passing or time shifting . and you realize that more time has gone by than it feels like it has because as i said there's barely any down time. i know i'm asking for more than perhaps most soft ans might want . but i just kept seeing opportunities miss throughout the film .

There's a really cool concept and i like what Chris rock wanted to do and i absolutely positively could see a really good. saw movie if maybe someone who hadn't directed three already who was hungry to make a movie like this came on board. i think that might have been a better idea. i found the movie aggressively watchable like very just .you can totally watch it and eat popcorn but the ending kind of like .i when the screen went black. i was like really like i actually said that and i don't usually do that so i don't know. i appreciated the efforts of all involved and i think for the most part i liked it about as much as Jake saw. it's just that i expected more out of this one because again just like jig saw .it's like oh your guys are doing another one and you're kind of trying again. Jake saw was definitely an attempt to try again . and it was passable this is clearly another attempt to try again because the saw movies are they just eat money .they just fucking eat money and so it makes sense that they would try again. and i just keep expecting a little more you know. 

I feel like the reveals that take place a lot of people aren't going to be too happy about it .um that's just my opinion see the movie for yourself at the same time .i respect them for trying something slightly different even though .it does feel very much so like a saw movie as far as the various traps and scenarios .that the killer has people go through there were a few that were kind of unique. but it felt very much so like recycled goods . um i'm not seeing any singular trap in the film standing out as better than any of the other ones. i think that this movie doesn't really focus that much on them this is far more of a character piece . which i like but like i said um the movie doesn't have that much down time with its characters .it doesn't really allow them to sort of talk about how they feel and since your movie isn't relying as heavily on the horror aspect of traps .which is what saw is most known for now o k .what are you replacing it with hopefully really good characterization and drama and the film's best opportunity for that is to explore their relationship between father and son of Chris rock and Sam Jackson. but there apart fom most of the movie and that happens mostly through flashbacks.

I'm going to give spiral a c plus .i think with perhaps a different director. this could have potentially been a really really damn good saw movie. i still think that series fanatics will find some enjoyment in it for sure if not for the interesting casting choice but other than that i really do think this could have been better guds. thank you so much is always for reading. i am going to review army of the dead this weekend . i'm very much looking forward to seeing . 

ReviewKing reviews Spiral, starring Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman.


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