Tom Hanks is back again in this sequel to Saving Private Ryan. Tom Hanks's character must fight to save Mr. Banks a.k.a. Agent Cody Banks (played by Frankie Muniz) from the Germans after a secret mission goes wrong. The action is abundant in this film that mixes the war, spy-thriller, and musical genres together. If you told me you wouldn't see this movie, I would call you a liar.
In All Seriousness:
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Written by: Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith
Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, BJ Novak, Jason Schwartzman
Written by: Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith
Starring: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford, BJ Novak, Jason Schwartzman
It may be easy to overlook this film about Walt Disney's struggle to adapt the novel Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, being that it is up against box office hits such as Anchorman 2, Frozen, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug...damn how has anyone seen this? Well despite the tough competition it has, Saving Mr. Banks is doing solid at the box office, which is fitting because this is a solid film. It didn't blow me away as I usually would hope from a potential Oscar nominated film, but it also didn't underwhelm me. My expectations were pretty on par with the outcome.
Saving Mr. Banks goes back and forth between Mrs. Travers (played very strongly by Emma Thompson) and Walt Disney (played by the always entertaining Tom Hanks) both trying to get Mary Poppins made (or not made) the way they want, and flashbacks of Mrs. Travers's childhood. While it is important to the story, I found the flashbacks much less interesting than the present day timeline. Maybe I'm in the minority, maybe it's because I'm vastly interested in the making of films, but the flashback sequences were the weakest part of the film for me. Despite this fact however, Colin Farrell gave a great performance in these scenes.
Technically this is a rather average film. The strengths of this film are more in the story and performance category than anything else. The cinematography is not worth talking extensively about, because it's just okay. The editing is decent, but there is one scene sticking in my brain as being exceedingly good. The scene I'm referencing is the one where the Sherman brothers (Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak) and Mary Poppins screenwriter Don Dagradi (Bradley Whitford) are performing for Mrs. Travers the song 'Fidelity Fiduciary Bank', and it's intercut with a flashback scene of Colin Farrell talking about the bank he works at in front of a crowd. The energy and cohesiveness of the actors is at it's peak in this thoroughly enjoyable scene.
While there are plenty of films currently out that I still need to see, I can recommend Saving Mr. Banks as a safe choice for anyone who is unsure of what late December film is worthy of their hard-earned cash. However, give some thought to the other box office and Oscar contenders that are currently playing in theaters, because there could be a different film that you would consider great rather than just good. Or you could wind up seeing a huge pile of trash, and regret not seeing Saving Mr. Banks. But that's just part of the excitement of being a film goer.
Saving Mr. Banks goes back and forth between Mrs. Travers (played very strongly by Emma Thompson) and Walt Disney (played by the always entertaining Tom Hanks) both trying to get Mary Poppins made (or not made) the way they want, and flashbacks of Mrs. Travers's childhood. While it is important to the story, I found the flashbacks much less interesting than the present day timeline. Maybe I'm in the minority, maybe it's because I'm vastly interested in the making of films, but the flashback sequences were the weakest part of the film for me. Despite this fact however, Colin Farrell gave a great performance in these scenes.
Technically this is a rather average film. The strengths of this film are more in the story and performance category than anything else. The cinematography is not worth talking extensively about, because it's just okay. The editing is decent, but there is one scene sticking in my brain as being exceedingly good. The scene I'm referencing is the one where the Sherman brothers (Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak) and Mary Poppins screenwriter Don Dagradi (Bradley Whitford) are performing for Mrs. Travers the song 'Fidelity Fiduciary Bank', and it's intercut with a flashback scene of Colin Farrell talking about the bank he works at in front of a crowd. The energy and cohesiveness of the actors is at it's peak in this thoroughly enjoyable scene.
While there are plenty of films currently out that I still need to see, I can recommend Saving Mr. Banks as a safe choice for anyone who is unsure of what late December film is worthy of their hard-earned cash. However, give some thought to the other box office and Oscar contenders that are currently playing in theaters, because there could be a different film that you would consider great rather than just good. Or you could wind up seeing a huge pile of trash, and regret not seeing Saving Mr. Banks. But that's just part of the excitement of being a film goer.
Rating: 7.5/10
~Ryan Moncrief
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