Rules of the Game: Helander’s Schlocky English Language Debut
Even though the film seems perfectly well aware of its own silliness as it recapitulates formulaic American action cinema tropes of days past, Finnish director Jalmari Helander’s Big Game never manages to elevate itself beyond a mere dose of basic mimicry. A follow-up to his cult audience courting debut, the strange evil Santa Claus movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, it would appear the filmmaker prizes his own amusement over his audience’s, at least judging from the inescapable hokiness tinging the film.
Where his first film displayed playfulness with its dark humor and memorable action sequences, he’s returned with a different set of vintage inspirations. At times entertaining, especially concerning its unique blend of cultures, and with surprisingly adept special effects sequences, this is goofy fun as long as you can keep your expectations in check.
Even though the film seems perfectly well aware of its own silliness as it recapitulates formulaic American action cinema tropes of days past, Finnish director Jalmari Helander’s Big Game never manages to elevate itself beyond a mere dose of basic mimicry. A follow-up to his cult audience courting debut, the strange evil Santa Claus movie Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, it would appear the filmmaker prizes his own amusement over his audience’s, at least judging from the inescapable hokiness tinging the film.
Where his first film displayed playfulness with its dark humor and memorable action sequences, he’s returned with a different set of vintage inspirations. At times entertaining, especially concerning its unique blend of cultures, and with surprisingly adept special effects sequences, this is goofy fun as long as you can keep your expectations in check.
- 6/26/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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