Movie Hardmen - Riddick, The Gunman and Run All Night

In a bit of a movie update, first the belated and imaginatively titled third instalment of the Riddick series.

Our eponymous hero, having grown slipshod in his security arrangements as leader of the Necromongers, finds himself stranded on a hostile planet, pursued by two groups of bounty hunters.

Other than money, it's difficult to see why this film was made, as it's just a rehash of the first film, with bits of the second thrown in for good measure. Mr. Diesel looks like he had fun, and it's all workman-like, just... why bother?

Much better is Sean Penn's attempt at the tough-guy genre with The Gunman. Jim Terrier (Penn), a mercenary working for an NGO in Africa, searches for who sent a hit squad after him.

With a good plot, if a bit slow, and a decent supporting cast including Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance, Penn's able to hold down the hard-man role pretty well, and there's plenty of bangs and crashes. It's different enough to be an above average pizza movie.

Lastly, the latest Liam Neeson vehicle. Burn-out gangster and estranged father, Jimmy Conlon, is given a chance at redemption when his son Mike (Joel Kinneman) witnesses a murder.

Neeson seems to be picking better films to do between Taken sequels at the moment, and this is no exception. It's plot keeps a decent pace, if a little predictable, and there's a great supporting cast with Ed Harris as the former friend turned Nemesis. And just in time for Christmas.

It's The Rozzers! Welcome to the Punch, Robocop and Gotham

I've managed to watch some DVD's recently from my Amazon subscription (what used to be LoveFilm). First up is cops-and-robbers drama, Welcome to the Punch.

After being shot by career robber Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong), detective Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy) seizes the opportunity for revenge when the formers son is found severely wounded.

Although it has it's moments, it's a little too domestic and small scale to impress as a good crime thriller. Strong is good enough to carry the role, but McAvoy has never impressed me that much and he's not much better in this. The supporting cast is pretty good, with Johnny Harris as the main villain and Peter Mullan as Sternwood's old partner, but the plot is a little tedious and uninspired. As I've said before with The Sweeney, the Americans do it better: they've got more money.

They're not always inspired or inspiring, though, and that brings us to Robocop (the remake). After being assassinated and left for dead, detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinneman) is transformed by a large multinational into a new kind of policeman:

I don't really have the heart to slag it off as much as others have done. True, it does lack the novelty of the original, but then that's inevitable, given our world of drone strikes and cybercrime. The production is good and the supporting cast is excellent (Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson), but Michael Keaton doesn't really impress as a villain. Perhaps that's the problem: Omnicorp isn't evil enough. Plus the original had a kind of grizzly humour, which is lacking in the remake. Clarence Bodikker (Kurtwood Smith), where are you when the film industry needs you?

Maybe it's in television? A new series has started in the 'States based on the DC Batman characters.

Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) joins the Gotham Police as a detective and is immediately struggling not only with his conscience, but survival itself:

It looks promising, with nods to the original characters such as The Penguin and The Riddler, but whether it gets too weird and/or camp remains to be seen. A good mark in it's favour is Donal Logue as Gordon's partner. His series, Terriers, was one of the best U.S. series ever made.

Apparently, it's available on Netflix.