Published on May 05, 2005

The Interpreter

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Running time: Two hours, nine minutes

Hanuman ratings: hhh

The first five minutes of “The Interpreter” is excellent. The rest is trash. The bigger shame is that it’s director Sydney Pollack’s worst film. With “Three Days of the Condor”, “Tootsie” and “Out of Africa” under his belt, how did he blow it?

The answer lies in the dumb script, which broadly reflects how America often sees the world from a very myopic and superficial view. And despite his achievement with “Out of Africa”, Pollack’s understanding of the continent and its politics seem so shallow here it makes you cry.

The most ridiculous aspect of Nicole Kidman’s role as an African working at the United Nations is that all the sinister circumstances in the film revolve around her.

Although it’s been centuries since Copernicus argued that the earth revolves around the sun, Hollywood still believes people will buy a story where everything happens around a particular character.

In this case, it happens to be Kidman, throughout the 72-hour countdown to an assassination plot.

Many subplots go unresolved. What happens to the bomber of the bus? What is the fate of the fictitious African nation? Fact is, nobody doing the film really cares if it sinks under the ocean – it’s just that there as a nice prop.

Is it any wonder that, when the US or the UN sends troops abroad, the Third World worries? The scary thing is many US critics like the film, which meant they too think this is how Africa looks.

XXX: The Next Level

Cast: Ice Cube, Samuel L Jackson, Willem Dafoe, Nona Gaye, Peter Straus

Directed by Lee Tamahori

Running time: Two hours, nine minutes

Hanuman ratings: hhhhh

For your money, see “XXX: The Next Level”, which was released in the US as “XXX: State of the Union”.Yes, it is sheer nonsense, but at least it doesn’t pretend to be otherwise.

If Ice Cube was three centimetres taller and packed nine more kilos of muscle, he would make a better XXX. He’s way too small for a Navy Seal, but Lee Tamahori, who gave us “Die Another Day”, speeds up the action for this sequel.

It is better than the first “XXX” because Ice Cube is an excellent leading man, as was so evident in flicks such as “Anaconda” and “Ghost from Mars”. True, he has done some junk like “Torque”, but since Walter Hill put him in “Trespass”, he seldom lets down the audience.

Even better news is the body count is on the high side, with Samuel L Jackson chipping in to make this movie rock. Willem Dafoe is always good to watch, again as the villain, and Nona Gaye makes an excellent leading lady.

Critics in the US have panned it. Hanuman suspects they believe the flick is an excuse to allow black boys to beat up white boys, which is not entirely untrue. Hell, “Shaft” did that 30 years back and nobody batted an eyelid then.

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