Sometimes, you just got to go for it.
Tag Archives: Ridley Scott
Tony Scott: The Last Boy Scout
20 Aug
Photo: REUTERS
Tony Scott was a maverick. His films were frenetic and full of bristling kinetic energy and unbridled action. Critical acclaim often eluded him despite directing genre defining classics such as Top Gun (one of my favourite films and the inspiration for this blog), True Romance and the brilliant The Last Boy Scout.
He blazed a trail for the action thriller and collaborated with some of the greatest names in cinematic history: brother Ridley, Robert Redford, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman and famously five-time collaborator/muse Denzel Washington. His films were raw, hectic, relentless and yes sometimes flawed, but they were undeniably Tony Scott films.
His influence is far reaching, he’s been oft imitated but rarely matched and it’s unlikely we’ll see his likes again.
For Maverick, Goose, Joe Hallenbeck & Jimmy Dix, Alabama Whitman and Drexel Spivey I salute you…
Prometheus (2012)
2 Jun
Revisiting the Alien universe was always going to be a risk for Ridley Scott. Alien was the film that cemented his reputation as a visionary auteur and is rightly regarded as a classic, a sublime example of atmospheric horror. Three sequels of varying quality established a sprawling world, one that Scott had long hinted that he was interested in exploring further, his interest particularly piqued by the mysterious Space Jockey, whose fleeting glimpse in his original work posed questions that have never been answered. Whilst Prometheus puts that quandary to bed, its ambitions and scale are far loftier than merely acting as a prequel to the series, which proves to be a refreshing yet frustrating approach.
crash/burn 