A Complete Unknown (2024)

Direction: James Mangold
Country: USA 

James Mangold’s biographical drama A Complete Unknown delves into the early rise of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, capturing the transformative years between 1961 and 1966. This pivotal period in Dylan’s ever-evolving career sees him transition from a struggling nomad to a folk hero and ultimately to a groundbreaking rock icon. Co-written by Mangold and Joe Cocks, the film is based on Dylan Goes Electric! by musician and music journalist Elijah Wald. 

French actor Thimothee Chalamet skillfully slips into the shoes of the genius, transmitting Dylan’s spirit in his twenties and conveying not only his elusive personality but also his enigmatic charm. Singing, playing guitar, and embodying the artist’s restless spirit, his portrayal borders on perfection. 

The film traces Dylan’s meteoric rise, his tumultuous relationships with Suze Rotolo (Elle Fanning) and folk singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), and the seismic shockwaves of his controversial Newport Folk Festival performance, where he defied expectations by picking up an electric guitar. This moment, a turning point in his career, signified his determination to forge his own path beyond the confines of traditional folk music.

Mangold and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, a frequent collaborator since 2003, vividly reconstruct the atmosphere of New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1960s, painting a visually rich and immersive portrait of the era. There is careful craftsmanship in Mangold’s direction—nothing feels cheap or inauthentic. Having already demonstrated his prowess in biopics with Walk the Line (about country-folk and rockabilly singer Johnny Cash) and Ford vs. Ferrari, he ensures that the film not only tells Dylan’s story but also reflects the broader political and cultural influence of American folk music at the time. 

What sets A Complete Unknown apart is its deep admiration and respect for both Dylan and the artists who surrounded him. The dry, academic biography that many might have feared turned out a rich and fascinating work. Not a moment is wasted in a film that runs fluidly, with historical significance.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Direction: James Mangold
Country: USA

In the fifth installment of the widely popular Indiana Jones franchise, our eponymous adventurer (Harrison Ford) is retired, solitary and aging. However, he makes a final effort to adapt to a jumbled new world where even his young goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), becomes an art smuggler addicted to cash. She operates with the backing of a smart kid, Teddy (Ethann Isidore), who can even pilot a plane without ever being inside one. The three join forces to prevent an old Nazi rival, Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), from stealing an invaluable relic. 

At 154 minutes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny lacks a dramatic arc matching its length, being flat in the ideas and mechanical in the moves. Just like has been happening with the majority of Marvel spin-offs, there’s an attempt to overcome artistic laziness with technical prowess, which makes numerous action scenes feel insipid. Thus, we get that strange impression that Steven Spielberg - the director of all previous installments and just a producer here - would make this film more adventurous and entertaining than James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, 2007; Logan, 2017; Ford v Ferrari, 2019). 

Hence, there are only hints of the old good salad but lots of mediocre dressing on this plate. The uninspired plotting comes with banal dialogue, while the action scenes, despite fast-paced, are pretty unimaginative regardless if they occur on land, air or water. Unless you have a thing for Ford, you're better off discarding this fun-free episode that typifies today’s obtuse contemporary movie culture.

Logan (2017)

Directed by James Mangold
Country: USA

"Logan" is another decent entry in the Marvel film franchise, bringing everything required, so that an adventure of this caliber and genre can work properly. The tenth installment in the X-Men film series was directed by James Mangold, who had directed "The Wolverine" in 2013 with relative success, and co-written with Scott Frank and Michael Green. It stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, and the young Daphne Keen in the major roles.

The opening scene goes straight into the action, announcing the high number of times that you’ll see the three retractable bone claws coming out of Logan’s hands. As in the previous installments, Jackman embodies our mutant hero, a solitary wolf who’s having some issues in leading a decent life. With the loss of his family, Logan entered into a self-destructive spiral that even his dearest friends, Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart) and Caliban (Stephen Merchant), feel powerless to pull him out of it. 

Here, the sleepless superhero feels hesitant about helping Gabriela Lopez, a Mexican nurse holding an important secret about a pharmaceutical company that confines mutant teenagers in its premises to turn them into killing weapons. Laura (Keene) is one of these kids, a brutish little girl who managed to escape and quietly hides her mutant nature. After all, she’s deeply related to Logan and both will join forces against the evil heads of the company, which comprises Dr. Zander Rice and his evil creation, X-24, a bestial clone of Logan, as well as the cyborg chief of security Donald Pierce (Holbrook).

The action scenes are ferocious and include car chases, acrobatic movements, fights and wallops, and deadly hunts. Here and there, an inspired humor fills the gaps between the numerous cuts perpetrated by the mutants.
The uncomplicated story has its climax with the exciting finale, which, besides bringing tears, comes populated by virile fighting scenes wrapped in appreciable special effects.

Admirers of the X-Men comics will be delighted. The others, like me, will probably enjoy without venerating.