The most successful cinema release of 1998 bears the unmistakable imprint of its producer, Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay - big, dumb, loud and cheerfully vulgar, with lots of music, flashy editing and hyperactive camera movement. Bruce Willis is the deep core miner who leads his crew of roughnecks on a space shuttle mission to save the world. A host of rising stars and reliable character actors step up to deliver their competent one-liners amidst the fireworks, while Liv Tyler provides the romantic interest with Ben Affleck.
The Avengers (12)
With Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman taking the roles created by Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg for the 1960s television series, The Avengers attempts to create a simulacrum of Swinging Sixties England for the present day, but forgets that wit and verve were important elements in the original's success. It can't have been easy wrestling with Don McPherson's uninspired script, but Thurman is quite dreadful; Fiennes just looks woebegone, while Sean Connery, as the megalomaniac villain, seems to have his mind on other things.
X Files (12)
Mulder and Scully addicts will be disappointed by the X- Files-for-beginners exposition, while for non-fans the lumbering plot, uncertain pacing and wafer-thin characterisation should prove too much to bear. The usual Hollywood strategy of covering up such shortcomings with a patina of irony is not available here - this film is so po-faced it makes Kevin Costner look witty.
The Replacement Killers (18)
Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat gets his first big American role in Antoine Fuqua's slick, glossy and violent action thriller, which appropriates many of the visual flourishes typical of the films of John Woo, but goes terribly wrong when the characters are required to open their mouths. Amidst all the muddle, Mira Sorvino, as Chow's feisty sidekick, shines out like a beacon.
Metroland (18)
Rather drab version of Julian Barnes's novel, set in 1960s Paris and 1970s London, about two school-friends (Christian Bale and Lee Ross) growing up and growing apart as they return to their suburban roots. The flashback structure obscures rather than illuminates, and the sense of period is superficially rendered.
