The Man From Toronto is a 2022 American action film that fuses comedy into its drama. It was directed by Patrick Hughes, the same director of the popular movies, The Expendables, Hitman's Bodyguard, and Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. The movie stars the famous Kevin Hart, a renowned comedian.
There are so many films being released every week, and yet I was stuck on which to pick. It happened to me that I found myself stuck on what film to see because the catalogue of films I was seeing at the moment was just not appealing. This is due to my list being out of order during these times when I am dabbling in the waters of responsibilities.
I have heard about letterboxd.com, but I only registered an account and never really gave it much thought. But with the dilemma I find myself in lately, I am now taking time to learn about it so I can get my list organized more often.
Anyway, in my search for something to see, I found "The Man From Toronto." The title seemed so cliché, but I did not mind at the moment. I had been seeing it under upcoming movies on Netflix, and I felt "oh well, let's see."
After seeing the first few minutes of the movie, I made a big guess that I was in for a lot of jokes (actual jokes). And along the line, I began to feel I should just skip the movie, considering that I am more of a thriller genre kind of person, and the movie seemed to not exploit that area much. But then, I stayed till the end.
But before I begin to tell you my thoughts on the movie, let me tell you about it a little; just a little, so I do not give away spoilers. And then, we fire on to why we are here.
Teddy (Kevin Hart) is an online gym coach who never seems to get anything right. He is even oftentimes named New York's biggest screw-up. But he is fortunate to marry a woman who accepts him for who he is.
He wants to do something spectacular for his wife on her birthday, as he flops his marriage many times, and he books a day spa for her and, later in the day, a cabin for the rest of the surprise. He printed the directions to the cabin he had booked, but as the printer was low on toner, the words printed were faded and the directions were not clear.
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He takes Lori (his wife) to the spa, and she goes off to secure the cabin. Because the directions are faded, he mistakes a different cabin for his own and proceeds with moving in. However, he meets a criminal who mistakes him for "the man from Toronto." "The Man from Toronto" is to use his interrogation expertise to draw out information from the man's hostage.
"The Man from Toronto" is a feared and well-known assasin in the league of criminals. But his identity is unknown. Even the FBI has nothing on him other than the 19th century American poetry he uses. He is basically a ghost.
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Now that the whole world believes that Teddy is "the man from Toronto", the FBI intends to keep it that way so they can use him to get to a Venezuelan colonel that intends to cause chaos in the US. But somewhere along the way of Teddy's mission, the real "man from Toronto" shows up and has other plans for Teddy.
Now Teddy has to save his country, save his marriage, and, amidst all the drama, protect his life.
The story basically talks about how doing the same thing every time will always yield the same results. But really, it takes courage to call one's self back to analyse what one may be doing wrong. This was basically Teddy's situation.
He had tried so many things in his life. He did come up with good ideas, but he had a very terrible skill at relating them to the market. He had this idea of "non-contact" boxing, which is basically boxing without actual physical contact with the opponent. From his angle, it was a great idea, but to the rest of the world, it was nonsensical. He then goes through life-threatening situations in order to come to terms with himself about how he wants his life to unfold.
And on the other end of the rope is a completely different man, maybe even quite the opposite of Teddy, who always has his plans and prospects well laid out and is doing well with his job (of an assasin). But on the contrary to Teddy, who has his dream and is driven to achieve it, he is quite a coward for chasing his dream, which is quite far from his criminal job.
What we have now is a story about two men from different worlds and with opposing personalities coming together to achieve a somewhat common goal: subdue the common enemy.
In all honesty, I did not put my hopes too high for this movie because the title kind of gave me a feeling that I would not get the kind of action that may have interested me, and that was the case. I saw a type of action that was specifically tailored to fashion the comedy that is the actual point of the story.
To deliver to you a review with justice served, we'll need to walk through some specific areas:
Like I said before;
I made a big guess that I was in for a lot of jokes (actual jokes).
I just knew that, with an actor (or personality) like Kevin Hart, the story was going to take a very comedic approach. Yes, it was clearly categorized as "comedy action," but the story followed a more predictable pattern.
The whole story was clearly centered around the comedy that was intended. So every other element included was bent and twisted to follow a pattern to support it.
To my surprise, I had so many laughs throughout the scene. There were so many enjoyable parts that always resulted in me giving off cringe-worthy laughs. But then, there was one issue. Every scene I laughed at had to do with something Kevin said.
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And I consider it an issue with the film because, if you yank Kevin from the whole film, as an actor, and replace him with someone that cannot match his personality, what we'd have is a total catastrophe.
A catastrophe in the sense that there were so many things that just did not add up. For example, how in the world can the FBI consider a criminal a ghost and then know his favourite poetry that he recites to his victims? Let's not drag this, or else it'll look like the movie should not be appreciated.
You must get my point now, dear reader. The storyline is really not something I would consider giving an award to the movie for. And for the comedy, I would rather give Kevin the award, not the film.
The cinematography of a film is the aspect responsible for the motion picture that helps to tell the story. This includes quite a vast spectrum of techniques.
Like many films now, this film shows how much of an improvement there has been over the years in the film industry in the area of motion pictures.
For a movie that does not have much of a story to tell, the least you could do is to give it the best look it can get. And I really do appreciate what the world has done in this aspect.
The art of film performance is very crucial. An actor or actress keen on their performance is very likely to sell their character to the audience. The actor or actress needs to be able to deliver the emotions the audience has to feel from the story being told.
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I usually have a few actors that I would like to talk about when I see a film. But in this case, I am only here to commend Kevin Hart. Without his intelligent use of his talent, the entire movie may have just been a flop.
I did not expect much and I did not get much. But that is not to say the movie is not an enjoyable one. Rather, I would classify it as a movie you may just want to see to pass time and have a laugh while at it.
Surely, I would like to see more movies like this, at least once a while. They can really help one to unwind and relax after a long day.
I would give the series a 𝟞/𝟙𝟘.
El hombre de Toronto es una película de acción estadounidense de 2022 que fusiona la comedia con el drama. Fue dirigida por Patrick Hughes, el mismo director de las populares películas The Expendables, Hitman's Bodyguard y Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard. La película está protagonizada por el famoso Kevin Hart, un reconocido comediante.
Hay tantas películas que se estrenan cada semana y, sin embargo, me quedé atascado a la hora de elegir una. Me ocurrió que me encontré atascado en qué película ver porque el catálogo de películas que estaba viendo en ese momento no me atraía. Esto se debe a que mi lista está desordenada en estos momentos en los que me sumerjo en las aguas de las responsabilidades.
He oído hablar de letterboxd.com, pero sólo he registrado una cuenta y nunca le he dado mucha importancia. Pero con el dilema en el que me encuentro últimamente, me estoy tomando el tiempo de conocerlo para poder organizar mi lista más a menudo.
De todos modos, en mi búsqueda de algo que ver, encontré "El hombre de Toronto". El título me pareció muy cliché, pero no me importó de momento. Lo había visto en el apartado de próximas películas en Netflix, y pensé "oh, bueno, veamos".
Después de ver los primeros minutos de la película, me hice a la idea de que me esperaba un montón de chistes (chistes de verdad). Y a lo largo de la línea, empecé a sentir que debería saltarse la película, teniendo en cuenta que soy más del tipo de género de thriller, y la película parecía no explotar mucho esa área. Pero entonces, me quedé hasta el final.
Pero antes de empezar a contaros mi opinión sobre la película, dejadme que os hable un poco de ella; sólo un poco, para no desvelar spoilers. Y luego, pasamos al por qué estamos aquí.
Teddy (Kevin Hart) es un entrenador de gimnasia en línea que nunca parece acertar en nada. Incluso se le nombra a menudo el mayor desastre de Nueva York. Pero tiene la suerte de casarse con una mujer que le acepta tal y como es.
Quiere hacer algo espectacular para su mujer en su cumpleaños, ya que fracasa muchas veces en su matrimonio, y reserva un día de spa para ella y, más tarde, una cabaña para el resto de la sorpresa. Imprimió las indicaciones para llegar a la cabaña que había reservado, pero como la impresora tenía poco tóner, las palabras impresas estaban descoloridas y las indicaciones no eran claras.
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Lleva a Lori (su mujer) al balneario y ella se va a asegurar la cabaña. Como las indicaciones están borrosas, confunde otra cabaña con la suya y procede a instalarse en ella. Sin embargo, se encuentra con un criminal que lo confunde con "el hombre de Toronto". "El hombre de Toronto" debe utilizar su experiencia en interrogatorios para sacar información al rehén del hombre.
"El hombre de Toronto" es un temido y conocido asesino en la liga de los criminales. Pero su identidad es desconocida. Incluso el FBI no tiene nada sobre él, aparte de la poesía americana del siglo XIX que utiliza. Es básicamente un fantasma.
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Ahora que todo el mundo cree que Teddy es "el hombre de Toronto", el FBI pretende mantenerlo así para poder utilizarlo para llegar a un coronel venezolano que pretende causar el caos en los Estados Unidos. Pero en algún momento de la misión de Teddy, el verdadero "hombre de Toronto" aparece y tiene otros planes para Teddy.
Ahora Teddy tiene que salvar a su país, salvar su matrimonio y, en medio de todo el drama, proteger su vida.
La historia habla básicamente de que hacer siempre lo mismo dará siempre los mismos resultados. Pero, en realidad, hace falta valor para llamarse a sí mismo y analizar lo que uno puede estar haciendo mal. Esta era básicamente la situación de Teddy.
Había intentado muchas cosas en su vida. Se le ocurrían buenas ideas, pero tenía una pésima habilidad para relacionarlas con el mercado. Tenía esta idea del boxeo "sin contacto", que es básicamente el boxeo sin contacto físico real con el oponente. Desde su punto de vista, era una gran idea, pero para el resto del mundo, no tenía sentido. A continuación, pasa por situaciones que ponen en peligro su vida para llegar a un acuerdo consigo mismo sobre cómo quiere que se desarrolle su vida.
Y en el otro extremo de la cuerda hay un hombre completamente diferente, quizás incluso todo lo contrario a Teddy, que siempre tiene sus planes y perspectivas bien trazadas y le va bien en su trabajo (de asesino). Pero al contrario que Teddy, que tiene su sueño y se ve impulsado a conseguirlo, es bastante cobarde por perseguir su sueño, que está bastante alejado de su trabajo criminal.
Lo que tenemos ahora es una historia sobre dos hombres de mundos diferentes y con personalidades opuestas que se unen para lograr un objetivo algo común: someter al enemigo común.
Sinceramente, no tenía demasiadas esperanzas puestas en esta película porque el título me hacía presagiar que no iba a ver el tipo de acción que me podía interesar, y así fue. Vi un tipo de acción que se adaptaba específicamente a la moda de la comedia que es el punto real de la historia.
Para entregarte una crítica con justicia, tendremos que recorrer algunas áreas específicas:
Como he dicho antes;
Me imaginé que me esperaba un montón de chistes (chistes de verdad).
Simplemente sabía que, con un actor (o personalidad) como Kevin Hart, la historia iba a tener un enfoque muy cómico. Sí, estaba claramente catalogada como "comedia de acción", pero la historia seguía un patrón más predecible.
Toda la historia estaba claramente centrada en la comedia que se pretendía. Así que todos los demás elementos que se incluían se doblaban y retorcían para seguir un patrón que lo apoyara.
Para mi sorpresa, me reí mucho en toda la escena. Había muchas partes divertidas que siempre me hacían soltar carcajadas. Pero había un problema. Cada escena en la que me reía tenía que ver con algo que decía Kevin.
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Y lo considero un problema de la película porque, si sacas a Kevin de toda la película, como actor, y lo sustituyes por alguien que no puede igualar su personalidad, lo que tendríamos es una catástrofe total.
Una catástrofe en el sentido de que había muchas cosas que no cuadraban. Por ejemplo, ¿cómo diablos puede el FBI considerar a un criminal como un fantasma y luego conocer su poesía favorita que recita a sus víctimas? No alarguemos esto, o parecerá que la película no debe ser apreciada.
Ya debes entender lo que quiero decir, querido lector. El argumento no es algo por lo que consideraría dar un premio a la película. Y por la comedia, preferiría darle el premio a Kevin, no a la película.
La cinematografía de una película es el aspecto responsable de la imagen en movimiento que ayuda a contar la historia. Esto incluye un amplio espectro de técnicas.
Al igual que muchas películas actuales, esta película muestra la gran mejora que se ha producido a lo largo de los años en la industria cinematográfica en el ámbito de la cinematografía.
Para una película que no tiene mucha historia que contar, lo menos que se puede hacer es darle el mejor aspecto posible. Y realmente aprecio lo que el mundo ha hecho en este aspecto.
El arte de la interpretación cinematográfica es muy crucial. Un actor o actriz que se esfuerza en su interpretación tiene muchas posibilidades de vender su personaje al público. El actor o la actriz tiene que ser capaz de transmitir las emociones que el público tiene que sentir por la historia que se cuenta.
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Suelo tener unos cuantos actores de los que me gustaría hablar cuando veo una película. Pero en este caso, sólo estoy aquí para elogiar a Kevin Hart. Sin el uso inteligente de su talento, toda la película podría haber sido un fracaso.
No esperaba mucho y no obtuve mucho. Pero eso no quiere decir que la película no sea agradable. Más bien, la clasificaría como una película que puede querer ver sólo para pasar el tiempo y reírse mientras lo hace.
Sin duda, me gustaría ver más películas como ésta, al menos de vez en cuando. Realmente pueden ayudar a uno a desconectar y relajarse después de un largo día.
Yo le daría a la serie un 𝟞/𝟙𝟘.
𝕁𝕆𝕀ℕ 𝕋ℍ𝔼 ℂ𝕆𝕄𝕄𝕌ℕ𝕀𝕋𝕐
𝕀𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕤.
Honestly, your review is accurate. I saw this movie earlier this week and like you said, I wasn't expecting much and didn't get much either but it's really not bad. With a main character like Kevin Hart, I think we all know what to expect... Though he made the movie worthwhile with his humorous and natural acting skills. Woody Harrelson wasn't so bad himself.
Nice read @olujay👌
Hey, @dimmablogs. Glad to finally have you in my blog.
I had never seen or heard Woody Harrelson before. But I believe he is a much better actor and must have done much better works.
Kevin has a good way of moving his audience. There's something not all tv personalities have.
Your reviews always makes me go in search of the movies
Thanks man.
I'm glad you find then useful, brother.
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Kevin Hart is one of my favorite actors. Haven't heard of this particular movie but I'll check it up. With your review above, I can't just wait to see it.
It's good to have you here, man.
I'm glad you found my review useful.
Thank you for your sharing your review and thoughts on this. The film sounds something I could watch and share a few laughs too :)
!PIZZA
In times like this, anything enough to help unwind could go a long way.
I'm glad you stopped by.
That's right. We also had some movie time yesterday watching an Indian film hehe. It was a good break :)
You're welcome
!PIZZA
Oh really, that's nice.
What Indian film was that?
It's called "Ki & Ka"
Haven't heard of that one. Although I usually do not have much of Indian movies. The title does sound interesting, as most Indian movies do.
I may start with this one if I ever consider trying out Indian movies.
Yes. I didn't really like watching films with subtitles but sometimes good ones come along and keeps me glued :)
Thanks and hope you are having a great weekend
I was just gonna write a review on this movie but you’ve beat me to it 😂
Kevin as usual delivered!
Come on, the review is basically just "my perspective", and not the entire universe's.
I had already seen about two or three reviews before I did mine, but I went on with it anyway because I had quite a different view and still wanted to share it.
We could even broaden the overall audience perspective on it. I'll be thrilled to see the film from your perspective.