"Major Grom: The Plague Doctor" is a film adaptation of a Russian comic book that is worth watching

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Film critic Alexei Khromov watched the film before the release and was delighted with the humor and dynamics.

On April 1, the Bubble studio comic adaptation will be released on Russian screens. "Major Grom: The Plague Doctor" directed by Oleg Trofim is almost the first Russian film of this genre, which is awaited with a positive attitude. The movie comics, which are so popular now in the West, still look sad in our country. They treated Black Lightning in 2009 with irony, and Sarik Andreasyan's Defenders became a symbol of all the most shameful things in Russian cinema.

But with Major Thunder, the story is somewhat different. The comics of the Bubble studio, which started in 2012, of course, at first looked too naive: they copied their American counterparts, but the plot turned out to be quite predictable. But they did not evoke feelings of shame, and the quality grew rather quickly. Therefore, the studio has already formed a small (compared to the American giants), but devoted fan club.

In 2017, the success was consolidated by the short film "Major Thunder", dedicated to one of the most popular characters in the comics Bubble. A half-hour action game about a gallant policeman (Alexander Gorbatov), who prevents a bank robbery, was greeted very positively.

After that, the studio took up a full-length film about the hero. The production dragged on for four years, and even the leading actor was replaced. But the film still made it to the screens.

Now we can say that he will meet almost all the expectations of the audience. Yes, there are a lot of rough edges in the plot, and the authors sometimes lack courage. But this is a very witty and energetic story with charming characters and good humor.

A real movie comic strip

Major Igor Grom (Tikhon Zhiznevsky) serves in the St. Petersburg police and solves more cases alone than all his colleagues put together. True, he also has a drawback: the hero does not know how to work in a team at all and always climbs into the very thick of it. Because of this, his boss Prokopenko (Alexei Maklakov) constantly has to cover Grom.

But one day the police are faced with a very mysterious criminal. Someone in a technological suit of the Plague Doctor with built-in flamethrowers is lynching criminals who have not been punished according to the law. Thunder is trying to catch the killer, but he has more and more supporters tired of the inaction of the official authorities.

It's worth making a reservation right away: the filmmakers don't even try to show believable police work or a plot in the style of crime series. "Major Thunder: The Plague Doctor" is a typical movie comic strip with all the necessary attributes. Therefore, here both the employees of the authorities, and in general the atmosphere is as unrealistic as possible.

But this is what makes the action brighter and more energetic. The film opens with the scene of Thunder's pursuit of robbers (of course, it cannot do without references to the short film), during which the major organizes a pogrom in the very center of St. Petersburg.

Well, the further action unfolds according to the classical canons: the main character and the antagonist have very similar motivation, but different methods. This adds to the ambiguity, because at first glance, the Plague Doctor really punishes those whom Thunder himself did not cope with.

True, readers of the original comics will notice that the authors are much more careful with the social, and especially the political component than in 2012. The policemen, doctors and deputies were replaced as villains by bankers and millionaires. But if you take the film as a stand-alone work, the moral looks pretty good.

And in general, the picture does not focus on a deep understanding of social problems, but simply on drive and bright heroes. Therefore, Major Thunder here breaks into various bars and brothels, always fights with criminals, flirts with a beautiful girl and understands a complicated case.

Of course, figuring out the villain and predicting the outcome is not at all difficult. Although the authors threw surprises even for connoisseurs of the original. But Major Thunder is not a detective story, but a typical comic strip in the spirit of the Marvel classics. The picture mixes genres, adds energy and positivity to them, and presents them in the form of a vigorous action movie.

Witty action

Although not mentioned in press releases, the authors clearly took the films of Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn as the main reference point for filming. Immediately you can recall that after the release of the short film, many compared Major Grom to Ilya Kuryakin from "Agents ANKL". Zhiznevsky, however, already evokes fewer associations.

Of course, Major Thunder does not always reach its Western colleagues, but this approach is good and looks very witty, and most importantly, it perfectly suits the style of the film. The hero here often calculates the moves and actions of his opponents, as did Sherlock Holmes in Guy Ritchie's tape. This, by the way, leads to a few funny moments that work every time.

Major Thunder's visits to various criminals are shown in the form of quick cuts, which clearly refers to comic panels: the same scenes are played in different variations, and when shooting from above, they seem to leaf through locations.

In moments with fights, too quick editing sometimes tiresome, but still, it does not reach the dizzying chaos that even Western film adaptations have sinned. You can always make out which of the heroes is doing what, and the stuntmen have worked wonderfully well. At the same time, the camera can make unimaginable somersaults with the actors, roll over or fly around the characters to help feel the surrounding space.

The music for the film was written by Roman Seliverstov, who also worked on the short film. Its soundtrack fits perfectly into the style of the picture: it does not draw attention to itself, but creates the necessary atmosphere, sometimes even adding anxiety. It is equally important that there are many famous songs in the film. Some in the original performance, others in unexpected cover versions.

A separate plus of the picture is real locations. 50 out of 84 shooting days the team worked on the streets of St. Petersburg, and 10 of them were spent on the opening scene of the chase. Therefore, the action is not limited to a couple of well-known landmarks. The filmmakers visited several dozen rooftops alone.

Of course, lovers of documentary accuracy have something to find fault with: the geography of St. Petersburg is radically different from the real one. Although in this regard hardly anyone will be able to interrupt "The Adventures of Italians in Russia".

Moreover, only residents of the city will notice these subtleties. Although the citizens of St. Petersburg, who are uncritical, will definitely understand that each individual location is filmed with obvious warmth and allows you to feel the atmosphere of the old center. After all, even the police station was located here in the Marble Palace.

No wonder at the premiere of Major Thunder, the authors said that St. Petersburg is one of the main characters of this film.

Charismatic characters

Of course, the action is based not only on the action, but also on the heroes, which should be liked and remembered by the viewer. And in this regard, "Major Thunder: The Plague Doctor" turned out to be the most successful.

Doubts whether Tikhon Zhiznevsky will be able to replace Alexander Gorbatov in the title role disappear literally from the first minutes. In the acclaimed TV series Swamp, the actor was allowed to reveal himself only from the middle of the season. Here, half of the entire charm of the picture rests on his charisma. Major Thunder constantly jokes and pours out aphorisms, fights magnificently and even dances. And the fact with what appetite he eats shawarma is simply impossible to fake. And at the same time, the hero communicates with people with great difficulty. The image of a tough loner in American film comics is already becoming outdated, but we are still only gaining popularity.

Sergei Goroshko is no less catchy in the role of Sergei Razumovsky, the founder of the popular social network "Together". Of course, initially this character clearly hinted at Pavel Durov, but this only applies to names and inventions. Although in the screen version they managed to hint at Telegram with its principles of data encryption. Emotionality and adherence to principles of this hero literally conquer. Pea plays out different states of his character in the same natural way. And Razumovsky will surely have no fewer fans than Grom himself.

The journalist Yulia Pchelkina (Lyubov Aksyonova), fortunately, was made less sexualized than in the comics, and added to her assertiveness. This turns her communication with Thunder from a typical flirtation of a hero with a fan in love with a confrontation between two strong characters.

Alas, not everyone was allowed to open up. Trainee Dima Dubin (Alexander Seteikin), on the contrary, became paler than his prototype. Now this is an ordinary sidekick, which at first only interferes with the main character and becomes the object of jokes. In the end, he will, as expected, prove himself, but still the character does not have enough time. Hopefully, if the sequel is filmed, it will be given more interesting scenes and made less cliché.

You can list other minor characters for a long time. But it's easier to say that vivid characters are perhaps the main advantage of the film. They are a little stereotyped, but they turned out to be very charming and lively.

Of course, when compared with Western counterparts, the new "Major Thunder" has something to complain about. The plot is predictable, somewhere there is a lack of budget, and the authors are too cautious when it comes to social statements.

But still, this is an example of a successful Russian film comics, which entertains with action and leaves the most pleasant viewing experience. The film has a lot of humor (if you don't pay attention to the extremely unfortunate joke about domestic violence at the beginning), vivid scenes and sincere love for the city where the heroes live. One feels how much the authors have invested in the creation of the tape, both creatively and emotionally. And after watching, you will really want shawarma - the heroes chew it too appetizing in the final. According to rumors, during the filming more than 50 of them were eaten in different takes, and behind the scenes the number exceeded a thousand.

Therefore, the film can be considered successful. Moreover, both as a separate picture, and as a prospect for the development of light popular genres, which are so lacking in Russian cinema.

By the way, there will be two scenes on the credits at once, hinting at a sequel. So far, they will only delight the fans. But if Major Thunder turns into a franchise, those moments are sure to be important.