Reviewed by Sean McNulty

Jake is a movie about reality. Granted, it is the worst case scenario, but it does happen. That is one of the catch points to this movie: it can happen, and it has (though not exactly the same, to my knowledge). We've all been there, the first day of school. You sometimes get lost, you don't know anybody unless you get lucky and have some old friends in your class, or perhaps you've just moved and you don't know anybody, anywhere. The reason this movie works so well is the fact that it's like a mirror being held up to our reality. Instead of super undercover conspiracies and wild gun fights, or giant monsters and demons (not that those are bad), we get a film about bullies, and how people can take things too far; something a little closer to home.

John is the new kid in school. The moment he arrives, he's already getting picked on. High school can be really tough on people, and by high school I mean people. The first thing I noticed about John is that he looks too young to be in school with those other people. I mean, I can understand if it's a 7-12 school or something, but he's in the same class as Mark, who is old enough to drive (hey, maybe Mark failed a lot, who knows, but compared to everybody else John still seems too young). His voice is another thing too, it sounds so childish. Maybe the director was trying to portray a slightly comedic new kid, or maybe he just has a speech impediment, but I just didn't like it. Surprisingly enough, the bullies didn't make a joke about his voice.

The bullies themselves are your typical jackasses, nothing new there. They think they're better than the world, and the world hates them. Chuck is the "good" bully (if you can even refer to him as a bully) of the gang, so to speak. He became friends with the other bullies, but he doesn't share in their jackassinine ways. Now, it isn't specific how long Chuck has been friends with these people, but it does mention that he hasn't seen them do stuff as bad as what they do in the movie. My assumption is he hasn't known them very long and is just trying to fit in. I think Chuck himself hints at this at some point, but now I'm just rambling. I don't mean the spoil everything for you people, but I enjoy dissecting movies in my reviews. It's kind of like I'm talking to myself about it.

What I liked about the plot is that it's not what I expected. I assumed John would be the one to rise up and destroy the bullies, as would be the boring, cliché approach, but no, one of the bullies realizes his buddies are taking it too far and takes action himself. Not just that, but after John's dead, Chuck finds out John is Jake, and Jake is his cousin. Oh shit! I really enjoyed that plot, and that nice twist. There is a lot of emotional toying in this movie. Another example is the situation with Amy. Chuck makes that promise to protect John, after Chuck promised to help beat up John (though he clearly had no real intention to beat him up). Then, Amy might be his cousin! But yeah, I enjoyed it.

Physically speaking, this movie is not sexually pleasing (in a 3dmm sense, not boobies). The scenery is nothing amazing to look at, not saying it's horrendous, but it could be better. It is at a level where the viewer can identify the setting and obtain of feel of his whereabouts (helped along by ambiance), and that is all it needs to do. I don't really think amazing scenery is all that important. I'm not saying it's bad to have super awesome scenery, it's just not required in this particular movie. This movie is all about humans, and thus the most important factor is the acting.

The acting was not too bad. It could have been better in various places. I've already complained about John's voice, how out of place it seems, but another thing I didn't like was some of the lines Chuck and Mark shared. A few of their conversations seemed a little....I can't think of a word for it. It just sounded too much like they were reading lines instead of speaking to each other. Other than that, everybody did a fine job. Sounded good, got the job done, etcetera, etcetera.

At the beginning of the movie, when there was no killing or beatings, it was fairly comedic. The subtle "boo" as John walked into class, the book being thrown and the rather retarded "Ha-ha, good one Mark" comment, and then the hilarious "I think she's got the hots for you John, too bad you're gay!" in the lunch room. Jeremy Dick makes me laugh. This is more than just comedic relief, oh yes. It makes the bullying seem harmless and funny, which (I'm sure) is how a lot of people in real life see bullying. This movie doesn't stop at the surface, it digs deep into horrible truth and shows us that bullying is not funny; it can be a terrible and horrible thing. This movie has a message and an engaging plot, and it does a fine job at presenting both.

7.5/10