The Beekeeper Review

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This review is of the TV-14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

The Beekeeper is a pretty fun movie. It’s essentially taking a lot of inspiration from John Wick while adding in a little extra humor. How intentional the humor is may be up for debate but I do think it is winking at you throughout the whole runtime. My only main issue with the film is that I wouldn’t have added so much lore around the Beekeepers. It would be infinitely funnier if the main guy is just a normal dude who likes bees and in this world people are just scared of bee enthusiasts.

The movie starts with a scammer tricking a lady into surrendering all of her money as well as the money that belonged to a charity that she helped out. She ends up shooting herself and so Adam, the local beekeeper goes out for revenge. He takes out the scammers in a matter of minutes but it turns out that this was just one branch of a much larger organization. They considered the opening attack to be a declaration of war and are putting all of their agents into the field to take Adam out. Can Adam really defeat these guys, the FBI, CIA, and everyone else who is out to get him?

Power fantasy is a genre that is popular for anime but doesn’t happen as much in live action. You may get the occasional title but even movies like Superman and He Man aren’t generally leaning into that. This one is much more direct as Adam is shown to be able to take down whole squads single handily. He’s not better than them by a little bit, but by a wide margin. He’s on a whole different level and that’s considering that he is holding back quite a bit. For the most part he isn’t trying to murder these guys.

Well, he tends to murder the foot soldiers but holds back a little against the bosses. He begins to hold back less and less as the film goes on though. There’s just not a whole lot of mercy left within the guy and every time the villains return he’s feeling less charitable. In a sense the film shows that Adam should have taken out the main leader the first time since it would have prevented a whole lot of retaliation at first.

Now this is definitely a film that benefits from the edited version because the script is very modern. Particularly from Derek, the big mastermind behind all of the scammers. That guy talks like a kid on his XBox the whole time. Now, it can be funny to see just how out of sync with reality he is. He’s constantly poking fun at his underlings and criticizing how they deliver their messages. This guy always has a witty comeback for everything and even talks tough to Adam during their initial meeting.

He’s extremely whiny and that’s essentially the point. He has been gifted a whole empire that he doesn’t really deserve. Derek would never have gotten to the top without the influence of his mother and is always playing catch up. The only reason he lasts so long in the film is because of how many meat shields are put in front of him. Don’t expect this guy to be getting any fight scenes but he has plenty of underlings who can fulfill that role.

In particular there are at least two fighters who try to give Adam a run for his money. The first is another Beekeeper but “try” is the key word here. She is never really a threat and that was pretty nice to see. Often times you see every member of a group is roughly equal but this movie was reminding us that Adam was special. He’s not just any Beekeeper, he’s the strongest one there is. A fighter without peer. The fight was short and to the point.

The much more intense fight was in the climax against a man who has already defeated a beekeeper in the past. To that guy’s credit, he very nearly manages to defeat Adam. He was really just a move or two away from winning. While it’s true that Adam would have been weakened from the fights leading up to that moment, I’d still give a lot of credit for going close because that’s more than most others could do.

I would also note that Adam is strictly an anti-hero here. While it’s true that he initially enters battle to avenge the lady who was scammed, he does take things very far. His kill count is massive by the end and he is destroying everyone in his way. Guys like the Punisher would applaud his efforts to be sure. Ultimately he had an objective and saw it through to the end. The situation makes that difficult for the groups like FBI who are tasked with defending the villains. You feel bad for them but there’s ultimately not much that Adam can do about that. If you side with the villains then you ultimately have to be taken down with them. Unless you are Superman, you’re not going to have any easy ways to spare them all without endangering the mission.

In general the government is pretty fun to have around as antagonists though. There is a ton of corruption going on here as everyone is keeping their secrets. There is even a twist about the villain’s mother which ties into all of this. The FBI subplot may feel pointless at times but I would say that’s part of the humor. Veronica is shown to be a terrible cop throughout the movie. She can’t control her emotions, lashes out all the time, gets drunk, etc. Yet somehow she is the top FBI agent and always 3 steps behind Adam.

Adam may be helping to avenge her mother but Veronica still wants to take him down right away. She brings up the classic argument of how the laws will fix this, knowing good and well that they can’t go after scammers from different countries. Nothing would happen with the legal system here. It doesn’t mean that you abandon it of course, but she shouldn’t try to pretend like they will actually do anything. They’d probably just make Adam disappear using extra legal methods and that’s about it.

The film is definitely pretty violent so you should keep that in mind if you’re not great with that stuff. Adam is particularly vindictive against the scammers so he actively pulls off some torture before murdering each member. There are a lot of broken bones/missing limbs in addition to the bloodshed. Throw in the film’s incredibly quick pacing and that makes for a lot of violence. I gotta say, the film crams in a whole lot of plot in this adventure. It’s impressive just how much gets done and what a big supporting cast we have here.

I do standby what I said about not needing the lore for the Beekeepers though. All of the lines in the film about Adam being a beekeeper are really funny under the context of them being afraid because he likes bees. Once we get into a whole group and the government rankings then the film starts taking itself a bit too seriously. The concept is still funny enough on its own but we just didn’t need all of that if you ask me. The rest of the government stuff can stay. In general I still like seeing the meetings and seeing how everyone plans to deal with Adam. There are quite a few conversations that happen purely to increase Adam’s reputation. Whenever any of the minions tries to say that he’s just a guy, he is immediately and decisively corrected.

Overall, The Beekeeper is a pretty good film. It is really about showing just how strong Adam is and works like wish fulfillment with how the scammers are all defeated. If only someone would put a stop to them like that in real life. Eventually some scammers are stopped but it feels like new ones always arrive. It’ll be interesting to see how the sequel goes. There are a lot of fun directions you can take this film in. One thing’s for sure, Adam is going to really be dominating whoever goes after him. I don’t see the films trying to add anyone who is directly on his level. Adam is basically superhuman, there is nobody on his level. If you like a good action title then I recommend this one.

Overall 7/10

The Duelists Review

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I tend to enjoy a good swordfight but there is one style that has never really appealed to me. That would be fencing. It just never really managed to hit the same highs. It feels like half of what they do is just clang swords against each other and they have to go very slow and methodical the whole time. It’s the slowest form of sword battle there can be and so the duels tend to miss their mark here. Mix in the old setting and there are quite a lot of things going against the film here. Still, in the end I would say this isn’t a bad film. It can just be a little dull at times.

The movie starts off with Feraud winning a duel. He wins rather easily and badly injures his opponent. Thing is, his opponent was the son of a mayor so he complains to the government and they get Armand to step in. Armand doesn’t want to fight but Feraud forces the issue so Armand defeats him. That should have been the end of it but unfortunately that was not the case. Instead Feraud decides to hunt him down for a rematch….the first of many.

The film covers a whole lot of years as their duels continue over and over again. It never really ends as Feraud will win one, then Armand, etc. Armand consistently wants to de-escalate but it isn’t easy to duck the duels. To ignore a challenge would be dishonorable after all and that was a huge thing back then. Everyone is really into honor and all of that. Feraud also seems to be incredibly unstable and not really the kind of guy who would take no for an answer.

The guy proves just how determined he is as he still chases Armand after almost 20 years which is insane! He just never gets bored of all this. Additionally Feraud doesn’t actually think of his skills as inferior in any way. In fairness to him, the matches are pretty even. I would argue that Armand always has the slight edge but it is close enough where I would not say that it is definitive or anything like that. In a battle with blades, anyone can be the victor. All it takes is one solid hit after all and then that’s it.

I don’t really fault Armand at all during the movie either. There are quite a few characters who tell him to stop fighting and all of that but it is always Feraud who is going after him. Armand was not looking for a fight and would have been perfectly happy just doing his own thing the whole time. Within the honor system, Armand did what he could to avoid the battles. You could say that he should have just ignored the honor implications but at the end of the day that’s just not who he is. It’s not the way that Armand does business.

As for Feraud, well that guy’s just crazy. At best he makes for a decent villain but I wasn’t really a fan of his. He basically exists to make everyone’s lives harder. Without him Armand would have had a much easier time of things. The final gun fight was certainly suspenseful and a shift from the usual sword fights but Feraud was still doomed there as well. He got to take the first shot and still lost. At that point there is no way to really make a comeback.

I’d say you can count this as a war film as well since most of the film is taking place during active wartime. If you are a big fan of the Napoloeon era of history then that might enhance the experience as well. Naturally it doesn’t do a lot for me since it’s all just old timer stuff as far as I’m concerned. The film did its best not to feel too old but it will still be hard to really capture your attention the whole time. The movie could have definitely benefitted from a shorter runtime.

The film is also trying to keep a realistic tone for the most part since it’s based on a short story which is loosely related to some actual events. This further limits the film because you could have done some interesting things with a wider supporting cast. Have characters on both sides to further hype up the final match. Make Feraud more of an actual character rather than a crazy antagonist. There is also a point where the two characters have to reluctantly team up. I dare say you could have gotten more out of that.

The two characters wouldn’t bury the hatchet or anything but you get to see their strengths a bit more and why they were excelling so much. Throughout the movie both of them keep on getting power up after power up so it is clear that both of them are top tier fighters/soldiers. Without this grudge, both of them would really just be legends among the army. Letting them show this off by defeating a whole platoon would have been really cool.

Overall, The Duelists is a movie that I can recommend if you are a big history buff but otherwise you can do better. The action is definitely not bad but fencing just isn’t very exciting. It’s clear that a lot of effort was put into this one. it just needed more of a hook to really keep me engaged. So for those reasons the film could only manage to break even at best for me. I’m just not really able to get into the whole honor system so Armand’s plight didn’t resonate with me. The fencing doesn’t do anything for me either but at least we had a solid script. The romance is more of a miss than a hit since it is all rebounds by the end but it’s not like that is a huge part of the story. It’s a big part of Armand’s motivations for ending things once and for all though.

Overall 5/10

Big Eyes

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This is one of those films that is based on true events so I’m going to be a bit nicer to the characters than I would be otherwise. I assume the general flow is accurate to real life even if things might be changed here or there. It just doesn’t make anyone look all that good by the end of it but makes for a good story. The artwork isn’t really my kind of style but it must be huge as I definitely see it around a lot in real life.

The film starts off by introducing us to Margaret who has just split up from her husband. This film takes place back in the day where this was a much rarer event. Margaret knew that this was necessary but is in a rough place now since it is hard to get a job. She also has to take care of her daughter Jane. For now Margaret is making ends meet by selling street paintings but it is just barely enough to get by. She ends up meeting a guy named Walter who also draws a lot. He claims that she has potential and even seems to have feelings for her. Margaret feels like this is all going a little fast but then her ex husband goes to court for custody of their daughter. The only easy way out of this is to quickly re-marry so she gets together with Walter and keeps Jane. Unfortunately she did not have time to properly get to know Walter and it turns out that he is incredibly money hungry. Will she really be in for a happy life now or is that time already gone?

I’d say the first problem here is how quickly she got together with Walter. Yes, the film gives us a plausible case through the whole custody scenario but that still doesn’t feel like it would be enough for her to enter this institution again. Divorcing once clearly took a whole lot out of Margaret so going back in just seems like bad business. She could have at least talked with her friend about it more. Margaret has one friend in the film who seems to have a good head on her shoulders the whole time. She is constantly letting Margaret know that this isn’t a good idea and pokes holes in all of the gaslighting that Walter does.

The really disappointing thing is that Margaret chooses Walter over her best friend. It was clear that Walter had his own agenda so she shouldn’t have done that. The friend really wasn’t treated very well here and so you don’t blame her for showing up less often as time went on. As a friend there is a hard limit to just how much you can help someone out. After a point, there is just no way to pull that off. Everyone has to solve their own problems at the end of the day. You can give them all of the tools needed to solve it, but if they don’t use those tools, well then you will have really done all that you could by then.

Walter isn’t exactly subtle either as he begins taking credit for Margaret’s paintings right away. He offers the weakest excuses possible and Margaret shouldn’t have stood for it from the beginning. Then once he sees that she lets him get away with this much, he continues to escalate over and over. Before long he doesn’t allow her to leave her room or have any friends. Now this may just be a runtime issue but it all happens so fast that it just makes her look terrible. Margaret even allows Walter to forbid her from talking to Jane and even introducing a bunch of lies. Margaret was far too passive the whole time.

It all may sound like victim blaming right here but it’s why this film is an important example of why you can’t be a doormat. There will always be someone waiting to step on you. Margaret needed to establish strong guardrails/boundaries from the start. That would have made this a very different film altogether. Rushing the marriage was also another bad thing and I say this as someone who does think that the dating cycle can be drawn out too long. You don’t need to date someone for 2 years to decide if they are marriage material but you can’t go to the other extreme and marry someone after a few months. Dating is the interview process to try and see past the other person’s mask where you find out if he/she is a good person or not.

As for Walter, well he is an effective villain. He’s not a likable guy at all but it is still grudgingly impressive how good he is at networking. The guy has a ton of failed scams by this point but is still able to leverage more victims for his future endeavors. It shows just how much you can do when you don’t have a sense of shame. He strolls right into art galleries and lies as much as it takes in order to claim his prize. He even walks into court and lies like a champ. The guy just doesn’t get embarrassed and there is something to be learned from that.

Someone using those traits for good would be a very effective piece without a doubt. I will say that the film should have had a larger portion of the court case though. I feel like that’s one of the most important aspects of this case after all and it’s treated more like an afterthought. It’s more of a comedic plot than an epic climax after all. It was still a lot of fun but should have really played out on screen. The main argument for Walter would be that Margaret would not have been able to sell her paintings without him. He could point to how timid she was and how she didn’t have much success before him.

I would still be on her side in the court case but at least you add some intrigue there. For the most part he was just floundering and doubling down the whole time. The guy is great at working a crowd as seen before so I would think that he would put up more of a fight there. Either way it leads to a happy ending which is important. Margaret really had a rough road throughout the whole film so she earned a bright moment.

Overall, Big Eyes is an interesting film. I may not have been a fan of the art style but clearly it does resonate with a lot of people. It can be a frustrating film to watch though because the whole time you just feel like Margaret is making things worse and worse for her. She just needed to stand up for herself at least a little but instead she surrenders on all points. At the very least, she needed to stay strong for her daughter. By the time she is actively lying to Jane, it feels like Margaret has completely lost the plot. You always have to be careful if you are being pulled away from family members or friends because that is always an incredibly large red flag. Your support network are the ones you can count on to help you see what is going on with a clear head.

First Men in the Moon Review

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It’s time for a sci-fi title. Usually I’d say a “sci-fi thriller” but this really isn’t that kind of story. It’s actually a bit more of a slow burn until we start approaching the end. There’s a large chunk in the beginning where you’re just wondering when they’re actually going to get to space. It also makes the dicey decision of spoiling one of the survivors by making most of the film a flashback. I never liked that narrative decision in the past and I can tell you that this has not changed over the years.

Well, the film starts off with a bunch of astronauts making it to the Moon and they’re hyped because this is the first time that humanity has made it so far. Or…that’s what they thought! A flag is found there and so they track down one of the survivors from the original trip. He casually explains that they have already been to the Moon and they even met some aliens. The United Nations wants answers and this guy is happy to provide them. People did not believe him when he first told the world, but now they will listen!

We then begin his flashback and for a little while there we just get some comedic shenanigans. Arnold and Kate meet up with a crazy scientist named Joseph. Turns out that the guy has a way to negate gravity and so the three of them head up into the Moon. The Moon has already been conquered by a race of alien beings though. They are not particularly strong or anything like that but they do have the advantage in sheer numbers. Arnold and Kate figure they need to get out of there but Joseph thinks that they can be reasoned with. This will prevent some problems.

I’m absolutely against Joseph here. There is just no evidence to really show that these aliens will be good and it feels like the height of naivety to be trying to make peace when the stakes are this high. At least get home first but Joseph goes into full trust mode right away. The aliens can talk and have intelligence so it’s not like this is definitely a doomed mission but looking out for his friends first would have been the right move. So I definitely didn’t like Joseph by the end of this.

As for Arnold, I thought he was a solid main character. He prioritized saving Kate right away and fought off a bunch of the aliens. He even has a Superman type moment where a bunch of them jump on him and he just shakes them off. While it was a bad look for the aliens, it was definitely a good look for him. Meanwhile Kate did her best not to panic too much or anything like that. She did feel more on the powerless side though but still beats some heroines from her time. She could have used some more scenes to develop some personality though.

The aliens are one of the weaker parts of the film though. They just don’t feel very imposing and the only one who really got any character was the leader. The rest of them may not have been mindless exactly but they were close to that point. Acting like some kind of hivemind just running to the ship and getting defeated rather quickly. The ending of the film goes for a bit of a cop out approach but since you weren’t too invested in the aliens, you’re not exactly broken up about it.

Okay this is sounding rather negative so I do want to emphasize that this was a good film. It’s just a true slow burn where you have to be in it for the plot. Also you will need to see if you prefer the space scenes or the ones back on Earth. I’d say they are fairly balanced. The writing is solid and the characters are good except for the crazy scientist. It just all ends in a rather anti climactic way. It’s basically someone telling a story the whole time and there is no sense of danger as a result since you know that he survived. If the film ended by showing him to be a shapeshifter or something then that would be different.

The biggest other way to solve this would be for the story part to not be a factor. Just have the astronauts head to the Moon in the present. Have them still find a flag showing that someone else had been there but we never get those answers. It would help the film just have more of a “Cosmic Horror” vibe without having to spoil the ending or show that everyone already survived. That would have been the best way to pull this off.

The effects definitely get a good shoutout though. The film is fairly old but they did a good job of showing the Moon and the various tech involved. It’s not like you will mistake this for a 2020 film or anything like that but it’s clear that a lot of effort went into this one. Nowadays they’d probably just settle with throwing CG everywhere. I would have liked some solid music tracks to go along with the scenes though. That’s another way to amp up the tension.

Overall, This is a film I would recommend to sci-fi fans but perhaps not ahead of most of its rivals. This one could have used some more fight scenes. The brief Power Rangers type hand to hand of throwing the aliens around was fun after all. So focusing more on that would be a good thing if you ask me. That said, I believe Wells was more about writing dramatic, suspense type stories like this that introduced a lot of lore and could be weird but never turned into full on action stories. I guess the film would have to deviate quite a bit if it wanted to achieve that.

Overall 6/10

The Towering Inferno Review

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It’s time for a really long film. This movie definitely wasn’t trying to be one of those titles that you breeze through in 30 minutes! Fortunately while this is one of those films that does feel really long, it does make good work out of the time. You could definitely have cut out about 20-30 minutes of lingering shots where the film was trying to show off but otherwise most of it was for character moments. A disaster film should be trying to build up a lot of characters so you can see who cracks and who doesn’t as the situation gets serious.

The film starts off with the completion of a giant skyscraper. The owner wants to show this off and so a bunch of rich celebrity types are invited to the mass unveiling. All of the lights will be turned on for each floor so that the building can be seen from anywhere in the city. It is a technological marvel and the architect, Doug, is pretty proud of what he has accomplished. Unfortunately he finds out that they tried saving a bunch of costs by not putting in the advanced wiring that he asked for. Sure enough, the building catches fire and now we have a situation where thousands may die. He will have to work with the firefighters to put a stop to this.

First off I have to say that Doug really should take no blame in this situation. He absolutely did everything right but recommending they use wiring above industry standards and put in a bunch of fail safes. The fact of the matter is that his plans would have prevented the fire from ever happening and it is entirely on management that this situation got so crazy. They all ought to be ashamed of themselves. As a result Doug is definitely one of the most likable characters in the film. He puts his life on the line throughout in order to solve this problem and save lives. It’s why he’s here.

The biggest villain here has to be Roger. He’s not exactly subtle either, the film pushes him as being super evil to the point of being cartoony. He actually pushes someone off to his death and spends the whole film being drunk and really defensive about everything. So if you thought that maybe he was just misunderstood, think again! He’s just not that kind of character. Quite a few characters show their true colors like that although none to that degree. There were several characters running for the one seated pulley despite drawing lots earlier.

The body count is also rather big so you shouldn’t think that things are going to be going easy since it’s “just a building fire”. This is a skyscraper so that’s what makes things different. There are tons of floors and while most of them were evacuated in time, not all of them were. One group was cheating up on one of the higher floors which basically sealed their doom. That’s a trope I definitely don’t mind. When you see characters just doing something wrong like that, having them get burned/bumped off simply makes sense.

On the hero’s side, Michael does really well in repping the firefighters. He is quick to take command of the situation and cuts most of the red tape that comes in. It’s clear that he has little patience for the bureaucratic stuff as he wants to just get into the action to save people. Without him forcing things along, the casualties would have been much higher

How you feel about the film’s pacing will likely come down to how much you enjoy the fire scenes. After all there isn’t going to be a whole lot of variety after a while. You can only show someone burning up so many ways and same for the various floors exploding. I thought the film did a good job of keeping up the tension throughout though. The pacing is slow but the good writing helps to counter that. You’re certainly not going to be bored or anything as you watch the film.

The effects definitely hold up well and there is some actual music in the film which is surprising. Sometimes these titles just don’t have much of a pulse to keep things realistic but this film realized that it couldn’t hurt. I don’t really have any big negatives for the film. I’d say that it’s a fairly safe thriller title with a lot of action and it is actually hard to predict who will be included in the body count. The film has some surprising moments in that area so that you understand how nobody is safe.

The ending may not be the most satisfying as a result but it’s not really something I would shave a star off for. The movie doesn’t have a lot of deep themes or anything like that so after the film what you’ll mostly be pondering is if there were any other ways to escape. Personally I think going for the stairs right away would have been the best move but they didn’t really think about it until it was too late. I would not want to go into the elevator by any means so I’d probably have taken my chances inside the big room. That’s part of what makes the film scary though, there were no obvious ways to survive. In that sense it is more threatening than the other disaster films where usually I can backseat drive quite a lot. I’m not counting films where the entire planet is going to be destroyed of course.

Overall, The Towering Inferno is certainly a fitting title and the movie did a lot with its visuals. Fire is absolutely a powerful force and this is basically the worst nightmare of anyone who is staying at a giant building like this. I never like being too high up in general and this film reinforces that. If any emergency happens, you always want to be closer to the ground. If you like disaster films then you should definitely check this one out. It’s well made and I can see why it has such a strong reputation. It actually gives you a full setup as all of the characters are introduced before things go crazy so you’re bound to have at least a few that you are rooting for.

Overall 7/10

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy Review

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Phoenix Wright is one of those game series that I have seen around for a very long time but never got to play before. With the collection being on one of those big PSN sales, I knew this was finally my chance! It is definitely a pretty great collection and the games give you a lot of bang for your buck. This collection took me over 90 hours to complete which was intense! I came super close to hitting that 100 hour milestone.

The story follows a young man named Phoenix who is a defense attorney. He wants to help the innocent and prevent them from being sent to their death. See, in the future there are so many crimes that court cases are only allowed to take up to 3 days. If the defendant is found guilty then more often than not they are put to death. The prosecutors will use any trick up their sleeve to win a case and so Phoenix has to spot the contradictions in the evidence. If he is able to do that, then he will be on the right side of history.

Each game has a similar setup but the main prosecutor tends to change. The first game focuses on Edgeworth who knew Phoenix back when they were kids. They have quite a lot of history and so Edgeworth gets to have a full character arc. The second game has Franziska who is quite ruthless and whips anyone who annoys her. The games don’t mind getting a little extreme in this sense. What other franchise would actually have the judge allow whipping in his court right? Like with Edgeworth she does get a good amount of character development by the end.

The final game has Gadot has the main villain. He has a whole mystery going on that is unveiled as the final game gets to the end. While he felt like the weakest villain which was an interesting way to end the trilogy, I do have to admit that he had the best lines. Pretty much everything he said about the coffee or his abstract messages were just fun. So he definitely grew on me by the end.

Something the games really had going for them was the strong character roster. The supporting characters are a lot of fun. Mia and Maya have really big roles throughout the games and are people that Phoenix can rely on. Mia was really portrayed as the strongest character in the series and you could argue that she still has that spot by the end. Maya goes from being a total novice to actually challenging Phoenix in the final case. She really came along way there. The villains I already mentioned are really good as well. It doesn’t mean that every character is fun, some are a bit overplayed like the old lady. Whenever she appeared I’d have to shake my head. In a way the world feels too small when you bring a character back too often.

The games also did a great job of constantly switching things up. You end up playing as different characters as the games go on like when you play as Edgeworth or Mia. That just helps to keep everything really fresh. Seeing young Phoenix as an unreliable witness was intense. It really reinforces how you can’t trust anyone who is on the stand.

So what’s the gameplay like? Well, you have two sections, free roam and then the court case. In free roam you switch between different areas and talk to people to get evidence. You can also present evidence to people in order to get some reactions and obtain some clues. You will also click on different objects in the background like something in I Spy to get more clues. The toughest part can be deciding what to show each suspect or making sure that you have clicked on everything in the area. So you have to be very methodical. One thing you will figure out quickly is that every person should have 4 lines of dialogue. So if they have less then you must have missed something.

Some cases will add bonus gameplay styles to this like when you have a metal detector or a spray that can locate hidden blood splotches. The meat of the game is in the courtroom though and that’s my favorite part. Basically the witnesses will say 4-6 things and you can press or object to the statement. Generally you will need to press the statement first and then object to the one that is wrong. You will have to prove the contradiction by presenting a piece of evidence. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to find a contradiction and I died many times in this game. It is rather brutal, if you don’t save the game midway then you have to replay a large chunk of the case. Definitely keep a backup save at the ready because it is possible to get save locked here.

The game isn’t a graphical masterpiece though so you shouldn’t expect too much there. There aren’t a lot of animations as most of the story are just still images. There is also no real voice acting outside of the characters yelling objection in the court room. I’d like them to add voice acting to all of the dialogue at some point. It would just make this feel more like an authentic audio book. So the games are very strong but they succeed more on the premise and gameplay than on the technical elements around it.

Technically there isn’t a lot of replay value once you beat the game. It’s not like there are bonus paths, you either win or you lose. Still, at over 90 hours you don’t actually need any replay value. I obtained the Platinum when completing the game because I made sure to go back and get answers wrong as needed. You’ll get most of the trophies naturally but can definitely work on getting any you missed as a form of replay value.

Overall, This was definitely a great trilogy. On its own each game may be more like a 7 because they are just lacking a bit in gameplay but together this just makes such an incredible narrative that I had to bump it up. I’ll definitely be curious to see how the next games play out. I’ll miss Phoenix being the main character as the next trilogy switches but I’m sure they’ll do a good job with the next one. It’ll probably be a while before I get the next trilogy though.

Overall 8/10