Category Archives: Live Action Movie Reviews

Airport (1975) Review

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Now it’s time to venture into the second Airport film. It’s actually a good film across the board but the problem with it is similar to the problems that Airplane 2 had. It’s just weaker than the original one in pretty much every way. In a vacuum the movie is perfectly acceptable and you won’t have any problems with it but at the same time you feel like it could do so much more with the concept. Also, the premise on the poster is better than the whole movie. “The Crew is dead” would have made for a really intense plot. Like only the stewardess is left to try and survive. Then of course you would need more scenes on the ground to balance this.

So this movie starts by introducing us to a lot of characters getting ready to board their plane. You have some travelling nuns, a sick child who badly needs a rib/kidney transplant, a stewardess who wants to get into a serious relationship, etc. Everyone is stressed and ready to get going but the plane ends up colliding with another one so now the plane is going to go down unless they can find a way to land this craft without the pilot. It’s going to take a lot of teamwork with the ground crew but this is the moment to surpass all of their limits!

I know what you’re thinking here. The film is called “Airport” so what about the airport scenes? Well unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of those this time. The plane takes off fairly early in the film and the vast majority of the scenes take place up there. You do have scenes in the subplot with the grounds crew trying to direct the stewardess but very few scenes in the airport itself. I think that’s the biggest shame here because you need that for proper setup. When you jump right into the plane then you lose a whole lot.

For example, I would make the case that virtually every plot in the first film is more developed than this one. The cast of characters is a lot stronger and even the bomb threat was a lot more engaging than the collision plot here. The main problem is there are only so many ways you can drag out the tension on a small plane like this. After a while everyone is just panicking in the same ways and it doesn’t feel like a whole lot of progress is being made. That’s really the roughest part here. The movie quickly runs out of material.

Nancy is a good main character. She does a good job controlling the plane and doing her best to get it back up during the emergency. You have to give her a lot of credit there and yet the scenes do go on a bit too long. There’s a lot of yelling and reading out what’s on the panels a lot. The film is going for maximum realism here and I’m sure anyone familiar with the inner workings of the plane will get an extra kick out of that but as a viewer you can’t help but wish they could speed things up a little bit. This plays out more like an airplane simulator at times than a few movie and the first film had a much better balance on that.

It’s still not enough to make this movie go into the red of course but keeps it from a higher score. Same with the writing in general. You may crack a smile at some moments but it’s not nearly as funny as the original one. Some of the characters really just see like jerks the whole time although at least there is less cheating going on. For example one character keeps panicking and taking shots at all of the staff when he should be more focused on letting everyone concentrate. I wouldn’t say it’s unrealistic because there are absolutely people like that but he gets annoying fast.

People just panic so much when the plane is in the air and you’d figure they would know there is nothing that can be done and would just calm down. After a while that’s the only sensible thing to do. Then on the ground I think they could have given better instructions to Nancy on how to fly the plane out. It’s not like driving it is easy but the instructions to turn didn’t seem that bad if they didn’t take forever to get each instruction out.

At the end of the day the pacing here was definitely shot from the jump. The pilots weren’t the most likable ones like the young one who was constantly flirting. At least the older one stayed respectable for the most part but ultimately he does get written out of most of the film. The movie will definitely remind you why flying is always a risk and to try and get some sleep so you won’t notice what is going on. One guy did that for the whole film and it ended up being a great idea since he had no stress.

Fortunately there aren’t any particularly bad scenes that will have you groaning though. The reason why I can still call this a good film is because it’s not hard to watch. It may drag on at some points to be sure but you can still get through those moments. The effects on the plane were good too. Some of the subplots introduced don’t even really get resolved which is interesting in a subversive way. The film ends rather quickly and for the most part you can assume how all of the plots ended up. Some in positive ways and some in negative but at the end of he day it didn’t really need an aftermath. Life just went on.

Overall, Airport 1975 is a film that doesn’t feel like it serves much purpose in the grand scheme of things. You aren’t likely to remember it after a while and for sure it will be overshadowed by the original as well as the fun parody Airplane. Still, I’d be able to recommend this film easily enough. You just have to have a high tolerance for listening to the characters talk about the details of how to fly the plane for a very, very long time and it’s all played very seriously. The movie doesn’t really take much time for humor and I think it could have used more jokes. Like I said earlier though, this film’s sort of like an airplane simulator insead.

Overall 6/10

Harriet Craig Review

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Now it’s time to look at another movie where the plot only works if the main guy looks really bad. He definitely takes the cake for being oblivious and weak willed here. Now to an extent if he knew what was going on and chose to ignore it then that wouldn’t be as bad. It would be like going down the simp route and then that’s that. It’s a dicey decision but it would have been his to make, but being oblivious is far worse. That’s something that is really hard to get around and makes his character unsalvageable.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Harriet and Walter who appear to be a perfectly happy couple. They get along great and all but as the film goes on we see that this isn’t what it appears to be. Harriet rules the house with an iron fist as she completely controls Walter’s movements, who he hangs out with, etc. She disrespects everyone around her and so Walter’s maids and friends dislike her but none of them have the guts to tell Walter directly. Meanwhile poor Walter is in the palm of her hands.

Whenever Walter is about to go out with his friends Harriet quickly lets him get some action so he has to cancel his appointment while she manages to drive a further wedge between all of them. Walter ultimately doesn’t even realize that it has been years since he has seen his friends. Slowly he is starting to get to experience life again and when his job offers Walter a promotion Harriet realizes that she needs to hurry and chain Walter up again before it’s too late. Can she end up securing the trophy?

So lets go back to Walter for a moment. Here’s the deal, there are some guys who don’t mind sacrificing everything to be with their girl. She can be as toxic as possible but he’s cool with it as long as he still has her. That’s problematic in its own way but as least he’s in control. What makes this worse for Walter is that he doesn’t realize the situation that he’s in and just thinks things are normal.

How did he not realize that he hadn’t seen his friends in multiple years? How did he not realize that they all couldn’t stand his wife? Then we have Harriet telling him to be careful where he sits, use a coaster, etc. Seriously he’s basically a guest in his own house which is messed up. Then she is always mean to the hired help and this guy doesn’t notice a thing. Now they definitely should have approached him but there are limits to how oblivious you can be. In the end he only really figures this out thanks to someone helping him out. Even then he nearly made the wrong move and let her back in until another twist.

The film is tragic in the sense that I’m sure a lot of people get fooled like this. Especially in real life there can always be a ton of small deceptions all around you that are much harder to detect. Such is the tricky battle of love and hoping that you know someone’s true nature before it’s too late. You have to try and notice if things don’t make sense and if others feel like you’ve changed. If everyone says you’re a bit different now then that’s worth looking into.

It would just have been nice if Walter could have been a little more aware. Instead things get awful tricky for him and it’s nearly too late in the end. Meanwhile Harriet makes for an intense villain although she certainly does get sloppy in the end. If Harriet hadn’t been quite as bold then she probably could have still stopped Walter but ultimately her mad quest for power is what got her. She just couldn’t hold back her controlling ways any further.

The writing is solid here and it’s an engaging story. Ultimately it is just held back by how annoying Walter is and how everyone just takes it from Harriet. It would be nice if they fought back a little bit and made it hard for her. There are a ton of ways you can counter attack. Frame her, make up some stuff, or the obvious and easy thing to do…tell Walter. He won’t just disregard the words of the maid he’s known for even longer than his wife. It just doesn’t make sense that everyone was so quiet here. They made it all way too easy for Harriet which is why the plot doesn’t work if everyone was being reasonable.

At the end of the day being married is supposed to be a fun thing so if your quality of life takes a nosedive then you need to figure it out. At the end of the day that’s why playing life on solo mode can always feel real appealing. At least the film gives us a glimpse of a relationship that should go well in Clare’s subplot. In theory that should work out at least so the film’s showing that things don’t have to be like this. Props to the film for not trying to make Harriet sympathetic at any point though. She gets a backstory but it’s clear from the jump that she is heavily overreacting and still went down the wrong path.

Overall, This is a movie that doesn’t have a lot of replay value because it’ll be hard to go through the whole thing. It’s not like it has a lot of issues but the contrived story is something that does take quite a few points away. Honestly just make Walter aware of everything and it makes the film a whole lot better. He would still stink as a character but at least it would make a lot more sense. Would have been an intense moment if at the end he admitted that he noticed everything but thought that being with Harriet was still worth it. In the end though he just wasn’t quick enough to keep up with her and that was his downfall.

Overall 5/10

The Hand that Rocks The Cradle Review

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This review is based on 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

There are some films where you wonder how the plot can work without the main characters looking awful and then you realize that they just do look awful and that’s how the film happens. This should be over in a few minutes if the main characters played it smart tbh but that’s how it goes I guess. I’d say this film’s more of a skip, you don’t really need to check it out.

The movie starts off with Claire and her husband Michael getting ready for her next baby to be born. Unfortunately the doctor at the clinic turns out to be a full criminal and takes advantage of Claire so they sue him and the guy quickly deletes himself. His wife tries to stay strong but fails and when she faints her baby is lost. The wife swears revenge on the main characters and changes her alias to Peyton. Peyton quickly heads to the house and is immediately hired by Claire to be the nanny to help out around the house. Now Peyton can begin work on splitting the family apart and ultimately murdering Claire. How will she pull this off though?

So it turns out that letting a random stranger into your house without any real background checks can be a real danger eh? Peyton starts misplacing items, destroying reports, and basically making Claire look really bad since it’s like she’s losing her mind. Peyton makes sure to threaten the gardener, manipulate Claire’s older daughter against her, and even directly handle the baby far more often than Claire so he stops liking her. Yes it’s all very easy…because the characters make it easy. Seriously none of this should be working out at all.

First off we have Peyton hanging out with the baby more than Claire. Claire should be with the baby as often as possible. Sure, she’s busy but why is Peyton basically left all day to give the baby walks, put her to bed, etc? That should still all be Claire’s duty and not because it’s a job but because you want to be with your baby right? Claire does have asthma and can get sickly at times but not all the time so this always felt a little forced. When you’ve just had a kid you’re usually going to be staying around the house a lot. I know they hired a nanny for a reason but yeah this was not a good idea.

Put it this way, even if Peyton wasn’t evil, it’s still possible that the kid and baby would end up bonding with the nanny over the parents if they spent so much more time with her. It just makes sense. It also would help if the parents actually listened a bit more. When Peyton frames the gardener, they don’t even try to listen to their daughter about how it was all fixed. Yeah the evidence was pretty bad so I wouldn’t expect them to be too reasonable but at least listen to her side for a bit right?

For the most part I would say that Peyton’s not even that subtle about all of this. Wearing her necklace as if to boast about how she’s the mother now, her seduction attempt on the husband, etc. At least to the guy’s credit he never cracks or comes close to cracking on that front but these are all massive red flags. Peyton’s initial appearance was a huge red flag since she wasn’t from any agency and happened to be in the neighborhood? Cmon now it may be a beautiful day in the neighborhood but you don’t just happen to be wandering around one.

Then even once they find out Peyton is the villain and have to take her down they handle is horribly. The husband lets himself get thrown down a flight of stairs and the main heroine’s stab attempt didn’t go very well. This is why you need to at least know some basic self defense. Or if you’re going to run, then run right away. Waiting at the house to pack everything up is always going to take way too long when you have a villain on the loose. You feel bad for Claire’s best friend quite a lot since she was at least making some headway but got way too sloppy towards the end. The classic reverse psychology trick worked on her.

The whole deception to make Claire jealous by revealing that her husband was hanging out with the friend was also really contrived. Look, surprise parties can be fun but never if it means lying to your wife about it. What matters more, keeping the secret or keeping her trust? It should be a really obvious decision or at least I would hope that it is. That’s where you just tell her that there is a surprise party coming up and to keep it on the downlow or something like that.

He has to know how it would look since the friend was an old ex of his. In general you don’t want your husband or wife to hang out with an ex in general, let alone in secret. Now it all comes down to trust so if you’re comfortable with your partner still seeing an ex then hey, power to you. Me personally? Nahhhhhhh, the ex needs to leave the picture completely. It’s way too dangerous to keep an ex around so there’s no hanging out as friends after that. It’s tough terms but that’s just how it has to be in order to keep the relationship strong.

Then you have Solomon who has a rather tragic role for most of this. He’s disabled so he already has a tough time explaining himself or talking so when he’s framed there isn’t a whole lot that he can do about it. He’s just trying to help but he’s in a really tough position the whole time. Especially since you see this coming right from the start of the movie, you can only watch and wait for the inevitable.

Aside from the story being rather weak and forced, the movie just isn’t generally high quality. Using the doctor for shock value at the start of the move is a whole scene that could have been completely skipped. Make up some other reason for revenge, but starting off the movie with Claire being attacked like that was pretty bad. The film also had some obvious fanservice in feeding the baby and while that shows how insane Peyton is in her role, you definitely don’t need to linger on those moments. Mix in the sub par writing and you don’t have a winning movie here.

Overall, This is a movie that only works when all of the characters make the worst decisions as if this was a horror movie. The story only starts at all because they happened to pick Peyton out of all the available candidates without bothering to look into her records at all. Who wouldn’t do their due diligence when you have a baby and a kid in the house right? Then you have the husband randomly keeping a secret when he shouldn’t have, a “accident” murdering the friend and not immediately grabbing a shotgun, the important report completely vanishing, etc. At least Claire picks up on the list of odd coincidences later on but sure took her time in doing so. Yeah this is one you should definitely skip.

Overall 2/10

Going in Style Review

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I definitely like the title since it works well out of context and even better in context. This film on the whole is a pretty fun one. Some moments can drag a bit which does keep it from reaching the next level but all in all you should have a good time. It’s a fairly unique film since you don’t see too many about old people just hanging out.

The movie starts with Joe, Al, and Willie just hanging out on the bench as they always do. Joe has had enough of this though and tells the others about his brilliant plan to make their lives more exciting. They need to rob a bank and get rich so they can do all kinds of fun things. All their lives they have made ends meet and have had a good time but that’s about it. At this point if they are caught they will go to jail and live a comfortable life there or if they succeed then they can do whatever they want. His two friends are very skeptical but Joe gets them on board. In a way the real trick will not be in escaping from the bank with the money, but in keeping their freedom after that!

I would say the main positive in the film is the humor. The characters have a lot of fun banter and the humor is kept rather subtle and not super in your face but it works out well. The main characters have a good attitude about them and it’s easy to root for the group. The film has a pretty positive vibe overall there and so even when there isn’t a whole lot happening, you’re still having a good time here. Now the film does get more and more serious as it goes on so depending how you take the scenes it can throw a really somber tone onto the whole thing.

At the end of the day though, the characters got to have their big adventures and spice up the life a bit so I’d say it was really a win/win in the end. None of their lives ultimately got worse for it and so it was good. For that reason though I would have shortened some of the emotional scenes a bit and had the film keep up its quick pace. Those are the only scenes that could drag on a bit and of course that’s because it is the emotional center of the whole thing but even so I think you could have side stepped that a little bit.

The heist is pretty quick but made for a fun scene. You can definitely see how any heist can quickly turn violent as all it takes is one guy to try playing the hero and then the main characters would have to choose whether they shoot or get taken in. There’s no easy scenarios there which is why in the end it’s never good to steal. Of course in the film this is played off more as a fun thing but ultimately it doesn’t take away from the characters basically becoming criminals here. It may have spiced up their lives but it wasn’t the right thing to do.

As the brains of the operation Joe is definitely the best character here. He’s always coming up with the plans and is a very determined character. I feel as though the other two would have cracked if put into the same situations that he was in. Joe always stayed strong though and did his best to help everyone out. He wasn’t selfish about any of this and always put on a brave face even if he wasn’t doing well. He had all the makings of a true hero.

Al and Willie were really followers compared to Joe. They went along with this plan but if he didn’t say anything then they would have been content on the bench. In a lo of ways they are more laidback as a result. They don’t have grand ambitions and they don’t miss the things that they never got to try. Still, they’re good sports about the whole thing and the plan is absolutely more fun when it’s all 3 of them. I don’t think you could do as much with just one persona nd of course there would be a lot less banter that way.

We do get a rather long side tangent into the casino which doesn’t really affect the plot much. It was a good way to see them having some more fun but that one you probably could have added a little more variety too. It did subvert my expectations the whole time though since I was expecting things to go very badly for them. So in that way the film did use the tension very well.

Writing is key for a film like this because on its face the plot won’t sound all that exciting. This film is about day to day life and not end of the world type events. So if the writing wasn’t all that good then this film would be boring in the best case or awful in the worst case. That’s not a problem here which works out but I wonder if the new version would really be all that good. I’ll definitely be curious to see someday but yeah they did a good job with this one.

Overall, Going in Style could have been reworded to Going Out in Style but the former is a little more subtle while getting the same effect so it makes sense. To enjoy this film I think you really just have to have fun watching the characters just hang out and do things they’ve always wanted to do. It makes for a fun viewing even if my bucket list items would have been way different. Forget the casino, that’s never been all that tempting to me. I’d have gone to different food places around the world or something like that. Now that would have been exciting!

Overall 6/10

Lilies of the Field Review

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It’s time for a very wholesome film. This one is basically what I’d call a slice of life because action/adventure doesn’t really apply and at the same time I wouldn’t really call it a romance or a comedy. Slice of Life just seems to feel like the best fit because basically the main character gets to help some people out and that’s really about the extent of the story. Lets dive into the plot in more detail than that though.

The movie starts with Homer driving down the road when his car starts to heat up. He stops by a house for some water and it turns out that it is being run by Mother Maria and her colleagues. They are on a mission to build a chapel in the area but it’s been tough since they don’t really have any money so nobody will help them build it. They desperately need someone to step up and perhaps Homer can be that guy. Thing is, he needs some money of his own and the ladies don’t speak English very well and he doesn’t speak their language so it can be difficult to communicate. What can he do?

The cast here is really small so most of the movie is really about the dynamic between Homer and Maria. Both of them are confident that they will come out on top and neither will back down. Homer is absolutely happy to build the chapel but he wants to get paid for his work which is a bit tricky here. Ultimately he gets talked into helping and tries to keep up his good cheer about the whole thing but it really is tough to work without money.

Fortunately he finds a good job in the area which helps pay the bills. For the most part Maria and Homer may be on different sides but I would say they were both reasonable. This is the only time I thought Maria wasn’t being very fair at all. Homer worked hard to get money to buy them all a bunch of food and help out yet she never really thanks him for it and finds something else to complain about. It felt a bit much in the second half where you sort of see that she’s trying to make a point but it was really misguided. She got lost in the sauce you could say when she should have really been trying to have his back. Homer did a lot to help her so he should get more credit for that.

As for Homer, the main mistake I’d say he made was getting too invested in building the chapel. You know it’s too far when you start refusing help from people out of a sense of pride. If he was close to completing the project then I’d get it but it’s clear he wasn’t anywhere close to being done so at that point turning away help just wasn’t smart. Ultimately the townsfolk take this in stride and help him out which was good but he shouldn’t have made it so hard for them.

The disagreements and troubles that come up during the film are basically on this level. It never goes too far and there isn’t a true sense of danger which is why slice of life works. At the end of the day it’s about overcoming your differences and doing the right thing in a pinch. It took a while for the characters to all get on the same page but it happens eventually. So how much you like this film will all come down to how much you like the characters. They are definitely both solid and hold the film up reasonably well.

I’d say the only thing keeping it from a higher score is that it’s not the most interesting. The language barrier definitely helps to keep things from being too easy but at the same time it also reduces the amount of possible banter that you can have. That’s the real problem in all of this. Homer gets a lot of funny lines but the other characters often can’t appreciate them because they don’t fully understand so then of course they cannot reply to the lines either.

I also wouldn’t say that the film would have a lot of replay value by the same token. It can be a bit of a slow burn and when you know everything that’s going to happen, it’ll be tougher to sit through it all a second time. This movie succeeds more by not making any mistakes than by having any big wins. It’s a safe strategy and so this is a film that I could easily recommend to anyone. That said, I wouldn’t have minded some kind of extra draw to make it even more fun.

Maybe have some kind of rival show up to force Homer to really think about whether he wans to help or not. Maybe more scenes at his workplace as he drives the tractor. I’m not saying you need full on danger or a villain but something to keep the movie exciting would be nice. Banter usually accomplishes this goal very smoothly so if you use that as a template then you should be all set. Maybe Homer could have been on the phone with someone from back home or at his ultimate destination to talk with. That said, the film is probably much too early in time for that. There certainly weren’t cell phones around and I don’t believe I saw any landlines in the house.

Overall, Lilies of the Field is a good film to watch when you want to take a step back and enjoy a calm movie. Something where you won’t be worried for the characters or anything like that. You can just lie back during this film and see how it all turns out. I don’t think you could do this for many films before it were to get old but this film is rather retro so it gets dibs there. One day perhaps I’ll check out the follow-up to see how it stacks against this one.

Overall 6/10

Ghoulies II Review

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Ghoulies may have been a dreadfully awful film but would the sequel be able to save the franchise? Unfortunately I can confirm that it did not. It does defeat the first film but it’s a marginal victory at best because these two are still on the same level. It may be taking on a different approach than the first Ghoulies but I wouldn’t really say that it learned any lessons. The only impressive part about this movie is how it’s not rated R since it felt extremely violent but I suppose it’s because most of the more painful deaths are heard/implied but not really seen. It’s clever directing but not going to save this one.

The movie focuses around an attraction at a local circus about scaring people. I forget the term for the scarehouse but basically you go in to get spooked by people in costumes and scary images. Unfortunately it’s not doing so well and corporate has decided to shut the place down. They have one last weekend to get their sales up but the main characters aren’t so confident. The only 3 employees is a teen who’s in over his head, a short guy who has trouble being convincingly scary, and an old man who is constantly drunk. Yeah this may be the end of the line but at least they can escape with their lives right?

So where do the Ghoulies come in? Well they get summoned by the old man because that’s how this works now and they decide to start bumping people off left and right. Now again you have to consider that this is part comedy to explain why the film goes the way that it does. It’s heavily being inspired by the Gremlins so the characters are being a little extra quirky and manic the whole time. They have a lot more personality than last time at least but I still couldn’t say that they ever got all that interesting either way. At the end of the day they’re still just sinister monsters without much reason and purpose.

It can be rather frustrating when you see them murdering everyone and the audience is just cheering as they watch what they think is a show. Of course it should be obvious but hey these are not the brightest bulbs in the bunch. Not by a longshot unfortunately. The Ghoulies also don’t seem all that powerful so you constantly wonder how they are doing so well. This movie does establish that they are super durable. Acid, stabbings, and bullets are not enough to put them down. They seem functionally immortal as every injury promptly heals itself. So that definitely puts the characters in a bit of a bind. If they would use basic teamwork or stop taking their eyes off of the creatures this would be easy but unfortunately that never happens.

I’ve always said that small creatures are more terrifying than huge ones and I think this movie supports the point well. Put it this way, if you’re faced off with a massive monster then you’re probably dying instantly when it steps on you or fires off a massive energy blast. With a small creature it’s death by a million cuts, bites, etc. It’s the worst way to go. They chose the most disturbing death in the film for the corporate guy and you can’t help but feel bad for him. He certainly wasn’t a nice guy by any means but you hate to see anyone go out like that.

Many characters are destroyed in this one as the Ghoulies really take names and add onto their body count. It’s impressive on one hand but the film quickly loses focus of anything else. It’s not devoid of plot like the first film though. At least we do have the drama with the circus and a number f real characters. There is some drama with the main heroine getting ready to leave the circus and so you actually remember things about this movie aside from the ghoulies. Ultimately it just isn’t enough to save the film.

Even if you put aside all of the excessive violence here, there aren’t any real strengths that would make you watch the film. The old man getting massively drunk on the day when he knew his friends were counting on him was awful. Seriously you can’t let people down like that and it put him in a very poor position to fight back. Then the film can feel a bit mean spirited with a lot of random teenagers getting murdered who didn’t do anything to deserve it. At least let them go out quickly as opposed to all the creative way the Ghoulies get them. An instant death would definitely have been way preferable.

There is a bit of a romance plot here but it doesn’t really serve any point in the film. The film really should have spent more time giving the characters development so you can root for them to fight the Ghoulies. For example one scene that was actually decent was when the main guy calls all of his friends from the circus over to help and they actually do. They all drop everything to help out and it was nice to see that they all had each other’s back. That’s what you would like to see in this kind of situation and it’s annoying that the fight was still really close.

Again, the Ghoulies are super durable and can keep on regenerating but in terms of strength they shouldn’t be that bad. Just keep your eye on the monsters and you should be fine. We do briefly get an even bigger Ghoulie later on which was interesting but you don’t want to leave your hopes in the hands of a monster like that. When you have guns and the numbers advantage this shouldn’t be so crazy. If the Ghoulies could talk then at least it would be interesting to hear what their plan for the world is beyond total chaos.

Overall, Ghoulies II is really more of the same as the first one. This one is definitely better to be sure but not enough so to earn it any extra stars. I wouldn’t say there is any true reason to check this one out. You’re just watching the Ghoulies murder everyone in gruesome ways and that is absolutely not enough to constitute a real plot. Throw in some better characters as well as some restraint and then we can talk. In the meantime I don’t have much hopes for the next two Ghoulies films to be honest. Maybe they can be decent but I definitely have massive doubts.

Overall 1/10

Police Story 2 Review

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It’s time to return to the world of Police Story. The first one definitely surpassed all of my expectations. Not to say that I ever thought it would be bad but it was just so excellent that I couldn’t have guessed it would be this good. It was definitely really impressive and the sequel while still great isn’t quite able to match how brilliant the first one was. From the fighting to the comedy, it just isn’t ready to match that.

The movie starts off right away with Ka-Kui being demoted since while he may have saved the country, there was a lot of destruction and the villain has powerful friends. So he’s out of jail already and intends to ruin Ka-Kui’s life. He does this by harassing the guy and threatening his girlfriend. He’s trying to goad Ka-Kui into attacking him and if successful then that will really put him in a jam. Can he really resist these attacks for long though?

The best scene in the movie happens fairly early which is always a risk. Do you have the peak right away to get the audience invested or leave it til the end to make a lasting impression? I doubt it’s something a film maker would think about for too long because in theory every scene is made to be great but for me the restaurant fight was definitely the best part. John Ko and friends finally push him too far so he just beats them all up and it’s super satisfying. You do not mess with this guy.

You’d think that the villains would have learned their lesson after the first film but they are just really confident that no matter what he won’t end their lives. In a way I suppose they are right since Ka-Kui is a hero but that doesn’t mean he has no boiling point. If they took things just a little bit farther I wouldn’t have been surprised if he took John down for the count. Either way it’s great because sometimes you do need to just beat up the villains.

Surprisingly John Ko and his boss basically get written out of the film after this. New villains show up to give Ka-Kui a run for his money while these guys vanish. There is a plot reason for this and it also works as a twist of sorts because the first time you learn this knowledge you just assume the villains were faking so when the twist actually happens it’s a bit surprising. It’s a solid subversion so I enjoyed it well enough. The main problem is that the other villains don’t feel like they are as much of a threat.

The climax still has Ka-Kui go into a very difficult fight to be sure but it never feels insurmountable. I guess the guy’s catchphrase of saying general nonsense while tossing the fire pepper onion wrappers is very memorable though. When Ka-Kui finally turns the tables on that guy it’s definitely satisfying. There are also a lot of explosives so the climax is definitely intense visually. You can’t beat the mall fight from the first film but it’s still a lot of fun.

In general the film has a lot of action, there are several other scenes with a lot of battles as well. The film also keeps the general happy tone that it has from the first with a lot of comedic moments. Ka-Kui still has a lot of trouble with his girlfriend May due to a lot of misunderstandings. While in the first film I felt like 90% of those were directly his fault, at least in this one it can be more 50/50 like when the cops pulled him off the plane. That was one example where there wasn’t really anything he could do. It’s probably not much of a consolation to May who still has to deal with the fallout but hey, it could certainly have been worse is all.

May also ends up going through a lot here as she is captured and actually injured quite a bit. The sequel does have a few moments that are actually rather dark like when May and Ka-Kui get tortured by the villains. So you also empathize with her even more for being upset with Ka-Kui since now she’s in constant danger. She always bounces back really quickly and tries to be cheerful but you wonder how long it can last.

Ka-Kui is taking steps to try and make the relationship be a bit smoother like going on vacation with her but it’s just never as easy as all that. I’ll give him credit for making the attempt though and in general I would say he looks pretty good in the movie. For the most part he takes the right steps and again I give him a lot of credit during the restaurant moment. He wasn’t going to let the villains get away with anything and just charged in there!

While John Ko doesn’t stick around for the whole film, I will give him credit as a persistent villain. The guy can’t even fight super well but he’s always around to make life hard for Ka-Kui and is really resourceful. He appears everywhere and takes his job as the boss’ right hand man very seriously. He’s the biggest thorn in Ka-Kui’s side despite not being a fighter which is impressive in itself. He’s certainly crazy but works well within the role.

In general the supporting cast are solid too. I liked both Ka-Kui’s direct boss and his boss’ supervisor. They’re both always playing an intricate game of appearances where they keep trying to pass the buck off. This can make for a lot of fun comedic moments all throughout. The film wouldn’t be the same if either half of the genre was missing. This is a great comedic action film. You need the high level martial arts but you also need the fun humor. Mi the two together and I don’t see how this series can lose. It’s of course easier said than done to make a film funny and action packed but this team clearly has the right formula.

Overall, Police Story 2 takes just about all of the strengths from the first film and keeps the series moving at a high level. It doesn’t really make any mistakes but it simply can’t keep up with the first movie. It’s close though and that’s the important thing though. You could watch both films back to back and it works really seamlessly. I’m interested in seeing how it goes from here. Can it go 3 for 3 or is this the last hurrah? Only time will tell but the track record is in this one’s favor.

Overall 8/10

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review

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Shazam returns for another big adventure in this one. At this point he’s really been overshadowed by Black Adam but in theory Shazam should be able to reach similar levels of power so it would be interesting to see how he fares here. Ultimately I would say he’s still not on the same level but he doesn’t look bad here. Mainly he just needs to get way better at fighting and his durability could use a lot of work too. Once he masters those things then he should be set. This film’s pretty good overall, I’d probably give it the slight edge over the first one. It’s a good blend of humor and action.

The film starts off with Shazam feeling bad because he doesn’t think that he’s been doing a great job of leading the team. It’s like a junior version of the Ruby character arc from RWBY. The rest of the fighters keep ditching him too and they seem to think he’s trying to restrict them too much. They want to come into their own as solo fighters and he thinks it’s too dangerous. Well now there are a trio of gods coming after him. Can Shazam keep his family safe while taking all of these guys down or will it be too much for him?

What the film does right here is the humor. I still find Shazam and his antics to be funny along with the rest of the crew. While some Shazam fans probably still won’t like how he’s basically a joke compared to the rest of the league, he balances the humor well. If he was serious then you’d have to really amp up the villains to Superman level but this way you can put some average fighters in front and have Shazam just mess up every time they attack. Perhaps not the most satisfying resolution for Shazam fans but it’s a way to get him.

I also think the movie had more clever dialogue than the first one. Freddie actually gets a number of funny scenes here as well. Then the fights are also good as we actually get some more super speed usage here. The comedic moments do tend to take away from the fights a bit so you’ll usually get a cool moment, then a comedic break, then a cool moment, etc. I think if the film wanted to pull off a really good fight scene that it probably could but that wasn’t the main goal here.

For example, one of the goddesses can manipulate the environment, moving buildings and such. This made for some really cool visuals and is a form of reality warping that I can actually find appealing. If you did that for a longer period of time then that would have been great but it’s only for quick bursts so that it’s over just as it has begun. It was also done in a way where you can see how even someone with Shazam’s speed could have a hard time dodging it. I’m not saying the fights we got were bad but they could have been a lot better. The best battle here was definitely Shazam against the leader of the trio. The battle with the large dragon isn’t as impressive since it feels more one sided even when the dragon is landing hits.

The special effects all look cool here. I feel like Shazam’s costume getting singed and turning black was possibly a nod to Black Adam. The energy effects are cool and the movie didn’t hold back with the visuals. The soundtrack is a bit more forgettable but I enjoyed seeing the hero song play. Now that was a good bit of fun especially with how often the song has been appearing lately. It’s a really good song so why not have it just keep on appearing right?

The film has a pair of after credit scenes here and I can safely say that both of them are pretty good. The first one could have maybe been a little more hype but I like the setup. I’m doubtful on if it’ll go anywhere with the DC direction often changing but if it does it would be fun to put Shazam in a new environment. Most likely he couldn’t bring his friends along so they’d have to lose out but from a power levels standpoint that makes sense. Without shenanigans or depowering rays how can you stop a whole group of Shazams right?

The second scene is also a lot of fun. In a way it really works because the humor is breaking the fourth wall to an extent. For fans who have been waiting for something in particular this tease is basically saying that it’s not happening anytime soon if ever. I feel like that was the film’s way of slamming the door on it but it also could still mean something for a Shazam 3 if it ever came out. Jury’s out on that but regardless the scene itself was executed well.

So a lot of good positives here but now onto the negatives. The first one is I think Billy can still be a little too obsessive about Wonder Woman. That seems to be a core part of his character in different continuities at this point but cmon now. He’s a superhero, you need him to have some more dignity here. Also while he is slowly getting more used to his powers, I feel like he’s been a hero for years now so I’d expect him to do better here. Did he really think that he beat a goddess by slamming her to the ground?

I think writers often underestimate how strong the heroes are. For example the goddess throws a box at Shazam at one point which knocks him over. A normal box…. Here’s the thing, the writer probably figured that the box was thrown at super speed so it would work. The reason why it wouldn’t is that the box would just shatter on impact at any speed where it would be enough to come close to hitting Shazam. There is no scenario where the box itself pushes him, likewise the ground isn’t knocking someone out who is at his strength level.

So some of the power levels can be a little interesting but that’s how it goes I suppose. Shazam’s foster parents don’t get as much of a role in this one but they’re still nice enough. Most of the siblings don’t have a lot to do either. I would say the main one with a big role is Freddy since he gets a romance subplot with a new girl in school named Anne. They hit it off right away and so he now has extra incentive to be a big hero all on his own without waiting for Billy. The romance may be a little heavy handed with Freddy not handling things so well but it could be worse. By the end I just don’t think this should really work out long term.

Now there is one part of the film where I definitely disagree with Billy. So the other kids, mainly Freddy want to go out and do hero things but Billy says they either all have to go or none of them do. Here’s the problem with that, they have super powers and can realistically save a ton of lives. Functionally it’s like having half a dozen Supermen at the ready. They should be going around making the world a better place, not waiting until everyone is together. I know it’s safer when you’re in a group but realistically they can solo over 90% of the threats on the planet. If Freddy wants to go stop some thieves or escaped convicts then he should be able to. So the characters were right about Billy holding them back a bit.

That said, I still found the Wizard annoying because he spends a large chunk of the film bashing Billy and it doesn’t feel deserved. Like when he tells Billy that he regrets giving him the powers. Kind of a nasty thing to say to a kid just trying to do his best. By the end of the film they try to make the Wizard more likable but those opening scenes for him were really rough. It’s definitely hard to come back from that.

As for the goddesses, they were okay but could have used more scenes. For example the oldest one is all about getting revenge and seems like a decent villain but gets a little wishy washy by the end. She starts getting sloppy and dropping her guard which is never a good idea. The middle one is the most intense and ready to do anything for the mission. You can definitely respect that but at the same time I wanted to see her fight more. Physically she doesn’t do much here and she’s actually lucky the heroes didn’t try to take her down during the cheesesteak lunch because she would have had no way to defend herself. It was a tactical blunder.

Finally you have the youngest one who seems nice enough but can also be a bit wishy washy about the whole thing. Ultimately you need to pick a side and while she has more compassion than the others, it doesn’t mean as much if she won’t actually step in there to stop things right? I wanted to see her get more of a real fight too. There’s a cool scene of her dodging an energy blast but of course she ends up letting her guard down anyway. Not her best moment.

Overall, Shazam! delivers another pretty good film here. The skittles scene definitely feels like ultimate product placement but the fact that the film is so shameless about it does make it more impressive to an extent. Reminds me of an infamous Transformers scene involving beer. Ultimately the movie has got a solid amount of replay value and was a cheerful film so you could really watch it at any point. I’d like to see more of a prolonged fight in the third film but in the end this is still one that you could pop in and watch any day because it is easy to watch again. It definitely feels a lot shorter than 2 hours which is a good credit to the writing/pacing here.

Overall 7/10

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Review

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I remember when I first saw the trailer for this film I thought it looked really good. Like surprisingly really good because I just wasn’t ready for this at such a high level. Well, I finally got to see the film and I dare say that it’s even better than I had expected. The witty banter is on point and it manages to nail the Dungeons and Dragons vibe without the many downsides of a film that takes place back in an older setting. It’s a rare W for the past and while it would still likely be tricky for a sequel to replicate this success, at least the chance is there now.

The movie starts off with Edgin and Holga locked up, they’ve been locked up for 2 years which is rough but now they can finally get out if the court votes to release them early. Fortunately, the council does see things in their favor although the heroes break out anyway. The problem is that their old partner Forge has ended up lying to Edgin’s daughter for the last two years and has turned her against him. The guy is also the king of the kingdom now so it won’t be easy to get back at him. Edgin and Holga will have to put together a powerful team in order to break in but can they really pull this off? In the end they are thieves, not conquerors and an infiltration of this level sounds very daunting.

First off one of the big advantages that the film has going its way is that the humor is really funny. It’s not one of those titles that is just trying super hard the whole time. No the gags actually land most of the time and the script is as clever as it appeared to be in the trailers. You’ll have a lot of good laughs here and so this ends up feeling a lot like those classic upbeat adventure films of the good ole days. The film still balances in a lot of great visuals and action scenes though. It just knows when to take things easy.

The special effects here can’t be understated as they just look really good. In just about every scene there is some kind of treasure that really stands out. Then you have the energy effects for the swords and other weapons. For example the energy sword battle was really good in large part because the energy swords looked so real. They deserve a whole lot of props for that. The fights here really delivered.

It’s another example of how the film ended up surpassing my expectations. Everything about it is just so well rounded. The characters are great, the action is great, and so ultimately the film itself was also great. This is a really good video game adaption title. I may not be all that familiar with the games so I couldn’t tell you how accurate the movie is but at the same time my understanding is that the franchise is mostly building the world for you and then from there the stories are endless. So this is just a fun story about a group of thieves and that’s all I needed.

This movie also had the most accurate depiction of an in game dungeon that I’ve ever seen. From the corridors all looking the same to the random chests scattered about, it was great. They even got the fake chests in there as well. This plays out like if you were playing a video game although of course with much higher stakes than usual. I would have ended the film with more of a huge cliffhanger to bait in some sequels but I’m still satisfied with the ending overall. You can plug this movie in at any time because of how self contained it is.

Edgin works well as the main character here. Ultimately he was only captured initially because he went on a super dangerous mission to try and bring his wife back to life. It’s a very noble goal so I wouldn’t fault him for that. He may not be the most powerful guy on the block and he gets mocked very regularly but he never loses faith. That’s what makes Edgin strong. He’s able to just take the shots and keep it moving. Nothing ever gets to this guy.

The film also doesn’t make him comically weak or anything like that. It’s just that he has no special abilities or strength like the others. He’s what I would call an average guy physically with above average resourcefulness. He can break out of being tied up on his own and can quickly jump from portal to portal. He just ends up being the comic relief because the other characters are simply better. It’s a clear distinction from not actually being a strong character so you want to keep that in mind.

Then you have Holga as a very good heroine. She’s one of the standout characters here and can fight with the best of them. Holga is the very stoic character of the group but she’s not uncaring. She’s always nice to Edgin’s daughter and when her friend wants a hug then she’ll let it happen even though she doesn’t love those. Holga’s another very well written character who simply isn’t one dimensional.

This is also where I have to point out that the film pulled off what 99% of movies could not…a good friendship. As Edgin and Holga are the main characters you’re probably expecting a big romance the whole time but that doesn’t happen. Edgin doesn’t suddenly move on from his wife and Holga doesn’t forget about her ex boy friend. These two just get along really well and team up to take care of the kid. They’re good friends and joke/rib each other a lot without things ever getting awkward.

It’s the definition of a great friendship and I really appreciate that. It’s fairly rare to see this nowadays. The only other recent film I can think of off the top is the latest Mission Impossible. There are certainly others when you think about it but in the vast majority of instances the two characters just end up getting together because that’s what the movie figures the audience wants. It would have been super disappointing if that happened here so I was glad that it didn’t. At the end of the day not only is it possible for men and women to simply be friends but it’s an extremely common occurrence. Step outside for a few minutes and that’s the reality around you no matter what the movies may have you believe.

Without that romance drama to split up the team, we get to really see everyone having a lot of fun. The team is hardly the most unified one but they’re a fun one to follow along. The movie’s a blast from start to finish and the light tone just works really well. I would also say on the whole I liked all of the characters. Simon may not be very good at magic but he gets a character arc about learning to believe in himself and harnessing his powers which was definitely good. That’s always a solid story beat to follow.

Doric is another valuable ally to the cause and I really liked how her shapeshifting was handled here. The scene of her starting out as a fly and then transforming into a ton of different animals as she progressed through the castle was great. This is truly not an opponent to underestimate and it was a great way to show off Sofina’s magical abilities without having one of the main cast get caught. I don’t think any of the other heroes would have been able to pull off the infiltration. It would have been way too much for them.

The most powerful fighter of the group has to be Xenk though. He’s a guy who takes everything literally and can be hard to talk too, but he has a solid honor code and is someone you can count on. He won’t ditch the other heroes for anything in the world and his burning blade was the only reason they could get away from the assassins. This guy was really a beast in combat and I’d have liked to see him appear even more.

As for Kira, Edgin’s daughter, well she wasn’t the best. I think she was rather gullible the whole time. I know it’s been 2 years but you should still trust your own father way more than his friend. Forge may have given her a good life all this time but at the end of the day you still have to choose a side and I was surprised that she picked him. I also expected her to do a little more with her invisibility charm although I guess the one big moment is enough.

The only other character that I felt was a little underdeveloped would have been Sofina. She’s a very interesting red mage and one of the first villains from that type I remember seeing. They’re really handy in the Final Fantasy games since they can use both light and dark magic. In this film she’s clearly one of the most powerful characters and should be able to destroy the heroes at any moment but often gets overconfident. By the time she does make a move then it ends up being too late. I still liked her as a villain but would have liked more screen time. Likewise for her master who talks tough in the shadows but there really isn’t much time for him.

Finally we have Forge and he makes for a fun villain. The guy is definitely evil all the way but jokes around a lot so you can quickly mistake him for just being a whimsical type of fellow. Definitely don’t fall for the act, he shows his true colors on more than one occasion. He can’t really fight but serves his role as the more comedic kind of villain. It also did take ambition and resourcefulness to become the lord of the kingdom so you have to give him some credit there.

Overall, Dungeons and Dragons is a really fun film. I had a blast all the way and hope it does get a sequel at some point. Again, films taking place in a setting made to be like the olden days is often very difficult to pull off so the fact that this one did was very impressive. I highly recommend this to anyone who was on the fence about watching it. The positives really outweigh the negatives by a wide margin. Sometimes you just want a really fun action film and this one’s the ticket for you. The writing is particularly impressive but the action and effects are also good so it’s a win/win.

Overall 8/10

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One Review

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Mission Impossible is one of those series that always delvers high quality pictures and this one is no exception. I’ve been looking forward to Dead Reckoning for quite a while now and it’s really everything you could hope for it to be. The dialogue is very strong, there are a bunch of great characters, and the pacing is on point. Something is always going on here and there is a lot of replay value despite the length. This movie is definitely the complete package.

The film starts off with a submarine testing out some new tech but unfortunately things don’t go very well for it. We then cut to Ethan Hunt receiving a new mission, however this time he gets it with a lot of subtle threats as well. This is apparently the biggest mission of his career. He needs to recover two keys that open something that isn’t any of his business and the whole world is at stake. Ethan’s not really satisfied with that answer and decides to delve into this a bit further but this is at the cost of the whole world being after him. Every special intelligence agency in the world is on his tail now. He may be the most powerful Agent in the world but can even Ethan beat the combined forces of the planet?

Fortunately Ethan isn’t completely alone. His two steadfast allies Luther and Benji are around as always. Luther’s still great at hacking and managing everything from the control room. Meanwhile Benji always ends up getting a side mission of his own and he does well in them. These two are fun characters here as always. They may feel out of their depth in a lot of ways but it is a fact that Ethan would have been in big trouble without them.

Ethan here is a very solid main character who makes the right calls at the right times. I appreciate that he still has a strong sense of justice here and is always ready to save a friend even if it means defying orders. Ultimately that’s what you need to be able to do because if you just follow orders then you will inevitably become the villain. It’s not the first time Ethan’s had to go against the government either although I will say that it’s probably the quickest. He has to go rogue almost immediately here.

It’s another thing I appreciate about this film. The action starts up very quickly. We go to the desert and have an opening fight, after that we have an infiltration by Ethan, then a bunch of chase scenes and they just keep on going. Ethan certainly gets a lot of running done here that’ for sure but he gets to show off his intelligence and resourcefulness as well. Ethan is a fighter but the reason he is the best is because he always finds a way to win. His quick thinking in posing as a lawyer for example got him out of one jam.

The guy pulls off plans and disguises pretty much back to back and does it seamlessly. Also while the film’s a pretty serious one with an intense plot it does still make some for some good humor. There are a lot of quick lines that are really funny and all of the jokes are well thought out. You won’t be groaning at any point or anything like that here. The movie cycles through all of the genres rather effortlessly.

So it goes without saying that Ethan is the best character here. Then as the main heroine we have Grace who is a thief. A very good one at that as she manages to even pick Ethan’s pocket more than once. She causes a lot of damage and destruction throughout the movie because of how persistent she is. After a point you’ll probably just find yourself wishing Ethan would capture her already with how many times she betrays the group but ultimately that’s not how he operates. He wants to do his best to get her on his side as opposed to using force.

At times Grace really seems to act against basic survival instincts with how she handles this but ultimately she’s still a good character. She is a nice character for Ethan to have some banter with and she can actually fight which is always a plus. Automatically that helps her character out and when the chips were down she did get up and deliver so she has my respect.

Then there’s Ilsa who is another solid character. She doesn’t do quite as much here but we get to see how she’s still a really good shot and of course her close combat abilities are nothing to sneeze at. Definitely not someone you want to underestimate. Good ole Kittridge returns here as well although I can’t say that he looks too impressive. A bit of a shady fellow and while he may want what’s right for the country, his views aren’t always the best ones. I was definitely on Ethan’s side the whole time.

Alanna is one of the big villains/wild card characters here and she was a fun character to shake things up. She has a lot of connections/resources so whenever there is danger you can bet that she’s watching it unfold somewhere. I think the way she was dealt with near the end was a bit too easy so I couldn’t really buy into it but she definitely did a lot in this title.

Then there’s the main villain but it seems like the trailers avoided showing much of this guy so I won’t name him. Then the main villain has a boss that is mentioned constantly but we don’t know much about it. I’m not expecting the boss to really do anything other than get terminated in part two but the human villain has a lot to do here. He is able to fight really well and has a ton of confidence. He’s smirking in just about every scene that he is in and the guy keeps up with Ethan the whole time. This guy had to play his cards perfectly and that’s exactly what he did. Definitely not the kind of character that you can easily forget and I dare say that he may be the best out of all the Mission Impossible villains. It’s just hard to pull one over the guy.

Having a good villain like that is definitely huge for the movie. There are other villains here like one of his main minions but ultimately they’re more for the action while he is doing the thinking. They would not be able to keep up in that arena. Now if I had any small issue with the film it is that I would have liked to have seen some more factions. After all, think about it for a moment. The entire world is after Ethan so we should be seeing the CIA, M16, Japanese special forces, etc. Really the only main faction getting in on the action here are the Americans and for the most part the others are mentioned but don’t do as much.

I think in a lot of ways this should have been as chaotic as John Wick 3. You should have had people shooting from every direction and causing a lot of trouble. Of course this film isn’t a full action like that but I think you could still pull this off really naturally. I really liked the main cop who was after Ethan the whole time and think having more characters like that would have been great.

The soundtrack is really good as you would expect. The Mission Impossible theme plays quite a few times and it is definitely a catchy tune. There are a number of solid action themes within the movie as well so it never misses a beat. Of course the graphics are also really good as you would expect. The part looked very futuristic and every special effect was really clear. The series is second to none when it comes to showing off a bunch of great locations and making them all fit in.

There may be less actual fight scenes compared to some of the other Mission Impossible films but in the end you will still get a satisfying amount of action. Ethan takes a lot of fighters down and the supporting characters get to fight as well. There are also a lot of chase scenes as you would expect so you’re also getting action in that way as well. This is a very smart film so you can expect a lot of good planning too. At most you could make the case that maybe the main villain should have already won but otherwise I didn’t have any issues with the power levels or the plans going on. It all operated on a high level and had logic that made sense within the film.

It’s always a big thing when a film never gets boring and this one was really engaging the whole time through. There’s a lot more to say about the movie in the spoilers realm but I’ll let you see that for yourself. Sometimes I end up including a warning and then doing a spoiler section when there’s something I really need to dive into but in this case I would say there isn’t. Main thing to know is just that I was on Ethan’s side the whole time. The villains/antagonists and all of their goals are interesting to be sure but still not ones that I can get behind.

Overall, Mission Impossible succeeds in a big way once again. There’s a whole lot happening in this movie and it’s all balanced really well. I would say another strength to the film is how much was hidden. The trailers really didn’t touch on much of anything at all which meant there was a lot more to be surprised about. It can be a risky strategy nowadays since people probably want to see a lot to know if they’re going to theaters or not, but I would say the risk definitely paid off big time. I’m eagerly awaiting part 2 now to see if it can top part 1 and of course to see how this whole saga comes to a close. It’s going to be a long year!

Overall 8/10