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Scarlet Nexus Review

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The Scarlet Nexus game was definitely a blast and so it’s nice that it got a full anime adaption as well. You don’t see that very often and especially with a big RPG like this. I’d say that the story is adapted pretty well so you can definitely follow along even if the anime is the only thing that you have absorbed from the franchise. It works like any normal anime would so you have all of the context that you could possibly need here.

The story follows two main characters. The first one is Yuito Sumeragi who has to live up to a rather impressive family history. He is determined to succeed on his own merits. He joins the OSF which is effectively the sci-fi police of this region and they fight off monsters as they keep the peace. These monsters are seemingly endless and so far there has not been a way to get rid of them. Perhaps Yuito will be able to accomplish this since he seems to hold some kind of pivotal role in the situation. So much so that people even want him dead.

Meanwhile we have the heroine Kasane who is an experienced member of the OSF. A girl who looks exactly like her saved Yuito when he was a kid but she doesn’t recognize him. Unfortunately it looks like the only way to save the world is to murder Yuito. Can she really murder an innocent person even if doing so would save the world? Her options begin to narrow as something happens to her sister and there is a serious time crunch. Now she just has to make sure that her information is reliable.

There is a lot going on here and to an extent you can even say that it’s like a government conspiracy type of series. The government here knows a whole lot but they don’t like to share intel. Additionally there isn’t only one faction. No that’d be too simple for something like this. So you have the OSF as a whole, then you have Karen who commands a resistance army that breaks away from the OSF. There is also the tribe of the Moon which has a lot of plans and there is even one more group. So you can see why the whole world is in chaos because humanity is absolutely not close to any kind of unified front. They would sooner continue to fight each other than actually manage to save the world.

In this world most people grow up with a kind of psychic power. The type varies as you can have flames, invisibility, etc. If you don’t have one, then you are literally called a dud and will have a hard time doing much of anything. Almost the whole world is set up for people with mental abilities so basic things like signs don’t tend to exist. We briefly see this as one character grew up as a dud and we see one lady get lost at the hospital. It’s a pretty interesting plotline which shows just how hard it is to not have powers when everybody else does. The show doesn’t really have time to get into this at all beyond the one scene though. It would have been nice to have addressed this a bit more.

As per always, the government is the side you don’t want to be on. They run a ton of crazy experiments and are really a big part of the problem. We see that they have ideas on getting rid of the monsters but in the meantime they are making more and basically hiding it. Once you learn the truth behind the monsters, it makes them look so much worse. Even the drugs they use to help Yuito have a dark secret behind them. There was really no coming back for the government from this and quite a few characters are complicit after they know about it.

The common theme from the higher ups is that you have to make some sacrifices but that’s an attitude that I will basically never side with. After a point you end up causing more harm than good. At least Karen’s motivation is one that I can get behind. Basically he is trying to change time in order to save Alice from an untimely death. As always my train of thought here is that if you have the ability of time travel then you have to do whatever you can in order to save someone who has died. You just keep trying over and over and over again until you have pulled this off. You owe the character at least that much.

So Karen is putting the world at risk in order to do this but that’s fine. He’s the standout character of the series because of his determination. He just never gives up and keeps on trying the whole time. The series gives his character a pretty solid end. Ultimately you just have to remember to never give up and keep on trying for as long as you can. He was also the most powerful character in the series by a longshot to the point where the heroes needed considerable amounts of plot armor in order to even stay close against him. The ability to copy all other powers always tends to be a broken one.

As for the main character Yuito, he’s a solid lead. The guy may not be overflowing with personality or anything like that but he is doing his best to help everyone out. Unlike Karen it does feel like Yuito gave up in the end as we saw what happened to him when he grew old. Not a great look for the guy but he did put up with a lot. Yuito just needed to trust in his own abilities a little more. His power level fluctuates a lot based on his emotions and he is also dealing with a psychic illness for most of the series which limits him quite a bit. Things would have been a whole lot smoother for him otherwise.

Kasane definitely handles herself with a lot more poise throughout the series. She is more skilled with her abilities at first although Yuito quickly begins to catch up in that arena. She can be a bit too reckless in jumping to conclusions though. Particularly when she decided to murder Yuito since that just seems like a crazy gamble and of course there are no takebacks. I do like her tough persona though.

Of course you can’t have a full squad without teammates so lets talk about those. First up is Luka who is Karen’s younger brother. His teleportation is handy and Luka would probably be a huge threat in battle if he didn’t have to always go up against someone crazy strong like Karen. Luka knows how to fight well and while he can be a bit timid, he’s a solid ally to have around. Arashi is a lot more fun when it comes to the seniors though. She likes to slack off and knows how to be subtle about it as well. She can move at super speed which you’d think would make her super broken but she doesn’t actually fight that much.

In general the show isn’t the best at showing power levels. Despite how many monsters there are, it feels like the heroes should have an easy time rounding them up. Arashi alone could crush a great number with her speed but she rarely feels much more useful than the average fighter. Her high rank reflects her ability but it’s more lore than showings. Someone like Gemma I can understand having a tough time since he’s more of a brawn guy. Not the fastest or anything and instead relies on his blows to make a difference. I lost a lot of respect for the guy early on when he was shown to be gullible and change sides quickly. He is an example of someone that you do not want to have on your side because you just can’t trust him.

Hanabi serves as the childhood friend role and has some good fire abilities. Despite this, her role is fairly small and she’s mostly just around to fill out the cast. I would have expected her to have had a much bigger influence especially since fire powers are always awesome. Ah well, at least she does look after Yuito. Then we have Kagero who is another one of those guys who can’t be trusted. He gets a fairly big origin story and at least has a much better reason for the deception than Gamma. I tend to like Kagero but the heroes forgave him a bit too easily. Particularly Yuito who really could have gone to town on the guy. Invisibility is a handy power although slightly less handy when you’re always fighting with other psychics.

Kyoka continues the trend of nobody being all that trust worthy here. She has ties to the moon clan and naturally didn’t tell anybody. She was absolutely ready to leave the heroes for dead and had the worst reason for being a traitor. Not only should the characters not have forgiven her but they should have definitely locked her up. You just can’t leave someone like that out in the open or you are really asking for trouble.

Then we have Shiden who talks tough but doesn’t really accomplish anything in the show. He’s super jealous of Yuito and anyone else who has a fancy family and lineage. That’s the kind of petty guy that he is and the show doesn’t give him enough screentime to really grow out of that. Then you have Tsugumi who is the really timid character of the group. That kind of character never tends to be my favorite and she continues in that trend. She’s okay but definitely gets overwhelmed by all the other characters.

Nagi is one of those guys who is a bit on the annoying side. He tries too hard at pretty much everything including flirting. He wants to be more skilled but is quick to fall for brainwashing and getting wrecked. Now you don’t want to be too harsh to a character for that since most would have folded as well but he was really getting in the way the whole time. He made things considerably harder on Yuito than they would have been otherwise. I do like his wind powers though.

Poor Naomi doesn’t get to appear much but she was a nice character. She did her best to be nice to everybody and was a good cadet. Ultimately she was just not put in a situation to succeed. Then we have Fubuki who is one of the commanders so he’s definitely competent and very skilled. Alas, he is rarely on the front lines so it’s not like this helps the heroes all that much against the monsters.

The animation for the show looks good. It’s definitely not a top level budget or anything like that but it flows together well and the animation is solid. Karen talking to his various other selves and then going for the speed blitz was really smooth. The colors can be striking as well and so overall I would definitely give this one a thumbs up. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. Nothing amazing but I did like the two openings. The battle themes are also catchy. So in a lot of ways the soundtrack matches the rest of the show. It’s all pretty good but not great. It’s not a show that you’d expect to be winning awards and making the news or anything like that after all.

Overall, Scarlet Nexus will be remembered as a pretty good show and I’d say that’s still satisfying enough for the fans. I had a good time with it and the ending was really solid. The action really ramped up as the series went on and I would say Karen played a major role in making the series as hype as it was. It’s why it is extremely important to have a good villain. He ties everything together here and the general story was also interesting from the jump. As long as you enjoy a good sci-fi title then you will enjoy this one. It’s got those end of the world stakes and everything. It doesn’t feel like the kind of show that would get a sequel but I’d definitely enjoy one.

Overall 7/10

Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez Season 2 Review

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It’s time for the return of Cardfight Vanguard! The Divinez season last time was excellent and this one definitely continues to operate as an incredibly high level. We get a big clash of teams here which was really hype and it ensured we got a whole lot of action. There were also some pretty massive plot twists that even affect events that happened in previous seasons. This really puts a cap on a lot of the recent adventures that each character had so it’ll be interesting to see how the next season plays out. It’ll also be hard to top this one although that has been the case for each season for a while now.

The show starts with a new villain named Sybilt appearing. This creature has decided to bring back the Destined fighters from last season so they can take on his chosen fighters. Once again the stakes are pretty high as the winners will be able to get their wishes granted. This time it’s not just one person who will have their wish granted after all but a whole team. So there is a lot of pressure on each person to win. Additionally Sybilt has turned on a sort of mind control on the fighters representing this side. Gabwelius knows that his fighters from the previous season are strong but can they really hold their own here? If they lose then everything might end up being lost.

The idea of bringing in a team of fighters who are all even more powerful than the first group is a very direct kind of story arc that works really well here. Folks that you saw as the enemy last time now have to team up which is another kind of story trope that I like. So mix that in with a tournament type setting and you’ve definitely got me on board. I would say the last season may have the slight edge in terms of impactful duels but it’s extremely close. As with last time, the highlight here is Hikari, the older version of course.

The younger version gets a much bigger role here as she shows up on the villain side. Unfortunately this role makes her look really bad as she turns against Akina and doesn’t even really try to get him on her side. She is completely stuck on her ways which is really unfortunate. I would say she comes across as ultra unreasonable even if she is doing this to help Akina out in her own way. You can’t help someone out by shutting them out first. It just doesn’t work that way and so she puts him through a lot.

Fortunately the older Hikari is around to help save the character. She directly confronts her younger self and really shows how to get off the dark path. The older version may not get to appear very much in any season but she really makes the most out of her scenes. Once again she completely steals the scenes that she is in. Her deck is also really impressive and still has a great theme to it. There are very few in the whole verse who can really hope to match her abilities.

As for Akina, he has come a long way since the old days. He certainly sticks up for himself more and isn’t quite as soft spoken. At this point it is old news since I’ve liked him for quite a while now. I’m not saying he’s on Aichi’s level yet but this guy can hold his own with any of the other protagonists. His skills are quite serious and he is really able to discuss any serious topic with ease. He’s someone that the heroes can really rally behind. In this season things may get rough for him during the duels but he is definitely no quitter.

Gabwelius is someone who doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence at all. Sybilt just seems better and more equipped for combat each time. Gabwelius is mostly stuck playing defense. Now granted, he does a good job of shutting down her more aggressive actions but it would be nice if he would straight up fight the whole time. Meanwhile Sybilt is actually a really fun villain. She has big plans on her end and keeps the heroes from getting too comfortable. The more we learn about her, the more impressive she gets. She really put in a whole lot of effort here in order to get her way. Also the fact that she can also duel really well is a huge advantage in her favor.

Then we have Massanori who somehow continues to show up in every single season. After a point you have to give the guy some respect although I still don’t like him. He’s just not that interesting and I also don’t think that he is really strong enough to justify his continued role. At this point it’s such a running gag he should probably be in the next season as an antagonist too though. Maybe you can somehow leverage this into some kind of really cool plot twist.

Jinki returns here and I was glad that his A.I. protected him from the mind control. It was a good way of acknowledging just how strong the program was and let Jinki keep some hype. I know a certain degree of power creep is unavoidable but I would have been a little sad if he was effortlessly defeated. In duels he still shows a good amount of skill and ends up being one of the more interesting characters on the villain side.

The thing to remember is that the mind control basically brings out your true instincts but doesn’t totally change you as a person. For that reason I’m still going to be a bit harsh on some of these characters. For example Kyohma. The guy resents how Taizo doesn’t take things seriously and really wants to take over the company. To an extent it’s to help Taizo but for the most part it’s just plain ole jealousy here. Taizo helped him a whole lot so for the guy to basically betray him here was crazy. I thought he was the least sympathetic character from the bunch and it wasn’t even close. He just seemed super ungrateful and so I wanted him to be defeated.

Taizo may not be the strongest character in the series but he’s always near the top so I really had to respect that. He’s just a fun duelist and someone who doesn’t take things too seriously. You want someone like that on your side to keep things from getting too stressful. You can also count on him when the chips are down like when he helped out Hikari. Rooting for him was a really easy decision and I think he let off Kyohma way too easily.

Suo may have been a really hype character back in the day who had serious abilities. Well at this point he has lost a lot of hype not that he is a hero. He looks good in the duel but not amazing or anything like that. It’s clear that he no longer has the same intensity. It’s great that things are going well for him now but it would have been good if he could have looked a little more powerful. His role here isn’t all that big but to an extent that had to happen to everybody since the episode count is very small. Most characters just get one duel and have to make the most of it.

Kuon was a fun duelist on the other side but I don’t think he ever grew on me too much even with all the screentime. It felt like the show was trying to make him really important retroactively but unlike the Sybilt twists, his just doesn’t work as much. I think the show should have kept him as a total mystery. He’s a nice guy and I liked having him around as an opponent to defeat but it still felt like there just wasn’t much to the character. I’d like to see him appear more without the whole tournament and see more of what his personality brings to the table.

Mikoto is one of the characters on the hero side who feels like she’s hit a bit of a wall as a character. She’s skilled to be sure but not one of the strongest ones. Her deck is nothing special and so her rivalry battle feels a bit generic. She is okay but it just feels like the writers don’t know where to take her next. With the cast already being rather large by this point I wouldn’t mind if she was the one to be written out.

Yuna on the villain’s side was also a bit of an empty character. I give her props for not coming across as antagonistic the whole time though. She actually seemed to be enjoying the fight and being very personable so it shows that even without any inhibitions she is a nice person. That’s always nice to see since some characters should definitely not be corruptible at all. It’s just not in their character.

Nao is a really fun heroine so it was nice to see her getting a big role here. She was originally a big mentor but got less to do as the series went on. She shows that she still has a lot of talent here and is one of the most charismatic members of the hero group. It’s easy to root for her and since she is the only one here aside from Taizo really going the pro route, the show should continue to show how advanced her skills are.

I also liked her opponent Senka. Senka is super competitive and wants to be someone who can defeat Nao. It’s a really goal and I always love a good rivalry so you’ll see no complaints from me. She just needs to level up her skills a bit more and she will really be a big threat. She also had to share time with a bunch of new characters so on her own she will be able to stand out more if she does return. Granted, the 12-13 episode count does limit possibilities for everyone but the more seasons you show up in, the more your appearances can at least stay high.

As always the soundtrack is really good here. Several characters have their own themes which is really awesome. It keeps the variety high at all times. Additionally the songs just rock out. They really help to amp up the intensity and even emotional feel of the duels. Then you have the animation which is pretty solid as well. They don’t have a blast showing off the in game animation as much as they used to but the character designs are still on point and the colors really pop out at you.

This is the kind of show that is more about the writing and the duels than the technical elements though. You will like the show if you like good duels and that’s really the whole point. Every duel throws in some good context and emotional weight behind it so that you are glued to the ending. The high stakes of the tournament also help to remind you that these aren’t just friendly fights either. Getting whatever you wish for is a pretty big deal after all, but you should be cautious considering who is offering the prize. At the end of the day when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Overall, Cardfight turned up another elite title right here. The episodes go by so fast and have such high replay value. You will get invested into pretty much all of the duels, even when it’s not the most exciting matchup. It shows that the company has turned these battles into a true science and you can really feel the intensity and creativity the whole time. The fact that they threw in a whole end of the world type plot at the end was just the cherry on top. I’m eager to see what happens in the next season and if the streak can continue. Cardfight is truly a worthy rival to Yugioh both in quality and scale at this point.

Overall 9/10

Saint Seiya: Episode G Assassin Review

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Saint Seiya is one of those franchises that is extremely elite but the anime titles never got as big as you would hope. This should be something that is consistently brought up along with the likes of Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. Episode G should absolutely have an anime by now and it’s a shame that they don’t. Well, either way I can definitely tell you that this is an absolutely elite series. Easy 9/10 and is one of the most satisfying sequel type stories with the original characters all getting a lot of respect which was absolutely due.

The series begins with Shura waking up in modern day Japan. He should be dead after he gave his life at the Wailing Wall at the end of the main series so why is he here? Something isn’t right with his memories either but he is quickly attacked by a mysterious foe who refers to Shura as King Arthur. It’s hard to say what is happening but Shura knows that he must protect the peace under all circumstances. So he continues to fight on as he learns more about this strange new world.

Episode G Assassin has to be one of the most hype manga out there. There’s just so much happening at all times and this i s the perfect example of why a good sequel should be amazing. You get the “cheat code” of getting to skip all of the character development and intros to get right to the big climaxes. That’s exactly what this series does as big characters will walk in and literally start throwing punches. No need to have an origin story or anything like that, they’re just ready to dominate. You will also get some extra mileage out of this series depending on how many legendary swords you know. By this point I know most of them from anime and manga so it’s cool to see them all show up. The true Excalibur, Caliburn, the Vorpal Blade, etc.

The sword fighting part of the series is relevant for the entire run. All of these legendary fighters are showing up to test their abilities and since the saints are forbidden to use any weapons, it puts them in a tough spot. It’s why Shura was a perfect match for these guys since his arm works as a quasi blade. It at least gives him something to clash with. Shura stays as the main character for over half the series although eventually he is replaced as we enter the big climaxes. Shura is fun though and he is a fairly likable Gold Saint.

It is hard to root against Aiolia when he first appears though. We just got to see Aiolia leading his own series and fighting against the titans so when he shows up to take down Shura, it just feels weird to see him as the antagonist. With the timestream going crazy and the dead returning to life, you could also make a valid point that perhaps Shura does need to be removed. I would not be on that side though as I never put preserving the timestream above someone’s life. The way I see it, Shura needs to stay in play especially while all of these villains are running around. Destroying him now would just be irresponsible.

There are also a lot of twists and turns here as this does play out like a true final saga. All of the gods from Athena and Hades to Poseidon and Zeus have plans going on. With this many wild cards in play you really can’t trust anyone. We know in the series that people can already be mind controlled and replaced so you really just have to trust in your own sense of justice. That is a main theme of the series throughout the adventure as well. As long as you know that you are doing the right thing then everything will eventually come into place.

The series does take a bit of a horror vibe near the end with some particularly huge twists. It’s a pretty cool concept although it’s also very dark so you can see why a lot of it was off screen. There are some similarities to the movie Us. If you had to fight off a doppelganger of yours that was your equal in every way but totally blood lusted, would you be able to win? Technically speaking you’d be the underdog in such a fight because it is hard to defeat someone that is absolutely crazy and doing whatever it takes to win. That’s also if you’re lucky as one character shows up without powers to fight a doppelganger that can destroy whole universes. Not a very fair fight.

Part of the intriguing thing with the story is that we’re also seeing it through a very narrow lens. We’re following Shura and then eventually the Bronze Saints but we’re not checking in on the various fights across the world. After the events of Saint Seiya, it seems like things are not going great around the world. Sanctuary itself seems to be losing status and funding after being around for so long and there just aren’t enough heroes to keep up with all the waves of villains although they are doing their best. There is still so much to explore even once the series ends. It feels like a large part of the story is still one big black box.

That could be where the 3rd title steps in of course. As intriguing as the story is, we’re ultimately here for the fights though. Fortunately the art has improved quite a bit since the first G title. It’s still not a big favorite of mine though but it gets the job done. The Saints all feel very powerful and majestic which is a strong point to the art style. They are portrayed as being larger than life which makes sense as the power levels have only grown stronger and stronger over time.

We get some really amazing double page spreads whenever the characters activate their true power. The new super forms and attacks all look really stunning while the old moves still get a lot of respect as well. The whole series being in color also lets them really show off the effects. In particular it’s so satisfying to see Seiya fighting again. Naturally he’s still injured from the Hades arc and that’s actually a pretty big deal for the whole series. Hades’ sword is special in that its stabbing effect lasts for all of eternity. Imagine constantly waling around with a sword in you that can’t be pulled out.

It shows what a trooper Seiya is. The series also re-establishes Seiya as the singular saint closest to Athena whom she can always depend on. He is the personification of hope in the series and the title goes as far as to say that if Seiya ever dies, the universe is doomed. He is needed in order for peace to stay without fail. Without him then hope itself dies which is really high pressure. There is a bonus chapter that also shows us how Seiya has stayed grounded and even helps out at the orphanage. He’s still beating up bullies as always which is great.

Then Shun has also had a lot of great character development. He is now immensely powerful. The guy still prefers peace over a fight but has kept his character development and will fight as needed. He is not someone to be saved anymore, Shun is able to handle just about anyone. He is portrayed as one of the strongest fighters in the universe now and even by the end of the series we didn’t get to see him fight seriously. That’s how strong he has gotten and so his character was handled really respectfully. This is quality character development done right.

Hyoga gets a particularly big role here. He may not look quite as impressive as Shun but he has also gone way stronger. Also due to some events that happens here, he even has a daughter named Natasha to look after. This gives him a reason to fight his hardest and that comes in handy since he gets some really personal fights in this series. It feels like Hyoga can’t catch a break when it comes to losing people and this title puts him through a lot as well. At least now he does have someone to protect once again.

Shiryu’s role isn’t huge but he is the first one to show up and help. It makes sense since of course he is the other wielder of Excalibur. His skills are the real deal and he is shown to be on par with Shura if not a bit stronger. Shiryu may not be an unstoppable force next to some of the others but he continues to get pivotal scenes. He really saves Seiya at one point in a really critical moment too. Without him Seiya would have been really doomed.

After that we have Phoenix Ikki who is the strongest as per usual. He is the first Saint to unlock a genuine cloth which is even above god status. The name itself doesn’t sound super impressive but that’s just how it goes. The only rough part here is that it takes so long for him to appear that he doesn’t get to properly generate those wins. By the time he fights he is going up against the craziest fighters in the verse. I would have liked to have seen some more dominating wins to really show off his power level. We still see narratively just how crazy strong he is but more screentime would be great.

As always Ikki also has to suffer in silence here as he dealt with a big threat on his own while the other Saints were busy. It’s really tough having his role but the guy never complains. He just keeps on going and does his best no matter what the cost. Meanwhile on the hero side we still have Death Mask and a few other Gold Saints who survived the Hades arc. The ranks have really thinned out over the years compared to how they used to be though. At this point it’s pretty clear that the Bronze Saints (Well they’re all gold now anyway) have to be the ones to save the world because the old guard won’t be able to cut it.

We get different cameos like Marin and Shaina as well which is cool. It’s nice to see that everyone is still kicking even if they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the power creep and at best have to deal with the minions the whole time. Put them up against any of the big threats and that would be it. Oh yeah Kiki gets a pretty big role here as he finally realizes his potential as a gold saint. He’s really changed a lot and is definitely a capable fighter now. It was nice to see his new form.

Now how about the new villains. Well first up you have the man who calls himself Aiolos. Is that really him or not? Well we get to see a lot of him and he’s a very fun villain. I do question his overall goals as the guy seems to be completely crazy by this point. I don’t know if he even knows what his true objectives are at this point or if he’s just talking to talk. Either way he is certainly taking a very long route to his final objectives. Then we have Zeus who is one of the most powerful entities in existence so you can bet that he is going to be doing a whole lot. His abilities are really impressive although his overall personality feels a lot more insane than I would have expected otherwise. He’s definitely not the calm and collected type like Hades or Poseidon.

You can’t doubt his passion though, the guy absolutely can’t stand humans in any form. He is convinced that the gods are leagues and leagues better than the humans could ever be. Then you have the various swords although most of them start to feel like the same character. They show up talking big about how they can’t lose and are virtually invincible and then they are taken down for the count. The main one to get a big character was Lancelot which makes sense since he’s so big in the mythos. Lancelot was a fun villain, one of those guys who is big on honor but seems to secretly be totally insane. I was expecting more out of the mysterious King Arthur though so maybe that’ll be in the sequel.

This is one of those titles that is directly going to lead into the next series though so as you can probably guess it will have a whole lot of cliffhangers. The plots aren’t going to end here and so there are quite a few villains on the loose. Assuming the third series is the final one, I do expect that everyone will be getting their final matchups there. There are more than enough heroes running around so they’ll probably have to add some new villains. That should be easy though with how the manga introduced the multiverse and everything. You really have an excuse to add basically anyone at this point. It can be any version of any character as well. We might even see an evil Seiya or maybe bring in Tenma from Lost Canvass. Definitely a lot of potential but that’s why you want to be careful not to get your hopes too high.

So we’ll see how it goes but this series was basically nonstop fight after fight after fight. The characters had some time for downtime and the occasional humor moment but these were definitely few and far between. It’s safe to say that the action was absolutely the focus of the series as you would expect. I can’t emphasize enough that this is the best depiction I have ever seen of the main Saints from after the main series and I don’t expect that any other title will be surpassing it. At least not in that regard, this series really set the bar crazy high there.

Overall, This is an elite title and I would recommend checking it out effective immediately. You are absolutely missing out if you don’t read through it. We finally get to see what became of the legendary heroes after all. Whether it is canon or not doesn’t even matter in the end. You are reading this to see the ultimate cast of fighters and at the end of the day you don’t need anything more than that. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the next installment in the G series even if this one may have set a bar that was too high to be reached.

Overall 9/10

The Jet Black Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Review

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The year of Shadow was really a hype moment in the world of multi media franchises. We got to get a Shadow game, movie, and a whole lot of appearances everywhere. It was a great time to be a Shadow fan and now it’s time to finally look at the manga that went on briefly. It roughly adapts the Shadow Generations story albeit with a few changes and even a new original character. Not sure why they changed it at all since the changes feel so minor but I suppose you don’t really need a reason to change things up and have fun right? It’s a quick and easy read with only 6 chapters.

The manga starts with showing us the good ole days of Shadow stopping the BioLizard and even getting to hang out with Maria. Those were back when he could show off a lot of emotion and had a really good time. Ultimately it wouldn’t last as Maria died tragically and Shadow lands in a weird void world. A little bat shows up saying that he can save Maria but Shadow needs to get all of the dark orbs to achieve his true power. Shadow is willing to go through all of the hardships in order to make this happen but if the bat is lying to him….there will be a whole lot of trouble coming soon.

The art is a little on the basic side but it’s not bad. I would have liked a more intense style which fits in with the serious story they are going for here but this one is easy to read which makes sense since the magazine is still for a younger audience. In a way that’s part of what makes it all very easy to read through because the panels are very big and the pacing is fast. Shadow basically takes down a boss in each chapter and keeps it moving. The final boss with Black Doom gets a good amount of screentime although in this version it’s pretty clear from the start that Shadow is a lot more powerful. As soon as he is able to fight seriously it is all over.

There is no big Sonic guest star appearance here so I suppose they couldn’t squeeze that in. It would have definitely been really good to have though. I suppose this way it is really 100% Shadow’s story with no real distractions or separations. The decision to basically have Shadow go from losing Maria to the Shadow Gens story without any of the Sonic games from the middle was an interesting choice. At least in terms of memories that was Shadow’s trajectory here. I would say I ultimately prefer the main story’s version of events but this way wasn’t bad. Having an alternate path is nice to experience the story from different angles.

There did have to be some big cuts though and sadly Metal Sonic is one of them as he basically just gets one page. Ah well at least he gets one page which is good. Him not appearing at all would have definitely been rough. Throughout the story Shadow does know that this whole thing is a longshot but he continues to try anyway because saving Maria is really important to him. Their bond of friendship is always one of the strongest ones in the Sonicverse. Ultimately Maria had to go through a lot in every timeline but she always stands strong and never gives in to the darkness. She does well in helping Shadow resist as well.

Shadow is in a tough spot throughout because he knows that every orb he absorbs brings him closer to losing control and yet he has to keep on absorbing them in order to even have a chance at saving Maria. So he gets closer and closer to the abyss the whole time all while knowing it’s a dangerous plan. At the end of the day that’s why he’s the Ultimate Life Form though. He can handle a whole lot more than the other characters could even dream of.

This has always been true throughout the Sonic mythos. Sonic and friends have their share of hardships and strife but at the end of the day still tend to have a lot of fun. Shadow is constantly dealing with the biggest threats around and also the eternal grief of losing Maria. It’s why there were a whole lot of memes around this period about how the Sonic Generations story was so happy and colorful the whole time while Shadow Generations was ultra serious business.

This manga did allow Shadow to express himself more though which I really appreciated. Starting off the manga with the Shadow from the past was a good idea for that reason. He really used to have a whole lot of fun until tragedy struck and he simply couldn’t anymore. If not for that then I’m sure that even now he would be having more fun. It could make for a nice AU story someday although the current Shadow is the character who rose to being the greatest in the franchise so it’s not like you’re topping that anytime soon.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this one because in large part it is a very direct story. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns here and it’s pretty clear where the story is going to go from the start. Black Doom probably could have looked a bit stronger though, maybe one more chapter would have been ideal. Still, the series had to balance a whole lot of fights and action into 6 chapters so I can definitely cut it a ton of slack here. It’s all pretty reasonable but of course that also shows why we need a full Shadow ongoing manga.


Overall, Shadow makes for a good character so it’s not surprising that his manga would be really good. It’s very short but still makes for a compelling read. By the end of it you will definitely want to go ahead and buy the video game to get the full experience here since they couldn’t quite fit everything into this one. It is a great side product though and also works as a substitution if you don’t own the game consoles to play it on or something like that. In a way that’s the biggest part of being a multi media franchise after all. This way you have different ways to experience the story for everyone.

Overall 7/10

Mile 22 Review

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

Mile 22 brings in another big war time thriller as the heroes duke it out with the villains. It’s one of those films that does decide to do this through an interview lens as one character talks about what happens and keeps on spoiling different parts of the film. Definitely a bad decision but if you can get past that then the rest of the film is pretty good. I did like the cliffhanger so a sequel would be fun but I can see how the ending might be divisive.

The film introduces us to Silva who is a very good special agent captain but one who is also very emotional. The different characters debate what is wrong with him mentally or if he’s just a jerk but Silva is definitely very prone to going on large tirades about pretty much everything. He gets very emotional and explosive at all times so you can’t really predict what he will do next. You could say that he is the ultimate wild card. Well this latest mission involves a guy named Noor who has defected from his country and has intel on weapons of mass destruction. He requests a trip to America for his cooperation and the heroes don’t have much time since he has set his files to self destruct pretty soon. Silva agrees to help but he’ll have to keep an eye on this guy.

While the film’s title and poster is all about the 22 Mile drive, that doesn’t happen until very deep into the film. It felt like over half of the movie was really set up for this as we are introduced to the characters and the stakes. Setup is definitely good but this film does push it a bit as you’re waiting for the adventure. Silva’s group are all stars who can handle any mission but naturally you can probably expect some of them to get taken down in short order here. At the end of the day even top rate skills will buckle before superior numbers.

As always there are a number of moles and security breaks throughout the agency so Silva can’t trust too many people. They are also in enemy territory the whole time as the whole point is that Silva’s team is trying to get this guy to America. Until they reach those borders, they’re going to have to deal with an army of corrupt cops and agents trying to shoot them all. The villains aren’t exactly subtle either as they say to Silva’s face how they intend to handle this. Silva just has to try and destroy them all in return or it’ll be all over for him.

As the main character he is definitely fun. Silva’s the kind of guy you want on your side because yes he’s a super loud jerk who is constantly yelling but that means your opponent’s are in for a tough time. There’s even a saying about that how every team should have at least one jerk on it. The idea is to at the very least have someone who is really confident and not afraid to get in the other guy’s face. Silva is definitely comfortable in that role and it’s a good thing too since his teammates can also have their own issues.

Kerr for example is going through a messy divorce and has not been able to concentrate as much as usual because of this. She is constantly yelling and swearing as things don’t go her way. Additionally this line of work does result in not being home very often which certainly doesn’t help on the court side. The app she has to use as part of the package was pretty interesting though, I could see that being really useful for a lot of situations since at least every message is being tracked. No funny business happening off camera as long as the app is around and the fact that it logs each swear word is impressive.

Kerr probably should be able to control herself better while on the mission though. She bears some responsibility for not noticing the two intruders messing with the hostage. Finally Noor is the third member of the main characters. He’s the informant who is making a whole lot of demands and the guy is in control the whole time. I figured his meditation was a way of keeping track of the code for a while there but in the end that was a bit of a red herring. Noor gets a whole lot of character development as the film goes on and really excels in his role. He is neck and neck with Silva in terms of being the most interesting character.

He also does get a really intense fight scene when he has to face off against two fighters at once. It showed that his fighting skills were the real deal as any other character in this film would have likely been destroyed rather quickly. He definitely knows that he can’t trust the security of the USA by the end of that scene. Additionally this all star squad is completely off the books so at any point he could be destroyed. If they are too late to get to the plane and the data is deleted, well they’ll end up shooting him anyway. So there are a lot of ways that Noor could die and he has to be prepared for all of them.

The overall tone of the film varies from being your classic action fare to being a little more on the darker side. The ending itself is definitely really intense and for my two cents I would say I thought it was a good ending. It was really unexpected and happened quickly without dragging the reveal for too long. You come to the conclusions that the main cast come to at about the same time. I do think it does once again show how the heroes are super lax and unprepared with their procedures though. Procedures exist for safety and consistency so the instant you start going away from them you really start to open the door to a lot of problems.

Overall, Mile 22 is a good film. It balances a whole lot of different plots going on at the same time pretty well. The pacing and writing are on point so you’re engaged with the story throughout. The ending was definitely a bold choice and I definitely respect the decision there. A sequel would certainly come in handy to see how things go from here. I would hope that this time there is no narration from the future though. This is a very intense film without a whole lot of happy moments so you do need to enjoy the overall war vibes. I thought it was handled better than most and didn’t get quite as extreme as competitor titles. That said, you would want to avoid this film if you don’t like this level of violence. Neither side is really in a position to take hostages due to the situation.

Overall 6/10

Shooter Review

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

Shooter is one of those tragic films because it could have been good but then it decides to absolutely nosedive by throwing in some extra grit and over the top dark themes for no reason. It could have been known as a fairly decent revenge film about destroying everybody but instead this one will quickly fade away into being forgotten. Just a lot of missed potential here.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Swagger who used to work with the army but after they left him and his partner for dead, Swagger decided to tap out. With his friend dead, Swagger was all by himself except for his pet dog. He stayed off the grid for years but now the government has caught up to him. Isaac wants Swagger to help out in preventing a presidential assassination but this quickly goes sour as expected and now Swagger is wanted for murder. He’s tired of being thrown around by the government, it’s time for Swagger to do something about this.

So you’ve got a classic revenge story against corruption here. It’s a pretty classic story and one where it is easy to root for the hero over the evil government. That said, the film feels the need to make the villains as evil as possible to jam the message through and it’s really not necessary. For example they murder Swagger’s dog. Really now? That was completely unnecessary. Then at one point it turns out that one of the villains is really just here for his own pleasure and has his way with the heroine while Swagger is gone. Another absolutely ridiculous scene that didn’t need to be here at all.

This is the kind of film where the writers just weren’t confident in their own plot/script and so they have to add all of these quick shock value moments. You’re not able to enjoy the film naturally and each scene is instead pushing you hard into the next one. No need to think about anything as the movie is as black and white as possible. One of the scenes near the end as Swagger explains his evidence is one I’ve seen before as it’s a pretty common out of context clip for Youtube shorts. It’s yet another moment that is meant to show you how logic just won’t work because everybody is as corrupt as possible.

The movie definitely has a very jaded view of the justice system. Fair enough, it’s definitely got numerous weaknesses and shortcomings. If the film wants to go the vigilante angle then that’s fine but again it would be nice if the film could just let us watch the action unfold without having to basically narrate it. The villains are all loud and obnoxious as they laugh about how they have dominated the system. They don’t seem to be concerned about any bugs or wiretaps because everybody important is already in on it. They’re just having a grand ole time.

I think for that reason Swagger made a huge mistake near the end and just happens to get lucky. He basically lets some of the key villains go so he could do this through the legal process but naturally that doesn’t play out very well. By this point you’ve already murdered all of the foot soldiers so why wouldn’t you finish off the general? It never makes sense to spare the captains at that point. Particularly since they have the riches and the resources to completely disappear if that’s what they want to do.

Swagger definitely lets his guard down at times but ultimately he looks good for most of the film. His sniper skills are definitely on point and he can really hit a target from almost anywhere. That’s definitely a scary opponent to have to contend with because you’re going to have to find a way to close the distance without getting shot. I’d ask why the army would leave such a capable soldier out to die like in the opening but again it comes down to basic corruption.

Nick ends up helping out from the FBI side. The guy is a little slow on the uptake about how nobody else really cares about the mission though. He gets lied to almost immediately by everyone else in the agency. They’re all either on the take or just generally incompetent. It’s easy to see why he decided to break away from them as soon as possible by the end. Of course you get the feeling that he might be doomed in either event because the villains won’t let him live forever. His only hope will be to hitch a ride with Swagger.

Then we have the heroine Sarah who definitely goes through a lot. The whole film is definitely a terrible experience for her. She does a good job of being helpful and going undercover. My only issue is really with the romance plot. You can’t just get together with your dead husband’s partner. That seems like a terrible idea even aside from the fact that it’s a rebound. The whole thing would just be too personal and it’s also way too sudden. They barely even know each other and so the film suffers from the really quick paced romance here. It doesn’t really have any kind of development and just happens.

As far as conspiracy films go, this one requires a few more stretches of disbelief than some of the others. A certain degree of that will basically always come with the genre but at the same time they just seemed so sloppy in this one. The fact that an FBI rookie noticed that things didn’t add up shows how little thought was put into it. Producing answers too quickly, etc. It may have fooled his boss but it was clear that she didn’t really care about the case in general. She had me convinced that she was on the take the whole time for that reason. How else would she make the worst excuses each time? At one point when Nick points out that a key player was just shot, she says it was probably just karma. That’s just crazy.

Still, conspiracies are fun. Even in real life I’m sure that some of the ones that occurred had a bunch of loose ends and people just looked the other way. That’s bound to happen from time to time but when you’re actually seeing it you can’t help but roll your eyes a bit. If the film had stuck to the action then I think it would have been a lot better. I also liked seeing some of the frame technology. For example to make it look like one guy shot himself they had a clever device that holds the arm up at just the right angle. I’m sure they’ve got something like that in real life.

Overall, The Shooter is a pretty bad film I gotta say. The plot had some potential in there but threw it all away in the second half. I won’t blame the main character for getting tricked since it was a calculated risk but he definitely makes some terrible judgment calls. Even romance aside, I still think the plan he had on top of the mountain was absolutely terrible. Letting villains go in the hopes that you can get them later is really a recipe for disaster. At least the film has a pretty fun ending. That part at least leaves you satisfied in the end.

Overall 3/10

Nobody 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

Eh the movie poster is cooler since there are many more fists but this cover’s not so bad either. The film sort of betrays its own concept almost immediately as this “Nobody” is naturally a big Somebody. I like the idea a bit more of having an average family man have to contend with a big revenge flick but this one’s still okay. It taps into that John Wick kind of energy with the legendary fighter having to come out of retirement. The film does have to survive an extremely rocky start though.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Hutch who has been living a very repetitive life for a while now. Every day is basically the same as he lives it over and over and over again. There is little variety to be found at all and it’s just not very fulfilling. Well one day his home is invaded by two thieves and he doesn’t fight back or do much of anything so now everybody is making fun of him and his family has lost confidence in him. Hutch doesn’t seem to be the provider they thought he was. Hutch only gets serious when he finds out that they stole his daughter’s bracelet. Now it’s time for him to unleash his skills!

Now the film quickly tries to defend why Hutch didn’t do much in the opening scene. He noticed that the gun wasn’t loaded and didn’t want to escalate the situation. The problem is that this was still the wrong move by a longshot. These two are still unknown criminals who are breaking and entering. Additionally they are using blunt objects in order to cause a lot of damage. Just letting them get away with the money is terrible and even more so when his son stood up to defend the house and Hutch didn’t help at all.

No amount of explanations or hindsight was going to be enough to save Hutch here. He needed to defend his family, at the end of the day that is absolutely critical and he failed when it counted. The instant someone breaks into your house all bets are off and lethal force is absolutely authorized. Any time you hold back there you are putting the whole family at risk. This whole scene is important too because later on we see how Hutch is actually an expert fighter who can take out dozens of enemies. Dispatching the two intruders without seriously injuring them would have been another easy outcome for him.

So when all of the characters are poking fun at Hutch the whole time it’s hard to feel too bad for him. Obviously it’s not cool to be too unrelenting about the situation but trying to get Hutch to understand how he made a mistake was important. His brother in law even gives Hutch a gun which is a pretty sensible thing to do given the circumstances. The second half of the movie basically does become an unrelenting John Wick film as Hutch goes after everybody.

He ends up tangling with the mafia and so he begins to dispatch those guys as well. Now Hutch isn’t Superman or anything like that so he’s not invincible. The film does show that he needs help from an old friend and his father to actually come out of this alive. It was good to have that in there for a touch of realism especially since Hutch has been out of the game for so long. Now unfortunately the film does spoil the adventure by having an opening scene work as a time jump which is still one of the worst tropes. Ah well, I suppose the film had to fumble a little bit there.

The movie can be rather violent with some of the kills. The fight scenes themselves tend to not be too over the top but the finishing moves can be like Mortal Kombat. Hutch really tries to make an example of why you shouldn’t stand against him and the main villain has the same idea at a gala event. Both sides are no strangers to violence and to an extent you can even say they encourage it like when Hutch basically dares the villains to keep on fighting him.

In some ways I would say this film is really going through the action thriller motions. It’s not a film that you’re likely going to remember very well by the end of it. It’s a good movie but the story is one that we’ve all seen before. Even down to the origin story which plays itself beat for beat as many ex professional type films. I enjoyed the banter with Hutch and his allies even if that too is familiar. Sometimes you just want a solid action film that puts the fighting before the story itself. I would say this film definitely does that.

The villain is mainly forgettable. He’s your average gangster who knows how to fight but finds himself in a leadership role now. He’s not particularly patient with his minions and the guy is incredibly unstable. If you work for him then you may end up dying just on a whim. When the going gets tough, he does fight but doesn’t last all that long. That’s basically his whole character in a nutshell. I was more interested in what the cops were going to say about all of this although naturally they don’t get a ton to do. I imagine in the sequel we’ll see more out of them and the 3 letter agencies as they decide to take Hutch down just to be on the safe side.

Overall, Nobody is a decent movie but I don’t think it has the highest replay value. It takes a bit long for Hutch to finally go into action. The violence can be a bit try hard at times too. The film is really advertised as a big action title though so there were definitely no lies presented here. What you see is what you get and I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid action fix. I get the feeling that the sequel would be better though as here is a lot for the film to capitalize on here.

Overall 5/10

Timecop 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

It’s time for a time travel title and those always tend to be pretty good. It’s a concept that brings a lot of interesting ideas with it and this one is no exception. My favorite time travel system is where interacting with the past creates a new timeline rather than immediately changing the future but they all have their merits. This one is a good action title that ends up being satisfying in the end.

The movie starts off with someone at the government revealing that time travel has been discovered. He now wants a federal agency to monitor it and senator Aaron agrees with this. So the bureau is created and Max joins after his wife was blown up in a home invasion. He is not allowed to go back in time and save her because of ethics and butterfly effects even though it happened rather recently. That said, many people are changing time and this is becoming a big deal so Max brings those people to justice. There seems to be a ringleader at the top of this though and Max needs to find out who it is immediately.

Naturally you probably know what I’m going to say here. Max should go ahead and save his wife immediately. There are several reasons for this. The first and most important reason is that the instant we have time travel, there is no longer any guarantee on what the correct timeline is. There’s no way to tell if someone has already gone to the past and changed things. Perhaps a butterfly effect happened a while back and that’s why his wife died. So I would say Max is absolutely obligated to save her life. That’s absolutely how this should work.

The second reason ties in which is that people don’t remember the previous timeline anyway. That’s also why it is so dangerous because everyone’s memories are automatically reset so they think this is how things always were. So when Max saved his wife then that’ll just be how it always was. No harm no foul. Some might push back against this but that’s always been my frame of mind for these things. When time travel is on the table then anything goes.

Max is a solid main character though. He’s good at his job and a solid fighter all around. He takes down quite a few enemies over the course of the movie. He can get a little sloppy though like the way he was taken out by the villains at the beginning of the movie. You’d just think that he would be more on guard due to his line of work. Even once he has the element of surprise near the end it’s a little closer than you’d figure it should be. I won’t fault him for the way the tables turn during the earlier climax since there are only so many contingency plans you can have when a traitor is involved.

The main villain Aaron is decent. He’s not anything to write home about but I like how direct the guy was about his goals. He wants to be the President of the United States and will do whatever it takes in order to achieve that goal. He’s a very determined guy and thanks to the time travel we get to see just how much more corrupt and bold he has gotten over the years. He makes his original self look super tame in comparison.

Sarah is someone who you feel gets off rather easy during the film. Yes she has her reasons and everything but ultimately she came up short when it counted. The timeline shifting isn’t enough to make her blameless here. I’d definitely have switched up her final scene a bit. I’d also argue that she should either have her memories back or be gone from the current timeline based on how the logic works.

Meanwhile the head of the department seemed really out of his league here. He is extremely slow on the uptake about the idea of the timeline changing. Why? Shouldn’t that be required reading in his position? Every time Max would try to explain something the guy would look at him like he was nuts. Yes it makes for good comedy but it didn’t really make sense in context. Even if he may not believe Max in the end, he should at least have considered the possibility right away.

Ah well, this is why Max has to carry the agency. They would be absolutely doomed without him and the villains would just go ahead and keep on changing the past. You can only squeeze so much into a single movie at least but the rest of the agents really do nothing. At best they just get shot while running around which buys Max another second or two. Max is the only one actually doing any real detective work.

Timecop is one of those classic 90s films that has a fun tone and good amount of action the whole time. We get some good banter and one liners as well. It’s a film that is having a lot of fun throughout the journey even while making time for a lot of serious moments and good fight scenes. It’s very well balanced and most importantly, it’s a really fun film. It’s the kind of title you can easily rewatch down the line because it all ends up aging well.

Overall, Timecop is a pretty good film. Being in charge of regulating time is an absolutely massive responsibility and it would definitely be a stressful job. You don’t envy Max for having to put up with it the whole time. While there are some sci-fi phenomenon like teleporting that I think will be true in the future, I don’t think we will ever get time travel. Seems unlikely to me but at least in the meantime we have all kinds of fun films like this one. There’s so much you can do with the concept that this should have gotten a bunch of sequels.

Overall 7/10

Ransom (1996) Review

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

All right it’s thriller time! Whenever someone is taken for ransom you have to decide if you will pay it or not. This is a pretty big dilemma and everyone will have different answers here. I tend to agree with this film’s position on not paying the ransom. If you pay once then they will just do it again or in the worst case they don’t intend on returning the person anyway. You’re taking some considerable risks here. No matter what you pick, the important thing is to never look back.

The film starts with Tom and Kate enjoying a nice day in the park. They are both pretty busy with events and lose sight of the kid. Sean is kidnapped by a bunch of villains and then they send a ransom call. They want millions of dollars from Tom or the kid will die. Tom is a super mega millionaire so he’s fine with paying the money at first but then gets the idea that paying the money will effectively be a death sentence for Sean. So he decides not to pay but now everybody has turned against him and thinks that this is the wrong decision. Has he just made a grave error or is he doing the right thing?

As with all kidnapping films, there is more than a little suspense for disbelief here. In a place as super crowded as what we saw in the opening, I find it hard to believe that there would be no witnesses. I do think the parents should have been more careful and I feel the same way in real life when I see kids running around by themselves but I don’t see it being this smooth. Either way that’s how the film gets the story going so lets not get bogged down too much there.

Naturally from the intro you can tell that I agree with Tom here. You can’t pay the ransom and I thought that the movie did a good job of explaining the logic. Tom stays strong no matter how many critics he gets so that was impressive. The film even gives him a fight scene in this version which was cool. I would argue that he mishandled the timing though and got pretty lucky. He should have tackled the villain once he had spotted the guy and in the end he should have finished him because the guy nearly got another shot off. All in all, he did a lot more right than wrong though and was a good lead.

Unfortunately his wife Kate looks pretty bad the whole time. She crashes out on multiple occasions here as she just wants to pay the money. Then when she gets a suspicious letter she ends up going outside by herself and beaten up. She really needed to think things through more. Yes of course she is also doing everything she can for her son and I appreciate that but you can’t succeed on your own. Once Tom made his decision, she needed to stand by him instead of just making the situation worse. Throughout the film she is one of his biggest challenges because she actively eats away at his confidence.

Meanwhile for the villains, they’re all irredeemable and you don’t feel any pity for them. When you get into the business of kidnapping then you deserve everything that comes to you. Jimmy may have been the mastermind but they were all in on it so when they were getting shot you don’t really care about them. As for Jimmy, he was definitely holding his own for quite a while there and ultimately just got greedy. He did make for a fun contrast as we would see him panicking when Tom would get on TV and start with the threats. We got to see just how shaken up he was the whole time.

The police don’t look great here though. Jumping in unprepared ends up leading them to shooting the only witness. It was incredibly sloppy as they couldn’t have handled that worse. Meanwhile the lead officer leaking secrets to try and shake up the marriage was a low blow. He wants the characters to pay the ransom but taking it into his own hands like that was a bit much. Likewise we also see him talking on the phone about how he’s glad that he isn’t rich which feels incredibly inappropriate. Even aside from the fact that someone might hear him, it’s the worst possible time to say that. He really needs to work on his mindset.

Well nobody’s perfect but it does underscore that Tom is really on his own here. If he even thinks to rely on the police then he will be in trouble and naturally that is exactly what you don’t want to hear. It’s already a stressful situation and being on your own makes it even tougher. That’s why it was impressive that Tom stuck to his guns and never looked back. If he had been shaken up and changed courses then things would not have gone well at all.

Overall, Random is a pretty good movie. It should have you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The writing is pretty good and I really enjoy the premise. It makes for a fun game of cat and mouse. It also allows Tom to actually tough talk to the villains for once rather than the usual setup where the villain just smack talks and gloats for 2 hours. This time the hero gets to take the offensive which is really refreshing. It makes the film a little more fun without sacrificing the atmosphere. At the end of the day the story itself is simple enough but the film is able to craft a really interesting movie out of it by executing well on every aspect. The film has no real weaknesses to speak of here which is impressive and not so easily done. You can trip up in a lot of ways for a thriller like this. So I would definitely recommend checking the movie out.

Overall 7/10

Scarface (1983) Review

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

It’s time for one of those iconic gangster films. In a lot of ways it tackles the classic rise to infamy type of story but takes its time with it. The film boasts a very impressive runtime of nearly 3 hours but as a result it can move rather slowly at times. I would also argue that Tony himself looks far less impressive in this version as he falls to the vices faster. Perhaps it is good in terms of not letting people accidentally look up to him but in the film’s context it does mean that he is considerably weaker than the original.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tony and Manny who slip into the USA. They’re going to be starting out as bottom barrel thugs but Tony has dreams of rising up to the very top. He continues taking more and more risky jobs as he moves up the ranks. His ambition knows no bounds, the guy wants to own everything. He also falls for the wife of his boss. If he’s told no about anything then Tony wants it, that’s the way he lives and how he plans to move until his death.

Obviously this does mean that this is one of those films where you are rooting for the cops to take him down. Tony is a villain through and through. He has some moral scruples compared to other gang members but the guy is still a mass murderer who does whatever he feels like. He gets addicted to drugs to the point where he can barely focus on anything. So he becomes someone whose personality flips on a dime. He’ll blow up out of nowhere and this makes him a very dangerous leader.

It’s a bad mix when you’re in a sudden death career like being a mobster while also being completely addicted to drugs. He’s basically taken in by all of the bad vices and is too far gone to ever go back. Meanwhile there is a subplot where he doesn’t want his siter to go down this path so he gets very demanding in terms of what she can or cannot do. He seems to want her to be alone for her whole life and to just stay indoors. It’s not a particularly reasonable position and so she makes things go pretty badly for him as well although I would have liked her to have finished him off. Instead she just completely cracks in this version which isn’t satisfying in the slightest.

Tony goes around betraying everyone all the time so he doesn’t have many loyal allies by the end. There’s his best friend but then Tony gets upset because of his sister being involved so that’s it for that. Again Tony is really burying himself at this point. Even his obsession with Elvira shows how bad Tony is at making the right decisions. Why would you ever want to get together with a girl who flat out does not like you? She only likes the money and status which isn’t a good idea for a relationship.

This even happens in real life as there are a few people who keep getting passed around in an endless cycle because I guess everyone wants to prove themselves but it seems like a terrible idea. With his influence Tony could have had a whole lot of options but no he wanted the lady who was already married. Elvira may not be a good person in the slightest but I still put most of the burden on Tony here for trying to break up the marriage from the start.

The film has some violent moments to be sure. It doesn’t mind having some blood spray during the gunfights and there is the axe moment. In this case you can count on people being shot in non combat situations as well like the scene where Tony shoots one of the passengers in his car. You probably shouldn’t double cross the leader of a mafia boss like that. Tony said he doesn’t murder kids and so he took steps to enforce this position. It was a good scene for Tony amidst a mountain of bad moments but we’ll take what we can get here.

I feel like the police had a smaller role here than in the original film despite the longer screentime. Yes we’ve got the corrupt cop but we don’t get the perspective of the main police force hunting this guy the whole time. That could have helped this film by giving us some tangible characters to root for. It’s why films based around the villains are always fighting an uphill battle. Unless the villain is super charismatic or has a goal that you can empathize with then you run the risk of the film just being too dreary. This one never really gets past that to make the case on why you should really be invested in the title. Just give me one really likable character and that could change things at least a little but the movie never really does that.

Overall, Scarface may be an iconic film but I wouldn’t say it’s all that good. It does show off the rough life of a gangster and it’s not like you have any real sympathy here because they are all bad apples anyway. This is a life that they completely chose for themselves after all. Now they have to contend with the dark side of their own career. The more that Tony loses, the happier you get as the audience. At the same time, this is just not a happy film. It’s a very serious one that just keeps on going and so when the film isn’t fun that takes a lot of the pop out of it. It’s hard to succeed under such circumstances. I’d recommend just watching the original one instead which handled the material a lot better.

Overall 4/10