The Mandalorian manga adventure has started! I’m only one chapter deep so I’m pretty early on but it’s a good start. The main character already seems like the hardcore type of lead that I like to follow. He’s very down to business. I’ll have a review up for the series as soon as it’s over. We’ll see how good it ends up being.
Overall 6/10
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
Looper has a very interesting premise of having to try and take yourself down. If you succeed then you already know that you’re doomed but if you fail then you will be axed a whole lot sooner. It’s a lose-lose situation no matter how you slice it and that’s the kind of decision that the main character has to wrestle with. It asks some interesting questions as the movie goes on.
The movie starts by introducing us to Joe who murders whoever his bosses tell him too. Basically the future finally got wise to all the strategies of hiding bodies so the only way to make someone disappear is to send them to the past and murder them that way. Joe is in this business as well and eventually he will be told to murder his future self which ends his loop but he will be paid handsomely for it. In a way it’s like a form of retirement so people in the business know that their time is limited but they will live like kings in the meantime. Considering that this world seems pretty rundown, a lot of people are fine with the risks.
Of course this means that you are murdering people that you don’t even know about so don’t mistake these guys for heroes. They are still very much the villains of the story every which way you look at it. Well, one day Joe is about to murder his next target except it’s an older version of himself (Who looks so different I doubt anyone would guess that it’s the same person) who isn’t tied up (The victims are always tied up in previous scenarios) and has a gun. Naturally old Joe gets away and regroups.
The situation is made very plain to Joe, he has to make old Joe go away or he will be terminated. Old Joe also states his objectives to Joe, he needs to murder a few kids in this timeline because one of them will grow up to become the Rainaker. A villainous leader so cruel and powerful that nobody can stop him and this leads to the death of Old Joe’s future. So if there is no Rainmaker then he is hoping that his future will turn out well. He asks Joe not to get in his way.
So that’s the basic scenario here and you can already see how things get messy here. If Joe destroys his old version then his loop is closed and he’ll be dooming himself down the line. Of course if Old Joe destroys Joe then he will cease to exist immediately so he has to try and win without harming him. It makes this more of a cat and mouse game as opposed to a straight gunfight. They have to be very careful of their moves and Old Joe also has to account for the fact that the villain groups are after him in the past now too so they have to be knocked off.
Old Joe is clearly a villain here. He’s trying to murder children who haven’t done anything yet and acknowledges that he will be getting some innocents too. So lets not get that twisted. Old Joe is an interesting villain because of this viewpoint. He’s ultimately trying to save his present/Joe’s future but is taking the most extreme route to doing so. From his perspective he feels like it’s the only way out and as his current form is already a villain by being in that line of work, it’s easy to see how this escalated.
He even takes out a lot of the villains in the present timeline as well. I would say that Old Joe easily steals the show in every scene that he is in. The guy is the highlight in this adventure. Then you have classic Joe who is not nearly as likable. The first scene with him selling out the friend was particularly brutal. Yes, the friend was pretty bad there with his decision making and made the whole thing Joe’s problem out of nowhere but betraying him is not the right call. Especially for money which is what it came down too.
Over the course of the movie Joe learns how to be someone who can make the right calls but it’s a long journey. Even by the end he makes things a little hard on himself by not keeping his guard up which leads to a really rough call. I’ll give the film kudos for constructing a scenario where Joe pulling the trigger actually turned out to be the right call. In nearly any other situation I would be writing that Joe did the wrong thing here but for once that was not the case. I can’t go into specifics without your seeing the movie as it would be a spoiler but it’s good that he took the show.
One issue that I have with the movie is I don’t think it took full advantage of this world and the mechanics behind it. Time travel sounds awesome and I’d like to hear more about the world but it’s never really a focus. In fact, we rarely see the future as most of the film takes place in the past. There is also a long portion of the film that starts to become more of a drama than an action.
Joe meeting up with Sara and her kid Cid could be a little on the dull side at times. Sara means well though and does a good job of protecting her house. Considering how dangerous this place is, you have to give her a lot of credit there. The inevitable romance was really extremely weak though. It’s super sudden, makes no sense and just doesn’t work. I would say the film could have dodged that entirely.
As for Cid and the whole rainmaker plot, it feels random at first but eventually becomes really important. I would usually say you could have just cut Cid out but that would change the film as a whole. His super powers/corruption just felt really out of place even next to the other powers. He would appear to almost be demonic at times. I guess that’s just his super powers in the end but he does seem like he’s going to go off a dark path right away even without any tragic moments.
Kid Blue is one of the main villains here. He’s not a leader or anything but he’s always wanting to try and stop Joe so he gets a big role as a result. He’s not super skilled or anything though so things don’t usually end up going his way. His boss even stabs and humiliates him and there isn’t much Blue can do about it. So I didn’t find him particularly threatening or interesting at all. At least Abe had the whole leader thing going for him but Old Joe overshadowed him by a lot. Old Joe is what gives the film all of its depth. Fighting for his family for so long that he eventually became one of the villains himself continuing the cycle of violence.
The film can get a little violent at times but never too crazy. It holds back a lot and uses the time elements to its advantage. Like at one point one guy starts disappearing and you quickly realize why that is with how the past affects the future. Showing it would have been way too crazy so in this way you get it across without being too gritty. The movie did good on that.
Overall, Looper is an interesting sci-fi film. I do think it loses a lot of momentum in the middle and also wastes some of the potential of the concept though. It’s all very interesting which is why Sci-Fi’s can be fun but you need to spend more time on the actual time travel. I would still recommend giving this one a look but you’ll find that Joe is a very annoying character. He’s not heroic, not trustworthy, and his priorities are all wrong. The romance is weak here and you don’t buy into it since he’s one of those guys who is more about having quick affairs like early on in the movie.
Overall 6/10
Now this is the kind of game I’m talking about when thinking about hidden gems on the PS2. This one is similar to Oni and Eve of Extinction in that I hadn’t heard of the game before randomly seeing it at a video game store. Then after playing it, the game turned out to be great. This title has a superb cinematic story with several different focuses and then a final chapter that brings all of the characters together. It’s something you don’t see too often and it works quite well here. I don’t have very many complaints at all.
In general the plot here involves the Demon King Odin who is trying to use the Cauldron for his own evil ambitions. He’s not the only one though, every faction on the planet wants this from the Underworld, to the Fairies, and even the fire demons. There are 5 main stories so you really see the POVs from just about every side. The fire team is the only one who doesn’t have a champion to represent them. Each character is ultimately fighting for different things, honor, love, revenge, etc. At the end of the day they will have to decide whether their mission is more important than saving the world as a whole. It won’t be an easy decision.
The gameplay is a 2D beat em up. An interesting angle here is that all of the levels are in the shape of a full circle. So for example if you run to the right then eventually you’ll be back where you started. Each area has a bunch of enemies to defeat or one mini boss. After beating them you can go to the next area. You have shop areas where you can buy food and other items, and then a big boss at the end. Defeating the big boss will end the chapter and move you to the next stage. If a boss is too difficult you can click to go home where you start the chapter again but you keep your EXP and items.
You’ll find yourself needing to do this quite a few times. This is one game with a heavy amount of grinding so definitely be prepared for that. This is a very hard game and the level ups are absolutely needed in order to move forward. There are two kinds of levels that you have to increase too. First is your health level and then you have your psypher level. The latter increases your attack while the health one is fairly obvious. You increase health by eating food and the psypher by absorbing energy from villains. That energy is what grows the food though so you always have to decide which area to level up.
For the final bosses you want to have each character close to level 40 in psypher and 30+ in health. You will have to use every character in the end by the way so make sure you level them up and have a lot of food before beating their story. This leads to the only annoying part which is that if you did end up beating the game with a character (And why wouldn’t you right? That’s the whole point of playing in theory) then you are penalized by being sent all the way back to the first chapter. So if you aren’t strong enough at the end then you have to beat the game again with each character. I had to go to the end with all 5 again in order to train which took a lot of time.
In the end this bumped the play time almost all the way up to 40 hours which is really long. Most of that time is earned but it did feel a bit iffy to have to replay so much of the game. They should have had a stage select or something. So if you know this ahead of time maybe you’ll at least be able to plan or something. Also, be warned that the game has multiple endings. If you beat the final chapter in the wrong order then it won’t work out and you’ll need to try all over again. It’s not as long a replay as the others but with how difficult the bosses are, it could be a bit annoying.
So in the end what this game is missing are some quick quality of life updates. With those then this game would be even better without a doubt. The graphics are really nice and fit the game’s style. Each design is memorable and the world designs are cool. I also thought the soundtrack was pretty good. You will hear a lot of the tunes repeat themselves as it isn’t a huge amount but they’re solid which is what counts. There is full voice acting here as well and a lot of cutscenes which is a winning combination here.
It’s got a true RPG plot and a lot of the characters are great. Gwendolyn and Oswald tend to steal the show here. You’ll definitely be drawn in to the story right away so no matter how hard the grinding is, you’ll want to see it through to the end. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a really fun game with a great story. The game is just very impressive and you’ll be glad that you played it.
Overall, Odin Sphere is a great game that you should check out. Just be warned that it is no walk in the park. This is a game that will test your focus and combat gameplay skills throughout the whole adventure. You won’t be able to just coast by here as you’ll die very quickly. Using your abilities at the right time and carefully approaching your opponents is absolutely crucial. Once you’ve got that down then you will really be ready. Use the first character story to get the hang of things are there are a lot more to the mechanics than what I’ve mentioned above.
Overall 8/10
Yugioh is finally giving a manga with true action as opposed to the card fights. It’s going to be difficult to beat the card game ones but it’s off to a fun start. I’m always up for an alien invasion story and there’s a lot going on here so I like to think it could last for a while. I’ll have a review for the series as soon as it’s finished.
Overall 7/10
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
Wanted is definitely a comic book movie that’s fairly obscure. I wouldn’t say it’s hidden but I’m guessing not a whole lot of people would know that it’s a super hero movie right away. Even I didn’t know that at first and that’s saying something. It’s got some pretty good ideas and solid fights but definitely has its share of things holding it back as well.
The movie starts off by introducing us to Wesley who has not had a fun time of it. He’s not very confident at all to the point where he has constant stress attacks just by existing. He’s broke and his girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend. This last one’s on him since he could at least just not be friends with them but it all keeps adding up and his boss is always chewing him out for slacking off. (Which he is slacking off but mainly because of all the stress attacks) Well, one day he is nearly murdered at the supermarket but gets saved by a girl named Fox. He’s taken to a shady building where a bunch of people with big knifes and weapons explain that he has super powers. He can use his enhanced reaction times to perform superhuman feats and also curve bullets with his mind. They want him to join their group of assassins to murder people based on names they get from the future. Then down the road he can take out his father’s murderer. Wesley would rather do anything than keep living out life in the way that he has been so he jumps at the opportunity.
Now right from the jump this sounds a bit sketchy right? You’re just murdering names from a sheet of paper? The context for this is that they have a printing press which directly leads to god in the future which lets them know of anyone who is going to commit some kind of crime and has to be murdered right away. The whole thing is on a trust basis of course and everyone has confirmation bias that helps them justify all the murders. Make no mistake though, by their own admission they are potentially murdering people who haven’t committed any crimes yet. In fact it’s very likely.
There are whole debates to be had on this for sure. It may be worth an editorial at some point but in general the consensus is that this is not a good thing because you’re still murdering someone who’s innocent. It’s also impossible to prove that destiny is fixed or that the future cannot be changed. You also have to be confident that the source writing the names is 100% accurate too because a single slip up would cause you to be murdering someone who shouldn’t be murdered.
Wesley does contemplate this for a minute but he quickly gets past that. He’s not the most heroic guy out there that’s for sure. The first half of the movie can go quite far with how the group beats him up to whip Wesley into shape. The only reason it works is related to another twist later on but if I was Wesley I would have gotten out of there asap or taken them out. What they put him through goes way beyond simple training and it’s just abusive the whole time. They’re lucky that he didn’t just snap at some point because he quickly surpassed most of them.
The final 20 minutes or so suddenly feels like they’re adapting the whole plot of a sequel really quick. I was surprised that they squeezed this all into one movie. It did help to make the ending really intense though so I can appreciate that. It ends the movie off on a rather solid note. So even if I had some issues, I didn’t have any with that part of the ending. It just goes to show that you should be careful when dealing with super powered opponents.
Now for the not as solid parts. First up is Wesley because I never ended up liking him. He’s just way too whiny at the start. I know that he’s had a tough road but he only just makes things worse and worse for himself. He whines a lot in his head as well and the whole speech is always very dramatic. It can be a bit funny at times from an outside perspective here but the character himself just needs to try and change things for the better on his own. Then once he gets strong the power immediately goes to his head and he becomes stuck up in all the wrong ways. It’s not until the very end where he is finally a balanced character. So he would be good for the sequel but he’s not quite there yet.
Then you’ve got Fox as the tough mentor type character but taken to the absolute extreme. She is not the person that you want mentoring you. After all you might not even survive such an ordeal. The only traces of romance in the film here also just feel like she’s manipulating Wesley so I wouldn’t consider that to be all that genuine either. She’s a tough fighter to have on your side but certainly not someone that I would trust at all.
Sloan is the big leader of the group so you can imagine that a place this shady would have a shady guy at the top. He’s interesting as it’s hard to really say what he’s thinking until he explains it later on. I would say that he’s an interesting character. Not a standout villain or anything but one that does make you think. I thought that he was more impressive than most of the other characters at least and I liked his grand master plan.
Cross was also cool in the brief time that we saw him. The opening scene was very impressive and he consistently does well throughout the film. I do think he could have played things way differently though and would have been able to do better. After we see what his true objective was, I don’t think it would have been super difficult to establish contact. At least from what we saw I don’t think it would have been too unreasonable to get that started. He just waited too long and got a raw deal but he may have been the best character here.
The film can definitely be a bit violent with all the head shots. Neither the villains or heroes are playing around here that’s for sure. As mentioned, the main character is also annoying the whole time and he really puts up with a lot in the training. I absolutely would have fought back more if I was him. It all makes sense in retrospect of course but it also shows why Wesley should have just done more to protect himself. If the film toned down how excessive it could be at times then it would be all the better for it. It’s not super crazy but enough to be noticeable. Making Wesley a bit more independent and able to do things on his own would have been nice too.
Overall, Wanted had a lot of good fight scenes and an interesting premise. I’d certainly be interested to see how they would build off of this for the sequel. With the introductions out of the way and the main character a little more accustomed to his abilities I think it would probably beat the first one. Assassin films can always be very interesting when done right. They’d need to build up some solid threats for him to face but that shouldn’t be hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more powerful organizations out there. With most of the character cast gone too we’ll have an opportunity for a much better character cast and lets cut out the exploding mice too. Don’t need any of those kind of weapons that make the main character look even worse and more villain-like.
Overall 5/10
This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the movie. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
Witness is one of those thriller films with the lead on the run as he has to quickly think of what to do next. I would say the main difference here compared to most is that there is actually a large portion of the film where there isn’t any real action. Instead you have John getting used to the Amish life before the big climax. I would still say it works well though and it’s a solid all around movie.
The story starts with Rachel and her son Samuel heading off to the big city. I forget exactly why they were here but they’ll be heading back to the Amish community pretty soon. Their plans are derailed though when her son Samuel witnesses a murder in the bathroom. A cop was murdered by two attackers, one who is another officer. So this was an inside job but why? That’s for John Book to find out but in the meantime Rachel and Samuel have to stick around as material witnesses. This changes when the corruption appears to go higher than John thought possible so they have to take off. Hiding in an Amish community is a good bet but how long will this last?
For once the villains actually have a tough time locating the heroes because of how nobody here uses phones or anything like that. Nobody is really playing ball with helping the villains get in either so they have to take the long approach to this. It’s an interesting dynamic and something that’s not seen very often at all. So I liked the change of pace here and John is a good sport about trying to fit in. He may not be too familiar with their ways but this doesn’t stop him from helping out like with carpentry.
John isn’t willing to go all the way like suddenly being a pacifist when someone is picking a fight. He still insists on doing things his way and can’t say that I blame him there. I understand it’s the Amish way not to fight back when you’re being attacked at least based on this film but to me it definitely can hit a point where it goes too far and so of course you have to defend yourself here. If John didn’t do anything then things were only going to keep on escalating. So I could definitely back him up there.
In general he’s just a very reasonable character and does well the whole time. Even at the end of the film he makes the right call I would say. Choosing to stay would have been messy and he has a lot of responsibilities of his own. In the end you can count on him to make a rational decision no matter what. As for the heroine Rachel, she is at a bit of a crossroads in her life as she starts to see how the system can be a bit restrictive but at the same time it’s all that she’s ever known. I feel like she would have ended up choosing John over everything if he had asked but ultimately neither one wanted to make the first move.
Rachel is initially very antagonistic towards him but gradually softens up as the film goes on. Her son Samuel did well to not get murdered during the opening scene. He was able to think fast which came in handy and then he also had a critical moment near the end of the film. As far as kids go he was okay. Then I liked John’s partner Carter. Ultimately that guy was a real loyal companion. Usually things don’t go well for that character in these things so you can always appreciate their bravery for doing the right thing and standing up to the villains.
Schaeffer is the main villain here and he’s certainly a difficult obstacle to get past for John. I thought he was handled well here as a solid mastermind type character. You know that he’s quite twisted right from the jump even as he’s always joking around. To him murder just isn’t that big of a deal and he’s the kind of villain you really want to avoid. Ultimately they’re lucky that he wasn’t any crazier because the ending could have easily turned out badly for all parties involved. It was still a good plan of course but yeah it came close to backfiring in the end.
Really the weakest part of the film is the romance. It just doesn’t have much of a purpose being here. It’s expected as soon as we find out that Rachel is a single mom and all but it still doesn’t feel natural. It would have been a lot better to have kept them as friends. Additionally you have her childhood friend who seems to expect that he will marry her someday but she’s not really in love with him. He seems like the fallback plan since she feels like she has to marry someone at some point. With how the film goes it seems like this is still on the table but it has to be in the least satisfying way possible for both of them. How could either one of them be happy with the setup being this way? All this is going to do is frustrate both of them.
The action scenes are solid and John has to try and hang in there without his gun for a little while. That helps to make the climax a little more tense the whole time since it would have been a lot easier if he had his gun. The battle in the parking area was also solid. The movie has a very fast beginning and ending. The middle will drag if you’re expecting a lot of action but the non-action scenes were still solid. Rachel’s father Eli could be annoying as he was super rigid in his customs though. You definitely want someone who’s a little more flexible so you can have a real dialogue there. He didn’t do much to try and close the gap between them.
Overall, Witness is a pretty good movie. I thought the writing and plot were sound. Corruption can always be a good vehicle for a lot of scenarios and having John use the Amish location as a way to hide was genius. I did always think it was an interesting lifestyle. It’s not for me since I need my electronics and everything but I’m sure it’s a good way to really build a lot of community and for everyone to get used to leaning on each other when the going gets tough. In the big city life you’re less likely to get close to a lot of people like that.
Overall 7/10
It’s time to finally take a look at the big Sonic sequel! There was a lot of hype going into this one because Knuckles was finally going to show up! In some ways the hype for the 3rd film had already started before the second even came out because that was going to be the big one with the key player finally showing up but this one is the true build up. Sonic had to first learn responsibility and what true power is before the third one so he would be ready. Fortunately I would say this one even ended up beating the original in pretty much all areas. Only the human plot isn’t as good so in the third maybe they can balance that out.
The movie starts out very quickly as Knuckles shows up and helps Eggman return to Earth. Eggman aims to use this guy to take out Sonic once and for all and becomes interested in the Master Emerald which can grant unlimited power! Sonic has been trying to fight crime lately but it’s awfully difficult. It’s hard to minimize casualties and all that so the humans keep telling him not to help out at all which seems a bit selfish if you ask me. Sonic is still saving lives after all. When a fox named Tails shows up, Sonic realizes that his time to be a true hero has finally arrived. Is he up to the task?
Since the human plot has almost nothing to do with anything we may as well knock that one out first. As I said this is the weak point of the film. So Tom has to head over to Rachel’s wedding but she really dislikes him and aims to make this a rough time for the guy. Unfortunately Tom does end up having to mess with the wedding a bit but duty calls. I was glad that he made the right call in the end even if it did make things tricky for him socially.
Tom is ultimately a good character who is stuck in a rather weak plot the whole time. He is ready to fight and isn’t afraid of Eggman. The biggest shame here is that he doesn’t get to banter with Eggman much in this film since they don’t meet up until the end. It’s too bad because that dynamic was actually really solid in the original. I would have just included Tom with Sonic’s plot and I think that would have amped things up a lot. The guy has a lot of good lines.
Rachel is just annoying though. She needs to stop trying to dunk on Tom and just have a good time. It’s her wedding after all so why get so stressed right? She gets a comedy plot where she teams up with Maddie to clown on the government and get some revenge. The music may be reasonably solid here but the scene’s a bit dragged out and does start to cross the line of being a little too over the top.
The one thing I will give for the human plot is I loved the introduction of GUN. This is a group that should have a massive role in the next film. Yes, I can already tell their role won’t be as good since that group was highly competent in the games while this one looks to be comic relief. It’s a shame but that’s how it goes. Still, I was glad to see them and their plan here was actually good. I mean by all accounts it really worked so not bad right?
Meanwhile in town you had Wade trying to prove himself as the sheriff in stopping Stone but that ultimately didn’t really go anywhere or have much relevance to the plot. You could cut Wade out entirely and nothing would really change so it was pretty much filler. Stone still looks up to Eggman a whole lot and just wants to feel appreciated. That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon though. Stone’s dedicated, I’ll give him that.
Now we start to get into the main plot. Sonic and Tails fighting it out with Knuckles and Eggman to try and get the Master Emerald first. This had a lot of fun tributes to the games like the avalanche levels and the Sonic vs Knuckles fights definitely deliver. I did have some power level issues with this though like how Sonic should have smoked Knuckles. Why did he keep running straight at the guy? In a battle of speed vs power you always have to use your speed in order to gain the upper hand and land some devastating blows.
Trying to beat the power guy with power isn’t going to work. I thought Sonic could and should have fought a lot better here. Ultimately even while he lands some good blows, it always feels like he’s on the losing end here. Also, the speed difference between him and the others isn’t emphasized enough. When Sonic’s sandbagging sure he can look as fast as Knuckles or Tails. He likes to be running with them together but otherwise he should be zipping around like crazy. The film does understand his speed in some cases like when he’s dodging lasers or missiles but then in the fights he is suddenly a lot more normal.
I get that they had to try and make Knuckles seem like a threat but they went a bit far beyond the believability territory. By that point you’re really just shaking your head. Still great for the visuals and all plus Knuckles fans should be happy but it’s very noticeable. It’s always the issue you face as a writer when your lead character is so fast but you just have to adapt and keep it moving.
This plot had its share of serious and somber moments along with the light hearted adventuring. It’s well balanced and a lot of fun. This is definitely the highlight of the movie and it’s no surprise since you probably are watching this for Sonic after all. He delivers in each of his scenes without a doubt. Sonic also does get some decent development from the first film. He’s at least trying to be a hero even if he hasn’t mastered it yet. I wouldn’t expect any drastic changes to his character any time soon so he’s probably still going to appear as a younger version to the Sonic we’re used to from the games but he’s done well.
Tails is also really solid here and feels a lot like his classic self. He looks up to Sonic a lot and is lacking in confidence but is slowly building it. If they adapt the tearjerker scene from Adventure 2 next time then that’ll be the perfect place to give Tails the rest of his character arc. It’s always good to have a genius on your side so having him around is a great help to Sonic.
As for Knuckles, fans of his should definitely have fun with his character. He’s super strong and is devoted to finding the Master Emerald at all times. He feels a little less smart than his game counterpart as it almost seems like they were going to start taking inspiration more from Sonic Boom Knuckles who takes things literally and doesn’t know a ton but the writing is good enough here to where he is not super exaggerated like that. So in the end he still made for a great antagonist. I’d like to see him stick around and be a main character for the next adventure.
Then we have Eggman and I was not expecting him to gain super powers the way that he did. It was an interesting take on his character though. I hope he would return for future films but if not, this was a good exit. He has a lot of clever little puns that he would throw in throughout the movie that were a blast. At times he can be a little more crazy than genius and the film could maybe dial it back a bit at times but all in all I still had a lot of fun with him. Eggman is an iconic part of the film and you definitely couldn’t do this adventure without him.
Naturally there is an after credits scene. You’ve likely heard or seen it since that was everywhere even before the film was fully out, but if not then you’re going to really be in for a treat. Hype levels for Sonic 3 are now out of this universe so get ready. If it adapts even 10% of what the next adventure should be then we’re really going to be in for a treat. It’s not too early to say that the film has a shot at being movie of the year at this point. I would be surprised and dismayed if it’s anything lower than that.
Just based on how different the characters are it’s bound to not be a 1 to 1 adaption but as long as you get the bullet points then you’re good. I’d also like them to include some more of the video game tunes. The soundtrack was still good and all but hearing some of those classic tunes would make it even better. At least if you ask me that would be the best move here. There would be no turning back from that. The effects and everything are good here as well.
Overall, Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is a great film. It really capitalized on the development and hype moments from the first film while taking this one to the next level. The human scenes are a weakness but they’re not so bad that they drag the film down too much. Without them would this be a 9 star film? Probably not so in the end the damage was minimal and you’ll be okay. Like I said, at least we got GUN out of it so that’s a start.
Overall 8/10
This is a game that I just decided to buy on impulse after watching the movie. It was only 99 cents so why not take the plunge right? You really couldn’t get much of a better deal than that and in the end it worked out. The game’s actually more fun than you would expect and holds its own as a proper platformer. It tries a whole lot of different gameplay techniques throughout its run and each of them felt rather polished. Ultimately I would say that this is a title that I could recommend to anyone for the right price. That’s because the downside is that the game is fairly short.
I’d say the actual story mode for the game is under 4 hours. It only took me 2 batches to knock it out. So you won’t be here for the main campaign all that long. After that you could have fun in challenge mode and the 2 player campaign options which will help you gather trophies. The Platinum could end up being a little on the long side but it’s not a particularly difficult one to achieve by any means. You’ll get it if you put your mind to it. If you intend to go for the Platinum then that helps with the replay value a whole lot.
As for the story itself, it’s fairly basic. You play as a character named Tintin who goes around trying to sniff out stories and doing his best to make sure that he’s always on top. One day he buys a toy ship and suddenly everyone is after him and he even gets kidnapped. He must now team up with a drunk captain to find out what this whole conspiracy is all about so he can get it into the papers. This may be his most dangerous adventure yet.
The game loves to change up the gameplay every level or two so get ready to experience a lot of different things. You have the 3D platforming sections where you have to jump over things as you typically run away from a large obstacle. There are the dog sections where you bark at enemies to keep them away and bolt to the ending. There are the plane levels where you shoot other fighters down, car levels where you have to drive to the end, sword fighting levels where you have to block and parry in order to win, and finally the 2D levels where you fight off enemies in hand to hand combat while maneuvering through more obstacles.
It’s impressive that the game came up with so many styles. You just never know what to expect and that’s in a very good way. Of course because the game is short as it is, that means you won’t be able to work on these gameplay styles for too long which is why they keep switching. It’s all very polished though and I particularly liked the hand to hand combat. It has those 1960s Batman kind of sound effects as you punch everyone out. There are even some unique gameplay mechanics like trying to get opponents to slip on bananas and such in order to get them to lower their defenses.
This is a very easy game though so don’t expect much of a challenge. Whenever you die you end up respawning at almost the same spot since the respawn points are virtually everywhere. You have unlimited lives as well so you won’t run out and your health points quickly regenerate during fights if you don’t get hit too quickly. This game is absolutely more about the adventure itself than challenging you. So keep that in mind while you’re playing but it evens out quite nicely I would say.
The graphics are rather bad here. It’s trying to go for a very realistic look which absolutely backfires. It’s why you never want to look like a live action product. The whole point of animation is that it’s a million times better than live action so embrace it and make the colors stand out. I think it would have been good if the game tried to look like the old comics. That would have been nostalgic but also very effective in getting the look across. I would have given that a thumbs up, that’s for sure.
The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. I can’t really recall any specific tunes. It’s more on the generic side so it could have used a rock track or two. Nothing too bad but at the end of the day if your music isn’t memorable then that’s not a good sign. You need something that audiences will be talking about for years to come and this wasn’t it. At least they put more effort into the gameplay than all of that. There are a lot of cinematics which is always nice since I feel like they make the game feel a lot fancier. You should always try to have a lot of cutscenes and a full story mode in any game. Trust me when I say that it enhances the entire product.
Overall, The Adventures of Tintin rises above what you would expect for the average movie type game. It’s ultimately a solid platformer that can hold out on its own and deliver some solid content. I’d say to give it a chance and check it out. You won’t be playing for very long as it ends quickly but at least you will have had a really fun adventure so that’s worth it right? Quality over quantity and all that. If they ever make another Tintin game I’ll definitely be ready to check it out. I’ll be expecting big things there.
Overall 7/10
Mortal Kombat is still one of the best video game adaptions to the big screen of all time. It is a spectacular movie all around with crazy amounts of replay value. It’s cool that they made a manga based on it. Granted, it’s a complete one shot so it’s only about 7-8 pages long but it still manages to get through most of the adventure. Just picture everything being sped up quite a lot in order to cover the distance. No time to slow things down that’s for sure.
So the manga starts with Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, and Sonya Blade being recruited to the tournament. They come for several reasons including fame, revenge, and honor. Standing in their way are the most dangerous fighters to ever exist. Creatures and beings with powers far beyond those of mortal men. It’s enough to get you rather excited isn’t it? From there we jump into the battles and then the manga ends by telling you to watch the movie if you want to see how the final fight plays out. I was low key expecting the manga not to adapt the whole movie in 8 pages but at the same time it got so close that they may as well have shown the ending of the fight right?
It does its job as being a good promotional tool for the movie though. I think you’d be hyped to see how it plays out on the big screen and I wholly recommend it. For the manga itself it is definitely a good idea to check it out since it won’t take you longer than 5 minutes anyway. That said there is only so much that you could do in such a small space of time. You probably won’t be remembering it for very long afterwards either.
The artwork is good though. It’s not your typical movie-tie in kind of deal. The character designs are on point and there’s a good amount of action to be had here. It reads pretty cleanly and the plot is solid. I definitely had no issues with it aside from the fact that it should have been a lot longer. That part dashes a quick star out from under it only because you do need to at least be a little longer to tell a full story. This is like having an appetizer but only 1/10 of it.
Hopefully Mortal Kombat gets more titles at some point. It’s one of those franchises that can be difficult to adapt because a lot like to go overboard on the violence angle when the original movie showed the exact tone and level of intensity that you should strive for. To this day that has never been topped and I don’t think it will in the future either. It was pretty much perfection in the series after all.
Overall, Mortal Kombat is a nice nostalgia trip down memory lane. I should probably go to Youtube and rewatch some of the fights one of these days. It’s a really iconic title and the manga will hopefully get more people to watch it. If you’re on the fence about checking the movie out then I hope this manga will do a good job of convincing you. The 3 main characters all have a lot of personality and the manga gets to show that off in their brief screen time. They’ve all got different approaches to the tournament but at the end of the day they all know how to fight.
Overall 6/10
It’s time for a trip down the Wild West, but unfortunately this one’s not a winner. The characters rarely make the right choices and so this becomes a lot harder for everyone involved than it needs to be. There’s also a random moment with a sick horse that has to be put down and it really has nothing to do with anything here. It’s a shame because you always want to think through every scene before putting it in a feature film or any kind of media tbh.
The movie starts with Kemp trying to track down Vandergroat to bring him to justice. Unfortunately the guy is holed up at the top of a mountain and it’s difficult to approach since he keeps throwing rocks down which can easily destroy anyone who gets close. Fortunately Kemp gets help from a local guy named Jesse and an ex-law enforcer named Roy. They’re able to take this villain down and his companion Lina. Now all Kemp has to do is quietly take Vandergroat back to the town to get his money but the villain lets the others know about the bounty as well. Roy and Jesse now insist on traveling the whole way too. Can the three of them mind their own business long enough make it to town or will Vandergroat be able to exploit their lack of intelligence?
This is one of those films that only works if each character is absolutely awful at long term decision making. Fortunately for Vandergroat that is the case. We already know that Kemp is really greedy with how he wasn’t about to tell the others about the reward money. He’s only looking out for himself but you like to think that after that he would have been able to keep his head in the game and stay focused. Instead, he is constantly goaded by the villain and has disagreements with his two companions. I want to say the burden or blame starts with Kemp since it’s his initial deception that caused everyone to stop trusting him. Additionally he should be keeping Vandergroat more securely bound. That guy is as tricky as they come after all.
Then we have Roy who is my favorite member of the 3 but he’s not above suspicion and mistakes either. For starters he tends to promote ideas that would split up the group which implies that he is trying to make a move for the money. Even if he isn’t, he should realize how this all sounds. There’s also a scene near the end where he is a little too desperate in going after a body. I get that he’s worked hard for this but risking your life too much is not a good idea. You can’t use the money when you’re dead after all.
I did think he made the right move in startling the Indians when the heroes were around though which forced them to all fight together. Otherwise the other characters were absolutely prepared to have him be sacrificed by fighting on his own. This trio really had absolutely 0 unity and it certainly shows. At least he had a lot of confidence and a quick wit. His flirting could be well over the top at times though which holds him back.
Finally you have Jesse and he has to be the worst character of the trio because he falls for the easiest bait. All Vandergroat has to do is start talking to the guy and you can immediately see him slipping. That’s just awful, you shouldn’t be falling for things like that. No shot and the whole thing is very embarrassing to the point where it’s hard to feel bad for him. He absolutely had to know what he was getting into and yet he just didn’t make a move to stop it. His greed got the best of him.
Then there’s Vandergroat who would easily be doing better if he would at least pretend to care about Lina. Instead he always acts like she’s just an accessory who will stay by him no matter what. With some more support they could have fooled the heroes due to how disorganized they were. Instead Vandergroat is just one of those guys who goes crazy with power and is determined to make things as tough on himself as possible.
I wouldn’t spare Lina from some guilt here as well. She lets the guy treat her any which way and still follows him when given the chance. I think she could have been more helpful to the heroes and just chosen them instead. Granted, none of the heroes are all that good but surely it’s better to be on their side rather than this guy right? It’s not like a future with him sounds good at all. Most likely she would be regretting this the whole time.
So what really holds the film back is that the characters just aren’t very likable. There’s a whole lot of internal fighting and it’s the only way the villain would have a chance here. Otherwise the film really could have been over in minutes. That’s how bad Vandergroat’s position was. Also there’s the fact that the bounty was for dead or alive so if the heroes had been more cruel, they would have shot him off the jump. The deck was stacked in their favor this time and they still come close to blowing it.
The horse dying scene is also just crazy. It should have absolutely been skipped. Why add a scene like that? Finally the ending is not satisfying. Way I see it, Kemp made the wrong call here. I get what the film is trying to say but it’s still not worth it. What’s done is done so why throw out something which can at least give you some value out of the experience? I don’t think it in anyway hurts your character or integrity by this point in the game. If anything you owe it to everyone else to finish the job. So the ending did not land for me at all.
Overall, You can do way better with Wild West films than this one. The whole thing feels very contrived with how the villain is able to split everyone apart. They’re all way too easily influenced. Why put so much stock into what the villain is saying? He clearly has an agenda and a reason to get the heroes to fight so listening to him is just asking for trouble. They probably should have gagged him right at the start. Would have been the smarter move imo.
Overall 4/10
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