Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019) - PS4 Review

Review:
*Originally written November 19th, 2019*

There's no denying that EA has had a bad run with the Star Wars franchise since it became owned by Disney. Their 2 Battlefront efforts were slammed and hated (2 in particular, but, that has been fixed by this point and is actually quite playable!), but in all honesty, what people have wanted from a Star Wars game for quite some time now is a story focused action RPG that lets you be a Jedi and fills in the gaps between films. This is exactly what Jedi: Fallen Order delivers. It's far from perfect and feels a little unfinished, but my god, this is still the best Star Wars game we've had in quite some time.

Taking place between episodes 3 and 4, it follows Kal Cestis, a young Padawan who has been in hiding for 5 years since the events of Order 66, but gets put into an adventure involving a list of all the force sensitive children in the universe and must find the list before the Empire do. Along the way you meet a droid BD-1 who is your companion for the whole ride and a rag tag crew in the form of an ex Jedi Cere and her shipmate Greez.

Story wise, I was very impressed, Kal is a very likeable and easy to like character with a very strong motion capture and voice performance from Cameron Monaghan. We follow Kal as he slowly relearns his force powers and gets stronger throughout the game. His journey is personal, involving him having to overcome his guilt and trauma over Order 66 and goes to many places new and familiar within the Star Wars universe, I won't spoil some of the franchise cameos, but there's a few and they fit in quite nicely. But with the 20 or so hours I spent on Kal's adventure I really did grow to like him and honestly would not mind seeing him pop up in other Star Wars material down the line. Which is the only reason I assume they didn't give you the option to make your own character, as they want to use him in future films/Disney+ content. The dynamic with his droid BD-1 really is the heart of the game too, as most of the conversations as you're exploring is with him and the little droid is both adorable and filled with personality.

Technical wise, this game is a bit all over the place. Visually, it is pretty gorgeous and brings the Star Wars universe to life with excellent character models, environments, classic score and incredible sound design. What really lets it down is just how unpolished it feels at times. It's no surprise (Especially from EA) that a game has been released that is quite buggy with the intention patching it down the line, but it is no excuse and has become a complete frustration with this generation of games. The game crashed on me a few times in the second half, I was constantly finding issues such as just falling through the map, enemy AI's not even reacting as I was attacking them and them just randomly spawning right in front of me as I was walking. It would be a minor thing if this only happened a couple of times, but it was happening consistently, which is no excuse for a game of this budget and from a AAA developer.

Onto the good and great though. The combat is excellent and requires patience and actually learning the enemies moves and making use of blocking and dodging. It was very similar to Dark Souls, but obviously not as unforgiving. That said though, there are quite a few difficulty spikes that come out of nowhere, where even I had to reduce the difficulty just get through an area where they throw so many different type of enemies at you, it was more frustrating than fun. When the difficulty is fair though, encounters can be very rewarding and satisfying as you feel Kal get stronger and more experienced as you do working through the game. Mixing lightsaber play and force powers makes for some great fun as you can annihilate faces-less hordes of Stormtroopers with ease.

The boss battles make for some really cinematic and interesting fights. Like the combat with everything else, you're encouraged to think while you're fighting these bosses and simply button mashing will only end with you dead. The variety of bosses range from some Sith lords in the form of The Emperors underlings called "Sisters", the rest of the bosses are mostly a range of big creatures that are pretty intimidating to encounter at first, but you soon begin to realise they are pretty simple to take down once you know what you're doing. There is also some minor bosses littered throughout with random Bounty Hunter encounters, who, if you're not expecting it, can mess you up pretty quickly.

I was pleasantly surprised how much the game implores you to actually explore the world in order to progress, I spent so much time trying to figure out puzzles and gathering all the collectables I could (You can't sweep up straight away though, you have to unlock new powers in order to reach other collectables later in the game). It was just so much fun just to explore these beautifully created areas as BD-1 would point out items and really help you out. The structure of collectables was very similar to the Tomb Raider reboot, which isn't a bad thing, they took elements and changed it just enough to feel unique to itself. The problem with clearing up though is that the map you use from BD-1 is a complete mess and borderline incomprehensible, making it impossible to clear up collectables later in the game when I wanted to return to areas. The Dark Souls esque resting stations also lacked a fast-travelling option, which would have made things so much easier and saved so much time as it does get a little tedious to constantly have to backtrack (Which you have to do a lot). I really wanted to 100% this thing, but when the game made it this frustrating to just get back to the area where the collectables were, I did not care enough.

It has its problems for sure, but honestly, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the best Star Wars games I've played in such a long time. It might be unpolished and filled with glitches, but when things are going smoothly, it is a blast to play and my 20 hours with it flew by thanks to the satisfying combat, engaging story and great new characters that earn its place within the Star Wars canon. All my problems are things that could even potentially be fixed with updates down the line, but I've got to judge what we were given at launch and the results are flawed, but still fantastic for the most part. I really hope EA continue to follow path of Star Wars games that choose story over multiplayer. Hell, I'd also kill for a remaster of Republic Commando at some point. Star Wars games might actually have a bright future again.

8/10 Dans

Star Wars Fallen: Jedi Order is out now on PS4 and Xbox One
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The Lion King (2019) - Review

Review:

*Originally written July 20th, 2019*

The original Lion King is no doubt my favourite film Disney has ever released. I remember when this was announced I was actually quite excited for it, as I quite liked the Jungle Book remake and a couple of the others. Then something changed, maybe it was me or just the fact I just started to quickly see the rapidly declining state of cinema as these live-action Disney remakes got churned out faster and faster. I mean, this is only the third of five planned films this year alone. I lost all my will towards these after the dull Aladdin.

It turns out my fears were founded. We've dug this property out of its graved, given it a $200 million coat of paint and failed to do anything unique or interesting with it. Yes, it's competently made as it goes through a story we've seen previously beat for beat, but it never amounts to anything close to exciting or capturing the magic from Disney's long gone glory days. 

It's the law of diminishing returns in full effect. I'm okay with remakes as long as you do something interesting and change it around a little. Hell, I give Tim Burton's Dumbo even more credit now for at least straying away from the original film and taking the story in a different direction. This just regurgitates a story with seen before. It lacks any sort of surprise or tries to do anything to make it worth retelling the story. It's just so lazy and cynical.

The most annoying thing is the fact it's very competently made. The CGI effects here bringing the photo-realistic animals alive are genuinely incredible and are incredible to look at. Simba as a cub is insanely cute and easy to get attached to, while Scar still has his intimidating design that makes him a great villain, but lacks Jeremy Irons sinister voice performance. 

While the animals do look insanely realistic, it also works as a disservice to the story. The 2D animation of the original film made these characters very emotive and easy to care about. This "realistic" depiction has a harder job as the characters here do not emote at all. It's very strange and makes it hard to feel anything when they go through the emotional beats. They always just look like animals who's mouths move, but their faces stay the same, it's so weird and off-putting, taking me completely out the film. It's strange, as they managed to pull this off a lot better (From what I remember) with their Jungle Book remake, but 3 years on, the realism of the animation is better, but completely takes you out the performance and fails to create an emotional bond with these characters, despite the Hamlet inspired story and script unfolding more or less shot for shot.

The star studded cast are very hit and miss. There are some very inspired performances that work, like John Oliver as Zazu and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, who were both surprising highlights for me. Everyone else though, sadly failed to leave an impact on me. It was cool to have James Earl Jones back as Mufasa, but that must have been an easy paycheck for him, just replicating his performance from 25 years ago for an each paycheck. Barely any of this cast came close to capturing the charm of the original. Shame they didn't have cameos from any of the original cast, although Matthew Broderick is probably too busy killing women in car "Incidents" (The word "Accident" would imply no one is to blame) in Ireland. 

This film is going to make over $1 billion and it's inevitable. It's fine. I have no faith left in cinema anymore and these live-action remakes aren't going to stop coming, plus I'm always going to see them out of curiosity. I just feel the same about The Lion King as I have about several others. It boasts groundbreaking special effects to bring this stuff to life, but it loses the heart and soul that made the original films so wonderful. I just left this feeling cold and wishing I just watched the gorgeous 4K remaster of the original instead. 


I remember when I'm going through the Disney classic animated films for the first time (Which I'm still working through), I watch them and think I can't wait to watch them again, but with all three of the live-action remakes so far this year, the last thing I've wanted to do is see them again. I have faith Disney will hopefully do something interesting once they've burned through their library of films to remake. Hell, maybe even the inevitable sequels to the live-action remakes will at least do something different with the story and take them to uncharted territory. As for now, we're just continuing to rehash old stories to depressing effect and it's a shame, as I know Disney are much better than this when they want to be.  

5/10 Dans

The Lion King is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) - Review

Review:

*Originally written July 6th, 2019*

Far From Home is probably exactly what this series needed after the massive and heavy epic that was Endgame. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, as after Marvel followed up their nearly as huge Infinity War with the massively average Ant-Man and the Wasp, I was expecting something along those lines, but this surprised me in several ways I didn't expect.

Following from the events after Endgame, humanity has pretty much recovered from everyone returning to life after Thanos' snap and things are pretty much back to normal. It does also answer some lingering questions about the implications of bringing all these people back to life when people had moved on in the mean-time. Parker returns to college and his school trip to Europe is interrupted (Obviously) by some elemental demons being hunted by Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio and Nick Fury looks to Spider-Man to live up to Tony Stark's name.

Far From Home manages to balance things a lot better than I'd imagine. Peter progresses a lot here as he struggles with both living up to the hero Tony Stark was and dealing with his new responsibilities  while also wanting the normal life of a teenager by attending school and getting a girlfriend. The awkward John Hughes inspired teen stuff from the first film is thankfully intact, as the awkward chemistry between Peter and MJ make for some of the funniest and surprisingly sweet scenes in the film.

While there are huge CGI set-pieces, Far From Home is pretty much character focused first, which I always appreciate. We spend lots of time with Peter as he struggles with his responsibilities and it shows in Holland's ever growing performance as Spider-Man, who is just the right amount of awkward, smart-mouthed and easy to root for. At this point I'd say he's definitely surpassed Tobey Maguire in the role and easily Andrew Garfield's weird, almost special needs like Marty McFly impression he bought to the misguided Amazing Spider-Man films. 

A lot of these MCU films also suffer from humour problems, but the tone works really well with these characters. It makes sense that teenage characters would take things a little less seriously and be cracking a joke every now and then, it also helps a lot of the writing seems to be a lot stronger than the usual stuff we get in these films and the hit rate is also a lot stronger. Not everything lands, but some of the funniest stuff of the whole series is in here, especially the two absolutely gold post-credit scenes. I wish the MCU would keep tone down the humour a bit and leave it to separate films like this, as hearing middle-aged men making the same quips you'd here from teenagers is one of the main reasons I find the jokes in these films so cringe, but in the context of a high-school setting, it works.

While none of the action is massively spectacular, it still has a lot of energy to it, while it sadly amounts to big CGI things hitting each other. The more interesting set-pieces are saved for Mysterio's mind tricks, which creates a sequence so zany and out-there, it was close to Doctor Strange in terms of mad imagery and it made perfect use of the character to create that scenario for Spider-Man.

Mysterio himself is a little bit of a mixed bag. Jake Gyllenhaal utterly commits to such a barmy and crazy character, bringing a lot of his usual charm and charisma to the role, he honestly steals every scene he's in, but I just wish they spent more time with his motivation, which honestly isn't the most convincing. It connects to previous MCU films in a fun way and the reveal might divide fans the same way Iron Man 3's twist did. While his motivation isn't the best, the film certainly got more interesting once his intentions are clear and leaves Gyllenhaal much more room to ham it up to incredible effect. 


Far From Home is another excellent film from the MCU (Who are also 3 for 3 this year), it ups everything I loved about the first one, continues to develop Spider-Man in new and interesting ways, while delivering a screen-grabbing, but flawed villain. Looking forward to how the third film wraps up this trilogy, especially with THAT post-credit scene.

8/10 Dans

Spider-Man: Far From Home is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Toy Story 4 (2019) - Review

Review:

*Originally written June 22nd, 2019*

Everything about this sequel reeked of a bad idea. The idea of continuing this series after the perfect ending the third gave us was misguided and felt like nothing less than a cash-grab, then a series of underwhelming trailers prepared me for the worst. My expectations for this were at an all-time low, but that small part of me quickly gained a little bit of excitement for a new Toy Story a few days before I saw this, but like I said, my expectations were weary at best.

I was pretty astounding at how good this turned to be. They did it, those crazy sons of bitches did it. It might not reach the delirious heights of 2 and 3, but Toy Story 4 gives us an emotional, powerful ending to these characters I didn't know I needed. It's not perfect by any means, but it comes very close and feels far from the cynical cash-in I expected.

Like the previous films in this series, it has a huge focus on character over fast paced set-pieces, which is what elevates this franchise above all the over Disney/Pixar franchises for me. It's never afraid to slow things down and spend time with these characters and how they tick, what motivates them and what their purpose in life is.

It was pretty insane and surprising to me at how deep they go into the themes of existentialism. Don't get me wrong, this obviously isn't some art-house meditation on the human condition, but for a kids film, it's not afraid to go places most wouldn't even try to as these toys try to figure out what they purpose is in this world. Are they here just to bring joy to children in an endless cycle of being loved and eventually rejected or were they made sentient to follow their own path and create their own dreams.

Mainly the focus is on Woody, who's existence comes into question with the introduction of "Forky" a new toy made out of trash from their new owner Bonnie. Once Forky is made and declared a toy, he springs to life and struggles to adjust to the idea of even existing. It's kinda fascinating to me that a character made out of a plastic spork was so relatable to me. He spends the opening act believing he's trash and the only place he belongs is in a garbage bag before Woody explains to him the meaning of being a toy.

Except answering Forky's questions about their existence brings Woody's whole being into question as he struggles to move on from memories of Andy and realising his blind devotion to his new owner might not be the thing he wants the most. Along the way he's coincidentally reunited with Bo Peep after being given away between the events of the 2nd and 3rd films, dividing his motivations even more.

It all leads to a soul-crushing ending that left me far more floored than I couldn't prepared myself for. There's a few minor emotional beats throughout that I thought would be as hard as it goes, then it just pulls the rug out from under you in it's final moments. I'm really on the fence at whether this was a more powerful ending than the already beautiful finale of Toy Story 3, but in all honesty, that didn't resonate with me until rewatches. God knows how this one will effect me if it grows on me as much as that did. Hell, I'm even considering this might be my favourite film of the series in future. Time will tell. I also said this about 3, but based on this ending, I do not want another at all.

I can't believe I'm writing this sort of thing about a kids film. It's truly rare we get a film like this with such rich character arcs, motivation, depth and emotion, but Pixar just manage to pull it off again and again. On a technical level, they also manage to push the envelope. The near photo-realistic animation is a marvel to look, it's constantly gorgeous and always varies with its settings, colour palette and details. After rewatching the trilogy last week, it's insane how far the animation has come from the first, which has not aged well in terms of animation in some regards. I cannot wait to watch this in 4K when it releases. 

My only real complaints here are that some of the main characters are given very little screen-time or reason to be there. While Buzz does share the most emotional scene of the film, the rest of his role is very reduced and he does very little as him and Jesse are sidelined in a side-plot focusing on them finding Woody, while characters like Rex, The Potato Heads, Slinky and more feel like nothing less than extended cameos for the most part.

While this is disappointing, it is definitely worth mentioning that the new characters are definitely worthy additions and earn their screen-time. From the new and improved Bo Peep, who is a lot better than you remember from the first two films, Keanu Reeves' scene-stealing French-Canadian motorbike stuntman "Duke Kaboom", Key and Peele's two conjoined stuffed bears and a series of really, really creepy old fashioned dolls. Everyone new leaves a very strong impression, almost making the lack of Buzz and Jesse worth it. 

After a series of underwhelming franchise films so far this year, Toy Story 4 defies the odds and comes out as one of the best films I've seen so far this year. I'm not even sure if it's a coincidence that my two favourite films of the year so far have been had Keanu Reeves in it (No prizes for guessing what the other one is), but he's picking his projects pretty well these days. 


Despite being completely unnecessary on paper, Toy Story 4 is a completely pleasant surprise. A funny, emotional and devastating ride that made it worth bringing back these iconic characters for one last ride. Nothing prepared me for how much I'd like this, but my love for this may continue to grow with each watch and I already can't wait to see it again. 

9/10 Dans

Toy Story 4 is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Aladdin (2019) - Review

Review: 

*Originally written May 22nd, 2019*

Yeah, I'm pretty much done with these live-action Disney remakes now. I had a soft-spot for a couple and I really liked Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book, but after the mediocre Dumbo and now this incredibly bland and cynical remake of Aladdin, I'm over it. I just wish I turned on these films faster, because in all honesty, they deserve it.

What makes a little of these films great is how tight, fun and entertaining they are. The original Aladdin is even one of my favourite of Disney's animated classics and this re-imagining brings absolutely nothing new to the table and does so very little to justify its existence outside of printing money for Disney. A company I'm very quickly beginning to despise. 

The problem I have with this and earlier this years Dumbo is just wasting the directors. I'm not the biggest fan of Guy Ritchie, but I give him credit when it comes to style, he has own unique sensibilities that feel present in all of his films, for better or worse. His films can be very obnoxious at times, but there is some entertainment in his quick-witted dialogue and incredibly stylised action. His films feel like his own. If I had no idea Guy Ritchie directed this and then afterwords discovered this, I would have thought it was a joke. Aside from two very brief moments, there is not a single ounce of wit or style that makes this feel like a Ritchie film. 

It once again feels like a film directed by a corporate machine with no flair for the cinematic. So much of this feels flat and lifeless. Some of the songs are obviously very good, as they were in the original and the  updates of these songs are absolutely fine, but everything just lacks energy, making it seem like some tiring chore. It's amazing to me that a film with a budget this insanely high can feel so uninteresting and dull. There seems to be a lot going on screen with these musical numbers, but the way its shot makes it seem so damn boring. 

It's a shame too, in hindsight, an Aladdin film from Guy Ritchie actually sounds like an interesting idea. The style from his early British crime films could have actually merged well with the story of a young street rat here, but it's so safe and uninteresting. They do not take a single risk with this update and it shows. It honestly made me wish I was watching Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, one of his biggest flops and a film that was panned left, right and centre, but that still displays more creativity and unique style than anything onscreen in Aladdin. 

It's not all bad though. Even with the horrific marketing, Will Smith somehow managed to be the best thing about this. He brings a lot of charm and charisma to the role, despite the questionable character design. His performance in this is very much Will Smith being Will Smith, but by the time he joins the film, it was a welcome addition. Relative unknown Mena Massoud also gives a fairly solid performance as Aladdin, he's not amazing, but he carries the film well enough.

Marwan Kenzari's Jafar is a big miss. A completely one note and boring villain who's motivations are nothing more than "He's evil", it's just annoying. If they're going to spread these stories out for an extra 40 minutes from their animated originals, they could at least try and use this time to expand on character, but instead they just add filler between the plot beats we already know in order to get the film to around the 2 hour mark. 


There's so little to say. It is what it is, a deeply cynical cash grab with a solid Will Smith being himself and a few moments of fun from songs you remember from your childhood. Too competently made to be called bad, but so deeply unoriginal and pointless to be called good. I can't believe I'm saying this, but what a waste of Guy Ritchie....

5/10 Dans

Aladdin is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Dumbo (2019) - Review

Review:

*Originally written March 31st, 2019*

Well, it begins. The first of the four live-action remakes Disney are releasing this year and sadly, this is definitely one of the more middling entries in what I've found to be a pretty solid set of films so far. I was actually kind of interested in this one. The original Dumbo is one I adore and one of my favourites from Disney, a brisk 70 minutes that manages to pack in heart, humour and beautiful animation into a very brief run-time.

Tim Burton is also a very interesting choice of director. His last few films haven't been great and the last time he worked on a Disney film was an atrocious mess (His Alice in Wonderland holds a strong place as one of my most hated films of all time), but he's slowly started crawling back to the Burton I loved from the '90s. He's still got a ways to go, but Dumbo is definitely one of his stronger films of recent years, despite its many problems.

I don't mind the idea of Disney re-imagining their older properties for a new generation and I appreciate the attempt at adding more depth to a very thin story, but while it's all perfectly serviceable and has a good anti-corporate message (The irony, considering it comes from Disney), it just lacks the heart and soul of the original. 

I'm just having a hard time wondering why Disney bothered to hire Burton to direct this, when it ended up being so devoid of what makes Burton so great and unique. It's such a workmanlike and cookie-cutter creation that fits perfectly in line with what Disney are up to these days. Making films that are ticking boxes to satisfy broad, mainstream audiences in order to make some easy money, but failing to incite anything creative or original in fear of driving away audiences that shy away from anything even remotely different or interesting. 

That's why I'm having trouble with this. The execution of this is something I absolutely hate about modern cinema, but at the same time I kind of enjoyed it and mostly had a good time, despite how utterly by the numbers and passable it was. There are moments where Dumbo shines, which I will get to, but for the most part, it's very much cynical Disney, yet at the same time, very watchable. There's only so many free passes I can give to these films and I can feel my patience growing thinner with each one, there's only so much more I can take. Much like how I feel with superhero films, I think Endgame will be my turning point for that genre too.

It's not all bad though, like I said, this is certainly watchable and tells its story well enough with a great cast and mostly well-rounded characters. Danny DeVito unsurprisingly steals the show as the head of the failing circus, although it is hard to distinguish DeVito from Frank Reynolds at this point, but he's so insanely watchable and charismatic (Also, the Always Sunny cameo is gold). Colin Farrell is choosing some interesting projects right now, so it was a shame to see him be an absolutely fine lead with an obvious arc and doesn't get much in the way of showing off his acting skills. Michael Keaton on the other hand is clearly having the time of his life in his hammy performance that brought a lot of life to the screen during his screen-time.

Dumbo himself is a fantastic creation and just so adorable and easy to love. The photo-realistic animation is pretty astonishing and he feels like a real living creature, making it very easy to root for him and care when he's clearly in distress. An easy move for me, I hate seeing animals unhappy in any context. So that all worked. 

While it does lack Burton's Gothic flair and weird quirkiness, this is at least a beautiful film to look at, with a dark, rich colour pallet and fantastic set-design that really didn't feel like the work of CGI at all. They do attempt to do the infamous "Pink Elephants" scene from the original, but it is remarkably tame and far less weird and out there redo of that moment, which is a shame considering that's what Tim Burton is so good at. The most Burton the film gets is when we reach Keaton's futuristic circus that is a wonderfully designed steam-punk wonderland that I didn't expect at all. Once we reach that location in the third act, it's a damn smooth ride from there.


I don't know what else to say about this, I had enough trouble even coming up with all the previous things I just said. Tim Burton's Dumbo is a perfectly watchable remake that lacks what makes a Burton film unique, but the cast are great and it tells a story worth revisiting, but Disney really need to let these directors put their vision on the screen rather than just a cookie-cutter cash-grab that feels more like a list of boxes to tick as opposed to a film from a director with a singular vision.

6/10 Dans

Dumbo is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Captain Marvel (2019) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written March 13th, 2019*

So... this is the sort of film you virgin incels try to boycott? Not films starring or directed by rapists, racists or homophobes? But a film starring a woman who made a joke about a terrible film at the Oscars and suggested media journalism needed more diversity than mostly just white males? You chronic wanking hentai watchers will take any excuse to hate women because they won't fuck you in your mums basement after you tip your fedora to them and hold a door open for them, won't you? Time to shave the neckbeard and focus on real problems, losers. 

Anyway, Captain Marvel is another very solid entry in the ever-growing MCU. I had my reservations with this due to the very underwhelming trailers that made it seem like any other Marvel affair for the most part, but aside from the odd shot of formulaic familiarity, I ended up having a really good time with this. Might have been low expectations, but I believe this is definitely one of the best of the origin stories for this series.

I'll admit it gets off to a rough start with a pretty incoherent first act and I really had very little idea what was happening. It throws you right into the middle of things and bombards you with exposition, making it very easy to get lost and confused as to what these characters and their motivations are. Thankfully, once it hits Earth, things are a lot more fun and engaging. 

Brie Larson shines in the titular role, playing it with a strong amount of confidence, charm and just the right amount of snark. I got a little worried early on that she'd just be sarcastic and annoying most of the film, but that quickly went away as she won me over. There's even a surprisingly compelling arc she goes through as she slowly discovers her true origins and her previous life on Earth. It all works very well.

Larson shines most when she's paired with Nick Fury (Who has an insanely convincing de-aging job that makes Samuel L Jackson look like he walked straight off the set of Pulp Fiction). The two have great chemistry together, making all their scenes a joy to watch. Plus it was great to see a younger, more inexperienced Fury, who had yet to discover the existence of super-humans/aliens. I'd love to see a series based around Fury's adventures in the '90s on Disney's upcoming streaming service.

One of my worries was the appearance of Ben Mendelsohn, an actor I love, but I was afraid he would be wasted as yet another forgettable and bland MCU villain. But again, my expectations were subverted and he gave a far more interesting performance with a nice twist that turned things on its head towards the end. It was nice to see him not be yet another forced bad guy he's sadly been typecast in these past few years in films like Robin Hood and Rogue One. Check out The Place Beyond the Pines to see what Mendelsohn is really capable of.

One of my biggest question marks surrounding this was the appearance of Jude Law and he's merely fine. It was pretty quick and easy to see what was going to happen with his character based on just how obvious it was towards the beginning and the trailers. I just wish they'd done something far more interesting with his character than what we ended up getting.

Being a hugely budgeted blockbuster, everything is gorgeous CGI wise, from the space stuff at the beginning, alien designs and explosive third act. It makes me wonder what went wrong with the CGI in Black Panther that was similarly budgeted. How on Earth can the same company release a film with effects as good as the stuff here, then release a film with those awful CGI rhinos and PS2 cutscene final battle? 

As fun as the action is at times, there really lacks a sense of directorial style. There was just no signature here, leading me to believe it was competently made, but lacked any sort of personality or visual flair, which is a great shame, as the MCU was really growing in starting to let directors do their own thing, but it seems to be gone here. At the very least this actually looks like a proper, cinematic film and not the televisual ugliness of say Avengers: Age of Ultron. I was also pretty disappointed with the score, which started off pretty well with some great synthy stuff, but quickly devolved into me forgetting the film even had a score at points.

I have to get it off my chest that the fact the MCU has only just released a female starring film after 11 years and over 20 films while DC managed to do it in less than half the time and films. I don't know what went wrong there, but it's a severe and backwards decision from Disney that should have been amended years ago. It's a shame that they waited this long, because it clearly works (Like it obviously would) and I really hope they finally ramp up with the Black Widow film after the success of this.


Captain Marvel is another great entry in the forever growing MCU. It starts out rough, but quickly became some of the most fun I've had with this franchise in a while and Brie Larson is an excellent addition to the series and I cannot wait to see more of her and how she factors into Avengers: Endgame. My superhero film fatigue might have just got a new boost of life.

8/10 Dans

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Mary Poppins Returns (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written January 1st, 2019*

The way Disney is, I'm amazed this isn't the 20th Mary Poppins at this point, which at least a dozen of them being the straight to video sequels I've never watched. Anyway, I'd only seen the original Mary Poppins less than a few weeks ago in prep for this, and I absolutely loved it. Pure joy in film form full of energy and memorable songs. 

This belated sequel nowhere near hits the heights of the first, but it's still a pretty joyous adventure. I'll admit I went into this on very little slip and was nearly nodding off a couple of times throughout, but for the most part, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It just really lacks most of the charm and magic of the first.

Emily Blunt does a fantastic job as the magical nanny. Bringing her own take one the character without just trying to do a Julie Andrews impression. She's the same sarcastic and charming character and every moment she's on screen is pure joy. It's just a shame that every time the film veers away from her to focus on other things, it loses a lot of momentum.

As much as I like Ben Whishaw and Emily Mortimer as the Bank's children grown up, they're stories really don't carry film, making their scenes without Mary Poppins just drag the film out, and there felt like a lot of scenes without the titular character there. The new generation of Banks children do a decent enough job, they're some of the better child actors I've seen recently, but they just don't live up to the originals.

Returns shines most when the more fantastical elements get involved. An extended scene involving 2D animation is absolutely beautiful and reminded me of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It's so rare to see 2D animation mixed with live-action these days, but it looked amazing and vibrant. I can't wait to see how this will look on 4K. As a musical, it has a series of energetic numbers that in all honesty are quite forgettable. I'm really having a hard time remembering a single song from this, and I only saw it a couple of days ago.

It doesn't help that Rob Marshall's direction is mostly very flat and drab, but I'm think that might have been so that the fantasy scenes popped out more, but those only account for about a quarter of the film, leaving most of the film feel a little flat and lifeless when we're stuck in the real world. I could have done with a bit of trimming too, this whole thing goes on for a bit too long. Things like Meryl Streep's weird cameo and extended section could have been cut out without changing anything. 

On the villain side of things, Colin Firth is remarkably disappointing and just sort of there as a bank manager trying to posses the Banks house and his motivation is purely evil for the sake of being evil. It's a shame, because Firth is an actor I always like, so it sucks to see him given so little to work with. Hell, at least it was better than Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, so at least he's ended his year on a higher note. 


Mary Poppins Returns isn't as good as I hoped it would be. It's overlong and lacks memorable songs, but Emily Blunt's charming performance carries the film and it still makes for very watchable entertainment. It just could have done with a better director and a bit of trimming. 


7/10 Dans

Mary Poppins Returns is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Incredibles 2 (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written July 17th, 2018*

It feels so weird to have just seen a sequel to The Incredibles, a film that I hold close and dear from my childhood and also my favourite Pixar film. I wasn't sure what to expect from a sequel 14 years on. Hell, I didn't even know what I wanted myself from an Incredibles sequel, but now that it's here, I am more than happy to say Incredibles 2 was everything I could have hoped for and filled me with so much joy.

Superhero films are getting a lot of flack recently. It's easy to see why. We get so many of such contrasting quality. Marvel are doing fine, they rarely do anything interesting, but they're mostly just coasting through a fanbase of people who know what to expect from their films at this point, good or bad. Having seen more or less every comic-book film from the past few years, Incredibles 2 is such a blast of fun, refreshing and gorgeous animation.

Taking place instantly from the events of the first, we find the Parrs forced into hiding once again as being a Superhero is outlawed in this vision of 1960's America. Helen (Elastagirl) finds herself hired by a rich fan of superheroes, wanting to see them legalised and put back into the mainstream while Bob (Mr. Incredible) has to stay at home to look after the children.

To put it simply, Incredibles 2 is a crowd-pleaser and another excellent piece of art from Pixar. After watching the first Incredibles a couple of weeks ago, it is insane just to see how much the animation has improved over 14 years. Technology and talent has been to to incredible use here to creative gorgeous and impressive animation that constantly had me impressed. Every time a Pixar film has come out I say this, but they've outdone themselves once again with the animation.

With most superhero films these days, the use of the characters powers are usually wasted and not a lot interesting is done with them. Here however, there is so much happening with mixing up the powers. Seeing the Parr family mix their different variety of powers is so creative and a joy to watch. Brad Pitt really is a talented director when it comes to animation and it's great to see that time and effort that went into this has paid off.

It's not just the action that's great too. All the family focused stuff is interesting and has a lot of heart. I rarely find big releases like this funny, but everything with Bob at home trying to do a Mr. Mom thing was extremely funny and fun to watch. Easily some of the funniest content Pixar have released and it's all due to character work. A lot of the comedy comes from Bob's facial expressions and Jack-Jack's powers being put on display (And they do a lot with that). 

While the plot is excellent and sets up the series for more adventures, all while feeling stand-alone, where Incredibles 2 lacks a little is within its villain. It's fairly obvious who the villain is going to be quite early on, and while there is some cool stuff with 'Screenslaver's' powers, which are trippy and lead to a genuinely intriguing piece of animation, I was left extremely cold by the motivations. I just wasn't convinced it was enough for this character to out on a villainous scheme. It was a far cry from the excellent Syndrome from the first film, who gets better with each watch.


I'm not entirely sure if I preferred this to the first one or not, but this comes extremely close and that's more than I could ask for with a sequel that took 14 years to come out. It's a gorgeous, funny, heartfelt and creative win from Pixar. Cinema is alive.

9/10 Dans

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Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written May 25th, 2018*

Going into Solo: A Star Wars Story was a weird experience. It was the first Star Wars film I'd seen from Disney that I just had no excitement for, I usually go to the midnight viewing, but I couldn't even be bothered, so I figured I'd get it out the way by going straight from work on release day. It was a weird day, I just felt nothing going into this film, but that's not entirely my fault.

The long troubled production that been long publicised, the casting of the iconic Han Solo left a lot to be desired, the trailers had done nothing for me, mostly looking like some weird expensive fan film (Even the font for the title from the trailers looked awful). The most troubling thing for me was the decision to give Ron Howard the directors chair after Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired due to creative differences. Howard is not a director I've often got on with, I enjoy a few of his films, but find his direction to be very bland and workman life. I was worried.

Much to my surprise, Solo is a complete blast. It does very little to justify its existence and brings nothing new to the franchise, but I'd only be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the hell out of it. It has problems for sure, just not ones I expected going in. All in all, it completely exceeded any exceptions I had. It probably helped I had no expectations at all, if I was expecting another incredible Star Wars film in the vein of Empire or Last Jedi, I probably would have been disappointed.

An origin story of Han Solo is probably something we didn't need, but now we've got it. We see the smuggler's early days where he slowly becomes the man we know in A New Hope. There's obviously appearances from well known characters and events mentioned in the Original Trilogy. The problem with prequels is that you know where everything is going to go, who's going to live and who's going to die by the end of it. Solo subverts expectations on this front, the story is full of surprising turns I won't spoil. Disney are clearly going to make a franchise out of young Han Solo and based on this I am completely okay with that.

Alden Ehrenreich does a fantastic job portraying a young and inexperienced Han Solo, it really helps he wasn't always just doing a Harrison Ford impression, although he does do Ford's famous point a few too many times. He brought a lot of confidence and charisma to the role, making it his own without introducing on what made us love Han Solo in the first place.

Rogue One failed to give us many memorable side characters, which I thought was going to be the case here, but thankfully, despite being Solo's film for the most part, most of the supporting cast have a part to play and time to shine. I'll get Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian, who stole the show with every scene he was in, even before the film was released, everyone seemed to universally agree that this was perfect casting and they were right, Glover nails it. Giving us a perfect Lando full of charm, sexiness that some of the funniest lines in the Star Wars series. I'd happily see a spin-off with Glover that is just two hours of him as Lando told through interpretative dance.

We also spend a lot of time with Solo and Chewbacca, learning how they meet. It's a bit clunky (As is most of the first act), but they're growing partnership is clearly the emotional core of the film and for the most part it works. Emilia Clarke is an actress who gets a lot of hate outside of Game of Thrones (Some of it warranted), but she's fine here, not amazing and not given a massive amount to do, they are clearly setting her up for more in an eventual Solo sequel thanks to the surprise appearance of a Prequel Trilogy character (Which I'm still unsure how to feel about).

Aside from Lando, the side character that leaves the biggest impression is Woody Harrelson's Beckett, a thief who ends up taking on Solo to his crew. Harrelson is always extremely watchable and it's no different here, his presence brings life to a lot of scenes and they go places with his character in the third act I did not expect. I just need to watch this again with subtitles, but a few things he said, I just couldn't make out.

First and foremost, Solo is a heist film, it's about bringing a group of characters together to perform this heist and the fabled "Kessell Run". It's a shame that it's just such a slog for the first act, getting all these characters together for the heist is more than a bit clunky and a bit of a drag, but once everyone is together, it is more than worth the wait. I should also mention we learn about the origin of Han Solo's name in the first act and it was one of most laughably bad and poorly written things I've watched in a while.

With Ron Howard directing I was afraid the action would be pedestrian and boring, but it was far from that. It was exciting and well shot, making use of its smaller stakes for more personal and interesting scenes. The train heist shown in the trailer was easily the best of what we had here, and while that a very early scene, it doesn't mean the later action wasn't great. I massively appreciated the smaller approach to the final scenes, there wasn't some giant CGI fight, it was mostly just a confrontation between people and it worked very well.


Don't be put off by Solo's troubled production. Sure, it has very little reason to exist and adds nothing new to the table, but its an extremely fun, if a little clunky and a tiny bit bloated adventure in the Star Wars universe and far better than it had any right to be. Just don't go in with massive expectations and have a good time.

8/10 Dans

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Black Panther (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written February 17th, 2018*

I went into Black Panther with relatively low expectations. I find most of the first standalone films in the MCU to be their weakest. I wasn't surprised by the critical acclaim Panther received though, good or bad, these films get a free pass from the critics, so I went in not knowing entirely what to expect. To my surprise, this was pretty excellent and while it suffers from a few of the problems most superhero films succumb to, this manages to fix a few of them.

This opens an entire new world within the MCU, Wakanda is a gorgeous, fascinating place that mixes futuristic sci-fi ideas with old fashioned tribal aesthetics. I have to bring up the society's backward system of using a monarchy and royal family though, such a stupid and broken system and only leads to the trouble they get into at the end on the film. They had it coming.

Black Panther wasn't the best in Civil War, but Chadwick Boseman really makes the role is own here, a near James Bond like figure with charisma and gravitas to him that makes him insanely watchable. Aside from a few lingering threads to Civil War, his story feels entirely standalone, which I always appreciate in this now 18 film franchise. 

Boseman is joined by a cast of very memorable supporting characters too. Panther's sister is a sort of Q like presence that provides the team with gadgets and weapons, Martin Freeman is given a lot more to do than he did and Civil War, I was surprised at how much screen-time he was given too, I suspected he was going to be nothing more than a cameo, but he's a pretty big supporting character.

On the villain side of things, Michael B. Jordan is excellent, one of the finest villains in the MCU yet, a sympathetic sociopath with clear motivations, motivations you could actually get behind and a surprisingly emotional character arc. He was a far cry from the wasted bad guys the MCU usually put out. Andy Serkis was also great fun in his role, I just wish he got more screen-time in this whole thing.

Coogler directs the 135 minute film with a brisk pace and the whole film does look gorgeous (The MCU seems to have finally broken away from the awful televisual look that plagued Avengers 1-2 and Captain 2-3). Some of the action is fluid and kinetic to watch, it's just a shame the film succumbs to that annoying third act where boring pieces of ugly CGI hit each other. The final fight on the train tracks is disgusting to watch, some of the worst special effects the MCU has had to date. Which is a shame considering how small in scale the early scenes were.

I wasn't a huge fan of all the hip-hop music either, a lot of the time it just didn't fit and felt forced, but at the very least it was far more memorable than the utterly forgettable score here. I'm pretty convinced there wasn't one at all in all honesty?

One of my biggest problems in this series has been the lame humour that ruined some of their films. Thankfully, this is a lot better in that department, the writers know when to shut the characters up and let the tension in a scene breathe, rather than ruin it with an embarrassing joke to make 6 year old children laugh. It's not all perfect though, that lame humour does pop up every now and then, a particular character towards the end ruined some potentially effective scenes.


Black Panther is far better than I was expecting, a gorgeous, beautiful film that expands the MCU, tells its own story and finally delivers a great villain, it's just shame it falls into the third act trap of bombastic garbage CGI towards the end.

8/10 Dans

Black Panther is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Coco (2017) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 23rd, 2018*

I really wasn't sure what to expect with Coco, none of the trailers really grabbed me and Pixar's output has been very hit and miss for the past few years, even their last one (Cars 3) was a real dud, but Coco shows Pixar are really in their element when they're creating new stories rather than sequels. (Aside from Toy Story) Which, in all honesty, gets me a tiny bit worried for The Incredibles 2. 

Coco follows the story of Miguel, a young boy in Mexico who is forbidden to play music, despite his skill and passion due to a family descendant who was a musician and abandoned them. He eventually finds himself in the Land of the Dead on an adventure to get the blessing of following his dreams.

I'll get the obvious out the way, Coco is a gorgeous, gorgeous achievement in animation. The designs of the characters are vibrant, colourful and infinitely interesting to look at. So much time, effort and care was obviously put into this, and it pays off wonderfully. I'm always surprised at how Pixar manage to top themselves visually with each film, but they pull it off.

While pulled along by its incredible visuals, the story is also a classic Pixar affair and so insanely is to like and root for. Miguel is so easy to sympathize with and his journey to self-acceptance and the importance of family is done very well. I'd argue that the first hour is a bit done before, but it's not offensive and the last half hour manages to hit you right in the feels with unexpected revelations and a ton of heart and emotion.

I also have a soft-spot for films about music or musicians, this was no different. It's not a musical, but the songs in Coco are catchy and heartfelt. If the final use of "Remember Me" doesn't make you a little emotional, well, then you are are dead inside and you're a garbage human being. I'm amazed at how Pixar manage to make me so emotionally attached to its characters. 

It's so nice to see a film set in Mexico too without the looming doom of the Cartel trying to kill Emily Blunt. It actually turns Mexico into a vibrant happy place full of charm and wonder. The complete opposite of what Trump says about these "Shithole" countries. If Pixar continue to expand like this and explore different concepts and settings as they did here, then they'll continue to make classics for years to come.

Disney seem to have a running theme that I've noticed for the past couple of years. And yes, you guessed it: Their frequent use of mentally challenged animals. Honestly, think about it, the bird in Finding Dory, the Chicken in Moana and now the dog in Coco. What is Disney's deal with shoving in mentally impaired animals? 

We'll see how The Incredibles 2 turns out in the year, but for now, Disney and Pixar have started of 2018 strong with Coco, a gorgeous, emotionally resonate piece of art that's for kids and adults. 

9/10 Dans

Coco is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Moana (2016) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written December 2nd, 2016*

Despite having a fairly by the numbers story. You know, it's the usual, chosen one is needed to save her village and bring peace and order back. It pretty typical stuff, but some decent songs, great characters and beautiful animation go a long way to help overcome Moana's by the numbers plot.

What keeps this at least a little different from the other Disney films is the different culture and ethnicities. I'm having a hard time recalling other films that have covered Polynesia, but hey, Disney did here and it made for a great change of scenery.

Where Moana excels is in its characters. Moana is another great and strong female lead from Disney. While The Rock provides great comic-relief as the less than heroic demi-god who has moving tattoos on his body. There's also some decent, if not entirely memorable songs that keep things going. I wasn't expecting this to be a musical, so that threw me a little bit.

It also covers Disney's recurring theme this year of mentally challenged animals. The chicken in this reminded me a lot of the bird from Finding Dory, which was also fully mentally challenged. Like full-on. I'm not sure what Disney are going for with these characters. It at least provided a few laughs.

I seem to say this with every released Disney film, but they once again prove themselves to be the kings of animation. This truly was a visually beautiful and inventive film. The character designs are awesome, the locations look incredible and my god, the photo-realistic water blew me away again. I'll once again mention the moving tattoos on The Rock's character, as they really did steal the show.


Moana might not be the most groundbreaking Disney effort, but it's another solid entry with great characters, a simple story and some truly incredible animation.

7/10 Dans

Moana is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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