Glass (2019) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written January 22nd, 2019*

After nearly a decade of complete trash, then making a huge comeback with both The Visit and Split, M. Night Shyamalan seemed to have finally got his groove back as a director. Sadly, this belated follow-up to Split and Unbreakable is nothing but a soaring disappointed of mishandled ideas, outrageous plot-twists and inane use of established characters.

Following on from the events of Split, Glass finds David Dunn (Bruce Willis) on the trail of Kevin Crumb "The Horde" (James McAvoy) as he's back on the path of kidnapping and eating college girls. The two quickly find themselves locked up in a psychiatric hospital that also contains Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) as they're all treated by Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), who specialises in cases of grand delusion involving people who believe themselves to be superheroes.

There is so little of this that works that it blows my mind this managed to get made. Shyamalan completely shits the bed with these characters we've seen grow since the series inception with 2000's Unbreakable. Everything feels like something out of a rough first draft, the dialogue is clunky and the execution of the twists are barbarically stupid and nonsensical.

The most intriguing aspect of this follow up is how things have changed for both David Dunn and Elijah Price since the events of Unbreakable, and it turns out its not much. Dunn is still donning his rain poncho and has become a local legend in the form of a vigilante in Philadelphia with the help of his son as he fights crime by night and runs a security store by day. While Price spends the first half of the film sedated and not saying a word.

A big question mark around this was Bruce Willis. This is a man who has not put effort into a role since Looper all the way back 2012, his career has pretty much involved him sleepwalking through straight-to-DVD action films since, with the exception of a Death Wish remake that somehow got a theatrical release last year. Annoyingly, Willis still seems to be in sleepwalking mode here, just spouting out his lines like he really doesn't want to be here. He just looks tired and fed up of life, but it's just such a shame he couldn't put effort into finishing off the story of one of his most acclaimed cult roles. 

Then there's Samuel L Jackson, who does finally spring to life in the latter half of the film, essentially playing a campy comic-book villain who has lost all the nuance and weight of the Price we knew from Unbreakable. This is mostly due to the annoying script that constantly has Price mostly just talking about being in a comic-book and how what's happening in the story relates to where we would be in a comic-book. The whole things gets played out very fast and just keeps going until the film ends.

What's most frustrating about this whole experience is the flashes of potential brilliance that Shyamalan teases us with that ultimately goes nowhere. There's a smart, interesting dissection of the superhero genre buried in here somewhere, it's just a revised script and some better editing away. His visual style is all over the place too, some of the shots and colour design look fantastic, but when it comes to action, Shyamalan creates some deeply uninvolving action that lacks any sort of impact.

There is at least some bright spots involving James McAvoy, who is clearly having far more fun with his role than anyone else here. He effortlessly channels an insane amount of characters with his gonzo physical performance that is just pure joy to watch, despite the context being utter nonsense. While he is billed as one of the three main characters, he certainly takes up most of the screen time as Jackson doesn't even make an appearance until about 40 minutes in and Willis pretty much disappears for the entire middle of the film.

Anya Taylor-Joy's Casey is also a welcome addition, returning to her role from Split after being the only survivor from her encounter with The Horde. Then they just go and derail the whole thing by making her the only person who seems to calm Crumb down, and making her feel sympathy and a connection with Crumb, despite nearly being murdered by him and suffering days of abuse and psychological torture. It's just such a bizarre and misguided direction to take the character and it doesn't work in the slightest.

In the more shallow end of criticisms, it starts off entertaining enough, but grinds to a halt as we spend so much time in the asylum with these characters as they're treated for their delusions in increasingly frustrating and pointless scenes as we all know where it's all going and we know for a fact these characters are what they say they are, so spending so much time having a character try and convince them they're just normal people with mental health issues is just a chore.

Then it all comes crashing down such an anticlimactic showdown that brings all the characters to such shockingly unsatisfying conclusions that pretty much undo all the good work the previous two films have down and makes you wonder what the hell was the point of all this. Maybe expectations were too high, but also it was just Shyamalan becoming a borderline parody of himself as he delivers such hilarious awful plot-twist one after the other in the last 20 minutes or so. 

I won't spoil anything, but one of the twists is something that many people had pointed out just after Split had been release and something I thought had already been confirmed, so seeing it played out as a huge twist just felt weird to me, especially as it was something I thought was pretty well known for nearly 2 years now. Then the last 3 main twists are so stupidly left-field and derailed a film I was already very on the fence about to begin with.


2019 has got its first huge disappointment and it's only January. This is not boding well. Glass is a huge mess on all fronts, barely saved by James McAvoy's scene stealing performance, but derailed by pretty much every other aspect of the film. Such a shame to see this series come to a bitterly insulting conclusion. Wack. 

4/10 Dans

Glass is out now in cinemas in the UK
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Unbreakable (2000) - Blu-ray Review

Review:

*Originally written January 18th, 2019*

With Glass releasing this week it seemed like a safe bet to revisit M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable, his subdued superhero drama that is unlike any superhero film we get today. There's no lame humour aimed at 8 year olds, it's not bright and colourful and it doesn't wrap itself up with a boring CGI battle where a city is destroyed.

It's just a refreshing change of pace after becoming frequently disillusioned and bored by most comic-book films these days. In the past year we've had at least 5, with mixed results and I am dangerously bored by them. It might just be my increasing frustration of seeing every single new big release that I mostly have little interest in, but will give a chance anyway. I'd be fine with this is my local cinema actually showed the smaller films I do want to see, but it's a rarity, and it's frustrating.

Anyway, like I said, Unbreakable is just a breath of fresh air in 2019 and it really gets better with every watch, a character piece with vague brushes of comic-book vibes. I've always been one of those people who found The Sixth Sense a tad overrated and was always more impressed by Unbreakable, a film I found pretty boring as a kid, but being in my 20s, it's far more interesting than I'd remembered.

2000's Bruce Willis who actually tries to act is pretty excellent as David Dunn, a security guard who survives a train-crash that leaves every other passenger dead, while catching the attention of Samuel L Jackson's Elijah Price, a comic-book obsessed art gallery owner who spends his life in a wheelchair due to his rare disease that leaves his bones brittle.

As much as I love Unbreakable and I've seen it a few times now, I tend to always forget a lot of what happens. I obviously remember the big reveal at the end that leads to a barbarically abrupt close where I feel an epilogue or another 10 minutes were planned, but maybe they run out of budget? 

But the mystery at the core of Unbreakable is still fascinating. Seeing Dunn slowly release he's not normal as he does more and more actions that normal human could not do, and I just love how restrained this all is. It's about the characters journey, not some boring end of the world plot. The closest we get to superhero action is a short scene towards the end where Dunn attempts to stop a home invasion which itself is cold, and surprisingly brutal scene. This feels much more like superheroes in the real world, something that has been done many times before, but never this effective. 

I do love Samuel L Jackson's Elijah Price too, a tragic figure who is the polar opposite of Dunn, a man so obsessed with comic books, that he'll do anything in the vein hope that a character like the ones he reads about could be real. It's also just nice to see Jackson in a film where he doesn't get to drop the F bomb and a treat to prove he can give a good performance that actually has gravitas and isn't just fun because "It's Samuel L Jackson"

This was always planned as a trilogy in Shyamalan's head, which we know wouldn't end up happening till 2019 after the clunky reveal that Split was a secret sequel to Unbreakable. As much as the reviews are mixed for Glass, I really am looking forward to it, much more than any of the other Marvel or DC films coming out this year. It might be a mess and not as entertaining as those films, but god, I'm sure it'll at least be more interesting and different.


Unbreakable is a perfect refresher that superhero films can be truly great pieces of art in themselves. They don't need loud, obnoxious set-pieces or cringey jokes, just a grounded story that actually explores its characters rather than having to blow up some giant beam that shoots into the sky. 

9/10 Dans

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Green Room (2015) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written April 20th, 2016*

I was so happy to find out that Odeon were doing an "Odeon Scream Unseen", a chance to preview upcoming horror films a month or so early. I had my guesses that this month's was going to be Green Room, a film I've had on my radar for a while now and it was excellent. A tense, gory and extremely violent thriller from the guy who brought us the vastly underrated 'Blue Ruin' a couple of years ago.

After performing a gig at a neo-nazi venue, Green Room finds a band fighting for survival after witnessing a murder where the head of the gang wants no witnesses left. 

This was tense and brutal throughout and did not disappoint at all. The violence is extremely graphic and had a really creative use of a box cutter that was very disgusting. None of this felt over the top or too much, it was grounded and hard-hitting.

It also looked gorgeous. The cinematography was creative and fun, despite the mostly one location setting. The music was pretty good too, despite the underground punk heavy metal thing not really being my thing, I felt it was used well here and I didn't mind some of the songs the band briefly played.

Most the characters are likeable, if underdeveloped. Imogen Poots was the real star for a film for me, an actress I like more and more every time I see her. Everyone else was fine. Patrick Stewart was an inspired against-type casting choice as the leader of the gang, who was genuinely frightening and unsettling to watch. I really hope he goes for more bad guy roles in the future.

There were some darkly comedic moments that were pretty funny, despite the chaos and insanity going on around the characters. The last line of the film was also a decent punchline to a running gag throughout the run-time. 

I'm just glad we've finally got a decent horror film this year. We usually get one or two and Green Room is one of those. Although it feels more like a thriller than a horror, I feel it filled the criteria needed for a genre-slasher film.


Green Room is more than likely going to be the best horror film of the year, a tense, violence and brutal genre mash of punks vs skinheads with two great performances from Imogen Poots and Patrick Stewart.

10/10 Dans

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Savages (2012) - Blu-ray Review

Review:

*Originally written April 15th, 2016*

Even with the negative to mixed reviews surrounding Savages, I was still one of the people who were more positive about it and I still feel the same way about it. Also I can't believe this film came out 4 years ago? That's insane, it felt like I only just saw it as a new release. 

The story of two pot dealers who have get back their shared girlfriend who is kidnapped by the cartel is certainly uneven and messy in parts, but there is more than enough good stuff here that makes up for the bad.

I'll get the bad out the way first. The ending. What the fuck were they thinking? We essentially get two endings. One that is dark and violent that is more in tone with the film, then one that retcons that ending as some bullshit wish fulfilment of a lead character and then changes it for a much more strange and comedic ending which just felt bizarre. Neither of the endings are particularly great, but the fact they couldn't even commit to one ending is just a strange creative decision.

Oliver Stone is a director who's films have really been lacking as of late, this isn't amazing by any stretch, but it's a step in the right direction after such duds like World Trade Center and Wall Street 2. This feels more in line with his '90s work with it's beautiful and strange imagery and grizzly violence. All the action scenes pack a great punch and look visually interesting. In the particular the hijacking of a cash shipment and even the final scene, which is made pointless, but it had enough of an impact to sorta make it feel worth it.

The performances is are fine, no one was particularly amazing. Kick-Ass was serviceable, Taylor Kitsch wasn't terrible and Blake Lively was okay, but some of her dialogue in the narration is atrocious. This was a real line from the film "I had orgasms, he had wargasms", who on earth thought that was a good line? Actually Benecio Del Toro was pretty great as the psychotic cartel second in command? I'm not too sure what his role was actually, it's never really said. Either way, he was wonderfully disgusting and creepy, maybe it was just the paedophile 'stache.  

I will admit, I do have a soft spot for anything cartel related, so I was more than willing to forgive a lot of this film's flaws. I do still believe it is underrated though, and unfairly treated. It's messy, but I'm hoping to see it hopefully become something of a cult classic.

I also have to note, it has one of the best ringtones in film history, possibly even the best. Actually yes, this has the best film ringtone in history, I will never go back on that statement.


Savages is uneven, messy and maybe even a bit too long, but it's mostly a grizzly, violent and fairly entertaining cartel thriller with a somewhat return to form from Oliver Stone.

7/10 Dans

Savages is out now on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Brigsby Bear (2017) - DVD Review

Review:

*Originally written January 15th, 2019*

It's such a shame that Brigsby Bear wasn't more popular than it was, an extremely sweet, funny and original comedy-drama looking at the power film and creativity has over us. It's a small indie-gem that so very little people have heard of. I was lucky enough to see it in cinemas a couple of years ago, but its release was extremely limited. 

I remember going into this having no idea what to expect. All I knew about it was the positive buzz coming out of its festival screenings and a couple of people comparing it to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Which I also loved). Plus Mark Hamill was in it and it involved a kidnapping plot. 

It's perhaps a farcical take on a subject matter that might have needed a bit more drama behind it, but it doesn't mean Brigsby Bear lacked in genuine moments of drama and maturity. The film follows James (Kyle Mooney) a man in his late 20s who spent his entire life unknowingly in captivity with only the show "Brigsby Bear" and the studies forced on him by his kidnappers (Who he believes are his parents). 

Brigsby is James' only thing close to resembling a hobby, it's all he's had as an escape his entire life. The problem is it's a made up show made entirely for him and once he's rescued, he has to adjust to the real world while all he knows is Brigsby, so with the help of his new friends and family, he sets out to finish Brigsby Bear in the form of his own homemade movie.

James is a little hard to get behind at first, he does get a little frustrating with his constant obsession with Brigsby, but it pays off in the end as his homemade movie gets going, leading to some wonderful scenes of them attempting to make their own film with next to no experience or knowledge how.

Brigsby Bear itself is a wonderfully creative invention, a no-budget homage to tacky kids and sci-fi shows of the '70s. Thinking back, this really tapped into nostalgia in a way that works, which is rampant in cinema at the moment. But the difference here is showing the importance of how nostalgia and love for art is a great escape from reality and you should be proud of what you made as long as you put heart and commitment into it. It's oddly like the same year's "The Disaster Artist" in reflection. 

I really have a soft-spot about films involving film-making and this was no different. It hits some familiar beats I've seen before in films like this, but it works all the same. Even the surprisingly emotional ending goes exactly where you'd expect, but after the journey we've spent with these characters, it still hits a satisfying spot and makes you wanna make your own film.


Brigsby Bear really is an underappreciated gem that I highly recommend seeking out. It's sweet, funny and only 90 minutes. I'm really interested to see what Dave McCary does next, because if its half as genuine as this, then I'm sold. Oh, and once again, no Blu-ray release in the UK? What in the fuck. No 4K release is understandable, but not even a Blu-ray release in these times is simply pathetic and unacceptable. 

8/10 Dans

Brigsby Bear is out now on DVD in the UK
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Upgrade (2018) - Film Review

Review:

*Originally written January 10th, 2019*

I wanted to like Upgrade more than I did, it was one on my radar for the past year that seemed right up my street. An ultra-violent, low-budget sci-fi film that riffed on things I know and love, and I while I enjoyed Upgrade to an extent, it's a bit of mixed bag.

Who on Earth is Logan Marshal-Green? And how does he look so much like Tom Hardy, but with none of the acting talent? It was actually quite distressing seeing this so soon after Venom, as the similarities are astonishing. Both are sci-fi action films about Tom Hardy (or his doppelganger) dealing with an extra presence attached to his body that also talks and sometimes controls him. 

I was actually pleasantly surprised by some of the aspects that I didn't know about going in. I had no idea about Green's robot implant actually having a personality of his own, I just thought this was a straight up action film about a guy who's wife is murdered, gets paralysed in the event and is given cybernetic upgrades to walk again and take revenge. 

It turned out to be a little more than that and the trailers also didn't give away how much of a black comedy this was too. It's surprisingly funny in the same way Venom was as Green's interactions with his robot implant "STEM" have some decent chemistry and lead to some fun lines about robots callous nature of being able to take a life. 

What surprised me most was that this was from Leigh Whannell, who's only previous film was the third film in the Insidious series, which I remember being fine, but this certainly shows more vision and promise than his previous film. His kinetic direction of the action scenes was surprisingly unique and interesting, especially the way the camera goes in motion with action on screen. It definitely had style and some of the gore is top notch and it's always a treat to see more practical steps used in creating some of the more disgusting moments.

The whole mystery of Green trying to find who murdered his wife is something we've seen many times before and was easily the most uninteresting aspect of the story, so it was a nice surprise to see the story actually go in weird places I didn't see coming, making way for a massively effective twist that I'd really like to see explored in a possible sequel.

While I appreciate there is definitely a great indie sci-fi film in here, it is let down by some less than great performances, including the lead, who really is just a stilted and uncharismatic Tom Hardy with weird and stilted delivery. I can't compare this to any of his previous performances, as the other things I've seen with him in it, I honestly have no memory of him being in it. 


For the most part though, Upgrade is definitely worth checking out and one that may go up on rewatches. It's a violent and fun ride with some really cool ideas that really makes great use of its low budget. I just hope it did well enough to justify a sequel. I'd just like to say fuck you to Universal for only going with a DVD release in the UK and no Blu-ray. Seriously, fuck you. 


6/10 Dans

Upgrade is out now on DVD in the UK
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Pacific Rim (2013) - 4K UHD Review

Review:

*Originally written January 10th, 2019*

I'd been meaning to revisit Pacific Rim for a while now, after the absolute train-wreck that is Pacific Rim: Uprising, I stupidly thought that "Maybe the original Pacific Rim is just a piece of shit too". Boy, how wrong I was, it's far from perfect, but Guillermo Del Toro's love letter to monster cinema is a big, dumb and fun piece of action. 

I don't enjoy it as much as most people, but there is so much to enjoy here. Del Toro delivers such wonderful and vibrant set-pieces (This is an absolute treat to watch on 4K, those neon colours really pop with HDR). It has a beautiful and cinematic look that is lost in the televisual sequel. There's such care and fluidity to make every single action scene memorable and exciting, it was such a lovely refresher on how great summer blockbusters can be both dumb, but extremely fun which seems rare these days and with 2018 just gone, it was a pretty painful year for blockbuster films aside from a select few.

The Jaiger and monster designs are all awesome and have their own unique feel. The neon blue blood of the creatures are a sight to behold, making the gore more entertaining and gorgeous to look at. I hate to bring up the sequel again, but the size and weight of these giant robots are completely lost there, in the original they feel huge and have weight to them and they are goddamn majestic to look at.

I just wish the script and story were as strong as the visuals and action. Charlie Hunnam is pretty bland as the lead (like he usually is), but he's serviceable for the most part and manages to carry the film. The side characters bring far more interest and charisma. Ron Perlman is just a delight in his short role and Charlie Day is pretty much playing Charlie Kelly from It's Always Sunny, but it's welcome. 

Idris Elba surprisingly steals the show here as the charismatic leader of the Jaiger pilots and his "Cancelling the apocalypse" speech is actually pretty awesome and I forgot how memorable it was. I'd honestly have preferred it if Elba had taken the lead role over Hunham, he certainly has far more charisma. Not as much as Jon Hamm, but damn he has charisma.


I'm definitely glad I revisited Pacific Rim despite it's flaws and got see see it in glorious 4K. I just wish they'd either waited for Del Toro to finish Shape of Water so he could have returned to direct 2, or just not made it at all. Either way, this still holds up as wonderfully entertaining and beautiful shot monster vs robot action. God bless cinema. 

8/10 Dans

Pacific Rim is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
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Holmes and Watson (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written January 1st, 2019*

Holmes and Watson is everything I expected from the trailers, it's 90 minutes of brainless, lazy jokes and crude attempts at humour. A film so pathetic and lazy that it's managed to make the headlines because of the amount of walkouts the film had seen over its opening weekend. It really is that bad.

The idea of making a spoof of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films feels outdated considering those films were a decade ago. Will Ferrell and John C Reilly are two actors I really like when they have a good creative team behind them. I wasn't a huge fan of Step Brothers, but this makes Step Brothers and Talladega Nights seem like masterful pieces of comedy genius in comparison.

There's just so little to talk about here, it's more interesting to talk about the news surrounding the film. Like the fact even Netflix turned this down after terrible test screenings. Netflix turned this down, the same company that release dozens of lazy and awful films every few months. Even they wouldn't touch this. 

Part of me does have a soft spot for really dumb comedies. I grew up watching the Ali G movie a lot and even the Daddy's Home films I adore, and if you want some insane genius, then John C Reilly's music biopic spoof Walk Hard is a work of art. But everything in this proved to be too much for me, aside from one moment in the opening of scene of Holmes tending a giant marrow he's growing and referring to it as a "Dirty bitch", I didn't laugh once, although the Victorian era equivalent of drunk texting was an fun idea, it was just executed horribly. 

Then there's the horrifically lame jokes aiming at Trump and contemporary issues brought up in a Victorian setting. It's brutal, there's selfie sticks, cringey hip-hop music and awfully on the nose visual gangs like Holmes wearing a red hat that says "Make England great again". Fuck my life.

What's most shocking about this mess is how it managed to attract this many talented cast members. It's a disaster almost on the scale of Movie 43. outside of Ferrell and Reilly we have Kelly McDonald, Ralph Fiennes, Rebecca Hall, Steve Coogan and Hugh Laurie. Was this just an easy paycheck for them, or did they actually think what they were in was funny? Based on their careers, I can only fathom they were in it for the cash grab.

Holmes and Watson is truly awful. One of the worst films of the year, a lazy and cynical attempt at comedy that isn't even worthy of being a Netflix original. Pathetic. 

2/10 Dans

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Bumblebee (2018) - Cinema Review

Review:

*Originally written January 1st, 2019*

After ruining the franchise with 5 increasingly bombastic, racist and just downright horrible films, I doubt there was much audience faith left the Transformers franchise thanks to Michael Bay's "Contributions" to cinema. Thankfully, Bay's awful touch is nowhere to be seen in this sweet, touching and incredibly fun prequel film focusing on the mute yellow Transformer Bumblebee.

I was excited for this due to Travis Knight directing (I loved Kubo and the Two Strings), he'd never done a live-action film before, but he proved his delicate touch worked to make a genuinely sweet and focused Transformers film that is far better than anything that's come before it and stands with some of the best blockbusters of the year.

Hailee Steinfeld is a complete joy and is far more watchable than the annoying Shia LeBeouf and the weirdly racist Mark Wahlberg in the previous films. Her character is arc is simple and it works, and she is so likeable as a lead. Being set in the '80s gives way to a wonderful John Hughes tone and homages to his films, plus a killer soundtrack. 

The action is far more scaled-back and easier to follow, it's much smaller than the city destroying bombast of the Bay films, which in all honesty, makes me care more. It's still giant robots punching each other, but it's done with much more energy and emotional weight than the previous films, making us actually care.

At its core, it's a little similar to the first Transformers film, it's someone finding out their new car is a Transformer and having to deal with that while hiding it from the government searching for it. The difference here is, we actually spend a lot of time with Bumblebee and Steinfeld bonding, she shows him music of their era and gets him to watch Breakfast Club on VHS. It's wonderful and genuinely funny at times, thanks to their dynamic. And it's just so refreshing to watch one of these films without Bay's weird racism and perversion, which had no place in this franchise considering they are kids films after all.

It's helps being a full 40 minutes shorter than the last few films too and the Transformers themselves having their original designs and not those weird and creepy robotic lips which are just off-putting. Bumblebee flies by in no time and it's the first film in this series where I actually wanted more when it ended. The Transformers franchise is actually worth watching again, all it took was getting a new director and getting rid of every awful decision Michael Bay added.


I'm really hoping Bumblebee does well, because this new start for the franchise is far more worthy of 4 sequels than the previous ones are. I just hope we get Travis Knight and Hailee Steinfeld back for future films, because I actually give a shit about these things for the first time since I was about 11. A fun, fast and sweet ride, Bumblebee is one of the biggest surprises of 2018.

8/10 Dans

Bumblebee is out now in cinemas in the UK, with a 4K UHD steelbook available to pre-order from HMV

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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
Watch the trailer below:

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