Dr. K

Movie Night: Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution

13/03/202027/01/2024Dr. K7 Comments

Released: July 2019
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama and Motonori Sakakibara
Distributor: Toho
Budget: $27 million
Stars: Sarah Natochenny, Michele Knotz, Bill Rogers, Ikue Ōtani, James Carter Cathcart, Michele Knotz, Dan Green, and Kōichi Yamadera

The Plot:
Cloned from the genetic material of the rarest Pokémon of all, Mew (Yamadera), and enraged at his mistreatment at the hands of humans, the Psychic Pokémon Mewtwo (Green) lures Ash Ketchum (Natochenny) and his friends to its island to witness its plan to enact revenge against all humanity.

The Background:
No doubt you are familiar with Pokémon (Nintendo/Creatures/Game Freak, 1995 to present), a role-playing videogame for Nintendo’s Game Boy and handheld consoles that, with no exaggeration, took the world by storm back in the late nineties. Everyone who was anyone rushed out to buy a copy of Pokémon: Blue Version or Pokémon: Red Version (ibid) back when they first released and, before long, kids everywhere were hooked on the seemingly never-ending stream of multimedia merchandise released by Nintendo. Chief amongst these was the still-ongoing Pokémon (1997 to present) anime series which, while somewhat removed from its videogame source material, nonetheless enthralled kids everywhere and, perhaps inevitably, led to the production of a feature-length animated movie, Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Yuyama, 1998). Then, for whatever reason, the decision was made, in the midst of a soft reboot to the Pokémon film series and anime alike, to remake this iconic movie entirely through the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI), resulting in this modern twist on what is, in my opinion, still the best Pokémon movie ever made thanks, largely, to the power of nostalgia.

The Review:
Basically, Evolution is exactly the same story as its predecessor but with a few noticeable changes; the most obvious is, of course, the CGI animation but other things, such as dialogue changes, narrative changes, and changes to the music, all help to freshen up the original movie. The opening scenes are largely the same (but, once again, the film skips the prologue that sees Mewtwo make friends with other clones who heartbreakingly die right before his eyes) as Mewtwo is cloned from a single cell of Mew and, unimpressed with the motivations behind his creation, destroys the facility in which it was created and kills all the scientists who birthed it.

MewtwoEvolutionRevenge — *Mewtwo swears revemge against humanity.*

Summarily manipulated by Giovanni (Ted Lewis), the evil leader of Team Rocket and the mastermind behind its creation, Mewtwo’s rage against humanity leads it to organise a Pokémon tournament in order to build an army of clone Pokémon to “strike back” against the world that treated him so badly. In the middle of their journey through Kanto, Ash, Brock (Rogers), Misty (Knotz), and Pikachu (Ōtani) receive an invitation to Mewtwo’s island and, after braving a storm it created, immediately take umbrage to Mewtwo’s twisted world view and rally a group of trainers, their Pokémon, and even their long-time enemies from Team Rocket, Jesse (Knotz), James (Cathcart), and Meowth (ibid), in opposing Mewtwo’s plans.

MewtwoEvolutionOppose — *Ash vehemently opposes Mewtwo’s plans.*

Let me state first of all that, unapologetically, I absolutely love Pokémon the First Movie; I still remember going out of my way to purchase a bootleg VHS tape of the film back in the day before finally getting a legitimate copy from a car boot sale. As much as I’ve enjoyed subsequent Pokémon movies, nothing beats the nostalgia of revisiting the original film. It may have some flaws, largely based around the numerous changes made when dubbing the film into English that made Mewtwo far less sympathetic, but I will defend it to this day simply because it came right at the peak of Pokémon’s popularity for me; Pokémon: Gold Version and Pokémon: Silver Version (Game Freak, 1999) were due to be released around that time and the hype was real concerning brand new Pokémon, to say nothing of finally seeing Mewtwo in all its glory (it had been teased in several episodes of the anime prior to the movie’s release), much less going head-to-head with Mew, which was the most elusive of game secrets at the time due to their being no legitimate way to catch it outside of Japan.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Thankfully, Evolution doesn’t really alter that much from the original film, meaning that the only thing you’re really missing out on is the gorgeous anime aesthetic from the original. The CGI looks good on the Pokémon but the human models look a little…off, like they’re made of plastic, which gets a bit distracting at times.

MewtwoEvolutionBattles — *A lot of the battles have been improved and expanded upon.*

Additionally, there were a few odd choices made here; dialogue is altered significantly, to the point where it feels much closer to the original Japanese dialogue (if that makes sense) but then, about halfway through, the dialogue changes and is almost exactly the same as in the original film (Mewtwo’s closing monologue, for example, is pretty much word-for-word). There’s also the criminal decision to supplant the original dub score with a new one (those who preferred the Japanese score will likely be thankful for this, however) and completely remove Blessid Union of Souls’ ‘Brother My Brother’ from the epic final clash.

MewtwoEvolutionTears — *Ash’s sacrifice still hits in the feels…*

One change I did appreciate, however, was the complete remove of the “tears of life” sub-plot; in the original, Ash and the others are fed a nonsense story about Pokémon tears being able to restore the dead to life, which was completely missing from the original Japanese version. While this did bring a lot more context to Ash’s resurrection in the film’s climax, it never sat well with me in the original as it always felt wedged in there.

MewtwoEvolutionChanges — Evolution *features some welcome alterations to the original.*

Similarly, Mewtwo’s mechanical suit gets on hell of a bad-ass upgrade, Team Rocket’s amusingly ridiculous disguise as Viking sailors, of all things, is removed completely (and for the better), and minor niggles like Pokémon being referred to incorrectly have been addressed. There are also some improvements made through this remake, as well; the ambiguity surrounding Mewtwo’s motivations that was explicit in the original Japanese release is far more prevalent here than in the original dub, for one thing. Some of the battles also receive a makeover, such as Ash’s initial battle during the iconic Pokémon theme song and the battles between the cloned start Pokémon and their biological counterparts.

The Summary:
In the end, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution is a nice little update to a childhood favourite; it adds in a lot of subtle story beats that were missing, beefs up some of the battles and content, and adds a fresh coat of paint to a classic. Yet, at the same time, it feels incredibly redundant; beyond the CGI overhaul and a few of these alterations, there’s not much new happening here and, considering the fact that the Pokémon movies are completely removed from the anime, it feels a bit weird to have this suddenly released upon us. A big factor into my final score comes down to my unconditional love for the original movie but even I kind of feel like much of the same could have been accomplished by releasing a high-definition, digitally remastered version of the original movie with all of the cut content restored alongside the recording of a new dub and the option to watch in the original Japanese.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think of Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution? Do you think it is a good tribute to Pokémon the First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back or do you, perhaps, not share my fondness for that movie? Whatever the case, feel free to share your Pokémon thoughts and memories in the comments.

Game Corner: Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension (Mega Drive)

11/03/202026/01/2022Dr. K8 Comments

That’s right; we’re back in the nineties with another bright, colourful action/platformer. This time we’re looking at one of many attempts by the Amiga to copy SEGA’s success with Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Team, 1991), Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension (Gremlin Graphics, 1992), which was ported to the Mega Drive by Electronic Arts. Given that it released about a year after Sonic, and about a month before Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sonic Team, 1992), Zool was one of the first videogames to ape Sonic’s success and even beat the franchise to the punch in some ways. Hell, just look at his eyes; they’re almost exactly the same style as Sonic’s!

ZoolStory — Zool *used cutscenes and comics to tell its story.*

One of the main things that sets Zool apart from Sonic is its use of text-and-picture cutscenes in the game’s opening and ending to tell its story; this story was also elaborated on through a charming little comic included in the game’s manual. It would be some years before Sonic videogames even used in-game sprite animations to convey their story, much less text-and-picture cutscenes.

ZoolChupa — *I’d rather have a packet of Love Hearts…*

As we saw in Cool Spot (Virgin Games, 1993), Zool also includes some rather unsubtle product placement; the entire first World is littered with Chupa Chups, quite possibly the most generic lollipop sweet there is. Quite how Zool contributed to the sale and advertisement of Chupa Chups is beyond me but perhaps it was this advertising revenue that allowed the videogame to be ported not only to the Mega Drive but also to MS-DOS (where it would later be surpassed by the far superior Jazz Jackrabbit (Epic MegaGames, 1994)), Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, SNES, and even the Atari ST.

ZoolWorlds — Zool‘s Levels are certainly vibrant.

But let’s start from the top; upon beginning the game, players are immediately tossed into an absolute blast of bright, vibrant colours and catchy, rock/electronic music. Zool, a little gremlin ninja thing from the “Nth dimension”, must jump, blast, and spin his way across seven equally animated and colourful Worlds (each with four Levels), defeating the minions of Krool in an effort to return to his home dimension.

ZoolAttacks — *Blast, spin, and slide your way to victory.*

Despite wielding energy sticks on the game’s box art, Zool’s primary form of attack is to blast enemies with energy projectiles; however, unlike other sidescrolling shooters, Zool can only fire projectiles in the direction he is facing. Zool can also perform a spinning top attack when jumping to attack airborne enemies or break certain level obstacles or, thankfully, simply jump on enemies to defeat them. Zool can also scale walls by either climbing or jumping up them, slide under spikes and through narrow gaps, and fire projectiles whilst ducking.

ZoolMaze — *Zool darts around maze-like Levels at break-neck speed!*

Arguably, Zool plays a lot faster that Sonic, however the game lacks some of the polish of SEGA’s iconic platformer; controlling Zool is like skating on ice on the Moon as Zool darts across Levels and soars through the air seemingly in defiance of gravity. While this doesn’t stop the game from being extremely fun to play or make navigating Levels that difficult, it can make some of the game’s attempts at precision platforming trickier.

ZoolGoal — *You have to collect items and find a coin to clear Levels.*

What does get in the way of navigation is the game’s primary gameplay mechanic; in order to clear a Level, Zool must collect a certain number of items. These change as Zool visits new Worlds (being anything from various fruits to CDs and bath toys) and the number you must collect depends on the difficulty you set the game to. Once Zool has collected enough items, he must follow an extremely vague arrow in the game’s HUD to reach a coin and be spirited away to the next Level or World.

ZoolHidden — *Blast walls to reach hidden routes.*

Zool must do all of this while battling against not only respawning enemies and level obstacles such as spikes and disappearing platforms but also while traversing the game’s maze-like Levels. Some Levels are considerably more labyrinthine than others, to be fair, and sometimes the game cheekily hides your route behind a wall that must be blasted open…though, as there’s no visual distinction between walls, it’s easy to miss these routes entirely.

ZoolBosses — *Truly the stuff of nightmares!*

Zool’s enemies are as wacky and outrageous as the game’s Worlds; Zool must contend with the likes of anthropomorphic jelly, killer violins, floating screws, projectile-spitting liquorice treats, and evil fruit (the implication being that sweets are good and veggies are bad…which I can get behind). To clear each World, Zool must also battle equally weird and wild bosses, such as a giant cactus and a screaming pink head with a spring-loaded boxing glove for a tongue!

ZoolPowerUp — *Double Zool’s shot with power-ups!*

Luckily, Zool has plenty of things to assist him in his mission; Zool has an energy bar and can take three hits before losing a life, can blast various checkpoints to respawn at a number of different points throughout a Level, and can collect numerous power-ups that increase his jump height, give him a shadow to double his firepower, increase his time, destroy all onscreen enemies, or make him invincible.

ZoolSecret — *Some hidden mini games add some spice.*

There are a few hidden secrets to be found in Zool as well; when I played the Master System version, I distinctly remember accidentally finding a warp point that simply took me straight to the game’s ending. There’s also some mini games and arcade games that can be played by doing certain actions in some Levels to add a little intrigue and variety to the proceedings.

ZoolControls — *Platforming can get tric*ky.

Zool isn’t especially difficult, even on its hardest difficulty setting; 1 Ups are scattered across Levels (sometimes extremely liberally) to increase your chances, enemies often drop health, and the bosses have very simple attack patterns. However, there are some frustrating elements; the time limit, for one, and having to collect enough items to access the exit point, for another. While there are no bottomless pits, there are some frustrating platforming sections that require Zool to jump to very small, disappearing platforms and, if you fall, it can be a chore to get back up, especially as the enemies will respawn.

ZoolEnding — *Turns out it was all for nothing and the REAL battle is still going on!*

Perhaps the biggest letdown of Zool, though, is the ending; after defeating the final boss, Zool successful escapes back to the Nth dimension where he is greeted by Zooz, his female companion. Although she congratulates Zool, she reveals that Krool has invaded another handful of worlds, essentially making the ending a giant tease for its sequel, Zool 2 (The Warp Factory, 1993). This might be fine but, unfortunately, Zool 2 never received a port to the Mega Drive, all but forcing players to invest in an Amiga or other such console to play the sequel. I did own Zool 2 back when I had an Amiga and remember it being a pretty fine little game in its own right; this time, players can select between Zool and Zooz, with each character playing slightly differently (Zooz had a whip…) and being able to take alternative routes through Levels. It’s a shame that Zool 2 didn’t get the same cross-platform release but I guess that does go some way to making Zool the unofficial mascot of the Amiga. Unfortunately, despite these two titles, the myriad number of ports Zool received, and even a couple of young adult novels, Zool has pretty much faded into obscurity. Quickly surpassed by Sonic 2 and other similar action/platformers, Zool never quite managed to outshine Sonic like the Amiga probably hoped he would. Zool’s time in the sun was very brief and it’s a shame, really, as, despite the game’s slippery controls, the character has a unique design and his games were extremely bright, energetic fun with some nice levels of animation. When it comes to a re-release, port, or HD remaster, I’d like to say “never say never” as even the similarly-themed, arguable more obscure Superfrog (Team17, 1993) got a nifty HD version in 2016 but it does seem like Zool’s brief flirtation with fame has long since passed.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Do you remember Zool? If so, which version did you play? If you haven’t, I urge you to track down a copy and give it a whirl but, either way, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Mini Game Corner: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Mega Drive)

08/03/202014/07/2023Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 1994
Developer: Banpresto/Nova
Also Available For: Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Mega CD

The Background:
If you were a kid back in the early nineties, right after you finished up being obsessed with what we in the UK know as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (1987 to 1996), and before Pokémon (1997 to present) took my generation by storm, you were all about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993 to 1996). Cobbled together from stock footage from the Japanese tokusatsu series Gosei Sentai Dairanger (1993 to 1994) and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger (1994 to 1995), Power Rangers focused on five teens “with attitude” (despite the fact they were a bunch of geeky do-gooders who couldn’t break a rule if they were held at gunpoint) imbued with superhuman powers and abilities. Harnessing the power of the dinosaurs, they could transform into martial arts superheroes and conjure giant mechs to battle against the forces of evil. To say Power Rangers was a cultural phenomenon would be an understatement; parents were outraged at the glorification of violence but we headed out in our droves to buy every bit of Power Rangers merchandise we could, from t-shirts to action figures. Given its dominion over the playground and the airwaves, you know that this also meant the franchise received its own multi-platform videogame that I’m sure hapless kids everywhere begged their parents to buy for them.

The Review:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a simple 2D fighting game; you can choose to battle head-to-head with a friend or take on the game’s Scenario Mode, where you’ll battle one of Rita’s minions in a format that will be more than familiar to anyone who has played a Street Fighter (Capcom, 1987 to present) videogame. However, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (ibid, 1991) this is not; first of all, you’re (unsurprisingly) limited to only six playable characters (the titular Power Rangers). Each plays largely the same and the variations come only in their special attacks and weapons; the Red Ranger wields a sword but the Black Ranger has an axe, for example. After you face, and defeat, the evil Green Ranger (in my opinion, the greatest Power Ranger of all time), he becomes a playable character as well. There’s one main difference between playing as the Green Ranger compared to the other Rangers, though, and that’s in the game’s other battle mode. Once you defeat Rita’s monster, she’ll make it grow (as she is wont to do…) and the Rangers summon the Megazord to battle it. The Green Ranger, however, summons the Dragonzord but it basically amounts to the same thing: smash the buttons until you whittle away the enemy’s health bar and win.

MMPRFinal — *The game’s literally over in less than an hour. It’s sad.*

If you’re looking for depth…well, there isn’t any. Power Rangers the game has about as much depth and variety as Power Rangers the television show. I literally sat there, mashing buttons and hardly even trying, and never lost a single round. When I fought the Green Ranger as the Black Ranger, I did one whirlwind attack with Zack’s blade and won without Tommy landing a single hit! The game is also pathetically short; you always battle the monster on the same stage for the first fight but, once you’ve battled all five of Rita’s minions, the game is over and you’ve pretty much done everything Power Rangers has to offer in less than an hour. Unless you suck at videogames, but I’d wager even if that is the case you could beat Power Rangers without a great deal of difficulty.

MMPRGreen — *Once you go Green you never go back…*

Graphically, there’s not much to write home about; the sprites themselves are colourful and large and surprisingly detailed but not very animated. The backgrounds are even worse, being largely barren and devoid of life or character, and severely lacking in variety. It’s pretty much the same story for the game’s sound, too; there’s a noticeably bad rendition of the iconic Power Rangers theme and some shitty voice samples but the in-game sounds are muted and dull. Characters grunt and yelp a bit and Zords thud about but it all sounds so half-assed and a far cry from the loud, impactful sounds the Mega Drive is capable of producing. There are some nice cutscenes between battles that tell the story and evoke the same spirit as the television show but they don’t really contain much in the way of animation, meaning the game is outclassed by even some Master System titles in that regard.

MMPREnemies — *Get used to seeing this same stage over and over…*

As I mentioned above, the game has only five enemies to battle against. Sure, you face each one in two different types of battle but, if you’ve ever seen Power Rangers, you’ll know that doesn’t really mean much as the monster’s second form is literally just a bigger version of its first form. Goldar makes an appearance (he was the only monster I actually recognised…) but there’s no Putty Patrol to wade through and no Lord Zedd as the game is only pulling its inspiration from the first series of the show. Similarly, there aren’t any beyond the different weapons and abilities of the Power Rangers. The only thing to unlock here is the Green Ranger, which is the second battle and, once you have him, you’ll never pick another character because Tommy is the best character. Finally, you can battle against a friend but, honestly, I can’t see why you’d even bother.

The Summary:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers may have been a cultural phenomenon but this videogame outing is a dreadful experience; the controls are sluggish, the battles are ridiculously easy, and the game is just boring from start to finish. I wouldn’t even recommend this to die-hard Power Rangers fans as there are far better Power Rangers videogames available; the game’s counterpart on the SNES, for example, or the one based on the movie. Either way, just don’t even give this the light of day and stick to playing Street Fighter II because the only thing “mighty” about this game is how bad it is.

My Rating:

Terrible

Did you watch Power Rangers when it first aired? Who was your favourite Ranger and why was it the Green/White Ranger? Do you think I was too harsh on the Mega Drive videogame, or have a favourite Power Rangers videogame? Let me know in the comments.

Talking Movies: The Invisible Man (2020)

05/03/202023/10/2025Dr. K2 Comments

Released: March 2020
Director: Leigh Whannell
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Budget: $7 million
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

The Plot:
After finally leaving her long-term abusive boyfriend, Adrian Griffin (Jackson-Cohen), Cecilia Kass (Moss) finds herself unable to shake his oppressive presence when, following his apparent suicide, she suspects that he is still stalking her.

The Background:
Remember The Mummy (Kurtzman, 2017)? Well, that was supposed to be the latest attempt by Universal Pictures to launch the “Dark Universe”, a series of interconnected horror/action/science-fiction movies that would bring together the classic Universal Monsters for the first time in decades. However, The Mummy tanked and Universal were forced to change their tactics and focus, instead, on standalone stories that reimagined their horror classics. Personally, I didn’t find it to be that and a movie and the cast that Universal had assembled for their dark Universe was very impressive and promising. Veering away from the Johnny Depp-starring vehicle, Universal instead turned to Leigh Whannell to create a modern take on The Invisible Man (Wells, 1897) that bypassed the classic Universal horror of the same name (Whale, 1933) and, instead, concerned itself more with being an intense thriller with elements of sci-fi and horror mixed in.

The Review:
One day, after years of being trapped under the thumb of her sociopathic, controlling boyfriend Adrian, Cecilia decides to creep out in the dead of night after drugging him; as she’s being picked up by her sister, Emily (Dyer), Adrian tries to attack her but his threat seems to be over when, two weeks later, it is revealed that he killed himself.

InvisibleManCast — *Despite its flaws, you can’t fault (most of) the cast.*

Cecilia has hidden herself away from Adrian and the world by moving in with her friend, James (Hodge) and his teenage daughter, Sydney (Reid). After Adrian’s lawyer brother, Tom (Dorman), reveals that Adrian left Cecelia $5 million, she finally begins to turn her life around. However, she soon begins to feel Adrian’s presence looming over her everyday life; after years of abusive and mistreatment, her fears are dismissed as paranoia and shock but, before long, things start to happen that can’t be explained away and Cee begins to suspect that her former lover, a world leader in optics, has faked his death, discovered a way to make himself invisible, and is stalking her, destroying her relationships and life bit by bit to force her to return to him.

InvisibleManTramua — *Strange events start haunting Cecelia.*

What separates The Invisible Man from other adaptations is its singular focus on the victim, rather than the titular antagonist; normally, Invisible Man stories and their contemporaries revolve entirely around a man who turns himself invisible and is slowly consumed by its intoxicating effects. Here, though, we follow Cee as she succumbs to fear and hysteria, not only from the threat of an actual invisible man, but also the lingering effects of her toxic relationship with Adrian. There aren’t enough words to describe how great Elisabeth Moss is at portraying a woman who is struggling to return to normal, everyday life and is clearly traumatised by her abusive boyfriend and also seemingly haunted by his continuing presence.

InvisibleManTom — *This guy’s definitely…in the movie…*

Surrounding her is a similarly decent cast; Hodge and Reid have great rapport with Moss and you definitely believe in their platonic, yet loving, relationship. There’s some friction between Cee and Emily that goes back to their childhood, but it’s not really expanded upon and takes a backseat to the more pressing concerns about Cee’s mental health, and there isn’t much for Tom to really do except exist as another victim of Adrian’s destructive behaviour.

InvisibleManTension — The Invisible Man really excels at building tension.

Ostensibly, The Invisible Man is a tense thriller; there’s some really unique framing choices and camera work at use here to make you feel on edge and uncomfortable at all times, as though there really is another, unseen man present in most scenes. Whannell favours building tension over a high body count and this keeps the film on a razor’s edge; once the pace picks up, things get even more intense as we follow the deterioration of Cee’s mental health…but it’s far from perfect. As a big fan of The Invisible Man, I wasn’t really expecting this to be a character study of the trauma victims of abusive relationships can suffer through. To be fair, judging from the trailers, I was expecting little more than a jump-scare thriller, so it was surprising to find the film had so much meat on its bones but I have some issues with its execution and pacing that spoiled the experience for me.

The Nitty-Gritty:
First of all, there is and invisible man in this movie; the trailers made this pretty explicit but the film does a really good job of making you question whether it’s a ghost, an invisible man, or just all in Cee’s head. However, I feel this is a bit disingenuous; I went into it expecting an invisible man and wanting to “see” an invisible man, so to constantly beat around the bush was a bit frustrating.

InvisibleManMadness — *Here it’s the victim who struggles with her sanity…*

We don’t ever really get much of a sense of who Adrian really is; he’s talked about at length but there’s not much time spent on why he was so abusive to Cee or what drove him to form such destructive relationships with people. It saps him of some of his menace and makes him, instead, he’s just a silent stalker who dispatches those in his way with little effort. It turns out that Adrian developed a special suit comprised of loads of little cameras that allows him to appear invisible; this is a change of pace as, usually, invisible men take a serum that renders them invisible but, while the suit may be more “realistic”, it carries exactly the same issues as a serum does…and even a few more. For example, the suit completely covers Adrian, so how does he see out of it? Its skin-tight surface is covered with plastic and cameras so, surely, he would make quite a bit of noise when he moved and, if he somehow didn’t, his muffled breathing would be hard to disguise.

InvisibleManPacing — *I had some issues with the film’s pacing…*

Also, somehow, Adrian appears to be superhumanly strong; he can lift Cee with one hand, toss her across rooms, and beat men to death, or close to it, without much problem. I don’t really see how his fancy suit helps him do that, even though it does make for some impressive action and kill scenes in the film’s final act. The big twist turns out to be that Tom is in on it all too; Cee remains steadfast that Adrian put Tom up to it, however, and takes it upon herself to kill Adrian herself (cloaked in his same suit) to finally gain some catharsis but it’s left ambiguous as to whether Adrian did actually stalk Cee while invisible or if it was always Tom…or the both of them. And yet I find it hard to really care as neither man is Claude Rains (hell, they’re not even Kevin Bacon!) and reducing the invisible man to a silent killer sucks a lot of the charm and menace out of the normally talkative antagonist.

The Summary:
The Invisible Man is one hell of a tense, nail-biting thriller; the film does a masterful job of building tension and suspense and Elisabeth Moss puts in a great performance as an emotionally-scarred victim but, in the end, I just couldn’t really get into it. Despite the film’s interesting take on the classic Invisible Man formula, we’re left with a poorly-defined villain and some forgettable supporting characters; the all the tension and build in the world can’t overcome the fact that The Invisible Man overstays its welcome for way too long (the film doesn’t seem to know how, or when, to end and drags on and on) and sacrifices too much of the original source material and concept to tell an otherwise moving story of a victim of abuse.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Game Corner: Sonic Mania 2 Wish List

04/03/202024/06/2026Dr. K4 Comments

Sonic Mania (PagodaWest Games/Headcannon, 2017) was a hit, there’s no doubt about it; within a year, the game sold over one million copies. A physical edition, Sonic Mania Plus, was later released in 2018 featuring all the updates and downloadable content (DLC), and some nifty extras like a reversible sleeve that featured classic nineties-inspired artwork. In addition, Sonic Mania Adventures (2018) had a nice little five episode run online alongside a few bonus episodes along the way to keep the game alive in the minds of fans and the general public. However, since Sonic Mania released, we’ve heard very little about a sequel; in 2018, Takashi Iizuka stated that a sequel was not likely to happen as “it feels like we did everything we could for the Sonic Mania project”. With 2020 being touted as the “Year of Sonic” and some major announcements planned to take place in the run up to Sonic’s 30^th anniversary, I think it’s only fair to hope that Sonic Mania 2 is on the cards for a 2021 release.

With that in mind, or just for a laugh, today I’m going to talk about a few key features I’d like to see in a potential Sonic Mania sequel…

SonicMania2GreenHill — **Less Classic Zones**

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good HD reimaging of Sonic’s classic Zones as much as the next person but, if SEGA have proven anything about their understanding of Sonic it’s recent years, it’s that they rely way too much on the same familiar Zones. Sonic Mania, admittedly, mixed it up a bit with the likes of Flying Battery Zone and Oil Ocean Zone but we still saw yet another rendition of both Green Hill and Chemical Plant Zone, which both featured heavily in Sonic Forces (Sonic Team, 2017) and that released in the same year! Regardless, I would still like to see some classic Zones make a comeback but SEGA really need to start taking some chances; why not use Emerald Hill Zone, or combine it with Hill Top or Aquatic Ruin Zone, for the traditional grassy-fun opening level? Why not use Scrap Brain Zone instead of Chemical Plant, or bring back Ice Cap and Marble Garden Zone? One of the things I did like about Sonic Mania, which also cropped up in Sonic Generations (ibid, 2011), was the use of gameplay gimmicks being incorporated into other Sonic Zones and I feel like this would be a great way to go in Sonic Mania 2. If you’re going to do Scrap Brain Zone, for example, throw in some of the steam-based mechanics from Metropolis Zone; if you’re bringing back Spring Yard Zone, toss in some of the pinball mechanics from Toxic Caves; if you’re making new Zones (and you absolutely should), splice in the dreaded barrel from Casino Night or the light-based mechanics from Sandopolis Zone. There are so many great levels and gimmicks from the last thirty-five years of Sonic’s life and returning again and again to Green Hill and Chemical Plant would be very disappointing, even if those Zones were mixed up with new mechanics. Go new, or outside the box, to show some real narrative and aesthetic growth.

SonicMania2DLC — **Don’t Drop DLC Characters**

Okay, I know I’m in the minority with this one but I like Sonic’s extended cast of characters; they’re fun and colourful and each one has a unique gimmick that has been either poorly utilised, undervalued, or simply slapped onto Sonic either through his base moveset or through the use of Wisps. Why include Tails as a playable character when Sonic can “Hover!!” Sonic Mania did a great thing by finally (finally) bringing back Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel; not only did they come back but they were far more than Sonic reskins and their individual abilities and personalities really came through thanks to their unique gameplay mechanics and Sonic Mania’s gorgeous sprite animation. For Sonic Mania 2, they absolutely should include both of these characters right off the bat. It really irks me when DLC characters are still DLC in a sequel. Maybe have them unlocked along the way after defeating bosses, like in Sonic Advance 2 (Dimps/Sonic Team, 2002). In fact, I would look to the Sonic Advance series (ibid, 2001 to 2004) for a lot of inspiration for a Sonic Mania sequel in two very specific ways. First of all, Amy Rose should definitely be a playable character. She apparently missed out on being included in the first game because “she’s the only one without a kind of gameplay-oriented “power”” but she did show up in Sonic Mania Adventures and, honestly, it is a crime that she wasn’t included in Sonic Mania not just because six playable characters makes a lot more sense than five but also because she’s just as much a part of Sonic’s history as Metal Sonic and he was included.

SonicMania2Teams — *Team moves have promise that* Sonic Mania 2 could expand upon.

Amy should feature in much the same way she played in Sonic Advance but tweaked slightly; have her hop by default and twirl around in a Spin Attack with her Piko-PIko Hammer when you press the button again, similar to Sonic’s Insta-Shield. Holding down and X would see her rev up on the spot, like in Sonic Advance but, when the button is released, she should blast away swinging her hammer to attack enemies. I’d like to see Amy be a bit more floaty, kind of like Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo EAD, 1988), to basically make her an “easy mode” character for younger players and to compensate for her moving slower and jumping lower. Secondly, Sonic Mania 2 should really capitalise on its expanded roster to build upon the team-based gameplay seen in Knuckles’ Chaotix (SEGA, 1995), Sonic Advance 3 (specifically), and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (Dimps/Sonic Team, 2012). This means that not only would we finally be able to play as Sonic and Knuckles, or Knuckles and Tails, but we’d also be able to team up any two characters for co-operative play and to utilise some unique co-op mechanics. For example, playing co-op with Tails would be pretty much the same for every character (Tails can carry his partner while flying or swimming) but teaming with Knuckles would see characters jump onto his back to glide across gaps and use his immense strength to bash through walls. Teaming with Sonic could involve the use of a faster speed dash or a general increase in speed and jumping power, which would be great for Knuckles and Amy. Mighty, meanwhile, could jump ahead of his partner to shield them with his shell and use his slam to break through areas of the ground, while Ray could use his bushy tail to swat his partner up in the air and help them swing across vines and ledges. Given that multiple different character variations were included as part of Sonic Mania Plus’s “Encore Mode”, I would definitely include this co-op gameplay right from the off, if only to add some variety to the gameplay and to, hopefully, refine and perfect this mechanic, which has always had a lot of potential but never quite been that great in execution.

SonicMania2NewCharacters — **Add MORE Playable Characters**

So I think I’ve made a convincing argument that Amy, at the very least, needs to be a playable character in Sonic Mania 2 but why stop there? The one thing SEGA should not take away from Sonic Mania is that players only want to play as Sonic; the developers definitely should totally use the sequel as a means to bring in some more classic Sonic characters like Metal Sonic (most likely only available until after completing the main story mode), Espio the Chameleon, and Vector the Crocodile as DLC. Espio and Vector looked so wacky and had some unique twists to their gameplay in Knuckles’ Chaotix that I would love to see turn up again, like Epsio’s Spinning Top Attack and Vector’s weird cartwheel-spin-thing. Let’s take this further, though, and have Espio incorporate the wall-jumps from Knuckles’ Chaotix and, by holding X alone, turn invisible/translucent for a brief period while Vector could gobble up enemies and spit them out as a projectile like Yoshi, perhaps. Teaming with Vector would see him launch the player in an arc, while Espio would toss them upwards, in a variation of the “Hold!” team-ups from Knuckles’ Chaotix.

SonicMania2Charmy — *Charmy’s tiny size makes him perfect as a Cheese-like projectile.*

You could make a case for also including Charmy Bee but I always found is tiny (miniscule, even) size in Knuckles’ Chaotix a bit of an issue; I would either redesign him to be about the size of Tails or relegate him to a power-up that can be obtained by breaking a Monitor. He could then buzz around the player and automatically attack nearby enemies, similar to Cheese in the Sonic Advance games, until the player takes a hit. As for Metal Sonic, I would have him be a faster, slippery variation of Sonic but with a couple of changes; pressing A to jump and then A again could see him blast off a magnetic pulse that attracts nearby Golden Rings and destroys any Badniks onscreen (it would be useless against bosses, however). Pressing down and A would see him charge up his booster and blast forward in a variation of the modern Boost mechanic, smashing through enemies as he goes, and teaming with Metal could see him form a brief barrier that protects the player and deflects projectiles. As a bonus, I would also like to see SEGA delve into the obscure and resurrect the Feel, the rabbit character that was the original concept for Sonic. Feel would basically play exactly like Ristar only he’d use his stretchy ears to grab and attack enemies rather than his hands; he could also use his ears as a kind of charged pounce when teaming with him.

SonicMania2Heavies — **Bigger, Better Boss Battles**

One thing I liked about Sonic Mania was the variety in the boss battles; similar to those seen in Sonic the Hedgehog CD (SEGA, 1993), boss battles were generally big, varied, and with specific tricks being required to beat them. I mean, we even had a mini game borrowed from Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (Compile/SEGA, 1993), which I really did not expect! In Sonic Mania 2, I’d like to see more of the same but with a greater focus on Doctor Eggman; the Hard-Boiled Heavies were fun but it didn’t really feel like we battled against Eggman enough in the first game. Given that the Heavies seem to have been a one-and-done deal, I don’t expect to see them return in the sequel; instead, I’m hoping we’ll see Eggman hop into some massive, mental mechas. Without one exception, however; I’d like to see Sonic Mania 2 take some more inspiration from Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (Aspect, 1994) and feature Bean, Bark, and Nack/Fang as sub-bosses who hound the player constantly throughout the game. It was great to see them appear in the first game but, this time, I’d like to see them get a bigger spotlight for a change (if not as sub-bosses then, at the very least, as rivals to contend with in Special Stages for the Chaos Emeralds).

SonicMania2SpecialStages — **Mix Up the Special Stages**

Speaking of Special Stages, and Triple Trouble, I’d like to see Sonic Mania 2 mix up the format for each Special Stage; the half-pipe, rotating maze, and races against UFOs are great but, sometimes, it feels like SEGA fall back on these classic tropes way too often rather than try something new. No two Special Stages were the same in Sonic’s Game Gear outings and I’d like to see that format return; perhaps one stage is a rotating maze, another is a variation of the half-pipe in a race against Fang, another is the Blue Sphere stage, or Sonic is racing on Rocket Boots. This is also a great opportunity to weave in gameplay mechanics form other Zones and spin-off games, like snowboarding or, perhaps, even a mini game inspired by the Sonic Drift (SEGA/Arc System Works, 1994 to 1995) videogames. Either way, I feel that including Bean, Bark, and Fang as a team of mercenaries either working for Eggman or as wild cards after the Chaos Emeralds means that they should be involved in Special Stages, at the very least, and not sticking to one standard for the Special Stages would add a bit more variety and challenge to acquiring Chaos Emeralds.

SonicMania2Animation — **Incorporate Animation**

One of the biggest disappointments of Sonic Mania Plus for me was that the Sonic Mania Adventures shorts weren’t included in the bonus features; to be fair, they hadn’t finished making them when the game released but, still, it felt like a missed opportunity to not include them and like the definitive collection of all Sonic Mania materials wasn’t quite as “definitive” as it could have been. Going forward, I’d really like to see the developers use this animation style to tell the game’s story in the same way Sonic CD used anime sequences. As much as I love Sonic Mania’s sprite animations, the opening, ending, act transitions (which should be included after every Zone right off the bat this time), and interludes should all use animated cutscenes. I wouldn’t use any voice acting, though; just rely on music, sound effects, and grunts rather than ruin the mystique.

I loved Sonic Mania and the extra features included in Plus really added to the experience but it definitely felt like the developers could do even more; “Encore Mode” was great, for example, but there weren’t any Achievements tied to it, which kind of takes away some of the incentive to play the mode. Obviously they’ll want to keep something back for DLC but, for starters, Sonic Mania needs to be, at least, twice as big as its predecessor; that might mean adding more Zones, or more Acts to Zones, and including features like day, night, and seasonal cycles/variants to the Zones. Maybe they game will utilise a similar time/space hopping mechanic to Sonic CD and allow us to travel to different time point sin certain Zones so we could finally play Wood Zone while playing Metropolis Zone. The Time Trials are an obvious inclusion and allowing us to replay the Special Stages and mini games was great but maybe the developers could include a Challenge Mode that has players play Zones in reverse, or forced to collect a certain number of Rings or destroy a number of enemies; perhaps take inspiration from the bonus missions in Sonic Generations where other characters challenge the player to a race or something as simple as a boss rush mode. Either way, this would add a nice extra layer of replayability to the game and open up the options for some more Achievements to be added.

Personally, I feel like if SEGA don’t produce a Sonic Mania sequel then they’re fools; the first game was everything long-time fans have been clamouring and begging for for years and it did really well. To not capitalise on that success is crazy to me; we should have seen similar follow-ups to other iconic SEGA franchises, and a Sonic Mania 2, long before now but, instead, we’re left with Sonic’s mobile titles while we wait for the inevitable next 2.5/3D Sonic game to cause division within the fanbase.

Leave a comment below with your thoughts on Sonic Mania? Would you like to see a sequel? Do you think we’ll even ever get a sequel? And what else do you think SEGA have in store for Sonic 2021?

10 FTW: Batsuits

24/02/202006/10/2022Dr. K33 Comments

So, disappointingly, Ben Affleck is officially, 100% out as Batman. Despite my reservations about him being cast in the role, he delivered a really impressive performance as a tortured, grizzled Bruce Wayne who was driven to extremes after two decades of fighting an unwinnable war against crime in Gotham City. However, due to a multitude of reasons, Affleck is gone and, instead, The Batman (Reeves, 2021) will star Robert Pattinson in the title role as a younger Batman in his first years of activity. As with pretty much all Batman casting, this has caused some interesting ripples throughout the fandom but these discussions were only exacerbated when Reeves teased the first look at Pattinson’s Batsuit.

While this is obviously far from the clearest view, and leaked set images are showing either a much less refined stunt suit or lacking the filter of editing and post-production, there are some interesting choices at work here, such as Wayne apparently melting down the gun that killed his parents to form the symbol of his Batsuit. In any event, this seems like an appropriate time to take a look at some Batsuits from days gone by and talk about what makes them so iconic.

Batsuits10Knightfall — 10 Knightfall (*Batman* #500)

I am pretty certain I am in the minority here but I really dig the armoured suit that Jean-Paul valley put together during the Knightfall (Dixon, et al, 1993 to 1994) storyline. Initially, Valley just augmented the existing Batsuit with some wicked mechanical claws that could shoot out Bat-Shurikens, a grappling hook and, apparently, a laser but, for his big rematch against Bane, Valley decided to go the whole hog and produce an entirely armoured ensemble that enabled him to best Bane easily. As the Knightfall arc progressed, the suit took on a darker, far more menacing look as it changed from blue to red; Valley also became increasingly dependent upon the suit as his madness progressed, refusing to take it off and using it in increasingly violent (and fatal) ways. Eventually, however, the suit proved Valley’s undoing as he was unable to squeeze through the narrow tunnel Bruce Wayne lured him into, which finally forced him to remove the suit and begin a difficult road to redemption. What I like about this suit, though, is how futuristic and dangerous it looks; it’s got an aerodynamic flair, has all these neat gadgets and upgrades, and makes Batman look like a cold-blooded figure who takes no prisoners, which is exactly what Valley embodied. The suit rarely makes much of an appearance these days, though it did appear as a skin in Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montréal, 2013) and informed Valley’s subsequent appearances as Azrael over the years.

Batsuits9ZurEnArrh — 9 Zur-En-Arrh (*Batman* #113; *Batman* #678)

Sometimes, you just need a completely bat-shit-crazy (pun intended) Batsuit and they don’t get much weirder than this one (well, maybe the Rainbow Batman…). First appearing wayyy back in 1958, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was an alien who, inspired by Batman, fought giant robots. Then, in the midst of the dreadful Batman R.I.P. (Morrison, et al, 2008) storyline, “writer” (I hesitate to call him that as his writing is atrocious and obnoxiously dense) Grant Morrison resurrected the Zur-En-Arrh concept as a “backup personality” Bruce implanted within himself that would kick in should he ever be psychologically compromised. What I love about this costume is the gaudy, outlandish, outrageousness of it; it’s all a mish-mash of reds, purples, and yellows the likes of which we haven’t seen clash since Alan Scott! Add to this the ruthlessness and unhinged nature of Morrison’s interpretation and you have one mental Batsuit that makes pummelling thugs into submission in Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios, 2015) all the more satisfying.

After wrapping up their excellent Batman: The Animated Series (Various, 1992 to 1999), Bruce Timm and Paul Dini decided to try something a little new with their animated ventures with Batman Beyond (ibid, 1999 to 2001). Batman Beyond took place quite far into the future and focused on a teenaged Batman, Terry McGinnis, who donned this futuristic Batsuit. There’s a lot to like about this Batsuit; first, there’s the trademark Dini/Timm simplicity. Second, there’s the fact that the cowl covers the entirety of Terry’s head; I’ve never really understood why Batman (and other, similarly-masked superheroes) feel the need to expose their jaw and mouth to the world so it’s great to see it obscured here. Then there’s all the futuristic modifications in the suit; it has jet boots, can glide, can turn invisible, and has all kinds of nifty gadgets to give Terry the edge in battling crime in Neo-Gotham. Since its debut, the Batman Beyond suit has cropped up more than once in comics, videogames, and other cartoons; Kate Kane, the modern Batwoman, also wears a costume that’s almost exactly identical.

Batsuits7Gaslight — 7 Gotham by Gaslight

Retroactively labelled as one of the first ‘Elseworlds’ stories created by DC Comics, Gotham by Gaslight (Augustyn, et al, 1989) presents Bruce Wayne/Batman as existing in the 19^th century and engrossed in the hunt for Jack the Ripper. As such, this Batsuit has a heavy steampunk-vibe to it (and I do love me some steampunk). Like other Batsuits on this list, the Gaslight suit works because of how simple and effective it is; this is a Batman that cannot rely on futuristic tech or fancy gadgets and is, instead, simply a very focused and highly trained man in a heavy, fit-for-purpose suit. The high collar, large pouches, and heavy-duty, militaristic feel given off this suit are fantastic and it’s probably one of the closest examples of what a realistic Batsuit would look like. In addition to being featured in a pretty decent animated film, this suit seems to have inspired Pattinson’s Batsuit, as well as the suit seen in the “Knightmare” scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Snyder, 2016).

As great as the fantastically camp Batman (Various, 1966 to 1968) television series was, and how scarily accurate it was as an adaptation of the happy-go-lucky Batman of the 1960s, it was to the benefit of everyone when editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O’Neil, and artist Neal Adams decided to take Batman back to his roots as a serious, crimefighting detective in the seventies. During this run, Batman stories shed all the extraneous baggage of Bruce’s past; Dick Grayson went off the college, Bruce moved into a penthouse apartment for a time, the Joker became a serious threat once again, and Bruce matched wits with iconic villains like Ra’s al Ghul. Ostensibly similar in many ways to his previous attire, this Batsuit featured the iconic pill-like compartments on the belt and ditched the small ears and stocky aesthetic for longer ears and a far more muscular, refined physique. While the blue and grey colour scheme had long been a staple of Batman, it was under this run that it gained prominence as the definitive look for the more solemn crimefighting detective.

Over the years, Batman has donned many armoured suits to take down his more powerful foes but none are as iconic or as memorable as the armoured suit from The Dark Knight Returns (Miller, et al, 1986). Built specifically with the purpose of battling Superman, this suit is a hulking machine that is powered directly by Gotham’s electricity supply. Despite lacking an iconic bat symbol, this armoured suit means nothing except business; with spiked boots, massive gauntlets, and a plethora of gadgets and weapons, this armour is more than capable of subduing the Man of Steel. This suit was famously recreated in stunning detail for a similar fight scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as obviously featuring prominently in the Dark Knight Returns’ animated films (Oliva, 2012; 2013) but pretty much every armoured Batsuit can trace its origins and aesthetic inspiration back to this iconic garb.

After a momentary bout of uncharacteristic selfishness, Barry Allen/The Flash decided to run back in time and save his mother’s life; this one act, somehow, created an alternative timeline that was the focus of Flashpoint (Johns, et al, 2011). In this timeline, it was Bruce who died in Crime Alley rather than his parents, leaving his mother, Martha, a psychotic wreck as the Joker and his father, Thomas, as a far darker, more ruthless version of Batman. What I like about this suit is how it dramatically changes the Batsuit with only a few tweaks: the cowl has smaller ears, the eye lenses are blood red, the shoulder pads end in sharp spikes, a blood-red circle replaces the iconic yellow oval, and Thomas sports a matching blood-red utility belt and two gun holsters. That’s right, this is a Batman who revisits the character’s pulp roots and wields not one…but two pistols! Just upon first sight you can tell that this is not quite the Batman you know and love; similar to the Batsuit Jason Todd wore in the Battle for the Cowl (Daniel, et al, 2009) arc, this suit delivers a twisted, darker version of Batman and was, thankfully, also included as a DLC skin in Batman: Arkham Knight.

Batsuits3TroikaBurton — 3 Troika (*Batman* #515) / Burton

After finally reclaiming the mantle of the bat at the conclusion of the entire Knightfall saga, Bruce debuted a new Batsuit that drew heavy inspiration from Batman (Burton, 1989) in that, rather than being blue and grey, it was black and grey and comprised of heavy, sturdier Kevlar. This, for me, was a fantastic addition as, as much as I enjoyed the ‘60s show and liked the traditional blue and grey Batsuit, I much prefer an all-black or black and grey aesthetic, largely because I grew up with Burton’s Batman movies. As great as the Batman suit is, however, and as faithful as the Troika (Moench, et al, 1995) suit is to that movie, I much prefer the more armoured look Michael Keaton sported in Batman Returns (Burton, 1992). Either way, the change from blue to black was largely permanent as most Batsuits kept this colour scheme going forward and, for me, the only thing that stops this suit from being higher on the list is that it retains the yellow oval…which I’m not really a fan of.

As lauded as The Dark Knight Returns is, I honestly feel that it is a chore to read; the art style is dodgy, the writing is dense and almost impenetrable, and, for all the work it does to present a grizzled, serious Batman, over the years I’ve come to find it doesn’t really live up to all its hype. Give me Batman: Year One (Miller, et al, 1987) any day. Presented as the first year of Bruce’s time as Batman, this Batsuit is, again, effective in its simplicity; sporting a black cowl, grey suit, and big, practical, militaristic pouches, this suit is the definitive “first time” Batsuit. Best of all, this suit ditches the yellow oval for a simple black bat chest logo, which was always and forever be my preference; I get that the embalm is double-shielded to draw enemy fire to his chest and away from his other, more vulnerable parts (…except his crotch, it seems) but I’ve never really liked the use of yellow or bright colors in Batman’s everyday attire.

I think that a lot of the appeal of Batman’s outfit, as featured in stories like Hush (Joeb, et al, 2002 to 2003), is simply that it is drawn by Jim Lee, who even made the gaudy, over-complicated ‘New 52’ suits look appealing. Lee’s Batsuit incorporates some of the best parts of its predecessors on this list: it’s got the shorter ears, a massive black bat on the chest, it’s got a blue/grey/black-on-grey colour scheme, and sometimes it’s got the big, practical pouches and other times it has the pellets. Lee’s suit has a little bit of everything in it and is, far and away, one of the most definitive renditions of Batman’s attire ever put to page. It doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel like the ‘Rebirth’ outfit or over-complicated the suit with unnecessary lines and augmentations; instead it’s simply a purpose-built, form-fitting Batsuit that’s the jack-of-all-trades for Bruce’s nightly jaunts.

What Batsuits do you like? Do you have any guilty pleasures? What do you think of Robert Pattinson’s Batsuit so far? Sound off below and come back again for more lists and articles.

Movie Night: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

21/02/202026/12/2024Dr. K8 Comments

Released: February 2020
Director: Jeff Fowler
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $81 to 95 million
Stars: James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, and Jim Carrey

The Plot:
Small town cop Tom Wachowski’s (Marsden) life is turned upside down when Sonic (Schwartz), a superfast hedgehog with an insatiable curiosity and the means to travel between worlds, is targeted by the megalomaniacal Doctor IvoRobotnik (Carry).

The Background:
Back in the nineties, in the middle of the escalating Console War between Nintendo and SEGA, the videogame industry was changed forever when Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima dreamed up the idea of the superfast hedgehog that would become their mascot and most profitable franchise for years to come. Sonic has seen his fair share of adaptations; he’s been a hot air balloon, on t-shirts, featured in comic books, and has, most prominently, had more than a handful of ventures into animation. Every time Sonic is adapted from one form of media to another (and, it seems, almost every time a new Sonic videogame is released) something is altered, however subtly, about his appearance, backstory, or mannerisms, making for one of the most iconic and, yet, convoluted videogame mascots ever made. Aside from the gorgeous original video animation (OVA), Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (Ikegami, 1996), Sonic has had to settle for cameos in movies until now. After a disastrous first trailer and initial design that saw Sonic look like some weird mutant human/monster hybrid thing, Jeff Fowler and Paramount delayed Sonic the Hedgehog to redesign the titular hedgehog for his first big screen, live-action debut.

The Review:
Raised in secret on a far away world, Sonic is forced to flee his home through the use of dimensional Golden Rings; arriving in Green Hills, Montana, where he spends the next ten years living in isolation out of the fear that his super speed will draw attention to him and force him to flee once again.

SonicMovieBlackout — *Sonic accidentally draws attention to himself…*

Sonic spends most of his time observing Tom Wachowski and his wife, Maddie (Sumpter), and longing to be a part of society and make a real friend. When his speed powers unintentionally cause a massive blackout in Green Hills, the US military bring in Doctor Robotnik to investigate the disturbance.

SonicMovieRoadTrip — *Nothing like a good, old-fashioned road trip with a twist!*

Spooked by the incident, Sonic reluctantly decides to leave his home but accidentally drops his bag of Golden Rings through a dimensional portal, where they land in San Francisco. Unable to find his way there, Sonic and Tom team up on a road trip to retrieve the Rings, all the while being pursued by Robotnik and his deadly robotic drones. Going into Sonic the Hedgehog, I wasn’t expecting anything more complicated than a by-the-numbers family-friendly kid’s movie; I was unimpressed that Paramount opted for a live-action/CGI hybrid film rather than a full-on CGI movie in the style of a Disney/Pixar production (or the amazing CGI cutscenes of modern Sonic videogames) and, upon seeing Sonic’s ruinous first design, I was ready to write the entire movie off, which was rather distressing for me given that I have been a life-long Sonic fan. Instead, Sonic the Hedgehog is a really fun (and funny) little romp; Sonic’s characterisation has been tweaked slightly and, rather than the “hedgehog with attitude” or the cocky, confidant superhero of the videogames, he is a lonely, curious, hyperactive little creature who longs to belong in a world and is struggling to control his great speed and with his desire to use his powers for a greater purpose.

SonicMovieHumans — *Sonic’s human cast does a far better job than I expected.*

His interactions with Tom are charming and whimsical. Marsden is no stranger to films or roles such as this and, yet, he is the perfect actor to portray an everyman character who longs for a greater challenge beyond his mundane, everyday life. To my great surprise and delight, the two quickly form an odd couple friendship that grows throughout the film and there isn’t one of those clichéd moments where they argue and fall out and have to rebuild their friendship.

SonicMovieRobotnik — *Jim Carrey steals every scene he’s in, it’s fantastic!*

Surprising no one, the real star of the show here is Doctor Robotnik; Jim Carrey is back at his scenery-chewing, maniacal best as he perfectly encapsulates the Doctor’s madcap, zany megalomania and slowly degenerates further and further into both madness and a more recognisable version of his videogame counterpart. Do I think he would have been just as good in a fat suit and acting alongside a cast of CGI characters? Sure, but that doesn’t stop his performance being a delight. Sonic the Hedgehog is part comedy, part road trip, part quasi-sci-fi/fantasy action; Sonic himself provides much of the jokes and action, but Carrey is no slouch in either department either thanks to his wacky personality and his incredibly adaptable machines. As with all Sonic adaptations, Sonic the Hedgehog weaves in numerous references to the source material; there’s a loving recreation of the character’s traditional home, South Island, nods to iconic Zone names, and even a few musical cues from the videogames. Arguably, the film could have gone further with these and weaved iconic boss themes into a motif for Robotnik but it definitely feels as though the movie was concentrating on establishing a new version of Sonic and bringing in additional videogame elements in a future sequel.

SonicMovieSonic — *Sonic’s redesign looks great.*

As it stands, though, Sonic the Hedgehog was a surprisingly good time; all the characters were fun and enjoyable and the film avoided a lot of the clichés that movies of this type often fall back on. It may not be the best videogame adaptation but it’s more than a worthy successor to Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (Letterman, 2019) despite featuring only one fully-realised CGI character largely through its whimsical charm and is surprising amount of restraint as it focuses on telling its own unique Sonic story rather than overloading the film with elements from the videogames.

The Nitty-Gritty:
As with most Sonic adaptations, Sonic the Hedgehog feels the need to include, and place special emphasis on, the Golden Rings that form the life energy of the videogames. Rather than being the source of Sonic’s power, or a power boost for him, here they act as dimensional gateways, which isn’t a million miles away from the function the Big Rings perform in Sonic videogames.

SonicMovieGags — *There’s some charming humour at work here…*

Going into the film, I was concerned that they were pushing the Rings as Sonic’s “super power” rather than his super speed but, luckily, that wasn’t actually the case. Instead, Sonic’s speed seems to have some mystery behind it. His childhood guardian, Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks) seems to be hiding, and protecting, Sonic not just because of the power of the Rings (which seem to be her possession rather than his) but also because of his speed, which (alongside the way his super speed is presented as a quasi-power-up at dramatic times) makes me think we might see a connection between Sonic’s speed and the Chaos Emeralds in a future sequel.

SonicMovieRobotnik2 — *Robotnik only has time for machines…*

Speaking of future sequels, and Longclaw, perhaps the biggest surprise for me was that, in the opening moments, Sonic and Longclaw are attacked by a group of masked echidnas after they spot Sonic using his super speed. This was a fun and unexpected inclusion and raises a lot of questions for future sequels, especially with Robotnik being marooned on a mushroom-filled planet and vowing revenge. Unfortunately, I had the big mid-credits reveal spoiled thanks to Twitter but, suffice it to say, Sonic’s long-time friend Miles “Tails” Prower (Colleen Villard) shows up looking for Sonic, setting up both future films and spin-offs in this world.

The Summary:
Sonic the Hedgehog was way better than it had any right to be. The overhaul of Sonic’s design alone makes the film worth the price of admission but, alongside that and some clever references to the videogames, the film is a fun, charming little family action/comedy that brings a new dimension to Sonic’s character and lore. Sonic and Jim Carrey are the clear stars of the show but there’s plenty here to enjoy. I feel that, if we do get a sequel, we will see the filmmakers take things a little further and delve a little deeper into Sonic’s more familiar mythology now that they’ve established their version of the character and I am honestly looking forward to seeing this version of Sonic (and, especially, Robotnik) return in the future.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Movie Night: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

20/02/202016/10/2024Dr. K16 Comments

Released: February 2020
Director: Cathy Yan
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $82 to 100 million
Stars: Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, and Ewan McGregor

The Plot:
After separating from the Joker (Jared Leto), Harley Quinn (Robbie) incurs the wrath of the sadistic Roman Sionis/Black Mask (McGregor) and must team up with a rag-tag group of women who have also become targets of Sionis.

The Background:
Let’s not mince words: Suicide Squad (Ayer, 2016) was a bad film. It had so much potential and squandered it through sloppy editing and a questionable plot. However, two of the stand outs from that God-awful movie were Floyd Lawton/Deadshot (Will Smith) and Margot Robbie’s scene-stealing performance as Harley Quinn. Given the character’s cult-like following and increase in popularity, her return seemed all-but-inevitable but, in the odd, shifting, uncertain climate that surrounds the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) it was never a guarantee. However, Robbie, apparently, took it upon herself to put together a film that is not just a solo outing for Quinn but also provides a look at some of DC’s most iconic and bad-ass female characters. The result is a film as much about female empowerment and establishing your own legacy independent of others (especially abusive partners or male patriarchs) that takes everything that was good about Suicide Squad, sprinkles in more than a liberal borrowing from other violent, curse-filled superhero outings (like the Deadpool (Various, 2016 to present) films), and results in a pretty decent inclusion in an extended universe that seems to be increasingly losing sight of its direction.

The Review:
After being rescued by the Joker at the end of Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn has been unceremoniously dumped by the Clown Prince of Crime. Her first reaction to this is to, smartly, tell no one so she can continue to enjoy the fruits of being Joker’s main squeeze, which allows her to live a life of debauchery, drinking, and buying hyenas. However, once word gets out about the break-up, it becomes open season on Harley not in the least because Roman Sionis wastes no time in wanting to lay claim to her unique abilities. In the midst of fighting for her life, Harley runs into Cassandra Cain (Basco), a pick-pocket who picks the wrong pocket when she lifts a diamond out of the pocket of Roman’s top henchman, Victor Zsasz (Messina).

BOPBirds — *To say these women mean business is an understatement…*

Desperate to lay claim to the diamond in order to consolidate his stranglehold on Gotham’s criminal underworld, Sionis puts a hit out on Cassandra and, in trying to recover the diamond and buy her freedom, Harley crosses paths with disgraced and undervalued Gotham City Police Detective Renee Montoya (Perez), the vengeance-seeking, crossbow-wielding assassin Helena Bertinelli/Huntress (Winstead), and Dinah Lance/Black Canary (Smollet-Bell), a singer from Roman’s club with more than a few hidden abilities. First off, this is largely Margot’s show; she narrates the film, controls the narrative and timeline through some amusing fourth wall breaks, and is the central, strongest character in the film. Perfectly encapsulating Harley’s many and varied (and chaotic) character and personality quirks, Margot cements that she was the perfect choice to play this character and more than capable of standing on her own.

BOPTeam — *The titular Birds help flesh out Harley’s character.*

However, as we saw in Suicide Squad, Harley works best when bouncing and playing off of other characters, especially ones who are snarkier, more serious, or more sadistic than she is. Birds of Prey gives Harley a lot of these characters to work with and each one helps flesh her out in different ways: Cassandra helps her explore her protective, maternal side; Canary gives her a peer on equal footing as a fighter and a smart-talker; Huntress sets a standard off no-nonsense bad-assary that Harley wants to live up to; and Montoya gives her a foil, of sorts, to clash ideals with.

BOPSionis — *McGregor is clearly revelling in his role as Black Mask…*

And yet, amongst all these strong-willed women, is perhaps the most atrocious antagonist in the DCEU yet played with delightful glee by old Obi-Wan himself, Ewan McGregor. Black Mask seems like a simple, one-note sadist but, actually, he has a few layers to him that may not be immediately noticeable as, unlike most characters, he doesn’t really get a flashback or onscreen text to go through his backstory. Roman flip-flops alarmingly between a charismatic smooth-talker and an unhinged psychopath and Ewan is clearly having the time of his life in the role. Apparently, there’s been a lot of negativity surrounding Birds of Prey and it’s even had a slight title change (to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) to try and better capitalise on Harley’s popularity but I don’t really get why anyone wouldn’t like this movie. It’s fun, with some really brilliant (and vicious) action sequences, and is basically Deadpool but with some kick-ass women taking centre stage.

BOPMargot — *Not really sure how anyone could miss that Harley was in this movie…*

Maybe people are having issue with the film’s portrayal of strong, independent women but…it’s Birds of Prey, a superhero group founded by, and exclusively comprised of, women! People have also been criticising the title; apparently, some didn’t realise Harley Quinn was in this movie? Which is just…mind-blowing to me as she’s been central to all of the marketing I’ve seen (and there’s been a lot of marketing for this movie). Saying that, though, the title is a little misleading; it’s only really Birds of Prey by the conclusion and it may have been better to just title it The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn but none of that should stop you, or anyone else, checking this one out because it’s one hell of a good time.

The Summary:
Normally, I talk about some spoilers in my review (which I unhide when the film comes out on DVD) but there really isn’t much to spoil in Birds of Prey; it’s just a fun, entertaining, kick-ass little film that’s got a lot of action and humour in it and it really doesn’t deserve all the vitriol it’s been getting. Everyone looks like they’re having a blast throughout this movie and like they’re really happy to be there and the film does a pretty good job of giving everyone a chance to shine. I guess I can understand Cassandra Cain fans being a bit disappointed, though, as she is a far cry from her comic book counterpart but, overall, Birds of Prey has way more hits than misses (Cassandra is, in my view, the only real miss of the film) and I would say it is definitely worth your time and money.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Game Corner: Alien vs. Predator (Arcade)

03/02/202015/05/2024Dr. K12 Comments

As always, I am opening this review by asking you to cast your minds back to the 1990s. This time, we’re specifically winding the clock back to 1994, a time when Xenomorphs had been off cinema screens since Alien³ (Fincher, 1992) and we hadn’t seen a Predator onscreen since Predator 2 (Hopkins, 1990). Both franchises were in a state of flux not entirely unlike where they are now; these latter sequels had resulted in divisive audience reactions, to say the least, and 20^th Century Fox had made the genius decision to allow Dark Horse Comics to mash their two science-fiction/action/horror franchise together into a series of comic books, action figures, novels, and other media. Basically every type of media that wasn’t onscreen. This was also a time when the arcade was still going strong; sidescrolling 2D beat-‘em-ups were staples in arcades everywhere thanks to titles like Final Fight (Capcom, 1989), The Punisher (Capcom, 1993), The Simpsons (Konami, 1991), and X-Men (ibid, 1992) and violent videogames were suddenly massively popular thanks to the controversy surrounding Mortal Kombat (Midway, 1992). This was also around the time when adult films like Aliens (Cameron, 1986) and RoboCop (Verhoeven, 1987) were being turned into comic books, action figures, cartoons, and videogames. Mash all of these factors together and you get the topic of today’s discussion: Alien vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994).

Far from the disappointingly neutered down mess we got in AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Anderson, 2004), the arcade game of the same (well…similar) name is a straight-up combination of the balls-to-the-wall action embodied by the Colonial Marines and the Xenomorphs in Aliens and the brutal efficiency of the Predators. Rather than lumbering the story in the present day, Alien vs. Predator takes place in a far more futuristic setting more befitting the Alien franchise (Various, 1979 to present), immediately making it look and feel like an actual entry in the franchise rather than a toned down cash grab. It is in this setting that the game shows a whole horde of Xenomorphs descending onto Earth and ravage the city of San Drad; although the cybernetic soldiers Major Dutch Schaefer (fittingly with the likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa try to fight them off, they are quickly overwhelmed but, surprisingly, saved by a group of Predators. The Predators, seeking to curb the infestation of their prey, ally themselves with the humans and the four set out to eradicate the Xenomorph swarm. If you think the idea of the Predators conversing (in English) with the humans is madness, it might also blow your mind to know that this plot was, apparently, based on an early draft for a potential Alien vs. Predator movie…let that settle in for a second.

AVPGameplay — *Just keep killing aliens until the stage ends!*

If you’ve played any sidescrolling 2D beat-‘em-up, you’ve played Alien vs. Predator; you select a character and battle from the left of the screen to the right, bashing enemies with simple combos, grapples, and a variety of weapons until you defeat a massive boss and clear the game’s seven stages. Up to four players can play simultaneously and each character has certain strengths and weaknesses over the others; the Predator Warrior is quite well-balanced, for example, while Dutch is a slow powerhouse. As you traverse each stage, you can pick up a variety of items and power ups; some, like gems and jewels, exist only to add to your high score while others, like pizza, soda, and chicken, replenish your health. You can grab pipes to bash in Xenomorph heads, grenades to blast them apart, and even the iconic Smart and Pulse Guns from Aliens to mow their numbers down.

AVPEnemies — *You’ll encounter some new Xenomorph forms as you progress.*

Each character also has their own weaponry and special attacks; the two Predators start with unique alien bladed weapons to increase their range while the two humans boast better range through their firepower. You can even use the Predator’s plasma cannon; while it is prone to overheating through repeated use, the “Super” power-up allows repeated use to decimate entire screens of enemies. At the cost of some health, you can also perform powerful special attacks, as is the norm for sidescrolling 2D beat-‘em-ups. Each stage is swarming with enemies, to the point where it’s genuinely tough to find your character much less plough through your opponents. Luckily, if you’re playing this on Mame or other arcade emulators, you can continue with as many lives and chances as you like until you clear each stage. To break up the monotony of the button-mashing and fighting, you’ll mount an M577 vehicle and blast away endless hordes of Xenomorphs and be tasked with destroying various objects under a time limit. Taking its cue from Aliens, most of the enemies you’ll encounter are various Xenomorph types, most of which were made famous as action figures and never seen in the movies. You’ll be blasting away at recognisable Xenomorphs such as Warriors (who resemble the Xenomorphs from Aliens), Stalkers (who are more like the Xenomorph seen in Alien), and Chestbursters but also encounter Alien Arachnoids, Smashers, and the Queen’s Royal Guard. Oddly, you’ll also come across zombie-like humans and cut your way through the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s personal army as they seek to use the Xenomorphs as biological weapons.

AVPBosses — *The game’s fidelity to the source material is impressive.*

Of course, it wouldn’t be a 2D sidescroller without some big boss battles; you’ll battle the hulking Alien Chrysalis, the deadly Raor Claws, a couple of infected Predators, some Power Loaders, and, of course, the gigantic Xenomorph Queen…twice. Most of these bosses will also spawn a bunch of lesser enemies to distract you can whittle you down, meaning that it’s best to partner up with at least one other player to take on these big guys. While the gameplay and premise of Alien vs. Predator is nothing new or exciting, what sets it apart is its aesthetic fidelity to the look and feel of both franchise but, in particular, Aliens; the sprites and backgrounds are big, colourful, and full of energy, making you feel as though the iconic Predator has been dropped right into the middle of Cameron’s action/horror sci-fi classic, which is exactly what Alien vs. Predator should be.

AVPMulti — *Team up with a friend to cut through the alien hordes.*

It is extremely satisfying to punch and skewer your way through the seemingly-endless swarms of Xenomorphs and seeing a Predator wield the classic Aliens weaponry, as well as their own iconic weapons, never gets old. It’s repetitive at times, of course (it is a sidescrolling beat-‘em-up, after all) but it’s a fantastic way to waste an hour or so with a friend (or alone). While a similar title was also released for the SNES a year before, this classic arcade title has been lost to the mists of time and complicated rights and legal issues. Thankfully, thanks to the release of the Capcom Home Arcade, you can relive this timeless classic in the (relative) comfort of your own home (as long as you have the cash). Of you can just emulate the game on a Raspberry Pi or similar console and get to slaughtering those Xenomorph scum right away, and I highly recommend that you do.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Did you ever play Alien vs. Predator in an arcade? If so, what did you think? If not, why not go give a play? Either way, leave your memories and impressions below and let me know what you think.

Talking Movies: Bad Boys For Life

23/01/202005/04/2022Dr. KLeave a comment

Released: January 2020
Director: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Budget: $90 million
Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jacob Scipio, Kate del Castillo, Paola Núñez, and Joe Pantoliano

The Plot:
Seventeen years after their last adventure, top detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) are just coming to terms with the realities of aging out of their usefulness when a series of murders with links to Mike past besiege Miami.

The Background:
Bad Boys (Bay, 1995) and its sequel (ibid, 2003) took a simple concept (the “buddy cop” movie perhaps made most famous by the Lethal Weapon (Donner, 1987 to 1998) franchise and other over-the-top eighties action films) and put a unique twist one it. Actually, two twists: one was the typical, over-the-top cinematography of Michael Bay (which ensured that the films were full of explosions, gun fights, scantily clad women for us to ogle over, and dramatic, sweeping camera pans) and the charisma of the two leads. Given the massive gap between Bad Boys II and Bad Boys For Life, you would be forgiven for thinking that the franchise was over and done with, however, while Bay took a step back from the project, this third entry shows that some things only get better with age.

The Review:
Bad Boys For Life kicks off with an exhilarating car chase bit, rather than see our two bickering heroes running down some coked up perp, they are simply racing to witness the birth of Marcus’s granddaughter. This event is enough to convince Marcus that, perhaps, his bad boy days are over and he and Mike should quit while they’re ahead, which sets an ongoing tone for the film (that of age, maturity, and family).

BadBoys3Banter — *Come for the action, stay for the banter!*

Mike, however, isn’t quite ready to give up life on the streets for domestication, even though his ex-girlfriend Rita (Núñez) is right there, massively attractive, and clearly still has a thing for him. His exuberance turns to aggression and a thirst for vengeance, however, when he is targeted by the mysterious assassin Armando Armas (Scipio) and his revenge-fuelled mother, Isabel (del Castillo). Denied the opportunity to involve himself in the case by the wonderfully energetic Police Captain Conrad Howard (Pantoliano), Mike is forced to work alongside Rita and her young, tech-savvy team while trying to convince Marcus that they still have enough gas left in the tank for one last ride.

BadBoys3Action — *Smith and Lawrence can still bring the over-the-top action.*

Bad Boys For Life is a loud, fast-paced movie with a surprising amount of pathos amidst its car cashes, gun fights, and near-constant bickering between the two leads. While there aren’t as many ludicrous explosions (thanks largely in part to Bay not being behind the camera), the film contains just enough Bay-isms to keep fans of the series happy while using the formally hot-headed and seemingly invincible main characters to explore the affects of age.

BadBoys3Antagonist — *Armando has the moves but not quite the personality.*

The charisma of Smith and Lawrence is unparalleled, matched only by Pantoliano’s scenery-chewing return as their tormented Captain, and it’s a good job that these guys are so compelling as Scipio isn’t that captivating as a villain. His main draw comes from his physicality and scary-smooth skill as a killer and a fighter and, while he does eventually reveal some surprising layers, it’s clear that this film is about Smith and Lawrence and the rest of the plot and action is superfluous. Not that this is a bad thing; the banter and bickering between the stars really makes their friendship believable and I could honestly just watch them cruising around, chatting shit, and roughing up bad guys for two hours. Luckily, there’s a bit of sauce on top of Bad Boys For Life that make it, perhaps, the strongest entry in the series so far.

The Nitty-Gritty:
The main twist in Bad Boys For Life comes from the revelation that Armando is actually Mike’s son from a fling he had with Isabel some twenty-five years ago; this was a twist that honestly came out of nowhere and led to a surprisingly heartfelt moment where Mike’s usual mask of confidence slipped and we learned a bit more of his past. This worked hand-in-hand with the prevailing themes of family and assuming the responsibilities that come from maturity; Marcus is happy to hang it up and be a doting father and grandfather and is almost desperate to convince Mike that he needs to hang up his gun as well and find someone to settle down with. While Mike fights against this, the moment he learns of Armando’s parentage, he instantly switches from wanting Armando dead for trying to kill him and gunning down Captain Howard to trying to reach and redeem his son. This doesn’t come across as a sudden shift, either, and serves only to humanise Mike in a way I wasn’t expecting, which is great because the film definitely leaves the door open at the end for one more last ride for the bad boys as they agree to continue policing the streets. The revelation that Mike is his father also subdues Armando and the ending shows that he is safely behind bars and remorseful enough to want to accept assignments from his father, potentially setting us up for another movie where the duo becomes a trio.

The Summary:
Bad Boys For Life is a loud, over-the-top buddy cop action film with plenty of gunplay, witty banter, and some thrilling action sequences. Surprisingly, you don’t need to check your brain or your heart at the door, either, as the film explores themes of family and aging and has some genuinely poignant moments alongside all the witty banter between the two leads, resulting in an engaging, thrill-ride that is, perhaps, the bets of the three movies.

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Author: Dr. K

Movie Night: Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Game Corner: Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension (Mega Drive)

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Mini Game Corner: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Mega Drive)

My Rating:

Terrible

Talking Movies: The Invisible Man (2020)

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Game Corner: Sonic Mania 2 Wish List

10 FTW: Batsuits

Movie Night: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Movie Night: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Game Corner: Alien vs. Predator (Arcade)

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Talking Movies: Bad Boys For Life

My Rating:

Pretty Good

My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Terrible

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Could Be Better

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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