Back in 2013, which seems like a very long time ago now, director Guillermo del Toro put Michael Bay’s overblown, convoluted mess of a Transformers franchise to shame with Pacific Rim, a teenage boy’s wet-dream featuring Idris Elba commanding a rag-tag army of titanic mech suits against increasingly aggressive waves of giant monsters from a dimensional tear beneath the Pacific Ocean. It was a mad concept, one perhaps more suited to anime or manga and, despite being a pretty basic concept, was actually surprisingly good. Reports of a sequel circulated and were rumoured for quite some time and, despite missing del Toro’s presence in the director’s chair and star Charlie Hunnam, the Jaeger’s finally return to battle again in Pacific Rim Uprising (DeKnight, 2018), which picks up ten years after the events of the first film. Apparently, this fictional world is far more productive and efficient than ours as not only have they practically rebuilt and restocked many of the world’s cities and resources, they’ve also managed to construct a veritable army of bigger, better Jaeger’s despite the fact that the Kaiju have been dormant and gone over the last ten decades.
If you ever learn anything from me, learn this: do not trust a suit!
Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), son of Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, has lost his way; having walked away from the Jaeger some time ago, he scavenges Jaeger parts and technology to sell on the black market. During his most recent job, he ends up literally falling in on amateur Jaeger enthusiast Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny), who has illegally built herself a one-man Jaeger named Scrapper. Although they attempt a spirited getaway, they are both arrested and drafted (re-drafted, in Jake’s case) back into Pan-Pacific Defense Corps at the request of Jake’s half-sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). Jake is reunited with his former Jaeger partner Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood), with whom he shares an antagonist relationship, and tasked to train the new generation of Jaeger pilots, who are facing the prospect of being made redundant by the Jaeger drone programme spearheaded by Liwen Shao (Jing Tian) and Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day). After a devastating attack by a rogue Jaeger, Obsidian Fury, Jake’s trepidation at being redrafted is replaced with a dose of good, old fashioned thirst for vengeance. However, in the course of hunting down and bringing Obsidian Fury to justice, Jake and Nate uncover a deeper plot to fuse Kaiju’s with the Jaeger technology and realise Dr. Hermann Gottlieb’s (Burn Gorman) fear that the Kaiju are poised to return for another round.
This is what I paid to see!
Unlike Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim Uprising is less about giant monsters fighting giant robots and more about giant robots fighting other giant robots and the boot camp-style training of the young Jaeger pilots. I found the Jaeger pilots’ enthusiasm to be commendable but flawed; they’re up in arms at the idea of being grounded with desk jobs piloting remote mechs rather than putting their lives on the line in the field, which is a bit strange. Judging from both of these movies, the average lifespan of a Jaeger pilot is scarily short so you’d think that they world prefer to remotely engage the Kaiju. The film effectively expands and builds upon the world of the first movie; I kind of glossed over, or trivialised, how quickly the world has recovered from the Kaiju war but, to be fair, Jake does narrate quite heavily about how not every part of the world has recovered and that life is a struggle for a lot of the less fortunate people. Between movies, however, Newton and Gottlieb have discovered (from drifting with that Kaiju brain) that the Kaiju are created and controlled by beings they call “the Precursors”, whom they postulate are plotting to wipe out all life on Earth, which is an interesting concept to introduce and build upon.
…or is it this? Agh, I’m so conflicted!
Given that the rift between dimensions has been sealed, however, the main thrust of the narrative is about preventing the Precursors from reopening the rift and seeing this plan through. As a result, there is a lot less Kaiju action in this movie compared to the last for a good chunk of it. Luckily, however, the narrative in between of world-building and trying to figure out the identity of Obsidian Fury and the true motives of the Shao Corporation, is actually pretty good and the banter and dialogue between the characters works quite well. Once the Kaiju do appear, it’s for the entire last act of the movie and the pay off is totally worth the wait if you like giant monsters fighting giant robots (and you should!) While the first film was all about being an effects showcase, this is more another example of why John Boyega is becoming one of the hottest, fastest-rising commodities in Hollywood today. So much of this movie hinges on and revolves around his character and he carries it beautifully; Jake is conflicted at living in the shadow of his father’s legacy but still wanting to make him proud, at being a snarky loner but also his deep-rooted obligations towards being a Jaeger pilot.
Why remotely control our mechs when we can go out in what amounts to a suicide run every time?
The cast around him is good and he plays off of them really well. Scott Eastwood fulfilled his role really well; his relationship with Jake is frosty, at best, but while they do butt heads it’s mainly because Nate feels betrayed at Jake’s departure rather than from actual hatred. Amara fulfils a role very similar to Mako’s from the first movie, having been orphaned by the Kaiju war as a child and desperately trying to prove her worth in a sea of other arguably more worthy pilots. However, as good (or, at least, passable to satisfactory) as the rest of the cast are, but make no mistake, this is Boyega’s showcase. In the end, Pacific Rim Uprising is what it is. If you go into a movie like this expecting an intelligent, deeply emotional, life-changing experience then…well, you’re a fool. This is a unique franchise; basically a live-action anime that features giant mech robots fighting Kaiju and, for me, all I want to see is giant things fighting other giant things. Pacific Rim Uprising may feature less of that than its predecessor but the characters were enough to sustain my interest long enough for when the fighting did start and it was totally worth the wait.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Recommended: If you like good, mindless, fun then yep. Best moment: The entire last act, once the Kaiju are finally released from the drift and the rookie pilots are forced to suit up and jump into action. Worst moment: Nothing massively glaring comes t mind; maybe the scenes at Shao Corporation, which feature corporate dialogue about the drones and stuff and isn’t as interesting as seeing things in action.
I’ve previously spoken about my love and loyalty towards SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and, no doubt, will do again at some point in the future but one thing that I, perhaps, did not mention about Sonic’s impact on my life was a consequential love for fast-paced action platformer videogames. It’s easy to forget these days, when Sonic videogames often struggle to recapture the same success that they enjoyed back in the early-nineties, but Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Team, 1991) had an immediate impact on the landscape of videogames at the time. Especially after the release of Sonic The Hedgehog 2(Sonic Team/SEGA Technical Institute, 1992) there was no question: everyone needed a fast-paced, attitude-infused anthropomorphic mascot.
Ludicrous? Maybe so, but this videogame is fantastic fun!
While the idea of a brightly-coloured, family-friendly videogame that incorporated a visually striking mascot who fired projectiles had already been done with Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension (Gremlin Graphics, 1992) and would, eventually, see perhaps its greatest mainstream appeal at the time with the release of Earthworm Jim(Shiny Entertainment/Virgin Interactive Entertainment, 1994), there was one other title that took the concept of “Sonic with a gun” and really owned it: Jazz Jackrabbit. Designed by Cliff Bleszinski and developed and published by Epic MegaGames, who would go on to create the much-lauded and often-licensed Unreal Engine in 1998, and released exclusively for Windows/DOS and Apple computers on 20 March 1994, Jazz Jackrabbit beat Earthworm Jim to the punch by just over four months. Jazz Jackrabbit casts you as the titular blaster-toting hero in a science-fiction parody of Aesop’s The Tortoise and the Hare; the evil Devan Shell kidnaps Princess Eva Earlong of the planet Carrotus amidst his quest to conquer the universe and the super-fast Jazz, armed with his LFG-2000 gun, must battle across numerous worlds to rescue her. If it sounds bat-shit crazy, that’s because it is but in the most charming way possible. Jazz Jackrabbit is divided into six Episodes, each containing three planets with two levels apiece (and numerous secret levels hidden throughout). Levels are bright, colourful, huge, and filled with loads of branching paths, quirky background scenery, and things to collect as well as numerous enemies (including giant turtles riding rockets, electrified eyeballs, and flying swords).
Armed to the teeth, this speedy little bunny isn’t messing about!
Jazz is super fast; his acceleration is much faster than Sonic’s and, while this comes in handy due to every level having a time limit, it does mean you will often speed head-first into enemies and hazards. Jazz can jump higher and further the faster he is travelling but, although he curls into a ball like Sonic, he can only attack enemies by firing his blaster. This weapon can be powered up by shooting and collecting various icons; the standard Blaster setting has infinite ammo but the upgrades (including the flame-blasting Toaster and RF-Missile rockets) have limited ammunition and Jazz loses all upgrades once he loses a life. Players can collect Carrots to increase Jazz’s health bar, Extra Life icons, and various other items to increase their score and access pseudo-3D hidden Bonus Stages where, if they manage to collect all the Gems within a time limit, they are awarded with an Extra Life. Jazz can also shoot signposts to respawn upon death and pick up various additional power-ups, such as a shield that protects Jazz from damage, a projectile-shooting bird sidekick, a hoverboard, and the traditional speed up and invincibility power-ups we all know and love.
Tackle bonus stages and troublesome bosses all while enjoying the game’s cartoony aesthetic.
To complete a level, Jazz must run, jump, and shoot his way through the various enemies and traps to reach a signpost within the time limit and players receive a grading and percentage bonus depending on how well they did. Thankfully, unlike many action platformers, Jazz Jackrabbit does not feature any bottomless pits for cheap deaths. Instead, players can choose from four difficulty settings (Easy, Medium, Hard, and Turbo), which increase the game’s challenge by giving you less time and health. As you’d expect, Jazz must battle a boss at the end of every level which, along with the steady increase of enemies and hazards, is where the game’s difficulty really lies. Bosses are large and erratic, their patterns difficult to predict, and fire multiple projectiles. Luckily, you have infinite continues and can keep plugging away until you achieve victory. Jazz sports a catchy, upbeat soundtrack and cartoonish sound effects and even some voice acting; like Sonic, jazz grows impatient when you leave him idle, and he will berate the player if they leave him for too long. Sadly, unlike Earthworm Jim, Jazz Jackrabbit was never ported to home consoles, significantly affecting both its mainstream reach and impact on the genre, despite being one of the first titles to bring the action platformer genre to the PC format.
You could even play Christmas-themed levels.
Instead, Jazz Jackrabbit was released as a CD and as shareware; players could freely distribute the first Episode amongst friends but were encouraged to pay for the full game upon completing the first levels. Three additional Epsiodes were included in the physical release of the game, one that transforms Jazz into a lizard, and five more Christmas-themed Episodes were featured in the Holiday Hare shareware editions of the videogame. Jazz Jackrabbit went on to spawn a sequel, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, in 1998. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 introduced numerous new gameplay mechanics (such as a rising uppercut, the ability to jump and butt-stomp on enemies, and allowing Jazz to hover briefly) alongside a second playable character, Jazz’s brother Spaz, and a comprehensive level editor. A third title was apparently in development for Windows and PlayStation 2 and would have brought Jazz and his entire cast of characters fully into the 3D realm, however development ended in 2000 and the videogame never saw the light of day beyond the leaked alpha build. Instead, a complete reboot of the series made its way to the Game Boy Advance. Jazz Jackrabbit (Game Titan/Jaleco, 2002) stripped the titular character of his speed, iconic appearance, and turtle enemies in favour of a more Star Wars-inspired aesthetic. Jazz was redesigned to greatly resemble Han Solo and even wielded a similar-looking pistol, and was pitted against hoards of space-faring chameleons. Make no mistake, the decision to strip away everything that made Jazz Jackrabbit so enjoyable mean that you would be much better served playing the original title or its sequel.
Despite a decent sequel, a canceled 3D title, and a dismay revival, the original Jazz really needs a HD port.
While Jazz Jackrabbit 2 was undeniably bigger and better than its predecessor, there’s something to admire in the simplicity and charm of the original. To this day, neither Jazz Jackrabbit or Jazz Jackrabbit 2 have received ports outside of their PC releases (although the 2013 HD remaster of the similarly-forgotten action platformer Superfrog (Team17, 1993) makes me hope that, one day, Jazz will have his time in the sun once again). Instead, I recommended visiting Gog.com and purchasing the fully-Windows 7-compatible editions of both videogames. Jazz Jackrabbit could have be a simple Sonic knock-off but it is so much more than that; Jazz Jackrabbit has an allure and appeal all its own thanks to its unique cartoonish graphics, outlandish premise, and fun, pick-up-and-play gameplay mechanics. Back in my youth, high quality PC titles were all I would play when I visited an old friend of mine and Jazz Jackrabbit was surely among those videogames and deserves to be rediscovered by a new generation of gamers.
Released: 16 February 2028 Director: Ryan Coogler Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Budget: $200 million Stars: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Martin Freeman
The Plot: After helping to bring his father’s killer to justice, Prince T’Challa (Boseman) assumes the mantle of the Black Panther is crowned king of the hidden kingdom of Wakanda. However, his reign is challenged by his cousin, N’Jadaka/Erik Stevens (Jordan), now a brutal mercenary known as Killmonger who seeks to overthrow T’Challa and begin a global revolution using Wakanda’s advanced technology.
The Background: Having co-created Marvel Comics’ First Family of superheroes, the Fantastic Four, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced a number of additional characters and concepts in the pages of the foursome’s adventures, with T’Challa/The Black Panther being one of the most prominent since he was the first black superpowered character in comic books. The Black Panther went on to feature in a critically acclaimed series, join the Avengers, and featured in a number of pivotal Marvel events and politically charged storylines. The Black Panther also saw some exposure outside of the comic books, featuring in the 1994 Fantastic Four cartoon and his own Marvel Knights motion comic series, but a live-action adaptation had been in the works since 1992. Back then Wesley Snipes was attached to the role and became heavily involved with the project, which repeatedly stalled throughout the nineties and failed to get off the ground into the early 2000s. Snipes was forced to bow out of the film by 2010 due to his conviction for tax evasion and, ironically, the very next year Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige pushed the movie into production, though it would be some six years before the film would properly take shape. Chadwick Boseman won the title role after outlining his plans for the character, making his debut in Captain America: Civil War (Russo and Russo, 2016), though the world was shocked and saddened to learn of his death some years later and that he had been battling cancer throughout his MCU tenure. Director Ryan Coogler aimed to make Black Panther a personal, progressive showcase of a sovereign nation that put the spotlight squarely on African-American actors and important messages of racial equality. Accordingly, the production design, sets, and costumes pulled from a variety of cultural influences from Sub-Saharan Africa to mix the traditional with a wash of science-fiction, with this latter aspect being the realm of the numerous visual effects studios employ to bring Wakanda to life. Black Panther proved a massive financial success; it grossed nearly $1.350 billion worldwide and was universally lauded by critics. Reviews praised the film’s refreshing presentation, the performances, and the sheer visual spectacle but, more than anything, Black Panther was praised for tackling themes of racial oppression and depictions. Following Boseman’s untimely death, Feige announced that the role wouldn’t be recast and that Black Panther’s sequel would move the concept into a different direction to ensure a lasting legacy for the beloved performer.
The Review: One of the things I love about the MCU is the way they’ve always strived to not be completely dependent on the same characters over and over; while Warner Brothers struggle to utilise any DC Comics characters that aren’t Bruce Wayne/Batman or Clark Kent/Superman, Marvel Studios have been seeding, introducing, or debuting new characters and superhero icons all throughout the MCU to help keep things fresh, expand and enhance their interconnected cinematic universe, and lay the foundation for future crossovers. This has also helped to keep the MCU diverse and dabble in portraying different cultures and types of characters, despite what some naysayers will say about the narrative tone most MCU films take. It’s not surprise, then, that Black Panther proved to be quite a monumental release; we’d seen black superheroes before, of course, most famously Eric Brooks/Blade (Wesley Snipes), but never before had a super film gone so in-depth at portraying an African society, tackling the issues of slavery and oppression felt by the Black community everywhere, or in establishing a fictional African-American culture as one of the most formidable forces in superhero cinema. It can be tough to rewatch Black Panther knowing not only that Chadwick Boseman was battling cancer throughout it but also that he has since passed on; I might not be the most knowledgeable Black Panther fan out there, but his performance really inspired me to want to read more Black Panther stories to explore the character.
Afforded superhuman abilities as the Black Panther, T’Challa must now step into the role of king.
My knowledge and experience of the Black Panther isn’t as learned as with other superheroes but he’s definitely been on my radar over the years, often popping up in Marvel cartoons and crossovers I’ve watched and read. Still, my expectations were simply to have a good time with the film and learn a little more about T’Challa as a character; in Civil War, T’Challa was a soft-spoken, honourable, and fiercely loyal man driven to vengeance after his father, King T’Chaka (John Kani) was killed. His arc was about realising that revenge is all-consuming and that there’s a better, more purposeful path he (and anyone, for that matter) can take, even if it means allowing reprehensible villains to live so they can be brought to justice for their actions. In Black Panther, T’Challa’s focus shifts towards the burden of the crown; not only must he stand as Wakanda’s greatest warrior and protector but he must also assume the role of a leader to his hidden nation, one he accepts out of a strong sense of duty and fiercely fights to earn by defeating challenger to the throne and tribal rival M’Baku (Duke) in ritual combat. T’Challa has an easy coolness to him that makes him warm and relatable; he can easily shift from a more light-hearted demeanour to being a warrior and a king and he’s afforded a great sense of vulnerability from the revelations he learns in this film, his feelings for Nakia (Nyong’o), and the times when he’s forced to fight without his powers. Thanks to a mysterious heart-shaped herb, T’Challa is granted superhuman strength and reflexes; these, along with his highly advance Vibranium suit, allow him to defend his nation as the Black Panther, but he’s forced by tradition to have his powers removed by Wakandan shaman Zuri (Forest Whitaker) in order to prove his right to the throne through his natural guile and abilities. luckily, T’Challa is more than up to the challenge and is equally determined to maintain the pretence that Wakanda is a struggling Third World nation in order to keep the wider world from learning of their Vibranium and the true extent of their advanced technology. Ruling not through force or oppression, T’Challa has an extremely relaxed and approachable demeanour; he goofs around with his tech-savvy and enthusiastic younger sister, Shuri (Wright), and makes efforts to extend the hand of peace to all of Wakanda’s nations despite M’Baku’s desires for the throne. However, he’s reluctant to open Wakanda’s borders and share their technology and resources with the world given that, in the past, outsiders have sought only to take the Vibranium for themselves, by force more often than not, and use it for nefarious ends.
T’Challa is surrounded by strong, loyal, and very capable allies, most of whom are female.
This is a view not readily shared with Nakia, T’Challa’s former flame and a “War Dog” from Wakanda’s River Tribe; at the start of the film, Nakia is out in the world fighting to help those less fortunate. Her time in the outside world as one of many undercover Wakandan agents brings her a deeper knowledge of the suffering and neglect that is happening all over the globe, especially to those in Third World nations, and she actively encourages T’Challa to set aside tradition and share Wakanda’s resources and advances with those in need. Others within T’Challa’s close-knit circle aren’t as open to this idea, however; his mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and Zuri are both deeply entrenched in the centauries-old traditions of their nation, though only Zuri has witnessed first-hand the lengths Wakanda will go to to keep their true nature a secret. T’Challa’s loyal bodyguard and commander of Wakanda’s formidable Dora Milaje forces, Okoye (Gurira), is quite blunt in her stoic distrust and dismissal of “outlanders”. Although his most trusted lieutenant, she’s duty-bound to accept Killmonger as her king when he assumes the throne but her loyalty to T’Challa sees her, Shuri, Ramona, and Nakia forming something of a rebellion against Killmonger’s tainted rule. Shuri, who may very well rival Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in terms of scientific acumen and arrogance, relishes the opportunity to aid Everett Ross (Freeman), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) liaison to Wakanda, after he’s injured and in using her advanced technology to help break James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes’ (Sebastian Stan) brainwashing from his days as the Winter Soldier. An energetic and somewhat rebellious young girl, Shuri is far more comfortable in street wear, mocking Wakanda’s traditions, and tinkering in her lab; Shuri outfits T’Challa with his gear, including a fancy brand-new fancy Black Panther suit comprised of Vibranium nanotechnology and capable of absorbing and distributing kinetic impact. She’s also able to use hologram technology to remotely drive a Lexus from their lab and, later, even contributes to the final battle against Killmonger and his fellow extremists to safeguard her nation, proving she’s a patriot at heart.
Allied with Klaue, Killmonger is one of the MCU’s most driven and relatable villains.
Eccentric South African arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), now sporting a plasma cannon hidden in a fake arm after his encounter with Ultron (James Spader), returns, now allied with Killmonger, a mercenary with a thing for anime whose entire torso is covered in self-inflicted tribal scars that showcase his bloodthirsty nature. A patient, learned, and driven individual, Killmonger is actually T’Challa’s cousin, N’Jadaka, who was abandoned decades ago after T’Chaka was forced to kill his own brother, N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown), after stealing Vibranium alongside Klaue to give power back to oppressed Black people. Just as T’Challa continues to honour his father’s ways, so too does Killmonger seek to use his claim to the throne to acquire the technology and weapons needed to give Black people a fighting chance for the first time. T’Challa is devastated to learn that his father’s ways caused him to grow up without his cousin, and twisted Killmonger into a figure of hatred and radical action, ad his reign as king is tested when Killmonger betrays and kills Klaue and bursts into the Wakandan throne room to challenge his cousin. T’Challa’s reluctance to pursue and kill Klaue, and his alliance with White outsiders, causes some friction between him and his closest friend and ally, W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya), who readily accepts Killmonger and backs him as king for his more forthright demeanour. Killmonger’s prowess is enough to not just best T’Challa but also to seemingly kill him; he then sets about destroying the heart-shaped herb to cement his legacy as the one and only king of Wakanda and orders arming the thousands of Wakandan spies across the world so that repressed Black people everywhere finally have the means to seize power for themselves. Michael B. Jordan is a real standout here, and Killmonger represented a turning point for MCU villains; while, yes, he does end up donning his own Black Panther costume (more of a Golden Leopard) and he does disappear for a large chunk of the movie, Klaue more than fills the void as a side villain, and the justifiable chip on his shoulder from the oppression of his people and his separation from Wakanda due to the actions of T’Chaka makes his motivations not only believable and relatable, but deeply personal not just for T’Challa but for oppressed minorities everywhere.
The Nitty-Gritty: As soon as Black Panther begins, you can tell that this is a very different film to the usual MCU offerings. In the build up to Avengers: Infinity War (Russo Brothers, 2018), Marvel Studios definitely doubled down on world-building, character pieces, and smaller scale films with far reaching potential in recent years. However, Black Panther doesn’t just separate itself through a highly advanced society built purely around the marriage of technology and tradition, but also by tackling the subject of race of oppression in our society, making it an extremely relevant and politically-charged film. Now, I’m just a regular, run-of-the-mill White guy, so Black Panther’s appeal and messages hit a little differently for me; I remember the first time I saw it and thinking how I maybe wasn’t the target demographic since its running theme of the oppression of ethnic minorities hasn’t affected me as it would, say, the Black community. It’s not my place to comment on this strife as I haven’t had to experience it but it’s telling that Killmonger is widely regarded as one of the best and most well-rounded MCU villains. In truth, he’s more like an anti-hero, a dark opposite to T’Challa who is just as loyal and dedicated to his people and his cause but in a way skewed more towards a violent uprising. And, honestly, why not? His people (“brothers and sisters”, as he calls them) have suffered atrocities for generations; his personal vendetta against Wakanda for abandoning home and, in his mind, selfishly hoarding their technology perfectly aligns with a very understandable need to strike back at a world that has shown nothing but contempt for “minority” races. In another life, it’s entirely possible that Killmonger could’ve been a force for good and positive change within Wakanda, and T’Challa even has a respect and sympathy for what’s he’s been through, his suffering and his cause, but Killmonger would rather die free as a martyr than even consider being a prisoner.
A mixture of technology, tradition, and warrior spirit make Wakanda a prosperous nation.
The main thrust of the film is to set up Wakanda ahead of Infinity War and you really get a good sense of their society, one built on tradition and respect as much as the technological wonders afforded by their massive stockpile of Vibranium. Wakanda’s true nature is a secret to all; not even Everett Ross is aware of his advanced they are thanks to a protective, holographic shield around the mainland and a major plot point throughout the film is the lengths Wakanda’s royal family have gone to to maintain their secrecy out of fear of their Vibranium being misused. This is at the centre of both T’Challa and Killmonger’s stories and shapes both of their perspectives throughout; T’Challa comes to realise that Wakanda needs to change and put their resources to good use and Killmonger has no hesitation about perverting those same resources to incite an all-out revolution. While so much of Wakanda is rooted in tribal rituals, from their structures to their traditions and their attire, the nation is bolstered by highly advanced technology that more than rivals Stark’s. Black Panther utilises a suit of almost magical nanotechnology, one that forms over his entire body at his convenience and makes him functionally invincible since it can absorb and unleash kinetic energy. Wakanda’s tech is so advanced that they’re entirely self-sufficient, Shuri can create energy-based weapons in gauntlets and shields and such, and they’re able to heal critically wounded people with ease, to say nothing of their futuristic craft that boast cloaking technology, electromagnetic pulse devices, and fly at incredible speeds. Although Wakanda is a largely peaceful and united nation, there are ripples in the water; W’Kabi is suspicious of T’Challa’s dealings with the outside world and T’Challa’s rule is challenged by M’Baku, whose animalistic and antagonistic Jabari tribe has distanced themselves from the luxuries enjoyed by mainstream Wakandan society. Though noticeably different from his comic book counterpart, Man-Ape, M’Baku is a fantastic addition to the film; he and his tribe have little interest in helping those who they feel look down on them. M’Baku’s proud nature and disapproval of T’Challa’s reign resulted in some powerful moments, such as him dismissing Everett Ross and even restoring T’Challa to life and power despite their rivalry. While he initially has no interest in helping T’Challa further than that, M’Baku is a man of honour who recognies Killmonger’s threat, leading to an unlikely and enjoyable alliance between the Jabari and the Dora Milaje after Okoye finally chooses loyalty to T’Challa over loyalty to the throne.
T’Challa’s gifts and the ways of his people afford him both great strength and conviction.
While traditions and technology are very much at the forefront of Wakanda, Black Panther is also rooted in spirituality; not quite the cosmic or more tradition magic seen in the MCU before, this spirituality is more supernatural and natural, imbuing the heart-shaped herb with properties that bestow superhuman abilities and allowing T’Challa to converse with his father’s spirt on the Ancestral Plane. We’ve seen since how the MCU has really taken the concept of multiple Gods and afterlives and really ran with it, but it all started here, in a kind of meditative wrapping that showed a deep connection to oneself and the lineage that had come before. This spirituality and belief in ages-old traditions is tested when Killmonger reveals T’Chaka’s shady past, but still heavily informs T’Challa’s character; he loves his homeland and will do anything to protect it, whether that’s shielding it from thieves like Klaue or opening Wakanda’s borders to provide aid to the oppressed. This spirituality also informs many of the film’s fight scenes; there’s a serene grace to the Black Panther, who moves with a deft agility that makes him an extremely effective combatant even without his costume. Okoye and the Dora Milaje favour more traditional weapons, but ones augmented by Shuri’s tech; in Wakandan hands, spears and shields before advanced weapons requiring years of training and physical skill to wield as their form and function is rooted in traditional tribal weaponry. They also have futuristic vehicles and energy-based weapons, which allow even the likes of Shuri to hold their own in battle and allow Black Panther to have a unique visual flair to its action and fight scenes. Even when undercover in a casino in Busan, the film separates itself from its MCU predecessors by first infusing a James Bond influence and then showcasing Okoye’s swift and brutal spear-play. Klaue might not pose the physical threat that Killmonger represents but his despicable nature, cruelty, and unsettling artificial arm cannon make him a reasonable secondary threat; he’s mainly there as a loose end and a means to an end to grant Killmonger entry into Wakanda but still manages to cause T’Challa trouble during an incredible car chase through Busan. Twisted by Killmonger’s influence, W’Kabi defends his new king’s designs for Wakanda, even to the point of clashing not just with the Dora Milaje but with his own wife, Okoye, allowing Black Panther to conclude with a suitably dramatic large-scale conflict that even sees Everett Ross put his life on the line to stop Killmonger from taking Vibranium weapons out of the country.
Despite some dodgy CGI, the film’s ending hits hard and changes Wakanda’s ways forever.
Forshadowing the large-scale battles we’d see in the next two Avengers movies, Black Panther ends with two big action set pieces: one pitting those loyal to T’Challa against Killmonger’s fanatics (including armour-clad rhinos and Vibranium weapons galore) and another, far more personal fight between the two would-be kings. As impress as all these sequences are, however, it can’t be denied that the CGI falters somewhat here; Black Panther and Killmonger don ridiculously similar costumes and their fight is largely realised through rubbery CGI characters against the dark and overly visually complex Vibranium mines. While I get the idea of Killmonger wanting to take T’Challa’s place (literally and figuratively) and claim his mantle, I think his default appearance was suitable enough and it would’ve been better to lean into that for his “costume” so that they could be more easily distinguishable. Still, if you can overlook that, their final clash is quite the intense affair; with Killmonger threatening to pervert everything Wakanda stands for, and having already proven himself T’Challa’s equal and better without the benefits of superhuman powers or technology, this is as much a clash of ideals as it is fists. In the end, T’Challa’s greater experience with Wakanda proves to be the difference maker as Shuri’s able to disrupt both of their suits to put them on equal ground and allow T’Challa to outmanoeuvre Killmonger and deliver a mortal wound. Sharing his own experiences with revenge and sympathetic to his cousin’s plight, T’Challa offers mercy but Killmonger refuses, opting to witness his first Wakandan sunset and die peacefully rather than be incarcerated. T’Challa takes the whole experience to heart, however, and works to make amends for Killmonger’s cause and harsh upbringing; he establishes and outreach centre in the United States and reveals Wakanda’s true nature to the world at the United Nations with the promise of sharing their resources with those in need. To exemplify just how beneficial Wakanda can be to even the most tortured individual, a post-credits scene shows Bucky (affectionately referred to as the “White Wolf”) being gifted a new Vibranium arm, now firmly on the road to recovery. It’s a bittersweet ending knowing that we’ll never get to see Chadwick reprise his most iconic role, and considering all the hardship Killmonger and others like him have had to endure over the generations, but one that sends a message of hope and positive change for all repressed peoples.
The Summary: We’d seen a lot from the MCU when Black Panther came out and were on the cusp of some ground-breaking and game-changing events, and yet it still managed to make one hell of an impression. At the base level, it’s a beautiful film to look at and really captures the allure and mysticism of Africa; Wakanda is such a unique place, like a slice of cosmic, futuristic utopia amidst the wrappings of nature and centuries-old tradition, marrying tried-and-tested ways and beliefs with highly advanced technology. T’Challa is no slouch either, being an affable and alluring hero who it’s easy to root for; he’s gifted great power and capable of great things, but remains loyal and true to himself, never cracking under the burden of responsibility to backing down from a challenge, while still remaining level-headed enough to use diplomacy wherever possible. Naturally, a standout was Killmonger, probably the MCU’s most complex villain yet; his commentary on the oppression of ethnic minorities remains sadly all-too relevant even in modern society and he’s easily the most interesting and multi-faceted of Marvel’s dark doppelgängers. Ultimately, Black Panther is a very different superhero film, one that is as much about world building and politics as it is about kick-ass action sequences and spectacular special effects and sets. T’Challa, who has evolved from a revenge-obsessed renegade into a self-assured, prideful leader of a nation, was a welcome addition to the MCU and had such potential as a worthy leader of the Avengers. The final act of the film is maybe a little rushed, with perhaps two or three too many plot lines being mashed into the narrative, but it never feels like the pacing is off. The goes to great lengths to set Black Panther up as a diplomat who is not against suiting up and fighting against injustice when it rears its ugly head, but also to establish Wakanda and its people as a force to be reckoned with going forward no matter who assumes the Black Panther’s mantle.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy Black Panther? How do you think it holds up compared to other MCU films and as an adaptation of the character? What did you think to the film’s visual presentation and fight scenes? How did the depiction of racial oppression affect you, if at all? Where would you rank Killmonger amongst the hierarchy of MCU villains? Who would you like to see become the new Black Panther? Whatever you think about Black Panther, feel free to share your thoughts and memories of Chadwick Boseman in the comments below or on my social media.
It may seem difficult to believe but there was once a time when Marvel Comics were in a bit of a bind. On top of having lost some of their top talent in the early nineties, a slump in the comic book industry forced Marvel to file for bankruptcy in 1996. Although they avoided going out of business completely (largely due to being purchased by Toy Biz) and launched all new Marvel titles, like the Marvel Knights imprint, the comics industry wasn’t what it once was and, in an effort to diversify and reap greater rewards from their vast library of characters, Marvel began selling the film rights to their properties to film studios. 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights in 1994 and, after a tumultuous development period that saw various scripts and ideas rejected, released X-Men in 2000. Directed by Bryan Singer, X-Men catapulted the titular Mutant team to mainstream success, kicking off one of Fox’s most successful and longest-running franchises. With ten films released over the last seventeen years, the X-Men franchise became such a success that it seemed like Marvel would never be able to regain the rights to their characters in the same way they had with Daredevil and Doctor Strange. Even after the unprecedented deal was stuck between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures to allow Spider-Man to finally feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it seemed like Mutants would forever be apart from the most successful cinematic universe ever conceived.
Despite their flaws, you cannot fault the success of Fox’s X-Men films.
Enter the House of Mouse. In 2009, a time when Marvel Studios had already established itself as an unquestionably successful movie-making juggernaut, Disney stepped in and acquired Marvel Entertainment, which included both the comics and the films. Backed by Disney’s already vast media conglomerate, Marvel was able to bypass the entire issue of working out some sort of deal with 20th Century Fox when, in December 2017, Disney simply acquired the film studio’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, and thus opened the door for the X-Men to become part of the MCU. There’s a pretty large problem with this, though. Having been going strong since the release of Iron Man (Favreau, 2008), the MCU has established an entire world and history that is entirely independent of that seen in the X-Men film series. Unlike characters like the Fantastic Four (also (and, for me, more excitingly) acquired in the Disney/Fox deal), integrating the X-Men into the MCU is far from a simple premise.
If Coulson says there’s no Mutants then he must be right…right?
For starters, it seems like it would be impossible to simply say that the X-Men films have occurred within the MCU; not only has there never been any mention of the world-changing events depicted in films like X-Men: First Class (Singer, 2011) but Mutants seemingly do not exist within the MCU at all. Instead, we have what are referred to as “Gifted” individuals, who are born with superpowers, or “Enhanced” individuals who are bestowed superpowers by some outside force. I know that the MCU doesn’t really acknowledge or cross over with their television properties, but there was also a line in an episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Various, 2013 to present) in which Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) specifically states that there has never been a legitimate clairvoyant ever discovered which, at the time, seemed like a pretty blatant dig at Fox’s X-Men films.
Rewriting history just seems a bit…lazy, surely?
Plus, you know, there’s the fact that Quicksilver has appeared in both the MCU and the X-Men franchises thanks to some decidedly odd small print in the rights for the character during the initial deal. Considering the universe-changing implications of Thanos (Josh Brolin) unifying the six Infinity Stones in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War(Russo Brothers, 2018), it seems like the two movie universes colliding and merging is a very real possibility at this point. However, I feel like this would be needlessly complicated. Honestly, the purchase of Fox by Disney couldn’t have come at a worse time; X-Men: Dark Phoenix(Kinberg, 2018), Deadpool 2(Leitch, 2018), and The New Mutants (Boone, 2019) are all due to be released very soon; Legion (Various, 2017 to present) and The Gifted (ibid, 2017 to present) are both still running on television (though they have very little to do with each other or the X-Men films); not to mention the five or six other X-Men spin-offs apparently in the works. On top of that, for all their flaws, Singer’s would-be-prequel series of films (and the previous movies in the franchise) feature some of the best casting choices for popular X-Men characters.
Like it or not, we may need a new Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman recently retired from the role of Wolverine/Logan (although part of me always suspected he was retiring from playing the role full-time and would be open for cameos and short scenes, especially if offered enough cash) but has previously voiced his desire to team up with the Avengers. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are both great actors that are still young and virile enough to believably portray middle-aged versions of Professor X and Magneto, and other actors, like the delectable Sophie Turner and Evan Peters, are hot young fits for playing younger versions of Jean Grey and Quicksilver, respectively. To be clear, I’m not really writing this to list a bunch of fanboy recasting but, to me, it seems like the best and simplest course of action would be to allow X-Men: Dark Phoenix to conclude the original X-Men films and retool Deadpool 3 and The New Mutants to retroactively fit into the larger MCU. After all, they sneakily snuck a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier into Deadpool (Miller, 2016) and the very nature of Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) metahumour allows for him to more easily slide into the MCU with wry commentary. I would then begin to lay the seeds of the X-Men and Mutantkind being revealed within the MCU over the rest of Marvel’s 2018 film releases but not launch a new movie until 2019 and 2020.
Let’s kick things off with a new title, shall we?
First things first, Marvel’s X-Men movie needs to separate itself from Fox’s series and the best way to do this is by expanding the title in a classic and timeless way, so I would encourage The Uncanny X-Men as the title of the first movie. Next, I would suggest that Mutants have always been a part of the MCU but Professor Xavier has used his incredible psychic powers to block their presence from the world. Some have suggested that Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson) should retroactively be reclassified as Mutants and I am open to that; perhaps, after the fallout of Infinity War, the presence of Mutants and Wanda’s true heritage is revealed and Wanda could be our window into the world of Mutants as she seeks to discover her true origins.
How awesome would Mark Strong or Colin Salmon be as Xavier?
The main idea I had in mind, though, was to take inspiration from Spider-Man: Homecoming(Watts, 2017) and, more specifically (as much as I hate to say it), the Harry Potter film series (Various, 2001 to 2011) and depict the X-Men as being young teenagers at Xavier’s school. Their presence shielded from the outside world by Xavier, the film would be a fantasy adventure following the classic five X-Men (Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, Beast, and Angel) as they learn to deal with their powers, their longing to join the outside world, and their teen angst and issues. I have no real suggestions for casting of the X-Men or the kids but, as much as I like McAvoy and Fassbender, I wouldn’t mind seeing someone like Mark Strong or even Colin Salmon as Charles Xavier. Both are old enough to bring some longevity to the role and can play the wise, overly protective mentor to perfection.
And who better than Bean or Brosnan for Magneto?
I see Magneto filling a role very similar to Snape (Alan Rickman); he’d be Xavier’s confidante and closest friend, running the school alongside him, but their attitudes and ideologies would be as different as we’ve come to expect from the characters. I’d like to see them clash over the presence of superheroes and the threat it poses to Mutantkind and have Magento slowly, over the course of the film, plan to splinter away from Xavier’s teachings with five of his own students (Toad, the Blob, Mystique, Avalanche, and Pyro), who would all be bullies towards, or otherwise compliment and contrast with, the protagonists. As far as casting Magneto, maybe get Sean Bean or Pierce Brosnan in because these guys need to be in a major superhero role sometime soon. Also, I would rather they didn’t make Magneto a Holocaust survivor since I find it increasingly difficult to believe that age and time wouldn’t have already killed him. Instead, have his father or grandfather have been the one to suffer during the Holocaust and have him carry those teachings but not have witnessed them first-hand.
Mr. Sinister is a must and it’d be quite the coup to get Liam Neeson in to play him!
Okay, so let’s talk villains. I don’t really want to see a repetition of what we’ve already gotten; ideally, I’d like to see Magneto slowly rise into a villainous role over the course of the film and not become a full-blown Mutant extremist until the second or even third X-Men movie, after which he can transition into an MCU-level threat like Loki (Tom Hiddleston) did. At the same time, I would love to see Apocalypse be the ultimate threat for the X-Men but it’s possibly too soon after the character’s lacklustre portrayal in X-Men: Apocalypse (Singer, 2016), so let’s buy him some time and bring in someone we’ve never seen before: Mister Sinister. Sinister, perhaps accompanied by the Hellfire Club, should play a similar role to Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) in X-Men: First Class in that he is a publically-known Mutant extremist who is aggressively striking against humanity. His radical methods only fuel Magneto’s own desires for Mutant supremacy and he could use his telepathic abilities to infiltrate Xavier’s school and help turn some of them to his way of thinking. Indeed, I would suggest that Xavier doesn’t want his students to ever go out into the world as superheroes and actively discourages such thinking, meaning that Cyclops and the others would recognise or uncover Sinister’s plot and rebel against their mentor, suiting up as X-Men to combat Sinister and his minions and, through their actions, announce the presence of heroic Mutants to the world and begrudgingly change Xavier’s mind. I would’ve loved to see a quirky actor like Jeff Goldblum in the role but, seeing as he already portrayed the Grandmaster, maybe Marvel should try and rope in Liam Neeson for the role?
Stark Industries’ Sentinel Program in full force?
I know what you’re thinking, though, “what about Wolverine?” and you’re right, Wolverine should have a place in Marvel’s X-Men movies but not until the sequel. I would take inspiration from the All-New, All-Different X-Men story from 1975 and have Sinister take his revenge by having his newest henchmen (Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Psycloke, and Sabretooth) kidnap Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Jean Grey and disable Xavier in such a way that Magneto is forced to spearhead an aggressive recruitment drive that adds Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Banshee (or Shadowcat) to the team. In addition to having to whip the rookies into shape and struggle with being a leader, Cyclops would continue to face in-school opposition from Magneto’s Brotherhood after Magneto goes a bit Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) on the school to enforce his world view. In the midst of their attempt to rescue their team mates, the X-Men would discover that Sinister is using genetic engineering and science to boost his powers, thereby bringing his new acolytes under his control. The X-Men would free them in their rescue attempt, leading to Wolverine and Sabretooth realising they’re hated rivals and the X-Men’s ranks being bolstered by rescuing Sinister’s prisoners. I have no idea who to cast as the new Wolverine but I would also prefer him not to officially join the team or attend the school; instead, Wolverine should wander the MCU so he can fight the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Sabretooth, and maybe get a solo movie where go goes up against Omega Red and/or teams up with Deadpool.
Marvel should use this opportunity to do the X-Men’s outfits justice.
After the events of the second movie make it clear that Magneto’s intentions are far from noble, he would be a full-blown villain for the third X-Men movie, leading his Brotherhood and actively opposing the X-Men. The MCU’s opinion of Mutants as a race to be feared and hated would be directly attributed to the actions of Sinister (whom Magneto should kill in a display of power to take his place as the X-Men’s primary threat) and Magneto, which would result in the Sentinels (which could be derived from Stark technology) being deployed to end the Mutant threat once and for all. A climactic battle between the X-Men, Brotherhood, and Sentinels could result in Jean transforming into Phoenix to end the conflict and the X-Men relocating to Genosha. Or, given the involvement of Sinister in this hypothetical new trilogy, Magneto could be bumped to the primary threat in the second movie and the third would involve Apocalypse’s resurrection. As for the X-Men’s costumes, I would take inspiration from Ultimate X-Men and the X-Men: Evolution (2000 to 2003) animated series (fitting considering that Evolution was very school-based, just as I’d like to see these new films be) to produce outfits that are functional and realistic but also with that comic book tint that the MCU is known for in their outfits.
It’s not an ideal situation as it’s a shame to have to completely recast all of the X-Men characters but it’s surely easier and simpler than attempting to use time travel or the Infinity Stones to rewrite history and integrate the existing X-Men films into the MCU. Integrating the Fantastic Four is so much easier; you just have them return from being lost in the Negative Zone for, like, twenty years or something but the X-Men are so vast and the implications of their presence so game-changing that it would be difficult and, frankly, a little insulting to either just wedge them into existing continuity or debut Mutants as a new thing kicked off from the Infinity War fallout. But to say that Mutants have always existed but their presence has been hidden by Xavier and the government (Weapon X, for example) and are now being exposed? That seems a much more fitting way to recast and reboot the X-Men franchise. The only real issue is that Disney obviously spent a lot of money acquired Fox so will they be able to wait to capitalise on that purchase? Can they afford to take their time and introduce the X-Men in a smart and logical way or will they be forced to swamp the MCU with X-Men and Wolverine movies in order to profit from the purchase? Time will tell but, until then, I’ll continue to live out my Colin Salmon vs. Pierce Brosnan fancasting.
I’m not really one for chasing plot holes and, honestly, I am not really one to nit-pick; usually, I can watch a film and be perfectly satisfied with it even if there are a few questions or plot conveniences being employed to tie everything together. Generally, though, after seeing a film for the first time or after multiple viewings, I’ll replay the movie in my head and, sometimes, this is where glaring plot holes will jump out at me that, once you’ve noticed them, are hard to ignore.
With that in mind, here are ten pretty massive plot holes in movies that are otherwise great (spoilers, and all that, but that seems obvious at this point):
10 Gladiator (Scott, 2000)
There’s actually a couple of plot holes that jumped out of me in Ridley Scott’s otherwise flawless Roman epic. The first is during the reunion between Maximus (Russell Crowe) and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), in which Maximus mentions that he heard that Lucilla has a son and Lucilla says that Lucius (Spencer Treat Clark) is nearly eight. Now, we’re not told how long it’s been since Maximus and Lucilla last saw each other but, surely, Maximus must have known about Lucius before this reunion? Considering he hasn’t been home in “two years, two-hundred-and-sixty-four days, and this morning”, we can infer that he has only been at war for about three years; so, was he at home for the other five years with no word about his former flame? Seems unlikely. But, if you find that plot hole a bit too tenuous, how about the fact that Maximus is later taken out into the Germanian wilderness to be executed, fights himself free, and ends up wandering around in a half-dead daze only to somehow gallop his way back home, to Spain, on the strength of a prophetic dream? Thanks to the editing of this sequence, it seems as though he arrives shortly after the attack but this seems awfully convenient and unlikely to me.
I love this plot hole. So, The Terminator(ibid, 1984) establishes that the time-displacement machine only allows living human tissue to travel through time; the T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) was able to make the trip because its metallic endoskeleton was covered by uncannily realistic flesh. Yet, in James Cameron’s all-action sequel, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) is able to make the same journey despite being composed entirely of liquid metal! The best part is that, if you’re new to the franchise and you watch them in order, you can see that this plot hole is necessary to allow Terminator 2 to be structured as though the T-800 is still the emotionless, remorseless killer from the first film and Robert is the unassuming human soldier sent back to protect the future. Seriously, watch T2 again up to the showdown between Robert and Arnold with fresh eyes and you’ll see what I mean. I guess we have to assume that the T-1000 was coated in some kind of disposable flesh cocoon to allow for this.
You know what this is going to be: how the hell does Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) return to Gotham City after being dumped in that pit by Bane (Tom Hardy)? I can almost forgive the plot convenience of the “clean slate” and Bruce’s absurd recovery time from his injuries (I have to assume that Bane injured Bruce severely but didn’t snap his spine as in the Knightfall comics arc) but, with Bane having Gotham under complete lockdown and Bruce left without any means of using what limited assets he has left, how did Bruce manage to get back into the city? Not only that but the editing makes it seem as though the flight to and from the pit is mere hours and that Bruce is gone for a matter of weeks rather than months. Seriously, “because he’s Batman!” is not an explanation for this and it was a curiously sloppy inclusion on Nolan’s part. I guess we just have to assume that Bruce knows of secret ways in and out of the city, perhaps through the same tunnels that lead to the Batcave?
This is one that didn’t hit me for a few hours after seeing the film, such was the impact of Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) final outing but, even considering the convoluted mess that is the timeline of the X-Men (Various, 2000 to present) films, how the hell does Logan know his real name? At numerous points in the film, the name James Howlett appears onscreen and is used by Logan in reference to himself but, even if you don’t consider X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Hood, 2009) to be canon, X-Men (Singer, 2000) sure as hell is supposed to be according to Logan’s narrative and I don’t recall him regaining his memories in that film, or any other movie for that matter. It’s such a minor blink-and-miss it thing but it really took me out of the movie as I ended up thinking and asking questions about things that were distracting me from Logan’s emotionally weighty narrative. I guess we just have to assume that, at some point between The Wolverine (Mangold, 2013) and Logan, Wolverine just happened to regain the memory of his long-forgotten real name. Or, maybe, all of his memories were restored as a result of X-Men: Days of Future Past(Singer, 2014), though thee is no indication of this in either film. Also, while we’re at it, how the hell did Future Wolverine regain his adamantium claws after The Wolverine? And how the hell is Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) still alive? I mean, I know the after credits of X-Men: The Last Stand(Ratner, 2006) showed that he had survived but how did he get his old body back? Gah! I cannot wait for Marvel Studios to reboot this franchise with some cohesion!
6 Spider-Man 3 (Raimi, 2007)
I know what you’re thinking: Spider-Man 3 is not a “great film” and maybe you’re right but it’s not actually that bad. Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) in the black suit (I’d love to call them Venom but they’re never called that in the film so…) was pretty awesome and the big climactic team-up between Peter (Tobey Maguire) and Harry (James Franco) was really exciting at the time, before cinematic superhero team-ups were the norm. With that said, though, poor attempts on Raimi’s part to properly include Venom in the film coupled with lazy editing mean that the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) is able to just randomly ambush Eddie in mid-air, with Eddie briefly mentioning that he’s been “looking for” Sandman to propose a team-up rather than actually putting some effort into this meeting (or, you know, just writing Sandman out completely after his encounter with Symbiote Spider-Man and saving the scene of his survival for an after- or mid-credits scene).
5 Back to the Future (Zemeckis, 1985)
Here’s one that’s been argued to death: why don’t Marty’s (Michael J. Fox) parents recognise him as “Calvin Klein”, the mysterious boy so pivotal to them getting together as teenagers? The most common argument I’ve seen is that they do but choose not to acknowledge it, or that they simply do not remember events from nearly thirty years ago with perfect recall. Honestly, this is a pretty weak argument for me; if a handsome lad had helped me overcome my issues and get with a pretty girl back when I was in secondary school, I think I would notice if my son looked exactly like him! You can’t even say it’s because of the malleability of time travel as other characters, such as Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), can remember the past pretty well but nobody seems to put two-and-two together when it comes to Marty and “Calvin”.
So, there’s a pretty pivotal scene in one of the most underrated movies ever in which the Penguin (Danny DeVito) reveals that his Red Triangle Circus Gang is planning to “disassemble [Batman’s (Michael Keaton)] Batmobile and turn it into an H-bomb on wheels”. They are able to do this by following a rather detailed set of blueprints on the wall of the Penguin’s office. The question is: how the hell did he get a hold of those blueprints? According to the novelisation by Craig Shaw Gardner, the blueprints were obtained at considerable cost by Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) but that seems pretty improbable given that, later in the film, Bruce is repairing the Batmobile and appears to be self-reliant rather than commissioning outside sources to provide his tech. There appears to be no in-movie explanation as to how the Penguin got the blueprints, though, so I guess it’s just “one of those things”, like how his gang just conveniently find the Batmobile later on.
3 Fight Club (Fincher, 1999)
According to Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), the first rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club and the second rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. However, the final rule is that, if it’s your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight. Anyone else seeing a bit of a contradiction here? If members are doubly banned from talking about Fight Club then how the hell can it ever be anyone’s “first night” at the club? After a while, every one of the original members should have had their first fight so that, in conjunction with the first two rules, would make the final rule obsolete pretty quickly, surely? Perhaps Tyler knew that the members would talk about the club (Bob (Meat Loaf) did later on, after all) and the rules were more an unstated understanding that members do not talk about the club to any authority figures but, still, to have a rule that directly contradicts the others seems pretty foolish for such a smart guy.
So, imagine this: you’re John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and you have a theme park that contains the closest approximations of real-life dinosaurs in billions of years and you need the world’s foremost expert on Velociraptors, Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), to come along and verify that the park is safe and the attractions are as good as they seem. Then, just as a baby ‘raptor hatches from an egg right before his eyes, your expert turns around and asks, “what species is this?” like some kind of air-headed novice! Now, sure, Grant seemed to take the discovery that dinosaurs were once again walking the Earth pretty hard, reacting with shock and awe and even having trouble breathing so maybe, maybe, he was simply still reeling from this revelation. Also, yes, while I’m sure Grant had seen the bones of a baby ‘raptor before, he’s obviously never held a live one and, finally, he probably knew (like we do now) that ‘raptors actually looked very different to how they are portrayed in Jurassic Park but still! I mean, come on, isn’t this like Ford unveiling their new motor at a Ford press conference and Jeremy Clarkson saying, “what make is this?”
1 Timecop (Richardson, 1994)
Can we stop for a moment to talk about how absolutely fantastic Timecop is? Seriously, it’s one of those films that doesn’t get talked about enough and is, perhaps, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s greatest film ever (for fellow perverts, there’s also one cracker of a sex scene in it!) I love this film and could, honestly, watch it every day but there’s just one tiny little thing that takes me right out of it. The first scene of the film is a little dick-measuring contest between George Spota (Scott Lawrence) and some government types in which George breaks the news that the good ol’ US-of-A has cracked time travel. He lays down the rules of the film (you can’t travel forward because the future hasn’t happened yet but you can travel back…raising the entirely separate question of how you get back to the present, which would be considered the future, from the past; I guess because that future has happened?) and convinces the government types that the Time Enforcement Commission must be formed to protect and police time from anyone who would seek to change history by altering the past. George even says that this has already happened and the question is…how, exactly? At that point, there was one time travel device, firmly under lock and key we can assume, so how the hell did someone manage to travel back to the past already? And, if they have done, how they hell did George even know about it when they had no means of monitoring or preventing this so, surely, the events that were altered world just be the current history (as happens later in the film)?
Later, it is revealed that there are two machines; the primary one and a prototype that Senator Aaron McComb (Ron Silver) uses to change time in his favour but this wasn’t true at the meeting at the start of the film so I have to agree with the young McComb when he asks why they don’t “just prevent time travel rather than spending stupendous amounts of money trying to police it”. Also…how come they travel to the past in that big rocket but it disappears when they get there and all they have to do is hit a return button, jump into a wormhole, and end up back in the present in the same rocket (that’s now facing the other way around)?
For those who have been living under a rock for the last forty years, Star Wars is one of the most successful and popular science-fiction media franchises of all time and, perhaps, one of the most beloved trilogies ever crafted. In 1999, series creator George Lucas began his Prequel Trilogy which, thanks to their abundance of CGI, questionable acting, and much-maligned narrative choices, left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, they immediately set to work in reinvigorating the franchise by beginning not just a new trilogy of movies, but also an entirely new series of spin-offs and multi-media merchandise. Excitement was high for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens(Abrams, 2015), which saw the return of fan favourite characters Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo/Peter Mayhew), and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). For me, The Force Awakens had just as many positives as it had flaws; it had some great characterisation and action and was way more exciting and interesting than any of Lucas’ prequel movies. However it suffered from leaning maybe a bit too hard on nostalgia by mirroring very closely the plot of Star Wars: Episode VI: A New Hope(Lucas, 1977). This might have been a thematic choice but I feel that the massive time jump over the new renaissance of the revived Galactic Republic and Jedi Order in favour of a inexplicably overpowered Empire proxy, the First Order, and the renewed destruction of the Jedi.
“I wonder if she means Old Luke Skywalker?…”
Anyway, The Last Jedi picks up immediately after the end of The Force Awakens; the traditional opening crawl is quite sparse as a result but, basically, the First Order apparently now reigns supreme and chaos has swept across the galaxy despite the destruction of their Starkiller base. Relentlessly pursued by the First Order’s fleet, the remnants of the Republic (now reverting to their original branding as Rebels), led by General Leia Organa, organises an evacuation of their base but they end up running low on fuel and being constantly bombarded by the slower First Order ships. Meanwhile, Rey (Daisy Ridley) has found former Jedi Master Luke Skywalker living in isolation on a hidden planet. Swamped by her own fears and uncertainties, she attempts to convince him to rejoin the Rebellion and to train her as a Jedi. Luke, however, is a broken shell of a man, haunted by his failure to keep Ben Solo/Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) from succumbing to the dark machinations of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis).
The Last Jedi is all about the new blood.
After Leia is injured from the First Order’s attack, hot-headed Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), former Stormtrooper turned Rebel hero Finn (John Boyega), and newcomer Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) hatch a plan to locate a master hacker and sneak onto Snoke’s ship to disable their systems and allow the survivors can escape to safety. These three storylines weave in and out with the continued development of Kylo Ren, who continues to struggle with his legacy, his actions from The Force Awakens, and his attempts to tempt Rey to join his cause.
The Last Jedi is nothing if not visually stunning.
If The Force Awakens drew heavily from A New Hope, The Last Jedi is heavily influenced by Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Kershner, 1980) primarily in its juggling of multiple storylines happening concurrently and in topping the planet-destroying super weapon of their previous film with a more personal, intense storyline. Like the asteroid field chase from Empire, the Rebels end up in the slowest chase in history when they manage to stay just out of range of the First Order’s barrage, Rey’s training is as brief and vague as Luke’s, Finn and Rose are forced to turn to a rogue for assistance, and the Rebels end up in a desperate battle against Imperial walkers. There are also various obvious call backs to Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Marquand, 1983); Snoke attempts to turn Rey similar to how the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) tried to turn Luke, the Rebel forces get absolutely obliterated by the First Order similar to the one-sided Endor battle, and there’s some cute new critters used thankfully far more sparingly than the Ewoks to help boost sales of tie-in merchandise. The Last Jedi felt like a massive course correction and righted a lot of the wrongs I took away from The Force Awakens; I didn’t like that Snoke was a thing, I felt that it would be far more interesting and different to see Ren and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) at odds but in command of the First Order rather than repeating the tired “evil old wizard in command of the galaxy/pulling the strings” storyline we’ve seen for six previous Star Wars movies. As a result, I was happy to see Kylo kill Snoke and crown himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order but, as a result, Snoke died before we ever learned anything about who he was or where he came from.
Want to know more about Snoke? Well, too bad!
Also, while we get to see Poe develop from a trigger-happy, impulsive pilot to a competent leader, Finn’s side plot with Rose ended up just being a convoluted and largely insignificant addition that existed just to give him something to do, and his showdown with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) was a similarly minor moment in the grand scheme of the narrative. Phasma, with her chrome-plated look (and armour that actually reflects lasers), had the potential to be a stand out character but, in this sea of new characters and overlapping plot points, is basically a nothing when she really could have been Ren and Hux’s primary enforcer. Finn’s best moment comes when he resolves to sacrifice himself to save the Rebels from being blasted by the First Order’s “Death Star cannon” but even this is stolen away from him when Rose randomly jumps in to save him and, effectively, spell the destruction of the remnants of the Republic. As we all know, Carrie Fisher tragically passed away during the production of this movie; as a result, it seemed as though her character would receive a dramatic send off, possibly in a way of adding to Ren’s impressive resume of asshole actions. Instead, she manages to use the Force to survive being blown into space and, although she spends a great deal of time injured, returns to active duty to comfort Rey by the finale. In the meantime, her duties are taken over by Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern) who, for no other reason other than manufacturing tension, keeps vital information away from what remains of the Rebellion.
It’s fair to say that Luke is not in the best place, emotionally.
Turning to Luke, I felt this was a great performance by Hamill, who really showed the depth of his acting ability here. While I am annoyed at not getting to see Luke build and lead a new Jedi Order, and I find it hard to believe that he has become a mythical figure when he hasn’t really been away from the public eye for that long, it was great to see him as a broken old man who has isolated himself to die and end the Jedi’s place in the galaxy. Rey helps to nudge Luke back into action not only through her Force proficiency (revealed to be a by-product of her lineage, another plot thread just dumped on the floor), but also reminding him that he is, for many, the personification of hope and the Rebellion in the galaxy. After a few interactions with Kylo Ren through the Force, Rey decides to leave behind her Jedi training and attempt to turn Ren back to the good side and fill the role that Luke is refusing. Although Ren dramatically kills his master and teams up with Rey to fight Snoke’s praetorian guards, they ultimately reject each other’s arguments for turning away from their chosen paths. After a conversation with the Force ghost of Yoda (Frank Oz), who is lovingly realised as a CGI-enhanced puppet, Luke comes to realise that he has to face up to the (extremely uncharacteristic) mistakes he made with Kylo. After an initial fake-out, where it seems Luke is taking a page out of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s (Alec Guiness) book by giving his life to buy his allies time and teach Kylo a lesson in true power, it actually transpires that he was smart enough to project himself into that climactic battle, a feat which takes the last of his energy as he peacefully fades to the Force.
Kylo’s “burn the past” mission statement appears to be Disney’s mantra when it comes to Star Wars.
Was The Last Jedi perfect? No, not really. It was probably about as good and bad as The Force Awakens, which basically means that, as much as I enjoyed the film, I still prefer Rogue One: A Star Wars Story(Edwards, 2016). Rogue One utilises nostalgia in a far more natural way as, being set before A New Hope, it makes sense that it’s using the traditional seventies aesthetic. This Sequel Trilogy, however, seem to be a mish-mash of nostalgia, tried-and-true Star Wars narratives, and an attempt to establish a new generation of characters. With the passing of Luke and the fate of Leia up in the air due to Carrie Fisher’s death, the central Star Wars narrative as a Skywalker tale is effectively over, with only Kylo Ren carrying that story forward. All unanswered questions from The Force Awakens are either waved away or dropped entirely; what could have been an interesting tale of a benevolent Galactic Republic being whittled away by the remnants of the Empire under the command of Kylo and Hux (or Grand Admiral Thrawn) is returned to the status quo of the rag-tag Rebellion fighting an oppressive Empire, and the promise of a rebuilding of the Jedi is side-stepped in favour of a new last of the Jedi in Rey. Having said all that, The Last Jedi is still a great film; it’s big on action, humour, and heart but there are some questionable decisions that, for me, keep it from being better than, say, The Empire Strikes Back. Obviously, nostalgia plays a lot into that and there are some parts of Empire that aren’t perfect but, in the end, I can’t get over some of the biggest plot points, such Rey’s parentage and Snoke’s origins, being given no resolution. It’ll be interesting to see where the narrative goes for Star Wars: Episode IXgiven how The Last Jedi concludes and that I get the sense that Disney are kind of making up each film as they go along.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Recommended: Sure; Star Wars and action/sci-fi fans will love this movie, I’m sure, and general audiences should be enthralled by the special effects. Best moment: There were two for me; Kylo and Rey’s team up against the praetorian guards and Luke’s penultimate battle with Kylo. Worst moment: The film dramatically slows down after the opening action scene, the awkward and frustrating personality of Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo stands out, but definitely the entire side plot involving Finn and Rose, which ultimately ended up adding nothing to the larger narrative.
You’ve paid your money and you’ve sat down in the cinema or in front of your television; you’ve got some snacks and a drink and you’re ready to suspend your disbelief for anywhere between ninety minutes to three hours with a good, old fashioned movie. The plot is intriguing, the characters relatable, the antagonist layered, and the film’s construction has sucked you right in. Then, out of the blue, the film ends in an ambiguous way, leaving questions swimming around in your head.
For me, a great movie with an ambiguous ending that either turns the entire events that preceded it upside down or allows me to interpret what has happened makes for an extremely enjoyable experience, not least because it means that you can re-watch the movie and interpret the ending and the plot in different ways each time. Some might disagree, obviously, but I’m not them so here are ten of the best moves with interpretative endings and some of my thoughts about them:
10Blade Runner (Scott, 1982)
Kicking things off with one of the forefathers of the ambiguous ending, we’re really opening a can of worms with this one considering just how many different versions and endings exist for Blade Runner. Controversially, though, I’m not that big a fan of Blade Runner; as a film, it’s very slow and plodding, with long sections where seemingly nothing happens. This is married to some gorgeous sets and a realistic, lived-in feel to the future world we are presented with. Consequently, my Blade Runner experience begins and ends with Ridley Scott’s 2007 Final Cut version of the film, in which Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) finds an origami unicorn on the floor of his apartment, strongly hinting (as Deckard had previously dreamt of a unicorn) that Deckard is a Replicant. Apparently, this is the philosophy that Scott subscribes to though I disagree as there isn’t really any real evidence in The Final Cut to support this beyond the ambiguity of the final scene. Supporting this further, the question about Deckard’s humanity was left unanswered in Blade Runner 2049 (Villeneuve, 2017), despite other versions of Blade Runner hinting more strongly that Deckard was actually a Replicant all along.
9 Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010)
Throughout Shutter Island, Edward “Teddy” Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is forced to confront some personal demons as he uncovers the mysterious disappearance of a patient of the asylum housed on the titular island. As events begin to unravel, we learn that Teddy is, in fact, a patient of the asylum and he was allowed to play out an elaborate fantasy in an attempt to force him to confront the truth that he murdered his wife. Despite scepticism from Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), this unconventional method appears to have finally worked as Teddy finally admits his guilt. However, later on, he appears to have regressed to his fantasy world once more, leaving the hospital no choice but to have him lobotomised. As the orderlies come to take him away, he questions whether it is worse to live as a monster or die as a good man, casting doubt as to whether he has truly regressed or simply wishes to end his sane life on a high note; personally, I prefer the latter interpretation, as that line seems a deliberate inclusion to make us think that Teddy is merely feigning his regression to “die” as a hero.
8 John Carpenter’s The Thing (Carpenter, 1982)
This is the second time that The Thing has made one of my top ten lists, and with good reason; not only is it a masterpiece of practical effect wizardry, it’s also an excellent tale of isolation and paranoia. After uncovering an alien spacecraft and unwittingly unthawing a gruesome, shape-changing parasitic lifeform, the residents of an Antarctic research outpost succumb to paranoia and fear as the titular Thing assimilates them one by one. In the end, with the Thing seemingly destroyed and the outpost up in flames, our hero – R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) – sits alone and exhausted by a dwindling fire when he is confronted by Childs (Keith David), his hot-headed rival who had mysteriously vanished right as the chaos started to really ramp up. Also exhausted, Childs sits with MacReady and they share the remnants of a bottle of scotch, both too tired to act on their suspicions that the other might be the Thing and succumbing to the knowledge that, once the fires burn out, it won’t matter soon anyway. Doubts about who is really human are raised when one observes that, unlike MacReady, Child’s breath does not show in the freezing weather but, in this case, I feel that both are actually human and the ending has a more morbid message: both men, whether human or alien, are paying the price for human nature and that, given the volatile relationship between the two characters, it’s likely they would find any excuse to try to kill each other but are simply too fatigued to continue their hostilities.
7 The Descent (Marshall, 2005)
The Descent was a welcome surprise when I first saw it; despite some questionable acting from the lead females, the film quickly descends (hah!) into an atmospheric, claustrophobic nightmare when six cave-diving friends find themselves trapped in an unchartered cavern and being attacked by cannibalistic mutated humans. With fear and paranoia setting in, and beset by the vicious crawlers at every turn, the party is eventually whittled down to central protagonist Sarah Carter (Shauna Macdonald) who, after being knocked unconscious, awakens to find herself before an exit and frantically scrambles free, screaming with maniacal glee as she makes it to her car and speeds away. Overcome by the gruesome events that have taken her friends from her, she pulls over and breaks down in tears, only to find the screaming corpse of her headstrong friend Juno Kaplan (Natalie Mendoza) in the passenger seat. For American audiences, this jump-scare is where the film ends but, for us Brits, the scare causes Sarah to awaken to find herself still trapped in the cave with no exit in sight and her fire slowly burning away. With no escape, and the sounds of the ferocious crawlers echoing all around her, she finds solace in a hallucination of her dead daughter as the film fades to black. If you ignore The Descent: Part 2 (Harris, 2009), which reveals that Sarah did actually escape the cave in the end (and is inexplicably convinced to return to that nightmare), this ending is a massive downer and really reflective of the differences in American and British audiences; we Brits love us a good bleak ending laced with ambiguity, as the final haunting shot raises the possibility that all of the events that occurred were a hallucination of Sarah’s to justify her slaughtering all of her friends.
Here’s a film that doesn’t get enough love, Event Horizon is a truly horrific science-fiction horror revolving around a spaceship that, having crossed through time and space, has returned as a semi-sentient haunted vessel that desires only to kill its inhabitants in increasingly gruesome ways and return to the hell dimension that it passed through. Event Horizon actually has two ambiguous endings: the first comes when Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) sacrifices himself to split the Event Horizon in two, allowing the remainder of his crew to be spared while he and the demonically possessed Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill in a commendably menacing role) be transported back to “Hell”. When I first watched Event Horizon, I assumed, based on Weir’s agonised “Noooo!” and the editing of this scene, that Miller had died in the ensuing explosion but, upon repeated viewing, you can clearly see the aft section of the craft disappear into a black hole, meaning that Weir was merely expressing his frustration at only taking one victim to “Hell” instead of the entire crew, making Miller’s sacrifice even more tragic as he now has to suffer unimaginable horrors. However, it doesn’t end there as the forward section of the ship is later recovered and Miller’s crew freed from stasis; upon awakening, and suffering from shock, Lieutenant Starck (Joely Richardson) looks upon her rescuer and sees only Weir’s scarred face grinning back at her. Descending into a screaming fit, and comforted by Cooper (Richard T. Jones), it appears as though Starck is simply severely traumatised by the horrific events she has barely survived but, as the film fades to black, the doors of the Event Horizon close by themselves, suggesting that the demonic force haunting the ship is still present.
Boy, was this film a surprise. Given the odd marketing campaign, you would be forgiven for going into The Grey believing it was simply about Liam Neeson fighting wolves but it is so much more than that. Haunted by the death of his wife, John Ottway (Neeson) is struggling with suicidal tendencies when the plane he is flying on crashes in the middle of the frozen Alasakan wilderness. With limited resources, tensions running high, and a pack of ravenous wolves stalking them at every turn, Ottway is forced to rely on his survival instincts and knowledge of wolves to lead the survivors in a seemingly hopeless search for safety. Inexplicably surviving what appears to be an unsurvivable plane crash potentially gave Ottway a concussion, however, as it is eventually revealed, once all of the other survivors have tragically perished due to injuries, the elements, or the increasingly emboldened wolves, that he has been heading directly towards the wolves’ den the entire time. Left alone and forced to confront the Alpha Male, Neeson straps broken bottles and other make-shift weaponry to his fists and prepares to fight to the death as the film abruptly cuts to black. A brief after credits scenes offers little in the way of closure, affording only a glimpse of what appears to be Ottway resting atop a slowly dying wolf, leaving the character’s ultimate fate entirely up to the interpretation of the viewer. I honestly understand the negative backlash this caused as the marketing made a big deal out of the showdown between Neeson and the Alpha, man against nature, and all that but, honestly, when I first saw it and Ottway was reciting his father’s beloved poem, burying the wallets of his fallen comrades, and preparing to fight to the death with a voracious wolf…man tears, every time. I always like to think that there was only ever going to be one outcome: Ottway put up a great fight but was ultimately killed by either the Alpha or one of the other wolves. Yet the short scene after the credits presents the slim possibility that Ottway survived the battle, if with serious injuries, allowing those who prefer a more positive ending to believe that he came out victorious and is merely exhausted from the conflict.
Can we stop for a second and recognise that Total Recall is still one of the greatest science-fiction movies ever created? Honestly, this movie has aged incredibly well; it’s use of practical effects, model shots, the rising action and over-the-top fight scenes, all married with two truly memorable villains and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s undeniable charisma make for one of the best action/sci-fi experience ever conceived. That it also presents an extremely and surprisingly complex and deep narrative only adds to its stature, in my mind. Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger) is obsessed with Mars, dreaming of it every night and is so desperate to visit the red planet that he pays a visit to Rekall Inc. to purchase a memory implant of having vacationed for two weeks as an undercover secret agent. Immediately however, there are complications; Quaid goes psychotic during the procedure and is suddenly attacked by friends and foes alike for no discernible reason. Eventually driven to Mars, he learns that he was once Hauser, a former employee of the villainous Vilo Cohaagen (the wonderful Ronny Cox) who volunteered to have his memory wiped so that Cohaagen and his sadistic enforcer, Richter (fantastically portrayed by Michael Ironside), could wipe out the rebellion opposing his authority on Mars.
Rejecting his former life, Quaid opts instead to activate an alien device that provides Mars with a breathable atmosphere, freeing the populace from Cohaagen’s air tax and ending the film with a conspicuous white light as Quaid shares a kiss with his dream woman, Melina (Rachel Ticotin). I say conspicuous because, traditionally, films end on a fade to black and this is only one of many indications that the events we have witnessed are not entirely what they seem. At Rekall Inc., Quaid tailors the memory he will receive to the finest detail, describing Melina as his love interest, viewing pictures of places he later visits on Mars, and being told that the vacation will involve him overcoming an interplanetary conspiracy. Later, Dr. Edgemar (Roy Brocksmith) attempts to convince Quaid that everything he is witnessing is a free-form delusion that he has allowed himself to be trapped in and that, unless he chooses to wake up, he will end up lobotomised. Quaid rejects this when he notices that Edgemar is clearly sweating with fear and discomfort and, in doing so, commits himself to seeing his path towards being the saviour of Mars. Total Recall presents both possibilities simultaneously; the over-the-top action and increasingly coincidental set pieces lend a credibility to Edgemar’s claim that Quaid is trapped in a dream world but scenes where Quaid is entirely absent, such as during conversations between Cohaagen and Richter, suggest that the plot against Quiad is very real. In the end, the white out could simply be a sign of a new beginning for Mars or the brain cells in Quaid’s head dying from psychosis; sometimes I will watch the film and believe that Quaid is a former mercenary turned rebel leader and, others, I choose to believe that he has simply allowed himself to be lost to an extremely realistic dream.
3 The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008)
After years in obscurity, Mickey Rourke began a bit of a comeback in the mid-to-late-2000s and perhaps no other role really showed how much he had matured and was ready to be taken seriously as an actor than that of Robin Ramzinski (AKA Randy “The Ram” Robinson). Ram, his best years as an athlete behind him, has fallen on hard times and really been through the wringer; he is estranged from his daughter (the delectable Evan Rachel Wood), in constant pain, works a menial job where he is the source of constant ridicule, and is forced to take bookings in venues barely a quarter of the size he was headlining in his prime. After he suffers a heart attack and is advised that he must never wrestle again, Ram takes the advice to heart and begins reconciling with his daughter and trying to make a future with his only confidante, an ageing stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). In the end, though, after a drink and drug filled bender causes his daughter to sever all ties with him, Ram returns to the one place he has only ever felt loved and valuable, the ring, knowing full well that it could be not only his last match but the last decision he ever makes. During a rematch against his greatest opponent, the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller), Ram begins to suffer chest pains and is in considerable visible pain. Despite the Ayatollah’s concerns and pleas to end the match quickly, Ram fights through the pain and disorientation to mount the top rope and leap into the air as the film cuts to black. Did Ram make the splash, win the match, and walk away victorious or did he crash in a dying heap on his fallen adversary? Honestly, considering the poor hand Ram has been dealt in his twilight years, I actually prefer the idea of him going out in a blaze of glory than living through another heart attack and having only a resentful daughter and a guilt-filled stripper to wake up to.
2 American Psycho (Harron, 2000)
Adapted from the book of the same name by Brett Easton Ellis, American Psycho is an incredibly enjoyable dark comedy revolving around Wall Street yuppie Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) who, by day, enjoys the frivolities of greed, sex, and consumerism but, by night, stalks the streets for victims to kill. Fully acknowledging that his urge to kill is a deep-rooted psychological disorder over which he is slowly losing control, Bateman takes out his frustrations at being mistaken for other co-workers, his fiancée’s infidelity, and his peers having better positions, clientèle, and even business cards by murdering co-workers, vagrants, and prostitutes. Eventually, his urges become too much to contain and he embarks on a killing spree throughout the city night, shooting innocent bystanders left and right before finally calling his lawyer (Stephen Bogaert) and, through maniacal tears, listing his numerous transgressions in a frantic confession. However, the next morning, his lawyer fails to recognise Bateman, believing him to be a man named Davis and that the call was an elaborate prank, reasoning that Bateman is far too spineless to engage in such activity.
Bateman calmly states that he not only committed the crimes he confessed to but enjoyed them, only for his lawyer to brush him off. Returning to his seat, Bateman reasons that, despite his confession, he has learned nothing about himself or the world and that the hollow emptiness he feels inside has only grow larger as a result of his actions. However, it is left up to the audience to decide whether the increasingly elaborate events we have witnessed actually took place or if they were simply the deluded fantasies of a bored, morbid, and repressed individual (further exemplified by his secretary, Jean (Chloë Sevigny), finding Bateman’s journal filled with doodles depicting murder and rape). Prior to visiting his lawyer, Bateman attempts to clean up the apartment of one of his victims, only to find it in pristine condition and being sold by a realtor, who reacts to Bateman’s presence with a clear discomfort, if not fear, suggesting that the gruesome murder actually took place. For me, as a big fan of the film and the book (which provides few answers and raises more questions, if anything), I like to think that some of the murders took place but maybe not all of them; given that Bateman and his co-workers are completely interchangeable and the dark satire at work in the film, I think it’s entirely possible that Bateman is so incredibly repressed and striving for attention and to stand out that he has killed vagrants and prostitutes but, in doing so, has simply allowed his dark fantasies to conjure increasingly elaborate murders and scenarios to distract him from the fact that he is nothing more than a faceless corporate snob amidst a sea of faceless corporate snobs.
1 Inception (Nolan, 2010)
Perhaps one of cinema’s most unique and original ideas since The Matrix (The Wachowski Brothers, 1999), Inception presents a world in which thieves like Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) can enter a person’s dreams and subconscious to extract information. Unable to return to his children due to his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), having framed him for her suicide, Dom is tasked with putting together a team and planting an idea in the head of the heir to a business empire in exchange for his criminal record being expunged. Inception takes full advantage of modern effects and technology to realise the infinite possibilities of the dream world, allowing reality to bend and warp in unique ways. As Dom and his crew are forced to dream within a dream, the film plays with perceptions of time as much as reality as Dom risks losing himself to the elaborate dream world he has created. Eventually, Dom confronts his demons and completes his mission, passing through customs without a hitch. All throughout the movie Dom has been haunted by not only his wife’s suicide but also the fact that he left in such a hurry that he was denied one final look at his children’s faces. Returning home, as Hans Zimmer’s powerful score builds to what appears to be a victorious crescendo, Dom, frantic to prove that his dreams have actually come true, conducts one final test, setting off a spinning top that will topple over if he is in the real world and spin indefinitely in the dream world. However, he never stays to see their result, as, finally, he sees his children and they not only turn to face him but run, overjoyed, into his arms. As he carries them out of frame and the score fades down, the shot lingers on Dom’s spinning top as it spins and spins and spins…faltering only slightly as the film cuts to black.
If The Grey brought out the man tears when I first watched it, Inception opened an absolute floodgate! I never thought that I would care so much about whether Leonardo DiCaprio got a happy ending but Nolan really sucked me into this world and had me so emotionally invested in all of his characters, especially DiCaprio’s Dom. The composition of this final shot, with the score and the sense of catharsis, never fails to be overwhelming; I was so happy to see him finally see his children’s faces and was on the edge of my seat waiting to see the top topple over and truly saddened that it didn’t because, in that first viewing, my knee-jerk reaction was that Dom had gotten lost in the deepest layers of his dream and had chosen fantasy over reality. However, the ambiguity of the ending allows one to view this film similar to Total Recall. You can watch it one time and believe that Dom emerges victorious or choose the depressing ending if you wish. Evidence can be found for both: it is said that one must had a totem unique to them but Dom carries and uses his dead wife’s spinning top as his totem.
It equally seems unlikely that Dom’s client would have the connections necessary to wipe his criminal record clean, and Dom is repeatedly told that he has to “wake up” and “face reality”, as though he has been trapped in a dream ever since he and Mal first experimented with deep dreaming. However, I felt so strongly for Dom and wanted so badly for him to see his kids and return home that it is hard to not believe that everything worked out for him…if not for that damn spinning top, endlessly spinning away, casting doubt over everything except for the fact that, in that moment, Dom does not care whether he is dreaming or awake; whatever the case, he has accepted this as reality without even a cursory look back.
As may already be evident, I have a long-standing preference for the WCW and WWF videogames released by AKI/THQ back in my youth; however, another WWF videogame series I have been particularly fond of and spent many hours and days of my childhood playing has been the WWF SmackDown! series released by THQ and Yuke’s on Sony’s PlayStation in 2000. Eventually, this series evolved into the WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw franchise, which was released on multiple consoles between 2004 and 2010. I believe I came into this series with WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 Featuring ECW (Yuke’s/Amaze Entertainment/THQ, 2007) and bowed out with WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2011 (Yuke’s/THQ, 2010) as, by this point, it was pretty clear to me that I was simply purchasing the same videogame every year with additional wrestlers, some new match types, and minor improvements to the graphics and gameplay. As a result, I decided to buy a new title every two years or so and, after enjoying WWE ’13 (ibid, 2012) and deciding that WWE 2K15 (Yuke’s/Visual Concepts/2K Sports, 2014) was far too stripped back on features to justify the price tag, I settled on getting WWE 2K14 (ibid, 2013) and biding my time.
WWE’s videogames eventually aped the yearly formula of the FIFA series.
As a result, I have not bought or played a new videogame in 2K Sports’ WWE 2K series for about four years now, and with good reason; as the series made the jump to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, reviews and feedback ranged from resoundingly negative to mediocre displeasure as 2K Sports apparently removed many expected gameplay mechanics and features in what was nothing less than a blatant attempt to sell features seen in previous PlayStation 3-era titles as being “new”. Despite the additions of never-before-seen superstars such as Sting, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe, I decided to wait it out until the release of WWE 2K18 (ibid, 2017) to give the series a chance to iron out these kinks and to create an ironic sense of symmetry given that the last title I played was WWE 2K14. As such, it took me a little while to become accustomed to WWE 2K18’s control scheme; previously, these titles allowed you the option of controlling your wrestler with the directional-pad (or “D-pad”) and taunting with the analogue stick, which is my preferred control scheme given how it mirrors that of the AKI/THQ titles.
WWE 2K18 loves these little wheels of death!
However, WWE 2K18 does not allow you to change the control scheme, meaning that I was forced to control my wrestler with the left analogue stick and taunt using the D-pad which, for an old school player like myself who dislikes change, took some getting used to. One of the other main reasons I prefer D-pad control is that I find it easier to direct and aim my opponent during running attacks or Irish whips; I find the analogue stick makes such aiming harder as the stick is more sensitive. WWE 2K18 also features some new mini games which replace the ones I had grown accustomed to in WWE 2K14; when being pinned, for example, you now have to press X on a little wheel rather than stopping a little bar that bounces back and forth. This is actually a lot trickier than it sounds as it seems the videogame is set up to make kicking out of pins harder than before to, I guess, allow for more “realistic” matches. Additionally, there is no longer the “Breaking Point” submission system; instead, there’s either a tricky mini game involving the analogue stick or you must mash one of the four action buttons when they appear onscreen. I went with the button mashing option but have found that winning a match by submission is not as easy as it used to be, potentially because you can no longer select a match to be either quicker, normal, or epic; this, and the improved attribute system, means that you are forced to work for your submission victory.
Suffer enough damage and you’ll roll from the ring to take a break.
Other gameplay changes can be seen in multi-man match; now, when you or another player receives enough damage, they automatically roll out of the ring and you must mash buttons to fill up a bar and re-enter the match. It sounds good on paper and, again, appears to be tooled towards making matches more “realistic” but I found it more annoying than anything else as you could end up stuck on the outside and lose the match. This mechanic carries over into ladder/TLC matches as well, making them considerably more frustrating than usual as you incur far more damage much faster in these matches so you’ll spend a lot of time mashing buttons to get back into the matches. Also, in ladder/TLC matches, you no longer pull down the belt of briefcase using the right analogue stick; instead, you have to play a little mini game where you must fill up segments of a circle by rotating a ball into a small hole using the right analogue stick. It’s fun but quite distracting; I found myself concentrating more on the mini game than the match and, if you get interrupted with only a couple (or, even worse, one) segments left to fill, you are almost guaranteed to lose the match as the next wrestler to play the mini game will probably complete the circle while you’re busy mashing buttons to get back into the match.
Multi-man TLC matches are still the worst.
The Royal Rumble match is also noticeably different and, technically, more difficult; rather than hitting buttons in a quick-time event as in WWE 2K14, you now have to mash a button when trying to eliminate an opponent. Honestly, I’ve played a couple of these matches and never once eliminated anyone using the button-mashing mini game no matter what their health and stamina. I found the best way to eliminate wrestlers was the tried-and-true Royal Rumble finisher, clotheslining them out of the ring or countering a run attack, or by exploiting a glitch where, if you whip the opponent onto the apron and quickly punch them repeatedly, they simply fall from the ring.
I struggled to legitimately eliminate anyone in the Royal Rumble…
As I always found ladder, TLC, and Royal Rumble matches tedious any way, these gameplay changes don’t bother me that much; you are not forced to play these matches and, on the whole, I would just avoid them. Some good changes have been made to tables matches, though; every time you hit your opponent with or into a table, it fills up a break meter and, once it’s full, you can smash the opponent through it using some new and expanded options. 2K Sports have also introduced a carry system, similar to the one from WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007 (Yuke’s/THQ, 2006), which allows you to smash your opponent off the ropes, turnbuckles, apron, and other objects. They’ve also brought back in-crowd fighting, to a degree, allowing you to smash your opponent through (or hit them over) the barricade at ringside or toss them from the stage area to fight in little areas near the crowd.
Universe mode is back, bigger and better than ever.
Although create-a-story and create-a-finisher are no longer options, WWE 2K18 is still full to the brim with creation options. I honestly spent maybe five days or so setting everything up the way I wanted it and creating wrestlers, entrances, victories, shows, and teams in the expanded Universe mode. As before, Universe mode allows you to create a show, place wrestlers and championships on the show, and then create monthly pay-per-view events for that show. I like to recreate the product as closely as possible so I created a Raw, SmackDown! Live, and NXT brand (with 205 Live and Main Event as minor shows) and, for all the Legends and duplicate wrestlers, a WCW Monday Nitro brand (with some crossover between them all). You can create more than one Universe at a time but I prefer to have it all in one place rather than jumping backwards and forwards all the time; I then moved every pay-per-view event to their correct calendar month and also created some additional pay-per-vews for my NXT and Nitro brands; this is extremely in-depth, allowing you to choose from a whole bunch of preset or created arenas (with scene transitions, an array of screen filters, a bunch of different referees, and more).
There are loads of colour and customisation options.
You can still create your own championship belts as well, if that’s your thing; given how many old school belts are in the videogame, I don’t tend to do much with this, though. Instead, my focus was on the massively deep create-a-wrestler mode; created wrestlers look more realistic than ever before and you can choose from a whole bunch of options, from wrinkles to scars, facial and body hair, eye colour, veins, muscle definition, and even how much body oil your created wrestler has! There are also a whole load of attire options, including blank attires that you can customise as you desire and also pre-set attires worn by the featured roster; you can change not only the colour of these attires but also the material type, which allows shirts and jeans and the like to be leather, take on a metallic hue, or even glow in the dark! Finally, there are far more options for names for your created wrestler this year and the in-game commentary team will refer to your created wrestler by these throughout their matches.
Apparently you can put a price on greatness.
Although there are many WWE and superstar-related images available to you in this mode, there are noticeably less options for body tattoos this years, unfortunately. This is where the Community Creations option will come into play; you are able to upload images to the 2K Sports website and transfer them into the videogame, meaning you can search in the WWE 2K18 for a whole bunch of professionally-designed images, logos, and tattoos to apply to your created wrestler. You can also download created wrestlers created by others to account for those wrestlers omitted from this years roster, though you are limited to twenty downloads a day and cannot download created wrestlers that feature aspects from wrestlers you’ve yet to unlock or purchase. Speaking of which, WWE 2K18 features an in-ring store mode, as is the norm for this series now. As you play matches, you are awarded virtual currency based on how many stars your match scored; the more stars you get through move variety, countering, and such, the more currency you earn. You can then spend this in the store to unlock Legends, and additional arenas and championships and, make no mistake, this is the only way to unlock this extra content. Previously, in WWE 2K14 at least, you could unlock new wrestlers by playing the 30 Years of WrestleMania mode but, here, you can only do this by purchasing them.
You can do this by playing any match in any mode and, also, through the MyPlayer mode, which is the career mode of the videogame. You have to create a wrestler, using far more limited tools and options, and work your way through training and wrestling on NXT before being called up to the main roster. You can make some limited decisions to decide whether you are a Company Man (a heel) or a Fan Favourite (a face). In my playthrough, I was initially called up to Raw and forced to lose a bunch of matches, so I jumped to SmackDown! Live, where I won the United States Championship, Money in the Bank ladder match, and Royal Rumble match and am currently feuding with Triple H and the Authority on the path towards the WWE Championship. Along the way, you can partake in side quests to earn rewards (new moves, attire, and currency), make a signature t-shirt to earn some extra cash, and perform in-ring promos and run-ins.
You’ll need to pay to get the most out of MyPlayer mode.
Overall, this mode is quite enjoyable but, honestly, it’s a poor substitute for a Road to WrestleMania-type of mode. There are a lot of load times and some noticeable frame drops; you are also forced to walk/run from the garage to the producer and back every single week, which begs the question why they bothered putting in the free-roaming backstage area at all rather than just have a set-up similar to the PlayStation 3-era titles where you had a locker room with a phone and just did everything through text. There are some inconsistencies; I was regularly teaming with Sami Zayn then, randomly and with no explanation, my partner suddenly became Fandango. I was also once asked by Tius O’Neil to attack Primo Colón one week but, when I couldn’t find him, ended up attacking Kassius Ohno. There are also a lot of times when you do more promos than matches, when the match objectives aren’t completely clear (the Money in the Bank match springs to mind), and when your matches end due to interference more often than not but, these issues aside, it’s a pretty decent mode, though I found it more enjoyable and profitable to play Universe mode more than anything.
It’s interesting that the load times for the MyPlayer mode are so atrocious as, normally, they’re not that bad; matches in Universe mode load much faster than in WWE 2K14. I learned from some of my mistakes in WWE 2K14 and don’t have nearly as many custom arenas or created wrestlers, which may help with this, and also towards limiting crashes. WWE 2K14 would crash all the time, usually after a match but sometimes before one, and it was very frustrating. I have had a few crashes in WWE 2K18 but, as the matches and the videogame loads up a lot faster, it’s not as annoying. One bug that is annoying is, when downloading a created wrestler, attached logos and images will sometimes not download, meaning you’re left having to either find them separately or with an incomplete created wrestler/attire.
I haven’t played WWE 2K18 online yet, mainly because I don’t have Xbox Gold or whatever you need to do that but also because online players are trolling, move-spamming sons of bitches; also, the learning curve for timing reversals and having competitive but enjoyable matches that I actually won was quite steep. Sometimes, you’ll have a match and be in complete control and all the opponent has to do is a couple of moves and you can’t recover, then you get hit with one finisher and its over. A good feature, though, is that miss-matched opponents (like Braun Strowman against Kalisto) often trigger a squash match, where you gain full momentum and a finisher after your first hit and win the match in seconds for a decent payday.
All the Sting you could ever want!
The roster in WWE 2K18 is as deep as you could want; there are some noticeable omissions from NXT but, otherwise, everyone you could want and more is in the videogame alongside some decent and surprising Legends. Hulk Hogan and Yokozuna are gone but Vader and the Big Boss Man are back; there are some crazy instances of numerous duplicates, such as five (five!) versions of Sting and separating Finn Balor and his Demon King attire (though the Demon King does still act as an alternative attire to regular Balor) but, mostly, there’s some good inclusions this year. The soundtrack, apparently “curated” by the Rock, is mostly miss rather than hit, with the only decent track being a radio edit version of Disturbed’s Down With the Sickness, though a similarly-edited version of Limp Bizkit’s Rollin’ is used as the entrance theme for Undertaker ’00 despite this particular version of Undertaker’s biker gimmick actually being more associated with You’re Gonna Pay. The in-game commentary is all-new, at least for me anyway, including the three-man team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton; mostly, it is far better than what I experienced in WWE 2K14 but there still times when they refer to women as “guys”, talk inanely about things not even relevant to the match in progress, or ask each other questions that are never answered.
Graphically, WWE 2K18 is very impressive.
Overall, WWE 2K18 is a challenging and enjoyable affair; Universe mode is bigger and more expansive than ever, with shorter load times and significantly less crashes and glitches (so far), and the star rating system does make it feel as though each match is important and worth something. MyPlayer suffers a bit (though admittedly this may also be because I don’t want to waste my virtual currency upgrading the MyPlayer character unless I absolutely have to as I want to unlock the Legends) but is, otherwise, fun enough for what it is. I would have also liked to have seen, at least, Showcase matches similar to previous titles or themed around a wrestler (this year’s pre-order bonus, Kurt Angle, for example, or Shawn Michaels, or even the cover star, Seth Rollins) to assist with the unlocking of extra content. Creation options are deep and versatile; you can waste hours and even days crafting the perfect created wrestler (I know I did!) or downloading extra attires and wrestlers to fill out the already impressive roster. I am glad that I waited for 2K Sports to add in many of the features they previously omitted and refine their current-generation gameplay engine as it seems to have paid off; matches are far more realistic and challenging than in WWE 2K14, where I could win with a minimum of effort, which is good once you’re used to the control scheme and what is expected of you, if admittedly somewhat detrimental to those who just want to pick it up and play a quick match without any obligation to simulating a real-life WWE match. Based on my experience with this title, I will probably wait until WWE 2K20 for my next entry into the series as I would never recommend anyone buys these titles on a yearly basis but, if like me, you’ve been away from the series for a while, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
It’s no secret that DC Comics and Warner Bros. are a bit late to the superhero renaissance we are still experiencing thanks to the runaway success of the films put out each year by Marvel Studios. They lost a lot of ground with films like the dull Superman Returns(Singer, 2006) and Green Lantern (Campbell, 2011) – even though I personally actually enjoyed Green Lantern and thought the movie was worth salvaging in further DCEU films – and often focus too much of their attention on Batman at the expense of their massive cast of superheroes. However, amidst the many and ongoing critical debates surrounding Man of Steel(Snyder, 2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice(ibid, 2016) and the disappointment of Suicide Squad (Ayer, 2016), they apparently scored a far more meaningful success with Wonder Woman(Jenkins, 2017) and their films have been profitable enough to keep the idea of a cinematic universe alive, even if rumours abound every day that it is on life support. Now, I never saw Wonder Woman, for reasons of my own, and I actually really enjoyed not just Man of Steel but also Batman v Superman so, for me, anticipation was high for Snyder’s third cinematic effort, Justice League. While a personal tragedy saw him leave the production process and be replaced by formal Marvel guru Joss Whedon, the film is still credited to Snyder and carries many of his themes and ideas over but does it deliver?
An invasion from Apokolips is all-but inevitble!
Justice League begins in a world still mourning the loss of Superman (Henry Cavill), which hasn’t resulted in world-wide chaos but has resulted in appearances of insect-like Parademons across the globe. Having witnessed a glimpse into a nightmare dystopian future where these creatures have overrun humanity, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) has been investigating the creatures and their weaknesses amidst attempting to recruit a superpowered team alongside Diane Prince (Gal Gadot) to fight what he believes to be an inevitable invasion. On Themyscira, Diana’s home island of Amazons, the ancient Mother Box suddenly awakens and opens a Boom Tube, through which appears Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and an army of Parademons. Slaughtering the Amazonians, he claims their Mother Box and promptly disappears, forcing Bruce and Diana to step up their timetable. Bruce is initially unable to convince Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) to join their cause due to his desire to be left alone but has far more luck in recruiting Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) who, disillusioned by the wrongful incarceration of his father (Billy Crudup) and struggling to live in a world that now seems painfully slow in comparison to his superspeed, joins up as the Flash without a second’s hesitation. Meanwhile, Diana is able to channel her own experiences with isolation and loss to convince Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) to put his recently-acquired and still developing cybernetic powers to good use in the fight against Steppenwolf.
It’s going to take everyone to fight off Steppenwolf.
Aquaman is finally convinced to join the team when he is forced to return to Atlantis to defend the second Mother Box from Steppenwolf, only to be suitably humbled. With two of the boxes in the hands of the enemy and the countdown to the destruction of the planet imminent, Batman struggles to galvanise the team in using the final Mother Box to resurrect Superman to lead the final battle for the fate of humanity. I’m going to say something now that may cause a stir; I’m a fan of both DC Comics and Marvel. Yes, it is possible; for me, just seeing comic book superheroes on screen and coming together is a thrill in and of itself. I don’t get weighed down with debates between which company is better or criticise DC for failing to follow Marvel’s gameplan; however, I do admit that they are very clearly playing catch-up. This was massively evident in Batman v Superman, where Wonder Woman was introduced with a lot of intrigue and mystery surrounding her but which also wedged in cameos from the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. It felt like the movie was trying to do to much but, at the same time, those small glimpses served the purpose of a larger narrative and didn’t distract from the film at all; instead, they were weaved into Batman’s character arc of moving past his misguided vendetta against Superman and towards rejoining the world and uniting a team.
Ezra Miller brings some welcome levity to the DCEU.
While Justice League does suffer form some pacing issues in the first act, each member of the team gets an ample amount of screen time to shine and show some layers. Although I could’ve done without it as we have seen the tale of Barry’s father played out in the first season of The Flash, it nevertheless helped to establish that Barry is currently in a very lonely and confused place in his life and that his powers only make things more difficult for him. Barry primarily serves as the comic relief, once again being infused with more of the characteristics commonly associated with the Wally West version of the character, but shows significant growth when he admits to Batman that he’s never actually been in a real fight before and, upon Batman’s prompting, learns how to be a superhero by simply saving one life.
Probably the greatest interpretation of Aquaman we’ll ever see!
Before the movie came out, I hedged my bets on Jason Momoa’s Aquaman being a kick-ass, breakout character; for years, people have ridiculed Aquaman because “all he does is talk to fish” when that’s simply not the case. Now, I’m not the biggest Aquaman fan because, honestly, he can still be pretty lame for other more pressing reasons, but I am a fan of the Peter David version of the character, which had long hair, a beard, a more armoured outfit, and was a no-nonsense, stern ass-kicker. Momoa’s Aquaman may not have a harpoon for a hand but, man, is he bad-ass! He’s more like a rock star than a clean-cut prince, revelling in the heat of battle, carrying himself with a sense of narcissism, and generally approaching every situation with a nonchalant attitude. He looks fantastic and really brings the muscle to the team in Superman’s absence, but there’s also a sense of a much larger world and backstory behind him through his return to Atlantis and interactions with Mera (Amber Heard).
Obviously a character mostly created in CGI is going to be CGI!
Probably the character with the most controversy surrounding him is Cyborg; personally, I’ve never liked the idea of Cyborg being on the Justice League, primarily because he’s so closely associated with the Teen Titans and I feel it’s a just a reason to have racial diversity on the team. However, for the purposes of this film, he serves a key purpose; having been created through the machinations of a Mother Box, Victor’s cybernetic parts are constantly evolving and hold the key to interacting with and stopping the Mother Boxes from uniting and destroying the world. Everywhere I look people are bad-mouthing the CGI on Cyborg and, honestly, I don’t see why; Justice League is filled to the brim with top-notch special effects, to the point where even a $300 million budget can be stretched pretty thin. Cyborg is a 90%, at least, CGI character so, obviously, he’s going to have a lot of CGI used on him. Would it have been better if they’d tried more of a Robocop (Verhoeven, 1987) route? Probably, yes. Did I think the sleeker, Teen Titans-inspired look he adopted at the end of the film would’ve looked better than the Transformers (Bay, 2007 to 2017) look? Definitely, but I never let the fact that he was largely comprised of CGI parts distract me from the film and, honestly, if you do then you’re clearly not that interested in the film to begin with.
Gal Gadot continues to impress/surprise.
Gal Gadot continues to impress as Wonder Woman; despite my reservations about her, she is an extremely attractive young lady and her accent actually becomes less distracting the more you hear it. Diana’s arc here is directly tied in to the events of Wonder Woman as she is still apprehensive about rejoining society in the spotlight. Bruce even calls her out on it and accuses her of not being able to move past the death of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), which only galvanises Wonder Woman’s resolve. Henry Cavill also returns after the team successful manage to resurrect Superman using the same Kryptonian birthing chamber that spawned Doomsday. Unlike the comics, he does not sport a mullet or a black costume, but his memories are briefly fragmented, leading to an awesome fight between Superman and the rest of the team. Superman is actually amazing in this film; he’s clearly overjoyed to be alive again, smiling and cracking jokes, and finally shines as an optimistic symbol of hope to rally behind. His initial period of disorientation also showcases his intense rage as he spits Batman’s “do you bleed” line back into Batman’s face as he is poised to crush Batman’s head. The only things I slightly disliked about Superman were that they didn’t make any effort to address how they explained Clark Kent’s sudden return to life and his resurrection felt like it came too soon; I expected him to return right at the very end, but it comes just before the third act, so it does raise the question of why kill him off in the first place (though I’m glad they did because at least it meant they got that aspect of Doomsday right).
Seriously, how can you not love shots like this!?
Ben Affleck returns as Batman, despite a new rumour springing up online almost every day saying that he wants out of the franchise. When he was first cast, I had my doubts that he would stick around for sequels and, honestly, the more I hear about him wanting to leave the more annoyed I am that he was ever cast in the first place. The fact that he is a fantastic Batman makes it all the more annoying; Warner Bros. seem to want to evoke Marvel Studios’ attitude towards Robert Downey Junior and build their DCEU around Affleck so I really hope that they do everything they can to convince him to see it through because he put in another brilliant performance here. Now focused on facing Steppenwolf’s impending threat, Batman has turned his mission from vengeance and death towards forming a team, saving the world, and atoning for the decisions he made that led to the death of Superman. The guilt he feels is evident and he even descends into some trademark Bat-dickery by manipulating Diana into following Superman’s example and being an inspiration for others. Additionally, the idea that he is so worn down and beaten up from twenty years of being Batman and that he now craves an honourable death continues in Justice League as, even with the team assembled, many of his plans revolve around him making a suicide run; during Superman’s resurrection, Batman even faces him head on with the intention of dying so that Superman can take his place as the more suitable leader of the team, and his joy at seeing Superman returned to life is clear on his face even if he quickly adopts a more stoic façade to save face.
The traditional bland villain does equal fleshed out heroes…
The action in Justice League is very big and very loud; explosions happen all over the place, water crashes everywhere, buildings topple, and hits land with a satisfying impact. Amidst what could be described as chaos, but actually is a far more cohesive end-of-the-world scenario than the one seen in Suicide Squad, is a fabulous score by Danny Elfman. Elfman even weaves not only his classic Batman (Burton, 1989) theme into the score but also John William’s classic Superman (Donner, 1978) theme; as much as I enjoyed the score from Snyder’s previous films, hearing the return of those classic, iconic, and irreplaceable themes brought a warm feeling of joy and nostalgia to my heart. Probably the biggest issues with the film are easily the most predictable; pacing and the villain. With the film being mandated to be two hours long, there’s a real sense that a lot of content was trimmed back and I look forward to seeing it inserted back in for an extended cut. While I did not experience any jarring leaps in continuity or pacing, it is unavoidable that a large chunk of the film’s early runtime is devoted to introducing and fleshing out not just the new characters but also existing ones; the plus side of this though is the clear influence of Joss Whedon, who not only infused a bright, vibrant colour palette but clearly worked on the film’s dialogue, resulting in a truly enjoyable rapport between the protagonists. As for Steppenwolf, he’s there for the team to unite against and defeat and his motivations are as one-note as possible; he wants to destroy the world, no more and no less. Diana relates his backstory through a pretty impressive flashback that shows that Amazons, Atlanteans, tribes of men, Old Gods, and even a Green Lantern fighting against Steppenwolf and his Parademons, which helps give a sense of the scale of his threat. His name-drop of Darkseid hints that a greater threat could be looming on the horizon but it cannot be avoided that he largely disappears for a big portion of the film. Again, though, this results in better characterisations of the protagonists and, unlike some Marvel villains, Steppenwolf actually makes up for it in the third act by not being a complete push-over and taking on the entire League all at once.
Given the after credits scene, in which freshly-escaped Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) recruits Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) for a League of their own, I really hope that Justice League does well enough to continue the DCEU and help flesh the protagonists out even more in future films and therefore allow for better characterisations of the villains when they appear. While I may have criticised Eisenberg’s Luthor, I am still glad that he returned as it means there is a chance for the character to grow and evolve beyond Eisenberg’s madcap portrayal; if they had simply recast or abandoned the character, that hope would have been completely dashed and we would be forever deprived of the possibility of a good interpretation of Superman’s greatest nemesis. Honestly, the fact that I’ve heard so much negative criticism about this film really bugs me. Similar to Batman v Superman, I just don’t get it; sure, it isn’t perfect and it has flaws, but it’s actually a really good action romp, with some witty dialogue and some fantastic cinematography. Also, unlike the films of Marvel Studios, the thrill of seeing DC superheroes onscreen individually and as a group has not worn thin yet; it’s pretty amazing to finally see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and (I guess) Cyborg all together onscreen at last. I really hope Affleck sticks around and that Justice League does well enough to continue to DCEU as this felt like a massive step in the right direction towards forging the distinct big screen superhero universe that they have wanted for so long now.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Recommended: For comic book fans and DC fans, definitely, for the thrill of finally seeing the Justice League on screen, and also for fans of action movies. For those expecting something other than a fun action romp? Maybe stay away and keep your mouths shut. Best moment: Any time the entire League is onscreen together is always great, especially in the finale, but also the scenes involving Batman and Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons). Worst moment: Three things were annoying: Steppenwolf, as you’d expect, though again I’d rather have more screen time for the protagonists in a team-up movie; Cyborg, just because I prefer him on the Teen Titans, and all the Amazonians except for Diana were pretty disappointing actresses.
It’s been seven years since the last Saw movie, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (Greutert, 2010), spent the majority of its running time haphazardly tying up all the loose ends of one of the most gruesome and convoluted horror franchises of all time. Back then, Saw 3D wasn’t actually supposed to be the last film in the franchise but, as the quality of the films began to wane in its last years, Lionsgate decided to put the franchise on ice until a suitable way to resurrect the series could be figured out. With Jigsaw (Spierig Brothers, 2017), Lionsgate appears to hoping to reclaim the season of Halloween with one of the most successful horror franchises ever but has there simply been too much time between movies?
Two more incompetent cops struggling to stop Jigsaw.
Jigsaw opens with a notorious criminal, Edgar Munsen (Josiah Black) in the midst of one what appears to be one of John “Jigsaw” Kramer’s (Tobin Bell) diabolic games of life and death; chased across rooftops, he is eventually shot by police (led by Detective’s Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) and Keith Hunt (Clé Bennett), in an attempt to stop him from triggering a detonation. Instead, he triggers another game across town, where five victims are chained by the next in a room where the opposite wall is lined with buzzsaws. The familiar rasping tones of Jigsaw inform them that they must make a sacrifice of blood to escape the room and, in a surprising twist, one of the victims, Anna (Laura Vandervoortt), figures out that just a small cut will release them from their bonds. Although she is able to encourage three of her fellows to follow her example, one is not so lucky and is presumably skewered by the blades. Encouraged by Jigsaw to confess their sins, the victims bicker and argue about their past transgressions in the next room, which forcibly hangs them by their necks until Carly (Brittany Allen) chooses one of three syringes to either cure the poison on her blood or eat her alive through the injection of acid. The now-stereotypical hot-head of the group, Ryan (Paul Braunstein), eventually stabs her with all three needles in a desperate attempt to be freed and, as you’d expect, she is melted to death by the acid.
It’s not a good night unless you wake up with an explosive bucket on your head….
Meanwhile, Halloran and Hunt meet with their resident forensic experts, Eleanor Bonneville (the delectable Hannah Emily Anderson) and Logan Nelson Matt Passmore), who examine the bodies of the victims of the game that is in progress and find unbelievable evidence to suggest that John Kramer is actually still alive and running this new game. Whether its paranoia over the last spate of killings perpetrated by Jigsaw and his apprentices or the desperate need to wrap the investigation up quickly, Halloran almost immediately begins to suspect both Eleanor and Logan of being involved in the game. These suspicions seem to be somewhat founded as Eleanor reveals to Logan that she is not only an avid follower of cult-like online discussions surrounding Jigsaw but also has a whole studio filled with some of Jigsaw’s most infamous traps and mechanisms, including one that was never actually used in a publicly-known game. With tensions running high and the victims trapped in increasingly ghastly situations, the race is soon on to find where the game is being played, rescue the victims, and figure out whether Kramer has actually returned from the dead.
Seriously, I am in love with this woman…
Before going into the film, I figured that Jigsaw would be a soft reboot of sorts; I was sure that it would take place about ten years later, with John Kramer dead but his legacy living on, possibly though his cult-like followers as indicated at the end of Saw 3D. Surprisingly, Jigsaw is very closely tied to the mythology and legacy of the previous films; although the film doesn’t delve too deeply into the exact specifics of the events that came before it, newcomers to the series would probably be best served by watched, at last the first, third, and seventh films before this movie.
Jigsaw’s traps are fairly lacklustre for the series.
One of Saw’s biggest selling points is its use of “torture porn” traps that force victims to endure unimaginable pain in order to survive Jigsaw’s games. Unlike some of the later Saw traps, Jigsaw’s traps are some of the more grounded. The most technically unbelievable ones are at the beginning of the game, with the five victims chained up to a massively complex series of winches and gears; later, Ryan finds his leg caught in a constantly-tightening wire trap while Anna and Mitch (Mandela Van Peebles) are being buried by grain and farmyard tools rain down on them. The traps are interesting and cringe-worthy in their own way but hardly the most horrific or disgusting from the series; Anna is, for a change, surprisingly smart, level-headed, and logical about most of the traps and encourages the others to follow Jigsaw’s rules, allowing the majority of the victims to survive the first three trials. The second of Saw’s selling points is the now-cliché twist ending; Saw(Wan, 2004) had one of the most iconic and unexpected twist endings of all time and, honestly, none of the films that have followed have really come close to topping or even matching that twist. Jigsaw is no exception; there are three twists here, all of which have been done in previous Saw movies (Jigsaw’s game had already been played to completion in Saw II (Bousman, 2005), Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) faked being a victim only to reveal himself as Jigsaw’s apprentice in Saw IV (ibid, 2007), and he, and Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith), both posed as Jigsaw in Saw III (ibid, 2006), Saw V (Hackl, 2008), Saw VI (Greutert, 2009), and Saw 3D).
The final twist wasn’t too difficult to see coming.
The revelation that John Kramer is not actually alive shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise as, unless he comes back as a zombie (which would be super out of place given the generally grounded nature of the franchise), but it’s always great to see Tobin Bell onscreen. Honestly, though, I felt like Jigsaw could have done without him being in it; given that Logan used audio samples to imitate Kramer’s voice, I think it would’ve sufficed to simply have Bell return as the voice of Jigsaw (or whoever is imitating Jigsaw) rather than be shoe-horned in in increasingly difficult to piece together flashbacks. In this case, given that we’ve already seen in great detail how Amanda and Hoffman aided Kramer in the past, it’s a bit jarring to suddenly wedge a new apprentice into the mix. For a guy dying of cancer, John sure fit a lot of tutelage and elaborate planning and trap-making into his last few years.
The lasers really took me out of it, to be honest.
In the end, despite an interesting premise, the thrill of seeing a new Saw movie, another great performance by Tobin Bell, and my newest crush, Hannah Emily Anderson, Jigsaw fell a bit flat for me. I felt it was too safe, feeling very much in the vein of Saw VI rather than taking some risks or returning to the simple premise of the first movie. As a way of kicking off a new series of Saw movies, this is pretty disappointing; I would much rather have spent more time with the victims than running around with the detectives/forensics guys dumping exposition about the previous movies. Also, it seemed like it would have made more sense for Eleanor to be the true inheritor of John’s legacy, the idea that Logan’s victims would all die in the same way of those in Jigsaw’s original game was a bit far-fetched (even for this franchise) and, overall, while I enjoyed it, it didn’t surpass my favourite film in the franchise (Saw II) and ended up feeling more like an entry that would be more at home between Saw V and Saw VI than a true return to form for the franchise.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Recommended: For Saw fans who have been clamouring for a new film, yes. Newcomers might want to brush up on their Saw experience first, general audiences? Probably not; watch the first film instead. Best moment: Normally, I’d say the traps/kills but they were honestly a bit lacklustre here. I guess it’d have to be the part where Ryan’s must pull a lever to sever his leg below the knee to free Anna and Mitch from being buried alive. Worst moment: Mitch’s death, hands down. Considering Eleanor hyped up the trap he was caught in so much it ended up falling very flat; and it was powered by a motorcycle? Seemed a bit over the top, even by Saw’s standards.
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