Dr. K

Screen Time [JLA Day]: Justice League: Secret Origins

18/11/202408/06/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

To celebrate the release of Justice League (Snyder/Whedon, 2017), DC Comics named November 18 “Justice League Day”. Setting aside all the drama surrounding that movie, this provides a perfect excuse to spotlight DC’s premier superhero team, which set the standard for super teams in comics by bringing together DC’s most powerful heroes.

Air Date: 17 November 2001
Director: Dan Riba and Butch Lukic
Original Network: Cartoon Network
Stars: George Newbern, Kevin Conroy, Susan Eisenberg, Phil LaMarr, Michael Rosenbaum, Maria Canals-Barrera, Carl Lumbly, and Kevin Michael Richardson

The Background:
In 1992, hot off the success of Tim Burton’s gothic Batman movies, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini produced one of the most lauded cartoons of an entire generation with Batman: The Animated Series (1992 to 1995). The award-winning animated series was soon accompanied by one of the greatest adaptations of Clark Kent/Superman’s adventures, and it wasn’t long after that The New Batman Adventures (1997 to 1999) and Superman: The Animated Series (1996 to 2000) were crossing over. Superman also introduced a number of additional superheroes into the celebrated DC Animated Universe (DCAU), colourful faces familiar to comics readers who would be pushed to the forefront when Dini and Timm collaborated on the illustrious Justice League animated series (2001 to 2004). The late, great Kevin Conroy (for many the definitive Bruce Wayne/Batman) returned to voice the Dark Knight, though George Newbern replaced Tim Daly as the Man of Steel, and the show came to define the values and appeal of the titular team. Starting with a bang with a three-episode arc that was later collected as a feature-length presentation, Justice League expanded its lore and roster evermore in its sister-series and has been widely praised for its mature themes, relatable characters, and for setting a new standard for animated adaptations, to the point that DC’s later animated ventures are often directly compared to the DCAU.

The Plot:
When the alien invaders who decimated Mars attack the Earth, the planet’s greatest superheroes are called together for the first time by Martian survivor J’onn J’onnz (Lumbly) to combat the threat.

The Review:
The DCAU started as a very grounded affair. Batman: The Animated Series largely stuck to street-level or city-wide disturbances, focusing on Batman villains who were crazed, yes, but largely human. There were obviously exceptions, but things rarely got too fantastical. That changed when Superman: The Animated Series was confirmed to take place in the same continuity; suddenly, Batman existed alongside aliens, magic, and other supernatural threats far beyond his mortal limits. Yet, even then, Superman: The Animated Series focused more on the titular Man of Steel and his exploits; when costumed heroes did appear, it was more of a spotlight or a cameo, a glimpse into an even bigger world. I say all this as “Secret Origins” wisely starts off from Batman’s perspective, with him investigating a series security breaches in WayneTech’s global deep space monitoring network and finding the culprits are guilty of more than simple corporate espionage. Confronting the facility staff as they attach an alien device to a satellite dish, Batman is stunned to find the employees not only speaking an alien language but exhibiting superhuman strength and an unnerving ability to reconstitute broken limbs. Stubborn as ever, Batman refuses Superman’s help when he stops by, only to end up aiding the Man of Steel when he’s half-crippled by what appears to be a psychic attack. Though Batman scoffs at the idea of calling for Superman’s help with his signal watch, he pockets the device and continues his investigation over the next six months, undeterred despite his enemy being far outside of his weight class. However, when checking out a Metropolis warehouse, Batman discovers more scientists, this time encased in disgusting, egg-like pods, held in stasis so the alien invaders can better assume their identities. When he’s attacked by an alien guard dog, Batman’s forced to signal Superman for help but even the Man of Steel is seemingly powerless when a series of meteors crash to Earth and birth gigantic, tripod-like alien walkers that decimate the world’s major cities.

*When invaders attack, Earth’s heroes are forced to work together (and with J’onn) to fight back.*

Despite throwing his best punches, Superman barely slows the destructive walkers, but another psychic barrage clues him in on the key to fending off the invaders. Closely followed by Batman, who’s no match even in his kitted-out Batplane, the World’s Finest find a strange alien humanoid held in captivity in an alien base. Freeing the visitor, they learn that he is J’onn J’onnz, the last survivor of Mars, and that he was attempting to communicate to Superman on a mental level. Though naturally distrustful, even after J’onn assumes a more human guise, Batman listens intently as J’onn relates how the once-peaceful Martian civilization was decimated by the relentless, gloop-like invaders. They destroyed all trace of J’onn’s people, committing mass genocide and even stealing their shape-shifting powers, and were only stopped when J’onn himself led a final, desperate attack on their underground stronghold and paralysed them with a nerve gas. Though he sealed the invaders away and kept watch for 500 years, J’onn was in a hibernation cycle when two astronauts accidentally opened the tomb, reawakening the invaders and turning their aggression towards Earth. Desperate to ensure that another civilisation doesn’t suffer as his did, J’onn escaped and tried to warn the Earth, only to be captured and studied. Luckily, he retained enough of his power to call out not just to Superman, but to Wally West/The Flash (Rosenbaum), John Stewart/Green Lantern (LaMarr), and Shayera Hol/Hawkgirl (Canals-Barrera), who all join the fight and take down a contingent of the alien walkers. Their efforts are further aided by Princess Diana of Themyscira/Wonder Woman (Eisenberg), a “rookie” hero (as John puts it) who abandons her island paradise to aid mankind. Though new to the hero game, Wonder Woman makes an immediate impression, deflecting incoming fire with her wrist guards and showcasing superhuman strength and flight, aiding Hawkgirl and taking down the walkers as forcefully as Superman. Still, distrust is rife amongst the fledgling Justice League; not only are they wary of J’onn but Diana’s expertise is called into question, and the group initially struggles to gel. John immediately takes charge, barking orders and dividing the group into teams to gain intel on the walkers, only to be lumbered with the childish Flash and left chastising Wally for his reckless nature. Such recklessness is echoed in both Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman, whose first instinct is to fight and cause them to blindly charge into ambushes and traps as a result. Superman is constantly trying to help everyone and therefore lets his guard down. Apparently somewhat complacent since he’s largely invulnerable, Superman’s easily subdued by the invaders’ powerful tech.

*The fledgling Justice League ultimately triumph over the invaders and become a cohesive unit.*

Although they’re unsure about J’onn, he proves to be dependable and is extremely capable in a fight. Boasting psychic powers, he can also fly, turn invisible and intangible, and exhibits superhuman strength on par with his peers. He also holds the key to shutting down one of the invaders’ drilling facility, working alongside Wonder Woman and Batman to steal the ion crystal, only for Batman to be left behind and seemingly gunned down. As the only member of the team without superpowers, Batman is at a physical disadvantage, but he does his best. He has his toys, of course, but his greatest asset is his mind. He colludes with J’onn to fake his death, an act that galvanises the team to work harder in rescuing Superman and Hawkgirl, and which deceives the invaders and their overseer, the Imperium (Richardson), a Lovecraftian, tentacled nightmare that delights in torturing J’onn before his newfound allies. The Imperium realises all-too late that Batman has survived as the Dark Knight sabotages the ion crystal, reversing its polarity and dispelling the polluting cloud that’s blanketed the Earth since the invaders arrived. It’s also Batman who deduces that the invaders are vulnerable to sunlight, a weakness the team quickly takes advantage of by ripping holes in the alien craft, killing the creatures without a second’s hesitation. Though they have no name, the alien invaders are a formidable force; they use shape-shifting abilities stolen from the Martians to impersonate public figures and even the heroes, laying the groundwork for their forces to arrive. They also wield laser blasters and are fully malleable, pulling themselves back together or reforming after taking damage. Most notably, they attack humanity using tripod-like walkers ripped right out of The War of the Worlds (Wells, 1898) just as the Imperium’s arrival is ripped from Independence Day (Emmerich, 1996). Their numbers and advanced alien tech make them more than a match for each of the team individually, even overpowered members like Superman and J’onn, but, once the disparate heroes start working together, the invaders are summarily driven off and Earth gains a powerful group of protectors.

The Summary:
“Secret Origins” has quite a mountain to climb. Sure, while DCAU viewers would’ve been well acquainted with Batman and Superman and have some knowledge of the Flash and the Green Lantern Corps, Wally, John, Shayera, and Diana are essentially brand-new characters in this sprawling continuity. Rather than spending time delving into the background of each of these new heroes, “Secret Origins” spends more time focusing on introducing J’onn and Wonder Woman, assuming the audiences will remember lore about the Flash and the Green Lantern Corps from Superman: The Animated Series and simply dropping Hawkgirl in our laps. I think this was a good approach; I liked that the first part was essentially another Batman/Superman team-up as it showcased neither man could fight off the invaders alone and that the two together wouldn’t be enough, either. This greatly aided in establishing the invaders as a true threat; they easily manhandled Batman, forcing him to ask Superman for aid, and Superman was distracted by J’onn’s attempts to communicate and unprepared to face a physical challenge. J’onn is depicted as a suitably tragic figure, one who’s seen his whole world die at the hands of these invaders and who is determined to prevent it happening again. J’onn even apologises for humanity’s violent nature and defends the very people who treated him so poorly when he arrived. He finds a kindred spirit in Superman and a surrogate family in the Justice League, who eventually accept him as one of them through his courageous actions. This arc is echoed in Wonder Woman, who renounces her place in paradise out of curiosity to explore “Man’s World” and a sense of duty to defend the planet from its aggressors. However, as she’s new to the superhero lark, she’s initially treated with contempt by the strait-laced John Stewart. A gruff military man who focuses solely on the job, John has no time for the Flash’s games and is dismissive of Diana for being a “rookie”. The others are much more accepting and even John is turned around after seeing the fantastic abilities Wonder Woman brings to the table.

*Heroes old and new must learn to fight together to defend the Earth.*

The dynamic between the fledgling Justice League is at the forefront of “Secret Origins”. J’onn calls them together to defend the planet but none of them have any experience working together. Sure, Batman and Superman have teamed up, but they didn’t exactly like it or make a habit of it. Indeed, the only one with a sense of teamwork is John and even he’s bad at it, ordering the heroes around like he’s king shit and simply expecting them to fall in line or work together without laying the groundwork first. Egos and personalities clash throughout, with Batman being his usual pig-headed self, Hawkgirl charging into conflict, and the Flash toying with his foes, seemingly oblivious to the stakes. Even Superman struggles with the team dynamic, feeling obligated to help everyone and being blindsided as a result, and consequently sees the value in bringing the team together as a permanent fixture. Superman’s focus is on solving all the world’s problems, so much so that he doesn’t even suspect he’s being manipulated by the invaders to weaken Earth’s defences. The invaders are relentless and extremely aggressive, laying waste to cities with little resistance, but are both formidable and extremely vulnerable. Even Batman takes them out with enough effort and their machines are brought down by the heroes, but their sheer numbers and tenacity mean they can easily subdue even the Justice League. It isn’t until they underestimate Batman and their weakness is exposed that they show any signs of fear, with the Imperium desperately fleeing once its exposed to sunlight, only for Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl to violently bring down its escape craft and send the rest of its kind scurrying back to the depths of space. Again, it’s a very War of the Worlds-like ending and perhaps a little too contrived and nonsensical for the invaders to have such a glaring weakness, but it’s used to emphasise the team coming together as a unified force, so I’ll allow it. Ultimately this was a great introduction to the DCAU Justice League. “Secret Origins” established their different and conflicting personalities and how their various powers and abilities will work going forward, emphasising that they all have a part to play, and showed that there are some threats that require a whole group of special heroes to oppose it.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to “Secret Origins”? Did you enjoy seeing these heroes come together? What did you think to threat they faced? Would you have liked to get a little more insight into the Flash and Hawkgirl? Are you a fan of J’onn J’onnz? What are some of your favourite Justice League episodes? Feel free to use the comment section below to share your opinions and be sure to check out my other Justice League content across the site.

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Flair (WrestleMania X8)

14/11/202420/06/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

After debuting as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker became a force of nature within World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). To celebrate the Deadman’s illustrious career, I’m looking back at his WrestleMania matches against the future members of the super-stable Evolution.

The Date: 17 March 2002
The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Charles Robinson
The Stakes: No disqualification singles match

The Build-Up:
Following his debut, the Undertaker went on to become a true phenom within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He faced off against a who’s-who of wrestling’s biggest names and amassing the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X8, an event as infamous for its “Icon vs. Icon” match as it was its main event, legal issues would saw the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) rebrand to the WWE. The company was also on the cusp of creating their own competition with a brand split after buying out rival companies World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The first steps towards this happened when, the night after the infamous “Invasion” storyline ended, legendary WCW and wrestling icon “Nature Boy” Ric Flair returned to the WWF and revealed he was now co-owner of the company! This caused friction between Flair and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon but McMahon finally ousted Flair from his authority when the Nature Boy’s issues with the Undertaker saw him strike a fan. Flair and the Undertaker butted heads because the former didn’t approve of the latter’s recent heinous actions. The Undertaker would regularly attack other wrestlers if he felt disrespected and delighted in tormenting Flair by attacking his friends and family to force him into agreeing to a match at the Showcase of the Immortals.

The Match:
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Ric Flair since he’s a little before my time and I find his matches a little too samey and repetitive, but even I remember being astounded when the Nature Boy returned to the WWF after an eleven-year absence. It’s a shame, though, that guys like Flair, Eric Bischoff, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, Scott Steiner, and the New World Order (nWo) didn’t appear in the WWE until well after the WCW Invasion angle was over as we really were robbed of some potential dream matches as a result of them choosing to sit out their big money contracts. Still, it was fun seeing him tangle with McMahon and later get a career resurgence as part of Evolution, even if he was well past his prime even in 2002. Yet, I would wager that even prime Ric Flair would’ve had an uphill battle against the Undertaker. At this time, the former Deadman was rediscovering his mean streak as “Big Evil”, a more callous and vindictive extension of his sadly underappreciated “American Bad Ass” persona that saw him cut his hair and eventually ditch the motorcycle and Limp Bizkit theme song. The Undertaker would also go around kicking the crap out of other wrestlers for disrespecting him and, while this didn’t exactly land (people wanted to cheer the Undertaker no matter how badly he beat up beloved icons like J.R. or plucky newcomers like Maven), it again gave the Undertaker a chance to show off more personality and mix things up a bit with some fresh new faces. He even captured the Hardcore Championship from Rob Van Dam during this run! Considering how personal the Undertaker made this feud, Flair didn’t waste any time with frivolities. As soon as the bell rang, he went after Big Evil, striking with some ungainly punches and spilling the action to the outside and tackling over the announce tables in a flurry of aggression!

*The Undertaker absolutely dominated Flair, beating him to a bloody pulp with ease.*

Staggered and surprised by the assault, the Undertaker eventually turned the tables by catching Flair off an uncharacteristic mid-air dive and ramming him spine-first into the ring post. However, neither this or a smack off the steel ring steps slowed Flair’s assault. It wasn’t until Big Evil hefted Flair into the corner and unloaded with some strikes that the Nature Boy found himself physically overwhelmed, to the point where he initially couldn’t even perform his signature cartwheel bump when tossed into the far corner. A second toss was more successful and “Booger Red” pursued Flair back to the outside to deliver more punishment by busting the living legend open. The assault continued in the ring but, when Flair dropped with his trademark face flop, the sight of his blood was apparently enough to motivate a brief comeback with some knife-edge chops, which the Undertaker immediately shut down with a running clothesline in the corner. Battered and helpless, Flair was sent crashing to the canvas with an uncharacteristic superplex, but Big Evil maliciously pulled Flair off the mat as the referee’s hand was coming down for the three count. Slowly, methodically, the Undertaker continued to target Flair’s blood-splattered head, landing his patented apron leg drop and again interrupting his own pin attempt to keep beating on his foe and knocking him down and again and again to the mild interest of the restless crowd. After dodging a leg drop, Flair tried to mount another comeback with some more chops and looked to be getting himself back in the game after jerking Big Evil off the top rope when he went for his “Old School” ropewalk strike. However, Flair was immediately shut down with a big sidewalk slam for another two count, though this time, Flair kicked out of his own accord.

*Even Anderson’s Spinebuster couldn’t keep Big Evil from dispatching Flair and scoring his tenth win.*

Digging deep into his repertoire of dirty tricks, Flair crotched the Undertaker on the top rope and knock him to the outside again. This time, Flair grabbed a lead pipe from the Undertaker’s bike and bashed Big Evil right between the eyes, busting him open as well. Flair continued to bludgeon his foe but the Undertaker quickly regained control by running Flair into the ring apron and barricade, only for the Nature Boy to strike back with shots from a safety sign retrieved from the aisleway. Flair, his confidence growing, sneaked a couple of “Woo!”s and struts in and lived up to his reputation as the “Dirtiest Player in the Game” by kicking the Undertaker in the balls when Big Evil went for a Chokeslam. Flair then tied the Undertaker up in his signature Figure Four Leglock, finally waking up the crowd, but the Undertaker simply powered out and countered with a falling Chokeslam for a near fall. Frustrated by Flair’s defiance, the Undertaker took his aggression out on referee Charles Robinson but got drilled when Arn Anderson, the enforcer of Flair’s legendary Four Horsemen stable, rushed the ring and planted him with his signature Spinebuster! However, thanks to the referee being incapacitated, Big Evil kicked out (though this sequence well and truly got the crowd invested in the match). The Undertaker attacked Double-A and trapped him in the Dragon Sleeper (for my money, a far better submission move than his later Hell’s Gate) but Flair saved his friend by walloping Big Evil with a steel chair. Although the Undertaker easily shrugged it off, he struggled to hoist Flair up for the Last Ride so he settled for a Tombstone Piledriver to mercifully bring this to an end and bring his WrestleMania streak to 10-0. Sadly, this wasn’t the best match for either men; apparently, Flair was unsure if he should even be in the ring at the time and credits the Undertaker with renewing his confidence, but this was a chore to sit through. It was just the Undertaker beating up a defenceless old man for about half an hour; Flair barely got in any offense and, when he did, it was all chops and weapon attacks. The best part of this match is Arn Anderson’s surprise run-in. Watching this as a kid, at a time when the Undertaker’s winning streak wasn’t as big a deal as it would later become, I was certain that would be the finish but it wasn’t to be and that was probably for the best as this would’ve been a pretty lame match to go out on.

The Aftermath:
This match wouldn’t completely spell the end of the feud between the Undertaker and Ric Flair. Flair acted as the special guest referee for Big Evil’s number one contendership match against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin at Backlash the following month. The Undertaker won the match and would go on to capture the Undisputed Championship from Triple H, while Flair transitioned into a mini feud with Austin since he missed that the Texas Rattlesnake’s foot was on the ropes during the decisive pinfall. Otherwise, the Undertaker and Ric Flair stood at opposite sides of the ring later in 2002 for a tag team match but their time facing against each other came to an end after that as Flair’s career wound down and the brand split kept the two apart. However, the Deadman would make a point to honour the Nature Boy during Ric Flair’s emotional retirement segment in 2008 and Flair returned the favour by appearing at the Undertaker’s retirement celebration in 2020.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What did you think to the Undertaker and Ric Flair’s no disqualification bout from WrestleMania X8? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Did you also find the match a bit dull and lifeless? Were you a fan of the Big Evil gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? Did you think the match was over after Arn Anderson hit that Spinebuster? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career? What dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and go check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!

Movie Night: Venom: The Last Dance

09/11/202418/11/2024Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 25 October 2024
Director: Kelly Marcel
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
Budget: $120 million
Stars: Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Clark Backo, and Stephen Graham

The Plot:
Now a fugitive wanted for murder, Eddie Brock/Venom (Hardy) go on the run while being hounded by the vindictive General Rex Strickland (Ejiofor) while evading a monstrous being sent to hunt them by the ancient symbiote god, Knull (Andy Serkis).

The Background:
Fist appearing as simply a black costume acquired by Peter Parker/Spider-Man on an alien world, Venom would later take on a whole new lease of life when he bonded with the unhinged Eddie Brock to antagonise Spider-Man. Since then, Spidey’s dark doppelgänger has become a popular anti-hero and one of Spider-Man’s most recognisable foes. Venom’s popularity led to them appearing in videogames and cartoons prior to being shoe-horned into Spider-Man 3 (Raimi, 2008), though the idea of doing a live-action Venom film had circulated since 1997. This finally came to pass when Tom Hardy took on the role in a commercially successful solo film that, despite mixed reviews, led to an equally successful sequel in 2021 that was received a bit more favourably. With Hardy having signed on for three films from the start, a third was never in doubt, with Hardy and Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis both expressing interest in crossing over with Sony’s other Marvel films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Tom Holland was even open to appearing in a cameo but, in the end, writer Kelly Marcel took over as director and favouring the introduction of Knull, who she hoped would return as a prominent supervillain in later films. Although Serkis was unable to return to direct, he took on the Knull role and Hardy returned for a cool $20 million payday. The casting of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rhys Ifans confused some and the trailers led to speculation about Venom’s place in the MCU, a sneaky tactic from Sony that no doubt contributed to the film’s box office of over $430 million. Reviews remained mixed, however, with many praising Hardy’s performance and the dynamic between Eddie and the symbiote while criticising the moronic plot and squandering his talents. Despite this, and the narrative presented in the film, Hardy remained open to the possibility of returning in some capacity later down the road.

The Review:
If you told me that we’d get an entire trilogy of Venom movies that didn’t involve Spider-Man, the guy who Venom owes their entire existence to, I’d say you were crazy. But then I’d remember that this is Sony we’re talking about, and this is exactly the kind of nonsense they’d sign off on these days. Yeah, spoilers: no version of Spider-Man appears in Venom: The Last Dance, despite the movie making the ridiculous decision to revisit one of the most pointless post-credits scenes in all of superhero cinema by showing Eddie at a bar in Mexico in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s then unceremoniously transported back to his world not by a magical portal created by Doctor Stephen Strange, but seemingly by a similar portal generated by Knull, the long-imprisoned creator of the symbiotes who sits entombed in a dark prison in a far away galaxy. Once back in his world, Eddie is ravaged by a combination of a drunken headache, a hangover, and a migraine caused by the teleportation that renders him a confused, fatigued, and ultimately bizarre character for the duration of the film. As much as I love Tom Hardy, his portrayal of Eddie has always irked me. Once again, he adopts a weird accent, and he plays Eddie with this weird, twitchy, socially inept awkwardness that makes many scenes (particularly in this movie) difficult to watch. Despite once being a ballsy, confident reporter who took on mega-corporations without fear, Eddie is a paranoid, largely clueless, and often bumbling figure who constantly bickers with his dark passenger. The banter between Eddie and the symbiote is one of the highlights, as ever, and is put to greater effect here through the second act’s “road trip” format as the two randomly decide the best way to avoid the authorities is to head to New York City. However, the symbiote is a growling, gruff character who’s difficult to understand and continues to be childish and unreasonable at times. Impulsive and reckless where Eddie is measured and reserved, the symbiote still desires to bite off heads as a “lethal protector” while Eddie prefer to lay low, meaning their ideals continue to clash in a way that irks me as a Venom fan since the whole point is that they’re supposed to be united in their cause.

*Hounded and branded a murderer, Eddie and the symbiote go on the run and reflect on their lives.*

Still, it makes for some amusing moments, such as the symbiote impulsively knocked people out (much to Eddie’s dismay) to steal their clothes and his immediate addiction to gambling when they make a pit stop in Las Vegas. Eddie’s easily at his lowest point here. Thanks to the events of the last movie, he’s been branded a murderer and forced to go on the run, separating him from his lost love, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), who’s sadly absent in this film. After being spotted on CCTV cameras, Eddie attracts the attention of General Rex Strickland, who mobilises his forces to capture Eddie on sight. At first, this is seemingly to arrest him for the murder of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Graham) and others, but in actual fact Strickland oversees both the decommissioning of Area 51 and the symbiote research centre, Area 55, located beneath it. Thus, his mission is more to obtain symbiote samples, if not entire symbiotes, for the “Imperium”, a shadowy government organisation that’s running vague experiments on the symbiotes. Once Strickland learns there’s more to Eddie than he expected, he puts together a crack squad to capture the symbiote and kill Eddie but doesn’t reckon with the two’s abilities and is driven into a vengeful rage when his men are killed in the act. Eddie’s stunned and bewildered to learn that the two of them now carry a “codex” after the symbiote resurrecting Eddie in the climax of Venom. This one-of-a-kind McGuffin is the key to releasing Knull from his prison, and therefore means the two are also hounded by the monstrous Xenophage. This insectile beast can instantly detect the codex whenever Venom fully transforms, meaning much of the film focuses on Eddie as it’s too dangerous for him to fully let Venom out. Unless they happen upon kindly shopkeeper Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) in Las Vegas. Then it’s perfectly fine for Venom to overtake Eddie and engaging in a dance sequence with Mrs. Chen to the tunes of ABBA. Except it’s not as, predictably, the Xenophage shows up, wrecks the hotel, and Eddie is both captured and consequently separated from the symbiote. Thus, we’re denied a lot of true Venom action, leaving the symbiote little more than a floating, frothing head, unless the film decides it needs to suspend what little logic it has for an action scene.

*Teddy is fascinated by the symbiotes and determined to study them, no matter the risk.*

Eddie and the symbiote are taken to Area 55, an underground laboratory where the United States military and a band of scientists – led by Doctor Teddy Payne (Temple) and Sadie Christmas (Backo) – research the symbiotes that landed in the first movie. Unlike the experiments performed by the Life Foundation, these seem to be largely unobtrusive and benign; Teddy is in awe of the alien lifeforms and wishes only to understand and communicate with them. Even Strickland doesn’t want to destroy them, only Venom (and that’s for personal reasons), and this strange turn of event sis only further compounded by the revelation that the symbiotes aren’t actually evil. Instead, they were fleeing from Knull’s wrath and came to Earth looking for safe haven. Quite how we’re supposed to believe this when every symbiote we’ve seen up to this point, including Venom, has been sadistic and violent and wished to either eat humans or drain their bodies completely is beyond me. such concerns are further compounded by the bizarre backstory given to Teddy. As a girl (Brooke Carter), Teddy and her brother (Fflyn Edwards) were inexplicably struck by lightning, which killed him but somehow left her with only a lame arm. since then, she’s dedicated herself to living her brother’s dream of investigating life beyond our world and is fascinated by the symbiotes. It’s thanks to Teddy that Mulligan’s life is saved as she bonds him with a symbiote and learns of Knull’s threat; yet, despite being explicitly told that the only way to stop Knull is for either Eddie or Venom to die, she vehemently opposes Strickland’s offensive against Venom since it would deprive her research. While Teddy is shoe-horned in and a poor substitute for Anne, she at least has some agency and a character arc. Sadie is just kind of there; her “thing” is she likes Christmas and is named Christmas and that’s about it. Then, in the final act, she suddenly gains prominence when a symbiote latches onto her and creates Lasher, who aids Venom in their battle with the Xenophages, while Mulligan and his symbiote are unceremoniously consumed before they can help. This bugged me as I would’ve preferred to see Eddie, Anne, and Mulligan (and maybe Teddy and Strickland) fight together with symbiote partners, but it’s doubly odd as the first movie established that a true symbiosis is very rare and yet Sadie shows no signs of being consumed by her symbiote.

*Strickland’s bias almost leads to ruin when the Xenophage’s attack on Knull’s orders.*

In place of Venom’s more familiar supporting cast, Eddie stumbles upon hippie Martin Moon (Rhys Ifans) and his family – equally hippie wife Nova (Alanna Ubach), his enthusiastic but scared son Lef (Dash McCloud), and his apathetic daughter Echo (Hala Finley) – who are on a road trip to Area 51 to realise Martin’s lifelong dream of seeing an alien. Though Eddie’s reluctantly to tag along with the Moons, the symbiote insists and, while enduring their cringey singing and crackpot quirks, the two dwell on how they’ve been denied a normal life. Again, I feel like it would’ve made much more sense for Anne and Doctor Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) to have maybe seen or sensed Venom’s danger on the news and come out to help him, especially as the Moons keep sneaking back into the plot simply to put some innocents in peril. What’s really weird is that Reid Scott does feature in a cameo as the shadowy head of Imperium, a man who authorises Strickland’s employment of “The Six”, which you’d think would be a troop of symbiote-infused soldiers but is simply just another strike team. Like Martin, Strickland is shameless stunt cast with an actor known for their previous Marvel work simply to trick people into thinking Venom: The Last Dance is somehow tied to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. While it technically is, the casting amounts to a bait and switch and nothing more, though Chiwetel Ejiofor was enjoyably charismatic in the role. In contrast, Knull is a complete waste of time. Aside from dumping a bunch of clunky exposition in our laps at the start, he does nothing but send Xenophages after Venom. Why he can’t conjure a portal to release him from his prison is beyond me, and we never see him and Venom interact, meaning it’s up to the scary and surprisingly gory Xenophages to carry the main threat. This would be fine (and admittedly spares us the same nonsensical symbiote-on-symbiote action of the last two films), but the Xenophages are functionally invincible. They immediately heal from all wounds and devour their foes and are extremely aggressive, but immediately lose interest once they can’t see the codex, making them dangerous but also paradoxically dumb.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Venom: The Last Dance feels tonally confused. Like its predecessors, it lacks the gore and violence I’d expect from a Venom movie and tries to make up for it with a few s-bombs and even an unexpected “motherfucker!” from Martin. It also delivers some startling gore in depicting the Xenophages’ preferred method of attack, which is to eat their victims whole and spewy their bloody remains from vents on their back! Venom bites the heads off a few bad guys but is again a far cry from the “lethal protector” they wish to be, and I know from the comics. In this instance, it makes sense since Eddie’s on the run, but he makes some baffling decisions in trying to evade Strickland. He wanders around in plain view, constantly being spotted by CCTV, has a good old time in Las Vegas, and his end goal is to go to New York and blackmail a former editor into helping him. The middle part tries to be a road trip movie, but it doesn’t really work; the Moons quickly outstay their welcome and it’s ridiculously convenient that they’re heading towards where all the action’s about to take place. This is why I think Anne and Dan would’ve made just as much sense, if not more. It’s also odd that Eddie mentions he and the symbiote have only been bonded for a year. I find it difficult to believe that these three films take place over a single year and, if that is the case, that’s even more disappointing. The film also squanders any potential from the ending of the last movie; we never see Venom interact with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and his jaunt into the MCU is nonsensical, at best. I’ve always hated the idea that these films take place in a separate universe when it would’ve been so easy for Sony and Disney to collaborate on a more cohesive spin-off series. They don’t even take place in the same universe as other Sony-Marvel films, or previous Spider-Man continuities, meaning any hope of a Venom/Spider-Man interaction is tossed out the window in favour of him easily evading the Xenophage and never even seeing Knull.

*Venom moments are few and far between thanks to annoying side characters clogging up the runtime.*

It’s a shame as the film does look really good. The symbiotes held captive at Area 55 look a little dodgy but, when they bond to a host, they look fantastic. Venom, especially, looks amazing whenever they full transform. I love how slick and oozing the symbiote skin is, how they have this impossible, exaggerated teeth, and the way their bodies are all distinct and unearthly. Mulligan’s symbiote, for example, is like water and radiates an awesome presence that rightfully captivates Teddy’s imagination and Strickland’s distrust. Lasher also stands out in the finale, simply because they adopt a Christmas tree colour pattern and are so prominent in fending off the Xenophages. Venom’s abilities are displayed quite well; Eddie makes a crack about the symbiote’s inability to fly so it attaches them to an aircraft to jet him along at supersonic speeds, which was fun. It also jumps to other animals, such as a fish, frog and, most prominently, a horse. However, this sequence is simply a retread of the motorcycle chase from the first movie, which also gets a callback in the finale. Because of this, and Venom simply taunting, manhandling, and beheading some Mexican lowlifes, Venom: The Last Dance doesn’t really gives us anything new in terms of Venom’s portrayal. The symbiote does show fear at the mere mention of Knull; it’s not really clear why but it does establish that Knull is this awesome threat. Sadly, while Knull cuts an intimidating figure with his emo hair, massive sword, and swirling prison of darkness, he’s essentially a non-factor. The Xenophages are the main threat, which again is at odds with the trailer, which suggested that the symbiote’s people were invading Earth. This plot point seems to have been dropped, along with any notion of Strickland employing symbiote soldiers, to tell a far more basic story. There are some decent moments between Eddie and the symbiote where they reaffirm their bond and their desire to live in peace, but they spend so much time at odds or goofing off or being forcibly separated that it falls a bit flat for me.

*The symbiote makes the ultimate sacrifice to save its adopted world, though Knull survives the conflict…*

Thanks to Eddie defending himself and the initial Xenophage, Strickland pursues Venom relentlessly, ultimately taking them by surprise after a Xenophage attack, separating Eddie from the symbiote, and bringing them to Area 55. Having learned from Mulligan’s symbiote about Knull’s threat and the codex, Strickland is happy to execute Eddie for the greater good, only for the Xenophage to track the two to the bae after the symbiote rebonds with Eddie to save him from a gunshot wound. In the battle, Mulligan is killed and the symbiotes are released, bonding with Sadie and other nearby scientists to assist Venom. This was odd as everyone knows how dangerous the codex is so I would’ve assumed at least some of his brethren would see the value in killing Venom over sacrificing themselves to save them. Regardless, more and more Xenophages arrive, slaughtering the symbiotes and their hosts, wrecking Area 51, and putting the Moons in mortal danger. Luckily, Venom and the symbiotes are on hand to save them, with Lasher chastising Strickland’s reckless use of a rocket launcher and finally convincing them that they’re all on the same side. However, no matter how many bullets and blade can stop the Xenophages, which simply stitch themselves back together, devour Sadie’s symbiote, and mortally wound Strickland. Pinned down with no way to win, Eddie and the symbiote realise that the only way to stop the Xenophages is to sacrifice themselves. Thus, Venom leads the Xenophages to the gigantic acid tanks Strickland was using to decommission Area 51, absorbing the Xenophages into their body and forcibly dragged them into position. Despite being prepared to die alongside his friend, Eddie is aghast when the symbiote spits him out and shields him from the acid shower and the resultant explosion that destroys the entire base. Thanks to having obtained a symbiote, Teddy rushes herself and Sadie to safety as Agony and can only watch as Strickland, the Xenophages, and the Venom symbiote are destroyed. In the aftermath, Eddie finally makes it to New York, now a free man, and gazes upon the Statue of Liberty while remembering the symbiote, unaware that Knull is still waiting in the dark void and determined to enact some kind of vague revenge. Oh, and a piece of Venom also survived. Not to mention the piece he left in the MCU, meaning there are ways for Venom to return and completely squander what’s sold as an emotional ending.

The Summary:
Honestly, I didn’t expect Venom The Last Dance to involve Spider-Man. Even if it had, I probably wouldn’t have been happy or impressed that it took three movies to see what should’ve been done in the first film. For me, the Venom movies should’ve been a two-part affair: one involving Spider-Man and the other involving Cletus Kasady/Carnage. Bringing in a more modern antagonist like Knull was a good idea on paper, but the movie doesn’t commit to it. Like, why not have Knull come to Earth leading a symbiote/monster army and have Venom team up with Anne, Mulligan, and other symbiotes to fight them off? The Xenophages were horrific alien creatures, sure, but they’re simply ravenous beasts. We never see Venom tangle with their master and that’s a huge missed opportunity, as is the chance to up the stakes with a world-ending threat. Instead, we have a much more reserved film, one that tries to explore the relationship between Eddie and the symbiote but instead meanders along, squandering any potential it might’ve had. The Imperium plot point goes nowhere, Area 55 is a cauldron of contradictions, and I didn’t really care about Teddy or her confusing characterisation. It’s disappointing that this series ends on such a flat note; it does nothing to earn its sombre conclusion, and I just feel robbed of what I really wanted to see from these characters. I like Tom Hardy, but his portrayal of Eddie is so weird and all over the place, the actual Venom action is disappointingly light, and it just feels like everyone’s going through the motions because they’re contractually obligated to. Add to that the fact that the film’s another example of Sony blatantly lying to audiences with its trailers and trying to trick people into thinking it’s something it’s not and you have an uninspiring end to a franchise that somehow worked when it never should’ve. I can only hope that we get a proper, accurate, and definitive version of Venom sometime in the future… though I’m also happy to let the character lie dormant for about ten years after these efforts.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Have you seen Venom: The Last Dance? If so, what did you think to it? Were you disappointed that Venom couldn’t fully transform or did you enjoy the new spin on their relationship? What did you think to new characters like Teddy and Strickland replacing Anne and Dan? Were you also annoyed that there wasn’t a showdown between Venom and Knull? Which of the other symbiotes was your favourite? What are some of your favourite Venom and/or Knull stories from the comics? Leave your thoughts on Venom: The Last Dance down below and go check out my other Venom content.

Back Issues [F4iday]: Fantastic Four #48-50

08/11/202420/08/2025Dr. K9 Comments

In November 1961, Marvel Comics readers witnessed four intrepid explorers be forever changed by mysterious cosmic rays. Marvel’s “First Family” of superheroes were the first of many colourful superheroes for Marvel Comics and are more than deserving of some attention today.

**Writer:** Stan Lee – **Artist:** Jack Kirby

Story Title: “The Coming of Galactus!”
Published: 9 December 1965 (cover-dated March 1966)

Story Title: “If This Be Doomsday!”
Published: 11 January1966 (cover-dated April 1966)

Story Title: “The Startling Saga of the Silver Surfer!”
Published: 10 February 1966 (cover dated May 1966)

The Background:
In 1961, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced readers of Marvel Comics to the dysfunctional Fantastic Four in a direct response to DC Comics’ Justice League of America. While the team’s creation has been contested by both, Lee and Kirby popularised the “Marvel Method” of writer/artist collaboration and brought comic fans real and relatable characters who introduced pivotal Marvel staples in the following years. Perhaps none are more crucial than the cosmic devourer of worlds himself Galactus. Created by Lee and Kirby and debuting in this trilogy of issues, the entity once known as Galan had Biblical connotations and was specifically designed to challenge pre-conceived notions of “good” and “evil”. Many subsequent stories have characterised Galactus as a force of nature, if not the universe, as inevitable and necessary as life and death. A complex being who spreads genocidal destruction to satiate his never-ending hunger, Galactus is typically served by equally mighty “heralds”, most notably Norrin Radd/The Silver Surfer, and either at the forefront or lurking in the background of Marvel’s cosmic crossover events. Galactus has brought to life in Marvel’s various animated ventures, often appears in Marvel videogames, and was notoriously represented as an indistinct swirling cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Story, 2007) before finally being brought to life in live-action in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2025.

The Review:
The Fantastic Four’s greatest threat begins with them still struggling against Marvel’s newest batch of bizarre costumed superhumans, the Inhumans. Specifically, Maximus Boltagon/Maximums the Magnificent (or, more accurately, Maximus the Mad) has set off the dreaded “Atmo Gun”. While this has no effect on his Inhuman brethren, it’s caused deadly planet-wide vibrations that threaten all human life. While even the hyper-intelligent Doctor Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic cannot fathom the cause of such an event, Blackagar Boltagon/Black Bolt, leader and monarch of the Inhumans, immediately confronts his insane brother, a creature so vile and spiteful that he’d happily destroy every human just so the Inhumans could walk the Earth uncontested. For his mad schemes, Maximus earns a swift backhand from the dangerously mute Black Bolt and is both astonished to find the Fantastic Four still alive and dismayed when his brother easily disables the Atmo Gun’s effects. Regardless of the pleas of the beautiful, red-headed Inhuman Medusalith Amaquelin/Medusa, who’s pledged her life, heart, and loyalty to Black Bolt, Maximus refuses to accept any similarities between the two races. Stubborn to the end, he throws off the Inhumans restraining him and lunges for the Atmo Gun once, more, maliciously reversing its effects before anyone can stop him. The result is the entire Inhuman sanctuary, Attilan, being encased within an impenetrable “Negative Zone”. Thinking fast, the Fantastic Four race to safety and escape before they are also trapped inside, leaving Johnny Storm/The Human Torch heartbroken at being separated from Crystal Amaquelin, Medusa’s pretty little sister who Johnny immediately fell for and who unwittingly brought the two groups together in the first place. Johnny reacts with anger, desperate to burn his way back into Attilan and pleading with Reed to find some way to be reunited with Crystal. However, Johnny’s left to despondently realise that there’s no hope and, sympathetic to his plight, Ben Grimm/The Thing secretly vows that none of them will ever give up hope that the two can see other someday.

*Johnny’s anguish at being separated from crystal is supplanted by Galactus’ dreaded arrival.*

With the Inhuman saga wrapped up for now, the story then switches to the vast depths of the cosmos where we’re introduced to the enigmatic Silver Surfer for the first time. Deftly dodging a meteor shower as he rides through the void, the Silver Surfer catches the watchful eyes of the Skrulls, who react with panic at detecting his presence, knowing that where the Silver Surfer rides, mighty Galactus is sure to follow. Using their incredible technology, the Skrulls “[black] out” their solar system, apparently causing the dreaded Silver Surfer to pass by. Thus, the Silver Surfer rockets to our solar system, spotting a lush and fertile planet that will satisfy his master’s needs. Meanwhile, while returning from Attilan, the Fantastic Four are stunned to see a second Sun appear in the sky and then flames seemingly engulf the atmosphere. When the Human Torch investigates, the predictably fickle and understandably panicked New Yorkers blame him for the phenomenon and attack. Thankfully, Reed, Ben, and Susan Storm/The Invisible Girl arrive on a suitably Kirby-esque sky cycle and the Thing quickly quells the enraged mob, and Reed ushers them back to his lab to investigate further. A time jump apparently occurs between panels as Reed is suddenly sporting some five o’clock shadow and working himself into a stress, snapping at Sue for interrupting him and, predictably, upsetting her since he’s too busy trying to figure out what’s going on to pay attention to his wife. More concerned for her husband’s wellbeing than the mysterious rocks that’ve now appeared in the sky and determined to not be shut out, Sue forces her way into his lab and is stunned to find Uatu the Watcher has been causing the strange events using his “Matter Mobilizer”. Though normally unable or unwilling to interfere in human history, Uatu has tried to shield the Earth from the Silver Surfer, knowing that catastrophe that will come if he arrives. Unfortunately, the Watcher was unsuccessful; the Silver Surfer arrives, easily evades the Human Torch, and signals for Galactus.

*Even the Fantastic Four are powerless to oppose Galactus, who seeks to devour the Earth.*

Although the Thing gives the gleaming alien a good clobberin’, the Silver Surfer simply uses the attack as a good excuse to depart and prepare for his master’s arrival, which comes moments later courtesy of an oddly surreal, photorealistic depiction of the being’s incredible technology. A gigantic ship then lands and from it steps forth not the purple/blue, armour clad devourer you may recognise by a massive titan decked out in green and red with a big, stupid “G” on his chest. This colour issue is corrected in the next issue (and can be explained by the Watcher’s statement that “[Galactus] is what he wishes to be!”), in which the giant ignores the Fantastic Four as though they were less than gnats and argues morals with the defiant Watcher. Galactus immediately reveals himself to be a creature of surprising depth by expressing his displeasure at having to harm living creatures, though he’s no less determined to destroy the Earth to sustain his vast energy and quell his never-ending hunger. Displeased by the Thing’s insolent tone, Galactus refuses to find a suitable dead world and, when the enraged Thing dares to strike him, gasses the stony superhero like an insect. Despite the Watcher’s warnings, the Human Torch tries his luck, only to be blasted by Galactus’ eye beams and have his flame doused by soot and ash. Humbled, the Fantastic Four regroup within the Baxter Building, bickering with each other as they lick their wounds, completely unaware that the unconscious Silver Surfer has collapsed into blind sculptor Alcia Marsters’ apartment. Ben’s caring, concerned love immediately tends to the stranger and reveals himself to be a melancholy creature, one baffled by Earth customs and seemingly resigned to sweeping such lives away in service of his demanding master. Galactus sets to work achieving this by constructing an elaborate machine – the “Elemental Converter” – around the Baxter Building, one that will siphon Earth’s very elements into his being as a source of sustenance. The Fantastic Four are horrified when the Watcher shows the destructive impact this weapon will have, reducing the Earth first to a lifeless husk and the shattering the remains before Galactus searches for another world to repeat the process.

*It’s only when the Silver Surfer is convinced to help that the battle turns in Earth’s favour.*

Alicia is similarly horrified to learn this from the impassive Silver Surfer. She lashes out at him with an emotional outburst, emphasising the strength of the human heart and questioning his aloof servitude. For a moment, the Silver Surfer falters, admiring her courage and feeling the first stirrings of an emotion, one he soon identifies as pity as he sees the panicked masses react to Galactus. The titan is enraged, however, when the Thing delays his plan by trashing a vital part of the Elemental Converter. Angered and insulted when Mr. Fantastic dares to strike him, Galactus summons the Punisher (no, not that one), a strange, frog-like android, to deal with the impudent mortals while he repairs the damage. Though Johnny is eager to help his family in the fight, he’s held back by the Watcher, who has a plan to stop Galactus that requires Johnny’s abilities. Trusting the stoic overseer, Johnny is teleported across space and time to Galactus’ massive, mechanical space station at “the center of infinity”. While the pig-headed Thing tests his mettle against the Punisher’s raw power, Sue keeps the creature at bay with her forcefield long enough for Galactus to tire of the conflict and withdraw his pet. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer is aghast at the suggestion that he use his great Power Cosmic to defy his master; yet he cannot deny that Alicia’s belief in his quiet nobility has some merit. Thus, having found a world worthy of his protection, the Silver Surfer pleads with Galactus to spare the human race. However, mighty Galactus is unimpressed by his newfound compassion, forcing the Silver Surfer to turn his powers against his master. Amazed by his herald’s betrayal, Galactus is trapped within a vortex and encased within a cocoon, for the Silver Surfer wishes only that they leave the Earth rather than to harm his master. Unfortunately, Galactus is not so easily caged and quickly breaks free, enraged and easily deflecting his herald’s attacks, bombarding him with flaming meteors and offering to spare him harm if he but reaffirm his allegiance.

*Galactus begrudgingly leaves to avoid his destruction. but not without punishing his herald.*

Powerless to aid their new ally, the Fantastic Four place their faith in the Watcher, a faith rewarded when the Human Torch arrives back on the Earthly plane, briefly overwhelmed by the cosmic wonders he’s seen, and hands Reed a mysterious device he acquired from Galactus’ space station. The Watcher immediately advises caution lest Reed foolishly annihilate the entire solar system trying to explore the machine, which Galactus identifies as the “Ultimate Nullifier”. The Silver Surfer fights valiantly, despite his blasts having no effect on Galactus, who effortlessly conjures giant icicles and threatening to turn his wrath against the humans. Tired of the conflict, Galactus prepares to destroy his once loyal herald, only to react with shock when Reed threatens him with the Ultimate Nullifier. Astonished to see a mere human wielding a weapon so powerful that it could destroy the entire universe, Galactus demands that Reed relinquish the weapon and then chastises the Watcher, stunned that he would “[give] a match to a child who lives in a tinderbox!” However, the Watcher simply affirms that humanity has the right to defend themselves and emphasises their great courage. Weary of the battle and in need of sustenance, Galactus agrees to spare the Earth in return for the weapon. Reed hands it over peacefully as the Watcher swears Galactus to stay true to his word, however the world devourer makes sure to punish his herald before departing. With a blast of his eye beams, Galactus removes the Silver Surfer’s ability to roam the galaxies and banishes him to the planet he defended so bravely. And, with that, Galactus disappears in a brilliant flash of light, leaving the Fantastic Four relieved and amazed. In the aftermath, Ben is distraught by how captivated Alicia seems by the eloquent Silver Surfer and falls into a depression. The Silver Surfer departs to explore his new world, Reed continues to anger Sue by focusing on his work, and Johnny heads off to college, meeting the annoying Wyatt Wingfoot for the first time and still pining for Crystal.

The Summary:
The “Galactus Trilogy” is unquestionably one of the most important story arcs not just for the Fantastic Four, but for Marvel Comics in general. It wraps up the initial Inhumans arc, trapping them in Attilan for a spell and adding some significant character growth for Johnny, who spends his days pining over his lost love. While I question how he can be so attached to Crystal despite barely knowing her, it’s a humbling experience for the outspoken Human Torch, who reacts with equal parts and anger and despair, and this informs his defiance of Galactus. Indeed, he shows an unprecedented emotional maturity when he willing goes along with the Watcher’s plan to steal the Ultimate Nullifier, despite being transported to a part of the universe so unknowable and strange that it briefly warps his mind. His characterisation is more akin to the Thing’s at times, since Ben is so often decrying his monstrous appearance and feeling like an outcast. This isn’t a factor until the final parts of the story, where he feels incomparable to the articulate and mysterious Silver Surfer. His reaction, however, comes from his own insecurities and the commonplace reaction to his appearance rather than being reflective of Alicia’s true feelings. Though she finds the Silver Surfer alluring and wishes to foster his emotions and humanity, Alicia breaks a common cycle in comics from this time by not instantly falling in love with the mysterious stranger and is instead more focused on encouraging him to turn on his master and spare the planet. Relationships are a focal part of this arc, as is often the case with the Fantastic Four. As ever, Sue is constantly, selfishly slighted by Reed pouring more of his time into his research than her, a characterisation I normally can’t stand but I enjoyed the wrinkle that Sue is concerned for his welfare rather than simply being upset at being ignored. Though Reed works tirelessly to understand what’s happening, he’s as astonished and powerless as the others against Galactus’ threat. While Ben and Johnny are happy to attack without thinking, Reed holds back and tries to think up a more viable plan, only to end up relying on the Watcher to provide a solution to their unbeatable foe.

*The mysterious, enigmatic Silver Surfer is convinced to defy his all-powerful master.*

Before I talk about Galactus, let’s discuss the Silver Surfer a bit. An impassive and stoic individual, we learn nothing of the Silver Surfer’s origins here. Indeed, he doesn’t even speak until partway through the second part, though his mere presence is enough to terrify even the mighty Skrull empire. The Silver Surfer’s powers are vast and unquantifiable; slicing through the skies and the cosmos on his signature board, his very appearance summons a being beyond human understanding and, once Galactus arrives, the Silver Surfer simply lets nature take its course. Unlike their previous exploits, the Silver Surfer makes an emotional connection with Alicia. Though confused by human customs such as eating and emotions, Alicia’s mere presence stirs feelings in him long forgotten and, having heard her pleas and seen the panic in the streets, the Silver Surfer comes to admire the human heart and spirit. Thus, he does the unthinkable and turns his powers against his master. These powers are, of course, vaguely defined; he has no need for air or sustenance and simply converts matter into energy to sustain himself, but it’s enough to stun and even briefly imprison his titanic master. Despite Galactus regarding humans, and even the Fantastic Four, as mere annoyances and little more than insects, he’s aghast when his herald turns on him. Indeed, Galactus goes to great lengths to avoid injuring or killing the Silver Surfer during his attack, showing that he does care for and value his herald, but even Galactus’ patience has its limits. Thus, though Galactus admires his herald’s passion, he spitefully banishes him to Earth to teach him a lesson, proving that Galactus triumphs even in defeat. Of course, the star of the show here is Galactus himself, a being so powerful and terrifying that the Skrulls choose to hide themselves rather than risk his attention and the Watcher, a cosmic being sworn never to interfere in human lives, breaks his sacred vows to defend the Earth. Bizarre colourations and stupefying “G” emblem aside, Galactus is an awe-inspiring being, a creature said to be capable of altering his appearance at will and who travels the space ways in a spherical craft around the size of our Moon.

*Galactus is a terrifying, complex cosmic being who defies general conventions.*

Galactus is an imposing presence, one so vast that he barely acknowledges the presence of humans, even ones as awesome as the Fantastic Four. He sees them as peons, meaningless lives beneath his stature, and refuses to listen to their pleas, much less those of the Watcher. While he and the Watcher don’t come to blows, Uatu does provide the Fantastic Four with the means to deter Galactus, showing that even a being as mighty as he fears utter annihilation. In fact, Galactus shows a lot of depth, far more than you might expect from a cosmic, world-devouring being. He doesn’t relish or enjoy snuffling out billions of lives and has no interest in conflict, shrugging or swatting away attacks or unleashing his cybernetic lapdog on the Fantastic Four when they interfere with his Elemental Converter. Though the Punisher probably could’ve broken through Sue’s forcefield (her strength was already weakening during its attack), Galactus calls it off. Similarly, he tires of the debate and conflict at the end and simply acquiesces. However, he does this on the condition that Reed hand over the Ultimate Nullifier, a small weapon powerful enough to lay waste to the entire universe. Faced with the very real possibility of his destruction and weary from hunger and moral debates, Galactus leaves, promising never to return. While the public naturally debate whether the whole thing was some elaborate hoax, Galactus fundamentally changes the nature of the Marvel Universe, not least because he remains a viable threat but also because the Silver Surfer ends up trapped on Earth. Thus, Marvel’s characters and readers were introduced to two of the most powerful and important beings in this colourful universe. The story is essentially a humbling experience for the Fantastic Four, who are powerless to intervene without the Watcher’s aid, and a debate on the morality of the fickle and dangerous human race. The conflict between the heroes and Galactus is enjoyably one-sided and devolves into a Mexican standoff, with Reed having to bluff his way to a temporary victory, and Galactus is presented as a strangely compelling, morally dubious force of nature, making him a fresh (if ungainly designed) take on the standard depiction of a villain.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the first appearance of Galactus and the Silver Surfer? Were you impressed by his stature and complex characterisation? What did you think to the Silver Surfer’s change of heart and the battle between him and Galactus? Were you surprised at how powerless the Fantastic Four were against Galactus? Can you name some of your favourite Galactus stories and moments? Whatever you think about Galactus or the Fantastic Four, go ahead and leave a comment below and check out my other Fantastic Four content.

Wrestling Recap [Undervember]: Undertaker vs. Triple H (WrestleMania X-Seven)

07/11/202427/11/2025Dr. K3 Comments

The Date: 1 April 2001
The Venue: Reliant Astrodome; Houston, Texas
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Paul Heyman
The Referee: Mike Chioda
The Stakes: Singles grudge match

The Build-Up:
After his 1990 Survivor Series debut, the Undertaker amassed an impressive list of rivalries with some of wrestling’s most talented, and notorious, names in his near-mythical wrestling career. If that wasn’t enough, the Undertaker amassed the greatest winning streak in wrestling history with 21 WrestleMania wins between 1991 and 2013. By WrestleMania X-Seven, one of the most celebrated WrestleMania events of all time, the Undertaker was in the middle of one of his biggest reinventions as the leather-clad motorcyclist “American Bad Ass”. He became embroiled in the battle against Triple H and the McMahon-Helmsley Regime, who had run roughshod over the WWF using their political power. After Triple H finished up is most recent feud with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “The Game” touted his superiority and dominance and raised the ire of the Undertaker, whom Triple H had never faced in a pay-per-view singles match before. Immediately, tensions escalated to the point where they were interfering in each other’s matches, using proxies (such as the Undertaker’s brother, Kane, and the Big Show) to attack each other, and Triple H even had the Undertaker arrested after he tried to force his way into his limousine. In retaliation, the Undertaker had Kane hold Triple H’s wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, hostage to force WWF Commissioner William Regal into sanctioning this one-on-one match on the grandest stage of them all!

The Match:
Although many have criticised the Undertaker’s American Bad Ass (or “BikerTaker”) phase, I always enjoyed it. Of course, it helped that I started watching wrestling around the time of the 1999 Royal Rumble, so this was the only version of the Undertaker I knew outside of the videogames, and that I was into heavy metal music and the whole leather aesthetic that was popular at the time. Regardless, I always felt like it was a fantastic reinvention of the character. It allowed the Undertaker to stay relevant in the far more grounded landscape of 2000’s WWF, gave him the chance to showcase more personality and vulnerability, and saw him destroying foes with an absolutely devastating lifting powerbomb known as the Last Ride. At the time, there was no greater, more hated heel than Triple H (well… maybe WWF Chairman Vince McMahon…). He’d not only dominated the main event as the WWF Champion but also been revealed as the mastermind behind Steve Austin’s run-in with a car, though he had definitely been taken down a notch by both Austin and the Rock earlier in the year. The best thing about these two WWF stalwarts was that it made perfect sense to have them face off, even if it was pretty clear that they were playing second fiddle to the more dramatic story revolving around Austin, Rock, and the WWF Championship. The match was bolstered somewhat, however, as Triple H was played to the ring by the legendary Motörhead in a rousing mini rock concert that ensured the Game got his fair share of cheers despite his heinous actions throughout the year. Not to be outdone, the hometown hero, the Undertaker, blasted to the ring on his bike to Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’”, which, while a good song, still pales in comparison to his original Kid Rock theme. They brawled around at ringside, with Triple H collapsing through a makeshift announcer’s table before being rolled into the ring and J.R. pointing out (maybe for the first time?) that the Undertaker had never lost a WrestleMania match and had amassed an 8-0 winning streak at the show of shows.

*The Undertaker dominated the early and took things to the outside after attacking the referee.*

Triple H’s attempt to trade punches with the Undertaker in the ring might have gone badly, but the Game scored a knockdown with his Harley Race-style jumping knee…only for the Undertaker to shrug it off, manhandle Triple H into the corner, and toss him overhead with a back body drop. The Undertaker continued to press his advantage, beating Triple H silly from corner to corner and planting him with a powerslam. Even when he missed an elbow drop, the American Bad Ass came right back with his signature flying clothesline but found himself launched from the top rope when Triple H countered the former Deadman’s “Old School” rope walk strike. Triple H capitalised with a neckbreaker for the first near fall of the match before working over the Undertaker’s forehead (which he had split open with a sledgehammer in the build up to this match) on the ring apron. Frustrated after another slick neckbreaker resulted in a two count, Triple H went for multiple covers and the Undertaker kept kicking out, so the Game started arguing with referee Mike Chioda and then hit his trademark knee smash to shut down the Undertaker’s attempt to fight his way back into the match. Exasperated and sadistic, Triple H harassed the timekeeper and retrieved his trusty sledgehammer, but Chioda snatched it away before he could do any damage with it, only to get sandwiched in the corner when the Undertaker catapulted Triple H out of a Pedigree attempt. This meant that the referee was a little too slow in making the count when ‘Taker covered Triple H off a Chokeslam, so the Undertaker also attacked Chioda and took him out of the match for a ridiculously long time, effectively turning this into a no holds barred brawl for a bit. The Undertaker thus launched Triple H to the outside and tossed him over the barricade and into the crowd for a slugfest through the audience without fear of a count out or a disqualification.

*Despite some fun spots, this otherwise standard brawl that was overshadowed by later matches.*

The two battled up to a production area full of monitors and machinery. Here, the Undertaker beat the hell out of Triple H and the Game repeatedly bashed Undertaker’s head and legs with a steel chair. However, the Undertaker dramatically Chokeslammed Triple H over the railing to the concrete below and followed up with a diving elbow drop, an effect sadly ruined by an unfortunate camera angle that clearly showed the crashmat the two guys landed on (still a hell of a bump, though). The Undertaker fended off the doctors and beat Triple H through the raucous Houston crowd before tossing him unceremoniously back into the ring. With Triple H battered and helpless at his feet, the Undertaker grabbed the sledgehammer and prepared to get himself a little payback but got kicked right in the dick instead! Still, the Undertaker avoided taking a shot from the hammer by booting Triple H in the face and the two just exchanged haymakers instead. To try and one-up his opponent, Triple H tried to hit the Tombstone Piledriver, but the Undertaker impressively pivoted out and reversed it into a Tombstone of his own, but Mike Chioda was still out like a light, so it was all for nought. Although Triple H countered the Last Ride with a sledgehammer shot to the Undertaker’s head, it still wasn’t enough to keep the American Bad Ass down for the three count. Incensed, Triple H furiously attacked the Undertaker’s bleeding forehead. He was so desperate to bust ‘Taker open further that he clambered up the ropes for the ol’ ten punches and left himself in prime position for an absolutely devastating Last Ride right out of the corner! The Undertaker dropped to the mat, the referee made the count, and the match ended with another victory for the legendary icon, bringing his winning streak to 9-0. This was an okay match, but nothing really special apart from the brief detour out of the ring and even that was sullied by one of the longest ref bumps I’ve ever seen. Most of the match was a slugfest, which is always a little disappointing as both men are capable of so much more, but it definitely had a big-match feel and spectacle to it. I think it might’ve helped to have the sledgehammer come into play a little more and to have Triple H properly target a body part rather than just getting dominated and begging off, but the biased crowd was super into the whole thing and it was fun enough, though it’s obviously overshadowed by their later WrestleMania bouts.

The Aftermath:
So no, this wasn’t the last time that the Undertaker and Triple H battled at the Showcase of the Immortals. This match also didn’t put an end to the rivalry between the two men. The main event of WrestleMania X-Seven saw Steve Austin shock the world by joining forces with Vince McMahon and, the next night on Raw, Triple H shockingly formed the “Two-Man Power Trip” with his hated rival. Triple H captured the Intercontinental Championship and the heinous heel tandem delighted in tormented Matt and Jeff, the Hardy Boyz, and their companion, Lita. Since the Two-Man Power Trip boasted about being the most dominating duo in the WWF, the Undertaker and Kane quickly stepped up to oppose them. However, although the Brothers of Destruction captured the WWF Tag Team Championships, Kane got his arm broken by the Two-Man Power Trip, which was a deciding factor in the brothers losing the belts to Austin and Triple H at Backlash the month after WrestleMania X-Seven. Unfortunately, Austin and Triple H’s run with all the gold and all the power was cut short when Triple H tore his quadricep muscle in a tag team match, a horrific injury that side-lined him for most of 2001. When Triple H returned, it was to triumphant cheers; for the first time in years, Triple H was lauded as a hero while the Undertaker was in the midst of a heel run beating the respect out of people. It wouldn’t be long before the two clashed again as the Undertaker defeated Triple H for the Undisputed Championship at the 2002 King of the Ring, though their in-ring encounters did noticeably lessen for a few years after this thanks to the first brand extension.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the Undertaker and Triple H’s first WrestleMania match? How would you rate it against their other WrestleMania matches? Were you a fan of the American Bad Ass gimmick or did you think it was unsuitable for the Undertaker? What did you think to the Chokeslam off the equipment area and did the referee bump also confuse you? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and be sure to check out my reviews of other Undertaker matches across the site!

Movie Night [Godzilla Day]: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

03/11/202431/05/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

Toho’s famous atomic beast, and easily the most recognisable kaiju in the entire world Gojira first emerged from the waters of outside of Japan to wreck the city of Tokyo on this day all the way back in 1954. In 2016, the day was declared “Godzilla Day” and, as a result, I am also appropriating November 3^rd to shine a spotlight on the undisputed King of the Monsters.

Released: 14 December 1991
Director: Kazuki Ōmori
Distributor: Toho
Budget: $12 million
Stars: Kōsuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Chuck Wilson, Yoshio Tsuchiyam, Kenpachiro Satsuma, and Hurricane Ryu

The Plot:
Time travellers offer to get rid of Godzilla (Satsuma), Futurians create the terrifying King Ghidorah (Ryu), leaving science-fiction writer Kenichiro Terasawa (Toyohara) and remorseful Futurian Emmy Kano (Nakagawa) to desperately revive Godzilla ensure Japan’s survival.

The Background:
When he made his big-screen debut in Godzilla (Honda, 1954), Gojira (more popularly known worldwide as Godzilla) represented very real lingering fears regarding the threat and consequences of nuclear war. However, it didn’t take long for Godzilla to be recast from Japan’s destroyer to its a saviour. While he often caused a great deal of destruction, Godzilla would often team up with other kaiju, such as Mothra and Rodan, to fend off a greater threat and cement his place as an iconic figure in pop culture. Perhaps Godzilla’s greatest nemesis is the three-headed dragon King Ghidorah (also known as “Ghidrah” and “Monster Zero”), a titanic winged beast created by Godzilla creator Tomoyuki Tanaka and inspired by the Lernaean Hydra and the Orochi of Japanese folklore. Initially depicted as an ancient alien monstrosity from Venus, King Ghidorah’s debut feature was so successful that he reappeared the following year and was a natural choice to recoup some of the studio’s losses after the disappointing box office of Godzilla vs. Biollante (Ōmori, 1989). Believing audiences wanted time travel plots given the success of Back to the Future Part II (Zemeckis, 1989), director Kazuki Ōmori specifically tailored the script to include this and place greater emphasis on developing the personalities of the monsters rather than the human characters. The movie reused the Godzilla suits from Godzilla vs. Biollante, but with some modifications that slightly altered Godzilla’s face and allowed actor Kenpachiro Satsuma a better range of movement when in water, and the redesigned King Ghidorah featured far more advanced wirework puppetry than its predecessor. Ultimately, Toho’s hopes of surpassing Godzilla vs. Biollante were not to be as Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah made noticeably less than its predecessor and the film is generally regarded as a visually impressive, if convoluted, entry in the franchise. The film also attracted controversy for its depiction of events from World War Two but this wouldn’t be the last Godzilla film, or the last we’d see of King Ghidorah. Godzilla was back in action a year later and his nemesis returned to do battle time and time again in many forms.

The Review:
I have been a massive Godzilla fan since I was a little kid, but my exposure to the scourge of Japan was actually quite minimal growing up. Godzilla films weren’t exactly commonplace on TV back in the day so I (and a lot of kids my age) really started getting into the franchise with the impending release of Godzilla (Emmerich, 1998). To celebrate the release of that film, I believe it was BBC2 that dedicated an entire night to Godzilla and other kaiju, and this evening of documentaries, quizzes, and comedy was capped off by the first Godzilla movie I ever watched, Godzilla vs. King Ghirodah. Godzilla had battled his most famous nemesis before, back in the “Shōwa Era”, but this was their first meeting in the “Heisei Era”, which began in 1984 and basically rebooted the franchise with bigger and better suits and new, ferocious monsters for the Big G to fight. This is also probably my favourite era of Godzilla movies since this is when I really started getting into the franchise, though I feel it’s only fair to also point out that I am watching the dubbed version of the film (because I can’t get enough of that “You bastards!” line delivery!)

*Terasawa’s research into Godzilla coincides with the Futurians’ arrival from 2204.*

Oddly enough, as if all the kaiju action wasn’t enough, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah heavily features a time travel plot. The film begins in 2204A.D., where King Ghidorah is little more than a mutilated skeleton at the bottom of the ocean, before jumping ahead to the then-present day of 1992 where all of Tokyo is shocked by the sudden arrival of a strange spacecraft on Mount Fuji. The unidentified flying object (UFO) instantly makes headlines but science fiction writer Kenichiro Terasawa has grown weary of the genre that has made him a “rich man” for his employers, Super Mystery Magazine, and is more interested in writing a detailed history of Godzilla. To that end, he interviews a number of World War Two veterans, including wealthy businessman Yasuaki Shindo (Tsuchiya), who were present on Lagos Island when Japanese troops were unexpectedly protected from the United States forces by the Tyrannosaurs rex-like Godzillasaurus, which they revere as a benevolent, powerful, protective spirit. Consequently, they believe the same to be true of Godzilla, especially as the world’s most famous kaiju is the mutated form of this dinosaur following hydrogen bomb tests. As is often the case in Godzilla films, the human characters are divided into journalists like Terasawa and the Japan Self-Defense Forces’s (JSDF) desperate attempts to combat the kaiju threat. In their efforts to uncover more information about the UFO, the JSDF turn to Miki Saegusa (Odaka), a character who has the rare distinction of appearing in subsequent Godzilla movies and is something of Godzilla expert and a budding psychic (because that’s often a thing in these movies, too). Because of this, she’s part of a team of specialists selected to ensure Japan’s future after the Futurians – Grenchiko (Richard Berger), Wilson (Chuck Wilson), Emmy, and their android, M-11 (Robert Scott Field) – deliver a morbid warning to Japan’s government, headed by the Prime Minister (So Yamamura).

*Thanks to time travel shenanigans, Godzilla is removed from history.*

There, the seemingly benign Futurians completely disregard any sense of temporal paradoxes and time displacement to warn of a terrible future where Godzilla has decimated Japan following an unprovoked attack and devastating nuclear fallout. As proof, Emmy presents Terasawa’s book on Godzilla, thus bringing him into the JSDF’s investigation and confirming his theory that the Godzillasaurus became Godzilla. Thus, the Futurians propose travelling to Lago Island in 1944 and teleporting the Godzillasaurus to 1992, thereby sparing Japan’s social and economic future. Terasawa, Miki, and dinosaur expert Professor Hironori Mazaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki) join this expedition despite there being more qualified and experienced people, but Wilson hypocritically explains that this is because they can’t risk a temporal problem by sending, say, Shindo back to Lagos since he was already there as a young man (but changing the past by removing Godzilla is apparently fine…) Although Terasawa is disheartened to learn that his book didn’t make an impact in the future, he and the others are astounded by the Furtuians’ time ship. They travel through very Doctor Who-like swirls of colour to arrive in the past (spooking “Major Spielberg” (Daniel Kahl) in the process) and witness first-hand as the Godzillasaurus defends the brave and outnumbered Japanese troops. This is the first taste of kaiju action and it’s a little different from what we’re used to. Although it’s easily able to intimidate and crush the U.S. soldiers, the Godzillasaurus is far from the invincible titan we know and love and is easily felled by the Navy’s missiles. Badly wounded, the dinosaur is easily transported to 1992 by the Futurians, but they leave a substitute in its place: three small, winged Dorats that are hideously transformed by the nuclear radiation into a hydra-liked dragon!

*A bigger, more violent Godzilla defeats King Ghidorah and then turns on Japan!*

When Terasawa and the others return, expecting to face a more prosperous future without Godzilla (…though everyone still remembers Godzilla in another example of the film’s inconsistent time travel mechanics), they find Japan under attack by this three-headed mutate, the titular King Ghidorah. A screeching, golden-scaled, devil-like monstrosity, King Ghidorah mercilessly unleashes devastating lightning blasts upon Japan and the sight of it gliding through the skies and between skyscrapers is quite the nightmarish visage. Unrelenting and aggressive, King Ghidorah is controlled by the Futurians to wipe out Japan, which has actually become an economic superpower greater than the U.S., China, and even all of Europe. Feeling remorseful for her actions, and not wishing to see her home country annihilated, Emmy reveals the truth to Terasawa but their attempts to stop the government kick-starting the Godzillasaurus’s transformation into Godzilla with Shindo’s secret nuclear submarine fail when they’re intercepted by M-11. Thus, over forty minutes into the film, Godzilla and its iconic theme tune finally make an appearance as a newer, far bigger and far more hostile version of Godzilla is near-instantly created when it also absorbs the radiation from a crashed Russian submarine. It immediately clashes with King Ghidorah but not out of any sense of duty or to protect Japan as Shindo believes. This is purely a clash of territory and pride and Godzilla has no qualms about destroying parts of the city, and even obliterating Shindo himself, with its destructive atomic breath. Oddly, the two are said to be evenly matched, despite the fact that this new Godzilla is also said to be far more powerful than before thanks to being born from modern nuclear weapons. Godzilla thus topples its rival and lays waste to Tokyo, leaving Japan’s survival in the hands of Emmy and M-11, who jump to the future to augment King Ghidorah’s corpse and defend Japan against their violent attacker.

The Nitty-Gritty:
I mentioned up top that I purposely chose to watch the dubbed version of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. This is always my go-to viewing option for foreign-language films but it can’t be denied that the dubbing is pretty atrocious throughout the film, especially whenever the Futurians are speaking. Godzilla movies have always been deeply entrenched in the fallout from World War Two; the kaiju owes its existence to the War and is pretty much always surrounded by allegory of the dangers of conflict and nuclear power. However, it’s rare that a Godzilla movie actually tackles the Second World War directly and I believe that Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was the first film in the franchise to actually depict events from the War and so many veterans from the conflict as being central to its story. Here, the U.S. is depicted as an invading, hostile force that overwhelmed the Japanese with ceaseless aggression. Though some American troops wish to see the conflict end, they do so under the shroud of victory for the stars and stripes rather than a more generalised end to the death and fighting. The Japanese forces are mercilessly cut down by their better equipped enemy and their final assault against the U.S. troops is framed as a brave and noble suicide run for the glory of the “motherland”, which is definitely a different perspective on the conflict and helps to humanise the Japanese forces.

*While M-11 and the sci-fi effects look terrible, the suitmation scenes are explosion fun!*

One of the major appealing factors of these Godzilla movies has always been the “suitmation” and practical special effects. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah continues to evoke the Gerry Anderson aesthetic in its models, water scenes, and especially when depicting the UFO, which flails about unconvincingly compared to the awesome rubber kaiju suits. The UFO delivers such dated and questionable effects as a beaming technique and hologram effects that would put Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 to 1969) to shame and evokes the same concern and environmental message (and special effects) seen in The Day the Earth Stood Still (Wise, 1951), and offers a knock off of Skynet’s finest infiltrator units in M-11. Exhibiting superhuman strength, speed, and durability in ways that would make Colonel Steve Austin (Lee Majors) cringe, M-11 is perhaps their greatest weapon outside of their impressive teleportation device, which instantly transmits objects across both time and space. Thankfully, the film doesn’t rely on these dodgy optical effects and the rubber suits are soon out in full force. King Ghidorah is one of the franchise’s most technically impressive monsters, a combination of a man in a suit, animatronics, and puppetry that cuts through the sky, stomps around on elephantine feet, and constantly spews crackling electricity. Though far bigger and subjectively more powerful than Godzilla, King Ghidorah is hampered by the humans that control it, meaning it goes wild once Terasawa, Emmy, and the reprogrammed M-11 storm the Futurian time ship in a laser pistol fight. This allows Godzilla to blast off one of King Ghidorah’s heads and send it crashing into the ocean, leaving this aggressive and unfriendly Big G to rampage through Tokyo unopposed.

*After a brutal scuffle, Mecha-King Ghidorah anti-climatically defeats Godzilla.*

With Godzilla’s personality and aggression fundamentally altered and heightened, Japan has no hope of fending off her attacker with either conventional weaponry of the JSDF’s high-powered energy beams. Godzilla simply shrugs off attacks, topples skyscrapers and landmarks, and obliterates everything with its unmatched atomic breath. However, after a jaunt to the future, Emmy comes back piloting the cybernetically-enhanced corpse of King Ghidorah and battles with Godzilla to protect her beloved country. The humans we’ve been following become completely obsolete in this climatic and action-packed finale, which sees Grenchiko and Wilson atomised and the fate of Japan in the hands of Emmy and Mecha-King Ghidorah. Thus, the finale comes down to a rare case of a human piloting a mechanical kaiju-destroying creature rather than two wild monsters going at it. However, while Mecha-King Ghidorah is bolstered by future technology and armour, this new Godzilla is more powerful and aggressive than ever. It easily withstands Mecha-King Ghidorah’s boosted lightning and relentlessly attacks with its atomic breath, forcing Emmy to take a different approach, at great risk to herself. She grabs Godzilla in mechanical clamps and flies it to the ruins of Tokyo, dumping it in the sea. Though Mecha-King Ghidorah is destroyed, Emmy survives and reveals that she’s Terasawa’s ancestor (making the subtle attraction and flirtation between them a little awkward) before returning to the future. However, Godzilla soon reawakens at the bottom of the ocean but decides it would rather stomp away than resume its attack, making for an anti-climatic finish as it’s always disappointing when Godzilla is simply tossed aside rather than actually defeated.

The Summary:
I’m massively biased towards Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah since it was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw and got me hooked on the franchise, and there’s a lot to like here. The suits and monster-on-monster action are big, detailed, and very action-packed. King Ghidorah, especially, had never looked better prior to this film. While its design is a little clunky and bizarre since it lacks arms, its three heads, incessant screeching, and explosive lightning make for a formidable threat and it was pretty cool seeing it come back augmented with futuristic technology as Mecha-King Ghidorah. Godzilla is also pretty great in this film; while it takes a long time for it to show up, we get a revised origin for the kaiju and a return to its more aggressive personality as time travel shenanigans see it reborn as a hostile creature more akin to its original depiction. It is absolutely relentless in its rampage, spewing atomic breath all over the place and appearing more terrifying and formidable than ever. Sadly, the kaiju action takes way too long to kick in, leaving us with this bizarre time travel plot that’s full of temporal anomalies and reduces King Ghidorah to a puppet of these pantomime-like villains whose cringe-worthy lines and personality rob them of any menace. It was interesting, if a little unorthodox, to depict scenes from World War Two and explore an alternative origin for Godzilla, but the poor attempts to copy from better, big-budget science-fiction films really handicaps the overall plot. I feel like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah overcomplicates and overstuffs things, making its human characters more inconsequential than usual as they don’t really get much to do except be stunned and betrayed. Also a disappointment is the film’s finale, which simply sees Godzilla dumped into the ocean…which is where it generally lives anyway so I’ll never understand how this is supposed to defeat it. Still, when the kaiju are actually going at it and when the dubbing is at its exaggerated best, the film is very enjoyable, but it does a drag a bit as the plot trips over itself to limp towards the titular clash of these two long-standing rivals.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah? How did you feel about its time travel plot and the changes made to Godzilla’s creation? Did you like King Ghidorah’s revised origin and what did you think to Mecha-King Ghidorah? Were you also disappointed by the film’s inconsistent and nonsensical time travel shenanigans and poor attempts to rip-off other sci-fi films? What is your favourite Godzilla movie and why? How are you celebrating Godzilla Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, or Godzilla and kaiju films in general, feel free to leave them below.

Movie Night [Day of the Dead]: Shaun of the Dead

01/11/202402/01/2026Dr. K2 Comments

The Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) is a traditional Latin American holiday on which, every November 1^st, the lives of deceased loved ones are celebrated with food, drink, parties, and a great deal of masquerade involving the calacas and calaveras (skeletons and skulls). For me, this seems like the perfect excuse to look back on the long-running and ever-changing zombie genre that was largely popularised by director George A. Romero, which I devoted a great deal of my PhD thesis towards and which has often been used as a parallel to various aspects of society and culture.

Released: 25 October 2004
Director: Edgar Wright
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Budget: $6.1 million
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Penelope Wilton, and Bill Nighy

The Plot:
Perennial loser Shaun (Pegg) is easily swayed from adult responsibilities by his oafish best friend, Ed (Frost). After Liz (Ashfield) ends their relationship, he resolves to win her back but awakens to find Crouch End under siege from a sudden zombie outbreak!

The Background:
Zombies have had a long and varied history in cinema. Originally, films like White Zombie (Halperin, 1932) depicted them more as voodoo slaves but director George A. Romero (who famously avoided the term “zombie”) popularised them as shambling, flesh-hungry corpses in Night of the Living Dead (Romero, 1968). This inspired an entire sub-genre of horror, particular in the sequel, Dawn of the Dead (ibid, 1978), widely regarded as one of the best and most influential zombie films ever made. Specifically, Romero and Dawn of the Dead were a key influence on long-time friends and collaborators Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg putting together this “rom-zom-com” after filming a precursor to the film as a gag for their sit-com Spaced (1999 to 2001). Wright believed so strongly in the project that he turned down further television work as he shopped the concept around before Working Title Films agreed to finance it and production could begin. Both were also huge fans of the Resident Evil videogames (Capcom/Various, 1996 to present) and liked the idea of setting a zombie outbreak in London, where people lack the heavy ordinance typically seen in American films, and focusing on two layabouts who are the last to know about the outbreak. The cast included not just long-time friends Pegg and Frost but many popular British comedians, the filmmakers were inundated with volunteers to fill in as extra zombies, and the film was littered with pop culture references and nods to prominent zombie and horror films. Shaun of the Dead’s $30 million worldwide gross made it a big hit upon release and this was reflected in the unanimous praise that accompanied the film. The film was heralded as an instant classic and its success ensured that Wright, Pegg, and Frost would reunite for other collaborations in the loosely-connected “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy.

The Review:
I was a bit late to the Spaced party; I didn’t watch the series until some time after seeing Shaun of the Dead, and I don’t think I saw that until a former friend of mine recommended it to me. One watch and I was instantly hooked and have been a fan of Pegg, Frost, and Wright ever since. The trio (and even two-group combinations of the group) have such a knack for crafting funny, believable, and incredibly relatable characters and stories even when things step into the fantastical and chaotic. As a Brit myself, I appreciate how they take the quaint, ordinary everyday mundanity of life in this little country of ours and satirise it, comment upon it and use it to show just how preposterous our nation can be at times. My love for zombie films may have dwindled over the years (watching and researching them non-stop for an entire year will do that to you) but I know which ones I like and count amongst the best, and Shaun of the Dead is definitely in the top-tier because of how wonderfully it utilises the shambling ghouls as figures of both horror and ridicule.

*Shaun is at a crossroads in life where he’s not ready for adulthood, making for the unlikeliest of heroes.*

As the title suggests, Shaun of the Dead is the story of Shaun, a twenty-nine-year-old manchild who lives in London and works in an electronics shop. Directionless and largely lethargic, he has fallen into an easy routine involving work, play, and simply hanging out at his local pub, the Winchester Tavern. As something of a manchild myself, I find Shaun’s attitude and predicament largely relatable. He has little to no job satisfaction, is still clinging to his more youthful days as a university student, and is generally just surviving his way through a humdrum existence. However, Shaun recognises that he is at an impasse even before Liz breaks up with him. He wants to do better and to do right by her, but is also fiercely loyal to Ed and can’t quite give up the carefree oaf’s influence on his life. Consequently, Shaun is a man who others see as having great potential but who lets himself get held back by excuses and by his friend. He only resolves to turn his life around after Liz is forced to break up with him, and he only comes to showcase his potential as an unlikely hero after he realises that London is in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Even then, Shaun is largely making it all up as he goes along; his primary motivation is to get Liz and his mum, Barbara (Wilton), to safety. However, while he has lofty and noble intentions, he does make a bit of a balls-up of it along the way.

*Though Liz breaks up with Shaun, she supports his plan to get everyone to safety and believes in him.*

After Shaun fails to live up to his promise of trying to do better by her, and having finally had enough of his lackadaisical attitude, Liz is forced to break up with him to avoid being dragged into a sad, pointless existence where she wastes away at the Winchester rather than being out there and living life to the fullest. She doesn’t do this lightly; it’s clear that she’s very in love with Shaun and has a great deal of patience for, and belief in, him but she can only take so much of the same old routine day in and day out, night after night. Even after they’ve broken up, Liz still has a lot of faith in Shaun. She goes along with his plan to get everyone to safety, defends him from criticism regarding his plan (because, after all, at least he has a plan and is trying to do something helpful and proactive), and is generally very loving and supportive while also being level-headed, pragmatic, and calm even as flesh-eating zombies shuffle through the streets. Liz believes in Shaun’s potential to be and do better; all she wants is for him to grow up a little, sort his life out, and take charge of his own destiny rather than settling for a tedious existence that is beneath him. Shaun is thus fully aware that she’s the best and most positive influence of his life and continually puts himself in very real danger in order to win her back and keep her safe.

*Perpetual manchild Ed is blamed for holding Shaun back but always has his back no matter what.*

If Shaun is a manchild, then Ed is literally a child trapped in a man’s body. The quintessential slob, Ed is a jobless mooch who spends his days playing videogames, smoking fags and drinking beer, and selling a bit of weed on the side. He’s the definition of a moocher, living rent free at Shaun’s place and constantly encourages him to just “chill out” and waste their evenings at the Winchester. While others despair of Ed’s vulgar, unruly behaviour and demeanour, Shaun is fiercely loyal to his childhood friend and enjoys his company. He doesn’t see Ed as a drain or as holding him back, and simply enjoy having his best friend around because he’s fun to be around. In Ed’s defence, he does remind Shaun that he has to go to work and so can’t play videogames all morning, arranges for a lock-in so the two of them can have a few drinks and he can cheer Shaun up with his unique style of humour and crudeness after Liz dumps Shaun, and follows his friend’s lead without question when the zombie apocalypse hits. It’s Ed’s idea to head to the safety and familiarity of the Winchester, a plan that others (even Shaun) initially scoff at but actually has a lot of theoretical logic behind it (the pub has food and drink to sustain them and the windows, entrances, and exits could have been barricaded and boarded up to give them a decent chance at survival if the group was a little more competent). However, these flashes of unique brilliance are offset by Ed’s lack of urgency about everything. Ed sees the entire escapade as an adventure, one that gives him the chance to drive a Jaguar at high speeds and spend the day in the pub, which eventually aggravates even Shaun but the friendship and love between the two remains steadfast. The result is one of the most entertaining, and poignant, aspects of the entire film since they’re both incredibly devoted (and besotted) with each other.

*Neither Pete or David much approve of Shaun and Ed’s antics, while Dianne’s mainly a mediator.*

Contrasting Ed’s cheerful and apathetic attitude is Pete (Peter Serafinowicz), Shaun and Ed’s more responsible and strict roommate. Like Liz, Pete sees that Ed is a drain not just on Shaun but both of their lives (he doesn’t work, doesn’t tidy the house, and is generally slobbish and selfish) but, unlike Liz, Pete is far more direct in his dislike of Ed and his approach to get Shaun to grow up and take control of his life. Pete’s harsh, but he’s absolutely right, and his outburst is the final kick up the ass Shaun needs to resolve to turn things around, but Pete sadly falls victim to the zombie outbreak before this comes to fruition. Shaun faces similar criticism from Liz’s friend and roommate, David (Moran), who is dating Liz’s other friend and roommate, Dianne (Davis). Despite this, it’s pretty clear that David has feelings for Liz and he remains highly critical of both Shaun and Ed. While Shaun doesn’t agree with Pete’s assessment of Ed’s character, he acts a mediator between the two, but the same can’t be said of his relationship with David. The two have a mutual dislike of each other, which only exacerbates as David constantly berates and criticises Shaun’s plan for survival. This all comes to a head when Barbara reveals she’s been bitten and turns, leading to David almost killing Shaun with a rifle. Dianne is much calmer and more patient of the entire situation, but it’s clear that she’s on the verge of completely losing it at any moment. She proves herself adaptable and integral by putting her acting training to good use so they can comically stumble through the zombie hoards, and eventually snaps when David’s abrasive attitude reaches boiling point.

*Everyday life is so dull, especially in Britain, that we’re already mindless zombies.*

One of the fantastic things about Shaun of the Dead is how it depicts zombies. Zombies technically exist before the flesh-eaters even start walking the Earth as the opening credits show how Londoners are trapped in a lethargic cycle of sleepwalking their way through menial jobs and boring routines, and even Shaun resembles a shuffling ghoul when he drags himself out of bed in the morning. Nowhere is the depiction of the monotony of everyday life more prominent than in the parallel sequences that follow Shaun from his house and to the corner shop. Shaun is so blinded to what’s going on around him, and takes his life for granted so much, that he doesn’t even notice that things are wildly amiss the second time around. To him, it’s just another day in Crouch End, and he barely notices that the living dead are increasing around him until a blood-soaked ghoul wanders into his back garden. If you’ve seen a Romero film before, the zombies of Shaun of the Dead will be instantly recognisable to you. They’re the classic depiction of the living dead, being walking, bloodied corpses who attack the living on sight, ripping and tearing at their flesh until they’re satisfied and then turning their victims into shambling ghouls soon after. Though slow, they’re incredibly durable and dangerous in large groups, easily overwhelm their victims and can only being put down for good following heavy trauma or destruction of their heads. This proves difficult for the film’s protagonists as firearms aren’t easy to come by in the United Kingdom, meaning that Shaun largely relies on a cricket bat and other improvised weapons (such as vinyl records) before being stunned to find the rifle behind the bar is actually functional (though he’s naturally a “rubbish” shot).

The Nitty-Gritty:
Considering Shaun’s background as a DJ and his former youth spent in clubs and raving, it’s very fitting that Shaun of the Dead makes great use of music. The Specials’ “Ghost Town”, the Blue Wrath’s “I, Monster”, and Kerkraft 400’s “Zombie Nation” are all used to great effect as background music over scenes of life before the zombie outbreak, which only further emphasises the theme of ordinary, everyday life and media consumption turning us into zombies even before the outbreak sweeps the nation. Of course, the most memorable use of music is the fantastic use of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” when Shaun, Ed, and Liz attack the zombified owner, John (Steve Emerson), which perfectly parallels one of the most upbeat songs every performed with a scene of extreme, if ludicrous, violence.

*Sight gags, repetition, and clever use of camera and editing all add to the film’s humour.*

One of the most impressive, entertaining, and memorable aspects of Shaun of the Dead (and Edgar Wright films in general) is the unique and unexpected use of camera movements and jump cuts for comedic effect. Wright makes even mundane tasks like peeing and getting dressed for work appear exciting and humorous by filming them like action sequences and utilises a fun snap-cut to instantly turn night to day as Shaun passes out in the kitchen. Wright and Pegg’s writing is absolutely top-notch; the characters fun and relatable, while being vulnerable and desperately trying to adapt to the horrific events happening around them as best they can. The comedy is often based on repetition, references, and foreshadowing; Shaun’s plan to kill Philip and get to the Winchester, Ed’s suggestion to get drunk basically describes the events of the zombie outbreak the next day, and his videogame antics come back into play when defending the Winchester. Pete screams at Ed to “Go and live in the shed!”, which ends up happening in the epilogue, the tracking shot of Shaun’s morning perfectly captures how ignorant he is to the events happening around him, and when he flicks through the TV channels, all the different sound bites perfectly describe what’s going on in a fun little moment.

*Gore is used sparingly, but to great effect and heavily influenced by the likes of George Romero.*

Fittingly, the film also contains a number of references and call-backs to popular zombie films. There’s a couple of nods towards Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films (Raimi, 1981 to 1992) with Shaun referring to an “Ash” who is under the weather and his gasp of “Join us” when he first sees the zombified Pete. Fittingly, it’s Romero who has the most impact on the film; as in Romero’s movies, no definitive explanation is given for the zombie outbreak (the radio hints at a space probe crash, the newspaper headlines offer many different explanations, and the news reports that reports of “rage infected monkeys” are greatly exaggerated). As is often the case, finding the cause for the outbreak is largely inconsequential to actually surviving the chaos. The characters also discourage the use of a “ridiculous” term like zombies, a word never actually used in Romero’s films, and Ed directly quotes Night of the Living Dead with his declaration of “We’re coming to get you Barbara!” Perhaps the most striking and memorable homage to Romero is in David’s gruesome and gory death as he is literally torn to pieces by zombies in exactly the same way as Captain Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) in Day of the Dead (Romero, 1985). Indeed, the film’s use of gore owes a lot to Romero and other “splatter horror” zombie films of the seventies and eighties. The film uses gore and blood sparingly but to great effect, delivering disturbingly mutilated zombies and such fun and disgusting moments as blood spurting from characters’ wounds, a zombie girl sickeningly pulling up after being impaled in Shaun’s garden, and Dianne leaping into the zombie hoard while brandishing her boyfriend’s severed limb!

*Shaun is heartbroken when the outbreak forces him to kill his mother and even his stern stepdad.*

As great as all of this gore is, a central aspect of the film, and Shaun’s character, is his strained relationship with his stepdad, Philip (Nighy), a stern and harsh patriarchal figure who Shaun resents for his condescending and disapproving attitude. Philip is the very embodiment of an overbearing authority figure and has long been a thorn in Shaun’s side as nothing he ever does, or has done, has ever been good enough for his would-be father figure. This is the exact opposite of his loving relationship with his mother, an eccentric and doting woman who just wants everyone to get along and doesn’t want to cause a fuss. This ranges from little things like being more concerned about making sandwiches for Shaun when he comes to rescue her, to hiding the bite she received from the others so as not to worry her beloved son. Having suffered two pretty horrific bites during their escape, Philip ultimately succumbs to his wounds and dies but, before turning, finally buries the hatchet with his step-son in a truly emotional scene. Philip admits that he also saw great potential in Shaun and did the best he could to push him to achieve that, but struggled as Shaun was already a pre-teen when they first met but, with his father-figure dying in his arms, Shaun finally puts his issues with his stepdad to rest. However, he’s absolutely heartbroken to find that his mum has also been bitten and leaps to her defence when David moves to execute her before she can turn. This causes the tensions between the two, and the entire group, to finally boil over and not only makes a traumatic moment even worse for Shaun but spells disaster for their makeshift fortification.

*Shaun and Liz are the sole survivors but the country quickly recovers from the zombie outbreak.*

Although Shaun bravely attempts to lead the zombie hoard away to cover his friends’ escape into the Winchester, they eventually find their way back to the pub, and the group fails to properly check and secure their stronghold for any resident evils. Thanks to David recklessly breaking a window so they can get inside rather than wait for Shaun to lead them to the back entrance, the zombies inevitably lay siege to the pub. After being bitten by Pete and other zombies, Ed is left bleeding out and doomed while Shaun and Liz find themselves trapped in the pub’s basement. After briefly considering killing themselves, they realise that they can make an escape using the keg lift, but Ed volunteers to stay behind rather than slow them down. In another of the film’s more poignant and moving moments, Shaun and Ed bid a heartfelt and tearful goodbye to each other and Shaun and Liz prepare to fight their way to safety on the infested streets…only to be suddenly saved at the last minute by the British military, led to them by Shaun’s friend and far more capable survivor, Yvonne (Jessica Stevenson). In this regard, the film veers away from the traditionally bleak endings of Romero’s films to give the couple a definitive and happy ending. In the aftermath, the film perfectly encapsulates how the UK recovered from “Z-Day” by turning the whole thing into a media circus: zombies appear on talk shows and gameshows, they are easily domesticated for menial work, and the entire event is largely glossed over as “just one of those things”. Crucially, Liz and Shaun find a happy medium where they go-exist as a slightly more adventurous (Shaun now takes two sugars in his tea!) couple while still having a regular routine. In many ways, Liz takes Ed’s place as Shaun’s best friend and most prominent influence, but she’s also fully supportive of him still spending time with his old friend, who is chained up in the shed so that the two can still enjoy videogames.

The Summary:
I tend to avoid reviewing comedies. I find trying to explain why something is funny a bit difficult at times since comedy is subjective and maybe not everyone will appreciate or fully understand some of the gags a film or why others find them so amusing. However, it’s an absolute pleasure to revisit Shaun of the Dead and to talk about it in detail as it’s legitimately one of my favourite horror, comedy, and zombie films of all time. Being a Brit, I totally relate to the depiction of our society and just how boring and dull everyday life can be, and having worked in retail for eleven years I can attest that it is one of the most soul-destroying jobs out there where you’re often encouraged to be little ore than mindless automatons…or zombies. I also fully relate to Shaun’s plight; he’s at that difficult crossroads where he’s not ready to become a fully-fledged adult, and it’s easy to fall back on hold habits and creature comforts at that time of life. I can totally buy the idea that he wants to do better but just isn’t sure how and is quite awkward in his attempts to do so because it’s such a big step for him. Toss in some entertaining and innovative camera movements and shots, jump cuts, and a fantastic use of music, and you’re already in line for a pretty entertaining romantic comedy but the addition of gory, voracious zombies only adds to the film’s appeal. It’s a true love letter to zombie maestro George Romero, but made all the more ridiculous and enjoyable because it’s set in London, of all places, and the characters are all so incredulous to the chaos happening around them. Consequently, there’s loads here for horror and zombie fans to enjoy but the film is peppered with surprisingly emotional moments as well, not to mention the perfectly executed comedy and character beats and the hilarious use of foreshadowing and repetition throughout that ensures every gag gets a fun payoff and characters are seen as both competent and incompetent when it comes to adapting to the sudden zombie apocalypse. Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable movie from start to finish and may still be the best of Wright, Pegg, and Frost’s “trilogy” of movies for just how expertly it juggles all of its different tones, characters, and themes, and I honestly couldn’t recommend it more to both die-hard fans and newcomers to the genre.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Are you a fan of Shaun of the Dead? Did you enjoy the references and call-backs to other zombie films in the movie, especially the works of George Romero? Were you able to relate to the characters and, if so, which was your favourite and why? Are you a fan of Wright, Pegg, and Frost and their unique style of filmmaking and comedy? What do you think caused the zombie outbreak and how do you think you would react in such a scenario? What is your favourite zombie film and what do you think of the genre in general? How are you celebrating the Day of the Dead today? Whatever your thoughts on Shaun of the Dead, and zombie films in general, feel free to leave a comment below.

Movie Night [Halloween]: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

31/10/202431/10/2025Dr. K7 Comments

Starting life as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts, Halloween is largely associated not just with ghosts, ghouls, and confectionery but also a long-running series of horror movies. Beginning with John Carpenter’s Halloween (Carpenter, 1978), the franchise is largely credited with birthing the “slasher” sub-genre of horror films and has endured numerous remakes and reboots and is one of the most influential films in all of horror.

Released: 21 October 1988
Director: Dwight H. Little
Distributor: Galaxy International Releasing
Budget: $5 million
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Tom Morga and George P. Wilbur, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr, and Karen Alston

The Plot:
Ten years after appearing to die in a fire, serial killer Michael Myers/The Shape (Morga/Wilbur) awakens from a coma and targets his young niece, Jamie Lloyd (Harris), who appears to have a psychic link with the killer, and only his mentally and physically scarred doctor, Sam Loomis (Pleasence), has a hope of putting an end to his rampage.

The Background:
Although critics mostly dismissed it upon release, John Carpenter’s Halloween’s box office gross of over $63 million made it one of the most successful independent films ever and it both popularised the clichés of the slasher genre and is now seen as one of the most influential horror movies. Thus, a sequel was inevitable, although writer/director John Carpenter wasn’t enthusiastic about this. Halloween II (Rosenthal, 1981) was a commercial success and the studio was eager for a third entry, which Carpenter only agreed to if it went in a different direction and became a horror anthology movie series. Unfortunately, Halloween III: Season of the Witch (Wallace, 1982) was a box office flop that was derided by critics, stars, and even the director so the decision was made to bring Michael back some six years later to reclaim his place as the star of the franchise. Initially, Carpenter and writer Dennis Etchison were attached to the project, but producer Moustapha Akkad decided a more back-to-basics approach was best and drafted writer Alan B. McElroy to craft a new script. Since her career had taken off since Halloween, star Jamie Lee Curtis refused to return to the film, which aimed to recreate much of the horror and suspense of the first. George Wilbur took over the Myers role, reportedly wearing hockey pads under his suit, and regularly put young co-star Danielle Harris at ease, though his mask appears inconsistent throughout due to the filmmakers altering the design mid-way through. With a $17.8million box office, Halloween 4 got the franchise back on track financially but was again slated by critics for abandoning the strengths of the original and being little more than a cheap knock-off of the first film, though some have defended it as one of the stronger Halloween sequels, though none of this stopped a fifth entry from being fast-tracked for release the following year.

The Review:
Halloween 4 takes place on October 30^th and 31^st, 1988, some ten years after the end of Halloween II. Michael’s been in a coma for ten years and his vegetative ass is being transferred back to Smith’s Grove Sanatorium, all of which we learn in the most ham-fisted way possibly from an overly chatty guard (Raymond O’Connor) and the callous Doctor E.W. Hoffman (Michael Pataki). Although he’s been content to lie dormant all this time, Michael bursts to life and starts killing his way back to Haddonfield when he happens to hear that he has a young niece living there. Since Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) died between movies in a car wreck (a plot point I’m glad to see reversed later as that’s the lamest way to kill off a legacy character), Michael’s target is his niece, Jamie, who lives with her foster family. Richard (Jeff Olson) and Darlene (Alston) are doting, hardworking, and caring parental figures who recognise that Jamie needs all the support and love they can offer and their teenage daughter, Rachel (Cornell), does her best to make Jamie feel accepted within the family. Jamie is still struggling with the loss of her parents, who died only eleven months previously, and is very insecure about her place with the family and whether they really love and accept her. Jamie has had trouble sleeping thanks to nightmares and visions of Michael, who she might not recognise but is aware of since the unnecessarily cruel schoolkids tease her for being an orphan and for being related to the “Bogeyman”.

*Michael’s presence haunts Jamie, who struggles to fit in with her peers and her family.*

Because of this, Jamie is determined not to hide away and show that she is just as good as the other kids by going trick-or-treating in her very own costume and, as luck (or fate) would have it, she’s enamoured by a clown costume that’s nearly identical to the one worn by young Michael Myers (Erik Preston). This triggers another hallucination in which she sees first herself as the young, bloodstained Michael and is then attacked by the Shape himself…or so it seems. Undeterred, Jamie heads out with Rachel and not only enjoys herself getting candy but is even accepted by the same kids who were previously mocking her with such venom because her crappy clown costume is apparently that “cool”. Halloween 4 positions Rachel as a stand-in for Laurie; the two even have a connection since Laurie used to babysit Rachel when she was younger. Although Rachel isn’t perfect, she’s generally as attentive to Jamie’s needs as Laurie was to Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) and makes the effort to apologise to Jamie after accidentally upsetting her. Unlike Laurie, Rachel would like to enjoy herself with her boyfriend, Brady (Sasha Jenson), though she sets this aside to take Jamie trick-or-treating and protects her in the final act. Unfortunately, Rachel’s blow off upsets Brady, who was clearly eager to seal the deal with her that night. This means he goes elsewhere for some action and Rachel is humiliated when the kids knock on Sheriff Ben Meeker’s (Starr) door and Kelly (Kathleen Kinmont), his promiscuous daughter, answers wearing next to nothing and with Brady right there with her. Although Brady makes a pathetic attempt to defend himself, Rachel angrily brushes him off (and rightfully so) and he begrudgingly settles for just having his cake rather than eating it, too. Interestingly, Halloween 4 doesn’t include a gaggle of disposable bodies for Michael to wade through despite establishing characters like Rachel’s outgoing best friend, Lindsey (Leslie L. Rohland). However, the town’s youths do deliver one of the best and creepiest scenes when Dr. Loomis and Sheriff Meeker are surrounded by an army of Michael Myers clones. While this turns out to be an elaborate prank, both are momentarily perturbed by the sight and even more so when they return to the police station to find Michael has slaughtered everyone there.

*Dr. Loomis is more scared and obsessed than ever, though this time he has the town’s support.*

Thankfully, we have Donald Pleasance back as Dr. Loomis. Does it make sense that he survived the raging inferno that clearly immolated him and Michael in Halloween II? No. Do I appreciate that he has burn make-up, walks with a cane, and is clearly in physical discomfort from that incident? Yes. In the years since, Dr. Loomis’s reputation and authority have been largely stunted by his association with Michael. Unlike in the first film, he isn’t even present for Michael’s transfer since Michael was a federal prisoner and Dr. Hoffman regards Dr. Loomis very poorly, believing the tormented psychiatrist will struggle without Michael to obsess over. Dr. Loomis is incensed that Dr. Hoffman allowed “It” to leave the hospital and renews his crusade to hunt Michael down, once again spouting the same doomsaying speeches to anyone who’ll listen and again being seen as a madman until it’s too late. Dr. Loomis actually get s a rather tense confrontation with Michael early on. After stumbling upon Michael’s victims, Dr. Loomis pleads with him to stop and offers himself in place of further bloodshed but is enraged with Michael refuses to acknowledge him and simply continues on to Haddonfield in Dr. Loomis’ vehicle, forcing him to hitch a ride with God-fearing Reverend Jackson P. Sayer (Carmen Filpi). Upon reaching Haddonfield, Dr. Loomis immediately seeks out Sheriff Meeker to warn him of Michael’s presence. Although Meeker is sceptical of Dr. Loomis’ wild claims and chaotic reputation, he takes the threat as seriously (perhaps even more so, given what happened ten years previously) as his predecessor and mobilises his troops, though their efforts are hampered when Michael causes a town-wide blackout. Sheriff Meeker follows Dr. Loomis’ advice to enforce a lockdown, but this has the unintended side effect of inspiring a trigger-happy mob of angry townsfolk to take matters into their own hands once they learn that Michael is stalking the streets once more.

*Michael is more dangerous, supernatural, and goofy-looking than ever in his big return.*

And, finally, there’s the equally scarred Michael. This is the film where Michael really transitioned from a silent psycho in a mask with a high pain threshold to a quasi-supernatural force of nature, but with about as much explanation as he was given in the previous films. Indeed, while Michael had near-superhuman strength and patience in the first two films, his abilities are now almost on par with masked rival Jason Voorhees (Various), who was an unstoppable zombie at this time, meaning he has full mobility despite his injuries, no sign of muscle atrophy, and manhandles victims with ease. Although he briefly sports a new bandaged look, it’s not long before Michael’s back in his familiar overalls and mask. Well, I say “familiar” but Michael’s mask looks absolutely awful here. While the film makes a point to show that it’s an entirely new mask, it just looks…wrong. It’s too squat and white and lacks the personality of the original William Shatner mask, making Michael look more goofy then terrifying. Michael’s supernatural abilities are also expanded somewhat as the film has Jamie and Michael be linked by blood, meaning she is haunted by terrifying nightmares of him. However, this mainly serves to pepper the film with jump scares and their psychic connection would become much more prominent in the next film. Still, it has a profound impact on Jamie even here; though she’s terrified of the imposing, masked figure that’s constantly leaving bodies in his wake and trying to kill her and her sister, Jamie shows sympathy towards Michael after he’s lying prone on the ground in the final act. Perhaps out of morbid curiosity, perhaps because he’s the only “real” family and connection to her beloved mother she has left, Jamie briefly takes Michael by the hand before he’s blasted by the state police and is apparently left “touched” by his influence and evil as a result.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Considering how much Halloween 4 borrows from the first film, it’s surprising that it opts for a more ominous title sequence, one that is more bleak than atmospheric and even omits the iconic John Carpenter score. The score does make an appearance throughout, thankfully, and is as hauntingly impactful as ever but boy, does this film take a lot from Halloween. We’ve got Michael escaping custody, murdering a mechanic for some clothes, stalking Haddonfield while Dr. Loomis runs around like a wild man trying to warn people, we have a Laurie proxy in Rachel, and the film explicitly and thematically recreates the start of the first film for its shocking twist ending. While many, even John Carpenter, decry the decision to make Michael and Laurie related and add a familial motivation to his killings, I actually never really minded this and would argue that it had potential, but one squandered by poor execution in these movies. Michael only resumes his killing spree when he learns of Jamie, indicating very explicitly that his whole reason for being is to murder his bloodline and he’s simply a void (or “Shape”, if you will) without that. Like in the first film, Dr. Loomis openly comments on Michael and the nature of his evil, referring to him as “It” and delivering many of the same speeches, but with slightly altered verbiage, as in Halloween. Thanks to Pleasence’s unparalleled delivery and screen presence, this has the intended effect of painting Michael as the embodiment of evil and works perfectly as sound bites for a film trailer, but again it’s just all a repeat of what we’ve already seen.

*Michael’s kills are a little more gruesome but largely derivative of the first film.*

Although Halloween wasn’t really known for its nudity and debauchery, Halloween 4 sees Brady and Kelly’s sexy time in front of a roaring fireplace cut short when her dad arrives looking to protect Jamie and Rachel from Michael. Still, we don’t have to wait long for our first kill as Michael awkwardly crushes a male attendant’s (David Jansen) head with one hand and jams his thumb into his forehead within the first ten minutes. Michael leaves his ambulance a bloody wreck and impales an unassuming mechanic (Unknown) with a metal rod and leaves his corpse hanging from chains for Dr. Loomis to find and tosses a plant worker (Harlow Marks) into a transformer, frying him alive and causing a blackout. Initially, the kills are largely bloodless, or at least tame in their execution, just like in the first film, which used blood sparingly and to horrifying effect. I don’t necessarily mind this as I prefer Halloween as a more creepy and subdued horror franchise and find it a bit gratuitous when Michael starts hacking people up like Jason, but it’s again too derivative of the first film. Luckily, Michael is stronger than ever and more than capable of upping the ante from what came before it, as seen in the brief shot of various dismembered corpses at the police station and in Michael’s assault on the Meeker home. This moment is predicated by a relatively tense sequence as the film builds anticipation for Michael’s arrival and sees him recreate his famous pin-to-the-wall kill by ramming a shotgun into Kelly’s gut, leave Meeker’s last deputy (George Sullivan) a broken mess, crush (not snap, crush) Brady’s neck with ease, and leaves Rachel momentarily unconscious after she falls from the roof. In the finale, Michael viciously stabs a bunch of townsfolk who try to get Rachel and Jamie to safety and even partially tears through the skin and neck of poor Earl Ford (Gene Ross) in a precursor to his later, far gorier methods of killing.

*Although Michael is seemingly killed, Dr. Loomis is horrified to see his evil reborn through Jamie.*

Rather than stalking babysitters, Michael comes to Haddonfield specifically to track down and kill Jamie. Sure, he kills a handful of others but that’s mostly because they’re either in his way or the film needs to up the body count. Thanks to Jamie’s waking nightmares of the “Nightmare Man”, it’s often unclear whether Michael is actually there, and this paranoia is echoed by the lynch mob that roams the streets, armed to the teeth and blasting at anything that even resembles Michael Myers. Naturally, this results in them gunning down an innocent man but Sheriff Meeker is left relying on them to back him up after Michael butchers all his deputies. Initially, Meeker attempts to protect Jamie and Rachel but, when Michael ruins that plan, Dr. Loomis is forced to shelter Jamie in the school. Here, Dr. Loomis has a second, far more violent and physical confrontation with Michael (who’s inexplicably wearing a different mask in some shots) that sees Dr. Loomis tossed through a window. Luckily, Rachel arrives to rescue her; she also convinces the mob to get them to safety since the state police are en route. However, their saviours are summarily slaughtered when Michael attacks, having hitched a ride on the truck’s underside. Luckily, Sheriff Meeker and the state police arrive in time to pump Michael full of lead, causing him to disappear down an abandoned mine and Dr. Loomis to confidently declare him “dead…in Hell” despite the lack of a body. Dr. Loomis’s relief, and that of Jamie’s obviously traumatised family, is short-lived, however, when the film suddenly shifts to a first-person perspective, Halloween theme playing, to track an unseen killer through the Carruthers’ house. At the sound of Darlene’s scream, Dr. Loomis investigates and is horrified to the point of madness at the sight of Jamie, covered in blood, a pair of bloodstained scissors in her hands, an all-too-familiar blank stare in her eyes. Dr. Loomis even moves to shoot her, distraught to see Michael’s evil reborn in Jamie’s innocent form, but is stopped by Sheriff Meeker and the others, who can only look in horror as Jamie stands there, breathing heavily, apparently ready to continue her uncle’s work…

The Summary:
Although I’m not really a fan of Halloween III, I do enjoy anthology series and I think turning Halloween into an anthology series had some potential behind it, especially considering how dull and repetitive some of the sequels were. It’s possible that the idea would’ve had stronger legs if Halloween III hadn’t explicitly taken place in a separate universe; if it had been adjacent to and connected to the previous films, maybe it might’ve gone down better. Or, if they’d started the anthology idea with Halloween II instead of waiting for the third film…and if the third film had actually been good… In any case, I do understand the need to return to the tried and tested formula. Michael Myers is one of the most iconic horror villains and there was definitely some potential there, but the problem is that Halloween 4 really doesn’t try anything especially new with the character and basically acts as a remake of the first film, just with a few different characters. It’s a shame, too, as that final scene of Jamie standing there all ominous and Dr. Loomis shouting “No!” over and over is really chilling and I love the idea of Michael passing his evil on to a new host, but sadly this wasn’t meant to be as God forbid slashers try something new. Dr. Loomis was as great as ever here; the scars and injuries and increased madness add a desperate edge that made him almost as unhinged as Michael. Sadly, there’s just not much here that wasn’t in the first two films. Rachel’s personal drama isn’t as interesting or as well done as Laurie’s and it’s hard to care about most of Michael’s victims as they’re barely even side characters much less main ones. Ultimately, the film is simply a retread of the original. I get that this is probably to get the franchise back on track but I do think it might’ve been better if more emphasis had been placed on exploring Jamie’s link with Michael, the mob that hunts him, and Dr. Loomis’s increased desperation and obsession with putting him down (a better “death” for the Shape would’ve been appreciated, too, as this was ridiculously anti-climactic).

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Did you enjoy Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers? What did you think to Michael’s return and were you happy, sad, or indifferent to see him come back? Were you annoyed that Laurie was killed off so unceremoniously? Are you a fan of Jamie’s and would you have liked to see her takeover as the franchise’s killer? Were you disappointed by the film’s kills and it just being a retread of the first one? How are you celebrating Halloween this year? Whatever your thoughts on Halloween, and the Halloween franchise, drop a comment below, oand have a spook-tacular Halloween!

Movie Night: The Crow: Salvation

30/10/202430/10/2025Dr. K4 Comments

Released: 23 January 2000
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Distributor: Dimension Films
Budget: $10 million (estimated)
Stars: Eric Mabius, Kirsten Dunst, Fred Ward, Grant Shaud, Tim DeKay, and Jodi Lyn O’Keefe

The Plot:
Alex Corvis (Mabius), wrongly executed for killing his girlfriend, Lauren Randell (O’Keefe), is resurrected by a supernatural crow to uncover the truth alongside her grieving sister, Erin (Dunst).

The Background:
The creation of James O’Barr as a means to cope with losing his fiancée, The Crow started out as a comic book published by Caliber Comics in 1989 and quickly became an underground success. With dark comic book narratives gaining popularity in Hollywood, the concept was adapted into a critically and commercially successful film despite the tragic on-set death of star Brandon Lee. Regarded as a cult hit, The Crow (Proyas, 1994) spawned numerous sequels; The Crow: City of Angels (Pope, 1996) released just two years later as a direct response to the original’s financial success. Studio meddling contributed to The Crow: City of Angels’ dismal box office and the film was (rightfully) slandered by negative reviews. Undeterred, series producers Edward R. Pressman and Jeff Most sought to continue the franchise, initially tapping rock star Rob Zombie to helm a more horror-centric approach. This clashed with the producers’ vision for the franchise, leading to frustrations and Zombie’s eventual departure, leading to Most shifting focus towards a younger avatar for the Crow mantle. Eric Mabius – who had auditioned for the lead in the first film – this finally got his chance to play the role. Released straight to video, The Crow: Salvation received lukewarm reviews, with most only able to praise it for being slightly better than the previous film. The dialogue, cheap presentation, and bland, charisma-less cast were all criticised, though some regard it as an under-rated entry. Ultimately, the film’s poor reception did little to sour the studio on producing another entry five years later, a film so reviled that it cast the franchise into Development Hell for nearly twenty years.

The Review:
I’ve been a big fan of The Crow since I was a kid and randomly discovered it recorded on one of our VHS tapes. I remember, at the time, a fair bit of intrigue surrounding The Crow: City of Angels; still photos mis-sold the film as a bad-ass action/revenge film, but it turned out to be an ugly mess that I struggled to comprehend, let alone enjoy. Still, I was intrigued by the third movie, which I’d heard was slightly better, so I picked it up on DVD a long time ago, watched it maybe two times, and then promptly discarded it simply because there was no need to clog my collection up with such sub-par movies. The film begins with young Alex Corvis a state-wide figure of controversy; having already been tried and convicted for murder, the braying, judgemental masses call gleefully for his execution, which has been held off for three years so he can be old enough to suffer his punishment. Though he’s maintained his innocence the entire time, pinning the blame on a mysterious man with a scarred forearm, the public and even the prison guards regard him as a reprehensible monster, largely because his victim suffered fifty-three stab wounds during the assault. Before he even returns as an undead wraith, Alex carries a tremendous amount of guilt and self-loathing for not only failing to protect Lauren but also failing to find her true murderer, powerful emotions that fuel his later thirst for revenge. Though he tries to maintain his composure, his resolve falters as he’s strapped to an electric chair, fitted with a gruesome helmet, and forced before not just the judgemental eyes of those in attendance – including Lauren’s younger sister and her father, Nathan (William Atherton) – but also (unbeknownst to him) the corrupt cops who screwed him over and, to his anger and horror, the scarred forearm that has tormented his days.

*Youngster Alex returns from the grave to uncover the true culprit behind his girlfriend’s murder.*

Unlike his predecessors, Alex gets no time to rest; moments after he’s unceremoniously wheeled into the morgue, a supernatural crow brings him back to life and he’s stripping the gloopy remains of his flesh from his face. I quite liked this aspect, that the helmet he wore scarred his face into the familiar Crow look, and it makes for a gruesome, gory sequence. Through Alex’s escape from prison, we witness him discovering his newfound powers: the crow seems to communicate or at least “push” him towards his goal, he sees visions through tactile contact, and his wounds almost instantly heal. This youngster revels in these abilities with a cocksure bravado but also demonstrates the truly bizarre ability to turn into a crow at will! As before, Alex and Lauren’s relationship is primarily related through flashbacks; amidst the usual lovey-dovey moments (though the inclusion of the “Only forever?” line is a nice touch), we see them arguing, Lauren acting erratically, and Alex’s frustration with her. This is all part of the mystery surrounding her death and makes up the evidence against him, but the crow leads him to the cops who testified against him. Lamenting his newfound unlife, Alex heads out with his literal kill list to discover the true murderer’s identity. Shown to be a more spiritual and reflective character, Alex is prone to waxing lyrical on the divine and Biblical rather than quoting Poe, which just comes across as shamelessly imitating Brandon Lee. I don’t mind Eric Mabius but he’s painfully generic; I appreciate that he has his own visual style, one spruced up when he acquires an overcoat, but he doesn’t cut an intimidating figure. Instead, he’s just a screwed up kid looking to confront those who wronged him, using Lauren’s murder weapon, no less. No one recognises him because of the scarring and Alex doesn’t immediately identify himself, making him more of an anonymous avenger at times. The only one who believed in his innocence is his lawyer, Peter Walsh (Grant Shaud). Peter vows to find the true culprit and is accosted by Detective Vincent Erlich (Dale Midkiff), one of the corrupt cops, when Alex starts ticking names off his list. Peter’s astonished when Alex appears to him and asks him to investigate Nathan’s dealings with the cops and a recurring company name, D.E.R.T., which directly leads to both Peter’s murder and Nathan to kill himself out of remorse.

*Distraught Erin eventually supports Alex’s crusade against the corrupt cops.*

While we don’t really learn anything about Lauren apart from seeing her as a sweet, playful girl, she gets a proxy in Erin. Much younger and expressing her grief through her hatred of Alex, Erin is confused and lost and initially hostile towards him until he brings her proof that her father was doing business with corrupt Detectives Madden (Bruce McCarty), Martin Toomey (Tim DeKay), Erlich, Stanley Roberts (Walton Goggins), and Phillip Dutton (Bill Mondy). Like Alex, Erin carries a great deal of guilt and pain, not just at because she’s lost her sister but also because she pointed them in the direction of where she might be when they came looking for her. When these emotions overwhelm her and make her wish she were dead, Alex forces Erin to experience Lauren’s terror and ordeal at the hands of the cops to show her what a fighter her sister was even as she was being stabbed to death, all to teach the distraught Erin that “life is worth living”. The dirty cops launder money through a strip club and engage in drug dealing and, when Lauren witnessed Roberts murder a man in cold blood, he and his cohorts went after her to silence her. When their base instincts took over, they all joined in with the stabbing and the killing after she dared to fight back. This is an interesting twist on the concept and allows The Crow: Salvation to stand out from its predecessors and presents us with morally corrupt lawmen whose testimony trumped that of a young, troubled kid. Alex’s first target is the sleazy Dutton, who delights in using his authority to sexually accost young, intoxicated women. Erlich takes a more authoritative role in the group, informing them of Dutton’s death, but his only defining character trait is his tendency to pull pranks on the group. Of them all, Roberts stands out the most thanks to being played with a squirmy glee by Walton Goggins. When he realises he’s next on the list, he accosts witness Tommy Leonard (David Stevens) and his family, killing him since he refuses to believe Alex has returned.

The Nitty-Gritty:
One of the main issues with The Crow: Salvation is similar to what dragged down the first sequel; while it’s shot far better and I’m not feeling nauseous due to disturbing mustard mist, everything just looks very cheap. The framing of shots, the quality of the film, even the crow’s-eye view scenes are all very direct-to-video and the movie even has the gall to recycle shots from the first film to imply it takes place in the same city. Structurally, it sticks very close to the same formula as the last two films; Alex really has no reason to work his way up the food chain of forgettable corrupt cops and could just go right to the source, but then the movie’s runtime would be much shorter and the filmmakers couldn’t rehash what worked so well in the original film. While interiors are perfectly serviceable, if unusually claustrophobic (again, seeming more like a television production), exteriors are painfully bland. The movie returns to the dump where Lauren died a few times and it’s a dull, lifeless location. The film lacks the gothic identity of even the second movie which, for all its obscuring fog and shadows, at least tried for a distinct visual identity. It doesn’t help that Alex is decked out not in leather and straps but his prison jumpsuit. Yeah, the coat helps but he looks like a kid playing dress-up, desperately trying to emulate Brandon Lee’s performance and failing miserably. Alex easily overpowers his victims; safe and even revelling in his invincibility, Alex freely stabs himself and walks into gun shots. He even blasts himself through the mouth to intimidate his prey, gleefully ending them out of frustration at their instance that there is no scarred man. Sadly, Alex’s mission is tainted by the budget; he tries to look badass by walking away from an explosion (that also destroys a police helicopter), but it’s painfully brought to life through dodgy rear projection.

*The budget, visuals, and performances aren’t up to the task of equalling the gothic, moody first film.*

Alex executes Dutton via gunshot to the head, drives Erlich into a bus and blows him up, and adds a twist to his venge-filled killings by using Lauren’s murder weapon, even inflicting the same fifty-three stab wounds and carving Lauren’s pet-name for Erin (“Daisy”) into Dutton’s forehead. He also continues the traditional of leaving the crow’s symbol and encourages a young stripper (Noname Jane) to give up her life of drugs and debauchery. Alex’s infiltration of the Key Club sees him first scurrying about the rafters to avoid a hail of gunfire and then forcing the gaggle of corrupt cops to expend all their bullets, though it does result in Roberts taking a pipe through the back, and Toomey being blown to pieces. The mystery of the true killer is built up right from the opening credits, where we see his trademark forearm scar, as well as his knowledge of/fascination with the supernatural crow in his macabre embalming hobby. All throughout the film, Alex is haunted by the image of that zig-zag scar and frustrated by his victims refusing to give him a name. Instead, they insist, even in the face of their death, that Corvis made the whole thing up. Even if he didn’t immediately reveal that he’s as corrupt as his detectives, you’d probably guess that Captain John L. Book is the true culprit simply because he’s played by the immortal Fred Ward. A gruff, uncompromising figure, Book exudes authority and elevates even this drab material just by Ward’s screen presence. Having “studied [the crow] phenomenon before”, Book is the only one not surprised to learn Alex has returned from the dead to seek revenge and is learned enough to know that Alex’s mission will be complete and his powers lost once he finds the man with the scar. Thus, he sets a trap at the Key Club, implanting the scar into Peter’s severed arm and tricking Alex into thinking he’s got his man.

*Alex ultimately finds his man and avenges his losses in this cheap, dull imitation.*

The fulfilment of his mission sends Alex into a disorientated daze; haunted by visions of Lauren, he loses his grip on reality and struggles to reacclimatising to feeling the pain of his wounds. When he returns to Peter’s office and finds Erin missing and that the Book is the man he’s been looking for, Alex immediately heads to the police station to confront him. However, despite knowing that he has a loose end to tie up and still being accompanied by the crow, Alex remains mortal and is brutally stabbed by Book. As he dies (again), Book taunts him and makes him doubt his innocence, twisting his memories and trying to ensure he doesn’t return anew. Erin, tied up and with her lips sewn shut (!), is forced to watch as Book, his unnamed woman (Kelly Haren), and Madden prepare to stuff and mount his corpse. However, the crow brings Alex Erin’s locket, reviving Alex, restoring his powers, and reminding him of the truth. Although Alex shrugs off Madden’s bullets, the crooked cop and the secretary have better luck by attacking the crow, whose pain Alex can feel, and he’s so distracted offing them that Book escapes with Erin in tow. When Erin stabs him and flees, Book is reduced to a crazed maniac in his pursuit of her, though Alex easily catches up to them. Finally getting his hands on his man, Alex takes Book to the electric chair and delivers a melancholy soliloquy regarding the painlessly of electrocution and revealing that it’s actually pure agony. Still, Book remains defiant to the end; cursing them both, he mocks Alex and Lauren’s relationship and vows to return to get his revenge. In the end, it’s Erin who pulls the lever and the two watch on as Book is incinerated by electricity. After finally witnessing Book’s prolonged and painful death, Alex bids farewell to Erin, returning him to happier times with Lauren and renewing the girl’s belief in life…and love.

The Summary:
The Crow: Salvation proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the original film was lightning in a bottle. By moving so far away from a serious theatrical production and reducing the concept to a direct-to-DVD release, the movie dilutes and disrespects both the source material and the original film. It’s a shame because there are some good elements here. I like that the avatar is completely new, a younger character who exhibits different abilities and a different perspective on the powers. Alex isn’t a cool rockstar or an amateur magician/trained mechanic; he’s just a kid who’s been dealt a bad hand and now has the power to avenge himself. I liked the whodunit mystery and the suggestion that Alex might actually have been guilty; in some ways, I wonder if this might’ve been a better twist ending since it was obvious Fred Ward was the culprit once he appeared onscreen. I liked that Alex was going after corrupt cops, people in positions of trust and authority who abused their power, and that I could actually see what the hell was happening this time around. Sadly, the execution and performances are severely lacking; Fred Ward, William Atherton, and Walton Goggins are the only memorable or commendable performances. Kirsten Dunst is pretty, but woeful as an overly dramatic wreck, and Eric Mabius just doesn’t have the screen charisma or acting ability to captivate in the role. The film is also really cheap, using obvious jump cuts, recycled footage, and awful visual effects. To make matters worse, it’s still too similar to the original, repeating many of the same story beats and action moments but without the budget, passion, or care exhibited in the gothic cult classic. The Crow: Salvation just comes across as a cheap, bland cash-grab, one doomed to fail no matter what they did. However, for having actors who didn’t make me want to pull my teeth out and being visually more coherent than the last film, it gets one extra star but it’s ultimately a forgettable film that even die-hard Crow fans will have a hard time connecting with.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Did you enjoy The Crow: Salvation? If so…why? Do you think it was better, overall, than the second film? What did you think to Eric Mabius’s performance and Alex as a younger avatar? Did you guess who the true killer was or was the reveal a surprise to you? What did you think to the antagonists being corrupt cops? Were you disappointed by the low-budget production values? Which of The Crow’s sequels was your favourite, if any, and would you like the see the character return in some form or another in the future? How are you celebrating Devil’s Night tonight? Whatever you think about The Crow: Salvation, join the discussion below and check out my other Crow content on the site..

Back Issues [Asterix Anniversary]: Asterix the Gaul

29/10/202403/11/2024Dr. K8 Comments

Asterix the Gaul (and his best friend Obelix) first debuted on 29 October 1959 as a serial in the French/Belgium magazine Pilote. Since then, the plucky Gauls have gone on to have many adventures in comic books, videogames, and feature-length productions and Asterix himself has become a popular and enduring character in his native France and around the world as Asterix’s stories have been translated into over a hundred languages across the world.

Story Title: “Asterix the Gaul” (French: “Astérix le Gaulois”)
Published: 29 October 1959 to 14 July 1960
Writer: René Goscinny
Artist: Albert Uderzo

The Background:
After years of struggling to find work as a comic strip writer, René Goscinny met reluctant artist Albert Uderzo while working for the World Press agency in 1951. The two worked on many projects over the next ten years before they created an instant hit in the pages of Franco-Belgian comics magazine Pilote with Asterix, a plucky Gaulish warrior who battled invading Roman forces alongside his wacky friends. The idea came about through a brainstorming session between the two. Inspired by the mostly overlooked Gaulish period in French history, the two were enthused at the potential and relished infusing the stories with as many puns as they could. After being serialised in Pilote, Asterix’s first adventure was released in a single volume, the first of an annual series, until 1997 when Goscinny tragically died. Although he continued solo for a while, Uderzo eventually signed the rights over to a new generation of creators so that Asterix’s stories could continue. Since then, Asterix has become an incredibly popular character all over the world, selling nearly 400 million books, and has been adapted into videogames, toys, and both live-action and animated features (the first of which was, fittingly, an adaptation of this very story).

The Review:
If you’ve ever read an Asterix book or watched one of the movies (or even played one of the games), you’ll know there’s always a little introduction piece that sets the scene for the story and the world of these books. Asterix the Gaul is, naturally, the first instance of that and expands upon this paragraph of text in its first few panels. The year is 50 B.C. and ancient France (known as “Gaul”) has been conquered by the Romans. In the face of such overwhelming military might, Gaulish chiefs like the legendary Vercingetorix (literally) lay their arms at the feet of the power-hungry Julius Caesar and “peace” reigns throughout conquered Gaul. However, while the Romans have laid claim to the entirety of ancient France, one small village of indomitable Gauls refuses to surrender. Baffled by the Gaul’s stubborn nature, Caesar sets up four Roman camps (Aquarium, Totorum, Laudanium, and Compendium) to surround the village and orders repeated attacks, only for his troops to be bested time and again by brave warriors such as our titular hero, Asterix, and his hulking friend, Obelix. Over a dinner of piping hot roast boar, Asterix laughs off the Roman threat, which he and his fellows constantly repel thanks to the magic potion brewed by their druid, the venerable Getafix. As luck would have it, Asterix is due his daily dose of the potion so he and Obelix pay Getafix a visit. Getafix cooks up a batch of the magic potion, whose recipe is a closely guarded secret amongst his kind and one sip of which bestows incredible superhuman strength, but only for a short time. Since he fell into a cauldron of potion as a baby and drank the entire batch, Obelix is permanently empowered and is denied any potion out of fear for his safety, though he believes the druid is treating him unfairly.

*Crismus Bonus sends Caligula Minus in to discover the Gauls’ secret.*

At Compendium, the camp centurion, Crismus Bonus, is enraged that four of his soldiers could be so easily bested by one measly Gaul and vows to discover the secret of their superhuman strength. However, the Gauls strength is so feared that volunteers to infiltrate their village are scarce. Thus, Crismus orders his troops to play musical chairs to decide on a volunteer, and poor Caligula Minus loses out. Since his only options are to act as a spy or be roasted alive, Caligula reluctantly agrees to be disguised as a Gaul, much to the amusement of his peers, and paraded through the forest as bait for the Gauls. Luckily, Asterix and Obelix just so happen to be strolling through the forest looking for a fight. They don’t suspect a thing and make short work of Caligula’s “captors”, rescuing him and bringing him back to their village to keep him safe, where he gives his name as “Caliguliminix”. Caligula is astounded by the Gaul’s village, where everyone (even the children) is armed and ready to fend off Roman attacks. He’s welcomed by the village chief, Vitalstatistix, and amazed to see that the Gauls use their bare hands to temper metal, deliver menhirs, and lug around giant carts full of felled trees. While eating with Asterix and Obelix, Caligula enquires about the secret to their strength and produces crocodile tears when Asterix initially refuses to share their secret. Deciding to help their fellow “Gaul”, the duo take him to Getafix, who’s equally convinced to help when Asterix and Obelix guilt-trip him into it to get Caliguliminix back “home” to his “family”.

*Asterix arrives to rescue Getafix but decides to stick around and have some fun with the Romans.*

Though initially uncertain of the potion’s effect, Caligula revels in his ability to manhandle a giant boulder, but learns the hard way that the potion only makes one super strong, not invulnerable. His cover is quickly blown when his fake moustache is pulled off during a traditional Gaulish dance and he blasts back to Compendium at super speed before the Gauls can stop him. Back at Compendium, Caligula excitedly reveals the secret to Crismus and demonstrates the potion’s power, first by beating up a bunch of soldiers and then holding a large boulder over his head. Despite the Gauls stating that the potion’s effects are only temporary, it takes “several hours” before Caligula returns to normal. As the soldiers take their revenge for their earlier beating, Crismus dreams of stealing the potion for himself to usurp Caesar and orders his troops to kidnap Getafix when he goes into the woods for ingredients. When Getafix refuses to divulge his secret, Crismus straps him to a table and subjects him to the horrific torture of…having his feet tickled by a feather! Yet, the druid holds his resolve, even when Crismus tries to bribe him with “Sestertii”, the currency of the era. Concerned about Getafix’s welfare, Asterix searches the forest and comes across an ox dealer with a quandary: if he sells his oxen, he won’t be able to pull his cart. He’s so grateful to Asterix for providing him with a solution (selling his cart and keeping the oxen) that he gladly gives the Gaul a lift to Compendium after revealing he saw a druid being taken there in chains. After sneaking through the camp, Asterix first overhears Crismus’ plan to overthrow Caeser with the aid of his number two, Marcus Giantonicus (though the two secretly plan to betray each other), and then discovers Getafix. Rather than rescue the druid, though, Asterix decides to have some fun with the Romans and promptly surrenders to them, winding up in chains alongside his friend.

*The Gauls make fools of the Romans and are set free by Caesar’s grace.*

When Asterix refuses to speak, Crismus brings in his overly enthusiastic torturer and prepares to loosen Getafix’s tongue by having him witness his friend’s suffering. However, when Asterix comically pleads for mercy at the torturer’s merest touch, Getafix finally caves and requests to go into the forest for ingredients. After making fools of his escort, Getafix insists that he needs strawberries to complete the potion. Despite them being out of season, Crismus orders his troops to go find some and, days later, one soldier returns with a tiny (and expensive) punnet…only for Asterix and Getafix to scoff the lot and demand more! Driven to tears by frustration and rage, Crismus is ecstatic when Getafix whips up the potion regardless and forces the ox dealer to try it in case it’s poisonous. Since the Romans are reluctant to take another bashing, Asterix volunteers to test the man’s newfound strength and summarily drops to the ground as though the “sky had fallen on [his] head”. The ox dealer leaves, dreaming of profiting from his great strength, and Crismus and his troops greedily devour the potion, convinced of its potency, only to find it’s caused the hair of their heads and faces to grow uncontrollably! The duo tease Crismus with their lackadaisical attitude and hair-related puns, but promise to make an antidote. After another amusing trip to the forest, Getafix makes a big cauldron to cure the hair problem and a small pot of real magic potion for Asterix. Once they’ve had their antidote, Crismus orders his troops to attack, only for Marcus to summarily manhandled. Although the Gauls find themselves surrounded when they leave the camp and Crismus delights in his pending victory, they’re all stunned when Julius Caesar himself shows up for an update. After learning of Crismus’ ambitions, Caesar banishes him to out Mongolia and allows the Gauls to go free, though both promise to continue their vendetta.

The Summary:
As big a fan of Asterix as I am, I have to say that I’ve never been a big fan of this book, or the character’s early tales. The artwork is a little off; it’s less cartoony and more “sketchy” than in later stories, and the characters aren’t quite themselves yet. The most obvious example is Obelix, who’s less of a simple-minded, brutish oaf and more a morose bystander who doesn’t get much of anything to do here. The same is true for all the villagers who aren’t Asterix and Getafix; the only other one who stands out is Cacofonix, whose musical arts aren’t appreciated (unless they want to dance and then they’re all for it). I don’t say this to knock Asterix the Gaul; it’s the first story so obviously I don’t expect every character to be fully fleshed out and it’s true most of them become one-note caricatures as the books continue on, it’s just a little jarring when compared to later stories. Still, much of the patented Asterix humour is here; that means puns aplenty, especially in the characters’ names, and some fun fisticuffs. However, there’s a lot of padding here: the characters visit Getafix and pop into the forest more times than the story needs, repeating a lot of the same gags (like Getafix pricking himself on his sickle) and demonstrating the potion’s abilities in scenes that not only read the same, but look the same, too. It is essential, of course, for showcasing the effects of the magic potion to the Romans and the reader, but I do wonder if a bit of visual variety wouldn’t have worked better than seeing characters lift rocks over their heads all the time (though I do admit that the payoff – “I’ve done it! I’m a superman!” – always makes me giggle).

*Though not infallible, Asterix is presented as a capable and shrewd warrior.*

Much of the story is focused, fittingly, around establishing Asterix as a character. Not only is he a capable fighter, but he’s shown to be cunning, mischievous, and intelligent, too. He could’ve easily rescued Getafix and stormed out of Compendium, but he chose to stick around and have some fun with the bungling Romans, making fools out of them with needless tasks, mockery, and Getafix’s hair growth potion. He’s shown to be shrewd enough to sneak into the camp and adaptable enough to tattle on Crismus to Caesar, thereby ensuring his and Getafix’s safe return to the village and the first of many feasts. However, he’s not perfect; he’s as fooled as anyone else by Caligula’s Gaulish disguise and decides to help his fellow “Gaul” despite the village keeping their potion a closely guarded secret. While this doesn’t really result in any immediate consequences for the village beyond the Romans discovering the source of their strength is a potion and thus targeting Getafix, it does show that even the insightful Asterix makes mistakes, which the druid calls him out on. While I much prefer these stories to have a bit more Roman bashing, there’s some fun to be had in Asterix the Gaul. I liked the wild strawberry chase Asterix sends them on and him and Getafix messing with Crismus, and the book nicely lays the foundation for what would become long-running gags for the next seventy-odd years and, while I prefer other Asterix stories, this is still a highly recommended read.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to Asterix’s first story? Did you like the less cartoony art style of his earlier adventures? Were you disappointed that Obelix and the others didn’t have more to do or did you like the way the story established Asterix’s character traits? Which of the puns was your favourite? How are you celebrating Asterix today and what are your favourite books or moments of his? Whatever your thoughts on Asterix, please leave a comment below and go check out my other Asterix content!

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