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Movie Night [Bat-Month]: The Dark Knight

28/09/202420/09/2025Dr. K5 Comments

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. “Batman Day” fell on 21 September this year so I’ve been spending every Saturday celebrating comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Released: 18 July 2008
Director: Christopher Nolan
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $185 million
Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine

The Plot:
After his dramatic debut as “The Batman”, billionaire vigilante Bruce Wayne (Bale) is cracking down on organised crime within Gotham City. However, his mettle is tested by the clown-faced anarchistic “The Joker” (Ledger), who seeks to disrupt social order and corrupt upstanding district attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart).

The Background:
After Joel Schumacher effectively killed the live-action Batman franchise with his dismally received camp adventures, Warner Bros.’ desperate attempts to get a new movie finally paid dividends when visionary writer/director Christopher Nolan, writer David S. Goyer, and star Christian Bale explored Batman’s origins in the highly regarded reboot Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005). Despite teasing the Joker at the finale, Nolan was initially unsure if a sequel would be greenlit but worked closely with Goyer and his brother, Christopher Nolan, to develop a suitable follow-up once Warner Bros. prioritised a sequel. The filmmakers took inspiration from seminal Batman stories like The Long Halloween (Loeb, et al, 1996 to 1997) and some of cinema’s most memorable movie villains to bring their versions of the Joker and Harvey Dent to life. Despite Jack Nicholson’s memorable performance as the character, Nolan confidently cast against type after being impressed by Heath Ledger, who mentally and physically threw himself into the role. In keeping with his preference for practical effects, Nolan signed off on the construction of a fully-working Batcycle, redesigned the Batsuit to be more flexible, blew up a building for real, and flipped an 18-wheeler truck using a massive piston! Sadly, the editing process proved particularly difficult after Ledger unexpectedly died from an accidental overdose; the film was summarily dedicated to him. Following an aggressive viral marketing campaign, The Dark Knight enjoyed a record-setting $1 billion+ box office and was met with widespread critical acclaim. It is widely considered one of the best and most influential comic book movies ever made, praised for its performances and socially relevant narrative, with many praising Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker which won him a posthumous Oscar. Immediately regarding as the best Batman movie of all time and recognised as setting a new standard for comic book movies, The Dark Knight’s success more than justified the production of a third and final (and far more divisive) entry some four years later.

The Review:
After the disaster that was Batman & Robin (Schumacher, 1997), I think it’s safe to say that everyone thought Batman’s feature film career was dead in the water. For me, that’s why Batman Begins was such an exciting and enjoyable experience. Finally, after decades of Batman being either a goof or a psychopath, we got a live-action film that really nailed the heart and drive of the character. The extended and in-depth exploration of Bruce’s psyche, determination, and training to become “more than just a man” really put him at the forefront of the piece and allowed the most accurate depiction of the Dark Knight ever seen in cinema at that point as Bale deftly shifted between numerous subtle personas. With Batman Begins’ conclusion masterfully teasing the Joker, expectations were high for the sequel, but reactions to Ledger’s casting were mixed at the time due to his reputation as a “pretty boy”. To address this, Nolan opens his film with an intense and engaging bank heist, filmed entirely in IMAX, in which the mysterious Joker showcases his hands-on, manipulative abilities by arranging for his clown-faced goons to knock off a mob bank and off each other once their specific tasks are completely, allowing him to easily slip away in the chaos. It’s been about a year or so since the last film and Batman now appears at crime scenes to liaise with Lieutenant James “Jim” Gordon (Oldman), much to the chagrin of cops like rookie detective Anna Ramirez (Monique Gabriela Curnen) because of his vigilante status and the corruption that continues to infest the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD). However, neither Batman or Gordon initially place much stock in the Joker’s continued threat since their focus is solely on taking down the last vestiges of organised crime in the city, represented by mob bosses Salvatore “Sal” Maroni (Eric Roberts), Gambol (Michael Jai White), and “The Chechen” (Ritchie Coster), a decision that’s entirely logical bit which comes back to bite them in due time.

*Batman’s war on crime is thrown into chaos by the maniacal Joker.*

Bruce has been extremely busy in the time between films. Although he’s forced to operate out of a penthouse and highly equipped bunker in the city as he waits for Wayne Manor to be rebuilt, he’s established quite the reputation both in and out of his cowl. As Bruce Wayne, he’s the bored, party-going philanthropist who’s just as likely to abscond with a bunch of actresses to an isolated yacht as he is to fall asleep in board meetings. Although Bruce is seen by many as an aloof, reckless, and embarrassing billionaire, this persona effectively keeps anyone from questioning his nightly jaunts and he’s still savvy enough to fund and promote any programs or individuals who are committed to bringing Gotham City back to glory, such as Harvey Dent. As Batman, Bruce’s reputation is even stronger; criminals are now so afraid of the Dark Knight that they think twice about being on the streets when the Bat-Signal is in the sky and mobsters hold their meetings during the daytime. Although the Batman is still something of an urban legend, many in the city have been inspired to dress up as him and take the law into their own hands, something Bruce is disturbed to see since it results in a bunch of out of shape blokes with itchy trigger fingers wearing “hockey pads”. Still, Batman’s presence has had a positive impact on the city. He and Gordon collude to tackle the city’s mob, eventually entering a shaky alliance with Dent to apprehend mob banker Lau (Chin Hau) and make mass arrests, and Batman even detains Doctor Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) in during the opening, finally taking the maniac’s drugs off the streets. However, night after night fighting crime and getting into fist, fire, and dog fights takes a toll on Bruce. His faithful butler and father figure, Alfred Pennyworth (Caine), continues to offer wry commentary and deep concern for his master’s welfare but Bruce is determined to clean up the streets and make the city safe before even considering giving up his crusade.

*The loss of Rachel takes a heavy toll on Gotham’s “White Night” and drives him to murder.*

However, Batman’s positive impact, the arrest of hundreds of mobsters, and the public’s approval of Dent give Bruce pause to reconsider his path. Since the last film, Bruce has been keeping a close eye on childhood friend and crush (and assistant district attorney) Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), who works closely with Dent to prosecute the criminals and the corrupt. Thanks to Gyllenhaal being a far superior actress to her predecessor, Rachel has much more gusto this time around. She exudes a confidence and determination that was lacking in Katie Holmes’ performance and allows her to not only appear effective when interrogating Lau but also sees her fighting back against the Joker when he targets her at Bruce’s fundraiser for Dent. Although Bruce is clearly rattled by how close Dent and Rachel have become (the two are shown to be in a relationship) and somewhat condescending towards Dent’s marketing campaign, he’s as impressed by the D.A.’s conviction as the rest of the city. Dent is a square-jawed patriot who makes a buzz in the court room with his no-nonsense approach towards criminals and inspires the wealthy and the destitute alike with his commitment to justice. Dent is also an avid supporter of the Batman and determined to do whatever it takes to keep the city streets clean, even if just for six months, but he’s not as squeaky-clean as everyone believes. Gordon is sceptical of Dent due to his past in Internal Affairs, while Dent is highly critical of the corruption within the GCPD, but the two form an efficient trio alongside the Batman when they agree to pool their resources to bring Lau back from Hong Kong. Dent proves to be a surprisingly complex man. He believes so strongly in the iconography of the Batman and in not giving in to the Joker’s demands, no matter how many lives are at stake, that he publicly outs himself as the Dark Knight to keep the myth alive but also proves that he’s not above threatening criminals at gunpoint, showcasing an unexpectedly erratic side to his character. This is only exacerbated when Dent and Rachel are targeted by the Joker and Batman is forced to choose which one to save. Naturally, he picks Rachel but both he and Dent are horrified to learn that this was a double-cross that leaves Dent hideously scarred and despondent, his faith in both justice and the caped vigilante shattered and replaced by a cruel devotion to “chance”.

*Bruce’s allies believe in the Batman and play a hands-on role in aiding and advising him.*

As before, Bruce is supported in all things by Alfred, who acts as a field surgeon, conscience, and advisor to his duties both in and out of the Batsuit. We learn a little bit more about Alfred in this film through his entertaining exchanges with Bruce, in which the two share a banter that is both amusing and heart-warming. Alfred spent some time in the Peace Corps in Burma, indicating he’s seen combat and has a military background, and his insight into chaotic aberrations such as the Joker are almost on par with Bruce’s years of training to learn the criminal mind. Initially, Bruce dismisses Alfred’s insight, however, refusing to believe that the Joker is anything more than a thug with a gimmick, but is forced to admit that he’s underestimated his foe when the Joker pushes him to breaking point with his killing spree. Interestingly, Alfred actually encourages Bruce not to give in to the Joker’s demands, to “endure” the slings and arrows so as to maintain the Batman’s incorruptible persona, and also secretly shields Bruce from the knowledge that Rachel ultimately chose Harvey over him to spare his surrogate son further pain. As before, Bruce is provided with new toys and even a sleek new suit by Wayne Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Lucius Fox (Freeman), who now exhibits a working knowledge of Bruce’s dual identity despite both never outright saying it. Fox plays a pivotal role not just in helping Bruce apprehend Lau but also in throwing off the suspicions of Coleman Reese (Joshua Harto) when his number crunching exposes Batman’s identity, and in the creation of a fantastical device that allows Batman to pinpoint the Joker’s location by hacking every cell phone in the city. Though Fox threatens to resign if the device isn’t destroyed because of the dangerous invasion of privacy it offers, his loyalty is rewarded when Batman rigs the machine to self-destruct once the Joker has been located. Finally, we have Gordon, who publicly disavows any knowledge of Batman but regularly colludes with him to fight the mob. Gordon’s role is also crucial to the film as he is seemingly killed protecting mayor Anthony Garci (Néstor Carbonell), only for this to be revealed as an elaborate plan by him and Batman to capture the Joker, a gamble that sees Gordon promoted to police commissioner after the Harlequin of Hate assassinates commissioner Gillian Loeb (Colin McFarlane). Although horrified by the Joker’s murderous antics, Gordon’s riding quite the high when he, Dent, and Batman finally get their hands on the city’s mob, but his hubris comes back to bite him when Dent specifically targets him as failing to protect Rachel since Gordon’s forced to work with corrupted cops and a wayward vigilante.

*Ledger delivers a star-making performance as the chaotic and unhinged Joker.*

And then there’s the Joker, played with an unnerving, scene-stealing performance by the late Heath Ledger. Unlike in Batman (Burton, 1989) where the Joker was provided with a hefty original backstory, this Joker is a complete enigma. A self-styled “agent of chaos” who proudly showcases both his gruesome facial scars and boasts that he’s simply “a dog chasing cars”, the Joker is as manipulative and psychotic as he is unpredictable and hypocritical. With no identification or fingerprints, the Joker is like a ghost. When he’s introduced, it’s like he’s been conjured by the city itself to challenge Batman’s presence and there’s no definitive explanation for who he is and why he does what he does. Indeed, much like popular depictions of his comic book counterpart, the Joker himself offers conflicting versions of his origin, scars, and motivations. The film suggests he’s been “rippin’ off mob bosses” for some time, he’s shown to have an intense hatred towards city officials and authority figures, and he even openly mocks the city’s mob bosses, threatening and murdering them with a gleeful menace. Although he favours knives over guns since they’re “more personal”, he’s proficient with firearms and, especially, explosives, hinting at a military background but, in true Joker fashion, his origins are completely irrelevant as he “just wants to watch the world burn”. Initially, the Joker encourages the mob to pay him to kill the Batman so they can run rampant over the city but he becomes infatuated by the Dark Knight’s incorruptible nature and refusal to kill. Thus, his motivation switches to opposing Batman’s ideology by corrupting the city’s “White Knight”, Harvey Dent, and breaking the will of the city by exposing their heroes as flawed human beings, demanding that the Batman publicly unmask and forcing both criminals and civilians to make life or death choices to test their mortality. In combat, the Joker is wild, dangerous, and apparently suicidal. He laughs manically in life-threatening situations, practically begs Batman to run him down, and is more than willing to die if it means forcing Batman to breaking point. Although his greatest strength is his unhinged imagination (he absolutely does have a plan, despite his claims, and carries them out with an almost supernatural foresight), the Joker gets the best of even the Batman thanks to appropriating mobsters for his own use and surprising Batman with his tenacity. But his true goal isn’t to simply fight Batman to the death but to instead cripple Gotham City by proving that anyone can turn to psychotic madness after one bad day, necessitating extreme actions from both Batman and Gordon to ensure that Dent’s reputation remains untarnished.

The Nitty-Gritty:
The Dark Knight represents how ingrained Batman’s iconography has become not just in the fictional world, but in ours. Just the fact that we got a Batman movie that omitted the character’s name entirely shows how synonymous this description is with the character, and it takes on a double meaning here since Batman is depicted (and, by the end, explicitly referred to) as a “Dark Knight”, a necessary evil to keep Gotham in check, since a “White Knight” has little chance of surviving the crime and corruption that infests the city. Indeed, Bruce is actively considering hanging up the cape and cowl when he sees how effective and unanimously beloved Dent is. Dent is the hero Gotham deserves without a masked persona, giving Bruce a sliver of hope that he can make good on his promise to be with Rachel once the city no longer needs Batman, but he vastly underestimates the destructive influence of the Joker, who perfectly encapsulates Gordon’s previous concerns about “escalation” through his unique brand of anarchy. The Joker is depicted as a man even Bruce “doesn’t understand”, someone beyond reason, intimidation, and bribery, and we see this when he shows no fear when interrogated by Batman and simply cackles with glee when the Dark Knight unloads on him since the Joker always has an ace up his sleeve (both literally and figuratively). Thus, the film very much focuses on the “battle for Gotham’s soul”, with the Joker shifting his motivation towards opposing and destroying not just the city officials and authority figures, but Batman himself since he’s the ultimate symbol of incorruptibility, to the point where he and his allies allow five people to die rather than reveal his identity because the Batman has become such an iconic force for justice within the city.

*Some impressive practical effects and stunts make the film instantly memorable*.

Speaking of Gotham, we’re shown a much different side of the city this time around. We’re firmly topside amongst the towering, glistening skyscrapers rather than in the dingy alleys of the Narrows, which is thematically relevant since the Joker is targeting the upper-class façade of the city but does rob it of a lot of its bleak, gothic identity. The Dark Knight also continues Batman’s crusade not against the street-level crime that killed his parents, but organised crime. He, Gordon, and Dent believe cutting the head off the proverbial snake will kill the body, and this is reflected after their big arrest that sees the lower-level scum facing at least six months in jail, giving the city breathing time to recover. However, this has the knock-on effect of reducing Batman’s street-level crimefighting to near zero since he’s more focused on nailing the likes of Maroni and the Joker and less on stopping random muggings and such. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because, sadly, there’s little to no improvement in the fight scenes here. Nolan again opts for a close quarters, frenetic depiction of Batman’s fighting that does paint him as a brutal and efficient animal but robs us of seeing what he’s truly capable of. On the plus side, The Dark Knight explores Bruce’s detective skills; while it’s a bit confusing how he recreates fingerprints from bullet casings and he’s constantly one step behind the Joker, I liked how he colluded with Gordon and Dent to apprehend the mob and he’s given some fancy new toys to help him in these endeavours. The most prominent remains the tank-like Tumbler but, when this is destroyed by the Joker, Batman spends the remainder of the film blasting through the city streets on the sleek, bad-ass “Batpod”, a motorcycle-like vehicle that performs all kinds of unlikely turns and tricks with its near-spherical wheels, When extraditing Lau from his office building, Batman makes impressive use of his cape to soar through the skyline and then uses a “skyhook” to yank himself and his quarry out of there, just one of many impressive practical effects utilised in the film, with two more being the Joker’s insane truck flip and the fully practical, full-scale hospital explosion.

*While I don’t like the new Batsuit, the Joker and Two-Face look especially impressive.*

As mentioned, Batman gets a new suit this time around once he realises that he’s “carrying too much weight” and needs more flexibility. Sadly, I’m not a fan of the new suit; it allows full head movement and is less bulky, sure, but the Bat-symbol is too small, it’s unnecessarily “busy”, and just seems incredibly impractical to put on. It’s also far less durable; separation of the plates means Batman’s more vulnerable, which levels the playing field in his fight with the Joker, and the whole suit just looks too plastic-y and ugly for me. On the plus side, the Joker looks amazing; this might be my favourite depiction of the Joker and he looks ripped right out of a Lee Bermejo comic. While he still sports a permanent grin thanks to his facial scares, his clown make-up is haphazard and intimidating, specifically applied to resemble “war paint” and even degrades to reflect his insanity. His suit is also absolutely perfect, and I love how it’s filled with “knives and lint” and little booby traps, like grenades and such. The Joker also assumes various disguises, included dressing up as one of his own henchmen in a callback to the 1960s TV show, masquerading as a police offer at Commissioner Loeb’s funeral, and, most disturbingly of all, dressing up as a nurse to have a heart to heart with Dent! This is where the film really surprised me; obviously I half-expected Dent to become Two-Face (or “Harvey Two-Face” as films insist on labelling him…) but I never expected Nolan to go so comic-accurate with the depiction of Dent’s burns. Two-Face is absolutely gruesome to behold and the perfect example of how CGI can be used sparingly to enhance practical effects. You can see tendons, muscle, and charred flesh as Dent talks and he really does look like the comic come to life, almost to a fault as I find it difficult to believe that he’s talking so coherently and functioning so efficiently despite refusing pain medication. Similarly, I think we could’ve had a few more scenes exploring Dent’s dark side and his “lucky coin” before his scarring. His descent into vengeance and anarchy seems purely motivated by grief, perceived betrayal, and anger at having “lost everything” rather than having always had a dark side deep within him. Sure, there’s one scene where this is hinted at but it’s not what it seems; Dent never leaves anything up to chance since his coin is double-sided, meaning the odds are always in his favour. Accordingly, he was never actually going to hurt anyone, though this is twisted when he goes on a killing spree as Two-Face as he shoots his enemies dead based on the flip of that same coin.

*Crushed by Rachel and Dent’s deaths, Batman sacrifices his reputation to keep hope alive in Gotham.*

Another element that doesn’t sit right with me is how everyone (and I do mean everyone) is aware of Batman’s code against killing. Maroni and the Joker challenge him on his “one rule” and Batman openly champions it at every turn, severely diminishing his threat somewhat and presenting a familiarity with him that irks me for some reason. A huge part of the Joker’s final plan is predicated on the notion that even “civilised people” will kill to survive. He even rigs the game in his favour to prove this point and is so determined to tarnish the Batman’s heroic visage that he plummets to his death with a maniacal laugh. However, Batman saves him at the last second and the two have an unnerving conversation about their duality and intertwined fates. This is made doubly uncomfortable not just because of Bale’s strained Bat-voice but knowing that they would never tangle again due to Ledger’s untimely death, and part of me wonders if it might’ve been better to insert an edit that shows the Joker willing die after giving his speech. When I first saw The Dark Knight in the cinema, I was so engrossed in the Batman’s fight against the Joker that I completely forgot about Two-Face and, as much as I enjoy the entire film and the finale, I wonder if it might’ve been better to incorporate Two-Face’s actions into the third film and cap things off here. Regardless, both Dent and Bruce are devastated when Rachel is brutally murdered by the Joker. This helps tip Dent over the edge and to kill those who’ve wronged him, but he forces Gordon to choose which of his family should be killed to teach him a lesson in pain and loss. When Batman arrives to confront Two-Face, both he and Gordon desperately try to appeal to Dent’s better nature and fail. Disillusioned and broken, Two-Face disregards Gordon’s pleas and prepares to kill his son (Nathan Gamble), forcing Batman to tackle him to his death. Glossing over the fact that Batman just killed a man (I guess, technically, it was the fall), Batman decides to heed Alfred’s advice and maintain Dent’s reputation by assuming responsibility for Two-Face’s murders. Though reluctant, Gordon realises that it’s the only way to keep people from losing faith in the justice system and begrudgingly agrees to paint Batman as a murderer, ending the movie with Batman a wanted fugitive who willing endures any punishment, mental, spiritual, or physical to ensure peace in Gotham.

The Summary:
I absolutely loved Batman Begins when it first came out. It was the dark, gritty, comic-accurate Batman I’d been hoping for for years and I was really excited to see where Bale and Nolan took the character in the sequel. To say that The Dark Knight exceeded expectations would be an understatement. The film is an absolute masterpiece not just of comic book cinema, but of the thriller genre. Bale continues to deftly embody the conflicting personalities and introspective drive and determination that fuels Batman’s crusade, and his Batman continues to be the definitive version of the character for me, despite the dodgy fight scenes and my dislike for the new suit. At its core, The Dark Knight works as an intense thriller depicting the fundamental conflict between justice and anarchy, logic and sanity, and truly elevated the genre to a new level by taking elaborate and colourful concepts like a clown-themed terrorist and a guy with half his faced burned off and treating them seriously. Naturally, Heath Ledger steals the show here; we may never see a better performance of the Joker and you can see that he’s as lost in the role as Bale is as Batman. Ledger’s manic energy and subtle touches really create a feeling of dread, mystery, and unpredictability to the villain, and it remains a tragedy that he didn’t live on to have more dramatic roles like this. Add to that the impressive practical effects, sweeping cinematic score and visuals, and the engaging discussion regarding Batman and his influence on the city and its criminal element and you have, for my money, one of the finest Batman movies ever put to cinema. The film masterfully pulls from some of Batman, Joker, and Two-Face’s most iconic and engaging stories to present an emotional and gripping tale of adversity for the Dark Knight. The film absolutely set the standard for both Batman and comic book movies going forward and, while the third film might have stumbled in concluding the story so wonderfully established here, it doesn’t diminish the timeless appeal of The Dark Knight in the slightest.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Did you enjoy The Dark Knight? Where would you rank it against the other Batman movies? What did you think to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker? Were you a fan of the new Batsuit or do you also find it a bit too busy? What did you think to the effects and stunt work used in the film? Were you also surprised by how gruesome Two-Face’s scars were? Did you agree that Bruce had to maintain his identity, or do you think you should’ve come forward sooner? How did you celebrate Batman Day this year and what is your favourite Batman movie? Whatever your thoughts The Dark Knight, or Batman in general, share them below or leave a comment on my social media.

Movie Night [Bat-Month]: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

21/09/202402/07/2024Dr. KLeave a comment

In the decades since his first dramatic appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, Bruce Wayne/Batman has become a mainstream, worldwide, pop culture icon. The brainchild of writer Bob Kane, Batman was brought to life by artist Bill Finger and has been a popular staple of DC Comics and countless movies, videogames, and cartoons over the years. So, as today is “Batman Day”, I figured this was a perfect excuse to spend every Saturday celebrating comic’s grim and broody vigilante.

Released: 25 December 1993
Director: Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Budget: $6 million
Stars: Kevin Conroy, Dana Delany, Hart Bochner, Bob Hastings, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and Mark Hamill

The Plot:
Early into his crimefighting career as the Batman, Bruce Wayne (Conroy) finds mobsters being slain by a mysterious and vicious, Grim Reaper-esque vigilante “The Phantasm” (Stacy Keach). In trying to uncover the Phantasm’s identity, Batman reconnects with his lost love, Andrea Beaumont (Delany), and uncovers a terrible connection between the two.

The Background:
Artist Bob Kane may have dreamed up the idea of a new masked crimefighter to capitalise on the success of Clark Kent/Superman’s debut, but it was the long-suppressed efforts of artist Bill Finger that the “Bat-Man” became such an iconic figure. Decades later, the likes of Dennis O’Neil sought to correct the Batman’s image following the gloriously camp (and incredibly popular) 1960s television show, but the release and relative success of Batman (Burton, 1989) and Batman Returns (ibid, 1992) saw renewed interest in the character. Consequently, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Eric Radomski spearheaded a new animated series influenced by both films that became one of the most beloved and influential cartoons of its era. Batman: The Animated Series aired eighty-five episodes between September 1992 and 1995 before being succeeded by twenty-four episodes of The New Batman Adventures (known as The Adventures of Batman & Robin in the United Kingdom) between 1997 and 1999, but its initial success convinced Warner Bros. to task Alan Burnett with writing a full-length animated feature. Heavily influenced by Batman: Year Two (Barr, et al, 1987), the film was set to feature a Grim Reaper-like counterpart to Batman while also acting as something of an origin story for both the Dark Knight and his long-standing nemesis, the Joker. Filming was completed within eight months, and Warner Bros. made the last-minute decision to release it theatrically. Although this negatively impacted its box office return, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm made up for this in home media sales and is widely regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made. Critics praised the presentation and score, the slick animation, and its mature themes, and it remains one of the quintessential adaptations of the character for many Batman fans.

The Review:
I watched Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, alongside a host of other popular cartoons at the time, but my memories aren’t massively clear. This is a general statement of my childhood in this regard, and I think it’s because I usually slept in at the weekends and didn’t get up until after a lot of the big cartoons had already been on, then I’d spend the rest of my time eating, playing videogames, or watching the same video cassettes over and over. Still, Batman: The Animated Series definitely made an impression on me. It was dark, surprisingly violent, and probably the most readily available incarnation of Batman since it didn’t involve buying any books or comics, so it was massively exciting when this animated feature aired on television for the first time or you saw the VHS available for purchase. The film begins in present day Gotham City, where Batman has established himself as a nocturnal vigilante but is still early enough in his career to large be considered an urban myth. As a result, Chuckie Sol (Dick Miller) has no qualms about conducting his business in the dead of night, which naturally means his money laundering deal is interrupted by the Batman. Although Chuckie slips away with his counterfeit money, he’s intercepted by a mysterious, Grim Reaper-like figure we now know as the Phantasm and so intimidated by the spectre that he drives out of the parking lot to a violent death.

*The mystery of the Phantasm puts Batman in the frame, but their true identity may surprise you!*

Thanks to the Phantasm, and the testimony of bystanders, Batman is fingered for Chuckie Sol’s death and councilman Arthur Reeves (Bochner) wastes no time publicly declaring Batman a violent vigilante who needs to be brought to justice. When Commissioner Jim Gordon (Hastings) remains adamant that sensationalist claims that Batman has snapped and gone on a killing spree are against Batman’s very nature and washes his hands of the entire debacle, Reeves personally leads numerous unsuccessful attempts to apprehend the Dark Knight. Batman is more concerned with analysing a piece of Chuckie’s windshield, which is stained by chemical residue from the Phantasm’s smoke, and investigating the graveyard where Buzz Bronski (John P. Ryan) was killed. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm does a wonderful job of depicting Batman’s detective skills and it’s a nice change of pace from all the thrilling action, chase, and fight sequences to follow his investigation into the murders. Additionally, there are two pressing mysteries in the feature: the identity of the titular Phantasm and the connection between the mobsters left dead in their wake. Of course, these end up overlapping but there’s a decent attempt to throw some red herrings our way. Reeves, Andrea’s father Carl (Keach), and Andrea are all potential suspects but it’s the latter who turns out to be behind the cloak and hand-scythe of the Phantasm. There’s an argument to be made that this isn’t too surprising given we’ve never heard of Andrea before this film, but the stature and physicality of the Phantasm definitely helps to keep this a dramatic reveal at the finale. Unlike the Batman, the Phantasm isn’t above killing; Andrea utilises theatricality to equal Batman, appearing to appear and disappear in a cloud of smoke, brandishes a dangerous scythe-like gauntlet, and is garbed in a heavy-duty armoured suit that makes her more than a match for Batman’s skills and gadgets when they inevitably come to blows.

*Kevin Conroy delivers another stellar performance as Bruce is torn between his vow and his heart.*

While Michael Keaton may have set the bar for live-action portrayals of Batman, make no mistake that Kevin Conroy remains the standard for depictions of Batman. Any actor looking to take on the iconic role must depict his three dominant personas: Public (Bruce Wayne, socialite and playboy), Private (Bruce Wayne, brooding and melancholy), and Vigilante (the grim and stoic Batman) and Conroy perfectly nails all three of these. When Bruce is attending functions and banquets, he’s a suave and smooth-talking ladies’ man known for being extremely generous with his family’s wealth, hands-on with charities and opportunities from growth and employment in Gotham, and for stringing along a seemingly endless parade of bimbos and lusty women. At home, in both the solitude of Wayne Manor and the sanctity of the Batcave, this public mask slips, allowing Bruce to confide in his faithful butler and father-figure, Alfred Pennywoth (Zimbalist Jr.), and is the closest he gets to being truly honest with anyone. And, of course, under cover of night, he stalks the criminal underworld as a theatrical vigilante, and Conroy expertly depicts the differences in each of these personas and situations with subtle changes to his tone, line delivery, and inflections that really went a long way to making this version of Batman one of the most well-realised, complex, and layered interpretations of the character. This really comes to the forefront here thanks to repeated flashbacks to an earlier time in Bruce’s life where he struggled with how to make good on the vow he made to avenge his parents’ death by tackling the criminal scum that took their lives. At this point, he’s still an angry, directionless young man whose vigilante debut goes sideways because, while he has the physical means to overpower even armed crooks, he’s at a disadvantage because he’s seen as just a man, rather than a force of darkness and justice (as he puts it: “They weren’t afraid of me!”) While brooding at their gravestone, he crosses paths with the beautiful Andrea Beaumont. Though she comes across as dismissive and aloof, she’s actually intrigued and somewhat taken by him since he has all this wealth and privilege but always seems so melancholy. As she’s also lost someone, her beloved mother, the two bond over their shared grief and, when she comes to visit him, she impresses him with her combat prowess and the two begin a whirlwind romance.

*As if the mysterious and brutal Phantasm wasn’t enough, the Joker shows up to steal the show!*

Bruce is so taken by Andrea that he questions his vow and contemplates a life of happiness as a benevolent entrepreneur with her by his side. He is therefore devastated when she suddenly rejects his proposal and leaves the city, forever setting him on a path of grim vigilantism. When Andrea returns to Gotham some years later, in the present day of the story, Bruce is a fundamentally changed man. A chance encounter between her and Batman accidentally reveals his true identity to her, and she greets the Batman with a cutting hostility when he’s forced to question her as part of his investigation into the recent killings (delivering a biting jibe about how he’s controlled by his parents). Buzz Bronski, a mob associate of Chuckie’s, is the Phantasm’s next target; his henchmen see him chased by the cloaked figure and crushed to death under a gravestone and mistake the “Angel of Death” for Batman, which causes a media sensation. Startled by the murders of his associates, the decrepit Sal Valestra/The Wheezer (Abe Vigoda) fears for his safety and turns to the Joker (Hamill) for protection. As if touching upon Batman’s origins wasn’t enough, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm thus provides a glimpse into the background of the typically mysterious Clown Prince of Crime. Although not named as such here, the Joker was once Jack Napier like in Batman, but we also learn that he was once a chauffeur and assassin for the mob before taking his dive into disfiguring acid. While I appreciate the effort to flesh out the Joker’s backstory a little, and the film does a decent jump of bringing him in late into the runtime, I can’t help but feel like the Joker’s inclusion was a little forced and unnecessary. It’s as though the filmmakers didn’t quite trust the intriguing mystery of the Phantasm, the glimpse into Bruce’s past, or the narrative of Batman being hunted by the police and felt they had to shoehorn the Joker in to make things more exciting.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Of course, I’d be doing Batman: Mask of the Phantasm a disservice if I didn’t mention the absolutely haunting score from the late, great Shirley Walker. Having collaborated with composer Danny Elfman for Batman, Walker was the perfect choice to evoke the same melancholic, gothic undertones of Burton’s blockbuster reinvention of the character, and she’s at her absolute best here. The sweeping, operatic score really gives Gotham City an ominous, looming character, punctuates the action, and makes the more poignant moments of the film all the more heart-breaking and that’s all thanks to Walker’s absolutely iconic and memorable orchestral number. The animation must also be praised; thanks to an emphasis on shadows and darkness, Batman moves like a slick, otherworldly figure and comes across as fearsome, intimidating, and efficient all at once. Nowhere is the use of lighting more impressive than in scenes in the Batcave, where deep, never-ending shadows and darkness are at their most prominent, and this all really adds to the stark contrast between the inky black of night and the brighter, dull pastels of the few day time scenes.

*The feature provides a tantalising glimpse into* *Bruce’s motivation to become the Dark Knight.*

One thing that helped Batman: Mask of the Phantasm stand out as an animated feature was how surprisingly adult it was. Batman: The Animated Series always expertly towed the line with the censors by depicting guns and bullets rather than laser pistols, and the feature film gets away with even more to depict people smoking, modern-day pistols rather than Tommy guns, a bit of blood when Batman takes a beating, and an unexpectedly high body count for a “kid’s film” thanks to the murderous Phantasm. A central aspect of the film is the exploration into the motivation and tragedy that pushed Bruce into assuming the Batman guise. Despite travelling the world and gaining the physical and deductive skills to be a crimefighting detective, Bruce is torn between seeing his vow to the fullest extent and using his wealth to benefit the city while living a happy life with Andrea. Alfred naturally pushes him towards the latter, and Andrea even believes that his parents “sent [her]” as a sign that he can go back on his vow. Unfortunately, fate intervenes. Right after she accepts Bruce’s proposal, Carl Beaumont forces Andrea to leave the city after his dealings with the mob threaten both of their lives and, rather than explain the situation to her love, Andrea left him heart-broken and rejected. With his one last chance of a happy, normal life denied him, Bruce returns to his vow and, in a hauntingly impactful scene, embraces the cape and cowl of the Batman, losing himself to the darkness of his never-ending crusade and shocking even Alfred with his monstrous transformation.

*The climatic finale sees Batman engage with the Joker, and seemingly lose his one true love forever.*

Batman takes his investigation up a notch after figuring out that the Joker is involved, and the cackling madman quickly takes a perverse pleasure in hunting down the one responsible for killing his old buddies. This involves murdering Valestra and wiring to explode, reducing Reeves to a hysterical mess with his laughing gas, and trying to off the Batman with ludicrous contraptions cobbled together from the abandoned world’s fair that the Joker’s taken as his hideout. Oddly enough, once Andrea’s true identity is revealed, the Joker actually holds his own in a fight with her thanks to his acid-spitting flower and turning the fair’s animatronics and rides into death traps. Andrea, however, is driven by a murderous bloodlust. Since the Joker was responsible for killing her father, she has no problem fighting dirty, kicking him in the nuts and tracing him across the hazardous amusement park in a bid to have her revenge. Naturally, Batman makes a dramatic save and chases down his most persistent nemesis, leading to a somewhat ludicrous conclusion where Batman battles a jetpack-wearing-Joker through the skies of a dilapidated amusement park wired to explode. Determined to see the Joker pay, Andrea ignores Batman’s pleas to leave and seemingly perishes along with the Clown Prince of Crime as the world’s fair is dramatically engulfed by explosions, leaving Batman not only heart-broken but guilt-ridden at his failure to save his former flame. In the darkness of the Batcave, he finds solace in Alfred’s reassuring words and Andrea’s pendant, giving him hope that she’s still alive. Hardened by the experience, he returns to the night as the Batman, grim avenger of injustice, while Andrea sails off to an unknown future with only her own heartbreak for company.

The Summary:
It’s hard to get much better than Batman: Mask of the Phantasm for pure, unadulterated Batman action. In many ways it, like the cartoon it spun out from, is one of the most striking, influential, and unapologetically faithful renditions of DC’s Dark Knight ever put to screen and perfectly captures the dark, gothic melancholy of the titular vigilante, his city, and his never-ending crusade against crime. This was one of the rare, few glimpses into a time of Bruce’s life where he was struggling to make the transition from angry, vengeful young man to grim avenger of the night and it’s absolutely tragic to see how close he came to abandoning his crusade for true love and was forced to fully commit to his dark alter ego once fate set him on that path. One of the things I absolutely love about Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is that it’s not afraid to show Batman’s more cerebral side. The mystery of the Phantasm and the killings is as crucial to the narrative as the romance between Bruce and Andrea, and is far more of a focus than the handful of fantastically realised and slickly animated fight and chase sequences. Batman also feels fallible and human while still being a fearsome and intimidating figure. He easily outmatches street level scum but can be hurt by the likes of the Phantasm and the Joker thanks to their skills and/or gadgets. As I’m also a big fan of Batman: Year Two, the Phantasm struck me as a brilliant foil for Batman. As cold and stoic as the Dark Knight, Andrea’s gruesome, cloaked persona is a dangerous and ruthless foe out for blood and nothing more, but more than a match for the Caped Crusader thanks to gadgets, theatricality, and a degree and physical ability. While I find the finale a bit over the top thanks to the focus shifting towards the Joker, you can’t deny that Mark Hamill steals the show at every turn with his maniacal performance, delivering every line with a sadistic glee that makes the Clown Prince of Crime a joy to watch. Honestly, if you know anyone who isn’t sure if they want to get into Batman or who wants to learn more about Batman, I would absolutely recommend you point them towards Batman: Mask of the Phantasm as you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better representation of everything that makes the Dark Knight such an enigmatic and alluring character.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Are you a fan of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm? Where would you rank it against other Batman films, live-action or otherwise? What did you think to the Phantasm, their depiction, and the reveal of their identity? Were you a fan of the Joker’s inclusion or, like me, did it kind of overshadow the rest of the plot for you? Did you enjoy Batman: The Animated Series growing up? What are some of your favourite episodes, and where would you rank Kevin Conroy’s performance? What was your first experience of Batman and how are you celebrating his debut this month? Feel free to share your thoughts on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm down below, or leave a comment on my social media, and be sure to check back in for more Batman content in the near future!

Movie Night: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

16/09/202423/09/2024Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 6 September 2024
Director: Tim Burton
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Budget: $100 million
Stars: Winona Ryder, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci

The Plot:
Thirty-six years after Beetlejuice (Burton, 1988), Lydia Deetz (Ryder) and her stepmother, Delia (O’Hara), return to Winter River. However, when Lydia’s rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), is spirited to the afterlife, Lydia must summon Beetlejuice (Keaton) to rescue her.

The Background:
In 1988, gothic auteur Tim Burton brought audiences Beetlejuice. Initially a much darker concept with a deadly titular character, the film was a surprise hit that cemented Burton as a director. A commercial and critical success, Beetlejuice was followed by videogame tie-ins, a lauded cartoon, and even a well-received Broadway musical, but a sequel struggled to emerge over the next thirty years. A sequel was fast-tracked at the time and multiple scripts were developed, two of the most notable being Beetlejuice causing havoc in Paris in search of love and following the Deetzes to Hawaii. Talks started again in 2011, star Winona Ryder was confident about a sequel in 2013, and it almost got off the ground in 2016 before being shelved in 2019. A few years later, Burton and Ryder revisited the concept and production finally got underway with a new story, one that kept the spirit of the first film while expanding the lore into new, bizarre realms. New star Jenna Ortega developed a close bond with Ryder during filming, and Keaton insisted that Beetlejuice’s screentime be as limited as before so as not to overload the narrative. While Burton sought to utilise practical effects wherever possible to retain the B-movie feel of the first film, Father Time and various controversies kept some actors from returning for the sequel. After a few additional delays, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice finally released to widespread acclaim. With a box office of over $330million, reviews praised it as a visual return to form for Burton. Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega were also praised for their performances, though some criticised the pacing and disparate plot threads and Burton remained characteristically aloof about the chances of a third entry.

The Review:
After a nice recreation of the first film’s overheard shot of Winter River, Connecticut and stirring work (as always) by composer Danny Elfman, we catch up with Lydia, who now works as a psychic medium, investigating haunted houses and discussing the supernatural on a television show. It turns out that her ability to see ghosts never went away; it just became stronger. This means she sees ghosts constantly (though unfortunately not as often as I’d like), though this ability has been exploited by her manager/partner, the flamboyant Rory (Justin Theroux). An overly dramatic narcissist who’s more concerned with keeping Lydia on the air, and him in a position of wealth and power, than her wellbeing or bonding with her daughter, Rory is basically the Otho Fenlock (Glenn Shadix) of the film. It’s difficult to see the attraction as Lydia, Astrid, and even her stepmother find Rory repulsive and two-faced. However, the film reveals that Lydia was previously married to free spirited explorer Richard (Santiago Cabrera), who encouraged and fostered Astrid’s adventurous side, but ended up dying during a trip to South America. Devastated by the loss, Lydia latched onto Rory during grief counselling, and he took advantage right away, moulding her into a television personality he could continue to leech from. Richard’s death drove a wedge between Lydia and Astrid. The teen resented her mother for avoiding the subject and believes she’s a fraud since the only ghost she cannot communicate with is her late father, leading to Astrid barely talking to her mother. Naturally, given the massive time gap, Lydia is very different now; far from a rebellious goth girl, she’s become a troubled mother who’s clearly uncomfortable in her relationship but trapped with no way out. Although Delia is still as overbearing as ever (even more so considering her bizarre art has actually taken off), the two are much closer now that they’re older. Lydia has grown to understand how difficult it was for Delia to deal with an unruly teenager and Delia is far more supportive of Lydia, disapproving of Rory and even reaching out to Astrid to give her mother a break.

*Lydia’s forced to turn to Beetlejuice to rescue her estranged daughter from the afterlife.*

The three are brought together when Delia bluntly breaks the news that Lydia’s father, Charles (Unknown/Jeffery Jones), has died. And not just died: he survived a plane crash and was eaten by a shark! The sudden, ridiculous nature of his death is constantly returned to throughout the film; there’s an elaborate funeral, Delia tries to capitalise on her grief by turning it into art, and we follow Charles’ beheaded, blood-sprouting corpse as it wanders through the bureaucratic afterlife. Delia’s grief is painted as comical and exaggerated; it’s clear she truly loved him, foibles and all, but her reaction (photographing her agony and sculpting an elaborate and distasteful shark-themed headstone) is as strange as her art. Lydia is saddened but seemingly nonplussed; it doesn’t help that Rory hijacks the wake to surprise her with a proposal, or that Astrid continues to lash out at her. But what’s really bothering Lydia are the constantly visions she has of Beetlejuice. These cause her to react in horror when Astrid discovers one of Beetlejuice’s flyers, compounding the issues between them and causing Astrid to flee from the house. Distracted, she loses control of her bike and crashes into Jeremy Frazier (Arthur Conti), a teenage boy whom she’s immediately smitten by. Against Lydia’s wishes to leave the house out of fear of Beetlejuice, Astrid is allowed to hang out with Jeremy on Halloween night. However, this strangely alluring boy turns out to be a ghost, one who woos Astrid into journeying with him to the afterlife to exploit a loophole in the Handbook for the Recently Deceased that will restore his life. However, Astrid finds out too late that Jeremy wasn’t killed in an accidental fall; he murdered his family and died when the police came for him. He thus tricks Astrid into agreeing to swap her life for his, giving Lydia no choice but to summon Beetlejuice to rescue her.

*While Beetlejuice shines and Wolf is entertaining, Delores seems like an afterthought.*

Beetlejuice has expanded his bio-exorcism operation, employing an office full of voodoo-cursed mutes to handle his calls while he over his lost love, Lydia. When his ex-wife, soul-sucking witch Delores (Bellucci), literally pulls herself back together and trawls the underworld in search for him, reducing her victims to little more than rolled up deadflesh, Beetlejuice is caught up in the investigation. Headed by former actor turned cliché, hardboiled detective Wolf Jackson (Dafoe), the ghost cops are constantly one step behind Delores and Beetlejuice resorts to barricading his office and dressing his main underling, Bob (Nick Kellington), as a decoy. Luckily, Rory’s reckless calling of his name reunites Beetlejuice with Lydia and her desperation to save Astrid gives him a new opportunity to escape his undead drudgery. Out of options, Lydia agrees to marry him and he willingly brings her to the afterlife, though this act turns Wolf against him since it’s a violation of a sacred law, stacking the deck against the two. Unlike in the first film, Beetlejuice has only two main forms here: either his signature white and black suit or as a couple’s therapist. Michael Keaton easily slips back into the role and carries not just the first, middling half but the entire film. He taps into the same zany, macabre energy that made the first film so memorable and which is sadly lacking from this long-awaited sequel. Monica Belluci casts an alluring and intimidated figure, but Delores just wanders about sucking up souls and barely poses a threat in the finale. It’s Willem Dafoe who steals the show as a B-movie actor-turned-detective; I loved the running gag of his assistant, Janet (Georgina Beedle), constantly handing him coffee, his exposed skull, his over-the-top mannerisms, and his advice to “keep it real” at all times. Unfortunately, neither he nor Delores think to simply call Beetlejuice’s name three times when searching for him. At first, I thought this was maybe because that didn’t work in the afterlife, but Delia summons him when she unexpectedly ends up there, so that was a bit weird. Jeremy is also taken care of without much fanfare. His relationship and betrayal of Astrid seemed like it would be a focal point of the film, but instead it just gets swept under a rug like so many other plot points in this lacklustre sequel.

The Nitty-Gritty:
At its core, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seems to be discussing the nature of grief. Lydia’s loss drove her to accept an unhealthy relationship in a moment of weakness and has effectively trapped her. That same loss caused Astrid to lose all respect for her mother, and grief similarly drives Delia to exaggerated forms of expression, like draping the house in a mourning shroud. This comes back to (literally) bite her when she’s fatally attacked by two asps she bought for a bizarre tribute to her husband, landing her in the afterlife, much to her chagrin. This was a very strange and uncomfortable moment, as was the Claymation sequence depicting Charles’ unnecessarily violent death. Like, I get it: Jeffery Jones did terrible things, but this just seemed unnecessarily spiteful and over the top. Similarly, death is apparently a subject we should be laughing at, according to this film, and can be played for a gag. That wasn’t really the case in the first one, where Adam and Barbara Maitland (Adam Baldwin and Geena Davis) died in a senseless manner, but it wasn’t played for laughs. Considering how violently Jeremy killed his parents and the continued twisted depiction of the souls stuck waiting for help in the afterlife, this choice just feels odd to me. The surreal nature of death continues when Richard spots Astrid in the afterlife and helps her and Lydia escape: he’s depicted as a half-eaten corpse with wriggling piranha still munching on him. Like, it’s kind of funny, I guess, but it makes these scenes more uncomfortable to watch than entertaining as beloved figures in these character’s lives are made into an undead mockery.

*While the practical effects are great, the film is oddly disjointed and many parts don’t land.*

In the time between the two movies, it’s fair to say that Tim Burton has heavily leaned into his reputation as a quirky, gothic filmmaker and lost some of the grindhouse charm that made his early films so visually alluring. I give Beetlejuice Beetlejuice props for continuing to use practical effects, puppets, and filmmaking techniques wherever possible. It brings the strange afterlife to un-life in a very tangible way; oddly, however, the sandworms look worse here than before and seem more CGI than stop-motion. Still, we do get to explore more of the underworld that the last film, revealing that the dead take on various jobs after passing on (including cops and dry cleaners) and returning to the joke of them having to wade through red tape to get help. Beetlejuice has essentially franchised his services, presumably keeping him busy between films, but rather than actually see any of that, we’re left with dry scenes of him bossing about his employees. Keaton carries these moments, but I didn’t wait over thirty years to see Beetlejuice messing around behind a desk. He’s more himself when confronting Lydia and Rory, literally spilling his guts at one point, but this scene also repeats gags and moments from the first film, with him sewing Lydia’s mouth shut and terrifying Rory with a demonic visage. His character is expanded upon through some exposition into his past life as a graverobber and his relationship with Delores, but it’s a very odd sequence that goes on a bit too long and does little to make Delores an interesting character. Her look is great, as is her reassembling scene, but the only real threatening moment she has is when she sucks up poor old Bob. There was a great moment where Beetlejuice blows a hole into the afterlife and his employees escape into the real world. I thought this had a lot of potential to up the stakes but, instead, Wolf offhandedly mentions that they closed the breach, killing that plot thread. Then there were gags that just outlived their welcome. Like, Lydia rushes to stop Astrid being taken to “the great beyond” by the “Soul Train”. And that’s exactly what you think it is; the joke lands and you can imagine what that means. But no, we need not one but two extended sequences where the undead jive about to soul music and Burton hammers home that he’s making a pun about Blaxploitation.

*Important plot threads fizzle out and the film ends up being a shameless rehash.*

Lydia’s venture into the afterlife sees her reunite with Richard and rescue Astrid; however, it’s Beetlejuice who facilitates this as he surprisingly keeps his word and intercepts Jeremy, sending him to Hell before he can escape to the real world. The realisation that her mother was right all along, and getting some closure in seeing her father again, mends the bridges between Astrid and Lydia. However, Lydia begrudgingly agrees to marry Rory regardless since she’s still stuck in that co-dependent relationship. Luckily, her agreement with Beetlejuice solves that problem as he shows up to stake his claim to her hand, leading to one of the best moments of the film where he forces the influencers Rory invited to the wedding to be sucked into the phones they gawk at so often. As per the contract, neither Lydia or Astrid can speak Beetlejuice’s name, meaning he’s free to enchant everyone present into an extended sequence where they all mime and dance to Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park”. Like the “Soul Train” nonsense, this bit just went on way too long; rather than recapture the magic of the similar scene from the first film, it hijacks the finale and derails the pacing. Perhaps if Wolf and Delores’ scenes had happened earlier, making them a part of the proceedings, it might’ve worked better, but it felt like it was never going to end, and the joke wore itself out very quickly. Wolf’s easily subdued by Beetlejuice’s immeasurable powers, though he falters when Delores comes barging in for revenge, a desire I get but it also feels like he would want revenge on her more since she tricked and poisoned him. Anyway, it doesn’t matter as he distracts her with Rory and Astrid just draws a portal to Saturn’s moon to summon a sandworm to devour Delores and Rory (a strangely harsh comeuppance) and rehash the first film’s ending. Though briefly sad to say goodbye to Delia, Lydia’s emboldened by her renewed relationship with Astrid and being free from Rory’s leeching influence; she confidently banishes Beetlejuice once more and quits her job to spend more time with Astrid. However, the film ends with a really shocking nightmare sequence where Lydia dreams of Astrid violently giving birth to a baby Beetlejuice and still being haunted by her memories of the cackling demon in a sequence atmospherically at odds with the rest of the movie, but which might’ve helped spice up the second act if it had been shuffled in there.

The Summary:
I was cautiously optimistic heading into Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While my relationship with legacy sequels is more miss than hit and I resented how long it took for the film to be made, I was attracted by my love for the first movie, Michael Keaton’s energetic performance, and by how cute Jenna Ortega is. These elements are the strongest parts of the film; Keaton carries the entire movie, salvaging even the strangest sequences and being the most enjoyable part. It feels like Beetlejuice is more of a focal point this time with all the different, halfhearted plot threads revolving around him in some way, but he’s strangely handicapped in ways he wasn’t before, robbing him of any monstrous transformations. Jenna Ortega does a great job as the hurt, resentful Astrid and I enjoyed her budding romance with Jeremy. It was obvious he was going to be a ghost but I didn’t expect him to be a psychopath, but then this plot gets dropped and forgotten about. The whole Delores sub-plot felt wasted to me, too; it added unnecessary backstory to Beetlejuice and didn’t factor into the finale. Characters like Jeremy, Delores, and Wolf (as enjoyed as he was) actually detracted from Beetlejuice’s presence. Like, maybe the film would’ve worked better if Beetlejuice had masqueraded as Jeremy, luring Astrid to the other side to bait in Lydia. Beetlejuice’s threat could’ve then replaced Delores wandering about and Wolf’s pursuit of him, tying into his visions haunting Lydia and making Beetlejuice a vicious, spiteful (and, crucially, sole) antagonist. I wasn’t impressed with how far the film went to bury Charles’ character; Burton beat us over the head with this to the point where it was awkward, not amusing. In fact, the whole movie is uncomfortable in a lot of ways, lacking a lot of nuance and subtlety and viewing like a bad parody of the first film. Jokes and sequences that worked so effectively last time and dug up and puppeted around gratuitously for no reason. The nostalgia was already there with the returning actors and atmosphere, but it felt like everyone was trying too hard to recapture lightning in a bottle and there were too many cooks in the kitchen offering ideas and gags. In the end, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice just wasn’t worth the wait; the visuals and some performances are there, but the execution was lacking and it seemed to go out of its way to not live up to its potential.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Were you also disappointed by Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Did you find the tone and jokes to be oddly disjointed? What did you think to Michael Keaton’s return to form? Were you also disappointed to so many of the plot threads fizzled out? What did you think to the expanded depiction of the afterlife? Would you like to see another Beetlejuice film? Feel free to share your thoughts on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in the comments below.

Movie Night [Friday the 13th]: Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

13/09/202413/12/2024Dr. K7 Comments

Long considered to be an unlucky day due to superstitions involving the number thirteen and religious connotations, Friday the 13^th is perhaps equally as well-known as the title for a long-running series of slasher movies. Naturally, this is clearly the best opportunity to take a look at the Friday the 13^th (Various, 1980 to 2009) horror series and to commemorate this unlucky and dreaded date.

Released: 22 March 1985
Director: Danny Steinmann
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $2.2 million
Stars: John Shepherd, Melanie Kinnaman, Shavar Ross, Carol Locatell, Tiffany Helm, Dick Wieand, and Tom Morga

The Plot:
Several years after murdering hockey-masked psychopath Jason Voorhees, a grown-up Tommy Jarvis (Shepherd) is interned at a halfway house for recuperation. However, when Jason (Morga) seemingly returns and a fresh batch of bodies start piling up, Tommy must face his demons head-on once more.

The Background:
Following John Carpenter’s Halloween (Carpenter, 1978) and the birth of the “slasher” genre, Friday the 13^th (Cunningham, 1980) was a surprising box office success and this led to equally financially successful sequels. However, just as producer/director Sean S. Cunningham distanced himself from the franchise, so too did Paramount executives become embarrassed by their shlock franchise. Thus, Friday the 13^th: The Final Chapter (Zito, 1984) was developed to bring the series to a definitive end…before it proved to be a commercial success widely regarded as one of the best in the franchise. Consequently, a fifth entry followed only a year after the “Final Chapter”, one that was unusually deceptive in both it methodology and approach. Both stars John Shepherd and Dick Wieand were disappointed to find they’d been duped into a new Friday film and even the director was disgusted by how much footage was excised by the ratings board. Although child actor Corey Feldman could only return for a cameo, the film seemed to be setting Tommy up as the new killer of the franchise but A New Beginning’s disastrous critical reception and audience backlash saw Jason return for real in the very next film. As if being one of the lowest-grossing Friday films of the time with its $22 million box office wasn’t bad enough, A New Beginning is widely cited as one of the worst entries in the franchise.

The Review:
Jason may very well be one of the most, if not the most, prolific killers in all of horror cinema. His reputation as an unstoppable, merciless masked killer is well deserved not just because of his brutality but also because he categorically refuses to stay dead, even when film studios try to do him in! Branding The Final Chapter as the last-ever Friday the 13^th was a bold claim, especially as the film ended with the pretty explicit suggestion that killing Jason had a negative effect on young Tommy. The film’s final, haunting shot suggested that Tommy would take over as the franchise’s killer and, honestly, I almost wish we’d seen that happen, at least for one or two movies. Not content with this blatant misdirection, A New Beginning opens with the suggestion that Jason is far from dead. In an opening that’s basically foreshadowing the next, far superior movie, young Tommy watches on, terrified and helpless, as Jason (here played by John Hock) rises from his grave in a zombie-like state to begin his killing spree anew. Sadly, we’d have to wait another year for this to come to pass and this promising opening is quickly revealed to simply be a vivid nightmare of the now grown-up Tommy. Yes, rather than following the traumatised youngster as he deals with the fallout of his actions and a newfound bloodlust rising within him, A New Beginning jumps ahead to find Tommy as the most mid-twenties-looking seventeen-year-old you’ll ever see in cinema but no less disturbed by his encounter with, and recurring visions of, Jason several years prior.

*Traumatised by his childhood, Tommy is a deeply disturbed and haunted young man.*

Now a disturbed, withdrawn youth, Tommy has bounced around numerous psychiatric hospitals and been subjected to every treatment and drug available short of electroshock therapy. Regardless of how poorly his treatments have taken, he’s been transferred to Pinehurst Halfway House, run by kindly Doctor Matt Letter (Richard Young) and his assistant, Pam Roberts (Kinnaman), in the hopes that he can be reacclimated back into society. Tommy is a very different character here; no longer the chirpy, enthusiastic, curious little boy, he’s sullen and moody and highly aggressive, carrying a nasty-looking flick knife and carrying a seething rage beneath his brooding exterior. Tommy is seen to be massively unstable, liable to flip on a dime and send Eddie Kelso (John Robert Dixon) hurtling through a table and mercilessly pummel anyone who touches him or riles him up with a sudden aggressive outburst. Yet, at the same time, Tommy still has some of his sentimental and playful side. He still carries a photo of his family and is still proud of his homemade masks, but he’s constantly on edge and triggered into violence by the slightest hint of hostility towards him. A New Beginning features two Jasons for the price of one; thanks to his childhood trauma, Tommy hallucinates and has nightmares of Jason, clad more or less in the same attire as he died in, despite it being explicitly stated that Jason was cremated after his death (a plot point later abandoned). The second Jason, though familiar, is noticeably different; not only is he dressed in different clothes, but his hockey mask also features prominent blue triangles rather than red and he’s very much real compared to the ghost that haunts Tommy. This Jason is just as brutal and superpowered as the last, easily manhandling his victims, crushing their bones, and surviving horrific injuries, lending credence to Tommy’s fears that Jason has returned from the grave.

*Pinehurst shelters some eclectic, if* *one-dimensional and comically disturbed, kids.*

In a change of pace from previous (and most other) Friday the 13^th films, A New Beginning includes a gaggle of eclectic teenage misfits rather than horny camp counsellors, though Pinehurst’s residents are no less promiscuous and cliché. Functioning as an extremely lenient halfway house where the residents are free to do whatever they want thanks to the “honour system”, Pinehurst shelters Eddie and his lover Tina McCarthy (Debi Sue Voorhees), insecure stutterer Jake Patterson (Jerry Pavlon), goth Violet Moraine (Helm), blank slate Robin Brown (Juliette Cummins), compulsive eater Joey Burns (Dominick Brascia), and the violent and unstable Vic Faden (Mark Venturini). As you’d expect, the film wastes little time in establishing each character’s one defining trait and makes very little effort to expand them beyond that before they’re unceremoniously offed. Jake is humiliated when Robin mocks his affections and his corpse ends up in her bed, but she’s immediately killed before properly processing her remorse and grief. Indeed, all we really know about Robin is that she’s into films and a natural with kids. At least Violet has a unique look, her love for music, and her tendency to snap at people…but she’s knifed in the gut before she can do anything other than showcase her slick dance moves. Arguably, the most prominent members of the group are two who are barely even in the film. A loud and child-like teen, Joey desperately tries to be useful and make friends with everyone, only to constantly make a fool of himself. When he tries this with Vic (who really shouldn’t have had access to an axe), he ends up chopped to pieces, horrifying his fellow residents and leaving everyone shellshocked, particularly Tommy and oddly disturbed paramedic Roy Burns (Wiead). With Tommy’s sister, Trish (Kimberly Beck), reduced to a simple photograph, we’re left relying on Pam as our main girl. Of everyone in Pinehurst, Tommy is most receptive to Pam’s influence and persuasion, potentially because he reminds her of his sister or perhaps because of confusing sexual feelings towards her, but she has no idea what he’s seen or of the horrors Jason is capable of since she’s used to just dealing with unruly kids.

*Charismatic and likeable, if zany, side characters steal the show and deserved more screen time.*

In place of the smart-mouthed, resourceful young Tommy, we have standout character Reggie “The Reckless” Winter (Ross), son of Pinehurst’s grandfatherly cook, George (Vernon Washington). Reggie’s a lot like Tommy was as a child; he enjoys pranks and going where he’s not meant to and cheekily acting like he’s twice his age, especially with the ladies. As memorable and entertaining as Reggie is, he’s got nothing on his older, rockstar brother “Demon” (Miguel A. Núñez Jr.) In a film stuffed with aggravating and forgettable characters, Demon is a breath of fresh air. From his pimped-out van, his smooth tongue, and his meme-worthy singing voice to his devotion to his little brother and his energetic charisma, it’s a real shame when Demon gets skewered while on the crapper. While Matt’s heart’s in the right place, Pinehurst has ruffled a few feathers with the townsfolk, specifically loudmouth hic Ethel Hubbard (Locatell) and her simpleton son Junior (Ron Sloan). Ethel’s outspoken and aggressive not just to Matt and his residents, but even the ineffectual Sheriff Cal Tucker (Marco St. John) and her own son, who she berates constantly, and isn’t afraid to threaten Matt’s horny and disruptive residents with violence when they trespass on her property. As aggravating as Ethel and Junior are, they definitely make the most of their roles; Ethel excels as a suspicious and infuriated redneck, barking colourful swears and treating everyone like dirt, even her simpleton son. Other notable and strangely fun side characters include greasers Pete Linley (Corey Parker) and Vinnie Manalo (Anthony Barrile), who are murdered while experiencing car trouble but make a bizarre impression with their banter and Vinnie’s amusing singsong about his broken-down car! However, this is merely the appetiser for what Demon has in store for us! A charismatic mixture of Prince and Michael Jackson, Demon woos his girlfriend, Anita (Jere Fields), with an infectious melody of “Ooh, baby!” but even his charm has kinks in it. He exhibits uncharacteristic anger when Anita winds him up and ends up struggling with his bowels after eating one too many enchiladas.

The Nitty-Gritty:
I think a good way to describe A New Beginning would be to simply sum it up as a waste of potential. I firmly believe there was a good idea buried in here somewhere; I can’t say if it would’ve been any better or worse if it had taken more cues from Halloween and reframed Tommy as the franchise’s new killer, but it certainly might have been more interesting than this awkward game of whodunnit. Revenge has always been a prominent theme in the Friday the 13^th franchise and it’s alive and well here. Like Pamela Voorhees (Betsy Palmer) before him, Roy is driven to madness by a murderous lust for revenge but he’s clearly more unhinged (or the writing just wasn’t as good) since he slaughters his victims seemingly at random rather than targeting those actually responsible. In many ways, A New Beginning mirrors the first film; there, it was pretty damn obvious Pamela was the killer since she showed up at the last minute when everyone was dead, and it’s also pretty obvious that this Lou Ferrigno lookalike is our man since Roy hogs the camera and interjects himself into conversations that are nothing to do with him whenever he’s onscreen. It’s actually very comical; this nobody, who you could easily forget, just randomly pops up and may as well have a big sign over his head saying KILLER. Yet, rather than focus on his grief and descent into madness and appropriation of Jason’s legacy, the film focuses on running the genre’s cliches into the ground with nonsensical padding and zany side characters. The likes of Ethel and Junior and the wacky Pinehurst residents really drag the runtime and make this one of the most boring and tedious entries when really we should be focusing on whether Jason is really back, if Tommy is unknowingly possessed by or acting out the kills, or who the real culprit is but there’s precious few red herrings offered to us throughout.

*Although possibly the horniest* Friday yet, the film’s gore is butchered by censoring.

Of course, Friday the 13^th is a franchise known for three things: Jason, gore, and sex…and A New Beginning certainly has its fair share of the latter. Without a doubt, this may well be the horniest film in the franchise; everyone’s either catcalling, leering, or out-right drooling over each other, especially the girls. Randomly, the film detours from the main plot to up the boobs and body count with waitress Lana Ardsley (Rebecca Wood) and moustachioed ladies’ man Billy Macauley’s (Bob DeSimone) sordid antics. However, while Lana flashes her tits with glee, she’s got nothing on Tina, who basically puts on a softcore porn in the woods with Eddie. While the killing starts when Tommy’s nightmare Jason makes short work of two foolhardy grave robbers (Todd Bryant and Curtis Conaway), this is sadly a double-edged sword as A New Beginning includes several gruesome kills but, thanks to meddling censoring, many are decidedly toothless. However, in some cases this actually works quite effectively; Joey’s hacked-up body is only briefly seen but there’s enough gore and astonished, horrified reactions to tell that Vic really did a number on the lad, and a quick shot of Pete being force-fed a flare is suitably wince-inducing. Unfortunately, Vinnie and Anita’s throat slashes leave a lot to be desired, as does Roy’s axe attack on Billy and Lana, and Roy’s offing of the random drifter (Sonny Shields) is so sudden that you’d miss it if you looked away for half a second. From here, it’s all a bit hit and miss; as gory as Tina’s gouged-up eyes are, I have to believe that she was originally decapitated by those shears, and Eddie is simply crushed to death by a belt across the face. There’s some tension as Roy toys with Demon and a surprisingly explicit shot of him being impaled, and I was more than grateful when Junior’s obnoxious wailing was literally cut off at the neck and Ethel got her head split open, but it’s all so toothless and fleeting and random.

*Roy makes for an uninspired reveal, ruining the potential of placing Tommy as our new killer.*

Interestingly, it’s Reggie who ends up finding all the dismembered bodies in the final act. Since Tommy’s missing and the bodies are all in his room, Reggie and Trish assume that he’s gone on a killing spree and flee from the masked psychopath into the storm-swept night. “Jason” pursues the two with superhuman persistence, again echoing the finales of the previous films, before being run down by Reggie in a tractor! However, when they stupidly stop to inspect the body, the wounded “Jason” springs to life and corners them in the barn, where Pam briefly fends him off with a chainsaw before Tommy makes a dramatic entrance. “Jason” seems as captivated by Tommy as Tommy is horrified by “Jason”. Thanks to his traumatic childhood and crippling hallucinations, Tommy hesitates and is nearly killed, but strikes a piercing wound with his knife. This lures “Jason” to the barn’s upper level, where Reggie, Pam, and Tommy fight “Jason” once more and drop him onto a bed of spikes below where they get a look at his unmasked face and are stunned to find that it was meek, unassuming Roy all along! However, it’s a little difficult to really get all that invested in Roy’s motivations. It’s mentioned that Joey is an orphan, whose father “took off” when he was little, severely undercutting my emotional investment in Roy’s killing spree. Sheriff Tucker delivers some stilted exposition about Roy’s character and motivations, speculating that he was driven to murder after abandoning his son as much as grief over his brutal murder. It’s pretty obvious that he’s more than just a forgettable side character by the glare he shoots Matt and down the camera after Joey is killed, but it’s easy to forget about him amidst the sex, kills, and Tommy’s apparent descent into madness. Speaking of which, despite facing and conquering his demon once more, Tommy continues to be tormented by nightmares; he envisions himself killing Pam, then Jason standing over his bed ominously. Although Tommy seems to force the apparition to disappear once and for all, the film ends with the suggestion that Jason’s spirit has taken root in Tommy’s body. He dons Roy’s mask (no idea why it was in Tommy’s hospital room) and prepares to kill Pam, with even the iconic “Ki ki ki, ma ma ma” subtly altered to suggest Tommy will be the killer going forward.

The Summary:
Although it tries to play with the formula of the franchise, Friday the 13^th: A New Beginning ends up playing things far too safe. The whole reason Jason was killed off in the first place was because of how repetitive and derivative the films were becoming, and changing the setting to a halfway house does little to alter that. Instead, the film goes out of its way to avoid featuring or expanding on the Pinehurst kids and needlessly drags out the runtime with a bunch of random kills that aren’t even fun to watch since the gore is so horrendously butchered. The potential to try something new is here but lost behind a thinly veiled attempt to remake the first film, hit all the cliché expectations of the genre, and pretend like Jason is still alive when he clearly isn’t. In another life, with a stronger script, A New Beginning would’ve taken place mostly in Pinehurst and seen the residents and staff picked off one by one, with Tommy being positioned as the killer only to reveal that it’s actually Roy. At least that would’ve made more sense than Roy targeting random civilians rather than those actually (well, partially) responsible for Joey’s death. Though, ideally, Roy would’ve been dropped entirely (or existed only as a red herring) and Tommy would’ve been positioned as the franchise’s new killer, now horribly traumatised from his experiences and driven to murder, we were sadly left with this mess of a plot. Ultimately, considering the next film basically pretends like this one didn’t happen, you’re best off skipping A New Beginning. It adds nothing to the franchise and stands out as a failed attempt to try something different mired in an insistence on repeating the same tired slasher formula.

My Rating:

Terrible

What did you think to Friday the 13^th: A New Beginning? How do you feel it holds up against its predecessors and its many sequels? Did you guess that Roy was the killer, and if not how did you miss the blatant foreshadowing peppered throughout? Were you disappointed that Tommy didn’t become the new killer and what did you think to his characterisation? Which of the kills was your favourite? What did you think to all the wacky side characters? Which of the Friday the 13^th movies is your favourite? Do you consider Friday the 13^th to be unlucky? Are you watching a Friday the 13^th movie today? Whatever your thoughts on Friday the 13^th (the movie, franchise, and day), go ahead and leave them down below or drop a comment on my social media and be sure to check in again for more horror content in the near future!

Movie Night [MK Day]: Mortal Kombat (2021)

12/09/202414/09/2025Dr. K1 Comment

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To celebrate the simultaneous worldwide release of Mortal Kombat (Midway, 1992) on home consoles, 13 September 1993 was dubbed “Mortal Monday”. Mortal Kombat’s move to home consoles impacted not only the ongoing “Console War” between SEGA and Nintendo but also videogames forever thanks to its controversial violence. Thus, it’s only fitting that we continue celebrating this influential fighting series every September 13^th…except this year that clashes with Friday the 13 ^th so…

Released: 23 April 2021
Director: Simon McQuoid
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget: $55 million
Stars: Lewis Tan, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Mehcad Brooks, Tadanobu Asano, and Chin Han

The Plot:
Struggling fighter Cole Young (Tan) is targeted by the relentless Bi-Han/Sub-Zero (Taslim), an assassin working under orders by the malevolent sorcerer Shang Tsung (Han) to kill Earthrealm’s chosen warriors before they can compete in the ages-old martial arts tournament known as Mortal Kombat.

The Background:
Inspired by the success of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (Capcom, 1991), developers Ed Boon and John Tobias used innovative digitised sprites to unleash Mortal Kombat upon impressionable gamers. Attracting both popularity and controversy for its bloody content and gruesome “Fatalities”, Mortal Kombat soon expanded its scope not just with additional videogames but also into mainstream media thanks, largely, to catching the eye of producer Lawrence Kasanoff. Kasanoff envisioned a multimedia venture for the franchise and initially got off to a great start with the first live-action adaptation. Mortal Kombat (Anderson, 1995) became a cult hit that’s still one of the most highly regarded videogame adaptations ever made. Unfortunately, this success didn’t pan out quite as Kasanoff originally planned. A universally panned sequel was followed by lukewarm television ventures and talks of a third film evaporated into Development Hell. After the series made a dramatic comeback following Midway’s bankruptcy, hopes for a new Mortal Kombat movie were raised through the web series helmed by Kevin Tancharoen. Although he never got to direct a big screen adaptation, Tancharoen’s efforts were picked up by producer James Wan, writer Greg Russo, and director Simon McQuoid, with the trio determined to bring the franchise’s gory violence to life in all its glory. Despite long-running rumours of the original movie’s cast returning for another film, this new Mortal Kombat featured an all-new cast and attracted early controversy for creating a new audience surrogate and its poor use of Goro, now a disappointing CGI creature rather than a traditional effect. While the film’s $84.4 million box office made it a mild success, reviews were somewhat mixed. The fights and gore were praised but the characters, acting, and plot all drew criticism. Yet, despite it not living up to the standards set by the 1995 film, Mortal Kombat delivered some stellar fight scenes between the franchise’s most popular characters and was successful enough to warrant a 2025 sequel.

The Review:
I’ve always enjoyed the original Mortal Kombat movie. Even now, it’s still my favourite live-action adaptation of a videogame, to the point where I wrote an entire chapter of my PhD thesis about the film and its infamous legacy! I waited eagerly for the follow-up, only to be met with a surreal, nonsensical bombardment of noise and mess that basically killed the franchise dead. Even the relatively enjoyable television ventures couldn’t undo the damage, and Mortal Kombat was left to fester for years as fans waited for news of a third film or an all-out reboot. Those dreams were almost answered by Kevin Tancharoen, whose online videos showed a certain promise, but Warner Bros. randomly decided to go in a different direction and sign-off on this reboot instead. From the first trailers, things looked somewhat promising by focusing on bloody combat, the franchise’s trademark Fatalities, and with much of the marketing revolving around fan favourite ninjas Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Sanada) and Sub-Zero. Indeed, Mortal Kombat immediately makes up for the character assassination these icons received under the direction of Paul W.S. Anderson by opening in 17^th century Japan and depicting the wholesale slaughter of Hasahi’s ninja clan, the Shirai Ryu, at the hands of Bi-Han and his own ninja assassins, the Lin Kuei. Hasashi, an honourable family man who lives a relatively peaceful life tending to the land with his wife, Harumi (Yukiko Shinohara), and young son, Satoshi “Jubei” Hasashi (Ren Miyagawa), and infant daughter (Mia Hall). However, when his family and clan are threatened, Hasashi becomes a force to be reckoned with, making use of a digging trowel as a makeshift kunai to oppose the assassins, only to realise all-too-late that the attack was merely a distraction so the sadistic Bi-Han could leave Harumi and Jubei little more than ice sculptures for the grief-stricken Hasashi to find.

*A strong opening soon gives way to an audience surrogate no-one asked for.*

Naturally, a fierce battle ensues between the two rivals that sees Bi-Han’s face permanently scarred and Hasashi stabbed and killed by his own weapon, condemning his soul of the hellish Netherrealm, ending his bloodline, and leaving the Lin Kuei victorious. Well…not quite, for Hasashi’s baby survived and was recovered by Raiden (Asano), God of Thunder and protector of Earthrealm, since it was foretold that the “blood of a Hasashi” would unite Earth’s champions against the realm-conquering Outworld. Honestly, Mortal Kombat might’ve fared better if the entirety of its runtime was built around the Hasashi/Bi-Han rivalry, taking place in the past and including select appearances from other prominent franchise characters. Instead, the story jumps ahead to 2021, a time when Outworld has won nine out of ten Mortal Kombat tournaments and needs just one more victory to legally invade our world. They have succeeded in this endeavour thanks to the unmatched sorcery and deceitful nature of Outworld representative Shang Tsung, an enigmatic man who uses any means at his disposal (including bending the sacred rules of the tournament) to preemptively target those destined to fight against Outworld. Thus, any Earthrealmer bearing a dragon-shaped birthmark is targeted by Shang Tsung’s lead assassin, Bi-Han, now clad in armour and taking the name Sub-Zero, who presumably retains his youth and vigour thanks to the sorcerer’s influence. Sub-Zero’s latest target is Cole Young, a down-on-his luck mixed martial artist who’s struggling with self-doubt and to make a career out of his skills to provide for his family, wife Allison (Laura Brent) and daughter Emily (Matilda Kimber). Once a champion fighter, Cole has been reduced to taking $200 fights to put food on the table and is thus incredulous when Jax shows up inquiring about his unique dragon mark.

*Cole is amazed when he’s drawn into a world of supernatural violence.*

Cole is drawing into the crazy world of Mortal Kombat when Sub-Zero attacks him and his family at dinner, and it’s only the intervention of Jax that allows the Asano to escape. While Cole follows Jax’s instructions to meet with his partner, Sonya Blade (McNamee), Jax ends up mutilated when he battles Sub-Zero to cover Cole’s escape. Hopelessly outmatched despite his size and power, Jax has his arms frozen and shattered by the cruel cyromancer. Unlike Cole, and the other chosen warriors, Sonya does not carry a dragon mark, which is a source of great distress for her and something adversarial mercenary Kano (Lawson) and even Raiden mock her for. However, Sonya is acutely aware of Mortal Kombat, the threat against Earth, and the bizarre individuals associated with it. While Cole is sceptical, despite witnessing Sub-Zero’s abilities, his cynicism is quashed when another of Shang Tsung’s assassins, the voracious Syzoth/Reptile, who viciously attacks Sonya’s hideout. Since he’s her only chance to track down Raiden’s hidden temple, Sonya is forced to free Kano to assist in the fight. Although his face is mauled by the beast, Kano circumnavigates Reptile’s camouflage by stabbing him with a flare and proves his viciousness by tearing the Saurian’s heart out. While he’s a crude, crass, antagonistic criminal who can’t be trusted, Sonya is forced to bribe Kano with money she doesn’t have and he reluctantly joins the group, and the allies they find there, delighting in lording his superiority, verbally tearing them down, and excited at the prospect of gaining superpowers under Liu Kang’s (Lin) tutelage. Similar to Tancharoen’s previous adaptation, Mortal Kombat explains the videogames’ special moves not just in explicitly bestowing them to Shang Tsung’s demonic forces but in the concept of “Arcana”, abilities unique to those with the dragon mark. Since she doesn’t have a mark, Sonya can’t unlock her power but is permitted to stay and help train the others, giving Kano ample opportunity to rile her up, though Cole also struggles to unlock his Arcana despite his efforts.

*Raiden is unimpressed by Earthrealm’s chosen fighters.*

Protected from Shang Tsung’s assassins by Raiden’s mystical barrier, Cole, Sonya, and Kano train alongside warrior monks Liu Kang and Kung Lao (Max Huang), who also tend to Jax’s wounds and furnish him with a rudimentary set of cybernetic arms. Like Cole, Jax is frustrated by his newfound handicap, but Liu Kang and Kung Lao strive to push them all to unlock their true potential to defend Earthrealm. Staunch believers in Raiden’s cause, Liu Kang and Kung Lao have already unlocked their Arcanas, demonstrating incredible abilities such as fireballs and teleportation, and Kung Lao also utilises his iconic razor-sharp hat. Although Liu Kang is sympathetic to their confusion, time is against the would-be champions and he and his fellow Shaolin repeatedly subject the group to intense sparring sessions to push their bodies and minds to the absolute limit. Unfortunately for them, the only one who achieves this is Kano who, angered by “Kung Pow’s” dismissive attitude towards him, suddenly fires lasers from his injured eye. Far from the wise, playful mentor of previous adaptations, this version of Raiden is a blunt deity. Indeed, he’s so disappointed by the fighters and Cole’s progress that he regularly runs them down and even out-right dismissing Cole when, after revealing his lineage as Hasashi’s ancestor, he expresses displeasure that the struggling fighter didn’t live up to the expectations set by his forefather. When returned to his family, however, Cole finally unlocks his Arcana to defend them from Prince Goro (Angus Sampson), a four-armed Shokan who attempts to kill them and is instead torn to pieces when Cole spontaneously grows organic armour that allows him to absorb any attack, grow tonfas to attack with, and grants him superhuman strength.

*Outworld’s monstrous forces meet gruesome ends at the hands of our heroes.*

Galvanised by his awakened abilities and his victory over Goro, Cole reunites with his allies, now shaken following Kano’s betrayal. After a discussion with former ally Kabal (Daniel Nelson/Damon Herriman), Kano is convinced to betray Raiden, lowering the shield and allowing Shang Tsung’s assassins to attack. In the fracas, Jax unlocks his Arcana to save Sonya, upgrading his gaunt metal arms to more formidable appendages, but Kung Lao is lost when Shang Tsung steals his soul. Retreating to a void between realms to regroup, Cole shares a plan to target Shang Tsung’s warriors individually before teaming up to tackle Sub-Zero, their greatest threat, together. Like the original movie, Shang Tsung’s minions are given very little characterisation outside of two exceptions, Sub-Zero and Kabal. It’s genuinely upsetting seeing Goro reduced to an easily-dispatched underling and that more time wasn’t spent making Nitara (Mel Jarnson), Mileena (Sisi Stringer), and Reiko (Nathan Jones) more than lifeless minions for the good guys to fight. It seems the filmmakers were banking on Nitara’s and Mileena’s sex appeal (and the former’s unique, if poorly realised, vampiric abilities) and Reiko’s gargantuan stature to make up for this, but it doesn’t really work and it’s hard to care when they’re defeated, however gory it is, making me wish that Goro had taken Reiko’s place. Thankfully, Kabal somewhat makes up for this. He and Kano have the same snarky demeanour and Kabal has an awesome look, but we learn very little about their time together in the Black Dragon Clan and it’s weird that Liu Kang believed killing Kabal avenged Kung Lao’s death when Shang Tsung dealt the finishing blow. Similarly, Chin Han is as miscast as the sorcerer as Tadanobu Asano is as Raiden; neither can hold a candle to their predecessors or even their television counterparts and, while Han tries to exude an authoritative menace, both are very weak and forgettable in their roles.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Similar to the much-maligned Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, faith in yourself and teamwork are core themes of this new Mortal Kombat. Much of Cole’s characterisation comes from his declining martial arts career; he went from a champion to a chump and he struggles with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, despite having a caring and supportive family behind him. It’s this, as much as his scepticism, that holds him back while training, and these issues are only compounded when Raiden literally tells him he was destined for more and has failed to accomplish even half of his potential. It’s thus telling that Cole’s Arcana awakens when he’s defending his loved ones, but it’s hard to deny that Cole’s bland and completely unnecessary character. The Mortal Kombat franchise has one of the biggest and most diverse rosters in all its genre but the filmmakers created a brand-new audience surrogate when Johnny Cage would’ve fulfilled this role just as well. Hell, it would only have taken a couple of slight tweaks to have Cage assume Cole’s role, and all the hints towards Cage’s future involvement can’t make up for his absence here. Cole’s struggles are echoed in both Jax and Sonya, who both face an uphill battle to overcome either their physical limitations or their lack of an official brand to contribute to Earthrealm’s defence, something they ultimately accomplish when forced to go beyond their limits to save their friends or avenge their losses.

*This adaptation is much more faithful to the violent nature of the source material.*

While the first Mortal Kombat unquestionably captured the spirit of the source material, smartly drawing from martial arts cinema to focus more on memorable characters and fights than the trademark gore, this Mortal Kombat clearly draws from NetherRealm’s modern titles and even explicitly recreates Kung Lao’s infamous “Razor’s Edge” Fatality by having him slice Nitara in two with his hat! Similarly, Jax crushes Reiko’s head and Liu Kang conjures a flaming dragon to take out Kabal, just like in the videogames, and of course there’s Kano’s classic heart rip Fatality, which are all suitably gruesome and give the film an entertaining edge since it’s the first time we’ve seen such explicit gore in an official live-action adaptation of the famous franchise. Similarly, the film is full of cursing, with Kano clearly channelling the late Trevor Goddard into his performance as the bombastic and outrageous Kano to steal the show like his predecessor did with his rude quips and abrasive attitude. I do enjoy these more adult aspects of the film and, in many ways, they make it a superior and more faithful adaptation than the original film, but all the blood and swearing in the world can’t make up for bland characters and uninspiring acting. Say what you will about the original’s tame content but at least the main cast was charismatic and embodied their roles. I like the performances from Liu Kang and Kung Lao here but they show up so late into the story and we learn so little about them that it’s difficult to be too attached to them. Raiden is an unlikeable jackass, most of Shang Tsung’s underlings are disposable baddies to be offed, and once again Sonya fails to impress as a bad-ass female protagonist, coming across more like a spare part since she isn’t even a chosen warrior. It’s as though the filmmakers did the opposite of the original film, focusing on gore and spectacle over character and heart, meaning it also falls short of being a definitive adaptation and can’t even rely on a memorable soundtrack to get by since the remix of “Techno Syndrome” isn’t used as prominently as in the original film.

*The film’s bookended by the best parts and limp’s to an uninspired finish.*

Mortal Kombat tries to claw back some credibility in the finale when, after dispatching Shang Tsung’s dull minions and finally granting Sonya an Arcana and a dragon mark when she kills Kano, Cole is drawn into a confrontation with Sub-Zero after he kidnaps Allison and Emily. Unfortunately, even with his organic armour, Cole is no match for the cold-blooded assassin. Luckily, however, Raiden gifted Cole his ancestor’s kunai, which returns Hasashi from the Netherrealm as the vengeful Scorpion. Thus, the film comes full circle as the two most popular characters battle once more, completely stealing the thunder from Cole and making all the time spent with the other characters largely superfluous. If Johnny Cage wasn’t going to be used in Cole’s place, Cole could’ve at least been a reincarnation of Hasashi or have been transformed into Scorpion by the Arcana or the kunai. Instead, Cole’s left freeing his family and watching from the sidelines as his ancestor avenges himself on his killer in a bloody battle that’s easily the best of the film. Again, this is why these two should’ve been the primary focus. If you’re not going to do the tournament anyway, you may as well focus on the two most interesting characters in the franchise, and Taslim and Sanada excel in their kinetic, brutal fight scenes. In this rematch, the two are far more equally matched and Scorpion takes his revenge, immolating the injured assassin alive. Strangely there’s a moment of sympathy for Sub-Zero that, like Shang Tsung’s throwaway line regarding the resurrection of his fallen forces, is potentially a hint at his return in the next instalment, possibly as Noob Saibot. In the aftermath, Hasashi charges Cole with protecting their bloodline and returns to the Netherrealm. As Shang Tsung threatened to bring an entire army to their door, the galvanised Cole readily accepts Raiden’s offer to find and train new warriors and heads out to recruit movie star Johnny Cage (Unseen) to the cause.

The Summary:
I was pretty excited about Mortal Kombat at the time. I’d wanted to see a new adaptation for years and truly believed the original movie could be outdone if the filmmakers drew inspiration from it as much as the modern videogames. Obviously, nostalgia is a huge factor in the original’s appeal. Truthfully, it has many flaws that go beyond its tame nature, but it’s still an enjoyable action film, primarily because of the cast and execution. This Mortal Kombat stumbles somewhat in this aspect, predominantly because of its bland and unnecessary main character. Lewis Tan may have a good look and fight well, but he’s not much of an actor and it’s hard to be invested in Cole since I spent the entire time wondering why he’s even there. His Arcana wasn’t that great, either, and I’m not sure I liked this concept, while I’m on the subject. It worked as a goal for the characters to strive towards, but I honestly think it’s better to have the mortal warriors have to overcome fantastic abilities rather than giving everyone superpowers. The gore and Fatalities were great, as were many of the fight scenes and action sequences, and I enjoyed how closely these aspects mirrored the videogames. Sadly, this is juxtaposed with lacklustre version of Shang Tsung (because it’s hard to improve upon Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), an unlikeable rendition of Raiden, and a bizarrely unimpressive Goro who not only goes out like an idiot but is an awful CGI monstrosity. Indeed, for every aspect that works here, there’s two or three things that don’t, making this enjoyable enough but far from an improvement over the original film. It’s a shame as there’s a lot of potential here, and I’m sure viewers unfamiliar with the original movie will find a lot to like in this version. However, it missed the mark in a lot of ways for me, primarily in overcomplicating and overstuffing the narrative, making it a bit of a mess at times.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Did you enjoy Mortal Kombat? What did you think to Cole Young; was he an interesting enough protagonist for you or did you find him a bit bland? Would you have preferred to see Johnny Cage in his role? What did you think to the blood, Fatalities, and fights? Were you also disappointed by the depiction of Raiden, Shang Tsung, and the underling villains? Would you have preferred to see Scorpion and Sub-Zero be the primary focus? Which Mortal Kombat characters would you like to see featured in a future film? How are you celebrating Mortal Kombat today? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Mortal Kombat content across the site.

Movie Night: Beetlejuice

09/09/202416/09/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 30 March 1988
Director: Tim Burton
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Budget: $15 million
Stars: Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Michael Keaton

The Plot:
Recently deceased Barbara (Davis) and Adam Maitland (Baldwin) despair when real estate developer Charles Deetz (Jones), his artist wife Delia (O’Hara), and their goth daughter Lydia (Ryder) renovate their beloved home. In desperation, they turn to mischievous “bio-exorcist” Beetlejuice (Keaton) to scare the family away.

The Background:
Tim Burton is, perhaps, the textbook definition of an “auteur”, producing gothic, disturbing films that are instantly recognisable thanks to his unique aesthetic and frequent collaborations with certain actors and personnel. However, even after proving himself with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Burton, 1985) and getting approval to work on a Batman adaptation, it wasn’t until Beetlejuice became a surprise hit that Burton’s ability as a director was cemented. The original script was much darker, depicting far more disturbing scenes and the titular character as a more dangerous and perverted spirit, before it was rewritten with input from Warren Skaaren to focus more on dark comedy than out-right horror. While Sammy Davis Jr., Dudley Moore, and Sam Kinison were considered for the title role, Burton was impressed by Michael Keaton’s audition, signalling a long-time collaborative partnership between the two. $1 million of the budget went on the special effects, which employed traditional techniques like stop motion, prosthetic makeup, and puppetry, and Burton insisted that they be purposely cheap and fake to emulate the B-movies he grew up with. As mentioned, Beetlejuice was a surprise commercial success; it received widespread positive reviews praising the blending of horror and comedy and the creativity on show. Although it spawned numerous videogames, a beloved animated spin-off, and even a well-received Broadway musical, development of a sequel ran into frequent obstacles and it would take over thirty years for it to see the light of day.

The Review:
Beetlejuice is set in Winter River, Connecticut; a quiet little town where everyone knows everyone. It centres on married couple Barbara and Adam Maitland, who own and run a hardware store in town and live in a large, suitably gothic (despite its subdued colour scheme and interior) house atop a hill. This house is their pride and joy; they’ve worked hard to get it exactly the way they want it and are so happy there and proud of their work that they eagerly spend their vacation at home, decorating and indulging their hobbies, rather than away in the sun. A keen model-maker, Adam has built an elaborate miniature recreation of the town in the attic, including lights and various minute details that perfectly represent their sleepy town, while Barbara has painstakingly decorated every room to her standard. There are only two blights on their happiness: annoying nosey neighbour Jane Butterfield (Annie McEnroe), a local realtor constantly trying to convince them to sell their house, and their lack of children. Although the two are perfectly happy as they are, Barbara is visibly hurt by not being a mother, but more than happy to keep trying since she’s so lovey-dovey with Adam. They two have great chemistry, enjoying a dance and playfully presenting each other with gifts to aid their hobbies, and enjoy each other’s company so much that Barbara doesn’t think twice to accompany Adam to the store to pick up a few things for his model. Unfortunately, their whimsy is cut short by ridiculous happenstance; while swerving to avoid a dog, Barbara accidentally sends them plummeting into a river. The two return, rattled and disorientated, to a home now bathed in ominous shadow and far less cozy than they left it. Troubled by gaps in his memory, Adam attempts to retrace their steps only to find himself in a desolate, alien wasteland populated by monstrous sandworms. When Barbara yanks him to safety, that one brief instant is revealed to have lasted two hours and the two are forced to confront the fact that they died in the crash and are now ghosts tethered to their beloved home.

*The recently deceased Maitlands are horrified by their home’s new owners, but bond with Lydia.*

Confused and frustrated, their only source of information is the convenient Handbook for the Recently Deceased, a guidebook that’s needlessly obtuse but explains that they’re bound to that location and invisible to most living people, though they can freely interact with objects and don’t appear intangible. Just as they’re adjusting to their newfound unlife, the Maitlands are dismayed to find that Jane finally got her wish and sold their house to a family from New York, who immediately come storming in and criticise the décor. The two families couldn’t be more different; patriarch Charles, a real estate developer, has little authority next to his demanding and outspoken artist wife, Delia. Charles is the only one of the three to be excited by the move, revelling in the peace and quiet after what’s implied to be a nervous breakdown. The one time he puts his foot down is when he convinces Delia and her flamboyant interior designer, Otho Fenlock (Glenn Shadix), to leave Adam’s office as it is so he has a place to relax. However, Charles soon sets his sights on selling other properties to New York big-wigs like Maxie Dean (Robert Goulet). Already annoyed at having to uproot, Delia is immediately disgusted by the house and works with Otho to strip away everything the Maitlands worked so hard on, turning the house into a bizarre art-deco mishmash of styles that suit her surreal artistic vision. Desperate to express herself creatively, Delia focuses on little else other than impressing others with her art and hospitality, constantly berating Charles and ignoring her stepdaughter, Lydia. A sullen goth with an eye for photography, Lydia is overly dramatic at times but naturally inquisitive. Whereas Charles and Delia are happy to accept that the attic is locked, Lydia persists and soon discovers both the handbook and the ghosts in their house. Describing herself as “strange and unusual”, Lydia’s unique disposition means she can see and fully accepts the ghostly couple. She quickly bonds with them, gaining friendly, accepting parental figures who encourage her curious nature, and becomes enamoured by the allure of the afterlife.

*Desperate to reclaim their home, the Maitlands turn to the conniving Beetlejuice.*

Though the Maitlands like Lydia and are excited to have someone else to talk to, they cannot abide her family and are desperate to scare them away. Unfortunately, their initial attempts fail miserably since no one but Lydia can see them, rendering their face-ripping and elaborate murder scenes pointless. Turning to the handbook, Adam discovers a way to journey to the amusingly bureaucratic spirit realm, where lost souls are forced to wait in line and fill out forms for assistance. This puts them in touch with Juno (Sylvia Sidney), their caseworker, who chastises their naivety and tells them they must spent 125 years at the house before they can move on, meaning it’s up to them to practice with their abilities and study the handbook to scare away the Deetzes. However, after failing to scare the Deetzes with simple sheets and struggling to remain hidden, Maitlands are drawn to the services of “bio-exorcist” Beetlejuice, a gruff, dishevelled spirit whom Juno warns them against employing due to his troublesome nature. In desperation, the two call his name three times and are transported to Adam’s model, where Beetlejuice has set up home. They dig him up and immediately regret their actions; loud, lewd, and foul, Beetlejuice disgusts them with his perverted nature and bloodthirsty methods. They leave, preferring to possess the Deetzes to dance to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, but fail to put Beetlejuice back. Enraged and insulted, Beetlejuice spitefully attacks the Deetzes as a giant, demonic state, taking a perverse interest in Lydia and mocking the Maitlands at every opportunity. Tired of being handcuffed to his spiritual lot, Beetlejuice tries to convince Lydia to say his name and unshackle him, though she’s warned off him by the Maitlands, who decide to let the Deetzes stay so they can be closer to Lydia, who they’ve come to see as a surrogate daughter. However, when the Deetzes see the potential of their haunted house for aggressive expansion, the Maitlands find their afterlife threatened and Lydia’s forced to turn to the unruly Beetlejuice to help them, even going so far as to agree to marry him to spare her friends from harm.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Beetlejuice is unhinged, gothic Tim Burton at its finest. As he often likes to do, Burton juxtaposes the quaint, suburban normality with the twisted and macabre, infusing the film with a black and occasionally metatextual humour to deliver a strangely compelling film. While the Maitlands are a perfectly normal suburban couple, the Deetz adults are obnoxious and selfish; even Charles indulges Delia’s ransacking of the house to get a bit of peace and quiet and his more subdued respect for the home turns to greed when he sees the financial value in the town. Lydia is the typical Burton outcast; sullen and introspective, she’s detached from her family’s drama and hobbies and struggles to connect with the real world. Befriending Barbara and Adam only fuels her fascination with the macabre and she even contemplates committing suicide to escape her boredom, something the Maitlands thankfully talk her out of by finally accepting her family. Naturally, the lewd humour is embodied by Beetlejuice, who swears at, molests, and mocks everyone around him. A conniving, self-serving conman, he twists every request to suit his own sadistic desires and has little interest in actually helping the Maitlands and more interest in indulging his mean streak and making moves on Lydia. Burton’s attention to detail in the humour is great; smoke escapes the slit in Juno’s throat, Adam reacts with confusion when the lighting grows more ominous when learning about Beetlejuice, and the bureaucratic nature of purgatory is just so bleakly fitting I can’t help but laugh.

*Burton’s depiction of death and use of practical effects add to the film’s visual appeal.*

Given it’s Tim Burton and 1988, Beetlejuice also boasts some impressive practical effects and model work. The rear projection is purposely janky whenever characters talk to the miniaturised Beetlejuice or encounter the sandworms, which all adds to the B-movie charm of the piece and the amazing make-up effects only broaden the appeal. The afterlife is full of poor souls forced to either wait their turn or deal with paperwork, whether they’re squashed flat, hanging from nooses, or literally cut in half. An entire football team appears as confused, zombie-like spirits, one poor soul as their head shrunken and mouth sewn shut, and Barbara and Adam are even shown the disturbing “lost souls” room, where exorcised spirits exist in an extra level of undead hell. Although Barbara and Adam’s attempts to scare the Deetzes fail time and again, they sure look great doing it. Barbara rips her face off in a wardrobe and stands holding Adam’s severed head, Adam’s disembodied body desperately rushes to the attic (briefly sensed by Otho, a self-proclaimed supernatural hobbyist), and the two malform their faces into monstrous forms using a combination of stop-motion and practical masks. Stop-motion is also employed during Beetlejuice’s snake attack scene, a surprisingly disturbing scene brought to life by practical, almost schlocky effects that would make Ed Wood proud. Beetlejuice’s powers seem almost unlimited, though he’s incapable of appearing unless summoned or directly telling people his name, causing him to employ flyers, advertisements and charades to spell it out. He can conjure spikes, a gruesome visage so ghastly only Barbara and Adam get to see it, call forth a brothel, and even manipulate reality to a degree, though he’s very much restricted unless his name is spoken. He does fear the sandworms, however, gigantic, multi-mouthed creatures that burrow through the sands of the desolate dimension outside a ghost’s boundaries and which seemingly feast on souls trapped there.

*Despite his crude nature and vast powers, Beetlejuice gets his comeuppance in the end.*

Beetlejuice’s full powers come to the forefront in the conclusion, when Lydia’s forced to summon him to save the Maitlands. Rather than being scared of their ghostly inhabitants, the Deetzes plan to market the Maitlands and use them to sell Winter River as a tourist attraction. Though a natural braggart, Otho does have an understanding of the handbook and, after swiping it, uses it and his rudimentary knowledge of the supernatural to perform a ritual that summons the Maitlands in a séance. However, the two begin to rapidly decay, so Lydia begs Beetlejuice to help. He readily agrees, delighting in attacking the yuppy guests as a living carnival attraction, on the condition that Lydia marries him so he’s no longer shackled by restrictions. Surprisingly, Beetlejuice keeps his word and restores the Maitlands (albeit aggressively), then possesses Delia’s awful sculptures to bind Lydia’s family and render them helpless to keep him from forcing her to go through with her promise. He summons matching wedding outfits and a squat demon priest (Tony Cox) and desperately demands that the ceremony be completed as quickly as possible. Although the Maitlands try to interfere by saying his name, they’re no match for his powers and end up with their teeth falling to the floor, or their mouths being clamped shut, and being teleported to the model and the sand world. However, a distraction from Adam leaves Beetlejuice poised to be consumed by a sandworm Barbara somehow tames and rides into the real world, disrupting the ceremony and reconciling with the Deetzes. In the aftermath, much of the house has been restored as the two families reach a peaceful co-existence, sharing parenting duties over the more confident and adjusted Lydia, while Beetlejuice is forced to wait in line and endure a voodoo curse in the afterlife’s waiting room.

The Summary:
Beetlejuice is a wonderfully gothic, quirky horror/comedy that I first watched as a kid, during a time when horror disturbed me greatly. I’m surprised I wasn’t more horrified by Beetlejuice as some of the visuals are really terrifying, especially the way Barbara and Adam malform their faces and the ghastly forms Beetlejuice takes. While not gory, it is visually disturbing at times, something only exacerbated by the film’s depiction of the afterlife. In Burton’s twisted mind, dying is as much a chore as living; red tape, bureaucracy, and convoluted rules are paramount, making death just as stressful as life. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Maitlands must deal with a couple of yuppies messing up their beloved home. The Deetzes and Otho are perfectly cartoonish, selfish antagonists, caring little for the town’s peaceful nature and wanting only to make their mark on the untouched landscape. Lydia is portrayed as an outcast, someone as torn between normality and the macabre as she is the living and the supernatural, and she struggles to exist in that bubble, with her character arc coming to reconcile both halves of her personality. Naturally, the crude, lewd Beetlejuice is a standout; he barely has any screen time but Michael Keaton steals the show, yukking up his performance and delighting in unleashing his devilish side. The special effects are also a highlight, bolstering the horror and surreal nature of the film with a schlock, B-movie aesthetic and metatextual humour that makes it almost timeless. Beetlejuice is the perfect gateway into Tim Burton’s unique an macabre imagination, and is just as enjoyable now as when I first saw it. In fact, it might be even more enjoyable since I can better appreciate the little touches and attention to detail that make this such a strange but ghoulishly delightful experience.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Is Beetlejuice a favourite of yours? Where would you rank it against Tim Burton’s other films? What did you think to Michael Keaton’s scenery-chewing performance? Were you also freaked out by the ghastly visuals as a kid? What did you think to Burton’s depiction of the afterlife? Have you ever had an experience with ghosts or haunted houses? Either way, I’d love to see your thoughts and memories on Beetlejuice in the comments below.

Movie Night [Star Trek Day]: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

08/09/202408/09/2025Dr. K2 Comments

On this day, 8^th September 1966, the first episode of Star Trek (1966 to 1969), “The Man Trap” (Daniels, 1966), first aired. Since then, Star Trek has become a massive cultural phenomenon that still endures to this day, spawning numerous continuations, spin-offs, and ancillary media to become, perhaps, the most influential science-fiction franchise of all time. Accordingly, the 8^th of September has been deemed “Star Trek Day” and is thus the perfect excuse to dedicate some more time to, and celebrate, this massive sci-fi franchise.

Released: 26 November 1986
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Budget: $26 million
Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Catherine Hicks, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, and James Doohan

The Plot:
After resurrecting their crewmate, Captain Spock (Nimoy), Admiral James T. Kirk (Shatner) and the USS Enterprise crew face a court martial for mutiny. However, when an alien probe threatens the Earth, Kirk seeks redemption by time travelling back to the 20^th century to acquire the only thing capable of stopping it: long-extinct humpback whales.

The Background:
Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Wise, 1979) grossed almost $140 million, it was met with mixed to negative reviews that a disappointed Paramount blamed on Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Luckily, the franchise bounced back with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Meyer, 1982), widely considered one of the best Star Trek movies, and Paramount was eager to capitalise with a third entry. Although Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Nimoy, 1984) was the lowest-grossing Star Trek movie at the time, positive reviews encouraged the development of a fourth film. Although Nimoy was granted additional creative input, star William Shatner was initially unwilling to return, leading to talks of a prequel movie. When Shatner signed on, Nimoy aimed to craft a fun, light-hearted time travel adventure and initially planned for Eddie Murphy to have a starring role before Shatner insisted on having a love interest. Industrial Light & Magic created the film’s models and optical effects, including the mysterious alien probe, though many sets and effects were allegedly reused from previous films. The Voyage Home was the first Star Trek movie to extensively film on location, specifically in and around San Francisco, though the whales were brought to life using cutting edge robotics courtesy of Walt Conti. With a box office of $133 million, The Voyage Home proved to be a financial success. Reviews were equally positive, with the film’s comedic tone, performances, and insightful message counting it amongst the best of the franchise.

The Review:
Following a touching dedication to the tragic fate of the Challenger and the title sequence (featuring a suitably bombastic and celebratory score by Leonard Rosenman), The Voyage Home opts to recap the events of the last two films by way of a Starfleet tribunal concerning Kirk and his crew’s actions. Thanks to footage from the previous movies somehow being presented as video evidence, the Klingon ambassador (John Schuck) reframes Kirk as a terrorist who murdered a Klingon crew and stole their ship and accuses him of developing the Genesis Device as a weapon of mass destruction against the Klingon people. Luckily for Kirk, Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard), is on hand to defend Kirk’s actions and equally condemn the aggression of his Klingon enemies. Although Kirk is guilty of violating many Starfleet regulations, the Klingon is dissatisfied and disgusted and vows that there will never be peace between the Klingons and Starfleet “as long as Kirk lives!” We then return to the planet Vulcan, where Kirk and his crew have been exiled for the last three months. In that time, they’ve made some modifications to the Bird of Prey they commandeered in the last film, christened it the HMS Bounty, and have unanimously agreed to return home to face the consequences of their actions.

*The crew’s voyage home is obstructed by a destructive alien probe.*

Seemingly no longer burdened by his midlife crisis, Kirk is more weighed down by the inevitable dishonourable end of his Starfleet career than even the death of his son. We get one scene where Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis) tells Kirk about David Marcus’ (Merritt Butrick) bravery and Kirk looks a little forlorn and that’s pretty much it. He doesn’t seem traumatised or grieving and is instead focused on atoning for his actions and helping Spock to reacclimatise to the crew. Since his resurrection, Spock has been testing his intelligence and reasoning ability to retrain his mind and get himself back up to speed. Though seemingly the same logical half-human Vulcan as ever, he’s still a little out of sorts. He’s perplexed by the relevance of his feelings and the illogical nature of his humans, who sacrificed everything to save him only for him to have regressed slightly thanks to his rebirth. While Kirk is confident that Spock will regain his full memories and personality, cantankerous Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Kelley) isn’t so sure and is the first to point out how unnerving it is that the status quo has been restored like nothing happened. Feeling a sense of kinship with his Vulcan companion that he’s never had before and curious to discuss his experience with death, Bones is aghast to find Spock as stubborn as ever, a quality the Vulcan shares with Kirk as both are seemingly dead set on ignoring the doctor’s wry commentary on and objections to their situation. Interestingly, The Voyage Home is the first Star Trek movie since the dreadful first film to have an otherworldly threat that doesn’t that humanoid form. The alien probe (a pretty basic, cylindrical structure) floats through space continuously broadcasting an incomprehensible signal that is eventually identified as being whale song.

*While back in 1986, Kirk enlists the help of a cetologist to acquire some whales.*

The mysterious probe defies all known sensor readings and explanations and disables the power systems of every ship that comes into contact with it, leaving them powerless and adrift and slowly succumbing the asphyxiation. After disabling both starships and spacedocks, the probe arrives at Earth and wreaks havoc with the atmosphere. This not only devastates all technology and power systems but also whips up destructive planetary storms and causes a thick cloud to block out the sun. With the Earth ravaged by the probe’s attack, Starfleet command have no choice but to warn all ships to stay away from the planet since they’re unable to communicate or engage with the probe. Though equally baffled by the probe’s signal, Spock theorises that it isn’t inherently hostile and that it’s actually trying to communicate with an aquatic lifeform. This allows Commander Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) to filter the signal and confirm Spock’s suspicions that only whales can respond to the probe. Since humans have hunted whales to extinction and an attack on the probe is deemed futile, the crew have no choice but to pull off a “time warp” by slingshotting the Bounty around the Sun at incredible speeds, a strangely simple concept that is almost laughable in its execution but, thanks to Spock’s “computations”, brings the crew to San Francisco, 1986. Determined to keep a low profile, Kirk and Spock head into the city to locate the source of the whales. Luckily, a bus billboard directs them to Cetacean Institute, a whale-themed facility where “George” and “Gracie” are under the care of cetologist Doctor Gillian Taylor (Hicks). Disgusted by man’s proclivity for hunting whales to the brink of extinction and the ineffectual means of preventing such heinous actions, Gillian greatly cares for George and Gracie, who have been kept in captivity since wandering into San Francisco Bay as calves. Gillian is heartbroken that the whales will soon be released into the wild due to budgetary concerns, which will put them at risk, and is astounded when Spock not only enters the whale enclosure but reveals that the whales are equally fond of her, and that Gracie is pregnant.

*The other crew actually get something to do and get into all sorts of bother as a result.*

Spock’s mind meld allows him to explain the situation to the whales and gain their consent, and sparks Gillian’s curiosity to the point where she throws caution to the wind and relates her concerns about the whales’ safety. Despite Spock’s amusingly blunt honesty and his notable charisma, Kirk is forced to tell Gillian the truth to win her over and she’s surprisingly chill about his crazy story, primarily because it’s the only viable option she has to keep her beloved whales safe. One positive about The Voyage Home is that it actually gives the rest of the crew something to do for a change; the crew split into teams and sent across San Francisco with specific tasks relating to the success of their mission. Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Doohan) teams up with Bones and Lieutenant Commander Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) to reconfigure the Bounty’s cargo bay into a whale enclosure, while Commander Pavel Chekov (Koenig) and Uhura are tasked with locating Naval ships to recharge the crude Klingon Dilithium crystals that power the Bounty. Though confused by the era and time displacement, the crew eventually bungle their way to success despite the natives being confused by Chekov’s questions regarding “nuclear wessels”. Alongside Bones, Scotty poses as a professor and meets with Plexicorp manager Doctor Nichols (Alex Henteloff) and provides him the formula for “transparent aluminium” in exchange for using his facilities to build the whale tank in an assumed example of a predestination paradox (i.e. Scotty was fated to provide the formula). While Sulu is relegated only to acquiring and piloting a helicopter to transport this tank, Chekov ends up hospitalised while acquiring the nuclear photons, resulting in a brief bit of drama as the crew infiltrate the hospital so Bones can wake him from his coma.

The Nitty-Gritty:
The Voyage Home is clearly a far more light-hearted film than its predecessors. After battling to defend the Earth from certain death, facing down a deeply personal enemy, and sacrificing everything for their comrade, it’s nice to have a fun, whimsical adventure that offers wry commentary on the state of society in the obnoxiously excessive 1980s. Despite this more light-hearted tone, there’s a strong environmental message at work here. Humanity is doomed to destruction in the far future thanks to overhunting humpback whales and their arrogance to assume that extraterrestrial life would only be interested in communicating with humans, and there’s a clear commentary on the beauty and wonder of these magnificent creatures that that are still tragically low in number. However, despite the catastrophic threat posed by the alien robe, there’s a distinct lack of stakes here. Wonky time travel logic means that the crew don’t even face the danger of a ticking clock and can effectively take as long as they like to acquire the whales since they can just travel back to the future at any time. Thus, the drama comes from them bungling through 1986 culture to recharge and prepare the Bounty and Kirk’s attempts to woo Gillian into aiding them in bringing George and Gracie to the 23^rd century before they’re let loose into the wild.

*Unfortunately, most of the film takes place in 1986 and focuses on comedy rather than space action.*

One aspect of The Voyage Home that has always irked me is how cheap the production is; almost everything is recycled from the last two films, including the crew’s wardrobe, the sets, and the models. I can’t totally begrudge this as it makes sense, in continuity, to carry these elements over but you’d think that Kirk and the others would’ve had some Vulcan clothing after spending three months there! This is most obviously felt in the fact that the film largely takes place in 1986 thanks to some janky time travel physics, meaning a lack of space action and battles. This is a bit of a shame as the model work and practical effects remain as charming as ever and the depiction of time warp, through the use of surreal imagery and conflicting sound bites, is very interesting. I also liked seeing the crew on the dingy Bounty and forced to adapt to its less refined Klingon specifications, and that the ship was almost shaken to pieces by travelling at such impossible speeds, but it spends most of the film parked and cloaked in Golden Gate Park since the focus is more on the comedic shenanigans of placing the crew in the primitive then-modern day. There’s a fair bit of comedy to be had in this setting, though; the crew are like fish out of water and are confused that whales are in the city (since I guess zoos aren’t a thing in the future), puzzled by the clothing and “colourful metaphors” of the less civilised inhabitants, and with little idea of the concept or value of money and the primitive technology of the time. This leads to some of my favourite scenes of the film, such as Kirk and Spock encountering a particularly abrasive bus passenger (Kirk Thatcher), Scotty trying to communicate to the PC through the mouse, Chekov’s madcap infiltration of a military submarine and subsequent interrogation, and Bones’ grumbling disregard for the primitive medicine of these “Dark Ages”. Still, it is a bit disappointing that so much of the film is set in 1986; it makes for some fun moments, but it hardly screams big-budget sci-fi adventure, and the focus is more on comedy and awkward interactions between the crew and the inhabitants of the time.

*Kirk’s time travel shenanigans result in him being reinstated as Captain and back on the* Enterprise.

Although Kirk could head to the open sea to get the whales they need, he’s determined to take George and Gracie since it’s not only “better” for everyone but also much easier. Scotty makes the modifications to the Bounty, Sulu acquires a helicopter, and Uhura successfully recharges the Dilithium crystals, but Chekov is injured escaping military custody and the window for acquiring the whales becomes narrower when they’re unexpectedly released early. Gillian is finally convinced to trust Kirk when she learns of the whales’ early release; beamed aboard the Bounty, Gillian quickly overcomes her confusion and awe of the future technology to provide Kirk with the means to track the whales. However, he makes a detour to rescue Chekov from the hands of “butchers” (with even Spock voicing his approval of the effort since it is the “human thing to do”). Although Kirk insists that Gillian can’t come with them, she leaps into his transporter beam and accompanies the crew as they track George and Gracie to Alaska, where they arrive in time to defend the whales from pirates, transport them aboard, and successfully return to the future based on Spock’s “best guess”. Upon arrival, the Bounty is immediately crippled by the probe and crashes into San Francisco Bay where, after a dramatic pause, they answer the probe and cause it to leave Earth space, thus ending its threat and restoring power to the ships it crippled. In the aftermath, Kirk and his loyal crew face the court martial but, in light of their heroic activities, Starfleet shows leniency. Kirk is demoted to Captain and given command of a new ship, the USS Enterprise-A. After bidding farewell to Gillian as she disappears forever to join the crew of a science vessel, Kirk and his crew return to the bridge of their iconic ship and prepare for new adventures into the great beyond.

The Summary:
I’ve never really been much of a fan of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Even as a kid, I felt like it was a bit of a step back since I mainly watch Star Trek for fun, space-based actin and adventure rather than comical jaunts to the past or dull political intrigue. Still, there’s a lot of heart and charm to this film; the cast are all clearly having a lot of fun wandering the city streets and interacting with everyday people, and this is reflected even in the normally stoic Spock, who can’t help but show his joy in the finale. The environmental message is very on the nose, but I think it works as a bit of a wakeup call regarding our place in the world, and the universe. The very animals we hunt to extinction could be all that’s saving us from destruction, which is a relevant message, but the film delivers it a little awkwardly. For instance, George and Gracie’s bloodline probably won’t last long enough to defend the world if the alien probe returns and it’s a bit impractical to keep time travelling for more whales. Luckily, I don’t think Star Trek ever returned to this plot point, or used Gillian again, but this sadly makes The Voyage Home even less relevant. I would’ve liked to see more emotion from Kirk, maybe explore his grief over his son’s death, and a bit more emphasis on Spock’s renewed life. The status quo was restored a little too fast, robbing the film and characters of some potential depth, and the reliance on comedy only exacerbates that. I like the feeling of light-hearted relief, but I’m hardly invested in the mission as there’s no sense of urgency or threat. Ultimately, The Voyage Home is like an extended epilogue to the last film that serves only to restore the crew to their rightful ship and ranks. The message is poignant, and the film is enjoyable at times; I liked that most of the crew actually got something to do and had some little side missions. However, I prefer the more intense space operas of the other entries so I can’t rank this one much higher.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home? What did you think to the tonal shift towards comedy? Did you enjoy the time travel plot or did you also think it was a bit of a cheap follow-up? What did you think to the environmental message and the depiction of time travel? Would you have liked to see more focus on Kirk’s grief and Spock’s rebirth? Which Star Trek captain, crew, show, or movie is your favourite and why? How are you celebrating Star Trek Day today? No matter what you think, leave your thoughts down below or leave a comment on my social media and check out my other Star Trek content.

Movie Night: The Matrix Revolutions

02/09/202403/07/2024Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 5 November 2003
Director: The Wachowski Brothers
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Budget: $110 to 150 million
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Harry Lennix, and Ian Bliss

The Plot:
Zion, the last bastion of humanity, faces imminent destruction from an all-out machine attack. While the city fortifies their defences, the fate of humanity is placed into the reluctant hands of Neo (Reeves) as he prepares for a final showdown with the rogue program Smith (Weaving) that will decide the fate of all lives, human and mechanical alike.

The Background:
In 1999, the aspiring writer/director duo of brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski (as they were then known) – inspired by manga and anime – combined a mixture of impressive martial arts, philosophy, and science-fiction to create an instant and lasting impression on action cinema, one that popularised “bullet time” and wire-assisted kung fu (or “wire-fu”) in movies. The Matrix was a massive critical and commercial hit and the Wachowskis made the brave decision to produce two sequels, back-to-back, alongside a varity of tie-in multimedia, including comics, videogames, and animated shorts. Although The Matrix Reloaded (Wachowski Brothers, 2003) made over $740 million worldwide, critics were torn: the film’s dense philosophy confused and divided many, though its intense action sequences were praised. Audiences only had to wait six months for the third, far more contentious entry, which the directors sought to resolve the emotional and spirutual journey of their characters while also delivering the same cutting-edge digital and practical effects and influential fight scenes. Perhaps it was the unrealistic expectations brought about by fan debate, the sheer influx of Matrix content, or the close release of the third film to the second, but The Matrix Revolutions was the lowest grossing of the original trilogy. Though its $427.3 million worldwide gross and persistent popularity later inspired a fourth film as much as greed, The Matrix Revolutions was largely dismissed by critics. Many felt that the film was anticlimactic, the performances wooden and strained, and that it focused too much on style over substance. Though it naturally has its fans, even star Keanu Reeves felt the movie disappointed as a finale but, since today is Keanu’s birthday, this seems like the perfect time to finish my ongoing retrospective of the franchise.

The Review:
I think it’s fair to say that The Matrix changed action cinema. It’s not really hyperbole to claim that The Matrix paved the way for not only a new wave of all-action films but also the superhero genre as we know it today, to say nothing of revitalising Keanu Reeves’ career. As celebrated as the first movie is, however, the sequels and subsequent multimedia spin-offs have had a mixed reaction, to say the least. I’m definitely in the minority of people who actually quite enjoyed The Matrix Reloaded, and even I’ll admit that it falls short of the original movie thanks to needlessly bogging down this unique cyberpunk world with dense lore and confusingly overblown dialogue. In the aftermath of The Matrix Reloaded, I remember there being a great deal of speculation about where the third movie would go, with a prevailing belief being that the post-apocalyptic real world would also turn out to be a simulation. I think this, and the expectations that the magic of the first movie would ultimately pay off, means that The Matrix Revolutions was always going to struggle as even now I’m not sure what would’ve constituted as a suitable finale for the ground-breaking franchise. The Matrix Reloaded ended on one hell of a cliff-hanger, with Neo demonstrating electromagnetic abilities in the real world and collapsing from the exertion and his rival, Smith, having downloaded a version of himself into Bane (Bliss) so he can expand his reach outside of the Matrix.

*Faced with forging the world’s new destiny, Neo must overcome his grief and fight like never before.*

Thus, Neo begins the movie trapped in the subtly named “Mobile Ave”, a kind of backdoor environment through which the repulsive Trainman (Bruce Spence) ferries illegal programs with no purpose from the Matrix to the machine world. This in itself is a bizarre idea, that Neo could somehow “plug into” this cyberspace environment because he’s “not ready” to die, but it also directly ties into the film’s message regarding the Matrix and its programs. In Mobile Ave, Neo meets Rama Kandra (Bernard White) and Kamala (Tharini Mudaliar), two programs who have fallen in love and have made a deal with the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) to get their daughter, Sati (Tanveer K. Atwal), to safety since she has no “purpose” within the confines of the machines’ digital realms. Neo’s interactions with Rama Kandra actually have lasting ramifications for his later decision to head to the machine city to broker a peace between humans and the machines and show that the programs are fully capable of adopting complex human behaviours such as love and faith. Although Neo is virtually unstoppable in the Matrix, he has no power in Mobile Ave and is thus reliant on his lover, Trinity (Moss), forcing the Merovingian to free him in order to return him to the fight. However, Neo returns as the barer of bad news: because of his decision to reject his predetermined destiny to continue the cycle of death and rebirth within Zion in favour of saving Trinity’s life, the last refuge of humanity is facing imminent destruction from an army of Sentinels. A final discussion with the Oracle (Mary Alice) reveals to Neo that his destiny is now to face Smith to the end, with the fate of both humans and machines in his hands, and he decides that the best way to approach this battle is to venture into the machine city to address their common enemy. Despite all his superhuman abilities and his messiah-like status within much of Zion, Neo remains as conflicted and troubled as ever. He knows that he’s betting the survival of the human race on his ability to best Smith and is reluctant to have Trinity accompany him since he knows it’s likely to be a one-way trip, and yet he fully commits to his mission even after he’s been permanently blinded in battle with Bane since he knows his sacrifice will bring an end to the conflict.

*Unfortunately, Trinity and* *Morpheus take a backseat to the greater conflict.*

Once a prominent linchpin in Neo’s awakening as “The One”, Trinity has largely devolved into a desperate, lovesick sidekick. Her first priority over all else is to rescue Neo from Mobile Ave and, when the Merovingian attempts to blackmail her and the others into doing his bidding in return for Neo, she simply initiates a Mexican standoff and demands that Neo is returned or they will all die. This recklessness pays off and she’s apparently delighted to be reunited with her lover (it’s honestly hard to tell since there’s still very little chemistry between the characters and actors) and, from there, she resolves to stay by his side even as he embarks on a suicide mission. Trinity is horrified when a psychotic Bane attempts to sabotage their trip and Neo is blinded in the fight. From there, she acts as Neo’s pilot (even though he can still inexplicably see, only now in an ethereal golden glow) and pushes herself, and the Logos, to the limit to break through the Sentinel barricade protecting the city. Although this grants her a view of the untainted sky above the broiling dark clouds that have suffocated the world, this trip ends in tragedy as the Logos crashes into the city and she is fatally wounded. With her dying breath, she expresses her gratitude to Neo for changing her life and her love for him. However, while it’s a poignant moment and Neo’s heartache is readily apparent, it’s a sudden, anticlimactic, and underwhelming death scene thanks to how long it drags on and, again, the lack of chemistry between the two. It’s a shame that Trinity doesn’t get more to do here as she was quite the ass-kicking machine in the first movie, and even The Matrix Reloaded made her a pivotal component to the plot and Neo’s greater destiny, but she’s basically just his pilot and the object of his affections her. Seraph (Collin Chou) is similarly neutered; I remember there being so much speculation about him and even the Merovingian being former Ones and Seraph has such a reputation in the film as a “wingless” fighter who has “beaten” Smith before but, despite demonstrating his fighting prowess in the second film, he’s just here to make up numbers and fail to protect Sati from Smith and his duplicates and the film makes no attempts to delve into who or what he really is.

*Although the stakes couldn’t be higher, I was underwhelmed by the conflict raging in Zion.*

Morpheus (Fishburne) has also lost a lot of his allure; he went from this enigmatic figure who spoke in riddles and exposited information with a cool demeanour to an almost fanatical figure of controversy in the last film. Now, with the truth about the Matrix and the One revealed to him and having lost his beloved ship, Morpheus’s faith is shaken and he’s far from the charismatic leader he was once painted as. Largely a bit player, he’s forced to take a backseat to Niobe (Smith) as she expertly pilots the Hammer through “mechanical” lines towards Zion and further raises the ire of the cantankerous Commander Lock (Lennix) when he crashes through the city’s defences and sets of an electromagnetic pulse that disables a wave of Sentinels attacking the dock but also renders Zion temporarily vulnerable. Indeed, Morpheus is disappointingly ineffectual during the massive assault between the Sentinels and Zion, giving way to the strict Captain Mifune (Nathaniel Lees), who’s given the unenviable task of organising the inhabitants into a fighting force to repel the endless waves of Sentinels. Although the Zion forces are armed in durable mech suits, they’re vastly outnumbered, leading to Mifune reluctantly allowing the overly enthusiastic Kid (Clayton Watson) to join the fight despite being underage. While technically an impressive and visually elaborate battle, the clash between Zion and the Sentinel swarm is a bit of a mess. It’s more like an extended videogame cutscene than anything else and it drags on way too long, laying waste to Zion’s forces and leaving Mifune shredded to death and the Kid as their only hope of salvation. Through sheer determination and his unwavering belief in Neo, the Kid is able to lumber his mech to the gate and allow the Hammer into the dock, where it subsequently knocks out the Sentinels with its EMP blast but leaves the city on the bring of all-out destruction until the machines suddenly stand down and Morpheus realises that Neo is fighting on their behalf within the Matrix.

*Having spread throughout the Matrix and beyond, Smith is on the brink of absolute victory.*

Once a loyal, if disgruntled, agent of the Matrix, Smith has since become his own man; thanks to his ability to endlessly duplicate himself by overriding other programs and inhabitants of the Matrix, his threat increases a thousandfold when he and his duplicates storm the Oracle’s apartment building and assimilate Seraph, Sati, and the Oracle herself! This gives Smith the “eyes of the Oracle” (the ability to see future events, to a certain degree) and allows him to spread like a literal virus throughout the simulation, and he’s even able to confront Neo in the real world by inhabiting Bane’s body. This initially catches Neo off-guard and ends up with him being horrifically scarred and blinded, but Smith is hampered by the fragility of his human body and ultimately defeated since a little thing like blindness is of no consequence to the One. Although we don’t really get to see Smith’s takeover of the Matrix happen since we’re too busy watching the never-ending battle in Zion, it’s effectively demonstrated when Neo confronts Smith in the finale, with the Matrix now a storm-ravaged hellscape populated only by Smith. After negotiating a peace treaty with a visual representation of the machine consciousness (subtly referred to as “Deus Ex Machina” (Henry Blasingame/Kevin Michael Richardson)), Neo is reinserted into the Matrix to fight on behalf of Zion and the machines against their common enemy and end the conflict between the two. Unlike in The Matrix Reloaded, Smith chooses to fight Neo one-on-one because he’s so confident of his victory. Indeed, his abilities have increased to the point where he can not only match Neo blow for blow but even emulate his superhuman abilities, allowing him to fly and pose a significant physical threat with just one of him. Still, it is a bit underwhelming after the madcap Burly Man Brawl of the last film, but I guess it allows for a more intense and personal battle between these two. Indeed, Smith’s power is now so great that, technically, Neo is unable to defeat him. Similar to his experiences in Mobile Ave, the Matrix is now so vastly corrupted and Smith’s power so vast that it’s all Neo can do to hold his own in the fight against the manic Smith, who desires nothing less than to assimilate all life, human and mechanical, and replace it with himself.

The Nitty-Gritty:
We’re far beyond deception, games, and subtlety in The Matrix Revolutions, and nowhere is this emphasised more than in Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph’s infiltration of the Merovingian’s risqué club (literally descending into “Club Hel”, a place of sadomasochism, excess, and near-demonic denizens) to not bargain with the aristocratic Frenchman but to hold him to ransom. This emphasis on getting to the point continues in Neo’s discussion with the Oracle. Not only does she explicitly (and, in my view, unnecessarily) call attention to her different appearance, but she abandons all riddles and double talk and clearly spells out to Neo that he must defeat his dark opposite, Smith, to decide the fate of the world. In this respect, The Matrix Revolutions is perhaps the simplest of the films to understand: Zion is in danger and Neo must fight Smith to save them and the machines, and this simplicity is perhaps why I find the film so dramatically underwhelming. The protracted and frankly boring war in Zion doesn’t help. It really feels like the film has run out of steam and is thus extending its runtime with a lengthy and muddled war sequence, and it definitely feels like the balance between action and exposition is a little off in the two Matrix sequels. I did, however, enjoy seeing a bit of a role reversal in Niobe and Morpheus. Once a devout believer in Neo and the One, Morpheus’s faith is shaken by Neo’s revelations, but Niobe has become convinced that Neo is worth betting on after witnessing first-hand what he can do. To be fair, Morpheus’s trust in Neo does remain steadfast and is showcased both in their surprisingly emotional farewell and in his ability to intuit that Neo has chosen to fight for his friends and the world.

*Sadly, the endless machine attack on Zion pales in comparison to the series’ iconic wire-fu.*

I think one thing that really brings The Matrix Revolutions down is the disappointing lack of wire-assisted, visually stunning kung-fu fight sequences. The Matrix Reloaded really impressed with some unique and fun fights, even if they were a little underdeveloped and a bit cartoony at times, but the third film meanders along for most of its runtime with only a brief ceiling-based scuffle between Trinity, Morpheus, Seraph and the Merovingian’s guards to tide us over until the action-packed finale. This, again, is another reason I find the battle for Zion so underwhelming and dull; there’s no fight choreography to marvel over, no physical skill to admire, and no fun CGI-assisted bullet time effects to spice things up. It’s just a boring mess of metal and screaming, a blur of indistinct characters jerking around in mech suits, bullets flying and shells clattering everywhere, and an uninspiring mess of Sentinels swarming the screen. Admittedly, it is impressive and imposing when they burst in as a cloud of writhing metallic limbs and tear through Zion’s forces, but there’s just way too much obvious greenscreen to really engage with it and it’s hard to really be invested since I know nothing about Captain Mifune (except that he doesn’t take any shit and never completed his training), don’t give two hoots about the Kid (who we’re never really given any reason to care about beyond him being a Neo fanboy), and couldn’t name any of their fellow soldiers who get decimated by the Sentinels. Perhaps if Morpheus had joined the fight, maybe even replacing Captain Mifune and dying in his place, this battle might have made a greater impression on me but, as is, it’s a slog that I just don’t find as interesting as the Hammer’s race to the city or Neo’s surprisingly brutal fight against Bane. Indeed, I simply find myself tuning about and pondering questions like how did Zion build all those mechs? Where is all that ammo coming from? How was Zion even built? We’re left to intuit that the machines helped build the city after the One resets the Matrix but it’s frustrating that questions like these (and how, exactly Neo’s abilities outside the Matrix work) aren’t answered. It’s almost as if the filmmakers couldn’t think of a suitable explanation and again makes it feel like it would’ve been far simpler to have the real world be another simulation, another “system of control”, to keep humans in line.

*An unexpected truce and a heroic sacrifice sees Neo end the war between humans and machines.*

As mentioned, Neo’s fight with Bane ends with him being blinded; however, he’s still able to “see” at least the machines and their proxies, which are rendered in an ethereal gold light. This, and his ill-explained ability to explode Sentinels with his mind, allows him to direct Trinity towards the machine city, destroy much of their defences, and converse with Deus Ex Machina. This stubborn representation of the machine hivemind initially scoffs at the idea of “needing” Neo’s help but is forced to relent since Smith’s existence poses a very real threat to the machines inside and outside of the Matrix. Thus, an offscreen deal is reached: Neo will enter the Matrix to stop Smith and, if successful, there will be peace between the two races. Reluctantly, Deus Ex Machina agrees and we finally get our big, explosive final showdown between Neo and Smith. This fight is pretty much the only thing worth watching The Matrix Revolutions for; against a relentless rainstorm and a nightmarish city landscape, Neo and Smith collide both on the ground and in the air, delivering a superpowered brawl that far surpassed Superman Returns (Singer, 2006) three years later. Although Neo previously bested Smith, he’s outmatched but the goal was never for him to actually defeat his rival, but to lure him into a false sense of security so that Smith could assimilate him. Thanks to the eyes of the Oracle, Smith knows that his victory is inevitable and, despite a moment of uncharacteristic fear when Neo appears resigned to his fate, he plunges his hand into Neo’s chest and overwrites his code, breathing a sigh of relief at having finally bested his foe. However, it really was just “a trick” as Deus Ex Machina uploads a destruct sequence into Neo’s lifeless body that summarily destroys all the Smiths and allows the Matrix to be restored, now without its grainy green hue. A conversation between the restored Oracle and the Architect (Helmut Bakaitis) reveals that Neo’s sacrifice has earned a fragile peace, one where those who wish to be freed (both human and machine) are allowed to go and all hostilities have ended. The Oracle is left assuring Sati that Neo may return some day and that she always believed that he would end the war that had ravaged and oppressed the world.

The Summary:
The downward spiral of the Matrix films is probably one of the greatest disappointments in cinema history. I firmly believe there was more than enough goodwill and lore to support two or three follow-ups to the first film as it just barely touched upon the unique cyberpunk world it presented, but none of the sequels were truly able to really deliver upon this. I can just about give The Matrix Reloaded a pass as I enjoy the action and fight sequences and even the ham-fisted philosophy, which served to unnecessarily overcomplicate things rather than simply giving us straight answers or naturally developing this post-apocalyptic world. Sadly, I can’t say the same about The Matrix Revolutions, which is generally a bleak and boring limp to the finish line for these otherwise captivating characters. Trinity’s death is really an allegory for this movie: it’s long, overly dramatic, and underwhelming, and nowhere is this more evident in the battle for Zion, which is so tedious that I still feel like I’m watching it even now! The stakes couldn’t be higher in this film and yet I feel almost nothing in this fight as it doesn’t directly involve any of the characters I care about, resulting in a grim slaughter that acts more as a showcase for some lacklustre digital effects than a tense battle. The fight between Neo and Smith is the only reason to watch this film again, and even that is a little disappointing since it boils down to a one-on-one brawl that can’t help but be underwhelming no matter how hard the two fly at each other since we saw Neo fending off an army of Smiths in the last film. Also, I love Keanu Reeves but even I can’t defend him in this film. He’s stoic to the point of boredom, is severely lacking in charisma, and has absolutely zero chemistry with the equally bland Carrie-Anne Moss, robbing her otherwise poignant death of any real impact and causing the film to end with a whimper rather than a bang as it’s not massively clear what happened. It’s a shame as The Matrix was such a unique and ground-breaking film and The Matrix Reloaded tried really hard to inject some new ideas into the concept. But The Matrix Revolutions failed to live up to expectations or deliver a satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy, opting not to deliver a largely mind-numbing finale rather than play into the rabid speculations offered by the fanbase.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Are you a fan of The Matrix Revolutions? Were you disappointed that it didn’t really provide a decent explanation for Neo’s expanded powers? Did you also find the battle between Zion and the Sentinels to be long and boring? What did you think to the idea of Neo battling Smith to the death to decide the fate of the world? What were you expecting from the film at the time and were you disappointed by the end? How are you celebrating Keanu Reeves’ birthday today and what are some of your favourite roles of his? Whatever you think about The Matrix Revolutions, drop a comment below or let me know your thoughts on my social media and be sure to check out my other Matrix reviews.

Movie Night: The Crow (2024)

31/08/202430/10/2025Dr. K3 Comments

Released: 23 August 2024
Director: Rupert Sanders
Distributor: Lionsgate
Budget: $50 million
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston, Laura Birn, and Sami Bouajila

The Plot:
When troubled youth Eric (Skarsgård) and his girlfriend, Shelly (Twigs), are brutally murdered on the orders of demonic crime lord Vincent Roeg (Huston), a supernatural crow resurrects Eric to take his revenge.

The Background:
Created by James O’Barr in 1989, The Crow was an underground success that reflected O’Barr’s anger and pain after a tragic loss to. Since dark comic book narratives were all the rage in Hollywood at the time, the comic soon transitioned into a critically and commercially successful film adaptation, one that achieved cult status and infamy after the accidentally on-set death of star Brandon Lee. Determined to capitalise on The Crow’s (Proyas, 1994) success, series producers Edward R. Pressman and Jeff Most signed off on a slew of sequels and even a short-lived television show that was notably better received than the three cinematic and direct-to-video follow-ups. Following the universally panned fourth movie, the franchise entered Development Hell for nearly twenty years as various writers, directors, and actors were attached to a potential reboot. Stephen Norrington was in talks to direct at one point, stars Bradley Cooper and Jason Momoa were tapped for the lead role, production was stalled by financial issues, and series creator James O’Barr stated repeatedly that the new film would be a “re-adaptation” of the source material rather than an outright remake just as Alex Proyas slammed its production. Finally, in 2020, the project was revived and gained traction; Bill Skarsgård won the lead, impressing director Rupert Sanders with his conditioning and enthusiasm, and harmless firearms were mandatory onset to avoid a repeat of Brandon Lee’s tragedy. Upon release, The Crow was met with largely negative reviews that reflected the reactions to the film’s trailers. The chemistry and performances of the leads was questioned, the pacing was slandered, and even more positive spins decried it as derivative of the original and ultimately unable to escape the shadow of its predecessor. Given the franchise’s persistence, it should be no surprise that the ending was reportedly tweaked (against Skarsgård’s objections) to leave the door open for a sequel, though the film’s dismal $24 million box office makes the prospect unlikely.

The Review:
I’ve been a fan of the Crow concept since I was a kid and we first taped the original movie off the television. From there, I discovered the original graphic novel (which, honestly, took me a little while to properly appreciate) and I delved into the movie sequels hoping to at least see more of the same. Unfortunately, it seems The Crow was lightning in a bottle and none of the follow-ups came close to matching the movie’s aura and appeal, which is weird to me as the concept is pretty simple and I maintain there’s a lot of material in the comic (and its follow-ups) that could make for a good film. Like, why not do it hyper-stylised and hyper-violent, like the Sin City movies (Rodriguez and Miller, 2005;2014)? Or take inspiration from The Crow: Dead Time (O’Barr, et al, 1996) or The Crow: Flesh and Blood (Vance, et al, 1996), maybe put a twist on the story and have Shelly be the one resurrected? I was cautiously optimistic for this long-gestating remake, hopeful that it would go for grim and gritty and try to get back to the roots of the concept, but immediately lost faith once I saw the first trailers and went into it hoping that it would at least be full of enjoyable, bloody action. My first wish (that it does something different with the concept) was kind of granted in that a huge portion of the film focuses on Eric (not Draven) and Shelly (no last name) and their budding attraction to each other. Unlike in the original, we spend a significant amount of time hanging with the two, seeing them flirt and play and fuck and apparently fall in love, and the entire time I was thinking to myself…I just don’t care. It’s so weird. Like, I felt more of an emotional connection to Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas) in the original film and she only appeared in flashbacks or as an apparition. Her and Eric’s (Brandon Lee) love and relationship was conveyed through fragmented memories, both happy and agonisingly violent, and through Eric’s pained, righteous anger. Yet, here, we see the two coming together and finally finding some peace together and I just couldn’t buy into it was it seemed so shallow and hollow.

*When he and Shelly are murdered, emo try-hard Eric returns to mope about and eventually get revenge.*

It doesn’t really help that we really don’t learn much about them. The film opens with a dream sequence from Eric’s childhood where he was apparently traumatised by the death of his beloved horse and it’s implied that his alcoholic or addict mother (Unknown) was abusive, then jumps to him in rehab, covered in ludicrous tattoos, and moping about, barely speaking and being further abused by his fellow inmates and the strangely aggressive guards. We’re told he turned to drink and drugs but never learn what he went through in the interim or what drove him to cut his wrists, and instead are presented with this sullen, damaged young man who’s essentially sleepwalking through life. In contrast, we do eventually learn a bit more about Shelly, but it still feels like pieces are missing from her puzzle. She begins the film freaked out because her friend, Zadie (Isabella Wei), is killed for recording some mysterious video of them and their friends at some party, then randomly gets arrested for possession and is locked up with Eric, whom she becomes attracted to because the script says so. when her mother, Sophia (Josette Simon), shows up with the mysterious Marian (Birn), Shelly has a partial panic attack and Eric encourages the two to flee. After escaping with ridiculous ease, the two then hole up in Shelly’s apartment and her pursuers never think to check there while the two shack up, befriend a bunch of unnamed fellow lowlifes, and revel in their freedom, despite apparently having no jobs or income (beyond, I guess, drug dealing?) eventually, Shelly opens up about being her past as a piano prodigy and Eric later learns that she was targeted by the enigmatic Vincent Roeg, who preys upon innocent souls and corrupts them with a demonic whisper. Since Shelly had video evidence of Roeg’s supernatural abilities, he eventually has his men storm the couple’s digs and suffocate them to death with plastic bags, condemning Shelly’s soul to eternal damnation since she was manipulated into stabbing a girl to death by Roeg’s influence. While Eric returns from the grave, Shelly also pops up here and there as a phantom, in Eric’s memories, or as he uncovers more of her past and she’s honestly a more fleshed out character than he is, and she’s cute and serviceable enough, but I struggled to believe the strength of their love since I didn’t see a lot of chemistry between the two.

*Despite constant exposition and the obvious, Eric remains largely clueless for most of the film.*

Upon being killed, Eric immediately awakens in a mysterious, desolate landscape dominated by crows (what I would describe as purgatory). There, he meets a shadowy figure the credits call Kronos (Bouajila) who basically acts as an exposition dump for what’s happened, delivering the famous “People once believed…” line from the original film and describing Eric’s situation and abilities. It’s honestly a little insulting, especially as we didn’t need such ham-fisted exposition in the original film; probably due to Brandon’s untimely death, all of his supernatural powers were conveyed using a simple “show, don’t tell” method but here, Kronos lays it all out to the stunned Eric, who returns to the living world a short time later not by bursting from his grave but by waking up on the apartment floor. Confused and disoriented, he attacks and kills corrupt cop Detective Milch (Dukagjin Podrimaj) when he comes to search for Shelly’s phone and discovers that he can heal from any wound, though isn’t spared the agony of bullet wounds and broken bones. Guided by a supernatural crow, Eric wanders about the streets, largely in disbelief about what’s happened, desperately trying to put names to the faces of his murderers; although he ends up as clueless as we are until the credits, he does stumble upon one of Roeg’s men, only for him to commit suicide rather than talk. Even Sofia is largely tight-lipped about providing him with information, though “luckily” Roeg is aware of the crow’s nature and sends his goons out to find Eric so he can steal his powers, meaning Eric gets to take out some baddies and the guys that wronged him, but he’s hardly as proactive as his predecessors.

*Probably the biggest sin of the film is it’s dull and forgettable villains.*

Although he lacks any formal fighting training and is unfamiliar with guns, Eric attempts to outfit himself and largely holds his own in a fight by relying on his supernatural healing. He simply ploughs ahead, absorbing damage and enduring the pain of resetting broken bones or healing from wounds. This time around, he remains virtually indestructible as long as his love for Shelly remains pure. While I would’ve expected this to factor into the finale, rendering him mortal as in previous iterations, this becomes a throwaway moment in the second act, when his belief in Shelly falters after watching her video and he dies a second time, forcing him to barter his soul for hers to return once again, finally donning a version of the iconic face paint and committing himself to his mission. This turns him from a melancholy, reluctant avenger to a stoic, enraged crusader as he systematically slaughters a bunch of goons with a sword, cutting his way through a wave of nine-to-fivers to reach Marian, who finally points him in Roeg’s direction. It’s hard to watch The Crow without comparing it to The Crow, but one area where it really fumbles the ball is in the bad guys. Instead of an eclectic bunch of over the top, memorable, despicable glorified street punks, we have a handful of unnamed goons who get so little screen time that I found myself forgetting which ones were responsible for Eric and Shelly’s death. The only one who stands out is Marian and, again, I have no idea who she is or what her motivations are. Roeg’s power is said to manipulate, corrupt, and control, so I assume they all follow him out of a desire for power or because he has leverage over time, but we learn nothing about any of them. They’re just people for Eric to kill, and while he may gain some catharsis and satisfaction from their deaths, I was briefly entertained by the blood splatter and then immediately forgot them. The exception, of course, is Roeg, played with quiet menace by the ever-reliable Danny Huston. He’s said to be centuries old, to have made a deal with the Devil, and corrupts innocents to keep himself out of Hell but…we never learn how this deal came about or anything about him except his predication for young piano players. He desires Eric’s powers, of course, and seems to covet power in general over everything else, but he’s such a vacuous and forgettable character compared to Michael Wincott’s Top Dollar and none of his underlings were as memorable as the latter’s gang of sadists.

The Nitty-Gritty:
As is to be expected, a central theme of The Crow is love. Eric and Shelly are both damaged and lonely individuals, one seemingly tortured by an abusive childhood and the other forced into horrendous acts against her will. Shelly apparently sees a reflection of herself in Eric, or perhaps feels whole with his damaged parts literally and figuratively filling the void in her soul, and they’re portrayed as carefree youngsters who live outside the system. Yet, while they may make for passionate lovers, I never felt like their love was anything more than the fiery lust of the young and attractive. Draven and Webster were a proper couple, set to be married, when they were killed, having built a life together filled with passion, fashion, and music. Eric and Shelly get drunk and high and doss about with their mates. Considering the threat Shelly knows Roeg represents, it seems weird to me that they didn’t go on the run and stayed not only in town but in her apartment; almost as weird as Roeg not sending his men there right away. Eric is especially disappointing; even if he’d had a different name so as not to be associated with Brandon Lee’s character, he’s such a sulky little emo try-hard, with his “edgy” tattoos and lethargic attitude, that I found it hard to care about him. He has none of Draven’s charisma or concern for others; he’s purely motivated by his emotions, slaughtering anyone in his way and struggling to understand what’s going on. He’s a very ineffectual avenger, something Kronos chastises him for, until the finale, where he finally accepts the responsibility placed on him and comes close to giving a decent interpretation of the character. Similarly, the soundtrack is noticeably lacking; sure, I’m an old man who isn’t into the weird tunes featured in this movie, but the lack of emo-infused, gothic rock and traditional heavy metal really works against the aural identity of the film as much as the bland setting keeps it from standing out visually.

*By the time Eric embraces his mission, it’s too little, too late for this snooze-fest.*

So, okay, maybe The Crow makes up for all this with action and gore. Well…no. yes, there is a lot of blood splatter and some creative, gory kills (certainly more than in the original film) but they’re not seen until the final act. Eric and Shelly are killed in a terrifying, but toothless manner compared to their counterparts and many of Eric’s later kills boil down to headshots and quick swipes of his sword. The opera slaughter (easily the best sequence in the film) is thus a highlight, with Eric cutting through waves of henchmen, slicing off arms, cutting through jaws, and absorbing every shot like a juggernaut, revelling in his bloodlust. His earlier freeway fight was okay, but lacked the focus and physicality of this scene, though naturally none of the antagonists offer a physical challenge to him given his supernatural abilities. There was a brief moment where this seemed to be a point of contention: Marian mentions how Eric, covering in the blood of his victims, has “the same look” as Roeg and Roeg explicitly states that Eric’s lust for revenge has cost him his humanity. Then it’s just swept under the rug and forgotten. Similarly, it seems Roeg is set to follow in Judah Earl’s (Richard Brooks) footsteps and steal Eric’s power using a combination of his demonic voice and Eric’s “black blood”, but that doesn’t happen either. Instead, Eric transports them to the crow’s realm and beats the old man to a pulp until he’s spirited away by demons. As per his deal, Shelly is returned to him and to life, with time apparently rewinding slightly to see her resuscitated soon after being suffocated. Eric remains dead, but seemingly chooses to wander purgatory, halfway between life and death, sure that their souls will reunite someday. Honestly it’s a bit of a confusing ending; almost as confusing as Roeg’s powers and background. Personally, I’ve always disliked that the Crow franchise has included other supernatural elements as they’ve progressed; to me, the avatar should be the only supernatural thing, set against earthly beings who must find other ways to combat him. But then again I also think The Crow is worthy of being more than just a plodding, generic, confuddled mess of a film. A sentiment Hollywood seems not to share.

The Summary:
I wanted to bee excited for The Crow. I genuinely believe a new version or adaptation of the story or concept could work, especially if it took a hyper-stylised or gritty, gothic aesthetic. Instead, The Crow is as generic as I feared and, I suspect, spent way too much time overthinking the concept. We didn’t need everything explained to us by Kronos and, arguably, we gained very little from following Eric and Shelly up to and past their deaths. I didn’t feel an emotional connection to them and, trust me, I wanted to. I kept waiting, begging, for the film to kick into gear and get started only for it to keep dragging its feet, giving us mopey emo-dude looking clueless when the obvious happens around him or is explained to him. For me, he should’ve taken on the familiar guise after his second resurrection and been all-in from there. I also wonder if the film would’ve been fitted from being told out of sequence, with the relationship aspects scaled down and reduced to nightmares and flashbacks. Also, the villains just missed the mark completely. There’s only so much Danny Huston can do with such limited screen time and development, and none of his underlings were as remotely memorable as those seen before. Even the brutal action sequences and copious blood can’t save The Crow, which is so far away from the spirit of the original that I wouldn’t call this a remake or a reboot, more a re-imagining. It’s a real shame as we’ve endured so many terrible Crow sequels and the concept deserves so much better, but do yourself a favour and just watch the original again because this tripe is as dull as dishwater and, worst of all, completely and immediately forgettable.

My Rating:

Terrible

Did you enjoy The Crow? Do you think the film added some interesting new wrinkles to the formula or did you find it generic and tasteless? What did you think to Bill Skarsgård’s performance and Eric’s characterisation? Did you like the addition focus on his relationship with Shelly? What did you think to Roeg and his largely forgettable henchmen? Which of The Crow’s sequels was your favourite, if any, and would you like the see the character return again? Whatever you think about The Crow, join the discussion below and go check out my other Crow reviews.

Movie Night [Judgment Day]: Terminator Salvation

29/08/202408/11/2025Dr. K5 Comments

“Three billion human lives ended on August 29^th, 1997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Day. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines”.

Released: 21 May 2009
Director: McG
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing
Budget: $200 million
Stars: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Helena Bonham Carter

The Plot:
Years after humanity was decimated by Skynet’s nuclear attack, John Connor (Bale) is seen as a prophet by many in the human Resistance due to his future knowledge. However, when Skynet begins targeting Connor’s future father, Kyle Reese (Yelchin), he’s forced to put his faith in Marcus Wright (Worthington), an amnesiac murderer resurrected by the same technology destined to birth Skynet’s Terminators.

The Background:
The Terminator (Cameron, 1984) might have been an unexpected financial success, but Terminator 2: Judgment Day (ibid, 1991) was a blockbuster release that is often touted as one of the greatest movie sequels of all time. Despite T2 being the definitive end of the story, star Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the franchise for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Mostow 2003), which proved to be a near-universal critical failure. However, Terminator 3 did surprisingly well at the box office and was supposed to be the first of two films revolving around the early days of the Future War before a series of lawsuits saw the rights change hands and McG wind up in the director’s chair. A fan of the first two films, McG initially wanted Robert Patrick to return and even discussed the project with James Cameron. Terminator 3 stars Nick Stahl and Claire Danes were initially set to return but rising star Christian Bale won the lead role, which was expanded following his input to explore his destiny as a leader, though Bale came under media fire following an on-set outburst that he later apologised for. Although Schwarzenegger’s involvement was in doubt since he was serving as the Governor of California at the time, he eventually allowed his likeness to be digitally applied to bodybuilder Roland Kickinger for the finale. The lead cyborg role was assumed (on Cameron’s suggestion) by rugged Australian Sam Worthington, who insisted on performing his own stunts despite a serious on-set injury. McG insisted on there being as many in-camera effects as possible; the film would be one of the legendary Stan Winston’s last projects and boasted large-scale models, repurposed Ducati motorcycles, and complex animatronics alongside digital effects. Initially, the film was to have a far darker and less sensible ending in which Marcus assumes John’’s visage and murders the protagonists, though this (and the entire third act) was changed after an online leak. As it barely cleared $370 million, Terminator Salvation failed to surpass its predecessor at the box office and was (in my view) unfairly shunned by critics. Reviews targeted the mindlessness of the plot, Schwarzenegger’s absence, and the performances, with even the likes of Schwarzenegger, Cameron, and Linda Hamilton criticising the film’s shortcomings. However, others praised the film and, in time, it has developed a bit of a cult following. Although it was accompanied by a videogame and animated tie-in, bankruptcy and legal issues saw the Terminator rights once again shopped around and the new rights holders opt to retread the original films for their reboots.

The Review:
Let’s face it, trying to follow-up Terminator 2 was probably never going to end well, especially when all you’re offering is a toothless rehash of what’s come before. However, as poorly handled as Terminator 3 was, I definitely think there was a perfect opportunity to continue the franchise with some fresh faces by either having new Terminators (or the same T-800) sent to different points in the past to target other members of the future Resistance or by simply producing a prequel set during the Future War. Even now, as I’ve noted, one of the biggest missed opportunities in the entire franchise is not giving us a sweeping, cinematic shot of an army of Arnolds marching across a field of human skulls blasting at the resistance without mercy. So, I was intrigued and cautiously optimistic when the trailers for Terminator Salvation hit, and even more so because it had Christian Bale in the lead role. Bale was riding a wave of mainstream success following his unrivalled turn as Bruce Wayne/Batman and was a far, far better choice than Nick Stahl, so much so that it’s honestly a little difficult believing that Stahl’s version of John became the hardened, driven, semi-prophetic icon that is the John of this movie. However, this is before subsequent movies started needlessly screwing about with the timeline so everything that’s happened before is still canon. The most obvious indication of this is the presence of Katherine “Kate” Connor (Howard), now upgraded from veterinary nurse to actual nurse. Unfortunately, while she’s clearly seen to be pregnant and is depicted as John’s loyal right-hand (to say nothing of also being played by a stronger actor), there isn’t really all that much for Kate to do here since the film is more focused on its new cast of characters.

*Hardened by conflict, John uses his future knowledge to inspire the Resistance and stay ahead of Skynet.*

Terminator Salvation takes place quite early on in the war against the machines; though crippled and decimated by nuclear war, the world hasn’t yet become a nightmarish landscape of human bones and the battlefield isn’t yet filled with laser blasts and, most notably, John hasn’t become the iconic leader of the human Resistance. Instead, he’s a well-respected member of “TechCom” and a fully capable soldier in the seemingly unwinnable war against Skynet. Thanks to the teachings of his mother, Sarah (Linda Hamilton), and the tapes she left behind, John has enough information on Skynet to accurately predict their tactics, target their bases, and fend off attacks from their proto-Terminators, the T-600 model. Although he’s still subject to the will of his superiors, particularly the cantankerous General Ashdown (Michael Ironside), John is regarded by many as a messiah-like figure thanks to his uncanny knowledge and his regular rallying calls to the rag-tag survivors trying to avoid detection in the wastelands. However, even John is stunned to not only learn that Skynet’s construction of the far deadlier T-800 infiltrator model has been fast-tracked but also that the machines possess a “kill list” that names not only him and the Resistance leaders but also his father-to-be, Kyle Reese. With Skynet due to launch a massive offensive against its targets in just four days, John volunteers to test out an experimental signal that can disable the machines and is encouraged to prepare his squad, alongside trusted lieutenant Barnes (Common), in using the weapon to storm Skynet’s main headquarters in San Francisco and rescue Kyle and the other prisoners before the timeline is irrevocably altered for the worst. Brave, driven, and hardened from fully accepting his destiny as the leader of the human Resistance, John has developed an intense hatred of the machines and battles them without hesitation, though he doesn’t do this recklessly. Instead, he uses his mother’s teachings to set traps and target the machine’s weak spots to either disable or reprogram them efficiently, all of which contributes to his celebrated status amongst many within the Resistance and those struggling out in the wilds.

*Amnesiac cyborg Marcus wins the trust of the rag-tag survivors trying to oppose the machines.*

Of course, John’s story is only one part of Terminator Salvation’s narrative as it was around this time that Hollywood was trying to make Sam Worthington a thing. To be fair, I actually don’t mind him but he’s not exactly the most impressive or charismatic actor out there, especially when placed opposite the intense and captivating Christian Bale. Marcus is first introduced prior to Skynet’s attack as a death row inmate convinced by Doctor Serena Kogan (Bonham Carter) of Cyberdyne Systems to donate his body to her research. The result is his transformation into Skynet’s first cybernetic operative, which is treated as a big surprise when Marcus is injured by a magnetic landmine and taken to John’s base but was both telegraphed by the trailers and blindingly obvious by the fact that Marcus stumbles out of a destroyed Skynet laboratory in the midst of the Future War. Suffering from amnesia and confused by the state of the world, Marcus instinctively heads towards nearby civilisation and finds only the ruins of the old world, deadly (if clunky) robotic soldiers patrolling the wasteland, and young Kyle and mute Star (Jadagrace Berry) struggling to survive. Although he angers Kyle by wearing the colours of the Resistance without earning them and humbles the youngster’s moxie by easily disarming him, Marcus develops a reluctant kinship with the two due to his inherently good heart and he’s so determined to rescue them after they’re scooped up alongside a bunch of other survivors that he fails to heed the warnings of Resistance pilot Blair Williams (Bloodgood) regarding the machines. Injured and shot down while trying to intercept the prisoner transport, Blair grows close to Marcus while stranded in the wasteland and is the only one to defend him when the truth about him is dramatically revealed. Trusting her instincts, Blair decides to set Marcus free rather than leave him in John’s custody since Connor and the Resistance immediately peg Marcus as an advanced Skynet infiltration unit. Though he lacks the imposing nature of the T-800 and is far more vulnerable than the average Terminator thanks to his exposed heart, Marcus proves invaluable to John’s efforts in infiltrating the machine base since he’s essentially one of them, but it’s only when he’s inside the belly of the beast that Marcus learns just how deep Skynet’s influence runs within his body and circuitry.

*As dangerous as Skynet’s forces are, they pale in comparison to the threa*t *posed by the T-800!*

Since we’re at the early stages of the war against the machines, Terminator Salvation offers the greatest variety in mechanical adversaries than any previous Terminator film, though at the cost of having a central antagonist machine for the Resistance to fight against. Primarily, the rag-tag humans must contend with clunky T-600s, bulky endoskeletons that make a scarecrow’s attempt to pass as human and open fire on their targets with miniguns. At one point, John sets a trap for a couple of Moto-Terminators, motorcycle-like robots that race along at high speeds but are easily reprogrammed by the Resistance. Similarly, tentacle-like Hydrobots attack the humans from the water and Hunter Killers (HKs) patrol the air, though all these machines are easily bested by regular weapons such as machine guns and rocket launchers. The gigantic Harvester proves a far more formidable and persistent threat; this hulking machine packs pulse cannons and a flamethrower and easily shrugs off an exploding petrol station, scoops up its targets, and spirits them away to Skynet Central on the back of a massive prisoner transport. When he awakens inside the facility, Marcus confronts the Skynet mainframe, which primarily assumes Dr. Kogan’s form to reveal that he was created to lure John into a trap and that Skynet has led the Resistance into a false sense of security with the fake kill signal, allowing them to easily wipe out the Resistance high command and threatening the survival of the human race by having all their primary targets in one place. The primary threat in Terminator Salvation is the impending development of the T-800 models, which has assumedly been accelerated since this is a slightly altered timeline to the one the elder Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) came from. While desperately searching Skynet Central for Kyle, John comes face-to-face with the machine that has haunted his family for so long, setting the stage for a brutal and intense showdown with a T-800 (Roland Kickinger/Arnold Schwarzenegger) that echoes the relentless murder machine that targeted Sarah back in the first movie.

The Nitty-Gritty:
As ever, a primary theme in Terminator Salvation is that of fate. John includes the message “There is no fate but what we make” in his nightly addresses and his entire existence and ability to intercept Skynet is based on the idea that his fate has been largely predetermined. I say “largely” because, as mentioned, this isn’t the Future War Sarah learned of from Kyle, which crops up a couple of times as an obstacle for the usually well-informed John to overcome. He’s stunned by Marcus’s existence, which wasn’t expected, and his experiences in the past mean that he naturally believes Marcus is a sophisticated infiltration unit specifically programmed to feign humanity to kill him. This bias briefly makes Kyle forget his own humanity, but he refuses to admonish Blair for following her heart and releasing Marcus since he recognises that she’s simply being human. John also reluctantly decides to trust Marcus in infiltrating Skynet Central since it’s the only chance he has of rescuing Kyle and ensuring his fate. Although he’s now far more capable and experienced as a soldier and a man, John’s greatest strength is in his conviction. While General Ashdown and others in the Resistance high command question John’s prophetic abilities, others (especially those stuck in the wilderness, like Kyle and Star) see John as an inspirational hero who motivates them to fight back against the machines. It’s through John’s nightly addresses that the survivors learn of the machines’ weaknesses and habits and find the strength to dig in and hold on since “They are the Resistance”, something Kyle takes very seriously even though he hasn’t earned this stripes, so to speak, as a fully-fledged member of the Resistance.

*The bleak visuals and focus on practical effects make this an under-rated entry in the series.*

Terminator Salvation is often unfairly overlooked in the grand scheme of things. While it’s not as dark or visually evocative as the nightmarish Future War sequences from the previous films and it’s a shame that neither side favours laser rifles as their go-to weapon, it’s an effectively bleak sci-fi war film that shows the devastation caused by the nuclear war (even though there’s realistically no way anyone would have survived such an onslaught, including the natural environment). A great selling point of the film is the gritty way it’s shot and the focus on practical effects. The T-600s might be a poor predecessor to the more versatile T-800s but they look great since they’re actually there and recall the animatronics and puppet work of the first movie. The Harvester, especially, impresses as a combination of practical and CGI effects, making for one of the most exhilarating sequences in the film as the gigantic mech smashes into a human hideout in search of its targets and easily shrugs off any attempts to disable or destroy it. Rather than making a massive tank with laser cannons like in the first two films, the Harvester is a lumbering giant built to contain and destroy as part of Skynet’s plot to lure John into the midst. Skynet Central, and the finale in general, is where Terminator Salvation most directly resembles the Future War seen in the previous films. A futuristic prison camp where prisoners are herded like cattle, branded, and summarily executed or put to work building new machines, the machine headquarters is an oppressive mechanical hellhole that’s juxtaposed with the more clinical high-tech Skynet high command and laboratory and the dank industrial factory where the machine’s inexhaustible armies and weapons are produced in bulk. Previously, we could only imagine what the inner workings of Skynet were like (outside of a few toy sets and spin-off media), but Terminator Salvation provides the most in-depth look at their factories and facilities. Again, this is very grounded and clearly meant as a taster for bigger things to come in future films since there’s no mention or concern about the time displacement chamber and the primary threat of the T-800 is more than enough cause for concern for the already-outgunned Resistance fighters.

*Marcus rejects his programming and willingly sacrifices himself to ensure the Resistance have their saviour.*

With Kyle and Star prisoners of the machines alongside countless other human survivors, John has no choice but the trust Marcus to infiltrate Skynet Central on his behalf and clear the defences so he can follow and rescue those trapped there. Time is not on John’s side in this endeavour as General Ashdown plans to launch an all-out assault on Skynet Central and, even though John uses his influence to override Ashdown’s direct command, the machines are also planning their own counterattack and threaten the fragile time paradox that birthed John in the first place. Rejecting his programming and mechanical nature, Marcus disrupts Skynet, disables their defences, and releases all the prisoners but, in the chaos, Kyle gets distracting trying to keep Star safe and, when John finally tracks them down, they are ambushed by the T-800. Returned to the relentless assassin from the first film, the T-800 silently and ruthlessly pursues its targets, shrugging off John’s attempts to slow it down or destroy it, even those that would have downed the previous T-800s. It endures a blast to the face, a grenade shot, and even being drowned in molten metal to keep attacking John, who it easily manhandles and bludgeons with its superior strength, and even manages to dupe by mimicking Kyle’s voice. After receiving his trademark facial scars, John frantically scrambles to fend off the Terminator, desperately rigging some of the machine’s nuclear power cells to blow the facility but finds an unlikely saviour in Marcus. Marcus battles the Terminator in an all-out brawl but ends up on the losing end thanks to a fatal blown to his exposed heart. Although John revives his cybernetic ally, he’s stabbed right through the chest from behind and left in critical condition. After dispatching the Terminator with surprising ease and escaping Skynet Central with his allies, Marcus heroically offers his own super-powered heart to save John’s life, thus sacrificing himself for the greater good. Sadly, this is a bit of a flat ending for me; John’s injury was obviously too severe for him to ever survive and it’s pretty clear that the finale underwent a frantic reshoot. I think it would’ve worked better if John had been impaled through the shoulder rather than right through the chest. Still, the film ends with a weakened John resolving to continue the fight and turn the tide against the machines, just as he is destined to do, though we’d unfortunately never get any further films set in this particular timeline.

The Summary:
While I admit that Terminator Salvation is far from a perfect film, it’s definitely nowhere near the worst film in the franchise. In fact, for me, it’s easily in the top three after the first two and is well worth a critical re-evaluation as it actually tries something new, something that respects what came before it, and actually works in the context of the continuity established so far, rather than needlessly retreading everything that came before it. While Sam Worthington and Moon Bloodgood are serviceable enough, the film is bolstered by Christian Bale’s gravelly, intense, admirable performance, but the late Anton Yelchin also impresses as a young Kyle Reese and the inclusion of notable character actors like Michael Ironside and even Common add some spice to the production. Where the film really shines, though, is in its bleak, war-themed aesthetic and impressive emphasis on practical effects. Sure, things are noticeably toned down (Marcus’s torn-up appearance is nowhere near as gory as in the first two movies) and we’re denied laser rifles and the nightmarish version of the Future War from the previous films, but the desolate, desperate nature of the Resistance’s fight against the machines is front and centre. I loved Bale’s intensity here; he stands head and shoulders above all other interpretations of the adult John Connor and gives a stellar, complex performance as a man hardened by war and determined to rally the survivors into a coherent unit. Honestly, I wouldn’t have minded if the T-800 hadn’t made an appearance at all but, while the Terminator only briefly wears Arnold’s visage, it’s absolutely the icing on the cake thanks to being at the centre of the brutal finale that captures the same desperate spirit as the elder Kyle’s fight for survival against the T-800 endoskeleton. Yes, the ending does let the film down a bit as I don’t believe for a second that John would ever survive his injuries and find it far too convenient that Marcus’s heart just happened to be compatible, but I can let that go as Terminator Salvation delivers an under-rated and highly entertaining Future War film that is absolutely where I wanted the franchise to go and it remains an absolute shame that we didn’t get at least one more movie set during this period.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Are you also a fan of Terminator Salvation? How do you think it compares to the other Terminator films? Were you a fan of Christian Bale’s performance and how would you rate Sam Worthington’s portrayal of Marcus Wright? What did you think to the practical effects used to bring Skynet’s forces to life? Did you enjoy seeing the T-800 show up for the finale or was it a little too tacked on for you? Would you have liked to see more films set during the Future War with this cast? How are you celebrating Judgement Day today? No matter what you think about Terminator Salvation, and the Terminator franchise, feel free to leave a reply down below and check out my other Terminator reviews.

My Rating:

Fantastic

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My Rating:

Fantastic

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My Rating:

Could Be Better

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My Rating:

Terrible

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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My Rating:

Pretty Good

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My Rating:

Could Be Better

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My Rating:

Terrible

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My Rating:

Great Stuff

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