So much of Tom Holland’s second solo venture as Spider-Man is tied to Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame that you half-expect another superhero to show up, and it’s oddly weird that no one does. The end result is another competent entry in the MCU, the final chapter in the universe’s Phase 3, but a film that doesn’t stand out on its own.
Read MoreThe key ingredient of the original film is the relationship between J and K: one an over-confident, rule-eschewing newbie, the other a grizzled veteran. Even though the screenwriters try to fit Hemsworth and Thompson into a similar dynamic, their characters are paper-thin by comparison
Read MoreDespite some strong performances and two excellent action sequences, Dark Phoenix never really feel like it had a chance. It’s still rife with problems, but it doesn’t deserve to be forgotten.
Read MoreThe balance between titanic brawls and terrified citizens is redistributed in the right direction; as any die-hard fan of the franchise will tell you, we’re not meant to focus on the drama of the helpless humans caught in the fray.
Read MoreThe movie adds 167 deaths alone - more than half the total - and many of these come in lengthy, technically dazzling scenes whose only crime is that there’s too much of them. It sounds odd, but for all the thrills and grim laughs in Chapter 3, the movie could do with being 10 or 15 minutes shorter.
Read MoreThe kids are the target audience, so all of the Pokémon have to look cute and cuddly. Pikachu is all sorts of fluffy and sassy, the travelling group of squeaking Bulbasaurs are a delight, and the giant earthquake-inducing Torterras really give you a sense of awe and wonder, the kind that kept so many kids (including yours truly) hooked.
Read MoreAs far as I’m concerned, Endgame’s relationship to spoilers runs a little deeper than this, because the movie is basically constructed out of them. It’s the culmination of twenty previous features, which have all had several breadcrumb scenes embedded inside and at the end of the credits that have led to this movie’s release. From beginning to end, watching the movie is like getting numerous stubborn itches scratched, with hilarious banter, epic team-up shots, and satisfying emotional arcs.
Read MoreHellboy himself is well-portrayed by David Harbour (Stranger Things), and there are some fun shout-outs to some of the more obscure characters and story threads from the comics. But that’s about all the good there is to say. The filmmakers are more concerned with grafting cringe-inducing scenes into an interpretation of the comic that might have had genuine promise in other hands.
Read MoreYet, it’s Shazam! that’s the first DC film to really explore this idea of a family, of how there really is a home for everyone and going solo isn’t always so cool. A large portion of the (pretty good) subplot deals with Billy’s attempts to find his birth mother, but when he finally begins to forge a new relationship with his foster family, it’s incredibly uplifting.
Read MoreTriple Frontier, with its all-male cast of ex-special forces operatives who decide to rob a drug dealer's stash of cash, made you believe with its marketing that it was an action shoot 'em up with cliched one-liners about duty, honour and how their own society has rejected them as a bunch of marginal contributors.
That's not this movie.
Read MoreBut like Wonder Woman and even Black Panther, it’s important to weigh the cultural role of the movie differently than its artistic role. Is Captain Marvel merely a series of boxes being checked, as if an H.R. rep were ensuring that everyone received equal consideration for the box-office domination job? Or is there more going on in this origin story?
Read MoreIn a world where mortal injuries can often be fixed as easily as sticking a severed head onto a robotic body, the movie contemplates what it means to be human, especially in a society filled with people who might pull off your arm (or even your head) and exchange it for profit.
Read MoreIt’s also intriguing how the message of the new film hews so closely to another recent example of wokenomics, the Gillette ad “The Best Men Can Be”. The spot, which questions toxic prevailing ideas about masculinity, seems to share some thematic DNA with The Lego Movie 2. Our hero, Emmet (Chris Pratt), spends much of the story contending with a belief that he’s not grown-up or tough enough to be the “special best friend” (re: boyfriend) of the movie’s female lead, Lucy (Elizabeth Banks).
Read MoreWhat we get in the movie is not at all what was suggested by the early production reports or the marketing – instead, it’s a thoroughly odd experience, a tonal mix that didn’t quite work for me, but something that definitely sets itself apart from the dime-a-dozen thrillers Neeson has made consistently for the past 10 years.
Read MoreHowever, while parts of the movie don’t really work, Shyamalan’s ultimate goal is to make the audience doubt the truth of the characters’ abilities. In a climactic scene outside the facility, Shyamalan uses extreme wide shots, fish-eye close-ups, and clumsy staging to strip a fight between Dunn and The Horde of the thrilling, Marvel-style grandeur we might expect from the subject matter.
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