So many action set pieces where I am in complete awe at even trying to think of how it was accomplished. A non-stop intense thrill ride that starts at 60 and only stops at the very end.
To be clear, I rate this show a 7 cause season 4 is that bad. If seasons 4 and 5 didn't exist, this would be a 9
I'm going to pretend that I know nothing of what Alex Garland himself has said about this movie and his motivations while writing it. All I've heard is vague bad misinterpretations of what he's said anyhow and I have no interest in doing any further research.
I have a different interpretation of this movie. I don't think it's trying to be "apolitical" or be a centrist stance on anything. I'm not even sure it's trying to be much of a war movie as such or be a study of the United States and divisive politics. I don't even feel like it's a look into "war journalism" and I'm sure actual journalists would be fairly appalled at how they're portrayed and I'm reasonably certain that this is in no way accurate whatsoever. Obviously the movie isn't trying to be left or right wing and is certainly vague about party affiliations but it is also thoroughly unconcerned with trying to explain what happened that led to these events beyond vague, hand wavy concoctions. To me, the ending very much comes across as "you can try your hardest to not care but you will be forced to". I don't think it ends abruptly because it ends when the story does. There's nothing more to discuss because what would inevitably happen happened. The characters are forced to come to grips with what the maelstrom around them as they wade through the muck in the quest for their own brand of thrills. This is simply a character study of a unique set of individuals in an unusual and dangerous situation with the setting simply as set dressing.
Before I go any deeper into my thoughts that are filled with spoilers, I'll give my spoiler free opinions. This was an incredible movie but not without its fumbles. The dialog is not always good and some lines come across as quite goofy. But when it hits, it very much hits it right out of the park. The battle scenes are tense, the music choices are excellent and the performances are absolutely wonderful. Kirsten Dunst is obviously a highlight but Cailee Spiney was a revelation, not having seen her in anything else before this. Jesse Plemons' small role has already been memed into oblivion but with good reason because it certainly is one of the most memorable sequences I can think of. The movie is shot beautifully and it very much is one of the most gorgeous, well shot movies I've seen in recent memory. All that said, it's so hard to recommend this movie to anyone. It's not straightforward or plot driven like most of Alex Garland's previous works (barring Men that I have not watched as of writing this review) but to me, this would certainly count as required viewing if you want to watch a movie unlike any other with fairly unique subject matter and for a masterclass in building tension. Watch it if given the opportunity but do not go in expecting payoffs and action set pieces. This was an extremely thought provoking piece but I don't think it was for the reasons I was expecting. I think I will be thinking about this one for a long time.
Now with the spoilers:
The moment it became clear to me that the movie wasn't trying to be apolitical was when they went arrived at the town out of time. Joe asks the cashier if she knows what's happening around them to which she says "we're trying to stay out of it". This clearly initially comes off as the naive and arrogant retort of someone privileged enough by geography to afford to say that but soon after, the movie shows that the town has taken the violent steps to keep it that way and it did not come about by accident. The town is no apolitical anachronistic paradise but a haven that is enforced through guns and blood spilled conveniently off screen. In a similar vein, none of the characters by the end remain neutral or disconnected from what happens around them. Lee is clearly shaken and can barely do her job in the moments leading up to the invasion of the White House. We do know that she is not immune to the affects of her work but what changes through the runtime is her affinity for Jessie and protecting her as she figuratively passes the torch to her. Lee tried to move with the times and keep herself focused as she adopted the digital camera, struggling to upload her shots through broken wifi, as the new generation comes in with the old film camera to take up her mantle. Joe and Jessie can clearly no longer stay neutral in the conflict as they leave behind Sammy and Lee's corpses and direct their ire towards the President who they probably feel is the reason for their colleagues' deaths and they take satisfaction in almost joyfully covering the President's final moments. "War is bad" seems almost like a trite message to have to be covered in 109 minutes but ultimately that is what I feel the movie is about. It does not matter how many photos you take, the moments that will deeply affect you will remain in your mind forever, needing no reminders and war is a powerful force that will leave an indelible mark on anyone
Another work of visual and aural art par excellence by the famed Studio Ghibli. Do not come in expecting linear, standard plot or narrative because the movie does not bother with it. It is entirely based on vibes and is mostly an allegorical tale of overcoming grief and sparing the next generation the sins of the past and leaving them to build themselves a better future. A lot of the themes beyond the personal struggles of a young, lost boy are fairly explicitly anti-war and anti-nationalism with the writer pushing for the new generation to imagine a world beyond what the ancestors of yore struggled created.
The pacing could have used some tightening since almost all of the first half is very slow setup that soaks in WW2 era countryside Japan which is only tolerable because of the beautiful, signature Ghibli aesthetic. The second half picks up and never really stops until the very end and this could have been two thirds of the movie with a shorter runtime. I can't say I was ever really bored but I did find myself wondering when the movie would move to the next major plot point for a significant chunk.
This show will probably grace the walls of TV history on the same level as something like Chernobyl. Masterfully written historical fiction with compelling characters, a dense narrative and excellent pacing. As with something this incredible, there's really not much else I have to say. The usual stuff like visuals, music, set design etc are all superbly executed and everything comes together in every single episode. I'm incredibly happy that TV like this is being made today.
What the hell is wrong with the comments here? Goddamn culture warriors "bravely" fighting against... I really don't know but keep up the great fight on trakt comments you morons
The first season was pretty good. Thankfully the show isn't holding out on all the mysteries for future seasons. Most of the big questions were answered by the finale with some teases for the future. Even if the show wasn't already renewed, I think I'd be mostly satisfied with what we have so far but let's see how the next season shapes up. Pretty good writing, great references to the games, good characters and acting, great sets honestly and decent production values. The power suits are probably the weak link in terms of looks and it's kind of a coin toss whether they look great or kinda shabby. There's enough here to at least look forward to the next season with how much has happened so far.
I'll be completely honest: I am a little disappointed
To get it out of the way, in terms of presentation, this movie is impeccable. The visuals, sound, music, acting, everything is perfect. The experience of watching the movie was exhilarating on every level
All my complaints lie with the pacing and the plot. Without spoiling anything, this is the second part of a trilogy and it shows. The pacing in the first 2/3rds left me wondering how much would happen in the last third and my fears were not unfounded. There's a lot that is skipped over and rushed through and some plot points make no sense because there is no time to go over any of it. The movie ends clearly setting up a grand finale and while the tone is perfectly conveyed, it is still quite messy and leaves much to be desired in terms of delivering a more structured and cohesive journey for Paul.
I look forward to the next installment and will do another rewatch of the two movies but I genuinely wish I liked it more. The presentation was enough to gloss over the flaws but I like this less than the first one
All the people watching this and commenting here have attached themselves to the idea of Mr & Mrs Smith from 2005 with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie when this IP is far older than that and has historically never been as action packed as the 2005 one. This is a similar take on spies and love when forced to be with one another but is far more similar to Donald Glover's other project Atlanta. There's shades of magical realism, bold faced satire into modern life and a lot of dry humour but dialed back on the "magical" a fair bit. The show is not meant to show these hyper-competent super assassins, it's a look into two people navigating a torrid relationship filled with ups and downs. The spying is background noise and mostly pure setup considering how ridiculous it is and how clearly incompetent everyone involved in the org is despite all the cloak and dagger. It's also hilarious.
People truly are missing the point by asking for "more action" and one idiot calling it "woke" and other nonsense. It's not for everyone but I'd say give it a chance, especially when it's just 8 fairly short episodes.
S1: The first season was unbelievably dull for so much of it. It's so predictable and it takes 10 episodes to do what they should have done in maybe 6. The ending has me intrigued for what it is to come but the "twist" was so easy to call out in the very first episode. There really is not enough worldbuilding for such a unique situation and they pepper in these insane lines that really should be explored way more than just being throwaway in the middle of everything else. This coming out in a similar time frame to Severance, which has much of the same mystery hooks and yet is so much more captivating than this, did not work in its favour. I'm hoping the next season actually has some substance instead of pointlessly extending the runtime
S1 was great in most respects. Incredible art and action, beautiful music, great VA, good writing and dialog and a very interesting twist to the standard revenge plot. I'm just not too sure where they're taking this plot from here. S1 ended at a really weird spot with a somewhat underwhelming finale so I'm hoping future seasons stick the landing more with me but I'm still interested in seeing where this goes. Even if it ends badly, S1 is definitely an easy recommend right now
While this does pretend to have a story of sorts, it knows not to take it too far and uses it for the base purposes of building the "motivations" for the next action set piece. As is now becoming tradition for this series, the obligatory single camera shot is longer, more wild and more thrilling than ever. Had a fun time for what it is, an action thriller with brutal combat and lots of bullets
There is no way to expect an anime that is this unabashedly violent and gory has everything, absolutely EVERYTHING which includes the animation, music, voice acting, characterizations, all supporting the quiet moments, the calm moments, the moments of the eye surrounded by the storm. The show revels in these moments in a world surrounded by brutality and death. Having read the manga, I wished they'd covered more in the first season. I now see that thinking that way was an utter mistake. The show takes its time, shows us the beauty in life, the things we should be enjoying such as the food, relationships and things we take for granted
Before they're all ripped apart in the high speed blades of a Chainsaw
I've only watched 3 seasons and it's going to stay that way. They were entertaining but the hooks of the first season are already gone. While the are many individual character moments that are great, the show overall has significantly lost its charm already and even the opening episodes of the fourth season have me not enthusiastic for the rest of it
This show went into the gutter so unbelievably fast. First season was pretty good if fairly campy and dumb. Second season immediately devolved into shlock but was still fairly entertaining. Season 3 was just outright bad and season 4 was even worse. Had a huge dedicated fanbase that it totally squandered
I don't understand the ridiculously high ratings. The first season was trash. A hundreds year old old man inside a kid's body groping a princess repeatedly while a giantess looks on jealously who in turn has an admirer in a teenage child's body who also has another admirer and all the whole there's yet another lolicon coupling. This is trash plain and simple and if reports are to be believed, it only gets worse after the first season. Yeah I'm not wasting time on this
First season was entertaining. Then they just make excuses to keep stretching the damn thing out and it kept getting worse and worse. Even by season 3 it's just a shell of how good season 1 was
First season was excellent
Second season devolved into soap level awful drama and rolled it easy back with the historical science fiction. I'm done. The quality dipped way too much and too many nonsensical plot points were added to make this entertaining anymore.
I'm sorry but I don't understand the hype for this show at all. This was easily one of the worst anime I've ever watched. Horrible plots, a weak, incompetent MC, a deplorable and malignant female "love interest", laughably bad plots and "mysteries", egregious amounts of unnecessary fanservice and an ending that is probably one of the dumbest I've seen. There's very few anime that I can thankfully say are worse cause I've kept myself away from the bad ones but this I sat through cause of the hype and it's ridiculously bad. Literally the only redeeming thing about it has to be the animation cause it's pretty good
An excellent season 1 with a great deal of depth and conflict and feel-goodness from the stakes and the interactions with the teams
Which turns into a boring slog of a second season with lots of unnecessary drama, far less mirth and a plodding and glacial pace. Couldn't get past episode 8 and dropped it
I love it so much. Sure there's parts where it doesn't hold up to the original comic series but for the most part it's a faithful yet gripping adaptation with a lot going for it
I mean now that it's cancelled, a lot of the mysteries will never be resolved. It had promise but didn't really have a solid hook until the very last episode of the season. If it could have continued, it might have been something very intriguing. As it stands, it's a lot of setup with very little payoff. Very unfortunate that it's been dumped
A heart-warming and fairly well done little show. More entertaining than most CGDCT shows and rises above that trope to do a little something special with all the characters. And yes, the music is actually pretty good
A pretty entertaining and funny mystery. The ending was a little weak but the movie was mostly great. Great performances all around
The gratuitous fanservice and the lack of any sort of rules for any of the games ruins any hook this show had at all. I expected something more intelligent but this is pretty dull and brainless
As a comic reader, this was one of the episodes I was looking forward to the most. Absolutely knocked it out of the park. What a great adaptation of a heart-wrenching but also heart-warming tale
I have to admit, this did not grip me as well as Dark did initially. It was a lot of the "mystery box" type of overstuffed, underexplained hokey where Dark was relatively straightforward with a solid hook right at the beginning. But that finale... suffice it to say, bonkers and ridiculous as it was, I'm hooked. I hope for the Creator's sake that they land this cause this is quite a ride. Hope it's an enjoyable, smooth one rather than a car crash
incredibly funny, uniquely brilliant and quite poignant. As usual, with most movies like this, it's about love and family and other sappy stuff. But wrapped in a bunch of complete nonsense that's hilarious and like nothing else
An incredibly messy and janky script that doesn't know what it wants to be. It's stuck between trying to be a neo-noir detective story and a superhero movie with a supervillain and fails spectacularly at being either and both. So many scenes that are supposed to be tense that have zero stakes set up including the finale, which comes out of nowhere, dramatically raises the stakes with no setup at all and is executed awfully. And so. many. plot. holes.
This isn't a bad movie but it had no right being as long as it did. A tight 2 hour script that ended at a certain point would have made for a perfectly fine detective crime movie with a little bit of the Batman sprinkled in. As it is, it's a really meh film that ruins its own good parts with an equal amount of bad
There are tons of scenes that are entertaining as hell; all funny, heart warming and action packed
Unfortunately, the movie just does not flow well. The whole multi-verse thing makes everything so incredibly messy and muddled. People do things with extremely weak motivations just because the plot demands it. Sure there's a lot of great callbacks to the history of the series but it's really not executed with the finesse that it really deserves. The pacing is completely off in large portions and I cannot help but feel like the movie was created around a solid concept but all the ancillary construction was just cobbled together
It's fine. It tries harder and flies higher than most other Marvel things but unfortunately fell flat for me. But it's fine
A great mix of fun and pulpy murder mystery that harkens heavily to the days of Agatha Christie's enthralling mysteries. Unfortunately, while evocative of that type of roller coaster, it falters in its execution with a less than ideal pacing and some weird choices in editing and direction that take it a little too far in that direction which makes it seem almost farcical. If the direction was held back just a tad, it might have been one for the ages. Alas, it was a bit too self-indulgent which gave the game away
