The Flash proves to be a competent superhero film. Not the best, but a breath of fresh air amidst the hot mess that has flooded the genre in recent years. It stands on its own, requiring only a basic understanding of past character portrayals, unlike the convoluted soap opera often seen in DCEU and MCU lines.
Despite its ensemble of superheroes and characters, the film manages to strike enough of the right chords.
It balances humor without overdoing it like Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Black Adam, or any Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the last 10 years. The fanservice of Keaton's Batman is tastefully done, providing memorable lines and explosive gimmicks without overstaying his welcome. The action sequences are well-choreographed, particularly those involving Affleck's and Keaton's Batman, although the initial speedster scene falls somewhat short as Days of Future Past already sets the bar high. The most important, the film possesses a straight enough plotline to propels the story forward, but still offers moments of intrigue and uncertainty where you would ask the direction the film will be taking.
The film however stumbles in Kara/Supergirl's parts. The plot revolving around General Zod and Kara's arrival and departure feels clumsy. It underplays the significance established in Man of Steel regarding Clark's purpose on Earth, not to mention the spandex that Kara somehow brought everywhere makes her feels comical. Sasha Calle seems unable to pull a good Kara impression; her attempt to embody a complex yet tough character feels like forced, relying on screaming and unnerving facial expressions, and her decisions throughout the films appear abrupt. Her bitterness leaves more to be desired as it seems to be quickly resolved. The grand battle feels tonally inconsistent with some rock music, Keaton's soundtrack, and Kara's theme blasting over each other. Although Michael Shannon delivers a menacing performance as Zod, the thin plot he walks on undermines his presence.
Fortunately, The Flash remains true to its scale.
While the film introduces multiverses, at its heart is Barry's personal desire to save his mother. Barry isn't driven by a grand mission to save the multiverse; he's a reluctant hero who finally acts when met a seemingly dead end. One might say that the resolution offered by the film presents a fatalistic view of history, unlike the practically optimistic tone of Avengers: Endgame, but the strength of the film is not to have the final say of all of these actually work: as the climax unfolds, both Barry and the audience are left wondering where the breaking point lies in history that must remain untouched. The film avoids drowning the audience in pseudoscience for explaining the multiverse, opting for Keaton's short and humorous spaghetti metaphor. The most compelling aspect is the film's ability to maintain a personal scale despite the high stakes, leaving the audience emotionally moved with effective lines in the resolution that in the first 15 minutes of the film seemed clichéd. The ending provides a pleasant surprise, setting the stage for a fresh start in the DC Universe.
Without boasting the concept of multiverses like Doctor Strange: Multiverses of Madness, The Flash is an enjoyable soft-reboot multiversal superhero film that leaves quite an impression. Not the best superhero film certainly, but perhaps still ranking among the better ones in the multiverse/time-reversing subgenre of superhero films, possibly trailing only a few steps behind Days of Future Past.
Flashy visuals with some terrific work on the animation, dashed with a right amount of tasteful comedy, poking fun of previous Spider-Man iterations and common superhero tropes in general without dragging it down. The first half of the film has the story going well with coming-of-age drama and superhero team up; but the second half kind of resolved the conflict very quickly and just get done with it - including the film version of "who murdered the Uncle Ben" - which made the pace kinda abrupt and downplayed the tension, but still somehow worked. It's not the best story out there but still manages to give short bursts of emotional touch in-between the visuals and the multiverse concept. Certainly it did much better than Far Away From Home.
The trick in the first half is fine, but the way Edamura noticed that everyone was up to no good just by spotting the same watch is stretching it. Makes little sense. Let's see how anime-ish (if you catch my drift) this one is.
Perhaps the best thing that ever come up since Disney's Star Wars buyout. The whole episode about the heist was intense. From the shaky march, the hesitated jamming, the heist itself, the botched consequences, the climax, and the wrapup. It's really tense even until the wrapup as conflict still arose and quickly resolved. During the climax it has a really great visuals of the Eye - quite a spectacle as the commandant would say - although TIE fighers ended up becoming cannon fodder again.
Well done! Obi-Wan and The Mandalorian writers should be ashamed.
"The pace of repression outstrips our ability to understand it. And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine. It’s easier to hide behind 40 atrocities than a single incident."
I really liked how they do world-building. This episode portrays both the Empire and Rebels as humans. Some are in the rebellion for revenge, for ideals. Some are in for the money; some others for their loss of position in the Empire. While in the Empire, you can always rely on colusion to regain the position you've lost, and as a gigantic bureaucracy it might be hard if you want to do a meaningful work.
Film with interesting premise and potentially interesting world-building, hampered down by sloggish pace, run-of-the-mill dialogue, and less-than-stellar writing. The whole film feels like a jumble of events made possible because the plot wills it, very apparent in every scenes when the people pursuing the duo somehow tracked their location and somehow they escaped for the Xth number of time.
F9 speeds onto the screen with a mix of excitement and disappointment. While I wouldn't label it as the worst installment in the franchise, it certainly lacks the punch and adrenaline rush, especially after the high note that Fast 7 played.
The film's action sequences feel disjointed, failing to jolt the anticipated adrenaline rush. The opening sequences attempted to burst into high-octane moments with explosions and spectacle, but they never really delivered the gripping excitement expected. The subsequent action scenes veer into run-of-the-mill territory, especially in the process of the Avengers-like assembling of characters with the return of Mia and Han. Many action sequences feel arbitrary, lacking narrative purpose.
However, to the film credits, the action gains momentum in its second half after the team assembled. The Fast franchise always has gimmicks and here's where the film's gimmick comes into play - electromagnetic tricks. The creative use of this concept in the final battle injects some much-needed freshness in an otherwise stale action sequences.
What makes F9 a very dull Fast film is its attempt at adopting a darker tone, which falters heavily. The pivotal brotherly feud between Dom and Jakob lacks the necessary kick for the audience to care enough about the newly introduced character. The underdeveloped relationship fails to justify the character introspection and moments of fragility. The actors struggle to convey the conflict, hindered by lackluster scripts and dialogue.
This darker tone is contrasted to the usual Fast humor and banter which fail to maintain a nice blend of tonal consistency. There is an appreciable attempt to satirize the implausibility of the characters' invincibility, a self-awareness that permeates the film. However, it feels too on-the-nose as the script repeats the point on and on.
In the end, F9 doesn't reach the heights of its predecessors, lacking in both thrilling action and bogged down by its attempt to be serious and darker. While it has its moments, it falls short of delivering the exhilarating experience fans have come to expect from the Fast & Furious franchise. If you wanted to watch F9, I suggest to skip right onto the second half. You won't miss anything.
The episode shows a story of people who can't communicate better. Walt Jr. who doesn't have good parental figures and unsure what to do. Skyler a toxic wife who can only think revenge/get Walt to taste his own medicine. And finally Walt with all his lies and ego that started it reaping what he sow, and using Jesse only for his own benefit. Anna Gunn performs really well as Skyler that I really hate her toxic attitude in this episode.
Joey King has such a punchable face here.
You've seen the premise and plot of the film in other sci-fi films before. Yet it still manages to be intelligent, not spoon-feeding (which explains why the film is lost to some viewers), while still simultaneously thrilling and plot-twisting.
I've seen the twist miles away: that the robots are creating a better version of humanity, a typical sci-fi cliche but the film remains interesting along the way. It continuously straddles in showing the Mother in heartwarming scenes and pose her as a commanding presence that you keep trying to figure out what her true intention is. But the best part of this is to me the stranger-Woman herself. You've seen her archetype in every other "beware of outside" films out there (10 Cloverfield Lane comes to mind) but what makes her as a perfect setup for this film is the way she is presented: her casting, her interaction with the Daughter, her memories. All points out to the fact that she is the original daughter. The film started with saying that 38 years have passed, yet we have only a teenage Daughter. Then we are shown that 3 embryos are missing, and 1 of them being "failed", not "aborted" like the rest. Then we are shown the Daughter recalling vague memories of her past. Last, the one that was a dead giveaway to me: the Woman looks very similar to the Daughter. It all makes sense in the last scene with the stranger-Woman, as the event finally unfolded.
Of course, the film still stumbled here and there. The typical plot of unstable teenager where curiosity gets the best of them is a bit annoying as it is a tired cliche (although admittedly that's just teens being teens). The whole idea that the Mother is an authoritarian AI trying to make humanity in a better form is also a tired cliche. Given the fact that Daughter is still a teen, her taking the mantle of Mother is also unconvincing, as I'm not sure how perfectly ethical she is educated, that she can raise a kid - perhaps that's also a point of contention that the film tries to raise? What is maturity when you are breeded to be perfect?
But the intelligent way the film is presented, and most of all, the performance by Clara Rugaard as Daughter makes the ride totally worth 2 hours. I like how Daughter started as a curious, naive teen to a lady with conviction (while still retaining her naivety) by the end of the film. It's partly due to the great makeup and lighting and general cinematography, but Rugaard's acting really established the performance.
All in all, this is in no way a masterclass in sci-fi, but still an enjoyable watch to think and discuss about. Especially with the advent of ChatGPT, we may want to talk again how much we want to technically intervene societal problems, and if those problems warrant technicalization in the first place.
"There's fomenting out there, sir. Pockets of fomenting."
Great episode. Still taking it slow in pace but establishes the world perfectly. The metal clanker signaling start day and end of day. The trigger-happy corpo soldiers eager to get into action in times of imperial slow bureaucracy. The flashback of Kenari kids. The whole world feels very lived in. I particularly like Mosk's line: "Corporate Tactical Forces are the Empire's first line of defense." Really makes you think what kind of political institution the Empire is: relying on private security company to do their job.
So far this has felt like Altered Carbon (Season 1) or The Expanse, set in Star Wars universe. That's really a feat: brings me back to pre-Disney, classic Star Wars Expanded Universe.
The first competent Star Wars pilot, if not episode, since Disney buyout. The pilot does take its time to establish its world-building, juxtaposing the meager life of Cassian with the bureaucratic life of Syrill Karn.
I definitely adore the time they take and the way they tell stories by showing: the tense revolving Cassian and his co-workers, the gritty details of droids girding through the dirt taking viewers close to life in the show, the grotesque concrete set representing Prex-More buildings, the unspoken inefficiency of Prex-Mor officers. It almost feels like an episode from The Expanse - and it's good that this show doesn't "feel like Star Wars" because when fans say that it usually only means big screens Star Wars laden with dumb fanservice and not the various kind of storytelling that existed in Star Wars' now-forgotten Expanded Universe.
Certainly the show feels like if Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett had a decent writer and not just fanservice-dishing turd that is Feloni and his gang - kinda exceed my low expectation, but cautiously eager to watch the next episode.
For a film taking multiverse at the center stage there surely is a poverty of creative vision what multiverses could be. Other than vaguely green futuristic city and people blotched in pink paint, there's barely any imagination of what other possible worlds may exist out there, e.g., the most obvious, why is America Chavez's sexuality or her parents no different than what we have now? Of course this is MCU film, not Ursula Le Guin's, so shallowness is to be expected...
... but shallowness creeps all over the segment in this film. Characters can't seem to get over one dimensional portrayal: Strange's looming over his ex-wife, Maximoff's obsession with her children, and Chavez's constant uncertainty with her powers. They went across multiverses but couldn't even get across those simplistic characterization when nothing really happens until the eventual climaxes. Characterizations are dull, featuring a lineup of people with different costumes that is only good for merchandizing but is exhibiting nothing more than simplistic "bad" and "good". Characters made dumb decisions, such as the Illuminati and Richard Reed's scene that has been memed to death. Chavez as the spotlight is incredibly bland and boring, serving as nothing more than talking McGuffin that the characters have to grasp.
I do wish the dialogues are just forgettable, but the level of cringe it induces, especially in the grand finale of the film, really made it hard to forget due to how bad it is. The plot is complete bollocks and nonsensical. Rather than a Multiverse of Madness this film feels more like a Scriptwriting of Madness.
Sure Sam Raimi's directorial touch is here and there with some camera panning and transition, but that's all about it. Visually the first Dr. Strange is better, I say. Won't even recommend it even if you have some hours to kill. Only MCU fanatics would consciously watch this one and give it a good rating.
"It seems like... something's missing?"
"What about the soul?"
"There's nothing but chemistry here."
Great episode that shows the start of Walter's descent to Heisenberg.
Finale might be a bit rushed, but I don't find it that bad. It's a perfect ending to the pilot's strong note, keeping it true with the theme of the world: No one wins at Night City.
If it was David's crushing poverty that sets the tone really bleak in the first episode, here the trap they got themselves into feel similarly oppressive. Once you're cornered by the big corporations you really can't make it out alive. I also really like that the series up to the finale keeps character's death as surprises - thing that just happens, without dramatic exit. Night City eats you up alive and often without warning.
Despite being sorely bleak, the episode still manages to serve some justice to the characters to some extent - as with Faraday being killed and both Falco and Lucy made it out alive. The series might not be the strongest anime out this season but as a tie in to the game it does the job quite well.
Strong episode. A bit cliched tropes - botched gig, amateur who hesitated, lead messing up, ending with everyone dead - but the execution was well done. There's enough tense, enough mystery, enough grit, and the intro sequence was well done to send Maine off with a bang. Still not sure why the heck they had to fetch Tanaka and what's the point of all those though.
Pretty good episode since the pilot. The action was right, so was the character development and the air of mystery. Like a true edgerunning gig.
The first half is your usual bonding between the main characters. It's fine but nothing to write home about. Just showing David developing his skills and relating to other characters - which is a very typical "calm before the storm" scene indicating someone will die in an episode or two. There's some sexual tension between David and Lucy. The editing between the scenes is kinda unique but feels like Instagram or MTV reels that don't let us connect to the characters - just like the game's strange V and Jackie bonding scene.
The second half is all over the place. First we have Pilar's demise, as expected given the build up in the first half. Then after all that chaos we get back straight to David and Lucy. Very strange pacing, as if nothing happened in the first second half, especially given the build up in the whole first half. The ending with David and Lucy feels like it just to keep the romance and plot going, which, again, feels like a cliched calm before the storm scene before some terrible things to happen in next episodes.
Decent episode to introduce the cyberpunk job and how it works in this universe. Pacing is well done, even much better than the game's (Cyberpunk 2077) pacing. Nothing too exciting but not too dull either. The scene with the fixer is kinda on the nose to make some sort of looming threat, however.
Good pilot with good world-building. Portrays the oppressiveness of poverty and the ads-drenched life in a cyberpunk city much better than the game. Plot is a bit cliche though but the episode spreads enough clue for build up in future episodes. Really like the visual cues they use to evoke character's emotion, such as the shot on David's shaking legs when he's anxious.
A great sci-fi horror with strong performance from the cast and serious questions to reflect on after the credit title rolls, if only a little bit arthouse-y and very violent. People here asking about mechanics is missing the point (this is not MCU's quantum gibberish).
Thematically it raises similar questions of body, mind, and identity to Blade Runner (2049 and the original) and, to some extent, Inception. The personality test even reminds me of Blade Runner's baseline test. If we could experience multiple memories, would we still be the same person?
The horror in the film is two-fold, and perhaps not for everyone. There is no jumpscare here. It is a horror first from the almost slasher-like quality of violence. This violence is productive in the film because it helps us to figure out Tasya's character. As we initially wonder which of her multiple identities that really hers - a loving person damaged by her job? a cold-blooded killer? or something else entirely? - it slowly expresses the character of Tasya Vos not only as an assassin, but a sadistic murderer one that.
And second it is a horror from the constant suspense; the uncertainty and eeriness that lingers throughout the film. The way the event unfolds with the "botched" murder contract keeps you guessing and thinking. Was that Tasya acting? Was that Colin? What would she/he do next? Would she/he harm them?
I think this is where the extreme violence serves its second purpose. It's not bloody for the sake of bloody; it's to show an almost fetishtic obsession of gory murder juxtaposed with the humane supporting characters. The seemingly lovely individuals, ordinary people living their life waiting for their time to lie dead in the hands of a psychotic sadist. Who's really doing the killing there? Why are they doing that?
This is where the last 15 minutes reaches its disturbing climax and ending. As the pinned butterflies were put down, we were left wondering what remains of Tasya Vos. Is that a sign of the waning of his/her humanity, as the plot summary in Wikipedia suggested? Or, more creepily, who's really in that body? Was that Tasya Vos? Or was that Colin taking over Tasya's body? But if we consider her stress and struggle of cognitive disassociation as shown in the film the whole time, does it matter to ask the question of identity?
The sound design and music really helps selling the creepy atmosphere the whole time. Great sci-fi film with great questions.
This is the best episode of Star Wars Visions. It didn't try to bite more than it can chew (didn't misunderstand the whole Jedi/Sith trope like the other episodes do) and the 15 minutes duration didn't overstay the welcome. This is the episode worthy of its own series; even as it stands, with the air of mystery like that, it already feels like a pilot episode.
Anyway this is the one that I would say a proper Star Wars in anime form. This could pass as one of Expanded Universe episodes, perhaps sometime before The Phantom Menace (they even get the hairlock right!). It plays the classic master-apprentice dynamics with a cautious wise master teaching his over-eager apprentice itching for action (the dialogue about Jedi philosophy was excellent - something that sorely lacking in the new Disney Star Wars). They were drawn by the power of a dark entity, that might seem to have more secrets than what meets the eye (again, they did it right with the signature yellow-eyed dark side wielders!). There is enough suspense in this episode that I got to watch this seriously, and they also did the action choreography right as with other TRIGGER anime. Great characters as well.
My only complain about the episode is the kind of abrupt climax. Though if this is supposed to be a tease, then the episode did it really right.
The episode is built upon faulty premises.
Lightsaber prowess and force power are two different things. You can be proficient in lightsaber combat without having ANY force-sensitivity (e.g. Grievous) and the other way around, you can be masterful in force but lacking in lightsaber feat (e.g. Jocasta Nu).
Lightsaber crystal also doesn't reflect the wielder's sensitivity to sides of the force. You can be a morally uptight Jedi wielding red lightsaber (e.g. Adi Gallia) and a sith wielding blue (e.g. Exar Kun, or Anakin after he fell to the dark side. Notice when he was knighted as sith by Palpatine his saber's color DID NOT turn red). Red crystal is actually a synthetic color that can't be generated by lightsaber crystal. Sith forged it intentionally to channel their dark side.
HOWEVER the execution of this episode is good especially compared to other episodes so far.
The faulty premises end up being an important plot point, and a good one at that. Characters are quite well-developed given the very brief duration (perhaps except the villains). World-building, although sparse, gives quite a good idea of how lives looked like on that planet. Animation is really well-done especially the lightsaber combat and the chase scene. And the music is reminiscent of Star Wars without having to be exact copies of the films, which I really appreciate.
So if Production IG is given a much better brief to the mechanics of Star Wars universe, I believe they are much better suited to produce more Star Wars films than Disney currently does.
The episode really excels in the soundtrack, really brings the classic, fantastical Yuki Kanno feel. The simple flat visuals helps in creating that mystical anime feel. The two match perfectly with the local community theme going on. I like that that the episode depicts the world of Star Wars as a plural one. Not everyone follows the religion of the Force-sensitive; some who do may have their own religion, and here it's called as Magina. Very fascinating. Great world-building.
However the episode suffers from the same issue like most episodes so far. Simple storytelling, and dumb villains. Kinda disappointing seeing battledroids as yet another parody. Too focused on the role of the Jedi as well. Wish they had focused on the Magina believers more.
Another Michael Bay film with unnecessary character bonding moments that mean nothing minutes later, and sort of spastic drone shots across the film. It's as if someone had just learned how to film stuff with drones but the use of those crazy camera angles only make headaches. Lots of dialogues between characters that don't really contribute to the whole film as a whole. Characters making weird decisions that don't really make sense for their survival.
The claustrophobic setting is an interesting premise though. So is the mobile surgery - it's the highlight of the film. Some of the drone shots are also cool. Sadly three of them are not utilized to its fullest potential.
This is TRIGGER's usual Gurren Lagann nonsense that borrows Star Wars props - not even the concepts, just the props because lightsaber crystals and hyperspace don't work like that. Story is the usual TRIGGER's "believe in me that believe in you" thing as well, with nothing novel to enjoy. Which is fine to be honest, but they should've stick with the things they usually do best: the fight animation, which we don't get that much.
I like that they throw some references to Sequel Trilogy (The Last Jedi) with the Star Destroyer being torn in half. But the climax doesn't stand on a strong enough ground to warrant that extravaganza. For that matter I'd rather watch Gurren Lagann than this. Art style is kinda unique though, I give them that.
The mention of this being an "arthouse film" is inevitable due to some demographics strangely expecting this to be some action-packed Vikings or Game of Thrones (let's just say then thsi is a wrong film to watch). But I'd like to say that The Northman is much less arthouse-y than Robert Eggers' previous films like The Lighthouse.
Which is a good thing. The film is visceral, and it takes its time to build the atmosphere of tense, anger, anddiscomfrot through sequences of long shots and vivid hallucination as experienced by Amleth. I was expecting this to be much more arthouse-y especially in the beginning, but the film gets into the meat of the story very quickly in the beginning (the death of the king and Amleth's quest for revenge). Even during the long momentums Amleth spends to indulge himself in revenge is full of composites through the play of sound design, music, and shots of the character's emotion or their lucid imagination.
Although yes, the film does not draw the line between vision/hallucination with the actual events happening, and the ambiguous boundaries between magic and reality, there is almost none of the shot that feels like a filler as is common in arthouse films. I'd even say Amleth's imaginative battle to obtain the Draugr sword is not a waste of sequences as it sufficiently depicts his conquest of himself and his journey into the depths of revenge that he can only imagine prior but not actually take it.
Despite being testorone-inducing by showing sweaty muscular men fighting on the field (or on the bed with their women, at times), I find the film's aim to say about the pointlessness of revenge is clearly stated.
The sequences where Amleth realizes the situation with his father reclined him to reconsider his goal of revenge, only to gain enough drives when he realizes what it would cost in the future. And although the ending with triumphant music admittedly seems a bit ambiguously glorify Amleth's ambition to be awaited in valhalla, but we've shown the folly he has to go through and even when it had to cost him the people he thought would dear to him.
The last scene reminds me eerily of The Revenant - in fact, the whole film's bleakness reminds me of it. But if The Revenant's bleakness hinge upon the desolation, desperate, and cold world of DiCaprio's character's perilous attempt at survival, the grim world of The Northman inhabited by Skarsgaard's character is a world of sorcery, rage, and trollish vengeance of undying spirits.
I think Eggers has done a wonderful job in bringing to life the vengeful spirit of the Bjornulfr with his own style.
The film offers nothing new, but it's not as bad as reviews made it to be.
It comes with familiar tropes, even similar punchlines and comebacks ("careful with the words you choose" ala The Dark Knight). It's filled with dashing CGI visuals and intense slo-mo reminiscent of Snyder's styles, but lacking the dramatic buildup and especially suffer from tonal inconsistency where one grim situation is overshadowed by quips and sarcastic comebacks. In an almost mediocre attempt to mimic MCU - which in itself is already mediocre - it almost feels like a carbon copy of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad or Peacemaker.
However as a standard blockbuster it fits the exact cliche. Nothing serious to talk or think about. Just something to enjoy while you gulp your drinks and mash that popcorn, interspersed with disbelief remarked by your friends or family members.
The biggest crime this film has made is its excessive 2.5 hours, along with the unsatisfying red herring when it was revealed that the Big Bad was the real enemy all along. The film spends too much time in the conflict between Justice Society and Black Adam, which ends as nothing anyway. The full resolve of Black Adam to finally submit himself to surrender is immediately contradicted by the imminent danger of Sabbac, which resulted in leaving Dr. Fate's motivational speech with no impact and even kinda silly as the one who convinced Adam to surrender was Justice Society themselves.
Is it the worst movie in 2022? I've seen worse this year, including those with big hype like MCU films (which in my opinion warrants more scrutiny - what's the point of beating the underdogs like Black Adam?). But am I going to revisit this film? Not anytime even in a bit far future.
Ewan McGregor plays a naive, lovestruck accountant who was befriended by a charismatic lawyer played by Hugh Jackman. Things went haywire when McGregor got involved with a woman played by Michelle Williams that he met in an exclusive sex club.
Sounds like an interesting premise, and the film manages to hold the thrill as the mystery slowly unfolds. However the film doesn't spend enough time to build a chemistry between McGregor and Williams to have McGregor's passion seem to worth pursuing, and although Williams' beauty does look irresistible, the lack of charm between the two turns an adult desire to teenage-like puppy love.
The film falters when it eventually reaches the climax involving McGregor, Jackman, and Williams. The whole suspense build up ends up as nothing when McGregor just threw away the billions of money and Williams' sudden appearance feels like a deus ex machina (of all parks they decide to meet, she just knew it's going to be that park?.
Pretty good though a bit cliched premise that doesn't quite hold up in its execution, unfortunately, the film is not something I would revisit anytime soon.
Such a downer ending for a great film in the first half. This film had everything right: the unique scifi aesthetics, the quirky characters, the comedy, the music. But the second half, especially in the last 45 minutes was just, in Zorg's word, disappointment.
The climax is the worst offender. The end of the world as we know it was just such a hurried, nonsense mess. If the planet can go to Earth instantly in the first place, why bother waiting and making some weird deal with Zorg? What the hell? What was the reason for that? The hunt for the ulimate weapon and the quest to activate it was resolved in less than 5 minutes (3 minutes per movie time) through some kindergarten puzzle.
Before the climax, the beatdown with the two big vllains (the mercs and Zorg) was disappointing. The big setup for the big showdown with the mercs was resolved by Bruce Willis being the unstoppable force Bruce Willis instead of impactful action like Die Hard. Zorg went down with the most cliche way a 90s villain can do: because of dumb stupidity.
Other than though, the film is great as everyone has said. The unique non-sleek non-white asthetics give unique touch to the imagination of retrofuturism. The funky crazy costume the characters wear paint a future that looks nothing like a cold, damp techy stuff we see in popular imagination, nor did it look like the gruffy grunge hard-boiled grit like in Dredd, but more like an embrace to the DIY and cyberpunk culture of the 80s. I like it.
Plot was unpredictable and very entertaining, taking you in an adventerous journey - up to the last 45 minutes. It went downhill so fast when the writers decided to just wrap up every plot point in one or two big bang bada boom.
Watch it once just for the experience, maybe revisit if you like the aesthetics.
