Ms Marvel Mini Series (2022) Review

Marvel has been in full force with its Disney+ TV Shows and Ms Marvel is the next to come out. I have watched all of the 6 episodes and here is my review for it. The premise of the shows sees a young Muslim girl get powers and have to decide how she can best use them to help her community. 

Main Character

Iman Vellani plays Kamala Khan and she does a really great job, especially considering this is one of her first acting roles. Kamala is a fun character and is a character that is easy to root for which really drives this show. Her powers are handled well enough despite the changes and I feel like this character is a completely different to any we have seen in the MCU and the show does a really great job of making me like Kamala. 

Supporting Characters

One of the best parts of this show is the relationships built up by Kamala and her friends and family. Zenobia Shroff & Mohan Kapur play her parents and they do a great job in the role, her mother is overly protective whereas her dad is more supportive but it really works and they have a great dynamic together and as a family. Matt Lintz plays her best friend Bruno and I liked their dynamic, it doesn't always work but when it does I think they are really good as friends and Lintz is a fun part of the show. But the issue comes with the characterisation of the villains of the show, it is very clear that they are an afterthought and it really doesn't work, it takes too long for them to get introduced and then even when they are on the show they are just so dull and one dimensional. 

Story 

It is fun seeing Kamala's transition from average girl to superpowered hero, she deals with plenty of issues and they do a really great job of building up this character and her journey throughout the show. But as I mentioned above, it misses the mark with its villains and overall direction, it takes too long to get into its story and it doesn't give enough time to really make you care. 

Script

The script has some good drama in their, despite the underdeveloped story I did end up caring because of some well written dialogue and decent performances. The humour is also alright, there are some chuckle worthy moments but it never makes me laugh too much and the drama does miss the mark at times. 

Style 

The show has a really unique style to it, especially in the first few episodes. It is bright and colourful which is good to see, it also has some pretty good action scenes in it that kept me entertained. But the shows pacing is all over the place, I really didn't like the first two episodes and it did get better but I never could get fully engrossed into it. 

Overall

Overall, Ms Marvel is an above average show that does a good job in introducing this new character but the overall making of the show isn't quite good enough. 

Rating - 6/10

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Review

One of the most hyped films, Thor: Love and Thunder is out and I have now finally had a chance to watch it and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees Thor attempting to work himself out when he must team up with his ex Jane Foster in order to stop a new enemy. 

Main Character

Chris Hemsworth has now played Thor for 11 Years and he could play the role in his sleep. He is great in this film and he is just so good as the character and has made him into a really fun lead character. Thor had a great story arc in Avengers Endgame and it kind of continues here with his character getting an interesting deep dive with a continued progression which is good to see. 

Supporting Characters

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster was a pretty dull part of the previous Thor films but I actually liked her here and I definitely feel like this is the best she has done. Seeing her take up the role of Mighty Thor is really entertaining and seeing the two Thor's in action adds something fresh to the film. The story between the two of them is well handled and I thought this was the most chemistry that Portman and Hemsworth have had. Tessa Thompson is back as Valkyrie and she is pretty fun once again, her character doesn't get much development but she is always entertaining and Thompson is clearly having a lot of fun in the role. But there are some falters here, Christian Bale plays Gorr The God Butcher and it just didn't work for me. He was a dull villain who wasn't given enough time for you to really care and Bale switches from intense to goofy too often for me and it just makes his character feel inconsistent. Korg is one of my favourite characters in the MCU but he is in this film way too much and his overuse of comedy is too forced and takes away from the overall product. I think it shows that he is best in smaller doses and they shouldn't have him as front and centre as he is here. 

Story 

The story is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Thor and Jane. There is some real drama here mixed with some nice humour, in interviews it was claimed it would be the biggest part of that film and it succeed here. But the story just feels incredibly rushed and a bit all over the place, it tries to balance really serious moments with comedy and it really doesn't work at all with an ending that also didn't quite work for me. 

Script 

The script is actually quite funny, its not as funny as Ragnarok but there are some chuckle worthy moments. There is some good drama here that is actually quite dark which I don't think people would be expecting to see here. But the film goes way too hard on the comedy and it just doesn't work, the two things clash and create this mess of a script. 

Style 

The film looks really good, the action is pretty exciting and in this day of age the CGI looks really good. Seeing the two Thor's in action is really fun and made the action scenes a bit more fun then it would have been if it had just been Thor. But the film isn't paced very well, it clocks in at around 1 hour 45 and it feels rushed. Also as good as it is, there wasn't one action set piece that really stood out for me. 

Overall

Overall, Thor: Love and Thunder is an above average film that has its moments but it falls way short of expectations and I think only big MCU fans will appreciate it as much as me. 

Rating - 6/10

The Boys Season 3 (2022) Review 

For me, The Boys has been one of the most consistently entertaining TV shows over the last few years and the third season of the show has just finished on Amazon Prime and I have watched it all and here is my review. The premise of the season sees Homelander having to deal with the fallout of dating the Nazi Stormfront and The Boys looking for different methods in there mission to stop the super powered. 

Main Character

Anthony Starr plays Homelander once again and I really don't think it is a stretch to say he gives the best performance of anybody in any TV show currently. The character of Homelander has so much depth to him and this season you really see this man with all this power dealing with issues that he can't always deal with. He contrasts so well with our other main character Billy Butcher played by Karl Urban, he is so gruff but the show really delves into his character and starts to give us more depth into who Butcher really is and why he is so motivated by his goals even when there is clear ethical issues. Both of them give fantastic performances and there differences is what really makes them stand out as special characters. 

Supporting Characters

There are so many characters on The Boys that I won't be able to talk about them so I am going to try and keep it to the main ones here. Jack Quaid is back as Hughie and the show does more with his character then in the previous seasons. He is more involved with the action and I like how his relationship with Starlight is highlighted and how that has really changed over the show. Speaking of Starlight, Erin Moriarty does a great job in the role and she is really pushed with her acting chops this season. I really like the dynamic between her and Hughie but she has her own interesting personal story that gets plenty of time and is handled well. Laz Alonso is given way more screen time as Mothers Milk, there is real humanity to his character and it is so cool seeing him able to stretch his acting chops and give potentially the most depth to a performance. Jensen Ackles makes his debut as Soldier Boy and he knocks it out of the park, this sort of Captain America spoof is darker and the perfect character to introduce here and I love seeing how his introduction changes everything up and adds uncertainty. The rest of the whole cast do a fantastic job with so many giving top notch performances. 

Story

The show does a fantastic job with the storytelling in terms of creating fascinating characters that make you care and be intrigued by them. There is real emotion from these characters and the story has enough twists and turns to keep you invested. But, since the beginning of the show I have always said The Boys has too much going on in terms of the amount of story elements and this season is no different, with pretty much everything being interesting but not exactly feeling connected. Also certain things teased at the end of the previous season wasn't quite fulfilled here. 

Script 

The script is fantastic, the dialogue is both funny and tragic. The characters are really well realised by the personalities that they are given which is credit to the writing and acting. The show always keeps you on your toes and I think it is one of those that you never know what is coming next. 

Style 

The show looks fantastic, you can tell that Prime Video put a huge budget behind The Boys and it pays off. The action scenes are well done and this show is still as gory as ever, it does not hold back in terms of the sex and violence. It might be too much for some people, but I think by now you know if you are going to like The Boys or not so it shouldn't be an issue. 

Overall

Overall, this is a fantastic season of The Boys and is probably my favourite one yet. This show won't be for everybody but it is so unique and definitely worth a watch just to see if it could be for you. 

Rating - 9/10