Wicked (2024) Review

I wasn't planning on seeing Wicked, but my mum and sister are big fans of the stage musical and with the global marketing, I decided to go see the film and here is my review. The premise of the film sees two people with very different upbringings and personalities forced to come together and accept each other. 

Main Character

Cynthia Ervio plays Elphaba and she is fantastic in this film. She really makes you care about her and support her in the role. She is obviously great in the singing scenes but she really encapsulates this performance and Ervio deserves great credit on taking this iconic character and making it really work. 

Supporting Characters

Ariana Grande plays Galinda and she was also fantastic in the film. She has great charisma and chews up every scene that she is in. The chemistry between her and Ervio is really great and it is the bedrock of the film.. She is also obviously great at the signing sequences and overall a great performance from Grande. 

Jonathan Bailey plays Fiyero and wow I really enjoyed this guy in this film. He comes in as the film does start to slightly lull and adds so much energy and charisma to the film. He is magnetic on film and he has an incredibly bright future and we will see him in many more big projects in the future. 

Michelle Yeoh plays Madame Morrible and she is good in the role. She isn't in the film a huge amount but plays an effective role in the film and Yeoh does bring her star power to the role 

Jeff Goldblum plays The Wizard of and this is really a glorified cameo but I can't help but enjoy watching Goldblum on screen and he does great work with the limited screen time he is given. 

Story

The main story of the film is the relationship being built between Elphaba & Galinda and I think the film did a great job at it and the actors really delivered in making us feel the emotion and heartfelt interactions between the two. I couldn't decide whether I liked the ending because it does feel mostly like set up for the sequel, but the more I think about it the more I am fine of it because it does end at an effective moment and feels more complete the I expected. 

Script

The script is pretty well written and there was plenty of emotion in the relationship between the two main characters. Obviously, there is plenty of singing and it is really well realised here. But this film doesn't quite nail the dialogue and some of it is cringey and that is a shame. 

Style

The style of the film has had some big discussion but I personally thought the look of the film really complimented the story that they were trying to tell. It doesn't look real but that is kind of the point and the fantastical element is really well realised. But the film has some pacing issues, for me the 2nd act of the film does drag a bit and it made the film feel a bit longer then I would have liked. 

Overall

Overall, Wicked is a great film that really delivers for fans of the franchise. It is a film you need to see in the cinema and it is a big blockbuster movie with exciting potential for its 2nd part that comes out next year. 

Rating - 8/10

 Gladiator 2 (2024) Review

After 24 years, Ridley Scott has decided to release a sequel to his much acclaimed film Gladiator. It is an amazing film and I was very excited to go watch this film and here is my review for Gladiator 2. The premise of the film follows a man see his homeland invaded by Romans and everything taken from him. To get revenge he is recruited to become a Gladiator. 

Main Character

Paul Mescal plays the lead and he is good in his role. He can't quite live up to Russel Crowe but he does a decent job and really gets better as the film progresses. I liked his characters development throughout the film and he was a good protagonist here. 

Supporting Characters

Denzel Washington plays Macrinus and he is a lot of fun to watch, I mean he just plays himself but he is super charismatic and entertaining to watch. He oozes charisma on the screen and I really loved watching this generational actor do his thing. 

Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the first film and she does a great job. She has clearly gone through a lot since the first film and it is really easy to sympathise with her in the situation she has been put in and it is nice to see her back here. 

Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius and I thought he was fantastic. I was expecting him to be this generic Roman General but he really wasn't. They give so much character to him and Pascal absolutely nailed it making the most of his screen time. 

Joseph Quinn & Fred Hechinger play the two Emperors and they are a lot of fun to watch. They aren't as good as Joaquin Phoenix was as Commodus but they were fun and crazy. 

Story

The story does a good job with Pescal's character and thought it is pretty simple it is handled really effectively and aided with his development. The film does embrace its more political side and I think this story was handled well and showed that these fights are about more then just bloodshed. But this film does have a slight issue with really nailing the emotion in the story, it has the right ideas but just misses the mark. I also thought this films ending is a bit abrupt and doesn't quite deliver on what I was hoping for. 

Script

The script is a mixed bag and does feel like it is written by two different people. There are some cool speeches and as I mentioned they deal with the political side of Rome really well. But there is some silly writing here and some moments just don't work and don't add to the film. 

Style

For the most part the film looks fantastic, the action scenes are really well realised and the violence is on point if not a little bit stylised. Despite the film being pretty long it flowed nicely and I was never bored throughout. But the film has some really noticeable CGI and it really took me out of the film and I just wish there could have been a bit more practicality and grit to the film. 

Overall

Overall, Gladiator 2 is a good film but falls flat compared to its predecessor. It is still an enjoyable film and I think it is a worthy film to see at the cinema and can recommend it but maybe just slightly lower your expectations. 

Rating - 7/10

Gladiator (2000) Review

I am a bit late to the party, but I am going to see Gladiator 2 today, so I decided to watch the first film in the franchise Gladiator and here is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees a Roman General betrayed and on the hunt for revenge after being sold to slavery. 

Main Character

Russel Crowe plays Maximus and he is fantastic in this film, this is such an iconic role and he absolutely nails it. He plays this gladiator so well and makes it so believable in the action scenes but there is a real depth to Maximus and Crowe really delivered in making us care about his character and the situation he is in. Crowe won the Oscar for this role and that is truly deserved here. 

Supporting Characters

Joaquin Phoenix plays Commodus and he is truly amazing and deserves real credit for playing one of the biggest scumbags I have seen in film. He is a petulant and angry man who just wants power and recognition. He contrasts Maximus so well and this is an iconic performance and up there with his very best. 

Connie Nielsen plays Lucilla and I really liked her performance. She is introduced as a strong character but you really see her problems and how she is treated throughout the film drives her to drastic decisions and Nielsen is a good addition to the cast. 

Oliver Reed plays Proximo and it is sad that Reed died before the end of filming so he never got to see the film and it caused the production to have to adapt to keep him in the film. He is great and I loved him as the gladiator owner here, he truly believed in Maximus and their relationship is a highlight of the film. 

Richard Harris and Djimon Hounsou play small roles here but they also add to the quality of the cast and show that the film is full of great performers. 

Story

The film does a fantastic job with its story. In theory, it is quite a simple revenge story but there is just so much more to it and the film does a fantastic job at it. There are political machinations going on that links to Maximus plan to take down Commodus and they contrast really well and adds to the depth of the story. The ending is also great and truly fits the story and tone of the overall film. 

Script

The script is fantastic, there are quite a few really memorable quotes here that people use in every day life. There are so many memorable scenes and even a bit of charm and humour to Maximus and this really fleshes the character out. 

Style

The film has a fantastic style, the cinematography is brilliant. The actions scenes are really well filmed and the landscapes and backgrounds are beautiful. The film is paced really well and I thought it flowed between action and dialogue incredibly well. The score and all the music adds so much to the film and is really iconic. 

Overall

Overall, Gladiator is an Epic Film and needs to be seen by every person. It is really well directed has great action and is acted brilliantly so this is a must watch and a film that is truly legendary. 

Rating - 10/10

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024) Review

It has been 5 years since I bought a Call of Duty so close to its release date, so I thought I would dive into the newest Call of Duty which is Black Ops 6. When I was younger, I loved the first two Black Ops games and I have recently played Cold War, so hopefully this game can live up to all its hype and deliver. The premise of the game sees Woods & Adler assemble a new team in an attempt to take down a new rogue enemy called The Pantheon. 

Characters

So in this game you play as Case, an operative of the CIA and unfortunately just like Black Ops: Cold War he is a silent protagonist. I complained about it there and I will do the same here as I really do find it hard to connect to a silent character and I just wish a voice actor could have been found. They do some things to try and make him interesting but it isn't enough and it is a shame that this isn't a memorable protagonist. 

Luckily, the rest of the cast are great. Damon Victor Allen reprises his role as Frank Woods and Bruce Thomas reprises his role as Russel Adler and both are great. Adler does take a bit of a step back and isn't as vital here, but he still plays a decent part in the game and I really like the character. This game is set after the events of the past storyline in Black Ops 2 meaning a lot has happened to Woods and I really liked how the game handled that issue and made Woods feel like a more sympathetic character. 

Y'lan Noel Plays Troy Marshall and he is a great new character in the franchise. He is the de-facto leader of the new team and I liked how he struggled to handle it sometimes but was also a strong character. He was just a cool addition to the game and a great new protagonist. 

Karen David plays Sevati Dumas & Seamus Dever plays Felix Neuman and these are also great members of this team. Sevati is a trained assassin but has a bit of a tragic past and struggles with the fact that she is good at her job. Felix is struggling with causing violence and this moral dilemma is bought up quite a lot and it is something new for a character in a Call of Duty game. 

Story

The story is definitely a tale of two halves. Firstly, I really liked the team dynamic and the interactions between your squad mates, it made the world feel alive and that these characters were developing throughout. The missions are mostly really fun and I will credit the game developers for adding some real variety here and showing they really cared about this campaign. But this game overdoes it at times and doesn't feel like a COD game, it seems like it loves Zombies so much that they wanted to put it in the campaign too and it was really overused here. The ending is also really weak and feels completely out of place, focusing on a secondary character that isn't even that interesting. 

Side Content

This game has absolutely loads of content here and it is once again a bit of a mixed bag. The online multiplayer is fantastic, I have maybe never had so much fun on a Call of Duty as I have had on this one when it comes to online. It does have some lag issues but it didn't hinder me too much and hopefully that will get sorted as the future content is released. 

Also Zombies is back and to probably nobody's surprise, I didn't really care for it. They have just really commercialised Zombies and it doesn't have the same grit as it did before, it is all over the place and the story offers very little. I appreciate, I am in the minority in terms of not caring for zombies but I just can't deny that I am not a fan. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is fantastic, as I mentioned above I had some much fun playing this game. It had that feeling of 1 more game, I couldn't stop playing and that is because of how fast it moved, how good the weapons are and how much I enjoyed the majority of the new maps. The issues I had with Cold War are mostly gone for me and this is just so much fun to play. 

Graphics

The game looks fantastic on the PS5, it is a huge upgrade on Cold War and the characters look fantastic. The backgrounds are great too with the maps standing out from each other and all adding their own little bit of flavour. The weapons are also really well realised, they sound great and the game allows you to design it to your own desire.

Overall

Overall, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a good game. It improve its graphics and gameplay and shows potential in its campaign. But it falls a little short in being this legendary shooter and that is a slight shame. Hopefully Call of Duty takes all the good things they did here and look to build on that for its eventual sequels. 

Rating - 7/10

The Penguin (2024) Review

After 8 Episodes, we have finally made it to the end of The Penguin and I have watched all of the episodes and here is my review for DC's newest show. The premise of the show sees after the events of The Batman, Oz Cobb looks to take his spot as the head of the crime families and deals with the trials of tribulations for this. 

Main Character

Colin Farrell is back as Oz Cobb and he is truly amazing here. He is unrecognisable and this is a brilliant interpretation of the character. The show does a fantastic job in making you support and root for this bad character and Farrell is a huge part of this. This is a really strong lead performance and is a huge step up from his already great performance in The Batman. 

Supporting Characters

Cristin Milioti plays Sofia Falcone and for me she is the star of this show and gives one of the best performances that I have ever seen in a comic book property. You really get an insight into her character and the way she thinks and works and I genuinely felt sorry for her. Milioti is superb and this is a mesmerising performance that should be challenging at The Emmys. 

Rhenzy Feliz plays Victor and I really liked his character and the development he goes through this season. He builds up this relationship with Oz and it allows him to become more confident in his life and he portrays that really well on screen. 

Deidre O'Connell plays Francis Cobb and this is a really strong performance that adds a lot of value to the show, especially as the show progresses. Her character gets a tonne of development over the show and they expand on her relationship with Oz really well. 

The rest of the cast are also fantastic and everyone really delivers on being an amazing cast of characters. 

Story

The story is fantastic as we see the ambition and rise of these 3 characters Oz, Victor & Sofia and it is handled wonderfully. The strong performances and strong writing really progress the plot well and shows how the gang world is interreacting in this new Gotham. The ending of the series is really brilliant and dark and feels really appropriate for this shows tone and themes. 

Script

This show has fantastic writing and creates nuanced characters that blur the lines between good and evil. This world has been built up so well and I loved the mix of drama and really dark humour that was nailed on. 

Style

The style of this show continues the artistic feel from The Batman and it does it so well. It is dark, gritty but also quite beautiful, the cinematography makes Gotham feel like another character and why these characters stay here. The show holds nothing back in terms of violence and that absolutely worked for this show and added that extra layer. 

Overall

Overall, The Penguin is one of the best Comic Book shows ever created and I loved The Penguin. It is an amazing watch and should be seen by everybody, especially fans of Batman characters. This is going to be hard to be topped and is the new standard bearer for other shows in its genre. 

Rating - 10/10

Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Trailer Review

After the events of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Sam Wilson officially became Captain America and was moving forward in the role. A few years later and we get his first solo film in Captain America: Brave New World and a trailer was released last night with plenty to talk about so here are my thoughts of the trailer. 

Isaiah Bradley tries to assassinate the President

We were introduced to Bradley in Falcon & Winter Soldier as a super soldier who was mistreated after his service. Here in the beginning of the trailer it is made clear that he is trying to kill the President of the United States. The Trailer heavily implies that he is brainwashed to do this and it makes me wonder if this is similar to the brainwashing that Bucky Barnes received in The Winter Soldier and that someone else is using him as a weapon. 

General Ross is now The President

Due to the passing of William Hurt, Harrison Ford has been cast in the role of General Ross but here he is now the President of The United States. For years we have seen this character try and manipulate and use the super heroes to his advantage, so now that he has more power he will be trying to manipulate Sam Wilson. 

The Attack Starts World War 3

In retaliation for this assassination attempt it seems like World War 3 is started. It looks like the attack is blamed on a country and someone is manipulating a situation in order to start this major conflict which can aid them. 

Joaquin Torres is the new Falcon

We met Torres played by Danny Ramirez briefly in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and he is getting a big promotion in this film. With Wilson becoming Captain America, he gets to step into the role of The Falcon and hopefully he is a fun addition to the cast and gets more to do here. 

Samuel Sterns makes his return as The Leader

Back in 2008, Tim Blake Nelson played Samuel Sterns. At the end of the film he gets infected with The Hulk's blood and this started his transformation into the villain The Leader. We have not seen this character since, but he is hear clearly manipulating the situation to his benefit, he is probably the one who causes the destruction of The Red Hulk. 

The Celestial Tiamut makes an appearance.

At the end of Eternals, The Celestial Tiamut was defeated and ended up being frozen in the ocean. There has been a lot of ridicule in the fact that nobody has mentioned this event in films and shows since but that changes here. We briefly see an action sequence taking place around the corpse of The Celestial and it is a cool visual. 

Giancarlo Esposito Plays Sidewinder

The amazing Giancarlo Esposito finally gets his wish to join The Marvel Cinematic Universe here and he is taking the role of Sidewinder. Now I think this will be a small role, similar to Batroc The Leapers role in Captain America: Winter Soldier but I expect him to appear in future projects and I am sure he will do a great job. 

President Ross finally becomes The Red Hulk

Ever Since General Ross appeared in The MCU, people have wanted to see him become The Red Hulk like he does in the comics. It is a shame that William Hurt didn't get the chance to do this due to his unfortunate passing but Harrison Ford looks fantastic here and it looks fantastic for this film and I am sure will have some great fight scenes. 

Overall

Overall, This trailer looks great and I am really excited for this film. It seems to be very serious and has the political intrigue that a film in this universe hasn't had since Captain America: Winter Soldier. I hope there are no more trailers for this film and we can go in and see a fantastic film. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) Review

The new Call of Duty game - Black Ops 6 came out last week and I am set to play it this week. But before that I picked up the previous game in the franchise for cheap and decided to play through it so I had an understanding of the plot in the new game, so here is my review for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The premise of the film is set between Black Ops 1 & 2 and sees a group of CIA Operatives trying to stop a mysterious organisation from destroying Europe. 

Characters

The character that we play as is Bell and I have a mixed feeling about this character. This is a silent character and can be any gender. They do some really interesting things with the character and I found the twists and turns as pretty interesting. But I just feel like silent characters aren't fit for purpose in modern gaming and a voice actor would have made this role much better. 

Bruce Thomas plays Russel Adler who is the leader of the team and he is a cool character. He is pretty mysterious and the more the story progresses, the more you learn about him and I liked his introduction to this universe. 

Frank Woods & Alex Mason are back but they have different voice actors in Damon Victor Allen & Chris Payne Gilbert. It doesn't work as well as before but I felt like they were a great addition here and having them around is great for fans of the Black Ops Games. Allen as Woods is really good and doesn't feel too different, whereas Gilbert as Mason feels quite different and doesn't fully work for me. 

The rest of the cast are pretty dull. The other members of the team are Sims, Park & Lazar. I didn't really care about any of them and the game does have some dialogue with them but it just isn't enough to make me care about them and their backstories. 

Story

The story is actually quite interesting here. It sees our team hunting down this shady operation and I appreciate the different styles of missions and the way that they look to progress the story. Unfortunately, the single player isn't a priority and it feels very underdeveloped, there is a lot of potential here but it just doesn't give enough time and care for it. There are 3 endings and in different ways they are all pretty bland and feel like they are just setting up future games instead of actually completing the story here. 

Side Content 

The priority of this game is its online and multiplayer section which includes Zombies. I actually had a lot of fun playing the multiplayer here, I mean pretty much everybody is playing Demolition in 2024 but it is still plenty of fun and there is so much content here to sink your teeth into. 

Though, I didn't really care about Zombies. To be honest I have never been a big fan of Zombies and this isn't the mode that makes me fall in love with it. It seems they have really tried to modernise the mode and it lacks the grit, I don't care about any of the characters involved and it just feels a little tacked on. 

Gameplay

The gameplay is plenty of fun. The gunplay is good and is just an easy game to jump into with previous COD experience and just play. It has all the good things that Call of Duty provides with its multiplayer gameplay and the campaign tries some unique stuff which is cool to see. 

But there are some issues with both matchmaking and Spawn Kills in the multiplayer that become super infuriating and feels like it supports the best players and the players that camp and that become pretty annoying as I played for longer. 

Graphics

The Graphics are pretty cool, it provides the epic action sequences and the look/sound of the weapons is on point and added a lot to the feel of the game. Though, I think some of the character models in the campaign looked strange and like they weren't fully finished especially when it came to their hair. 

Overall

Overall, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an average game that just continues the trend of Call of Duty games becoming this yearly game that disappoints. There are clearly good things here but there is just as many bad things for sure. I reiterate that I wish these companies had longer to spend on these games and truly build a special first person shooter. 

Rating - 5/10