Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) Review 

DC are in a really interesting position currently. They are stuck between the remnants of the DCEU and the reboot universe being set up by James Gunn. One of the last films of the DCEU is Shazam! Fury of the Gods and I watched it yesterday with this being my review. The premise of the film sees after the events of the first film Shazam! is looking to try and keep his family together while taking on the new threat of the daughters of Atlas. 

Main Character

Zachary Levi reprises his role as the titular character and he does an okay job. He is clearly having a great time in the role and you can't help but enjoy watching him in the role. The main issue though is that he comes across as a bit too annoying for me. His character development is minimal and I just felt like the focus on his humorous side was just a bit too heavy here and that is a shame because if it was a little more balanced this would be deemed as a stronger character. 

Supporting Characters

Helen Mirren plays one of the daughters of Atlas and though this isn't one of her best performances or characters, I liked how she was giving it her all and wanting to make this an enjoyable watch. Mirren does her best to add some star power to this film and an enjoyable character. Djimon Hounsou returns as The Wizard, which is not a spoiler as he is in the trailer. But he is given way more to do in this film and he is certainly an enjoyable aspect of the film that was a pleasant surprise. But the rest of the cast fair worse. Jack Dylan Grazer reprises his role as young Freddie Freeman, he is the young actor who gets the most screen time here and gone is the charming kid from the first film and here is this loud and annoying kid that possibly ruins the entire thing. He gets way too much to do an absolutely nothing works. Lucy Liu & Rachel Zegler play the other daughters of Atlas and they are just really dull, Zegler is a really generic character that offers little and Liu offers incredibly little as well. The child cast is basically cast aside and that is a shame because the aged up versions aren't very good either and I didn't care about any of them at all. 

Story 

I liked how the story of this film really takes place because of events from the previous film and the link is well handled. There were elements of the story that had weight and heart to them but it just isn't emphasised a lot. This film tries to drip in lots of story beats but misses the mark with the majority of them. The motivations of the villains isn't particularly interesting and the whole family dynamic lacks the heart of the previous film. 

Script

This film has some decent drama in it despite the issues I have mentioned earlier in the review. It also has a few funny moments but for a film that relies on comedy it isn't that funny. Unfortunately, it is a weaker script then the previous film and just about gets away with being considered average. 

Style 

The film looks good, the CGI, action scenes and costume design is well done and feels worthy of a big blockbuster superhero film. Though the film isn't particularly well paced, it felt quite long to me despite clocking in at around 2 hours. I also feel the first act took too long to actually get going and thus made it difficult to completely get into the film. 

Overall

Overall, Shazam! Fury of the Gods is an average sequel that is way worse then the original film. It doesn't fit the mould of DC films and I think it is one that can be easily skipped and it won't matter in the long run. 

Rating - 5/10

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 (2023) Review

After a long 16 episodes, I have watched all of the episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 and here is my review for it. The premise of the season sees after the destruction of Kamino, The Bad Batch have been staying low to avoid the Empire. While Crosshair attempts to find his place as part of the Empire and away from his old brothers. 

Main Character

Hunter & Omega are once again the most important part of the show. Their dynamic has certainly progressed into a father/daughter relationship and it is nice to see. They are given plenty of screen time together and the show somewhat progresses them. There is definitely more of an ensemble story going on here but Hunter voiced by Dee Bradley Baker & Omega voiced by Michelle Ang give their best and do a good job. 

Supporting Characters

Tech & Echo were two of the characters that I thought weren't given much in the first season but they get way more here. They are two of the shining aspects of the show and seeing these beloved characters getting more development and screen time is a great thing. Crosshair was my favourite character in the first season and that is the same here, I just love this character. His character goes through a lot this season and you see how he is torn between his allegiance to The Empire and to The Bad Batch, I just wish we got more of him this season. There are plenty of guest characters this season and they are handled well with some returning characters from other shows and I like how this show does an effective job of paying respect to other areas of Star Wars. 

Story 

The 2nd half of the season does an excellent job of progressing the story, I really cared about this group of characters but also the way that the Empire was working at this time period. Certain characters get time to shine which helped with making these characters even more interesting. The final 2 episodes are fantastic and do an excellent job of showing this show at its best and how it is becoming more mature. But the first half of the season, mostly misfired. It was way more episodic and episodes felt filler which made me not have the best start for the show. It got going eventually, but I can't deny that the first half of the show was a disappointment. 

Script

The script is much improved from the previous season. The characters are written better and there is more reason given to really care about them. As I mentioned above, this show is getting a bit more mature and that is represented in the writing which is more emotional and well done. 

Style 

The shows design is great. The action scenes are really well done with animation being smooth as ever. I really noticed that the sound and music really added a lot to the final episodes of the shows run. But there is no doubt that the pacing is off. There are too many filler episodes and I still stand by the fact that this could have been a 10 episode season and it would have worked. There also wasn't enough Crosshair for me which was a sacrifice due to the structure of the show. 

Overall

Overall, Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2 is an improvement of the first season and was a great season. Once you get through the filler this is some fantastic Star Wars storytelling and it really nailed it. 

Rating - 8/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Review

We have made it to the 31st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the start of Phase 5 Ant-Man & The Wasp Quantumania, I have watched it now and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Ant-Man, The Wasp & their family sent into The Quantum Realm, where they come face to face with Kang The Conqueror. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd is back as Scott Lang and I think once again he does a great job. He has plenty to do this time and his character has truly progressed since his first film. He is more confident as an Avenger and this shows in how he acts. His character has a clear progression and it is great to see Rudd deliver this really fun performance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for The Wasp played by Evangeline Lily. The only reason I am putting her as a main character is because her name is in the title but she is given nothing to do in the film. Lily has shown that she can give development to Hope Van Dyne but she is really pushed to the side for other characters as that is a shame. 

Supporting Characters

The real star of the film for me though was Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror, Majors knocks it out of the park and provides a chilling and charismatic performance as this new antagonist. He has huge shoes to fill from Thanos and I was worried he would be saved for his future appearances but he is in this film a lot and he is given a chance to thrive and give a glimpse of what could be to come. Michael Pfeiffer plays Janet Van Dyne and she is given so much screen time here, we learn more about her time in the Quantum Realm and Pfeiffer does a great job in fleshing out this character that we have barely seen on screen. Kathryn Newton is the recast for Cassie Lang and she is a fun character here, the dynamic between her and Rudd is well realised and she is given plenty to do here which I mostly like. Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym and despite having less to do, he is still enjoyable and still seems to have his passion for the character and the role. 

Story 

The story was okay, my favourite parts were learning more about the backstory of Kang and what exactly Janet was up to during her time in The Quantum Realm. It was nice seeing some progression and development in Ant-Man from his actions in Endgame. But as I mentioned before, the film completely underuses Wasp and as a major character that is a big shame. Also, the final act makes some decisions that I am not sure works for what the audience are told in the film with way too much taking place. 

Script 

The script was good. With it being an Ant-Man film there was plenty of humour here and the majority worked for me. It also had good drama and for the most part the two tones are separate and work well together. 

Style 

The film is mostly set in The Quantum Realm and that means there is plenty of CGI here and for the most part it looks great. The visuals are very striking and colourful which makes it interesting and dynamic. The film is also paced pretty well, with the runtime feeling appropriate. But I felt like the action scenes could have been filmed better, there was a lot of shaky cam going on especially early on that made it hard to focus. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp is a good film that does an effective job of delivering an interesting film that sets up the future of The MCU. It probably fits in the middle in terms of quality of Ant-Man films but if you enjoy these films then it is worth a watch. 

Rating - 7/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Review

Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania is released today and before having a chance to go and see it, I decided to go back and rewatch the previous film Ant-Man and The Wasp and here is my review for it. 

The premise of the film sees after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang is under house arrest when he is recruited to once again venture into the Quantum Realm. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily play the roles of Ant-Man and The Wasp and they are both really good here. They get more screen time together in this film and their dynamics are great. Their romance at the end of the previous film didn't quite work for me but it progresses nicely here and feels more earnt. They are both entertaining and it feels like a natural development from the first film. 

Supporting Characters

Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym and he is really great. As I mentioned in my previous review, it seems like he really cares about the role and wants to sink his teeth into what he is given here. He has to provide quite a lot of the emotion here and his character has plenty of the limelight shined on him. Hannah John-Kamen plays Ghost and I thought she was an okay villain, I think she is better then Yellowjacket but not by much. Everything was there for her to be a great villain but she feels a bit like an afterthought and something that just didn't quite click. Michael Pena is back as Luis and this is a film where I actually found him quite annoying, they took everything that I liked in the first film but ramped it up and made it too obnoxious and like they didn't quite understand what he was good at in the first film. Walter Goggins plays Sonny Burch and he was a bad villain, he is just some businessman but there is nothing unique about him and he comes across as quite annoying throughout. Laurence Fishburne plays Bill Foster and he is fine but completely underutilised in a role that could have been really good. Fishburne is a great actor but for me he wasn't given enough to work with. 

Story

The story has a mixed time, it is interesting seeing our 3 main characters trying to get back into the Quantum Realm and showing how the effects of a previous film affected the story being told here. There is some heart and emotion, though I do feel like this is more of a Wasp film then an Ant-Man one but maybe that is just me. There is just way too much going on here, there are multiple villains that have nothing in common and are just there and the rushing of the final act also didn't really work for me. 

Script 

The script is decent, there is good humour as you would expect and also some decent drama. But this film does fall fowl of a common MCU trend of not really knowing how to balance humour and drama. It clashes at times and considering the stakes of the film I felt like this was a bothersome thing. 

Style 

The film looks great, the action scenes are still fresh and unique. The addition of The Wasp adds some freshness and seeing the pair fight Ghost is some of the more entertaining parts of the sequences. This is a pretty short film and it does fly by, but the pacing isn't that great with the focus being in the wrong places at times. Also, I don't know if it is just me but I really struggle with films that constantly change aspect ratio and this film does it a lot, I would rather a film pick one or the other. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man and The Wasp is an above average entertaining film. It is a bit of a let down of a sequel but I think fans of the original film will like this one. 

Rating - 6/10

Hunters Season 2 (2023) Review 

I enjoyed the first season of Amazon's show Hunters and the second season has finally come out and here is my review for it. The premise of the season sees The Hunters split up, but they are reunited in order to take down the last remnants of The Nazis - Adolf Hitler. 

Main Character

Logan Lerman reprises his role as Jonah with a lovely new hair cut and he is really good. He has clearly developed as a character since the first season, gone is the timid young man and he is now a hardened Nazi killer by the time Season 2 picks up. He does an effective part in this role and it is clearly one that he was able to sink his teeth into. 

Supporting Characters

Josh Radnor plays Lonnie Flash and he was one of the more enjoyable parts of the first season and this continues here. He is a fun addition to the cast and you can tell that Radnor is really enjoying his time in the role and they try and flesh out his character a little bit. Jennifer Jason leigh makes her debut in this season and she is fantastic, probably my favourite character of the show. She is the most interesting and her addition to the mix really adds new flavour to this somewhat generic crew & story being told. Honestly, most of the other crew kind of blended into the background for me, there wasn't enough progression with their characters and it maybe feels like there are too many. The villains don't really work either, the guy playing Hitler is fine but nothing more and that is a major letdown. But the biggest misfire is Al Pacino returning as Meyer Offerman in his own flashback story, after the events of the previous season this felt so unnecessary and like they had already paid for Pacino so might as well put him in the show. The character isn't developed by this and I wish Pacino had been used sparingly throughout this season of the show. 

Story 

The story has an interesting hook on it in that it is the hunt for Adolf Hitler and when it focuses on that it does thrive. Seeing how this over the top scenario of Hitler surviving would potentially work is interesting and opens up lots of opportunities. But, I also do think this show misses its potential, there are so many characters and they try to give all the characters their own story, but it ends up being quite superficial and non-consequential to the overall plot. The ending also felt quite rushed and bland to me which never helps. But the biggest issue, is the amount of time it spends on the Meyer Offerman flashback story, this thing does not need to be there and then I would say at least a quarter of the runtime is spent on which is way too much. 

Script 

The script has some pretty good drama, some effective performances do deliver in making you care about this pretty serious subject matter. But there is some comedy that doesn't quite work and I just think a lot of the characters were written sub-par and there was plenty more that could have been done with them. 

Style 

This show has a pretty violent style and for the most part I enjoyed that, the action felt gritty and real. It also uses its scenery well embracing its time period and international locations. But the shows pacing is off, there is too much jumping times between flashbacks and the current storyline. There is also probably a few episodes too many which does hurt the overall product in the end. 

Overall

Overall, Hunters season 2 is an above average show that is still quite enjoyable. It has plenty of flaws and I don't think it is probably worth it unless you really enjoyed the first season, but overall an okay effort. 

Rating - 6/10

Ant-Man (2015) Review

After a hiatus I am back reviewing Films & TV Shows and I start back with Ant-Man. In prep for Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, I decided to go back and watch the first film in the trilogy and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees an ex-con recruited by a tech genius to become The Ant-Man and save the world. 

Main Character

Paul Rudd plays Scott Lang and he is great in the role, he is just really likeable in the role and plays the role well. He comes across as this everyday guy, but has that charm to be a super hero in this universe. It was probably a bit of a risk to use Scott Lang as the first main Ant-Man but I think it paid off here due to how fun Rudd is. 

Supporting Characters

Michael Douglas plays Hank Pym who is the original Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I think my favourite part of this film is the chemistry between Rudd & Douglas. Pym is a super interesting character and seeing Douglas really care about this character and this role elevates this character to new heights. The Mentor role fits him really well here and this was great casting for this crucial role. Evangeline Lily plays Hope Van Dyne and she is also really good, her character is cold at first but as the film progresses you grow to like her and understand where she is coming from and Lily does an effective job of making the audience care. Michael Pena plays Luis and this is a very enthusiastic and over the top performance. I get the feeling you will either really like this character or hate him, luckily I liked him and felt he wasn't overused here. Corey Stoll really tries as the villain Darren Cross but it just didn't work for me, it isn't that he gives a bad performance but his character is so bland and his motivations are really generic that I just thought he was an afterthought in the film. 

Story 

The story is a pretty good origin story, I like the character of Scott Lang and his dynamic with Pym & Hope is an enjoyable dynamic. His relationship with his daughter was also handled well with it providing an emotional hook to the film that really worked. But when it boils down to it, it has a pretty basic plot line and most of that has to do with the motivations of Cross as a villain. He just wants to get rich, that worked back in Iron Man, but this is the 11th film in the MCU and I expect more from the villain here. 

Script

The script is really good, with Paul Rudd involved it does have its humour that you would expect which for me mostly works. It also has some really well done drama here, the two father-daughter relationships contrast each other well and make you care about these characters. 

Style 

The style of the film is a bit of a mixed bag. The action scenes are really well done and unique to this character, it literally bought the test footage that was leaked to the screen in a really effective way. But this film has a pacing issue, this film isn't overly long and we don't see Ant-Man really do anything till over an hour in. I enjoy all the training, I just think it could have started earlier or been shorter to allow us to see Ant-Man do even more. 

Overall

Overall, Ant-Man is a really fun new addition to The MCU. It brings a bunch of new characters into the universe with an enjoyable experience. 

Rating - 8/10

Star Wars: Rebels Season 4 (2017) Review

Now ahead of The Bad Batch season 2 coming to Disney+ in the New Year, I have now finished Star Wars Rebels with its 4th season. I actually have never watched this season before, so this is my first experience seeing the conclusion of the shows run and here is my review for it. The premise of the season sees after the destruction of The Rebels base by Thrawn, The crew of The Ghost return to Lothal and attempt to save the planet from the oppression of The Empire. 

Main Character

Ezra Bridger once again voiced by Taylor Gray gives a really strong performance. I compared him to Luke Skywalker from A New Hope in my Season 3 review but in Season 4 he is more like Luke from Return of The Jedi and it is handled extremely well. He has developed as both a Jedi and a person, clearly showing his progress from the very first episode to the last episode. After a rough start, Ezra has really developed into a great character that deserves a huge amount of credit. 

Supporting Characters

Freddy Prinze Jnr is back as Kanan Jarrus, he is given plenty to work with and the character develops into a real Jedi Master. They do some cool things with his character especially as the season progresses. The rest of the Ghost crew are given plenty of stuff to do and its pretty worthwhile. Though I feel like the emphasis is really on Ezra & Kanan that they don't get as much time to shine with some of the other supporting characters disappearing for the majority of the season. Lars Mikkelsen is back as Grand Admiral Thrawn and once again he is the best part of the show, we see him in action way more and that is always a good thing. There are some characters that are surprises here and they are also handled well without breaking canon too much. 

Story 

The overall theme of the story is fantastic, spending the bulk of the season on Lothal was a good call as it was the first real location of the show. It feels ramped up like a final season should do and the writers did an excellent job of making us really care about what was going on. But, some big stories from the previous seasons are really limited, there is one in particular that has been built up since the very first episode that has a lacklustre ending and that is a let down. 

Script

The script is really good. This is easily the most mature of the seasons and we finally see the devastation and destruction that comes from this war. The humour isn't as prevalent and I am glad to see that. 

Style 

The style of the show is better then ever, the animation is fantastic and sells just how large the stakes are for these characters. Also the whole filler issue is gone as there are less episodes and pretty much all of them are crucial to the story being told with an amazing finale. 

Overall

Overall, the fourth season of Star Wars Rebels is fantastic and in my opinion the best season of the show. It really ties things together well and with the brilliant finale it truly delivers and is a must watch for any Star Wars fan. 

Rating - 9/10