Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 movie review

Here's what you need to know; riding the success of their battle against Ronan, the Guardians of the Galaxy are busy getting rich and keeping the Galaxy safe. But when one of their jobs doesn't go to plan, and puts them in the sights of the Zealous Sovereigns, a mysterious man comes to their aid, a man claiming to be Quill's father. Now in the company of Ego, Quill feels he has finally found family, while his friends start to fear that Ego isn't entirely what he appears, and that somewhere beneath the surface is something far more sinister.
I watched it, I watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and having loved the first film, I was understandably excited to see the sequel. Having watched the sequel however, I found my expectations being, how do we say, challenged, that nebulous enough? cool, let's go.

Like the First film, Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens with a flashback to the 1980's showing us a bit more of Quill's mum, and introducing us to Ego. This intro however has nowhere near the emotional weight of her death in the first film, in fact it doesn't really have any emotional weight, it does nothing more than set up a bit of Ego. Fortunately we are then treated to a much, much better intro with the Guardians taking on a squid monster thing, while Groot dances adorably to Mr. Blue Sky, before we are treated to a very entertaining Ship battle. The Guardians get a very good reintroduction in this film; now closer together than in the first film, they're still shooting shit at each other, and bickering about petty things during life or death situations. Quill is still the reckless, shit talking pirate he was in the first film, Rocket hasn't changed much either, which is good, while Drax and Gamora are just as likable as they became in the first film, and get a lot more laughs in this film, Drax in particular, who went from a kind of wooden character in the first film, to a character who's consistently funny for most of this film. The only character who's seen any massive change is of course Groot, who's now a baby, and he's every bit as adorable as you'd hope, perhaps more so, as he's not just small, he literally is a baby, and the rest of the Guardians are all trying to be good parents for him, while also killing baddies and causing trouble. Something I was very happy to see was the new emotional layers put on the characters in this film, Nebula is much more prominent in this film, and her hatred of Gamora is explored extensively, and it's actually really interesting, and pretty heart wrenching, even if Nebula is still a cheesy character, just like before. Drax also gets some serious development in this film, one scene in particular, where he's talking to Mantis, that's some really hard hitting shit, and it's fantastic. Yondu also returns, as does his Ravager underling Kraglin, and they are one of the film's best changes. Yondu is much more important to the film, and to Quill as a character, and as the film goes on, and his history and relationship with Quill is explored, he becomes a truly fantastic character. He also has some fantastic scenes with Rocket and Groot, and like the end of the first one, you can truly feel Rocket's sadness, as his character also gets the treatment, and there's a few times in this film where Rocket just looks broken, it's horrible, but in the best way it could be. Ego is a tricky one to describe, since the trailers don't really give you that much on him, but he's certainly more developed and interesting than Ronan was, and the conflict he brings in this film is some top notch stuff. And while he's Kurt Russell for most of the film, when the film's finale kicks in, and he takes on his larger forms, it's really cool to look at. New players provide descent supporting roles, Mantis has a cute thing going on with Drax, while a Ravager with the best name ever has the best name ever, Kraglin also has some good scenes, especially in the film's second half. The Gold people all over the film's trailers however aren't really in the film that much, very much like the Ravagers in the first film, they're just a faction that keeps getting in the way at certain points in the film, sad thing is genetically perfect golden pricks lose to space pirates every time.

So far all good, but now we get into flaws, sadly, this might take a while. After the fantastic ship chase in the film's opening, the film slows right down; in the first Guardians they were never on a planet too long, before hopping to the next planet or having a battle, that kept the plot moving at a great pace, and made the film really fun, Guardians 2 however has done the complete opposite. After the ship chase, the majority of the crew spend the rest of the film on one planet, and don't get into any major action until the finale, sure that gives time for development, but the sad truth is sections of the film are just boring, the film has lost the sense of adventure in the first one, and it's not as fun. While Quill, Gamora and Drax are chilling with Ego, things actually do happen with Rocket and Groot, and for a lot of the film, that's really where the enjoyment lies, as Yondu and Rocket stage a daring breakout, and bond in a very enjoyable and sombre way. A lot of the film's humour is also largely in these sequences with Rocket and Yondu, which is really entertaining, but by comparison, the slow, dramatic character building with Ego is just boring. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 is only fifteen minutes longer than the first film, but it definitely feels longer than that, and that's really not good. Fortunately the film picks back up in the final act, as the Guardians reunite and save the Galaxy again, while it's not a Star Wars esque ship battle like the first film, the final showdown is still really entertaining, and actually funnier than the first one, and I'd reckon it's actually a bit more epic than the first one too, on a side note, there's a scene in the final battle that reminded me so much of Shin Godzilla, only it was done better in my opinion. Easily the best part of the final battle, and the best part of the film in fact, is the feels, because when shit goes down, and everyone's having a really bad day, it's genuinely fantastic, again, Rocket is a standout in this film, and, no specifics of course, the last shot of this film is one of the most heart destroying things I've seen in a film, definitely the most heart destroying thing I've seen this year. Like the first film, while being emotionally wrecking, it's also funny, though maybe not as funny as the first one overall; Rocket and Yondu are great, Drax actually gets a lot of humour, and Rocket and Star Lord are still shit heads, but overall, when the film gets so slow and, honestly, dull, with Ego, it detracts from the film in terms of how funny it is. Somewhere where the film is on par is of course the visual effects, this is a beautiful film, Rocket and Groot look as convincing as they did before, and like the first one, the film is stunningly colourful, there's literally never a dull moment, as the film is always popping with vibrant colours. The action is still really fun, the throw down in the forest with Rocket and the Ravagers is great, and the massacre on the Ravager ship is fantastically violent, and a lot of fun. And, same as before, the film has a stellar collection of songs that always seem to fire up during the more intense scenes, usually because of Rocket or Groot, which is really funny. The song list however isn't as memorable as the first film, but it still has its shining moments, Southern Nights and Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang in particular.

That's actually a good way to describe Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it has its good moments, and they're great, but it's just not as memorable as the first film. Its characters are considerably more developed than before, and when the film wants to be emotional, it's even better than the first one, while the comedy is about on par overall. The problem is that the film lacks the epic space adventure story of the first one; with a huge section of the film taking place on a single planet, and having considerably less humour than the actual space adventure shit with Rocket and Yondu, which is where the film's enjoyment comes from for a considerable while. I still love what works in this film, but not all of it works. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 still has its moments, and for them, I'd recommend it, but it's not as good as the first one.

Guardians of the Galaxy movie review

Here's what you need to know; after being abducted into his new and adventurous life as a Ravager, Peter Quill can't seem to keep himself out of trouble. His latest job gets messy however when he finds that his treasure is sought after by several people, including the genocidal war monger Ronan. Now stuck with a motley crew of bounty hunters, an assassin and a no nonsense nut case, Quill finds himself in the position of being one of the only things between the galaxy and Ronan.
2014 had some great movies; Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow, Paddington, Planet of the Apes, somewhere in there is a film called Guardians of the Galaxy, a film in the famed MCU, and one of only three films I've seen in the MCU, which I'm not proud of. It'll be four soon enough though, and I'll never turn down an excuse to watch a film I love.

Guardians of the Galaxy takes an unexpected turn right away, with an intro that's very devoid of humour, and is instead filled with a deep sense of tragedy, for a film filled with laughs and badass action, it's very odd to start in such a sombre place, but it works, as we're immediately given a reason to care about Peter. Then of course the film does a complete U-turn and a significant time jump, and we are introduced to an older Peter, who still has a working Walkman somehow. It's also here that the film establishes it's heavily comedic side, as Quill dances and sings his way through perilous ancient ruins. That intro really helps to establish Quill as a likable character; after suffering a tragedy, and then having his whole universe literally turned on its head, he comes from a very emotional place for the audience, while watching him use a nasty looking rodent as a mime microphone is stupidly funny. Over the course of the film, Quill remains its main focus, as he slowly becomes friends with his fellow Guardians, and finds purpose in stopping Ronan, and they manage to find trouble everywhere they go. The rest of the crew is significantly less developed than Quill, just an observation though, not a negative, and the majority of them are every bit as likable as Quill. Gamora is a very stoic character for most of the film, and she likes swords and knives. Her backstory is certainly grim, and her motivations are understandable, but it's only really in the film's final act that Gamora really becomes a likable character, while the rest of the film shows off her proficiency in combat and her ability to make funny remarks. Equally skilled in fighting and remarking, but even more wooden, is Drax, a character with another tragic backstory, but who's lacking in crucial departments, that being said, like Gamora, he does grow on you throughout the film. That just leaves Rocket and Groot, and while one of them is literally wooden, combined, they are easily the film's greatest strength. Rocket is amazing, he's the funniest character in the film by far, always armed with a witty remark, a plan, and a ridiculously big gun, when the action goes down, he's about a vicious as a Raccoon can get, but what's really surprising is the emotional weight in his character. At a few points in this film Rocket breaks down, and underneath the snarky, crazy inventor bounty hunter, you see a very damaged and troubled rodent, and towards the film's end, you genuinely can't help but feel his loss. Next to Quill, he's the best character in the film. Groot meanwhile is much simpler; he's a big, somewhat simple minded tree, with a very limited vocabulary, and an immense heart. There's one instance where I can spoil I think, when he gives a girl beggar a flower, which is really sweet. But to sum up what I really love about Groot, I can't spoil it, but he does something in the film's final battle, and when he's done, he pulls a face that is, no word of a lie, the funniest thing in the film, it's just amazing. While the film's leads are pretty damn good, the line up falters in supporting characters; Thanos is in one scene, pretty minor for the biggest baddie in the MCU, while Ronan is a pretty hollow villain. Yondu is admittedly pretty cool, because it's Michael Rooker, while Nebula is played by one of the things that made me stop liking Doctor Who, no bias there then.

Part of what makes Guardians of the Galaxy so enjoyable is its humour; the film is oozing with the shit, it comes from all of the characters, besides the villain, and is prevalent for the entirety of the film. Rocket and Quill give the film it's best laughs, with Groot, Gamora and Drax not far behind, Peter Serafinowicz from Shaun of the Dead and John C. Reilly are both in this film, you know where that leads. But that comedy doesn't detract from the film's more emotional scenes, which Quill and Rocket get the bulk of, and those emotional scenes are really good, proper heavy stuff, the ending in particular really pulls at the heart strings, as does Quill's abduction. Guardians of the Galaxy tells a fun story, the film doesn't pass on any excuses to hop around the Galaxy, and always throws an action scene at you just in case the comedy wasn't entertaining enough; the throw down in the prison is fantastic stuff, a good blend of laughs and fast, exciting action, while the final battle against Ronan is like something out of Star Wars. It, like a Star Wars finale, mixes a ground, or rather, ship battle, with a huge battle above the surface with fighters and massive ships. There's also a tone shift about half way through the film, which is actually done really well, it doesn't slow down the film's more entertaining elements, but it does greatly help in developing the friendship between the Guardians, and gives their friendship and actions more purpose. It's now I should probably mention the visual effects, which are, as you should expect, outstanding. Rocket and Groot are CG, but you really don't care while you're watching, it's very comparable to Paddington in that respect, with how well done the CG on those two is. The Various places they visit in their quest all look phenomenal too, and are a good variety of nice looking planets, a shitty looking prison and mining colony, and an eerie and atmospheric dead planet, as well as the suitably dark and sinister Kree ship, contrasted by the bright and colourful look of Xandar. This is again reflected in the designs of the various alien things, with the nasty look of the Necrocraft, and the even nastier look of their pilots, contrasted by the equally abstract, but much nicer and more colourful Nova fighters, while the Milano and the Ravager ships are just great, something about the design of the Milano just appeals to me, maybe the brilliant orange and blue paint, or the elegant, organic shaping of its wings, it's striking angles, something just really works. A nebulous, non specific and blind praise is also in order for the film's music, which is, once again, fantastic; the film's list of songs is extensive, and there honestly isn't a bad one, there's some David Bowie, Raspberries, Norman Greenbaum, Jackson 5, Blue Swede, and of course others, and they certainly add to the film's fun factor, as The Pina Colada Song kicks on during a prison break, or Cherry Bomb kicks on while they all gear up for the big battle, does it all make sense, not really, but it's a lot of fun, and the great music is something you'll certainly remember.

Guardians of the Galaxy is the kind of film I honestly can't imagine someone not liking, since while it does have flaws, I'd say in its weak villain and supporting characters, the film is just too much fun to not like. It's funny, exciting, has the best talking CG hairball this side of Paddington, excellent visuals overall, a stellar song list, and at times it can really deliver some emotional clout. Its central characters are all good, even if one or two are on the weak side, and it's climatic final act has me struggling for a superlative I haven't already used. A film that can hold all of these elements together and balance them as well as this one does always makes for a hugely enjoyable watch, and Guardians of the Galaxy is no exception, it's definitely a must watch.

Call of Duty: WWII trailer thoughts

So, the new Call of Duty has a reveal trailer now, this should be good. I haven't done my thoughts on a trailer for a while now, and I'd usually think Call of Duty wasn't worth the effort, but things have changed. First, some set up for the main event, everyone remembers the trailer for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, and as you can see, its like to dislike ratio is a bit abysmal, in fact it's worse than the trailer for Ghostbusters, which I found astounding, since Ghostbusters, I thought, was only slightly better than the garbage pile I thought it would be. Infinite Warfare, on the other hand, is a game I think deserves less hate than it gets; sure the multiplayer was the same tired old crap, but behind that dead horse I always tend to find the campaign to be of a very high quality, always a completely serviceable little five hour romp. Despite Infinite Warfare being so Sci Fi that it wasn't really Call of Duty anymore, it still had that very high level of polish that all CoD campaigns have had, and was, in itself, a decent Sci Fi adventure. And as far as roots go, turning a war game into a Sci Fi war game makes more sense than turning a war game into cops and crooks; you might as well give them credit for trying something new with the formula. Battlefield 1 however changed the game in a way Hardline never could, opting to return to a historical war setting, and selling in huge numbers, though it still lost to Infinite Warfare. The real tragedy is that Battlefield 1 and Infinite Warfare both killed Titanfall 2, which is easily the best game of the three. Now following Battlefield's lead, Call of Duty is also going back to a historical war, and judging from this trailer, it's going in hard.

The trailer opens with a radio speech that, from what I could find, was read by President Roosevelt on the 6th of June 1944, the day of the Normandy landings. This is a wonderful touch, and is hopefully a subtle signifier that this Call of Duty will at least try to convey the gravity of the war with sincerity. What follows is a beach landing that looks like it was ripped straight from Saving Private Ryan, it's violent, bloody, intense, it almost looks scary; it's such a departure from the more recent, more insane and bombastic Call of Duty campaigns that I can't help but love it, it looks horrible, which is the best thing that could be said about it. That beach scene really sets the tone, this is a trailer that seemingly wants you to know that this game isn't messing around; the violence is extreme, it's in your face, yet far from being loud, it's almost subdued by the music, which, in contrast to the intense, graphic violence, is very serene. WWII immediately seems to set itself apart from CoD's recent outings by putting a focus on the soldiers in this trailer, whereas Advanced Warfare was on Kevin Spacey rambling about Democracy and US efforts at regime change, Black Ops III was on the line between soldier and weapon, and Infinite Warfare was on look, space and shit. What should be apparent is that all of these trailers have set themselves on establishing the primary element of the game's story, be it the conflict, the themes, or the characters, hopefully WWII will be the same, since this is a very personal trailer; what sticks out to me is a scene that depicts a personal conflict, as one soldier asks for the number of casualties. Death is everywhere in this trailer; soldiers are gunned down by MG nests, blown up by tanks, picked off by planes, so on, so on, it appears that the age of cyber super soldiers is very much over, and this is a very refreshing change, and weird, given how I can remember when World War Two games went out of fashion. This is also a pretty radical change to the Call of Duty series itself, which ditched World War Two a full nine years ago, which makes me ask, how will this change things, mainly in the department of gameplay, vehicles, weapons, stuff like that, being an enthusiast for more historical war technology, I'm excited. WWII looks like it's tried to keep the cinematic nature of the series, but dumped the bombastic epicness of the recent games in favour of a more grounded story with a greater focus on the men in the war; why else would it open with a Roosevelt speech, this is a return to the roots of series, like Activision said; a blend of the newer games' cinematic elements, and the older games' grittier, intimately violent representation of the war. Unlike those older games however, WWII seems entirely focused on the European side of the War, which I personally find disappointing, maybe because I recently watched Hacksaw Ridge, who knows. On the plus side however, this does mean the story can be told with a tighter focus, similar to, for example, Black Ops, which remains my favourite Call of Duty game, even now. That story will hopefully be something special, because while I've enjoyed the last few CoD campaigns, and really enjoyed certain things about them, a good example of that being Black Ops III, none of the last few CoD games have really struck me a special, in the way a Bioshock game would be, or Like Spec Ops: The Line or the Uncharted series and The Last of Us, games that hit you on a very emotional and psychological level. Maybe I'm getting my hopes up, but I hope WWII is special, I hope that its campaign can be up there with Spec Ops: The Line as a fantastic campaign. Which is where my concern lies, since weirdly, I 'm always more drawn to the Campaign than the multiplayer, in fact I barely touch the multiplayer, but that's not just CoD, that's also Halo, the exception is of course Titanfall, because that game is fucking awesome.

Call of Duty: WWII's trailer actually gives me exactly what I wanted, which is hope that Call of Duty can actually pull off the move of being more than a fun little five hour time waster, can actually be something great, that people will remember even after Call of Duty 2018 and 19, and can breathe back life into this franchise that is undeniably dying. A lot of people do want to see Call of Duty die, but to be honest, I don't think it deserves to yet, I still think there's time for the series to find it's fire again, and hopefully with WWII, it's found it, and hell yes, I'll be picking it up. And on a finishing note, people are a lot more positive about this trailer than they were for Infinite Warfare, which is a good sign.

Blue Once More

 It snowed last night, in April, which I couldn't seem to get my head around, since just a few days ago I took advantage of the warm, dry weather to take some photos. Out the door at Eight o'clock in the morning, and not returning for many hours, I spent my time getting my knee muddy as usual, this time by sliding down a hill like the cover of Vanquish, and scouring every inch of the forest for only the bluest of bluebells. But since two and a half gigabytes is just not enough, I later rounded it out to a nice solid five during another bout of self loathing and paranoia, mostly with pictures of ducks, and the occasional Swan. I also tried my luck getting pictures of bats, since it was going dark, but they're illusive buggers.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story redux review

I said I'd do it; months ago, when pondering my recent cinema experience with Rogue One, I understood that doing a review like my reviews for Monsters and Godzilla would be difficult, but I wanted to do that, so rather than holding off, I did my review, and considered coming back to it later, once the Blu Ray was out, well here we are. Finally I can dive into Rogue One like I always wanted to, and go into more details on the things I thought the film got right, and wrong, and look more into some of the ideas the film plays with, thus completing the set of Gareth Edwards directed films. Plot summary is still in order I guess.
Here's what you need to know; after years of running from her family's Imperial past, Jyn Erso is finally hunted down by the Rebellion, who have a job for her. Information has surfaced regarding a new weapon the Empire has built, one that can destroy planets, and Jyn's father has suddenly re emerged with a message that could turn the tide of the war. Not knowing who she can trust, Jyn sets out to find her father and unearth the secrets of the Empire's planet killer, before it is used to end the Rebellion completely.

The film opens like a Star Wars film should, with a shot of deep space, following the familiar Long time ago far far way, but with no crawl, instead just a lone ship flying through some planetary rings, a ship belonging to the film's villain, Director Krennic. The intro sequence with the ship and the farm sets things up very nicely, with Jyn's hatred of the Empire being ignited by her mother's murder, and the scene sets up a very juicy concept with Krennic and Galen which we'll get to, as well as a clever visual bigging up of the Death Troopers, as one of them picks up a Stormtrooper doll, the symbolism is pretty clear. Something Rogue One really plays with, which is great to see, is the idea that the Empire is a real threat to the people of the galaxy, Stormtroopers are everywhere in this film, and on occasion the film shows you them searching homes and harassing people on the street. Saw and his crew are terrified of Imperial spies, as if they're literally everywhere, always watching, it's a palpable paranoia. The streets of Jedha are crawling with Stromtroopers, Imperial droids, and Imperial machines like the ATST, not to mention the Destroyer looming over the city, like a very big, very metaphorical oppressive boot. Krennic and Galen meanwhile embody another idea, that being the Banality of Evil; this is something I did a bit of homework on over my multiple recent viewings of the film, and hopefully I've got it right. Krennic and Galen are both with the Empire, an evil, oppressive force looming over the free people of the galaxy, and both are crucial to the development and construction of the Death Star, this is where Banality of Evil comes in. The Death Star is a weapon that can destroy entire planets, the Empire hopes that fear alone is enough to keep the galaxy in line, fear that resistance will be met with the full destructive force of the Empire's own planet killer, peace and order through fear. Krennic sees that as a necessary evil, a vital step in ensuring peace and order in the Galaxy, and he sees the evil of building and using a weapon capable of genocide as justified in pursuit of a greater good; Imperial dominance, and his personal success within the Empire. It doesn't matter how many people die because of the Death Star, they are a necessary sacrifice for the end goal, it needs to be done, for the betterment of the galaxy. Krennic can justify building a planet killer, Galen however cannot; Krennic can put aside his moral reasoning, while Galen sees the tremendous evil in the Death Star, he has retained his moral reasoning, and made the decision to lie to the Empire and deliberately design a flaw in the Death Star, one that could put right what he and Krennic have done. It's this plus his apparent need for recognition in the Empire that makes Krennic such a good villain in my opinion, and his finale is brilliantly poetic, while Galen is an interesting character in his choice to betray the Empire, and again, his finale is interestingly ironic. What's truly scary, and brilliant cinema, is a tiny scene that depicts Galen, Krennic and Lyra drinking socially; hammering home this Banality of Evil idea, when Krennic and Galen aren't building a genocide machine, they're normal people, Krennic isn't a Sith like most Star Wars baddies, he's just a normal person, and someone as casual as that, with no magic powers, being capable of committing such large scale evil, is genuinely frightening.

It's here though that we get into flaws, because even I can admit that this film isn't perfect. Jyn Erso has an interesting backstory; a fugitive who's dad is an Imperial scientist, and who was raised by a terrorist, these elements of the film are somewhat explored, with Jyn pretending Galen is dead, and the first time we see her in a jail cell is arguably symbolic not just of her criminal lifestyle, but of her internal struggle, of her attempts to escape her family's past with the Empire. This metaphorical prison is also played with with Cassian, but unlike Jyn, who has a prologue to set her up, Cassian just has a scene where he says he's been fighting the Empire since he was six. You can gather that the Empire killed his family, but the film never shows it, or tells it. Cassian is supposed to be this heroic figure, who lost something he loved, and decided to do something about it, but with so little development, he can only be judged on his actions in the film, and on that, he's a bit of a dick, I'll get to an interesting idea this applies to later, but Cassian just isn't a terribly interesting character. Neither for that matter is Bodhi; he's an Imperial who, like Galen, decided to make a choice to rebel against the Empire, but apart from that, he isn't much of a character, there's a scene where he is mind raped by a squid thing, and this scene is crap, it's so out of place in the film, it serves no purpose, and it doesn't develop Bodhi, I'll get to the mind raping squid later though. Chirrut is one of the film's better characters, since he's a badass warrior monk, it's just fun to watch him clean house with Stormtroopers, and his character serves a larger purpose; while the rest of the Galaxy has given up believing in hokey religions, Chirrut still hangs onto his belief in the Force, in a bleak, hopeless world, he's a tiny shard of hope, hope that the balance in the Force will one day be restored. This surprising amount of depth spills over to Baze Malbus, a character with a close friendship with Chirrut, that's never really explored. What's interesting about Baze is his perspective on the Force, like the rest of the Galaxy, he's given up believing that the Force can save the day, yet in Chirrut he sees hope, Chirrut even points this out, that Baze, while mocking him for his Force delusions, secretly hopes he's right, secretly hopes that the Force is real, again, it's a surprisingly deep concept, and while Bodhi and Cassian are flat, Baze is a walking tank, he's cooler by default. Meanwhile there's nothing bad to say about K2SO, he's just a cool robot, he says what he wants, when he wants, and while his heart is in the right place, he's very cynical and blunt. He does however have a problem that many characters have, that being a lazy introduction, Cassian, Chirrut and Baze all have this problem, and it's such a tiny niggling fault, that could have been fixed so easily, but instead it's either them or someone else saying their full names, and sometimes even their occupations, with seemingly no context or reason. It would have been so easy to fix, literally as simple as, for example, swapping the word 'Malbus' with 'here', Chirrut asking for Jyn's name before introducing himself, or K2SO apologising for man handling Jyn on Wobani. Instead it's another flaw to these characters, the majority of which are already really lacking in meaningful development, even with the deeper ideas they embody.

Let's get back to the good shit again, and dive into Saw Gerrera. Saw Gerrera plays up one of this film's strongest themes, that being the line between good and evil, and how difficult it is to discern. The phrase 'Heroes of the Empire' is one I can't stop thinking about; since it's true, it opens the idea of if the Empire didn't lose the Death Star, they'd have probably won the war, Krennic's dream of peace though terror would be achieved, Galen would have been a hero, who's baby was used by the Empire to bring peace to the Galaxy, again ignoring the billions killed to get there. The film hints at this ambiguity with Cassian early on, which is a great scene, but this dynamic doesn't really come into its own until you see Saw Gerrera. When Saw shows up, it's pretty unsettling, his metal feet clunk on the floor, his walking is heavily laboured, his voice is strained and wheezy, something that's a bit jarring at first, admittedly, a bit weird. By far the best example is his breathing, as when Bodhi is taken to him, he breathes through a mask, and it's a sound that sends a shudder through Bodhi. The obvious implication kind of parallels Krennic and the Banality of Evil, the rebels have disowned Saw and his gang, seeing them as too fanatical and extreme, he, like the Empire, has a goal, a greater good, and acts of evil are permissible on the road to that good. When you see him, a lot of his body is machine, he has trouble breathing, and is completely paranoid, implying that his fight has been a long and very gruesome one, and at this point he has given up his moral reasoning, he and his crew are terrorists, and as seen on Jedha, they will gladly risk civilian casualties to hurt the Empire. This is, however, where we get back to the mind raping squid thing, that scene that does nothing for the film; as morbid as it sounds, I think this scene should have just been a torture scene. I say this since a torture scene would inherently have been more unpleasant, it would have reinforced the moral ambiguity of the film, since torturing someone is more evil than a squid, and it would have added to Bodhi's character, who's decision to rebel would have been met with cruelty. Really the only reason I can think of is it's too morbid for the younger viewers, but Star Wars has done torture in the past, shit, Kylo Ren tortured Poe in The Force Awakens, so why was the Squid thing even a thing. It would have had the same result from a character and story perspective, but would have added to the film on a deeper level. Cassian's speech before the final Scarif battle further cements this theme, as he admits that he and many of the rebels have done terrible things for the Rebellion, and have told themselves it was for a cause they believed in, weirdly though the scene doesn't stick out all that much, despite that confession being a bit of a big deal, probably since Cassian just isn't a very likable character.

It should be apparent that I like Gareth Edwards' films; I've reviewed all three of them, and am now dissecting his third and latest film. What makes Gareth Edwards's approach to directing so interesting to me is something can't fully determine, but I love him as a director. What worked so well in Godzilla and Monsters is the perspective; despite both films being epic sci fi scenarios, Monsters passes the more conventional sci fi route for a smaller and simpler personal story about two people crossing the exclusion Zone, it's a quiet, personal story, with no action scenes, and only the occasional encounter with an alien, this is perhaps a result of the low budget, guerrilla nature of the production, but it makes the film more special, more unique. Godzilla is considerably more epic, since it's about a Kaiju, but again, that personal story is at the core of the film, and Godzilla's presence is handled in an undeniably interesting way, which is why I describe Godzilla as the Godzilla film I didn't know I wanted. Gareth Edwards makes sure that the focus is clear in his directing, Godzilla, while only having ten minutes of Godzilla, masterfully shows the size and destructive force of him, and effectively conveys that film's most fascinating, almost Lovecraftian concepts. Rogue One is less elegant than Godzilla, but the DNA that made it work is still there, Rogue One's approach to Star Wars is grounded and visceral, the line between good and evil is blurred heavily, neither side has cleans hands, or clean helmets, a clever visual cue. The Force, while still a presence in the film, is kept very subdued, keeping happy and wonderful ideals subdued in the process, and runs in the same vein as the Kaiju in Godzilla, only replacing Lovecraftian horror with a fleeting sense of hope. Perhaps more so than Godzilla or Monsters, Rogue One has fun with the humanity of its characters, not in an emotional sense, but in a sense that they aren't superheroes, and while their efforts are invaluable to the War, it would still be going on without them, ultimately, as you see in the original trilogy, while the Rebels would have lost without them, they're only human, and they are ultimately forgotten in this larger conflict. Again comparing this film to Godzilla, Rogue One is very good at conveying scale; one of my favourite things in the entire film is a single shot in the Scarif battle of an ATAT emerging from smoke, it's a beautiful shot, and it conveys the same sense of wonder and horror that you get in, for example, the Godzilla reveal in the final act of Godzilla, with him emerging from smoke and roared so loudly that it was fucking scary in the IMAX. Speaking of wonder and horror, the Death Star eclipses a sun in this film, if that doesn't convey scale, I don't know what does, and it's symbolic of not just the Station's immense size, but of its ability to cast darkness across the galaxy. The film's depiction of the Empire is also in line with this idea, while it has a planet killing super weapon, it's also an occupying force, it's tyrannical towards the people under its occupation, that's something more personal and invasive than any planet killer, like I said before, nothing sells occupation and oppression of the people like a Star Destroyer hovering directly over the city.

The film obviously has a few big action scenes, all of which are different from each other. First up is the confined, violent confrontation between Saw's gang and the Imperial convoy. This is a great scene, as there's no insane big battle, it's a very contained little skirmish, and unlike most Star Wars battles, it's in a densely populated city, filled with innocent bystanders who, while battling the Empire, Saw has carelessly put at risk. This skirmish also features a tank, which is cool, because tanks are cool. The film further blurs the lines with a bombing run on an Eadu Imperial facility, which, like all bombing runs, and like the skirmish on Jedha, causes collateral damage. The film's big finale comes on the tropical planet Scarif, and is a mix of ground battles on the beaches of the planet, and space battles as a rebel fleet rains hell on the planet's defences. Like Godzilla, the film wisely puts its smarter ideas on hold to let the audience enjoy some action, some very enjoyable action. The ground battle is very entertaining and intense, as the tide is constantly turning, as ATATs get thrown in, followed by X wings, followed by Tie Strikers. Meanwhile a huge ship battle is being waged above the planet, with a rebel fleet facing off against Star Destroyers and the Shield Gate's defences, and Tie Fighters, lots and lots of Tie Fighters. Yet while the film is now prioritising being entertaining over being clever, this is easily the bleakest moment of the film, I mentioned this in my original review, how the film goes a bit Magnificent Seven in its final act, I loved it then, and I still love it now. Something I love even more now is the scenes with Tarkin and Darth Vader; Tarkin's addition in the film was one me and my friends weren't expecting, and what's amazing is how well they did it; since Peter Cushing's been dead for twenty years, we were somewhat stunned to see him back from the dead for Rogue One. The CG is stupidly impressive, but it's still CG, which does mean it looks a bit off, falling nicely into the uncanny valley, it's still worth saying though that this is the best recreation of a deceased actor that I've seen in a film ever, and his scenes are handled in a very tasteful and sensible way, even with the ethical issues of resurrecting dead actors with CG. One character not brought back with CG is Darth Vader, and while one of his two scenes is just ok, the other Vader scene is fantastic; it's possibly the scariest scene in Star Wars movie history, with Vader going after some rebels like a monster from a horror movie, it's possibly even the best scene in the film, and it's awesome.

I appreciate that Rogue One is not perfect, easily the biggest flaw is its characters, and the issue the film has with developing them. But by the final battle, those issues become negligible, when so much else about this film works. Gareth Edwards knows how to direct a film, and Rogue One is not an exception to his rule, it very effectively encapsulates it's more meaningful ideas, provides an interesting new way to look at things like the Rebellion and the Force, and has some seriously kickass action scenes, top that off with a bold and intense ending, and you have Rogue One; a film that is still my favourite film of last year, and is still a must watch. On a side note, I hope my old media teacher is reading, I reckon this very long, analytical review would be something she'd appreciate.

A head clearer

I've had a fun few days, again, lots of time trying to get thoughts of rampant self hatred and guilt out of my head, lots of time blaming myself for all the ills of my life and the lives of those around me. Over the years however, I've come to a few conclusions; one, I'd prefer to keep my emotional and personal troubles off this blog, because movie reviews and politics is more interesting and less sappy, plus I love talking about movies way more than talking about my feelings. Two, while I'm having emotional and personal troubles, I will find a calmer state of mind in certain activities, like photography, and blasting out my eardrums with music. And so, armed with my trusty D3300, off I went into the wild, in search of the perfect picture. On my quest I encountered many foes; aeroplanes, six foot deep gullies, monstrous excavating machines, a lake, and the encroaching, oppressive shroud of darkness. It was a fun quest, I always enjoy getting home and finding my knees covered in mud, what can I say, my faulty mind likes be to a bit adventurous.

Ghost in the Shell movie review

Here's what you need to know; in a future where the line between man and machine has completely disappeared, Major Mira Killian is an anomaly, the first shelling of a human brain in an entirely artificial body, and spends her life fighting terrorism with Section 9. But things get more complicated when Kuze, a mysterious cyber terrorist, declares war on the Hanka Robotics Corporation, and forces the Major to start asking questions, questions that reveal a far darker mystery, one that the Major becomes determined to understand.
Power Rangers was fun, but let's get down to business, after another cinema binge I'd sat through Kong: Skull Island for a fifth time, yes, fifth, and two showings of Ghost in the Shell, a film that I've been buzzing to see since I saw the anime last week, and that obviously has a huge controversy around it that, being politically minded, I'll get to in this review, let's go.

Ghost in the Shell sets itself up a bit differently to the anime, with the awesome roof dive scene coming after the shelling sequence, which is nearly identical to the anime, but done with stunning CGI, and it is beautiful, again. That roof dive scene is also beautiful, and is a great and exciting intro to the film, that sets up both the cop element, and philosophical elements that the film has partially pulled from its inspiration. Straight away we'll get to something I think this film does better than the anime, that being the Major; the questions the film asks about what makes humanity have been somewhat simplified, but the general idea is still there, as the Major contemplates whether or not she's human. The question of sexuality is far less present here, but it too is still there, and is nicely weaved into the bigger themes, with a great scene where the Major tries to learn the ticks and intricacies of a human face, people looking for naked Scarlett Johansson should look elsewhere, as in this film she wears a skin tight thermoptic camo suit, which actually makes sense. What actually makes this Major more emotionally compelling is the mystery, as the film slowly reveals that things she's been told about her past aren't entirely true, and she sometimes has memory flashes that her makers tell her are just glitches. This mystery actually goes to a really dark place that I loved, but I can't say more than that, lest I spoil something important. Something on par with the Anime is the film's villain, Kuze, really saying anything about him is spoiler territory, but the questions about what counts as human posed in the anime with the Puppet Master have been ditched here, which would be bad if they didn't make Kuze so sympathetic, he was a great villain. Batou is in this movie, and I actually like him more here than in the anime, there's a great emotional dynamic with him and homeless dogs, and it's really sweet, while he's still as caring for the Major, being there for her whenever she needs him, and never breaking her trust. Aramaki, the director of Section 9 in this film is also way more badass than before, while Ouelet and Cutter are a great presence as the struggle between humanity and love in Ouelet and corporate inhumanity and evil in Cutter. Bear in mind. this is an adaptation, not a remake, in that the film has several sequences and ideas pulled from the 1995 film, but isn't entirely beat for beat, it's pretty impressive that they've taken so much liberty with the story, and created something that is still very much in the spirit of the original. Like I expected, the film is more action heavy, the spider tank fight is pretty awesome here, and the roof dive scene, far from having Major shoot a guy through a window, has her bursting through the window and laying waste to a few terrorists, which was rad. The diplomacy is gone, thankfully, and the moral quandaries are replaced by more emphasis on morality and corporate evil, this is undoubtedly a bit of a dumbing down, but it's understandable, since focusing on philosophy more than action would bore a majority of a modern cinema audience.

From a visual standpoint, Ghost in the Shell is an absolute marvel, the city the film takes place in is beautiful to look at, exploding with vibrant colours and detailed intricacies, the skyline and streets are alive with three dimensional billboards, and the alleys are bustling with market stalls and underground Yakuza clubs. The element of cyber augmentation is also very well done, as one of the members of Section 9 has no enhancements, and is playfully mocked for it, back street goons try to sell enhancements to passer-bys, seeing this world where the majority of people have cyber enhancements was fascinating, even if the film doesn't dwell on it, and it's all got a very Jurassic Park, resurrecting Dinosaurs vibe; quietly debating with itself if the fact that it's possible is enough to justify it, and if it poses a threat to individuality and the human soul. Again pulling from the anime, the blurring on the line between reality and fantasy is something the film plays with, adapting the story of the garbage man from the anime, and taking it to a place that, while not as thought provoking, is certainly more morbid. That gets us onto free will, which is another moral quandary the film plays with, and the idea that just because they own Major's body doesn't mean they own her mind is an interesting thing to see play out, and to see Cutter and the Hanka Corporation seek to manipulate her mind in order to control her. Enough Philosophy though, let's talk action, because hell yes, this film's action scenes are fun. The opening action scene with the roof dive is awesome, but there's a brilliant scene in a Yakuza club that's awesome, where Major kicks a few arses while handcuffed to a stripper's pole, and the climactic fight with the spider tank is really entertaining, and has some hefty emotional weight. In all honesty, I actually prefer this to the anime, since while the anime was good at being philosophical, this film is more evenly split between that and just flat out entertaining action, and again, it's impressive that they haven't really altered what worked in the anime that much, while making a film that's more engaging to an action hungry audience. Being longer than the anime, there is more room to play, and the film makes good use of it, the slower scenes from the anime that are in this film are less slow, and the action scenes are more evenly spaced in the film, and the scene I mentioned earlier where Major studies someone's face is a great scene for this film, that plays with its philosophical ideas, while bringing some more feels for the Major. And then there's of course the music, which is seriously great, the familiar Ghost in the Shell chorus from the anime is here, now in the credits rather than the shelling scene, and it's great, but the film just has good music overall, consistently getting the job done throughout the film.

Like the anime, Ghost in the Shell is a film that makes you ask some heavy questions, but while doing that, it's a film that tries its hardest to be entertaining, and it gets that right too. It has a fantastic lead in Major, great side characters in Batou, Ouelet and Aramaki, and a solid villain in Kuze. The film is visually stunning, brimming with detail and creativity, with top notch visual effects to bring it all to life, and tells an interesting and entertaining story that's different to the anime, while keeping what made that anime so good, and, in my opinion, having better characters. Ghost in the Shell is a film I actually enjoyed more than the anime, and it's definitely worth watching.


*Political rambling incoming, take cover.
And now, something less fun, politics. It's pretty much impossible to know about this film and not know about all the accusations of whitewashing that came its way when Scarlet Johansson was cast as the Major. And as usual, I have an opinion on the matter. Let's get right into the meat of this nonsense, Scarlet Johansson, a white actress, was cast in the role of Motoko Kusanagi, who, if you couldn't tell from the name, is Japanese, and this is an issue for some people. Ghost in the Shell is a film coming from Dreamworks and Paramount, two American film companies, and like I said in my review of The Great Wall, another film accused of whitewashing, that means American money. That money has to come from somewhere, and the people it comes from tend to want a return on that money, which is something the studio also wants, so they can secure the funds for future projects. And despite what anyone says to the contrary, big movie names can and do sell tickets, it's the reason Matt Damon, a famous American actor, was in The Great Wall, and Scarlett Johansson, a famous American actress, and an Avenger, bear in mind, is in Ghost in the Shell. There's even more justification for this however, since this isn't a Japanese film; would you also argue that Godzilla was whitewashed, actually, you probably would. Godzilla and Ghost in the Shell and even going back to The Ring are not Japanese films, they are merely adaptations, and liberties are bound to be taken to make them more appealing to western audiences, therefore hopefully getting a return for the investors. The best bit about Ghost in the Shell is, if you watch the film, the so called 'whitewashing' actually makes complete sense in the context of the story, which makes this bullshit even more null. It's an effort motivated not by a love of films, but a need to get a foot in the door, a need to force ideological conformity in media. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy digging into politics and identity politics, but I enjoy films more, and I don't want progressive crap ruining them anymore, Ghost in the Shell is a very enjoyable film, can't it just stay that way? can't it not be dragged into this Social Justice bollocks? So to wrap up, the issue isn't that Ghost in the Shell is whitewashed, the issue is that whitewashing is bullshit, and it always will be, so let's get back to enjoying films, shall we.

Power Rangers movie review

Here's what you need to know; just when life sinks to its latest low for Jason Scott and his new detention friends, the three, accompanied by two fellow renegades, stumble across a collection of strange coins, that seem to turn them into super humans. That's not the last surprise waiting for them, as an ancient evil returns from the grave, and resumes its mission to destroy life on Earth. With time now running out before Rita launches her assault, the group must assume their new responsibility, and begin their training to become the Power Rangers.
A sad and somewhat bizarre confession, I know nothing at all about Power Rangers, and haven't watched a single episode of any of the shows. Despite this, Power Rangers has been on my radar for a while, and rather than watching my choice of film; Ghost in the Shell, we watched Power Rangers, and weirdly I'm not complaining.

Power Rangers opens with a sequence I wasn't expecting, and it actually really kicked the film off in a good way for me, as we are introduced to Zordon and Rita, and the film's primary conflict is established. What follows is what you'd expect, an introduction to the Rangers, starting with the Red Ranger; Jason, who's a surprisingly likable chap. He fits the familiar mould for his character, as he starts off as a well meaning rebel, and becomes a leader over the course of the film, and the introduction to the rest of the Rangers around him is very well done, as all of them are outcasts in some way. Billy is a very curious one, as we started to joke that he was Autistic, before the film just admits it, that was pretty cool, as is his character, his social struggles are pretty relatable to an Aspie like me, and his affection for his fellow Rangers was really endearing. Kimberly is a more secretive character, as the reason for her social exile is kept very out of the picture, as it were, for a lot of film. While Zach and Trini, the Rangers the film focuses least on, are both passably interesting in their respective roles, and round out a team that makes for a solid cast of main characters. Zordon, who is a talking wall, is a character that surprised me somewhat, as his motivations are not as noble and selfless as they first appear, while his robot buddy Alpha 5 is a character that I understand will annoy some people, but I thought he was pretty funny. In the very typical fashion of this sort of film reboot, the film, in some ways, tries to take a more serious and dramatic approach, the Rangers are a good example of this, as their story is told more as a drama than a superhero film, Zordon tries to do the same, while also being a talking wall. The biggest departure from this approach, apart from the entire final act, is the film's villain; Rita Repulsa, who is a really fun villain to watch, but does stick out as a bit cheesy in this apparently more serious film, again though, I liked her as the villain, and her cheesy super villainy was actually something that kind of worked over all, for me anyway. Before that final act however, this film dedicates itself mostly to the idea of a darker origin story for the Power Rangers, in that sense it's a good thing that the Rangers are interesting characters, and their story is engaging, because the film is relatively devoid of action for the first two acts, simply consisting of the personal dramas of the Rangers, with some fun training and super human scenes, and the odd update on Rita's evil plan, before letting everything loose in that final half an hour or so. This does get to be a bit of an issue when that final battle is so detached from the rest of the film; Power Rangers has a lot of conflicting tones going on, which I suppose is the result of the people behind it not knowing whether to go full gritty reboot or to try and hold on to the light hearted silliness of the source material. While this doesn't ruin the film, it does effectively divide the film, with scenes that try to be serious and dramatic, along with funny and light hearted scenes, and staying largely restrained in terms of action and effects, before losing its mind at the end.

On the subject of those effects, they're fine, and that's really all there is. As far as the visual effects go, the film restrains itself a lot for a long time, and it's during this time that the effects look their best, Zordon and Alpha 5 are as distracting as it gets, which is a pretty good sign, since they look good, as does their buried space ship. But like this film's conflicting tones, the effects are very split, when the Power Rangers finally armour up and take on Rita and her Golems, this film throws everything it's got at you, in a massively effects heavy final act that's kind of like a cross between Transformers and Pacific Rim, but with way less polished effects; this isn't a visual effects power house by any standards, when it's CG, it's very CG. That being said, even if it felt like I was watching a completely different film all of a sudden, the final big action sequence is actually stupidly entertaining, as the Rangers ride in in their Zords, and start tearing shit into Rita's army. I'd be lying if I said that watching the Zords in action wasn't a lot of fun, on a very mindless level. Again comparing it to other stuff though, the film lacks the visual flash of a Michael Bay Transformers film, and lacks the visual beauty and brilliance of Pacific Rim, while being completely insane, it's relatively unremarkable. When it isn't Zords, the hand to hand combat is passably entertaining, and gets the job done, I reckon the film could have benefited from more fights interspersed throughout, a smaller fight with Rita's golems, similar to the scenes with the training monsters, would have fitted in very nicely, and help to smooth out some of this films' tonal problems. What's surprising about what I'm saying is a flaw here is that it kind of works; the character story that is the build up to the Morphin time is completely detached from the Morphin time, in terms of visuals and tone, but the film was never really boring; that character story was engaging enough to keep the film going. Rita, while being a bit of an oddball in this apparently gritty reboot, was a pretty cool villain in my opinion, and was fun to watch. And when the final act hits, and the film just goes full force on the cheesy, light hearted, Pacific Rim esque action, it's fun to watch. A sequel to this film is very likely, so it'd be interesting to see how this is addressed in a sequel; and to see where it would commit itself in terms of tone, since while the film does still mostly work, it's inconsistent, and it's a more obvious flaw in retrospective, especially given how this film's big battle sequence ends, even for a film that has robot dinosaurs and a building sized monster made of gold, it was really, really cheesy, possibly too much so to be ignored, to the point where it betrays the film's grittier elements, and is completely out of place.

 Power Rangers' biggest flaws only really become clear upon reflection, and the fact that this film doesn't seem to know what it wants to be is one of them, as is the film's lack of desire to commit to either a gritty superhero origin story, or a big, dumb popcorn spectacle film. And when it goes for the spectacle, it looks cool and is fun, but it's not special. The film's characters are something that picks this film up though, as the story told around them is decently engaging, and the characters themselves are interesting, even if they fall into the same trap of being inconsistent. Power Rangers is a flawed film, but there's definitely enjoyment to be found in it, and it's a fun enough little film to kill the two hours it's on, it's worth checking out.