 The previous 'Sonic' film took me some time to really warm up to, but it has since become something I enjoy. I originally had my hang-ups about adapting a famous property into yet another "fish-out-of-water" story like, 'Smurfs,' or 'Masters of the Universe,' in which our hero's extraordinary home world is left behind to spend the majority of the film on Earth, trying to get back. 'Sonic' did this as well, but at the very least, things weren't as simple as that basic plotline idea. Plus, we had the resurrection of Jim Carrey.
However, there may be a bias here with me and the 'Sonic' franchise because these games were a significant part of my childhood. If these movies had been released in the early '90s, when Carrey and the Sonic franchise were both in their prime, and I was still young, I'd have loved them and probably made them favourites among titles that still sit close to my heart today, like 'Ghostbusters' and 'Ninja Turtles.' But alas, we weren't even at 'Toy Story' yet, as far as CG animation goes, so here we are. The nostalgia particularly pops for me with this sequel, as it introduces the likes of both Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), whom I remember fondly from a couple of my games, particularly, 'Sonic Triple Trouble,' which I was addicted to. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The sequel, here, picks up eight months after the first film's events. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) has been banished to a Mushroom Planet, and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is living the good life with Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter). However, Sonic becomes easily bored and, with his super-speed powers, acts as a vigilante hero for the town of Green Hills, Montana. This leads to an "Uncle Ben" moment from Tom, who tells Sonic to be patient and responsible with his powers after Sonic pretty much tears up a city block. Eventually, Tom and Maddie depart for Maddie's sister's wedding in Hawaii, thanks to one of Sonic's incredibly handy Warp Rings (I gotta get some of those). Of course, Sonic goes hog-wild with the house to himself, but he has no idea what's coming. Sonic's "party" is soon disrupted by Doctor Robotnik and his new "friend," Knuckles, the Echidna, who has a hilarious "Drax"-like personality. Both are out for revenge; Robotnik's is obvious. Knuckles wants to honour his extinct Echidna tribe by finding the legendary Master Emerald, allowing whoever possesses it to bend reality to their will. Of course, once Robotnik gets hold of this information, he starts a scheme of his own, along with his old assistant, Stone (Lee Majdoub), to help Knuckles find the Emerald and steal it from him. Sonic's only real help is from a kid who idolizes him: a two-tailed fox named Miles "Tails" Prower. Miles Prower is a fun play on words here and even a part of the character's original history, showing that the writers here did at least a little homework. And that's what I do enjoy about these movies. Most of the time, if there's something out of place about the film as far as an adaptation goes, I do a little of my homework and usually realize the movie is pretty accurate. They're also not shy about the design of things. For example, here, we see Robotnik floating around in a big half-ball machine straight out of the games. While these films give me a certain sense of nostalgia, as so much about them is very '90s, I can't deny there was a thing or two that irked me here. The cliche of dancing to get out of a sticky situation at a rough and tumble bar is in here, for example, feeling a lot like filler. Also, like its predecessor, the jokes and gags are very "Dad." But I can't just sit here and point out everything I don't like about it. The film is meant for a younger audience; it's harmless, and again, I can't deny that the child within me sees the appeal. I'll say again: I'd have loved these as a kid. 3/5
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 Through and through, I consider myself a Mario Man. But there was something special I couldn't deny about those 'Sonic' games I had for my Sega Game Gear. I didn't even go for much else when equipping my Game Gear with fun because I always knew I'd have fun with 'Sonic' games and their "Blast Processing" (which gave Sonic his incredible speed). It sure beat putting around in the OG 'Mario Kart,' and to put a cherry on top of it all, those 'Sonic' games had some amazing, catchy soundtracks.
Two animated series came out to add to the fun of the 'Sonic' games. They ran parallel, but one show was far better than the other. 'The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog' was far more cartoonish, kid-friendly, and had several uncomfortable PSAs. The other, 'Sonic the Hedgehog,' provided an overarching story featuring characters who didn't exist in the games and told an environmentally conscious story without rubbing it in our faces. It was great! A Sonic movie should always have come from that concept for my money. But we got this instead, which many people still love. We start on Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) home planet, where he was born with super speed powers, and the land's native echidnas are constantly chasing him down for said powers. In his childhood, he was protected by an Owl named Longclaw (Donna Jay Fulks), who, as far as I can tell, is brand new here. That might irk some, but the cartoon I loved did the same thing, so it wasn't a big deal for me. During one such chase, Longclaw uses a "Warp Ring" to send him through a portal to Earth so he can stay protected, sending a bag of rings with him. On Earth, Sonic grows up as a cryptid, often called the "Blue Devil." He suggests that he's living the good life, but this life of hiding has him lonely. As a result, Sonic throws a tantrum that causes a power outage throughout the quaint little town of Green Hills, Montana. Knowing he caused the blackout, Sonic tries hiding in Tom Wachowski's (James Marsden) garage, where he can get off Earth using one of his rings, away from the people who will now be looking for him. But when Tom busts in to discover Sonic, a mishap with the Warp Rings occurs, sending Sonic's rings through a Warp Hole to San Francisco. The loss of Sonic's rings sends him and Tom on a road trip to San Francisco to retrieve them. Why doesn't Sonic zoom over and grab them himself? He has no idea where San Francisco is or how to get there. In the meantime, the massive blackout Sonic caused has the government bring in Doctor Robotnik (Jim Carrey in what is arguably his resurrection), who eventually discovers Sonic is the source and could very well have the ability to supercharge his machines. Hence, their rivalry begins. The film all comes down to being a road trip chase movie, complete with Easter eggs for fans like me. The fact that it takes place in "Green Hills" is only the tip of the iceberg. There are relatively obscure references, too, like the "Mean Bean Machine," which is just a coffeemaker in the film. You even get to hear a bit of that classic Green Hills Zone music (if you know any music from the game, it's probably that theme). So, this is a pretty good choice for a movie that will appeal to the Genesis/Game Gear generation and kids who may be brand new to the 'Sonic' franchise. I wasn't as sure about the quality of this film the first time I saw it, but I have to admit that it has grown on me over time. With the help of Jim Carrey's comedic timing and showing us a lot of game familiarity, I credit the film for successfully executing the "fish-out-of-water" cliche. It's not just "Sonic on Earth". They do something with it, making him a cryptid and having him meet his arch-nemesis on Earth instead of someone just following through a portal. It's not quite the movie I wanted initially, but I'll be damned if I can't give this movie a bit of real kudos for doing a video game movie, perhaps not perfectly, but damn well. 4/5  Perhaps it was my trip to Hawaii over New Years Eve, 2012-2013 that really did it, but as far as more modern Disney animation goes, I have to say that 'Moana' is a film that absolutely stays on top for me. It's a great story that delves into a bit of Polynesian culture, full of cool, original ideas, catchy music, beautiful visuals, and some solid comedy. There are a few titles out there that I can watch that will make me want to revisit those breathtaking Hawaiian islands, and 'Moana' is one of them.
It's my understanding that the film doesn't exactly nail it when it comes to Polynesian culture and folklore, but as a "tourist," I can say that 'Moana' certainly conveys the overall spirit of what I experienced in Hawaii. Some of the folklore consists of demi-gods like Maui (Dwayne Johnson), some of it is derived from stories about islands being living beings, and some of the Polynesian langauge and style is evident in the songs that are sung, namely one called "We Know the Way," presenting us with voyagers, searching for new lands. With all of that said, one should probably know that all locations within the film are fictional, starting with the island of Motunui, where a young Moana sneaks off to have a look at the ocean. While there, she adorably helps a baby sea turtle make it to the water, while birds are trying to get at it. With this, the ocean presents itself to Moana as a sort of living being, and chooses her to one day return the Heart of Te Fiti to its rightful place, and restore nature to the way its meant to be. The backstory to Te Fiti; a living island, and goddess of nature, was that the shape-shifting demigod, the aforementioned Maui, stole the Heart (a pounamu stone) as a means to gift humanity with the power of creation. As a result of this, Te Fiti disintegrates, and a volcanic monster named Te Kā attacks Maui. As they clash, Maui loses his fish hook, which empowers him, and the Heart sinks to the depths of the ocean. Maui is also banished to a deserted island, where he spends the next thousand years or so. Back to Moana (Auli'i Cravalho), she eventually grows up, and is meant to become the next Chief of Motunui. This means a lot of the relatively typical coddling from her parents, Tui (Temuera Morrison) and Sina (Nicole Scherzinger), who try to keep Moana away from the ocean, and never to cross the reef, where the ocean is apparently incredibly unforgiving. But one day, when blight strikes the island, Moana's Gramma Tala (Rachel House) reminds her that the Ocean chose her to restore the Heart of Te Fiti. So, Moana sets out on her adventure, despite her overbearing parents (father, mainly). As Moana sets off on her journey, a local chicken named Hei-Hei (Alan Tudyk) stows away, and provides a lot of the film's visual comedy, as this bird isn't quite right in the head. Of course, she also eventually meets Maui, whom she needs all the help she can get from. However, as a demigod, he's a bit reluctant to help, and all he really wants is off his island so he can go find his fish hook. Little does he realize that through helping Moana, he has to earn it - and the ocean is sure to remind him at every turn. As the rest of the film unfolds, one of the best credits I can give it is the absolutely beautiful animation, which has a range of variety to it, as seen in the song 'You're Welcome,' on Maui's tattoos, and the film's opening. On top of that, I'd say most of the songs are catchy, the characters are likeable, and I truly appreciate the imagination that went into the storytelling here. It may not be what I see as perfection, but its imperfections are few and far between enough that this is something I can sit back and truly enjoy when the mood strikes me. 4/5  A bit of a confession to the masses that a few people know about me is that when it comes to classically epic movies - you know, the kind that are often considered some of the greats, I don't end up watching them that often. I'll view them once or twice just to say I've seen them, but the collection of amazing movies out there I've only seen a handful of times, or even once, is pretty outstanding, and would shock people. 'Gladiator' is one such title, which I saw twice in theatres, twice on DVD, and I've left it alone for over two decades until now.
The great thing about being such a fan of film, yet having that approach to things, is that it allows movies to be "brand new" to me again, and I can enjoy them on that level I enjoyed them once in the past. Sometimes things like early CG can get in the way, but not in the case of something like 'Gladiator,' which overthrows anything bad about it (and there's not much) with a great story, bringing together bits of fact and fiction to create something truly epic, and arguably, one of the greatest films of all time. The whole thing opens up in the year 180 AD, where Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) leads Emperor Marcus Aurelius' Roman army to victory against Germanic tribes. As this puts Maximus in Marcus' favour, Marcus tells him of his crooked son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), whom he deems unfit to take things over. Instead, Marcus tells Maximus how he'd like him to take succession as regent, believing he would be a great leader who will be able to restore the Roman Republic. Upon finding this information out, Commodus gets understandably PO'ed, murders his father in secret, and proclaims himself the new Emperor of Rome. When he requests Maximus' loyalty, however, Maximus refuses, remembering what Marcus told him. That's when things go off the rails. As Maximus fails to pledge his loyalty, in turn, he eventually discovers the murdered bodies of his wife and family, and is eventually sold to gladiator trainer Proximo (Oliver Reed). The thing is, Maximus is not just some guy off the streets of Rome - he's a trained, professional war General, and has some skills. As Maximus keeps fighting through battles, mostly at Rome's Colosseum, his popularity rises, earning him the nickname "The Spaniard." But when Commodus organizes 150 days of gladiatorial games to commemorate his father, Proximo convinces Maximus that if he wants his freedom, he's gonna have to win over the crowd. His popularity may very well be the only thing that keeps him from getting killed, despite Commodus' dislike for him, as Commodus wants the respect of the Roman people. This is a film that still totally holds up, and I'd highly recommend checking it out again if you haven't seen it in a while. It's a friendly reminder that epic movies of the early 2000s could still be pulled off without needing a whole lot of CG, which, at the time, 'Lord of the Rings' was pulling off really well, but 'Star Wars' exemplified CG that hasn't aged very well. It was a mixed bag. But luckily, here, for cool scenes like the tiger brawl, they used real tigers and a teeny-tiny bit of CG and stuffed tigers for their deaths, and it still looks great. I remember this one getting all the accolades of the time, too. Twelve Oscar nominations, for example, winning five, including Best Picture. And if you go to IMDb right now, it is ranked as #34 in the Top 250 Movies of All Time. Any way you slice it, really, this is just one of those legendary titles that has gone down in cinematic history as something truly epic in every sense of the word. So go ahead and check it out if you've never seen it, and after you're done, ask yourself the big question; "are you not entertained?" 5/5  The Sony-verse (as far as Spider-Man-related movies go) is a very hit-or-miss situation altogether. While the animated 'Spider-Verse' movies are entertaining, artistic, clever takes on stories about Miles Morales, giving Sony its own Spider-Man after Disney/Marvel took Peter Parker away. That's a whole situation I wish the hell I knew why Sony wasn't capitalizing on, but they decided to go a different route instead; the frankly overall disappointing route of trying to make some kind of a fake-ass Sinister Six for themselves.
For my money, the only half decent live-action movies that exist in the Sony-verse are the Venom films, starting with this new, but not bad take on the character. By the time this came out, a lot of us went with the idea that it couldn't possibly be worse than 'Spider-Man 3's take on the character. In the end, it pretty much completely divided audiences. Critically, these didn't do so hot, but fans (and myself) were at least able to cut it a little slack, because, hell, the character was just done really well. When a space mission that includes the quick name-drop of "Jameson" (Chris O'Hara) goes wrong, and their ship crash-lands on Earth, three of four "Symbiotes" (an alien organism that attempts to bond with a host) are quickly collected by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), who understands that successfully bonding with these things could be a next step towards our human evolution, allowing us to explore space, and potentially finds more planets to inhabit. However, a fourth Symbiote (Venom) manages to escape the wreckage. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) enters the scene to report on Drake, and give him a hard time with some top secret files. As a result, Brock loses everything, including His job, and his fiance, Anne (Michelle Williams), who happened to work for Drake's company. However, Dr. Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate), who works for Drake and realizes what he's doing with these Symbiotes, secretly invites Brock back to the lab to expose Drake's experiments. This is where the Venom Symbiote finds and bonds with Brock. It's revealed that the Symbiotes' general purpose (at least for this movie) is to invade planets, possess and devour their inhabitants, and move on. If Eddie helps Venom with this, he may just be spared. However, the pair soon find themselves in over their heads when the aforementioned fourth, escaped Symbiote (Riot) finds his host, ready to continue their alien goals, while Venom ends up finding a bit more of a human/righteous side to himself while bonded with Brock, and helps Eddie become the film's hero. The whole Venom storyline has more or less fallen by the wayside as far as trying to get a live-action version of it to be everything we want it to be. 'Spider-Man 3' screwed it up, and this storyline is just very different, with its own ideas and concepts. I was never too mad at it though, considering what was done with 'Spider-Man: Homecoming,' being an MCU original take on a much more popular character, and enjoying that just fine. Why should this have been any different for me? In the end, I can fully admit that I find this movie to be a lot of fun, and although the story isn't "correct," the character (I find) is done well. This is definitely not everyone's Venom, and I think it's safe to say that aside from the original comic book take on things, one should definitely refer to the 1994 animated series for the original story. That said, if you're new to the character, I don't think this is a bad place to start. While these films remain the best part of the Sony-verse, however, they're far from perfect, or even that wonderful. But if you're looking for a bit of a roller coaster ride, and are open to a few changes here and there, this is just fine for what it is. 3/5  At the end of 2016's 'Deadpool', we got our typical-by-now post-credit sequence, involving Deadpool doing a take on the post-credit scene to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', and ultimately teasing us that the film already had a sequel in the works with the casting of famed badass, and never-before-used Cable in mind. We were ready for it, and the rumour mill started up on who was gonna play Cable - most famously, Brad Pitt, but we'll come back to him in a bit. It was one of the more discussed topics among friends until they cast Thanos, himself, Josh Brolin.
I think everything worked out for the best in the end, but instead of talking about casting, maybe I should just get into the film itself. Riding on the coattails of the ultra-successful, R-rated 'Logan', this one actually opens with a dose of tragedy, and another great opening sequence with humorous credits, this time parodying the 'Bond' movies. Even though this all happens right at the beginning, and the film is on the older side at this point, I'm still not gonna say exactly what happens, but it does lead to Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) entering a deep depression, which makes him search for a greater purpose. Soon enough, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic (Brianna Hildebrand) come back into Wade's life, in another attempt to recruit him to the X-Men. Wade reluctantly agrees, and is soon given his first mission; to try to help a destructive young mutant by the name of Firefist (Julian Dennison) before things go wrong. That particular "wrong" involves killing the headmaster of his orphanage (Eddie Marsan) who want to cure him, and consider his mutant abilities a sin. That murder will ultimately direct him down a dark path of destruction. We learn of this destruction through the aforementioned Cable, who travels from the future to "present day" (2018) to get to Firefist early, and prevent him from eventually growing up and slaughtering Cable's family. The kid then becomes Deadpool's go-to source for having a change of heart and ultimately doing the right thing by not only preventing his 'T2'-like murder, but also trying to set him on the right path. Although the jokes and gags here are plenty, this one is still quite a bit darker than the first, and a better glimpse into Wade's more serious side (small though that side may be). I might suggest that this chapter of the 'Deadpool' series might have been better for the time, especially with the introduction of 'X-Force', which was the original direction these films were heading. We were introduced to characters like Domino (Zazie Beetz), Zeitgeist (Bill Skarsgård), Bedlam (Terry Crews), Shatterstar (Lewis Tan), Vanisher (remember when I mentioned Brad Pitt?) and of course, Peter (Rob Delaney). I may argue that things really did turn out for the best in the end, when these films took a different direction with 'Deadpool & Wolverine', but still, an 'X-Force' movie lead by Deadpool could have been a lot of fun! So this now kind of suffers as a bit of a hinge movie with different expectations by the end of it, but I will say that it's not something in plain sight. It's not like the movie left us with a major cliff-hanger for the upcoming 'X-Force' movie. Instead, we actually get a time-travel sequence that lends itself more to the direction they went with the series. One might call it a happy accident, but one might also just say that the concept of time travel opens too many easy doors. But that's the nice thing about Deadpool - either way you slice it, we're gonna have fun with it. It's hard for me to say whether I like this one of the first one better, but I do feel like the first had more going for it as a film the fans were clamouring for. That's not to say this wasn't effective, it's just that we've seen what DP can do at this point. On top of that, this now carries that "What if?" scenario involving 'X-Force' that we never got to see. But there's still enough here in fourth wall-breaking, jokes, gags, cameos and all-around action that it's a super solid and super worthy sequel to its predecessor. Just thank god 'Deadpool & Wolverine' picked up some of the missing pieces! 5/5  Way back in the late 90s, there was a whole slew of movies about natural disasters, becoming the "bar-setter" when it came to box office success. It's funny to think about what made a fun box office thriller before the turn of the century, but I do have very fond memories of the era. Whether I went with friends or by myself, I found my love of movies within this time by hitting up the theare almost every weekend. So there will be a bit of a bias towards this movie for me, if only because it reminds me of a simpler time.
When I say "simpler time," here, I'm not so much talking about my life as I am the box office, and what made a hit. This was before superheroes got good, predates 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter', and it marks a time when I remember people just being more forgiving about the execution of a fun, popcorn action movie. And really, that's all 'Twister' should be viewed as. These movies aren't without faults, but they do remind us of a time we could just strap in and go for a ride. It's still how I try to watch movies today, although it doesn't always succeed. Truth be told, this was one a dear friend showed to me at his house shortly after it was released on VHS (it's what predated DVDs for all you kids), so I missed it on the big screen. But it, combined with the release of 'Independence Day' earlier that year, is probably (arguably) the beginning of the 90s disaster movie era, and I definitely caught the bug. The whole concept of "Man vs Nature" was always something I liked, and it was cool to see something a bit more grounded and "real," which added to the fear factor of everything. Kicking the whole thing off with a fairly devastating scene involving one Jo Harding's (Alexa PenaVega) childhood, the movie begins with the experience that would turn her into the adult storm chaser she would become (Helen Hunt). Leading a team of other storm chasers and scientists, she hopes to one day be able to deploy an invention they have dubbed "Dorothy," which will be able to study wind patterns and such with little sensors and make storm predictions much more accurate. Said design comes from the mind of Bill (Bill Paxton), Jo's estranged husband. He has since gotten out of the storm-chasing game and become a weatherman due to his uncanny ability to read the skies. He has also settled down and gotten engaged to a reproductive therapist named Melissa (Jami Gertz). Bill brings Melissa with him for some reason to get his and Jo's divorce papers signed, but upon meeting up with Jo, Bill gets sucked right back into the game, especially knowing that his vision of Dorothy has been made and is ready to be tested. Bill, Jo and the rest of the team (which includes the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Alan Ruck, among others) also get a fair shake of competition with a jerk named Jonas Miller (Cary Elwes), who ultimately stole Bill's ideas for Dorothy, and hopes to beat them to the punch. Otherwise, a lot of the film involves storm-chasing, going one by one, conveniently according to scale of the twisters they chase, with a grand total of five, and perhaps providing a bit of predictability after the second tornado. While the film may not be quite as riveting or exciting as it once was, since so much more has been released since, there's still an obvious "something" to it. The release of '24's long-gap sequel of 'Twisters' released to some pretty solid box office numbers, all things considered. Is nostalgia the main factor? Or has it just been that long since we've had fun with tornadoes that don't have sharks all up in them? Either way, I do consider this a mild classic in its own right. It's by no means perfect, and often absurd, but nevertheless still kinda fun. 4/5  By now, I think it's probably safe to say that the Minions are typically seen as one of two things - adorable, innocent and fun or irritating, invasive and simply there for the cash-in. I tend to lean a little more towards the former, although with the full realization that indeed, these little yellow fellows are money makers and that's generally the reason these films get any sort of mileage anymore. At no point was it more obvious than the two years between the last 'Minions' movie of 2015, and 'Despicable Me 3' of 2017.
Thankfully, this one managed to come along after a respectable five year hiatus, and actually make us care about Gru (Steve Carell) again for the first time since probably 'Despicable Me 2'. While the Minions do play their titular part as expected, the story is much more about, well, the rise of Gru. It's actually a pretty good example of a trailer that delivers all the Minion madness we've come to expect from these films, but the final product ends up much better than we thought it was going to be. And it fits quite nicely in between 'Minions' and the first 'Despicable Me' - arguably the lowest and highest points of the series, respectively. Here, we go back to 1976 when Gru, at just 11 years old, aspires to one day become a supervillain. His first step to success was to hire the Minions to assist him in his work. From there, Gru eventually receives an invitation to audition for the five remaining supervillain members of The Vicious 6; Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), a disco-themed villain who has replaced their former leader; Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin), said former leader; Jean-Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), who has a big lobster claw for a right arm; Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), a roller skating champion; Stronghold (Danny Trejo), the obvious brute; and Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless), an old nun and master of the nunchaku. Due to Gru's young age, he's taken as a joke rather than any sort of contender for the 6th member. However, in the same room lies the famous Zodiac Stone. In an attempt to prove himself worthy to join the group, with the help of Minions Kevin, Stuart and Bob (again, all Pierre Coffin), Gru manages to steal the Zodiac Stone, giving it to a Minion named Otto for safe keeping. But when Otto trades the stone for a pet rock, a chain of events begins to unravel to truly test Gru's talents. When considering these movies, I have pretty much felt that over time, since the original, they have been taking a bit of a downhill turn. It really did turn into capitalizing on cuteness rather than bringing in any sort of real character development or, again, the contrast the first movie had. I keep bringing that up in this series' reviews, I know, but it (and even the second to some degree) did such a good job of making us smile while also wondering if the movie really "went there" with some of the dialogue and imagery. There as a soft edginess to them. Thankfully, this actually brings some of that back, and things feel as fun as they once were. I think the two thing that truly fuelled this movie for me were a combination of things within the film and unassociated with the film. This movie came along in July of 2022, so even though things were a bit safer for us at the time, Covid was still around, and a lot of us were always looking for ways to brighten our day. With that five-year gap, despite the Minions getting a bit out of hand before, speaking for myself, the were welcomed back into my life with open arms. I never did hate the little guys, even if they got to be a little much. Within the film, on the other hand, the biggest thing the film has going for it is probably its voice-casting. It felt like quite the large coming together of famous names to cover some interesting characters, and I haven't even mentioned that other voices include Michelle Yeoh, Will Arnett, and the return of Russell Brand as Nefario and Julie Andrews as Gru's Mom (who I've somehow never mentioned until now). On top of that though, the film also provides a good and fun origin story for Gru, and things feel a bit more like they used to. I might even go so far as to rank this my second-place choice of the series. 4/5  For my money, this chapter of the series pretty much parallels the first 'Minions' movie as far as overall quality is concerned. This may not rely on almost pure cuteness like 'Minions' did, but it does fall under the category of all-around "staleness" that just about any third part of a series suffers. 'Minions' already kind of overwhelmed us, and there wasn't exactly a big break between movies to give us any sort of breather. So in many ways, this just felt like more of the same, especially when the Minions get a full side-plot here.
For as fun as the Minions are to me, even I have to admit that things started to feel like a bit of an overdose at this point. At least the Minion plot line in 'Despicable Me 2' was still a part of the main story. This was more of a matter of letting them do their own thing, which is what the 'Minion' movie was for. Having said that, I'm not entirely sure that I'd have loved a heavier focus on the main plot either. All in all, I probably consider this one the worst of the bunch. I don't think it's horrible or anything, but I mean, unless you're a kid, it's still kinda bad. Felonious Gru (Steve Carell) and Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig) are now a married couple, and adopted parents to Margot (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Nev Scharrel). The pair now work for the AVL (Anti-Villain League), and live a life of adventure. Their current mission is to recover the Dumont Diamond (biggest diamond in the world), which has been stolen by former child actor villain, Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker), who is trapped in the 80s, and spends most of the movie just dancing around and listening to retro tunes. When they fail to actually capture and bring in Bratt for the umpteenth time, however, they are both fired by newcomer Valerie Da Vinci (Jenny Slate) - there to replace Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan) as head of the AVL. Gru and Lucy come home with the bad news, and while the girls are concerned, the Minions are ready to celebrate Gru's potential triumphant return to evil. When he refuses, however, most of the Minions, led by Mel (Pierre Coffin, once again voicing them all) walk out on him. This is where the story splits in two. The main story involves Gru eventually meeting his long-lost twin brother, Drew (also Carell). Drew is a goodie-goodie who has ultimately disappointed their villainous father, and wants Gru to teach him the ways of villainy. Gru half-way agrees, but uses the stealing of the Dumont Diamond back from Bratt as a cover so that he and Lucy could potentially get their jobs at the AVL back. During all of this, Lucy tries to fit in as a good mother, as she's still very new to the whole thing. Meanwhile, the Minions land themselves in jail and have their whole "prison escape" side story going on, AND we get a third story about Edith and Agnes literally looking for a unicorn that some random guy tells them about. It's really just a way to bring back the cutest and funniest scene in 'Despicable Me' ("he's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!") and capitalize on it. And between all three of the stories, the Minions in prison is about as dark as it gets for any kind of contrast to all the cutesiness. Once again, the original wins for that concept. Above anything else, there's a lot of this where it feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be. Trey Parker wanted to do this so his daughter could see his work without it warping her fragile little mind, and that's fair. But I have to admit that the whole time, all I could hear was Randy from 'South Park', and it still feels incredibly out of place. all in all, I think its passable for all the kids watching, but as an adult, despite a few honest giggles throughout, I have to consider it the weakest of the batch. Thankfully, we'd get a decent breather between this and 'Minions 2'... 2/5  If one were to take the time to try to pinpoint when exactly the Minions got to be a bit too much for some people, I would probably point to this film in particular. It follows the formula of so many cinematic failures by putting the "funny character(s)" front and center. It always seems to take away from the charm of these character(s) we got from the beginning by offering up too much of them. Sometimes they hit, but most of the time they miss, and this is one such example. This was when "Minions" started to get plastered on everything!
I had the same thing happen in my childhood with 'Ninja Turtles', so in some ways, no big deal. The only thing about the Minions is that they are solely reliable on their cuteness. They speak Gibberish (or "Minionese," as it has now been established), and their original purpose was to be a good dose of background/side comedy relief. So to do a whole plot about their origin might feel like a bit of a stretch for some. Having said all of that, while I am totally guilty of falling for their cuteness, I still think they work better as they were originally intended. There's just too much sugar in this, and you might end up leaving with a cavity. The film kicks off with narration by Geoffrey Rush, explaining that Minions evolved from single-celled organisms and became little yellow tic tac-looking beings with eye-magnifying goggles. These little guys who have since become known as "Minions" serve only one purpose - to work for the biggest baddie in town. Admittedly, this makes the opening to the movie kind of hilarious, as if there's one thing the Minions do really well, it's to accidentally kill their master in the silliest and most mundane ways. For example, Dracula gets nailed with sunlight just because the Minions try to wake him up with a surprise birthday party. After going through boss after boss after boss, the Minions find themselves without purpose, and the begin life anew inside a cave. They reside there for years, until 1968, when eventually, a Minion named Kevin (Pierre Coffin, who also lends his voice to the rest of the Minions) decides to set out with a couple of other volunteers, Stuart and Bob (Stuart being a little more "voluntold"), to find a new master and regain purpose in their lives. This takes them to New York City, where they learn of "Villain-Con", which will be taking place in Orlando. With any luck, they'll find their new boss there. For a little bit, it turns into a road trip movie, but eventually they reach the Con, where they come across the likes of supervillain extraordinaire, Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock), whose primary focus is the Queen Elizabeth II's crown. Could she end up being the Minion's primary boss? Anyway, now that I've told you half of the entire movie, it kind of goes to show how little there is to it all. Plus, we all know who they end up working for in the end, anyway. Really, this is nothing more than a "bridge" movie that probably should have just come straight to video. For me, this is about as cutesy as I can take from these little yellow dudes. It's fun in its own way, but I can't help but see how blatantly they ripped off their own characters, as Kevin, Stuart and Bob who are essentially Minion versions of Margo, Edith and Agnes, respectively, with their personalities. It's practically cut-and-paste. Further criticisms of mine include the overuse of Beatles gags when there's plenty more British pop culture to pick from, and Scarlet's God-awfully annoying husband, Herb (Jon Hamm) who was just far too over-the-top for my taste. When considering this series as a whole, one can quite honestly watch the first bit of "educational" material to this movie, then just make a jump to 'Rise of Gru'. Although the movie is funny, cute, and has quite a bit of genuine laughs for the right audience, it's ultimately a bit of a throw-away for the series, and altogether relatively pointless. It's a bit of harmless fun, and there's nothing particularly wrong with it. But It's something to watch, if at all, on a Sunday afternoon on your small screen at home. 3/5  While 'Despicable Me 2' manages to bring back the charm of the first movie, at the end of the day, it still manages to be an overall predictable love story that uses the Minions to its advantage quite a bit more, now that they've been found to be a success. Having said that, these are family movies about a growing family, and if the first movie involves Gru adopting the girls, the next logical step might be to have Gru fall in love, and provide the girls with a mother figure. So while it's predictable, it's still perfectly fine, and I don't hold that against it.
All things considered, at the time, I still came out of this movie with a smile on my face, as the film provides a good balance of humour and heart. Ultimately, the word I'd use to describe all of these movies is "cute," and while this chapter is no exception, it's still not as good as the first, in my opinion. Aside from perhaps a bit of predictability, as I've already mentioned, I feel like this fails to have the darker tone to it that the first one does, where the cuteness balances things out. This is kinda just straight-up "cute." As we pick things up, it's Agnes' (Elsie Fisher) 6th birthday, and Gru (Steve Carell) hosts a princess-themed party for her, hosting several of her friends, along with sisters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) and Edith (Dana Gaier). All in all, life has gotten good for Gru, as he now fathers and loves his three girls, and he's gotten into making jelly with Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), who is okay with what they're doing, but really ends up missing being a villain with dastardly plans, complete with the darker lifestyle that comes with the territory. One day, Gru is captured by AVL (Anti-Villain League) agent, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), and brought to the head of the AVL, Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan). Ramsbottom (heheheh, "bottom") informs him that a potent mutagen, PX-41, has been stolen from a lab in the Arctic Circle, and his help is needed to try to retrieve it. Hesitant at first, with more responsibilities as a father, Gru eventually agrees to the task when he learns about Nefario's plans to leave and work for a villain again. Gru teams up with Lucy in an effort to close this case, and as any 'Despicable Me' fan knows by this point in the game, this is the movie in which the pair eventually fall in love, and the girls get a mother figure in their lives. In the meantime, the culprit here (and villain of this chapter), El Macho (Benjamin Bratt) who stole the PX-41 ends up using it to build himself an army to take over the world, using Gru's minions for the process to some pretty damn funny results, and this time, Gru and the family have to try to rescue them. Looking at the film critically, this is another one where I feel like anything I'd be complaining about it far too nitpicky for it to matter. After all, this was a movie made with kids in mind, which is another reason I can't get mad at the Minions (they annoy so many people). I'd have been into them as a kid, if only for their gibberish speaking and slapstick humour. Again, I get where critics come from, but hell, Minions are innocent fun, and when I was a kid, 'Ninja Turtles' were on EVERYTHING! It just goes to show that things don't change much over time. I think 'Despicable Me 2' is good for what it is, and a worthy sequel to the original, even though it can't quite live up to its charm. Really, at this point, this just ends up being the backstory to how Gru met Lucy. It's padded with some decent humour from both the Minions and the girls (namely Agnes), which makes it fun, but one can almost see those Minions teetering here, and soon splitting audiences. Altogether, though, the movie is fine, and I have no real complaints. Another cute, but predictable, chapter in a cute series. 3/5  There's a decent-sized list of animated movies out there now that lend themselves to the "cheering up" process. They're films we can watch that move us in that certain way that forces a smile onto our faces, no matter how we're feeling. 'Despicable Me' was really the first time I came to actually think about it as a sort of "category," although many of my favourite films could always do it ('Ghostbusters' never fails me). But when I saw this in theatres, despite the fact that I was in my late twenties, it had that effect on me.
As time has gone by, and the franchise has gone a bit sequel-crazy, squeezing every last dime out of those Minions, I've come to realize that people are very split about this universe by now. Most of that is blamed on the Minions, but I have to admit that for myself, although I have no Minion merch, I do still love the little guys. I get that people find them annoying, but for me, it all reflects the fond memories I have of this first chapter, which none of the series' sequels have quite lived up to yet. We meet Felonious Gru (Steve Carell), a proud super villain, who devises a plan to steal the Moon with the help of his assistant, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) and his army of Minions. Their motivation comes from a rival villain named Vector (Jason Segel) manages to steal the Great Pyramid of Giza, and hoping to outdo him as the better villain. In order to obtain the Moon, Gru will need a shrink ray, which actually exists in a nearby research facility. Of course, however, Vector beats him to it, and the plan turns to stealing it from his impossible-to-infiltrate base. Enter three orphan girls; big sister, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove); tomboy middle sister, Edith (Dana Gaier); and adorable little sister, Agnes (Elsie Fisher). Gru notices them going door-to-door, selling cookies to raise some money for their orphanage, and eventually ends up adopting them and using them in order to carry out his evil plans. However, as the film continues, Gru ends up bonding with these girls, and learning that there are more important things in the world than villainy. While the all-around plot might not sound incredibly exciting, the film still has a whole lot going for it. At the time, the Minions were these weird little "I-dunno-whats," and I still remember trying to wrap my head around what they were supposed to be. Eventually I just accepted them as a bit of very random comedy relief, adding to the overall cuteness of the film with their gibberish and antics. Personally speaking, these little guys still work for me, but again, I do understand where people come from who have had more than their fill. While the Minions are fun (especially when they were something never-before-seen), what really makes the movie for me is the contrasting relationship Gru ends up having with the girls, especially Agnes, who is actually the most adorable thing in this movie, even as an almost stereotypical little girl. She's the essence of pure innocence, and definitely has the best line in the movie, in my humble opinion ("He's so fluffy I'm gonna die!") Between her and the Minions, I feel like it's pretty easy to find your smile, watching this. On top of how innocent, fun and cute the movie is, I further have to give big credit to the voice acting, namely from Carell, Segel and Brand, whose voices you can hardly recognize. The contrast of Gru's character helps make the film a bit less sugary than I'm making it out to be as well, having some of the funniest almost dark moments in the movie. I think I'll always keep this first chapter close to me heart for my own reasons, but it probably won't ever be matched in quality as far as any sequels are concerned. This was truly unique for its time, and in my humble opinion, still very much worth the watch, if only to brighten one's day. 5/5  I think in some ways it could be argued that 'Inside Out' represents a period of resurrection for Pixar. Before this, you had 'Cars 2', 'Brave' and 'Monsters University'. And while I do have a certain appreciation for 'Brave' and 'MU' ('Cars 2' was just kinda bad, I'm sorry), these movies still lacked the sense of heart, soul and humanity that movies like 'Up', 'Toy Story 3' and 'WALL-E' delivered, and what Pixar became truly known for. 'Inside Out' brings back the idea of Pixar films delivering a sort of maturity while still being kid-friendly.
This is one of those films where, over time, certain flaws about have been pointed out to me. For example, the idea for it is not 100% original, considering a show that existed years ago that everyone has since forgotten called 'Inside Herman's Head'. How things work in the world of Riley's (Kaitlyn Dias) head are also not necessarily perfect, but for me, the ideas this movie has trumps any sort of nitpicking I can give to it. It's definitely a favourite Pixar title of mine, and that's mostly due to how clever I think it is with its ideas and concepts. We are introduced to Riley, age 11, and the various emotions who, shall we say, "pilot" her brain; Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). They control Riley's emotions and create Riley's "memories"; coloured orbs that stack up to fuel various personality islands like "Hockey Island", "Friendship Island", etc. All is well for a while, but things change pretty quick for Riley when she moves with her Mom (Diane Lane) and Dad (Kyle MacLachlan) to San Francisco. Inside Riley's head, Sadness keeps touching happy memories and making them sad, which to me is an interesting way of showing us how missing and longing works here. An accident occurs when a joyous "core memory" ends up in the middle of a squabble between Joy and Sadness, and the pair are accidentally sent to the vast memory bank of the brain. Riley is then stuck with Anger, Fear and Disgust driving her personality, while the lack of Sadness and Joy create what seems to be some kind of numbness in her. Now it's up to Joy and Sadness to return to Headquarters with the "core memory", which came with them during the squabble. The simplicity of it is that if they can get her happy core memory back into headquarters, Riley can be happy again. Or at least, that's how Joy thinks of it. However, she soon learns that Riley's brain is a heck of a lot more complicated than she believed. Meanwhile, in headquarters, Anger, Fear and Disgust do their best, but without Joy or Sadness in the picture, Riley seems doomed to unhappiness and bitterness. I have to appreciate a lot of the ideas they have throughout the movie, like the idea of Riley's imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind), or the mysterious realm of abstract thought, which brings with it some pretty interesting animation. They also get into things like how Riley dreams, what happens to memories we forget, how the imagination works and more. Pixar really took care here, translating the inner workings of one's brain into an animated adventure. It feels like further proof that Pete Docter is possibly the best director Pixar has. For me, it really felt like Pixar made a triumphant return with this. It's a movie that can make one think, and realize the necessity of one's own emotions - even the negative ones. It's quite honestly a rather beautiful movie, and it does what Pixar does best by pulling on those heartstrings. It doesn't end with anything too tear-jerky, but it does end with a healthy dose of relatability, once again humanizing these characters for us, making us care, and ultimately bringing Pixar back to its roots. 5/5  While it was never at the tip-top of my list of action series from the past, the fact of the matter is, somewhere along the way, the 'Mad Max' series picked up one hell of a following. All throughout the 90s and early 2000s, I can recall several references and quotes from peers that gave it a known cult following, even if I wasn't part of the cult.
Eventually, as with a lot of movies these days, we also felt the need to revisit it with some nostalgia. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't, but this is definitely a case of things working out for the best! If you were to ask a 'Mad Max' fan what their favourite 'Mad Max' movie was before that, the odds seem to work out that it teeters between 'Road Warrior' and 'Thunderdome'. 'Fury Road' decided to capitalize on the idea of 'Road Warrior', but bring in some new and interesting things that are perhaps reminiscent of the car chase sequence in 'Thunderdome'. Of course, the highlight here being some random dude, bounding around on bungee cords, wailing away on a flame-spitting electric guitar. It's imagery that's so messed up and weird but altogether bad ass that we don't even question it. It's just pure "metal"! Another thing 'Fury Road' brings in is female lead, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). She takes a group of innocent girls away from the clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), a tyrannical madman who rules over a section of post-apocalyptic Australia. He has full control of the populous' water, and the flow of "mother's milk" which is, well... mother's milk, being harvested as a hot commodity for trade in these times. The girls Furiosa takes from Joe are his "wives", meant for the sole purpose of breeding... and one of them is pregnant. The chase for this pregnant woman and a potential son for Joe is pretty much what fuels the chases in the film. Along the way, of course, a wandering Max (Tom Hardy) joins the party in all his awesomeness, and lends aid to these women. They are also eventually joined by a psychotic worshipper named Nux (Nicholas Hoult), convinced that one day Joe will take him with him to the gates of Valhalla. He has one of the more interesting character arcs throughout the film, and his makes for an interesting B story. While Max is still a main character, the film does a decent job of still focusing on the characters of Furiosa and Nux, and providing some good storytelling amid all of the incredible practical action. While the action is largely what makes this movie so awesome, I can honestly also say that I care more about the characters in this chapter as opposed to anything before this. So when the action takes its breaks, I'm never bored and focused on these new, likeable characters almost more than Max, himself. I'd say the best way to view this film is to think of it as one long car chase with slight breaks in between, providing one of the best practical action movies in recent history! However, I will say this about it - there is a bit of a "Big Screen, Big Deal" thing going on with it. In other words, it was a film that rocked my socks on the big screen in 3D, and while it's still fine on my TV screen at home, it just isn't the same. 'Avatar' is probably the primary example of such a film in said category, and I have to say, this has its similarities as far as its effect goes. However, this still has a lot to be admired about it based on some of its original ideas, heart put into old ideas coming back, and of course, a complete smorgasbord of practical effects. If it ever finds its way back into theatres, even though I can still recommend it either way, as probably one of the best action films in recent history, you should definitely go out and catch it the way it was meant to be seen. This one is hands down my favourite of the batch. It's like some sort of heavy metal roller coaster! 5/5  If I'm gonna be perfectly honest about the 'Mad Max' series and my personal taste, it has never been a series I truly loved or held close to my heart in any way. But I do enjoy looking back on them as fun action films that use a good amount of practical effects and stunts, making everything that much more natural and frankly better in execution. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure why this whole concept never really attached itself to me, because by all accounts, it's nevertheless appreciated by me. But I swear the only one I truly love is 'Fury Road'.
Having said that, I must admit that 'Beyond Thunderdome' actually sits as the one I probably find the second-most entertaining of the batch. 'Thunderdome' did a good job of doing something new with the series by introducing the likes of Bartertown and its infamous Thunder Dome, where, by law, disputes are solved in a fight to the death in what appears to be a giant jungle gym. Two men enter, one man leaves, and the whole thing is run by Tina Turner (as the character Aunty Entity). Max finds himself stuck in Bartertown after his motorised vehicle one might be able to call a souped up car is hijacked by a bandit named Jedediah (Bruce Spence) and his son (Adam Cockburn). It seems kinda unclear as to whether or not Jed is the same character from 'Road Warrior', but I believe we're supposed to assume it is, all things considered. Anyway, Max follows the trail to Bartertown where he meets Aunty Entity, who offers to resupply him if he takes on "Blaster" for control of Bartertown. "Blaster" (Paul Larsson) is a burly bodyguard for "Master" (Angelo Rossitto), a little person who rides around on his back, and together they call themselves "Master Blaster", which, if I'm not mistaken, has since become a fun game to play in the pool. Aunty's motivation for this is to kill Blaster so she can get to Master and bend him to her will, and take control of Bartertown. Things don't go quite right for Max, however, and he is eventually sent into exile on horseback, with no supplies. It's not long until Max is discovered by a tribe of children and teenagers who are descendants of survivors of a plane crash, and who believe Max is there to save them all and take them to "Tomorror-morrow Land"; essentially what they believe to be a thriving city that has survived the apocalyptic wasteland that is the world of 'Mad Max'. Disillusioned, some still believe in such a place, as Max tries to stop them from leaving and ultimately getting themselves killed. But, as it goes, some kids just don't listen. What follows is where the film kinda takes off, as Max and a bunch of reckless kids infiltrate Bartertown in search of the rest of the kids as well as Max's vehicle. Like all of these first three movies, it's really the last half hour plus of action that makes the film worthwhile. This took everything cool about 'Road Warrior', cranked it up, and added some lore to the whole world. At times it cal feel a bit draggy (I never did like the chanting of these kids), but altogether, it's a solid execution, and I'd argue the characters are just more memorable here. A little extra is added here with Tina Turner's song 'We Don't Need Another Hero' on its end credits, and I'm personally a sucker for those retro credit tunes, so for me, it just adds to the whole experience of the time and era this film was released in. It's like a reminder that it IS a cheesy 80s action film, and it helps to take it less seriously and have more fun with it. But as far as I'm concerned, there is no 'Mad Max' title more fun than the next chapter, which wouldn't even come around until another thirty years after this third chapter! And totally worth it! 4/5  I think it's safe to say that, ultimately, when it comes to checking out the 'Mad Max' franchise, 'The Road Warrior' is among the better places to start, as opposed to its predecessor. 'Road Warrior' actually does a pretty solid job of covering what the world you're about to enter is all about, while subtly recapping the first film. Again, a classic in its own right, I just can't highly recommend it, and a lot of it is because it's not the 'Mad Max' we've gown to love over the years. That Mad Max really, arguably gets his start here.
Just to recap, a global war has caused civilization to collapse due to a deadly combination of oil shortages and ecocide. As a result, the world has been plunged into a state of anarchy and ongoing war for survival. Former "cop", Max Rockantansky (Mel Gibson) has since lost his family, and now travels the desert of Australia with his awesome Austrailian cattle dog, simply credited as "Dog" in search of the essentials - namely fuel, food and... not water? Actually as a side note, watching these movies during a local heatwave is a touch difficult. But I digress. As Max is doing his thing, he heads for an abandoned "gyrocopter" to collect its fuel. He's ambushed by the pilot (Bruce Spence), but easily overpowers him, sparing his life for directions to an operational oil refinery that the pilot has discovered. Said refinery wages an ongoing war for rights to the oil with a motorized gang of thugs, lead by "The Humungus" (Kjell Nilsson). Humungus offers to spare their lives if they "just walk away" and leave the oil for the gang, prompting debate among the group residing in the refinery. Just to fast-track things here, Max eventually finds himself striking a deal with the residents of the refinery: He will find and bring back a semi-truck he saw on the road earlier, which would allow the people to escape their facility with the fuel they still have left, thus avoiding the conflict with the gang. All they have to do is repair and return his car, and supply him with as much fuel as he can carry. The deal is made, and a lot of the movie, again, is the gearing up for the big action sequence, which is a nice, long vehicle chase involving a lot more of those beautifully done practical effects. For 1981, the film looks great, even in comparison to some of the modern CG stuff we see in 'Fast & Furious' movies. Why? Because it's real, and director Frank Miller never pulled any punches with that stuff. That's why to this day, it's still one of the best chase scenes of all time. Joining the cast here, whom I have not mentioned, are a few key players. But I mainly wanna talk about, the Feral Kid (Emil Minty), who ends up being moderately significant by the end. But until then, the kid plays the role incredibly well. Miming something like a chimp most of the time, he's a lovable character, and seeing him throw a boomerang in speedy reverse-cam action is pretty hilarious. There's also Virginia Hey as "Warrior Woman", and Michael Preston as Pappagallo (the leader of the facility), but they just don't stand out as much for me, even as key players. This chapter, even though it's a bit slow to really pick up, still manages to hit the ground running. It does a solid job with its recap of what has been going on in the world, making the trudge-through of the previous film unnecessary, and again, this is where the Mad Max we all know and love was really brought to the spotlight. It's the film 'Fury Road' looked at and said "do that, but better" (and holy crap, did they ever). I'd say for this one, remember that is was 1981, but it's still a lot of fun, there are more likeable characters throughout, and that old school action really puts the cherry on top of the sundae. 4/5  In the grand scheme of films and their sequels, 'Mad Max' is one of the only examples I can think of in which everything following the first film is much better than the original. Although 'Mad Max' has its own following, its 'Road Warrior,' and 'Thunderdome' that people seem to remember more fondly than this precursor, which was probably better for its time. Watching this movie today, at least for me, proves kind of difficult. It might just be a "me" thing, as this film is still highly rated. But for the life of me, I'm not entirely sure why it is.
Set in what was supposed to be the near future at the time (So, I guess, mid-80s), the film plays with the concept of widespread oil shortages forcing Australia into civil unrest, and creating a dystopia. Although none of this is really explained throughout the film, 'Road Warrior' covers it, and it makes the film a touch more simple to explain. Again, maybe it's just a "me" thing, but all in all, I found this chapter to be pretty confusing and all over the place throughout its execution. But then again, I also got bored a lot, so we can probably blame my attention span on this moderately rough review. In the wake of it all, a poorly funded police unit called the "Main Force Patrol" (or "The Bronze" by their enemies) try to keep the remaining civilians who are just trying to live their lives safe from violent motorcycle gangs. Top among them is Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), who essentially introduces himself by chasing down a gang member who goes by the name "Nightrider" (Vincent Gil); a cop killer. Max succeeds in dispatching Nightrider, but it comes with the cost of Nightrider's fellow gang members seeking revenge. Said gang, lead by "Toecutter" (Hugh Keays-Byrne), begins their revenge plot by seeking out and attempting to kill more MFP officers, while constantly stealing fuel, terrorizing the last of the innocent townsfolk, vandalizing property where they can, and doing a whole lot of psychopathic hootin' & hollerin'. That sounds like a criticism, but that's about all I can give the movie credit for - the series stuck to its guns and evolved from these concepts, and I must admit that for as much as I don't really like the original, what we have today may be nowhere without it setting a few standards. Anyway, it takes a very long time to get to it - like, practically the last half-hour of the movie, but it does get pretty cool for that last little bit. Eventually, the gang messes with the wrong people, namely Max's wife, Jessie (Joanne Samuel), and things spiral into a pretty sweet action-fueld chase between Max's Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe "Interceptor" and a bunch of motorcycles. Only problem is, that's about the only cool part of the movie, it's short-lived, and the film ends very abruptly. I think what this all boils down to is the timing of the film's release, itself, and me looking back on it with a present-day perspective on what action has become. With that said, I'm very hard-pressed not to give the film full credit for one particular detail - the action sequences, stunts and effects were essentially all real, save for some bloody and gory makeup. I will always route for practical effects over CG, and again, its presence here has followed through to every film since (until 'Furiosa,' but more on that with that review). This is definitely one of those middle-ground films for me. I can't help but give it credit for what it created, and how it was executed as far as things like effects go. However, the critic in me still sees what is mostly a fairly bland movie in comparison to its sequels. I truly believe that if one feels the need to do a backtrack like I'm doing here, one can probably just start with 'Road Warrior' and be fine. I personally find this chapter to be a little confusing and all over the place, but that's just me. It's a classic in its own right, and I can't take that away from it. It's just that I find everything after it so much more enjoyable. 3/5  In viewing these 'Apes' prequel films again, I can say honestly that my opinion on them has not changed. I may not have explored the original series much (with the exception of the '68 film), but as far as 'Rise,' 'Dawn,' and 'War' go, they formed one of the most solid trilogies I've ever seen, and I can still say that - except now we have a fourth film. Is it still as solid a series after that fourth film? Well, I'll get to that in that review. For now, we'll stick with what wrapped up the trilogy portion with 'War.'
The film opens with a brief timeline that covers what has gone on since 'Rise,' including the spread of the man-made simian flu, which has now killed most of the human race, aside from those with natural immunity. In the meantime, its effect on the ape family has been a gift, offering heightened intelligence, leading to a whole ape society that looks more human as opposed to something Jane Goodall would be observing for her studies. They're all lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis), who has been liberating ape-kind from the humans from day one. In the previous film, however, an ape-gone-vengeful named Koba (Toby Kebbell) ended up starting a war between humans and apes, which leads the "Alpha-Omega" human militia to try to locate Caesar, and perhaps "cut the head off the snake." The apes capture their attackers, but Caesar lets them go, with an offer of peace, essentially drawing a line in the sand. Leave the apes the woods, and they can have the rest. Soon, however, the militia comes back, led by "The Colonel" (Woody Harrelson) and causing tragedy among the ape colony. As it turns out, Caesar's eldest son, Blue Eyes (Max Lloyd-Jones) and friend, Rocket (Terry Notary) found a peaceful oasis while on a scouting mission, and the apes decide it best to move there in order to hide better from the humans. After the human attack, however, Caesar ends up choosing vengeance, drawing some parallels between him and Koba. He kinda just wants to find the Colonel and, again, "cut the head off the snake." He sends his fellow apes to find said oasis, and he heads the other way in search of the Colonel. He's joined on his journey by Rocket, old friend, Maurice (Karin Konoval) and Luca (Michael Adamthwaite), who are not only there to help but to keep Caesar in check, as they don't need another Koba on their hands. What starts out as what could be a cool revenge flick, however, turns into an emotional ride that will gauge every emotion, giving us so much more than what we came to see, initially. It's a film about survival on both the ape and human side, and it's amplified with a pretty great villain speech given by the Colonel that allows the viewer to understand his perspective, which is the best kind of villain. Added to the cast here to help alleviate so much of the tragedy that takes place throughout the film (and there's quite a bit - it's honestly a pretty tear-jerking film) are a couple of characters who carry more positivity with their appearances. Giving us a dose of innocence and hope is a little girl Caesar and the others find, eventually named "Nova" (Amiah Miller), another nod to the '68 film. Giving us some really solid comedy relief is an ape who calls himself simply "Bad Ape" (Steve Zahn). To some, I have to admit, he might feel a little out of place. But speaking personally, I love the little guy. Apart from a solid range of emotions that probably outdoes the previous two, the film manages to stick to the idea of perhaps wondering what side of the fight you might land on. Imagine something you created for good eventually destroying humankind and giving apes a tremendous advantage over us. All of these films have been great for allowing us to route for the apes and nature taking its course so they can live freely, but they do a good job of reminding us that we're the humans, and again, it makes us wonder how we might exist in such a world. 5/5  There's quite a bit to talk about here, so I'm just gonna dive right in. 'Dawn' begins ten years (give or take) after the final events of 'Rise,' in which the lab-created virus known as ALZ-112 has, for lack of a better term, gotten loose. The virus, originally created to battle Alzheimer's, proves to have an overwhelmingly positive effect on the lab chimps and apes experimented on, starting with Caesar (Andy Serkis), who eventually frees his kind from captivity and escape to the nearby San Fransisco redwood forest.
Human exposure to the virus is something different altogether, in that it becomes a simian flu outbreak, leaving the only human survivors those with a natural immunity to it. This is basically covered in an opening credits news cast, much like your average zombie movie, and in time, we see what has become of Caesar and his friends we met previously - a circus orangutan named Maurice (Karin Konoval) and fellow chimp, Koba (Toby Kebbell), both of whom have sworn a loyalty to Caesar for their freedom, ever thankful for the community they've created for themselves. Through those ten years, the human race has been dying off, leaving the world in a 'Last of Us'-like state of overgrowth, and apes have thrived. Caesar even has his own close-knit household with his partner, Cornelia (Judy Greer), son, Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) and newborn baby, Cornelius, who some will recall as a full-grown ape in the 1968 original, tying this thing together loosely, but nicely. The future for this society looks promising enough, but the question remains, are humans still out there somewhere? And if so, do they pose a threat? The first portion of this is answered when a group of human survivors, led by a guy named Malcolm (Jason Clarke), along with his wife, Ellie (Keri Russell), and son, Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) stumble into ape territory in search of a dam, which could restore power to their community. However, one of the ass holes of the group, Carver (Kirk Acevedo), shoots and injures Blue Eyes' friend, Ash (Larramie Doc Shaw). Caesar decides the best move is to draw a line in the sand, not wanting violence, but warning that they'll fight if they have to. Once all that is established, what we really get from this film, in my opinion, is two extremes of both sides of the coin. Malcolm and his family wish to make peace, and Caesar, remembering good natured humans like his Will takes a chance on him, wanting the same peace. On the other side of the coin, however, is Koba, who only remembers the bad things human scientists did to him, and the leader of the human society, Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman), who lost his family to the virus and will stop at nothing to keep his community surviving. I really liked the way the film executed such a range of emotions through these characters, reminding me of a handful of D&D creations ranging from "lawful good" to "chaotic evil," and placing characters like Blue Eyes in the middle of it all, knowing the way his Dad thinks in terms of peace, but understanding where Koba's need for vengeance comes into play, especially with his friend having been shot by one of those damned dirty humans - Carver; definitely a character you love to hate, and it doesn't stop at that gunshot. While 'Rise' is how everything began, concluding with the virus getting out of hand, 'Dawn' is more about being in the ape's world now, and the beginnings of their society. I also take what I mentioned about two extremes on either side of the coin to heart here. One of the big themes here seems to be the classic trope of "we're not so different, you and I," but it does a very good job of not just simply dividing good and evil, and it's always nice to be able to understand where everyone here is coming from... except maybe Carver... what a jerk. 5/5  Now that both Godzilla and Kong have been established as two decent introductions to the MonsterVerse, the time has come to expand on it. I find this one to be a fairly interesting chapter of the whole thing, as whether one likes or dislikes it is all pretty much predicated on the same thing; that being what could be considered too many monsters contained in one movie. Here, we get our main players, Godzilla and "Monster Zero" (later named Ghidora), but it also brings in Mothra and Rodan.
Without getting too much into spoiler territory, the extra two monsters serve a purpose, but some may feel like they went too familiar too soon. Basically, when it comes to these classic movie monsters, along with King Kong, these are the four you've probably heard of. In some ways, it can feel like overexposure. However, I will say that if you can watch this as if it was a monster-sized WWE tag team match, the last chunk of this movie is a pretty damn awesome bit of action-packed eye candy. Just to give an idea of a timeline here, just remember that 'Kong: Skull Island' takes place in 1973, and thus represents the first chronological story of the series. 'Godzilla' starts us off in 2014 (present-day at the time), and this picks things back up five years after the big showdown between Godzilla and the unnamed MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), so things have progressed in real-time since the first film, and here we are in 2019 where seventeen MUTOs have since been identified and studied by monster-studying organization, Monarch who now refer to them as "Titans". Mothra is almost immediately introduced, being studied by a team that includes paleobiologist, Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Mothra, in her larva state, is all pissed off and needs calming down, and with that, we are introduced to a device Emma has been working on called ORCA; a device that uses certain frequencies in order to call or communicate with the Titans. Soon, a group of eco-terrorists attack the facility, led by Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), a former British Army colonel. His team kidnaps the mother/daughter pair, cause Mothra to flee, and steal the ORCA device for themselves. Meanwhile, some of our Monarch stars from the first film return, namely Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) along with newcomer, Sam Coleman (Thomas Middleditch). They learn about the disappearance of Emma and Madison, and approach Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), to help find them. Eventually, it all comes together in Antarctica, where the eco-terrorists plan is to unleash the frozen "Monster Zero", and other Titans (that go as far as Rodan) to restore natural order to the Earth after mankind has destroyed it. I do appreciate how there seems to be three different arguments for the whole Titan situation. The eco-terrorists think they're doing the world a favour by letting monsters take over humanity; various members of Monarch think that mankind has to find a way to adapt and coexist with the Titans to survive; and the majority seem simply say "kill 'em all." To some degree, things can feel a bit "tree-huggy", and the environmental message is pretty heavy-handed. I also find Madison to be largely one of those "in-the-way" characters and often irksome in her actions. Although, its her mother's speech about the environment that might make one roll their eyes. So, what about Rodan? He shows up, but he's also kinda crowbarred in there and largely more for appearance than plot. Let's just say on a chess board, he'd act as a pawn. Having said that, however, like I've said before, whether you like this or not is all gonna come from what you're looking for. If you want a really good story with really likable characters and solid dialogue, you won't necessarily find that here. But if you wanna watch some really awesome moster fights with a bag of popcorn at your side, it's fine! It reminds me a bit of the first one with its pacing, but the familiarity with the monsters here, I daresay, make it a bit more fun if just a bit overcrowded to some nitpicking degree. 3/5  Shortly after the successful release of 'Godzilla' in 2014, it was announced that Kong was gonna be brought into the picture, and the "MonsterVerse" was going to be put into motion. Once again, they did it right by introducing Godzilla in one movie, Kong in the next, and developing things from there. Growing up, I was always a little more partial to Kong as a bit more of a sympathetic monster, so when I heard this was happening, I was pretty excited for it, and thankfully, it was far from disappointing.
For this one, we go back to 1973 where new technology has been developed to capture imagery of areas of the world that have yet been unexplored. This unveils the mysterious-looking Skull Island, which until had only been a myth up to that point. This leads the head of Monarch (the organization mentioned in the 'Godzilla' review who study giant creatures), Bill Randa (John Goodman) to gather a team of professionals to head to the island with him in an attempt to study whatever primeval creatures may be on the island; an island said to be lost in time, and altogether prehistoric in nature. For an experienced escort to get through dangerous conditions in order to get to Skull Island for this mission, Randa's recruits Vietnam soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), his subordinates, Major Jack Chapman (Toby Kebbell) and Captain Earl Cole (Shea Whigham), and his other "Sky Devils", Reg Slivko (Thomas Mann), Glenn Mills (Jason Mitchell) and Joe Reles (Eugene Cordero). In several ways, these guys provide the big bad "mankind" enemy of the film, but I'd probably also argue that, aside from Kong, himself, they are the more entertaining aspect of the film. Further experts recruited to the team include former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), who's also an expert at tracking, and photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) who's main reason for being here is to represent the "beauty" that Kong is able to see as mankind's innocence, and be almost annoying with how many pictures she takes throughout the film. Perhaps a bit harsh, but there are scenes where she's in real danger and totally camera-ready. I don't mind Brie Larson, but this has to be one of her more mediocre roles when all said and done. Upon their arrival, Packard's men drop seismic charges to map out the island, which eventually flushes out Kong, and results in a devastating (but cool to look at) attack on the team, ultimately separating them all from each other. From there, the motives vary as Packard wants to set his men up for revenge as well as a mission to get their men back, while Conrad and Weaver along with a few others stumble on the locals, and surprise World War II survivor, Hank Marlow (John C. Reilley) who has been trapped there for a couple of decades. Their main forcus is more about just surviving and getting off the island. Really, the only big tie-in with 'Godzilla' ('14) here is the idea of Monarch, which also plays into a pretty cool post-credit scene in which we see a bit more of an 'Avengers'-like tease for what's to come (seemingly appropriate, considering how many 'Avengers' characters are in this). Otherwise, as a stand-alone, it makes for a pretty great survival adventure, reminscent of something like 'Jurassic Park', but with bigger, badder monsters and some pretty awesome fight scenes involving said monsters, paving the way for an eventual 'Godzilla vs. Kong', and every single one of us knew it. Despite a little bit of rough acting, and cheesy dialogue throughout the film, I'm hard-pressed not to like it. There's a lot of CG in here that one may or may not take with a grain of salt, but I'd suggest that in order to appreciate the film, one has to lean into the action/adventure involved in the story to get the right effect. At the end of the day, Kong, like Godzilla, is here for some decent quality, albeit cheesy, box office adventure, and both movies pretty much live up to that. I'm just glad that there's much more Kong here, along with several other creative creatures as opposed to Godzilla's lack of appearance in his own movie. 4/5  It is often said that things need to stop taking their cues from the MCU in an effort to start self-contained movie universes. More often than not, it's not meant to be (I'm looking at you, Dark Universe) or slips by with some ups and downs because it has a big enough fan base to support it (DCEU). But there is the rare exception, and while the "Monster Universe" 'Godzilla' establishes isn't entirely perfect, it is nevertheless entertaining, a far cry from the 1998 Americanization attempt, and starts things like it should.
The idea of forming a cinematic universe in the first place often fails for the same dumb reason of leading us to believe that things are more or less planned out, which they often aren't. Therefore, the first film of something leaves us with some impression that things will pick back up, failing to gauge audiences and critics as well as performance at the box office. The best thing 'Godzilla' here did was simply exist on its own at the time, and have a solid ending. There are no stingers in this to suggest that the Monster Universe was something in the making. At the time, this was just new and improved Americanization of things. The film opens in 1999, in the Philippenes, where a uranium mine has collapsed, revealing the skeleton of some giant creature. Two Monarch scientists, Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) are sent to investigate the skeleton, and stumble on two giant spores, one of which has hatched, and left a trail heading out to sea. Soon after, at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, seismic activity occurs, eventually destroying the plant, leaving plant supervisor Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) with some very difficult questions as to what happened for years to come. Fifteen years pass, and Joe's and his wife Sandra's (Juliette Binoche) son, a U.S. Navy EOD officer named Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) comes home to his wife, Elle (Elizabeth Olsen), and son, Sam (Carson Bolde), only to have to go back to Japan immediately to bail his Dad out of jail for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone. Upon his arrival to bail his Dad out, Ford is convinced to go with Joe to investigate their old house and find some answers, only to be detained all over again and taken to an underground facility, which is holding a massive chrysalis which feeds off nuclear energy. Eventually, said chrysalis hatches, and a giant insect-like creature emerges, very reminsicent, in my opinion, of the Cloverfield monster. The creature is referred to as a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), and to try and keep this short, eventually, Godzilla finally comes into the mix and the big monster fight ensues while mankind wonderds if the enemy of their enemy is their friend, or indeed, another enemy. And in case you haven't picked it up quite yet, perhaps the biggest complaint anyone could have about this movie is how little Godzilla is actually in it. Looking at the grand scheme of things now, it's a little more forgivable that the big focus here was more about what the random MUTO is and how to stop it. Using Godzilla, himself, as their defensive strategy for the first time, it's understandable now that this was meant to be a movie that riskily established things for more potential movies to come, but again, without being crazy obvious about it. As a standalone movie with the title of 'Godzilla', it left a lot to be desired at the time. But as time has gone on (I can't believe 2024 marks ten years already), for better or for worse, the MonsterVerse has been pretty successful. The nice thing to takeaway from the MonsterVerse is that, despite a lot of dramatic things happening throughout, it doesn't take itself too seriously and remembers that audiences are there to see a couple of giant monsters have a wrestling match. The only real problems here being that the match takes a long time to get to, and in the meantime, there's just a lot to do with the people involved in researching the other monster we didn't come to see while explaining what Monarch is etc. It's pretty great once things get going for the fans of this stuff, but it does take a while to get there. 3/5  This was one of those movies that came along and made me fully realize how incredibly loyal its fan base is, unless we're talking about the 2016 version, which provided, shall we say, mixed emotions. But at the end of the day, I consider it non-canonical, a fair attempt at a re-imagining, but still not my Ghostbusters. Nevertheless, upon its release, critics weren't big on it, but fans (including myself) enjoyed it for what it was. This kind of establishes that 'Ghostbusters' movies are far more fan-driven projects, and to some degree, I can respect that.
However, for as much as I don't terribly mind it, I can understand where so many critics come from, as this wasn't something I'd dub "perfect" by any means, and I say that as a huge fan of 'Ghostbusters' (remember, the original is my favourite movie of all time). So I will do my best to look at it from every angle, both critically and as a die-hard fan. I can, however, say quite honestly that as time passes, the more I watch this chapter of the 'Ghostbusters' saga, the more I appreciate it, and the more I can wrap my head around some of my criticisms and use my imagination to fill in the blanks. We open things here 30-someodd years after the events of 'Ghostbusters II', where we meet Egon Spengler's estranged family; daughter, Callie (Carrie Coon), and grandkids, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). While Trevor is a bit more what one would consider a "normal" teenager, Phoebe largely takes after her grandfather - not only in the ways of science, but she has his dry sense of humour and general attitude as well. Really, she kinda carries the movie, and to me, is pretty much perfect casting for who we'd imagine Egon's granddaughter to be. They family learns of Egon's passing, and further find out that the only inheritance he left them was a creepy old farm house in the middle of a quaint little town called Summerville - home to the Shandor mining operations. This is a callback to the first film which mentions a lunatic architect, Ivo Shandor, who once headed the cult of Gozer; Gozer, of course, being the big baddie from the first film. Thankfully, however, this isn't just fan service, and is all part of the big story, making 'Afterlife' the true spiritual sequel to the 1984 film. Yes, there's a 'Ghostbusters II', but the story in that has no tie-ins with the original. Getting back into it, Phoebe ends up taking a summer science course, "taught" by seismologist, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), whose method of teaching is basically to throw on a horror movie for the kids who don't wanna be there. Phoebe also meets "Podcast" (Logan Kim), who quickly becomes her lab partner. Meanwhile, Trevor meets a waitress named Lucky (Celeste O'Connor), by applying for a job at the diner she works at, in an attempt to get to know her better. Soon, Phoebe meets Egon's ghost, who guides her on how to use Ghostbusting equipment, necessary to continue his work, which is ultimately preventing the end of the world. As a critic, I would say there were some things that either weren't needed, or should have had some better explanation; namely, the mini marshmallow men, who make it abundantly clear that they're there for a laugh in the same way 'Dispicable Me' minions are. And while they are adorable, it quite honestly does feel like a cheap way to get an "aww". There's also a moment or two here that make one wonder about some of the characters' stupidity, like Gruberson opening a ghost trap just to see what's inside. But even with any crtiicisms I have for the film, I also fall under the categry of "fanboy", and there's a lot here for people like me. On the whole, there's a huge nostalia factor here that works out really nicely for us hardcores. It even goes right down to a Nestle Crunch wrapper in Egon's old suit's pocket JUST because Peter gave one to Egon in the first film. It's a great title for 'Ghostbusters' nostalgia, and a loving, even somewhat tear-jerking tribute to the late, great Harold Ramis. Criticisms aside, there's a lot of heart put into this, and writer/director Jason Reitman has managed to fill his father Ivan's shoes quite nicely. 4/5  Once again, as this series continues, it keeps up with developing Po's (Jack Black) character by delving even deeper into his origins while still pushing the story forward. In other words, the more time we spend learning of Po's past, the more we can appreciate how the film is trying to develop him as a means to defeat villains who, in each film, progressively get more powerful. This time around, things stem from the tail ending of the previous film in which we briefly meet Po's father (Fred Tatasciore at the time) who learns that Po's still alive.
To expand on that, when we last left Po, he defeated a ruthless peacock named Shen (Gary Oldman) who, when Po was a baby, destroyed Po's village, hunting for the panda who would one day put a stop to his attempt to take over China, as prophesied. While Po's mother rescues him, she is killed in the process, and he and his father have been separated since. Po was soon adopted by a goose named Mr. Ping (James Hong), and the rest is pretty much history. Po becomes the fabled "Dragon Warrior," and lives a life of heroism alongside "The Furious Five"; Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), and his sensei, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). While Po continues this life, something sinister is brewing in the Spirit Realm, as we reunite with Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim); the Kung Fu tortoise who trained Master Shifu, and who found inner peace and passed away in the first film. He is attacked by a spirit warrior yak named Kai (J.K. Simmons) who has stolen collected all of the other Kung Fu masters' "Chi" (essentially a Kung Fu warrior's essense) and, with Oogway's, will be able to return to the mortal realm. Of course, Kai succeeds in this, using vast amounts of Chi from other warriors to defeat Oogway. But Oogway is sure to warn him that he's destined to be defeated. Upon his return, Kai realizes (in pretty humorous fashion) that he's been forgotten after such a long time, gets enraged by this, and aims to tear down Oogway's legacy. In the meantime, Shifu announces his retirement to Po and the Five, and chooses Po to be his successor based on his "Dragon Warrior" title, to which Po is understandably apprehensive, but this is kinda where the plot point of finding one's self comes into play, as Po's trying to teach like Shifu instead of using his own methods. To add to it all, he is randomly visited by his father, Li Shan (now played by Bryan Cranston). They bond immediately, but this ultimately makes Mr. Ping jealous. The village comes under attack by mysterious jade warriors who each resemble fallen Kung Fu masters, and are controlled with Kai's massive amounts of Chi that he stole from each of them. The Five manage to stave them off for the time being, but learnt he only way they'll get one over on Kai is by training in the ways of Chi, which, according to legend, the pandas have mastered. So, Li takes Po on a journey back to his home village to learn the ways of the panda, which should ultimately lead to learning about Chi, and how to use it to put a stop to this new villain. Each of these have some kind of life lesson within, and a lot of it has to do with varying forms of self-discovery. While the first one has a little more to do with finding who one is meant to be, the second covers where one comes from and who one truly is. With this, I find it sort of combines the first two as it seems to be very much about enlightenment, and learning what makes you you. These are just my takeaways, however, and I feel like there's a lot to be taken from these films when it comes to personal growth. As far as this series is concerned, this is another solid title for it. I still like the second film's villain a bit more overall, and would consider him a bit more of an arch nemesis for Po. Further to that, I think at times this does get a little cutesy, but that's just a nitpick, and not even a heavy one. All in all, this has been a great series for family viewing, helping the young viewers to grow in a positive way while even us adults can learn a thing or two about things like "inner peace". It doesn't have quite the same impact the second one does for me, but it's still super solid. 4/5  For as much as I love the first 'Kung Fu Panda', I would probably say that in comparison, this one is actually much better. The first film remains the classic of the series, but this film follows through with character development, depth, better fight choreography and animation and continues the story nice and smoothly while simultaneously giving us an origin story on Po (Jack Black), our favourite martial artist panda. It also adds more great voice talent to the cast, and higher levels of drama and action. It's what a sequel should be.
When we last left Po and the Furious Five, Po was revealed to be the fabled, albeit unlikely Dragon Warrior by defeating the greedy snow leopard, Tai Lung (Ian McShane), who believed himself to be destined for the same title, but with wickedness in his heart. Since then, Po has lived a life of peace alongside the "Five", Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan) and Viper (Lucy Liu), and his sensei, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), who one day advises Po that he will not be a true Kung Fu master until he achieves inner peace, and a lot of it has to do with a traumatic past that Po can't quite remember. This ties in with our big baddie of the film, a peacock named Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), son of the rulers of Gongmen City who invent fireworks for purposes of awe and beauty. However, Shen discovers that the gunpowder used in fireworks can also be used as effective weapons. Worried, his parents call in a ram soothsayer (Michelle Yeoh), who foretells of Shen one day being stopped by a warrior of black and white (guess who). This leads to Shen using the newfound weapons against a community of pandas, and banished as a result of his violent tendencies. In his anger, he then assembles a wolf army to help him raid villages for scrap metal in order to build cannons that will hopefully help him take over China. During one of their raids on a village, the Furious Five are called to action, and during the fight, Po recognizes a symbol on one of the wolf's armour that gives him flashbacks. Traumatic hidden memories start getting revealed, leading him to try to find out what happened to his real parents after his Dad, Mr. Ping (James Hong), the goose, tells him much to his surprise that he's adopted. In the meantime, Shen is starting to succeed in his mission by taking Gongmen city, and one by one taking down powerful Kung Fu regents Masters Thundering Rhino (Victor Garber), Ox (Dennis Haysbert) and Croc (Jean-Claude Van Damme). The Furious Five are then sent to Gongmen City to put a stop to Shen's reign of terror, but Po is constantly distracted by his hidden past and how it ties in with Shen, and the symbol he keeps seeing within Shen's army. So the big themes of this film from the get-go involve Po finding out where it is he really comes from and how Shen was involved in his past, which is probably very obvious during Shen's backstory at the very beginning, but my apologies if I've breached spoiler territory. Even knowing, however, one can still feel for Po throughout the film and really route for him to succeed, and find the answers he's looking for. I would probably say that this is, personally speaking, my favourite of the bunch. It does a very good job with delivering all of the good humour, inspiration and fun of the first one all while cranking the volume up on those things and adding more backstory, drama and action. I also frankly like the villain here a bit better. Oldman's wonderful voice acting aside, Shen reminds me a lot more of a Sauruman type from 'Lord of the Rings' and feels like more of a threat. Plus I just like the badass design of his character, and the idea that he uses his feathers as daggers. As I mentioned before, I do love 'Kung Fu Panda', but 'Kung Fu Panda 2' takes everything that was great about the first one and cranks it up to vey satisfying results. Although the outcome is generally predictable (again, my apologies for spoilers, but remember, we have more to come after this) the ride is still a pretty great ride, and the addition of a more dramatic edge to things to make it a touch darker is a welcome one. And while the series doen's necessarily go downhill from here, I'd still consider this the best of what is, altogether, a pretty great batch of animated adventure flicks. 5/5 |
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