Film Review: The Flash (2023)

STORY

Bruce Wayne warns Barry Allen of severe consequences if he keeps traveling back in time to see his mother alive. Overcome by his emotions, Barry uses speed force to alter the past and ends up in another universe where there is another version of Barry with his mother alive.

---

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to yet another sad chapter of an ever-collapsing brain-farting universe of DCEU or DCU. A cinematic universe whose Gods are still devising a plan to jump-start and level with Disney Studio‘s Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After seven years of inception, or maybe ten if I do not dare to miss Man of Steel, the story of this cinematic universe still fails to get the confidence vote of comic book audience and DC Comics loyalists. Meetings after meetings, reshoots after reshoots, executive producers are still clueless and now almost every Justice League actor is out besides Jason Momoa. If you ever get to know that a DC film has been interrupted with the bosses ordering reshoots, realize that the film is already marching towards the failure before even hitting the theatres.

---

REVIEW

The Flash is just another DC superhero film that is badly trying to follow one of the successful routes of MCU philosophy which is dragging humor in almost everything. Yes, The Flash is a cool dude and I cannot imagine his solo film going dark despite his dark origins and many portions of comic book pages turning black in the past.

The Flash film is supposed to entertain the audience. But you have to apply the fun and the entertainment only when the cinematic universe is either fixed or turning towards a game-changer. Fixing the universe and being a game changer are the two major factors this film was to be made responsible for. Instead, the film overcooked the whole screenplay with a very unconvincing plot. After such a messed up plot and extremely bad CGI, you will have to ask yourself, what was the value of the entire story of the film? Exactly, close to none.

Warner Bros. bosses have still not learned their lesson from DCEU failures. You cannot drag so many characters in a single film to get the audience approval. The story of the film needs breathing. And there is no space or time of maturing the supporting characters who are introduced.

Michael Keaton‘s Batman has returned and roped into this miserable DC universe just like wrestling legends are often dragged to WWE events to attract the audience. After mere ten minutes of onscreen appearance, Keaton’s Batman agrees to fight alongside visibly two boys with silly jokes to find Superman and stop General Zod from invading the planet. Ten Minutes! Keaton’s Batman who looked so washed up to his old game suddenly finds reason to return and fight. Such development requires build up and that lacked here.

There is nothing Wow! about Supergirl at all. Boring introduction, unattractive fighting sequences, and no character development. Plus, Sasha Calle doesn’t look fit for the role. Michael Shannon‘s General Zod is terribly wasted. You must have felt Zod’s wrath in Man of Steel ten years ago. Why? Because Zod’s character was widely stretched to fit in the story and make you feel uncomfortable about his madness. But this time, I was not getting that thrill to see him attempting to invade the planet. Zod was in the film for hardly 15 minutes.

Unprecedented cameos in the final act were meaningless and once again, dragged. Yes, thank you. Super thank you for finally uniting Christopher Reeve‘s Superman and Helen Slater‘s Supergirl in the same frame in such a blood-boiling use of CGI. But at what cost? In fact, I am curious to know the real cost of production for “The Flash”. Wikipedia and various sources on the internet says that this film costs over $200 million in the production. I fail to believe a film with such heaving budget hitting the theatres with that deepfake and horrible CGI.

The dialogues of the film lacks substance. There is no impact but very off dialogues.”Come on Barbie, Let’s go party?” “You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts.” The Music score is super ordinary. So many vital scenes lack a musical impact. Zero inspiration.

I am unsure of Ezra Miller‘s future after being surrounded with so many controversies but after watching “The Flash”, I feel it is time to find a new face. This character portrayal is way too cheesy. And it feels like the television portrayal by Grant Gustin was more fitting and closer to comic books in comparison.

Some interesting developments come out from this film. Like Barry was in Metropolis when Zod starting killing people. Ben Affleck‘s Batman riding Batpod similar to what Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway drove in “The Dark Knight Trilogy“. Our Boba Fett shows up as Tom Curry of the other world to whom Barry calls to check if he is Arthur Curry‘s father. Keaton’s Batman electrocuting Flash is a straight comic reference from “Flashpoint“.

When ‘The Flash’ was announced years ago, my first impression was that this film will be based on “Flashpoint” due to the nature of the continuity in the first phase of DCEU indicating about it when Barry comes from the future to warn Bruce in Batman v Superman. But I guess I was in delusion to assume if WB executives will come up with a plan smart enough to run a comic book inspired storyline.

---

PLUSES

Despite being immensely disappointed with the film, I liked a couple of scenes. One was Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne’s thought-provoking advises to Barry. The life lesson Bruce gave here to Barry were quite hard hitting that actually makes Ben Affleck’s version of Bruce more subtle. I wish DCEU had valued this angle of Bruce/Batman. The other scene was Barry meeting his mother one last time in the supermarket. Knowing the fact that he is reversing the altered timeline which means his mother will remain killed in the past breaks Barry and makes the audience re-imagine what if the sons and daughters meet their dead parents while traveling back in time one last time? How does it feel? Painful, isn’t it? This is what Bruce was trying to understand Barry, “These scars we have make us who we are. We’re not meant to go back and fix them. And there’s nothing broken with you that needs to be fixed.”

---

TWO BATMEN IN THE SAME FILM!!!

A cinematic delight to our eyes was appearance of not one but two Batmen in the same film. Let’s not talk about the third Bruce Wayne of the film which was also meaningless. But anyway, a story that had to make two Batmen from different worlds appear for Barry didn’t give much chills to the audience. One may ask themselves, should two Batmen have shared the same screen? Just like three Spidermen? I think it obviously would have been exciting. But at what cost? The given story didn’t support to bring them together. So I think it was a good decision. Maybe it would have been more heartbreaking to see two Batmen together being part of an unusual disappointment.

---

THE DCEU MESS UP

So what now? Now, I wait for Aquaman and observe how James Gunn‘s vision for a fresh DC universe will give birth from there. Am I excited? About what? This DCEU had a weak foundation due to a punctured storyline that was unjust to the Justice League. The slating of the films, the interferences of Warner Bros. bosses, the reshoots of the films, the Joss Whedon chapter, and last of all rejecting Zack Snyder‘s version of continuing of what possibly looked like a very promising trilogy of the JL. All this failed to present a DCEU that we comic geeks ever wanted to watch out.

Just take a small example of planning Michael Keaton to play a Nick Fury kind of role in the future films of the DCEU. And for that purpose, Keaton starred in this film. And then, he worked in Batgirl and then the upcoming sequel of Aquaman. When WB hired James Gunn, he came up with a new plan that held no future for Keaton. Therefore, he was killed in ‘The Flash’. Batgirl got shelved in the post production. And his scenes from Aquaman cut. How do you expect actors to work with you in this universe for a long period?

---

ANOTHER BOX-OFFICE DISASTER!

When it comes to the box-office collections, The Flash, believe it or not, is the sixth consecutive flop in the DCEU. Shazam in 2019 was the last DCEU film that met success. Since then, two of the DCEU films didn’t even reach the cost of the film budget, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad. Perhaps because of COVID-hit 2020. But still, the last three DCEU films didn’t even meet the break even point. And now Blue Beetle has become the seventh consecutive flop in the DCEU.

---

GUNN’S VISION

Shall I be optimist about James Gunn’s vision for future DCU? See I am inclined towards Zack Snyder’s vision but it is useless to whine about something that is shelved. The one aspect I really like about Gunn is that he is a comic geek and knows this shit. The developments of the future projects that he announced all have essence of comic books which is exactly what a comic geek desperately wants; a universe that identifies and recognizes the efforts and contributions of the writers. Where and what is the enthusiasm if a superhero film doesn’t have a comic book value at all? To devalue book sources and detach a comic character and story line for a new once-upon-a-time, you need to come up with an extremely rich writing content that can hit the audience while playing the right chords. So not every film can be Joker at all.

---

CLOSING REMARKS

To end my never-ending assessment, take ‘The Flash’ as a comedy film and a forgettable past, and for some time, we believe in the theory that S stands for Hope.

RATINGS: 3/10

---

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

---

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Tweets by thedarkknaik

Film Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

STORY

In the Kingdom of Wakanda, T’Challa dies of some illness. His mother leads the nation but Wakanda slowly looks to become vulnerable to the intervention of the world powers.

Wakanda is alarmed by the arrival of Namor, the King of Talokan, a civilization that lives underwater. He proposes to become allies and protect each other by striking the world powers since T’Challa revealed Wakanda’s true nature to them by the end of the first film. And then the conflict begins.

---

REVIEW

The sequel of Black Panther holds immense sentimental value as Chadwick Bosman passed away from colon cancer a couple of years ago. It was decided that the sequel will still continue with no new actor to replace him for Black Panther. So it became a bigger challenge to proceed like that with a story that has the potential to deservingly continue the legacy that Chadwick left.

And I fully appreciate director Ryan Coogler to come up with a story and screenplay that strengthen the continuity. T’Challa’s sister Shuri is the new Black Panther and I think no one deserves more than her after Chadwick. The large gap that T’Challa has left to fill for impactful leadership is well-directed. The emergence of Namor further intensifies Shuri’s concern as the CIA is helpless this time.

During all this, Queen Ramonda gets a much more solid outing this time as compared to the previous film. And Angela Bassett has given a pretty remarkable performance, especially the scene where she breaks down and laments. Angela’s best feature about her role is the body language of grief that was carried well. She already had lost her husband in Civil War and her son at the start. And then Shuri got kidnapped.

Letitia Wright as Shuri in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

Surely, everyone heartfelt the funeral of T’Challa at the beginning. But my objection here is why none of the Avengers showed up at the funeral. I understand that the whole fighting crew will not assemble and attend the funeral of every superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe when they die like Iron Man. But this was a different case due to the real death of an actor. And I loved how the MCU’s traditional opening credits fully honored him. He deserved that.

One can easily differentiate the directional artistry of this Wakanda Forever from most of the MCU films. The tone is serious and looks pretty much for a mature audience. The film slipped only once when Shuri and Okoye go to collect Riri.

---

SHAPING ‘YOUNG AVENGERS’

Speaking of Riri, one must have noticed that in the last couple of years, MCU has introduced young superheroes. Eli Bradley a.k.a. Patriot made a debut in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Hawkeye introduced Kate Bishop, Kamala Khan had her own show, Multiverse of Madness introduced America Chavez. Cassie Lang is to be properly introduced in Quantumania. And Hulk‘s son Skaar appeared in She-Hulk‘s last episode. Billy and Tommy were introduced in WandaVision and may develop their alter-egos of Wiccan and Speed in the upcoming Agatha series.

Shuri herself is quite young and now introduces Riri who is Ironheart. Ironheart is quite a new comic character created by Brian Michael Bendis that made debut a few years ago. She will have her own show later this year.

But my point is that maybe, a superhero team of Young Avengers is shaping that may assemble possibly in ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty‘. Just a theory from a comic geek. Although Doctor Strange is now leading the MCU, it will be awesome to see Peter Parker and Shuri lead the Young Avengers.

---

TALOKAN KING

I am very much delighted to see Namor’s debut. Although I am unsure if the origin story the film ran is accurate to comics because I have never read him but I liked the connection to how he is brought to this exciting world. So if you have any knowledge of how accurate is Namor in comics, share it with me.

---

CLOSING REMARKS

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a rare DNA amongst its equals in the MCU and deserves praise for being a film that stood for its story and matured well. Yes, at a length of 160 minutes, the film did slow down in the middle but justified because Namor was to be detailed. But the legacy of Wakanda and T’Challa has neither faded nor been ruined. It is convincingly amongst the best films Marvel Studios has ever produced.

RATING: 8.4/10

---

---

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY FILM REVIEW HERE

---

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK  https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik

INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Tweets by thedarkknaik

Film Review: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

A God killer is on the run killing Gods all over the universe which alerts Thor. And during the course of fighting against all odds, Thor reunites with doctor Jane Foster who, to his surprise, has the powers to wield Mjolnir and has become the Mighty Thor.

The plot had the potential to enrich the Thor franchise but unfortunately, once again, a Thor film is obsessed with forced humor destroying any chance to address the haunting excalibur that is spreading great suffering. All four Thor films were alarmed with incredible threats but made the joke out of everything that resulted in the supremely outrageous outcome.

It was annoying to observe how Thor and his team were being funny despite the children of Asgardians being kidnapped. The entire Zeus sequence was terrible. What was Russell Crowe doing? He could have such a command on a dynamic role but Zeus turned into some funny fat old fart. Absolute mockery. The appearance of the Guardians of the Galaxy was unnecessary.

At a budget of $250 million, the film definitely deserves praise for its striking visual effects and sound. But one factor that struggles to keep this film above the knees is Christian Bale‘s Gorr who was undoubtedly the best thing that happened to Thor: Love and Thunder. Every shot that had Bale was worth watching. It was as if Bale had strictly demanded the director Taika Waititi to be sober when he shoot his scenes. And then the whole understanding of Gorr’s fury was well executed. There was particular angst that troubled Gorr for not overcoming the tragic passing of his daughter and blaming the Gods for it.

The best and the most captivating scene of the entire film was the opening scene with Gorr losing his daughter. And to some extent, Gorr’s reunion with his daughter was also dramatized well. And this is where I am lost in Taika Waititi, he has two different dimensions of shooting a scene. He can make the entire sequence pledged with mockery by adding needless jokes. Or, on the contrary, will give an impact on the sensitivity and motion of the subject.

Why Thor got the fourth film is beyond my understanding. And Disney Studios are now going for the fifth. It is a one-timer silly film that is needed to be watched for the sake of being in touch with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to watch Bale’s stupendous performance.

RATINGS: 3.5/10

---

SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND WATCH MY VIDEO FILM REVIEW HERE

---

FOLLOW ‘THE DARK KNAIK’ ON OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS

TIKTOK

https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarkknaik

FACEBOOK

https://www.facebook.com/thedarkknaik

INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/thedarkknaik/

TWITTER

Tweets by thedarkknaik

 

Film Review: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

In a space between two different universes, America Chavez and Doctor Strange are chased and attacked by a demon that kills the latter. Chavez creates a portal and transports herself and Strange’s corpse to Earth-616, the universe on which most of the Marvel films are based. Chavez meets Strange and Wong and informs the threat the world faces because of her ability to travel the multiverse. When Strange consults Wanda about this urgent matter, he realizes that it was her who attacked Chavez to get her powers so that she can reunite with her family that she created in the tv show WandaVision.

Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange in Marvel Studios’ DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.

I am not sure if the plot is inspired by any comic book storyline but if I assume this to be an original screenplay then I will say this is a superb story to continue the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During all this process, making us watch WandaVision last year totally worked because that limited series completely developed Wanda’s character that build a lot of rage that came from her own madness. The connectivity in the MCU has always been impressive and as usual, this film also played the card exceptionally well.

A kind of story presented to the audience, I opine to have watched more superheroes involved due to the fact that Wanda’s threat to the human race should have alerted most of them if not all. Strange didn’t bother to seek assistance from anyone because this was actually a threat on a massive scale nor did anyone sense and showed up himself/herself. Being situated mostly in the same city, one must be thinking about where most of the saviors go in a particular superhero film when the city is under threat.

Introduction of America Chavez to the MCU is quite raw and director Sam Raimi should have touched on her origins in a proper way. Standing on memory lane is certainly not enough. And due to the fact that Chavez’s character remains unbaked, it was more awkward to watch such an important storyline, a game-changer in the MCU, was constructed between Strange and Wanda for Chavez.

One aspect that I felt betrayed and annoyed about in the film was killing all the members of the Illuminati. You just introduced them to the audience and gave us chills to watch the return of Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. If that wasn’t enough, the makers fulfilled the everlasting wish to see John Krasinsky as Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four and Hayley Atwell as Captain Carter. To my surprise, they even brought back Anson Mount as Black Bolt that he played in Inhumans, a show that met with extreme disappointment. And Sam Raimi killed them within twenty minutes. Despite the fact that those were alternate characters from different timelines, it was still cruel to kill the characters like that. I expected an exciting start by Illuminati in the MCU but all in vain.

I personally felt that the film was running hurriedly. Also, Sam Raimi’s direction gave the audience a little edge to hang on because the rollercoaster ride in the MCU films is almost alike. This film was a bit birdy but sloppy with less number of sequences shot with some care. In this film, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch is the winner as she impresses by executing her tragic character so well. Wanda has to be the best-developed character in the MCU that was written and continued with meticulous care.

Overall, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a sublime effort in carrying the torch of the MCU. It was a difficult script for a very significant moment in the universe. I won’t say that the film surpassed all the expectations, a hype that was built through the trailers but it was not even bad at all. This sequel was way better than the first Doctor Strange film.

RATINGS: 6.7/10

Film Review: Spider-Man No Way Home (2021)

After Peter‘s identity is revealed and is framed for the drone attack and Mysterio‘s death, Peter struggles to escape from the backlashes and overcome the damage of his being the main reason behind terrorizing the city. When he seeks help from Strange, he casts a spell for good. But the spell is corrupted due to Peter’s repeated interference that leads to opening doors for people from other universes.

I think it was a fantastic plot and the continuity of the never-ending ever-growing universe has met strong parallels. The concept of multiverses will go further wide that is certain to happen in Doctor Strange’s upcoming sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But my reason for the plot being really impressive has to do with the characterization of New York’s friendly neighbor. Whatever happened to New York in this film was because Peter couldn’t tolerate the revelation of his identity. The consequences were strong. But Peter made the mess by corrupting Strange’s spell. After all, Peter is a boy, he is not mature. If you notice, he has always needed support from the others in this universe, majorly from Tony Stark. He was Peter’s godfather and after all the support Peter got, Tony died and re-orphaned him. Peter also got the support of Nick Fury and took Mysterio as a crime-fighting partner. In this film, Murdock saved his ass from the charges.

If Peter was mature, he would have faced the consequences after the revelation. He would have never come to Sanctum Sanctorium. Strange further squeezed Peter’s childishness when he couldn’t believe that he didn’t even ‘convince them’ and reached for his help without making an effort. It was a very funny scene and I hit my palm on my forehead but simultaneously that is what Peter Parker in a human was best picturized all this time. After this film, there is no argument about who the best spidey is. Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man is the most ideal portrayal of all time.

At the same time, I was also met with surprises for the wrong reasons. One critical angle that is downplayed is Doctor Strange. Being the new leader of this universe and literally the one who holds the fate of the world by sorcery, how can he ever think of brainwashing the entire world just to make people forget that Peter is Spidey? How come Strange didn’t believe in the critical consequences of what he was attempting? I know it was too funny that he was wandering in the Grand Canyon for half a day. But why? How come he doesn’t have the power to open a portal and return? I don’t have knowledge if that ancient relic was the only support Strange had.

Peter escaping from charges at the start had zero potential to give a dark outcome and face trials and wait for the answers of his non-committed crimes. Director Jon Watts could have given us a gripping segment of his worst phase with all doors closing to his heroism. But all those moments were skipped with Murdock’s one call and Peter all of a sudden goes clean. Murdock’s character would have made more rounds instead of a cameo if we had that difficult phase for at least thirty minutes. All the hype that was built in the end credits of Spidey’s previous chapter met hardly ten minutes.

It was exciting to see all those major villains of the previous Spidey films but their characters and villainous elements were toned down. They looked humble and generous to respond to Spidey and agree for help. Those bad guys were all together and could have easily invaded the city. But Peter taking them to his home looked extremely flat and non-sensical. How can Peter be that dumb and not understand that believing your enemies to help you is straight foolishness? He believed his instincts so much that he decided to snatch the relic from Strange and help the villains?

With the arrival of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as the Spideys of the other universes, the entertainment doubled and also gave us the chance to see them together. I liked the onscreen chemistry that was built between the three. The screenwriting on them was wonderful and heart-touching. It was absolutely fun to watch them trying to understand each other. What an exciting moment that was when Garfield’s Spider-Man saves MJ.

No Way Home has plot issues but also has one of the best continuities of the universe. The film carries too much forced-comedy that tears the thick lines of the writing in the first half but the film also gave us the moments that were essential to make a superhero film genuine like Peter’s character development that I wrote in length above, the chemistry of three Spideys, Aunt May‘s death, Peter-MJ final moments at Liberty and then in the shop.

What is Tom’s Peter’s future in MCU now? There is every possibility that Tom’s Peter will return in the future. If Tobey at 46 and Garfield at 38 can return with an idea, so can Tom who is just 25. Kevin Feige should put a brake on this Peter for some years and introduce Miles Morales. Miles will be heavily inspired by Peter’s heroics and become like him just like Clint‘s inspiration on Kate in Hawkeye. I will ask for Miles’ introduction in a separate Disney+ show where Tom can appear for a minor supporting role.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is a superb entertainer and has moved in the right direction.

Ratings: 8.3/10

Film Review: Eternals (2021)

For thousands of years, the group of immortals called Eternals have defended planet earth from the unnatural species of predators called Deviants. But in the present day, one of the Eternals finds out that the deviants still exist and they need to assemble to complete the unfinished business once and for all.

I haven’t read about Eternals in comics, so this film is the source of whatever the director felt to make the use of Jack Kirby‘s creations. So on paper, Eternals, I believe, are the strongest group of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the group being socially diverse makes sense as the celestial picked his team to find deviants around the world.

A recent winner of the Oscar for Best Director, Chloé Zhao, was roped to work on this MCU project that brought a lot of challenges for the production. Because an Oscar-winning director for a superhero project becomes hyper-interesting as the audience expects the comic-book film to be a well-written and fine productional craft. And then the cinematography, visual effects, and Ramin Djawadi‘s score are other plusses giving a boost to the motive of the story.

But I am looking at the bigger picture. Into its fourteen years of existence and twenty-sixth film in line with the greatest cinematic universe ever, how important is this film for the future? Zhao’s direction does bring new breathing and way of observing a Marvel film but I guess despite having the magnitude of her quality presentation, the plotline is neither apt nor the screenplay is compelling.

If a viewer with a bird’s eye has to scale down a 156-minute film, he/she will certainly realize that there is something really wrong with the film. Let me try to point out why Eternals is not even close to being considered an average film.

One major blemish about the film is the introduction. This group of immortals is new to the audience and we have no idea how they were ever created. A Star-Wars-style intro text is not enough to accept them the way they are. Yes, the intro text emphasizes that they were needed but how these people ever become Eternals, there is no backstory. Instead, we travel time with them and observe how they protect some ancient civilizations and empires from deviants. I felt the dramatizing of old times was taken way too seriously and lost the meaning between the lines. Two of the Eternals are shown to develop a romantic interest in Babylon in 575 BC. Next scene? They are getting married in 400 AD in the Gupta Empire. The same amount of time would have been taken in dramatizing the intro text.

Another factor that ‘may’ have not worked with the audience is that Eternals is very quintessential to MCU aesthetics. They are so close to perfection and lacks human sympathy that was found for almost all the Marvel superheroes in the previous films. Seeing them fighting and killing the deviants straight from the start without knowing their whys and hows makes the purpose bleak.

The middle part of the film is a dead soul. The audience can easily give his/her popcorn to the person on the other seat and leave the theatre giving up. Amongst the team, Sersi (Gemma Chan) was easily the least favorite of all the characters, and she was chosen to lead the group. In the cast, I need to know why such established actors like Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie were part of this project. Especially Jolie, what a terrible waste! Even Kit Harrington is not utilized.

There is no villain in the film. Fine, it is not compulsory to have a villain in a superhero film but the story has to be much captivating; the grip of the screenplay was loose. Eternal is a confusing experiment in which the director struggles to plot the film in a non-linear style and attempts to apply forced humor out of nowhere to keep the audience somehow happy. As the film tries to find its zone of compliments with such an excessive time, the film loses its transmission and drops flat.

Ratings: 4/10

Film Review: Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is assigned to run a story about a prisoner Cletus Kasady. Cletus is bitten by Venom after he infuriates him. The bite makes Cletus the host of the alien symbiote. Eddie and Venom still struggle to live together in peace but during all this, they will need to stop Carnage making carnage in the city.

I felt the sequel of Venom was supposed to be more about the clash between Venom and Carnage but I feel the film is more emphasizing the complication that exists within the body between Eddie and Venom that leads to damages in the city caused by Cletus/Carnage.

I think such a good actor like Woody Harrelson as Carnage has been terribly wasted. He looked like some mediocre actor pressing his character execution too much. And both Cletus/Carnage was not really developed at all. The same problem with Stephen Graham, he looked so average.

It was like watching a CW superhero show where writing makes no sense and the script runs in a jiffy because the time is short. I can’t believe that Andy Serkis directed this.

Well, of course, it is the mid-credit scene that steals the show. But let me tell you this. If you are desperate to watch that mid-credit scene, you do not really have to watch the entire film. You can just watch it after the film concludes.

Venom, just like its predecessor, is there for pure entertainment. Yes, the film relaxes your mood and enjoy all the nonsense Venom annoys Eddie. I have no idea how accurate is this film to the comic book series ‘Maximum Carnage‘. But if you are interested to pass some quality time with your friends getting entertained, Venom is recommended.

Ratings: 4/10

Film Review: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

The immaculate success of Snyder Cut is built on two factors. One is Zack Snyder‘s determination to stay true to its roots of understanding that what he planned for his DC Extended Universe (DCEU) beginning from Man Of Steel (MOS) and continuing to Batman v Superman (BvS) was right no matter how severe were the criticisms that he received. The other is the passion of DC fans who believed in Zack Snyder’s vision for Justice League (JL) film, a soul that was besmirched by the-then CEO of Warner Bros. (WB) Entertainment, Kevin Tsujihara, who decided to screw the tone set for DCEU films and make it light and apply forced humor to drag the DCEU in an unconditional sprint race with the already well-established and globally-accepted Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) by appointing Joss Wheddon to complete the film and cut the length of 4 hours of the screentime of the film to only 2 hours. Results were pathetic, outrageous, and spine-breaking consequences resulting in Warner Bros authorities deciding to wide-open the slates of DC films and go solo for different projects. Snyder’s DCEU had lost the soul but DC fans protested/demanded to release Snyder’s version for years.

Global fans demanding to release a film they are wanting to watch had never practically happened before. The fans were right that Zack Snyder was right; global fans who demanded to release Snyder’s vision believed in his vision. The original idea about Justice League is now finally released and I wholeheartedly accept that Zack did it, he f**king did it. Whatever rumors or leaks media revealed about Zack’s original works all these years were all true. Whatever we came to know about his works all these years was all true.

After four years of wait, a wait that built more anxiousness after Snyder announced that the project will finally be released, I thoroughly watched this 4-hour mega film with the rollercoaster of emotions and excitement. And by watching this epic, I realized how Snyder Cut distinguishes a comic book film between DC and Marvel. Marvel films cannot be DC, and DC cannot be Marvel, in a positive way. Both are different universes with great superheroes, great supervillains, and extraordinary stories told in the past 75 years. Trying to be like each other loses the identity and soul during the process. This Snyder Cut is the most DC thing to have happened in years.

This Snyder Cut makes a statement and crashes the-then bosses of WB and the decision to appoint Joss Wheddon to dust. This film exposes how ugly was the previous JL film. If the audience was disappointed to watch that two-hour film, this film will make hate it more. Every single mistake that film made, every single plothole that came into existence to confuse the audience has been totally cleared with such a deconstructive construction of screenwriting in a cohesive way.

Does The Screentime Of The Film Justifies?

It took two hours for Batman to gather a team and around three hours for Steppenwolf to get all the mother boxes. And then the screentime of the theatrical cut was 2 hours.

Should the film be four-hours long? I liked and favored MCU’s idea of the foundation by going solo for the first superheroes and unifying them into The Avengers film in the first phase and this is how a successful foundation helped the universe construct a strong nexus to many future projects that were bound to be accepted with commercial success. Zack had his own way of storytelling and I respect that. Because four years ago, in the theatrical cut, building a team without understanding the superheroes was unimaginable but Snyder Cut is very distinguished storytelling. This lengthy film guarantees and justifies that introducing superheroes for a mission with enough detailed minutes was the right decision in its own way. Nothing was rushed; Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, they all get enough space to decide whether joining Batman and Wonder Woman to fight the war was the holy submission or a fool’s paradise.

Interesting Developments

Of course, I am not going to write every new thing the film added as the reel itself is two hours longer than the theatrical cut. So I will restrict to a few important events that happened in this film that builds the future.

Steppenwolf finds out the formula his lord, Darkseid, was searching for thousands of years, the anti-life equation. After failing to form the unity from the mother boxes, if Darkseid actually gets the weapon, he will be the supreme overlord of the universe. The original face or the character design of Steppenwolf from BvS has been restored. And generally, Steppenwolf has one of the best character developments in the film.

Then there is the gamechanger when The Flash saves the day by running back in time by using the Speed Force and giving the chance to Cyborg to separate the mother boxes. He says to himself that he has to break the rule. He talks about the rule twice in the film, previously when he helps in resurrecting Superman. That means The Flash already is a veteran speedster who had his moments of heroics in Central City fighting against some major crimes where he was forced to use this speed force. And this is why, The Flash’s solo film holds a lot of importance, especially if the film is based on the Flashpoint story.

In another scene, Martian Manhunter shapeshifts to Martha Kent and meets and motivates Lois Lane to start a fresh life. This comes surprising that the alien, the last survivor from Mars knows who Clark Kent is. He even visits Bruce Wayne and alerts him for the coming war that further confirms that he knows everything and has been following the developments for some time.

This film officially introduces Dr. Ryan Choi who is working in S.T.A.R. Labs. In comics, Ryan Choi is Atom. Yes, the body shrinker and another superhero, that will hopefully join the league. With the appearance of Choi, there may be a possibility that the first Atom, Ray Palmer, exists. Because in comics, Ryan Choi was Ray Palmer’s protégé.

Barry informing Bruce that he is fluent in Gorilla Sign Language is an understood indication that Gorilla Grodd does exist. Maybe, he shows up in The Flash film.

One of the most important moments in the film was Diana coming to know the biggest mystery – Darkseid. When Queen Hippolyta alerts Diana by shooting a firing arrow that drops straight into a Greek temple, she tries to discover the hidden secrets of the place. She finds a secret door, enters and many cave drawings about the ancient wars and the mother boxes are revealed to her. And this is where she finds out about Darkseid. All this scene never showed up in the theatrical cut and the audience thought perhaps Diana knew all this a long time ago while informing about the incoming war to Bruce. But the importance is that this scene gives a lot of weight to the development of Diana’s character.

One major of many improvements was the revival of Cyborg’s importance to this film. The old version gave Cyborg so few minutes that his significance in the team looked almost secondary but Snyder Cut propels the understanding that this fight with Steppenwolf and his army cannot be won without Cyborg at all. I am astonished by the fact that the heroes carried ‘almost’ the same weight as Batman and Wonder Woman. Barry and Arthur had their own heroics to save the day.

A needless element that was respectfully removed in the restoration of our faith in the JL project was discarding most of the forced humor. There was no joke about Bruce asking Arthur if he talks to fish, no Arthur confession to Diana on the lasso, no Batman fall from the height after Superman flies taking Lois with him, no comparisons of Flash rescuing a family in the car to Superman lifting and flying the entire building, no silly nonsense at all. The light humor was set only on Barry which was acceptable due to his fun-nature and being the youngest in the team.

Special praise to Zack Snyder for directing the ancient war that was fought 5000 years ago between Darkseid and his legion against a unified alliance of Atlanteans, Amazons, Olympian Gods, and the defenders of the earth that had so many historic legends like Britishers from the Middle-Age, the Mongols, Muslim warriors from ‘perhaps’ the times of Ghaznavid or Mughal empires. I think Zack got this idea of war from George Perez‘s comic book miniseries, War Of The Gods.

The epilogue part is the one that has new fresh scenes since Zack Snyder broke the news. In a very dystopian setup, Batman forms a team to take on evil-Superman and gives more details about this crazy adventure that surely looks like are the developments for the JL sequel (if announced).

Plus/Minus

The biggest accomplishment of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is that just like the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman fixed the plotholes of its theatrical cut, it has also fixed the puzzles and made the audience understand what looked like terrible mysteries, or the questions that went unanswered. The foundation of this universe and the creation of this team is now eventually acceptable. And just like BvS, we all audience once again will wish if this Snyder Cut was released four years ago, would have done wonders on the box-office and this DCEU would have been right on track.

There are ‘minor’ negative points but not blunders at all. For example, Wonder Woman’s new theme is needlessly overused. Then, in the ancient war, only one Green Lantern, Yalan Gur, shows up. Only one? How come the Guardians in Oa sends only one representative to fight this war?

And technically, just an opinion of a film critic no matter how much I loved this film on a personal note, this film achieves less. The motive behind making and releasing this film is to make the audience watch what was supposed to release in the theatres in the first place. The motive is to fix the plotholes and make the story understandable and convincing as it should have been a long time ago.

But from the very same perception of making this film, Zack Snyder’s film successfully develops the characters, most importantly Cyborg. The film directly connects with all the major films pretty well. With more screentime, the audience is mesmerized with more action and more sub-plots. Fabian Wagner’s cinematography and the new score by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) attracts the screenwriting. Visual effects are stunning. Thank God, the red sky in the final battle changed. 

Will Justice League Gets Its Sequel?

Does the film hold the future for further continuity or if this is the end of Snyderverse? This is a big question but not a mystery to me. Warner Bros. has no plans to let Zack Snyder carry the torch but the success of this film can manipulate or shall I say reverse the decision. The film ends with an extremely enormous cliffhanger and the plot concludes raising a lot of questions that have been risen in the epilogue.

WB has to release future DCEU films like sequels of Shazam, Aquaman, and Suicide Squad. The Flash is a very important film to happen as I wrote above. So I think, the time is right for the authorities to reconsider the future of JL films. It is time to learn from the gravest mistakes WB has made in the past and execute better plans. There is no way the continuity from Snyder Cut will go uncertain. If a less-important project of this universe like Suicide Squad can get a sequel, if a needless film like Birds Of Prey can happen then I see no reason how Zack Snyder cannot get the chance to work on the sequel. After all, JL is the most important of all events.

How Will The JL Story Continue?

I think the Knightmare scene and The Flash warning Bruce from the future and then the scenes from Epilogue are all deconstructive parts of JL’s sequel. After Steppenwolf dies, Darkseid tells Desaad to ready the armada and use the old ways because anti-life is found. So what I am believing is that Darkseid will arrive with his legion to the surface where the anti-life equation exists and will kill Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. By killing Lois, Darkseid will manipulate Superman and appoint him his deputy in Steppenwolf’s place by anti-life. Darkseid will guide Superman to the wrong path and fill his ears with lies that his Lois died because of Bruce Wayne.

Yes, Darkseid will know Batman’s identity because Steppenwolf will have informed his lord about the leak as Steppenwolf must have definitely been informed by none other than Lex Luthor when he met him in Superman’s spaceship. If Lex can inform Deathstroke, then why not Steppenwolf?

Batman will form a team comprised of Cyborg, The Flash, Mera, Joker, and Deathstroke to save the world. How come Deathstroke joins Batman? Maybe we come to know in the sequel but it is not as crazy as observing Joker in Batman’s team. While fighting, the parademons will capture Batman and send him to Superman. With the arrival of Superman in one of the caves where Batman is imprisoned, his mercenaries will bow to him. Within a few steps, Superman will kill his teammates by heat vision who are most likely to be Deathstroke, Mera, Joker, Cyborg but not Barry. Superman will take off Batman’s cowl and tell that Lois was his world and he took her from him and will eventually kill him. The cowl will be in his hand while he is in the air with omega-sign behind him. Barry will again use the speed force and run back in time to alert Bruce in the past and alarm him that Lois is the key and find them. While running back in time, he may enter the multiverse and may meet other Batmen, most importantly Michael Keaton‘s Batman. In this way, The Flash becomes an important film if it really builds the story in continuity on Flashpoint storyline. Yeah, this all sounds pretty crazy but this is just my theory of how I see this all developing. Who knows, only time will tell. For this moment, all I can say is “Thank You, Zack Snyder”.

Ratings: 8.8/10

Note: Most of the sources of the images in this blog are inserted in the images. A few images with no source indicate my screenshots.

Film Review: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Marvel readers! when you plan to watch a superhero film like Thor Ragnarok, I advice to forget what is written in the comics and just try to watch and imagine if this is not about Ragnarok to hit Asgard but a friend playing to you a parody video on YouTube to hit your brain like when you have to watch Meet The Spartans after 300.

Thor: Ragnarok is a true competitor to Guardians Of The Galaxy in Marvel Cinematic Universe in the race of colorful circus entertainment, supported by the films of Doctor Strange and Ant-Man.

And kindly do not expect any source material from Planet Hulk. It is just the costume in the combat reminding you about the comic event. I do not remember if any other element has been adapted. Perhaps the character of Korg who debuted in the storyline. And Hulk is speaking like a toddler, like Solomon Grundy, or like Eater Island Head asking for gum-gum from a new dum-dum. I really don’t know why but Hulk sounds stupid.

Grandmaster, ruler of Sakaar, one of the Elders of the Universe, the brother of Collector, one of the long-standing villains in Marvel, is ehm funny. Loki, who appeared as a threat to Asgard and almost an unbeatable villain to the assembled Avengers in the first Avengers film, is a proper clown.

Ever seen Sir Anthony Hopkins funny? No? Now you can watch him as Odin for a short scene. The news was that Odin was supposed to be shown a crazy hobo wandering on the streets of New York after what happened in Thor: The Dark World but the director found the continuity of the role very tragic and then he recreated the character to be funny until he is moved to Norway to honor the character’s origin as the king of Asgard.

In my observation, the only two characters who were not the part of this comical roller-coaster were Hela and Heimdall. And these two were actually the most impressive roles with better performances by Cate Blanchett and Idris Elba. I like the continuity of Heimdall’s heroics in this film which is where the director deserves to be praised. By the way, Hela in comics is Loki’s child whereas, in the film, she is Odin’s daughter and Thor’s older sister, oh well.

Two of The Warriors Three are in the film for *thinking* 10 seconds? The other for hardly 5 minutes. Doctor Strange has a brief ‘funny’ cameo in the storyline. Yeah, he is also funny for a funny reason. Everyone is funny in the film, everything is funny in the film. Hulk/Thor fight is funny. The opening sequence of Thor-Surtur is funny. Yeah, Surtur also. Korg is funny (but I like this character). End-credit is funny. The director Taika Waititi is funny. Hiring this guy for the film is funny. Marvel Cinematic Universe is funny. The way I am now writing this review is also funny but this is exactly how the film is presented to you.

I hear that Taika Waititi is ‘offered’ to make a Star Wars film. May the audience have the courage to watch that film then.

RATINGS: 2/10

Movie Review: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Captain America: Civil ͏Wa͏r is a critical game-changer in Marvel Cinematic Universe and will have a lot of impact in Phase-III movies, most specifically Russo brothers‘ next project Avengers: Infinity War.

 

The best aspect about the movie is despite being 150 minutes of running time, there still is a lot of room for breathing for numerous casts, parting their stories city-by-city and connecting and assembling in a proper way. There is a spectacular balance of entertainment, humor and seriousness of plot and its sub-plots.

 

In Civil War the viewer will witness heavy intros of Daniel Brühl as mysterious Baron Zemo, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Marisa Tomei as gorgeous Aunt May (cameo), Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and Tom Holland as Spider-Man as well as restoring William Hurt with his character of Thunderbolt Ross after long hiatus. And all newcomers have given their decent shots within a certain amount of their screen-times.

 

Much awaited Civil War movie was highly billed for Stark/Cap rivalry but to be perfectly honest with the review-readers, it was more about Bucky/Cap eternal friendship.

 

As far as original comics storyline is concerned, the accuracy is below average because a lot of characters are not introduced in MCU and their plots are precisely neglected. The Superhuman Registration Act in original story is replaced by Sokovia Accords, a bill produced by UN and signed by 117 countries. Spiderman’s significance from original story is heavily reduced as well as Baron Zemo is cleverly added in the movie with superb amount of suspense.

 

At the very same time, presenting a different Civil War then the highly critical-acclaimed comic book story of the same name will exaggerate some logic behind passing the Sokovia Accords bill. As the US government put a blame on team Avengers for significant damages and deaths occurred in the major events while fighting Loki and Ultron, non-super human brains will fail to understand why Ultron creator Tony Stark is not sentenced for life in first place? Why isn’t Scarlet Witch imprisoned for assisting Ultron in that case? Highly unreal for any sensible govt or powerful authority to produce a bill to limit their powers and recruit them among the ranks instead of catch and imprison them for all the damages and casualties and fight against them in court for justice.

 

Another brainless event is the highly billed circus show – the 6 man tag team match in airport. Although the movie easily offers one of the best action sequences and almost all the fights are well-choreographed. No matter how much the viewers including myself will laugh, enjoy and get pure entertainment from this almost 10-minute combat but commonsense will fail to understand the highly expected serious intensity of life-and-death fight between hashtags TeamStark and TeamCap turning into series of jokes and apologies while punching each other. Stark’s bringing unskilled combatant schoolboy Peter Parker for his acrobatic and web-sticking skills in this mission itself is the destruction of commonsense. Oh yes one more thing, that airport was empty. *FFS*

 

A more sensible fighting sequence is the last epic combat between Bucky/Cap and Stark which is full of fury and merciless.

 

Overall, Cap’s third installment is overall the best MCU movie after Winter Soldier. Among all the intros, my pick is Black Panther. Being the most important movie in MCU for all future movies, the story will forward towards anticipated promises. The conclusions are the beginnings as this universe is a never-ending saga towards long journey expanding to their Phase-IV.

 

Ratings: 7.8/10

Follow me on Twitter @saminaik_asn