The Bad Batch Episode 2: Cut And Run

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This episode is benefited from leaving the Crosshair stuff and focusing on something a little less predictable; I think it is fairly obvious Crosshair will be a baddy for a while and will then rid himself of the inhibitor chip it some way and probably save the Bad Batch- most likely in the series finale.

I enjoyed seeing this long lost clone deserter who has managed to have an entire life of his own outside of the various wars of the Republic, it makes me wonder if there are other clone deserters out there who we are yet to meet? I also thought seeing Omega interact with the other kids allowed me to warm to her that little bit more; though it is becoming evident that her voice work is more than a little jarring.

I found this episode to be more emotionally impactful, at least for me. I also again enjoyed the action set pieces and though they are rare when this show does give us some action it always gives us something worth seeing. My one growing concern for the show is it’s seeming lack of direction, where are our heroes going next, what is their purpose now; I suppose that is the theme of the show, but right now it feels like they are in-danger of having them go to different planets helping different people each week in very much a Supernatural monster of the week sort of way, which I wouldn’t like from a narrative perspective.

Overall, the show continues to have promise, though it is yet to blow me away.

Pros.

Omega interacting with the other kids

The clone deserter

The action

A few funny moments

Cons.

Directionless?

Omega’s VO work is distracting

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The Bad Batch Episode 1: Aftermath

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This episode and this series so far as a whole feels very much like a direct continuation of Clone Wars, which I appreciate as it helps to fill in the gap between that show and the later Rebels. This episode revolved around Order 66, and the clone response to that, which again I found fascinating and hope the show will dig even deeper into. I thought the decision to have the majority of the Bad Batch not be effected by this order, bar Crosshair was a little strange as surely either they would all have not been effected, or all been effected as they have very similar DNA; hopefully the show will clear this up.

I thought the appearance of Kanan Jarrus and Saw Gerrera was again a nice way to tie the series in with what had come before, in terms of production. Though it did also feel a little ‘remember this character, remember that character’, with these returning characters acting as somewhat of a story crutch: the same can be said of Omega- but I’ll get to that.

As a character I am torn on Omega, on the one hand I think the idea of a female clone of Jango Fett, who also has powers, has a lot of potential. On the other hand I think they are clearly trying to recapture what they had with Baby Yoda and that parent-child bond which again feels like repeating things from the near past.

I thought the action and the animation as a whole were both very well done, with a clear progression between the 3 shows being clear to see.

I am looking forward to the next episode.

Overall, a solid start that is perhaps a bit too reliant on the past.

Pros.

The animation

The action

The Bad Batch themselves

Cons.

Omega

Bringing back so many old faces

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Star Wars Rogue One: The Front Lines Of The Star War

Star Wars Rogue One

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

By far one of the best films to take place during the Disney Star Wars period so far, this film not only has a personality and feel all its own, but crucially it also manages to exist without heavy involvement from the Skywalkers or other, big named characters: thereby proving that Star Wars as a franchise can move forward with new characters and does not need to stick to the same few characters.

I enjoyed the darker tone of the film, with it feeling more like a war film than a Star Wars film: I definitely think that the tone is the best bit of the film and it could only have been made better if it was taken further and made even darker.

I thought the core group of characters were all strong and had believable motivations. I thought Jyn’s, Felicity Jones, arc surrounding her father and the original Deathstar was inspired: by using this the story becomes important and rooted in cannon whilst also feeling fresh and like something we haven’t seen before. I also thought the emotional stakes of the arc were done well and Jones and Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Jyn’s father both have strong commanding performances.

Finally, I liked that they had the guts to end it the way they did with the characters dying, yes it was bleak, but it showed that the film and the creatives weren’t afraid to take risks and that is the attitude Star Wars needs to have going forward.

Overall, a dark, gritty and effecting Star Wars film. More like this please.

Pros.

The tone

The father-daughter arc

New characters

The ending

Cons.

A few pacing complaints and some needless humour

Voyagers: A Base Impulse Indeed

Voyagers

2.5/5

There is two types of ‘smart sci-fi’ film, one that usually is clever but bafflingly so, and the other is an imitation, it tries to be clever and insightful, maybe even deep, but it can never be more than an imitation- this is the latter.

My biggest issue with this film is that fact that despite having several good ideas prime for exploring the film instead goes for Lord of the Flies in space and quickly becomes obvious. To make matters worse the film thinks it is being highbrow and intelligent for making this choice, when it is the furthest thing from the truth, however the film is far too narcissistic to see that it has the depth of a puddle.

Furthermore another issue I found was the rape threat throughout the film. I understand that the film wants to convey these characters as giving into their base impulses, but having a whole sub plot dedicated to how the villain wants to force himself on the female lead feels in bad taste, and there seems to be a million different ways the film could have conveyed root base line evil without going in this direction.

The positives of the film definitely come in the performances Lily Rose-Depp is the breakout of the film and Colin Farrell is doing a good job anchoring things together. Ty Sheridan is fine, but he never makes it past the generic, heroic male lead.

Overall, a film that has promise, yet it chooses to throw this all away to chase after a far more base and obvious plotline that you have seen before.

Pros.

Farrell

Rose-Depp

The premise

Cons.

The rape threat

Lord of the flies in space

Becomes very generic and forgettable as it goes on

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Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace: Jar Jar Is Even Worse Than I Remembered

Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I have been greatly enjoying the animated Star Wars television offerings recently, so I decided that I would give the films another go; I watched them all when I was younger, and I was not a fan. Regardless of my new found knowledge on all things Star Wars, I still didn’t find my enjoyment of this film to be anymore than it had been when I was a child. If anything the issues were now far more glaring.

Unlike James Cameron’s Avatar, the effects in this film look horribly dated. The CGI does not hold up even to a late noughties standard, and the sequences that feature heavy practical work do look better, but not by much.

Moreover, the forced humour is irritating. The amount of tense moments that are cut away from, under cut or out rightly defused by a bad joke are staggering. Moreover, not only does the loathed Jar Jar Binks not serve as the comedic, toy selling masterstroke he was intended as, but rather a crudely put together racial stereotype that simply serves to offend; there has been quite a bit written on this subject and I suggest you go and do you own research. Basically it boiled down to George Lucas saying, I am not a racist for my stereotypical character, you are racist for noticing the stereotype. Like I said read up on it, it’s fascinating.

The pacing is so slow it makes the film hard to watch, and if Lucas did not have complete creative control over this film I’m sure big sections of it would have been cut out, and honestly that would probably have made it a better film.

The only slightly redeeming parts are Liam Neeson as a jedi and Darth Maul, but they are underused and killed off so not really a pro for the film.

Overall, despite a wider appreciation for Star Wars on my part this is still a bad film.

Pros

Neeson

Maul

Cons.

The horrible CGI

All the needless padding

The racist characters

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Mitchell Vs The Machines: The Memes Of The Late Noughties

Mitchell Vs The Machines

3/5

There was a lot surrounding this film prior to release, Sony seemed to have no faith in the film moving it away from a delayed cinema release that would have seen it come out at Christmas opposite Soul, and instead releasing it on Netflix instead. I was aware of this prior to watching, so I had lowered expectations going in and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this film.

Let me start off by saying this won’t be for everyone, it is a very loud film, and one that relies heavily on shared internet and meme culture. The memes featured in this film are not current either, the sort you would send to your friends, they are dated memes from the recent past that you vaguely remember, reminding you that old Hollywood executives are out of touch, even when they are trying to appeal to the ‘youth’.

I thought the writing of this film was mostly spot on, there were a few cringe moments, but for the most part the film seemed to understand its audience and knew how to make its subject matter emotionally impactful. Within animated cinema recently there seems to be a growing thematic trend of fathers and daughters, and though this film does not manage anything knew on that front it still manages to make you feel something. One of the final scenes of the film where the father and daughter have to say goodbye to each other as she is going off to college, does feel suitably Pixar esque and the emotion matches what that studio is known for- I had a tear in my eye.

Overall, Sony Animation often gets an unfairly bad rap, and though this film is not perfect, it is a fun, quirky and bold animated film that has a strong sense of personality.

Pros.

The emotion

The quirky sensibilities

A few funny moments

Cons.

There is some bad cringe moments

The memes and references are dated and quickly become a bit too much

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Space: Fear The Skies

Space

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Whilst watching this film I felt very claustrophobic, I suppose that was the point. The vastness of space is hereby changed into a very narrow survival thriller, and it works very well. Personally, I always thought there was something menacing about space and I am surprised, so few horror films take advantage of this, as the setting really does benefit this film.

There are a few jump scares here, but they are not obvious, and actually serve the purpose of making you jump. However, the bigger thing to praise in terms of the horror of this film is it’s atmosphere: which is incredibly oppressive and menacing throughout. The atmosphere leads to a growing feeling of dread, which lasts throughout the film, being expertly fed by events on screen.

The acting is well done and convincing, you believe everything you are seeing on screen and the acting manages to perfectly capture the emotions of the scenes and the film as a whole and convey it in a very real and genuine way.

Overall, a well done claustrophobic horror film that makes the most of its space setting.

Pros.

The space setting

The acting

The scares

Making the vastness of space feel very small and very claustrophobic

Cons.

A few pacing issues

Somewhat predictable

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Chaos Walking: Yet Another Miss For Tom Holland

Written by Luke Barnes

Chaos Walking is a science fiction coming of age film directed by Doug Liman. The plot envisions a soul astronaut (Daisy Ridley), survive her spacefaring expedition to a previously colonised world that has gone dark. Said world is heavily gender skewed as all the world’s women have seemingly been killed, and the males are inflicted with something that allows their thoughts to exist outside of their body, being able to be heard by anyone.

This film will be historic, it will be remembered. Why? Well as the film that proved that the YA genre is well and truly dead. This film reminded me of the worst parts of that cinematic movement, on a par with Divergent and The Fifth Wave.

Both of the leads in this film Ridley and Tom Holland, are unlikeable and milk toast to say the least. Neither of them seem to have a personality and they have even less chemistry together on screen together.

The plot is pap that you have seen before in other better YA and Science Fiction films- here it is at its most generic.

With this and Locked Down in his recent filmography it might be time to start worrying about Liman’s skill and stop handing him 7 figure deals, less we end up with more mediocre nonsense.

Overall, a very weak YA film that reminds you of the worst the genre has to offer.

Pros.

Mads Mikkelsen

Cons.

Holland

Ridley

The plot and where it goes

The cringe

1/5

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Doors: This Is A Closed Door For Josh Peck’s Career

Written by Luke Barnes

Doors is a science fiction anthology film. The plot revolves around alien doors suddenly appearing all over Earth, and when people walk into these doors they face their greatest fears as well as alternate versions of themselves and other such nightmarish frights.

I want to put my vote in on this being the most pretentious science fiction film of 2021 now as barring something spectacularly up its own arse, nothing is topping this film.

So where to begin with this one. Firstly, it is never made clear that this is an anthology film, you get the feeling as the film goes along that it might be one, but you can’t shake the feeling that maybe, it is all supposed to flow together and that you missed something. That is this films greatest problem, it thinks it is far more clever then it actually is, in actual fact it is a masterclass in how not to write science fiction. The structure, pacing and even the dialogue in this film serve to be off putting.

The perfect encapsulation of this point is the ending that tries to play itself off as grand and meaningful when in fact it actually just leaves you going ‘really’, it makes Annihilation’s ending look better. Disappointing is to light of a word for this.

Overall, it was nice to see Josh Peck back on our screens for one fleeting moment, sadly he hitched his horse to a stinker here.

Pros.

Josh Peck

A few interesting ideas

It is unsettling

Cons.

It is incredibly pretentious

It is boring

It doesn’t make sense

2/5

Despicable Me 3: Throwing In A Long Lost Brother When You Run Out Of Ideas

Written by Luke Barnes

Despicable Me 3 is an animated family film directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda. The plot sees Gru (Steve Carell), be fired from his job in the Anti-Villain League and have to find a way to prove to the new boss he has what it takes, to get his job back. The plot also sees Gru find out that he has a long lost twin brother called Dru (Steve Carell), who he never knew about.

All the same issues for the previous two films, that I have gone into detail about in my other reviews, are still here however, the new villain voiced by Trey Parker of South Park fame does provide a nice distraction.

Maybe I am bias, as I am a big South Park fan, but I really do think that Parker makes this film. He brings such an energy to his character of Balthazar Bratt, a faded 80’s child star who played the evil villain on TV and has tried to replicate it in his real adult life. Bratt is manic and zany and has some of the best lines in the series.

Overall, the sequels aren’t really any better or any worse for the most part they are of a consistent level, the good and bad factors still stay the same, so if you liked the other films you will like this to.

Pros.

Trey Parker

It is watchable

A few funny lines

Cons.

The character design

The needless side characters

Gru and Dru’s arc really goes nowhere

2.5/5