The Bad Batch: Decommissioned

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Baring the first episode of The Bad Batch this may be the best yet. Though Decommissioned doesn’t live up to some of the best episodes of Rebels or Clone Wars it does start to show the promise of this show and lay some much needed ground work; I am hoping from here on out the series can begin to turn around.

The episode is helped by not feeling villain of the week style self-contained and by progressing things from previous adventures. I thought it was nice to see the group get a base beyond the ship, and also presenting them as basically mercenaries or bounty hunters makes for some nice questions around what a soldiers purpose is.

Furthermore, I enjoyed that the show is starting to show the effects of Order 66 on the rest of the Bad Batch, with Wrecker almost giving into the conditioning after being hit on the head. I think the show desperately needs to go back to the Crosshair storyline and address it, as the group seems to have moved on from him and basically left him behind, which makes viewing them as heroes harder.

Moreover, Omega continues to be an issue with this series and one that is not seemingly getting better. The show clearly wants to mimic the parent-child style bond of the Mandalorian yet comes off as lacking and disingenuous. Nothing so far in this series has made me warm to Omega, and whenever an episode cuts to whatever she is up to, you know it is going to slow down to a boring degree.
Finally the ending tease is fine if a little obvious and baity. We don’t need constant cliff hangers to keep coming back.

Overall, better than the last few episodes, but the series still needs a lot of improvements

Pros.

Wrecker

More stability

The wider world

Cons.

Omega

The ending

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The Bad Batch: Rampage

2/5

This episode was yet another example of how this show is starting to lose me: the drama and stakes of the first episode have seemingly been ignored and now it is just week after week of pointless villain of the week sort of episodes with the wider mysteries that the series teased out just sort of existing in the either.

Likewise the character development has seemingly stalled, with neither the Bad Batch nor Echo receiving anything even close to development. It is the same beats and ideas over and over again; I also think it is odd how the band have seemingly just forgotten about Crosshair, other than a slight mention here they have not mentioned any thought to saving or rescuing their friend. An oversight of the writing perhaps.

The only real pro I can give this episode is that they build on the Fennec Shand stuff from the last episode. Proving that perhaps the character wasn’t just forced in and that maybe the series does have bigger plans for her.

Overall, I am starting to lose faith in this show.

Pros.

Building Fennec Shand

The end of the episode teases better stories to come

Cons.

Villain of the week

Forgetting Crosshair

The character arcs are trapped in a status

Written by Luke Barnes

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The Bad Batch: Cornered

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I am starting to become concerned now. This show has been going for four episode yet so little has happened and the direction this series is heading in seems even less clear now then it did a few episodes before.

Why was Fennec Shand brought into this episode/ storyline, when it would have made so much more sense to have Crosshair be the bounty hunter tracking down the Bad Batch? To answer my own question it was simply to act as fan service, to bait nostalgia and be like ‘remember her from the Mandalorian’. Now there is nothing wrong with fan service done right, but when it is done in such a way where it feels like it is stopping the development of the other characters in the show, Crosshair, then it becomes a problem for me.

Moreover, this episode, much like the last, felt very filler to me. It seems that maybe the series as a whole is having some pacing issues or maybe the fourteen episode order was a bit too much, but for whatever reason we are getting a lot of these little one off episodes where nothing of any real consequence happens and you are left feeling bored.

If I had to give the episode a pro it would be the action, specifically the sequence set in the hover traffic, I found that quite entertaining to watch and thought it was shot well.

Overall, I am starting to lose hope for this series, we need something big to happen soon.

Pros.

The action

The tease for more to come

Cons.

Nothing really happened

It feels like filler

The wrong kind of fan service

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Stoaway: You Too Would Prefer The Cold Embrace Of Space To A Viewing Of This Film

Stowaway

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Netflix and generic science fiction are starting to become one in the same. All of Netflix’s science fiction output looks the same, blues and blacks with a heavy shadow over everything, they have the same plotlines and ask the same questions and they all have a shared sense of smugness wherein they view themselves as deeper and more poignant then they actually are.

I don’t know if I have just become jaded but I long for the days when films used to surprise me and used to take risks and do something shocking- now it is all just the same. I could accurately predict the events of this film from the first ten minutes of it, I could even work out who would make the ultimate sacrifice in the end, it was all blindingly obvious.

On that note, the worst performance in this film comes from Anna Kendrick- easily. NASA and various other space agencies train people for how to deal with situations in space and they wouldn’t send someone up who would, at first chance, immediately go against all that and do what they personally thought was right. The characters lofty sense of moral superiority is woefully short sighted as by her own actions she is condemning the lives of those around her, and even with the price her character pays, it doesn’t change the fact instead it just pushes her own virtue further; in a frankly insufferable way.

Overall, I think I will be more picky when selecting to watch Netflix originals in the future

Pros.

Toni Collette and Daniel Day Kim are trying

Cons.

Anna Kendrick

It feels samey

It is predicatable

The story makes no sense and is riddled with plot holes, that get deeper the more you think about them.

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The Bad Batch: Replacements

Star Wars The Bad Batch: Replacements

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I think of the 3 episodes so far this was the weakest. There was an air of filler to it. The main clone band find themselves trapped on a desolate planet and only Omega can save them: which is beyond dumb as these are expert soldiers and they can’t repair the ship and go and fight the creature at the same time. Moreover, this young child without any combat experience can not only survive a run in with this beast but best it- yeah the story telling is really clutching at straws trying to explain this.

They advance the Crosshair storyline, and it is this part of the episode that scores the points in this review. Crosshair becomes even more irredeemably bad, clearly he will turn back to the good side later, but for now they are really exploring the depths of what you can get away with in what is basically a kids show.

Overall, though I find this series watchable, and it is nice to see new Star Wars content, it really has yet to find its stride and has entered a period of stagnation after the first episode.

Pros

Crosshair

The darker moments

Cons.

The filler main story

Everything with Omega

It still feels directionless

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Invincible: Stop Watching The Walking Dead And Watch This Instead

Invincible

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This show is undeniably good, everyone you will hear talk about it agrees on that: some such as myself might go so far as to say it is the best piece of media ever adapted from a Robert Kirkman graphic novel, yes even better than the one about zombies that has been going on forever.

There is just something about this animated series that is hard to describe. Everything works and works well, the voice acting, the animation style, the slow build of the story it all comes together beautifully.

You don’t have to have read the comics to watch this either, personally I am familiar with the comics but had not red them prior to starting this show, and I fully understood everything that was happening on-screen. However there is a lot happening over the course of the first season so you will have to pay attention to make sure you get everything that is going on.

Moreover, I think the best thing about this show is what it does for adult animation, and the wider superhero genre. It proves two things, firstly that adult animated series can be done well, without relying on gross out humour, and secondly that non Marvel and DC comics properties can be just as popular as the heavy hitters; for those interested Invincible is an in Image comic series.

The only negative I could find with the season is that some of the plot lines feel a bit slow and drawn out for the sake of pacing which can make some episodes feel more interesting than others and that creates minor bits of drag throughout the season which hurts it ultimately.

Overall, one of the best new series of the year.

Pros.

The voice cast

The world and the characters

A new frontier for adult animation

The gore

Cons.

Slight bits of drag here and there.

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

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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