Everything Everywhere All At Once

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Everything Everywhere All At Once follows Evelyn Wang, a middle-aged laundromat owner who is struggling to manage the relationships in her family, her business and has lost touch with her own identity. However, when a multi-dimensional variant of her husband reveals to Evelyn that only she can stop the multiversal monster known as Jobu Tupaki, her life is flipped inside out.The most refreshing thing about this film is how original it is, there is so much here that hasn't ever really been explored in cinema or TV before that I really applaud. Taking the story of an Asian migrant who has to navigate American culture without strong English is al ready the beginnings of a great protagonist; but then to have this character struggle with a business that is danger, a marriage that is on the rocks and embracing her daughter's homosexuality makes for something really new. I loved the complexity of seeing Evelyn navigate facets of her life, and what it could've been, in such a varied way. The ultimate reconciliation she has with her family, and by extension her own sense of identity is a powerful theme that I think will resonate with any audience member. At the same time, the way the science-fiction aspect of the plot works in is really fascinating too, having a multiverse that becomes something the characters explore and access hasn't been done a lot in the past. The reason this film succeeds so well with it is because it knows not to take it too seriously; in fact when first this element starts getting introduced it is intentionally jarring for comedic effect.I like how this film utilised genre or genre elements in service to the story, as opposed to making a science-fiction film first and foremost. The nature of this toying with different universes and making up it's own rules on the fly means you can never predict where the action will take you, and it chooses to undertake this in such a fun and entertaining manner. The Daniels have such a distinct visual style that lends itself to the erratic nature of the narrative, I was really impressed by a lot of the homage shots to classic martial arts features especially. The score by Son Lux invites you on an adventure; this music is halfway between the intensity of an action feature and the sheer wonder of an Alice in Wonderland adaptation.

 

Stephanie Hsu, who played Joy Wang/ Jobu Tupaki, was really quite thrilling as the chaotic whilrwind that is the feature's antagonist; yet I most enjoyed those moments of raw honest emotion from Hsu when she portrayed a daughter outcrying how she felt to her mother. Ke Huy Quan, who played Waymond Wang, is fascinating as the softspoken romantic and optimist paired against Yeoh; I also loved how Quan played to the comedy of being a heroic dimension-hopping hero at other times in the film. James Hong, who played Gong Gong, is comedic as the ailing yet authoritative patriarch of the Wang family; I loved when we got to see Hong take on the commanding and beleaguered Alphaverse version of Gong Gong. Jamie Lee Curtis, who played Deirdre Beaubeirde, is a lot of fun with her dry wit portraying a stern IRS agent; I really think Curtis got to play the whole gauntlet in this film from wild physical comedy to honest human connection. Tallie Medel, who played Becky Sregor, is one of the more minor characters in the film who I wished we got more of; her chemistry with Hsu is immediate and I like the quiet way she bonds with the Wang family.

 

However, the best performance came from leading actress, Michelle Yeoh, who played Evelyn Wang. In such a short time this film strongly establishes Evelyn as quite a compelling role with many aspects to her. Yeoh switches between Mandarin and a rather low-level proficient accent when she switches to English, I think just arranging the amount of dialect and accent work required to make this non-native speaker role authentic was pretty masterful. Yet seeing Yeoh portray a woman who is so stressed and out of touch with her life, despite attempting to navigate control of it is such a brilliant contrast to be introduced to her. The fear she portrays around introducing her lesbian daughter's girlfriend to her traditional father is a great starting point to see some of the generational trauma that has shaped who Evelyn is. Seeing Evelyn get lost and caught up in the multiversal aspects of the film was a lot of fun, especially because Yeoh plays to the comedy of being bewildered so well. This role is so powerful because Evelyn's whole journey is around recognising the good aspects of her life as well as the bad, reclaiming these pieces of her to affirm her own identity. I loved the mother/daughter relationship between Yeoh and Hsu, the hurt and love this pair navigate together is really the heart of the film. Evelyn is one of Yeoh's best roles to date.

 

 Everything Everywhere All At Once might be the most creative film I have seen this year but it often endeavours to be the most absurd too. The absurdist elements of the film aren't always so bad, there's a fantastic scene with Evelyn and Jobu as a pair of rocks talking to one another that is one of my favourite scenes in the film. However, I often find the film loses itself to moments of nonsense that never really fuel the narrative; big subplots like the hot dog finger universe or Raccacoonie are perfectly fun comedy but are given way more screen time than is ever really able to be justified. I also thought there was a lot of absurdist humour in this that was quite akin to Rick And Morty, moments like the martial artists who needed butt plugs to engage their fighting abilities or the opposing operative who was neutralized by accessing his dominatrix fetish. These jokes were strange and pretty opposing to some of the finer elements of the film itself, I think the film often pushed the envelope for the sake of it and not because it served the finished product. The jumping around between visual and practical effects didn't really work either, it just meant that things like the 'bagel', the hot dog fingers or Raccacoonie looked rather poorly imagined.

A unique and often times out of this world film brimming with creativity, humour and absurdity. I would give Everything Everywhere All At Once a 7.5/10.

The Lost City

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

When Loretta, a world-renowned historical romance author, gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire to decipher an ancient text that is the key to unlocking the treasure of a lost civilisation; she must turn to her intuition and cover model to save her. And the cover model? Well he's more than a little in over his head and possibly lovestruck too. Over the past five years I've really seen the romantic comedy genre push the box and try new things to stand out again, which I've really loved. What you get in this film is a lot more traditional and reminded me of the style of rom-coms we used to get in the 90s to the early 2000s. The joy of this is the light humour of two people who are polar opposites to one another bumbling through such an unlikely circumstance. This works wonderfully in two ways: firstly, the humour often lands in a great way but secondly the main relationship between Alan and Loretta is wonderful to watch. At the core of the film we have Loretta, a well-renowned author and recluse after the loss of her husband. Watching her grate against everyone and want to shelter away is hugely important as the film continues to draw her further out into peril and adventure. Meanwhile her charming if not naive cover model, Alan, endeavours to rescue her though is far from equipped for the job and tends to bumble through it. What I really love about this relationship is that they each have assumptions about the other that they have to learn from and they each have affection for they other which is allowed to steadily bloom and grow. I think at its very core the film serves the story of it's two protagonists exceptionally well and their chemistry is undeniable. I also thought the Nee Brothers had such great vision when it came to the cinematography of this feature; everything was really vivid and colourful. I loved how they crafted these melodramatic, sensual shots to compare with the historical romance novels they were referencing. The soundtrack for The Lost City is brilliant, it holds a lot of classic fun beats and prioritises utilising tracks to enhance the comedy.

 

Sandra Bullock, who played Loretta, is perfectly suited for this tired and reclusive protagonist who is flung into sudden adventure; Bullock has a real sense of wit and intellect to her constantly and the way she describes scenes from her 'books' is well delivered. Channing Tatum, who played Alan, is really funny with his often naive and bumbling humour; yet I liked how Tatum built up this gentle sincerity with his role which made him quite the winning role to pair against Bullock's Loretta. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who played Beth Hatten, really feels like she is holding everything together by the tips of her fingers; I loved Randolph's emphatic line delivery and how she often became the centre of attention in whichever scene she was in. Brad Pitt, who played Jack Trainer, was hysterical as this very spiritual yogi who also doubled as an ex-military mercenary; the way Pitt breezed through scenes with a calm confidence made him instantly one of the funnier aspects of the feature. Patti Harrison, who played Allison, is the sort of comedic minor role that is usually forgotten about in this sort of film; but Harrison's line delivery stands out like nothing else and it feels unique from every other comedic moment in the film which I really applaud.

However, the best performance came from Daniel Radcliffe, who played Abigail Fairfax. This is one of the biggest roles I've seen Radcliffe in since Now You See Me 2 and honestly back then I really couldn't imagine him breaking away from the shadow of Harry Potter. But it's really impressive to see what a few years on the Indie film and TV scene have done for him as a performer. In this feature Radcliffe presents an eexorbitantly wealthy antagonist who is hellbent on uncovering an ancient lost treasure at any expense. From very early on we can see that Abigail tries to hide himself behind a thin layer of charm and earnestness. But his ever-present jealousy towards his other wealthy sibling, and sudden bursts of temper make him quite a loose cannon. Radcliffe revels in portraying quite a classic villain, someone who has no qualms about controlling and manipulating others for his own ends. The humour from this character is often heavy sarcasm or dealing with comedic dialogue in a heavily serious manner which Radcliffe portrays brilliantly. I was honestly impressed with how unhinged this role becomes the further along we go, it was a really fun arc and hopefully a sign of more mainstream roles for Radcliffe in the future.

While The Lost City is a highly entertaining romantic comedy it doesn't dare and it never takes risks. I mentioned earlier that this is more like a traditional rom-com and that's very true in some of the negatives of the film too. While the execution is very good, the basic premise of two unlike people who discover there is more than meets the eye has been done in hundred of these types of movies. It makes a lot of how the relationship plays out quite predictable, almost beat for beat. But even less inspired than the structure of the romance is the structure of the adventure plot. Having the main characters quest around with a treasure map from obstacke to obstacle until they inevitably find the lost treasure in the climax of the final act could've been a lot more thrilling than it was. Frankly when the film wasn't using those moments for comedy I didn't find myself feeling engaged, because the script really needed to be a lot more creative. I also think The Lost City bogged itself down with subplots, like Beth travelling to come rescue Loretta and Alan. The special effects used throughout the film weren't the best, I especially found the moments in which scenery and setting were imposed to often clash with the sets that were actually present. Pinar Toprak's score is very peppy but often generic, an adventure film cliche that didn't add much across the board.

Oscar Nuñez, who played Oscar, is one of the creepier roles in the film which doesn't work at all comedically; trying to pair Nuñez and Randolph together fell very flat and felt like an unnecessary introduction of an extra side character. Héctor Anibal, Thomas Forbes-Johnson and Sli Lewis, who played Rafi, Julian and Shades respectively, were little more than glorified henchmen in the film and never stood apart as actualy characters; for Anibal I found this most disappointing because his role was hinted at having some personal stake in the story but he never brought anything to that.

A romantic comedy that finds success in keeping it simple, funny and charming. I would give The Lost City a 6.5/10.

Ambulance

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Ambulance is a heist film in which two brother bank robbers steal an ambulance and take the occupants within hostage after botching a bank robbery. I think this film found it's way to small moments of tension that were actually key to the script; moments like the snipers about to fire on the ambulance after the spleen operation were intense, likewise the big standoff between the Sharp brothers and Papi's men. Ultimately this film boasts a scale of action that feels impressive, shoot outs are heavy affairs in which the sounds of bullets punch through your ear drums or collisions rattle your very skeleton.

 

Keir O'Donnell, who played FBI Agent Anson Clark, is one of the more engaging characters in the film; O'Donnell crafts a role who understands our protagonists and makes for a good foil as their adversary.

 

However, the best performance came from Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Danny Sharp. This is a character who really falls apart over the duration of this movie and Gyllenhaal plays this manic loose cannon brilliantly. When first we meet Danny he's cool and collected, exceptionally charismatic and living surrounded by luxury. But as we soon come to learn, everything about Danny is quite a shallow facade. Gyllenhaal thrives on crafting a dynamic with his on-screen brother (Abdul-Mateen II) that revolves around manipulation, playing the right emotional cards to hook Will deeper and deeper into his criminal act. The way Gyllenhaal calmly navigates a scene to suddenly snapping is wild, it makes Danny a role that is hard to predict. You never really know if he's actually laughing and cracking wise or if he's boiling with rage. Gyllenhaal shows this wild streak being pushed down multiple dangerous paths, only anchored back by the love he has for his brother. That final scene in which he threatens their EMT hostage's life is a moment where all that is good in Danny is stripped back and only that which is venomous remains. Really grade A stuff from Gyllenhaal in a feature that certainly doesn't repay him.

In Ambulance the lead characters constantly tell the police that they do not stop, which is uncomfortably true for the majority of the feature. The bulk of the narrative is one of the most mundane cop/criminal car chase sequences you will ever watch in a blockbuster feature. Seeing this film be paced out from one big chase sequence to the next, with an occasional emotional plot tidbit being fed in from the occupants of the ambulance. This is the sort of unique mode of storytelling that works if the narrative is solid and the main characters are truly fascinating. But that isn't the case here. The core relationship of the film is two criminal brothers, one who is morally comfortable with the bad stuff they do and one who isn't. One who desperately needs the score to succeed and one who is just trying to prove himself. Meanwhile, our only other two major characters is a rookie beat cop who is unconscious most of the time and an EMT who is emotionally detached from her job until being made a hostage makes her want to save people again. It's so painstakingly simple that you barely have to follow what is developing before you find yourself dumped in the final act. Even the sudden inclusion of a larger criminal element led by the questionably named 'Papi' takes the narrative beyond itself. Suddenly everything spirals into being about how do we make the action kick up further and further without ever prioritising the story. Ambulance has a larger supporting cast than it needs, with many of the roles engaged in quite two-dimensional subplots. The dialogue often feels off keel and extremely random; the severely bizarre lines are a symptom of a number of Bay's last decade of haphazard works. While I liked the intensity of the action I found that a lot of the stunt work and sets looked set up, everything felt filmed and there weren't many sequences that managed to capture me in a meaningful way. The cinematography never stopped moving and often felt aimless, I also hated that there was a number of unnecessary visuals scattered throughout this piece that crafted quite a confused style when all put together. The score for the film was generic bass pounding action and failed to raise the stakes of the feature.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who played Will Sharp, is extremely cut and dry as the criminal with a heart of gold; Abdul-Mateen really struggles to make Will an empathetic character which is a shame because the film relies so heavily upon that trait. Eiza González, who played Cam Thompson, is one of the least convincing EMT performances I think I'll see in a long time; I found the choice to make González's character this stony and detached figure a questionable one. Garret Dillahunt, who played Captain Monroe, was extremely offbeat as the police captain hunting our two protagonists; the choice to make Dillahunt a more comedic figure backfired severely. Jackson White, who played Officer Zach, is quite generic as the young and inexperienced rookie cop; I found watching White play the young man with a crush an extremely soppy way to bring him into the action of the piece. Olivia Stambouliah, who played Lieutenant Dzaghig, is placed as one of the more comedic figures in the film but really stumbles with her line delivery; Stambouliah gives the most deadpan delivery you get in the cast leaving a lot of her lines falling flat for the audience. Moses Ingram, who played Amy Sharp, is wasted as the loyal wife role holding a baby every scene she's in; Ingram is given nothing to play with here and is stuck with one of the most two-dimensional roles in the script. Colin Woodell, who played EMT Scott, was a confusing role because he was poised to be important and was promptly forgotten about; setting up a work partnership relationship with González that needed to grow and then doing nothing was weak writing for this character. Cedric Sanders, who played Officer Mark, had a very boring revenge/retribution side story; seeing Sanders play this determined guilty role in a way that didn't even feel fully committed made him really forgettable. A Martinez, who played Papi, is an extremely bad stereotype and quite the weak antagonist; watching yet another enraged Mexican crime boss in a Michael Bay movie is just disappointing at this point. Wale, who played Castro, is a very random and goofy figure who serves the film in no way; Wale feels awkwardly inserted into the narrative without ever really serving it as a proper character. Devan Chandler Long, Randazzo Marc, Victor Gojcaj and Brendan Miller, who played Mel Gibson, Randazzo, Victor and Trent respectively, are one of the most disjointed and unbelievable ensemble performances we'll get this year; Randazzo in particular gargles dialogue in a way that makes me wonder how he ever managed to get himself in front of a camera.

Michael Bay has somehow managed to scrounge up a worse film than a Transformers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I would give Ambulance a 2/10.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore is the third film in the Fantastic Beasts series and follows a team of heroic witches and wizards who seek to stop Grindelwald from igniting a war with the Muggles. I greatly enjoyed how this film kicked off, it made me almost instantly put my trepidations to the side. That tense back and forth between Dumbledore and Grindelwald felt like two great powers at odds with one another. I also really enjoyed seeing Newt sneak through this mystical wilderness to help deliver a baby magical creature. The ensuing scene in which Newt almost gives his life defending the baby creature after the mother is killed was the perfect intro for the film. Beyond that there isn't a lot of great story in the feature, but those moments in which magical creatures are interacted with or a sense of wonder in this wizarding world is instilled is pretty great. The cinematography throughout complements the scale of the special effects and moves fact-paced action through in a visually stunning way. The special effects are probably the strongest element of this film just as they were in the past few films; every creature, spell or unique environment is rendered with such jaw-dropping detail. While I do feel like this film utilises classic Harry Potter musical scores a little too often, I am overall very impressed by James Newton Howard's score that injects the dangerous thrills and wonder into this feature.

 

Callum Turner, who played Theseus Scamander, is brilliant as the dashing heroic foil to Redmayne's awkward zoologist; Turner and Redmayne have developed a great on-screen chemistry that genuinely marks them as brothers. Richard Coyle, who played Aberforth, was immediately recognisable as his gruff and irritable role; the heavy heart and hurt Coyle pours into his performance makes this the best portrayal of Aberforth we could have hoped for. Jessica Williams, who played Eulalie Hicks, is one of the more energetic performances out of the whole ensemble; Williams' line delivery is filled with charm and I think with a little more screen time in future instalments she promises to be a fan favourite.

However, the best performance came from Eddie Redmayne, who played Newt Scamander. There are two things I feel have been consistently great with each Fantastic Beasts feature: the visual style of each film and Eddie Redmayne's performance as Newt Scamander. From the start of the film you see the absolute love and care he holds for magical creatures, placing himself on the line and proving to be one of the most empathetic individuals in the series. I love how Redmayne shows Newt as having grown more comfortable around others over the course of these films while still holding an awkward demanour. Seeing the lengths this role will go to for other characters or even a magical baby fawn is really moving, there's a scene in the final act's climax in which Newt is brought to tears over the presumed death of a creature. I love the blind honesty Redmayne brings to his lines, and there's an earnest quality to him that makes his heroism absolutely endearing. Newt Scamander will always be one of Redmayne's greatest roles and the saving grace of Fantastic Beasts.

I remember sitting in the theatre for the first Fantastic Beasts, the first midnight screening and I was lost in a crowd of equally excited fans to see the Wizarding World once more. That film had a major plot problem too; it had a choice: to focus on Newt and his magical creatures or the anti-magic storyline that promised a form of Cold War to come. Unfortunately, the series has really doubled down on this idea of a Cold War with a focus on the conflict between Grindelwald and Dumbledore. It's like watching Harry Potter but with most of the fun and sense of wonder drawn out from it. The characters here skulk around grey-hued streets and shadowy back rooms plotting ways to defeat the rise of a tyrant, the tone is entirely sombre and nothing like the media that preceded it. I was really disappointed with Grindelwald in this film, he loses his sense of charm and instead just becomes dangerous and controlling. He's a colder figure and worse than that, he has no chemistry with Dumbledore. The pair have such extensive history that you expect them to have the weight of history between them, but that's not really there. The film spends most of the time sending our protagonists on a convoluted goose chase in an effort to foil Grindelwald's ability to see into the future, which is rather funny because Dumbledore is often hinted to be seeing into the future for no reason at all too. The storylines from previous film come across as repetitive or being shelved for the sake of this movie. Somehow Jacob and Queenie go through a very similar arc to The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Tina Goldstein is relegated to a background character inexplicably. The really glaring thing in this feature is Credence's story arc, it felt heavily rewritten in a pretty poor manner. Last film Credence was revealed to be a Dumbledore, a secret brother to Albus, but this feature very quickly back tracks on that. Now Credence is suddenly dying and an illegitimate son to Aberforth Dumbledore, yet he still fights alongside Grindelwald and betrays he extremely easily by the end of the film. Credence has never worked in these films, every time the plot has tried to use him things fall apart and fracture. But his very sudden betrayal of Grindelwald isn't the only problematic plot point, the whole final act revolves around the wizarding world choosing their leader by getting a magical foal to bow in front of them, yet Grindelwald making a zombie foal is the plotline our heroes have to foil. When the foal dies in front of the crowd by feature's end I was left wondering how Grindelwald ever really expected to pass that off in the first place. The film really takes itself too seriously almost always, but isn't afraid to stretch itself thing and create a few plot holes. A serious mark against J.K. Rowlings writing, though hardly surprise given how Fantastic Beasts has been tracking thus far.

Jude Law, who played Albus Dumbledore, feels less and less this iconic character the more screen time he has; Law gives such a mild manner to the role and the scenes in which he does push the boundaries of that often don't feel like the right choices. Mads Mikkelsen, who played Gellert Grindelwald, takes a well-crafted role and turns him into a pretty cut and dry wannabe tyrant; Mikkelsen's stoic facade falls deeply into the shadow of the man who originally made the role so compelling to watch. Katherine Waterston, who played Tina Goldstein, has never really been one of my favourite characters but I was very dissatisfied with how this film handled this role; Waterston is entwined with Fantastic Beasts and did not deserve to be shunted away into a mere two scenes. Poppy Corby-Tuech, who played Vinda Rosier, is little more than a goon for Mikkelsen in this feature; she never gets a moment to be anything more than a person shooting special effects at other cast members. Ezra Miller, who played Credence Barebone, has not once played a consistent role across all of these films; the sheer level of angst and resentment he plays to throughout were quite two-dimensional. Alison Sudol, who played Queenie Goldstein, has really gravitated away from that bright spark of light in the first film; watching Sudol play this fearful role who has somehow shaken off the mind control she went through in the last feature was underwhelming. Dan Fogler, who played Jacob Kowalski, is playing pretty much the exact same character arc as the last film; It feels an insult to Fogler's ability to keep pushing him as the comedic relief at this point. William Nadylam, who played Yusuf Kama, is this really angry belligerent role who still seems so on the outside of the protagonists; Nadylam plays yusuf with anger or a blank stare in this film which makes the role confusing to watch. Victoria Yeates, who played Bunty Broadacre, is still going far too over the top with her portrayal; Yeates really leans very over the edge with her character's infatuation for Newt and it makes some scenes lose their emotional impact. Oliver Masucci, who played Anton Vogel, is the sort of generic political bad guy this franchise really doesn't need but keeps prioritising; having Masucci play to his role's sinister characteristics with little to no subtlety was a major letdown.

The Wizarding World felt magical once, but that was long ago. I would give Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore a 4/10.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is the sequel to 2020's Sonic The Hedgehog; this time seeing our blue protagonist face off against Dr. Robotnik and his new ally: Knuckles the Echidna. Luckily for Sonic he has some new back-up too in the form of a newfound friend, Tails; only together can this heroic duo work together in a quest to recover the Master Emerald. I really enjoyed that the fun and wild antics that made the first Sonic such an immediate family friendly blockbuster hit is still intact here. Right from the top it is very clear that a strong presence of comedy is felt throughout and the dialogue is often side-splittingly good. I also enjoyed seeing that Sonic is still working up to becoming a responsible hero, the journey he goes on here to a better person is one of the nicer touches in the film. Also casting Sonic and Knuckles as characters that had such similar parallels made their rivalry a lot of fun to watch. Though some of this can be unnecessary, I like that this sequel is really dedicated to giving each character from the first film a decent moment to shine and have their part, which really meant that more comedic roles like Rachel, Wade and Agent Stone got to thrive. Ultimately the film comes together in a very epic final act that showcases moments of teamwork and love between Sonic and his family really well. Yes, the Sonic films are blockbusters but they have a lot of heart and always circle back to that. I greatly enjoyed the way this film circled back to it's video game roots, both from a storytelling and visual perspective. The cinematography was really fun for the most part, there were a number of action sequences which felt very creative with some of the techniques employed. The special effects used throughout the film were a major step up; the design of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails was consistently great and that final battle against the giant Dr. Robotnik mech was jaw-dropping. The score for the film by Junkie XL is almost as thrilling as what we got from him in the original; while the soundtrack lends a real blend of epic and hilarious moments.

 

Idris Elba, who voiced Knuckles, is quite the stoic warrior figure hellbent on seeing his life goal achieved by any honourable means; yet Elba has some really fun with the comedic obliviousness of his talking echidna. Jim Carrey, who played Dr. Ivo Robotnik, is somehow even more manic and unpredictable in this feature but that works just fine; Carrey's comedic delivery is as strong as always making it a battle for best line delivery between him and Schwartz constantly. James Marsden and Tika Sumpter, who played Tom and Maddie respectively, are extremely sweet and endearing as the parent figures for Sonic throughout the film; I enjoyed that Marsden got to revel in some of that physical comedy in those wedding scenes too. Natasha Rothwell, who played Rachel, really seized the spotlight in a big way this feature; having her play up the scorned bride wanting revenge role was hysterical the whole way through. Adam Pally, who played Wade, is nice to see back as the bumbling deputy, those light scenes in which he stumbles ineptly through is comedy gold. Lee Majdoub, who played Agent Stone, really embraces the reverence his character has for Carrey's in this film; the complete undying loyalty led to some great moments between this antagonist/henchman duo.

 

However, the best performance came from Ben Schwartz, who voiced Sonic. I really liked seeing Sonic take charge of his own film a lot more this time around. It was clear to see that Schwartz was intent on building up the character somewhat and the payoff is a rather well done character arc. We meet Sonic at the top of the film when he is recklessly seeking heroic thrills and trading quick one-liners, the classic delivery Schwartz gave us in the first film. You also get the sense of that harmless mischievous side and how he playfully fits into his Earth family. Schwartz lends a nice tough side to Sonic that lets itself be known the more he has to defend his friends and family, it's a subtle shift but leads up to the Chaos Emeralds scene nicely. I loved seeing those moments of Empathy from Sonic that delivered us his friendship with Knuckles or saving Tails' life. Sonic goes from being a careless hero to one who is more driven by those closest to him throughout the film and I loved seeing that character journey for this protagonist.

 

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 has a lot of plot points going for it, a lot of which are great but not all of which are strictly necessary. Sonic needing friends is a simplistic sub-plot the feature very intermittently returns to, while the entire FBI undercover operation that was a big elbaorate catfish was one of the strangest plot elements of the film (even if it lead to some of the funnier scenes). The temple for the Emerald being so close to Hawai'i was a little too convenient, while characters such as Wade or Stone got far more screen time than the film ever really justified. The introduction of Tails in this sequel was quite a disappointment because the role had so little too him, he was a big fan of Sonic and then the pair became friends and teamed up in spite of Tails' fears about going on missions. I really think they just needed to give this little yellow fox some more substance to make him a more compelling new role. The film also really struggled to add the human characters into the plot in a way that justified having them there; the big fake wedding storyline really pushed our human characters away from our special effects ones, while the distinct lack of connection time Tom and Maddie had with Sonic meant the big moment with the Robotnik mech lost a little punch. 

Collen O'Shanussy, who voiced Tails, really didn't do enough to make her role stand out amongst a cast of bigger names; Tails lacked presence and a lot of that came from a lack of variety in how O'Shanussy delivered her lines. Shemar Moore, who played Randall, was this alpha hunk that initially had little more to do than make Marsden's role seem inept; but the way he played to that fake wedding scene just showed Moore didn't really know what to do with his character. Tom Butler, who played Commander Walters, is one of the only returning characters from the first film I wish hadn't been brought back; he really guns for over the top comedy in a way that never lands and often lowers the quality of his scenes.

Historically video game films have never been good. Sonic The Hedgehog changed that, Sonic 2 shakes the foundations by being the first truly decent video game sequel. I would give Sonic The Hedgehog 2 a 7.5/10.

Morbius

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Morbius follows Dr. Michael Morbius, a terminally ill man who experiments upon himself in an attempt to cure his disease. Things only turn to the worse as Morbius' cure instead transforms him into a vampire-like being with a thirst for human blood. This film really juggles a variety of elements that I think it handles quite well, particularly in the initial first act. I enjoyed how the film framed this as a man to monster type story, treading those moments of impending dread like in The Fly. Seeing Morbius work from a good place and become something he fundamentally can't abide being was one of the great plot elements of the film. I also felt like the horror elements early on in the film were presented well, chiefly in the cargo ship scene. While I didn't ultimately feel satisfied by the Morbius/Milo friendship the way this pair was introduced and presented together was one of the only genuine character relationships I liked the whole film.

 

Matt Smith, who played Milo, made for an interesting antagonist for the feature; he has this nonchalant persona that turns into sudden intense blind rage which I felt Smith played very well.

 

However, the best performance came from Jared Leto, who played Dr. Michael Morbius. This character had such a tragic arc that he was by far the easiest role to feel empathy for. Leto really found a nice way to show the shift in physicality, moving between a frail and sickly man to a tortured yet powerful one with ease. I loved seeing the kind ness and compassion Morbius held, chiefly before he took the vampire injection. It really grounded you in the idea that this was a figure who was consumed with a desire to help those struggling as he was. Leto also used a quiet wit to the role that I thought was subtle and nice, it made the character a little more fun to watch. I was also impressed with how Leto showed the descent into becoming the monster, those moments of more primal and animalistic reaction. Coupling that part of the performance with the scenes in which his character went through personal moments of grief and it was clearly the best role of the feature.

 

I don't really understand the point of making a Morbius film, there are far more enticing Spider-Man related characters Sony could've made but we got this one. So why is that? Well, Morbius is a chiefly good character with a darker side, but really quite an anti-hero. He's very similar to what a Venom film can look like in terms of tone and I think this is sort of the point. There's no love behind the creation of Morbius, and in spite of a strong leading performance from Leto, it really felt like this film was pushed out to further a blockbuster franchise rather than on its own merits. The entire movie has a very rushed pacing, yet in spite of that little ground is covered and there's a lot of repetition. The entire film opens with a dramatic bat sequence that turns out to not really serve much purpose other than 'cool' factor. Seeing Morbius and Milo as children felt like a hasty flashback, with Morbius very questionably stripping his future best friend of his own name before promptly turning into a medical prodigy that can fix a life support machine in the blink of an eye. The film would throw out elements and hope they land without ever really placing these aspects in the spotlight: things like Dr. Ncholas as a form of father figure, Morbius and Martine's blossoming romance or the on/off appearance of the FBI detectives who were 'investigating' the strange circumstances. The meat of the film that was almost the entire substance of acts 2 and 3 was the cat and mouse between Morbius and Milo; one adamant that the vampirism was a curse while the other was sure it was a blessing. Yet this conflict kept repeating itself constantly without going anywhere at all, until it stumbled through a very quick final fight that rushed us rather abruptly into credits. While I wouldn't usually look too closely at post credits scenes in relation to the film, I have to say what the film did with Martine and then Vulture was such gratutious bait for a sequel that I was resoundingly unimpressed as an audience member. The film really needed to stand on its own merit before teasing anything like that, but as I mentioned previously Morbius wasn't made for us. It was made for Sony.

 

I also have to talk about some other disappointing elements of the Morbius production. The cinematography is lacking, with a bunch of generic mid shots and almost every action sequence looking identical. Seriously, the amount of slow motion flowing fight or chase sequences got more annoying than the first Venom. The special effects for Morbius aren't great either, the work done to create Morbius and Milo's vampire faces is often inconsistent and poorly done. I also couldn't understand the need to have this energy flowing off Morbius everytime he used any aspect of his powers, it made sense for echolocation but everything else was overkill. The final fight of the film looked terrible because it was such a busy thing to watch visually. Jon Ekstrand's score is rather dour and never packs much of a punch; the themes between characters or moments doesn't ever vary greatly.  

Adria Arjona, who played Martine Bancroft, is a very stoic figure who never feels as attached to the protagonist as you think she ought to be; Martine ultimately plays out as a romantic interest for Morbius but Arjona is often playing their relationship in a rather distant way. Jared Harris, who played Dr. Emil Nicholas, just delivers the blandest exposition in the film; Harris' is often labelled as a father figure but you can never really describe his on-screen chemistry with Leto or Smith as being close. Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson, who played Agent Rodriguez and Simon Stroud respectively, feel adjacent to the action but never really involved; it is hysterical to me that the moment Gibson isn't in a Fast and Furious film the ability to show any form of emotion abandons him. Charlie Shotwell and Joseph Esson, who played Young Michael and Young Milo respectively, really fail to introduce these characters to you well; it can be hard to generate good performances from kids but the emotions from this pair are all over the place. Michael Keaton, who played Adrian Toomes, is not interested in playing the role we saw in Spider-Man: Homecoming; this man is here for a pay cheque built around the easiest cameo of his career.

Michael Morbius is one of Marvel's most obscure characters and after this film I can only hope we endeavour to condemn him to continue in obscurity. I would give Morbius a 3.5/10.