Shin Kamen Rider (2023)

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

Let me make this clear right off the bat;

Yes, I am fully aware that this film was produced by Shinichiro Shirakura, the exec at Toei whose work I straight-up refuse to watch either in my own time or for the sake of review. It is a vow that, following my rewatch of Kamen Rider Drive as well as first (and only) viewing of Super Hero Taisen Grand Prix, I swore I would uphold for as long as he continues to produce his garbage.

HOWEVER, I was hearing from people that he, in an out of character move, kept himself relatively hands free from the project and allowed director/writer Hideaki Anno to have full creative control of the film. Maybe Shirakura was too busy producing Zenkaiger and Donbrothers back-to-back to get more involved, or maybe he knew not to interfere with Anno while he creates; either way, I was more than happy to know that he was as far from this film's production as possible and couldn't get his greedy, controlling fingerprints all over it.

As for my history with Hideaki Anno, it pretty much begins and ends with Shin Gojira, which I did a review on back in 2017 (don't read it, the review was awful). Since my review, I have gone back and rewatched the film; and overall, I have come to appreciate what it did a lot more in retrospect, both as a love letter to the franchise as well as a social commentary on the inefficiency of bureaucracy and red tape during a time of disaster. It certainly is a film that has gotten better with repeated viewings, which is a blessing as the Legendary films have only gotten worse on rewatch.

With that said, I am fully aware of Anno's love of old-school Tokusatsu, in particular the Ultra series (which, for the record, still need to watch an Ultra series before deciding if I like it) which he has referenced a LOT in his anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion (which I've never watched). He even got attention due to creating the parody fan film Return Of Ultraman, which is what would lead to him meeting friend and future collaborator Shinji Higuchi to eventually direct Shin Ultraman. Anno clearly has a lot of love and reverence for Toku as a whole, which made him the perfect choice for creating these new films for the three main pillars of the medium (or is Toku a genre? I'm not sure); Godzilla for Toho, Ultraman for TsuPro, and Kamen Rider for Toei.

Just a pity that Toei were still being jackasses regarding international distribution and unceremoniously shoved the film on Amazon Prime Video in the UK while America got two theatrical releases in select theatres.

Oh, wait; Shirakura's in charge of overseas distribution now. That explains it.

Plot:

As a remake of the original series with story elements from the manga being integrated in, the story is going to be very familiar. Athlete and grade-A university student Takeshi Hongo is kidnapped by the organisation SHOCKER (which is now an acronym for Sustainable Happiness Organisation with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodelling) to become a cyborg and slave for their plans for subjugating the world under the guise of "pursuing happiness for all of mankind". However, Hongo is rescued from the organisation by his university professor Hiroshi Midorikawa, as well as his artificially created daughter Ruriko, so that he can fight back against SHOCKER and their inner circle of Augments (or Augs) before they can accomplish their plans. Thus, following Hiroshi's death at the hands of Kumo Aug and in spite of the fear of his newfound powers brought on by the energy source known as "prana", Hongo adopts the mantle of Kamen Rider and stands against SHOCKER for humanities freedom.

Pros:

One thing that I must praise straight away; Anno NAILED the aesthetic of the original series, and that is probably best reflected in the suit designs for the Riders. He doesn't try to simply give the suits a streamlined update that only vaguely captures the look of the original suits (looking at you, Kamen Rider The First/The Next); he just does the suits again, but with more detail. Even small stuff like the hair sticking out the back of the helmet or the mouthpiece being slightly off-centre; it all feels like it jumped out of the classic series into the modern era without being out of place. This even extends to the way that fights are shot and choreographed, having a lot of chaotic and frantic editing while still being coherent enough to follow.

The first 25 minutes of this film are arguably the greatest sign of love and respect that Anno has for the original show, with how it's basically a high-budget recreation of the first episode from 1971. It isn't just the basic story beats, either; he goes so far as to do shot-for-shot updates of a lot of the classic scenes. The shot of Hongo standing on the hill in his suit (complete with the bushes being painstakingly remade with CGI), Hongo transforming on the bike, his first fight with the Combatmen and Kumo Aug, him appearing in front of the car as it arrives at a dam; even the admittedly campier elements like the monsters of SHOCKER all turning to foam upon death are done in as serious a manner as possible without compromising the tone of the film.

With that said, there are still plenty of significant changes that align closely with the depiction of the story from the original manga, but it never feels like they're simply trying to shove a square peg into a round hole; chiefly, the violence. Every time Hongo punches a Combatman, they practically explode into blood puddles, which is what we see happen in the manga during the fights with the monsters. But thanks to the film keeping a relatively down to Earth tone and atmosphere throughout the entirety of the runtime, it never feels like it conflicts with anything or causes the audience to suffer from tonal whiplash. If anything, it helps to emphasise Hongo's innate humanity and compassion whenever he interacts with Ruriko and the two come to help each other grow as individuals.

Speaking of our characters, I really like how they were depicted in this version. Hongo, along with conveying the stoic nature of his original namesake, is shown to be broken and conflicted at several points; not only because of his new status as an Augment, but due to the tragedy he faced in the past of watching his father get stabbed to death during a hostage situation. Hongo is frequently called naive or "weak-willed" by other characters in the film, but his kindness and compassion are still shown to be one of his greatest strengths, which in turn allows this depiction of the character to stand out from the original while still showing respect and homage to the classic hero.

As for Ruriko, they made quite a few changes compared to her 70's counterpart. For one, she is an artificially created human with A.I augmentations made by SHOCKER, as she possesses the ability to "hack" other peoples prana (which, in short, is an omnipresent energy source made from all living things). This not only helps to give Ruriko a larger role in the story beyond the "damsel-in-distress" persona of the original series, but her character is shown to be almost robotic in her actions, to the point where she doesn't mourn her father's death. This, in turn, makes it all the more interesting to see her overcome this part of her character and come to appreciate the sense of happiness that Hongo provided from something as simple as riding on the bike with him. And this, overall, creates a strong bond between the two without having to force them into a romantic relationship. They work off of each very well, and their contrasting personas creates a powerful dynamic that eventually ends in tragedy.

Even Ichimonji Hayato, despite his role being somewhat reduced, gets a lot of personality for the short time he's here; being introduced as the newest Batta-Aug under SHOCKER's control while still retaining his cheerful and borderline playful charm, which helps to contrast him against Hongo when the pair fight each other for the first time before Ruriko frees him from the prana-induced mind control. And much like his 70's counterpart, he gives a lot of "firsts" for his time as a Rider; namely, the first transformation pose and the first (out of two) "Henshin" in the film. They even made sure that, just like the original, his suit is still visually distinctive enough so that he isn't confused with Hongo. Hayato might not have a lot of screen-time, but the time spent with him is certainly enjoyable.

As for SHOCKER themselves, they've also gone through quite the revision for the modern times, but one that still matches up with how they're depicted in the original. Instead of being the shat-out leftovers of the Nazis (and yes, the original Shocker are factual Nazis; just look at Colonel Zol for proof), this version is a straight up cult of psychopaths and sociopaths looking to attain their one true sense of "happiness", which is basically a way for them to use their powers for their own selfish gains. Whilst not having the same fascist connotations of the original Shocker, it has the same devout fanatical following with delusions of being messengers of the gods (the frequent use of the blue butterfly imagery also feeds into this). This actually makes SHOCKER feel more in line with the likes of the Happy Science cult, namely because of their shared supposed goal of "guiding mankind to a state of pure happiness" while their leaders prop themselves up as gods.

Also; their main program being called "I" as a reference to the "eye" of the original Great Leader was actually really damn clever.

Also-also; Robot Detective K is there. He's not evil, he's just an observational robot working for SHOCKER. Although, his predecessor being named "J" is a neat little nod to the behind-the-scenes plans for his original series.

If you know, you know.

Also X3: I loved the reveal of the intelligence agents being Tachibana and Taki this whole time; helps to tie it all together and retain their roles as support for the main characters, especially as they reveal their names to Hayato at the end in what is likely a nod to the pair working mainly with Hayato in the original series.

Cons:

As much as I really enjoy all of the nods to the original show and manga, along with the updates they did to make them work as both a remake and a standalone story, there are still issues that I have that would probably turn people off if they wanted to get into it. Chiefly, a lot of the nods and references only really work if you are already familiar with the original story in either TV or manga form. While I can appreciate those homages as someone who has read the manga and is currently watching the series, I can understand where people are coming from if they feel like it's being exclusionary to them for the sake of appeasing the old school fans. Some of them do feel like nudge-nudge/wink-wink references, like Anno is saying "Look, it's that scene from the original! Isn't that cool?!" This isn't strictly a detriment to the film itself, but I can see it being something that newer fans likely won't resonate with due to their lack of familiarity with the franchise as a whole.

One thing that I feel IS a detriment, however, is the penultimate fight. It's a bike battle with Hongo and Hayato fending off against 11 more Batta Augs (basically this film's version of the Shocker Riders from the original series/manga), which sounds fun on paper. In practise, on the other hand, it doesn't really feel that impressive or important in the grand scheme of things. These Shocker Riders basically come out of nowhere to fight our heroes, and it never really feels exciting at any point due to it being ridiculously hard to see thanks to the lack of proper lighting in the scene. To top that off, it becomes really apparent that this is the scene where they chose to spend most of their CGI budget, as the Shocker Riders (when you can see them) look incredibly fake and lack any kind of weight to them. I want to be excited to see Hongo and Hayato fighting alongside each other for the first time, but as the scene isn't all that important it kind of just passes me by entirely.

And it doesn't help matters that the individual Augs don't really have much in terms of character, or even screen-time. They're pretty much all sadistic psychopaths with their own plans for taking over Japan, and not much else beyond that. Which is ultimately a shame, as I do really love their costume designs. Instead of being literal monsters, they have a similar sleek and armoured aesthetic that the Riders have. This helps to give the designs personality, but also highlights the lack of characterisation that they possess. The most we get is Hachi Aug being an old friend of Ruriko, which does help with Ruriko's own arc of discovering what makes her truly happy in life. But with each of the Augs being disposed off rather quickly (and entirely off-screen in Sasori Augs' case), there isn't really much time for them to shine.

But my biggest critique is one that I've had with modern Kamen Rider for a long time, so it's not a problem with solely this film.

Toei; STOP MAKING YOUR FINAL BOSSES EVIL KAMEN RIDERS!! As soon as I learned that the film's main antagonist, Ichiro Midorikawa, was going to become Kamen Rider No. 0, I actually groaned out loud. I don't know if this is a hot take, but I am sick to death of seeing the main villain of the story become a Kamen Rider. It wasn't interesting when they started doing it, and it certainly isn't interesting now. It honestly feels like a studio decision, as I know that Anno is above doing this with everything he's done so far. Not helped that they tried to give Ichiro a last minute redemption, which I felt missed the mark due to the pacing not really giving him enough to reflect on or regret his actions and the impetus for his redemption (Ruriko's spirit talking him out of it) kind of ignores what the man has done as an executive for SHOCKER.

Conclusion:

In spite of my issues with the villains not getting much time to shine as well as Ichiro's rushed redemption, I still found myself simply loving this movie by its end. It manages to embrace what makes the original an icon in the world of Tokusatsu and Japanese pop culture, while being able to give much of the material an update that still homages the classic series/manga in a positive manner. It is, hands down, the best modern reiteration of Hongo and Hayato's story that we, as fans, have had in literal decades, and I cannot recommend it enough if you are familiar with the source material. It may not be the friendliest for newcomers, but it's still a showcase of why this story is important to the foundations of this franchise and incorporates the best elements that make it great in the first place.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 (Great).

Thank you so much for reading. I would greatly appreciate it if you can share this on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) and leave a comment telling me what you thought of the film. Also be sure to follow my social media threads; chiefly, Twitter (my handle is @MediaHood23) and Instagram (again, @mediahood23). And finally, if you want my shitty opinions on Transformers toys, check out my YouTube channel for more; I'm Media Hood Reviews.

But until next time, because their always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

King-Ohger First Impressions.

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

I'm writing this almost a full week after the first episode aired, so I think enough time has passed for me to give some thoughts about the first episode of the newest Super Sentai series; Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger.

For some background, or to remind people if they had forgotten, I've never been the biggest Sentai fan. That's to say that I don#t actively dislike it, but I normally find myself staying out of the loop of whatever the newest series is due to a lack of interest or not finding the time on my hand to check it out. That, and both Zenkaiger and Donbrothers ended up on the black list because of both being produced by Shinichiro Shirakura, whose work I have forever sworn off from ever watching or revisiting due to almost every single series or film he has had a hand in being nigh unwatchable thanks to his lack of pedigree or quality control; with the likes of Kamen Rider Hibiki's latter half being produced by him and having some of the worst Toku I have ever experienced, which juxtaposed poorly compared to the otherwise strong first half.

Thus, both factors were a big reason why I wasn't exactly hyped for King-Ohger, despite knowing that Shirakura was not involved (thank Shin Dan Kuroto for that) and the head writer having experience in Kamen Rider Zero-One; a series I overall enjoyed in spite of the messy post-hiatus content. However, as Kamen Rider Geats is ultimately doing nothing to interest me beyond the first eight episodes, I figured I'd give King-Ohger a go instead and see if I could dedicate my time to watching it when I have the chance.

And if the first episode is any indication of the overall quality of the show to come, I can definitely say that I'm intrigued and excited, something I haven't been with Sentai since Kiramager.

Plot:

2000 years prior to events, the Earth Empire Bugnarok was defeated by the intervention by a group of kings empowered by their God, King-Ohger, although a prophecy was foretold that Bugnarok would rise again to seek world domination. Cut to the present day, where the current ruler of the kingdom Shugoddam, Racules Hastie, seeks to bring the kings of the other four nations together as a single force via the Quintet Alliance to fight against Bugnarok's return, with only Yanma Gust of N'Kosopa refusing after seeing the obvious bid for power and control over the other nations (N'Kosopa, Ishabana, Gokkan, and Toufu). Meanwhile, the impoverished commoner Gira is in the middle of events as the Bugnarok attack, believing that Racules will fight alongside the other King-Ohgers. Of course, he learns from the man himself that the people are just sacrificial lambs to him, planning to leave them to die at the hands of Bugnarok so that he can rule over what's left of the other kingdoms once the war is over. Gira, seeing this as the monstrous act that it is, defies him and takes his OhgerCalibur for himself, promising to usher in a new age where he rules the world and ensures that the people are treated as they should be and not as cannon fodder for the villains.

In his own words; if what Racules is doing is justice, then Gira will be the "evil" king who takes the throne from him.

Pros:

From the initial introduction to the cast, I'm really interested in seeing just where these characters go in the story, especially as each of them are ruling their nation in very different ways. The aforementioned Yanma (Tombo Ohger) rules over the most technologically advanced kingdom and thus believes his nation to be the best by default; Himeno Ran (Kamikiri Ohger) is incredibly egotistical to the point where she finds it annoying that they had to walk a few feet to the castle instead of landing in it; Rita Kanisuka (Papillon Ohger) cares mainly for performing their duties as ruler regardless of whether the prophecy with Bugnarok is true or not; Kaguragi Dibousuki (Hachi Ohger) seems to focus mainly on ensuring that his country remains prosperous without the need of the other nations. And yet, despite how differently they operate their kingdoms along with the obvious personality clashes that would result, it doesn't stop them from taking up arms in the fight against Bugnarok and protecting the people as a priority; this in turn makes it such as strong contrast when Racules remains in his throne room with no regard for the people or his allies, showcasing just how corrupt he his as a leader and how far he's willing to sink for the sake of power.

Which, of course, is where Gira (Kuwagata Ohger) comes in as his polar opposite; compassionate, kind-hearted, and doesn't sit back while people are in danger. He may be a commoner, but he understands that the people are the most important things to a kingdom. Mistreat them, and your homestead will fall apart from hubris. Treat them as people, however, and you strengthen your standing with them which in turn makes your kingdom stronger as a whole. Gira's whole "take over the world" speech isn't him unilaterally declaring that he will subjugate everyone to his will; it's him taking a stand against a corrupt system and taking the stance to create a better world. This feels really unique for a Red Ranger in a series like this, especially as this could put him at odds with the other kings due to both their methods of leadership and how they are all rightful kings of their nations, which in turn will makes things harder for Gira once he's branded as a traitor.

As for aesthetics, it did take a while for the suits to work for me. Personally, I think that the colour schemes are very monotonous due to the primary colours not having much actual break-up aside from the black on their visors (or silver and orange, in the case of Hachi Ohger). However, the actual suit designs look awesome when we see them in motion. I especially love the different visors on the helmets being based on their respective bugs, and the capes help to give an appropriately regal motif to the outfits without feeling too excessive. I personally would've added some gold trim on the torso to help with the royalty theme, but that's just me.

I also think that Bugnarok, along with their leader Desnarak VIII, make for pretty cool looking villains. They seem to have more of a feral insect motif for the designs, which makes for a good contrast to the King-Ohger and their mechs having more of a streamlined and, for lack of a better term, domesticated appearance to their designs. And on a side note, I just love that villain name; a portmanteau of bug and Ragnarok (the end of the world in Norse mythology, hence why I don't call it Bugnarak as opposed to Bugnarok) tells us everything we need to know about them, and it just sounds cool to say out loud.

The giant mech brawls remain a highlight in this season, thanks to the directing and cinematography making both King-Ohger and the Bugnarok's giant monsters feel truly massive. It's even cool that the cockpit section has a complex series of arms and wires connected to Gira in order to control the combined mecha. I must also give a nod to the excellent set design in making Shugoddam resemble a medieval town compared to the other kingdoms which take different aesthetics for the appearance of their nations. Granted, we don't see much of them, but the small glimpses we do get fit really well into this world and help to make them stand out from each other. I especially love how Himeno's kingdom, Ishabana, appears more gradiose and opulent compared to the others with its use of gold and constant shimmering light everywhere.

Also, I think the little robotic bugs flying around everywhere in Shugoddam are just adorable!

Cons:

I'm honestly not a fan of the combined King-Ohger design itself. It's commendable that Toei was able to create a 10-piece combiner mecha where all of the individual pieces are bugs instead of being a bizarre mish-mash of random creatures, especially as it is the first fully insect-themed Sentai in the entire franchise. But the actual combined form of King-Ohger feels a bit busy because of all of those bugs attached, and the giant stag beetle horns from God Kuwagata forming the torso unit stick up too far for my liking. I don't hate the design by any stretch, but it comes off as slapdash and cluttered due to how many individual pieces are coming together.

I also felt like they kind of rushed through certain parts of the story to get to the action as soon as possible, which in turn makes the pacing come off as somewhat haphazard. Pretty much as soon as Bugnarok attack, we quickly speed pass the introduction of Desnarak VIII and the King-Ohgers fighting off his forces in order to get Gira to meet with Racules and learn the truth of his actions. The same thing happens after Gira takes the OhgerCalibur from Racules, and almost immediately jumps into the now-awakened God Kuwagata to form the combined King-Ohger. A lot of it goes by so quickly that I almost didn't notice the opening theme playing over the combination sequence.

I think that there could've been a bit more of an interplay between the different kings, if only because we only really see the animosity between Racules and Yanma. We don't really get a sense of how Himeno, Rita and Kagarugi feel about this whole situation beyond just drawing their swords and readying to fight before Yanma ups and leaves to try and control God Kuwagata himself. The most we get is Rita's personal adviser asking if they believe that the prophecy is true, to which Rita only responds that it's their duty to perform as their kingdoms ruler regardless of if it's true or not. Beyond that, Himeno and Kagarugi just seem to go along with it if only because that's what they've been trained to believe all their lives.

Conclusion:

Personal gripes aside, I think that the opening episode to King-Ohger was pretty strong. It has a very clear idea of what it's trying to accomplish, while also very clearly setting the stakes for our heroes and letting the world feel alive in the process. Do I wish there was an expansion of the character dynamics between the kings? Certainly. Do I think the pacing could've been improved? Absolutely. But the elements of the episode that work are still in spite of those shortcomings, and I'm happy to continue watching to see where the series as a whole goes.

And at the very least, it still feels like a much better "normal guy becomes king" story than the entirety of Kamen Rider Zi-O.

Overall rating: 7/10.

Thanks for reading the review guys; be sure to share this on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whichever social media site that you use. I also have a Twitter account to follow (@MediaHood23), along with an Instagram account (@mediahood23) and a YouTube account (Media Hood Reviews). Any and all support from you guys will be greatly appreciated, especially if you leave your own comments below letting me know what you thought of the episode.

But until next time, because there always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022) (spoiler version)

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

Now that the DVD has come out and just about everyone who wanted to watch this movie has seen it, it's time that I make do on the promise I made to actually review Sonic The Hedgehog 2 with spoilers. And I've also decided that from now on, I'll be writing non-spoiler reviews of films/tv to the best of my ability; although some will also have spoiler-filled versions written out for them eventually.

I should also bring up that I'm not really doing this post in the standard "pro/con/conclusion" style that I adopted for writing my reviews; I'm just going over the parts of the film that either I didn't go fully in depth upon due to spoilers, or what I didn't even discuss because of said spoilers. But with that limitation gone, I can go full-tilt into discussing them without issue.

So with that out of the way, it's time to get into spoiler territory, starting from the minor things and working my way up to the big reveal along with the main criticisms I can name.

The first thing I wanted to discuss was the simple genius of how both Sonic and Knuckles' stories are surprisingly good parallels to each other. Both have lost everyone that they loved when they were children, ended up becoming isolationists due to their respective journeys, and coped with their own tragedies in admittedly unhealthy ways. In Sonic's case, he was basically forced to keep running out of fear that his power would be misused; meanwhile with Knuckles, he dedicated his entire life to finding the Master Emerald and returning the Echidna tribe to a position of power. And if he had to kill Sonic to do so, then that's just what he would do. Not only does this allow us to understand Knuckles' position as the initial anti-hero, but it also gives Sonic the chance to connect to Knuckles on an emotional level with how they both lost everything the exact same way. It also does a great job at explaining Knuckles' general naivete and lack of social awareness without making him look like an idiot, an issue that has been prevalent with his depiction in other media as of recent years; especially seeing as how he is still smart enough to at least be suspicious of Robotnik's actions regarding the Master Emerald, even if his focus is still on retrieving the Emerald for himself.

Compare this to, say, the likes of modern Sonic media that features the echidna:

... What? Just because I don't dislike Boom doesn't mean it's without flaws.

I'm admittedly mixed about the way that they introduced G.U.N (The Guardian Unit of Nations) into the film; establishing that they were assembled in the time since Sonic defeated Robotnik and making it their mission to deal with possible extra-terrestrial threats. On the one hand, this is probably the best way they could explain G.U.N's existence in this universe without going all-out with Robotnik's grandfather (not yet, at least). But on the other hand, their introduction was ultimately rushed and made them look like incompetent idiots; namely, them using Rachel's wedding as a means of trapping Sonic, despite the fact that they had no way of knowing that Sonic would be there with Tom and Maddie, on top of how they keep Sonic imprisoned even after they learn that Robotnik is back and after a powerful source of energy. I understand G.U.N is traditionally short-sighted, but never to the extent of being imbeciles as showcased in this film.

Also, how the hell were they able to assemble so quickly as to have one of their agents posing as Rachel's fiancé and set-up an elaborate trap for Sonic using a phoney wedding? I personally would've had G.U.N being an initially defunct organisation following a failed operation (hinting at the Space Colony Ark) but Commander Walters reinstated it as a blacks ops division to keep an eye out for Sonic should he get out of control due to his immense powers. Having them be brand new in this universe basically forces the film to rush through their introduction without really establishing in-depth what they are capable of as a military organisation.

Then again, G.U.N's inclusion in this story is also an indication of arguably the biggest flaw of the film; the pacing. At several points, it can go by really quickly, to the point where some details go over the audiences heads and doesn't allow them to really process what's happening; we see this with the backstory of the Master Emerald and the sudden introduction of the Chaos Emeralds as part of it, all of which is an obvious set-up for the introduction of Super Sonic. Because of how quickly they go through some of these elements, there are various story points or character interactions that get unceremoniously shoved in without giving the viewer time to breathe.

At other times, conversely, it can just as suddenly grind to a halt either for a silly dance fight in Siberia, several scenes of Tom and Maddie in Hawaii attending Rachel's wedding, Knuckles explaining his backstory in the middle of the fight, or confirming that Agent Stone does indeed have an unrequited crush on Robotnik with him making his face in the foam of a cup of coffee. And it is especially apparent in the Hawaii scenes, as it hardly ever feels like that part of the story ever connects to the central conflict of the story until we reach the mid-point. And again, the segue between plot A with Sonic and plot B with the wedding feels like it happens so sporadically that it feels like there were things cut out of the finished film in order to get things into place for the climax. Because of that, the narrative can feel somewhat slapdash in it's execution even if the overall writing is still generally solid.

But for all of the criticisms I can give regarding the films pacing and how the plot threads are interwoven, there is something that, while maybe predictable, pretty much saves the film by the end. And of course, it comes in the middle of the credits:

Admittedly, while I kind of saw it coming, I'm still in awe of this; they're jumping straight into bringing Shadow The Hedgehog, one of the most popular characters in the entire franchise (if not THE most), into the live action universe, with all of the tragedy that it entails. Not only is this such a brilliant fanservice moment with the simple details (hidden files, 50 years, the fact that the military know about it, etc), but it also presents a great world-building engine purely through Shadow's inclusion. From this, we can get expanded lore on Robotnik's family tree, the use of Chaos Energy, potentially the arrival of the Black Arms in future stories, other Mobian characters existing in the films universe; this is such a simple yet genius means of introducing the character and how it affects the rest of the story presented in this version.

Although, I personally would've had the secret hidden file being the blueprints for a bipedal robot that Robotnik could've been working on, with Stone then using Sonic's quill to upload as part of something called "Project: Copycat" as to hint to the inclusion of Metal Sonic instead of Shadow. Who knows, maybe I'll present an expanded version of this idea in another blog. Otherwise, I'm really happy to see Shadow come back, and hopefully not as an emo edge-lord this time (looking at YOU, Sonic Boom).

... I honestly don't know how else to end this; if you haven't seen this film, then do so. Right now.

But until next time, because there always will be one: this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022) (non-spoiler version)

You've read the heading correctly. Out of respect for the makers of the film, this review will NOT feature any major spoiler warning beyond what the audience were already privy to prior to the release of the movie. You want to know the full details of what happens in the film? Go see it yourselves if it is safe in your area to do so. I will, however, write up a spoiler-filled version of this review that will be published after the 8th of April, a full week after the film has released over here in the U.K.

Nonetheless, I was certainly interested in seeing where Jeff Fowler and crew would take this series, especially after they announced that they wouldn't strictly follow the exact canon layout of the story presented in the original games that inspire the stories as told in the movies. And with the surprising success of the first film, both at the box office and with the fans, it was all but guaranteed that a sequel would be in the works. Even now, with this film having just come out, there are already plans for the third movie and who from the games will be featured as part of the main cast, not to mention a spin-off TV series following the adventures of a certain red echidna.

If nothing else, I have to give major respect to Jeff Fowler for how he responded to the criticism of both films during production from the fans. He doesn't dismiss what they say as worthless garbage, nor does he take it too personally to the point where it affects the quality of his work. He takes the criticisms on-board, sees how they could improve the movie, and incorporates the best compromises without sacrificing too much of what makes either film good. And given that he is vocally supportive of the fandom and why they enjoy the franchise, that gives him the edge over, say, the Halo TV series wherein the creators outright admit to have never glanced at any of the games... that's not hyperbolic; that actually happened.

But enough with the build-up; let's get into the core story.

Plot:

After the events of the first movie where Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) sent Dr Robotnik (played by Jim Carrey) on a one-way trip to the mushroom planet and decided to stay with the Wachowski's, he has been taking to the streets as the wannabe vigilante "Blue Justice" (trademark pending). While Tom (played by James Marsden) and Maddie (played by Tika Sumpter) are in Hawaii to attend the wedding of Maddie's sister, Robotnik returns to take revenge on the hedgehog and continue his plans for world domination, accompanied by Knuckles the echidna (voiced by Idris Elba) who wishes to hunt down Sonic in his quest to retrieve the Master Emerald. Thus, Sonic finds himself on yet another adventure, only now he is joined by a twin-tailed super-genius fox named Tails (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) as they journey to find the Master Emerald and keep it out of Robotnik's hands due to how powerful that would make the mad scientist.

Pros:

Just like the first film, Jim Carrey absolutely slays it as Dr Robotnik, bringing his signature frenetic energy to the performance and capturing all of the classic traits of the character; narcissistic, power-hungry, deranged, and obsessive with proving his superiority. And seeing him fully embrace the madness and using drones that are more akin to the classic Badniks of the original games was a joy to watch. Carrey's Robotnik is the kind of villain where you can't help but love him purely through the charisma and gravitas of the actor.

Speaking of great performances; Idris Elba as Knuckles! Initially, the announcement of the casting was strange, but the final product pretty much proved how practically perfect it was. This version of Knuckles goes back to basics as a stoned-faced, serious warrior who ends up being manipulated by Robotnik to do his bidding. However, there are several moments where his straight-forward persona actually gives the film it's comedic edge, especially through his interactions with the laid-back, jokey Sonic or the maniacally zany Robotnik. Combine this with his backstory that gives the audience a better understanding of his motivations (more on this in the spoiler-filled review), and Knuckles quickly becomes a major highlight of the movie.

And for the first time since the Adventure games, Tails finally gets to be part of a Sonic story where he isn't useless, a coward, or used for bad comedy/a forced conflict. He is again back to basics as the blue blur's sidekick and eventual best buddy, but the film remembers that Tails is also smart and funny in his own right without having to stand behind Sonic all the time. We see him (and others) use a wide variety of gadgets to aid Sonic in his quest and he provides a new dynamic for the titular character that we couldn't explore in the first film for understandable reasons; this time, we have Tails looking up to Sonic without being a constant fanboy and proving himself as extremely useful, which in turn endears him to us whenever he interacts with Sonic and talks about his past. Tails has always been one of my favourite Sonic characters, so it's great to finally see him in a role that doesn't regress his growth.

Also, he's pretty damn cute at moments.

I also liked the character arc that they gave Sonic in this film, wherein he's still learning how to use his powers more responsibly as well as maturing as an individual through his experiences in the story. He still ultimately makes mistakes, as to be expected of someone who is essentially still a kid at heart, but he learns from them and endeavours to put what he has learned into practice as both a hero and as a friend. This actually works really well as an extension of the previous film, wherein he felt more awkward with his quips due to a lack of social interaction or even having any friends. But now, with the people he's met and the friends he's made, it's the appropriate time for him to learn about how to put them above his own ego.

In general, there also seems to have been an improvement with both the effects and the action in this film. I'll admit that I gave the effects in the first film some slack due to the fact that they had to redesign the protagonists appearance after the major backlash from the fans. However, it was very clear that the effects were somewhat rushed even with the extended release date, though this may have also been because of the studio unfortunately being shut down before the film came out. Thankfully, this film improves on the effects due to a somewhat larger budget and more time to properly develop them. This in turn makes the actions scenes, of which there is plenty more than in the first film, all the more fun as the character designs are great and how they interact with the world around them feels more tangible than just having a cardboard head on a stick for the live-action actors to talk to.

Cons:

For all the credit I can give the human characters for not being anywhere near as annoying or intrusive as other video game adaptations, I've honestly never been a fan of Rachel (played by Natasha Rothwell), Maddie's sister who hates Tom. She was kind of there to act as the expected "doesn't approve of sister's husband for personal reasons" trope and was also used as a source of comedy due to the misfortunes she went through with being tied up in her chair. Unfortunately, they seemed to double down on the character in this film with how it's her wedding that is the main impetus for Tom and Maddie leaving before Robotnik returns, and they continue with her unfathomable hatred for Tom due to her expecting him to ruin her marriage to Derek from "Criminal Minds".

I'm not making that up; look at the cast list.

Frankly, I felt like the subplot with Rachel and her wedding went on for too long and came off as just a form of plot convenience to not have Tom and Maddie around for the stuff involving Robotnik and Knuckles until the end of the second act. I won't fault the actress for this, as she does a good job with the material she is given. And if nothing else, I did get a chuckle out of seeing her and Shemar Moore's interactions during it. It's just that parts of the subplot could've been rewritten to flow more naturally with the script, especially when part of it involves a wedding ring (again, more of this in the spoiler-filled review).

In fact, there are also some other parts of the story that don't flow as well as I think they could have. The overall story itself isn't necessarily badly written, and the general structure of the film is solid enough that I can't find massive hiccups in the narrative. However, the parts where we cut to Hawaii for 5 minutes after at least 15 minutes focused on Sonic's adventure feels a bit jarring whenever they pop up, and they don't really feel all that relevant until the point where the A-plot with Sonic and the B-plot with the humans intersect after about an hour and 10 minutes. It feels more like the humans are more obligated to be included rather than essential to the progression of Sonic's character arc (once again, the spoiler-filled review will have a more detailed breakdown of why I feel this way about the story structure and pacing).

Conclusion:

But regardless of the quality presented with the human sections, this film continues the success of the first film and is generally better due to more time being devoted to the elements necessary for the film to work. And thankfully, it doesn't feel like it's just repeating the same things we had in the first film nor does it feel the need to constantly hit us over the head with pop cultural references to keep the audience engaged with low-hanging fruit for jokes. I still find myself enjoying the characters, being engaged with the lore expansions, and laughing at the moments of comedy that managed to land. And with the inclusion of both Tails and Knuckles, I'm honestly excited and interested to see how the rest of the story goes with this franchise.

Overall rating: 8.5/10 (Highly recommend).

Thanks to everyone for reading; be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think of the movie while keeping the spoilers to a bare minimum. Make sure to share this review on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc), and please give me a follow; my Twitter handle is @MediaHood23, my Instagram is @mediahood23, and my YouTube account is Media Hood Reviews. Also make sure to subscribe and ring the bell to notified of when a video goes up.

But until next time, because there always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

The Batman (2022)

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

In the midst of the DCEU hurrying to catch up with Marvel with the success of comic book cinematic universes, and failing miserably to the point of a rumoured universe wide reboot via the upcoming Flash movie, we have director Matt Reeves coming in to helm an ongoing and messy production for a solo Batman movie. Initially, the project started out as a part of the DCEU with the writing and production being handled by original star Ben Affleck; Joe Manganiello was even cast to play Deathstroke as the antagonist, complete with test footage leaked on Affleck's Instagram account.

Unfortunately, due to Affleck going through shit in his personal life which included divorce and alcoholism, on top of the messy reshoots fiasco during the production with the Joss Whedon version of Justice League, Ben Affleck pretty much abandoned the production of his Batman film and ended up becoming disenfranchised with the character. In response, DC/WB decided to hit the unenviable "standalone reboot" button and pretty much did the entire project from scratch; this time, the direction would be helmed by Planet Of The Apes reboot director Matt Reeves, who then assisted novelist Peter Craig in the writing for the script, and the role of Batman would be filled by none other that Robert Pattinson, who has otherwise stuck to independent/indie film projects after his miserable time with the Twilight films.

And judging from the behind the scenes information, everything looked to be falling into place for an interesting Batman movie. There was a strong cast in the works that also included Andy Serkis as Alfred and Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, the trailers gave the sense of a dreary Gotham centred around solving the crimes of a Zodiac killer inspired version of the Riddler, and the direction they were taking by focusing on the detective-based and psychological aspects of Batman gave the film a unique edge over the Nolan or Burton films.

Just a pity that the film had to be delayed multiple times due to COVID conditions and the original Deathstroke story just ended up being regurgitated in the shitty Titans show.

Plot:

Bruce Wayne has been operating as the Batman in Gotham for two years by the time the film starts, where he is still something of an urban legend amongst criminals and he has a shaky alliance with the GCPD, including lieutenant Jim Gordan (played by Jeffrey Wright). Recently, a series of murders have gained special attention due to a series of clues and ciphers being left behind by the Riddler (played by Paul Dano), who has been targeting the upper class and seeks to "unmask the truth" about Gotham's corruption. In order to solve the mystery behind the Riddler's identity, Batman teams up with professional cat burglar Selina Kyle, who becomes involved due to the disappearance of her girlfriend Annika. All the while, Bruce starts learning the truth about the legacy of his parents and how the past affects Gotham in the present day.

Pros:

The direction and cinematography in this film is absolutely stellar, and Matt Reeves' ability to create a dark and grim mood helps to give Gotham so much personality, essentially turning the city into a character in and of itself. You aren't just told how much of a crime-ridden cesspool the place is; it's shown to you with a lot of darkened places and suspicious looking people on almost every corner in the city. You get a firm understanding of how much this city has deteriorated with the deaths of the Wayne family, and thus why people are actually looking to the Riddler as a sign of change for this city. Granted it probably could've done without all the rain that it seemed to get night after night, which does make some visuals difficult to make out; but otherwise, Reeves' vision of Gotham is hauntingly stunning.

Speaking of; Paul Dano's Riddler is a great update to the character. We still get the expected eccentricity and narcissism often associated with the prince of puzzlers, but with a terrifying twist with him being an otherwise faceless sociopath who plans everything ten steps ahead of everyone else. I also liked how they show Riddler being smart enough to figure out Bruce's alter ego, especially with his own motivations being based on how he and other orphans were basically forgotten while Bruce got sympathy for the death of his parents.

(EDIT (11/08/2022): After rewatching the film on DVD, I realised I made a mistake; Riddler never knew Bruce was Batman, him saying Bruce's name to Batman was simply a red herring for both the audience and the title character. It was something that I missed in my initial viewing and hadn't been rectified until recently. I apologise for the confusion and for misrepresenting what actually happened in the film).

Combine this characterisation with an eerie performance from Paul Dano, and you have one of the most intimidating villains in recent comic book movie affair.

But of course, a hero and his villain must be on equal grounds, which Pattinson does extremely well as a broodier, anger-driven, vengeance-obsessed version of the Dark Knight. For most of the film, we hardly see him outside of his outfit, feeding into the idea that he is more comfortable being the Batman than he is the billionaire. This is showcased early on with him being appalled that Alfred called over some company execs to talk with Bruce due to his refusal to have a life outside of being a vigilante. And by the end of the film, upon seeing that his acts of violence is only inspiring more criminals to rise amidst the chaos that the Riddler sowed, he realises that he can't be that kind of person anymore; he has to become a symbol of hope for the city, to actually help people both as himself and as a hero. That's a great arc for the character that I don't recall being fully explored in a live-action Batman film before.

I also loved how they made sure to emphasize something not often seen in Batman movies; the fact that the character is a detective. More often than not in some of the other films, there seems to be more focus put on Batman as a martial artist and vigilante, less so on his actual deductive skills that earned him the title of the world's greatest detective. And even when that's a part of his character, it's either downplayed or his investigations happen off-screen. This film, however, makes it clear right out of the gate that Batman's keen mind and eye for detail are just as essential to him as the cape and cowl. With several scenes of him figuring out the clues found in the Riddler's ciphers as well as him actually finding evidence in the crime scenes, this is hands down the best representation of this aspect of Batman's identity as a hero. He doesn't have superpowers nor is he the strongest fighter in the world; he's the smartest guy in the room and he can easily prove it.

Also, as a side note; thank you Matt Reeves. You made the only Batman movie where he DOESN'T. FUCKING. KILL. ANYONE! I can't tell you how happy I was to see a live action Batman who, directly or indirectly, wasn't responsible for a single death. That is another essential detail about the character that so many films either ignore or stupidly mishandle in a way that makes him look like a hypocritical psychopath (looking at YOU, BvS!).

As for the supporting cast, I really enjoyed what they brought to the table. Zoe Kravitz was a great version of Selina Kyle, which in turn allowed for a lot of chemistry between her and Bruce though their banter and teamwork. She has her moments of being sly and snarky, but she also shows that she can be fierce and angry when push comes to shove; especially upon seeing her girlfriends corpse and learning that Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro) was responsible. I also really enjoyed Andy Serkis as Alfred; he still possesses the caring for his charge that any good version of the character should have by default, but he can also have his moments where he loses his patience with Bruce's obsession over his crusade. The scene that they share in the hospital shows exactly the kind of dynamic Bruce and Alfred should have. Jeffrey Wright made for a good Jim Gordon, and John Turturro made for quite the intimidating Carmine Falcone. But there was one actor who absolutely stole the show:

Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, later to be known as the Penguin. Ignoring the fact that Farrell is completely unrecognisable with the fat-suit and make-up the crew made for him, he also gives the kind of performance that this version of the Penguin deserves. This character is snarky, condescending, egotistical, and greedy, with an appropriately loud and bombastic performance from Farrell as he chews every single scene that he is in. Even in moments that are quieter than others, he still commands so much presence purely through his facial expressions. If anyone in the cast deserves recognition for the work they put into diving deep into the role, it's Colin Farrell.

The action scenes, while few and far between, are handled very well. What makes a lot of them stand out is that each one has something visually unique about them. Bruce's first fight is cast in a lot of heavy shadows as he beats up the group of thugs; the car chase between the Batmobile and the Penguin uses a lot of yellows and ambers to give the scene a darker atmosphere; Batman's first encounter with Selina is kept in a small room to emphasize the intimacy of the characters; my personal favourite is with Batman walking through a hallway and the only source of light is the flashes from the thugs guns as they fire. It's a visually dynamic, albeit brief, fight that acts as a great spectacle while also keeping the tone consistent.

Cons:

I think that of all of the praises I can give this film and how it handled the character of Batman, there is only really one issue that can only really be a nit-pick; after the Riddler is found and arrested, the film does kind of slow down a little. As I have brought up before in my review of Denis Villeneuve's Dune (read here), I don't have a problem when a film takes a slower pace in order to tell the story. However, my issue with the pacing in the last hour of this film is that it kind feels like the film should be wrapping up at a quicker momentum. The rest of the film has otherwise kept things steady, allowing the right amount time for scenes to breathe and just letting the story flow naturally. Once the Riddler is caught, however, the rest of the film kind of drags when it felt like it would've been the ample time to end the story in a neat little package. I ultimately liked the final battle between Batman and the Riddler's followers, but it could've been trimmed down a little as to allow the pacing to remain consistent throughout the entire run-time.

Also; I don't care that Barry Keoghan cameos as the Joker. It did absolutely nothing for me.

Conclusion:

But at the end of the day, even with the film slowing down near the end, I think this may be the best live action Batman movie in the longest time. Matt Reeves' direction and vision are excellent as always, and the cast gave strong performances all-around, with a moody tone that doesn't venture into becoming overly pretentious prattle like was seen in the Nolan movies, or unbearable edgelord cringe like was seen in BvS. It hits the right balances of all of the elements needed to tell a great Batman story, while allowing for further expansion of this universe in order to fully realise Reeves' plans for the mythos. Is it a perfect movie? I wouldn't say so. But it's still an intriguing detective story that also happens to be about Batman, which is exactly what was promised to the audience when it was first announced.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 (Excellent).

Nonetheless, thanks for reading my review. Whatever your thoughts are of the movie, be sure to comment below. I would be extremely grateful if you could share this on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc), and make sure to give me a follow as well; I'm very active on Twitter (@MediaHood23) and I will be sure to actually check my Instagram (@mediahood23) every once in a while. Also make sure to check out my YouTube channel (Media Hood Reviews) and please subscribe and ring the bell for any notifications.

But until next time, because there always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

My stance on current DC/WB.

 (SPOILER WARNING (kind of)!!)

Putting it out here at the start; I did end up watching the Snyder Cut a few weeks after saying I wouldn't. I'm with the majority in saying that I ended up enjoying the movie, but I felt that there were certain moments that could've been trimmed or straight up removed and I never liked Martian Manhunter being in the movie. I'm not doing a full review of it as everyone and they're nan have talked about this film to death; I'm just giving you guys an idea of where I'm coming from when I make this statement:

I am fucking DONE with DC/WB.

I guess I should also give some further context as to my experience with this cinematic universe.

The Movies (Phase 1):

Starting with "Man Of Steel", I do not like this movie. It was ultimately a dreary, lifeless experience in the cinema with dull characters and story elements that made it seem like the studio didn't understand Superman. After at least 8 years since it came out, I have softened on it somewhat, but it still leaves me feeling cold whenever it enters my mind.

With that said, it was a hit at the box office, so a sequel was pretty much guaranteed. But as more information came out in regards to the casting and the insane amount of characters being featured in the story, I became less and less hopeful that the movie would turn out to be any good. Combine all of this with one of the most ridiculously stupid and unwieldy movie titles ever made, and I was all but certain that "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice" would be just as bad as "Man Of Steel".

However, I will admit that I was wrong.

IT WAS INFINITELY WORSE! I hate this movie. I absolutely fucking DESPISE this movie. The bad acting, the disrespectful characterisation, the slow pacing, the haphazardly edited action scenes, Jesse Einserberg as Lex Luthor, the poor attempts of conflict, the lazy attempts at setting up the Justice League movie; I couldn't find a single thing about this film that I liked. And I'm also in the minority that thinks that not only did the "Ultimate Cut" do nothing to rectify any of the issues with the theatrical version, but also introduced more gaping plot-holes that resulted in the story making less sense the more that one thinks about it. And the fact that THIS was what ended up being used to kickstart a cinematic universe (not an extended one) is just an even bigger kick to the dick.

This, in turn, made the next mess look like a step-up.

… Okay, a small step-up, but a step-up nonetheless. For every positive I can name, there's something else that detracts from the experience. I can at least say there was something of a straightforward narrative, despite it being undercut by a lack of character development for much of the cast. Some of the action is well directed, but the editing and lighting makes it hard to see. There were several good performances from the likes of Margot Robbie and Viola Davis, but then we had terrible villains like Enchantress and Joker. Throw in an inconsistent tone and a bizarre soundtrack as a means of competing with the "Guardians Of The Galaxy" movies (don't bother denying it), as well as the meddling from the studio that screwed over director David Ayer's vision, and you have a messy, albeit fun, action movie that only really exists to get rid of lesser known characters like El Diablo and Slipknot.

I actually reviewed this movie at length in my early days as a critic (don't read the review, it's shit), so I can only restate what I said there; this movie is good. Good action, good acting, good direction, and 2/3's of a good story. Unfortunately, that also leaves 1/3 of the story that wasn't good and a lacklustre antagonist that muddles the main message the movie was previously going for. Nonetheless, a disappointing ending is much preferable to me than a movie that seemed to actively piss me off with every decision that was made. I can at least recommend this over every other film in the first phase of DC's cinematic universe.

Which, naturally, includes the film that followed, as well as the greatest example of the problem present in current DC/WB.

There's no denying it; the theatrical version of this movie, commonly fan-coined as the "Josstice League", is a hot mess. The colour grading looks terrible, the tone is all over the place, the villain sucks, the cast are phoning most of the performances in the poorly done reshoot portions, the comedy misses far more often than it hits, and there was a severe lack of character development for most of the core cast; if anything, there was more character REGRESSION for the likes of Batman and Wonder Woman. I may not have liked the direction they took Batman in "Batman v Superman: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack", but I at least understood what they were trying to do; meanwhile, Josstice Batman is more akin to Phase 1 MCU Tony Stark, with snarky one-liners and no difference between playboy Bruce Wayne and vigilante Batman.

And it's appropriate that I end my experience with the DC Cinematic Universe by talking about Josstice Wheagon (that's what I'll call it now), as it is arguably the most notable example of DC/WB's biggest problem; the people in charge are absolute scum-fuckers.

Behind The Scenes:

This is pretty common information now, so I'm not really adding a lot to the table; but all of the stuff that happened on the set of the Josstice Wheagon reshoots (and the CW shows, to an extent) pretty much cemented how I would approach the DC Cinematic Universe from hereon out. During the reshoots, Joss Whedon was acting like an entitled, manipulative, stubborn arsehole; refusing to take criticism or make changes to his script based on notes from the cast, taking out all of Cyborg's character arc scenes to reduce him to the token black guy of the team, inserting needless moments of comedy in times of supposedly serious situations, refilming scenes that did NOT need to be refilmed, and being incredibly racist and misogynistic along the way. As an example, when Gal Gadot and her stunt actress refused to do the scene where Flash landed on Wonder Woman's boobs, Whedon took Gadot into a separate room and threatened to ruin her career unless she did the scene. It was gross, disgusting, and incredibly disrespectful towards the actress.

And when he finally responded to everything that was said about his performance, he acted even more like an entitled little shit-stain; having the gall to state that the cast were "rude" to him, stating that Gadot misunderstood what he was talking about due to English "not being her first language", and needlessly claimed that Ray Fisher, who was incredibly disheartened with all of the bigoted shit he had to face on-set from Whedon and the execs, was a bad actor and that his allegations (despite the multiple eyewitnesses to Whedon's disgusting behaviour) were unfounded.

It actually got to the point where Ben Affleck, who already was going through shit in his personal life due a recent divorce and problems with alcoholism, tried to convince the entire cast and crew to straight up leave, as everything that Whedon had done has left Affleck to become practically misanthropic with Batman which in turn lead to him walking out of the "Batman" film project that he was writing and producing. And with how all of this was also overseen by WB, who basically forced the entire crew to cut the film to exactly 2 hours while giving Whedon entire creative freedom, it basically also means that WB are just as complicit in this with how they never bothered to step in when Whedon overstepped his bounds.

So, TL;DR: Joss Whedon and WB are bad, and they should feel bad.

But it wasn't just limited to Josstice Wheagon being a complete clusterfuck behind the scenes; the CW DC shows were also a disaster in regards to how the cast and crew were treated. The main example comes from what was going on with "Batwoman", and why the lead actress, Ruby Rose, straight up quit after the first season finale. During production, exec Peter Roth supposedly hired a P.I to keep tabs on everything that Ruby was doing both on and off the set, made worse by how Roth would have "young women steam his pants […] while he was wearing them". But this was just the start of the misconduct; at one point, Ruby went through a serious accident that required immediate surgery on her spinal cord due to herniating two discs. And instead of allowing her the necessary time to recover and simply writing some episodes without Batwoman in the story, the execs all but demanded that she'd return to the set 10 days after the surgery due to Roth saying that Ruby "would be costing the studio millions and endangering the jobs of the cast and crew if she didn't return to work at that time". Combine this with WB refusing to adjust the Comic-Con schedule due to how her surgical scars hadn't yet fully healed and Ruby being forced to announce her appearance at the convention, furthermore exasperated when they refused to shut down during the fucking COVID-19 pandemic, and it's really no surprise that Ruby ended up quitting by the time the first season wrapped up filming.

And WBTV had the flimsiest excuses when approached about this; claiming that what Ruby said was "revisionist history" and that they fired her due to on-set behaviour, despite the fact that a stunt double suffered from 3rd degree burns all over their body and wasn't compensated, as well as how similar complaints levied towards producers on other CW projects for creating an unsafe and toxic work environment have cropped up from other actors and crew members before. Furthermore, I seriously doubt that Ruby would lie to her fans about the reasons why she left in order to stir up some shit about a show that she wasn't a part of anymore. And considering that WB has had a tendency to overstep their creative control on their DC projects in the past, I'm not even giving them the benefit of a doubt that they were telling the truth versus the one who was a victim of the studios carelessness and lack of safety protocols.

Conclusion:

It's because of the studios involvement, as well as how badly that these movies and TV shows have been handled, that I've made this choice with any future DC/WB projects coming out; until the studio finally take the time to actually show respect to their cast and crew and stop interfering where they are not wanted, I refuse to watch ANY of their DC movies after Matt Reeves' "The Batman" coming out next month. Because at the very least with the Reeves movie, there is the sign that the people behind it actually know what the fuck they're doing and are doing everything that they can to make the best movie that they possibly could. Is it possible that the movie will flop? With WB's track record, certainly. But it's equally possible that it can be the kick up the arse that WB need to finally understand that what they're doing is abhorrent and wholly unnecessary.

Otherwise, I am perfectly content in keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead, as they have more good movies than bad compared to DC and Disney tries to not to interfere too much in the production process. I'll happily take several Marvel movies where the studio kept relatively hands-free, versus an entire laundry list of shitty decisions caused by forcibly direct studio involvement that results in their Cinematic Universe crashing and burning.

Regardless, this is just where I stand with the current situation regarding DC/WB. If you have your own thoughts about everything that's going on, please let me know in the comments. You can also show your support for my reviews by sharing this on various social media platforms, including Facebook (or Meta, whatever the fuck it's called), Twitter, and Instagram. You can also follow me on Twitter (@MediaHood23) and on Instagram (@mediahood23) if you're interested in a dumbarse Bri'ish twat who likes talking about movies. I also have a YouTube channel (Media Hood Reviews), so please feel free to subscribe and ring the bell for notifications.

Oh, and I guess check out my Facebook page (Media Hood Reviews)? I don't really pay much attention to that one.

But until next time, because there always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!

#IStandWithRayFisher

Dune (2021)

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

I would like to preface this review by saying that, while I was aware of this franchise by sci-fi author Frank Herbert, I never knew of the deeper history behind the original book and the various attempts that were made in making a cinematic adaptation of the story. I hadn't even read the book before I was made aware of this version being directed by Denis Villeneuve, and even then it was because my older brother had recommended it to me on the basis that it was not just a great sci-fi novel but a great novel in general. Thus far, I have read 364 out of the 529 pages (not counting the 4 different appendices at the end) in this book. I have otherwise never seen the David Lynch film from 1984, the Sci-Fi Channel mini-series from the early 2000s, or the documentary from 2013 recounting why Alejandro Jodorowsky's version never saw the light of day.

With all of that said, however, I still wanted to see how this film would turn out based not only on the research I've done into the different adaptations that were attempted since the publication of the book, but also because of how said book has gone on to influence so many other sci-fi stories; including Star Wars, Star Trek, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Futurama. It also helps that I really enjoyed what I've read of the book thus far, especially with the worldbuilding and characterisation being incredibly fascinating to a newcomer like me. And with the reveal that this film will cover only the first half of the book, I was fully confident in Villeneuve's vision for the movie, with the director having already proved his talent with 2013's Prisoners and 2017's Blade Runner 2049 (though I only watched half of the latter before quitting as I never cared for the original film to begin with).

Thankfully, having now seen this film on the U.K opening date, I can confirm that I am hyped for part 2 to come out in the next few years... provided that people don't continue to act stupid in regards to COVID.

Plot:

The titular Dune is the nickname of the planet Arrakis, a desolate desert planet populated by not only a warrior race known as the fremen, but also by 400ft-long sandworms that are drawn to any rhythmic thumping on the sand. Arrakis, however, is the only planet in the known universe to produce a valuable spice called melange, which not only extends the lifespan of those who ingest or inhale it, but also has the potential of gifting people with pre-cognitive abilities. It has also been used in developing space travel, as it can be used to bend space to allow super fast transportation from one end of the universe to the other in an instant.

This brings us to the far-flung future, where the noble House Atreides, lead by the just Duke Leto (played by Oscar Isaac), has been given the unenviable duty of watching over the production of melange on Arrakis after it was controlled by their embittered rivals; House Harkonnen, ruled by the ruthless Baron Vladimir (played by Stellan Skarsgard). As revealed during their stay, however, this was in fact all a trap set by the emperor Shaddam IV (played by Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film), as he was seeing House Atreides becoming increasingly popular with the people and became paranoid that they would attempt to seize his throne. Thus, he has partnered with the Baron to send in their forces in order to wipe out House Atreides, succeeding in wiping out most of their army and Leto killing himself with a poison gas capsule in his teeth in an attempt to assassinate the Baron.

His sole heir, Paul Atreides (played by Timothee Chalamet), escapes with his mother Lady Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) as they decide to seek out the fremen to join forces with them so that they can take revenge on House Harkonnen; all the while Paul deals with frequent glimpses into the future thanks to exposure to melange and he begins questioning just what kind of powers he has, as well as what destiny lies ahead of him on Arrakis.

Pros:

The cast in this movie is absolutely spectacular, with each actor capturing the essence of their characters to near perfection. At first I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides, as this version seems to have been aged-up from the books age of 15. But he was able to sell his performance as Paul with the Gom Jabbar scene, wherein he has to place his hand inside of a box that will fill him the sensation of pain while a poisoned needle was held to his neck. He not only perfectly conveys the kind of excruciating pain that the task entailed in the book, but he also captures the characters mental fortitude which allowed him to pass the test without retracting his hand from the box.

The rest of the cast did a great job in portraying these now iconic literary characters as well. Oscar Isaac once again showed his fantastic range as Leto Atreides, Josh Brolin made for a somewhat sterner yet still amiable version of Gurney Halleck, Jason Mamoa was surprisingly funny as Duncan Idaho, and I felt that Chang Chen was pretty much born to play Dr Yueh with all of the tragedy and betrayal that the character traditionally entails. But the one who stole the show for me was Stellan Skarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; not only is the make-up for the fat suit really convincing, but Skarsgard is pretty much flawless as the Baron. He's cunning, manipulative, ruthless, and has an ever present sense of intimidation and power that you don't want to mess with. He doesn't appear in the film that often, but he is almost always the central focal point whenever he is on screen.

And at the very least, he doesn't look like THIS:

Though weirdly, I can kind of see this diseased-ridden lunatic as the actual paedophile compared to the newer film (which, thankfully, cut that part of his characterisation out).

But back to the pros of this movie; it is a visual spectacle. Denis Villeneuve is somehow able to make Arrakis look both beautiful and daunting all at the same time. We get a great sense of how truly massive this place is, with the various scenes of the characters flying around in their ornithopters (which look spot on, incidentally) and Villeneuve's excellent direction makes the planet feel truly massive and desolate. This is especially true when we get to see how truly ginormous the sandworms can be in the scene where one attacks a spice harvester. The correct use of angles and perspective shots make the human characters look like ants in comparison to the sandworms, while also giving Arrakis a sense of personality as a dangerous place to be for anyone who dares take up the challenge of watching over it. It really is a toss-up between this and Shang-Chi for the best cinematography of the year.

And to further compliment how great of a director Denis is, one of the things I've always enjoyed about his work is his ability to create brilliant visual exposition; there are a lot of moments in this film where he truly captures the atmosphere from the book and can immediately tell you the basics of what you should know just in the ways that he presents the characters. A moment that stuck out to me was when Paul was exposed to an insane amount of melange in the first sandworm scene; there is very little dialogue, most of the shots focus on his facial expressions, and the general slowness of the scene creates a sense of both mystery and intrigue, which is definitely needed in a story that is known for doing a smart subversion of the "chosen one" narrative.

This film is also very clearly a passion project, as it not only hits the expected story beats from the book, but it is able to portray virtually 1-1 recreations of the scenes from the book. The first sandworm scene is a great example of such, but then you have the smaller stuff that otherwise would've been cut if there was a larger sense of studio interference. We have the scene where Shadout Mapes gives Lady Jessica a crysknife, the scene where Liet Kynes (genderswapped to be played by Sharon Duncan Brewster) provides Paul and Lady Jessica sanctuary after the attack, the scene with Paul's vision of the fremen spreading their religious war across the universe, the scene where Stilgar (played by Javier Bardem) meets with Duke Leto, the scene where the Reverend Mother (played by Charlotte Rampling) discusses the idea of Paul being the Kwisatz Haderach; the film even ends on the scene where Paul defeats Jamis in a duel and is then accepted as a member of the fremen. If I am correct, most of these scenes were not in the David Lynch version, which is baffling to me as most of these scenes not only create a much more interesting world for the characters to inhabit, but also gives more layers to the characters to make them more tangible to the audience. Small details like this always matter in a larger picture, is all I'm saying.

Cons:

I'll be honest; any issues I have with this movie are purely nit-picking. Whatever cons I point out in regards to the film can either just be personal things, or can just be explained by me not having finished the book yet.

But with that said, I want to start with who I feel is the least interesting character in the movie

Chani (played by Zendaya) is the only character in this film that I personally could not get invested in, which is honestly a shame. Like the rest of the cast, Zendaya is putting in a really good performance as the character. The problem comes down to 2 main things. Firstly, she is barely in large chunk of the movie. The most we see of her before the end is in Paul's visions of Arrakis, wherein she's either walking around in a gown or is kind of just standing there looking at Paul. And secondly, when he finally meets her in person, the interactions between the pair are very brief as they basically jump straight into the fight between Paul and Jamis as soon as we meet up with the fremen. It feels kind of rushed in a film that otherwise takes its time in getting from one story point to the next.

Admittedly, that's also all I've seen of her in the book thus far; but seeing as how this is an adaptation of a well-known and highly regarded piece of sci-fi literature, one would think Chani's transition from book to film could help in making her a more interesting character. I'm not asking to have her supersede Paul as the protagonist; I just wish there was more to this character than what is currently presented. I guess I'll have to wait for part 2 to see what else, if anything, they do with her.

I also think that there were some scenes from the book that also could've made it into the film to help establish of the empire that exists in this universe, as well as give an idea as to what the emperor himself is like. One of my favourite scenes from the book involves Duke Leto hosting a dinner party for other nobles, some of whom questioning Leto's choice to share water with the fremen and changing certain societal customs. This, once again, was a great worldbuilding scene and was used for Jessica and Paul to see which noble can be trusted after there are suspicions of a traitor in the castle. I don't necessarily think the movie is ruined for not having this scene, but even with a longer runtime this could've been an excellent means of showcasing the characters intelligence and informing the audience more about the empire.

Not to mention, there is ONE scene that easily could've made it into the film; Lady Jessica and Thufir Hawat (played by Stephen McKinley Henderson) being incredibly distrustful of each other and airing their grievances. This was a vital scene in the book, as both were accessing each other through their respective training as a Bene Gesserit and a Mentat and deciding whether or not they could trust each other. Thus, in the aftermath of the attack, Thufir believes that Lady Jessica was the traitor and swears to have her made an example of due to his anger. This scene tells us so much about these two characters and their dynamics, and yet it's not at all featured in the movie.

Speaking of which, Thufir, one of the most pivotal characters from the book, is also given very little to do in the movie. In the book, he is unfathomably loyal to Duke Leto and is constantly cautious of his suspicion that Lady Jessica is the traitor hiding among them. And when the Baron takes over Arrakis, he is slowly made their slave after they put in a permanent poison without his knowledge and only give food and drink laced with the antidote if he serves them, slowly breaking him to follow the orders of the man ultimately responsible for killing Leto while still believing that Jessica had a hand in the House Atreides falling. In the movie, however, he only really appears a few times and is never seen again after the Harkonnens invade. There's never any sense that he suspects Lady Jessica, nor is there any lip service to say that he is being enslaved by the Baron. Kind of a missed opportunity, really.

Also, as my brother pointed out; WHERE WAS GURNEY'S BASSINET?!

Conclusion:

Nit-picks aside, I honestly think that Denis Villeneuve's Dune is one of the best sci-fi movies in the last decade, as well as a top contender for best film of the year. The atmosphere and worldbuilding is top notch, the cast do an incredible job with the roles they are given, the direction is a visual marvel, and it's accuracy to the source material is absolutely commendable. I'm glad that I saw this movie in the theatres, and I will happily pay to see a sequel on the day that it comes out. This is a story that modern audiences need to see, especially if it is done a effortlessly as Denis makes it look.

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 (Great).

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But until next time, because there always will be one; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!