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).

Regardless, thanks for reading. Be sure to share this one social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) and leave a comment letting me know what you think. I'm also on Twitter and Instagram (both under Media Hood Reviews) and I'd appreciate it if you check out my YouTube channel (also Media Hood Reviews). Be sure to subscribe and a ring the bell for when a video goes up.

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

Transformers War For Cybertron: Kingdom (2021)

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

Another day, another Transformers show to watch on Netflix.

I think that it's no secret by now that the "War For Cybertron" trilogy has not exactly been successful with the fans. With "Siege" not leaving a good first impression, and "Earthrise" only compounding the issues with it's storytelling and characterisation, I couldn't find that many people who were entirely excited for the conclusion of this storyline; "Kingdom". As good as the toyline itself has been thus far (which, full discrepancy, has been excellent despite a few blunders), the main reason I would get excited for Transformers is with the accompanying fiction. If the show/movie doesn't work, then my enthusiasm for the toyline will only give so much leeway if I'm disappointed.

Unfortunately, although I had a glimmer of hope for what was essentially a "Beast Wars" revival, what we got was more along the lines of the quality of "Beast Machines" instead.

Let me just go over the plot and I'll get into my issues with this show.

Plot:

The story picks up immediately after the end of "Earthrise", with the Ark and the Nemesis landing on prehistoric Earth where the Allspark has taken residence. But upon arrival to the planet, they come across two other factions of Transformers; the Maximals, led by Optimus Primal, and the Predacons, led by Megatron (who is sadly NOT voiced by David Kaye). They are Transformers who ended up on the planet from the future, coming from a Cybertron that has gone desolate and is under the tyrannical rule of Galvatron and Nemesis Prime, who are in turn trying to escape the grasp of their master and creator; the planet devouring Unicron. Thus, the race is on to get the Allspark back to Cybertron, as both are symbiotically linked, meaning that one will die without the other if they are not reunited in time (despite that never being a factor until now).

Pros:

As per usual with these shows, the animation models themselves are really good; with the Autobot and Decepticons being spitting images of their current action figures for good and for ill. That said, however, I found it odd that the Maximals and Predacons, with exception to Rattrap, aren't based off of their toy designs; they instead opted for something more akin to the original show models with slight IDW influence due to the harsher angles and blockier aesthetics. They still look good on screen, and I wonder if that was done intentionally to contrast with the somewhat more slender WFC designs for the Autobots and Decepticons.

The action scenes themselves had a good energy to them, though I can understand when people say that the movement speed should be up to 1.5x. There are moments when the action tends to slow down a little, but never to the point of feeling like there's constant, unnecessary slow-motion to drag the pacing to a crawl. Besides, there's still a decent balance between the gunfights and hand-to-hand combat to keep things interesting, especially as the Maximals and Predacons tend to use more guerrilla-style dirty fighting during their action scenes.

I also felt that they more or less got the basics when it came to the personalities a couple of the Beast-Era characters, more specifically Dinobot and Blackarachnia. We still see the former eventually defect from Megatron and recognise the value of honour and integrity over simple loyalty to a cause in a war, all leading to his sacrifice to save the day and get the heroes to the Allspark. It's simple compared to his departure in the original series, but at least the intent was there and the voice acting for him wasn't overtly terrible. As for Blackarachnia, she begins the series as scheming and manipulative, until she eventually joins the heroes in fighting off against a common foe; although, I felt like it was kind of rushed and there wasn't much downtime to really get into her interactions with the characters beyond Dinobot and Starscream.

Cons:

As much as I appreciate small things like Dinobots' characterisation, many of the same problems from the previous two entries are repeated and compounded here, with the most notable example being the voice acting. While it was irksome in "Siege" and "Earthrise" with how the voices sounded off and dreary, it's even worse in this series in how almost NONE of the Beast-Era characters voices fit, not even remotely. Optimus Primal sounds less like a confidant commander type who puts his trust in the strength of his team, and more like a distrustful douchenugget with barely withheld anger issues. Dinobot is lacking the signature gravel in his voice to give the character his unique gravitas and making certain call-back lines feel half-assed. And of course, as many of your are probably aware of by now, there's Megatron:

Ignore the portion that dubs over the voice, and let's get to the main problem; this voice SUCKS. Not only does it sound NOTHING like Beast-Era Megatron, but everything about it is simply wrong. The inflections, the pacing, the tone, the intonations; all of it is awful. This is easily the worst acting in the series, which is saying a lot when you remember good ol' Jake Foushee and his Optimus Prime voice.

And it certainly doesn't help that most of the Beast-Era cast are not only given very little to do in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of them have very little in terms of characterisation. Cheetor was more or less just there for the majority of the series, Rattrap only got a couple of attempts at any quips, Tigatron pointed a gun every once in a while, Airrazor was pretty much the token woman of the team, Rhinox only got to show off his scientific skills once, Megatron is just the G1 Megatron fanboy, and Scorponok was reduced to little more than the generic cannon fodder that the Maximals fought off in droves. I'm happy that my favourite characters, Dinobot and Blackarachnia, are at least given stuff to do and have actual personalities to work with, but not if it comes at the expense of the rest of the cast.

Speaking of, this show basically confirms that stuff happening back on Cybertron with Elita-One fighting against Shockwave was essentially completely pointless; because as soon as they're back on Cybertron, they find out that EVERYONE that stayed behind has died. Meaning that the following was a complete waste of time in the grand scheme of things and the time that it took up could've been used for more important aspects of the story:

• Elita-One freeing the prison camps.
• Jetfire lending a hand to the rebellion.
• Seeing Megatron syphon most of the planet's populace to power the Nemesis.
• Elita-One conflicting with Jetfire over their differing ideologies.
• Megatron and Elita-One arguing over factional loyalty.
• Imprisoned Decepticons helping Elita-One in the final battle.
• The final battle itself.
• Whatever Shockwave's plan was.

And finally:

• The destruction of Kaon with Elita-One inside of it.

In other words, the very existence of "Kingdom" renders all of the stuff in "Earthrise" that focuses on Cybertron completely unnecessary to even watch. More than half of the previous show is easily skipped over because of how ultimately irrelevant it was to the grand scheme of things.

There also isn't really a smooth integration of the Beast-Era cast into the story itself; they kind of just appear in the story and only briefly explain that they are from the future where Cybertron is even more of a desolate Pit-Hole. It's never explained HOW they came from the future, nor is it ever established how long they have been there; just that it has been a long time and that they are fighting each other. Furthermore, we never really get an idea as to why Beast-Era Megatron is such a G1 Megatron fanboy or why he went after the Golden Disk. In fact, the Golden Disk is hardly ever a part of the main story beyond somehow connecting to Galvatron and Unicron.

Speaking of, Galvatron and Nemesis Prime are very one-note villains with little actual involvement in the story. They just appear in the final episode, start attacking the main cast, and are instantly defeated via Primus Ex Machina before somehow ending up back in Unicron's grasp. Frankly, given how generic their personalities are, they could've been replaced by literally any other creation of Unicron (namely Cyclonus or Scourge) and virtually nothing else would've changed. They tried to pull something similar to Thorin from the Hobbit movies with Megatron slowly going insane before redeeming himself, possibly as an allusion to him becoming Galvatron in the future, except it doesn't work as both his turn to insanity and eventual attempt at redemption happen in an instant and is given very little actual lip service beyond what I had just described. It was wholly superfluous to include Galvatron and Nemesis in this because of how little they tied in to the series from a thematic and narrative standpoint.

Conclusion:

To be clear; this wasn't the worst Transformers series I have seen. I don't even think it's the worst of this trilogy; "Earthrise" beats it to that with how more than half of it's story and cast was virtually pointless by the end. But it still continues the exact same problems that the other instalments has had without doing anything to mediate them. We still have characters we don't care about with little personalities to endear the audience. We still have sub-par storytelling with everything either having little elaboration or little reason to be included. We still have mediocre voice acting from people who seem to have a lack of direction or input as to how they should deliver their lines beyond "sound as miserable as possible, even when cracking a joke", with Jake Foushee as Optimus Prime and Marcus Bobesich as Beast-Era Megatron being the biggest sinners in this regard. All of this culminates in what I feel is the worst thing about this entire trilogy; wasted potential.

This trilogy of shows honestly wouldn't be as widely disliked or even ignored were it not for all of the potential storytelling and characterisation directions being wasted on the default status quo that people unfamiliar with the franchise associates with it; a story about giant robots who turn into cars and trucks fighting each other. If these shows at least used the ideas that it had presented in a more effective way, then Netflix could've had a new flagship property to excel with now that the Marvel shows had been cancelled and reactions to the new "Masters Of The Universe" show has been mixed across the board. But with all of the time wasted on needless sub-plots that get little development and a severe lack of character development, we now have the modern generations equivalent to the Unicron trilogy; it started off weak, got worse in the middle, and just barely limped to the end.

And it's because of that, that I can't really recommend "Kingdom" or any other part of the trilogy unless you are a completionist like me. Otherwise, this is an easy skip.

Overall rating: 5 out of 10 (basically skippable).

If enjoyed this review, be sure to share on this social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc) and leave a comment letting me know what you thought. I would also be happy if you followed me on Twitter (@MediaHood23) and checked me out on Instagram (@mediahood23). And finally, be sure to check out my YouTube account (Media Hood Reviews) for toy and movie reviews on an inconsistent schedule because I tend to be a bit of a slacker.

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

Replacing The Knight

 (SPOILER WARNING!!)

I have incredibly mixed feelings about "Batman: Arkham Knight", both as a standalone story and as the conclusion to the otherwise excellent "Arkham" series in the Batman mythos. Let me just get my positives out of the way first.

There were several fun side-quests, most of the alternate costumes were cool, I really enjoyed some of the new combat features like the Dual Team Takedown, the voice acting was still top notch for a majority of the cast, and the graphics did a great job of capturing the atmosphere and feel of Batman's portion of the DC universe. And if nothing else, it did what it set out to do; it wrapped up the narrative for the "Arkham" series.

However, those were all the superficial elements, as the primary aspects of any storytelling medium that should get the most attention and development is the story and the characters. Unfortunately, both elements fell flat for me; with the story being a confusing mess with no clear direction or theme, and the characters felt more like one-note versions of who they are meant to be. The biggest offence in this regard would be with the villains trying to overtake Gotham just being barebones evil and Batman being a stubborn jerk who refuses help from people.

But by far the biggest issue I have with this game is with the primary villains; Jonathan Crane, a.k.a Scarecrow, and the titular Arkham Knight. The former hardly does much in the game beyond just popping up on giant billboards and waxing philosophically about fear and how he'll destroy the legend of the Batman. He says it's out of revenge for Batman leaving him to die at Arkham Asylum, except Batman didn't leave him to die; Killer Croc attacked him and clawed at his face, which resulted in Crane surgically altering his appearance to look like a scarecrow. Croc was even the one who, unintentionally, stopped Crane from dropping his bag of Fear Toxin into the river, which would've been detrimental to Croc as well as the rest of Gotham. Thus, Scarecrow's whole motivation for his revenge scheme makes absolutely no sense.

But worse off out of this story is the Arkham Knight himself. Initially, it was announced that he was a completely original character with no affiliation to anyone in the rest of the Batman mythos. This, of course, was an absolute lie, as it was revealed at the end of the second act that the Knight was actually Jason Todd; a.k.a, the former 2nd Robin and currently the Red Hood. And Jason's motivation for wanting to go after Batman is actually worse than Crane's; he believes that Bruce betrayed him by leaving him to die at the hands of the Joker in the Asylum, and so wants to kill Bruce as revenge. This, however, not only doesn't gel with Jason's characterisation from the comics, but also brings up Jason out of nowhere for the first time in the universe. Before this point, we didn't even know if Jason existed beyond a one-off reference in a Riddler challenge where you play as Tim Drake's Robin.

Normally, in the comics, Jason is bummed that Bruce didn't save him from the Joker's clutches and replaced him as Robin with Tim, but he ultimately forgave Bruce for that. Jason is only mad at Bruce for his refusal to kill criminals like the Joker, if only because he believes that's what lead to the pair being separated. That's what normally makes Jason such an interesting foil for Batman; the ideological divide over whether it's more effective to kill criminals instead of locking them away. We saw this in "Under The Red Hood", both the comic and the animated movie adaptation, and other iterations of the character outside of the comics has this same ideology; a willingness to use lethal force instead of sparing criminals.

They don't even bother giving Jason a proper redemption arc once his identity is revealed; we just beat him in the lamest boss fight in the series since the encounter with Deathstroke in "Arkham: Origins", and then he turns up later to free Bruce from Crane's clutches due to a sudden and off-screen change of heart. It stinks. Neither Crane or Jason should've been the main villains of the game due to a lack of any compelling motivations as well as generally sloppy storytelling and characterisation.

I don't have a problem with Jason being in the game, but not as a central antagonist. If they wanted to use Jason in the story as the Red Hood, there are two easy ways to go about it.

1) Have him as a side-quest, replacing the Deacon Blackfire one as that was completely pointless to the game. Have him still taunt Bruce about his identity and put him to a challenge of saving convicted criminals, all culminating in Jason revealing himself to Bruce and reveal that he's kidnapped Harley Quinn and plans to kill her for being the Joker's sidekick. From there, just have the scene play out like it does in "Under The Red Hood"; Bruce is given the choice to either shoot Jason to save Harley or leave and let Harley die, but he makes his own choice that saves Harley and stops Jason. Jason then tries to blow up the building they're in, he disappears, and Bruce just takes Harley to jail. Leave it ambiguous as to what happened to Jason, and maybe have a conversation where Harley confesses that she wanted no part in Joker killing Jason; give Harley some actual humanity instead of leaving her as the ditzy blonde sidekick to Joker's antics.

2) Just have Jason help the Bat-Family on certain quests. Let's say that, instead of Tim, Jason is at the Panessa Studios keeping an eye on the people infected with the Joker's blood. It would make more sense, as Jason could easily overpower them if they tried to escape, and he has a personal connection due to how it was the Joker's actions that led to Jason becoming the Red Hood in the first place.

But that then leaves two big questions:

1) If Jason isn't the Arkham Knight, then who is?

2) If Scarecrow isn't the villain, then who is?

Thankfully, I have the change needed that would not only give the viewers a decent mystery as to the Arkham Knight's identity, as well as clear up some plot holes, but would also give the series a much more thematically satisfying conclusion. But instead of simply giving it away right now, I'm going to lay the ground works leading up to the change and how it affects the progression of the narrative.

So let's get started with:

The General Plot (And more):

The basis for the games story remains pretty similar; Gotham will be evacuated thanks to a threat that also results in Gotham's villains running rampant and taking the city for themselves. But instead of Scarecrow giving the threat while showing off his latest Fear Toxin formula, it'll be the Arkham Knight threatening to kill every single person in that city unless his demands are met, thus starting his military invasion whilst Gotham is still evacuating. This immediately raises the stakes, and forces Batman to call in everyone to help in getting people out of Gotham as safely as possible. He'll have Nightwing, Red Robin, Spoiler (Stephanie Brown), Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Red Hood, Catwoman (why not), Nightrunner (Bilal Alsselah), and Batwoman (Kate Kane) going around Gotham fighting off the various gangs working for the super-criminals while also assisting in the evacuation.

We could also show the members of the Bat-Family doing most of the side-quests and allowing Bruce more time to deal with the main threat at large; just show the side-quests in flashbacks with the framing device of being the Bat-Family members giving their reports to Bruce, not too dissimilar to the MJ and Miles Morales missions in the PS4 "Spider-Man" game. This at least makes it more plausible that Batman is able to stop whatever the Arkham Knight has planned in a single night, while also giving the chance to spotlight the dynamics between the various sidekicks that he has. For example, Jason and Tim could take down Harley's thugs as they try to take the various Joker infected prisoners for themselves, or we can see Nightwing and Spoiler teaming up to take down Penguins weapons caches, or even have Batwoman and Batgirl take down Man-Bat and Firefly. Even have Catwoman and Nightrunner taking down the Riddler to give the rookie a chance to shine. Mixing and matching these characters helps to give more variety and showcases Batman as someone who explicitly trusts his allies to help him.

Regardless, we can still have that bit at Ace Chemicals where Bruce rescues the workers and encounters the Arkham Knight (albeit this happens during the second Act instead of partway through the first), and their talk can be more or less the same; the Knight taunts Batman about his identity and how he plans to kill Batman after destroying his legacy. But a disguised voice stops the Knight from killing Bruce right there, as they want him to suffer a little bit more. The Knight reluctantly complies, and the rest of the mission play out as is. Only this time, as there is no Scarecrow in this game (or at least not as the main villain), the worry isn't that there is a massive Fear Toxin bomb that could encompass the entire East Coast in a cloud of fear, but rather a threat of a nuclear device that will detonate and destroy all of Gotham. This, however, was a trap set up by the Knight and his mysterious benefactor to trap Bruce inside the facility. There is no bomb, the facility doesn't even blow up; Bruce is just trapped there with no way out, allowing the Knight and the Militia to finish taking over Gotham. This is done to make Bruce look like a failure, as well as allow the Militia the chance to outnumber the rest of the Bat-Family.

It also allows the players the break they needed from one of the most controversial additions to the game; the Batmobile. I personally didn't hate it, but I completely understand where people are coming from when they say that too much of the game relies on using the Batmobile to get from one part of the story to the next. And with the absence of the Batmobile, I'm also bringing in another change; no unmanned tanks. The Militia are mainly using firearms and sword-fighters as the bulk of their forces, while still having specified soldiers like medics and heavy hitters. I'll explain why later.

Eventually, once the next round of side-quests are complete, one of the Bat-Family (let's go with Red Robin, because why not) is able to get into the facility and gets Bruce out. Bruce has been keeping track of everyone's progress, and is proud of them for keeping Gotham safe as best as they can without him. Once they get out, however, Bruce learns that the Knight is bringing in an even bigger army who are all out to get him, and starts investigating who the mysterious benefactor could be. After all, it's highly unlikely that someone like the Knight, who is obviously obsessive and unhinged, would be able to build an army on his own without any outside help. This investigation can have Bruce work more with Barbara (who won't be kidnapped in this version, because that was straight-up dumb in the game) to try and figure out the benefactor's deal. And as the story continues and the Bat-Family take down more of the super-criminals (I would specifically have Catwoman help stop Harley from obsessing over the Joker and guide her into a cell with Poison Ivy, who doesn't die because that too was dumb), eventually the benefactor is found and revealed to be...

A teenaged boy that looks like a young Bruce Wayne!

Bruce is confused by this, and questions the boy, who reveals that his name is actually Damian al Ghul, the artificially created grandson of Ra's al Ghul. He's the one who inherited the League Of Assassins after Ra's was impaled in Arkham City, and explains that he was created by the League as a combination of Bruce's and Talia al Ghul's DNA, making him Bruce's biological son. Suddenly, everything starts to click into place in Bruce's head; the Militia is a completely re-organised version of the League of Assassins, and they're here because Damian wants revenge for his mother's death in Arkham City, having made a deal with the Knight to complete his goal.

Meaning that the one who has been supplying the Knight with the forces he needs is none other that the most recent Robin in the comics; Damian Wayne. And it's not like this is unprecedented; in Arkham City, Talia mentioned how she and Bruce shared a night in Metropolis, so she could've gotten a sample of Bruce's DNA (whether it's his sperm or a strand of hair) and was able to use the technology at the League's disposal in order to combine it with her DNA and artificially create Damian as a potential heir to the League. And then, while Damian is being watched by another sect of the League outside of Arkham City, news reaches them and they learn of both Talia and Ra's being killed. All they know is that Batman was there and that the Lazarus Pit had been destroyed. Since he doesn't have the full details of what happened, Damian thinks that Bruce himself killed them and wants to see him dead.

There. A much better motivation for someone to take revenge on Batman than just "you left me to die" as well as one that more or less matches how Damian would act when someone he cares about is hurt or killed. In "Son Of Batman", the animated movie that introduced Damian into the DC Animated Movie universe, Talia is shot by Deathstroke and Damian tries to kill him in retaliation, only stopping because of Bruce's rule to never kill their enemies. But since in my version of the game Damian hasn't been raised or taught anything by Bruce, he doesn't have that stopping him from trying to kill Bruce for his mother's death. He knows of Bruce's no-kill rule, but refuses to abide by it because of how he was raised by the League of Shadows.

Speaking of, the use of the League as the Militia actually explains how the Knight has his army. In the game, it's never really explained how Jason was able to build a massive army of soldiers and unmanned drone tanks, not to mention all of the mines and watchtowers set up throughout the whole city. Using the League, however, answers that question; Damian is now in charge of the League and allies with the Knight to fulfil the common goal of destroying the Batman's legacy, the Knight specifically training several League members in modern weaponry/combat and medicine.

Anyways, that's more or less Damian's deal in this game; he's not necessarily evil, just incredibly misguided by the teachings of his grandfather while not coping with the grief brought on by losing his mother. But it's through the commonality of their love for Talia that Bruce can eventually talk Damian down from his revenge scheme. And if nothing else, Bruce can see this as the chance to honour Talia's memory by directing Damian away from the path of the League.

But it's here, that the Knight decides to put his plan into motion as to close off the second Act; he makes a massive broadcast on every channel in Gotham (including the GCPD and various news networks) and tells Gotham that he's done delaying the inevitable, deciding that he's going to reveal who he is to everyone watching. He removes his helmet, revealing... Bruce Wayne!

The Knight:

So, a question that I've been avoiding for some time; who is the Arkham Knight? And to answer that, I'm going to breakdown the events of what might just be the worst side-quest in the game; "Friend In Need". This is a bit lengthy, so please forgive me if I take too long.

This quest starts with Batman entering Wayne Tower via the elevator, and enters his office as Bruce Wayne. He takes a seat, but can't seem to access the computer as it doesn't recognise his retinal scan. This is where Lucius Fox comes in, confused as to why Bruce is here, before Bruce attacks Lucius and uses his retinal scan to access the computer, transferring most of Wayne Tower's money to a separate bank account; all of this being caught on camera, which in turn is watched... by Batman. From here, we learn that the Bruce Wayne that we have been following is an imposter, a man wearing a surgically crafted mask that he created from the faces that he removed from his victims. The man behind the mask is the Identity Thief, otherwise known as the surgeon Thomas Elliot who also calls himself Hush. We actually met Hush at the end of a side-quest in "Arkham City", as he had done this as a revenge scheme to destroy Bruce Wayne. And what is Hush's plan to destroy Bruce and everything he stands for, despite years of knowing each other from childhood?

Steal Bruce's fortune.... and that's it.

In "Arkham Knight", Bruce just subdues Hush and knocks him out before saying he'll put him on trial for his crimes. There's basically zero resolution or impact from this side-quest; you could just ignore it entirely and nothing about the game would really change. This is an objectively lazy way to resolve the storyline building with Hush trying to kill Bruce, as he easily could've been one of the main antagonists. Hush is normally a master manipulator and strategist, being intelligent enough to not only figure out Bruce's identity as Batman but also get the villains to co-operate in order to kill Batman. That's virtually what he does in his first major story arc in the comics; has a bunch of Batman's rogues gallery join together in a massive game of deception to kill Batman, even using Poison Ivy's pheromone dust to control Superman and have him attack Bruce.

Thus, as far as I'm concerned, the Arkham Knight never should've been Jason Todd; it should've been Hush. He has the right training and the right motivation to go after Bruce, as he is normally Batman's darker reflection. They were both born into wealthy families, but the main difference was that Thomas's parents were less than noble; with his father being incredibly abusive, and his mother being frail and submissive. He actually tried to have the two killed so he could inherit the Elliot fortune, only for Bruce's father to save Mrs Elliot in surgery, sparking the hatred that Thomas would have towards the Wayne's for the rest of his life. He is obsessed with destroying Bruce Wayne and rendered a complete sociopath because of his abusive upbringing.

For this version of the character, he could play the same role he did when he first debuted; manipulating the villains, as well as Damian, to take Gotham for themselves while also killing Batman (though I will leave out him knowing Bruce is Batman). However, since Hush has put himself through plastic surgery as to resemble Bruce Wayne, he uses this as the opportunity to discredit Bruce's legacy; pretend to be the real Bruce in order to make Gotham distrust him and think of him as a villain. And it's through this that Bruce decides to make the only choice he has;

The Climax:

Something that was really missing from this game was a climatic final battle. In "Arkham Asylum", you face a giant plant controlled by Poison Ivy before fighting a TITAN infected Joker. In "Arkham City", you fight off against Clayface in order to get the cure while also stopping Joker from getting into the Lazarus Pit. But in "Arkham Knight", Bruce is just taken to the Asylum, has his identity revealed, overcomes Crane's Fear Toxin, and puts Crane in jail. We really needed to wrap up this series of games with one truly epic final bout between Batman and the main villain. And I've come up with one that's not only thematically appropriate, but still leaves the door open for potential continuation.

Batman decides to go out into Gotham; Hush has set up a challenge to fight him outside the GCPD building, which he had taken over and wants the world to see Bruce Wayne as someone to be hated and shamed. This is where Batman arrives, news helicopters flying around as Hush stands outside the building without his mask. The two are standing across from each other, though Hush is backed up by the toughest members of the League at his disposal.

And from here is an exchange I've written between Batman and Hush:

H: I said before that you were predictable. I would suggest not taking another step; you wouldn't want to see Gotham's finest hurt now, would you?

B: Enough of this, Elliot! You won't win this.

H: You truly are as blind as the creature you pretend to be. My name is Bruce Wayne, and it's time that Gotham sees you as the weakling that you --

B: I said enough! You are not Bruce Wayne; you are Thomas Elliot, a genius-level surgeon and heir to the Elliot fortune. You are wearing a mask made from the skin of your victims to resemble Bruce Wayne. Now you will let them go, or you'll regret everything that led you to this moment.

H: Even if I were who you claim I am with that outlandish theory of yours, why would you even care? One billionaire shouldn't be any different to another in your eyes.

Batman initially hesitates; Hush sees this as a sign of weakness, and turns to address Gotham, to whom he is broadcasting this event.

H: Exactly. You people have deluded yourself into thinking he is your saviour, the Dark Knight swooping in to save the day with some tacky gadget or an overwrought car with a cannon on the top. But now you see, that there truly is no saving this city; Gotham will perish, and the Batman's legacy will die with it.

Hush turns back around to Batman.

H: Now then; is there anything you wish to say before your legend dies?

By now, Batman's resolve has hardened; he clenches his fist.

B: I only have one thing to say to you.

He reaches behind his head, and removes his helmet; revealing his identity to both Hush and Gotham.

B: Take your best shot, Tommy.

The citizens watching are shocked, but more importantly confused. Which Bruce Wayne is the real one? Is he the Arkham Knight, or is he Batman? Hush briefly starts to panic.

H: N-no, no this can't be right! Bruce Wayne is a pampered, spoiled brat; he's never had to fight for anything in his life! You can't be-- I'M Bruce Wayne!

B: No. You're a murderer, a criminal; a coward.

Hush is furious, but he hides it as he puts on his Arkham Knight helmet.

H: It doesn't matter; now that I have the chance to destroy both Bruce Wayne and the Batman in one night!

B: That won't happen, Tommy. You've already lost.

H: Are you blind or just stupid? Look around you! You're completely alone!

???: I wouldn't say that!

Both Hush and Bruce turn to see Nightwing leap down and stand beside Bruce on the right.

N: Sorry I'm late Bruce; hit a little traffic.

Hush seems unimpressed.

H: One sidekick won't make a difference!

A shot is heard; one of Hush's soldiers falls to the ground clutching his shoulder in pain. From behind Bruce, Red Hood walks to his left while holding a smoking pistol.

RH: Good thing, then, that there isn't just one!

From there, the rest of the Bat-Family arrive. Batwoman swoops in with Batgirl by her side; Catwoman uses her whip and gymnastics to drop down from another building and is followed by Nightrunner; Red Robin and Spoiler then grapple in standing side by side; and finally, a red and black bike arrives on the scene, with Damian jumping off from it wearing his own Robin suit. All of the costumed heroes are standing across from Hush, but none of them are wearing their masks; they're standing together as one family and refusing to stand by in the shadows anymore. They've taken Bruce's example and showing that they are not afraid of the man standing across from them.

Bruce takes a small step forward.

B: For all of the things you say I am, Tommy, there's one thing you've gotten wrong.

H: And pray tell, just what would that be Bruce?!

Bruce looks at each member of the Bat-Family; they each all nod at him before he looks back at Hush.

B: I am more than just Bruce Wayne. I am vengeance; I am the night; I! Am! BATMAN!

By now, Hush has had enough; he and his soldiers charge forward, with the Bat-Family charging back. And from there, they fight.

The main thing I wanted to explore with this ending is the fact that Tommy and Bruce are near mirror opposites. Both of them are smart, are heirs to an incredible fortune, and have experienced how harsh the world can be. But while Bruce has channelled his inner demons to fight for the people of Gotham and become their saviour, Tommy allowed his inner demons to consume him and turn him into a murderous monster. And it's because of his demons that Tommy refuses to believe that Bruce has ever truly suffered, thinking that he had his riches handed to him on a silver platter while Tommy had to fight and climb from the bottom to have even a semblance of recognition or respect. They are mirrors of each other, because Tommy's very existence asks the question "what if Batman had none of his morality and chose to become a killer?" With this, not only do we get a proper final boss battle to close out the story, but we also have Batman rising against the worst version of himself.

Also, revealing Bruce as Batman to the public this way I feel is much more effective than how it actually happens in the original game for one main reason; Bruce is choosing to reveal himself instead of letting someone else doing it for him. In the game, you're basically forced to surrender and let Scarecrow reveal Bruce's identity to the public, which didn't really feel earned nor did it allow for better storytelling. It was basically an excuse to play as the Joker in Batman's head before he overcomes his fears and is inexplicably saved by Red Hood.

And of course the main reason as to doing this; it gives Hush something to do in the story. In the main game, if you were to remove Hush from the story, absolutely nothing at all would change. He comes in, takes Lucius hostage, is beaten, and is never brought up again. It's a complete waste for a character like Hush to just be relegated to an E-plot at best, especially with the set-up for him in the previous game. And with the establishment of the Arkham Knight character as someone who has a personal grudge against Batman and Bruce Wayne, on top of having the skills needed to go toe-to-toe with him and recruit the other villains to help, it would've made sense that this was Hush's grand scheme to kill Batman and ruin Bruce Wayne's legacy by masquerading as him. By having him as the Arkham Knight instead of Jason Todd, it is therefore challenging Bruce to defend his honour and fight for Gotham, which he can only do by showing that he is both Bruce Wayne, the eccentric playboy billionaire CEO, and Batman, the defender of Gotham and widely-feared vigilante; one cannot exist without the other and he is embracing both to save Gotham.

Anyways, fight scene ensues; Bruce is mainly fighting Hush, while the rest of the Bat-Family fight off Hush's thugs. We can use this as an opportunity to allow for banter between the members of the team, taking down enemies together with the Dual Team Takedown mechanic, show off everyone's unique fighting styles such as Damian with a sword or Jason with his pistols; go all out and have fun with it. And by the end of it, each member takes a shot at Hush, breaking his armour away until his helmet is destroyed; Bruce then comes in and uses his arm blades to slash at Hush's face mask, revealing the real face underneath and exposing Thomas Elliot to the rest of Gotham. By now, Elliot is panicking; everything that he has fought for has fallen apart and now he has nothing left. But as he tries to run, Bruce lunges at him and pins him to the ground.

H: N-no! NO! This isn't over, Bruce! I'll never stop hunting you until you're dead, you hear me?!

B: It IS over, Tommy; and you'll never win.

He knocks Elliot out, and the remaining League members try to retreat, only to be stopped by the Batmobile. Barbara's voice is then heard coming from it.

Br: I'd think twice if I were you guys.

With that, Bruce picks up Elliot and drops him off at the GCPD. Aaron Cash can be there to take him in, and he can still do the whole "I'll stick to Batman" joke because I actually really like that line. Only this time, Commissioner Gordon steps out of the elevator to see the whole Bat-Family, unmasked and exposed.

The Ending:

And from here, I've narrowed it down to one of two ways that the story can go. Firstly, it can go the game route with the Knightfall Protocol; Bruce blows up his mansion, apparently fakes his death, and everyone keeps on fighting in his place. I don't mind that as an ending to the story, but I also don't think that the game really earned it. And with the way that I've put my story together, it doesn't really gel with the main ideas that I'm going for.

But thankfully, I do have an alternative that could still work as a solid conclusion while leaving the door open for further expansion. With that said, I've written an exchange between Bruce and Gordon to help give you guys an idea of what I'm going for. It goes a little something like this:

CG: Bruce; what now? The whole world knows who you are; who ALL of you are.

B: I know, Jim.

CG: All of the scumbags that you've locked up won't ever stop coming after you. Cobblepot, Dent, Crane, Nygma; they'll be all the more desperate to see you dead.

B: That's right. And that desperation will be their downfall.

Gordon is visibly confused. For this next part, I'm imagining a montage of the GCPD going out and arresting criminals all across Gotham.

B: In all of these years that I've been Batman, one thing has remained true in my mind; criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot. I had to be able to strike fear in their hearts. But the more that I let myself put on the mask and scare them into never terrorising this city again, the more that I lost sight of Bruce Wayne and who he is. And that idea, that I could one day lose who I am; that's what scared me tonight, Jim. I revealed who I was to the world, not just to prove my innocence; but to show that I am not just Batman or Bruce Wayne. One cannot exist without the other. And it's because of that, that anyone who comes after me or the people I care about will never win. That's why Tommy didn't win; because I am not afraid anymore. I've hidden away for too long; I'm stepping out of the darkness and coming into the light.

Now we're back with Bruce and Gordon. Bruce puts out his hand to Gordon; they shake hands, and Bruce puts his mask back on, the Bat-Family following suit. After, Gordon hears his radio go off, turns around to listen in.

R: All units, all units; reports of Julian Day and Victor Zsasz causing havoc in East Gotham. I repeat; Calendar Man and Zsasz in East Gotham. Please respond.

By the time Gordon turns back, the Bat-Family is gone. He scoffs.

CG: What a shock.

We cut to each member of the Bat-Family traversing across Gotham; ending with Bruce standing over Calendar Man and Zsasz with as thugs surround him. Each one is taunting him, calling him Bruce instead of Batman. But then, the Bat-Family all swoop or swing in and stand together, with Bruce leading from the centre with a smile on his face before they all charge in.

Cut to black, roll credits.

Conclusion:

And there we have it. A story with an Arkham Knight that has a real motivation; an ending that fits a stronger thematic than just "fear is bad"; a narrative that gave the other heroes a chance to shine; a Jason Todd who isn't a whiny contrarian; and finally, a look into the potential of having Hush as the villain standing toe-to-toe with Batman.

As for why I included Damian Wayne in this, it was mainly to wrap up the stuff with the League Of Assassins in this story. They had more or less been one of the core villains in the franchise, with Ra's' body appearing in "Arkham Asylum" and the group being responsible for getting Quincy Sharp elected as the Mayor, which in turn led to the foundation of Arkham City and Hugo Strange initiating Protocol 10. Having Damian in this story not only allows for Bruce to honour Talia's memory by guiding Damian away from the path of revenge, but also gives the game the chance to put an end to the storyline with the League that's been building in the background since the first game.

And at the very least, my version of the story wasn't just relegated to an unsatisfactory DLC with characters acting like morons.

Anyways, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed, be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think. Please share on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Follow me on Twitter; my handle is @MediaHood23. Same with my Instagram; @mediahood23. And of course, please check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel; Media Hood Reviews.

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