Barbenheimer: Part 1 of 2
This is the kind of film I really don’t want to criticize, because we don’t get nearly enough other stuff like it. However, mr. Nolan has been in need of an intervention for a while now, and unfortunately all of the issues that have been plaguing his films since The Dark Knight Rises show up to some degree here. Visually it might just be his best film, and there’s some tremendous acting in here, particularly by Murphy and RDJ. However, it makes the common biopic mistake of treating its subject matter like a Wikipedia entry, thereby not focussing enough on character and perspective. As a whole, the film feels more like a long extended montage, I don’t think there are many scenes that go on for longer than 60 seconds. There’s a strong ‘and then this happened, and then this happened’ feel to it, which definitely keeps up the pace, but it refuses to stop and let an emotion or idea simmer for a while. There are moments where you get a look into Oppenheimer’s mind, but because the film wants to cover too much ground, it’s (like everything else) reduced to quick snippets. It’s the kind of approach that’d work for a 6 hour long miniseries where you can spend more time with the characters, not for a 3 hour film. I can already tell that I won’t retain much from this, in fact a lot of it is starting to blur together in my mind. There are also issues with some of the dialogue and exposition, such as moments where characters who are experts in their field talk in a way that feels dumbed down for the audience, or just straight up inauthentic. Einstein is given a couple of cheesy lines, college professors and students interact in a way that would never happen, Oppenheimer gives a lecture in what’s (according to the movie) supposed to be Dutch when it’s really German; you have to be way more careful with that when you’re making a serious drama. Finally, there are once again major issues with the sound mixing. I actually really loved the score, but occasionally it’s blaring at such a volume where it drowns out important dialogue in the mix. I’m lucky enough to have subtitles, but Nolan desperately needs to get his ears checked, or maybe he should’ve asked some advice from Benny Safdie since he’s pretty great with experimental sound mixing. My overall feelings are almost identical to the ones I had regarding Tenet; Nolan needs to rethink his approach to writing, editing and mixing. This film as a whole doesn’t work, but there are still more than a few admirable qualities to it.
Edit: I rewatched this at home to see whether my feeling would change. I still stand by what I wrote in July, though the sound mix seems to have been improved for the home media release. It sounds more balanced and I didn’t miss one line of dialogue this time around. I’m slightly raising my score because of that, but besides that I still think it’s unfocused, overedited, awkwardly staged and scripted etc.
5.5/10
Pattinson is the best Batman ever.
he is so tortured, his emotions are sincere. He's the darkest and most precise batman out there.
the visuals and the soundtrack are incredible and take you into the thoughts of the character.
For me it’s a masterpiece.
Margot Robbie is a gift to cinema. This movie is a gift to our society. It's enjoyable and fun but part way through it become a pretty good commentary on our society and how men and women treat each other. It talks about capitalism, consumerism, feminism, the patriarchy, men's mental health, and how wrong we get the simple act of living sometimes. I'm sure there's gonna be people who think this is ultra woke, but maybe (and ironically), that's some people need.
If this film is a cake, then it’s got the best possible frosting you could wish for. The cake itself, however, isn’t great.
I’ve always had a strange relationship with these films. I don’t really care for the Raimi films (I think they’re overly cheesy, poorly acted and dated, though don’t expect anyone from around my age to admit that), the Webb films are fine (really like the first one, second one’s a mess) and I’ve really liked the 2 recent ones (not as much as Into the Spiderverse, but still good in their own right).
Compared to the previous 2, this one pretty much ditches the John Hughes aesthetic as it goes along, and it goes into full on, operatic superhero mode.
Unfortunately, it is another one of those project that puts nostalgia and fan pandering over story and character, the kind of blockbuster we’re seeing over and over again in a post Force Awakens world.
This story is completely hacked together, consisting of so many contrivances, conveniences and established characters acting out of character that it becomes a bit of a shitshow ( Doctor Strange, a genius, is being tricked by teenagers; Peter not knowing about the consequences of the spell is a very forced way to set the plot in motion; Ned being able to open portals is quite ridiculous when the Doctor Strange movie made a point about how hard that is to learn; why is Venom in the universe given how they set up the rules of the multiverse, and the list goes on ). The problem is that they needed to take that bullet in order to make the film they wanted to make here (or rather, the film fans wanted to see), but that doesn’t make it the right choice by any means, because it leads to a nonsensical film with a rushed pace.
Look, you can nitpick this film to death ( why would a university publicly admit that MJ and Ned are rejected because of their connection to Peter? ), but that’s not even my point. It’s heightened and not meant to be taken that seriously, I get that, but you at least need some form of internal logic, you cannot just do these unearned things because the plot demands it.
It’s not all bad though, Holland’s Spider-man still has a very good arc with some great emotional beats in it, and they make some very bold choices towards the end that I hope they stick with. It’s very similar to the first Fantastic Beasts, so I hope they don’t pull a Crimes of Grindelwald by retconning everything .
The acting is great, Holland and Zendaya give their best and most mature performances yet, and the villains are all good. I really like that they toned Dafoe down a little bit.
It looks fine. It has some of the best cinematography out of the trilogy, but some of the action looks very animated (again, stop touching up the suit, just let it wrinkle ffs) and unfinished, which is probably because this thing was rushed out, as we know.
For instance, there are some really wonky shots in the scene where Spider-Man fights Doctor Strange, the close-ups with Benedict Cumberbatch look like a weather forecast on television.
The references to the previous incarnations are a bit of a mixed bag. I like that they progressed some stuff and did interesting things with the things they referenced ( for example, you really feel like time has passed with Tobey and Andrew, they’re not giving a copy of their original performances, which is also a great excuse to tone down the awkwardness and lack of personality in Tobey’s version. Also, the banter between them is very nice, of course ), but most of it plays like a pandering greatest hits compilation. I don't need Dafoe to say you know, I'm something of a scientist myself again, it is nothing but a cheap attempt to trigger my nostalgia button.
Finally, it also has some of the worst tonal balance and comedy out of the trilogy, especially with some of the lines that are given to Benedict Cumberbatch.
5/10
In summary/TLDR: great idea for Sony’s bank account, but the seeds for this needed to be planted much earlier in order to make it a good film.
Not only is Endgame the most ambitious movie Marvel has made, but it also is the grandest. Even more so than Infinity War. No other movie can utilise the emotional ties that have been embedded within our hearts over the build of 11 years. And boy does it use them well. Stringing together scene after scene of nothing but impactful tension in the third act. But this doesn't leave the other two boring or bland. It allows these parts to build off of the aftermath of Infinity War. Never once was I bored, or felt like I was sitting there for three hours. For the action is no letdown, lovely dynamics are interwoven for a fantastic spectacle.
I don't want to say much, but it is hands down the best Marvel can offer. It is not Infinity War, Part II. It's something much better, the true culmination of everything and I do mean everything. The fan service here is through the roof and done so damn creatively. Not one thing feels hammered into the story. Even some major elements in its plot stem from the smallest details of previous movies I would have never seen coming. Taking even lesser liked fragments and stringing them into a more meaningful poetic story than the original movie would have ever told.
Using style and grace to tell this bold epic is strong with this movie. Gone are the golds and purples of Infinity War. And in comes a bleak atmosphere with hope lingering yet far. Visual storytelling is a bit lacking, but that is not what you come here to expect. You have been supported with all the exposition you need in previous movies. Since this is the case, it must be judged as a singular part of a series.
The themes in this movie are unity, utilisation, and more importantly; revelation. Kevin Feige has given this movie a lot to work with through these themes and has finally made his magnum opus.
Yes, there are a few hiccups. But that's to be expected. Captain Marvel was not given her full potential again sadly. But worked well with what was given. There is an amazing moment within the third act that truly gives her and a certain cast of characters time to shine. Plus the time it takes to leave out is a bit jarring. Not to mention, that to me Thanos seemed less threatening than in Infinity War because of something that happens. Still great impact by Josh Brolin of course.
Everyone will cry. Everyone will laugh. Everyone will leave sad yet satisfied with this amazing conclusion to the MCU so far. It's no Dark Knight, but then again, that was more drama than superhero epic. But this is modern hero gold. Here is the Holy Grail of superhero cinema.
9.6/10
8/10 After second viewing - Hype obviously had its hands around my neck I admit. Review doesn't meet my current thoughts about the film
Check here for my rankings on the MCU:
https://trakt.tv/users/corruptednoobie/lists/my-mcu-rankings?sort=rank,ascCheck here for my 2019 movie rankings that I've seen:
https://trakt.tv/users/corruptednoobie/lists/best-to-worst-2019-movies-so-far?sort=rank,asc
The meanest thing I could say about this movie is ‘Has extreme Don’t Worry Darling energy’.
I have never seen a movie more desperate to justify itself. It’s trapped in this endless neurosis over what it is- a blockbuster Barbie movie in 2023 by an acclaimed art house director that is fun but also deep but also earnest but also self aware but also but also but also. Every point it raises it brings up a counterpoint to before the audience can, every frame is trying to prove it’s not just product but art. It’s never just Barbie. It’s never confident or even comfortable in its skin. You cannot for a second be immersed in Barbie because it’s not a story so much as a visual dissertation without a central thesis, it’s a student film riffing on the big dogs hoping it’s underdog audacity will carry it but given a budget in the millions. It so desperately wants you to like it, to know it’s in on the joke too.
Everythng is an ouroboros here: an endless loop of argument and counterarguement feeding itself. Isn’t it shitty how the Mattel boardroom is full of men? Ah, but isn’t it cool how Mattel’s acknowledged it with this niche? And it’ll mythologize Barbie’s creator but uh don’t worry she did tax evasion we know that, now let her impart into Barbie the experience of all women. Barbie helps women, Barbie hurts women, Barbie is told to be everything so isn’t she just like women, but it is better to be a creator than the idea, and in the end, hasn’t Barbie helped all these women? Oh uh why is this blonde white Barbie the centerpiece of it all and helping not only her diverse Barbie friends but a Hispanic woman and her daughter? Don’t worry we’ll have the daughter call her a white savior! But don’t worry we’ll have the mom say she’s not! It’s fascinating to watch, honestly. It’s a film that wants to prove to you so so bad that it works but it doesn’t and it knows it doesn’t and it knows you knows. It’s Gerta Gerwig wrestling with taking this job for an hour and a half.
The cast is more than game and able. Margot Robbie is doing her damndest to find the heart and soul in this role, and there’s one scene with an old lady near the end of the first act/beginning of the second that actually works, for just a moment, more than any of the big third act soliloquies or montages with emotional ballads. And as someone who’s seen Blade Runner 2049 and Drive, this is the best Ryan Gosling performance I’ve seen. The man commits and delivers a surprisingly compelling and entertaining antagonist. The movie can’t quite reconcile what he’s done with his ending, or tie it into the themes- is Ken letting go of Barbie and the need to define himself for or against her symbolizing the need for men to do the same, and if so, why play it so lightly and sympathetically?- but that’s not his fault. And the supporting cast are entertaining, but you just can’t have big laughs with a movie that feels like it’s constantly checking in the corner of its eye after every joke to see if you’re laughing, grin stuck in place. It’s not as funny or as smart as it wants to be, and the sad thing is, it feels like it knows that too.
There is some great set design, cinematography, dazzling choreography, popping colors, and some fun high points. But I can’t imagine many kids liking it. And we’ve seen how conservatives have taken this movie. And anyone’s who’s progressed beyond the politics of. Well. A feminist blockbuster Barbie movie will find it cloying or condescending or just incredibly basic. It’s aimed at a very specific crowd who will buy what it’s saying, the liberals who see corporate feminism as progress, who agree that it’s just about a little change sometimes, who are ready for something just a little more complex than a SNL sketch. I don’t regret seeing it, because I was deeply engaged the whole time seeing it struggle at war with itself, in pain for its whole existence. It’s not a boring movie by any means. It wants to say everything before the audience can say it first. It’s the endpoint of The Lego Movie and Enchanted- the corporations interrogating and justifying themselves, and the cracks in this formula are too large to ignore. It wants to be so much, and the attempt is as darkly mesmerizing as a fly thinking it can somehow and someway metamorphize into a butterfly and suffocating and struggling in its makeshift cocoon, but this is one Barbie that fundamentally just cannot break out of its box.
I just want to thank the cinema gods for this absolute dream. It feels like I passed out and when I came to I could remember a very good and satisfying Batman film.
What do you call a movie in which fantastic beasts have 15 minutes of screentime, and a character named Grindelwald commits 1 or 2 crimes? Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald? That’d be weird, right?
Pros:
- JK’s imagination. Even when a movie messes up as much as this one does, it’s still one of the most charming and imaginative universes put to screen.
- Pretty well directed with great performances
- Newt (gets more development here) and Jacob
- Queenie’s storyline (if you pay close attention, I think it all adds up)
- The beasts, who are reduced to tools for Newt here, are a fun and creative addition
- The climax, Grindelwald’s speech and motivation
- Visuals, score and CGI (this was especially improved after the first film)
- Action scenes (opening scene and bookstairs chase)
Cons:
- Incredibly incoherent (they really should’ve scrapped a lot of characters and their storylines, in my opinion: Leta, Nagini, the black wizard, and even Dumbledore, as they don’t contribute a lot to this particular story).
—> Also, a lot of scenes are pointless (like the underwater creature)
- Two characters are still incredibly annoying (in my opinion those are Credence and Tina), although I’m not sure it’s the writing or acting that makes me hate them so much
- The ending feels like bad fan fiction; good twists should have subtle hints, JK should know this above anyone else
- Too much exposition
- A few scenes are underlit, or too dark
- Some continuity errors (and no, I’m not just talking about the one that has already been reported everywhere)
- The CGI on those cat creatures wasn’t that great
4/10
The action sequences were solid, particularly the martial arts, and the casting and acting were also fine but the script is a mess, the pacing is off, and the second half feels goofy and disjointed from the first half. The second half action was difficult to follow and felt like a DC cluster f--- aimed at the Chinese market. HOWEVER, I am looking forward to seeing Shang-Chi utilized in the future films.
It's an objectively well made and well acted movie that I really enjoyed. The plot is well structured, fast paced, and dialog well written.
It has the moral imperative to end sex trafficking but it's not through heavy handed guilt tripping, but through telling a true story about a man who made personal sacrifices to do the right thing and courageously go into danger to be a genuine hero. I think anyone who has any sense of altruism will leave this movie inspired to take action against this truly heinous evil that is real and happening now. Go see this movie.
Initial Reaction
The Good
• The sets and world design are hands down some of the best the series has to offer. Really above and beyond on how they could expand the amazing lore.
• Music is also good. Mixing with the old theme still carries on here from the previous film, and it works.
• The opening. It's amazing, truely a fantastic opening to what seemed to be such a promising movie. The best opening to any Wizarding World film.
• New creature designs are spectacular. Beautiful to behold.
The Bad
• The plot is awful. This is a set up film. It goes nowhere. Having a prequel means to expand upon something we don't know the ending too. Or at least be interesting enough to care about something else that we don't know the finale too. This movie does neither.
• Zero stakes.
• Predictable if you know how they screwed up characters.
• There is a serious lacking of motivation from every character. Except Dumbledore possibly.
• Continuity errors that the first film justified, but here they just forget about.
• Acting is ok but I really didn't care about these characters they are trying to make me love. The first film made me care. Here, it's just like they aren't the same people.
• Though, I will commend the dark tone it carries for the first half or so. Its comedy that it tried to slot it, didn't work at all.
Other
No post-credit scenes after the film finishes.
Conclusion
This is without a doubt, the worst film so far in the franchise. I say so far, because apparently there are going to be 3 more movies. Which I doubt after this. Truely a disappointment as I am left dissatisfied.
Wasn't a fan of this movie. I'm getting a bit tired of Ryan Reynolds playing the same character in every movie. It worked for Deadpool, but it's growing old watching him act that same way in every movie since. The humour in this movie was mostly a miss for me, though I do admit there were a few moments that drew a chuckle from me. The premise of the movie drew me in, but I don't think it was executed very well. It ended up just being pretty bland and generic, with lots of inconsistencies and things that made no sense. It was as if the people behind the writing had no idea how MMOs work. The cameos from the famous YouTube and Twitch streamers felt a bit cheap too, as if they were just trying to cash in and appeal more to a certain demographic.
Not a horrible movie by any means. But certainly not one that I would recommend either.
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Oppenheimer’:
Much of the film, particularly in the beginning, felt more like a montage than a movie. The scattered-ness of the scenes created a disconnect that made it difficult to absorb what exactly was going on.
Why the black and white? What purpose did that serve? I’ll probably find out at some point, but it’d be nice to know in real time.
I certainly didn’t expect Nolan to give us Oppenheimer for Dummies, but I really wish he would have. Performances were clearly impressive (I’m looking at you, Cillian), but they’re hard to fully appreciate when everyone is having rapid-fire conversations about fairly complex situations — and you’re too busy trying to keep up. This being my biggest qualm.
Eternals, the film where Robb Stark and Jon Snow find themselves in a love triangle with Sersi.
Besides that piece of ironic casting, I’m not seeing the hook with this film.
I’ve seen some people arguing that it’s boring because of its slow pace.
It’s not, it’s boring because it’s an empty wet fart of a film that doesn’t have one ounce of personality.
It feels like one of those long, drawn out, indulgent college lectures where you’re constantly asking yourself what the point of learning this stuff is, and you’re still not sure by the end of it.
The cinematography is great, it looks like a Denis Villeneuve film with its use of natural light, but that’s pretty much the only thing I can praise about it.
Most of these films are entertaining because of their interesting characters, comedy and ocassionally the action (if it doesn’t look like artificial crap).
This film doesn’t really have characters in the first place.
It tries to balance 10 leads, which results in most of these characters being reduced to archetypes.
Most of them have one or two quirks, but none of them develop into well rounded or engaging characters.
Even some of the acting, which is the one thing these films usually get right, is a little wonky and one note.
It tries to compensate for its lack of action with drama, which I’d welcome if it wasn’t the same, generic ‘monster bad, we have to fight them’ shtick we’ve seen time and time again.
The philosophical questions that it tries to pose feel tacked on and have no meat to them, not unlike a Zack Snyder DC film.
There’s also so much handholding in this, the amount of exposition is kinda insane.
You don’t need to dumb your film down to the point where your exposition dump that starts the film repeats itself two more times during other dialogue scenes.
The third act, as expected nowadays, looks like plastic and is filled with effects that already look dated.
Is it that hard to give us something subversive like Doctor Strange again, and to stop having these fake and obnoxious cgi battles?
Then you wouldn’t have to underpay your visual effects artists to animate a battle for which most people close their eyes during.
There’s still one good thing to come out of this: we can now definitively reject this narrative (which was floating around in some circles) that critics will go easy on a film because of diverse casting, the director being an Oscar favorite, the brand or a film being ‘woke’.
So at least there’s that, though I wouldn’t be surprised if these morons find a way to twist it into their narrative regardless.
I can already see some of them claiming that critics hated it because there wasn’t enough gay sex in it.
Frankly though, I agree: where was the sex scene between Angelina Jolie and Gemma Chan?
3.5/10
some things of note because i've made it a habit to point out things that half-assed critiques get wrong before saying what i actually think about a film:
this was not directed by jordan peele. he produced it. nia da costa directed it, and it has very much the same feel as her overall body of work. comparing this to get out and us is unfair to both peele and da costa.
the original candyman was a social commentary as well. a lot of slasher flicks are social commentaries with regard to topics aside from historical racism like disabilities, socioeconomic disparity, and mental illness. if you don't like social commentary in your horror? your horror options are pretty limited.
my advice is always this: if you can't enjoy a movie because it tackles subjects of inequality and oppression, then that's a you problem. it's a problem worth working through, all the same.
anyway, i loved this. so glad it was my first movie in theaters again since the pandemic started, it was highly worth it. the score was unsettling and stressful in just the right way, and fuck if the progression of the bee sting wasn't the most disgusting thing i'd ever seen. also: those of you who get really grossed out by trypophobia might want to avert your eyes a little in the church scene. the pattern is uniform, not irregular, but it's still real fucking weird.
Okay, more of a romance than a comedy.
Seems to be written and acted by people who have no idea about mmorpg's and think every game is GTA o.0
Story leans more towards what should have been a VRMMO at least then the chemistry would have made sense, kinda feels like someone told someone about a VRMMO novel and then they made up all the details around that. Not saying they should make a overgeared or legendary mechanic movie or better yet tv show.... but if they did, it'd be better than this. Not saying this is bad, just if you actually play any games beyond GTA you'd realise pretty quickly.. this game would be boring as hell, there's only one small city for a start. Player housing can be broken into, which would be an interesting twist... but not one many players would subscribe to as new players would just get tired of being robbed every 2 seconds and starting from scratch everytime they login... Hard pass
Writer's have zero clue about code, servers, network management, user management, GMs, streaming - though was surprised to see poki (only one I recognised) or even deleting things o.o Seriously the guy just had the old build running in the background?
I got too many complaints about the technical side to go into...
Anyway, not a bad movie. Well worth a watch, just try not to think too deeply when watching it.
Loved it!! Even though it had a run way around the world.. It had enough action to keep me satisfied and the return of letty always nice..
Tacky, exposition-heavy, yet somehow charming.
The set is incredibly tacky — I doubt anything else would have worked to be fair, but, it is taken too far at times - reminded of one particular scene where an alligator leaps out of the water to snap up an ibis :asterisk_symbol:eyeroll:asterisk_symbol:. There are some moments of cinematographic brilliance though, which reminded me of the superlative “Knives Out”.
The writing slaps you in the face with clues every other line: Someone said their shawl is missing, did we just hear someone say this trip was their idea? Did you catch that or should I make it any more obvious? This approach makes for a movie that would work great in a group setting with folks pausing to discuss theories. In other words, it would make for a great streaming movie, almost perfectly suited for the medium. Wouldn’t head to the theaters to watch this one, unless of course yours allows pausing and discussion.
Didn’t care of the ending but that’s the least important part anyway. No ending can change how much you will like this movie.
7/10 - Adequately fun streaming content.
We have here an atempt to make: a horror/action/drama/historical thriller, with a well know piece of literature that at the same time is one of the most iconic characters of all cinema history. Luke Evans don't even touch the surface of Dracula, managing to be worst than Gerard Butler in the also unlucky Dracula 2000.
All the motivations in the movie seems to misplaced (the villain is too evil, the hero is too good...) with a mish-mash of at least three recent big ass movies of the genre. We see Nolan's Dark Knight, Zack Snyder's 300 and Marc Webb's Spider Man, all compressed in the same plot.
The sets are good, but not good enough to work as a make up to the weak script we are served with. The transitions in the story are weird, making the entire movie an almost 2 hour trailer of something that appears to be good. This problem with the montage makes the movie empty and rely on the (maybe the great quality of the movie) visual effects, wich is a great mistake, once it does not translate the action with the proper dynamic.
We'll have to see about this expander universe of monsters, and wish that this mistake do not repeat with others beloved monsters.
First overall impression: As a standalone ? Why not. But as what appears to be the lead into the next big phase, pretty disappointing.
It has the defects of what used to be the DC style.
1) First It's trying to introduce too much too fast
Too many characters. Most of their powers are not so interesting that you would identify them with it, and some are not even named before pretty late in the movie. Sure it's more original than having an intro scene for each, but with that many I'm not sure that was the good choice.
The whole background of Marvel cosmogony. It is weirder, less known, more difficult to explain, harder to relate to, and less in sync with the more realistic tone they tried to give to the movies. Thor was already a bit hard, this is another level.
2) And then: name dropping.
A lot of basically out of nowhere references to Avengers here and there. HEY HO, WE ARE IN THE SAME FRANCHISE, DON'T FORGET, PLEASE LOVE US!
Note: They also name drop Batman and Superman, which is a bit weird.
It's still done better than in DC movies though.
So let's see the characters:
Serci Very bland as a main character. The whole "Am I fit to lead ?" trope is boring. Power is pretty unfit for action, luckily a lot of things fall on her.
Ikaris Most interesting character as an Eternal but we basically know nothing of his human life, betrayal is a bit expected but still works. Power is a sub Superman copy, but at least works very well in action scenes.
Sprite There's a bit of a story there too though it's developed a bit late. A non combat power that is under used.
Ajak Not really interesting as a character or a leader. Not sure how her power was supposed to be any help in the mission.
Kingo The comic relief, most developed character, best human story and still useful in a fight. The movie is a bit long sometimes, he's what makes it bearable.
Thena Mainly just the focused warrior, not much interest there. Specially as her violence issues conveniently disappear as soon as the one that stopped them dies... Real fighting power, but doesn't render too well in action scenes.
Gilgamesh Really cool character. Very basic power and just as luckily as for Serci, a lot of huge enemies have a tendency to blindly run at him so that he can punch them.
Phastos The most human, mainly for the funny interactions with his son. Weird power, but looks like Tony Stark using Jarvis.
Druig Could have been interesting, but seems boring, maybe comes from the actor, not sure. Another power that has no interest for their mission.
Makkari Almost unseen. Power is Flash, so not much more interesting.
The story itself is pretty straightforward, they go around the world gathering the troops. A big ellipsis on how they travel and never interact with human population though. Same with the main Deviant, that just swim from Canada to London I suppose ? And that is just conveniently here when needed for storytelling.
I think the Deviants are supposed to be more humanlike, with intelligence, personalities and powers, but I guess that would make the Eternals' initial job a little less palatable. They look ok as beasts, but even the one that becomes more sentient is just a detail in the end, and its final fight and death is very anti climatic. A bit of a waste.
The flashbacks are ok, but not always interesting. Several tend to drag the movie for too long.
An interesting point though, is the final moral dilemma. Was it really ok to save the Earth by killing a Celestial ? Not sure.
Action tends to be a bit too fast, with the camera moving around too much, while their power do not make for the most interesting fights. It's however very well done, as usual.
Post credits scenes show well that this isn't meant to be a standalone, but compared to previous phases, can't say it's that exciting.
This is billed as a thriller/horror flick, but the vast majority of the film focuses on the dynamics of the two couples and the dysfunctions in their relationships. It's not until well over halfway into the film that things start the amp up and the actual home invasion elements don't really come into play until the very end...and then it is very abruptly over. This weird pacing is what holds back an intriguing premise acted out by a very great cast.
