Denis Villeneuve is the man!
There’s only one word that came into my mind after watching it: finally.
Finally, a blockbuster that isn’t afraid to be primarily driven by drama and tension, and doesn’t undercut its own tone by throwing in a joke every 30 seconds.
Finally, a blockbuster that puts actual effort in its cinematography, and doesn’t have a bland or calculated colour palette.
Finally, a blockbuster with a story that has actual substance and themes, and doesn’t rely on intertextual references or nostalgia to create a fake sheen of depth.
Finally, a blockbuster that doesn’t pander to China by having big, loud and overblown action sequences, but relies on practical and grounded spectacle instead (it has big sand worms, you really don’t need to throw anything at the screen besides that).
Finally, a blockbuster that actually feels big, because it isn’t primarily shot in close ups, or on a sound stage.
And of course: finally, a blockbuster that isn’t a fucking prequel, sequel, or connected to an already established IP somehow.
(Yeah, I know Tenet did those things as well, but I couldn’t get into that because the characters were so flat and uninteresting).
This just checks all the boxes. An engaging story with subtext, very well set up characters, great acting (like James Gunn, Villeneuve's great at accentuating the strengths of limited actors like Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa), spectecular visuals and art design (desaturated but not in an ugly washed out way), pacing (slow but it never drags), directing, one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores: it’s all here.
I only have one real criticism: there’s too much exposition, especially in the first half.
It can occasionally hold your hand by referencing things that have already been established previously, and some scenes of characters explaining stuff to each other could’ve been conveyed more visually.
Other than that, it’s easily one of the best films of the year.
I’ve seen some people critiquing it for being incomplete, which is true, but this isn’t just a set up for a future film.
It feels like a whole meal, there are pay offs in this, and the characters progress (even if, yes, their arcs are still incomplete).
8.5/10
On the surface this film is about a group of people who have been labelled “villains”, working together to save the world. But really, this film is about one man and one man alone, he isn’t strong, but yet he defies all odds and sacrifices his life to save his friends. His only power is his bravery, he is the driver of the van and the main character of this film, Milton.
Like other DC movies that get bad reviews in general but are pretty decent in reality, I was expecting the same from this movie too but God!!! This movie is awfully executed. Lots of things comes to my mind and I'm gonna list those things without any spoilers.
Overall, this story had the potential, the concept was good, old characters were good, First half of the movie was alright but then second half is absolutely meh. CGI is good but the fights feel baseless because the plot is bad and villains are badly written and those lame comedy dialogues ruins everything.
God!!! This was awful! The comedy is not it, it is what made the movie miss its mark mainly because the alter ego characters do not fit with their counterparts. Does the power make kids more kiddies? I don't think so but it's what it implies.
Also, wtf for some reason I thought the Freddy kid was Shazam. Is Billy supposed to be the MC? I don't get it.
Anyways what made this movie horrible is:
This was really terrible. It was as formulaic as formulaic got. As I watched the film, I was reminded that while the creators of the majority of these superheroes may have had a good idea in the beginning, a good idea does not a story make. Most superhero origin stories were incredibly basic. They followed the same type of idea, and it got really boring really fast. There was zero depth to any of the characters involved in this film, and when Amanda Waller called on a ridiculous roster of superheroes to assist in whatever catastrophe was next, it made for a really poor setup of a movie, let alone movie franchise.
The cursory look at whether these superheroes should be assisting oppressed people was really pathetic, as well. They showed up in an oppressed country and protected the oppressors w/ some line about "due process." It made them look like the same fascists that were oppressing others in the first place, b/c fascism and murder were not designed to be fought w/ due process. The entire point of fascism was to bypass due process in order to implement your special brand of hate.
This line of thinking bled into the entire problem w/ the dialogue. The script felt as if it were written by people who didn't have much in the way of critical thinking prowess. In the beginning of the film, the heroes were on their way to confront Black Adam, and Pierce Brosnan made a statement about how they'd employ diplomacy so as not to get into a fight w/ him. The first thing Brosnan then said to Black Adam was, "Kneel or die." How exactly was that anywhere in the universe of diplomacy?
Finally, there was one plot point that stood out as especially terrible, and it was the death of Fate. In the film, he stated to his team members that he'd be taking on the enemy himself, b/c he foresaw the death of Hawkman. He said that he should be the one who dies, instead. However, he didn't so much as die in battle as commit suicide. In the middle of the fight, he simply removed his helmet, the item which gave him all his power, and allowed the enemy to kill him. Of course, this was used as the emotional impetus to drive his teammates. It was so poorly written that it was nearly unfathomable. The only reason I gave this film a six was due to the fact that this debacle wasn't in any way the fault of the actors involved, and I felt bad for them.
The story is captivating and doesn't shy away from violence and more adult themes.
The animation is gorgeous.
The character development is on point. The characters are deep, relatable and they each have their struggles and growth.
Don't worry if you know nothing about League of Legends. Solid character development and world-building make Arcane an enjoyable watch regardless of having no background knowledge of the universe.
This show is a masterpiece.
Everything I wanted it to be and more. Perfectly cast and excellent soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Epic Sci-Fi at its best.
'Wax ON, Wax OFF' :-)
