Review by Jordy
VIP8If last year's Top Gun Maverick gave everyone the slightest bit of hope in regards to films that click with the general audience and blow up at the box office, this is the kind of film that'll make any self-respecting film fan lose all hope. Here's the deal: kids will pretty much like this by default, adults who are looking for validation of their childhood obsession will like it, and people who show up to see an actual movie won't. It's pretty much the blandest, calculated, do-nothing film they could've made out of this material. The animation is devoid of style and looks like it was originally rendered for a Dreamworks project back in 2008, the voice acting is mostly ass, it triggers the nostalgia & reference button way too often, the story & characters are watered down to a point where they're almost non-existent, it's not funny and its boomer rock soundtrack choices make absolutely no sense. It's irredeemable trash, like every product that rolls of the Illumination Entertainment conveyor belt. Nevertheless, I'm willing to bet that due to the large fanbase of the IP, this will be one of those films where in the short term some of the discourse will insist that "some people/critics don't know how to have fun" or "it's made for the fans" (only for those same people to deny ever liking it in the long haul, of course). Here’s hoping Illumination doesn’t listen to those voices in the same way that DC did after the release of Suicide Squad. This is not a foundation to build a franchise on.
2.5/10
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Tell me you don’t know how to have fun without telling me you don’t know how to have fun.
I think the message of the movie is rendered more important and urgent by the fact that so many adults simply don’t get it.
The story is beautifully told, but in a society obsessed with being successful the metaphor about the gifts flies over most heads.
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@trek42 I believe the message is about family and community. The film tells the story of what happens when the members of this magical family are only valued by their gifts: at least one is crushed by the responsibility, one becomes an outcast because his gift is misunderstood by everyone including his family, and yet another is put aside for having no magical gift. The stakes are high because the family’s standing in the community relies largely on the contribution of their fabled magical powers. When the family loses sight of the reason why the miracle was granted in the first place the magic starts to fade. The magical house comes crumbling down, before the giftless granddaughter manages to bring the family together and save the day by restoring the miracle.. It tells me that whatever your talents and successes, you partly owe them to the family/community that reared and nurtured you; and that if you forget that you risk neglecting your very foundations. Moreover, that you are not defined by what you can do, but rather by the choices you make. And that people that are apparently powerless can be the heroes we need, by bringing people together and supporting everyone in the process.
Omg I am so disappointed.
I had high expectations.
He took his helmet off WTF!!!!!
Where are the grunts?? I only sa elites.
It’s notebable that the dint researched the original ip.Again Hollywood took an ip and did there own cheap thing with it. To get maximum money out of it. With less effort. generic story writing. Human on human
Baby sitting a human girl. Do I need to go on?Only plus point is the look of the Spartans
Action it self is good.Everything else is bad generic cheap writhing.
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@mediacenterkodi You missed the point of the original post. Psykoen made multiple points about what made the original story good then showed how the production company took the cheap and easy paths when making this TV show instead of putting effort into making a good product.
The helmet: We know that the Master Chief's name is simply "John" and he never removes his helmet. This helps the viewer put themselves more into the protagonist role. See Banshee for another good example of a nameless protagonist that is written really well. We don't need to know about John to be able to focus on the greater story about galaxy-wide war. The production studio decided to remove John's helmet so that they could print promotional material about how you'll more more about Master Chief; completely misunderstanding the point of John being faceless. It's also an attempt to tie him to the bland cast so they can create shallow drama.
The grunts: The Covenant is a terrifying force in part because you realize that it is made up of multiple species that came together for a single cause. Facing that force is daunting and a great source of tension. The decision to not show the other species was a decision in two parts: 1) It is cheaper to pay a human in a costume that has the same dimensions as an average human than it is to pay for computer effects that would be required to render the other species that can't be filmed by humans in costumes. 2) The studio most likely asked themselves, "What's the coolest species? We'll focus on them. The Elites have those bad-ass laser swords." This is an incredibly shallow decision and makes the audience feel manipulated. It's the same level as hiring only incredibly attractive people for the human cast.
Baby sitting: Script writers who have been told to shoe-horn human drama into a story that lacks a consistent human character base rely on easily recognizable and lazy tropes. For a good example watch any U.S. produced Godzilla or natural disaster film. There will be scenes focusing on a single family as we watch them try to survive as if the audience should be cheering for the survival of these handful of people while thousands or millions die around them. Cookie-cutter characters are created specifically so the audience can follow them and drama can be written around them. It's lazy and boring.
There are many good reasons why Psykoen wrote that the show is "generic cheap writing". Although not able to verbalize it to your satisfaction, his points are still strong. This does not make him a child; it makes him an average viewer tired of the trash and being treated like a child by cynical studios looking for an easy cash-grab.
First thoughts, the girl who plays the trini quan's daughter is even more terrible at acting than the original rangers. Shocking! Didn't think that was possible. Brings back the memories tho. God, she's terrible at acting tho. It almost hurts to watch and hear her talk.
Has that cheesy "B" movie feeling. The total budget on this was probably 100k.
OMG PUT A MUZZLE ON KWAN'S DAUGHTER! SHE SUCKS ASS MAN! Hollywood just plain sucks ass at casting these days. I almost turned this off she is so dam bad.
Is it just me, or did the Pink ranger lose about 40lbs when she morphed? And where did her boobs go? The real mystery of the power rangers. Wish the actual pink ranger would have been in this!
Couldn't make it through it, Kwan's daughter was just so terrible. I really hope I never see her in anything ever again. THANKS FOR SUCKING AT CASTING HOLLYWOOD! Wouldn't have expected anything else from you these days.
Everyone knows the only reason people are watching this is because its (mostly) the original crew. Nostalgia
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@mediacenterkodi No idea what you are talking about, Charlie Kersh did a perfect job for the limited screen time they had.
Is PR known for its amazing acting? No but compared to the Neo-Saban era she did an amazing job.
Really hope she returns for Cosmic Fury.
First thoughts, the girl who plays the trini quan's daughter is even more terrible at acting than the original rangers. Shocking! Didn't think that was possible. Brings back the memories tho. God, she's terrible at acting tho. It almost hurts to watch and hear her talk.
Has that cheesy "B" movie feeling. The total budget on this was probably 100k.
OMG PUT A MUZZLE ON KWAN'S DAUGHTER! SHE SUCKS ASS MAN! Hollywood just plain sucks ass at casting these days. I almost turned this off she is so dam bad.
Is it just me, or did the Pink ranger lose about 40lbs when she morphed? And where did her boobs go? The real mystery of the power rangers. Wish the actual pink ranger would have been in this!
Couldn't make it through it, Kwan's daughter was just so terrible. I really hope I never see her in anything ever again. THANKS FOR SUCKING AT CASTING HOLLYWOOD! Wouldn't have expected anything else from you these days.
Everyone knows the only reason people are watching this is because its (mostly) the original crew. Nostalgia
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@mediacenterkodi I think you need to calm down a little bit.
Saw a preview on Tuesday 11/16/2021 with the family. We all enjoyed the movie but came to an agreement about what was lacking: a coherent story. This is a shame since it's Disney but, as you've seen with movies like Frozen, there is a departure from the classic villain.
Simply put, the story of Encanto is about a magical house that initiates members of the big family that live there with magical gifts. One gets strength, another can heal (with arepas, yum!), and so on. Mirabel (the main character) though, does not receive a gift from the house and this seems to be the plot. But, the house starts cracking and falling apart (which means the magic is dying), so now Mirabel must save the magic (and she considers this "getting her gift").
At the end, we were all confused about the plot (what was pursued after and gained by the main character). We understood the message: "you don't need a special gift to be special" but it was a dud.
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@derekge I saw it more as an immigrant story, and the traumas that run in a family after leaving their home behind... not necesarily by choice. How the head of the family, in these situations, can go into a toxic mode that just seems to push everyone to "have a better life than I did" but might push way too hard and overcorrect, which is the theme of the oruguitas song (don't hold on too tight and the fear of change and what's different).
The family was being torn appart by the unsustainable presures from grandma to always be perfect, magical, and useful. In that sense, the story was complete for me.
There are a lot of mental health issues being portrayed in the family too:
Trauma and PTSD on the Grandma
Anxiety and a bit of bipolarity on the aunt
OCD and Autism or maybe Tourettes (ticks) being pushed away from the family for not communicating well
The preasure to be strong and perfect respectively on the sisters
Pushing Mirabel aside for not being "special"
So generic and formulaic it could be dropped into any sci-fi setting, or none at all, and it would be equally forgettable. Time and energy would have been better spent making more episodes of of Star Trek: Lower Decks, a vastly superior show.
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@mystech you watched 5%.... and made a decision about this show based on that. Interesting. Lower Decks is amazing. It's too bad you didn't give this a real chance. It's actually good. You have to remember it was made for a younger audience. Otherwise the story is actually pretty good, and so is everything else. So are the cameos - people from all the other Star Trek's.
Well, at least I have an idea what the hell is going on. Still not sure if Red is 'good' though. We don't really want Liz back by the way.
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@aid45 speak for yourself. I do want her back.
“This is gonna be a gas.” :joy: Good one liner by Restler.
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I get the impression Donald's been waiting for years to use that one on Red.
Another boring episode that only gets exciting towards end when Dembe and Reddington shows up.
Almost everyone thats a fan of this show or was a fan, is tired of Elizabeth and want this bitch gone but the writers continue to keep the character alive for some annoying reason.
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@datbabyaintmine no, I'm not tired of Elizabeth because I don't hate strong, independent women.
Review by Paladin5150
Ahh, the sound of the nattering naybobs of Trekdom furiously trying to clap with one hand. You see, unless a program meets the narrowly specific parameters of what they will accept as "proper" Star Trek lore. Reminds me of those YouTube videos of entitled 16 year old's getting a new Lamborghini or BMW, and then pitching an absolute fit because it wasn't the color they desired. "This is NOT the Trek I was looking for"...... OK Obi Wan Kensnobby you win, we'll all go sit in the basement and watch reruns of the original series, or better yet, just the SPECIFIC EPISODES in each series that meet with your awesomely discerning taste. They rest you may send to the cornfield!!!!
Personally, I thought the producers and writers did a pretty good job of giving us a brand new crew, a brand new ship, an at least interesting situation as far as the story arc, while maintaining the connection to traditional "Trek" with appropriate amounts of fan service and character call backs. The animation, stylistically, is light years ahead of what is offered on "The Lower Drecks, er...Decks", and, the storytelling is aimed more toward the dramatic rather than the comedic. If that's not your thing, cool, but, neither should it be dismissed out of hand.
Personally, I found the amount of tension, thrills and FUN just about right, and the mix of immediate story and long arc balanced enough to hold my attention and leave me wanting more. Again, for a show aimed at the Nickelodeon demographic, that's no small feat IMO.
So yeah, I plan to continue watching it, and, it will be interesting to see if this version of the "Trekverse", can go where the others haven't gone before, or if the naybob's will be successful in stirring up enough negativity to eject the warp core and leave the crew stranded.
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@paladin5150 i want to like this comment so badly... Because I agree with everything... Except I really like Lower Decks a lot and thought it was one of the best Star Trek offerings in years. (Until Strange New Worlds.... How amazing is that?!)
Shout by VWFringe the Pervy Sage from TVMuse
End of this month I'll turn sixty. I really like this show. I am reminded of when I was twenty-eight, and really liked Doctor Who, and, then learned, in England, it was primarily a kids show.
Begs the question: What is the target audience of this Nickelodeon show? Just don't beat yourself up if you also.... Or, is the question, "You may be a Trekkie if...you enjoy everything Star Trek"...?
And, be gentle, with yourself and others. (quote from Shunryu Suzuki: "Instead of criticizing, find out how to help.")
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@vwfringe I am nearly in my 50s and I adore this... and Doctor Who. But I never had any problem watching 'kids shows' :)
