The Guardians of Justice (2022) (series review)

So I just binged The Guardians of Justice (or Adi Shankar’s The Guardians of Justice (Will Save You!)), a Netflix original 18+ series that is a hybrid between various styles of animation and live-action. As I binged it, it felt like a 3.5-hour movie, just about. There was something so captivating about it (to me), and I don’t know why. It has quite a bit of references here and there to DC primarily. There are also references to Mortal Kombat, Marvel, 8-bit video games in general, etc. To me, it’s not another addition to the “point-and-laugh at the silly reference” media “genre”. This is something else. It felt like a full-blown parody or spoof. Fittingly, this is marketed under the moniker of “Bootleg Universe”. If unfamiliar, here’s a brief rundown.

So Adi Shankar did a lot of superhero parodies, mostly consisting of live-action short films like The Punisher: Dirty Laundry, Judge Dredd: Superfriend, Power/Rangers, James Bond: In Service of Nothing, etc. It’s a series of unauthorised fan films on YouTube that somehow became an actual entertainment brand. It was picked up by Netflix later. The only other title is Castlevania, a series that has a lot of love for the franchise but also has a handful of strange decisions (like the third season in my opinion, as well as the constant “need” to have foul language). There are other announcements like a series dedicated to the Devil May Cry universe, Assassin’s Creed and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) in the future.

So my roommate approached me, telling me that she watched it briefly and doesn’t know what to think of it at all. I somehow decided to watch the entire series and for the longest time, I was unsure what to think of it when I finished. I let it sit in my head for quite a while (just so you know, this review was published on the same day I finished it… just much later). I can see the potential in a lot of the content: there’s fun animation, it felt very experimental, a lot of interesting ideas, decent performances, a Scott Pilgrim vs. The World aesthetic (cartoony comic style), but there were a few things that constantly bothered me.

It felt overly ambitious. The pacing and tone were all over the place. As I mentioned, a lot of different storytelling methods were in place. It is clearly a parody of The Justice League (the comics, not the movie). Adi Shankar himself noted that the main character is literally “an older grizzled Batman”. A lot of times, I was wondering if it would be a benefit or detriment if it was set in the DC universe. By the end of the entire series, I can say confidently that it definitely needs to exist in its own universe as they parodied a lot more than just DC. I’m not against parody when done right. One of my favourite comedies is a spoof film that functions as a love letter to action movies (Hot Fuzz (2007)). I enjoyed Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows and Tropic Thunder (2008). If we’re discussing a property that relies on a lot of reference humour, then Bojack Horseman, a surreal adult series that was also produced by Netflix.

Getting back to Guardians now, there were many good ideas, which would have really benefitted from better execution. The final idea was especially good, but the execution was so subpar unfortunately. It really could have done with better editing choices in my opinion. There were also a lot of strobe effects (I think because they were trying to implement video game and comic book effects). I definitely enjoyed myself, so this rating is reluctant for me. If this series were a person, I’d block them, not fully understand why, feel bad about blocking them, but never unblock said person. Again, a lot of good ideas on paper that just weren’t executed properly unfortunately. 4/10.

Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022)

There are less than 3 minutes before the title drop. I started watching Chip ‘n Dale (2022), went in with a 5/10 in mind. It’s a 3/10 and not even 2 minutes passed at that point. Before the title drop, it became a 2/10. What does that tell you? Well, it just goes off the fucking rails and develops into the apocalypse afterwards. Just watch the original TV series.

If I have to go on to more detail, then there’s reference humour that showcases franchises Disney now owns. They reference Roger Rabbit a bunch of times, which is weird because the clashing art styles worked in that movie but it doesn’t work well here. Also, is it really a wise choice to make one of the titular characters unappealing in less than 10 minutes? They even reference Sonic’s original design from the Sonic The Hedgehog movie, which comes across as somewhat arrogant. Again, less than 10 minutes in, it feels like Disney is flaunting all the different properties they own at this point. It dropped down to a 1/10 at this point… and it never went up.

They use characters with the “live-action reboot” animation style, but other characters who DID also have a live-action reboot is presented in 2D for some reason. Where’s the consistency? Was this movie made in 2016 and they were too lazy to reanimate certain scenes to remain consistent with films that literally released the next year? I don’t want to spoil, but seeing as it’s not even past 10 minutes, might as well.

Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast is shown in 2D. Baloo from The Jungle Book is shown in 3D. In this universe, the 2D characters are the same characters when in 3D, stating that it is a CGI surgery. The live-action The Jungle Book was released in 2016. The live-action Beauty and the Beast was released in 2017. This movie was released in 2022. Again, was this movie made in 2016 and they were too lazy to reanimate certain scenes to remain consistent with films that literally released the next year? In the trailer, it is shown that they reference the 2019 “live-action” reboot of The Lion King. The consistency doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Why do all the animated characters (even the 3D ones) look like they’re on a green-screen? Why is cheese being compared to drugs of all things? Why does the plot only work if the viewer is invested? What’s with the pacing? Why? What? Why?? Is this basically the new Space Jam 2? Did Didney not learn ANYTHING about that movie’s backlash? Oh. They apparently learned nothing about how people reacted positively to Luisa’s design in Encanto, because She-Hulk’s slender design is getting criticism right now in the recently announced She-Hulk TV series.

This film REALLY needs to calm down with all the references. References to more than 10 different properties in less than a minute. There are so many references that it feels like a badly-made parody movie (yes, not all parody movies are bad). Also, they market this as a live-action reboot but the film itself directly references the original TV show so many times. I don’t think the people who made this know what a reboot is. “A reboot discards continuity to re-create its characters, plotlines and backstory from the beginning.”

I rewatched so many old Disney animations recently. Why do those look timeless whereas the animation style in this movie looks dated? The 2D animated ones especially were not good to look at. The 3D ones look a bit more proper given the setting, but I would appreciate it more if they have realistic shadows. Why does every 3D character have this weird lighting outline around them? Was it because The Lion King (2019) did it? I’ll admit that some 2D models were not too distracting (even pleasant at times), but the animation for all of them were too distracting. It’s like it’s shot in a different refresh rate, as in frames-per-second.

This is the worst movie I have watched this year so far. We also have jokes that may have flown back in the noughties, but are definitely not welcome in 2022. Speaking of jokes, I didn’t laugh a single time, not even ironically. I’m not quite sure why they’re so obsessed with providing something fresh and new when their property relies on other IPs for entertainment fundamentally. I can’t fathom why it’s doing so well on every rating site imaginable. Why are people like this now? Whatever the case, I got my own opinion and I won’t just blindly follow peer pressure. This gets a 1/10.

How I Rate Movies

The title is self-explanatory. I usually pay attention to the technical aspects of a movie, not just the enjoyment factor like most people do. I don’t think I am better than anyone and you’re not a bad person for making a review you stand by. I don’t get angry over ratings, but I am curious as to hear how you rate a certain product. I repeat, how. Like what are your thoughts on this particular product. So here’s how I rate. There are movies that I really don’t like (like Antichrist) which I give positive ratings to. There are movies I really like (Vivarium) that I give negative ratings to. I look to things like execution, pacing, soundtrack, cinematography, etc.

Of course, the story plays a main role. I don’t ask for logic in many of the movies I watch, but I do ask for consistency. I think The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) is a good movie. Why do I put the year next to every movie I review? There’s the title Sing. How many Sing movies do we have? Just typing “sing” alone in IMDb will show 6 different movies that are called “Sing”. So to me, it’s rather important that there’s some distinction, so I add the years. It also makes searching easier. That and there’s no room for confusion at all.

So like I said, The SpongeBob Movie. That’s an absurdist movie devoid of logic, yet I rated it positively. If the movie is grounded in reality, I will rate according to that. Are you following the rules your universe establishes? Or are your rules only followed whenever it’s convenient for the script? So you could do this implausibly ultimate skill to defeat enemy forces, yet you only choose to do it at the end? Why? You could’ve won easily. Why did you beat around the bush for a long time? Was there character growth? Was it just because the script demanded it and there’s no reasonable explanation other than that?

If you see the movies I review, I tend to lean towards the movies directed towards adults. So are there kids movies I recommend. I rated all the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies (2002-2007) positively. I rated Shazam! (2019) positively. I rated Wolfwalkers (2020) positively. I rated The Fox & The Hound (1981) positively. I rated Shrek (2001) positively. I rate based on a scale from 1 to 10. I normally tend to avoid 1/10 and 10/10 ratings as I see them as extreme ratings. Surprisingly, the movies I would normally avoid rewatching are the movies that I give 5/10 ratings to, so I guess I also avoid that rating a bit. Ironically, I go into every single movie I pick up with a 5/10 in mind. My expectations are not high and they’re not low; just neutral.

So what is a 10/10 rating to me? It basically denotes that the movie is perfect with no major flaws. There may be some minor flaws that are so minor to the point that it doesn’t detract from the overall experience. What is a 1/10 rating to me? A movie that doesn’thave any redeeming qualities whatsoever, keeps changing the rules whenever it suits the script, has very poor technical aspects, etc. I mentioned kids movies recently and Sing 2 is a movie I recently gave a 1/10 to. I will address both these things.

Why do I rate kids movies? Because I know that there is some good content out there and bad content as well. Would I describe The Lion King (1994) to be in the same league as Norm of the North (2016)? They’re both directed towards kids, but one is definitely worse than the other. So Sing 2. Why did I give it a 1/10? I didn’t get anything out of it, the animation was atrocious, the narrative didn’t make sense, it shared so many of the same problems that the first movie had, etc. What morals did I learn? Why were my eyes so tired after watching it? Why were the characters animals? I couldn’t answer any of these questions… except for maybe the one about the eyes. It’s most probably because so many character models were recycled throughout the movie. There were no visual gags whatsoever.

The studio even confirmed all Illumination movies were very cheaply made. So is cheapness definitely a factor when it comes to rating? No. But I do tend to consider how the budget was spent. Let me name Primer (2004), one of my rare 10/10 ratings. It’s very cheaply made (the budget of this film was only 7,000 USD), it’s a movie about time travel (which is one of the hardest concepts to tackle successfully), it has a rather confusing narrative, so why did I give it a 10/10 rating? That is not an ironic rating either. Because it was well-presented, the pacing is fantastic, there are VERY strict rules when it comes to time travel in that universe and they’re all explained in a very plausible manner, the performances and characterisation were brilliant, etc.

But just because a movie wasn’t for me doesn’t necessarily make it bad. Like I said, there are many movies I give positive ratings to that I absolutely hated, and the opposite is also true. I hated this movie. It’s really hard to watch. But is it a 1/10 though? No. I think I would be pretty unreasonable if I gave it that rating mainly out of bias. I rated most of the Illumination movies negatively. Notice that I said most. Despicable Me (2013) is a fine movie. It’s not something I would recommend, but it’s not something I’d tell people to stay away from either. It’s a fine movie. There is definitely room for improvement. Too bad all the subsequent films that came out later were abominable in my opinion.

Notice that I said opinion. This is not fact. I try to look at the facts like filmmaking, but I’m not perfect. I am not sponsored by anybody. I’m one person who genuinely likes watching movies. I take pride in the fact that I can be honest about something. So here’s a mediocre movie that is getting 10/10 ratings left and right. I think it’s fine. Not great. Not bad. And I will readily admit that. Here’s a great movie that is not getting any great feedback. Here’s a bad movie that is somehow getting great feedback. Here’s a movie I love that is getting bad review scores. Here’s a movie I hate that is getting very positive feedback. Let me share my opinion at least. I don’t pick sides; these are just my opinions.

Series (Extended)

Another unscripted post incoming. Right, so on some websites like IMDb and Letterboxd, there exists the option to rate TV shows. It’s pretty trying to do that. The main reason being that every single episode usually has a different director attached, so a lot of factors are different: cinematography, editing, shot composition, etc. In that regard, I find it difficult to rate TV shows because the quality is wildly different in each episode. To me, the aspects that stick out from a series are the acting and the story for every episode. You can also argue music, but it depends on the series. Like in Centaurworld, most of the songs are wildly different from each other. They fit the narrative, absolutely, but music is definitely an acquired taste in the end. There are some series I watch like House, Bojack Horseman, Cobra Kai, Locke & Key, Squid Game, but there are MANY times where I don’t bother watching series. I can give my general opinion about them, but it’s hard to assign a rating. There is one series I picked up, Pokémon Origins, where I can approach it either in a 4-episode OVA series or an actual movie. Each episode has no opening or ending (save for the first and last respectively), so it’s quite easy to binge it.

Another reason why I don’t usually pick up TV shows is the length. One of the penultimate episodes of Squid Game just adds padding and further elongates the plot for some reason that defies all logic, and my response at the time was that I just said aloud, “We need another episode.” Am I gonna pick up something like One Piece (which currently has 1,000+ episodes as of me writing this)? After getting into movies, I prefer a narrative that is concise and straight-to-the-point. I watch a movie and in several hours, I’m done. Not to say that I’m critical about the actual length of a movie (like a 3-hour movie compared to a 1.5-hour movie), but I pay attention to things like the pacing and execution first and foremost. I normally watch a few episodes of a series to decide whether it’s for me or not. I watched something like Kara no Kyoukai or The Garden of Sinners, which is a film series in this context. The first movie was definitely for me. The second was as well, and the third too. I watched the fourth because I genuinely enjoyed the storyline. It’s a bit arrogant of me to judge from the first three episodes, but here’s the real factor: time. Series are definitely a time investment and due to my busy life schedule currently, I can’t exactly spare a lot of time to tackle this or that. Since I brought up anime, here’s a little something regarding that topic.

“I don’t read cartoons or watch comics.” I just inserted that quote for a laugh. I’m familiar with several comics. For example, I know that the Venom movies are loosely based off the Lethal Protector storyline. I know that Harley Quinn was never in the original Batman comics till the 90’s. I read Youngblood and guffawed at this outlandish scene including the character Diehard (check it out for a laugh; it’s so bizarre). That was a bit of a tangent, but bottom line is I’m familiar with comics. Even manga is actually called “comic” in Japanese. I’m not kidding; look in a Japanese bookstore, and there is usually a section called コミック which translates to comic. I don’t mind when a movie deviates from the established storyline; it wholly depends on if the story fits in the universe, makes sense, and is actually well-paced and/or well-executed. The motivation of Thanos in the movies doesn’t exactly fit the established universe, but it is well-executed. But getting back to the point.

I see series as a huge time investment. Squid Game is like 9 hours of content. The first three hours were definitely not for me, so I left it there (I only watched the rest because my roommate unironically loved it). One of the main reasons I didn’t like Squid Game is the consistency. It felt VERY similar to other properties I picked up, like Kaiji or Battle Royale. Consistency is a broad term, but I won’t comb through every individual aspect about it. My point is is that time is a valuable resource that is non-renewable. Fundamentally, I want to preserve it when it comes to the type of media I consume. Like I said before, it’s definitely an acquired taste, but I can actually gauge what is well-crafted or not. For example, I really liked Venom 1 when it came out, but I gave it a 2/10 in the end. It was crowd-pleasing goofy fun, but it was a bizarre movie at the end of the day. I didn’t really like Raw (2016), but I gave it a 9/10. It was definitely a hard watch, but it definitely accomplishes what it sets out to do. I can separate my personal opinions from my professional opinions. And that’s what all the critiquing I do is essentially: opinions. Something I talk negatively about could be for you. Something I genuinely like couldn’t. “If you liked this film, I’m glad you found some enjoyment from something.” I won’t shame others for liking something. If a critic gives a positive rating for a movie I genuinely hate, I don’t mind if their take is well-communicated. I don’t even mind if it’s just the rating and nothing else, although I would be curious to see what they got out of it. It’s always interesting to hear different opinions regarding something. I recently went to the theatre with one of my mates to watch Free Guy. He really liked it, and I didn’t like it. Of course, we talked about it on the way back. I didn’t say something obscene like, “You’re a bad person for supporting this!” Not everyone is the same exact person. Some people may see things one way. Others may see it another way. I got my own opinion. They got theirs. So at the end of the day, I’m doing what I actually like: sharing my opinions. Like I said, “opinions”. You don’t have to agree with me. I’m not superior or inferior to you. I just have different tastes.

Anyway, here’s the actual review portion of the post. I watched several series recently. A lot of them were middling to say the least. Here are the series I watched in full.

Squid Game S01 (Spoilers)

I really don’t know how this was overhyped. There’s literally American media (in both books, movies AND series) that tackled this Death Game genre, like The Hunger Games series, Escape Room and The Saw movies. For Japanese media (which tackled it the most), we got Btooom!, Battle Royale, Kaiji, Mirai Nikki/Future Diary, Danganronpa, even the recent Alice in Borderland series. So we got a Korean one now which has decent production value and likeable characters who are not consistent, as well as good set design and some (I repeat, SOME) good sound design. We also got a LOT of tropes and useless subplots. This may be spoilers, but there are random subplots that literally just exist as padding. We got the detective searching for his brother. We got the stowaway detective doing the whole fish-out-of-water trope. We got the VIP furries with the weird accents who have a very weak grasp on the English language. We got the organ harvesting subplot. They all go nowhere. Thanks for making the series longer than it needs to be I guess. Some of the soundtrack was annoying as the season went one (I’m only judging season 1). There’s a twist at the end with such poor execution that is marred with VERY convenient script-writing. Since I’m in spoiler territory, I can elaborate. So the old man is the evil person? He makes a bet that this random homeless person on the street won’t even move from where they are by midnight. Nowhere in the terms is it mentioned that the MC couldn’t just help the homeless person. Also, the old man dies conveniently at the last minute when the homeless person is saved? That was VERY convenient, a little too convenient. Furthermore, I didn’t understand why the main character was so against death even though he literally takes advantage of his own partner in one game just to selfishly save his own ass. He criticises his friend in one game for pushing another character to death, the same game where the MC literally finishes at the last second. So in short, that push saved your life. So… why are you angry that you were indirectly saved? Why do you look like an ice lolly in the ending as well? The performances are definitely the best part of this whole thing. I admire that there were actually consequences and tension throughout. I enjoyed the fact that the series fleshes out the backstory of many character so viewers wouldn’t know who would win in the end. But despite all that, this is a 4/10 experience that is just on the edge of 5/10 for me. I don’t think I’ll revisit this and I highly doubt I’ll pick up the second season. I still don’t get why this was overhyped. I rated this as 5/10 in the end though.

Rick & Morty

I’m an average fan of Dan Harmon. I enjoyed Harmonquest and Community. I watched the entire trilogy of Back to the Future before I decided to pick up this series. So how is the series? It’s… fine? I enjoyed it, but that’s all I can say. Without spoiling, there ARE some funny moments but as it went on, I feel like it relied way too heavily on reference humour (even obscure media) and every episode basically had the same structure (2 subplots happening side-by-side). The episodes that don’t have the same structure were the episodes I actually enjoyed. I’m not sure if I should give praise for the studio trying to tackle something different or if it’s just a refreshing change of pace. However, some of the episodes that have a single focused plot have a bit of a muddled narrative. What I mean by this is that it’s just confusing at times. Luckily, everything was executed well. A lot of things happen way too quickly. I’m not talking about very detailed backgrounds; I’m talking about very rapid movements and animation. Speaking of which, it took me a while to adjust to the art style. All characters have pupils that look like asterisks (*). There are also several fourth-wall breaks which got annoying over time to me. This is also the series I finished watching recently, all seasons. I literally finished it just an hour before writing all this. So what are my final thoughts? It’s… fine? It’s not for me. I can understand why people like it but unfortunately, it gets a mediocre rating from me. There were SEASONS where I didn’t even giggle once. It was an okay experience. I wasn’t suffering. I wasn’t having fun. It was a mixed bag if anything. So it’s incredibly down the middle. That being said, 5/10.

Clickbait

I normally don’t pick up a series or movies due to star power. It helps, no question about it. So in Clickbait, I was only familiar with two of the actors: Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks, The Big Sick, What If) and Adrian Grenier (who I only knew from The Devil Wears Prada). Was the acting good? Yes, even from actors I didn’t even know before. I didn’t like the characters but they were pretty well-written and very consistent and believable. The soundtrack wasn’t much to speak of. It didn’t annoy me and it wasn’t too memorable either. I didn’t really appreciate the structure that much. It’s typically a who-done-it mystery thing that shifts perspective so many times and elongates the plot further. Not that it’s badly written or anything. The perspective changes and long plot was rather relevant to the plot after all that it never felt intrusive or like padding. I also didn’t feel anything was wasted at all. I can’t name any filler material at all. I wrote a short review before: “One of the most emotional series I have ever watched. It could benefit from better writing though. The performances are what really sold it for me… though the series itself has a very weak execution as well as pacing that felt a bit manipulative. It was definitely an enjoyable watch for me, so this has the distinction of being a 5/10 that I actually like.” However, it definitely got better when I had to think about it more. It just barely gets to 6/10 for me now.

Centaurworld S01 + S02

This… is a weird one. It’s a bit hard to recommend and it’s the only series I will not rate in this list. I definitely enjoyed myself watching this. I don’t regret picking it up at all. There’s some good animation. There are colourful visuals. There are some catchy songs. I feel like some inconsistency gets a free pass because this establishes itself as a series that definitely doesn’t take itself seriously at all. Throughout both seasons (this is not a spoiler as it’s literally shown in the first few minutes of the first episode), we got one foot in The Legend of Korra I guess and one foot in… a weird mix between She-Ra & The Princesses of Power & Spongebob Squarepants? At least, that’s what I felt. So we got the serious The Legend of Korra world (even a major character looks like Korra) and an absurdist world with rainbows, songs and… talking farts? Don’t worry; the fart jokes don’t overstay their welcome at all (unlike Rick & Morty). I mentioned that I don’t want to rate this because I don’t know how to assign an objective rating. I can rate it subjectively, give it an 8 or a 9 easily, but I like to don’t know how to back that up at all. Objectively, I can give it a 6 or a 7 I think, but I recommend it with an asterisk. The series is definitely an acquired taste all in all, so I won’t assign an official rating just yet. The previous statements discussing hypothetical ratings are just that: hypothetical.

BoJack Horseman

I know this isn’t a recent series but it must be said: this is my favourite series so far. It’s also a very easy 10/10 on my list. We got brilliant voice acting. Every season tries something different. Great characterisation. Endless amount of sidegags and humour. Very gripping drama. Insane attention to detail and consistency. Very notable and diverse soundtrack. My only “gripe” is that it is a bit hard to distinguish what is a hard-hitting dramatic moment or a comedic moment sometimes. It’s very minor and that’s all I have to say. The first season is a little hard to sit through until literally halfway through the first season. Admittedly, it is a bit of a hard watch at times. Not because of objective reasons at all but more of subjective ones. The drama can be a bit much at times. It really showcases the ugliness and harshness of reality. I know that a taste of reality would make for some unhappy viewing but such is life. The series also delves into the themes of existensialism quite a bit sometimes. It is a fun series, definitely. A lot of the jokes are pretty funny. Not just the sidegags; a lot of the direct ones really hit. I know I said this earlier but it must be said again: I’m giving this one a 10/10. Really close to a 9, but this is the best series I watched so far (and I regularly revisit it too). “It gets easier. Every day, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That’s the hard part. But it does get easier.”

Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, I don’t really have to worry about rating series out of 10 as Netflix literally has just a like and dislike rating (which doesn’t seem accurate in my opinion as there were movies I rated negatively but ended up liking as well as movies I rated positively but ended up disliking). So I guess I can just stick with subjective ratings when it comes to the very simple like/dislike rating feature. I am still hesitant to pick up series but at least I’m giving stuff a chance.

Red Notice (2021)

Why does Ryan Reynolds feel the need to portray every character as Discount Deadpool now? Not much identity now, is there? This is basically Central Intelligence + Deadpool + Free Guy + National Treasure – the fun and entertainment. None of the jokes hit unless you’re familiar with the many references Ryan Reynolds dishes out. If it’s not reference humour, then Ryan Reynolds is just being overly annoying. Gal Gadot gives in a very phoned-in performance unless you’re into sexy seductress who constantly does the pursed lip look while looking straight with head tilted downwards. Dwayne Johnson is doing Dwayne Johnson things, which is indistinguishable from almost every role he has ever taken. The writing is inconsistent. The sets are pretty basic. The music relies so heavily on licensed music. The wardrobe is nothing special. It has stereotypical spy flick all over (even down to the soundtrack). “If you liked this film, I’m glad you found some enjoyment from something but also, fuck you, you’re a bad person.” – BEAST. And now for quotes from the movie, “It was you all along.” “Big time.” “You forgot my twist ending.” “That’s Jurassic Park!” “What could possibly go wrong?” “Your boss is the evil person.” Ugh… So basically, Ryan Reynolds keeps doing his cringe shtick. Gal Gadot is playing an obviously different character that is not Wonder Woman (and failing of course). The Rock is… The Rock. Why does he keep doing buddy-cop films with an annoying sidekick? Why is Ryan Reynolds trying to chase the ghost of his fame that is Deadpool? Why is Gal Gadot basically being Wonder Woman again? Where’s the identity? I heard a quote from an acclaimed director that goes something like, “Any actor can turn in a great performance given the right script.” I like to believe people are capable of being better, but this is more or less the same. What do I mean? Deadpool + Wonder Woman + The Rock. Do I even need to variegate? It’s just The Rock again. Oh, and Ryan Reynolds actually says, “Thoughts?” I don’t know why I had to point that out; it was just a bit funny to me. Me giggling at an inside joke is the most entertainment I got from this. I mentioned there were references but they are there to an ANNOYING degree. I went “Hah! That’s cute!” almost every single minute. It feels rather insulting that the movie assumes the audience (me in this case) would just be entertained by CG explosions and lot and lots of reference humour. The movie literally starts with the definition for the term “Red Notice”. An unintelligent film that does not provoke much thought. I apologise for having a brain then. I also apologise for giving this a 1/10.

Series

Another unscripted post incoming. Right, so on some websites like IMDb and Letterboxd, there exists the option to rate TV shows. I don’t do that. The main reason being that every single episode usually has a different director attached, so a lot of factors are different: cinematography, editing, shot composition, etc. In that regard, I find it difficult to rate TV shows because the quality is wildly different in each episode. To me, the aspects that stick out from a series are the acting and the story for every episode. You can also argue music, but it depends on the series. Like in Centaurworld, most of the songs are wildly different from each other. They fit the narrative, absolutely, but music is definitely an acquired taste in the end. There are some series I watch like House, Bojack Horseman, Cobra Kai, Locke & Key, Squid Game, but there are MANY times where I don’t bother watching series. I can give my general opinion about them, but it’s hard to assign a rating. There is one series I picked up, Pokémon Origins, where I can approach it either in a 4-episode OVA series or an actual movie. Each episode has no opening or ending (save for the first and last respectively), so it’s quite easy to binge it.

Another reason why I don’t usually pick up TV shows is the length. One of the penultimate episodes of Squid Game just adds padding and further elongates the plot for some reason that defies all logic, and my response at the time was that I just said aloud, “We need another episode.” Am I gonna pick up something like One Piece (which currently has 994 episodes as of me writing this)? After getting into movies, I prefer a narrative that is concise and straight-to-the-point. I watch a movie and in several hours, I’m done. Not to say that I’m critical about the actual length of a movie (like a 3-hour movie compared to a 1.5-hour movie), but I pay attention to things like the pacing and execution first and foremost. I normally watch a few episodes of a series to decide whether it’s for me or not. I watched something like Kara no Kyoukai or The Garden of Sinners, which is a film series in this context. The first movie was definitely for me. The second was as well, and the third too. I watched the fourth because I genuinely enjoyed the storyline. It’s a bit arrogant of me to judge from the first three episodes, but here’s the real factor: time. Series are definitely a time investment and due to my busy life schedule currently, I can’t exactly spare a lot of time to tackle this or that. Since I brought up anime, here’s a little something regarding that topic.

“I don’t read cartoons or watch comics.” I just inserted that quote for a laugh. I’m familiar with several comics. For example, I know that the Venom movies are loosely based off the Lethal Protector storyline. I know that Harley Quinn was never in the original Batman comics till the 90’s. I read Youngblood and guffawed at this outlandish scene including the character Diehard (check it out for a laugh, it’s so bizarre). That was a bit of a tangent, but bottom line is I’m familiar with comics. Even manga is actually called “comic” in Japanese. I’m not kidding; look in a Japanese bookstore, and there is usually a section called コミック which translates to comic. I don’t mind when a movie deviates from the established storyline; it wholly depends on if the story fits in the universe, makes sense, and is actually well-paced and/or well-executed. The motivation of Thanos in the movies doesn’t exactly fit the established universe, but it is well-executed. But getting back to the point.

I see series as a huge time investment. Squid Game is like 9 hours of content. The first three hours were definitely not for me, so I left it there (I only watched the rest because my roommate unironically loved it). One of the main reasons I didn’t like Squid Game is the consistency. It felt VERY similar to other properties I picked up, like the series Kaiji or Battle Royale. Consistency is a broad term, but I won’t comb through every individual aspect about it. My point is is that time is a valuable resource that is non-renewable. Fundamentally, I want to preserve it when it comes to the type of media I consume. I won’t attack you for liking something I hate, or hating something I like. Not everyone is the same exact person. Some people may see things one way. Others may see it another way. I got my own opinion. They got theirs. So at the end of the day, I’m doing what I actually like: sharing my opinions. Like I said, “opinions”. You don’t have to agree with me. I’m not superior or inferior to you. I just have different tastes.

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Let me preface this review by saying that I’m a DC AND a Marvel fan. I’m not biased towards any, though I can acknowledge that DC saw more success with their animated ventures while Marvel saw more success with their live-action ventures. So anyway, The Suicide Squad. I’ll try to avoid comparisons (though they are inevitable) when talking about this movie. Of course, it’s a LOT better than the original 2016 version. Though that’s not saying much because a LOT of movies are better than the original, even some of the bad DC movies. With that out of the way, I shall discuss the actual movie. James Gunn has a MUCH better understanding of the characters I noticed. I’ll bring up one example from the previous movie. The previous movie starred Will Smith, but his character is so charismatic and likeable that I had a hard time believing he’s actually a villain. In this movie, all the characters are assholes, which works perfectly because in the end of the day, they’re villains. Harley Quinn isn’t as annoying in this one, although her character introduction is still kinda shit if you ask me (her opening line is literally was that she was busy because she was taking a shit). I don’t really like her character in the DCEU, but it does kinda work in this movie. Like I said, the characters are much more “rotten” in this version. I hate to make a pun or a reference and it’s not intended. They removed the tattoo on Harley’s cheek that said ROTTEN by the way, which I heard Margot Robbie and James Gunn didn’t like. Good riddance because that did nothing for your character… but it doesn’t make sense because you still got tattoos referencing The Joker. She IS the most marketable of the characters; I will not deny that. But till now in this universe, I still count her as an extension of The Joker. Yes, I got the recent Birds of Prey movie in mind as I wrote that last sentence. We also got some returning characters from the 2016 Suicide Squad movie, and they’re a lot more energetic in this version. They got more personality. Even the utterly trite Rick Flag of the previous movie has more personality. Though I have to ask: is this a reboot or a sequel? In some parts, I feel like it’s a sequel because both movies are in the DCEU and even has returning characters. Not just actors; characters. “It wasn’t something to contrast the first movie,” said James Gunn in an interview. In a sense, this movie is its own thing. I’m still questioning whether it’s a sequel or a reboot, but there’s definitely an effort made to not “contrast the first movie”. It’s still a bit confusing, but one thing is for certain: I still think the first movie should not even exist, even though both Gunn and me both see things that could be appreciated from it. I think that’s enough about the first movie. So what can I say about this movie? The characters have more defined personalities as I said, they’re more likeable and stay true to their characters (likeable assholes as in), they have great chemistry and there’s some great dialogue. The presentation is out of control. I really loved the entire presentation. It looked so cartoony, which fits the 80’s aesthetic they’re going for (just look at the poster). I was at first annoyed by the inclusion until it became like a mainstay. It helped with the overall presentation of the movie, and each transition was rather creative and filled with good VFX. The soundtrack was more appropriately used. I’m not just talking about the licensed songs (which boasts a great selection), but I’m also talking about the score. The musical score was greatly fitting for almost every scene and/or character. The movie is also not told chronologically. It’s still out-of-order, but it is a lot less confusing than the first movie. I went in expecting an ironic fun romp of a movie, but it’s not. This is definitely a step in the right direction, and I actually found things to genuinely appreciate in this movie… but there are also things I didn’t appreciate. For starters, I wasn’t a fan of the writing. There are some things that happen in the movie that I just thought was way too convenient for the script or something. The movie is already long (slightly over 2 hours long), but I still think it would’ve benefitted from being a couple more minutes longer so that these plotholes would be addressed. I also didn’t really like some of the CG usage. The stunts itself were amazing, and James Gunn really made use of the R rating (note: it’s VERY gory and violent.) However, same can’t be said for the use of colour. I praised the presentation, the visuals and the VFX, but I am not too sure about the colour. Some of the sets looked so bland, Of course, there were some good and creative sets, but the colour left me wanting. There were so many orange and/or brown scenes. I got a bit tired of ochre near the end, but that’s a minor gripe that still should be said in my opinion because the poster for this movie is predominantly orange and brown. Some things annoyed me, but there were more things to appreciate this time around. I discovered a LOT of different ratings for this movie. Some people hated it. Some people love it. I can objectively say that it’s definitely above average. It’s a 6/10, closer to a 7, DAMN close to a 7, but it’s a 6 for now.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

I’ve heard that this was the best animated Batman movie from many people. I knew next to nothing about it at all. So after watching it, do I think it’s the greatest Batman flick? No. It’s good, but I can’t call it the greatest. I think the people who recommended this recently had a lot of nostalgia for this or something and if they get pissed off regarding my opinion, they didn’t take into account one thing: we all got our own opinions. I can definitely see why someone would regard this as one of the greatest animated Batman movies; I mean, it ties in to Batman: The Animated Series. Thankfully, you don’t need any knowledge from that property aside from the fact that it’s directed towards preteens and teenagers (9-15+ being the targeted demographic) as well as having knowledge of Bruce Wayne and The Joker. It’s a VERY loose rendition of Batman: Year One and Batman: Year Two from what I can gather. In fact, a LOT of writing liberties were taken; the movie even features a totally original villain. I imagine some fans might be frustrated by this along with some of the plot contrivances if the movie was just watched without much knowledge of the series. Since I said that, this is definitely a product of the times. Not in terms of animation, but in terms of sound design mainly. The soundtrack is spectacular, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about some of the sound effects. And some of the choreography was also stale. That could be an opinion because perhaps I’m too accustomed to the modern animated movies. I know this movie came out in the 90s, but I missed out on it. I’m watching this almost 3 decades later for the first time. I was really in two minds over all the writing liberties taken. I can’t say much about it without spoiling but I will say this: there are so many renditions of Batman out there, and this is one of them. I also enjoyed the animation. It isn’t as angular as the other films, but it’s consistent with the series and that’s enough to keep me going. It’s difficult to discuss this without spoiling. It goes straight into the plot in only a few minutes of runtime. It seems pointless to not spoil a movie that is like 28 years old at this point, but there ARE some who didn’t watch it when it first came out, like me. So onto the rating: 7/10.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

I initially wasn’t going to write a review of this, but I have a surprising amount of things to say regarding this. I watched both, the censored and uncensored versions. They tackle more or less the same core themes, but there are definitely darker themes tackled in the uncensored version (and it is slightly longer too). However, I am not too familiar with Batman of the Future (or Batman Beyond, but I knew it as Batman of the Future) though I might pick it up now that I’ve seen this. As evidenced by the title of the movie, this ties in with The New Batman Adventures, which is a continuation of the original Batman: The Animated Series (I’m only familiar with the latter). The setting has no real introduction, which is commonplace with most DC movies, but the setting is a futuristic city that has a cyberpunk aesthetic. Batman this time around is more athletic and the Batsuit itself has a repertiore of built-in gimmicks instead of a utility belt. The costume lacks a cowl and cape and now has a full mask instead. I’m saying this because not everyone is familiar with Terry McGinnis, who also gets no introduction apart from some lines relating to his backstory. There are some scenes too, but there are very little. So what is there? Well, the movie is a mixed bag all in all. There’s one 11-minute scene which is just fantastic, but the rest of movie sort of declines in quality. The consistent features include a splendid soundtrack, voice acting, good animation and decent characterisation with some hiccups for the latter two. I personally disliked Terry McGinnis, so I was prompted to research further. From what I can tell, he’s an athletic teen who is somewhat rash (which could be attributed to the fact that he is a former delinquent), mentored by the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, and has a keen sense of justice. So basically, another version of Nightwing I guess. That’s what I think at least. Anyway, time to talk about the movie. It takes itself a bit too seriously, which really doesn’t help the writing and the hiccups I mentioned earlier. The action, at times, just strikes me as being way too convenient at times. Why is Batman doing this? Because the script demands it. Why else? Some things happen that are just too convenient and can’t be explained away logically, which I would forgive if this is a comedy but like I said: the film takes itself too seriously. Nowhere in IMDb is this a comedy, and the film itself is not a comedy at all (aside from the one-liners I guess, but they’re not really cheesy). But in retrospect, the hiccups in the writing can be attributed to nitpicking. What can’t be attributed to nitpicking is the conclusion, but delving into that would be spoilers. It’s rather weak in comparison to the rest of the narrative; that’s all I’ll say. Remember when I said there’s an eleven-minute scene which is probably the highlight of the movie? I’ll admit: it stands out as being the best part of the movie. The uncensored version is much better due to the presence of the darker themes (and it’s a bit more extended too). For those who are unaware, the uncensored version released around two years after the initial version released, so this is technically a review of the 2002 version of the movie. It’s a PG-13, but still. Anyway, because of that 11-minute scene, the rest of the movie feels somewhat stale in comparison. In other words, its shine is too strong. Why am I emphasising the 11-minute part? Because, minus the credits, the entire movie is around 73 minutes. That makes up about 1/7th of the movie. It sticks out. It’s a good scene sandwiched between a mediocre movie that fluctuates between good and bad. This is not a hard sell or an immediate recommendation at all, making this one a 6/10 in my books. Watch it if you’re invested in the series, all of the prior Batman series leading up to Batman Beyond, but I don’t think you’ll get much out of it if you’re not a dedicated fan.

Superhero Movies

This discussion contains my opinions mostly. Anyway, this will mostly be about DC as I have a bunch to say about the topic. That, and I’ve just finished watching Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. I also recently watched Black Widow, so there will be a bit of Mahvel in there too, although the thought of DC is fresh in my mind right now. I watched a bunch of superhero movies, not just Mahvel or DC, like Brightburn, Hancock, Unbreakable, etc. Some are charming like Megamind or Split, and some are bad like Barb Wire or Glass. What I’m here to discuss is mainly the ironic fact that most Marvel movie ventures are successful when it comes to their live-action feature films whereas the inverse is true for DC, namely their animated films are successful. Why do I say inverse? Well, Marvel is good with live-action but their animated features were rather mediocre, whereas DC is good with their animated features but their live-action movies are incredibly serviceable. However, when it comes to animated and live-action, I noticed a trend in both franchises: the live-action movies tend to discuss the characters’ origins whereas the animated ones don’t. The animated ones go straight into the action. Not all of them are like this, mind you. Some are faithful to the comics whereas some (in DC’s case, most) take their own liberties. There aren’t many Marvel animated films in comparison to DC, but there are several series to their name. I haven’t seen all of them, nor all of the animated movies for both franchises, but it must be said: the fact that there is barely any introduction for any of the characters is rather startling. It is difficult to pick them up as standalone experiences. They require you to have some knowledge of the main characters prior as well as some of the other characters. The importance of the plot elements will be lost on you if you don’t. It’s not exactly too welcoming, and I liken the experience to riding a rollercoaster (similar to Martin Scorcese’s statement) but in this case, riding a rollercoaster of a character you may or may not be familiar with. Like let’s say you ride a Batman villain’s roller coaster ride, and you have no idea about the Batman villain. You may like the ride, but there’s a chance that you may not as well. Most of the films display many action scenes with noteworthy choreography. Most of the animated movies are also quick watches, being about 90 minutes or even less. The DC lineup also features “standalone animated” films which wastes no time introducing the main character at all as well. Annoyingly, both DC and Mahvel also decided to establish their own cinematic universes. Why do I call them annoying? Because it REQUIRES you to watch the first in the series to know what the hell is going on. Even the live-action ones. Even if you were to watch the first Avengers movie, you still need to watch the prior movies to have the most impact. Thor: Ragnarok isn’t titled with a 3, so you not only need to watch Thor 1 and 2, but you also need to watch Avengers 2 (which requires you to watch almost every movie before). Sounds like fun. Unfortunately, the movies widely vary in quality. You have your standard cookie-cutter experiences, your 6/10 movies, but you also have to sift through absolute dreck sometimes (like Thor: The Dark World in my opinion). If you’re trying to follow a steady narrative when it comes to DC animated movies, good luck. There are so many different universes. Where do I begin? We got DC Animated Universe, DC Animated Movie Universe (not the same as DCAU), DCU Animated Original Movies, DC showcase movies, Superman/Batman, Teen Titans, Teen Titans Go!, Justice League, Lego DC, Lego DC Super Hero Girls, Super Hero Girls, 1960’s Batman movies, Batman Unlimited movies, solo Batman movies, standalone Batman movies, and more. And each universe (even the series) have different origin stories for some of the characters. Even Joker is quoted saying, “If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice.” I mocked this at length when it came up in an interview, but it can’t exactly be further from the truth: the cinematic universe movies are “for the fans”. The first movie in the DC Animated Movie Universe (or DCAMU) is Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. It’s a hell of a good movie and I see it as the best DC animated movie that incorporates all the famous DC characters, though it’s not my favourite DC movie. I’m a bit torn as to how to approach it objectively as even though it’s the first in the DCAMU, you still need to be familiar with the universes of The Flash, Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, etc. to experience the most impact. I don’t think many are too familiar with the ventures of Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Grifter, etc. It’s a clusterfuck of characters and what not, but the narrative is extremely followable. However, if not familiar with many of the characters (I know I wasn’t when I first watched it), the impact would be lost in terms of story progression. Like I couldn’t gauge how everything was so super messed up the first time I watched it. It was only after I found out about the characters and rewatching the movie did I feel the most impact. I know I criticised the Marvel franchise, but I’ll admit: it definitely is a bit more welcoming to newcomers than DC. But regardless, both of their best movies are simply just fast thrilling rides pretty much. Sometimes, they can be nonsensical as all hell. Like the Harley Quinn (2019) series constantly pokes fun of the narrative by acting purposefully goofy and over-the-top at all times, though still remaining a fun watch all in all. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (which is the best Spider-Man movie in my opinion) also does this by not taking itself way too seriously whilst having impressive choreography and pacing. Some of the characters have messed-up backstories, but that adds to the whole charm of it along with the purposeful usage of 30 FPS animation in a comic book style. There are some good ones, and some stinkers. It’s hard not to like a movie from both franchises, even if it sucks. I gave Black Widow a 4/10, but I was VERY unsure of it at first and had to ponder upon it quite a while before doing so (I was thinking a 5/10 before admittedly). I’ll be honest: these aren’t scripted thoughts. There is no cohesive narrative or anything. I just wanted to talk about it unscripted. That also implies I don’t know how to end this. I mainly just wanted to discuss how it is required to have some prior knowledge of the main characters before tackling the Marvel or DC movies normally, even the standalone ones. Thankfully, this doesn’t apply to the other superhero movies like Defendor, Sky High, Push, etc. For me, I watch em all, no preference. I’m familiar with all franchises already, so I’m here for the thrills.