The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Film Review

Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and the Thing face their most daunting challenge yet as they defend Earth from Galactus and Silver Surfer.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman director of Cut Bank (2014) and WandaVision (2021). The film serves as the 37th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four movies.

For years Hollywood has been trying to get The Fantastic Four to work. First there was an unreleased film in 1994, then the Tim Story movies which much like a lot of the Fox Marvel movies that were releasing at the time weren’t good, finally there was Fantastic Four (2015)….there is a reason why a lot of people consider this to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made.

Luckily Matt Shakman stepped up to the plate because this is far more in line with what to expect from a Fantastic Four film. The characters mesh well together, each actor brings something exciting to the table and it’s clear that this time around this was handled with so much care to the source material. Combine that with a surprisingly captivating retro look to the film and you have yourself a quite strong film.

The performances all around were very well done, Pedro Pascal is fun and plays the whole scientist type of character incredibly well. There’s some moments where this plays into the film’s humor which works due to the lively atmosphere. Pascal’s chemistry with the rest of the cast is charming especially with Vanessa Kirby which leads to some genuinely cute and beautiful moments. The balance of being incredibly smart yet not knowing how to interact with other people makes for some compelling moments that actually do feel very real.

Vanessa Kirby is definitely the standout here, right from the beginning she completely makes the role of Sue Storm her’s. She’s the driving force of the story, the whole plot line of her trying to protect her son adds this family theme into the film. While it’s not done in any way that would be considered new, it still feels earnest and makes you care for the characters. Vanessa Kirby starts out with a more calm performance but quickly morphs into this powerhouse performance during the film’s third act. She’s an incredible actress who always gives it her all and here is no exception.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm are both incredibly fun, the two work perfectly with each other as well as Pascal and Kirby. The humor the two create feels genuine, it’s shared among the group which almost feels like organic conversations that a real family would have with each other. While the two don’t get these huge character writing moments, what we are presented with is more than enough to feel connected with their characters at the very least they are involved with the story and unlike some of the last Fantastic Four films we get this sense of teamwork and how they feel connected as a team. Maybe that’s due to the actors having such great chemistry whatever the case might be it’s very much present here.

Galactus is a very well done villain who is incredibly menacing as soon as his voice is heard. Ralph Ineson does such a fantastic job of bringing this character life as well as capturing the scale, fear and the menacing atmosphere of the character. The shadow that looms over the environment is more than enough to give the viewer chills, the build up to see his entrance to the film is well worth it and the final act of him taking action is truly large and powerful in scale.

The writing is quite excellent, the film combines its humor that feels much more natural than a lot of other MCU films and is able to capture the more dramatic moments well. As I said before the family element isn’t done in this brand new way, but it has this honesty that comes with it in this charming way that you can’t help but love. The fun banter between our heroes feels like the type of banter and dialogue you would hear from a family.

The film absolutely knocks it out of the park with the cinematography which has this blend of futuristic and 60s retro style. It makes the film standout a lot more and the color pops making this appealing to the eye, it helps that the cinematography from Jess Hall is large in scale, detailed and incredibly striking. There is this sense of wonder and exploration that you feel as the film goes on, which is fitting since a plot point of this film is space and that’s typically the feel and atmosphere you get when you think about space exploration in general.

Overall The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a very strong addition to the MCU, the story might not be anything grand. But it’s filled to the brim with passion, style and charm that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Thunderbolts (2025) Film Review

Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker — embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

Thunderbolts is directed by Jake Schreier director of Robot & Frank (2012) and Paper Towns (2015). Thunderbolts is the 36th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

To say Thunderbolts is a breath of fresh air for the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be a huge understatement, a lot of the flaws to some of the more recent installments of the universe are not present here. Instead we get a lot of genuinely beautiful moments mixed with the film tackling some themes that might not exactly be groundbreaking in execution but the way the film goes about executing them is quite great. Combine that with some really strong acting, action scenes and engaging dialogue and you have yourself one of the best installments to the MCU in quite a while.

The performances are all fantastic across the board, everyone here gets a chance to shine even when some have very limited time on screening. Florence Pugh is one of the major standouts, she carries a lot of the dramatic weight of the film and puts so much passion and power into Yelena as a character. The character moments we get from her is quite beautiful and even heartbreaking at times, there are moments here that actually make the viewer tear up a bit, Pugh is a powerhouse actress as I’ve said in the past and here is no exception. She’s able to really build this whole different look to Yelena that are different from her past appearances while also complimenting them as well, Pugh is also able to have this wonderful balance between her dramatic moments and her comedic ones. The humor is actually quite hilarious here so Pugh is able to take advantage of it and work her magic, lastly the action scenes with Pugh are fantastic and always a treat to watch due to how committed she really is.

Lewis Pullman who plays Bob or Sentry/Void is the other major standout, he delivers this complex and sympathetic character who is constantly at war with himself. At first he may not seem like much but as the film goes on we see the character building in action which quickly pushes Pullman to one of the film’s best assets, this where the theme of mental health kicks in and it is very well integrated into Bob’s character arc. There’s one particular moment that is a highlights this incredibly well, Pullman just overall gives a fantastic performance that is truly beautifully done. Much like Pugh, he’s able to have this balance of dramatic and comedic moments. The timing is especially well done and his facial acting combined with his character clearly struggling gets the viewer more and more invested as it goes on.

Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and David Harbour are all quite great, they all work incredibly well together. The banter between them is fun and the team chemistry is filled to the brim with charm, even if some get more bigger moments than others you still are invested in these characters. All of their personalities all blend together very nicely and have this genuine connection, it helps that the writing actually does help build these characters.

Speaking of which the script from Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo is truly fascinating here, not only is it a very fun time with humor that is genuinely fun. But there is a lot of dramatic moments that help push these characters, these moments help build them into something the viewer can connect with and there’s a lot of successful moments like these throughout the film. The theme of mental health although not exactly groundbreaking (as I said before) still feels like it’s coming from a place of honesty and shows what people can go through when they are at war with themselves (obviously in a more comic book way with giant voids but you get the point.)

The action scenes are incredibly well done, they are very well detailed the stunt team seriously knocks it out of the park here with quite honestly some of the best we have seen from the MCU. The cinematography from cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo is beautifully done, pays a lot of attention detail and has this large in scale feel that really captures the world of the film. It is the epic massive beast of a picture that is striking and lets the viewer look around at many given opportunities.

Overall Thunderbolts is a huge step in the right direction for the MCU, the film has a lot of the spirit of what made the Guardians Of The Galaxy films so great and even does it’s own thing as well. Even apart from the MCU (the film does not really have any easter eggs) the film is still fantastic and is just an overall excellent film that is both fun and filled to the brim with heart.

Thunderbolts is currently in theaters

10/10 A+

Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Film Review

Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, finds himself in the middle of an international incident and must discover the motive behind a nefarious global plan.

Captain America: Brave New World is directed by Julius Onah director of The Girl is In Trouble (2015), Cloverfield Paradox (2018) and Luce (2019). The film is the fourth installment of the Captain America films, a continuation of the miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) and is the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While I don’t think Captain America: Brave New World is one of the absolute worst in the MCU, it is definitely one of the most bland. From the lack of character development from a lot of its characters, to saying next to nothing about its own politics. The movie is a giant mess that has its positives but ultimately is a misfire.

I will say that the performances here are not that bad, Anthony Mackie has always been pretty solid when it comes to the MCU films and here is no exception. While Sam Wilson does not get the development he deserved, Mackie has a lot of charm which is able to be shown at times which are easily some of the movie’s best moments. However the writing really stops him from building Sam Wilson further as a character, wooden dialogue and bland plot points really don’t do Wilson any favors at all.

Despite Danny Ramirez being benched during the later half of the movie I do think the scenes he shares with Anthony Mackie are genuinely great, they have nice chemistry and those moments (one in particular at the end) are genuinely touching. It’s such a shame Ramirez’s character Joaquin Torres is just tossed aside midway through the film and doesn’t really grow as a character, he does have his moments but it’s not really enough to say that his Torres grew as a character.

Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross or Red Hulk is not bad here, this is by no means one of Ford’s greatest performances. But I do think considering the script he was given he did the best he could with it and squeezed out some great moments, Red Hulk as a character was fun and the action scenes between him and Sam Wilson are by far some of the movie’s best moments. They aren’t anything crazy but they are simple and straight to the point, it’s filled with Hulk rage that leaves destruction basically anything you can really ask for. It’s just a bit of a shame this happens way too late.

As for the rest of the characters they are all either forgettable or don’t have the writing to back them up. Giancarlo Esposito gives a fine performance here but his character Sidewinder barely does anything, he shows up for a couple scenes and that’s it. Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns was nice to see but the movie fails to make him a compelling villain, a lot of the writing really makes him come off as a “generic bad guy with very typical goals”

The main issue here is the writing, the movie attempts (at least I think it does) to try and build Sam Wilson as a character but as I said earlier the movie lacks the firepower to do the job, instead he’s reduced to a very standard hero that really does not have any interesting character moments. Sure Wilson is likable but the movie doesn’t give any sort of reason to really care about any of these characters. The story jumps all over the place with several scenes feeling incredibly rushed and put together at the last minute, while the action scenes are actually great and put the movie back on track at some points. There’s just a lot of meandering that takes a lot away from these moments.

There really isn’t much else to say here, Captain America: Brave New World definitely had the potential to be a big step for Sam Wilson, instead it feels like a whole lot of nothing was said, with very little explored about these characters or their stories.

Captain America: Brave New World is available in theaters.

4/10 D+

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) Film Review

Deadpool’s peaceful existence comes crashing down when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse. He soon unites with his would-be pal, Wolverine, to complete the mission and save his world from an existential threat.

Deadpool & Wolverine is directed by Shawn Levy director of Free Guy (2021), The Adam Project (2022), Real Steal (2011), Date Night (2010), Night At The Museum (2006) and many others. Deadpool & Wolverine is the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and serves as a sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018).

A Deadpool 3 was inevitable it was just a matter of when it was going to release especially due to Disney buying 20th Century Studios, some people thought it would never come out and some people thought Disney would tone it down. I actually liked the last two Deadpool films, am I as crazy about them as I was back when they first came out? Not at all, but for what they were they were fun enough films that had a lot of positives. Deadpool & Wolverine I would say is around the same although I do think it’s not as good as the first film.

Before I start I do want to put a spoiler warning as there are going to be spoilers so be aware!

So for starters the biggest positive of the film and the one who steals the show is Hugh Jackman who returns to play Wolverine from the X-Men films and the Wolverine films, he’s just as a great as he was in those films and shows that he still has it. There’s a few scenes in particular that standout quite well, Jackman adds some much needed emotional depth to the film. Granted it’s not anything mind blowing but it’s something and Jackman’s great acting is able to get the viewer invested which was part of Jackman’s portrayal of Logan/Wolverine in the first place. Ryan Reynolds is perfectly fine here, he isn’t anything special. But he works well with Hugh Jackman and there’s some comedic bits that do work between two, but then there are moments that are eye roll worthy that do end up hurting the movie in the long run.

The cameos I have to say this time around were actually fun, usually with a lot of the recent Marvel films it really does feel like they are shoving cameos in just for the audience to point and say “oh my god I know that guy.” While yes that argument can be used here, at the very least the cameos themselves are given more to do rather than blink at the camera, say a one liner and then leave. They actually tie into the story decently well and while some are definitely better handled than others I do think for the most part the movie does a decent job with them.

I’m not going to name every single cameo as there are quite a few of them and some of them such as Sabertooth who’s played by Tyler Mane (from X-Men (200)), really only serve as henchmen for the main villain Cassandra Nova (played by Emma Corrin) and then quickly get disposed of, sure it’s really cool to see that he’s here but that’s really all you can really say about him.

The main ones worth mentioning here are Chris Evans as Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four (2005) and it’s sequel Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007), Jennifer Garner as Elektra from Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005), Wesley Snipes from the Blade trilogy (1998-2004), Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23 from Logan (2017) and finally the biggest surprise which I will say was quite clever of the film Channing Tatum as Gambit from the Gambit film that was planned but never ended up coming out. All of these performances at least contribute something to the film, Dafne Keen in particular shows some really great acting here especially the bonding moments between her character Laura and Wolverine. It’s some of the best moments of the movie with some nice character development that was very needed. Channing Tatum is a delight to see even if Gambit is given the least to do out of the bunch, Tatum is clearly having a blast doing this performance which in turn makes it a lot of fun to watch.

As far as everything else goes it’s pretty alright, the action scenes combined with some of the song choices are quite fun, one of the biggest standouts being Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC which happens to be the opening of the movie. So it does start out with a huge bang. The humor is definitely one of the weaker parts about this movie, while there are some hilarious moments a lot of it is the exact same thing from the previous two movies. Which I get it the movie is pulling from the source material and that’s just how Deadpool’s personality is but it really is a bit repetitive at this point and does start to really to become incredibly noticeable very quickly.

I will say the end credits combined with clips of the old 20th Century Studios Marvel films and behind the scenes footage of those films while using Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day (I’m surprised it took a film from the MCU this long to use a Green Day song) is actually quite nice. Does it scream graduation slideshow? Absolutely but growing up with these movies despite the wide range of quality and seeing them go like this is decently touching.

Overall Deadpool & Wolverine is fine for what it is, a lot of it is the same thing the MCU has been doing for the last couple years. But at the very least this one is entertaining, I’m probably not going to ever revisit it this movie but it made for a satisfying watch.

Deadpool & Wolverine is currently in theaters

6/10 C+

Echo (2024) Series Review

Maya Lopez’s ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown; she must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community.

Echo is a new installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s the tenth Disney+ MCU series and serves as a spinoff to Hawkeye (2021).

I’m one of those few people who enjoyed Hawkeye decently enough, my opinions on it have changed since then and I don’t think it’s quite the 9/10 series I was making it out to be, but I still think it was solid enough and worked mostly due to the performances. While I did enjoy Echo as a character in Hawkeye I always thought making a series about her was very out of nowhere, but that’s not to say there wasn’t any potential.

Because there are are some decent parts to the series, for one thing the acting is honestly pretty solid. Alaqua Cox gives a solid performance as Maya Lopez her interactions with the other characters are genuinely touching at times the moments with her and Vincent D’Onofrio are among some of the best moments. The two really do a great job of creating tension, speaking of which Vincent D’Onofrio once again does a fantastic job as The Kingpin, although he’s only in the series for a few episodes every time he appears on screen he knocks it out of the park. It really does get you excited to see the future of where he is going to take this character.

There are also some solid sequences that are genuinely touching as well (particularly in Episode 3), they is definitely an attempt to make these moments standout among the overall amount in any MCU Disney+ series and I think this series does an okay job with that.

That’s where it ends for me however because there are way too many missteps that can’t be ignored. For one thing the series is 5 episodes long, meaning character moments, the writing and the build up to the final episode all move at a very fast pace that ends up getting very sloppy which again is frustrating because there was some level of attempt to create something interesting narratively.

The other problem is the power switch, a choice that that does not make any sense at all narratively and doesn’t fit with the source material. This happened once before with Mrs. Marvel which while that decision was also quite bad at the very least the series was still entertaining, Echo is unfortunately not very entertaining and is quite dialogue heavy which would be fine if it were at least compelling. But that’s not the case here, as I said the fast paced really rushed moments that would otherwise be very important for the characters making for a very weak payoff.

Finally as a series I really don’t think it succeeds with making Echo an interesting character, sure we are given details about her native roots but we aren’t shown a whole lot of it. And I hate repeating myself here but the pacing completely destroys her character moments, it’s all rushed and sloppily put together to make a very disappointing final episode that isn’t quite on the same level as embarrassing as the one in Secret Invasion (2023) but it falls very flat unfortunately.

Overall Echo had a lot of potential, it had the right ingredients just the wrong way to fully execute them. Which is a common problem with a lot of these MCU shows and is probably only going to get worse.

Echo is available on Disney+

4/10 D+

Loki Season 2 series review

Loki works with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes.

As much as I have criticized Marvel in recent years (especially this year) I will give them this, they took a much riskier choice to have Loki be the first Disney+ Marvel series to have a second season. They could have easily went with a much safer choice such as Hawkeye or Falcon and The Winter Solider. I will also say that where as my opinions have changed on a lot of the previous Disney+ Marvel shows (not really in a good way). My opinion on the first season of Loki has been consistent, it’s by far my favorite of the bunch and was fantastic. Loki season 2 is quite fantastic and keeps a lot of what made the first season work so well and while it does have a few missteps along the way, for the most part it really is quite great.

The cast is really what makes this season work mostly, Tom Hiddleston once again shows his master work as Loki and really wraps up the character development Loki has gone through in the MCU. There’s several moments during the final minutes of the season that really shows this in such a beautiful way and quite honestly the most powerful moments I’ve seen from these MCU shows. Owen Wilson returns as Mobius and much like in the first season he is quite great here, his character sort of loses a bit of spotlight towards the end of the season, however during the season’s first few episodes we get to see the bond of Mobius and Loki grow even more. There’s a lot of moments where they are just interacting like regular people it’s a decently grounded approach that was a surprise yet very welcomed one.

Ke Huy Quan was a very smart addition to the cast, almost immediately when his character Ouroboros shows up the viewer automatically is intrigued by his character. He might not get some deep and rich character development here, but what makes the character work is mostly Quan’s exciting and lovable performance that you really grow attached to. Jonathan Majors is solid as the variants of Kang, granted he’s not my absolute favorite performance because I do think the cast surrounding him is much better. However there’s no denying that he does a solid job here.

Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie while great gets put into the backseat this season, which is a bit confusing as to why that is. Since the first season really did make it seem like she was going to have a much bigger role later down the line, she really is not given a whole lot to really do here unfortunately and a lot of her strong character traits are seemingly absent here.

Loki season 2 is much more dialogue than it is action and it definitely works in the series favor, if it was going to be one show that has a season where it would be much more dialogue than action it would be this one. Granted there are moments where the pacing can be a bit too slow and doesn’t really push the show at a great pace, however the show benefits from a lot of decently strong dialogue and acting that captures the atmosphere the show is going for.

The main criticism here is a lot of the characters take a backseat towards the show’s final few episodes, which I completely get it the show is supposed to wrap up the character development Loki has gone throughout the MCU. Having that said it is very noticeable that the characters start to become more like cheerleaders for Loki (especially Sylvie), having that said that does not take away from the powerful moment at the end where you can really feel just how important Loki really was all of these years. It’s just a bit of a shame that backseats had to be taken.

Overall Loki season 2 is quite strong, it might not be as great as the first season. But there’s still a real lot to like about the show!

Loki season 2 is available on Disney+

8/10 B+

Secret Invasion is a poorly written mess that lacks interest.

Nick Fury learns of a secret invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls; Fury joins his allies, and together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.

Secret Invasion is the newest installment of the MCU and is the ninth television series in the MCU, it took me awhile to review this show despite watching the entire series in one day back in July because there truly is not anything interesting or compelling to talk about here.

Which is a massive shame because I do think some of the ideas presented here are interesting they are just very poorly executed, a political thriller Marvel series could have easily worked heck Marvel already showed that in movie form it can work with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (it depends on who you ask, some people consider it a political thriller some people don’t.) so it’s quite baffling to see just how massively Secret Invasion fails in comparison.

The only positive here are the performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Coleman (pretty much any scene she’s in is such a delight) and Ben Mendelsohn. They all try their absolute hardest with such a messy and unfocused script that really does not give them much to work with at all, Emilia Clarke’s character in particular is very blandly written and only gets worse during the finale (which that in itself is a whole other issue with the series that I’ll get to in a bit.)

One of the main problems here is the character development and a majority of the characters in general, the development for any of these characters outside of Nick Fury and maybe Talos is incredibly nonexistent. Emilia Clarke’s character G’iah had her moments but left so much to be desired, which is frustrating because I do think the father and daughter relationship that Talos and G’iah shined through at times but when it comes to just about everything else her character isn’t interesting at all.

Then we have the main villain of the series Gravik the leader of the rebel Skrulls (the Skrulls were in Captain Marvel I’ll get into why they do not work well at all in Secret Invasion in a bit) who is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir who doesn’t give a terrible performance just not a very memorable one, Gravik on the other hand is one of the most forgettable villains of the MCU and honestly one of the worst as well. Despite the series trying to make Gravik seem more than a villain who is evil for the sake of being evil there really isn’t anything compelling, unique or well written about the character. A majority of the time during the series he’s a hot head who just kills his own men.

Speaking of killing characters this show does a lot of it (I still don’t know how to feel about a certain character’s death in the first episode.) the problem is a majority of them are not interesting at the slightest, making the scenes they eventually get axed in lack any sort of interest. The Skrulls as I mentioned before were in Captain Marvel and while I didn’t like Captain Marvel at the very least in that movie the Skrulls had character to them granted the movie could have done a bit more but the ideas and character ideas were definitely there. In Secret Invasion with the exception of Talos they are restricted to either being henchmen who have no personality or just flat out being poorly written (G’iah and Gravik) as well as being used for a VERY stupid plot twist.

Finally there’s the finale episode 6 a disastrous way to end a series, I know a lot of people were divided on the finale of Wandavision but this is just awful, throughout the series it (for the most part) tried to stick with this political thriller atmosphere where the action scenes weren’t as flashy as a lot of other installments of the series. Even if the political thriller atmosphere was not good at all here, at the very least there was some consistency. However that gets thrown out the window with the final battle, suddenly becomes a flashy mess that even if you wanted to make the argument that it’s the final battle of course there’s going to be flashy action. That doesn’t take away that the CGI used is horrendous, the fight is between G’iah and Gravik two very uninteresting characters making the fight just dull.

Overall Secret Invasion is a gigantic mess, it’s a terrible series that has some decent performances and a few character moments but lacks in every other department.

Secret Invasion is available on Disney+

3/10 D-

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is a beautiful end to a character driven journey.

Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the final film of the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy. The discussion about superhero fatigue or the superhero genre itself putting mediocrity or flat out terrible movies is still a very relevant. Especially given with what we got so far this year, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania outside of a few performances was a horrible start to phase five and Shazam: Fury Of The Gods suffered very identical problems that Quantumania did and just sort of came and went.

However Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is what happens when you focus on far more than just building a cinematic universe, random cameos and actually have very interesting themes with strong writing. The Guardians Of The Galaxy films I consider to be the best of the MCU and a lot of it has to do with how beautifully well written the characters are and James Gunn’s direction which are both very present here.

For starters the character’s are once again incredibly well written here, the film completes a lot of the arcs the characters have went through from the last several years, Chris Pratt once again kills it as Peter Quill, while he doesn’t get as much development here as he did in the previous movies he really doesn’t need to. The last film really wrapped up a lot of his story and in this one it tied up some loose ends which does lead to a very emotional touching end for his journey, it’s one that’s been hinted at for awhile and to see him accomplish it is truly satisfying.

Bradley Cooper is at his absolute best here as Rocket as the trailers and information about the film has said, the film takes a look at Rocket’s backstory which is quite dark, that’s one thing I should mention Vol. 3 is the darkest of the trilogy (heck this might be the darkest film of the MCU if we are going to be honest.) the backstory really does a fantastic job of building Rocket’s character, there’s so many emotions and really makes Rocket one of the most interesting characters of the MCU. There’s so much pain and sadness in the many flashbacks that truly do make you cry, Rocket’s backstory is among some of the best the MCU has ever done and it’s truly beautiful to see his arc be completed.

Dave Bautista as Drax actually goes through quite a lot of development here, he’s shown in the previous films that he really cares about the team, but here you can absolutely see the result of that. It helps that Bautista gives a phenomenal performance and really puts so much heart into the role, it always did seem like he was having a blast playing Drax whenever he was on screen and that shows here.

Karen Gillan as Nebula is yet another highlight performance of the film, while yes Gillan has always killed as Nebula but I would argue she takes the performance to a different level in this one. Not only does her arc complete in this film but it’s such a beautiful end to it as well, especially during one particularly moment at the end that has everyone together, Nebula is by far one of the most developed characters of the MCU and truly one of the most interesting as well.

Chukwudi Iwuji plays the villain High Evolutionary and it’s quite refreshing to see a villain who isn’t sympathetic at all, one of the problems a lot of people have had with some recent MCU villains is they are always either given a sympathetic backstory or make arguments where someone can say “they are right” while yes that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when you constantly do it film after film (or show) it starts to become very old. High Evolutionary is straight up evil, he wants to commit genocide and torture creatures he sees as “not perfect” Iwuji’s performance is so unhinged that it’s to the point where it’s quite brilliant. Iwuji says that some inspirations for his performance was William Shakespeare and that really shows, he balances a lot of absolutely unhinged moments with some calm and collected moments.

James Gunn’s direction much like the previous two films is absolutely brilliant, there’s a beautiful blend of comedy and dramatic moments that help the film move along at very steady pace. It tells a beautiful story while making some very hilarious jokes, the music is once against fantastic as well. One scene in particular towards the end uses “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine and it’s truly a brilliant use of it, the scene really puts a nice closing on an incredible journey we have had with these characters.

Lastly there’s the film itself and it’s everything that the end of a trilogy should be, it completes the many character arcs while introducing a few new elements that add to the overall themes and characters.

I know it may look like I went on a lot about the characters, but that’s honestly the main source of power in the Guardians Of The Galaxy Trilogy…the characters, since 2014 we have been on a journey with these characters that are quite unique when it comes to the writing style, the team is arguably the characters who went through the most development out of all the characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I believe the reason why these characters and films are so fantastic is mainly development, the characters loving each other like a family and the overall charm.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is the perfect closer to the trilogy and is among one of the very best films so far this year!

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is playing in theaters.

10/10 A+

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania an extended TV episode.

Ant-Man and the Wasp find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that pushes them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the newest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is the introduction to Phase Five. Phase Four was the very definition of a mixed bag leading towards the bad side (Wakanda Forever, Loki and a few others are exceptions.) so this was definitely the chance to start the new phase off strong…that did not happen unfortunately.

To be absolutely fair I do think Quantumania is a bit better than some of what phase four had to offer and it is definitely better than the last Ant-Man movie (Ant-Man and The Wasp), but that honestly does not mean much when it suffers a very common problem that a lot of the MCU has been facing lately. Before we get into that there are the positives.

Like everyone has said and will continue to say Jonathan Majors easily steals the show as Kang, he plays such a strong villain and puts his powerhouse acting ability into the role which leads to some quite fantastic moments, similarly Michelle Pfeiffer does a fantastic job here as well, she plays Janet Van Dyne who is actually decently written here, granted there are some scenes where had the writing been so much stronger the character could have improved. But from what was shown it wasn’t too bad, Pfeiffer and Majors are truly at their best when they share the screen together and are able to combine their talent.

Lastly there’s the father and daughter relationship that Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) that while does come off a bit basic at times, it’s mainly due to Paul Rudd and Kathryn Newton being so likable as performers that really makes it work, because Cassie Lang as a character was just not exactly well written at all here. But as I said Newton takes what she’s given and makes the most of it.

Unfortunately everything else is a complete and total mess that just about sums up the main issues currently going on with the MCU, first off the movie is just the usual MCU formula again. Rather than tell a story the movie focuses on introducing the main villain of the new phase Kang, which while is nice it sacrifices writing, storytelling, character development and much more. Most of the other characters are given almost nothing to do especially Hope and Hank who are largely given a backseat this time around.

MODOK is unfortunately not used well at all, he only really serves as a sort of example I’ve used in the past with a lot of MCU films and that’s “the Dragon Ball Z movie henchmen effect) which basically means he’s given a few scenes and then gets written out of the movie. Darren Cross (played by Corey Stoll) makes a return from the first Ant-Man, what’s shocking is somehow this movie manages to make Cross even less interesting to the point where him as Yellowjacket was more investing than him as MODOK. But what really hurts MODOK is the stuff the movie decides to do with him towards the end, it’s the usual MCU humor that flat out makes very little sense given Darren Cross’s personality and the story.

Lastly Quantumania just doesn’t risk any stakes, which I imagine is going to be a huge problem with this phase given that it’s about the Multiverse. Which if you aren’t going to risk any stakes or do something out of the ordinary at least try and build interesting characters and story elements, which is what this movie really lacked. The Star Wars similarities are painfully obvious and really don’t serve any point other than for someone to point and say “hey isn’t this like Star Wars?”

Overall Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is basically an extended TV episode, it’s main purpose is to introduce the main villain which as I said Majors is one of the best parts. But doing just that sacrifices just about everything else.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is available in theaters.

4/10 D+

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is a very festive close to Phase Four.

The Guardians are on a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill and head to Earth in search of the perfect present.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is the final part of phase four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it definitely ends it on a high note. It keeps a lot of the humor of what made the two Guardians Of The Galaxy movies so hilarious in the first place as well building a bit more development for the characters as well, it’s a very festive special that truly is heartwarming and is the very definition of a holiday special. It mainly focuses on Drax and Mantis which Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff really do a fantastic job here, the interactions they have with the people they come across plus Kevin Bacon is truly hilarious and pretty cleverly written as well. James Gunn nails down the music extremely well, like the rest of the special it’s very festive and has an incredible amount of charm to it as well. The underlying story of Star Lord loving and missing Christmas is a genuinely emotional and really strong one that add some really great animation as well. Overall there might not be a whole lot to The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special but it’s very well made, written and has a lot of charm to it that you can’t help but love.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special is available on Disney+

8/10 B+