A sword-wielding princess embarks on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. She soon meets an idealistic young man who shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage.
New York Film Festival Review
Scarlet is directed by Mamoru Hosoda director of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (2005), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009), Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast (2015), Mirai (2018) and Belle (2021)
Mamoru Hosoda is a director who has delivered consistently with tons of great films that lead to some fantastic and mesmerizing experiences, however coming off of Hosoda’s previous film Belle (2021) his newest film Scarlet is quite a big disappointment. The film undeniably has some gorgeous animation that leads to some strong sequences and the final act ends up being a bit better than the movie’s rough middle portion. However Scarlet is ultimately a very watered down version of Willam Shakespeare’s Hamlet that does not add anything new or compelling.
The voice cast is all around great, with such a shallow script the cast does what they can a while there are some well done moments and the side characters get some admittedly cute moments. It’s Scarlet herself that just does not have enough character writing to make for an investing character, during the first 30 minutes or so we get some decent character building for her and then afterwards it almost feels like the movie completely stops. So many different themes and characters are thrown at the viewer that the movie loses focus on its main character, Hijiri is a fine enough secondary main character but the whole plot point with him is incredibly predictable and can be seen coming from a mile away.
The writing wants to be more than a watered down Hamlet but fails to do so in any unique or interesting way, there’s a pop song sequence that seemingly comes out of nowhere and takes the viewer completely out of the film. The villains of the story are shallowly written most of them are nothing more but bloodthirsty henchmen and Claudius the big bad of the movie does get a solid introduction but is not seen again until the movie is almost over making any sort of intrigue as a character next to impossible.
The animation is without a doubt the best part of the movie, as I said before it leads to some genuinely stunning moments and fun sequences. The attention to detail is sharp, clear and makes the movie’s world stand out a bit more. But that’s about as far as it goes, the animation can really only do so much when you have such a shallow script that fails to elaborate on any of its characters.
Scarlet is a disappointment, it’s a shame because there was potential for something great here. The right materials are here and the way the movie tackles life and death is genuinely interesting. But unfortunately the middle portion heavily lacks strong writing and is way to forgettable for its own good.
Scarlet releases in theaters December 12th (Limited) and February 6th (Wide)
Hidden secrets and long-buried resentments come to light when two estranged brothers reunite at a primitive cabin deep in the woods of Northern England.
Anemone is directed by Ronan Day-Lewis (the son of Daniel Day-Lewis) which is his directorial debut.
I was happy as anyone could be when I saw that Daniel Day-Lewis one of the greatest living actors was coming out of retirement since his previous performance which was Phantom Thread (2017). His son Ronan being in the director’s chair brought this intrigue as well so I went into this very positively and unfortunately it ends up being one of the biggest disappointments of the year.
There is absolutely no denying that the performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean and the rest of the cast are fantastic plus the cinematography is absolutely beautiful. But the rest of the film unfortunately meanders and the story is just not strong enough to pull you in for the ride, the rest of the movie also fails to match Daniel Day-Lewis’s fantastic performance resulting in a very disappointing ride.
As I said earlier one of the best parts of the film is the performances, Daniel Day-Lewis being the clear as day standout who gives such a fantastic performance that at some points you almost forget you are watching a movie with such underwhelming story. There are two monologues that Lewis absolutely hits out of the park, I won’t spoil what exactly they are but one of them is haunting and the other is a traumatic experience that his character Ray went through. Both of these monologues are some of the movie’s best moments and actually capture the atmosphere of it all very well. Had the film leaned into these striking moments a lot more we might be having a whole different conversation about this movie (in a good way).
The rest of the cast are solid, although the character writing for Sean Bean’s character Jem is just not really there I do think Bean gives a great performance and captures the atmosphere the movie requires. Samantha Morton and Samuel Bottomley give good supporting performances but like Bean the character writing is just not there either.
The cinematography is the other piece holding the movie together, it’s absolutely stunning and it’s clear that cinematographer Ben Fordesman wanted to capture this thrilling yet beautiful sense of atmosphere which for the most part he does succeed. There is one particular moment during the movie’s final act that does capture this chaotic nature the cinematography was slowly but surely building up to and the execution actually leads to the movie being a bit more interesting (it’s a shame by that point the movie is almost over.)
Unfortunately the writing is just not there at all, while I do completely get what Ronan Day-Lewis was going for here. It just does not make for a compelling story. The focus is on this father and son conflict which is simple enough but not having the emotional force behind it and while being abstract with the visuals might have been neat first. The movie ends up pushing the line and ends up being way too abstract which mixing this with a father and son conflict that you are attempting to make feel raw as possible just does not mix well at all, the writing itself outside of the two monologues is also nothing to write home about. You can tell there is some sparks that are almost lighting up but not quite getting the power they need.
Finally there’s the direction from Ronan Day-Lewis, the direction is not bad. In fact it’s quite great for most of the movie, but there are moments where you can tell this is his directorial debut and while in some cases that’s not exactly a bad thing. Here it’s incredibly noticeable and does take away from some of the thrilling atmosphere the movie had going for it.
Overall despite my complaints I do think Ronan Day-Lewis does have promise as a director, Anemone is a bold effort that unfortunately does not work due to rough pacing, writing that needed a lot more power and not much of a compelling story.
A political prisoner named Valentín shares a cell with a man named Molina. They form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts a Hollywood musical plot.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman is directed by Bill Condon director of Dream Girls (2006), Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and 2 (2011 and 2012), Beauty And The Beast (2017), The Good Liar (2019) and a few others. The film is based on the stage musical and is the second film based on the 1976 novel, the first film being the 1985 film of the same name.
I liked Kiss Of The Spider Woman a bit more than expected, Bill Condon’s directing career has not exactly been great in the last several years. But luckily he brings the magic he did with Dream Girls (2006) back here. While not everything in Kiss Of The Spider Woman lands, there is so much to absolutely love here that it ends up being such an experience from beginning to end.
The performances are by far the film’s best assets, starting with Diego Luna who gives an incredibly solid commanding performance, his chemistry with Tonatiuh (who we will get to in just a second) is filled to the brim with charm, his performance during the later half of the film only gets stronger as there are moments where his performance ends up being genuinely devastating, it’s one of those performances where you may think it can’t get any better but in this case you would be wrong.
Jennifer Lopez might not have the most screen time, however she makes the most of it and what follows is a genuinely well done performance. Her dancing is hypnotizing and oozes with style, Lopez captures the Old Hollywood feel incredibly well and captures the style and atmosphere the film requires effortlessly. Although I’m not exactly huge on the songs (they aren’t bad at all) she does a really beautiful job with her singing, even if you are not huge on the songs like I was. There is absolutely no denying that Lopez does a great job of capturing the feel of the songs and giving them their own story. Her characters also support the story very well and even help move the film at a bigger pace.
Finally there’s Tonatiuh who for me is the standout, everyone is going to walk away from this film having a different take on who was the standout and for me that’s Tonatiuh. As I said before the chemistry between Diego Luna and Tonatiuh is fascinating, the fun banter they both have during the film’s beginning is filled with charm. On his own much like Jennifer Lopez he perfectly captures the Old Hollywood style, he’s having the time of his life as well as this understanding of his characters. It’s such a beautiful element to see from an actor and it ends up working so incredibly well to his benefit, the obvious passion and one particular moment with Jennifer Lopez (which he has fantastic chemistry with) all lead this to be one of my favorite performances of the year. It may take time for some to warm up to his performance, but that’s mainly due to Tonatiuh saving the power of his performance for the later half, which ends up being worth the well done wait.
As I said before I’m not huge on the songs, however that does not make them bad (far from it) the song sequences are incredibly well done and mix especially well with the film’s cinematography. Cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler does a fascinating job of capturing the energetic choreography from the dance and music sequences, it’s filled with detail and color both of which help the film pop out a lot more. Due to this, even if the songs aren’t exactly the strongest, all of the technical aspects are able to push these sequences to the finish line and still be quite fantastic.
Lastly the film’s Old Hollywood feel is absolutely exciting, between each of our three main characters capturing the feel perfectly and combined with the technical aspects of the film there’s so much passionate style that director Bill Condon quite clearly poured into this film. I also do think the side to side transitions from the prison and the Hollywood musical are genuinely well done and heartbreaking in some cases.
Overall Kiss Of The Spider Woman is a strong film that is filled with fantastic performances that you will leave the theater loving! It’s a well directed and engaging film that Bill Condon and the rest of the cast and crew did such a passionate job with!
Kiss Of The Spider Woman releases tomorrow in theaters.
Karsh, a creative entrepreneur who lost his spouse, develops a machine designed to communicate with deceased individuals.
The Shrouds is directed by David Cronenberg director of Scanners (1981), Videodrome (1983), The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), Crash (1996), A History Of Violence (2005), Crimes Of The Future (2022) and many others.
The Shrouds is a very different film from what Cronenberg usually does. You could argue this is body horror in a very different way, that way being that the film explores what happens after a body which has no life left and is slowly decaying is left alone after a funeral. The film ties this with technology and artificial intelligence surveillance over a decaying dead body, tech companies taking advantage of this and exploiting said body. The film also has this theme of dealing with grief in the digital world (I’ll get into this in a bit), all of this combined together makes one of the most interesting and best of Cronenberg’s work.
The performances are all fantastic across the board, Diane Kruger and Guy Pierce are fantastic who both get plenty of great moments. However it’s Vincent Cassel that really makes this film as powerful as it is, there’s this feel of Cassel playing Cronenberg its to the point where you would almost think this is actually biopic. Even if you take that away Cassel on his own gives a powerful performance that easily matches the film’s atmosphere. Whether it be moments of humor, sadness, grief and such Cassel is able to quickly adapt to these moments. There’s this sense of loneliness to Cassel’s character Karsh and how he communicates with the rest of the characters it’s to the point where he will use conversation about anything to cope and avoid pain. Karsh is a fascinating character that feels very real and a large part of that is thanks to the brilliant performance from Cassel.
The film’s themes are incredibly well done, how we use the basic premise of conversations about anything to cope and avoid pain (as mentioned earlier), plus how we deal with grief in the digital world. The film points out the major differences of grieving in the digital world and in the real world incredibly well, plus it shows the two clashing which brings in the AI and the companies pushing it way too far to the point where it feels dystopian. There’s this balance of digital grieving and real world grieving and the artificial intelligence companies break it.
The humor comes into play when the film points out how tacky or cheap the AI using the dead bodies looks, it’s this sort of humor that’s very cleverly written and in execution works wonders. For example the “gravetech” that the film takes a look at basically has the look and feel of a fast food restaurant screen, this is supposed to be THE next huge thing in the film’s world and yet it already feels outdated. These moments of humor that point out these facts are some of the film’s best and have this tone of “this will not replace the power that is the human emotion when it comes to losing loved ones.”
The film also has this beautiful therapy session feel, some may feel like because Cassel feels like he’s playing Cronenberg that the film may result in being closed off from the viewer. However that’s not the case here, in fact The Shrouds is a very inviting film that’s telling and showing you the ways people grieve and how you may grieve as well. Cronenberg is essentially giving the viewer somewhere to explore their pain and what causes it, the cinematography from Douglas Koch especially captures this with sharp and detailed shots that are hauntingly beautiful.
The Shrouds is one of David Cronenberg’s best films, it most certainly won’t be for everyone. However if this is indeed Cronenberg’s last film then The Shrouds feels all the more fitting and is such a powerful film to end on.
Sleeping rough on the streets of London, Mike seems unable to escape the chaos of his impulsivity and substance abuse. He’s intelligent and charismatic, but when his addiction results in an act of unprovoked violence, he’s quickly arrested.
Urchin is directed Harris Dickinson which is his directorial debut.
To say Urchin is a quite impressive directorial debut would be an understatement, Harris Dickinson an actor who has built a solid lineup of performances (The Iron Claw, Babygirl, Beach Rats and Triangle Of Sadness.) has created something truly special here, Dickinson proves here that not only is he talented acting wise but he’s also incredibly talented behind the camera. The authenticity of Urchin and just how moving the film is really made it all the more worth it.
The performances all around are fantastic, Frank Dillane gives this authentic performance of someone who’s trying to get their life back on track. There’s moments of victory for Mike (played by Frank Dillane) and there’s moments of painful setbacks, Dillane is able to capture every single one of these moments in this powerful and detailed way that at times it’s both mesmerizing and hard to watch. There’s one particular scene here that displays the film’s joy incredibly well and is a scene that I actually did find myself shedding a tear. Megan Northam is also quite fantastic here as well, her chemistry with Frank Dillane is beautiful and the conversations the two have together have this authentic feel that remains throughout the film.
The main theme of Urchin is trying to get your life back together a message that I’m sure almost any person can get behind. The way the film goes about exploring this theme is very well done, as I said before the film shows both the moments of victory and moments of painful setbacks. It’s all shown in this authentic way that never goes off course, there’s moments of surrealism but they mesh incredibly well with the story being told. These moments give the film some more room of exploration for the viewer, moments of Mike’s relapse into drug addiction make for some sequences that are handled in this honest and respectful way.
The writing and direction from Harris Dickinson is absolutely fascinating, authentic is the word I would use to best describe it all. Dickinson paints a portrait of a man’s life that has its wins and losses, the cinematography from Josée Deshaies gives the film this raw in nature look and compliments Dickinson’s direction. Dickinson also brings this powerful human feel that the viewer quickly connects with, depicting struggles such as addiction, classicism and self destruction isn’t an easy task. But Dickinson handles each of these struggles with so much care and honesty that it ends up surprising the viewer.
Overall Urchin is a wonderful film that shows Harris Dickinson has a lot to offer as a director, if this is what he can accomplish with his directorial debut. Then I am eagerly waiting to see what he does next.
A man moves into a new home that has supernatural forces lurking in the shadows. As dark entities start to threaten him, his brave dog comes to the rescue.
Good Boy is directed by Ben Leonberg which is directorial debut.
Right off the bat what we have here with Good Boy is such a unique idea for a film, using the dog’s point of view helps create such an interesting film. Some might be quick to say that this is exactly Courage The Cowardly Dog a popular cartoon that aired on Cartoon Network from 1999-2002, while you would not be entirely wrong the film does manage to do its own thing and do wonderfully at it.
Indy who plays himself and is actually director Leonberg’s dog gives one of the greatest animal performances in recent memory. The film took 3 years to make and a lot of that was dedicated to capturing footage of Indy, Indy isn’t a trained dog actor so it took extra time however that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all. The filmmakers wanted to capture authentic moments of Indy’s behavior and reaction to his surroundings, the end result gives us a genuinely powerful performance that really makes the film surprisingly moving. It’s a performance that the viewer quickly grows attached to and feels as real as how any other dog would act.
The location is actually director Ben Leonberg and his wife Kari Fischer’s home making the film feel a lot more raw and personal for Leonberg, due to this you feel a bit more brought in like Leonberg and Indy are bringing the viewer up close to witness what’s taking place. Indy’s nightmares are another strong part of this film, the human world including the atmosphere is already thrilling and haunting enough. But when we get pulled into Indy’s nightmares they have this feel of the unknown almost like a dark void where almost anything can reveal itself, it’s frightening to both the viewer and Indy an experience that’s both large in scale and chilling to watch.
The cinematography from Wade Grebnoel is outstanding, what he is able to do with the film having this first and third person view from Indy’s perspective is nothing short but fascinating. The scaling when it comes to making certain objects, noises and such more scary than how a person would look or react to them is completely intact and incredibly well done. The cinematography also does a fantastic job of slowly but surely creating this sense of dread, especially when you mix it with the raw atmosphere.
The secret weapon of Good Boy is how raw it all feels, whereas the writing might not exactly be the strongest in some areas. The film makes up for it with its rawness. As I said before Indy gives a very real performance and it helps that he’s our main character so we as the audience get to feel that rawness throughout the experience, the film also has this sad yet beautiful feel. This is a film that really does feel like it’s coming from the heart and with that heart there’s a particular sad moment that is all the more effective due to the build up.
Overall Good Boy is a fascinating film that executes its premise incredibly well, where it may lack in some writing areas it completely makes up for in just about every other category.
Good Boy is currently playing in theaters in America and will be released in theaters in the U.K. on Friday!
Happy Spooky Month everyone! This month we have so many great looking releases and I have a lot of reviews coming this month. I’m currently in the middle of doing the New York Film Festival. I have already seen Deliver Me From Nowhere and Blue Moon so to keep things fair they won’t be on the list but just know they are fantastic films that I can’t wait to talk about!
24. The Astronaut – October 17th (Theaters)
23. Ballad Of A Small Player – October 29th (Netflix)
22. Fairyland – October 10th – (Theaters)
21. Hallow Road – October 31st (Theaters)
20. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle – October 22nd (Hulu)
19. The Lost Bus – October 3rd (Apple TV+)
18. Nouvelle Vague – October 31st (Theaters) and November 14th (Netflix)
17. Queens Of The Dead – October 24th (Theaters)
16. Bone Lake – October 3rd (Theaters)
15. The Black Phone 2 – October 17th (Theaters)
14. Hedda – October 22nd (Theaters) and October 29th (Amazon Prime Video)
13. Good Boy – October 3rd (Theaters)
12. Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc – October 24th (Theaters)
11. Tron: Ares – October 10th (Theaters)
10. The Smashing Machine – October 3rd (Theaters)
9. Shelby Oaks – October 24th (Theaters)
8. A House Of Dynamite – October 10th (Theaters) and October 24th (Netflix)
7. Urchin – October 10th (Theaters)
6. The Mastermind – October 17th (Theaters)
5. It Was Just An Accident – October 15th (Theaters)
4. Anemone – October 3rd (Limited Theaters) and October 10th (Expands Theaters)
3. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – October 10th (Theaters)
2. Bugonia – October 24th (Limited) and October 31st (Wide)
1. Frankenstein – October 17th (Theaters and November 7th (Netflix)
A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival.
V/H/S/Halloween is a sequel to V/H/S/Beyond and is the eighth installment in the V/H/S franchise!
It’s that time of year again folks, a new installment in the V/H/S franchise, a series of films that I really quite like. Last year’s installment Beyond ditched the year theme that the last couple films were going for and instead focused on this sci-fi theme that worked in the film’s favor. This time around it’s centered around Halloween and the film does that incredibly well, this film not only has some of the goriest segments of the franchise but it could be argued that we get some of the best as well.
As usual with these anthology films I’m going to discuss a little bit about each segment and my overall thoughts, there’s going to be some overlap when it comes to pointing out positives or negatives so keep that in mind. Anyway let’s start with…
Diet Phantasma directed by Bryan M. Ferguson (who has not directed a feature film.)
This one serves as the frame narrative and as usual I’m going to blast through this one since there’s just not a whole lot going on here. The main idea here is these test subjects are given this soda and the camera is documenting the side effects, as you can probably guess the side effects end up being bizarre. Outside of some neat effects there is just not anything exciting here, it’s definitely better than the frame narrative from the last installment Beyond (2024) (outside of that I loved the film), but that’s really not saying all that much. Let’s move on to…
Coochie Coochie Coo directed by Anna Zlokovic director of Appendage (2023)
This one starts the segments off strong, this one has a simple setup. Two teenagers are trick or treating when they enter a house where a spirit known as “The Mommy” lives in an urban legend who supposedly kidnaps children.
The moment our two characters we follow Lacie and Kaleigh enter the house is when this segment gets incredibly bizarre. Not only is there some very strong creature design, but it’s genuinely terrifying as well as being quite disgusting (in this morbid fascinating way) this honestly reminded me of a bit of Fur Babies a segment from last year’s installment Beyond (2024). Mainly due to just how out there the idea is and how it’s surprisingly very well executed, the haunting atmosphere is there. The segment makes great use of the found footage element and as mentioned before the creature design is fantastic. It’s also worth noting that Samantha Cochran and Natalia Montgomery Fernandez give strong and convincing performances that really do make the whole segment work effectively.
What starts as a simple enough segment ends up being a bizarre experience that you really can’t help but love, what an incredibly striking way to kick off the main segments.
Ut Supra Sic Infra directed by Paco Plaza director of the first three films of the REC series (2007-2012) and Veronica (2017).
Next up we have the weakest of the main segments but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering how strong all of the main segments are this time around. This one follows a sole survivor of a massacre who brings the police to the location of where the crime occurred in order to piece together what exactly happened.
This one starts by cutting back and forth between what led up to the massacre and the present where Enric is leading the police to spot of the crime. This one is very straightforward and has this classic ghost story atmosphere going on here especially when it’s revealed on the way this all occurred by answering a telephone (I’m pretty sure this is some sort of nod to a popular urban legend called The Telephone Game just changed quite a bit for more thrills.) The execution works well, the segment goes for this sort of mean spirited sort of ending which is a lot of fun. The main flaw here is that it’s just a bit weaker when you compare to the rest of the segments, it’s solid enough on its own just nothing particularly amazing going on here.
Fun Size directed by Casper Kelly director of Adult Swim Yule Log and its sequel (2022 and 2024).
This is another insane one, the premise is four teenagers are trick or treating when they find a bowl of candy. When they ignore its instructions to take one per person consequences start to occur.
A straightforward setup that ends up being so incredibly bizarre that you can’t honestly believe what you are seeing, right from the moment the segment switches its tone the segment never stops upping the ante. From the gore to the humor that builds over the course of the segment it has it all. The simple yet fun designs of the creatures called “Fun Size” are surprisingly menacing and the kills are quite strong here as well, a lot of the films in this franchise always like to have at least one very out there segment and while Coochie Coochie Coo could have made you think that this film already used up it’s bizarre segment, Fun Size makes you think again because this one is just as insane if not more.
I don’t want to say much else about this one as this one is better if you go as blind as possible.
KidPrint directed by Alex Ross Perry director of Nostalgia (2015), Her Smell (2018), The Sweet East (2023) and a few others.
This one is about a videostore offering “kidprint” videos which basically means tape recordings meant to ID children In case they go missing.
Reading the plot of this admittedly makes you probably predict correctly as to what’s going to happen, the video store does end up being the very thing it’s trying to prevent. Although I will say to the segment’s credit it’s quite disturbing at times and it gets quite dark rather quickly, it’s definitely the second weakest of the main segments but it’s certainly not bad either. This one is just a bit more on the predictable side of things. Stephen Gurewitz does give a pretty solid performance here.
Home Haunt directed by Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman.
Finally we have our last segment, this one is about a family’s yearly Halloween tradition of creating this home-made haunted house goes horribly wrong when a cursed LP record is added in where monsters come to life.
This one is my favorite segment, much like the rest of the segments it’s incredibly gory and the creature designs are top notch. There’s this fun element added here that makes the whole segment that much more of a treat to watch, it’s chaotic and does not overstay its welcome. Its job is to wrap the film up and it does that effectively, it has some classic found footage elements that are used wonderfully and even quite comedically at times. While yes it’s a straightforward idea the execution alone makes it worth it and combining gore with effective creature design certainly helps.
Overall V/H/S/Halloween is yet another really strong installment in the franchise, I would love to see if they continue the whole Halloween theme for the next one because it’s done so well here that I can see this one going on to be a classic that people will watch during the Halloween season.
Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that can destroy mankind.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is directed by Christopher McQuarrie director of Jack Reacher (2012), The Way of the Gun (2000) Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation, Fallout and Dead Reckoning (2015-2023). The film serves as a direct sequel to Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning and is the eighth installment in the Mission Impossible series.
While Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning may not have the absolute highs that the previous film did, it still ends the series (at least with Tom Cruise involved) on a high note and is what any fan of the franchise could really ask for.
The performances are all pretty strong here Tom Cruise is just as great as he has been in these films, he’s particularly strong during the film’s climax that is a rollercoaster ride. His commitment to keep pushing boundaries of stunt work continues to be impressive and that’s shown here in great detail. Hayley Atwell has solid chemistry with Tom Cruise and overall gives a strong performance by herself, Pom Klementieff gets some solid character growth and much like Atwell gives an overall pretty strong performance.
The writing does have its hiccups, for one thing there is a lot of callbacks to the rest of the franchise. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but doing too much of it can start hurting the writing and in some areas it does. I can absolutely see what people mean when they say “the first hour is a slog” although there’s some interesting moments going on here, it is admittedly incredibly slow and does end up hurting the pacing in the long run. I will give some credit that the flashbacks are decently edited and at least build some sense of paranoia for Ethan particularly about his past and future.
Thanks to this paranoia that’s built, the rest of the film is able to shine. The thrilling atmosphere ends up giving the viewer one of the franchise’s most thrilling sequences and the film only keeps going up from there, constantly upping itself filled to the brim of incredibly well done stunt work and an atmosphere that brings the viewer to the edge of their seat.
The stunt work is incredibly well done and as I mentioned before is a prime example of Tom Cruise pushing boundaries of stunt work, he tops a majority (arguably all) of anything he’s done in his career with the climax and ends the film on the highest note possible. You can feel the passion from Tom Cruise through the screen and immediately brings the viewer front and center into the action, it’s by far some of the film’s greatest moments and only feels appropriate to end this series (at least with Tom Cruise this way).
Overall Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is flawed, but once it gets past the weaker first hour (although as I said before it does have its positives) the film only improves from there. The plot might not exactly have a lot going on here detail wise, however the film remains fun throughout the experience and ends on a high note that most fans will be satisfied with.
Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning is available on all VOD platforms.
In the 1990s, Sonny Hayes was Formula 1’s most promising driver until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, the owner of a struggling Formula 1 team convinces Sonny to return to racing and become the best in the world. Driving alongside the team’s hotshot rookie, Sonny soon learns that the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.
F1 is directed by Joseph Kosinski director of Tron: Legacy (2010), Oblivion (2013), Only The Brave (2017), Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Spiderhead (2022).
F1 is a great film that suffers from mainly narrative and character writing issues. Despite the however the film does manage to at least be fun, the technical aspects are mainly what’s carrying this film.
The performances are solid, although the script is not really doing the cast any favors. Brad Pitt gives a decent performance although it isn’t something exactly we have not seen from him before, if there is a standout here it might be Kerry Condon but even then the script is so limited and the character writing just does not give any of these characters any sort of depth that it’s incredibly hard to tell. Damson Idris and Javier Bardem are both pretty solid here but once again not a lot of depth for their characters. I will say though Pitt, Condon, Idris and Bardem are all fun to watch here and at the very least never bore the viewer.
The writing is unfortunately where this film suffers the most, from a narrative standpoint it’s exactly what you expect. Reading the basic plot synopsis tells you exactly what to expect and your guess as to what’s going to happen is more than likely correct, the film tries some emotional moments some of which do work for a few minutes but are then quickly forgotten about. Character writing wise there’s not a whole lot going on here, as good as the performances are they can only go so far. A lot of the character traits are mainly there for the plot to move forward, it’s a shame because these solid performances deserve a better script.
With that being said, the film is excellent when it comes to the technical aspects. Whether it be from the the booming and at times intense score from Hans Zimmer, the fast and electrifying editing from Stephen Mirrione or the incredibly well done cinematography that captures the racing scenes in a lot of detail from Claudio Miranda the film does such a great job of creating this thrilling atmosphere during the racing scenes that keep the viewer’s eyes on the action.
Despite my complaints about F1 I absolutely would not call this a bad film, it’s just a very flawed one that at times feels like a missed opportunity to expand on the characters or to give the narrative the extra power it needs to really stand out. It’s undoubtedly entertaining and thanks to the performances from a talented cast combined with the film’s technical aspects that do make it as if you are in a race, the film is worth a watch in the end.
Jerome Reviews... 