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+

The Naked Gun (2025) Film Review

Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr becomes a police officer like his legendary father and must save the police department from shutting down by solving a case.

The Naked Gun is directed by Akiva Schaffer director of Hot Rod (2007), The Watch (2012), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) and Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022). This film serves as a legacy sequel to Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) and is the fourth film of the Naked Gun franchise.

One of the hardest genres to tackle is the comedy genre, if your comedic timing is just a bit off that can potentially sink the whole ship. You also have to consider whether or not the material you are working with/creating is genuinely funny. A major problem with a lot of studio comedies from the last several years is a lot of them tell almost the exact same jokes, the jokes themselves aren’t very clever and the comedic timing is dreadful. A lot of studio comedies focus more on cramming in as many unfunny jokes as possible which sacrifices just about everything else that goes into making a great comedy.

This is exactly why The Naked Gun is a huge breath of fresh air, it’s a rare studio comedy that understands how to be funny, even when not every single joke lands you can still feel the writers were very passionate behind said joke. The film’s story is simple yes but the way the humor is integrated into the story is incredibly charming and ends up being such a fun and hilarious ride from beginning to end.

This film reminds you of how great Liam Neeson is at comedy, there’s also a strong argument to be made that this is one of Neeson’s best performances in years. Neeson completely makes the film, his comedic timing is clever and his interactions with the rest of the cast are filled with fun and hilarious moments that you can’t help but love. Neeson also does a brilliant job as Frank Drebin Jr. he’s not trying to be a direct copy of Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen’s character) he’s borrowing a few elements while also making this new character different.

Pamela Anderson is fantastic here as well, Anderson has fantastic chemistry with Liam Neeson and is genuinely hilarious in her own right, a fantastic femme fatale type of performance that captures the atmosphere the film is going for. It blends so well together with the spoof nature of the film and even feels earnest at times as well that brings you into the film’s story. Something that both Neeson and Anderson do incredibly well is they capture the silly nature of the film and their conversations only show that in such shining detail that is bound to make the viewer laugh.

The writing is quite clever, I said at the beginning that comedic timing is incredibly important and luckily that’s what this film has. The film’s main goal here is to make the viewer laugh and it does that incredibly well, there’s a wide range of jokes even if you don’t laugh at one joke you could laugh at the next one. Some of the film’s best moments is when the characters take expressions literally, it’s simple yet incredibly effective due to the direction from Akiva Schaffer being filled with personality.

The spoof movie atmosphere is also incredibly charming, it never feels cheap or lame. There’s always this sense of passion from the writers and Schaffer, something we hardly ever see in these sort of movies anymore. There characters feel incredibly fitting in the film’s world, the character writing might be straightforward but the way the film goes about developing these characters is what makes it work and quite hilarious as well. There’s a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the humor, the facial expressions of the characters and the comedic timing. It all combines together in this nice little package that never fails to make the viewer laugh.

Overall The Naked Gun is an incredibly fun film that knows its goal and accomplishes it well. The film has this warmth and playfulness that you just don’t see in a lot of studio comedies nowadays, if you haven’t seen this one I recommend giving this a go.

The Naked Gun is available on all VOD platforms.

8/10 B+

Oh, Hi (2025) Film Review

Iris is enjoying her first romantic getaway with Isaac, until he tells her he’s not interested in a serious relationship.

Oh, Hi is directed by Sophie Brooks director of The Boy Downstairs (2017).

Oh, Hi is if you took Misery (1990) and Gerald’s Game (2017) then proceeded to make them into a romantic comedy, the film takes a look at modern relationships and communication as a whole especially when it comes to intentions and needs. The film does this quite well especially when it explores our own vulnerabilities, although the film does have a weaker third act. It still manages to stick the landing quite well.

The performances here are easily the film’s best part. Molly Gordon gives this often anxious and very talkative performance that is both striking and humorous at times. She’s able to easily switch in tone with the film’s atmosphere demands it and the script she’s given helps make her character as well. Logan Lerman’s charm as an actor works effectively here he is much more quiet than Gordon but still leaves an impression on the viewer. The two’s personalities clashing is what makes the film all the more interesting, there’s some touching moments between the two as well as moments of arguments all of which strangely feel grounded. That mainly comes from just how great Gordon and Lerman are as actors and how easily the two adapt to the film’s atmosphere.

The writing is solid, there’s definitely some bumps in the road during the third act where things get a little too out there for the film’s own good. With that being said the character writing is genuinely quite great, it’s clear that Sophie Brooks and Molly Gordon (who helped develop the story) have this clear as day interest in exploring these characters. Even with the side characters, while they aren’t given the depth that Iris (played by Molly Gordon) or Isaac (played by Logan Lerman) got, Geraldine Viswanathan (who plays Max) and John Reynolds (who plays Kenny) still feel involved in the story and their performances make up for it as well.

When the film leans into the absurd and ridiculousness that’s where it’s weak point is shown, it takes what was the complexities of a romantic relationship and becomes very exaggerated as well as being a bit too hard to buy. Which is a bit unfortunate because everything else that came before the third act is incredibly solid and well written character exploration.

Despite my feelings towards the third act, I still think Oh, Hi is a solid film that is an interesting watch. There was definitely room for improvement but as it stands this is a nice, easy and fun watch.

Oh, Hi is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Nobody 2 (2025) Film Review

Workaholic assassin Hutch Mansell takes his family on a much-needed vacation to the small tourist town of Plummerville. However, he soon finds himself in the crosshairs of a corrupt theme-park operator, a shady sheriff, and a bloodthirsty crime boss.

Nobody 2 is directed by Timo Tjahjanto director of May the Devil Take You (2018), The Night Comes for Us (2018), May the Devil Take You Too (2020), The Big 4 (2022) and The Shadow Strays (2024). Nobody 2 serves as a sequel to Nobody (2021).

When I saw that Timo Tjahjanto was taking over directing duties for Nobody 2 I was pretty excited, Tjahjanto has consistently put out great work and is definitely one of the most engaging action film directors currently working. So it is quite disappointing to see that Nobody 2 doesn’t quite reach the highs of its predecessor, granted it is definitely not a bad movie at all. It’s an entertaining ride from beginning to end but that’s really all it is, there isn’t an added flavor here that helps the movie stand out on its own unfortunately.

Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell is just as great as he was in the first film, he once again knocks it out of the park with the action scenes and delivers some charming dialogue and interactions with his family. These moments are not anything special mind you but they are sweet and give the movie some sort of emotional core. Connie Nielsen has strong chemistry with Bob Odenkirk, which makes for some strong moments between the two.

The action is once again quite great, although Tjahjanto isn’t able to fully go all out like he usually does with the action scenes. They are still very entertaining, seeing Bob Odenkirk just completely wreck so many henchmen is more than satisfying enough to forgive the movie’s very standard plot. The movie’s vacation theme makes for a good background for these action scenes, the fight choreography is fun and the action scenes in general are well filmed.

Honestly the biggest problem with Nobody 2 is it really doesn’t add anything and ultimately feels like a lesser version of its predecessor. The writing is not terrible, but it’s far less exciting and thrilling. Nobody 2 goes in the direction you think it’s going to go, which is not always a bad thing but when you come off of such a fun and clever first film it’s very disappointing to see such a step down.

Despite that however I still do think Nobody 2 is a fun time, it’s not something you would probably ever revisit again. But thanks to the performances and the well done action scenes I would at least recommend this one if you liked the first film even if it’s a lesser version of that film.

Nobody 2 is available on all VOD platforms.

6/10 C+

Him (2025) Film Review

Cameron Cade is a rising quarterback who suffers a potentially career-ending injury after being attacked by an unhinged fan. Just when all seems lost, Cam receives a lifeline when his hero, Isaiah White, offers to train him at an isolated compound. However, as the training accelerates, Isaiah’s charisma turns into something darker, sending Cam down a disorienting rabbit hole that may cost him more than he ever bargained for.

Him is directed by Justin Tipping director of Kicks (2016).

Him is the sort of movie that you respect what it’s attempting to do but the movie itself is a complete and total mess to the point where it’s almost baffling. While I don’t think Him is quite as bad as others have said, I would absolutely not call this a good movie it’s in this realm of where it has interesting moments going on put is putting the pieces in the wrong places.

Tyriq Withers, Marlon Waynes and the cinematography are doing a lot of the heavy lifting and are the soul reasons why this movie is at the very least watchable. We will get to the cinematography in a moment for now let’s talk about the performances, Tyriq Withers gives a solid performance and works with what he can with a shallow script. Withers’s interactions with Marlon Waynes are among some of the movie’s best moments simply because you never know when Waynes is going to lose it. Marlon Waynes borders on cartoon character mode which ends up working in his favor, there’s a lot of dialogue that’s unintentionally hilarious that Waynes makes work.

When it comes to the character’s personalities, on one hand you have Cameron Cade (played by Tyriq Withers) a calm and focused young man that wants to make his family proud. On the other you have Isaiah White (played by Marlon Waynes) a legendary quarterback who when we are first introduced to him we can get the sort of feeling something is off, as the movie progresses he gets more and more insane to the point where he almost becomes a cartoon character. These two personalities clashing makes for some decently interesting bits, it’s a shame the rest of the movie fails to capture the viewer’s attention however.

The cinematography from Kira Kelly is quite beautiful, there’s a ton of shots here that are well detailed and actually captures the atmosphere (something the writing failed to do.) There’s some effective use of different styles that pop out to give the movie personality (at times), during the training sessions and the shots towards the end is where the cinematography is at its best and gives this lonely world the movie takes place in something grand.

Unfortunately that’s where the positives for Him end, as hilarious as some of the dialogue is, it’s quite atrocious in a lot of areas and completely misses its end goal. The character writing is nonexistent and the criticism towards Football culture while admirable does not really show on paper. It’s a very real fear among football players that they will eventually be replaced and even be forgotten about, the movie touches on this yet does almost nothing with it. The execution is completely botched and fails to display this in any meaningful way. We are told things about Cam’s father but we don’t actually get to explore a lot about him as much as the movie claims, the twist at the end makes it sound like the movie did this incredibly deep dive on him when all we really know about him is he really wanted Cam to get into football. This is the very definition of show don’t tell.

Overall Him is a misfire and a very frustrating one as well. A sports horror film is an interesting idea and I respect what it’s going for, but when your movie is a gigantic mess that only has a few a few performances and the cinematography going for it. That’s not a good sign at all.

Him is currently in theaters.

4/10 D+

American Sweatshop (2025) Film Review

A social media moderator is tasked with purging the most offensive content from the internet. When she sees a video that appears to show a crime, she’s lured into a dangerous world as she obsessively looks to hold someone accountable.

American Sweatshop is directed by Uta Briesewitz which is her directorial debut.

American Sweatshop is a film that should have been a home run but instead ends up being foul ball. To the movie’s credit it’s not all bad, Lili Reinhart gives a fascinating performance, the atmosphere is haunting and there’s moments of strong and suspenseful interactions between the characters. But for the most part the movie misses the mark.

As I said earlier Lili Reinhart as Daisy (a content moderator) is fantastic here, she’s far and away the best asset of the film and gives such a vulnerable performance that we see slowly change over the course of the film. Part of the movie explores Daisy’s transformation into a full-fledged vigilante which does make sense in the context of seeing multiple videos of evilness and doing very little to stop it due to not being allowed to get involved. Even if the movie starts to lose itself during the final act, Lili Reinhart is able to make her character work due to just how great of a performance she gives as well as keeping it grounded (for the most part.)

The writing unfortunately holds itself back, with a topic as heavy as violent crimes like this. It’s good that these are being discussed to begin with, however it’s disappointing that the way it’s told is very watered down. Red Rooms (2024) handled this subject matter masterfully, the film used so many different techniques to explore these subjects and ended up being incredibly disturbing without being incredibly graphic. American Sweatshop nails the claustrophobic and haunting atmosphere when you stare at this type content, but unfortunately that’s as far as the movie is willing to go. Everything else plays a bit too safe and drifts off during the last act of the film.

The unresolved parts of the film admittedly match up with reality as they showcase the impact of social media in our lives today. With that being said there are other parts that simply felt almost ignored by the movie and with playing way too safe it ultimately defeats the purpose of the movie’s intended message.

Overall American Sweatshop is not a bad movie, it’s just a very disappointing one that had so much potential. Lili Reinhart’s performance is what keeps this movie afloat so I do recommend giving it a go if that interests you. I’m sure this will be easy to digest for some audiences, but if you want to dig much deeper on this topic I would recommend giving Red Rooms (2024) a go.

American Sweatshop is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires (2025) Film Review

the time of the Aztec Empire, Yohualli Coatl – a young Aztec boy – experiences tragedy when his father and village leader, Toltecatzin, is murdered by Spanish Conquistadors. Yohualli escapes to Tenochtitlan to warn King Moctezuma and his high priest, Yoka, of imminent danger. Using the temple of Tzinacan, the bat god, as a lair, Yohualli trains with his mentor and assistant, Acatzin, developing equipment and weaponry to confront the Spaniard invasion, protect Moctezuma’s temple, and avenge his father’s death.

Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires is directed by Juan Meza-León which is his directorial debut.

Another take on Batman and a take that I’m not entirely sure really worked even after watching, admittedly it is a unique take on the Batman mythology but that’s quite honestly the only thing that stands out.

The voice acting is at least decent and makes for some engaging moments, even if the characters are a bit on the bland side of things. There were attempts at different spins on certain characters such as Two-Face and The Joker, some spins are definitely more elaborate and detailed than others, but none of them are incredibly noteworthy. Two-Face definitely gets the bigger end of the stick as he’s a huge part of the film and actually done decently, The Joker feels more of an afterthought (the movie sets up for a sequel.)

The writing is a mixed bag, on one hand you have some solid interactions between Batman and Acatzin and Batman with Catwoman, but on the other you have a story that despite having a unique setting often feels like you have seen this before. A lot of the familiar beats from these DC animated films are present here and unfortunately hurt the story in the long run. The story itself has its moments which mainly come from the voice cast trying their absolute hardest to sell the movie to the viewer, but a lot of the time it’s painfully predictable and fails to give some of these characters the writing they need to standout.

Finally there’s the animation which mostly works, it takes a bit to get used to since admittedly it is a step down from other DC animated films. But it’s really not all that bad, the best thing you can say about it is that it’s unique and whereas the writing fails to really take advantage of the setting, the animation at the very least steps up to the plate and works with what’s available. There might not be any jaw dropping moments with the animation, but it’s consistent and gets the job done.

Overall despite a unique setting Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires is very bland and doesn’t really offer anything exciting. There is moments of promise, but those are quickly overtaken by more forgettable ones and a bland story that feels very thrown together.

Aztec Batman: Clash Of Empires is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Swiped (2025) Film Review

Whitney Wolfe Herd breaks into the male-dominated tech industry by launching two innovative dating apps, making her the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire.

Swiped is directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg director of Valley Girl (2020) and Unpregnant (2020).

Swiped is about as basic as a straight to streaming biopic as you can get and due to this it unfortunately does not explore all that much about the subject’s life in this case Whitney Wolfe Herd. The film is about the creation of Tinder and Bumble two dating apps that you are probably familiar with and Herd’s experiences working at the two companies.

The biggest positive is the performances particularly from Lily James and Dan Stevens who both give very solid performances, there’s one particular moment that’s a bit upsetting to hear but Lily James absolutely nails it with this raw energy that gets the viewer’s attention. Even at times where the script is on the more basic side of things, Lily James is able to make it work and leave the viewer with a lasting impression through her performance. Dan Stevens has solid interactions with the cast and Stevens accent leads into oddly hypnotizing territory.

The main problem with Swiped is there really isn’t that much going for it, a lot of the writing in the last half of the movie is incredibly manufactured. This ranges from character tropes and even dialogue to the point where nothing feels genuine, by doing this the movie fails to compliment the true story in any meaningful way. There’s a lot of different ideas that are thrown around during the last half of the movie which is an incredibly odd decision that only makes the movie more cluttered.

It’s frustrating because Swiped has the right material to be a decent film, however the movie opts to go in this easiest way to be as digestible as possible. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you don’t explore the subject’s background all that much or we really don’t get to see enough powerful moments with her it starts to become incredibly pointless.

Overall Swiped is yet another biopic that exists, it’s not harmful in any sense, it’s one of those movies where you watch it to check it off a list and never think about it again. If you are going to watch it, do so for Lily James’s performance.

Swiped is available on Hulu.

5/10 C

Trust (2025) Film Review

A Hollywood starlet retreats to a remote cabin after a scandal — but she’s not alone. Betrayed by the man she trusted the most, she soon finds herself trapped in a brutal game of survival.

Trust is directed by Carlson Young director of The Blazing World (2021) and Upgraded (2024).

Trust is quite honestly baffling, this is an example of a movie that jumps from one character to the next where it’s not exactly sure who to focus on. It’s an absolute shame because this comes from Carlson Young a director whose previous two films I liked. Unfortunately Trust is way too scatterbrained and incredibly messy to the point where it loses the viewer midway through.

When it comes to performances, Katey Sagal is the standout. She gives the movie this complete and total opposite feel that it’s going for, in any other case this would be considered a negative but here it’s a breath of fresh air due to just how dull the rest of the movie is. Her interactions with the rest of the cast are genuinely hilarious at times and she makes for fun comedic relief that did not need to be there but you will be thankful that it is there by the end.

Sophie Turner does fine enough here but unfortunately her character Lauren is stuck in a boiler for 90% of the movie. She’s given very little to work with, heck the movie claims that Lauren is the central character we follow but instead we see more of the villains who are about as deep as the average movie henchmen character wise. It’s a very confused mess character writing wise and even though I do enjoy Katy Sagal’s scenes the movie ends up following her quite a bit, it’s sort of a whiplash between Lauren being trapped and on the brink of death while Katy Sagal’s character Loretta bumbles around in various locations until the plot asks her to go to Lauren’s remote cabin.

The writing is what almost immediately destroys this movie, as I said before the movie is not even focused on Lauren it’s more so focused on the people involved. With a majority of them having very little character and at best murky motivations, the atmosphere is also not thrilling at all. Especially since this is one of those movies where you can easily tell what exactly is going to unfold before it happens, the movie also fails to use the boiler room effectively. It’s an empty room that slowly becomes flooded and that’s about as much as we get.

Overall Trust is a baffling mess, it completely abandons what could have been some interesting elements in favor of dull antagonists, poorly written dialogue and a very poorly explored protagonist.

Trust is available on all VOD platforms.

2/10 F

Witchboard (2025) Film Review

In present-day New Orleans, a cursed artifact unleashes a vengeful witch, drawing a young couple into a deadly spiral of possession, temptation, and occult terror.

Witchboard is directed by Chuck Russell director of A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Blob (1988), The Mask (1994), Eraser (1996), Bless The Child (2000), The Scorpion King (2002), I Am Wrath (2016), Junglee (2019) and Paradise City (2022). The film serves as a remake to the 1986 film of the same name.

I really don’t think anyone was clamoring for a remake of Witchboard (1986) but they have made more questionable remakes in the past so I guess anything is on the table. With that out of the way it should come to no surprise that this remake is not very good, outside of a few performances and some unintentionally hilarious moments this is an incredibly empty remake that has very little to offer.

Madison Iseman is fine enough here (although she has given better performances) and tries what she can with such an empty script. Jamie Campbell Bower (who plays a character that wasn’t in the original) goes full on cartoon character mode here and it leads to some quite hilarious and the movie’s more entertaining moments.

Unfortunately that’s where the movie ends for me, if I could describe this movie in a one word review it would be empty. There’s nothing going on here thematically or anything that the viewer can sink their teeth into, the dialogue between the characters is lifeless and even when the movie tries to explore some of the bonds between the group it ends up falling flat immediately due to the many cliche directions it takes. The pacing was painfully slow and when you combine that with a 112 minute running time you are in for an incredibly dull ride that will make you want to quickly get off.

The plot gets very convoluted for absolutely no reason, the movie is trying to do things a bit differently than the original. Which is all well and good but it takes an understandable experience and makes it convoluted for no real reason outside of drawing the movie out longer.

Overall there is just not anything meaningful or noteworthy to say about Witchboard. It’s the very definition of a remake that you seriously question why it was made as you watch it.

Witchboard is available on all VOD platforms.

3/10 D-