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.
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.
Eddie Brock and Venom must make a devastating decision as they’re pursued by a mysterious military man and alien monsters from Venom’s home world.
Venom: The Last Dance is directed by Kelly Marcel which is her directorial debut, this film serves as the final film in the Venom trilogy and is the fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
Going into this one I was hoping it would be somewhat fun. I liked the last film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) decently enough but did not like Venom (2018). Unfortunately The Last Dance is a very nothing movie, it really does seem like everyone involved had no clue how to wrap up the trilogy so they threw as many ideas as the wall as they possibly could.
Tom Hardy is still quite fun here, the interactions between him and Venom are still great and have some decently funny moments. They aren’t on the scale as they were in the past but considering how empty the rest of this movie is that should be considered a compliment. I also do like some of the action scenes, the special effects are quite bad in some areas but the action is just silly enough to be considered entertaining.
Unfortunately the rest of the movie is a mess, we are introduced to a lot of new characters who quite frankly should have been in the previous movies. Because tell me why this is the last movie of the trilogy and we are only now getting introduced to bare bone characters? Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple in particular have very little to work with, the movie also wastes so much potential with Knull (played by Andy Serkis) as the villain. Knull suffers from not being in the movie that much and really fails to show how interesting the character can be. Instead the movie wastes so much time on plot points that should have been explored far earlier in more depth.
Perhaps the most jarring thing about this movie is the final moments, it ends with Maroon 5’s Memories in just such a so bad it’s hilarious type of way that is so baffling. It’s by far the most memorable part of the movie in all the wrong ways, it makes you wish that the rest of the movie at least attempted to try and be that silly. But that’s not the case here, unfortunately you are stuck with dull characters that you couldn’t care less about with some mediocre action and a very bland wrap up to a trilogy.
The ending also really makes you question what was even the point of the trilogy to begin with, it’s obviously trying to go for this emotional “let’s look at the old times” sort of deal but it doesn’t work narratively and that it’s just so laughably bad.
Overall Venom: The Last Dance is a very nothing movie and adds nothing to the trilogy, it’s a shame because as I said earlier the stuff with Knull had potential. There was just absolutely no focus whatsoever at all in this movie.
Venom: The Last Dance is available on all VOD platforms.
The Anti-Monitor attacks the remaining Earths and their inhabitants. Heroes and villains across time and space join the Justice League for a final stand against the epitome of evil.
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is directed by Jeff Wamester who previously directed Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One (2024), Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two (2024), Justice League Warworld (2023), Legion Of Super-Heroes (2023), Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022) and Justice Society: World War II (2021).
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three serves as the third part of the eighth and final installment to the Tomorrowverse, well it sure is better than the last two parts that’s for certain…look I had very expectations going into this one. The last two parts especially part two were incredibly lacking mainly due to just how rushed the Tomorrowverse really was and a lot of the exact same problems apply with part three unfortunately.
I will say that at the very least this movie had some sort of emotional depth when it came to it’s characters, although these scenes are very far and few in between there was at least some level of attempt to get the viewer to actually care for these characters. The scene that people are rightfully talking about and will probably be the most memorable is Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker towards the end of the movie. It’s a very nice tribute to Kevin Conroy who sadly passed away in 2022, this movie is his last performance as Batman (despite what clickbaiters would tell you that Suicide Squad video game is NOT his last performance as Batman) and he does a really good job here. Although the script isn’t very strong he makes the most of it and actually really does land tons of great moments.
Everything else about the movie kind of reflects the exact problem with the trilogy, a great story taken from the comics but just adapted so lazily that it fails to make the viewer care what is exactly going on. The animation is again a hit or miss, sometimes it looks okay and other times it really makes you question why they went with this style. As far as an ending to a film series and universe goes it’s not exactly as grand as you would expect. Sure it does wrap up some plot points and the ending pretty much does confirm “yes this is the ending of the Tomorrowverse. But it really does seem tact on as an excuse to just end the series, which considering what has been going on with the DC division at Warner Bros lately I’m not exactly surprised.
Overall this part is far better than the last two but like I said shares a lot of the exact same problems. Definitely not as bad as you would expect, but definitely not a worthy finale.
Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths Part Three is available on all VOD platforms.
Cassandra Webb is a New York City paramedic who starts to show signs of clairvoyance. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she must protect three young women from a mysterious adversary who wants them dead.
Madame Web is directed by S.J. Clarkson which is her directorial debut. Madame Web is also the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
I’m going to cut right to the chase, Madame Web is a terrible movie. Every single part of what could go horribly wrong in a movie goes horribly wrong to the point where it becomes such a fascinating mess that is truly unbelievable. It’s as if one of those terrible superhero movies from the early 2000s found a time machine and landed in 2024.
I’ll start with what becomes noticeable almost immediately when watching…the acting. Granted Sydney Sweeney actually nails down some of the lines in a campy way that’s genuinely hilarious, but everyone else is either half asleep while reading their lines or wants to collect their paycheck and call it a day.
Dakota Johnson who has shown to be quite talented in a lot of roles such as Peanut Butter Falcon (2019), Our Friend (2019), The Lost Daughter (2021), Suspiria (2018) and a few others gives such a dull performance, which is mainly due to how lazy the script from S.J. Clarkson, Claire Parker, Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama really is. There’s absolutely baffling lines such as Madame Web directly saying to Young Uncle Ben “what you don’t wanna get shot in Queens.”
We learn absolutely nothing about Cassandra or any of the three spider-women which consists of Julia Cornwell (played by Sydney Sweeney) Anya Corazon (played by Isabela Merced) and Mattie Franklin (played by Celeste O’Connor) they also barely get to do any fun spider-woman actions, instead we are given a prequel on how they get their powers rather than spending time with them learning to use them. Then you have the villain of the movie Ezekiel Sims who’s played by Tahar Rahim, who not only gives a terrible performance but Sims ends up being one of the most forgettable villains in any of these superhero movies. It’s actually quite baffling how terrible the dialogue between Johnson and Rahim really is, how nobody in the writing room said “wait hold on a second” when reading this is insane.
The editing is some of the absolute worst I’ve seen in a blockbuster in quite awhile, I commonly like to mention Taken 3 (2014) as a prime example of garbage editing that ends up being unhinged at one point. Madame Web is on par with Taken 3 on how absolutely baffling the editing really is, it becomes hilarious at one point which is something I have to mention. Madame Web is one of those it’s so bad it’s hilarious movies (kind of) I say kind of because there are some quite dull parts that are a chore to sit through (mostly the middle that drags out for far too long) but a lot of this movie is hilariously awful. I was actually baffled with what I watched and honestly had no words.
Overall Madame Web is something that has to be seen to be believed, it’s a horrendous movie and I would not recommend this to anybody. However if you love bad movies and love laughing at them this might honestly be for you.
After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. However, when the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders. He must soon redefine what it means to be a hero so he can save the people he loves most.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a sequel to the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a film that was and still is incredibly groundbreaking, it opened a lot of doors and inspired several films that have used a very similar animation style such as The Bad Guys (2022) and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (2022), it was also quite a fantastic film that grew a huge fanbase very quickly and is often regarded as one of the best comic book films ever made.
Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse had some huge shoes to fill and not only did it surpass expectations the film is one of those sequels where it could be argued that it’s even better than the first film. For starters the voice acting is once again phenomenal Shameik Moore as Miles Morales is like last time excellent, he completely captures the character and even goes further with him when it comes to character development. There’s so many moments that truly make Miles such an incredible character and why he’s become such a beloved character so quickly. Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen is also excellent here, we get to see more development of her character and the bond between Gwen and Miles is just absolutely beautiful and quite touching as well. It’s the little details of their characters that truly shine in this film, other performances that really standout include Bryan Tree Henry as Jefferson Morales, Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales, Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker, Jason Schwartzman as The Spot, Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie or Spider Punk and Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara or Spider-Man 2099. All give fantastic performances that contribute something truly special to the film in their own way.
The animation style is truly fascinating, not only has it stepped it up from the last film but it also includes many other different styles as well, which make for some very entertaining scenes. The Spot is truly an interesting villain and although we don’t exactly get a whole lot of information on him, we do get just the right amount to tell how quickly he can go from a villain who’s a laughing stock to quite an intimidating villain that wants destruction. Oscar Isaac does such a fantastic job as Miguel O’Hara he’s intimidating and completely makes the character his own in every single way possible, the interactions between him and Moore are truly some of the very best moments of the film that I truly can’t wait to see more of in the sequel.
The film itself is a huge love letter to the Spider-Man character, there are tons of little references that are quite exciting to see and does it in a way that doesn’t take away from the film’s story, I’ve shared my frustrations in the past about films completely relying on easter eggs, but Into The Spider-Verse does not do that. Sure they are there but the film doesn’t rely on them to tell the story, the film uses them in a way that can both be exciting to viewer while moving the story right along without needing to focus so much on them.
The writing is truly fantastic with a lot character moments and development that help evolve the characters it truly does feel like the next chapter of Miles Morale’s journey, there’s a beautiful balance of humor and serious moments which include some quite fantastic lines from Shameik Moore. The film also ends quite well, while I can see some people having an issue with the way the film wraps up and it could come off as not feeling complete and relying too much on the next film. I don’t actually mind that all too much here, it ends at a quite strong moment that really does a fantastic job of setting up the next film.
Overall Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is a fantastic film that surpasses its predecessor, it takes what was so great and loved about the first film and does even more with it. One of the very best so far this year.
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is available in theaters.
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.
Jonathan Kent and reluctant young sidekick Damian Wayne are burdened with saving the world from impending doom. The two must join forces to rescue their fathers and save the planet by becoming the super heroes they were intended to be.
Batman and Superman: Battle Of The Super Sons is the sixth installment of the Tomorrowverse, this one is pretty straightforward, it focuses on the sons of Batman and Superman Johnathan Kent and Damian Wayne. As far as characters go this one does a fine enough job, the father and son bond of Clark and Johnathan is genuinely really sweet and makes for some corny yet genuinely funny humor. So at the very least the movie has heart, where it lacks is mostly an interesting villain and story wise. The villain is Starro the conqueror which I do like the concept of but it’s just another “people are brainwashed” type scenario. The voice cast are quite great as well, Laura Bailey and Jack Dylan Grazer being the standouts who add quite a lot to their characters. Story wise this is again very straightforward which isn’t necessarily bad it just does a lot what you expect it to, it plays out like how a Saturday morning action cartoon show would. However the team up of Damien and Johnathan is genuinely charming and a lot of fun, which by far makes this movie worth a watch.
Batman and Superman: Battle Of The Super Sons releases on VOD Platforms October 18th
When a Power Ring is bestowed upon former Marine John Stewart, it leads him on a life-changing mission. With Justice League member Green Arrow and Thanagarian Hawkgirl by his side, Stewart is thrown into a complicated galactic war.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power is the newest installment of the new DC Animated Universe the Tomorrowverse. The DC Animated Movie Universe finished with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War in 2020 (a pretty solid ending) the Tomorrowverse began with Superman: Man Of War a few months later in August 2020 so far there’s been 5 films…Superman: Man Of War, Justice Society World War II, Batman The Long Halloween Parts 1 and 2 and finally Green Lantern: Beware My Power.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power I was a bit interested in mainly due to John Stewart’s version of The Green Lantern who was one of my favorite characters from The Justice League TV series back from 2004. The movie serves as an origin story for the character but unfortunately the writing really hurts this movie. The movie starts out fine enough, it does a decent job of introducing Green Arrow, Hawk Girl and a few others and there’s even some decent action scenes as well. The animation is also pretty solid with a few scenes in particular that are actually pretty well done, the main problem is despite the movie being about John Stewart that gets lost during the midpoint of the movie, he ends up being in the middle of all these other characters and their problems. The focus suddenly switches to them rather than Stewart and just leaves any fan of John Stewart’s Green Lantern very disappointed, the voice acting is at least decent giving each of the characters their own personality. The plot however is very Saturday morning cartoonish outside of a few scenes it really doesn’t dive deep into the characters and is very very surface level. Unless you know these characters you aren’t going to get a whole lot of information about them here. Overall it’s not a terrible movie but it is a pretty disappointing one, that had the writing been a lot better could have made for something interesting.
Green Lantern Beware My Power is available on all VOD Platforms.
The story takes place on an alternate Earth in which the Joker has tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane, sending the hero on a rampage. This unnhinged Superman decides to take control of Earth for its own good, leading Batman and his allies to attempt to stop him.
Sometimes you watch certain movies and just say “this should have been a series” Injustice is one of those movies, I was pretty excited when I heard that a movie was being made, plus it’s directed by Matt Peters who directed Justice League Dark: Apokolips War one of the best DC Animated movies in recent memory. Injustice is a massive disappointment there’s a few things to enjoy such as some of the action scenes and a few moments (and when I mean few I mean a few because good lord) where the writing isn’t surface level and attempts to try and keep the story interesting. That’s where the good parts end because Injustice is a complete and total mess writing wise and tone wise, the tone constantly switch’s back between being incredibly dark to being a friendly Saturday morning cartoon. During one scene you would have a character getting brutally murdered and the next scene you will have Green Arrow or Harley Quinn cracking jokes (I don’t mention Plastic Man because I actually didn’t mind those jokes as much.) but let’s talk about the bigger issue the writing, I feel like the writers had no idea what to do with Injustice so they kind of just wrote random scenes as it went on. It doesn’t help that a lot of the scenes feel like a clipshow that I’m sure would confuse a lot of people who aren’t too familiar with Injustice. It doesn’t help that the writing is very surface level and has no interesting elements in it at all, they really could have explored some of the characters but instead a lot of the characters are just there to be killed off. Which yes is to be expected but it doesn’t feel impactful at all, it just feels like they had no idea what to do with said character so they killed them off. And that all traces back to how lazy and bare minimum the writing is, it’s such a massive disappointment because I really do think this had potential. Overall Injustice is as I said multiple times very disappointing, this is a prime example of something that could have easily worked as a series but instead we get a lazy movie that was sent out for a quick buck.
Jerome Reviews... 