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Reviews
The Batman (2022)
Dark and gloomy thriller suffers from cheesy writing and lack of thematic consistency
Matt Reeves The Batman is a breath of fresh air in post-MCU superhero cinema, Robert Pattinson shines in his grisly role and Zoë Kravitz provides an insightful and modern look into the role of Catwoman.
What Reeves masters is the setting. The Batman is a truly gothic experience and provides us with the best Gotham in the franchise's extensive history. The world feels alive and crawling with criminals, corrupt cops and villains.
This is complemented by the masterful photography, set work and lighting presented, this is a visual treat with a colour palette that highlights the Batman's greatest strengths .
However, it suffers in its lack of consistency - whilst Gotham is raw and grounded, some of the dialogue feels cheesy and the final action sequence feels much more out of an Avengers flick than a dark antihero tale. The first moment wee see the Batmobile is soiled by cheap comedic value in it stalling. Which negates all of the scenes tension for quick and easy comic relief. Paul Dano shines as the Riddler but is held back by poor use of social media that is out-of-touch and superfluous - ruining the antagonists chaotic yet precise actions and nature.
The Batman begins as a dark thriller that merges beautifully into a whodunit wherein the protagonist is always one step behind - but then becomes a blockbuster action movie in the third act - where themes of attachment, progress and disenfranchisement are only scratched at a surface level.
Reeve's The Batman pales in comparison to Nolan's trilogy on many levels but succeeds in that it's aware of its place. It brings a new era of cinema to the story of the dark knight that builds upon its predecessors whilst appealing to a wider audience.
Gekijouban Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)
Exciting characters and action carries fractured plot
JJK-0 offers a mouth-watering prologue to the first season coupled with some familiar faces and the consistently brilliant animation we have been accustomed to with Mappa.
Where the visuals shine, the story is rather lacklustre in its execution, the ending lacks tension due to pacing issues highlighted by the stringing together of the plot. This is however largely unavoidable due to the manga - chapter style progression that doesn't lend itself to a film structure. Thus the film suffers at times from feeling like separate episodes rather than one arc.
However, this can be ignored because JJK 0 is fantastically enjoyable. Gojo Satoru is as always a treat and we get more depth given to his character. The Yuta Okkotsu that was absent in S1 is given a role as the protagonist that allows the darker world of Jujutsu Kaisen to shine in a way we haven't seen before.
Explosive action and unique characters in a occasionally patchwork plot that builds upon this exciting universe.
Annihilation (2018)
Masterpiece in cinematography held back by flawed dialogue and pacing
Annihilation is a mixed bag when it comes to its execution of a tricky plot crammed into 2h 20m with lots of fluff and awkward pacing that leaves much to be desired. It struggles to find its tone and direction - being both a sci-fi adventure with an existential lens and a cosmic horror that loses its way towards the rushed and patchwork ending.
The visual approach, framing and direction is all exceptional. The use of setting, composition and lighting is masterful and the consistency of the cinematography is fantastic. The sound design is also fantastic - especially towards the climax, it is a truly unique sound that enhances the films. This is why it is so disappointing to see it constantly broken by clunky dialogue that is unnecessary and uses up much needed time to fit the broad story into a film-sized runtime. The subplot of lena's relationship is left unexplored and empty - it is confusing for the audience and much more time could be spent on it if so much wasn't dedicated to awkward exchanges between characters that fails to build the tension expected of horror film dialogue.
Finally, the films mediocrity is summed up in its climax, inconsistent CGI harms a visually fantastic ending and Natalie Portman's performance really punches above its weight to carry this sequence. The climax lacks the emotional weight it deserves because the pacing throughout is so stop-start and jumps from moment to moment losing all tension and becoming confusing, the film also loses all notions of horror it struggled to maintain.
Ultimately, annihilation is at its best as a visual treat and horror experience and struggles to keep up in other areas.
Jujutsu Kaisen: To You, Someday (2020)
Action and heartstrings in a stunning soup
The buildup to this episode can be felt from the very earliest moment of the show and the anime reaches a tense climax to a richly unsettling arc.
The animation exceeds the expectations of a bar already raised so high - dynamic and economic visuals with a spirit that is etched into each line.
It takes 3 already likeable characters to new heights in a brilliant blend of well designed action and a breath of fresh air to shonen in the dark evolution of the characters personalities and perspectives ; all the while the next episode is set up to deliver a pure one-two punch of the meaning of life and the value of our actions.
Shonen should be jealous.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Tomorrow (2020)
It's the questions regarding us as humans
The animation may be so stunning it makes your heart ripple with anticipation. The plot may be so riveting it makes your eyes swell in suspense.
But many anime and manga achieve brilliant art and suspenseful plot. Yet it is rare that such an episode can accomplish these and ask a question so richly related to our human condition.
This arc feels from another series entirely in its exploration of life, purpose and the absurd and I hope more manguka will play close attention to this horrific and gory representation of the soul and the heart and start to ask if they too can merge story and theme so wonderfully.