Reviews

This completely missed the mark on what made the original so effective and unique.

Not only there is not even a single element that came close to reaching the high bar set by the original, but it further butchered its effort by resorting to typical melodrama, without strong direction behind the camera to interweave the elements into something cohesive and extraordinary. The nuance and the details are all lost in translation. It's clear that they struggle to understand the essence that separates the original from other coming-of-age tales.

The acting by the entire cast was very solid. All of them did their best with the material given. The writer actually sprinkled some fresh snippets to make this remake distinct but the execution was not up to standard. The cinematography is uninteresting, the editing is pedestrian, the direction is bland. There's no style.

In my opinion, this is a remake that fails to realise what made the original special. Please do not waste your time to indulge in and entertain this kind of mediocrity.

Jarring tonal inconsistencies, excruciatingly slow pacing, uninspired thematic execution, one-dimensional characters, paper-thin character dynamics, painfully awkward dialogue, embarrassingly flat attempts of humour, weirdly-placed score and soundtracks, with a plot as hollow as vacuum, this is without a doubt the biggest disappointment I have had this year. It hit a new low for the worst film I have seen this year.

There are good ideas. The foundation is there. I can see some vision from the director. But the execution completely fumbled the bag. From the disjointed story structure to plot threads that crashed and burned, this was woefully misguided and ill-constructed.

Honestly, this was painful to sit through. I have never been so irritated by a movie before. I was literally fighting the urge to walk out of the screening.

I don't even know where to start. I already had unhealthy high expectations for this movie, yet it still exceeded those expectations far beyond reach. It lives up to its title by plunging us right back into the chaotic madness of the multiverse by delving into Gwen's perspective, exploring her dynamics with her family and the hardships that come with juggling two different identities while not letting either one overlap or dominate. The Gwen-centered prologue spans for a whopping 15 minutes. It chronicled everything from dramatic character-affirming moments and extravagant artistic expression to mesmerisingly fluid action sequences and laugh-out-loud snippets of levity. It's basically a microcosm of what we are about to expect from the remaining runtime, giving us just a taste of the absolute carnage that is bound to unfold. And my god, did this movie deliver!

This sequel stands tall alongside Empire Strikes Back and Judgment Day as one of the worthiest successors of a pre-established masterpiece. But it's not only a masterpiece, it's a true work of art. It lies one step above masterpiece. It's a Renaissance painting come to life. You can just randomly pause at a scene and take a screenshot and it'll be a beautiful wallpaper. I thought Into The Spider-Verse was the pinnacle of superhero storytelling. Man, I was never this wrong. I'm telling you this blows Into The Spider-Verse out of the freaking water. It not only reaches new heights. It tears up the sky and shoots you beyond the stratosphere. I am shocked to the core at how revolutionary this movie is. I have never seen anything like it. The experience I had in the cinema is nothing short of spellbinding. This movie had me strapped on tight in my seat right from the get go, then had me in a suffocating stranglehold, refusing to loosen its grip, let alone let go, and throttled me towards a rollercoaster ride of emotions and feelings, I don't even know how to react.

This is a mindblowing experience that left me speechless at times, laughing for the most part, and utterly petrified by its closing hour. My eyes were glued to the screen for the entire time, I never felt the 2-hour-and-20-minute runtime and it felt like I was right there beside the characters. My jaw was wide open the entire time, I could not believe what I was being exposed to. And I thought watching Infinity War and Endgame was the high point of my moviegoing experience. No, this is not only a cinematic experience I will never forget. This is something else entirely. This is something special. This is a cinematic miracle. The fact that they pulled this off with flying colours is insane. Everybody is firing on all cylinders. From the seamless blend of countless different animation styles, the striking colours, the stark contrasts, to the deliberate compositions, this is a visual feast unlike any other. This is a textbook testament to the creative potential of animation. There can be a scene with two people talking, and the background is filled with so much detail. Every single frame, shot and sequence is meticulously devised and painstakingly choreographed. It's lively, it's dynamic, it's moving.

And amidst the dizzying array of visual cacophony lies a story that chronicles what it means to be Spider-Man. Again Miles (alongside his fellow Spider-companions) is flung head-first into wave after wave of emotional peril, exploring themes of adolescent isolation, complexities of growing up, and finding where he belongs in this vast expanse of multiversal entropy. He is put in situations that tests his resolve and integrity as a human being and as a universe-hopping superhero, clashing with different Spider-people when they present conflicting ideologies. And the way the creative team executed these moral dilemmas is nothing short of intelligent and mature by not giving us any easy or simple answers, but making us question along with the characters what the right decision is and what we would do if we are in their shoes.

Not to mention, The Spot turned out to be one of most menacing villains ever to have graced the silver screen. He started out as a goofy "villain of the week", but then more layers get peeled off and we get to witness this 3-dimensional sculpture of a misunderstood and unfortunate guy sucked into the wrong end of a calamity. They actually made us care and understand where he's coming from, why he is the way he is, and why he's doing what he's doing. And the new Spider-people all have distinct personalities and some of them get to really shine under the spotlight. The core of the story doesn't ever get lost amidst the wild collection of cameos and Easter eggs. The team behind this franchise show that they have formed a tightly-knit kinship about what they are cooking up and what kind of a story they are trying to tell.

Also, when the action settles down, the dust clears and the superheroes take off their costumes, the movie does not get less interesting. This is a grounded drama as much as it is a superhero spectacle. The dialogue in this movie is so sharp and witty, it cuts like a water jet. It takes what the first movie established and built upon that foundation by deepening the relationships of the characters and weaving more intricate elements into Miles' journey of self-discovery. And we get to just marvel at the complications and how it all plays out. Everything is laid bare. The characters are put front and center, flanked by breathtaking visual ingenuity, sharp sound design, powerful voice acting and Daniel Pemberton's sublime musical presentation.

This sequel is more than a sequel. This is the best Spider-Man film ever made. This is the best superhero film ever made. This is the best animated film ever made. This is the best film of the year and possibly the best film to have come out in recent years. And it's not even close. It is a love letter to the Spider-Man canon, poking fun at familiar tropes but not forgetting to inject fresh oil to keep the engine purring. They went above and beyond for this. Every single aspect here screams perfection, from the calculated directing to the slick editing.

There is not a single nanometre of a weak link. The web of life and destiny is woven with tour-de-force cinematic artistry. I am telling you that we are witnessing the birth of one of the greatest film trilogies ever made in cinematic history. I have no reason to doubt that Beyond The Spider-Verse is going to be as excellent as its era-defining predecessors. This is truly a flawless achievement that keeps you at the edge of your seat for the conclusion. See you next March!

For me, it was the best thing the MCU has ever done. When they first announced this show, I was like "Why the hell do we need a Loki show?" But now after finishing this show, I think the future of the MCU looks brighter than ever, especially after the three disappointing projects that came before it this year. Loki diverges away from the usual MCU formula and takes its time to charter new territories and further develop Loki's character with new complex dynamics. They retraced the path that has been established with Loki and throwed him into interesting new scenarios to see how he would react when everything he thinks he knows about the world comes crumbling down on him. The result we got is far better than anything I initially imagined. This is character study done right. And we also got a wonderful slate of supporting characters added to the MCU with significant amount of character growth discovered in this show alone. Seeing them philosophically clash with each other with conflicting ideologies is such a well-needed cleansing to the mind and soul.

Not to mention, the cast is very good. This show has some of the best acting in the MCU canon, particularly scene-stealers Owen Wilson and Richard E. Grant. Tom Hiddleston is as charming as ever as The God of Mischief and Sophia Di Martino proves a worthy variant as she brings such ferocity and charm to the character of Sylvie. I love their back-and-forth banter so much, Hiddleston and Di Martino have such an amazing chemistry, they complement each other's performances, it's like eye candy. Hiddleston also goes toe-to-toe with Wilson and they bring out the best in each other, especially their explosive exchange in Episode 4: The Nexus Event. Hunter B-15 played by Wunmi Mosaku is also a stunning revelation in later episodes. She gives a nuanced yet powerful performance as she effortlessly captures the inner turmoil her character is going through. Her mannerisms are so subtle yet they pack so much punch. Gugu Mbatha-Raw also gave a hauntingly powerful performance as Judge Renslayer. The ruthless nature of the character is so bone-chilling to watch.

The writing is also pretty solid. Not only that they gave all these characters a lot of unique depth and personality, but they also presented these deep, thought-provoking philosophical questions about free will, self-love, chaos theory, etc. You may not like it but there is also a hint of politics in the show, mainly questioning the reliance of bureaucracy and a higher power controlling everything in order to maintain peace. The show definitely doesn't shy away from challenging the audience to question their beliefs and understandings. Good scripts don't translate to brilliant visual storytelling without a capable director. So they are lucky to have Kate Herron leading the pack. Her execution brings the story to new heights. All the jawdropping twist and turns linger long after the credits but to also have the quiet and nuanced moments creep in and jam their fangs into your flesh is a remarkable feat.

And of course, the technical aspects of this show are chef's kiss. The aesthetics are gorgeous. The sets and costumes are all carefully and meticulously detailed. The team was able to intricately craft this bureaucracy that claims to govern the order of time with what felt like a unique premise and actually made it believable. I love the world-building in this show because they established a lot of ground rules and ultimately stuck with them. It's the attention to detail that gave it so much life and made it so interesting. In this show, almost everything makes sense thanks to the first two episodes laying a crap ton of groundwork and all the team had to do is just stick with its established roots. And it did, which made the entire show work and the plot flow smoothly, leading up to the mindblowing season finale. As a counterexample, WandaVision presented this eerie central mystery in the first five episodes. The show just gets crazier and crazier with more questions being raised. But after that, I felt like the team didn't know exactly where they should go. It felt like they soared too high, crashed into the Sun, lost their wings and ultimately plummeted to the abyss. Loki on the other hand always stayed in its lane, therefore it concluded on a very high note. What WandaVision failed on another aspect is that it felt very superficial as it relied on shallow elements and cheap shock factor to maximise impact, whereas Loki took its time to leave a lasting impression on me with its brilliantly-contrasted character dynamics. From the awe-inspiring establishing shots and the slick camera tricks to the wacky music choices and the smooth rhythmic editing, this show has a lot of heart in its core and it really shows. And of course shout-out to Natalie Holt's beautiful soundtracks that fit perfectly with the tone of their respective scenes to maximise impact. To have her music stand out in all of the other masterful aspects of the show is just astonishing.

With all this said, Loki is not perfect, but it is up there, and it works for me. It suffers a bit in pacing problems and tonal issues. Yet, it is a wonderful addition to the MCU canon. The jawdropping impact it unleashes will not be negated. The best thing about this show is that it expands the scope of the MCU in a lot of bizarre directions. This show singlehandedly changed the scope of the MCU forever and it is my favourite MCU project thus far. Looking back to the first episode, I was actually dumbfounded by how far and wide the story has developed. It went by so fast but every episode has their significant roles to play and contributed to the central plot progression. And all of them were given enough care in terms of storytelling quality. Loki feels like an experiment about the possibilities of television storytelling while also feeling like a test run for what's to come in the future of the MCU. This show broke away from the stereotypes and really took its time to build a story that has a lasting impact on the bigger universe and it ultimately worked. There are a lot of doors opened following the earth-shattering aftermath of the season finale. Loki is no doubt the craziest story Marvel Studios has ever told. I love this show so much. It has been an incredible journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds.