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Reviews
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Surprisingly lackluster
So, we have the familiar franchise. Big, rough, untempered brute fighting evil magic while saving an innocent maiden.
Where the original did pay tribute to character building and put a heroic but tormented barbarian as main character, this movie tries to cast him as a flawless hero from second one, losing all that made the old movie worthwhile. No more chance on failure. No more self doubt. No, just the one dimensional hero fighting picture perfect battles on picture perfect locations.
Felt like I was watching the Instagram movie. Now, settings are well done (computer generated), but that's about it. All characters are extremely one dimensional. The villain is just evil, no good in him. His daughter is just sorcerous, no seduction or backstabbers. The barbarians friends are all loyal to a fault and the barbarian a one dimensional do gooder. Oh, and the maiden is there just for the screams.
I've seen cartoons with more depth. One point for the settings, otherwise avoid this total disaster of a movie. If you crave for Barbarian goodness, see the original. If you crave some rough hero movie, check the Mad Max series. And if you like the fantasy setting, check The Witcher or The Lord of the Rings.
Shame really. With such a budget you could've made an actual fine movie.
Salvation (2017)
Starts out decent, starts to derail fast
Trailer sucks you in, first episodes are pretty linear but tense as you get drawn deeper and deeper into the story. Very enjoyable.
Sadly, at the end of season 1 the episode ends with the foreboding of the mess that is season 2. Suddenly storylines span out of control, characters start to behave out of character and everything requires more and more suspension of disbelief.
Sadly, this results in a complete disconnect with the main characters, thus completely losing interest in the story. Leaving you with a very deep sense of dissatisfaction that Netflix wasn't able to put out decent quality control on a series yet again. Seems to become the business model: tease people with great first episodes and then start to derail things so you stop watching, moving on to yet another series in hope to find something good. (Stranger Things, Penny Dreadful, 12 Monkeys, now this).
For fans of Sci-Fi, move on to The Expanse. One of the few good exceptions to this recurring pattern.
As for the show itself: good pace, nice cast of characters though a bit of a linear plot. But what else can you expect of an asteroid heading to earth.
Critics: completely unbelievable reactions of the public (a vice-president poisoning his president, which comes back and he's somehow still popular. Whut? People going on with their lives after learning they're all extinct in less than 6 months from now. Whut? Various other mechanics that make this show clearly cater to the American public (lots of action, less thought, a focus on guns as the answer and high ranking people spouting stupid one-liners, and a deification of the multi-billionaire Silicon Valley technerd stereotype). The list goes on.
8 for the first episodes. 4 for the next. 6 in total for 'nice try'.
Didn't complete the 2nd season as it derails too fast. Pass.