bsus1412 Reviews

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

A Memorial Service for Chadwick Boseman

[7/10 · 12 November 2022]

This film functioned more as a memorial service for moving on from the death of Chadwick Boseman, so while the world building was interesting and the costumes/character designs as spectacular as ever, much was lost in the focus of Shuri as T'Challa's successor. She was shoehorned into her role as the main character not because she deserved it through her own virtues but because the comics demanded it. On the other hand, the supporting cast was absolutely perfect!

This plot would have been perfect for the Inhumans show, but not as an MCU film. Heck, there was no little recognition of any other part of the MCU besides one small guest appearance. Without even a post-credits scene and a mid-credit scene that could have just as easily been slipped into the main movie, the entirety of the film felt like a waste of potential.

If you enjoyed the Black Panther, you will enjoy this film. BUT, this a movie made to be seen only once and be put aside, rather than as something to be purchased for rewatching.

Lucky (IV) (2020)

A Fairly Solid Metaphor, But a Confusing Thriller

[7/10 · 1 November 2020]

I saw this film on Shudder, titled "It's A Secret", so I knew to expect something off the beaten path from a typical horror film. The constant looming presence of the silent killer has a very Michael Myers-esque approach to an abstraction of the turmoil the protagonist faces as she (Goes) It Alone with some fairly well-put together kills along the way, but the climax isn't one for anyone who expects clear answers. I had to stop treating this film as a standard film with a beginning, middle, and end (?) and instead focus on the way she deals with the killer rather than expect any explained reasons why he's there. It gets surreal towards the end, but I can't say I disliked it.

Tomb Raider (2018)

A decent Video-Game adaptation, but a failure as a film

[6/10 · 14 March 2018]

SPOILERS AT THE END!!!

I was lucky enough to get a pre-screening of this film before it officially opened, and as a fan of the original games, I must say that I felt that this movie was lacking in many ways. The movie starts off well-enough, with an excellent view of Lara growing up and engaging in rebellious activities that still feels grounded in the real world. Sadly, once she learns of her father's legacy, she's off to China and the plot seems to want to never seriously hurt her in any of the following scenes. She maneuvers through Hong Kong as a clueless tourist in such a way that I instantly knew that this movie would make sure that she never comes into real danger, as the worst people she runs into as a white foreigner with no Chinese ability in a run-down harbor is a trio of boys who steal her backpack. Every character's introduction is designed to move the plot further around her and her only. I had so many questions about the world around Lara and the mysterious corporation that funded Vogel's expedition, but the only details revealed were the ones that specifically pertained to the "action" scenes revolving around Lara. I use "action" generously, because despite the many repeated images of her grimacing in pain, she clearly remained at the level of an Olympic athlete throughout the film despite the serious injuries she sustained. If they were really trying to make this movie convincing, the filmmakers should have let her injuries actually impede her in some way, instead of being ignored because of Plot.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT!!!

There were so many missed opportunities here. Much of the cast was pulled from Into the Badlands, but the action scenes here were lacking in comparison to the TV series. In addition, most of the dialogue during the last quarter of the film was extremely generic, and felt derivative of every action film that came out since 1997. The light puzzle and various traps had the appropriate video game characteristic that was necessary for this film, but the games had better twists than what I saw in Tomb Raider. One example of a suggested improvement would be if the zombified father came back to help Lara fight Vogel. As it was, I predicted the virus plot-point right from the start of the film, and was disappointed with how derivative they made the scene be. EMBRACE THE VIDEO GAME. I hate to say it, but Angelina Jolie's films had the right idea in that it's okay to be a little silly at times if you're creating a video-game adaptation. Just enjoy yourself while doing it, and the movie will work itself out in the end. As it was, I just saw this film as one big action-movie cliche instead of the faithful adaptation that it could have been.