Kakai221

It's been just under a week since I've watched this and I've taken most of my time to reflect upon it, and all it's done is float and float in my head, I'm constantly reminded of what I watched. And when I walk out of a movie feeling like I want to become different person or having the movie stick with me for so many days, that is how I can determine just how special James Gunn crafted Superman.

Superman has always been one of those special characters for millions, including myself but I've never quite given myself the time to truly look in depth and explore the character, so with this film on the horizon I did just that, and of course James Gunn nailed it. How he managed to cast: Corenswet, Brosnahan, Hoult and Gathegi alongside the countless other supporting acts is beyond me. Since the chemistry they so masterly reciprocate is unimaginable. I mean I can go on and on about several scenes that embedded this for me. But I'd honestly argue there are just too many to name.

Why is this take on Superman so good? Well, Corenswet's emotional outpouring whilst still balancing the comedic esque moments prove this for me, because Superman is such a complex character with his patriotism despite his foreign origins, the moral dilemma Clark faces in the climax is just so engaging. Is Superman destined to destroy those he practically grew up alongside or does he take the side of his parents? Although I'd prefer more ambiguity on the legitimacy of the parents true message I think it works wonders in setting up further arcs for James Gunn to lay the foundations upon his Superman construct.

Speaking of starting up, where this film excels is laying the groundwork for what is to come from this new dc universe, by throwing us in media res the nature of this comic booky universe comes to life, there is no need to constantly remunerate these origins that audiences should be familiar with, the establishment from just a few lines of ominous text is more than enough. The opening shots are delightful and most of the film is visually bewitching, although I'm not fond of sone flying shots that's just down to personal preference not fault of the film maker. The reconstruction of John Williams's iconic score is amazing too and the theme is used and the greatest points throughout the film, such a great reimagining of the score.

So here we are, the beginning of a fresh start for DC with a man: me and hopefully many more have instated our trust in at the helm, because there is just very little at fault with this, in fact it's so incredibly crafted it just makes you want to be a better person, isn't that what Superman is about? Isn't that the real punk rock?

What a call from the BBC, an evening showing of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl debuting to the local masses. Of course it excels at everything it attempted to. From a technical and just genuine enjoyment perspective its great.

Firstly, Aardman have managed to retain their exceptional status as he greatest stop motion producers we have seen in film. Challenges have been faced across the company by being lack of clay and so much more but again they provide. A spectacular 78 minutes of pure joy and love soaked into the most beloved British film franchise of all time, as they still achieve a 100% record for Wallace & Gromit. But how?

Now a foolish claim would be that these films are made for children, but it's simple to shut down masterful entertainment retaining the witty humour from previous entries keeping the established narrative contracts of both Wallace, the man trying to keep up with the times but runs to fast. And Gromit, less of a myopic take on situations. The dichotomy built between them is magnificent and in the closing sequence as it bridges through the sheer power of friendship and love brought a tear to my eye. Character development isn't everything but the sheer attachment you can have for this duo speaks for itself. Of course you can't speak about characters without mentioning Feathers. The foil. The comic relief. The sly penguin. Back to his best swiftly establishing himself amongst the great villains of cinema, his body language forged in the clay work sustains this construct, even minor head tilts or arm movements encapsulates so much fun and depth into a character who hasn't even opened his beak once, a true icon.

The filmmakers aren't subtle with there hidden allegories specifically the anti-AI message referenced in the films. The "norbots" evident microcosm of this, as clearly a flicker of there code creates potential travesty's if put into the wrong hands, emblematic of real world danger as pressure mounts amongst, ai. Hidden allegorical messages blanketed amongst a vastly entertaining feature, refreshing in the animation genre of film, and yet another top tier entry into what is rapidly becoming one of my favorite franchises in film.

A half done job at providing a look at aquatic slaughter

Under Paris for me misses the mark in providing a critical look on aquatic poaching and underlying governmental and police hypocrisy when it comes to the theme of animal slaughtering and the strive for a "PR stunt."

Certain sequences and scenes like the meeting with the Parisian government seem so inconstant and frankly fake, I watched the film dubbed rather than subbed but the exchanges just seem ridiculous, the ignorance is hyperbolic to an extreme, no matter how bad a government is they are absolutely not going to avoid a murderous shark being in the most visited city on planet earth, the only way they would do that is unfortunately for plot convenience. It's the same with the police in the first act, the juxtaposed attitude from act one and two based on the trauma hidden behind Sophias backround after one Google search was unhinged.

From a visual perspective, some wide angle shots specifically of the Paris foreground looked too small. For a film hoping to portray the potential cataclysmic impacts the shark can have on the political status of Paris and deplete the size of the city in a wide angle stunt confused me. Mikas death also showed a laspe in effects a hard death to look at when it comes shark killings in cinema, rivals like The Meg and Jaws even had better looking deaths from the gaping mouth of this powerful mystery moving through the water. Other shots of the Senne however is where this film deserves credit, some superficial fin shots in the backround or subtle drip into the river are what really helps forebode and build tension across and throughout Paris. But that massacre scene when the clock hits one hour in does not go a miss, a lush volta which ups the tempo quick.

For themes and messages I'd argue the film houses to key themes and key contextual points. First of the sharks are visiblly used to show the power of nature under humans best efforts its break into the urban world and specifically thr autopsy scene where the shark is shown to have specialised into the Seines waters, survive and thrive helps capture the strength that the aquatic life, have, "demons to some." As humans could say. However I belive the 2024 release and title "Under Paris" are used to represent governmental fails by the political state of France. The 2024 Olympics showed scrutiny towards the Parisian government ahead of the Senie Triatholan, it's clear that the shark was emblematic of the pollution inside of the River Senie a symbol for corruption and powe amongst governments in a climate change look. And for me the ending worked. Helping to significantly represent the scale and power of the natural world and the fight against human and urban power. Its an incredible twist and for me watching the twist was impressive under the red flame specifically showing implications of foreboding imagery and themes of death.

As far as Netflix Originals go, Under Paris flops looking at the technical filmmaking at work but still manages to provide solid social commentary on political looks at Climate Change. Specifically in Paris.

B- 6/10 3 Stars 64.