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And yet again, the words 'Netflix presents' bring out the worst in the couch critics who seem to mistake this for a movie that wasn't worth releasing in theaters, so it should thus be viewed with a maximum of disdain and negative preconceptions. With no Disney, CGI or daring screenplay twists to blame, direct-to-Netflix is always a good scapegoat for lazy criticism. Or was it that too much violence was directed at Asian criminal characters? You never know what rubs people the wrong way these days.

But undeservedy so, because this is one hell of a visceral experience that works equally well on a huge small screen if you have a decent sound system (so don't watch this on your iPhone in the bright sun and then complain that the image was too dark).

Granted, Havoc's screenplay isn't its greatest achievement. A city perpetually covered in darkness, a ripdeal gone wrong, organized crime wars, a corrupt cop confronting his even more crooked friends; it's really nothing new, and although it is quite fun to put all the puzzle pieces of the story together, at the end, the big picture is all too familiar. Yet, that is something director Gareth Evans is known for, after directing two bone-crunching Raid movies that weren't memorable for their intricate plot either. But those were set in Indonesia, and apparently, many viewers are more comfortable with Asian movies favoring high-octane action over a strong script than American ones.

No, Evans knows where to deliver where it concerns high-pressure action and blood-gushing injuries. Though this movie doesn't rely as martial arts nearly as much as his Raid movies, there are several intense shoot-outs and chases that make you hold on to your seat or squirm around in it. I watched this film with my son after a series of war movies, and we noted that this movie easily surpasses all those combined when it comes to bullets fired and blood spilled. Evans doesn't spare squeamish viewers with all the buckets of blood that get tossed around and the detailed ways in which bodily integrities are challenged; he endows his characters with nearly infinite amounts of ammo, and his Chinese triads with infinite amouts of henchmen to sacrifice, so those who were hoping for a gritty urban drama can save themselves the trouble. This is an urban gritty violence ballet if there ever was one. But as it gets so over-the-top violent, I couldn't help but laughing at the grotesque ways that some characters get blown to bits, chopped in half, or, in one memorable instant, get hilariously skewered. Also expect to feel a lot of substitute pain.

Many people will undoubtedly get annoyed with the camera work. At times it was certainly wobbly and hectic, and maybe that was a reason for skipping cinemas (fearing that crews would have a field day scraping all the vomit off the floor). Nevertheless, on the small screen, I was still able to follow most of the action, and where I could not, I am sure it was the director reminding us of the messiness and chaos of gunfights. At its height, it was John Wick levels of mayhem on the screen, although not exactly quite of that caliber and quality, but still pretty intense.

It also helps to have a good cast. Tom Hardy once again proves that he is at his best with a combination of cranky and aloof, which never fails to make me smile and can make even his poor cop/father character likeable. Luiz Guzmann does his usual thing that he does so well, and is arguably the most heroic character. Forrest Whitaker is always good in good movies and the best part in bad movies, and again shows his qualities here as a very ambiguous character, but not without redeeming qualities.

We never got that third Raid movie that Gareth Evans had planned, but this still feels as a nice dessert to the first two main courses, even if it never gets to those exact heights. Just watch this film, wipe the word 'realistic' from your dictionary, don't take it too seriously and enjoy the wild ride!

A director who voluntarily accepts the task of making a new installment to a classic sci-fi franchise must be both self-assured/crazy enough to think he can make a worthy addition, and brave enough to weather a storm of potentially offended fans. By setting an interquel (in-between sequel) between Alien and Aliens, Romulus has no less than two acclaimed masterpieces to contend with (and even Alien 3 is getting more praise over the years). Volunteers, anyone?

So enter Fede Alvarez, whose Evil Dead reboot already showed that a remake of a classic original doesn't have to be a poor derivative with a lack of fresh ideas, blood and gore, and who demonstrated his keen eye for squeezing maximum suspense from a tight surrounding in Don't Breathe. Together with co-writer Rodo Sayagues, he has the chops to build up Alien Romulus from the elements that made the original trilogy work, while at the same time having the imagination to come up with new stuff that make this a tense and riveting action-thriller ride that still feels like it organically belongs within this movie series, rather than a totally different franchise.

One thing that the creative team has understood well is that the real villain of the Alien series isn't necessarily the titular creature but the nefarious Weyland-Yutani company; even when hiding behind the face of synthetics... excuse me, artificial persons, their relentless greed and disregard for human lives have always been the source of all the ordeals that their employees must suffer. So we are back in Weyland-Yutani's heyday, where a group of young colonists are trying to escape their poor living conditions and the Company's tight economic clutches (no lack of contemporary metaphors here) by attempting a daring escape to a better life through an abandoned Company space station. However, as per series tradition, this Romulus/Remus station is not as empty as it seems, and as they realize what has happened, they need to run for their lives for the facehuggers and Aliens that infest the station.

The last two prequels of the series, Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien Covenant, went more into the direction of large-scope, grand philosophical ideas rather than a battle for survival on a small scale, something that was clearly not appreciated by large parts of the fanbase. Although I liked them, Romulus is a great return to the creature-feature roots of the series, with some nail-biting suspense set in very grim retro-futuristic areas full of metal and exposed wiring. In promotional material, the makers have been very proud of their largely practical approach to set design and special effects, and rightly so. This feels like a lived-in world where the scares, threats and action feel very real and the creatures deliciously icky, wonderfully supported by some CGI touches without overdepending on them. My only comment would be that the facehuggers sometimes seem a bit like sluggish robots, but that is a small price to pay for a nice old school approach that helps create such a tense and pleasantly nostalgic atmosphere.

I am even more impressed with how this movie connects with the original films, and marries their monster movie tropes to the more cerebral cautionary tales from the prequels. There are artifical persons in the movie that play key roles in the story, perfectly underlining the dangers of poorly controlled AI from the prequels; there is even a link with Prometheus that puts the Company's desire for the Xenomorphs (and thus the original films) in a somewhat new light, making Romulus a welcome connective tissue since we will probably no longer get that third prequel. Undoubtedly, those who disliked Scott's prequels will have issues with these plot elements. But that's the way it is.

Again, part of making a successful follow-up, I think, lies in a balanced combination of the old with the new. There are fresh faces from a great cast (with a breakout performance by David Jonsson), but there is one familiar face that firmly and organically cements this film within the series legacy without feeling like fan service. Neither do Alvarez and his team forget to give us the adrenaline ride that Aliens was famous for, with a few original action scenes that I had always wanted to see in an Alien movie (one with lots of facehuggers, and one in zero G), and will hopefully become iconic over the years. Alvarez can thank Ron Cobb for coming up with the Aliens' acidic blood, because I daresay that this staple of the series has rarely been used more effectively than here. All in, a spectacular white-knuckle ride that uses all the modern tools for film-making, but keep things reasonably grounded in the realism of the series.

If I have one major comment, it would be the final confrontation. Though a solid and tense climax, the makers allowed themselves to implement an outlandish idea that I found reminiscent of Alien Resurrection. Not necessarily bad (I am of the minority that likes that movie), but I found it slightly over the top and thinking that the film would have also been fine without it. But that is not a bad score in a movie where the story otherwise supports the memorable scenes quite well, rather than just functioning as scaffold for a series of highlights.

This is an Alien movie that every fan should see. As always, there will be detractors (Aliens, my favorite in the series, has them too). No doubt that some will find it too derivative still, or too alienated from the source (pun intended). I am quite confident that many fans will like how this movie walks that fine line between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Scott and James Cameron are fans, and so am I. I hope to discuss, celebrate and analyze this one in detail on line for the years to come.

Christopher Nolan's movies are among the best ever made, be it his Dark Knight Trilogy, gritty and trope-challenging crime operas that happen to have superheroes in them, or his science-fiction movies like Inception and Interstellar, which are though-provoking, yet still with the required amusement factor for the blockbuster audience. His last sci-fi movie, Tenet, was as high concept as ever, but also complex to a fault, and somewhat lacking a heart to win over the big crowds. But even though every movie that Nolan makes is big, he tends to alternate between something more mainstream (for lack of a better term) and something that feels a bit smaller and more personal. And though it tackles big themes, few of his movies feel so personal as Oppenheimer.

In the beginning, it may feel a bit confusing why Nolan keeps moving back and forth in time, but as soon as we are pulled into the narrative, it becomes clear that the emotional core is formed by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer being interrogated in a private hearing. It is the scaffolding for a series of flashbacks that illustrate the topics that are being discussed, from the doctor's beginnings as a promising but clumsy student, to the man who saved America, to an enemy of the state who had to be silenced for not walking in sync with the political climate at the time. At the surface, the movie is a re-telling of a decisive moment in human history, and it is easy to see why the parallels with today's situation makes it such a suitable subject: the ease with which allies can change into enemies; governments eagerly exploiting those with opposite ideas when they are needed, but disposing of them when they stop being useful; and people getting cancelled by labeling their views too liberal or socialist.

On another level, Oppenheimer is also a biopic of a man who is brilliant yet also flawed, with many talents and an almost annoying lack of vanity. Apart from his brilliance, his biggest talent is eschewing his own ego by bringing other great minds together on the Manhattan project. He is also a womaniser who has trouble being a family man and a faithful husband, is sometimes too honest, and can step on the wrong toes, like those of his counterpart, Senator Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.). Cillian Murphy, Nolan's secret weapon in their sixth collaboration, is great as the man who understands the necessity of what he is inventing, yet is also realistic enough to know where he should stop. None of his shortcomings makes him in any way bad or unqualified, but those are grounds to be silenced even today, especially if one's political views can be easily taken out of context.

Nolan skillfully films Oppenheimer's narrative in color, and switches to black-and-white when showing Strauss' side. Which brings us to the third layer within the movie, as a carefully crafted morality tale. For a seemingly simple story about a country at war with ruthless enemies, and scientists being asked to help invent a solution, the film shows that the science and decision-making was not driven by intellect, but more often than not frought with human shortcomings such as pride, resentment, egoism, desires and revulsion. The great thing is that both sides of the drama get ample time and exposure, so that we see why these people do what they did, with the judgment left to the viewer. We are drawn into the movie so well that we can emotionally understand that no one at the time knew the outcome of the morel dilemma, so basically no one's actions were clearly wrong or right; it is only in hindsight that our minds can decide that.

In selling the drama, it certainly helps that everyone wants to work with Nolan: even the smallest parts are filled with great artists, from Florence Pugh as the strong-willed mistress, David Krumholz as a scientist with a clear moral compass, to Downey Jr. As an unforgettable two-faced politician, an achievement that should get him Oscar gold.

A movie with so many perspectives, topics and timeframes could have easily become a top-heavy mess, and some sides could have been underplayed, but due to a great script, clear direction and skillfull editing, we never get lost in one big jumble of timelines and characters. The makers thoroughly manage to turn it into a great thriller drama in which all the pieces fall into place until the final shot, while still keeping the audience intellectually engaged, captivated and amused throughout the entire 3-hr runtime. And that work of precision may be the biggest achievement of all. Please bring out the Oscars!