wbdeejay

It's really not as bad as some are claiming. Sure there is some seriously wooden and cliched acting from many of the main characters. It's like they were emulating a budget eighties film. But once you are familiar with 50 years of cinema history, there is a big distinction between bad and good film-making. This rates above average, because of the story elements that actually delve deeper into meaning than most thrillers. And they play that out right to the end as well. The fight scenes are actually reasonable, even if the acting isn't. Speaking of acting, Christopher Lambert is hit&miss. Later on he gets to have quite some fun with his role, but early in the story is terrible.

Best bits: decent costumes and a deep dive into the socio-religious meanings of life and supernatural.

Worst bits: some particularly bad acting.

First watched April 2025.

There's all your English accents and quirky characters with attitude, with a lot of the clever fun, but no great twists. Most of the fight scenes are brilliant, almost dance-like in their flow, given Scott Adkins fighting/action background that makes perfect sense. Big kudos to the fight choreographer. The story has a few rough spots, but no more than many films. Overall, an excellent story-led action film. Oh, it's based on a comic book series, you say? Not surprised at all. Good enough entertainment for a Saturday night.

Best bits: The realistic and fluid fight scenes. Distinctive characters.

Worst bits: The main character's voice-over narration really annoyed me.

First watched April 2025.

Lee Pace typically has a great presence on screen and eventually he gets a chance to shine once again. Thankfully Bérénice Marlohe starring opposite him is skilled enough to make their duo work well.

Still, it's an unevenly paced script, particularly at the start. There's bits of action for its own sake, just filling time it seems.

Overall, the story is reasonably solid, the character design is good enough. The ground based invaders are reasonable, implemented well, but I had serious concern with the actuality of their design. I wanted to give it a better score but it's only just above average. Overall, decent science fiction, worth a watch.

Best bits: the special effects are particularly well done.

Worst bits: a lot of the action scenes are just filler.

Viewed Easter 2025.