mythmakergm

I cant remember the last time I connected with so many characters so deeply, and in so short a time. The character arcs are truly beautiful, and the relationships between them beautiful as well.

I actually shed some tears at the end, which can not be said for many thrillers at all! It's equal parts thriller, drama, romance, and cultural/political commentary.

The pacing is perfect. Some might find certain parts slow but I was on the edge of my seat for the entire movie, fully engaged.

The mystery is unraveled at a satisfactory pace and with a good degree of intelligence. You, the viewer, are treated with respect. It's not the most complex or unexpected mystery, but the manner in which it is presented is top notch

The other review touches on the depth of themes already.

Please give this a chance if you are on the fence!

This movie does exactly what it intends to do. The negative reviews are entirely based on flawed expectations. Don't eat a burger and then complain because you wanted filet mignon. This is a hella good burger!

What It Is Popcorn flick, heroic science-fantasy (NOT science fiction, but fantasy), eye-candy, easy-going Entertainment

What It Is Not Hyper-realistic, hyper-dramatic, deeply emotional, plot-twist heavy, oscar worthy character study, gritty fantasy

I'm not sure that I've ever enjoyed a Zack Snyder film before. These days I typically skip them. I was in a sci-fantasy mood so I gave this a shot. I went in having seen 0 trailers. I was blown away.

The Good: Lots of fun characters. Assembling the crew feels like assembling a D&D party. If you've ever played a TTRPG this film should be right up your alley. I struggle to see why anyone would complain about the characters. Then again, the complaining people just seem miserable anyway!

Cool locations. I really enjoyed the designs of the planets and cities. Obviously there is inspiration from other media and yet there are many original spins and angles too. That's the beauty of iteration in art. Watching this inspired me to go and do some of my own worldbuilding. I am saddened for those who couldn't allow themselves to be inspired in some way.

Fun creatures. I love that fantasy elements are incorporated. This is NOT science fiction. It's science-fantasy. One review complained "I just want good science fiction". Your expectations are flawed, not this film.

Great costume and set designs. Really liked the blend of cultural influences throughout. Hope to see much more, especially the non euro-fantasy aspects.

Entertaining fight choreography. The somewhat excessive slow mo is obv cheesy but it actually works quite well in that you can see what's going on and notice little details, which is a pleasant break from some of the shaky cam, rapid cut choreography we get in a lot of films. I had to chuckle at a certain flag related slow mo shot but the rest of it never broke my immersion. The first fight scene in particular I thought was done really well. Unlike many films, the dynamic of the fight actually makes sense (as opposed to 12 enemies waiting to attack one by one, or charging in rather than shooting from distance, they fought fairly realistically... for a heroic fantasy, anyway. This is not a realistic war movie, so expectations are not geared for that)

Pacing. I never got bored at any point in the film, but there were ample opportunities to breathe as well. Excellent pacing, one of the film's strongest qualities

Passable Acting. I have no idea why so many people are talking as if these were the worst acting performances of all time. First of all some characters are written to be caricatures. For example, the soldiers. Their acting fulfilled that to a tee. If you don't like that, you are in the wrong genre. The characters with more depth, such as the protagonist and her allies, were played with complete competence. If anything, some of the dialogue could have been a bit smoother, but it never reached a point where I lost immersion. And you don't watch this kind of blockbuster fantasy popcorn flick expecting hyper-poetic dialogue and Oscar worthy, deeply emotional dramatic performances. THAT IS NOT THE TYPE OF MOVIE BEING MADE SO DONT JUDGE FOR THOSE TYPE OF QUALITIES. You wouldn't say a football player is a poor athlete because they can't bowl 300, would you? Well, clearly some of these reviewers probably would, but they'd be wrong.

Overall Visuals. Who tf complained about the gryphon? It looked excellent. The visuals were top notch in every aspect of this film. Solid CGI, effects, lighting, etc. Perfectly fit the vibes of the film.

Score. I honestly didn't notice the music too much, so it was neither a strong positive or negative point

The Negatives Slightly Predictable.

Without giving any spoilers, most of the plot points could be easily predicted if you're even mildly aware of fantasy tropes. Is that a problem though? NOPE. Unless you somehow convinced yourself you were going to be watching shutter island? This is not a film that needs super slick plot twists. The plot that occurred was good enough for the popcorn flick this aims to be, but it isn't the selling point of the movie, that's for sure

Dialogue Same thing here, pretty standard popcorn flick dialogue. A few lines on the cheesier side, actually a few very decent lines as well though.

The Villains I do absolutely feel the villains were a bit weak. Yes, the most visible of them is extremely despicable, but almost to a degree that it feels like too low hanging of fruit, even for a trope heavy heroic fantasy epic. Some of the secondary villains were a lot more intriguing than the main antagonist, though. I hope the villains improve in the second half overall.

Underused Characters A few characters are introduced that don't get utilized to the degree I personally hoped for, but that's a subjective opinion and there's also a second part plus the possibility of a franchise. Plenty of opportunity to see more!