filmthusiast

Netflix is at it again, shoveling out another generic-as-hell crime thriller and praying you're bored enough to bite. Mandala Murders stars Vaani Kapoor - whose Botoxed face has the emotional range of a houseplant - as a super cop in Yet Another Dusty Small Town.

Plot? Who gives a $hit. It's serial killings, cryptic symbols, and trauma layered like a sad lasagna. Everything drags, everyone whispers, and the only real mystery is why this script got greenlit. Kapoor's performance? So wooden termites filed a complaint.

If you've got six hours and a lobotomy scheduled, go ahead.

Ridley Scott, the guy who accidentally stumbled over few good films long before most of us were born, returns with a sequel to his 2000 masterpiece, *Gladiator*. *Gladiator 2* is a soulless, derivative bore that pales in comparison to its predecessor.

Scott's recent filmography is a testament to his decline. From the incoherent *Prometheus* to the biblical bore *Exodus: Gods and Kings* and the ever-confused *Alien: Covenant*, it's clear that the director's touch has grown increasingly feeble. *Napoleon* was another misstep, a bloated historical biopic that failed to capture the grandeur of its subject.

*Gladiator 2* is a continuation of this trend. It's a film devoid of originality, relying heavily on the formula of its predecessor. The characters are bland, the plot is predictable, and the action sequences, while impressive, lack the visceral impact of the original.

If you want to watch extreme close ups of Naomi Scott's face for 2 hours, go watch this movie. If you want to watch Naomi Scott breathing heavily interspersed by Naomi Scott screaming at the top of her lungs interspersed by Naomi Scott drinking water from an annoying product placement water bottle, go watch this movie. Thank god I didn't pay for watching it, because about 30 minutes in, I found myself browsing on the phone with occasional glances at the screen. This is not a horror movie, or any movie at all, it's a BTS video of a successful and famous character played by Naomi Scott always looking like she just snorted a stash in the bathroom.

3-stars for all the screaming, I imagine it must've been hard on her throat.