MovieRankingReviews

Wake Up Dead Man is the third instalment in the Knives Out series. I absolutely adore murder mysteries, and this series has been consistently stellar. The first Knives Out was phenomenal, and while the second film Glass Onion was enjoyable, it was admittedly a bit of a step down from its predecessor. Because of that, I was incredibly excited going into this entry. Does the series continue to deliver, or is this a case not worth solving?

Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, and once again, he delivers a terrific performance. A Sherlock can't be without his Watson, and this time Blanc is accompanied by "Priest Jud," played phenomenally by Josh O'Connor. Jud is easily the most layered partner character the series has had so far. He has a meaningful past and a compelling reason for becoming a priest. You truly understand why he wants to solve this case, and as an audience, we genuinely root for him to succeed. His dynamic with Blanc is also a lot of fun, as the two often clash due to Jud's faith and Blanc's atheism. A special mention goes to Josh Brolin, whose performance is particularly disturbing and effective.

Unlike previous entries, which leaned heavily into themes of greed and wealth, Wake Up Dead Man explores the more intriguing subject of faith and religion. Josh Brolin's character, Wicks, uses faith to create a loyal cult through fear and hellfire preaching. In contrast, Priest Jud views faith as a means to heal the world and help others through forgiveness and empathy. This fundamental difference puts Jud in direct conflict with Wicks and his followers, ultimately isolating him. The film does a commendable job of exploring the dangers of obsessive faith while still illustrating the positive impact faith can have when rooted in compassion.

Of course, the murder mystery itself is the main reason people watch these films, and I'm happy to say it remains a delight. This time, the mystery revolves around a classic locked-room murder, and it easily feels like the most difficult case yet, one that genuinely seems near impossible to solve. The film also takes a more streamlined approach to its storytelling. There is less reliance on flashbacks, opting instead to move forward chronologically alongside the characters. As a result, we uncover information at the same time they do. This makes the mystery more engaging, as the audience can actively attempt to solve it themselves. At no point does it feel like the audience is being cheated by withheld information, which was admittedly an issue in Glass Onion.

That said, Wake Up Dead Man isn't without its flaws. The suspects are easily the weakest of the series so far. Beyond being creepy, many of them lack a strong presence, distinctive personalities, or compelling chemistry with one another. One of the biggest strengths of the previous two films was their larger-than-life suspects, each with clear motives, memorable quirks, and strong relationships with one another, making it believable that any of them could be the culprit. Unfortunately, this is sorely lacking here. Most of the suspects have little screen time, few defining traits, and minimal connection to one another. This ultimately makes it fairly obvious who the culprit is, as certain character receives significantly more focus than the rest. Thankfully, this doesn't completely ruin the mystery, as the "how they did it" remains unpredictable and satisfying.

Overall, Wake Up Dead Man is another excellent entry in the murder mystery genre. While it doesn't quite reach the heights of the first film, it delivers a stronger and more engaging mystery than the second. Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig continue to provide a thoroughly entertaining experience, and I certainly hope we get a fourth instalment.

Avatar showed how amazing CGI could be in 2009, and then further illustrated the leap in technology with Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022, especially with how realistic everything looked, particularly the water technology. While the franchise isn't well known for its plot or characters, the world itself has always been very intriguing. Now we have the third entry in the franchise with Avatar: Fire and Ash. Does it continue to deliver something magical, or is it finally running its course?

Let's get the obvious out of the way: yes, this film is still a visual spectacle. There are so many incredible shots and downright beautiful CGI moments that it's easy to get completely immersed in the world. It also continues to deliver fantastic and exciting action set pieces. Despite the massive runtime of three hours and fifteen minutes, the film is actually very well paced. Slower moments never drag on too long, and the action scenes are spaced out effectively throughout the film. Simon Franglen returns to compose the score after taking over from James Horner, who sadly passed away, for The Way of Water. His score in the previous film was very serviceable in my opinion, but he does a noticeably better job in this entry.

All of that was expected, though. In terms of new elements, the story places Spider at its emotional center this time. He continues to struggle with how different he is from the Na'vi people and with being accepted by them. His relationship with Jake's family is a major focus and leads to some of the film's more emotional and heartwarming moments. The movie also introduces a new Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, who serve as antagonists. I really like their design and how savage they are compared to the tribes we've seen before. Oona Chaplin does a great job portraying the sadistic and slightly unhinged nature of the Ash People's leader.

However, despite the title Fire and Ash, the Ash People don't really play a major role in the overall plot. Their presence mostly feels like an excuse to introduce a new type of enemy for our heroes to kill, and not much more. The humans, and returning villain Colonel Miles Quaritch, remain the primary antagonists and continue doing the same evil things as before. The plot also repeats far too many narrative beats from the previous films, to an almost bizarre degree. Once again, we get the kids going off on their own, another coming-of-age storyline for the son, Sigourney Weaver's character having a mysterious special gift, and Jake needing to unite everyone for a final battle. This becomes especially noticeable in the final act, where the climactic fight feels like a near complete rehash of The Way of Water's finale, even hitting many of the same beat-for-beat moments. My final gripe is a bit nitpicky, but there just isn't anything truly special or revolutionary about Fire and Ash. We've seen these visuals before, and there isn't much that feels genuinely new this time around.

Overall, by this point, you probably already know whether you enjoy these films or not. I still think it's a fun experience, especially in 3D. In an era of modern cinema plagued by awful CGI, it's genuinely refreshing to see a film where the visuals and CG are consistently gorgeous. While the story and writing have always been weak points for the franchise, this entry is particularly disappointing in how heavily it recycles previous plot beats instead of trying something new. I hope that the inevitable Avatar 4 and 5 at least take more risks with the writing.

The film is weighed down by excessive melodrama, an overly long runtime, and an overcrowded cast, many of whom are underdeveloped.

That said, this is the best work Jackie Chan has delivered in a long time. It's refreshing to see him in a dramatic role once again. Tony Leung Ka-fai is phenomenal as the antagonist, delivering a genuinely menacing performance. The film also features impressive fight choreography, thrilling cat-and-mouse chase sequences, and some well-handled quieter moments.

Hopefully, we'll get more films like this from Jackie Chan in the future.