Supergirl review

 

Superhero films are not generally a lot of fun when there’s serious world saving to be done yet Supergirl ,while it does have some darker hues to its story, is light and breezy enough to make you smile. Unlike the most recent Superman its clear his cousin takes her responsibilities a lot less seriously even if tis is covering up for traumatic past issues. The relatively small stakes of the plot compared with the other films of this ilk do make it more amenable to those less familiar with the backstory. In tone Supergirl lines up more with something like Guardians of the Galaxy. And, yes, the music is very loud!

Spoilers after the break.

 

Superman (2025) review

 

The umpteenth attempt to revive the perpetually ailing DC Comics film universe sees the best-known superhero in what is more of James Gunn film than a Superman one. The director / writer’s scrappy, humour heavy, music laced style is all over this movie. While it sometimes works in isolated scenes there is an overall sense of a cluttered canvas in which too much is happening and too many characters are involved. At the same time the fundamentals of storytelling are too easily skipped over in favour of effects heavy set pieces. There was no point during watching when I felt really excited about anything on screen and with an over reliance on special effects, especially the last section, the results are undoubtedly spectacular but strangely uninvolving.

Spoilers after the break... 

Blue Beetle film review

 

This film was apparently originally intended to go directly onto to streaming yet thankfully has ended up on the big screen where it actually belongs. There is a case though that it might have benefitted from being released in a less crowded period which is replete with superhero and action movies but I’ve given up trying to discern DC’s motives which are as opaque and contradictory as Elon Musk's. Is this the last of the old universe or the first of the new one? Never mind about that, instead let’s enjoy this quirky origin story that is essentially untied from all that baggage and given a chance to stand on its own two feet. Or however many feet beetles have. Yes, there are elements of the plot that you will correctly guess long before they happen and yet the overall package is so likeable and frantic, so well performed and constructed that you can overlook such things and just enjoy it.

Review- The Flash

 

I’ll say it right away- this is a great film. Funny, exciting, occasionally poignant and always visually arresting it is more or less what you want from a trip to the movies. However, there is of course a lot of baggage surrounding The Flash and superhero movies in general. If it flops it will be the fourth live action superhero film in a row to underperform after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol3, Shazam – Fury of the Gods and Quantumania. What may at first have seemed like unlucky coincidence is beginning to look like long term decline. The Flash has the extra hurdle in that after a catalogue of incidents and allegations, the film’s star is sort of cancelled but sort of not, an unsatisfactory half-life for all concerned. Still, I suppose superhero films thrive on excess of all kinds and the best thing is to watch a film with an open mind and try not to be distracted by the noise around it.

 

Shazam! Fury of the Gods review

 

As a big fan of the first movie, I was looking forward to reuniting with the Shazamily and this sequel surpasses my expectations. It is bold, pacy and packed with loads of action plus quite a bit of humour. And it’s features Helen Mirren! Critics seem sniffier and bad word of mouth is spreading but all I can say is that this film is hugely enjoyable and feels fresh despite the zillions of superhero movies we’ve all seen in recent years.

Some spoilers after the break....

The Suicide Squad

Sort of a sequel to Suicide Squad (presumably the next will be titled Thee Suicide Squad) this madcap rollercoaster almost defies you to dislike it with enough thunder to kick up quite a cinematic storm. The premise is the same as the first film with some more wayward superheroes added into the mix yet some of the lessons of that first film have not really been learned. Its overcrowded and shouty with a Big Bad so preposterous that when I type it after the break I will not believe I am actually typing it nor that I actually saw it. Though macho arrogance is the movie’s calling card the best performances and the most interesting characters are all female. Sparks of intelligence are snuffed out by repetitive violence. Yet out of this melee there is a film you can definitely enjoy at least while you’re watching it.

 Ludricous spoilers after the break

 

Birds of Prey review

The colourful adventures of Harley Quinn continue in this sort of sequel to Suicide Squad which paints a familiar yet still entertaining picture of the criminal underworld of Gotham. As a narrative it works hard to disguise its similarity to sundry other movies with time shifts and rather a lot of narration but succeeds largely due to a winning performance from Margot Robbie. Given that Harley is not exactly the most law abiding of people it is her spirited acting and the film’s sense of anarchic fun which enables Birds of Prey fly.

Shazam! review

In this lively addition to DC’s otherwise serious catalogue of superheroes we find out what happens when a fourteen year old boy becomes an adult man of many powers simply by shouting “Shazam!” It’s not actually his name as it goes; in fact the film is amusingly peppered with potential namesbut for obvious legal reasons he can’t really be called Captain Marvel as he was named in the original comics. The premise is reminscent of those Eighties bodyswap movies- and there’s a little homage to Big included – only with super powers. And it’s great fun!

Spoilers from hereon..

Justice League

Considering all the flak Justice League had had hurled towards it my expectations were fairly low however while far from perfect this is an enjoyable enough big budget movie best seen in a cinema. It still seems far too soon for these avengers to assemble when only one of them has had their own film but given those limitations the results are better than expected with some interesting script ideas and well delivered action.

Spoilers past this point

Wonder Woman

Go Gal! DC films lift off at last!

Thanks to Gal Gadot’s personal charisma Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman was about the only good thing in the otherwise clunky Batman Vs Superman so expectations for her own film were high and pleasingly the result exceeds those hopes. This is a terrific movie perfectly handled by director Patty Jenkins to kick start the DC movie universe properly. It is the equal of most of the Marvel films with which it shares a storytelling and action dynamic that keeps the audience involved from beginning to end.

Spoilers past this point…