Dale Diamond-Burchuk

Atlas Fallen isn’t exactly original, but its story plays out some of my favourite fantasy tropes in an awesome, bombastic way. The gameplay is fantastic, combat is incredibly polished and satisfying, if a little button-mashy. Cool and uncomplicated rune system, I could go on. Bottom line is that fantasy doesn’t always draw me in, but Atlas was a world I wanted to explore.

The reviews are wrong. This is the cosmic Marvel tale you’ve been waiting for. Yes, there aren’t as many action scenes as a conventional MCU film, but Zhao’s storytelling and aesthetic give this movie real heart and an astounding sense of scale. While Avengers explored the difficulties of bringing together a group of mismatched heroes for the greater good (“Some Assembly Required…”), Eternals flips the script by giving us a team of superheroes who have loved each other like family from the beginning, and testing the bonds between them. The film builds the MCU’s cosmic lore surrounding the Celestials and the Deviants in a big way, while staying grounded in the relationships between the heroes. This may not be a movie for everyone; the cosmic scale is likely to make some audiences feel disconnected or anxious, and if you’re in it for the action, you might find yourself saying “When are they gonna fight???” For me though, as a Marvel fan and as a science fiction enthusiast, this film was a hell of a good time!

(Spoilers, kind of?) Disclaimer: I LOVED the first Wonder Woman film. Patty Jenkins delivered a fantastic period piece with a strong woman and a solid superhero narrative at its core. With that in mind, I went into Wonder Woman 1984 feeling optimistic. I was unimpressed. The plot is bizarre and difficult to follow at times, and I honestly found myself laughing during what was meant to be the climax, saying to myself “what the heck is even going on?” Diana comes across as rather one-dimensional compared to the first film, and her movements during action scenes sometimes felt flowy and vague compared to her precise, powerful fighting style in previous films. Lots of awkward dialogue that tells instead of shows. Diana’s golden armour at the end is kind of awkward-looking too, especially those big, unwieldy wings when they’re not being rendered with CGI. The visual effects are lacklustre in general, with a lot of the action being muddled by poorly conceived cuts. I could go on... With these things in mind, it isn’t all bad. There are funny moments and some decent (though scarce) action, and though I know many people had their issues with Barbara Minerva’s cliché character arc, I enjoyed her ferocity during the big fight scene near the end. Still, none of the good could salvage my impression of the film. In conclusion... go watch WandaVision for your next dose of lady power, because Wonder Woman 1984 is not it.

Don’t listen to the critics. This one had me from the moment the title crawl began; I didn’t love The Last Jedi, but Rise of Skywalker revived the magic of Star Wars for me.