Rohan Mahapatra

Todd Phillips has done another masterful job here, with this surreal take on the tragic anti-hero. His compelling and confident direction is very much on display, lifting the straightforward narrative out of the ordinary and, indeed, any genre. Full marks must also go to the two wonderful leads - Joaquin Phoenix has completely immersed himself in the character, once again, and, I have to say, deepened his expression of the troubled killer to a fascinating degree.

Gorgeous sets and costumes, remarkable performances by Stone, Defoe and a scene-stealing Ruffalo cannot quite save this self-aware oddity of a movie. The story tips it hat to Frankenstein, with the story of a damaged yet brilliant doctor, Godwin Baxter (played by a superb Willem Defoe) performing a radical, life-resurrecting procedure on the body of a girl who had thrown herself from London Bridge. Child-like (hint) and with no memories from her previous life, the girl, now named Bella Baxter (Stone) is carefully tutored until the day comes she wishes to see the outside world for herself and leaves under the dubious ‘care’ of a noted bounder, Duncan, played wonderfully by Mark Ruffalo. The Lisbon scenes are breathtaking and Bella’s naive embrace of new experiences are skillfully juxtaposed against the unexpected obsession for Bella that the cad Duncan is beginning to be tortured by

The game started off promising but quickly fell short of expectations. What should have been an immersive Star Wars experience often felt like playing a completely different game. More than half of the missions involved tedious parkour, with far more climbing than engaging with enemies. It felt more like Assassin’s Creed or Uncharted, which isn’t what I signed up for. The game also feels underdeveloped, with a repetitive storyline focused on climbing and repetitive missions. There are no meaningful Jedi encounters—just endless skirmishes with the four factions you’re trying to gain reputation with. The ability to join the Rebellion, the Empire, or become a Jedi would have added much-needed depth. Unfortunately, Ubisoft’s involvement seems to have steered this game off course, and their recent statement that we don’t actually own the games we’ve purchased only adds to the disappointment.