Anthony Morales

I would describe this as Star Wars meets Saturday cartoons. Star Wars in that none of the "advanced training police/military force" is able to fight or shoot..in any scenario... at all... Instead, they are constantly bested by a rag tag group of teens with rudimentary weapons (if any)... And nobody ever stands behind any cover it uses any type of military tactic, haha. Saturday morning cartoons in that all the lead characters are overly generic and boilerplate. Everyone does exactly what you expect them to. The "surprises" are known about five minutes in advance and even less surprising than you think they would be. In general, this felt like a money grab with low creative effort in order to monetize a committed fan base.

This one's pretty underwhelming. The best character is Ben Parker and he's in an ancillary role, serving no purpose other than to tie this to the broader Spider-Man storyline. I was excited about the app female lead cast. The actual execution was all around bad: 1) Very bad voice dubbing of the villain 2) Obnoxiously obvious dialogue 3) No character depth/development 4) Unnecessary side narratives to establish "origin story" 5) At the end, I still don't understand what/how the Madame Web powers work Overall, I advise to avoid this as you can never get these 2hrs of your life back...

Overall: This keeps the theme of the first film, feeling like they gave a college student a huge budget and no oversight. Just like the first film, they can't decide if this a visual masterpiece focused on action or if it wants to build strong narratives around all the characters. In the end, it's nothing but throwaway teaser stories, subpar/obnoxious action (remember the walking dead episode where nobody could shoot each other from ten feet away?), but stunning visuals. *Note: There is a strong Star Wars copycat vibe and a nonsensical degree of homage paid to historical nazi warfare (fringe science, uniforms, and super advanced tech that has controls skin to world war two).

This had so much potential to be a cool film. Alas, it is extremely underwhelming. Either this should have been three films with stronger stories or they should have cut out half the "attempted" backstory.

Overall, the movie is fun and speaks to modern kid (social/confidence) issues. It does a pretty good job of being fun with plenty of humor. There are two things that hold it back aaaaaaand continue to erode my rating over time. 1) Adam Sandler using his stupid "Billy Madison" voice. This is the biggest factor. If he just used his normal voice (like Bill Burr), this movie is instantly better. 2) Classic Adam Sandler "pushing a joke too far." This is tolerable, but it is a drag on the film, especially the more times you see it. If you're ok with these two points, you'll greatly enjoy the film.

Summary: This is an underwhelming recreation of Zootopia that puts the diversity emphasis on immigrants. I suggest you go watch that (great) film instead. The movie creates stereotypes for each element, then tells the viewer to not judge on stereotypes. Wade is generally annoying and a constant flip flop between crybaby and emotionally intelligent hero. Ember starts out as a strong female lead that is slowly devolved throughout the film to be an emotional wreck that isn't actually confident and independent. There are some clever ways they play on the elements in daily life, but that's about it.

For those that haven't watched it yet (or in a long time), Mission Impossible 2 is a wonderfully horrible parody of EVERY stereotype from 80s/90s spy/action films. Best part is, the movie is taking itself very seriously and thinks it's consistent "jumping the shark" moments are warranted. Good news, though, it's only 2hrs of your life you can never get back. *Fun drinking game: Take a shot everytime Tom Cruise does a jump/dive/flip shot and everytime someone peels off a mask. **How did they get green lit for five more films after this?!?! #AskingForAFriend

Watch the trailer and then stick with the film you made in your mind based on the trailer. The film leaves a lot to be desired and requires you to REALLY suspend your grasp of reality/practicality. It also can't decide on what type of film it wants to be, which leaves it being generally disjointed throughout.

Not only is it a great film and look into the '08 financial crisis, it also used story telling that was far more entertaining and fun than expected.

Ryan Reynolds is great, as usual, and the surrounding cast is great on all levels. The story kept us on the edge of our seat. Highly recommended.