Southeast Asian Devil

About 10 minutes in, I quit watching patiently; I skipped forward a couple of times. I don't know exactly what I hate about the film. Maybe because there were too many things to scream at in frustration -- the writing, the choice of protagonist, the unnecessary scenes, the dialogues, the stupid build-up and the characters development. What a waste this film is built on a good premise but they just didn't know how to make it work. It's like giving all the expensive automobile parts and components to a company to build a Ferrari from them only for the company to build a bicycle out of it. Forgive my English, you know what I mean. Btw, you don't draw using a gel pen on a paper napkin and expect to have a neat drawing. The paper property will instantly smear the ink.

I think they were right about Superheroes fatigue or men with special ability to dodge bullets, gifted with unlimited amount of luck, and are unkillable no matter who you throw at them. You just can’t feel anything for them anymore. That’s the reason I stopped watching TV series after a couple of episodes. But not this one. This one had me binge-watched the whole eight episodes in a single weekend; no skip-forward. The Terminal List sucked me into the journey of James Reece as he went on a rampage to execute his sordid sense of justice from Syria to the marine base to Mexico to Pentagon to Peru. I didn’t know what comes next. But it got interesting as the level of danger was up another notch. This one got me nervous. I feared for the protagonist’s safety, worried he’ll make a common mistake, like getting soft for a woman and falling for her honey, or spare the antagonist whom we know has been good and likable. Nope! James Reece screws the typical morally-correct image and shoots your nice guy point-blank. *Spoiler* That’s a mercy kill considering what he can do worse, like disembowelled a villain, pin one end of the intestine to a pillar and commanded the limping man to walk. Even after a respectable lady had her career ruined and was guaranteed for jail he still wanted his bullets to have the final say. In case we thought enough blood had been shed flashbacks of his slain daughter and wife continue to remind us why the hunt must continue. That’s the only part about the series I found to be repetitive and overkill. But I’m sure I felt that way because I watched many episodes back to back in a single sitting. There was also the likes of Rambo 1 in one episode. If James Reece had jumped off the cliff onto the tree canopy below I would have quit the series there and then. But, no, he had a better idea. He blew up the mountain. I commended Chris Pratt for his role as James Reece. He spots the look of a virtuous, God-fearing, law-abiding family man. Then he turned into a merciless killing beast. The irony is dope. The rest of the cast. Owh this one is top-tier. Each one of them carried their roles perfectly, including the little daughter in the Mexican hacienda. The Woke Brigades may have unfavourable things to say about this series. But, hey, I’m from Southeast Asia. This is what the world wants to see.

I don't understand why some people made a big fuse about Cruise's size and height playing Jack Reacher. I've seen two Jack Reachers -- Alan Ritchson and Tom Cruise. One is a giant, the other is Mission Impossible! Now you go watch Jack Reacher 2012 once again, and mentally put the bigger man in Tom Cruise's place. Picture the giant being sharp, always a step ahead, able to disappear in the crowd, uttering clever lines, doing all the math, making deductions from facts, and successfully making you worried about his safety in dire situations. Does that fit Alan Ritchson? A box-office bomb possibly. So the fanatics want to stay true to the book character. What is 6'5 must be 6'5, what is a man must not be a woman. Okay then please explain to me why people can accept Anne Boleyn being black, not white. She's a historical figure mind you. You cannot enjoy Jack Reacher's story if the book continues to stand between you and the TV screen.

Although I watched only the English dub I still enjoyed this movie tremendously. The writing may need improvement but the plot twists are making up for it. The cinematography is good. 5 stars to the fight choreography, especially those which involved Marten (Aleksandr Kuznetsov). His fight style and speed as well as his arrogance during combat reminded me of Achilles (Brad Pitt) in Troy. I've watched many action movies and I know I can lose interest easily. But this one kept me entertained till the end. Thank you, Russians.

When a young teen girl can wrestle a male MMA fighter and brawl with a male assassin I stopped watching. The woke people will enjoy this movie.

Could have used better writing. It was a drag. The jump scare in many parts was meaningless. Only the last 15 minutes was worth it, esp the stare down between Riddick and the creature. And that's the only time you'd see Riddick being Riddick. Most of the time he's just Vin Diesel. Typecast. 2 stars out of 5. One for the try-hard. The second one is for the lady pilot surprised ending.

Liam Neeson's acting is spot on, as always. I only have issues with the money in the bag. Blame the writers. Jim Hanson, a desperate man who couldn't pay his loan on his home, said everyone has a choice. So he chose to burn the money bequeathed to him. So what's the point of showing him broke in the first place? Who would refuse money? Unless you know you'll be dead the next day. But if you care so much about a boy who was made orphan a few days earlier wouldn't you want to give the money to Sarah or the boy's relatives to keep for Miguel's education and all? No doubt Miguel refused the money, too, but that's only a small boy making a decision. Adults should know better. My next issue is how an experienced war veteran, a marine corp nonetheless, did not have the foresight the bad guys could track them all the way to Chicago, potentially leaving a trail of destruction along the way -- and he is leading them. If I was the writers, Jim would use the credit card one more time. And the baddies would track him based on the transaction information. Only to be confronted by a loaded sniper rifle at the end of the field, killing them all with ease. Being an old man in a movie does not mean you must end up dead like Logan and Gran Torino to make an impact. If I was the writers, Jim would survive.

Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher 1.0 is an excellent choice for the role because at that time a vast majority of viewers don't know what JR is capable of doing. The element of surprise hits home. By the time JR 2.0 comes to screen the viewers already anticipated bone-crushing hand combat action with speed and precision; brutal measures for the greater good. Here's where somebody like Jason Statham, Liam Neeson or Tom Hardy would fit in the role of JR 2. Neeson get my first vote. Any of these guys also can spot the look of someone who has little emotion, is no-nonsense type of guy, someone who has no bounds but at the same time can pass as an average Joe in the street to blend in the crowd. Side note: I'm not sure Cobie Smulders as Major Susan pulled the job as good as Rosamund Pike did in Jack Reacher 1.

John Wick 1 showed the Cause. John Wick 2 showed the Consequences. John Wick 3 should have focused primarily on politics this time around. Because that's the only entertainment left there is about Mr Wick's journey to salvation considering the 15 million contract on his head. I truly enjoyed the scenes showing the Continental Manager's sense of the constitution and the Bowery King's demand for autonomy. I had hoped to see at the end of the free-for-all king-of-the-hill saga that the Continental, the Bowery, the Casablanca and the Babayaga come to some agreement to wage war on globalist dominance and impunity, the High Table that is. After all, that's the parody portrayed in the John Wick's franchise, isn't it? It's okay with the excessive violent fighting scenes, especially the horse and dog scenes, but the other fight scenes shouldn't have dragged on for far too long because we've seen all that in the first two series. My humble request, please don't kill the character of the Concierge; bring back the undertaker aka dinner reservation; give John Wick SW500 handgun; and replace Halle Berry she appears stupid and impulsive for the grand scheme of things.

Having a little trouble catching up on some words they uttered on TV, especially the Irish accent, given that I'm a not a native English speaker and also because I'm so used to watching American blockbusters. But a great stuff is a great stuff regardless if one can understand English perfectly well or not. The cinematography, the screenplay, the cast, and even the theme song have conspired to make this series the best. Don't leave this planet until you have watched it. By order of Peaky Fooking Blinders!