sm b12321

I read the book last year and thought this would be a great story for adaptation. So far they are mostly following the plot. This is quality sci-fi and true character studies. All major characters must play at least two (and frequently more) versions of themselves. The star, Joel Edgerton, is fantastic as is his possible wife and other world gal pal Jennifer Connelly and Alice Braga respectively. The son and best friend Ryan are also superb. Another plus is that though some attempt is made to explain what is happening, it's kept at a layman's level. Naturally, what makes things so interesting is discovering what lies behind each door. These were a little too pat - frozen world, water world, nuclear world, pandemic world, future world, etc - but carried the story. I hate that only 7 episodes were filmed but the number for a season has been dropping for years - from 23 to 18 to 12 to 10 to 8 and now 7.

Took my granddaughter who said it was "good plus". There were some good moments but they were few and far between. I didn't get a "woke" vibe from the film as others did but despite the frenetic pace the plot was unimpressive. So few are going to the movies not because of lecturing on gender /race but due to a lack of movies with real adults in the real world. Superhero fatigue is real. I grew up with DC and Marvel comics...but I was a kid. A Hollywood friend told me sequels were not only cheaper but far easier which is why in 2022 the Top Ten were all sequels. OK, the movie. I feel you almost had to see Ms Marvel in order to get a good intro. There was a LOT of action/CGI (too much) and some of the acting was caricature than character. Humor ranged from lame to occasionally funny. The real problem is the businees - so many story lines, characters and action was crammed in, it jerked around like a tornado. In this case "less" is "more". A better narrative was desperately needed vs more action, jokes, CGI or convoluted twists. Some complain that guys angry at women leads are giving all the one star reviews but the box office tells the tale. $55 million on a 4-day opening is a disaster especially with ticket prices DOUBLE what they were five years ago. The magic has been lost somewhere along the way.