Max G. (Max)

Literally couldn't get out of my seat after it ended until the credits finished. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya give the greatest performance of their careers and suggest that they will be two of the most talented actors of their generation. Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, and Stellan Skarsgård are phenomenal antagonists, each never fully revealing their secrets. Shoutout to Christopher Walken and Anya Taylor-Joy for making a strong impression with their cameos. Denis Villeneuve once again crafts an Arrakis that looks and feels beyond real, right down to each grain of spice. The CGI and practical effects meld in the most stunning way, one not outshining the other. The Harkonnen stronghold, the Emperor's Palace, and Sietch Tabr are a masterful showcase of production design across very different aesthetics. Given the success of both films and the greenlighting of the Bene Gesserit prequel streaming series, I sincerely hope that Warner Brothers will allow Denis and his team to finish out Paul's story with an adaptation of "Dune: Messiah".

If you don't understand the meaning of camp, then this movie isn't for you. Not everything is going to be artsy, obvious Oscar bait. Sometimes you just need to suspend disbelief for 2 hours and laugh. This is one of Matthew Vaughn's best movies, with a phenomenal cast who understood the assignment and obviously had a blast. Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell have insane chemistry, Bryan Cranston and John Cena are delightfully unhinged, Catharine O'Hara is always a pleasure to see on screen, and Henry Cavill makes even more of a case to cast him as the next Bond. Go see it, have some popcorn and a soda, and enjoy yourself.

What a warm, enveloping welcome back to Pandora. The first film provided the ultimate escape from my situation at that time, and the same can be said of this one. Is it perfect? No. But Sam Worthington and the rest of the cast (with minimal exceptions) provide nuanced, stellar performances which simultaneously inspire you and remind you that no species is free from making mistakes. As soon as the Sully clan entered the ocean region of the Metkayina, that’s when the tears began to fall. James Cameron is a master of setting the scene, making the audience feel like they’re there, even in a standard 2D format. If this is anything to go off of, I can’t wait for Avatar 3.

My actual rating: 8.5/10 Pros: Character development as a whole, gorgeous visuals, the dynamic between Barbara (aka Cheetah) and Diana, the score, uplifting message, overall plot, a number of witty one-liners, Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig’s performances, and a mid-credits scene giving the OG Wonder Woman Lynda Carter (!!!) a cameo Cons: The lore behind the Dreamstone (which I initially expected to be a Chaos Crystal) is discussed and then ignored, Steve’s return is kind of cliche, Barbara’s initial characterization is basically “stereotypical helpless nerd”, the way Pedro Pascal’s Latino heritage is addressed is pretty racist, Maxwell Lord’s son didn’t really need to be in it, but above all else, Diana was heavily underutilized Any reviews describing Maxwell Lord as an analog for Trump are WAY OFF. Lord has a heart and genuinely has a reason for what he does. Trump has neither. I’ll wrap up by saying that while Hollywood as a whole is dominated by white cis-het men, the superhero film genre is one of the least equitable. Reviewers and neckbeard fanboys decrying the film’s feminist ideology, Patty Jenkins’ skill as a director and Gal Gadot’s take on Diana Prince need to take several seats and calm the h*** down. Also, stop comparing DC to Marvel. They’re two separate studios with very different films. Don’t judge DC fans. You can’t laud superhero films with male protagonists by male directors and then get offended when a powerful, independent woman takes the lead. Well, you can, but then congratulations you jerk, you’re a misogynist.

Sometimes a movie just seeps into the deepest part of your soul and quietly removes a piece of your heart, and you don’t realize it until the spell of the cinema is broken and the lights come back on. I have not yet read the book, but based on the film alone, I felt such a strong connection to the characters, especially Theo, and could comprehend the relationships between him and the people around him, especially Pippa, Hobie and Mrs. Barbour (a task not always accomplished in a film). The usage of light, music and the landscape were incredible, as were the performances of the cast. Even Theo’s father and Xandra, who could have been played as comic relief, had depth to them, which I feel is a testament to the actors as well as the director and screenwriter. A cast is only as strong as it’s script and director. I also greatly appreciated the way they handled Boris’s apparent bisexuality, so that it was more fraternal love (as between brothers) than a cheap joke. Proud to work for a company that created a handful of suits for Ansel Elgort in the film. I highly recommend that everyone sees this film.