M. C. – Google

Want the review? Here’s what to know: •There’s a very expensive ensemble of legendary actors in this film, and their costumes based on the video game characters are tailored well. •The set designers, makeup artists, vfx, director and cinematographers did a great job in designing and capturing the scenes (we get a brief view of different scenes that take place on Pandora). •Unfortunately the screenplay was very flat and uninspired. It is a miracle they were able to meet the run time considering how little the actors had to do throughout the film. •If you’re new to the Borderlands franchise-This film gives a very minimal understanding of what the franchise is about. •If you’re a Borderlands fan that played the games, there’s not much here for you aside from seeing your favorite characters come alive. From such a storied franchise (trust me, the lore within the games has depth), there’s a handful of references and easter eggs, including the ending/credits scene that doesn’t really offer much fandom. Overall: My opinion is that many good decisions were made to get the look and feel right, but unfortunately the writing never manifested itself. The writing team seems to be unfamiliar with the franchise and it is ultimately reflected on-screen. Also the PG-13 rating could work, still did no favors for the story beats of what this franchise is about and I believe that if this was turned into a 8-12 episodes series by an interested network (cast could be recasted) or an animated series, (where these voices could work. Although, the original voices would be better) the showing would’ve been much stronger. But for now, this is the best we’ll get and since it failed at the box office, it might be high-noon for our vault hunters outside of the gaming industry. Positive note: Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Hart are fun (even if the film isn’t). As a standalone, the film isn’t all bad, but it’s not a good borderlands reference-filled film, and it isn’t any special in any other space. This film sits side by side with films such as Rampage, Morbius, Madame Webb, etc., as another film that exists but isn’t universally acclaimed.

Major Spoiler Alert: This gem focused on what it would be like if Batman teamed up w/ Harley Quinn. Animated in a style similar to the Batman The Animated series from the ‘90’s, the film delivered a borderline R-rated approach in several themes, ranging from comedy, dark humor, slapstick to more serious matters, while also teasing and explaining the world of Batman to the audience. This script was so well written, you would’ve thought the Clown Prince of Darkness wrote it himself (even if he didn’t make an appearance), there’s a sense that someone knows their Batman lore. For example, this film had a Swamp Thing crossover, while discussing the whereabouts of the JLA & the relationships between super heroes and super villains. It constantly made references to past Batman eras, while still keeping its originality and charm. Personally I loved it, the voice acting was superb and it was funny throughout. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough exploration between Batman and Harley, but I very much appreciated the twist and spin on this story as well, even if some ideas were short of glory. Definitely recommend watching if you love Batman/ Lego Batman/ Batman the Animated series or are a fan of Nightwig, Poison Ivy or Harley.

Darkseid never looked worse. It’s fitting that the credits rolled to a drawing board because much of this film felt rough & unedited. The strengths of this film were its animation, but its writing committed an injustice due to the need to keep it fast paced. As a result, there were plenty of inconsistencies in the way that the characters were portrayed, such as their unclear motives, the intervals in their intelligence, much of these heroes were either geniuses that immediately knew the solution to their problems or were completely incompetent goofs for the sake of adding comedy. Many of the ideas that the writers would introduce, seemed like they were discarded as soon as they were introduced, without any clear direction or reason. Overall, I felt that this film was best showcased at the 1 hour, 9 minutes mark, where a blinded enemy is seen being used as a punching bag. This could possibly be one of the worst DC movies made in recent years & left a lot of things to be desired, but the scene where the heroes showed cohesion in teamwork during their fight was brilliantly done. If I could rename it, I would name it “Justice League: Beatdown”.

As an animated film, it’s probably a 3/5 stars, but as a Pokémon film it’s a solid 4/5. The filmography for this franchise has never been great, but people love them because of their connection to their generation of games. Usually the story isn’t very concise or interesting & is meant to advertise key Pokemon tied to an upcoming event. The same was present in this film, as it referenced the Let’s Go Eevee & Pikachu games, & Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon for the Nintendo Switch & 3DS respectively. A lot of exposition on my part, But hold on....With all that in mind, this film surprisingly delivered a moderately good story, that was funny in some parts, touching in others & kept good pacing. Unfortunately many of the usual flaws stand out, such as the narrative losing focus & direction, but the story was enjoyable nonetheless & that’s a great step in the right direction for these films. If you haven’t seen it & have fallen out of touch with the franchise, many of your favorite pocket monsters make a cameo guaranteeing you your fair share of nostalgia.