(trailer review) - Rebel Moon

  

(TEASER TRAILER)

The Teaser! What was THAT garbage? Sorry, but seriously, what WAS that? In my last review, I said "I cannot say that this teaser trailer blew me away" and that was one of if not the very first thing I said. This trailer though, WOW! Lead with this! If you have read any of my Zack Snyder reviews, plus, I also said in my last review of this movie's trailer, "...I am a Zack Snyder fan" but fan or not, this trailer looks epic. I know it was a teaser but unfortunately, I do not believe that the teaser trailer helped to sell this movie to me or anyone at all, especially if you compare it to this. They definitely held back because if you look at these two trailers back to back, this trailer tells you everything and nothing about this movie, while the last trailer just gives us some very clean visuals and a whole lot of nothing. While I will say the visuals do somewhat still look fairly clean in comparison to Dune, for example, I am actually blown away by this trailer.

Whilst the last trailer intrigued me (and let's be honest, likely because of Zack Snyder), this trailer gave me 300/Gladiator vibes, Star Wars (obviously, considering), Dune, and maybe even a little Game of Thrones. I am totally down with this movie and the cast alone is excellent. Sofia Boutella, Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Ray Fisher, Ed Skrein and Anthony Hopkins. All the quality stylised imagery we expect from Zack is here. The sci-fi AND the fantasy is here. The music sounds great and I can only hope, Zack has crafted a nice little movie he can build a franchise from even though it was initially meant to be a Star Wars story. Seeing those "glowing swords/batons" felt a little forced, but other than that and the legions of soldiers standing to attention like stormtroopers, I hope this film feels nothing like Star Wars. We need something different. We need new IP and this might actually be it. The second trailer should give us a little more, but so far, this looks great.

(series review) [STREAMING] - Secret Invasion

There comes a point where you simply throw in the towel. There comes a point where you reach great heights, but the "ceiling" of your own making prevents you from soaring to new heights. The MCU has gotten to a point where, while I would have stated, they are only competing against themselves in film, yes, but in TV shows, no. With numerous other TV shows from different IPs out there creating great content, the juggernaut of comic book movies' clumsy transition and decline in TV show production is starting to dilute the brand for the fans and we are very close to throwing in the towel. With that said, the MCU's movies of late have not been great also, so we fans are maybe, closer to giving up on the franchise because mediocrity does not enthuse us, the fans. This might sound harsh and it also might paint an ugly picture of how I ultimately feel about this show, but I kid you not, this show was actually, really really good, in places...but that is the problem, in places. I'll explain.

Secret Invasion picks up after the events of 'Endgame' and we are seemingly in the middle of a Skrull invasion. Skrulls are shapeshifting aliens last seen in the 90s when Carol Danvers fought off the Kree to protect the Skrulls. Nick Fury made them a promise to find a new planet for them to live on, but several years later, the leader of a group of rebel Skrulls decides to fight for his people and lead a group of Skrulls in a fight to take the planet for themselves.

A really good premise, excellently acted by Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Ben Mendelsohn and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Emilia Clarke was decent but was not given much to do. However, Charlayne Woodard was really good for the little screen time she had and Olivia Colman was absolutely superb. And here lies the issue. With a premise like the one it has, why were only some actors written great and had some excellent conversations and interactions where they were brilliantly acted, but other characters' dialogue and interactions were not as good or well thought out. It is the execution of the storyline and the setup of some of the scenes that are simply lacking. The show had the potential to be just like Captain America: The Winter Soldier but darker with more espionage and paranoia especially when you are dealing with shape-shifting aliens who could be anyone, but the show falls short of its potential.

There is a conversation between Nick Fury and Colonel James Rhodes which was excellently written and acted out. There was a conversation between Nick Fury and Talos on a train and that was excellently written and acted out. Every scene with Sonya Falsworth, Olivia's acting to dialogue was simply a standout and stole every scene she was in, so it begs the question, how come the show ended up being as lacklustre as it was? There is a conversation between Nick Fury and Gravik, but the whole scene falls a little flat in the end and does not really make any logistical sense. The climax in the end was simply nonsensical and has left us, the viewers and especially the fans with more questions than answers for the MCU going forward.

As I have stated earlier, it is a good premise, excellent even. Great actors in great roles with amazing scenes. The dialogue in some places was excellent and the special effects were great, although limited not to mention the climax. The show touches on some points and has something to say. The music, scenes and settings are all great. So with that said, this is not a show that is trash, but it is a show that was good but could have been great and it makes you wonder what is happening at Disney. If I am honest, the show was good but was a disappointment or it is quite possible that I wanted too much from the show because I saw the potential, but I did not get the tone of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and if anything, this show is more of a letdown, an enjoyable let down, unfortunately.

(trailer review) - Loki: Season 2

I am not sure how I feel about this at this rate. I say that because the trailer for Secret Invasion looked great, gave me all the feels of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but upon watching the entire series, it was not as close as I would have liked it to have been. So in turn, this is giving me all the feels of something really good, or at least something reasonably decent like the first season of Loki, but Marvel's track rate at present is very hit-and-miss, which does not fill me with enough confidence to fully feel excited about a Marvel property, just like if I were watching a DC trailer. Harsh I know, but am I right or wrong? I have tried to stay open-minded over Marvel's Phase 4 and I do simply boil it down to Phase 1 and how nothing made any sense until we got closer to the pieces connecting, but Phase 4 just simply seems like pieces with barely any connections or loose connectivity. Where are we going? It's just confusion really. I am adamant that there is a bigger story to be told here and that the pieces are coming together, albeit very slowly, but my confidence in Marvel right now is waning 

This trailer looks authentic though. And I mean authentic in a way that, season 1 looked a specific way, was a specific way and was executed a specific way. It was simply consistent in tone and everything. This seems to be a mirror to that and at least that is a great thing. Do not try to fix what is not broken. The trailer does not give away much and most importantly, maybe this show will give us a bit more of that connective tissue 'us' Marvel or comic book fans need to help piece together this phase since Kang in Ant-Man Quantumania was great and all, but let us see where we are going with this now. Bring us into the room Marvel so we can understand better where you are heading. Tom IS Loki at this rate, so there is not much to write home about here, but Owen is just excellent. Seeing Ke Huy Quan is lovely, especially after watching a film about a Multiverse with 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', It is about time we see him everywhere because 'The Goonies' and 'Indiana Jones' among a few others is simply not enough. I think Marvel also needs to let us know where and when these events are happening in the timeline because I think all this ambiguity is also not helping us. The trailer looks solid, the acting looks solid and I sincerely hope, the writing, the story and everything about this show is up to snuff, or Marvel will have a problem on their hands.