Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

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Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Written Review By : Adolph Vega

3D

 

Sadly the 3D element for this movie is wildly inconsistent. Many scenes the 3D was totally absent and not noticeable. Other scenes the 3D was very nice and added to the fun. One chase scene within a cave looked very nice in 3D. Another scene as people looked down a huge cliff the 3D depth was very helpful to make the height more menacing. Overall I am happy with the 3D visuals for this movie, but they are far from a necessity to enjoy the film. 

 

Final Verdict: Good 3D

 

Movie

 

 

‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ is a dramatically different movie than I expected it to be. Many times it takes the lore from the previous films and discards or changes it. Where things were previously black and white, now many shades of gray are present. Many people complained that the previous movie in this franchise (Episode VII: The Force Awakens) was too safe and too familiar, so this movie boldly treks into a new direction and is a very different kind of ‘Star Wars’ film. It is very difficult to explain why this movie is so different without spoiling the movie, so I will try to keep this review brief and as spoiler free as I possibly can.

 

‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ continues the story of Finn, Rey, Poe and more within the rebellion. The first order led by the Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren are trying to eradicate the rebellion and fully take over the galaxy. Rey seeks training and mentoring from the legendary Luke Skywalker, but is he interested in helping Rey? The movie is split up into three separate but interlinked plots. All of the plots eventually join together for an epic conclusion. This movie is very slow paced for a “Star Wars” movie. The slowness of this movie didn’t bother me because I was totally drawn into this story and the characters. The movie is beautiful to look at with stunning cinematography, fantastic special effects, excellent camera work, gorgeous locations and excellent creature design. This movie really develops the ‘Star Wars’ universe and makes for a more diverse a more complex narrative. Mark Hamill reprises his role as Luke Skywalker and I adore this older more jaded version of this character. This performance is both interesting and very different than what you might expect. I also love Carrie Fisher’s role of Leia. Leia is strong woman that has a commanding warm presence on screen. It saddens me that Carrie Fisher tragically died in 2016, and this will be her final performance in this iconic role. I really enjoyed the new character of Rose. Rose’s casino subplot may at first glance seem frivolous, but it adds more depth to the universe, and teaches a valuable lesson to several characters. Overall the story is nearly perfectly executed and I was captivated from beginning to end.

 

The movie is not perfect and I do have some minor problems with it. Some of the jokes and gags fall flat and at times the comedy feels forced. The pacing can be dramatically different depending on which subplot the movie focuses on and this can be jarring to the viewer. At times the movie purposefully teases the audience with hanging plot threads that are not fully resolved. I don’t care if all plot threads are never fully resolved, I enjoy the mysterious grandeur of it all. The issues I had with the movie are trivial and don’t dramatically hurt my enjoyment of this movie.  

 

In closing this movie is superb film making and this is my favorite “Star Wars” movie in the franchise. The movie has many fun twists and turns and at times purposely subverts the expectations of the viewer and I respect that. I can understand how some hardcore fans are exasperated by this movie, but I am wowed by it. New blood has been transfused into this long standing franchise, and future “Star Wars” movies will never be the same after this movie. ‘Last Jedi’ is more complex, more cerebral, and boldly goes where no “Star Wars” movie has gone before and I applaud it.

 

 

Final Verdict: 9 / 10, Editors Choice Movie Award

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved / © Disney. All rights reserved.

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Justice League 3D Movie Review

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Justice League 3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

3D

Overall the 3D visuals look nice and add to the enjoyment of the movie. The 3D presentation doesn’t do much with 3D depth, but it does have a good amount of pop out 3D. The pop out 3D is never overly gimmicky or excessive and it feels natural to the scenes presented within the movie. No specific scene wowed me or I found to be especially memorable because of the 3D. Justice League isn’t the best 3D presentation, but it is far from the worst and I can mildly recommend watching this movie in 3D.

Final Verdict: Good 3D

Movie

 

Justice League has been a popular comic book series since it’s debut in 1960. For several decades Warner Brothers has tried and failed to make a Justice League movie. In 2017 finally a Justice League movie was released, so how is it ? Does it live up to the hype? Can it satisfy the hopes and dreams of the fans? Recently DC comic book movies have been a fairly controversial so can this movie be something that is universally loved?

 

Justice League is the latest in the DC comics extended universe of movies and is a sequel to both Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. The movie takes place after the events of Batman v Superman. The movie starts as Batman and Wonder Woman are trying to assemble a team of super powered humans to help fight against an alien invasion. The alien invasion is from the character of Steppenwolf who is the conquerer of worlds. Can this league of super heroes put aside there differences and successfully stop the invasion? The main story of Justice League is fairly strait forward and go by fairly quickly. This movie is the first movie we have seen Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg in a live action big budget movie. The movie spends an adequate amount of time introducing these iconic characters, but I wish we had more time with them. I feel like the characters have good chemistry with one another on screen. I enjoyed some of the dialog between Wonder Woman and Batman. The flash is portrayed as comic relief and for the most part I enjoyed his jokes. I really enjoyed Aquaman and found him to be both formidable and charming. Cyborg is still trying to find his place in society and is not comfortable with powers and abilities and who he is. The Flash and Cyborg bond well with one another as they are both younger characters. The movie introduces many minor characters and at times feels overstuffed. Overall I enjoyed the characters within the movie. 

 

The worst aspect of the movie is the villain. Steppenwolf is a generic alien invader and is a weak main villain. In fairness to the movie, I have never liked the character of Steppenwolf even in the comics I found him to be largely forgettable. Steppenwolf is more or less the mid-boss to the real major villain which is Darksied. The movie goes to many locations around the world, but I don’t really feel like the world is really in danger. Steppenwolf seems powerful but not menacing and the scale doesn’t really seem global. 

 

The movie has many enjoyable action scenes and set pieces. I do feel like the characters do a good job working as a team. However the movie doesn’t do enough to highlight the specific powers and abilities of each of the heroes. Flash is fast, but he can do so much more with that ability that isn’t shown within this movie. The movie has several action scenes and they all go by so fast. Again I feel like the movie is too rushed with the action scenes. 

 

The movie has a strange sense of humor. At times it feels like a Marvel movie with the humor and how it presents itself. Some of the humor feels natural and other times it feels forced. The flash is generally a lighter more humorous character but I feel like this movie version plays it up too much. Aquaman has some very excellent timing and is more funny than I expected. Some of the humor makes the tone of the movie feel odd and unlike previous DC movies. The tone of the movie feels more like a Marvel movie and less like the darker more gritty DC movies of the last few years.

 

Justice League has many problems yet I really enjoyed myself. I was very much entertained from start to finish. The movie is rushed but it also feels tight and without much fat. The comedy is sometimes great, sometimes cringe worthy but overall I enjoyed it. The tone is all over the place, but overall I liked how it built upon the previous movies. I enjoyed my time with Justice League but I cannot deny its imperfections. I hope future DC comics movies build upon on what worked and what didn’t work within this movie and I am more optimistic on what the future holds for DC movies.

 

Final Verdict: 8/10

TM & © 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

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