20s Movie Review - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Director: Ryan Coogler
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 23: A FILM THAT’S PART OF A SERIES OR FRANCHISE
 
Description: The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mounr the death of King T’Challa.

Review: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the long-awaited sequel to the superhero “Black Panther”. This first film was received with mainly positive reviews and earned a lot of awards. Opinions about the sequel vary widely.

The film begins emotional, where the people of Wakanda are saying goodbye to King T’Challa. Actor Chadwick Boseman portrayed this character in 2018, but sadly passed away in the summer of 2020. So, the fact that there is a sequel without the main character is, so to say, very particular. And unfortunately, we could have done without this movie.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” feels like a film made out of respect for Boseman. Which is of course a beautiful thing and there is nothing wrong with that. But because of this, the humor that the first film had, is almost totally absent. Maybe for a fear of disrespect? And you miss Boseman, therefore the reason I believe this movie was not really necessary.

The film is also too long. With its almost 3-hour runtime, it’s too long to stay engaging and interesting.
One thing I did love, is the strong female presence. It’s, for the most part, female characters that carry this film. And Angela Bassett steals every scene she is in. Bassett is the strongest performer in the film.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Fall Guy

Director: David Leitch
Genre: Action/ Comedy
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2024
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, Teresa Palmer
 
Description: A down-and-out stuntman (Ryan Gosling) must find the missing star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) of his ex-girlfriend’s (Emily Blunt) blockbuster film.  

Review: The profession of stuntman is often undervalued in Hollywood. It’s a pretty thankless role, because no one knows who you are and the actors take all the credit. So, it’s high time the stuntman is put in the spotlight.

Director David Leitch pays an homage to the many anonymous stunt people. We meet stuntman Colt Seavers. For years, he has been working as the regular stuntman for movie star Tom Ryder. Colt understands his craft and has a romance with camerawoman Jody Moreno. When Colt performs a new stunt on set in which he has to fall of a tall building, things go wrong. He breaks his back and realizes he has to retire from the stunt business. He also stops talking to Jody. When a year and a half later, he is contacted by producer Gail, Colt hesitates. But when he finds out that it’s Jody who is directing the movie, he decides to make a comeback.

“The Fall Guy” is an entertaining and visually stunning action flick. It’s pretty obvious that director David Leitch previously made “Deadpool 2” and “Bullet Train”. The same type of humor. Which I enjoyed. The film is, sadly, fairly predictable. The chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt is really strong and I loved both actors in this film.

“The Fall Guy” is a great time, but it’s also a bit forgettable in the end.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Movie Review - Spenser Confidential

Director: Peter Berg
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Action
Runtime: 111 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin

Description: When two Boston police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) teams up with his no-nonsense roommate Hawk (Winston Duke) to take down criminals.

Review: After five years of imprisonment, former cop Spenser is a free man again. He ended up in jail for wanting to expose corruption within the police department. Because he doesn’t wat to stay in Boston due to this, he decides to leave for Arizona and become a truck driver. But when two cops are killed and he suspects foul play, he takes matter in his own hands and investigates the case.
Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg have a hard time saying goodbye to each other. They have worked together several times and “Spenser Confidential” marks their fifth collaboration.
I didn’t expect any kind of masterpiece or any originality. It’s a somewhat enjoyable film, when you don’t want to think to much. But my big problem with this film is the lack of focus. And with that I mean the focus on what genre it is. Sometimes the film feels like a crime drama, at times it’s a buddy-cop type of movie with some comedy and there are moments that “Spenser Confidential” is a rock hard action flick. It’s obvious they couldn’t find a balance between these genres and it’s really hard to define what it actually is. And with that, there is hardly any character development and the story is very predictable. And when it comes to characters, I found Cissy really annoying and she felt like a stereotypical Boston character instead of an actual human being.
At the end, they even hint to a sequel, which I would say no to. Because “Spenser Confidential” is, even though at times entertaining, not a very good film.

Rating: 2 / 5

Movie Review - Us

Director: Jordan Peele
Genre: Thriller/ Horror
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Madison Curry

Description: A family's serenity turns to chaos when a group of doppelgängers begins to terrorize them.

Review: With the psychological thriller “Get Out”, comedian Jordan Peele made one of the most praised directorial debuts ever. But it’s not always a guarantee for a great second film. The expectations were sky high and over-ambitious plots have ruined directors before. But not Jordan Peele. “Us” is another fantastic film.
“Us” focusses on the Wilson family, who are terrorized by a group of doppelgängers during their summer vacation in Santa Cruz. They don’t only look the same, but also think the same. And they want to end the Wilsons. Peele doesn’t only bring an original twist to the standard home invasion story. But it’s best to view this film without too much information.
It’s tempting to compare “Us” to “Get Out”, but they definitely have one thing in common: originality. Peele does have other ambitions then for his debut and chooses a different approach. The biggest difference is that “Us” is pure horror. It circles around the terror and chaos the Wilson go through. The story is less structured and the viewer is constantly being scared.
But this is exactly where Peele shines. He is a visually skilled director and his writing is excellent. It’s all about suspense here. Peele manages to create uncomfortable tension. He learned a lot from John Carpenter and Alfred Hitchcock.
Peele didn’t completely let his roots go, because he used his comedic talent as well. “Us” has humor and it’s mostly Winston Duke that lets us laugh. He plays dad Drew and manages to not overdo it with the comedy and keep it perfectly balanced. And the entire Winston family does a fantastic job. Because they all have to play two roles, who are very different from each other. But the real star is Lupita Nyong’o, without a doubt. She is mother Adelaide, but also the leader of the creepy doppelgängers. Nyong’o is intense, touching, tough and it’s a phenomenal performance.
“Us” maybe not as subtle as “Get Out”, but overall it’s just as good. And the climax is really strong and unexpected. Just like I wanted it. I hope that Jordan Peele can keep up this level and keeps on making strong, original horror films like this. Because originality is very rare in Hollywood these days.

Rating: 5/ 5