After being stuck in production hell for almost ten years, The Flash has finally seen the light of day and come out. Of course, that omits many other things, mainly how problematic (and fighty) Ezra Miller has gotten in the last couple of years. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you are lucky if you want to know more; Google is your friend. But we are here to talk about the movie, not them (Ezra is non-binary) being “a bit” of a nuisance. And after the epic trailers and all the talks about how this is one of the best superhero movies ever made, it was… ok.

Look, you definitely won’t have a bad time with The Flash. If you can separate the art from the artist, get past some PlayStation 2 level of CGI and make peace with the fact that nothing you see in this movie matters because the DCEU is being rebooted under James Gunn‘s supervision. And I think all of these factors combined have contributed to my enjoyment of this movie, respectively, the issues I had with it. When I was in the cinema, I laughed a few times, but never too loud. When some of those emotional scenes came about, I was touched (luckily not by Ezra), but nothing that would ever stick with me long-term. And when the movie tries to end by teasing us: “Hey, there could have been a sequel!” and you remember that there is no chance in hell that will happen, you get… not underwhelmed, more like whelmed.

That’s why I stand by my title and will say the biggest issue this movie has is being the fast food equivalent of a film. It does the job and will “fill you up” when you need it, but it doesn’t give you anything nutritious or anything that will stick with you for a long time. When I got home from the cinema, not even an hour after the movie’s ended, and I reflected back on it, I discovered this feeling of “meh”. I mostly enjoyed myself at the moment, but even those cool moments didn’t stay with me for too long after it.

What also didn’t help was the trailers gave away too much. I have seen many scenes frequently in front of other movies (like the shot of Supergirl punching through the missile) and therefore lost all the impact they could have had. For example, imagine for a moment a world where you would sit down, not knowing Michael Keaton was back as Batman in this movie. Imagine how awesome that would be, and I know I would have enjoyed myself more. But the marketing campaign was built on that, and with that, I’ve also seen many of his scenes/lines that could have been much better had they been left out of those trailers. I understand why the studios felt like they “must” market this movie like this; after all, he is the biggest star in this movie, but still…

The movie plays with the idea of time travel, multiverses and how changing one tiny thing in the past changes everything. I imagine when they started the development of this movie, it would have been a pretty rad and new concept, but when there is still a movie in the cinemas playing alongside The Flash that takes this concept and talks about it in a more nuanced way (yes, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023, my review here)), it’s difficult for this movie. And let’s not even talk about the Oscar-winning movie Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022, my review here) that quickly made its way into my top five movies of all time. That’s the thing The Flash was stuck in this development hell where the idea that was once new and fresh now feels stale and done much better by other movies.

I enjoyed the others, not advertised cameos, but even those felt like: “Hey, look here, you like this actor/character, so here they are!” without having any meaningful impact on the movie. You could argue the last cameo at the very end should have been impactful, but again, knowing we will never get a sequel that would expand on it, it feels pointless and falls flat.

I have enjoyed Sasha Calle (Supergirl), even though her character had to have the “development speed run”, so she could stand with our protagonists in the final battle. I wouldn’t mind having a movie with her, and it seems there is one in development already, but honestly, with the state of DCEU… I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t happen for another decade. I thought she did a great job with the relatively little she was given.

Also, let’s talk quickly about CGI. Yes, I understand that (apparently) it was a choice to have the movie look like it, but… That’s like me saying: “I choose to paint horribly.” when in fact, I don’t know how to paint. Somebody pointed out that (especially in the scenes where Flash travels back in time) the characters look like from PlayStation 2 era, and that comparison is spot on. And I say this as someone who has never owned a PS2 but has seen many games from that era. Intentional or not, it was a questionable, “rubbery” choice.

Overall, The Flash was over-hyped, and that’s saying it mildly. The movie is not bad by any measure. Well, except for the CGI, the cameo fest that didn’t matter, and the fact the entire film doesn’t matter… ok; actually, it might be bad. But I had a good enough time in the cinemas and some moments worked for me that I will be “nice”. Had this movie come out 5/6 years ago, it might have been an event. Now it feels stale, awkward (because of Ezra), and the brief flashes (some pun intended) of greatness remind us what could have been. The Flash is truly the McDonald’s of films, it does the job for 140 minutes, and you will forget about it the next day.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Olivia Wilde‘s follow-up to Booksmart (2019, a film I enjoyed) was supposed to be brilliant. I remember when the first trailer dropped, and I couldn’t wait to watch it. But then, the behind-the-scenes drama started to unravel (google “Don’t Worry Darling behind the scenes drama” or “Don’t Worry Darling Shia LaBeouf“), the second trailer dropped and didn’t do much for me, and then, the awkward promos for this movie, trying to pretend like everything is/was fine whilst they were making it… Oh yeah, the fact this movie got middling reviews also didn’t help, and I just kind of forgot about this movie until it arrived on one of my streaming platforms, where I finally caught it the other day. And… yeah, there are some issues.

I can’t decide whether this movie’s biggest problem is its predictability or whether it’s the fact that the film is as deep as a kiddie pool. Don’t Worry Darling desperately wants to be a movie about something larger than itself, but it doesn’t “walk the walk”; so to speak. Every time I thought we were finally examining something (an idea, story element, side character) in depth, the movie said: “Nah, forget about it!” It was frustrating as there were some hints of brilliance, but everything was very surface-level.

For example, a big part of this film is knowing something is wrong here. And if you have seen literally a few movies in your life, you can safely predict the big “twist”. Which is fine; sometimes, it’s not about the destination, it is more about how you get there and the road you take. That is when I thought the movie has to put the cards on the table and will finally explore its main characters for us to understand them. And no, that doesn’t happen. We see glimpses of something that should give you everything you should need, but that fell flat for me. For a film that wanted to be this big piece about freedom and feminism and seemed to be exploring ideas of leadership, faith and ignorance, it does very little work, and instead, it focuses on the aesthetics of the 1950s more than anything else. Don’t Worry Darling may be one of the best examples of “style over substance”, unfortunately.

The one major thing this movie had going for it was Florence Pugh. Her character carries this movie on her tiny frame, and at times, it feels almost undeserved. I would love to compliment other actors, as there were many great ones here (from Olivia to Chris Pine, KiKi Layne, Gemma Chan or Timothy Simons), but unfortunately, neither made an impression because they were not given anything compelling. Take Chris Pine and Gemma Chan – they play a couple in this movie. We understand he is evil, but do we ever learn why? Without going into spoilers, no. We never find out why he does “it” or how “it” came about. Gemma Chan had two decent scenes, and her final one was supposed to be impactful, but it wasn’t because we don’t know anything about her! Is she also evil? Or did she spot her chance? There are a couple more questions about her character, but asking those would be “spoilery”, so I won’t. But her final scene was wasted because we have never learned anything about her or Pine’s character. They just exist.

That brings me to Harry Styles. Look, is he the best actor? No. Was he bad? Also no. He was… ok. His performance was perfectly “serviceable” in this film, but again, we learned next to nothing about him. And we should have, given what we find out about his character later on, really should have spent more time on/with him to understand his motivations besides the five-minute scene that was supposed to give us all we needed. The problem with that scene was it felt very two-dimensional. Don’t Worry Darling wants to play this complex 5D chess game about life, freedom and choices (or lack thereof), but it shoots itself in both legs when we are given the bare minimum about all our characters. And don’t get me started on that ending that pretends to be hopeful (?), but in reality, it’s not, and I don’t think the movie realises that.

I feel like Olivia has bitten more than she could chew for her second feature. I like her, but I have to say, she shouldn’t have directed this movie as it felt… weird. There were choices made that would every now and then take me out of the film (like having the camera spin in circles when a few of our characters are having a conversation) but most importantly, this feels like a movie that we have seen so much already, you have to bring something new. Subvert the genre, do something different, don’t give us the bare minimum with barely two-dimensional characters and call it a day. Imagine how this material would have looked in the hands of someone like Jordan Peele or Christopher Nolan. You know, directors who understand how to subvert expectations and take you on a journey you won’t forget. Unlike this movie, I struggle to remember now, and it hasn’t been even a week since I saw it!

Overall, Don’t Worry Darling is one of the luckiest movies ever because it had Florence Pugh, who singlehandedly, uplifted it above average. If it weren’t for her, my rating would be just average, as that is what this movie is – a fine movie with some pretty visuals and flashes of intriguing ideas, but nothing that would stick with you for too long or get explored any further. It’s also one of those movies where the behind-the-scenes drama would have probably made a better movie than the one I just witnessed. I hope Olivia’s next directorial attempt will be better as I still have hope (and I also really enjoyed Booksmart and hope it wasn’t a fluke).

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I expected nothing going into this movie, but I knew this movie was getting decent reviews. And despite not knowing what this movie was about, I enjoyed the ride. Bodies Bodies Bodies may be one of the most influential movies of this generation, given how faithfully it captured everything going on right now. From social media to different talks about micro-aggressions, race and in the middle of it, it’s an intriguing (even though at times infuriating) whodunit that hilarious now and then.

The concept is simple, a bunch of teenagers (mostly girls) get stuck in this remote mansion during a hurricane. There are secrets, tension and some unexpected guests, and when this party game I have never heard of (I guess it’s mainly played in the USA) goes wrong, we are in it with them, not knowing what happened. And as with any whodunit, you will soon discover there are many motives, secrets and animosities within this group of girls, so you flip flop between who is the killer or not quite often. And then, at the very end, we go back and see what happened and… I didn’t guess it correctly. I will leave it at all, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I will say the payoff is worth it.

I strongly believe the legacy of this movie will live or die on multiple viewings as despite understanding the movie’s themes and why certain characters had to have been this way, I still found them insufferable. Again, I realise that was the point of this movie, how two things can be true at once but yeah… It didn’t make my watch any easier. There were times I was having a blast, and then there were other times when I hoped the movie would finish soon. Also, let’s talk about my main issue – lighting.

Yes, most of this movie happens during a hurricane, so it makes sense there would be no electricity. But Jesus, the number of times you can literally see nothing but pitch black on your screen, and you can only hear things happening infuriated me. I would say most of this movie’s lighting was provided by phone flashes, and the film looks exactly how you would imagine it. The worst thing about it is they are in a mansion! Ultra-rich people live there, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of reality for them to have backup generators or something like that would have provided light. If you want to keep the tension, ok; make those fail at crucial times or something like that, but we have had movies lately that popularised both whodunits and horrors in broad daylight. I wish Bodies Bodies Bodies would take a page from those movies.

I know many people enjoyed Rachel Sennott, and sure; she was fine. But for me, the most intriguing characters were Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova, both for different reasons. Amandla nailed precisely the type of girl who doesn’t realise how lucky she’s had it and makes everything about herself. Maria had the most difficult role because it seemed the movie was trying to convince you more than once she was the killer (I am not telling whether she was the killer or not) so she had to be more coy, shy and closed whilst still trying to be part of this new “friends” group. I hope both Amandla and Maria have long and award-worthy careers in front of them.

This movie is a wild ride from the start to the very last second, and it stays with you whether you like it or hate it. I think the ending persuaded me to rate it slightly higher, and that is why I am intrigued to potentially go back to this movie after some time, knowing what I know now and seeing whether my knowledge of all the twists and turns enhances my experience or dampens it. Again, if for nothing else, Bodies Bodies Bodies will 100% be remembered as one of those “captured the generation/period correctly”. You know how when you watch some movies from the 80s and you can’t help but think: “Damn, this movie is very 80s!” I can imagine someone watching this film 20 years from now thinking: “Wow, this captured the 2020s well.”

Overall, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fascinating movie. It knows what it wants to say; it has an intriguing whodunit storyline, and it also has a plethora of fascinating characters and an ending that will not leave you cold. However, those characters can be insufferable, and the lack of proper lighting throughout the movie bothered me (based on reading some other reviews, more than the average person, so this might be “me problem”). So yeah, this movie is the very definition of “a mixed bag”, although quite enjoyable, funny and insightful mixed bag.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I will show my cards early and say I loved this movie. And because this review will be gushing over many different parts of this film, I need to say something first – I wasn’t even planning on watching it in the cinemas! Yes, I loved Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), but it’s been a while since I saw it, so I have forgotten how unique that film was. But when Across the Spider-Verse started getting stellar reviews, I knew I had to watch it as soon as possible. The result… well, I already said I loved it, but what I haven’t said is I rewatched it in the cinema a few days later. And I rarely rewatch movies, let alone in the cinema! But in this instance, I wanted to collect my thoughts before writing a review because they throw everything your way and then some, and it’s up to you how much you take from it. Also, I rewatched it because I wanted to experience it again as soon as possible. And if anything, it improved on the second viewing, and my only slight problem with the ending was “fixed”, respectively, I no longer see it as an issue.

Let’s start from the beginning. As much as the first movie was awesome, Across the Spider-Verse easily dominates it and almost makes it redundant. Don’t get me wrong; I would still highly recommend that you watch it before this one, but I know it’s not needed as the movie recaps everything important that happened in the first film and does it in style. Also, for my second time watching this movie, I took my friend with me, and she didn’t see Into the Spider-Verse; she still loved this movie. And when we talked after it ended, she said she was not confused whatsoever, as the film gives you a handy recap. So yeah, Across the Spider-Verse is one of those rare sequels where you don’t need to be familiar with the previous movie to enjoy it. As always, you should watch it, as it will enhance your viewing experience; however, your potential lack of knowledge of the first one won’t dampen this experience either.

One of the main reasons I loved this movie was the different Spider-People (as not all were men) didn’t feel “jokey” they felt like some thought was put into all of the new ones (like Hobie, Pavitr) alongside expanding on the existing characters we knew from the first movie. Everyone from Miles to Gwen has matured in some fashion, but they are still young people with enormous responsibilities. And it was in those quiet moments when the characters would talk to each other about that and what it means to be Spider-Man/Woman that the movie shined. Sure, we have some excellent animated fight sequences (and I will get to those soon), but that was one of those things I noticed on the rewatch. The movie knows when to insert these quieter scenes for us to catch a breath because, with all the action, it could get overwhelming at times, but if you give your audience a chance to breathe whilst showing them what the characters are about, they will appreciate it.

The animation is… simply breathtaking. Somehow, the animators made it pop out even more than in the first movie. Across the Spider-Verse has at least five massive fight sequences (and it’s possible I am missing one or two), and each one would easily be a highlight, a key/highlight scene in every other movie. But this movie woke up and chose violence in the best way and gave us all of those in one movie, and I loved every single one. It’s hard to pick any favourites here because each is so different, yet they all fit. The action is so beautiful that despite the animators throwing everything and anything your way, it never feels like it was too much. It is also one of those “blink, and you will miss it” movies, where, in almost every frame, there is a reference or an easter egg of some kind. If Reddit survives the API pricing change (more here), this movie will “feed” the r/MovieDetails subreddit for months to come.

Another thing I loved was the main characters and how they all felt real. Everyone from Miles, Gwen to Miguel (voiced by Oscar Isaac) is going through their own thing, but you can tell why and most importantly, you can sympathize and understand them all, including the villain. One of this movie’s themes is creating your own villains and being responsible for your actions, and even if that’s not anything new, especially within Spider-Man films (after all, they have always been about great power and responsibility), Across the Spider-Verse felt like it approached these themes with care and nuance, which we have not seen yet. The idea of going your way, despite everyone telling you no, seeing people you thought were your friends and “good guys” do questionable things for “the greater good”… This film touches on a lot of these and does it flawlessly.

As hinted at, my only tiny gripe with this movie (during my first screening) was the ending. And I won’t spoil what happens, but I may hint at some things, so reader discretion is advised if you haven’t seen the film. I thought the movie ended in a weird place, almost like it was 10% in the third movie, and suddenly, the credits rolled. That was possibly my main thing upon my cinema rewatch, whether I still felt like this. And I can honestly say… I don’t anymore. The thing is, yes, there might have been other places when this movie could have finished, but from the story’s perspective, had it finished any sooner, it would have become an actual cliffhanger. The way it ends here, we have the perfect setup for the third movie, with most of the story elements finished or paused at a semi-reasonable place for us to pick up the next time. So even this tiny gripe went away, but let me tell you, I still rated it 5/5 stars after the first watch because everything that happened before the ending was just so good. Plus, there may have been another thing I might have been so sour about the end – I didn’t want this movie to end. I was enjoying myself too much.

And that brings me to my last point – this may be the best Spider-Man movie. Notice I am not saying the best “Spider-Man animated movie”. Yes, the film utilises the animation to its full extent, and it does things a live-action movie couldn’t do without costing $500 million to make, but thanks to the animators and them pushing the envelope of what can be done and how (different animation styles but they never clash) and story elements that go hand in hand with it, Across the Spider-Verse is probably the best Spider-Man film we have gotten yet. The only reason I say “yet” at the end is they may raise the bar with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (2024), and I would be delighted. Also, if they deliver another excellent film, this will have to be a serious contender in the “best movie trilogies of all time”. So far, we are two for two, and I hope the people behind these movies will deliver with the third one too. And believe me, when Beyond the Spider-Verse comes out, I won’t hesitate for a second and will try my best to see it on opening day.

Overall, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a phenomenal success that throws everything in your direction, but it never feels overwhelming. It’s one of those rare sequels that not only surpasses the (already excellent) original film, it also works on its own without you having to see it. It’s a movie that deals with complex themes whilst giving your eyes and ears orgasms, and when the 140-minute movie finishes, you will wish for more. For now, this is my favourite movie of 2023, and it will be hard for any other film to take over that. I loved it and would strongly recommend catching it in the cinemas.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I didn’t think I would see a Transformers movie in the cinema in my lifetime, as I got burned one too many times by the one and only Michael Bay. And based on everything I heard about Rise of the Beasts, I wasn’t convinced that this movie would be that much different. However, the trailers in front of other movies did their job and got me interested, mainly as they showcased an action sequence with one long, uninterrupted take. That was the moment I thought this movie might just be worth seeing on the big screen, and when the reviews came out, and they were “fine” (which is the equivalent of getting an Oscar nomination for a Transformers movie), I decided to take a chance on this franchise, one more time. And I wasn’t disappointed.

There is no polite way of saying this, so I will just say it – getting rid of Bay (at least from the director’s chair, he is still a producer) was the best decision, and frankly, it was long overdue. I don’t hate Bay; it’s just his directing is very hyper, at times, sleazy (the Romeo & Juliet close from Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) speaks for itself), but mostly he can’t work with/establish characters. That was the one thing all his movies had in common no matter how many talented people were in those movies, I have never cared about a single one. And since his background was in music videos, his action sequences were always a choppy, cut-to-death mess, so we could never even enjoy the big robots fighting each other. And this is where Steven Caple Jr. comes in.

It seemed like there was more to a Transformers movie than just the action. I liked how certain scenes had almost a horror feel to them (the museum hide and seek), whilst Steven seemed to try to give us characters we could care about. And guess what? He succeeded. I can honestly say that for the first time ever in this franchise (Bumblebee (2018) aside), I did care about our protagonists. I liked Anthony Ramos and his story arc; I liked his relationship with Dean Scott Vazquez (who played his brother Kris), and this relationship provided a theme of unity for this movie, what it means when others rely on you. Don’t get me wrong, nothing I just listed is by any means groundbreaking, but it shows that for this franchise if you do a bare minimum and give us some likeable, not overly horny/sexualised characters, it can work. I also liked Dominique Fishback‘s character, even though she wasn’t as fleshed out. But I appreciated she was the brains of this operation, and I also loved that there was no romantic tension between her and Anthony’s character. Yes, people can simply go through some shit together without falling in love, and I like to see more of that, especially in big blockbusters.

On the strengths of those characters alone, Steven has already taken this franchise to new heights, but he didn’t forget why you would go and see it in the cinema. This character work was a pleasant bonus, a great dessert if you will, but the main course is the action. And yes, the action sequences are (mostly) lit and shot well, with fewer cuts than ever. I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciated that aspect, how I could tell what was happening, where everyone was, and it looked pretty cool. I might be in the minority, but I really liked the beast’s design; it was “simple” but effective. Another thing I appreciated was the music choice and how well it matched the action, especially towards the end. Not only did those scenes look cool, but they also sounded cool too, and that’s something this franchise lacked.

The voice casting was also strong; from Peter Cullen and Michelle Yeoh to Ron Perlman and Peter Dinklage, everyone did great. But there was someone who managed to stand out, and it was Pete Davidson. What helped him was he effectively played himself if he turned into a robot, but with his back and forth with Anthony’s character, you buy their bond over the movie. I bought it to the point that if there were a sequel or some spin-off (without saying too much, there is a clear path forward for this franchise), I would be down with it, as long as all the main actors return too. And believe me, being “fine” with another Transformers movie wasn’t on my bingo card for 2023.

Is this a flawless movie? No, far from it. There are some moments you question whether we needed that (Anthony’s involvement in the last battle, for example), and of course, if you go through the story, you will find big plot holes. But here’s the thing, that doesn’t negate anything I just wrote, as this is one of those “big, dumb blockbusters”. There is a shift towards more intelligent blockbusters, and I am all for it; however, I wouldn’t mind getting a few of these “big, dumb, but a lot of fun” movies, as long as they don’t forget to be a lot of fun. And that is what effectively beats any criticism here; I judge this movie based on the genre the film is in. It is a big, dumb, loud movie, but I had fun, and fun is what I hoped for. Therefore I am not disappointed; if anything, I was delighted that we finally got a decent Transformers movie.

Overall, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts exceeded my expectations a lot. I didn’t expect to have as much fun as I had, and I didn’t expect to care about any of the human characters, and I did. I try to judge every movie on its merits, but I can’t help to compare this one to those films that came before it in this franchise, and there is a clear improvement in every area. I had a fun time in the cinema, and if you go into this movie with this mindset that you are about to see a big, dumb and mainly fun film, you should not be disappointed.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

This movie is one of those I had little to no information going in. The only thing I knew about it was that it was a brutal film, but I didn’t know what it meant. I did not see any trailers; I only saw a poster, and I thought it looked interesting enough, so one day when I went to the cinema to catch up on movies, I started with Sisu. And what a tone for the rest of those films it set.

If you have stumbled upon my blog in the past, you may know I love me some “raw films”. I always defined that term as a movie that gives you everything it promises on the tin and nothing more. It is, for the lack of a better word, as simple as it gets. I understand this might sound like a backhanded compliment, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with having simple films as long as they make them brilliant. Think of it in food terms; sometimes, you go to a restaurant and order a simple cheeseburger. You’ve had many cheeseburgers before, but if the bun is nice and crispy, the meat is cooked just right, and all the ingredients are high quality; therefore, you will love it and not ponder whether you should order something more complex.

Because Sisu is that cheeseburger that could have just not worked at all, but the filmmakers knew how to cook and stylized it as almost a western (the chapters, the font, you will definitely think of the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone) but made it ultra bloody. And also, you see all the details. That is something I appreciated about Sisu; they played this card of blood and gore, not panning away from the violence, and stuck with it throughout the film. The filmmakers also gave us a great excuse not to feel sorry about the people being slaughtered as they were Nazis. And I know this statement is weirdly political now, but Nazis definitely were the bad guys.

When I talk about simplicity, this is exactly what I mean. A man finds gold. The same man takes it and travels with it, encounters Nazis who want the gold, and that sets off everything. Despite its simplicity, I don’t want to spoil anything else because I don’t think this movie is as popular, so the less you know about it, the better your viewing experience will be. I will say that Sisu is a Finnish word that can’t be translated directly. The movie starts with this and essentially says it means a force of unstoppable determination that comes out when most necessary. And yes, this dude is hard to kill. And that would be my only criticism.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was this man literally must have been John Wick’s dad or something because he survives… Well, pretty much everything. I could see the initial things, but the longer the movie is, the more our silent hero survives. And I can think of at least two or three instances towards the end where the filmmakers must have said: “Oh well, we are making a fantasy movie about gold and Nazis, let’s go wild!” and that is where they lost me, albeit only a tiny bit. Was the last 20/30 minutes still as cool and gory as everything before? Yes. Would I appreciate it had it been less cool and more grounded? Absolutely. But such is life. It will be fascinating if I ever rewatch this movie and how I will feel then.

One last point – can we get Jorma Tommila into one of those John Wick shows, or if they ever decided to make a fifth one, could he be in it? He’s got the physique, he’s got the chops, and most importantly, he’s got the charisma. I have touched upon this above, but the dude barely talks in this movie. He mostly grunts and communicates everything else through his expressions, grunts and body language. Now, was this the most demanding role? No. But it is still hard to pull off, and he did it, and he did it flawlessly. I would love to see him in a great Hollywood action movie.

Overall, Sisu is a great film that deserves to be seen more. It’s one of those “the less you know, the more fun you will have” movies, but at the same time, make sure you are comfortable with some gore, blood, and Nazis being slaughtered. It also showcases how you can make a simple movie if you make it stand out and put some effort into it, and you can tell Sisu had talented people behind it. From the cinematography to the editing, the movie flows well, has decent characters you can easily root for and an ending that might make you chuckle. I wonder how well it holds up on a rewatch.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke