Movie Review: Uncharted

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An action film based on the popular video game franchise, “Uncharted” is a surprisingly flat film that never manages to level up. I have never played any of the video games in this series and have no knowledge of any of the in-game characters or storylines, so I have to judge this film on its own merits. In that regard, it’s pretty meh. One issue is that it’s hard to root for any of the characters. There’s so much double crossing and backstabbing throughout almost the entire movie that they’re all hard to sympathize with. (Not to mention they’re all pretty one-dimensional.) Even Nathan Drake is portrayed as kind of a bad person initially, and it’s only Tom Holland’s charm that keeps him likable. (And despite his likability and his natural athletic abilities, he just never clicks with this role.) With everyone in the movie basically out for themselves, it’s hard to root for any of them to find the mysterious treasure. And as far as the mystery part of the story goes, it’s shockingly uninspired. Every time it looks like there’s going to be an elaborate puzzle, it ends up being something they quickly solve. Similarly, every time an action sequence looks like it’s going to get exciting, it just kind of tapers out and ends. And even the big set piece on the plane suffers from being used to start the film, before continuing over an hour later. (Which also hurts the opening flashback and the flow of the first half of the movie.) The effects are fine, but everything looks just a little too bright, and too much like they were probably just filmed on a green screen.

** out of *****

TV Review: Peacemaker (Season 1)

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Starting off where “The Suicide Squad” left off, “Peacemaker” continues the story on a smaller screen and a smaller scale, which allows more time to humanize not only Peacemaker himself, but also a cast of characters new and old.

The plot is actually both relatively simple and kind of an afterthought. Peacemaker gets his mission in the first episode, the plot thickens a few episodes later, and the show starts to wrap it up in the final two episodes. But the journey here is more important than the destination. While there’s quite a bit of entertainment with the humor, violence and wacky characters that are all presented gleefully with adults-only gusto, this show is really about taking a dirt bag character that left the audience solidly against him and making him sympathetic. And that works because of James Gunn’s script and the performance of John Cena.

Cena’s plays the character essentially the same way he was in “Suicide Squad,” but with just a bit more of everything. More gratuitous violence, more juvenile behavior and much more vulnerability. Cena is able to really nail this role. His willingness to do just about anything asked of him for a laugh allows his character to be the butt of plenty of jokes that a lot of lead actors wouldn’t even consider doing. And he is able to nail the more serious and emotional moments by exposing his vulnerable side. And obviously, the superhero action is second nature to him after his career in pro wrestling. The rest of the cast is solid, and they bring their own flavor to the comedy and the pathos, but the other major stand out is Vigilante. While Freddie Stroma is initially too annoying in the role, he suddenly clicks and his quirky humor adds a lot of fun to the show. (Even though he overdoes it at time. But that can be said about the humor in general, as sometimes the jokes go on for too long.) However, his sociopath mindset and cartoony behavior doesn’t have many humanizing moments to balance it out and allow him to feel like a real person. (It’s actual a little surprising that it all works so well, because the original Vigilante actor quit halfway through filming and all his scenes had to be re-shot with Stroma.)

The show looks great, with movie-quality special effects …although they do occasionally fall flat. The action is solid, with plenty of blood and gore to bump up the entertainment factor. (There’s also plenty of swearing and a fair amount of nudity, so this show is not for the kids.) And like most James Gunn productions, it’s all set to a pretty awesome and eclectic soundtrack. (And then there’s that amazing opening title dance number.)

Ultimately, “Peacemaker” is a fun ride in its debut season, with plenty of jokes and over-the-top violence that are peeled away to show the vulnerable side of some bad people that want to do right. While the plot starts as a seemingly mundane mission, only to escalate into having to save the world, you become so invested with the characters that you tend to forget that any of that stuff is what they’re supposed to be worried about. And while the show is hilarious at times, sometimes it’s over done, and they keep pushing jokes that aren’t as funny as they think they are.

****1/2 out of *****

TV Review: The Book of Boba Fett (Season 1)

**This review contains some spoilers**

Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube

One of Star Wars’ most badass characters is back in his own series that takes place in the criminal underworld of that galaxy far, far away and it’s…perfectly mediocre. Thankfully, tons of cool easter eggs and some major guest appearances keep things interesting.

The plot is relatively straight forward, but there are plenty of detours along the way. For the first half of the season, the show splits it’s time between the present-day story of Boba taking over as a crime lord, and the other half is spent on flashbacks showing what happened to him from after “Return of the Jedi” to “The Mandalorian” season one. While this is fine, it’s the execution of it all that doesn’t quite work. Just as you get invested in one of those storylines, the show drops it and move on to the other time frame for the remainder of the episode. It may have made Boba’s arm much more fulfilling if the series just played out chronologically so that we can watch his character transformation as it unfolds, and it would make the bond with his adopted family feel that much stronger. The show then makes the odd choice to basically drop Boba all together for two episodes and follow the Mandalorian instead. Not only does this kill the momentum of Boba’s story, but it gives us a much more engaging character to follow, with a story the audience is heavily invested in. (Assuming they’ve been watching “The Mandolorian.”) It all wraps up with another big battle with almost all our characters throwing down against an enemy that greatly outmatches them.

As far as characters go, there’s not a ton to get excited about. Boba is quite watered-down from what most people would expect from the character. For someone becoming a crime lord, he’s quite compassionate and reluctant to kill his enemies. Meanwhile, Fennec Shand is not given much more to do than a couple action sequences and giving Boba advice that he won’t bother following. There are a handful of new characters introduced as well, but none of them are really given all that much to do. However, it’s the Mandalorian and his friends that are the real stars here. Watching their progression from where we last saw them is engaging and fulfilling but doesn’t leave many mysteries for the upcoming season three.

Overall, the show looks fantastic, with feature film quality effects. Some of the CG characters are obvious CG, but they still look great. The show also features a “de-aging” effect that has improved greatly since they tried it in “The Mandalorian.” And as expected, there’s an insane amount of easter eggs that cover just “Star Wars” from almost all eras and media.

“Boba Fett” is ultimately a mediocre story with odd pacing that becomes better than it should be thanks to the Star Wars toy box and special appearance of some fan-favorite characters.

**1/2 out of *****