Tag Archives: Comics

X-Men ’97 – Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – The ending gave me pause, but this was still a fantastic episode.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ Service that viewed this series.

A painting of the Sentinels.

X-Men ’97 Review –

When you have a trilogy, the middle part is always going to be, well, for lack of a better world, the middle child. They are stuck following up on what went before while also having to set everything up for the final part. In that space, there is rarely time for them to shine on their own. Today, we will see if Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 2 will continue or buck that trend.

So to set the scene, at the end of Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1, just when everything looks like it is about to fall apart, two critical events happen. Professor X (Ross Marquand) returned to Earth and called all his X-Men to him, and then Magneto was released from his prison. But this time, Magneto is not going to let humans get away with their crimes. This time, Magneto is going to war. The problem is that Magneto is destroying the Earth’s magnetic field, and in 12 hours, that might be irreversible. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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X-Men ’97 – Tolerance Is Extinction – Part 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a solid opening to the final arc of the season.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ Service that viewed this series.

X-Men opening logos with Rouge and Storm.

X-Men ’97 Review –

Over the last week, I have finally had the chance to dive into the heart of X-Men ’97. I did come into it a bit wearily because X-Men: The Animated Series was my first introduction to all things X-Men and Marvel. There was this concern that maybe this new series would dent those old memories, or what if I was living in the world of rose-tinted glasses? So far, it has been mostly fantastic, but the truth is in the landing, and we look at the first part of that today.  

So to set the scene, in last week’s episode, we discovered that Mister Sinister (Christopher Britton) is not the main villain pulling the strings because Bastion (Theo James) has returned. But as the X-Men still try to pick up the pieces after the Genosha genocide and discovering who Cable (Chris Potter) is. But there is no time for that because there is a more significant threat moving, a threat that might be closer to home than anyone knows. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there may be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A short but powerful look at our own demons.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched this on Sony’s YouTube.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

The world crushes in on Miles.

The Spider Within Review –

As we patiently wait for the third part of the Spider-Verse series after Into the Spider-Verse and then Across the Spider-Verse, it was nice to hear that we were getting a short film in the universe. This is an excellent idea because you can keep the interest in the series up while getting to tell some more intimate stories that might not have fitted in a large feature. With that in mind, let’s dive into The Spider Within.

So to set the scene, Miles (Shameik Moore) is walking home, but is feeling the weight of all his different worlds crushing in on himself. His schoolwork is floundering, but he is out saving the world, and that disconnect can only continue for so long. Not even his father (Brian Tyree Henry) and his offer of pizza and scary movies can help. But what happens when that disconnect breaks down?

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Madame Web – Movie Review

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TL;DR – It is a film that shows that you can have a great cast and an exciting scenario, but that will still not lead to a coherent narrative that has an impact.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Everyone sees the Spider-Person attacking them for the first time.

Madame Web Review –

Some of the best work that is happening in the superhero genre is coming out of Sony’s Spider-Man adjacent Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, that strength is found almost entirely in its animated division, and maybe Venom, if I have had a drink or two. Unfortunately, last year’s Morbius showed us that it is also the source of some of the worst films happening in this space. While we don’t reach those depths this week, we do get a movie that was screaming with potential but ended up being wholly lacklustre.

So to set the scene, in 1973, deep in the forests of Peru, a heavily pregnant Constance Webb (Kerry Bishé) and her security partner Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) are looking for a spider whose venom is meant to have potent healing properties. Constance finds the spider but is betrayed by Webb and left for dead. A local tribe rescues her, but they can only save the life of her newborn. In the present of 2003, Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Webb (Dakota Johnson) is now a paramedic, but when a near-death experience rocks her world, there might be more than just some trauma unlocked.

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Echo: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – There are clearly some rough edges where the production issues the show had shone through. But I do think it found its feet, and it could be the start of an interesting new direction for the MCU.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

End-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode.

A magical portal.

Echo Review –

It is an odd time for the MCU; projects falling to launch and land in cinemas, and failed opportunities like Secret Invasion making no impact in the cultural landscape are everywhere. But there has been hope here and there, and Marvel making a gamble is better than Marvel playing it safe. In that case, let us see if they can bring something new to the table.   

So, to set the scene, Maya (Darnell Besaw) has never had a normal childhood, as her mother (Katarina Ziervogel) was killed. At the same time, she was young, and her father (Zahn McClarnon) took her to New York and eventually brought her into his world, the same world that killed him. A world run by Mr Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He was a powerful man, a man with connections, a man that Echo (Alaqua Cox) would eventually have to betray, but not before he turned her into a murderer. You can turn against Fisk, but the man has a long reach, even when he was the man who had your father murdered. [the first half of the first episode basically catches you up to the end of Hawkeye with some added context]. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While Aquaman is quite fun in places (the whole volcano fight), you could feel that they struggled to find the right tone, so it bounces all over the place and never settles into its rhythm. Also, it can’t escape the fact that it feels fruitless watching it because you know it is about to get hit by a big re-do button.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a screening of this film.

Whales.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review –

Oh my, look, a lot is going on with this film that is not its fault. It did not go into production knowing that it would be the final entry of the DCEU, and much like The New Mutants, it does not deserve that kind of legacy. But we can’t go into it ignoring all the stuff around it because I brought that baggage in, and I don’t think I am alone here.

So to set the scene, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is now living two lives. By day, he is the King of Atlantis with all the responsibilities and limitations that come with it. But at night, he is a father to a son they had with Mera (Amber Heard). This is not an excellent combination for a sustainable life. All it would take is one issue to torpedo everything. Enter Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who has had Dr Stephen Shin (Randall Park) search the globe for Atlantean tech so he can repair his suit when he discovers an even greater power lurking in the ice.   

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Man of Steel (2013) Review – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR –. It’s a generally sound foundation, even if it falls apart a bit at the end.   

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-Credit Scene.

Superman floating in the water.

Man of Steel Review –

As the DCEU came to an end, I found myself with some unfinished business. I had watched and reviewed every movie in the franchise, bar one, the film that started it all. Well, it is time to fix that oversight as we jump back into the opening salvo of the Snyderverse, a foundation that might not have ever reached its intended zenith but is still worth exploring.

So to set the scene, we open with Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) in hard labour as her husband, Jor-El (Russell Crowe), looks on. It is a healthy child, something to celebrate if it was not so dyer. For you see, Kypton is falling apart, and just when things are at their worst, Zod (Michael Shannon) makes a move on the throne. But while there is still hope, Jor-El makes his escape and makes it home just in time to launch his lifeboat and save his only son. It was a fraught trip, but the pod managed to make it to Earth and land in a little town called Smallville, Kansas, USA.

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Loki: Science/Fiction– T.V. Review

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TL;DR – A solid interlude preparing us for the chaos that will be the season/series finale.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this show.

Post-Credit Scene – There is an audio cue at the End of the Credits.

This start to turn to spaghetti.

Loki Review –

Now Loki likes big ‘what the heck moments’ that dramatically shift everything we know. It didn’t hit as well as it could have in Season One, but I am not sure anyone particularly saw last week coming, where death came from every side. The question is: can they build upon that moment and propel everything forward or languish in possibilities?

So to set the scene, after fighting off the threat from Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), it looked like for a moment that they were actually going to stabilise the Temporal Loom and save the Multiverse. That was until Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors) ran out to fix the problem and was immediately spaghetti-fied. Quite gruesomely, I should add. All Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Morbius (Owen Wilson), Sylvie (Sophia di Martino), Casey (Eugene Cordero), and O.B. (Ke Huy Quan) could do is sit and watch as the Time Loom collapsed under all the different timelines and the TVA was destroyed from within. Which makes it all the more peculiar when Loki opens his eyes to find himself still in the now empty TVA and time slipping all over the place. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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Werewolf by Night in Color – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A delightful romp through times past, made with the techniques of today, Now in Color.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

Marvel Studios logo in color.

Werewolf by Night in Color Review –

Last year, we reviewed Werewolf by Night, an experiment and, honestly, one of the best things that the MCU put out on Disney+ … and much to my despair, no one watched it. Well, they are taking a second crack at the project by presenting it “In Color”, so on this final day of the spooky season, it feels like the perfect time to jump back in and see if the colour has changed anything. To save you searching, we will begin with the review we wrote for it the first time out and then look to see if the “In Color” changed anything.     

So to set the scene, we open on a dark night in a mansion deep in the woods where Ulysses Bloodstone’s (Richard Dixon) funeral is about to take place. All across the globe, the hunters gathered because this was both a funeral and a hunt. Whoever of the death dealers wins the ceremonial hunt gets the coveted Bloodstone, a relic of immeasurable power. But one of the hunters may actually be the hunted? 

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Loki: Heart of the TVA – TV Review

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TL;DR – It starts from 100 and then blasts ahead from there.   

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ subscription that viewed this show.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no End-Credit Scene.

The remins of a palace stuck in time.

Loki Review –

After a strong opening, last week’s 1893 was the first time I had pause to wonder if Season Two might not be on as firm a footing as I had first thought. But you can’t count your chickens before they hatch, and we still have half the season to go. With that in mind, let us jump into this episode before the episode starts a paradox it can’t fix.   

So to set the scene, after helping Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors) escape with knowledge of the TVA because they were fighting. Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) and Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) make their way to the end of time to see the dead He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) and his crumbling palace. It is here that Miss Minutes reveals that Renslayer helped with the last war, like did most of it themselves, and well, maybe they don’t need another He Who Remains to run the TVA. Which is when Victor Timely arrives in a TVA and might be the only one who can save the world. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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