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mrangelsampedro
Reviews
Yu yu hakusho (2023)
An interesting hours long reduction of many hours more of anime content
This show has me conflicted, I'm not really a fan of live action remakes of anime, but they've done some good here. The character design is pretty good, they kept certain esthetics really true. Also, the effects and the fights they incorporated brought some difficult fantasy elements to life that were really satisfying to see recreated and I thought were done pretty well overall.
The bad is they butchered the whole story arch of the anime. They ruin the dark tournament arch which is the best part of the anime IMO. Honestly feels to me like I watched a very long, very well done fan made trailer for a live action Yu Yu Hakusho show. You don't really get the same feel or familiarity with the characters as you do with the show. The pacing is so fast it drains the story of all the stakes and tension that are methodically built up in the anime. It's a real shame, all the things they do well are kind of a tease because it just breezes through and cuts out so much good content. I'm assuming they believed this show would be a one season and done event, so they did what they could. I applaud them for the effort, just sad they couldn't take their time and do the story justice. I really hope they can get the resources to maybe restart from the beginning and do it the right way, that would honestly be amazing.
The Batman (2022)
A Batman movie the captures the essence of the source material
I thought it would be hard to make a movie that would live up to the Nolan trilogy, but this movie definitely competes with Nolan's films in terms of quality. It's a different movie, a different vibe, it's not as slick, not as smooth. After watching this iteration of Batman, Nolan's films felt like a good movie first and a comic adaptation second. Matt Reeves film on the other hand, feels like a comic adaptation of Batman first and foremost. A gritty, dark, twisted retelling of Batman that feels like a mess sometimes in the theater, but it works. Batman comics weren't always smooth, didn't always make 100 percent sense. Certain stories are dark and a little bit unhinged and this movie captures that vibe completely.
Skipping the Batman origin story is bold choice and I love that, but I feel you do lose a little bit of an emotional connection to Rob as Batman. I feel like we don't get much from Rob in this movie as either Batman or Bruce Wayne but it feels like a deliberate choice as we follow Batman in his second year figuring things out. As Batman he is not well polished at all and as Bruce Wayne even less so which I love and I think adds a lot to the film. Also I feel like Paul Dano didn't get enough screen time as Riddler to really get a sense of his character. In Nolan films we always got a very good sense of the villains, but here I feel although Dano is good overall, some of his scenes were awkward and short lived, but that might have been deliberate. It was maze he was leading Batman through that was most important in the end to the films story.
What we do receive is a robust detective story, where we see Batman doing more leg work than ever before. The movie paints a picture of his very interesting relationship with Gotham PD especially Jim Gordon. A new take on the Wayne family legacy plucked and mashed up from different comic archs. Supporting characters like Catwoman (portrayed by Zoey who I think steals the movie), Penguin and Jim Gordon really get to shine in this movie and add a lot in place of the character development of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Riddler that might have been lacking. Also fight scenes that almost feel like they have been taken from comics scene for scene.
Ultimately I like that this movie portrays a Batman that well honestly kind of sucks right now. He's doing his best, but he's been duped by Riddler multiple times and you can see there were many casualties in the fall out that takes place over the course of the film. In the Nolan films even when Batman was taking a loss it felt like he was still in control and still winning. In this adaptation even when Batman wins it feels like he's losing, but his overall victory was coming on the other side of Riddlers chaos and ultimately being the glimmer of hope in a city riddled with corruption. Great movie, and I hope they can keep up to momentum in a sequel and show us a Batman who is learning from his mistakes and growing into his mantle.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
As perfect a culmination to this ten year ride we could've hoped for. It wasn't the movie we thought we were going to get but the one we deserved, flaws and all.
To me endgame was just about perfect, the story arch has some great twist and turns the keep you entertained the whole three hours. But some elements of endgame have caused massive controversy and criticism. The number one issue being the use of time travel. Now I've had some time to digest the use of time travel in the movie I have to agree that it was not done perfectly and has left some glaring oversights and inconsistencies. This has lead many people to even question why the writers would even take on the challenge of using time travel as a plot device, since it usually ends up a mess in movies.
I believe that although the time travel as a plot device ended up being messy, it was a mess worth while for the final act of this era, which saw some of the pillars of the marvel franchise pass the torch to new comers entering phase four. The use of time travel allowed for us as an audience to watch some beautiful scenes that wouldn't need have been possible otherwise and yielded some much needed closure to die hard and casual marvel fans alike. Time travel allowed us to watch Tony Stark look at his father as a new father himself and share the insecurities they both have about raising a child. We were able to watch Thor talk to his late mother one more time and share a touching moment. Gomorra comes back from 2014 to kick Starlord square in the gonads. Thanos is killed twice. Nebula redeems all past transgressions. Having it capped off by Steve Rogers going back into time for good and living out his life with his one true love and growing old in peace.
In the end the time travel made little to no sense, going against the rules of time travel the movie set itself. And seeming Steve Rogers has created an endless time loop with his actions. Now this may have been done so intentionally by the writers to allow for possible explanations for the upcoming Loki series or to open up new opportunities in phase four to play with the idea of alternative realties or dimensions. Regardless of intent, I'm willing to overlook these oversights for the gems time travel as a plot device produced on the big screen. Watching endgame is like watching a best of mix of all marvel movies for the past decade. The time travel pros outweigh the cons for me and gave the best possible final act for Tony Stark and Captain America. 9/10 for me, taking 1 star away for the inconsistencies in the time traveling which wasn't really a deal breaker for me. I loved just about everything in this conclusion to infinity war. If you're letting the time travel ruin this movie for you, all I can say is lighten up, after all super hero's rarely make 100% logical sense.