Reviews

It's not worth your time. The story really goes nowhere. The main character is not particularly smart, and the ending is not rewarding in the slightest. I don't normally rate movies really bad, I am forgiving if it has some redeemable or appreciated element, and I especially don't do reviews much, most things have been said by the time I get around watching it, but man, I have to warn people about this. Only thing going for it is the cinematography. The ending really is one of the worst, if not in fact THE worst ending I've ever seen. It goes all crazy, and I've seen A Serbian Film. Look for something better, there's been a tonne of good horror. I can't think of many worst ways to spend your time than watching this atrocious piece of failed cinema. A shame because I like Alex Garland's content, but this just ain't good.

Credit where credit is due, they nailed the JW atmosphere. Lighting, sound, fast gun-fu with the camera staying on the action. Good music, with a range of types which helps with the time setting. The opening action scene is a banger. Mel is under used, which is a shame. Winston doesn't feel like Winston, actor is too tall, but I get it, the leading man needs to be tall. The story is passable and builds nicely into the JW world mythos. Don't understand the need for sex scenes. Movies did fine without them. The detective story feels pointless. Just padding run time. The middle dragged because of these filler scenes, the episode would've been better paced without them. If you like JW for its world and action, you'll enjoy it. If not, it might be difficult to get into.

Stick to watching the trailer, it has more He-Man than this pitiful excuse of a show.

The let-down of this series equals that of the GoT and Voltron travesty. After the successful Castlevania series, faith returned to Netflix, but after this, it's gone.

The first episode should have been the last episode to the season, and it should had an entirely different story to kick things off.

To be clear, it was not just the lack of He-Man that was disappointing, it was the writing. The dialogue felt that it was written by a junior prep, not someone who's had decades of writing experience.

"I'm your worst nightmare!", really? No, this show and the dialogue was my worst nightmare.

It also follows the tropes of woke culture, where females take charge and the males become bafoons. I'm all for strong female characters, but not at the expense of bafoons. It's a disservice towards strong female characters, it makes them feel less powerful and less intelligent. As an example, there was one scene involving a forger where a female character with far less experience provided a solution, as opposed to the male character who's had eons of experience.

I hope season 2 has better writers, because this was embarrassing to the franchise and the audience its intended for.

It's got Katheryn Winnick finally given a chance to show off her karate chops, it's got Iko Uwais doing his wooden acting with fantastic martial arts and... It's got fireballs! If you like Oriental themed stories with great martial arts, the B-gradeness of everything can be forgiven, it's entertaining enough.

For a show named after the "main character", it's extremely disappointing that he hardly features. When he does, it's over in a flash. The story covers the side characters far more, so much in fact that by the end of it, you know more about random characters than the titular character. The show has sparks of greatness, and some really inventive moves, but no spark of true greatness. The art style and animation swings between okay and awful. It's that bad that I got to episode 24 of 26 and didn't bother to finish it. Would not recommend. There are far better shows.

I'd admit that I was one of the skeptics based on the negative reviews and word of mouth. In the end I figured why not and gave it a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised what it turned out to be. I enjoyed the original, but also looked at this one for what it is. Same characters, different vision.

Jason Momoa really did an excellent job at conveying a man without fear. It's not an Oscar performance, but the role doesn't call for that kind of acting. Considering the time he had to prepare for the role, he became very proficient with the sword. While Conan is cutting the enemy down limb by limb, you'll believe it.

Having Rachel Nichols not play the usual damsel in distress was also a nice surprise. Rachel and Jason bounced nicely off each others' chatter. The change in her persona was badly dealt with tho, in that it wasn't convincing what and how the story told it.

Stephen Lang and the rest of the co-stars were all convincing enough. I do think that Ron Perlman could have had a bit more aggression, but he played the caring father well enough to make up for it.

Which gives way to the main negative about the film. Inconsistent editing ruins the continuity between scenes. Luckily it's not half as bad as people make it out too be, there are far worse movies, but it is distracting.

The other gripe is the dialog. Albeit I wasn't expecting smart and witty dialog, I had to remember that people living in such a time won't be the smartest cookies. That doesn't distract from the fact it could have had a little bit of smarts added.

Really apart from that it was honestly not that bad at all. Music was forgettable, but fitting. Sound effects did a good enough job at resounding the noise of steel blades sparking each other or the sound of limbs flying. CGI did its part, not exactly ILM or Weta, but hey, it worked, especially the establishing shots.

If you enjoy fantasy that carries some maturity and shows the way such a time would be like to be in, you'll enjoy Conan for what it is. One brutal warrior without fear pursuing utter revenge and completely obliterates his enemies through the sword.

There are so many things right about this movie, the little things that are wrong are easily forgiven. Some slight plot holes, but the film and characters make up for it. The chemistry between Franco and Pinto is weak, however Franco plays his part. Lithgow is always a great asset to any production, and does a great job here.

Albeit you know the chimps are CGI, their eyes look amazing, with depth and personality, and along with their body language and facial animations, you really do forget they are CGI. The music is powerful and tense, and I loved the way it builds up through out the movie. Starting with light orchestra at the beginning, while starting to feel very tribal without overdoing it towards the end.

There are moments that are truly gratifying, and Caeser really steals the show with his evolution through out the movie. The journey Caeser takes really connects and you feel his plight. With moments of thought, heart and action, Rise really hits the mark for the audience it's aiming for.

Excellent entertainment all round!