Oh, corporate synergy! Disney is looking to make the most out of its Marvel and ESPN branding by combining the two. No, I don’t mean by having some NBA players pose with a bunch of Avengers stars, but by actually combining an NBA game with a Marvel storyline.
Huh?
Variety reports Disney is launching a never-before-seen telecast titled Marvel’s Arena of Heroes, which will take place on May 3rd during the Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans game. In short, it’ll be an NBA game with an Avengers storyline attached. Here’s how the report describes it:
The Disney sports-media giant on Monday, May 3, plans to air an “NBA Special Edition,” a game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans that will weave elements from an original Marvel story and characters including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Black Widow and Doctor Strange into the live action. The broadcast will use 3-D virtual characters, animation packages and customized graphics to tell the tale of the Avengers watching the match in hopes of finding new heroes to help them fight an invading alien army.
If you want to watch the game normally, you can just tune in to ESPN, but for the full superhero experience that requires flipping on ESPN 2, the streaming ESPN Plus, or ESPN Desportes. Marvel’s Angelique Roche will be joining the commentary team for superhero analysis, as well, I assume gauging Hawkeye’s jumpshot or something?
This is all pretty ridiculous, and would’ve made for a funny SNL skit if it weren’t an actual damn thing that’s happening. I imagine if it’s a hit we’ll see Disney do this sort of thing quite a lot, so watch out MLB fans!
It’s very rare in a break-up movie for both sides to be portrayed sympathetically. Something Great, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and even Midsommar all portray breakups from one viewpoint, maybe even evolving into romance with someone else. For anyone who has or has been dumped, the experience definitely feels one-sided but as many a therapist will tell you, it rarely is. In comes the new film We Broke Up. Co-written by Jeff Rosenberg (The Good Place) and Laura Jacqmin (Grace and Frankie), the romantic comedy is a refreshing take on the break-up film, giving us some of the most relatable and realistic romcom characters in years.
The film opens with Lori (Aya Cash, You’re The Worst, The Boys) and Doug (William Jackson Harper, The Good Place, Midsommar) clearly in love, flirting and waiting for their take out order. The ten-year relationship seems to be going strong until Doug asks Lori to marry him, causing his girlfriend to vomit all over the Chinese restaurant’s floor. Needless to say the couple breaks up, but not before deciding that the two will still go to Lori’s sister’s wedding together and act like everything is fine.
As romantic leads, William Jackson Harper and Aya Cash know what they’re doing. Both have played imperfect partners in the past, with Harper on The Good Place and Cash on FX’s You’re The Worst. While the both actors infuse a bit of those past performances into these new characters, both Cash and Harper ground them more in reality. It’s hard not watch them and relate to them or see someone you know in them. You end up rooting for each to succeed in whatever their hearts desire.
The key to that dynamic might be We Broke Up’s script. While both actor’s elevate Jacqmin’s and Rosenberg’s work, this female/male writing duo demonstrate how to write dynamic couples, creating a sympathetic balance. Infusing hilarity with universal understanding, the dialogue tricks you into watching a loving dissolution of a relationship. Instead of being cringey or hard to watch, Lori and Doug story isn’t a tragedy but an empathetic grown-up version of a romcom.
Jacqmin and Rosenberg, who also directs, know that a story centered solely on these two characters would be utterly depressing. Instead they smartly derive a majority of the film’s comedy from a stellar supporting cast of character actors. Sarah Bolger (The Tudors, Mayan M.C) plays Lori’s love struck sister with comedic timing and grace. Playing her boisterous husband to be is Tony Cavelero (The Righteous Gemstones, Mircale Workers). Cavelero brings a wise warmth to what starts out as goofy doofus fiancé archetype. Giving one of the most moving speeches of the whole film, Cavelero proves he has more to offer than just the funny sidekick.
While We Broke Up isn’t groundbreaking or revolutionized the genre in any way, it is a smart, well-crafted eighty minute film. Even with a clever script and smooth direction from Rosenberg, the layered performances are what makes this film a pleasant surprise. If you are looking for a movie with a little substance that’s not too heavy, We Broke UP might be your perfect match this weekend.
You can catch We Broke Up in theaters and on-demand. You can view our interview with director and co-writer Jeff Rosenberg and co-writer Laura Jacqmin here. Watch the trailer below.
Rumors about the return of Marvel’s Netflix shows and characters are frequent, but here’s one that has a bit of a twist to it. According to That Hashtag Show, Marvel Studios plans on bringing back some of the Netflix stars to their same roles, except they won’t be the same versions that you know.
The report goes that Marvel Studios is looking to return Charlie Cox back to the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher, and Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. That last one is a bit odd, but the plan is apparently to have Kingpin play a role in the upcoming Hawkeye series and in the Echo spinoff starring Alaqua Cox.
But here’s the thing: these won’t be the Netflix versions of the characters, but brand new MCU versions. Sounds like the Netflix shows are being flushed down the continuity hole where Agents of SHIELD, Inhumans, and other shows that don’t quite fit into Kevin Feige’s plan have gone.
As for some of the other major Marvel Netflix characters such as Luke Cage and Iron Fist, there are no plans for those actors to return and the roles would be recast. Damn, no love for Mike Colter and Finn Jones? My guess/hope is that Feige wants to make a big deal out of Power Man & Iron Fist but they don’t want to recast just one of the actors (meaning you, Finn Jones) and will instead do both. Makes some sense.
Generally speaking, when the villain kills a fan favorite character that villain doesn’t get his own hugely popular spin-off. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that any movie with Fast and Furious in the title is going to throw away convention. Of course, I’m talking about Han’s death at the hands of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), which was revealed in a post-credit scene during Fast and Furious 6. The big surprise that was recently revealed is that, somehow, Han is back in the land of the living for the upcoming F9. How he’s returned is still to be revealed but given the Soap Opera logic of the Fast universe I’m betting on it being Han’s secret twin that bit it in Tokyo Drift.
With Han returning the quest for vengeance against the recently embraced Shaw will be renewed, and Jason Statham is happy to comply. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly it was asked whether or not he may return to the franchise…
“They better bring me back, because I need to put out that fire, If he’s got any score to settle, it’s with me.”
It’s hard to tell how they would work this, seeing that The Fast & Furious Presents: Deckard & Shaw was successful it’s hard to imagine a world where the kill of the star of one of their spin-off series…and if they don’t kill him it wouldn’t feel like real justice. Nope, I think the most likely result will be that the whole thing is pushed to the back and forgotten as quickly as they can. A simple, “I’m back, deal with it” then on to other things. We’ll find out soon enough, F9 hits theaters on June 25th, 2021
Anybody else stop this final (?) episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier after 20 minutes, gasp at the fast pace of it, then look at the time and “WHOOP!!” because there was still 30 minutes left? Just me? Alrighty then.
After six episodes, Marvel’s sophomore Disney+ series has drawn to a close, too soon if you ask me, and with it we get pretty much everything we had been looking for. If you’ve been wanting to see Sam (Anthony Mackie) finally take the step towards becoming Captain America, you got what you wanted; if you wanted to see John Walker (Wyatt Russell) take that step towards becoming USAgent, you got it; if you wanted to see Bucky (Sebastian Stan)…I dunno, save some money by quitting therapy, well, you got it. All this plus a shit ton of fast-paced action, a resolution of sorts to the powerful Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) storyline, and a reveal of why the heck Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) has been here in the first place.
The first 20 minutes of this episode are just wall-to-wall action. Karli (Erin Kellyman) and her Flag-Smashers, joined by hired merc Batroc (Georges St-Pierre) have targeted the GRC and their resettlement talks. Scouting out the area is Bucky, who is joined by Sharon who has borrowed some of that face mask camouflage from Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible team. Suspiciously off-screen, but glimpsed flying overhead from afar, is Sam. And we soon find out why they’re keeping him in shadow.
Sam bursts into a fight and holy crap, he’s got sweet new Captain America duds! Basically, they look identical to the suit he wore as Cap in the comic books. I still find it hard to believe that Wakanda would design a Captain America suit without being asked for it, but hey, whatever. They are, I guess, the new Tony Starks and are an easy shortcut when the story requires a character to get a power boost. Explanations be damned.
The new Captain America’s first test is one Steve Rogers had trouble with, too. Batroc is no slouch, and he has the upper hand on Sam for much of the fight, even commenting that the suit doesn’t make the man. While Sam doesn’t have the Super-Soldier serum, he makes expert use of his wings and thrusters (Marvel vs. Capcom fans will recognize a move or two) to keep Batroc off-balance.
Meanwhile, Bucky’s gullible ass gets duped by Karli into a pointless conversation that allows the Flag-Smashers to escape with hostages. Whomp whomp. So that puts Sam in the awkward position of having to bail on his fight with Batroc in order to save the day. I’ll say this; they’re doing some really cool things with the way he uses flying and shield-throwing in partnership. Looks awesome, all of it.
Karli reunites with her gang, who are beginning to look concerned about her kill-or-be-killed tactics. If it comes down to it, she’s willing to die or kill all of their GRC hostages. But before they can really confront her about it, who should show up? Captain America! Not the much-cooler black one, but the disgraced one who isn’t really Captain America anymore.
“I didn’t mean to kill your friend”, Karli says right away. “I don’t want to kill people who don’t matter.”
Oh yeah. That’s going to de-escalate things, won’t it?
Walker, as per usual, leaps into a fight he can’t win and gets his ass handed to him by Karli and the other Flag-Smashers. And remember that shield Walker was hammering out for himself at the end of last week? Turns out it’s a piece of tin crap and gets battered into oblivion. See, this is why it’s good to have Wakandans on your side! You get all the cool and sturdy shit.
During much of this, we’re seeing Sam gets brief moments to shine in the public spotlight, almost like a direct counterpoint to Walker’s grisly actions a couple of episodes ago.
“That’s Black Falcon!”
“No, that’s black Captain America!”
Corny, yes, but it’s also such a big thing for Sam that you can’t help but smile.
He’s not the only Captain America getting some shine, either. Walker gets to redeem himself a little bit here, by choosing to help rescue the hostages, who are in a van about to topple over a cliff, rather than throw more punches. To be fair, throwing punches hasn’t really worked out for him, but at least he made the decision Steve Rogers would’ve made. In the end, he’s still shown up by Sam and his newly-rebuilt Redwing.
By now, most viewers have begun to suspect that something’s up with Sharon Carter. And with the Power Broker yet to be revealed, all eyes were on her to be the shadowy villain. Well, they were right. Sharon and Karli have a confrontation where the former reveals that yeah, she’s the Power Broker and wants to bring the young “terrorist” back into the fold. She is, however, disappointed that Karli stole from her, ran off, and started fighting for this greater cause. Batroc, who just doesn’t know when to shut up, decides to use this information to blackmail Sharon, but she decides to just shoot him dead, instead. Well, there goes one badass French mercenary. He had a good run.
Sam arrives and Karli attacks him, only he refuses to fight back. That damn honor code of his! It works in some damned mysterious ways because I sure remember him killing a bunch of folks in the first episode. Whatever. Karli is beating the crap out of him, new Captain America threads or not, and just when she’s got the drop on him Sharon puts a couple of bullets in her. Karli is dead, Sharon is wounded from earlier, and nobody in that room other than her knows she’s the Power Broker. Sneaky!
Sam, looking boss as the new and victorious Captain America, is greeted by cheers from the public and the GRC. However, he balks when they refer to Karli and the Flag-Smashers as terrorists. They were fighting for a cause, one that we know he somewhat believes in, and makes his feelings known…
“We finally have a common struggle now,” he says.
“Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people who are going to hate me for it,” he says, referring to the shield and the fact that he’s a black man rather than a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white man.
“The only power I have is the belief that we can do better.”
Back in Baltimore, Isaiah Bradley is watching this on the news and it even hits him right in the feels.
Bucky, who hasn’t had a lot to do if I’m being completely honest, does make a funny joke about only hearing “black man in stars and stripes” out of Sam’s entire speech.
The rest of the episode is essentially cleanup. The remaining Flag-Smashers are about to get away, but are blown up in a truck explosion by Baron Zemo’s butler. Not sure how he got there, but okie-dokie. Zemo smiled about it from his prison cell at the Raft.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus returns as Valentine Allegra de Fontaine, teasing that she may or may not have been behind the whole thing. Probably not, but she’s got plans that are springing out of it. But first, she brings out John Walker who is decked out in his familiar comic book accurate red & black duds. She even calls him the USAgent and does it with enough bravado we can overlook how stupid that name is when spoken aloud. It’s fine on the page.
“Things are about to get weird”, she says. There won’t be a need for a Captain America in the future she’s planning.
Bucky goes and tells the old man he had been hanging out with that he killed his son. So there goes Bucky’s only friend who isn’t a superhero. He also turns over his book of names to his therapist and thanks her for the help in getting his mind right.
“What are you doing here, Black Falcon?”
Sam isn’t greeted so warmly by Eli Bradley (Elijah Richardson) when he goes to visit Isaiah, who is now okay with him becoming Captain America. The two share a moment, two black men who have fought and bled for this country as superheroes. This story isn’t over. But first, Sam takes Isaiah to the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian, revealing that a monument to Isaiah Bradley and his sacrifices is now on display.
The episode wraps up with cookouts, dancing, and laughter at the Wilson household. Of course, that wasn’t the end. You can’t end a Marvel series on good cheer, can you?
A post-credits scene, one of the weakest, really, finds Sharon Carter finally getting that full pardon Sam had promised her. She’s grateful, and agrees to resuming her old job within the government. That’s going to give her all sorts of classified information, secrets, and weapons, which she immediately begins offering to her clientele, right in front of the American flag.
The show ends, not with the regular title credits, but with a new one: Captain America and the Winter Soldier. I kept waiting for the words “Will Return In 2022” to pop up, but no dice. Dammit!
The only problem with these Marvel shows, and the movies for the most part, is that it’s REALLY hard to come up with a fully satisfying conclusion without it being just one big fight. I would say Falcon and the Winter Soldier handled that better than WandaVision, making sure to push forward its major themes between fisticuffs.
Overall, this is exactly in my Marvel wheelhouse and so I loved it. When at its best, exploring racism through the lens of Sam and Isaiah, the global impact of the Thanos Snap and the returns after five years, and John Walker’s storyline, this is some of the best stuff Marvel has done.
Other aspects weren’t always great. Bucky still felt like a sidekick throughout this, and as I’ve said before his “help me be normal” angle simply is repetitive. As much as I liked Erin Kellyman as Karli, the Flag-Smashers never felt like a huge threat. And look, I dug Zemo as much as anybody but feel he’s due for something better after this.
In terms of what this series means to the MCU as a whole? I don’t know. It would be a smack in the face if Sam doesn’t hit the big screen as Captain America soon. I thought the season would end with the announcement of a new Captain America solo franchise.
My big takeaway is that the MCU is a place without the Avengers in it, and that void needs to be filled. I suspect Walker’s evolution into USAgent is where that fits in, possibly to the creation of the Thunderbolts (who in the comics arrived when the Avengers were in another reality) or Dark Avengers. If that’s the case, I’m all for it.
The Independent Spirit Awards have always been the more-enjoyable prelude to the Oscars, with stars, some big some a little offbeat, all hanging out and having a stress free time. Hopefully, those events can come back soon. For now, it’s another virtual affair for the 2021 ceremony, which turned out to be a tremendous showing for Chloe Zhao and Nomadland.
Nomadland came away with four Indie Spirit Awards including Best Director for Zhao, Best Film, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. It’s a little more wind in the sails behind what is expected to be a busy night of Oscars this weekend.
I don’t know if this should be categorized as a surprise, but some are labeling that for Carey Mulligan’s Best Actress win for Promising Young Woman. This is her second Indie Spirit victory, having joined the Mudbound ensemble in winning the Robert Altman Award in 2017.
Another win that I see as a precursor to this weekend, Riz Ahmed took Best Actor for Sound of Metal, besting Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, who many see as the Oscars frontrunner. Yuh-jung Youn continues her commanding run with another Best Supporting Actress win for Minari. And in the only place where it’s likely to pull a major win, Palm Springs earned Andy Siara the Best First Screenplay.
The full list of Independent Spirit Award winners is below.
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST FEATURE
First Cow
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Nomadland [WINNER]
BEST FIRST FEATURE
I Carry You With Me
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Miss Juneteenth
Nine Days
Sound of Metal [WINNER]
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
The Killing of Two Lovers
La Leyenda Negra
Lingua Franca
Residue [WINNER]
Saint Frances
BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Kelly Reichardt, “First Cow”
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” [WINNER]
BEST SCREENPLAY
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
Eliza Hittman, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Mike Makowsky, “Bad Education”
Alice Wu, “The Half of It”
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Kitty Green, “The Assistant”
Noah Hutton, “Lapsis”
Channing Godfrey Peoples, “Miss Juneteenth”
Andy Siara, “Palm Springs” [WINNER]
James Sweeney, “Straight Up”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jay Keitel, “She Dies Tomorrow”
Shabier Kirchner, “Bull”
Michael Latham, “The Assistant”
Hélène Louvart, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Joshua James Richards, “Nomadland” [WINNER]
BEST EDITING
Andy Canny, “The Invisible Man”
Scott Cummings, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Merawi Gerima, “Residue”
Enat Sidi, “I Carry You With Me”
Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” [WINNER]
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Nicole Beharie, “Miss Juneteenth”
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Sidney Flanigan, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Julia Garner, “The Assistant”
Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman” [WINNER]
BEST MALE LEAD
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal” [WINNER]
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Adarsh Gourav, “The White Tiger”
Rob Morgan, “Bull”
Steven Yeun, “Minari”
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Alexis Chikaeze, “Miss Juneteenth”
Yeri Han, “Minari”
Valerie Mahaffey, “French Exit”
Talia Ryder, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always”
Yuh-jung Youn, “Minari” [WINNER]
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Colman Domingo, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Orion Lee, “First Cow”
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal” [WINNER]
Glynn Turman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Benedict Wong, “Nine Days”
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast)
“One Night in Miami…“
Director: Regina King
Casting Directors: Kimberly R. Hardin
Ensemble Cast: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Collective
Crip Camp [WINNER]
Dick Johnson is Dead
The Mole Agent
Time
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Bacurau (Brazil)
The Disciple (India)
Night of the Kings (Ivory Coast)
Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungary)
Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina) [WINNER]
PRODUCERS AWARD
Kara Durrett
Lucas Joaquin
Gerry Kim [WINNER]
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD–.
David Midell, “The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”
Ekwa Msangi, “Farewell Amor” [WINNER]
Annie Silverstein, “Bull”
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Cecilia Aldarondo, “Landfall”
Elegance Bratton, “Pier Kids” [WINNER]
Elizabeth Lo, “Stray”
TV CATEGORIES
BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children
City So Real
Immigration Nation [WINNER]
Love Fraud
We’re Here
BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
I May Destroy You [WINNER]
Little America
Small Axe
A Teacher
Unorthodox
BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Shira Haas, “Unorthodox” [WINNER]
Abby McEnany, “Work in Progress”
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, “Never Have I Ever”
Jordan Kristine Seamón, “We Are Who We Are”
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
Conphidance, “Little America”
Adam Ali, “Little America”
Nicco Annan, “P-Valley”
Amit Rahav, “Unorthodox” [WINNER]
Harold Torres, “Zero, Zero, Zero”
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES
I May Destroy You
Ensemble Cast: Michaela Coel, Paapa Essiedu, Wruche Opia, Stephen Wight
Netflix and Dreamworks Animation’s Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous only debuted last September, and yet the series is already entering its third season! What the Hell? That’s some lab-created speed for ya right there. With the next batch of episodes only a month away, the first trailer for the upcoming season has arrived, teasing more kids in peril from evil scientists and rampaging dinosaurs.
Here’s the synopsis: Still stranded on the island, the campers uncover more details of Dr. Wu’s secret research, and must quickly take their fate into their own hands with a dangerous plan to leave Isla Nublar behind for good. But when a tropical storm delays their departure, a lethal new threat quickly closes in on the campers, placing their escape, as well as their lives, in extreme peril.
The new trailer teases the arrival of a new hybrid dinosaur, the E750, rumored to be known as the Scorpius Rex. So far it’s unclear if events of Camp Cretaceous will crossover into the upcoming film Jurassic World: Dominion, but adding some hybrids into the mix for Chris Pratt to tangle with sounds like an idea director Colin Trevorrow might embrace.
Returning to the voice cast are Paul-Mikél Williams, Jenna Ortega, Sean Giambrone, Ryan Potter, and Raini Rodriguez, with Greg Chun as Dr. Wu. The 10-episode season three of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous hits Netflix on May 21st.
The working relationship between Willem Dafoe and oft-controversial filmmaker Abel Ferrara continues, one year after their previous collaboration Tommaso. The duo are back with Siberia, a dark, visually stunning character study about a man’s descent into madness.
Having premiered at Berlin last year, reviews for Siberia have been mixed to say the least, with much of the praise going to the beautiful visuals and Dafoe’s performance. But as we’ve come to expect from Ferrara, who is best known for films like Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, and 4:44 Last Day on Earth, it’s going to drive some viewers nuts while others will praise it to the moon.
Here’s the synopsis: Clint, an English-speaker, has abandoned his former life and now runs a bar in Siberia where most of the few guests do not speak English. He suffers from hallucinations and embarks on a dog-sled journey to a nearby cave where he confronts his dreams and memories, including of his father, brother, former wife and son, trying to make sense of his life.
As a lifelong, die-hard Street Fighter fan, I’m perturbed by the number of live-action movies and shows that Mortal Kombat gets. But at least I could say that neither fighting video game franchise had produced a decent movie on the big screen, with virtually all of them so bad they make other video game movies look halfway decent. That is until now. A new fighter has emerged from out of the shadows, and while it doesn’t quite achieve a flawless victory, this Mortal Kombat delivers the punishing brutality fans want, delivered in a campy, superheroic package that could appeal to those who have never input a Fatality in their lives.
Making a competent Mortal Kombat movie isn’t hard to do. Some will tell you the difficulty is in taking a game that is essentially about a bunch of warriors ripping each other’s hearts out into an actual story. Pfft! The story is secondary to what a Mortal Kombat movie needs to be. The first thing is to not be scared of the violence, and first-time feature director Simon McQuoid shows right off the bat that he has embraced the franchise’s love of gore. No spine shall remain unripped.
The second thing? Don’t fuck up Sub-Zero and Scorpion. That’s it. Don’t fuck ’em up. Their ancient rivalry is at the heart of the games and it is the centerpiece of the Mortal Kombat movie, as well. It’s astonishing how quickly we pick up on the hatred in their feud, during a prelude in which Bi-Han/Sub-Zero (played by The Raid‘s Joe Taslim), the blue-clad ninja with ice powers, destroys the family of Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada) in horrific fashion. Ice cold blood hangs in the air, bodies are ripped apart, and a violent showdown between the two warriors ends with Scorpion’s family line snuffed out…or so Sub-Zero thinks.
Fans have been screaming about the inclusion of Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a new character never seen in the games, for his obvious inclusion to help mainstream the film to casual moviegoers. It’s a silly argument; of course that’s what he’s there for, but also because there needs to be more to the story than just a tournament where everybody dies. Cole is an ex-MMA champ whose best days are behind him. A family man now, he basically just gets his ass kicked for chump change while his wife and daughter cheer him up after. He’s an unlikely fighter for the titular deathmatch tournament that will decide Earth’s fate. Unfortunately for him, his invitation, the birthmark on his skin, also makes him a target of an interdimensional power play by the evil Shang Tsung (Chin Han), who sends a centuries-old Sub-Zero to kill him. If it wasn’t for bruising Special Forces agent Jax (Supergirl’s Mehcad Brooks, looking jacked!!) and Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Cole would be a human popsicle. Together with the hot-headed, trash-talking mercenary Kano (Josh Lawson, playing the Captain Boomerang of this suicide squad) they must find the thunder god Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) and train to defend humanity from Shang Tsung’s wicked plans.
There’s a lot to digest and not a lot of it makes sense, even as characters body slam you with exposition. This is especially evident when the gang arrives in Raiden’s lair, and each fighter must unlock their hidden powers. Basically, you get not only Cole’s “chosen one” storyline but a bunch of little mini versions of the same. On the plus side, it gives us more of the awesome and hilarious Kano, who never misses a chance to needle Sonya for not having a mark, and is always looking for a way to cash-in on all of this superhuman chaos.
McQuoid has the action nailed, while writers Greg Russo and Dave Callaham have indulged in the over-the-top craziness of the games rather than shy away from it. In the heat (or chill) of battle you might hear someone scream “FLAWLESS VICTORY!!” or “FATALITY!!”, which is sure to pop the fanboys. Lord knows I got hyped over it! The actual combat, which features hearts being ripped out and people literally sliced in half by spinning hat blades, is pulled off with the detailed fight choreography you probably wouldn’t expect from a video game movie. You see some shakiness when it comes to CGI, like with the multi-armed monster Goro (voiced by Angus Sampson), but in other aspects the effects are on point. This is especially true when it comes to Sub-Zero’s ice effects, Liu Kang’s (Power Rangers actor Ludi Lin) fiery dragon Fatality, and Kabal’s super speed.
Where the writers also deserve credit is in simplifying, to the best of their ability, a pretty convoluted story with deep lore. Some of the characters have to be dumbed down, or have practically no backstory at all (sorry Kung Lao!) for that to work, but again at least they don’t screw up Sub-Zero and Scorpion whose histories are laid out perfectly and provide the movie’s emotional core. The cast remains slim and tight, leaving plenty of fresh faces to appear in future sequels. That they didn’t feel the need to overburden the plot with characters just so we can watch them get gutted or decapitated shows McQuoid and company have the franchise’s long-term potential in mind.
Those who remember the 1995 film and its absolutely horrendous sequel will be happy this newer version of Mortal Kombat easily defeats them both. With some truly breath-taking fights that revel in all of the game’s glorious violence, Mortal Kombat is a champ that further proves video game movies don’t have to be so terrible we wished them banished to Netherrealm.
Mortal Kombat hits theaters and HBO Max on April 23rd.
Russell Crowe has just proven himself as Hollywood’s bravest man, if there’s one thing that no one in tinsel town defies it’s the Marvel NDA. During a conversation with Australian Radio network Joy 94.9 Crowe casually dropped the name of his, up until then, super secret role in the upcoming Thor: Love And Thunder. Russell Crowe will be playing the God amongst Gods, champion of Olympus, the original God of Thunder Zeus. Remember when the farthest the MCU reached was a little cave in the Middle East? Good Times.
This reveal makes a lot of sense, and not just because of the bushy white beard he’s been seen rockin’. If you recall Christian Bale’s role in the film was revealed to be that of Gorr the God Butcher. What better way for him to establish his bona fides then to kill the God of Gods? Hopefully his role is more substantial then just that of proving the bad guys worth. Crowe excels in a fatherly/mentor type role, and with Odin gone there’s an opening. Thor will be in a bad place after the events of Avengers: Endgame so there’s totally a world in which Zeus fills that role for Thor, only for Gorr to destroy Zeus heading into the third act.
You can check out the tweet from the Thor Love and Thunder News Twitter account below and listen to the interview.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to hit theaters on February 11th, 2022
Russell Crowe has revealed his role in Thor: Love and Thunder
