Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania (PG13 – 124 minutes)

 It’s been a few years since Ant-Man was the catalyst to help bring everyone back in Endgame, and Quantumania begins with Scott Lang truly living his best life.

He saunters around town, meeting fans, and doing appearances. His relationship with Hope Van Dyne is going great as she is working to run her father’s foundation.  He is working to rebuild his relationship with his daughter Cassie – since he missed a crucial five years and she has become a bona fide social justice warrior in the meantime (seemingly with help from Hank and Janet).  All in all, things are looking up for Ant-Man.

He then learns that while Janet has been reluctant to discuss her time in the Quantum realm, Cassie (who is now a electrical engineer/quantum realm scientist?) has created a beacon of sorts that will send a signal down to the microscopic realm. Panicked, Janet asks her to stop – but they all end up sucked into the Quantum Realm.

While down there, Scott and Cassie meet a group of freedom fighters who are under attack from a cruel and conquering invader, while Hank, Janet, and Hope meet up with some old friends of Janet’s from her time down there who vary from odd to menacing.  Eventually, they all get to meet Kang and learn that he was exiled to the realm by all the other Kangs (he regularly interacts with all his variants from the multi-verse).  Angry at being exiled and desperate for revenge, he enlists the Ant team to help him get what he needs to get out. 

Like the other two movies, this one is directed by Peyton Reed and does have a similar tone – due mostly to Paul Rudd, these movies tend to be a little more light-hearted.  Rudd is still fantastic as Scott – an Avenger by association who loves the attention but is also a genuinely good person who wants to help. Rudd is so charming and fun he is wonderful to watch even when the story wanders a little.

The other Ant team folks are equally good – unfortunately there is less for Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp to do here then she has had in the past, but the central story is Scott connecting with his daughter, so I guess it makes sense?  She’s so great as the Wasp that I found myself missing some great action sequences for her.  Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are fine – but there are moments when Janet is struggling with the sudden reconciliation of things she has hidden and it reminded me how good she can be as a villain and I hope we get to see her do that somewhere else soon.  Katheryn Newton is good as Cassie – eager and determined with perhaps more confidence than skill at super-heroing, but she will get there.

The team of freedom fighters our heroes encounter in the quantum realm are charming with Katy O’Brian as Jentorra, William Jackson Harper as the extremely irritated mind-reader, Quaz, and David Dastmalchian stealing multiple scenes as Veb – the only bright spot in not having Scott’s Ex-Con crew in this is that Dastmalchian gets to be Veb, but I still wanted he, Michael Pena, and TI to show up at least once. Especially to have Pena summarize what happened in the previous movies.

The true star of this movie is Jonathan Majors. From the moment the menacing, charming, and engaging Kang shows up, he perfectly chews all the scenery and makes sure you know and understand he is going to be the big bad for the next phase of films. He’s gleefully determined to eliminate anyone who stands in his way, and I cannot wait to see what he does next – both post credit sequences were Kang heavy – literally.

Overall, the movie is fun and non-committal. It may not be required viewing for casual Marvel fans, but I definitely enjoyed it.  Because so much of it is spent in the Quantum Realm, it was far more CGI-loaded than the other Ant-Man films, which have felt a little more street-level real-world. That is a bit of a detriment, but the quantum sequences did look great.  

8 out of 10

No, I didn’t mention Modok. Did we need Modok? Not really, but honestly – I liked the way they did it!

2023 Oscars

 

It is already time for the Oscars and this year I have my lowest percentage on the Best Picture nominees that I have had in many years – just two of the ten!  However, most of them are easily accessible on streaming services now, so I will try to at least fast forward through them prior to the ceremony.

Top Gun Maverick:  I just never got around to this one. It’s streaming now on Paramount Plus I believe, and I still haven’t made the time.  I was never a huge fan of the first Top Gun and this one just never did anything for me. It is possible I will check it out before the ceremony, but chances are slim.  I understand it looks great and was a big blockbuster, but I figure once you’ve seen Tom Cruise fly a plane really fast once, you’ve seen it enough.

Triangle of Sadness: Not going to lie to you – I genuinely had not heard of this until this month.  Apparently it is about a cruise for the super-rich and is a commentary on wealth and class.  It’s currently streaming on Hulu – so it’s even easier to check out! Will I? Probably not!

Elvis: Baz Luhrmann’s take on Elvis’s story and his relationship with Colonel Tom Parker that required Austin Butler to dive so deep into Elvis-speak that he just talks that way permanently now. An interesting side fact that seems to be what is discussed more than the movie itself.  It’s on HBOMax, and I have liked some of Baz Luhrmann’s pieces in the past, well, I liked Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge, the others, not so much.  I never really enjoyed Elvis or his music, so I did not feel especially motivated to see this one.

Women Talking:  Directed by Sarah Polley, This is the obligatory Frances McDormand depressing Oscar piece and in this one, she and other women play members of an isolated religious colony. The men have drugged and raped the women and this features them discussing what to do.  This sounds very upsetting, and while the performances might be amazing – it’s going to be a very tough watch.  You can stream it on Amazon Prime.

The Fabelmans: This is Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical movie about his upbringing and his love of movies that lead him to become one of our most notable movie directors.  I did get this trailer confused with the trailer for Armageddon Time and thought they were the same movie for a bit. You can rent it on Amazon Prime and I may check this one out at some point. Spielberg is a great director, and I am intrigued about his presentation of his youth and formation.

Tar: In this movie, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tar, who is considered one of the greatest living composer/conductors. As she is preparing to recording the symphony of her life, the universe seems to be against her. This is one of those movies where as soon as I saw the trailer, I figured it would get nominated. It’s a showcase piece for Blanchett, who deserves it – but I still have no interest in watching it.

Everything Everywhere All At Once:  I actually saw this in the theater when it first came out in April of last year and gave it 9 out of 10 – that’s how ahead of the game I was on this one!  I loved it and thought it was different and lovely and interesting and fun.  But I did think it was a version of The One with Jet Li.  Michelle Yeoh is a treasure and Ke Huy Quan is incredible. The movie is complicated and visually amazing, but at its core is about the love and appreciation of family. If multiverse surrealism is not your cup of tea, this may be too much for you – but it is definitely worth a watch. It has a limited rerelease back in theaters.  Also, Michelle Yeoh is a lock for best actress and man, does she earn it in this piece.

All Quiet on the Western Front: Yes, this is the fourth movie version of this, because it’s a proven work. This version ups the quality of the visuals and features Daniel Bruhl, so if you want another version, or enjoy WW1 movies, this one is for you. Definitely not for me.

The Banshees of Inisherin: Martin McDonagh takes Brendan Gleesan and Colin Farrell out of Bruges and dumps them in an isolated Irish town where Gleesan’s character decides to end their friendship. This is another one where the trailer made it very clear this would get nominated for multiple awards. It feels crafted as an actor showpiece, and again, both these guys are great and deliver wonderful performances, but not in something I want to see. It’s on HBOMax now, so you can watch these two slowly hate each other in the comfort of your own home!

Avatar The Way of Water: the second of the list I saw in the theater!  I honestly did not write a review of it, because I could not think of anything to say. It looks great. It’s beautiful and I saw it in 3D, so it looked even better. James Cameron really stepped up his game on the visuals.  In terms of the story, well, it felt the same as the original, so nothing new. I tuned out anytime the characters were standing around talking and the stunning visuals were not the centerpiece.  Plus, the beautiful establishment of the whale creatures as characters the people spoke with and related to only to brutally murder a mother and calf was just too much for me and felt unnecessary. We already understand how terrible the colonists are – did we need that to prove it again? And how dare you rope Jemaine Clement into that!

In terms of my favorites from last year, in case you were wondering what I saw instead of those eight others, here’s my list – in reverse order of love!

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nicholas Cage plays Nic Cage hired by Pedro Pascal to come hang out with him and chaos ensues.  This movie is so random and fun and shows that Nic Cage can poke fun at some of the ridiculousness of his own life.  It’s bizarre and charming and definitely worth checking out.

Fresh: I happened across this on Hulu and I have to tell you, what a random and terrifying little horror/thriller gem. I do not typically enjoy horror, but I do enjoy Sebastian Stan, so I watched this and was glad I did.

Everything Everywhere All At Once: As mentioned – I really liked this movie. It’s rare that the Oscars list and my list cross over, but this is really fantastic and I recommend it.

Here clustered at the top are the MCU releases for the year – Yes, I loved all of them. I found Thor Love and Thunder fun and silly. I really enjoyed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which added some Sam Raimi horror/comedy to what could have started to feel stale. But the absolute top of the year for me was Black Panther Wakanda Forever. Angela Basset is definitely going to win Best Supporting Actress because my goodness – she is incredible in this.  I loved the movie as a whole, even though it was not flawless (there’s way too much Riri – didn’t need all that), but the introduction of Namor, his background and people – the stunning costumes and settings, the way Ryan Coogler was able to handle the near-impossible task of the loss of Chadwick Boseman while allowing Letita Wright’s Shuri to step up and fully into her leadership role on multiple levels – it was fantastic and I loved it.  My favorite of the year.

Just about everything I saw last year was at least entertaining – there were a few that were not great, but nothing I hated!  Jurassic World Dominon had some cool dinosaurs and brought back the original trio – but slowed itself down with side quests (locusts?) and too many humans.  Death on the Nile was slow but had some fun bits. Moonfall was ridiculous but featured some really cool shots of the moon lurking closer and then rising in a really intimidating way as it got too close!  AmbuLAnce had some quality downtown LA Bayhem. And Morbius, oh Morbius – what a beautiful mess that was!  Certainly a character Jared Leto was meant to play, but not entirely sure that movie knew what it was doing.

There’s a quick summary of last year cinematically and hopefully provides you a couple of things to add to your watchlist!

Movie Review: Magic Mike’s Last Dance (R – 112 minutes)

 

The first Magic Mike movie was a Steven Soderbergh character drama film that lied about being a fun movie about male entertainers. In the second movie, Magic Mike and his fun friends from the first movie have a fun road trip down to a fun convention and have fun hijinks on the way. In case you missed my opinion there – the second movie was way more fun. Perhaps because it was directed by Gregory Jacobs instead of Soderbergh? But also because it include some actual dancers instead of some actors they tried to teach to dance. I’m not complaining – they tried their best! But, having Twitch in any of the sequences will make you realize just how unskilled the rest of the cast (except for Channing Tatum) are.

This third entry into the franchise brings back Soderbergh as the director, but he apparently listened to audience feedback because this one definitely includes some big time fun.  Mike is working as a bartender at an exclusive party (apparently that custom furniture business he keeps trying to start is still not working?), he gets talked (or bought) into performing a steamy lap dance for wealthy (crazy wealthy) recently divorced Maxandra.  Inspired, she takes him to London with her to put together a show in a theater she has just gained as part of the divorce.  Max and Mike work together to bring some fun and sexy to a show while navigating developing feelings for each other.

This third one may be my favorite of the group. The relationship between Max and Mike is interesting and Soderbergh-style moody enough without clouding over all the fun dance sequences. And my goodness – there are finally a ton of fun dance sequences! Hiring a large group of really talented dancers made such a difference. Again – no shade on Matt Bomer, Joe Maganiello, Adam Rodriguez, and Kevin Nash’s terrible knees – they certainly were having fun.  The sequences of Max and Mike finding, recruiting, and choreographing with the dancers in this movie are great. Of course, none of those characters even get names. They are just there to dance.  

Channing Tatum has such an effortless every-guy charisma that he is fun to watch in non-dancing moments and he’s such an incredible dancer that he is fantastic to watch in dance sequences. The final number in this movie with he and the ballerina is amazing. 

Salma Hayek is certainly believable as Max, both in the barely-keeping it together divorced aspect and the looking to do something fun and unique with the money aspect. The daughter gets to narrate and move the plot along and I found her charming as well. I am not sure I buy how in love Max and Mike are by the end of the movie, but it certainly provides a good finish.  

Overall, far more entertaining that the first and slightly better assembled than the second. Absolutely worth a watch.

6 out of 10

Movie review: Plane (R – 107 minutes)

 

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again. I love a movie that delivers exactly what it promises and knows its role.  This movie could not be more clear about exactly what it is planning to give you.

Plane centers around Captain Brodie Torrance – who gives us all the character development we need about him while on a video call with his daughter on New Year’s Eve. He has one last flight to do with only 14 passengers and then he will join her in Hawaii for New Year’s.  As he touches base with his flight crew, an unexpected criminal is added to his flight to be transported back to where ever after being caught somewhere (details are not important).  He and the crew agree to just go with it because they all want to get home.  The airport tower sends them on a fuel-saving shorter route through a bad storm, despite their misgivings. 

After getting hit by lightning (they shouldn't have gone through that storm!), the plane goes down on a remote island near the Philippines.  Unfortunately, this island is run by local bad guys (revolutionaries? Smugglers? Criminals?). They are so bad, the government will not come to that island any more, so Captain Torrance, his crew, the criminal, and the passengers are on their own.  While the airline calls in help to reach them, Brodie has to keep them alive long enough to be rescued.

Simple and straightforward, this delightful little action flick is directed by Jean-Francois Richet and goes from the first word. It is a bit of a chastisement of the airlines who look to cut corners where possible, but really it’s a Gerard Butler action movie in which he actually gets to use his own accent.  He’s great in these types of flicks, but I never buy a fake American accent on him (sorry, Geostorm), but here, he’s perfect as the pilot who will get his passengers home no matter what. 

Mike Colter is great as the transported criminal who while guilty, still seems like a good dude. The two of them make great instant partners as they collaborate to rescue the passengers once they become hostages. 

Yoson An as the Samuel the co-pilot and Daniella Pineada as Bonnie the leader of the flight crew both understand the assignment and are perfect in their supporting roles.  Each get just enough character development to give you concern about their well-being throughout the course of the movie. 

Overall - The story is clear, the goals are understandable, and the action is fun and at just over an hour and a half – it is the perfect length for a movie like this.  Also, bonus points for surprise Tony Goldwyn as the airline fixer who gets called in to start the process of finding and recovering the plane once it is lost.  Grab your popcorn and settle in.

8 out of 10

Movie review: Glass Onion (PG13 – 139 minutes)

 

In this follow up to 2019’s Knives Out, Rian Johnson brings us another murder mystery with his ambiguously Southern detective, Benoit Blanc. 

In this story, Blanc is invited to join billionaire Miles Bron and his collection of terrible friends on his Greek island during the pandemic for his annual weekend big-fun get together. This year, he has decided to throw a murder mystery party.  While on the island an actual murder occurs, and Blanc must weed out each of the guests to determine the guilty party. Hijinks ensue.

I did not enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Knives Out, but it is certainly entertaining and twisty.  Because the movie is set during the height of the pandemic, certain moments already feel a bit dated, but it does provide some interesting fun moments and character development.  The locations are amazingly beautiful and certainly make you think about a long weekend somewhere in the Greek islands. Johnson does a great job with a twisty story that appears one way the first time you watch it, then actually insists you go back and watch it again to see if you missed something or if a character is misleading you when recounting what just happened. The cast is all wonderful, but the characters are so terrible that it is hard to find someone to root for amongst the guests.  How are all these odd lunatics the very best of friends?  Sometimes, you do not need a reason!

Daniel Craig once again does an inexplicable accent. What I found interesting is that we get a small peek at Blanc’s home life at the beginning of the story. I wish in those moments, he had not been using the accent – just speaking normally. Then, once on the job, he puts on that horrible southern accent as a tool to appear less threatening to whoever he is investigating. 

Edward Norton feels like he is playing a version of several notable tech-billionaires and his smarmy arrogance fits this role perfectly. As all his friends/guests, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline are all just over-the-top enough to keep the audience guessing as guilt shifts between them. They each have a plausible motive, and each are absolutely terrible, so it could be any of them!

The scene-stealer in this for me was Janelle Monaé. She had the most heavy lifting to do, the best story arc, and the most wide range of comedy and drama to cover. She was wonderful and definitely stood out from the others.

There were also piles and piles of cameos – so much so that it was nearly distracting. I didn’t need to know that Blanc is so famous he just zooms with other super famous people while in the bathtub.  Again, shot during the pandemic allowed that to play into the story and into the shooting, but I found it unnecessary.

Overall, the movie is smart and silly, fun and interesting, and while most of the characters are terrible, the cast was doing a great job of making them easy to dislike. I am happy I saw this on Netflix, I think I would have liked it less had I saw it in the theater.

6 out of 10

 

Movie Review: Violent Night (R – 112 minutes)

 

There’s always something to be said for a movie that delivers exactly what it promises.

Violent Night begins with the real Santa Claus in a bar, tired, worn out, drunk and depressed at the general lack of Christmas spirit in the world.  He is feeling unappreciated and thinking about a way out because not even his own Christmas magic (that he doesn’t really understand) is helping him cope.  Meanwhile, we meet Jason Lightstone, being picked up by his wife, Linda, and daughter, Trudy, to head to his wealthy mother’s for Christmas. We gather fairly quickly from context that they have recently split, and Trudy is not handling the separation well.  Once they arrive at the house, we also gather from context that mother Lightstone, Gertrude, is very wealthy, and between Jason and his sister Alva, they gather every holiday to attempt to get some of her money.  Jason seems to be putting a plan in place to end this nonsense and hopefully win back Linda.

As the family are proving how terrible they are, Santa is going house to house and enters the Lightstone residence just as it is infiltrated by criminals looking to steal the three million dollars in the Lightstone safe. Trudy manages to contact Santa via walkie talkie, and her faith in him and Christmas restores a bit of his as he takes steps to save her – by whatever means necessary.

The movie is fast paced and violent as hell.  Directed by Tommy Wirkola, who did Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters (a movie I really enjoyed for almost no reason), it is tongue-in-cheek and definitely funny while somehow also managing to have some genuine Christmas touching moments and magic. The Lightstones are all terrible people, but the criminals are even worse and the things that are done to them, both by Trudy and Santa are hilariously over the top. 

The cast is fine in their roles, but really, this movie centers around David Harbour and thank goodness it does. I am not sure who else could have pulled off a depressed and bewildered Santa who is also a former Viking warlord. Harbour does it with such glee that you cannot wait for him to eliminate the next bad guy.

Alex Hassell as Jason, Alexis Louder as Linda, and Leah Brady as Trudy are the few LIghtstones you root for, but even they have some questionable moments. Edi Patterson as Alva, Cam Gigandet as her husband, action movie star Morgan Steel, and Alexander Elliot as their influencer son, Bert are the absolute worst in truly hilarious ways.

John Leguizamo leads the crew of baddies which includes Brendan Fletcher as Krampus, Andre Eriksen as Gingerbread, Mitra Suri as Candy Cane, and Stephanie Sy as Sugarplum. I love all their code names.

The surprise for me was Beverly D’Angelo as the truly hateful Gertrude Lightstone. What a treat to see her playing something completely opposite of what she is generally known for this time of year.

Overall, the movie is fun and silly and very gory. I enjoyed the way it has some callbacks to classic Christmas-adjacent flicks like Die Hard and Home Alone. It especially points out that perhaps Home Alone is not great for kids to watch as all those booby traps could kill people – which of course, works perfectly here. I strongly recommend watching this in as full a theater as possible – the audience reacting to each of the various over-the-top kills together made it even more entertaining!

7 out of 10

Movie Review: Black Panther Wakanda Forever (PG13 – 161 minutes)

Be sure to listen to the Wakanda Forever LAMBCast where I joined fellow LAMB members to discuss the movie! https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/lambcast/episodes/2022-11-14T14_48_39-08_00 

It has been four years since the astounding release of Black Panther and in that time, we have finished up an entire MCU multi-phase movie collection, collectively endured a global pandemic, and lost Chadwick Boseman.  With all that in place, Wakanda Forever had a nearly impossible task of just existing, much less being an entertaining superhero movie. 

There were many who felt that the character of T’Challa was too important to lose and even with Boseman’s passing, should have been recast so that he could continue to exist in the movies. I understood that point, but those who made the movie had an intense familial bond and it would have been impossible for them to continue their work with a new person in that role.  What Ryan Coogler and team have managed to do is create a beautiful tribute that honors Boseman, and T’Challa, incorporates that loss into the story, but does not make it the entire story.  Again – a nearly impossible task.

The story picks up after the events of Endgame and abruptly begins with Shuri praying to Bast for assistance in saving her brother. She’s the smartest person in the smartest country on the planet but is unable to save him. Heartbreaking for her, and for the audience. The Marvel credits kick in featuring exclusively Chadwick content (get the tissues ready early on this one) and then the movie time jumps to a year later as Queen Ramonda has been reinstated and Wakanda is dealing with the repercussions of T’Challa’s decision to partially open the country and its resources to the world. Now everyone knows about vibranium, and while T’Challa vowed to open outreach centers and scientific connections, everyone else really just wants vibranium. As Ramonda dresses down the UN for their demands, we see a strike team attempting to steal vibranium weapons from an outreach center in Mali – a French strike team (oh, how I love the super strong anti-colonialism not-so-subtle messaging in this movie).  The Dora Milaje deposit the team in front of the French representative in the UN and Ramonda reminds everyone that while the Black Panther may be gone, Wakanda is not weak or unable to defend itself.

Meanwhile, an American research team seems to have found some vibranium under the ocean, but is mysteriously attacked while attempting to drill it.  Shuri has been working in her lab on various defense tools and Ramonda wants her to come process her grief. While out, they encounter a man who emerges from the water, introduces himself as Namor – and tells them Wakanda’s decision to go public about vibranium has put his underwater people at risk. He then demands they bring him the American scientist who created the vibranium-detecting machine so he can kill them.  From that point on, Wakanda has to decide if they agree with and side with Namor and his kingdom Talocan, or if they are on opposing sides of this issue.

There are some incredible fight sequences, amazing music, flawless costumes and set design. The movie is a visual feast and stunningly sumptuous. It is about 30 or 40 minutes too long in my opinion, but that’s a minor complaint. Coogler’s work to repurpose Namor’s comic backstory (the more traditional ancient Greek Atlantis vibes) to a MesoAmerican based Talocan culture is not only wonderful for representations’ sake, but beautiful to see and fits the story perfectly, especially when paired with Wakanda: Two cultures that know the danger of colonialism and the generational pain it can cause to people. The returning cast is spectacular and the new cast is fantastic.

Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba all return to their Wakandan roles. Even with a cast this big, each get some amazing moments to shine. Lupita’s war-dog spy Nakia has to go on a rescue mission, Danai’s Okoye has to chase down the scientist, Winston’s M’Baku has to provide counsel, and Florence’s Ayo gets to step a little more to the forefront – fitting, since she was the first Dora Milaje we ever saw, all the way back in Captain America Civil War. 

Angela Basset crushes every single scene she is in as Queen Ramonda. Lots of people are mentioning she should be nominated for all the awards for this, and whether or not that happens, she is a cyclone of power at the center of this piece that makes everyone around her better.

Spoiler alert from here down – I tried to keep it spoiler free, but I have to dip in a little.

Letitia Wright had a nearly impossible task in this movie. The question of who would be the new Black Panther was not really a question in my mind because Shuri had already been the Black Panther in the comics. Wright had a lot of off-screen nonsense happening, but she really put the work in on screen. She centers this movie and you feel every moment of her grief and anger.  I love how Grief has been the big bad of the most recent MCU phase because it is so relatable.  And when grief gets layered with guilt, the rage and demand for vengeance or (as she puts it in the movie) retribution that results is terrifying. She was excellent across the board here.

Michaela Coel enters as Aneka, a Dora who has been Ayo’s partner in the comics and in this movie as well. She was great in what she was given and I am not sure it needed to be more or less, but it did feel forced here and there. Dominque Thorne debuts as RiRi – who will have her own Disney Plus show shortly. She is fun and engaging and the show should be entertaining.

Alex Livinalli as Attuma and Mabel Cadena as Namora were wonderful and powerful and I really hope we get a Sub-Mariner stand alone where they really get to shine. Livinalli has some fantastic fight sequences with Danai Guirira and Cadena gets to question Namor on several of his decisions – which could lead to the plot of the stand-alone.

Which brings us to Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor. Marvel once again proves they hire the right people for the job. The Mexican actor had already been an anti-racism activist for years who understood the importance of representation this movie offered. He joins the ranks of Marvel ‘villains’ or anti-heroes who have points you agree with, even if their methods are a little questionable. In this movie in particular, he is just looking out for his people, even if he has to burn the entire surface world to accomplish that. Huerta gives Namor a gentle and seductive believability that is layered with a truly dangerous brutality. And my goodness, how they managed to make those little wings on his ankles actually useful and cool-looking is beyond me. 

Overall, yes, I thought it was too long, and there were a couple of questionable plot moments. I did see it twice opening weekend and I am really glad I did. The first time I had the weight of my expectations on it, and the second time I was able to just let go and watch it. I love it more and more each time I see it. It’s a beautiful tribute to Chadwick Boseman and I think it is the perfect way to continue the character.

9 out of 10, cannot wait for more!