Category: Movie Reviews

ADMR – Extraction 2 is Awesome High Octane Action – 4/5

Post author By todd.wade
Post date July 5, 2023

I have to admit, I remembered almost nothing about Extraction the first, only that it didn’t suck. And so remembering, I charged headlong into Extraction 2 heedless of any danger. I still don’t remember anything of the first but as it turns out that wasn’t a prereq for enjoying the second. And boy howdy, I enjoyed it like a ten ticket thrill ride!
Extraction 2 again stars Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, an emotionally scarred soldier of fortune who seems to be just living out his string until death decides to claim him. Extraction 2 literally picks up moments after the ending of the first, which found a mortally wounded Rake plumetting off of a bridge into the river. He is fished out by his partner Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) who gets him to safety and puts him on the mend.

Don’t call it a man-crush

Time passes. Rake is again back to existing in a hell of his own mind when he is approached by Alcott (played by Idris Elba, which was a really nice cameo), an enigmatic figure with another extraction mission. Queue the training montage as Rake begins the the painful process of getting his body back into killing machine form. Once honed to a razor’s edge, Rake rallies up with Nik and her brother Yaz. The band is back together, ready to extract.

Georgia on my mind

The team is off to the eastern European country of Georgia, a former Soviet republic state to rescue the wife and children of a Russian warlord. Pretty much from there, it’s a non-stop John Wick style bloodfest with actual body armor instead of fashionable tactical evening wear. Some assassins get all the love.

Extraction 2 has some of the best – and longest – action sequences I’ve ever seen. And since I’ve seen all the Wick movies multiple times, that’s a really high bar. One might think that prolonged chase scenes would become tiresome in their constant adrenaline push but there is just enough lull along the way to keeps us fully engaged. A fine line that the writers have walked deftly.

Refresh my memory

Since I didn’t remember a single thing about the first Extraction, I’m re-watching it at this very writing. I wanted to see if there was something I should have taken away from it…something I should have remembered. I didn’t even remember that David Harbour was in it. BTW, if you haven’t seen Violent Night, do yourself a favor and cycle that bad Santa into your holiday playlist. After the kids go to bed, that is.

Bottom line: Extraction 2 was better than the first, which was good but not memorable (and I’m just past the halfway mark). Two has some memorable moments (if you can call a 21 minute fight sequence a moment). The final killing stroke was awesome and subtly reminded me of a certain whip-slinging adventurer’s first adventure. A third Extraction is already green-lit and I’ll be happy to see Thor and Heimdall back together again. Extraction 2 gets 4/5 from me. As for Extraction the First…better put some ice on that, Santa. That’s gonna leave a mark.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – Indiana Jones – Remembering his AMAZING adventures – NA/5

Post author By todd.wade
Post date July 3, 2023

Indiana Jones crushes it, and not in a good way…

One does not have to dig very hard at all to find a review of the new Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie. And to be brutally honest, I haven’t found a single one that gives it a thumbs up (with the exception of Rotten Tomatoes, and I long ago realized that they had become a shill-site for the movie-makers and could not be trusted). Setting aside the theories and rumors from inside the studio, the simple facts foretold a dark future.

Just the facts, sir

Fact 1: The fifth Indiana Jones film first got greenlit in 2008, with an original release date of 2019 but experienced a ton of delays due to rejected scripts, directoral changes and the ‘rona.

Fact 2: Spielberg was supposed to direct but bailed in 2020. There were also multiple writers hired, quiting, rehired (I’ve lost track, tbh). Reports of how many rewrites there have been vary.

Fact 3: The budget for this movie ballooned to nearly $300 million due to delays, rewrites, reshoots etc.

Fact 4: Pre-release test screenings reviews were not complimentary.

Fact 5: Harrison Ford is 80 years old. It is totally fair to speculate on the quality of acting – let alone being an action movie star – that he is capable of turning in.

Fact 6: Early reviewers (other than paid shills like Rotten Tomatoes) have absolutely crushed this movie as a Phoebe Waller-Bridge movie rather than an Indiana Jones movie. They are saying that her character constantly demeans, upstages, controls and, at times, physically abuses Indiana Jones (the term ‘elder abuse’ has been bandied about).

Those are straight-up facts that are not up for interpretation. Opinion: I thought his portrayal of Han Solo in Force Awakens was not up to snuff. He definitely seemed old and slow (physically and mentally) and it made me really sad.

So, the facts themselves are ill omens, no doubt. The rumors are even dimmer.

If the rumors are to be believed…

Rumor 1: There is an internal power struggle at the House of Mouse and Kathleen Kennedy wanted to ‘rewrite’ the Indiana Jones legend to replace Indy with a female version, both in the past and going forward. The implications of that are staggering in their shite-ness.

Rumor 2: Kathleen Kennedy was ego-driven, wanting to replace Indiana Jones with an avatar for herself. Insiders are heavily pushing that rumor, citing multiple KK projects that seem to portray a very KK-like female heroine.

Rumor 3: Indy was originally supposed to be killed off but the backlash was so severe that they rewrote it. Kennedy fought back and the result is a hodgepodge of different stories.

There are other rumors but dropping them here would be overkill. Enough is enough. We get the point. Where there is smoke, and all that. So we expect it to be a pile o’shite. I am not above putting myself in harm’s way for you guys. Heck I walked into Fast X fully expecting to struggle through two hours of cringe (and am man enought to admit when I’m wrong). But I will not be going to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and I’ll tell you why…

My youngest daughter is amazing. Actually, all my kids are amazing, but my youngest is amazing AND fearless. I gave her the nickname of Indy when she was 8 years old. For more reasons that I can tell you, it is the most perfect nickname in the history of nicknames. She’s the only one who wants to jump out of a plane with me. Truth.

My Indy is in college now and the hours allotted to me are few and cherished. So, when she texted me and said ‘ We need to go see the new Indiana Jones movie!’ I was elated. But then, it occurred to me, if this movie is the steaming shite-show I expect it to be, there’s no way – NO WAY – I am going to tarnish my daughter’s nick by showing her an Indy that has become an old, weak, alkie-bum that now takes abuse instead of dishing it out. Never in this life.

I will at some point (probably soon) watch this tragedy on one of the streaming services when it costs me nothing but a couple of hours. I may drop a review at that time confirming or denying the rumors and expectations. And this weekend, my daughter and her boyfriend are coming over for pizza, popcorn and a double feature: Temple of Doom and Last Crusade. She hasn’t seen them and they are totally worthy of her name. It’s how we will honor one of the great, iconic heroes of any age of cinema. And it will remind her of how amazing I think she is. Geronimo!

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – FUBAR is a strong show (and the sequel we totally forgot we needed) – 4/5

Post author By todd.wade
Post date June 27, 2023

FUBAR is far from FUBAR

I tend to be fairly selective in the streaming shows I give my time to because I have so many things going on that TV time is at a premium. When I heard the basic premise for FUBAR was next door to that of True Lies (one of my favorite action movies all-time) I moved it to the top of the list. It was a good call.

FUBAR is the story of Luke Brunner (Schwarzenegger), a CIA agent who only works ops of the highest stakes. Not quite as clandestine as Omega Sector (the name of one of my Fantasy Football teams, if you doubted the authenticity of my favorites claim). He has been living the spylife behind the backs of his wife, Tally (now ex, for whom he still pines) and daughter Emma, played by a smoking hot Monica Barbaro (Phoenix of Top Gun: Maverick fame). Emma has a ton of daddy issues stemming from the fact that he was always away ‘with work’ , issues that manifest themselves by making her push herself to be perfect at everything. That drive for excellence eventually put her on a path to a successful career in…you guessed it…the CIA special ops division that just so happens to be the one Luke works for. Hilarious conflict ensues.

Teamwork makes the dreamwork

The mission that brings Emma and Luke together is fairly formulaic. Generic evildoer from Luke’s past must be stopped for reasons I have already forgotten. What are memorable is the amazing cast of characters on the side of the angels. The review of FUBAR would be super-long if I were to give them all the credit they so very much deserve. I could not in good conscience, however, complete my mission without mentioning two of them that added so much to the story as a whole. Alden and Roo, played by Travis Van Winkle and stand-up comedienne Fortune Feimster, are more brother and sister than co-workers. The chemistry between these two characters steals every scene effortlessly. I found myself rewinding to catch the plot narrative I missed while laughing. More than once.

All of this would have been enough for me to offer you FUBAR, should you choose to accept it. The deal clincher for this series are the impressively written Easter eggs that pop up along the way like little secret coded messages. I want so very much to tell all of them that I saw and would love to hear about any I missed. True to my promise I’m sworn to secrecy and shall reveal none of them, under pain of torture by a dagger-twirling Spencer Trilby.

And even though the story that put our heroes in harm’s way is nothing we haven’t seen before, the ending to this season is a nice twist and promises a second season that is not merely a repeat of the first. For that I am unabashedly optimistic. I am giving FUBAR 4/5 enthusiastically. And if you haven’t seen True Lies already, treat yourself to that beforehand. I live to serve. That’s it and that’s all.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – The Flash is great but also awful – 2.5/5

Post author By todd.wade
Post date June 22, 2023

trouble right from the start

If you pay much attention to the behind the scenes Hollywood reports, you’ve heard about the shite-ton of issues with The Flash and specifically Ezra Miller. Tons of rewrites to the script and director changes have delayed it. The off-camera skulduggery and legal battles for Miller stemming from multiple assault charges and various lesser incidents cast a pall over the project. Add to the mix that James Gunn (who is awesome) is going pretty much scorched earth on the DCEU, to remake it in his own style, which effectively makes this movie a one-off. None of these are a recipe for a summer movie blockbuster.
Having said that, I found myself wanting to believe the smattering of Hollywood hype being scattered about that this movie was going to be fantastic, one of the best tights movies ever. Okay, no one believed that but the optimist in me wanted to believe it might be decent.

I was half-right.

The story begins with the continuation of the Barry Allen story started in Justice League. Barry is trying to help his dad beat a bad rap for the murder of him mom. Why/how his father was convicted of that crime and who the actual killer…all unanswered questions (and seemingly will be forever). The last appeal fails and in his grief journey, Barry runs home to the scene of the crime. From there he suddenly remembers that he has the ability to travel back in time, and formulates a plan to save his mom, negating the whole tragedy and restructuring his life the way he always wanted it to be. Some nearly-dormant part of his psyche realizes that it might be dangerous to do so, Barry enlists the advice of his brunch-pal Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Wisely, Batman cautions Barry about the dangers of tampering with the timeline. But Barry’s mind is made up. Full speed ahead.

Fast-forward: The Flash saves his mom and gets to enjoy a whole again nuclear family for a quick minute. But, when a younger Barry Allen comes home from college, the moment is snatched away. Older Barry meets a younger Barry and OB gets a little taste of how annoying he must have been to the rest of the League and humanity in general.

Along the way, OG Barry discovers that his changes have somehow negated the rise of superheroes. No Cyborg. No Wonder Woman. No Aquaman. No Superman. Not having a Superman to lean on becomes a notable disadvantage when a Kryptonian world-engine appears above Metropolis and begins teraforming the earth.

With no Justice League to turn to, Barry tries to recreate the accident that gave him his powers on his younger self thinking two Flashes are better than one. However, older Barry only succeeds in transfering his speed to his younger self. Desperate, he runs back to Batman for help. Only it’s not the Batman he knows at all. It’s the OG Batman that we all have a nostalgic soft spot for…Michael Keaton.

The Flash tries to find its footing

It’s about here that The Flash falls off the rails for me. Up to this point, we’ve been jazzed up to 11 to see Keaton reprise a role that is akin to the book of Exodus in superhero movies (Genesis being Christopher Reeves’ Superman, of course). Sadly, after their initial meeting, Batman more or less becomes a bit player. A MacGuffin. His part in this movie does absolutely nothing to further his legacy and that is tragic. Keaton and Burton deserve so much better.

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, I had a bit of trouble following the second half of this movie. Batman, reborn Flash and his younger Flashself set out to save the altered universe from Zod and friends. From there, this movie was long on ‘splosions and short on…everything else. Flash continues to mess with the timeline and creates more alternate timelines until it just becomes a muddled mess. There are lots of gratuitous cameos (and more than a few that were conspicuously missing). We were treated to a criminally under-written Superwoman and a shoehorned resolution that was in no way satisfying. And can we all agree that there is a responsible way to handle ‘the multiverse’ as a plot device and then there is using it as the most lazy writing ever? Using it in the latter degrades the ability to use it in the former.

I’ve heard a lot of nattering about sub-standard CGI, and there’s definitely truth to that. In the opening action sequence they had what has been dubbed a ‘baby shower’ that was pretty bad by any standard. I didn’t have too much problem with the rest of the CGI, though there were a couple of deep fakes that lacked punch. And I am genuinely scratching my head over the choice of the ending and post-credit scenes. I would welcome anyone in the comments shedding some light on just wtf happened. Discuss.

Whether you expected a lot or not much from The Flash, I think everyone came away disappointed. So maybe it’s a good thing that its likely the end of the road for this version of the franchise. I am giving The Flash a 2.5/5. It’s not as if there was nothing to love about it. The first have was hilarious and I genuinely like Ezra Miller’s take on the character. His portrayal of interplay between old and young Barry Allen was excellent. I guess that half a movie is better than none.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – Luther the Fallen Sun – Idris Elba is amazing in everything he does! 4/5!

Post author By todd.wade
Post date June 14, 2023

Luther the Fallen Sun

This week, the wife and I weren’t able to make it to our local moviehaus because we flew out to Dallas, TX to check another band off of our Band Bucket List (Duran Duran). Done. And I always want to give you the newest content I can, so I used our flight time to check out a movie on Netflix that I’ve had on my radar for some time: Luther the Fallen Sun.

I will tell you from the git-go that I have yet to see anything starring Idris Elba that I didn’t enjoy. (note- if you haven’t seen the movie Beast, it’s a hidden gem that the Average Dude recommends).

Currently the wife has had been obsessed with zombies. We have literally been watching Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead almost every night for months. With Walking Dead: Dead City coming soon – and I am psyched to see Negan again – and the Daryl Dixon spinnoff also in the wings, I am wondering just how long she can go here. I am working on a review of the Walking Deadworld shows and apparently need to hold onto it for now and see how these new shows factor in. And for crying out loud, can we find out what happened to Rick and Michone, please? Sorry. I digress…

My point is this: I knew that this was a movie spawned by the Luther series on Netflix, which I will definitely check out at some post-zombie point.

Idris Elba is top shelf on my star-list. Maybe because he has avoided the typecast pitfall. Whether he’s a driven, make the hard choice vigilante copper (Luther), the Black Superman (Hobbs and Shaw), the lone gunslinger (Dark Tower) or a dad facing the razor teeth and claws of nature gone insane (Beast) Elba has proven his versatility (RIP, Heimdall). He does it all and does it with excellence. Somehow, Elba takes the old trope of the grizzled, rogue cop who thumbs his nose at the red tape bureaucracy in order to get the job done and makes it feel fresh…or at least fresher than expected.

No, Mr Luther. I expect you to die!

Luther the Fallen Sun begins with our anti-hero being called in on a missing persons case that has befuddled London’s primo investigation squad. The villain of the show is known from the beginning so I’m giving you no spoilers here. Andy Serkis is David Robey, a brilliantly twisted mass-murder who turns his obsession into a very lucrative high-tech deathporn syndicate. Serkis turns in a fantastic performance as a Bond level villain – creepy, soul-less and full of evil intent. And man, when I say he was creepy, brother you best believe it. When a good story meets a great actor, it stays with you for a minute. Serkis’s villain did just that.

I wont go all Oscars and thank every above average supporting performance that went into making this move great. It’s enough to say that it only takes one performer phoning it in to bring down a movie. I found no such holes in Luther the Fallen Sun. Every piece, every bit part was delivered skillfully. Group hug everyone. Well done. I am giving Luther the Fallen Sun 4/5 stars. And don’t be afraid of this one if you haven’t seen any of the 5 seasons of the Luther series. I haven’t. It didn’t affect my enjoyment one bit. But that show has now jumped up the list of binge-ables for me. Looking forward to it, Luther.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR: Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse is AMAZING (and worth waiting 5 years for)

Post author By todd.wade
Post date June 8, 2023

Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse

The second installment of the insanely successful Miles Morales saga – Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse – finally arrived in my local showhaus. And it’s about time, too. I’m not sure what the record is for sequel waiting (my money is on Top Gun: Maverick) but it’s got to be up there. I mean, Spider-Man Into the Spiderverse was a fantastic success, some consider it to be the animated movie GOAT. I’m not ready to anoint it, but it was indeed awesome. The second installment was nearly as awesome. Nearly but not quite.

Ah, That Hits the Spot

Even though we in this universe had to wait five years for Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse, only a year or so has passed for Miles. Neat trick that I wish very much I could do. We pick up the story with Spider-Man doing his web-swinging, wall-crawling thing. He is suffering the same burdens that OG Spidey Peter Parker endured…missing classes, lying to family and friends, the occasional threat to life/earth/universe/multiverse. The usual superhero bailiwick. He is introduced to a new villain that seems very jokey: The Spot. Don’t judge this book by its holey cover.

Spidey and Gwen, Sitting in a Tree…

Apparently, all Spider-persons also have unrequited love issues, and Miles is no different. It becomes clear early on that he still pines for the otherverse Gwen Stacy. Why didn’t he just hit up the Gwen from his own universe? No clue. But, as luck would have it, Gwen has become part of an inter-universe operative force made up entirely of spider-folk, the staggering variety of which are one of this movie’s greatest joys. If you are a fan of the booklore, there were more versions than one viewing allows you to remember. But fear not…non-fanboys will enjoy it all the same.

One of the first movie’s greatest attributes was the animation, which blended some drastically different artistic styles (representing different realities) in an melange of color and shape…a literal feast for the eye and mind (chef’s kiss). I am unashamedly a connoisseur of the tangible, hold in your hand and mylar bagged treasures, so my brainbone loved every second of it. As is the tradition with sequels, Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse tried and succeeded in upping the ante on that quality to nearly seizure-inducing levels. That’s not hyperbole, so you have been advised. I was momentarily taken out of the flow of the movie a time or two, which I absolutely dislike.

The flow of Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse was a little hectic, it crammed a whole lot of story into its already 2 hr 16 min runtime, so maybe it felt a little overlong. But only a little. And that brings me to my last knock…what the heck is up with the whole cliffhanger ending thing going on? As with Fast X (which I also loved) this movie was a two-parter and I had no clue walking into the theater! Not that it would have made much of a difference but at least I wouldn’t be wondering how all this story was going to be wrapped up as we were around the 2 hr mark. At least Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning has forewarned us that it’s a multi-part affair. Kudos, Paramount! Well done.

I would love to talk about specific events and scenes in this movie that I loved, but that’s impossible to do without spoilers. After I had the death of Han Solo spoiled for me a few years back, I am adamant about not blowing a movie for anyone. Better to just say there are a metric shite-ton of so SO cool cameos and characters. Like the Easter Egg Bunny was also a Spider-freak like me. So let’s just get to it. I’m giving Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse an enthusiastic 4.75/5. Go see it before someone accidentally ruins any of the awesome surprises that await.

*And BTW, always spell Spider-Man with the hyphen. I know its tempting to omit it like so many others (Batman, Superman, Deadpool, Daredevil the list goes on). But it really, really annoys him. It’s his pet peeve. He can even tell if you are saying it without the hyphen. Is that a super-power? Don’t know. But he’s Spider-Man so respect.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – We love the The Machine, but this movie never gets started

Post author By todd.wade
Post date May 31, 2023

I can not tell you how elated I was when I saw the trailer for The Machine. Bert Kreischer’s stand-up performance of the same name was one for the ages. I am not exaggerating when I say it is probably my favorite standup of all-time. I laughed until I cried. My stomach hurt. I lost my breath. My face was a gloriously wet, raw mess. In my childlike excitement, I didn’t once stop to think that this movie could be anything other than a hit.

It was a hit, alright. It punched me squarely in the yam-bag with its sub-mediocrity. When will I ever learn? That’s rhetorical. I am forever consigned to self-devastation by way of optimistic blindsight. And if I’m being honest, it’s not like I didn’t have any warning. I watched his latest Netflix standup and it was, you know, okay. Not expecting the equal of ‘the Machine’ but ever hopeful, am I.

Machines Doing Machine Things

Where do I begin? Well, the obvious starting point is with the plot that fans already know. Bert is living a comfortable life out on the left coast. He is, of course, struggling with the demons that commonly accompany such a life (i.e. fractured family relationships, consequences of drug and alcohol usage, regret, a general lostness requiring therapy). Pretty cliche’ stuff. The irony of his life is that he is really tired of being known as ‘the Machine’, which is the subtext for the entire movie.

In his typical over the top fashion, he puts on a massive pool party for his eldest daughter’s Sweet 16 party that is clearly more about himself than it is for her. Secretly invited to the ho-down is his estranged (of course) father, played by Mark Hamill. Clearly, the studio felt that the show needed a little additional star power. Side note: it might just be me, but other than being a jedi, is Hamill really that much of an impact actor? Food for thought.

Now to the necessary MacGuffin. As it turns out, Bert accidentally ran afoul of the Russian mob during the events of the 1980s version of himself…and they have now come to get what is theirs. What follows is one contrived, un-funny scene after another with very infrequent moments that elicit a weak, forced chuckle. Because shoot, man…we are supposed to be laughing, right? We feel like we owe it to the magnificence of the stand-up event and we want to laugh like that SO BAD.

The Three Stooges of the Apocalypse

I won’t go any further into what irked me about this movie. Rest assured there are plenty of reasons. If you end up seeing it someday, maybe you can find a spark of enjoyment discovering them, too. Hint: the one at the end is annoying to the point of keeping me up at night. Maybe make it into a drinking game. Just trying to be helpful. It’s what I do.

However, in keeping with my tradition of finding something to like about every movie I see, I will say that Bert (pronounced Byert by the cliche’d blonde Russian superwoman who hauls Bert and his father across continents) is the same bumbling, self-effacing modern era Stooge you would expect, full of slapstick. It would have been easy for this show to devolve into classic gutter humor but it at least resisted that temptation. I’m giving ‘the Machine’ a 1.5/5. I will watch whatever stand-up special he produces next because, apparently, hope never dies in me. But it helps to have a yam-bag of solid steel that can take the hit.

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Movie Reviews

RDMR – Fast & Furious on X…Fast and Furious 10 is a Winner

Post author By todd.wade
Post date May 23, 2023

Fast and Furious 10 is the latest movie in a franchise dating back to 2001 and I have to admit that I’ve seen them all (except Tokyo Drift because…I just don’t wanna). Nearly all of them were utterly forgetable, though I remember the first one fondly. Also the one where the Rock and Vin were battling some dudes on an Antonov AN-225 cargo plane hurtling down a runway that was aproximately 30 miles long. That’s about it. They’ve kind of felt like a guilty passtime, like I was doing something I know I shouldn’t do because I know it won’t end up being good for me but what the heck, maybe it will. And, after F&F9 shot an car into space I truly thought I had reached the end of this franchise.

How very wrong I was.

Fast and Furious 10 (Fast X in shorthand)

The release of Fast X sped towards me like a…oh, I don’t know…like a thing that moves very fast, I guess…you can make your own analogy here if you can think of an appropriate one. I checked the new releases for something…ANYTHING…that I would rather see instead. But the weight of commitment to my followers convicted me and I bought a single ticket (my best girl bid me bon voyage and best of luck as I left for the theater). I was mentally steeling myself for whatever ante they were about to up. Maybe they were going to nitro burn at 88 mph into the multiverse (F&FXX. You’re welcome). Short of that, I was prepared for this movie to come in below my already bottom-shelf expectations.

Again, how very wrong I was.

Right off the starting line, I’ll tell you that everything you expected to be in this movie was there. Cars doing impossible car-things. Toughguy slugfests. Toughgirl kickfests. Crazy stakes with unrealistic threats. A gravelly-voiced Dom Torreto. All the cool tech. And family. This movie was, as expected, all about family.

Just not the Toretto family.

We are well-aquainted with the ironclad bond of the house of Dom. It didn’t need to be stressed any harder than it has been over the past nine movies. Family, yeah. We get it. We get it so much it has become its own meme genre. But this movie put Jason Momoa’s family in the driver’s seat and IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Mamoa's Dante on display — Mamoa’s Dante on display

I’ve been drifting all around (sorry, that’s the last car pun) some of the details of this movie because I would love you to get your own expectations turned on their head just like mine were. I absolutely cannot explain how much I enjoyed this movie without telling you that it was primarly because of Momoa’s performance. It was like they took the bulk of the Hulk, Heath Ledger’s Joker and the effervescence of Dylan Mulvaney and rolled them all up into one maniacal ball and shot it out of a cannon at the Toretto family. All scenes belonged to him. He didn’t steal them, they were powerless to not be owned by his character, Dante.

That alone would have been enough to carry this movie. But lets add to the ensemble cast every character from every other movie – good guys AND bad guys – ever to grace the franchise. I mean all of them. Just when you think Fast and Furious 10 might have missed one…nope! Here they come. Fights ensue, hatchets get burried and they all kind of truce up to battle the unstoppable, unpredictable, charismatic Dante.

And to put the cherry on top of this totally unexpected joyride is this: nobody saw this ending coming. I mean nobody. And anyone who spoils this ending for you should be beat with a tire iron (okay, that was really the last one).

So sure, everything about this movie was over the top. You had to expect that. If you didn’t and you walk away saying ‘well, that was just too much’ then I really don’t know what to tell you. No one sees this movie that hasn’t seen at least some of the other nine, so you knew the job was dangerous when you took it. Belief is not just suspended, it is exiled out of necessity. Once you let go of silly notions like physics and logic, you are prepared to enjoy this movie. I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I am giving Fast and Furious 10 a solid 4.2/5. I enjoyed the crap out of this movie in spite of myself. And I’ll be expecting my royalty checks on F&FXX in about 21 years.

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Movie Reviews

ADMR – Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is an awesome sendoff – bring tissues

Post author By todd.wade
Post date May 8, 2023

Guardians of the Galaxy farwell tour

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 Farewell Tour

There is a constant hype surrounding the movie industry, which often leads to disappointment. It is a sad but true fact that studios care more about getting butts in seats than providing a quality memory. I have often proclaimed the first GotG to be one of my top 5 Marvel movies all-time. My mind is unchanged after 10+ years and hours of enjoyment and a few that were not so enjoyable. Looking at you, She-Hulk. Although it hurts my Marvel-loving heart to say goodbye to the Milano/Benatar/Bowie crew, I’ll tell you Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 was well worth it.

Gunn’s shot

I think it’s vastly acknowledged that James Gunn is the MAN when it comes to the fights in tights genre. He took a low-level D-lister like Peacemaker and turned him into a can’t-wait-for-the-next-episode character. That was actually a widely held concern prior to the first GotG release. We long-time followers of Marvel comics recognized them, and were like, ‘uh, you sure about this? There are probably a ton of other characters that we would rather see before the Guardians get their turn’. I have mad respect for Gunn taking this shot.

Emotional growth

I was equally surprised and delighted with the evolution of every one of the characters in this movie. Every iteration of the Guardians we’ve seen has not only been entertaining in its own right, but has served to advance the relationships between team members and audience alike. This includes the GotG Holiday Special. I watched all of them in the run up to Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Now I’m waking up with ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ by Rainbow (epic version) playing in my head. And the Old 97’s song ‘I Don’t Know What Christmas Is’ now added to my Christmas song playlist.

My point is this: we have all been emotionally invested in this team from the opening credits of day one. Each new piece of Guardian’s lore has been an addition, never gratuitous. Each one added a needed piece to the puzzle, and now the puzzle is (for the moment) complete. James Gunn created a magnificent goodbye, rich in its own quirky ethos. I am sad to see it end but oh so grateful for the ride.

We all know that James Gunn has become the Feige of the DCU, and he has decided to go fairly scorched earth there. While I am 100% a no-go on replacing Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, how can we not trust that this mad genius knows what he is doing? I am giving him wide latitude and the benefit of the doubt, albeit begrudgingly on the Big Red Boy scout concern.

More of what we love

I expected a lot of the usual chaotic banter that this group is famous for going in, and wasn’t disappointed. Especially cool was the addition of Cosmo the Space Dog and am annoying my wife with my pitiful attempts to develop a Russian accent when speaking for our dogs. There is the familiar ‘will they/wont they’ of Peter and Gamora. We love the irreverent, gruffness of our favorite talking ‘raboon’, whose origins play a major part in this story. I think that Drax and Mantis have a sort of ‘Step-Brothers’ vibe to them that is endearing and innocent. And most noticable is the emotional growth of Nebula, who has matured from a psychopathic sibling consumed with jealousy, insecurity and barely supressed rage. Over three GotG feature films, two Avengers movies and one Holiday Special, she has become a stable (somewhat) force for practicle good. Think Professor McGonagall in blueface.

Even so, growth almost always comes by way of pain, and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is no different. There is a lot of soul-searching in this movie, which is somewhat uncharted territory. Make no mistake, this is the darkest of the Guardians movies, so don’t be surprised when you get a little teary-eyed. Unless you are a cyborg, it’s going to happen. At the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, we are treated to the most despicable, loathesome villain that the MCU has ever given us. Even Thanos, evil as his actions were, contained at least a spark of humanity. The High Evolutionary is…well…you just need to experience him. That’s all I will tell you.

Was it ‘the best Marvel movie since Endgame’? It was, but that’s not a high bar at all, since Marvel has not been immune to whatever is going on in the house of mouse right now. Don’t let that nasty business put you off. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is a total must-see, and I am giving it 4.75 out of 5. There was absolutely zero disappointment between the buildup and the actual event. I’m seeing it a second time this weekend along with my awesome wife (who almost never watches a movie twice). You aren’t going to find higher praise than that, I promise. Get there early, get the best seat. Get your corn and maybe an extra napkin. Just sayin’.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 inspired t-shirt coming soon to www.barredlands.com

You can listen to the most epic movie soundtrack compilation of all time on the official Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 site here:

Bonus: the Old 97’s song is an earworm waiting to happen. You’ve been warned…

Tags Guardians of the Galaxy