action Archives

Love and Monsters is a Pleasing Take on the Young Adult Apocalypse Genre (Despite Taking Many Cues from Other Popular Stories)

Love and Monsters is a throwback to the family-friendly YA fares that were so frequent during the 80s and the 90s. A lovable (and self-deprecating) dork sets out in a dangerous world filled with large, deadly monsters to reunite with…

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Mirzapur is Still Entertaining in its Second Season, Despite its Slower Pacing

Mirzapur returns with a second season almost two years after it first aired. In case you have forgotten what happened in the first season since then, the show opens with a detailed recap before diving straight into what looks like…

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The Old Guard Offers a Fresh Take on the Superhero Genre, Balancing Kinetic Action with Robust Characterization

Netflix’s The Old Guard is a good example of high concept movies done right. Although recent attempts such as The Gemini Man have fallen short, The Old Guard manages to build and deliver a narrative around the story’s central premise,…

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The Hunt is a Suspenseful Satire Anchored by a Strong Lead Performance

On 9th August 2019, Donald Trump claimed on Twitter “Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate. The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos.” Shortly after the first…

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Extraction Paints a Grim Picture of Urban Dhaka, Filled with Fast-Paced Kinetic Action

Extraction is one of those action movies whose plot can be neatly summed up in one sentence. A mercenary with a death wish is sent to rescue an Indian drug lord’s son in Dhaka, where he is held captive by…

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Bloodshot: Entertaining (But Unremarkable) Vin Diesel Action Vehicle with Decent Visual Effects

Bloodshot opens like you expect any non Fast and Furious Vin Diesel vehicle to open: with our protagonist Ray Garrison (Vin Diesel) striding into a firefight to rescue a hostage. It soon shifts to Garrison meeting with his wife and…

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Bad Boys for Life Sticks to Tried and Tested Formula of Fast-Paced Action and Bromance

The best thing about Bad Boys for Life is how inoffensive it is. Even Mike Lowery (Will Smith), the resident hotshot renegade, is more well behaved this time around. Part of this is because the director of the previous two…

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Titans Season 2 is a Mess that Suffers from a Lack of Direction

There’s no two ways about it. Titans season two is a gigantic mess of a TV show. It feels like someone just threw a bunch of characters and story arcs into the mix and didn’t put any effort to make…

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Terminator: Dark Fate is a Decent Follow-Up to a Long-Languishing Franchise

The Terminator series is one of those franchises which never quite lived up to their glory days, like The Predator or Jurassic Park. People have tried almost everything with the franchise: trying to recapture T2: Judgement Day’s action movie dynamic,…

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Gemini Man is a Passable Action Flick with Impressive Technology (and Little Soul)

There’s a moment early in Gemini Man where Will Smith shows remorse about his career as a government-sponsored assassin. He has 72 confirmed kills, and that, in his words, “does things to his head”. It’s the most characterization you see…