Gladiator 2

 

Sixteen years after the deaths of both the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and General Maximus Decimus Meridius, Rome is once again under the tyrannical rule of twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. As the twins set their sights on expanding their empire in a seemingly never-ending war, the Roman army arrives on the shores of the Northern African kingdom Numidia in order to conquer it. As the battle rages on, the refugee Hanno is taken captive into slavery along with his fellow Numidian soldiers. Hanno and his men are then taken to Ostia, where they are tested and trained to become gladiators. Hanno especially catches the attention of Macrinus, who promises Hanno the opportunity for revenge against the general who led the attack on Hanno's home and murder of his wife if he can withstand the rigorous battles of the arena.

I had so many mixed feelings going into the theater to watch Gladiator II. The first one is very high on my list of top 20 favorite movies of all time, and considering how perfect the original was, I was highly skeptical any sequel could live up to the epicness.  The end result wasn't bad. It was really done quite well actually. I absolutely loved Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal in their respective roles, both of them knocked it out of the park (or should I say arena...sorry). This was also a great example of using specific callbacks that didn't feel forced or out of place.

The two guys who played the twin emperors were ok, but I kind of wish they had been more diabolical and less clownish. It almost felt like they saw Joaquin Phoenix's role as Commodus and decided to imitate him but ham it up tenfold. It wasn't bad, just not the direction I would've probably gone with. Same goes with the story itself. If it had been up to me, I would've probably written the story to follow Djimon Hounsou's character Juba from the original Gladiator as he navigates the gladiatorial arena and trying to win his own freedom. Interestingly enough, there were at least three different instances where some dialogue was used that seemed to my mind to allude to Denzel's character Macrinus possibly actually being Juba, but I don't know if that was just me wishing that were the case, or if that was the original intent. I wish at the very least Juba made an appearance, even if it had been a brief one.

Overall, after waiting almost 25 years for the release of a sequel, the end result was well worth it even with a few minor hiccups along the way. Part of me still wants that sequel following Juba, but it might be a little too late now. Oh well, one can dream.

Deadpool and Wolverine

Since losing his fiancé Vanessa, after previously using Cable's time travel technology to save her, Wade Wilson a.k.a. Deadpool has felt a bit lost in his life. Oh sure, he still enjoys being a mercenary, but it just doesn't have the same impact on him that it did before. He keeps feeling like he's meant for something greater, something bigger than himself. After attempting to fulfill that emptiness by traveling from his universe to the Prime Universe (616) in order to join the Avengers, he returns, hangs up the blades and becomes a used car salesman working with his former X-Force teammate Peter. He's then kidnapped by Mr. Paradox of the Time Variance Authority who explains to him that his universe is about to expire due to the loss of its 'anchor being', which as Deadpool comes to find out is Logan a.k.a. Wolverine. In order to save his universe, Deadpool teams up with a Wolverine who killed his own entire world and tries to stop Mr. Paradox and the Time Variance Authority.

 
I had the same problem with Deadpool and Wolverine that I had with Spider-Man: Far from Home. The story was so flimsy and barely there that it felt like it was just Cameo Central, not much else. It’s weird that it didn’t work for me since that’s what made me love something like Expendables 1 & 2 (haven’t seen 3 or 4 yet), but for whatever reason it didn’t work. Still thought it was funny, did love some of the cameos, and it was great seeing Hugh Jackman finally interact as Wolverine with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, but for me Deadpool 2 is still the funniest/best one out of the series. I was skeptical at first when I first heard of the potential of a Channing Tatum Gambit movie, I just didn't think he'd be good for a role like that; but after seeing him play the role in Deadpool and Wolverine, I think he should get another chance at the role of Gambit in either a solo movie or X-Men reboot. Maybe he could show up in Secret Wars when it arrives. That actually wouldn't surprise me honestly, now that I think about it. I do agree with some people who commented that Deadpool should take over Stan Lee’s cameos in each Marvel flick moving forward, I think that’d be pretty funny to see. Plus, it would keep Deadpool in the MCU now that the Fox universe is over, and the X-Men are now in the main continuity. 

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

 

Several hundred years after the reign of Caesar - the chimpanzee who, due to a drug meant to cure Alzheimer's became hyper-intelligent, ultimately leading him and other apes to gain the ability to speak - apes are now spread out across the planet and split into different factions. Some factions still remember the time of Caesar and his pacifistic teachings, while others have forgotten. In one such clan that has taken to falconry as a way to hunt and provide for themselves, Noa, the son of the clan's leader, ends up on the run from a rival clan led by an ape named Proximus, who attacks and destroys his own. In an effort to extract revenge on the clan for destroying his family, Noa teams up with a human girl named Mae - who has her own reasons for going against Proximus - setting up a plan to free what's left of his clan and become the leader his people need him to be and who he was born to become.

The previous trilogy of Planet of the Apes films - starting with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and ending with War for the Planet of the Apes - is hands down one of the best trilogies of films to come out in recent years, at the very least the last 25 years. As it stands War is on my shortlist of favorite films ever. The combination of a rich set of characters, beautiful scenery/cinematography, and some great storytelling made for an extremely fun experience in the theater. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (seriously, whose idea was it to make the titles for each entry in this series so dang long?) does thankfully live up to the previous trilogy, though it steers the story more into action/adventure territory instead of diving into the more philosophical elements. I found that kind of disappointing, as I enjoyed the philosophical and scientific side of things, but it didn't completely detract from the overall experience. 

As the series continues, I do have to wonder just where exactly the story can go from here, but Kingdom does have some pretty interesting twists that could result in this trilogy rivaling the previous ones in just about every aspect. I've read some reviews wondering just how this new generation of films can justify their existence since the original's twist ending had such a massive impact when it was first released, as well as the similarities in topics each story touches on. All I can say in that regards is that I personally have not seen any of the older films in the series, so for me the impact of the last four films has been pretty significant and I do think the topics have been handled really well. The way I see it, stories have been around for generations, there truly isn't a completely original storyline or lesson to be learned that hasn't been touched on in some form or another previously. That said, it is still absolutely possible to craft a story in such a way that is fully engaging and fun, as well as maybe touch on things from a viewpoint one might not have given much thought to previously. In this particular case, that is exactly what's happened. I'm personally fully invested in the story moving forward, and can't wait to see what's next.