TylerWebb19 Reviews

The Witcher (2019– )

A Four Episode Story Told in Eight - Season 3 Review

[7/10 · 18 November 2023]

I enjoyed the first two seasons a lot, perhaps this is bias having recently been playing The Witcher 3 at the time of watching the show, but it's fight scenes, visuals and performances were thoroughly entertaining. If you are not familiar with any Witcher media then you may find it a little confusing as season 1 begins telling two stories in different time periods, featuring the same characters in parallel.

Season 3 is a massive let down. I enjoyed the first two episodes and after that the story slowed dramatically. Characters begin their own journeys and don't achieve the goal they set out, as well as make irrational decisions.

The plot is far too confusing; it spends a lot of time around the political aspects between the different geographic areas, but it's far too convoluted and doesn't give you a reason to care. You probably won't remember who's on who's side and where they are from and what they want because the show does a poor job of explaining this.

Ultimately, everything the season builds up to comes crashing down in a poorly executed climax all in one episode. It's akin to being stuck in neutral and then suddenly driving off a cliff. The worst part is this episode is NOT the final OR penultimate episode, therefore the rest of the season feels wasted as the story does not progress any further.

The visuals and action scenes remain very enjoyable. The performances are still stellar, particularly Henry Cavill as Geralt and Freya Allan as Ciri.

Season 3 tells a story that could have been told in 4 episodes max, in 8 episodes. Despite this, the story is still incomplete and not satisfactory.

I cannot currently recommend this show to anybody, as there doesn't really seem to be an audience for it. Fans of the source material will find an unfaithful adaption, people new to the Witcher may find it confusing, and if you don't then the show isn't that great anyway since the release of season 3. Instead I recommend playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it's a fantastic game and a much better use of your time.

Seasons 1-3: 7/10.

The Mandalorian (2019– )

Seasons 1-2 Review

[6/10 · 17 November 2023]

Hot Take: The Mandalorian is not good.

I'll divide this review into two parts, one for each season.

Season 1 opens with a promising start to the series, it has incredible action and visuals, and the plot was simple. The following episode developed the story enough to keep us interested, and it was short so I had no problem with the "side-quest style" episode. Episode 3 is by far the peak of the entire series. It's about the only time we really get to see that the Mandalorian cares for this child, and this is a great episode for his development, as he proves that he has real emotion inside of his tough exterior, and that he makes it his own business to protect the child. The next 3 episodes are bad. They are all filler episodes, and not good ones either. The plot becomes dumb, I would have to give spoilers to explain how (I won't), but basically the characters don't make logical decisions. When the plot finally resumes in ep 7, the show is enjoyable again, and highlights the best of the series. Simple plot, limited characters, great action, visuals, music, everything is great.

Season 2 is worse. Almost every episode follows this format: Mando finds someone that can help him and tell him where to go, they tell him only if he helps them first, he helps them and flies off to the next episode. It's repetitive, boring, filler, no advancements in the plot. Some of these episodes are better filler episodes than those of season 1, they aren't as dumb in plot and pack a little more tension, however there are more filler episodes in this season. This season just feels like a role-playing game and side-quests played only, rather than a TV series with an engaging narrative, characters that have character and a sensible plot. I will refrain from giving spoilers or talking about each episode as it would take too long, but a common issue that has been prevalent throughout all of Star Wars is that Storm Troopers pose 0 threat. Without spoiling, Chapter 14 demonstrates how dumb the writing is, and how they treat enemies in this universe. Storm Troopers have untrained aim, they seem to have their orders changed from "kill on sight" (they do this when they chase Mando and Mates) to "capture the enemy" (when the writers think it's time for some action from the good-guys) , whichever benefits the heroes the most. Plot armour is astonishingly tough, more-so than Beskar. There are always multiple troopers but they always attack one by one, and not from range with their blasters, instead they run towards their enemy just to be knocked out/killed by a melee weapon. Each episode up until the last is either alright or bad. Alright = filler but nothing terribly wrong with the episode. I'll praise the sets, costumes and visual achievements in this show. But the narrative is bad. The final episode of the season is great though. I think the ending of it was cool to look at but entirely fan service. This episode concludes the plot in a sensible way. The arc is finished though and if there is a 3rd season this show will have to go in a completely new direction, as there isn't really a door open for season 3. Furthermore this season seems to include loads of fan service simply to lay the ground-work for upcoming Disney+ shows.

If there is another season, I'll debate watching it. This show was made to simply distract those from the sequel trilogy. It respects the original trilogy, includes loads of fan-service and lacks an engaging plot most of the time, at best it's a simple plot. This keeps younger viewers engaged as they can just watch the action. But this is what Star Wars fans enjoy, so fair enough. However, I do not.

6/10.

No Time to Die (2021)

The Cost of 007

[8/10 · 2 October 2021]

If you've enjoyed the previous Bond films that star Daniel Craig then you shouldn't have much of an issue with this one.

It's a relatively slow paced film perhaps compared to other entries in the series and a tad longer too, yet this doesn't retract from the film or make it boring. The film is enjoyable to watch and the action is good as always. Furthermore, the film has many intense moments throughout the plot which keep you engaged and makes for a thrilling experience.

This movie carries a hint of tragedy throughout; you feel and understand the pain Bond bears. This allows for you to feel as if you have a greater awareness of his suffering that he's experienced across these five movies. Despite this, Bond's personality shines bright with the usual witty comments. Craig's performance is as good as it gets with Bond.

I was a little disappointed to not see much of the Aston Martins which appeared in this movie. The DBS Superleggera and Valhalla are criminally underused. However, there is still plenty of vehicle action in this movie, just nothing in the really good-looking cars.

Speaking of short appearances, Ana de Armas isn't in this movie for long, which is a shame as I regard her as a brilliant actress. Although she only appears briefly, her scenes are incredibly fun to watch. She's funny and, well you know what. Her character delivers some cool action with excellent choreography, so it was good to see her in this movie.

Rami Malek's character, Safin, isn't the greatest Bond villain, however this movie is much more about James rather than the villain or the mission at stake. The performance from Malek is good. I also appreciate the make-up used on Malek's face to give him a disfigured appearance, reflective of his character's personality. Safin isn't the most exciting villain, but I don't find this takes anything away from the movie as the villain isn't the central focus of this movie. If anything he's more of a plot device used against James to push him to his limits

'No Time to Die' is a fitting and satisfying end to the Craig-Bond era. Ultimately it's a movie not about the Villain, or the new deadly weapon, but a movie solely about James Bond. You may think that's a given, however I want to hammer home that this is a character driven story, more so than the last four, which explores how James' lack of trust is in the end his greatest adversary. He needn't feel sorry for himself as that's just how he was trained, but he must accept the price he pays for branding himself as 007. This film is just as emotional and thrilling as the previous Craig-Bond movies and did not disappoint me.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Felina was the wrapping paper, El Camino is the ribbon.

[10/10 · 12 October 2019]

It's sad to see the amount of people disappointed in this movie. I understand this is all subjective put personally I thought the movie was incredible. It was the perfect epilogue to the series and completed Jesse's story in such a satisfying way. It's the closure we as the audience could only desire, and more than a tribute to the series. So please, realize that this was never meant to be what Endgame was for the MCU, with crazy SFX and action non-stop, but rather Gilligan's masterpiece being fully finished.

Felina was the wrapping paper, this is the ribbon.

The Punisher (2017–2019)

The Punisher - Season 2 Review

[9/10 · 20 January 2019]

With this potentially being the final season of The Punisher, it ends on a very high note. While the ending is bleak, that won't matter as much if the show is going to be cancelled anyway. It wouldn't exactly be the ending anybody would probably want for the show, but at least it doesn't tease a load of cool stuff and get cancelled so we never get to see it (Daredevil...). If the show isn't cancelled, then it has no real place to pick up from except for Frank's new position as a person that he ends up in.

Season 2 of The Punisher is in many ways an improvement of the first. We get a lot more action, character progression, new characters, and different approaches to story-telling. While some aspects of these things don't always work, they are compelling enough to improve the show and it's what makes the season different from the first (a good difference).

The action really shows the true colours of Frank Castle. It's incredibly violent and there's a lot of it so you can really sink your teeth into it. It gives the character an opportunity to show who he really is and what he does. This season also does a great job telling us of why Frank does what he does so it's not like the action is mindless, just to keep the viewers entertained.

One of the best things about this season is the character development. Season 1 left each character in their own place of mind which is where this season picked up on. Russo is left with a scarred face and fractured mind, in which he tries to piece together in order to make sense of his life again. Madani is drinking as a way of therapy to heal herself over Russo's actions, most notably him murdering Sam Stein. Finally, Frank is doing his best to "be what he's meant to be". He starts with him trying to get by his past with him leaving it all behind, but he ultimately realises exactly who he is. From here each character had a new story arc and since we already knew the characters, we got to see different sides of them - especially Russo (which in my opinion is one of the best characters this season).

Season 2 does things a little differently, by having two main plots going on parallel to each other. On the one hand we have Russo's take on Jigsaw, in which Madani is eager to end her personal case on him by putting him behind bars. Billy is undergoing treatment and seeking revenge on Frank. The other story line involves John Pilgrim, a Christian criminal searching for a girl named Amy who got caught in between his business and has Frank stepping in. It's not a bad approach and works better than I thought it would, however at times it felt like one plot was put on pause for the other one to have room to progress.

Another incredible aspect of this season is Amy Bendix and the relationship that Frank and her develop. At first, I felt she was lacking in character to make her interesting - even with her backstory and the situation she was in. However, when she began to understand who Frank was, she opened up more and together they formed a bond that was special to both of them.

Season 2 of The Punisher delivers a story (or two) that develops characters in complex and interesting ways that make it such an amazing watch. From the tension of the Jigsaw to the heart-warming relationship between Amy and Frank, the show changed in ways that I really enjoyed. This season is better than the first in almost every way, and I'll be devastated if this is the last of this show.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

Interactive Movie - First Attempt

[7/10 · 30 December 2018]

Despite how the movie made me feel and question life itself, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is left floating in between a poor game and a decent Black Mirror episode.

Reviewing Bandersnatch is a more difficult task, since people review it in different ways. Some see it as a game and some see it as a movie. In reality it should be a movie, however since it is interactive it makes Bandersnatch feel like it is neither. The interactive feature hasn't been executed well enough for this to stay as a well structured movie and instead of me choosing the character's choices I just got to see what would have happened.

The interactive part: I never really felt I had control at all. I had to choose wrong or right without knowing which was which and if it was wrong then I'd just be forced to go back and choose the right one. While this is great in that I can easily see different events that would occur, I should be choosing the events of the movie and what happens in it. The movie would honestly be better off without the interactions and instead the writers choosing one of the many endings. Another thing is the movie wasn't cut very well in the parts where you had to make a choice.

As for it being a movie, its interesting and definitely Black Mirror - but only in the sense of how it made us think. Usually Black Mirror is how a great invention can backfire. In The Entire History of You there was the memory implant, Arkangel with the tracker, you know the rest. There was no device which left the plot quite weak. The good thing was that we as viewers were basically in a Black Mirror episode. Apart from that everything else was too standard. Like said in the movie (no spoilers) everything was too normal. Cinematography had no chance to shine, acting was good but nothing spectacular. I did enjoy the music though, we even got a chance to choose which we wanted.

Even with the poorly executed interactive system and the too normal of a film, the fact that the viewer was really apart of a movie allowed Bandersnatch to create a fun watch for us to enjoy. The idea of an interactive movie is great. (The solution to doing it right would be that our choices are our choices just like opinions. They are not wrong or right. If another interactive movie is made I hope we get to guide the movie instead of seeing outcomes of decisions we don't want). However as a first attempt it's not a bad one and hopefully if Netflix decide to do more of these then they work better next time.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

An exciting adventure within the Star Wars universe

[8/10 · 29 May 2018]

When I first heard about this subject (Han Solo's backstory) becoming a movie I thought, why? It was most likely for Disney to get some money back after buying the rights to Star Wars but still, why chose Han for a movie? We already knew how he got his ship and what not and making a movie with Han Solo and not casting Harrison Ford to play him is a big risk. I understand they needed a younger actor to portray young Han Solo but still, Fans wouldn't like Seeing Han on the big screen to only remember Harrison Ford isn't apart of the movie!

With that being said, this movie is a fun adventure within the Star Wars universe and contains some great action scenes, emotional moments and some funny lines.

About the characters, I liked Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo more than I thought I would. Obviously he doesn't surpass Harrison Ford's incredible work but none the less, Alden's not bad. Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra is a good character, however she becomes more interesting near the end of the movie (without me having to spoil anything) but the movie ends at that point. Beckett is interesting and I thought he was a good addition to the movie and Chewie, this is probably the movie where the furry beast is best in. He feels like a true supporting character and not just Han's sidekick.

The story of the movie has a good flow with out any other side plots going on at the same time (unlike The Last Jedi). It felt logical and the plot was put together well.

All in all the movie was better than I expected it to be and it's probably getting a little too much hate. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but this movie is better than people are making it out to be. As a Star Wars fan that has seen every Star Wars movie to date, I can safely say I enjoyed this movie a lot.