I shut it off


I saw the trailer for the Super Bowl. Actually, I think it was just a snippet of it during a commercial for Netflix? Then the trailer came out a few days later? Anyway, I thought it looked good. Like something that reminded me of my childhood.

So I'm out last night and I didn't feel like staying out and it was too late to go see The Batman since it's 3 hours long, so I went home and decided I'd watch this or Free Guy. I settled on this.

I was struggling to stay awake and eventually just gave up, shut it off, and went to bed. It was mildly amusing, but the action was very flat. Reynold's character is mowing down people (in armor, no less) with ease. They just evaporate whenever hit with his weapon. Hell, I think they blew up when Zoe Saldana shoots one with a regular gun. Reynolds even punches one with his bare fist. It was very choreographed and lacked tension. It was one boring digital explosion after another.

reply

The first half is better than the second half as well.

Free Guy is better than this and I had a lot more fun with that film.

reply

I watched Free Guy yesterday. What a fantastic movie!

reply

Yeah definitely, it was even better because I went in with low expectations just thinking it’d be a forgettable action comedy. Was very glad to have been proven wrong.

reply

Yeah it was a struggle by the end and an average film which is a shame considering the cast. I felt Zaldana and Garner were wasted and just there for the check. Reynolds does his same old gimmick which is fine and Ruffalo is boring as usual although he's not given much to work with. Some of the effects were cool and I did enjoy the first half and then it goes along exactly as you expect. Also I did like how they explained time travel. Probably the thing that bothered me the most was the lackluster action and seeing the invisible time jet appear all the time just so the villain could talk lol. It's a middle of the road sci-fi action comedy flick, but I think the film could have been great if it was a bit more fun and had some better writing. I just felt like there was no tension at all in the action parts and some of the other characters needed more screen time. Oh well, seems to be getting mostly good reviews though so I guess it's just not for me.

reply

I think you’re spot on. It just lacked fun and it seemed to stop far too often to have a serious emotional scene. Also too many underdeveloped characters that the film just expects you to be invested in. It was mainly all on the screenplay, typical mediocre writing that tries to distract you with action and special effects (even though these scenes weren’t as exciting as they should have been.)

reply

I just remember thinking that I'm not sure why the villain is trying to do what they are doing and we get so little of Ruffalo and Zaldana I could care less if they died.

reply

Yeah exactly. Quite baffling to me that this has received mostly positive reviews from critics. I found the whole thing very underwhelming but I guess that’s probably my fault for thinking this would be more than just your average Netflix film.

The trailer made the film look great, but then again I suppose that’s the point of a trailer is to sell you on watching the film haha.

reply

I did too. Right at the backyard fight scene where his Wife shows up.
All the ingredients were there, but it was flat. I could see the writing on the wall for more of the same and bailed.

reply