Wish

So guys, we've arrived at the newest Disney Classic and probably my most anticipated in a long, long time, Wish. I mentioned before that I was so incredibly excited for this movie. I thought the trailers were really exciting and from how the story was being presented, not to mention the fact that this was technically a film being made to help celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Disney completely, all that was making me so unbelievably excited to see this. Not only that, but, last week, I actually went to the UK Leicester Square premiere of the movie and it was the very first premiere I've ever been to. Though, for about a week now, I've been hearing that critics weren't liking the film and some were saying it was kinda bad. So, I saw this film yesterday and was curious to know what my thoughts would be like, especially since the last few Disney and Pixar films like Strange World, Lightyear and Elemental have all been big disappointments to me that I personally didn't really like. So, in the end, as much as I really, really, really hate to say it, yeah, I gotta agree with the critics on this one too. I personally thought this movie wasn't good and had some really bad elements to it. I really can't stress enough just how much I hate to say that because I really did have a lot of faith in this film, but I just didn't like it. That's not to say there's nothing good in it at all and that it's terrible, I wouldn't go that far, but I thought this was pretty bad. But, let's get into the review and, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part and then I'll get into the spoilers after a warning. So, what's the story? In a kingdom called Rosas, there's a king named Magnifico who created the kingdom a long time ago and he's also a person who's studied magic and now has the ability to grant anyone's wish once they've given it to him. One day, a teenager named Asha goes to talk to him about possibly working something out for her family, but, while there, she discovers a truth and the rest of the film is about her trying to figure out how to protect the kingdom all while she's being hunted. That's as far as I'll go in regards to the plot, but there's still a whole lot more that happens in the story overall. So, for this review, I'll go over the things I actually liked in the film first and then go into the negatives, cause there are more negatives than positives. So, like almost every other Disney film and the number 1 thing I always say is that the animation is still spectacular. But it's different here because, normally Disney tries to make everything like designs and textures look as real as possible, but they don't necessarily do that here. It reminds me a lot of Spider-Man:Into The Spider-Verse and Across The Spider-Verse and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. It feels like it's that type of animation, but it's still done in a way where you can still tell it's Disney animation and I really appreciate that. Also, seeing as this is a film being made to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Disney, they made a whole bunch of Disney references. And some were actually really fun to spot. As a giant Disney fan, it was fun to catch smart Easter Eggs for fans like me. That wasn't handled very well for everything, but we'll get into that later. Plus, the number 1 thing I absolutely adored about the film was the songs. I've been listening to them online for ages ever since they were revealed, and they're really amazing. Two of which have actually become two of my favourite songs ever recently and I really loved listening to them. Again, not every song is great, and, especially towards the end, they were used in "not great ways," but, again I'll get into that later. Also, with the songs being so amazing, they're helped greatly by really great voice acting, especially Ariana DeBose as Asha herself. I feel like she made Asha really likeable and I did really like Asha as a character. And, I guess the last positive I'll say is that the movie isn't really boring. Unlike movies like Strange World or Elemental, I wasn't bored to death watching this and I did at least find it entertaining despite all the bad stuff we're gonna get into, and I am weirdly happy this is the newest Disney Classic and the one celebrating the 100 year anniversary. But, with all that said, this film still has a lot of bad things in it and we're gonna get into those now. For starters, the pacing really isn't good here. It gets into the main plot really quickly. There is a bit of time before that, but it's still done extremely quickly and we quickly find out the main conflict pretty fast. I feel like Moana is a good example of where the pacing is done perfectly at the beginning to get us invested in the protagonists and their lives before the adventure kicks off, whereas here, it's done really quick and the main conflict is set up pretty fast too. That also leads to a lot of the film being really predictable and not very engaging, especially when a twist is revealed at the very beginning. Speaking of twist, the whole eventual villain reveal was not only insanely obvious, though I guess it wasn't really meant to be a surprise given the advertising, but still, that also didn't really help with the writing because, once it's revealed, the villain gets really over the top and campy and a lot of moments from that feel really forced and not done in the traditional loving Disney way, just in a really over the top and campy way. Also, some character moments and motivations felt really out of nowhere and sporadic, which also made some eventual redemption moments feel unnatural and not earned. Also, like I said, the film made a whole bunch of different Disney references, and, again, while some were really clever and fun to spot, others were really forced and shoehorned in and felt almost kinda manufactured. The comedy and humour in general also really fell flat for me. Nothing was awful, but nothing really made me laugh either, except a small moment at the end that got a small chuckle out of me, but, at the same time, there wasn't anything unintentionally cringy like in Strange World or Frozen 2, so I guess I'll give it that. The comedy also was another thing that felt kinda manufactured and felt like Disney wanted some pieces of comedy even when it felt really unnatural. Speaking of unnatural, the ending is also another one of the moments that goes really over the top and had some really dumb and cheesy moments, especially the eventual resolution to the whole thing. That might be the closest the film had to a kinda cringy moment. So, yeah, guys, overall, I was super disappointed in this movie. I was really, really holding out a lot of hope for it and really believed it was gonna be amazing, but it just wasn't good in my opinion. Weirdly enough though, again, I actually would kinda like to see it again. Even with all the bad stuff I just mentioned, a part of me does really want to see this again. Unlike some other recent Disney films like Strange World, Elemental, Lightyear and so on, this one I actually would want to see again, even if it does have a lot of bad elements in it. But, yeah, whether or not I can say I'd actually recommend this is a little tough because a part of me does want to say you should give the movie a chance, but there are still all the problems I mentioned. Honestly, I think you should just decide for yourself if this is something you'd be curious to see, but a part of me does still want to recommend it regardless. So everyone, that's my review of Wish. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're gonna get into the spoilers, if you don't want anything spoiled, go see the movie, then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

So, given all the things I listed already, I'm just gonna go through all the major stuff and give my thoughts on each part. So, when I said the pacing at the start felt rushed, I meant the fact that we get the scene of Asha going to Magnifico's palace to become one of his assistance but then she's told about the wishes kept there and then realises he's never going to grant her grandfather's wish because he think it could start a rebellion to take over Rosas and that's all what starts this whole thing. This is what I meant, that whole part went by so fast. I don't even think the first 20 minutes had gone by and we were immediately thrown into the main plot. Also, the whole idea of Magnifico getting worried about something like that about a wish like that was really weird and, while I do kinda get it, it was still really weird and the fact that that's what starts it makes it weirder. I just feel like there were better alternatives and better ways of convincing Asha that Magnifico was crazy. And, again, the fact that Asha then has that blow up with her family also felt really forced and quick. That did however lead to the This Wish song, which might be my favourite in the whole movie. And then, this whole thing leads to Asha making that wish and making a living star come down to her to help her. That part was actually kinda cool, though I don't really know how I feel about Star as a character because it felt like Disney was trying to make him out to be this huge standout character, kinda like Baymax, but I didn't really feel the same and Star doesn't really do anything that special as a character. He wasn't annoying and has some nice moments, but he's nowhere near as big of a standout character as Baymax was. This also then starts that other big problem I had, which was when the film began to become extremely cheesy and over the top and I'm talking about when Magnifico begins to go crazy after using the dark magic. The whole plot of him going crazier and crazier the more he uses it and begins to use the wishes as a means to get stronger is also a part that felt really insane and not really in a good way. This is also where the acting felt kinda off too. I usually love Chris Pine in everything I see him in, but something about his acting here felt really campy and cheesy like I was saying already. This is also what I meant by some things feeling kinda forced. The whole plot point of him getting crazier and crazier was what I meant by that with it feeling like it came out of nowhere and not being properly built up or developed. I also really didn't like the whole thing about one of Asha's friends betraying her and selling her out, that also was another aspect that felt like it was out of nowhere and was just there so it could be there and at the end when he has his redemption is what I meant by it being forced and unnatural and not earned. And all this eventually leads to the finale where Magnifico captures all of Rosas and tries to capture Star and the rest of the Wishes. Honestly, seeing as I already wasn't liking the direction of Magnifico's character and the fact that some other elements throughout were feeling kinda forced, it made it hard to get invested in this part. Speaking of the ending, this is the other thing I mentioned about how the climax was kinda dumb and cheesy, and I was referring to the fact that all of Rosas basically just all believe together to use against him as they're singing and all this eventually overpowers Magnifico and he's then trapped inside the staff he made. This is what I'm talking about, that whole part just felt really over the top and too cheesy, even if I feel like it was trying to invoke some special Disney feelings in the audience, but I don't think it really succeeded. Anyway, after he's defeated, we get the queen trying to fix everything and Asha watching as the citizens begin to do what they wanted and it looked like Star also supposedly made Asha a fairy godmother. I dunno how I feel about that. I guess that's kinda cool, but, again, just another kinda weird moment that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about. But that last scene is also when we get a whole bunch of other Disney references like the whole Peter Pan thing and, again, references like that felt kinda forced and not well executed. The last shot where we see the kingdom like the Cinederella castle opening thing for Disney was actually cool and I liked that one, though maybe because of the other references I wasn't a fan of, that part was kinda dampened for me a bit. However, I did absolutely adore the end credits where they show characters from every Disney Classic up to that point, that was really cool and I loved guessing which one they would pick for each film. So, yeah, that's pretty much it. Again, I just had so many problems with this film and was really expecting it to be spectacular, but it wasn't and am fairly saddened by how much I didn't like it in the end, even if I do strangely want to see it again. I'm curious to know what the next Disney Classic will be and whatever it is, I hope it's better and does better as well. So everyone, that's my review of Wish. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

The Marvels

So, guys, we've arrived at the last M.C.U movie of 2023, but one of its least anticipated, The Marvels. This was a film that was gonna be crossing over aspects of the movies and the Disney+ shows that I haven't reviewed yet, but I have watched. So, I'm not gonna lie, I went into this not expecting much. I was honestly expecting this to be one of the most forgotten and unmemorable M.C.U films, especially since the marketing made it look like it was just one of those films that maybe should have just been another show. Not to mention the fact that Captain Marvel is one of the lesser M.C.U movies so a lot of that was indicating to this being another M.C.U property being panned. But, then I heard that audiences were actually liking it fine. No, it wasn't anything amazing, but some were saying it was a very simple and fun time. And, having seen it myself, I can say I think the exact same way. This is a very simple, small scaled movie that actually does have a lot going on, but still feels very small compared to other M.C.U projects, despite what actually happens in the film. I honestly enjoyed it, no, I didn't think it was great or anything and it has some dumb and kinda cringy stuff in it, but I did actually like this more than Captain Marvel and thought it was more likeable. Something that I think helped with that is that I have watched the Disney+ Marvel shows and, even though I haven't reviewed them yet, seeing them definitely helped because this film obviously relies on them a lot. I feel like this film was just one of those small M.C.U movies that was short and fun enough to pass the time. But, yeah, something like that did leave a lot of problems too like some dumb stuff too like I mentioned. But, we'll get into that later, for now, let's talk about the plot, and, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part and then I'll talk about all the spoilers after a warning. So, what's the story? In space, Carol discovers a new power, but when she gets too close to it, she discovers that her, Monica and Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani, switch places when they use their powers and now they need to team up after a new villain decides to go after them. That's really the best I can do without spoilers, but there's actually not that much to spoil in this anyway. So, this is sort of a weird situation of a film where, based on the plot and what we've seen from the trailers, and I guess also just with how the M.C.U has been going lately, it kinda felt like this was gonna be a smaller film despite having big aspects to it. And that is the vibe I got from watching this. I feel like that could also be because the film incorporates aspects of the Disney+ shows that are usually smaller scaled. So, like always, I'll go over the negatives and then positives that I saw personally. So, as far as what I didn't like, and this is something I noticed in all the M.C.U movies this year, but the opening felt pretty rushed and felt like it was trying to get into the main plot really, really quickly. Though, I think I noticed it more here because the pacing in the opening really just gets you into it immediately because we're introduced to our main villain from the first scene and then we see them get straight into the action pretty fast with seeing where Carol, Monica and Kamala are. The effects also didn't all look amazing here. A lot were, but there were some moments where it looked kinda weird, especially one scene in particular where we see a spaceship come into view and it looked really off. The villain is also super forgettable in this. Not memorable or interesting and has a lot of fairly generic villain stuff going on. Plus, with the whole jumping around to different perspectives a lot, it also makes some editing moments feel out of place and kinda messy. Plus, in general, it does feel like a mess with how the story is being told. Just different aspects about it can feel kinda outta place and underdeveloped and not explored all that well and it doesn't always flow as a proper narative. A big part of that is also the fact that this is now the shortest M.C.U movie ever, and while that does sorta help make the film not overstay its welcome, it can also lead to that lack of proper flow or development like I mentioned. And, again, there are some moments that were maybe supposed to be kinda stupid, but there was one in particular that really didn't work for me and that led to that whole section of the film being kinda pointless, despite how it does have a point later on. So, yeah, a lot of that, I imagine, would be stuff that would throw a lot of people off  from the film, not to mention the fact that the film is already pretty much underperforming financially. But, with all that said, I definitely saw some enjoyable aspects in this and, enough for me to say that I was happy enough leaving the theatre. For starters, most of the performances are really good, some weren't and some were really forgettable, but most of them were. There's also some cool ideas in this and I like how it answered some questions left open from some of the previous properties like Ms. Marvel and we got to see. Speaking of, the Ms. Marvel show was one of the most uniquely edited things in the M.C.U and this continued that. Sure, like I said, some of the editing didn't work out very well, but they use some really unique things for them and I enjoyed seeing that make a return in this film. I also just enjoyed the overall sense of adventure in this film. I liked following Carol, Monica and Kamala through this. I will admit, usually I love having characters interact and crossover for the first time in the M.C.U, but here, I will admit, while it was cool at times to see it happen, some of it also did feel kinda forced and not natural. But, overall, the three of them did have a fun dynamic and I enjoyed them together. I also enjoyed other interactions too like all of them and Nick along with Kamala's family and there is a fair amount of fun moments to be had in my opinion, one scene in particular where everyone is having to get off a spaceship. That scene was pretty cool and had some creative ideas. And, honestly, in general, despite having a lot of bad elements and dumb moments, I just felt like this film had a very likeable feel to it that made me really enjoy it. Whether or not I can say that makes the film good is kinda hard to say, but I do believe that I really enjoyed the film nonetheless and am really happy I saw it. Plus, there are some specific things about it that make me really excited and that I'm really looking forward to talking about in the spoiler section, so I'll just wrap this part of the review up. Overall, I'm not entirely sure if I can say this is a good film in general, despite the fact that I did really like it and enjoy it and would really want to see it again. So, I would say take what I've said and decide if this is something you'd be interested in. I personally would really like to see it again and would recommend if you're the least bit curious. And so, everyone, those are my thoughts on The Marvels.Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're gonna go into the spoilers, if you don't want anything spoiled, go see the film then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

So, there's really not a lot of stuff to talk about in terms of spoilers since, again, the film was pretty short and it didn't lead the way to many surprises, but there's still a lot to dissect anyway. For one, the film really does just sorta get into the story pretty quick because the first scene is literally just showing the villain getting the second bangle and immediately cutting to Carol, Monica and Kamala as Carol and Monica come in contact with that Jump Point that causes all of them to have their powers connected and then we start getting a lot of different information like how the villain has been trying to make some promise with the Skrulls and so we see Carol, Monica and Kamala try to help that planet full of Skrulls and not being able to protect everyone. That part was pretty cool though something I found kinda weird was afterwards when we see that Nick brought Kamala's family with him to that S.H.I.E.L.D carrier in space. I know it was probably because since Kamala was involved, he wanted her family to be safe, but it was still odd and I don't think it made a lotta sense. Anyway, after that is when we see that the villain is doing all this to try to restore life to the Kree planet and so she's trying to take different things from other planets to restore it. This is kinda what I meant because, even though we clearly see what the villain is doing and why, it still doesn't really show the villain herself having much of a character to her. Killmonger I think is a perfect example of having an understandable motivation and we see what he's doing and why, but he still has his own character and so we see him act like a character no matter what he does and that aspect just wasn't apparent with this character. This then leads to Carol, Monica and Kamala properly working together and putting together that the villain is trying to get Kamala's bangle. The film then does try to have some nice moments like when Carol and Monica try to sort out why Carol never came back and we see it's because Carol destroyed the Supreme Intelligence on the Kree planet and that's why the planet's dying and why the villain is trying to restore it back to normal. I'm not entirely sure if I can say they all succeeded in being great character moments, but I appreciate they tried to have moments like that. Especially since we have had that whole thing set up since Captain Marvel. Though, probably the worst moment in the film is when they had to go to that singing planet and had to sing to communicate with the people there. I know the M.C.U has had weird moments like that for comedy before, but this just didn't work, especially since they're able to speak normally to the only person they need to talk to anyway and so that made that whole thing feel even more cringy. I guess it didn't necessarily last very long, so that was good, but still. That then led to the fight on that planet and that was pretty cool with Carol, Monica and Kamala having to switch positions over and over and so that was cool and the whole spaceship fight reminded me a lot of a Star Wars fight, so that was cool. And then, the thing I mentioned before that I thought was really cool was when they went back to Fury and the others and realised the ship was about to explode and they didn't have enough escape pods for everyone but then realised that Goose had baby things and so they used them to eat everyone and have them be in the escape pods to take up less room. That actually was pretty funny and did seem kinda creative. Then as the final fight came along, this is actually where I feel like the film was missing any real stakes. It's a little hard to explain, but when I kept talking about how the film was really small scaled and didn't feel like there was that much to it because of that, it made the finale feel kinda hollow because we have a huge deal going on since the villain was trying to steal the sun and take it away, but, because of how it was being done and because of how the rest of the movie was feeling up until that point, it didn't feel like that big of a deal despite the fact that it technically is a huge deal given the circumstances. I also found it kinda clichéd when the villain was acting like she was willing to cooperate only to try to kill them again and that led to her death, even if it did look cool. And so, that then led to a big thing where Monica is having to absorb so much energy from Carol and Kamala and be into the Jump Point to close it and so that causes her to disappear, then we get a nice ending with Carol and Kamala bonding more. That was a nice ending, I guess, but the main thing I want to talk about is the real ending because we get some scenes that made me really happy and really, really excited. The first is when we see Kamala go and visit Kate Bishop from the Hawkeye show, played by Hailee Steinfeld, which I also saw, and we see her recruit her the same way Nick recruited Tony in the first Iron Man film and so that was really exciting and I heard that this was leading the way to a Young Avengers project with them and also Cassie from Ant-Man, so that was really cool, but then we get a mid credit scene where we see Monica in some other dimension and we actually get to see that she's in the X-Men mansion with Beast. That was so incredible to see. We finally get to see the X-Men in the M.C.U and it was actually Kelsey Grammer back to play Beast again and so that was really exciting. Especially since Deadpool 3 is technically the next M.C.U movie to come out and so that paves the way for a lot of incredible opportunities and I can't wait to see more and I'm really excited for Deadpool 3 next year. Overall, this ending made me really excited for the upcoming projects. So, overall guys, I just found this to be a really likeable and harmless film. Sure, that does lead to a lot of problems like not feeling anything special from it and not feeling like it's a properly structured story, but, for what it is, I really liked it and I really do think this could be one of my most underrated M.C.U projects. I was just happy and fairly satisfied after leaving the theatre for this and I honestly am happy with what we got because I was honestly expecting nothing out of this film at all and was glad I found a fair amount of enjoyment in it and I personally would be happy to see it again. So, whether or not I can say that would intrigue people enough to want to check it out is hard to say, but, I personally would say that I think you should try to give the film a chance. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of The Marvels. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.