Mortal Kombat Retrospective

 

The latest film adaptation of a hit video game will soon be upon us in the form of Mortal Kombat, the James Wan produced adaptation of the iconic franchise of the same name. Yes, Mortal Kombat is undoubtedly one of the most popular franchises in the world of gaming. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, what started out as a 1992 arcade fighting game that was originally intended to be based around Jean-Claude Van Damme (who, of course, would end up starring in the first film adaptation of the other big fighting game franchise of the ’90s, Street Fighter) would go on to become a bona fide staple of its genre. It spawned numerous follow-ups, is still going strong today with the most recent entry of the series, Mortal Kombat 11, released in 2019 and, as of 2020, has sold over 54 million copies worldwide. However, it’s also worth noting that, amidst all its success, Mortal Kombat also became notorious for its intensely violent fighting mechanics, especially due to its incredibly graphic finishing moves known as ‘Fatalities’. As you might have guessed, this resulted in the series attracting its fair share of controversies over the years, which can best be summed up by the fact that the original game was largely responsible for the creation of the video game industry’s official North American rating system, the ESRB. But for today’s post, we’ll be focusing on the franchise’s feature film outings since this new adaptation of Mortal Kombat is not the series’ first foray into the medium.

In the mid-’90s, the franchise spawned one of the first major film adaptations of a popular video game with a 1995 adaptation that, for the most part, is still widely considered to be one of the better films to come from this subgenre. It was then followed by a sequel in 1997, which is widely considered… to be one of the worst films of all time. We’ll be looking at both of those films today, and just for the heck of it, I’ll also cover a different Mortal Kombat film that came out just last year; an animated feature based around one of the franchise’s most popular characters. To be clear, though, we’re only going to talk about the films, which means that we won’t be addressing any of the franchise’s other spin-offs, which mostly come in the form of TV shows. This includes an animated series, Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, and a live-action series, Mortal Kombat: Conquest. We’re also not going to go over the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy even though that show did have a notable impact on the upcoming film adaptation since its creator, Kevin Tancharoen, was originally slated to direct it. It’s also worth noting that Legacy primarily came to be after Tancharoen directed a short fan film in 2010, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, which proved to be quite a hit when it was released on YouTube. But with all that out of the way, it’s now time for all of us to test our might because to quote the iconic tune from The Immortals, it’s time for the one, the only… MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!

MORTAL KOMBAT (1995)

Let’s flashback to the mid-’90s, where we got our first major attempts at films that were based on hit video games. However, these initial works such as 1993’s Super Mario Bros and 1994’s Street Fighter very much set the stage for the genre’s consistently bad luck as they were poorly received upon their release and attracted some flak from fans of their respective franchises for not necessarily staying true to their source material. But when it comes to 1995’s Mortal Kombat, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson in what was only his second directorial effort, it did manage to capture a lot of what made the Mortal Kombat games so successful, especially from a visual perspective (dated CGI notwithstanding). Granted, I wouldn’t call this a, to quote one of the series’ trademark phrases, “flawless victory” as there are a few things about it that fans of the franchise will probably find incredibly disappointing, such as the underutilization of some of the series’ most popular characters and the heavily neutered nature of its action sequences. Yes, this is a PG-13 rated film, which means that there’s almost none of the series’ trademark graphic violence. Still, for what it’s worth, the film does feature plenty of solidly done fight sequences as well as some incredibly memorable performances from the likes of Christopher Lambert as Lord Raiden, the god of thunder, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the sinister sorcerer Shang Tsung. In short, it goes without saying that the original Mortal Kombat is far from perfect and will undoubtedly be overshadowed by the series’ upcoming reboot which, by all accounts, will be an even more faithful take on the franchise. And yet, given all the other films based on video games that have been made over the years, this still stands as one of the genre’s best. It may not have been a ‘pitch-perfect’ adaptation, but it did manage to hit just enough of the right beats to avoid being a case where it’d be more appropriate to call it Mortal Kombat ‘in name only’.

Rating: 3.5/5

MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997)

Given that it spent three weeks at the top of the U.S. box office, it’s safe to say that the first Mortal Kombat film was a massive success; thus, a sequel would end up hitting theaters in 1997, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. But since Paul W.S. Anderson opted to direct the sci-fi horror film Event Horizon instead, directorial duties were taken over by the first film’s cinematographer, John R. Leonetti. Upon its release, however, the film fared far differently than its predecessor both critically and commercially. In other words, whereas the original is regarded as one of the best video game films, Annihilation is not only considered to be one of the genre’s worst… but also one of the worst films ever made in general, and to be perfectly frank, it’s easy to see why as everything that worked well in the first film is practically non-existent in this one. Most of the fight sequences are mediocre at best and despite the film boasting a budget that’s nearly twice as big as the original’s, it inexplicably looks far worse by comparison with even cheaper-looking CGI and a blatant overuse of green-screen. It also carries over the ‘underutilization of the series’ most popular characters’ issue from the first film and exacerbates it even further by overfilling itself with characters, many of whom are only in it for like a single sequence at best. And since most of the leads were recast save for Robin Shou as Liu Kang and Talisa Soto as Kitana, there aren’t any standout performances like there were in the first film… in fact, most of them are straight-up bad. In short, as flawed as the first Mortal Kombat is, it’s still a decently entertaining popcorn flick. The same can’t be said for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation aside from a few instances of unintentional hilarity a la another infamous 1997 release, Batman and Robin. Simply put, this can best be summed up by its ironic promotional tagline, ‘Destroy All Expectations’.

Rating: 1/5

MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: SCORPION’S REVENGE (2020)

To conclude today’s retrospective (while also letting us end things on a much better note than Annihilation), we have a direct-to-video animated film courtesy of Warner Bros. Animation, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge. As the title suggests, it primarily follows the franchise’s most famous character, Hanzo Hasashi AKA the undead ninja warrior Scorpion, as he seeks revenge against those who killed his family. And to put it simply, for those who were disappointed by the non-graphic nature of the live-action films’ fight sequences, you’ll find this one to be a lot more satisfying as it goes all out with its ridiculously violent kills straight down to the faithful execution of the brutal X-Ray moves from the most recent games. However, as solidly animated as this film is, especially given its direct-to-video status, it’s a bit unfocused from a narrative perspective as it juggles Scorpion’s revenge plot with the series’ traditional premise of the warriors of Earthrealm (Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage) fighting in the Mortal Kombat tournament. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong about the latter aspect of the plot since that’s what this series has largely been about, it does feel a bit misleading to call this Scorpion’s Revenge because it honestly feels like Scorpion is treated like a secondary character in what is ostensibly his own film. In other words, having it set almost entirely from Scorpion’s perspective would’ve been the much better route to take instead of just rehashing stuff that we’ve seen before. And so, with that in mind, I’ll admit that I’m not quite as positive towards this film as I know a lot of other people are, but at the same time, it’s still a genuinely well-done take on the franchise that’s wholly engaging throughout. That said, though, if they ever do any sort of follow-up, hopefully they’ll be willing to shake things up a bit and do something more character-driven rather than simply relying on the series’ overarching plot.      

Rating: 3.5/5

This concludes Rhode Island Movie Corner’s retrospective on the Mortal Kombat franchise’s foray into feature-length films. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal memories of this iconic franchise. And yes, a review of the new Mortal Kombat film will be coming sometime soon; so, with that in mind, hopefully y’all will GET OVER HERE and check it out when it drops.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) review (HBO Max)

 

‘Creature features’ have been a staple of film for many decades, and when it comes to this particular genre, there are two cinematic monsters who reign supreme. First, there was King Kong, the titular 24-foot-tall prehistoric gorilla, dubbed the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, who debuted in the 1933 film of the same name directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. With groundbreaking stop-motion effects by Willis O’Brien and an iconic finale in which the title character scales the Empire State Building, King Kong quickly became one of the most highly regarded films of all time, undoubtedly inspiring numerous generations of filmmakers. Case in point, in 1954, another giant monster came onto the scene known as Gojira, a 164-foot-tall radioactive reptilian beast. Created in the wake of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the tail-end of World War II, Godzilla (which is the character’s English-translated name) also became a landmark for both the monster genre and the art of special effects while simultaneously revolutionizing the genre of Japanese giant monster films AKA Kaiju films. Following their quintessential debuts, both characters would go on to appear in several other films over the years. The original King Kong, for example, was notably remade twice; one in 1976 starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange and the other in 2005 directed by Peter Jackson. As for Godzilla, he would end up appearing in a whole bunch of follow-ups with the character’s parent company, Toho, producing over 30 sequels that span 4 distinct eras and saw the King of the Monsters face off against new and exciting creatures such as King Ghidorah and Mothra.  

But while these two towering icons have mostly operated on their own accord, they did notably appear together on-screen in Godzilla’s third official cinematic outing, 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla. Primarily spawned from a story outline from Willis O’Brien that had King Kong fighting a giant-sized version of the Frankenstein monster, this concept evolved into a figurative and literal ‘clash of the titans’ that ended up being one of the Godzilla franchise’s most popular installments. But now, nearly six decades after the original’s debut, the ‘King of the Monsters’ and ‘The Eighth Wonder of the World’ are back at it again in Godzilla vs. Kong, the latest installment of Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse series which reimagined the titular characters for a worldwide audience. It all began, of course, in 2014 with the release of the second attempt at an American-made adaptation of Godzilla after the infamous 1998 adaptation directed by Roland Emmerich. A sequel would follow in 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, while King Kong headlined his own cinematic reboot two years prior with Kong: Skull Island. For this latest installment of the franchise, directorial duties go to Adam Wingard who, like his immediate predecessor Michael Dougherty (who directed King of the Monsters and has a story credit for this film), is mainly known for his work in the horror genre, having directed films such as the 2011 slasher You’re Next and the 2014 thriller The Guest. In short, it goes without saying that this has been one of the most anticipated films in recent memory, and while there are plenty of instances where it showcases some of the MonsterVerse’s most common shortcomings, Godzilla vs. Kong still manages to be a delightfully entertaining crossover event.   

With humanity now fully aware of the existence of gigantic creatures known as ‘Titans’, much of their attention has been geared towards learning more about the Titans’ homeworld, Hollow Earth, that’s hidden directly underneath the planet’s surface. This includes Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), the CEO of tech conglomerate Apex Cybernetics, who recruits geologist Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a former member of the Titan-studying organization Monarch, for a mission to travel to Hollow Earth and retrieve a power source that they could potentially use to deal with Godzilla, who has recently been on a series of inexplicable rampages around the world. As part of the operation, Lind recruits Monarch linguist Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who has been monitoring the apex predator of the mysterious Skull Island, Kong, and has also been looking after the island’s last native, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young deaf girl who has a unique friendship with Kong. But, as to be expected, their journey to Hollow Earth soon results in Kong crossing paths with Godzilla, thus putting Lind and his team in a time-sensitive situation as they race to give Kong a fighting chance against his incredibly imposing adversary. Meanwhile, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), her best friend Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), and conspiracy theorist Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) go undercover to investigate into Godzilla’s recent attacks, which leads to them uncovering a sinister plot by Apex that could result in devastating effects for both them and the Titans.

Godzilla vs Kong knows exactly what kind of film you’re here to see, and as always, this franchise more than delivers when it comes to its monster-based action sequences. In fact, this one even manages to surpass all its predecessors, especially the Godzilla films, by having multiple sequences take place during the day rather than at night, and even when they do have a night-time action sequence, they’re lit far better than the ones from previous films. Tonally, this film is more in line with the generally light-hearted Kong: Skull Island rather than the more serious Godzilla films, and while it is admittedly a bit jarring to see the returning characters from Godzilla: King of the Monsters partake in some of this film’s wackier antics, it’s also arguably a far better route to go for a film of this nature. However, as entertaining as this film is, it goes without saying that it maintains one of the most recurring problems that the MonsterVerse has faced over the years in that all that great action can’t entirely make up for its mediocre plot. In this instance, we have what is probably the franchise’s most sci-fi heavy premise to date given everything revolving around Apex Cybernetics and the journey to Hollow Earth… and yet, it still manages to feel like a complete afterthought with a bunch of extraneous characters and plotlines. But like I just said earlier, the fact that this film is more upbeat in tone than the previous films helps to alleviate much of that since, at the very least, it’s not trying to take itself too seriously.    

As always, the human element of the MonsterVerse films has never been the point of the franchise. Case in point, Godzilla vs. Kong follows in the footsteps of Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters by featuring an impressively stacked ensemble cast… and doesn’t really give any of them anything of value to work with. Still, for what it’s worth, I do think that this film handles the human side of its story better than King of the Monsters, where I’d argue that the human plot was even more poorly executed than usual. Obviously, Godzilla vs. Kong isn’t that much better by comparison, but there are a few decent character moments here and there, namely via the friendship between Kong, who’s basically the main character of the film, and Jia, the last surviving member of Skull Island’s Iwi natives. Newcomer Kaylee Hottle and Rebecca Hall headline the film nicely as Jia and her adoptive mother Ilene, respectively, in what is probably the franchise’s best example of human characters who have a strong connection with one of the title characters. Everyone else in the cast from Alexander Skarsgård to Brian Tyree Henry is just there, for the most part, but they work well enough with what they get. This includes the returning Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler from King of the Monsters as Madison Russell and her father Mark, and while Chandler is sadly limited to an extremely minor supporting role this time around, Brown thankfully isn’t sidelined like she was for most of the previous film. Granted, her role here is arguably the most prominent case of the film’s ‘extraneous’ plotlines, but at the very least, she does get more to do this time around.      

If you’ve been following this site for a while, you might recall that my thoughts on the MonsterVerse have varied considerably from film to film. Overall, I thought that the first Godzilla from 2014 was a solid kick-starter for a new cinematic universe style franchise a la the MCU. Sure, it didn’t have much of the title character and the main human protagonist was the very definition of a bland and generic lead but at the very least, director Gareth Edwards did a fantastic job of mirroring the serious tone of the original Godzilla film from 1954, especially when compared to the franchise’s campier follow-ups. As for 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, it’s easily my favorite of the first three MonsterVerse films. While it was arguably a major case of style over substance, its unabashedly extravagant visual style helped make this full-on homage to 1970’s war films an incredibly entertaining watch. Conversely, the second of the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla films, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, was a film that, unfortunately, I wasn’t too big on when it first came out, and upon my most recent re-watch… well, nothing’s really changed on my end. Granted, I fully understand why this film became such a hit with fans of the franchise, namely due to how it delivered on many of the things that they didn’t get from the first film such as the sight of Godzilla fighting some of his most iconic adversaries such as King Ghidorah. Overall, though, the film suffered immensely from some incredibly sluggish pacing, and while the lack of any decent character development is to be expected from this franchise, this is one instance where I’d argue that the human side of the story almost derailed it entirely.

I’m happy to report, however, that I’m far more positive towards Godzilla vs. Kong, which is basically the cinematic embodiment of the MonsterVerse franchise in a nutshell. From a visual perspective, it goes above and beyond to present some of the most exciting action sequences involving cinema’s most iconic monsters. But from a narrative perspective, it’s barely held together by a bare-bones plot, and while the film does boast an excellent cast, said cast is just there to help move things along. Thus, at the end of the day, it ultimately comes down to how everything came together in the end, and this is where I’d argue that this film turned out to be a lot better than Godzilla: King of the Monsters, especially when it comes to these films’ overall tone. Whereas King of the Monsters took itself a bit too seriously, Godzilla vs. Kong fully understands that what we’re mainly here to see is the awesome sight of a giant monkey punching a giant lizard in the face. Thus, while it’s undoubtedly the MonsterVerse’s most undemanding installment to date, its lighthearted tone and far more vibrant color palette compared to some of the other installments of the franchise helps to make up for the usual narrative shortcomings, for the most part. In other words, Godzilla vs. Kong is an incredibly fun popcorn flick whether you’re watching it at home via HBO Max as part of Warner Bros.’ simultaneous theatrical/streaming plan for its 2021 releases or in theaters, where it has arguably been the most successful blockbuster that’s been released since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Rating: 4/5

Cherry (2021) review (Apple TV+)

Adapted from the 2018 semi-biographical novel of the same name by Nico Walker, a US Army veteran who struggled with drug addiction to the point where he was sent to prison for a series of bank robberies that he committed to fund his drug use, Cherry isn’t exactly the kind of film that I watch regularly. That’s usually the case when it comes to films that could be described as ‘arthouse’ flicks which, simply put, is a genre that I’ve never been able to get into. While there have been a few arthouse films that I’ve liked such as 2016’s Swiss Army Man, other films such as 2017’s mother are among some of the worst films that I’ve ever seen. At the end of the day, it all depends on whether a particular arthouse film interests me or not, and in Cherry’s case, the main reason why it got my attention basically had everything to do with its directors; a pair of brothers who, like Walker, hail from Cleveland. These two mainly got their start working on highly regarded television shows such as Arrested Development and Community, but in recent years, they’ve been responsible for hit films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and the highest-grossing film of all-time for the past two years*, Avengers: Endgame. Yes, folks, Cherry is notable for being the first big directorial outing from brothers Joe and Anthony Russo since the landmark outing that was Endgame. In fact, this film even sees them reunite with the MCU’s Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, who stars in the lead role of a fictionalized take on Nico Walker. However, despite all the talent that’s involved both in front of and behind the camera, Cherry is, admittedly, a rather flawed crime drama despite its ambitious (and, in several cases, good-natured) intentions.

In 2002, a young man from Cleveland (Tom Holland) falls in love with one of his college classmates named Emily (Ciara Bravo). However, when she reveals to him that she has opted to transfer to a different school in Montreal, thus basically ending their relationship, the young man is so torn up about it that he decides to enlist in the U.S. Army. And while he eventually manages to rekindle his relationship with Emily to the point where the two of them get married, his experience as an Army medic in Iraq leaves him completely traumatized and stricken with a severe case of PTSD once he returns home. With no viable options to properly deal with his newfound trauma, the young man resorts to painkillers like Oxycontin, and once Emily can no longer deal with his BS, she becomes an addict as well. Unfortunately, the two of them end up getting into a precarious situation when they consume the large number of drugs that they were supposed to hold for their local drug dealer, Pills and Coke (Jack Reynor), who promptly informs them that they’re all about to face the wrath of his boss, Black (Daniel R. Hill). Thus, to settle their massive debt with Black, the young man embarks on a series of bank robberies, but as time goes on, his messed-up life only begins to spiral even further out of control than it already has.

Cherry is one hell of an ambitious crime drama and not just because it has a decently hefty runtime that’s on par with any of the Russo brothers’ MCU films. No, that runtime is simply an indicator of just how much the main protagonist goes through over the course of the film, from his time in Iraq to his drug-funding bank robberies. That said, though, because of all the material that the film goes through to tell this story, there are quite a few instances where the plot ends up being a bit too sprawling for its own good. As much as the film is a strong showcase of the Russo brothers’ talented direction, especially because of how visually driven it is, there are a few times where it either feels a bit unfocused or completely overwhelmed by its numerous plot threads. And if that weren’t enough, I’d also argue that some of these plotlines end up being far more interesting than others (and, in some cases, don’t get as much attention as they probably should’ve), such as the main protagonist’s PTSD struggles or how the string of bank robberies that he commits slowly but surely start to get messier in their execution. Ultimately, though, what really hurts Cherry is its meandering pace, which only makes this incredibly long film feel even longer. Not only that, but the film also sports a surprisingly crude tone. Now, granted, I recognize that this clearly must’ve been intentional since this is far from being a light-hearted story… and yet, the endless amount of juvenile sex jokes can admittedly be a bit much.

One of the best things that I can say about Cherry is that it’s a prime example of a film where its lead actor gets to show that they are far more than just their career-defining role. Of course, in this instance, I’m mainly referring to Tom Holland, who has spent the last several years playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s rendition of Spider-Man but successfully disappears into the transformative role of this film’s main character. Holland does a phenomenal job of blurring the line when it comes to the process of either making his character genuinely sympathetic given the horrible things that he goes through (e.g. having to witness the death of his friends firsthand during the war) or utterly pitiful because of how much he screws up his own life. In other words, Holland’s strong screen presence allows you to find some bits of humanity within a character who’s not exactly the easiest guy to root for (sympathetic PTSD struggles notwithstanding). These complex moral dilemmas also apply to Holland’s main co-star, Ciara Bravo. While Holland’s character is obviously the main protagonist of the film, his wife Emily goes through some fascinating incidents of her own, mostly by way of her also becoming a drug addict simply because she gets fed up with her husband’s antics. Considering that this is basically her first major leading role, Bravo more than holds her own against Holland, and while their characters’ relationship is almost always rocky, they do manage to sport some solid chemistry together.

The Russo brothers have said that Cherry is arguably the most personal film that they’ve made to date, and in a lot of ways, it’s easy to see why. For starters, given the setting of its source material, they got to film it in their hometown of Cleveland, which was also something that they got to do for parts of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Not only that, but it’s also worth noting that one of the film’s credited writers is their sister, Angela Russo-Otstot. And so, with all this in mind as well as their noble efforts to accurately convey the horrors of PTSD, you can’t really fault Cherry for its ambition… ultimately, though, that same ambition is what ends up hurting it. It’s a film that tries to cover a lot of narrative ground and while it certainly has a run-time long enough to make that happen, it suffers from some incredibly sluggish pacing and often feels incredibly unfocused because of how many plot points it’s trying to juggle, with some handled far better than others. And while the film certainly succeeds at giving off an incredibly uncomfortable vibe by way of the main character’s descent into utterly messed-up territory, most of its content comes off as being a bit too crude for my tastes. Now, with all this said, this doesn’t mean that I think that the film is ‘bad’. At the very least, you can see what the Russo brothers were going for and it benefits greatly from the strong lead performances of Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo. Ultimately, though, I’d say that this needed a few more run-throughs in the editing bay to both streamline the looser parts of its narrative and liven up its pacing.

Rating: 2.5/5

(*Just a few weeks ago, a re-release in China helped push James Cameron’s Avatar back into the top spot that it had held since its initial release in 2009 before Avengers: Endgame overtook it a decade later…)

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) review (Disney+ (Premier Access))

As far as the various eras of Walt Disney Animation Studios are concerned, many would agree that 2008’s Bolt marked the start of what is widely referred to as the ‘Disney Revival’, when the studio finally managed to overcome the rough stretch that it endured in the early 2000s and produce some of its most critically acclaimed films in recent years. Because of this, Disney fans have been treated to a bunch of modern animated masterpieces such as Frozen, Zootopia, and The Princess and the Frog just to name a few. And while it could be argued that the studio is still in this period of its history given the strongly consistent track record that it’s maintained since the late 2000s, it could also be argued that a new era for the studio began in 2018 when Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee became the studio’s new Chief Creative Officer. Lee’s gone on record stating that one of her main goals for the studio moving forward is that they take greater initiative when it comes to crafting stories and characters that reflect our increasingly diverse world and you can certainly see that with the studio’s latest endeavor, Raya and the Last Dragon. Directed by the duo of Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh (2011), Big Hero 6) and Carlos López Estrada (director of the critically acclaimed live-action dramedy Blindspotting), Raya and the Last Dragon is entirely based around Southeast Asian culture and notably features the studio’s first Southeast Asian princess. And as we’ve come to expect from Disney at this point, it all comes together wonderfully in a beautifully animated and emotionally poignant film.

Long ago, the people of the mystical land of Kumandra lived in harmony with the magical dragons who shared a home with them. Unfortunately, they soon found themselves invaded by sinister creatures known as the Druun that turn their victims into stone, and while the dragons were able to successfully thwart these spirits, the people of Kumandra became so divided by their greedy aspirations that they split into five tribes: Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine, and Talon. Many years later, the Heart tribe’s leader, Chief Benja (voiced by Daniel Dae Kim), attempts to reunite the warring factions but this only results in the destruction of the powerful orb that the dragons created to protect Kumandra from the Druun, thus resulting in their resurrection. With tensions between the five tribes fiercer than they’ve ever been before, Benja’s daughter Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) embarks on a journey across the land to find the last of Kumandra’s dragons, Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina). Together, they and the various allies that they meet along the way embark on a quest to hunt down the broken pieces of the orb so that Sisu can use it to stop the Druun once and for all. However, they also find themselves having to deal with various threats such as Namaari (voiced by Gemma Chan), the princess of the Fang tribe whose duplicitous actions towards Raya were the primary catalyst behind their current predicament.

Raya and the Last Dragon has been getting a lot of attention for its action sequences, and sure enough, they’ll are brilliantly done, so much so that some of them apparently had to be toned down so that the film could maintain a Disney-friendly rating. But, of course, at the end of the day, this film is another phenomenal showcase of Disney’s amazing animation staff, especially seeing how they were all forced to work remotely on this one for… well, obvious reasons. Following in the footsteps of other regional-based Disney films such as Frozen (Norway) and Moana (South Pacific/Polynesia), the filmmakers use this film’s Southeast Asian setting and culture to their fullest effect, thus creating an utterly beautiful and effortlessly fascinating world to explore in Kumandra. But this clear-cut respect for Southeast Asian culture also carries over nicely to the film’s main plot which, on the surface, may seem like a traditional action-adventure story but is ultimately one that is steeped in some incredibly timely themes of unity. After all, the whole plot revolves around the quest to rebuild a land that’s been thoroughly divided, and while long-time readers of this site know that I usually don’t like to bring politics into my reviews… well, let’s just say that these past few years have made this story a particularly relevant one.  

In the early stages of the film’s production, Raya was to be voiced by Cassie Steele of Degrassi: The Next Generation fame. However, a few months before the film’s release, it was announced that the role was recast due to the desire to make Raya a more light-hearted protagonist rather than the ‘stoic loner’ that she was originally developed as. Luckily, they found just the right person for the job in Kelly Marie Tran, who brings all the same great qualities that she brought to the role of Rose Tico in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (sorry, racist trolls, but it’s true…) for Raya as well, from her spunky attitude to the strong emotional beats that define her character. Raya’s then joined by one of the most entertaining groups of Disney sidekicks in recent memory, all led by Awkwafina as the utterly hilarious Sisu, whose endearing optimism contrasts perfectly with Raya’s more world-weary mentality which, given the context of the plot, is completely justified. Other memorable allies include Boun (Izaac Wang), a smooth-talking entrepreneurial 10-year-old from Tail, and Little Noi (Thalia Tran), a mischievous con-baby from Talon who’s always joined by a trio of monkey creatures known as Ongi. The film also gives Raya an excellent rival in the form of Gemma Chan’s Namaari who, despite what the marketing may have implied, isn’t just a traditional ‘antagonist’. Instead, it’d be more appropriate to refer to her as Raya’s foil since many of her actions, as threatening as they often are, are done with the intent of protecting her people which, at the end of the day, was a much better route to take with this character since making her more of a straight-forward villain wouldn’t have gelled well with the film’s themes.  

Well, folks, in a completely unexpected turn of events, Walt Disney Animation has delivered an animated masterpiece… actually, it’s not that much of a surprise because that’s just what they do. Still, Raya and the Last Dragon is yet another top-tier outing from them as it delivers a highly entertaining action-adventure story that’s fully bolstered by some incredibly timely themes that directly stem from the Southeast Asian culture that’s well-represented here. Ultimately, though, I’d argue that the greatest aspect about this film is the prospect of what all its successes will mean for its lead actress, Kelly Marie Tran. At this point, I’m sure that most of you are aware of the utterly horrible crap that she ended up going through following the release of The Last Jedi when many of that film’s hostile critics took out their hatred for it on her specifically. Even more than three years after the film’s release, this still stands as one of the most tragic examples of the dark side of fandom that, if you ask me, has only gotten worse these past few years. But now, thanks to this film, Kelly Marie Tran can lay claim to the honor of being Disney’s latest badass princess, and to be perfectly frank, I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this accomplishment than her. And so, in conclusion, this is an undeniable must-see whether you’re able to see it in theaters or, if a certain pandemic is keeping you from going out and watching it that way, by viewing it via Disney+, where it became the service’s second film after the live-action remake of Mulan to be turned into a ‘Premier Access’ release.

Rating: 5/5!

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2021 (Paramount+)) review

 

At this point, there’s really no need to explain SpongeBob SquarePants. It is the undisputed flagship franchise of Nickelodeon, easily holding the record as the network’s longest-running series to date with 265 episodes produced since the show’s debut in 1999. Simply put, it’s easy to see how the show, inspired by creator Stephen Hillenburg’s love of the ocean, has become an indelible staple of the pop-cultural zeitgeist as its impact can be seen across many mediums including, of course, film. In 2004, Hillenburg directed the franchise’s first feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and while it may not have been the official series finale that he wanted it to be, it was a solid hit with critics and audiences and is very much fondly remembered by those who grew up with it. Hillenburg would end up stepping down as SpongeBob’s showrunner shortly after the film’s release but would eventually return to work on the series in 2014 and helped develop its second feature film, 2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which was another critical and commercial hit. And while he tragically passed away on November 26^th, 2018 due to complications of ALS, his legacy continues to live on through the show, which is still going strong today and has now given us its third feature film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which went through quite a bit in terms of its release.

As you might have guessed, Sponge on the Run ended up being one of the many films that was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced it to abandon its originally intended theatrical release date of May 22^nd, 2020. However, unlike other films that got impacted by COVID-19, the method in which this film’s release was reworked was, admittedly, an odd one. In other words, instead of just being released via a streaming service or by taking the chance and releasing it in theaters anyway despite the obviously smaller crowds, this film’s release was spread out over the course of this past year and varied depending on the region. While it did end up seeing a theatrical release this past August… said release only occurred in Canada. International audiences (apart from China) would then proceed to get it in November… via Netflix. But as for the U.S., we didn’t officially get it until recently when it debuted on ViacomCBS’ newly reworked streaming service, Paramount+ (formerly CBS All-Access), on March 4^th. So, yeah, this was a rather strange development to behold since no other film that was supposed to come out in 2020 but had to get pushed back to a later date has been released in a way that was as thoroughly complicated as Sponge on the Run’s release was. Nevertheless, the third cinematic outing of the sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea is now available to domestic audiences, and as someone who very much grew up with this show (but not to the point where I’m an obnoxious gatekeeper about it… I’ll elaborate on what I mean by that later…), I’d say that this is another solidly entertaining adventure with these beloved characters.

In the peaceful town of Bikini Bottom, life couldn’t be any more perfect for SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny). He’s got a great job as the fry cook of the Krusty Krab and is always surrounded by his best friends like Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke). However, it could be argued that the greatest relationship that SpongeBob has with anyone in Bikini Bottom is none other than the one that he has with his pet snail Gary as it’s a friendship that has stood strong ever since the two first met when SpongeBob was just a young lad at the Kamp Koral summer camp. On one fateful day, however, SpongeBob is distraught to discover that Gary has gone missing. Along with Patrick, he soon learns that Gary has been taken (unbeknownst to them by SpongeBob’s boss Mr. Krabs’ (voiced by Clancy Brown) long-time nemesis Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) as part of his latest plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula) to King Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry), ruler of the Lost City of Atlantic City. Specifically, King Poseidon desires snail slime so that he can maintain his youthful complexion, and unfortunately for him, his snail resources have been completely dried up at this point. And so, driven by his devotion to his beloved pet, SpongeBob and Patrick head off on the perilous journey to Atlantic City, which sees them encountering both new friends and new enemies along the way as they realize that they’ll need the help of their friends to rescue Gary.     

The first thing to note about this film is how it adopts a radically different animation style when compared to what fans of the show are familiar with. Ever since its 1999 debut, SpongeBob SquarePants has been produced in the classic 2-D animation style, which naturally carried over into the first two films. But as for Sponge on the Run, it fully opts for the 3-D animated route that was utilized for the climax of Sponge Out of Water when the gang ended up in the real world. Still, for what it’s worth, this film’s visuals are well-handled as they don’t betray any of the franchise’s iconic designs and even manage to maintain something of a two-dimensional vibe a la films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This faithfulness to the source material also applies to the film’s story, which dutifully maintains the show’s knack for mixing its traditionally light-hearted atmosphere with its frequent journeys into some utterly surreal territory. I mean, where else are you going to see Keanu Reeves cameoing as an all-knowing tumbleweed named Sage or Snoop Dogg leading a bunch of zombie pirates in a full-blown musical number? That said, though, if you’re a long-time fan of this show, you might find this film’s plot to be a bit bare-bones and routine since it does rehash a few of the series’ old plotlines (e.g. anyone who’s watched the show through at least Season 4 will know that this isn’t the first time that it’s done a ‘Gary goes missing’ plot). And yet, with some solid emotional beats that are excellently performed by the franchise’s well-established voice cast, I’d argue that this is what gives the film a slight edge over its predecessor, Sponge Out of Water, which was, admittedly, hindered a bit by the off-putting mean streak that the series started to adopt after the first film.

As I’ve noted in the past, I’m very much a part of the generation that grew up with SpongeBob SquarePants. Sure, it’s been quite some time since I’ve watched the show regularly, but I can’t even begin to describe the impact that it’s had on me, and in a way, this also applies to my work on this site. Back in 2015, I did a pair of SpongeBob posts in honor of the then-impending release of Sponge Out of Water, which consisted of a personal Top 25 Favorite Episodes list and a review of the first film. To this day, those two posts still stand as some of the most popular pieces that I’ve ever published for this site, with the Favorite Episodes post topping them all with a view count that ranges somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 views. However, these posts are also a clear-cut example of how I was in a much different mindset at the time when it comes to my views on the show. Back then, I’ll fully admit that I was simply among the many who spent way too much time lamenting about the show’s abrupt decline in quality in the wake of the first film’s release. Nowadays, though, I find myself looking at the franchise’s fandom with a wearier eye since we’re at a point now where SpongeBob is arguably known more for its memes rather than anything from the show itself, especially since, from what I’ve heard, it did manage to genuinely overcome the rough patch that it went through in the late 2000s. And on that note, it’s time to address the source of the franchise’s biggest controversies… its own fandom…

Yes, as crazy as it may seem, the SpongeBob fandom has somehow become another dominant player in our current landscape of increasingly toxic internet fandom, mostly due to their intense devotion to Stephen Hillenburg’s legacy and equally intense hatred of anything that they deem ‘offensive’ to said legacy. Their outrage has affected a whole bunch of things in recent years such as the franchise’s Broadway musical when a live recording of it was aired on Nick and the Super Bowl LIII halftime show, which made headlines thanks to a petition from fans to include the song ‘Sweet Victory’ from the classic episode ‘Band Geeks’ as a tribute to Hillenburg… which didn’t end up happening. But as I’m sure many of you are aware, the biggest victim of their hostility has been the series’ first official spin-off, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, a prequel series that debuted on Paramount+ alongside Sponge on the Run, which directly ties into the new series thanks to its various flashbacks. It’s also worth noting that the idea of following the younger versions of SpongeBob and the gang at a summer camp was originally meant to be the main premise of this film back when it was subtitled It’s a Wonderful Sponge and, as that title suggests, would’ve included an homage to the 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. However, as you might have guessed, a lot of SpongeBob fans didn’t take too kindly to Kamp Koral to the point where they’ve claimed that Stephen Hillenburg would’ve never approved of it (even though, spoilers, he was 100% aware of it and, according to the franchise’s long-time writer/showrunner Vincent Waller, probably would’ve loved it…).  

But that’s about as much as I’ll say when it comes to this, to be perfectly frank, frustratingly overblown scandal. Instead, I’ll just conclude today’s review by stating that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is yet another solid cinematic outing for one of the most iconic animated franchises in the history of pop-culture. While it may not exactly be the SpongeBob that most fans are familiar with from a visual perspective, it certainly captures SpongeBob’s most endearing traits such as its quirky humor and its heartfelt themes. In fact, I’d argue that the latter aspect is what ultimately helps this film gain a slight leg up over its immediate predecessor, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. While that film did, at least, have Stephen Hillenburg involved in a much greater capacity when compared to what was going on with the show itself, it still suffered quite a bit from several of the issues that had been plaguing the show at that time. And while Sponge on the Run is far from perfect, namely due to its largely predictable plot, it still manages to feel more in line with the charm of the original series’ first few seasons. I can’t say that it’s ‘better’ than the first SpongeBob film, but at the same time, I’ll admit that this is mainly just because of how many times I’ve seen that one. Sadly, this new film might end up getting somewhat overlooked due in large part to the frankly undeserved negative reputation that both it and Kamp Koral have been garnering from the fandom, but if you’re not following that mindset and are, at the very least, willing to give this new film a chance, it’s a solid little flick.

Rating: 4/5

IN MEMORY OF STEPHEN HILLENBURG (1961-2018)