Film Review - Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is the 4^th animated Dragon Ball film and the first to use CG animation in a major way and this time the Red Ribbon Army has returned through the new Commander Magenta and recruits Dr Gero’s grandson Dr Hedo to create new Androids Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 to attack the Dragon Team who Dr Hedo has been convinced is a secret Alien army poised to conquer the world but with Goku and Vegeta off world with Broly, Whis and Beerus it’s up to Gohan and Piccolo to lead the fight and save the Earth from this new threat.

 

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is a lot of fun for this long time Dragon Ball fan and nicely references the previous events of the Manga/TV Series in case you haven’t watched those storylines in a while, the use of Gohan and Piccolo as the leads of the story makes for a nice sense of refreshment as Goku and Vegeta were so front and centre in the Broly movie that everyone else was almost ignored now that is reversed somewhat and Piccolo and Gohan work well as the leads and have some memorable moves of their own.

 

As for the overall storytelling it is a lighter film than Broly or Resurrection F were and I think this makes a nice refreshing change as unlike the Marvel films the humour here doesn’t feel forced and it nicely reflects the origins of the Manga as an action/gag comedy series and during this movie part of me was wishing that Akira Toriyama who created the manga and wrote the script for this movie got to create a new action/comedy manga in the mid to late 90s after Dragon Ball ending its run with the Cell Arc in 1993.

 

Now the action and animation and the CG animation takes some getting used to especially after the beautiful hand drawn animation in the Broly movie but after a while it didn’t bother me and the action here is typical of Dragon Ball but here it was fun to watch though I am sick to death of seeing Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu constantly getting sidelined in this series now I can understand Toriyama not wanting to use them much as he barely used them after the 23^rd World Tournament Arc but they are core characters in this series and deserve some love and usage especially with Goku and Vegeta not having a large role in this movie.

 

And so that was Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and for a long time Dragon Ball fan like me it’s a lot of fun and is close behind the Broly movie in my ranking of the 4 films released since Battle of Gods in 2013 and fans will enjoy this a lot and it currently sits at 6^th in my favourite films of the year list, 3 and a half out of 5.

Film Review - Nope (2022)

Nope is the new movie by Jordan Peele who made Get Out in 2017 and Us in 2019 and he reunites here with his Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya who along with his sister played by Keke Palmer take over their late fathers Hollywood Horse training business after he is killed in a freak accident, an accident that may be connected to strange events going on up in the sky.

 

I have been really looking forward to Nope as I’m a big Jordan Peele fan but while I really loved Get Out I did not care for Us as I felt that film failed to stick the landing in its third act whereas Get Out did deliver a good ending so while I was keen for Nope I had my guard up to some extent as to whether it would be another Get Out or another Us.

 

And well its better than Us but nowhere near as good as Get Out and the first reason for that is Hoyte Van Hoytema who has been Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer since Interstellar in 2014 and he and Peele make for a good pair as this movie looks great and deserves to be seen on a big cinema screen especially with a good sound system as there are multiple moments where you really feel the bass in the sound system kick in and it sounds great in the cinema.

 

The film also has a few good performances, Kaluuya and Palmer are good together as Brother and Sister and while Palmer at times bothered me she does good work here, Steven Yeun is very good as well as a former child TV star who helps run a local cowboy park while Michael Wincott should be in the running for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination as a grizzled cinematographer chasing the impossible shot and he steals every scene he’s in he’s that good.

 

But sadly what I missed from this movie is that same Wow factor that I felt Get Out had as that film for me had the fire, the passion and the desire on Peele’s part to tell that story and make that film as it felt like he had something to say, he wanted to make that movie and he found a company in Blumhouse to let him make it whereas here I felt he did a good job but it didn’t grab me like that film did.

 

And so that was Nope and it’s a good time at the movies and is better than Us but nowhere near as good as Get Out, 3 out of 5.

Film Review - Bullet Train (2022)

 Bullet Train stars Brad Pitt as Ladybug a hitman who is looking to ease himself back into the job so his boss (Sandra Bullock) gives him a simple snatch and grab job on a Tokyo Bullet Train heading towards Kyoto but little does he know that there are others on that train who are also seeking that same briefcase.

 

Bullet Train is surprisingly good fun and I had a lot of fun watching it in the cinema, firstly this comes down to Brad Pitt as Ladybug who is very laid back and likeable and also does a good job in the action scenes, Aaron Taylor Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry are also good fun as 2 British hitmen who are also after the briefcase while Joey King continues her good streak after the Princess and nearly steals the movie.

 

As for the action scenes well they are actually pretty good and make good use of the confines of the Bullet Train and they didn’t feel overpadded like a lot of action scenes can feel nowadays nor did they feel over edited which too many action scenes are like nowadays no these action moments are good and director David Leitch did a good job with them plus there are some fun cameos which I won’t give away.

 

And so that was Bullet Train and it was definitely a nice surprise for me and I had a lot of fun with it, 3 and a half out of 5.