Aquaman 3D Movie Review

Aquaman 3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

Overall I enjoyed the 3D aspect of Aquaman. The movie takes place both inland and under the sea and the 3D quality varies depending on the setting. The inland scenes have okay to good  looking 3D. One memorable 3D scene is when photographs are taken in a bar, it just looks so gorgeous in 3D (Maybe those specific photos were taken in 3D ?) . The under the sea scenes have better-looking 3D visuals. 3D depth is used often to help identify tall cliffs or give the ocean a better sense of place.  Seeing all the fish swim around in 3D looks very nice. Occasionally the movie will have some objects fly outward toward the audience. Other times characters will point tridents outward and pop out of the screen. The 3D doesn’t feel gimmicky or silly but just a natural way to present the visuals. Some of the camera angles can be disorienting to view the action and this is especially off-putting in 3D. Some camera angels pull you into the screen and give the viewer a nice sense of actually being in the scene with multiple layers of 3D being used to make some stunningly beautiful shots. At times the 3D visuals are fantastic, and other times the 3D is fairly pathetic so it’s wildly inconsistent. Overall the 3D is enjoyable enough to recommend and is worthy of your money. 

Final Verdict: Good 3D

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Movie

First of all I must state that this review will not have any ocean tomfoolery, nautical nonsense or any kind of fishy puns or aquatic cutesy word play. Aquaman has been part of the DC Comics for over 75 years and its great to finally see him on the big screen in a full length live action movie.

Aquaman takes place sometime after the events of the Justice League film. This is essentially a stand alone film so don’t worry if you haven’t seen any of the previous DC Comics films. Jason Momoa reprises his role and is a likeable hero . This version of Aquaman is portrayed as a dumb jock that is happy living on the land. One day the character of Mera comes to speak to Aquaman and warns him of an upcoming war. This war puts Atlanteans against the people living inland and Aquaman is the only person who can prevent this war.  Mera is portrayed by Amber Heard and she has a strong presence on screen. Mera holds her own in the various action scenes and I grew to really like her character. The movie has two villains : Ocean Master and Black Manta. Ocean Master is sadly over acted and is cheesy. Black Manta is a good villain,  but we get very little background on the character. The villains serve as plot devices and not fully realized characters. This movie feels epic and feels fundamentally different. I never seen an underwater movie like this. This is one fun action adventure movie with a nice heart.

Sadly the movie falters in a few key elements. The narrative is loosely tied together and some plot points aren’t fully explored. The jokes are fairly goofy and immature. The writing is mediocre and generic. This is far from a perfect movie.

Where the movie succeeds is in the action scenes , entrainment value and the special effects. Several action scenes are done with one take with a panning camera and it looks amazing. It can be a little disorienting at times but overall the action scenes are well executed.  The movie is fun and intriguing from beginning to end. I really enjoyed the flash backs and backstory for Aquaman. The movie has several touching scenes that work well without being too sentimental. The special effects are amazing and some of the best I have seen in 2018. I have never seen anything quite like this movie before. This is one beautiful movie that is greater than the sum of its parts. 

Aquaman is a great movie that feels unique. I have issues with this movie but overall I had a great time. 

Final Verdict: 8/10

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Official Website :

http://www.aquamanmovie.com/

AQUAMAN and all related characters and elements © & TM DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
TM & © 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

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Justice League 3D Movie Review

Justice League 3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

Overall the 3D visuals look nice and add to the enjoyment of the movie. The 3D presentation doesn’t do much with 3D depth, but it does have a good amount of pop out 3D. The pop out 3D is never overly gimmicky or excessive and it feels natural to the scenes presented within the movie. No specific scene wowed me or I found to be especially memorable because of the 3D. Justice League isn’t the best 3D presentation, but it is far from the worst and I can mildly recommend watching this movie in 3D.

Final Verdict: Good 3D

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Movie

Justice League has been a popular comic book series since it’s debut in 1960. For several decades Warner Brothers has tried and failed to make a Justice League movie. In 2017 finally a Justice League movie was released, so how is it ? Does it live up to the hype? Can it satisfy the hopes and dreams of the fans? Recently DC comic book movies have been a fairly controversial so can this movie be something that is universally loved?

Justice League is the latest in the DC comics extended universe of movies and is a sequel to both Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. The movie takes place after the events of Batman v Superman. The movie starts as Batman and Wonder Woman are trying to assemble a team of super powered humans to help fight against an alien invasion. The alien invasion is from the character of Steppenwolf who is the conquerer of worlds. Can this league of super heroes put aside there differences and successfully stop the invasion? The main story of Justice League is fairly strait forward and go by fairly quickly. This movie is the first movie we have seen Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg in a live action big budget movie. The movie spends an adequate amount of time introducing these iconic characters, but I wish we had more time with them. I feel like the characters have good chemistry with one another on screen. I enjoyed some of the dialog between Wonder Woman and Batman. The flash is portrayed as comic relief and for the most part I enjoyed his jokes. I really enjoyed Aquaman and found him to be both formidable and charming. Cyborg is still trying to find his place in society and is not comfortable with powers and abilities and who he is. The Flash and Cyborg bond well with one another as they are both younger characters. The movie introduces many minor characters and at times feels overstuffed. Overall I enjoyed the characters within the movie. 

The worst aspect of the movie is the villain. Steppenwolf is a generic alien invader and is a weak main villain. In fairness to the movie, I have never liked the character of Steppenwolf even in the comics I found him to be largely forgettable. Steppenwolf is more or less the mid-boss to the real major villain which is Darksied. The movie goes to many locations around the world, but I don’t really feel like the world is really in danger. Steppenwolf seems powerful but not menacing and the scale doesn’t really seem global. 

The movie has many enjoyable action scenes and set pieces. I do feel like the characters do a good job working as a team. However the movie doesn’t do enough to highlight the specific powers and abilities of each of the heroes. Flash is fast, but he can do so much more with that ability that isn’t shown within this movie. The movie has several action scenes and they all go by so fast. Again I feel like the movie is too rushed with the action scenes. 

The movie has a strange sense of humor. At times it feels like a Marvel movie with the humor and how it presents itself. Some of the humor feels natural and other times it feels forced. The flash is generally a lighter more humorous character but I feel like this movie version plays it up too much. Aquaman has some very excellent timing and is more funny than I expected. Some of the humor makes the tone of the movie feel odd and unlike previous DC movies. The tone of the movie feels more like a Marvel movie and less like the darker more gritty DC movies of the last few years.

Justice League has many problems yet I really enjoyed myself. I was very much entertained from start to finish. The movie is rushed but it also feels tight and without much fat. The comedy is sometimes great, sometimes cringe worthy but overall I enjoyed it. The tone is all over the place, but overall I liked how it built upon the previous movies. I enjoyed my time with Justice League but I cannot deny its imperfections. I hope future DC comics movies build upon on what worked and what didn’t work within this movie and I am more optimistic on what the future holds for DC movies.

Final Verdict: 8/10

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TM & © 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

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Wonder Woman 3D Movie Review

Wonder Woman

3D Movie Review  

Written By: Adolph Vega  

Watch my video review here: 

 

3D

The 3D element of this movie is best described as being bookended within this film. Toward the beginning of the movie the action scenes are enhanced by the 3D element,  you will see arrows fly in and out of the screen . At times the 3D works well with the cinematography and the perspective of certain characters will  appear popping out the screen as others are recessed into the background and uses several layers of 3D to make a more interesting visual presentation . The 3D looks fantastic for the first 30 or so minutes of the movie. Sadly during the middle of the movie the 3D is all but forgotten. The end of the movie has many enjoyable and interesting shots in 3D, with the destruction of the environment being a key aspect. Overall I did enjoy the 3D when it was present within the movie, unfortunately it's a non-factor for a good portion of the movie . 

Final Verdict: Good 3D  

 

Movie  

Wonder Woman is an iconic DC Comics super heroine and this is her first live action full length movie. This is also the first top-tier big budget female driven super heroine movie to be released. The pressure to get this movie right was immense, and I'll happy to report that this movie rocks and is an incredible cinematic achievement.  

The story of Wonder Woman begins on the paradise island of Themysciera. You see a young Diana Prince yearning to train with the other women on the island . These scenes on Themysciers are sincere and enchanting and give off a wonderful cinematic warmth . The warmth of these early scenes feels like a loving hug from your mother, and is an excellent way to start this story. Going back to the story, one day a man named Steve Trevor accidentally crashes his plane near Themysciera . Wonder Woman decides to help Steve Trevor return to England and thus starts her adventure of self discovery and discovery of the outside world . The outside world is set during horrors of the First World War . This movie is both a super heroine origin movie and a epic war movie put into one . The movie is fairly self contained so you don't need to watch "Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice" or know anything about the characters from the comic book to enjoy this film . The movie perfectly introduces the characters, setting and the scenario.

Steve Trevor is portrayed by Chris Pine and is delightful as ever as an English spy. His performance reminded me a little of his performance as Captain Kirk in the recent Star Trek movies. He is witty , smart, likeable and has fantastic chemistry with Wonder Woman. 

Gal Gadot who is reprising her role from “Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice” portrays Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince. The character of Wonder Woman is the perfect combination of smart, funny, powerful and beautiful. Wonder Woman is a naive character who has never left the island of Themysciera where she grew up . Gal Gadot's performance is incredibly endearing and simply a joy to watch. The movie has several secondary characters who help Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman during this adventure. This crew is a wonderful addition to this movie and gives it  complexities . I wish that some of these secondary  characters were given more character development, but I very much enjoyed their presence and I appreciated their inclusion . The movie has a few villains and I actually enjoyed them all, and how they worked together.  How the movie handles it’s villains is something that feels unique. Even though some of the characters were lacking I still found this story to be very engrossing and well executed. The most important aspect of this movie is the characters and the story and this movie delivers on both fronts.

The setting of World War I is an interesting and smart decision by the filmmakers. The backdrop gives the actions of the characters more importance, consequences and it feels distinct . The elements of war are showcased by the effects of the war on the population, and on humanity as a whole . I respect the filmmakers and how they balanced this movie and portrayed the horrors of war without showing the gruesome bloody violence that war movies are known for. Wonder Woman shows that she is a true hero in many scenes and isn’t corrupted by the fog of war and remains compassionate and empathetic throughout the movie . I enjoyed how World War I was presented within this movie; it seems raw and real yet doesn’t show gore like every other war movie. I really respect how well this movie handles the element of war . I usually am not a fan of war movies but this one really stands out because of how it showcases the human element of war.

This movie kept surprising me . The biggest surprise for me was the humor, which felt natural and perfectly hit all the right notes. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman makes this movie her own and her charming personality ultimately becomes the best aspect of this movie . The comedic element is genuine and based on Wonder Woman's naivety of the real world. This fish out of water trope can be overly cheesy or silly under the wrong hands but it works perfectly within this movie and gives a nice contrast for the serious themes presented  . The movie knows how to spend time on the little things and surprises the audience with a sincere smart movie that is better made than most super hero movies . The character of Wonder Woman grows in front of the camera and the director knows how and when to slow down the movie to make touching scenes. A summer war movie that has so much heart is a surprise that I couldn't ever have expected . So many decisions and story elements are surprisingly intense and intelligently crafted to make for a richer narrative . The movie really grows on you after you watched it and only gets better as you think about it . 

The action scenes look amazing and use slow motion in effective ways. The movie knows how to highlight action scenes to make the viewer appreciate the visuals. I have never seen a woman battle with such grace and strength as I saw within this movie. I found the action scenes thrilling and interesting to watch. World War I is brought back to life in vivid detail with action that perfectly fits the setting and is well choreographed. Wonder Woman is a trained warrior and it shows with some truly breathtaking action sequences. 

The movie has its issues and is lacking on a few minor aspects. Like I mentioned before some of the characters needed more development and scenetime. The final battle seemed a little too short and simple. Some story elements are not fully explained . Overall the movie left me wanting more, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does have some minor issues that keep it from achieving perfection.

Overall Wonder Woman is a massive success on almost every level. The movie perfectly balances the serious tones and comedic tones and makes for a new and different way to showcase a war movie. Without a doubt in my mind this is the best DC comic super hero movie released since the Dark Knight. This movie is both immensely entertaining and expertly executed. Wonder Woman is a wonderful movie and is a must watch.

Final Score: 9/10

TM & © 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. TM & © DC Comics