It’s not that good.
Everyone in the theater had a blank expression towards the end.
I’m sorry, but no amount of sad raccoon backstory can redeem it.

Erratic tonal shift, dumb way to one-up the antagonist, half-assed arc for the characters, wasted opportunities—it has everything that is wrong with the MCU these days.
It almost felt like they had the thought of breaking the team in this one but couldn’t come up with a good way to tie the story. So they just told a completely different story that has nothing to do with Guardians breaking up and, in the end, gave like 30 seconds each to explain why they want to split up.
Seemed like a forced breakup because none of the characters had shown any interest in pursuing those things in the previous movies or even this one.

Either that or Marvel didn’t know if the actors would be interested in returning. So they just broke it off.
It’s just so random!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023): 5/10
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 this morning, and it is not what you’re expecting.
It’s not that good.
Everyone in the theater had a blank expression towards the end.
I’m sorry, but no amount of sad raccoon backstory can redeem it. https://t.co/R4LZZP33hU

— Rifat Ahmed (@Rifat5670) May 5, 2023

Considering how successful and culturally important the first Black Panther movie was, Marvel certainly did have plans for the next 5 or 10 years with Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther. So, when tragedy struck, not only did they have to change the course of the MCU going forward, but they also rewrote the script for the sequel. And this fairly quick rewrite was clear from the execution.

Unlike every other MCU project, it didn’t have five years of pre-production. That’s why comparing it to other MCU projects would be unfair.

That being said, the route they had planned was wonderful. The storyline was great, but the way they edited, it felt like they chopped off pieces of an unfinished novel and put together a film for a theatrical release.

The actors were great; there’s no question about it. Shuri, Namor, and M’Baku were all great in it. But it’s the writing that didn’t work. And the motivations did not make sense at times.

[Spoilers ahead] Why would Shuri want to burn the world when talking to her mother in the first quarter of the movie?

Also, why would she see Killmonger and not T’Challa in the ancestral plane? If the answer is supposed to be her mother’s death, then the advertised motivation for the movie fails. If we consider only her mother’s death and her anger towards Namor to be the motivation for her vengeful ascendance, then what role did T’Challa’s death play in her taking up the mantle?

There are other discrepancies throughout the movie, which were made more obvious by the subpar editing of the film. The background score also didn’t do any favor. The trailer had a better score and feel than the movie.

I don’t blame MCU because I know they had to rush. Besides, the storyline was good. On paper and in theory, it sounded like one of Marvel’s best. But it wasn’t. The execution was choppy at best.

The heartwarming reviews of Black Panther 2 stem from people’s emotional attachment to the late actor, and I completely sympathize. But If I take that out of the equation, the film does not deserve more than 5 or 6.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022): 5/10

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Wonderful concept. But Black Panther: Wakanda Forever suffered from its poor execution and forced motivation. #BlackPanther #WakandaForever https://t.co/1exWnMsWfp

— Rifat Ahmed (@Rifat5670) November 11, 2022

বাংলা মুভিগুলোর কোয়ালিটি যে এই পর্যায়ে পৌঁছে গেছে তা নিজ চোখে না দেখলে বিশ্বাস-ই করতাম না।

ক্যামেরার কাজ যে কতটা প্রফেশনাল তা বোঝানো যাবে না। যদি হলিউডের ইন্ডি মুভির কোয়ালিটির বলি তাহলেও ভুল হবে না বোধহয়।

অধিকাংশ দেশি ও ভারতীয়ও মুভির ক্ষেত্রে ভিডিওগ্রাফিতে সিমেট্রি ও সাবজেক্ট-ব্যাকগ্রাউন্ডের রেশিও নিয়ে আমার অনেক অভিযোগ থেকে। কিন্তু এই মুভিতে, স্পেশালি প্রথমার্ধে, প্রত্যেকটা শট স্কেল দিয়ে মেপে মেপে দেখানো যাবে। শেষের দিকে ঘটনা প্রবাহের প্রয়োজনে ইডিটিং একটু রাশড মনে হলেও প্রথম ৩০-৪০ মিনিটের প্রত্যকেটা শট ফ্রেম করে রাখার মতো।

দামাল (২০২২): ৮/১০

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Even though Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a perfect cast for Black Adam, to me, Hawkman was the standout character from this action flick.

Hawkman is a total badass. He takes beating throughout the movie, and yet he commands with great confidence. Every time he is against the villain and/or the anti-hero, he talks as if he doesn’t care how powerful the other person is.

He is basically an amalgam of Batman and Captain America. Hawkman, in this movie, has the confidence and leadership skills of Batman and the morals and muscle power of Captain America. The equal amount of hero and badass—a perfect recipe for a righteous superhero.

But I was most excited to see Dr. Fate on the big screen. Dr. Strange is cool and all that, but Dr. Fate is the most powerful sorcerer and the lord of order. There is no match.

He bitch-slapped the Spectre several times, and any time a character holds his ground against the wrath of god, you know he is super-powerful.

However, we didn’t get the awesome badass Dr. Fate from the comics. We just got an old-tired, on the verge of retiring, dumbed-down Dr. Fate.

I’m not gonna lie, the few scenes with Dr. Fate that we got were super cool. It’s like a treat. But there were only a few. It felt like he was just there to tell us about the ‘fate’ of others.

But he looked cool. I didn’t think the eye-less Helmet of Nabu would work, but it really does. I wish we got more of him.

As for the storyline, DCEU’s Black Adam is a summary of his several origins in the comics, no surprises for comic book fans. The screenplay is basically one fight scene after another. But the fights were well-executed and looked good. So, no complaints there.

It might not be a good cinema, but it is definitely an excellent superhero movie.

P.S: The Mid-Credit scene is something you’ve been hoping for years. Don’t miss it.

Black Adam (2022): 7/10
★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Black Adam is a one long action-packed superhero fight scene…
Hawkman is badass.
Dr. Fate is cool. I wish they used him more.
DO NOT MISS THE MID-CREDIT SCENE.

Not bad. #BlackAdam pic.twitter.com/1EbsiTC8Zj

— Rifat Ahmed (@Rifat5670) October 21, 2022

Yes, I would have preferred it if Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chadda was a scene-by-scene remake of Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump and, at least, as long as the original. It would have allowed the different phases of Laal’s life to be more flushed, like in the original Hollywood movie.

The OG Forrest Gump is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was obvious that this remake wouldn’t be better than 1994’s Forrest Gump. Remakes hardly turn out better than the original.

But if I compare it as a standalone movie on its own merit, it is not a bad movie in any sense. Even though the background score or music is not as good and memorable as the original, it is still better than what we are used to hearing in Bollywood movies these days. The last Bollywood movie score I was impressed by was Varun Dhawan starring October. That might be my favorite movie just for the music alone.

Anyway, coming back to Laal Singh Chaddha, Kareena Kapoor Khan was somehow wonderful in it. It was a solid performance from her after ages in Hindi cinema. Although some people complained about Aamir Khan’s portrayal being too close to the alien in PK, I could very easily differentiate between the characters. While PK was clueless and funny, Laal is innocent and sweet. I did not have any problem with Aamir’s portrayal of this character.

Shah Rukh Khan’s cameo was a good choice for replacing Elvis in the Indian remake. Mona Singh, Laal’s mother, performed well throughout as well. However, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the cast.

Overall, it is a heartwarming Hindi movie that we don’t get to see that often these days. I want to congratulate the team of Laal Singh Chaddha for being so brave to remake a masterpiece that is unanimously loved. That being said, I want to also point out that a remake doesn’t have to have its own spin. A scene-by-scene remake wouldn’t have raised any questions for a film like Forrest Gump.

Laal Singh Chaddha (2022): 7/10
★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Thor 4 is basically an overhyped and unworthy film for arguably the strongest superhero in the MCU.

Thor: Love and Thunder is idiotically unThorly…
Except for few silly jokes and a hilarious love triangle between Thor, Mjolnir & Stormbreaker, it has nothing to offer.

— Rifat Ahmed (@Rifat5670) July 8, 2022

Thor: Love and Thunder: 5/10

★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

As of now, the 2022 sequel is the sixth all-time highest-grossing movie and seems like it’s going to climb even higher at the box office. But unfortunately, the sequel does not hold; story, genre, or continuity-wise.

First of all, the story didn’t continue from the original, which would have been difficult anyway, considering how it ended. But it wouldn’t have been an issue if the story for the successor was any good.

While the first Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a psychological horror film that fit in a good amount of comedy from a fantastic cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi and Chote Pandit famed Rajpal Naurang Yadav, the sequel was just a sad attempt to recreate the magic with Kartik Aaryan who honestly wasn’t a good fit to fill Akshay’s comic shoes.

Another U-turn the successor took is its deviation from a psychological horror genre and merging with other mediocre Bollywood horrors, where the haunting entity is just another tortured soul. Where Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) showed how myths and stories affect the human mind and shed light on mental disorders caused by said stories, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is simply another horror film with yet another VFX-ed ghost.

It is clear that the sequel was an attempt to use the timeless horror-comedy of Priyadarshan to make big headlines and money. So far, it’s working. But Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022) is definitely unworthy of its predecessor’s legacy, and there’s no question about that.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2: 4/10 
★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Right off the bat, pun not intended, I should mention the fantastic background score done by Michael Giacchino. Even though Ben Affleck and Christian Bale’s version had a pretty solid accompanying score, this one hits you hard when watching on a big screen.

I can say with confidence that The Batman has the best background score in any Batman movie that came before.

Moving on from one best to another, the Gotham city that Matt Reeves, the director, showed in the film is by far the most accurate live-action depiction of this broken city from DC Comics.

It’s just the right amount of crime-ridden atrocity and mob-influenced governance, which leads to the public losing faith in the system. It looks like Gotham from the comic pages too — dark, gritty, damp and unloved.

The Gothamness of the shots also makes the cinematography the best in any Batman movie. The dialogues were bang on too, especially the ones delivered by the Riddler and Batman.

Even though Battinson’s Batman was outsmarted by the Riddler, this version of him is the closest to a Detective Batman we might get for a while. Even though the comic book world is pretty rich with Batman’s detective stories, people are not just used to seeing Batman do detective work on the big screen. They want big flashy fights.

Due to the pace of the film and the fact that this version of Batman is more of a detective than an action hero, the typical audience might find it boring and uneventful. But fans of Detective Batman and the thriller genre would enjoy it thoroughly.

Another complaint many people had was Robert Pattinson’s Bat-suit and I admit that I was one of them. However, upon watching it for almost three hours on a big screen, I can confidently say that this is my favorite Bat suit (maybe tied with Ben Affleck’s). The unusual collar that bugged me the most, turned out to be the best part of the suit for me. Trust me, it works.

However, one thing that didn’t work for me is the Bruce Wayne persona. The contrast between Robert Pattinson’s Batman and his Bruce Wayne for the outside world is non-existent. The comic book playboy persona of Bruce Wayne didn’t exist in this universe. The few times we got to see him as Bruce Wayne in public, it felt like we were watching Batman, just without his suit.

Other characters in the movies were pretty on point. Catwoman, Riddler, Falcone, Alfred, and Jim were all solid for their roles. But I’d have loved to see more of Penguin in the film. Other than the awesome car chase scene, Penguin didn’t have much to do in it. However, he had some punch lines that worked pretty well in this otherwise foggy universe of Gotham.

As for comparison, this version of Batman ranks right around Christian Bale’s and slightly above Ben Affleck. But Ben Affleck’s version is the darkest and most brutal and fans, including me, love it for this reason.

For that same reason, some fans are arguing that Battinson is not iconic enough, drawing a comparison with the ruthless and feared crusader of Gotham in Zack Snyder’s universe which is Ben Affleck’s Batman.

But the thing to remember is this version of Batman has only been Batman for 2 years, while Batfleck has been the caped crusader for decades in his universe. While the Batman of Zack Snyder was an urban legend in Gotham, Battinson is more real.

He strikes fear by being visible. He doesn’t hide. He is the vigilant detective, not the superhero looking for super-powered individuals to partner up. He fights on the ground, in front of everyone. He seeks vengeance. He solves crimes with the police. He is the detective Batman that Gotham needs and the one that I enjoyed from start to finish at the Silver Screen in Chattogram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Rifat with his favorite Batman T-Shirt after watching his favorite version of Batman on screen. (@rifat5670)

 

Rifat with his favorite Batman T-Shirt after watching his favorite version of Batman on screen.

To wrap this up, The Batman has —

The best background score in a Batman movie.
The best depiction of Gotham in a Batman movie.
The best cinematography in a Batman movie.
The best live-action Riddler in a Batman movie.
The best Batsuit in a Batman movie.
The best dialogues in a Batman movie.

A good story, comparable to TDK. But definitely not better.

And a not-so-good Bruce Wayne persona. Even though I liked this emo brooding Bruce, it’s not the billionaire we saw on the comic book pages.

Overall, it’s a Batman film we’ve been waiting for, but The Dark Knight still holds its crown.

The Batman: 8/10

★★★★★★★★☆☆

But there is one thing both fans and execs at WB are certain about—DC movies are best when they are focused on solo characters. The success of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Joker, Wonder Woman 1984 and Man of Steel grounds the fact.

So maybe, just maybe, DC is better off doing standalone movies instead of connecting underdeveloped characters in an action mashup. In that hope, here are three DC characters who deserve live-action adaptations that can still save the DC Extended Universe or whatever you want to call today’s complicated DC movie lineup.

Red Hood — The Bat Protégé That Kills

Despite being in comics for decades, Jason Todd, the second Robin to Gotham’s caped crusader, has only gotten his fair share of popularity in recent years with his second alter-ego Red Hood. The animated Batman: Under the Red Hood movie and recent storylines on DC boards have caused a stir among the fans. After hating his Robin persona for years, Fans are loving Jason Todd as the antihero Red Hood who doesn’t hesitate to cross the boundaries set by Batman.

The second boy of wonder took on the mantle of Red Hood after Dark Knight’s archenemy Joker beat him to death and Ra’s Al Ghul brought him back to life using DC’s reincarnating Lazarus Pitt. Ironically, the name Red Hood was Joker’s alter ego before he fell into the vat of chemicals, only to rise as a pale-skinned psychopath.

It’s only logical for Jason to take up his killer’s alter ego as he seeks vengeance for his death. As explored in comics and 2010’s Batman: Under the Red Hood movie, his attempts to get revenge are walled by the Batman himself. And as for the live-action adaptation, who wouldn’t want to see Batman fight it out with his ward in an attempt to stop him from breaking the one rule, no killing.

Even though, a solo Red Hood movie in Robert Pattinson’s universe would not fit as this version of Batman is only in his second year of crime-fighting justice, it’ll definitely work with Ben Affleck’s Batman perfectly as fans have been wondering what happened to the Robin whose suit was seen in Affleck’s Bat Cave. Even though Joker confirmed killing the boy of wonder in a mid-credit scene of Snyder Cut, it’s arguably an alternate future or earth. So, we are yet to know what happened to Jason Todd and how. And again. Batman vs. his protégé, who wouldn’t buy a ticket for that?

It fits DC’s dark tone and people love Red Hood. So, a solo Red Hood is a win-win for both the studio and fans.

Booster Gold — The Hero From The Future

If there’s one thing DC movies are accused of, it’s their incompetence in producing light-toned movies with humorous characters. Both fans and critics are waiting for a DC movie that is comparable to Fox, Sony and Marvel’s Deadpool, Spider-Man Homecoming, Ant-Man or even Thor Ragnarok. Even though DC took a crack at it with Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad movies, it hardly sat well with fans and critics, grounding their incompetence theory even more. Well, a solo Booster Gold movie might be the perfect opportunity to prove everyone wrong.

A pseudo hero from the future comes to present days and uses his knowledge of history and 25^th-century technology to save the day, all the while cracking jokes and getting into everyone’s nerves – a perfectly charming yet annoying character to put in a light-hearted story that takes a joke-cracking, fanboying hero poser and turns him into a true hero. If you are already a fan of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series from the early 2000s, you know what I’m talking about.

After the somewhat questionable reception of 2017’s Justice League, maybe a solo movie that doesn’t take itself seriously is what DC needs to bring back people’s faith in their films.

Although, just as I am writing this, the CWverse show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has announced a secret character for season 7 finale which sounds an awful lot like Booster Gold from the character description. So, it’s almost certain we’re getting a Booster Gold on our screens.

Spectre — The Wrath of God

DC’s New Gods movie got shelved and fans are disappointed, especially DC fans who would love to brag their New Gods movie ‘would have been better’ than Marvel’s The Eternals movie released last year. Even though we are not seeing new gods Orion, Metron, Highfather and others from New Genesis anytime soon, the list of cosmic entities in DC is not limited to new gods of the Fourth World. From 5^th Dimensional imps to Biblical characters and actual Gods, DC has a rich list of cosmic-superpowered individuals. So, a solo movie with any of these characters is a good chance for DC to show how good they are in handling cosmic stories. And who better to star than the actual wrath of God, the Spectre.

Spectre, the literal embodiment of almighty’s wrath, had many hosts over the years. Among them, Jim Corrigan is undoubtedly the most popular and ‘just’ to the puny humans who did wrong by others. Portraying him as the all-powerful judge could be the perfect opportunity that DC and Warner Bros. need to keep loyal DC fans happy after they almost butchered the character in Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

DC is yet to do any movie of cosmic scale, and a solo Spectre movie might open the door for other cosmic beings to appear in their future films. Since their grounded movies like Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman are not doing great, maybe multiversal cosmic stories are the way to go ahead. Maybe, just maybe, DC will be known for producing amazing live-action cosmic scripts that satisfy fans and critics alike.

DC is no stranger to dark stories – from Injustice comics and games to films like Justice League Dark and Flashpoint or even the upcoming Justice League Dark show on HBO, DC has proved over and over that they are more than capable of handling darker stories. Surely Marvel has its own share of Dark stories, but when it comes to apocalyptic worlds where all hopes die, DC has got the upper hand. They proved it again with their latest release, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War.

If I were to summarize Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, I’d use “Deaths, Failures and more Deaths”. From the get-go, Justice League members like Hal Jordan Green Lantern, Aquaman and many other dies by Darkseid‘s newest minions, ParaDooms – half Parademon, half Doomsday, in an attempt to stop Darkseid from his conquering attempts.

Then we are shown the apocalyptic world after 2 years of Darkseid’s invasion. We see the failed Justice League members drowned in their miseries and broken by their failures. But Superman, being the big blue boy scout, doesn’t stop trying.

This time, in his attempt, Superman is able to get John Constantine into his team – who is still broken by the death of Zatanna. With the help of John and Etrigan, Superman & Raven put together a team to stand against Darkseid’s attempt to destroy Earth.

The team includes Justice League, Justice League Dark, Teen Titans members as well as Suicide Squad and Lois Lane. Later even Lex Luthor joined the cause and died heroically with Lois and Suicide Squad members including Harley Quinn, Black Manta, Captain Boomerang & King Shark.

On Apokolips, the home world of the new God Darkseid, the rest of the team faces their old friends, now turned evil by Darkseid’s influence. But thankfully John helps Wonder Woman realize who she is, and later she defends her old teammates against Darkseid’s cybernetically enhanced Martian Manhunter, Mera, Hawkman, and Starfire.

But the toughest confrontation was between Damian Wayne, a.k.a. Robin, and Batman, who serves Darkseid now while being in his Mobius Chair. As you’d expect, the son was able to break his father from Darkseid’s persuasion only to die by Darkseid himself, in an attempt to save his father.

The team also finds Barry Allen, the Flash, on a treadmill, running for the last 2 years endlessly, powering Darkseid’s planet and machinery. They are able to free Barry from Darkseid’s grasp, but it is too late, Barry is now broken, weak and afraid.

The confrontation between Darkseid and Justice League shifts towards a godly mode when John Constantine sets Trigon free, later to be killed by him.

But destiny brought him back as Batman being Batman thought of everything, way before he was under Darkseid’s influence.

Later, during an epic battle between Darkseid & Trigon, the team barely flees with the help of a broken Cyborg. But it was still too late. Darkseid was almost successful in his plan, and the toll on earth is critical.

In a devastated world, seeing no hope of a bright future, Flash decides he must run – run to create another Flashpoint and give a new slate for the heroes.

This was first published on Knoarrz and later archived here at rifatahmed.com