FILM: Bumblebee (dir: Travis Knight, 2018)

"What the hell....??"

It does not take very long for this film to establish that it contains all the elements that make it work so much better than Bay's bombastic franchise outings, especially the bloated mess of The Last Knight.   From the opening dazzling battle for Cybertron, there is a clarity of narrative and storytelling and an open emotional simplicity that the previous films simply lack, ably presented through Christina Hodson's smart screenplay (with E.T. the obvious touchstone) and Travis Knight bringing the same degree of control, heart and precision that he demonstrated in Kubo.  What perhaps does surprise is Knight's excellent handling of the impressive action sequences, which again also benefit from streamlined use of characters and story.  Bumblebee will absolutely delight its main target audience - eight-year-old boys - but Steinfeld's spot-on performance will hopefully bring in more female viewers as well.  This film is unexpectedly satisfying, charming and entertaining, and it ably demonstrates that filmmakers do not have to completely abandon scale to find heart.

FILM: Mary Poppins Returns (dir: Rob Marshall, 2018)

"Mind you, it's not like they haven't done it before."

The original film is obviously a Disney treasure, so this belated 'return' has been handled very carefully indeed.  It is more of a companion piece than a sequel, as it resolutely refuses to make any concessions to modern cinema by remaining steadfastly old-fashioned, gentle and as delightful as its predecessor.  The charming songs absolutely hit the right tone, it fits perfectly alongside the previous film in terms of style, choreography and beats, and it is carried along by terrific lead performances from Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.  The film ties in cleverly with ideas carried forward from the original, and the sympathetic design is also delightful (this is a London of gaslamp-lighters, fog and cobbled streets).  One scene actually made children in the audience cry - the excellent Ben Whishaw's understated grief that bursts out in one scene saw to that - but the ending is pure candy-coloured joy.  This is a far cry from the MCU, but Mary Poppins Returns is a very well-made throwback delight.

FILM: Aquaman IMAX 3D (dir: James Wan, 2018)

"It's a long story."

As the trailer suggested, Aquaman is built around huge special effects (some awe-inspiring, some oddly cartoon-like) and fulfils the reinvention of the character started in Batman v Superman and Justice League to good effect.  The fundamental DC issue remains, however: you can throw all the effects at the film that you could possibly want, but if at the end of the day the story is an identikit superhero narrative it strains patience somewhat.  There is also an over-reliance on underwater politics, oddly reminiscent of Dune, that slows down the film, but the action sequences are great, even if too many sincere dialogue scenes end abruptly with sub-aquatic soldiers blasting through a wall.  James Wan marshals everything very well as expected, the cast is generally good (Mamoa's swaggering take on the character is sufficiently engaging) but even the CGI battering cannot raise this film above being overly-familiar.

FILM: Mortal Engines IMAX 3D (dir: Christian Rivers, 2018)

"You're going to kill me?"
"For a little while."

Finally brought to the screen by the Peter Jackson squad, Mortal Engines delivers on the book's completely barmy premise by bringing giant moving cities to the big screen convincingly.  The visual scale and ambition of effects in this movie are colossal, extraordinary and hugely impressive, to the extent that in IMAX 3D they are quite overwhelming, with the thunderous score and noisy soundscape almost ear-shattering.  Whilst the story is fairly robust, the characters inevitably take a back seat to the FX, and for such an imaginative concept there are plenty of filmic nods to genre greats old (Frankenstein, Metropolis) and new (The Terminator, Independence Day and especially the fable staples of characters and the final act of A New Hope).  This is a film for which you can admire the spectacle rather than engage deeply.

FILM: Spider-Man - Into The Spider-Verse (dirs: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rotham, 2018)

"This is SO fresh!"

With little expectation, this film turns out to be one of the biggest surprises of 2018 and one of its strongest films.  By touching on a variety of elements of Spider-Man mythology from all the different media and eras, as well as bringing together a range of alternate-dimension versions of the character, the highly creative team has put together a movie that has bags of content and story, together with fantastic energy, wit and its own interesting visual style.  It is perhaps a shame that Miles Morales makes the big screen in animated rather than live-action form, but this is a fantastic film in which the character shines completely.  With the coolest of soundtracks, gags galore and a wealth of ideas, this is an impressive and hugely entertaining film.

FILM: Creed II (dir: Stephen Caple Jr, 2018)

"You can't say Creed without Drago, right?"

From the moment the Drago name appeared in the trailer, anticipation for this titanic clash was set high, and to a large extent this sequel does not disappoint.  If Creed was Rocky and Rocky II, the follow-up is essentially Rocky III and IV with the 80s commercial gloss stripped back. As has been common with Hollywood sequels over the last couple of years, father/son relationships and generations are the key issues here.  The film relies heavily on the franchise's mythology and iconography, which are used extremely well, but it does sometimes feel as if the fanboy-pleasing moments are rather calculated, which nevertheless does not stop them from being mightily effective.  Thankfully, Michael B. Jordan again carries the film successfully, proving himself to be a charismatic and sincere screen actor, Stallone impresses in his older/wiser character acting phase of his career, and whilst Dolph Lundgren's return as Drago (mentoring his formidable boxer son) gives him little to do but creates some strong franchise moments.  Indeed, young Drago's sheer physical presence makes every round fighting against Creed quite terrifying and thus absorbing to watch.  Missing director Coogler, Creed II may lack the freshness and inventiveness of its predecessor, and it feels mighty long for a film with such simplistic narrative beats and overall structure, but it is a good follow-up that engages dramatically and brings young Creed's story to a satisfying creative and character conclusion which really does not need to be taken further.

FILM: Ralph Breaks The Internet - Wreck-It Ralph 2 (dirs: Phil Johnston and Rich Moore, 2018)

"....an igloo made of pillows....a pigloo!"

This welcome sequel is a fast-paced candy-coloured charmer.  The storytelling is lean and sprints along, with zippy dialogue and ambitiously pleasing visual detail in the design.  John C. Reilly's excellent voice work makes Ralph a surprisingly endearing character, with Sarah Silverman providing strong support as his sidekick/best friend Vanellope and a host of recognisable star voices (including Jane Lynch, Gal Gadot, Alan Tudyk, Jack McBrayer and more) filling out the main cast to good effect.  At its heart, it delivers sweet and simple messages about friendship (and the internet!) for young children, but it is delivered with sufficient sass and energy to make this an enjoyable sequel.