FILM: The Fantastic Four - First Steps (dir: Matt Shakman, 2025)

"Ladies and gentlemen - we have a successful launch!"

If *Thunderbolts proved to be something of a return to form for Marvel, the the launch of The Fantastic Four into the MCU runs with it and brings it home in style.  Even though it covers the basic story of 2007's adequate Rise Of The Silver Surfer, First Steps is a considerable upgrade all round.  Thankfully sidestepping a full-on origin tale (dealt with deftly in an early TV tribute montage for 'Four Years of The Fantastic Four'), Marvel's big theme of family is dealt with head on, not least with Sue and Reed's baby and the inter-familial relationships of the Four themselves, playing into a threat that is both global and very personal, and also making the characters more human and less one-dimensional than previous iterations, which also surprisingly applies to Galactus and Silver Surfer here.  It is effortlessly watchable and engaging, the story is tightly written and flows wonderfully, the retro-stylings give the whole film a wonderful aesthetic, the core characters' performances and interactions are excellent, and Michael Giacchino's score is sublime (again, one of his best).  This film is also evidence of Marvel's push for better quality control, as the VFX sequences are both ambitious and very well-realised throughout, standouts being an extended hard-sci-fi space sequence and the action-packed finale.  Also to relish is the incidental detail director Shakman brings to scenes (one can only wonder what his late-abandoned fourth Kelvin Star Trek movie could have been after seeing this), as he handles both enormous-scale scenes and smaller character work with aplomb.  There are mid- and end-of scenes with the end credits that presumably nod to the upcoming Avengers movies (the mid-credits scene is particularly ominous).   This is superhero storytelling at its best, pitched just right for both the younger and older audiences, and the quality of the production as a whole sees Marvel aiming for the top once again and pretty much hitting it.
 

VOD: Better Man (dir: Michael Gracey, 2024)

"So, who is Robbie Williams?"

This Robbie Williams biopic famously has its subject portrayed on-screen by a Weta-created CG ape, telling the singer's story from insecure childhood through to troubled boyband glory days and his significant solo ups and downs, narrated by Williams along the way.  The story may be one of typical and familiar rise/fall/redemption, but better man tells it in a way that is both interesting and surprisingly intimate to watch.  The Robbie Williams back catalogue is used quite sparingly and selectively and proves robust enough to sustain the jukebox-musical-style format applied here, but the song sequences are also presented in very energetic and visually inventive ways, often emotionally quite affecting.  The key relationships and the artist's evolution are also delivered well.  This film is by its style and genre necessarily a different beast to the at-times harrowingly honest Netflix documentary series, but it does not shy away from Robbie's addictions, self-destructive behaviour and mental health issues.  With Jonno Davies doing excellent and convincing work as the star's mo-capped on-screen presence, whether the ape conceit is a metaphor for performers, a way of viewing Robbie more objectively or a way to evoke a sympathetic response to a wide-eyed animal representation will be down to interpretation (given that this is very much told from Robbie Williams's perspective), but Better Man proves to be an interesting and successful creation in its own terms.   

 

VOD: Heads Of State (dir: Ilya Naishuller, 2025)

"Hashtag commander-in-beef is trending!"

 Following a lively opening covert-mission-goes-wrong at La Tomatina food-fight festival, this breezy tongue-firmly-in-cheek action-comedy from Amazon finds the new gung-ho soundbite-friendly former movie-star US President (John Cena) and beleaguered and more grounded UK Prime Minister (Idris Elba) thrown together after Air Force One is brought down over Belarus and having to work together to defeat a common Russian renegade nemesis who has taken control of the U.S.'s super-surveillance software.  With the pair of leaders set up as simple binary oppositions who clash and bicker over everything, after the dramatic opening not a moment of the movie takes itself too seriously, enabling a lot of fun to be derived from these two larger-than-life characters/actors (cast perfectly) butting heads as they battle the Connery-Bond-style villain and his goons.  The action sequences are very effective if occasionally a little full-on for the film's rating, as are some of the dreadful puns delivered.  This is a glossy, daft romp that trots along without a care and offers lightweight and very enjoyable fun with just the occasional touch of heavy politics to anchor the nonsense.   

VOD: The Amateur (dir: James Hawes, 2025)

REVIEW No. 1,800!

"You must have done something really bad!"
"Not yet."

Rami Malek stars as a mild-mannered CIA analyst who goes on the hunt for his wife's killer after a terrorist gang's hostage situation goes wrong, the USP here being that he uses his strengths of brains and strategy over brawn, manoeuvring his way into field training to stand a 'fighting chance' in this somewhat routine and rather morose thriller.  Malek is an interesting choice for this role, his rather internalised approach means that he delivers rather than inhabits his character on-screen.  It is a consistently dour affair, the European backdrops are attractive, and apart from an extraordinary (and brief) sequence involving a suspended swimming pool, whilst proficient and somewhat routine, the film lacks spark and never quite seems to realise the promise of a genuinely smart thriller.
 

VOD: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (dir: Jeff Fowler, 2024)

"The more you talk, the harder I want to hit you!"

This time, Sonic and his sidekicks are drafted in to battle an embittered and powerful new enemy, Shadow the hedgehog (voiced by Keanu Reeves), newly defrosted and escaped from Prison Island having taken a different path to Sonic, and the team having to make an uneasy alliance with Dr Robotnik (the ever-zany Jim Carrey) in order to triumph. Tailor-made for its young audience, with its neon-soaked colour palette, light-rock soundtrack and loads of noise and action, this solid threequel delivers more of the same and quite slickly.  Once again, the integration of real-world and CGI/videogame elements is handled very well indeed, and the world-building and indeed film-making is handled with care and effectiveness.  The drawn-out mid-section does sag a little, and the film labours its key message of personal responsibility and making the right choices, but there is sufficient story development to make this film a sound if hardly earth-shattering addition to the franchise.  And yes, a (good) mid-end-credits sequence sets up the next chapter.

 

VOD: Superman (dir: James Gunn, 2025)

"Hot damn - it's a flying dog!"
 

 ...and so we get another Superman for another generation, as James Gunn kick-starts the next iteration of the cinematic DC Universe, cleaving very close to comic-book style and delivering a film that is great fun if uneven in some respects and which twelve-year-old boys are going to absolutely love - if you like your Superman Cavill-serious, this will not be much to your liking.  It gets a lot of things right:  the story miraculously hangs together, David Corenswet's Superman has a pleasing child-like naiveté balancing the considerable power, Nicholas Hoult delivers possibly the best Lex Luthor seen so far with a mean and calculating nastiness, Rachel Brosnaham does Lois Lane via Scream's Gale Weathers, there are great takes on Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and the Kents, and above all Krypto/SuperDog is an instant scene-stealing loveable crazy superstar.  There are some spectacular and powerful action set-pieces, and the whole affair is infused with Gunn's silly humour - there are plenty of genuine chuckles to be had along the way - and it comes as a bit of a shock that a major-league superhero movie does not have to dark, moody and tortured.  Where it perhaps falters is when it tries to inject anything more heavyweight, noticeable more in the first act, in which an unnecessarily extended 'relationship'/interview scene between Lois and Clark/Superman seems to exist simply to establish that they are adults, as if it were needed.  Many touchstones remain intact: The Fortress Of Solitude looks great, the suit works on screen, and even John Williams's iconic theme gets the Top Gun treatment.  Overall, it does enough to freshen up the property and is a likeable and entertaining enough spectacle if a little lightweight and forgettable.  The first of two end-credits scenes sums up the film in a very sweet way indeed.

VOD: We Live In Time (dir: John Crowley, 2024)

"I'm worried that there's a very distinct and real possibility that I am about to fall in love with you."

This sweet but grounded romantic drama follows the relationship between chef  Almut (Florence Pugh) and divorced IT guy Tobias (Andrew Garfield), with all its moments of pure joy and utter heartbreak, from their first pure rom-com chance collision to the profound impact of a cancer diagnosis.  This intimate film is droll, charming and heartwarming, delivered in a consistently gentle and largely credible way, floating along on a gorgeously ethereal soundtrack.  Blessed with two superb lead actors in Pugh and Garfield, their relationship is almost hypnotically engaging through their finely-nuanced and unpretentious performances.  With its non-linear storytelling cleverly adding extra pathos to events, the film is nevertheless simple and clear in its honesty and truthfulness, aided by its single-camera-style shooting.  Quite simply, We Live In Time is a beautiful little slice-of-life film.
 

VOD: The Old Guard 2 (dir: Victoria Mahoney, 2025)

"Time means nothing...until it means everything..."
 

Five years after the original Netflix hit, this sequel finally emerges from its post-production delays and proves to be another watchably silly and spritely action-fest, this time with added Uma Thurman.  It wastes no time getting down to business, with the OG team on a vague mission in sunny Croatia and the First Immortal (Thurman) resurrecting an embittered immortal Quynh from the bottom of the sea and seeking vengeance on former close ally Andy (Charlize Theron) and her gang.  The easy-going banter and camaraderie between the team members is a strength, but the script's boundless need to emphasis just how long these immortals have been around becomes irritating.  The visuals are ultra-glossy, pin-sharp and very attractive to watch, and the refreshingly female-driven fight sequences are snappy and executed well, as the action and plot zip around the globe with carefree abandon.  Henry Golding is a good addition as the library-keeper of ancient immortals texts that enables the mythology to deepen effortlessly, and the sparingly-used Thurman exudes villainous and manipulative cool to good effect.  The Old Guard 2 is well-made, slick, nonsensical, lightweight and forgettable entertainment of the highest order, and it famously ends on a very confident sequel-baiting cliffhanger.

VOD: The Captives (dir: Frankie Chung, 2024)

"Be my slave."

Earth has under attack from increasingly-hostile alien creatures in this lurid Chinese sci-fi actioner, with a search for the mother 'worm' and an ultimate showdown that will decide the fate of humanity.  Akin to a top-end mockbuster from The Asylum, where ambition surpasses execution, talent and budget, there are plenty of fast-scuttling creatures (which look better as the film goes on), viral telepathy/mind control and the usual unashamed nods to Alien, The Matrix and Robocop, accompanied by a bombastic music score and all jammed together in a repetitively episodic and somewhat basic if muddled story.  Biao Diao's intense turn as a human/alien hybrid stands out from a generally unremarkable cast, and there are occasional moments of good visual ideas and reasonable action amongst the weaker elements.  There is a fairly long mid-credits behind-the-scenes sequence. 
 

VOD: Warfare (dirs: Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, 2025)

"Don't be afraid.  Nothing will happen to you."

A24 presents this story - based closely on real events - of a Navy Seal platoon in Iran, 2006, undertaking a surveillance mission and sniper support for a U.S. Marines operation, but finds itself holed up in a family's home and at the receiving end of a devastating attack, cut off and under siege and facing an agonising wait for extraction.  Effectively a bottle show for most of its runtime, and after a first act that is a deliberately very-low-key waiting game, the action scenes are intense, immediate and brutal, told in almost real-time.  The troop-under-attack element works really well, and it is interesting to follow how the individual soldiers react differently as their situation changes.  The low-key/l-fi approach used here gives the film a visceral feel, and in a solid ensemble stand-outs are perhaps Joseph Quinn, D'Pharoah Woon-A-Tai and the ever-reliable Will Poulter.  The final montage that juxtaposes the actors' photos with their real-life counterparts, including some on-set footage, gives weight to what is a perhaps basic but inevitably impactful movie. 
 

VOD: Ocean With David Attenborough (dirs: Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield, 2025)

"For once you've truly seen the sea, you'll never look at Earth in the same way again."

This feature-length National Geographic documentary was given a brief cinema run, and once it establishes the sheer majesty and sweep of the underwater world, it does not take long for the harsh realities of human behaviour and its effects to be hard-hittingly presented.  The biggest emotional impact of the film lies in revealing the destructive horror of industrial metal bottom-trawlers and huge floating factories, juxtaposing thriving lush ecosystems with scenes of bleak annihilation to devastating effect.  The film relishes in its use of full widescreen and stunning extra long shots in order to convey the scale and beauty of the oceans, which it achieves to great effect, with its focus on discovery, diversity and connections.  Giving the film the gravitas of his own later-life reflections, Attenborough's narration is of course calmly disturbing yet reassuringly positive, but even the third act's demonstration of the positive impact of protected reserves on regenerating ecosystems feels cautious in the face of what has been shown earlier in the film.  The vibrancy of colour and macro-detail, alongside a dreamy and classy music score, makes for a captivating and absorbing viewing experience that makes its message very clear indeed.
 

FILM: Jurassic World Rebirth (dir: Gareth Edwards. 2025)

"No-one's dumb enough to go where we're going!"

Only three years since the second-trilogy closer Dominion, the new (seventh) Jurassic movie moves the timeline along five years in a fairly stand-alone chapter that for the most part frees itself from its overburdened immediate predecessor, but still containing playful nods to the franchise's past.  After a pulpy prologue and a lengthy (and wordy) first act that assembles a group of hire-for-pay mercenaries along with a scientist, a local sailor and an Aliens/Burke-like shady company suit that does a good job of establishing the main characters, the film then sets itself - story and structure - on three missions to collect live DNA from sea/land/air creatures for world-changing medical research and then escape from Ile Saint-Hubert, another long-abandoned Ingen R&D site.  Gareth Edwards wrangles the giant-creature elements with the expected aplomb, with true blockbusterly-spectacular action set-pieces (the highlight being the surprisingly Jaws-like extended seabound section), alongside more interestingly-drawn characters than perhaps usual for this franchise, with an excellent top-line cast of Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali and especially Scarlett Johannson, all of whom bring a brisk but grounded and very watchable humanity to their roles.  Just when you think the film has evaded the franchise's seeming demand for a cute child every time, up pops a random and dull shipwrecked family, whose B-plot journey offers the most uninteresting parts of the movie, bar a tense river escapade.   Although Rebirth looks and feels quite fresh, ultimately it delivers more of the same that has been shown before in the series but bigger or with a slight twist on previously-used scenarios and locations, such as the classic 'kitchen stalking' scene here taking place in a similarly-aisled gas-station shop, as the series at this point can do little but cannibalise itself.  Nevertheless, Rebirth is certainly one of the better entries in the series so far in spite of the lacklustre family strand, with main characters that do not irritate and some genuinely sweeping big-screen visuals.