Review: Bros

Having more LGBTQ+ films within mainstream film releases continues to grow and be accepted more and more.

So much so that one even collected the honour of Best Picture at the Oscar a few years ago.

However, getting a major cinematic release is still yet to be achieved.

But this new one is the closest we have got to getting one.

It's natural to possibly expect critics or audience members to be sniffy on films with an LGBTQ+. But I think with an open mind, this particular should surprise quite a few.

Early on, you can feel the strength and confidence in its writing and avoidance of being overly preachy and relying on familiar tropes. The noticeable nods and references to 'When Harry Met Sally' pleased me, and the comparisons were earnt.

I like Billy Eichner's performance as well as his writing. His almost rapid-fire style of comedy was very effective. You do struggle to keep up with his gags at times. But on the whole, I really enjoyed what Eichner was produced. This could see him be part of bigger projects in the future.

I wasn't too hot on Luke McFarlane at first. But he warmed to me eventually and that is thanks to his chemistry with Eichner.

Guy Branum was given some great lines to work with and executed them perfectly. I will mention there were some great cameos where the majority of them have been a large influence and inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community in recent pop culture which was a nice touch.

In fact, the cast was largly LGBTQ+ and it was great seeing plenty of new faces be part of a project that is getting this big of a release.

I will admit there were moments, especially in the final act that fell into that soppy sentimental vibe that we've seen in so many rom coms. But there was enough of it for them to get away with for me as they earnt it with everything we had just seen beforehand.

To be honest, it played to its tropes rather well in the end.

So while I'm not the best person to see if it's seen as a true celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, I felt it was very rewarding and charming watch. It's definitely funnier and better written then most rom coms that have been released recently. I laughed a lot and fairly consistently throughout its duration. I felt it was well written and developed with a genuine romance between our two loads that I cared for it to succeed. It gave us fleshed out characters with a nice amount of content for our supporting cast to be given purpose. Plus like with all good rom coms, it balances its comedy and drama really well.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Barbarian

It's not often these days when a film does its build-up and promotion the way it's supposed to.

However, after watching this I hope other studios can finally go back to promoting their projects in this way if they want their audiences to see it on the big screen to get the best experience possible.

When I heard about the buzz this was getting from America, it had me excited on seeing a new successful horror flick. But the trailers and posters that I had seen didn't show anything matching that hype. So I was going with some caution that I could be setting myself up for disappointment. However now after seeing it, I can see that the buzz is coming from actually seeing it in the theatres as that's where we see the surprises that reminded me of when I saw 'The Cabin In The Woods'.

The tension does build up nicely in the first act with its set-up. Then we get the first of a number of surprising turns that are done without warning you and it really messes with your senses in a good way. From then on, you just don't know what's going to happen next. Also, the way each turn is done felt as if the filmmakers were respecting its audience intelligence and patience.

It certainly had me guessing how everything would be connected. Plus, some of the cinematography was making the experience more immersive which I massively appreciated.

The final act does do twists that whilst they continued the trend of being totally unexpected, some I felt didn't feel fully justified for me personally. But I certainly felt entertained and had an enjoyable viewing experience.

The performances are decent on the whole. I liked the chemistry between Georgina Campbell and the always creepy Bill Skarsgard to help you get into the story. 

The introduction of Justin Long was a nice surprise not just for seeing him in a film again and back in the horror genre. But also to play such an unlikable character so well to the point where it's actually funny rather than annoying.

It's not often that I feel the film's strength is how it was presenting itself before its release. I appreciated that so much of the film is kept under wraps in its marketing.

Films these days almost never do this. The trailer usually gives away most of its strengths and the structure usually gives us an idea of where we're heading. This does none of that.

Despite all of this, I am not fully jumping on the bandwagon. I definitely had a lot of fun with this and it's definitely best experienced not knowing anything at all. However, this could be a film that loses its momentum on multiple viewings. It will be interesting to see how it ages in the future.

For now, I will say this is a very entertaining watch. It sets you up nicely and then once we have established one part of the story, it then decided to completely mess you around and yet never go away from the actual story. It's more thrilling than scary and it contains an unexpected yet welcoming amount of comedy. Some sequences were really well shot and tracked and film nerds like me will gush over those moments.

I like the surprise factor this has. But there were moments towards the end when I felt they were doing it for the sake of it. I personally felt the surprises in 'Malignant' from last year was more effective for me. But thankfully, I was willing to somewhat let this go as it was an approach that we rarely see. This will be a good crowd-pleaser. As mentioned, it will be interesting to see if it's novelty will wear off over time and I hope director Zach Cregger has found his breakthrough. 

Rating: 7/10

Review: Wendell & Wild

A new Henry Selick film is surely an instant must-watch event. Especially when the last one was 13 years ago.

Not only because he is a highly talented director. But it also means some stop-motion animation action which is an art of animated film-making that you have to respect.

The amount of time given to making these films is insane, the levels of imagination and creativity used and sequences that you have no idea how they made that possible already gives you enough aspects to appreciate before even getting to the story and character development.

If you are not aware of Selick's achievements, he is the director of classics 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Coraline' as well as the always entertaining 'James And The Giant Peach'. So with a catalogue like that, it is natural to be very excited to see what Selick has made for us this time.

I have to firstly say that there is a lot going on in this story. A lot of it is accompanied by wonderful character and production design and that vintage creativity that only this genre could achieve.

Also from a narrative perspective, there is plenty of sub-plots being covered here. While I am up for a lot of world and story building, it can sometimes be too much, and it ends up forgetting to actually tell a fully-fledged story. This is kind of one of them.

Don't get me wrong, I was constantly engaged. There is a lot of energy to it and the whole thing had a sense of wonder to it. But I don't think it concentrated on a central idea. It's like they were trying to tell two or three different stories and cram it all into this. That can work up to a point as you don't know where it's going next. But you just almost feel exhausted by the end of it rather than being entertained and enjoying the ride.

The voice work was perfectly fine. It was nice hearing Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele go back and forth with their characters and Ving Rhames and James Hong gave memorable voices that helped their respective characters be more memorable.

Lastly like with all Selick films, it doesn't sugar-coat the darker or more mature aspects of the story. It's a family horror adventure and while I wouldn't call it scary, it does contain a gothic design in its characters and has tragic topics which would explain the 12A certificate. I have always found a sense of respect when Selick tells his stories.

So if you have children and are unsure whether this will be suitable for them. I feel that if they can cope with other Selick films, then they'll be fine.

Even with its issues, I think it's a good enough watch. The animation style is instantly eye-catching and maintains that amazement throughout with its creative style and design. There's plenty of interesting characters and ideas being covered. But I think there's just too much trying to be said for it be truly exceptional. I just hope I don't have to wait another 13 years for another Selick installment.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Good Nurse

As we head towards the end of the year, we are starting to see more and more films coming out with ambition of being involved in the major awards season.

Some end up being a genuine contender and some get overlooked Whatever happens, pretty much all of them will get labelled as 'Oscar bait'. For those of you who don't know what this is, those are films that are basically are made for the sole intention to gain nominations by awards voters. They usually consist of particular characteristics such as a lavish production, profound story that is usually based on a true person or event and actors that are awards nominees, winners or are usually part of Oscar winning ensemble casts like Timothee Chalamet or Lucas Hedges.

Being labelled as 'Oscar bait' is not always a bad thing. But the way it is used usually means audiences are going into it with a possibly unfair high expectations.

For this new release, there were a few signs that this film is aiming for awards success. It contains two lead actors that are both Oscar winners, an Oscar nominated writer and a BAFTA nominated director.

All of said achievements did intrigue me to check this out. But it was more the people behind those achievements. Plus, having a Netflix release had me wanting to see if the film could provide me the answers of the distributors going for a streaming release rather than a cinematic one.

This film pretty much depends on our leads Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne and they carry this film well. Chastain might not have given a performance that is up there with Molly's Game or Zero Dark Thirty. But it did exactly what was required. It was a character that was very relatable and easy to root for. As for Redmayne's performance it was subtle but necessary for it to be that way. There is one scene where his character does eventually boil over which was cool to see. But on the whole, it was a quiet performance that fitted the character and situation perfectly for me.

I really liked their chemistry together on-screen and how it developed and changed when new information is introduced. It's probably the films biggest strength.

There's not too much to speak of outside of the performances. The production is fairly satisfactory. It's nice to see a hospital setting as we usually see this environment on TV series rather than films.

The pacing is a fairly slow and quiet one, which might explain the Netflix release.

In other hands, this film could easily be a big awards contender. There are elements that I feel could have been better utilised or parts they could have shot instead of just being put on a title card to help with the story. It might still get a bit of buzz. However, I think it will get lost in the mix.

But the strength in the shock factor of the true story and plot development still makes for a perfectly memorable viewing experience. It's not going to push your emotions to the limit. But it should still leave you captivated by the events and wanting to know more about the true story and have you on the edge particularly in the final act.

Rating: 7/10

Review: The Banshees Of Inisherin

While we sadly don't get enough films from British director Martin McDonagh, they have all been an absolute treat.

From the amazing debut with the incredible 'In Bruges', to the fun 'Seven Psycopaths' and most recently with the brilliant 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri', McDonagh is quite possibly the premier director at the moment for black comedies.

When I heard Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson were back collaborating with McDonagh, this was one of my most highly anticipated films for this year.

It began with having unexpected fillings. With the film containing strong Irish accents and it being set on an Ireland, I couldn't help but just think of the 90's sitcom classic 'Father Ted'. I'm sure I won't be alone on that. At first, it does genuinely feel like that.

But as the film goes on, there is more to it than that. There are fairy tale elements to the plot.

I like how much subtext is happening around the main story. The parallels with the Irish civil war, how we as a species confront with our own mortality and become aware of death, being remembered, loneliness, despair, forgiveness and many other universal themes.

The cast do a great job with many notable performances. It was great seeing Farrell and Gleeson together once again. The bickering between their characters might not be as strong as 'In Bruges' for me. But it remained very effective that helped enhance the films themes.

Kerry Condon was a scene-stealing support for Farrell's character particularly. With her character bringing some sense to the situation, her contribution was both vital and memorable.

The real star of the show for me was Barry Keoghan. The past several years has seen this talented young actor show the world what he can do. With many highlights already in his past catalogue, this is up there with his performance in the great 'Calm With Horses'. Despite the stupidity his character has on the surface, there are great moments of innocence and heart that felt very profound.

There is a lot to like from the technical side as well. The Irish setting is gorgeous to look at and make for some great opportunities for future tourist attractions. Carter Burwell's atmospheric score had that ominous vibe that something big was on the horizon in the story.

While I did like it a lot, I don't think it's quite as dynamic as 'In Bruges' or 'Three Billboards' was. But I will not be surprised if this gets a push in the major awards season.

It is a story with lots to cover when watching when discuss when the credits roll. But with a lot of it having emotional depth and tragedy, McDonagh's comedic style still comes through at regular intervals and I was laughing pretty consistently.

This is made with a lot of heart and passion, and I hope this does well with the masses as it has been given a wide release. I can see myself liking this more and more. But for now, this is a strong piece of work that balances out the comedy and drama perfectly.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Decision To Leave

While I don't think Park Chan-Wook is quite the masterful film-maker people set him out to be. I can certainly agree his craftmanship is of a very high quality.

I think like many I got introduced to his works when I saw 2003's Oldboy. Since then, I have certainly enjoyed the majority of his work. His purposeful style of camerawork, recurring themes of revenge and confidence to take risks has made him quite a favourite with fans of independent cinema. However, I am still waiting for his masterpiece. The craft is most definitely there. But I think the right story and strong performances are still missing to be the complete package for me.

It was clear to see early on this it wasn't going to be as innovative. But instead, we were getting some homages to classic film story-telling with modern edge's.

It's got a noir style tone with a non-linear narrative. So already it's going to be complex viewing as is with most of Park's films. I got some similarities with Vertigo as throughout the film you never knew who to trust and there's complicated romance involved. It gave those similarities a modern twist which I liked it as it made great use of modern technology.

I like how it develops the aspect of the story you don't expect, and it gives us a memorable and tragic. finale.

But while I can most definitely appreciate it's style, tone, camerawork and use of tension, it just never felt as gripping or remarkable compared to the directors other works or similar films of this genre. I also felt the plot felt stretched and they were adding strands that felt there just to fill the duration.

The performances are understated and fitted the tone perfectly. There weren't any real standouts. But they all worked the style that Park was going for.

This might be one of those you appreciate on a second viewing. But for now, I see this as a solid crime noir that is well directed and shot with some cool symbolic moments and tense sequences. It has those vintage Park moments and covers themes such as desire over morals fairly well. But I think the execution is a bit more muted and the colour palette is grimmer than his other works. So that might be why I wasn't going nuts for this. But there was still plenty to appreciate and like about it to recommend this.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Black Adam

With the amount of superhero content being released this year, it's easy to forget that the DC Extended Universe is still trying to be a thing.

While there are thankfully some exceptions, most of their installments have shown the potential of this franchise. But it ends up feeling like they're playing catch-up and not giving its material time to breath, flourish and make us care what is happening from a narrative perspective.

I honestly thought this latest release was as abandoned as Marvel's Gambit film. For what seems like a very long time, this project has been in the works in various ways. We thought it was going to be part of a bigger project. Then it became its own thing.

It begins with a lot of backstory exposition that makes me feel that this was forced to be cut to not make it feel like the almost 4hrs Zack Snyder's Justice League.

With so much information being given, it did take a while for me to slow down and enjoy things at a gentler pace. But once things got moving, we could actually start to somewhat enjoy this action filled adventure.

I was still seeing the common issue most people have with DC films, as that is a messy and/or rushed narrative. Lots of characters and elements get introduced to us and we are expected to care for something that has been given little development. It reminded me a lot of the first Suicide Squad where I was highly intrigued with each character and wanted to know more. But any sort of backstory is given a brief summary and then we return the main story.

It still shows that the studio wants to get all of its content out there as soon as possible to show the audience what they have rather than giving us time to invest in it. Fans of the source material will only know about these characters, and the general audience who will want to play catch-up will most likely feel alienated.

But thankfully the thrilling action and solid performances by the cast gave me enough intrigue to keep my interest and enjoy the concept to make me entertained rather than annoyed at another missed opportunity. Unlike most of DC's previous films, there is some lighter moments to mix up the tone and give us decent comedic moment which helped the viewing experience.

The cast were pretty serviceable on the whole. Dwayne Johnson is the one that sells this film. While I still feel Johnson is an odd casting choice for this character. We instead get his deadpan humour on screen rather than this insane amount of charisma. You could feel the threat his character posed as well as his 'fish out of water' moments that gave most of the films comedic relief.

Aldis Hodge did a good job in one of the many characters that were given a rushed introduction that we're meant to care for. But I could Hodge put in the work and certainly made me want to see his character be in a standalone adventure.

Same goes for Pierce Brosnan. It was a nice supporting role for him and his supposed relationship with Hodge's character is one that I would have liked more screen-time.

From the technical side, the visual effects do a good job with the heavy amount of CGI required for certain characters and landscapes. It never felt overly digital, and it blended into the practical surroundings really well. I would have liked more variety in Lorne Balfe's score. While I liked the romp and energy, it felt too constant for me that almost felt exhausted to listen to.

I really liked the eye-pleasing character designs as well. It's just a shame we don't really get any development on most of the characters origins.

While it wasn't a big issue for me, I would have liked the camerawork to be a little less hectic to give us a bit more perspective on the action sequences.

I'm still going to give it a pass despite its issues. The franchise still has its usual narrative problems that doesn't make us as an audience care enough for what is happening. But the action and intrigue of various characters made it enjoyable to somewhat forget about the negatives.

I do remain hopeful that DC can blossom into something special with its universe. But for now, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

There is a mid-credits scene to stay for and while it is bad to say that it was the best part of the film, you will understand once you see it.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Emily

My knowledge of the Bronte sisters is small. But I feel it is enough to get me by in general conversation.

However, Emily Bronte is not fully well known for even the most expert historian. So when I saw the people involved in this, it had my curiosity.

This is the directorial debut for Frances O'Connor. Most people from my generation will know for her roles in Gosford Park, Bedazzled, A.I. Artificial Intelligence and most recently The Conjuring 2.

Now O'Connor has turned her attention to being behind the camera and the solid buzz surrounding it had me intrigued me to see her vision of this celebrated figure where little is truly known about her. 

It has all the usual looks of what you expect with a period drama. But O'Connor gave it something different which I think is worth seeing and it felt refreshing to see.

There are some scenes that purposely give the feeling of a horror film. I think due to the little we really know about the titular character, there is room to go into more of a genre piece. There is realms of horror and fairy tale involved in this plot. There is one particular scene with a horror tone that is truly terrifying and is one of the best scenes I've seen this year.

There are obvious additions to the story to give a fully-fledged plot that they feel would have happened in her life to give us the work we know she created. All of these choices I felt worked really well or were functional at worst to give us a pretty effective and satisfying story.

The cast was pretty good on the whole. Emma Mackey is an absolute star in the leading role. A striking screen presence with authority beyond her years and painted a picture that clearly shows what the director was going for. A troubled soul with a lot of pressure on their shoulders and a mindset that society wasn't ready for that was eventually celebrated over time.

It was great seeing Fionn Whitehead continue to be part of projects and he did a great job in this and had solid chemistry with Mackey.

While I didn't think Oliver Jackson-Cohen was exceptional, he was good enough as support for Mackey. But I think for the amount of screen-time his character had, I would have expected a better casting choice.

The Yorkshire landscape is used with great effect both in the imagery and the sound design. It gave us a backdrop that was both beautiful and spooky in small doses. The score by Abel Korzeniowski enhanced the thoughts of Emily Bronte well and obviously the costumes fit the period perfectly and looked great on screen.

I thought this was a well put together piece of work with a lot of passion, vision and imagination. I can't quite give a great rating as most of the elements no more than good which is perfectly fine. The story is solid, there is a strong leading performance, and the overall tone and look is pretty evocative.

For a directorial debut, this is an impressive first outing for O'Connor. You can see a confident approach that is not afraid to experiment and flirt with other genres. It's not often actors transcend to behind the camera activities. But O'Connor could have found a second career in the industry.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Halloween Ends

This current guise of the Halloween franchise has been ok on the whole. The first chapter from 2018 was probably the best Halloween film since the original. Then it's 2021 sequel had some interesting ideas. But the execution did not match that.

For this supposed final FINAL chapter, I was hoping for some sort of satisfaction for a film series that has seen 13 films be made of it in total.

It's opening prologue actually caught my interest. It has an effective first scene with dramatically effective results.

The majority of the story goes down some unexpected routes that had me interested in the themes it was going for like how monsters are made and generally trying to give meaning and layers to the mythology of sadistic criminals that are of a Michael Myers level.

But I didn't think the strength in the writing and its imagery made it ideas fully fledged. However, I would still praise for concentrating on characters that would naturally expect them to be supporting ones.

Then in the final act, it was as if the filmmakers were given a reminder that we need to finish this and then suddenly the main characters are suddenly involved to give the finale we were all waiting for. It does give us some honestly memorable sequences that are truly gruesome, and one that became genuinely funny.

The performances weren't outstanding. But were perfectly functional on the whole. Jamie Lee Curtis was as good as you would expect. Curtis knows this character off by heart and gave it a solid final showing. I think Rohan Campbell was a solid standout. He made great use of his screen-time and I hope this is his big breakthrough for bigger projects to come. Andi Matichak gave solid chemistry with Campbell. It is always nice to see Will Patton as it always makes me want to see Remember The Titans.

The general look of the film was solid and the gory make-up in certain scenes was very effective and the films biggest strength.

Whilst I did admire its ideas and ambitions and concentrating on other characters. The quality we ended up with just didn't feel good enough. Even though it did keep my interest, it remained half-hearted in its final product. Then it was almost an insult that they just totally side-lined all of that to give the audience what we've actually been expecting.

I feel the plot we had for most of the film should have been done in Halloween Kills. Doing that I feel would have seen the filmmakers give full commitment to this storyline and we could see develop and conclude in a way that could have even branched the franchise into a new era rather then "ending" it.

So in the end, I cannot quite give it a pass. It's got some interesting things happening. But the end result is not good enough to recommend. But films like this don't really need recommendations as we pretty much know what we're going to get.

I hope this really is the end as horror is a genre that can branch out many new ideas. But in reality, we know that's not going to happen and there's going to be some sort of rebranding or requel.

Director David Gordon Green gave us a decent trilogy even with issues. It was certainly more held together than most horror franchises. It seems that he has not going away from horror anytime soon as he is making a requel to The Exorcist and is looking to make a trilogy from that as well.  Expecting more of the same. But like with everything, I'll be going in with an open mind.

Rating: 6/10

Review: The Lost King

With recent events involving the British monarchy still fresh in our minds, the release of this film is quite timely.

I was mainly enticed by the story as I'm always interested by the history of the monarchy. Plus, with it being directed by Stephen Frears, I knew it was going to be a safe watch and he has made a lot of solid and functional dramas.

If you've seen the trailers, then you pretty much get what is being marketed. The structure is pretty conventional and it has that British underdog vibe that does well with many demographics.

There are some quirks to it to help it be not too ordinary. But on the whole, it goes at a nice pace and is generally a harmless viewing experience.

What I felt made this work best was the casting choices. Sally Hawkins always does a great job and she is no different in this. Instantly likable and the authentic look of innocence made a very easy watch.

Hawkins' chemistry with various co-stars gave us some nice moments. Steve Coogan's collaborations with Freears continues with another solid outing, Mark Addy does an adequate job and I enjoyed Harry Lloyd's on-screen presence.

The general production is perfectly satisfactory. It doesn't do anything new or challenging. But it is not really a film that needs to be over-stylised.

With the film covering topics such as rewriting history, there is ironically bits of the film that have altered parts of the actual story to dramatise it about more. It's not a big negative for me. But I still think it needs addressing. This was perfectly fine for me. But I know it could upset a few people that are very passionate about this topic. I think those alterations didn't effect my overall view of the film mainly due to the strong choices in casting.

Despite that, I thought it was generally pleasant viewing that passes the time well.

It's not a challenging watch, the cast is very likable and it has a feel-good vibe that will please a general audience.

Eating: 7/10

Review: The Woman King

I was intrigued that a film like this was being marketed like a blockbuster. For a film studio to promote a film this heavily certainly had my interest.

The very opening scene gives you enough of an indicator of the vibe. It's packed with energy, and it doesn't really let up. You can already feel the heavy use of physical storytelling. The addition of well-known moments of history certainly made me want to find out more about this story once the credits have rolled.

I was getting similar vibes to films like Black Panther, 300 and even A Bug's Life which the latter will make more sense once you see it.

Despite having a lot of energy and aggression, there was still enough time for the film to show its heart and warmth with some touching scenes. Some of that did creep into tropes similar to soap opera. But thankfully it never took me out the film.

The intense finale left me satisfied and it will have a lot of the audience leaving with a positive step in their stride.

The cast did a great job on the whole. I have to give huge props to Viola Davis and Lashana Lynch especially. They both give great physical performances and gave us memorable characters that are easy to invest with. While Davis I think will get most of the plaudits, Lynch for me was the star. This performance of hers certainly wants me to see her in more physical roles and she could kick a lot of ass that mainstream crowds would want to see.

Sheila Atim gave us another powerful character where you can tell her action training worked as she was in a lot of shots actually doing it and not having a stunt double do it all the time.

John Boyega is clearly having fun with his role, Thuso Mbedu gave a great performance and showed she has a bright future and Jimmy Odukoya gave an effective intimidate on-screen presence that worked whenever necessary.

The action scenes are thrilling and well choreographed. The cast and stunt team do a great job in making it gripping content. Plus, the cinematography lets the action play out with no major close-ups or heavy cuts in the editing. The camera gives room for the action which shows confidence in the cast and crew's training.

It was also well edited I felt. The pacing and timing of it gives you a real sense of the day-to-day activities with these characters which I appreciated.

The only negative worth mentioning is the script. It's not strong enough and plays to the cliches that we have seen so often that almost plays it like a soap opera. But I think it gets away with it for the most part as the action and visuals does most of the films talking anyway which is perfectly fine.

I am aware that there has been some uproar in the changing of history and manipulation of its changes within this story. It has even got people to push for a boycott campaign. I'm not usually fussed on these sorts of things. But given the changes made, I can see why certain people are kicking off.

But I can assure you that after actually seeing the film, they do cover the topic people are in uproar about and actually confront it. It still might not be historically accurate. But they don't ignore or even gloss over it.

These types of argument I usually say that if you want to watch something that is historically accurate, watch a documentary. They have billed this as being 'inspired' by a true story. The film industry is primarily there to entertain. This isn't the first film to change history and it won't be the last.

To put a positive light on this, films like this usually make me want to read the real history of the topic at hand and in relation to this film, it's very interesting. I do hope it makes others do the same.

Also, to be in a world where studios are allowing films and stories like this to be put on the big screen now is a big step forward.

Even with that in mind, I felt this was a good piece of entertainment that has a lot of energy and passion. It looks great, it has a sense of spectacle, is worth seeing on the big screen, is a crowd-pleaser, there's plenty of strong performances to speak of and the story is a solid vehicle to showcase so many talents. Sure the structure is one we can tell where it's heading. But you don't really care when the journey is well executed.

Rating: 7/10