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Reviews
The Woman King (2022)
Predictable
There are two obviously spoilers in this movie that are easy to guess when hinted at. The first is that Nawi (played by Thuso Mbedu) is the biological daughter of General Nanisca (played by Viola Davis). The second is that General Oba Ade (played by Jimmy Odukoya) is her biological father who General Nanisca hates. We learn this after an hour in the span of less than 40 minutes but the keeps going for another hour and shocking becomes more and more predictable. Even the ending was predictable with General Nanisca being announced as The Woman King. Nothing significant or important happened in this movie that I didn't see coming minutes ahead of time.
Cagefighter (2020)
Entertainingly Unrealistic
It's fun to watch the fight but it would have been better if Reiss Gibbons didn't get his ass kicked for three rounds straight. Obviously as the protagonist he was going to win the rematch, that's not the problem. It's the fact that he showed little to no offense in the rematch and STILL won with a guillotine turned rear naked choke that's the problem. In the real world, the refree would have stopped the fight in the second round, if not first.
Speaking of the real world, I am confused on the decision to have Jonathan Good play a fictional movie pro wrestler named Randy Stone instead of his real life pro wrestling ring name Jon Moxley. It doesn't make sense especially with you have other pro wrestlers in the movie using their real name and real life pro wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling going by it's initials AEW, and using footage from their own program. IMO, the entire cast should have just used either their real names or the entire cast should have used fake ones.
I also think Jonathan Good should have been the protagonist and the movie be about him going from pro wrestler to MMA fighter. It would have been more entertaining to watch it from his characters' perspective not to mention more shocking if he would have lost the belt in the rematch against Alex Montagnani. Although I do think Alex should beat him in a fight, whether it be the rematch or a random trilogy match.
Hancock (2008)
Hancock is a handful!
What started out as a interesting action movie about antihero with amnesia quickly turned into a bad love triangle romance movie when Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron) reveals to her husband Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) that she has superpowers like John Hancock (Will Smith). Now this isn't a bad revelation but it should have been saved for the very end of the film to set up a sequel, not after the first hour with less than 40 minutes left. On top of that, there's no real bad guy or anyone else with superpowers other than Hancock & Mary, which means no big superhuman fight scene, in fact the closest we get is them arguing an Mary slamming a truck on him before creating a storm that destroys part of the city. If you want a similar film with an actually villain that Charlize Theron also stared in then watch The Old Guard that came out in 2020 on Netflix.
Creed II (2018)
Successful Sequel
Creed 2 is even more entertaining, engaging, and emotional than it's predecessor and it does an amazing exampling the double revenge story. Creed wants revenge on the Drago family for killing his father and Viktor wants revenge on the people who made the people of Russia turn their backs on his father. Learning this makes Viktor all the more sympathetic but not so much that we root for him to win.
Creed (2015)
Creed is Rocky
Everything about this movie represents what a Rocky sequel/spin-off should be. Entertaining, engaging, and emotional. It's a great addition to the Rocky franchise, that would have been better had Creed actually won. It would have made more sense too, since Adonis Creed vs Ricky Conlan 2 was never on the table. Also with him winning, it could have distanced him from his mentor showing that the Creed's are boxers than the Balboa's.
Grudge Match (2013)
The Wrong Guy Won!!!
This is a good movie with a good story and a solid cast that has one major flaw. Henry "Razor" Sharp is a more likeable protagonist than Billy "The Kid" McDonnen. And for that reason I think The Kid should have won the fight. Throughout the movie Billy is presented as a self-centered man who's trying to be a better person. This movie is about him redeeming himself and it would have been a perfect redemption story for him if he had beaten Razor in their third encounter. Razor had nothing to lose or gain other than respect from The Kid. Billy however, could have gained respect from not only Razor, but also from his critics, and his estranged family. Again, I do think this is a good movie with a good story but the end is what stops it from being a good movie with a great story.