Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
First off, GOTG2 might be the only Marvel film that doesn't spoil its story in the official trailer. I applaud this film for it. And if you didn't follow the news or the comics, the villain reveal in this film is quite nice. The film has a unique additional energy thanks to Kurt Russell's appearance as Ego. I'd love to praise Pom Klementief who does Mantis in this film, but she didn't have much. Instead, her character is the subject of the biggest nagging problem in this film. Mantis is constantly verbally harassed by Drax and it seems like the film is okay with it. It's disturbing to have this kind of content in a superhero film. Aside from that, the film gives us more Yondu which is great. But this film also wasted Elizabeth Debicki. So, yeah, mixed feelings.The film overall maintains the same amount of fun, if not, has less energy than the first film. Mostly due to its restrained setting and nature of the film as a stand alone and as an entry in the MCU. The cast is great. And is this the easiest paycheck that Vin Diesel has collected? He says like two lines (the same line), and his voice is edited. Why bother with Diesel at all? The characters I want to be expanded more are Gamora and Nebula. They seem to take the backseat in the Quill drama, Drax's shenanigans and Rocket's amazing prison break with Yondu and BG. The music seem to also take a backseat with the exception of three featured songs: Mr. Blue Sky, Fleetwood Mac's The Chain and Cat Steven's Father and Son. But my biggest complaint is the third act Earth scenes which reminds me of Fant4stic's third act Earth scenes, because it's so disconnected and routine. This film feels like a missed opportunity because it has a better villain than Ronan, but the film is not better than the first as a whole. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: rated 3/4.
Alien: Covenant
The second space film of the summer is Ridley Scott's full return to the Alien franchise, after shying away with the quasi-prequel Prometheus, which I must warn you, is one of my favorite space films. The film opens with a great scene between Michael Fassbender's David and Guy Pearce's Weyland. After that the film kind of deteriorates. The 15 crews of Covenant are comprised of couples looking to colonize a new planet but they detour to another planet after picking up a distress signal. Ridley Scott made a great film, direction-wise, visual-wise and production design-wise. On those departments, the film is crazy good. It's almost effortless for Ridley Scott to make a film on this level. On the story department however, the film kinda sucked. Personally, I'm most disappointed at the way they treated Elizabeth Shaw's storyline from Prometheus. It's the equivalent to the opening of Alien3 to Aliens. She deserved better in my honest opinion. Then they decide to make David the main antagonist, even going as far to make him the creator of the aliens. I must admit it creates a good arc for him, coupled with the Weyland opening scene, but it's bollocks for the franchise.The characters in Covenant are way too expendable and forgettable. From 15, you might only remember 6 by name, and 10 by face. If you think the Prometheus crew were incompetent, this one's way more incompetent. Exhibit A: they decide to abandon their vetted destination for a just discovered planet. The film's great if you're one of the audience who complained that there were no Xenomorphs in Prometheus, despite Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof saying that it would not feature aliens. Honestly, this film's quality is on you whiny fans. Good for you, this films feature all you want from an Alien film. Facehugger? Check. Chestburster? Check. Xenomorph? Check. New alien breed? Check. As for Michael Fassbender, the 'stars' of this film, I felt like even he plays two androids in this film, I still feel his performance as David in Prometheus is so much more impactful. But the scenes featuring both of them on screen are easily better than any scenes featuring any Covenant crew interaction (save for any Danny McBride's), even the erotic flute 'fingering' scenes. Also, there is a bad editing and staging for the twist in this film that involves Fass's androids that makes Life's predictable twist ending seems superior. I just think this film is disappointing for me for its creative choices. Now let's just hope Damon Lindelof publishes his intended Prometheus sequel somewhere. Because the promised answers to Prometheus are still left unanswered. Seriously, why did the Engineers want to kill us humans? Alien: Covenant: rated 2.5/4.
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