Logan Rothwell

Brutal, bloody and heartfelt. Truly how I would describe this joyride of an emotional journey into one of Marvels most complicated and often maligned characters. Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle is him at his vulnerable best and makes you truly feel the sense of hopelessness. The violence is ruthless and visceral and evokes the scenes of John Wick with the skilful gunplay on display for the audience. However I believe the scenes of the graveside talks are when Bernthal shines and truly cements him and Frank Castle as one of the best in The MCU.

* I am a Jedi, like my Father before me.* Ah Return. The wildcard of the original trilogy. Many of the previous two films ideas and principles are neatly wrapped up in a still very well crafted movie and brings about a satisfying conclusion to the epic saga of Star Wars. I call it the wildcard of the original trilogy due to one glaring factor. The Ewoks. These teddy bears were clearly made by Lucas to sell toys to the younger audience. Whilst they don’t detract from the story, they also do not add to it. I believe the expanded media beyond this film actually does a good job of adding to the characterisation of the Ewoks. Ewok Hunt on Battlefront 2 was pure horror. I couldn’t play it alone. Return is one of the few movies that does truly conclude a trilogy in a satisfying manner. All the themes of redemption and good triumphing over evil are brought to the forefront and help us the audience feel a sense of relief and gratification when they finally win. The losses occurred in Empire make the wins in Return feel earned and hard fought by the Rebel Heroes. Again a new director was brought in to helm this movie. Richard Marquand. I truly feel like the dialogue in this film is the most natural and feels the most like how it would actually be spoken in real life and not just read off a script. The returning characters are again portrayed to high degree by all actors involved. A personal favourite of mine is new character introduced in Empire. Lando Calrissian. A charming scoundrel as they call him in the movies. Billy Dee Williams’ natural charisma allows Lando to be a memorable big name player despite limited screen time. Ian McDiarmid as the big bad of the trilogy, The Emperor, finally makes a physical appearance and he is just as fear inducing as when he didn’t even appear. You can feel the fear this man has inflicted upon the galaxy at large despite only just seeing him. I want to briefly touch on the special effects of not just this film but the trilogy as a whole. The original will be 50 years old in 2027 and I dare say that it still holds up well to today’s standards. (Even surpassing many modern films sfx on nearly five times the budget). The perfect blend of all the modern (at the time) effects truly make these films immersive and feel real. So yes Return. It may feel like I don’t like this movie and that clearly isn’t the case with my rating. I think The Original Trilogy is one of two movie trilogies that is a perfect 5 stars across the board. I cannot even deduct stars because of The Ewoks because the rest of the film is simply superb. It, like the previous two movies, is a masterpiece and the whole trilogy should be watched by any and everyone at least once in their lives.

* No I am Your Father.* Ah The Empire Strikes Back. George Lucas was once quoted as saying this was his divorce film due to his ongoing split from his the wife this movie “suffered” (I personally use that term loosely) from a change in tone and had darker themes throughout. The rare time that the sequel is better than the original this movie challenged and broke away from typical cliches or conventions and actually added to the already immense depth for the universe that Lucas created. Irvin Kershner was brought in by Lucas to helm this movie and I personally think his direction helped to make this movie feel more grand in scale and also helped with any clunky dialogue that Lucas couldn’t really cover in the original. Empire is often stated as the best Star Wars and is personally right towards the top end of even my favourite films ever. The boundaries between the cut and dry good and bad sides that Lucas started his vision with become more grey due to the events of this movie. I won’t gush too much about Darth Vader in this review as I already have two sizeable chunks in my previous reviews that talk a lot about him but he is still the GOAT and the iconic reveal towards of the movie adds so many layers to the character. I feel like this movie is the one when Luke Skywalker fully comes into his own. His portrayal in A New Hope came across as whiny and sometimes annoying, but in this one he becomes truly what The Jedi SHOULD be. He loses as do all the good guys in the movie but he never gives up and is willing to restructure himself away from the dogmatic views of the Jedi of old. Another standout is Han Solo portrayed by Harrison Ford. His roguish charm and wittiness elevate what could have been a boring one dimensional character into a mainstay in both Star Wars (despite Ford’s wishes) and in pop culture as a whole. The entire opening of this movie set on the snow planet of Hoth truly highlights the struggles these protagonists suffer against the powerful Empire. They are always up against the odds and despite the losses of this movie they go through I believe they needed them in order to elevate their plight to us, the audience. The good guys lose. Not many movies if any up to this point could even say they have done that yet despite this bold choice on Lucas and Kershner’s behalf it makes utter sense. I have done many reviews on Star Wars movies and one aspect I don’t think I have touched on too much or if at all is the amazing music provided by John Williams. Every score and piece of music is truly iconic and the motifs for certain characters, mainly The Imperial March used for Vader add to each characters personality and make them memorable. I truly think I could carry going on about Empire for days. Every time I rewatch I see things I don’t remember seeing. I can truly say that without a shadow of a doubt it is my favourite Star Wars movie and I am hard pressed to say it isn’t my favourite movie full stop.