REVIEW: Black Adam

This latest offering from DC Films has many of of the right elements, but struggles to ground itself in humanity.

Re-envisioning its title character as an antihero, Black Adam is a star vehicle for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, for whom it was reportedly a passion project.…

REVIEW: Red Notice (Netflix)

Bromancing the Rock. Jungle Snooze. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dull.

Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot. Should be a winning combination, but Netflix’s latest somehow manages to make the trio unfunny, uncharming, and even a bit dull.

The streaming service’s second heist-based blockbuster in recent weeks, Red Notice is written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, who previously worked with the actor formerly known as The Rock on both buddy comedy Central Intelligence and actioner Skyscraper.…

PODCAST: Mission: Impossible – Fallout & Skyscraper [Electric Shadows]

Ep 48 of The Electric Shadows Podcast sees Robs Daniel & Wallis pulling a late nighter to talk about Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Our intrepid casters in pod had just seen the film and were both suitably impressed by Tom Cruise’s latest attempt to risk life and limb to provide maximum entertainment to his audience.…

REVIEW: Skyscraper

Has there even been anyone in the history of Hollywood who seemed more suited to being an action star than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson?

He has the physical presence of Arnie, the easy, self-deprecating charm of Denzel, and the charisma of an experiment grown in a vat with the aim of creating a future President of the United States..…

REVIEW: Rampage & A Quiet Place

Rampage

An outsized force of nature is running amok in your local multiplex – and I haven’t even gotten to the giant albino gorilla.

Fresh off the massive success of Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is channelling his considerable brawn, breezy charm, and smouldering charisma into a project that, despite its roots in a 1986 arcade game, feels like a throwback to a dumber, more innocent time.…

Furious 7 provides thrills, spills, and a surprisingly moving farewell (RIP, Paul Walker)

 

Fast cars and beautiful women. Gunfights in exotic locales. You could be talking of any one of half a dozen franchises: Mission: Impossible, James Bond. They all offer similar thrills and spills, albeit in hugely different styles. In recent years, however, the Fast & Furious franchise has overtaken them all.

Hercules (2014) may not be the feat of filmmaking you’re hoping for

 

With Biblical epics are back in vogue thanks to Aronfosky’s Noah, Hollywood have now once more to the rich vein of Greek mythology.

With a physically exemplary Hercules – and more, a bankable star – in the form of the 6’4″, 240lb Dwayne Johnson, it seems almost inevitable that Olympus’ favourite son would be making his way back to the big screen.…

Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain might actually be worth the effort of watching…

Before we see anything, before even the whirling stars of the Paramount logo form their triumphant arc above the idealized mountain peak, we hear the agonized grunts and yells of a man indulging in brutal self-abuse.

Then comes the money shot: Mark Wahlberg doing full-body sit-ups from a leg rest halfway up a twenty-foot billboard of an Atlas-like figure pumping iron.…

GI Joe: Retaliation is a “Strikes Back” no one asked for

 

Cinematic adaptations of beloved 1980s toy lines are not generally renowned for their artistic qualities.

Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise may have grossed more money than the GDP of most South American nations, but its eye-popping action was more migraine-inducing than Avatar-immersive.…