Director: Michael Chaves
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson, Ben Hardy, Steve Coulter
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 135 mins

The Conjuring: Last Rites is the fourth and supposedly final film in the mainline series, and is a loosely adapted portrayal of the Smurl haunting. It’s the tenth entry in the wider The Conjuring Universe (if you’re counting The Curse of La Llorona, which I do). While the various spin-offs have been of varying quality – Annabelle: Creation the high point, and Annabelle and The Nun complete and utter disasters – the mainline series has always been excellent. James Wan’s 2013 original is a horror masterpiece and The Conjuring 2, which he returned to direct, is also very strong. Michael Chaves assumed the director’s chair for The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and although it received mixed reviews, I thought it was an excellent entry – yes, it isn’t as strong in the scares department, but it more than makes up for it by moving away from the haunted house formula and being more of a crime thriller.

Chaves is once again on director duties for The Conjuring: Last Rites, and moves back to the haunted house formula. As the film opens, Ed and Lorrain Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) have retired from their invesitgations, but continue giving lectures. Their now-adult daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) is becoming increasingly sensitive to psychic visions and is in a developing relationship with her boyfriend Tony (Ben Hardy). However, the Warren’s are persuaded out of retirement with the Smurl case.

While The Conjuring: Last Rites isn’t a bad film, it’s a disappointing ending to the mainline series. Chaves veers between an overly schmaltzy tone in how the relationship between Judy and Tony develops, and also the relationship between Ed and Lorraine, with sub-par horror. He’s proven in the past that he lacks James Wan’s mastery, and while there’s semblances of tension here and there, he doesn’t create a palpable atmosphere of dread like James Wan does. There’s a couple of good scares – one involving pausing a videotape and another in a room of mirrors, but the rest are rather underwhelming. Nothing here is on the scale of the tremendous scene from the first film of two children frozen in fear of something that may or may not be behind a door.

In many ways, Last Rites repeats many of the story beats of the original in how a family is haunted in their home. However, unlike Wan who really developed each family member, Chaves neglects to flesh out the Smurl’s. There’s very little meat to the bone and the fact it takes almost 80 minutes for the Warren’s to finally reach the residency is symbolic of the film’s strange pacing. It just feels like Chaves is going through the motions of a typical horror film without much finesse.

Chaves unfortuantely also succumbs to many bouts of fan service and in an age of legacy sequels, he leaves the door open by setting Judy and Tony as successors to their parents – Ben Hardy’s Tony essentially performs the same function as Shia La Boeuf’s Mutt in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. At least the strength of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s performances as the Warren’s mostly carries the film. They’ve always been the highlight of the series and frankly, I’d watch them read from the phonebook.

All of the previous films have been handsomely shot by their cinematographers but newcomer Eli Born can’t inject much life into the film. Outside of some effectively dreary shots of the industrial town the Smurl’s live in, the film is often dimly shot and lacks polish. Also lacking polish is Benjamin Wallfisch’s completely forgettable score, replacing the excellent Joseph Bishara who composed the music for the previous films.

It’s a real shame The Conjuring: Last Rites stalls the mainline series momentum. Like The Devil Made Me Do It redefined the series by shaking up the formula, it would have been wise for Last Rites to do this again, rather than revert back to the haunted house formula of the first two films. Instead, what we’ve got is a serviceable entry that’s overlong and doesn’t quite get the tone right, that’s also lacking in the scares department. While The Conjuring: Last Rites is supposedly the end for Ed and Lorraine Warren for now, nothing’s really the end but I hope whatever’s next in store for the series has some more thought and care put into it.

Director: Jay Roach
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Sunita Mani, Ncuti Gatwa, Kate McKinnon
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 105 mins

The Roses is a satirical black comedy directed by Jay Roach, a remake of the 1989 Danny DeVito film which was loosely based on a 1981 novel by Warren Adler. Roach is a dab hand at comedy, hailing all three Austin Powers films, Meet The Parents and Meet The Fockers (but fortunately not the terrible Little Fockers) and The Campaign – all masterpieces. Ok, Dinner for Schmucks was poor, but that’s otherwise a pretty impressive run. More recently, Roach has turned his hand to dramas, directing Trumbo and Bombshell, which were also both excellent.

This satirical black comedy stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as Theo and Ivy Rose, an English couple who have relocated to California with two twin children. Theo is an architect, while Ivy is a chef, and the two have very different parenting styles. When Theo’s career comes to a crashing halt during a severe storm, Ivy picks up the slack and rapidly grows her restaurant business, which slowly draws the couple apart to increasingly icy results.

Although The Roses comfortably passes the six laugh test and Cumberbatch and Colman make for a prickly duo, the film is never as consistently funny as it needs to be. Roach’s film feels like it’s pulling in two different directions – screenwriter Tony McNamara (who wrote Poor Things and co-wrote The Favourite) has a distinctive way with words, which is at odds with the director’s more slapstick American brand of humour. While The Roses is never boring and has flashes of brilliance (the film’s opening, a dinnertime conversation exchange between guests, and scene where a character sneakily smokes cannabis are all great) it would have been better for it to either put all its eggs into either McNamara’s script or Roach’s humour rather than act as a compromise between the two.

Cumberbatch and Colman really carry the film, both turning in excellent performances. Colman’s proven many times to be a dab hand at comedy, but this is new territory for Cumberbatch, and he proves a worthy foil. The constant verbal sparring match between Cumberbatch and Colman is sharply written, and it’s satisfyingly cringeworthy to watch each character continue to dig themselves into a deeper hole. But both actors also bring plenty of heart – it’s easy to empathise with Colman’s Ivy when the growing pressure of her work begins to consume her, likewise you can sympathise with Cumberbatch’s Theo who has to bear the brunt of raising their children.

Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon play Barry and Amy, friends of the Roses and while Samberg gets some great lines, McKinnon’s Amy is rather grating. Faring better are Ncuti Gatwa and Sunita Main and Jeffrey and Jane, two members of staff in Ivy’s restaurant, who are both clearly having fun and Allison Janney makes a lasting impression as Ivy’s divorce lawyer in the one scene she gets.

The film’s competently shot by Florian Hoffmeister, and he does a particularly adept job at showcasing the various houses the Roses live in during their marriage. Roach’s frequent collaborator composer Theodore Shapiro also turns in a playful score.

While The Roses is by no means a bad film, it falls short of the greatness Jay Roach has demonstrated in the past with the majority of his comedies. It’s perfectly passable in the moment and has a handful of memorable laughs, but it’s not consistently funny and there are some flat stretches. It may be that Roach is just the wrong director for this particular script because his brand of humour isn’t an obvious match for McNamara’s witty dialogue. Still, The Roses is fun in the moment and Cumberbatch and Colman make for a memorable duo but considering the director’s comedy calibre, it should have been better.

Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley, David Tennant, Jonathan Pryce, Naomie Ackie, Daniel Mays, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Richard E. Grant 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 118 mins

The Thursday Murder Club is an adaptation of Richard Osman’s debut 2020 murder mystery novel, which has since spawned a successful series. It followed a group of pensioners who set about solving the mystery of the murder of a local property development from the comfort of their luxurious retirement village. This adaptation (which heads straight to Netflix after a limited release) has a star-studded cast, with Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Ben Kingsley as the central quartet. It’s directed by Chris Columbus, who has a great track record with comedies with films such as Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire, and of course, he directed the first two Harry Potter films. With a high-calibre cast and crew, this sounds like it could be a promising start to the series.

Sadly, The Thursday Murder Club is an unmitigated disaster. Other than being handsomely shot and a couple of actors trying to make the most of a poor script, there’s little fun to be found here. The two biggest problems are Katy Brand and Suzanne Heathcote’s script and the film’s tone. Osman’s wit is of a certain brand, and there were chuckles to be had in the book, but the script here is wooden and none of the jokes land. There’s also zero suspense and the film moves at a glacial pace, often being rather boring – that’s quite an achievement considering the star-studded cast. The tone is also completely off, perhaps because Columbus is an American director and hasn’t fully understood the book that’s steeped in British humour.

There’s a surprising real mixed bag of performances, but you can only do what you can do with such a shoddy script. Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley fare the best out of the central quartet, but both play their roles very straight. While Celia Imrie’s a fine actress, her retired nurse Joyce lacks all the sweetness and naivety the character has in the book. And then there’s Pierce Brosnan, who’s Ron Ritchie is meant to have a Cockney accent but Lord knows where the character hails from with Brosnan’s woeful performance.

Of the supporting cast, Naomie Ackie and Daniel Mays are toe-curlingly bad as the two police officers who are tasked with investigating the case, with all their comedic attempts falling flat. David Tennant, Richard E. Grant and Henry Lloyd Hughes are also surprisingly awful in their roles – Tennant as the villainous retirement village co-owner, Grant as a gangster-like crime boss with laughable tattoos and Hughes as an inauthentic Polish maintenance man.

While Thomas Newman’s score is certainly instantly noticeable as his, it aggressively doesn’t fit in with the film’s tone and isn’t memorable in the slightest. The film is handsomely shot by Don Burgess, who does a great job of establishing the grandiose retirement village’s presence.

It’s a real shame The Thursday Murder Club is so poor considering the talent involved. It completely bellyflops tonally and Columbus and his crew haven’t understood the essence of Osman’s novel. That even the veteran cast can’t elevate proceedings demonstrates this adapation is doomed. It wouldn’t surprise me if the film performed well enough to justify a sequel – in many ways, it feels like a television series in its execution in how it’s largely confined to one location and lacks a cinematic sheen. But The Thursday Murder Club just goes to show that a top-tier cast and crew isn’t a guarantee of a film’s quality.

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 107 mins

Caught Stealing is the new film by Darren Aronofsky, a crime thriller adaptation of the 2004 Charlie Huston novel. At first, it might seem strange that Aronofsky is directing what appears to be a straight-up crime thriller – after all, he’s known for his psychological dramas that explore broken and conflicted individuals. However, don’t worry because there’s plenty of Aronofsky to be found in this darkly original adaptation.

Austin Butler plays Henry ‘Hank’ Thompson, a former baseball player-turned-bartender who’s bordering on alcoholism while living in the Lower East Side of New York, where his girlfriend Yvonne works as a paramedic. His British punk neighbour Russ Binder (Matt Smith) is off to London to see his ailing father and asks Hank to look after his cat. All hell breaks loose when two Russian mobsters rock up at the door searching for Russ though, and Hank finds himself on the receiving end of their anger.

Caught Stealing is a wildly unpredictable ride from start to finish that holds no punches in its brutal approach. Aronofsky is on top form here, and the film is directed with real flair, with plenty of his trademark grimness. This is a film that’s often wince-inducing and blackly comic, sometimes at the same time. It has a real kineticism, and there’s some excellent setpieces, especially a third act car chase. But there’s also heart and I really brought the electic mix of characters, and Aronofsky deftly showcases the dirty, grimy nature of the city.

Austin Butler is terrific as Hank, a deeply troubled individual who’s struggling to get himself out of a vicious cycle. Aronofsky gives the character plenty of meat to the bone. Matt Smith is having fun as the drug dealer neighbour with an outrageous mohawk, and Regina King’s excellent as a deliciously slippery police detective. Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio are also brilliant as Lipa and Smully Drucker, Hasidic brothers who you really don’t want to mess with.

The film’s vividly shot by Aronofsky’s regular cinematographer Matthew Libatique and there’s a fun post-punk score by British band Idles that’s been written by Rob Simonsen, who scored The Whale.

I was surprised just how much I liked Caught Stealing, expecting it to be a minor work by Aronofsky after his last couple of films have explored some heavy subject matter. But the director proves his versatility by transposing his fingerprints onto a genre he hasn’t explored before, and I was completely on board with Caught Stealing from start to finish. This is an excellent film, and one I can’t wait to rewatch.

Director: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbly, Benjamin Pajak, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 111 mins

The Life of Chuck is the new film by Mike Flanagan and an adaptation of the 2020 Stephen King novella, which was part of If It Bleeds, a collection of four previously unpublished stories. One of these stories also includes Mr Harrigan’s Phone, which was adapted into a Donald Sutherland-starring film back in 2022. Flanagan is no stranger to Stephen King, having previously directed the underwhelming Gerald’s Game but the sensational Doctor Sleep, and he’s currently filming a new Carrie television series. However, it’s Flanagan’s first non-horror film and is quite atypical for a Stephen King story.

A fantasty drama, The Life of Chuck is divided into three acts that play out in reverse order. In Act 3, we meet middle school teacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as the world begins to seemingly end – there’s a worldwide loss of internet and frequent natural diasters. There are posters all over town of Chuck Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), celebrating his 39 years of service, but we don’t meet or learn any more than that about Chuck until Act 2, which is set nine months before his death. In Act 1, we then learn about Chuck’s formative years.

The Life of Chuck is another good Stephen King adapation from Flanagan, and often borders on greatness. Although it contains some of King’s trademark elements of a small town community, the plot and themes are very nuanced – this is a film that will likely improve on future viewings, especially because lots of the fun of a first viewing is piecing together the backwards narrative. The film is quite strange and profound in equal measure, and some may be frustrated that it often moves at a slow, fairytale-like pace. Flanagan’s screenplay showcases both his best and worst traits – its profundity and intriguing narrative are its strengths, but the signature monologues he often resorts to in his television series hold this film back a little. The film’s also handsomely shot by Eben Bolter, a departure from Flanagan’s regular cinematographer Michael Fimognari.

There’s some good performances here, too. While Tom Hiddleston gets top billing, he isn’t in the film very much, but makes a remarkable impression with a showstopper dance sequence in Act 2. Chiwetel Ejiofor is another highlight as the schoolteacher, always reliably brilliant in whatever he’s in, and Mark Hamill is twinkly as Chuck’s grandfather. Flanagan’s usual recurring cast also pop up, including Carl Lumbly, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli and his wife, Kate Siegel – all are excellent, as usual.

While I suspect The Life of Chuck may struggle to find a mainstream audience, this is an atypical Mike Flanagan adapation of an unconventional Stephen King novel. That it’s always entertaining, sometimes profound and certainly ambitious, is to be applauded and this is a film that’s likely to improve on future viewings.

Director: Michael Shanks
Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Damon Herriman  
Certificate: 15
Run Time: 102 mins

Together is the directorial debut of Michael Shanks, a body horror film starring real-life married actors Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple who move to a small town in the American countryside. Brie plays Millie Wilson, who has instigated the move because she has a new teaching job at a local school. Franco plays Tim Brassington, her longtime boyfriend Tim and aspiring musician who is emotionally distant after his parents passed away. Shortly after the move, the two fall into a cave while on a hike where they are forced to spend the night. In the morning, they find their legs partially stuck together and once they free themselves, they slowly find themselves being inexplicably physically drawn to one another to increasingly horrific results. The film has drawn a unanimously positive reception, with many citing it as one of the best horror films of the year.

Sadly, Together not only fails to live up to the hype but really drops the ball as a horror film – it’s an absolute stinker. The biggest problem is Shanks’ ear-scraping script, which completely catapults the film. The dialogue is consistently on-the-nose, the plotting clunky, and characters consistently act unnaturally.

Dave Franco and Alison Brie can try as all they might but both of their performances are terrible. Their characters are unlikeable with nothing to latch onto by way of any development. The film’s opening is particularly egregious where they’re at a party with their friends in an unnamed city before their move, with Shanks sticking to tired tropes – this is a film that will frustrate you right from the off, and it doesn’t let up. It’s Damon Herriman who somewhat steals the limelight from the central duo as an awkward and kooky fellow teacher, Jamie, who also happens to live next door to them.

The film is poorly directed by Shanks, who doesn’t seem to have a grasp of pace or tone, and as Together reaches its climax, there are several scenes which are unintentionally funny and groan-inducing. Some have described Together as a black comedy, but I would disagree because the tone and attempts at comedy are inconsistent and unsustained. The score is Cornel Wilczek is also all over the place and the film is murkily shot by Germain McMicking, and often rather ugly. Even the prosthetics and conjoining effects aren’t convincing, and I was never once frightened or disturbed by the events being portrayed on-screen.

It’s a real shame Together totally fails as a film, whatever genre it thinks it’s trying to explore. The unlikeable characters and dreadful script frustrated me right from the off and I was never able to immerse myself in Shanks’ world. He may well have had a reasonable original concept but the result is turgid, and Together is undoubtedly the most frustrating cinema experience I have had this year.

Director: Zach Cregger
Starring: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Toby Huss, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan
Certificate: 18
Run Time: 128 mins

Weapons is the new film by Zach Cregger, his follow-up to his excellent debut film Barbarian. Like Barbarian, Weapons is a high-concept horror-thriller that packs plenty of satisfying surprising its sleeve. The film opens with a child narrator explaining that one Wednesday, in the town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, seventeen children from schoolteacher Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) third-grade class ran away from their homes at 2:17am and disappeared. Only one student, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) did not disappear and Gandy is immediately ostracised by the community who suspect her of being involved. To say anymore would be to veer into spoiler territory, but what follows is presented in a non-linear narrative told by certain character’s perspectives. Cregger has said the film is inspired by Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia in structure, whereby there’s overlap between certain stories.

Weapons is a brilliant film and cements Zach Cregger as one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents. This is an assured, skilfully crafted film with some sensational set-pieces and clearly influenced by Magnolia and Prisoners in tone. amazing. Like Barbarian, Weapons hides some outrageous twists up its sleeve and is thematically rich, with lots of the symbolism and plot points up to interpretation. The way in which the film is split into chapters told by different character’s perspectives is an excellent way to tell the story, and it’s interesting to see how certain characters are likeable when portrayed from one perspective, but abhorrent from another.

It certainly helps that the cast are on the top of their game. Josh Brolin is brilliant as Archer Gaff, the father of one of the missing children, and really convincingly conveys his grief and his desperation to be reunited with his son. Julia Garner is also very strong as the meek teacher, and Alden Ehrenreich is particularly multi-layered as a corrupt police officer who’s Gandy’s ex-boyfriend. Austin Abrams is another highlight as James, a homeless drug addict and Benedict Wong excels as the school principal, deftly balancing comedic moments with berserk horror. And then there’s Amy Madigan as Alex’s eccentric great-aunt, for whom will surely experience a career revival after a slump.

The score is by Ryan Holladay, Hays Holladay and Zach Cregger is heart-stoppingly intense and it’s beautifully, and often disorientingly shot by Everything Everywhere All At Once cinematographer Larkin Seiple.

I was totally gripped from the moment Weapons opened to its finish with its enthralling story and pulse-raising setpieces. This is fiersomely original filmmaking and it’s expertly paced. Some might not like that the film has a reasonably neat explanation but I really brough the third act and found it particularly chilling and exciting. Weapons is a step-up from Barbarian (which was impressive in itself) for Zach Cregger and is one of the best films of the year.

Director: Matt Shakman
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 114 mins

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a reboot of the famous superheroes and marks the first time the quartet are integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It would be fair to say that previous efforts to bring these superheroes to the big screen have struggled. Tim Story’s 2005 film and 2007 sequel were high on cheese but low on substance and Josh Trank’s grimdark 2015 update was panned as one of the worst superhero films of all time. Although Trank’s Fantastic Four was undeniably flawed (and was subject to endless meddling by the studio), I found a lot to like in its first half, and I especially appreciated how Trank channeled David Cronenberg with the superheroes expressing disgust over their newfound powers.

Matt Shakman, who is best known for directing the MCU mini-series WandaVision, takes the helm. Like this month’s Superman, Shakman forgoes telling an origin story, instead throwing us straight into the action after a brief introduction in a retrofuturistic 1960s world. The Fantastic Four are well-established, with Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) learning she has a baby on the way, but all hell breaks loose when the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives on Earth, announcing the planet has been marked for destruction by the cosmic devourer Galactus (Ralph Ineson).

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a rousing effort and it’s a hard film not to like with its warm tone. It’s eerily similar to Superman in its story structure and themes, but Shakman’s film does a much better job of establishing its heroes, giving us a brief rundown of their adventures to date rather than just dropping us in the middle of the action. I loved the retrofuturistic 1960s colour palette, which really stands the film apart from other Marvel Cinematic Universe films which are tied to a certain house-style aesthetic. Since the film is set in a different reality in the Marvel multiverse, it’s also freed from the shackles of having to tie itself to other Marvel properties – which is all for the better. While First Steps has typical end-of-the-world antics in its final act which really hurt Superman, I didn’t mind this here because this film has real stakes and earns its climax.

There’s a lot to like with the central quartet, with Vanessa Kirby and Ebon Moss-Bachrach the standouts as Sue Storm and The Thing. Kirby brings a real humanity and pathos to Storm and I really got on board with The Thing’s multi-layered character arc as someone who just wants to fit into society and not be seen as an other. Pedro Pascal also puts in a strong performance as Reed Richards, but it’s a shame that his character’s powers of flexibility are often ignored and he doesn’t go through much of an arc. Say what you want about Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four, but at least Miles Teller really nailed the role of Richards. Finally, while Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm’s powers are properly showcased, I found Quinn’s performance quite shallow and not as charismatic as the rest of the quartet.

Outside of the superheroes, Ralph Ineson makes for a great villain as Galactus with a real commanding presence. However, it’s a shame that a villain so powerful hasn’t been saved for a later film because this will be a hard antagonist to top. Julia Garner makes for a solid Silver Surfer with an atypical arc, but it’s Ineson that steals the show here on the villain front. It’s a shame John Malkovich’s role was cut as Red Ghost to improve the film’s pacing, though.

The score by Michael Giacchino is also strong, and I particularly liked the theme for Galactus, even if it’s not the best composer’s best work in the superhero genre – that accolade would go to The Batman. Jess Hall vibrantly shoots the action and there’s a real range of colourful setpieces that distinguish themselves from one another.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a really admirable entry in the Marvel canon and succeeds with its likeable cast and tone. It might be a little light on plot but it’s brilliantly paced and the economical 114 minute run time flies by (even if it’s at the expense of John Malkovich). This is certainly the strongest Marvel effort of the year – I enjoyed it more than Captain America: Brave New World and it’s streets ahead of Thunderbolts* – and I’m looking forward to seeing how the Fantastic Four are integrated into the wider canon with Avengers: Doomsday next year.

Director: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 129 mins

Superman is the hotly anticipated reboot that kick-starts the new DC Universe, after the variable quality of films in the DC Extended Universe made the studio rethink their strategy. James Gunn is fronting this new cinematic universe, along with producer Peter Safran, with Gunn directing this initial outing. Gunn has had plenty of success in the superhero genre with his Guardians of the Galaxy series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as The Suicide Squad, which was undoubtedly one of the best entries in the DCEU. He’s consistently proven his chops and particularly excels with establishing well-rounded (often C-list) comic book characters.

Pearl and Twisters star David Corenswet inherits the Man of Steel mantle from Henry Cavill and he is pitched against arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who has plans to turn public opinion against the superhero. Interestingly, Gunn decides to drop audiences straight in the action three years after Superman has established himself on Earth, bypassing the typical comic book origin story. As you’d expect, Clark Kent (Superman’s human identity) holds a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, where he works alongside Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) – who already knows his identity and they are in a burgeoning relationship – and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo).

While Superman has many of James Gunn’s hallmarks and its fair share of entertaining moments, it is also very ramshackle in its construction. The film begins horribly, then somewhat finds its feet after 40 minutes or so and is entertaining enough before an overlong third-act end-of-the-world climax. I totally understand that Gunn wants to avoid the typical origin story and instead drop the viewer right in the middle of the action. While commendable in its ambition, I found it difficult to really connect with any of the characters at first and to get around the lack of back story, there’s a ton of really clunky exposition. If you want to set up a wider cinematic universe and this is your first film, it needs to lay some kind of framework down and remind you why you love these characters in the first place. While I’m not saying that needs to be in the form of an origin story, what Gunn’s settled on instead just doesn’t work.

The overblown CGI-heavy third act climax is another element that doesn’t deliver – and it’s something that Gunn has struggled with before, especially with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and even The Suicide Squad, to an extent, which was pretty perfect up to that point. Typical big city end-of-the-world antics just don’t cut it anymore in comic book films. If this is the best Gunn can come up with the series’ inaugral film, how are the stakes going to be topped in future films?

I also never really connected with Superman as a character and I think that’s because there are three plots going on at once and how they intertwine is very messy. While David Corenswet is certainly very likeable, the way he’s characterised is thin – he’s always just a good guy, but with no meat to the bone. For all its flaws, I much prefer Zack Snyder’s depiction of the superhero in Man of Steel, who gives the character bundles of pathos and makes him break his moral code (which proved highly controversial).

Rachel Brosnahan fares much better as Lois Lane – this is possibly the strongest rendition of the character to date, with the actress giving a nuanced performance. While Nicholas Hoult makes for a sinister Lex Luthor and I liked that Gunn tried to vary the character by having a dedicated team of supporters that genuinely believe in his mission, he needed more humanising to really empathise with his intentions. As things stand, like Superman, Lex Luthor is rather empty.

On the positives, Gunn does a great job of introducing empathetic C-grade comic book characters, such as Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and an abrasive Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), who make a strong impression. I also liked how Gunn tries to vary Superman’s origins, with an interesting portrayal of his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan), as well as Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell). Finally, Gunn makes more of a deal of the The Daily Planet, and a sub-plot involving Jimmy Olsen is an inventive piece of storytelling.

The film’s interestingly shot too by Gunn’s regular cinematographer Henry Braham. He shoots the film in almost Hunter S. Thompson-like fashion, with the camera often roving and swirling around characters in an unbroken take. Visually, Superman has all of Gunn’s usual heightened aesthetics and a sequence in a portal in the second act is the film’s highlight and just the darkness the film needs.

While John Murphy and David Fleming’s score has its moments, the duo never develop any memorable themes and although some would disagree, the referencing back to John Williams’ score felt lazy and tired. At least Hans Zimmer tried something different with his exceptional score for Man of Steel and didn’t feel the need to revisit the past.

While Superman is ultimately an enjoyable watch with a lot of plus points, I didn’t exactly love it either. It suffers from cluttered storytelling, a script rife with exposition in the first act and many of the characters are underdeveloped. As a James Gunn film, it certainly feels like he’s been reined in a bit and just like with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and 3, he’s a director that thrives when he’s not constrained to a 12A rating. Still, there’s a lot of good here and I’m interested to see how this cinematic universe is going to develop.

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 156 mins

F1 is the hotly anticipated Apple TV-fronted mega-budget film about the race circuit, with Lewis Hamilton credited as a producer who prances onto screen at one point, alongside other big racing names. The film’s directed by Joseph Kosinski, who has plenty of experience with big-budget fare and is riding on a high after Top Gun: Maverick (and the little seen but excellent Spiderhead). The story is very simple – an aging American racing driver and former Formula One prodigy, Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is approached by his former Lotus teammate Rubén Cervantes (Javier Bardem), who offers him a test drive to fill their spare seat on the APXGP F1 Team he now owns. The team have been performing badly and Cervantes reveals the investors will sell it unless they win one of the remaining Grand Prix races that year. If you’ve watched a racing sports drama before, it doesn’t take a genius to work out the story beats the film is likely to take you through.

Although F1‘s story feels like it was written on the back of a cigarette packet, it’s Joseph Kosinski’s kinetic direction that ultimately makes the film work, along with some committed performances. There’s nothing here to rival the dogfight at Top Gun: Maverick‘s climax, but the race sequences here are vividly shot by Kosinski’s regular cinematographer Claudio Miranda and exciting to watch unfold. It’s testament to the quality of the direction that I was never bored (despite the paper-thin story) during the lengthy 156 minute run time. And although it’s far from his best work, Hans Zimmer’s score has its moments.

Brad Pitt is effortless as the has-been racer, who has made a bit of a mess of his life with a gambling addiction and three marriage breakdowns, as he grapples with the changing landscape of the Formula One scene. The chemistry he shares with Damson Idris’s hotshot rookie Joshua Pearce, is excellent and develops at a fine pace. After being nominated for her brilliant performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, Kerry Condon also stands out as the race team’s female technical director and is given a strong story arc. Then, there’s Javier Bardem who always elevates anything he’s in and Killing Eve‘s Kim Bosnia is also having fun as the team’s principal.

Although I’d have liked F1 even more if it had some meat to the bone, what Kosinski’s made is perfectly entertaining, if rather shallow. His energetic direction and exciting race sequences make this a perfectly passable way to spend two-and-a-half hours, and Brad Pitt’s slightly cocky but empathetic racer is sure to put a smile on your face.