rajifernando

Went in blind. That's how I ended up loving Barbarian, which was a surprising twist when I learnt that was his directorial debut! Crazy talent Zach Cregger is. This is his second movie and I heard studios fought for this movie and people were fired for losing it to rival studio. Wild stuff.

So after watching a few seconds from a teaser for this movie which randomly popped up on my YouTube feed, it said "one night at 2:17, all the kids in the classroom ran into the night"...I went "nope" and pressed backspace as hard as I could. I was spoilt the "Wong face" in some thumbnail that's it. That tease was so well done this immediately became my most anticipated movie for the year.

Walked into the theatre with an open mind. The story was structured quite interestingly and looking into multiple perspectives and approaches the story and explores it with the characters in real time and we connect the dots along the way. The movie gives necessary hints in the background and respects the audience to figure things out. Questions are answered along the way. (One question however didn't get resolved, maybe I missed something).

Unlike Rushomon, narrators are reliable. The actors do a great job. The director has said in interviews that losing one of his closest friends inspired him to write this and characters are dealing grief in different stages like he experienced them. The performances were all good, the kid is great.

The movie on a scary scale is like 5-6/10. It's more of a mystery-horror-thriller. When it goes horror, it does that quite effectively. Surprisingly there were some well placed humour as well. The audience loved it. It doesn't overdo anything until the end, very nice pacing too. Never checked the time. Never a dull moment (except for some very brief relationship drama which was later shown to establish some personality traits of key characters).

The score was quite good.

The ending though. A lot of modern horror has struggled with nailing the ending. When I first watched it, I didn't quite get it. It's a bit exaggerated and comical. But on my way back home, driving, I suddenly realised that that's the storytellers version of the ending, which was orchestrated by the (last chapter main) character's wishes. It makes perfect sense. Doesn't leave bad aftertaste, but might be a little anticlimactic to your expectations. I didn't love it but didn't hate it either. It was mostly towards positive. Resolving and satisfying though.

In the end, I was running out the theatre T posing. First time watching a horror movie at the theatre. It was worth the hype and worth the time and money and the expensive popcorn. I can confidently give it a 8/10. It's not perfect and not the greatest horror movie of all time. I'm glad I went. Was surprised to see a considerable crowd too.

Finally, I just wish this director keeps directing bangers like this. Truly a horror genius.

Watch it!

Are you a "DC fan" who thinks the D in DC stands for Dark? Are you pettier than Lex Luthor and blame James Gunn for taking away your favourite toys? Are you simply hating David Cornswet cuz he replaced Henry Cavill? If no, you are in the right place. Cuz you aren't an insufferable little man who choses to be miserable and really wants to check this movie out.

Don't get me wrong. I love Man of Steel. I still rewatch it. But it's a very different take on Superman.

Your roots probably come from either watching Christopher Reeve movies with your parents. Or watching Smallville. Or watching Justice League Unlimited after coming home from school. Maybe you read a comic. When you hear the word Superhero, Superman definitely crosses your mind. You can't miss him. You have confronted him at some point. And what you remember is the Big Blue Boy Scout. The Truth and Justice. This is it.

This movie is a comic book come to life and it never apologises for it. It establishes the settings in the first couple minutes and you get why some things are the way they are. Everything makes sense. You'll see a Superman who overcomes challenges. You'll see him standing to do what's right. You'll see him fighting to instill hope. He makes sure everyone is safe before he punches through a building. You'll see him struggle with his relationships and question his emotions. He's naive. He believes that everyone can be good. You see where I'm going? You know this Superman. You've known him all along.

The casting is brilliant. All those side characters you were worried about, they contributed. Everyone had something to do. (Except maybe one or two minor characters) Lois was a relentless reporter like you remember and the relationship between Superman and Lois, woah man, chemistry is oozing. You can see they love eachother. Superman's relationship with other heroes and their interactions, very entertaining and very unique to each character. Nicolas Hoult emerges into Lex Luthor and he's so good at it you start hating his guts. Well acted, well directed.

Story was pretty solid. What you see in trailers happen when you are not anticipating them. You may figure one or two out but it was a very engaging story. I didn't feel it was overcrowded or cramped. It was well paced. Nothing felt rushed. It starts of strong. I can say it's action packed and it really doesn't slow down. Very engaging. Enjoyable through and through.

The humour you were worried about, rest assured. I too was kinda worried about. I went with a group of people who have different tastes in comedy. We all laughed. We all had a good time. Humour hits the mark almost every single time. It's not overly funny. It's well balanced. You might even cry during some scenes. I saw many grown men cry during the screening.

VFX was incredible. Not throwing shade but some of the Marvel projects since Endgame looked half baked on VFX. This was crisp. There were so many comic book elements that you might feel like too much sometimes, VFX does a great job making them believable.

Music score is something I have mixed feelings about. It was great. It's a familiar tune. But I also wish if they tried something new as well. But it's close to our hearts. It's the original theme and they play with it in a safe way. It definitely works.

Apart from some very minor nitpicks, I didn't bother anything. Coming from someone who got diagnosed with Superhero Fatigue and swore with never pay to watch superhero movies in theatres, this made me go there. I'm really glad I did. The entire theatre had a really good time. We applauded and cheered in the end. It was such a well polished Superhero movie. And it's a Superman movie that hits home. I've watched everything from Christopher Reeve and onwards. This could be the most comic accurate Superman ever ...and I might even call it my favourite Superman movie.

I'm definitely watching this again.

A movie that wears hope on it's sleeve. Lighthearted. Nostalgic. Makes you love superheroes again. I'm a believer. Can't wait to see where this new DCU leads to.

A solid 8/10 movie. And a 10/10 experience and a "must watch" recommendation. Go watch it now. Do you can say later " I watched it before it was cool". ;)