heisenberg12

High budget production values, rewards for the keen eye and careful viewer with use of background easter eggs and lighting, and a surprisingly good performance by lead Rhea Seehorn get Vince Gilligan's follow up to Breaking Bad, Pluribus, off to a good start.

Dark comedy, quirky scenes, and fun, light humor satisfaction make the first episode an entertaining joy to watch.

My only minor criticism is that personally I would have liked to have seen the lead character for a show like this be a male. Yet still, at the same time, Seehorn is commendable for her good acting.

The money spent on this is seen on the screen, and it was fun to be reintroduced to this type of story for the first time in many decades, bringing back memories.

It's not fair to compare this to Gilligan's prior shows (remember the knock on Breaking Bad is no other show will ever live up to that level of perfect) so just sit back and relax and enhoy some good old fashioned sci-fi entertainment. Hint: it's not at all what the previews make it seem to be.

It's worth a watch, but this is a good example of a movie that would have only been considered rentable twenty to thirty years ago.

Remember when dozens of decent movies per year would be released in the 90s and early 2000s, and you would go to Blockbuster and collect a few for the weekend? This is one of the ones you'd add and have a little fun with.

Today, with such low quality, it's considered "Oscar worthy" and even one reviewer in the trailer claims it is "generation defining".

This would be considered forgettable in the 90s and early 2000s era, worth a watch, but a throwaway, nothing to own.

6.5/10 (generously)

Gladiator 2 is far better than it needed to be.

What's great:

1. Acting- far better than expected, Mescal, Nielson, Pascal all deliver outstanding acting performances, far better than expected. In fact, while the majority of reviews rightfully praise Washington, and in the first act he does steal the show, by the time the credits roll, the other three leads have matched his level. 9/10

2. Cinematography- absolutely top notch, without a doubt. 10/10

3. Set Pieces- perfectly immersive and beautiful. You are there. You are in Rome and on the ground of the Coliseum. 10/10

4. Directing- masterful, almost perfect, and it is the glue that holds it all together. 9/10

5. Editing- Any movie that glues you to the screen where you feel like you can't blink or miss one second of it because you are so into it, automatically did its job and deserves a 10/10.

Good:

1. Script/Story- The script and story is actually a tribute to the original, creates satisfying and very emotional nostalgia, and is more intricate than the original. There is much more depth than many mixed reviews are parroting, as they must be looking at it wrong. 8/10

2. Battles/Fights- This should probably be in the "great" category, but as a whole there are just so many of them (about 10 total) that some are better than others so I averaged them out. 8.5/10

About the only negative about it is that it could have used a little more fleshing out of the main character in the beginning since it dives right into the fast-moving story, and it might take a little while for Mescal's acting to grow on you (since he is filling big shoes with Crowe's Best Actor Oscar winning performance), but he will, and they gradually do flesh out his character as the story unfolds. By the third act, I was definitely buying it, which was a unique experience, tbh. It's like his acting improved as the story went on.

Great flick!

9/10.