Out Now: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Some movies feel bigger on the small screen, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - which came across as more than a little overstuffed plot-wise in cinemas - seems a much more expansive watch on the small screen. Perhaps that's merely an effect from seeing it a second time around. Maybe it has something to do with plot-heavy dramas being more suited to the small screen experience. Either way, a film that felt a little too breathless on the big screen comes off a lot better at home.

That's not to say the (extremely busy) plot doesn't still have its problems. Pulling in a brand new (yet extremely old) bad guy to round off this trilogy is still a shaky move even if it does tie this final trilogy tighter to the first two. The script's tendency to deliver what should be series-shaking developments (at least two central characters seemingly die) then walk them back within minutes is less than ideal too. And much as we all wanted to say goodbye to Carrie Fisher properly, her role here is little more than an extended goodbye that's more awkward than heart-warming.

But on the whole, this delivers what you want from a Star Wars film (as does the home release: the making of doco that's the big extra is an entertainingly extensive look behind-the-scenes). The core characters spend much of the film working as a team, while most of the new cast make a strong impression. The final act may lack the kind of rigorous logic  many want from science fiction, but Star Wars has always been closer to fantasy anyway. The whole final set-up feels dire, which is all it really needs to do to succeed.

Plus it's a Star Wars movie! it's a successful franchise for a reason, and a big part of that reason is that it's full of locations and characters and just general stuff that's fun to look at. George Lucas didn't invent the idea of a future that looked well-worn but the series he's created has pretty much come to own the concept as far as Hollywood's concerned (just look at the photos release for the upcoming Dune; it's clear the only other option left for Hollywood space opera is the exact same kind of technology only brand new, which is far less interesting to look at).

So even if you're someone who's had their fill of lightsabre battles - and if you are, it's surprising you've read this far - staging one on the wreck of a Death Star that's also in the middle of an ocean during a raging storm isn't really something you're going to see anywhere else. Where Star Wars goes from here (the past?) remains a mystery; for now, this remains a perfectly fitting send-off.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on DVD, blu-ray and 4K now.

- Anthony Morris

Review: The Hunt

A group of people wake up in the middle of the countryside only to discover they’re being hunted for sport. It’s a remake of The Most Dangerous Game (or if you prefer, Hard Target), but there’s a twist; this time the rich evil hunters are rich left-wing evil hunters!  It's Go Woke Go Broke(n Neck) The Movie!

Okay, there’s a lot more twists than just the specific blather the wealthy murderers come out with; this is a film that prides itself on at least trying to keep you guessing, and the multiple surprises - combined with a tight 90 minute run time - makes this an entertainingly fast, if not exactly deep, B-movie. The kills are gory when required, discreet when not, and the fight scenes are decent enough to work as pay offs when the stalking scenes peter out.

That said, it’s the overtly political slant that's the big marketing hook here (as the story unfolds it turns out to be slightly more complex than merely a bunch of Hillary lefties hunting “deplorables”), especially considering a resulting tweetstorm from President Trump resulted in this being pulled from release schedules late last year. 

Now in 2020 scriptwriter David Lindelof and Nick Cuse’s deliberately controversial and intentionally superficial politics seem almost quaint, though many of the jokes still land thanks to director Craig Zobel’s jokey approach. The underlying moral is basically that rich people are dicks and loudmouths deserve what they get, which is something 99% of the audience can get behind, so the chances of anyone being authentically outraged by a collection of online buzzwords being deployed for comedy effect is fairly slim.

But the politics, like the action and the twists, are all part of a whole, and The Hunt moves quickly enough and darts enthusiastically enough from one to the other and back again to make the whole thing firmly entertaining as a kind of polished-up take on what would otherwise be a direct-to-obscurity slice of genre fun.

This isn't exactly the kind of film you watch for the performances, but Betty Gilpin as one of the more durable hunted is a clear stand-out, turning a fairly generic role into a star turn via a likable combination of wariness and world-weariness that's winning. Everybody else gets a flashy death.

- Anthony Morris

Review: Onward

 In a fantasy world that abandoned magic centuries ago (it turned out modern conveniences were just too convenient), teenage elf Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) is a quiet introvert who really misses the (dead) dad he never knew. Pixar sadness ahead!

Meanwhile, big brother Barley (Chris Pratt, channeling Jack Black in his prime) is a brash extrovert obsessed with the magical past who drives around in a beat up van named Genevieve and chains himself to old ruins in between role-playing sessions. If you were wondering whether Frozen made animated siblings cool, here's the proof (only this time, for boys!) (actually, this really is very much for boys).

It turns out Barley wasn't the only magic-obsessed nerd in the family: on Ian’s sixteenth birthday a spell set up by their dead dad gives the brothers the chance to have him back for one full day. But when it goes wrong and only restores his bottom half, the pair have to sneak off on a quest (okay, it’s a road trip in Barley’s crap van) to restore the half they really need to meet. 

It's easy to see the appeal of the central concept: what if Dungeons & Dragons was (historically) real? But like a lot of Pixar's recent projects, this feels over-thought, with multiple layers added that muddy rather than clarify the premise's core appeal. 

Here that'd be "a young man insecure of his place in the world goes on a quest that helps him figure out that place". This then also turns out to be about his relationship with his brother (and vice versa), plus a side serve of "hey, why did we ever give up on magic", a bunch of "my dad is a walking butt" comedy, and the brothers' mum (voiced by Julia Louis-Dryfuss) racing to save them from a curse they're about to stumble into unawares.

None of this detracts from the film exactly, but there's a a lack of balance throughout that dulls the story's focus. The quest itself is intentionally generic - the thrill is meant to be that they're living out a fantasy for real - but it comes across as slightly half-hearted on screen, a checklist of stages the characters have to go through. Possibly the fussiness around it comes from a realisation that the central story is weak, but it doesn't solve the problem.

The brothers' relationship is the strongest part of the film, but pretty much all the relationships are well-rounded, with characters constantly refusing to fall back on dramatic cliches. Even when people don't get along, they consistently like each other; the big dramatic moment between the brothers is (relatively) quickly smoothed over because they're brothers who get along - and realistically there's never going to be a shock reveal that instantly tears them apart.

Initially Onward threatens to be yet another Disney feature about "the chosen one". The prologue explains that magic died out because it was hard to master, but Ian turns out to be a natural at it. It could almost be a superhero origin story; fortunately this is drawing its inspiration from a very different tradition.

Fantasy adventure, especially in its Lord of the Rings-inspired Dungeons & Dragons form, is largely about teamwork. Your character can be the best fighter or magic user or thief there is, but you're still going to need to join a party made up of other characters to get things done.

So while Ian is the only character here who fits into a traditional D&D role (Barley might have been a fighter in an earlier draft but here he's just a metal dude; their mum is just a protective mum), the idea of a team (or party) sharing the focus runs throughout the film. 

It's about a community where everyone wins when they work together; some stories are more relevant in 2020 than others.

- Anthony Morris