I had a lot of concerns when Daredevil was moved over to Disney. However, Born Again Season 1 ended up being better than expected. It was still definitely the weakest season of Daredevil , but considering the behind-the-scenes creative drama, the final product turned out surprisingly solid. With Season 2, though, the series was fully under the creative control of Dario Scardapane as showrunner. So, does Season 2 finally deliver a more promising follow-up? Yes, it does. The season is far more consistent visually, as well as in terms of quality and writing. It doesn’t suffer from the strange dips in quality or tonal shifts that Season 1 had. The story is much more focused and engaging, making it enjoyable to invest in Daredevil’s struggle and the resistance effort against Kingpin. Watching the characters slowly weaken Fisk’s forces, damage his credibility, and search for evidence makes for a far more entertaining season than the slower-paced nature of the first. There ...
The first Mortal Kombat film in 2021 had some good elements and felt closer to the games. However, it had a lot of problems, and there were definitely some odd creative choices made. Still, there was potential for the sequel to be a major improvement. Is that the case with Mortal Kombat II? Right from the get-go, I appreciate that the director and writer listened to the feedback and criticism surrounding the first film. One of the major issues with the original was the boring and dull movie-original protagonist, Cole Young. This time, they have replaced him with the far more charismatic Johnny Cage and the more interesting Kitana, both of whom are actual characters from the games and are played wonderfully by Karl Urban and Adeline Rudolph. Johnny Cage serves as the fish-out-of-water character: a washed-up actor who is thrown into the Kombat tournament. He is funny, cynical, and charming, with a character arc that is far more enjoyable to invest in. Kitana acts as ...