Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) – Movie Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

“Yibambae!”

Wakanda Forever handled the death of Chadwick Boseman, and subsequently the death of T’Challa, better than expected. The film honored the legacy of Boseman and provided a well-needed send-off for the tragic loss to not only the characters within the film but audiences around the world as well.

After T’Challa’s funeral, the film resumes a year later with Wakanda being called out for not sharing their vibranium-infused technology with the world as T’Challa promised at the end of Black Panther (2018). The loss of T’Challa has left a void in the heart of Wakanda, and neither his mother, Regent Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) nor his sister, Shuri (Letitia White), have fully healed from his death. While Wakanda Forever did an admirable job continuing the Black Panther series, it presented itself as a movie about side characters. In the first Black Panther, Boseman and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger elevated the film. Here, that leading performance was missed and led to a drop in quality. The biggest issue with Wakanda Forever, however, was its pacing. Some scenes dragged on too long and some plot points escalated far too quickly. 

As always with MCU movies, Wakanda Forever’s action was stellar with crisp sequences that packed a punch. Apparently, Namor is far more powerful than I had originally thought he was and was a spectacle to watch. I did enjoy the idea of Namor’s hidden underwater kingdom being more Mayan-inspired, and the unique origin of how Namor got his name.

Even without a strong lead, Bassett, and White, as well as Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), each did their characters justice and brought something unique to the film. Having just rewatched the first movie, it was impressive to see the subtle changes each actor brought a sense of grief to their characters with the loss of T’Challa. Newly introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe were Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne). Unfortunately, neither of these characters stood out or made a great impression. They were just OK but didn’t bring the charisma to their performance to distinguish themselves (consider Tom Holland’s introduction as Spider-Man or Chadwick Boseman’s introduction as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War (2016)) amongst the ever-expanding roster of the MCU. 

Even with my issues, Wakanda Forever was successful in passing on the Black Panther torch while respecting Boseman’s legacy. Overall, I’d rate Wakanda Forever 3 ½ / 5 stars. While the film did a decent job with a bad hand dealt, it continues the trend of a drop in quality for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Black Adam (2022) Movie Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

“Tell them the Man in Black sent you.”

In ancient times, Teth-Adam was chosen as Champion and granted the powers of the gods to free the enslaved nation of Kahndaq. But after instead using his powers for vengeance, Teth-Adam was imprisoned for nearly 5000 years. But after being released from his tomb, he find Kahndaq still enslaved, now by a group of mercenaries. After using his powers to deal out his unconventional form of justice against the mercenaries, the Justice Society of America is called in to stop him.

Was Black Adam necessary? No. But it certainly was fun. Black Adam was an entertaining installment in the DCEU that didn’t take itself too seriously. For the most part, it was a “popcorn movie” featuring The Rock beating up a bunch of mercenaries with superpowers. And with the current state of uncertainty in the DCEU, that was really all it needed to be.

What stood out most was the movie’s impressive special effects. Everything from Black Adam’s lightning and strength to the bullets disintegrating against his face, the special effects were rock-solid. Another positive aspect was the costume design. Costumes can be especially tricky to get right in superhero films with the debate between leaning toward comic-accuracy or going more modernized. Black Adam struck this balance perfectly with the Black Adam suit and the Justice Society’s costumes, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). Cyclone’s (Quintessa Swindell) suit didn’t stand out next to her counterparts, but that was more than made up by the visually-stunning spectacle of her rainbow-tornado powers. 

Aldis Hodge as Hawkman in Black Adam (2022)

Most of the film took place in Kahndaq, a fictional country located between Egypt and Israel in the DC Universe. One of my gripes was that the city seemed extremely bland. Yes, it had ancient ruins within the city, but other than that, it could have been any Middle-Eastern city. The film shared similarities with Black Panther (2018), namely having a precious resource only found there that can be used to enhance technology in seemingly magical ways. While Wakanda successfully leaned into this idea by showing how their city was futuristically upgraded with Vibranium, Kahndaq did not show any signs of change from its Eternium. No one in Kahndaq had access to Eternium after thousands of years, except for the mercenaries who had been only been there the last twenty.

In conclusion, I was pleasantly surprised with what Black Adam had to offer and would rate it 3 ½ out of 5 stars. Going into this movie, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a fun and entertaining addition to DC’s movie universe. What’s next for Black Adam? No spoilers here but be sure to stay for the post-credits scene for a teaser.

Black Adam is available everywhere in theaters. 

Next: Shazam! (2019) Movie Review

House of the Dragon (2022) – Season 1 Review

★★★★ 1/2

Based on George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, HBO’s House of the Dragon takes place at the height of the Targaryen empire, 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen was born. Like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon follows multiple characters fighting for power and control of the Iron Throne in a war the maesters have later dubbed, The Dance of Dragons.

The first season of House of the Dragon presented a large resemblance to Game of Thrones’ first season. What the series lacked in action, it made up for in a slow-burn culmination of political drama, world-building, and storytelling. The series excelled in each of these regards, providing an intriguing story about the shuffle for power and the lengths one would go to secure it. Even after the controversial ending to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon returns to its roots for a high-quality political fantasy series.

Something the series took from Game of Thrones and expanded upon was including more screen time of dragons. Before the Dance of Dragons, there were 17 dragons owned by House Targaryen. Among these, we saw Syrax, Caraxes, Seasmoke, Vhagar, Meleys, Dreamfyre, Vermax, Arrax, and Vermithor in the first season. The visuals of the dragons looked outstanding and might be the best-looking dragons to appear on-screen. Each had unique features and personalities that distinguished them from one another. So far, we have only seen around half of the total dragons present in Westeros prior to the Dance of Dragons, which we are likely to see up close and personal in later seasons.

With its ensemble cast, the series featured a number of great performances. The stand outs amongst these were Paddy Considine’s King Viserys, Matt Smith’s Daemon and Milly Alocock’s Rhaenyra. Each of these actors brought a gravitas to their respective roles that did nothing but elevate the show. While his character started off unlikeable, Considine’s portrayal of the disease-ridden ruler with a hidden strength completely blew me away the later half of the season. It will be a crime if he isn’t a part of the running to receive an Emmy award for his performance.

As the story progressed, the series featured a change of certain actors for certain characters to represent them aging overtime. These time jumps are a useful tool with a series spanning decades. Given that it is simply impossible to include everything, each of these time jumps worked well to expand upon the story and the growing tension between characters. And while it is never easy to change actors, especially mid-season, I thought they were all handled quite well. While initially hesitant for Milly Alcock’s Rhanerya and Emily Carey’s Alicent to be replaced, Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke each did a fantastic job continuing and expanding upon each of these characters in a very real and believable way. The change in actors for Alicent’s children, Aegon and Aemond, was initially confusing because the younger brother appeared far older than the older brother. I caught on pretty quickly, but this character change was not handled as gracefully.

That being said, I really enjoyed House of the Dragon and would rate it 4 ½ / 5 stars. While it may have started off by building slowly, it is clear that with the story and character progression in season 1, next season will start off with a bang. I, for one, appreciated returning to Westeros and am eager to see what comes next in the Dance of Dragons.

House of the Dragon is available to watch on HBO Max.

Next: Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) – Season 1 Review

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) – Season 1 Review

★★★ 1/2

Set thousands of years before the events in The Lord of the Rings, Amazon’s The Rings of Power follows the Second Age of Middle-Earth and the forging of the rings of power to combat the rising of a new evil.

The Rings of Power was an entertaining and visually stunning series that took a step in the right direction. Considering the popularity of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, it is surprising that the only content to follow was The Hobbit trilogy nearly 10 years later. Another 10 years and we are getting this series. I for one thoroughly enjoyed returning to the shores of Middle-Earth for another adventure. There have  been some complaints voiced that the series deviated from J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore in some respects, but that sure didn’t stop me from nerding out and enjoying it.

Starting off strong, the series nailed the visuals and special effects. Everything from the wardrobe to the set pieces were fantastic, and the makeup for the orcs has arguablly never been better. Because of the time gap between the Second Age, when this series takes place, and the Third Age, when Lord of the Rings takes place, Rings of Power featured many new locations. Among these was Valinor, the Undying Lands; Lindon, the high elf city, which we saw briefly at the end of Return of the King; Eregion, the elven city where the rings of power were forged; and Numenor, the Greco-inspired island where the line of Gondorian kings hailed from. We also got a look at the Dwarven kingdom of Khazad Dûm during its golden age, as well as the Southlands, both of which look very different later on. Each of these locations were breath-taking and unique, reflecting the different cultures and diversity of Middle-Earth. And I’m guessing this is where a large chunk of the $465 million Amazon spent on season 1 went towards.

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The story started off a bit slow, but the second half of the season really kicked it into gear. It takes time to build the set up of a good story, but Rings of Power seemed to suffer from weekly releases, each episode often dragging its feet and leaving me unsatisfied. But, I guess the fact that I was eager to continue watching is an encouraging sign. It also felt like the series featured too much screen time of the Harfoot’s storyline and not enough of the Dwarves’. The show is definitely finding its footing, however, I thought that after the initial set up, the story drastically improved.

It was nice being introduced to characters like Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker), and Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) – characters we have only really heard of, but never seen before now. I liked most of these characters and thought that most of them fit well. One issue I did have trouble with was associating some of the characters we have already seen on screen with this series’ younger versions, namely Galadriel and Elrond. Each of these characters played a decent part in the series, but they never resembled their Lord of the Rings Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving counterparts. Instead of the ethereal elven queen, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) appeared far more hot-headed , often taking a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach. Elrond (Robert Aramayo), who we have seen before as a scholarly elven warrior, gave the impression of a politician who has never touched a weapon. One could argue that these characters are younger than their established characters in Lord of the Rings. Hopefully, as the series progresses, we will see these two elves develop and reflect the characters that are known and well-loved.

Overall, Rings of Power was an enjoyable and entertaining series with stunning visuals and a decent story. I would rate it 3 ½ / 5 stars, and would recommend it to anyone who is a Lord of the Rings fan or just a fantasy fan in general. The quality seemed to be on par with Amazon’s The Wheel of Time series, so if you enjoyed that, give Rings of Power a shot. Even though season 2 will not be released until 2024, season 1 has left me excited and interested to see what comes next.

The Rings of Power season 1 is available to stream on Prime Video.

Next: The Wheel of Time (2021) – Season 1 Review

Elvis (2022) Review

★★★★ 1/2

“When things are too dangerous to say, sing.”

Going into Elvis, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. The trailer looked great and I was curious, not already knowing a whole lot about the superstar. While I wasn’t quite motivated enough to go see it in theaters, I was still eager to catch it on whichever streaming service it ended up on a month or two later. Recently, the movie landed on HBO Max and I got the chance to give it a watch. And it was incredible.

I have seen a couple biographical music movies, such as Yesterday and Bohemian Rhapsody, and enjoy getting to learn about the history while simultaneously being entertained. While Yesterday was a fun, alternative way to explore the Beatles’ music on film, Bohemian Rhapsody fell more along the lines of a traditional biographical film. Maybe it was just the tragic story of Freddie Mercury, but something about Bohemian just seemed a little off to me (although, the Live Aid concert during the last 20 minutes of the film was fantastic). After Bohemian, I was a little skeptical going into this one. Luckily, where Bohemian felt a little off, Elvis was firing on all cylinders. 

Austin Butler in Elvis (2022)

I was blown away by Austin Butler’s portrayal of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Even not being a big Elvis fan, it was clear that Butler cared a lot about the role. He surprisingly nailed Elvis’ mannerisms, singing and animated movements proving that he was without a doubt the right man for the job. While Butler stole the show, Tom Hanks also brought his A-game to his role as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ shady (or perhaps snowy) manager. It would be surprising if Butler and Hanks aren’t nominated for Oscars for their respective roles for this film. 

Directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rogue!, The Great Gatsby), I really appreciated how the story was told from the point of view of Hanks’ Colonel Parker. Rarely are stories of this fashion told from the antagonists’ perspective, and I thought this was a great creative choice setting Elvis apart from its music biopic peers.

Elvis was a fantastic film providing a glimpse into Elvis Presley’s early life, his quick rise to fame and his tragic fall. I’m going to rate Elvis 4 ½ / 5 stars and highly recommend you give it a watch. Those not already a fan of the “King” likely will be after experiencing this film.

Elvis is available to stream on HBO Max.

The Northman (2022) Review

★★★✩✩

While I wasn’t dying to see The Northman, I was mildly excited. I mean, it’s Vikings – I usually enjoy any media portraying this time period. And I knew it at least had to be better than Morbius.

It was just OK. It is difficult to put my finger on it, but there was just nothing really special about it. I was hoping for some great action and, while there were a few good scenes, the action was just average. Even the climactic battle was just meh. 

The story seemed to have a decent enough premise – a wronged prince seeking revenge. This was actually the story that inspired Hamlet, but the way it was told just didn’t work for me. The story was told in chapters, very similar to The Green Knight. However, unlike Green Knight, I could actually follow what was happening in the story. So that’s something. As a revenge story, it didn’t leave me satisfied like they normally do. It did have a few weird scenes that were almost like dream sequences, acting like a blend of fantasy and reality.

Something the film did well was portray how gritty and violent these times likely were. Many scenes were extremely dark, filmed using only the light of a burning torch. This gave it an edge of realism and grounded it with immersion. 

With a fantastic cast including Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Willem Dafoe, it seemed the acting was very muted with little to no emotion behind it. I know these are great actors, so I can only guess that it was under Eggers’ direction.  But this kind of seemed like a waste of their talent. There was next to no character development, and I never grew to care for any of the characters; they were just there.

Overall, the action was OK, the story just was OK, and the acting was just OK, and so I’ll rate it 3/5 stars. I wasn’t expecting The Godfather or anything, but I was left disappointed in The Northman. It had everything teed up to be a great flick and was just a swing and a miss. This is my first Robert Eggers film, and I’ve heard this is his best one yet, so maybe his style just doesn’t work for me. I’ve seen a lot of praise for this movie, but when I put it up with some of the movies I consider great, it just doesn’t compare. If you’re still interested in seeing this movie then do it. If you’re on the fence, you’d be better off just watching Vikings: Valhalla or The Last Kingdom and wait to stream this at home.

Uncharted (2022) Review

★★★ 1/2

Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) is recruited by treasure hunter Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) to uncover the 500 year old hidden treasure of Ferdinand Magellan. When Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) becomes involved, Drake and Sully must race to solve the mystery and find the treasure before the others.

Going into Uncharted, I expected just an OK movie. Turns out, it was surprisingly good, surpassing my expectations and even becoming my favorite movie adaptation of a video game (although, the bar is set kind of low). The movie followed the classic formula of following clues hidden in ancient history to lead to the buried treasure. But I tend to always enjoy that approach of blending historical fact with fiction, when done well.

While Uncharted didn’t do anything revolutionary, it incorporated certain elements from numerous other treasure hunting flicks to tell, what I thought, was a well-rounded story. Was it cheesy? Incredibly. But did I enjoy it? Absolutely.

The action sequences, especially the scene where Drake is hopping across cargo crates while dangling out the back of a flying plane, were great. These scenes were utterly ridiculous but felt incredibly reminiscent of the video games, and I loved every second of them. I won’t spoil it, but one scene towards the end of the movie had me both chuckling at the ridiculousness and amazed at how awesome it was all at the same time.

Mark Wahlberg as Sully and Tom Holland as Nathan Drake

As a fan of the Uncharted games, I wasn’t too sure about the casting of Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg in the starring roles. But shortly after the movie started, and especially once the two joined forces, I quickly grew to like them and the banter the two shared. Even though they weren’t exact reflections of their video game counterparts, I liked each other their portrayals and how they each brought their own unique flair to the role. I never really warmed up, however, to Sophia Ali’s Chole Frazer. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but she just didn’t seem to fit into the Drake-Sully dynamic well at all. I’m hoping, if a sequel is greenlit, I’ll like the Elena casting more.

One of my gripes with the film was it seemed like they overdid it with the double-crosses. Even after saving each other’s lives multiple times, members of the team still double crossed each other because they “couldn’t trust them,” or so they claimed. While I get the “no honor among thieves” theme they were going for, this was done just one or two times too many for my taste.

Overall, Uncharted was entertaining and I’d rate it 3 ½ / 5 stars. If you’re looking for a serious and thought provoking film, this isn’t for you. But for those looking to simply enjoy a fun movie, consider checking this movie out. Even though movie adaptations of video games have had a rough go so far, I’m encouraged by Uncharted and excited to see what’s next (I’m looking at you, Last of Us). 

The Book of Boba Fett (2021) Review

★★★★☆

Following his reappearance in The Mandalorian, Boba Fett has claimed Jabba the Hutt’s throne after fulfilling his promise to Din Djarin. But the criminal underworld of Tatooine is not too eager for a new Daimyo to take control of the sands of Mos Espa.

Even with all the flak it has been getting, I still really enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett. Finally, after his first appearance over forty years, we get to see the notorious bounty hunter in action. Fair warning that this review does contain major spoilers.

Firstly, the series started off a little slow. It was cool that it began with a flashback of Boba after falling into the Sarlacc Pit, and showing how he escaped to help bridge the gap between Boba “dying” in Return of the Jedi and his reappearance in season 2 of The Mandalorian. It did seem that he escaped from the creature a bit easily, though. The Sarlacc was supposed to be this fearsome creature but, for all we know, Boba fell in and five minutes later awoke and all he had to do was shoot a little fire to escape. I did enjoy seeing Boba join the Tusken tribe, learning their ways and becoming one of them by teaching them his. I thought that this was done quite well and it gave me some serious Dances With Wolves vibes.

The series seemed to reach its lowest point about halfway through, with episode 3 featuring Boba’s ragtag gang of Vespa Power Rangers. These kids can’t even afford water, yet each have a brightly colored speed bike that, after being hired by Boba, they used to engage engage in a poorly executed car chase through the streets of Tatooine. It was attempting something new in the Star Wars universe, however, it just didn’t work for me. It felt out of place, and even after completing the series, these characters still seemed completely lackluster and unnecessary.

Come episode 5, the series hit a high point, which is ironic given that Boba didn’t even make an appearance. The episode followed the Mandalorian locating the Armorer, and we learned more about the Fall of Mandalore and the Darksaber. Additionally, the Mandalorian had help building his new ship: a N-1 starfighter. The recognizable ship was used by young Anakin in Episode 1, and Mandalorian even traveled along the same track as the Pod Race in The Phantom Menace. Episode 6 focused more on Grogu’s Jedi training with Luke, which was simply awesome. The CGI to make a younger Luke was done so well this time around, compared to The Mandalorian’s season 2 finale. At first, these two episodes seemed entirely out of place, almost as if they accidentally released the first couple episodes of The Mandalorian season 3. But, turns out they were necessary to explain what happened to Mando and Grogu after the season 2 finale and how they reunited for The Book of Boba Fett’s finale. They also worked to fill in the gaps now so that Mandalorian season 3 can get a jump start on its release.

One of my biggest complaints was that after seeing Boba Fett appear in season 2 of The Mandalorian, I felt he was way cooler than he was in his own series. I would think having a character star in their own series would be opportune time to have them shine the brightest, and here that was not the case. In The Book of Boba Fett, I struggle to remember any scenes where Boba was as awesome as he was in The Mandalorian. Fennec Shand seemed to be a much cooler character with better action sequences, while Boba for the most part just sat there with his helmet off or slept in a Bacta Tank. It almost seemed like he always needed someone to save him. I will say, seeing him and the Mandalorian team up in the finale was awesome, and getting to see Boba Fett ride his pet Rancor was also great, but for the most part, the lack of his action sequences was somewhat disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed The Book of Boba Fett and would rate it 4/5 stars. It had some of the best and worst Star Wars content as of late, and was an overall enjoyable series that gave light on Boba Fett’s backstory while we wait for season 3 of The Mandalorian. While the series is not without its missteps, at the end of the day it’s still Star Wars and will be a treat for any fan eager to see more of the Galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunter. For those not as interested in Boba Fett’s backstory, I’d still recommend watching episodes 5,6 and 7, so you’ll know everything that happened with Mando and Baby Yoda before The Mandalorian season 3 kicks off.

Encanto (2021) Review

★★★★☆

The Madrigal family lives in a magical house, where each family member is granted a unique gift to contribute to their community. But when the house’s magic is put in danger, Mirabel, the only Madrigal to not receive a gift, embarks on a quest to help save her family’s miracle.

While I was skeptical after seeing the trailer, Encanto was a very enjoyable movie and a great new addition to Disney’s library. The movie had great music and animation, and it provided an interesting glimpse into Colombian culture; something I previously had very little exposure to. Something I love about Disney is their ability to take a culture and translate it onto the big screen for the world to explore and enjoy. This is something they have excelled at in the past and continue to do so.

As with most of Disney’s films, there were a few plot points that left me scratching my head. But after buying in and accepting the story for what it is, Encanto is a fun movie well worth watching. I had originally planned on skipping this, but after hearing that Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” song had overtaken Frozen’s “Let It Go”, I decided to give it a try. Turns out, one of the movie’s strongest points was its original songs, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Each song had a more modern sound that highlighted members of the Madrigal family and showed their individual struggles, even belonging to a seemingly perfect family.

The songs contributed well to the central theme – that the pressure created by familial and multigenerational expectations can divide the family. This was an interesting topic to explore and very timely, given how different the generation of young people today varies from their grandparents’ generation. Encanto explored this theme well, however, it seemed the ending seemed to resolve everything a bit too quickly. The movie could have used a little more time exploring the root of the family tension before everyone came around and forgave each other.

Overall, I enjoyed Encanto more than I thought and would rate it 4/5 stars. It’s awesome that, having only released in theaters in Nov. 2021, the movie is already available to stream on Disney Plus. The movie had fantastic animation, music, and a message that most families can resonate with. Even if you’re skeptical at first like I was, I’d still recommend checking it out.

Arcane (2021) Review

★★★★½

Everybody wants to be my enemy

Vi and Powder are sisters who were orphaned at a young age. They grew up in Zaun, the neglected underbelly of the utopian city, Piltover. After tragedy strikes, the two sisters are separated and find themselves on opposing sides of a war between Piltover and the independence seeking Nation of Zaun.

Arcane is an animated series based on Riot Games’ League of Legends. Even having never played the game myself, I thought the show was great and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I’m not usually a fan of the steampunk genre, the worldbuilding and characters were well-developed and unique. Having no prior knowledge of the game, it was interesting to see each character’s origin as they evolved throughout the series spoiler-free. 

My favorite part about Arcane was its style of animation. It felt super unique, almost like a comic book or similar to the animation in the Borderlands games. The style fit the show exceptionally well, giving it a unique and gritty feel. I also liked the parallels between the perfect utopia, Piltover, and the far-from-perfect, Zaun. Each side had its own issues, but while Piltover is focused on achieving progress through Hex-Tech (arcane magic achieved through science), the drug Shimmer spread throughout Zaun, giving gangsters and criminals unnatural mutations.

The series also had a fantastic voice cast, including Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Katie Leung, Kevin Alejandro, Jason Spisak, Harry Lloyd and numerous other great additions. I thought each actor did well in their respective roles, contributing to the quality and immersion of the series.

I will say that the series didn’t grab me at first. After the first episode, I said “ehh.” But I am glad I persevered because after the second I was far more interested. After the third episode, I knew Arcane was living up to all the hype and would be well-worth watching. 

Netflix did a fantastic job with Arcane and I would rate it 4 ½ / 5 stars. While season 2 of Arcane has already been confirmed by Netflix, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see other animated series based in the League of Legends universe, or even series from other franchises follow suit. Even if you’re not usually a fan of animated series or the steampunk genre, I’d still recommend giving Arcane a shot. What drew me to it was the high praise, and after watching it myself, I can safely say it is well-deserved.