Weekly Recap 25 | Black Widow, Thirst, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Doctor Who Series 9 & more

Well, it didn’t come home after all, but it’s not like I ever cared. When I wasn’t being forced to watch the football, I was watching a bunch of movies – some good, some bad, some popular, some obscure – so here’s a Weekly Recap to take your mind off how we didn’t win the football. 

Let’s begin with some trash, because that seems to be my starter with most of these episodes. In Shogun Assassin, a samurai has sworn to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance. This film seems to be liked a great deal, but I really don’t understand why – unless it’s a cult classic that I simply was unable to get into. When I picked this up for 2 quid, I wasn’t expecting much: just some fun, samurai action, and the 3.7 average rating fooled me into thinking it would actually be competently made. But no, Shogun Assassin is straight up one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. Terrible dubbing aside, there isn’t an ounce of passable writing in this entire film, with a plot that is unimaginably one-dimensional without even any good, unironic comedy that could make it watchable. It kind of annoys me that there’s actually some splashes of decent cinematography throughout, because the editing, sound design, performances and choreography are all abysmal.

Next is Rurouni Kenshin. Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura has now become a wandering samurai, offering aid & protecting those in need as atonement for his past deeds. I’ve wanted to watch this ever since seeing it in a Corridor Crew video, and it did not disappoint. This gave me precisely what Shogun Assassin was so incapable of doing: a fun samurai movie with awesome action. It definitely wears its overwhelming animeness on its sleeve – with cartoonish villains, nonsense sword arts, on the nose dialogue, humorous edginess and silly amounts of sentimentality – but that’s precisely what makes it so endearing and entertaining. Great characterisation with some pretty interesting historical context thrown into the mix, while the brilliant fight choreography and gorgeous aesthetic elevates the weak screenplay with a razor sharp style. I didn’t realise that this was actually the first of 5 films, but after having enjoyed this first film I may watch the rest soon. 

The football might not have come home, but the MCU certainly has. Black Widow is the first Marvel film in 2 years, so while I was never expecting it to be great, I was definitely looking forward to munching on some popcorn while letting the explosions wash over me on the big screen. Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. I literally only watched this film for ScarJo and Florence Pugh, and bless them because they really do give it their all when they’ve been given so little to work with. The dialogue and chemistry between the main cast is a lot of fun, helping a great deal to mask just how mediocre the screenplay actually is. Because if you strip away the superb performances – and the admittedly nice cinematography plus awesome action – what’s left underneath is a pretty dumb and uninspired plot with one of the lamest antagonists the MCU has ever produced. I know everyone else has already parotted this opinion, but Black Widow really should have come out directly after Civil War. Although the after credits scene only works because of Endgame, by coming out so late the character already feels like old news, with the in-world politics no longer holding the same weight that they did back when they were fresh. Even so, it did come out now, so at the very least I can look forward to Florence Pugh becoming the new Black Widow.

As I’m sure you all know by now, I’m a huge fan of Park Chan-wook. After all, The Vengeance Trilogy is amongst my absolute favourites. And yet I’ve never really branched out into his other works. Which is why I have decided to work my way through his entire filmography in a similar way to how I tackled Tarantino way back when. Beginning with Joint Security Area, in the Demilitarised Zone separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved – all of which points to some sort of cover up, but the truth is much simpler and much more tragic. This gets off to a very rocky start, with amateurish writing not helped in the slightest by the actors speaking English in amusingly thick accents. I loved Lee Young-ae in Lady Vengeance, but she wasn’t all that great here and her plot line of investigating the mystery just wasn’t gripping, so the first act had me worried that Park Chan-wook had actually made a bad film. However, JSA does pick up massively when it continues the narrative in the past, depicting the lead up to what sparked the mystery with many brilliantly crafted scenes of fantastic comedy and poignant tragedy. Carried by Shin Ha-kyun, Song Kang-ho and Lee Byung-hun’s stellar performances, the quality of the film just kept ramping up all the way until its incredible climax, almost making me forget entirely of how embarrassing I found it at the start.

Next up is I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK. Young-goon, mentally deranged and frequently electro-charging herself with a transistor radio, has been admitted into a mental institution, firmly believing herself to be a cyborg. Oh, if only believing something to be true actually made it so. Still, the delusions of the main characters made for some excellent comedy, with the immersion of each patient into other people’s fantasies crafting some very touching scenes. I particularly adored the moments where Park Chan-wook let his typical murder-obsessed mind to take over, as the scenes of the protagonist killing everyone were simply spectacular, helped immensely by some fantastic special effects. Jeong Jeong-hun and Cho Young-wuk are as excellent as ever in delivering their cinematography and music, so as far as Park Chan-wook films go, this doesn’t actually feel so out of place despite the more Wes Andersonian style. But in spite of all these nuggets of brilliance shining throughout, the pacing sadly crawls at a snail’s pace, making this a frustratingly arduous experience. It’s definitely not Park’s best screenplay either, but then that might just be because I prefer his more serious style of writing. So while the characters and visuals were great, the plot just didn’t grip me as much as I was hoping.

Now for my final Park Chan-wook film of the week, Thirst is about Sang-hyun, a respected priest, who volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life as a vampire. Now, Sang-hyun is torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for Tae-ju, the wife of his childhood friend. Well now, this has got to be the best vampire movie I’ve ever seen. Gruesome and lavish, with the most gorgeous deaths one could wish for that had me sinking my own teeth into the beautiful, blood splattered frames. I already knew I loved Song Kang-ho, but here he really steps up his game as the priest torn between his moral purity and carnal impulses, his brilliant performance elevated by the incredible editing, impeccable cinematography and amusing special effects that are crafted as perfectly as ever by Park’s usual team. The pacing is very slow unfortunately, so while I adore the way this film is shot – laughing immensely at the many extremely entertaining scenes and becoming transfixed by the fantastic depictions of nightmarish illusions that haunt the protagonists – I do wish it were better paced so that I could have been gripped more thoroughly. But while I feel it should have ended sooner – specifically when he turns her into a vampire – the actual ending is unimaginably powerful, as I never thought a sunrise could look so damn gorgeous while evoking so many conflicting yet paradoxically harmonious emotions within me at once. Thirst isn’t Park’s best film by any means, as I do think there are a lot of pointless scenes while at the same time certain plot threads needed more fleshing out. But honestly, I’m more than happy with the way Park explores this fascinating premise with his usual artistic finesse.

It’s always a most joyous occasion when I get to watch some Doctor Who (well, unless it’s bad of course). Series 9 continues what made Series 8 so great, and that’s Capaldi’s Doctor with Clara. Their chemistry is simply superb, absolutely bringing their best performances thus far. I probably still prefer Clara in Series 8, as Danny managed to ground her a bit in the human, but its her attempts to push herself into becoming The Doctor that makes for such a fascinating character arc and ultimate tragic end. And The Doctor himself has probably never been as fantastic as he is here. I already said how I adore Capaldi in Series 8, but I honestly think this is his best embodiment of the character, with the masterpiece that is Heaven Sent only solidifying him as the absolute best Doctor.

On the note of Heaven Sent, I’m blown away by the visual quality of this series. So many gorgeous shots are interlaced into the fabric of Series 9, thanks in no small part by the likes of Ali Asad and Rachel Talalay imbuing their incredible artistry into the aesthetic of the episodes that they worked on. I always love my shots becoming flooded in golden hues, and here the sunlight has never been so gloriously realised in Doctor Who. To be honest, the modern show has looked good since Series 1; I just think that this is the best looking season to date, which just puts into perspective what a betrayal the directing in Series 11 and 12 truly is.

Unfortunately, while Series 9 has a lot going for it, when it comes down to it there’s a lot of flaws holding it back from reaching the top. While many episodes could be considered on par – and even exceding – those of Series 8 when judged on an individual basis, the way they come together to form a season is sadly far inferior. Everything to do with Me just tarnishes my good will toward the season, and the Hybrid arc has got to be the worst series arc Doctor Who has ever produced. It really is a shame, because there’s loads of brilliant stories being told in this season, but the flaws are just too great to ignore.

And now to end this Weekly Recap, I have a very lengthy review lined up for you for the one and only Neon Genesis Evangelion. At the turn of the century, the Angels returned to Earth, seeking to wipe out humanity in an apocalyptic fury. Devastated, mankind’s last remnants moved underground to wait for the day when the Angels would come back to finish the job. Fifteen years later, that day has come… but this time, humanity is ready to fight back with terrifying bio-mechanical weapons known as the Evangelions. Well, I finally watched this classic that so many deem to be a masterpiece, yet I don’t really feel the same way. Of course, almost everyone hated the way the plot developed, but then aside from the ending there isn’t much substance in here anyway. I really wasn’t blown away by the revelations, themes, and psychological deep dives, and while that’s maybe just down to me, I simply don’t understand what made this anime stand out so much from all the rest. 

However, I will just say now that the intro song is one of the very best in any anime; it definitely justifies its reputation as for once I didn’t want to skip the opening. It’s probably because of A Cruel Angel’s Thesis that I was able to like so much the first two thirds or so of Eva, because while each episode was admittedly pretty formulaic – though this monotony itself becomes one of the themes the series explores – the characters are such a joy to watch that I was able to enjoy myself in the simpler times. Shinji is often mocked in real life for being a wimp, but honestly I rather like him, as his submissive mannerisms are endearing and it’s that superficial physical weakness that makes his overwhelming willpower such a fascinating aspect of his character. Asuka and Rei are two great co-pilots that help Shinji in his character growth, with the former having some very outlandish but enticing flaws while the latter plays a big part in the mystery – that I ultimately felt fell flat, but was intriguing while it was still fresh. Misato is probably my favourite character though, since I found her to be the most well rounded and funniest character, with some very poignant emotional moments towards the end. These four characters form the backbone for what makes the “monster of the week” episodes work so well, and were most definitely my favourite aspect of the show.

But then it just ditches all of that for an awful lot of philosophical rambling that just rings hollow. The stuff it tackles are certainly interesting, but since it’s been isolated so much from the main heart of the series – relegated to taking up entire episodes without ever really saying anything profound – it just causes the entire thing to come crumbling down. It’s kind of like the epilogue to The Garden of Sinners, but then at least that anime distinguished it as just optional viewing rather than crucial to the very core of the series. Ironically, this anime is both too simplistic and too complicated at the same time. That might sound contradictory, but the truth is it never manages to find the perfect balance between the two, instead lulling me into a false sense of security that I have finally managed to grasp the new stuff it’s decided to chuck in from nowhere, before leaving me in the dust by accelerating the new concepts it’s literally just introduced without giving them enough time to breathe. And I’m not even talking about just the two notorious final episodes, as the anime lost me from around episode 20. The characters lose their agency to just become vehicles for a ridiculously convoluted plot where random things happen without rhyme or reason, before getting mentally dissected in the final episodes as a sorry excuse for a character study. I absolutely adore it when films and series get all philosophical on me, so I’m certainly not happy Eva was incapable of inducing me with the same amount of intellectual awe that I normally experience with these sorts of things. But these themes just weren’t properly laced into the fabric of the show to justify such a psychological heavy finale. I really do think that if all these ideas it was trying to explore were properly sprinkled throughout the series rather than cramped into the ending – so a gradual ramping up rather than an abrupt drop into the abyss – then it would have worked much better for me. Though now that I think about it, I can’t actually concretely say what these ideas even are in the first place; certainly the theme of loneliness is very prevalent, but then I’m still confused by the overt religious overtones that dominate the entire anime. 

Nevertheless, the animation is phenomenal. Despite the antiquated style, I was enchanted by the way the characters are brought to life, with some absolutely brilliant mecha fights and a lot of surprisingly gorgeous cinematography in the most inconspicuous of places. Even the final episodes are beautifully animated, because even though I didn’t like the writing, the visuals were simply impeccable. There were some moments where it lingered for far too long on a single frame however, so I did find myself shouting at the screen to move on to the next shot, becoming especially exasperated when there was literally no movement or even dialogue to justify drawing it out for so long. I get that it was probably to save money rather than for any specific artistic reasons, but it was still really annoying, which just added to my more general annoyance with the plot that just kept tying itself up into a hopeless knot. 

Anyway, I’m really conflicted with how I should be rating this series. On the one hand, I loved the characters, and while the formulaic plot for a good part of the series reminded me of SSSS.Gridman in its repetitiveness of Mecha vs Kaiju/Angel fights, it was definitely when I was enjoying myself the most. On the other hand, the attempts to branch out into philosophical and psychological explorations of the human condition should be elevating the series to a whole new echelon, but because it’s handled so poorly it rather sours the consistent quality of the series thus far. Ultimately, Eva’s flaws are far too glaring to ignore, since they did tarnish what had been a nice experience up till then. Eva did give me many nice moments during the week as I grew to love the characters, so I won’t say I regret spending time watching it all in this relatively short amount of time. But I highly doubt I will ever rewatch this anime as I really don’t understand why it’s so revered.