ThereelscoopwithKK Reviews

X: First Class (2011)

Better Than Most Prequels

[7/10 · 27 May 2024]

Before watching I expected to be watching a prequel with inexperienced , cheesy acting filled with cliches and lines that tried to connect to the original films but didn't work. While some of this was present, for the most part I think Vaughan did a pretty decent job creating a prequel for the original movies. It provided enough backstory to the characters that it added to the originals instead of hurting them, which unfortunately is what many prequels end up doing.

Still I think a bit too much time was wasted on the skills and attributes/ mutations than on the characters themselves. They tried to build a backstory with Professor X and Mystique, but it didn't have enough to feel genuine. In general, I felt they left a lot on the table with Mystique. It would have been interesting to see more of the internal struggle she was experiencing. Further, in developing Magneto, it would have been neat to see more flashbacks of his time with Shaw.

With regards to Shaw, he is potentially the worst developed character. We have no idea how he obtained his powers and have no idea where his motivations arise from. This is hugely problematic for a lead villain in any film.

Overall, the movie helps the series, but it had the potential to be much more.

3 Body Problem (2024– )

Respectable

[7/10 · 22 May 2024]

Decided to watch due to the initial hype. Probably not as good as I was expecting considering all the amazing things I heard about it, and nor was I let down because the books were better ( I did not read the books). The first two episodes outside of the Maoist China scenes were pretty dry. However as the season went on I certainly started to enjoy the characters more outside of Auggie. The casting is really quite good. Benedict Wong, Liam Cunningham, and Jess Hong are all fantastic.

I like how they presented the moral debates because they weren't overly preachy and somewhat indirectly implied the consequences of each decision.

Overall, the show is nothing to jump up and down about but also not a waste of time. I'll be tuning in for season 2 whenever that is.

Abigail (2024)

Very Entertaining But Has Some Issues

[7/10 · 20 May 2024]

With what has become of horror films , I don't go in with much expectation anymore. This movie was actually quite unique. It never feels like the movie is trying to straight up terrify you and instead succeeds in making a decent vampire comedy. Some of the one liner jokes combined with really spot on casting is what really elevated the in theatre experience. I'm surprised Giancarlo Esposito volunteered himself for this kind of movie, but always happy to have him.

For a horror movie it does offer a decent enough plot. However , there were two related majors issues I had with the film. The worst of that being the ending. To avoid spoiling it I will just state that the last 15 minutes or so seem to just take the movie way off course from where it had been going. None of it is used to create a surprise or twist ending, it simply feels like they just put random stuff in at the end that was inconsistent with the rest of the film in order to get the films runtime up a little longer.

Lastly, there's times when it tries to send real life messages and it just flat out fails. For me if you are going to try and just make it a farce like they did at the end, stick with that and focus on the comedic aspect. Dont try to then end with some statement about quality parenting.

Overall though, despite some blips , well worth the watch.

Monkey Man (2024)

All 3 Stars For Cinematography

[3/10 · 20 May 2024]

This movie took a lot of effort to stick with. For starters, if I were to watch again I would absolutely have subtitles on as the accents can be difficult to understand in many parts. Obviously at the theatre this option wasn't available. As for the film itself, most of it you are left trying to figure out what Bobby's motivation is for his actions. Your best hints are some small flashbacks and your prior suspicion that it is some type of similar John Wick-esque revenge type film. It wasn't until very late in the film where you see what actually motivated Bobby to seek revenge. The way they do introduce it to you is also rather sloppy.

Despite Bobby clearly having hostilities before landing with the religious group providing him shelter, he apparently only learned his purpose for fighting by taking some herbal root spice that simply only provided us the viewer with the backstory. All the sudden after this experience he wakes up and then realizes what he's fighting for and dedicates himself more ? Overall I would describe the plot as just very clunky.

The one thing the film does have going for it is that it is quite visually impressive and the action sequences are decent. It's just too bad they weren't backed with a more engaging plot.

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Brilliant Work

[10/10 · 20 May 2024]

Only recently was motivated to watch this with the new film coming out. I had not viewed any Planet of the Apes films prior. I'll admit that going into it I'm not usually a fan of movies with talking animals. In general they just feel like something that should be restricted to children's or animated movies. However, this movie was a hugely pleasant surprise. The characters in the film are developed extremely well and Charlton Heston is absolutely incredible starring in the role of Taylor. I'm surprised this movie doesn't get more attention as a classic because it so cleverly carries with it so many interesting underlying messages while not spoiling the story in the process. By simply reversing the roles of humans and apes it really makes you realize how poorly humans in the real world treat animals simply because of the belief that they are a superior species, and much of this based simply on the ability to speak.

The trial scene is also one that I'm surprised more high school teachers don't have their students writing essays on. The concept of the right to a fair trial based on race or species and the concept of some being more equal than others is very prominent. This 10-20 minute scene is just filled with so much to unpack.

Lastly the ending is very bold by todays standards and for me was just perfect. Highly recommend.

12 Angry Men (1997 TV Movie)

Nothing Special At All

[5/10 · 15 May 2024]

I went into this not having viewed the original, but since it was free on Amazon I decided to give it a whirl. This version was what the kids these days would call mid at best. Many of the jurors just wanted to get it over with and in some ways I was checking the time bar at the bottom myself hoping they would indeed wrap it up. The acting is fine, but I'm just not seeing what's so fascinating about this. One juror has doubts while eleven others are sure the accused is guilty. The one juror pokes holes in each of the prosecutions pieces of evidence hoping to slowly convince the other jurors of his views. It felt very much like when I was in university prepping for mock trial with friends and we would explore various ways to weaken or strengthen arguments for both sides. Perhaps this is why it wasn't all that amusing to me or why it didn't feel that special.

I'd have liked to see flashbacks to parts of the trial or something to make my own opinion, otherwise it's just listening to jurors opinions of arguments I never got to read or view presented myself.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Style Over Substance But It's Fine

[7/10 · 12 May 2024]

It's clear the movie was made for IMAX. For the first hour or so it is very noticeable that they are trying to flex with the impressive camera shots and scenery of the jungle. In this regard there's no denying it is quite pretty, however there are moments that it seems like they are forgetting that they actually need to build a plot. Some of the dialogue from the Apes at times is also a little unclear. They are clearly trying to stress that these apes are less evolved than the Apes during Caesar's time. Unfortunately that comes at the cost of not being able to understand some of the words they're saying.

Overall the plot is quite patchy. Due to many long overly drawn out scenes , it then rushes through scenes and settings that need a little more depth.

The end battle leaves something to be desired for sure.

The one thing it has going for it ,aside from its visuals, is the very ending scenes really set up nicely for future films. You get a good picture of where things are headed but they withhold just enough details to keep you interested.

Lastly there are some decent easter eggs to previous films .

Overall, I found it to be satisfactory. It could age well if the next movies take a nice leap off the stepping stones it has set out.

The King Tide (2023)

Brilliant and Unique

[9/10 · 29 April 2024]

This film seems to have really flown under the radar. In some ways it might not have a wide appeal but that is not because of its content and likely due to its marketing. I suspect the marketing budget is small for a Canadian made film. Horror seeking teens may find the trailer too slow and dry whereas some of the shall I say more "mature"/ sophisticated audiences seem to avoid anything that could be labelled horror.

The concept is quite clever. A small community that has lived on an island for quite some time is struggling until a young girl is delivered to them as a baby in a divine way. Isla, is able to essentially solve all of their ailments in one way or another. The start is a bit of a slow burn , but in this time the characters are developed and you become more invested. There are some really nice shots of Canada's East Coast as well.

Once the plot hits its climax it had my full undivided attention. Moral decisions are made and the consequences of actions have you on the edge of your seat.

Nothing in the film is frightening in a horror movie kind of way , however there is some intense violence in brief periods.

Overall, despite its simplicity it's one of my favourite movies of 2024.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

Significant Step Back

[4/10 · 24 April 2024]

Overall my expectations for this film was much higher than what was delivered. Ghostbusters: Afterlife had managed to connect the original characters with the new ones in a very cohesive manner. After it was completed it felt like there were so many more stories that could be told with the new characters that were introduced. That was what I was expecting this film to do. Instead of exploring these characters in further detail and their relationships the writers decided simply to introduce more characters , many of whom were not particularly necessary to advancing the story.

While the movie isn't horrendous it is simply not memorable at all. If you watch this movie and ask yourself the details of it and which function each character played a week later I wouldn't be surprised if the details are bit blurry.

Overall , for me, this movie was a missed opportunity. It had some decent effects, but this was not nearly enough to make up for its severe shortcomings.

The Holdovers (2023)

Hits the Mind and Heart in a Unique Way

[9/10 · 24 April 2024]

The movie is presented in an old school 1980s-early 90s style. This in itself is a welcome relief from what can sometimes feel like the seemingly endless number of movies made in recent years that are nearly entirely reliant on visual effects to succeed.

Beyond its presentation this movie achieves another thing that I've been missing from so many movies made these days. Through the outstanding acting of its leads you really connect with the characters. If you really break the story down there isn't much to it. In fact all that really occurs is a miserable teacher that nobody particularly likes is tasked with essentially babysitting students who couldn't or weren't wanted at home over Christmas break.

However through their time together we learn how these characters became the way they are and can feel their struggles. If you've had some major hardship in your life you likely will connect with some of these characters.

In many ways I likened this movie to almost a Christmas version of The Breakfast Club. Hopefully other directors take note from this film and realize that developing strong characters has more value to many in the audience than simply a barrage of visual effects and CGI.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Well Executed

[8/10 · 24 April 2024]

Anytime a movie tries to rejuvenate a franchise considered a classic the bar is set high and reasonably so. With what was generally considered a major flop with the 2016 reboot this movie had even more pressure to get it right. Not only did it hit the right notes for me in its own right, it actually made me reevaluate my dislike for the original film. In my view, the movies greatest success is how it delicately sprinkles in throwbacks to the original and lures its audience into feeling nostalgic. At the same time it also takes the risk of extending from the the original story in a modern family friendly way and delivers a respectable plot. It even manages to say farewell to Harold Ramis in the process. The casting overall is quite good with all characters having a purpose.

Certainly exceeded expectations.

Civil War (2024)

Lackluster

[5/10 · 24 April 2024]

First of all there's no doubt the viewer was sold an entirely different film than what the trailer offered up. I had no issue with it not being cholk full of action scenes, but nowhere did the trailer suggest it was going to be a deep dive into the psychology of war journalism/ photography.

Secondly, it's clear that the intention was to avoid getting into the details of the war, but by not giving any sort of background it didn't get me invested. Further, the the characters get almost no development other than they've managed to block off their emotions and do their job. Even when the lead character is straight up asked about her background she didn't explain anything.

Most of the movie is spent watching them sitting and driving around smoking with small meaningless dialogue. The one saving grace in this film is the scene with Jesse Plemmons. The scene is very startling and raises the stakes of everything. The actor plays his role brilliantly as he often does as a callous murderous villain.

Finally to give credit where it is due there is some excellent shots and visual effects. The final battle scene in DC is filmed quite skillfully. The ending is somewhat expected for a movie that didn't really have too much to say for the 2 hours it had already had you there for.

For me this film had some similarities to Nightcrawler, but was certainly worse. Overall, despite some good aspects there's really no other way to describe it than simply too boring than to garner any more praise than a barely passable score of 5/10.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016)

Good If you Don't Like the Series

[6/10 · 20 April 2024]

After only just watching the original and really wondering how this franchise generated so much hype I decided to give this one a shot. In general I'd heard nothing but bad things about this movie prior. After viewing I can see why loyalists to the original would be annoyed by it, but for me who didn't enjoy the original it was somewhat of a comical viewing experience. It certainly trolls the first in many ways , although it probably wasn't meaning to. While some of the jokes grow old and are a bit tacky in general it at least got me to laugh a couple times which I can say the original did not achieve. I'm surprised Chris Hemsworth would take on the role he did. I thought the women had pretty good chemistry and particularly enjoyed Leslie Jones character. The final battle so to speak was fairly entertaining and completed the movie adequately.

By no means was this a good movie , but not nearly as awful as I expected based on others input.

Elemental (2023)

Missing on Several Elements

[3/10 · 27 March 2024]

Overall I hold Pixar to quite a high standard and this movie simply does not come close to that standard in any criteria. One of the magic traits of Pixar has traditionally been for the creators to get you to really feel for the animated characters that it develops. In this movie the characters are quite simply flat. All we really get to know about Ember the entire movie is that she has a bad temper and isn't particularly enthused to continue running her father's business. We also gather very little about her friend Wade , who I suppose is the lead supporting character. He seems like a relatively friendly guy who works for the bureaucracy and develops a strong crush for Ember. That's all we get from him and it gives you really little reason to root for him. Even worse, and a very bad message to send to viewers, he's extremely pushy and borderline stalker like showing up uninvited to Ember's family celebration to profess his love for her. The idea that you can just throw yourself upon someone and expect to earn their love just isn't a reality in the real world. In almost no scenario in reality would Ember change her mind after this stunt.

Further the movie is clearly trying to make connections to the struggles of immigrants in the real world. Specifically, it focuses on issues of how the races/elements can clash. In my view, the parallels they are trying to draw are simply poor ones . For instance, people are people regardless of race and therefore should be able to prosper in harmony, while elements (fire /water/ etc on the other hand have very real reasons for why they can't mix. For example, when Ember's family is trying to get housing they show them go to a wood tree building. Clearly fire and wood can't go together or the place would burn down. So there is a very practical reason for why they couldn't live there. On the other hand, there is no practical justification for discrimination in the real world. Overall, the movies attempts to draw connections to the real world just aren't solid enough.

Lastly, the plot is very predictable and just never captured my interest. A direct contrast to this movie for me would be the Pixar movie 'Soul' where you are actively rooting for the main character, feel a connection to their story, and the plot that keeps you engaged.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

The Best of the Worst Franchise

[4/10 · 27 March 2024]

Although still hugely flawed I actually enjoyed it more than the first, which isn't saying much at all. The jokes in the second installment , while still not all that comical for me, are at the very least tamed down from the overly creepy advances by Bill Murray's character in the first one. His character still gives me the creeps in this one.

The plot in this movie has similar issues to the first film. There's just no real natural progression to it and the solutions are always just the ghostbusters making up some random fake pseudoscience -y term to describe what's going on. I get it's supposed to be like nerdy and therefore funny, but it's so overused and gets exhausting quickly. The connections used to advanced the plot are just made up off the cuff with no rhyme or reason for any of it. Still can't quite figure out what purple goo running under New York had anything to do with a Carpathian tyrant in a painting.

Even more bizarre to me was that the ghostbusters just all the sudden out of nowhere came up with this idea to use "positively" charged goo to counteract the negative goo and ride around on the Statue of Liberty to somehow uplift people's spirits and fight the tyrant. I suppose I could get past all this if it gave me a few laughs, but it didn't.

Despite all of these issues, I still enjoyed it more than the original ...

Red Notice (2021)

Good For What It Is

[7/10 · 26 March 2024]

Overall the movie delivers more than what I'd hoped, which sure wasn't much before starting. Yes it's silly , the plot is sort of a dollar store Indiana Jones , but overall it provided decent light entertainment. Personally I'm not usually a huge fan of the Rock or Ryan Reynolds acting and find them to be some of the most unidimensional actors out there. The Rock can usually only play the Rock or some FBI type cop and Ryan Reynolds is the exact same character in seemingly every role, essentially Ryan Reynolds himself. Still, I oddly found the combination of the two here worked quite well.

Reynolds and the Rock have better chemistry in delivering the cheesy one liners than other combinations I've seen. And yes, the script is totally reliant on these one liners. Normally I find movies that are so reliant on the one liner deliveries to be tacky and annoying , but they make it work here.

Overall the big twist at the end is decent although probably predictable for some. In terms of a mindless, low taxing I would say it achieves what it sets out to. It doesn't feel like it wants to drag on or overextend its welcome.

I' ll definitely give the second one a watch when it's out.

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Barely Average Film with Excellent Performances

[6/10 · 25 March 2024]

Having noticed the attention this film was getting I decided to give it a shot and I was left underwhelmed. Perhaps its greatest strength is that this kind of murder case seems possible in real life and not dressed up like other crime dramas simply to arouse excitement. Sandra Hüller's performance is absolutely amazing as well. Without her contribution this movie would not have been worth the watch . The supporting actors are also strong.

Nevertheless , the film just never really seems to gain the momentum to be worthy of such high praise. The entire time you are watching and waiting for something revealing to take place and yet it never really does. After completing the over two hour long film you are sort of left feeling : is that all ?

Ghostbusters (1984)

Not funny, Not Scary, Somehow a Classic?

[2/10 · 25 March 2024]

After just watching this movie for the first time I have really tried hard to understand how this developed into a classic or even was worthy of a follow up film. Everything about it just seems poorly delivered. While it tries overly hard to be goofy, silly, and fun it also has moments where it tries to take itself seriously. Not only are the jokes not funny and the dialogue extremely awkward, it's also on the creepy side, particularly at the start. For an unexplainable reason the movie starts with Murray's character flirting with one of his female students in a really bizarre way. This adds nothing to the story in any way really. He then goes on to creepily make advances on his first ghostbuster client who at the start of the film shows no interest in him that way. I understand this sort of sexualization was perhaps considered funny in 1980s films, but even then for a comedy movie meant for kids and family it just comes across as inappropriate.

Even if you ignore all the failed attempts at comedy and try to just focus on the story there's nothing there either. The mythical story of the villains Zuul and Gozer is needlessly complicated and its resolution is quite frankly boring. Just like any other ghost they use their ray gun like weapons on to shoot Gozer back to its dimension. After the huge build up , I expected or at least hoped for something a little more creative.

For a classic there should be memorable performances and quotable lines, none of which were present.

The only thing catchy about this movie for me is the ghostbusters theme song.

One Life (2023)

Incredible Story, Underwhelming Delivery

[5/10 · 25 March 2024]

The story that is told is extremely worthy of the big screen, however the execution of telling this story is for the most part not nearly as powerful as it could be. The primary issue in my view is a severe lack of character development. Despite such a strong emotional story it feels difficult to connect with the characters. The casting of a young Nicholas Winton played by Johnny Flynn felt off and at times even the older Winton played by Anthony Hopkins felt flat. The secondary characters despite their critical role to the story have almost no development.

Instead of examining the emotions and background of what drove the characters to try and save the Jewish children too much time is spent on the bureacratic nature of what took place. Of course this struggle should be included, but it feels like more than half the movie is spent on filing papers and not nearly enough on the characters passion to achieve their goal. It also would have been powerful to have some scenes set aside to show what some of the children did in their lives that he saved.

The closing scene where all the people stand up behind Winton who were alive because of his actions is by far the best scene in the film and well delivered. It shows the power of saving one life. Unfortunately , this scene for me was really the only scene that was worthy of the powerful story that was being told. In other words, I thought they should have been able to deliver a better film to honour these brave individuals who saved these lives.

Nyad (2023)

Inspirational with Exceptional Performances

[7/10 · 17 March 2024]

The casting of Bening and Foster couldn't possibly be any better for these roles. I've never seen a movie where the actors seem so similar to the real life individuals. In many respects their connection and fabulous performances carry the film.

The overall storytelling is acceptable, but there are some aspects to it that are a little bit unclear or not as thorough as they could be. The scenes of Nyad's childhood with the swim team touch on her past , but I think the flashbacks could have provided a little deeper perspective into what drives her and how she became the wickedly motivated individual that she is. You can somewhat plug in their meaning , but I do believe these scenes could have been better.

Still, this is a well made movie that tells a story that should motivate you while not going over the top and making it soapy like some 'based on a true' stories can. Certainly a recommended watch.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Stock Anderson film

[5/10 · 16 March 2024]

As usual with Wes Anderson the visuals are fantastic and stunning. Also as is usual with Wes Anderson the story is told almost like an audiobook book with a sense of nothingness to it and yet it can oddly catch your eye and make you keep wanting to watch for some reason you re not entirely sure as to why. This short plays like a combination of improv, elitist comedy and provides somewhat of a brief adventure. For a hippie type of film viewer I can see why it may be of interest.

All the actors are quite good in fulfilling what they are supposed to. Still, I can't bring myself to giving this more than just a passing score as there is nothing to me that makes this special or would ever make me want to watch it again.

It's definitely one of those films where if the director wasn't who he was then you'd likely have never heard of it and been no worse off for it.

But it won an Oscar, so perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder on this one?

Imaginary (2024)

Yikes! Go for Horror get Horrific

[2/10 · 16 March 2024]

From the very start it feels like the movie was made in a day. The beginning meanders along slowly but in this time doesnt really accomplish much. The characters aren't developed and instead look like they're just warming up for their first acting gig.

Some of the attempted scary scenes feel like family channel kids horror with the combination of poor acting and low scare factor. The actor that plays the dad goes on a trip midway through the movie almost signaling like the director had witnessed enough, but didn't want to not use the footage they'd already filmed, so sent him on some music trip.

Once the action takes places an incredible amount of weird random dialogue takes place. The older neighbor of theirs really doesn't serve much purpose despite their efforts to make her relevant. In fact the movie could have been done with just the mother and youngest daughter and that way maybe they could have developed them more.

The ending scenes in the other world I suppose are fine, but even with them they manage to throw in some weird cringey clichés. By this point the ship had sunken and in some ways thought it might have been at least comical if the bear got at least one of them.

It seemed by the end nobody in the theatre was taking it too seriously. A combination of a March Break teenaged audience with a poor quality horror opened the floor to all sorts of heckling with each movie going party looking to chip in their two cents.

Before going to see this movie, remember that Dune is still very much an option, even if you've already been to it.

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Very Spicey!

[10/10 · 12 March 2024]

Undoubtedly one of the greatest cinematic experiences I've ever had. Most movies nowadays try to wow you with either visuals, action, character development, and seemingly less and less so everyday with a reasonable plot. This movie manages to check off every box. It is hard to pinpoint an actor in it that wasn't superb in their role. The visual effects, especially in IMAX , are stunning and are not simply artistic in nature, but actually work to advance the plot.

The film is pieced together so brilliantly with each act seamlessly fitting in with the last. The score by Zimmer is unsurprisingly absolute perfection as well.

For the length of the movie it actually feels quite short which is a huge achievement and shows how immersed you become in Villneuve's world.

However, I would have liked to see more of Feyd Rautha. They had an epic scene of his in the Harkonnen arena, but not too much else to develop him for his final battle against Paul. I also would have liked to see the Sardaukar put up a little better of a fight. They somehow went from the empires greatest fighters to pretty pathetic. Perhaps this was to show how strong Paul and his forces had become, but it just seemed a bit too easy. Still these are just personal aspects I would have liked to see and are not issues in the movie itself.

Overall, an epic movie, and the trilogy is likely to be sitting right alongside The Lord of the Rings and the original Star Wars movies when all is said and done.

This is a can't miss in IMAX.

Poor Things (2023)

Pompous and Grotesque

[1/10 · 12 March 2024]

A movie that's decorated as something special with glitz and glamour that is meant to convey a deeper meaning but at its root is simply perverted. A mad scientist / doctor finds a woman who committed suicide with a baby inside of her and manages to implant the brain of the child into the dead woman. If that isn't enough to scare you away then the fact that the movie then somewhat tries to convince you that was the ethical thing to do is even more worrisome .

The movie then shows Bella Baxter, the woman with the brain of her child inside of her, become exploited over and over. You watch sex scene after sex scene and the directors main goal with all this is to show that Bella is escaping her imprisonment from the men in her life and going on an adventure to pursue 'happiness'. The huge problem with all of this is that Bella has the brain of a child, and if you re watching some of these sex scenes with that in mind it's not a woman pursuing happiness and liberty but child exploitation.

The fact that Hollywood not only accepts this but encourages and awards this concept is deeply concerning. There are so many other ways to show women's liberation and empowerment than what they have done here.

The acting , camera work, and costumes are good, but the plot is chaotic. The script is extremely pretentious and is used to try to make you believe in some powerful underling message.

Overall, certainly could have gone without seeing this one. Its greatest strength is that it certainly makes you have emotions towards it, but for me none of those feelings were positive.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Flawed, But Gets the Job Done

[7/10 · 6 March 2024]

Overall it met my expectations quite well. It didn't dig into the characters as deep as I hoped, but it sprinkled in enough to be satisfactory. There were a couple parts that I found needed more clarification. I think it needed to be a bit more explicit on the name change from Jimmy to Logan. For lots of the movie it just seems to flip around. You sort of have to plug in why that is on your own, but in an origins/ prequel I want it spelled out to me. Secondly, I don't think they do a good enough job showing why Victor hates Logan so much. He really wants to kill him that badly just because he doesn't want to act in animalistic ways like him? The rivalry doesn't have enough background to hype it up fully. Lastly, Logan goes from stunned that he was played by Kayla who cut a deal with Stryker to all the sudden still fighting all out to protect her. They try to complete this scene too quickly in my opinion. Kayla tries to tell Logan the love was real, but it seems hard to believe provided she was essentially babysitting him as a spy.

All in all despite its flaws it is quite entertaining and did a good enough job connecting it to the events that would unfold in the future.