Tag: animation

Cybersix

  By

★★★½
“Don’t cry for me, Argentina…!”

In the 90s, Warner Brothers’ animated Batman series received a lot of praise for its artful animation and style. Not surprisingly, a lot of studios and channels tried to jump on the bandwagon and create their own dark, classy animated show. Disney gave us Gargoyles, French Canal+ did The Legend of Calamity Jane, and the Vancouver-based Network of Animation (NoA) produced this series. It was shown on Teletoon in Canada and – for a short time, though not the entire series – on Fox Kids in America. What is most interesting, is the back story of the show, largely forgotten by almost everyone. Though thanks to people seeing it at the time and remembering it, Cybersix has become a cult show. It may be due to its rarity, since you couldn’t see it for a very long time. It was not available on DVD until fifteen years after its original broadcast – a similar fate to the animated Calamity Jane show.

Cybersix originally started as a black-and-white strip, written for an Italian comic magazine from 1991 to 1999. Interestingly, it was developed by two Argentinian comic book creators, Carlos Trillo (story) and Carlos Meglia, both now deceased (Trillo died in 2011, Meglia in 2008). They grew up in Argentinian comic book subculture during the dictatorship, where comics very much had a subversive, underground status. Very often these hand-made, self-distributed comics were political, and didn’t hold back in their depictions. I’m no expert on Argentinean comic book history, but I imagine nothing like the American Comic Code Authority existed in South America. Voicing critical opinions under such an oppressive regime was probably very dangerous, and the no-holds barred approach comic artists grew up with, remained after the end of the military dictatorship.

Therefore, it’s not too astonishing the Cybersix comic reflected that attitude, with its wild, very often over-the-top depiction of violence, nudity and sexuality. These comics have still never been translated for the English-speaking world: those interested will have to buy them in French, Italian or Spanish. It should be noted that not all of the series are available in all of these languages. Having read one of the volumes in French years ago, my judgement on it was that, story-wise, it is quite a strange and jumbled mess. There are scenes of gratuitous nudity and sex, and though not the main focus, they’re definitely not recommended reading for teenagers. It lacks a clear goal, with the plot often meandering, and scenes lack cohesion. Also, José, the main antagonist in that volume is an annoying and disgusting teen character. It appeared to my – admittedly very European – eyes, as a bit crude and short on narrative focus. It is neither like an American superhero saga, nor the typical Franco-Belgian fun comics, but something of its own. Of course, that is my judgement based on one single volume. Maybe I just picked the one rotten apple!

I would like to stress that these comics are not “violence-porn”, as I would personally categorize TV series like Game of Thrones. But they are definitely for a more adult readership, albeit with a bit of a juvenile mind. The drawings of a city that definitely reflect Argentina, and Cybersix, clothed in black leather while running and jumping from roof to roof with a parachute-sized cloak that would make comic anti-hero Spawn blush with envy, convey a respectable artistic style. Someone compared the comics and their 90s edginess to the works of Frank Miller (Sin City, 300), and it is not a bad fit. Actually, I’d say the drawings are more elegant and beautiful than Miller’s style.

The idea was born when one of the creators read an article about a couple who had invested in storing their own embryos, before dying in a plane crash. This resulted in the Australian government arguing about what should happen to the embryos. In the end they were destroyed, but the artists wondered what would happen if they were stolen instead. An idea took shape, though changes would naturally occur; originally the main character was supposed to be a police officer, not a superhero. The comic must have enjoyed some popularity in Argentina, since it was made into a very short-lived live-action TV series in 1995, but had such low ratings it was cancelled after only a few episodes. It is believed lost, though you can find at least one episode online. It’s not really cause to mourn, since those who did see it, generally agree how bad it was.

Nevertheless, the comic was lucky enough to get another adaptation in 1999. As Canadian producers were looking for something to turn into an animated show, their attention was drawn to this work. The show was animated by Japanese studio TMS-Kyokuichi, making this essentially a Canadian-Japanese co-produced adaptation, of an Italian comic, written and drawn by two Argentinians. What a culture mix! But sometimes a lot of different influences are not detrimental to the final product. A big influence on the story is the historical German connection to Argentina. Back in the 19th century there were already economical, and later ideological, ties between the two countries. These became stronger after WWII, when both Nazis and Jewish Germans fled to Argentina. This history is rarely addressed in the media, but the historical legacy here, influences and is referred to by the comic, and therefore the animated show.

The story itself: In the fictive city of Meridiana lives superheroine Cybersix, an escaped experiment of Nazi scientist Von Reichter (though this is never directly stated in the animated show). Von Reichter has created his own Frankenstein-like creations for… nefarious purposes, I guess. These beings must obey his orders, and he uses them to hunt Cybersix, the last survivor of a failed project. But he never does his own dirty work, instead having his own cruel teen clone, José, execute his orders via his soulless monsters: tall, ugly and dumb men called Fixed Ideas. While she doesn’t enjoy it, Cybersix relies on killing these man-monsters, as she needs their life-force for sustenance. When she kills one, the body vanishes, leaving only a small test tube containing a green liquid that she consumes.

This is different – as are many other things – from the comic, where she sucks the life-force out of the bodies, Dracula-style. I guess this would have caused quite a stir in a show supposedly for a younger audience. By day, she poses as a friendly school teacher under the name of Adrian Seidelman, working with friendly colleague and possible love interest, Lucas. At night she has to fight the schemes of Von Reichter and his cohorts, supported by her “brother” – another experiment, where the mind of a child was transferred into the body of a black panther. Though she is faced with an existential dilemma. She has to stop Von Reichter, but if she kills him, she will lose all further “sustenance” and can never become a normal human. Her success would also mean her death.

Unsurprisingly, the more controversial elements of the comics fell to the wayside – namely the violence, nudity and sex. The comic was no stranger to the depiction of sexual abuse and rape, and featured teen clone José sleeping with women and showing a sadistic streak. In no way would this ever have been allowed in an animated series for a much younger audience. An interesting sidenote is that LGBTQ-groups try nowadays to claim Cybersix as one of their own, calling her “the first transgender superhero”. I personally disagree, though understand where this comes from. A queer audience can interpret the show as a metaphor for their own situation, especially given that in the ’90s, non-heteronormative lifestyles were not part of the public discussion, as happens today ad nauseam and ad infinitum.

I think this idea was fueled by the fact that Cybersix – very much a beautiful female, who in the comics sleeps with Lucas and gives birth to a child – lives her cover identity as a male teacher. The explanation is not given in the animated show but can be found in the comics – which few read due to the language issues discussed above. While on the run, Cybersix found the identity card of one Adrian Seidelman, who looked similar to her and had died in a car crash. It’s a simpler, more logical explanation than declaring her transgender. Though, if people want to see certain narratives they can see them. She falls in love with school colleague Lucas, a biology teacher and reporter – obviously you need two jobs in Meridiana to make a living. He is good friends with her as Adrian, but she doesn’t dare reveal to him her true identity. Cybersix fears she will never find someone who loves her for what she is – a human experiment with superpowers, depending on a green liquid. 

Yes, if you really, really want to, you can find a queer perspective here. But let’s be honest. Isn’t it the same thing Superman/Clark Kent or Batman/Bruce Wayne have done since the dawn of superhero comic books? Also, her Adrian Seidelman persona looks very Clark Kent-ish to me. Though there are several influences in her design. Cybersix’s cape and large hat remind me of classic pulp hero “The Shadow” – but maybe a bit of Carmen Sandiego, too! When she stands on a rooftop overlooking the city, the similarity to images of Batman cannot be denied, and her body costume makes me think of Catwoman.

The show ends on an open note, though nevertheless feels like it achieves some closure. While Von Reichter has been killed by his own monsters, his evil young clone José has survived. At the same time while Cybersix is believed to be dead, Lucas sees a light in her window, indicating that she has survived. Originally, there was a commission for two seasons, but the Canadian and Japanese production studios had different opinions on how to continue the series. The Canadian side wanted it darker, closer to the original comic, while the Japanese side preferred a lighter approach and more humour. Both influences can be found in the show and I dare say that the combination is what makes it appealing for those who like it. I can definitely see a similarity to the Batman animated show. But here, it was a quarrel over the direction the show should take in season two that broke the camel’s back.

It’s a pity, because the potential can be seen and felt throughout the series, though some episodes are weaker than others. Animation-wise the series is well done, and even impressive in the action scenes. Unfortunately, Cybersix was an unknown character, rather than a famous IP like Batman or Superman. So, it’s possible the TV ratings were underwhelming when the show was released. One final point of note: Trillo and Meglio filed a lawsuit against James Cameron – yes, that James Cameron – as they believed his TV show Dark Angel, with Jessica Alba playing a genetically enhanced female super soldier, had plagiarized their show. As they lacked the financial backing to maintain the lawsuit, they had to let it drop. Since both artists are no longer with us, and Cameron will probably not volunteer to talk about this issue, we will never know the truth.

For the show as a whole, I would say it is worth a watch. The basic plot was maybe ahead of its time – but then, considering Dark Angel, maybe not at all that much? The show is entertaining, though it’s mostly a “monster-of-the-week” show, a format at that time already successful in The X-Files. But female superheroes as the main character of an animated show were not common at that time, giving the series a rarity bonus, together with its unusual combination of very different national influences. Overall, it’s a good animated series, and deserves to be rediscovered by a new generation in the same way as Gargoyles or The Legend of Calamity Jane.

Creators: Carlos Meglia and Carlos Trillo
Star (voice): Cathy Weseluck, Michael Dobson, Alex Doduk, Janyse Jaud

KPop Demon Hunters

  By

★★★
“Pop go the demons.”

The appeal of K-Pop in the West baffles me. I mean, I have a fairly low tolerance for pop in general. So the appeal of a foreign version, born from a culture to which you have no connection… Yeah. Fortunately, you need no knowledge to be entertained by this Netflix animated movie. It’s also tongue in cheek enough to work for non-fans, poking self-deprecating fun at the obsessive nature of K-Pop fandom. The title alone is so direct as to indicate the attitude. It’s accurate though. Pop trio Huntr/x are also demon hunters. They are the latest generation, tasked with keeping the forces of darkness and their ruler Gwi-Ma, out of our world through a barrier called the Honmoon.

Gwi-ma’s latest plan to dismantle the Honmoon involves creating an idol group of his own, the demonic Saja Boys. Their sudden popularity represents a growing threat to Huntr/x, who need to best them in the annual Idol Awards to stop the Honmoon from collapse. Things are complicated by the part-demon nature of Huntr/x lead singer Rumi (Cho), which she has kept secret from fellow members Mira (Hong) and Zoey (Yoo). They believe all demons are inherently evil, making her status a tad awkward. On the other side, Rumi gets to know Jinu, a member of the Saja Boys, who is wracked by guilt over his demonic nature. Naturally, it all ends in a potentially apocalyptic performance by the Saja Boys. 

I was surprised it was Chris who actually asked to watch this: she’s not a K-Pop stan either. This did turn out to be better than expected. Admittedly, said expectations were low. But it’s nicely animated, and the previously mentioned willingness not to take itself seriously goes a long way. For example, when the heroines’ efforts to go down a slide are stymied by their battle catsuits, one remarks sardonically, @@@@. Or there’s the member of Saja Boys whose fringe is so long, it covers most of his face. It’s quite dry humour, something I like. Even the songs are… tolerable, in a Eurovision Song Contest kind of way (an event for which I have a soft spot).

Of course, the way it unfolds is never less than predictable, with the power of friendship and heroic sacrifice, being the order of the day. It’s also relentlessly PG-rated, meaning that no matter how many demons are slain – and there are a lot – do not expect to see so much as a single drop of blood. These elements were in line with what I expected, and I would certainly not mind a live-action version aimed at a more grown-up audience. However, was I not adequately entertained? Yes – yes, I was. It’s a frothy concoction, that gives a glimpse into a world beyond the one I know. In fact, two worlds: both the demonic realm and the K-Pop one. Your choice as to which is weirder. 

Dir: Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans
Star (voice): Arden Cho, Ahn Hyo-seop, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo

Barbie and the Three Musketeers

  By

★★★
“All for one, in a Barbie world.”

Yes, I went there again. After Barbie Spy Squad, I’ve gone back to the plastic fantastic, for another entry in the crossover action heroine animated industry. This isn’t the first review here to cover a female take on the classic novel. La Femme Musketeer had already gone there, but the major difference there was, as the title implies it only had one woman, who had to keep her sex under wraps. Here, while the setting remains pre-revolutionary France, the wannabe Musketeer is openly a lady. On the high level, it is a fairly loyal adaptation, with teenage heroine Barbie – here called Corinne (Sheridan) – heading to Paris to fulfill her long-held ambition of becoming a Musketeer.

There, she’s initially spurned – albeit more for her lack of relevant experience than her gender – and has to prove herself. Naturally, there are no women Musketeers with whom she can bond, but she literally bumps into other young women, such as Viveca (Tozer), Aramina (Johnson), and Renée (Bell), with whom she finds employment as a maid in the palace. Naturally, she encounters the similarly teenage Prince Louis, and discovers that the skills of her coworkers are not limited to light housework. Together, they have to protect Louis from various attempts on his life, such as a falling chandelier, carried out by those who have designs on the royal power, before Louis ascends to the throne on his imminent eighteenth birthday.

Y’know, I did not hate this nearly as much as I feared I might. Corinne is established early on as smart, athletic and competent, though I could probably have done without her talking animals. But in general, the voice acting is enthusiastic and effective, though the women do sound a bit as if they have interchangeable heads. Bonus points for the unmistakable tones of Tim Curry, playing malevolent regent Philippe, who is next in line after Louis. The animation is… okay, I guess, considering the era. Nobody is going to mistake this for Pixar, yet it does the trick, and on occasion is actually more detailed than I expected (just not on the character’s faces – though, again: plastic, duh).

Messaging is probably considerably lighter than in the live-action Barbie movie. There’s a few statements that “girls can’t be Musketeers” – I mean, this was 17th-century France, it’s not wrong – and the resulting need to prove them incorrect. That’s about it. Instead, there’s a training montage set to the riff from EMF’s Unbelievable, which I did not have on my Barbie Bingo Card. The action is better than I expected, too, though obviously no blood, despite all the pointy objects being energetically wielded, both by the heroines and their enemies. At the final ball, no weapons are allowed in, so they have to make do, with creative use of fans, ribbons, etc. [Weirdly I read one review which said they never get to use swords, which they clearly do.] There’s also refreshingly little romance here. All told, perfectly watchable, to my near-shock.

Dir: William Lau
Star (voice): Kelly Sheridan, Tim Curry, Kira Tozer, Willow Johnson, Dorla Bell

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

  By

★★★½
“Of Power Swords and Cat People”

When the reboot (you hardly can call this just a remake) of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power – and please note the plural form! – was released by Netflix in 2018, it immediately drew fierce criticism. The main issue was re-designing the classic character of heroine She-Ra as well as others. The original animated series ran from 1985-87, and featured very feminine-looking characters. You could call them the feminine ideal: large in size, fit, attractive and yet still more realistic than the musclebound hero from mother series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, of which She-Ra was a spin-off.

Though it has to be said: those characters then looked very much alike, as if the same model was used for almost all of them. In the new show, which ran for 5 seasons between 2018-20, the characters look more like prepubescent teenagers, and it was one of the things old fans took issue with. She-Ra and her allies were once an ideal of what a young girl might hope to look like as a grown-up, similarly to Barbie. The reimagined version stresses more diversity in body-shape. The character of Glimmer is more rounded – arguably a bit over-weight – which drew ire, too. But these characters also look more androgynous, essentially eliminating the feminine ideal. We seem to live in a time when female characters aren’t allowed to look stereotypically female, though there seems no such problem with heroes e. g. Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine.

The show was soon called “woke”, but this is only justified, in that it fits the usual Netflix inclusion rules. So, the character of Bow, the archer, is black and has two fathers; there are indications some characters have relationships with people of their own sex; there is a lizard person whom we are informed online is transgender; then there is heroine She-Ra, who at the very end of the series (similar to The Legend of Korra), enters a relationship with her constant frenemy, Catra. I personally didn’t mind, though it may have something to do with me never caring for She-Ra in the 80s. It makes a difference if you create an original character like Korra, or take a preexisting character and change them drastically. I would have a beef, too, if let’s say James Bond in his next incarnation would be declared homosexual.

Though woke? Is it woke? Well… not in the sense I normally understand the word. For me, it means an agenda is being pushed. I can’t really say I see this here, unless the agenda is to stress that people exist who are not hetero-normative. Which… is true? The focus is on the story; we don’t get characters demonstrating against being sexually or politically repressed by the evil patriarchy, or talking about the problems of their gender orientation in modern society. This is no more woke than The Dragon Prince, another popular Netflix show. Part of the attention is probably due to creator ND Stevenson, who has stated he is – according to Wikipedia – “nonbinary, transmasculine and bigender,” as well as having bipolar disorder and ADHD. Well, whatever it is, is reflected in Stevenson’s work, in She-Ra as well as Netflix animated movie Nimona, based on his graphic novel.

But what is the story?

The core is the same. Adora, a human girl, has been raised as a soldier by the Horde, an alien race ruled by the evil Hordak, who is at war with the inhabitants of the planet Etheria. When Adora finds the magical sword of power that makes her She-Ra, Princess of Power, she learns the Horde aren’t the good guys. She swaps sides to fight them, with the support of several princesses living on Etheria, who all have special powers. However, there is no mention here of Prince Adam (a.k.a. He-Man), Adora’s brother, separated from her at birth when she was kidnapped by the Horde. This fits the modern animated He-Man series released by Netflix in 2021, which was in a totally different drawing style – its characters wouldn’t have matched. And as far as I know – someone correct me, if I’m wrong here – Adora’s childhood was not part of the original story. I’m also unaware she shared a sisterly childhood bond with Catra, a humanoid with cat-like features, in the Horde.

For it’s here where the new show differs from the old stories. And is all the better for it, as the relationships of the characters inform the story of the new series and are essentially the core of it. As Adora leaves the Horde, she puts herself essentially in opposition to Catra. Like her, Catra has been a childhood protégé of Shadow Weaver, a mysterious woman with magical powers and loyal servant of Hordak. Shadow Weaver has raised the two girls but has always been lying to them and treating Catra badly compared to Adora. This plants the seed of a competitive relationship between the two girls. There are definitely shades of Avatar – The Last Airbender in this.

Catra sees Adora’s defection as a personal betrayal, which leads her to fight against Adora more and more. At the same time, it becomes clear that Catra cares – in her own twisted way – for Adora. Her actions are, in some way, a logical result of her upbringing by Shadow Weaver, who later in the proceedings will turn to Adora’s side, too. In the end, Catra is on Adora’s side, declaring her love, which finishes the story.

The series got a lot of praise for inclusivity and character reinvention and has a quite enthusiastic fan-base. Though I don’t see anything here, I hadn’t seen before somewhere else, especially in the Avatar series, as mentioned. It’s not surprising a show like Sailor Moon and the style of Miyazaki films (though I fail to recognize the latter in the show), were cited as influences. The fan-base here, which may mainly consist of “non-heterosexual oriented” young people is definitely not the same fan-base as the original series. So if the intent was to enlarge interest in the franchise in general, I guess one could say: Mission accomplished!

On the other hand, it’s clear this new spin on an old title has split fandom – or, rather, created a second fandom. This is not necessarily a good thing. It can result in embittered online wars and open hostility between members of different fan groups, both claiming ownership of “their story” and how it should be portrayed or interpreted. It’s not the only case. See franchises like Star Wars (George Lucas’ or the Disney version?) and Star Trek (“old Trek” vs. “new Trek”?). If you are as old as I am, you may even remember a time, long before Internet and personal computer communication existed, when people argued over if Kirk or Picard was the better captain, or Sean or Roger the better Bond. Change, it seems, always creates controversies. Therefore, the new show – as good as it is – has created a problem for the franchise that won’t be solved in a foreseeable future.

The plot is interesting and captivating, depicting a cycle of childhood abuse that repeats itself later, with Catra attacking Adora and others – just as she was mistreated and psychologically manipulated by Shadow Weaver when she was a young child. It gave the characters a depth you probably wouldn’t have expected, from a reboot of an old animated show – one that itself was just a spin-off of another show, made more than 30 years ago. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? We always expect “our” franchises to continue year after year, decade after decade, telling us the same stories without changing. But the world constantly changes, and you can’t expect series and franchises not to reflect that in some way. It’s especially true, if we talk about series lasting more than a generation.

What I also liked here very much, were the action scenes. When Catra was being evil-sarcastic to Adora it did remind me a bit of Shego being mean to Kim Possible, or Callisto toying with Xena (another… princess…). But it also has to be said that the show needed some time to get going, had some episodes that felt like fillers, and while characters like She-Ra, Catra, Shadow Weaver, Entrapta, Scorpia or Hordak were mostly written interestingly, others felt a bit bland, underdeveloped and interchangeable. Though it might be a given, if you have so many characters in one show. It is true, the show didn’t break new ground, though I didn’t expect it to. These reboots typically repackage an already existing product, despite presenting it to the audience as something entirely new. Is so much praise justified for a show that essentially is recycled? Just because the main characters come out as lesbians at the end?

Additionally, it has been pointed out that the redemption of Catra is more than just a bit questionable. [Though she isn’t the main villain of the show: it’s still Hordak, who in the original show was also the mentor of He-Man’s archenemy Skeletor.]  She has attacked and tried to kill Adora several times and went so far as wanting to destroy the entire world, rather than see Adora succeed in her goals. That’s pretty bad, and one wonders how such a character can just be forgiven. Admittedly, Etheria might have a different legislation and jurisdiction than planet Earth! But someone put it quite well: “Catra is a war criminal. Why is she not being treated as one?”

In the end the show is indeed comparable to Sailor Moon – it’s all in the name and power of love and forgiveness. Who wants to question logic here? For all its perceived “controversial” elements and flaws, the show is good entertainment, which is where my main focus always lies. Netflix’s streaming rival, Amazon, announced a while ago they wanted to do a live-action She-Ra series (recent news reports suggest it may be He-Man’s turn next). This caused something of an uproar among the fans of the Netflix show, obviously fearing She-Ra may become straight again! It’s history repeating, similar to the reactions of original series fans when they first saw the Netflix show. Though if indeed that She-Ra show is produced, its story-telling will have to match the quality of this one.

But it seems you can never make everyone happy at the same time!

Creator: ND Stevenson
Star (voice) : Aimee Carrero, AJ Michalka, Karen Fukuhara, Marcus Scribner

The Legend of Calamity Jane

  By

★★★½
“What the title says.”

Martha Jane Cannary Burke, a.k.a. “Calamity Jane” (1852-1903) was a lot of things. But most of all she was the inventor of her own legend. By the end of the 19th century, dime novels based off her alleged adventures already sold very well. Unfortunately, the foul-mouthed and constantly drunk former frontier woman could never benefit financially from her reputation, with which others earned good money. She died early, though already perceived as a legend of the “old West”. To divide which of the many stories told about her are true, and which are not, is a job for the historians, not mine. For a character who definitely provided a “fill in the gaps” hero’s template, it’s no surprise Calamity Jane soon became a mythic legend of the “Wild West”, combined with other illustrious characters of that time such as “Wild Bill” Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy the Kid and many others.

On the big screen, she has been portrayed by Jane Russell (The Paleface), Jean Arthur in The Plainsman, Doris Day in the beloved musical Calamity Jane, Angelica Huston (Buffalo Girls) and Ellen Barkin in Wild Bill (next to Jeff Bridges). On the small screen she could be seen, amongst others, in an episode of Bonanza, played by Stephanie Powers, and 3 seasons of Deadwood where Robin Weigert played a more modern and realistic version of her. As the Calamity Jane character is so prominent, and separate from the real person she once was, in a way similar to Robin Hood, the Musketeers, or Matthias Kohlhaas in Europe, it seemed only a matter of time until she would also find her way into an animated version of herself, which this series presents.

The Legend of Calamity Jane was a short-lived animated show that came out in 1997, a co-production of French TV channel Canal+ and The WB in America. The intent was to create something similar to the successful animated Batman show. Originally scheduled for 13 episodes, after just three weeks, the series vanished from the TV guides. While obviously not successful enough in the US, the full series ran as a dubbed version in several other countries. Over time, maybe partly due to not being available, the show developed a cult following.

Originally, Jennifer Jason Leigh was chosen to play Calamity, but for unknown reasons was replaced by Barbara Scarf, who does a good and satisfying job. Though remembering the roles Leigh played, and her subsequent role as an evil criminal in Tarantino’s western The Hateful Eight, one wonders how her Calamity Jane would have sounded. But then Calamity is a true blue hero here, so maybe Leigh wouldn’t really have fit this version of the character.

The show itself takes place around 1876 and is great fun. Calamity Jane is an adult, red-haired and green-eyed woman, with a whip that regularly comes in handy for dangerous situations. She is serious-minded and on the side of the law, meaning whenever help is needed, she will be there. She has a horse called Dakota and drinks milk (hey, what do you expect – it’s made for kids!). Always on her side is old Joe Presto (Welker) who can best be described as her comic sidekick, though sometimes comes across a bit simple-minded. Also, I sometimes had problems understanding his mumbling, though you get used to it. Of course, when you tell the story of Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok is never far away. In real life she claimed that they were a couple in Deadwood. though according to historians, this could easily be another made-up story, as she was famous for doing. In this show, he helps her from time to time and is voiced by Clancy Brown (the Kurgan from Highlander).

The stories are one-offs, concluding at the end of each week, and Calamity usually has to deal with villains or other problems. For example, in the first episode, she prevents a war between the Comanches and the army; in another one she brokers peace between a racist settler and the Blackfoot tribe. Some villains can be quite nasty, although I don’t recall her killing any of them. But others are less confrontational. In one story, she meets her long-lost father, and in another, she has to deal with a young girl who has run away from home, and wants to become like her.

Overall, the stories are entertaining and different enough, so they never fall into a pattern or get boring. Of course, what I liked especially was action scenes which were above what you might expect from a show at the end of the 90s. There really was no reason why the show failed to find an audience in the US. It definitely could have stood alongside Batman, and I personally think there would have been a place for both, as each were their own thing. Fortunately, the series has now been made available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Here’s hoping Calamity will find many new fans.

Dir: Pascal Morelli
Star (voice): Barbara Scaff, Frank Welker, Clancy Brown, Michael Horse

Catwoman: Hunted

  By

★★
“A cat-aclysmic cat-astrophe!”

Catwoman: Hunted is a 2022 DC animated movie. Here is a little confession: Catwoman alone never worked for me. In combination with Batman, there is that special chemistry, a feeling that makes the character work but alone? Nope! Neither in the comics with her solo title, nor in a movie solely focused on her (Catwoman with Halle Berry still makes me tremble… but not in a good way!) does this character function for me. A burglar dressed in a cat-suit? No, actually that comes across for me as old-fashioned (do thieves that climb up houses still exist, today?). Strangely, whenever the character appears on the screen contrasted with Batman, it works.

Anyway, it doesn’t stop people from trying to give the most famous Cat-orientated character of the DC universe further solo adventures. In this movie, Selina Kyle appears in classical dress at some kind of cosplay event. Everyone is dressed either as a DC hero or villain: she is next to Batman villain Black Mask in her classic 1940s costume, only to later switch into her modern sexy suit and steal a diamond. Unfortunately, she is discovered and hunted by the Leviathan crime syndicate that set up the party. The diamond was Black Mask’s entry fee to the society. Catwoman is saved by Batwoman who kind of forces her to do… well, what? Kind of spying on Leviathan. Once again being discovered – for a thief she is really not that successful – she and Batwoman must face several opponents…

What sounds as if it could be an interesting story, turned out to be a very disappointing movie. I had to watch it twice because even though the film is a short 78 minutes, I almost fell asleep. The introduction to the story feels clumsily handled, scenes are overlong, and after we know where the story wants to go, the movie basically is a constant follow-up of fight scenes of Catwoman and Batwoman against a range of well-known and lesser known DC villains. These include Cheshire, Nosferata (one I had never heard of before, and I used to read DC comics quite regularly in my youth), Solomon Grundy and the Cheetah herself, Barbara Minerva who is Leviathan’s chairwoman, though Talia al Gul is managing everything from the shadows.

It feels as if someone threw as many characters, mainly female ones, into the script as possible, perhaps to hide the fact that Batman isn’t in the picture. But they don’t necessarily have the knowledge how these characters usually act. That may be partly the fault of director Shinsuke Terasawa (Wikipedia lists the movie as a Japanese-American production; maybe Warner’s wanted to save money?) but the script also has structure problems. What I’d call act one wasn’t finished until half the film’s running time was over. And the script doesn’t develop any further from this point on. You’re left to wonder what the big plan was, or what Catwoman was supposed to do, but this question is never answered. The remainder is a bunch of fight scenes, heaped on each other until this is finally over.

The script is by Greg Wiseman, whom I personally admire for his wonderful, unfortunately underrated, Disney animated classic series Gargoyles from the late 90s. He also was involved in animated series such as The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice, a series that also has its fans, despite flying under the radar. But here he seems missing the right feel for the established DC heroes and villains.

Take the Catwoman of this film for example. We all know how this character should be played, though there are different interpretations of the character on the big screen over the years. This Catwoman comes across as downright awkward and arrogant to the hilt. We know of Catwoman’s erotic flirtations with Batman, but here she is “in heat” the whole time which just feels wrong. I know how it sounds but this Catwoman feels… well… oversexualized. And just because she has a thing for Batman doesn’t mean you just can switch this behaviour to Batwoman. Yes, we know Batwoman is nowadays a lesbian, since this side-character from the Batman comics of the 50s was resurrected in modern times. But that doesn’t mean that she must almost be seduced by Catwoman. Then Catwoman drops the ball again, as if the whole point of the scene was just about showing us how incredibly irresistible she is to everyone. Thank you very much, female self-esteem!

More than this – and difficult even for me, who usually accepts some very unbelievable things in story-telling – this Catwoman seems almost to have superpowers. I have no problem having her, teamed with Batwoman, fighting the assassin Cheshire, against whose poison she had earlier taken an antidote, or Nosferata, who reminded me of a female version of classic character Man-Bat. But the two fighting and beating 50+ assassins of the League of Shadows? No. Just no. Sometimes it borders on the ridiculous. When Catwoman shoves a bundle of explosives in Solomon Grundy’s mouth and tells us: “That’s all folks!”, I wondered who had the marvellously stupid and tonally deaf idea of referencing Porky Pig in a DC movie! It just feels tonally wrong.

Another ill-fitting decision is the score by Yutaka Yamada. Don’t get me wrong. His music will probably please you if you like jazz, but for a DC action movie it’s just the wrong choice. What almost – but only almost – saves the movie is the final chase when Barbara Minerva turns into an oversized version of her Cheetah personality and goes after Catwoman. For the first time in this movie you have the feeling Catwoman is in real danger. But this is too little too late. It can’t compensate for all the mistakes that had been made in the movie before.

Don’t take the above too hard; someone unaccustomed to DC or Batman comics might actually enjoy this. For me, someone who knows and loves the characters, it felt like a gigantic misstep by the creative team who made this film. And I still can’t help the feeling that it would have been a much better movie if Batman had been the main character, having to deal with an opposing Catwoman. The best thing here was a 40-minute extra on my Blu-Ray, about the history of Catwoman in comics, TV and movies. That was really interesting. The main feature… not so much!

Dir: Shinsuke Terasawa
Star (voice): Elizabeth Gillies, Stephanie Beatriz, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Zehra Fazal 

Arcane – League of Legends: Season 2

  By

★★★
“Everything that goes up, must come down again.”

Note: Watching season 1 or at least reading Jim’s review of it is highly recommended. Spoilers will follow!

I never played the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) video game League of Legends. But I guess this was the case for many people, when they discovered the first season of the animated series based on it in 2021 on Netflix, and were surprised by its great quality. For Arcane – League of Legends was a show long in the making. That it finally came to fruition is probably mainly due to the persistence of producers Christian Linke and Alex Yee. The whole project had many creative problems to overcome, not least the indifference of Hollywood, where Riot first tried, unsuccessfully, to find a partner for a possible translation of their stories into a film version. It would probably never have seen the light of day if they hadn’t employed producer and writer Amanda Overton. She was able to see the dramatic potential of Riot’s fictive world Runeterra and take the needed steps for this to become a story.

The whole project was something absolutely new for all involved, because animated clips for games are not the same as an animated series. It spent a long time in development – production for the first season took seven years. Success could not be guaranteed, therefore needing another three for the second season to go into production without finished scripts for every episode, according to Variety. This resulted in a total budget of $250 million for the entire series. The first season cost $80m to produce; the second, $100m; the rest went into marketing the first season. This means every episode cost $13.9 million, the highest budget per episode of any animated series ever.

Given that, it’s no surprise to hear the rumoured three further seasons are not happening. However, the producers say that was just an inside joke: it was always intended for the story of the twin cities Piltover and Zaun to be finished with the second season. At least, it’s what they claim.  Watching the rushed events play out in season 2, with new, underdeveloped characters being introduced and old characters sometimes behaving inconsistently, and not necessarily in line with the way they were presented in season 1, make doubts about such statements absolutely justified.

In any case, here we go again! While normal watchers and fans had to wait 3 years for Arcane‘s second part. Season 2 continues its story immediately after the big bang, which we don’t get to see here, caused by Zaunite and gangster protégée Jinx, previously known as Powder. We get to discover which council members died and survived. That question seemed the most important one for many people, maybe only topped by the unresolved relationship issue between Jinx’s sister Vi and Piltoverian enforcer Caitlyn. Surprisingly, only half perished but Caitlyn’s mother, Cassandra, bit the dust, a potential catalyst for a revenge arc. But then, from the very beginning on, Arcane has followed much more complex storylines than your average Hollywood blockbuster.

For this show, it means what would be enough for your average action movie or TV series, is just the beginning. It’s what I think makes the series above average in general. It always gives more than you asked for, and at the same time surprises you with sudden twists, unexpected developments, plus nuanced characterizations and relationships that escape standard black-and-white. Well, at least the first season did.

Characters are flawed, not just good or evil. They try their best, or at least react in a way that is human and understandable. Yes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Sometimes your effort to do good is exactly what leads to society’s downfall. That theme was prominent in season 1; for season 2, it’s also about how the actions and intentions of different people can clash with each other. Also, Riot and its creative team seek to put things on their head, with unforeseen developments for their characters. Viktor becomes a kind of helpful messiah in Zaun; Jinx teams up with her former gangster-stepfather’s loyal lieutenant Sevika, with whom she was at odds before, and young girl, Isha; Jinx becoming the poster girl for what seems to be Arcane’s prepared re-enactment of the French revolution; and Caitlyn is de facto declared sole ruler by Ambessa Medarda. A fallout between Caitlyn and Vi puts their developing love story on ice and drives Vi into nasty underground fights. There’s a lot happening here and a lot to unpack, too; no review can cover it all, so I won’t even try.

The dreamlike quality of the animation is still overwhelmingly beautiful. Though in some scenes and moments, you may feel you already know French animation studio Fortiche’s shtick. Anything repeated can hardly retain a feeling of originality, though it still may look beautiful. Once again, the musical score is fine and offers something for everyone. When music and visuals come together, they very often make a fine combination, reminding me of MTV music videos of my youth.

Unfortunately, the songs are usually at the beginning of each episode. I preferred it the way season 1 did it – we didn’t know when a song would pop up. It could be the beginning, middle or the end of an episode, so it was a nice surprise. Also, while the previous season had around eleven songs, here there might be twice as many. After a while, the constant interruptions of the story for another music sequence can start to feel quite a bit distracting if not outright annoying.

Is this season better or worse than season 1? It depends on what is important for you. What I liked very much of the first season, was it being character-focused and psychologically deeper than you would normally expect from your average entertainment product. Also, the realistic depiction of characters and their conflicts with each other made me buy into the more fantastic elements of the story. I got the strong impression that, in contrast to many Hollywood creators today, those in charge had actually read books on screenwriting and building dramatic conflicts, as well as believable characters.

Season 2 is different: focus appears to be elsewhere. It seems there is so much the writers feel the need to tell, and by wanting to introduce more of the game’s lore, it sometimes becomes too much for its own good. There are many new developments, arcs, characters, etc. Don’t get me wrong: characters are still likable, but they and their developing relationships had much more time to breath in the previous season. Here, things seemed to go a bit too quickly, and I couldn’t escape the impression characters were sometimes turning 180° within minutes. Very often events or explanations are kind of summarized in montages with music put underneath. Of course, you can do that. But you shouldn’t do it all the time.

A clear minus point in my book: things that felt logically had to happen based on season 1, are discarded in favor of other story decisions out of nowhere. You can say while the first season was character-orientated, the second wants to bring in boatloads of lore. Didn’t Jinx kill Sevika’s boss Silco just a day ago? And now they are teaming up? Really? A kiss finally confirms the love between Caitlyn and Vi, which can be probably counted as pure fan service for the lesbian community. But then there is a breakup a few minutes later, and Caitlyn, who was introduced as a shy and sexually unaware person in season 1, is shown in bed with fellow officer, Maddie Nolan. That’s a new character, and we don’t get any explanation why and how they became a couple. Where did that come from? How convenient it happened between episode 3 and 4, which saw another time-skip of unknown length.

The same is true for the revolution of Zaun against Piltover. It seemed to be just about to break out but is skipped over, too. Suddenly we have a Zaun held in check by Ambessa’s Noxian troops. I guess it relieved the animators from the burden of drawing extensive large battle scenes here between Enforcers, Zaunites and Noxian soldiers. All we get is a small demonstration led by Sevika, that’s immediately put down. Nor are we given an explanation why Jayce thinks that the Hexcore could save Viktor – how badly was he injured? While we can assume why Viktor leaves his friendship with Jayce behind, he never really states a specific reason.

Why should the council accept Caitlyn as a new member, given she is only the daughter of Cassandra? Are political positions inherited in Piltover? If so, I’m not astonished the twin cities are having so many problems. Ambessa makes Caitlyn de facto commanding officer of the city and Caitlyn takes that position, only to backpedal an episode later. Why? If you want to tell an Emperor Anakin story, do so. But then go the full mile and show me her devastating actions, as well as the resulting impact. What is a story decision worth when you have no intention to make something out of it, and reverse it a couple of episodes later? It’s like starting to tell a story, then suddenly deciding against it.

Other things didn’t make sense, as if the writers lost track of their own story. How come Ambessa knows Vi? She is virtually a total stranger to her. How does she know Vi and Caitlyn were close? And why should she be glad when Caitlyn fakes the capture of Vi, since she has little or no meaning for her? I do get that Linke & co. are in favor of “show don’t tell”, and prefer visuals and the intelligence of the audience to deduce things, instead of showering them in spoken info-dumps. But these things don’t appear logical anymore and demand explanations that are not given here. As someone who doesn’t know the game, I also had quite some problems understanding what was happening with the Hexcore, especially at the end.

Caitlyn in particular has a lot to answer for: she changes so often this season, that she could be called the poster child for inconsistent character writing. It’s as if the makers were preparing certain things, then didn’t want to follow through or got scared of their own boldness. Where is the bloody revolution, the big civil war that loomed all over season one, and whose ending seemed to be so unavoidable? I have to shake my head in disbelief at the storytellers, obviously preparing a love story between two main characters, only to chicken out for want of not having them come together too early, meaning they bond physically just shortly before the finale. Unfortunately, when said scene finally happens, it feels very much “too little, too late”. [Did they really do it on the floor of a dirty prison cell, while the climactic battle was simultaneously brewing outside?]

It should be noted that the series is not a Netflix product; Netflix was just offered the show as a distributor. Riot Games, its creator, financed the series themselves and had French animation studio Fortiche produce it. It might explain why the usual “propaganda” we see in a lot of Netflix-productions is less obviously present in this. This show mainly abandons lectures in favour of its narrative. Though it’s fair to stress the story is focused on strong, powerful women. Male characters appear either as weak and emasculated (Viktor, Salo, Heimerdinger, Caitlyn’s father), negatively portrayed (Silco, Singed, Marcus, Finn, Smeech), non-intimidating boyfriend material (Jayce, Ekko) or – and this becomes almost a dead horse – dead/absent father figures (Silco, Vander and Marcus).

If you are an imposing strong man, here it is usually as a supporting character without any agency of his own (such as “The Scowler”, Loris or Riktus, Ambessa’s muscular right-hand man). If you had told this story a few years ago, Jayce and Caitlyn would have become an adored couple – an idea the first season seemed to toy with for a moment, then quickly discarded. But as we live in ‘enlightened times’, the show sees the sensitive Jayce being seduced by powerful black leader Mel Medarda, and Caitlyn is revealed as a lesbian.

Disappointingly, the expected big final fight between Vi and Jinx is not to be found here: instead, they get along again after a bit of a brawl. Jinx the psycho? She seems quite normal again, after playing surrogate mother to the mute Isha for a couple of episodes. That’s far from any normal psychological reality. The screenwriters aren’t even above shamelessly milking nostalgia by giving us a flashback to Vander, Silco and the mother of Vi and Jinx sitting in “The Last Draw” – in a way it’s even repeated later again. Cheap, cheap, cheap!

Certain developments feel hasty, rushed and insufficiently explained. If I didn’t look it up, I’d have no idea about the meaning of the Black Rose. Maybe the Ambessa novel coming out next year might make things clearer? Fans may know what this is about; but it’s not how you present a story to people who have no prior knowledge of the game’s lore. By doing things like this you essentially exclude them from the show. I will say, it becomes better in later episodes. Episode 7 function as some kind of alternative universe story, that works as a stand-alone. Episode 8 finally gives us information we could have used earlier, when the characters have some much needed discussions with each other. Unfortunately, the last episode opts for a finale akin to a typical Tolkien adaptation by Peter Jackson, with what appears to be the villain from Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron, and partly falls prey to esoteric mumbo-jumbo.

Also, newly introduced characters such as Isha, Loris or Mattie are never developed. What can we really say about them? What is the sense of introducing an admittedly cute little girl into the story, having her do or say little of significance, only to kill her off a few episodes later? Yeah, I know, it has shock value when a child dies. But “kill the cutie” is one of the cheapest cliches. I did not expect the makers would fall to the level of George R. R. Martin, after the screenwriting skills they demonstrated in season one. [But there might be a simple explanation: I read that four of the screenwriters in season one were not part of the writing committee for season two.] For me these things indicate a rushed, not thought through screenwriting process. Obviously having “only” three years for the second season, compared to seven for the first, led to a tangible loss of quality in the careful construction of scripts and characters.

The first season’s story built up, with logical progression, and you could quickly identify with the characters’ psyches and what drove them. Don’t get me wrong, the show is still very good and entertaining, but would have been much better served if this edition had more time to breath and been spread over two or maybe even three seasons, instead of just one. Too often you feel that there are scenes or needed explanatory dialogues missing, as if they had to be cut or were never written. Consequently, while I would easily have given season one 4 stars, season two lands with only 3.

Also, there is a slight change in style. While it’s still a drama, this season seems to skew a bit more horror-orientated. Body modification (see Viktor) plays a role here, as well as the frightening abilities of the “Hexcore”, which seems to develop like a living organism. We get enforcers hunting Jinx with gas into the deep mines, and unscrupulous scientist Singed creating Warwick, a kind of werewolf-ian monster, predicted by some LoL fans after seeing the last scene of season 1. The show as a whole gets more fantastic, compared to the more retro-SF leanings of the first season.

That said, the story arcs started three years ago are brought to an end, and that doesn’t necessarily mean a happy end for all. You have to deal with the new developments, regardless if you might have wished the show to develop in a different direction. The series is still the best in its specific genre – I guess that would be animated steampunk fantasy? – and market segment, though potential new competitors like Blue Eye Samurai are lurking around the corner.

Piltover looks very much Art Deco to me while Zaun is influenced by the style of Art Nouveau. I sometimes feel the twin cities remind me of a fantastic, retro-version of Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. Or maybe a bit earlier, around 1870 and the Belle Epoque – which makes sense, considering animation studio Fortiche has its headquarters in Paris. There is a clear commitment of Fortiche to artistry; there is hardly a frame that is not incredibly beautiful or fascinating. You could easily cover your whole living room wall with pictures of the show. Any complaints I have, are not about them: they did their work. They already are working on animated movie Penelope of Sparta (about Odysseus’ wife in Greek mythology). If it has half of the technical quality of Arcane, consider my ticket bought!

I liked season 2 but I didn’t love it. The action is still great, as are the visuals, in combination with a captivating soundtrack. You still care for the characters – though sometimes you just want to slap them right and left in the face, to get them to their senses or make up their minds. The show is complex and deals with modern but also timeless themes underneath its entertaining facade such as social injustice, the advantages and dangers of new technologies (if you want you can read “Hextech” as a metaphor for nuclear energy, environment endangering industrial processes in general, weapons of mass destruction, body modification or politics that are lead by economical interests only), and the corruption and ignorance that power creates.

But there are also psychological and social themes of conflict: emotion versus intellect, safety versus liberty, preservation of the status quo versus progress by destruction of the existing system. These are best represented in sisters, Jinx and Vi, whose already shaky patchwork family has been torn into pieces by these battles. Yet it also shaped them, and put them on a collision course against each other. Or so it seemed, since the final confrontation is between Jayce and Viktor, while Jinx is given an unnecessarily bland, sacrificial death to save her sister – although the creators hint at the end that she may have survived. You could argue the character’s potential has been entirely wasted in the attempt to reshape her into a more positive protagonist in season two. I repeat: it feels absolutely weird. Looking at the titles of the first season I always expected the final fight to be between Jinx and Vi, and it feels like another broken storytelling promise.

A minor complaint I have is, all these problems are shown, but a real solution isn’t offered for them. Yes, there are many good-hearted people here. who want the best for everyone, all fighting on different fronts, But in the end these eternal conflicts that mankind has suffered from since its existence are not really solvable. It’s kind of a downer when it comes to this original, very ambitious story. So, is season 2 what The Last Jedi was to The Force Awakens? Naah. It’s more what The Matrix sequels were to the first Matrix. Less a major disappointment than an unnecessary continuation of a perfect original. Honestly, I could have done without all the new fantastic elements and story arcs. I just wanted to see the resolution of the story the first season promised me.

Expectations set by the first season were maybe too high, but could have been at least partly fulfilled. The first gave us some kind of Greek tragedy in a fashionable modern dress, this feels more like just another fantasy show, with added modern “diversity”. The end of season one, though an open one, felt logical and justified. In a way, we could imagine the results of the final action and it didn’t really demand a sequel. The ending here feels kind of average and is unsatisfying as storytelling, perhaps partly due to already preparing another new show, probably set in Noxus. While still an entertaining series, the sad thing is that might be it for the time being.

While further TV and movie projects are planned, it appears the TV and film department of Riot has been disbanded and the team members moved to other departments in the studio, according to media reports. With a $3 million license fee per episode from Netflix and another $3 million from a Chinese distributor, do the math yourself. The show will not really be profitable, despite its popularity, though it may try to recover some costs from merchandise, the release of season one on Blu-Ray this year, selling skins for their game. But it has been reported, the best they can hope for is to break even, which is not a recommendable business model, understandably. Therefore, I’m quite astonished to hear producer Christian Linke talking about another project already in preparation since last year.

Personally speaking, it would be a shame if this is the last story we see from the League of Legends universe outside of the game. The screenwriters and producers would just have to be given enough time to develop something of a similar dramatic quality to season one. Focus on characters, not so much on lore. One story at a time is enough; we don’t have to know them all immediately. But who knows? Maybe one day it might come back due to popular demand, and because someone puts enough money on the table. Films of yesteryear (like right now: Gladiator) get sequels decades later, and TV shows I last saw when I was a hopeful 30-something return all the time. Why shouldn’t that be possible for this series, too?

Creators: Christian Linke and Alex Yee
Star (voice):Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

  By

★★★
“Croft Original?”

I’m rarely going to find animated action as impressive as “live action”. Something done by an actual human will always seem more real than anything CGI or traditional hand-drawn animation can achieve. That’s true even if the former is arguably as fake, between stunt doubles, green screen and no small amount of CGI itself. Maybe it’s just me. While I have given multiple animated films our Seal of Approval previously, including Mulan, Aeon Flux and Battle Angel, these have been won on the basis of other elements beyond action. A live-action film can get there purely on those merits, despite clear deficiencies elsewhere e.g. In the Line of Duty IV. I don’t think animation can do that.

Hence, I suspect that I would look more kindly on this were it another live adaptation. It wouldn’t have to do much to be an improvement over the Alicia Vikander version, though to be honest, the Angelina Jolie versions were only adequate and borderline bad respectively. Maybe the makers would be better taking a Resident Evil approach, and not worrying about being faithful to the video-games. I did play the original – it remains one of only a few I ever completed – but care not about accuracy. Films and games are different, and need to be. Plot and character matter more on screen, not playability. Here, those elements are alright: they feel functional rather than organically inspired. For instance, it feels less a story than a series of levels.

We begin with a prologue which sees Lara (Atwell) in Chile retrieving a box, alongside her mentor, Conrad Roth. Three years later, Roth is dead and Lara blames herself for that. She’s about to sell off all the family’s treasures, when the Chilean box is stolen by Charles Devereaux (Armitage). Turns out the stone it contains is the first in a series of four, which when combined will destroy the precarious balance under which the world operates. Along with sidekicks Jonah (Baylon) and Zip (Maldonado), Lara criss-crosses the globe, from China to Turkey to France, and back to China, trying to stop Devereaux from completing the set and unleashing the power they contain.

From subsequent reading, I suspect you probably need to have played the specific games on which this is based (I believe it’s the “Survivor timeline”), to understand the significant of the apparent trauma through which the character has gone. None of this is depicted in the film, so I had no clue why I should be bothered by the off-screen death of Conrad, someone I’d only known for about five minutes. Also, Lara seems a bit gay here. Quite why a video-game character should be given specific sexuality escapes me. Shame they didn’t have the courage of their apparent convictions, to do more than hint heavily. To quote Yoda, “Do. Or do not.” Give us hot cartoon babes making out, or don’t bother bringing it up.

Of course, an old white guy is the villain, in comparison to the young, ethnically diverse group in Lara’s camp, and there are a couple of other jabs along those lines. But in general, it’s light enough with the messaging. The eight episodes probably total just under three hours, by the time you trim off the credits, so not all that much more than The Cradle of Life‘s 117-minute running time. You could probably get through it in a single sitting: it’s not difficult viewing. The animation is mid-tier, but does the job, and I liked the performance of Atwell (well-known here for her depiction of Agent Carter), who comes over as a serious, almost solemn, heroine – yet one with whom it’s still easy to empathize. Her supporting cast though, feel superfluous and don’t make much impression.

Within the limitation of animated action discussed above, what you get here isn’t bad. There are some good set pieces, and a couple of occasions where I almost forgot I wasn’t watching actual people, and held my breath. Key word there though, is “almost”. There’s an overall air of competence surrounding the production, and no obvious elements at which I can point a critical finger. Yet there is also not much to cause me to recommend this actively to anyone, who isn’t already a fan of the games. A second series hasn’t been confirmed: there are reports it received a two-season order out of the box, although it doesn’t appear to have received the critical acclaim given to Arcane. But if Lara does return, she probably falls into the “If I’ve nothing else to do” category.

[Jim]

Looking at some of the harsh reviews for the show, I get the impression a lot of it comes from, “I wanted the show to be this but it was that.” It’s a bit unfair because as a show, the series is good, standard adventure animation. Those who expected the show to be somewhat like Arcane: League of Legends, for example, were setting expectations very high. It’s true, that there are “two Laras”. The original by Eidos was invented in 1996, and the “modernized version” came out with the new games of Crystal Dynamics in 2013, and influenced the 2018 reboot movie, with Alicia Vikander. The original Lara could be described as a rich but goodhearted sociopath: watch the Angelina Jolie version, she really got it. Lara was a female Indiana Jones, living in a Bruce Wayne-like mansion, while the modern version seemed inspired by the Lisbeth Salander character from the Millennium Trilogy.

She instead became a guilt-stricken trauma survivor: I remember a trailer for one of the modern games, where she was talking with a psychiatrist and her whole body shook while remembering her previous experiences. The relentless adventurer who just enjoyed the journey seems to be out; the pain-stricken and emotive heroine is in. Still, she does all the action you would expect from her. This Lara just comes with emotional baggage; she has to learn to value her friends and understand that people are more important than the things she hunts. In a way it’s like modern and old James Bond. Once upon a time, he was a superhero we all loved and adored. Today, he has been cut down in size to make the character “more human”. For Lara, it makes her more relatable, for sure – but arguably less interesting. I’m not sure it’s the best way to present the character.

Filmed versions of Lara always seem to have her suffering from the loss of her father. This is the third such, after the Jolie and Vikander live-action versions. It should be noted this was not originally part of her imagined biography, which has changed several times over the years. Originally, she fell out with her family, when she decided to make adventure her lifestyle, earning her living as a travel writer, instead of marrying the Earl her parents had chosen for her. Her big defining moment was surviving alone for two weeks in the Himalayas after a plane accident. It was only after the Jolie films and the reboot games, it became that she had lost both parents.

Here, Hayley Atwell gives our favourite tomb raider a very good voice, and you wonder why film makers seem so resistant to casting a British actress as real-life Lara, with the previous actresses being American and Swedish. After all, Lady Lara Croft is as quintessential British as Sherlock Holmes, James Bond or Emma Peel. [Jim: be careful what you wish for, Dieter. You now have to deal with Sophie Turner as Lara in Amazon Prime’s adaptation!] In Charles Devereaux, this show offers Lara a villain who gives her the old, “You and me are actually very much alike” speech, as heard from Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, to emphasize the darker side of a hero. Nothing new here on this front.

A lot of effort goes into giving Lara a circle of friends, something less a factor in the games. But as every Bond has his Felix Leiter, every Indiana his Sallah, it’s only fair Lara also get her sidekicks! Interestingly, Lara’s arc is as an emotional vulnerable character, who finds her way back to humanity, in contrast to the villain who seems to lose his more and more. But the “coolness” of the original character, as seen in the early games and movies, has perhaps been lost in favour of her becoming a team player. It’s indicated that what prevents Lara from falling to her more negative instincts, is that she has friends who care for her, and help cope with her pain and grief. Devereaux is essentially alone, with no reason for him to overcome his anger, pain and wish for revenge. Richard Armitage gives a believable performance there. Yet she is still constantly trying to save her enemy. I suspect that “old Lara” would just have killed him when he attacked her, of that I’m quite sure.

There are a lot of small nods to previous games and films if you pay attention, beyond Lara doing parkour, reflecting her running and jumping around in the games. Things like a mention of the Trinity group, which appears in the Alicia Vikander movie, or her hallucinations of demons with a striking resemblance to the stone gargoyles that came alive in the first Jolie adventure. However, the show delivers only standard adventure, neither great nor bad; like so many things, it’s in the middle, just average. If you can cope with that, the show should entertain – no less, no more, with animation which similarly is fairly standard but satisfying enough. It provides the action and adventure I would expect from this genre. The one real flaw I see, is that it lacks the kind of humour, fun and levity I’d also deem essential elements of the Tomb Raider franchise. Lighten up a bit next time, Lara.

[Dieter]

Showrunner: Tasha Huo
Star (voice): Hayley Atwell, Earl Baylon, Richard Armitage, Allen Maldonado

Blue Eye Samurai

  By

Jim: ★★★
Dieter: ★★★★
“You can’t die. You don’t know how.”

Plot. Mizu (Erskine) has a grudge. She’s a mixed-race young woman living in 17th-century Japan, a position which leaves her at the bottom of society. But she has dragged herself up to become an onna-musha, a warrior with ferocious sword skills, courtesy of Master Eiji (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the blind swordsmith who raised her. Now, she’s on the hunt to take revenge on the man she believes is her father, Abijah Fowler (Branagh). He’s an Irish smuggler, who is upsetting the delicate balance of Japanese society, closed to foreigners, by importing firearms. He’s involved in planning a coup to overthrow the current shogun.

[Editor’s note: the original plan was for Dieter and I to review it independently, then combine the two pieces. But Dieter went into rather more detail! So most of what follows is his opinion, with my thoughts sprinkled as garnish, in italics]

I have to admit my opinion on this show has changed a couple of times while watching it. First, there was the enthusiasm of a Japan-based-action series with a female main character. After that I thought about the “wokeness” of the show (after all, it’s Netflix), something that hardly can be overlooked. And finally, I recognized the strong effort that went into the storytelling, the visual beauty, and small details of the show and realized that while definitely a “woke” story, these elements are neither too strong nor too dominant to destroy the genuine pleasure I had when watching it.

I liked this, but it’s probably fair to say I didn’t love it. I tend to have a blind-spot with regard to animated action. Personally, I find it’s a medium that dilutes the intensity of fight scenes, because it applies a distancing effect to it. I’m always aware that I’m watching drawings or pixels beating the heck out of each other, which is intrinsically going to be less impressive than people “really” doing so. If this had been live-action, and equally gory, it could have been awesome. There’s also a weird visual choice here in that Mizu’s nose is typically shadowed. This has the unfortunate effect of making her look to me either as if she has a bad head cold, or if she is a habitual alcoholic.

But first things first: despite its title and the location (Japan in 1657 in the Edo era) Blue Eye Samurai is – an American product, so certain allowances have to be made. While I do love a story of female persistence, this 8-part show pushes the limits of believability. We have to accept that, at a time when foreigners are forbidden to be in Japan, not only there is such a person living there, but also this man fathered a daughter. This means she is half-Caucasian, half-Japanese and therefore considered a “demon”, harassed by pure-blood Japanese who have never seen such a stranger in their country. She will then become a trained “samurai” – quotes used advisedly, as we’ll see – with the appropriate sword skills.

It’s a stretch, though still in the reign of possibility, since there have been, real swordswomen in Japan. That woman then going on a rampage, hell-bent on revenge for… well… her own creation? This does not make much sense to me. After all, should we not all be happy we exist? But then, my own life, like most, has been peaceful and harmonious. In contrast, the main character, Mizu, has led a life of misery, constantly been harassed, pursued with hatred, endangered and betrayed. It’s not difficult to imagine, if you grew up that way, you would sooner or later start to hate the man responsible for your very existence. Though strangely, she doesn’t seem to hold a similar grudge against the mother who gave birth to her,

Mizu’s path leads her to Ringo, the son of a innkeeper, who has no hands (remember, this is Netflix!). After being saved by her, he becomes her servant. There’s also Taigen, a samurai-in-training, who once lived in the same town as Mizu and almost succeeded in killing her as a child. After she beat him in battle, he feels his honour is insulted and follows Mizu to challenge her to a rematch. But his revenge has to wait. A further complication arises in Japanese noblewoman Akemi, who is in love with Taigen and would like to marry him. Though her father has other marriage plans and Taigen is not ready to marry her until he has regained his honor. None of them know (yet) that Mizu is a woman. And as Mizu mercilessly pursues her path of revenge, Ringo and Taigen become her allies, with some indication of a mutual attraction between Mizu and Taigen.

Blue Eye Samurai is a French-American animated show by Blue Spirit for Netflix, created by Michael Green (the screenwriter for Logan and Blade Runner 2049) and Amber Noizumi. They were inspired by their daughter, who was born 15 years ago with blue eyes. Noizumi spoke about how she, herself biracial, wondered what it would have been like to lived as a biracial person in 17th-century Japan, when Japan’s borders were closed to the outside world and strangers from abroad would have no chance to be accepted in society. Another, unconfirmed inspiration might be British navigator William Adams who travelled to Japan in 1600, and was called “the blue-eyed samurai”. He also inspired the ever-popular series Shogun, which Netflix just remade. What a coincidence.

Other influences, according to Noizumi, were movies such as Kill Bill, Lady Snowblood, and… Yentl, Barbara Streisand’s musical about a Jewish woman who wants to study and has to take on a male identity. It has been confirmed by Noizumi that Mizu was inspired by Clint Eastwood’s break-out Man with No Name role in the famous Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone, This fits, because the show often reminded me less of a typical Japanese jidaigeki (historical drama) or chanbara (sword-fighting movie with a historical background), but more a Western in disguise. If the mix between East and West was intended, whether this makes it “the best of two worlds” or a travesty is up to you. But it’s not really the first of its kind, considering Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai.

I personally don’t like it when words like “emancipation” or “discrimination” are thrown around in relation to a show mainly meant to entertain. But in this case, they are justified given the very basis of the show, in medieval Japan. This setting is different to current Western countries, being one with a mostly homogeneous population, traditional conservative values and what feminists nowadays like to call “patriarchal”, as a background for a story of female emancipation and racist discrimination. You may question what “woke propaganda” Netflix is tossing at an innocent viewer this time. But it’s a relief that any messaging comes, not in heavy-handed preaching, as is typical for many Netflix shows, but mostly carefully integrated into the show, rather than feeling like they were bolted on.

The show certainly ticks all the diversity check-boxes with its characters. We have a biracial female who taught herself everything, a repressed (though in the context of the era “spoiled” might be more accurate?) lord’s daughter, a helpful assistant born with no hands, a blind sword-maker, while an old white man is the perverse, cruel villain, and women have no say in society, serving as servants or prostitutes. Did I forget anything? Despite it all, this feels acceptable given the time and place in which the story occurs.

As noted, in choosing this kind of story, time and place, the creators often stretch the limits of believability. In particular, with Akemi, the daughter of a powerful lord who wants to marry her to the son of the shogun. She is in love with Taigen, so absolutely resists that idea. Akemi comes across the entire series as enormously stubborn, resisting advice and always wanting to get her way. I have to shake my head in disbelief, knowing that the idea of “marriage for love” was in those times rare both in Japan and Europe (Historians say the idea of what we call today “romantic love” was born around 1850). People married due to sharing social class, to keep property within a circle of families, or because their business-partnered parents decided so, sometimes even before they were born.

Even more unbelievable for the time, is the idea a Japanese woman would have been allowed to voice her wishes or opinion in the blunt manner depicted here. Quite honestly, I think if any woman would have behaved so disrespectfully to an older man, giving strong, vocal objections or even slapping the shogun’s son, she would have immediately been beheaded or drowned in the nearest pond. The wish of the creators to have another strong female character in the show backfires here. Akemi is what you would expect a modern, Western young woman to be, not a Japanese woman from the Edo era. This is fan-fiction at best, bad research at worst.

Probably my least favourite aspect was this significant side-plot involving noble samurai Taigen (Barnet), and his true love, the Princess Akemi (Branda Song), who is about to be married off against her will. Neither of those characters seemed significant, and it felt like this sometimes became an excuse for male-bashing. Brothel madam Kaji (Ming-Na Wen) was the worst for that: look, nobody is keeping you a prostitute. Get out of the profession or quit complaining about your customers. Oh, and if men are bad, white men as embodied by Fowler are the absolute worst.

A word of warning to the uninitiated. The show does not hold back in the depiction of violence. The slicing-off of extremities sometimes made me wonder if the victims’ bodies were made out of styrofoam, and I also found a bit excessive, the arterial blood spray. How many litres does the human body contain? The same goes for sexuality, though less often. I personally have seen more extreme things, but this is Western animation, and the audience may not be quite prepared for the graphic content. But I guess anyone going to watch the show would probably know beforehand it is not a show for children. You wouldn’t expect kid-friendly content from an Akira Kurosawa samurai movie, wouldn’t you?

This was not a problem for me. Indeed, I would have been disappointed had it been any other way! The “garden hose” approach to blood has long been a mainstay of Japanese cinema, certainly back as far as the early seventies and the Lone Wolf & Cub films – a staple of Western VHS stores under the title of Shogun Assassin. Realism isn’t a factor, and this is an area where animation can really push the pedal to the metal, being unconstrained by the limits of latex and Karo syrup.

Ah, yes… samurai, that’s a key word: after all, it’s in the title and is mentioned several times. I should stress here, Mizu definitely is no samurai by the traditional definition. He would usually act in service of a daimo, a feudal landlord serving the shogun. This usually comes with certain obligations and behaviour that would be seen as a code of honor. Mizu quite definitely doesn’t fit the description. However, many of Kurosawa’s “samurai” don’t either, including The Seven Samurai or the character Toshiro Mifune plays in Yojimbo and Sanjuro (which, cycling back, served as inspiration for Eastwood’s Man with No Name). But the writers of the show were really smart, and address it within the story. When Ringo complains she doesn’t act like a samurai would, she turns and angrily shouts: “I never said I am one.” It’s a sign of well thought-out screenwriting, and I like it very much. Kudos to the storytellers: now, will they make the show eventually deliver what the title promises?

I was less impressed with the music. More than once the people responsible seemed to think, “As long as it’s cool, everything is fine” – an attitude I personally don’t agree with at all. For example, in a training montage of Mizu, the famous “Battle Without Honor Or Humanity” by Tomoyasu Hotei plays. Sure, a cool tune from a Japanese composer. But it’s modern music and – though first used somewhere else – so closely associated with Kill Bill, it really felt like a misstep. Other popular pieces, e.g. by the Black Cats or Metallica, have even less justification. You tell a story in 17th century Japan, please apply music that fits the time period. And partly the show feels like a check-list of everything you ever heard or saw in the West about classic Japanese culture, from bunraku (classical puppet theatre) through geishas, samurai, Zen-like philosophy, sword-making, kimonos, calligraphy and so on and on. You name it, they have it.

With regard to the cultural depictions, I wasn’t happy with the fact these obviously Japanese characters were speaking in English, to the point I even checked for a Japanese dub option (no luck). It felt like the creators sent out a casting call for any Hollywood voice talent with somewhat Asian origins, e.g. Song, born in California to Thai parents, and having Kenneth Branagh putting on a dodgy Irish accent doesn’t help. Were all genuinely Celtic actors unavailable? 

Episode 6 really knocked my socks off. It played virtually like a computer game: think Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft going through different levels of the game, plus elements from Resident Evil for good measure. I’m not saying it was bad. so much as unexpected. It’s also a point when it became harder to suspend my disbelief concerning Mizu’s abilities. I mean, how many people can you still fight, after one of your feet gets perforated? Or fighting a dozen-plus armed men without a weapon? Or carrying a man on her back, hanging from her sword on a stone wall, then climbing with said sword in her mouth (!) to safety on higher ground? Are we really sure she is not the child of a supernatural monster? I’m willing to believe this woman is exceptional, but this was a bit much. Mizu gets dangerously close to the superheroes of popular comic-book movies who can do anything, and usually do.

Part 6 was my favourite of the entire show, because it removed all the extraneous elements (hello, Taigen, Ringo and Akemi!), leaving it a blow-dart episode – all it had was point, simply Mizu fighting her way inexorably towards her goal. Which was what I came here to see, frankly.

What saves the character’s depiction again and again, is the makers never make it easy for her. She bleeds a lot over the course of the story. Mizu is shown making mistakes, and is not a hero since, as much as you sympathize with her goal, it is in the end selfish. I attribute the fact she survives this season to her remarkable physical skills, absolute die-hard dedication to her self-set cause, the help of her (very often smarter) allies and an enormous portion of luck. Which… works for me, though I’d have wished for a bit more realism in a show that explicitly is not fantasy. What is impressive is the visual style. A lot of work went into the landscapes, the backgrounds, and probably researching how ancient Japanese houses, buildings and temples looked. There are a lot of little details that you may overlook when watching the show for the first time. Also, as expected, the voice performances by actors such as Erskine, Takei, Branagh, Tagawa and many others are excellent.

I agree, the animation was great, especially in the action scenes, which were probably as good as anything I’ve seen this side of a Miyazaki movie. Fluid, and assembled in a way that certainly seemed cinematic. It was often easy to forget you were watching animation, and that’s close to the highest praise I can give the medium. Plot-wise, the main storyline was also excellent. I loved the fact that Mizu is single-mindedly focused on her revenge. That it might help avoid the Shogun being overthrown is utterly irrelevant to her.

It must be said that Mizu herself is a character ‘work in progress’. As mentioned, less a hero, than driven by years of abuse, mistreatment, non-acceptance, anxiety and sheer hatred. I guess any little boy with red hair and glasses who was harassed in class can understand her. The feeling of not being part of society or a group, of being rejected due to just being how you are, is something many people will identify with. Though again: does it justify a violent rampage on a merciless one-woman war against the person that fathered you? Hardly. The feeling is softened by the fact Abijah Fowler, who may be her biological father, is a real piece of abhorrent trash. He is a disgusting, almost inhuman, pervert, who deserves his just deserts.

Interestingly, the final fight between Mizu and Fowler is the catalyst for the fire of 1657 which devastated Edo (today’s Tokyo). Perhaps the message here is, if you follow only your own egotistic trail – Mizu’s wish for revenge and Fowler’s to take over Japan – you risk turning into a destructive force that causes more harm than good. I hope Mizu might realize her thirst for revenge is not the best motive, but rather acting to prevent the mayhem Fowler and his people would bring to the world if allowed to run it. This would make Mizu a real heroine and earn her my respect. Perhaps indicators for such a development can be spotted when Mizu decides to save her “frenemy” Taigen from death. If the show is willing to follow this developing character trait, it could evolve into something very beautiful and extra-ordinary. We will see.

It ends on something of a cliff-hanger, without much resolved. Yet where it’s going has me genuinely interested, and it’s quite possible the (already announced) second season may end up addressing most of the issues. In particular, some of the more annoying characters look likely to be left behind!

In a time where female protagonists get everything they need or want on a platter, without having to do the hard work, make difficult decisions or sacrifices, a character like Mizu feels different. She has character flaws, feels pain and has to become a better person, not just to achieve her own goals, but better the world around her. That is what popular fiction needs right now, and Hollywood screenwriters should take notice. That’s how you should write a character: flawed, not perfect. If your character can already do everything and is perfect you end up with boring, bland characters like Rey or Captain Marvel. So, while still a bit too superwoman and “Xena-ish” for me, Mizu is a big step in the right direction. Despite some complaints, the show as a whole exceeds the large majority of current female-centered TV and films. I hope it might inspire other producers to learn from its example. This is how you do female empowerment right, without hitting both sexes of your audience on the head with messages or propaganda.

Creators: Amber Noizumi and Michael Green
Star (voice): Maya Erskine, Masi Oka, Kenneth Branagh, Darren Barnet

Barbie Spy Squad

  By

★★
“Imagination, life is your creation”

Ah, the things I watch for you people. Safe to say, this probably hit new heights of “I am not the target demographic”, but it’s hard to argue it is outside the remit of the site. To the film’s credit, this is not as bad as I feared it might be. If I had an eight-year-old daughter – such a shame this turned up about 25 years too late! – there would be far worse things to have inflicted on me. Not that I’ll exactly be chasing down any of the other thirty-nine entries in the franchise, mind you. There will be no Barbie & Her Sisters in The Great Puppy Adventure review here. But as lightly amusing, just about tolerable to an adult spy pastiches go… this was lightly amusing and just about tolerable.

Unsurprisingly, the heroine is Barbie (Lindbeck) and her two friends, who are so blandly forgettable I can’t even remember their names. The trip spend all their spare time doing gymnastics, until recruited by Aunt Zoe (Weseluck) to become agents in a covert organization, accessed through a secret door in the HOLLYWOOD sign. They are to put their acrobatic skills to use, catching a cat-burglar who is accumulating gems that will be used in an electromagnetic pulse weapon by the villains. [If you have not figured out the real identity of the cat-burglar inside the first five minutes, I am concerned for you.] There will be training missions! Adorable robo-sidekicks! Many, many gadgets! Valuable life lessons!

In other words, this is absolutely what you would expect: entirely safe, wholesome entertainment for those to whom Barbie is an aspirational role-model (albeit one radically toned down in physique from the original’s 36-18-33 figure). It plays mostly like a G-rated version of Charlie’s Angels, with the trio getting into and out of scrapes, while exchanging witty banter. There are moments where it appears to teeter on the edge of genuine satire, such as Aunt Zoe sternly warning the trio that this is a covert mission… while they roar through the city streets on their lurid trio of super-powered motorcycles. However, I’m not convinced this was intentional, with most of this apparently taking itself seriously. Well, as seriously as a movie about secret agent Barbie ever could be.

The sheer predictability of this does become grinding, to the extent you barely need to watch this to follow the plot. The morality on view is rarely subtle, though there are certainly worse concepts to promote than believing in yourself and supporting your friends. The animation is mid-tier: there’s not much in the way of facial expression here, though since this is replicating plastic dolls, I guess that makes sense. However, the action is reasonably well-done, even if I did find myself thinking a live-action version would have been preferable. On the other hand, I saw the live-action Kim Possible movie, which started from a much stronger foundation, yet still came up well short. Best leave Barbie in the world of imagination, I suspect.

Dir: Michael Goguen, Conrad Helten
Star (voice): Erica Lindbeck, Stephanie Sheh, Jenny Pellicer, Cathy Weseluck