Science Fiction

Star Wars: Target Vader #4

/ / Comics

Star Wars: Target Vader #4 comic reviewThe bounty hunters led by Beilert Valance have successfully cut off Darth Vader from the rest of the Imperial forces and driven him into a trap on Heva. However, the group will soon learn that cornering a Dark Lord of the Sith and killing him are two very different matters. Be careful what you wish for.

The fourth issue in the six-issue mini-series is action-heavy as the bounty hunters struggle to make good use of the small window in which before Imperial reinforcements can arrive. There are also some quick flashbacks to pasts of the various members that help fill out the issue but don’t necessarily add much to the current plot. Despite getting most of his compatriots killed, Valance’s plan did prove to have an outside chance at succeeding… although getting betrayed by a member of his team certainly didn’t help his chances.

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Gemini Man

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Gemini Man
  • IMDb: link

Gemini Man movie reviewNot finding any living actors worthy enough to share the silver screen with, Will Smith faces off against himself in Gemini Man. The action film with sci-fi underpinnings cast Smith as retiring government assassin Henry Brogan who is targeted by his own government (for mostly unintelligible reasons only important to draw him into the larger story). The man leading the hunt for Brogan is the assassin’s former boss Clay Verris (Clive Owen), now the head of a multi-national private security force with an oh-so-cute name chosen to reinforce the movie’s ridiculous plot. And with a name like Clay Verris is it any wonder he turned into a villain?

Gemini Man has all the ammunition in needs for a ridiculous, over-the-top action flick. Instead director Ang Lee and his cast take the entire series of events (Verris cloning Brogan and raising him as his son, who he then sends out to kill his genetic donor) seriously. While Brogan notices the odd similarities between himself and his clone, it takes the younger version (who gets quite a few up close moments with his target) far longer to suspect there is more going on than just another target to eliminate.

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Star Wars Adventures #26

/ / Comics

Star Wars Adventures #26 comic reviewWhile, in theory, I’m all for more tales involving Luke Skywalker and Rey, the events of The Last Jedi don’t allow much leeway or time for any such stories to take place. What writer Cavan Scott attempts to do is shoehorn a story during the small period of time after Luke has agreed to train Rey but before she has discovered the Jedi Master has cut himself off from the Force and she leaves to return to the fleet.

The story itself isn’t bad, and offers a fun panel of Chewbacca dealing with the unexpected consequences of Rey unleashing the Force, but there’s only so much that can be done in such a short period of time. And the art by Derek Charm doesn’t do Mark Hamill any favors. (I hear the comic adds 30 lbs.) Still, the comic does offer a fun cover featuring Rey.

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Men in Black: International

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Men in Black: International
  • IMDb: link

Men in Black: International Blu-ray reviewOther than its existence, the most shocking thing about Men in Black: International is that it isn’t a complete dumpster fire and does deliver some enjoyable moments over its uneven 114-minute running time (although, in the end, the entire enterprise is largely forgettable). The movie franchise dormant for seven years is reawoken by bringing in Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the primary agents. Thompson is cast as the young woman smart enough to uncover the existence of MIB while Hemsworth is the weary agent who has been skating on his reputation for years.

The plot is more complicated than it needs to be as Agent M (Tessa Thompson) is sent to London by Agent O (Emma Thompson) who suspects something foul may be happening on the other side of the pond. M soon hooks up with Agent H (Hemsworth) only to bungle their assignment and end up on the run with a valuable piece of alien technology that a race known as the Hive are desperate to get there hands on.

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Ad Astra

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Ad Astra
  • IMDb: link

Ad Astra movie reviewAd Astra is a slow, thoughtful film at least as interested in the character study of an astronaut as the dangers lurking in outer space. Set in the “near future,” Brad Pitt stars as astronaut Roy McBride sent to Mars on a top secret mission to end the power surges that are affecting the planet (and nearly killing Roy in the opening scene). The surges are coming from the edge of the solar system where Roy’s father H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) and his expedition disappeared decades ago.

While not as engaging as The Martian or as ambitious as Gravity or Contact, Ad Astra does provide a fine performance by Pitt to center its story. The always reliable, but not remarkable, McBride is put through the paces in the latest mission that gets personal far too easily for the stoic astronaut who has made a career by ignoring his feelings.

Sci-fi fans will no doubt enjoy various space obstacles that Roy will struggle to work through in order to reach Neptune, although there’s no much we haven’t seen done better before (and the space monkeys are best forgotten altogether).

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