All the moments not involving the main sequel characters are the most enjoyable here in what is essentially a trilogy of stories told by ghosts of some familiar Star Wars characters. There are definite laugh-out-loud moments, but for me ‘Palpatine’ will always be the best thing to come out of these LEGO specials.
Format: Streaming (4K)
Platform: Disney+
I am genuinely dumbfounded by the negativity War Horse (2011) receives. Overly sentimental, unrealistic, not brutal enough, and too manipulative, all seem to be the favoured opinions. For what it’s worth I think the cinematography and production design is incredible and the screenplay very effective, focusing on a cyclical structure that delivers both emotion and bags of heart. The war scenes are really impressive and respectfully done considering the demographic the book was written for. John Williams score is beautiful and Steven Spielberg’s direction graceful. A wonderful experience that would not have had the same impact had the sentimentality been toned down and the violence turned up.
It goes without saying, this film had to be bigger and better than any other MCU movie to go before it...and it was, with eleven years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe being celebrated in style. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo deliver an action film that not only pays homage to all the actors and filmmakers involved in this series to date, plus a few familiar movies, it also does it with a touch of class, some of the best visuals…
