Seeing this in IMAX 3D (yes the 3D is worth it for this one, at least in IMAX it was) was just an absolutely incredibly immersive Lion King experience and such a great tribute to the series on its 30th anniversary!
People love to hate once it becomes a thing — as it has with these Disney ‘live action’ remakes — but if you’re a fan of the franchise this is just such a delightful time and probably my favourite…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
I went into this sequel to the 2019 supposed origin story of Batman’s arch nemesis, like many, wanting to see Joaquin Phoenix fully come into his own as the Clown Prince of Crime — taking over Gotham, with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn now at his side.
On first watch it can feel like the film is simply teasing what you want only to never deliver on it, BUT once you realize that it was never about that, it’s a vastly…
The scenes with the brother are painful and not in the way that was intended… 😂
Just a solid prequel to either version of The Lion King! If I were to say any issues though it’s mostly to do with the juvenile bits of humour from some characters (which did make it drag a little on rewatch in the middle where there’s more of that admittedly), but all the stuff between Mufasa and Taka is great.
I think Taka’s turn to Scar feels quite Shakespearian (which makes sense since the original is based on Hamlet). It might seem sudden, but like, characters in Shakespeare are sometimes comically overdramatic.
While its satire may be on the nose, it’s also uncannily accurate and highly entertaining. Bong Joon Ho really does seem to be a master blender of genres — just based on only having seen his two most recent films, that ability to balance tones stands out to me above all. Robert Pattinson as well continues to be a man of many voices, giving a very funny and heartfelt leading performance that once again is not really like anything he’s done before.
Now feeling like I have really processed this epic on second viewing, I think I’m ready to say this is on par with Blade Runner 2049 as my favourite of Villeneuve’s films! I couldn’t quite get myself to say that the first part was a masterpiece, but I can just about get there with Dune: Part Two.
It’s crazy how much this series clearly inspired George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire really more than Lord of the…
