Gladiator II: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Tim McInnery, Connie Nielsen
Director: Ridley Scott

It was always going to be a tricky proposition to follow 2000's Gladiator.

From its iconic action to a star-making turn from Russell Crowe as the lead to singular moments that have lasted, the idea of a sequel was perhaps always a little stymied before it made it to the screen.

So it's no surprise to say that while director Ridley Scott builds on the kind of vision more recently witnessed in Napoleon than perhaps on his 2000 effort, Gladiator II is lacking a little heft in the shadow of its own past.

When Paul Mescal's Lucius is captured after Rome's army sacks his North African province and kills his wife, he vows revenge on General Marcus Acacius (Pascal). But Lucius has to escape the confines of his jail via the Colosseum and the hordes of challengers facing him.

From CGI killer monkeys to a water-filled stadium teeming with sharks, it seems like the script of Gladiator II has gone too far the other way for its spectacle, losing sight of the level of intimacy that helped propel the first to iconic status.

Juggling a story about the corruption and fall of Rome along with the political machinations of Denzel Washington's Macrinus as well as destiny and heritage, Scott had a rich vein to mine. Yet somehow, the script fails to service the legacy while simultaneously failing to carve out a new story that measures up.

Mescal also inevitably suffers in comparison to Crowe, reduced to seething moments of rage without the bonus of well-written dialogue to support him. It was always going to be a tricky idea, but it's largely the fault of the script that Gladiator II won't rise from the shadows.

In terms of the Colosseum spectacle, the games lack none of the brutality of the past, even if the emotional edges fail to match up. It's more in keeping of reality, given how swift the action is and how quickly enemies are dispatched - but it does nothing to satiate those looking for vicarious pleasures to match the weaker edges.

The first film talked repeatedly of what was being done echoing in eternity.

But unfortunately, Gladiator II fails to even break free of the former's shadow - and while it's a perfectly serviceable, if overly long watch in parts, it can't help but feel disappointing.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3:Blu Ray Review

Cast: Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey, Lee Majdoub, James Marsden, Kristen Ritter,Tika Sumpter
Director: Jeff Fowler

The latest Sonic movie is at times akin to an overstuffed family gathering.

From the trio of Team Sonic (Knuckles, Tails, and the blue Blur himself) to two Dr Robotniks (played with meta touches by Carrey) and the inclusion of Keanu Reeves' troubled hedgehog nemesis Shadow, there's a lot going on.

Add in the human elements of James Marsden and Tika Sumpter as Sonic's defacto human family, the return of agency GUN and the brilliant Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone, Robotnik's long-suffering lackey, and it's no wonder the beginning third of the film feels like an overload of hyperactive exposition and high speed chicanery.

But when this tale settles down into its planned execution, the amalgamation of Shadow's past contrasted with Sonic's upbringing and the simple message of "Make good choices", the film's more impressive thanks to the chance to breathe and take it all in.

In truth, Schwartz's Sonic borders on the irritating this time around, a series of continual quips undone by a seconds later obvious gag / punchline depriving much of the movie of oxygen. Elba's deadpan hilarity as Knuckles' literal translation of situations playing out never loses its comedy timing and Reeves imbues Shadow, the hedgehog from the wrong side of town, with a sense of both tragedy and emotion throughout.

Carrey's back to nonsensical form and the script peppers his arc with quips catering to his manic edge with ease - some of the best laughs come from his gurning and insanity, in moves that feel distinctly reminiscent of Ace Ventura. It's a welcome return to form for the more maniacal comic who made his name early in the 90s.

Yet the true star of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is actually the visual FX team, who've ensured every single frame of the obvious green-screenery unfolding feels naturalistic and as real as a practical set.

It's no mean feat as much of the script relies on the Team Sonic's trio speeding through scenery, or being up above earth. Every single second of every little FX feels vital, tangible and utterly incredible to behold.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 may be as fleeting a film as any on offer this holiday season and offer some vicarious pleasures, it won't be judged as a timeless classic of its genre even though it's fun and more cohesive than the rest - but what is timeless within it is the tireless work of those bringing the world to life and ensuring it doesn't look dated in years to come.

Days Gone By Remastered: PS5 Review

Days Gone By Remastered: PS5 Review

Developed by Bend Studio
Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PS5

Back in 2019, Days Gone By was dismissed by many as a game that did what has been done before, and what emerges in the final wash, was a game that somehow lacks its own USP, despite looking mightily impressive and using a dynamic weather system to gaming advantage.

However, there are moments of open world survival game Days Gone where the mash up of Last Of Us survival and stealth, Walking Dead style zombies and camp complications, Sons of Anarchy bromance of the lead and his best mate and Far Cry series of camps and missions actually feels like it gels into something cohesive - even if it does fully lack some of the emotional heft of the great singleplayer PlayStation titles.

Beginning with the protagonist, Deacon St John, the game starts two years before you begin, showing how society began to crumble as a mysterious infection swept through America.

St John's beau, Sarah, is stabbed by accident, and his co-gang rider Boozer is seriously injured, leaving Deeks to make an awful choice - and one that haunts him in the two years when we rejoin the game. Most of the game is about finding a reason, a reason to survive, a reason to continue and a reason to hope.

Still riding around the wilds of the Northwest, this outlaw is a loner, spending days scavenging scrap avoiding the Freakers (a zombie-style nasty) and what's left of the dregs of humanity (the human animalistic Rippers, roaming marauders and those in charge of running various safe houses).

But Deacon finds himself smack bang in the middle of humanity's best and worst again as he discovers not everything he thought he knew was true.

While Days Gone stumbles through its opening chapters, with some truly awful dialogue (chiefly between Deacon and his biker buddy Boozer and sounding like Kiefer Sutherland rejected them from episodes of 24) and interactions, some implausibly long loading screens, there are moments when the game manages to rise above its shakier edges, long loading screens and the repetitive nature of the fetch and retrieve missions.

Aside from the weapons and crafting, the Red Dead Redemption style need to ensure your bike's always in top notch form and fuelled up, the Last Of Us options to customise melee weapons and your own bike, and the back and forth between camps, the game's internal logic cannot be faulted.

Amid the all-too-familiar conspiracy which emerges, and the inevitable tropes of the research facilities which lie scattered around the world, the Freakers are a truly terrifying enemy, something akin to perhaps some of the greatest zombies committed to a game.

Singularly, they can be dispatched with melee combat - but as a group, they're nigh on undefeatable.

Several missions see you needing to infiltrate research facilities to access various health benefits - but as these have lain dormant and unpowered for the 730-plus days since the outbreak, it's up to you to find the resources to get into them.

But giving them power fires up the automated messages which blare out from speakers and across the countryside, attracting more creatures and limiting your chances of survival. In one such mission, I neglected to turn off a speaker and thinking nothing of it, having got what I needed, I ran. But driving through later on, the sound had attracted an utterly insurmountable horde that could not be defeated - this is a world that carries on even if you're nowhere around.

With the Mad Max style Ripper gang waiting to pick you off, there's a great deal of uncertainty in the countryside, and with a soundtrack that ripples with unease, the mood created by Bend Studio is palpable.

The game looks great, and the handling of the biking is solid too, which is a plus, given how much time you spend on the road.

Littered with flashbacks, Days Gone finds its emotional core, but to be frank, it's weaker when compared to the litany of what's already passed in terms of gaming narratives. Occasionally, the review build stuttered with the scope of what the open world was trying to present, and has frozen, but hopefully early patches should remove the niggles here and there.

Ultimately, Days Gone is a solid PlayStation exclusive, that sadly, despite all of its efforts and outside of the biker element, struggles to find its own voice.

It's not the best the platform's ever had, but it's not the worst either. It does recall large swathes of The Last Of Us, and it is perhaps a pity that it never fully emerges with a strong independent voice of its own - no matter how beautiful it looks.

It does, however, muddy the waters of survivalist games a little, making every side you encounter feeling like they have something to hide - and if the familiarity comes because of a genre which is crowded, Days Gone is a worthy contribution to the pantheon. And while it lacked a stronger voice at the time, its 2025 spit and polish looks better than you'd think.

Graphically there's a few more details in the Freakers that make them stand out a little more. But you're unlikely to see as much of that in the Hordes Assault mode when you're hurtling away from them. However, the remastered version offers up a series of challenge levels which are fun and enjoyable.

Ultimately for the small price the upgrade costs and given Bend Studio is trying to revive its Days Gone IP with a new movie, this is a welcome chance to dive back into a flawed game that somehow just fell short of the greatness it deserved.

Doom: The Dark Ages: Review

Developed by id
Published by Bethesda
Platform: PS5

Touted as a new evolution of Doom rather than just simply scrolling through tunnels and shooting, Doom: The Dark Ages is about as medieval as it comes.

But with developers id promising that there's an evolution in the game, "a core pillar of their studio", don't be expecting a repeat of Doom or Doom: Eternal.

However, how you may feel about this new evolution of it though largely depends on how accepting you are of change and adaption.

In truth, Doom: The Dark Ages, which serves as a prequel to 2016's Doom as it follows the rise of the Doom Slayer and his quest to vanquish the legions of Hell, is a fairly solid and enjoyably fun romp through what makes the franchise so eternally popular - shooting things, exploring tunnels and being jump-scared when something unexpectedly shows.

Taking the previous games' run and gun mentality and gifting you early on with a shield, blessed with buzzsaws, that can be hurled at victims and stop them in their tracks, the game's commitment to action is more about handling a wide variety of oncoming masses and then basically obliterating them.

At times, it feels like an Iron Maiden cover writ large upon a video game world as the hordes descend on you. But in truth, the game's commitment to giving you a way to survive (certainly in its earlier levels and on its lower difficulty setting) means that it's actually wanting any player to pick up a controller and build their way up to being a brutal badass. Whether that's a good thing for a franchise that's been about toughness is another big question.

How you'll feel about that depends on how much of a Doom purist you are.

But using the shield to repel attacks back on those who've dished them out or shooting a row of shield-bearing bad guys and then firing the shield into them to cause them to explode, showering you in items and limbs, represents a solid step up from the days of point and click for the game's very first iteration. It's also undeniably fun - albeit a mechanic that doesn't evolve.

Plus add into the mix the fact you can swing around parts of the map by hurling your shield, and it soon becomes a vital addition to the armaments to aid on your journey. Throw in some puzzles and the Doom ideology has somehow expanded beyond its basics.

And you have to admire a game that delivers a weapon that takes skulls, processes them and spits them out as deadly bullets. Plus, even the weapons sound like Iron Maiden B-sides.

But it's not all positive.

It has to be said the hordes feel largely nondescript in their design and while the game's not really about standing around and admiring the scenery, there are numerous moments when the well-presented, but ultimately amorphous, bullet sponges simply feel like they're cannon-fodder, rather than memorable bad guys writ large over 22 levels.

Upgrading is simple too - just collect gold and trade it to improve your weapons and skills. It's here the game's maps come into play as you head around hidden areas to collect rewards for surviving ambushes.

While the game's set in a techno medieval background, the ability to get inside a Mecha Slayer and deliver some Kaiju-sized chaos isn't as good as it sounds - and may be one of the evolutions from id that will polarise players used to be ground-based.

In truth, this first outing in the Mecha-Slayer's underwhelming. It's not a chance to wreak chaos on a sandbox scale and the frustration of the game guiding you only to areas where you can Hulk-smash and shoot those attacking you isn't as great as it may sound. While it comes with a larger weapon to help you piece apart Atlan invaders, the Mecha-Slayer feels like a slightly retrograde element in the game, something akin to being inside a Pacific Rim or Transformer as they bring the Bayhem.

Graphically, the game looks pretty - which may sound trite, but it's not.

Its palette and aesthetics may not be as colourful as prior outings, but the darker edges and dull colours certainly bring the medieval setting on a hellscape to life. Limbs splatter, blood flies everywhere - it's not the stuff of nightmares perhaps, but it's solidly executed and looks the part. But the castle buildings pop with precision and menace.

If anything, Doom: The Dark Ages may well come under fire for not quite doing enough and radically going all in with changes (though you'd have a strong argument to say that's not really what its core base wants). 

It certainly brings the bloody bullet-based mayhem that fans would want - and the fun gore the franchise craves.

Doctor Who: The Story and the Engine: Review

The fifth episode of the second season of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor heads to Lagos where the mysterious Barber reigns supreme.

Still trying to get Belinda home, the Doctor decides Nigeria is the best place to pick up a better signal to help - and while briefly landing there, convinces Belinda that he needs to go to the local barbershop where he's been accepted before.

However, when he heads to the shop, he finds his old friends trapped and a mysterious new Barber in charge of running the show...

There's an inherent story here about culture and the place of oration that lends itself to the Doctor Who mythos. New writer Inua Ellams immediately imbues the show with a sense of place that it's never had before while on Earth - from the vibrancy of the market through to the colourful outfits, this is a culture serve that Doctor Who has previously missed.

And the Doctor's acknowledgement of how humanity treats him now through racism is poignant too - a sad reminder that the world's greatest protector is also the one who can be hurt the most.

While there are Easter eggs thrown in for fans of the show, the story itself feels a little tantalisingly underdeveloped in parts, a chamber piece that relies too much on its own mystery to develop too far too quickly, The concept of the barbershop as a community hub for African-Americans is not a new one, but the novel twist The Story and the Engine gives it feels more wanting than it should.

Yet there is a feeling there's a richness here that's worth deeper introspection, an examination of the power of stories, of the way they connect people and the strands they weave deep within us. Perhaps the final episodes of this run will add more potency to what's transpired here - because the wider story of the relevance of the Spider and the Barber's connection is not quite as strong as the episode would want us to believe.

Midnight Murder Club: PS5 Review

Developed by Velan Studios
Published by Sony Interactive
Platform: PS5

The idea of running around and shooting people is inherent to the gaming world.

Whether it's part of the comical Ratchet and Clank series or more serious fare like Call of Duty, the shooter has been the go-to genre for many a year.

But while the idea of keeping shooter games fresh is always tricky, the team at Velan Studios have taken a pinch of inspiration from 2016's Until Dawn VR shooter Rush of Blood and come up with something that's definitely got a more 2025 appeal.

In Midnight Murder Club, up to six friends can hunt each other in the pitch-black rooms of the mysterious Wormwood Manor. Armed with only a revolver and a flashlight, it's up to them to search the shadows for every flicker of light and every bump in the night as they stalk their prey.

It's a simple enough premise and while the Early Access release makes good use of one single location, it proves to be good fun with friends and family. While in truth the single location does grate after a few hours of solid gameplay, the scope for much more here is clearly marked - and not just with a bullseye on its back.

With game modes like Free-For-All where it's one against six or Team Deathmatch where you team up with another player to go crazy and stalk, the simple enough idea is strongly executed. With power ups available from machines scattered around the mansion the game has plenty of promise for fun and shenanigans.

With a lack of a map and only the flicker of other lights to hunt out other players, it's really a game of reflex and wits, which are no bad thing. In truth, the game's better with friends, though the bots from the BETA make for strong enough comrades, even if the AI runs off and leaves you when you're wounded, giving you scant chance to catch up for a revival.

Impressively fun and with a planned roadmap, Midnight Murder Club has its finger squarely on the trigger of gaming - and it more than achieves what it wants to do. Hopefully, there'll be more from it soon.

The Salt Path: Movie Review

Cast: Jason Isaacs, Gillian Anderson, Hermione Norris, James Lance
Director: Marianne Elliott

The road to personal redemption is a well-worn cliché in movies about travellers, whether they're solo or with others.

The Salt Path is in many ways no exception to the rule, but what it does do in this two hour film by Marianne Elliott is have you engage deeply with its two protagonists – even if very little actually happens throughout in terms of narrative.

But another cliché – that it's about the journey, not the destination – also proves to be pertinent here.

The White Lotus' Jason Isaacs and The X-Files Gillian Anderson play married couple Moth and Raynor, who, as the film begins, are caught in waters overwhelming their tent and scrabbling desperately to safety. While the film's in no immediate hurry to reveal the reason for this would-be disaster until its last 30 minutes is indicative of what Elliott and her understated cast are upto here.

The pair have decided to walk the UK's longest National Trail, the South West Coast Path for reasons that come throughout the film. It's not to spoil them here, merely that revealing their reasons for doing so thwarts the somewhat minimalist drama on display throughout.

As they walk, Moth with his foot dragging behind him, they seem woefully underprepared for the magnitude of what lies ahead. But what transpires on the route is the traditional kindness of strangers, forced through interactions with those along the way.

Elliott's film spends large swathes of time taking in the atmospherics of the trail. Whether it's the howling winds, the squawking birds or the beleaguered grunts of those unhappy at them pitching their tent anywhere they want, the soundtrack's naturalistic edges prove to be deeply immersive.

And Isaacs and Anderson are both at their muted best, with moments of connection provided by minimal, yet universally recognisable, interactions. These are not showy performances, with actors playing to the winds and wilds and overdramatising their moments. This is a film that's about the small moments of life, the brief connections along the way.

Don't expect a drama that builds deep worlds outside of Moth and Raynor (even if the book the film's based on did), this is a quiet film that packs a resonance that grows with time spent with the pair and their unfolding story.