Underworld: Blood Wars: Blu Ray Review

Underworld: Blood Wars: Blu Ray Review

The fifth Underworld film appears on the cinematic horizon four years after Underworld: Awakening rebooted a portion of the franchise.

This time around, Kate Beckinsale returns as Vamp death dealer Selene, all clad in black leather and ready to kick some ass as the ongoing war between the vampires and the lycans continues.

Having lost all trace of her daughter at the end of Awakening, Selene finds herself hunted by the terrifying new leader of the Lycans, Marius (Tobias Menzies) who wants her daughter's blood, believing it will give the lupine clan the ultimate power to end once and for all the conflict.
Forced to turn to the coven who betrayed her, Selene is once again slap bang in the middle of attacks from all side, political intrigue and betrayal as the fight for eternal life goes on.

War is hell.

And eternal war must therefore, by extension, be eternal hell.But that would be preferable to the latest Underworld film, an action thriller that barely musters enough action or thrills under its fetish garb to keep you entertained during its 90 minute run time.

The latest film lacks bite and feels anaemic in comparison to other entrants into the franchise, and despite once again rebooting the film (along with a brisk pre-credits introduction which gets everyone up to speed), the fire in its cinematic belly is waning this time.

It's largely due to a lack of clarity, an extremely basic script and vision that's wanting.

Foerster, who's helmed episodes of Outlander and who is the first female director to take on the series, manages to deliver the sparse action with a degree of simplicity of style, but there's not enough action sequences to flesh out the relatively thin bones unfortunately. It largely doesn't help that the supporting characters are relatively non-existent and it's left to James and his ample shirtless six-pack and pouting, as well as Beckinsale's frosty Selene to carry things along, leaving the investment into proceedings severely wanting.

True Blood and Sherlock's Lara Pulver vamps it up in a treacherous duplicitous role, but the wooden dialogue and occasionally ropey C Grade CGI morphing does more to cripple proceedings than you'd expect. In prior films, that's been masked by the action sequences, and their plethora, but Underworld : Blood Wars has scant numbers of them throughout its short run time.

To be fair, there are some nice sequences where the vamps are dispatched by UV bullets, rendering their bodies asunder into ashes, but there's not enough visual flair on show.

Ultimately, Underworld Blood Wars may satiate the lust of the fanbase, but there's a nagging feeling that Beckinsale is cruising through this latest installment and its ham-fisted political shenanigans, thanks to a lacklustre script and threadbare action 

Pennywise is here - new IT trailer drops

Pennywise is here - new IT trailer drops

Here's your first look at the brand new IT trailer, based on the Stephen King book.

Starring Bill Skarsgard and Finn Wolfhard, the film's due later this year

Prey | New Video Released – ‘Playing with Powers’

Prey | New Video Released – ‘Playing with Powers’

In Prey you’ll need more than just your wits to take on the Typhon aliens that are threatening to destroy mankind. But why stop with the weapons and gadgets you’ll find aboard Talos I? Mankind’s last – and only – hope, Morgan Yu, also has the option of “installing” a wide range of human and alien abilities. Get a look at some of the powers you can use against the deadly Typhon – along with exclusive insights from the team at Arkane Studios in our latest video titled ‘Playing with Powers’: 

Whether you focus on just human powers – allowing you to run faster, jump higher, use firearms better and more – or if you instead branch off into the myriad Typhon abilities, one thing’s certain: Prey offers players a wide range of ways to annihilate aliens. From Superthermal to Psychoshock and beyond, these powers will make all the difference in your mission to fight the aliens and save the world.

 

Be on the lookout tomorrow for a new video featuring fresh insight into Prey’s mind-altering Neruomod Division, and for more examples of how you can combine weapons and powers, be sure to check out yesterday’s ‘Power Combos’ video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyqX3XtcgiY

 

Set to launch worldwide on Friday, May 5, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, Prey is the highly-anticipated first-person sci-fi action game from Arkane Studios - creators of the award-winning Dishonored series which includes the 2012 'Game of the Year' and the critically-acclaimed follow-up, Dishonored 2. 

 

Prey has been rated M for mature by the ESRB. For more information about the game please visit prey.bethesda.net. 

Ghost In The Shell: Film Review

Ghost In The Shell: Film Review

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Takesh Kitano, Juliette Binoche
Director: Rupert Sanders

There's an irony that 2017 yields a shiny, yet empty and hollow, new version of Ghost In the Shell, all wrapped up in FX and Weta's wizardry, and coming nearly 30 years after the first iteration of the Manga series appeared.

Along with the campaign against the film over its apparent white-washing of its lead, the Asian Major, and a meme meltdown that seized on the film's apparent ignoring of any potential Asian leads, there's already enough for Ghost In The Shell to achieve.

So, it's perhaps frustrating to report that the 2017 version of Ghost In The Shell is pretty hollow, and feels like a missed opportunity, a series of shooter / fighting sequences all wrapped up in some damn near incredible visual and practical work from WETA.

Johansson stars as Major, who's part of an elite group called Section 9, who hunts down terrorists at the government's behest in a futuristic world. But Major is more than just the star operative of this ragtag group, headed up by Beat Takeshi Kitano's Chief. In a world where cybernetic enhancements are becoming the norm, Major's a perfect meshing of a human brain in a robotic body - a precedent for the future.

However, while Major's fairly adept at taking out the bad guys, she begins to experience glitches in her daily life, giving her frightening flashes of a life before... and causing her to question her own identity and loyalties, just as a new terrorist threat emerges...

To be fair to Ghost In The Shell, the themes tackled within are not exactly new and the trope of questioning self and identity are ones which are endemic to most of the genre's films that feature a robot protagonist. (Ridley Scott's Blade Runner being perhaps the chief example of such a film and TV's Westworld being the latest version of the nature of consciousness discussions).

Yet, despite its shiny paint and exquisite visuals for 2017, the new version is very much lacking in anything other than a simple cyberpunk ethos and a videogame aesthetic and narrative. This is not an adaptation of an anime that comes anywhere near close to hitting some of the rich resonance and emotional themes of the originals.

Relatively soulless, and without too many real philosophical edges for the audience to grapple with, this Ghost In The Shell simply chooses to throw out the more thoughtful elements of the series before it, in favour of yet another (admittedly well) choreographed action sequence. It's no Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, that's for sure.

Despite some truly impressive neon-soaked Blade Runner and video game Remember Me-esque cityscape visuals to make up the world, what sits within is, unfortunately, a little less well realised.

While the Geisha-bots that become like scuttling spider-bots are early indications of the visual mastery of Weta's work, their memory soon fades in light of some well-worn familiar style sci-fi dialogue and bullets flying as the emotionally detached film plays out.

Johansson pretty much dials down the emotion and comes off a little like a second-rate action version of her character from Luc Beeson's much-overlooked flick Lucy. She brings some edges to some of the emotional conflict that arises from within, but she never quite fully sells the struggle with her past.  And Snow White and The Huntsman director Sanders reaches Michael Bay levels of fetishization of Johansson's form within the suit and when she's lying on a bed as he brings the story-boards to life...

(And it has to be said, unfortunately, that some of the white-washer naysayers have a point, particularly when Major's past is addressed towards the film's denouement. There's also a whole debate over the rest of the casting of the film as well, with many of the Asians represented on screen playing more sub-serviant roles than anything substantially meaty.)

Pilou Asbaek's second-in-command is a thankless role that ploughs the action into the brawn and little else; Kitano's support is equally solid as well, but he's relegated to the sage overlord dispatching ideas and checking up on his team, rather than anything more. Elsewhere, Juliette Binoche brings the humanity in her doctor, but again, it's scant anything other than brief broad brush strokes to satisfy the most brain-dead of audience members.

It helps little that Ghost In The Shell's emotional edges are lacking and the pay-offs not as spectacular as the stakes in the final act. It's something that's little supported in the film's scripting and filters through the entire film; and while the action sequences are dispatched tautly and effectively, they're all emotionless, formulaic sequences that barely stay in the memory long after the conclusion of the film.

Ultimately, Ghost In The Shell's extraordinary visuals shine way above anything else on the screen.
It's a clear case of style over substance, which is no bad thing given the level of detail spent on them.
Referencing The Matrix, Blade Runner and many Arthur C Clarke tropes, the film's eye-wateringly gorgeous FX and confidently realised world crackle where the rest of the film unfortunately does not.

In the final wash, Ghost In The Shell's weaker narrative, combined with its sidelining of the more interesting philosophical debates and the story of identity of its main protagonist, sadly stop it from becoming a true sci-fi classic, leaving it floundering as a hollow and shallow video-game lite experience that's more about what's on screen than what lies beneath.

Prey | New Video Released – ‘Weapon and Power Combos’

Prey | New Video Released – ‘Weapon and Power Combos’

We’ve just released a new gameplay video for Prey - ‘Weapons and Power Combos’ - which shows some of the unique ways you can combine your weapons, tools and abilities to take down the Typhon aliens:

You might be mankind’s last hope aboard Talos I, but you’ve got a mighty arsenal to face down the Typhon threat. Armed with your wits, weapons and a host of incredible powers, it’s up to you to stop the alien invasion and save all of humanity. Piece of cake!

With 24 human upgrades and 20 unique alien powers to choose from (plus all of their upgrades), no two Morgans will be the same, and no two players will have the same experiences in Prey.  

Along with the human abilities like Hacking, Leverage, Repair, and Gunsmith – all of which enhance Morgan’s innate strengths – you will have access to three distinct trees of Typhon-based abilities. Of course, there’s some risk when rewarding yourself with these amazing alien abilities. As you install alien powers, the turrets on the station will view you as a hostile entity, and you will increasingly run the risk of being targeted and hunted by the massive Nightmare Typhon. But with (sometimes literally) mind-bending abilities like these, we’ve got to say the risk is definitely worth it. 

Check out the full list of alien powers at Bethesda.net and start thinking about who your Morgan will be, and how you plan to fight the invasion and save the world.

Be sure to look out tomorrow for a new video diving into Morgan’s armory as the development team discuss ‘Playing with Powers’, while Thursday will reveal fresh insight into Prey’s mind-altering Neruomod Division.

Set to launch worldwide on Friday, May 5, 2017 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, Prey is the highly-anticipated first-person sci-fi action game from Arkane Studios - creators of the award-winning Dishonored series which includes the 2012 'Game of the Year' and the critically-acclaimed follow-up, Dishonored 2. For more information about the game please visit prey.bethesda.net.

Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands: PS4 Review

Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Released by Ubisoft

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands had a massively successful BETA.

The thriller game had a simple concept - possibly in line with Donald Trump's War on Mexico - crack the cartels and their grip on an area in Bolivia.

It's a simple MO and it's been translated through to the full games as well - and despite some complaints that the game's a Western Imperial take on non-American issues, the game's playability makes it easy to jump in and get involved in the massively open world.

Multiplayer or solo are on offer, and to be frank, the solo campaign already opens up a world that takes so much of your time, that jumping in with mates is the last thing on your mind.

After customising your character, it's into the world you go, and into a squad of 3 others. A first mission sees you tasked with getting intel from a captive that begins to open up the wealth of objectives on offer and the reasons for doing them.

From using drones at your disposal to tag enemies or simply going in all guns blazing, Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands is a game that will thrive on your choices and will be played many different ways. The guns blazing approach certainly quickly brings brutal combat to life and the fight can get quite difficult quite quickly. But being tactical can also pay off as well - there's nothing better than tagging an opponent and the joy of the stealth kill rather than the shoot and hope approach.

In many ways, Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands feels like it's been more heavily influenced by the last iteration of the Just Cause game series. Sure, there's not the comic edges and over the top physics mentality within, but there are touches of it that remind you of Rico's exploits.
From gently hitting a car on the road and seeing it flip wildly in the air, to careering backwards down a mountain, the game hits a fun level early on. And while there are also elements of Far Cry and Just Cause's narratives within (free the checkpoints, take on a dictator etc), the game's made them all their own.

It's also a world of exploration too with there being plenty to see and do around the wildlands.

Complete with a star ratings system for the areas (1 being easy, 5 being punishable by death), the areas are easier to engage with once you know what you're doing. There are a few issues with the scope of the game, in that a lack of vehicles will see you troubled by spending a lot of time traversing the admittedly beautiful and lush-looking terrain.

But that's no bad thing given the scale of Ubisoft's open world though the game is infinitely improved by a few online colleagues to come along for the ride.

From avoiding killing civilians (which abruptly ends your game) to getting revived once only by your colleagues once you fall, there's more than enough in the game mechanics to stop you from actually achieving the missions on offer.

But those missions themselves are worth getting involved with. Each one unlocks another and sees you zipping around the countryside to complete them. As you hurtle on the red barren tracks that double for roads, there's a wealth of life out there.
If anything, Ubisoft's ensured that the NPCs are certainly in attendance (watch them cower when you order an attack by your squad from your car) and are reacting to what's around.

All in all, Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands shows it has the spirit to keep the rather passe and gung-ho premise alive. While the missions may be of a similar nature to what's encountered before, it's clear that the sheer scale of the open world and its secrets within mean many will fire it up; if anything, its occasional hollowness and episodic feel means it's perfectly playable and equally disposable.

Win a copy of Underworld Blood Wars on DVD

Win a copy of Underworld Blood Wars on DVD

The next installment in the blockbuster franchise UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS follows Vampire death dealer Selene (KateBeckinsale) as she fends off brutal attacks from both the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her. 

With her only allies, David (Theo James) and his father Thomas (Charles Dance), she must stop the eternal war between Lycans and Vampires, even if it means she has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

To celebrate the release of Underworld Blood Wars, out now, you can win 1 of 2 copies on DVD!

To win Underworld Blood Wars, all you have to do is enter simply email your details to this  address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com or CLICK HERE NOW!

Include your name and address and title your email BECKINSALE!