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I have peppermint bark all over my Film Critic pants. I need to wipe them off for another week of film releases!
Only two new movies are featured in this week's capsule (short) movie reviews for Friday, December 20, 2024. Because it is a slow week, I included a few movies still in theaters that I recommend you check out.
So, let's see if I can get this straight: "Mufasa" is a prequel to Disney's classic 1994 animated adventure "The Lion King," but no, it's actually a proper prequel to the 2019 reboot of "The Lion King" because it's shot in the same annoying photorealistic animated style, and features many of the same characters and actors from that atrocity.
Whatever it is, it sucks.
As the title more than suggests, this tells the origin story of Simba's father, the great and noble king of the Pride Lands. The bland tale is told in a flashback structure so that the audience can be treated to the return of the familiar characters they love from both versions of the story.
It also means that the voice talents of Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogan, and others can return to provide distraction and lame comedy at the beginning and end.
Briefly, as a cub, Mufasa is separated from his parents by a flood. He befriends another cub named Taka, who rescues him from a crocodile, and their adventures begin. Those adventures include dealing with the wild, navigating the prejudice and politics of the pride, and battling a pack of white lions led by the evil Kiros.
While all this less-than-standard nonsense is happening, "Lion King" fans find out how Taka gets his "scar," Rafiki gets his stick, Pride Rock is created, and Mufasa becomes king.
In other words, this is yet another cynically unnecessary backstory film that Disney seems determined to jam down the public's throats while the merchandising money comes flowing in. And, yes, it's a musical, which means that the soundtrack is also out there to fill more executive bank accounts.
It is another in a disturbingly long string of live-action (or, in this case, photorealism) reboots of Disney animated classics that no one asked for and exists only to make more cash for the Disney empire.
Just look at this list of fairly recent titles that fall under the categories of reworkings/remakes/prequels/spinoffs, etc: "101 Dalmatians," "Dumbo," "Pinocchio," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," "Cinderella," "Mulan," "Cruella," "Aladdin," "Lady and the Tramp," "Maleficent," "Mary Poppins Returns," "The Jungle Book," "Pete's Dragon," and "The Lion King."
With the exceptions of "Pete's Dragon," "The Jungle Book," and to a certain extent "Mary Poppins Returns" and "Cruella" (only because of Emily Blunt and Emma Stone), the rest of these titles are terrible, soulless, desperate attempts to bleed the fans dry and add new attractions to the theme parks.
There is nothing surprising about this tactic; it is definitely Disney's modus operandi and has been for years. What IS surprising about "Mufasa" is the participation of beloved independent filmmaker Barry Jenkins (as well as some of his technical collaborators) in this film.
Jenkins, who made the Oscar-winning Best Picture "Moonlight," the critically acclaimed "If Beale Street Could Talk," and the mini-series "The Underground Railroad" seems like the very last person to helm a big-budget photorealistic Disney prequel. Still, here he is, and it's easily the worst thing he's ever made (and I'm actually not a fan of him or his overrated work).
It's also amazing—and indicative of the hollowness of the cinematic year of 2024—that this is the third film of the year in which the backstory is about two buddies who will become mortal enemies in other movies.
This is essentially the exact same film as "Wicked" and "Transformers One," only it's not as good as either of those movies, which should really tell you about the quality on display here. When the best film of that trio, by far, is a Goddamn "Transformers" movie, that should be proof enough that we don't need any more of these kinds of lazy cash-grabs. - ⭐️1/2
One of the year's biggest surprises is this shockingly clever, enormously entertaining satire of superhero movies. It features some fantastic voice work by a great cast (including Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, Colleen O'Shaunghnessey, and a brilliant Keanu Reeves) and a truly inspired, insane, and epic pair of performances by Jim Carrey, whose work here is some of the best of his career.
Because this is the third in a series of kiddie flicks based on a video game, the plot is ludicrous and secondary to the flashy, loud, crazy stuff that happens on screen, and that stuff is pretty awesome. Director Jeff Fowler, who has directed all three of these "Sonic" movies, does a remarkable job of keeping the energy level at an eleven while giving room for the characters to breathe and have fun.
This film is completely self-aware. While it provides the expected explosions, fights, chases, insane color bursts, and loud noises, it never loses sight of the fact that it is a satire. It makes fun of the genre while successfully working within its boundaries as well, which is a difficult thing to do.
Fowler is a smart filmmaker who can walk that fine line between silliness and sincerity while providing solid, exciting entertainment. No one understands that balance more than Reeves, whose outstanding voicework here rivals his excellent performance as Duke Caboom in "Toy Story 4," adding some unexpected depth to the proceedings.
As good as all of the technical stuff and as lively as the action sequences are, this is Carrey's show all the way, and he runs with it. From the remarkable physical comedy and facial work to the hilariously weird line readings to the sly self-parody he includes, this is an unhinged comedic performance of astonishing assurance.
In addition to being an entertaining, colorful spectacle, "Sonic 3" is also a smart and refreshing slam of the tired superhero genre (and, wow, does that genre need some slamming) that is much smarter and more subtle than the obvious, low-hanging fruit you find in that idiotic "Deadpool" trash. It is also the biggest surprise of the year. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Since there are only two new titles in theaters this week (and one of them stinks), here are three movies that are still playing in theaters now that you should check out:
My capsule reviews of those films can be found here.
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