The Lion King (2019)

The Lion King (2019) is the newest remake from Disney, this time directed by Jon Favreau, and stars Donald Glover, JD McCrary, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Alfre Woodward, and James Earl Jones as Mufasa, the only actor from the original cast to reprise his role. If you haven’t heard the story, Simba is the cub prince of Pride Rock, destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. However, after his involvement in a stampede causes the death of his father, the Pride Lands are left under the reign of Simba’s uncle, Scar, while he tries to contemplate with his actions.

The year 1994 is often pointed as one of the definitive years for movies, and The Lion King (1994) is one of their examples. Being developed by Disney’s B-team at the time while the A-team worked on Pocohontas (1995), this film skyrocketed to becoming the highest grossing traditionally animated film, along with the highest selling film on VHS. A whole generation of audiences fell in love with the bright animation, the charming voice acting, the catchy soundtrack by Elton John and Tim Rice, and also a decent introduction into Shakespeare, since the film is both a modern day Hamlet and americanized Kimba the White Lion. 

After the success of The Jungle Book (2016), with its excellent use of photorealistic CGI for the animals and forest, Disney was open to letting Jon Favreau helm a remake of The Lion King. This got me scared, because the previous two films that Disney remade from their Renaissance era, Beauty & the Beast (2017) and Aladdin (2019), were complete duds; they tried to change up some elements to feel more modern, but then take out elements that obviously made the character who he or she really was, in order to seem more perfect to these Disney lemmings. Granted, The Lion King isn’t even my favorite of the D.R, but that doesn’t mean there’s something to live up to.

Prejudice aside, I went and saw the film kept an open mind, thinking maybe there could be something that will make me want to go back again to give a second look. I will admit first hand, the CGI is a vast improvement over The Jungle Book, completely fooling me that we’re watching real animals on screen. While at first I had some problems with the designs and color palet, it didn’t take long to adjust to who was who and the world they inhabit. The Pride Lands are perfectly realized, and had I not been told this was The Lion King, I would have sworn it was a Disneynature documentary that they do every Earth Day.

However, great technical advancements don’t quite excuse the rest of this movie being a bit of a show-off piece. While I congratulate them for making the lions and hyenas looking as realistic as possible, you also run the same problem The Jungle Book had with these animals showing emotion, without a human character to work off of. They look so stoic, and especially with Mufasa’s death scene, I could care less about how that was executed; Simba’s cries just don’t quite match the character’s onscreen emotions. For a remake of a less than 90 minute movie, the padding out to two hours is definitely noticeable; the padding put in says that they really wanted to impress you with how realistic everything looks, but they didn’t bother to think whether or not it would be serviceable to the story. They bring up this whole escape mission scene for Nala, Simba going after a beetle, a few of the song numbers have extended instrumentals, and even some jokes from side characters that aren’t that funny. It just makes the film feel padded out and boring.

The music is fine as is. Nearly all of Hans Zimmer’s score is reused for this film, with some slight re-orchestrations, and he’s always been a composer to always deliver. However, the musical performances felt pretty underwhelming; as much as I respect them getting the original singers for “Circle of Life” to come back, it has been twenty-five years, so they can’t bring as much booming triumph as they used to. And aside from “Just Can’t Wait to be King” and maybe “Hakuna Matata,” much like Aladdin (2019), some of the songs just feel like they’re put there to pass the time, and not making me feel into the moment; for example, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” is performed in broad daylight...where’s the love, if there is no damn night?! The worst offender to me, was “Be Prepared,” which is such a great number from the animated film, and easily Scar’s best scene; and yet it’s cut down to a two minute sing-talk chant...would have liked a little more than two minutes. Hell, they extended and PROMOTED “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and that’s not even an Elton John song to begin with!

While it was nice to hear James Earl Jones return as Mufasa, it did become distracting when he’s contrasting with the rest of the new cast members, with the exception of Alfre Woodward as Sarabi (taking over for Madge Sinclair who passed away in 1995). Donald Glover and JD McCrary are good as young and older Simba; they both capture that playful attitude he’s known for, how carefree he can get, and also the unpreparedness that comes with life. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen do fine as Timon and Pumba, and have their usual meta-humor schtick every so often. John Oliver was also delightful, in his usual John Oliver fashion; honestly, I think he has more fun with the role than Rowan Atkinson.

However, not every cast member was perfect, specifically with Beyonce as Nala; as great of a singer as she may be, she’s a terrible actress and was completely miscast. In my opinion, she should have been played by Zoe Saldana or even Cynthia Erivo, at least for Nala’s acting. Half the time when Beyonce’s singing, she can’t help but show off with high notes and tends to go out of character when delivering her lines. In her argument with Simba, Nala’s supposed to be crushed and furious about how cowardly he’s become, yet Beyonce makes her sound irritated like a lunch with a friend was ruined. And that song she included into the movie, that nearly cut “Be Prepared” out of the movie, just felt completely out of touch with the rest of the numbers in the movie.

This brings me to Chiwatel Ejiofor as Scar. When I first heard the announcement he would take the role Jeremy Irons played, I was sold; Ejiofor is a fantastic performer and knows how to really get into a role with enjoyment. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with how Scar’s personality is toned down to where you hardly even notice them; he acts more like a grumpy cat, and just comes off as bossy. While I get how Ejiofor wanted to make him more menacing and empathetic, he just sort of becomes another Sher’ Khan from The Jungle Book (2016). The worst was how he delivered “Long live the king!” like he thought it was dumb to say. I know some have said Scar in the original loses interest after taking over (which I agree with to an extent), but he’s at that level for me when he first pops up.

The Lion King (2019) proves technology has come a long way, but it should have been used for a completely different project. I respect what Jon Favreau was trying to accomplish, and kudos for not doing a shot-for-shot remake, but the changes that were made just felt unnecessary, and its harder to relate to barely emoting characters. This is the third Disney remake this year, after Aladdin (2019) and Tim Burton’s Dumbo, and we still have two more to go, and I’ve felt like I’m repeating myself over and over again. I’m sick and tired of getting the same mediocre recreation of something that was fondly remembered to begin with, and it feels really insulting.

Rating: C-

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Spider-Man: Far From Home is directed once again by Jon Watts, and is the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and conclusion to their official “Phase 3.” After the events of Infinity War and Endgame, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and his friends go on a European vacation, taking a break from the superhero gig. However, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has other plans, as Quentin Beck aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) asks for help taking on these elemental monsters that need the help of a friendly neighborhood hero.

I made no secret when I said I was not a fan of Spider-Man: Homecoming, and I stand by that. The script by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (for the most part, since it had SIX writers total) was an absolute mess that tried to satisfy all these different criteria, but all it ended up doing was make me hate most of these characters and the dialogue they shared. The only two people who felt consistent were Robert Downey Jr. returning as Tony Stark and Michael Keaton as the Vulture, the latter because he was the only character this film brought. Not to mention, I thought the action and camera work kind of sucked, and there wasn’t really any weight to the fight scenes. Comparing this film to the rest of the MCU, or even previous Spider-Man movies, this felt like a huge step backwards. And that’s not to say I don’t like Tom Holland, because I agree he is awesome as Spidey...when he’s directed by the Russo Brothers

A sequel was inevitable (no pun intended), and there was good news and bad news to it: the bad news was that Jon Watts and Amy Pascal would return to direct and produce, but the good news was that Daley and Goldstein did not; so the entire script was left to Chris McKenna and Eric Sommers. Coming out a couple months after Endgame though, especially after what transpires if you haven’t seen it, was a bit infuriating, because that kind of tells me “oh, Spider-Man comes back...guess I won’t worry about him.” It felt like Marvel was repeating the same move they did with the Ant-Man movies, where they’re fine, but could have benefitted from NOT coming after an Avengers film; or heck, one of the reasons The Incredible Hulk didn’t succeed as well, was because it was released too close to Iron Man for anyone to truly care. I could even argue how in my mind, Homecoming had the same fate, coming after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, which was a much more exciting film if you ask me.

Despite my naggings, I went in hoping to see, not a great film, but at least a decent flick to cap off this phase; while I will admit this was a big step up from Homecoming, having an enjoyable third act, as well as the first post-credits scene, Spider-Man: Far From Home is unfortunately the second time the web-slinger’s second solo adventure in the MCU falls flat. The comedy isn’t as annoyingly pushed as it was in the previous film, but now it comes off as low energy and not really jokes at all. The only joke I laughed at was when Happy confessed he loves Aunt May.

One of the biggest problems I’ve been hearing about most of the MCU, since Age of Ultron, was how there was a lack of director creativity; hearing about the stories that Joss Whedon and especially Edgar Wright had told, with how Disney and Marvel have been screwing them over for a bigger project, has tainted my feelings toward the studio. This movie is guilty of feeling just as generic as Ant-Man and Captain Marvel, where it doesn’t feel like someone was actually passionate about this, and was just making this for a pay-check. Even in the action scenes, aside from that climax in London, felt like the same web slings we saw Peter do prior in Homecoming.

While I wasn’t as annoyed by them, I still couldn’t care about the supporting cast: the teachers (Martin Starr and J. B. Smooth), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), Flash Thompson (Tony Revelori, Dope and The Grand Budapest Hotel), Betty Brant (Angourie Rice, The Nice Guys) May and Happy (Marisa Tomei and Jon Favreau), even Nick Fury and Maria Hill; they don’t really have much to do in the film, except either be saved when the time comes or show up when most convenient. The only one who I felt improved a bit was M.J. (Zendaya). There’s more of her and Tom Holland working off of each other, and that was nice to see some chemistry build between those two; what I don’t get is why she was called Michelle Jones in the last film, which by the way, no one calls her by that in this film.

The big upside I can give is the hero and villain; Tom Holland is still great as Spider-Man. Despite being younger, Holland has had plenty of time for his Peter to truly evolve, not only from the perspective of an up and coming hero, but as someone who came back from the dead, you get why he would want a break from the ordeal; he’s as smart and traumatized as Tony, and as trapped in this hero cycle as Cap was. The absence of Tony has also put a lot of weight on his shoulders, since he was the one he entrusted to becoming an Avenger, and hopefully carrying the torch he passed him; since the events of Endgame, Peter has had to make that difficult choice between his own size of heroics or take on the rest of the world as he is.

Interesting fact: Gyllenhaal was actually going to replace Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man 2, nearly breaking his back working on Seabiscuit. Not only that, but Mysterio was planned for Sam Raimi’s now-cancelled Spider-Man 4, and was going to be played by Bruce Campbell, bring his cameos in those films full circle. Still, Gyllenhall nails it out of the park and truly sells the con-man schtick nicely; much like the Scarecrow to Batman, Mysterio to Spider-Man brings the distorted reality. I just wish the script didn’t act like we didn’t know who or what kind of character Mysterio was; especially with the marketing barely mentioning it.

Not to give away the post & end credits scenes, but I would say the first one is the only one you’d need to see; I was reading articles about how it was the most risque ending since the first Iron Man, and now I completely understand why. However, the second one doesn’t really show what we don’t already know; part of me was hoping it would be about a live-action Spider-Verse like Holland was asking about, but all I felt was that clip of Hawkeye in the rain: “Don’t give me hope.”

While an improvement from the last one, Spider-Man: Far From Home is yet another studio manufactured product from Marvel that’s just dull. Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal are great, but they only truly shine in the third act; the comedy is dull, the action is okay at best, but the story is so cliche and predictable, that it’s hard to even talk about. 

Rating: C-

Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 is directed by Josh Cooley, and is the fourth installment of the foundation franchise for Pixar. Just as the toys are about to set off on a road trip, their new owner, Bonnie (Madeline McGraw), makes a toy out of a spork, named Forky (Tony Hale); unfortunately, HE’S not too keen on the idea, and only wishes to be thrown away. While helping him realize his purpose in life, Woody (Tom Hanks) reunites with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) on a rescue mission, all while questioning what his own life is worth.

I’m among those people who were hoping this movie didn’t happen, mostly out of fear that it would not live up to the previous three movies. Toy Story was the first major hit for Pixar, earning both massive critical and financial success, to even becoming the first animated film nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar; it was a revolutionary film, and for a story about toys coming to life, it worked. Toy Story 2 was just as big a gamble that had twice the success; originally planned for direct-to-video, the team was confident in the project making it to theaters, despite going through redo after redo and several delays. We got to see these characters develop further, realize more of the dilemma they face later in life, and also debate whether fame is worth it for family. By the time we got to Toy Story 3, it was a bit risky to see if these characters could still connect with us as before, especially after Pixar had a decade of films to work off of; thankfully, it surpassed almost all expectations, and rightfully sits next to Beauty and the Beast and Pixar’s prior feature, Up, among the only animated films nominated for Best Picture.

With how three films wrapped the story together so nicely, I didn’t see the need to make a fourth film at all. John Lassetter, one of the founding fathers at Pixar and co-creators of Toy Story, admitted in interviews that the only way a fourth film could ever happen is if they got the story right; in fact, when my brother visited Pixar Studios in 2014, when Lassetter was still directing it, he overheard the team say they had finished this movie by then, but were then told to start all over. The perfection towards this film even went as far as to affect their other films, such as Incredibles 2, which this film switched release dates with; Brad Bird has expressed in interviews that he lost a year of production on his film, due to the schedule change, and it’s made him hesitant on when he’ll come back for another film by the studio. 

It was a little bizarre going into this movie, because even with the kinds of ideas this film wanted to do with this world, I was still hesitant on whether this should have happened. However, after letting it sink in for a few weeks, I can safely say, the team does it again. With each passing Pixar film, the animation only gets better and this film is no exception; the details on each of the toys is perfectly realized, the outdoor scenes are absolutely gorgeous, but the antique store is where I was mesmerized; from the porcelain nick-nacks, reflective metal, and even to the cat that roams around, it was so beautiful looking. It’s especially fitting, when this film and the previous film start and bookend the decade of progress. 

I was especially pleased with the character of Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who grows a particular interest in Woody, due to both sharing generational makings. Not to give away spoilers, but Disney over the years has been abusing the twist villain trope way too often, and has often affected the credibility of most of their films that I still rather enjoy (Frozen, Zootopia, Coco, Incredibles 2); it’s a cliche that’s really becoming too common, especially with Disney. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with Gabby Gabby, as her story while intentionally selfish, still manages to draw in empathy to anyone who tries to MAKE ourselves perfect for other people, and Christina Hendricks brought a perfect balance of that to her performance.

A lot of the new cast members are a delightful addition to the crew. Keanu Reeves as Duke Kaboom, this 70’s Kenivel toy; Keagan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele as a pair of stuffed animals that follow Buzz (Tim Allen) around; and Ally Maki as this “Polly Pocket” cop, all manage to leave a good impression on you, and even when they mess up, it never felt like they weren’t useful. The only downside is that the film seems to put the rest of the cast aside. I understood the reason for some characters, such as Mr. Potato Head, whose voice actor, the great Don Rickles, passed away in 2017 before recording even began, but after the previous two films of being more involved, to see Jessie (Joan Cusack), Slinky (Blake Clark, formerly Jim Varney), Rex (Wallace Shawn), or the rest get sidelined, was a little disappointing. I mean, the whole bit with the Unicorn trying to get Bonnie’s dad arrested was so out of nowhere, I wanted to know what prompted him to resent the guy. Also, the bit with the RV, while I was laughing, did seem a little far fetched. 

Although, I get the intention, considering this is more of Woody and Bo’s story; the time gap between them shows a great sense of progress that can come from going solo, contrasting against Woody’s one-track lifestyle of a toy. He’s lived his life as the alpha dog with Andy, and now that he’s living with a little girl of a younger generation, there comes that conflict that Jessie went through and warned Woody was going to happen; so much like how Forky questions his purpose existing, Woody’s able to learn from Bo about what his purpose is, now that Bonnie doesn’t play with him as often anymore. And while people are divided with how he deals with Gabby, I found it a very fitting move to bring Woody full circle.

Much like with Toy Story 3, the ending is a reminder about how we all need to grow up eventually, but this is especially geared toward adult fans who pester the Hollywood business. As someone who’s become burnt out with sequels and continuations of all kinds, it feels as though this movie is trying to say “you can’t keep living in the past forever.'' And with this being a generation so hooked on nostalgia, that’s something important we really need to do.

Toy Story 4 is another solid hit from Pixar in their flagship franchise, and Josh Cooley did a great job directing this. Not to mention, the writing is deeply moving, with some clever dialogue by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom, it’s also one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year. There wasn’t a moment where I didn’t feel emotional, but I do hope this is the last one; with how emotional Tim Allen and Tom Hanks got recording it, it’s easy to say that even they would probably want this to be the last.

Rating: A