davidbyrne96 Reviews

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

This is where to start your Star Trek adventure!

[9/10 · 2 July 2023]

When people tell me that they want to try Star Trek but have no idea where to start, this is usually what I recommend.

The writer/director Kevin Smith points out that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a great movie, regardless of whether you've ever seen Star Trek before, and he's absolutely right. You don't need to have seen the first movie, and despite being a sequel to an episode of the original TV show, this Wrath of Khan equips you with all you need to understand the premise and the plot.

There's this genetically-modified super-human dude named Khan. He and his friends have been marooned on a desolate planet by Starship captain James T Kirk, and he's mad about it. Really, really mad. When a research vessel inadvertently stumbles upon them, Khan seizes his chance to seek revenge.

"Revenge is a dish best served cold... It is very cold... In space."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

A perfectly cromulent Indiana Jones movie.

[7/10 · 28 June 2023]

Y'know what? It's fine.

They looked at all the elements from the original trilogy, picked out the ones they know everyone liked and slapped them into a fairly sparse Disney committee plot. It's a movie that your dad and you will enjoy while you're watching it, but forget mostly forget by the time you've finished the Big Mac you bought on the way home.

Wait, hold on, that's my review of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens!

Nah but seriously - Since we know they probably won't make another one, this is a more evenly entertaining send-off than Crystal Skull.

By the third bike chase, you may feel like you've seen it all before, but at least it doesn't have Shia LaBeouf swinging on vines with monkeys.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022– )

About damned time!

[9/10 · 7 May 2022]

Took 'em long enough, but this is Star Trek.

Like actual, honest to goodness episodic space exploration show with competent, emotionally stable characters and social commentary.

The War of the Worlds (2019)

The chances of anything being more disappointing than this are a million to one.

[3/10 · 1 December 2019]

In the last 15 minutes of the final episode, the protagonist reads a letter, and then tells her son about what South Africa was like.

3/10 - Great design and passable special affects.