X-Men '97 (2024) Trailer - Review

In the age where studios are remaking 70s/80s movie franchises (that do not need one), here comes some delightful news: the critically acclaimed fan favorite series featuring our favorite mutants is getting its share of the spotlight. Instead of getting remade, the series is being continued with several of the voice actors returning. Marvel Studios already indicated this in the brief Illuminati scene in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

 

I enjoyed the original X-Men: The Animated series for the excellent voice work, characterizations and specifically for portraying Cykes as the leader of the X-Men. This was before Bryan Singer (with adequate support from Hugh Jackman) positioned Wolverine as the most important X-Men figure.

 

Check out the trailer below:

Cykes is front and center in the series, if the trailer is a fair representation. Yes, Wolverine still gets his one liners and brandish his claws menacingly. Still refreshing to see the true leader finally retaining his top spot.

Scott Summers is one of my favorite X-Men - a great leader and inspiring figure. The series is set to further his story line with Jean Grey, who is pregnant (with presumably Rachel Summers). I expect Mr Sinister to make his appearance shortly.

Some of my other favorites also appear - Storm, Rogue and the Master of Magnetism himself. The returning voice actors include Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), and Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler).

Magneto and Cykes get new voice actors (Matthew Waterson and Ray Chase respectively). I loved the performances of both Norm Spencer and David Hemblen. Both brought such gravitas to their performances.

I got the same chills after hearing Cykes' line: “To me, my X-Men”. And Magneto's appearance at the end was the icing on the cake.

 

As expected, they are retaining the original style of the animated series. Already, we have got a preview of the Sentinels. We also get a quick look at Daily Bugle headline: “Is Spiderman a mutant?”. This is a reference to the crossover episodes on another classic Marvel animation show Spiderman: The Animated Series: “Chapter IV: The Mutant Agenda” and “Chapter V: Mutants' Revenge”.

 

The only thing about the trailer that struck me as odd is Magneto's face. He looks almost cartoonishly evil. Hopefully, his character will be as fleshed out as the classic series did.

The series premeries on Disney+ streaming service on Mar 20 2024.

Fingers crossed that this will be even better than the original series.

 

Image Sources: Disney+, Marvel Animation

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Godzilla Minus One (2023) Trailer - Review

 

After a long time, here comes a trailer that has got me interested in the final product. Godzilla Minus One, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, looks set to return the titular monster to his full glory.

I enjoyed both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. G:KOTM had an excellent soundtrack from Bear McCreary and boasted of amazingly well executed versions of King Ghidorah and Mothra. G vs. K had excellent visual effects and the fight scenes were top notch.

As the reader might have noted, Godzilla is not mentioned as he did much of an impact. In both the movies, he needed support from Mothra and King Kong to take down Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla (possessed by Ghidorah) respectively. While it can be argued that Godzilla has always had help to best Ghidorah, he also looked quite bulky and not as agile as one would expect.

Check out the trailer below:

This movie looks to course correct that by having a lean and mean one who packs quite the punch. The plot goes like this - As Japan reels from the effects of World War II, a new threat emerges in the form of the titular character. Gone is the protector version we saw in the Hollywood movies and here we have an absolute brute who means to lay waste to Japan (as they usually do). His roar is thunderous and as he engages the Japanese army and navy, his anger is palpable.

The visual effects look amazing and credit to Takashi Yamazaki and his team. The acting looks ok for a movie of this genre. We know the story and we are mainly in for Godzilla himself and the action scenes. On both these accounts, Godzilla Minus One scores.

Hopefully, the movie will be a blast. The movie already opened in Japan and has been declared to be a blockbuster. It will be released in other countries in December. Hopefully, when the inevitable sequel happens, we will see this Gojira face off against King Ghidorah.

 

Image Sources: Toho Studios, Toho Company, Robot Communications

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