Rapid Reviews || Fear Street Part Three: 1666, The Harder They Fall, Space Sweepers, and The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?
There are an overwhelming amount of movies released every year. With an average of over 700 movies released every year, the wealth of entertainment available is practically endless. This isn't even mentioning the plethora of series and shows released every single year, most of which are just as prestigious as the big, noteworthy Hollywood releases. With such a wide selection of content to dig into and such a finite amount of time to do so, what can one critic do?
It is from that question that Rapid Reviews was born. The idea is for this to be a semi-regular feature that will collect smaller, one or two paragraph reviews for a wide range of movies and shows that might not be otherwise discussed due to time constraints. And make no mistake - some of these shows and movies need to be talked about!
Fear Street Part Three: 1666 || Netflix
Directed by: Leigh Janiak Written by: Phil Graziadei, Kate Trefry, and Leigh Janiak Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Darrell Britt-Gibson Score by: Marco Beltrami, Anna Drubich || Cinematography by: Caleb Heymann
After the disappointing and generic-to-a-fault, slasher throwback that was Fear Street Part Two: 1978, I wasn't exactly eager to finish this Netflix trilogy up. Luckily, my compulsive tendencies kicked in, leaving me unable to keep this box "unchecked", so to speak. I say luckily, because I found myself enjoying the third part quite a bit. Fear Street Part Three: 1666 is definitely closer to Part One: 1994 in terms of its success, giving us a relatively satisfying conclusion.
Whereas Part Two: 1978 added nothing new to the Fear Street mythology and was filled with awkward (if not objectively "bad") storytelling decisions - Part Three: 1666 feels refreshingly different from the previous chapters immediately. From the look of the film to its period setting, it's clear that Part Three: 1666's influence is drawn from A24's recent output - most notably drawing inspiration from Robert Eggers' The Witch. The main narrative is focused around the growing paranoia in Union - the original settlement that eventually becomes Sunnyvale and Shadyside - resulting in a mostly effective, though sometimes heavy handed, thrilling narrative that roots itself in the horror of man itself. Sure, something supernatural is always in the background of the narrative, but the point that Part Three: 1666 wants to hammer home is that nothing is more horrifying than the ignorant and fearful.
Part Three: 1666 attempts to do something else interesting with its reuse of the cast from the first two parts - including actors whose characters were killed off in earlier entries. That's right. The bulk of the cast from the first two installments return in full force, all sporting regrettable British accents that range from serviceable to downright laughable at times. This is a fun stunt move, similar to what American Horror Story does - reusing the same actors but switching up the roles each season, using the audience's association with that actors' previous character to manipulate and play them. Sadly, Part Three: 1666 never seems to take advantage of this conceit, never once creating an interesting juxtaposition between the switched roles. If a character was "bad" in one of the previous parts, then they return in Part Three: 1666 as a different "bad" character. Only one dynamic is shifted in an interesting way - which is only in service of an admittedly clever plot twist that drives the second half of Part Three: 1666.
The second half shifts to the conclusion to the larger Sunnyvale/Shadyside story with Deena and her (still living) allies in 1994 and pretty successfully recaptures the energy and fun of Part One while wrapping the trilogy up in a neat bow. Overall, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 feels more in line with Part One - a messy, but enjoyable movie-going experience displaying some real potential from filmmaker Leigh Janiak.
The Harder They Fall || Netflix
Directed by: Jeymes Samuel Written by: Jeymes Samuel and Boaz Yakin Starring: Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, Deon Cole Score by: Jeymes Samuel || Cinematography by: Mihai Mălaimare Jr.
The Harder They Fall is the feature film debut of Jeymes Samuel, the British singer-songwriter known under the pseudonym The Bullitts - named in honor of Steve McQueen's legendary 1968 film, Bullitt. While this might seem like an odd and needlessly detailed sentence to open with...I do think that sentence speaks to everything I love in The Harder They Fall. It's made immediately clear that Jeymes Samuel has a deep love and appreciation of film, borrowing and repurposing elements and stylistic choices from other filmmakers and movies that inspired him. In a way, Samuel's direction doesn't feel too dissimilar from Quentin Tarantino's - though Samuel's direction hews more towards character and empathy, as opposed to Tarantino's tendency to focus on form over character. That's not to say that Samuel's direction lacks the visual panache found in Tarantino's work - quite the contrary. The editing and aesthetic of the world in The Harder They Fall feel so undeniably punk-rock, perfectly paralleling the revisionist leanings of the film as a whole. Simply put, I adored every stylistic choice made in this movie and openly welcome any future film with Jeymes Samuel at the helm!
The predominantly all Black ensemble cast in The Harder They Fall is uniformly talented, featuring reliable heavy hitters and rising stars alike. Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, and Danielle Deadwyler - all do outstanding work in creating stylish and memorable characters, even if some of them are little-more than slight variations on well-worn western tropes. Though the acting is top notch, some of the characters wound up feeling a little too campy and two-dimensional - which felt off when placed next to actors and characters who are going for something more earnest and honest. This hit-and-miss quality can also be said about the script and dialogue as well, with most of it being able to be chalked up to playful homage, but sometimes feeling stilted or too arch.
Luckily, it's pretty easy to overlook these issues thanks to a strong cast and striking direction. The Harder They Fall is a fun and compelling western that's dripping with style. The biggest compliment I can give the movie is that I would wholeheartedly welcome a continuation of this story - something the ending obviously hints at. The Harder They Fall isn't perfect, but it's absolutely worth a watch if you have Netflix!
Film-FTW Rating || 7 Stars - “Very Good / Compelling”
Space Sweepers || Netflix
Directed by: Jo Sung-hee Written by: Yoon Seung-min, Yoo-kang Seo-ae, and Jo Sung-hee Starring: Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, Jin Seon-kyu, Yoo Hae-jin, Richard Armitage Score by: Kim Tae-seong || Cinematography by: Byun Bong-sun
Space Sweepers is a strange film - and this is meant in the best way possible. Regarded as South Korea's first space blockbuster, Space Sweepers clearly takes influence from other space-westerns such as Cowboy Bebop and Firefly/Serenity. Thanks to a fast pace that also manages to spend ample time developing the central characters, Space Sweepers winds up being an entertaining new blockbuster that feels equally fresh and familiar.
What is most impressive about Space Sweepers is its ideas and commitment to some headier themes. This includes the central team of underdogs, specifically one of their members, Bubs the robot - one of the most progressive characters I've seen come out of South Korea since Sook-hee and Lady Hideko in Park Chan-wook's The Handmaiden. Likewise, the narrative's focus on systemic injustice and classism - helps Space Sweepers mange to avoid the trappings of other, more simplistic group-oriented adventure narratives. Space Sweepers' biggest accomplishment is in its ability to successfully juggle these weightier themes, while balancing storytelling and solid character work, while avoiding feeling "preachy". Something other films have tried and failed at doing...Avatar, Ojka, and Elysium immediately come to mind.
It's not all positive though. There were a few choices that didn't quite sit right with me - most notably in in Richard Armitage's entirely unremarkable antagonist, James Sullivan - CEO of the nefarious UTS corporation. If the other characters and interestingly conceived with nuances and moments of real humanity, then
James Sullivan is the antithesis to our protagonists, not just in theming, but also in their effectiveness. While our protagonists are nuanced and interestingly conceived - Sullivan is a lifeless, two-dimension villain that is about as bland as they come. Additionally, some of the humor wound up not really working for me. Specifically, Space Sweepers commits the most grievous of film offenses - fart jokes involving audible, ill-fitting fart noises. Not once, but twice in a call-back joke, just in case it didn't land the first time.
Still, my issues with the villain and some of humor aside, Space Sweepers is a bold attempt at creating a new sci-fi world, and it's one that I think audiences will be able to easily get swept up in due to its enjoyable cast of oddball protagonists, an efficiently paced narrative, and its graceful handling of some political themes.
Film-FTW Rating || 7 Stars - “Very Good / Compelling”
The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? || YouTube
Directed by: Jon Schnepp Written by: Jon Schnepp Starring: Jon Schnepp, Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, Dan Gilroy, Jon Peters Score by: Frederick William Scott || Cinematography by: Carl Millard King
This is a bit of a weird entry as this will be the first movie/television show reviewed that hasn't been released this year. No, The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (what a mouthful!) was released almost six years ago. So why am I bringing up this old, and largely forgotten documentary (currently available for streaming only on YouTube)? Well, my good friends over at The Caped Podcasters recently had me on their long-running, superhero and comic-book movie podcast to discuss this documentary all about Tim Burton and Nic Cage's abandoned Superman film from the mid 90s. If you haven't checked out their podcast, please do! Dave and Bryan have great chemistry and a solid, engaging format for their episodes.
Without going into too much, right off the bat, I can say that if you're a fan of "behind-the-scenes" or "making-ofs" then you'll most likely enjoy The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? It's a solid documentary that gives out tons of information on the potential casting of the movie...the story and design choices...the costuming. It's all fascinating when it's focused on that. Likewise, the back-and-forth between the various writers, producers, and Tim Burton himself, give a great look into how the proverbial sausage is made.
If the documentary stuck to only that information it would have been far more successful. However, we're often sidetracked by director Jon Schnepp's need to insert his personal opinions and thoughts on virtually all of the notes and details surrounding the failed movie. This, in addition to the conversational tone of the documentary, makes The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? feel like an hour's worth of material padded out to feature length running time.
If you're interested in more of my thoughts on The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? or if you'd like to support their podcast, something you should absolutely go out of your way to do - please consider checking out The Caped Podcasters' most recent episode!
An Additional Thought: Jon Peters seems like an unhinged mad-man when it comes to his ideas for movies...that said, someone needs to give this many complete creative control and an unlimited budget, because I want to NEED to see that movie.
Film-FTW Rating || 6 Stars - “Better Than Average / Moderately Successful”
More from the Author
Thank you so much for reading to the very end of this review - I sincerely thank you for taking your time in doing so! If you have any thoughts or comments, please feel free to share them in a respectful manner down below. Consider checking out and following the author on Twitter or Letterboxd.