Arrow Season Four: Brotherhood

As Team Arrow continues to battle HIVE Diggle makes a shocking discovery and Thea's bloodlust returns.

Wow just wow! After the episode last week that I considered to be the worst of Season Four they now gave us one that is probably the best of the season. You already know of course that this was Diggle focused ep but what I liked about it from the start is that this showed he has completely gotten over what Oliver did in Season Three and he has got this new character arc for him. Even with the events of last season Diggle has always been the rock of the team but this one showed his real vulnerable side probably for the first time in the show as he deals with the return of his brother as a HIVE Ghost. I mean Diggle had some truly emotional moments where he was fighting back tears with what his brother has become and deciding in the end to choose his new family of Team Arrow rather than Andy who did some horrible things e.g. the cool moment where he saved his "green brother". Since Andy is captured this will probably be something Diggle has to deal with for a while but I wonder what they are going to do with him now? Continuing on with this subplot we also learn more about HIVE and the fact that the Ghost are all under the influence of a drug which makes them follow orders and breaks down their DNA. It might be the drug in the Flashbacks so I'll guess we'll wait for that conformation but I wonder if Team Arrow will focus their effects on destroying the supply after the crossover episodes? As for Damien he had some really awesome and threatening scenes such as the one his one with Quentin about Laurel and when he met Oliver during his campaign speech. Then of course there was the ending where Oliver chose to confront Damien in the light rather than infiltrate HIVE like he did with the League in Season Three and while I commend Oliver for this I wonder if it is a good idea. The look on Damien's face during the speech makes me think he really suspects Oliver is the Green Arrow now and he could either target his family or run for mayor himself, now that could be interesting to see.

As for everything else finally, finally Thea's bloodlust subplot is getting interesting because before her confrontation with Damien I didn't care but afterwards it got good. Her making Damien's powers backfire on him (probably because of the Pit) was a development I have been waiting for; finally a relevant twist to the bloodlust that doesn't feel like a waste of time. Now Thea can be useful and I am looking forward to seeing what she and Malcolm are going to come up with to exploit it. Then there was Ray's subplot which was really good where he had to struggle with finding his place in the world and that's not running his company. Of course this is all set up for LOT but it gave him a small little character arc and then there was him suiting up as ATOM to kick some ass at the end which is what I wanted to see! Finally the Flashbacks look like they good be getting more interesting because Oliver now has a real mission and I liked the mysterious twig magic Reiter did; makes me think we can see more magic out of him like Damien and Constantine. Before I finish I got to say that the fights scenes in this episode where some of the best ever! I heard they got the stunt coordinator James Bamford to direct and he did an awesome job, the fight scenes weren't just a butch of quick cuts they stayed on the action. For example they really showed Black Canary kicking ass in the beginning after her scream and then there was Thea's super, damn, awesome fight with Andy in the elevator, that was edge of you seat stuff.

Overall this was just a perfect episode in my opinion, maybe Oliver as Green Arrow took a backseat but it didn't suffer for it because it was supposed to be more about Diggle anyway.

SCORE: 10/10

Highlights: A strong Diggle episode
                   Great subplots for Thea and Ray
                   Damien and more info on HIVE
                   They truly epic fight scenes


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Arrow Season Four: Restoration

"I always knew gambling could be dangerous but damn!"

Laurel and Thea visit Malcolm at Nanda Parbat to try and convince him to bring back Sara with the Lazarus Pit meanwhile in Star City Oliver and Diggle team up to take on Meta - Human Jeremy Tell AKA Double Down (JR Bourne) who is working for HIVE.

I love it when they bring Meta Humans on Arrow and this time Oliver actually got to fight one because it was Ray who fought Deathbolt. This episode was a really strong OTA (Original Team Arrow) episode which is good because I do miss when it was just the first three and it was thanks to Double Down who while being a straightforward villain was an awesome one. Double Down had such an cool power and his fight scenes showcasing it where so great like his first one with Oliver to a tie, his raid on Palmer Technologies and his final one with Oliver and Diggle; I really hope he appears in future episodes of Arrow or the Flash. It was also thanks to Double Down that Oliver and Diggle where finally able to mend their relationship which I am glad for because I want them to be civil with each other again like Diggle trusting Oliver with his two year mission or Oliver taking a playing card for Diggle. Plus I am glad we got to touch on Diggle's mission for vengeance against HIVE again since I expect to see quite a lot of it because to me this is supposed to be Diggle's season to really stand out and let the main storyline be about him. Felicity also had a strong subplot this episode, holding her own against Double Down though I admit a lot less gracefully lol. I like the team work between her and Curtis and I love we got to see the T - Spheres which makes me hopefully we will see Mr Terrific soon. Finally Damien really, and I mean really, stood out in this subplot and continues to impress me everything has the main villain. The way he used Double Down's own playing card to kill Fayad was so damn brutal and I agree with Double Down that Damien is terrifying and I do not want to get on the wrong side of him!

Really great line but Curtis here lol

As for everything else it is always good to see Malcolm again because he is just my favourite Arrow character and while I like Sara being back I didn't like the subplot overall. For starters I didn't like Laurel's attitude in this whole episode; when the Malcolm and Nyssa both agree not to bring Sara back then you should take that to heart! I also agree with Nyssa in that Laurel is doing this for the wrong reasons, it feels more selfish than anything else and I think it would have been better if Sara was brought back for better reasons than just Laurel wanting to. Thea also didn't fare too well because I have so far had mixed reactions about her condition and this episode didn't do a better job of making it better, she is kind of like a vampire now lol. As for Nyssa she just continues to annoy me in everything she does like destroying the Lazarus Pit, going on a rant about Sara, threatening to kill Malcolm; I just feel like she spoils everything in the end. I hope in the future Laurel or Malcolm kills her because I am just hating her now and I tell you this if Nyssa does kill Malcolm (like she threatens to) I will never forgive the show for that. Since Malcolm is a villain I know he could end up dead in a future season and I just think he defiantly deserves a better death than by Nyssa who has never had a good storyline and constantly whines all of the time. Finally the Flashbacks are decent and I want to know more of the Baron's plans but they are nothing to exciting so far, just have to give it more time.

You know in the LOT trailer Sara was naked coming out of the Pit, I feel cheated now

Overall the plot with Double Down was way better than the one in Nanda Parbat though I am glad Sara is back now.

SCORE 7/10

Highlights: Double Down
                   Strong Oliver, Diggle and Felicity storylines
                   Damien continues to be awesome
                   Return of Malcolm

Let - Downs: Laurel and Thea continue to be the weak links this season
                      Nyssa just spoils everything in the end   

The great screenshots of these episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/      

Arrow Season Four: The Candidate

"Your methods are too sick even for me Anarky"

An old friend of the Queen Family, Jessica Danforth (Jeri Ryan), announces she is running for mayor which worries Oliver and Thea especially with new villain Lonnie Machin AKA Anarky on the loose meanwhile Felicity gets help from employee Curtis Holt (Echo Kellum).

This new season of Arrow continues to stay really strong and still has a better start than the Flash in my opinion. I shall start off with the debut of a major DC villain and that is Anarky and I got to say that I was really, really impressed with him. I liked that Lonnie isn't Anarky yet, he is just a smart yet extremely sadistic person, but this is his origins of how he becomes Anarky. He had such a great screen presence like when he broke the finger of that girl (kind of cringe worthy that was lol) and he had a truly awesome fight against Green Arrow; him swinging his electric baton and deflecting arrows had me on the edge of my seat. His escape at the end was really dark (painting his symbol in blood) and I hope he continues to develop strongly as a new villain. Another great part of the Anarky subplot was Jessica Danforth and she did a really great job in the role and was woven in so nicely with the Queen Family that I really believe she has been an old friend of the family. It is a shame however that she is withdrawing from being mayor because I this means Oliver is going to run for it and while I know that is a major plot line in the comics I didn't want to see it in the TV series. I mean how is he supposed to be Green Arrow when he is always in the spotlight? However his Flashbacks where a lot more interesting this episode and I am curious to see what Baron Reiter (Jimmy Akingbola) plans are and how far Oliver has to go in his army.

They finally decided to get rid of the wig in the Flashbacks

As for everything else this was also a great introduction for Curtis, who comic fans know as the hero Mr Terrific, and he worked really well with Felicity. You know I have read comments of people hating that he is gay because he isn't in the comics but all I have to say is who cares that he is? At least there won't be any weird romantic subplot between him and Felicity. As for Felcitiy this subplot with her being head of Palmer technologies definitely gives her more to work with than just being the computer support of Team Arrow. Quentin continues to be a stronger character because again he is against Team Arrow but basically leaves them alone and he is at least civil with Oliver in public. Then there was his meeting with Damien which was really intense with the threats from Damien; again praise to his actor for being so great as the villain and for his scenes with Quentin and Anarky. Finally Thea's subplot was handled a lot better this episode where we finally get to see some proper side affects of the Lazarus Pit and I completely forgot that she, Laurel and the rest of Team Arrow where never really told about the Pit. Laurel digging up Sara at the end was quite the shock but mostly for that they did it so soon, I knew she was coming back because of Legends of Tomorrow.

Now that is one way to grab everyone's attention!

Overall a really great episode and origin for a really great DC villain and the introduction of Curtis Holt.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: Debut of Anarky and Jessica
                   Curtis and Felicity team up
                   Better Thea subplot and Flashbacks
                   Damien and Quentin where still great

 Let - Downs: Oliver running for mayor

The great screenshots of these episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/

The Arrow Season Four: Green Arrow

New season, new threads

Oliver and Felicity have been living a quiet life after leaving Starling City however Laurel and Thea arrive to ask for Oliver's help when a former League member Damien Darhk (Neal Mcdonough) shows up with his own HIVE forces.

 

I said that in my Flash review that while it's first episode of the new season was great it didn't have much of an impact however Arrow.......just WOW, it nailed it completely! I wondered how Oliver and Felicity where going to go back to the vigilante lifestyle after we spend the first five minutes with them in suburban paradise and I was surprised that it was mainly due to Felicity who has been secretly helping Team Arrow because she was bored. I liked that they didn't waste too much time bringing them back it was just like; "The city is worse than we thought and we miss the thrill, so lets get back into it.". It was enjoyable to see them come back where we see more of Felicity back to her old positive self and Oliver himself seems a lot more open and light - hearted which is a great change from the depressive tone of Season Three so good job to Amell. As for the rest of Team Arrow Diggle was a definite standout because after three seasons of being Oliver right hand man he is the most reluctant to accept him back because of how Oliver betrayed him; the bromance isn't completely back yet but we still see them working together (plus I like his costume and I don't care what anyone else says). The weak point with Team Arrow however was with Laurel and Thea and while I do really love seeing Laurel as Black Canary and Thea impressed me with her kicking ass during the truck chase they didn't leave much of an impression and felt like they where just there. We get only a one minute snippet of Thea losing control because of the Lazarus Pit but honestly I would have preferred for them to save it until it is the focus of a whole episode and not have been shoved into this one. I'm sure these two will be better when they both get an episode dedicated more to them but there just wasn't much for them in this premiere.

 



The Force is strong with this one

As for everything else the biggest standout was the introduction of Damien Darhk who was just perfectly, and I mean perfectly, cast. He had such a creepy and intimidating presence when he was on screen like his first scene where he comes out and says he is the bad guy and he wants Star City to die. Quickly want to mention Star City and they did an awesome job of making it seem worse than ever like the abandoned buildings, empty streets, the murders of leaders and the fact people just want to leave. This is of course helped by Damien and his HIVE forces who seem unstoppable and even the grunts put up a hell of a fight; they are like a high tech version of the League. Back to Damien his fight scene on the train was so damn cool and when he used his powers to catch arrows and kill with a touch it was just WTF! This is kind of explained with Damien performing a ritual near the end and I really don't know what it means yet but this is what I wanted in Arrow; more powers either through Meta Humans or the supernatural and I can't wait for more. Finally I will talk about the two biggest twists of the episode with the first one being Quentin working with Damien which is something I did not see coming. I liked Quentin in this even before that reveal because while he still doesn't support vigilantes he doesn't go overboard, its like he's "I'll do my thing, you'll do yours" but I think I am going to really like him working for Damien because this will give his character something completely new to work with than just being the cop (though I don't think he is evil or anything). Then there is the reveal that someone will die in six months which is more than a compelling reason to keep on watching. As for who it could be Felicity might seem too obvious and since Thea already died I think it could either be Quentin, Diggle or maybe even Felicity's mom? I know I haven't mentioned the Flashbacks yet but they didn't seem worth mentioning; His back on the island but we get no information as to why, I still don't like Waller and I hated she had to come back so soon and I would have preferred seeing a few episodes where the Flashbacks focus on Oliver being a rookie vigilante chasing criminals in Coast City like we saw for a bit.

 

"It's Team Diggle now, anyone have a problem with that?"

Overall Arrow was a far more impressive first episode than Flash for the new season by delivering lots of action, character development, introducing it's impressive new villain already and giving us two big twists that just hooks us into this new season straight away.            

 

 

SCORE: 9/10

 

Highlights: Oliver and Felicity's return to Team Arrow/Diggle and Oliver conflict

                   Neal Mcdonough as Damien and his mysterious powers

                   Two really big twists/Quentin was really good in this

 

Let - Downs: Laurel and Thea where the weak points in Team Arrow

                      The Flashbacks

 

The great screenshots of these episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/

Film Review: The Amazing Spiderman 2 (MASSIVE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!)

I know I have not reviewed the first Amazing Spiderman but I have just recently seen the second one and I just want to dive right in to reviewing it. Also I won't go on about the story, I am just going to focus on specific events and characters in detail so has the title indicates there will be MASSIVE  SPOILERS for those who have not yet seen the film.

Firstly I want to talk about the villains that appear in the film so lets start off with the main one; Max Dillon/Electro played by Jamie Foxx. Now sorry to all the people who are massive fans of the original Electro from the comic books but in my opinion I much preferred the version of Jamie Foxx. I have two main reasons for this and they start off with the his change in look; anyone who have read the comics know that Electro wears a green and yellow spandex costume and while this is ok I always found it to be a tad wacky and really think this would not have done well in the film. His look in the film however is really cool; his electric blue skin which is kind of see through and covered in veins defiantly gives Electro the look of a mutated super human.
The other reason I prefer the film version of Electro was Jamie Foxx's praise worthy portrayal and the story arc that they have given him. In the comics Max Dillon is just an electrical engineer and line man who gains his powers and then just turns to crime but in the film they give more depth to the character; he works for OSCORP as an electrical engineer and is probably the biggest nobody in the entire world. I mean really this guy is so alone, so mistreated and so under appreciated for is work by is colleges that I really felt sorry for this guy. One of the best non - action scenes in the film for me was when he was stumbling through Times Square after just getting his powers and he sees himself being filmed on all of the big screens and even though they are picturing him as the villain Max just looks soooo relived that people a finally seeing him......until Spiderman ruins it for him by stealing the lime light. Another change in the Electro back story for the film was that after Spiderman saves his life he practically idolizes (and it is a little creepy with how far they go lol).
Oh and one more thing I would like to add that Electro has one of the coolest themes for a villain that I have heard. When it comes to villains a factor that I think is a definite plus is a badass theme song and I think they did it right here.

Next I would like to go in to possibly Spiderman's arch nemesis and that is the Green Goblin. Now when comic book fans watch this film I bet some of them where surprised when Harry Osborn is the Green Goblin when usually his father Norman Osborn is the first in almost all other forms of Spiderman media. Not only that but they kill Norman off after only five minutes of screen time from a disease, something that Harry has as well. Now this was one hell of a bold move since Norman is supposed to be the first Green Goblin but they handled it so well in this that it is something I can look over and Dane DeHann as Harry was so good too. Even when he was just Harry Osborn and not the Green Goblin he seemed really dark and creepy and the disease that is killing him gives him a good motivation to take the spider venom drug.
As for the costume besides form the usual armour and glider they have decided to forgo the use of a mask in favour of changing Harry's face when he injects himself with the drug. So instead of a goblin looking helmet like in the previous Spiderman films Harry's face is given a greenish colour, his hair lightens and is spikes up and his mouth is all smiley and twisted with black teeth. I really did like this look because like Electro they decided to kind of mutant his appearance to make him more sinister instead of giving him a costume and like with Electro it has worked.

Now with the villain that I feel is completely wasted and that is the Rhino; first I will just say that I am not a big Rhino fan, in the comics and now he is not one of my favourites but I was still looking forward to see him in the film. This is because in the trailers I saw that they gave him an awesome mecha suit and what looked like a cool fight with Spiderman however this fight only happens for the last five minutes of the film and it cuts to the credits half way through. A bit of a disappointment after how much the trailers showed of it so I can really just hope at this point that it is continued in the next film.

As for the fights in this film besides from the disappointing one with Rhino I have to say that all of the others are done really well. The two major fights Spiderman has with Electro are just awesome, the one in the Time Square was great with the cool use of Spidey Sense and we get to see Electro getting better with controlling his powers throughout it. It may have ended suddenly with Spiderman hitting Electro with water from a fire hose but since water is his actual weakness in the comics am not going to fault them for that. However his final fight at the power station with my favourite fight in the entire film; It was so cool when Electro kept teleporting himself in between the rods and it was playing his theme song!
For the Green Goblin fight I have heard some saying it was just shoehorned in at the very end so it can include the death of Gwen Stacy (talk about that next) however as short as it was I think it was done very well and choosing the clock tower as a location was great too. Like with Rhino I hope that the Green Goblin has more screen time in the next film.

On to the death of Gwen Stacy and I have to say that I am really glad the writers decided to keep it  and not change it in any way. As a fan of the comics I knew she would have been killed off by the Green Goblin the second I saw her and like in the comics she is killed when Spiderman tries to catch her with his webbing and the impact snaps her neck. This is one of the most definitive moments in the comics because not only had Spiderman killed an innocent, it was his girlfriend and it established the Green Goblin forever as his arch nemesis. Also if I am honest I am kind of glad that they did kill her off now because despite Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone having amazing chemistry together I was kind of annoyed by their constant on again off again relationship throughout the film. I feel that some of their scenes together could have been cut out from the film to focus on other events.

One last big thing I would like to talk about and that is they whole mystery surrounding Peters parent and I have to say that the whole revelation of it was a bit of a let down. Sure it goes includes how Ben Parker was the one behind the mutated spiders but in the end it all amount to one thing: OSCORP bad. Fans of the comics and even non fans probably could have worked out that on their own, it was done really well, especially the beginning of the film with Ben and his wife on the plane but like I said the big reveal behind their deaths and everything they done was a bit obvious.

Now lastly I talk about one of the most exciting aspects of the film and that is the whole set up for the Sinister Six group! For those who do not know they Sinister Six is a group in the Spiderman Universe made op of some of the most dangerous of the Spiderman villains. Harry literally mentions it at the end of the film and that is even the whole reason Rhino was introduced at the very end. We also have a massive hint in the film that Doctor Octopus and the Vulture will also be included in the roster and I have also heard rumours online that Kraven the Hunter may be included as well which would be great since he is an interesting character. One I would like to see are Shocker, Scorpion and the Chameleon, I am really looking forward to seeing the Sinister Six so I guess we are just going to have to wait and see who will be included.

On another note I just want to say I really hope Carnage is included in the film series eventually, he is the my most favourite (an in my opinion most powerful) of the Spiderman villains!

Overall this was a awesome follow up to the Amazing Spiderman 1 with its strong points being the villains of Electro and the Green Goblin but being let down slightly by Rhino and too much screen time being given the Peter's and Gwen's relationship.

SCORE: 8/10