PLOT: The infamous Agatha Harkness finds herself down and out of power after a suspicious goth Teen helps break her free from a distorted spell. Her interest is piqued when he begs her to take him on the legendary Witches’ Road, a magical gauntlet of trials that, if survived, rewards a witch with what they’re missing. Together, Agatha and this mysterious Teen pull together a desperate coven, and set off down, down, down The Road…

REVIEW: When WandaVision premiered three years ago, it ushered in the Disney Plus era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A unique series that explored the MCU in a way never before seen on the big screen, WandaVision was a direct tie-in to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Introducing the Darkhold and the idea of the Scarlet Witch, the series also showcased the breakout character of Agatha Harkness. Played by the great Kathryn Hahn, it was quickly announced that the witch villain would get her own spin-off. Agatha All Along connects the supernatural elements of the MCU with a fun, horror-tinged concept that plays like a cross between the tone of the MCU’s Werewolf By Night and the sassy humor of Disney’s fan-favorite Hocus Pocus. With a great ensemble of actors playing a ragtag coven, Agatha All Along is a fun foray into a different side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that does not require knowledge of the comics or the preceding films and series to enjoy it.

Agatha All Along debuts tonight with two episodes followed by weekly premieres, and it concludes with a two-episode finale right before Halloween. I got the chance to watch the first four episodes of the series for this review and feel confident that the series has a fun formula that will carry it through to the series finale. Without divulging any spoilers, I can say that Agatha All Along opens with a return to the fake television series spell that bound Wanda Maximoff and Vision through the decades of iconic sitcoms but now has Agatha locked in a blend of True Detective and Mare of Easttown. At first, I was worried that the shtick that made WandaVision unique would not work a second time, but the spell is quickly broken and sets Agatha (Katherine Hahn) on the path to find the Witches’ Road. The Road is a mythical place where Agatha believes she can regain the powers stolen by Wanda. Despite her infamous legacy, Agatha must assemble a coven of witches willing to join her. Joined by a teen familiar named Teen (Joe Locke), Wanda sets off to pull her team together.

With a credit sequence full of references to pop culture witches through the ages, Agatha All Along strives to be a darkly fun outing that is decidedly within Marvel’s wheelhouse but aims for a wider target audience that may not be comprised of comic book aficionados. As Agatha collects her coven-mates, we meet potions witch Jennifer Kale (former SNL castmember Sasheer Zamata), fortune-teller Livia Calderu, protector witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and fellow Westview victim of Wanda Maximoff, Sharon “Mrs. Hart” Davis (Debra Jo Rupp). Aubrey Plaza plays Agatha’s nemesis and green witch, Rio Vidal, and her path to joining the coven is better left unsaid. Because of Agatha’s past atrocities against witches, her escape from Westview puts the sinister Salem Seven (Okwui Okpokwasili) on track to hunt her down and kill her. The first two episodes show Agatha’s escape and journey to take the coven on the Witches’ Road, with the subsequent episodes diving into the tasks they must all complete to regain their powers. This journey means we get to learn backstory facts for all of the witches and learn of the past events that led to Agatha becoming the despised character everyone in the series knows her to be.

Non-comic fans may be somewhat confused by references to Scarlet Witch and Mephisto, the latter a major character that Marvel stalwarts have been waiting to see and who may appear in Agatha All Along. Still, this ensemble makes it easy to quickly understand the general structure of witch society in the MCU. Kathryn Hahn continues her whipsmart delivery as the caustic Agatha and also has the first nude scene in Marvel Studios’ history in the first episode. The connections to WandaVision are significant, and watching that series right before Agatha All Along would boost your background knowledge, but it is unnecessary. I would not even consider this series to be a comic book or superhero show, but definitely more of a horror-themed comedic series. The formula follows the characters completing tasks, each of which is catered to their skillset and shows that Agatha may not be entirely evil. The visuals range from horrifying designs that are not for the faint of heart. I found a couple of surprisingly dark designs to be much scarier than I expected from a series like this, but it still aims to be inclusive of a teen and older audience. The first four episodes skew towards a more mature audience with some creepy moments and more mature subject matter, but nothing that the average thirteen-year-old can handle.

Created by WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer, Agatha All Along is directed by three filmmakers, each of whom helms three episodes. Schaeffer directed the first two and the seventh episodes while also writing two chapters. Rachel Goldberg (Gen V) and Gandja Monteiro directed the remaining episodes. The series boasts multiple aesthetics that range from surreal to downright scary. The special effects work looks good throughout the series, with some creative camera work adding to the eerie feel of the Witches’ Road locations. Laura Donney, Cameron Squires, Giovanna Sarquis, Laura Monti, Jason Rostovsky, Gia King, and Peter Cameron wrote the episodes alongside Schaeffer, with several of them returning from scripting WandaVision. The series boasts new music from Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, including the key “Ballad of the Witches’ Road,” which is key to the series narrative. Music is key to the series as much as the typically top-notch production values Marvel Studios has been known for over the years.

Agatha All Along is a nice change of pace from prior Disney+ MCU series. While some may point to the predominantly female-led cast and creative team being a reason this will not appeal to a wide audience, I would counter that fans of horror and spooky fare that does not rely on gore or disturbing imagery but still manages to be exceptionally creepy and unsettling are in for a fun surprise with this series. Kathryn Hahn never disappoints, and her chance to dig into Agatha’s backstory in a way similar to how Tom Hiddleston explored Loki in his namesake series is a fun tangent to the ever-growing MCU. Agatha All Along is a nice entry for new fans and longtime Marvel fans alike to enjoy an engaging series that boasts solid special effects, creepy visuals, crackling dialogue, and a unique foray into the supernatural that will have ripples for the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years to come. Agatha All Along is a solid outing from the uneven recent phases of the MCU that works because it does not require a backlog of research to enjoy it.

Agatha All Along premieres with two episodes on September 18th on Disney+

Agatha All Along

GOOD

7

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Sorry, Clone Club. AMC Networks has cancelled Orphan Black: Echoes after just one season. The spin-off of the original sci-fi series just couldn’t generate the same level of interest, with decidedly mixed reviews for its 10-episode season.

Orphan Black: Echoes is an original sci-fi series starring Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) set in the world of Orphan Black. “Set in the near future, Orphan Black: Echoes takes a deep dive into the exploration of the scientific manipulation of human existence,” reads the official synopsis. “It follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unravelling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal. Ritter plays Lucy, a woman with an unimaginable origin story, trying to find her place in the world.” In addition to Ritter, Orphan Black: Echoes stars Amanda Fix (Broken Diamonds), Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard), Rya Kihlstedt (A Teacher), Hiroyuki Liao(Barry), Reed Diamond (The Mosquito Coast), and Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap).

The original Orphan Black series aired for five seasons and made a star out of Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), who played multiple roles throughout the series.

Although our own Alex Maidy did find enough to enjoy about Orphan Black: Echoes, he ultimately felt that it couldn’t compare with the original. “Orphan Black: Echoes is the best kind of science fiction. It raises themes directly related to human emotions and obstacles while delivering them in a consumable genre format. As well-acted as the series is, the stakes do not rise to the level that Orphan Black did, which reduces the impact of Orphan Black: Echoes,” Maidy wrote. “The bad guys are not bad enough to make the heroes seem as heroic as they deserve. Krysten Ritter takes a back seat to the rest of the cast, which, after Tatiana Maslany stole the show in the series that inspired it, Orphan Black: Echoes feels like an echo of the show it could have been. There is certainly room for this story to grow in subsequent seasons, but I anticipate fans of the original will be divided over this new chapter in the Orphan Black universe.” You can check out the rest of Maidy’s review right here.

How do you feel about Orphan Black: Echoes getting cancelled?

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With The Acolyte having come and gone (not to mention getting cancelled), the stage is set for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the next live-action Star Wars series on Disney+. Entertainment Weekly has dropped a couple of new images from Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which includes a look at Jaleel White (Urkel!) as a space pirate!

Jaleel White plays Gunter, the cyborg-looking character seen above. He’s flanked by Vane (Marti Matulis), who you might recognize from The Mandalorian, as well as Brutus (voiced by Fred Taatasciorce and played by Stephen Oyoung), Pax (Mike Estes), and Chaelt (Dale Soules). “Those are pirates!“ Skeleton Crew co-creator Christopher Ford confirmed to EW. “Space pirates.“

While we’ve seen pirates in Star Wars before, it sounds as though they will be more heavily featured in Skeleton Crew. “With the era we’re in, we’re kind of getting to play with that lawless thing,” Ford said. “The Empire is gone, and so we’re playing with a part of the galaxy that has a resurgence of piracy. Pirates are talked about so much in Star Wars. People would call Han Solo a pirate and he’d be like, ‘How dare you?’ And we’ve seen some awesome pirates in the animated shows. So this was something where both [executive producers] Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau were really excited to do more pirate stuff.”

The official synopsis for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: “The series follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy, crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood, the mysterious character played by Law. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.” Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith play the young kids, with Jude Law playing the mysterious Force user known as Jod Na Nawood. The first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars series was released at D23 this summer, which had a very Amblin vibe.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will premiere on Disney+ on December 3rd.

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With The Acolyte having come and gone (not to mention getting cancelled), the stage is set for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, the next live-action Star Wars series on Disney+. Entertainment Weekly has dropped a couple of new images from Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which includes a look at Jaleel White (Urkel!) as a space pirate!

Jaleel White plays Gunter, the cyborg-looking character seen above. He’s flanked by Vane (Marti Matulis), who you might recognize from The Mandalorian, as well as Brutus (voiced by Fred Taatasciorce and played by Stephen Oyoung), Pax (Mike Estes), and Chaelt (Dale Soules). “Those are pirates!“ Skeleton Crew co-creator Christopher Ford confirmed to EW. “Space pirates.“

While we’ve seen pirates in Star Wars before, it sounds as though they will be more heavily featured in Skeleton Crew. “With the era we’re in, we’re kind of getting to play with that lawless thing,” Ford said. “The Empire is gone, and so we’re playing with a part of the galaxy that has a resurgence of piracy. Pirates are talked about so much in Star Wars. People would call Han Solo a pirate and he’d be like, ‘How dare you?’ And we’ve seen some awesome pirates in the animated shows. So this was something where both [executive producers] Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau were really excited to do more pirate stuff.”

The official synopsis for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: “The series follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy, crossing paths with the likes of Jod Na Nawood, the mysterious character played by Law. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.” Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, and Robert Timothy Smith play the young kids, with Jude Law playing the mysterious Force user known as Jod Na Nawood. The first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars series was released at D23 this summer, which had a very Amblin vibe.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will premiere on Disney+ on December 3rd.

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Just when Liam Neeson thought he was out, they pull him back in. Samuel Goldwyn Films has dropped the first trailer for Absolution, an action thriller starring Liam Neeson as an aging gangster who attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past. However, the criminal underworld won’t loosen its grip willingly.

Absolution has all the hallmarks of a Liam Neeson action thriller: a conflicted man pushed to his limit, icy glares, and, of course, plenty of cracked skulls and gunshots. Neeson stars in Absolution alongside Yolonda Ross, Frankie Shaw, Daniel Diemer, Javier Molina, Jimmy Gonzales, Josh Drennen, Deanna Nayr Tarraza, Terrence Pulliam, and Ron Perlman. Hans Petter Moland directed the film from a script by Tony Gayton.

The film is Neeson’s second collaboration with Samuel Goldwyn Films following the release of In the Land of Saints and Sinners earlier this year. Taking place in 1970s Ireland, the film follows Finbar Murphy (Neeson), a newly retired assassin eager to leave his dark past behind. “[Finbar] leads a quiet life in the remote coastal town of Glen Colm Cille, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country,” reads the official synopsis. “When a menacing crew of terrorists arrive, led by a ruthless woman named Doireann, Finbar soon discovers that one of them has been abusing a local young girl. Drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, Finbar must choose between exposing his secret identity or defending his friends and neighbors.“

Neeson recently wrapped production on The Naked Gun, a new installment of the classic spoof comedy starring Leslie Nielsen. Although Neeson has experience in the realm of comedy, he’s never led one himself. He explained why he wanted to take on The Naked Gun earlier this year. “It’s funny because right before Christmas, my sons and I were looking through the Academy screeners and trying to find something silly, some silly, stupid movie that we could giggle at,” Neeson explained. “There was none, of course, as they were all very heavy and international. I mean, brilliant movies but all very heavy. When Seth MacFarlane approached me about it — this was about two years ago, now — I thought, yeah, I guess I could do that as long as I play it dead seriously and not try and imitate Mr. Leslie Nielsen. He was wonderful. Akiva Schaffer is directing it and he’s from the [Saturday Night Live] world. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a good script, and there’s a few laugh out loud moments in it.“

Absolution will be released in theaters nationwide on November 1st.

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Earlier this summer, Megalopolis director Francis Ford Coppola joined Letterboxd, the social cataloguing service where members can rate and review films and keep track of what they’ve watched. He hasn’t been too active on the service, but he has given Megalopolis a perfect five-star score. The divisive film has been receiving mixed reviews from critics and audiences, with the average Letterboxd score sitting at 2.9. Coppola also gave five stars to The Last Showgirl, a film directed by his granddaughter Gia Coppola.

Despite the mixed reviews, Megalopolis is clearly a project Coppola is passionate about. He spent decades developing the movie and even put up $120 million of his own money. While it’s a shame the movie wasn’t the universally acclaimed masterpiece that many were hoping it would be, folks can’t seem to stop talking about it. In my book, an interesting failure is more alluring than another two hours of forgettable mediocrity.

Our own Chris Bumbray caught Megalopolis at TIFF, and unfortunately, he wasn’t a fan. “In the last forty minutes, Megalopolis becomes a real disaster, with so much jam-packed into the movie’s third act that it becomes almost impossible to keep up with it,” Bumbray wrote. “It becomes nonsensical as it races towards its ending. Again, one can’t fault Coppola for his ambition. He financed the movie with money he earned, so he had every right to make exactly the film he wanted to make. But it’s hard to imagine this ever connecting with anyone other than hardcore Coppola devotees or maybe connoisseurs of bad cinema.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

The official synopsis for Megalopolis reads: “Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.” The film is currently slated to hit theaters on September 27th. I’m looking forward to finally getting to check the film out for myself.

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February 14th is a Friday in 2025, so that would seem to be the perfect choice of release date for a horror romantic comedy that’s set on Valentine’s Day, which is what the movie Heart Eyes is. But the February 14th release date has already been taken by Disney/Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World and Paramount’s Smurfs animated movie… so Sony Pictures has chosen to release Heart Eyes on February 7th. Its competition on that date is the Universal action movie With Love, starring Ke Huy Quan.

Coming our way from Josh Ruben, the director of Werewolves Within and Scare Me, Heart Eyes was scripted by Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon, Landon’s Freaky collaborator Michael Kennedy (who also wrote It’s a Wonderful Knife), and Phillip Murphy (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard). The film has the following synopsis: When the Heart Eyes Killer strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives.

Olivia Holt of Totally Killer and Mason Gooding from the two most recent Scream movies star alongside Jordana Brewster (The Fast and the Furious), Devon Sawa (Final Destination), and Gigi Zumbado (The Price We Pay). We’ve been assuming that Holt and Gooding are playing the co-workers who have to run for their lives, but no details have been revealed about the characters being played by Brewster, Sawa, and Zumbado.

Ruben previously provided the following statement: “My love of horror is rivaled only by my love of romantic comedies. I’m excited as hell to mount my most challenging genre bender to date: a brutal slasher in a nostalgic rom-com universe.“

Heart Eyes is set up at Spyglass, and Republic Pictures has picked up distribution rights to the film outside of the U.S. and Canada. Landon is producing the film with Divide/Conquer’s Greg Gilreath and Adam Hendricks. Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Chris Stone serve as executive producers with Murphy and Mel Turner.

There’s no way I’m going to miss a slasher from the folks who brought us films like Werewolves Within, Scare Me, Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U, Freaky, and It’s a Wonderful Knife, so I’ll be watching Heart Eyes no matter what its release date is.

Are you interested in Heart Eyes? What do you think of Sony picking February 7th as the release date? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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The writing duo of Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant are best known for their work on comedies and family friendly projects: Reno 911!, Taxi (2004), The Pacifier, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Let’s Go to Prison, Balls of Fury, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Baywatch (2017), Night at the Museum, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. But they’ve also written the horror comedy Hell Baby, and Garant has written the horror films The Veil and Jessabelle. So it’s not entirely off brand to hear that they wrote the initial screenplay for the upcoming horror film The Casket Girls, with Gabrielle Union (Breaking In) on board to star and executive produce.

Deadline reports that Justin G. Dyck will be directing The Casket Girls and has done script revisions with Keith Cooper (Anything for Jackson). Dyck has a lot of directing credits to his name, most of them being on romantic TV movies, many of them set on Christmas, but he has also worked on the Shudder TV series Creepshow and directed the horror film Anything for Jackson.

The Casket Girls is inspired by the true story of a group of young women sent from France to New Orleans to become brides to French colonists in the early 1700s. They arrived with small chests, or “caskets” of their belongings, hence the name given by locals. According to legend, upon the girls’ arrival, the homicide rate in New Orleans rose dramatically, with stories of men drained of their blood. The girls were blamed and feared to be demons or vampires, and for the city’s protection, they were imprisoned in the attic of the Vatican-controlled Ursuline Convent, which still stands today in the heart of the French Quarter, locked away behind an impenetrable door and windows bolted shut by nails blessed by the Pope himself. The film takes place in today’s world as Detective Shay Williams (Union) and her partner become trapped inside the Ursuline Convent with a group of tourists when the Casket Girls escape from their attic prison for the first time in over 300 years.

QC Entertainment’s Sean McKittrick and Raymond Mansfield are producing the film. Union executive produces alongside QC’s Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Lighthouse Pictures’ Jameson Parker. Despite the New Orleans setting, filming will take place in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Production is set to begin on October 15th.

Does The Casket Girls sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this Gabrielle Union horror project by leaving a comment below.

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When you thought you’d seen the final trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux, Todd Phillips returns with another explosive preview to whet the whistles of eager fans. Today’s Joker: Folie à Deux trailer showers the film with praise from glowing reviews across the entertainment spectrum, selecting the best of the best quotes from reviews for the movie’s Venice Film Festival screening.

As you may recall, many reactions to Joker: Folie à Deux skewed toward the negative, but WB managed to sift through the weeds to find a bed of flowers thrown at Todd Phillips’ feet for the new trailer. The mixture of reactions to the film reinforces the need to see it for yourself (if you’re interested) and form your own opinion. I’m still waffling about coughing up the cash to see the movie in theaters, but I know plenty who are ready to fork over the scratch to dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight.

Joker: Folie à Deux will be “mostly a jukebox musical, including at least 15 reinterpretations of very well-known songs.” In hindsight, it would have been hard to imagine Joaquin Phoenix returning for more of the same, no matter how many dump trucks full of money they drove to his house.

In addition to Phoenix and Gaga, the film also stars Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey. Zazie Beetz returns to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond from the first movie, a love interest for Arthur. Official plot details remain a mystery, but the trailer paints a pretty picture, and it’s been said that much of the sequel will occur within Arkham Asylum, where we left Arthur in the last film. It’s inside Arkham where Arthur meets Harleen Frances Quinzel. After escaping, Arthur and Harley resow the seeds of chaos in Gotham City, a corrupted metropolis continuously on the verge of collapse.

Does the latest Joker: Folie à Deux trailer make you want to see the movie even more? Are you counting down the days until the film’s theatrical release on October 4? Are you still nervous about the movie’s musical elements? Let us know in the comments section below.

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PLOT: A special forces soldier who has given up country, religion, and even hope, must return to the field of battle to track down his niece, a reporter, caught in the middle of an illegal private contracting operation that went dead wrong.

REVIEW: The political turmoil of Venezuela makes it the perfect setting for a political action thriller. The country has had such issues that the US government warns citizens not to travel there. So it allows a backdrop of corruption and violence while still keeping a grounded reality. Long Gone Heroes takes advantage of this and is able to provide a relevant story while not stepping on anyone’s toes, politically. This is a simple story about a group of “good guys” entering a war-torn country and saving a hostage. And it’s surprisingly good.

When it comes to these lower-budget action films, I never really know what I’m in for. They range the gamut from barely comprehensible to surprisingly energetic. Given the subject matter, I’d never describe Long Gone Heroes as fun, but it’s damn entertaining in its execution. Following Gunner (Grillo) and his merry band of mercenaries, they are tasked with saving the kidnapped daughter of a Senator. The rescue attempt is made more complicated when she refuses to leave without helping the other kidnap victims. It’s a pretty basic story with expected story beats and plot progression but it’s handled well. We aren’t given stereotypical character introductions set to different genres of music, trying to establish their personalities. We’re simply introduced to new people as they’re relevant to the story and it’s done rather unceremoniously.

Frank Grillo has made a nice little niche for himself as an action lead in these smaller films. But it’s never been more clear that the man needs a major action franchise to take charge of. Gunner impresses with how in control of the situation he is, no matter what curveball gets thrown his way. He feels like a classic action hero. Josh Hutcherson is also making a habit of really standing out in these actiony side roles. He’s presented as a tech guy but he more than proves himself out in the field. It’s not quite as showy as his Beekeeper performance earlier this year, but he adds such value to a role that would have been forgettable with a lesser actor.

As with many films like this, there are a few roles that, despite prominent placement on the poster, are nothing more than cameos. Melissa Leo is the Senator whose daughter is kidnapped, but she mostly bookends the movie. Andy Garcia is severely underutilized as bad guy Roman, really only getting a couple of scenes to stand out. He mostly just hovers around stereotypical bad-guy mode and he’s so great that I wanted more of him. Mekhi Phifer also features briefly as psychopath Moreao, a man who leaves no witnesses to his crimes. Despite the limited screen time for these actors, the filmmakers do a good job of keeping them involved even when we’re not physically seeing them. This avoids some of the trappings that indie films can get into (especially those geezer teasers) where the actor was clearly on set for one day and had nothing invested in the film.

The action is tight and mostly in-camera, though there is some CGI blood that can be a little distracting. For the most part, the explosions are real and moments that would usually be digital are surprisingly practical. There’s a fire stunt that could have easily been done with CGI but they go through the pains of setting a stuntman on fire. Stuff like this helps to differentiate it from all of the other action films that often take the digital shortcut. Even still, the action never reaches that next level, often just being a quick shootout and moving on to the next set piece. It can be a bit “rinse and repeat.”

This marks the fifth collaboration between Writer/Director John Swab and Grillo. They clearly like making these action films together and have gotten pretty good at it. As good as the execution is, the story is a bit generic at times. The film certainly meanders at points and could have easily been cut down to streamline the narrative. I’d argue that this further lends to the grounded world, allowing us to spend time with these characters in more mundane moments. I think this ultimately makes the side characters stand out a little more. Beau Knapp and George Carroll have some great interactions that really bring this world of mercenaries to life.

I really enjoyed my time with Long Gone Heroes. The story is simple but immediately gives the viewer the desire to see justice served. The action doesn’t go too crazy but the grounded nature and desire for in-camera stunts helps it stand out. While the story is very generic and predictable, I enjoyed my time with this band of mercenaries. We need more films like this that just want to tell interesting morality tales set in an action landscape. Is that too much to ask?

LONG GONE HEROES will be in Theaters, On Digital and On Demand September 20, 2024.

Frank Grillo

GOOD

7

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