When James Gunn’s Superman hit theaters last summer, it felt like a breath of fresh air. It was optimistic, colorful, and pointed toward a bright future for the new DC Universe (as I wrote in my review of the 2025 Superman movie). Naturally, I went into the new Supergirl movie wondering if we were going to get a carbon copy of that specific tone.
Instead, this film carves out a completely distinct identity—and it really works.
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If you read my recent post defending the 2018 Robin Hood reboot, you already know that I am a massive fan of the legendary outlaw. I’m not a folklore purist; I don’t need every adaptation to strictly copy traditional tales. From movies and books to the tremendous new TV show currently airing on MGM+, I can always find something to enjoy in every interpretation of the character. I love seeing how different creators spin the mythos.
But nothing could have fully prepared me for the emotional gut-punch of The Death of Robin Hood starring Hugh Jackman.
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If you were reading DC comics in the early ’90s, you remember exactly where you were when it happened. Superman had just died, and before the comic book world could even process that, DC did the unthinkable to their other flagship hero: they let a roided-out mastermind named Bane snap Bruce Wayne’s spine like a dry twig.
It was the “Knightfall” saga, and for decades, fans have been begging for a faithful, sweeping adaptation. Sure, Christopher Nolan took pieces of it for The Dark Knight Rises, but the full, unhinged, multi-act story has never truly transitioned to the screen.
Until now.
DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation just dropped a massive announcement: “Knightfall” is officially being adapted into a brand-new animated movie trilogy.
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Let’s travel back to the turn of the millennium. It’s the year 2000. Nu-metal is on the radio, everyone is terrified of the Y2K bug, and Sylvester Stallone is sporting a meticulously sculpted goatee, pointy sideburns, and a wardrobe full of $5,000 sharkskin suits.
Enter Get Carter.
If you ask a hardcore cinephile about this movie, they will likely shudder. The film is a remake of the 1971 British crime masterpiece starring Michael Caine—widely considered one of the greatest, grittiest revenge thrillers ever made. When Hollywood decided to drop Stallone into the lead role, shift the setting from a bleak, industrial Northeast England to a rain-soaked, techno-booming Seattle, and flash-fry the whole thing in MTV-style editing, the critics had an absolute field day. It bombed at the box office, scored a dismal 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, and effectively sent Sly’s career into a brief straight-to-video tailspin.
But here’s my hot take: Get Carter (2000) doesn’t deserve all the pure vitriol it gets. If you isolate it from the shadow of the original, it is a fascinating, deeply weird artifact of its era that actually has some genuinely good stuff under the hood.
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Let’s be honest for a second. Sometimes, you don’t want a deeply complex psychological thriller that makes you question the meaning of existence. Sometimes, you don’t want a slow-burning indie drama that leaves you staring at a blank screen in existential dread.
Sometimes, you just want to see a building explode while a 1980s action icon delivers a corny one-liner.
That is exactly why I will always defend The Expendables franchise. As a massive fan of these films, a huge part of my love comes down to two absolute legends: Sylvester Stallone and Jet Li. Stallone is the mastermind behind this entire glorious madness, assembling the ultimate action-movie Avengers. And Jet Li? The man is a human lightning bolt, bringing incredible martial arts precision to the heavy-artillery chaos.
The secret to enjoying this series is simple: don’t take them too seriously. If you walk into these movies expecting grounded realism, you’re doing it wrong. They are an unapologetic throwback to the golden age of action—loud, over-the-top, and an absolute blast.
With four movies now in the books, let’s break down the franchise, movie by movie, to see how this wild ride evolves.
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Let’s be honest for a second. When the 2018 reboot of Robin Hood hit theaters, the critics absolutely eviscerated it. It was called unnecessary, a mess, and everything in between. Because of that, I avoided it for years. But the other night, I finally decided to put it on with zero expectations—mostly because I’m not a Robin Hood purist who needs every adaptation to strictly copy traditional folklore.
And you know what? I was completely blown away by how much fun it is.
Contrary to all that early negative press, I found this movie to be a total blast from start to finish. If you’re willing to let go of what you think a medieval movie is supposed to look like, there is so much to love here.
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As a kid who grew up glued to the TV watching reruns of the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the announcement of a new live-action film hit me right in the childhood. I was one of those kids who didn’t just watch the show; I lived it. I distinctly remember sprinting at top speed around the house, hoisting my plastic Power Sword high in the air, and yelling “I have the power!” at the top of my lungs. In fact, my commitment to the role was so total that I once suffered a spectacular wipeout right by the front door because I was too busy staring up at my plastic weapon to notice what my own feet were doing.
When the 1987 live-action film came along, I absolutely loved it. Say what you want about it, but it had a tremendous cast—Frank Langella’s Skeletor remains iconic—and a dark, synth-heavy vibe that completely captured my imagination. Because of that lifelong fandom, my expectations and hopes for Director Travis Knight’s 2026 Masters of the Universe were incredibly high.
Ultimately, the new movie mostly lived up to what I wanted, even if it trips over its own feet along the way.
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It is still wild to me that A History of Violence is technically a DC movie.
If you had timed things perfectly back in the fall of 2005, you could have walked out of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and walked right into David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. Both were distributed by Warner Bros. and adapted from DC properties. But while Batman was busy restarting the superhero blockbuster machine, Cronenberg was using a graphic novel to deconstruct what violence actually does to the human soul.
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If you went into the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot and thought, “This is okay, but it needs 200% more Johnny Cage, a lot less Cole Young, and a budget that relies entirely on green screens,” then Mortal Kombat II is exactly the movie you asked for. For better or worse.
As someone who grew up hearing the iconic “TEST YOUR MIGHT” echo through arcade halls, I went into this sequel with tempered expectations. What we got is a loud, incredibly gory, aggressively fast-paced apology tour that completely pivots from the first film. It’s an undeniable upgrade in terms of fan service, but it trades in what little narrative restraint the first movie had for a structure that feels less like a cinematic story and more like a two-hour sequence of Let’s Play videos.
Here is how the sequel stacks up.
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Ever since finishing Jet Li’s fascinating new memoir, Looking for Jet Li (which I just wrote about here), I’ve been on a massive deep dive through his filmography. Reading about his transition from a hyper-disciplined wushu champion to a global action star—and ultimately to a man focused on deep spiritual mindfulness—adds a whole new layer of meaning to his entire body of work.
While revisiting his classics, one film stood out as an absolute masterpiece demanding its own dedicated spotlight: Zhang Yimou’s 2002 epic, Hero.
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