

Let’s hope that happens.ĭetails: 3½ stars out of 4 Available today on HBO Max. The epilogue, of course, hints at a sequel. The screenplay’s snappy, the digital effects are impressive and the acting is leagues better than standard comic fare, with a dynamo supporting cast of Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Joe Morton, Connie Nielsen, Jared Leto, Amber Heard, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe and more. The plot might well be standard fare for superhero movies, but its execution and clear vision makes this one of the most exciting blockbusters I’ve seen in a long stretch. Those soul-suckers and their pesky winged henchmen seek three magical boxes hidden in the various lands associated with our heroes. The iconic plot finds our heroes tackling evil in the form the silver-horned nightmare Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), who’s hellbent on destroying Earth to impress dark overlord Darkseid (Ray Porter).

It’s also aimed at older fans and has earned an R rating for violence and language. The mythological elements and places where the superpowers dwell feel more textured and deeply rooted than plants from a Disneyland ride. He slows up his hyperactive style for dialogue and the film’s all the better for it. Equally, it devotes time to carefully depicting each character - Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Superman (Henry Cavill) - as a human who has superpowers. Snyder’s 4-hour version celebrates the origins and homelands of its superheroes. Cosmic Sin achieves little aside from giving viewers a headache from the frequent gunfights, and boring them from the lack of anything even remotely entertaining.Enter the controversial Whedon, who helmed the first “Avengers” blockbuster and earned glowing reviews in the process. But he blew it with “Justice League,” whittling down Snyder’s effort and inserting his own scenes.įour years later Snyder’s original vision arrives, and it’s one of the best superhero adaptations yet, even better than Disney/Marvel’s wrap-up of the “Avengers.” It's early in the year, but this is a serious contender for the top spot in my eventual ten-worst list. Genocide is mentioned solely to make it seem as though the story has more weight than it does.
#Cosmic sin review movie#
Surely, with a theme that serious, the movie will have something worthwhile to say, right? Think again. The title Cosmic Sin, meanwhile, refers to genocide. Nor does one about Ryle's concern when his son Braxton (Brandon Thomas Lee) wants to take an active role in the mission. One involves Ford's romantic feelings for a scientist (Perrey Reeves).

None of them is worth caring about, and when you don't care whether anyone lives or dies, what's the point? Ford, Ryle, and the others are all cardboard cutouts, each with one personality trait that's simply repeated over and over. The movie introduces the premise, then proceeds to rush right through it, never attempting to generate any suspense or emotional investment.

Director/co-writer Edward Drake seems to think he's making an epic science-fiction adventure, but Cosmic Sin's brief running time ensures that there's zero depth. What you don't get is a coherent plot or any sort of character development. The film also has the requisite shootouts and martial arts fights that are a requirement in this sort of low-budget action flick. For the most part, the space battles and intergalactic flight scenes are impressive to look at. (The Q-bomb a MacGuffin, but conspiracy theorists will probably have a field day with it.) Ford joins forces with General Eron Ryle (Frank Grillo) to lead a team of elite soldiers in preventing the aliens from continuing with their attack.Ĭosmic Sin is one of those movies where great care went into the visual effects, above all else. That, obviously, is Willis' character, James Ford, a former military general who left in disgrace after deploying a mega-destructive weapon called a “Q-bomb” during combat. When soldiers on one of those planets are attacked by some kind of hostile aliens, there is Only One Man who can lead the charge against him. This is a derivative and dull sci-fi/action picture that only runs eighty-seven minutes yet feels like it runs eighty-seven days. Of course, if he's only getting offered scripts like the one for Cosmic Sin, his apathy is completely understandable. He falls back on the same old “Bruce Willis thing” time and again. If not, why should he expect anyone else to? The actor, an indisputable talent, appears to be bored onscreen lately, as if he can barely be bothered to put in the effort. I wonder if Bruce Willis would pay money to see or rent his own recent movies.
