nick4 Reviews

Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023)

Season 3 brings Star Trek back.

[21 December 2023]

At last, after the lack lustre season 1 and awful season 2, season 3 of Picard brings back classic Star Trek. If I could rate the seasons separately I would give:

• Season 1: 6/10
• Season 2: 2/10
• Season 3: 9/10 (close to 10/10)

I watch Star Trek to escape the real world, not for the simplistic, blunt and far left identity politics of some of season 2.

Season 3 is like a Star Trek movie, it is full of action, adventure and escapism, just like Star Trek should be - fun and entertaining. For anyone who loves TNG or Voyager, Season 3 is a must see.

To be honest, I don't think it is even worth watching the first two series, just go straight to the third, which is like a totally different (and much better) show.

I also like Picard's son, are we going to get a new series with him and 7? I hope so :-)

Foundation (2021– )

Is is worth watching?

[10 December 2023]

After watching both series 1 and 2 and having read the books, I have mixed feelings. The visuals, costume and sound are very well done and clearly a lot of money has been spent on production.

As others have said, a lot of changes have been made compared to the books. Gaal Dornick has been changed from a man to a young mixed race woman, which probably owes more to modern Identity Politics. Gaal comes across as immature and annoying on occasions.

In a story inspired by the Roman Empire, Lee Pace was excellent as Brother Day, portraying him as bad as the Roman Emperor's Nero or Commodus.

Both Jared Harris (Hari Seldon) and Laura Birn (Demezel, despite being a man in the books) give excellent portrayals. I particularly like the way that Demezel is a complex, conflicting, character.

Prey (I) (2022)

Race appropriate casting

[11 August 2022]

I liked that native actors were cast to play the native Americans, but I wish Hollywood would show the same respect to English characters. How many times have white characters been played by black/Asian actors in films set in Victorian England? In my view using race appropriate actors for the location/period enhances the sense of realism and believability.

I am also getting a little tired of white men always being portrayed as evil.

Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

It surprised me!

[2 May 2022]

I always try and avoid watching trailers or other spoilers for movies that I know I am going to watch, so this film was much more engrossing and emotional than I expected it to be!

It is definitely worth seeing in the cinema, as the cinematography, music and sound is very well done and best experienced on a grand scale.

Overall, it makes a nice change to see such a nice pleasant film and a change from the usual generic super hero movie.

The Wheel of Time (2021– )

I was hoping for GoT.

[26 April 2022]

I was hoping for another Game of Thrones (GoT) or Lord of the Rings, unfortunately Wheel of Time was a big let down.

One of the things that made GoT so good was that it took inspiration from actual historic events (Wars of the Roses etc), so the conflicts between families, the culture, the people were all believable in GoT.

This seems to have been sacrificed in Wheel of Time on the alter of Identity Politics (some call it Woke). It resulted in no culture or identity for towns and settings, every location seemed the same with random people/races/sexes. I found it very difficult to follow which random person was meant to belong to which group, especially as I have not read the books. It's a bit like making a war film with soldiers on both sides wearing random uniforms.

I won't be watching series 2.... if there is one.

The Witchfinder (2022)

Double standards?

[16 March 2022]

In a 2020 period drama set in India, the BBC trumpeted the fact it had an all Asian cast playing the Asian characters. (No white actors) When it comes to period dramas/comedies set in Britain, the BBC is quick to change the ethnicity of the characters.

This is inconsistent and a double standard.

Personally, I love realism in period dramas/comedies with appropriate settings, casting and costumes for the period and location.

I notice one person calling people they disagree with "idiots" - a typical "cancel culture" response. Please remember, everyone is entitled to their own view.

Jungle Cruise (2021)

Identity Politics

[26 November 2021]

I always like watching Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson in films, and enjoyed similar movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Romancing the Stone. Unfortunately, this didn't keep my interest like those did.

It also attributes 21st century identity politics to the period characters and is spoilt in my view by using stereotypes of "sexist" men. In the past most people (including a lot of women) had views on the roles of men and women that would be regarded as sexist today, but why attack men in the film? It doesn't add anything and just seems like an attempt by Disney to score points with women.

Apart from that niggle it is not a terrible film but could have been better.