Devil May Cry: "A River Of Blood And Fire" Review

For some odd reason Netflix doesn't like to tell you when the new season of a hit animated show is coming out. As we are just a few short days away from the release of Devil May Cry season 2 and yet there's been next to nothing to tell you about this new season coming out well as I liked the first season and will for sure be checking out season 2 I thought that i'd take a look back at the first season finale as a way to get us all excited for the new season and so then join me as I review the episode that features Green Day's "American Idiot" with the episode in question being called simply just "A River Of Blood And Fire" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is Dante and Lady have to defeat fully mutated White Rabbit and stop him from taking over the earth before its far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. This episodes plot is one that whilst it could be seen as being a bit thin as when you boil it down to it's core elements there's not that much going on plot wise as the episode is indeed just one long fight scenes and while this is something that does leave the plot of the episode feeling more like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. It is also something that does make sense as this episode was the first seasons finale episode and therefor it didn't need to be rich with plot to make it work as this is quite literally the third act of a story and therefor it needed to be more action packed and less story focused and while yes it would have worked just as well if the episode did have more of a focus on it's story as at the end of the day that's what people are going to remember about the show it's also not really something that was needed to make this episode be as good as it is and not every single episode of every single show animated or not needs to be plot focused as sometimes being a dumb action show is more then enough and that is something that was very much the case with this episode as it is just a dumb action show and this episode did fully understand that with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is Johnny Yong Bosch as Dante , Scout Taylor-Compton as Lady / Mary and Hoon Lee as The White Rabbit. Also starring in this episode is Kevin Conroy as Baines , Ian James Corlett as Baines , Chris Coppola as Enzo , Benjamin Abiola as Anders and A Guard , Jon Gries as Pres. Hopper and A Soldier , Robbie Daymond as Vergil , Kari Wahlgren as Eva , Donovan Patton as Bloodstryke and A Demon , Roger L. Jackson as An Officer and An Interrogator , Matthew Waterson as The Large Soldier , Jason Marnocha as A Civilian and A Predator Demon and Erica Lindbeck as A Mother , A Baby and A Demon Kid.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. If you want a good idea of just how good that this episodes acting is all you need do is just look at who is in the episode as the episode is filled to the brim not only with anime voice acting legends but with voice acting legends in general with them them all turning in some really good performances in this episode and even tho both Kevin Conroy and Ian James Corlett are playing the same character with Corlett filling for Conroy in this episode you really can't tell the difference as the character of Baines does sound the exact same with both actors nailing there performances as the character with even Ian James Corlett now voicing the character in the rest of the show moving forward. With the best actor in this episode being Johnny Yong Bosch as Dante as he not only does give us some really funny lines in this episode he also knows when to stop being funny and to amp up the tension with the character and just go all out nuts with him which is something that he wouldn't have been able to do on Power Rangers as his character on that show wouldn't have allowed him to do it but here in this show he can go as nus as he wants do and as over the top as he wants to with this being something that you also see him do in several of his other anime projects as well and it works in this episode because of the fact that Dante is an over the top kind of character, with the acting that's in this very episode not really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is so bad as it gives none of this episodes actors alot to work with interms of what it is that there actual characters personalities are even meant to be in the first place which is something that really does help to lower the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.

Doing the animation for this episode is the legends and the greats that really are currently over at Studio Mir. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. Much like with this films acting the fact that this episode or even the show on the whole has good animation isn't all that surprising given the fact that Studio Mir has worked on alot of really good shows in the past and has always out in alot of really good animation in everything that they do. This show and this episode does take a huge amount of inspiration from anime with not only the character designs but also the characters movements in the action scenes and it is something that does make you wonder if this is an anime or not as even the show is firmly an American production you wouldn't know it just by looking at images from the show and yet at the same time this episodes animation does benefit from that as it does allow the characters to have these more over the top movements which in turn does help to make the episodes action scenes really come alive and feel like something that you would see in the Devil May Cry games. There is one thing that does let the animation in this episode down tho and that's the fact that the backgrounds in the human world aren't that inspired with the episode mainly just using a stereotypical city background and fair enough there's not much that you can do with a city background to make it interesting and yet when we briefly visit the demon world the backgrounds there don't look that much better with it feeling like the makers of this show put more effort into the episodes character designs and a lot less effort was put into the episodes backgrounds. 

All throughout this first season of the show we are told that Dante's brother is dead with it being revealed at the very end of this episode that not only is he alive and well but he is also coming after Dante. This is a good way to set up the main character for the next season as this is a character that does deserve to have this amount of build up given just how big of a threat that he has the potential to be and having him be at the very end of this first season as a way to get people to want to watch the next season as now it leaves us the audience wanting more and that is a great way to introduce the character and with him being the main villain of season two or at least going to be one of the villains of season two then having him be this stinger of a character does make alot of sense. While we don't understandably get to spend alot of time with the character the very brief glimpse that we get of the character does tell us that he is a villain that's not to be messed with whereas with The White Rabbit you got the feeling that he very much like the first main villain character of a video game in that he was never going to be that much of a threat and is someone that while it does cause Dante some trouble when you look back at it in two or three more seasons time he will seem like he wasn't that much of a threat and while that's great for The White Rabbit. Yet for a character like Virgil he will need to be someone who can test Dante in every way possible as he already has the mental advantage over the character due to the fact that he's his brother but what we don't know is if he's physically stronger then him and that is something that could cause Dante to be a better character as now he would be truly tested as a hero.

As was mentioned at the start of this review this episode features a moment that has "American Idiot" by Green Day playing over it. This was something that was shocking as while the other episodes had rock songs in them heck the theme song for this show is "Rollin" by Limb Bizkit it was still weird hearing a cut down version of "American Idiot" playing over a montage where America decides to invade the demon world and capture alot of innocent demons as that song is all about pointing how dumb alot of things in America can be but it's done in a more comedic type of way and yet the scene it's played over is this deadly serious scene which only serves to make the song even more funnier as it's an upbeat and up tempo song with this being something that the shows creator Adi Shankar had to know as he's into rock music. To be fair tho having that song play over that sequence doesn't hurt the sequence as it makes it alot more fun to watch which might be the point as it's meant to be this really disturbing scene where the humans essentially become bad guy by attacking demons who have done nothing to them and yet there playing this really upbeat song that does make you want to sing along to it and heck one of the best things that this show does do is have these really cool songs play over key parts of an episode which is something that is bound to make people who aren't that much into rock music want to listen to more of it as while we get a good original song in episode by the band "Evanescence" and while this episode doesn't have any original songs in it the fact that they do manage to find a good and fun use for the truly iconic "American Idiot" is something that does tell you that the makers of this show know how to use there licensed music as it would have been very easy to have that song play over an action scene and call it a day but the fact that they don't does show that the makers of this show are willing to find to new ways to have these licensed songs playing in an episode of the show.

This episode is basically one long fight scene which is something that does make it hard to judge The White Rabbit as a villain. Due to the fact that he doesn't get the chance to talk alot of the time in this episode which is fair enough as we would have had all of the other episodes to get across just what he's like as a character but in all farness to this episode we do still find out what he's main plan is as he does want to take over the world for no good reason and while him wanting to take over the world is typical plan for any villain to have the fact that he is a demon is something that does make it feel unique again as he could very realistically take over the world on his own and the fact that he does manage to briefly merge the human world with the demon world is more then enough to make this character seem like a better threat. While the fact that he does mutate himself be taking a lot of demon blood is something that does feel like a boring thing for the character to do as the character was defeated at the end of the last episode the fact that he did come back in this episode does show you that he is truly insane and that it will take alot more then a good beating for him to get put down and the fact that he does allow himself to get mutated does make him more like this unstoppable beast as now Dante and Lady are truly struggling to even land a hit on him and it is something that does make him feel like more of a threat. However it would been better if the episode did devote more time to his character and give him more of a chance to show case why he is this truly threatening as while the other episodes would have done exactly that in this episode the character does feel more like an afterthought to the episodes action whereas if the episode did devote more time to him as a character then it would make his downfall and defeat all the more satisfying.

Now then this episode has / had an exactly grand total running time of exactly thirty two minuets and fifteen seconds. Which to be fair to this episode is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show as alot of the episodes either have or have very similar running times to this episode and to be to the episode it really does need this amount of running time as it does have alot of plot to wrap up from the first season and still set up a potential main villain for the second season and it can't do all of that and still tell a good story on it's own and while it's debatable on if this episodes plot is any good what isn't debatable is the fact that this episode could have used a longer running time just to make the story even more stronger. With the plot of this episode having more the enough running time to cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet even so this episode doesn't really use its running time all that wisely as the episode doesn't take the time to fully develop its plot which OK fair enough the episode doesn't really have to do that as the episode had all of the other episodes to give its plot that development and therefor this episode doesn't need to have that plot development but at the same time given how thinly drawn out that this episodes plot is due to the fact that it is essentially just one long fight scene then there should have been some time given to give the episodes plot some small amount of plot development even if it's just something small it still would have been something. This is something that does kind of effect the episodes character development as well as none of the episodes characters get anything in the way of character development which in all fairness they didn't really need but at the same time it would have been all the more better if the episode did take the time to give the characters some small amount of character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. This episodes action is where the episodes does well and truly shine it's brightest as the episode is essentially one long action but whereas in something like Mad Max: Fury Road where that film would take small breaks to go more into the story and get you more invested with its characters this episode really doesn't need to do any of that due to the fact that it is a TV show and can therefor just go insane with it's action something which the episode does take great delight in doing and in doing so does give us alot of really fun and downright cool action scenes. With the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the opening roof top fight where Dante and Mary as well as a group of soldiers have to take on a fully mutated White Rabbit with him just lying the floor with them as White Rabbit rips of limbs and cuts open several of the soldiers with his blade and blows up several of there helicopters all the while both they and Dante and Mary are trying to kill him by shooting at him and yet all there bullets do is just bounce off of him. This is just such a freaking cool way to start of the episode as it lets you know right away that this episode is going to be very action packed and that is exactly what it is it's an action packed with the action never really letting up and getting more and more violent the longer that it goes on as the characters are forced to think outside of the box to even land a hit on The White Rabbit with the rest of the episodes action being just as good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.    

Overall we are just a few short days away from the release of this shows second season and if this episode was anything to go by then we are in for one hell of a ride as this episode just gives you everything that you want to see in a Devil May Cry animated episode in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and a such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in his very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Daredevil: Born Again "The Southern Cross" SPOILER FILLED Review

Disney really is on a roll with there TV show finales as we've just had Maul: Shadow Lord kill it with it's first season finale and now we have another show it's final episode. With this episode also being really good as it more the pays off everything that was set up in not only this season but the first season as well and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the episode that really does change the game with the episode in question being called simply "The Southern Cross" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is with Karen still in court Matt must do what he can to prove that Wilson is evil and expose him for all of his crimes even it means doing something drastic. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. To put it frankly this episodes plot works so well even if you remove the fact that it's a Marvel show as it is just such a well written plot that does get you invested in what's happening on screen and it keeps you hooked all the way to the very end of the episode. With the thing that makes this episodes plot work as well as it does is the fat that both this season and the first season where originally commissioned as one big season order before it was decided to split the episode count into two separate season with allowing the makers of this show to tell one whole story over two seasons with this episode of course forming the final chapter of that story with this helping the episode due to the fact that it's now given us the audience alot more longer to become in vested in these characters and in this story, while yes this episodes plot could have been alot more stronger in some places as not everything that you wont to see get resolved gets resolved the things that the episodes plot does well it does really well with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Starring in this episode is Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin. Also starring in this episode is Wilson Bethel as Benjamin Poindexter / Bullseye , Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page , Matthew Lillard as Mr. Charles , Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn , Lili Taylor as Marge McCaffrey , Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie , Arty Froushan as Buck Cashman , Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera , Genneya Walton as BB Urich , Clark Johnson as Cherry , Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones , Hamish Allan-Headley as Connor Powell , Ruibo Qian as Angie Kim , Jeremy Isaiah Earl as Cole North , Camila Rodriguez as Angela Del Toro / White Tiger , John Benjamin Hickey as Benjamin Hochberg , Ashley Marie Ortiz as Soledad Ayala , Annie Parisse as Ariana Iacovou , Alexis Frias as Javi Espinosa , Roberto Lopez as Berto , Deirdre Lovejoy as Alicia Waters , Dustin Tucker as Grimes and John Hedges as Luna.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. It's not really all that surprising that this episode has some really good acting in it as not only are a bunch of this episodes actors some really good actors in there own right but this show and by extension the first Daredevil TV show did always have some really good acting in it with this episode of course being of no exception as all of this episodes actors really do bring there A game to this episode something which they really didn't need to do. With the best actor in this entire episode being Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin as he really does go through alot of emotions in this episode and may god do you see it all in his face as you see him go from calm to kind of playful in the scenes in the court but when the ace in the hole gets played you see him go from happy to anxious at the drop of a hat and then you see him go from anxious to down right angry and that is when that character is at his most dangerous and yet even then it doesn't stop as he goes from angry to sad and then from sad to at piece and all of this is something that Vincent does in not only his facial expressions but his body language as well and that is something that really does make you see just what this character is thinking and feeling at any given time and that is something that does come through in his performance. With the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actors have to do is just say te lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality that's in this very episode.

Doing the CGI for this episode is the legends and the greats thar are currently over at Ingenuity Studios. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. To be frank this episodes CGI was alot more better then what it really had any right to be as while the episode does make alot of use of digital doubles for it's characters especially during the third act there not as bad as have been in more recent productions as they do still move like real people with the only major thing being that they are doing things that the actors just can't do or it's unsafe for them to do them. While this show doesn't really use CGI all that much as really it's only used for extended the set and creating digital doubles of certain characters and that's really it the episode does take the time to add in things like buildings in the background or in the case of this episode some CGI light coming in the windows in some of the courtroom scenes and while alot of this is understandable as you might have to hide certain things like the camera or crew for example there really wasn't any need to add in some CGI light as you very easily could have shone a light through the window and created naturally and while the CGI version isn't that bad it is somethin that does stand out as everything around it is done for real and while it might have been added in in post to make the scene be more visually interesting this is something that should have been thought of while the episode was in production, yet to be fair to this episode alot of the hidden CGI in this episode does work really well as you can't tell what was added in later as opposed to what was done there on the day and that is exactly how CGI should be as it should always blend in and enhance the scene and not stand out and take away from it.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Out of alot of the things that are in this episode one of the things that people are going to be talking is the fact that we get the return of Mike Colter as Luke Cage. With him appearing in the final few moments of the episode just to confirm that he and Jessica are now parents this a huge bombshell moment as even tho the two of them got together in Jessica Jones by the time that that show ended and Luke Cage began as a TV show he has dating someone else entirely and yet here he is not only back with Jessica but now a dad this is something that does change the game for those two characters as now there little girl could very well end up having superpowers of her very own. With both Luke Cage and Jessica Jones pretty much all but confirmed for the next season of Born Again it would be interesting to see where the show takes those characters given the fact that this episode ends with the family setting up a new version of "Alias Investigations" and given the fact that the two of them do now have a kid of there very own it would be more then interesting to see where the show goes with there characters and given the fact that this show does firmly love the Netflix shows so much it would be interesting to see them brining back in alot of the side characters from both shows just to see how those characters would react to seeing both Jessica and Luke back together again let alone seeing that there both up to there old ways of being super heroes once more as this is something that could lead to an interesting plot for the characters like maybe there daughter doesn't know that her mom and dad were former superheroes and has to come to terms with that over the course of the next season or they could do a one off special like that there doing with The Punisher: One Last Kill.

For one reason or another when it comes to there series finales Disney has been really on fire recently with both this show and Maul: Shadow Lord not only having great first and second outings in there own right but also having fantastic final episodes. This is something that should always be the case as plenty of TV shows have been ruined by having a bad finale and while both of those shows are confirmed to be getting new seasons the fact that they managed to have episodes that stick the landing as it goes is something that will make people look back on those respective shows alot more fondly yet if you were to take a look at something like for example Game Of Thrones which had several good seasons but it fell apart when it's final season was ending and therefor people don't look back on that show as fondly as they know where it's leading to. However with this show and this episode what it's leading to is a great episode where we get to see Matt Murdock reveal himself as Daredevil in the ultimate move to get Fisk to reveal to the whole of New York that he's a bad guy with it being done in a way that not only makes sense but also works for both characters as Matt calls Fisk to the stands and after several questions shows him the video that confirms that Daredevil was in the right with him saying that he is daredevil to back that up essentially all the while Fisk is almost daring him to do it as he knows that if Matt does go through with it that he will be locked up from the crimes that he committed as Daredevil with them both playing chess basically and daring the other one to make the wrong move first, that is somethin that does work well for both of these characters as Matt would of course do anything to help his friend and in this case his client and Wilson Fisk would do whatever it takes not only to clear his own name but to make sure that the people see him as being in the right the whole time.

Speaking of Matt and Wilson they get one of the best scenes in the episode together with the episode itself proving that a hero doesn't always need to punch his opponent into submission to get his to quit. With this episode having Matt talk Wilson into accepting an offer to step down as mayor of New York willingly and move away and never come back this is something that does prove that words can be just as effective as a punch to the face as while it would have been totally justified for Daredevil to beat the ever loving daylights out of Wilson all it would have done is prove him right and that all vigilantes are the bad guys yet by taking the opposite approach and having him use his words and using logic to get him to do it all willingly he is proving that not only to Wilson but to the people surrounding them both that violence isn't always the answer. This is something that works so well in the episode as while the Kingpin in his current frame of mind would be capable of rational thought due to the fact that he's just lost the only person who could ever hold him back he and Matt know this dance to well to know that the other won't quit whilst the other is still standing and therefor the only logical choice was him to accept the offer and willingly leave New York and start his life over again somewhere but even so it could be argued that Kingpin does get the last laugh as unlike Matt he is still free to do whatever he wants meanwhile Matt is now in jail for the crimes that he committed as Daredevil essentially leaving alot of New York without someone to protect it which does mean that Fisk or any other street level villain could swoop in and do alot of damage and Daredevil wouldn't be there to stop them and while we do see Karen putting the Muse mask there's tell on if she'll become a vigilante n Matt's absence.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly fifty one minuets and nine seconds. With this episode being one of the more longer episodes of this season of the show which is something that does make sense as this episode does essentially have to wrap up two seasons worth of stories and therefor it did need the extra running time to do exactly that but at the same time tho this episode could have done with loosing a few minuets around the middle of the episode as that's where the episode did start to drag a little bit not so much that it hurts the episodes overall pacing but enough so that you do start to notice it a a little bit with the episode on the whole having the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place. Yet in saying this tho the episode really doesn't use its running time all that wisely as the episode doesn't fully develop its plot which in all fairness it really doesn't have to do that given the fact that this is the final episode of the season and therefor it wouldn't make sense for them to fully develop this episodes plot but at the same time tho the episode does spend time on a prolog scene with Matt being arrested and sent to jail and then showing a clearly distraught Karen putting on the Muse mask when all of that is something that could have been covered in a montage at the end as we don't need to see whole scenes explaining all of that as all that does is eat up screen time that could have been spent on developing the episodes plot. The episode kind of doesn't even fully develop its characters either which again isn't that big of an issue in this case as it doesn't have to do that in the final episode but they don't even reveal who Mr. Charles really when that's something that could have done as that would have added something of interest to his character but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is ana action how that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. The fact that this episodes action is as good as it is isn't something that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone as people who have watched this show will know that when this show gives us a really cool action scene it is something that is worth talking about and that is very much the case with this episode as even tho the episode only has the one action may god is it one that's worth talking about. With the best action scene in the whole entire episode being the attack on the courthouse as that scene is just so well done as we get to see Fisk punching and headbutting innocent New Yorkers all the while his own task force is hunting down and trying to kill Matt , Jessica and there friends which leads to both Matt and Jessica having to take out entire waves of them on there own with the whole sequence being very well edited and put together as we do get to see just how desperate that both sets of characters are with the thing that makes the whole thing wrong being the fact that it was something that was built up in another episode of this same season as earlier on we had an entire episode where the people of New York had finally had enough and were trying let there feelings beard and Fisk's task force got violent with them and yet here when they do it again the people don't back down and they are et into the building and that one thing is something that makes that whole scene work with the rest of the episodes action just as good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall next week Punisher special has alot to live up as this episode no scratch that this whole season has just been so good that we are now closer then we have been in the past several years to finally saying that the MCU is back on track as this episode gives us a satisfying ending to a really good second season in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the god and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very show really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 9.5 out of 10 and the episode earns itself a 9.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all pf the images tat I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.

Star Wars: Maul Shadow Lord SPOILER FILLED Review

There are many fan holidays over the course of a single year and this review just so happens to be written on May the 4th which is the unofficial Star Wars Day. To celebrate this Disney and Lucasfilm have dropped the final two episodes of the show that is actually pretty good and well as I did my first impressions of the show back when it first aired and have been watching the show on a week to week basis it only made sense that I now do a review of the show as a whole and so then join me as I give you my SPOILER FILLED review of the show is alot more better then what we all thought that it was going to be with the show in question being called simply just "Star Wars: Maul Shadow Lord" enjoy.

The plot of this show when former sith lord turned underground gangster Darth Maul lands on the planet Janix he starts a chain of events that includes two Jedi on the run from the empire a policeman and the empire itself. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. This shows plot is one that very easily could gave been the bogstandard Disney Star Wars plot where there's no thought and effort put into it and while there is some of that due to the fact that we have more surviving Jedi it's plot on the whole does seem more thought out with it being made clear as day that the purpose of this show was to tell a genuinely good story with everything else mainly taking a step back to that. Which is how it should be as the story should always come first and while yes there are things in this show plot that don't get resolved this is something that does still make sense as there is a second season of this show coming out and therefor there is a strong chance that those plot lines could get picked up then with the main plot of the show being where the plot does shine it's best with all of the characters sideplots like the one with the policeman and his son learning to get along or Devon learning to embrace the dark side being some of the more weaker and less interesting aspects of the shows plot with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in these episodes is Sam Witwer as Maul , Stormtrooper 2 and A Stormtrooper Commander , AJ LoCascio as Marrok , Stormtrooper Commander 2 and The Crimson Dawn Pilot and Ben Diskin as The Imperial Announcer , Stormtrooper Commander 1. Also starring in these episodes is Charlie Bushnell as Rylee Lawson , Chris Diamantopoulos as Looti Vario , David W. Collins as Spybot , A Commando and Stormtrooper 1 , Dennis Haysbert as Master Eeko-Dio Daki , Gideon Adlon as Devon Izara , Richard Ayoade as Two-Boots , Steve Blum as Icarus , Vanessa Marshall as Rook Kast and Wagner Moura as Brander Lawson.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. The fact that this show has good acting in it is something that's not really all that surprising due to the fact that all of the Star Wars animated shows have had some rally good acting in them and with this show taking place after The Clone Wars and even using alot of the same crew from that show and some of the same actors it does make sense that the acting in this show and in these two episodes is really good. With the best actor by a long mile being Sam Witwer as Maul as the man just owns this character by now due to the fact that he does give him a voice that is not only really creepy and scary but it also makes you wonder if you can actually trust him with Sam being able to bring out a side of the character that we haven't seen before as we do get to see him planning and scheming not only in these final two episodes but in the rest of the show as well with us even getting to see a more kinder side to the character and yet due to how Sam plays those scenes it does also make you wonder if Maul is a nice person or not or if he's trying to earn people's tryst before then stabbing them in the back. With the acting that's in this show really being helped by the fact that this shows scripts are just so good that all this shows actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very show.

Doing the for this show is the legends and the greats that are currently over at CGCG, Inc. and Lucasfilm Animation. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. Which much like with the shows acting isn't something that's all that surprising as you can tell right from the very first frame of the first episode of the show just how good that this shows animation is going to be as it does feel more like the kind of animation that you'd want to see in a movie and not something that would be in a Disney+ TV show and it is something that makes you wonder why they haven't done another Star Wars animated movie since 2008's The Clone Wars as they clearly have the technology now to give us something wonderful. There's not one episode in this show that has some bad looking animation as be it from the backgrounds to the character animations to even the characters designs everything about this show from an animation point of view is just stunning to look at and while yes some things could have been done a bit more better like a wider variety of backgrounds and settings would have been nice instead of just keeping us mostly in this one city for the vast majority of the show and while it would have been more nice if we did get more of wider verity of character designs for the background characters a that would help the world of this show feel more real and lived in it doesn't change the fact that the shows overall animation was really good to look at.

SPOILERS START HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In something that could be seen as being a smart move this show does actually tie itself into Solo: A Star Wars Story by not only having a worker from Crimson Dawn show up in the final two episodes but also by having Dryden Vos show up with him being played by Scott Whyte. This is something that does make alot of sense as Maul did appear at the end of that film with it being hinted that he did have ties to the main villain of that film and yet here in this show we do somewhat get to see the origins of that as while Maul does state that Crimson Dawn has let him down before he is still willing to work with them to get him off of Janix. Yet it's never really stated that he and Vos have met before or if they have they haven't spent long together with the show even making Vos out to be this really tough villain by having him offer to help Maul if Maul kills someone that is powerful which is both a good thing and a bad thig it's good thing as it does show us just menacing that Vos could have been if he was written alot more better then what he was in Solo: A Star Wars Story but it's also a dumb thing as its pretty sign posting that Maul is going to kill this character and take all of the credit for himself thus becoming more powerful then Vos is which just makes Vos look bad as he knows that Maul is a sith and could already beat him in a fight if he so chooses to do so and yet he's willing to hire him on the hopes that he will live up to his end of the bargin and be this nice guy and just let him take all of the credit. Even Scott Whyte does a pretty good impression of Paul Bettany and while it was good to see that film get some kind of love as even tho it didn't make as much money at the box office the fact that it ended with Maul still being alive and being involved with this organization in someway is still something that is a good idea and it is something that future seasons of this show could very well explore.

This show thankfully doesn't do the one thing that alot of us thought that they would do and that's the fact that they don't have Maul be the good guy. He is very much still the bad guy at the end of this show with small good thing that he does like for example saving Devon being for his own evil end as he is playing the long game with that character as we see him save her once or twice in the show thus gaining her trust and then in the final episode he lets Vader kill her master while she's watching on thus allowing her to feel rage all of this is because of the fact that he wants to train her as his apprentice with the fact that he's willing to go those extremes just to get what he wants is something that does tell you that he is is still the bad guy of the show even tho there are people just as bad as Maul all around him he really is still the one of the worst ones due to the mental mind games that he willingly plays with people in this show. With Devon herself not really being that interesting of a character which is something that does make sense as she isn't the title character of the show Maul is but even so there still needed to be something about her character literally anything about her character that made her interesting as all of the things about the character that could have made unique are things that are already done in other Star Wars media and the fact that Maul is essentially trying to trick her into joining the dark side is something that doesn't get fully explored despite the fact that it could have added some extra dimension to her character as we could have gotten to see how acting evil does somehow effect her in both a negative and positive way and yet the show does shy away from showing us that which does have the adverse effect of making her a bland character with the same thing also being true for Brander Lawson and his son Rylee Lawson.

For one reason or another they really love making Darth Vader seem like a true Bada** as they did it at the end of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and they did again at the end of this first season. With him being revealed in a really cool way at the end of episode nine and he is just this looming threat in episode ten with him hunting down Maul. This is how you use this character from now on as it gets across just how much of a threat that he is all without uttering a single line of dialog with episode nine even ending in the best way possible as all you see of Vader in that episode is just his outline in some smoke with his breathing being the only thing that gives him and then the episode just cuts to the end credits which is a perfect way to end that episode. With the whole episode ten basically just being one long fight scene with him Maul and Master Eeko-Dio Daki as they are the only two characters that are strong enough to not only fight him but possibly even defeat him and even they not only have a tough time facing him but due to when this show takes place in the timeline also fail to beat him with Maul only barely running away with his life, that is how you make Vader look like a true bada** as you have him be this unstoppable monster think Godzilla but with a lightsaber and you get the point as you don't want Vader to go down that easily and having two strong force users struggle to beat him is a good way of getting across just how strong that this villain is whilst also protecting your main character as having Maul run away is something that does make sense as he is a smart character and he would know that Vader isn't going to be easily defeated therefor the only thing that he could possibly do if he wants to survive is run away.

Now then these episodes has / had an exact grand total running time of no longer then twenty four minuets with episode nine having a running time of exactly twenty three minuets and ten seconds and episode ten has a running time of exactly twenty four minuets and two seconds. With all of the other episode having roughly the same amount of running time as episode nine did which is perfect for this kind of show this is the type of the show is more suited to having a running tike that's just over twenty minuets as it forces the makers of this show to stick to things that are relevant to the episodes plot and nothing more then that. With the show having more then enough plot there to cover that amount of running time in the first place and yet in saying this show the episodes don't really use there respective running times all that wisely as none of the shows episodes take the time to fully develop there respective plots with this being more due to the fact that this first season is only ten episodes long and yet the story that they were trying to tell could easily cover fifteen episodes and with that extra running time it would allow the show to not only fully develop its plot but also pay off things that they set up like for example the set up the fact that these two inquisitors are working for a sith lord that Maul knows and yet they never reveal it when that is something that could have made for some great jaw dropping drama. The show also doesn't take the time to fully develop its characters which in the case of Maul is something that does make sense as we have alot of episodes of The Clone Wars and Rebels for him to get his character development but characters like Devon , Master Eeko-Dio Daki , Rylee and Brander for example get nothing interms of character develop but I really will admit that this show really does have some really good pacing to it tho. 

So now then as this is ana action show that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very show was in all honesty really good. With all of this shows episodes having one maybe even two action scenes per-episode which was something that was completely unexpected as usually you'd just get the one brief fight scene in an episode and that would be it but nope in this show you get a full on action scene in alot of the shows shows episodes with each one blowing away the one that came before it and really upping the game. With the best action scene in the whole entire show also being the best episode of this first season as its the entirety of episode ten as that show is basically one long action scene with very few breaks for the characters to catch there breaths as get Maul and Master Eeko-Dio Daki fighting Vader we also get Devon fighting of a par on inquisitors while the rest of the gang of fighting of horde after horde of stormtroopers all because of the fact that they are waiting for Vos to pick them up and get them of the planet and even when he does arrive there's still alot of stormtroopers to fight off, the best part of this final episode tho is quite easily the fight with Vader as we get to see just how powerful that he is truly against not only a former sith but also a jedi master both of whom are attacking him not only at fully force but also at the same time and yet he's holding them off as if there nothing with the pair of them not even making a dent in his armour with the rest of the shows action being just as good as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

SPOILERS END HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Overall this show is so worth watching and if you haven't seen this show yet stop whatever it is that your currently doing and go and load up Disney+ and watch this show right now because it is one of the few Star Wars shows right now that is worth watching due to how good that this show actually is in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very show in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very show really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Star Wars fandom wiki page and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very show that I used in this very post being the really great the official Star Wars fandom wiki page really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very show with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on the official Star Wars fandom wiki page really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition and happy Star Wars day everybody and May the 4th be with you.

Thomas & Friends TV Series "Edward And Gordon" Review

Thomas is a character that has been coming back into the mainstream alot over recent years be it the announcement of a new animated series or the wonderful Wonders Of Sodor video game. Yet we should all remember that this little franchise first started to gain popularity in the eighties as a little kids show that no one thought nothing of and well since it's been a good while since an episode of this show was last covered it only made sense to cover another classic series episode and so then join me as I review the episode that is the first episode of the show to have the show's trademark catchphrase "and then there was trouble" be said in an episode with the episode in question being called simply just "Edward And Gordon" enjoy.

The plot of this episode is when Gordon teases Edward one of the eldest engines on Sodor he makes Edward feel bad but things take a turn when Gordon gets stranded on a hill and the only engine that can save him is Edward. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. This episodes plot is one that while yes it is simple its delightfully simple as it doesn't need to have a big incident between the two engines to occur and nor does it need to show us why Gordon is acting all boastful in this episode as all it needs to do is just show us the plot play out and that's that. Would it have helped the episode a little bit if the plot was a tiny bit more complicated yes but we must always remember that these stories are kids stories and therefor you have to take that into account when your judging the plot of a kids TV show and to give this episodes plot some credit it does treat it's kid audience with some respect something which could also be said for alot of the early episode of the show due to the fact that we do get as we do get alot of talk in this episode that the kid audience just wouldn't understand like for example having Gordons crew talking to him when he's on the hill and refusing to move the kids won't know that he is going to cause an accident but the adults will and while the episode doesn't say that there could be an accident if Gordon doesn't move it's easy to see from the context that that is something that might happen with the plot of this episode also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this episode is Sir Ringo Starr with him being just as delightful in this episode as he is in all of his episodes. With this being due to the fact that he isn't a trained actor and while that might sound like a bad thing in a show like this it can also be a good thing as it allows the shows narrator to sound more natural something which is the case in this episode as while he doesn't give the characters any distinct voices he does give a slight snobbish voice to Gordan which is something that is perfect for his character as he is someone that would sound like that and while he doesn't alter his voice for Edward you could argue that due to Sir Ringo Starr himself being quite old that is something that does make sense. With that being something that adds to the more natural sounding aspect of his performance. As without Edward sounding quite old it would be at odds with his character as he is meant to be one of if not the oldest engine on the show and therefor him having this more mature sounding voice is something that really does work for Edward as a character much like for Gordon sounding more like a snob works for his character as Gordon is someone who does act like a posh snob alot of the time and therefor it does make sense that Ringo would make him sound like one in this episode even tho he didn't really put on a voice for Gordon in the previous episode and yet at the same time the character really didn't need a slightly post and boastful sounding voice in this episode either as we the audience could figure out from the context given that this character is acting boastful with us not really needing a voice to help to hit that point home even more.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting thats actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty really good. With Sir Ringo Starrs acting in this episode really improving even tho this is only the show second ever episode with this really hitting home the fact that he really did understand the task at hand as while he might have only have been hired just because of his name alone he did still manage to put on a good performance and while his performance from an acting point of view would of course improve during the shows and his final second series just based of this episode alone you can still see him starting to improve as a performer. With the best actor in this episode of course being Sir Ringo Starr as he does put in alot of effort into giving us a good performance and while he doesn't give the characters different voices that as was just mentioned is something that really does harm the episode at all with his acting being something that makes all the difference due to the fact that when he's acting as Gordon he does act more boastful and posh and when he's Edward he's just himself, it is made clear in this episode that while Sir Ringo wasn't and never will be a classically trained actor he does have alot of love for the franchise with that love for not only the franchise but it's characters and world being something that does make his performance in this episode such a joy to watch with the acting that's in this very episode really being helped by the fact that this episodes script is just so good that all this episodes actor has to do is just say the lines as they are a written and a good performance will come out of him naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very episode.

There is not way to talk about this episode and not talk about Gordon as he is such a big character in this episode. Gordon in this episode was handled really well as he is essentially the main villain of the story and that is where the character gets t act his best as while it is fun to see him acting like the god guy in alot of the episodes its alot more fun t see him acting post and boastful as that's when we get to see him at his best with him here basically refusing to pull a goods train because to him it is something that is beneath him. Whilst of course we know that all manner of trains are asked to do a lot of jobs to Gordon someone who is used to mainly pulling passengers to him pulling a goods train is something that would be beneath him as to hm he is just to posh to do something like that and that is something that we would see carried out in other episodes of this show as it is something that does make him stand out as a character and while it was exploited better in other episodes with his ego always being his downfall here it is something that does still work as Gordon is someone that you can see really getting upset like this to the point where he would refuse to go up a hill that is quite literally named after him and with him being rude to Edward at the start of the episode it is something that does make his downfall all the more fun to see as the episode does give us plenty of reasons to want to see Edward best him and really prove himself and whilst the episode doesn't really give us a reason to like Gordon all that much you could argue that the previous episode where he was the main hero of that story did exactly that and while there might be other better characters in this show Gordon has to be a really good character as when he's a good guy he's OK but when he's the villain of the piece that's when he gets to be the most fun as a character.

Edward on the other hand is almost the exact opposite as Gordon as while Gordon is meant to be like the older brother who is still at home Edward is the older brother who has moved out of the house for a few years and is more experienced because of it. With him being one the more kinder engines on the show with him being able to make friends with anyone and just being happy to be let out of the shed as that mean that he gets the chance to do something and be a useful engine with this being something that makes it worse when Gordon does tease him for being old and for not being used as much as him with the episode going to great lengths to make sure that we care for Edward as a character. Which to be fair is something that does work really well as by the ed of the episode we are not only happy that Edward got let of the shed in the first place but are also happy that he did kind of get back at Gordon not by pulling a joke on him like say for example Thomas or James might do but just for being kind to him by helping him out when he was in trouble as that is true to Edwards character as while yes he can get mad and he does get mad alot of the time in the later episodes of the show but alot of the time he is just this nice and kind engine that is willing to give others advice based on his own expirences, while Thomas might be the franchises main character Edward is a not a character to slept on as he does all of his work no questions asked and will do it with a smile on his face and while yes he is prone to anger as are we all those times don't happen all that often with this episode showing us just how helpful he is by having him be the one that comes to Gordons rescue without a second thought and without the thought of teasing him about it later where as if this was Thomas or Percy for example the first thing that they would do is tease Gordon for being stuck on the hill in the first place.

Where this episode does somewhat start to faulter is in the fact that while it is good that the episodes plot might be simple it might also be a little bit simple as kids can handle slightly more complex things if we give then the chance to and given the fact that this era of the show is known for having things that are more true to how trans are run in real life it would have been more fun to see that come into play in this very episode as then we could not only get to find out more about how trains are meant to be run but also be entertained by this episode instead of just having one over the other as all that does is make it feel like that the makers of this show aren't willing to teach kids about how trains are meant to be run on a railway. Whilst yes granted this is a small issue in the grand scheme of things and it doesn't really effect the episodes plot all that much it is still something that would have added an extra layer of realism to the episode as you can teach kids things about how other things are meant to be run whilst at the same time still entertaining them with a funny little story about talking trains as kids are capable of understanding these things if you teach it to them in a way that they'll understand it's why kids TV shows of the nineties and eighties were alot more better then the kids shows that we get today as alot of them did teach us things about the real world whilst also being fun to watch and that's something that this episode had permission to do and yet for one reason or another the makers of this episode chose not to do that which might be fair enough as this was only there first series but it is something that would have made be all the more mature because of it.

Whilst it is understandable that the makers of this show did use whatever props that they had lying around to fill up scenes with characters that are yet to be introduced it is something that is in this episode was a little bit distracting. As they straight up have James sleeping next t Edward in one scene when they very easily could have moved Henry or Thomas over into that slot and look granted this show didn't have a huge budget and therefor they couldn't have built new trains just for one shot of a random throwaway episode and while having James make a silent cameo in the episode much like he did in the first episode doesn't really harm the story it is something that does make you wonder where in the time line that this episode is meant to take place. As it can't be before James joins the show as we see Thomas not working on his branchline but at the same time due to James being there it has to be after Thomas gets his branchline in the show and while it doesn't harm the episode as you could always argue that since the show never outright says that it is James in the shed in the episode that it could just be another engine which is something that would be fair a point and it is understandable why they used his model as they wouldn't have had alot of models there that they could have used for the episode it is still something that does make this episode very hard to place in the timeline, heck you could even make the statement that this episode takes place in an alternate world where James joins the team earlier and to be fair to the episode the scene does give a chance to see Edward acting a little bit more boastful which is understandable as he is saying that he and his driver will be going out again tomorrow to do some more work which for Edward would be something to boast about.

Now then this episode has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly five minuets and thirty two seconds. Which to be fair to this episode is pretty much the bogstandard running time for this show at this point and this episode really didn't need to be any longer then that as the episode really only had one new character to set up and introduce and that's really it with the episode being more then capable of being able to do that and still tell a good and somewhat heartwarming story in that amount of running time with the episode also having the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place. However tho the episode really doesn't use it's running time all that wisely due to the fact that it while it does take the time to fully develop it's plot as well as it perhaps could have done with there being alot of scenes in the episode that are all about advancing this episodes plot forward and giving the plot itself alot of focus they do leave some questions unanswered as they never explain why it has to be Edward that has to go and Gordon as it very easily could have been Henry then went to help him out with this being something that does make the episodes feel a little bit more weaker and feel like they had to find a way to get Edward into the conclusion of the plot. The episode also really doesn't take the time to fully develop its characters which is something that is understandable as you could always argue that the characters get all of there character development in other episodes of the show and with this being one of the first episodes of the show it wouldn't make sense for either Gordon or Edward to get there character development in this episode this is despite th fact that the episodes plot does allow for Gordon to get some form of character development but I really will admit that this episode really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very episode was in all honesty not that bad. While this episode doesn't have any laugh out loud moments in it part of what does make this episodes lets be honest here cute comedy work as well as it  does is the fact that alot of it does feel very character driven and alot of it does feel very true to life with both of those things coming out in full force as they manage to make would could be seen as being very unfunny moments seem slightly funny. With the best joke in the episode being when Edward does help Gordon over the hill Gordon just straight up forgets that Edward is right behind him with Gordon speeding up and carrying on his journey as if he wasn't there all the while poor Edward is left out of breathe which is funny as it does highlight the fact that Gordon can be forget at times something which we do see come back into play in a later episode, it is also something that does feel very true to life as we have all done something but then forgotten the person that helped us do it and just carried on anyway and while yes granted that joke isn't that funny with there being better jokes in other episodes of the show but given the fact that this show was till trying to do slice of life stuff and not lean into it's comedy as much it is still a really funny joke with the makers of the episode putting alot of thought into making the joke work not only for the episode but for the characters as well with the rest of the episodes jokes being just as good in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall this was decent episode as it does give you a really pretty good idea of just who Edward is a character whilst also showing us Gordon as a heel which is something thats always fun to see but it is an episode that could have been alot more better as the episode really did have the potential to be a great episode of the show in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very episode in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very episode really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Amazon . Co . Uk and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images from this very episode that I used in this very post being the really great Google Images really simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not really all of the images that are all really from this very episode with alot of them really being really better quality then what you'd really think of and all of the images are really of course up and really on Google Images really are also really all fairly high in quality and as well as them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.