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Reviews
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Marvel's back... for now
"The MCU hasn't been any good since 'Endgame' blah, blah, blah.". How many times have we heard and/or said that over the last five years? I've lost count. Heck, there are Youtube channels that have based their entire existence on it. To be honest that drumbeat has gotten a little tiresome, even if it is completely true. So I'm pleased to say that Marvel finally has a winner. But is it a fluke? A bandaid on a mortal wound. Maybe. Probably.
You see 'Deadpool & Wolverine' succeeds by largely turning all of the played out MCU conventions on their collective heads. Kudos to Disney for having the courage and foresight to let Ryan Reynolds and his team do it, but there's little evidence that this will be the new template.
But all of that conjecture can wait. Here and now is 'Deadpool & Wolverine', a fun (and relentless), witty (but overstuffed), fresh (yet somehow still contrived) bit of steroid-infused fan service.
Is it a classic? Nah. Something I can envision ever watching again? Probably not. But this is just the sort of thing that the once powerful Marvel juggernaut (no, not *that* Juggernaut) needed.
The Fall Guy (2024)
Remember fun?
Sometimes you don't realize that you missed something until it returns. For me, that thing was fun. More specifically, fun movies.
There was a time, not so long ago, that going to the movies held the promise of a good time. Sure it was hit or miss, but generally speaking the discerning fan could sniff out the crap and escape the stress of the real world for two hours or so. Today, however, fun seems to be a four letter word to the geniuses in Hollywood. There are reasons for this. Reasons that are mostly of a socio-political nature that I won't expand on here, but the point is that after a decade or so of rising ticket prices and diminishing returns, I think that the audience is craving the return of the "f" word. That's why it's such a shame that "The Fall Guy" wasn't a bigger hit.
Make no mistake, "The Fall Guy" isn't a classic. It's probably not even a movie that most people are likely to ever revisit. But it's a seriously entertaining movie with laugh out loud humor and great action that is also far more clever than it appears to be on the surface. And there are no agendas or people dressed in spandex costumes. That alone makes this a movie worth checking out.
"The Fall Guy" is a good time and nothing more, and that's okay.
The Village (2004)
Suspend logic all ye who enter here
M. Night Shyamalan is a very polarizing writer/director. Even at his best his style isn't for everyone, and 2004's "The Village" represents everything that his critics hate and that his fans love.
Naturally there's a twist. It's his calling card. But never has the dramatic success of his films ever been so dependent on whether or not the one here "works" for you. For me it did, but that's not to say that it didn't come with some concessions. Chief among them is that you just can't try and analyze the logic here. At all.
Whatever you may think of Shyamalan, he's a very good director on a technical level. He does an excellent job of creating a mood and quietly pulling you into the world he's creating. Here he's in top form, and he's aided by strong performances from his cast. In particular Bryce Dallas Howard, who carries the movie. I contend that she'd have gotten an Oscar nomination in a more "serious" film.
I've always believed that "Unbreakable" was Shyamalan's best movie, but "Signs" had always been my favorite. It'd been years, probably since it was first released, that I'd watched "The village". Having had a few hours to digest it I think that I might be willing to put it alongside "Signs" as my favorite. It's a movie about a return to a simpler life that resonates even more in this rather crazy world of 2024 than it did 20 years ago. And it's just really good... if you can set aside the plot holes.
Look, my favorite movie of all-time is about a kid who travels to a planet to train with a space frog (see if you can guess the movie), so suspending disbelief is something that I've never had a problem with. All movies are fake, even the so-called serious ones. So if you can buy "The Godfather" and "Citizen Kane", there's no reason why you can't just escape into movies like "The Village" as well.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Accept this Mission
Mission: Impossible is an odd franchise. For one, it's nearly 30 years old and features the same actor in the lead. During that same time 'Batman' has been rebooted three times and is on its fourth actor. The other oddity is that it's continued to get better.
Typically long running franchises begin to fizzle out and end on a whimper. Not M:I. Most people agree that part two was the worst of the series, that part three was a decent course correction and that four was a solid step forward (for the record I don't care much for either of them ). But things really began to take off when writer/director Christopher McQuarrie came on board.
Suddenly there was some continuity and it began to feel like a "cinematic universe". Ethan Hunt, who heretofore had no real discernible personality, started to feel like an actual person and a cast of regulars began to fill in around him. But if all of that was the tinder then the match was the action. In short; no franchise going does it better than M:I, and that is certainly on display here. It's not just that it's frequent, which far too many action movies mistake for being good, it's that it's fun, creative and expertly executed.
Despite being in his 60s now, Tom Cruise is once again in fine form, embarrassing action stars half his age. The rest of his crew are solid as always, and the new actors and their characters are all good additions.
'Dead Reckoning' isn't a perfect movie. For one, it's just too long. Believe me, it's no slog, but I can't believe that there's not a better film in here with ten to fifteen minutes trimmed. The MacGuffin is also a bit generic and redundant. But these things do not diminish the fun and white-knuckle thrills of this movie and saga which should serve as a blueprint for Hollywood.
I currently rank the films in order from best to worst: 6, 7, 5, 1, 4, 3 and 2.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Indiana Groans
I love Indiana Jones. 'Raiders' and 'Crusade' are in my personal top-five favorite movies of all time. The latter was a perfect send-off for the character and the saga. I certainly yearned for more Indy adventures, but I knew that there were likely going to be diminishing returns from that point forward. And I was right.
'Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' is a very mediocre action-adventure film, and a really bad Indiana Jones movie. Spielberg was clearly checked out at that point and the whole effort felt like an obligation as a result. It seemed destined (no pun intended) to be the disappointing capper on the legendary saga. That was until 'Dial of Destiny' said "Hold my bullwhip.".
The opening is moderately fun. The CGI looks pretty sketchy, and the deepfake Indy technology veers from "Wow" to "Yikes" within a few frames of each other, but it manages to evoke some of that classic Indiana Jones feel. Unfortunately it doesn't last.
When we flash forward to the "Present day", the whole thing begins to unravel. There are a lot of reasons why, but chief among them is Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Words can't describe how irritating and unlikable her character is. Her Helena Shaw was clearly being set up to take Indy's place, and thus she shoves him aside and takes center stage in HIS movie. That would be unforgivable in a good movie, which this is not.
I hate to beat a dead horse with this one. I waited a year to even watch this because I knew it was going to be bad. I'd started to wonder if I'd ever summon up the courage to finally give in. Tonight I did, and alas I was right.
But like Disney's abhorrent handling of the 'Star Wars' saga, the failure of 'Destiny' cannot retroactively taint the original Indiana Jones trilogy. And in fact I came away here appreciating those classics that much more.
Gladiator (2000)
We need movies like Gladiator again
I seriously doubt anyone who stumbled upon this really needs me to tell them why they should watch "Gladiator". So instead I'll just use my 600 required characters to lament the state of current Hollywood and the death of films like this one.
Despite its incredible success, "Gladiator" sort of represents the end of an era. Soon after its release the age of the comic book film would take over Hollywood and epics like this one would be cast aside as originality and creativity were replaced by a cookie cutter assembly line filled with brands and I. P.'s.
There's also the matter of the cultural shift that has taken place over the last quarter century. Not with society at large necessarily, but certainly within Hollywood. Terms like "Toxic Masculinity" are often thrown around to describe anything that even remotely involves men behaving like, well, men. Therefore contemporary portrayals of men are often neutered, rendering them as either soft and weak or big and dumb.
But as super hero/comic book burnout combined with companies like Disney gnawing every scrap of meat off of the bones of their once mighty brands, I believe that audiences are quietly thirsting for the return of films like "Gladiator". Big. Epic. And yes, masculine.
Sometimes we don't know what we need until we find it, and I hope that some producer or director out there has the foresight, talent and drive to fill this vacuum before movies are shoved aside by video games for good.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
F gets a solid B
You've probably noticed that the world doesn't make a lot of sense right now. Maybe that's why we've been getting so many so-called "Nostalgia bait" movies the last few years. The return of a beloved character or franchise is a bit of comfort food that takes us back to a moment or a time when things were (or seemed) a bit simpler. It could also just be that Hollywood has forgotten how to make good, original content. I'm betting it's a bit of both.
Most of these "I'm/we're back!" projects have been, at best, mid (I'm looking at you "Ghostbusters"). So my expectations for "Axel F" were pretty low. I'm pleased to say that nostalgia and member berries aside, it's a pretty fun movie on its own,
Make no mistake, nostalgia greases its gears at times, and there's precious little here that's fresh or inspired, but it's an agenda-free movie that only seeks to entertain. Remember those?
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
At its best it is the best
"The Dark Knight Rises" has some flaws baked into it, but after this re-watch I've concluded that when it is at its best, it's the best of the Christopher Nolan "Dark Knight" trilogy. Thankfully it's at that "best" for the vast majority of its runtime.
Writer/director Christopher Nolan doesn't make movies, he makes films. There's a distinct difference. Unlike Marvel, with its cookie-cutter popcorn sensibilities, Nolan endeavors to tell an actual story. You see, Marvel movies have plots. Again, there's a difference.
Like "The Dark Knight", "Rises" has elements of then current sociopolitical trends. In the former it was the "War on Terror" and the debate surrounding things like the Patriot Act. It also reflected the end of the Bush Presidency and the start of the Obama era. I certainly have my opinion on what Nolan was trying to say here, but I'll leave the interpretation of that up to the viewer. Here it's the Occupy Wall Street movement. Again, what you see here is up to you, and that is part of what makes these films so unique.
Nolan doesn't hammer us over the head with these themes. Unlike so much of what Hollywood churns out these days, he isn't interested in telling you what to think. Instead, he wants you *to* think. Big difference.
All of that aside, this is an incredible film. My criticisms, which I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't actually seen the movie at this point and has dug through several thousand reviews to find mine, do absolutely nothing to detract from it.
Nolan's Batman saga is a masterpiece and should serve as a template for Hollywood. Not just for its "Comic Book" movies, either.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Overdue for a re-evaluation
2004's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is a film inspired by a genre that had been out of fashion for nearly half a century. Kids thought that it was corny and older folks who grew up with the kind of pulp adventure serials that inspired it were likely unaware that it even existed. Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers just shrugged and moved on. But I contend that it deserved a better fate and that the time is right for it to have a re-evaluation.
The throwback adventure genre was kicked-off in 1981 by "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Unfortunately it and the other Indiana Jones films are about the only ones who really succeeded (1999's "The Mummy" notwithstanding). Movies like 1991's "The Rocketeer", 1995's "The Shadow" and 1996's "The Phantom" absolutely nailed the look and spirit of those old-time serials, yet they failed at the box-office and were largely forgotten. In recent years however they've all developed a cult following and are now regarded as highly underrated and even classics (certainly "The Rocketeer"). I think the time is long overdue for "Sky Captain" to receive the same treatment.
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" is a dazzling and inventive film filled with great performances, witty dialog and featuring a great score. It' also just a lot of fun, and I think we could all agree that we could use a bit more of that from our movies today.
Jonny Quest: The Invisible Monster (1965)
Lacks energy
"The Invisible Monster" is a pretty lean episode. It's just the Quest team and the titular monster for all save the obligatory mad (but well meaning) scientist in the prologue. To be honest it could've used a main human baddie and a few thinly veiled stereotyped toadies to spice things up a bit.
The generic jungle island locale doesn't offer the most exciting palette for our heroes to operate in, and the boilerplate story is as bland as it gets. Despite a VTOL jet plane, rocket packs and an energy monster, there's really not a whole lot of fun to be had in the very middling "The Invisible Monster".
The Dark Knight (2008)
Still the gold standard
More often than not, pop culture and entertainment are disposable. Yesterday's news before today is even over. But some things stand the test of time. "The Dark Knight" is one of those things.
For the last quarter century, Hollywood has flooded the market with "comic book" movies. The two biggest IP's are obviously Marvel and DC, and Marvel has won that battle handily. Their so-called cinematic universe is (or at least was) a well-engineered juggernaut. It had its clunkers, but the overall world building was immersive and impressive. It was also soulless and bland.
DC, on the other hand, never could get its act together. Their attempt to copy the MCU blueprint was an utter disaster. Cold and disjointed, it never felt like it knew where it was going. The DCEU was so busy trying to play catch-up that it forgot to come up with a plan.
But before this clash of the comic book titans began, Christopher Nolan began his "Dark Knight Trilogy". Given the artistic freedom to make actual films and not to try and copy Marvel's dumbed down, CGI-riddled shenanigans, he and his team made a saga that will live long after the many genre films that followed have faded into the white noise of our pop culture consciousness.
What else can be said about "The Dark Knight" that hasn't been said already? It's not just the best "comic book movie" of all-time. It's one of the best FILMS of all-time.
The Avengers (2012)
Remains the pinnacle of the MCU
The Marvel brand used to be the standard bearer. Today it's on the verge of needing a pallbearer. After a decade spent meticulously building a cohesive cinematic world, Disney released "Avengers End Game". It's a bit bloated, as you might expect for a story that had to tie together a nearly infinite number of plot and character threads, but it triumphantly sticks the landing on the so-called Infinity Saga and brings to a close one of cinema's grandest experiments.
In the five years since "End Game", Disney has lost sight of what made their Marvel brand so successful in the first place. Sure, the over-saturation of the superhero/comic book genre hasn't helped. I get the sense that the genre, like the Roman Empire before it, is in its last days. But if Disney wants to recapture their momentum, they need to rediscover their purpose and return to what made the MCU great in the first place. And they need look no further than the first "Avengers"
Well written, expertly made and featuring excellent performances by all of the major actors, it remains the gold standard for the MCU, and the blueprint for how Disney can stop the rotting decay of their brand and return it to its former glory.
Oh, and this goes for Star Wars, too.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
A new appreciation, but problems remain
In 1999, I walked out of the Phantom Menace in a bit of a daze. It didn't seem real. After 16 years of dreaming about a new SW film, it was finally here... and I didn't think that it was very good. It had its moments to be sure, but the bad far outweighed the good for me.
Naturally I revisited it over the years, but my opinion never changed. But having been dragged by some friends to see it for its 25th anniversary/May the 4th release, I gained a somewhat new appreciation for the film as a whole, and a few things specifically.
Let's start with what still doesn't work.
- Jar Jar. Enough said about that.
- The Gungans in general.
- The Neimoidians and their comical battle droids.
- Natalie Portman's stilted performances as both handmaiden and queen.
- A very dull first act paired with a protracted second one.
- A pretty generic and forgettable score by John Williams beyond the iconic "Duel of the Fates".
- Massive plot holes.
Now for what I came to appreciate with this new viewing
- Jake Lloyd isn't bad in this film. In fact, he's pretty darn good. Oh there are a few bumps here and there, but he does a very solid job as young Anakin. He runs circles around Portman, that's for sure.
- It's a well made film. It looks great. The location work is good, helping the whole thing to feel more tactile than the two prequel-sequels to come. And it's skillfully directed by George Lucas, who shows some flair and solid instincts.
- The dialog isn't nearly as bad as I remembered. Yeah, the formalities and exposition are a bit stiff, but there are several memorable lines here.
- As much as I hate CGI, the f/x stand up remarkably well. In fact, a lot of it is light-years ahead of many contemporary films. The Pod Race and the final space battle are especially impressive.
Overall, the Phantom Menace is a better movie than I gave it credit for these last 25 years. I can't say that I'm itching to revisit it anytime soon, but when I do eventually get around to watching it again, it will be with more enthusiasm than I had going in this time.
Knight Rider: Knight in Retreat (1985)
Paging Dr. Hasselhoff
The only thing that stretches credibility more than a talking super car is David Hasselhoff as a physicist. Okay, so his character is only pretending to be a physicist, but still.
This is a pretty boilerplate and ultimately middling episode, but it does have its pluses. The best of which is guest villainess Ann Turkel. Ms. Turkel is an unconventionally attractive woman, with a sort of boss babe thing that kinda makes you want to do bad things for her. She's particularly good here as the genuinely cold and ruthless Bianca Morgan. Backing her up is Randi Brooks, who makes for a fun henchwoman, her questionable karate skills aside.
As usual the 'Hoff is the MVP, bringing his energy, enthusiasm and unfaltering likeability to his role as pop culture's most likable hero.
Knight Rider: Knight of the Phoenix: Part 1 (1982)
Still had a few kinks to work out
*- Note. This review is for the entire pilot, not merely "Part 1".
Even without the obvious nostalgia, Knight Rider may just be my favorite television series of all-time. A fact confirmed the last few months as I've cherry picked my way through various episodes. But I'd yet to revisit the pilot. Something that I rectified today.
Like many pilot episodes, "Knight of the Phoenix" still had some kinks to work out. The biggest here is that K. I. T. T. doesn't feel like the one that we know. He's very cold and clinical here. You expect going in that it will take some time for he and Michael to bond, but had K. I. T. T. remained as he does here, the chemistry between he and Michael would never have developed and the series would've sank as a result.
The 'Hoff on the other hand more or less has Michael down cold. He's a tinge less easy going here, not yet possessing what I've dubbed the "Cheerful heroics" which would come to define the character. But he's already a likable protagonist and carries this first episode on his Member's Only clad shoulders.
One of the other highlights is that the episode is a cavalcade of 70's/80's guest actor players. There's go-to baddie Lance LeGault, Richard Anderson, Bert Rosario, Charles Napier, Michael D. Roberts. Even Battlestar Galactica's Herbert Jefferson Jr. Shows up! But it's the impossibly beautiful, stunning, sexy, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, make you believe that there is a God Phyllis Davis who steals the show. This woman could've made me do terrible things and I'd have thanked her for it.
Overall "Knight of the Phoenix" is a reasonably entertaining start, but grading on a curve. It just doesn't match the series at its best.
Robotech: Boobytrap (1985)
Robodreck
I came to the animated Robotech series via the saga in novelized form as a high school student back in the late 80's. Even then, I found the novels to be vastly superior, but I still enjoyed the cartoon as well.
In recent years I've revisited the First Generation novels and found that they hold up pretty well. I can't say the same for the cartoon.
The animation is very 80's Anime, and that will either work for you or it won't. Personally I'm not a fan of that genre and its style in general, but it works well enough here; particularly with the various ships and mecha.
The voice acting is quite suspect, as are the writing and dialog. They each serve to undermine the very intriguing premise, and nearly succeed.
Ultimately this is a very clunky opener, though the story is such that I'm inclined to move on to episode 2 just to see if it improves as the action ramps up.
G.I. Joe: Primordial Plot (1985)
Was Michael Crichton a G.I. Joe fan?
Four years before "Jurassic Park", Donald F. Glut wrote this G. I. Joe episode about cloning dinosaurs on a remote island.
"Mr. Crichton? Mr. Glut's lawyer on line one."
Unfortunately for any viewer of "Primordial Plot", Donald F. Glut is no Michael Crichton.
The basic, um, bones of a fun story are here, but somehow Glut makes Cobra controlling an army of cloned dinosaurs about as exciting as a wet fart. It's one of those episodes that I found myself rewriting in my head as I was watching along. How they blew this layup I have no idea.
Few things are more frustrating than wasted potential, and nothing describes "Primordial Plot" better than that. Here, it's fun that's extinct.
Rambo (1986)
80's af
John Rambo's journey from an alienated and disillusioned Vietnam vet with PTSD to a flag-waving G. I. Joe knockoff is a fascinating one, but for the purposes of this review I'll stick to the series at hand.
I grew up as a boy in the 80's devouring cartoons like this one, but by 1986 I'd begun to ease away from toys and 'toons in favor of girls. If I ever watched an episode of "Rambo", I sure don't remember it. So, on a whim, I decided to dumpster dive into the series and see what I missed. As it turns out not much.
This is a straight "G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero" clone. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but because it apes the latter you can't help but compare the two and "Rambo" comes up short.
Rambo here is a monosyllabic alpha Gary Stu leading a bland team of good guys (and girls) against a bad Cobra tribute band. It's action packed, I'll give it that, but it plays more like the writers kept trying to one up each other for who could come up with the most absurd set piece. That sort of thing can be fun when it's done right, but here it's just not.
Rambo: S.A.V.A.G.E. Island (1986)
Rambore
John Rambo's journey from an alienated and disillusioned Vietnam vet with PTSD to a flag-waving G. I. Joe knockoff ls a fascinating one, but for the purposes of this review I'll stick to the episode at hand.
I grew up as a boy in the 80's devouring cartoons like this one, but by 1986 I'd begun to ease away from toys and 'toons in favor of girls. If I ever watched an episode of "Rambo", I sure don't remember it. So, on a whim, I decided to pick an episode at random and see what I missed. As it turns out not much.
This is a straight "G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero" clone. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but because it apes the latter you can't help but compare the two and "Rambo" comes up short.
Rambo here is a monosyllabic alpha Gary Stu leading a bland team of good guys (and girls) against a bad Cobra tribute band. It's action packed, I'll give it that, but it plays more like the writers kept trying to one up each other for who could come up with the most absurd set piece. That sort of thing can be fun when it's done right, but here it's just not.
G.I. Joe: Sins of Our Fathers (1986)
A very weird episode
The thumbnail premise of this episode--Dial Tone being discharged from the Joes for his performance--has a ton of possibilities. Pathos. Perseverance. Redemption. None of these are included here, however.
What follows instead is an extremely convoluted story that undermines all of that with ham-fisted plot mechanics and a reveal that's absurd even by G. I. Joe standards. Look, I'm not expecting, or even wanting, sophisticated storytelling, but the goofiness on display here takes the taco,
Dial Tone isn't exactly an A-list Joe, and this episode is an example of why they should have just left him on the bench,
G.I. Joe: The Spy Who Rooked Me (1986)
007 gets a 006
Like most G. I. Joe episodes, Cobra is after some dangerous MacGuffin and the Joes are the only thing standing in their way. But this time they have the assistance of a suave British secret agent who bares absolutely no resemblance to James Bond. Just kidding, he's totally modeled after 007.
The pairing of the red-blooded Joes and a refined British agent is fun in theory, and kinda fun in practice, and for sure the only redeeming quality of this otherwise middling episode.
With a little more effort this could've been a memorable and upper-tier episode. As it stands, "The Spy who Rooked Me" is Thunderbland.
G.I. Joe: Raise the Flagg! (1986)
Raises the bar
This is a very quirky and unique episode propelled by some relatively clever writing and endearing voice performances. To be sure you have your standard MacGuffin that can do bad things if it falls into the wrong hands blah, blah, blah, but the execution here is what causes it to, ahem, rise above the average G. I. Joe episode.
One of the things that I've always loved about G. I. Joe is that the various characters all have distinct personalities, and when they're mixed just right (as they are here), it really adds an extra little zip to things. The de facto villain of the episode is a lot of fun and the standard good guys/bad guys teaming up to defeat a common foe stuff is also executed pretty well.
In short, "Raise the Flagg!" is an entertaining, second-tier episode well worth seeking out.
Thundercats (1985)
No nostalgia required
Thundercats is often compared to Masters of the Universe, and to be sure there are many similarities, but I've always found Thundercats to be the superior show (that's not to say that I don't love MOTU by the way).
Along with better animation, stronger voice acting and a richer soundtrack, the tone and storytelling are more mature and sophisticated. Thankfully, none of that detracts from the sense of fun that's the ultimate goal of shows like these.
Like many cartoons from this era, there are no shades of gray. The heroes are noble and incorruptible, and the villains are greedy, power hungry and bent on destruction for the sake of it. That's not a criticism, though. There's something uplifting about seeing the good guys charging into battle with a clear sense of right and wrong. And while it doesn't always happen this way in real life, they always win.
Nostalgia is often a grease that lubes up rusty gears, but in this case, Thundercats runs just fine on its own.
Thundercats: Return to Thundera (1985)
No one can change history. We can only learn from it
"Return to Thundera" is a premise ripe with possibilities. The kind that really need at least a two-part episode to fully exploit. Unfortunately we only get one episode here, and the result is a 10 lb story in a 5 lb sack.
We needed to see more of Lion-O on Thundera. For him to explore a planet and society he barely knew. To be with his Father. To have him struggle to not change history. In short; he needed more time.
Meanwhile, the threat to the Thundercats in the present, on Third Earth, should have seen the Thundercats grapple with the mystery of what happened to Lion-O. That plot needed more time to bake before the giant death-dealing robot showed up.
All that said, "Return to Thundera" certainly doesn't wast any motion. It's a fast paced episode with all of the elements that we love about the series. I just wish that it had a little more meat on its bones.
The Six Million Dollar Man: Run, Steve, Run (1974)
Run, viewer, run
Several years ago, I bought the S1 DVD set (kids, ask your parents) of "The Six Million Dollar Man". Thus far I've only watched the pilot movie and a handful of the episodes, but I got a random itch to dive back in and so I pulled the set out and searched for an episode that sounded promising. IMBd's thumbnail described "Run, Steve, run" as "infamous robot maker has been hired to build a team of robots to rob Fort Knox.". Sold! So what if it's the lowest rated episode from season 1, right? I shoulda listened.
"Run, Steve, run" calls back to the much better "Day of the Robot", with that episode's Dr. Dolenz returning here. World building! But the promise of the nefarious Doctor and his plans to build a team of robots charged with robbing Fort Knox is not fulfilled. Instead we get Steve on vacation at a friend's ranch while Dolenz and his team scout Steve from afar, trying to assess his abilities before they kidnap him. 'Cuz, you know you couldn't do that by taking him apart or anything.
A good %10-15 of this episode consists of flashbacks to previous episodes, and the rest involve Steve and a... romance? With a young woman who works on the ranch. She may be the niece of Steve's friend, I can't remember. And it was only an hour ago. But I do remember the performance of the young actress, and it is quite possibly the worst that I've ever seen this side of a grade school play. Forget Bigfoot, Steve's greatest foe thus far is acting against Melissa Greene.
There is absolutely nothing redeeming about "Run, Steve, run". Take a cue from the title and stay far away.