simbiat

Good, but was it really needed? The story did not change much (if at all) compared to original, which is good, but it also does not bring anything new to the story. Yes, Maia Kealoha played Lilo just amazingly, this is one of the best castings I've seen in the past few years. Yes, Stitch is more fluffy and may, potentially, appeal modern kids a bit more than the animated ones. But... That's pretty much it.

I saw some people complaining, that live-action Nani felt "cold" and "less empathetic", too. Personally, I do not think so, but I see why she may be perceived that way. Live-action forces real-life rules and limitations, which may limit the expressiveness of certain things. Animation is much more free in that regard, since the level of suspension of disbelief is higher by default. It can have wider motions, more vivid faces and colors, potentially add various effects and overlays, which would not be applicable in live-action due to it being more... Well, "real".

Perhaps, that's the reason why the movie seems to have a colder reception from audience, and that begs repeating: was it needed? If this was elevate Maia - maybe? But she probably could have nailed a mischievous girl in some other story or even a sequel. If the goal was to attract modern audience, then maybe remastering of the original would make more financial sense, but even that feels unnecessary to me, even though I did find original animation a bit inconsistent.

Can you enjoy the movie? Yes. If you have not watch original or, like me, do not as much for it - you probably will enjoy it even more. Should you chose it over the original? Only if you do not like the original art style, I guess.

It's amazing how a mostly half-assed movie is still the best that Marvel/Disney produced in recent years. They did not select a proper direction with the concept, and because of this the movie is very uneven: sometimes it's trying to be funny, sometimes it's trying to be depressing, sometimes - both. Neither of those is particularly impactful, though, which makes it feel "half-assed". I also can't say there is much character progression here, too.

Yet it does manage to progress the overall world, especially with the post-credit scene, and that's already a lot for MCU. That scene was probably the most fun to watch. Not like the main movie was "bad". Again, it was "half-assed" a lot of the time, could have used some polish, but if you watch it as a B-movie - it can work. I do think it would have worked better as TV show, though.

The story and general vibe are reminiscent of The Boys show, but less risky. There are moments in the movie, which try to provide some social commentary, and raise deeper questions, but we do not get enough time to explore them. A TV show would have provided that time, and it could have been also structured in a way to leverage those "dream-like" sequences more, to delve deeper into character's psyche. Yes, they are "meh" heroes/villains, but that would make for an interesting perspective on the MCU and what's happening there.

Regardless, I most likely will recommend this for a watch, just manage your expectations. This is not a "grandiose", and it's not meant to be. It's not as "pompous" as well, and does not really carry a strong message (it tries to, but it falls flat, to be honest). But that's good enough for 1 evening.

Kind of "meh". The show definitely has some style, especially music, but as a story, I think it falls a bit flat, in the end. The overall structure of it is perfectly fine: not too simple, not too complex - but there is not much meat over the bones. Information we get on characters and their relationships is barebones, mostly factual with much of power behind any feelings. We are told that a character has specific motivation driving them to do a thing, and it makes sense, if you put yourself in their shoes, but... Personally, I did not feel most of it (if any at all).

To be clear, I do not think it's the actors. They seem totally fine, and doing their job. It's also not the characters themselves: they do have potential, that's just waiting to be explored. But it's not. They are not fleshed out. Best example is probably interactions between Nina and Royce. Or maybe between Ezra and Royce? In both cases I see great potential to flesh out Royce quite nicely, the way he strives for acknowledgement from both Ezra and Nina, albeit in different ways and for different reasons. But his interactions simply lack... Weight.

It's as if those interactions were added for padding, which is weird, because the pacing of the show is quite fast. To be honest, I thought that the season would end around the events that happened around 2/3 mark, if not 1/2. Can it be, that they rushed things a bit too much? Too bad, because, again, I feel it could be quite a compelling story. If I forget how much of a sleazeball look they gave to Josh Holloway. The tease for 2nd season also felt somewhat disingenuous.

Overall, if you watch the show, you will not hate it, and you may be able to enjoy some moments of it, but most likely it will be mostly forgettable for you.