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There's certain directors who just feel perfectly geared towards particular franchises and Gareth Edwards is one of those people who seemed like the absolute perfect fit for a Jurassic movie. His involvement is what really got my hopes up and David Koepp returning as the writer got my excitement to a level that I wasn't sure was possible for one of these movies given how rocky the road has been since that original film. Rebirth definitely still contains a lot of the weaknesses that keep holding the Jurassic Park sequels back but it's the best this franchise has been in a decade and managed to get certain feelings out of me that I haven't experienced with one of these movies since Steven Spielberg was behind the camera.

Gareth Edwards manages to capture these creatures in such an awe inspiring way and the film really feels like it takes in time in crafting those moments of absolute wonder. The CGI is pretty impeccable and Edwards manages to do what he did with Godzilla and Rogue One and create a true sense of scale. It's colourful and vibrant and the camera always feels like it's finding new and dynamic ways of capturing the dinosaurs on screen. It's also a lot scarier than I expected it to be and the set pieces are the best that these movies have had since the 90's. They make these creatures feel genuinely terrifying again and I think the best compliment I can give them is that after a while I was involuntarily searching the screen for when the next one was going to pop out.

If I had to criticise something about the movie on a technical level it would probably some pacing issues that come about as a result of the editing. There's a point about half way through where the film divulges into two distinct paths and I think some more cross cutting between the two of them would've benefited the flow of things. It just feels like we spend so much time with one group before cutting to the other for what feel like quite long periods and it did start to make the film feel uneven. I think the script might be more to blame for those issues though because it's unfortunately what holds this movie back from being great.

The characters overall aren't up to much and for the most part it's only really the performances that make them somewhat engaging. The film starts out quite rough with a 40 minute period that feel like just constant introductions and a lot of exposition that comes across as really thrown together. There's interesting seeds for the Johansson, Bailey and Ali characters but nothing after the opening really does much to build upon them so they end up feeling underdeveloped. There's also a whole other family introduced in the opening in a very abrupt way and I couldn't ever really tell what their purpose in the story ultimately was. There was plenty to enjoy as their scenes go on but it just ends up feeling like this whole other plot point which as I said really effected the pacing without ever really feeling like they served much of a purpose. I also think the film is lacking in the social commentary that made the first film great. The reason for getting these characters into this situation raises some interesting moral and ethical dilemmas but it never really felt like it went anywhere meaningful and by the time the film concludes the whole dilemma just ends up being resolved quite cut and dry way.

I think Rebirth ends up feeling the most like The Lost World compared to any other Jurassic movie in that it does feel lacking in the writing and character departments but it's so well executed on a technical level that I just found it so hard not to enjoy the experience. It also ends up feeling like a much more refined and better executed version of Jurassic Park 3, my least favourite movie in the franchise. I think the script definitely needed an overhaul because it does reek a bit of something rushed to meet a release date because there are interesting seeds in there that could've grown into something interesting. It's hard to tell what's next for these movies but if they get this cast back I think there's potential for growth with them and if they get a director with real vision again I have reason to feel excited.

I don't know much of anything about Formula One so a movie about that in and of itself wouldn't excite me, it's the potential for great filmmaking what got me to as excited for this movie as I was. Top Gun: Maverick was achievement in every sense of the word that I still feel like I'm coming to terms with 3 years later and the idea of that team going from aerial sequences to driving didn't feel like a retread but a whole new exciting set of possibilities. You can definitely see the finger prints from Maverick all over F1 but for all the best reasons mainly being how invested I ultimately was in the characters and the situation. I loved it so much and it ends up feeling like one of those movies that should never leave theatres.

The film does such a good job at putting you in the head space of these drivers and I truly feel like I learned as much as was humanely about Formula One racing in two and a half hours. They find the most natural means imaginable of delivering exposition and by the time the 3rd act kicked in I felt like I was totally in sync with these characters. For as long as the runtime is there really isn't an ounce of fat to be found and a large part of that comes down to the editing. The pacing is a close to perfect as it can possibly be and I can honestly say that the runtime flew by.

The filmmaking on display is astounding and for as much as I don't want to be focused on the technical presentation of a film as opposed to just being wrapped up in the experience F1 struck the best possible balance between both. I couldn't help but be consistently amazed at the wizardry Kosinski pulls off behind the camera and its in a way that feels like it's totally right for the experience he's trying to provide. I usually hate POV shots but they feel perfectly utilised here and I loved how the camera pans between perspectives from within the driving seats of the cars. It's amongst the best sound design of any film I've seen in the last few years and for as much as the term white-knuckled is thrown around these days it's the only fitting way to describe the experience of this movie.

But for as impressive of a technical achievement as this movie is all of the prowess won't go far without something to genuinely get invested in and I think this film is much more impressive as a piece of writing than I think it's going to get credit for. It's undeniable that a lot of the tropes this movie plays with are familiar but they not only work in it's favour but because of how well executed everything is it still feels fresh. The dialogue is sharp and witty with a lot humour that felt totally natural and character conflict that feel totally earned and explored in a satisfying way. In a lot of other movies like this a lot of the scenes between the races are just filler to get the characters back into the cars but that's not the case here.

There's meaningful character building and real tangible stakes in almost every scene and the racing sequences are raised up even higher as a result. I loved basically every character I was supposed to, even the small bit-parts felt like they added so much, and I got so much out of their interactions. Brad Pitt is perfectly cast in this role and the character is lot more emotionally complex than I expected him to be, his dynamic with Damson Idris might take an expected turn but it's still perfectly played out and even the hints of romance with Kerry Condon's character were a lot deeper than it has any right to be. Like Top Gun: Maverick before it, the script doesn't skimp on character and story and that to me is the difference between being entertained by a film and being actively invested in it.

F1 ends up feeling like the best possible version of itself without a single missed opportunity from top to bottom. It is unbelievably entertaining without a single moment of wasted screen time and it's not only a technical marvel but a solid piece of writing. It's got characters I loved spending time with and a world I was left just wanting to be a part of. I loved this movie and it's so so gratifying to seeing something that gave me everything I wanted it to and I truly, truly hope this isn't Apple's last attempt at a full, theatrical release.

Elio ends up feeling like Pixar at its most generic with so many recycled beats and supposed emotional moments taken from any one of their other movies without any of the impact. The film just feels like it's trying to get those tears out of you from the very first scenes and it actually started to annoy me very quickly and annoying really is the main word I associate with this viewing experience. It feels so emotionally manipulative and as a result most of the beats fall completely flat. The script just seems to be allergic to subtlety and there wasn't a single resolution I didn't see coming from a mile away after the first 20 minutes. It got the odd chuckle out of me but for the most part I found the characters to be complete non-entities and outside of the main aunt-nephew relationship I don't think the film took enough time to build up it's dynamics. Even the visuals, which are admittedly impressive, still feel close to images we've seen in better Pixar movies but without any of real spectacle. This movie bored me and it annoyed me but for the most part I felt nothing whilst watching it and those my least favourite kind of movie watching experiences. It's abundantly clear at this point how good Pixar can be so that makes it even more frustrating when they make as much of a nothing movie as Elio as turned out to be.