Action Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre Action

Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
Review

Jurassic World: Rebirth review – struggles to find a justification for its existence

by David Jenkins

There’s just too much that’s wrong and sil­ly and deriv­a­tive about this tired, tired run-out.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two men walking together, one wearing a navy suit and the other in a yellow jacket and jeans.
Review

F1 review – speed is king, subtlety is yellow-flagged

by Adam Woodward

Brad Pitt is in scin­til­lat­ing form in this shame­less PR exer­cise, which also hap­pens to be one of the year’s most pure­ly enter­tain­ing cin­e­mat­ic experiences.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Black dragon-like creature with horns and green eyes resting on sandy ground.
Review

How To Train Your Dragon review – never quite catches the updraft needed to soar to uncharted heights

by Yasmine Kandil

Dream­works’ first for­ay into the world of live-action remakes is fair­ly unre­mark­able despite occa­sion­al sparks of magic.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A person in a dark grey cloak holding a sword stands in a forested area with tall trees.
Review

Tornado review – tries a bit too hard to be different

by David Jenkins

John Maclean aims for Ser­gio Leone and Aki­ra Kuro­sawa, but this 18th cen­tu­ry samu­rai west­ern leaves only a super­fi­cial impression.

4
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A man in a suit and a woman in a nun's habit stand in front of a damaged trailer in a forest setting.
Review

The Phoenician Scheme review – an absolute gas

by David Jenkins

A charm­ing arms deal­er heads on the road to redemp­tion in this pris­tine shot of pure plea­sure from film­mak­er Wes Anderson.

5
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
A person skydiving in mid-air, surrounded by green countryside below.
Review

Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning review – delivers the big swings

by David Jenkins

Ethan and the team take anoth­er crack at foil­ing a self-learn­ing AI mon­ster that’s hell­bent on a glob­al apocalypse.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A woman with short, curly blonde hair gazes intensely at the camera, wearing a black jacket.
Review

Thunderbolts* review – the best Marvel film in a while

by Fatima Sheriff

There’s a lot of super­fi­cial fun to be had with this super­hero romp, which hasn’t been the case in the MCU for a long while.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two armed military or security personnel in combat gear, carrying assault rifles, standing in a dimly lit interior room.
Review

The Accountant 2 review – tonally wild and uneven but oddly sweet

by Hannah Strong

Ben Affleck­’s autis­tic hit­man with a gift for num­bers returns in Gavin O’Con­nor’s mis­matched action thriller.

2
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
A man with dark hair pointing a gun in a dimly lit, rainy setting.
Review

Cloud review – all-time bleakest episode of Only Fools and Horses

by Josh Slater-Williams

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s lat­est treads sim­i­lar the­mat­ic ter­ri­to­ry to his pre­scient 2001 cyber­hor­ror, through the prism of an e‑commerce, vengeance-fuelled thriller.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Two men in period attire - one in a blue cap, the other in a cowboy hat - stand next to a vintage car in a rural setting.
Review

Sinners review – links the past and present with music and blood

by Kambole Campbell

Final­ly free from the Mar­vel machine, Ryan Coogler deliv­ers the goods and then some with his music-pow­ered, genre-splic­ing latest.

3
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two soldiers, one in camouflage uniform, equipped with protective gear and holding a weapon, standing indoors.
Review

Warfare review – war, what is it good for?

by Hannah Strong

Alex Gar­land teams up with Iraq War vet­er­an Ray Men­doza for an evoca­tive but emp­ty war film, recre­at­ing a cat­a­stroph­ic day in Rama­di based on the mem­o­ries of Men­doza and his comrades.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A young man in a dark coat standing on a crowded city street.
Review

The Amateur review – extremely solid, extremely unspectacular

by David Jenkins

Rami Malek strug­gles in this boil­er­plate thriller as a CIA oper­a­tive out to kill the men that mur­dered his wife.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect