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‘The Wheel of Time’ Review: Rosamund Pike Anchors an Intimate Fantasy Series About Power and Prophecy

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‘The Wheel of Time’ Review: Rosamund Pike Anchors an Intimate Fantasy Series About Power and Prophecy

Among many of the sci-fi and fantasy properties finally tackled in 2021 on both the big and small screens, The Wheel of Time has long been regarded as one that could possibly be “unadaptable” — and since the rights were first optioned back in 2000, it’s been a long and winding journey for the sprawling world of the late Robert Jordan‘s novels to finally become translated into a series format. With showrunner Rafe Judkins (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) now behind the wheel, so to speak, both long-time readers of the books and anyone who was even mildly intrigued from trailers and scene teases have been waiting to see whether the upcoming Prime Video adaptation is fully worth tuning in for. The good news? Those of you who found yourselves more than a little burned by the ending of another epic genre series (and I’m including myself within that group) may have just found your latest fantasy obsession to succumb to.

First, the overarching summary: The Wheel of Time is set in a world that is inherently matriarchal in its construction — a group of women known as the Aes Sedai wields the “One Power,” wherein they channel saidar (aka magic) to access various elements and draw them together to create weaves that can be used for battle, shields, or other various means. Men are forbidden from channeling because every previous attempt has been known to drive the wielder insane, so over the years, the Aes Sedai became a female-only institution, with a particular division (or Ajah) tasked with tracking down male channelers and effectively neutralizing the potential threat.

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It’s through this powerful group of women that we’re first introduced to Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), an Aes Sedai who has been on a secret search of her own for many years for someone called the Dragon Reborn, an immensely powerful individual who is prophesized to either save the world or lead it into destruction. Accompanied by her loyal Warder, or bodyguard, Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney), Moiraine makes her way to the small mountain region known as the Two Rivers, where it’s possible that the reincarnation of the Dragon might exist from among a quintet of characters — sheepherder Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), blacksmith Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), innkeepers’ daughter Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden), gambler and thief Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris), and Wisdom (or healer) Nynaeve al’Meara (Zoë Robins). Within the first season, tracking them down is actually the easy part for Moiraine; taking them all back to the White Tower, where the Aes Sedai reside in the city of Tar Valon, proves to be a lot more complicated — but as any fantasy lover will tell you, the quest is an essential part of any good story, and The Wheel of Time delivers on that front.


RELATED: ‘The Wheel of Time’ Producers on How Many Seasons the Show Might Run and Why Rosamund Pike Wears Pants

Everything I’ve taken time to explain already might seem like a lot to wrap your head around, but the truth is that The Wheel of Time doesn’t necessarily feel like a show where you have to be absolutely caught up on the source material before diving in. I’ll admit to not having been very familiar with the books at all myself prior to my watch, and maybe the fact that I’m a big genre reader and grew up on thick sci-fi and fantasy doorstoppers makes me somewhat more predisposed to enjoy a certain amount of worldbuilding and lore with these types of shows. But The Wheel of Time also doesn’t get bogged down in too many confusing made-up terms or overly complicated politics, and once our small group of heroes begins their trip to Tar Valon, it’s actually fairly easy to just follow along with them, uncovering much of the story as they themselves do.


Although The Wheel of Time boasts a broad main and supporting cast, it is Pike’s shoulders on which a large amount of the story rests — and while the first season does take significant time to explore many different relationships, much of its emotional center revolves around Moiraine herself. In the world of the series, the bond between an Aes Sedai and her Warder is described several times as being closer than anything romantic or familial that exists, and Pike and Henney commit wholeheartedly in giving their characters both the unspoken weight and affection that two people who have been fighting side-by-side for years would possess. It’s this connection that we see echoed in multiple Aes Sedai/Warder pairs (and at least one apparent instance of a throuple) that becomes one of the season’s most poignant as well as heartwrenching threads: when you’re magically bonded to a person and can feel everything they’re feeling, from pain to grief, it makes the stakes that much higher and the threat of loss that much greater.

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And, as it turns out, the Aes Sedai have more than one threat to contend with on a broader level. Not only is there a dangerously powerful male channeler going around claiming to be the Dragon Reborn (Álvaro Morte), but an independent organization of religious fanatics, the Whitecloaks, is also viciously targeting female channelers and burning them at the stake. One Whitecloak in particular (Abdul Salis) derives a particularly sadistic pleasure of killing Aes Sedai and then wearing their rings on his belt as trophies. All of that aside, The Wheel of Time has a lot more going for it than the Aes Sedai-related plots — but they are some of the biggest reasons to watch. Over the course of the first season, the plot makes the choice to split up the core five (plus Moiraine and Lan), with various pairs forced to make their way separately to Tar Valon, but the advantage there is that these characters are given more room to breathe apart from one another, narratively speaking. We learn more about the unique powers that each of them might possess — and how some may not be the Dragon Reborn after all but something equal to or even stronger than that, outside of prophecy.


The Wheel of Time also, quite frankly, gives the small-screen genre adaptation the injection of inclusion it desperately needed — and what’s more, it makes it look so easy, taking Jordan’s books and turning them into a world that feels effortlessly diverse, effortlessly queer, with women at the heart of power, and all something that requires no in-universe explanation or justification for why; it simply is. The extended exploration of character and relationship development might also feel slower by comparison to a recent series’ very rushed final season, but digging into these dynamics only works to the story’s benefit. The result is a show that satisfyingly deals more in intimate moments rather than overly relying on big action set pieces or CGI’d mythical creatures to conjure excitement. One particular scene early in the season, in which Pike’s Moiraine delivers a nearly four-minute monologue on horseback, is as enthralling as any intense battle sequence we’re given later on.


By the end of the six episodes that were given to critics for review, it really feels like the adventure is only just beginning — so it’s fortunate that the streaming series has already been renewed for a second season. Like any good fantasy epic, The Wheel of Time is one that promises very impressive returns, provided audiences are willing to settle in for the long haul.

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Rating: A

The Wheel of Time premieres its first three episodes on November 19, exclusively on Prime Video.


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Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octane Thrill Ride

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Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octane Thrill Ride

Brad Pitt leads a wickedly funny ensemble in a high-octane actioner loaded with twists. Adapted from the 2010 Japanese novel by Kōtarō Isaka, Bullet Train has a bevy of disparate assassins manipulated by a mysterious criminal mastermind. Stuntman turned action director, David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde), stays true to form with unrelenting bloody and flamboyant violence. The codenamed characters get downright verbose before beating, stabbing, and shooting each other to bits. The loquacious banter tends to run long, but the narrative always bounces back with sharp reveals. Strap in for a helluva ride.

Ladybug (Pitt) boards the overnight bullet train to Tokyo with a newfound sense of self. He’s chock-full of philosophy after recovering from a near fatal ambush. Ladybug ignores his unseen handler’s advice to take a gun. Surely any issues can be resolved peacefully. The job seems straightforward enough. Steal a briefcase with a sticker and exit at the next stop.

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Also on board are Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), ruthless “twins” known for their brutal methods. Lemon is obsessed with the British children’s show “Thomas & Friends”. He reads people by comparing them to the anthropomorphized trains. The twins are escorting the previously kidnapped son (Logan Lerman) of a powerful gangster, the White Death (Michael Shannon).

None of the hired guns are aware of the Father, aka Yuichi Kimura’s (Andrew Koji), mission. He’s out for vengeance but foolishly runs into a deceptive figure. The Prince (Joey King) has a score to settle with the White Death. Meanwhile, the Wolf (Bad Bunny) joins the fray after his truly horrific Mexican wedding. He’s also ready for serious comeuppance. Ladybug quickly realizes they’re all unwitting pawns in a dangerous game. Someone has packed the train with killers for an unknown purpose. He desperately wants to get off but can’t seem to escape the carnage.


Related: I Love My Dad Review: Patton Oswalt’s Delightfully Cringeworthy Catfishing Comedy

Cast of Bullet Train

Bullet Train introduces the cast with splashy entrances that flashes back to their dark pasts. The murderous montages are informative but don’t fill in every gap. The script doles out more critical information as the bodies pile up. Alliances bounce back and forth as everyone wonders who’s actually pulling the strings. The whodunit element works well as the audience becomes embroiled in a series of betrayals. You don’t have a sense of the plot’s true trajectory until the third act. The film builds to a showdown that delivers a huge action payoff.

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Bullet Train has complex characters that each contribute slices of devilish humor. Brad Pitt preaching self-help and understanding is an effective gag throughout. Brian Tyree Henry’s constant comparisons to Thomas & Friends aren’t as comical but play an important role in the story. There are a lot of moving parts. Leitch, who worked as Pitt’s stunt double for years, is clearly fond of his players. He gives everyone a chance to babble incessantly. I would have trimmed the dialogue to be more incisive.


The action scenes are worth the price of admission. Leitch has a great eye for mixing stylized set pieces with intimate fights. He knows when to go big and small. You never feel let down by his pacing. There’s always the right amount of adrenaline to keep your pulse pumping. Bullet Train is another feather in a skilled filmmaker’s cap. Watch out for A-list cameos and a mid-credits scene.

Bullet Train is a production of Columbia Pictures, Fuqua Films, and 87North Productions. It will be released theatrically on August 5th from Sony Pictures.

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Bullet Train Review: Brad Pitt Has A Blast In The Silly And Badass Action Comedy

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Bullet Train Review: Brad Pitt Has A Blast In The Silly And Badass Action Comedy

If orchestrated properly, with adjusted stakes, tone, and atmosphere, there can be a beautiful, symbiotic relationship between intense action and comedy. A hero pulling off a rapid and vicious series of blows against an opponent can be savage and dramatic in one context, but it can also be so deliriously awesome that an audience’s first reaction is to laugh. Fast paced martial arts can be used for wonderful physical humor (see: the legendary career of Jackie Chan), and the best examples provide dual layers of entertainment: you marvel at the skill in all the ass-kicking, and cackle at the creativity in the choreography.

This is a sweet spot that filmmaker David Leitch knows well. After peppering funny moments in John Wick and Atomic Blonde at the start of his directorial career, he brilliantly utilized the action/comedy weapon that is Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2, and crafted some excellent physicality with the unique styles of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. His latest, Bullet Train, is another effort that takes aim at that particular tonal target, this time with his most expansive ensemble yet, and it’s another success. With a sensibility that could be described as early Guy Ritchie with more specific action focus, it’s a movie that is both silly and skilled and inspires its primary star in particular to do energetic and engaging work.

Based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kōtarō Isaka, the film weaves multiple narrative threads through the cars of the titular bullet train as it speeds through the country of Japan – all of the protagonists being killers with their own particular reason and motivation for being aboard. Ladybug (Brad Pitt), for example, is a hired gun who has been tasked by his handler (Sandra Bullock) to perform what sounds like a simple job: find a briefcase marked with a train sticker and steal it. What he doesn’t know, though, is that said briefcase belongs to a pair of British hit men named Lemon (Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and that the contents include the recovered ransom for the kidnapped son (Logan Lerman) of a powerful crime lord known as The White Death.

Meanwhile, Kimura a.k.a. The Father (Andrew Koji) is on the bullet train because he is on a mission of vengeance – hunting down the person responsible for nearly killing his son by pushing the boy off of a building. What he doesn’t expect is that the individual he is looking for is a young woman identified as The Prince (Joey King), and that she has purposefully gotten him on the high speed rail with the intention of forcing him to execute an assassination attempt.

And while five killers sharing the space would be enough for most movies, Bullet Train actually has even more that pop in and surprise throughout the film’s runtime – and their roles are worth keeping as a secret pre-release.

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Bullet Train has a chaotic storyline, but the pieces properly connect as a fun puzzle.

Narratively speaking, Bullet Train is a messy movie to put together, as focus briskly ping-pongs between the different players, but everything stays in harmony as the film persistently finds ways to build on each protagonist’s arc. This is particularly cool later in the movie as different characters are drawn together from individual angles and instant conflict is generated from their simple interaction.

The film is at its best when it keeps things simple, but it does let things go off the rails at times (if you’ll pardon the pun). This is especially true as it gets into the third act and it tries to pull off stunts like one of the leads leaping from a platform on to the back of the train as it leaves a station; it’s both a problem for the “rules” of the universe and in its strained use of visual effects. The movie also frequently tries to get a bit too cute and Tarantino-esque with what are admittedly familiar-but-not-quite-stock characters – the most prominent example being an ongoing and quickly tiresome gag with Lemon explaining that he understands people through the lens of Thomas The Tank Engine.

Primarily, though, it’s a movie that is able to generate its entertainment with engaging and quippy dynamics between the members of the ensemble, both when they are talking out their issues and trying to kill one another.

David Leitch puts a lot of exciting and weird fights in a confined space, and is at its best when working with a “less is more” philosophy.

Coming from a stunt background, both as a performer and a coordinator, David Leitch’s bread and butter remains deftly and specifically choreographed action sequences, and Bullet Train proves to be a terrific challenge and opportunity for his skills. Regardless of where you are in the titular transport, space is not a luxury, and the best fights in the movie are those that are being fought only between the characters, but against the limitations provided by the location.

There are guns, knives and explosives in the mix, but Bullet Train also has some terrific “found item” moments that add spice and humor to the various showdowns, whether it’s a pocketed cell phone saving a character’s life from a blade, a laptop making for a solid cudgel, a water bottle making for a useful projectile, or a venomous snake showing up at a perfect moment.

Once again we see David Leitch work a special magic turning dramatic and comedic actors into badasses with slick and stylish moves, and while everyone shows off some terrific skills, it’s very much the Brad Pitt show at the end of the day.

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Brad Pitt’s joy in the role of Ladybug is palpable.

At the nexus of everything good in Bullet Train is Brad Pitt, who very clearly had a blast reuniting with David Leitch (who performed the actor’s stunts in films including Fight Club, The Mexican, Mr. And Mrs. Smith and Troy). He’s a joy to watch in action not just because of the talented craft he demonstrates in his physicality, but how he channels the psychology of the character. As we meet him, Ladybug is reluctantly getting back into his business following a number of important breakthroughs with his therapist, and Pitt does a fantastic job conveying that he doesn’t ever want to choose violence as a first answer – both via verbal pleas and defense-heavy moves. Action/comedy is a genre he should revisit a lot more often.

Bullet Train doesn’t aim to revolutionize hitman movies, but instead plays with a tongue-in-cheek vibe that lets you recognize the tropes and appreciate how the film plays with them. It’s a slick/goofy action movie that is both contained and wild, and a satisfying late summer release.

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Luck Review: A Spectacular Debut Film from Skydance Animation

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Luck Review: A Spectacular Debut Film from Skydance Animation

The world’s unluckiest woman enters a magical land to change the fortunes of a fellow orphan. Luck will make you smile and possibly shed a few tears. The big-budget, CGI animated fantasy shines a spotlight on needy children while telling a truly original story. An assortment of lucky critters and creatures dazzle in a spectacular setting. The highly imaginative narrative gives age-old superstitions a dynamic new spin. Luck is a brilliant first film from Skydance Animation.

Sam Greenfield (Eva Noblezada) reaches her eighteenth birthday with trepidation. She’s finally aged out of the foster care system. Sam never found her “forever family”. She spent her entire life living in orphanages. It doesn’t help that Sam has the worst luck. Everything she does or touches ends in abject disaster. Her only thoughts are for young Hazel (Adelynn Spoon), Sam’s roommate at the girls home. Sam has been set up with a job and tiny apartment. She has to stay in school and employed to remain housed.

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Sam’s first day at Marv’s (Lil Rel Howery) floral shop goes exactly as expected. She sadly eats dinner sitting on a sidewalk. Sam learns that Hazel’s weekend trip with a foster family was canceled. She gives half of her sandwich to a curious black cat. It scampers away but leaves a strange penny behind.

The following day is a revelation. Sam’s lucky penny changes everything. Her ecstatic mood sours when she loses the penny in spectacular fashion. Stewing on the sidewalk, Sam’s surprised when the black cat returns. She’s astonished when Bob (Simon Pegg) asks for his penny. The “travel penny” is the only way a creature from the Land of the Luck stays safe in the human world. She follows an unnerved Bob back through the portal to the Land of Luck. Sam has to find another lucky penny to help Hazel. Bob reluctantly agrees, but they have to be careful. Misdeeds end up in banishment to Bad Luck.

Related: Bullet Train Review: A Wickedly Funny, High-Octaine Thrill Ride

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The Land of Luck

The Land of Luck is an absolute joy to behold. Leprechauns, cats, pigs, and rabbits, lucky creatures, are the bureaucrats tasked with spreading good fortune. Bringing Sam in such a place is a recipe for absolute chaos. Bob, and his leprechaun assistant Gerry’s (Colin O’Donoghue), efforts to contain Sam’s bad luck will have audiences in stitches. I’m still chuckling at Sam’s “Latvian leprechaun” disguise; their harebrained excuse for why she’s so much bigger than everyone else.

Luck’s serious themes are artfully addressed. Sam’s lonely childhood, and her desperate efforts to change Hazel’s, brings a melancholic touch to the narrative. The film reminds us to not take love and family for granted. Every kid deserves care, nurturing, and a safe place to grow. It shouldn’t take luck or chance for a child to find a “forever home”.

Insert sigh here. Recent headlines concerning John Lasseter (Toy Story, Cars) will undoubtedly cloud this film’s release. The genius storyteller and animator behind Pixar’s success left to head Skydance Animation after awful “Me Too” allegations. He’s brought his incredible talent to Luck, and it shows. This wonderful film deserves to be judged on its own merits. Sometimes we must divorce ourselves from art and the personality of the artist.

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Luck is a production of Skydance Animation and Apple Original Films. It will have an exclusive Apple TV+ premiere on August 5th.

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