urthpainter

On the surface The Gorge brings to the big screen a half baked script full of ideas nobody asked for, complete with a video game inspired plot. I'm going to guess that not too many people out of their teens think this is a great, well rounded film... but to be honest... a 12 year old might come out of this movie thinking it was the best movie they've ever seen.

I've given The Gorge 7/10, which is an above average score - why? Surprisingly good qualities! First is the cast. The two leads are probably the only real reason to watch this movie. Joy and Teller are both easy on the eyes and have remarkable chemistry onscreen. If there is one thing this movie accomplished is showing these two need more projects together in the future. I'd watch Any type of movie with these two together moving forward. Any genre.

Pacing is also effective and works really well with the soundtrack. It's a movie (surprisingly) that also understands silence, and when to use no music an all. While I found a lot of the stylization absurd, it is consistent, and the films art director did a good job maintaining a consistent look.

What is The Gorge story? Essentially, to highly trained mercenaries specializing in sniping are recruited to overlook and protect a mysterious site, which ends up being a hive of monsters - hijinks ensues. That's it. There are a lot of surrounding details then shoehorned into place in order to provide motivations, clearly delineated acts, and forward story trajectory.

Ultimately, however, on any depth of analysis, this movie is completely absurd and borders on unintentional farce. If this movie had not discovered the chemistry between leads, it very well could of become another Valerian - which imo is one of the worst AAA movies of the last 25 years. It's hard to believe that leads could mark a movie up 4 or 5 points by itself, but that is my contention.

To repeat an earlier point, I think I would love this movie if I was a teenager. Its full of eye candy, the leading lady is gorgeous, and due to surprising production qualities it's an easy movie to follow and watch. I'm sure I'm not the only conflicted viewer on this movie, because really is good and bad at the same time.

Dexter: Original Sin, by it's own measure is an entertaining TV show that re-treads a popular characters backstory with new details.

I was surprised and happy with how true this show was to original Dexter. The writers understood the character, episodic formula that also tells a complete season arc. Funny how in 2025, producers so often forget their job is to facilitate story and characters in an established IP - and not inject their own insipid 'fingerprint' or messaging. Job accomplished.

Really though, I have to hammer the first and last 10 minutes of this series that were truly terrible. The intro comes on like this is going to be a Police Squad type comedy farce, it isn't until 15 minutes in that viewer realizes this is a serious show. At this point the 1st episode, and really the entire show, takes off.

Same with the terrible, forced conclusion. It was like the writers felt the need to align everything perfectly - but instead it felt contrived and staged. Why not just write a good scene to end the miniseries?

While Hall's voiceover isn't bad - it does come off as kinda weird when you hear the real difference in his vs Gibson's voice tone. Casting of the returning characters was OK, but I never really thought any of the cast actors ever fit their respective returning roles (maybe Dexter's brother aligned well) - His co-workers/Deb were always just trying too hard to mimic original characters instead of finding their own version. I think that is a direction/rehearsal issue. Really it's the brand new characters that shine + Gibson and Slater. I thought it was a good show for Slater - maybe not his best performance, but really professional acting. Gibson as lead was also Very good, and I really respect his level of fitness in preparation for this role (Molly Brown...).

The story unfolds a lot like season one and two of original Dexter, but if one goes back and watches those seasons, pretty surprising how dated they feel. Original Sin updates formula with occasional effects and film making tricks I really appreciated - didn't break formula, and added to it imo. The kills are especially bloody and violent, even if the killing blows are not seen - well stylized violence correctly presented for this type of show none the less.

I think any fan of Dexter will be right at home. Ultimately this is a season of Dexter that is somewhere around the quality of season two or five. I think Dexter season 4 is the best of Dexter and it's final season is the worst. New Blood was Very good until the last episode - but it appears I wasn't the only one who hated that final episode and conclusion, because Original Sin and the new one (Resurrection) Clearly re-writing that end to create a better, more entertaining Dexter destiny. Rightfully so.

My overall rating of Night Agent is a 6.5 rounded up to a 7, because I really did like the first season.

Basic premise, an unlucky government employee is given a 2nd chance with a secret organization that is supposed to keep him out of trouble, but... Surprise! He gets wrapped up into a complex international conspiracy with surprisingly ambitious aims.

I think the reason the first season was so much fun was the borderline preposterous story that somehow maintains a thread of believability throughout. Really, though, it's probably the characters that do most the heavy lifting - Night Agent is one of those rare shows that develops every major character, including the bad guys. So when bullets fly and people go down, the viewer feels the consequences, even if the good guys win.

First season did a good job of all of this stuff, so I was looking forward to season 2. While season 2 isn't a complete train wreck, it is worse than the 1st season in all important ways. It's probably ok the story is less ambitious and more personal, but! Season 2 is painfully slow to get going with little meaningful introduction, And! The characters for the first 4 episodes are way less developed and interesting than season one. That is unfortunate - many of the bad characters in season one had unique personalities, and made for quirky scenes. The characters in season 2 are simply not as entertaining to follow, and this is nothing personal regarding character and casting - I'm really blaming the writers and dialog that is serviceable at best.

I don't know, but I'd guess season 2 is just a rushed product compared to season 1, and maybe the budget got slashed. There does seem to be less action scenes and special effects. The further season 2 goes, the better it gets, but it really never reaches the level of the first season, that was only good in the first place.

I gather a third season is being made - I'd hope the writing is more considered, and the characters get back to being more entertaining. Probably could use a boost in budget with more action scenes too.

Edit: Second season fully earns 6/10 demotion for lack of inspiration, fewer action sets, and poor work in the details. Whether it's a poor fitting shirt, unkept hair, average makeup or props (like food) that don't fit context of scene, there's a consistent slipshod nature to 2nd season details. That being said, many good trademarks of the 1st season are maintained, but never feels as entertaining. I still recommend watching for fans of season one because it does continue Peter and Rose's journey.