Top-tier sci-fi

This is one of the best contemporary sci-fi series out there. They’re working on a second season, but it’s hard to know where that will go. For now, I can say the first season isn’t woke and it’s absolutely worth watching. It also works as a self-contained story, so even if the next season doesn’t live up to it, the first one wraps things up pretty well.

Highly recommended.

Enjoy it!

Just a bad show

Woke?
Not really. But let’s be honest, The Muppets were never exactly top-tier. This time they roll out three guests straight out of the woke mob, and they barely contribute anything beyond a few comments about the show itself. It’s insanely self-referential for something that’s supposed to feel like “let’s see if this works,” yet it mostly comes off as a parade of people who clearly paid to be there or maybe cleaned some money to get a seat.
At this point, who knows? It’s genuinely hard to tell what Hollywood is even aiming for anymore. But the real low point is casting someone like Maya Rudolph and framing her as if she were genuinely appealing for this kind of show. That’s hitting rock bottom

Not as Good as the First

After rewatching the first movie and immediately starting this one, it became clear that some things didn’t quite add up. While it may not be fully woke, there are certain elements that feel noticeably forced.

⚠ SPOILER ALERT ⚠

Even though the first movie follows a simple “get from point A to point B” structure (despite having other elements mixed in), there was never a pause for reflection to really explore the romantic relationship between the father and the mother.

In this sequel, we suddenly see Morena Baccarin’s character -with no real explanation of her background or work history- sitting in a chair in the main decision-making room. At the same time, the protagonist from the previous movie Gerard Butler (whose profession we do know) is out searching for spare parts, risking his life alone, also with very little explanation. While that is clearly a narrative device and helps justify the father’s health condition, the real issue is how it’s handled in the film later.

In the first movie, that kind of "moments" felt somewhat plausible and were occasionally resolved using a “just in time” approach. Here, they overdo it and lean on it constantly, which ends up lowering the overall quality of the movie.

Bottom line: it’s not on the same level as the first one, and while the woke elements aren’t obvious at first glance, there’s a small dose of them injected in a very roundabout and forced way.

I had to rewatch this movie in order to watch the sequel and I can safely say this first one is not woke.

For the time it was made, there were already plenty of similar movies, but this one takes a fairly realistic approach → within the limits of its characters, since some of them have traits or constraints you may or may not like. I won’t name anyone to avoid spoilers.

That’s it.

Good cinematography and an entertaining watch.

IMPRESSIVE

Based solely on the first season, I can say this is one of the best adult animated series in its genre, violent, raw, and primal, set in the age of dinosaurs and Neanderthals, with a heavy dose of fantasy. The main character doesn’t speak, and the fact that it still completely hooks you is genuinely impressive.

I can confidently say the first season isn’t woke. I don’t really remember the couple of episodes I saw from season two, so I’m planning to rewatch it to get up to speed before starting season three.

I should clarify that I only recommend the first season. Even though Tartakovsky is the creator, these days you really can’t be sure what’s been filtered through the DEI era. That said, I’d absolutely bet on the first season.

Enjoy it!

It’s not woke. And I don’t really know how to fully define it, because I didn’t manage to finish the series.

⚠ SPOILER ALERT ⚠
after about 17 minutes into episode 3, the protagonist does something incredibly stupid, which made me drop it altogether. Up until then, the humor (within what you can reasonably call realistic for that kind of physical comedy) was fairly grounded. But that decision turned the situation from funny into just dumb, and it stopped being fun for me. But that’s just my personal take.

Aside from that, it’s great. I laughed during the first two episodes. Bottom line: it’s not woke, and it’s fine to watch with the whole family.

A gore classic.

One of the best classics in the gore fantasy genre, with a uniquely diabolical theme. It inspired tons of movies and sequels -unfortunately, not all of them are good.

This is where it all started. This is where the Lemarchand Box was born, also known as the Lament Configuration, and sometimes casually called the Black Box or the Cube.

An excellent classic to revisit if you’re into the genre.

A fun, popcorn movie

for the whole family!

The FX are decent in some moments, but in others they’re so bad they completely break immersion.

Other than that, it’s really entertaining.

Good for a chill, easy watch.

Enjoy it!

A rushed adaptation

NOT WOKE.

I watched the first episode twice and didn’t notice any malicious feminism at all. The first time I watched it, I liked it. Sure, it has flaws - the cinematography isn’t perfect, and the pacing is rushed - but to be fair, coming from a production company jumping into a genre where Game of Thrones set the bar pretty damn high, this is not a bad attempt. They deserve some credit for that. And no, nobody’s paying me for this take.

I watched it because it popped up as a new release on a streaming site, not because it came from the right or the left. Who the hell watches things based on that? Seriously. What does left or right even have to do with it? Unfortunately, like 60% of the mainstream industry leans left, and the 30% that’s apolitical is scared to say anything out of fear of getting canceled.

What actually matters is whether it’s good art or not - and on this site in particular, whether it has woke content or not.

I also know there’ll be the ultra-sensitive, anti-everything crowd smashing the NOT HELPFUL button just because they can’t stand seeing a strong female character on screen anymore. And yeah, I get it when it’s forced - but this is NOT the case. Maybe people should do a bit of homework before trying to sound edgy and posting ragebait in a community that’s clearly trying to stay away from that whole rainbow-spiral nonsense.

That said, to be fair, let me add some context to my take.

After watching it the first time, it was immediately clear to me that the women represent gods or humans close to divinity. There’s no girlboss nonsense or anything like that. On the contrary, Charis (Rose Reid) is shown as an Atlantean warrior who saves her people by fighting a massive bull. After that, I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” So I started digging to see if I’d misunderstood the episode - and nope, I hadn’t. Nothing felt forced. At least the first episode is a pretty straightforward, faithful adaptation of the books. Honestly, maybe too faithful - I would’ve liked the fantasy elements to be pushed a bit harder.

There are a couple of moments where the practical effects are amazing, and others where the AI stuff makes you want to look away, and my brain just went: bruh 😒

For some background:
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is based on the books by Stephen R. Lawhead, specifically the first two volumes: Taliesin (1987) and Merlin (1988). It’s a reinterpretation of the Arthurian legends, set in post-Roman Britain (4th-5th centuries), with elements of fantasy, Atlantis, and a strong Christian subtext.

The two main characters the first episode focuses on are:

Charis (Rose Reid): An Atlantean princess from the fallen Atlantis. She represents the Lady of the Lake, the mystical figure who gives Excalibur to Arthur and is tied to water magic. In the books, she’s Merlin’s mother and becomes a spiritual, salvific figure.

Taliesin (James Arden): The great Celtic bard and seer. He represents the historical and legendary Taliesin, the most famous bard in Welsh tradition (the mythical author of The Book of Taliesin). He’s Merlin’s father - a prophet who gives up his destiny as a great king to follow a higher calling.

So then I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” What?!

They’re two damn goddesses, dude.

What were you expecting?

That they kneel before men while the princess is out there fighting a huge bull in an arena to protect her people? Give me a break. Go complain on Twitter.

Bottom line: I watched it, and I’m here to tell anyone reading this (and thanks for sticking till the end) to judge it for yourself. My girlfriend and I are going to give episode two a shot. Maybe it’ll be good, maybe it won’t - but one thing’s for sure: it’s NOT woke.

Another must-see special

Summary:

• Sticking to his apolitical comedic style, this time it’s Trump’s turn.

• He touches on sensitive topics and, as always, it’s very funny.

Enjoy it!