**Just incredible**, Tstrong texthe Autobots are amazing **full of action.**

You know what - this is my favourite "Transformers" movie. Now that's not really saying much, most of them are pretty poor, but somehow the shamelessly derivative nature of this just made it more entertaining. It all starts with "Optimus Primal" (aka. "Kingus Kongus") having a fight with the all-consuming "Unicron" (narked because a typo robbed him of his chance to just be an horse with an horn) for a key that can open portals between worlds enabling the baddie to quite literally eat them and move on. The solution to that battle is a bit of a compromise and scoot forward hundreds of year and New Yorker "Noah" (Anthony Ramos) has a problem. His younger brother "Kris" (Dean Scott Vasquez) is very poorly and they cannot afford his medical bills. "Noah" turns to crime and that's where he encounters the newly invigorated "Autobots" who have realised that "Elena" (Dominique Fishback) - a researcher in a museum - has rediscovered the hidden key. They have to retrieve it before it falls into more malevolent hands. Soon the two hapless humans and their robots are engaged in a battle royal that sees the museum pretty much trashed before they head to Peru where they encounter the "Maximals" and the beautiful Inca terraces are soon for the chop too. So far I reckon we've been through loads of episodes of "Stargate" as well "King Kong" (probably the Peter Jackson one), "The Goblet of Fire"; "Independence Day", "Star Trek" (JJ Abrams version), all four "Indiana Jones" films - which, to be fair are even acknowledged in the script, and the armoured eagle "Airazor" reminded me of a hairier version of "Bubo" from "Clash of the Titans". The visuals are excellent and for the most part it's got plenty of action but as we near the ever-so-predictable denouement the pace slackens off and cheesy sentiment brings the thing to a grinding halt a couple of times! There's no jeopardy at all, really, and given that "Optimus Prime" - maybe he ought to be called "Hopeless Prime" because he is pretty useless in a fight - gets to make his grand speech at the end, I'm sure there will be more for our intrepid young "Noah" to come. Big screen essential - this will look bland and repetitive on the telly. Maybe it'll help sell some toys?

_Transformers: Rise of the Beasts_ is a pointless entry in the live-action _Transformers_ film franchise. The Beasts Wars characters are forgettable, the attempts at humor are excruciatingly lame, Optimus Prime is a huge jerk, and the action is trash. If you were exhausted with the _Transformers_ franchise before, then _Rise of the Beasts_ will have you flatlining and succumbing to sheer and utter boredom.
**Full review:** https://bit.ly/robotjerks

The latest in the long-running and popular Transformer series has arrived with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. Taking a cue from the recent “Bumblebee” movie, the movie cleverly serves not only as a prequel but as a platform to introduce a series of stories leading up to the original films.
It is learned that a planet-destroying evil is fixated on obtaining a key that will allow it to travel to any point in the universe to continue its reign of destruction. The animal-based Maximals are able to escape with the key and hide it on Earth where they will also remain in secret as guardians.
Flash forward to 1994 when Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), following his stint in the Army is looking to find gainful employment to help his mother as well as his ailing brother. Despite being a wizard with electronics Noah is not considered to be a team player which has hampered his job prospects and leads him to consider criminal activities in an effort to obtain much-needed funds for his brother's medical bills.
In a moment of desperation, Noah attempts to steal a loaded Porsche but finds he is unable to follow through on the act as it is against his moral compass. Unknown to Noah the car is actually an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson), who soon enlists Noah to help them find the key which they have recently detected.
This does not sit well with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), who believes that humanity will only act in your best interests and that his crew needs to find the key so that they can return to their war-ravaged, Cybertron.
It is learned that a crafty but perpetually overlooked museum intern named Elena (Dominique Fishback), has accidentally activated the key and in doing so has allowed the evil Scourge (Peter Dinklage), and his minions to zero in on its location as he attempts to obtain the key for his master and is willing to destroy all were in his way.
Noah and Elena soon find themselves paired with their unexpected allies as they race to stop the evil from obtaining both parts of the key and find themselves with some unexpected allies in the form of the Maximals.
What follows is a frantic action-adventure film that cleverly combines humor, action, dazzling visual effects, and a tail that is part Indiana Jones, and Transformers with a surprising amount of humanity.
It would be easy for the human cast the overshadowed by the massive and visually spectacular creations that frequently transform and battle it out across numerous action sequences. However, director Steven Caple Jr. takes advantage of his young talent both of whom are clearly potential stars in the making as they provide a grounding humanity to the film which makes it more than a lavish FX showcase.
The film also has an impressive era-specific soundtrack and a scene near the end that offers up some intriguing and exciting possibilities for the future. "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is a highly enjoyable summer action adventure as well as one the more enjoyable films in the franchise and should delight fans of the franchise and has me for the first time in a long time eagerly awaiting what comes next.
4 stars out of 5

Transformers is the best movie of the franchise !
Transformers took everything that worked with Bumblebee . Anthony Ramos and Dominique fishback did a great performance and pete Davinson as mirage stole the show , but the true star is the adsolute best soundtrack of the 90' . I am happy to say that transformers is a lot of fun , the cgi looks pretty good . When I first watched this movie a lot of people were clapping and they laughed a lot . In conclusion , this new transformers movie is the beginning of something much bigger ! Cant wait to see what paramount has in store for us . 9.5/10

The third installment in this series felt like a hallucinogenic trip gone wrong. Sure, the special effects were mind-blowing and the visuals were colorful, but the characters we loved in the first two films felt off. It was like the spirit of the originals was lost, leaving me utterly disappointed.

This one was quite good actually. Marvel is quite a bit of hit and miss lately. It all depends on whether one of the woke retards has gotten their grubby hands on the script or not.
It was of course encouraging that the woke “critics” on the well known rubbish site Rotten Tomatoes declared it rotten while it got a 82% score from the actual audience. Always a good sign for a movie.
The movie is a pure adventure movie meant to entertain the audience. The script is decent and, as usual with a Marvel movie, serves mainly to create a reason for doing action sequences and lots and lots of special effects.
The adventure is mixed in with some humor but it is generally okay and not overdone.
The scenery in the quantum world is fantastic and the creatures are great ranging from terrifying to quite fun. Bringing in Bill Murray was a nice surprise even though he was a bit of a bad guy and quite short lived.
The one character I really didn’t like was Paul Rudd as the Ant-Man. His anti-hero bullshit, reluctance to fight and generally being a douche until he was forced to actually do what was right was really grating on me.
Overall though this was some well spent two hours.

Honestly this is easily my favorite out of the series. Still funny as normal but there's a lot more action and cool looking stuff in this movie. Really good movie.

Okay, there are a plethora of reviews here by Marvelettes and more, so I will only give my gut response. Perhaps this movie was doomed to disappoint me, because Ant Man is still my favorite Marvel film of all for its wit and humor. That humor grew out of his interaction with his daughter and other people. This movie removes him to a strange complex world that struck me as a cross between the bar in Star Wars and the deserts of Dune. He was out of his element with his grown daughter and now-aged cohorts and it left me rather bored, surprisingly. But without my baggage, I am sure others enjoyed it immensely.

When it comes to their Marvel properties, there’s this slightly morbid insistence by Disney to tie every teeny tiny detail of previous movies, television shows, and character arcs together in obsessive fashion. It’s becoming such an uncontrollable urge by the studio to engage in this behavior that the cause-and-effect is resulting in disasters like “Eternals,” “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and now, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
Trying too hard to force a non-story into the already lame Ant-Man mythology, the film reunites superhero partners Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) as Ant-Man and the Wasp. The pair find themselves thrust into the dangerous Quantum Realm along with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), along with Scott’s teenage daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton). As they explore the unusual terrain and alien society filled with strange creatures, Janet reveals that she didn’t quite tell the group everything about the three decades she spent trapped in the realm. Facing new dangers from supervillan Kang the Conquerer (Jonathan Majors), the family must unite to stop a worldwide disaster.
Very little about this project feels like a satisfying superhero movie and instead, it’s more like an assemblage of other (and far better) science fiction films. If not for the titanic budget and big-name stars, it could almost be mistaken for a Redbox “mockbuster” of “Star Wars,” “Mad Max,” “Avatar,” and “Godzilla” combined.
The film takes place extensively in the Quantum Realm, which provides an unsightly setting of muted, dark brown, washed-out visuals. It’s an ugly place, so who why would audiences want to spend time there? The Realm is a melting pot of exotic creatures and peculiar inhabitants that appear to have waltzed right out of the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine. They’re cool to look at I guess, but was the point to make the film more appealing to children, or was it Disney’s way of appeasing the animators by letting them have some fun?
The first third of the film seems like it’s Janet’s show, as she keeps bringing up the fact that she has all these secrets that she won’t spill to Hope and Hank (even though they’re all stuck in the Realm together). There’s no compelling mystery nor reveal. Screenwriter Jeff Loveness is grasping at straws to craft a somewhat cohesive story while also struggling to make it fit into the MCU mythology. At some point, I wish someone would just make a damn standalone Marvel superhero movie and quit worrying about who and what goes where and how.
The story is frequently erratic. There’s plenty of energetic CGI action, but there also some moments that play like a touching family drama, some that create an anti-climatic post-apocalyptic narrative, and lots of failed attempts at comic relief. The film also has recurring (and awkward) socially conscious messaging that doesn’t entirely feel out of place, but it is aggressive (there’s even a direct mention of socialism by one of the characters, which will really aggravate already-angry conservatives).
The screenplay is peppered with dreadful one-liners like “it’s never too late to stop being a dick!” and “ants don’t give up!” I really, really wish I was joking about this.
The remainder of the movie features a lot of talk about time, the desire to get home, and — Marvel fans, you know what’s coming — the multiverse! It’s that one little word that means endless movies, endless stories, and endless money. It’s also the easy way to guarantee that all of these films in the canon always have a cop-out to lazily excuse away any inconsistencies (not that many of us could keep up or remember anyway).
Another major problem with the film is that it can only chug along on Rudd’s likeability (and the cast’s talent) for so long. It’s barely tolerable until Kang shows up, but he’s a wickedly delicious character portrayed by a terrific actor (it’s a real shame that this had to be the film for Majors’ MCU debut). In fact, the entire cast deserves better. Despite all of them turning in strong performances, they still feel mostly wasted here.
“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” lacks the memorable spectacle that most superhero films need in order to succeed. There’s no massively rousing, crowd-pleasing moment, and it’s one of the more unremarkable entries in the MCU.
**By: Louisa Moore / SCREEN ZEALOTS**

worst movie. Even that much money - too much btw - for special effects cant hide Reed's lacking effort to build a believable world. It's a poor and passionless visual copy of something like Star Wars Mini... with minimal humor and zero originality. RIP Marvel.

A fun one!
I had a terrific time watching 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania', despite hearing 'meh' things about it here and there online. It surpassed my expectations, to be honest. Great cast, entertaining action, super interesting world building (my favourite from the MCU for a while, in that regard) and the humour is good.
Star of the show in my opinion is Michelle Pfeiffer. I don't recall her standing out in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp', but here she's excellent from beginning to end. Elsewhere, Jonathan Majors is brilliant - great to see that guy all over the place recently. Paul Rudd remains a strong lead, while the likes of Michael Douglas and Kathryn Newton are positives too.
Love the Quantum Realm setting. I'm nothing like an MCU nut, I'm only aware of the films, so didn't know what to expect, but the place looks fantastic - from the enviroment to the creatures; shoutout Veb. Like Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll didn't really register on my radar in prior films, but him as M.O.D.O.K. is a lot of fun.
Looking at my personal MCU ranking, this goes in at no. 8 - I didn't anticipate that! A literal quick glance at the average rating on here suggests I'm in the minority but I truly found much enjoyment from this. Quite the improvement on Ant-Man 2, which is at the bottom of my aforementioned ranking.

"Oh, Daddy - It's all my fault!". Well no "Cassie" (Kathryn Newton), not quite. You certainly developed the piece of communications kit that lands everyone in the quantum soup, but the blame really must go to Peyton Reed and Jeff Loveness for directing and writing this latest emanation from Marvel's increasingly un-special film factory. It starts off with a great little device that could quickly put Papa John's out of business before we are sucked into the cantina from "Star Wars" (1977) where our recently arrived travellers find themselves pursued by the ridiculously un-menacing "M.O.D.O.K" - a sort of robotic killing version of the golden statue from the top of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) after it had had a good time with "V.I.N.C.E.N.T" from "The Black Hole" (1979) - before Michelle Pfeiffer "Janet" explains to her family (and to us) just what has led them to a predicament where they must avoid the evil clutches of "Kang the Conqueror" (Jonathan Majors). Now this gift that keeps on giving for this studio never struggles to impress visually, and the imagination of those who create these magical effects and alien shapes and sizes must be commended. However, this latest offering featuring, in my view, the weakest of their arsenal of characters is just entirely derivative and unremarkable. Aside from a very few bon-mots from Paul Rudd the dialogue is dry and the action scenes are all concentrated in one or two sequences whilst the rest of this serves as little better than colourful padding for the thinnest of storylines. Rudd is quite an unassuming kind of actor. Engaging, yes - but somehow just too lightweight for the grandness of the surrounding imagery. Michael Douglas ("Pym") features sparingly and the cameo from Bill Murray might have worked better in "Guardians of the Galaxy" - here it is almost laughable. If these are to keep coming off the production line as thickly and quickly as seems likely, then somebody somewhere is going to have to spend much more effort on developing stronger and more compelling stories because the audiences are surely immune to the vibrancy of the special effects by now. This is really forgettable fayre.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-review
"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania warrants the divisive reception. Immersive visuals, more than satisfying action, and absolutely exceptional performances, aside from Kathryn Newton due to lack of direction. Unfortunately, the excessive, repetitive, unnecessary dialogue driven by exposition, along with a lack of stronger tonal balance - fewer jokes by Marvel standard, but the cringe level affects transitions to/from more serious moments - and an underdeveloped narrative devoid of true stakes - character arcs are almost non-existent - make this an overall very inconsistent watch. Still, JONATHAN MAJORS AS KANG! Wow!"
Rating: C

**Quantumania is a step up from most of Phase Four. It felt like a Thor: Ragnarok impersonation, and lost the fun of the other Ant-Man films.**
My feelings are so mixed on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The first two Ant-Man movies were so great because they were low-stakes with self-contained stories that weren't consumed with saving the universe but instead were set in less a fantastical world that allowed the goofy size-changing antics really shine. Quantumania threw Ant-Man into an outrageous world, changing him from the zany character of the film to the normal character and stripping him of some of his charm. Quantumania felt like a cross between Thor: Ragnarok and Rise of Skywalker with some Power Rangers sprinkled in there, and the result was… decent. It really wasn't a bad movie. It has some funny parts and was better than most of Phase 4. Bill Murray was loads of fun for his brief part and Jonathan Majors is going to be an awesome big bad in the MCU. But it all felt like a familiar save the universe comic book movie and sadly made Ant-Man feel out of place in his own film.

I was really excited for this film; the trailers made the stakes seem high with a story that was somewhat mature in tone. Unfortunately, I was ultimately let down.
The overarching plot was pretty good. I liked the arcs our characters had, particularly Scott and Cassie Lang. But the minor details are where things get messy. We get introduced to so many new characters, concepts, and story details in the quantum realm, resulting in an overall film that is not very digestible. There is too much going on and not enough time to fully flesh out the details.
The dialogue is pretty poorly written. At some points in the film, I was literally laughing out loud at what the characters were saying. It felt exactly like a TikTok skit exaggerating and mocking superhero movies. Cassie Lang has one line that is probably THE MOST CRINGY LINE EVER SPOKEN IN THE MCU.
The performances were decent overall. Most of the acting in the Ant-Man films is a little cheesy and campy, which mostly works in the small-scale stories they tell. But with the large, expanding story that the film is attempting to deliver, it just felt cheap. Kang is really amazing. Jonathan Majors was a tier above the rest of the cast; I can't wait to see more of him but also feel like he was wasted here.
Finally, the visuals were really inconsistent. Some scenes looked quite good, with interesting and detailed settings, while others clearly featured three characters standing in front of a green screen. I mean, in some scenes I swear I could see slight black outlines from the keying technology. Where is the budget going in these films? They really need to slow down in postproduction because this is becoming a major theme. One thing I will note is that I thought MODOK looked really good. It was always going to be difficult to pull off a live action version of him, but they did a stellar job.
Overall, I am pretty disappointed in the movie, but the movie gave me enough to make this a somewhat average experience. The MCU needs to pick it up this year because it is on a major downward trajectory.
Score: 52% |
Verdict: Average

Life for Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is good. He is basking in the recognition
and fame that has come with his work with the Avengers and saving half the
universe from Thanos and has even become a best-selling author.
He has a successful relationship with Hope (Evangeline Lilly) who has
taken her father’s company to new heights and they have managed to blend
their personal and professional lives and enjoy a very happy life.
Scott does worry about his daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) as he lost
several years with her during the Blip and she is an activist who has been
arrested for her efforts including a hysterical prank on the police with
Pym technology.
Cassie is constantly on her father for not doing more as she feels that he
is more focused on the past battles with the Avengers and not the day to
day struggles people are facing. Over dinner, she tells Hope and her dad as
well as Hank (Michael Douglas), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), whom she
studied Hank’s journals while they were in the Blip and has developed a
Quantum beacon which can map the Quantum Realm without having to venture
to the sub-atomic relay where until recently nobody had been able to
return from.
This news sends Janet into a panic during a demonstration and the four are
soon sucked into the realm and discover a diverse and thriving ecosystem
as well as an abundance of strange and dangerous creatures.
Janet is clearly hiding something and is frantic that they must leave but
their party has been scattered and they soon learn that she fears and
individual known as Kang (Jonathan Majors).
While she was trapped in the realm for thirty years, Janet encountered
King and helped him regain his power source but in doing so, learned he
was a banished conquerer who can manipulate time, space, and the
multiverse.
Her actions to trap Kang and lead a resistance to the vast empire he
created has set the stage as Janet has now returned to see what has
developed and Kang will stop at nothing to regain his power source to
escape and wreck his wrath on trillions.
Naturally, it is up to Scott, Hope, and the team to find a way to fight the
evil and powerful Kang to save the day.
The film is a darker tale than people might expect from an Ant-man movie
but in kicking off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie is
a visual splendor filled with amazing visuals, landscapes, and characters.
The film takes a bit of time to get to the action but when it arrives it
delivers and the performance of Majors as Kang is captivating it will
be interesting to see where the storyline evolves over the next series of
films leading up to “The Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and beyond.
“Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania may not break loads of new ground in
terms of a Marvel film but Director Peyton Reed knows the characters well
and delivers a story that should resonate with the fans and the strong
cast and addition of Majors along with the great visuals make this
another winner for Marvel.
4 stars out of 5

In general, the Ant-Man films have been well received by critics and audiences alike, with the films' unique blend of humor, action, and heart, as well as the performances of the cast members, widely praised. particular Paul Rudd as the titular Ant-Man So "Ant-Man 3" is likely to be eagerly awaited by Marvel fans and moviegoers in general.
You can find the full review at https://aarcflick.blogspot.com/2022/12/ant-man-and-wasp-quantumania-2023-movie.html

Show is very good. It's interesting and after watching it I decided to play the game and I can say that it's quite close to the game. Cast is also good and bad at the same time. For example Pedro Pascal is doing amazing job playing Joel and is actually very similar to game character. I think they did good job matching this actor to the character. Gerrard Buttler would be another great choice as well. Actress who's playing Ellie's character is nailing it as well, although in game she has blue eyes and actress has brown eyes. But I think it's not that bad. But like I said, there are bad matches too because of propaganda put in this show as well sadly. For example, Joe's daughter in original source (game) is white, however geniuses in show decided that black daughter should be better for him. Also, Tommy's new wife is white in game, but in show they made her black on purpose which is very obvious. Also there's whole episode dedicated to LGBT propaganda (episode 3). Sady this crap is ruining amazing show, but it is what it is... That's why I'm giving this show 7/10. If not the cancer woke agenda, I would give it 10/10. I mean, if we close an eye on propaganda, show itself is very good and interesting and very close to original game. It's hundred times better that Witcher adapatation of game which is horribly ruined completely by the propaganda. In short, this show isn't perfect, but it's still good and there are far worse propaganda plagued shows nowadays.

Well the story from the video game was great, and they stayed true to that which ultimately led to a great tv show. Very enjoyable. HBO has a great track record of pumping out high quality shows and this one is no different. 8/10. Hopefully the second season lives up to expectations, but if the video game is anything to judge by then it likely won't be nearly as good as season 1.

Not normally huge on zombie shows / movies but this one is quite good. I'm all about Pedro Pascal and the fungus angle is a cool one, especially as someone that is fascinated by mycelial networks.

As someone who's never even heard of the video game (a factor which seems to polarise reviews) I can say that I enjoyed this series more than I thought I would although some of the episodes were in danger of becoming formulaic. Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) need to travel across an America devastated by a fungus which turns people into infectious 'zombies' or rogue raiders. The two main characters are brilliantly played and I think this probably secures Bella Ramsey's career. The rendering of the devastated landscapes and cities was amazing and very plausible. The plot was thin but enough to keep one's interest and, I'd guess, thicker than the computer game and most other zombie apocolypse films. I think it is probably an advantage to not know the video game and a disadvantage to having watched 'The Worst Witch' which took me a couple of episodes to shake off.

The last of us is by far the best adaptation of a video game. From the gorgeous cinematography, to the breathtaking production design, or the terrific performances. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are perfect as Joel and Ellie. Their chemistry and emotional death are truly a outstanding. The guest staring roles are absolutely fantastic. Anna Torv, Gabriel Luna, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Montreal Woodard and Melanie Lynskey. Also having some of the original actors from the game in the series is also great. I can’t say enough about how the production design team transform Canada into a post apocalyptic hell hole. They should get all of the awards just for that. And I almost forgot the clickers their design is absolutely just on point. I could go on and on about this show. However I’m just going to that any new series that comes out after this is going to have a tough time. Because The Last of Us is by far the best series of 2023.

"The Last of Us" is a post-apocalyptic TV series based on the popular video game of the same name. The story follows the journey of Joel, a smuggler, and Ellie, a teenage girl who may be the key to finding a cure for a deadly fungal infection that has ravaged the world.
The series features outstanding performances from Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, and Anna Torv as Tess. The chemistry between the main characters is excellent, and the casting is spot-on.
The show's writing is superb, and it captures the essence of the video game while adding a fresh perspective. The narrative is engaging, and the pacing is just right, with each episode leaving you on the edge of your seat, eager to see what happens next.
The show's production value is top-notch, with stunning visuals and cinematography that capture the bleak and haunting atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic world. The use of practical effects and makeup is impressive and adds to the overall immersion of the story.
Overall, "The Last of Us" is an outstanding TV series that does justice to the source material. It's a must-watch for fans of the video game and anyone who enjoys gripping and emotional storytelling. I would rate it a 9 out of 10.
Written and Reviewed by RSOliveira

I was sceptical at first whether as a fan of the games the series could win
me over. It certainly took some time getting used to the new Ellie.
However, the series is a faithful reinterpretation of the game. Many things are different, but (as of episode 6) it has just the right balance of keeping the core of the story while changing, adding and adapting details to the new medium.

Great adaptation of the legendary game!

**Had the potential to be great. But it is just mediocre HBO stuff and sometimes really bad.**
I can't say that the show is bad in general. But it is far from living up to its potential. And episode 3 has show us that it can really suck (no pun intended) at times.
I am going to loosely address some reasons for why I think this show is disappointing and not as good as it could be:
- Bad casting of main characters, unnecessary type-switching.
Though I think that most of the actors are good, a lot of them and especially the main characters are not matching their counterparts from the game and the game (at least TLOU, Part I) just nailed it. The actors are good, but the casting choices still are just bad. Especially Ellie is just miscast all the way.
- Bad chemistry between the characters.
There is no matching chemistry between the actors of Joel & Tess or Joel & Ellie.
- Pointless deviations from the original story (see episode 3).
Those deviations don't add anything good to the story, they are just annoying distraction at best and derailment at worst.
- Sometimes just stupid, boring or pointless.
There is more examples than just the bigger part of episode 3 for that.
- Mediocre storytelling.
When it sticks to the main plot, it's not bad. But it's not really good either.
After episode 3 I decided to take a break from watching the show and before I would continue to watch, I will wait till the whole season has aired and the reviews came in. If according to the non-shill and non-cheerleader reviews the show will give us more crap in the direction of episode 3, I'm out for good.

It takes it's cues from the controversial second game... where the characters were reshaped to fit the new meh narrative of the meh pro-censorship left.
And because of that you have yet another film staring Strong Female Lead, only this time STL is a little girl that knows more and can survive better than the man that is tasked with protecting her who actually survived the end of the world.
You really don't need to know the rest it goes just like they all do, narrative above plot, message above characters, "diversity and dinosaurs"
The bottom line is that you've seen this before.

Why do series feel the need to be woke? I had invested quite a lot of faith in this series until episode 3, which I call 'Gays of our lives".
An entire episode about the lives of two beardy, gay blokes, that has next to nothing to do with the overriding story and feels like virtue signalling.
I don't mind gay people. I've known a few over the years but what's the need for this? I wasted 20 or so minutes, till I realised this was going to take up the majority of the episode, at which point, I stopped watching.
In short, I don't need to be lectured, reformed or informed about alternative life styles. If I did, I'd attend a meeting, join a forum, whatever. And that's the underlying point really. I come to entertainment to be entertained, not lectured.
I'm out.

No spoilers here.
I went into this show cautiously optimistic, after seeing the trailers. I, like so many others, have been burned by horrid video game adaptations ***cough*** "_Halo_" ***cough***. I was incredibly surprised by the first episode. LOVED IT! While yes, the pacing was a bit slower than the game's first few moments, I felt like it was appropriate to set the stage for everything to come later. TLOU is one of my favorite games on the planet, and I am really hard to please when it comes to media. I am the definition of nit-picky when it comes to writing, production, and character development, especially with pre-existing and beloved material. I can say honestly, and without reservation that if the creators put as much attention to detail and fan-oriented storytelling into the later episodes of this season, this could easily be one of the best adaptations of a game, out there. I really can't wait to see what they do with it.