An Average Joe Review

By Andi Bintang Bramastha International Relations Student at President University Email: andibramastha@gmail.com

As we are continuing our second year of the pandemic, films have become the primary source of entertainment during these trying times. The film industry – much like other businesses – was greatly impacted by the pandemic. However, now as we are progressing through this, theaters have once again become available to most, meaning that we can finally get back to the full experience of watching movies in a theater!

This year has been a comeback for the entertainment industry, with postponed films finally coming out and new ones as well. At this point, superhero flicks are the go-to films for most with their growing popularity ever since Marvel blasted off the Marvel Cinematic Universe – also known as the MCU. Though some might find the genre repetitive, the others still enjoy it, nonetheless.

This year, Marvel released the standalone film Black Widow. Our beloved ex-Russian spy is back after we departed with her on Avengers: Endgame. When one is an ordinary human amongst gods, it may be difficult to stand out— however, in this film, the viewers got to see a more humane side of the character, which, in return, makes her departure more meaningful. In addition, it might be the first Marvel film that does not really feel like a typical Marvel film – in a good way. The first fifteen minutes of the film have an action-spy vibe to it, which slowly transitions to a contemporary Marvel film afterwards.

In a cinematic universe filled with countless of characters, it might appear difficult to create and show a memorable character, but in the case of Black Widow, the film has, in fact, successfully introduced what people might call a fan favorite (in the Red Guardian portrayed by David Harbour), whilst at the same time contributing to future plot despite being a prequel. There seems to be a recurring theme of family in this film as it was seen in Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of Natasha Romanoff in Avengers: Endgame, though there is an added essence of vulnerability within the character’s newest appearance.

In short, Black Widow brings a unique narrative in contrast to traditional MCU films, whilst providing the audience with an appropriate prequel to its character as the MCU is heading towards future projects and new frontiers.

Various blockbusters such as Harry Potter and The Lord of The Rings are deemed good examples of perfect book-to-screen adaptation. In 2021, another example of a successful adaptation has made its way to the big screen: Dune. Admittedly, I arrived in the theater with no prior knowledge whatsoever about its lore, and yet it quickly became a personal sciencefiction favorite. Aside from the stacked casts, one factor of the film that really elevated it was the costumes – the costumes were amazing, adding more sophistication to its already pleasing cinematography.

One thing that viewers might find unpleasing is that the film is essentially a set-up to its massive lore, hence why the pacing feel rather slow – however, it might pay off in its sequel and a potential, future franchise. Some sciencefiction masterpieces and shows have problems establishing their lore for viewers, yet in Dune, the lore is relatively understandable, whilst at the same time not ending up in shallow waters – something we should celebrate, considering what happened to the Star Wars franchise, which like many other science-fiction shows

and films is based upon integral elements of the original Dune novel from 1965. Dune is about to bring the audience to explore the vast world it has so far been establishing with only brief glimpses of a cinematic universe that remains largely undiscovered, yet forever enshrined in Frank Herbert’s legendary books. Its vastness and resourcefulness have been described by many as the Lord of the Rings of science-fiction. However, the Dune novels should better be labelled as an anti-thesis of The Lord of the Rings, since its motives capture the story of an anti-hero, the darkness of humans and their cruelty, whilst The Lord of the Rings wishes to establish the positive side and ‘warmth’ of humanity – even in darkest times. Dune, the film – being a bright star in the cinematic universe of 2021 – therefore awaits us with unexpected darkness.

All in all, with the established lineup of casts bringing life to their characters along with its visually pleasing cinematography and costumes, this film is certainly one of the best blockbusters released in 2021 and recent years overall – and with this in mind, I keep the fingers crossed for a full recovery of cinema in 2022 and hopes for even more to come.

Autobiography: Andi B. Bramastha is a passion-fueled Community Manager at a joint-venture between United Creative & Republika with a focus on Business Development. He is a scholarship awardee at President University, studying International Relations.