The Gorge

The film introduces us to Drasa, a top-tier Lithuanian fighter and sniper, and her American counterpart, Levi, a highly skilled soldier. They are assigned a secret mission that isolates them from the world for an entire year, tasked with guarding a massive trench hidden from humanity for decades. The mission is bound by strict rules, the most crucial being that they are forbidden from communicating with each other.

Naturally, as cinematic tradition dictates, a rule like this is bound to be broken, leading to an unexpected romance that challenges the very foundation of their assignment. The first half of the film does a commendable job of exploring this dynamic. The character development is solid, and the tension between them is well-paced. If given more time to breathe and evolve naturally, this portion of the movie could have been exceptional.

Unfortunately, *The Gorge* stumbles significantly in its second half. As the film shifts its focus to the mystery surrounding the trench and its sci-fi elements, it quickly spirals into a mess of poor storytelling choices and uninspired action sequences. What was initially an engaging romantic sci-fi thriller turns into a nonsensical spectacle filled with cheap visual effects—smoke machines, colored lights, and generic action tropes.

For a director with Derrickson’s background in mystery and horror, this should have been his moment to shine. Instead, the execution feels rushed and uninspired, almost like a children’s story with a few forced jump scares. The intrigue built in the first half is squandered, leaving audiences with more frustration than excitement.

Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy start off strong, bringing depth and emotion to their characters in the film’s early moments. Their chemistry helps sell the premise, making the audience invest in their relationship. However, as the story unravels into chaos, there’s little they can do to salvage the film’s downward spiral. Despite their talent and recent strong film choices, *The Gorge* does little to showcase their abilities beyond the first act.

*The Gorge* had all the ingredients for a compelling sci-fi romance but failed to capitalize on them. The first half holds promise, with an intriguing setup and strong character work. But by the time the film transitions into its grand reveal and action-heavy climax, it loses its way completely.

While *The Gorge* deserves credit for its ambition, its flaws ultimately outweigh its strengths. A great concept and solid performances are let down by poor execution, weak visuals, and a second half that turns an intriguing mystery into a forgettable misfire. For sci-fi and romance fans, this one might still be worth a watch—but don’t expect to be blown away.

My rating for “The Gorge” is 4/10

Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie Star in “The Banker”

“The Banker” tells the story of entrepreneur Bernard Garret, portrayed by Anothony Mackie, who in the 1960’s formed a partnership with Joe Morris, delightfully played by Samuel L. Jackson, to build a successful business in real estate. To overcome barriers of racism, they picked Matt Steiner to act like their business front only because he is a white man. The success of the duo encouraged them to go into the banking business in order to give the black community a fair chance in boosting their businesses and making a better life. That’s when their peculiar business arrangement is put to the real test.

You look at a film like “The Banker” from the outside and you think I can probably guess it all. It seems like another story about the struggles against racial discrimination only taking business entrepreneuship as the arena where the events take place. The film is in fact much more than that. It’s fresher and richer. It builds an increasingly interesting story over various pillars and with the element it borrows from each pillar it becomes truly unpredictable to anyone who’s not familiar with the real story.

First of course we have the angle of racism acting like a key driver for most of the transformations and escalations in our story. I can’t say that this was too fresh or different but at least we didn’t attribute everything to it. Because we also have a key character mainly driven by his desire to succeed and get rich. The story of the rise of Garret takes center stage in the design of his own motives and develops maturely throughout the entire film. Then we have our own drama where the character of Matt Steiner, played by Nicolas Hoult, offers both lightness and a great deal of complication. What starts as a humorous, Pygmalion style, transformation of a working class individual into a walking and talking businessman turns quickly into a lot more. Finally, as if all of that wasn’t enough, we have a reasonable amount of screentime dedicated to offering the audience with a clear look into the ins and outs of real estate and banking businesses. At least the parts that matter to us anyways.

What I appreciated the most is that the film never felt convoluted or messy. Maybe a little hasty at important points where a lot more could’ve been explored in our key characters, especially that of Morris. Yet, the overall sense of pace felt balanced and deliberately choosing not to get too comic or extremely dramatic.

Technically the film is also balanced with no major achievements in conveying the time period of the events. It covers what’s required but can’t say I came out with anything memorable from the visual experience. I’d say what captured the most of my attention is the performance of Mackie, who I think I’ll be taking more seriously moving forward. I also, as always, enjoyed the company of Samuel L. Jackson a lot. Nicolas Hoult also delivers a noteworthy performance for the character that represents most of the surprises and unpredictable turns throughout the film.

I would say that “The Banker” deserved more attention and much more appreciation, and if it is to be considered as a true representation to what Apple TV+ is planning in terms of films, then count me in.