The essense of epic is an idea not lost on Ridley Scott. In recent years, he has reapproach those opuses that have stood the test of time with varying degrees of success. With "Gladiator II", the heart and approach is in the right place. This is definitely a better outing than "Napoleon." He is anchored by great actors and they are up to the challenge.

The movement of a film like "Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts" depends on context for the story and how it reflects in the lexicon. This entry does a smart move at its inset, setting up what is to come and the basis of the story before the audience ever gets to the main characters.

The context of "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" is an ode on loss wrapped in an element of fantasy. The movie is wonderfully cast and has a light tone that is very hard to walk in this type of genre.

The approach in any sequel is one of structure and continuation. The interesting idea of "A Quiet Place" and its actual effectiveness was based on the notion of silence. The question becomes how to do that especially with one of your main protagonists is, story-wise, not really available for the second film.

With "Sonic The Hedgehog", the want to create something family friendly can create a groan factor because some of the lines sound like they were created out of a screenplay workbook. Yet the pure essence of Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) works because it is schizophrenic.

“The Rhythm Section” finds this but the pacing and intention is sometimes scattershot. Blake Lively, almost unrecognizable, really commits herself to the role showing the progression between rock bottom and confidence while still maintaining a level of humanity and realness.