Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 46 minutes, Director – Dan Trachtenberg

A young predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) tries to prove himself by travelling to the universe’s deadliest planet to kill the un-killable, with help from a broken Weyland-Yutani android (Elle Fanning).

Much of the threat and draw of the predator as an antagonist are its swift, evolved killing techniques. As Prey and animated anthology take Killer Of Killers showed this can go for whichever historical context you drop the Yautja species in as protagonists adapt and use what’s around them to fend for their lives. Predator: Badlands, once again helmed by Dan Trachtenberg, switches things up to focus on a young predator, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), trying to survive one of the universe’s deadliest planets.

Travelling there to prove himself to his clan leader father (Reuben de Jong) by getting the head of an apparently unkillable creature as a trophy the planets and animals found on Genna are immediately forces to be reckoned with. Instead of showing off skills immediately Dek has to, like most characters in Predator films, learn and adapt before the big final confrontation – a sequence which from his perspective leads to the feeling of an alien John Wick or Robert McCall. However, it’s clear that on Genna Dek is out of his depth, and finds help from the remaining top half of a Weyland-Yutani android, Thia (Elle Fanning).

With Thia strapped to Dek’s back like a backpack the pair encounter the various forces and plants on the planet in a variety of action sequences. There’s something of an unsettled feeling to some of these events as the feeling of individual ideas and sequences comes through. It’s a tone that, alongside the generally CG-filled crashes of it all, created a sense of disconnect with me during these major sequences. There was some interest and amusement here and there, but they certainly create something of a lengthy build-up before properly getting into the meat of things with the involvement of Thia’s fellow android sister Tessa (also Fanning), trying to also track down the fearsome Kalisk, and now a Yautja, too.

When the feeling of things moving forward with more strength comes into play that’s when Badlands picks up and starts to progress with more engagement and a better sense of flow. The third act certainly takes a step up as it properly gets into more familiar Predator-style action, with an unfolding plan adding to the thrills on display, plus a hint or two of neon green blood marks (Badlands only holds a 12 – although likely top-end 12 – rating from the BBFC, a first for the franchise which has often held 15 and 18 ratings up until this point). Yet, it takes some time to get to these particular sequences with the various ideas happening in establishing future points, details and styles of action whilst exploring Genna. Ideas which have an occasional thrill despite being slightly bogged down in set-up and exposition.

Working best when focusing on the developed skills of the central predator, and those around him, through more fluid and structured action, Predator: Badlands takes some time to properly kick in with its, while lightly enjoyable, segmented expository sequences.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 52 minutes, Director – Kathryn Bigelow

A nuclear missile has suddenly been launched from an unknown place directed at the United States. With 18 minutes until it strikes; is it real, and what should be done if it is?

With A House Of Dynamite Kathryn Bigelow channels a similar uncertain, deadly, countdown-based tension to the defusal sequences in her Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker. However, in the case of her latest it’s much more difficult to defuse a nuclear missile, or, it seems, to know how to deal with it. The United States has just 18 minutes to work out if the launch is real or not and if so how to respond to it, including working out where it’s come from and where it will land.

Tension rises the more uncertainty and its different contexts rise over the course of the opening 35-40 minutes. Shifting into panic as the digital clock rapidly morphs closer to 0 with still not a proper plan in place as to how to protect the population in such a short amount of time – alert notifications on phones only add to the tension and seem to largely be seen by government employees and officials who are already caught up in the fear, whilst trying to piece things together. For much of this time we’re based in the White House Situation Room, with attempts to contact the President (Idris Elba) trying to be made. From there we eventually switch to other linked locations and perspectives seeing more details of the US government’s responses over the course of the same countdown.

Diminishing returns is somewhat the case for the following switches in perspective as they tend to cover the same events just with a few more details in a different room. One of the best examples of the tension being brought back involves Gabriel Basso’s Deputy National Security Advisor frantically asking and negotiating with Russian ministers for assurances after time has already been lost trying to go through building security. During these instances which aren’t really heard of or glimpsed prior the film brings back detail and interest instead of feeling like a slight repeat which the second and third run-throughs certainly suffer from.

There are still interesting ideas at play, and a lingering sense of fear and dread around the central theme as a whole, but the tension isn’t quite as strong as it is through the more fluid escalations of our introduction to this world – especially with just how many players we see and hear from this time around. Bigelow does a good job of bringing in personal emotion for certain characters – one instance involving a father calling his daughter particularly comes to mind – even if the moments are brief and sometimes rub slightly against the pacing of the rest of the film.

As a whole the structure of A House Of Dynamite feels as if it holds it back. While everything happening at once would likely lead to a longer, busier, more chaotic film it would perhaps feel more solid with continuing tension than in the state of the finished film where we see the same (or at least largely similar) events three times. There’s still effect to be found beyond the first set of sequences, especially ones that try to lean into the emotional and moral side of things more, but the tension isn’t quite as effective as beforehand and that’s the biggest issue with a thriller of panic such as this.

By splitting A House Of Dynamite’s events across three perspective cycles the tension in the latter familiar instances feels held back, despite Bigelow’s focus on emotional and moral elements. There’s still suspense and panic to be found, but certainly not on the level of the strength of the first third.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 51 minutes, Director – David Mackenzie

A New York City fixer (Riz Ahmed) finds himself caught between parties in a chase for details when his client (Lily James) tries to hand back documents proving a major company cover-up.

I’ve long referred to Riz Ahmed as one of the best actors currently working. Relay is proof that he doesn’t even have to speak to be utterly chameleonic. Much of his performance as a New York broker/ fixer, helping those who have information of cover-ups but have decided against releasing it, is silent yet you can read exactly what’s going through his mind as he pieces together and executes each stage of his plan. Especially as things start to go off track and he needs to think in the moment, something which appears to rarely have to happen for him.

The client in the case of Relay is Lily James’ Sarah. Having taken a report from her former employer, Cybo Sementis, proving possible deadly issues with modified crops they’ve been working on she wishes to not whistleblow and uses Ahmed’s anonymous character – the pair are kept separate for much of the run-time, communicating via a telephone relay service for the deaf – to give them back before the team sent to stop her releasing them (led by Sam Worthington) catch up.

For much of the run-time there’s an intricate and exciting nature to the dialled-back action, largely based around Worthington and co trying to track James in various locations whilst Ahmed’s plan comes together (with him often appearing in a number of enjoyable disguises). As multiple parties almost converge at multiple points there’s a feeling that the control will easily shatter at any moment – especially in crowded public spaces such as an airport or Times Square. Tension helps to ease along the pacey nature of the run-time whilst separated by the communication between the two leads, still forming some form of connection and relationship despite never properly directly communicating.

There’s an air of a stripped-back paranoid thriller, yet one where you know full well that someone is constantly on your tail – especially with the fact that we see both their perspective and know their van is sat outside Sarah’s apartment building, with a prime view of her window. It’s a shame, then, that a key direction the third act takes feels so lazy, emphasised by the fact that the film appears to try to play it off as far more clever than it actually is. There’s still a thrill to be found in the events that follow, but just with a slightly tamer effect after the dampener that has been put on what has come beforehand. Where the tension that comes through still comes from is the continued reminders of how close characters are and Ahmed’s performance as his character has to think on his feet more quickly, and upfront, than he has before.

While there’s something of a dampener to the laziness of a third act decision much of Relay is an exciting, well-executed thriller of intricate plans that feel as if they could go wrong at any moment with the cat-and-mouse lens of the tension throughout.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 40 minutes, Director – Tatsuya Toshihara

Teenager Denji (Kikunosuke Toya) finds himself caught between romantic interests, however the devil form inside him, Chainsaw Man, may have to get involved, if he isn’t already.

On seeing the trailer for Chainsaw Man – The Movie before the latest Demon Slayer feature outing earlier this year I was led to giggling delight at the pure idea of Chainsaw Man. It’s largely what led me to seeing the feature follow-up to the anime series of the same name, which makes it clear early on that the base behind the devil form of teenager Denji (Kikunosuke Toya), and some of his fellow devil hunters, is no laughing matter, although there is humour to be found – watch out for a battle team up involving ‘shark fiend’ Beam (Natsuki Hanae).

In fact, slightly disappointingly, Chainsaw Man himself doesn’t properly appear until around 70-minutes into the 100-minute run-time. Before then the narrative is a relatively simple one. After a seemingly successful date with colleague Makima (Tomori Kusunoki), Denji meets coffee shop worker Reze (Reina Ueda) and a relationship quickly forms between them – despite Denji’s continuing feelings for Makima. There have been accusations towards this feature adaptation that the narrative is all over the place and confusing, largely from those who, like myself, haven’t seen the series (or heard of it until now). However, this general base is the rather simple core of things.

Devils and hunters are seemingly tracking down Denji just as his life is starting to find order, and a new meaning outside of work and Chainsaw Man, and much of this comes to fore in the latter stages of the second act, but a good deal of the film deals simply with the dates and relationships that the central character is exploring. His job and other form quickly explained in a simple line of dialogue or easily pieced together when needed. And even with trailers which have promised action and plenty of the titular figure it’s easy to settle in to the tone and style that the narrative is going for. There are some likable chuckles at the initial awkwardness Denji has when around Reze, and Makima to start with as they go through an entire day going between cinemas and coffee shops, unenthused by anything they see.

When the action kicks in it’s explosive in multiple ways. The already colourful palette gains a new array, even amongst the darker tones of the action as it kicks off. Boosted by the strength and detail of the animation, especially lively during action sequences. The different character forms we see emerge provide their own source of entertainment and a new layer to the fights that are jumped into with a good deal of energy. Maintaining engagement and thrills and managing to slot right into the almost rom-com edges of what’s come before thanks to the build-up of key developments.

Whether the film’s tone is one that fans will recognise from the series, or manga, I don’t personally know (although general response seems to suggest that it’s more than worked). However, for non-fans there’s a likable and entertaining quality to Chainsaw Man through its simple, entertaining and thrillingly explosive narrative.

Simple enough and engaging for non-fans, Chainsaw Man – The Movie has a likable relationship narrative which grows into an explosive and thrilling actioner with plenty of strength and colour in the animation to further fuel it.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 34 minutes, Director – Seth Worley

When her sketchbook falls into a life-bringing pond Amber (Bianca Belle) and her family take on the scribbled monsters which have emerged from the pages.

Sketch finds itself with a 12-rating from the BBFC, for ‘moderate horror’ and ‘violence’. While certainly some of the monsters that emerge from the pages of young Amber’s (Bianca Belle) sketchbook after it falls into a magical pond have a sense of threat and perhaps tension about them but not quite with a sense of darkness or strong fear-factor as something like the PG-rated The Kid Who Would Be King, to name another recent live-action family film, had.

The overall tone and style of the film is one that would feel fitting amongst well-remembered 80s family films, the kind that are fine when looked back on but hold a good deal of nostalgia and love for those who saw it at the time. There’s a slight Spielberg-produced influence to the narrative and visuals as the narrative rather simply revolves around Amber and her family – brother Jack (Kue Lawrence), father Taylor (Tony Hale) and aunt Liz (D’Arcy Carden) – trying to reach each other whilst battling the brought-to-life doodles; themselves a colourful array which create an amusing set of antagonists along the way. Alongside a handful of chuckles.

The monsters are encouraged creations of Amber’s. A counsellor at school says that instead of lashing out and actually attacking another student she’s doing the healthier thing by sketching her frustrations out – even if some of her drawings are quite violent. There’s an amusing and believable nature to Amber and her sketches. A childlike sense of knowing how violent what they’re saying and drawing is without being fully aware of how violence what they’re saying and drawing is. Even the more innocent creatures, orange spiders where the bodies are eyeballs, which are designed to steal phones and wallets are meant to eventually progress to taking eyes and fingernails.

While coming from her responses to bullies and comments at school Amber’s drawings also stem from grief over the loss of her mum. In the way that it speaks to its younger viewers about letting out emotions and dealing with them there’s an admirable quality to Sketch. One that speaks directly to such viewers while also working as an amusing 90-minutes or so for those also watching. With some effective chuckles and monster battles along the way throughout the slightly familiar beats of the narrative there’s a likable live-action family flick here.

Likely to speak well to younger audience members, Sketch should work for all ages with a likable and amusing, if familiar, 90-minutes with some solid monster doodle design.