This review was made possible by an advance copy of the WWE 2K23 Icon Edition. Thank you  to 2K Games! 

In a recent article, I used the expression, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” in the context of a sequel that attempted to replicate the success of its predecessor but ultimately failed to do so. The WWE 2K series has been filled with its ups and downs — WWE 2K20 is about as low as you can get — but WWE 2K22 was a massive step in the right direction after 2K took a year off between 2K20 and 2K22. And sometimes, a fresh coat of paint is all that’s required with a dash of improvements to make for a great game, and WWE 2K23 is proof of that. 

Beginning with the gameplay, 2K23 remains very similar to last year’s game. The mechanics are all the same, which works since 2K22 was a nice return to simplicity and found a happy medium between arcade-like controls and simulation. I’ll never quite understand why 2K took out the chain grappling at the beginning of matches — I lapsed from WWE from 2K15 until 2K20 — but that would be something nice to have in the future since not every match begins with the pacing of a Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg. It would especially benefit the PLE main events that have a “big fight feel,” as Michael Cole likes to say as the crowd is going nuts and the wrestlers in the ring are going through the “feeling out” process. 

The ability to have two Payback abilities is nice — for example, you can use the “Low Blow” and “Comeback” features and not have to choose between the two. It’s especially helpful in Universe Mode matches when you want to link together real spots. 

Speaking of Universe Mode, much like the rest of the game, it looks quite similar to last year’s game. But one key addition is the new “Rivalry Actions.” While promos are still absent — something that would really bring this mode together — these scenarios allow players to choose certain scenarios to play out pre, post, or during a match. For example, you can extend a rivalry after a big match on a PLE (the option to choose the length of rivalries is no longer in the game), or you can choose a scenario like a post-match attack that’ll take a superstar out of action for a set amount of months. The scenario that plays out is decided by factors such as momentum in the rivalry, but there’s also an option for “Free Mode” which will allow you to choose which one happens. 

The “Rivalry Actions” are a great addition to the game, giving new life to some of the cutscenes in previous WWE 2K installments while also bringing in a whole new batch of them. Promos would go the extra mile in making these storylines really come to life, but for now, the “Rivalry Actions” suffice. 

But 2K23 is not without its bugs. Luckily, none of these are as bad as the lows of 2K20, and I’m sure they’ll be patched with time. The first is the managers and their unreliable nature. When I assign Paul Heyman as Roman Reigns’ manager, I expect to see him walk out with his Tribal Chief and utilize the amazing entrance specific to this combination. But half of the time, Reigns comes out alone and it’s incredibly frustrating. Or if you choose two managers, only one will come out more times than not. 

The AI can also be incredibly frustrating. I play on “Legend” difficulty, as the disparity between “Hard” and “Legend” is massive with the former being too easy, but multi-man matches are more frustrating than in previous years. Take the Royal Rumble match, for instance, which has always been tough to nail. Even in 2K22, there’d be occasions where the AI opponents would randomly crash the party and break up your moves. In 2K23, the AI opponents never focus on one target and break up any move happening in the ring. It makes it frustrating if you’re trying to throw someone out and get interrupted by someone who was just fighting someone in the opposite corner. The “stunned” meter is back, but definitely expedited. I never had an issue with people in multi-man matches rolling out of the ring for a minute, but because of how quickly the meter moves, you hardly have a chance for a one-on-one encounter in the ring in multi-man matches. Sure, it moves the match along, but using your fifth finisher and not being able to go for a pin is incredibly frustrating. 

The small details are what save the day. The biggest one that stands out is how the champions — who traditionally come to the ring last — will usually wait a moment before their music hits. It’s a tactic that Reigns usually uses in real life, and it’s cool to see it replicated here. That extra 10 seconds between the challenger and champion’s entrance makes the match feel special. 

And massive props to the developers for nailing the aesthetics. Character models look great, but the arenas, and now stadiums, are what really catches my eye. It’s unlikely we’ll ever get the uber-long entrance ramp that WWE’s stadium shows like the Royal Rumble or SummerSlam have, but they adapted and nailed the stages of those shows and Clash at the Castle (the one I was most anticipating). A small nitpick from a New Yorker, the default stadium — which typically was just Metflife Stadium in previous games — now is Metlife Stadium with a roof like the Alamodome. Most won’t care or even notice, but it’s a thought that came to mind when playing through the PLEs.

New to the WWE 2K series is the WarGames match. Apparently, it has been around since the WCW days, but it’s been used more recently on NXT. Last year’s Survivor Series PLE rebranded and utilized the match in its opening and closing matches, but due to it taking place in November, it’s a welcomed surprise to have it not only in the game but playable in the Universe mode. For those unfamiliar with this match, the WarGames match is when two teams of either three or four in 2K23 face off. One member of the team is introduced at a time — giving one team an inherent disadvantage — but the official match doesn’t begin until all of the members of each team have entered the ring. It’s really fun just like the real-life version was in November. Hopefully, the WWE continues to utilize the match in real-life and the 2K games.

MyRise got a nice refresh with a story that hits the ground running. I think it has become clear that the idea of working your way up the ranks from the Performance Center is both tired and monotonous in video game form. Last year’s MyRise was brutal to get through; you had to do a certain amount of objectives before moving on to the next part of the story similar to what the NBA 2K’s MyGM has become. 

This year’s Showcase mode is centered around John Cena. It’s a nice sign of self-awareness by 2K and Cena himself to allow for players to play as the opponents in these historical recreations given that “SuperCena” was a thing, and the developers once again nail the aesthetics to recreate all of Cena’s marquee moments. Hopefully, next year’s title will include a Bloodline Showcase.

MyGM got some updates, but controlling the shows is a lot less fun than the sandbox-like playstyle of Universe mode. You’re given a budget to control Raw or Smackdown, which is cool in theory, but outside of the draft, it’s hardly riveting. At least they came to their senses and added more than one-on-one matches to it.

The biggest dud of 2K23 has to be MyFaction. I’ve never been one for the Ultimate Team modes in the Fifa or Madden franchises or the NBA 2K’s equivalent, MyTeam, and I really don’t understand the appeal of a wrestling version of it outside of the updated aesthetics that certain models get since wrestlers change their outfits all the time and their in-game models usually stay stagnant.

One last miss for me is the new pin system. The button-mashing option is still there — though I would rather not break my $75 controller — so that leaves you with the new, refreshed timing option. In previous years you had to press the “X” or “A” button when the white bar reached the red area, this year it’s similar except that the red area moves. It obviously gets smaller and moves faster the more damage you’ve taken, and you have to flip the right stick up when in that area (though I just opt to use the “X” button regardless). It’s incredibly infuriating, which maybe is the point, but not being able to kick out after a signature move has made me as angry as Jey Uso when Sami Zayn turned his back on the Bloodline.

A common complaint with yearly sports video games is that they’re glorified “roster updates” (to be fair, roster updates are more important in wrestling games but I digress), but 2K23 is another big step in the right direction after 2K22 set the entire series back on track. 2K23 is a very “Ucey” and one that we all have to acknowledge.

WWE 2K23 is available now.

Take this as you will, but 2019’s Shazam! is one of the DCEU’s best films. It’s no Birds of Prey — my gold standard for the DCEU — and it certainly doesn’t hold up quite as well on rewatch, but the pure adolescent joy that it radiated and its strong emotional beats made for a uniquely wholesome time for comic book movie fare.

“Nothing lasts forever,” as a character in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the sequel to the 2019 film, warns Billy. This sentiment rings true unless you’re Kevin Feige, but it’s true in the case of Fury of the Gods, which goes bigger in almost every way than its predecessor. But clichés are clichés for a reason — and Fury of the Gods is proof that bigger is not always better. 

After the events of Shazam! which saw Billy Batson (portrayed by Asher Angel in his teenage form and Zachary Levi in adult form) spread the wealth and give his foster siblings powers like him, the group of superheroes, dubbed the “Philadelphia Fiascos” by the locals, are doing their best to save the day in the City of Brotherly Love. But like any group of teenage superheroes, they haven’t quite got this whole “superhero thing” down yet, as a comic book movie character would phrase it. They’re messy, but avoid any fatal casualties, which warrants a pat on the back in a universe where Superman and Batman kill, I guess. 

Back in reality, or high school, things haven’t changed much. Freddy (portrayed by Jack Dylan Grazer in his teenage form and Adam Brody in his adult form) is still being picked on by the bullies from the first, even after showing them up by having his own “Bring Your Superman to School Day,” if you remember the post-credits scene from Shazam! (don’t worry; the writers assume you don’t and will remind you that this did, in fact, happen). But he soon meets a cute new girl, Anna (Rachel Zegler), who he hits it off with. Reality comes crashing down when it’s soon discovered that Anna, whose actual name is Anthea, is a daughter of Atlas and sister of Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu). It’s up to Billy and co. to stop them from getting the magical staff from the end of the first film (another event that the film handily shows as a refresher). 

Starting with the good, there are fractions of what made Shazam! work so well. When Freddy and Anna have their little meet cute, it’s actually quite endearing in the same way Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy’s first encounters were in The Amazing Spider-Man. And the team dynamic of the foster kids — which to Billy is being compromised as he nears the point of “aging out” of his foster home — largely works. 

Each kid represents something different in the group, but some get more time in the sun than others. Grace Fulton, who has the distinctive chance to play both the teenage and adult versions of her character, Mary, is still contemplating her decision to not go to college and is facing the fact that being a superhero doesn’t pay the bills. Fulton has been getting better with every role as of late (watch Fall), and that carries on here. 

Ross Butler, who plays the adult version of Eugene, is so charismatic but is still delegated to B-level hero in Fury of the Gods. If 13 Reasons Way proved anything, it’s that he’s capable of doing more than being a handsome jock (or superhero, in this case). Give him a Mason Gooding-like role and I’m sure he’ll show it.

The best actor of the bunch, who perfectly found a way to channel the innocence of her younger counterpart, is Meagan Good, who plays the superhero version of Darla. Faithe Herman is also great as the younger version of Darla, but it’s amazing how Good is able to perfectly channel Herman in her performance (hats off to casting director Rich Delia). She retains the wholesome eyes and childlike mind as her adult version Herman has. 

But the reality of it is, none of the kids get the spotlight like Billy and Freddy do. Grazer is his usual comedic self that always cracks a smile when on screen while Angel does his best in the limited time he has in the film. It’s both a blessing and a curse to be Billy Batson, as arguably the biggest name of the superheroes, Levi, is going to be used prominently throughout the film. At least to my knowledge of Shazam! — which is nothing to bet on — there was a good balance between young and old Billy. In Fury of the Gods, however, it feels like an 80/20 split between Levi and Angel.  Levi’s gawky fish out of water schtick — which is about half as endearing as a Michael Cera character — gets by but doesn’t always find himself on the right side of sweet and annoying.  

Perhaps in the third film, we can return to the roots of these characters and focus more on the kids themselves. After all, if you want to namedrop the Fast & Furious franchise and its theme of family — one that’s referenced better than it is executed in Fury of the Gods — you have to hone in on that. I know Billy’s arc of searching for his mother is over, but it’s almost like a complete afterthought in Fury of the Gods until the end. Maybe it’s just that Billy is no longer the sole central character — though the third act would leave you to believe differently — or the fact that writers Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan were uninterested in exploring it with any substance. Either way, Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews, who play the foster parents Rosa and Victor Vásquez, are such a shining light in these films but are sidelined for most of Fury of the Gods. 

Gayden returns after being the sole writer credited on Shazam! and is teamed with Fast & Furious veteran Morgan (which explains the namedrop). The one thing I’ll give them credit for is Anthea’s storyline and not having her be the big bad while Freddy is too busy drooling through his rose-colored lenses to see this, but the rest of the story is a miss (there’s a bit involving the song “I Need a Hero” that is almost as bad as the line in I Wanna Dance With Somebody when Whitney Houston first hears the demo of the titular song and claims it’s “a song about two people who want to dance”). 

Like that bit, the rest of the humor is oftentimes dreadful and has two ends of the spectrum: There’s the side of Djimon Hounsou — who returns as the wizard from the previous film — who’s able to occasionally make the very dry jokes land, and then there’s the Helen Mirren side; who must have been returning a favor of some sort to Morgan during her time in the Fast franchise. She, above anyone else, seems the least interested to be there. But who can blame her? She didn’t even care enough to explain the synopsis on the press tour, so why would I expect anything more? 

Not to only pick on the great Mirren, Liu is not much better as Kalypso. The biggest issue with these antagonists is that there’s not enough time to sit with these characters. Their motives are quite clear, but that doesn’t make you care about them or their situation. Zegler works the most out of the three sisters of Atlas because she actually gets to interact with the younger characters. The trio of Mirren, Liu and Zegler is about as talented and star-studded as you can get, they’re just wasted. 

David F. Sandberg returns as the director of Fury of the Gods. While I’m a big fan of Lights Out — the best PG-13 horror flick in recent times and in dire need of a sequel — and Annabelle: Creation, something is missing in his Shazam! flicks. It’s not that he’s incapable of utilizing a big budget, but the finished product of Fury of the Gods reeks of a film spewed out of a corporate machine. The story is lackluster, even despite its best efforts, and the direction is uninspired. The CGI, in true DCEU fashion, is just as drab as usual. DC Comics have always had a grittier aesthetic to my knowledge and lean heavily into the mythology of it all, but some of the landscapes just look so dull. Say what you want about Marvel — many of their recent films have sucked — but very rarely do their films lack color. Even Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was a disappointment in almost all areas including the potential for its visuals, had color if nothing else. Fury of the Gods is oftentimes too dark and looks stuck in the “Snyderverse” era. 

And Fury of the Gods follows the tradition of the Shazam! films with a third act that mostly takes place in the air above Philadelphia, just replace Mark Strong with a wooden dragon. There’s a little more emotional depth to this fight, but the DCEU has its own formula for its third acts much like how the MCU has its formula for everything. 

It’s disappointing that Fury of the Gods doesn’t live up to its predecessor. I imagine (and hope) that we’ll get more of these characters, which is great news considering how charismatic the teenage and adult versions of each are, but this second entry in the franchise is the downward dip that hopefully builds towards a satisfying trilogy closer. And just due to the standards that the DCEU has set for itself, Fury of the Gods still manages to be better than at least half of these films offhand and is a fine trip to the movies with your family — so take that as you will. Is it a good movie? No.

If we are to continue following Billy and the “Philadelphia Fiascos,” it sure does feel like we’ll only get bigger from here — I’m not a DCEU megafan, but aren’t we supposed to get Shazam vs. Black Adam? — assuming that these films continue. The whole future of the DCEU gives me a headache thinking about it, but I imagine that a third Shazam! film will be too big of an opportunity to pass up. Nevertheless, here’s hoping that any future installment scales it back and hones in on what made the first film so charming. And if nothing else, at least Fury of the Gods is better than Black Adam. 

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is in theaters now. 

Being trapped in a luxurious apartment in Manhattan that overlooks the beautiful Big Apple sounds like the dream for many. In fact, that was the reality for the top 1% that live in New York City. But what can be one man’s dream can also be another man’s nightmare — just ask Willem Dafoe in his new film, Inside (no, not the Bo Burnham comedy special with a song about Jeff Bezos). Inside is the new psychological thriller directed by Vasillis Katsoupis and stars Dafoe in what’s basically a one-man show that begs the all-important question of What if you modernized Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse?  

While many films can be simplified when describing their plots, Inside may take the cake in terms of stories that are easy to follow. “Art is for keeps,” says Nemo (Dafoe), an experienced art thief. When a job goes wrong, is stuck inside the penthouse of an affluent man who’s on a business trip. Being that the alarm was set off, Nemo’s left with nothing but his wits and own instincts to survive. 

And what better actor is there to play a man descending into madness in isolation than Dafoe? It feels like half of his roles have included some bit of his performance in Inside (even The Card Counter came to mind). Nemo begins stressed and anxious when the alarms first ring but soon becomes more content once the realization that he’s stuck sinks in (he comes around to “Macarena,” which plays every time the refrigerator is opened). Throughout the 105-minute runtime, Nemo adapts and begins attempting to find ways out. Bear in mind, he’s left with no running water once the alarm goes off; resulting in him using bowls and buckets to collect water from the in-house garden hoses. But as the film progresses and the despair further sets in, Nemo does too. Dafoe’s a very visceral performer, and he really sells the wear and tear that Nemo endures — like when he begins reciting a stand-up routine to an audience of none.

Credit is also due to director Katsoupis and cinematographer Steve Annis. Unlike The Lighthouse, which was constrained in terms of scope, relatively speaking, Inside really has a big sandbox to play in. It feels as though we go through every nook and cranny of the penthouse with Nemo in the film, even uncovering some dark secrets along the way, and the frames are meaningful. Whether it’s the framing of the imprisoned Nemo on one side of the glass and a bird — who is completely free — or the subtlety of the phrases in neon lights on many of the walls, there are little frames that are useless. 

The score, or lack thereof, was an interesting choice that pays off. Frederik van de Moortel composed the score, and for the first half of the film, it’s barely present. As the film builds toward its crescendo, so does the score, but the soft piano keys that occasionally ring through are perfectly timed. The lack of score further emphasizes the noiseless atmosphere that Nemo is enduring. 

I guess all of this was an effort to make Inside as suffocating as it can be. An introvert’s dream really does become the stuff of nightmares as Inside progresses, but that’s also where the film runs into some issues. While a 105-minute film is never something to take for granted — try seeing TÁR, Decision to Leave and White Noise within 24 hours — there becomes a point in Inside where the mundane becomes monotonous. It’s abundantly clear that Nemo isn’t getting out anytime soon, but eventually, it feels as though the viewer is just vegging out in this gigantic living room. 

That’s not to say that Inside never attempts to give Nemo some backstory, but it’s clearly something that Katsoupis — who directed and created the story — and writer Vasilis Katsoupis were clearly uninterested in exploring further. With a film like Inside, which primarily takes place in one location, you have an important decision to make: Do you stay indoors for 100% of the runtime like 12 Angry Men, or do you elongate the film’s runtime and try to give characters more background? In this case, I’d rather have no background explicitly shown and leave it to Dafoe and his wonderful voice-over work to fill in the blanks. 

The idea of Nemo’s fixation on art and it being everlasting should have and could have been explored further. The fact that he’s stuck in a penthouse full of art and that the one constant in his life is his sketchbook paves the way for an interesting theme that’s not fully explored. 

A one-man show of just Dafoe may be too much for some, but he’s awesome as usual. He single-handedly makes this particular character study watchable, but it’s a great concept that’s stretched thin throughout its runtime. 

Inside will be released in theaters on March 17.