Summer Film Recap: Janie Walenda’s summer of adventure and action

By Janie Walenda

Like any self-respecting nerdy older sibling, I spent most of my summer watching movies and television shows with my younger brothers. Throughout the summer, we worked our way through “The Acolyte,” “My Adventures with Superman” and the “Planet of the Apes” films.

Oh, “The Acolyte.” While Star Wars has never been known for its calm and considerate fans, the backlash to the new show is similar to the reaction to the once-misaligned prequel movies. In this mess, it’s difficult to tell good-faith criticism from racist and misogynistic nonsense hurled at the show. 

“The Acolyte” is not a perfect show or even a great one. The pacing is messy, with the eight-episode runtime cutting it off too soon. While Amanda Stenberg’s performance as Osha and Mae effectively established the twins as separate characters, the twin’s writing was one of the most convoluted elements of the show.

However, there are three overwhelmingly fantastic elements in the show: Lee Jung-Jae as Jedi Master Sol, Manny Jacinto as Qimir and The Stranger, and Christopher Clark Cowan, the stunt coordinator. Jung-Jae’s masterful performance slowly unfurls from a warm Jedi Master to a haunted and broken man. Jacinto’s performance, on the other hand, is simultaneously terrifying and charming. His reveal in episode five is where the show goes from floundering to finding its footing.

The absolute brutality and ingenuity of episode five, as well as the willingness to kill major characters, cements episode five as an iconic Star Wars fight scene and turns a predictable reveal into a jaw-dropping moment. The final two episodes have their own share of iconic fight scenes, including the fight with Wookie Jedi Kelnacca, emotionally charged lightsaber duels (the best kind) and my personal favorite, the lightsaber dagger.

At its best, Star Wars isn’t serious sci-fi, it’s a fun space opera that wears its heart on its sleeve. That’s why we look past the bad dialogue in the prequels and embrace the epic tragedy; it’s why we learn to love the Ewoks. While “The Acolyte’s” time is at an end, there’s plenty of new Star Wars projects, and I can’t wait to stubbornly enjoy them all.

An obsession with “Planet of the Apes” was not on my summer bingo card. I watched the reboot films twice this summer, once on my own before seeing “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” in theatres and once again with my brothers. 

As a standalone film, “Kingdom” brought a much-needed genre back to the Hollywood box office, as it harkened back to classic adventure stories. Noa (Owen Teague) went through a fairly standard hero’s journey. Still, he was a sympathetic character to follow throughout the story and watching him come into his own was plenty satisfying.

The real meat of the film’s writing comes with the other main characters, Raka, Mae and Proximus Caesar. Raka (Peter Macon) was a charismatic and comedic presence who provided a moral center to Noa and Mae as they struggled to navigate an unforgiving world. Mae (Freya Allen) is the most interesting human character in the franchise so far. She was set on a goal and was willing to do whatever it takes, but her conscience kept her someone we root for. The ending scene between her and Noa was not only a fascinating conclusion to their arc in the film but also an excellent springboard for future films.

Kevin Durand as Proximus Caesar was short on screen time but big on presence. Even before I showed “Kingdom” to my brothers, the younger one quoted his “What a wonderful day!” line on a near-daily basis. He’s despicable and entertaining and has a complicated enough worldview and motive to keep him from feeling one-sided.

There’s not a lot remarkable about “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” besides the jaw-dropping CGI that is the norm for this franchise, but it’s as entertaining an adventure movie as there’s ever been.

While next summer’s superhero scene is sure to be dominated by James Gunn’s “Superman” film, this summer saw the continuation of the animated series “My Adventures with Superman.” In season two, the show transitions away from the slice-of-life narratives of season one, with the last half of season two focusing on Superman’s interactions with Supergirl and Brainiac and what the history of Krypton means for the future of Earth.

While Clark, Lois and Jimmy have great storylines, Kara is the star of this season. The show smartly introduces her through a lighter storyline where Jimmy helps her find her cousin, unaware that her cousin is Clark. This storyline endears us to her, before revealing her sinister connection to Brainiac. Kara’s journey of discovering Brainiac’s true actions and overcoming his brainwashing is moving, and she makes a great addition to the main cast.

Season two went to darker places than season one, thanks to Brainiac as a menacing and meticulously well-written villain. Both Clark and Kara have to wrestle with the legacy of the home they lost, and if there is any hope of building a new one on Earth.

“My Adventures with Superman” consistently balances a light-hearted Superman with modern stakes and conversations, successfully avoiding being either too sugary-sweet or too dark and brooding. The anime-inspired elements and relevant commentary bring modernity to a show that embraces an old-fashioned Superman with truth, justice and the American way.

Out of everything I watched this summer, my best experiences were watching “The Acolyte” with my brother crowded around my phone at an outdoor café, or watching “My Adventures with Superman” in the car. Our family vacation wouldn’t have been the same if my brothers had not asked every day to watch the next “Planet of the Apes” movie. As it was last summer, my best film and television experiences were the ones I shared with my family. 

“The Acolyte” and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” are available on Disney+. “My Adventures with Superman” is available on Max.

Janie Walenda is a senior Global Business major and the A&E editor for Cedars. She is overly passionate about animation, caffeine and weirdly enough Dracula.

Images courtesy of Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios and Warner Bros. Animation.