Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the biggest movie of 2017 with total worldwide sales over 1.334 billion. The Force Awakens had similarities to A New Hope and the Last Jedi wasn’t too far from having the same theme as The Empire Strikes Back. For example, Rey going to Luke on a secluded planet to train in the Force was similar with Luke’s and Yoda‘s relationship. Leia was making breakthroughs in her understanding of The Force in both movies. A battle scene surrounded in an icy environment with AT-AT Walkers are in both stories. Most importantly, the main premise of each film was to pull the new Force user into the fold of the dark side. Despite the similarities between the older episodes and the new, The Last Jedi turned out to be an amazing film!

At the end of The Force Awakens, Luke Skywalker makes his cameo, hinting that Rey will be his next and last student. Just as the Jedi of the past, Luke lived in solitude on a distant planet, fine tuning his powers in the Force. In this film, we’ve seen Luke’s growth in power since Return of the Jedi. Luke could manipulate the Force in such a way, he could astral project himself across the galaxy. In the battle with Kylo Ren, the audience believed Luke was actually there fighting against his former student and his forces. Obi Wan Kenobi was Luke’s mentor in life and death for three films. Now that Luke has become one with the Force, will he appear as a Force Spirit in the next films?

Supreme Leader Snoke has appeared in the flesh for this film! From what we have seen, Snoke’s power rivals Darth Sidious. Snoke’s relationship with Kylo Ren is much different than Vader and Sidious. Snoke is a master who is verbally abusive to Kylo, whereas Sidious had a friendship with Vader since his youth, before the dark side. In the end, both students slayed their masters but Kylo, stayed alive only to take the place as the new Supreme Leader. This was something that Vader wanted; to slay his master and make himself head of the Empire. Why did Snoke have a short screen time? With the big mystery on his character since The Force Awakens, fans expected to at least get the origins of this character and where he lands in the timeline during the reign of Sidious and Vader. Rey began her training with Luke with surprising results. Rey’s skills with the lightsaber improved, she split cliffs apart and even levitated multiple boulders at once. Rey became an important asset the Dark Lord wanted to get his hands on. Her effect on the Force is among the strongest of that time. Because of this, much like Vader did with Luke, Kylo offered Rey a place by his side as an apprentice to rule the galaxy…

Since the Empire Strikes Back, Leia was able to sense the ones she cared about through The Force. In this film, the bridge of Leia’s ship was destroyed, hurling everyone into space. Using the Force, Leia awakened from her rapidly freezing state and glided through space back to her ship’s airlock. This is a power never before seen in film. Finn has returned from his injuries he sustained from Kylo Ren and finds himself ultimately battling against his former commanding officer Captain Phasma. Phasma still has the objective to end Finn’s life for betraying the Order, only to meet her seemingly demise. What is unclear in the previous film was what happened to Phasma after Han and Finn used her for information? Anakin grew up with his droid companions R2-D2 and C3P0 during his time with The Jedi. These droids played the same role in Luke’s life when he entered into the ways of the Jedi. The bond between man and droid continues strong with BB-8 and Poe Dameron. They are not among the Jedi though; Poe just happens to be the best pilot among The Resistance. Who do you this is the best pilot among Poe, Anakin and Luke?

The film was exciting, and action packed for the most part. The question will always remain: Would the Star Wars franchise be any different if George Lucas stayed on board? What were your thoughts for this film? Will this be the last of the Star Wars episodes or will more movies come into creation only to bridge the episodes together like Rogue One?

Check out exclusive statues for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!!

Shazam has entered into the DC Cinematic Universe, with good success and minimal criticism from comic fans! To date, the film has generated $325.5 million worldwide and with Rotten Tomatoes rating of 90%, Shazam gains popularity like his cinematic counterparts the Justice League. This 2019 feature by DC Comics is a comedy action adventure, for it emphasizes Captain Marvel’s adolescent behavior to the audience. Billy Batson is a kid with superpowers, that must learn the importance of responsibility and family.

When Shazam was first announced with its release, fans instantly thought Shazam would battle Black Adam. Instead, Shazam’s first rival was with Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, a scientist who studied magic in hopes to achieve what science cannot. In the comics, Thaddeus is responsible for freeing Black Adam from imprisonment, believing he could learn the magical arts from the ancient being. In this film, Thaddeus gained powers from the collective force of the Seven Deadly Sins, making him as powerful as Shazam. DWayne “The Rock” Johnson continuously petitioned that he would love to play the role of Black Adam, instead becoming the executive producer of this film! Even though Black Adam was absent, Dwayne’s involvement leaves the door wide open for a sequel and his awaited appearance as Shazam’s primary nemesis.

Another notable change didn’t resonate with comic fans was casting Djimon Hounson as the Wizard Shazam. This is because Djimon played as the King of the Fishermen in the 2018 AquaMan film, and recently reprising his role as Korath in 2019 Captain Marvel. Was Djimon used to connect the two characters together on screen because of sharing the same name Captain Marvel? And how is it Djimon is playing two characters in the same universe?? The Wizard’s ethnicity changed, much like Samuel Jackson playing Nick Fury or Idris Elba playing Heimdall. Do you think changing the ethnicity of comic characters is necessary for story and character development on screen?

One surprise to the film was the introduction of the Shazam Family. Much like the Family of the comics, Billy passed on the power of Shazam to his adopted brothers and sisters. The Family assisted Billy in defeating, then imprisoning the Seven Deadly Sins. In turn, Billy gained not only an adopted family in human form, but also a super team of his own. Since this is the case, should Shazam even join the Justice League as a recruit? Do you think the Shazam Family is strong enough to overpower the League?

The DC Universe has yet to show a successful cinematic universe with the consistency like The Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shazam could have been a great extension of the Justice League, as mentioned by Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince at the end of the 2018 film, where Bruce would use the old Wayne Manor as the Justice League headquarters.  Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck both dropped from their character roles, once again leaving fans wondering, who will be the next Batman and Superman? Not only that, will the next chosen actors supersede the earlier portrayals?

So, what were your thoughts on the movie? Shazam is a great film that WILL be overshadowed when Avengers: Endgame is released as well as Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker later this year. Just between Captain Marvel 2019 and Shazam 2019, Marvel and DC, who do you think had a better movie between the two characters?? Leave your thoughts below!