Nerd Legion

A dense, enigmatic, and bombastic epic, John Boorman's 1981 film Excalibur brings the Arthurian romances to life in all their symbolic glory. Featuring a stellar cast, including Helen Mirren, Nicol Williamson, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Ciarán Hinds, and Gabriel Byrne, the film is an opportunity to see many lauded British and Irish actors early in their careers. Excalibur leans into the episodic and mysterious nature of the Arthurian stories, leaving it to the viewer to interpret and understand the events unfolding on screen. The film also provides a visual feast with amazing costuming, epic set-pieces, and stunning cinematography, all of which add to its larger than life feel. While challenging and, at times, confusing, Excalibur holds up well in the modern day and its ambition is second-to-none.

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Clash of the Titans continues Nerd Legion's 1980s fantasy marathon, taking us into Greek mythology (kind of) with Perseus' battles against Medusa and the Kraken. While straying very far from its source material, the film gave us Ray Harryhausen's last crack at stop-motion and effects wizardry as a capstone to a multi-decade career in Hollywood. Maggie Smith and Lawrence Olivier also add some dramatic weight as Greek gods to counter-balance the action sequences of Harry Hamlin's Perseus. A little bit silly, but still compelling, Clash of the Titans remains a fantasy classic and a must-watch for fans of the genre.

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Beloved by many who saw it in their childhoods, the Rankin/Bass musical interpretation of the Return of the King from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings epic is Nerd Legion's next film in the 1980s fantasy film marathon. Featuring music from folk legend Glenn Yarbrough and narration from the incomparable John Huston, this film represents a serious if flawed attempt to realize this iconic book. From disco orcs to a Skeletor-sounding Witch King, this interpretation of Return of the King is as silly as it is memorable.

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We kick off our review of every 1980s sword and sorcery movie, with Hawk the Slayer, a cult-classic British fantasy film directed by Terry Marcel from 1980. With charmingly terrible dialogue and special effects, this movie provides an unabashed good time with cheesy and tropey moments. Clearly inspired and derivative of Star Wars and pulp fantasy of the era, Hawk the Slayer still provides some unique moments and solid pacing. While no masterpiece, viewers should still find this film to be an incredibly fun viewing experience filled with lords of the dance, fully automatic crossbows, and glowing bouncy ball magic.

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Warcraft is a 2016 action fantasy film based on the video game series of the same name. Director Duncan Jones attempts to adapt the story from the very first Warcraft game, and ends up creating a tonally confusing film that can't decide who its target audience is. We praise most of the effects and some of the film's comedic moments, but pan the fight choreography, poor writing, and several other key aspects.

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Alien: Romulus is the latest installment of the Alien franchise, stretching back to Ridley Scott's original sci-fi horror flick from 1979. Taking place between Alien and James Cameron's sequel, Aliens, this film takes the franchise into the teen slasher genre by featuring a young cast and a compelling set-up to their encounter with the xenomorphs. However, once the action starts, Alien: Romulus quickly devolves into the equivalent of a theme park ride of the franchise's first two films, with some bits and pieces of Prometheus thrown in for good measure. Director Fede Álvarez nails the visuals and creates a beautiful, haunting movie, but also presents a story that we've all seen before.

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Deadpool & Wolverine is a blockbuster smash success, now surpassing the billion dollar mark at the box office, but is Ryan Reynolds' latest outing good or just another tedious entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Hugh Jackman is resurrected to perform his iconic role as Wolverine in a quippy buddy comedy that may be thin on plot but makes up for it on entertaining action sequences, referential humor, and pure millennial nostalgia bait. Deadpool & Wolverine is a film obsessed with necromancy, but it's fun to see our past brought back from the dead in a gleeful fashion.

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The finale of House of the Dragon's second season left many fans disappointed, but was it as anti-climactic as some are saying or is it a slow burn setting up for an epic conclusion? DoA and MonteCristo break down their favorite moments as they review the entirety of Season 2 as well as the scenes and story arcs that failed to deliver. Even without a conclusive battle sequence to close out the final episode, HotD sets up immense stakes in the war between the Greens and the Blacks that we're hopeful will continue to play out well in the third season.

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Time Bandits from 1981 is Terry Gilliam's first film after his efforts with Monty Python, announcing the arrival of a wildly creative director striking out in his own direction. While slow and clunky at times, the film retains much of Monty Python's deadpan and surreal humor while offering highly memorable scenes and an utterly unforgettable concept. Monte discusses his nostalgia for Time Bandits while DoA watches with fresh eyes, providing a unique breakdown of this cult classic.

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The Boys Season 4 is finished and, unfortunately, hasn't gotten much better since Monte & DoA discussed the first three episodes. The whole season feels like unnecessary filler, particularly with the re-introduction of Soldier Boy in the final moments of the season finale. Hughie's plot armor somehow only gets thicker the longer the show goes on and this season is completely crammed with pointless plotlines from Frenchie to Neuman. The Boys fails to present compelling or funny satire, reaching instead for the low-hanging fruit of modern politics without offering a compelling twist or interesting interpretation.

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Star Wars' The Acolyte finishes its first - and hopefully only - season on Disney+ and, unfortunately, ends as badly as it begun. DoA and MonteCristo conduct their final review of the first season, including a live watch along with episode 8. Our hosts are appalled with the recycling of Star Wars tropes within the series, the reliance on deus ex machina to advance plot points, the lack of ability to care about any of the characters, and more. They finish off the episode with some cross over ideas, including cures for Cortosis and a pitch for a new kids comedy movie: The Jedi Trap.

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Sony's latest disastrous attempt at a superhero film, 2024's Madame Web, is almost unbelievably bad, boring, and poorly acted. Perhaps undermined by significant re-writes and changes in post-production, it's possible that the original vision of the movie may have been of passable quality. MonteCristo and DoA discuss just how awful the film is and debate whether it successfully moves from regular bad to comedically bad and its potential as a cult classic. Nerd Legion debuts a new, segment-based format this week, so let us know what you think!

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While many laud the first five seasons of Game of Thrones, can House of the Dragon be held to the same lofty standard at the start of the second season? This show refines its predecessor and provides a sharp and focused narrative on feudal politics and a believable succession crisis within the Targaryen family. Monte and DoA discuss the first season of House of the Dragon and the start of the second, focusing on the intricately-wrought intrigue, the wonderful acting, and the depth of the world of Westeros.

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Amazon Prime has released the fourth season of The Boys, which was very quick to un-do almost everything that occurred in the previous season. While the stellar acting, particularly by Antony Starr as Homelander, remains, much of the plot revolves around copy/pasting modern politics into the show without the artfulness or cleverness of satire. While Monte and DoA still enjoy some of the plotlines, particularly around Vought and Neumann, the new story arcs seem lifted from soap operas, such as Frenchie's love affair and Ryan's plight with his father. The result is an uneven series forced to forget almost all the events of Soldier Boy and Temp V in the third season, which makes it an unsatisfying continuation.

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Star Wars is back with The Acolyte and the franchise may have finally hit rock bottom. The new show on Disney+ is a nonsensical mess that backfires in its thematic choices and leaves viewers bored and with virtually no characters or plotlines to care about. Monte and DoA break down this televised catastrophe and wonder how Disney managed to collect such a unique combination of terrible writers, actors, and producers to waste $180 million.

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga debuted to critical acclaim, but weak box office sales. Monte and DoA discuss George Miller's latest effort and whether it lives up to the Mad Max legacy. With compelling performances from Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa continues in the vein of Fury Road with epic chase sequences and further world-building around the Citadel of the film. The question remains: did anyone actually want this prequel or would it have been better to continue where Fury Road left off?

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Disney+ has revived the late '90's X-Men animated series with a sequel set in the same era, X-Men '97. Resurrected by pop-culture necromancer Beau Demayo, this series may appeal to millennials desperate for any form of nostaligia, but for the uninitiated it may be jammed with too many subplots and other distractions. While many reviewers are raving about this show, DoA and Monte found the core storypoints and faithfulness to the X-Men universe compelling, but lacked the same enthusiasm for the series as other critics.

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40 years after its release, Nerd Legion revisits David Lynch's version of Dune from 1984, which stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides. DoA and Monte discuss the differences between this first attempt to put Dune on film with the recent Denis Villeneuve epic, both appreciating and laughing at some of the decisions made in this interpretation. While perhaps the source material was too challenging for the technological limits of the era, Lynch's Dune still contains some impressive visuals, performance, and an intriguing exploration into the expansion of consciousness.

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We return to Shogun on Nerd Legion to give our final review and to discuss the second half of the series, which concludes Toranaga's ambitious character arc. The latter half of the show focuses on the deep political intrigue of feudal Japan and rounds out the character development of John Blackthorne and Mariko, leaving us with a consummate victory before the battle truly begins. This show will go down as an all-time triumph and we beg for it to end here since it's already a complete story. Please do not give us new seasons!

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Not simply content with making one terrible Rebel Moon movie, Zack Snyder delivers another via Netflix called Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver. Almost nothing happens in this film as it decides to dedicate its running time to slow motion grain harvesting rather than world-building or character development, leading to some rushed and hilarious moments. Interspersed with occasionally interesting visuals, Rebel Moon ends up being a hybrid of the Seven Samurai and The Canterbury Tales if they were interpreted by an idiot. Watch for laughs only.

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Amazon Prime tapped Jonathan Nolan to create an adaptation of the video game property Fallout, which largely succeeds in providing and entertaining expansion of the games' world. Originally created by Bioware and followed-up with titles from Bethesda, Fallout portrays a post-apocalyptic Earth with macabre, dark humor and quirky characters, which the show gleefully portrays. The adaptation even managed to "feel" like a video game at times with side quests and bit characters while also channeling the comedy of some of its writers' former shows, such as Portlandia. Nerd Legion enjoyed Fallout and we're excited to see a continuation of the plot twist in season two!

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Made for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, Sunghoo Park's Ninja Kamui breaks no new ground for anime or film/TV shows in general, instead preferring to lean on every trope imaginable. The show uses flashbacks to tell the story in the worst way possible, instead of sequencing the story chronologically, which would have given the story more emotional resonance. Beyond some cool fight sequences, Ninja Kamui offers nothing new and your time can be safely spent watching much better anime that's already been released.

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Netflix's adaptation of The Three Body Problem, originally a novel in Chinese by Liu Cixin, provides audiences with a fun, if flawed, hard science-fiction show. Created by D. B. Weiss and David Benioff of Game of Thrones fame, many actors from their previous series also are cast here alongside other sci-fi acting staples. The premise of the show is strong, but some of the character interactions and story arcs come across as quite saccharine or cheesy. We still recommend this show since the fun parts outweigh the drudgery.

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Nerd Legion returns to review the new FX television miniseries Shogun, which can be found streaming on Hulu. Based on James' Clavell's 1975 novel and previously filmed in 1980, the new version by creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo provides a spectacular period drama set in feudal Japan. The level of attention to detail in the sets, costumes, and historical accuracy lends the weight of authenticity and pomp befitting of a drama between feudal lords in the 1600s. While outside of Nerd Legion's normal purview of science fiction and fantasy, we heartily recommend Shogun to our fans as an alternate take on Japanese history. Toranaga's machinations are fascinating to follow and we can't wait to watch the rest of the show!

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Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part Two burst onto the screen in 2024 to an excellent reception, and Nerd Legion also gives plaudits to this wonderful film. Monte and DoA have an in-depth discussion on changes from the books, the success of streamlining the story for film, the wonderful casting, and fulfilling character arcs. While Dune Part One may have been a bit rushed and flawed, the second movie dives into the world of the Fremen and is a much more complete thematic exploration that takes time with the central characters. We certainly recommend seeing this film in the theater while you have the opportunity!

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Netflix's live-action adaptation of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender has drawn criticism from fans of the original, but still retains much of the magic and excellent world-building that made it great. The wonderous aesthetics and fantastical bending magic translate well into real-world action and the characters come to life with actors who are (mostly) well-cast. The addition of scenes from the Fire Nation shifts some of the character focus in this series and leaves some plot points rushed, ultimately Avatar remains an entertaining experience with significant character development. We recommend the show particularly to people dipping their toes into the world of Avatar for the first time!

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Blue Eye Samurai dropped on Netflix in 2023 and became one of our favorites shows of 2023, if not the best show on Nerd Legion thus far. While chock-full of tropes from Tarantino, Zatoichi, Kurosawa, Mulan, and more, the show takes its influences in bold and surprising new directions. Creative duo Michael Green and Amber Noizumi have created an animated masterpiece with a compelling main character in Mizu and an exemplary supporting cast. It's well worth anyone's time to watch this gorgeous animated show!

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Netflix released Zack Snyder's unique terrible Rebel Moon in 2023, and Monte and DoA are here to tell you exactly how bad it is. The film is derivative of a litany of other science-fiction and fantasy film as well as being a direct rip-off of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. With almost no redeeming qualities, from lackluster world-building, boring characters, poor acting, and an insipid plot, you are well-warned to stay away.

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DoA and MonteCristo review the first five episodes of the new AppleTV+ show set in the MonsterVerse, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Starring Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt, who plays the younger version of Kurt, and set in both the modern day and in 1950's flashbacks, the show ultimately disappoints. Perplexingly, the show contains surprisingly few actual monsters and spends an exorbitant amount of time on the psychological woes of its boring characters. Furthermore, Monarch fails to even explain any of the mysteries surrounding its titular organization, leaving viewers bored and with few answers gleaned from five hours of watching this show.

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Scavengers Reign is quietly one of the best TV shows of 2023 and offers a totally unique science-fiction experiences set on the truly alien world of Vesta. Created by Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner and based on an animated short they created for Cartoon Network, Max picked up the concept for a full run that certainly delivers a thrilling survival experience. With an art style clearly derived from the French artist Moebius, Scaverngers Reign focuses on an unforgiving ecosystem in which humans arrive unprepared after crash-landing in a cargo ship disaster. While boasting interesting characters separated during the Demeter's evacuation, the most interesting aspects of the show focus on the planet's biome itself and the beauty and terror it inspires in the humans who encounter it.

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Nerd Legion wraps up the second half of Loki's season two, which certainly doesn't disappoint. Monte and DoA discuss the success of the show, particularly the strength of the core cast, the satisfying conclusion of the Loki character arc, and speculate about the future of the MCU. They also compare it to other MCU shows and ask: is Loki the best Marvel TV series to date?

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DoA forces Monte to watch a forgotten kids' movie from 1993, the terrible and hilarious Surf Ninjas. Clearly attempting to capitalize on the martial arts craze arising from Karate Kid and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the film contains notable actors Leslie Nielsen and Rob Schneider in some of their most forgettable roles. Surf Ninjas attempts to shoehorn product placement for its own video game on the SEGA Game Gear portable video game system, using the novel approach of having the video game be used as a tool for prophecy. While completely ridiculous, Surf Ninjas does provide some accidental big laughs and can be viewed as a time capsule for terrible 90's cinema.

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Mike Flanagan's latest horror effort, The Fall of the House of Usher, has arrived on Netflix just in time for Halloween! Serving as a modernized tribute and anthology to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, it weaves together a variety of the author's short stories and poetry around a larger narrative of one family's responsibility for the American opioid epidemic. The series provides a variety of pulpy and fun moments, but struggles to contain a ham-fisted and overly preachy condemnation of capitalism. Mark Hamill, Bruce Greenwood, Mary McDonnell, and the rest of the ensemble cast shine as the deeply unlikable Usher family and their cronies, and the cinematography is also memorable and spectacular.

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Nerd Legion is back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this week with the start of Loki Season 2, which, unlike the tragic Secret Invasion, appears to be well-crafted and entertaining. The three primary actors in this season, Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, and Ke Huy Quan, all excel in their roles and create an atmosphere of banter and fun. The show uses clever visual queues to make the timelines easily comprehensible to the audience and abides by its own set of rules to create an air of mystery about the TVA and guide the viewer along.

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Ahsoka's first season wraps up with the reveal of Grand Admiral Thrawn, long-anticipated by fans of the Star Wars extended universe. Unfortunately, his characterization as a complete buffoon leaves Monte in shock, since he bears little resemblance to his portrayal in Timothy Zahn's novel. While the visuals and design of Ahsoka remain spectacular, the plot contains massive holes, deus ex machina writing, and non-sensical actions by the characters. DoA and Monte argue about whether anything actually happened over the course of the show's eight episodes, and DoA explains his fondness for Ahsoka in spite of its flaws.

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Nerd Legions dives further into Ahsoka as the show fleshes out her character with the return of Anakin Skywalker and flashbacks to her past. The show includes incredibly impressive visuals, well-choreographed lightsaber battles, and an admirable commitment to the Star Wars aesthetic that impressed our hosts. While some rather glaring plot holes emerged and viewers are left contemplating Hera's arguably criminal parenting, Ahsoka's plot moves along at a reasonable clip and continues to deliver an entertaining experience. DoA and Monte also discuss the influence from Kurosawa's samurai films, the mythological and Arthurian references made in the show, and much more.

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New Star Wars content arrives in the form of the first two episodes of Ahsoka, with Nerd Legion here to provide an initial impression and review as the Disney+ series kicks off. DoA and MonteCristo discuss where this show fits in the Star Wars universe, if its intention is to provide a retcon of the terrible sequel trilogy, the success of the show's aesthetic, and more. Even though some scenes felt a little too drawn out and the dialogue fell flat in parts, overall the show looks to set up a highly-anticipated arc with an exciting adversary in Admiral Thrawn. Although it's not peak Star Wars yet and comes with some pacing flaws, we leave excited to watch the remainder of the series.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds wraps up its second season this week with three strong episodes. The dreaded musical episode was actually executed well and in a manner consistent with the tone of the franchise and, even better, we were treated to the best episode of this show yet, Under the Cloak of War. The Gorn might be boring as an adversary with few original traits to make them stand out among science fiction antagonists, but we're hopeful that next season will close out their arc and introduce some fresh concepts. We give our final ratings for a Star Trek season that began disastrously and ended strong, while recognizing and celebrating Strange New Worlds' willingness to take risks.

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Conceived by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard in 1988, Willow has reached its 35th anniversary and Nerd Legion reviews this childhood classic. Upon release, it was a landmark in special effects and enchanted a generation with its simple plot and charming, feel-good story. Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis shine in their performances, even if the script doesn't give them much to work with. Ultimately, has the film aged well in the context of other fantasy movies or is it beloved purely from nostalgia?

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In spite of the compelling build-up for the Battle of Thanedd, the second half of Netflix's The Witcher Season 3 massively drops the ball in terms of pacing and execution to close out Henry Cavill's tenure on the show. The wizard conflict is massively rushed through one episode only to result in a plodding and boring character arc for Ciri as she wanders around a desert with an inexplicable unicorn. Meanwhile, Geralt lies around injured in a bed for Cavill's last moments in the series, leaving viewers pitying the actor for being given such a lackluster way to end his time as the signature character. The Vilgefortz storyline still holds promise for future seasons, but seems to lead to inevitable disappointment given the track-record of the show thus far.

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Secret Invasion faceplants at the end of the series, not only ruining its own story arc, but creating unavoidable problems for the entire Marvel universe moving forward. How can they reconcile the power level of G'iah as she assumes the abilities of the Avengers and dozens of other superhuman beings? Monte and DoA discuss the numerous problems with the series and its disappointing finale before moving on to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. SNW continues to borrow from better Star Trek series, particularly in the crossover with the cartoon Lower Decks, and they guys argue about the success of the episode and the uneven quality of the show thus far.

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Monte and DoA tackle the first five episodes of The Witcher Season 3, which continues Geralt's saga as political intrigue builds among the mages and Ciri eludes her many pursuers. They touch on the success of the first two seasons of the Netflix show, criticizing the editing and pacing as hindering a fundamentally good story that is needlessly confusing for the viewer to follow. While the third season largely improves upon the the problems that plague The Witcher, it still suffers from overwrought storytelling that obscures the strength of the narrative and acting. Should The Witcher be considered the ultimate mediocre TV show?

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This week, Nerd Legion returns to Marvel's Secret Invasion and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. While Secret Invasion drags on with ridiculous situations and boring action, there are a few good scenes and performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle buried in the muck. Monte and DoA discuss the issues with fatigue in the Marvel universe and a burdensome expectation to watch all Marvel content if viewers want to understand anything at all. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally releases a couple of good episodes that draw from classic franchise tropes to deliver some genuinely entertaining content. Will the rest of the season follow this pattern or regress to the disappointing narratives that kicked off season two?

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In the first episode of Nerd Legion to examine a feature film, Monte and DoA discuss their (mostly) fond impressions of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. They explain some of the historical details the movie build upon, including the Antikythera Mechanism, the life of Archimedes, the Lance of Longinus, and Nazi mysticism. While Dial of Destiny freely repeats many Indiana Jones tropes, including Nazi castles, supernatural artifacts, bringing melee weapons to gun fights, and loveable street urchins, fans of the series should find the nostalgia heartwarming and entertaining.

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DoA and Monte return their attention to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds this week as they discuss whether the time-travel episode with Kirk was actually worse than season two's opener. These two episodes are chock-full of ridiculous moments, including an absurd court scene where a lawyer introduces a critical law at the end of a trial and La'an Noonien-Singh leaving a gun in Khan's childhood room. Marvel's new show, Secret Invasion, has kicked off, but does it live up to its lofty expectations as a Samuel L. Jackson-led spy thriller? While the first episode proved confusing, the backstory explaining the skrulls' motivation finally arrived in episode two, piquing our interest moving forward.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has resumed, so Monte and DoA discuss their impressions and review the first season as well as the disappointing start of season two. Is the show an adequate intro for Trek newbies, despite constantly pilfering plots from popular sci-fi? The guys bring up the ridiculous moments of season two episode one, including a drugged-up doctor fight and a hangover being a punishment for mutiny. The conversation continues around the show's parallels to other famous franchises such as Aliens, Indiana Jones, Freaky Friday, and more.

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