Her name’s Pong, Mrs. Pong. At first glance, she’s a meek, middle-aged woman, pleasantly plump and perfectly harmless. Yet as circumstances demand it, she’s not your ordinary mother, nor a long-suffering widow for that matter. Her missions? To pull her son out of peril while standing up to bullies and saving homes from being uprooted and demolished in the name of urban renewal. Mrs. Pong effortlessly transforms from an armchair survivalist to a fearless heroine hell-bent on her mission, trading punches and kicks for frying pans and woks, awakening a rebellious spirit that wars against exploitation and oppression in a system tilted towards the rich and powerful.
In order to learn why an arguably outdated fanfic trope was resurfacing in the contact zone of popular culture, I dove into a vibrant trough of character development.
Guillermo del Toro highlights a touch of innocence in the Gothic classic. The journey of Victor Frankenstein defying death gained inspiration from the Eastern energy system that is named ‘Qi’ and the lymphatic system being studied by Muslim scholars.
In addition to the cast being delightfully diverse this time around, the film was just loosely-plotted and action-packed enough to keep a casual fan like myself entertained. While I do agree that the writing of Cole left much to be desired for an original character thrust into a preconceived universe, none of the characters seemed particularly fleshed out in terms of personality; however, I think that's to be expected when you're watching a film literally inspired by a video game.
If Top Gun needed to say it, Top Gun: Maverick makes you feel the need... the need for speed.
Bollywood's new superhero universe is a romantic, fantasy, and action-packed journey of a young warrior who rises to save the world with superpowers.
