Chris Brown can officially add “doctor” to his resume. On Saturday, May 23, 2026, the “Gimme That” singer revealed that he received an honorary doctorate degree in Visual & Performing Arts from Harvest Christian University. The father of four posted pictures of the special moment online, boasting about his latest accomplishment. However, some social media users weren’t as ecstatic about the A-lister, as a few have flooded various social forums to blast the 37-year-old.

Brown received an honorary Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Visual & Performing Arts from Harvest Christian University in May 2026.

The singer posted photos of himself in his academic regalia online, captioning the flicks, “I DID A THING!”

Other images gave his followers a closer look at the certificate, which acknowledges that Brown has met the requirements for the honor.

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According to ABS-CBN, Harvest Christian University issues honorary doctoral degrees to those who’ve “made significant impacts in their fields, particularly in music, entertainment, and humanitarian work.”

Per the institution, honorary degrees recognize a person’s accomplishments and “influence beyond the classroom, honoring those whose life’s work embodies the values and mission of the university.”

Chris Brown Has Been In The Game Since The Early 2000s

Brown rose to fame in the early 2000s with his self-titled album, “Chris Brown,” which featured the singles “Run It!,” “Say Goodbye,” and “Poppin.” The project reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and, as of today, has sold over 4 million copies.

In the years that followed, Brown released chart-topping albums, including “FAME” and “Fortune,” and received two Grammys for Best R&B Album in 2012 and 2025. Adding to it, Brown has also become one of the highest-grossing touring artists of all time, with his latest tour grossing nearly $300 million.

While impressive, Brown’s career has also been clouded by controversy since 2009, when Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault after a reported domestic violence dispute between him and his then-girlfriend, Rihanna.

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Additionally, Brown has reportedly been involved in several physical altercations with his peers, including Drake and Frank Ocean, and was arrested in 2013 after punching a man in the face outside of a DC hotel.

While Brown has still experienced success despite his legal woes and other disputes, his personal issues have certainly hung over his head since the mid-2000s. It appears to be one of the reasons why some are furious with Harvest Christian University for honoring the singer with such a prestigious title.

“LOL imagine giving an honorary doctorate to a convicted criminal, images of whose crime – a battered woman – are all over the internet to find,” someone wrote about the moment on Reddit. “Seems very Christ like.”

Another user wrote, “Disgusting,” and a third said, “An abuser and an honorary degree = no one cares.”

On Instagram, the reaction was much of the same, considering one user wrote, “Defund Honorary Degrees!”

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Someone else added, “Good for him, but I’m not calling him Dr. Chris Brown. Much love and respect to our Black scholars who have truly earned their doctorates and are pursuing theirs.”

Brown’s Latest Album Received A Low Score From A Music Review Publication

According to a previous report from The Blast, Brown was recently in the headlines after dragging Pitchfork, a respected music publication, for giving his latest album, “Brown,” a 1.3/10 rating.

The outlet’s review quickly went viral, likely because the senior writer who penned the piece called the 27-track project a “real piece of sh-t.”

Brown fired back, saying, “F-ck that! We kickin’ they a-s, goddamnit. We ain’t lettin’ up. I’mma keep my foot on they neck, and we ain’t stoppin’. You heard me?”

Brown Shaded Another Singer In The Process

In his statement, Brown told critics he wasn’t concerned with their opinions of his music. “If you not my fan, I don’t want you to listen to my sh-t. Go listen to motherf-ckin’ Zara Larsson or somebody.”

Larsson has been vocal about her disdain toward Brown for years, according to The Blast. Earlier this year, she revealed he was one of the artists she had blocked on Spotify.

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“There are so many artists I have blocked on Spotify, and all of them are, like, abusers,” the “Pretty Ugly” singer said. “You certainly wouldn’t find, like, a Chris Brown song.”

There is no bigger spy movie character than James Bond. Based on the novels by Ian Fleming, 007 made his big screen debut in 1962, with Sean Connery donning the tuxedo in Dr. No. Over the last six decades, Bond has also been played by George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. There have been some great Bond movies, like Goldfinger, GoldenEye, Casino Royale, and Skyfall, but as thrilling as they are, there are six spy movies that are even better.

1

‘North by Northwest’ (1959)

Image via MGM

We’ll start with Alfred Hitchcock‘s North by Northwest. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an ad exec from New York who is mistaken for a spy and chased across the country by corrupt secret agents, led by Phillip Vandamm (James Mason), out to stop him. Along the way, he meets Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) and falls madly in love with her. Is she a friend or foe?

It’s easy to see that North by Northwest inspired what was to come with James Bond and Mission: Impossible. It takes a lighter tone at times, going for more fun than serious, like the early, playful Bond films. Hitchcock’s action thriller is a masterpiece in suspense, with one twist after another, and truly mesmerizing shots, such as when Thornhill is hanging off the side of Mount Rushmore, or when he’s chased by a crop duster plane through an open field.

2

‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)

Image via United Artists

While the 2004 Denzel Washington-led reboot of The Manchurian Candidate is pretty good, it can’t hold a candle to the 1962 original. Directed by John Frankenheimer and based on Richard Condon‘s 1959 novel, the film stars Laurence Harvey as Sergeant Raymond Shaw, a brainwashed sleeper agent activated to do something diabolical. He’s accompanied by a phenomenal performance by Angela Lansbury as Shaw’s mother, Eleanor, and crooner Frank Sinatra as Major Bennett Marco, the only man who knows the truth and can stop Shaw before it’s too late.

Although filmed in black and white, The Manchurian Candidate is a colorful satire with a lot to say about the features of McCarthyism. Over 60 years later, its message is still so very important. It’s a film that’s more than a warning, though. It’s Shakespeare meets spy thriller, where the enemy is within, and paranoia reigns supreme. In 1962, with the Cuban Missile Crisis leaving everyone on edge, this one was just as much a horror movie as a thrilling spy flick.

3

‘Three Days of the Condor’ (1975)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Robert Redford knew a thing or two about political thrillers with important movies like All the President’s Men. For a spy movie, though, you can’t do any better than Three Days of the Condor. Based on James Grady‘s novel Six Days of the Condor and directed by Sydney Pollack, Redford plays CIA analyst Joe Turner, who goes by the name Condor. When he returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers murdered, Turner must find who is responsible before it’s too late.

Three Days of the Condor is accompanied by top-notch supporting performances. Faye Dunaway is great as Turner’s lover, photographer Kathy Hale, and Max von Sydow is riveting as the assassin Joubert. The conspiracy thriller is led by Pollack’s impeccable directing and Redford’s easy coolness. Joe Turner is low-level in the CIA, but it won’t stop him from uncovering the truth at any cost. This movie didn’t need to depend on an abundance of car chases and gunfights. Words are the real weapons.

4

‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (2007)

Image via Universal Pictures

Matt Damon became an action hero as Jason Bourne in 2002’s The Bourne Identity. The first sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, is just as good, but the final chapter in the original trilogy, The Bourne Ultimatum, is among the best spy movies ever made. Directed by Paul Greengrass, Bourne, learning more about his mysterious past, continues to be chased by the CIA. This time, when a journalist is killed, Bourne makes it his mission to find out more about Operation Blackbriar, part of the secret Treadstone program that created him.

The Bourne Ultimatum isn’t interested in being overly flashy. It uses handheld cameras to get up close, putting the audience in the action, thus creating a raw realism. It’s a smartly written and well-plotted espionage thriller that never slows down once it gets going. Damon is great as always, playing the cool and calm hero fighting in the chaos. The movie was another huge hit for the franchise, not just at the box office but at the Academy Awards as well, where it picked up Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

5

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ (2011)

Image via StudioCanal

Based on John le Carré‘s novel of the same name, and directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, a retired spy during the 1970s Cold War who returns to track down the mole who has infiltrated the British intelligence agency known as The Circus. As he interviews everyone who could be a part of it, Smiley begins to find out that the real enemies are closer than he could ever know.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a more complicated film that the audience must give their full attention to. George Smiley is not a cool, catchphrase-spouting super spy. This isn’t James Bond, but a highly intelligent man who captures bad guys with his mind. Smiley gathers his information in what could be dull ways, whether it be reading documents or putting together bits of conversation. However, rather than boring, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a mind game built on a non-linear structure and an A-list supporting cast made up of Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

6

‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ (2018)

Image via Paramount Pictures

The Mission: Impossible film franchise started in 1996 with a series of hits and misses. It reached its peak in 2018 with the sixth film, Mission: Impossible — Fallout. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Tom Cruise is back once more as IMF spy agent Ethan Hunt. Here, Hunt and company are tasked with stopping the Apostles, a group of terrorists planning to set off a series of nuclear attacks in Europe.

As per usual, Mission: Impossible — Fallout is filled with stunning visuals and stunts, including Cruise himself participating in a HALO jump and a stomach-dropping scene from a helicopter. At two-and-a-half hours, the movie risks being way too long. Instead, it makes the most of every minute, with a phenomenal action movie mixed with exciting intrigue and plenty of twists. James Bond is the epitome of cool, but he could never pull off what Ethan Hunt is capable of.

Forgotten action movies make me angrier than forgotten prestige dramas, honestly, because action is still treated like disposable adrenaline by people who should know better. A great action film is tempo, body language, camera trust, star presence, stunt design, comic timing, propulsion, and that beautiful old-movie confidence that one hard premise plus the right lead can carry you for two hours if everybody involved actually knows what they are doing.

And when these films fall out of circulation, it is usually not because they failed. It is because the genre conversation got lazy and kept circling the same sacred cows while a whole second canon sat there grinning with broken teeth. That second canon is where the real pleasure lives sometimes. The bruised, nasty, weird, charming, overclocked stuff. These ten are not honorable mentions. They are the kind of action movies you show someone when you want to remind them the genre used to have texture.

10

‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins’ (1985)

Image via Orion Pictures

I have such a soft spot for Remo Williams because it feels like the kind of movie Hollywood used to make when it still believed a star vehicle could be built out of pure nerve and oddness. The premise is gloriously pulpy: a dead-on-paper cop gets recruited into a secret government operation and trained into this quasi-superhuman assassin by a master who treats reality like something flexible if your mind and body are disciplined enough. That already rules.

But what really makes the film memorable is its tone. It never completely settles. It is espionage spoof, action adventure, comic-book nonsense, urban paranoia, martial-arts fantasy, all of it pushed together with enough confidence that the seams become part of the fun. And Remo Williams (Fred Ward) is a huge reason it works. Chiun (Joel Grey) is also obviously the thing people remember most, and with good reason. He gives the film its strangest and funniest energy. It is such a specific 1980s action artifact, playful, cocky, odd, a little ramshackle, but fully alive.

9

‘Shoot to Kill’ (1988)

Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

What I love about Shoot to Kill is how cleanly it shifts registers without losing its pulse. It begins like a city thriller, a brutal killer, a witness on the run, federal pursuit mechanics clicking into place, and then it takes that tension into the mountains and turns into something harsher and more physical. Suddenly this is not just a manhunt. It is a survival movie, a wilderness chase, a culture clash between urban law-enforcement force and a guide who understands terrain in a way no badge can fake. That is such a satisfying structural move.

Jonathan Knox (Tom Berenger) and Warren Stantin (Sidney Poitier) are terrific together because they are doing different things and the movie knows it. Knox gives you the loose, mountain-man confidence, all instinct and outdoors precision, while Stantin brings authority, intelligence, and impatience sharpened by the fact that he is chasing evil through terrain that refuses his usual methods. It is one of those thrillers that remembers action gets better when the landscape becomes a real participant instead of a postcard.

8

‘Blue Thunder’ (1983)

Image via Columbia Pictures

This movie absolutely understands that hardware can be erotic in action cinema without swallowing the human story whole. The helicopter in Blue Thunder is not just a cool toy. It is surveillance power made seductive, terrifying, and horribly useful. That is what gives the film its edge. It is a machine built for law-and-order fantasy and civil-liberties nightmare at the same time, and the movie is smart enough to know those two things are often separated by one paranoid official and a weak excuse. That political anxiety gives the action real charge.

Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) is perfect for this kind of role because he never looks like he trusts the movie’s power fantasies all the way. He looks like a man who has seen enough state violence to know toys like this never stay toys. Then the film gives you the exact kind of action escalation it should: urban aerial pursuit, technical maneuvering, pilot skill becoming drama, city space reorganized by what a machine in the sky can suddenly do. The movie still has that wonderful 1980s mixture of sleekness and grime too. It feels both engineered and nervous. A lot of tech thrillers age into irrelevance. Blue Thunder just keeps feeling more suspicious.

7

‘Extreme Prejudice’ (1987)

Image via Tri-Star Pictures

This movie has one of the greatest “how is this not more famous” vibes in the genre. Walter Hill takes border-war crime material, old western bloodlines, military testosterone, cartel violence, and male rivalry, and he does not sand any of it down into neat studio digestibility. The result is lean, ugly, and weirdly mythic. You can feel the western skeleton under the modern-action flesh the entire time in Extreme Prejudice.

Childhood loyalties curdled into opposite sides of violence. Men who understand each other too well. A landscape that does not forgive sentiment. It is all there. And then the movie starts layering in one of my favorite kinds of action-film insanity: the unofficial military-operations subplot that makes the whole border conflict feel even more poisoned. Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte), Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), and Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside), this cast is full of men who look like they could break the air just by entering a room, and Walter Hill knows how to use that. Nobody is softening their edges. Nobody is apologizing for the movie’s hardness. Extreme Prejudice feels like a film that knows American action can be half-noir, half-western, half-death march if it wants to. Yes, that is three halves. It earns them.

6

‘Rapid Fire’ (1992)

Image via 20th Century Fox

This one matters because Brandon Lee should have had a much longer action legacy than he got, and Rapid Fire is one of the clearest pieces of evidence for that. He had speed, charm, athletic grace, and that great action-star quality of seeming almost too alive for the frame around him. The movie gives him a strong setup too, art student, accidental witness to mob murder, suddenly trapped between law enforcement and organized crime, which lets him play both fish-out-of-water vulnerability and furious physical retaliation. The tension is not just “can he fight?” Of course he can fight. It is watching somebody young and unwilling get dragged into a genre engine that wants to harden him fast.

And the film really moves. Dwight H. Little has helmed it all with the right kind of old-school efficiency, letting the fights breathe and letting Jake Lo (Lee)’s movement do expressive work instead of drowning it in coverage. The chemistry with Mace Ryan (Powers Boothe) helps a lot too, because Ryan brings that sardonic veteran authority that makes the whole cop-crime structure feel less generic. So what I like most is that Rapid Fire still belongs to the era when action could be glossy and dirty at the same time. It has style, but it still looks like bruises hurt. Brandon Lee deserved a dozen movies built around this exact balance.

5

‘Ricochet’ (1991)

Image via Warner Bros.

Ricochet is one of the most entertainingly deranged studio thrillers of the ’90s, and I mean that with love. It starts with Nick Styles (Denzel Washington) as a rising cop and public hero, and then Earl Talbot Blake (John Lithgow), a humanized nervous breakdown with criminal intelligence attached, and the whole movie becomes this sweaty revenge machine where reputation, race, media image, political ascent, and personal violation all get twisted together. It is not subtle. It should not be subtle.

This kind of action-thriller lives or dies on how gleefully it turns somebody’s successful life into a trap, and Ricochet commits. It is one of those thrillers where the villain’s plan is so personally diseased that the whole film feels feverish. That is a compliment

.

4

‘Stone Cold’ (1991)

Image via Columbia Pictures

I will always go to bat for Stone Cold because it is one of the purest specimens of action-movie excess ever smuggled into a studio release with a straight face. Joe Huff (Brian Bosworth) as an undercover cop infiltrating a white-supremacist biker gang led by Chains Cooper (Lance Henriksen) should already tell you the movie understands bigness as a moral principle. But what makes it genuinely great, not just a camp curio, is how fully it commits to its own comic-book brutality. Nobody is hedging. Nobody is trying to make the movie respectable. It is all in on leather, explosives, prison-break theology, biker cult energy, and men staring at each other like America itself might detonate if they blink wrong.

And the thing is, it works. Huff has exactly the right block-of-granite quality for the role. He is not delicate, not psychologically overworked, just a slab of undercover hostility dropped into a gang already vibrating with apocalyptic nonsense. Cooper, meanwhile, is exquisite because he understands villainy here is charisma, ideology, and end-times pageantry fused together. The action scenes are not shy either. Bar fights, bike mayhem, public shootouts, whole chunks of the movie feel like they were designed by someone angrily sketching on the back of a denim vest. That is why Stone Cold rules. It is too much in exactly the way action sometimes needs to be.

3

‘The Long Kiss Goodnight’ (1996)

Image via New Line Cinema

This movie gets better every year — Shane Black’s writing just keeps revealing how much hurt and wit he could fit inside action structure when he was really cooking. Samantha Caine / Charly Baltimore (Geena Davis) beginning as this suburban amnesiac schoolteacher and slowly turning back into Charly Baltimore is already a terrific hook, but the film is doing more than memory-thriller mechanics. It is about identity as buried violence, femininity as both camouflage and explosive force, and the humiliating possibility that the self you lost might be much more dangerous than the self you built to replace it.

That is rich material for an action movie. Geena Davis is astonishing in it. She genuinely makes Samantha and Charly feel like different distributions of the same person’s life force. And then Mitch Henessey (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up and makes the whole thing sing. Together they turn the movie into this incredible mix of Christmas action, conspiracy nonsense, personal rediscovery, and black-comic mayhem. It has one of the best “oh this movie knows exactly how good it is” energies in the genre.

2

‘The Last Boy Scout’ (1991)

Image via Warner Bros.

This movie is pure toxic-brilliant Shane Black alchemy. It feels like an action film written by someone who thinks America is a strip-lit nervous breakdown and jokes are what people say while bleeding out morally. Joe Hallenbeck (Bruce Willis) and Jimmy Dix (Damon Wayans) should not work together as well as they do, and that is exactly why they work. Joe Hallenbeck is already spiritually broken when the movie begins, a washed-up private detective with that wonderful Willis combination of contempt, exhaustion, and just enough stubborn competence to keep the world from entirely swallowing him. Jimmy Dix is flash, grief, ego, and damage from a different social tier. Put them together inside sports corruption, murder, and media sleaze, and the movie becomes a symphony of rotten banter.

What makes it great is the pressure. The script is full of killer lines, obviously, but the lines are not floating free. They come from a movie where everybody seems to have already been spiritually smogged by money, violence, sex, celebrity, and institutional rot. The action scenes hit harder because the world around them already feels corrupt enough to deserve destruction. The Last Boy Scout is ugly in all the right places.

1

‘Drive’ (1997)

Image via Simitar Entertainment

This is number one because it is the one I most want to shove into people’s hands and say, no, seriously, watch this. Steve Wang’s Drive has that magical B-movie-transcendence quality where a mid-budget action setup suddenly starts moving with so much charm, speed, invention, and pure handcrafted pleasure that you stop thinking in terms of budget or status at all. Toby Wong (Mark Dacascos) is phenomenal in it.

The film does something a lot of action movies forget to do: it becomes genuinely fun without getting stupid in the dead way. The buddy dynamic with Malik Brody (Kadeem Hardison) is a huge part of that. Their rhythm gives the movie this loose comic current that keeps the fights from becoming repetitive and keeps the whole experience buoyant even when the plot is just a delivery system for pursuit and combat. But the fights are why it lasts. They are so clear, playful, fast, and physically expressive. You can feel the filmmakers delighting in momentum. Drive is not a forgotten action movie because it lacks quality. It is forgotten because the world is unfair and the genre conversation is lazy. It should be a cult staple at minimum. For me, it is better than that. It is one of the secret pure pleasures of ’90s action cinema.

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Drive

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Release Date

August 6, 1997

Runtime

100 minutes

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Director

Steve Wang

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Writers

Scott Phillips

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  Kadeem Hardison

  Malik Brody

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  Brittany Murphy

  Deliverance Bodine

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  John Pyper-Ferguson

  Vic Madison

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Beartooth lead singer Caleb Shomo recently came out as gay after months of speculation. On social media, his wife, Fleur Shomo, has broken her silence, calling the last several months “a very disorientating and hurtful time to navigate.”

Fleur shared a few pieces of media on her Instagram on May 23, including a video of her and Caleb dancing. In the slides that followed, Fleur broke her silence on Caleb’s revelation that he is a “proudly gay man.”

“Not really sure how to start this cause does anything even need to be said? But I guess I’ll just dive right in,” she wrote. “The past few months have been a very disorientating and hurtful time to navigate. For both of us. But I will always want to love, protect and support Caleb. I have cared more about his well being over the years than anything else in the world.”

Fleur Shomo Acknowledges The Struggle She’s Facing Since Learning Her Husband Is Gay

Continuing, Fleur admitted that she was struggling with feelings of anger and resentment, but at the same time, admitted that she wants to support her “person” to the best of her ability.

“To see the confusion and pain he went through and the highs and lows and wanting to help but not knowing how. You never want anything more for your person than for them to just be ok. You also ask yourself constantly if you’re a bad person for wondering wtf this means for your world & the anger you also feel,” she wrote.

Fleur also acknowledged the “duality of this situation,” noting that while she wants to be there for Caleb, she’s processing her own hurt.

“To support him whilst losing everything has been incredibly hard to figure out. You can love and support your person through the hardest time in their life, whilst also be completely demolished & lose yourself at the same time,” she explained.

Caleb Shomo Says He’s A ‘Proudly Gay Man’ In A New Instagram Post After Speculation About His Sexuality

On Saturday, May 23, Caleb opened up about his sexuality with a lengthy post on Instagram, admitting that he had seen the “speculation” about his personal life.

“I am a proudly gay man,” he wrote. “This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now. It’s been difficult to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.”

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In his post, Caleb seemed to imply that he’s used his music to address some personal issues, but was never fully transparent about how he was feeling.

“As you could gather if you’ve followed the band at all in the earlier years, there are 4 very self deprecating albums about exploring my religious upbringing, depression, self hatred, and hopelessness. I am grateful for all these albums, yet feel embarrassed at times that I wouldn’t allow myself to really dig up the roots for so long,” he said.

Fleur Has Positive Things To Say About Her 14 Years Of Marriage With Caleb

Elsewhere in her post, Fleur called her and Caleb’s “14 years of marriage wonderful and full of so much fun, adventure, and love.”

She explained that while the latest revelation has caused confusion, the two of them will always know the truth about their relationship.

“Nobody will know anything about our marriage like we do. And no one can ever truly know what depths of love exist between two people unless they are those people,” she said. “I already miss it & my husband more than anything. Our story was a good one. And now it’s done.”

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Fleur Asks Beartooth Fans To Continue Supporting Caleb After He’s Spoken Freely About His Sexuality

As she concluded, Fleur offered support to those struggling with their sexuality and asked Beartooth fans to continue supporting her husband and his work.

“I hope anyone in the world going through this finds hope & courage & I hope the fans can continue to support Caleb. For now I’m going to keep focusing on what I can control & continue living my life trying to achieve what I want to achieve. And if I keep saying hi to as many dogs as possible along the way, then I’m sure things will slowly get better, day by day, piece by small piece, bird by bird,” she finished.

Bethenny Frankel‘s resume may be stacked with credits like Real Housewives alum and Skinnygirl founder, but our favorite gig is the one where she shares budget-friendly beauty products that actually work. Recently, she took to Instagram to gush about a $7 face cream, calling it “magic” and comparing it to La Mer — a.k.a. the luxe, celeb-loved lotion that costs hundreds of dollars per jar.

De La Cruz Vitamin E Cream is a drugstore staple that’s been quietly sitting on shelves while buzzy brands steal the spotlight. Frankel revealed that after getting a facial, she experienced a bit of redness, prompting her to apply the under-the-radar skincare staple, which is available on Amazon.

“So healing, so hydrating,” she stated, sharing her verdict. “It really feels a little bit lighter, less stickier than La Mer. I’m in love with this cream.”

Get the De La Cruz Vitamin E Cream Moisturizer for $7 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

Those who follow Frankel’s TikTok and Instagram beauty reviews know this kind of endorsement isn’t unusual. She’s garnered a reputation as the internet’s most blunt beauty critic — someone who will actually tell you when a $300 serum is overhyped nonsense. So, when she puts her name behind a $7 cream, that means something.

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Related: Thousands of Amazon Reviewers Use This Gentle Retinol to ‘Erase‘ Fine Lines

If there’s an industry that’s ridiculously oversaturated with endless products that promise miracle results, it’s skincare. But when it comes to reviewer testimonials, visible, long-lasting results and real-world performance without the splurge, Amazon shoppers say LilyAna Natural Retinol Face Cream is a rare standout that deserves every one of its 8,000+ five‑star reviews. Far from […]

Obviously, the highlight of the De La Cruz Vitamin E Cream is, well, the vitamin E, known for its antioxidant power and ability to make skin softer and look brighter. Add in the avocado oil, almond oil, shea butter and aloe vera, and the ingredient list reads more like a homemade recipe than a mass-market formula. The product’s texture is rich without being heavy, which tracks with Frankel’s note that it sits lighter on the skin than its luxury counterpart.

The cream’s simple mix is part of what makes it a hit, and shoppers continue to rely on the affordable but effective find to hydrate dry patches, calm post-cleanser tightness and give skin an enviable soft, plump finish. Some even note that it helps to reduce scarring and stretch marks.

“Been using this for years,” one Amazon reviewer wrote, adding that even a small amount keeps their face “smooth and soft.”

“It helps clear up my acne scars a bit when I get breakouts,” they continued. “I also use it on razor bumps with some Vitamin E oil by the same brand.”

Another customer admitted that, while their friend uses the cream “on her neck and face,” they’ve found it also helps dry feet.

“My feet aren’t horribly dry or cracked, but I do get parched, rough spots, and I know when they need some extra TLC,” they said. “Apply this cream for 3 nights and put on some socks, and you’ll be able to rub the dead skin off like magic.”

Frankel’s co-sign feels especially noteworthy due to that jaw-dropping La Mer comparison. The luxury cream has been the gold standard of splurge-worthy moisturizers for decades, but someone who can (and does) afford the expensive stuff is saying this drugstore pick works just as well. We’re tempted to believe her!

If you’ve been eyeing that La Mer jar and quietly closing the tab, Frankel just handed you a permission slip to skip the splurge and opt for a cream that’s been hiding in plain sight (even one of her followers commented that they’ve been “using that exact cream” since their teens).

Get the De La Cruz Vitamin E Cream Moisturizer for $7 at Amazon! Please note, prices are accurate as of the publishing date but are subject to change.

Looking for something else? Explore more Vitamin E creams here and don’t forget to check out all of Amazon’s Daily Deals for more great finds!

Related: Mindy Kaling Swears by $430 Crème de la Mer, but This Alternative Is $7

When it comes to skincare, celebrities tend to use and promote products with jaw-dropping price tags. $430 moisturizers and $300 serums are the norm, but stars often get beauty products free and when they have to, have no problem paying when they promise red carpet-ready results. According to Allure, actress and comedian Mindy Kaling uses […]

Romance television has consistently evolved over the years, delivering fantastic stories that remain impactful long after their conclusions, and a great example of one of the greats in the genre is Heated Rivalry. The impeccable romantic series that has consumed most modern audiences’ thoughts follows hockey stars Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as their fierce professional rivalry quite quickly becomes a deeply passionate and emotionally complicated love story. But as good as Heated Rivalry genuinely is, there are quite a few romance shows that are simply better.

Shows like the emotionally devastating work of art, One Day, and the epic sci-fi series focused on love and human connection, Sense8, are just two series that embody all the best elements of romance, quite easily surpassing even a cultural phenomenon such as Heated Rivalry. Whether through memorable chemistry, raw vulnerability, or purely ambitious storytelling, the shows on this list stand as far better watches than the brilliant icon Heated Rivalry.

‘Interview with the Vampire’ (2022–Present)

Image via AMC

Interview with the Vampire stands as the ultimate romance watch for anyone who desires a fantastic story about love and absolute chaos. The AMC hit centers around the weary New Orleans businessman Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), who turns into a vampire and falls into a dangerously obsessive relationship with his maker, the charismatic and deeply manipulative Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid).

Interview with the Vampire delivers a gothic horror that absolutely stuns. The show literally lacks nothing. It is rife with heaps of tension, stakes, sensuality, drama, and a romance—no matter how toxic—that can melt anyone into a puddle of goo. Interview with the Vampire ranks high above Heated Rivalry because it reaches a level of psychological depth and emotional intensity that very few romances dare to even attempt, marking it as a romance series that earned its place on this list for its masterful writing, chemistry between leads, and heartbreakingly epic romance story.

‘Outlander’ (2014–2026)

Image via Starz

This sci-fi fantasy maintains a constant bout of emotional intensity that keeps viewers locked in. Outlander centers around the married combat nurse from 1945, Claire Beauchamp Randall (Caitríona Balfe), who finds herself thrown back in time to 1743 Scotland, where she becomes entangled in Jacobite politics and eventually falls in love with one of the bravest Highland warriors to ever exist, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).

With a romance both epic and sustained, Outlander definitely knocks Heated Rivalry out of the water. Action, fantasy adventure, mystery, sci-fi, and a romance that defies time, Outlander has earned its place near the very top of peak romance TV. While Heated Rivalry is a mesh of concentrated, clandestine intensity, the adventurous romance series excels in burning sensuality, high stakes, years of tested devotion, and is written as an ever-evolving partnership. Outlander resonates extremely well with romance fans as they witness an emotional connection between two people that constantly feels epic, making it a league above even the icon that is Heated Rivalry.

‘One Day’ (2024)

Image via Netflix

One Day has to be one of the most brilliant romances ever created that has never truly gotten the attention it deserves. The remarkable romance series follows Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) and Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall), who meet on graduation night, separate the next morning, and then meet over the course of many years—the series revisiting them on the same day.

While Heated Rivalry wields an immediate burn filled with lust and salacious hook-ups, One Day brings to the table a much slower, more complex romance. The series captivates audiences with the brilliance of its structure, often making them feel as though time is romance’s most cruel collaborator. One Day stands above Heated Rivalry because it treats slow-burn romance like a part of the story rather than just a trope. The Netflix series is swooningly romantic and heartbreakingly tragic, a near-perfect adaptation of its source material that is genuinely masterful. Heated Rivalry is no doubt a thrilling romance series, but One Day dominates most in the genre due to astounding chemistry and emotional impact.

‘Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story’ (2023)

Image via Netflix

This Bridgerton prequel is a fantastic romance series with lavish visuals and glamorous romance. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story focuses on the young Charlotte (India Amarteifio), who is married off to King George (Corey Mylchreest) and enters court expecting purely political duty, and instead discovers a relationship shaped by tenderness, institutional pressure, distance, and her spouse’s deteriorating mental health.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is genuinely adult and sorrowful, a romance that masterfully surpasses Heated Rivalry for its epic love story. Viewers have actually frequently dubbed the show a true masterpiece that remains the best romance in the entire Bridgerton franchise. Heated Rivalry may be the hotter, leaner romantic watch, but Queen Charlotte is fuller, sadder, and is more interested in what devotion, and almost desperate, feelings of love look like when happily-ever-after is only halfway there.

‘Normal People’ (2020)

Image via Hulu

Normal People is one of the most underrated Hulu romances on its platform. The brilliant drama centers around Connell Waldron (Paul Mescal) and Marianne Sheridan (Daisy Edgar-Jones) as they grow up in the same Irish town but occupy very different social positions. As they navigate their secret teenage relationship, it unexpectedly mutates into a long, painful, formative bond across school, Trinity College, shame, class anxiety, sex, and periods of damning separation.

Heated Rivalry is all heat and steam in its lust-filled romance, but Normal People stands as a series that takes on more emotional observation, delivering devastating scenes as ordinary misunderstandings transform into life-shaping wounds. Normal People brings haunting realities to screens, offering audiences romance in one of its rawest forms. Heated Rivalry may be the ultimate immediate, sexy, sharp romantic watch, but Normal People surpasses it in emotional layered realism, intimacy, and painfully authentic character growth.

‘Heartstopper’ (2022–Present)

Image via Netflix

This incredible romance drama may be too cute for words, but it definitely stands as one of the most sincere watches on this list. Heartstopper focuses on Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), who may have started out as classmates, but grew into a friendship that slowly turns into tooth-achingly sweet love.

Heartstopper is well-known for its tenderness. The Netflix teen romance actually builds its world around vulnerability, making it less embarrassing than it might otherwise be, especially for teenagers. Heated Rivalry is a queer good time that is rife with spice, but Heartstopper ranks above it purely because it’s one of those rare romance shows that understands softness as rigor. It’s a magical series that shows the epic joys and heartbreaking decisions that come with consuming first love. Heartstopper exudes wholesome chemistry and communal warmth that make it feel totally singular. Heated Rivalry may bring all the burning heat, but Heartstopper definitely outmatches the tantalizing watch for its delivery of emotional literacy, trust, and a healthy approach to queer romance.

‘Sense8’ (2015–2018)

Image via Netflix

Sense8 may be one of the most ambitious sci-fi watches ever created, but it also happens to be one of the most underrated romances out there. The incredible series centers around eight strangers around the world—including Will Gorski (Brian J. Smith), Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton), Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton), Wolfgang Bogdanow (Max Riemelt), Sun Bak (Bae Doona), Kala Dandekar (Tina Desai), Capheus Onyango (Toby Onwumere), and Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) as they realize they can share, knowledge, sensation, and ultimately danger across continents.

Sense8 surpasses Heated Rivalry because the series is practically love itself. Its story centers around connection—romantic, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Sense8 is an underrated work of art that few romance dramas can even live up to in the realm of emotional vulnerability. The series is an epically powerful romance for its belief that emotional connection can transcend isolation, fear, and distance. Sense8 is the perfect addition to this list as one of the few romance shows that can even come close to Heated Rivalry, let alone outmatch it.

‘Nobody Wants This’ (2024–Present)

​This rom-com is genuinely one of the most romantic watches on this list. Nobody Wants This follows agnostic sex podcaster, Joanne (Kristen Bell), as she meets recently single rabbi, Noah (Adam Brody), and unexpectedly finds herself falling deeply in love.

Nobody Wants This wields a chemistry between leads that definitely matches Heated Rivalry‘s quite well, but the series is just a bit better because it stands as one of the sharpest recent examples of adult rom-com television. Rife with crackling banter, Nobody Wants This is frequently praised for how it captures a fantastically healthy relationship. While Heated Rivalry is much more forbidden and far more enticingly carnal, Nobody Wants This brings epic humor to the table, being more maturely awkward and better at showing off comedy without ever hindering the romance.

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Nobody Wants This

Release Date

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September 26, 2024

Network

Netflix

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Directors

Greg Mottola, Lawrence Trilling, Oz Rodriguez, Hannah Fidell

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Sequels are always a gamble. Sometimes they expand a story in exciting ways, deepening beloved characters and justifying the return to a world audiences thought they’d already left behind. Other times, they exist purely because Hollywood saw a profitable title. But every now and then, a sequel announcement lands that immediately sparks genuine excitement. It’s the kind where fans start theorizing, rewatching the originals, and collectively counting down release dates months (or even years) in advance.

What makes the upcoming slate especially interesting is how varied it is. Just look at this year alone. There are long-awaited follow-ups to critically acclaimed blockbusters, risky legacy films carrying enormous expectations, and a few projects that feel capable of completely redefining their franchises if they’re lucky enough to stick the landing. So, whether driven by nostalgia, curiosity, or sheer cinematic chaos, let’s look at some upcoming movie sequels audiences are excited to see.

10

‘Practical Magic 2’ (2026)

Image via Warner Bros.

More than two decades after Practical Magic quietly evolved from box office disappointment into beloved cult favorite, the Owens sisters are finally making their triumphant return. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are reprising their roles, with the sequel reportedly revolving around the resurfacing of the family’s centuries-old curse. And considering how deeply the original has embedded itself into pop culture, the announcement alone was enough to send half the internet directly into candlelit witchcore mode.

Naturally, part of the anticipation stems from how beautifully the original film has aged. What was once dismissed as a mere “chick-flick” is now celebrated for its warm atmosphere, sisterhood themes, and chaotic feminine energy—also not forgetting the iconic wigs. The challenge, of course, is recapturing that specific charm without over-modernizing it into a generic fantasy. Sure, the trailer’s visuals have left some fans worried, but if the sequel can tap back into the original’s sincerity, Practical Magic 2 could become one of the rare legacy sequels that actually hit its mark.

9

‘The Social Reckoning’ (2026)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

A sequel to The Social Network already sounds dangerous enough, but the reported direction of The Social Reckoning makes it even more intriguing. While the plot specifics remain under wraps, this “companion project” is expected to follow Facebook’s 2021 whistleblower scandal, with Jeremy Strong taking over the role as an older Mark Zuckerberg.

The biggest source of anticipation is simple: the first movie somehow became more relevant with time. Aaron Sorkin‘s razor-sharp dialogue and David Fincher‘s icy direction turned Facebook’s creation into something almost Shakespearean, and audiences are understandably curious whether lightning can strike twice. There’s also a fascinating tonal shift to consider. The original captured ambition and innovation, while a sequel would likely have to wrestle with power, influence, and societal fallout instead. That’s a much messier story to tell—which honestly makes it even more compelling.

8

‘A Quiet Place Part III’ (2027)

With A Quiet Place: Day One expanding the franchise outward, A Quiet Place Part III is set to bring the main Abbott family back into focus. And while details are still relatively scarce, one can only look at where Part II ended—with humanity finally beginning to understand the creatures’ weaknesses. As such, the next film feels poised to shift from pure survival horror into something larger (and potentially more hopeful).

Naturally, the anticipation is building with how consistently strong this franchise has been. The original film transformed silence into one of modern horror’s most effective weapons, with the sequel/prequels proving the concept wasn’t just a one-hit gimmick. There’s still genuine tension baked into the premise, and audiences remain invested in these characters in a way many horror franchises struggle to achieve.

7

‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ (2027)

Image via Sony

After Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ended on one of the boldest cliffhangers in modern Marvel films, anticipation for Beyond the Spider-Verse immediately shot into overdrive. The upcoming third film is expected to conclude Miles Morales’ (Shameik Moore) multiversal story, picking up with Miles stranded in an alternate universe while Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) assembles a team to find him.

Part of the excitement is how these films genuinely push animation forward in real time. Every Spider-Verse installment somehow finds new ways to experiment visually, while still delivering deeply emotional storytelling underneath all the spectacle. As such, audiences aren’t just waiting for plot resolution—they’re also waiting to see what the filmmakers attempt next stylistically. There’s also the pressure of sticking the landing after such an ambitious setup, but if any franchise has earned audience trust at this point, it’s probably this one.

6

‘The Mummy 4’ (2027)

Image via Universal Pictures

Unlike many modern blockbusters, The Mummy films managed to balance action, horror, comedy, and romance with a breezy confidence that now feels oddly rare. It’s an enduring classic that many fans often return to as their comfort watch. And finally, after years of speculation (and hard-core manifesting), Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz are officially making their return to the franchise for its fourth installment.

The excitement largely comes from nostalgia done right. Fans don’t necessarily want a darker reboot or a hyper-serious cinematic expansion—they just want another fun adventure with charmingly chaotic energy and maybe a few CGI scarabs for old time’s sake. If we got anything from the disastrous 2017 reboot, it was how it effectively strengthened appreciation for the Fraser-era films. Sure, the plot of the upcoming flick still remains under wraps, but we have hope that it will satisfy our long-lived desires.

5

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (2026)

Images via Sony Pictures Releasing

Following the universe-altering ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to push Peter Parker (Tom Holland) into unfamiliar territory: complete anonymity. With the world forgetting who he is, the next installment reportedly aims for a more grounded, street-level direction, with Peter now committed to being a full-time friendly neighborhood hero. That said, he also happens to be dealing with a surprising evolution of his own powers.

In many ways, the anticipation rides high with the sheer storytelling potential of a reset. For the first time in years, Peter feels truly alone—no social safety net, no Stark technology, and no public support system in sight. Fans are eager to see the character stripped back to basics in a way the MCU hasn’t fully explored yet. And let’s not forget how excited we are to see the likes of the Punisher (Jon Bernthal) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) enter his world—not to mention any surprising cameos that are set to occur.

4

‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’ (2026)

Image via Lionsgate

Following the success of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate is heading back to Panem with Sunrise on the Reaping, adapting Suzanne Collins‘ newest prequel novel centered on a young Haymitch Abernathy’s (Joseph Zada) Hunger Games. Given how beloved the character became throughout the original series of books (and films), the idea of finally learning more of his story immediately sparked major interest among longtime fans, especially since it has always carried an undercurrent of tragedy.

Woody Harrelson‘s performance hinted at years of buried pain, with Haymitch’s cynicism and alcoholism often placed at the forefront. For audiences, this would mean one would already be aware that this won’t exactly be a triumphant underdog story. There’s also growing confidence in the franchise’s ability to handle dark and dreary material, whether it be political or social. As such, if handled well, this could easily become one of the series’ most emotionally devastating chapters. And that’s not even considering the excitement building for its iconic ensemble cast.

3

‘The Batman: Part II’ (2027)

Image via Jonathan Olley / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Matt Reeves‘ The Batman Part II remains one of the most anticipated superhero sequels simply because the first film established such a distinct identity. Robert Pattinson‘s version of Bruce Wayne was younger, more isolated, and emotionally raw than many previous interpretations. Meanwhile, Reeves leaned heavily into noir detective storytelling instead of pure action spectacle. The sequel is expected to continue exploring Gotham’s corruption, exciting audiences as we are set to once again immerse ourselves in its grimy and haunting world.

Fans are also intensely curious about the new ensemble that’s set to appear, especially with Reeves’ recent little hints of the cast. Between Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Charles Dance, and Bryan Tyree Henry, these new additions solidify the intention of a slow but purposeful expansion into this narrative universe. For some, this may seem like its following in the footsteps of other overcrowded superhero flicks, but if we’ve learned anything about Reeves’ projects, it’s to trust the vision and its process.

2

‘Dune: Part 3’ (2026)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Denis Villeneuve‘s upcoming third Dune film is set to adapt Dune Messiah, continuing Paul Atreides’ (Timothée Chalamet) story after the seismic events of Dune: Part Two. But rather than simply escalating the action, this sequel will supposedly focus on the consequences of Paul’s rise to power, exploring how messianic worship and political control begin consuming both him and the surrounding galaxy. So if Part Two felt like the triumphant rise, Dune: Part Three will definitely be a whole lot darker.

And that tonal shift is exactly why anticipation is so intense. Villeneuve has already proven he can translate Frank Herbert‘s dense world-building into breathtaking cinema, but this installment presents a much trickier challenge because it intentionally deconstructs the very hero audiences have been rooting for. Yet, there’s something exciting about a blockbuster franchise willing to become more morally uncomfortable. Plus, given the sheer epic scale of the last two films, viewers are understandably eager to see just how Villeneuve will go the extra mile.

1

‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (2026)

Image via Marvel Studios

After years of uneven post-Endgame momentum, Avengers: Doomsday feels like Marvel’s attempt to fully reset the cultural conversation around the MCU. Directed by the Russo Brothers, this film will notably feature the long-awaited arrival of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) as a central threat, alongside a surprisingly sprawling ensemble of new and old heroes (hello OG X-Men cast). Of course, this sets enormous expectations before audiences even know the full scope of the story. Between multiversal fallout, legacy character returns, and the possibility of major franchise-shifting events, Marvel clearly wants this to feel huge.

And that’s exactly why anticipation is through the roof. Love it or hate it, there’s still something undeniably exciting about the MCU when it operates in full event-mode. No other franchise has brought together years of storytelling into one giant successful cinematic collision. There’s also curiosity surrounding whether Marvel can genuinely recapture the emotional investment audiences had during the Infinity Saga era. As such, the stakes feel unusually high—not just for the characters, but for the future of the franchise itself.

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Avengers: Doomsday

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Release Date

December 18, 2026

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Writers

Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 27 seconds ago

Right now, The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters, and I can’t help but think director Jon Favreau and writer Dave Filoni are both doing their best Han Solo impersonations right now: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” The movie is projected to earn less money than any live-action Star Wars film before it, a record previously held by the much-maligned Solo: A Star Wars Story. Plus, the movie is currently at a 63 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (perilously close to “rotten” territory). Finally, some critics have dubbed this the new worst Star Wars movie, surpassing the worst that the Sequel Trilogy had to offer.

This is morbidly ironic because this was the safest Star Wars movie Disney could have made. It’s an adaptation of The Mandalorian, the franchise’s only breakout streaming hit, and it stars Pedro Pascal, Hollywood’s current golden boy. How did things go so far off the rails for the first Star Wars movie in seven years? The answer is so simple that you can see it even with your blast shield down: Disney learned all the wrong lessons from the failure of the Sequel Trilogy. Because of this, the movie they made to save the franchise may ultimately doom Star Wars altogether. 

Jet Fett Radio

The failure of The Mandalorian and Grogu begins with the Star Wars sequels. The Force Awakens was a crowd-pleaser, but it’s an open secret that this film played it safe. It was a soft reboot of A New Hope that threw in plenty of familiar characters and franchise tropes. The Last Jedi tried to break out of the remake mold altogether, with Rian Johnson delivering a sequel filled with shocks and surprises (there’s not even a lightsaber duel!). The backlash among fans was immediate, and dislike of The Last Jedi is considered a major factor in why Solo: A Star Wars Story did so poorly at the box office.

In response, returning director JJ Abrams tried to fill The Rise of Skywalker with as much fan service as possible. He inexplicably brought Emperor Palpatine back with no explanation of how he survived, and Abrams even brought Han Solo back through equally unexplained means. Fan-favorite characters like Lando Calrissian were pushed to the forefront while controversial characters (mostly, Rose Tico) were almost entirely pushed out. TROS even sloppily recreates the ending of Return of the Jedi, all while frantically trying to undo multiple plot points from The Last Jedi. None of this worked, of course, and The Rise of Skywalker was deemed the worst Star Wars movie ever made.

This Isn’t The Way

Now, The Mandalorian and Grogu may be taking that title, and The Rise of Skywalker is partially to blame. You see, when fans expressed their dislike of The Last Jedi, Disney glommed onto the frequent complaint that “it doesn’t feel like Star Wars.” That’s why TROS is chock full of sloppy fan service: they wanted to give fans something familiar at every turn. But this came at the expense of the story, which is how The Rise of Skywalker came to be hated even more than The Last Jedi. As it turns out, giving fans a bunch of member berries moments doesn’t make up for nonsensical plotting and characterization.

Incredibly, though, Disney execs doubled down: instead of learning from their failures with TROS, they decided the only way for The Mandalorian and Grogu to succeed was if every single frame of the film was overflowing with lazy nostalgia. Villains have no depth or definition: they are all just faceless bad guys for the film’s titular duo to dispatch, video game style. We careen from one familiar Star Wars element to another (Hutts, Stormtroopers, and X-Wings, oh my!) in a plot that goes absolutely nowhere. That’s because you’re not supposed to care about the story: you’re supposed to enjoy watching the director take out your favorite action figures and do all the playing for you. 

A Gunshy Studio, A Dying Franchise

The Mandalorian and Grogu is a failure on many levels: the plot is terrible, the pacing is uneven, the characterization is nonexistent, and so on. But I think the film’s biggest problem is that Disney has lost the nerve to take any creative chances. Basically, fan response to The Last Jedi made the company permanently gunshy, and they no longer have the nerve to give us anything risky on the big screen. That’s fine if all you want out of this franchise is pure spectacle, and the latest movie delivers all the pew-pew you can pack into two hours. However, the sad truth is that Star Wars will never surprise you, ever again. 

As a lifelong fan, I genuinely hate to see it. I’m one of the rare nerds who thought The Last Jedi was the best of the sequels, specifically because it took risks and tried to give us something new. That’s the real strength of the prequels, too: as stupid as they got, Lucas was always exploring new ways to tell stories in a galaxy far, far away. Now, in the Disney era, the franchise has lost the ability to innovate altogether and can only offer a buffet of the oldest and moldiest Star Wars tropes. Is it any wonder, then, that even the hungriest fans are starting to lose their appetite?