In the prequel to the Kingsman film series, Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) forms the Kingsman agency during World War I to stop a huge conspiracy to wipe out millions.

In this large, historically-based prequel, Matthew Vaughn’s unique eye for action and wit remain sharp but he ditches the parodical energy of the last two films for a tonal mess of a WWI action film that takes itself too seriously. Obviously, war is not a joke but the movie already makes fun of the figures behind WWI with its caricatures of Rasputin, Kaiser Wilhelm, King George and Tsar Nicholas (the latter three all being played by the same actor, to make things sillier). So with this Inglorious Basterds-like irreverence the movie plays around with, why not make the entire movie a comedy like the last two movies? The script tries way too hard to teach a somber lesson about violence, but the problem is the movie thrives on the over-the-top carnage seen on screen. The movie is a tonal mess, with the film trying to be both a cartoonish spy comedy and attempting to deconstruct war and lessons around what violence is, as well as having serious, intense scenes on the Western Front that feel like something out of a completely different movie. To make matters worse, the characters all feel flat and the supporting roles, like those of Gemma Arteron and Djimon Honsou, have no agency of their own. Ralph Fiennes is the only actor who gets a fully realized character and he can obviously do no wrong as a performer.

The action and music shine here — as soon as the action begins, the energy kicks in, with thrilling choreography, score (the Kingsman theme that recurs throughout the franchise can never get old), and set pieces. The action and humor play off each other well in these sequences, and Vaughn is an expert at crafting action scenes that grab your attention but are still unapologetically witty and crazy. If I were ever to watch this movie again, though, I would skip all the boring drama and go straight to the awesome action scenes. Instead of embracing the wild and sharp fun the action brings the film, it’s brought done by serious attempts to be a WWI drama, Unfortunately, in the more serious scenes, it feels detached from its audience, and creates a tonally confused movie that can’t decide what it wants to be. The original Kingsman film spoofed James Bond-like spy films while being a terrific example of one. This one missed an opportunity to lean completely into satirizing the politics of war while having an actually fun and wondrous action adventure, but it lacks the unapologetic confidence, energy, adventurousness and irreverence of the last two.

Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and many other of the most notorious villains from the DC Universe are recruited by Amanda Waller to join a mission to liberate the South American island of Corto Maltese from a murderous regime that’s conducting shady experiments. In, exchange the villains get 10 years off their prison sentences if they successfully complete the mission, but if they fail, they’re dead.

DC’s ambitious 2016 endeavor Suicide Squad was a massive failure and disappointment that’s easily at the bottom of the DC Extended Universe ranking when discussing quality. This new sequel, written and directed by James Gunn, the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy films, is without a doubt at the top of that ranking. The Suicide Squad does its brilliant concept justice this time, throwing away everything that didn’t work about the original and acting as a hilarious, goofy, energetic action-packed wonder that stands beautifully on its own. While the first film aimed to be goofy and comedic, it still had this dark, gritty edge to it which it struggled to balance with a PG-13 rating and fantastical, world-ending conflicts. This movie is colorful and indulges in the goofiness without ever taking itself seriously, yet the characters and story hit home further. The action set pieces are memorable and the R rating helps this movie fully realize its potential with balls-to-the-wall, cartoonish violence that fits with the twisted nature of the characters while still injecting humor and fun through the R rated violence and jokes. The movie also diverges from many superhero movie tropes by focusing less on the huge fantastical concepts and letting you know that nobody is safe.

The characters in this film are even sillier than in the first movie, and some even viler, but the movie makes them incredibly fun and lively to watch, even when there’s carnage to behold. There’s no way you can get enough of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn — she adds so much to the movie and both this and Birds of Prey have made the style as insane as her, to make her this psychotic yet somehow lovable and exciting protagonist in the most awesome way. However, the other cast members’ work rival hers here. Idris Elba can do no wrong as Bloodsport and he has some great banter with John Cena’s Peacemaker — they’re both very foul people but have some of the best moments of the movie. Joel Kinnaman also has some memorable moments this time as Rick Flag, and Viola Davis plays the menacing Amanda Waller who is trying to make the Suicide Squad do some good but may be more hatable than all the actual criminals in the film — which is a testament to Davis’ terrific casting and presence. A standout has to be Ratcatcher 2, played by Daniela Melchior who gives the movie lots of heart and empathy. Like I said before, the movie continuously embraces the ridiculousness it presents without trying to put a “sane” lens onto it, as shown with wild concepts like characters named Polka-Dot Man and King Shark (a talking shark voiced by Sylvester Stallone). James Gunn’s direction adds a twisted comedy yet so much care for the story and the people in it while not trying to contribute to the bigger DC universe with forced sequel setups which we’ve seen plenty of lately. From the eye-popping action set pieces to the daring style to the standalone nature of the story, it stands out not just as a great comic book movie but as a great movie, period.

The Suicide Squad shows what the DC universe can do when it gives filmmakers full creative freedom and don’t take themselves too seriously. Even with other R-rated superhero comedies like Deadpool around, The Suicide Squad feels really fresh and with the success of Joker and the entertaining Birds of Prey, DC has been figuring out how to make some gems that stand well on their own while differentiating themselves from Marvel and other superhero iterations.

Life in the zombie apocalypse can be quite tough — yet these four know how to make the best of it. The ten-year wait for the sequel to a fan favorite has finally ended, in the too-good-to-be-true reunion of the original cast, who by now have become renowned and award-nominated household names if they weren’t already – Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. Sony even successfully brought the original writers and director back on board — writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who have since then found great success with another genre-breaking, beloved series with Deadpool and Deadpool 2 — and director Ruben Fleischer, who even after an awful misstep with whatever the hell Venom was supposed to be, retains the signature taste of what made Zombieland so great. Double Tap is one of those sequels that takes everything the first film does and tries to do it all but bigger, and for the most part the film hits its target quite well. From the opening narration that will already get a few laughs, to a slo-mo opening credits action scene that recalls a montage that opened the predecessor, it’s clear that the heart and unique fun from the first film is back. It’s ideal to watch the first film to thoroughly understand the characters and their relationships, as well as some call-backs, like Harrelson’s character Tallahassee’s signature catchphrases, as well as a joke about a famous celebrity’s unfortunate demise as depicted in the first film. However, Zombieland: Double Tap can still stand on its own for general audiences searching for a violent action comedy that doesn’t hold back.

While not as iconic as he was when he first played the role, Woody Harrelson is still delightful as the badass Tallahassee who since the first film has grown to love his new family but still is the unrestrained, hilarious zombie-killer who loves Elvis and his guns, and takes annoyance towards car designs and pacifism. Eisenberg is also once again solid as Columbus, even though sometimes his narration gets a bit too explanatory or excessive, and his character arc feels slightly questionable at times when it comes to his love interests, and Stone is also charming and great again, though it’s hard today not to compare to her superior performances like La La Land and The Favourite. And while Breslin is still decent, it’s slightly disappointing to see her character separated from the rest of the gang for part of the film so we don’t get to see as much chemistry from the main four. Rosario Dawson and Zoey Deutch are surprisingly terrific additions to the cast who both have plenty of energy and also have great chemistry with the leads. While the film mostly keeps that signature fun the first film had, there’s one action scene that felt poorly shot, with too many cuts and shaky cam. However, this is redeemed by a later long-take action scene that’s quite enjoyable and creative. Also, the humor does sometimes get routine and predictable, but there are still a fair share of laugh-out-loud moments. Overall, the movie doesn’t feel as fresh as the original considering how many films have tried to do similar, and the story doesn’t have the same natural flow, but there’s still plenty to commend here, including an exciting final battle. Ultimately, Zombieland: Double Tap is a worthy sequel, and although some moments are rushed and other comedic moments don’t feel top-tier, the over-the-top violence and dialogue and the ultimate execution of the film including the cast and story, that’s set in a violent apocalyptic world yet still makes you smile and think about themes like family, is what makes it feel worthy of your time and money, so follow Columbus’ list of rules and enjoy the little things by going to enjoy Zombieland: Double Tap on the big screen.