WWE Royal Rumble 2017 (January 29, 2017) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Royal Rumble (2017) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on January 29, 2017, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This was the 30th event under the Royal Rumble chronology. The event was also the second Royal Rumble to be held in the Alamodome, after 1997, and the fourth to be held in the state of Texas (1989, 1997, and 2007).

Preshow - Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, and Naomi def. SmackDown! Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, Mickie James, and Natalya

This was over a bit too fast for my taste. Mickie James' impact nor presence here was non-existent as even her entrance was cut out - at least on my Network feed. So much for showing respect to a returning veteran. Geez.

I will say that I love that Naomi got the pin here over the champion Alexa Bliss so that maybe, just MAYBE that Naomi can get the push and possibly the title run that has eluded her for so long. Look I know that people aren't really behind Naomi, but look at it this way. There's time to put the title on her and see how people react to it and still switch it over to someone else before 'Mania. Either way, they have to quit chopping her legs out from underneath her every time that she gets a bit of momentum going. First it was back when she having those amazing matches with Paige when she was Divas Champion, only to have that program axed the second AJ Lee made her last run with the company. After that, they forced Naomi to turn heel - a move you can easily tell that she wasn't comfortable in at that stage of her career, especially when she was just getting support from the fans the unofficial third member of the Usos- only to have any momentum her and Tamina Snuka were garnering on their own derailed by the start of that so-called Divas Revolution. Not to mention, the injuries she's had here and there that slowed her down even more. So don't give me that shit that Naomi doesn't deserve a chance. Much like a Bliss herself, give Naomi a shot and let's see how it goes.

From here though, I see them going with a first ever Women's Elimination Chamber Match for the SmackDown! Women's title next month since they have exactly 6 women feuding right now. This would be rather easy to pull off with the stories they have set up between all of these ladies.

Preshow- Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson def. RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus (c) to become the NEW RAW Tag Team Champions

Some pretty good spots here, including Cesaro busting out a damn 619 and Sheamus accidentally taking out the referee with the Brogue Kick. Despite the fact that Gallows and Anderson won, I still feel like the damage was already done to these guys. To say that it took this damn long for them to win and the fact that they won on a damn preshow match, it's not doing much - if anything - for the former Bullet Club members. Oh how the mighty have fallen when at the start of 2016 Gallows and Anderson walked into Wrestle Kingdom 10 as tag team champions, only to lose the gold that same night, go to WWE a few months later, and just flounder in the midcard in boring and lackluster matches throughout 2016. Those guys should have came into WWE and laid waste to everyone in the tag team division - including the New Day, but nope, WWE damaged their RAW tag team division beyond repair at the cost of having New Day break Demolition's record. Say what you will about Nikki Bella breaking AJ Lee's Divas Championship record, but at least that division got better after she broke it.

Preshow - Nia Jax def. Sasha Banks

About a few seconds into this match, I had to pause to bust out laughing at how comically bad this was. I don't know if Sasha was upset going into this match or the fact that it was on the preshow or what, but damn she looked out of her element here tonight. She wasn't even wearing her trademark shades, stopped to do her entrance mannerisms, or anything. Nope, she just walked down there and took the beating of her main roster career to date. The best spot here had to be Nia busting out that Stretch Muffler submission that Brock Lesnar himself used to use back in his early days (roughly 2003-2004 if memory serves...).

Then this just ended out from nowhere with that pop-up Samoan Drop spot and Sasha was defeated as easily as the droves of indy women who have been serving as jobbers in Nia's wake. Who in the front office did she piss off to deserve this? I was rolling watching this assault. If Nia can get some ring gear that's more flattering to her figure and ditch the cheesy pop entrance music, then we might have a monster that we can all get behind in the RAW women's division. About damn time that this division started focusing on more than just Sasha and Charlotte anyway...

Charlotte def. Bayley to retain RAW Women's Championship

There really wasn't much to write home about this one. We've seen them fight each other on RAW plenty of times over the last few months in singles AND tag team matches. There wasn't much new here outside of a few new creative spots. Bayley looked like a grade A moron going out onto the ring apron before taking forever and a day to do that springboard out of the corner. I was shaking my head at that spot the entire time. The finish with the Natural Selection on the ring apron was a very nice touch, but damn, did Charlotte HAVE to beat Bayley clean?

WWE pretty much shot themselves in the foot on that one. Charlotte has nowhere to go next unless Paige surprises everyone with a return tomorrow night and there's no way in hell that Asuka is getting called up before WrestleMania. They could do Nia vs. Charlotte but what sense does a heel vs heel feud would make? You can do them, but it's generally NEVER good. I would feel sorry for WWE here, but they only have themselves to blame when they have 3 hours of TV time with RAW every week, but only manage to push 2 women for the last few months, yet SmackDown! has 2 but manages to involve ALL of their women in something on every show since the Draft split.

No Disqualification Match (w/ Chris Jericho suspended above the ring within Shark Cage) for WWE Universal Championship - Kevin Owens (c) def. Roman Reigns to retain after assist from Braun Strowman

After how many times Owens and Reigns have fought each other in RAW main events since the roster split, they had to throw in a stipulation to spice this up - not that it did anything for me personally anyway.

After Owens piled up all of those chairs into a pyramid, I was literally saying that whoever took the bump into that was a grade A moron. Low and behold, Fatass Owens was the one to do it. Despite all of Owens and Jericho's shenanigans, Reigns endured it all and was about to win until Braun Strowman of all people came out and laid waste to Reigns for Owens could retain. To say that people complained about Samoa Joe's main event push in TNA back in 2006-2007, this run for Owens is just as bad. Owens can't do anything on his own and has to rely on Jericho or outside interference to retain the title. Sure, you could make the argument that he's a chicken shit heel, but what about his gimmick as a prizefighter? The only thing that Owens is fighting with record breaking wins are those MANY plates of food he's clearly putting back. One look at Owens and you can tell he's not missing any meals.

Neville def. Rich Swann (c) to become NEW WWE Cruiserweight Champion

The sleeper hit of the night, even though I admit that I didn't have high hopes for this going into it. I love that Neville is saving face of not going for any aerial maneuvers with his full blown heel persona. Nothing irks me more in mainstream wrestling with heels going for high flying spots for pops like they are babyfaces. It kills the heel/face dynamic and just confuses casuals on who you're supposed to be cheering or booing.

From here, I hope that Neville lives up to his "King of the Cruiserweights" moniker as he shouldn't lose to anyone on the current 205 Live roster until they built up someone who will be able to kill it with him in front of a WrestleMania crowd in Orlando. I'm thinking Tozawa or Metallik, but I seriously doubt that WWE will give those guys the ball to run with. I guess we'll see over the coming months.

John Cena def. AJ Styles (c) to become the NEW WWE Champion and makes history by tying Ric Flair's record at 16 championships

John Cena is referred to as Big Match John and he definitely lived up that namesake here. Him and AJ Styles killed it - that was the best match out of anything from both the main roster AND NXT this weekend. When they were starting out with the multiple kick-outs and reversals, I honestly wasn't feeling it at all as Styles and Cena NEVER fall for each others' moves within the first few minutes. C'mon we've seen them do this in at least 3+ high profile matches last year, so it's hard to keep falling for this shit, but by the end where they were busting out moves we've never seen from both of them, that's when I was caught up into the moment.

My only issue here is that after that verbal burial that Cena gave Styles on SmackDown! last week was justified by how Cena handily thrashed Styles at the end of this match. That ending series was completely unnecessary and was just throwing salt into the open wound to solidify Cena's statements of Styles being beneath him in WWE's eyes. The only way I can see Styles bouncing back from this is that they have a rematch as an Ironman Match at WrestleMania. That's the only thing they haven't done at this point.

To the people upset, mad, and butthurt that Cena is tied with Ric Flair's 16 title reigns... get the fuck over it. Cena's going to get that 17th reign too. After matches like this, how can anyone continue to say that the guy sucks? I may not like him personally, but I respect the hell out of what Cena does in that ring and for the business.

AJ Styles isn't no slouch either and he's got plenty of mileage left in his WWE career. I have no doubt that he'll bounce back from this better than ever in defeat.

Randy Orton wins the 2017 Royal Rumble Match

I'm going to be honest here... Overall, this wasn't a "great" Rumble Match at all, given all of the hype behind it going in. BUT... there were some fun moments scattered throughout.

I thoroughly enjoyed Enzo hyping up Big Cass in a promo for the first few minutes of the match, but they could have had Enzo cutting promos throughout Cass' entire run in the match, much like CM Punk did during his Straight-Edge Society days where he was trying to recruit members to his cause between eliminations in the Rumble match that year. I loved how they built up Braun Strowman as the new resident monster to watch in this match by throwing every obstacle in his way - first with Big Cass and Mojo Rawley who were thrown out like they were trash bags on garbage day, then followed up with promptly disposing of the retiring Mark Henry and Big Show in a convincing manner, and even holding his own against the combined efforts of Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger. What I didn't like about this was how they let Baron Corbin be the one to eliminate Strowman. If they are going with Strowman vs. Corbin at WrestleMania in a battle of their "pet projects" for both brands, then count me out. I could care less about Corbin feuding with Strowman. Hell, if you read this blog enough and read my wrestling tweets, you should know I don't give a flying fuck about Corbin PERIOD.

My favorite part of the Rumble, even though it was fucking predictable that even WWE wouldn't fuck this up was Tye Dillinger at the #10 spot in the Rumble and managed to last more longer than 10 seconds. Goddammit, I marked so hard for that dude last night. No matter what, WWE can't take that moment from him despite whatever bullshit they will try to throw his way from here on out. That was totally worth it.

Gallagher getting thrown out during his Mary Poppins' spot was just as hilarious as Enzo Amore getting trashed by Brock Lesnar towards the end of this thing. I couldn't have cared less about Kofi's survival tactic this year as that honestly looked like it hurt him more than anything instead of looking cool. Speaking of Lesnar, let's talk about how lame it was that the Rumble just dragged on after Strowman was eliminated to like NONE of the major players coming out into the Rumble until the late 20s. No way in hell even the most casual of fans could buy into that not being rigged. As a result, the last bit of the Rumble suffered because of this as everyone was waiting on one of the big three (Taker, Brock, or Goldberg) to come out or a surprise entrant and got disappointed.

To say that Lesnar came in, cleaned house, and ended up getting eliminated by Goldberg making him his bitch AGAIN, I have no doubt in my mind that they are saving Brock v. Goldberg III for WrestleMania. They aren't fooling me with The Undertaker taking out Goldberg. That was just more of WWE burying the memories of WCW with their booking symbolism. Say what they want, but they are STILL bitter about the Monday Night Wars.

While we're on the topic of Goldberg... If it was up to me, I would have fired Goldberg right after this show or send him straight back to the Performance Center for that array of piss poor Spears. When Nikki F'N Bella hits a better Spear than you, then your Spears fucking SUCK. God, I'm SOOO over Goldberg's comeback tour after tonight. Let's just get the third encounter between him and Brock and move on...

Did The Undertaker have any notice on being called in for this show? He looked like he was in worse shape here than he was before Survivor Series a few months ago. As much respect I have for the guy for everything that he's done in his career, he needs to really consider if it's worth coming out embarrassing himself looking like he just walked out of the senior citizens' retirement home.

My exact words when Roman Reigns came out at #30 were "I CANNOT BELIEVE WWE ARE THIS FUCKING STUPID..." I was glad that he didn't win, but that was a little too close for comfort. Can someone tell Vince to quit force-feeding Reigns down our throats? He's not a bad wrestler, it's just he's another victim suffering to poor booking and creative decisions from the think tank of chimps in charge of WWE.

I really hope we're not getting another dreadful Cena vs. Orton feud at WrestleMania, but Cena has to survive Elimination Chamber in two weeks, so there's a chance that either Bray Wyatt will get the gold or AJ Styles will reclaim what he has lost. If Styles is back in the mix, I hope they go for an Ironman Match at WrestleMania between him and Cena. If it's Bray's time (it's LONG overdue after being derailed at every turn...), then I hope they pull the swerve and reveal that Orton was playing him all along to lead to the climax of the Wyatt Family/Orton feud where he was manipulating them all along.

WWE NXT Takeover: San Antonio (January 28, 2017) -- Results & Afterthoughts

NXT TakeOver: San Antonio was a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on January 28, 2017, at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The event was produced by WWE for its NXT promotion, and was streamed live on the WWE Network.

Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Bobby Roode defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the NXT Championship.

Sanity's Eric Young def. Tye Dillinger

Tye REALLY needs a better look for these Takeover events. That vest thing looks fucking stupid.

Watching this opener, I was having deja vu back to their match on the weekly NXT tapings a few weeks ago. There really wasn't much to write home here about this. The match left a bad taste in my mouth where they did the two-man interference spot and finisher reversal to the near-fall, which should have been the finish yet they continued with the match anyway.

I don't know what was more moronic here - the fact that it took interference from BOTH members of Sanity at ringside or the fact that Dillinger lost another one of these Takeover matches. Who's dog did Dillinger kill in the front office that they are holding a grudge not to give this guy the ball and run with it? Good lord man, after Toronto I thought that NXT would scrap the rocket on this guy's back and shoot him up to the moon but nope, he continues to be the Dolph Ziggler of NXT, having stellar in-ring bouts but never winning when it matters the most. I dunno where they are going with this next. I hope WWE knows that if they keep doing this that people are going to give up on him JUST LIKE FUCKING ZIGGLER.

As for Sanity, I get that they are heels and EY is supposed to be building these guys up but holy shit they looked pathetic here, collectively as an unit. If you can't beat a guy with a shitty of a win/lose record as Dillinger without help then something is CLEARLY wrong.

The whole wannabe Aces & Eights thing with Sanity still isn't doing anything for me by the way...

Roderick Strong def. Andrade 'Cien' Almas

This was easily the second best match of the night. I remember seeing a lot of people saying on social media this past week that Almas would get a great match out of Strong and they weren't lying at all. Even though I tire of that rope resting spot from Almas (TJ Perkins does it, Dragon Lee in Ring of Honor/CMLL does it, a few guys in Lucha Underground do it, and even one guy in TNA did it a few months ago, so yeah it's pretty stale at this point...), you can't deny that Almas is one hell of a worker even though his gimmick isn't worth writing home about. Roddy started busting out the backbreaker variations that he's known for and that's when I really was getting hyped about this match. A few sloppy spots here and there, but it still came together nicely by the time it was all said and done.

Sad to say but there were a lot of sloppy performances on this show tonight worse than what was seen here.

The Authors of Pain def. DIY (c) to become the NEW NXT Tag Team Champions

Good grief, AoP got exposed as being green as grass here. DIY were wrestling circles around them to the point those guys were CLEARLY winded and DIY had to slow down to accommodate. DIY was carrying them from bell to bell here which managed to be AoP's best match to date here in NXT, but that's not saying much when those guys have been in majorly squash matches up until the Dusty Classic finals back in Toronto.

I figured that DIY were going to lose the gold here, as NXT has a history of the babyface tag champions losing the gold shortly after winning them. LuchaDragons, Vaudevillains, American Alpha, and now DIY.

Seth Rollins calls out Triple H

While most people were shocked at this turn of events, I was sitting here laughing during this segment. So it took Rollins MONTHS after the fact to realize that if he wanted to reach HHH he had to show up at NXT? Of course, HHH ignored Rollins and sent out his henchmen, err security goons to do his handiwork.

(Sighs) At least WWE is starting to care about continuity...

NXT security in a nutshell #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/drkkwMuRUh

— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) January 29, 2017

Asuka (c) def. Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, and Nikki Cross to retain the NXT Women's Championship

I mentioned this on Twitter for the past week, but I had like no faith nor passion about this match in the least. NXT did absolutely NOTHING to make me care about the build-up to this match. Nikki Cross' gimmick is still in its infancy, so you know she wasn't getting a title shot - thank god she wasn't the one pinned. Billie Kay and Peyton Royce as wannabe Adam West Batman-themed villains crossed with Mean Girls weren't winning either, so who cares? The marks on social media rave so much about Billie and Peyton's gimmick but it's fucking stupid and just the same as almost every other dime a dozen female heel duos. I would love to know what is up with WWE Divas' fixations on being inspired by Batman's female villains for their heel personas. The only person who isn't pulling that shit is Charlotte but she's ripping off her dad and Stephanie McMahon enough as it is, so I guess she doesn't have to.

Speaking of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce, here's the thing that just ruined the ENTIRE narrative to this match for me where I pretty much mentally tuned out for most of this match. Right off the bat, it was established that Billie and Peyton didn't care which one of them won the title, but not for ONE FUCKING SECOND did these two "geniuses" think about pinning each other, especially while Asuka and Nikki Cross were out cold at ringside.

The double suplex through the table on Nikki Cross (who didn't really do much here at all) and the double team moves from Royce/Kay weren't bad either but this was another match wasn't really much to talk about either. They could've done this match on the TV taping for NXT this past week if they were going to do that.

Most people were complaining on Twitter that the in-ring segment with Rollins/HHH took away some of the time for them, but I doubt that when the show is on the Network and they could go as long as they wanted tonight.

Bobby Roode def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to become the NEW NXT Champion

The best match of the night, without a shadow of a doubt. While I have openly expressed that Bobby Roode has bored me since his last run in TNA, I have never said that he wasn't a talented worker. That was shown off here why he's one hell of a hand to have on any roster. The guy carries himself like a main eventer, but I still feel like the guy has stagnated since his days in TNA. I fear that if his entrance wasn't so over, the same people who didn't give a flying fuck about his World Heavyweight title runs and main event push in TNA yet are dick-riding him hard right now wouldn't care about him right now in NXT either. He would be in the same collective rut that Aries and Strong are in post-ROH and TNA where their hype levels have fizzled out.

Major props to Nakamura to playing out the injury angle in the finish flawlessly. I have to wonder why did they go with this again when they just did an injury angle during the feud with Samoa Joe a few months prior? Roode barely worked Nakamura's legs until that point and just kept hitting his finisher (which targets the head more than the legs...) and then that Single Leg Boston Crab, but Roode and Nakamura's facial expressions were on point. I cannot stress enough how valuable that aspect is important to ANY wrestler selling a narrative.

Nakamura tonight during that finish ROTFLMAO xD. #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/RrWNvYue1d

— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) January 29, 2017

Closing Words

I felt that this show was pretty average at best, with the finish to the main event saving it from being entirely mediocre from start to finish. There was flashes of brilliance here, such as how well the injury finish was executed in the main event and the hard-hitting, back and forth contest between Strong and Almas was, but this show struggled with a lot of VERY predictable and questionable booking decisions. If I were to give it a grade, I would give it a C+ until the main event, whereas the finish bumps it up to a strong B-. For once, I'm confident that the main roster will actually outperform NXT on the following night with the Royal Rumble.

Where do they go from here? Well, they have a lot of options, I'll say that much.

Anyone who thinks that Nakamura will be in the Royal Rumble tomorrow night, or rather tonight as you're reading this, are fucking stupid as he just played up this major injury and lost the title. He's not getting a main roster call up after that. They are setting him up for a rematch after benching him for a few weeks or months to lead up to the Takeover rematch during WrestleMania weekend in Orlando.

For Asuka, I say it's now or never to pull that trigger on the next few tapings to have her feud with Ember Moon. They've put that off long enough. They could do a singles feud between her and Nikki Cross for filler between these months between now and April, but after tonight I'm under the impression that Nikki Cross would want revenge on Billie Kay and Peyton Royce more than anything else to get her credibility back.

DIY losing the tag titles here doesn't hurt them in the long run as they function better when they are in the chase for the gold as it gives the fans someone to cheer for as the "underdogs" since they are still in the title hunt. I'm guessing that NXT will set up a triple threat between the Authors of Pain, DIY, and The Revival for WrestleMania weekend since TM61 are derailed with that injury to one of their own. With both DIY and Revival (alternatively, Sanity) in that match, it would help hide the Authors of Pain's lack of experience MUCH better there than they did tonight.

OPINION -- How NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 11 Will Affect Wrestling in 2017?

Wrestle Kingdom 11 was the first major wrestling PPV event to kick off 2017 and many pro wrestling fans around the world are saying it's going to be a tough act to follow, especially after Dave Meltzer's grade of the first ever SIX stars ranking to the main event between Kenny Omega and champion Kazuchika Okada.

If you haven't seen that match in its entirety, check it out in the video below, but have yourself a few snacks on hand, it's a doozy.

I'll repeat what I said on social media after seeing the reactions of this match as the "greatest wrestling match of all time". I hate to shit on everyone's parade but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority that wasn't really impressed with Omega vs Okada at the end of Wrestle Kingdom 11. I wasn't THAT impressed, but I still thought it was a solid match just not instant 5 stars and flawless like most people are acting on social media. To be honest, it wasn't even the best New Japan match I've ever seen either.

For one, that match was 45+ minutes long and definitely didn't need that much time. They could have given that time to the matches on the undercard that sorely deserved it. The last 20+ mins. is what most people will remember about this match from all of the crazy reversals and counters until the climax. I'm nowhere from being a Kenny Omega fan but he deserves props for his performance here though. I can't call this a Match of the Year candidate already when 80% of the match was one-sided as all hell and hard to keep interest until the spot-fest phase towards the end. I'm sure most people fell asleep like I did during this show watching live (despite taking a 5 hr nap prior) thanks to the slow start to this match. I like my technical mat based wrestling as much as the next guy but for almost an hour? C'mon that's asking a bit much from all fans save for the hardcore elitists. I hope they do some X-rays on Okada's (and Trent Beretta's...) necks after this show because they were taking FAR too many nasty bumps and drops on their necks for my taste. Just cut that shit out before you end up in a wheelchair or paralyzed.

To be fair, Okada and Omega did some amazing stuff in that match but overall that match was EXTREMELY overrated. I haven't seen many NJPW matches (currently trying to watch more of their product lately) but that was a far cry from the best one of NJPW's best matches that I've seen involving any of their talent. If I'm perfectly honest, I thought Naito/Tanahashi stole the show in their match on that same card and it had far much less crazy shit done in it but they told a better story and worked smarter.

If I have one pet peeve over anything else about modern pro wrestling it's those guys (WWE's talent is notorious for this nowadays but I applaud Lucha Underground's talent for being able to mask/hide this better than most) where they are CLEARLY cooperating on setting up the next big spot. You see guys sliding into position or crowding together, then with the worst offenders they are helping their opponent get in position for said spot. It stops looking like an athletic contest/sport and turns into a cheap Hollywood stunt.

Speaking of Hollywood stunts, Will Ospreay and Ricochet (Lucha Underground's Prince Puma) got fans arguing about whether or not their heavily choreographed style of wrestling is a spit in the face of the business or not last year with the match featured above. I'm leaning towards more towards the no argument, but I can see why the old school veterans are pissed off. Doing stuff like that peels back more layers to expose the business even more than it already is thanks to the Monday Night Wars and shoot interviews, but at the same time, wrestling styles have to evolve with the times and try more new things, even if that means adapting and integrating more Hollywood-esque techniques and tactics.

What I'm getting at that after the two matches in question, I fear that professional wrestling (especially in the mainstream eye with WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan, etc.) will try to do more of these risque and over the top spots in their high profile matches, only for more men and women to get hurt trying to outperform the pure insanity that Kenny Omega and Okada pulled off in that match - all of this while the fine art of storytelling and narrative continues to fade away in the landscape of modern pro wrestling in favor of high spots. I hope more wrestlers get hip and learn to work smarter and not stupider, trying to kill themselves or potentially their opponents creating unnecessary spots for cheap pops and minor praise.

OPINION -- My Thoughts on the Nintendo Switch Presentation

On January 12, 2017, Nintendo held a presentation to the public revealing the details on their newest console, the Nintendo Switch, to the masses. The entire conference/presentation can be viewed in its entirety below. I'm going to offer my thoughts and reactions to what was shown off here from our friends at Nintendo.

My Thoughts:

On Hardware

For some reason, I thought Nintendo was going to announce a $500 price tag at launch, but after the lukewarm reception of the Wii U, I should have known that they were going to price another console around that range when both the PS4 and XB1 are in the $250-$400 range. The $300 price tag is more than reasonable and affordable for a lot of people with tax return season coming around the corner in the US.

Just looking at the visuals on this console, I have to say that I'm not really impressed in the least. Zelda: Breath of the Wild has to be their most visually appealing title just from the artstyle alone, but Mario Odyssey and ARMS seems to be pushing the hardware as well. I'm skeptical that the performance will maintain a steady output, especially in portable mode away from its main docking station. 

I don't know if people have see the price listings on retailers online, but controllers for the Switch are going to be expensive as a single game for current gen titles on PS4/XB1. The Pro Switch controller retails for $80+, the replacement/extra Joy-Pads will cost you $50 each with an additional $30 to $45 if you buy the docking station and protective casings for them. So yeah, another $80-95 more on that $300 price tag if you want spare controllers. Boy, if you have children that's going to be wrap if they take that thing to school and someone steals the tablet and Joy-Pad(s) or break one. (Whistles) Those things look more fragile than ANYTHING that came with the damn Wii and Wii U. 

That would end quicker than Riley fighting Butch Magnus on The Boondocks if some random bully wanted to take that thing from you.

The online service will be free for the first month and $70 per year for the service. Good grief. That's more than I'm paying for Xbox Live every year.

On Games

Suda51 confirmed that the protagonist of No More Heroes, Travis Touchdown, shall return in an undisclosed title for the Switch. He was rambling about indie gaming, so I don't know what that is going to have to do with anything. Just confirm No More Heroes 3, dammit!

Xenoblade 2 was shown off. I'm surprised that's not a launch title but with that, Fire Emblem, and Shin Migemi Tensin on the Switch it looks like they are trying to lure in the JRPG gamers for sure. Nintendo lost a lot of that fanbase going back as far as the transition from the SNES to the N64 (hence why Final Fantasy VII went to Sony's PlayStation console instead of the N64) and it looks like they are trying to get back into fans' good graces. 

Ultra Street Fighter II was announced by Capcom in post-event feed and confirms that Evil Ryu and Violent Ken (normally only playable in CvS2 if memory serves...) are playable characters. It looks like an update to Street Fighter II HD Remix to me. If so, a lot of old school fans will love this. Capcom might want to be careful as if this has fight stick support then they could see players abandoning Street Fighter V in favor to this since the community isn't exactly crazy about the changes they are implementing in SFV Season 2. 

ARMS looks like Punch-Out!! crossed with One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy. If Luffy isn't a guest fighter or DLC of some kind then I'm going to be disappointed. That game looks pretty damn sweet. I would love to see a tournament of that at EVO next year. Ironically enough, it's one of the poll options for the last spot/fans' choice for EVO this year. 

Splatoon 2 I really didn't get "hype" for. It looks fun but I never really played the original so I really don't care to see a sequel. I'm all for a non-violent FPS for kids to enjoy with their own age group instead of trying to curse at adults on Halo and Call of Duty (laughs)... Still if that's your cup of tea, then by all means enjoy yourself. 

Super Mario Odyssey reminded me of that episode of the Simpsons where 3D Homer was stuck in the real world. I hope this doesn't end up as facepalm-worthy as those 3D Sonic games where they had him interacting with normal humans and such. And what the hell is this with Bowser trying to marry Princess Peach? Thirty years and he's still dead set on trying to take Mario's girl? Regardless of all of that, the game looks simply amazing. Glad to see Mario get another 3D sandbox outing like Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. 

Nintendo saved the best for last, revealing that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be a launch title for the console. 

As amazing as this trailer was, it's sad that this is the best that Nintendo has to offer in terms of a launch title for the Switch in March. Pretty much it's going to be the ONLY title releasing at launch with little to next to nothing coming out until later in the year. It wasn't revealed until AFTER this announcement that the title will be available on both the Switch AND the Wii U. The Switch version won't have any other extra content over the Wii U version outside of better visual quality. So much for a system seller there...

The Verdict?

For me, I don't think it's worth it. I still have potentially 2-3 more Zelda games to go through before tackling this one so it'll be worth the wait (Currently streaming Twilight Princess with possibly Wind Waker and Skyward Sword to follow afterwards), so I don't have to jump out and buy this one at launch. Besides, if Breath of the Wild is the only thing that is going to be available at launch, then why bother? It would benefit everyone if they just wait later down road when there's a healthy selection of games available for purchase.

At the same time, I feel that Nintendo is going to handle this release the same as the Amiibos, original Wii, and NES Classic and end up having extremely short units available just to create this false sense of high demand for the product. I still don't have a NES Classic that like I would want for the nostalgia and I honestly don't feel like being caught up into that debacle. I stood with friends hunting down Amiibos and the original Wii units like madmen, when years later I got a slightly used Wii for $7 that works like a dream. Yeah, I don't see any rush to jump out to get this console YET. I'm not saying there's not anything good here, but it seems like Nintendo are just trying to jump the gun before E3 this spring/summer with more incentives to get a Scorpio or PlayStation 4 Pro are on the table. 

PREVIEW -- TEKKEN 7 - Rage and Sorrow Trailer

JUNE 2ND, 2017 is the official Tekken 7 console (PS4, XB1, PC) release date.

I hope ALL of those people who were listening to IGN and Gamestop about March feel stupid when Harada himself hasn't made an official announcement on the console release until now.

Tekken 7 is Coming Home a Little Later Than Expected - IGN

"For the first time, Tekken 7 will have a Season Pass" -- Then what the fuck was that shit I paid for with Tekken Tag Tournament 2? That "Online Pass" or whatever you wanna call it was literally the same thing, paying for a feature that could be in the box Day 1 anyway. And here I was thinking Namco-Bandai would continue their kind gestures of free DLC like Tekken Tag 2.

Thanks for ruining that for everyone else, Capcom...

I will admit that statue with Kazuya and Heihachi duking it out looks pretty sweet though. 

PREVIEW -- Injustice 2: Story Trailer

So Brainiac is the big bad this time around?

After reading all of the Injustice prequel and tie-in books, I was wondering what happened to him and Supergirl to be honest. Shit must really hit the fan if even the Red Lanterns are getting involved. The Sinestro Corps were brought in the prequel comics at one point with Evil Superman even wielding one of their rings. In comparison to the tie-in books, the video game has a lot on their plates if they want to deliver in the story department. I really hope they deliver in that aspect. If you haven't already, go out of your way to read the Injustice comics. They are surprisingly VERY good. I can't put that out there enough.

Cool that Bane's back and Poison Ivy has been confirmed playable too, but I hope that they don't go nuts with Batman-related characters. I said this on Facebook too, but I REALLY hope they don't make the mistake like the first game and devote most of the in-game roster to Batman's rogues gallery and the Bat-Family when there's a TON of DC Comics characters that deserve to be in this game. That was fine for the first game since they were trying to market this as a new IP but now the fanbase has been established and it's time to start showing off some more of these major players that were in the tie-in comics but didn't see the light of day in the video game.

That being said, I see Robin (Damian Wayne) will more likely inherit Nightwing's moveset and traits in this game since the deceased Dick Grayson is the new Deadman in the Injustice tie-in comics. I don't see them putting in both Batgirl and Batwoman in this when they can make them DLC skins for each other, which is reportedly what one of Supergirl's DLC costumes is going to be for she can be swapped out for Power Girl. Remember they did the same thing with Jon Stewart Green Lantern and Arrow for Green Arrow, providing alternate voices and dialogue.

REVIEW -- Assassin's Creed (2016)

Assassin's Creed is a 2016 action adventure film based on the video game franchise of the same name. The film is directed by Justin Kurzel, written by Michael Lesslie, Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, and stars Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Michael K. Williams.

The film is set in the same universe as the video games but features an original story that expands the series' mythology, taking place during the Spanish Inquisition. Filming began in late August 2015 and concluded in January 2016. Assassin's Creed was released on December 21, 2016 in the United States and France, received negative reviews and has grossed $95 million worldwide.

Cast:

Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch and Aguilar de Nerha
Marion Cotillard as Sophia Rikkin
Jeremy Irons as Alan Rikkin - The character previously appeared in the first Assassin's Creed game.
Brendan Gleeson as Joseph Lynch

Brian Gleeson portrays Young Joseph Lynch.
Charlotte Rampling as Ellen Kaye.
Michael K. Williams as Moussa - Moussa is a descendant of Baptiste, a Haitian Assassin who uses voodoo poison against his enemies. Baptiste previously appeared in Assassin's Creed: Liberation.

Ariane Labed portrays Maria, an assassin in 15th century Spain, working with Aguilar, and Matias Varela appears as both Emir, and his ancestor, Yusuf. Additionally, Michelle Lin portrays Lin, a descendant of an assassin, and another test subject at Abstergo, while James Sobol Kelly appears as Father Raymond, a priest. Denis Ménochet appears as McGowen, the head of Abstergo security.

The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Aguilar de Nerha is accepted into the Assassin's Brotherhood, a secret order of assassins that for centuries have opposed the Templar Order. His ring finger is cut off to make way for his hidden blade, and he is given a mission to protect the Prince of Granada.

In 1986, Callum Lynch returns home to find his mother dead at the hand of his father, Joseph Lynch, a modern-day member of the Assassin Order. As gunmen led by Alan Rikkin, CEO of the Abstergo Foundation - a modern day Templar front - approach to capture Joseph, he orders his son to run.

Thirty years later, in 2016, Callum is due to be executed for the killing of a pimp who tried to mug him; he is rescued from his own execution (his death being faked) by the Abstergo Foundation and transported to their facility in Madrid, Spain. There he learns that they are searching for the Apple of Eden, created by an ancient civilization, which contains the genetic code for free will, in order to put an end to the disease that is violence by subjugating the human race. The company's head scientist, Dr. Sophia Rikkin, reveals that Callum is a descendant of Aguilar and conscripts him to the Animus Project, in which Callum is connected to a machine that allows him to relive Aguilar's genetic memories so that Abstergo can learn the current whereabouts of the Apple of Eden.

In Andalusia, Spain Aguilar and his partner Maria are deployed to rescue Prince Ahmed de Granada, who has been kidnapped by the leader of the Templars, Tomas de Torquemada, to coerce Prince Ahmed's father, Sultan Muhammad XII, to surrender the Apple of Eden. Aguilar and Maria intercept the chariot transporting Ahmed but are then overpowered and captured by Torquemada's enforcer, Ojeda, just as Callum is pulled out of the Animus by Sophia.

In captivity, Callum befriends other descendants of assassins, led by Moussa, the descendant of an 18th-century Haitian Assassin named Baptiste, and begins experiencing hallucinations (dubbed ‘the Bleeding Effect’) of both Aguilar and his father. Callum and Sophia build a rapport over their sessions, in which Sophia reveals herself as the daughter of Alan Rikkin, Abstergo's CEO, and confides with Callum that her mother was likewise murdered by an Assassin.

Back in the Animus, Aguilar and Maria are scheduled for execution, but Aguilar manages to free himself and Maria, leading to a rooftop chase in which they perform a Leap of Faith to escape. Callum’s mind reacts violently to the session, and he is temporarily paralyzed. He then learns that his father, Joseph, is also present at the facility. Confronting Joseph for the death of his mother, Callum is informed that as a result of the Bleeding Effect, his and Aguilar's memories are merging, allowing Callum to tap into Aguilar's combat abilities; he also learns that Callum's own mother was an Assassin who chose to die by Joseph's hand, rather than be subjected to the Animus by the Templars. Despite his father pleading with Callum not to re-enter the Animus, Callum vows to destroy the Assassin's Creed by finding the Apple. Meanwhile, Alan is pressured by his superior, Ellen Kaye, to shut down the Animus Project due to its lack of results, leading Sophia to realize Alan cares more about the eradication of the Assassins than using the Apple of Eden to rid the world of violence.

Callum willingly enters the Animus once again, whereupon Aguilar and Maria ambush a meeting between Muhammad and Ojeda to exchange Ahmed for the Apple of Eden. They succeed in killing the Templars and retrieving the Apple of Eden, though Ojeda captures Maria in order to force Aguilar to surrender it, but Maria chooses death, and Ojeda fatally stabs her before Aguilar kills him in return. Aguilar then escapes, performing another Leap of Faith, the force of which causes the Animus to which Callum is connected to violently malfunction. Aguilar then gives the Apple of Eden to Christopher Columbus, who promises to take the Apple to his grave. Meanwhile, Moussa and the other Assassin prisoners start a riot in order to escape the facility.

Callum stands in the Animus chamber and is met with the projections of a number of his Assassin ancestors, including Aguilar, his father Joseph, and his mother. Callum fully embraces his Assassin heritage and, having fully assimilated his ancestor’s memories and abilities, joins the Assassins in escaping the facility.

Alan Rikkin and his followers, having retrieved the Apple, then converge in a Templar sanctuary in London to perform a ceremony celebrating the artifact's retrieval. Inside the sanctuary, a disillusioned Sophia meets with Callum, who has come to take the Apple, and she reluctantly allows him to act. Callum sneaks behind Rikkin and kills him to retrieve the Apple of Eden, whereupon the Assassins depart, vowing to once again protect it. Horrified by her father's death and how she played a role in it, Sophia vows revenge upon Callum.

The Verdict:

This film dropped mid-December during the height of the success of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so you know it wasn't going to do well in the first place, but I have to applaud the film for at least making up 75% of its budget back in box office profits.

I remember seeing this come out and seeing comments on social media with people saying that it was flat out garbage from start to finish. I had a $15 gift card to use before 2017 rolled around so I used it on the 3D showing of this before New Years two weekends ago. I was mildly entertained from start to finish. Then again, I haven't had high hopes for anything Assassin's Creed related since the Ezio trilogy to be quite honest and the only thing that came close to my excitement playing that was Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I'm in the middle of Assassin's Creed: Rogue so I can't speak about the more modern entries of the series yet.

I thought the casting for this film was great from top to bottom, but I know there's people out there complaining about "whitewashing" the characters' races but the games do the EXACT same thing so it doesn't bother me here either. Plus, it makes more sense for the actor to play his ancestor, despite the race and background difference as the models for the Assassin's Creed video games did the same thing as they recycled Desmond Miles' model and most of his basic movement animations for Altair, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Connor (somewhat).

I'm still not crazy about the whole 3D movement Animus in this film. That was completely unnecessary but I guess the filmmakers didn't want to draw parallels to The Matrix from casuals. That being said, that doesn't excuse how stupid it was to arm Callum with hidden blades prior to every session. He could have easily broken free and murdered most of the handlers in that room thanks to the bleeding effect if his hallucinations grew wild enough. I felt that the consequences of so much exposure to the Animus was really glossed over in this film at the cost of the narrative. Hell, the timeline that Callum's ancestor, Aguilar, was really glossed over too. Fans of the series are treated to experiencing the bulk of these ancestors' lives not just snippets here and there. The whole concept of reliving past lives is lost here for the most part at the cost of the real world, modern day component, which is rather ironic that the video games have abandoned that narrative clutch for a while now. As a result, it was rather jarring to see this live-action film recycle the same tactic.

I loved the nods to characters and events (i.e. Aguilar impaling one of the guards was a throwback to the Ezio trilogy of the series) in the franchise as well, especially with Alan Rikkin as the major antagonist of this film. I don't know why but I was thinking that they were going to pull the plot twist where his daughter Sophia Rikken was going to become an Assassin, but I'm glad that she didn't go into that direction. This film was rather predictable enough as it is, especially with the film's climax where Callum accepted his Assassin heritage after expressing doubt the entire film and joined his brothers in arms as they collectively used all of their abilities to escape the facility. It was pretty damn stupid of Abstergo to not have any Templars on hand to deal with the Assassins on their level of combat but whatever. The games always seem to have that problem as well that seems to plague this franchise since the initial outing. I haven't played Unity nor Syndicate so I stand corrected if anything has changed since they killed off Desmond Miles. Speaking of which, I had to mentally remind myself that there are multiple pieces of Eden in the world so the Apple isn't the only one anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only fan of the series who had to remind themselves of that.

Aguilar honors the mantle of being called an Assassin in this film.

I know it seems like I'm talking down on this movie but there's one thing I absolutely adored about this film outside of the acting and casting - the action sequences. From the fight choreography to movement throughout the action set pieces, it felt like a sequence from an Assassin's Creed video game from start to finish. They performed those moments of the film flawlessly. If sequels of this film mean more action, then I'm all for it. I feel bad that most people will just shit on this film and don't give mention to this aspect of the film, but if you're a fan of the games in any shape or form, the action sequences are worth the viewing alone in my humble opinion.

For me, this film wasn't BloodRayne, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, nor even Super Mario Bros. bad when it comes to film adaptations of popular video games. It's more of the same vibe as Prince of Persia and Dead or Alive (pretty sure I'm the only one who remotely cared about those too) where solid casting and attempting to stay faithful to the source material garners lukewarm reactions from most viewers as the film wasn't that bad. Acceptable but something you wouldn't go out of your way to see. You can't go in expecting a lot from these live action adaptations of particular games that had mediocre narratives to begin with, so that's why I don't go in with the bar raised high. If Ubisoft's mission was to introduce the world of Assassin's Creed to broader audience while reminding fans of the franchise why they love this series, then they did that wonderfully on a visual level.

Watch It or Don't Bother?

A cooler poster than the ones I saw promoting the film in my local theater...

I can totally understand the negative reviews, but at the same time, I can offer a counter argument. Why are you surprised? For a video game franchise with a rather weak narrative to begin with, especially with the real life/non-Animus portions of those games, it wasn't a surprise that a live-action adaptation of the same narrative with VERY few changes would be much different. That's one reason why I went into this film without high expectations. The Animus sections are always the highlights of the games and they didn't disappoint here without a shadow of a doubt. If you're a fan of the franchise, then definitely go see this for the action sequences alone, but for everyone else I have to say don't bother. This was a film tailored towards its fanbase, with a lot of insider references and subtle nods to the video game's narrative that will be lost on newcomers.

PREVIEW -- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions Official US Trailer 3 (2017 Movie)...

I can't remember if I watched the English dub or Japanese dub with English subtitles of Bonds Beyond Time, but I just know that I didn't go to the movie theater to see it. With this one, I hope this warrants another original Yu-Gi-Oh! series season or follow-up. They know that everyone loves the original King of Games crew so much.

Given from the visuals in this trailer, it seems like that both Yugi and Kaiba have picked up new cards for their respective dueling decks. I hope this means that they will show off some of the new techniques and strategies from the newer series as well. That would be cool to see in canon and not exclusively to those fan duels that the English voice actors do for the conventions and official tournaments for the official Yu-Gi-Oh! card game.

REVIEW -- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It is the first stand-alone film in the Star Wars Anthology series. Rogue One stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker, and follows Jyn Erso, the daughter of the unwilling designer of the Galactic Empire's superweapon, the Death Star, and her quest to retrieve his plans for destroying it.

Produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, the film is chronologically set after the events of Revenge of the Sith and immediately before the events of A New Hope. Principal photography began at Elstree Studios near London during early August 2015 and wrapped in February 2016, with reshoots and additional filming taking place in mid-June 2016. Rogue One premiered in Los Angeles on December 10, 2016, and was released to the rest of the United States on December 16, 2016.

Cast:

Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor
Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic
Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe
Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso
Alan Tudyk as the voice and motion-capture of K-2SO
Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook
Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus
Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera

Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O'Reilly, and Anthony Daniels reprise their roles from previous films as Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and C-3PO, respectively.

James Earl Jones also reprises his role from previous films as the voice of Darth Vader, who is physically portrayed by Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous replacing David Prowse who played the role in the original Star Wars films. Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia Organa are physically played by Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila, respectively, while digital likenesses of Peter Cushing (with the permission of the late actor's estate) and a young Carrie Fisher are used in their portrayal. Angus MacInnes and Drewe Henley are featured in their roles as Gold Leader Dutch Vander and Red Leader Garven Dreis, respectively, via unused archival footage from A New Hope.

David Ankrum, who voiced Wedge Antilles in A New Hope, reprises his role in a vocal cameo. Ian McElhinney and Michael Smiley play General Jan Dodonna and Dr. Evazan respectively. Warwick Davis plays Weeteef Cyubee, a member of Saw Gerrera's Partisans.

Additionally, Alistair Petrie plays General Davits Draven and Valene Kane plays Lyra Erso, Jyn's mother. Jonathan Aris, Fares Fares and Sharon Duncan-Brewster appear as Senators Nower Jebel, Vasp Vaspar and Tynnra Pamlo, respectively. Admiral Raddus is portrayed physically by Paul Kasey (who also played Ello Asty in The Force Awakens) and voiced by Stephen Stanton (who previously voiced several characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels). Ben Daniels plays General Antoc Merrick, while Simon Farnaby, Geraldine James and Ariyon Bakare play members of Blue Squadron. Jonathan Stephens, Nick Kellington, and Derek Arnold, appear as Rebel Alliance members Corporal Tonc, Bistan and Pao, respectively. Aidan Cook and Ian Whyte play Edrio Two Tubes and Moroff, members of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans. Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman, director and producer of Star Wars: Episode VIII, respectively, cameo as two Death Star technicians.

The additional voices ranging from Stormtroopers to other background characters are provided by David Acord, David Ankrum, Steve Bardrack, Verona Blue, Steven Blum, Dave Boat, Eugene Byrd, David Cowgill, Jonathan Dixon, Michael Donovan, Terri Douglas, Robin Atkin Downes, Dave Filoni, Michael Giacchino, John Gilroy, Tony Gilroy, Tom Harrison-Read, Kevin Hickman, Karen Huie, Tom Kane, Lex Lang, Vanessa Lengies, Yuri Lowenthal, Vanessa Marshall, Alexi Melvin, Flora Miller, William M. Patrick, Christopher Scarabosio, Orly Schuchmacher, Kat Sheridan, Christian Simpson, David Sobolov, Julian Stone, John Schwartz, Fred Tatasciore, James Arnold Taylor, Sam Witwer, and Matthew Wood.

Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

Research scientist Galen Erso is in hiding on the planet Lah'mu when Imperial weapons developer Orson Krennic arrives and enlists him to work on the unfinished Death Star, a space station-based superweapon capable of destroying an entire planet. His wife Lyra is killed in the ensuing confrontation, but their daughter Jyn escapes and is taken to safety by Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera.

Fifteen years later, pilot Bodhi Rook defects from the Empire, smuggling a holographic message from Galen to Gerrera on the desert moon of Jedha. After learning about Rook's defection, Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor frees Jyn from Imperial captivity before bringing her to the Rebel leadership, who plan to use her to extract Galen and learn more about the Death Star. Unknown to Jyn, however, Cassian is covertly ordered to kill Galen rather than extract him.

Jyn, Andor, and reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO travel to Jedha, where the Empire is mining kyber crystals to power the Death Star while Gerrera and his partisans are engaged in an armed insurgency against them. With the aid of spiritual warrior Chirrut Îmwe and mercenary Baze Malbus, Jyn makes contact with Gerrera, who has been holding Rook captive. Gerrera proceeds to show her the message, in which Galen reveals he has secretly compromised the Death Star's design so it can be destroyed. He directs them to find the plans at an Imperial high-security data bank on the tropical planet Scarif.

On the Death Star, Krennic orders a low-powered shot from the superlaser to destroy Jedha's capital, causing Jyn and her group to flee the planet while Gerrera elects to remain behind to die. Grand Moff Tarkin congratulates Krennic before using Rook's defection and subsequent security leak as a pretext to take control of the project.

The Rebels track Galen to an Imperial research facility on the planet Eadu, where Cassian chooses not to kill Galen. Confronted by Krennic, Galen admits responsibility for his actions. Jyn tries to save her father, but a Rebel bombing raid begins and Galen is killed. The Rebels escape in a stolen Imperial cargo shuttle. Krennic meets with Darth Vader to seek both his and the Emperor's support, but Vader dismisses his appeals.

Jyn proposes a plan to steal the Death Star's schematics from Scarif, but the Rebel leadership cannot agree on a plan. Frustrated at their inaction, Jyn and several Rebels decide to raid the data bank. Disguised as Imperial officers, Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO search for the plans, while the other Rebels mount an attack on the resident Imperial garrison. Rook contacts the Rebel Alliance fleet to attack the Imperial forces in space to enable the transmission of the plans. K-2SO is destroyed holding off stormtroopers, allowing Jyn and Cassian to obtain the Death Star plans from the data vaults. Rook, Îmwe, Malbus, and several Rebels are killed in the battle. Krennic confronts Jyn, declaring the Empire's victory. Cassian shoots him, enabling Jyn to transmit the Death Star plans to the Rebel command ship.

Tarkin uses the Death Star to destroy the base, immediately killing Krennic while Jyn and Cassian die in the ensuing shock wave. As the Rebel fleet retreats, an Imperial fleet led by Vader arrives. He boards the Rebel command ship to retrieve the plans, only to watch as a small starship escapes with them. Aboard the fleeing ship, Princess Leia declares that the schematics will provide hope for the Rebellion.

The Verdict: 

I remember making the joke after seeing this in theater on the premiere night, saying that if you've played Halo: Reach, then you have seen this movie already. After watching this film twice, I still feel the same way. Reach and Rogue One have the same tropes and character archetypes with the film following the same beaten path to a sad, predictable, and yet satisfying ending.

If I had any issue with the characters is that it felt like this film was over by the time we got to know any of them in depth. Malbus and Imwe just tag along without question after befriending Jyn while Cassian just allows all of these outsiders (including Rook) to join them without question. The guy even goes as far as taking them all to the Rebel Alliance base (if that's not stupid enough...) without even knowing if they are Imperial spies or not, despite K-2SO's sarcastic comments. It's hard to care about all of the nameless Rebel Alliance soldiers and pilots who were killed in the final battle when the audience barely got to know who those guys were less than 10-20 minutes before they were all killed off. That was one reason why I wasn't surprised in the least when they killed off just about every titular character in this film in this film's climax.

(Laughs) Now we all know why none of these actors were commenting about being in Episode VIII in interviews while promoting this movie...

I remember going through this entire film during my initial viewing and saying to myself that if they made either Jyn or Imwe were closet Jedi I was going to slap someone. I was relieved to find out that neither one of them were. Imwe was just Force sensitive due to his blindness, hence why he was able to hear the vibrations of the kyber crystals in Jyn's necklace. He didn't have any special powers but was just an adept fighter.

Donnie Yen as Imwe doing what he does best... kickin' ass with style.

I saw that a lot of people were speculating that Imwe and Malbus were Star Wars' first homosexual couple. I dunno... I didn't see it as much. Besides, it wouldn't be the first if we're counting R2-D2 and C3PO... Shoutout to that Dave Chappelle skit for those who remember that... As for Imwe and Malbus, the film didn't go out of their way to establish that relationship between them and it seemed more like they were war buddies more than anything. They were the last guardians of the kyber crystals in that abandoned Jedi temple so it's natural that would bond as friends on the battlefield. If it's revealed as the latter later, then I honestly don't have a problem with that either as it wasn't one of those relationships that was forced down viewers' throats at the cost of the overall narrative. I honestly had a bigger issue with it taking a few decades for LucasFilm to realize that there's more races than white people and aliens in the universe. Seriously, we know there wasn't this much racial diversity in the Star Wars films until now, especially in the original trilogy until Lando showed up in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It was so bad at one point people used to joke around that Lando was the last only black man in the universe.

I know that a lot of people are getting tired with this seemingly forced - no pun intended - strong female protagonists in these two newest entries in the Star Wars franchise, but I liked Jyn a LOT more than Rey. At least in this narrative, there was a justification for her being a bad ass. She had to be strong to take care of herself after the Empire took her family from her and Saw Gerrera wouldn't have raised her any other way. After the unfortunate demise of Carrie Fisher, I appreciate these homages to what she helped paved the

Speaking of Saw Gerrera, that was a huge waste to that character for me. It was billed as a major deal that one of the characters that was initially created for the Clone Wars cartoon was going to make their live action debut in this film and he didn't make it through the first third of this film with next to little screen time and action. I guess that they filmed a lot of scenes for him but a lot got cut out in the editing room which will be saved for the home releases or something. Saw Gerrera wasn't the only animated character that was seen in this film as Chopper (blink and you'll miss him at the Rebel base...) from Star Wars Rebels has a minor cameo in this film too. Hera and her signature aircraft have cameos as well, with Hera being addressed on the dispatch for back-up in the final battle while the latter shows up among the Rebel Alliance's fleet in the final battle. No matter what happens in the remainder of the Rebels cartoon, at least we know that Hera somehow survives the events of the entire series.

All gripes aside, I think the number one thing that everyone will be talking about for years to come is Darth Vader's presence in this film and how it reinvigorated his impact as a villain for this franchise. After the damage that the prequel trilogy did to his character, this was a breath of fresh air and a refreshing reminder of the ruthless antagonist that he was in the original trilogy. I know most hardcore fans will complain that this film didn't have enough Darth Vader (seriously, James Earl Jones is fuckin' ancient now and it's a bit much to keep asking him to do voice over stuff period IMO...) but two doses in this film was more than enough to convey how terrifying of a villain within the Empire he is following the events of Revenge of Sith.

I was glad that they didn't throw in a confrontation between Vader and Jyn's gang of misfits as we all know how that would have went down since none of them were Force-users (allegedly not anyway...). They had enough on their plate with their suicide mission to get the plans on the Death Star off-world. I have to admit that I'm loving the joke that's going around the 'net with people saying that Disney managed to create a better Suicide Squad than DC Comics/Warner Bros. this past year. Sad but true, folks.

Watch It or Don't Bother?

Let's be serious here. Rogue One cleansed us all of that the bad taste out of our mouths that was The Force Awakens.

This is an easy "watch it" answer. This film is the perfect companion to the original trilogy and the best prequel Star Wars film bar none. I dare say it's a bigger love letter to long-time fans than what The Force Awakens attempted to do in 2015. While there's not a happy ending to be found here, but this story of sacrifice against the Galactic Empire sets the stage perfectly for what we have come to know as the events in the original trilogy.

My only question is that why didn't Disney/Lucasfilm start off this resurgence of Star Wars with this film instead of that lackluster sequel that was The Force Awakes in 2015? Then again, Rogue One gave me hope for the future after I was doubting anything good from the resurgence of Star Wars.


*** BONUS *** This is completely off-topic to this review, but I can't help but mention how hot Felicity Jones is but managed to make herself NOT standout in this film the token hot female. This film didn't try to "sex her up" at all. I'm here to remedy that mistake for my fellow hot-blooded male readers.

Thank you, Felicity Jones.

PREVIEW -- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Teaser Trailer

Out of all of Marvel Studios' projects to date, Guardians of the Galaxy was their biggest gamble to date and it paid off BIG time. I'm dying to see where they take this next as we know that the Guardians will more likely run into Thanos first before he makes his way to Earth and encounters the Avengers in Infinity War.

Ego the Living Planet has been confirmed as the antagonist for this film and that's what I'm guessing why Rocket has devised a bomb to destroy him from within. That is a throwback to a similar strategy devised by Reed Richards and the rest of the Fantastic Four when they ran into this massive adversary in their animated series and comic books.

Baby Groot is just too adorable, but I think Dave Bautista's Drax will be the breakout star of this sequel after Groot (along with Rocket) naturally stole the show in the original. I hope Gamorra gets more character development this time around if they are going to dwell into a possible romance between her and Starlord.

PREVIEW -- Spider-Man: Homecoming - Trailer 1

After Spider-Man's official debut in Captain America: Civil War, I'm confident with what Marvel Studios will do with their flag bearer under their roof and back home where he belongs. This premiere trailer just reeks of awesomeness from start to finish with so much to take in.

The opening crime bust that screams of one of the old Steve Ditko era Spider-Man books where they open with Spidey dispatching petty criminals while firing off wise cracks really made smile. It's great to see that they are keeping in the charm that Andrew Garfield brought to the table in the Amazing Spider-Man films here.

Everyone will be pleased with more of the Tony Stark and Peter Parker bromance here as it seems like Stark is taking the webswinger under his wing in a sense a mentor while he struggles with his everyday life as a teenager in high school, coupled with his aspirations to be taken seriously as a crimefighter alongside the rest of the Avengers.

The Vulture looks fucking awesome here and I'm glad that they gave him a more "realistic" take on his tech, instead of trying to make him look a like a bird as he does in the comics. I'm not sure, but I think I spotted Shocker in the trailer as well. If so, that more than justifies Stark suiting up to help Spidey with a classic Marvel team-up.

PREVIEW -- Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Movie Trailer (English Subbed)

REALLY? They are doing a Fullmetal Alchemist live-action movie? Ugh... Can't be any worse than that Attack on Titan one... Can it? In defense of that, they had the casting down, but the story and visuals were just BAD, very... VERY bad. This is looking slightly better in some aspects from the few seconds of action shown here, but I won't hold my breath on this one being good.