Corona virus and the Film Industry

1. No Time To Die

Since Daniel Craig first took up the mantle of James Bond back in 2006 with Casino Royale, the James Bond films have followed a clear pattern: one good one followed by a bad one and repeat. As a result of this rule, we have been treated to the highs of Casino Royale and Skyfall, and the lows of Quantum of Solace and Spectre. What's more, given that Spectre fell into the category of 'a bad one', No Time To Die promises to be a return to form for the beloved franchise.

Armed with a new director, stellar new cast additions (Rami Malek's menacing villain to name just one), in addition to the returning Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw and a handful of very exciting trailers, everything seemed to be suggesting Daniel Craig's final adventure as the titular hero was gearing up to be a great one.

While the loss of Danny Boyle in the early production stages, I became worried that this film might lack imagination and creativity. Then came Cary Joji Fukunanga to settle into the director's chair and the brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the writing room, and my faith was restored. While November seems a long way away now, I'm pretty sure No Time To Die will be worth the wait.

2. Mulan

While I have, for the most part, been largely unexcited by Disney's money making decision to re-create all of it's animated films as live action, Mulan is the exception. And there are quite a lot of reasons for this.

Firstly when you consider the scale of Mulan, from it's training camp to it's grand battles, seemed a perfect fit for an adaptation behind the IMAX cameras. Moreover, like most Disney films, Mulan has an abundance of heart. But it's story, in which a young girl must impersonate her father to take his place in the Imperial Army, always felt considerably ahead of it's time (the original Mulan was released in 1998). And in today's climate, the story feels especially relevant and realising this story on the big screen, with the support of IMAX cameras and the best technology available, should be a welcome treat for everybody.

3. Onward

Although Onward did receive a short theatrical release in the UK before corona virus forced the cinemas to close, I myself was not fortunate enough to see it. In the wake of this, it was recently announced that Onward will soon be available to purchase On Demand, and following that it will be available on Disney +. Obviously this is great news for everybody who didn't get to see the film, but when you look at the trailer and see the sheer scale of the mystical and magical world created within Onward, you feel as though this really ought to be seen on the big screen.

With the proven chemistry of Tom Holland and Chris Pratt leading the way, I've seen numerous reviews describe Onward as Pixar's funniest film in years. And with Toy Story 4 seemingly ending Pixar's short run of focusing on sequels, the wackiness of Onward's premise seems to be a welcome step away from familiar characters and worlds, and towards something fresh and exciting.

I'll definitely be purchasing Onward as soon as it becomes available on Video On Demand.

4. Black Widow

If any of you have read any of the other stories on my page, you'll know that I am a huge fan on the MCU. With that in mind, Black Widow of course makes this list, but not just because it is another film set within the Marvel cinematic universe, but because it finally gives one of it's most interesting and developed characters the solo outing that she deserves.

From her first appearance in Iron Man 2, Black Widow has gone from strength to strength as a character despite having precious little screen time in most films. With Scarlett Johansson on the back of a stellar 2019 in which she played a part in the highest grossing film of all time whilst also picking up two Academy Award nominations, there seems to be no better time for her to reprise the role of Black Widow one final time. Equipped with the best supporting cast of any Marvel solo outing, including Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Rachel Weisz, and a rich back story regarding the red room and the widow programme to be fully explored, Black Widow is shaping up to be one of Marvel's most interesting films to date.

Expect this to be considerably better than Marvel's last two solo outings: Antman and the Wasp and Captain Marvel.

5. Fast and Furious 9

I want to be clear at the start of this particular entry: THE FAST AND FURIOUS FILMS ARE NOT GOOD FILMS.

With that out of the way, we can now talk about the recently delayed Fast Nine. While the trailer was just about as ridiculous as we all expected (the magnet plane in particular was a delight), hype was building steadily for the newest entry in the testosterone fuelled franchise. Now, whilst we all know that these are not good films, that does not mean that you cannot have fun whilst watching these films.

So long as you watch these with an open mind, grab yourself the biggest portion of popcorn and nachos possible, and relax into your seat for a mind numbing two and a half hours of explosions and references to family.

Failing that, there are a couple of truly sensational Fast and Furious drinking games online, and if you watch the film whilst playing one of these games, you're guaranteed to have a brilliant time (and a sore head the next day). Plus John Cena is playing Vin Diesel's evil brother, so, there's that too.

DISCLAIMER - I know that in the grand scheme of everything that's happening right now, a couple of films being pushed back is hardly a matter of great importance. But to me and a lot of other people films are a great way to escape what's going on, and with people being locked in their houses I think we need the escapism of films now more than ever.