REEL IMPRESSIONS - March 2026

Welcome to the first volume of 'Reel Impressions', for those curious what my opinions are on recent movies or television series that I've recently seen and if they are worthy of your time.  Below is my first collection of contenders this month as we explore what is offered lately in the Action genre, so see where my impressions land on the latest releases:

WAR MACHINE (available on Netflix) - This sci-fi action film starring Alan Ritchson (Reacher) and directed by Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) turns out to be a cut-above the typical quality streaming movie options, as Ritchson reluctantly tries to lead a group of trainee Army Rangers from an unexpected and heavily armed mechanical alien hunting them in the Colorado Rockies during a training exercise.  

This film clearly takes influence from the likes of Predator, The Terminator and War Of The Worlds, but for an afternoon matinee-style time-waster, it's taught in its action-packed pacing and never takes the foot off the gas for the thrills.  Thankfully, the stakes stay serious and don't fall into dumbed-down silliness like others of this type.  Ultimately War Machine may be certainly flawed in many ways, but the cracks are overshadowed by the fun.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽 out of 5

PREDATOR: BADLANDS (available on Disney+/Hulu, Video-On-Demand and and 4K UHD/Blu-ray) - Director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey) is the current creative force driving the Predator franchise at the moment and has definitely brought it back to prominence by expanding the lore of the alien-hunting race know as the Yatuja in different time periods on Earth.  However the latest offering; 'Badlands' possesses a very radical tonal shift from what we have seen before by making this Predator (an outcast named Dek) the protagonist and having him team up with a damaged synthetic robot (played by Elle Fanning) on an highly-dangerous planet to hunt the ultimate target.

Essentially this Predator film is less visceral action-thriller and more buddy-cop movie, which marks it as the most family-friendly Predator movie ever put to cinema (think of this as the Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace outing for the franchise).  This installment disappointingly loses the deadly and suspenseful magic from the other films, preferring to be cute, amusingly funny and in line with the structure of a Marvel-movie when it can.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽 out of 5

GANGS OF LONDON (available on AMC+) - If you were not privy yet to this spectacular British-made, high-octane action-drama series, you are doing yourself a disservice to the jaw-dropping betrayals and blood-soaked events that take place during its strongest season yet from the creative forces behind The Raid films.  The third season finds our former undercover agent-turned criminal protagonist Elliott backed into a corner as someone behind the scenes is making a power move to sabotage his new operation and place the blame squarely on the shoulder's of Elliott's old enemies; the Shaw family.

If you are a devout follower of British gangster shows such as Peaky Blinders or Mobland, than Gangs is a must train to board and to be quite honest it is like injecting those aforementioned shows with a dose of hard drugs that gives you this adrenaline-fueled result that can become addictive very quickly.  Be warned though, any character can be dispatched at any time in this tale.  For now, the new third season is only available on this side of the world through an AMC+ subscription (in which you can also catch up on the first two seasons), but it will eventually be airing on standard AMC sometime soon this year as well.

THE REEL VISION RATING: 📽📽📽📽 out of 5