Me ten minutes in: “oh neat he’s finally made a bird character that looks like a gorgeous bird and not a fucked up little guy”

Me fifteen minutes in: “ah,”

Is it capeslop? Yes. Does it suffer immensely from Disney gutting it to slam in some giant CG punch ‘em ups in the last episode? Yes. Does Oscar Isaac put in a career-best performance while putting your heart through a shredder over and over? Yes, yes, a million times yes.

I’m so glad I got to see this in an actual theater, and it’s a real shame that the limited theater release and the lack of publicity is potentially going to dump this incredible movie directly into streaming overload hell. All of the leads are perfect, and while Jamie Foxx is especially delightful John Boyega really shines with the subtle intensity he does so well. It’s equal parts funny and horrifying and the retro vibes are flawless. I can’t wait to watch it again.

This movie feels like the training wheels version of Paris is Burning that you show your parents so they don’t get too overwhelmed by things being too queer and get scared, they can watch this with you and feel good about themselves for watching it with you and being so incredibly kind and supportive. It’s not about Venus, who should one hundred percent be the focus of the story, it’s entirely viewed through the lens of her brothers and that makes me sad.