Archives for December 2019

Netflix 6 Underground Review

12/19/2019 By Hakan Can

The Netflix Film 6 Underground has just been released on the streaming service, and it’s a doozy. And I’m not using that word in a positive sense. If you’re into mind-blowing action, then you should know it’s packed full of it. But sadly, the film falls short in pretty much every other metric. So without further ado, let’s dive right into the Netflix 6 Underground Film Review.

Netflix 6 Underground Review

Read: Netflix Levius Season 1 Review

The Backstory

The writers of this film (Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese) have done us a disservice. Outside of a few time-shifting backstories, we learn next to nothing regarding the main cast of characters. To be blunt, I’ve heard better stories in the men’s rooms of most nightclubs, and those storytellers weren’t Hollywood writers or producers. The film’s dialogue is weak, to phrase it mildly.

Ryan Reynolds is an inventor billionaire who fakes his death and, with no experience in the assassination game, starts a for-hire hitman squad. Just like in Green Lantern, Ryan’s character stalls out an airplane and crashes it.

Ryan Reynolds crew of bad guy removers are numbered 1 through 7, with of course he being number 1. Now, no one calls it a ‘suicide squad’ as those two words have already been used up by DC Comics/Warner Brothers, but that’s what they are. Heck, I’m not even sure how they’re being compensated for their dictator removal services.

So the team is made up of six individuals, one of which gets killed in the 17-minute car chase opening scene. Like most Michael Bay action films, this one involves plenty of gunfire, explosions, chases, and aerial views. It wouldn’t be a Michael Bay film if there weren’t plenty of aerial drone shots and helicopter scenes kicking up sand. I can think of at least six off the top of my head spanning the last dozen or so years, most with the word Transformers in the title. In other words, we’ve all seen this movie before.

It also wouldn’t be a Michael Bay film (or a Ryan Reynolds liquor ad) if there were some blatant product advertisements. Aviation Gin, Chopard Watches, and Hotels & Resorts are prominently featured in 6 Underground.

The Story

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the film starts with an over-the-top 17-minute car chase through the City of Florence, Italy. Believe it or not, this is the team’s first mission, and as one would expect, it goes south quickly. There are some horrific crashes, a few of which, including the first one, don’t even make sense from a physics point of view. But who cares, it’s a Michael Bay film. Just sit back and enjoy, right?

After watching this scene, I immediately felt terrible for the stuntmen and women in this film. If crash test dummies or CGI weren’t used during this car chase, then there’s got to be some injured folks on the set. As someone who edits video as part of his living, I can say that there are a ton of special effects used here. Glitches and light leaks are easy to notice, but there are so many more that watching a behind-the-scenes feature, should one exist, would be worthwhile.

So the cast of characters goes like this: we got ourselves a billionaire, a doctor, a driver, a hitman, a skywalker, and a former CIA agent. Everyone here is a ghost after having their deaths faked. One of them dies for real, I won’t say who, and is replaced by an army sniper. My favorite of all these characters, and you may not agree, is the skywalker.

You know this is a bad film when 24 minutes in the main character says to the sniper, “God, it’s hard to watch.” As soon as I heard that line, I said “yup”.

The plot of this story is to topple the dictator of a fictitious country in the Middle East, then replace him with his democracy-loving brother. In other words, we’re back to nation-building, which doesn’t work so well in practice nowadays. The dictator is a real piece of shit who puts no value on human life. The brother, on the other hand, is a decent guy, but he’s locked up in the penthouse suite of a Hong Kong tower. And of course, you probably guessed it; the six ghosts have to break him out. While over-the-top, this is a pretty good action sequence.

Once the tyrant’s brother is rescued, we’re taken to the fictitious Middle Eastern country for a violent overthrow of the government.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t find 6 Underground exciting or even enough to keep me awake after the first-hour mark. Fortunately, the second half was better and more entertaining. It was so bad that it took me two nights to complete this film.

There is one scene I need to draw attention to because the filmmakers truly screwed up. At one point in the film, the team is heading to Las Vegas. Now, this is all fine and dandy, until you notice that Ferrari World and the Yas Marina Circuit are shown, but they aren’t in Las Vegas. As a Formula One fan, I’m confident in saying they’re in Abu Dhabi. Go figure.

Overall, the film was a disappointment for so many reasons. If you’re going to watch this turd, put aside two hours where you’re not worried if you ever get them back.

I certainly hope this is the end of the story for these six ghosts, as I don’t want to see a sequel. Watching one 6 Underground film was bad enough, we definitely don’t need a sequel.

If you’re wondering what’s worth watching on Netflix, try Love, Death & Robots, or the upcoming series The Witcher.

What did you think of the Netflix Film 6 Underground? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

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Don’t hesitate to head over to the Netflix homepage to see their latest announcements.

FTC Disclosure: Netflix did not compensate us at Beantown for this review. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid ambassador.

Read: Telic Energy Flip Flop Sandals Review

Netflix Levius Season 1 Review

12/12/2019 By Hakan Can

The Netflix Original Anime Levius begins its 12-episode first season with a fight in the boxing ring. Levius is named after its main character, the 17-year old boxing phenom, and is based on the 7-volume Haruhisa Nakata manga series, also of the same name. We’re introduced to what’s known as metal boxing and is it ever fun to watch. So without further ado, let’s dive right into this Netflix Levius Season 1 Review.

Netflix Levius Season 1 Review

The Backstory

As we learn in Episodes 1-3, Levius Cromwell has essentially been orphaned. He’s the byproduct of the 7-year Fosanian conflict between the nations are Whitel, which Levius and his family are citizens of, and the Republic of Rosvia. And this conflict is over something called Agartha mineral water rights. It’s this water when mixed with steam and a fighter’s blood, that powers the mechanized limbs of the metal boxers.

Although his mother survives the Fosanian conflict, she’s incapacitated and severely injured, thus requiring 24-hour hospitalized care. As his city pf Greenbridge burns, Levius loses his right arm while trying to save his mother. And we learn his father, a military man, dies in the war. Levius is taken in by his Uncle Zack Cromwell and Grandmother. Soon after, a 10-or 12-year old Levius, I couldn’t get this straight, is introduced to metal boxing.

The Look and Feel of Levius

The animation of Levius is faithful to the Haruhisa Nakata’s manga. If you like what you saw in the voluminous pages of the manga, then you’ll love what you see in this anime. The animation of Levius is reminiscent of other anime series’ where there’s a wide latitude given to the use of highlights and shadows. Using photography terms, each character’s facial features are washed out with blown-out highlights and accentuated with hard shadows. You’ll notice this mostly scenes that take place at Zack’s gym.

Because this is an anime involving boxing, the movement of the fighters is quick and detailed. It’s fantastic to watch.

The voice-over, like the background music, is spot on. Dialogue is at a distinguishable volume and is never overpowered by the background audio tracks. I give a lot of credit to those who were selected to be the English voice-over talent and to those editing the finished product

The plot moves at a decent pace with some time-shifting to fill in the back stories. Overall, the storyline is excellent, and in most cases, there’s proper character development.

The Storyline

Episode 2 opens with a flashback to 7 years earlier when Levius’s home was under attack in the war. He witnesses children being carried off by mechanized infantry, thus keeps quiet as to not be carried off himself. Once he’s adopted by his longshoreman (and former boxer) Uncle Zack, he visits his mother in the hospital. As he’s leaving, he notices a young girl from Greenbridge, one that was crying while carried off by a mechanized soldier, as she and another are en route to the coliseum. This is Levius’s introduction to the violent and often deadly sport of metal boxing. This episode also introduces us to Natalia Garnet, a cocky 17-year old boxer you loses her G5 bout to Levius by TKO in 27 seconds. She provides the comic relief of the series

Episode 3 is a must-watch and provides us with a history lesson on the conflict that brought Levius Cromwell to his Uncle Zack. When Levius was young. there was a war ravaging his sea-side city of Greenbridge. A combined twenty thousand soldiers and citizens were killed during this 7-year war (known as the Fosanian Conflict) when the country across the sea wanted access to the Agartha water springs. Greenbridge is well-known for this type of water. While trying to save his mother, Levius loses his right arm in the battle to retake Greenbridge. This retaking involved the use of mechanized soldiers from Amethyst Steam Technology Enterprises. We learn a lot more about this corporation throughout the series, not all of it with well-intentions.

With Levius’s promotion from Grade 5 to Grade 3 of the Metal Boxing Association (MTA), we’re introduced to Malcolm Eden. He’s a talented 40-year old fighter who was demoted from G2 to G3, and he’s not ready to hang up his gloves just yet. In Malcolm’s last five fights, all of his opponents have died from injuries sustained by his hands. The match is amazing!

Once Malcolm is defeated, he retires and works to make up for his sins by helping the families of those he hurt. Levius is now ranked 7th in G3 and is offered a promotion match to G2, but he has to fight the number one contender, the large-and-in-charge Hugo Stratus. Levius barely comes up to Hugo’s chin. Something appears to be afoul as a boxer with Levius’s lower-ranking wouldn’t get him this promotion match. But first, Hugo needs a tune-up match and this comes with the mysterious AJ Langdon. We also meet Hugo’s father, Chairman Stratus of the MTA. He’s the spitting image of Johnny Depp’s character Edward Ratchett in the film Murder on the Orient Express.

The match between Hugo and AJ spans from Episode 5 to 6, and once again is fantastic! I would argue that this is the best boxing match of the series.

Hugo’s top ranking is earned, and technically, he’s the superior boxer. Nonetheless, AJ is not your typical metal boxer and she does not go down easily. In fact, she defeats Hugo Stratus, nearly killing him in the process. It wasn’t a fair fight.

At the halfway in the series, Zack, Levius, Bill, and Chairman Stratus visit the mysterious Chairman of the Board of Amethyst, Dr. Clown. (I’m not making it up, that’s the character’s name.) Dr. Clown is somewhat of a long-winded poet who loves to hear the sound of his own voice. He’s been up to something sinister all along.

As it turns out, AJ is Dr. Clown’s adopted daughter from the Fosanian Conflict. We learn that Amethyst’s mechanized soldiers actually kidnapped many of the orphaned children of Greenbridge during the fog of war. Two of these children are AJ and her younger brother, who we do not meet in Season 1. These children were subjected to medical experiments that are clearly noticeable in AJ. It becomes clear to all in attendance that Dr. Clown has used a combination of mind control and drugs on AJ. While she believes Amethyst saved her, in reality, she was kidnapped and experimented upon. Her words say one thing, but the tears down her cheeks reveal the truth.

Levius tries to take AJ away from Dr. Clown, which oddly enough would also be kidnapping. This is where Dr. Clown makes a grand bargain. He tells Levius that AJ can go with Levius provided he defeats her in the ring during the promotion match. If Levius loses, he becomes the ward (essentially property) of Dr. Clown. Levius agrees to the offer and signs a contract to finalize the arrangement.

Soon after, Malcolm Eden shows up at Zack’s Gym and offers be Levius’s sparring partner. As a long-time boxer, he has unique insight on how to defeat AJ. His preparation of Levius is most helpful.

This brings us to the final 3-4 episodes of the series where the “fight of the century” between Levius and AJ takes place. You’ll have to see what takes place for yourselves. It would irresponsible of this reviewer to share any more. All I will say is that there are some surprises.

Final Thoughts

The final episode ends on the same note as the 12-episode first season began, with a fight in the metal boxing ring. All-in-all, Levius Season 1 brings us a terrific story with intense action and interesting characters. I haven’t liked an anime this much since the introduction of Love, Death & Robots, also on Netflix. We hope this first season of Levius is viewed by more than those who love anime or boxing. There’s a great story at play here.

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We’re looking forward to a second season of Levius. Should there be one, we’ll see some terrific G2 boxing matches, and maybe we’ll learn what happened to the other Greenbridge orphans which Amethyst so-called “saved.” This post will be updated when we learn more.

What did you think of the Netflix Anime Series Levius Season 1? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts.

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Don’t hesitate to head over to the Netflix homepage or Haruhisa Nakata’s website to see their latest announcements.

FTC Disclosure: Netflix did not compensate us at Beantown for this review. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid ambassador.

Read: Telic Energy Flip Flop Sandals Review

Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC Flashlight Review

12/01/2019 By Hakan Can

It’s safe to say that anyone who owns a home or rents an apartment needs a flashlight. Actually, these people probably need two or three just to cover all events and emergencies. Two months ago we reviewed the Fenix PD35 TAC flashlight and got a taste for what a truly great flashlight can be. Because we received such positive feedback, we were presented with the opportunity to review another, the Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC flashlight. Now, this second light is different from the first, for reasons we’ll get into momentarily. So without further ado, let’s take a closer look in this Fenix TK22 V2 TAC flashlight review.

Pros:
• Multi-purpose flashlight
• Up to 1600 lumens
• Aluminum body
• Intelligent memory
• Low voltage indicator
• Overheat protection
• IP-68 waterproof
• Medium size, lightweight

Cons:
• Warm to touch at the highest setting
• Does not include battery or charger
• Price of $85 may be too high for some

Read: Fenix PD35 TAC Flashlight Review

Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC Flashlight Review

Once you’ve used a high-quality flashlight, you won’t want to go back to the low-quality $20 variety you see in the aisles of your nearest hardware store.

Unfortunately, you won’t find Fenix flashlights in either Home Depot or Lowe’s. I’m not sure why this is the case, but for the brand’s sake, I hope it’s rectified quickly. You can find their products on their website www.fenix-store.com.

For the sake of comparison, we measured the Fenix TK22 V2.0 against similar models at Home Depot. From the 389 flashlight models available at HD, the field was narrowed down to just under 10 when we based our selection on those with aluminum casings, rechargeable, 5-year minimum warranty, and lumens above 1000. In fact, only one brand met the criteria, a brand that I’ve never heard of before today. Oddly enough, their flashlights looked remarkably similar to those from Fenix.

So if you’re looking for a great flashlight, the field is quite thin, and you’ll have to look at Fenix.

As you can see from our Pros vs. Cons list, the former greatly outweighs the latter. The $85 price tag isn’t an issue as you’re getting a high-quality product with a great warranty.

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Design and Features

There are only a handful things you need to know about operating the Fenix TK22 TAC V2. With a slight press of the tail switch, you’ll see the light beam that was last used. So if you shut off the light at ‘High-Mode,’ then it restarts at ‘High-Mode. A full press the tail switch activates the flashlight.

Pressing the stainless steel side switch once (and then again) changes the mode, of which there are four listed below. Holding the side switch down for three seconds takes the light into tactical modem, aka the strobe. It’s this setting you would use on someone to temporarily disorient them. There is plenty of police or military uses for this light.

The flashlight is made from aircraft-grade aluminum with notch and groove patterns throughout. In other words, this light should’t slip out of either hand.

The LED is the Luminus SST40, made from an ultra-clear glass with an anti-reflective coating.

If you’re worried about using the flashlight in the rain or dropping it in shallow water, don’t be. The light has an IP-68 waterproof rating allowing it to be underwater for 30 minutes at a depth of two meters. It’s also impact resistant to one meter.

Additionally, it’s mind-blowing how good a product this is with its intelligent memory circuit and reverse polarity protection.

The TK22 TAC measures at 5.91″ long, 1.57″ head width, 1″ body width, and weighs 5.29 ounces without the battery. Speaking of batteries, you’ve got a few options to choose from, as this model does not come with a battery.

The ARB-L21-5000 – 21700 battery w/o USB port for charging, currently $24.45
The ARB-L21-5000U – 21700 battery with USB Type C port for charging, currently $24.95
The ARB-L18-3500 – 18650 battery w/o USB port for charging, currently $24.45
The ARB-L21-3500U – 18650 battery with μUSB port for charging, currently $23.45

If you purchased a battery without a USB port, then it’s recommended you purchase the Fenix ARE-D1 ($14.95) smart battery charger. In full disclosure, we need to purchase one ourselves.

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Specifications

This “professional performance” flashlight puts out some amazing specs.

Outdoor Mode
• Turbo: 1600 Lumens, 405 Meter Distance, 2 Hr 10 Min Runtime
• High: 500 Lumens, 231 Meter Distance, 4 Hr 40 Min Runtime
• Mid: 150 Lumens, 112 Meter Distance, 17 Hr Runtime
• Low: 20 Lumens, 51 Meter Distance, 80 Hr Runtime
• Strobe: 1600 Lumens, switching between 6 and 15 Hz every 2 seconds

Read: SHIVR 3D Wireless NC18 Headset Review

What’s In The Box?

• TK22 TAC V2.0 Flashlight
• ALF-18 Battery Holder
• Holster
• Lanyard

• Two spare o-rings
• Spare rubber boot
• Warranty card
• User manual

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Performance

During an evening one week ago, we tested the TK22 V2.0 outdoors, and we were blown away with what we saw. With 600 more lumens than the PD35 TAC, we had a feeling we would be.

Under the three higher settings, the beam throw goes from the long end of my yard to the other and beyond. There are woods on two sides of my home, and they were lit up like fireworks. Suffice to say; if you’re searching for someone or something outdoors during the evening, you’ll have no trouble seeing where you’re walking and for hundreds of meters ahead of you.

Based on its smaller size, I recommend having the PC35 TAC over the TK22 V2.0 when it comes to what to keep in one’s automobile glove box.

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Conclusion

From a physical design perspective, I found the TK22 TAC V2.0 to be very comfortable and portable, true to its mission, and best used outdoors. The quality of light and its throw is most impressive.

So you don’t waste your time, we’ve done plenty of comparison research here, but as always, feel free to do your own.

At $85, and without the battery, the cost of the Fenix TK22 V2.0 is an expense that will cause some to balk. Despite this fact, this product is worth taking a long look at. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

If you’re shopping around a major holiday, there may be special pricing on this model or another, so please check. Recently we’ve seen a 60% discount on the battery.

What do you think of this Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC flashlight review? Do you agree or disagree with our verdict? Let us know in the comment section below or via social media. We’re eager to hear your thoughts. Should you wish to purchase this flashlight, click this PD35 TAC store link. We don’t earn a commission or anything.

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Don’t hesitate to head over to the Fenix Blog page to see the latest announcements and reviews. The Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC flashlight comes with no less than a 5-year warranty on the light. If you have a rechargeable battery, there’s a 1-year free repair warranty. See the Fenix Warranty page for more information.

FTC Disclosure: Beantown was provided with one (1) Fenix TK22 V2.0 TAC flashlight sample for review purposes. This writer’s opinion is 100% his own and not a paid product ambassador.

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