I would like to preface my review by saying I have not read the Jennifer L. Armentrout Wicked Trilogy that this film is based upon. Therefore I did not come in to watching it with any expectations. I will say from personal experience that I have come to expect certain things from Passionflix films, like that they stay very true to the novels and deliver very steamy content. Passionflix has inspired me to read several series...and a few stand alone novels. I did notice that this film was not directed by Tosca Musk, but rather by a Taryn O'Neill...which may account for some different directorial choices.
Before I dive in to my review, I want to list my Passionflix favorites and the one/two Passionflix misses: first I absolutely loved season one of Driven, Casey Deidrick is smokin' hot and makes this series...but the overall story deals with some darker topics like abuse, loss and the foster system (This stayed very true to the books...which I found out after, because I was inspired to read the series.), the sex scenes were well done and even though I didn't care for the main actress...I highly recommend this series (at least season one, we will see with the new actor who plays Colton for season two). The second on my highly recommend list is the three films that make up Gabriel's Inferno, which is book one in the series. (Again I was inspired to read this series after seeing Tosca Musk's part one)...I would go so far as to say that the on screen portrayal is even better than the books and I say this without being a fan of either of the actors playing the leading roles. These films smolder. There is probably a tie for me between Dirty Sexy Saint and The Will-loved both, have since bought the books...sex was handle so well with the stories and I thought the productions were really tight. I also enjoyed the casting in both. Then my next tier down is Afterburner/Aftershock...which is the first author that I had read before seeing. I loved most of the cast particularly Caitlin Leahy who played Gianna. Also in this mid-tier category I put The matchmaker's Playbook...great cast not quite as good as the others, but still totally worth seeing(maybe even a couple of times). Now for the two I didn't care for...The Protector and Hollywood Dirt. Don't get me wrong there are some funny scenes...but they lack the chemistry and story power of the other films.
Ok now for Wicked...I said all of that to let you know that I was very excited to see this and was eagerly waiting the next Passionflix release. How did I feel at the end? ...kind of left in the middle.
What I liked: I think the lead roles both Liam Hall who plays Ren and Anna Maiche who plays Ivy are attractive and well suited for their roles. The actress who stole the show for me was Elyse Mirto who plays Merle, she was beautiful and just the right amount of crazy. I loved the New Orleans backdrop for the story.
Now for the things I didn't care for...Conceptually I liked the idea of the brownie Tink...but was a little irritated with the reality, but maybe that was intentional? It did seem rushed or forced maybe even a little juvenile. We did not get very much build up or explanation of this world or it's past. But my biggest criticism was really the sex, which seemed almost like an afterthought...like, oh yeah we have to put this in here, and done!, on to the next scene. I don't know if that was direction or what...but it didn't seem to have the level of respect and care that I have come to expect from a passionflix film. I would venture to say that the level of detail and care shown to sex scenes is what really sets Passionflix apart and without that...this could end up being written off as a B-grade sci-fi film of which there are so many already in existence.
This is the first real Fantasy offering from Passionflix and as such I am willing to suspend judgement for the next film...but if this was a stand alone, I might be tempted to give it a pass.
Before I dive in to my review, I want to list my Passionflix favorites and the one/two Passionflix misses: first I absolutely loved season one of Driven, Casey Deidrick is smokin' hot and makes this series...but the overall story deals with some darker topics like abuse, loss and the foster system (This stayed very true to the books...which I found out after, because I was inspired to read the series.), the sex scenes were well done and even though I didn't care for the main actress...I highly recommend this series (at least season one, we will see with the new actor who plays Colton for season two). The second on my highly recommend list is the three films that make up Gabriel's Inferno, which is book one in the series. (Again I was inspired to read this series after seeing Tosca Musk's part one)...I would go so far as to say that the on screen portrayal is even better than the books and I say this without being a fan of either of the actors playing the leading roles. These films smolder. There is probably a tie for me between Dirty Sexy Saint and The Will-loved both, have since bought the books...sex was handle so well with the stories and I thought the productions were really tight. I also enjoyed the casting in both. Then my next tier down is Afterburner/Aftershock...which is the first author that I had read before seeing. I loved most of the cast particularly Caitlin Leahy who played Gianna. Also in this mid-tier category I put The matchmaker's Playbook...great cast not quite as good as the others, but still totally worth seeing(maybe even a couple of times). Now for the two I didn't care for...The Protector and Hollywood Dirt. Don't get me wrong there are some funny scenes...but they lack the chemistry and story power of the other films.
Ok now for Wicked...I said all of that to let you know that I was very excited to see this and was eagerly waiting the next Passionflix release. How did I feel at the end? ...kind of left in the middle.
What I liked: I think the lead roles both Liam Hall who plays Ren and Anna Maiche who plays Ivy are attractive and well suited for their roles. The actress who stole the show for me was Elyse Mirto who plays Merle, she was beautiful and just the right amount of crazy. I loved the New Orleans backdrop for the story.
Now for the things I didn't care for...Conceptually I liked the idea of the brownie Tink...but was a little irritated with the reality, but maybe that was intentional? It did seem rushed or forced maybe even a little juvenile. We did not get very much build up or explanation of this world or it's past. But my biggest criticism was really the sex, which seemed almost like an afterthought...like, oh yeah we have to put this in here, and done!, on to the next scene. I don't know if that was direction or what...but it didn't seem to have the level of respect and care that I have come to expect from a passionflix film. I would venture to say that the level of detail and care shown to sex scenes is what really sets Passionflix apart and without that...this could end up being written off as a B-grade sci-fi film of which there are so many already in existence.
This is the first real Fantasy offering from Passionflix and as such I am willing to suspend judgement for the next film...but if this was a stand alone, I might be tempted to give it a pass.