Descendants: The Rise of Red (2024)

Comfortably the best <em>'Descendants'</em> movie. <em>'Descendants 2'</em> is the only one of the prior three that I didn't dislike, I didn't even like that 2017 release but it is at least better than the original flick (especially!) and <em>'Descendants 3'</em>. This one is a spin-off and actually loses cast members from the trilogy, which should be a negative as they were the 'best' elements of that series. However, this cast are good. Kylie Cantrall is a positive addition as Red, as is Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts. Other newcomers who are pluses are Brandy and Malia Baker, Jeremy Swift is decent too. It isn't just the onscreen talent that come out positively, the story and music (no cringe induced, miraculously) are too - they are much improved. I am surprised there weren't any major twists (unless they come in a sequel, of course), but that's not a negative. I'm also a fan of how colourful the movie looks, visually it's probably an improvement too. All in all, I'm surprised at how fairly enjoyable this was to sit through - something I hadn't yet experienced with this franchise. Based on the Letterboxd average rating that I see post-watch, it is much lower rated than the other three films. Typical! Probably explains why I liked it, perhaps what I previously found cringe is what makes <em>'Descendants'</em>, <em>'Descendants'</em>? Each to their own and all that.