Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
The inspired/insipid one-night romance of Before Sunrise did not need a sequel. Richard Linklater's talkie brief encounter between intriguing/irritating young dreamers Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) was a love-it-or-hate-it affair, its tantalising dénouement leaving cynics and romantics to conjure their own contrasting conclusions.
How shocking, then, that the follow-up mitigates the mystery yet proves to be touching, true and, somehow, necessary. It's like running into old friends. Nine years after the original events, Jesse's in Paris promoting his autobiographical novel when Celine shows up for another intense conversation. The spark between them is still there, but as they spar over politics, the environment and idealism, so emerge deeper desires, their youthful beauty now bruised.
Written by the stars and director, Before Sunset is charming, perceptive and raw (Hawke's dissection of marriage is quietly devastating given his own circumstances); it's Sunrise on repeat, but grown-up and suffused with a beaten-up optimism. Only one word for it: bittersweet.
Keanu Reeves is returning for John Wick 5 as the franchise expands with an anime prequel series and a Caine spin-off movie
Ex Nintendo PR managers say the Switch 2 generation is likely to see the retirement of "several of the major developers at Nintendo who we have known for 40 something years"
Helldivers 2 CEO says industry layoffs have seen "very little accountability" from executives who "let go of one third of the company because you made stupid decisions"
