Fresh off the surprise success of 2014’s John Wick, Summit Entertainment knew they had a hit on their hands. Better yet, they knew they had the beginning of what looked like a fruitful franchise. So they tried gathering the band back together again in hopes of continued financial achievement.

But while star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski, as well as writer Derek Kolstad were quickly onboard for the sequel, co-director David Leitch had other plans. More opportunities arose as the result of John Wick’s success, and Leitch wanted to grab that iron while it was still hot. Movies like Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2 were what he decided to move on to.

But where does that leave John Wick Chapter 2, and would Leitch’s absence be a bad omen for the future of the franchise? Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they answer those questions, as well as give an in depth (and some would say surprising) review of 2017’s more successful John Wick sequel, John Wick Chapter 2.

Next week, John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum.

Much to Matt’s delight, it’s to start diving into the neon colored world of John Wick. A movie that for all intents and purposes, (an unproven set of directors, a star who had done a string of bombs, a ‘wrote’ script) had no business being a hit. But $86 million in box office revenue later, Summit Entertainment had a bona fide hit. And franchise.

Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they start their dive into the John Wick franchise, as well as give their anticipatory thoughts on Ballerina, the movie this retrospective is going to end on.

To say Garrett was hesitant to watch one of his least favorite directors take on his most favorite comic book character in a feature film would be an understatement. But, that’s exactly what he did, and here is the result of how he felt after he and his co-hosts finally watched the long awaited reboot of the Superman franchise.

Matt and Adam come in with a nonchalant attitude towards the character, but love for at least one of James Gunn’s other films. What happens when you mix these two recipes? A two and a half hour podcast that not only reviews the film in detail. But also talks about the podcasters’ theatrical experiences, as well as what they were all expecting coming in.

Next week, The Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast begins their look at the John Wick franchise!

Note: If you’d like to just get to the review, it starts around the 38 minute mark.

After grossing over $80 million at the box office, you knew it was only a matter of time before the Jason Blum Blumhouse Puctures machine churned out another adventure involving Megan the killer AI doll. In fact, we even said as much on that podcast. Lo and behold, two years later, here we are discussing Megan 2.0!

With a terrible marketing campaign and even more terrible release date (in between Jurassic World Rebirth and Superman), it would seem that Megan 2.0 didn’t have a chance of making any sort of impact like her original 2023 venture did. But that doesn’t mean James Wan and company didn’t try to distinguish themselves.

Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they dissect the 2025 sequel and determine whether it deserves the beating it has taken from both critics and audiences. And be sure to listen to the end as we give a slight preview of what to expect when we review the aforementioned recently released to digital James Gunn directed Superman film.

Here it is, the end of two full months of watching Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt barrel their way through on impossible mission after another. All until they reach number eight, with a battle against The Entity. And Gabriel.

This is over two and a half hours of the craziest review we’ve done in a long time. Listen to one of the co-hosts get gradually more disappointed until he gets full on pissed at what he’s sat through. Listen to another give some wild theories on what he believes Mission Impossible Final Reckoning is REALLY about. Finally, listen to the third…half heartedly defend it.

Stay tuned until the end, as we rank the movies from best to worst, as well as finally reveal what our next series is. Though, as established last week, the next review posted will actually be Megan 2.0. Then Superman (2025). Then the next full on series.

After the success and apparent finality of 2018’s Mission Impossible Fallout, it would seem that Tom Cruise and company could have moved on to other ventures. But the ‘success’ part will almost always cause filmmakers to come up with another story and keep going. But returning writer/director didn’t just come up with a one movie story. He came up with a two parter. Two near three hour films made to finally say goodbye to one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Here, the podcasters review part one of that venture, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1. Listen in as they talk about the ratio of success regarding movie finales that have a ‘part one’, as well as their anticipation of the release of the first Mission Impossible movie in five years. Was it worth the wait?

Also, be sure to check out Garrett’s tribute to Hulk Hogan posted earlier this week, as well as next week’s release of the final Mission Impossible review (for now?), Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning.

To say Hulk Hogan had a complicated legacy would be an understatement. On one end, he started a wrestling boom that despite some bumps along the road (which Matt and I are covering on our Tag Team Wrestling Podcast) eventually turned the then WWF into a juggernaut and publicly owned company. However, it was within these beginnings that Hogan helped put a stop to the possibility of a wrestling union being formed. On one end, he made hundreds of wrestlers millions of dollars. On the other, he has been accused of holding guys down and breaking promises to others.

And of course, you have his run in WCW, where he once again turned the wrestling world on its head, making it the top company for over 80 weeks. Yet, Hogan also was at the center of a Starrcade screw job that should have been a clean win for Sting, yet another broken program with Bret Hart, and the infamous Finger Poke of Doom. All of this doesn’t include his TNA run, and his foray into reality tv.

To cover this varied and sometimes controversial career, I turned to a guy who I have spoken about dead wrestlers with in the past. Tubi Tuesday’s very own Mike Batchelor (Batch) joins me to mostly talk about what Hulk Hogan the character meant to us as kids, and what we feel his lasting legacy will be.

I then end the show talking about how the next few weeks of our main Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast (we still have a new movie about a man in blue and red tights to cover) is going to look like, as well as planned future guests on Percolated Media Presents. Oh, and the very end of the show includes a little tribute to someone else who passed away last week, the one and only Ozzy Osbourne. Very sad week for us generation x’ers, one that we will never forget. Not for what the people were as individuals, but what they did to inspire us through their work.

Enjoy, and please come back as we finally put an end to our Ethan Hunt led Mission Impossible coverage!

All things considered, 2015’s Mission Impossible Rogue Nation was a certified hit. Star Tom Cruise made a ditch effort to get writer/director Christopher McQuarrie back onboard to do another sequel in his tent pole franchise. After some convincing -and the casting of famously mustached Henry Cavill as the not so hidden villain- Mission Impossible Fallout was set to debut in 2018. And, like its predecessor, Fallout went on to be both a critical and financial hit.

Listen to Garrett, Matt, and Adam talk about if the Dark Knight comparisons are warranted, as well as if Mission impossible Fallout is to blame -or credit- for the temporary downfall of the DC Cinematic Universe.

Come back next week, as the guys look at 2023’s Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, and we have it out about the justification to call it Part 1.

2015 was a MASSIVE year for franchises. Jurassic Park was about to get a whole reboot in the form of Jurassic World. James Bond was going to finally bring Blofeld and Spectre back in Spectre. Mad Max put the action genre on its head, coming back after 30 years with Mad Max Fury Road. And of course, Star Wars was finally brought back to the big screen in a big way with The Force Awakens. All of these, by the way, have been or will be reviewed by us at The Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast, so we recommend checking those out in our archives.

The Mission Impossible franchise had a huge mountain to climb to stick out in a year where there were so many other things to choose from. But director Chris McQuarrie and company proved to be more than up to the task as Mission Impossible Rogue Nation was released and not only amongst the best received of the series. But it also grossed over $700 million worldwide and is still considered amongst the best in the franchise. Yeah, we’d say they stuck out.

Join the gang as they look at the fifth Mission Impossible movie Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, and decide for themselves if it deserves all its praise. And come back next week as they look at 2018’s Mission Impossible Fallout, and get closer to closing out the series.

The words Brad Bird and Mission Impossible wouldn’t seem to go together. But in star Tom Cruise’s eyes, they most certainly do, as 2011 saw the release of The Incredibles director helming the fourth Mission Impossible movie, Ghost Protocol.

With a cast that includes Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, and, oh yeah, Jeremy Renner, Ghost Protocol would prove to be a favorite amongst fans. Will this podcast panel feel the same?

Also, Garrett discusses the release of Zoo, the new novel from his old friend -and podcast partner- David Mayne.

Get Dave’s new book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-David-Mayne/dp/B0F8R9SFLX