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David Chen

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

David Chen is a film critic in Seattle and is the host of podcasts such as Decoding TV and The Filmcast. His work has previously appeared at slashfilm.com.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Take Me Home (2026) 94% EDIT “Take Me Home is relentless in its depiction of what taking care of someone with a disability entails–the exhaustion, the constant decision-making, the non-negotiables, and the things you barely let slide.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 3, 2026 Full Review One in a Million (2026) 100% EDIT “Filmed over the course of a decade, One in a Million is an incredible document of the life of a refugee.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 3, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 92% EDIT “I've seen 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and I'm pleased to say, this film rips.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jan 18, 2026 Full Review Bugonia (2025) 88% EDIT “What Bugonia does so effectively is capture this specific moment of American unravelling.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Nov 2, 2025 Full Review A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE (2025) 75% EDIT “[T]he film makes a few massive missteps. Its biggest one is telling these events from three different perspectives.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Nov 2, 2025 Full Review The Long Walk (2025) 88% EDIT “"The script also has a wonderful economy to it; we only get glimpses of the outside world but it’s enough to understand what the rules are and what the stakes are for each participant."” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Sep 20, 2025 Full Review HIM (2025) 30% EDIT “[W]hile the movie starts in a relatively grounded place, it eventually goes completely off the rails to the point of being laughable.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Sep 20, 2025 Full Review Eddington (2025) 69% EDIT “To me, making a movie like this in which all sides are bad actors and in which the only character given any interiority whatsoever is the protagonist who’s violently anti-science is not only irresponsible, it’s morally reprehensible.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jul 22, 2025 Full Review The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) 86% EDIT “In addition to kickstarting Phase Six of the MCU, the film also tries to introduce us to a version of these iconic comic book characters that doesn’t suck. It largely succeeds at both.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jul 22, 2025 Full Review Superman (2025) 83% EDIT “The biggest accomplishment of Gunn’s Superman is that it restores the heart and humanity to one of our most beloved and iconic superheroes.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jul 8, 2025 Full Review F1 The Movie (2025) 82% EDIT “I don’t know how to describe it other than that it’s one of the most impressive IMAX experiences I’ve ever had.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jun 27, 2025 Full Review The Life of Chuck (2024) 80% EDIT “'Chuck' affirms the importance of living life to the fullest and asks us to contemplate our place in the universe.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jun 17, 2025 Full Review How to Train Your Dragon (2025) 77% EDIT “There are a handful of ways that the new film improves on (or at least offers a different take on) what the original film was trying to do. In particular, everything involving dragons in this movie looks incredible.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jun 17, 2025 Full Review Karate Kid: Legends (2025) 58% EDIT “[T]he proceedings are so rushed that neither of its two storylines are given any room to breathe or mesh with each other. The result is something unwieldy and unmemorable — a real missed opportunity.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jun 4, 2025 Full Review Ballerina (2025) 75% EDIT “Simply put, Ballerina has some of the most audacious, inventive, and thrilling action scenes you are likely to see in a film this year.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jun 4, 2025 Full Review Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) 80% EDIT “[W]hen the action finally kicks in during the second half, the results are spectacular. There are several major set pieces in this film that not only qualify as the best in the franchise; they may be among the best ever put to film.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) May 14, 2025 Full Review A Minecraft Movie (2025) 48% EDIT “[T]he movie has a frenetic energy that feels like it can’t pause to let any moment or plot development breathe, lest the audience get bored.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Apr 29, 2025 Full Review Captain America: Brave New World (2025) 46% EDIT “Brave New World feels like the latest entry in a universe that’s rapidly running out of steam, and not the inauguration of a new era (even a dystopian one!) that its title might imply.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 12, 2025 Full Review The Perfect Neighbor (2025) 99% EDIT “Made up almost entirely of police bodycam footage, The Perfect Neighbor is a strikingly effective and thoroughly engrossing documentary about what happens when neighbors seem set on a collision course against each other.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 12, 2025 Full Review Zodiac Killer Project (2025) 90% EDIT “[W]hat it lacks in production value in makes up for with some trenchant commentary on the tropes that True Crime shows/films use, and how much of what we see on screen is manufactured to manipulate us.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 12, 2025 Full Review Predators (2025) 97% EDIT “What was it about Chris Hansen’s To Catch a Predator that transfixed America? David Osit’s Predators attempts to explore these challenging questions while turning the camera on himself.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Feb 12, 2025 Full Review Den of Thieves: Pantera (2025) 62% EDIT “If you’re looking for a sequel that’s similar in tone to Den of Thieves, I think you’ll leave Pantera sorely disappointed. Pantera is much more laid back and it’s all about the European vibes — a follow-up akin to Ocean’s 12. ” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Jan 12, 2025 Full Review Gladiator II (2024) 70% EDIT “Every fight has some kind of interesting twist on it that makes it feel fresh and inventive. I wish I could say the same thing about the script, which is mostly a remix of the first film but somehow feels edited to shreds in the final cut.” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Nov 11, 2024 Full Review Rebel Moon - Part One: Director's Cut (2024) 53% EDIT “"The movie has just begun but it’s already clear what these new director’s cuts represent: They are bloodier, meaner, nastier, longer, and deeper versions of the Rebel Moon films that have already been released."” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Sep 1, 2024 Full Review Alien: Romulus (2024) 80% B+ EDIT “Romulus brings the Alien franchise back to its roots: There’s a scary thing on a spaceship and it’s slowly killing everyone on board” – Decoding Everything (Substack) Aug 16, 2024 Full Review
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