Going To War (Punisher: War Zone, 2008)

Third times the charm! While I enjoyed the second shot at the Punisher starring Thomas Jane, it appears a lot of people did not agree. The Punisher is one of those tough characters. He is brutally violent and (in large part) that is where his entertainment comes from…how far will he go to take out the underworld? So, for the next attempt at the Punisher, much like the Hulk, they tossed aside the prior film. They dumped Director Jonathan Hensleigh and lead Thomas Jane. They replaced them with Director Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans) and the new Punisher Ray Stevenson (Rome).

Like the Jane version, they draw from a variety of eras of the Punisher. While the plot feels very Garth Ennis, the choice of villain is a character he never used. That being the Len Wein/Ross Andru creation Jigsaw (Dominic West, 300 and the Wire). But they do borrower characters he brought to the series, like the Punisher Task Force-Detective Martin Soap (Dash Mihok, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the Day After Tomorrow) and Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon, Resident Evil & Strikeback).

The film opens with Punisher playing with some adorable kittens…just kidding.

Just kidding..we meet mobster types meeting at a nice looking mansion. Billy (West) steps out of a limo and check himself in the mirror…he is a pretty boy who wants to climb higher in the mob, but he is given no respect by the local “Godfather”. As everyone sits down for dinner, the lights go out. Suddenly a flare is lit and the Punisher runs across the table and chops off the “godfather’s” head. And then the carnage starts… the Punisher takes out the entire house of mobsters, while Detective Soap and his partner are stumbling into the yard…his partner comes across the Punisher…Castle puts his hands over his head and turns around. The officer gives Frank the keys his car.

A chase after Billy results in his apparent death. Martin Soap. Soap is the master of exposition and gets us from Frank’s “origin” to the current scene in about three minutes…giving the viewer everything they need to know.

I won’t lie…this is about as good of a Punisher movie as you will get. It is true to character, completely violent with absurd and over the top villains. Jigsaw gives a huge speech to recruit the gang members in front of screen with a giant American flag projected on it. Hutchison is terrific in the role of Looney Bin Jim…he is uncomfortably menacing…not quite Heath Ledger’s Joker-but still scary all the same. It is a shame Hutchison will be remembered more as the “Old Guy who Married a Teenage Girl”. And you cannot get more over the top in a movie like this than cannibalism. Well, the Punisher does kill 81 people.

Dominic West is no slouch either. He plays Jigsaw and a man gone over the edge, flamboyant in his new-found skin. West brings an appropriate amount of the absurd to the film. Wayne Knight, on the other hand, draws it back. Instead of going for broad humor, he plays Micro as a dedicated soldier trying to provide backup. One of the things that is interesting here is that the filmmakers are clearly using Garth Ennis as a template. Yet Jigsaw is not a villain Ennis ever used.Nor did Micro appear in his work (havibg been dead since the 1990’s. I am always sympathetic to Julie Benz, though her accent seems to slip at times. And hey, what’s not to like about Colin Salmon? Dash Mihok makes a terrific Martin Soap…ineffectual and bumbling, but ultimately in Frank’s corner.

And Stevenson? Wow. He looks like Frank walked out of the comics. He is really imposing, and able to make Frank work in the quieter moments.

The movie works really quite well. Smartly, they put Frank in the role of protecting a family, and it is the interactions with Grace that humanize him. As villains go, they played it smart. In some comics, relate-able villains, or at least villains who see themselves as the heroes are great. But for the Punisher? You need remarkably un-sympathetic villains. At no point can you look at Jigsaw and his men as misunderstood. They are just terrible people and you want Frank to do his job and end them.

There are nice little touches, such as the The Bradstreet Hotel-named for long time Punisher cover artist Tim Bradstreet. The visuals are really nice, with great use of the landscape, and the colors are very vibrant.

The film ends with Frank standing at the top of a set of stairs, behind him a neon cross that says Jesus Saves…the J,E,U & S all flicker out to just leave the word Saves and the screen goes black except for the neon “Saves”. I am not really sure what the director is trying to do with the image. But it looks kind of nifty.

Lexi Alexander did a great job with this interpretation of the character, making a film that effectively captures it’s source material.

Marvel set Punisher aside for film. There was talk a few years back, which I felt seemed like a terrible idea. The only way I saw it working was if you put it on HBO, Starz or Showtime. On the networks there is no way it would be unrecognizable. Of course this was before Netflix and the Daredevil series.

September 24, 2016 0

Doling Out the Punishment (The Punisher, 2004)

There is a lot to like…and yeeet…

Created in the early 1970’s by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru, he debuted in Amazing Spider-man # 129, the first attempt at the Punisher was in the 80’s. It starred Dolph Lundgren. At the time the casting seemed like an obvious choice. But then the movie came out. It was really more like they had a Dolph Lundgren action movie and decided they should market it as the Punisher because…hey, why not? He did not even have the skull as part of his outfit.

The Punisher was enjoying a resurgence thanks to the immensely popular series being handled by Garth Ennis. Ennis brought a wicked sense of humor to the character combined with an over the top approach to the violence (certainly not a new formula for Ennis, but rather his stock and trade).

Certainly, the Punisher seems like an obvious character to adapt. He is not special effects intensive and his costume is not that complex. To accommodate the age of the actor (Thomas Jane) they opted to make him an Iraq War vet who is now in the FBI. After a drug bust results in the death of drug lord Howard Saint’s (John Travolta) youngest son, Frank Castle finds his entire family dead. In the comics, it is his wife and kids…in the film? It’s at a family reunion. So, like, the entire extended family is slaughtered. Talk about raising the stakes.

Frank survives the attack, because boy would this be a short movie if he died… and goes out for revenge. Frank hides out in a shabby apartment complex that also is inhabited by Joan the Mouse (Rebecca Romijn), Spacker Dave (Ben Foster) and Bumpo (John Pinette). Joan is a nervous woman, hassled by an abusive boyfriend, while Bumpo is an overweight guy with a grand love of cooking. Spacker Dave is just kind of a strange dude. They are curious about their new occupant, who never seems to interact with them.

Frank has converted his apartment to an armory. He kidnaps low-level employee of Howard Saint Mickey (Eddie Jemison). In an odd torture sequence (done more to show how clever the Punisher is-as he never actually hurts Mickey) he coerces Mickey to be his eyes and ears and his informant.

Castle works his way through Saint’s men working up to Saint himself. In the end, the Punisher leaves Joan, Spacker Dave and Bumpo behind (but leaves them a little gift) and gets ready for the Punisher 2.

I said there is a lot to like. For one thing, the film has a terrific cast. Jane is a credible Frank Castle and is able to make the character dark and brooding-while finding the humor. Frank doesn’t crack jokes, but his actions can border on the comical. During his torture of Mickey, he explains how a blowtorch flame is so hot, it feels cold as it cooks the skin… he then presses a popsicle to the sufficiently freaked out Mickey’s back. When the session is done, he shoves the popsicle in Mickey’s mouth (causing Mickey to realize he was played). The fight with the Russian follows the comic closely, with Frank taking a beating while his neighbor obliviously prepare a meal.

The film touches on the quirkiness in the Ennis Punisher run. The inclusion of Joan, Spacker Dave and Bumpo was good, as it gives the Punisher some human interaction that is not fighting or killing. The Punisher is a smart and clever man in the film, which is an important aspect of the character.

Romaijn is kind of odd choice for Joan. In the comic, Joan is pretty plain… Romaijn is/was a Super model. They end up making her Hollywood Plain. She does a good enough job…but still…

The flaw of the film is Howard Saint. Not because Travolta is bad in the role. He chews the scenery in an entertaining way. But he really is “generic mob villain.” Welcome Back Frank (the clear inspiration for much of the film) featured a memorable mobster in Ma Gnucci and her sons… Ma survives an attack from the Punisher and is just as dangerous with no arms or legs.

To include over the top stuff like the Russian (Kevin Nash) and Harry Heck (country singer Mark Collie-the character is the answer to “What if Johnny Cash was a mob assassin?”) but then not go as over the top with the main villain? It just keeps the film from being as good as it could have been. The issue with the Russian is that he is silent. In the comics he is ridiculously talkative. Plus, they never use Detective Soap from the comics, who played for strong comic relief throughout Ennis’ run.

And in the comics, the Punisher punches a bear. Why wasn’t that in this film?!

September 23, 2016 0

Summon the Spirit (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, 2011)

It was a little surprising that Ghost Rider got a sequel. Or is it a reboot. The film is never really clear. It simply ignores the previous film, yet stars Nicolas Cage again. This time it is directed by the guys behind Crank. The trailer showed Ghost Rider pissing fire. Which just seems so crazy that it sets high expectations for hilariously absurd action.

Considering the movie has gun toting monks protecting the son of Satan from Satan, it seem like the film will be all kinds of crazy.

And yet…for being a movie from the the guys who made Crank and Crank 2? It is remarkably tame. Oh, there are things about the film that work. There are jokes that land, action scenes that are exciting to watch.

The story is not very complex, a young mother is trying to keep her son out of the hands of his father…the devil. The kid could be the Anti-Christ, so along with the help of some monks, she is keeping him hidden. But the devil’s henchmen are closing in, until Johnny Blaze shows up. He gets into all sorts of battles with the henchman and starts to bond with the kid. Idris Elba shows up to be bad-ass with the promise of curing Blaze of his curse. Guess what happens when he is cured?

If you suggested he realized it was a mistake and gets his power back…you would be right.

The effects are good and there is even some creative uses of the Ghost Rider’s abilities. The Ghost Rider actually looks really cool in the film. As I said, there are jokes that land, for example, the devil resurrects a henchman, but gives him the power to cause things he touches to decay. Which becomes a problem when he tries to eat food…until he finds a Twinkie.

And yet, the film gets too slow at times, and the characters are very stock types. The story is not compelling enough to give you concern for where it is going. There are no real points where the film gives us a surprise, it is in fact quite a by the books tale with no twists or turns.

September 22, 2016 0

It Burns! (Ghost Rider, 2007)

Nick Cage huh? Well, that seems like a marginally less odd choice than playing Superman. Tim Burton tried to make that happen. Do you also remember a time when Cage was a highly praised actor from quirky Cohen Brothers films? If not, you probably were born after Michael Bay’s seminal the Rock. That is the film that altered the trajectory of Nick’s career that careened out of control resulting in…

Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider is both a supremely odd and obvious choice and for a film. As any thirteen year old boy can tell you…drawing a biker with a flaming skull for a head is really cool. On the other hand…live action could render such an image rather…goofy. The end result though is that, for Nick Cage’s career? This was a major step up from the Wicker Man remake.

Written and directed by the man who brought us Daredevil four years earlier, the film opens with young Johnny Blaze (who looks nothing like Nick Cage), a circus stunt performer. He discovers his father has cancer. To save his father, he makes a deal with Wyatt from Easy Rider (Peter Fonda) who is actually the devil. His father is miraculously cured of cancer-only to die the next day in a fiery motorcycle crash. That wily devil. At this point, the nature of Blaze’s end of the deal is not quite known. He meets with his one true love Roxanne Simpson (the younger version played by Raquel Alessi, who actually looks like she could grow up to be Eva Mendez) and tells her he must leave.

Blaze becomes a famous traveling stunt cyclist, Evil Keneivel style. Which as apt, because I am pretty sure, motorcycle stunt daredevils have not been in fashion since the 1970s…when, you know…Ghost Rider was created. Anyways, he rides in a big tour bus with his crew which includes Marvel Movie Veteran Donal Logue (Blade). I like Donal…this is a good sign.

Johnny is tormented by an alter ego nobody else is aware of, so they think he is just kind of going crazy. But when he feels the presence of Evil, he bursts into flames and gets a bad-ass motorcycle. His superpowers include tentacle like chains, a fiery skull head and the Penance Stare. Basically, he looks deep in your soul and if your soul is bad? You are tormented with the emotions of your victims or something. And your eyes turn to stone. Or something.

Meanwhile, Blackheart-the Son of Satan, y’all- comes to our plane of reality with a few elemental themed demons (as in earth, water and air). They start killing bikers, cuz that is what demons do. But Blackheart has a plan, he wants to upset the throne of hell and rule the world. The devil is not keen on this, so he calls on the Ghost Rider-who it turns out is actually the Devil’s Bounty Hunter… DUM DUM DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!!

Roxanne shows up in a tight dress to wow Johnny as she is now a reporter. They share the typical “I have not seen you for years!” stare. Johnny, tortured as he is, causes all the warm and fuzzy feelings to return to Roxanne.

Johnny gets into a fight with Blackheart’s demon thugs, and then causes all sorts of havok downtown, riding his motorcycle up the side of buildings and such. This is, admittedly a pretty awesome sequence. Roxanne, intrepid reporter realizes the Ghost Rider is Johnny Blaze. Meanwhile, Blaze seeks out sacred soil-a cemetery. There he meets another Marvel Movie Veteran-Sam Elliot (last seen in Ang Lee’s the Hulk). He is the mysterious caretaker who seems to know a whole lot about Johnny’s curse. This is beautiful stunt casting.

He reveals the specifics of Blackheart’s plan and provides an important artifact that both the devil and Blackheart need or want. They ride off together, and we discover Sam was also a Ghost Rider. Johnny finds out that Blackheart has kidnapped Roxanne (dammit…this is why you don’t fall in love, people!). He finds an old city in Mexico that apparently holds the worst souls-because this was the most evil town in the world or some other. After dispatching of the henchmen, Johnny finds that Blackheart is absorbing the souls into himself(?). Johnny needs to stop him by sunrise. Johnny realizes that he has the ability to beat Blackheart now, since Blackheart finally has a soul. He performs the Penance Stare and destroys Blackheart. The Devil shows up and Johnny declares he will use his curse to fight the devil, he will own his curse. The devil gets mad and Johnny rides away.

As previously noted, this was directed by the same guy who directed Daredevil, Ghost Rider’s biggest setback is…well…it does not feel nearly as crazy as it should. You have a guy in black leather, chains and has a flaming skull for a noggin. That just screams for insane and crazy action. Own the goofy stuff, don’t be so serious. And there are moments that seem to reach for the brass ring, like the Ghost Rider speeding up the side of a tall building.

And it wastes some good talent in dull by the book roles. Logue’s Mack is a typical “concerned friend” whose real duty is to be tragically killed by the villain. Mendez’s Roxanne lacks much personality (and I suspect -along with Mendez herself-she was chosen as much for her comic book babe proportions as anything else). The script presents a character who is like a blander Lois Lane. In spite of a great casting choice, Elliot is given a thankless task. He is nothing more than the needed exposition mystery man.

Really, Peter Fonda seems to be the only one having any fun. And what a great choice to play the devil. And that is where the film really falls short. It is simply is not much fun. It stars Nick Cage, and has every opportunity to let him cut loose…and they don’t.

I think it is worth noting that this came out around Valentines weekend…like Daredevil, it was promoted as a date movie. Like Daredevil, it was not really that romantic. When it comes down to it, Ghost Rider is guilty of one of the worst sins of a comic book movie. It holds back and keeps it’s heroes and villains tamed.

September 21, 2016 0

Stabbing the Franchise (Elektra, 2005)

No. Just…no. I refuse to review this.

Stop looking at me. I will not review it.

Absolutely no way.

Oh, OK…I finally sat through Catwoman…it seems unfair to avoid Elektra.

The film opens with General Zod telling us that Elektra is important to the forces of good and evil. We then get a sequence with Lucius Malfoy. He is telling a black ops type security team they are protecting him from Elektra. They fail. It is shot really nicely, most everything is awash in darkness, so the red of Elektra’s outfit is striking. And there ends the best thing I can say about the film.

We learn Electra is doing the paid assassins gig and is apparently a bit quirky about her DNA. We see her training with Stick (Terrence Stamp) and I am unsure if this is a flashback. She later meets this girl stealing a bracelet in a house that I guess is Elektra’s new house. his introduces us to Elektra’s motivation and her crisis of conscience as an assassin. The little girl is under siege by magical ninjas called the Hand.

When I say magical, I am not making an amusing joke. they can give you instant diseases, turn into smoke, have living tattoos and so on. When Elektra finds herself in a losing side of a battle with the Hand, Stick and a cavalry of Ninjas (we know they are good, cause their ninja clothes are white…seriously, it is that on the nose. It is an hour in, by the way when I realize Stick is blind.

I cannot think of a whole lot positive to say about Elektra. It is… Mystifyingly incoherent. It never really makes much sense, even after things are explained. Interestingly, it is a spinoff of Marvel’s Daredevil movie…but makes no connection. Her death is referred to in vague terms. The villains lack personalities…they are strictly defined by their powers. It is hard to care about the events of a film when you cannot be given a reason to care beyond being told repeatedly “this is important.”. The film lacks any characters for the viewer to connect to. Oddly, I chose to watch the directors cut…how much less incoherent was the theatrical cut of this film?!

While there are all sorts of references to the comics, they are not used well. And when you see how well the Netflix Daredevil series handles some of these same characters, it makes the film that much more disappointing.

Elektra certainly gives Catwoman a run for the money for a top spot in the Worst Comic Book Movie competition. Catwoman still wins…but it had a tough competitor.

September 20, 2016 0

Blind Faith (Daredevil, 2003)

Oh… Daredevil…

On the heels the success of the X-Men, Marvel pushed forward to get other properties going. Spider-Man was in the works and so was the Hulk. This was before Marvel Studios existed and the company was working with other studios. There was no cinematic universe, because different studios had the rights. Then the Marvel brass worked out a Daredevil deal. Daredevil was getting a resurgence due to the Marvel Knights line (being one of Kevin Smith’s first gigs for the big two). Daredevil had a classic background among Marvel books and certainly, would be less costly than Spider-Man or the X-Men.

Add to that the interest from some high profile actors and everything seemed good on paper. And so the film got greenlit. Unlike the X-Men, Spider-Man and Hulk, they opted to go with a director who was relatively unknown. Daredevil was Mark Steven Johnson’s second film, having recently directed Simon Birch.

Casting news was where the strength was. You had Ben Affleck as the Daredevil/Matt Murdock, Colin Farrel as Bullseye, Jennifer Garner as Electra, John Favreau as Foggy Nelson, Joe Pantoliano as reporter Ben Urich and the most controversial choice…Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin. The fans were unhappy, because the Kingpin was a large and rotund white man. The problem is, there did not seem to be a way to translate that without it looking pretty comical. Duncan actually is a large man, and had both the muscle and height to be an imposing threat, as the Kingpin should be. Granted, this was years before Vincent D’Nofrio made the role his.

Oddest casting complaint: They totally whitewashed Electra!!! (for those unsure why this is so strange…Electra is Greek but more than one person seemed to think she was Asian)

The film introduces us to Matt Murdock. He idolizes his boxer father (a nicely cast David Keith) until the day he discovers that his father is also working for the local mob as an enforcer. Matt gets into an accident as he runs away and gets a chemical splashed in his eyes. Matt is blinded, but soon discovers his other senses have taken on enhanced sensitivity. It creates an echo effect that allows Matt to “see”. What is really neat in the film is that they do let us see from Matt’s perspective. The way the film shows his powers is pretty wild, a world that is turned into sensory braille.

Grown up Matt is a lawyer, specializing in helping the poor in Hell’s Kitchen by day and dressed up at night as the Vigilante Daredevil. The police deny he exists, but he does leave telltale signs. Ben Urich is trying to prove the Daredevil is real.

Daredevil himself is working to track down the Kingpin. He scours seedy locations for lowlifes working his way towards the Kingpin, as the law has been unable to take the crime boss on.

The Kingpin hires expert assassin Bullseye to take out Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari). He and his daughter Electra are in town for a gala event. Daredevil interferes and had a battle with Bullseye. Bullseye succeeds in killing Nikolas using one of Daredevil’s fighting sticks.

Electra goes on a revenge kick and falls in love with Matt/Daredevil. Meanwhile, Bullseye is now trying to take out the Daredevil and Electra is trying to kill Bullseye, because it turns out she is a ninja because…of course she is.

In a fight with Bullseye, tragedy strikes and Matt finds himself on his own. He is getting more and more desperate, and eventually takes down Bullseye. He manages to get to the Kingpin, in a big fight, the Kingpin is taken down. Happy ending, people!

The film got a very lukewarm reception when it opened on Valentines Day. This is not a totally unexpected. It is not a terrible movie, but it is far from perfect. The story seems to attempt to force a lot of stuff from the comics. It is clear that the primary source of inspiration comes from Frank Miller years. No big surprise, as those were part of the innovative years of Daredevil (before his more recent run by folks like Ed Brubaker).

But there seems to be some problems with a single movie that takes a massive character arc and compresses it. The film tries to take the character from a positive place and drag him through hell, all while also bringing Electra into it and having him take down the Kingpin. It seems a bit counter intuitive, considering they were attempting to get a franchise started. The darker edge seems like it might have been better saved for a sequel, as it all feels very rushed and not fleshed out here.

There seems to be confusion in the script as how to present Daredevil as well. Noble hero or grim vigilante. You have a sequence where he could save a rapist he failed to put away or let him get killed. Yeah, he may be a rapist and therefore scum…but it really is not the best portrayal to show Daredevil so callous about death. Then there is the moment where Daredevil dives in through a window and takes to pummeling one of Kingpin’s enforcers. Daredevil realizes that he is being watched…by the enforcer’s terrified kid. This would have been a great bit in a stronger film. In a sequel, you could have really sold a tale about Matt Murdock wallowing in darkness and being pulled back to reality. And that is what they are trying to do here…but it never has enough time to make it work.

It is nice the way they try and weave Murdock’s Catholicism into the story (with some great shots of Daredevil standing atop a cathedral to boot). It is fairly nicely handled with some interaction between Matt/Daredevil and his Priest.

Affleck does pretty well, though he and Garner (ironically for the time) don’t have a lot of chemistry. I am not sure I feel Ben fully carries the movie as a solo hero, he has little support from other heroes like the X-Men. Colin Farrel is pretty entertaining and he clearly just decided to really ham it up.

The odd thing with Bullseye is he has no costume. On the one hand, I get the concerns about his outfit from the comics. On the other, they gave Daredevil a pretty close approximation to his comic book costume. Bullseye simply has a bullseye carved into his forehead.

Jennifer Garner is kind of lifeless. I never really buy Electra’s hearbreak and thirst for vengeance-even though they give us a training montage set to a Evanescence song. The direction of the film feels pretty pedestrian, resulting in a film lacking real identity. And nothing really saves it. There is not a real unique sense of style to the film.

The film does a nice job in addressing Matt’s powers though-including how distracting they can be. In the film, he sleeps in a sensory deprivation chamber. And as I said, the times when we see things through Daredevil’s sonar are nicely handled.

But ultimately, while I appreciate the effort, in the end it is a film that is simply “okay”. The director’s cut is actually a slightly improved version, though the flaws remain.

September 19, 2016 0

Hooked On a Feelin’ (Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014)

When Marvel announced Guardians of the Galaxy, it was met with a pretty collective “huh?” The announcement of director James Gunn was not much help. Gunn had directed 2 films prior. The Sci-Fi comedy Slither and the dark super-hero satire Super. His writing credits were a bit more substantial. While comic fans knew who the Guardians of the Galaxy were, the masses did not. And this did not bode well for early anticipation.

And yet…James Gunn managed to deliver one of Marvel’s best films to date. A traditional “Mismatched Crew Saves the Day” tale, the writing and performances make the most of the weirdness to carve a very fun film.

The film opens with young Peter Quill at the bedside of his dying mother. When he runs off, he is abducted by aliens. Because in Marvel’s world, that is just the kind of stuff that happens. After a heavy-hearted beginning, we are introduced to grown up Quill. In what seems like a serious sci-fi moment, Quill walks the landscape of a dead planet. He pauses and puts on earphones and the booming sound of Come and Get Your Love. This sets up a tone for the film that is highly effective.

We learn that Quill is not the brightest and gets by on luck. As he tries to pawn off the magical McGuffin he steals from an old temple, he finds himself dealing with the green skinned Gamora who is after the McGuffin. At the same time, Rocket (a talking raccoon) and Groot (a talking tree) are bounty hunters pursuing Quill. This leads to all of them being imprisoned. They are forced into a team, getting a late addition of Drax (Also green skinned and also tattooed). Drax wants to kill Gamora, because she is an associate of the mad Kree Warrior and religious zealot Ronan. Ronan killed Drax’s family and he is seeking his vengeance. Quill talks the other four into a prison escape, as Gamora knows someone who is interested in the McGuffin.

The prison escape is both action packed and highly entertaining. Gunn keeps everything moving, and even when the film slows down? It has momentum. Gunn makes sure not to ignore the development of the Guardians. They have opportunities to grow and Gunn (along with initial screen writer Nicole Pearlman) and overcome their situations. Vin Diesel has one line, yet manages to imbue different emotions every time he says it. When Drax discovers that Ronan does not appear to remember him or his family…he is lost and beaten. He was entirely of no consequence to Ronan. It causes him to alter his perspective. He also starts to get the value of his friends. Even if he does not understand how to talk to them.

The film focuses on the Guardians as David’s to Ronan’s Goliath, and it really works. The cast is effective, Probably the biggest flaw of the film is Ronan. This has not been uncommon, a lot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films seem to be thin on their villains (usually expecting to be overcome by good casting). Otherwise the film is full of humor and excitement. Gunn took an unknown group of characters and made a strong tale of friendship and misfits overcoming adversity.

September 18, 2016 1

Burning Love (Iron Man 3, 2013)

When they announced Iron Man 3’s villain there was concern The Mandarin was a character with a rather troubling past. An evil magical Asian. Then they announced he was being played by Ben Kingsley. He isn’t an example of Whitewashing exactly (Kingsley is not white). But in the end, this was not the big concern for most viewers. Favreau was out…Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black was in.

Borrowing from the comic’s Extremis story-line, Tony runs into a guy trying to outdo his armor by creating soldiers who don’t need armor. They are living weapons. The problem is that they are volatile and prone to exploding. Then there is the mysterious terrorist the Mandarin. As Tony finds the situation escalating, he goes into hiding. He is still struggling with Post Traumatic Stress for the alien invasion in the Avengers. As it all comes together Tony discovers a few twists, including the possibility the terrorist organization does not even exist.

As usual, the cast is stellar, and Kingsley’s reveal is entertaining. Though as the Mandarin he has this weird southern drawl that seems…out of place. But other than that, the performances are quite good.

Of all the action sequences, there is a sequence where Iron Man saves people in freefall that is just great.

The effects are strong, though at times the powers seem arbitrary. People with Extremis technology exhibit some really random powers (such as breathing fire). They do look pretty cool though. Also, the ending seems to make no sense. Tony destroys all his armor for…I guess…reasons? It feels like they were trying to put a stamp of closure on the Iron Man franchise when we knew he would be back for another Avenger’s movie.

All in all, I found Iron Man 3 a bit of an improvement over the second film. It has intrigue, action and humor.

September 16, 2016 0

Strike While the Iron Is Hot (Iron Man 2, 2010)

Seriously…Iron Man 2… not Invincible Iron Man??? What a miss…

Anyways, The first Iron Man was a surprise hit. Marvel was building towards their shared movie universe and did not want to mess that up. So, they stuck to their guns. Favreau was back to direct Downey Jr. and the entire cast that survived made it back for the sequel.

Well, almost everyone. Terrence Howard tried to renegotiate his fee, and Marvel was not interested…so they asked him to not let the door hit him on the ass and brought in Don Cheadle. I was pretty torn. I thought Howard did well and was likeable as Jim Rhodes. On the other hand? Love Don Cheadle.

One of the harder parts of Iron Man is his rogues gallery. He fights a lot of armored guys. That can get repetitive…on the other hand, you have guys like the Mandarin. A Magical Asian. So they went with…um…Whiplash. I wondered how they could make that interesting They kind of succeeded.

Whiplash is obsessed with Stark because he feels Stark’s father betrayed his father. The other villain in the film is Tony’s weaker competitor, Justin Hammer. Hammer is trying to give the government the same kind of technology Stark has. Ultimately they achieve it by using Whiplash, who has knowledge of Tony’s tech.. The film also introduces us to Natasha Romanoff, also known as the the Black Widow. Whiplash is freed from the authorities by Hammer who wants to use his expertise. Hammer is cocky, but he he is less competent than Tony or Whiplash, who double crosses Hammer to get his revenge on Tony.

There is a lot to like here. But the best stuff is almost all at the end. We get Stark and Rhodey fighting together against Hammer’s drones, Black Widow kicking butt and just a lot of cool stuff. But at times, it feels like it is taking forever to get there. This film has the exact opposite issue of the first film. The build up is not all that involving as an audience member, but the ending is great.

Again, the chemistry between Downey and Paltrow is magnetic. And Cheadle slides right into the role like he was always there. Johansson gives us just a taste of the character to come, and it is great. Rockwell is wonderfully sleazy as Justin Hammer. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is established as a major player tying the Marvel Cinematic Universe together.

Iron Man 2 is not quite the follow up I would have hoped for, but it would not sink the franchise or the MCU either. It is one of the weakr entries, but strong enough to not be totally dismissed.

September 15, 2016 0

The Iron Age (Iron Man, 2008)

Simply described as: How to start building your bigger, badder franchise.

Iron Man has a history going back to 1990 in attempts to bring it to the screen. Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator) was on board for Universal…years later, Nick Cage and Tom Cruise sought the role of Tony Stark. When They announced Director Jon Favreau as director and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, there seemed to be a collective “Meh.” I get why Favreau was not instantly met with a cheer. He had three films to his credit as director. The idea that he had the chops as director to take on something of this level certainly was at least hinted at with Zarthura… but I was more perplexed by the indifference to the ever talented Downy Jr. He seemed all to well suited for the role of a care free playboy that is Tony Stark.

The film opens in Afghanistan, with Stark riding in a Humvee. He has some playful banter with the soldiers, before they fall under attack. The film does a terrific job of switching the tones from the casual goofing off at the start to the harrowing action and destruction that follows. After diving behind a rock, Tony is surprised as a rocket lands next to him… Stark noticed his logo on the side of the rocket as it explodes. We see rough shots of men holding him captive before jumping back in time. We discover that Stark lives a pretty carefree life…he pays little attention to time, does not worry about losing large sums of cash while gambling and has a way with the ladies. He seduces a reporter only to leave dealing with her the next morning to his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). He’s a genius who is constantly trying to occupy his mind (playing with cars) but also a terrific pitchman.

When we get back to Afghanistan, Tony discovers he is a prisoner of the Ten Rings, along with Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) who saved Tony’s life. The Ten Rings want Tony to build them a new weapon. For parts, they show him a massive collection of Stark weaponry. Tony refuses to help. Once alone, Yinsen compels Tony to use his talents to fight back. Under the guise of agreeing to make the new weapon, Tony starts designing and building a means of escape. First, he builds a new version of the magnet repealing shrapnel from his heart. One that does not require a car battery.

It turns out to be a suit of armor. In a thrilling escape, Tony fights the minions of the Tenth Circle, but losing Yinsen in the process. One of the nice things that the script and performances manage is a convincing friendship between the two, so Yinsen’s death feels like it truly impacts start and that he is both heartbroken and angry at the loss. After returning to the states, Tony calls for a press conference where he announces-much to the shock of his second in command Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges)-he is taking Stark Industries out of the Military Industrial Complex. We also meet an important character to the Marvel movie franchise. Agent Phil Colson (Clark Gregg) introduces himself to Pepper, wanting to discuss Tony’s escape.

Obediah seems to be an understanding and caring guy. He’s concerned about the future of the company, but seems to think they can make it work based off of the mini-arc reactor in Tony’s chest (the magnet in his chest). Tony starts to upgrade his reactor and build a new suit of armor. There are a lot of fun scenes with Tony stumbling through building high tech armor. This leaves Tony concerned about his friendship with Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Terrence Howard). Rhodey is seemingly frustrated that he sees Stark walking away from helping the military.

Stane reveals he locked Tony out of the company, as Tony is pushing for a more peaceable direction for the company. Seeing news about the Tenth Circle in Afghanistan, Tony suits up and hurtles through the sky. He takes out the Tenth Circle, destroying their weapons. He gets the attention of U.S. Military, which leads to an exciting cat and mouse game with Tony and two fighter jets.

Stane works to build a much bigger and more aggressive suit of armor. Of course, Stane and Tony come to blows in an big armor battle.

The chemistry between Tony and Pepper is excellent. It is playful, flirty and not overwrought with melodrama. Paltrow was a terrific choice and the character really shines. Downy Jr. and Paltrow are able to really make the relationship sell with the audience.

Downey Jr is terrific in the role. He seems to effortlessly move from fun and flirtation to passionate and intense focus. At no point does he seem like an ill fit for the part…Tony Stark works in this film because you believe Downey Jr.

Bridges makes a terrific Obediah Stane. He seems so kind and generous at the beginning, but when the charm needs to give way to menace, he really pulls it off. Howard’s Rhodey is a nicely handled role. He is a pro as a soldier, but he knows his friend well, and commits to helping him in any way he can.

Again, watching Tony develop the new armor provides a lot of laughs (Tony gets hurt a lot). His mechanical assistants seems full of personality and humor as we watch them work together. The armor effects are terrific and give the illusion of weight and mass that feels like it was on the set. It feels like it really would be functional. Even when they deviate (such as Jarvis being an A.I. instead of a real person) it often favors the film.

I felt the biggest flaw in the film was the end battle. It felt tacked on, like they suddenly realized they were almost at the end and had not resolved the main conflict with Stane. It’s almost to quick, and honestly a little confusing as to how the giant arc reactor was impacting what was going on (it seems to hurt Stane, but help Tony).

All in all, Iron Man was an exciting and fun film, cementing the idea that Marvel movies were fun and exciting rides…but that they also had solid performances and decent-if not outright terrific-stories. Of course, while it was exciting that they were doing something new-a movie universe-it was hard to tell if this would be a successful venture or a failed experiment.

September 14, 2016 0