Super Heroes All Grown Up…

Jeet Heer has made a rather thoughtful piece on the “grown up-ness” of Super-hero films. This is not an entirely new phenomenon, after all, the Burton Batman films faced criticism of being to scary. But yet, the family friendly super-hero film does seem to be progressively scarce.

While Marvel seems hit or miss, some films being lighter than others, DC seems to be making films aimed squarely at the Frank Miller and Alan Moore* fanboys. I’ve have expressed frustration in the past that DC has set a dark tone for their universe. And the next film we get is March’s Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. And while I think the latest trailer is a little more promising, I still feel like it sets the trajectory in the wrong direction.

Man of Steel was a mopey and grim affair. And the very next step is to pit the flagship heroes against each other? And then we get Suicide Squad? Understand, I have a soft spot for the original Suicide Squad, and by no means am I opposed to Amanda Waller getting back to the big screen.

But the Suicide Squad being the third entry in DC’s shared cinematic world keeps the tone overwhelmingly dark. Where is the light toned DC film? Where heroes are fun? That you can take your kids?

On the one hand, I feel Heer goes overboard. The article has deep implications that super-heroes films aimed at adults should not exist. I just cannot agree with this. I dare say it is a genre that is at home with adults. And telling artists and writers they must write for kids or stop writing super-hero material (although Miller has written fairly little Super-Hero fare in last decades)…seems absurd.

On the other hand? Jeet is right about the lack of fun super-hero movies that are aimed kids or at least families. There are far to few, and while the Avengers franchise teeters back and forth, Marvel’s TV side is just getting darker. I loved Daredevil. And Daredevil has long been more for college students and older in all his formats. But the only fun Super-Hero on TV right now is the Flash. We need more shows in that vein. Superman should be in that vein.

But I have two little nephews (ages three and four) who like super-heroes. My older nephew loves the Avengers, in spite of not seeing any of the movies. They both think Spider-Man and Batman are awesome. They like to pretend to fly like Superman.

I have no idea how old they will need to be to see any of those characters recent films. But I can easily say it might be years. And that is a bummer. I am not calling for an end to super-hero films for adults…there should be room for movies like Deadpool and Kick Ass. I am simply asking that we get more all ages super-hero films. Hey DC…how about a rollicking comedy centered on Plastic Man?

*Moore has switched to slamming grown up heroes and anyone who likes super-heroes over ten. Not a change for the better. he is also a guy who thinks the sexual awakings of young literary heroines is worth writing. Unsure how that is better than adding rape to Super-hero comics.

July 17, 2015 0

A Bond By Any Other Name… (Kingsman: The Secret Service, 2015)

Like Matthew Vaughn’s previous Mark Millar adaption (Kick Ass), Kingsman: The Secret Service promises to be a bold and irreverent take on it’s genre. Kick Ass poked fun at super-heroes through excessive violence and profanity. Kingsman follows through. It is irreverent, extremely violent at times and full of profanity.

And yet, it seems to be a bit more loving of it’s target. It is as much homage to the classic spy films of the past. Colin Firth’s Galahad is older, handsome and stylish. He seems proper and speaks of manners even in a fist fight. Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is a rough hooligan lacking a sense of manners.

But when we first meet Eggsy, his father has died, and the promising future is dashed. His father was a secret agent, a member of the Kingsman organization. Heartbroken, his mother appeared to have never recovered from that loss. Eggsy gets in trouble with the police, only to meet Galahad who invites him to join the Kingsman Organization.

Unsurprisingly the other recruits are high society kids. The film focuses heavily on Eggsy going through each test, and building his friendship with Galahad. The central villain is a flamboyant tech genius named Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). His goal is to wipe out a massive number of the human population to save the world from global warning. One of his more interesting quirks is that he does not take pleasure or joy in the actual death, but he is certain that it is a worthy end.

The film is comically violent (there are at least two scenes of massive carnage) far more than any Bond film ever managed. But the film manages to be entertaining. There is good humor, and the cast has great chemistry together. I especially liked how the three women are characters, not love interests. One of his competitors, Roxy (Sophie Cookson) is his equal, and he supports her not because he wants to date her, but because they are friends.

Eggsy is a troubled guy, but he is decent, a supportive friend, cares deeply for his mother and baby sister…he has solid qualities that Galahad seeks to steer towards a greater good.

The film is, all in all, quite a bit of fun. The characters are likable, the cast is solid through and through. It is an effective action movie, even if some of the beats are somewhat predictable. The film embraces it’s super-spy inspirations and follows the conventions. It does it with fun style (Valentine’s henchwoman is pure old school Bond).

While there are moments that seem to relish the crass violence, overall this film is an effective adventure that left me smiling.

July 11, 2015 0

More Man Than Machine (Robocop, 1987)

Usually, to refer to a movie as a comic book movie is to suggest it was based on a specific comic book. There was not a Robocop comic when the film came out (although, Marvel quickly adapted it into an ongoing series). But Robocop had all the markings of a good super-hero comic. A noble lead who suffers tragedy and is reborn with great powers, forced to rediscover who they are, all while fight nefarious villains. It’s also Paul Verhoven’s one great film.

Spoilers are all over this…so if you have not seen RoboCop, but think you would like to someday? You might not want to read this.

Robocop is set in a near future that seems scarily possible. Crime is rampant in Old Detroit. Companies like OCP (Omni Consumer Products) now have contracts with the police dept effectively privatizing the police force. The villains of the film fall into two groups. There are the bottom level drug dealers, thieves, murderers and rapists…and then there are high rise occupying corporate men and women. The central villain is Dick Jones (Played with malice by Ronny Cox), the second in command at OCP. After his failure with his ED 209 Urban Pacification Unit, in swoops younger go getter Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer). Bob has been working on the Robocop plan, and has the opportunity to pitch it to “The Old Man” (Dan O’Herlihy).

Peter Weller is able to convince us in a few short scenes that Alex Murphy was a decent, generous father, husband and cop. He loved his family and was devoted to his job. He also seems to get respect quickly from his sergeant (Robert DoQui) and his partner, Officer Lewis (Nancy Allen). In just a few minutes of screen time, he manages to make Murphy matter enough that when his inevitable death occurs at the hands of low life sleaze Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his gang, it’s downright painful. Granted, part of the reason for that is that Verhoven is so graphic in the film’s violence. However, for the most part, the graphic violence feels justified within the context of the story.

So, by dying, Murphy “volunteers” for the Robocop Project. This leads to a nice series of shots all from Robocop’s perspective as he is being built. This lends a nice air of mystery as you wait anxiously to see the final look of Robocop. Even when he is finished, you don’t get a good look at him as he enters the police station. When he is revealed, the transformation is surprising. You barely see the man and Weller moves like a machine in an extremely convincing manner.

This all leads to a nice series of scenes where Robocop saves people. An interesting moment is after stopping an attempted rape, the victim hugs him and is thanking Robocop…but Robocop has no emotion about stopping the crime, it’s simply what he is programmed to do. He starts directing the victim to a local rape crisis center in a cold, uncaring tone.

But as OCP has tried to suppress the man, Murphy seems to fight to be free. Nightmares of Murphy’s death jar Robocop from his “sleep”. Lewis is the first to recognize the man. And it’s her questions that trigger Robocop to search his own history. In one scene, Robocop asks Lewis about “Murphy’s” family. Murphy is the other. He is not Murphy. After she explains to him what became of his family… Robocop quietly notes that he can “feel them, but I can’t remember them.” There is a tone of mechanical desperation in that line. He can process there is something there, but his programming cannot connect with what is missing.

Robocop runs into a member of Boddicker’s gang, which triggers a curiosity. Robocop needs to investigate who killed him. This film is focused on Robocop uncovering the mystery of how he died, but then who he is, and how to regain what he lost.

Robocop’s effectiveness is in its characters. The villains are despicable, the heroes noble (but flawed). One of my favorite characters is Sergeant Reed, a passionate leader in his precinct. He will not stand for talking of a strike, he is a police officer, and that is a noble profession that can’t just go on strike. He quickly seems to accept Robocop as an officer, not merely a machine. On the other end of the spectrum is Kurtwood Smith who plays Clarence Boddicker with such evil glee, you almost like (and totally hate the bastard). Nancy Allen plays Lewis as a confident, bright and headstrong officer. Ronny Cox is so calculated and heartless in his portrayal of the power hungry Bob Jones, you hope for a worthy demise (and yeah, it’s “worthy”).

And again, Peter Weller? The suffering he must have endured in that suit never shows. Instead, he moves in such a way that you can often forget there is a man beneath it, I can’t recall a moment where he slipped up. And yet, he manages to bring a warmth to Robocop as his self realization grows. His movements are machine, but he becomes a man at heart.

I had mentioned this as Verhoven’s best film, and I stand by that. Often, his desire to shock with copious amounts of violence and nudity result in a rather flat story. And often, the themes he says he wanted to explore are barely touched upon at all. But in Robocop, his social commentary and satire on our consumerist and corporate culture pretty much hits every mark with great accuracy.

Robocop has managed to remain relevant and be entertaining even 28 years later.

July 9, 2015 0

Aunt May’s Fountain of Youth

The reports are coming out that Marisa Tomei is going to be Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies now. Which just feels crazy.

Not because she is a bad actress. Not because I dislike her. I like her a lot and think she is talented. But you know…this is Aunt May…

She is an older woman. Now granted, they made her a bit less frail in the Ultimate Spider-Man Comics. I appreciate and get that. Old does not feel quite the same in my 40’s. But when Sam Raimi made the first Spider-Man in 2002, Rosemary Harris was 75 at the time. I loved Harris in all three of Raimi’s Spider-Man films. She had a strength of spirit and a kindness, even though she was not physically imposing.

When they rebooted the franchise with the Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, Sally Field was 66. I liked this casting, it put a slightly younger spin, but Aunt May was still advanced in age in comparison to Peter.

But Marisa Tomei is barely 51. I mean, I guess it is not that crazy to think of a teen having an aunt in their 50’s…but for some reason this ongoing de-aging of Aunt May just feels…off.

July 9, 2015 0

Jor-El Sent His Only Son (Man of Steel, 2013)

Preface: This is a review I wrote two years ago. I have, however, edited it a bit.

And lo, there was much controversy and arguing. So it was I saw finally got around to seeing the tale Man of Steel. Zak Snyder, David Goyer and Christopher’s grimmer take on the Superman mythos.

In a lot of ways, this is a response to the toughly reviewed Superman Returns. One of the cries was “more action” and boy do we get it.

First, the good. I think Henry Cavill did a solid job as Superman. The film spends it’s time focusing on a Superman who is not working for the Daily Planet, but rather Clark Kent roaming the planet and saving people. It is borrowing an idea from Mark Waid’s terrific Birthright…and while not quite as nicely executed, it makes sense to use it as a reference.

The film opens on Krypton, one like we have not seen in previous film or television adaptions. I am pleased to see they opted to break free of the influence of Donner for this film. It is a Krypton that has evolved to genetic engineering, something scientist Jor-El seeks to set his son free of. This happens in the midst of a military coup by General Zod (Michael Shannon). He and his followers are sent to the Phantom Zone, shortly before the destruction of Krypton.

Amy Adams is a tough and fearless Lois Lane who is on the trail of the mysterious hero. I liked her quite a bit in the role. She was aggressive and dedicated to finding her story. I also felt Zod and Faora were solid characters. As Superman’s parents, Russell Crowe, Ayelet Zurer, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are all quite strong. Lara’s role is short, but she is strong and full of courage. Crowe is mainly there for exposition, but he makes it work.

The visual effects were great, seeing Superman use his powers was exhilarating. I truly had fun watching him use his powers.

The tougher stuff…while I liked Costner, I had the same problem with Man of Steel as I did with Smallville. Pa Kent is obsessed with “keeping the secret” which extends to “let people die”. This is troubling on a lot of levels. The action in the film is relentless, giving little time to catch our breath. The characters are also given little space to grow, so we get familiar, but new sketches, rather than full blown character moments. And the destruction becomes numbing…it is just to much.

In addition, Superman never appears as Superman until after Zod arrives. Clark runs around saving people, but once he dons the costume, he saves one person directly, otherwise he is busy fighting Zod and his army. You might ask why this matters…but if we had Clark appearing in Costume before Zod arrives, saving people and stopping crime, that establishes him.

We as the audience have every reason to see Superman as the good guy. We get it, we have seen Clark use his powers to help people. But in the world of the film? The citizens of the world have no reason to trust Superman over Zod. Donner’s original Superman film had a great sequence of Superman doing all sorts of heroics. And it allowed us to see the city of Metropolis becoming excited about Superman. We have seen from the teasers that in Batman vs Superman they plan to explore the motif of hero worship. And this could have set that up.

The other problem was, this feels like Nolan filtered through Snyder. I like Nolan, I liked his take on Batman…but his Batman was grounded in a fairly real world idea. There was no room for a Superman or Wonder Woman in the Nolan Bat Universe. I also liked Watchmen by Snyder. But between the two, they created a Superman world of darkness and paranoia. Even the color schemes are digitally washed out and bleak. This is still slightly better than Stalker Superman.

In the end, I still enjoyed this more than Superman Returns. It is imperfect, but not salvageable for the continuation of Superman.

July 5, 2015 0

Ava DuVernay Will Not Direct the Black Panther

I was hoping this one would come to be. I really thought DuVernay’s Selma and felt that it would be good to bring some of that passion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In a talk with Essence Magazine, she confirmed she was not going to direct. Explaining that why she loved the people involved, she could not come to a place of agreement with Marvel. This is certainly not the first time Marvel and a Director could not find a point where their visions aligned enough make things work.

A lot of this comes down to just how Avengers-centric the Marvel Cinematic Universe is. There is seeming to be less and less room for specific visions within the films themselves. Already Civil War looks less like a Captain America film and more like a mid season replacement for the regular Avengers.

Marvel Studios needs to start looking to expand their product. Movies that are not connected to the Avengers and movies that might even be outside their theatrical universe. Warner Brothers has shifted films based on Vertigo comics to New Line. Marvel needs to start exploring movies that are based in some of their more independent books.

As it stands, their vision and commitment to the Avengers franchise is becoming to restrictive to allow them to work with directors uncomfortable with making a film that serves the bigger puzzle.

July 4, 2015 0