Tangled Webs (Spider-Man: Far From Home, 2019)

After the massive epic that was Avengers Endgame, a smaller story to actually close stuff off may seem like an odd choice. And yet? Well, it may have been what was needed.

Bringing back director Jon Watts and the cast of Homecoming, we get a personal story in which Peter Parker really just wants to go on his school trip abroad and confess his love to MJ. But things are complicated. It turns out that pretty much every major character from Homecoming was caught up in the snap. And now they have to deal with the fact that all their classmates are now five years older. The film explores some rather interesting aspects…like all the returned people who were displaced. Peter and May found themselves homeless, which was one of those things you just do not thing about in the grand schemes.

It turns out that Nick Fury is trying to reach Spider-Man, but Peter refuses to take his calls. But once on vacation in Italy, the class comes under attack by a water monster, which is defeated by Mysterio. A mysterious man who Nick Fury informs Peter is from an alternate earth where he fought the threat of elemental men that are now plaguing Peter’s world.

Far From Home bumps up certain characters too much bigger roles, and it is to the benefit of the film. Holland and Zendaya have real chemistry and their storyline is both adorable and a lot of fun.

The Mysterio storyline is really well done. There is a scene where his illusion powers is straight up the stuff of the comics. The visuals in the film are terrific and Gyllenhaal gives a solid performance.

Unlike Homecoming, Happy seems more invested in Peter and Spider-Man. This makes sense on a few levels, but I really did enjoy their interactions in the film.

I really enjoyed this latest outing, even more than Homecoming. It is funny, has heartfelt moments, good performances and great visual effects. Oh, and stay for the Mid and Post Credit scenes. They are game changing moments.

July 10, 2019 0

All By Myself (Solo: A Star Wars Story, 2018)

If you have ever wondered why the Millennium Falcon looks like tuning fork or how Han Solo got the name Han Solo? Solo a Star Wars Story will leave you giddy.

Han Solo is a young man enslaved by a brutal crime lord and in love with fellow slave Qi’ra. When their escape attempt goes awry, and they are separated, Han joins the Empire. Not to good at it, sees an opportunity with Beckett and his crew. They find themselves forced to pull off a dangerous heist to get back in the graces of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn.

It probably sounds at this point like I really disliked Solo. But actually, I had a lot of fun. When the film focuses on the *story* (in other words, the heists) it is a whole lot of fun. But when it starts doing the whole “gotta show this thing the original trilogy referenced” it tends to feel forced into the story. And yeah, if you are making a Han Solo movie, you need Chewbacca.

The performances are largely quite good. I mean, Bettany’s Voss actually kind of made me curious about his background. Woody Harrelson gives a dependable performance as a weary smuggler, hoping to retire. Of course, Glover is a standout. He manages to channel the swagger of Billy Dee Williams without merely imitating him. The droid L3-37 is highly entertaining as a snarky co-pilot for Lando and a droids rights activist (When Lando asks if L3-37 needs anything, she responds “Equal rights?”).

Alden Ehrenreich is not bad in the role…but he does not quite have the self assured cockiness of Ford’s portrayal. The film plays Han as more of a “good guy optimist” who is on the path to the self centered cynic of a New Hope.

And while the film features many double and triple crosses, very little of these come as a surprise. The film tries to make you think you should be surprised…but stuff is telegraphed from afar.

I would say this is my least favorite of the New Star Wars films, but I still had a good time with it overall.

May 25, 2018 0

Swing High (Spider-Man: Homecoming, 2017)

Spider-Man has the distinction of having been rebooted three times in the last fifteen years. Both the Raimi Films and the Marc Webb films have good points. Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is a high point for super-hero themed films. But they also never quite fully got Spider-Man as a character. Maguire’s Peter Parker could be to goofy, while Garfield’s Peter was to moody and mopey.

Sony hit some hard times, made all the worse by a major hack that exposed all sorts of internal issues. One thing it revealed? Sony had talked with Marvel about a deal that would allow Spider-Man to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The talks fell apart before the hack. But this brought them back to life.

Sony decided to let Marvel bring a heavy creative hand in. In exchange, Sony got to include MCU characters in their Spider-Films. The MCU introduced Spider-Man into their world via Captain America: Civil War. Spider-Man was a highlight of that film. And rather than try to retrofit Peter Parker in, as if Spider-Man had been there all along… they stepped into his career early, so he is new on the scene.

Homecoming picks up roughly eight months after Civil War, with Peter enjoying using his Stark supplied super-suit and anxiously awaiting his next big Avengers mission. Which seems to never come along. Instead, Peter races around trying to get better by fighting street crime and helping lost old ladies. His day to day life has, of course, been tougher since Tony Stark has come into his life, and he starts to withdraw to make more time. He dreams of beautiful classmate Liz and hangs out with his closest friend Gan-uh-Ned. Of course, he makes a major discovery, the adults don’t listen and Peter over-confidently decides to take on guys who may be out of his league.

One of the refreshing story points is that this is not about Peter learning about “with Great Power comes Great Responsibility”…at this point, he has learned that lesson. We only get vague reference to Uncle Ben’s death. In fact, the origin of Spider-Man is tossed out in a two second exchange.

Holland’s Peter Parker is sweet and awkward…his Spider-Man is quippy, but still learning. He is not yet the confident Peter Parker, he practices lines, tries to get into a good pose before alerting bad guys to his presence. But of the previous film versions, this is easily the strongest portrayal of Peter. He may be in-experienced, but there are just so many things that make this version…well Spider-Man.

The rest of the cast of characters are updated in some interesting ways. Ned Leeds is really Ganke from the Miles Morales Spider-Man comics, and he is a very fun character. This is largely due to the comic timing and enthusiasm of actor Jacob Batalon. I was most hesitant about Marisa Tomei as Aunt May…not because of her acting ability…but because she is only a few years older than me…and she feels more youthful and vibrant than traditional portrayals of Aunt May. But I ended up really liking her in the role.

Michael Keaton’s Vulture is a terrific improvement on the character. I never really cared for the comic version…he never seemed like he was all that much of a threat. And the green suit did not help. Keaton’s performance is solid and menacing…yet his motives are understandable. He is a guy who wants to provide for his family, and saw secret government agencies undercutting his business. He turns to crime to make up for that. The Vulture look is a nice combination of modern with hints of his original look. It works very well.

The action scenes are all nice and effective. Sometimes these films can get confusing during busy action scenes. Homecoming makes the action easy to follow. And the film is infused with humor. While theses were not absent from the previous versions, it is much more present here. And yet, the humor is not at the expense of Peter’s character. He feels the heavy weight of responsibility, regardless of his experience.

Admittedly, the film does not break new ground for Spider-Man…but I think it may be the best of the Spider-Man films so far. Or, at worst, a close second to Raimi’s second Spider-Man film. This is a fun film, and fun should be part of (a lot more) super-hero films. Being overseen by Marvel, there are plenty of easter eggs…but what Marvel is usually really good about is that the easter eggs are a bonus for fans who love the comics…and if you have not read the comics, you won’t feel like you are missing something.

Honestly, I recommend seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming in the theater. It benefits from being seen with an audience.

July 9, 2017 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

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