Rebellious Teens (Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015)

As with every sequel, things must get bigger and louder. Unlike the first film, the danger really comes from within. Tony is obsessed with changing the way things are done by building a peace keeping for that will put an end to the need for the Avengers. He has been working on an A.I. to watch over the world and prevent tragedy. Even as the Avengers are in action, he has Iron Man like robots trying to do crowd control. But the people are not as confident.

When Tony gets access to some Asgardian technology, he recklessly uses it to try and jump a hurdle with his A.I.’s processing power. Of course it goes wrong, resulting in a mad child called Ultron. Ultron constantly works to better himself. And one goal is to put an end to the Avengers. Not quite in the way Tony anticipated…he was thinking retirement. Ultron is thinking annihilation. To better reach those ends, he brings brother and sister Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. The orphans consented to Hydra experiments that have given them super-powers. Pietro is the super-fast Quicksilver and Wanda has reality warping powers.

In a confrontation with Ultron, the Scarlet Witch manipulates several Avengers, including the Hulk who goes on a rampage. Eventually the reveal of Ultron’s plans (including wiping out the human race) horrifies his cohorts. His continuing evolution actually leads to the introduction of a new character for the MCU. The Vision is introduced when the Mind Stone and lightening (along with the Jarvis AI) are combined to create the Vision.

Age of Ultron tries to be the Empire Strikes back, and is certainly loaded with darker themes than the previous films. The performances are strong, and when the Scarlet Witch exposes Iron, Cap, Black Widow, Thor and the Hulk to their greatest fears of their past or potential futures, it threatens to break their bond apart.

The action is top notch. There are several excellent and memorable fight sequences. The jokes mostly land (but who thought it was a good idea for Tony to suggest if he can lift Thor’s hammer that he would reinstate the practice of kings sleeping with new brides on their wedding night). There are a couple running jokes that can be particularly entertain. The running gag about lifting Thor’s Hammer (which has a very good payoff) is especially fun.

The movie gives more attention to Hawkeye. There was talk that Renner was very frustrated with the path the character took in the first Avengers. This may be Whedon’s way of saying “sorry” to Renner. It also establishes firmly the friendship with Natasha.

The effects are very good. Vision looks very close to his comic book counterpart, without looking to fake. Yet he is slightly unnatural. Which is kind of the point. Bettany gives life to the role. It only took his seven years to be more than a voice-over (now he is a motion capture voice-over).

The film faced some criticism over Natasha calling herself a monster to Bruce Banner. Some viewers felt the takeaway was that Natasha saw herself as a monster due to being sterilized. I don’t know that I accept it was that clear cut. Because the film is quite direct that it is the idea that she was a cold and efficient killer, and the folks who sterilized her believed this would make her that cold and efficient killer. But I will agree it was somewhat clumsy in the writing, and Whedon deserves the credit for that.

In the end, I enjoyed this second outing with the Avengers. It has some weak points, but nothing that ruined the overall enjoyment.

September 30, 2016 0

I Will Avenge Thee (the Avengers, 2012)

The Avengers was the culmination of four years of effort on the part of Marvel Studios. They worked to establish their interconnected Universe building up to this. People were excited and the Marvel Machine had primarily seen success with their films leading up to this. The first hiccup was losing Edward Norton. Ed and Marvel could not come to an agreement for the Avengers. So Marvel brought in the likable Mark Ruffalo. The other big announcement was that Joss Whedon would direct. He did not have that many movies under his belt, but he did have a few beloved television series, so as an overseer for the Cinematic Universe, he seemed well suited.

Loki is the central villain of the film, working with an alien race called the Chitari. The film moves quickly to introduce the core members to each other, with a brief but exciting “Heroes meet, misunderstand the situation and fight” sequence. This is an old comic book trope, and Whedon makes it work, and does not drag it out.

Once the heroes are brought together, they capture Loki who has a devious plan. His escape leaves the team in shambles and a supporting character dead (but don’t worry, he got better for the S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series). This, of course, encourages the heroes to band together and defeat Loki and stop the alien invasion.

Whedon proves himself to be quite skilled with both small moments and spectacle. The final battle is exciting and full of grand heroics as Captain America takes charge. We see him as a wise strategist. When a police officer questions why they should listen to his instruction, he takes out an alien assault, no questions as the officer starts telling his men to implement Cap’s plan.

The introduction of Black Widow is pretty classic. It is one of those “damsel in Distress” sequences where you realize the bad guys never had a chance. The cast has an amazing amount of chemistry. Even their bickering is engaging. The film has the rapid quippy dialog Whedon is known for in shows like Buffy and Firefly. Ruffalo fits in to the crew seamlessly. As much as I like Norton and his Bruce Banner, Ruffalo manages to make the character all his own. It is all quite engaging.

I feel the biggest lapse in judgement is having Hawkeye spend the first half of the film as a possessed lackey of Loki. It just feels like the character deserves better than that.

While there is weight of imminent destruction, the film never gets too dark. You have lighter moments to even it all out. The Avengers was overall a great success that is a lot of fun to watch.

September 29, 2016 0

Comic Book Movies Are The End of Movies

I will be honest…I find this claim a bit dubious. Not because there is zero truth to it. But the headline lays the lack of staying power. Hollywood has relied heavy on genre before and movies survived. For one, westerns did not kill the industry. And they ruled for a long time.

But as the article notes, lots of movies from multiple genres are facing massive declines in their second and third weeks. The continued reliance on blaming comic book movies (or more specifically Super-Hero movies…after all, Road to Perdition and a History of Violence are comic book movies) for Hollywood’s ills is a bit overstating things.

There are less than ten super-hero films a year (usually less than five, but there is a year coming up with eight or nine on the slate). There are over a hundred films released every year. Super-hero films are not even ten percent of the films released each year. I have mentioned all this before. I think the article is right in the reference to all the choices cannibalizing each other.

I confess, there is one thing I wish Marvel Studios would do. Marvel has a large catalog of material. They are saturating their own market with such big movies, they are not planning for what will happen when super-hero films just won’t make money. Marvel Studios has a real concern there than DC does not have. DC is just part of the WB…they have other options.

Marvel’s sole option right now is their cinematic universe. Marvel Studios can, and should start considering making smaller movies…films not aimed at the blockbuster. Both in their cinematic universe and outside of it.

Marvel needs to look to the future if they want to succeed past 2020. They need to look into stuff they own that is not super-heroes. Fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, adventures,espionage, comedy, family fare. Marvel has all sorts of options beyond their Cinematic Universe. They need to take the risk and see if they can succeed without the MCU. They took risks with Ant-Man and Guardians and now Doctor Strange. Now Kevin Feige and his team need to see if they can work their magic beyond super-heroes.

September 10, 2016 1

Marvel (Studios) Vs DC (Warner Brothers)

So, there has been a fair amount of talk suggesting DC royally kicked Marvel’s butt at the San Diego Comic Con this years when it comes to the movie side of things. There was this article specifically citing nine ways that DC owned Marvel at SDCC. While the points are valid, the “nine ways” are really the same one point, repeated nine times.

What is all comes down to is DC brought their A Game. Marvel did not. I was not there, so I am trusting the word of people I know who were there. They were more impressed with DC (and Warner brothers) than Marvel’s contribution. Marvel has one movie left this year, Doctor Strange. I am excited for this film, I think it could be a nice and solid expansion into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They had some brief news, one that Kurt Russell is playing the human form of Ego the Living Planet. The full Cast of Black Panther (which looks like an excellent cast). They also announced Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first movie focused on a female lead hero. Which comes out two years after Wonder Woman. Way to drop that ball. But the thing is, these announcements are simply confirmations of rumors. Marvel relied mostly on concept art, rather than exciting new footage.

You see, DC Surprised everyone with brand new footage of Wonder Woman and Justice League. Footage that got even jaded fans tired out by Man of Steel and Batman V Superman. People got excited for DC’s cinematic future with actual footage. Marvel only had footage for Doctor Strange…not one scrap of footage from Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor Ragnarok. Now, that is understandable…filming just began on July 4th. Far to close to SDCC to provide anything substantial. But it would have been cool if Marvel announced their new name for the next Avengers film. And that they next two were not a two parter. Instead, they announced this after the con and they did not know what it would be called yet. They had no footage from Spider-Man homecoming either.

DC’s parent company WB also got people excited with a new trailer for the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them and the first trailer for Kong Island, which looks quite thrilling. Disney (Marvel’s parent company) brought…well…nothing. It is pretty hard to say that Marvel did not get owned this years. They played the same game they always played, and their over confidence appears to have led them to underestimate their competition. It is to bad, considering how ahead they were, allowing DC to catch up may dampen enthusiasm.

July 31, 2016 0

Marvelous

So, I recently wrote about how some feared what the success of Deadpool meant for the future of comic book and superhero films. And it looked like we were getting a glimpse of those fears being realized. There was first the announcement that the Superman vs Batman Blu-Ray would have an ‘R-Rated’ edition. Then they announced a go for the third Wolverine as an ‘R’.

There are reasons I think those were possible before Deadpool, but I think it did play at least a minor role.

However, proving that this may not be the trend it appeared to be, Marvel has announced they will not be making their Cinematic Universe a haven of ‘R-Rated’ super-hero films. This is welcome news. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has skewed comfortably PG-13. They are not little kid safe…but older kids on up have been able to enjoy them. Parents have been able to take older kids and teens and enjoy the films. They were not to risqué (Guardians of the Galaxy pushed that envelope the most).

I am glad to see Marvel sticking to the plan, rather than being distracted by Deadpool dollars.

March 5, 2016 0

It’s the Little Things (Ant-Man, 2015)

Ant-Man is the 12th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has been the source of multiple controversies. It was not always meant to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, instead it was the pet project of Edgar Wright. With Iron Man, Marvel Studios birthed their cinematic universe, and slowly started to wrangle Ant-Man in. When Marvel announced actor Paul Rudd, it got a shot in the arm. Eventually Wright and Marvel hit an impasse. Wright left the project and people got nervous about Ant-Man. Although a founding Avenger in the comics, many questioned the point of a character seen as fairly obscure outside of comic circles. But Marvel was determined to make the film, hiring director Peyton Reed (Down With Love, Bring It On).

The film we have gotten is not necessarily what we would have gotten from Edgar Wright. But that does not make what we got a bad offering. The fears that we were getting the first official MCU bomb have not come true.

The film is the story of criminal Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). He was a skilled burglar who exposed a corporation screwing over it’s customers and is now recently released. His hopes of being a part of his daughter Cassie’s life are quickly dashed, as his ex-wife (Judy Greer-underused again) set strict rules before he can re-enter Cassie’s life.

Running parallel is the story of Hank (Michael Douglas) and Hope (Evangeline Lilly) Pym. Hank has spent 20 years trying to protect Pym Particles from falling into anyone’s hands and it strained his relationship with his daughter Hope. Hope felt abandoned at a time when she probably needed Hank the most-the death of his wife and her mother Janet.

The strong points of the film are that it stays mostly in it’s own grounds. There is an obligatory Avengers crossover, and we know Hank used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. But it is mostly background. This is smaller scale, no universe/planet saving. In fact, it is more of a traditional heist film where they added the element of super-heroics. The final battle takes place in a little girl’s room. The only world at stake in that moment is Scott’s. After so many “bigger” Marvel films, the smallness of the film is pretty refreshing.

The cast is terrific, with Michael Peña‘s Luis being a real highlight. He is solid and enjoyable comic relief. It is a nice touch that he is not inept, simply excitable. I liked Evangeline Lily’s Hope, and even felt Douglas made Hank’s adamant refusal to allow her to don the Ant-Man costume made sense.

The miniature effects look great, and Reed makes the best of the moments.

At the same time, the film seemed to take short cuts. We never really see when Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross shift from ambitious business man to psycho villain. It just happens. While understandable why Hank opposes it, the idea that Hope never dons an outfit as the Wasp in the film? Disappointing.

Another controversy (which proves true in the final film) was “fridging” the original Wasp*. We never see much of her, she is hidden behind a mask. Between this and the lack of Lilly getting to be the Wasp left me wanting a bit more from the film.

The final work is still strong, with likable characters, fun adventure and great humor.

*”Fridging” is the term for storytelling where a female character is killed on or off screen for the sole benefit of the lead (usually male) character.

August 29, 2015 0

Spider-Man Swings Past the Origin

The site Collider has a discussion with the writers (though, the actual interview occurred on the Andy Greenwald Podcast) of the rebooted Spider-Man franchise.

Much talk has been given about Spider-Man’s second reboot and his entering the the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The hype is getting so ridiculous that an article appeared in my Facebook feed *confirming* Spider-Man would appear in Civil War. People are so desperate for angles that they are confirming stories confirmed months ago.

The more interesting part is the address the most common concern people seem to have about the reboot. Are we getting stuck with another origin story? The fact that Spider-Man is appearing in Civil War would indicate the answer to be no. The MCU has been fairly good at not jumping backwards. The timeline appears as if they will be jumping into a story with an active Spider-Man.

This interview suggests that, currently, they are not writing an origin movie:

“I think that everybody feels like you know he got bit by a spider and you know Uncle Ben died, and we probably don’t need to revisit that.”

“We want to explore the fact that just because you get superpowers doesn’t make you into a really sophisticated, successful adult. He’s still a kid and he’s clumsy and he’s a geek and he’s a bit of an outcast, and in many ways the superpowers amplify that and exacerbate his trying to fit in.”

This is good to see. Truthfully, the origin movie is rarely needed. I get that there are all sorts of fun that can occur with someone learning their powers. But a simple solution is set the story early in the hero’s career. This allows for amusing and dramatic stumbles due to inexperience. You can still set up the rivalries.

In that sense, I get the idea that DC is working with. It seems like Batman v Superman will be introducing characters who are already active. I am not fully behind the “older Batman” approach…but in a way, I appreciate the way they seem to be avoiding another Batman origin story. Sure, it appears we will see some flashbacks, but comics have always reflected on characters origins in their storytelling. But Warner Brothers and DC seem to be realizing they can start the story later in the career of the character. Really, I think it would have helped Man of Steel to start in his early career, instead of the introduction to his world as fighting a massive and destructive battle with Zod.

To be fair, Marvel has not just given us origin films. The Incredible Hulk was not an origin tale and really, Thor was an established Asgardian Warrior. But Marvel really has leaned heavily on origin films. And it certainly worked for the best with Captain America. So it is good to see that Marvel and their screenwriters understand that it is just not necessary to retell the Spider-Origin all over again.

August 1, 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