Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

So, I actually wrote this review right after Batman v Superman was released and quickly became to busy to remember to post it. Now, I've remembered, and you get to recall your feelings toward this film. 

Isn't that nice?!?

Expectations:

Disaster of the year?... Possibly. Disaster of the decade?... Probably. 

Batman is my favorite superhero (by a large margin), and I truly adore the Nolan-directed Dark Knight trilogy, which deserves as much praise as it can possibly receive, critical or otherwise. Nolan changed all superhero movies... forever! Even Marvel wants to be a little bit darker! But, they will never be able to touch the baddies of Nolan's Bat-universe. Regardless, there was no bone in body that expected Batman v Superman to even come close to Nolan's films. Ben Affleck could never top Christian Bale. Henry Cavill could never get me interested in Superman. And, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? I mean, what's up with that? 

Plot/Characters:

First and foremost, let me say that Zack Snyder's ridiculous, pre-film request to avoid spoilers was absolutely unnecessary. Did he think Batman v Superman was going to be discussed like Star Wars or something? I don't understand that? Anyway, I'm going to spoil a few things, in this section. So, proceed with caution...

For a film that I thought would be an absolute disaster, I was overwhelmingly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching everything unfold. Sure, it was simple and dumb, at times, and there were several huge, gaping holes in the story. But, overall, it was a lot of fun and truly intrigued me, with regard to how Batman and Superman would "v" one another. And, don't worry, I wasn't in a super critic-friendly mood. As soon as I saw Thomas and Martha Wayne pop up for yet another rendition of their untimely deaths, I was ready to run screaming.

Ultimately, my favorite thing about the film was how Affleck's Batman already had a history and seemed to have the same darkness and coolness that we came to know and love with Bale's Batman, without us having to endure the origin story. And, while it is certainly tough to sit through Henry Cavill playing any character, Superman's own crises were well-founded, and the scene with Superman arriving at the Capitol Building was pretty awesome, even if the outcome was terribly telegraphed.

The biggest flaw in the film was the disastrous Martha Kent, played by Diane Lane. First, in a film filled with 300 cameos, we truly could have done without Martha Kent. Second, why is Superman able to sweep in from some random, hallucinatory mountaintop and rescue Lois Lane, but he can't take the time to rescue his mother from the back alley of her diner? Third, and most ridiculous, what kind of superhero hears his dead mother's name, and immediately forgets every piece of vengeance in his heart, and decides to follow the god of Superman to the ends of the earth? Take Martha Kent out of this film, and everything improves--10 times over. The second biggest flaw in this film was the blatantly unnecessary plugs for the Justice League characters that were absent from this film. Nobody cares about Aquaman or Cyborg, and The Flash already had a cameo. So, why do you need to have some secret file with convenient video evidence that these people exist? A: YOU DON'T.

However, I will defend one character that has been questioned since the first trailer for Batman v Superman was released--Lex Luthor. There is one reason, and one reason only, that The Dark Knight is considered the best of the Nolan-directed Batfilms... The Joker. And, when the Joker has already been delegated to another DC film and there is no hope of ever reaching Heath Ledger's villainous performance, what is Zack Snyder supposed to do? Well, this one is easy. You just turn Lex Luthor into a younger, makeup-less joker and see what happens. But, little did Snyder know that viewers would be attached to the Lex Luthor of old, even if they hadn't considered the character in 20 years. I've yet to understand why people think that a different version of Lex Luthor is automatically a bad version of Lex Luthor. There were things about the character that I didn't enjoy, particularly the most dramatic hair-shaving sequence this side of Les Mis. But, ultimately, he was just meant to move the plot along and bring Batman and Superman together, and even Lex Luthor didn't expect that a woman's NAME would cause Batman to rethink his entire life.

Conclusion:
If it wasn't so easy to find flaws within the film's attempt to create drama and establish a broader DC universe, more people would be open to seeing just how fun Batman v Superman really was. Obviously, that is a sad excuse to make for any film, but I truly believe that people should ignore the critics on this one, go watch the movie, and have a good time! It was an easy watch with plenty of action and solid characters. Sure, they were characters that we already knew, but, if I had a dollar for every time that I've had to re-imagine Spiderman, I would at least be able to buy my ticket to Captain America v Iron Man. In a world where The Avengers are a bunch of has-beens, Batman v Superman is a breath of fresh darkness, and I look forward to what comes next. I give Batman v Superman 3.14 out of 5 stars

Guardians of the Galaxy

Expectations:
Here, in our "Age of the Superhero Film," many moons have passed since Marvel's last bomb. Disney has taken a film franchise and turned it into THE film franchise, and no one expects anything but greatness from this point forward... including me. Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be different, but, unlike many, I never saw the film as a risk for the Disney's Marvel franchise. With Kevin Feige behind the curtain and Disney's marketing abilities abounding, Guardians was destined to be a hit! At this point, Marvel studios has the power to do absolutely anything that they want, as long as it's connected (however vaguely) to the Avengers' universe. With all that said, I expected Guardians of the Galaxy to be different from your typical Avengers flick, and, at the same time, I expected more of the same humorous, action-packed, mass marketable, superhero mumbo-jumbo that we are all hooked on!

Plot:
For some reason, the serious opening scene of the film did not quite fit with what was marketed to me as a fun, goofy superhero flick. As a result, I was quickly worried about the things to come. But, thankfully, the film jumped back into what I expected and never stopped entertaining me, from that point on.

I've heard so much about the differences of Guardians, compared to the other Avengers-related, Marvel films, but I must say that I disagree, to a certain extent. While there is no doubt that the jokes and dialogue were a bit more mature and clever, the characters and the storyline were really no different. There was a bad guy, who was threatening the universe. There were some good guys, who couldn't quite get along. There was a forced (and obvious) love interest for the main character. There was action. There was death and revival. There were forced connections to the Avengers-world. I mean, if you take out the dialogue of Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), you have absolutely nothing left to call unique! There's no doubt that Guardians of the Galaxy was one of my favorite Marvel films, to this point, so I'm not hating on what was done here, AT ALL. I just don't know why everyone believes the film is so unique...

Characters:
Kudos to the folks at Marvel for having the guts to make a film that featured a talking raccoon and a tree that could only say three words! Sure there were some predictable traits and quirks among the cast, but, Guardians is not a film that would have been financially successful three years ago. Impeccable timing is the key to Marvel's success, and I think the world had to get ready to see these types of characters, in this light, because we have already seen different versions of most of these characters before. Drax (played by Dave Bautista) was just a better version of Thor (100% better). Groot ("voiced" by Vin Diesel) was just a happier version Hulk. John C. Reilly's Corpsman Dey was a perfect clone of Agent Coulson. And, finally, Peter Quill (played by Chris Pratt) was a dumber version of Tony Stark. Let me know if you disagree!

Negatives:
Guardians' two leading, female characters were quite disappointing to me. First, Zoe Saldana's Gamora just didn't impress, in comparison to the other Guardians. She lacked the comedic element, which is what made the film work, and her storyline just didn't interest me. Add that to the fact that she belongs to Star Trek, and it just doesn't work for me. Additionally, her (un)sister Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) was absolutely useless. Remove her from the film, and nothing changes, at all!

Positives:
I'm going to use this space to praise the greatness that was the relationship between Groot (the tree)and Rocket (the raccoon). Basically, it was a mirror of that dude and his reindeer in Frozen... but it was interesting. Rocket absolutely made the movie and was probably the only super-unique character that came out of the film. I'm already hopeful for a Rocket spin-off (probably won't happen until Phase 45). I would watch the heck out of that!

Conclusion:
Although I ranted a bit about the lack of uniqueness, Guardians of the Galaxy deserves every bit of praise that it is receiving! Marvel continues to impress (minus the Thor stand-alones), and I don't see any end in sight. I mean, bringing in Paul Rudd certainly won't hurt! While I can't wait for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, I'm now even more excited for the second Guardians film to hit in a few years. If you happened to miss out on Guardians' opening weekend, go watch! Today! It's cheap ticket day, here in Hattiesburg! I give Guardians of the Galaxy 3.78 out of 5 stars.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

 

Expectations:
Holy moly! I could not wait for X-Men: Days of Future Past! When you go to the movies as much as I do, that giddy, movie-going feeling is diluted a bit, particularly in the summer months. From now until the end of August, I will likely grace the movie theater at least once a week, which means I will see many good, bad, and mediocre films. I will be excited about many and reluctant about a few, but there is absolutely no film that will get me as excited as I was for the X-Men se-pre-quel that I have been waiting on for about two years. In fact, I don't think I have been as excited for a film since 2012's The Dark Knight Rises. I love all of the mutants, and the entire X-Men storyline (yes, even The Last Stand). So, as you might expect, I anticipated great things with X-Men: Days of Future Past. I mean, come on! All of the freaking mutants, young and old, on one screen! It was sure to be absolutely brilliant!

Plot:
It was absolutely brilliant! I have no clue how Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer were able to tie together the separate time periods and storylines as seamlessly as they did. Add to that their ability to create infinite potential storylines, and you have what could only be described as genius. For years, I've been baffled by the fact that the X-Men franchise was unable to become what Disney's Marvel franchise has become over the past few years. The answer may be found in the fact that Disney owns half of the world already. Regardless, I am certainly hopeful that the amazingly in-depth storyline of Days of Future Past doesn't fly over the heads of those who know no better than Captain America = Good and Loki = Bad. In my opinion, the Avengers will never be able to pull off a story anywhere close to the greatness that the X-Men just unleashed.

Characters:
What makes the X-Men franchise so fascinating is the vast potential of new and old characters that could be brought in out of nowhere. Honestly, I wish there was an X-Men TV show. I would watch the crap out of that! Here are a few high/low-lights of the Days of Future Past cast...

Negatives:
With such a large cast and so much going on, it would be impossible for Singer to bat 1.000, but he gave it his all. Unfortunately, there was one character that felt out of place for pretty much the entire film, and that was Nicholas Hoult's Beast/Hank. While his presence was necessary for a good portion of the storyline, he lacked an original storyline. On top of that, his infatuation with Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique/Raven was definitely forced, which distracted from the story at hand. Aside from Beast, the only other character who wasn't great was Lucas Till's Havok/Alex. With the quick deletion of many First Class cast members, his short time on screen was mostly just an annoying tease. I wanted to see more Havok!

Positives:
Allow me a moment to dote upon American Horror Story's main man and future mega-movie-star, Mr. Evan Peters. While many of you were (are) likely unfamiliar with Peters, he has always been impressive to me, particularly in AHS season 2. In Days of Future Past, Peters' Quicksilver/Peter singlehandedly created the most entertaining moments of the entire film, without a doubt in my mind. I can't wait to see what his future has in store! Additionally, James McAvoy (Professor X/Charles) was able to blow me away, yet again. McAvoy was my favorite part of First Class, and I'm glad that he was given such a large spotlight, yet again, in the sequel. Of course, Michael Fassbender was great, but I do think he was a bit underused in this film... Though, the movie couldn't go on forever.

Conclusion:
If there were a 2014 film that I wished went on forever, X-Men: Days of Future Past would be that film. Kudos to anyone involved in the making of this gloriously perfect film. Sure, there were a few hiccups, but, considering the task at hand, the filmmakers did a great job. After both The Avengers and The Dark Knight, I had a moment of realization that I would never be impressed by those sets of superheroes to that level, ever again. However, leaving the theater on Friday night, I could think of nothing but future possibilities for the X-Men franchise. Days of Future Past may have been good, but I truly believe that the future of the X-Men franchise will kick the butt of the franchise's past... a past that I already loved. X-Men: Days of Future Past gets 4.34 out of 5 stars. Go watch it!

A special side note:
X-Men: First Class was actually the first film that I reviewed on my blog. It is pretty easy to tell that I had no clue what I was doing, but, if you want, you can check it out here.

Great Expectations: April 2014

Easter is fast approaching, and I just couldn't resist sharing my favorite Easter meme, regardless of how sad it may be that I have a favorite Easter meme. So, there ya go!

Thankfully, this April, we are blessed with what is sure to be one of the biggest blockbusters of 2014. Of course, I'm talking about A Haunted House 2 Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Considering that April is an odd month for a superhero film to be released, it got me thinking about Disney's strategy, and I've come to the conclusion that the Disney folks realize they have the power to release any film with the word "Marvel" attached to it at ANY time of the year, without sacrificing any bit of success. Maybe the Disney folks are just flaunting their power. Maybe they wanted to leave a fair amount of time between Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe they just drew a random weekend out of a hat. Regardless, I'm going to make a prediction that will one day make me quotable... The "summer" movie season will begin in April, starting around 2016. That's right, folks... No time for carrots and egg-hunting, we will have to go to the movies. I mean, think about how many sequels will have built up by that time. Where are they going to go? Batman v. Superman and Captain America 3 cannot be forced to occupy the same weekend, and people are sick of summer flicks by the end of August. So, April will soon be engulfed with blockbuster superhero films and unnecessary comedy sequels. Mark my words... It's happening, people...

Unfortunately, this April looks like it will be a month filled with rentals. So, enjoy Captain America!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

(April 4)

Thor: The Dark World

 

Expectations:
As "Phase 2" of Disney's never-ending Marvel overload continues, expectations for stand-alone, superhero movies have plummeted, because we know how great it is when all these guys get together. People used to get genuinely ecstatic about each and every superhero film, but, now, people are just waiting around for the next Avengers film. Personally, I have even more excitement for the new X-Men film, but most of my excitement can be attributed to the great mass of superheroes and great actors that will be featured in the film. However, for the moment, let's pretend that The Avengers never happened. What are my expectations for the Thor sequel, now?... Well... they are even lower! I'm sorry, but I didn't care for the first Thor film, and he was easily my least favorite Avenger. So, with that being said, my only motivation to see Thor: The Dark World was to avoid missing something crucial in the Marvel universe. Also, Loki is kinda the man...

Plot:
My least favorite part of this sequel was the insignificance of the bad guys, Malekith and Algrim. Of course, their existence meant the end of the earth, but their motivation and power came off as a bit ambiguous, in my opinion. Basically, it was as if they needed someone to take the evil attention away from Loki, but, in the end, it just fell flat. Aside from that, the plot wasn't too bad. However, two weeks after watching the film, it is kind of hard to remember many details. So, maybe it wasn't so great either. I do remember that I was impressed with the way that Loki's return to Asgard was dealt with, and the ending was much less abrupt, compared to the first Thor film. Additionally, I enjoyed the story surrounding Thor and Jane Foster, played by Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, a lot more than in the first film. It wasn't quite as forced.

Characters:
Loki is easily Thor's saving grace, and there was no doubt that Tom Hiddleston carried The Dark World farther than any other character. Unfortunately for us, Loki is expected to be absent from the second Avengers, which will make it interesting to see how the development of a bad guy may engulf the second Captain America film, due out in April. Aside from Loki, mediocrity was the name of the Thor character game. Below are a few exceptions...

Negatives:
As I said before, the bad guys, played by Christopher Eccleston and Mr. Echo (I'm not going to try to type out his real name), were pretty much pointless, and I highly doubt that anyone truly enjoyed their presence in the film. Also, Erik Selvig, played by Stellan Skarsgard, continued to become less and less important in the grand scheme of the Thor storyline. To me, this reduction of importance is quite disappointing, as he was one of the few characters that I enjoyed in the first film. My final negative is the big man himself, Thor!, who is the stupidest and most awkward of all the Avengers, yet he manages to be the only thing that ties every super's story together. Regardless, I can't stand him! Seriously, if you took Chris Hemsworth and put him in Troy or Clash of the Titans, you would realize just how ridiculous this character turned out to be.

Positives:
Loki is the man! This film would have been more appropriately titled Loki: The Cooler Brother. I mean, is there any way that we can get Loki in The Avengers 2? I'll let you keep Thor, Joss! Just give me a little Loki. I predict a bright future for Tom Hiddleston, and I can't wait to see what's in store for him. As was the case with the first Thor film, I really enjoyed the character of Heimdall, played by Idris Elba. His wisdom and loyalty is a great accent to the various rebellious characters throughout Asgard, and I really wish he would find his way into an Avengers movie.

Conclusion:
In comparison to its preceding Phase 2 project, Iron Man 3, I would put Thor: The Dark World on exactly the same level. The film was better than Thor's last stand-alone film, just like Iron Man 3 was better than Iron Man 2, featured a lot of hearty laughing moment, just like Iron Man 3, and contributed very little to the overall, Avengers-based storyline (with what we know at this point), just like Iron Man 3. I don't know how everyone else feels, but, after seeing Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, I am afraid that these Marvel films are going to become a bit too generic. Don't get me wrong... I enjoyed the story, some of the acting, and, of course, I will go back to see Thor 3. However, as the movie wrapped up, I had that same underwhelming feeling that came after Iron Man 3. It was that same feeling you get after you watch any plot-twisting, action-filled, depth-lacking movie on the big screen. You know what I'm talking about! At this point, I just hope that The Avengers: Age of Ultron has something unique and exciting in store for Marvel fans. If not, Phase 2 may turn out to be the highest grossing and least exciting of the infinite future Marvel phases. I give Thor: The Dark World 3.12 out of 5 stars.

Great Expectations: November 2013

Marvel and Disney may have done a great job with The Avengers franchise, as a whole, but there are very few sequel-meriting movie characters that I have come to despise as much as Thor. It could be Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of the character. It could be the fact that he doesn't fit in with the other Avengers. It could even be because of those long, flowing locks, featured in the picture above. Regardless, I don't like him, and I don't really expect my opinion of him to be changed by the upcoming Thor: The Dark World. The movie would be way more interesting if it centered on Loki or Heimdall or whoever it is that Mr. Echo is playing! I mostly just want us to all take a moment to realize that Marvel is not quite perfect, and, even though I will be watching Thor: The Dark World, I highly doubt it will live up to the previous three Disney-made Marvel films (Captain America, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3), each of which were absolutely amazing. Here are the films that I am actually looking forward to in November:

 

Last Vegas

(November 1)

 

 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

(November 22)

 

 

Delivery Man

(November 22)



Movie News for the Week of September 23, 2011

Unfortunately, this was a very slow week in the world of movie news, so I apologize for the brevity.

1. Chris Evans announced this week that he did not expect a Captain America sequel to be ready until 2014. Most people believed that the sequel would be out in 2013 along with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, but it looks like we will have to wait a little longer until we get another good Marvel film.

2. Universal announced this week that they are working on a new Scarface movie. The studio says that the new film will be neither a sequel or a remake, but will just involve many elements of the Al Pacino version.

3. Future Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth has signed on to be a part of The Expendables 2. I don't quite understand what his role will be alongside all of the old men, but maybe it won't suck.

4. Disney announced this week that they will be adding a new attraction to their Disney World theme park based on.......... Avatar! "Avatar Land" will be inside of the Animal Kingdom park and will be about 12 acres in size. I have never been to Disney World, but Avatar was the coolest 3D thing ever, and I can only imagine how great the rides will be.

Here he is........... THE DARTH KNIGHT!!!

Captain America: The First Avenger

Expectations:
While I have enjoyed watching the pre-Avengers movies, the only one that has impressed me so far is Iron Man, which would have sucked without Robert Downey Jr. Thor was ok but should have been much better. Iron Man 2 just purely sucked. I have not seen the Hulk movie yet, but it just can't be that good. With that being said, I didn't expect much with Captain America. I knew it wouldn't be aweful, but Chris Evans is no Robert Downey Jr. and World War II is no 2011. Once again I must admit to knowing nothing about comic books, making it impossible for me to have accuracy expectations heading in. I also didn't understand why the first Avenger was the last one made. The timing kind of made me think that Captain America was going to suck more than the other pre-Avengers movies, but everyone was going to be forced to watch in anticipation.

Plot:
As most know, the movie is set during World War II, which gives the movie a bit of a classic film feel (except for the CGI). The beginning of the movie was a bit rocky. I personally think they should have waited a bit to bring Red Skull in, but the back story on Steve Rogers (Captain America) was fantastic. Rogers was small in stature but had a huge heart and of course was transformed into Captain America. Somethings went wrong in the process, and Rogers ends up with a role in the war that isn't that of a soldier. I really thought Rogers reacted strangely to this role, considering he is supposed to be a man with such a great heart. But he got back to normal rather quickly. Something that really impressed me with this movie was the final battle and eventually the final scenes. So many super hero movies have a final battle scene that lasts all of two seconds (cough cough THOR!). The film makers really embraced the end of the movie, rather than just focusing on the character build up. I thought the movie was very well arranged and had great balance between story, character, and action.

Characters:
Chris Evans was great in his role as Captain America. His likability really transferred over to the character, which made Captain America what I believe he is supposed to be--a figure that people can look up to. His nemesis, Red Skull, was played by Hugo Weaving who, with the help of a computer generated face, really freaked the crap out of me. I didn't really feel like Red Skull was the enemy of Captain America, but, instead, I felt like he was the enemy of the entire world. Maybe this was reinforced by Captain America's politically correct team, including a black guy, an Asian guy, and even a French guy. It was a bit unusual but good. The inclusion of Howard Stark (Iron Man's dad) was fantastic. From the previews it looked as if he would just make a quick, helpful appearance, but he really had a pretty big role in the movie and fit in quite well. It was not as awkward as the cameos that we are used to seeing.

Best Character: Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, was fantastic as Captain America's love interest. She had a very big connection to the storyline, which is the one thing that Marvel usually does well. She was very tough and really showed up the guys often.

Worst Character: Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stan, was very useless as Rogers's best friend. It was easy to tell that we were supposed to be connected to him, but I just didn't feel it. He was one of the few unnecessary pieces of the movie.

Conclusion:
Captain America was a great surprise. I can't decide whether I like it better than Iron Man, but it is definitely a close race. The ending was fantastic, as I sat there wondering "How will they get him to 2011?" Will I rush out to buy it, well... no, but I am more excited about The Avengers now. If you haven't heard, the first preview for The Avengers plays after the credits of Captain America, and the movie promises to be amazing. I am extremely hopeful that there will be more Captain America films in the future and cannot wait to see if Marvel can learn from past mistakes and make great movies. I give Captain America 3.001 out of 5 stars and am OFFICIALLY pumped about The Avengers!