Suicide Squad (2016) Review

Superpowered beings have emerged from the skies and the shadows, and because of it, a wave of destruction and battles have ravaged cities and increased the number of civilian casualties. Cautious of any potential future threats, intelligence officer Amanda Waller presents a curious concept to government officials that could benefit them more than they could ever imagine: a group of expendable convicts, some imbued with powers of their own, will be lead by Special Forces standout Rick Flag. They will proceed to carry out dirty and dangerous missions in order to have their own sentences reduced, all while being closely monitored by Waller herself, who will implant small explosives in their heads to ensure that they do not stray from the path. When one of the intended recruits goes rogue, intending to annihilate all of mankind, the idea is made concrete, and the team of expendables is hastily assembled and sent to work.



In case you have been living under a rather heavy rock, Warner Bros' track record for big screen adaptations of DC Comics properties during the new decade has been rather...well, rocky to say the least. While a good number of us are anticipating future installments in this newfound universe over the course of the next five years, we seem to be doing so with arguably massive hesitations. After all, when your flagship and launching point for this was the extremely divisive Man of Steel, one can't be entirely surprised that nervousness has reached highs that no fans should ever have to experience. So, during this downtime between superhero films, the decision to bring Task Force X, also known by the more familiar, catchier-sounding "Suicide Squad" to cinemas around the country, sounded like an awfully risky thing to do. Choosing to handle a group of villains whose entire purpose is to forcefully and begrudgingly serve a higher, more noble power against their wills seems unusual. Why not focus on a more guaranteed money-maker like the Teen Titans? Or try to do a bigger, better, and more proper handling of the Green Lantern? True, we are getting those down the line, but the questions still linger in the back of your mind.


In a weird, yet tragic sort of way, the handling of Suicide Squad is not too different from that of another installment in the realm of "comic book" movies that came out just last year. You have an established property, known decently well by hardcore fans, with just enough recognizable names (be they fictional characters or real-life performers) to ensure a good box office intake and high merchandise sales. You have a talented individual sitting in the director's chair and writing the script (in this case, David Ayer, whose track record includes writing Training Day and directing End Of Watch), who has been able to provide more than their fair share of respectable and/or good motion pictures in the past. However, you are also at the mercy of your distributor, who can be rather ruthless, demanding, or pestering at times. Because of this, a myriad of problems arise, shining all too bright for even the blindest of fans to ignore. Much of the humor that was added in due to the backlash that this year's Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice received for being what many called "too dark" feels incredibly forced, with one or two quips and lines out of twelve producing a chuckle. Whenever a filmmaker is forced to go back and do reshoots, or add in material against their will, it rarely ever works to the flick's advantage. Even if someone such as me thought that Batman v. Superan had far more problems than not being fun enough, this decision ends up as more of a grave misfire rather than helping to provide anything extra on the positive side of things. As I said above, there are a small handful of laughs, most coming from Will Smith's Deadshot, but that has more to do with the charismatic actor playing an exaggerated version of himself rather than the iconic ruthless assassin that he has been cast as. For somebody who is a cold, mostly humorless killer in the comics, all you end up waiting on is for him to spout his usual "aw hell nah" rhetoric that he's so well known for. For her first time appearing on the big screen, psychotic fan favorite Harley Quinn is given more than enough time to provide the laughs, even if not all of them hit (and god knows there were a LOT of gags and wisecracks that she spits out). Next to the two cameos from two particular protagonists whose names I will not give away, and an entertainingly ruthless job by Viola Davis as government official Amanda Waller, she's easily the best part of the picture, and Margot Robbie seems to be relishing every minute and moment that she gets to appear on screen. How much of that can steeped in reality and how much is rooted in fiction I'll never know, but I digress. They are the most akin to what we define as a "complete" character, which is oddly one of the main problems that Suicide Squad has, though it's far from its biggest fault.


In fact, the technical and behind-the-scenes aspects of Suicide Squad could realistically be its worst offenders. The computer-generated imagery and effects are, at their best, passable, with the highlight being the earliest version of primary antagonist The Enchantress (played by Cara Delevingne, whose performance devolves into complete B-movie camp towards the end). At their worst, they are inexcusably horrendous. There are far too many instances where they are eerily reminiscent of the work seen in Alex Proyas' Gods Of Egypt, and I assure you, that is the furthest thing from a compliment (and boy do the Enchantress and her brother make for lousy, corny villains). Suddenly, Doomsday's ugly, crowbarred appearance in Batman v. Superman isn't looking so bad after all. It also suffers from some of the choppiest editing that I've seen in a bigger budget film to date. I know that its predecessor had at least a good half hour removed from its running time, but one wonders exactly how much of Suicide Squad was left on the cutting room floor. To my knowledge, Jared Leto's Joker had a large number of his scenes removed from the theatrical print, which may partially explain as to why his character ultimately serves no purpose for being there, contributing essentially nothing to the overall main story arc during his shockingly short amount of screen time. Supporting members of Task Force X, such as Japanese swordswoman Kitana and the quirky Captain Boomerang, though certainly anticipated by readers and familiars such as myself, are barely utilized. I kept wondering if Ayer forgot that they were in the picture to begin with, and others such as Killer Croc and El Diablo, as close as they may come to being "cool," feel an awful lot like MacGuffins, and badly stereotyped ones at that. Truth be told, you could remove nearly every member of the team save for about two or three, and you would end up with nearly the same movie that we get in the end. Say what you will about Marvel's team-up movies and their occasional tendency to overcrowd things, but they attempted to make every single member have a purpose (and a more fleshed out personality) that didn't only matter until the final moments of the third act. Another gigantic snafu comes from what I can only assume was Zack Snyder's influence (he serves as executive producer here), and that is the grating, stupefyingly bad soundtrack that was added in during post-production. Similar to what that director decided to do with the false feminism disaster known as Sucker Punch, we are barraged with an endless amount of recognizable songs for nearly half of the film's length (it's enough to pack onto three LPs). I'm certain that this was meant to be their version of what Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy did with its unabashed love of songs from the 1970s and 1980s, but control is what separates those two pictures from one another. It's the movie equivalent of when your friend makes a sixty minute long playlist in iTunes, then proceeds to play every song on it for the first fifteen to twenty seconds before skipping to the next one. You just want to ask them to stop, take a breather, and remind them that you're starting to annoy every single person that you're trying to please. At the very least, they mercifully didn't play Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" during the Joker's introduction.


Speaking of the Oscar winner's portrayal as the Joker, I was really hoping that I would not have to discuss this or even type some of those sentences in the paragraph above. However, given that so much of the marketing has been built around seeing him pop up in the picture, it feels inevitable. I am open for different interpretations of a classic character, but given that nearly every incarnation of Batman's primary adversary has at least had the common decency to make him intimidating or even frightening, the decision to write this version of the Clown Prince of Crime as nothing more than an inked, irritating, wannabe Juggalo gangster does nothing but disappoint you in the end. It's a shame, as even with the more photos that were revealed during the buildup to this movie's release, I still had some faith that there would be some semblance of a good Joker buried underneath the platinum grills and horrendous tattoos. If fans and moviegoers are satisfied with this performance, more power to them. But I dreaded seeing him every time that he appeared in the movie's two hour running time, fearful that his overacting and poor mimicry of Heath Ledger was just going to increase my disappointment with the overall product.


I know that I am occasionally labeled by friends, cohorts, and familiars as being too fickle when it comes to reviewing flicks like Suicide Squad. On more than one occasion, I have been labeled a Marvel fanboy, which...well, I can't fully argue against (though I implore that you don't get me started on the recently released X-Men: Apocalypse). At the end of the day, for as much as I think that this is a wasted opportunity and just an all-around rubbish movie, I will come to its defense. While I am currently finishing my own review for this, there is a petition to get websites such as RottenTomatoes.com shut down, due to the backlash that Suicide Squad and its DC brethren have been receiving (thank you to fellow reviewer John Squires for hilariously pointing out that the movie's distributor owns the aforementioned site as well). In a time where nerds are seemingly divided over the silliest, and most trivial of things, I implore that you direct your rage towards those who truly deserve it.


And that, my fellow geeks, is Warner Bros. Please tell them to have confidence in their directors and their vision, even if it garners mixed reviews from fans and critics alike (I'd rather witness this bringing in 50/50 opinions, rather than 30/70). Tell them that going back to shoot additional scenes to make a picture more "lighthearted" or "amusing" isn't always necessary, and that by coupling that decision with the one to noticeably edit out material that feels like it is obviously crucial, can sometimes end up turning your release into an absolute mess, harming the franchise and box office numbers in the end. Tell them to not influence someone in such a way, that they end up going to a red carpet premiere, shouting "FUCK MARVEL!" at the top of their lungs out of what we assume is due to anger, frustration, jealousy, or a combination of all three. There isn't anything wrong with enjoying a nice bowl of pasta without having the need to drown it in shredded parmesan cheese and pounds of grounded black pepper, and yelling at the kitchen staff to bring out the next dish for your guest within five minutes isn't going to help matters either. You are allowed to take things slow. There isn't a need to catch up to Marvel Studios or Fox, as it isn't like these characters are going to be forgotten about tomorrow by the public at large. At this rate, I'm more scared for Wonder Woman and Justice League than I ever thought that I was going to be.



........Of course, I'll be there opening night for both though. I have nothing better to do these days.

Batman: The Killing Joke (2016) Review

After a small group of dead bodies are discovered at a crime scene by Detective Harvey Bullock and Batman, Gotham City's sworn protector decides to pay a visit to one particular criminal, his longtime enemy The Joker, inside the confines of Arkham Asylum, hoping to unravel the meaning behind them. When he arrives, his usually harsher, more physically dangerous methods of getting someone to spill the beans take a back seat to the decision to just talk to his nemesis, in the hopes that after all of these years feuding, they should not end up killing each other in the end. Very shortly thereafter, Batman discovers that The Joker has escaped his prison. Unknown to everyone involved, the psychopath has been devising his most fiendish and sick plan to date: the kidnapping and slow, almost ritualistic torture of the city's own Gordon family, wherein he aims to prove that all it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.

For all of the continuously negative feedback that DC Comics Inc. has been receiving over the past few years, I believe that not all of it is warranted. Yes, their live-action franchises have been of varying quality, and admittedly, I have little desire to watch that one motion picture released earlier this year ever again. And yet, there is always a beacon of hope. In the television department, we have the unabashed fun of shows such as The Flash and future releases like Justice League Action. In the realm of video games, Injustice 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to one of the better fighting games for this last generation of consoles, is set to be released within the first quarter of 2017 (if you haven't watched the Wonder Woman and Blue Beetle reveal trailer, check it out here!). Finally, as I have discussed many times before, Warner Bros. Animation has been pumping out at least two or three new animated films per year for over a decade, with several consisting of popular and beloved storylines from the pages of their own books. During last year's San Diego Comic-Con, producer and friend-of-all-nerds Bruce Timm announced that an adaptation of Alan Moore's Batman: The Killing Joke, a highly influential work whose actions and decisions still ripple throughout the pages of their biggest titles today, was in the plans and set to be released a year later. Over time, further details kept emerging, as did animatics, casting news, and all-too-brief clips of this dream that was finally becoming a reality. I was certainly excited, but even amongst all of this, I had my reservations about what the finished product would look like.

The animation is certainly a step above DC's occasional tendency to hit or miss in the straight-to-home video department. Brian Bolland's design for the Joker has always been one of my favorites, and bringing even the smallest of details to life, such as the shadows surrounding and blocking out his eyes in the infamous "apartment" scene, or his emergence from a pond of hazardous chemicals, look rather splendid. Other technical aspects, such as the score by longtime DCAU composer Kristopher Carter (Batman Beyond) are also exceptional. Obviously, the thing that will attract most fans (other than the sheer intrigue of the movie's existence) is the return of veteran Batman voice actors such as Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Tara Strong. As predicted, they are all in top form, with Hamill delivering one of his finest performances to date as our crazed main antagonist. Some men were just destined to stay attached to a character for as long as they live, and as much as I have respected other portrayals over the years from the likes of Heath Ledger (R.I.P.) Richard Epcar, and John DiMaggio, ol' Luke Skywalker is just irreplaceable to someone like me. Prior to the actual flick starting, the audience was even treated to a short, taped interview with the man himself, wherein he discussed his history with voicing this fictional nutjob, including how he initially thought that he would be selected for a villain such as Two-Face or Ra's Al Ghul instead. It was certainly a nice treat for every fan in attendance.

Okay, so now that we have gotten through the positive aspects of Batman: The Killing Joke, I can kick off my shoes and remove my gloves. Firstly, my fear of the source material being far too short to adapt into any sort of feature length film was realized in a way that I could have never imagined. Without trying to spoil anything for those that are reading, only the second half of The Killing Joke is dedicated to the comic of the same name. While I understand that filler is necessary when the time calls for it (I am a twenty plus year fan of the Dragon Ball franchise after all), attempting to recreate any writing style as unique as Alan Moore's just feels far too difficult to do, especially when your lead-in consists of a weak Batgirl-centric story (with a villain named Paris Franz....not making that up) that does more to harm the reputation and respect that you have for the well-known protagonists. Even if you are not well-versed with Batman outside of the big or small screens, you can meticulously pick out every single portion of this that feels like it was written solely for this picture and every other chunk that was lifted from the printed story. This is all the more shocking when you notice that this project's script was penned by the immensely talented Brian Azzarello of 100 Bullets and Wonder Woman fame. It's the cinematic equivalent of when you go to a fancy restaurant, pining for your favorite dish. Once you receive said entree, somebody that you know walks by, observes what it is that you are eating, and says "Hey, that looks pretty good. But I think it's missing something." This person proceeds to pull ingredients out of their pocket, dumping them onto your meal and making it nearly indigestable as a result, then walks away before you can get a good word in about why they think that this was a good idea.

There has also been a humongous amount of outrage surrounding said filler, as it changes and scrambles the connection between two of our four central characters of Batman: The Killing Joke. While it initially didn't make me fume as badly as it has for others, and I feel that it may have been due to the need for stirring "more controversy" just as Moore and Boland's work did back during its initial release, all it took was about two hours for me to realize that this bold decision was anything but. In fact, it was really, really bad. As a fan of cinema, I've always believed that implications are sometimes best left as just that. It reminded me of the assortment of unnecessary backstories to other madmen in the world of entertainment such as Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers, or when two characters from your favorite form of media would do something completely out of left field because producers and writers thought that a small collection of fans that wanted this could somehow outweigh the larger amount of opinions of those that didn't. Sure, there will always be an air of mystery to it that a select few want to see explained, but a majority of fans prefer to just leave things be. It also casts a broken, dim light on our titular hero that no fan of the Dark Knight would ever wish to see, and worse yet, makes another champion of the DC universe into something that even a modern day Frank Miller would shake his head at. That, or make him wish that he had thought of something so "brilliant." And before I am accused of being an elitist or purist fanboy by my fellow geeks, I am one hundred percent fine with attempting to change or add something to an adaptation. Heck, it's one of the things that is keeping AMC's Preacher, which still stands as my favorite series of graphic novels ever written, so entertaining. But when you're taking one of the very best comic books about the perplexing, dark, and surprisingly complicated relationship between the Caped Crusader and the Clown Prince of Crime, and tacking on an incredible amount of groan-inducing stupid writing, thusly twisting at least half of it into something that more closely resembles high school fan-fiction written by a misogynist masquerading as a feminist, you aren't exactly going to please a good portion of your fanbase. 

Though these following sentences may come across as childish, I am at the point where I just can not wear a fake smile (even with the help of patented Joker gas) and give this a good recommendation. Yes, the handling of the original source material is, for the most part, done decently well, but in the end, it isn't enough to lift this above the most definitive labeling of "an eternal disappointment." Personally, I feel that a shorter, more compact iteration would have worked far better, perhaps in the form of an anthology along the lines of the excellent DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection, especially when you consider that the eccentric English author behind this has a myriad of tales that have yet to receive the animated treatment (Superman: Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? comes to mind). If you're an Alan Moore or Batman completist, I know that there isn't anything that I've said that will ultimately tell you to save your money and just stick to the graphic novel instead, but if you're paying money in the double digits to see this (I paid THIRTEEN DOLLARS to see this in a theater), I worry that you may be just as insane as any of the inmates in Arkham Asylum.

Speaking of that, I'd highly suggest that you go and watch the Killing Joke recreations in that series of games instead. They're shorter, creepier, and also feature the same top notch voice actors.

Fantastic Four (2015) Review

While working on creating a teleportation machine, young scientific prodigy Reed Richards is scouted, and eventually recruited by, the director for a research institute that specializes in bringing out the best in gifted minds. After meeting the director's children Johnny and Sue, along with another star student named Victor, the group begins working on a larger, more accurate version of Reed's invention. When the experiment is a success, they are thanked, but not given the rights to venture into  the new worlds that could be discovered along the way. Going out of their way to disobey their elders, the men of the group, along with Reed's childhood friend Ben Grimm, partake in a "test run" to an unknown planet, wherein they encounter something far more dangerous than they expected, and, upon a very explosive return, will alter them in more ways than they could have ever imagined.



Not too long ago, I wrote a review for Marvel's Ant-Man, another new entry in the realm of cinema with a rather troubled history when it came to being completed and released to the general public. When you consider the problematic production and all other things that could have sank the Peyton Reed-directed flick, I thought that the final product was rather exceptional. It balanced humor and action without falling on its own face, while standing tall as a rather solid installment in the very overcrowded realm of superhero-based motion pictures. Ant-Man was proof that you can still overcome the odds and come out on top.


Which is why it honestly does break my heart that the 2015 reboot of comic book legends Fantastic Four is as bad as it is, making for a compelling argument that perhaps the "first family" of Marvel Comics just aren't meant for success on the silver screen. At the very least, they won't find true happiness until they are put into the hands of writers and executives who understand and care about the team, or better yet, much like their wall-crawling friend, they are released back to the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


If you're unfamiliar with this rather odd lot, the two elements that make this team at the end of the day are very basic: fun and chemistry. All of the team's powers make them unique as individuals, as do their attitudes and quirks. Sure, Whiplash star Miles Teller does actually manage to get Reed Richards down relatively well, as the character is a bit egotistical, bordering on being a jerk (one child in the film even flat out says "You're a dick," which may have been improvised so that Teller could remember who he was playing). Hell, even Friday Night Lights star Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell of Billy Elliot fame (yes, he was the title character) are halfway decent as Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. However, if you go back to the latter element that I mentioned in my first sentence, there is not a single trace of magic to be found between any of our main stars. None. You don't get the feeling that these people could be friends outside of this wildly dangerous scenario that they happen to be a part of. True, the Fantastic Four of the comic books could also fall victim to family turmoil, but they balanced it all out by still caring for one another in the end. Oh, and if you're wondering why Kate Mara (House Of Cards) as Sue Storm has been omitted from this paragraph until now, it's because I'll be happy to write a fair critique or evaluation of the lady after she wakes up from the sleepwalking that she called a performance.


Moving on to the former element, that which we have dubbed "fun." If you read a mainstream comic book, be it related to this property or not, you are expected to have a good time. If it means reading something wonderfully weird such as Scott Pilgrim, or even something as insanely misanthropic as Crossed, you are glued to the pages that you hold in your hand. Look at recent big screen displays such as Mad Max: Fury Road or John Wick for the film equivalent of such things. When one's definition of fun in Fantastic Four is watching a video of The Thing beat up someone while working for the army, but not actually seeing him do it as it is happening, then you may to reevaluate your decisions in the screenwriting department. By the time that we get an honest-to-god real battle with supervillain Doctor Doom (which isn't until the final fifteen or twenty minutes), too much time has passed with the characters having spent most of it moping and doping around, not acting like superheroes or even giving any indication that they could ever become one. Boring, tedious, and meandering are too kind of words to use for the setup for this sequence. Oh, and if you had a disdain for Marvel's previous portrayals of the Latverian overlord, you had better hope that you're chewing gum when (or if) you see this picture. You may grind your teeth into dust out of frustration without it being on hand.


While on the way home from this screening, I kept telling myself that while Fantastic Four was certainly not very good, it wasn't awful. I did sit through the previous installment with these characters, and found it to be gutter trash. After all, most of the acting is fairly decent, as is the first ten minutes with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm's first time meeting one another as children. If you get past the fairly dated-looking computer effects, it isn't that offensive to look at either. Was the review embargo for this warranted? Did it deserve the overwhelming amount of negativity flowing towards it as if the movie itself was a magnet? It took me approximately twenty five seconds to determine the answer to these questions: OH. FUCK. YES. When even your own director (Josh Trank of the excellent Chronicle fame) comes out and says that this is not the vision he initially had, then you are in serious trouble. There are fragments of a great motion picture in here that you can feel are just dying to come out should Trank have been given better control and not been forced into rewrites and reshoots. But at the end of the day, the final product isn't exciting, isn't funny, and worst of all, just isn't wholly memorable. If you absolutely have to go to your local cineplex this weekend, I'd advise you to find a way to sneak inside and watch the trailer for 2016's Deadpool, and then leave before Fantastic Four begins. There's a good chance that you'll leave happier and more enthused about your weekend than if you ever paid to watch this one hundred minute-long fecal waterslide.



I'd also suggest bringing a flask so that you may take swigs every time that Kate Mara's hair changes from brown to blonde due to poor editing. Then again, I don't want any of you to die from alcohol poisoning.

Ant-Man (2015) Movie Review

Okay, so that promise of pumping out more reviews on the regular may once again have been stifled by a lack of time and (possible) lack of passion. Still, during this down time, I did bear witness to a good abundance of pictures at the box office with opinions ranging from grandiose (Inside Out, Ex Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road) to slight disappointment (Jurassic World). Much like May's post, I return from this brief hiatus and find myself back in the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, tackling the origin story of one of the Avengers' original founding members and creator of the monstrously evil Ultron: Hank Pym, a.k.a. Ant-Man.




Wait, this is isn't about Pym? And that isn't what they went with in AoU? It's about the second man to don the suit, master thief Scott Lang? Oh....well okay then, I suppose I'll have to move on with this new synopsis.




Freed from prison after serving time for a heist, former systems engineer Scott Lang returns to society looking to rebound in the hopes that he may secure more time to spend with his daughter Cassie. Finding it difficult to maintain a steady job post-jail time, he accepts an offer from his friends which will involve breaking into an unmanned, yet complexly-designed safe in order to steal a large sum of cash. Surprisingly, the crook finds not money, but rather a suit and helmet. Out of curiosity, Lang takes both, but soon discovers its true purpose: using subatomic particles, nicknamed "Pym Particles," that can make its user shrink in size, but increase their strength exponentially. Not long afterwards, the original creator of said items contacts Scott with a proposition that could not just turn his life around, but also save the world from a much larger threat.




Since we've been willing to accept that in this universe, we won't exactly be getting an exact representation of every character's origin from the golden and silver ages of comic books, let's just roll with what we have here. In Ant-Man, Hank Pym, the suit's creator, is played by the significantly older Michael Douglas, who still manages to retain some of the underlying insensitivity that occasionally befell the character in darker times, but he still retains a good sense of humanity and belief in doing the right thing in the end. I wasn't sure if Michael Douglas would just be phoning it in or not, since from what I've seen, a lot of older and respected actors or actresses can occasionally treat films based on the world of graphic novels with contempt and put little effort into their performances (William Hurt's atrocious portrayal as General Thunderbolt Ross in The Incredible Hulk comes to mind). It's a good thing that I was willing to eat a giant bag of crow about this mindset, since the Falling Down and Fatal Attraction star looks like he's having a noticeably good time. As Pym's daughter Hope Van Dyne (sadly, original Wasp Janet is confirmed to be deceased fairly early on), Lost's Evangeline Lilly also seems to be enjoying herself, which is most likely because she gets to relish in playing a woman who is far from helpless and more than capable of defending herself if things get to be too rough.


Praise aside, all of this still doesn't hold a candle to Paul Rudd's Scott Lang. The moment that the news of this casting hit the internet, I was firmly convinced that he was born for this role. Not to sound arrogant, but I happily, if not rarely, proved myself right this time. Sass, charm, character depth, and growth are all prevalent in the second human being to call himself the titular protagonist, and he could be one of the more relatable heroes to emerge in this series of flicks in quite some time. True, the whole "down on your luck/second chance" thing has been done to death over the past few decades in various forms of media, but Rudd makes it work well enough that you can forget this tiresome cliche and root for the guy to make everything right with his personal life. Lang is also given a plethora of intentionally funny lines and dialogue that doesn't feel forced whatsoever (this was originally perceived as an action-comedy after all). Come to think of it, there is an abundance of amusing dialogue throughout Ant-Man from nearly every character, be they minor (American Hustle's Michael Pena nearly steals the show every time he appears), major, or even guest (which results in one of the best fight sequences throughout its two hour running time). It doesn't take the crowd or patrons out of the primary ordeals, and feels fairly organic when you consider some of the absurdity of the entire premise.


I know, I know, here comes the inevitable third paragraph where I praise the action while also nitpicking what little issues I had in the end. Honestly, when you consider the absolute creative hell that Ant-Man went through in order to finally be completed (Shaun Of The Dead's Edgar Wright was originally slated to write and direct, but departed last year due to creative differences, leaving only a writing credit to his name), there aren't a slew of them that stand out. As I'll point out below, the similarities to Iron Man are slight, including antagonist Darren Cross, who felt more like Obadiah Stane with a lack of facial hair rather than a complex and/or charismatic villain. With its inclusion in the MCU, some of the references feel slightly crowbarred in and reek of last minute script changes. It won't necessarily bother you, but one gets the feeling that this may not have been the original idea from Wright and fellow screenwriter Joe Cornish (he of the excellent Attack The Block fame). What is retained are, indeed, some grandiose scenes of conflict and turmoil that make full use of the effects and powers of Pym Particles. There is something just awe-inspiring about seeing a bug-sized man run atop the barrel of a pistol and knock a grown man unconscious. And my goodness will this also kickstart a rebirth of interest in ant farms and myrmecology that hasn't been seen in an agonizingly long period.


Is Ant-Man perfect? Well, as someone who very rarely says that a motion picture can be without any flaws (save for another recent viewing such as Pixar's Inside Out, which I may review at a future date, but you can never tell with me), I don't believe so. However, there are a minuscule amount of problems that I truly had with the finished product, and I firmly believe that it could stand on its own as a supremely entertaining experience along the lines of 2008's Iron Man rather than serve as a fun, if not deceptive transitional film. Actually, as I sit here typing at nearly two thirty in the morning, that IS what I'm going to say. So long as moviegoers set their expectations for amusing rather than dark and brooding, they are in for a pleasant evening centered around a decidedly underrated superhero who may deservedly explode in popularity if this brings in enough receipts at the box office.





And for those of you who were unimpressed by the mid-credits scene in Avengers: Age Of Ultron, be sure to stick around for a pair of great ones to make up for that disappointment. Is that a clever way to end this review? Of course not, but I needed an excuse to write this small for once in my life.

Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) Movie Review

After an assault on an outpost filled with Hydra operatives and agents, the Avengers unearth several surprising secrets housed by the hidden evil organization. The first is two genetically-enhanced twins, one of whom possesses enhanced speed and one who has seemingly mastered assorted forms of magic. The other is remnants and weapons of the army led by the Chitauri, an alien race that had previously attacked New York City and had it not been for the aforementioned heroes' interferences, would have set out to conquer Earth itself. Once the raid is complete and the artifacts have been taken into custody, team frontrunner Tony Stark coerces fellow teammate Bruce Banner into deciphering and cracking the foreign technology, hoping that it can potentially lead to the completion of the "Ultron" program, a project that would place protection around the globe for when they could not physically be there to combat a threat. Unknown to the team, during after-hours of their work, the conscious artificial intelligence starts to grow, and worse yet, it seems to be gaining a decidedly warped and chaotic look at mankind's role in life and what needs to be done about it.

While I decided to conjure up this review, I came to the sudden realization that I share many unexpected similarities with the world's mightiest fictional superhero team. For starters, we have both returned from a lengthy absence since last combatting the worst kinds of evil to dwell within our universe. For them, it was the wicked Asgardian Loki. For me, it was Satan's anal gland Larry the Cable Guy. After that, there's....well, unless you count Thor and I both sporting long hair, I think that it stops there actually. Huh. Anyway, let's move on to my thoughts for easily the second most anticipated movie for the entirety of 2015 (some little flick towards the end of the year inarguably has it beat). Much like my reviews of other Marvel-related properties that I've posted over the years, I will refrain from discussing and posting any spoilers because I'm that much of a good human being.

Immediately, I must commend writer and director Joss Whedon for expanding and opening the minds of a handful of the somewhat sheltered or partially built up members of the team. Throughout the last seven years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's existence, we've become attached to most of the titular heroes by watching them grow, mature, and just generally learn to stop acting like selfish schmucks. One of the main, if not very few complaints folks had about Joss Whedon's 2012 flick was the lack of character development or relatability in newer members of the team. The amount of love that a person such as Black Widow received didn't come as that great of a surprise given the director's penchant for identifying himself as a feminist (not that there's anything wrong with that). For every shining moment that Ms. Natasha Romanoff received, however, some pivotal members such as Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, were only a few lines away from being considered MacGuffins with a skill set. Mercifully, he didn't go so far as to be considered a "redshirt," as I'm certain that Whedon would have been mailed bowel movements by angry fans (that or copies of a turd he wrote in 1997). To make up for this, Barton is remarkably more well-rounded this time around, and he even starts to show traits and influences from the men and women he has surrounded himself with. There is also a good deal of growing among the always fascinating Tony Stark, who always seems conflicted over actions that must be taken in order to right what is wrong. The always emotionally unstable and distant Bruce Banner shines bright here as well, who still suffers from self-doubt over whether he is a deserving member of a group dedicated to "saving the world." If any individual still says that they prefer Edward Norton's Hulk over Mark Ruffalo's, then this should be the final picture to help sway them over to the current end of things. I must advise that if anyone you know says they prefer Eric Bana's Hulk to either of the two, then you may need to help them seek professional help. Finally, I feel like I have discussed Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth enough over the past couple of years, so I don't really know what to add that I haven't said numerous times before.

Okay, it has been established that the old dogs are pretty darn great already. What about the new stars and additions to the protagonists and/or rogues gallery? Producer Kevin Feige and casting head Sarah Finn (who has been in charge of that position on nearly every MCU film to date) tend to have a good eye with picking out those who would give memorable performances, and in Age Of Ultron, they do a more-than-commendable job with knocking it out of the park. I'm fairly certain that the always smarmy and naturally cryptic-sounding James Spader was a choice that nobody thought of immediately when the time came to pick the voice actor for one of the most infamous villains in Marvel Comics history. When it WAS announced that he had been cast as the evil android and titular antagonist, a large portion of the legion of fanboys around the world breathed a sigh of relief, and they had every reason to. Since I'm running on stomach full of no caffeine and greasy fast food (such a departure for me), I may be a little too tired for my own good. With that being said, I'll make a very bold statement right here: Ultron is the second best villain in the MCU to date. While his introduction is nowhere near as grandiose as someone such as Loki, he is, ironically, a very fleshed-out character. Once cognizant, a multilayered personality begins to flourish (no doubt thanks to some of Stark's own programming and influence), something of which I've never seen too much of from his comic book counterpart. A bold, but commendable move. On the opposite end of the coin, new super-powered members of the picture's ensemble, such as Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson from Kick-Ass), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen from Martha Marcy May Marlene), and the Vision (Paul Bettany from Master and Commander) are great to see on the big screen, though they do leave you wondering if there is a bit more to them that will be explored in a director's cut on Blu-Ray. By the way, if you're wondering as to why I chose Olsen's poster as the primary picture for this review, I can only attribute that to me being a very simple and sadly single grown man. That and I think it looks kind of neat.

While the new cast members are a very welcome addition, some off-screen favorites are dearly missed. Don't get me wrong, Brian Tyler (Frailty, Thor: The Dark World, Bug) isn't an untalented man whatsoever, and Danny Elfman (Batman, Beetlejuice, a good handful of other motion pictures that are currently sitting on your shelf) has every right to be called a legend in the composing field. Still, the score doesn't feel quite right throughout a good chunk of the picture without the helping hand of the important Alan Silvestri, and the criminally underrated theme from the first film doesn't make a full appearance until the entire final act has wrapped up, though he is acknowledged and thanked for his contributions in the credits. There is also some minimal use of characters that I still think audiences should get to know better such as Sam Wilson and James Rhodes, but there's always time for the two in subsequent releases (and lord knows we are getting a lot of them). I do have a rather large complaint regarding a personal gripe that I have always had with Whedon as a writer, but I did promise to avoid talking about anything that would give away important details about the motion picture as a whole, so it shall have to wait for those I see and talk to in person.

If I can make a comparison between cinema and video games, Avengers: Age Of Ultron is sort of the Mortal Kombat II to The Avengers' Mortal Kombat. True, it arguably isn't as prolific, nor is it as noticeable as its predecessor in just how surprisingly good it ends up being, but that makes it the furthest thing from a bad experience. In fact, it's more colorful, equally as fun, amusing when it needs to be, and explores some new ideas that help set up crazier events that are sure to follow throughout the years to come (Avengers: Infinity War is going to be a two-part movie after all). Did I mention the action sequences too? If I did not, those are rather spectacular, highlighted by an insanely destructive duel in Johannesburg, South Africa between the Hulk and Tony Stark's humongous "Hulkbuster" armor and a rather frenetic battle between Ultron's legions and the opposing team in Seoul, South Korea. The amount of careless property damage and bodies, albeit mechanical, that are being thrown around and crushed makes Man Of Steel look like a toddler's work.

Not that you would need much persuasion if you were a fan to begin with, but a viewing on a sizable screen while surrounded by similarly-minded fun-loving geeks (coupled with an attendance of Free Comic Book Day this upcoming Saturday) is the way to go for the first real positive sign for the summer blockbuster season. While I'm still rather skeptical over the quality of larger-budget films coming out over the next few months, I can still fall back on saying that Avengers: Age Of Ultron is a really damn good time to be had by those except for the most curmudgeonly and bitter of people. But they rarely go to the cinema these days as it is, so who cares? Easy target practice aside, go check it out.

And for those of you who need further satiating in between Marvel Studios' release dates, since I had mentioned Mortal Kombat and The Avengers in the same breath, you can watch this wonderfully and hilariously made Death Battle between Thor and Raiden while you're at it. 

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) Review

Peter Parker and girlfriend Gwen Stacy have just graduated high school, with the latter taking top honors and in the running for a prestigious overseas program. Coincidentally, an old friend of Peter's named Harry Osborn reemerges, who is now running multinational corporation Oscorp after the passing of his father Norman. While Peter attempts to balance life as New York's infamous hero Spider-Man along with maintaining a very cautious relationship, he begins to dig for additional clues as to the whereabouts of his parents. Within a short amount of time, new threats to the city surface, and may have closer ties to the Parkers than one initially realizes.


Despite writing a rather wordy and relatively lengthy review only two years ago, I have virtually no recollection of The Amazing Spider-Man, Paramount Pictures' reboot of everybody's favorite wall-crawling superhero (he barely beats out The Human Fly). So much so that I had to search through my own blog in order to remember certain things that happened in the prior movie that I may have missed or forgotten about. Was this a fault of the film itself? Was this a fault of my age possibly catching up to me? Or can I just not contain enough banal information that doesn't benefit me in times outside of typing for this little blog? Whatever the case, I cautiously approached its sequel, the obviously titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and I wondered if in another two years, I'll have the same problem with this installment.


Thankfully, I will always be able to remember that I do quite like Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Peter Parker. No disrespect to Tobey Maguire, as he is a very talented actor in his own right, but I was never fully entertained with the effort he put forth into the first three films (aka "The Raimi Trilogy") from the previous decade. Garfield seems to breathe life into Peter, making him feel a lot more well-rounded, with just as many faults and annoyances as his comic book counterpart possesses. He feels more comfortable and amused playing a character like this, though his chemistry with Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy, who coincidentally is Garfield's girlfriend outside of the motion picture world, seems to be lacking for most of ASM2's running time. I know that the idea to cut the character of Mary-Jane Watson, whose actress had filmed multiple sequences, was a last minute decision of the collective group of filmmakers, and you can sense a bit of that emptiness throughout. Perhaps there was something in addition to these issues going on behind the scenes that we're unaware of, or perhaps it can be blamed that their on-again/off-again relationship problems was just one of several plots getting lost in the shuffle.


And if we're going to discuss said plots, we could be here all night debating about what went right, and what went very wrong. One of the fears I had when walking in was the overabundance of villains for the titular hero to face off with. First, there's Jamie Foxx's Max Dillon, who takes up the mantle of Electro after he is accidentally mutated into a living generator with horrifying, nearly god-like powers. If you're wondering why in the world they chose to go with Foxx looking like a CGI-laden version of the young man from Powder, then I can't exactly give you a straight answer, especially since his inclusion in this project doesn't truly have any strong bearing on the main focus of the flick (if there is one), though his first encounter with Spider-Man does bring about a visually stunning and fun battle in New York City's Times Square. Right behind him is Paul Giamatti's "Rhino," who is the very definition of a macguffin in every way, shape, or form. The very question of why that particular character was even needed is something that may lack a proper response, and he could have easily been left on the cutting room floor. And then, there's Dane DeHaan as Harry Osborn, which was easily my most anticipated, and yet LEAST anticipated inclusion in this sequel, as I felt it was too soon to include Harry as a main villain while shuffling Norman off to the side. If you've visited this blog before, you're aware of my adoration for Chronicle, which featured the relatively unknown Dehaan as a sympathetic and tragic villain. The downfall of this performance isn't the fault of the actor, but instead the bloated script. We never get that feeling that he and Peter were true childhood friends, and when Osborn finally does begin to lose his mind and show symptoms of becoming the Green Goblin (who I'm convinced will never be done properly on film), it feels astonishingly rushed and unnecessary.


Don't get me wrong, I don't think it is an impossible feat to make a feature, be it comic book-related or not, that is heavy on villain inclusion and multiple stories intertwining, but can still be cohesive without falling on its own face. Look at Sin City and X-Men: First Class as superior examples. Yes, the former's style format (a neo-noir anthology) may exclude it from a true comparison to TASM2, but it is based on a comic book franchise that ran for several years, so I feel the need to bring it up. I'm aware of the world of "fan edits" out there in the wonderful place called the internet, and think that removing the former two enemies from this motion picture increases its enjoyment and quality tenfold. I did also mention TASM2's multiple plots floating around, and trying to keep track of every single one of these side stories (what happened to Peter's parents, Electro's background and birth, Harry Osborn's return to Oscorp, Gwen Stacy potentially going to school overseas, Aunt May struggling to pay bills, Peter and Gwen's relationship) starts to give you a headache that no amount of pills can help. How they will be able to pull off an entry in this new franchise featuring the Sinister Six is a true mystery to me.


There's also the argument of "just go with it," meaning that you can always ignore any potential faults and treat it as pure, sweet-toothed entertainment. An argument such as that may actually be your path to enjoying the final cut seen here. Heck, I was able to look past a lot of the shortcomings and problems that most audiences had with other Marvel-related properties like Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3. Personally, I've always wanted a truly great, or even near-perfect Spider-Man movie (I still think 2004's Spider-Man 2 has been the best entry to include ol' webhead), and I think that in the hands of a more experienced director or writer, this could be accomplished within no time at all. At least they would have more sense to write some better dialogue and not include a mostly cringe-inducing soundtrack, though the pieces belonging to Hans Zimmer that we hear on occasion are quite excellent. One particular segment in the final act of the flick could be, and should be, isolated solely due to its memorable combination of haunting vibes from the score and great cinematography. It almost makes up for the larger chunk of said act being clunky.


The greatest accomplishment to come from watching The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is that it just makes you pine for another showing of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is oddly enough, at the time of this review, still playing in most theaters across the world. It isn't a particularly bad film whatsoever (it is MILES ahead of the widely-loathed and spectacularly messy Spider-Man 3), but you just feel that director Marc Webb, noted producer Avi Arad, and the assorted crew and writers working together tried to balance too many things at once, and ultimately ended up cramming too many characters and stories into a film that barely passes the two hour mark. It is the movie equivalent of a "pretty okay" band you see at a random concert. There are several memorable moments that lead you to believe that greatness lies beneath, but ultimately you come out saying that it could use some work or retooling, and can't quite recommend it to your friends.




And for those of you asking, don't bother sticking around for any potential mid-credits or post-credits sequences. The one that we do receive feels more like an advertisement rather than anything significant or vital. For that matter, it is cross-promotion from another studio that apparently doesn't know about the term "preaching to the converted," and thinks that major movie audiences have the memory of a goldfish and prefer to pick and choose their Marvel Comics properties in a day and age where geek culture reigns supreme.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Review

Two years after the Avengers' monumental battle with Loki in New York City, Steve Rogers, alias Captain America, is struggling to fit in and adjust to modern society. After helping secure and free a S.H.I.E.L.D.-occupied ship under peculiar circumstances, he meets with leader Nick Fury. While there, he is introduced to Project Incite, a series of helicarriers designed to monitor and eliminate future threats to the world. However, when a new enemy nicknamed "The Winter Soldier" emerges, Rogers dives into deeper territory than he ever expected to, and uncovers secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D. that could rock the organization to its very core.


It took me a great deal of time (well, realistically it was only two years) to label myself as a fan of the first "real" Captain America film in 2011. Perhaps I had set my expectations too high after the rather entertaining Thor, or perhaps I just suspected that this would serve as nothing more than a stepping stone to the quite excellent The Avengers, down to including a teaser trailer for the latter in its post-credits scene. Thankfully, I found it to be a lot more entertaining after a second and third viewing, and would actually go so far to call it a very underrated comic book film, even if it did end up bringing in over three hundred million dollars globally.


Captain America: The Winter Soldier shares only a handful of things in common with the first film. For one, the previous picture felt more like a throwback and love letter to the golden age of adventure stories, be they in written form or motion pictures. I imagine that this choice is why it seemed to make or break it for many people, but it was something you had to warm up to, especially since it came from the director of another golden age homage from the 90s called The Rocketeer. For the sequel, however, this is Captain America having to get used to this day and age being a thing of the past, and having to come to the sudden realization that this is a drastically different world we live in, be it for better or worse.


After the screening wrapped up, I had multiple thoughts running through my head. The main one that stuck out was the following: much like Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Chris Evans IS Captain America. True, Jackman's own adventures as Logan have been very debatable in terms of quality (though the poor end results of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine aren't really his fault), but Evans just hits it out of the park, and I don't want to see the mantle passed to anybody else. This might be all the more fitting given that Evans was recently quoted as saying that he'd like to retire from acting once his contract with Marvel Studios has run up (and it sounds like he has no qualms with playing the character). Personally, I wouldn't fault him for doing it. This is very likely going to his legacy, and despite his very entertaining performance in The Avengers, I believe that this is what people will fondly remember him for. Like a true team player, he doesn't completely upstage anybody surrounding or supporting him. Scarlett Johansson's performance as Black Widow has also shockingly grown on me more than I expected, though she does have a few "cornball" lines here and there. Then again, when noted feminist Joss Whedon isn't writing your dialogue this time around, that may not come as a huge surprise. Veteran actors like Robert Redford (playing a very curious senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official) also show up, lending a helping hand and increasing the "legitimacy" of the picture.


For all of the talk about the characters being portrayed excellently, there's also a damn fine story to go along with it. The Winter Soldier sports a surprisingly well-structed and smart narrative packed full of political intrigue that mercifully doesn't alienate or confuse its audience. It does require you to have a fairly decent memory of the first film though, which can compromise some of the overall enjoyment. And while The Avengers sported some outrageously expensive-looking and thrilling action sequences, this picture's action sequences could arguably rival its predecessor's and at times, surpass it with flying colors. Where I complained two weeks ago about a film like Sabotage being rather lazily shot and puzzlingly clumsy, The Winter Soldier's cinematography is anything but. There are an incredible amount of bullets sprayed and no lack of body parts struck by other body parts, but all of it is quite clear and expertly done (kudos to one Trent Opaloch, who also worked on science fiction pieces like District 9 and Elysium). The fact that even smaller characters such as Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury get a time to shine and their sequences are all the more memorable as some featuring the main cast is a testament to how great this motion picture truly is.


If you had told me that a film directed by the same men who directed the usually-forgotten comedy You, Me, and Dupree would end up delivering what may have been my favorite Marvel Studios picture to date, I would have asked for you to be shaved, sterilized, and shot into space. If you had told me that it is arguably one of the best films in this still-maligned and unfairly mocked genre since 2008's The Dark Knight, again, I would have scoffed at you. But my goodness, Captain America: The Winter Soldier delivers on nearly everything you want in a bigger-budget picture without forsaking its brain. It's a necessary viewing for those who don't believe that niche or "geeky" properties can please both sides of the spectrum and it raises the bar on this special little medium we have and usually adore.


And yes, you should stay for the mid-credits and post-credits scene. They're both quite excellent.

Thor: The Dark World (2013) Review

Time has passed since the battle of New York, and along with his fellow warriors and comrades, Thor of Asgard is at work across the nine realms, having fought a two-year war in order to try and preserve peace. On Earth, scientist and old flame Jane Foster comes into contact with the Norse God, but not after a strange exposure to something affiliated with an enemy that predates and overpowers even Odin himself. Soon, the God of Thunder realizes that he may need to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect the realms from grave danger, and even forge an uneasy alliance with an old foe if need be.


It does confuse me quite a bit as to how and why 2011's Thor seemed to divide as many people as it did. Perhaps it was the very odd and somewhat unconventional feel the character had compared to his more popular Marvel Comics companions, such as Iron Man and the Hulk, or the fact that Norse and Viking Mythology has never been as popular with mainstream audiences as it could potentially be. Perhaps it was the fact that it might not have been stuffed with as many fight scenes as viewers would have liked. Whatever the case, I was quite a fan, and I was very enthusiastic to welcome a chance to see a followup two years later in the form of Thor: The Dark World. I've also been one of the select few who apparently doesn't do copious amounts of drugs and has thoroughly enjoyed the second phase of Marvel Studios' motion pictures, which are all inevitably leading up to The Avengers: Age of Ultron.


One of the few complaints I had about the original Thor was actually the one thing people recall fondly: its enormous cast. As much as I loved most of everyone involved, the presence of certain individuals felt more like an excuse for then-director Kenneth Branagh to show off to his friends (lord knows I'd probably brag at least once about getting to direct Sir Anthony Hopkins myself), and a decent portion of these folks ended up with almost nothing to do. This is rectified by newer director Alan Taylor, known mostly for his work on Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, so he's clearly used to dealing with casts of a considerable size. With this decision, everyone gets at least one or two good chances to shine in Thor: The Dark World. Yes, that does include Tadanobu Asano (Ichi The Killer), Kat Dennings (Two Broke Girls), and even Rene Russo (Get Shorty), who I thought was completed wasted in the first film. As for the newer additions to the cast, well, when you're forced to deal with the old "enemy of my enemy" situation, you have to remember to flesh that newer enemy out after all. Alas, Malekith is no Loki, but by no means is he a completely terrible villain. He just ends up more in the run-of-the-mill category, with nothing more to offer than a few quips here and there, and a costume that I'm sure will be popular at the next big comic book and entertainment convention nearest you. Still, he won't exactly wow audiences unfamiliar with his comic book background and origin.


I don't need to waste your time by telling you that the old cast is obviously good either, but knowing that one day Tom Hiddleston is either going to resign or just stop returning calls to play Loki completely breaks my heart. The man was born to play this character, and just seems to play him better and better every time around, adding a new layer that we hadn't seen before, or thought was unbecoming of the God of Mischief. Perhaps the only disappointment in the "old guard" was Stellan Skarsgard's Dr. Erik Selvig, who could have honestly been written out of the film entirely, and has been reduced to kooky comic relief, with occasional flashes of his original genius still intact. As to why his moments of importance couldn't have gone to Kat Dennings' Darcy Lewis? Well, I guess you can't have enough comic relief in one film, can you? Perhaps there can only be room for one smart woman in a picture by Marvel's standards too, and Portman has a bigger resume in the end. Oh well.


Now, before you think that I'm savaging this picture out of pure disappointment, I can assure you that I did actually really enjoy the film overall, and didn't regret spending my money whatsoever. Wait, don't click the "X" just yet! Let me get on to something else that I genuinely liked, and that was the action sequences. While Malekith is no Loki, his Dark Elves and their army bring a science fiction/fantasy crossover appeal to these sequences that, while completely unexpected, makes for one heck of a visual feast. More uptight fans might scoff at this melding of several different ideas (starships in Asgard for one), but I may have to remind you that you're watching a movie based off of a comic book universe (and forgiveness for the minor spoiler, but there are no other Avengers in this picture….technically. This is called Thor: The Dark World, not Thor & Friends). The final fight sequence in Thor: The Dark World takes place in London, and with the abuse of teleportation between the nine realms and heavy blow upon heavy blow, it might make even Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama himself ask "Why didn't I think of something like that?".


Though I may have spoiled my own final thoughts above, I still did have a blast with Thor: The Dark World. I can see some more stingy audiences whose expectations have been raised by the quality of certain Marvel Studios pictures being disappointed, but it does seem inevitable these days considering how even traces of the geek ideology and mindset has inserted itself into all of us one way or another. *sigh* If only this barrage of new comic projects and films was present during my high school years. Then, we could have seen an even greater number of franchises rise to prominence and be turned into movie franchises (*coughPreachercough). Perhaps we can still hope. Or at least pester the creators. But anyway, long story short, the movie is fun. Go check it out.