That's right, I'm back. It's a-me, the Comic Book Guy. Hurt feelings and disgruntled writers can't stop me. As a self-proclaimed expert with exquisite taste in the medium, I am going to give my unfiltered thoughts on this season's slate of comic book films. Here we go...
The filmmakers should have renamed the film Ultron, because the robot villain is the only likable character here. The arc of Clooney's Pym is depressing and Dern's Janet is a nag. Maybe Ultron can come back in the future and fight someone more interesting. Particle might be the most depressing superhero film of all time. Good grief, I half-expected to hear "Christmas Time Is Here" mixed in with the electro soundtrack things were so depressed.
What demons? What past? Is this not his first appearance? The title feels like a cheesy YA novel series, but then again, so did parts of the film. I think Jamie Bell was good casting, but Nightcrawler simply isn't a star character worthy of a solo film. Hopefully the character will be able to mix in with the X-Men films to make up for a bit of a solo dud.
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL
I initially felt Dave Bautista was too obvious as Bane, but then I couldn't really think of anyone better so I can't judge the filmmakers too much there. Jake the Steak continues his good work as Batman and I liked his arc in this one. The earthquake drill stuff was a little silly, but a little silly is kind of nice. Still trying to get used to the idea of JCVD as Deathstroke - not sure if I love it or hate it - maybe a little bit of both. It looks like he'll get at least a couple more appearances for me to make up my mind based on the published release schedule. Now that JCVD is part of the DC Comics Universe and Chuck Norris is part of the Marvel Universe, what comic characters should Steven Segal and Michael Dudikoff play?
WONDER WOMAN: LABYRINTH
D.R. Cobb's Wonder Woman films feel like old school adventure films, which is a good thing as it gives the series a different feel than most modern superhero films. The film used the connection to Greek myths nicely, with the minotaur sequence being a highlight. I was confused a little by Ares' overall plan. Was I the only one shocked to see the guy from LA Law and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills show up as the President? I kid (and clearly based on the response from some regarding last season's entry I need to make that clear once again to avoid hurt feelings), it was an ode to Clash of the Titans, but it still threw me at first.
NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER: IMPERIUS REX
Alden Ehrenreich pulls off the anger (and drama) of Namor but is definitely lacking in the physique department. While the story clearly has a strong vision for Namor himself, the other characters seemed to get the shaft a bit with the script not always utilizing them greatly. The finale was pretty awesome though. I'm guessing we'll get a third film based on the mad duckets this one pulled in at the box office. And based off the final moments, hopefully we'll get get full on moody, bitchy Namor for a movie or two.
SWAMP THING 2
Turning Swamp Thing 2 into a zombie film by the end was a kind of clever idea. The finale was strong, but man did it take forever for the story to finally get going. The story for the first half or so moves slower than Swamp Thing himself. Also, not sure I liked the idea of Breaking Bad's Badger as a DC hero of sorts. Just feels wrong to me. He can maybe be a jokey sidekick, but certainly not as the tritagonist of a blockbuster film.
No comments:
Post a Comment