That's right, I'm back. Can't stop me! It's a-me, the Comic Book Guy. 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...
TASK FORCE X: JUNGLELAND
Why is Hollywood trying to make John David Washington a thing? Multiple DC films in LRF and a lead role in a Chris Nolan film out of LRF and he still hasn't even come close to cracking the A-List. Because he is boring. He makes for a boring de facto lead here. Thankfully Gugu Mbatha-Raw finally returned as Vixen. She was good here, which helped wash off some of the mediocrity of her previous solo film.
RED WOLF: WANDERER
The problem with making a series of films based on a Z-list Marvel character is that you are then stuck with Z-list Marvel villains to choose from. At least Billy Bob Thornton in the first film felt threatening. Here Jeremy Strong and Kristen Bell don't really accomplish that even if the writing is good. I also missed the personal revenge plot that the first had. This one felt a bit more like Billy Jack than a superhero project. What's next, Red Wolf Goes to Washington?
THE SPECTRE
The Spectre isn't so much a superhero film as it is a supernatural revenge film. As a superhero film it fails, but it is great as a supernatural revenge story. Nic Cage obviously suits the character. This one underwrote the villain, but made him so evil that it almost made up for it. If this movie came out 30 years ago, it would be forever remembered as a legendary cult classic comic book flick. But in 2023 and Season 28, I can't help but feel like it is already lost in the massive comic book universe shuffle.
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST
I was excited for this one based on Gallo and Ellis' work on Luke Cage, even if they did cast a wooden plank as the title character, Iron Fist. The homages to various other classic martial arts films were well-done - like a cross between a Bruce Lee and a Jean-Claude Van Damme film, but with a big budget. Even Wooden Plank wasn't so bad in this one. He almost seemed like a real actor, and not just a guy who is just too handsome to have a real job so fell into acting. I also must thank the filmmakers for introducing me to Natasha Liu Bordizzo
😍
NICK FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS
I was not expecting this film to be LRF Marvel Universe's introduction to monsters and the supernatural. I was expecting that next season in The Tomb of Dracula. It was a welcome surprise. Jay Ellis took some getting used to as Nick Fury, but he was at least clearly more interested in playing the character than Denzel was in Invincible Iron Man. Milla Jovovich was great as Dracula's daughter as well. I will be very interested to see how this one ties into Tomb of Dracula next season. Could we see something like the supernatural Howling Commandos team Marvel introduced a handful of years back? I hope so.
SUPERMAN: EXILE
Eric Bana may be a bit typecast as the villain here, but he does manage to do a lot with a fairly blandly written role as Zod. There were a lot of wrinkles to Exile, maybe one or two too many, but John Malone may be the best writer to ever tackle Superman on film. He gets what makes the character interesting after all these years. I have no clear where Superman will go moving forward in LRF, but he is in good hands.
No comments:
Post a Comment