Second Opinion - The Amazing Spider-Man

What works with The Amazing Spider-Man (henceforth TASM) is Webb finally offers a more plausible and enticing film that asks the question of just why exactly such an introverted and socially awkward character like Peter Parker; chooses to go down the path to become a superhero like Spider-Man?

The Amazing Spider-Man - Review

I wasn't really looking toward to this movie, something didn't quite click with me during the build up, maybe it's the very widespread opinion that’s it's too soon for a reboot?? Quite possibly. But with the new franchise brings a new story, I’ve read far too many comic books to poo-poo this movie so I saw it and golly did I enjoy it!

The Avengers Review

Reaching the end of The Avengers (or Marvel’s Avengers Assemble for us apparently easily confused brits), it finally dawned on me why Josh Whedon was put at the helm rather than say; a director with more summer blockbuster experience than the guy who directed Serenity.

Heck, someone who directed one of the five movies that have led us to this huge team-up would have been the logical choice. But, like the medium this film is adapted from; logic goes out the window or, so it seemed, because there is method in the studio’s madness and that is;

Captain America: The First Avenger Review

As we reach the final hurdle of preludes before Marvel unleash their tag team of Superhero movies to combat the incoming threat of a dark knight who might rise, one has to wonder; why has it taken nearly seventy years for a big budget version of Captain America to finally hit screens?

Excluding the Reb Brown TV specials which saw Cap battle Christopher Lee (which is not as fun as it sounds) and the 1990 debacle so bad it went unreleased for two years; Cap’s exploits of punching Hitler, battling the Red Skull and terrorists with possibly the strangest greeting since, well, the heil Hitler, Cap hasn’t been exactly a glowing example of Superheroics on the big screen.

This leads us back to The Avengers next year and our final member of the ensemble. We’ve already had Iron Man, we’ve had The Incredible Hulk re-imagined and even Thor, but where does Captain America: The First Avenger fit into this and, more importantly; does it attempt anything different from Marvel’s previous introduction films to its Avengers?

Beginning in modern day Alaska, excavators have discovered something trapped in the Ice which leads us on a flash back to 1942 where a weedy Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans in his fourth comic book based movie) desperately wants to join the army to battle the Nazi as they’re bullies and bullies suck. He meets a German scientist who takes an interest in using him for a super soldier serum which if you read the title of the film, would know how that turns out.

Meanwhile, Johann Schmidt (played by go-to bad guy Hugo Weaving) uncovers a powerful-almost cosmic cube (hint, hint) which he hopes to use for HYDRA’s war efforts (HYDRA being a terrorist force even Hitler finds a bit too much). During the film, Schmidt reveals himself as a subject of an earlier form of the serum and uses the alias the Red Skull to, I guess advance HYDRA to the role of World War II's true villains.

Cap’s rag tag team of freedom fighters battle The Red Skull’s HYDRA (complete with weapons stolen from District 9) over the course of the war with numerous explosions and long jumps before concluding to explain how Cap could be in a team of heroes if he was at his prime in the forties.

So yes, nearly all the movie (minus the bookends) takes place during World War II which makes a welcome change to the modern day setting of every superhero movie ever made and credit to director Joe Johnson for delivering a picture where despite the insane premise of a man dressed as the american flag being the front runner of a war and disintegrating weapons amongst other things, it actually looks like World War II. In fact, there's a scene where Cap and crew battle HYDRA in a snowy wilderness where I was expecting Easy Company to be supporting them (it didn't help that Neal McDonough was on Cap's side but hey ho). It's a welcome change and helps differentiate Cap's origins from his Avenger colleagues.

However, for those following the Marvel tie-in's to The Avengers next year, it's pretty much by the numbers now. The film introduces a member, shows him saving the world from an iconic villain from his back catalogue (less so on Iron Man for both movies) before Samuel L Jackson shows up to hype an incoming team-up and we get another tie-in to the next film in sequence (although in Cap's case, it's an actual teaser rather than something discovered that's tied to someone else).

It's not necessarily bad as, minus Iron Man 2, this formula has worked. The problem with Captain America is that it's a relatively safe picture that could have been truly great, but instead is simply good. It starts off well introducing Rogers as the "never say die" hero that embodies the American spirit despite his frail form but when Rogers becomes a key weapon in the battle against HYDRA, we get a few montages, a lot of explosions and are left to imagine all of the incredible battles that took place before the inevitable final showdown against the Red Skull.

This is half good as unlike Thor, there's a feasible amount of time for the character's to develop (case in point, Captain America takes place over the course of months if not years whilst Thor's journey of discovery took place over three days), but on the flipside, the middle feels like one long montage which throws out a lot of action, but doesn't really explain why it happens and it seems to go on forever. It's basically the opposite of Iron Man 2 but this is a much more feasible error; at least there's something happening rather than being told things will happen and then fleetingly passing it over for more of the boring plot.

By the time the third act comes back and brings the audience back to reality from the explosions, the film returns to the highs of the first act and just does enough to recover interest. The ending doesn't really explain why Cap survives in ice for seventy years whilst other people simply die from the cold but it's a nice lead-in for The Avengers.

There's not really a lot to fault minus the middle act being a bit too fillerfied and the 3D being useless (like Thor, watch it in 2D and fully immerse yourself rather than 3D and playing "spot the special effect"). Minus that, Captain America: The First Avenger is more of the same of Iron Man and Thor. It has a great cast (not mentioned in the review, but watch out for Tommy Lee Jones who more or less plays himself which is always fun), some good action sequences and does enough to make it a good (if relatively safe) popcorn flick to introduce a principle player in The Avengers next year.

7/10

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Thor Review

OK, let's get to the point, The Avengers is here next year, we're at the homestretch of origin stories for our keyplayers, how does Marvel's Norse incarnation Thor stack-up against his allies?

After the disappointment that was Iron Man 2, I wasn't particularly bothered by Thor. It wasn't something I grew up with as a kid, it was something I barely had any knowledge of and any comic crossovers involving the hero basically told the same thing; he's mighty, he has a hammer and he's blonde.

To it's and Marvel's credit, I should have had more faith, given Marvel's track record of origin stories, the film is very entertaining. The fish out of water premise is as old as time itself but it works well in the movie.

The story in a nutshell is Thor is banished from Azgard by starting a war with the Frost Giants by his father Odin. He lands on Earth and ran over by Natalie Portman and crew who are chasing strange storms. They think he's crazy, he simply wants to find his Mjolnir (the hammer in the post-credit scene in Iron Man 2) and a shitstorm is taking place in Azgard curtosy of Thor's brother Loki.

A beefy Chris Hemsworth plays the titular character to all degrees. At the beginning, he plays a king in waiting, arrogant, non-caring and wishes to cement a legacy like his father (played by Anthony Hopkins). By the time he defends New Mexico, he's discovered love in the form of Natalie Portman, betrayal, grief, loss and eventually hope.

It's a very tight picture and full credit to director Kenneth Branagh for delivering a film with no filler at all. We constantly travel back and forth to Azgard and New Mexico and constantly are told new advancements in the plot which eventually come together in an explosive third act which wraps the film up in time for it's inevitable sequels and major crossovers.

There are a few problems with the film but to be honest it's nitpicking. The most annoying thing is, as mentioned before, the constant cuts between Azgard and New Mexico. After five minutes of story, we cut back and then we cut back again. This work's fine in something like Lord of the Rings were each action in it's respected region is within the same world, or even The Matrix were despite they're being a real world and a computer world, they're so vastly strange and unique, it's easier to take in. In Thor, it's too distracting at times and you can't help but feel they were perhaps terrified the audience would get bored by staying in one setting for more than a few minutes.

Although Thor himself is a well developed character, when you look at the maths at it all, he's pledge to save the Earth takes place in the space of two days. You could argue and say he's a god, it's what he's supposed to do and it gives the film escalation, but it just happens far quickly. Same with Loki's inevitable uprising, which takes place in the same amount of time.

Finally, the 3D isn't too fantastic and there were occasions where the film looked like a pop-up book. You don't lose anything from watching the film in standard 2D and if anything, the experience is fortified by not being constantly distracted how certain things stick out (Thor's cape being the major one).

Of course, this it nitpicking in an otherwise highly recommended debut for those who want to know more on the principal players of next year's biggest competitor to The Dark Knight Returns.

It ranks up there with the original Iron Man (which is all the more impressive considering Thor doesn't have Downey Jr. to fall back on) but, like Iron Man, just falls short of Batman Begins and Spider-Man. The settings, whilst cutaway far too many times are distinctive and Azgard and the Frost Giant's realm look especially fantastic. It has a very believable and likeable cast, great action sequences and brings new life to an old tale of Earth's "mightiest hero".

Comic book fans will love it, but if you're someone who's came by this nerdy blog and doesn't care for references to the Hulk or the odd Stan Lee cameo, it's a very good popcorn flick.

7/10

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