[REVIEWS] Films: Superheroes

[thewlisian_afer]

I've been meaning to watch First Class since it came out in theaters, and a couple of weeks ago I finally decided it was time to do it. I figured I might as well do an entire X-Men re-watch, including Origins, which I hadn't seen yet either. I started a movie review set with them and then realized there were three other Marvel movies I hadn't seen, which all tie in with The Avengers. So a superhero review set was born.





X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

This action-packed prequel to the popular X-Men films explores Marvel Comics character Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past and the events that influenced the mutant before the Weapon X program bonded his skeleton with the powerfully strong metal alloy adamantium. After the death of his girlfriend, Wolverine seeks vengeance against supervillain Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber). Ryan Reynolds, Danny Huston and Lynn Collins co-star.


I think I liked this one more than the average viewer. The same was true of the third X-Men movie. All I require from these movies is something fun to look at. I don't need witty writing or profound character development or heart-wrenching pathos. Give me something with explosions and chases and good sound editing, and I'm a happy movie-watcher. If I get more than that, that's excellent. But that's all I really need. And I got that here (and in the third movie). [Rating: 3.5 stars]



X-Men: First Class (2011)

In this exciting prequel to the X-Men series, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) -- the future Professor X and Magneto -- are best friends dedicated to harnessing their powers and promoting the education of fellow mutants during the turbulent 1960s. The duo works together to stop a powerful adversary that threatens mankind, but their ideological differences drive them apart and turn them into ferocious enemies.


I waited quite a long time before writing this review because I was afraid if I wrote it too soon, all I'd be able to do would be to type "SQUEEE!!!" with about three lines worth of E's. Turns out that's still just about all I feel I can say about it, even ten days later. New. Favorite. X-Men. Movie. Though, because I don't like giving entirely negative or positive reviews if I can help it, I have to point out that January Jones made me cringe a few times. She's ... not very good. :( [Rating: 4.5 stars]



The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner in this big-screen version of the classic comic-book tale about a doctor who searches for an antidote to his exotic condition, which causes him to transform into a hulking, green monster when under duress. Drawing closer to finding a remedy, Dr. Banner becomes sidetracked as he's pursued first by the military and then by a rival monster known as the Abomination. Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt co-star.


I completely adored Lou Ferrigno and Stan Lee's cameos (though that's not a big surprise; very little makes me happier than Stan Lee cameos). And Tim Roth...? Well. I love Tim Roth. But this is another instance, like Origins, where I signed up for a comic book movie with fun action sequences, and that's what I got. Nothing special stood out as particularly negative, but nothing special stood out as particularly positive, either. And I'm okay with that. It was simply a fun way to spend a couple of hours. [Rating: 3.5 stars]



Thor (2011)

Kenneth Branagh directs this Marvel Comics-inspired action flick about the thunder god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful warrior whose father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) -- the king of Asgard -- forces him to live among humans on Earth and learn humility. Once there, he finds a friend (Natalie Portman), along with unexpected enemies sent from his world. Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård and Rene Russo co-star.


This movie gets a solid "meh" from me. I liked all the various effects; Bifröst is my favorite part of the whole film. I also liked the Frost Giants. (I was ... kinda on their side. XD) There were a couple of lines/scenes that made me chuckle, but not many. I only particularly liked two individual characters (Sif and Heimdall). I do have to say, though, that Anthony Hopkins as Odin is some of the best casting ever. Spot on. The only real complaint I have about the movie is that the romance aspect was just ... flat. The development was weak and the screen chemistry was iffy at best. It felt forced and unrealistic and I just didn't buy it. [Rating: 3 stars]



Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Marvel launches another super franchise with this action-packed origin story, which follows Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) as he volunteers for a secret experiment during World War II. Transformed into a superhero named Captain America, Steve goes after the Axis. With his perfect physique and heightened reflexes -- and his sidekick, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) -- Steve battles the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a super soldier created by Italian fascists.


Wow. I liked this one a lot more than I expected to. On one hand, I'd heard from several sources that it was the most boring of the films in the Marvel movieverse. On the other hand, a reliable resource said it was her favorite movie of the summer. So I went into this expecting to like it but not necessarily to be particularly impressed. Turns out, I loved it. It could have something to do with the fact that it was the next thing I watched right after Thor, but I got all the things I want from a comic book movie, plus great actors and a ton of characters that I really liked and cared about. I'll definitely be revisiting this one from time to time. [Rating: 4 stars]

Comments

[theninth.livejournal.com]

I liked Captain America WAY more than I thought I would. And against all better judgement I'm kinda shipping Tony Stark and Steve Rogers already.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I'll ever ship them enough to read or write fic, but there is already lots of movieverse fanart going around and I'd be a big fat liar if I said I disapproved of that.

[theninth.livejournal.com]

There's some good fic out there already. I'll never write it, but I've got no problem reading it!

I feel so cheap. I'm usually not one to ship something that fast, especially when there technically hasn't even been any (movieverse canon) interaction yet.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

I'm in it for the pretty. I regret nothing.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Thor when I saw it in theaters, but it didn't really do much for me. I do think Chris Hemsworth is gorgeous as Thor, but I totally get that balls-to-the-wall blond Gryffindor isn't really your scene. ;) I can't really remember any specific scene of Thor that I want to watch and re-watch.

I do adequately think XMen First Class was a slightly better film than Cap (Though in re-watching it, it's a bit lengthy), but Cap was titled with my best summer film, because it has everything a summer movie should be. It feels a lot like the first Pirates of the Caribbean film felt. I want to watch it over and over again just because I can. And... I mean, that cast. That. Cast.

Also, please tell me your opinion on Tommy Lee Jones' one-liners, since I still keep quoting them.

Oh oh oh, and the Frankenstein's Monster line: Cheesy or not cheesy? Because the podcasties were all, "SO CHEESY" and I'm like "COULD NOT BE MORE PERFECT."

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

To be completely honest and shallow, it's really mostly the blond. Blond has just never done anything for me. There are exceptions, but generally if you line up a bunch of people in front of me and ask me to rate them based solely on physical attractiveness, the blonds will be at the end of the list.

I totally agree with "That. Cast." Holy crap. There was barely a moment where there wasn't an actor I've loved for ages on the screen. GAH. ♥

And Tommy Lee Jones was just perfect. jfc, I loved that character. mydwynter and I were watching together and IMing, and at one point I was like "Tommy Lee Jones, you are sexy, for a kinda ugly old dude." XD

As for the Frankenstein line, WHY CAN'T IT BE CHEESY AND PERFECT AT THE SAME TIME? hee

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

Pfft, you just like them extremely pale, dark-haired, and blue-eyed. I'm surprised you weren't all *_* over Tom Hiddleston, TBH. :P

I always forget how very little Stanley Tucci is in that movie. He is one of those actors I couldn't stop talking about after the movie was over, realized he was in there maybe 10 minutes, tops, and that's when I started doing my STANLEY TUCCI STANLEY TUCCI STANLEY TUCCI spaz. He is seriously amazing.

"I bought you dinner."

I'm the first to call out something for being too cheesy (you know this), but I think the way Fassbender played it was just so spot-on and actually kind of terrifying. I'm just astounded by how well he plays monsters.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's another thing that mydwynter and I commented on. Hiddles is pretty much exactly what both of us tend to like, but we both find him actually unattractive. It's the cheese-wedge head, we decided. :(

Stanley Tucci is one of those actors who doesn't have to be there very long to make a big impression. From what I've seen of him, he chooses his roles well.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

It was a good summer for Marvel, no? XD

I'm in the minority, I think, but I just loved Thor. Bifrost, Loki and Heimdall were very definitely my favorite things in it. I'm pretty sure that whatever you think of the rest of the film, they were pretty undeniably awesome. (Loki, it didn't even really matter what he was saying -- there was just so much crazy emotion that I kind of couldn't help buing into it.)

Maybe I was just in the right mood to enjoy the film . We'd had to wait about half an hour because of technical issues, but then the theater gave us free tickets (which were later used on Captain America) and when the film finally started, I was very ready to completely enjoy it.

Admittedly, the romance was very nyyehh but whatever.

Captain America and First Class were excellent, though, I agree.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

The more I think about it, the more I think it wasn't just the romance that I had a problem with. It was all the relationships. All the characters. Nobody was developed enough for me to form any emotional attachment. Even the two characters I really liked, it was mostly just because they were present in my favorite scenes or said/did the stuff I liked best. I didn't feel like there was a Me character. When Thor found he couldn't lift Mjolnir, I laughed at his manpain. Even Loki's whole ... thing ... felt flat. Hiddles did a great job with what the script gave him, but there was still just so little that I couldn't feel the sympathy I wanted to, and thought I should have.

...That got wordier than I planned.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

No worries. My comment was pretty wordy to start with. ;) And... this one might be too.

As I said, maybe I was just in the mood to like it. And I went in already believing there was weight to Loki and Thor's relationship because before I saw the movie (before I even knew it existed), I came across and fell in love with this fanvid (http://youtu.be/kjDFmh7-918). (Sometimes really well-made fanvids can boil down a movie/show into something that captures the heart of the story in a way that transcends the actual story. I think.)

(What happened was this: I found out there was an X-Men prequel and in a flurry looked for trailers and fanvids -- I found a very nice fanvid and then saw that that person had just posted another video which had been well-received that had Norse characters in some sort of strange sci-fi world. So I watched it, though wtf is this? And then had to watch it again. And again. Etc.)