Captain America movie review

On Sunday, 24 July 2011, Janice and I returned to the Showcase Cinemas at Legacy Place in Dedham, Massachusetts, for Captain America: the First Avenger. I’m pleased to report that the latest movie adaptation from Marvel Comics is one of the best genre movies so far this year and could be one of my favorite superhero flicks ever!

Director Joe Johnston is no stranger to World War II and action films, with experience in the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Rocketeer franchises. Despite some anachronistic costumes and dialogue (not counting the deliberately science fiction premise and villains), Johnston keeps a steady hand on the proceedings.

For those not familiar with one of the older and more popular comic book heroes, Steve Rogers is a runty kid from Brooklyn who seeks to serve his country and is given a chance to do so by scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine. Turned into the super soldier Captain America, Rogers fights Nazis before being trapped in ice and finding himself in our era, decades later, surrounded by modern superheroes.

The First Avenger is faithful to the comics of Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Ed Brubaker, and Steve Epting. In fact, the work of the latter two brought me back to reading some Marvel titles. Actor Chris Evans, who played the cocky Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the Fantastic Four flicks, is properly virtuous and a blank slate for his physical transformation from a skinny street kid into the buff war-bonds salesman and eventual combat leader. It wouldn’t be Cap if he didn’t get to sling his trademark shield.

Evans is initially overshadowed by the performances of veterans Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff Col. Chester Phillips and Stanley Tucci as the humane Dr. Erskine. He later is supported by Sebastian Stan as sniper sidekick Bucky Barnes, Dominic Cooper as inventor Howard Stark (father of Iron Man‘s Tony Stark), and Star Trek: First Contact‘s Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan of the Howling Commandos. Hayley Atwell (from The Prisoner remake) as comely Peggy Carter and Natalie Dormer (from The Tudors) as minx Priv. Lorraine are among the few women who get to interact with Rogers.

The visual effects are good, especially in the beginning of the movie, where Evans’ face is transposed on a slight-framed body in Depression-era New York. I did notice some blue- or green-screen lighting in later scenes, but the requisite explosions, slow-motion combat, and airborne stunts were all decently rendered. A motorcycle chase scene, attempted train heist, and flying wing all pay homage to the other franchises that Johnston has worked on. The instrumental soundtrack evokes the jazz age but isn’t especially memorable.

Captain America‘s story moves easily from stateside to overseas. Richard Armitage (Guy of Guisborne in the BBC’s recent Robin Hood and Thorin Oakenshield in the upcoming Hobbit) is a Nazi assassin. He is soon surpassed in villainy by Toby Jones (from Doctor Who) as meek scientist Arnim Zola and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, and V for Vendetta) as Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull and mad leader of Nazi splinter group Hydra. Their ambiguous fates, however, were refreshing for what could have been a uberpatriotic plot.

As with Thor and other recent Marvel origin stories, Captain America is somewhat predictable and obviously leads into next year’s Avengers (stay after the closing credits for a preview). The alternate-history war movie, which reminded me of Inglorious Basterds, leaves enough room for Capt. America to have flashbacks in future films.

Overall, Disney/Marvel has continued its winning streak, staying ahead of rival DC Comics in live-action adaptations. I’d give Captain America, which is rated PG-13 for violence, an “A-,” four out of five stars, or an 8.5 out of 10. I liked it a bit more than Green Lantern or Thor, if not as much as the 1978 and 1980 Superman films.

In other superhero news, I’ve watched the first few episodes of SyFy’s Alphas, which combines the ordinary people with powers from Heroes and No Ordinary Family with the covert teams from various espionage shows. It’s decent — I’d rate it a “B-” so far, but I doubt it’ll last.

Even as Marvel’s Super Hero Squad and DC’s Young Justice have yet to return, I’m looking forward to this week’s premieres of the anime-style Iron Man and Wolverine on G4, to eventually be joined by Blade and yet another incarnation of the X-Men. I expect Season 2 of The Avengers to be the strongest of these cartoons.

Also premiering this coming weekend is the Thundercats revival, whose previews gave me a good Avatar: the Last Airbender vibe. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be getting another computer-animated makeover, similar to Star Wars: Clone Wars and Bruce Timm‘s upcoming Green Lantern TV series.

DC is holding onto its lead in direct-to-video cartoons, however, with Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, among other projects announced at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. So many superheroes, so little time! And I haven’t even touched actual comic books or RPGs based on them yet!

Green Lantern movie review

On Saturday, 18 June 2011, Janice and I went into Cambridge, Massachusetts, for Free RPG Day (which I’ll blog more about soon) and lunch at Four Burgers. We then picked up my comic book subscription at New England Comics in Norwood and went to Legacy Place in Dedham, where we screened Green Lantern. Despite mixed reviews and middling box-office receipts, we enjoyed the movie almost as much as the similarly cosmic The Mighty Thor a few weeks earlier.

The latest live-action adaptation of a comic book superhero shows how hotshot test pilot Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds) overcomes his fears to join the intergalactic Green Lantern corps. Fans of space opera literature will recognize the similarities to E.E. “Doc” Smith’s “Lensman” series, and Janice and I once met GL creator Martin Nodell at a convention.

I thought that Reynolds and Blake Lively (as Jordan’s boss/love interest Carol Ferris) delivered better-than-expected performances, if not quite on the level of Thor‘s Oscar-winning cast or script. Jordan and Ferris are not only both attractive but also bring a human dimension to the star-spanning tale.

Other notable actors in Green Lantern include Geoffrey Rush voicing bird/fish-like Tomar Re, Michael Clarke Duncan as drill sergeant Kilowog (who pleases fans by using the epithet “poozer”), and Mark Strong is spot on as Jordan’s superior and potential rival Sinestro. If you liked all the aliens in Star Trek and Star Wars, there are some cool crowd scenes on Oa, headquarters planet of the Green Lantern corps.

On the Earthling side, Peter Sarsgaard plays mad scientist Hector Hammond; Tim Robbins is his smarmy father, Sen. Hammond; and Angela Basset portrays government agent Amanda Waller. As with Thor, the hero and villain both struggle with daddy issues. The younger Hammond is infected or corrupted by Parallax, a soul-sucking entity mistakenly created by the blue-headed Guardians. The tentacled horror isn’t the best villain in movies, but then, it’s not the most compelling one in the comics, either.

As in Superman Returns, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk, the action scenes were well choreographed and took place in daylight. Only now are the visual effects of the ring-slinger’s will-powered constructs even possible. Green Lantern may not be considered to be as good as Batman: the Dark Knight or Iron Man, but it was entertaining nonetheless, and Disney/Marvel and Warner Bros./DC are to be commended for trying to tackle cosmic and second-string heroes again after many were disappointed by Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I’d give Green Lantern, which is rated PG-13 for violence and language, a solid B, three out of five stars, or a 7.5 out of 10, only slightly less than Thor. While I haven’t yet seen X-Men: First Class, I’m looking forward to more movies based on comic books this summer, including Captain America: the First Avenger and Cowboys & Aliens. I also recently picked up Green Lantern: First Flight on DVD.

Coming soon: Animation reviews and space opera games!

Steampunk festival

On Mother’s Day, Janice and I went to the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation. Waltham, Massachusetts, which was rechristened “International Steampunk City,” hosted numerous events focusing on the subgenre. Steampunk blends 19th century speculative fiction with modern sensibilities and has been growing in popularity.

We liked the museum, which contains artifacts from the real Industrial Revolution. The festival also included historical re-enactors, arts and crafts exhibits, vendors, and of course, fans of all ages in semi-period costumes.

Although the venues were spread out around the museum, Waltham Common, and Moody Street, I was glad to see strong attendance. I hope that the steampunk event brings business to the area and leads to an event that draws more performers and participants.

We also went to the Outer Limits comic shop and had lunch at Margarita’s, whose namesake drink was good, but the service was slow. This coming weekend, the festivities continue with high school chum Damon F.P.’s visit and a cookout!

Thor review

Thor movie poster 2011 — The Mighty Thor

On Saturday, 7 May 2011, Janice and I met Josh C. & Sara F. and Josh’s brother Jeff at the Showcase Cinemas at Legacy Place in Dedham, Massachusetts. We screened Thor and found the latest comic-book movie adaptation to be entertaining.

If you’re looking for a faithful approach to Norse mythology, this isn’t the place. On the other hand, Marvel/Disney and Paramount are fairly respectful of the characters and imagery of Jack Kirby, Walt Simonson, and artist Oliver Copiel and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Stracyznski.

Director Kenneth Branagh, who is better known for his excellent Shakespearean films Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet, deftly gets strong performances from his cast and focuses on the human drama amid the mythic action.

Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth (who played James T. Kirk’s father in the Star Trek reboot) is bulked-up and charismatic as the god of thunder, who’s easily the equal in power or personality of anyone else in Marvel’s superhero pantheon. Tom Hiddleston, Branagh’s co-star in the moody Wallander, is appropriately scheming as Thor’s foster brother Loki, and Anthony Hopkins lends gravitas as Odin.

Other Asgardians include Renee Russo as Thor’s mother Frigga, Ray Stevenson as the portly Volstagg of the Warriors Three, and Jamie Alexander as female warrior Sif. All stand with Thor as he learns humility after being exiled to Midgard (Earth). Despite some early complaints about the colorblind casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost, and Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, it didn’t bother me as “racebending” in other movies has.

Genre veteran Natalie Portman is fine as astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster (originally a nurse in the comics), and Kat Dennings lends some comic relief as her snarky colleague Darcy Lewis. Since the trailers showed SHIELD’s Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, it should come as no surprise that Thor continues laying the path started by Iron Man toward an Avengers cinematic teamup.

Thor‘s script, which had several screenwriters, is serviceable and has a good amount of humor. The soundtrack could have been more operatic, but the fight scenes are well choreographed, especially in an early battle with frost giants in Jotunheim. The nine realms of Norse lore are described as worlds joined by an extradimensional tree, with Asgardian science being sufficiently advanced so as to be indistinguishable by humans from magic, directly quoting Arthur C. Clarke.

In fact, the massive sets and potentially goofy costumes were closer to their comic book roots than most recent superhero movies have been. I prefer such faithfulness and hope that DC/Warner Brothers’ similarly cosmic Green Lantern also handles cosmic drama well. Thor‘s 3-D effect, which was added in postproduction, didn’t add much to the visual experience and even made tracking movement more difficult.

Despite only decent initial box-office returns in the U.S. (compared with Iron Man or The Dark Knight), I hope that Thor continues the trend of successful superhero flicks. Overall, I’d give Thor, which is rated PG for violence, an 8 out of 10, a solid “B,” or three out of five stars.

After the movie, we had lunch at Whole Foods’ extensive salad bar. Janice and I then went to Free Comic Book Day at New England Comics and Newbury Comics in Norwood, Mass. Because we went to the shops after the movie, many of the free issues had already been snapped up. Still, I want a new generation of readers to discover the medium and hobby.

5 January 2010: Sherlock Holmes review

We found Sherlock Holmes to be entertaining, if not especially cerebral. Guy Ritchie did a better job of adapting Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal mysteries than some critics had feared, using dialogue and descriptions recognizable to Holmes enthusiasts. On the other hand, the movie has the director’s trademark slow-motion fisticuffs and explosions, modern quips, and focus on the seamy side of Great Britain.

Robert Downey Jr. is as much a caricature of Oscar Wilde or other Victorian bohemians as he is the great detective. As with Iron Man, he brings appropriate charisma, nervous energy, and intelligence to the role. Jude Law is good as Dr. Watson, giving Holmes’ sidekick a more youthful energy and making him more of a true partner than he has often been portrayed.

The pretty Rachel McAdams plays Irene Adler in the largest deviation from “canon” as a recurring love interest of Sherlock Holmes, and genre veteran Mark Strong plays Lord Blackwood, the key to a nefarious plot threatening London, and by extension, civilization itself.

The story is similar to that of Young Sherlock Holmes and other pastiches, and even though I’m a big fan of the original books, I can appreciate well-done variations on the classic characters. The script leaves an obvious opening for a sequel.

I’ve argued on Facebook and elsewhere that Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes is a decent adaptation of the literary sleuth but a better steampunk movie. I plan to blog more about this subgenre of speculative fiction, which has been growing in popularity and has had relatively few successes in film or on television.

Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of steampunk, including social commentary implied in the Dickensian images of a gritty (and class-stratified) industrial metropolis, a few clockwork and steam-powered gadgets, opulent costumes, playful anachronisms, and a lively soundtrack inspired by Gypsy music.

Although my favorite version of Sherlock Holmes so far is the early 1980s BBC/PBS television series starring Jeremy Brett, I enjoyed the movie, which I’d rate an 8.5 out of 10 or a B+. It’s rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality. Let’s hope that more movies this coming year are equally fun!