Review for Captain America – The First Avenger.

Last night, my wife and I made it out to the Midnight showing of Captain America. Midnight shows have always been something kind of special for me, as you get the fans who are really into whatever the film you are about to see is about. No one in there just trying to kill a few hours or to not have to interact with their shrieking offspring for a few hours, just... fans. It is different going to one of these when unemployed. You don't have to worry about how the late night out will affect you at work the next day, and you've probably gotten into the habit of staying up too late already. At this stage of the game, if I can manage it, I'll try to see all my movies as Midnight showings. More respectful audience and I can go out at my leisure? Yes, please. But what about the film itself?

There were a lot of ways they could have gone with this, and I
respect the choices made to bring this to the big screen.

Marvel faced a unique set of challenges in the making of Captain America: The First Avenger. Set in front of them was the task of doing an origin story for a character set in World War 2, giving that character his due as a major superhero, and getting that same character from the 1940s to being ready to return for the Avengers Movie next year. Given that Cap has a 70 year history and his backstory has taken many crazy twists and turns in all those years, this is a tall order. All the other usual comic-book film challenges are present as well, incorporating a costume that might look great in a comic book (but ridiculous on-screen,) developing the main character without neglecting important secondary characters and villains, etc...

The brains behind this film knocked it out of the park. Not only did they hit the high points I list above, but they also managed to tighten up the connections between Captain America, Thor and Iron Man to set the stage. Let's be frank for a moment. There were changes made, though not many to Steve Rogers, his origin, and the essence of the character. Most of the significant changes were made to explain or justify elements that, had they been 100% true to the comics, would have taken hours of exposition to explain minor points or would have looked like nonsense and disrupted the flow of the story. Most of the significant changes were in Captain America's specific actions in the war, and in the motivations and background of The Red Skull.

Instead of ignoring Cap's origin as a pulp-action bit of WWII propaganda, the film
embraces it, reframes it and makes you care about the character because of it.

In the comics, both Cap himself and the Red Skull had a whole lot more to do with the war and the fight against Nazi Germany than their film counterparts. The Skull from the comics was personally trained by Hitler, and remained one of his top agents throughout the war, and Cap regularly fought on the front lines, with nazis as his stock enemy. In the film, the Red Skull is still, of course, a nazi in terms of origins, but he breaks away from Hitler in favor of allegiance to HYDRA, which he leads in pursuit of using super-science to conquer the world and destroy his enemies. The shift in focus from Cap fighting Nazis to fighting HYDRA troopers keeps the story on-task. (If I need to pick nits at this stage, I could complain that the "Hail HYDRA" salute looks a little silly.) This is a story with a lot of respect for the original material, but one that can't sacrifice telling a comprehensible story to comic-book accuracy.

Those original 1940s comics, with Captain America as propaganda tool punching out Hitler and with the kite shield rather than his now-iconic Vibranium round shield are paid homage to in a clever and unexpected way that also explains the costume in a world that is otherwise gritty 1940s pulp. The transition from “war movie” to “superhero movie” is aided by the Red Skull and Arnim Zola (played by Toby Jones, perfectly cast as the version of the Nazi scientist before he started impanting himself into android bodies with a big face in the chest.) The origins of HYDRA are linked to the Red Skull's obsession with the occult and how it can be bent to evil scientific ways. The source of the Skull's superweaponry is The Tessaract, a piece stolen, according to legend, from Odin's treasure room, which ties in nicely with THOR.

Zola and the Skull years after the war. I was geeking out over how well they handled Zola without
going too far and showing him in his final supervillain form.

The supporting cast manages to work in not only “Bucky” Barnes, who is a necessary component in a story about Captain America, but also some of the top characters from other WWII-era Marvel titles and a link back to Iron Man. The presence of Stark Industries as a military weapons contractor fits with what we know from the Iron Man films. Tony Stark's grandfather is an important character whose presence is only natural in a science-based program in the war effort. I was more impressed with how neatly many of the iconic members of the Howling Commandoes were worked in, in particular Dum Dum Dugan, Jim Morita, Gabriel Jones and Montgomery Falsworth. Though in the comic universe these characters were led by Nick Fury, their placement in the film does the characters justice and they get to be heroes on-screen in a support role to what could have been a one-man show.

All of the characters from this era who, in the Marvel continuity, survive from the 1940s to the present day are handled neatly in a “for this story, their role is complete, but you didn't see a body now, did you?” manner. The film opens telling us that the classic method of getting Steve Rogers from hero of the past into the present is maintained with him, and his shield, encased in ice. By the end of this movie, Cap's own story has been told and all of the pieces are in place to properly launch The Avengers as a single film, and if the story told there is as well done as the work on Iron Man, THOR and Captain America... hopefully a series of movies. I know I'll be lined up to see Joss Whedon's take on bringing all these characters from their own movies into a superteam ensemble... most likely, at Midnight.

The God of Thunder – THOR: A Movie Review

Back to writing after an unplanned “technical difficulties” outage on Google's end, I'd like to talk about what exactly it was that I did with my “day off”. I've written before about my excitement regarding the Avengers Movie Crossover project that Marvel Studios is in the midst of, and my wife and I took some time out yesterday to go watch the newest installment of that line of films, Thor.

Now I kinda wish I'd gone to this panel at C2E2.

Thor is one of those characters that I never got into reading, at least not in his own books. I've got at least one friend who is very, very into the character, and if you are at all into the Universe-wide crossovers that Marvel sometimes does, (and I am) then you'll find yourself reading an awful lot about him over a period of decades as a comic fan. Before seeing the movie, I brushed up on the Thor basics that I didn't already know, filling in a few gaps to feel qualified to watch the movie from my typical comic-geek default perspective.

I like to watch comic book films from the perspective of someone who has a great deal of respect for the source material, and will be keeping an eye out for “authenticity”, but that's about where I stop. In my opinion, some leeway has to be given to account for the fact that a 100% faithful translation of precise costumes, plots and dialogue from comic to film screen would in most cases be completely unwatchable. Thor is an excellent example of a comic that would see a completely faithful translation not only completely fail in feeling like it could exist in the same world as the Iron Man films, but would come off as kind of... silly. If your knee-jerk reaction is to disagree, I have only one word. Volstagg. I love the comic character, but making this character more “faithful” by casting him as morbidly obese and then dressing him in a pink waitcoat and bright yellow trousers would not have improved this film.

Insisting on this, or Hogun's Mongol Cap and Fu Manchu mustache makes you "that guy."

For those people who haven't seen the movie yet, would like a quick and dirty opinion on it, but don't want any spoilers, I can oblige. I liked the movie a lot, it had a lot of elements to juggle, and I feel it did an admirable job balancing them while telling a story worth watching. If there is any criticism the film deserves, it is perhaps that too much screen time was lent to “Avengers Crossover” subplot at the expense of the films core story, and the development of some of the supporting characters. So, if you are concerned about spoilers about particular plot points, this is where you may wish to stop reading, you have been warned.

Thor tells three stories, with three villains. The first is “Thor protecting Asgard from the Frost Giants”, with the villainous King Laufey as antagonist. The second, which is probably the main plot is “Thor protects Two Worlds” with his brother Loki, the piece's main villain and most interesting character as villain. The last is “Thor Gets Grounded to Earth, runs afoul of SHIELD, and learns to not be a douche”, with Thor vs. himself as primary conflict. The movie had to balance and connect these plots while working in a lot of detail for a large supporting cast, while making sure principal characters didn't get shafted.

Thor, Loki and Odin... I initially didn't like the idea of Anthony Hopkins for the role. He was a good choice.

We get a good dose of CGI action, introduction to most of our primary cast and the fighting styles of Thor, Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three in the action sequence near the beginning that keeps the first third of the movie from being too slow. Most comic movies have to spend half the first film doing the “origin story”, where Thor tells us, “he's Thor, he's a god, he lives in Asgard, 'nuff said.” I particularly liked getting to see supporting characters perform their own schtick, and Loki's use of deception, magic and misdirection even in the middle of a comic book punch-up was really cool. (More about him later.)

When Thor is banished to Midgard (Earth) for disobedience, arrogance and foolishness indicating that he is unworthy of his powers, we have the first major opportunity for the film to fall flat. What could have been a long sequence of painful forced humor about “Thor doesn't understand modern culture” (there's some of this, but it is kept to a tasteful level) and “A world that has superheroes all over the place refuses to believe in a god of thunder” is handled well. What passes for an origin tale occurs here, as Thor comes into his own, SHIELD becomes aware of him and he of them, and he becomes a hero in fact as well as name. Thor's “human secret identity” is worked in, his place as Ancient God and Modern Superhero is explained, and we're set up for sequels, ready to go back to Asgard. In a rare misstep in this part of the film, my wife and I agree that his kiss with Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) would have been more romantic had they left it as a kiss on her hand.

We thought for a moment that they'd leave it here, instead of having them start making out. Dammit, Hollywood.

The last sequence with the confrontation with Loki and restoration to his rightful place was made good because the plot did right by Loki along the way. The Frost Giant prince stolen at birth and raised as Asgardian has everything from origin through motivation, method of operation and even costume nailed by the producers, and they managed to be faithful to all of it without it being convoluted or silly. His deception and betrayal (which is kind of “his thing”) of everyone, including his real father, the King of the Frost Giants is all out of a desperate need to prove himself to the only father he's ever known. His revelation of what he really is plays into his existing feelings of inadequacy in Thor's shadow, and makes him behave... well, like a comic book villain.

The cameos from Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye (blink and you'll miss it) and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (we knew we'd see him pop up again) were an additional nice touch, but the real SHIELD agent standout returns from Iron Man 1&2. Agent Phil Coulson gets even more screen time than usual, continuing to walk the line between “I'll kill you if you don't cooperate” and “No, really... I'm a good guy.” We're pretty much solidly set up for The Avengers here, whether Thor gets a proper sequel of his own or not. I look forward to, and am curious about what role SHIELD will play in the upcoming Captain America film, seeing as how it seems to be set in WWII.

"Expect me to show up a LOT, as Samuel L Jackson with an eyepatch popping up everywhere is distracting."

So far, a great start to the summer blockbuster season, and I'll probably wait until Cap makes his way to screens for my next big geek film, as I'm not sure I care about DC's Green Lantern, and as a child of the 1980s, I despise the Transformers movies. Anyone else see Thor and have something to say?

All We Have to Fear...

 So, I talked a bit last week about C2E2. One of the more exciting things out of it was some of the details on this year's big crossover event. Yeah, I know. Marvel said they weren't doing those anymore, and frequently any major changes as a result of these things is retconned out of existence within a year or two. I know these things, but the little kid in me that read the original Secret Wars back in 1984 just doesn't give a good god-damn, so these events always get me excited about comics again.

This year, the big thing in Marvel is 'Fear Itself', which focuses, to no one's surprise, on the typically popular heroes in Marvel's bullpen, and highlights the characters with movies opening in the next year or so. This event is cast in the same mold as Civil War, where real-world concerns and yes, fears will be confronted by superheroes, and we'll get to see how having superpowers makes these fears worse, or better.

Picking which one of these to add to the article was tough, I recommend Googling the rest.

Early teaser images focus on two different themes, “Do you fear?” which shows some of the mightiest heroes confronting their own personal demons, and “Who Are The Worthy?” which has various Marvel heroes and villains struggling with each other to reach for these mystical hammers, which will feature heavily into the event. I like both of these campaigns to promote the books, and I'm especially fond of seeing some of the Marvel “B-list” characters right there in the fight with the big names. Marvel's version of Dracula, Grey Gargoyle, and Absorbing Man are right there in the fight... and it looks like one of those three will be a huge featured player.

The “Prologue” to the event is out, and I've read it and enjoyed it a whole lot. Fear Itself: Book of the Skull gives us a look back into a classic World War 2 Captain America/Red Skull story, and lays the groundwork for how the Red Skull's past affects the current events in the Marvel Universe. I've personally always liked the Skull a LOT, he's right behind Dr. Doom as my favorite villain in the Marvel Universe, and way back in the day, I owned the Dr. Doom/Red Skull Super Villain Team-up comic.

Much as I like him, this image is more badass than anything I can remember Red Skull ever doing.

Seeing Red Skull get his due as a major villain again after many years of mistreatment is really, really cool to me. Re-imagined from “ultimate Nazi mastermind” to Communist and later, common criminal gave Skully a few bad years there, but he's back, after a fashion, and his daughter Sin is one of the major villains of the piece, at least until we see the direct influence of who or what-ever the God of Fear turns out to be.

It looks like we're going to see fears from the mundane “state of the world today” variety to “what have I done, or might I do with my powers”, and I look forward to both. I'm sure that there will be criticism from political pundits, just like there was for Civil War, about the manner in which Global Events and their associated politics are presented, but this is to be expected. People's opinions are divided and polarized, and not even comics will be safe from those who want to throw out accusations and arguments.

...and then, there's Deadpool's take on the whole "hammers" thing.

So we've got a story with modern politics/current events, magic hammers a la Thor, The Red Skull and the God of Fear and a massive crossover with characters from all over the Marvel Universe fighting their fears both literally and figuratively. I am so in.

Avengers Assemble! - Marvel Comics' Huge Movie Crossover

 One of the core questions I asked in my Geek Wars post was concerning the great comic book debate was: Marvel or DC? (Yes, I know hardcore geeks will argue that we get better stuff from smaller studios, and on some level I agree.. but I'm not a frakkin' geek-hipster. To most of the world, there's only the Big Two.)

Personally, I've always held strong feelings on this subject. Though the best 4-5 DC Comics characters are my flat-out favorite superheroes (c'mon... BATMAN) if I had to choose an allegiance to one comics book universe over the other, I'm a Marvel fanboy. The sheer number of interesting characters featured in Marvel's comics outweighs the few interesting members of DC's Justice League, for my tastes.

Make Mine Marvel. Excelsior! Yeah... I'm a dork.

This brings me to the Avengers Movie project. Marvel has done a pretty good job in putting the characters in its back catalogue on the big screen these last few years. Not all of the movies have been good, but fan response has taught them a few things. Namely, the more faithful you are to an original property, the better the fan response will be. Since the successful reboot of the Hulk movie franchise and the wild blockbuster that Iron Man turned out to be, Marvel put together a crazy dream. At least it is the sort of dream that geeks like me might have.

What if Marvel's biggest non-mutant superteam got its own movie? The first concern, of course, is that quite a few members of the Avengers have their own solo titles, deep backstories and rich character histories... to put them up on-screen as bit parts in an ensemble piece would do them a grave injustice, as far as fans are concerned. No problem, says Marvel. We'll do individual movies for each of the best characters in The Avengers, lay the crossover angle on thick, then bring all those characters together like a 1960s Supergroup and make the movie that ties them all together.

Better than Cream... but no Clapton.

Did I mention Joss Whedon was directing?

Before I crumble under the weight of a massive nerdgasm, there's a little bit of a reality check. Marvel purists will note that some of the characters are getting unusual rewrites, especially certain elements of Thor, which releases this year. Also, some elements have been taken from the Marvel Ultimates universe, which a lot of old-school comic geeks despise as an unnecessary pandering to the “X-treme” new generation... but since Ultimate Nick Fury was based on Samuel L. Jackson, I'd give that one a pass. Also, Edward Norton won't be coming back on as Bruce Banner after negotiations with the studio broke down.

Remaining films this year in the Avengers Project are the previously mentioned Thor, and then Captain America: The First Avenger. I'll likely do individual articles on each of these once I've seen them for myself, but some of what I've seen so far is at least encouraging.

Aside from Dr. Doom (who Hollywood did wrong by), one of my very favorite Marvel villains.

The studios claim that they've been listening, that they know how to hit the sweet spot between satisfying us hardcore geeks, and the blockbuster-hungry general moviegoing public. I've heard it before and been let down...(Ghost Rider... damn you Nicolas Cage) but this time around... I want to believe.