Quick Reviews: Marvel Movie Roundup
Nov. 14th, 2011 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalHaving finally viewed all of the movies Marvel has developed in preparation for the oh God please don't suck Most Triumphant Avengers movie, I suppose it's time to post my opinion on them all.
Iron Man
Summary: Bad boy billionaire/inventor/jerkass Tony Stark get kidnapped, shot and has an electromagnet put in his chest. Hilarity ensues.
Review: The best superhero movie to come out since Pixar's The Incredibles
Iron Man 2
Summary: Dying of palladium poisoning as a side effect from the arc reactor installed in his chest, Tony heads towards new levels of jerkassism while he's stalked by loonie Russian, Ivan Vanko.
Review: If this were anything but a sequel to the first Iron Man movie, it would be one of the best superhero movies out there. As it is, it backslides a bit in comparison, with Tony getting a personality reset and losing some of the maturity he'd gained in the first film. This is made up for by Mickey Roarke's bizzaro performance as the relatively mellow psycho vengance fueled inventor Vanko. Meanwhile Tony's business rival is about as effective an antogonizt as Lewis Tully from Ghostbusters.
The Incredible Hulk
Summary: Bruce Banner, a scientist with some, er, anger management issues, is hiding out in Rio de Janerio while trying to find a cure for his condition. Unfortunately General Ross, father of Banner's ex-girlfried, is about to hunt him down to the earth with the aid of an uncreasingly unstable SAS officer.
Review: As a superhero movie, this film isn't all that great. Perhaps the best set piece battle is the fight between the Hulk and the US Army at the college in Virginia, while the climax is a fight between two CGI creations that are obviously all special effects, detracting from the work the actors put into the actually well thought out character drama that comes before it.
Thor
Summary: Thor, son of Odin and all around arrogant jerk, is tricked by his half-brother Loki into starting a war against the Frost Giants against the wishes of his father. For that he's banished to the Earth and seperated from his magic hammer Moljnir, until he learns humility. Meanwhile Loki's plans to gain the favor of their father are set into motion...
Review: Somewhere between The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man levels of awesomeness already, this film is given an extra ohpmh by some delcious performances by all the actors, especially Tom Hiddleson playing a sympathetically conflicted Loki. Special props should also be given to Chris Hemsworth (last seen as Kirk's dad in the beginning of Star Trek) who was apparently chosen for the role on the basis of his grin reducing women to giggling schoolgirls.
If I do have one beef with this film, we aren't ever really given a particular scene where Thor finally realizes his selfishness is hurting others. That's leavened by a blessed absence of the old "Alien comes to
Earth and immediately turns into an idiot" cliche. Thor is a fish out of water but he's still a god, and adapts quickly.
Captain America, the First Avenger
Summary: Strong of heart, weak of body Steve Rogers wants desperately to join the Army during World War 2, but is rejected 4F for his health. Desperate, he volunteers for an experimental "Super Soldier" program, while over in Germany the evil Schmidt, leader of Hydra, breaks away from the Nazis to do some world conquering on his own.
Review: Despite some plot holes (what was the German army doing while Schmidt was invading Europe all on his own?) this film is Iron Man's equal. Indeed, it's what the Superman movies want desperately to be, showing an inately humble person using the gifts he was given to help others without concern for himself.
Iron Man
Summary: Bad boy billionaire/inventor/jerkass Tony Stark get kidnapped, shot and has an electromagnet put in his chest. Hilarity ensues.
Review: The best superhero movie to come out since Pixar's The Incredibles
Iron Man 2
Summary: Dying of palladium poisoning as a side effect from the arc reactor installed in his chest, Tony heads towards new levels of jerkassism while he's stalked by loonie Russian, Ivan Vanko.
Review: If this were anything but a sequel to the first Iron Man movie, it would be one of the best superhero movies out there. As it is, it backslides a bit in comparison, with Tony getting a personality reset and losing some of the maturity he'd gained in the first film. This is made up for by Mickey Roarke's bizzaro performance as the relatively mellow psycho vengance fueled inventor Vanko. Meanwhile Tony's business rival is about as effective an antogonizt as Lewis Tully from Ghostbusters.
The Incredible Hulk
Summary: Bruce Banner, a scientist with some, er, anger management issues, is hiding out in Rio de Janerio while trying to find a cure for his condition. Unfortunately General Ross, father of Banner's ex-girlfried, is about to hunt him down to the earth with the aid of an uncreasingly unstable SAS officer.
Review: As a superhero movie, this film isn't all that great. Perhaps the best set piece battle is the fight between the Hulk and the US Army at the college in Virginia, while the climax is a fight between two CGI creations that are obviously all special effects, detracting from the work the actors put into the actually well thought out character drama that comes before it.
Thor
Summary: Thor, son of Odin and all around arrogant jerk, is tricked by his half-brother Loki into starting a war against the Frost Giants against the wishes of his father. For that he's banished to the Earth and seperated from his magic hammer Moljnir, until he learns humility. Meanwhile Loki's plans to gain the favor of their father are set into motion...
Review: Somewhere between The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man levels of awesomeness already, this film is given an extra ohpmh by some delcious performances by all the actors, especially Tom Hiddleson playing a sympathetically conflicted Loki. Special props should also be given to Chris Hemsworth (last seen as Kirk's dad in the beginning of Star Trek) who was apparently chosen for the role on the basis of his grin reducing women to giggling schoolgirls.
If I do have one beef with this film, we aren't ever really given a particular scene where Thor finally realizes his selfishness is hurting others. That's leavened by a blessed absence of the old "Alien comes to
Earth and immediately turns into an idiot" cliche. Thor is a fish out of water but he's still a god, and adapts quickly.
Captain America, the First Avenger
Summary: Strong of heart, weak of body Steve Rogers wants desperately to join the Army during World War 2, but is rejected 4F for his health. Desperate, he volunteers for an experimental "Super Soldier" program, while over in Germany the evil Schmidt, leader of Hydra, breaks away from the Nazis to do some world conquering on his own.
Review: Despite some plot holes (what was the German army doing while Schmidt was invading Europe all on his own?) this film is Iron Man's equal. Indeed, it's what the Superman movies want desperately to be, showing an inately humble person using the gifts he was given to help others without concern for himself.
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no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 06:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 07:06 pm (UTC)Green hornet was fail.
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Date: 2011-11-14 07:36 pm (UTC)Still, it needs the Wasp.
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Date: 2011-11-14 09:32 pm (UTC)In the Incredible Hulk movie, the only point at which he IS a superhero is the very end, where he decides he's the only one capable of stopping the Abomination, and goes to do so -- at the risk of his life before he even actually starts fighting.
A shame they had to already change out actors, though.
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Date: 2011-11-14 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 11:46 pm (UTC)And, yeah, Chris Hemsworth. Five minutes at the beginning of the Star Trek reboot and I still remembered him at the end of the movie, which was quite the trick considering how much I enjoyed the rest of it.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-15 12:38 am (UTC)