Tag: Superheroes

THUNDER FORCE – Review

I’m guessing everyone’s ready for the start of Summer movie season, anxiously awaiting the first batch of action blockbusters, slapstick comedies, and, of course, the superheroes (and superheroines). Well, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer as the vaccines try to eradicate the pandemic that still has lots of screen venues shuttered. Yeah, we’ve gone over a year without a multiplex trip to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), so perhaps we need something to keep us going until the BLACK WIDOW finally arrives, after lots of delays (but her stingers are charged up for July, for sure). This weekend we’ve got a super-powered duo of lady crusaders (though without capes) ready to fight for justice. And laughs. Yes, one of the current queens of comedy teams up with a beloved Oscar-winner to put a satiric spin on the genre. Plus it’s streaming exclusively, so no need to seek out a cinema “safe haven”. Ah, but things are far from safe (I imagine a big spike in property damage claims) when those craven criminals face the power of THUNDER FORCE.

But first, as with most comic book-inspired epics, we get a brief origin story, told with lots of “pop art” comic panels. Way back in 1983 mysterious cosmic rays bombarded the planet. While not affecting average citizens, they gifted sociopaths with various forms of super abilities. The media dubbed these new kinds of criminals “Miscreants”. On a fateful Chicago “L” train ride, husband and wife geneticists who were working on a way to combat them became the latest victims. Their preteen daughter Emily vowed to continue their research. But first, she’s got to get through public school. Luckily the teased “brainiac” is befriended by the tough though much less cerebral Lydia. The two become inseparable pals through the grade levels, but eventually have a falling out in high school, sending them on their own adult pathways. Cut to today as the big high school reunion approaches. Beer-drinking, blue-collar worker Lydia (Melissa McCarthy) decides to reach out to “Em” who actually replies to her text, saying that she may drop in. But when she’s a “no show”, Lydia decides to try and see her at her brand new downtown Chicago division of Stanton Labs. Emily (Octavia Spencer) is surprised and delighted to see her but needs to finish up some work and asks Lydia to wait in her office. Unfortunately, it’s connected to the main lab, and a slightly ‘buzzed’ Emily initiates the big new project. When she awakes, Lydia is told by Emily that she’s been injected by a “one-of-a-kind” serum that increases one’s strength, which had been intended for her. Instead, Emily will continue with the other treatment to produce the powers of invisibility, all to “even the playing field” with the Miscreants. The two are aided by a short-tempered secret government liaison Allie (Melissa Leo) and Emily’s genius teen daughter (her dad’s long gone), Tracy (Taylor Mosby). Once Lydia and Emily finish their treatments and training they suit up as “Thunder Force” (or “The Hammer” and “Bingo” to some) and take on the Miscreants that play a pivotal role in the city’s hotly contested mayoral race. But can the duo stop the deadly dangerous Laser (Pom Klementieff) and the criminal Crab (Jason Bateman), who may have connections to the megalomaniac tycoon turned candidate who calls himself The King (Bobby Cannavale), before the Windy City citizens cast their ballots? More importantly, can these former BFFS put aside their past squabbles and become the heroes the city, well maybe the world, desperately needs?

Once again, McCarthy exercises her considerable physical comedy skills, this time with an interesting unique twist. Instead of doing damage to her character (actual injuries and pride), her super strength turns Lydia into a true human “wrecking ball” as her untapped aggression often does more harm than good (we’re constantly told that “nobody was hurt”). Otherwise, she’s recreating lots of elements from previous roles, the tough coarse exterior that eventually melts to reveal a heart of gold, All through the battles, Ms. McCarthy somehow displays a real graceful balance, as though the specials serums have unlocked the prima ballerina within as she twirls and catapults into the mayhem. For the most part, Spencer is regulated to straight ma…”person”, the “smartie” who gets agitated by Lydia’s low-class antics. It’s not till the story’s mid-point where Emily really opens up and pushes through her fears about leaving the lab and bopping the baddies. It’s then that the TF team really works thanks to their personality conflicts. She’s all planning and reason while Lydia lives up to her “Hammer” nickname by smashing nearly everything in sight. The other “straight” is probably Leo’s Allie who has little to do as the needling authority figure/ “party pooper”. It’s a shame that her role is little more than an uptight pants suit. Mosby brings a bright youthful energy to the story as Tracy, who is exposed to the fun side of life by Lydia, much as she did with her mom. Perhaps the film’s biggest scene-stealer is the laid-back Bateman who makes the most of his clunky/retro “monster man” vibe. With his crab arms, always exposed by short-sleeved shirts. he seems a not-so-distant cousin to man/beast late show combos like THE FLY (the 50s not 80s). And Bateman can still destroy with his snarky, almost under his breath line delivery, though he sideways “runaway” is a killer sight gag. His Crab is certainly more interesting than Cannavale’s “The King” who bellows, struts, and screams in a not-so-subtle riff on another recent business titan turned politico. Luckily he shares many of his scenes with Klementieff who brings a sultry sense of silky menace to her volatile Laser, a cat-like sparkplug that delights in taunting her prey before showering them with deadly needles of lightening (actually a much better version of the Spidey villain Electro).

Directing his spouse (Ms. McCarthy) for the fifth time is Ben Falcone, who wrote the script and gives himself a nice small role as The Crab’s number two. This effort fits squarely into the middle-quality range of the other collaborations. The big action scenes work both as thrill rides and as parodies of the now nearly standard super “throw-downs” (CGI-check, wire-work-double check, etc.). But a lot of it does fall flat, especially an 80s rock ballad video fantasy that causes TF’s first big action sequence to screech to a halt. Prior to that too much time was given to easy sight gags of Lydia hovering too close to computer cameras (yeah the nostrils don’t work the third time) and the gross-out (literal) gags of her slurping raw chicken meat (the serum makes her crave the slimy stuff). These indulgences make the film seem bloated at 105 minutes. The same goes for the bits concerning Lydia and Emily’s difficulty in getting in and out of their souped-up set of wheels (since Em was always part of the program shouldn’t they have designed something a tad less tiny). And, as I mentioned, the main bad guy isn’t that compelling. However, kudos to taking a few jabs at the boss/henchmen cliches as The Crab wonders aloud if The King should be destroying the staff when things don’t go his way. There must be a better way to inspire the rest without depleting the crew, ya’ know? And the Chicago locations look fabulous, although most of the flick was shot in Georgia (just as the duo’s previous THE BOSS). Once again, this is better than some, but it comes nowhere near McCarthy’s glorious work with Paul Feig (hope they’ve got another project in mind). But if you’re in the need of a superhero cinema flix and don’t mind the playful shots at the genre then you may have some fitful fun suiting up with the THUNDER FORCE. But as Lydia says of their spandex, “After a while, it’s pretty gamey!”.

1.5 Out of 4

THUNDER FORCE streams exclusively on Netflix beginning Friday, April 9, 2021.

The Superhero Paradox

© Marvel 2016

By Marc Butterfield

We live in what I consider to be the golden age of the “superhero movie”.  Picking nits, I will say that just because a character is taken from the pages of a comic book, it doesn’t mean that they were a super hero.

“Watchmen” had only one true super in the group, and the rest, even in the book (we nerds call them books, not comics, because that term is antiquated and ill fitting to describe the true content of the stories, most of which are far from comedic) the Watchmen were aware that they were costumed adventurers and vigilantes, but none of them were “super”.  And so, many of the characters in these movies are not super, but they hang with that clique.  Black Widow and Hawkeye take a lot of grief in the Avengers movies because they are not super.

When asked by the Flash in the Justice League movie “what exactly is your super power?”, Batman says “I’m rich”. (clip)  Note: my inner fanboy found that a little funny, but mostly showed a complete misunderstanding of the Batman character to even think that line works.  I’ll digress in to that in another piece, in detail, angrily, probably while binging on Doritos and coffee, in full nerd fury.  Just not here, not now.  It’s too soon.

So back to the reason for this article to start with: someone wrote that the superhero genre of movies has become flooded, and will reach an end, too much sameness, like Westerns, it’s time will pass.  You know, I couldn’t agree less with this statement.  Not because I’m a comic nerd who is too devoted to the very genre and blind to its shortcomings (yes, there are some), but because the statement is just factually and philosophically flawed.  If you see the diversity in comics, especially in the last 2 decades, you see not just white men in tights fighting each other and giant robots (I still like ANYONE fighting robots), but instead you see a wide range of men and women, some minors, and all with color.

Black Lightning © 2018 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

Back in the 80’s when they tried to diversify by just taking old characters and replacing them with black men, using the same names as the characters they were replacing (I’m talking to you Iron Man and Green Lantern), or they had to have their skin color in their name (Black Lightning and Black Manta), or revert to racial stereotypes to show you their nationality or race (how many Native American characters are just trackers?) which were clearly just lazy attempts at pretending to add spice without real content.  I’ll give you that the TV series Black Lightning shows how much they’ve grown that character, and in the Arrowverse we have a great mix, but these are TV shows, not movies.  Again…this subject is for another time. Stop digressing, dammit.

No, these days comics have characters that are more than just “superheroes”.  They are more complex, their stories are not just about detectives, or aliens from another world saving us (or attacking us), but rather more about taking the ordinary and adding a circumstance or character that throws everything out of balance, and making it work.  Cowboys and Aliens, Men in Black, and Tank girl are comic book adaptations.  The first MiB movie is a classic now.  I use these to show that there is no shortage of material from comic books.

Even in just the Marvel universe, there is a vast array of untapped potential, something that Marvel studios seems to be aware of with offerings of New Mutants.  Their Netflix and other network shows (sorry Inhumans, I never even got a chance to see you, and that’s regrettable) show that some of it is even borderline great. DC has a vast store of characters that are extremely interesting. In the hands of the right director/writer, many of these could be huge commercial successes, as GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY showed.

So yeah, there is a lot of yet untapped material from comics, and I stand firmly by that comment. Running out of ideas? Dude, if you think that, you are showing a bias against a respected format of story telling that translates very well to film. Yes, there are some early failures in the genre, Hell the first Captain America movie is STILL the worst movie I’ve ever seen.  (no, not the Chris Evans movie…you have to go back to the 80’s for that flop), and many, MANY of the early movies just flat out sucked, but then we started getting serious attempts at quality, starting in the 70’s with SUPERMAN, THE MOVIE (followed by lots of crappy, low budget, half-hearted attempts), but then again in 1989 with BATMAN, we started getting some great ones. BLADE was amazing.

Let’s stop with the “the well is dry” nonsense. These stories are set in everywhere, every time, with characters quite independent of cookie cutter capes and camp. Read with an open mind, and you’ll find the universe of comics hasn’t even begun to be explored.

WONDER WOMAN – Review

GAL GADOT as Diana in the action adventure “WONDER WOMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo: Clay Enos © DC Comics

WONDER WOMAN is here to straighten things out, and put all those squabbling men in their place. A woman superhero movie was long overdue, and Wonder Woman is a terrific character. Many agree that Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the highlight of the ponderous BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. Having a woman director, Patty Jenkins, at the helm is just that much sweeter.

The good news is that WONDER WOMAN is a much better movie than BATMAN VS SUPERMAN and Gal Gadot is terrific in the role, particularly wonderful in the action sequences. While Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman and the action sequences are spectacular, the bad news is that the film takes awhile to get rolling after a good start on the island of the Amazons, gets dull in the middle, and is overlong at 2 1/2 hours.

The two best things about WONDER WOMAN are Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Patty Jenkins as director, although the visual effects are a close third. As the director behind MONSTER, Jenkins certainly knows what she is doing it and it was past time that a superhero movie had a woman director as well as a woman superhero. That said, I wanted to love this movie but WONDER WOMAN is a good rather than great film. Still, it is certainly one of the best of the summer blockbuster season so far, coming in right behind GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2.

WONDER WOMAN is an origin story, told in flashback as a modern Diana Prince, Wonder Woman’s alter ego, remembers her beginnings as an Amazon princess while looking at a World War I era photo, the one audiences saw in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN. It takes us back to the island of the Amazons, Themyscira, where Diana (Lilly Aspell at age 8, Emily Carey at 12) grew up as daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). Diana is not only princess of the Amazons but is the only child on this island inhabited only by women.

Themyscira is hidden from view by a ring of mist created by the Amazon’s protector Zeus. The Greek god created this haven for the Amazons as a reward for their help defeating a rebellion led by the god of war, Ares. The Amazon’s mission is to defeat Ares, the god who causes men to fight wars, and put an end to war. The women warriors train for battle constantly in preparation to fight him. Diana’s mother Queen Hippolyta is extremely protective and forbids her daughter to train as a warrior. But her daughter is strong-willed and secretly trains with her aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright), who knows her niece has hidden special powers.

When a World War I pilot in a damaged plane comes crashing through the barrier that keeps the island hidden, young Diana saves him. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American working with British intelligence, tells her about World War I, the Great War, which he describes as “the war to end all wars,” and Diana becomes convinced that Ares is behind it. She must go to defeat Ares, despite her mother’s objections.

It sounds like a crazy plan to Steve Trevor but he goes along to get off the island, Diana’s focus falls on brutal German general Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his facially-scarred chemical weapons genius, known as Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya).

Among the film’s strong points are the premise itself. Rather than being motivated by revenge or taking one country’s side, Wonder Woman is there to put an end to the fighting. She goes with the resourceful, war-weary spy Steve Trevor because he can lead her to the battlefield, where she expects to find Ares in the middle of it all. She is a peacemaker as well as a fierce warrior. War is the evil she is aiming to defeat. It is a refreshing return to a more old-fashioned superhero, more in the mold of the original Superman. Wonder Woman’s mission could be a re-written version of Superman’s, “truth, justice, – and an end to war.” There is also something particularly woman-centric in that.

Setting the story in 1918 and WWI rather than more usual WWII is also a refreshing change. It is particularly apt if you know something about that war, which was started for no real reason, and was a devastating conflict that quickly bogged down into the bloody stalemate of trench warfare. It is also the time of the suffragettes, fighting to get women the vote, so it adds a layer of the era’s gender role expectations, which is great fun to see Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman steamroll over.

Going into the battlefield of one of the most horrific wars, Diana maintains “the courage of her convictions.” Diana struggles to understand this war’s mechanical mass killing, so different from the hand-to-hand combat she knows. Steve Trevor sees the choices in war as morally gray but Diana only wants to see it in black and white – not one side over another but just stopping the killing. Her idealism is something that sets her apart from other movie superheroes, particularly in light of the previous Warner DC superhero movies, where morally gray is as light as the tone gets.

However, this is not a flawless film. After a nice start, the story bogs down after leaving the island, seeming to drag before finally gaining momentum in the final third. The script, and dialog in particular, has a certain heaviness and humorlessness. Three misfit sidekicks, played by Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and Eugene Brave Rock, seems to be there for comic relief but really add little of that. Another sidekick, Trevor’s British secretary Etta Candy, played with a bit of punch by Lucy Davis, does a bit better in that respect.

But once they track down the villainous German general and Dr. Poison, things really kick into high gear. Gal Gadot is excellent in the lead role, and her action sequences are top-notch and electrifying. The pivotal battle scene near the film’s end is spectacular, taking the story to a new level as Diana discovers her true powers and destiny.

Chris Pine does a nice job as Steve Trevor, dismissing Diana as an innocent he will have to protect before gaining respect and affection for the amazing young woman. Although she was raised apart from the world, intelligent Diana had impressive education and intelligence, knowing more of that world than he expects and speaking not just English but ancient Sumerian. She is dismissive of him at first too, which slightly appalls tough guy Trevor, adding a nice edge to their interactions. Pine plays Trevor more as a practical type, the calm voice of reason speaking to Diana’s unthinking, even innocent idealism. Pine’s Trevor is one who tells Diane “you can’t do that” and then helps her do what he told her was impossible. They make a great team as much as anything, breaking the usual mold for romantic pairs.

Among the supporting cast, David Thewlis is a standout, in a head-twisting part as Lord and Robin Wright is excellent as the fierce warrior Antiope. Connie Nielsen is appropriately real as Hippolyta

Whatever its flaws, still it is wonderful to at last have a female superhero, and the film take on the character is true to what Wonder Woman represents in the best sense. Wonder Woman is a powerful character, a strong woman out to kick some butt and make those silly men behave. Wonder Woman is the one who rescues, not the one to be rescued but equality is the stronger theme than reversing the gender roles, She is independent, intelligent, strong-willed and brave – not afraid to be strong but also not afraid to show her feelings – or to stand up for what she knows is right. She advocates the triumph of love over war, and could there be a better message than that. That alone makes the film worth seeing, but Gal Gadot makes it great fun as well.

Hopefully this WONDER WOMAN blockbuster will be followed by sequels although there is no teaser at the end of the credits. And after that, now that we have a Wonder Woman movie, could we have a Black Widow superhero movie next?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

SLIFF 2014 Review – THE IMPERSONATORS

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THE IMPERSONATORS screens as part of the 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival on Monday, November 17 at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre at 9 PM. Get ticket information here

The Avengers they aint’! For those looking for an alternative to the big screen super-hero smashfests, THE IMPERSONATORS just may be up your alley. This is the story of a lovable bunch of losers and goofballs donning spandex as part of their jobs at Supers for Rent, an agency that sends them out to entertain at events and private parties. Leading the motley crew is Les (Josh Arnold), a surly, stout, slovenly, bespectacled stand-in for “Mr. Super” (a take-off on that “strange visitor from another planet”). The other employees bare little resemblance to the comic book originals ( “The Flying Fox” just got his AARP card. his teenage sidekick “Sparrow” is not far behind, “H2Joe” is terrified of the water, and “Captain USA” speaks with a thick Aussie accent, mate!) aside from their ill-fitting costumes. But just as Les is replaced by a younger,very buff newbie, the whole team is hired by the depressed little burg of Rockwell to cheer the citizens up and get the town back on its feet. But when they raise the ire of local gangster Winston (who resembles a bearded African-American version of Marvel Comics’ crime boss “The Kingpin”), Les and his co-workers must summon their courage and try to become real heroes. Or else!

Director Joshua Hull, working from the script he co-wrote with Arnold, delivers a very rude and crude, low-down parody that’s not for those easily offended. Bodily function and fluid gags (literally) run rampant as the bumbling bozos trip over their own capes. The film makers aim for a low, low-budget variation of THE MYSTERY MEN and James Gunn’s early effort THE SPECIALS and achieves a Mickey and Judy “Hey, kid’s lets put on a show!” vibe. There’s even some clever usage of comic book art for scene transitions and flashbacks. The cast’s a tad unpolished, but energetic, and there some inventive twists on old action flick clichés. They may not be age-appropriate for your tot’s birthday celebration, but for some raunchy laughs, THE IMPERSONATORS may be just the super-team for you.  Just be sure and hide the cake!

Marvel holding a Job Fair for Writers?

newmarvelproperties

OK, so Marvel isn’t “really” holding a job fair, but they are seeking out new writers to help in adapting more of their many character rights. It seems Marvel has done so well, they want to bring even more of their property to the big screen. Imagine that?

Marvel has more than 5,000 heroes and villains in it’s massive library, so they’ve decided to go looking for new writers to help take on the daunting task of bring more of these stories to life.

Marvel will invite up to five writers each year to work on specific projects, said a source familiar with the deal. Those could include staffers behind Marvel’s comicbooks. Tenpercenteries around town are currently pitching potential candidates with writing samples. — Variety

Marvel hopes that having this pool of creative talent will help them to develop ways in which to feature lesser-known properties, such as Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Cable, Black Panther, Nighthawk and Vision. Marvel was pleasantly surprised when ‘Iron Man’ scored $582 million worldwide, proving comic books smaller than Spider-Man and Batman can become successful movie franchises.

The writers group will be similar to that created by the fellowship program the Walt Disney Co. has been running since 1990.

Writers will receive a salary for the year. Disney fellows receive around $50,000. Marvel’s payment could double that. — Variety

Writers already working on existing or in-progress projects like ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Thor’ will not be part of this group. Marvel will own the rights to whatever the writers develop during that year and will have the option to continue or terminate their relationship with the writers after the first year. Recruiting has already begun and the group is expected to start brainstorming project ideas this year.

[source: Variety]

All the ‘Push’ Powers Under One Roof

‘Push’, the new superhero film from Summit Entertainment, comes out in one, short month. The fine folks over at SuperheroHype! have the first look at the various powers the different characters in the film yield. Check it out here!

What do you think? Â  Will this be an action-packed superhero movie that fans have been waiting for? Will it be another ‘Jumper’? Let us know by commenting below.

Source: Superhero Hype!

Discuss: What Superhero Movie Needs to be Made?

Since ‘The Dark Knight’ is releasing on Friday, we wanted to give you guys something to take your minds off all the superhero hype going on for the movie. What better way than to discuss what Superhero/Comic Book movies should be made that haven’t been yet?!?

For example, Charles might talk about a reboot of The Dark Knight because he just cant get enough. Travis thinks that Marvel needs to bring in The Lizard into the Spider-man franchise. I think that Dolph Lundgren needs to be Thor, or Captain America. What about Harley Quinn into the Batman franchise? Clayface? Cable?

Who cares about our opinions though? We want to know what YOU guys want to see made?

Marvel Releases plans for next 4 films …

Just a quick update here, guys and gals. Marvel just released its plan for its next four films, following the success of Iron Man on opening weekend. Unfortunately, there will be now new releases in 2009, apparently due to the recent strike concerns. As for 2010, Marvel will release Iron Man 2, which has a tentative release date of April 30, 2010. This will be followed by the Thor feature, which has a tentative release date of June 4, 2010. Following this will be the Captain America feature, currently titled The First Avenger: Captain America, which has been given a release date on May 6, 2011 … potentially followed by an Avengers feature. Marvel is going to be busy, but that’s OK with us.