Film Review : "The Thunderbolts*"

This might be the best Marvel Movie since the last Gaurdians of the Galaxy, but I am not going to call it the New Avengers since it literally has nothing to do with the New Avengers from the comics, in fact Sentry is the only charater from that team unless we are going to count Bucky's Cap. This could have been a good transition into the Dark Avengers but everyone might be a misfit but they do not need rehabbing like the Thunderbolts, eventually turned to rehab for villains to become heroes in the comic, so comic acuray is out the window, at this point, this should be a given, so we are going to talk about what worked. 

Sentry is one of my favorite comic characters, so he is the focus of this review.  Granted, Pugh's Yelena is the film's focal point, but her heroic arc does not focus on a big bad as much as it focuses on her shared trauma. They rearranged Sentry's origin story rather than abolish it totally. He is still a mental ill junkie, he just does not break into the lab to steal the drug but signs up for a study Close enough. The trailers for the movie are deceptive, as they waste little time introducing "Bob".  The writing is not perfect in fact, it is a little clunky, and he is handled like Thor in the first Thor movie, depowered, because it seems to hard to write for powerful people if you are going by the examples we have seen thus far. But the big payoff is when they do have their throwdown with him, which does not shy away from showing how powerful he is.

The rest of the team finds the Red Guardian as the predictable comic relief,  Ghost is still not really fleshed out, and feels different from how they appeared in Ant-Man  & Wasp. Bucky and John Walker are at varied places on the static spectrum. I think bringing in Songbird, while they were at the Vault, might have worked better than Ghost or any of the original members. But what plays in their favor is that the movie does not drag; something is always happening, not a big action film, some fighting, but not loaded with it, yet it was well paced.  The interesting change was how the VoidFre was handled; he was almost like  Freddie Krueger if you replace sleep with the trauma of your past. When the Void is embodied as Sentry, it's not the movie's most well-written moment, but they get away from the tropes that often make all Marvel movies feel the same, This is what makes the movie stand apart from the other films, however if you go into this without watching "Black Widow" and "Falcon and Winter Soldier" than you might be a little lost unless you read a lot of comics. 

Film REVIEW- "Black Widow"

 Black Widow is not the worst Marvel movie. I'm not sure what the point of it was. What the movie leads up can be explained in a three minute flashback when the Disney Plus “Hawkeye” show comes out. If we are just trying to have equal time for female superheroes I would have rather just sat through a movie about She-Hulk, Tigra, Elsa Bloodstone, Shanna, X-23,  Black Cat, Lyra, Thundra, Satanna, or Moondragon. Natasha first appeared as a villain, she is a spy and an assassin, while the is discussed her dark side never comes across. She was written as a supporting character so has no Rogue’s gallery of her own. The one comic book villain that is present is less accurate than the version of Ghost that was in the last Ant-man movie.

They try to use a convoluted ‘family “ cooked up for the movie which does feature actual characters from the comics , this is not the movie's best executed plot device despite all of the actors having great chemistry the writing just falls flat. While the Winter Guard was alluded to and the Crimson Dynamo is name dropped, there are lots of missed opportunities filled with some of the same now formulaic tropes being dragged out again .  Movies like Red Sparrow” and “Atomic Blonde” did this better than what this movie could have pulled off if it had a grittier tone and less of a video game feel.  Before you try to defend this with “But this movie is for little girls they need a role model” . That is bullshit, as a parent of a pre teen girl, I can tell you she had no interest in the character and prefers Harley Quinn. 

They fucked up Task Master so badly , it is hard for them to save face here, but I will say it is well shot. The effects are way better than those of both Black Panther and Capt. Marvel. For what purpose ?  They want  you to think it is for filling in gaps that did not need to be filled in the first place. While this movie works best when it is making fun of the title character, it needed to  have been a much more serious movie. It was at times more fun than not though much like most D/C films I was bored by the big climatic ending. If you miss this movie there is nothing you are not going to be able to connect the dots to on your own when it comes to future films. Thankfully they can not make a sequel. 

Film Review : "Avengers End Game"

If you think anything you could read about Avengers :End Game “ is going to be a spoiler then you did not pay attention to the other movies. It was all foreshadowed if not outright telegraphed, Not to mention the fact that most of the characters are getting either tv shows or sequels so how much in question can the fates of Spider-man, Dr. Strange, Winter Soldier, Vision , Falcon, Scarlet Witch and Black Panther really be ? Did this movie need to be 3 hours ? No. It does drag some in some of the laboratory scenes and when everyone's is getting into their feelings about the post-snap world the movie starts off in.  Despite juggling the story-lines for the 6 original Avengers, it does stay on track, there is still plenty of fat that could have been trimmed. Perhaps it’s this fat, along with the performances of the veteran core, that hides the fact plot which has less surprises than plot line of your average video game that is high on the quest mode.

If you had not read the comics then I am sure the ending of the last movie seemed like a cliffhanger. This all culminates here, the final fruits of the movies picking and choosing what parts of mainstream continuity and the ultimate universe they want to pick from , we see how if they had stuck closer to the source material they would not have to jump the shark so hard. So without characters like the Sliver Surfer and Adam Warlock we are left with Stark having to do a bunch of tinkering and coming up with “Legends of Tomorrow “ like narrative. None of which is really spoiler heavy if you have already seen the movies they revisit. You are going to regret not seeing Dr. Strange.

While it does get mired down in sentiment it is the sense of humor that helps balance the pace and once they get on their respective missions, the movie is certainly fun. It focuses largely on the 3 core members  Cap, Thor and Stark. This makes sense as they have been the 3 who have held up their own trilogy of films .All the actors from the first film have really settled into their roles so it’s hard to not see them s these characters. I think Paul Rudd once again steals the show with conviction, so I am hoping they make an Ant-man 3. There are plenty of mis steps that are balanced out by the heart of the performances. The big cgi battle at the end feels a kid just dumped all their action figures on their bed to see what would happen.

One thing I do like about this movies is it is aimed at the fans who have stuck by these movies and not the fair weather fans only there for the diversity marketing in fact  Black Panther only gets a few passing glances and Captain Marvel get much less screen time than most predicted. . While there are easter eggs at the end that give nods to certain shifts in the comics, since they were largely short lived when b - list characters proved unable to support their own series, I can see this transitioning into another Avengers movie , though he next Spider Man movie it is going to be a rough ride for Marvel until they are able to dust off the Fantastic Four and the X-men.

The Week in Marvel : 3/2/16

The 7th issue of "Invincible Iron-man" finds Mary Jane Watson being forced into his story for the bulk of the book. War-Machine is in trouble so he brings in Spider-man to help. The at is pretty killer even if the story is all set up here. While it's clever that the Avenger's Mansion was turned into a sex-club for cos-play, Wrecker's rampage and the Quick Sliver & Dead Pool team up fall short of really packing a punch in the 6th issue. Red Skull is back and Sin is drawn pretty hot.  While the art in Nova is a mixed bag I'm not sure how I feel about the clone of his dad, it seems a little like a cop out to me. The 8th issue of Deadpool was alright, not great but entertaining enough. It seems like a very color by numbers Deadpool story that plays it too safe. While it's well drawn and succeeds on many levels Spider-Man's second issue has some problems. Sure Miles is a teenager and has high school drama, I think Spidey handles this better . The big thing is OK Miles beat Black Heart, but not after he schooled the rest of the Avengers who are far more powerful, I'm not buying it. Nova is another book with high school problems, these might even be more serious. I'm cool with the art. Even the Richard Ryder clone is jumping the shark, but I can handle it. The 5th issue of Nova just doesn't gel in the way it's all handled. If we were watching this on screen it would seem like bad CW writing. A-Force's 3rd issue is just bad, if anyone believes they just killed off Dazzler in this book has money waiting on them from a Nigerian prince. Good art alone can't save Guardians Infinity book. The fourth issue seems to be the choking point for most Marvel arches. I am not sure that they need two Guardians of the Galaxy books as well as solo titles for every one no matter how good the movie did.



The first issue of Black Widow really kills it. I'm not the biggest fan of the pencil work, but it is drawn from an interesting perspective with angles that look like they are from a Die-hard film. The book is also paced like a Die- Hard film. Little dialogue, Natasha is escaping from the Helicarrier with extreme prejudice. My only qualm is Natasha could have been drawn better. She looks like she has the body of a 12 year old. Avenger's Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill, is damn fine story telling. Yes they are still ripping off  Wayward Pines, but the link to the Cosmic Cube is explained and the Thunderbolts role in all this is pretty clear. They pretty much telegraph, how Steve Rogers gets his groove back. Speaking of Rogers he is next up for issue 4 of Old Man Wolverine. But I am getting ahead of myself, Old Man Logan's 3 issue is pretty damn good. Not a big Kate Bishop fan, but the writers got her voice right, and I love the fact Logan says there is no girl- Thor in the future. In other X-related news Uncanny X-men, has some of the company's better art and aside from a lack luster team everything else you could want from an X-men book. I am going to start another column entitled" Save Your Heroes" where I'll answer the question... so you think you can do better? and layout what I think would be a better direction for the book. I get the fact this book is taking the place of X-force, but it could be done in a more interesting manner.

Movie Review: Captain America: the Winter Soldier

Thor 2 aside , Marvel keeps getting closer to getting it right and the sequel to Captain America comes the closest yet. I liked the first movie and in someways think it stands out from this one in the way it juxtaposed the two time period where this movie comes across like a straight up action flick, a more over the top version of one of the Bourne films. This over the top element it what a comic book movie needs. A good question to ask is if this was in the pages of the book would it be a good read? This felt closer to the comic book than previous marvel films, with the first Iron Man, right behind it in this regard.

It is placed firmly in the Marvel Movieverse and is not unlike the Agents of Shield show it was good to see the characters from that show cross over into this and word is the movie is cross back over into the show. Right off the bat they were throwing in more characters from the comics with Batroc the Leaper the first threat. Arnim Zola turned out to be one of the masterminds behind the whole thing and Baron Von Strucker marches his way into the lead in they provide to Avengers 2 ...and then there was my favorite moment the appearance of Quicksliver and Scarlet Witch. Is it me or did Scarlet Witch come across a lot like Drusilla?

I thought Sam Wilson was handled well. I have little emotional attachment to the character and was much more excited to hear Stephen Strange's name mentioned, in the discussion of possible threats. There was a lot more of Black Widow in the film than I expected, her combat moves stay the same as they did in Iron Man and Avengers, and to be honest, I would not mind her getting phased out of Avengers 2  to make more room for Wanda and Captain Marvel, since we won't get Wasp until after Ant-man.

As for Bucky Barnes, it was funny how much of the audience was shocked to find he was the Winter Soldier, I would have expected more comic book readers in the theater , but when a movie is raking it in like this one is I guess realistically it makes sense. But this goes to show a movie can do well while sticking to the source material. Chris Evans is well settled into the role and with this films success it lives no doubt that there will be a third film. Maybe the Serpent Society or Modok for the next one, though Baron Zemo needs to show up at some point to prep for the Masters of Evil, which would be good for Avengers 3.

Overall I am pleased with this one, it kept me entertained and gave me enough easter eggs to keep me satisfied. I can't say Cap is in even my top twenty heroes, but I respect him and value his place in the Avengers and the Marvel U.  

Another Week of Marvel Now

Well it was a disappointing week for... Indestructible Hulk 18 I read the issue , a deceptive cover is one thing, but I even read solicits that promised in black and white a Hulk/Iron-man fight, I read re-red it to make sure I didn't skip over it , when it just didn't happen.

Let's do the time warp again. getting things mucked up like D/C and all their varied numbered Earths , Avengers 25 brings the original Avengers back from another time, setting them up to fight the current Avengers, yes it feel like we have been here before in All New X-men. Speaking of which this weeks issue, works beyond "the some where in time" gimmick and is a lot of fun leading into the Guardians of the Galaxy cross over.

Mighty Avengers continues to lack focus. Spider-man gets punched by Jessica Jones but talkes about suing them more than whipping her ass, which doesn't seem likea Doc Ock thing to do . She-hulk shows up and that's the issue's best moment the Inhumanity cross over seems forced and only gives more clues to the thing most people know , that Ronin is Blade.Forced  Inhumanity cross-overs continued in Iron Man 20, which wasn't a bad issue, as it served mainly for the origin of the new villain the Exile. who is also one of the ring bearers for the Mandarin, whose rings are finding wearers like the Green Lantern Corps.

 The second issue of Avengers World is rather plodding, nothing sets it apart from the Avengers book, it focuses on Smasher, who is not really an Avenger in the first place. The art is pretty killer and makes it worth skimming through. X-factor did much better with it's second issue, not sure how consistent the art is an the three person team needs more than the mix of powers it currently has .

Captain America 15 was helping to get things back on track until Dr.Mind Bubble the psychedelic super- soldier shows up, and thats not a joke. Though I wish it was. All New Invaders looks to have some promise the first issue had great artwork and was full of action, even if it mainly focused on the Original Torch. The Johnny Storm Torch was largely absent from FF 16, which thankfully came to its final issue. The Scott Lang figures out how to use Pym Particles , Ret-con was cool and smart enough for me to accept it. Though it seemed like it was written in so he could school Doom.

Cable and the X-force is gaining momentum, though one X-force book is enough. With the all female X-men book,.the Enchantress is really the only interesting element when she hands a beat down to Monet. Wolverine and the X-men has made it to issue 40, this one is a scattered mess of chaos but they manage to throw in a pretty worthwhile scene with Cyclops having a drink with Logan.