The Truth About Black Panther- (an unpaid film review)

This movie has a lot of hype around it. Marvel wants to break into a demographic with what you would be led to believe is their first black led film...if you have forgotten about Blade. They want you to this is as important as "Roots" and "Chaka Zulu" combined but it is more like "the Lion King" meets "James Bond". It is not as terrible as I feared, but it's not great either. Social media might even try to tell you it's racist to not kiss this movie's ass, so if you are into below average cgi, accents that come and go at random and every action movie plot cliche then believe the reviews the studios have paid for.Before you shout conspiracy, I personally been paid to write positive reviews for albums by record labels, and movie studios have much more money than record labels.

Black Panther got his start as part of the supporting cast of the Fantastic Four. He was a Bat-man of the jungle. His book has been cancelled more often than not due to the fact he works better as part of a team than on his own, and even this movie conveys that. When he appeared in Civil War, I thought Boseman was a little small to be Black Panther and when he appears shirtless on screen this fact is further hammered home. Boseman looks like he did yoga to prepare for the role rather than hit the gym. He seems unsure of himself as king, and the biggest disservice it does to the character is having him rely on his supporting cast for his tech rather than have him at the level of intelligence he possesses in the comics. Seems racist to me, but this is just one of the movies many flaws.

Klaw is well acted by Serkis, but nothing like the character in the comics, who most importantly doesn't die. He is not a pink energy monster, which might have been more interesting. I think he is also a better bad guy than Jordan who appears to be just another black guy with a chip on his shoulder a stereotype Hollywood has already gotten enough mileage out of. They are trying to tell you that he has a slant other Marvel villains have not had. A bastard who is shut out from his birth right and wants to claim the throne? Loki did that better. Man-Ape is also a villain who is wishy washy  in his motives and I can't see giving in to help Wakanda.

The strong females are just as two dimensional as the Amazons in Wonder Woman. Most get confusing because it becomes hard to tell who is who if not for their hairdos, most act like teenagers and it seemed like T'Challa was kissing his sister at the end , until she pops back up when they go to California. Also the end scene with Bucky was meh and overall the movie did not feel connected to the larger Marvel universe. Why didn't it come up in Killmonger's big plant to take over the world with black power that he would have to get through the Avengers to do so and judging by the fire power in the big fight at the end of the movie Wakanda would't stand a chance against them. The Hulk vs Man-ape and the kissing rhinos...no contest. Iron-man vs Wakanda tech...no contest. Thor could have put an end to all that real quick.

They pretty much blew their wad with this one unless Nekra is the bad guy for the next film or they bring in the Fantastic Four and Dr.Doom, because Black Panther's rouges gallery is pretty limited. Just like the character himself. The depth of the rogues gallery should bring out different sides of the character... Spider-man is a good example here. Black Panther was more fleshed out in the comics than here. The last 30 minute began to put me to sleep which was the supposed climax, the fight vs Killmonger in the mine seemed like it was retread from any sci-fi  action movie you might name and the space ships were pitiful. The big sweeping shots and afro-heritage scenes came across the most Lion King,  I am glad I did not pay to see this and while it was not as bad as I feared, it feel short of Ant-man by a few degrees. It was better than Cat-woman or Steel, so there is that.  Sure more racial issues are touched on than other Marvel films, unless you count the Hulk being discriminated against for being angry while green, I looked at it in terms of here does it stack against the comics and here does it stack against other Marvel films.

Spider Man - Home Coming

So this is Marvel Studios first shot at a stand alone film with arguably their most beloved hero. What worked with Holland's portrayal of the character in Civil War still works here. The movie is flawed, but fun. Where the other actors fell flat Holland excels, but he still has a script to adhere to and it's the writing where things get a little iffy. The twist with Keaton's Vulture and how he was mixed into his life on a few levels was clever even with it's deviation from the source material. However the biggest flaw was the lack of Spider sense. Spidey senses tingling is almost a part of the pop culture surrounding this character so why is it not a part of the character? Would this have really messed up the twist with Keaton before the third act ? No.

What did they get right? I thought Keaton did a good job as the Vulture. I liked the easter eggs they dropped for the Sinister Six and making it obvious Scorpion is going to be at least one of the villains in the next movie. I still want to see Black Cat on screen and they could have laid the ground work for that without making her seem like a Cat-woman rip off which she is but some how it's still ok with me , must be the boobs. But I digress. I had heard going into this it was more of a comedy than a action movie. This is not true it was a good balance. I think one of the things I was most greatful for was that it was not another origin story. There was still that Greatest American Hero moment with the hi tech suit which, I know Spider-man has now in the comics thanks to Parker Industries , but he did not have it back then.

Sure some of the casting was flawed. An Indian Flash Thompson was a stretch, how many Indians do you know with the last name of Thompson? But it was the fact he was on the debate team and not the football team that really fumbled. They missed a great chance to throw in some anti-bullying social justice bull shit here which I would have still rolled my eyes at , but it would be in proper context and was part of Parker's mythology. Tomei as Aunt May still worked. So that was a casting oddity I was fine with so I am flexible to certain extent. I was also fine with the alien tech from the first Avengers being used to make things like the Shockers gauntlets. So it did not seem forced. What did seem forced was Parker's relationship with Stark. Aside from that I think it's on the tier under Dr. Strange, Captain America and Iron-Man, so maybe number five in the Marvel movies...are we counting Logan in that ? Oh yeah I would review it but it's been out so long I'll just say I liked it and put it in the top five Marvel movies

This Week In Marvel

So Marvel might not be as bas as D/C, but they are making some poor choices like re-writing Captain Marvel's origin and not using Johnny Blaze for when Ghost Rider rides into Agents of Shield. Sure there is the Nick Cage connection and they claim Danvers origin is too close to Green Lanterns, but here powers are not.So now on the poor choices made in comics like  the Avengers annual is the worst waste of time ever, much like the rabbit hole of fan fic the book delves, I am not sure why they would think anyone over the age of 20, which is the bulk of the comic buying public would want to waster their money on it, is Marvel this out of touch with their demographics? Like the comment section of the page I read the tenth issue of Daredevil the new story arc is off to a slow start. This goes to show my the writing of the golden age of comics is superior to today's writing, this is not a Netflix show, this is a comic this would never have flown twenty years ago. The 9th issue of Scarlet Witch is a mixed bag, though the vast improvement in the art work makes some of my questions in regards to how she interacts with her brother. Black Panther continues to be terrible so start asking your self now if these past issues were the story board for a movie just how bad would it be....terrible.

Old Man Logan was decent. Some of the perspective the scenes were drawn from one of the books strongest traits. I think it has everything you might want from the book.All-New X-man was o.k, not great, I like X-23, Warren not so much. The story was a little teeny bopper in places. Black Panther show nominal improvements in it's fifth issue, but continues to make me question if he can hold his own in a full length film. The 8th issue of Agents of Shield was the best Civil War 2 cross over so far , even better than the Accused. The Accused one shot breaks down the Hawkeye trial and was more of a Dare-devil issue. The latest issue of Agents of Shield also focused in on Daredevil's world finding him becoming more of a player in the Marvel universe, guess his Netflix series doesn't play into that.

Movie Review : Deadpool

Deadpool is one of those books I skip more often than not because I have reached an exhaustion point with the character, since he not only appears in Uncanny Avengers now, but has multiple books and for the past few years was being forced fed to you due to  his immense popularity. Popularity evident in the almost endless parade of Deadpool cosplay at any convention that was a a fever pitch last year. The movie works off of the same elements that made the character popular an due to the R rating doesnt' have to let up. This redeems the character of Ryan Reynolds previous portrayal in Wolverine Origins. However one thing that should have carried over from the Wolverine movie is absent, namely the Weapon X Program. Instead we have a torture chop shop that is closer to Hostel. Thus creating a vacuum that is filled by made up villains when actual villains from the Marvel Universe could have been used. Deadpool's rogues gallery might not be the strongest on it's own, leaving his scraps from the X-men's table , but there re plenty of villains who have yet to see screen time in the X-men movies that could have fit the bill.

Wait you say, Ajax is in the comics. Sure if we are talking about the big Hulk sized goon from Pantheon. That one is far from a big bad, and I would have been fine with the Pantheon being worked into it. This did not ruin the movie for me since my emotional connection to the character is much less than if this was a Hulk, Thor or Dr. Strange movie. Why did they not make the character Fantomex ? The movie was very entertaining and kept me engaged, I did not feel bad for having to pay 20.00 dollars to see it in Imax, because all the other showings were sold out. As I told me wife the only other movie I am going to pay that much to see again will be Dr. Strange....I guess until 2025 when the Sentry movie comes out or Marvel makes a Hulk solo film.

Everything about the movie was over the top. The action scenes were bloodier than even Daredevil's Netflix show.  We had numerous masturbation references, We had sex scenes , which were just a few degrees less tame than those from Jessica Jones. Is it a kid's movie. Well it depends on how old your child is and how much they like Deadpool. If he is their favorite character, well you are going to have to have a talk with them before and after. He has had little cartoon face time so unless we are talking the video game they would have have to have read the comic book. So they are not a stranger to the kind of adult flavored wackiness, but bringing it to life might be intense and require a bathroom break or eye covering in a few moments like the strip club scene. If they are 12 or older let them have at it. I saw Conan the Barbarian when I was little and it didn't warp me, though I suppose my previous therapist might say that is up for debate.

Will my daughter see this movie? No, but  she doesn't really care about the character, if she wants to see Wonder-Woman on March 25th, well ratings wise it should be a different story. There are plenty f reasons for Deadpool's r-rating all of them are what makes the film work, so props to the studio for not backing down and editing it to a pg-13. Half the dialogue would have needed to be rewritten. Colossus pretty much serves as the movies moral barometer and that would have given his character a less pivotal role. The cgi on him is good and shows how many of the larger than life characters should be handled one day when they hit the screen...I'm thinking Sasquatch when they make a Alpha Flight movie.Speaking of big bruisers, another question is why make up this Angel chick when she could have very well have been Monet?No only do you not have to be a fan of the comic book, but the movie works better if you aren't even thought the tone and the character himself is pretty much intact. No laser beam eyes, though they do poke fun of that depiction as well as Green Lantern. It gladly defies most of the super-hero conventions , except for the origin story which is told in a way that doesn't bog the movie down. The effects and fight scenes are pretty much everything you could want from a Deadpool movie and future Wolverine or Punisher movies could stand to learn from.

Reynolds shows he was in fact perfect for the role with Morena Baccarin once again proving she is more than a pretty face, she adds a bit of an edge to her character and is believable in the role. The girl who plays Negasonic Teenage Warhead, is passable and the villain is typical for what he doesn't would have been better served as real character with more depth. But overall it's a ride that doesn't slow down and keeps you pulled into Deadpools world. Hopefully rumors are right and the Liam Neeson jokes are winks toward him bringing Cable to life which is confirmed in the post-credits scene. One of the better Marvel movies and the best of the X-men films. It was also a great movie for Valentine's.

How Does Ant-man Measure Up?

Marvel is aware that despite being one of the founding Avengers they now Ant-man is about as well known to the general public who doesn't read the comics as Rocket Racoon and the concept is just a s willy to some people, so they tried to take a similar tone as Guardians  of the Galaxy. One of the things Marvel is doing since they are also aware if they approach the basic origin superhero formula in the same say it will accelerate the fatigue of the trend they are riding so they have tried to make each film fit a different mold, the first Capt America really stated this as that was their war film, Thor their epic Fantasy, the second Captain America, was their espionage movie, Guardians there space opera, with some of the other movies in-between those being allowed to be more comic centric. One can assume Dr. Strange with also be set aside in that way , but after that they might be in trouble. So Ant-man is their heist film. This Ocean 11 type element injected into the movie takes itself pretty seriously and the supposed humor that apologizes for being about a man makes himself the size of an ant is often counter balanced by this.

The humor really isn't that funny, I don't think I laughed the entire film, granted I generally did like comedies because much like Ant-man they try to hard to make you like and it ends up feeling very contrived.The huge Thomas the Tank Engine or the pet ant, seem to be a bit of a reach. For me where the film works is they allow Lang to keep his mask on. They do acknowledge that Hank Pym was originally Ant-man and they even show Wasp for about ten seconds as a flash back sequence. I am not sure why they didn't allow Hank Pym to be Ant-man rather than going with Scott Lang. Its another way Marvel has screwed themselves from being able to connect the dots with their own mythos. How can Wonder Man ever show up ?

Paul Rudd gets the job done. Douglas is also pretty decent as the aged Pym. Every one else is a little stiff. It takes thirty minutes before he gets the costume on, and while I like how that comes about , I think all origins should take place in the first ten minutes and then it's go time. I liked how it connected to Avengers two, Falcon's appearance was cool, and was it me of did his costume look a little red white and blue, which could lead to one of my fears about the prophetic tone the comics could be taking in order to work around actors contractual obligations and give Marvel a loop hole out of the Disney deal.

In the new politically correct world of geekdom, there have been questions about how Wasp was sidelined, how black and Hispanics are portrayed and I think if any stereotypes were played into it was done so with a reason that made sense for the story and you have to remember stereotypes get played into because there have been enough examples to justify them.  Hollywood works off archetypes, Yellow Jackets plays into some of the most run of the mill villain cliches.  He just hops into his suit and they  are at it , so I am not sure why Rudd had to train to used his and Yellow Jacket was able to pop it on and go. I am not sure why Marvel didn't show Pym as Giant Man  rather using the particles to make inanimate things bigger.

Quality wise some of the cgi did't hold up to the other movies when they are small everything is not as blended. They have elluded to the fact that the astral world of Dr strange is going to be like sub atomic world, which I hope is not the cas as it looks like a darker version of the dreamier Fortress of Solitude sequences from the Reeve era Super-man films.The ants at times were a little suspect and I was surprised that that element of his powers took so much focus , so I give them props for at least not downplaying that.

Was it fun? Sure and it didn't come across to much like "Honey I Shrunk the Avenger".  It was a pretty mixed bag and I am glad I didn't throw down the twelve bucks to see it in the theater and you should only do that if you have nothing better to do and too much money or a bug Scott Lang fan. As Superhero movies go I think it's better than Spider-man 3, Iron Man 2, Daredevil, the first Punisher, Catwoman, Dark Knight Rises, Electra, most of the Blade Sequels and Fantastic Four so use that as your barometer , after Dr. Strange it's only going to get worse from here as Captain Marvel comes across like My Super Ex Girl Friend and Black Panther the Captain Africa.

Why Can't Comics Just be Fun?

I have been reading comics for over thirty years it is one of my greatest pleasures or at least in once was, the big two are caught at a cross-roads now that comic book movies have opened the doors to readers they feel the need to placate to. When I was a kid in the 80s, I went to the comic book store bought my comics, never heard any complaints about what the publishers should or shouldn't be doing, people would get their panties bunched about their favorite hero getting busted by someone one, but thats about it. There was no internet to sway them. There are some issues I run across that do re-kindle the feeling I used to get out of reading comics as a kid, but the writing is not as true to who the characters I have grown up with. In fact super-heroes became the new mythology of the western culture. In some cases like Thor pulling from older myths of other cultures. But those guys and girls in spandex represent our higher selves. Now I seem to be deriving more enjoyment from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, than last weeks issue of the Hulk. This is a problem because all of those shows and movies we are enjoying are based on character established back in 1961. So for we'll say 50 years considering how bad the past year has been, these characters have stood the test of time. So why change them?

One reason is writers who are not well read in the source materials and do not know how to write Steve Rogers as Steve Rogers or Peter Parker as Peter Parker so they try to put a spin on it. But in forty years from now something like Thor being a girl will be taken as seriously as when he was a frog. And if we want to get into the real lore of the character, well Thor is a god. How about we make a comic where Jesus is a girl? Or the Buddha is a girl? How would that fly? How are those deities any more sacred than Norse gods, who are still worshipped by pagans today? But what this is really about is how to please everyone? How can we reach into the wallets of every demographic? Disney seems to have done a pretty good job of this and Mickey is the same mouse he has always been. I said it once and I'll say it a hundred times, if you want strong female characters why not give Valkyrie or Sif the spotlight? Thor is a name that sells. Why doesn't Sam Wilson get a Falcon comic? Captain America is a brand that sells. Another Thor is fine there the horse alien Thor Beta Ray Bill, who won a hammer of his own fair and square. The new Thor has not beaten Odinson.Even if your only knowledge of Scandinavian culture came from the show "Vikings" you would be aware there was a certain social order and no way Odin would just say,"Ok, Little girl you can be my son." Since gods might be depicted as having certain human characteristics , they can never be not worthy of being a god that what they are. Are they going to write a comic where they say to Jesus come down from that cross we need the wood to build this little girl her own manger? So why call her Thor? It's not to give female fans a strong woman, its because the name sells the comics.

All of this is beginning to take the fun out of comics , and is making the companies put out a lower quality of product. I look forward to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, if I was watching it an some one was sitting next to me in my living and saying things to me like "Why is Agent Coulson the star of the show. Why is he a man?" I would wait until the commercial and pick them up and toss them out the door with a swift kick to the teeth to thank them for ruining my enjoyment. So why do I continue to make the mistake of clicking on articles on Comic Book Resources written by some of their liberal attention seekers? It was an honest mistake this morning when I clicked on Joseph Illidge's the Mission column. I need to avoid it. It is like a lingering fart that makes me want to clear out the room.

He went above and beyond. Comparing Thor to Captain America, the current incarnations of the books mind you. He first went on to praise the female Thor, he was also under the delusion it was because He is now a she. Not the case, I read it because I know Odinson and the characters related to Odinson are going to be in the book, the female character is the weakest developed of the bunch, one reason being is she doesn't have decades of development behind her. However in his article Illidge stated that it took him 90 minutes to read six comic books, this seemed long to me so I went online and found six comics I had not read before and timed it. It took twenty minutes. So if it took him four times longer, then well... I guess that why Odin makes all kinds of people some are just better at something than others. This is a concept Illidge doesn't grasp as he complained Sam Wilson, was struggling to much to be Captain America. The reason for this Joseph is he is not cut out to be Captain America, Sam is much better at being Falcon. He can't hang gong toe to toe with some of the guys Cap fights. One reason for this is he is not even half as strong. This is canon, Wilson can only lift 480 lbs, Rogers can lift over twice that. He then goes onto say like most black people in real life Sam Wilson's book has little chance of success. The reason is the book has had it's moments, but the concept is dumb so it should fail, its a gimmick rather than just getting a writing to pen a good Steve Rogers story, when Captain America 3 comes out do you think Wilson would have still been in the red, white and blue? No, he'll be Falcon that what he is good at and succeeds at. Even Luke Cage is a better leader of the Avengers than Wilson. Cage is not struggling he sticks to what he's good at.

So before I let all of people personal issue bleed over into my enjoyment of comics, which are becoming the battleground for social debate, and what some people think social change, I think I'll stick to clicking only on what matters, super-heroes in the comic books, it's supposed to be fun not like watching CNN,it's always been about escape. If you don't find a character you relate to escape with then you are reading the wrong books. I'm an alcoholic but I would much rather read the Hulk than Iron-man.