Captain America: The First Avenger

OPENING: 07/22/2011

STUDIO: Paramount Pictures

RUN TIME: 125 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Avenge

Opening Statement
This summer’s quartet of comic book superhero blockbusters comes to a close with Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Fortunately, this final stepping stone on the way to Marvel’s The Avengers proves to be 2011′s most satisfying superhero flick.

Facts of the Case
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, Fantastic Four) is a scrappy, 90-pound kid from Brooklyn. The year is 1942, and Steve wants nothing more than to serve his country by joining the military and going overseas. He’s been turned down time and time again; he’s too small and too sickly to serve. Still, the persistence eventually pays off: Steve is finally accepted and is shipped off to basic training. Shortly after his arrival, a military scientist (Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones) persuades Steve to become his first test subject in a very important experiment. Steve is injected with a remarkable serum which instantly transforms him from the Army’s least intimidating soldier into a bulky, powerful hulk of a man.

Alas, Steve’s new powers aren’t going to be put to use on the battlefield. Our would-be war hero is sent on an important but nonetheless humiliating publicity tour; selling war bonds by dressing up in a ridiculous red, white & blue costume and dancing onstage with a group of chorus girls. However, when Steve learns that his old pal Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan, Black Swan) is missing in action overseas, he determines to stage a rescue mission. With the aid of arms manufacturer Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper, Young Victoria) and the no-nonsense Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, The Duchess), “Captain America” begins a dangerous mission which will eventually bring him face-to-face with the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix).

The Evidence
After the depressingly generic Green Lantern, I was feeling a little burnt out on superhero movies. It was a little difficult to work up much enthusiasm for Captain America; did I really want to sit through another by-the-numbers origin story created for the specific purpose of teasing a sequel? Thankfully, Captain America is precisely the refreshing change-of-pace the genre needs at this moment in time. This is a movie which is both charmingly earnest and genuinely surprising; two factors which have been missing from too many films about men in spandex.

Director Joe Johnston warmed up for this film some twenty years earlier with his under-appreciated The Rocketeer. Captain America: The First Avenger also offers shades of such entertainingly retro outings as The Phantom and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, but it’s less aggressively self-aware than those films. It pays homage to old-fashioned war movies and equally old-fashioned comic books in a manner which is entertaining but never too distracting; the world Johnston has created is absorbing and the story works on its own terms.

Johnston is clearly having a ball with this particular cinematic playground, as this is a film which just oozes affection for the era in which it is set. Johnston doesn’t so much recapture a moment in time as recapture the pop culture vibes of that era; creating a movie which seems to have been assembled from a collection of newsreels, comic books and war movies of the early 1940s. His art deco design boasts numerous visual delights, and his staging of the aforementioned publicity tour is a fascinating piece of cinema: it’s an unexpected departure from the norm for this sort of film, it’s marvelously staged, it’s delightfully satirical and unexpectedly affecting all at once. The battle scenes later in the film have a kind of four-color “gee whiz!” quality about them while still managing to maintain some measure of weight. The balancing act Johnston pulls off in this area is most impressive.

Lead actor Chris Evans is perhaps saddled with the most difficult task of all the Marvel Studios superheroes, as he’s required to play a character who is good-hearted, earnest and compassionate. Those are great human qualities, but they can also be the foundation of a dull character in the hands of an incapable actor. Fortunately, Evans manages to hit just the right note and maintain a strong screen presence. There’s something about him which suggests Gary Cooper’s turn in Sgt. York; a kind of shy, thoughtful tenderness beneath the war hero exterior. He’s equally convincing as the runt from Brooklyn and as the muscle-bound man of action, and the CGI work done on both versions of the character is impressive enough that we don’t spend much time thinking about it.

The supporting cast is also solid, with Tommy Lee Jones standing out in a very Tommy Lees Jones-ish role as a gruff, world-weary Colonel. Jones is given a handful of good lines which he nails with his understated delivery. Hayley Atwell makes the most of a ever-so-slightly underwritten role, bringing a great deal of personality to this film’s obligatory love interest (as a result, we end up caring about her considerably more than we did about Natalie Portman in Thor or Blake Lively in Green Lantern). We also get three esteemed actors having a blast with gloriously hammy German accents. In order of success: Hugo Weaving (whose intonations often seem to transform into a Werner Herzog impression), Stanley Tucci (as wonderfully understated as ever) and Toby Jones (whose impressive facial expressions compensate for his exceedingly wobbly accent).

I’m obliged to report that not everything is wonderful. The Red Skull’s plan will undoubtedly prove a little confusing to those unfamiliar with the comics (that sort of shorthand is best left to throwaway in-jokes, not major plot points), and the character’s actual actions are never really as interesting as Weaving’s hypnotic performance. Dominic Cooper is a little underwhelming as a young Howard Stark; failing to deliver the pitch-perfect charisma John Slattery offered in Iron Man 2. Additionally, the movie finishes on a wrong note, as one character delivers a line which strives to be simultaneously funny and touching but which actually proves merely awkward.

Obviously, the ultimate purpose of Captain America: The First Avenger is to build up to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. I have conflicted feelings about this, as Captain America handles this material very smoothly yet still seems as if it would be better off without it. Had Johnston been directing a stand-alone film without the need to segue into a larger blockbuster, he could have delivered something even more moving and impressive. You’ll know what I mean when you see the film.

Closing Statement
Still, given the constraints that it’s working under, Captain America: The First Avenger is very nearly as good as it possibly could have been. It’s arguably the most successful Marvel Studios film to date (only Iron Man could compete), and one of the strongest efforts of Johnston’s career.

The Verdict
8/10

Green Lantern

OPENING: 06/17/2011

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

RUN TIME: 105 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
In brightest day. In blackest night.

Opening Statement
While DC Comics has a large stable of iconic superheroes that ranks as a worthy rival to the lineup Marvel has to offer, considerably more of Marvel’s characters have been given the swanky big-screen treatment. While Marvel has provided us with films about The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Daredevil, Captain America, Thor and others, DC has primarily focused on the one-two punch of Batman and Superman (with occasional flops about characters from those two universes, such as Supergirl, Catwoman and Steel). At long last, we’re breaking away from the old routine with Green Lantern. Unfortunately, this new franchise is off to an awfully rough start.

Facts of the Case
Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal) is a hotshot pilot whose remarkable talent is only matched by his penchant for irresponsible behavior. He’s had a hot-and-cold relationship with employer/fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively, The Town) for years, and lately things have been on the cold side of that spectrum. A recent disaster at work, an increasingly strained relationship with his siblings and haunting memories of his father’s tragic death have only amplified Hal’s personal problems in recent days.

Hal receives a welcome distraction when he’s suddenly transported to the site of a spaceship crash. Inside the ship is a dying alien, who presents Hal with a mysterious green ring. Before Hal has time to process this, he’s whisked away to the planet Oa and trained as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, a universal police force devoted to keeping life forms of all sorts safe from a wide variety of threats. Soon, the hotshot pilot finds himself faced with the task of battling foes both foreign (and I mean really, really, really foreign) and domestic.

The Evidence
Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern suffers from a variety of problems, but perhaps most prominent among them is a severe case of origin-itis. Here’s the thing: we’ve seen a seemingly endless supply of comic book origin stories at this point, and they’ve generally grown less intriguing as time has passed. I’m fairly certain that audiences are willing to accept on faith the idea that a character has been given a set of superpowers. Is there really a need for would-be franchises to provide us with feature-length explanations of how these miraculous things happen rather than simply dealing with such business in a prologue and focusing on delivering a compelling story? Green Lantern feels like a warm-up for an actual movie, which is something which can be said about entirely too many cinematic origin stories of late (the recent X-Men: First Class comes to mind, though that film delivers more entertainment than this one).

The premise of the Green Lantern Corps is one which contains a tremendous amount of potential for thrilling space opera, yet there is nothing operatic about Green Lantern. The film is a curiously mundane experience; one which spends entirely too much time wallowing in Hal Jordan’s uninteresting personal problems on Earth and precious little time exploring the vast, detailed, well-constructed wonders of Oa. Indeed, Hal’s one extended trip to Oa seems to fly by at an alarming speed, as if the filmmakers are counting the special effects cost of every second of screen time (despite the film’s vast budget of $300 million). The Oa material is interesting, but Campbell gives us little time to soak it in; the film rushes through some nifty visuals and exposition and then shuttles Hal back to Earth for the rest of the film.

I don’t have a problem with the fact that Green Lantern spends a good bit of time setting up the details of how Hal was recruited as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, but I do have a problem with the fact that the film then proceeds to force Hal to have some sort of half-baked personal crisis in which he debates whether or not he wants the job. This material feels strikingly similar to the sort of thing Peter Parker went through in Spider-Man 2, but the key difference is that Spider-Man actually had a legitimate reason for his “maybe I should just quit” period. That Hal Jordan would quit over the smallest of problems seems a blatant contradiction to the notion that he’s an adventure-loving rogue. After a while one begins to feel that the whole enterprise ought to be titled Green Lantern: Whiny Space Cadet.

The film is lacking in wonder, yes, but it’s also lacking in energy. The lackluster romance between Hal and Carol tends to sap the film of its momentum; a problem exacerbated by the fact that Reynolds and Lively really don’t have much chemistry together. The writers also struggle in their attempts to inject some humor into the proceedings, giving Hal a series of Spider-Man-style quips which probably read better than they actually sound (Jerk: “Watch your back.” Hal: “That’s impossible.”). There’s very little that doesn’t feel like filler; even the massive battle with the evil space demon Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown, Carnivale) feels like a half-hearted attempt at giving Hal something important to do while the groundwork is being laid for a sequel.

Still, Green Lantern isn’t quite a Catwoman or Jonah Hex-level disaster. In fact, the film is perfectly watchable, as Campbell and co. have done solid work on a technical level and there are a handful of smaller elements which add much-needed spice to the mix. Most valuable is Peter Sarsgaard’s (Orphan) offbeat turn as Hector Hammond; a nerdy scientist fueled by a compelling mix of buried rage, insecurity and nervous intelligence. Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) also seems to be enjoying himself as Hector’s fatuous U.S. Senator daddy. As I mentioned, the visit to Oa is entirely too brief, but the world itself is compelling and the characters there even moreso: the charming Tomar Re (voiced quite well by Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech), the gruff Kilowag (a thunderous Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile) and the crisp, polished Sinestro (a nearly unrecognizable Mark Strong, Kick-Ass). There’s also a grin-inducing moment which pokes fun at the absurdity of supposedly identity-disguising superhero masks.

Closing Statement
There are promising ideas in Green Lantern, but this is a film which promises far more than it actually delivers. The idea of a sequel is kind of appealing, mostly because it feels like the writers were saving their best cards for later installments. However, I doubt most viewers are going to feel much enthusiasm for the franchise after sitting through this underwhelming origin story. Sadly, Green Lantern is one of this summer’s most disposable blockbusters.

The Verdict
5/10

X-Men: First Class

OPENING: 06/03/2011

STUDIO: Fox

RUN TIME: 132 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Witness the moment that will change our world.

Opening Statement
I’ve always had a bit more affection for the X-Men franchise than it honestly deserves. Prior to the release of X-Men: First Class, four installments of the series had been churned out; only one of which had actually been a really satisfying picture (that would be X2: X-Men United). Despite this, the immense potential lurking within the depths of the franchise is undeniable. Part of the reason that a film like X-Men: The Last Stand is so frustrating is that it’s obvious the film could have been a terrific summer blockbuster had it been handled better. Rather than actually re-booting the series, Fox decided to launch an in-continuity prequel which would explore the origins of the mutant superhero team. So, how does X-Men: First Class fare? Well…the series still has a lot of potential.

Facts of the Case
Our story begins in the 1940s, when young Erik Lehnsherr (Bill Milner, Is Anybody There?) is a prisoner in a German concentration camp. During his stay there, he’s tortured and experimented on by a Nazi scientist (Kevin Bacon, Sleepers) eager to learn more about Erik’s unique magnetic abilities. Fast forward to the early 1960s, as an adult Erik (Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds) is on an unrelenting mission to hunt down the man who tormented him all those years ago. It’s during this process that Erik meets Charles Xavier (James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland), a professor of genetics with his own set of fascinating abilities (of the telepathic variety, of course).

To make a long set-up short, Charles and Erik decide to join forces with a handful of other young mutants and aid the CIA in a mission to prevent nuclear war from breaking out. Over the course of this mission, the two men’s sharp philosophical differences begin to become apparent. How much longer will the vengeful Erik and the peaceful Charles be able to continue working together before their personal ideologies split them apart?

The Evidence
Obviously, the answer is, “not much longer.” We all know where these characters are going; it’s up to X-Men: First Class to make the journey there compelling. I suppose you could call it a success in that regard, as the film is rarely dull or uninteresting. Even so, this semi-reboot of the series gets an absurdly large amount of things wrong. It’s appropriate that the film opens with a scene mirroring the opening scene from the first X-Men, as this film mirrors the close-but-no-cigar quality level of that movie in a variety of ways.

There are a variety of problems with this flick, but the most immediately noticeable one is the screenplay by director Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (“Too many chefs” and all that, I suppose). There’s an embarrassingly large of amount of flat-out awful dialogue in the film, much of which comes from scenes in which characters casually make up iconic names (“No, you’re not G-Men…you’re more like…X-Men”). On numerous occasions, I was able to silently quotes lines from the film before the characters even delivered them (sadly, this was due to by-the-numbers writing rather than recently-developed telepathic abilities). In addition, character development is an enormous problem. Several of the characters go through very abrupt changes without any proper set-up; perhaps they know what they’re supposed to be up to in the sequels. The blatant social commentary (an element used skillfully in the Singer films) is handled very awkwardly this time around; it’s as if the writers were completely disinterested in that element of the franchise and half-heartedly stuck in a few lame slogans just for the sake of it (“Mutant and proud!” becomes an increasingly ungainly catchphrase).

Additionally, the film’s attempt at period design is laughable; it’s very easy to forget that you’re watching a film set in the ‘60s. You’re suddenly reminded of the film’s era when a character casually slips the word “groovy” into a sentence or JFK turns up on the television or Kevin Bacon turns up in a silly ascot, but there are entirely too many anachronisms killing the retro vibe. This problem is perfectly symbolized by the end credits, which fuse a hip Saul Bass-style credit sequence with Henry Jackman’s thoroughly modern action score (save for a handful of occasional 007-ish twangs).

The film relies far too much on simplistic fan service; those cornball moments designed to generate applause in crowded theatres that will fall completely flat when viewed at home (though a fleeting cameo from a franchise veteran is a pitch-perfect delight). The film also suffers from being burdened with the task of doing a boatload of set-up, as it seems to spend nearly its entire running time setting the stage for other, more interesting films (the Cuban Missile Crisis-themed central plot of this outing proves a good deal less interesting to watch than it must have seemed on paper). There’s at least one gaping plot hole that many audience members will notice, too.

And yet, I remain interested in this incarnation of the franchise and those other, better films that it may produce. Why? As I said, there’s still a lot of potential. For all of the movie’s faults, you have to give it credit for spot-on casting. In particular, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are superb as the future Magneto and Professor X, respectively. Fassbender sells some very weak material simply with the steely conviction of his performance, while McAvoy is even more disarmingly charming than usual as the bright, amiable Charles. In addition, Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man), gives a young Hank McCoy an effective Clark Kent-ish quality, while Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) turns in solid work as a conflicted young Mystique. Kevin Bacon has a ball hamming it up as the villain, January Jones’ stiff screen presence actually works well for Emma Frost and Rose Byrne is an appealing presence as CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert. The cast for a terrific X-Men is undoubtedly in place, and they’re what keep X-Men: First Class so thoroughly watchable throughout (Fassbender in particular commands attention every time he strolls onscreen; he’s as strong a presence in this film as Ian McKellan was in the others).

This is easily director Matthew Vaughn’s weakest film to date (and considering that he co-wrote the screenplay, he can be blamed for many of its problems), but he does bring a level of stylistic flair and energy to the proceedings that sets it apart from the others (Bryan Singer had much better control of tone, but his considerably more dour approach would have amplified this film’s weaknesses). For instance, an obligatory training montage is turned into frisky fun due to Vaughn’s impressively fluid use of split-screen techniques.

Closing Statement
Still, X-Men: First Class is a mediocre film rescued on occasion by surface-level pleasures. It’s kinda fun while you watch it, but it sours in retrospect and will likely fare poorly on repeat viewings. The stage is set for a splendid X-Men adventure if the filmmakers can muster one. One can only hope that the magic will actually happen next time.

The Verdict
6/10

The Green Hornet

OPENING: 01/14/2011

STUDIO: Columbia Pictures

RUN TIME: 119 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Breaking the Law to Protect It

Opening Statement
It’s no secret that The Green Hornet went through a long and troubled development period. Folks like Kevin Smith, Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg were attached the film at various points, but the property eventually fell into the hands of actor/writer Seth Rogen and director Michel Gondry. Together, this unlikely duo turn in a version of The Green Hornet that’s by turns oddly entertaining and unforgivably messy.

Facts of the Case
Britt Reid (Seth Rogen, Knocked Up) is the spoiled son of a powerful newspaper editor (Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton). When his father passes away, Britt decides to stop fooling around and do something with his life. Dear old dad was committed to the fight against crime in his newspapers, so Britt decides he’s going to take the fight to the streets. With the invaluable aid of his father’s former auto mechanic/coffee-maker Kato (Jay Chou, Curse of the Golden Flower), Britt adopts his new secret identity as “The Green Hornet” and begins a mission to take down the city’s most powerful crime lord (Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds).

The Evidence
The most immediately amusing idea this version of The Green Hornet has to offer is that it’s a superhero movie without a superhero. Well, that’s not true–Kato is pretty impressive in a variety of ways. However, the title character certainly doesn’t qualify as a superhero in the traditional sense. He has no extraordinary powers, no noteworthy fighting abilities and an intellect that’s just a little below average. Kato is Batman and Alfred wrapped into one. That leaves Britt in the role of Bruce Wayne, though he doesn’t have half as much business sense. When he inherits his father’s newspaper business, he insists on meeting with the staff. His attempts at inspirational speeches have a way of leaving people feeling nervous about their careers.

So, Britt and Kato wander into a variety of violent situations. In most instances, this involves Britt getting in way over his head and Kato finding a way to bail him out. Things would probably go smoother if Kato were by himself, but Britt’s the one with the money and the desire for notoriety. There’s a good deal of humor in the little moments in which Kato subtly attempts to find ways to protect Britt from his own foolishness. The film more or less works when it’s in buddy-movie mode, though these two spend so much time bickering that I’m not sure “buddy” really applies.

However, things get more problematic when the film enters action-movie mode. Save for one stylish gimmick Gondry has to offer (that would be the intriguing “Kato-Vision”), the action scenes tend to be loud and purposeless. They’re too much of a muchness, as we often see a lot of chaos onscreen but aren’t always able to easily identify who is doing what to whom. It seems as if Gondry is so caught up in his moments of clever minutiae that he fails to do enough work on the big-picture stuff.

In a way, the entire film is like that. The Green Hornet is loaded with clever dialogue exchanges, fun visual tricks and charmingly kooky moments, but it neglects far too many of its characters, suffers from uncomfortable tonal shifts and has some severe pacing problems. Additionally, the film seems to become increasingly conventional as it proceeds, eventually trading in free-wheeling loopiness for a banal, generic third act. I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I was in the film’s action-packed finale, which crushes some light touches of wit with overbearing blandness.

Rogen and Chou have some nice chemistry together, though they fare better during quiet moments (such as a scene in which the two sing together while enjoying a ride in Black Beauty, their tricked-out automobile). Rogen doesn’t stretch himself much and clearly doesn’t fit the traditional superhero mold, but he wrote the role for himself and thus never seems miscast. Chou stumbles over his English-language dialogue from time to time, but he has an appealing screen presence and a pretty good sense of comic timing. His subdued demeanor plays particularly well off of Rogen’s boisterous personality.

The supporting players aren’t bad, but the screenplay by Rogen and Evan Goldberg treats them badly. Christoph Waltz has a terrific opening scene with a hilarious punch line, but after that he’s given little of interest to do (even worse, variations on the aforementioned punch line are repeated so frequently that eventually the joke runs out of steam). Cameron Diaz (The Box) initially seems to be playing the obligatory love interest, though she neither falls in love with anyone nor manages to be interesting. Honestly, there’s no reason for her to be in the film. I suppose the filmmakers were worried about not having a female in the principle cast. Tom Wilkinson and Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) are both prominently credited, but they’re onscreen so little that you’ll probably forget they were in it.

Closing Statement
When we learn that Wilkinson’s character has passed away early in the film, a news flash informs us of the cause: a bee sting. That’s an amusingly offbeat way for a character to die; particularly in a film like this. I laughed at what seemed to be a poke at other superhero tales in which parental figures die horrible deaths at the hands of villains. Alas, later in the film it’s revealed that Wilkinson was not killed by a bee sting, but rather by an injection which was administered by… well, that would be telling. Suffice it to say that I was displeased this turn of events. That’s the movie in a nutshell: oddball fun alternating with considerable disappointment. It’s not bad, it doesn’t work, it’s worth seeing, it’s not worth paying for, it’s fresh, it’s typical, it’s funny, it’s tedious, it doesn’t deserve to be released in January, it doesn’t deserve to be a summer blockbuster, it’s… well, it’s The Green Hornet.

The Verdict
6/10

Megamind

OPENING: 11/05/2010

STUDIO: DreamWorks Animation

RUN TIME: 96 min

ACCOMPLICES:

Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
A superhero movie with a mind of its own

Opening Statement
DreamWorks Animation is suddenly a top-tier studio, capable of rivaling even the best of Pixar. While they have dished out their fair share of duds, such as last year’s Monsters vs. Aliens , the scale on which they set their canvases is quite spectacular. What they lack in heart and soul they make up for with dazzling action, witty pop culture references and A-list voice talent. Pixar may have the animation world by the balls, but DreamWorks is not far behind. And with the one-two punch of last summer’s How to Train Your Dragon and now Megamind, they’re proving they can dish out quality entertainment at an alarmingly swift rate.

Facts of the Case
Megamind (Will Ferrell) is an evil super villain in the vein of Lex Luthor, who spends his days battling local superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt). The two are bitter rivals, arriving on earth under similar circumstances to vastly dissimilar results.

After years of fighting, Megamind suddenly wins, much to his (and everyone else’s) surprise, offing Metro Man in high style. The local denizens, including plucky reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) are forced to endure a world without their beloved star, under the rule of the dastardly blue-tinted villain. All’s well that ends well, right? Not exactly.

Megamind finds himself bored, missing the exciting life Metro Man provided. In a flurry of panic, he channels Metro Man’s abilities into nerdy cameraman Hal (Jonah Hill) and creates another superhero, who calls himself Titan. Things turn dicey, however, when Megamind falls for Ritchi, utilizing an assumed identity to win her heart. Problem is, Hal/Titan has eyes for the reporter too, and turns into a proverbial madman Hell-bent on gaining her affection. An epic dual ensues as Megamind must somehow save the day, discover his true self and win the heart of his lady.

The Evidence
Megamind is terrific entertainment told with energy, pizzaz and heart. I absolutely loved every second of it. The voice cast is top-notch with Ferrell in particular lending depth to the titular bad guy/hero. His is an intriguing character, one who gets what he wants, only realizing too late that what he needs lies elsewhere.

Megamind, you see, is like all super villains–power hungry, smart, but ultimately standing on the wrong side of morality. I’ve often wondered myself what Lex Luther would do in a world without Superman. Would he simply take over? Would he be bored? While villains may hate the heroes who defy them and vice versa, a certain level of respect from both parties is vital to the battle. As the Joker explains to Batman in The Dark Knight, “You complete me.” Good and evil must co-exist–one cannot survive without the other.

And so Megamind, upon defeating the “yang” to his ”yin”, is left in control of the city for which he fought so hard. He is bored, nervous and unresolved. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” he solemnly says to a statue of Metro Man, producing a detonator in the process. “But I still have to blow you up. No offense, you just bring up too many bad memories.”

Ferrell’s craft has been anchored in a sort of juvenile irony. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. He’s always funny, even in the ill-received Land of the Lost where he played a clueless scientist stumbling around various dimensions, but oftentimes he is too over-the-top for his own good. Here, every line is delivered in pitch perfect style. Ferrell’s Megamind may be an evil villain, but he’s also a lonely soul seeking a genial purpose. The actor provides a delicate blance between the two, infusing the character with wit, style and a sympathetic soul. Wait ’til you get a load of his Marlon Brando-as-Jorel impersonation. Funny stuff, I tell ya. 

Likewise, the always reliable Tina Fey and Jonah Hill contribute some terrific voice work of their own. Fey finds a strong Lois Lane-ish character in Ritchie, with deft comic-timing and an equally ironic tone that matches Ferrell perfectly. These two would do wonders in a live action film together. Hill, meanwhile, has the nerdy slob routine down to a science. His character is a dunce who is suddenly greeted with great power, which he abuses tenfold. As his abilities increase, so does his rage. Not to a frightening level, mind you (this is still a kid’s film after all), but it reaches a point that allows for some dramatic intensity.

That’s what is so great about DreamWorks. They’re not afraid to push the envelope a little. Pixar’s films exhibit a playful quality, basking in human emotions, careful to never dive too deep lest they scare off the target audience. DreamWorks explores adventure, excitement and genuine thrill. The studio takes chances, provides an edge. Their films may not make you cry, or win Oscars for that matter, but they offer crowd pleasing entertainment to the highest degree.

The visuals on display in Megamind are jaw-dropping, and some of the best I’ve ever seen in an animated film. Megamind and Metro Man soar through the sky, topple buildings and wreck havoc on a massive scale. It’s all in good fun, to be sure, but also quite electrifying in execution. Director Tom McGrath stages some impressive set-pieces, one of which sees Megamind and Ritchie attempting to outrun a falling skyscraper whilst riding a jet-propelled motorcycle. The animation is stunning in detail, vibrant in color and epic in scope.

Those seeking comedy will enjoy the sly one-liners writers Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simmons (both making their Hollywood debut) come up with. Their script is polished and fresh; simple, but bracing, in the vein of the original Shrek and last year’s Kung Fu Panda. Here the characters believably interact with one another. Not all of the jokes work, mind you, but for every dud there are several memorable quips (“Get back you savages!”).

On the negative side, I didn’t enjoy the fish guy, Minion. He felt out of place and wrong for the film. David Cross supplies his voice, but the character just never gelled for me. Visually he is an oddity. A try-too-hard bit of comedy that unfortunately falls flat. He disappears for much of the film and you don’t really miss him.

Another gripe is the music. I’m all for pop-culture lending voice to a film, but the onslaught of pop tunes is something DreamWorks can’t seem to shake. Within every single one of their movies are moments where the characters dance, or sing along to the likes of Michael Jackson, AC/DC or Elvis. A little music never hurt anyone, but enough is enough.

I would’ve liked to have seen Metro Man get some more screentime as well. Pitt laces the hero with a cocksure attitude that might’ve made an interesting film on its own. As is, the character is vital to the story, but not in the way you might expect.  

Aside from those nitpicks, I would say this is flawless entertainment. Everything (aside from the fish) just clicks. It’s telling that I walked into Megamind in a bad mood (the trailers for Yogi Bear and that Justin Bieber biopic didn’t help), and found my spirits lifted quite quickly.

Megamind is a great film. Ferrell, Fey and Hill are hilarious. The animation is superb, the story engaging. Even the 3D is cool (but still slightly awkward), especially during the climatic action scenes. Those who want slow ruminations on life can go watch Up or Wall-E. Fine films to be sure, but I happen to like my ‘toons bright, cheery and full of action-packed adventure.

Closing Statement
Megamind is exciting entertainment through and through thanks to incredible animation, and fantastic vocal work from its all-star cast. DreamWorks is slowly but surely emerging as the animation studio to beat.

The Verdict
9/10

Watchmen

OPENING: 03/06/2009

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
Who watches the Watchmen?

Opening Statement
They said it couldn’t be done. They said it was unfilmable. They said it was impossible, a project doomed to development hell, a property too complex to translate to the silver screen. Now, after countless changes of direction, writers, directors, studios and lawsuits, Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel has been made into a film—and it is everything fans of the original material could have hoped for… for better and for worse.

Facts of the Case
In an alternate 1985, the United States teeters on the brink of nuclear war, locked in a never-ending conflict with the Soviets. The police investigate the murder of Edward Blake (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a former superhero named The Comedian who, after the government outlawed all superheroes in the seventies, worked with the CIA for black operations. His identity is known to no one, except for his old superhero friends in the Watchmen, who have long since retired and gone civilian, each coping with retirement in different fashion. Well, except for one.

Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) is an unflinching sociopath who refuses to hang up the mask. He prowls the streets at night, a felon, hunting the unjust. His pursuit of justice is merciless, uncompromising, and he deduces that someone is gunning for ex-superheroes. He tries to rouse support from his old teammates, but no one seems particularly concerned. The nuclear deterrent science experiment-gone-awry Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) works for the US government and his growing omnipotence draws him further away from the concerns of humanity—including those of his girlfriend, Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman). Adrian Veidt (Matthew Goode) revealed his secret identity to the world and used his success to become a wealthy and influential businessman. Night Owl II (Patrick Wilson) lives a civilian life, his crime fighting apparatus lay dormant and dusty in the basement, and he struggles with his own inadequacies. None believe Rorschach’s claims… until an attempt is made on Veidt’s life and Rorschach is framed for murder.

As the world teeters closer to nuclear war, America’s deterrent against nuclear holocaust suffers a crisis of faith. Dr. Manhattan departs the Earth, leaving the world undefended. Silk Spectre finds a new friend in Night Owl, and both secretly admit they miss the old life. Donning the costumes again, they set out to rescue their teammate from prison and unravel a complex plot of deception and betrayal—one that will have catastrophic consequences for a world slipping ever closer into World War III and total annihilation.

The Evidence
Staggeringly faithful to its source material, Watchmen is as close to a perfect adaptation as fans of Alan Moore’s comic could have ever hoped to see. Let’s just get that right out of the way now. When you consider the number of hands this project has traveled through over its two decade journey through development hell, the fact that director Zack Snyder (300) has been able to produce something this accurate, faithful and true to the spirit of the original material is nothing short of a miracle. This film is a triumph of intertextuality, a sublime erosion between the barriers that separate the art form of the graphic novel and the comic book, a meticulous adaptation of a source material that defies every attempt to be quantified and reproduced. Based on these merits alone, Watchmen is a fantastic achievement. Indeed, it may very well be the most faithful and literal adaptation of a comic book ever put to film.

Watchmen is exactly what fans have been hoping, nay praying for; a film uncompromisingly respectful to its source material as its primary goal, regardless of any narrative pitfalls or conceptual curiosities that fail to make the transition from page to screen. Die hard fans will note some trims have been made here and there (spoiler alert: no squid) but these are minor detours at best; the heart of the film remains intact, the moral ambiguity and complex superhero archetypal destruction, the alien detachment of Dr. Manhattan, the Cold War nuclear war paranoia, the brutal objectivist fury of Rorschach, the superheroes getting off by their own adrenaline and making mad passionate love in a flying vehicle—every element of the film fans feared would be truncated by Hollywood has emerged intact, trimmed only for content to make the film clock in under three hours. In many ways, Watchmen is unbelievable: a $100 million love letter to fan boys and girls the world over during a time of economic recession. Who would have ever imagined such a thing coming to fruition so bright and so beautiful?

And yet, despite the almost laser precision in which Watchmen lives up to its hype, in which it creates a world many thought would be impossible to reproduce in any other medium besides the comic book page, the film is not perfect. So meticulous in its vision to remain one hundred percent faithful to its source, Watchmen takes an almost reverential view of the graphic novel that it eschews any attempt to rein in its own mad vision of a dystopic world run amuck. In keeping the fans happy, something gets damaged, something inexpressible and indefinable, the subtle life and magic of cinema that makes films worth seeing. Translated to film, Watchmen feels lanky, overdrawn and ponderous if examined on its own merits. Had this not been a hallowed text, a holy Alan Moore Holy Grail of comics, but a simple script handed in by a Hollywood screenwriter, there is almost zero chance of Watchmen being made in this current incarnation. No director in the world would touch this project without making some serious alterations to the film: cutting out a good hour of its runtime, changing key plot points, altering its direction dramatically. I am glad it did get made this way, but one must acknowledge that some things simply get lost in translation.

Call it a conundrum of cinema; a perfectly executed film in style and form emulating its source material that will struggles to engage and capture new audiences as a motion picture. Everything that needed to be perfect in bringing the property to the big screen is perfect; the casting, the design, the direction, the plot points, the dystopic tone, all intact—but take somebody off the street who has never seen the comic before, sit them down in front of Watchemen, and watch their face contort in confusion. What translates so well to the comic book medium somehow fails to make the same impact on the big screen—but not for lack of trying. Zack Snyder takes extreme pride in how visually similar his film is to Dave Gibbon’s original artwork, and in this regard, there can be no complaint; many sequences are near shot-for-shot recreations, as if the original comic became the storyboard for the film itself.

Challenging technical elements, like Rorschach’s shifting inkblot mask and Dr. Manhattan’s eerie blue detached naked body hovering through the air are superbly executed. Art direction, costume design, special effects, all perfect. Snyder films his action sequences in exquisite slow motion, similar to battle choreography in 300, and while it may run against the grain to the comic itself, it is so well executed we hardly care. There is more satisfaction in watching Night Owl systematically bust up unnamed thugs in a two-minute sequence than Batman ever delivered in the entirety of The Dark Knight. The casting is perfect— Jackie Earle Haley is a terrorizing figure as the short, ugly and uncompromising Rorschach, Malin Akerman is stunningly beautiful as Silk Spectre II, Billy Crudup is ethereal and detached as Dr. Manhattan, Patrick Wilson is dweebish as a civilian gone soft and strikingly intimidating as Night Owl II. The only casting that feels slightly so-so is Matthew Goode as Ozymandias; he is a bit too effeminate and nebbish compared to his comic counterpart.

For fans, this is as perfect of an adaptation as they come on the surface, but it cannot be helped that the film lacks the emotional gravitas of the graphic novel. We must remember that Watchmen is twenty years old, a product of Cold War paranoia and comic book deconstruction that at the time was revolutionary and groundbreaking—a product of another generation of thinking. At the screening I attended of Watchmen, I was but one of a handful of attendees older than the source material itself. Think about that for a minute: can this new generation of internet-savvy teenagers be appreciate the subtleties of the Cold War and nuclear terror as anything other than a kitsch alternate reality, where Richard Nixon runs unopposed in election after election? In the eighties, this was terrifying stuff; today, it seems Lilliputian. But I am glad they lost the squid. Trust me—the new ending is better. It makes more sense.

How the uninitiated will interpret this film is the biggest area of pitfall for Watchmen, because there is so much subtlety to character development and plot that go unmentioned in the film—subtlety that gets filled in by the brain of the audience familiar with the text—that an unbiased opinion may be impossible. If you loved the comic, you will absolutely love Watchmen and its pure, fanatical devotion to the heart and soul of the source material. I am grateful and thankful that Zach Snyder made the film that he made, if only to prove to the world that yes, it can be done, the impossible project can be made possible. Alan Moore may have written off all association to the project, having been burned too often by Hollywood and lackluster adaptations of his work, but this might be the first film that does his material the justice it deserves.

It is exceedingly challenging to separate the graphic novel and the film into didactic elements and give them praise and criticism on their own merits. I keep trying to put myself into the head space of someone totally unfamiliar with the source material, and I keep failing, like running full force into a brick wall expecting to pass through it unharmed. Perhaps the reason Watchmen was considered an unfilmable property was not the technical challenges of constructing a Cold War alternate reality, of nuclear blue men who can deconstruct the world with their hands, of a surly costumed vigilante with a shifting mask, but simply that if anyone was brave enough or daring enough to make a film that would satisfy the fans and remain true to the source material, the end result would be… complicated. Watchmen is everything fans wanted it to be, but we’ll have to wait and see how the world accepts its dystopic vision.

Closing Statement
Flawed but unflinchingly and unapologetically faithful to Alan Moore and David Gibbons’ seminal work, one cannot help but admire the sheer chutzpah in Watchmen for its own Rorschach-esque refusal to bow to compromise. It is a beautiful conundrum; a faithful adaptation of a property considered unfilmable. Without a doubt, this is the movie fans have been waiting for, capturing every element of the source material in near-perfect detail—so much so that the film lives up to its own promise of being a property that defies cinematic adaptation. It occasionally sabotages its own cinematic integrity for authenticity, but fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Verdict
It is easy to admire and love Watchmen as a faithful adaptation of a fantastic creative work; it is slightly more challenging to love Watchmen the film for its own merits. A beautiful cinematic conundrum, Watchmen fulfills its glorious, imperfect destiny.

8/10

Video is up at Empire, and embedded below the jump.

I’m just impressed because it looks a lot less crappy than I expected it to. I never thought I’d see the day where I was looking forward to a Watchmen movie adaptation.

Update: Empire pulled the clip after getting their knuckles rapped, but Gizmodo came to the rescue. Check it out in all its glory here, in much better quality than the Youtube version.

(via AICN)

Iron Man

OPENING DATE: 05/02/2008

STUDIO: Paramount

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge

Armor up.

Opening Statement

Well, they finally did it. They finally made a good comic book adaptation. Not just nerdy good, but actually really good. It might be the first sign of the Apocalypse, but after seeing Iron Man, I couldn’t care less. Bring it on.

Facts of the Case

Wealthy industrialist, weapons designer, charming playboy and billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., Zodiac) is the walking personification of success. The CEO of Stark Industries, the largest weapons manufacturer in the world, he dates beautiful women, drives fantastic cars, has access to the most incredible technology known to man, and uses it to make big bombs that blow things up. But on a trip to Afghanistan to demo his new missile technology to the eager US government, Stark’s convoy is attacked by armed militants. The last thing Stark sees before passing out is the name branded on the bomb that explodes in front of his feet: Stark Enterprises.

Imprisoned and ordered by radical terrorists to construct a missile, Stark struggles to survive, direly wounded by his own products of war. With the help of a fellow prisoner, Stark agrees to build the weapon, but decides to make a few… modifications. The end result: a towering behemoth of metal armor that Stark uses to escape the compound.

Rescued and returned to the US, Stark has a crisis of conscience. Having seen first hand the effects of his own brilliance in the hands of fanatics, he questions his company’s objectives, much to the alarm of his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski). After all, a weapons company that decides not to make any more weapons would be a very unprofitable decision…

Stark is adamant to find some sense of justice, and with the aid of his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare In Love) and his friend Colonel Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow) decides to refine the design of armor into something a bit more sophisticated… something that could help him undo some of the wrong he has caused on the world.

Hint: it is made of metal, it flies, and he paints it hot rod red.

The Evidence

Iron Man feels less a comic-book action film and more a classic Hollywood adventure film, one that soars and dives and laughs and thrills its audiences. This litmus test can be witnessed at any movie theater on the faces of wives and girlfriends dragged miserably to yet another stupid comic book film by their husbands or boyfriends, leaving the theater with rosy cheeks and grins from ear to ear (this Judge’s wife included). It might be slightly ironic to say aloud, but if ever a summer blockbuster adaptation of a comic book was made with love, Iron Man is it.

Eschewing all attempts to grab wads of cash and throw together a shoddy film of bad product placement, the franchise having been kicked between studios since the 1990s, Iron Man was spearheaded and financed by Marvel Comics directly, leaving nothing to chance in the hands of a third party. And by all appearances, Marvel made a very smart decision: Iron Man stands to be easily become one of the most profitable and critically acclaimed comic book adaptations of all time; a surprisingly accessible and heartfelt superhero film, perfectly balanced between political commentary and big explosions, gravitas and humor, with one of the most brilliant casting decisions ever put to celluloid. You know, for a comic book movie.

Despite the inherent action-oriented ramifications of the franchise, Iron Man is surprisingly character driven, giving equal screen time to mind-boggling feats of CGI as to good ol’ fashion dialogue, romance and questions of ethics. One could even go so far as to classify Iron Man as a character drama first and foremost, due in part to the complexity of Tony Stark as a hero. Modeled originally after eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes, Tony Stark was envisioned to be brilliant, egomaniacal, alcoholic, charmingly reckless and just the tiniest bit nuts. Out of the gate, he is a flawed figure, one that only gets more flawed as the moral ambiguity of being a deliver of military death catches up to his ego. We are not quite used to seeing heroes in this fashion. He is not the goody two-shoes boy scout of the Superman films, nor is he the guilt-ridden hormonal college kid from the Spider-Man films, or the pensive brooding anti-hero from the Dark Knight films. Tony Stark is a man of action—usually drunken action—and his logic follows suit.

In fact, the dude is a pretty lousy hero. Tony Stark is not a martial arts expert training in some Himalayan temple, nor is he an alien, or blessed with magical powers or superhuman abilities. He is just a guy, admittedly a brilliant, drunken, eccentric playboy who fires first and aims second; a man whose solution to the dark realization of his weapons falling into the hands of terrorists is to build a bigger weapon and go blow them all up in the form of a hot rod red and gold suit of armor, even at the expense of his own bottom line. Stark is riddled with character flaws and self-serving agendas with the unshakable moral code of being a gigantic walking weapon. Hey, if you had a flying metal suit, you’d be a cocky bastard too.

Luckily for us audiences, this snappy attitude permeates the film throughout in dialogue, in hints of romance and perhaps most surprisingly, in social commentary. The character roots have been modernized, taking Stark out of the jungles of Vietnam and smacking him into Afghanistan, giving the film a surprisingly effective relevance in a modern-day climate of war, or at least as relevant as a superhero movie can be, you know, considering the whole “made up” thing. You feel for the character as he realizes the damage he has caused, and cheer for him as he puts his skills to good use and tries to undo the damage the only way he knows how—by blowing more stuff up. Despite the occasional moments of gravitas, the film is surprisingly light and fun in tone, the quirky dialogue reminiscent out of Jon Favreau’s early films with a surprisingly sharp wit most often reserved for small-budget comedies, not summer popcorn blockbusters. Some of the best scenes in the film come from Stark’s constant tinkering and perfecting of his model, like the flying boots. The science is imperfect to say the least, and more than a few miscalculations result that would make the Three Stooges take notes. Hilarity ensues, to say the least.

Despite the over-use use of non-existent fantastical technology, Iron Man sells audiences on its vision of a man in a flying suit surprisingly well. There are no gigantic leaps of logic required, no massive suspension of disbelief—we actually buy into the myth that a gifted engineer can craft for himself an absurdly large suit of iron in a cave in Afghanistan and kick some terrorist butt. The special effects, a nice mix of CGI and conventional props and the fantastic sound editing give every step and gear whir of the Iron Man suit a nice tactile feel, both visually and audibly. It looks and sounds like one would expect a totally bodacious suit of armor to look and sound like, and when the bullets fly, your brain throws up the devil horns.

It is a testament to Iron Man that the most outstanding element of the film is not the CGI, or the explosions, or even the plot, but the casting. It is nothing short of a dream casting to find an actor who so perfectly personifies the role of a fictional comic book character down to the threads on his shirt. The critical consensus across the board is that Robert Downy Jr. is it for Iron Man. The dude is perfection as Stark, bringing a mix of swagger, humor and humility to the role, remaining sympathetic and likeable while maintaining the egomania. This is important for future development of the franchise, because in the comic, Tony Stark is, well… kind of a dick. This is Downy Jr’s film from start to finish, soaring high into the stratosphere, and with anyone else under the metal suit, Iron Man would sink to the ground.

This is not to suggest the rest of the cast are asleep at the wheel; far from it. Howard gets a healthy dose of screen time as Stark’s personal pilot and military adviser, who looks longingly at the Iron Man suit (a prophetic nod to all comic book fans in the know). He plays the yang to Faverau’s buddy-on-buddy banter style of comedic delivery, with most of his scenes involving quick and hilarious argument-styled conversations with Downy Jr. that could be taken straight out of Faverau’s earlier comedies. Paltrow is surprisingly enjoyable as Stark’s tireless assistant, an uncharacteristically toned down leading lady role, and Jeff Bridges makes a surprisingly intense douchebag. The dude abides, let me tell you.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

If Iron Man is a film told in three acts, the first two acts bear almost the entire weigh distribution of awesomeness. The final act is far from disappointing, but feels less inspired, acquiescing to the obligatory showdown between superhero and supervillain, corny villainous monologues, needless wanton destruction of private property and random explosions of things that probably would not explode in real life. Good times will be had by all, rest assured, but if the film has a weak moment, it lays here, simply because we’ve seen this before.

Closing Statement

Iron Man is the first genuine blockbuster hit of the summer that lives up to its hype—it busts blocks and then some. Also, be sure and stick around until after the credits, comic fans. Trust us.

The Verdict

9/10