Showing posts with label Captain America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Captain America. Show all posts

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United (2014)


                                           Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United (2014):

Captain America: “That’s your problem, Stark. You never strategize.” 

Iron Man: “It’s called thinking on your feet. Or in my case…boot jets!”

You were expecting Guardians of the Galaxy? No, not so soon. This is another CGI adventure in the vein of last year’s Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United. I have two major problems with this movie. 1. There’s some slight mind control, and 2. The “Waking Life” -like CGI makes the characters’ mouths move funny. That said, it’s at least a good intro for Taskmaster. But, I still feel a little deceived by the title. A little.

You see, the movie sort of tricked me into thinking it would be mostly Cap and Iron Man. But, Taskmaster and Red Skull also feature in it. And that’s fine. Dr. Kruler was also in last year’s Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United. As was Abomination. But, then, even in this movie…I mean, not to ruin it, but you’ve got some Hulk in here, too. There’s just way too 1-on-1 action for job that could’ve been handled easily by the two heroes. Taskmaster is there to fight Cap and Iron Man…while Hulk has an army to take care of!

There is some brief fighting between Cap and Iron Man, but it’s a spar. Plus, the capture and Hawkeying of Cap seems a little too familiar at this point. Give me something other than brainwashing. Although they pull it off nicely. The lesson lays itself on a little thick. Throwing in Hulk doesn’t exactly help the balance of the lesson either. If each hero is to learn something from another…then brainwashing one hero and completely throwing in another seems to defeat that purpose.

I know there’s a twist, but it didn’t need to be made. Iron Man still rubs off a little bit on Cap and vice versa. But, essentially this is no different from  Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United, maybe even with worse CGI. And it’s all kind of wrapped safely within the plot devices of 2012’s The Avengers. Still, it was an ambitious-looking movie, introducing Taskmaster and showing off Cap’s combat skills. But, if you want that, watch The Winter Soldier.

In my opinion, the more I think about this movie, the more I don’t like it. But, at least it’s only 70 minutes. Maybe it’s just a little too ambitious. I liked the voice acting, but most of the movie is just a retread, with stiff mouth movements and unnecessary Hulking out. If they’re going to call it anything, it should be called Iron Man, Hulk, & Captain America: Heroes United. I want to say it could’ve been good…but it’s too much and too sloppy for a 70-minute 3D feature. I’d give it 2/5 stars. And one Hulk for some reason.  
 




Monday, April 14, 2014

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014) REVIEW:







           
“Trust is what makes an army work. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns.”

- Captain America

Oh, that Captain America! So honorable. So gee-golly good! So trusting! 70 years frozen in an ice cube and does it even phase him? Nope. Just takes getting used to, he says. I mean, sure he’s got a long list of music and movies to watch, but that’s what the internet is a for. (Right?) And for buddies, he’s got his own little army in The Avengers! Ol’ Cap just never stopped fighting the Good Fight.

But, now his faith in The Good Fight is a little shaken up after he finds out his buddy Nick Fury’s been keeping secrets from him. What’s a supersoldier to do?  Why, keep fighting The Good Fight of course, and find out the truth behind SHIELD‘s secrets, even while being framed for them! There’s a lot more action in this one, and a lot more hitting people with shields. Especially because he’s hunted by The Winter Soldier!

I loved this movie even though a few things were changed from the comic book version, of The Winter Soldier. Namely, Bucky isn’t picked up by the Russians. Rather, he’s a HYDRA (read: super Nazi.) agent, and being a Russian assassin is sort of his cover story. He’s made to look Russian, given Soviet arms, (and an arm…) and brainwashed.  Although, it’s really HYDRA in control.

Yet, every time Cap and Black Widow get closer to the conspiracy, Winter Soldier appears to stop them. Physically, (and with that cyborg arm!) he’s a match for Cap, but not mentally, since he’s being Hawkeyed (a.k.a. mind-controlled.) It’s Cap’s good morals that win the day, even as helicarriers explode around him. Of course, if you’ve read the comics, you know where the Winter Soldier will end up, and why it was necessary that he be the titular villain in this arc.

Speaking of storylines, I guess I’m one of those rare beasts who absolutely loved Captain America: The First Avenger. This may be either because I liked the moral, or because I spent too much time studying WWII and the German language…or all of that! Nonetheless, I was pleased to see connections from the earlier film play into the HYDRA conspiracy. The arrival of Dr. Zola details HYDRA’s Cold War work…which is based in fact. The superpowers did scramble to pick up German scientists in the post-war period. In effect, Cap is still fighting the same war: Freedom vs. fear. Wowzers! Historical fiction! What will Marvel 2.0 think of next?

Speaking thematically, this is where I think Marvel upped the ante for the movies. Behind Cap’s loyalty and trust are (I think.) a tacit rejection of Batman’s use of fear as a weapon, which places Marvel vs. DC effectively in two camps philosophically. Compare Cap’s objections to SHIELD’s operations with Batman hacking every cell phone in Gotham. “This isn’t freedom, this is fear!” Cap might well say. But, philosophy aside, I simply loved everyone in the movie. I really think Marvel just created a great new world by destroying its old one.

Of course, Cap has still got it in either world. He can  still kick butt! And so can his new friends Falcon (I was worried Falcon might be a cheesy sidekick, but he works his way in to be necessary to the plot, and a good pal to Cap!) and Black Widow!  For me, this Marvel 2.0’s best film to date. It has a clear vision, good action, and sets up fascinating story arcs, if I know where this is going. Frankly, I can’t wait to see where they’ll go next! Freedom prevails! 5/5 stars from me!



(Did I mention I think I see where they're going?)

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Avengers vs. Justice League: War

Avengers vs. Justice League: War

Captain America: “We need a plan of attack!”

Iron Man: “I have a plan. Attack!”



So, in my last post, I made the claim that there are aesthetic differences in the movie Justice League: War to make it different from Avengers, but that it was basically the same plot. The main aesthetic difference I argued, was fear as a motivator. From the beginning, it is established that Batman is a fugitive, hunted by Green Lantern.

    The heroes in Avengers, however, start out as heroes, and active members of their respective communities from SHIELD to India, for The Hulk. In Justice League: War, The impetus for banding together was only the invasion; but they didn’t have 3 hours to jibe and develop relationships between the characters. Iron Man/Hulk do a good job joking and teaming up to work on the alien object, even though Cap chastises them for being unfocused.

   So, from the start the heroes are paired together, and play off of each other. I often say of the Avengers movie that it is a good example of a viable theory of group communication called “Forming, storming, and norming.” It is of course, arguable that Hawkeye needed a little more exposure, but as the only one in this group who hadn’t had a movie yet, he couldn’t be in the first two stages. Justice League: War has little time to develop and thus normalize the heroes roles: essentially we have “forming, storming, Batman!” But, what is forming, storming, and norming?

    Forming is when the group forms. Black Widow serves this purpose, as well as SHIELD, as well as pairing off the heroes to form relationships…as when Cap breaks up a fight with Tony Stark. Superman also fought with Batman like this. But, then, Batman has to rescue Batman. Also, it’s telling that Wonder Woman avoids meeting the President. I know that’s comic relief, but she acts as a fugitive as well. Whereas Cap keeps the group focused by remaining in his past role: The soldier.

  In this respect, each Avenger contains something that connects him to the mission….and that they’re opposed to. Storming is when they question the mission. Even Tony Stark’s suspicion of SHIELD plays on Cap’s trust in SHIELD. Hulk’s rampage and defeat by Thor connects him to Thor. So, he ends up paired with him. Justice League: War has a storming stage, but it is short, since the heroes never meet until the invasion, and Batman rescues Superman. Abducting Superman for conflict reasons, I feel is an odd choice, but it served to show Batman as a leader, and he takes charge, but the end result is the group never feels solidified…it’s Batman’s show…but that’s okay! They have forming, storming, Batman.

   In sum,  Avengers had more time to dealt with forming, storming, and norming. The norming is solidified by the teams mutual avenging of the death of Coulson. It feels less dark because there is more humor (Iron Man’s a jerk, sometimes, but he enjoys himself!) and has more time for the group’s conflicts to resolve. But, in Justice League: War, DC wants the tension to be there, to use a phrase, because he’s Batman.

  Batman thrives off of being a fugitive, and why not? Batman is popular, and this gets the team together quicker…at the cost of character development. In a sense, DC must go with the Batman feel at this point, because the audience already knows him. In a similar vein (Although you have to credit the writers!) Marvel’s Avengers follows the aesthetic of it’s most bankable character for much the same reason. And they are both billionaires…ironic since they are the most bankable.

Ultimately, the cultural aesthetic comes down to who was leading the group. Cap leads the Avengers, kicking into full army mode and formulating his plan of attack! Batman serves as a leader, but only after Superman is underplayed. But, the circumstances called for him to step in…Because he’s Batman! And it would save them making more movies.

Even though Justice League: War is a good preview of what a Justice League movie might look like, to me, it’s clearly following an Avengers formula…but that’s okay! It’s a good decision. That just means they’ll have to go with more familiar characters, and resolve less interpersonal conflict. But, Batman thrives on conflict, and just happens to be the most recognizable character in that universe. Yes, the Avengers all had movies, but DC is playing catch-up, and doesn’t have time to build up there characters. So, Batman may be the hero the DC movies deserve…but not the one they need! Only time will tell!

Bonus Question: Who do you think would win? Avengers or Justice League?


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant Review (2011)

Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant Review (2011)

Kelly: If we miss…

Sam: “We’re Spartans, Kelly. We don‘t miss.” 



So, I was sitting in Barnes & Noble a couple days ago, and decided to grab a random graphic novel to keep me occupied. That graphic novel was "Covenant"…which is a Halo comic. I’ll be lenient on this one since I’ve only ever played Halo about twice, and that was when it was new. But hey, I even reviewed Super Metroid, so how hard could this be?  Today’s review is the long-winded  Halo: Fall of Reach: Covenant, graphic novel from Marvel Comics!

     The graphic novel seems to follow the UNSC around, first the fleet, then the Spartans (Which are like Super Marines I guess.) and then the grunts, as they all battle the Covenant, which are weird looking aliens crossed between a Muppet and a bug from Starship Troopers. One of the things I find hilarious about Halo is how outmatched the Covenant seems to be, and yet the UNSC constantly acts like they’re a threat.

    In the first chapter, there’s a lot of techno babble about some secret weapon they have but: “They will counterattack, and we will be destroyed.” So, maybe not such a good plan then? After the fleet gets destroyed, then they call in the Spartans, and unveil…sigh…the Mjonir battle suits at a base called Damascus. They really grabbed for mythology there. I have no problem with mythology, but it’s not a madlib, okay? They should have reasons behind the names.

Anyway, in the second chapter it’s all about the Spartans: Three Spartans Jeff, Sam, and Kelly have to land on this Covenant ship and blow it up. At least, in this part we actually get to see the Covenant, and it’s hilarious. One of the Spartans gets trapped as he sets the explosive, and sacrifices himself so that the others survive. One of the things I liked about this sections was, for all its madlib mythology, they explain that the armor triples their strength, and in normal test subjects the suit reacted so quickly it broke their bones. Spartans, however, are not normal test subjects.

   Really? And I thought I was just playing a first-person-shooter! Now, I know that I actually was simulating a hilariously ineffectual military organization that relies on secret plans and test subjects! At least Captain America was one superhero fighting Supernazis, so he has a reason to exist! Here, it’s just Dr. Hadsley takes three random guys to a secret base after their fleet was destroyed and gives them super armor. Can anyone explain this to me other than as a bad parody of Starship Troopers? I’m not kidding…the whole organization seems to be built on secret plans, instead of actual plans.

    The final chapter is the battle of Cote de Azur. I just thought this was badly written. There are scenes where people are saying: “We’re losing men here!” and “This is more than I’ve ever seen in one place!” But, we never actually see much of the battle except for one ship that takes out a jeep. Show, don’t tell! Anyway, I was willing to give Halo a chance. It does describe the mythology for me, but I feel like at the end of the day, it’s just a bland first-person-shooter about a terribly ineffective military organization battling Muppets.

    The Covenant still don’t seem like much of a threat to me. They are bug-Muppets vs. super soldiers with guns! Most of the destruction, as I understand it, was caused by the UNSC’s poor decision-making, and not the alien threat. They sacrificed men, they sacrificed the fleet, and they sacrifice test subjects.

    Just because I’m relatively new to the Halo universe, I’ll rate this one 2.5 out of 5 stars. It does explain the universe (Though it’s poorly shown.) and it seems to be at least a good parody of Starship Troopers. But the illustrator didn’t have much to work with, because scenes were dedicated to people talking about death rather than showing it.

 I feel like Captain Kirk would be really disappointed in the UNSC. And even he would take along some red shirts, but he always had a plan! Oh, well…I suspect within the videogame Halo the secret plan plot exists to make the player feel special. But, as a comic, it just left me in the dark about how this organization can even operate!   Master Chief has nothing on Captain Kirk!
   



Monday, July 29, 2013

House of M (2005):

 “He... He only wanted you to be happy... Look what you've done to us, daddy.”

- Scarlet Witch to Magneto



I gotta say: I’m bored with DC Comics. It’s all about Batman vs., Superman right now, (Infinite Crisis, Batman vs. Superman movie, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Sacrifice, etc.) and they won’t even let Superman act like a hero. So, instead I’ve chosen to review a graphic novel that made me think: What would happen if Magneto suddenly got what he desired? This is the plot of House of M.

   The X-men decide they have to kill Scarlet Witch as she lost control of her powers and killed several Avengers, including her husband Vision. To stop the X-men/Avengers from killing her she uses her reality-altering powers (Amplified by a mind-controlled Professor X to create a world where her dad Magneto gets everything he ever wanted. Mutants rule the Earth, and the Avengers are outcasts. But, this is not without good effects too. Peter Parker and M.J. are happily married and successful; Uncle Ben is alive, The Avengers are alive, several of The X-Men become Magneto’s elite Red Guard. Captain America walks on the moon to broker a tentative peace between mutants and humans.

     But, beneath all that appears happy and successful and covered up by tabloids, Wolverine senses that the reality is false, because he’s had his mind wiped so many times before. He storms out on Mystique (who he’s married to.) and goes off to unite the other heroes, starting with Emma Frost, who also senses the reality is false and can convince others psychically.  Wolverine fights past the elite guards, which notably includes Rogue and Nightcrawler as part of the Red Guard.
 
    Eventually, Emma Frost (who’s happily married to Cyclops, and she lets him see reality.) runs into Layla Miller, a little girl who, unaffected by the reality-altering, still retains memories of the previous reality. Wolverine takes her to the Avengers’ hideout, where together they figure out this might have been Magneto’s work. See, the Avengers’ don’t have it so lucky. They are hunted by sentinels, like the X-men in the previous reality.

After that, Wolverine, Cyclops and Dr. Strange decide to crash a meeting of the world’s leaders, led by the House of M. Dr. Strange contacts Scarlet Witch, and of course, gets her to confess that she created this reality, and loses control. (With one special caveat I won’t reveal here!) But anyway, this comic just got me thinking in the midst of all this boring Batman vs. Superman stuff: How much good makes up for one evil? People were happy under mutant rule, but people were still oppressed. Is happiness really all that people seek, even under a dictatorship? What defines reality? This was some REAL philosophy to chew on rather than the old dichotomy between Justice and Revenge we see in DC Comics. It was refreshing: Of course, it all leads to a bigger plot which is a whole different beast (But, not Beast!) A vs. X! That’s how you do a vs. buildup!




Monday, June 11, 2012

Captain America: Forever Allies



                                                        
                                                       

I seem to have a “classic” theme going on lately, so I could think of no better way to throw us back into modern times, and further into sci-fi than with this graphic novel that pays tribute to Captain America’s past and future! The story begins by explaining that Steve Rogers is dead, and his sidekick Bucky Barnes visits his grave, inheriting the costume and title of “Captain America”, a title Bucky doesn’t want at first.

Bucky remembers back to his days in the “Young Allies” (Issue #1 Summer 1941.) and decides to visit his old war buddies to see if they think he made the right decision. The comic flashes back from the ’40s to modern times, 2011. The scenes in the ’40s are beautiful and have a Jack Kirby feel, but done by modern artists. The modern era scenes are darker as well. But, before they’ve decided if Bucky made the right decision, he discovers (at Cap’s viewing.) that The Dragon Lady (who you might remember from Milton Caniff!) is still alive, and out looking for an ancient mind-control gem. Concerned, Bucky calls up his old buddy Texas Jack, and asks to keep track of her.

Bucky shoots at her plane with a tracking bug, and of course, she thinks she escaped him, and laughs at him. Flashback to 1941, where the Dragon Lady takes over a Hollywood movie set with actors dressed as Nazis. She mind-controls them with the gem, and talks about how superior the Japanese are (The original Dragon Lady was Chinese, but no matter. Perhaps she was cooperating with Japanese propaganda.) while Bucky and the Young Allies are called in to take her out. It looks like the bad guys are going down, but she mind-controls Bucky, and it haunts him to this day.

After the flashback, we see The Dragon Lady in a South American mine, looking for the gem, which has apparently been the secret to her non-aging process. She’s barking orders, and confident Captain America will not appear, nor will his impostor. After all, she knows the “real” Captain America is dead. Next, we see Captain America parachute into the mine. By this time, she has the gem, and an army of mind-controlled miners. Cap fights them off, and even throws his shield at The Dragon Lady, to proclaim that he’s come back to stop her, but she isn’t fooled and knows he’s Bucky of the Young Allies.

The Dragon Lady plays along for a bit, and then releases the gem on him. After that, she commands Bucky crush himself with the large pillar where they found the gem. But then, he reveals that he was just playing along and shielded his eyes the entire time, stepping out of the way of the pillar. A great comic that takes advantage of adventure comic knowledge past and present, with the ol‘ switcheroo motif!

Following the “Forever Allies” story, there are reprints of Jack Kirby’s Young Allies # 1, and a Stan Lee story “Unsolved Mysteries” with the Young Allies. The first story is so horribly blackface racist I couldn’t finish it. Not recommended. But, the “Forever Allies” is a good story that brings it up to modern times, and re-introduces The Dragon Lady as a villainess quite well. If you want the best of both worlds, this is a great “passing-the-torch” tale.
  
 Overall, I give it 3 stars. A good quick guide to bridge the old and new stories of Captain America; though these stories already feel dated because of the wonderful job Chris Evans does with Steve Rogers, who is Captain America in the movies. The old is new again!