Tag Archives: Comic Book

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

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dofpRoze-Rating: 4.5 / 5

The original X-Men cast return to the big screen as they are under the attack of Bolivar Trask’s (Peter Dinklage) Sentinel program. Casualties are high and rising, as the mutants aren’t the only species being attacked but also the humans who dare to help them. This leaves earth under brutal control of the worst of society, with the mutant killing machines at their disposal. The only way to save the world is to turn back time and prevent the very event which caused the genocide. This requires Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to be sent back to the 70s to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Trask, an event which dictated the view of mutants around the globe.

I will say right off the bat that this is the best X-Men film to date. After multiple viewings my opinion does not change as it’s quite simply a great film. What it does is give us a true in depth exploration of these characters, not all of them, but a lot more than what previous X-Men films achieved to do. This meant Wolverine was able to take a seat back and give other characters a turn. I think Singer recognized that and for once the characters are given the respect they deserve. This film is filled with great character driven moments, and in my opinion they stand out much more than the action, which was also brilliant. This is completely down to Simon Kinberg’s screenplay, which gave us complex characters, encouraging us to think a little bit and allowing us to make our own opinions about these characters. A stand out moment would be a heated argument between Professor X and Magneto (young) as they are flying to find Mystique. It becomes clear that these are two people who have the mutants well being in mind, but their ideologies about how to go about protecting them are vastly different. For once Magneto isn’t portrayed as bad. We are able to understand his ideology and for a moment sympathize for him as he protests Professor X’s self-pity. These ideologies are further explored as Mystique is caught in between them, trying to pave her own path towards saving the mutants. Ultimately the writing really makes this a great film.

I was always a bit underwhelmed by how the characters powers were translated on screen, not all the time, but I felt this way more times than I should have. Days of Future past finally nails it as it feels more fluid and organic rather than confused and flat. I never liked Storm (Halle Berry) because I thought her powers were a bit lame, but after this film I finally understand her badassery. Right from the opening scene I knew that things were going to be different on the action side, and they were for the better. Like they say, one stick is easy to break, but a bunch of sticks are almost impossible to break. Much like their powers, they function better when they work as a team, and quite evidently it’s much more entertaining. It says a lot that Wolverine was probably one of the tamest characters throughout the whole film.

With the rise of this comic book movie phenomenon, it’s encouraging to see that the acting is not being compromised as this film has some of the best performances I’ve seen in a comic book film. If future films of this genre continue to go in this vein then I have a lot of money to save for the 20 odd comic book films which are going to be raiding our local cinemas in the coming years. Seeing this cast on screen is awe inducing right to the end. Making it even harder for me to hold in all my emotions as both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy share an intense moment of screen time, which did not disappoint.

There is no denying that this film will make it onto peoples top 10 lists for comic book films. If not your best comic book films list, then your best comic book film moments list. The moment I’m referring to is the Quicksilver scene, which is hands down the best scene I’ve seen in awhile. It’s inventive, funny, badass and totally appropriate for the representation of his power. One thing is for sure, Aaron Taylor Johnson is gonna have to do something special to have one over on Evan Peters.

For a superhero film it felt somewhat down to earth, as if we were watching real people with genetic differences to us. The way they integrated real life events like the JFK assassination and the Vietnam war made the X-Men universe feel real which only enhances the feeling that this is more than just a comic book film but a film about these characters who are complex and interesting. Bryan Singer has genuinely saved the X-Men franchise by erasing all the continuity problems of past x-men films and giving the new cast a chance at a perfect trilogy without the burden of knowing Wolverin: Origins and X-Men: The Last Stand exist, the ending is the ultimate cherry on top to that.

The Wolverine (2013)

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the-wolverine-movie-hugh-jackman-hd-wallpaperRoze-Rating: 4 / 5

Post X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan has now left the X-Men team in order to avoid harming anyone he loves again. He resides in the wild like the animal he believes he is. Until a friend of the past, Master Yashida, requests to see him for a final goodbye and thank you for saving his life. Escorted back to Japan he realizes that the gratefulness of Yashida is replaced with a longing for Logan’s immortal qualities.

Kudos to Hugh Jackman for devoting his body and acting chops to continuously improve this character no matter the quality of the film. I think most people would agree that X-Men Origins: Wolverine was not up to par for an X-Men film with crappy special effects and a congested list of comic book characters. I try to forget the butchering of Deadpool at the end. Nevertheless the film was interesting as we got an insight of Logan’s beginnings; it would infuriate fanboys but interest less committed fans. That was Jackman’s fourth film as the Wolverine and he was an absolute beast in it, unlike the previous three where he was held back slightly. During an interview with Jackman, he expressed his desire to make the wolverine really look like an animal, he wanted him to be savage, untamed, have veins popping out of his arms. The Wolverine depicts the superhero exactly how Jackman has always wanted, finally seeing blood on those indestructible claws.

Following X-Men First Class I think Fox has finally taken the right direction with this franchise stepping up the quality of the films. Previous X-Men films were entertaining but lackluster in terms of really relishing the characters powers. Despite the long list of continuity problems I think they can be forgiven by most people, having enjoyed First Class and now The Wolverine. This film studies the Wolverine as the human that he is and less the mutant. We get a true sense of the extent of his “gifts” and the toll it takes on him as he wishes for death. He feels lost and distant as he tries to look for new meanings in his life. Still hung up over the death of Jean, he avoids human contact as everyone he loves eventually dies and he has to experience that endlessly. It definitely is more engaging in terms of character development.

As for the plot, I’m not familiar with the comics but it’s entertaining enough. We see Logan get involved in complicated family dynamics and in the process he finds a reason for his existence. There’s a sense of mystery about who’s bad? are their intentions right? and what that person’s role is? it’s entertaining but what diminishes a seemingly acceptable story line is the constant need to spoon feed it to the audience. I think most audiences would have been able to get the jist of the ending about half way through because of it. That being said there’s a satisfying amount of action to look past the somewhat predictable story line. Although there are still surprises to offer some thrills.

The action sequences are relentless and totally badass. Having watched the trailer I expected the bullet train sequence to be low in quality but I’m happy to be proved wrong as it was tastefully ridiculous but exciting nonetheless. The only negative would be that we don’t genuinely see any Adamantium to skin penetration. Probably to keep the parental ratings down but if we can see blood on those claws then ideally we’d want to see where it came from.

The Wolverine is a solid addition to the X-Men franchise and comic book genre, it isn’t bad nor is it great, what it does do is hit the spot for an entertaining marvel film. Expect some exceptional performances from a host of Japanese actors and once again another intense performances by the wolverine himself Hugh Jackman.

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

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kick-ass-2-justice-foreverRoze-Rating: 4 / 5

Three years on following the success of Kick-Ass, we are reunited with superheroes Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz). Growing bored of living in the real world Dave Lizewski decides to suit up again and train with Hit-Girl hoping to become a legitimate superhero. Still mourning over the death of his gangster father, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) obsesses over the fantasy of killing Kick-Ass. After accidentally killing his mother D’Amico reinvents himself as the “Mother-Fucker” swearing to avenge his fathers death.

The first Kick-Ass was a huge success because it was such a new concept to the superhero genre. It’s a parody to how the like’s of Batman, Hawkeye and Black Widow would fair in the real world if they suddenly decided to get up and become a superhero. It was fresh, funny and stylish. The action was bad-ass and the violence shocking which made it a comic-book movie classic.

When I heard there was going to be a Kick-Ass two I was quite excited but was pretty sure it couldn’t improve on the first because all that freshness and shock value would be gone. That may have been the case but it indeed improved in some ways, compared to the first film.

I didn’t really enjoy the first half of the film as it seemed really out of place, it turned into this mean girls slash watchmen hybrid as we saw Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl go through their own journey’s; Hit-Girl to puberty and Kick-Ass to adulthood. It was entertaining but felt off as jokes were limited and not well executed. I felt comedic timing and editing probably had something to do with that as I was aware of the jokes but they didn’t come out as well as they could. For example a scene where The Motherfucker robs a store and an old man is told to get on the ground, he struggles as his arthritis kicks in forcing him to go down very slowly. I only noticed it second time round as the camera was panned back. Luckily the second half of the film did not disappoint as it was a lot funnier and provided loads of action.

The bar was set pretty high for action sequences after the first film which is why I was happy to see that the crunching punches and hits remained present. Overall the sequences were well choreographed and thought out as we were given some slick moves and executions to feast our eyes on. It was good that they really strived for original action sequences as it only pumps us up even more, although it was missing the stylish edge that made the first film ultimately pretty to look at. Little things that the camera did in first that it didn’t do in the second.

New additions to the cast meant new superheros and super villains, some of them were awesome and some felt like they shouldn’t be there. Jim Carrey plays Colonel Stars and Stripes, ex mafia con man who starts a superhero team in the name of Justice Forever. He may not be as funny as we hoped him to be but he sure plays the part well. As for the rest of the team we have Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Battle Guy (Clarke Duke), Doctor Gravity (Donald Faison), Insect Man (Robert Emms) and two parents who are looking for their missing child. They make for entertaining additions to the cast except I didn’t see the need for the parents, they didn’t really offer anything comedically and seemed to get in the way. Overall the group of super villains were much more badass, but again they weren’t all utilized making some of them seem out of place.

Kick-Ass 2 may take awhile to get going but the last acts are worth waiting for as they are adrenaline filled scenes of epicness. Not as coherent as the first as it knew what it wanted to be, a violent parody to the superhero genre. Kick-Ass 2 takes on a more serious tone which continues on from the D’Amico vs Kick-Ass saga. Definitely worth the watch.