Superhero films - 2014
| X-Men: Days of Future Past | The Amazing Spiderman 2 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier |
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The thing that hooks most people on the X-Men franchise is the coolness of the characters and their varied and enviable abilities. The thing that keeps people interested and following these stories are the motivations of these characters and how they interact. Their personalities are almost as diverse as their abilities.
X-Men: Days of Future Past brings the risky and complicated story element of time travel and "changing things" to the X-Men film universe. I am personally prejudiced against time travel as a story device. This is for a couple of reasons. First, I don't really believe it's possible, so it's more of a fantasy concept than a science-fiction one. Second, it has become an all too convenient method for writers to use to change character histories from established canon to suit themselves. It's a "do-over" for authors who have written themselves into a corner and I think it can be insulting to fans. The most blatant example of this has been in the new Star Trek films. I think it's perfectly alright to alter character events by making it clear you're rebooting the characters' stories and commence telling them, as was done with James Bond. But I'm getting off-track.
X-Men: First Class was something of a reboot and a well-received one. Days of Future Past was actually not a bad way of connecting the original, now older, cast with the younger one, passing the torch, and setting the stage for a different future for them. In spite of my prejudice against time travel stories, this one wasn't badly handled. Things had absolutely gone to hell. Undoing it all seemed the only answer and they somehow had the means. So . . .
What was best in this film? Thanks to Bryan Singer for coming back to direct the X-Men. He does seem to have a flair for these characters and this sequel is really among the franchise's best entries, if not the actual best. (X2: X-Men United still has my vote for the best paced, acted, and balanced.) He brought out the best in the performers and did a good job of managing all the characters and plotlines and still keeping it clear what was going on and why. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan are always a pleasure to watch and you instantly buy them in these roles, as implausible as they may be. They are well-matched by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as their younger selves. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and Nicholas Hoult as Beast were also convincing and interesting in their roles. And the scenes involving Evan Peters as Quicksilver added some priceless fun to a movie that could easily have been overly weighted down with grimness. I was relieved that his character was written out of the story before Magneto decided he was too dangerous to allow to live.
The time travel device was used about as well as it could be, but it seemed to clash with some of Wolverine's history in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but why nitpick in a world where they are essentially erasing the board back to 1973 and starting over? I like it that even though Xavier and Magneto basically remain much the same, Mystique has become something new and more hopeful. Magneto may have retained his lack of empathy even towards his "brother" mutants so long as his ends are advanced, but now Mystique has become something of a wildcard - neither walking entirely in the light nor in the shadows. It will be interesting to see how that plays out in this new past/future.
My main complaint, doesn't really even apply directly to this film. The next X-Men film will be with the younger cast in a story set in the 1980's. But they plan to continue using Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He is planned to be both in that film and also another stand-alone Wolverine film. Jackman was OK as Wolverine in Days, but honestly I'm getting tired of the over-emphasis on his character. And as a character that is supposedly ageless, he has been doing this for 15 years and it's starting to show. Brent Spiner is no longer playing Data and Christopher Lambert is no longer playing a Highlander. Now that the torch has been passed to the younger cast it's really time to bit the bullet and find a new Wolverine. I'm sure Hugh can continue to get work.
It was gratifying seeing a future for the X-Men where everyone seemed to have lived happily ever after. Let's hope they don't change the continutity again to ruin that.
- JC
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The Amazing Spiderman 2 gives us the continuing adventures of Marvel's web-spinning superhero as fashioned by returning director Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield as Spiderman/Peter Parker.
In this installment of the life of Peter Parker, we find out more about the backstory of Peter's father and his work at OsCorp. In fact, in this reboot of Spiderman, everything seems to revolve around OsCorp. His father worked there in a secretive role in their mutagenic program. From the comics, Norman and Harry Osborn carried the Green Goblin mantle. And as this film series progresses, it is apparent that every super-villain Spiderman will go up against will emanate from OsCorp as well.
Cases in point: The adversary Spiderman is pitted against through most of the film is Electro, as played by Jamie Foxx. Unfortunately, Foxx plays Electro/Max Dillon, as a dim-witted guy though he is supposedly an OsCorp electrical engineer. From the way OsCorp is depicted, you wouldn't think they would hire anyone that mentally skewed (unless they were born into the family business, of course). He acquires his powers in a very comic-book type way at an accident at OsCorp. The Rhino, a villain that appears only briefly at the end of the film, is also a product of OsCorp and it is hinted more villains will come from there as well.
The writers of this version of the Spiderman storyline have apparently decided that OsCorp is to Spiderman as LexCorp is to Superman, except that the Man of Steel has a lot of other adversaries to deal with as well.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 has plenty of action and if that is all you require, you should be happy. Emma Stone returns as Gwen Stacy and the events of their romance are dutifully followed from comic-lore. Dane DeHaan, as Harry Osborn, appears as Harry Osborn, who swiftly goes from friendly, to desparately pathetic, to maniacal. Frankly, the characterizations are somewhat shallow. This is a shame, because the history of the Spiderman character is that he had actually been a fairly complex character. Spiderman, as created in the 1960's was the awkward teen-ager suddenly given "amazing" abilities through a science accident (NOT at OsCorp). By allowing a criminal to go free, he bore the guilt of his uncle's death that drove him to fight crime. But as Spiderman, his powers were limited and the people he loved were always suffering from the choices he made.
A few changes would help this series. (1) Give Peter Parker a bit more depth of character. Garfield's version of Peter flip-flopped when the wind blew as to whether to stay with Gwen or not. (2) After two films, if there are still secrets to be revealed about Peter's parents, spill them. You can keep a secret until people stop caring. (3) And finally, let's see characters and threats that have nothing to do with OsCorp. The OsCorp-centric universe has already gotten old.
- JC
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The first Avenger, and arguably the best, is back in a story packed with interesting characters, an engaging plot, and plenty of action. Marvel stepped up their game with this lead-in to next summer's Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (Arrested Development, Community) and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor: The Dark World, the recent Narnia series). Several actors return to reprise their well-known roles, most notably Chris Evans as Captain America / Steve Rogers, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
The film returns us to the life of Steve Rogers in the 21st century. After being displaced in time, his adopted "family" is SHIELD, the international security agency which found him, is derived from the organization which made him into Captain America, and which introduced him to the Avengers. There is a touching scene where he reconnects briefly with his WWII sweetheart Peggy, but the years she experienced and he did not separate them in more ways than one. His relationship with his foster family is an uneasy one. A whole culture based on spying and deception is not a comfortable fit for Steve, who favors the values of honesty and liberty. In a world of secrets and lies, how would we know which ones are really for our benefit?
It's encouraging to see a comic book derived story touch on issues relevant to the real world. In The Dark Knight, we had to consider how far we might have to go to combat an insane, sadistic anarchist like the Joker. Here, we must consider whether secrets, lies, invasions of privacy, and pro-active neutralization of those who we consider probable threats are OK to preserve our safety. Part of the appeal of a strong government is that a controlled state is pretty safe from chaos. But who will protect us from the order? Especially one that believes in wiping out perceived threats without due process or even guilt.
The dilemma of striking a balance between freedom and safety is hard enough to deal with amongst well-intentioned people. But this story adds elements of a conspiracy within SHIELD as well as threats from outside its ranks. Cap has to contend with threats near and far, old and new.
This is a comic book character film, and as such its characters are painted in fairly broad strokes. The plot is intelligent, but no one really does anything one would consider out of character. The soldiers are brave and honest. The spies are sneaky but loyal to their cause. The politicians are smarmy and self-serving. This is Captain America, after all, not Mission: Impossible.
Chris Evans deserves a lot of credit for playing Captain America with the air of quiet integrity coupled with physical vitality that he does. He makes it seem entirely believable he is this soft-spoken, but resolute, principled guy who has no hesitation to throw himself into harm's way and somehow he keeps saving the day. He is America's white knight - our present day D'Artagnan or Sir Galahad. Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow is good as the street-smart modern woman who has learned to do what she had to whether it was the lily-white way or not. It's interesting to observe the ways in which the two characters seem to try to mentor each other. Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury as if he defined the role and made it his own (which he sort of did). Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / The Falcon also distinguish themselves well. Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce gives the movie a bit of a boost in legitimacy given his career, but I had the feeling he was kind of phoning this in.
Some reviewers have praised the lower key early parts of the film and criticized the high action climactic final confrontation. This is similar to some of the criticisms of The Wolverine. But I feel this is just silly and communicates a lack of understanding of the genre. One doesn't go to a film about a superhero and not expect a larger than life finale. Imagine the reviews if there wasn't one.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier delivers one of the best Marvel installments thus far with a hero much more admirable than Iron Man and more down-to-Earth (literally) than Thor. The story showcases its characters, proceeds with a suspenseful plot, and caps it off with a bang-up climax. It also leaves enough questions dangling about the landscape of the Marvel Universe to have everyone wondering about what's next.
- JC