The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Maybe if this film had been made and released two decades ago, before the entirety of the superhero splurge, I might have watched it thinking, wow, they really made something amazing here. But we cannot undo these things we’ve done, as someone once said, and the effect of having seen superhero group after superhero group after superhero group save the world again and again and again cannot be easily nullified. As it is, no amount of interesting conceptual design, or nostalgic kicks, or even just plain, good storytelling and performances, can get this work to break through against all that has come before it and lead the viewer to anything more than mild appreciation, to a diminished admiration that battles against a flattened sense of what a movie like this is supposed to be. It’s fine, really; all of the above mentioned elements are well done, and if you’d never seen another entry in the genre you’d probably rave about this one. But few of us out here are infants without prior experience, so the impact of this iteration is very much dulled. More standard than fantastic. 

Thunderbolts*

We’ve come a long way…um…babies? You have to be forgiven if, upon watching this installment of the MCU, you find yourself contemplating the Marvel movies of yesteryear and how invigorating they were, whereas this flick evokes, largely, little more than a “huh?” reaction. Oh, sure, there’s entertainment to be had here, including both a fair dose of humor and an appreciable overarching metaphor about overcoming abuse, in addition to the standard action tropes. But…the history does not disappear, and the influence of the past weighs heavily upon this “new” venture. The sense that this is little more than a photocopy of a degraded original—a vibe that is even acknowledged in the film itself, at least at the ending—is hard to get over. At least the cast of characters features a mostly likable group. Reservations aside, an honest assessment says that this movie is good enough to watch, and the studio seems determined to move forward with its plans, so maybe we can just keep an eye on things and see if something truly enjoyable develops down the line. Stranger things have happened, even within this very franchise. 

Deadpool & Wolverine

Was this trip really necessary? I’m far from convinced that it was. I won’t say there isn’t any funny in here; there are some real laugh-out-loud moments along the way in this script. But then again, a lot of the story reads like it was copied and pasted from fan fiction posted on message boards. I wasn’t quite sure how and why the main characters were where and what they were at the start of things—I guess I really don’t live and breathe these flicks after all; score one for me—and it never got all that much clearer as things went on. Others may be satisfied with the Easter egg experience of seeing some obscure characters brought into the plot as cameo devices, but that only goes so far in my view. (Dafne Keen’s appearance worked best for me, as her character actually had some relevance to the last time we saw Hugh Jackman as Logan.) And, of course, the over the top violence is fun, for a while. Then it gets numbing, and your mind starts to drift onto other ideas—like, for instance, what is the point to all this besides making money? The answer may not surprise you. Alas, everyone’s favorite unkillable supersomething may live on again and again, until the profit margin grows small enough to invoke the powers that no franchise can resist: studio accountants. I guess that’s the real subtext of this thing. That certainly is the lasting takeaway of this movie. Let’s see how many wisecracks it takes to overcome that.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Just as a point in every direction is no point at all, one must also ask: if everyone is Spider-Man, then isn’t that the same as nobody really is Spider-Man? Is there nothing truly distinctive to the character that asks for something specific in the persona? The above may seem contradictory, but the thread, if you will, that binds much of this work together is contradiction. When this story reaches its key inflection point, with proclamations about not changing the canon, a viewer of any intelligence must be thinking, “You’ve got to be kidding.” The entire point of this exercise, here and in its predecessor, is about changing the canon—a fact made more and more obvious with each expression of its overarching agenda. (You may fill in that blank yourself.) And then, internal to that, there’s a gigantic contradiction in the stated premise that Miles is the source of the problem, so to speak. (I don’t want to spoil anything, but you can ask yourself: if Miles is an anomaly as stated, then how can he ... that’s about all I can give you.) Thus, there are issues here that should leave even the Generation AA-types this movie was made for scratching their heads, if not specifically calling bullshit. However, a huge part of this series’ appeal is the films being visually overwhelming, and that’s the sort of thing that can shut down higher brain functions. (That, I’m implying, may be intentional.) Huge swathes of the animation remain frenetic, to the point that an observer must wonder if there haven’t been a few seizures as a result of watching this flick. There’s also the danger of confusion, as the plot is so ambitious in the stories it is trying to tell that it can be easy to lose track of where you are at any given moment. A further consequence of that narrative largesse: the movie is so focused on the home life of its multiple protagonists that the villain, typically a major part of any superhero story, disappears for long stretches. Meh, he’s not that compelling anyway. Given these issues, how can this movie succeed? Mostly, it’s because the main characters are so damn likable that the viewer cares what happens to them in the end, and will be most disappointed if things go ill for these people. Alas, there’s a cliffhanger, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all turns out. Again, I’ll go along for the denouement; I just wish I didn’t have to wade through so many layers of muddle and agenda to get there.

The Marvels

A film that will live in infamy. Not that it really deserves that. Upon first release this movie was declared as the death knell for the MCU, with box office to match that characterization. Imagine, then, my surprise when I sat down to stream this piece and found it to be an eminently watchable action movie. It is hardly perfect, to be sure; the story suffers for being the latest installment in a now sprawling and over cooked fictional setting. It’s near impossible to remember exactly all that has gone before this point in the storylines: what events from earlier episodes are relevant to the current plot; where exactly are we in this timeline; who exactly all of these people are. Indeed, I’m not sure I ever even saw half the events and people that play influential roles in this story. (A few key elements seem to have been retroactively developed in order to fit this plot.) So complete comprehension of the greater storyline is a bit too much to ask of the viewer. Mostly, you just have to accept this thing at face value and enjoy what you can—and then, suddenly, the piece resolves into a fairly good time at the movies. The best revelation here? Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel  She is a delight, completely charming and fun to watch (as can be said for the members of Kamala’s on-screen family). Much of the the joy in these proceedings comes from her. Other highlights include Sam Jackson as Nick Fury—behaving more like his old self versus his presence in other recent outings—and some effective use of cats for both plot advancement and comic relief. There are downsides, too. An uneven tone that sometimes takes everything far too seriously (the movie is a lot better when it is more focused on having fun—though even there the film sometimes falls into the trap of getting too damn silly). And then there's also, frankly, a weak performance by putative star Brie Larson; it turns out Captain Carol could stand to lighten up a bit. So the movie is hardly a classic, but hey, what’s up with you that you’re expecting Oscar-bait from a superhero flick? The reaction seems less about the movie itself and more the product of overdeveloped expectations from hardcore Marvel fans (who might want to watch a grown-up movie once in a while in order to re-calibrate). If you preordered a ticket to see this in a theater, maybe you had cause to be disappointed (though really, in that case you deserved your chagrin). But if you watched this one by paying a fraction of that for a month of the streaming service, then I think you got a bargain. Not especially marvelous, but no real complaints here, either.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

What can I say that hasn’t been said already? How about this?: it’s OK. Not insanely great, as the lemming population would have you believe. Just a fairly well done animated superhero story. And even the “well done” part may be a stretch, given certain aspects. What objections do I have? For one, the lauded-to-the-skies animation style is visually appealing, at times, but also contains elements that annoy throughout the proceedings—specifically a certain effect the appears to be a 3D multi-color rendering effect that pops up around characters and other screen objects. This happens despite the fact that the DVD copy I watched did not specifically indicate it was a 3D version of the movie. Perhaps the dimensionality for screening is inherent in the animation, regardless of how you’re viewing it—but from this seat, the effect was annoying and distracting. The soundtrack of largely late-stage hip-hop songs is for the most part the sonic equivalent of chewing on aluminum foil. Those choices demonstrate that the movie was created to appeal, almost ruthlessly, to a young audience, and conversely to drive away those who aren’t fully on board with Generation AA’s sense of … whatever it is they believe about things. Ah, yes, and that brings us to the most prominent backlash this film faced upon its release: the replacement of the White Guy with someone not-so-pale, nor male, nor in certain case even human. That prevails in at least one universe, that is; it’s true that the flick takes some pains to let you know that, yes, there’s still a traditional Peter Parker—with a B. middle initial, to distinguish—swinging around somewhere out there. But the main focus here, the movie's raison d'etre, is in the sort of identity swap-out that has become common in recent times. My previously-stated position still holds, people: you don’t become one of the cool kids by simply taking over the cool kids’ schtick. It’s immensely more admirable to create your own something special (and it's probably more profitable, in many ways, than the takeover thing). It is hard to be someone who has watched several iterations of a character, over decades, and not be keenly aware of the subversion taking place before your eyes, unless you're as blind and ignorant of the past as your standard issue Gen AA type. The identitarian agenda inescapably drags down the honest assessment of any such work, regardless of the quality displayed therein. And for sure, this film does have its strong elements, particularly in excellent voice performances by several of the principals; this talented cast makes these characters appealing, regardless of your stance on the embedded politics of the production. I will watch the sequel, for sure; there’s enough entertainment value here to merit giving this crew that due. But I do wish we didn’t have to tread this same political ground again and again. It’s not a web I particularly enjoy being caught in.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

You can hardly go wrong telling a story with great characters. The strength of this series has always been its stable of astonishingly vibrant and memorable characters, from the original core set to the additions to the team in the second and now third installments--they have all been outsized, wildly entertaining and profoundly likable. That even applies to the computer generated personages, who really shine in this sequel. Rocket and his enhanced animal friends, in flashbacks to the past, bring such emotional depth and honesty to the story’s key points that their example opens up whole new vistas of consideration about how movie audiences can connect to characters, ideas and other facets of the movie-watching experience. Maybe even the dreaded AIs have something to offer the medium, something that those who grew up strictly on human-centric cinema would never have expected to be possible. Then again, maybe it’s all just a standard comic-book movie hoot and a half, with laughs and fun stuff and “did that look cool” sprinkled throughout a well-formed big-screen joy ride. You can just take it as the latter and leave all the deep thought stuff to others, if you like. This outing certainly serves up plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a host of trademark flourishes that the franchise fans will expect to see. Yes, there is a certain amount of absurdity to the main storyline; if you think about it (not recommended), the whole thing doesn't make a lot of sense. But such concerns have quibbling written all over them. This is just plain movie fun, and if you don't get regular helpings of that, you're doing it wrong.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

The MCU's sardonic cul-de-sac adds one more showcase home. Is it as “nice” as the earlier constructions? Well, clearly no expense was spared, and it displays many of the features you would like if you’re in the market to buy: a strong cast of likable actors, plenty of eye candy (in the visual effects, not necessarily in the hottie sense), and your occasional decent stab at humor -- but frankly, the neighborhood has seen better days. It doesn’t particularly resemble the place it once was. And some of the new house’s features are somewhat odd and seemingly not entirely a good fit; they’re not necessarily innovations that a buyer couldn’t live without. All in all, this isn’t a bad movie, but it’s not something you should have been clamoring to pay money to see -- better to be a subscriber and have waited for this one to move into its permanent digs, where the value is much higher than in the newly-made market. That's hardly a level worthy of aspiration, but that seems to be where this thing is now. Whether you really need to visit this place depends pretty much entirely upon you.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Never has a superhero action movie dealt so deeply in sadness, both real and fictional. The sense of loss is palpable throughout this story; indeed, it forms the core of the tale. And then, grafted onto that you have the demands of a relatively standard action movie. The result is something that is, for the most part, entertaining, though not entirely successful. Among other issues, this story has to contend with certain political necessities (the fraught nature of brown vs. brown battles) that shape how the whole plot ultimately plays out--and that fact somewhat tempers the ultimate output. It will be interesting to see, in the future, how ensuing installments overcome these issues. Time will probably heal the impact of the loss; the problem of political appearances will likely represent a thornier issue to resolve--though there are hints of how that will ultimately play out (i.e, they can avoid the problem of by having them team up to fight against evil Whitey). Bottom line: this is an acceptable, maybe even necessary, sequel that clears the deck in the face of unexpected tragedy and sets the stage for what may come in the future--so a full scale judgment must be withheld. Just call it good enough for now, and bide the time until the next, clean slate effort makes its appearance.

Morbius

There didn’t seem to be much of a point to this flick--either in its execution, nor in its reason to be. Nor is the backstory for the characters particularly deep or all that compelling. The action sequences are okay, but not especially spectacular, and if you’re trying to make the case that the protagonist has anything special and unique about him… he doesn’t. Morbius’ one unique power, echolocation, doesn’t actually work in the way it’s depicted here (and it bears more than a passing resemblance to The Dark Knight’s radar/sonar/microwave mapping trick—so its both wrong and derivative). Maybe that’s the best summation of this film—wrong and derivative--and that’s not exactly the tagline you want to throw on the poster. I suppose this flick isn’t awful, but it is hardly necessary. Making a cinematic universe is difficult. Witness this effort if you don't believe that.

Thor: Love and Thunder

It just goes a bit too far. This series’ deconstruction of the superhero genre--irst evident in the Ragnarok outing--goes hog-wild here, with all involved playing most of this episode not just for laughs, but in the service of outright absurdity. Chris Hemsworth’s affability makes that a seemingly reasonable choice, but this film extends its form so far into the territory of schtick that it becomes an open question of, if these people can’t take any of this seriously, then why should we? The stakes don’t seem particularly high throughout this tale--indeed, one can argue that Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher character is in the right throughout, so there's no real satisfaction in seeing him defeated (and, arguably, he's not here). Thus, everything presented in this work comes across as less exciting adventure and more a mild diversion--one the has the flash and dash of something well done, but hardly any of the heart. All that, plus a pervasive sense of relentless obsequiousness towards social identity concerns, makes for a viewing experience that has little sizzle, despite ample servings of action and scale. As with all old gods, I think it's time for this one to retreat into a silent eternity.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Cameos, assemble! The eyeroll quotient is extremely high here, and a lot of the interest-generation in this outing comes from seeing who shows up where. For all the wizard flash in the title and feature scenes, this flick is at least as much Elizabeth Olsen's movie, which is a good thing, especially as her appearances in the Scarlet Witch outfit (both the official uniform and the Halloween costume) were the best parts of WandaVision. As for the overall story here? The whole thing ultimately plays out like a grandiose extra, final episode of the aforementioned TV series, and barely anything more than that. More and more, I see the superhero genre approaching its end-of-shelf-life--especially if all of the upcoming works are going to hit us again and again with the same characters, struggling for the same stakes, and leaving the viewer with the same sense that we’ve been here before. At least, if you’re a subscriber, you can say you didn’t directly pay for this one. Certainly, only a fool would buy a ticket for this franchise at this point. Let’s see the Mouse wizard its way out of that scenario.

Spider-man: No Way Home

I honestly don't know what to say about this movie. I've never been as hyped up about the Tom Holland iteration of the Spidey story, so I suppose I should have appreciation for this flick's special-guest-star gimmick--and it is good to see the previous actors showing their version of the character, particularly Maguire's version, which really laid much of the groundwork for today's hero-film landscape (and doesn't get nearly as much credit as is deserved these days). So it goes. As for this particular work, again, it's mostly a matter of fan service, though it does benefit from the presence of some really good actors reprising their previous roles. On the other hand, the relationship between Holland and Cumberbatch never quite hits the right note. Guess it's a good thing that the latter disappears for about half the running time. That's the sort of thing we have here--an odd melange of good and bad, weird and decent and exasperating all at the same time. Sure, you can have fun with this movie, but the original film, twenty-some years ago, proved this story can be fun and high-quality at the same time. Who knows if this goes any further--it's the third lead outing for Holland, so likely done for him now--though the best bet would be to just let this thing leave off here and come back with a new iteration in about 15 years or so. Will that happen? No--the MCU is a stickier web than anything this kid can shoot. I guess it's just a matter of shrug the shoulders and accept it as it is. Oh well...

Eternals

Childish fancies plus relentless, fairly cynical mandatory diversity equals a silly, mostly absurd movie. More interesting storylines immediately suggest themselves to the viewer in the first five minutes; none are realized. Instead, we get a mostly tepid end-of-the-world scenario that relies on cliches for resolution. The main issue here is the attempt to be all things to literally all people, resulting in a story the comes across as less an artistic vision and more as the notes from a committee meeting. As many boxes are checked as possible, lest someone should feel left out and accordingly take to social media with profit-killing vengeance. A sequel is clearly set up, but I can’t imagine anyone actually wanting to watch it--certainly not anyone wanting to pay for it. You might just wind up eternally grateful if you skip this one.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

On its own terms, this is a pretty good action flick. It features all the requisite elements of such a piece of work: appealing leads (even Awkwafina, who till now has seemed mostly annoying), some truly audacious action and/or fight sequences (a staple of actual Chinese cinema for a long time), and a visual style that ranges from eye-catching in parts to down right gorgeous, even ethereal at times. I'm not nearly qualified to comment on its ethnic bona fides, but I doubt that's really the point of this movie anyway. (The point is to expand the MCU in new, money-making directions. Duh.) Simu Liu is good in the title role, everyone around him provides fine support (except perhaps Ben Kingsley, who takes his reprised role and runs with it...mostly into walls), and the effects provide some equally impressive creature partners. The ultimate judgement here lies in one simple aspect: does it work as an entertaining film? Sure does. At this point, this might be the best of the recent vintage Marvel movies--a low bar to leap, admittedly; it remains to be seen if there's enough life and freshness here to keep the ball rolling beyond today.

Black Widow

This felt like filler. Knowing that the title character already has an ultimate destiny kind of puts a damper on the proceedings from the start. Then there’s also the confusing backstory, seeming double crosses that really aren’t, and then preposterous finale which is overly convenient, not to mention vigorously defiant of both geography and physics … it’s all a not-quite-rich tapestry. Bottom line: it appears the MCU is sometimes deficient in IQ; at the very least, they outsmarted themselves with this piece. Not incompetent, at least not completely, but also not particularly necessary.

Spider-man: Far From Home

Well, it's all there. I can say that. The standard Marvel schtick, I mean. The hero, the girl--it's almost always that dyad--the sidekicks (generally comedic), the threat to the world--the whole world!--and then the orgy of violence that presumably resolves it all. By this point in the ever-threatened world's history, we've seen this routine over and over again. Appreciation comes, then, from finding pleasures in the minor details of content, rather than the overarching form. Here, you have some mild joys, but probably not enough of them to really make this a major score. Holland is an OK web-slinger, but he doesn't convey the same sense of being put upon unfairly as, say, Tobey Maguire did back in the day. He mostly just seems inept, right up until the point when he somehow manages to square things away. As for our villain, he's just a weasel, not really a Thanos-style superthreat. Honestly, this thing looks to be mostly played out; I'm not sure the next chapter really can have much in the way of story development, apart from raw entertainment value. The franchise may very well be caught in its own web--one from which it may not make an escape.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

It looks like it's time for these mutants to mutate into something else. Though a certifiable box-office bomb, I didn't think this flick was quite that bad--just not anything particularly interesting and necessary. Like a lot of today's franchise movies, there's a little too much template involved here--large scale battle sequences, angsty interactions between the principals, too many characters on the screen to give any one of them adequate story time--to make this anything other than unwieldy and less than enjoyable, even as popcorn entertainment. There is some joy to be had, particularly in watching several good actors do their thing; McAvoy and Fassbender still bring it, and Lawrence makes a brief impression. But there's not enough of that, and some of the inherent silliness of these films flies over the top in this outing. The folks in charge of this franchise need to come up with a new formula soon--think The Wolverine as an example--or else there won't be any bouncing back for this series, regardless of the special abilities those involved bring to the table.

Captain Marvel

Talk about teaching to the test. This flick seems like it was generated specifically to be a Bechdel-proof exercise in superhero storytelling. That's not to say it's really all that different from other entries in the genre; there's a weird-origin setup, plenty of visual razzle-dazzle, the typical climax--heavy on spectacle while somewhat light on thoughtfulness--plus a sprinkling of oddly British aliens, along with multiple sequel setups. Some of this stuff comes out of chronological order, which comes across as less narrative creativity and more jumbled mess. On the other hand, there is some satisfying interplay between Alison Brie and Samuel Jackson, and Brie is perfectly easy on the eyes, which helps make watching this movie relatively effortless. I'm not sure this one was particularly necessary, other than to check off a diversity form box, but it's not especially burdensome either. You can kiss this girl, and you'll probably like it; I'm just not sure you'll fall in love.

Avengers: Endgame

Watching this film is like being at a well attended party. There's lots of people present, many of whom are your friends (or at least people with whom you are friendly), and you run into groups of them here and there. But you also get enmeshed with others whom you don't know so well, and who really don't do so much for your enjoyment of festivities. And so this, the ultimate money shot--in more ways than one--of the MCU comes across as exactly that way: chaotic, too big, occasionally fun, maybe even an emotional event now and then, and ultimately a night that leaves you with a certain amount of memories--but also wondering if it was really all that good a time. It's easy to take shots at a piece like this, and that's the kind of whining and nitpicking reaction you get all too often these days--the kind of behavior I really hate. So I'm not here to just dump on what is, mostly, a decent popcorn flick. Suffice to say, this movie delivers what you expect, both good and bad, and that's pretty much that. Whether it's worth it to you or not depends entirely upon who you are (and how well you know yourself). That's not hero work--that's just life.