Posts Tagged ‘Marvel’

MV5BMTc3MDc0NDkzOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjIwMjQ0NTE@._V1__SX1202_SY826_Have often do you see a film that starts well only to falter at the midway point and limp to a conclusion that leaves you wondering what might have been? Conversely, how seldom do you see a film that is going off the rails in the early going, yet somehow manages to correct its mistakes after halftime and eke out a win?

Count Avengers: Age of Ultron as one of the rare films that appears headed toward failure, yet somehow course corrects halfway through and finishes strong enough to be regarded as a mild success. As summer blockbuster entertainment, you can call it necessary, but not sufficient. (more…)

THE-AMAZING-SPIDERMAN-SCREENCAPS-00If you are wondering whether The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is as good as the first one, you are asking the wrong question. You should be considering the possibility that the new movie, which opened in Europe this week in advance of its May 2 premiere in the United States, is as bad as Spider-Man 3, the movie that put the stake through the heart of the franchise the first time around. Actually, this latest tale blows past the badness of Spider-Man 3 and winds up in the company of Superman 3 and 4 and both Fantastic Four films as one of the worst major character comic book movies since the modern era began with the Christopher Reeves Superman in 1978. (Catwoman, Daredevil, Elektra, and Ghost Rider are second-tier titles at best and do not merit inclusion in the discussion.)

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timthumb.phpCap is back, and so is the franchise.

With two misfires in the first two superhero movies after the megahit The Avengers, quality control questions in the Paramount Galaxy of the Marvel Cinematic Universe surfaced. Iron Man 3 was little more than an empty shell in comparison to its predecessors, and Thor: The Dark World was execrable, playing like a Roger Corman-ripoff of the Hobbit movies. A lot was riding on the shoulders of Steve Rogers, but like with every fight he’s been in since World War II, the Super Soldier prevails. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the most crowd-pleasing comic book flick since the original Iron Man.

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