marvel-comics

X-Men: Apocalypse spoiler-free review

There is a short scene in X-Men: Apocalypse that sees several of the new characters discussing the quality of the films in the original Star Wars trilogy, all of them agreeing that the third film is always the worst. It’s an obvious piece of meta-commentary on the original X-Men trilogy that takes a shot at X-Men: The Last Stand while praising director Bryan Singer’s original two films, which is gaudy enough on its own – but those paying attention will remember that X-Men: Apocalypse itself is the third film in this new timeline. Is this just a staggering lack of self-awareness, or a direct acknowledgement from the film-makers that they’ve badly messed up? It really doesn’t matter. X-Men: Apocalypse is a bad film all the same.

The story this time sees the various characters we’ve been following over the last couple of X-Men films reunite in order to try to stop an ancient mutant named Apocalypse and his four horsemen from taking over the world. It’s a simple tale of good vs bad basically, far removed from the more soap-operatic, character driven drama of the previous films in the franchise, and unfortunately X-Men: Apocalypse suffers for it.

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A Guide to the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse

In a previous blog post, we examined the history and future of the various DC Comics cinematic franchises that make up what I (apparently alone) am calling the DC Cinematic Multiverse. But DC isn’t the only company to have a massive tangle of cinematic universes under its belt. It’s long-time rival Marvel has been even more prolific when it comes to adapting their material for the large and small screen. Unlike DC, though, Marvel gave up control over much of it’s catalog during the dark times (the 1996 bankruptcy and subsequent reorganization), resulting it several different studios having access to bits and pieces of the Marvel world. To this day there is still a lot of confusion over who has what rights, who can be in which films, and on-screen with who else, and which films belong to which shared canon.

Note: As with the DC post, I am mostly ignoring the animated parts of the Marvel multi-verse. There have been 36 (to date) animated shows and about a dozen animated movies.  In general, with two notable exceptions, these shows all exist in their own separate universes, with their own separate designations in the Marvel reality catalog, and otherwise play no role in the live-action TV or movie worlds.

So, as we did with DC, lets see if we can make some sense of of the tangled mess that is the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse.

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Deadpool Review

I went to the 9:50 screening of Deadpool last night. I managed to get the center seat in the back row. The theater was about 1/4 full, and even then there was a buzz in the air.

Deadpool, Marvel’s latest comic book character to receive the R-rated movie treatment due to violence and subject matter, drew genre appropriate previews. I couldn’t even absorb the body count before the actual film even started. If you like “shoot -em up bang! bang!” movies, this summer might be your best summer yet.

Deadpool can be a bit of a smart-ass.
Deadpool can be a bit of a smart-ass.

I have been enjoying the Deadpool teasers as they have been released, so I had a pretty good idea of how the movie was supposed to be, but we know how that can work. Best laid plans and all that. However, this particular movie delivered. Yeah, sure, this movie is about a wisecracking immortal a-hole comic book character, but the immortal wisecracking a-hole comic book character has style, and the film even managed to give us enough backstory to make Deadpool three dimensional. The movie felt like it was crafted by both the people in front of and behind the cameras. It comes across as the movie they meant it to be and wanted us to see.

It was entertaining from the opening credits all the way through the closing credit scroll (and beyond), so don’t be in a rush to leave your seat. Ryan Reynolds admirably breaks down the 4th wall, and this movie is most definitely a feather in his cap. 2016’s Deadpool is a far cry above the version he played in X-Men Origins, and the supporting cast, CGI, stunts and dialogue come together to make this film funny, action packed, and maybe, just maybe, my new favorite comic book to movie translation.

It is full of helpful life lessons, like math and advice on relationships, delivered with his never say die attitude. I’m just going to say it. If you like the comic books, you will love the film.

Your friendly neighborhood Major Stackings.

Lego Marvel’s Avengers – A First Look

The latest entry in TT Games’ highly successful Lego video game series is Lego Marvel’s Avengers. Similar to the Lego Harry Potter and Lego Star Wars games, Lego Marvel’s Avengers is an adaptation of multiple movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; specifically, the content of the game covers portions of Captain America: The First Avenger; Avengers; Thor 2: The Dark World;Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. I recently picked up this game and played through the first few levels, and thought I would share my initial impressions.

PLEASE NOTE: This is not a “review” of the video game; I wouldn’t consider myself qualified to score it relative to all other video games. As a fan of Marvel and of Lego video games in general, this is just my first impression on where this game falls among it’s peers.

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