Iron Man 2:
A lot of fans and critics rag on this movie. Perhaps
it’s because it didn’t match the excellence of the
first film, but it feels like a natural progression for
Tony Stark’s character.
He is arrogant but given new challenges, feels
mortal, and has better set pieces than in the first
film, and the movie introduces characters and
plots that move the universe forward.
The villain Whiplash played by Mickey Rourke
and Sam Rockwell make a great team of baddies,
even with Rourke’s rough Russian accent.
The one thing the film is probably the victim of
is biting off more than it can chew. There’s a lot in
this movie, which suffers from the ‘bigger is better’
trap like many of these films do. Still, Downey Jr. is
as fun as ever and the studio recreated the World’s
Fair in Queens and changed it to the Stark Expo, an
excellent touch for New Yorkers.
Avengers:
Age of Ultron:
Re-watching this gave me new appreciation for
the film. Is it the event that the first Avengers was?
No. But it continued their journey.
It’s more of your favorite characters trying to
save the world. It’s also a bit more ambitious
than the first, crafting a movie around artificial
intelligence and creating a villain that is their worst
nightmare.
James Spader is the voice of the robot(s) and he
adds fear and wit to the characters.
The introduction of other characters advance
the plot. There are jokes to be had here, but it’s a bit
darker. There are slow moments, and it can’t match
the first movie’s climax, but it’s still amazing to see
these character fight with and against one another.
It also sets up the future conflict and sets up the
fracture of the team.
Thor:
Another polarizing film, the origin story of Thor
is extremely satisfying. It’s on a small scale, sure,
but it took a character that could’ve gone terribly
wrong on screen and took him seriously. Many
viewers knew little about the god of thunder. But,
this film matches brother rivalry with fish-out-ofwater
elements, making it funny and dramatic.
And how perfectly cast is this film? Chris
Hemsworth seems born to play Thor much like
RDJ was for Iron Man. And Natalie Portman adds a
sweetness to the film; their chemistry is really fun
and believable. Anthony Hopkins is a legend and
his presence alone adds credibility to the world of
Asgard.
Tim Hiddleston as Loki is the character you want
to love but also love to hate. The lack of action
does pose an issue, sure. But the character pacing
is great. You get to see an arrogant protagonist
learn from his mistakes and come out a humbled
hero.
Guardians of the
Galaxy Volume 2.:
What a fun film. There is something about
director James Gunn’s humor that really has me
love each of these characters.
The drop-off from the first to the second isn’t
much. They seem like natural progressions. It’s
still hilarious, weird, touching, and even has better
action and a better villain (no spoilers).
The movie itself is beautiful and chock full of
colorful settings. If anything, the charm and origin
of watching the team come together in the first film
helps edge out this one. Who cares though? You
can’t go wrong with either. Also, you feel for and
love characters you didn’t care about as much as
the first. It’s close.
Captain America:
The Winter Soldier:
This is a popular pick for Marvel’s best and in
many ways, it is. It’s the most realistic, has some
of the best action, and is a great espionage film
with many twists and turns. As the movie says,
“Don’t trust anyone.” That sentence has the entire
audience on edge from start to finish.
This movie pairs Chris Evans with Scarlett
Johansson’s Black Widow. They make a terrific
team and you really start to gain appreciation for
the goodness that is Captain.
He’s not just some black and white, cookie cutter
hero. He believes the world should be a certain
way but is frustrated by constant corruption as
mentioned above. And his blind loyalty to his best
friend-turned-villain is extremely compelling. You
get chills when you hear him say “I’m with you till
the end of the line.”
The plethora of villains wasere great but not
having an excellent single one hurts the movie a
tad. Again, at this point all of these can be number
one.
Captain America:
Civil War:
The Russo brothers, who made their mark
with the stellar “Captain America: The Winter
Soldier,” had the huge task of taking a whole lot
of characters, pinning them against each other,
straying somewhat from source material without
pissing off fans and centering it around Captain
America. Oh, and introduce Marvel’s most popular
heroes, a new Spider-Man and Black Panther.
And guess what? They made it work beautifully.
First off, one of Marvel’s flaws is writing
compelling villains. There is a villain with motives
that do make you think, but in a way, the true
villains are the heroes. The government gets
involved with the heroes’ antics, which would
make sense, and wants to regulate the group. Cap
agrees, Tony disagrees and others fall in line with
one or the other.
Like “Winter Soldier,” there are tons of surprises
I won’t spoil them, but they pay off for probably
the most dramatic conclusion in a Marvel movie
thus far. And that fight scene at the airport is
magnificent.
The directors pull off realism well. In this one,
they mixed fantastical with it and it was still great.
Black Panther and Spider-Man were wonderfully
executed. The film also sets up lots of possibilities
for the future.
QNS.COM
SPRING 2018 23