Video Link: Malice Returns and She's Terrifying - Causally Comics

 

Movie Trailer: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

 

Video Link: Black Cat Becomes a HERO?! Sorta... - Causally Comics

Movie Trailer: Avengers: Doomsday

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

As early as October 2011 (before the first Avengers film was even released), head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige mentioned that there were plans for a second Avengers movie. In May 2012 Head of Disney Bob Iger officially announced that the sequel was happening. In August 2012. it was confirmed the Joss Whedon would return to direct the sequel. About doing the sequel Whedon stated, "I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor [The Dark World], Captain America [The Winter Soldier], and Iron Man [3] in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened, but not be slavish to it [...] The model I'm always trying to build from, my guiding star, is The Godfather Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from The Godfather], but you don't need any information: it's there in the film." 

In this film, because of the events in the previous film, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) create a program they call Ultron to keep the world safe from all threats. Ultron (James Spader) though takes on a robotic body and decides that Earth would be safer without humans in it. The Avengers (Downey, Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson, Jermey Reyner, Chris Hemsworth) must team up again to stop Ultron. Meanwhile Ultron convinces two super powered twins to help him, Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

This is an excellent film and one of the most underrated MCU films. What this movie does extremely well is to raise the stakes from the first film. The danger feels much more real and present here and therefore the suspense is also raised. The main reason for this is the main villain. Ultron is a truly wonderful villain. Not only does he feel like a major threat to our heroes, but he also is a very compelling character. The very premise of a program created by the Avengers taking on a life of its own yet becoming the enemy of the Avengers is already a compelling one. The way Ultron views the world and the Avengers is quite well-written. While his point of view is warped, you can still understand where he comes from. What also makes this character compelling is how it takes on characteristics of Tony Stark himself. His jokes and snarky attitude sound like Tony Stark because he was created by Stark. Frankly watching what is essentially an evil Iron Man makes for fun watching but it also gives us a greater understanding of the dark side of Tony. The twins he gets to help him, don't get enough screentime to develop as strong of personalities but they are very effective as threats. We can easily see how Scarlet Witch's powers can tear apart the Avengers from the inside and what she does to our main heroes obviously leaves emotional wounds that can't be healed easily. As well as this the movie also does a great job of exploring who our heroes are and what makes them tick. The characters are much more emotionally vulnerable here and this makes them feel much more real to us. The movie also does an especially great job of giving us a better glimpse of who Hawkeye is (as we didn't get to know much about him in the previous movie) and why a guy who shoots arrows is so important to a team that literally has a god on it. This movie also benefits from very strong action sequences that even top those in the first movie. 

Unlike the previous movie where the humor hit constantly, here it is a bit hit and miss. There are moments here that are legitimately quite funny (I especially love the elevator joke towards the end). However, there are also times when it can fall completely flat. There are quite a few forced quips here that feel like they are simply there because they are expected. This makes some of the humor lose the natural feel it had in the first movie. 

 Chief among the flaws is that the romantic relationship between Hulk and Black Widow, doesn't work. It feels forced, bland and quite undeveloped. The plot also can rely too much on supposedly smart characters acting dumb simply because the plot says they should. 

The movie was a financial success grossing $1.403 billion worldwide making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2015. On its opening weekend alone, it grossed $392.5 million making it the seventh largest ever opening weekend.

Critically it received quite mixed reviews. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Although this movie is effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterward. The ideal vehicle for our age of immediate sensation and instant gratification, it disappears without a trace almost as soon as it's consumed." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone stated, ""Age of Ultron is a whole summer of fireworks packed into one movie. It doesn't just go to 11, it starts there. [Joss Whedon] takes a few wrong turns, creating a jumble when the action gets too thick. But he recovers like a pro, devising a spectacle that's epic in every sense of the word." Richard Rooper gave the movie three and a half out of four stars stating, "Someday, an Avengers film might collapse under the weight of its own awesomeness. I mean, how many times can they save the world? But this is not that day."

This movie introduced Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Quick Silver (although Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver had a tiny cameo in the post credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)) and Vision to the MCU. Ultron was first introduced to the comics in Avengers #54 (July 1968). In the comics he was created by Hank Pym not Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Vision was introduced in the comics not much later. He first appeared in Avengers #57 (October 1968) in the comics he was originally created by Ultron to trap the Avengers. However, he would have a change of heart and end up joining the Avengers. Him and Scarlett Witch would have a romantic relationship both in the movies and the comics. Scarlet Witch made her first comic book appearance in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Quick Silver also first appeared in the same issue. Though both Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch have strong ties to the X-Men, at the time this film was being made, 20th Century Fox had the film rights for the X-Men. Because of this for the MCU, their origin stories were changed to fit into a Marvel Universe without the X-Men. In the comics Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch joined the Avengers in Avengers #16 (May 1965). 

Resources Used

The Marvel Encyclopedia published by DK Books
 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/avengers-sequel-comic-con-mark-ruffalo-249014/

https://web.archive.org/web/20140815052937/https://deadline.com/2012/05/disney-announces-avengers-2-in-development-268528/

https://variety.com/2012/film/news/joss-whedon-to-write-direct-avengers-sequel-1118057576/

https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle=18630302.html

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2395427/?ref_=bo_cso_table_18

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-avengers-review-20150430-column.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/avengers-age-of-ultron-251411/

https://web.archive.org/web/20150430020626/http://entertainment.suntimes.com/movies/avengers-age-ultron-marvel-humor-peril-comic-book-triumph/

https://www.reviewingcomics.com/marvel/avengers-1963/avengers-16/

The Avengers (2012)

 

It is hard to overstate just how big of a deal The Avengers was to the climate of superhero movies. While hints of a big, connected Marvel Cinematic Universe were in place since Iron Man (2008), here is where it official came to fruition. Now that these characters from separate solo movies were now all appearing together in the same film with their storylines all intersecting, it was clear that the superhero movie would never be the same. 

In this film, Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleson) comes to Earth and finds the incredibly powerful Tesseract. With this new power, he tries to take over the Earth. Earth's Mightiest heroes, Captain America (Chris Evans, Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsson), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), must reluctantly team up to save the day. 

This is everything a superhero movie should be. It is action packed, exciting, funny, larger than life and just incredibly entertaining. This movie is simply a blast to watch from start to finish. Even with all the has come after in the MCU, this movie has not lost any of its luster. 

Yet as exciting and action packed as this movie is, what really makes it so great is the characters. Each of these characters are very well defined on their own. Even with the number of characters, not one of them is wasted. Each of the Avengers get their own chance to shine. Still, it is how these characters interact with each other that really stands out. Each of these characters has a well-defined relationship with each of the other characters. This makes each of them feel all the more real to us and makes us even more invested in these already great characters. Many movie fans have talked a lot about the humor in this film and quote comedic lines from this movie regularly. However, what makes this humor work so well is that it all comes so naturally from the characters. Through a lot of the funny moments, we even get a greater understanding of who these characters actually are. As funny and quotable as the humor is, it is never simply comedy for the sake of comedy but plays a role in telling the story. 

The story itself is a rather simple affair. It is a basic good vs. evil superhero story that we all know. However, there is a reason that these types of stories have remained popular for so long and that is that they work. Sometimes a simple story thar is well told is exactly what we want from a movie and that is exactly what this film offers. 

Another great asset to this movie is Alan Silvestri's score. Silvestri had previously scored Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and he even tops himself with The Avengers. His score is appropriately heroic and inspiring perfect for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The main theme he uses throughout has almost taken on the same legacy as John Williams' Superman theme and Danny Elfman's Batman theme. It is easily recognizable and captures the characters perfectly. About working on this film the composer stated, "I've worked on films where there have been a number of stars and certainly worked on films where there have been characters of equal weight in terms of their level of importance and profile in the film, but this one is somewhat extreme in that regard because each of these characters has their own world and it's a very different situation. It's very challenging to look for a way to give everyone the weight and consideration they need, but at the same time the film is really about the coming together of these characters, which implies that there is this entity called the Avengers which really has to be representative of all of them together."

Plans for an Avengers movie started as early as 2003. Movie producer, Avi Arad, first announced these plans in April 2005. By 2006, it was announced that individual characters would appear in solo films before the big crossover event would happen. With the success of Iron Man, a July 2011 release date was set for the movie. By March 2009 the release date was moved to May 4, 2012.

 In July 2010, Joss Wheadon was officially assigned to direct the movie. At this time Wheadon was best known for his television work. He was the creator of the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. About this casting decision Marvel Studio head Kevin James stated, "I've known Joss for many years. We were looking for the right thing and he came in and met on it [...] we want to find a director that's on the verge of doing something great, as we think Joss is." Wheadon himself was drawn to the film because of the dynamic between these characters. At the 2010 San Deigo Comic Con Wheadon stated, "these people shouldn't be in the same room let alone on the same team—and that is the definition of family." He elaborated on this elsewhere by stating, ""It goes back to the very first incarnation of The Avengers, it goes to The Ultimates, it goes to everything about it. It makes no sense, it's ridiculous. There's a thunder god, there's a green 'id' giant rage monster, there's Captain America from the 40s, there's Tony Stark who definitely doesn't get along with anybody. Ultimately these people don't belong together and the whole movie is about finding yourself from community. And finding that you not only belong together but you need each other, very much. Obviously, this will be expressed through punching, but it will be the heart of the film." Wheadon however was very unhappy with Zak Penn's (who wrote The Incredible Hulk (2008)) original script, which he felt lacked any real connections between the characters. Wheadon re-wrote much of the script. Though Wheadon ended up sharing a co-writing credit with Penn, Wheadon had fought for having sole writing credit. 

This movie premiered on April 11, 2012 at Disney's El Capitan Theatre. The film earned $1.519 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing movie of 2012 and what was the third highest grossing movie ever at the time. Not only was it a finical success but it was also a critical one. 

Resources Used

https://gizmodo.com/joss-whedon-says-captain-america-and-iron-man-wont-be-p-5595293

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/the-avengers-battle-of-new-york-joss-whedon

https://variety.com/2005/film/news/marvel-touts-par-s-hero-worship-1117921854/

https://www.superherohype.com/features/96489-marvel-studios-sets-four-more-release-dates

https://web.archive.org/web/20101008211821/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1644849/20100730/story.jhtml

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331/

https://www.marvel.com/news/story/17069/alan_silvestri_to_score_marvels_the_avengers

Movie Trailer: Avengers: Doomsday

Movie Trailer: Avengers: Doomsday

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Iron Man 3 (2013)

 

Iron Man 3 was the first of the live action Iron Man movies (not counting The Avengers (2012)) to be directed by someone other than Jon Favreau (though he still served as an executive producer and played the character of Happy). The director instead would be Shane Black. Shane Black had made his directorial debut with another movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). His other directorial effort The Nice Guys (2016), The Predator (2018) and Play Dirty (2025). Before becoming a director, he worked as a writer on such movies as Lethal Weapon (1987), The Monster Squad (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), The Last Boy Scout (1991) and Last Action Hero (1993). About taking over this film series Black stated, "truthfully, the way to go about doing a part 3, if you're ever in that position, as I'm lucky enough to be, is to find a way that the first two weren't done yet. You have to find a way to make sure that the story that's emerging is still ongoing and, by the time you've finished 3, will be something resembling the culmination of a trilogy. It's about, 'How has the story not yet been completely told?,' and I think we're getting there. I think we've really found ways to make this feel organic and new, based on what's come before, and that's what I'm happy about." 

In this film, Tony Stark finds himself during with strong PTSD after the events of The Avengers. He is having bad anxiety attacks and is having trouble sleeping. Meanwhile a terrorist known as the Mandarin is supposedly behind a series of bombings. When Tony investigates, he discovers that there might be more going on here than meets the eye. 

This is one of the most underrated MCU films. It is rarely listed when people talk about the best Marvel movies, however it is truly excellent. 

Like many of the best superhero movies, this functions as a character study first and foremost. Tony Stark feels even more real and human here than in the other MCU films. After two solo movies and one Avengers film, it is amazing that the filmmakers were able to find a new side to Tony to explore here. Exploring the character's anxieties and unhealthy obsession with control is a great route to go here. The way the film deals with these sides to him are incredibly well done. It feels very real, giving a strong weight to this superhero film. This vulnerability is increased by having Tony separated from his Iron Man suit for the majority of the film. The movie feels like a real-world drama at many times with a few comic book style embellishments and this is the secret to why it is so effective. 

This movie's story is also quite refreshing. It is rare to find a 21st century action packed Hollywood blockbuster that is not completely predictable. Yet this movie has some very clever twists and turns that initially took me by surprise. The film does a great job of building clear expectations and then completely subverting them in very intelligent ways. 

Though the action is not the focus here, the action scenes are excellent, living up to the high standards laid in place by the previous films. This action scenes are quite exciting and often feel larger than life.   

The movie does have some flaws though. The pacing is off at times. Certain scenes go on too long, while some plot points and subplots are quite rushed. The humor can also fall quite flat at times (though there are a couple really funny moments here) and is not always in tune with the more serious tone of much of the movie. 

These flaws though are very well drowned out by all the elements that are truly great here.   

About how this movie ended up taking place around Christmas Shane Black stated, "Well it just sort of evolved oddly enough in Iron Man 3, because I had resisted it. It was [co-screenwriter] Drew [Pearce] who taught me... I think it's a sense of if you're doing something on an interesting scale that involves an entire universe of characters, one way to unite them is to have them all undergo a common experience. There's something at Christmas that unites everybody and it already sets a stage within the stage, that wherever you are, you're experiencing this world together. I think that also there's something just pleasing about it to me. I mean I did LETHAL WEAPON back in '87 and Joe liked it so much he put Die Hard at Christmas and there was some fun to that. So, look, you don't have to do every film that way." He would add "It's a time of reckoning for a lot of people, when you take stock of how you got to where you are now and lonely people are lonelier at Christmas and you tend to notice things more acutely, I think."

This film was a major box office success grossing $1.266 billion worldwide. The movie outgrossed Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010) combined. It would be the second highest grossing movie of 2013 with Disney's Frozen being the top film. Critical reviews were mostly positive, though not as glowing as was the case for the first Iron Man.  

Resources Used

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2013/

https://www.slashfilm.com/525964/why-iron-man-3-is-a-christmas-movie/

https://collider.com/robert-downey-jr-shane-black-iron-man-3-interview/

Iron Man 2 (2010)

 

Iron Man 2 marked the first MCU film to function as direct sequel to another. Production on this movie began not long after the release of Iron Man (2008). In fact, production began the same month as that movie's release. 

In this sequel, after revealing that he is Iron Man, Tony Stark is letting the fame of being Iron Man go straight to his head. At the same time, he learns that the arc reactor that is keeping him alive is also slowly killing him. Worried about his health he appoints his assistant and love interest Pepper Potts to become CEO of Stark Industries. His stress about his failing health and the pressure of being a superhero is getting to him to the point where is developing a real alcohol problem. Things truly get out of hand though when a man with similar technology to him and ties to his father decides to seek revenge on Tony Stark and the Stark name. 

Though this may not live up to the greatness of the first film, there is quite a bit about this movie to like. The character exploration of Tony Stark is wonderful here. This movie greatly delves into his flaws. Through this we get to understand him better as a human being and what makes Tony Stark who he is. Even as we delve into his flaws, we also get a good glimpse at why he is still a hero despite them. Of course, Robert Downey Jr.'s performance adds so much to this as he is able to add a lot of humanity to any role he plays. The rest of the cast is great as well. Gwyneth Paltrow is once again wonderful as Tony's assistant/love interest. Don Cheadle does a great job replacing Terrence Howard as Tony's best buddy. Samuel L. Jackson is wonderful as always. Scarlett Johanson is already stealing the show in her first appearance as Black Widow. Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke make great villains. This movie also benefits from very strong and exciting action scenes. The climatic action scene is especially wonderful. 

This film is however quite messy at times. What made the first film so wonderful is that it had a simple straightforward story with no excess. This sequel however tries to do too much. There is the effect of Tony's fame, his declining health, the government accusing him of having unlawful weapons, the romance between him and Pepper Potts, his fight with his best friend, his alcoholism, Pepper Potts taking over the company, the introduction of Black Widow and of course the main villain's story. This is a whole lot to do over the course of one movie. The result is that it can often feel unfocused and overlong (even if it is one minute shorter than the first movie). The parts are often quite good, but they don't always work together to create a better whole. 

Today for fans of Superhero movies, Scarlett Johansson and Black Widow are one in the same. Yet she was not the first choice to play the character. Emily Blunt was quite heavily considered for the role, but scheduling conflicts arose because of her appearing in Gulliver's Travels (2010). Blunt was very disappointed in this and would state about losing this role, "Because I just have to do this Fox movie, and it's fine and I'm gonna have fun. The whole beginning of the year has been rather dramatic, so I'd just rather go in with fresh eyes and know that I've made the right decision. You just don't know until it's all finished and done with, do you?" Scarlett Johansson greatly wanted the role and heavily lobbied for it. Johansson would state, “People were surprised that I wanted to play a comic book heroine, but I loved Iron Man, and I met with Marvel to see what was possible. I had done my research, and the Black Widow character resonated with me. She is dark and has faced death so many times that she has a deep perspective on the value of life. In the sequel, you learn more about the sadness in her past.” She added “I think of her that way. Black Widow is a superhero, but she’s also human. She’s small, but she’s strong. It’s hard not to admire her.”

Terrence Howard not reprising his role in this movie was not due to Howard not wanting to reprise his role. He was the first actor hired for Iron Man and therefore paid the largest salary. When the second film came about, Marvel Studios decided to not pay him anywhere near as much. Howard stated, “We did a three-picture deal. So that means, you did the deal ahead of time. It was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, certain amount for the third. They came to me [for] the second and said, ‘We will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”

Director Jon Favreau returned for this sequel. However, the film's main writer was someone completely new to Marvel. Justin Theroux had written the script for Tropic Thunder (2008), which also featured Robert Downey Jr and Downey recommended him to Marvel. 

Having worked as a storyboard artist on this film was none other than Genndy Tartakovsky. Genndy Tartakovsky is well known to animation fans as the creator of Dextor's Laboratory and Samurai Jack as well as the director of the first three Hotel Transylvania movies and Fixed (2025). About working with him Jon Favreau stated " I had Genndy Tartakovsky. I’ve always liked SAMURAI JACK and I loved his CLONE WARS vignettes that he did. I’ve always liked his work, a lot. And I had met with him, we had lunch together just because I enjoy his stuff and I wanted to meet him. I really dig his sense of humor and his sense of rhythm, and the way that he acknowledges the same cinematic masters that I really love the work of, like (Akira) Kurosawa and (Sergio) Leone. And he finds a way to pastiche it without ever undermining the stakes or the reality of the tension that’s created in his action sequences. Now clearly his stuff is a bit broad for a live action film but I love his rhythm and his attention to detail. It has a real comic booky feel but yet it feels cinematic and not gimmicky and even his cartoons feel… there’s an elegance to them. So in this process as we’re storyboarding and designing sequences he and his team have come in and I’m working with them and they’re working on collaborating with us on the project and that’s a new wrinkle and it allows me… I feel like I’m really learning a lot from collaborating with this guy. And then he has the original IRON MAN film to draw from and he also has a pretty deep knowledge of Marvel. So, he is transitioning into live-action features, which I have no doubt in collaborating with him that he will. There’s a transition that he’s making that hopefully I could be helpful with and at the same time as I move from dialogue and character and story-driven filmmaking I’m able to understand the way to approach action in an interesting and elegant way. So, it’s been a very, very fun collaboration so far." 

Iron Man 2 was a box office success and at the time had the fifth highest box office weekend opening. The movie went on to be the tenth highest grossing movie of 2010. Critics were mostly positive, feeling that overall, it was a good movie but not exceptional the way its predecessor was. 

Resources Used

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/terrence-howard-accuses-robert-downey-656521/

https://www.wmagazine.com/story/scarlett-johansson-new-mom-the-avengers

https://web.archive.org/web/20090302132621/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/02/emily-blunt-on-losing-black-widow.html

https://variety.com/2009/film/news/emily-blunt-rumored-for-iron-man-2-1117998515/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228705/

https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/38907




   

 

Iron Man (2008)

 

2008 is quite possibly the most important year for superhero movies. This is mainly due to two films that came out that year. It was the year both The Dark Knight and Iron Man were released. The Dark Knight helped usher in more mature and thematically significant superhero films. At the same Iron Man began the phenomenon that would become known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the many films and streaming series that have come out since then, Iron Man still remains one of the strongest MCU entries.

In this film, Tony Stark, the billionaire head of the weapon manufacturing company Stark Industries, rethinks everything when he is kidnapped and held in an Afghan cave. There he finds that terrorists have a hold of his weapons. He creates a weaponized suit of armor to help fight evil himself becoming the superhero Iron Man. 

This still stands as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Its not-so-secret weapon is Robert Downey Jr. as the main character. He is utterly fantastic here and makes you easily believe every second. He is charismatic in a way that you can completely understand how so many falls so easily under his character's charm. He delivers the comedic moments with an expertly handled sarcastic wit. Yet he can also truly make you feel the emotions in the more serious moments. While this movie works heavily due to him, the supporting cast is also great including his love interest (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his best buddy (Terrence Howard). Both of these co-stars not only are excellent in their roles, but they have great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. Much of the film's success is also due to Jeff Bridges as the villain. He is perfectly cast as a villain that you simply love to hate. Many of the later MCU films would suffer from weak villains making it quite extraordinary that the first MCU villain is actually a complete success. 

Another important factor for this film's success is the balance of tone. This movie perfectly knows when to be dead serious and when to be silly comic book style fun. The filmmakers and cast were able to capture both the serious moments and the fun moments completely perfectly. Unlike in some later MCU movies, the sillier moments and the more serious moments never get in the way of each other. This is because both come so naturally out of the story and characters that you don't even think about the tonal shift. Instead, both aspects just feel like a natural progression of the story. The serious scenes also hold a surprising amount of weight reflecting on the time it was made in and the political turmoil present. Yet it always has enough humor and comic book fun to keep the movie from becoming too serious. The humor and action here are both excellent. There are multiple times watching this movie that I laughed out loud. The action set pieces are fantastic being both a lot of fun and full of a real sense of tenseness. The final battle still remains one of the action highlights of the MCU.

 

One of the most important parts of this film is its after credits scene, where Nick Fury shows up to tell our hero about the Avengers initiative. Not only did this start the trend of superhero films having a post credit scene (which would eventually become true of most franchise films), but it also hinted at this movie being a part of a much bigger universe, something that had never been done previously. Originally there were hints in this scene about the X-Men and Spider-Man, both of which at the time had their movie rights owned by other studios. Spider-Man wouldn't join the MCU until Captain America: Civil War (2016) and the first MCU X-Men movie is yet to be released. About casting Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, director Jon Favreau stated, "We wanted something for the fans.... Nick Fury from the Ultimates — which is a new series of books that sort of reconceives the tradition of Marvel characters — he was always depicted to resemble Samuel L. Jackson. And so I turned to [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige and said, 'You know what would blow their minds? Should we so this?' Kevin was like, 'Let's try.' And then we actually pulled it together. It was just a little scene, just a little tip of the hat for the fans that we were paying attention to what had been established, and a way to sort of tee up the Avengers. We brought [Jackson] in on a secret day of shooting, we had a skeleton crew so that the secret wouldn't get out — and then, like, not even a week later, it got out. Sam was trying to deny it. It became a big deal. People were sure and they knew about it and they knew it was real. I don't know how they knew. Somehow it slipped.... It was Kevin's idea to cut [the scene] off all preview prints. And so the fan boys who would interview me [before the movie opened] would be like, 'What happened? Did you cut it out? Is it going to be on the DVD?' I was like, 'Look, it's only fun if it's a surprise.' Then we slapped it right back on the print for the premiere, so the first people to see it in theaters actually got to see it for the first time. I think that was a very, very clever way to keep the dialogue going with the fans, because if you don't have any tricks up your sleeve, they feel like they've already seen the whole movie before they did."

As well as directing the film, Jon Favreau also acted in the movie playing Tony's bodyguard and chauffer, Happy. He would return to this role in plenty of the future MCU movies. Favreau had been acting in films since the 1990's appearing in such movies as Rudy (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000) and Daredevil (2003). His pre-Iron Man directorial efforts include Elf (2003) and Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005). Though he would go on to act in more MCU films, Favreau would only direct one more, Iron Man 2 (2010). His most famous post-Iron Man directorial efforts were the "live action" Disney remakes, The Jungle Book (2016) and The Lion King (2019). 

The credited writers on this film are Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. This is the only MCU movie for any of these writers. However, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway would work on two non-MCU Marvel movies, Punisher: War Zone (2008) and Kraven the Hunter (2024). Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby would work on another Jon Favreau movie, Cowboys and Aliens (2011). 

The movie was a major hit grossing $585.8 million worldwide. It had the eleventh biggest opening weekend at the time. Not only did audiences enjoy this movie but critics praised it as well. Roger Ebert gave the movie four out of four stars. He especially praised Robert Downy Jr.'s performance stating, "At the end of the day it's Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies." A.O. Scott of The New York Times called this, "an unusually good superhero picture. Or at least – since it certainly has its problems – a superhero movie that's good in unusual ways." Leonard Maltin had a contrary opinion. In his famous movie guide he states, "Not-bad adaption of the Marvel comic book ... but there are too many misfired ideas (like the Middle Eastern setting, uncomfortably real for a piece of escapist entertainment) and a retro heroine in Paltrow's lovesick Girl Friday." After the box office and critical success David Maisel (who was Marvel Studio's chairman) stated, “I couldn’t imagine a better blast off for our new Marvel Studios than this. The Marvel brand is beloved. People know it stands for a summer, family-friendly action movie. And we had fantastic casting.”

Resources Used

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide: The Modern Era by Leonard Maltin. 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/iron-man-2008

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/movies/02iron.html

https://ew.com/movies/2019/09/14/deleted-iron-man-post-credits-scene-kevin-feige/

The Invincible Iron Man (2007)

 

The Invincible Iron Man marked the third in a series of direct to video animated Marvel movies (it was preceded by Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006) and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (2006)). It also predates the first of the live action Iron Man movies by a little more than a year making this Iron Man's first solo feature film. 

In this film, despite resistance from Stark Industries Board of directors, Tony Stark uncovers an ancient Chinese city and accidently releases an ancient evil. To the villain Mandarin from being brought back to life, Tony creates an armor suit and becomes the superhero Iron Man. 

Though this movie does not reach the heights of the MCU Iron Man movies (especially the first and third one), it is an enjoyable film. Tony Stark here is exactly the character we all know and love. Like all the best versions of this character, he is very flawed here, but it is how he overcomes his flaws and does the right thing that makes him so appealing. The storyline is very basic and predictable. However, it does its job well enough and allows for some surprisingly good emotional moments as Tony deals with having let down his father. The scenes between Tony and his father are excellent. The action scenes are quite fantastic and often the highlight of the movie. These scenes are quite exciting, very well paced and have a great sense of scale. The animation in these scenes is also surprisingly quite good for a direct to video movie. Though the animation may not be quite as great in other parts of the movie, this is made up for by strong character design. The background art is also very strong creating a great sense of atmosphere to the scenes in China.  

What this movie lacks though is the presence of a strong villain. Most of the villains receive so little screen time that they are not properly developed. Some of these villains are so bland and forgettable that they simply run together in your mind. There is a twist villain at the end but frankly this comes off as too little too late. 

This film's directors are Patrick Archibald, Jay Oliva and Frank Paur. All three of these directors will have work that is immediately familiar to fans of superhero animation. Frank Paur had directed episodes of such popular superhero cartoon shows as Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men Evolution and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He would later be a director on the Marvel animated direct to video movies Doctor Strange (2007) and Planet Hulk (2010). As well as being a director Paur also worked as a character designer for this movie. Jay Oliva was a director on many direct to video superhero movies including Doctor Strange, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (2012), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and many more. Oliva also worked as a storyboard artist on many of the live action theatrical movies for both DC and Marvel.  Patrick Archibald directed episodes of the animated TV shows Spider-Man Unlimited and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. He would again serve as director on the next direct to video animated Marvel movie, Doctor Strange. He also served as a storyboard artist on the animated TV shows, Static Shock, Wolverine and the X-Men, The Super Hero Squad Show and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

Based on a story by himself, Avi Arad and Craig Kyle, the screenplay was written by Greg Johnson. Greg Johnson had written episodes of such animated superhero TV shows as X-Men Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men and Spidey and His Amazing Friends. He also would write for such direct to video animated Marvel movies as Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, Doctor Strange, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Planet Hulk and Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011).  
  

Movie Review: Fantastic Four: First Steps

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Marvel fans rejoice on the fourth try, the Fantastic Four finally receive a great movie. 

With a few exceptions, the best MCU movies can be watched as a stand-alone movie (for instance the first Iron Man and the first Guardians of the Galaxy). This movie can perfectly be viewed as just that. No knowledge about other MCU films or streaming shows is necessary here and the ending feels conclusive for this particular story (while still leaving the door open for more stories of course). Marvel geeks may be aware of ways that this might be leading to future events in the MCU, but being aware of such things is not essential to your enjoyment of the film. 

One way this film stands out from previous Fantastic Four movies is that the focus is completely on the family dynamic. This has always been what has made the Fantastic Four stand out from other superhero teams in the comics. The are not a strategic strike team like the Avengers nor the close friends or colleagues of the Justice League. They are very literally a family and function exactly like one. This is unfortunately what all the previous movies starring the superhero team missed. Helping out on this front is the humor is completely character based rather than the type of smart aleck humor that has been in a lot of recent comic movies (it worked in some of those films, but I don't think it would have for the Fantastic Four). Most of comedic moments aren't just there for comedy but also to help us have a greater grasp of these characters. The great chemistry between Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn goes a long way as well (once again casting director Sarah Halley Finn proves herself to be the true hero of the MCU). Even the villain receives very little screen time because unlike in other superhero films, he is not the main focus here but rather how are heroes respond to his threat (which is just as well since even the best MCU movies can suffer from weak villains at times). 

 This movie is actually rather light on action with only a couple of real action scenes. These action scenes however are quite exciting and fun. The film also benefits from a great look that is completely new for the MCU. The look is a mixture of a 60's aesthetic and some futuristic sci-fi elements. This works so well it is hard to believe that this is the only the second feature film from director Matt Shakman, who has mostly worked in TV (it is not his first MCU project though as he directed the streaming mini-series WandaVision). 

This is exactly what I wanted from a Fantastic Four movie.

Ranking the X-Men Movies

 

While the X-Men movies might have had some movies that did live up to the franchise's potential, it also contained some that hold their own with the greatest superhero movies ever made. As the X-Men are set to join the MCU, we say goodbye to the Fox era of Marvel. While I feel the MCU has been more consistently good than the Fox Marvel, I appreciate that Fox took big swings and chances with their Marvel movies. While not all of these chances paid off (The Fantastic Four movies being the greatest example), when they worked, they were often fantastic. 

With this in mind, recently I have decided to look at Fox's most popular and long running Marvel franchise, The X-Men movies. Here is my personal ranking of each of these films. Note that these are all just my opinions and if mine should differ from yours's, I hold nothing against your taste in movies.  

14. Dark Pheniox (2019)

There is no contest for what the worst of the X-men movies is. While other movies on this list may have their flaws or fail to live up to their potential, this is the only one of these films where I don't even have one positive thing to say about. The characters seemed to have all their personalities drained away and there is nothing interesting about any of them. The storyline is also a compete mess making little to no sense whatsoever. Avoid this one like the plague. 

13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The first of the Wolverine trilogy is not a bad movie but it is a forgettable one. This movie is full of clichés and bland supporting characters. However, it does have some strong action scenes as well as a strong ending. And of course Hugh Jackman is wonderful in the main roles. This movie does give Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds even here), a very weak cinematic debut completely wasting the beloved character. 

12. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)


While not a bad movie, as a finale to the original trilogy, it comes off as a bit of disappointment. It lacks the emotional depth of the previous two films and Jean's character arc comes off as completely rushed. However, it does have good action scenes and introduces such great X-Men characters as Kitty Pryde and Beast (the later perfectly cast as Kelsey Grammer). 

11. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

A bit of an underrated X-Men film. It may seem derivative of other X-Men films, and it struggles to balance all the characters. However, it is quite a bit of fun with some strong action scenes and a great villain. It may not be perfect, but it is fun.  

10. Deadpool (2016)

When I first saw this movie, I didn't think much of it. However, over time I have come to appreciate it more. While I still feel that the sequels are superior, I now admit there is quite a bit to like about this movie. Ryan Reynolds is perfect in the title role and his charm, and the character himself have grown on me. I do feel the humor can be hit and miss but there are moments that now make me laugh. I especially enjoy Deadpool's moments with Colossus. The romance is also quite well done here. I do feel though that some of the supporting characters are quite bland and the villain is even more bland though. 

  
9. The Wolverine (2013)

The second entry in the Wolverine spin-off trilogy is a marked improvement over the first. That is because this movie is what the first film should have been. It is a great delve into who Wolverine is as a character and the emotional connection you feel to him is very well done. It does suffer from an extremely weak villain though. 

 8. The New Mutants (2020)

Despite the poor reviews this film had received, I actually feel it is quite a strong movie. The idea of combining a superhero movie and a horror film is a unique and original one and it is done quite well here. There is a great sense of atmosphere here that is quite successful and the twists along the way are very smart and clever. However the film is often too timid and after it starts to get creepy it backs away from this as if it is afraid to make a superhero movie actually scary. 

7. X-Men (2000)

Though dated (especially in the effects department) this is a very strong start to this movie franchise. It is smart and not afraid to delve into more serious subject matter and social commentary. It does this in a very effective way that still makes this film gripping today. Wolverine and Rouge are also great lead characters that we immediately care about and relate to. I will admit the action scenes can be a little lacking though. 

6. Deadpool 2 (2018)

A definite improvement over the first Deadpool, this movie is funnier with nearly every joke landing. It also introduces better characters for Deadpool to play off of and has a surprisingly engaging storyline. 

5. Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)

Easily the best of the Deadpool films and quite a strong Wolverine movie as well. The two characters (as well as Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman) play off each other perfectly and are a joy to watch share the screen. The humor is consistently funny; the action scenes are fantastic and there is a truly great villain. This is a real treat. 

4. X-Men: First Class (2011)

A very well-made superhero movie. This movie has lots of characters yet manages to give enough time to each one to make them feel fleshed out. The movie also makes great use of its 1960's setting, perfectly working the Cold War and the fears of 1960's America into the themes of the X-Men franchise. The result is a very smart and fun superhero film.

3. X2 (2003)

As good as the first X-Men was this sequel is superior in every way. Everything that was great about the first film, this sequel does even better. This is a superhero movie that is very complex in both characterization and themes. This is simply a very smart and very intelligent movie, while also containing a lot of pure superhero fun.   

2. X-Men Days of Future Past (2014)

It was hard to pick a top choice between this and Logan as both are pure masterpieces and among the best superhero movies ever made. Though this film comes in second on this list, if I were to make this list on a different day the places might be switched. Everything about this movie is near perfection. This movie is more intelligently written and clever than your average time travel movie. Yet as much thought as went into the way time travel works in this film, the focus remains not on this but on the characters and their stories. This becomes a very investing and emotionally powerful watch that hits all the right emotional notes. At the same time the action scenes are wonderful, and the humor is hilarious making this movie just as fun as it is intelligent. 

1. Logan (2017)

Logan is not only one of the greatest superhero movies ever made but an absolute masterpiece by any measurement. This movie serves first and foremost as a character study. As such it presents the most complex and thoroughly engaging take on Wolverine for any of these movies. By the end of the film, you feel that you truly know and understand this character. The tone to this film is quite serious and mature. It is also completely and utterly sincere causing this film to stay with you long after it finishes. The acting performances from every single cast member also to the depth and the sincerity of this great drama.  

The New Mutants (2020)

 

The New Mutants marked the last of the X-Men movies for Fox Studios. This film offered a compete change of pace for these movies. Not only does it focus on brand new characters, but it also brings this movie franchise into the horror genre. 

In this film five teenage mutants are being held a secret institution, where they are undergoing treatments to cure them of their powers. As these treatments go on, they find themselves face to face with their worst nightmares.  

Despite the poor reviews this film has received, I actually liked it a lot. On the onset combining a superhero film with a horror film is a rare unique idea for current Hollywood. This idea is often explored in a rather intriguing way. With the character of Rouge previous X-Men movies have taken a look at the idea of superpowers not always being a blessing. With this movie, the franchise delves even deeper into this theme. There is never a single moment here, where we would ever want to be a superhero. For most of these characters their powers are a curse rather than a blessing. This is a fascinating idea that too few superhero movies give any credence to and to see it explored in such an intelligent way was a pure delight. As for the characters themselves they may be undeveloped, but they are likable. Even if they aren't complex, we care about them enough to feel an emotional connection to this story. This is helped by the well-done performances from the leads playing these teenagers (Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henrique Zaga). The story is also very well constructed and the reveal of why all these spooky events are happening is very clever. This movie also does a great job building an atmosphere that has a truly eerie feel and a general sense of unease. 

The main problem with this movie is that the filmmakers were too timid to go all the way with the horror elements. There are moments when the film starts to get genuinely creepy but then it backs off from this as if the filmmakers are afraid to make a superhero movie actually scary. Because of this, there are scenes that start out as legitimately creepy but end up leaving the audience disappointed with their conclusions. 

This film was directed and co-written by Josh Boone, who had earlier directed (and co-written) the romantic movie, Stuck in Love (2012) and The Fault in Our Stars (2014). The New Mutants is a true departure for him as both a superhero movie and a horror film. However, his experience with romantic films shows itself in a surprisingly sweet and touching romance between two of the teenagers (a lesbian romance that barely calls attention to itself for being a lesbian romance). Boone's co-writer on this film was Knate Lee, who had worked as a writer, producer and camera man on the Jackass TV series and movies. Boone and Lee had worked together on the mini-series The Stand. The New Mutants is the only superhero film either of them worked on. 

This movie was originally going to be released on April 13, 2018. However, it was delayed until February 22, 2019, because of the release of Deadpool 2 (2018) and then to August 2, 2019, because of the release of Dark Pheniox (2019). After Disney acquired Fox, it was delayed again until April 3, 2020. It was then delayed to August 28, 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, its release was a theatrical release when many places where still in lockdown. Frankly the movie deserved better. 

Boone had planned sequels for this movie. He wanted to turn it into a full trilogy. However, Disney's acquisition of Fox and the plans to put the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prevented this from happening.  

Ironheart - Take Me Home (2025)

 

Take Me Home is the first episode of Ironheart, the MCU's most recent streaming series, streaming only TV shows that tie into the Marvel movies. In this first episode Riri, a teenage inventor who has created her own Iron Man inspired suit, gets expelled from MIT for selling her inventions to college students, so those students can turn them in as assignments. Going back home Chicago, Riri is still dealing with the premature deaths of her best friend, Natalie Washington and her stepfather Gary. Meanwhile her cousin Parker Robbins tries to recruit Riri to join his gang. 

This is a rather weak start to the series. I hope this series improves as so far this might be the weakest of the MCU streaming series. The main character is quite unlikable. Nowhere in these 45 minutes does the episode give us a single reason to like her. She is completely self-entitled and treats those that set out to help her rather terribly. It is true that she is going through a hard time but there are people giving her a chance that many people in her position could only dream of and she is completely ungrateful for it. It is true that teenagers can be self-absorbed, but the previous Marvel series Ms. Marvel understood this, while still making the character likable. Meanwhile, this episode seems to continue the unfortunate trend of these Marvel streaming shows having much weaker and blander villains than the Marvel movies. I hope who this episode sets up as the villain doesn't turn out to be the villain of the series as he is simply a bland everyday hoodlum and weak antagonist for a superhero series. The story is as basic and unsurprising as they come. Often it just seems to be going through the motions. It also strains believability as so many characters continue to understatement and not be impressed by a teenage girl who builds a freaking Iron Man suit. She may not be the most likable character, but you can't deny that she is brilliant. Even as an MCU fan, I admit this is not very good. 

This episode was directed by Sam Bailey who has previously directed episodes of such TV series as Grown-ish and Dear White People as well as co-producing the web series Brown Girls. This is her first time working on an MCU project. It was written by Chinaka Hodge, the series creator. In a career that began in the 1980's she has worked as a poet, playwright and screenwriter. This is also her first MCU project. 

Logan (2017)

 

Logan was intended as the finale for Hugh Jackman playing Wolverine (though he would later return in Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)) and it would also be the last of be the last of the Wolverine solo trilogy (which also included X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013)).

This film takes place in the year 2029. It is believed that no new mutants have been born in 25 years and Wolverine's healing ability is slowing down causing me to start aging. He has become an emotional self-loathing wreck and is no longer acting like the superhero he once was. He is also taking care of Charles Xavier, who is dying. However, he discovers that there is in fact a new mutant, a child who was created using Wolverine's DNA, he must once again become a hero to protect her. 

From the start, the X-Men movies have had a darker and more serious tone than the majority of superhero films. This film takes this to a whole new level and stands as one of the most mature and smartest superhero films ever made. This movie feels gritter and more realistic than most superhero movies, while still feeling like a superhero film. Though there are action scenes here, this movie mostly plays as a serious drama and much of the story takes a slower pace. This works perfectly as it sucks you into the dystopian world of the film and into the minds of these characters. However, what makes this stand out from the previous entries in this trilogy is that it perfectly understands the character of Wolverine and delves into all the complexities of this character. You understand everything that makes this character far from your typical superhero but one who will reluctantly do that right thing when it counts. With a smaller cast of main characters then your typical X-Men film, this movie can delve into these characters in a greater way and that is just what it does. Laura (the kid with Wolverine's DNA) is a surprisingly deep and complex character, while barely saying a word for the majority of the runtime. She is a highly sympathetic and believable character, while also being one who often gives in to the animal-like instincts that Wolverine has learned how to control better. Charles Xavier has also rarely been better and more complex than he is here. With all this the movie is able to truly play on your heart strings making this a deeply moving and powerful film. These emotions can make this hard to watch at times but incredibly rewarding at the same time. These darker moments are balanced out by some very strong humor (even if it is less humor than there is in previous X-Men movies) and exciting action scenes (albeit very gory ones).

James Mangold returned to direct this film after directing The Wolverine. About making this film Mangold said, "Hugh and I have been talking about what we would do since we were working on the last one, and for both of us it was this requirement that, to be even interested in doing it, we had to free ourselves from some assumptions that had existed in the past, and be able to change the tone a bit. Not merely to change for change’s sake, but also to make something that’s speaking to the culture now, that’s not just the same style — how many times can they save the world in one way or another? How can we construct a story that’s built more on character and character issues, in a way as if it almost wasn’t a superhero movie, yet it features their powers and struggles and themes?”  He expanded on the difference between this and other superhero movies by stating, “We are in the future, we have passed the point of the epilogue of Days Of Future Past. We’re finding all these characters in circumstances that are a little more real. The questions of ageing, of loneliness, of where I belong. Am I still useful to the world? I saw it as an opportunity. We’ve seen these characters in action, saving the universe. But what happens when you’re in retirement and that career is over?” About allowing Wolverine to age he stated, “One of the things we all thought about as we worked on this film is, well, we don’t want to rebuild everything. We want to have some questions. In order to make a different Logan, and a different tone of a Wolverine movie, we felt like we couldn’t hold on to every tradition established in all the movies religiously, or we’d be trapped by the decisions made before us. So, we questioned whether Logan’s healing factor causes him to heal without even a scar. We imagined that it may have when he was younger, but with age, he’s getting older and ailing. Perhaps his healing factor no longer produces baby-soft skin. So we imagined he heals quickly, still, but it leaves a scar. The simple idea was that his body would start to get a little more ravaged with a kind of tattooing of past battles, lacerations that remain of previous conflicts.” Mangold co-wrote this movie with Scott Frank (Get Shorty (1995), Out of Sight (1998), Minority Report (2002), Marley & Me (2008) and Michael Green (Smallville, Green Lantern (2011), Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Alien: Covenant (2017), Jungle Cruise (2021)). This was Michael Green's only X-Men film, while Scott Frank had worked on The Wolverine. 

The trailer for this movie featured Johnny Cash's cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt. Mangold is obviously a Johnny Cash fan having directed the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line (2005). However, this is not the only reason the song was used. Mangold would state, “Obviously I have a connection and a fondness for Johnny Cash, and his tone and his message and his music. But the real driver in all these decisions is trying to separate ourselves, in an accurate way, from the other superhero movies. We think we’re going to deliver something a little different and we want to make sure we’re selling audiences on the difference. Sometimes even when a movie’s a little different, the studio’s trying to market the movie just like all the others. [Cash’s] music, in a way, separates us from the standard, bombastic, brooding orchestral, swish-bang, doors opening and slamming, explosions kind of methodology of some of these movies.” Over the end credits of the actual film, Johnny Cash's original song, The Man Comes Around, plays. Both songs come from John's highly emotional 2002 album, The Man Comes Around, which was made at a time when John himself was much older and weaker than the young rebel, fans had fallen in love with in the 1950's and 60's. This perfectly fits the themes and the emotional urgency of this movie. 

This movie grossed $619.2 million worldwide with a budget of $97 million. This makes it in the top 19 highest grossing R-rated movies of all time. The critical response was incredibly positive, and it has a 93% critic rating on Rotton Tomatoes. 

Resources Used

https://collider.com/logan-timeline-explained-james-mangold/#images

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3315342/

https://www.simbasible.com/logan-movie-review/

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

 

This movie marked Bryan Singer (who directed X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003)) to the X-Men franchise. The film was originally going to be directed by Matthew Vaughn (who directed X-Men First Class (2011)), but Vaughn backed out in order to direct Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). When Singer was brought on as director, he brought back many of those who worked with him on the first two X-Men films. This included production designer John Myhre (whose only previous X-Men film was the first), costume designer Louise Mingenbach (who had worked on X2 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and composer John Ottman (who not only worked on the first two X-Men movies but composed music for all of Singer's films starting with The Usual Suspects (1995). 

In this film, robotic Sentinels are about to destroy all mutant kind. These Sentinels contain mutant DNA from Mystique (AKA Raven). The only way to stop the end of mutant kind is to travel back in time to 1973, when the DNA was obtained. However, traveling back in time that far would destroy one's body. Because Wolverine's body can regenerate, he is the natural choice to travel back in time. Wolverine must team up with a young Charles Xavier, Magneto and Beast to save the future. 

This is possibly the best X-Men movie and is superhero movie making at its finest. Everything about this wonderful movie works very well. The time travel element is incredibly well used. Writer Simon Kinberg studied such popular time travel films as Back to the Future (1985), The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Meanwhile Singer did some research into string theory and spent much time trying to come up with as plausible a set of rules to how time travel could work to make this feel as plausible as possible. The result is more intelligent and believable than the majority of time travel movies. Yet the film never finds itself being bogged down by the inherent complexities of time travel, as the focus is not on the sci-fi elements but rather on the characters themselves. Thus, this becomes one of the most emotional of all the X-Men movies. Probably the most emotionally resonant part of this film is Charle Xavier's story here. Unlike in the other X-Men films, we see him at his lowest point here. He has been so emotionally broken by the events in X-Men: First Class as well as various events that have followed, that he has given up on all that he once stood for. He has closed the school and is addicted to a drug that gives him the ability to walk but makes him lose his powers. This makes his character feel even more human We can all relate to his pain and his feelings of loss, and we have all felt like giving up. We see so much of ourselves in him that we become even more emotional invested than in the previous films. Meanwhile we can also relate to Wolverine's self-doubt, Magento's desire for justice without caring about the price and Raven's journey to still try and find who she truly is. The film also does a great job of following the themes of prejudice, persecution and whether or not the means justify the ends. This is explored heavily through the villain (played magnificently by Peter Dinklage), who is one of the best villains in these movies. This is because he feels all too real and believable, exploiting people's prejudice to try and bring about what he believes is the greater good, he resembles too many people in the world today. With all these deeper themes and intelligence this movie also has its share of pure superhero fun. The action scenes are the best this series has had to this point and the humor is often laugh out loud funny. 

This film had the worldwide highest grossing opening weekend for any X-Men movie at this time at $262.8 million. By the end of its run, it would gross $747.9 million worldwide, the largest gross for an X-Men film until Deadpool (2016). The critical response was quite positive with many critics feeling that this was one of the best of all X-Men films. It currently holds a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

   

The Wolverine (2013)

 

Before X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), completed production, that film's director Gavin Hood was thinking of a sequel featuring Wolverine in Japan. This film would be inspired by a 1982 limited comic book series starring the character by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman loved the idea as he had read that comic book series and was a fan of it. After opening weekend of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this sequel was confirmed. However, Gavin Hood would no longer be in the director's chair. The job was offered to Bryan Singer (who directed X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003)) but he turned it down. For a while Darren Aronofsky (who previously directed such artistically inclined films as Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Black Swan (2010)) was set to direct. That such a director was even considered to direct a superhero movie, shows the direction it was planned for this film to take from even its early stages. This was not planned to be your average lightheartedly fun superhero film and would go even further away from this direction than the previous X-Men films had. However, Aronofsky would back out of the project after realizing that it would keep him out of the country and away from his family for more than a year. Eventually James Mangold would be put in the director's chair. Mangold had already proven himself to be a very versatile and talented director by this time with a filmography that included Cop Land (1997), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Kate & Leopold (2001), Walk the Line (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Knight and Day (2010). Mangold would go on to direct the next film in the Wolverine trilogy, Logan (2017), which many consider to be one of the best superhero movies ever made. 

Taking place after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), in this film Wolverine comes to Japan to visit an old friend, whose life he saved a long time ago. However, once he gets there, he finds himself in for more than he bargained for, especially when his mutant powers get stripped away from him. 

This second entry in the Wolverine trilogy is a marked improvement over the first. That is because unlike the first film, this movie actually does a great job delving into who Logan really is. We get to see a really vulnerable and troubled side to the character here. We get a look into what it truly means to be immortal and the internal pain it has caused Logan. There are times when the story slows down to truly meditate on death and the fear of death as well as the emptiness of a life where you outlive everything you ever loved and cared passes away long before you. These moments are truly intelligent and thought-provoking. Also incredibly effective is exploring the guilt that Logan feels over having had to kill Jean Grey. These scenes are very emotionally resonant and draw you into the psyche of the main character. Hugh Jackman continues to be a great Wolverine with this being one of his finest performances as the haunted and often reluctant superhero.  Adding to this is that many of the supporting characters are quite likable and the performances from Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima really help sell their characters. This movie also features some pretty good action scenes, and the Japanese setting gives it a great atmosphere. 

This movie does have one major problem though and that is the villain.  Svetlana Khodchenkova does her best in this role, but the character is incredibly underwritten. The Viper turns out to be one of the most boring and bland villains in any of the X-Men movies. This may be one flaw (it is not the only flaw but the only truly major one for me), but it is such a major one that it really hurts this otherwise excellent movie. 


The writers of this film were Mark Bomback and Scott Frank. This is the only X-Men film Mark Bomback worked on, though Scott Frank would later be a writer on Logan. Other movies Mark Bomback wrote for include Live Free and Die Hard (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Unstoppable (2010), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War of the Planet of the Apes (2017). Scott Frank's other credits include Get Shorty (1995), Minority Report (2002), The Lookout (2007) and Marley & Me (2008). 


While the movie outgrossed X-Men Origins: Wolverine at the total box office and failed to do as well in the U.S. Critical reviews were decidedly mixed with many praising it for its darker and more complex story, while also feeling that its action packed third act felt out of place after the more serious and slower paced first two acts. 

   

Movie Review: Thunderbolts*

 

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Top-tier MCU.

With many people uncertain about the future MCU and having been unhappy with recent MCU films, it is perfect timing for a top-tier MCU movie starring a group of underdogs. This film in many ways feels like an old school Marvel movie. Like the best MCU output, this movie does a great job combining humor, action, character moments, drama and heart. All these elements are here in spades, yet none of them get in the way of each other but instead complement the others. Juggling all this is something that is difficult to pull off, yet when it is pulled off it seems effortless. This is what the best Marvel films do so well, and this is definitely what this movie does. This is because the humor, the heart and the action all come out of the characters. These characters are wonderful, and it is easy to see ourselves in them. They have all done terrible things but are trying to become better people. Though most have never killed anyone, we can relate to this strive for redemption and self-improvement. We can also relate to their doubts and fears that they are unable to become the people they want to be. This movie actually delves into some deeper and darker themes than the average MCU fare with looking at mental illness, drug addiction, self-doubt and the difficultly of moving on from your past (whether that be forgiving yourself or understanding that you matter). Yet this film delves into these themes in an often very intelligent way that causes us to do some self-reflection. As the movie delves into this dark subject matter, it still remains quite entertaining through its whole runtime. The humor here is excellent and often laugh out loud funny. The action scenes are quite exciting, and the visuals look excellent. The movie also benefits from a very strong villain. The villain is relatable and easy to care about and understand. At the same time the villain feels like a major threat and our heroes are so outmatched that they can't save the day through a big fight scene. This leaves us wondering how they can possibly save the day and yet the conclusion works extremely well. 

This movie also benefits from a top-notch cast. Florance Pugh (one of my favorite actresses), David Harbor, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are all wonderful in their roles and make each of these characters completely believable.

A must-see for Marvel fans.