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Reviews
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The Black Sheep of the MCU Family
Some people don't count this film as part of the MCU, and there are several reasons why. Firstly, it's the only one ever to be produced by Universal (the others being distributed by Paramount until Disney took over) and so naturally it has a very different feel. And secondly, outside of William Hurt's General Ross, none of the other cast members return to reprise their roles. Betty is never seen again, so naturally Liv Tyler isn't either. Tim Roth's Abomination is another 1 time Marvel villain, Tim Nelson's Leader tease never pays off and when we next see Dr. Banner 4 years later in the Avengers, it's Mark Ruffalo as the Great Green Giant, not Edward Norton. Outside of a Robert Downey Jr. Cameo at the end of the film and a few subtle references in later movies, very little ties this film to the MCU. But I decided to count it, hoping it would surprise me. Unfortunately, it did not. The Incredible Hulk is as underwhelming as I remember it being.
But it's not all bad. We have a sound performance by Edward Norton as a man who desperately does not want to become the Hulk, and goes to Brazil to study under a master of breath control in order to curb his anger. It's clear we're never seeing him again, but in another universe he would still be playing the role 13 years later, and I wouldn't be too opposed to that. It's not as good a casting as RDJ for Tony Stark, but what is?
In terms of other performances, they're all ok. Liv Tyler is in full trembling sympathy mode, but I've never thought Hulk needed a love interest, and she ultimately is not too consequential here. Hurt delivers enough gruffness to have him brought back 8 years later, and Nelson is on screen so little no-one really gets to care about him. Roth is so-so as a bad guy, until he gets that Hulk juice in him, ultimately leading to the big CGI smorgasbord. And this battle, as I have suggested, pounds away relentlessly, taking as its first victim our patience. "Iron Man," the much better spiritual partner of this film, also ends with a showdown between an original and a copycat, but it involves two opponents who know who they are and why they are fighting.
Ultimately, I can see why this film is forgotten. Everything ranges from decent to fine, nothing stands out and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't end up mattering anyhow. When you get down to it, as a fictional creature, the Incredible Hulk is as limited as a bad drunk. He may be fun to be around when he's sober, but when he drinks too much, you just feel sorry for the guy.
Iron Man (2008)
The One That Started It All
Well this is it. 13 years, 26 films and 24 billion dollars later, this is the unlikely hit that started it all. When the director of Elf and a disgraced 90s actor came together on a B-tier Marvel hero at best, many set their expectations low. But more fool then, for this film blasted out the gates running. The stars combined, 586 million dollars were made and the most significant cinematic franchise of all time began.
First, let's talk about that disgraced 90s actor, old Robert Downey Jr. Himself, cast in the perfect role. This film starts on the song 'Back in Black', and not only is it the perfect song for the egocentric Tony Stark to be blasting in the back of a jeep in Afghanistan, it's the perfect song for RDJ. This film signified that he was back, and kickstarted the role that he played for 11 years and made about 400 million for. What his post Iron Man career will look like remains to be seen, but this was the gamble that paid off. Everything about his performance is perfect. His timing, his mannerisms, the subtle little changes in expression. This film was done mostly on improv and it's clear who lead each scene. Such a perfect casting that he took a character invented 45 years prior and made it his own, to the extent that no-one else, in any other franchise or series, could ever play him. In some ways, he was too good.
But while RDJ shines, the rest of the cast slightly stumble. Characters such as Terrence Howard's Lt. "Rhodey" Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Pottes seem quite stiff when compared to RDJ, something that Paltrow would improve on later down the line, and that Howard wouldn't get the chance to. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane is all over the script, going from calm and subdued to loud and bombastic in the same scene. It's a good performance, and a fault I have more with the material he was given, but still, he does not go down on the admittedly exclusive list of memorable Marvel villains.
But just as important to any good superhero film is the plot, for without it, it's just mindless action (see Batman & Robin). Ultimately, it's incredibly serviceable. It gets Tony Stark from spoiled brat to superhero, introduces long standing character arcs with Potts and Rhodes that continue later in the sage. It creates the fast paced, quippy formula that's still going strong almost a decade and a half later, and gave the Avengers their first hero. What else was really needed? The action is also very stylish, and the CGI, while not what it will be (obviously) does it's job.
Ultimately, if you're still somehow on the fence about Iron Man, get off it and watch it. It's truly worth your time, and will likely drag you into a Marvel fandom kicking and screaming.
The Last of Us: Part II (2020)
A Resounding Disappointment
In 2013, during the final months of the PS3, Naughty Dog released The Last of Us, a stunning, cinematic, emotional masterpiece that balanced hope and hopelessness masterfully. A game that is still in my Top 3 Games of All Time. Seven years later, as the PS4 winds to a close, Naughty Dog released the sequel to that masterpiece. And I was extremely disappointed. Because they removed the hope, and still expected the balance to work. Technically, this game is top notch, one of the best when it comes to graphics, mo-cap, lighting, sound design. In that regard, Naughty Dog remain untouched. But the story was a massive disappointment. It wasn't up to the standard that had been set by the original. When developing a sequel, you always have to have the audience of the original in mind. Those are the people who are going to buy your game. But yet, they elected to completely change the tone and style, and expect to please the same fans of the 2013 classic. Maybe this game would have worked more if the original was written like this one was, but I was just disappointed.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
I Liked It Better When It Wasn't Being An Action Film
In the campy, ridiculous world of comic books, Captain America and the Red Skull have the potential to be some of the most goofy characters in a goofy universe. Thankfully, The First Avenger doesn't falter in such ways, and can actually be rather interesting to watch. The dialogue is overall done well, and the overarching narrative is well written and thought out. In my opinion, the film falters when it is forced to be a superhero movie. Because all the ideas that are brought up are very interesting, and a Nazi cult let by an insane man who believes himself a God could have been an extremely threatening foe if Captain America didn't blow up every fortress and factory they had with ease and beat them up harder than an amateur going up against Ali. I understand that superhero films have to contain a certain amount of action in order to draw in the more casual geeks, but if we've learned anything in the past few years with the explosion of the comic book movie is that audiences are open to experimentation with the formula. And a slower paced film would have much better fitted the narrative that a generic action movie that offers nothing new to that genre. The first third to half of the film was really good, but when it became just another superhero film I lost interest in it. There are a few good moments after that, but all the praise I had for the film was quickly lost after Cap suited up and went off to war with his chums.
Split (2016)
Guess Who's Back
M. Night Shyamalan was once an icon in the cinema genre. We all remember Signs, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Now, after a hiatus filled from middling to maddeningly bad films, he's back with Split. With an amazing performance from James McAvoy and a resounding return for one of the most interesting writer-directors of the 21st century, Shyamalan is back in style.
The Bye Bye Man (2017)
Uninspired
The Bye Bye Man takes a somewhat clever premise, and tramples it in the mud by clumsily mashing together elements from superior horror flicks, adding up to a derivative effort as short on originality as coherency and making anyone believe it's a horror film, rather than a bland, scare-less venture into how not to make horror.
Monster Trucks (2016)
Broken Down
Monster Trucks shows flashes of inspiration throughout it's bloated, two hour runtime. However this film ultimately shows it takes more than monsters and trucks to create something compelling, or at the very least interesting.
Tie dao fei hu (2016)
Sparks of Life
Railroad Tigers has a few moments where it is blissfully reminiscent of the glory days of Jackie Chan at the height of his power, but these moments are few and far between, and are smothered by an unfocused story and ever shifting tone.
Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)
More of the Same
The next instalment in the Underworld franchise delivers more of what we expect, flashy violent action scenes, Kate Beckinsale in tight leather, and unnecessary backtracking through the previous four films. However, it does little for those who aren't devoted to the franchise, and choppy editing combined with a meandering, nonsensical story make for another disappointing instalment in a franchise that is beginning to feel like one big paycheck.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Best of Roger Moore
Though it hints at the absurdity to come in later installments, The Spy Who Loved Me's sleek style, menacing villains, and sly wit make it the best of the Roger Moore era.
Peter Rabbit (2018)
Entertaining enough
Peter Rabbit updates Beatrix Potter's classic characters with colorfully agreeable results that should entertain younger viewers while admittedly risking the wrath of purists.
Winchester (2018)
Bad horror at it's worst.
Like a grand staircase within the famous mansion that inspired it, Winchester appears poised to get a rise out of audiences, but ultimately leads nowhere.
Early Man (2018)
Not Aardman's best, not Aardman's worst.
Early Man isn't quite as evolved as Aardman's best work, but still retains the unique visuals and sweet humor that have made the studio a favorite among animation enthusiasts.
Game Night (2018)
Shockingly masterful
With a talented cast turned loose on a loaded premise -- and a sharp script loaded with dark comedy and unexpected twists -- Game Night might be more fun than the real thing.
Black Panther (2018)
Interesting and absorbing.
Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU's most absorbing stories -- and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.
Annihilation (2018)
Thematically genius
Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious -- and surprisingly strange -- exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll.
The Commuter (2018)
Great cast, bad script
The Commuter's cast is better than its workmanlike script - which helps make this reasonably diverting Liam Neeson action thriller worth the price of a matinee ticket or rental, if not a full-price ticket.
Paddington 2 (2017)
The best of January
After a sea of mediocre to terrible January releases, Paddington 2 shines above the rest with a story perfectly balanced between heartwarming family fare and purely enjoyable all-ages adventure.
Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
A lacklustre instalment.
Insidious: The Last Key offers franchise star Lin Shaye another welcome opportunity to take the lead, but her efforts aren't enough to rescue this uninspired sequel.
12 Strong (2018)
Just another war film.
12 strong is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Nicolai Fuglsig try's and fails to discern it from any other mediocre war film ever released. On the other, the ensemble cast, featuring Chris Hemsworth, Michael Peña and Michael Shannon, all give solid performances and the action in 12 Strong is great. Unfortunately, the plot is too predictable and the tone too lackluster to make anything special.
Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
Fun, yet flawed finale.
The last film in Wes Ball's trilogy brings very little fresh and new ideas both to the franchise and the genre in general. However, a strong cast led by Dylan O'Brian creates a fun, albiet forgettable final feature.
Batman Returns (1992)
Close, but not better.
Tim Burton gives us something similar to the original quality, but little more to the franchise he began.
Batman (1989)
Dark, but fun.
A haunting eerie spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment with a stellar cast and involving story helmed perfectly by Tim Burton
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Mediocrity
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom brings very little more to the franchise however is not as abominable as other cinematic entries to a franchise.
Jurassic World (2015)
Popcorn Fun
A popcorn flick through and through, Jurassic World knows what it is and never tries to overstep it's boundaries, resulting in some dumb fun that's not a masterpiece like the original, or a dumpster fire like the third.