Tag Archives: MCU

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RDT Reviews Captain America: The First Avenger

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for five years now

Captain America: The First Avenger has one goal and it accomplishes it: provide an origin story for Captain America (I suppose it sets up some things for The Avengers as well). It accomplishes this goal in a straightforward manner in a very good but not quite great way.

The First Avenger is a classic zero to hero story. Steve Rogers is a skinny kid in Brooklyn with a great heart and fighting spirit. He’s found by a scientist for the U.S. military who’s directing a project to create the ultimate super solider and thinks Rogers the right choice because of his personality. It turns out he’s right, as Rogers is transformed into Captain America, proves his worth, and takes down the Nazi organization HYDRA, led by the Red Skull. It’s a basic but good story that gets the point across.

The First Avenger is made up of several mini-arcs that work, yet are rushed. He starts off as that skinny kid that no one believes in (and may be smarter than everyone else too), but rather early in the film he’s transformed into Captain America. He’s stuck as a symbol of the American effort in World War II, another interesting direction, but then decides to go on his own and free soldiers (including his friend “Bucky” Barnes). Agent Carter falls for him, sees him kissing someone else, gets mad then falls for him again. It works…but again it’s rushed. Admittedly his friendship with Bucky is underdeveloped…but still good enough.

Some of the performances work really well here. Tommy Lee Jones is great as Colonel Chester Phillips and Hayley Atwell is just as great as Agent Carter. Hugo Weaving is a very good villain as well as his Red Skull is one of the more memorable Marvel villains in the MCU (whatever that’s saying). Chris Evans wasn’t bad either.

Perhaps I didn’t say much in this review but in turn there’s not a lot to say. There’s much more good than bad and we get a good origin story for Captain America. There’s nothing in this film I would particularly classify as bad other than it being a bit rushed.

We also had one of the better final scenes of the MCU…when Cap wakes up in modern day NY, setting up the Avengers. Just a great scene.

Pros:

+Agent Carter is great, and the Red Skull is one of the more memorable MCU villains.

+Zero to Hero story done quite well.

+Establishes the Captain America character well.

+It was cool to see Howard Stark in action.

Cons:

-Some plot points are a bit rushed.

A good film that establishes Captain America for the MCU. There’s not much bad here at all and a whole lot of good.

Grade: B+

 

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RDT Reviews Thor

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for five years now

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first began watching Thor. Thor is a bit of an outsider when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he, unlike the others (up until this point) isn’t an Earth-based being. He’s a god set to become King of Asgard, his home planet. And that’s how our story starts. Thor is just about to be bestowed the kingship before Asgard is attacked by the Frost Giants of of Jotunheim, a enemy of Asgard that had lost a war to Thor’s father years ago.

Sounds like a far cry from Iron Man or even the Hulk right? Well, it still works. Thor shows that he isn’t worthy to the crown (I actually don’t understand why his father, Odin, thought he was worthy of it in the first place) by attacking Jotunheim and disobeying his father in doing so. So Odin banished him to Earth and throws the Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer) there too. It’s up to Thor to learn humility and become worthy to wield the Mjolnir. During all this, Thor’s brother Loki has been plotting behind the scenes to obtain the crown of Asgard himself and looks to keep Thor on Earth forever.

The opening 30 minutes, with Thor disobeying his father and battling the Frost Giants does feel out of place with the rest of the MCU so far, but it’s still entertaining enough. The film really picks up though when Thor is sent to Earth. He meets Dr. Erik Selvig, Darcy Lewis and Dr. Jane Foster and they both want to know what they just discovered.  While Lewis and Selvig dismiss him as a crazy man, Foster doesn’t give up on him and tries to learn more about him. S.H.I.E.L.D. is also out to find out more about Thor as they’ve found the Mjolnir. Everything from Thor landing on Earth to him finally reaching the Mjolnir but not being able to lift it is really good.

Unfortunately after that the film suffers a bit as it tries to tie up too many stories. After Thor fails to lift the hammer, his transition from crazy man pretending to be a god to normal good man is a bit off, and his love relationship with Jane is rushed. I wouldn’t say any of it is bad, it just isn’t as good as the hour proceeding it. There’s also the matter of Loki telling Thor that his father’s dead (a lie) and that he wants Thor banished forever (also a lie). Loki says he’s king now but can’t unbanish Thor, which really should have rang alarm bells in Thor’s head. We also learn that Loki is a child of the Frost Giants, which is a bit unnecessary as a story element but works just fine.

The film does hit another high point after that, as Thor proves he’s worthy and regains use of the Mjolnir. While the final battles are disappointing, everything works well enough that I can still say I enjoyed the film and wasn’t let down.

Most of the performances were good as I liked Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins. Refreshingly, Tom Hiddleston gives us a memorable MCU villain, and his presence in the end credits scene assures we see more of him in the future.

It’s worth noting that Asgard looks great as well.

Pros:

+Good performances from the main characters.

+Thor as a crazy man works really well.

+Story is solid.

+Loki is our first memorable MCU villain.

+S.H.I.E.L.D. tie-in works a lot better than in Iron Man 2.

Cons:

-Film drags a bit after Thor learns he isn’t worthy.

-Jane Foster-Thor relationship rather lacking.

A good film here. While nothing mind blowingly special, it works well enough to establish Thor and Loki in the MCU.

Grade: B

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Iron Man 2

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for six years now.

Unfortunately, Iron Man 2 undoes a lot of the good will the Tony Stark character developed in Iron Man 1. That’s probably my best explanation. There’s two stories going on concurrently in Iron Man 2 and they’re both quite weak with little payoffs. Story #1: After developing the Iron Man “weapon”, Tony Stark is forced to testify in Congress about possession of such weapon and whether or not it should be turned over to the American people. The big argument going for Stark is that no one else in the world is even close to developing the technology that powers the Iron Man suit. Of course, someone has (Whiplash). Instead of going toward a direction that focuses on the character who has built the tech, he’s overshadowed by Stark’s rival Justin Hammer and story #2.

Story #2 revolves around Tony Stark dealing with his mortality as the chest piece that powers the Iron Man suit is also killing him. This is the weakest story in the entire MCU, as this makes Stark regress from a maturity standpoint. He becomes reckless and endangers others. While becoming reckless to a point is fine from a character standpoint (justifying the race car part), becoming drunk in the Iron Man suit during a party is embarrassing and disappointing. After seeing what Tony Stark went through and overcame in Iron Man 1, I expect more from Stark. I don’t really care to see a mirror image of who he was before Iron Man 1, but for some reason we see it here.

Worst yet, story #2 comes to lame end as Nick Fury and the Black Widow cure (or help Stark find the cure, same idea) Stark and get him back on track as Iron Man. Overall this story arc led to several embarrassing moments and a less than stellar reason for Fury and Widow to be involved. It all feels forced, although Black Widow definitely has her moments here.

The conclusion to all of this is quite disappointing too, as Tony Stark accepts Col. Rhodes as his partner in what’s basically a throw away scene. They dispatch the drones Ivan Vanko had been working on in relative ease, then dispatch Vanko himself in a couple of minutes afterwards. It’s all a let down.

The biggest shame is that I think the actors do a great job overall with the limited material they are given. It’s probably not Robert Downey’s strongest performance, but it works. Mickey Rourke is pretty much wasted as Whiplash. Don Cheadle is an improvement over Terrence Howard as Rhodey. I really liked Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts here too and her role as someone trying to keep the spiraling Stark in check is a highlight. Sam Rockwell makes the most out of what otherwise would have just been an annoying character in Justin Hammer. Scarlett Johansson doesn’t show much emotion here, but that might have been the intent. I always get a kick out of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury though. The performances in this film save an otherwise weak film.

Pros:

+Performances from the actors are very good all around and make the most out of poorly drawn characters.

+A really good first half hour or so, it basically goes downhill once Vanko survives a car to the groin.

Cons:

-We went from believing in Tony Stark to being stupid we did so. Getting drunk in the Iron Man suit? Really?

-Whiplash is wasted.

-Avengers tie in is a bit forced.

A huge step back from Iron Man 1, but nothing Marvel couldn’t come back from.

Grade: C

 

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RDT Reviews The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Big spoilers here…it’s pretty early in the MCU and you probably know what happens anyway.

                The Incredible Hulk is an okay film that doesn’t really stand out. It’s just there. Considering the titular character and the lead actor playing him (Edward Norton),the film being nothing special has to be considered as a big disappointment.

The film is made up of three stories. First of which is about Bruce Banner and his search for a cure to the gamma ray radiation that’s plagued his body. If this film does one thing right, it’s the opening sequence which brilliantly kinda-sorta references the previous Hulk film released in 2003. That scene gives us a great visual of just why Banner feels like he has to hide and how much pain he feels in regards to hurting anyone. But after that, his entire story arc is as follows: hide, get found, run, fight, hide, get found, run, fight, suddenly possibly unable to turn into Hulk, suddenly is needed to turn into Hulk, does so and fights. In between we see him working on his breathing exercises and working on his determination to make sure his heart rate doesn’t hit 200. It’s a good story, but not exactly a compelling one and unfortunately Norton isn’t able to shine in this role.

The second story is General Thunderbolt Ross’ goal to recapture Banner. William Hurt’s performance as Ross is my favorite part of the film as he effortlessly can go from a calm, even fatherly figure to someone barking orders and commanding an army to take down the Hulk. Unfortunately, Ross’ story is quite simplistic too, as he tries to capture the Hulk, fails, attacks again, argues with daughter, then eventually is forced to align himself with the Hulk. It’s so systematic that it’s just not that compelling.

Ross plays a big part in the third story which had the highest upside but turns out to be the biggest dud. Ross helps solider Emil Blonsky gain abilities to help him battle the Hulk. While Blonsky’s character starts off strong and has a compelling battle with the Hulk during his super speed and agility phase (where the Hulk shows off perhaps his best moment: kicking Blonsky into a tree, “killing” him), his arc takes a really disappointing turn as he becomes Abomination, a big monster that leads to a monster vs. monster confrontation. Iron Man did it better with a suit vs. suit battle to be fair.

There’s also the love interest for Banner, Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. While it’s not bad at all, once again she can be described as “just there”. I was honestly more interested in her interactions with her father than Banner overall.

When a film called The Incredible Hulk fails to stand out, that means it’s failed to meet expectations. It’s the Incredible Hulk! It should probably have been the most over the top Marvel film ever. Perhaps the Hulk just isn’t the type of character to have a whole film dedicated to him.

Pros:

+General Ross is a strong character for the most part. At least in the first two acts.

+There’s nothing really bad about the film, but…

Cons:

-Nothing particularly good either.

-Abomination is a disappointing route to go for Emil Blonsky.

A decent film with no real stand out moments. Well, except when Tony Stark shows up at the end.

Grade C+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Iron Man (2008)

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for seven years now…

I’m sure Marvel looked at Batman Begins and wondered “how can we do that?” While Marvel has had a part in many of the films involving their characters (obviously), this was the first full production from Marvel Studios and only Marvel Studios. And they would one-up the DC Comics Dark Knight Trilogy with the idea to connect all of their main characters and weave them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While Iron Man technically isn’t the Marvel Comics counterpart to DC’s Batman (you can argue that would be Steel), the message was there…that Marvel is on the big screen now in direct competition to DC and Batman (and Christopher Nolan’s trilogy). Iron Man has to be a hit for this to really work and Marvel delivered for sure.

The first twenty minutes of the film is fantastic. We quickly get an idea of who Tony Stark is and why he in fact becomes Iron Man. It’s done so well that we don’t really need a long backstory. The message is clear: Tony Stark realizes the weapons he’s created are doing more harm than good, and after a traumatic experience of being captured and made to create more of these weapons, he realizes he should use his resources to defend the world. Considering the direction the Marvel Cinematic Universe has went, this is an impressive start considering Tony’s still trying to do everything he can to defend the world. Stark’s partner, Obadiah Stane, of course isn’t exactly about to just let Tony Stark change the entire direction of the company at a moment’s notice. Also brilliantly done in the film is show Stane’s power. When it’s revealed he tried to overtake Stark Industries by having Stark captured and killed, Stane kills many of the Ten Rings (the group that captured Tony) members when they make demands. For most of the film Stane is a great villain.

Even the smaller storylines are done well. We get a lot of plot development from Pepper Potts and her relationship with Tony without taking up tons of screen time and narration to explain it. S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson even makes an appearance, looking to gain info about Stark and Iron Man for the Avengers Initiative. Stark’s best friend Colonel James Rhodes is also established as someone who looks to keep Stark in check when he can.

If there’s one part of the film I don’t like, it’s what Stane does toward the end. He quickly goes from someone just looking to overtake the company to someone who becomes mad with power. Once he gets control of his own suit, the Iron Monger, it makes you wonder just what Stane’s motivation suddenly is. It’s disappointing to see a cunning business man go crazy just like that.

It’s worth noting that Iron Man feels a lot darker than later MCU films would be. There’s not a whole lot of comedy, although the bits that are intended for that work too (although, I’m pretty sure Stark would have died when one of his tests go wrong and he crashes into a wall). I find this to be quite refreshing as it helps us feel the dilemma and pain Tony Stark goes through as he realizes what his weapons have done to people all over the world.

The cast hits everywhere. Robert Downey Jr. is so good that it can be debated he’s as much Tony Stark as Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. Gwyneth Paltrow works as Pepper. Terrence Howard, although not long for the role, is good as Rhodey. I also bought into Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane.

It should also be pointed out that the end credits sequence was a huge deal at the time and left no questions about where Marvel was headed.

Pros:

+Cast hits their marks, especially Downey as Iron Man.

+Efficient and great character development.

+Great story…you really believe in Tony Stark.

+Obadiah Stane is a good villain…for most of the film.

+Subtle moments that looking back made you realize the MCU was going to be a huge deal.

Cons:

-Stane’s motivations don’t really jive with the rest of the film.

A pretty great start to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for sure.

Grade: A