The discipline of director Kenneth Branagh is missed this time around as all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put this kingdom back together for the sequel again. Director Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World (D+) reunites Chris Hemsworth as Thor Tom Hiddleston as Loki for more interplanetary highjinks, although this time none of it makes sense. Worse, Natalie Portman, who was charming in the first film, is a hot mess in the sequel. Except for a clever effect in the final reel involving a wormhole between worlds that keeps dumping characters into the middle of awkward battle sequences, this film misses most marks. It can’t even get the film stock or color choices consistent from scene to scene. It’s unfocused, poorly written, drably filmed and a bit of a missed opportunity. What’s the opposite of a Marvel?
Director Zack Snyder completely reboots the Superman legend with an otherworldly alien quality to the superhero’s power and backstory in Man of Steel (B-). Henry Cavill was effective as the outsider, and Snyder enjoyably shakes up the formula with flashbacks and a story told out of order. Amy Adams plays a plucky Lois Lane (Daily Planet as blog) and Michael Shannon is decent in an underwritten role as villainous General Zod. The Smallville sequences were nicely done, and the themes of pleasing one’s father (Jor-El/Superman has earthly father played by Kevin Costner and Krypton father played by Russell Crowe) were strong throughout. Some of the action sequences are tedious with too high a body count. But ultimately the reinvention afoot here is fascinating and helps the franchise fly with renewed purpose.
A reboot that couldn’t come soon enough after the mediocrity of the Sam Raimi trilogy, Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man (B) focuses firmly on the human dynamic of the Peter Parker/Spider-Man character and succeeds largely on the strength of inspired casting with Andrew Garfield in the leading role plus Emma Stone as love interest Gwen Stacy. Garfield wields considerable charms with wit and webslinging, and the chemistry with Stone is palpable. Neither the obligatory re-tracing of the Spidey backstory nor the clashes with a supervillain (Rhys Ifans as The Lizard) are the film’s strongest suits, but it’s so refreshing to witness good acting in this comic book canon after a decade of Maguire/Dunst that many cinematic sins can be quickly forgiven. Overall, it’s exciting, the effects are good, the screenplay has a pulse and you care about the characters. Color me satisfied.
The Hunger Games (B+), directed by Gary Ross, imagines a dystopian future in which territories of our modern land have to fight against each other on live television as sacrifice and bloodsport for the ruling political regime. Jennifer Lawrence, our archer heroine, is ready to break all the rules as she enters the arena. The film has an interesting vocabulary and fascinating details, plus there are nice supporting turns from Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and others. It’s very high-concept, but I liked the way the protagonist handled the tablestakes.
Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger (B-) is an old-fashioned comic book adventure with Chris Evans as a weakling who volunteers for an experiment that turns him into a super-soldier in WWII and ultimately a superhero. Evans is appealing as the noble hero, and sequences with his buddy played by Sebastian Stan set the stage for some of the most emotional elements of this series. The plot with a villain called Red Skull comes off as a bit cheesy. Overall, it’s a colorful entry into the Marvel canon and a soaring showcase to the original agent with shield.
Director Jon Favreau expands his mileu and enhances his aesthetic with an Iron Man 2 (B+) that builds on the giddy spirit of the first and allows Robert Downey Jr. to continue to hold court over gab and gadgetry. It’s a rip-roaring actioner with an even more personal story, higher stakes and an all-star supporting cast including Mickey Rourke as a villain and Scarlett Johannson and Samuel L. Jackson in Avenger roles. Gwyneth Paltrow returns, and Don Cheadle takes over the role originated by Terrence Howard. All in all, it’s a sensational sequel success.
Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds (B+) is an audacious piece of revisionist history that imagines what WWII might have been like if a couple of clever factions of bounty hunters, cinephiles and revenge seekers could have tried to kill Hitler at a movie screening. Leave it to Tarantino to take such a high-concept idea to such delicious detail and cast his film with such relish, especially with Christoph Waltz as a particularly menacing Nazi officer and Brad Pitt as a motormouthed mercenary. Some moments are uneven, but overall, this one hits the mark.
Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 (B+) is an amazing hybrid science fiction action film and part dramatic mockumentary that chronicles the ghettoization of alien life forms in Johannesburg. Sharlto Copley holds together most of the scenes with human interactions, spliced with news footage and a series of interviews as illegal experiments are exposed and as a battle ensues. It’s an intriguing metaphor for Apartheid and a whole new way of making an alien movie.
Suppose you created a gorgeous CGI world with breathtaking 3-D vistas and amazingly life-like aliens, and then you drop in a formulaic story, wooden actors and snooze-worthy dialogue? You get James Cameron’s Avatar (C), and I want my three hours back. Actually much of the action is rousing and many of the creative sci-fi effects engrossing, but the epic polish largely conceals that the emperor of the world is sporting a threadbare ensemble.
