X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past ~ I'm an Avengers guy. I have been aware of the X-Men for decades, but very rarely have I sampled those titles. The only time I did regularly read and collect X-Men comics was the original Chris Claremont/John Byrne era (yeah, I'm that old). The best and greatest story of that run, just behind the Dark Phoenix saga, would be the two-part "Days of Future Past" story in X-Men #141-142. Oh sure, I realize that the storyline has been revisited time and time again, many slipped past my notice, but I think the first was the best. That said, I was really looking forward to the film version of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Warning - spoilers ahead. If you have not seen the movie yet, it might be a good idea to wait until you have before reading further. You've been warned.

I can't go any further without mentioning how groundbreaking this movie actually is. There were three official X-Men films, and two Wolverine spin-off films, and then there's X-Men First Class, a film that I loved, and one that effectively rebooted the franchise. The film took place in the early sixties, and other than some of the characters, it was recast younger, and showed the beginnings of the X-Men. Had a sequel been made directly to this movie, I don't think anyone would have been disappointed if they completely ignored the other three X-Men flicks, or even the two Wolverines as well.

They could have done it easy, but director Bryan Singer, returning to the franchise had other ideas. He chose to blend the continuities, and mold a story that would include both of the franchise's two casts, young and old. If it worked, it would be brilliance, and if it didn't, a confusing mess no one would want to see. The plan worked beautifully. This is just as a good a crossover film as Marvel's The Avengers was. Fact, comic book folks know how to do crossovers on film.

The plot is the only part where it might become a bit convoluted, but as time travel movies go, this is child's play. The future is overrun by robots called Sentinels, programmed to hunt and destroy mutants, devastating the Earth as they do it. The remaining X-Men send Wolverine's future mind back to his 1973 body to try to convince Professor X and Magneto to work together to stop Mystique from assassinating a weapons dealer. His death is what starts the dominos falling toward the creation of the Sentinels. Changing time is not as easy as it sounds. Wolverine has to first straighten out a wasted Xavier, and then break magneto out of a concrete prison below the Pentagon. Not that easy at all.

There are changes from the original comics of course. Wolverine goes back in time instead of Kitty Pryde. It's arms dealer Boliver Trask who's the target instead of Senator Robert Kelly because Kelly, played by Bruce Davison, had already been used early on in the movie series. There's no Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the movie, and the Sentinels are more like Super-Adaptoids programmed using Mystique's shape-changing DNA.

The cast is superb. Professor X and Magento, past and present - Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender - are all superior actors and perfect in this film every moment they are on screen. Hugh Jackman just about is Wolverine at this point. Halle Berry insisted on much higher billing than she deserves, but at least she wasn't awful. Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde and Nicholas Hoult as the Beast are terrific, and I wish Anna Paquin's Rogue hadn't been cut from most of her shots in the flick. Shawn Ashmore's Iceman has as much screen time as Berry's Storm, but is much more charismatic and memorable. I wanted more Iceman, but was meh on Storm.

Peter Dinklage of "Game of Thrones" is clearly wasted in the film as Bolivar Trask. He is seen but rarely heard. This is a sad waste of a terrific actor, who also has a fan base that would bring folks to the film. On the same note, seeing how Mystique was a major character in the story, I was hoping that Jennifer Lawrence would have been given more to do. She looks good, has amazing action sequences, but as an Oscar nominated and winning actress, it would have been nice to see her actually, you know, act. Now don't get me wrong, I liked them both, I just wish there was more of them, just like Rogue.

The breakout performance of the flick however is Evan Peters as Quicksilver. For my money, he was the best part of the movie. This is teenaged Quicksilver, a smartass, but not the prime jerk he becomes as an adult in the Avengers. I was reminded much of the upcoming "Flash" TV series on the CW, because this is a character who enjoys his speed and using his powers, sooo refreshing. And again, much like Mystique and Trask, why not more Quicksilver?

And more Quicksilver would have made perfect story sense. At a point when Professor X was powerless, the beast was reluctant, and Wolverine only had bone claws, wouldn't a super speedster be a much needed helping hand? It must be noted, but when the only complaints I have are wanting more of what we got, is it really a complaint?

I did have another quibble - the Kennedy thing. I just thought it was too easy. Not the idea that Magneto killed JFK, the whole idea of the bullet that changes course is a great and clever inside joke, but it's the concept that Magneto was captured while protecting the President. Charles believes Erik much too easily when the villain says he was trying to save JFK because he was 'one of us.' Prof. X might well have already known that the President was a mutant via Cerebro, but this exchange changes the two's dynamic too easily, too quickly. Charles just drops his anger at Erik like rock. Too easy.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a dark film, and there are long stretches of that is-it-time-for-the-good-guys-to-win-yet, but it pulls together in the end. There's a pay-off that makes the long periods and the darkness well worth it. Like Bobby Ewing stepping out of a shower, the film does what all good time travel movies should do. It fixes what was broken as a bonus. When Logan returns from the past, Jean Grey and Cyclops are alive, and uncredited but still played by Famke Jansson and James Marsden. Bryan Singer fixed the crappy ending of X-Men: The Last Stand.

Be ready, just like the Marvel films, this Fox X-Men flick has an after credits sequence, something The Bride and I have named an 'afterburner.' This one depicts the villain of the next X-Men film - Apocalypse, so wait through the credits, it's good, and will make you tingle with anticipation for the next chapter. I still think First Class is the best of the X-movies, but this one comes close, recommended.

For more of The Bride's and my thoughts on X-Men: Days of Future Past, you can listen to this week's Make Mine Magic Podcast, with our special X-Men episode that you can hear right here.

This Week's All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast features co-hosts Ame-Comi Allison Eckel, and Savage Glenn Walker, as they discuss the new comics out this week! You can see the show here, or check it out below.

Discussion featured in this week's Comics Shop Live Episode includes: The New Format, Threshold #1, letting Allison read, Batman: Death of the Family, finales for Frankenstein and Legion Lost, Superboy #16, Demon Knights #16, Ame-Comi Girls #4 (of 5), Saga #9, Bionics away, stiff Magic, Grimm Fairy Tales Animated Series one-shot, New Avengers #2, Kelly Sue comics, hark it's Tony Stark in the park, Indestructible Hulk #3, Avenging Spider-Man #16, Frank Cho's Savage Wolverine #1, All-New X-Men #6 (yes, it's true, Glenn likes a Bendis comic, and it's X-Men), trades and toys, and Yoda in 3D.

Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the newly revamped All Things Fun! Blogs, written by Allison and Glenn, featuring The Vidcast Drinking Game so you can play along at home, and watch ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there, and leave a comment or two on the Vidcast as well!).

And be back here every Wednesday to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics, toys and gaming store - every Wednesday afternoon, located on Route 73 in West Berlin, NJ. Come on down and see the show live!

Don't forget to visit us at Facebook!

The Wolverine

The new animated movie poster for The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman, to be released June 2013. Awesome.

Green Lantern

Green Lantern ~ My earliest memory of the superhero Green Lantern is from the Justice League of America comics, and he was awesome. Hal Jordan was a space hero who had a Power Ring that could do just about anything - shoot an energy beam, make a force field, allowed him to fly, and he could make stuff with it, just about anything he could imagine. Like I said, awesome.

This will date me, but Green Lantern also seemed inextricably linked to Green Arrow and Black Canary and they were always doing something political or with social relevance (a big word back then) and other stuff I wasn't old enough to understand. Also I knew he was buddies with the Flash, they were a team like Superman and Batman, maybe not as old as them, but they were friends and teammates. Such good friends, that when GL's comic got canceled, Flash let him appear in the back of his comic - now that's friendship!

Green Lantern has been through some changes since then. He's been replaced, replaced again, turned evil, killed, brought back to life, and turned into a moneymaker by genius comic writer Geoff Johns. With that last turn of events, we all knew it wouldn't be long before Green Lantern hit the big screen. The wait is over.

Being a comics geek, I usually look forward to most films based on comics, Green Lantern was no different. If you ask The Bride, she'll tell you I've keeping a mental countdown clock. Advance reviews were not good however, and as I waited until Saturday to see the flick, I can tell you I was a little bit worried. Now, having seen it, I have to wonder what film the critics saw.

This isn't Iron Man and nor is it the first two Superman films - it is so not the perfect superhero movie, but it is great. Personally I think Pat Travers of Rolling Stone must have lost a bet on this flick the way he ravaged it - it's really not that bad. As a matter of fact, I thought it was pretty good.

The story is pretty simple, close to the comics with a few differences. Hal Jordan is a reckless test pilot who finds a dying alien whose Power Ring has chosen him as the new Green Lantern. He trains on Oa with other Lanterns and eventually faces off against the villain Hector Hammond and the evil alien entity Parallax. There are spoilers coming, so some folks might want to skip to the end.

Ryan Reynolds is good as the clunky Hal Jordan but even better as the hero Green Lantern. This is a facet of the reason I like origin stories in movies. I don't want to see the young, reckless untrained hero - I want to see the complete good guy fight for right hero, and in this case, I am validated. Reynolds is so much better at the latter. Blake Lively is just pretty, and other than that, not believable. I wanted more of Taika Waititi as Tom Kalmaku. And Angela Bassett - wow, who would have ever thunk that Amanda Waller would have shown up in a Green Lantern movie?

Peter Sarsgaard is properly creepy as Hammond. But, while he is good, it's the make-up and the CGI that goes too far with the character. Does Hector Hammond need to be a drooling monstrous maniac? He's just got a big head in the comics. Really, for me, that would have been disturbing enough. Parallax, is all CGI, and basically a Galactus cloud with the Wizard of Oz' face crossed with the Akira monster. This is not pretty. Again, a reference to the comics - Parallax's real form, that of a giant insect is also pretty monstrous and scary, and of course accurate. The Guardians too could have been less scary. Details like this might put some folks off this flick, and sequels if it goes to franchise.

The voice acting of the CGI characters is dead on. Mark Strong is fantastic as Sinestro, playing him with just the right amount of contempt and menace. I loved Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re (one of my fave Green Lanterns) and Michael Clarke Duncan is a perfect Kilowog. I didn't think I would say that after I loved Henry Rollins in the role in the animated Emerald Knights, but it's true.

There are as many plot holes in this flick however, as there are Easter eggs for comics fans. Unfortunately the former seems to overshadow the latter. The plot jumps rather quickly from the main story with Hal to the subplots with Hammond and Parallax, which is fine, but too much time is spent on minor details that could have been deleted for meatier bits with other characters. Did we really need the flashbacks of Hal's father in a bad homage to the opening of Speed Racer? Did we need to know all of Hal's family? I would have rather had more interaction with Carol, Tom, Sinestro and the other Lanterns quite frankly.

I would have rather had more of a fight against both Hammond and Parallax, their defeats seemed too easy to me, and the fact that Hal doesn't even really defeat Hammond is very bothersome. Come on, he's supposed to be the hero here, ya know? But I suppose these are things that happen when a film has so many writers credited. The 3-D, while in the previews it made me want to see it in 3-D, was unnecessary. Save your money.

All in all, I had fun, and with a movie that cost upwards of thirty bucks all inclusive, that's what counts. I came out of the film excited and hoping for a sequel. Not a great film, but a great superhero adventure, visually stunning. And for the folks who liked Thor and Wolverine for certain reasons - Ryan Reynolds is shirtless quite a bit. Recommended.

Avengers #1 Reviewed at Avengers Forever

"Just Like Starting Over" - my comic book review of Avengers #1, by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr., is now online at Avengers Forever.

Thor, Iron Man, the new Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye and Spider-Woman – they are the newest incarnation of the Avengers. They have only just started to get used to being together when their greatest enemy, Kang the Conqueror, crashes the party… but nothing is as it seems - all this and more - check out my review here:

http://www.avengersforever.org/reviews/default.asp?RID=643

Enjoy!

If you want to discuss this review, this issue or anything Avengers, please check out the Avengers Forever Forum.

Marvel Anime

Marvel Comics is expanding their characters to Japanese animation in 2010. Madhouse will be producing four animated features next year with Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man and the Hulk.

Honestly I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before. Wolverine’s origins and best stories have always involved Japan - and Iron Man, come on, Iron Man just screams anime with all that tech. He's practically a mecha. Looks good, can’t wait.

Wolverine (and Gambit)

I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. I saw it with two women, neither of whom had a deep comics background, and they both really liked it - so I'm thinking I might be rating the flick a bit harshly. Or maybe, as a heterosexual guy I just don't find Hugh Jackman all that attractive.

I hate to be sexist here, but really, and the women out there know this is true - but we all know that any box office this movie gets has as much to do with Hugh Jackman with his shirt off as it does with comic book fanboys. I'd honestly judge the audience as half and half. As we waited in line to get into the theatre, two elderly women were leaving The Soloist and I overheard their debate about Wolverine... they were turned off by the superhero and action aspects but agreed to see it because of Hugh Jackman. Case closed.

As far as the story goes, it's close to the comics but not quite. It's sort of like if the movie version of "Gone with the Wind" had the South win the Civil War and Rhett and Scarlet live happily ever after. It's still good, but that's not how it happened, ya know? The effects are good, and the action is terrific. Things I had serious problems with are where Wolverine's claws come out of his hands (on top, not from the knuckles) and the bizarre interpretation of Emma Frost. Soooo wrong. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (a role he's been wanting to play for a looong time) is fun, as is Will I. Am as John Wraith and Kevin Durand as The Blob. On the other hand, Liev Schreiber's Sabre Tooth is just over the top, way too much.
Speaking of sex appeal, Jackman's spotlight is stolen whenever fan-favorite Gambit, played by Taylor Kitsch, is on the screen. The character had been scheduled to appear in both of the last two X-Men films but kept getting pushed out. That's a good thing too. It gave him a better spotlight here. And I think Hugh Jackman should be watching his back. It was his sex appeal that got the ladies in the theater, but it was Taylor Kitsch they were all talking about on their way out.


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Free Comic Book Day 2009

As always, the first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day. Comic book retailers, bookstores and libraries across the world celebrate the hobby and literacy by making dozens of new or reprinted comics available for free on this day every year since 2002.

What titles are available? Almost every comics publisher puts out something for FCBD. DC Comics has the opening chapter in this summer's crossover event "Blackest Night" and Marvel Comics has a brand new Avengers comic up for grabs. For a list of everything, click here.

And for those folks in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, please stop by All Things Fun! in West Berlin, NJ and the Haddon Township Library in Haddon Township, NJ. Don't know where to find your local comics shop? Call 1-800-COMIC-Book or click here. Free comics for everyone and even special events, check it out!

And here's a bonus - Hugh Jackman hyping Free Comic Book Day, plus a look at X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in theatres nationwide tomorrow. Enjoy.




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Wolverine: Ghosts

Yeah, I'm a comics guy, but for the most part, things like Wolverine and Punisher are off my radar. It's just not my taste. I solidly believe that heroes don't kill, won't kill, and shouldn't have to kill. It's the main reason for the better part of two decades I haven't read Wolverine.

Jonathan Maberry having a short story in Wolverine: The Anniversary changed my buying habits. I have a lot of respect for Maberry's skills both as a writer and as a writing teacher, so I had to see what he was up to with everyone's favorite X-Man. His story, "Ghosts," illustrated by Tomm Coker (who might be better known as the writer/director of 2007's Catacombs), is a mere eight pages long. But page count doesn't matter. In an economy of words, Maberry takes Wolverine down to basics and tells a tale of love and vengeance, and one of the core of the character. It is truly a marvel of words and images, dancing together in battle choreography both of the body and the mind. This is a deeper Wolverine than I've seen in a while.

Word on the street is Jonathan Maberry will also be trying his hand at the Punisher, another Marvel Comics character I've never really cared for. I'm placing my order now.


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Hulk Vs...

Hulk Vs. ~ This is the newest of Marvel Comics and Lionsgate’s direct-to-DVD features, this one a double feature with the Hulk fighting Thor and then Wolverine, two different stories, one great DVD. I watched the Thor half of this animated flick first so the thought didn’t occur to me right away, but after the Wolverine half it became clear what this reminded me of. Decades ago, after CBS' live-action "Incredible Hulk" series was canceled, they produced a couple made-for-TV movies with the same cast but using the Hulk character as a spin-off point for other Marvel heroes. We were ‘treated’ to albeit greatly-altered versions of Daredevil and Thor, hopefully for pilot purposes that thankfully never manifested.

That’s what this disc is, spin-off pilots for Thor and Wolverine, because like those telemovies, these featurettes really have little to do with the Hulk. The stories are firmly Thor and Wolverine stories, set firmly in their worlds and among their supporting characters and opposing villains. There’s really not that much Hulk honestly in this Hulk DVD. Really, any rampaging beast could have subbed easily in these Thor and Wolverine adventures.

On the plus side, the Thor adventure is a wonderful journey into the mythology of that character as it was designed and established by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in the day. Watching this I was filled with nostalgia and an urge to go back and read those comics. This was magic. While Odin sleeps, Loki and the Enchantress possess the Hulk to destroy, who else, Thor. See the wonder of Asgard and the fanboy fantasy of an old-fashioned Thor/Hulk slugfest, complete with character development, originality and suspense. A solid story backed up with the crisp animation Lionsgate has become known for with these productions.

Whereas the Thor part seemed to be all about what was right about comics of the 1960s, the Wolverine segment equally reflected, in my opinion at least, everything that was wrong with comics of the 1990s. While I was happy it was not a simple rehash of the Hulk’s first encounter with Wolverine (that character’s first appearance by the way), I was disappointed that it turned into just an excuse for the Hulk to smash foes who could not die and characters who can cut and slash to cut and slash without killing. Honestly with all the regenerating I can’t help making a comparison to Frank Miller’s ridiculous take on The Spirit and the Octopus in his recent but horrible film.

While hardcore X-Men fans may delight at seeing Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red and especially Deadpool, someone who I have never been able to divine the popularity of, this was all just a horse and pony show to me. I would have rather seen the Wendigo. At least that story had a plot.

This DVD is well worth the rental, but not the purchase, and unless you’re a serious X-fan, just watch the Thor half.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Sneak Peek

Posted here mainly so you won't have to go see the pointless remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, take a sneak peek at the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine here. Yes, that is Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. And yeah, that's the Blob, and oh baby, yeah, that's Gambit. This might be worth it.

Hulk Busy!

New Avengers #39 Reviewed

"Echoes" - my comic book review of New Avengers #39, by Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack, is now online at Avengers Forever.

Echo vs. Echo, David Mack art and cover, Daredevil, Wolverine and the Secret Invasion begins! - all this and more - check out my review here:

http://www.avengersforever.org/reviews/default.asp?RID=596

Enjoy!

If you want to discuss this review, this issue or anything Avengers, please check out the Avengers Forever Forum.

And if you'd like to make a donation to help keep the Avengers Forever website as mighty as ever, click here.

Thanks!

New Avengers #37 Reviewed

"Old Habits" - my comic book review of New Avengers #37, by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu, is now online at Avengers Forever.

The New Avengers vs. The Hood’s new 'mini-masters of evil,' Doctor Strange vs. The Hood, all this and Spider-Man makes Wolverine laugh; it’s nowhere near as good as it sounds - check out my review here: http://www.avengersforever.org/reviews/default.asp?RID=557.

Enjoy!

If you want to discuss this review, this issue or anything Avengers, please check out the Avengers Forever Forum

And if you'd like to make a donation to help keep the Avengers Forever website as mighty as ever, click here. Thanks!

New Avengers #36 Reviewed

"Is Marvel Asking for It?" - my comic book review of New Avengers #36, by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Yu, is now online at Avengers Forever.

It’s raining Venom, New and Mighty teams together, Luke and Jessica share pillow talk, and Wolverine and Spider-Woman have an, ahem, encounter - check out my review here: http://www.avengersforever.org/reviews/default.asp?RID=546.

Enjoy!

And if you'd like to make a donation to help keep the Avengers Forever website as mighty as ever, click here. Thanks!

X2: X-Men United

AGAINST ALL ODDS

A Film Review of X2: X-Men United

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

Being the real comics geek that I am it’s not hard to find things to like about the second X-Men film. What amazes me is how accessible it apparently is to non-comics folks.

Before the credits had run at the end of the film my wife spoke up to say she liked it – rare when it comes to comics-related stuff (she gets enough of that stuff from me). My friend Marni said she liked Nightcrawler so much she wanted to hug him. Two young girls behind us in the theatre discussed the original film before the previews started. One hadn’t seen it so her friend described it to her. "It’s so complicated, you don’t understand what’s going on, there’s too many characters… but it was sooo cool. You just gotta see it!" They were suitably impressed afterwards as well.

My amazement comes from that none of these folks are comics people. X-Men somehow works in the mainstream against all odds. It is actually a good movie. Unlike the first film which was (hell, it had to be) a lot of set up and had to introduce a dozen or so characters plus the whole mutant concept and premise for the X-Men the sequel had room to move, to expand, to explore.

X2: X-Men United focuses on one storyline and a specific group of characters. It keeps it light and tight. Rather than being overwhelmed by too much information you can sit back and marvel at what you’re seeing. This is much better than the original.



Magneto and Mystique are suitably evil and strictly out for themselves even as they work together with their sworn enemies the X-Men. The tales of Wolverine and Rogue continue to evolve as we get deeper focus on minor characters from the first film Iceman and Pyro. The movies, like the comic books, establish a soap opera like continuity that made the comics so successful.

Anyone who hasn’t taken the dive and seen this movie or its predecessor I urge you to immediately. Don’t be put off by the geek factor. Don’t think you’ll turn into a comics freak or worse yet a Trekkie. You’ll just enjoy the flick like everyone else. It’s accessible, it’s entertaining and it’s amazing.