There have been a few Teen Titans related subjects I've been planning to write about both recently and for awhile now, so I thought, why not make it a month long event? That said, April will feature a new Teen Titans related post every Friday this month (barring any delays). Here's what's coming up:
APRIL 7: 10 More Terrible Teen Titans Go Episodes - 'Robin's a Prick' Edition
Out of all the character bastardizations on the show, Robin is the worst of them all, and we'll take a look at some of his most horrible moments.
APRIL 14: Comics Review- Titans: The Return of Wally West
I know I said I wouldn't be reviewing any Rebirth arcs, but I'm making an exception for Titans Month.
APRIL 21: Movie Review- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
This movie's been over a decade in the making, so hopefully it lives up to expectations.
APRIL 28: OP/ED: Why the DCEU Needs the Teen Titans
While the DC film universe is just getting started, it wouldn't hurt to look to the younger generation.
See you next week as Titans Month begins, even if it is off to a rocky start by looking at Teen Titans Go. But hey, it can only get better from there, right?
For years I dreamed of a Power Rangers movie reboot akin to what J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek, taking something cheesy and giving it a serious re-imagining. I never thought it would happen, or that it would at least be a decade or two. Now that it's here, it did what I expected, but probably needed a little more to be a complete success in my mind.
Starting with the Rangers, the film does a good job at bringing something new to the original five while still, in my opinion, staying true to their conception at least in some way. Jason's still the courageous leader, Zack's still the cool kid, Billy's still the nerd, and Kimberly's still the pretty girl. If anything though, Trini had the least amount of character back in the original series, so while her new character traits were different, they were still welcome to me. Trini's not the only one though, as there are new layers added to all the Rangers. While the original versions of the characters can be seen as archetypes for the young audience to aspire to, this film depicts them as real teenagers with real issues but still ready to rise to the challenge in front of them. They're also just now meeting each other as opposed to already being friends, which means there's a lot of team building, which in my opinion is the best part of the film.
Zordon himself, played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston, also has a bit of character added. In the original series, he was always seen as the wise mentor who usually had all the right answers and information. Here, he can be bitter about the situation he's found himself in and not too crazy about entrusting the fate of the world to adolescents. He has hopes and doubts about them, the latter outweighing the former however. There's one aspect to Zordon's character arc that makes him look selfish that I won't spoil, but I'll just say that it leads to great development.
Alpha 5 is a little more snarky in this version, but that makes him more entertaining in my opinion. I also wasn't sure what to expect with Bill Hader voicing him, but he did surprisingly well.
Rita Repulsa, played by Elizabeth Banks, is quite different from her original version, and not just in the obvious character design. She can be downright scary at times. Some may see Banks' performance as over the top, but let's be honest, so was the original. I mean if you look at it, Rita's personality can be seen as inspired by the Wicked Witch of the East, and I think that shows through Banks' performance too.
Goldar's there too, but only as the 'monster of the day'. I mean, it works in context, but it just seems like a downgrade for the leading henchman for the first three years of the show.
As the movie goes on, it does a great job at introducing and building the characters, but it's when the climax comes and the Rangers are finally morphed that I started to have some problems. For one, they don't fight the Putties long while they're morphed. They looked cool when they were on, but I expected it to be longer. I mean, Jason used his Power Sword, so couldn't the other Rangers have gotten their personal weapons? (Axe for Zack, Lance for Billy, Daggers for Trini, and Bow for Kimberly.) The suits, for as long as we saw them though, were a very good update on the classic suits, combining alien technology with the skin of their respective dinosaurs.
After that, we have our standard zord battle against the giant Goldar. The zords looked pretty good for a modern update and showcased their individual arsenals. The problem though is when they form the Megazord, as in we don't actually see the process of the zords combining. There's just a big explosion and boom, there's the Megazord. For me, watching the zords combine was one of the best parts of the show.
I guess the main problem is that film kind of rushes through the actual Power Rangers parts of the film, while they were still entertaining for as long as they were on.
Overall, I believe this film succeeds at reintroducing the Power Rangers in a different way that I think will bring in new fans and still please the older ones. I myself did geek out at certain parts (Alpha's ai-yi-yi's, Zordon going through the three rules of being a Ranger, Rita saying "Make my monster grow!", and certain cameos). Any other problems I had seem inconsequential for the most part. I know there are sequels planned, but it's not always a guarantee. Honestly, I would be fine either way, but at least we have some ideas of what may come in the future. There's one certain character that's a guarantee, and while it wasn't specifically hinted at, I'm expecting Lord Zedd to come along too. All in all, go go see this movie (and that second 'go' isn't a typo).
Much like Luke Cage, my experience with Iron Fist has usually been when he's part of teams or larger events. Most of the time he's usually tagging along with Cage, which makes sense since they're long time partners called the Heroes for Hire. When it comes to the Marvel Netflix series, Iron Fist was my second most anticipated after Daredevil. Now that all of the solo series have been released, it does kind of hurt to say that it's actually a dip down in quality from what came before.
When the reviews started coming out, they were surprisingly negative, a first for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it turns out those reviews were based on just the first six episodes. Now, I understand with TV shows, they're usually reviewed on an episodic basis since they're not all out at once like Netflix does. But since these Marvel series are basically 13 hour movies, it's not exactly fair to review something halfway. That said, after the first six episodes, I can see some of their criticisms. In my own opinion, there was slow build up, and I was mostly frustrated by how long it took for Danny to prove he was who he said he was. I mean, I don't know how often someone missing and believed dead for years eventually resurfaces in real life, but I assume it does happen. Even in the context of the MCU, Captain America came back after 70 years of being "dead". But besides that, it just didn't suck me in at the first episode compared to the other series, which did a good job introducing the tone and atmosphere of their respective stories. Once Iron Fist did actually reach episode six though, I found the series to finally be at the quality I expect from Marvel and Netflix.
Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, played by Finn Jones, has a lot of development through the series. When he's introduced, he kind of comes off as a homeless hipster, at least to the people around him. He also overshares at first, which leads to people think he's crazy. It takes some time to figure out how things work in the business world, although he still wants to do the things the right way instead of the "business way", which doesn't make him many fans among his colleagues at his family's company. This really adds to Danny's conflict of identity. Is he Danny Rand, billionaire heir to a business, or the Iron Fist, kung-fu master and enemy of the Hand? He's doing his best to find common ground on both, which makes sense considering he's the youngest and in some capacity the least knowledgeable compared to the other Netflix heroes.
His fighting style, much like the series, takes some time to improve. I can kind of chalk this up to the type of opponents he faces. He starts out fighting regular goons, which isn't as fun given his training, but eventually gets into fights with individuals on his level, and he does have some interesting opponents, making it more entertaining.
There are some elements to Danny's story, while mostly adhering to the source material, have still been seen before in other superhero movies and TV shows. I think the obvious comparison people will make is to "Arrow", with both series having very similar to plotlines when it comes to their first seasons. There's also a bit of a "fish out of water" story in the beginning of the season, much like Thor. Danny also has a friend and rival in Davos, where the relationship turns bitter, much like Thor and Loki, and more recently, Dr. Strange and Mordo.
Now, I'll address some common criticisms aimed at Danny:
They didn't cast an Asian: Apparently this needs to be made more clear: Iron Fist is white. I won't deny that there needs to be more diversity in the superhero genre, but it's not controversial or whitewashing when the character is depicted as the race he is in the source material. The fact that some critics brought this up in their reviews is ridiculous. Diversity just for the sake of it almost never works. Also, why does the kung-fu superhero have to be Asian? The people who wanted to be racially inclusive are actually perpetuating a cultural stereotype.
Hardly any "Iron Fist": By this I mean his actual power. I actually don't mind this, as there was enough action to keep me entertained. Storywise, it's said that Danny just got the power and doesn't have much control of it yet. When he does use it though, it's pretty cool, especially during one moment in the final episode.
Lack of costume: Yeah, this one did kind of bother me at first. Jessica Jones and Luke Cage get passes since they don't need costumes, and Daredevil had some progressions in his costume. But out of the four, Iron Fist has what could be seen as an iconic suit. I did think of opportunities to create something of a costume, like he could just leave his shirt off showing his chest tattoo, or he could wear the gi he wore in K'un L'un, which has the green/yellow scheme. But then I realized that would be silly. Danny isn't a vigilante yet and he's facing an enemy who already knows who he is. He doesn't need a costume or the need to hide...yet.
One character that really stands out is Colleen Wing, played by Jessica Henwick. The development of both her character and relationship with Danny as the series progresses was really enjoyable. At some points, even her fights were more entertaining than Danny's. I've heard that she might get her own spin-off series, "Daughter of the Dragon", and I'd be up for it.
Let's talk about the Meachum family, and boy are they a messed up family.
Harold Meachum is the father of Ward and Joy and business partner with Danny's late father Wendell. He's played by David Wenham, who I'm only familiar with from his roles in "Van Helsing" and "300", but I've never seen him in a role like this. I don't want to go too much into his story or actions to avoid spoilers, but I'll just say he would have been a good Norman Osborn.
Ward Meachum, played by Tom Pelphrey, is a character that grows on you. Right off the bat, you can tell this guy's bad, and they don't even hide the fact. As the series goes on though, he starts to have a mental break, which is pretty entertaining, and eventually leads to a surprise redemption.
Joy Meachum, played by Jessica Stroup, is a mixed bag for me. I want to like her and think she has heart, but then she says and does things that are just bad. I can tell she wants to be a good person, but her job keeps her from completely being one. Besides that, she's either too gullible or too trusting with both her father and brother, which leads to my issues with her. It'll be interesting to see where her character goes in the future though.
Some other good performances are turned in from stars returning from past Marvel Netflix series.
Rosario Dawson returns once again as Claire Temple, who has been to some degree part of all the previous series. At this point, she's getting some training with Colleen when she becomes part of Danny's quest. It's funny how she seems to be a magnet for all these super people. I also liked that's she's taken to using Luke's "Sweet Christmas!" catchphrase.
Carrie Ann Moss of Matrix fame returns once again as Jeri Hogarth, who appeared in "Jessica Jones", and she acts a little more human this time around, after making some questionable decisions in her prior appearance.
Madame Gao, who had a minor role in "Daredevil", returns to the forefront in a major way as part of the Hand. She kind of reminds me of Kilgrave from "Jessica Jones" in while she's not physically imposing, she can be quite manipulative.
Overall, "Iron Fist" is as good as you can expect from Marvel and Netflix, but a slow build up in the beginning does hurt it. If I had to rank the seasons so far, it would be Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Daredevil Season 2, and Iron Fist. It may be in last place in this group, but I still found it better than some of the less stellar MCU films like Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World. Iron Fist hasn't been renewed for a second season yet, but I think it would be better if they actually put him and Luke Cage together for a "Heroes for Hire" series, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves.
RATING: 7.5/10
When Marvel returns to Netflix this summer, we'll finally reach the Defenders miniseries, finally bringing the four heroes together. "Iron Fist" included a lot of references to the other heroes and it made me realize this really has been building up since the first season of "Daredevil". When these Netflix series were first announced, I thought it was a pipedream, but it's finally almost here, and hopefully the culmination of a new superteam will be just as good when it happened with the Avengers...now if only we could see both teams together.
When Sony was still hoping to build a cinematic universe with the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, among the spin-offs planned was for Venom. But of course, the plans fell apart which led to the deal that would bring Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, despite having the backing of Marvel, Sony apparently still wanted to do their own thing since they do own the rights. Among those plans includes an animated film featuring Miles Morales set for December 2018. Now that would be fine as it would give everyone what they want. Marvel would work on live action films with Peter Parker, while Sony would still have their own projects with animated films and Miles Morales, who some fans wanted in the MCU instead of Peter. But that's not enough apparently, as Sony still wants to do a Venom movie. And as of Thursday, a Venom movie has been slated for October 2018.
Here's the thing about Venom. You can't rush him. "Spider-Man 3" was proof of that, and it was already stuffed with multiple plots. But to start Venom off with his own movie right off the bat is insane. They call it a spin-off, but spin-offs usually work better when something is established and then given its own focus. That's not what's happening here. The right path to do bring in Venom is one Spider-Man film featuring the black suit, one movie with Venom as the villain, and finally give the character his own film.
Frankly, ever since the Spider-Man deal was made, I immediately thought of a way to bring Venom into the MCU. Spider-Man gets the symbiote in Infinity War, gets rid of it in his solo sequel, and fights Venom in the third. And with Marvel backing them at this point and knowing their failings in the past, why can't Sony just focus on animated films and leave Venom alone? And the obvious answer, money, isn't a good one.
Unlike previous reports, the release date announcement doesn't make it clear if the Venom movie will be its own entity or be part of the MCU. This will be the determining factor of whether this film will be worth it though. If it exists on its own, then what's the point in making it when the real Spider-Man films are being done with Marvel? It would be like the situation with Fox and the Fantastic Four. There would be no faith in a project that would be much better in Marvel's hands, and the audience can tell the difference between 'Marvel' films and 'Marvel Studios' films now.
But let's look at the flipside and the potential that Venom could be in the MCU. I laid out my plan above, and that would be the correct course. Hell, there's already rumors of the symbiote indeed making an appearance in Infinity War. Of course, this would mean that a Venom movie would have to come later. It's not like Sony needs to make the film to keep the Spider-Man rights when they already have the Homecoming sequel set for 2019. But if a Venom comes before the sequel, what could it mean? Well, I've come up with a theory.
The film could take inspiration from the Ultimate comics and be a prequel of sorts. In the Ultimate universe, the Venom suit was not an alien symbiote, but as a cure for answer to help heal the patient, developed by Richard Parker and Eddie Brock Sr. But problems arise when the company they were working has plans to weaponize the suit. And if the Ultimate Spider-Man video game is to be believed, Brock Sr. bonded with the suit, losing control and causing the plane crash that killed Peter's parents.
Maybe the film could take inspiration from this, making it somewhat unique to the MCU and giving it a bit of a horror field. In fact, aside from the time Peter was wearing it, the wearer of the Venom suit does not bear the white spider as the mainstream version does.
This could lead to Peter actually getting the suit in the Homecoming sequel, leading to Eddie Jr. becoming the new Venom for the third film.
Although, there are two reasons why I feel this approach couldn't work:
1. The Amazing Spider-Man films already placed an importance on Richard Parker's work and that a life saving treatment and could be weaponized. Some people didn't like this idea and I doubt they'd like that aspect to continue over to the MCU.
2. I could see the film being an Alien film but with some Hulk-like tendencies. Honestly, it's not hard to see some similarities between the symbiote and a Xenomorph. Hell, in "Spider-Man 3", you could pretty much swap out Venom for one and no one would notice; they even had similar shrieks. The point is, I wouldn't want it appear like an Alien rip-off.
Who knows though? Setting a release date doesn't automatically mean it'll come out by then. Marvel's rearranged their release schedule before to make room for Spider-Man and an Ant-Man sequel. A Venom movie could work if it's done by Marvel and comes out at the right time. If it's done by Sony and has no connection to Tom Holland's Spider-Man or the MCU, then it's really not worth seeing and could flop as bad as "Fant4stic".
In my first year of writing this blog, I reviewed the 2013 film "The Wolverine" and referred to it as a film worthy of the character. While that's still a good film, it really can't be compared to the final film of the trilogy, "Logan". Now, I know it's not a true trilogy in terms of an arc, but any case, Wolverine movies until now have kind of been overlooked in the X-Men franchise. "Origins" is the worst of all of them, and "The Wolverine" is criminally overlooked. But when it came to "Logan", which is set to be Hugh Jackman's final time portraying the character, it's clear they wanted to give audiences something great and memorable. They have succeeded.
Right from the first scene, it's made clear that this is different from any other Wolverine, X-Men, Marvel, or any superhero movie from before. It's rated R, which makes sense when your main character has sharp claws that come out of his hands, and he makes good use of them throughout the film in very bloody fashion. The actions of Logan, as well as other characters in the movie, are ones we've never seen before in previous films, at times taking me by surprise. I only wish in some instances that the action wasn't as fast paced as it was to appreciate the brutality. I know that sounds morbid, but this is film is supposed to be Wolverine at his finest and I kind of wanted to take it in as long as I could. If I could compare this film to Deadpool, the X-Men franchise's only other R-rated film thus far, there's definitely a lot more gore and they're taking it very seriously. The best way to look at it as that Deadpool is the over-the-top, juvenile R, while Logan is the gritty and grounded R.
Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, two of the stars who helped start the X-Men series way back in 2000, are back as Logan and Charles Xavier, and they are both in a very different spot than they were then. They are broken, having been through so much after all these years. Logan has lost almost everyone he's cared about, and considering he still remembers the old timeline that was erased in "Days of Future Past", that means he's experienced it twice. Besides that, his healing factor is waning, and much like in "The Wolverine", he's dealing with his own mortality, but there's no easy fix this time.
Then you have Charles Xavier, the wise mentor to the X-Men. It isn't outright stated if he's been afflicted with Alzheimer's or if its his own powers taking their tole as he's gotten older, but Charles mind isn't what it's used to be. We've always seen Charles as a shining light of hope to his students, always seeming to have the answers. Here, we realize he's still just a man and can suffer like anyone else. Knowing all that, it's kind of sad to watch him sometimes. But even then, there's still signs of the old Charles there.
Of course, there's another main character making her film debut, Laura/X-23, played by Dafne Keen. There are a few differences from her portrayal in the comics, but it works here. Laura remains quiet for a good two-thirds of the film, but it's in her quiet moments where she truly shines. Keen has to rely on body language to convey her emotions, which is very different when it comes to child actors. While still young, her character has already been through so much that her demeanor is understandable. Of course, they show she's just as dangerous as her father, and it's entertaining to watch her fight both on her own and side by side with Logan.
Between Laura, Logan, and Charles, all three make up the emotional core of the film. Regardless of the differences in all their ages, each of them are damaged to some degree, and while none of them would admit it, they all need each other. In any sense, they're what the X-Men should be: a family.
As for the villains, there's not really too much to talk about with them. They're the usual bad guys hunting mutants and wanting to use their powers for their own means. That said, they do seem a little more brutal in their methods than other groups in the past, but that can probably be attributed to the R rating. While they don't really stand out, that's okay because this film isn't really about them. (MINOR SPOILER): Not even Logan gives a shit about their "master plan" when he kills the leader of the group in the middle of his monologue, focused only on protecting Laura.
There's one review I've seen calling "Logan" the X-Men franchise's version of "The Dark Knight." In terms of story though, I see it more as "The Dark Knight Rises". It's the end of a trilogy where the main character is reaching the end of their journey, and going in, you don't know how things will end up, but in any case, they will leave a legacy behind. However, this is a film that I feel is deserving of an Oscar, which is something I haven't said about a comic book movie since "The Dark Knight."
All in all, this truly does feel like the end of an era. Jackman helped start the franchise and has been Wolverine ever since. While you don't need Wolverine to make a good X-Men movie, to think of him no longer being a part of things, or at least Jackman, is kind of sad. It wouldn't seem right to recast him either unless they decided to go with a full-on reboot. Hell, they could stop making X-Men films right now and I would feel we have a complete franchise. But of course, that's not happening. Fox is moving forward with sequels to both "X-Men: Apocalypse" and "Deadpool"; I can only hope Hugh can make the occasional cameo.
If Hugh Jackman's Wolverine has been part of your life in any way, or you enjoy films with graphic violence and an emotional backdrop, go see "Logan" to watch the character go out in a blaze of glory...just don't bring the kids.
RATING: 9.5/10
My Personal X-Men Film Rankings:
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
2. Logan
3. X-Men: Apocalypse
4. Deadpool
5. X-Men: First Class
6. X2
7. The Wolverine
8. X-Men
9. X-Men: The Last Stand
10. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
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