Movie Review: "X-Men: Days of Future Past" - A Return to Former Glory and More

After the disappointments of "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", the mutant franchise got the desperately needed shot in the arm it needed with 2011's "X-Men: First Class", which served as both a prequel and a soft reboot to the franchise. In a box office battleground that included a still budding Marvel Cinematic Universe and Christopher Nolan's acclaimed Batman films, the X-Men were on track to being relevant again, thanks in part to the return of Bryan Singer to the franchise since leaving it after "X2". When it was announced that the "First Class" sequel would be based on "Days of Future Past", one of the greatest X-Men stories of all time, the biggest thing fans took from that was that we would finally see Sentinels in an X-Men film. But then it was announced that in addition to returning "First Class" actors, the film would also see the return of cast members from the original trilogy, including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and many more some thought we'd never see again. Things were shaping up to make this film the ultimate X-Men film. Now the "future" has arrived in theaters, and has delivered a film that could even stand up to the Avengers.

Firstly, the film is for the most part a "First Class" sequel, as it was intended and believed to be. It still acts as a continuation from the events of "Last Stand" however, so even though the franchise's continuity is convoluted to say the least, the two timeframes are able to mesh together perfectly in this film.
When comparing the two films though, some might see "First Class" as the more lighthearted of the two, as we get to have some fun watching the training montages, while "DOFP" takes on a more darker tone similar to the first two X-Men films. That's not to say it's so bleak that it'll make you want to kill yourself though. If anything, Fox has taken some cues from the Marvel films, keeping with a serious tone but able to inject some humor every now and then. Along from that, the special effects, action, and choreography has really evolved since the original films, to reflect a more comic book tone, and downplays some of the realism seen before in the franchise. The best example I can think of is seeing Iceman finally using his powers to his fullest, not only having a full ice look, but performing his signature ice bridge technique.
The action scenes also seem to take on a more brutal approach than ever before, specifically the battles with the Sentinels in the future. Honestly, this is the first time that I've ever seen Sentinels as a real threat to mutants and actually scared me as much as they would the X-Men, especially during the climax scene in the future, because you knew that this was the biggest all or nothing moment of the whole franchise. I mean, yeah, giant robots would be freaky, but the idea that they would be able to adapt to the mutant they were hunting makes it even more scary.

Just like their previous film together, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence continue to shine as their characters. Even though we know how these characters end up turning out, the fun of seeing how they get that way makes it so much more interesting. Let me examine each one.

• JAMES MCAVOY AS CHARLES XAVIER: For the first time ever on film, we see Charles having no clue what's to do. In both the original trilogy and "First Class", he's been seen as the guiding mentor to everyone, so what happens when the Professor needs guidance himself? He turns to, well, the Professor. Future Professor to be exact. The interaction between McAvoy and Stewart made for an amazing moment, with a pep talk that could inspire everybody.
• MICHAEL FASSBENDER AS MAGNETO: In "First Class", I could feel real sympathy for Erik and even rooted from him, something I never did for Magneto before. In "DOFP" though, while Fassbender continues to make the role his own, you can definitely see that he was becoming the Magneto we see in the original trilogy. To quote Wolverine in one scene of the film "So you were always an asshole." An accurate statement actually, because with the climax scene in the past, you can see that Erik is a fucking hypocrite. He doesn't want to see his species be hunted down, but he's not above hunting down the opposing species, like what he did in "X2" to make Charles kill all the humans after stopping Stryker's plan to kill all the mutants. Maybe if Erik was able to meet his future self, he could have lightened up. I made this meme that I feel is accurate of the situation:

• JENNIFER LAWRENCE AS MYSTIQUE: What I really like about seeing a younger Mystique is that we see her motivations as opposed to just being Magneto's second-in-command in the original trilogy, which is why I feel Jennifer Lawrence is better in the role than Rebecca Romijn, and even gives a better performance in this film than in her previous outing. You really feel for her, especially when you're really hoping she'll end up doing the right thing.

If there's one breakout star in the film though, it's definitely Evan Peters as Piet-, ahem, I mean Peter Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver. When it was first announced Quicksilver would appear in the film, a lot of people thought Fox just decided to add him in because Marvel was going to use him in their next Avengers film. I didn't expect much from Fox's Quicksilver, given their track record with their character adaptations compared to Marvel's. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this version. He added some great moments of humor and one of the best action scenes in any comic book movie in my opinion. I really look forward to seeing him return in "X-Men: Apocalypse", especially if they decide to further explore his relationship with Magneto. Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance as Marvel's Quicksilver is going to have to be pretty special to top Fox's.

Just like "First Class", from a first glance, it would seem like there were too many characters involved, but this was another film that was able to make it work, where characters were able to have some shining moments and weren't just thrown in there for the sake of appearances. Even characters that were there for just a cameo didn't feel pointless. It goes without saying that original trilogy actors, such as Halle Berry, Ellen Page, and Shawn Ashmore, haven't missed a beat and personify their roles. Hugh Jackman of course nails it once again as Wolverine. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are able to keep the Xavier/Magneto frenemy bromance alive as well, including an emotional moment during the film's climax. You can even get attached to new characters Sunspot, Bishop, Blink, and Warpath, and feel they're actually worth having in the film.

As the final moments of the film show, essentially, the X-Men franchise has pulled a "Flashpoint." What that means is is that almost everything is fair game again in the series, and you'll get that feeling once you see some familiar characters alive and well. Fox has been able to restart the X-Men but without pissing off people who hate reboots and recastings. I must say that this opens a lot of opportunities for the franchise again. I'm also willing to bet that after "X-Men: Apocalypse", which is supposed to be another "First Class" sequel, Fox's mystery Marvel movie of 2018 will see the original cast return again, but as the main stars of a new X-Men film, possibly acting as the start of a new era in the franchise.

This new X-Men film has done for their franchise what Avengers did for Marvel. It has energized the series, is drawing in a big crowd that may not have been interested before (or in this case lost it), and even teases a villain that casual fans will probably have to look on the internet to find out who that was. All the credit must go to Bryan Singer though. I mean, I knew the film would be amazing, but because it started the way Singer's first two X-films did with a Patrick Stewart/Xavier narrative opening and a pretty badass opening title sequence, it really pumped me up and brought back a sense of nostalgia. Seriously though, Bryan Singer is for Fox and X-Men what Joss Whedon is for Marvel and Avengers in terms of direction of the universe. Considering he's been involved with every successful X-Men film, with the exception of "The Wolverine", Fox would be smart to not let Singer go again if they don't have to (taking his legal situation into account but I won't go into detail on that here).

Along with everything I've talked about, anything that basically says "Fuck you Brett Ratner!" for his derailment of the X-Men franchise in the first place is a win in my book.

RATING: 9.5/10

To close out, here are my current rankings of the X-Men series:

• X-Men: Days of Future Past
• X-Men: First Class
• X2: X-Men United
• The Wolverine
• X-Men
• X-Men: The Last Stand
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Movie Review- Son of Batman: Double Edged Sword of Ridiculous

When this was announced as one of DC's future animated films, I was kind of surprised, given that after the "Flashpoint" movie, films after that would be based on the New 52, and the "Batman and Son" story arc which was the basis of the film was pre-Flashpoint. Then it was stated that while future films would be connected and based on the New 52, they would still adapt stories from past continuity and work it to fit their new universe. Since the New 52 comics do make references to stories pre-Flashpoint, it made sense that those stories had to happen very differently than how they actually happened. The same argument could be made for the films as well. When the trailer for "Son of Batman" was released, even though they were going to be making many changes from the comics story, it got me very excited, especially to see Damian. While this isn't the first time Damian has been adapted for animation (the first being an episode of "Batman: The Brave and the Bold as being the son of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle and having a normal childhood), this would be the first time he would be depicted the way he was in the comics, with his mother being Talia al Ghul and being trained by the League of Assassins. As it turns out though, Damian is the one thing that saves this film.

It goes without saying that Damian isn't your normal kid. Even besides the fact that he's Batman's son, being the grandson of Ra's al Ghul and trained with the League of Assassins, it means he's matured very fast, even more than Bruce after his parents were killed. Damian knows how to fight, hack into databases by NORAD and the Batcomputer, and apparently even how to drive. I remember when Damian first appeared in the comics in 2006 and a lot of fans found him annoying, but it wasn't until he officially became Robin under Dick Grayson's Batman that he started to win people over. When I watched the film and see how smug and badass Damian was for a kid, I couldn't help but enjoy it because I knew how his character would develop. I think that some people who watch this film but don't know who Damian is beforehand may find him ridiculous. Then again, the film really condenses Damian's six year character development from bastard to sidekick to son in less than eighty minutes, so it may make it hard to appreciate him.
Speaking of ridiculousness though, there's one scene I really want to talk about. While searching the lab of Dr. Langstrom, who most fans know as Man-Bat, Batman fights an Ape-Bat experiment, basically an ape with bat wings. At first, I thought "this is really happening?", but then I remembered that this was based on a story by Grant Morrison. If I know Morrison, he would have included something like that if he had the chance. It just seems something up his alley.
Along with Damian though, the one thing that helps this film is the action. It's pretty top-notch and the violence is on par with what was depicted in "The Flashpoint Paradox." The best example I can think of is during the final battle between Damian and Deathstroke, where Deathstroke stabs through both of Damian's arms and pins him to the wall. Damian though, the badass he is, slides his arm straight through the knife, still sticking to the wall, to escape. Even after that, Damian still continues the fight without missing a beat, as if nothing happened. Plus, there's one part where Batman rips off Killer Croc's tail. Given the tail was falling off anyway, but talk about an enhanced interrogation.

That's about where the positive things end. Let me start on the negatives, things that may not bug some, but do me.
In this film, Slade Wilson, better known as Deathstroke, was portrayed as Ra's al Ghul's former right-hand man and was in line to be his successor before Batman came along. Feeling betrayed, Deathstroke gathers his own army and plans to take over the League of Assassins by force. Based on my knowledge of Slade, this makes him look like a very petty man. In all past depictions I've seen of Slade, he either does things for money, being a mercenary, or if he has a personal vendetta. Even though he does have a grudge against the al Ghuls, I doubt Slade would have ever given a shit about the fate of the planet, and wouldn't have even joined the League of Assassins to begin with. If you think about it, Slade would like a world where people still felt the need to hire a mercenary, and that means money for him. It really makes me feel that Slade in this movie is like a child throwing a tantrum because you took his toy or video game away.
Next, apparently in this new DC animated universe, Dick has been the only Robin before becoming Nightwing, meaning Jason and Tim never took the role before Damian. I really just think that's disrespectful to the history of the Robins, but based on past animated depictions, I shouldn't be surprised. Aside from appearances and references on "Young Justice", Tim and Jason have each only been depicted one other time in other media. For Tim, it was "The New Batman Adventures", and for Jason was the "Batman: Under the Red Hood" animated film. I'm just saying, Dick may be the best known Robin, but Jason and Tim are great characters that deserve the spotlight as well. Besides that, the relationship between Dick and Damian in this film is more reminiscent of Tim and Damian from Grant Morrison's actually story, in the way it feels like a sibling rivalry. I always enjoyed how Dick was more like a mentor to Damian in the comics, but you don't get that here. One last note here: apparently even though this is based on the New 52, in this animated universe, Dick still didn't wear pants as Robin and wore the classic Robin suit. While a nice reference, it just doesn't fit in this kind of universe in my opinion, especially since Dick's Robin suit in the New 52 comics was more similar to Chris O'Donnel's Robin suit in "Batman Forever."

Then there's Talia, particularly her character design. Look, I know sex sells, but they really overdid her cleavage in this film. I probably wouldn't have minded it, but you think that with her son around, she'd zip up that jumpsuit at least a little bit. Hell, she even tried to seduce Batman in a dress that showed off her legs and had a "viewing window", and Damian was watching and waiting behind a curtain the whole time before she introduced him. I know Damian's really mature for his age, but a kid should not be looking at his mom in such a sexual way.
Lastly, there's the underwater base cliché. You know what happens? It gets destroyed. Imagine that.

For the most part, the voice cast for this film was pretty good. The breakout star was newcomer Stuart Allan as Damian. Being an actual child, Allan seemed a natural fit for Damian and was able to interact well with Dick, and especially Alfred, who he'd refer to as "Pennyworth" and treated like a servant. Even with Jason O'Mara, who I'm still getting used to as the voice of Batman, had some good moment with Allan's Damian; he actually showed some emotion as a father angry with his son. The one person I thought just didn't fit was Thomas Gibson as Deathstroke. I tried to like him, but compared to Ron Perlman on "Teen Titans" or JG Hertzler in "Injustice", he just didn't sound badass like Slade should. But Gibson just didn't pull it off. I guess I shouldn't have expected much from Greg from "Dharma and Greg."

Unlike "Justice League: War", there was no teaser for a future film. All we get is flashes of the fight between Nightwing and Damian, which wasn't actually shown in the film. It makes me wonder why they wouldn't have just showed the fight. Did they blow through the rest of the animation budget? Besides that though, Ra's al Ghul supposedly died in the film, but like Batman, I was very skeptic, given the nature of his continuous resurrections. A hint that he survived would have been nice. A hint to anything would have been nice. I mean, if I had my pick, the next Batman animated movie would be based on either "Court of the Owls" or "Death of the Family."

While not as good as "Justice League: War", the true animated debut of Damian Wayne really shines in an otherwise forgettable film along the lines of past DC animated films like "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" and "Superman Unbound."

RATING: 6.5/10

Video Game Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Edge of Time Redux

In 2012, the release of the first "Amazing Spider-Man" film also lead to a video game based on it. However, unlike the previous Spider-Man movie games, rather than adapt the movie's story while adding in new things, Beenox decided to set the first game after the movie with a whole new story. That was one of the reasons I enjoyed the first game. It had a good story, emotional moments like one between Peter and Gwen, and did a good job at building a universe that I thought could have fit well within the new movie series canon. The facts that Sony gave them a list of certain villains they could use and they asked them to give Spider-Man a belt for his webbing also helped fuel that idea. Not only that, but the controls gave me what I felt was the ultimate Spider-Man experience than ever before. In short, I considered it the "Arkham" of Spider-Man games. When the game based on the second movie was announced, it was said that it would be its own story, and that the games were a separate timeline from the movies. So to clarify that, you have the first "Amazing Spider-Man" movie, then it branches into 2 directions: the movies and the games. It should have been expected though, since characters like Rhino and Smythe were going to be used in the second movie, and their character directions were very different from how they were used in the first game. Given how much I enjoyed the first game, I really looked forward to the second. Unfortunately, it just didn't "wow" me this time around.

First off, I applaud them for working on their own story, and they stuck with it for the most part. However, the one thing I didn't like was how they still decided to touch upon the actual movie plot. Since I played the game before seeing the movie, when it actually used some of the movie's plot, it left me totally confused. When I think about the original movie games, we would actually see moments from those films adapted into the games. In this game though, we only briefly meet Max Dillon, and then the next time we see him, he's already turned into Electro and there's no explanation given in the story. I'll give them that there are audio journals detailing what happened to Max and why he blames Spider-Man, but some people would like to finish the story before looking for collectibles. I think it would have been better if they really tried to keep the game story completely original, and stuck to characters like Kingpin, Kraven, and Carnage as the main villains, and left out Electro and the Goblin. I would have at least liked the allusion of the game being canon with the movies, either as a prequel to the film or a sequel. If they wanted to adapt the film's story, they should have went all out like they have in the past, then we could have gotten more out of the experience.

For the most part, the voice cast was pretty good, but there were two characters that just sounded weird: Kingpin and Green Goblin. Kingpin basically sounds like John Goodman. I'll admit, after seeing him as a drug dealer in "Hangover 3", I could believe him as Kingpin, but Kingpin shouldn't sound like a stereotypical fat guy. As for Green Goblin, based on his actual movie appearance, there was no reason he should have sounded the way he did in the game, when his transformation was more physical than anything else. He basically sounded like Garlic Jr. from "Dragon Ball Z", especially when he laughed. Pretty damn annoying.

Control wise, they didn't really introduce anything new, but at the very least, they overcomplicated things compared to the first game. For starters, the webswinging mechanic has been modified to actually attach to buildings. I'll admit, I liked that aspect, but it took some getting used to use both triggers on the controller when it's always just been the right trigger. Another thing is that whenever you would swing into the building, you had to press a button to actually stick to it. Shouldn't that just be automatic? Then there's the Web Rush system. It was pretty straight-forward in the first game, but in the second, they don't really give you any indication that you're locked on the target you're after, whether it be an enemy, an object you can interact with during battle, or a comic book collectible you can find in the city. It made it really hard to strategize and do what you wanted to actually do. Lastly, the Spider-Sense and dodging system was also complicated. In the first game, you had your basic "white warning", when you could just press the button to avoid being hit, and the "red warning" where you actually had to move to avoid the attack, usually with the Web Retreat button. In this game however, you actually have to move while using the dodge button for every kind of attack, and you have no retreat option. For stealth missions, it made it really hard when you were spotted to get away. I mean, at least in the "Arkham" games, you can zipline to a gargoyle and hide out for awhile. With Spidey's webs, you should be able to do the same. I also didn't like that while you would heal over time in the first game, you actually had to take time to heal yourself in the new one, even in the middle of a battle. There's a real learning curve, but you eventually get used to the updated mechanics, even if they didn't need to be changed in the first place.

Besides that though, it seems like this game has drawn on a lot of aspects used before in past Spider-Man games.

• With Black Cat, you get the same "Black Cat wants to be with Spider-Man, but not know who he is, but he rejects her because he has responsibilities" plot we've seen before in "Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows." It gets old.
• The Goblin fights are part-glider and part-hand-to-hand like in the first movie game, but you can actually ram him into buildings like in the third. I'll admit it was fun to do that part, but it wasn't new.
• Kingpin has an army with special suits and some even have gliders, just like in "Web of Shadows." Again, nothing new.
• Like in "Spider-Man 2", you have perpetual crimes to deal with in the city. While it's been updated and features new things like fire rescues, just like "Spider-Man 2", it really gets repetitive, and you're essentially playing to unlock achievements and collectibles and earn enough points to acquire all the upgrades.

While the game continues to build a universe and plays well, the new mechanics and toe-dipping into the actual movie plot of what was billed as an original story doesn't leave the same impression that the first game did. It's fun, but you should just enjoy it for what it is and not expect too much.

RATING: 5.5/10

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Critics Just Don't Understand (SPOILERS)

 

 

In 2012, Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield brought about a new beginning for Spider-Man with a reboot film that was just like its namesake: Amazing. With a sequel set even before the first film was released, it showed how much faith the studio had in the new film. Even before the second film was released, Sony even set dates for the third and fourth movies. As Sony released more and more info about the second movie, the more excited I was. The new suit alone was enough to get me excited; it looks like Spidey jumped right off the comic into real life, even more than the suit from the original trilogy. But with that excitement, there was worry as well. Worry that even if they were setting things up for future films, that they were trying to do too much in one film, and that we'd have another "Spider-Man 3" on our hands. The fire of that worry was stoked as a lot of negative reviews started to surface. But even with the negativity, I found just as much positive that gave me some hope. Based on the mixed reaction, it seemed that this film would be this year's "Man of Steel", in the aspect that critics just won't get it. After seeing the film myself, my assumption was correct. While the latest film may divide people, as a lifelong Spider-Man fan, I have never been blown away by film in this franchise like I was when watching "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

It goes without saying that Andrew Garfield has become one with and embraced his character as his own. His performance in the first film showed that, but the second one makes it all the more certain. The one thing that makes Garfield feel so natural as Spider-Man is his sense of humor. Even through the most intense situations, he would still make jokes that would annoy the villain but also give the audience a laugh. That's something that was sorely lacking with Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man. To put it in comparison, between two movies, Garfield's Spidey probably quintupled the amount of jokes Tobey made in all three of his movies. But it's not just his quips that makes him Spider-Man. Garfield's chemistry with his co-stars shows that he knows how to be Peter Parker as well, as he delivered some good emotional scenes with Aunt May and Harry Osborn. And of course there's Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. It probably helps that Andrew and Emma are dating in real life, but when I was watching Peter and Gwen together, it feels like I would be watching a real couple. Even with their real life relationship, some credit has to director Marc Webb. Before the first film was released, I watched his previous film "500 Days of Summer", which I really developed a personal connection with, and realized that this guy had what it takes to bring emotion to the Spider-Man films, which is very important. Compared to Tobey and Kirsten, Andrew and Emma make the romance feel real.

But the cast is only half the equation with superhero movies like this. The special effects were top-notch, especially with the way they made Spider-Man move. Like the previous film, Spider-Man just feels more natural with the way he swings and fights. If you looked back on Tobey's Spider-Man and compare, it just seems so obvious that if feels staged and choreographed, that that Spider-Man was forcing himself to act so agile.

Let's talk about the villains now. Yes, there were three in one movie again. After "Spider-Man 3", there's the idea that too many villains can ruin a film. However, I think Webb has one upped Raimi in how to make the idea work. When you look at "Spider-Man 3", you can tell that they were trying to make all 3 villains seem like the main threat, and it ended in disaster. With "Amazing Spider-Man 2", the main focus was on 2 main villains who got their story fleshed out, while the other one was there to help set up the future. I mean, with plans being made to use the Sinister Six, you need to establish you can handle multiple villains, especially when you plan to have six in one movie.
Even then, some critics still complained about the film being overcrowded and that the villains weren't that well developed. I respectively disagree and feel each of them served a purpose.

• ELECTRO: I understand how some may feel about Max Dillon when he's first introduced, that he's the stereotypical geek who's wimpy and doesn't get respect. But I think it was necessary to see that first before he gets his powers, the way in which was pretty damn cool and violent in my opinion. In the Times Square scene, you really get to see Max snap, and I felt for him. This was a guy who just wanted to feel needed, like he actually mattered to people, and Spider-Man's pep talk really built him up. Though it was a big misunderstanding and he couldn't control himself, Max felt betrayed by someone important who made him feel matter. Potentially, Electro has the power to rule the whole world, but he's usually portrayed as weak minded, and it's what made him easy for Harry to manipulate later on.
• HARRY OSBORN: While he was only really the Green Goblin for a few minutes, Harry's character development through the movie does make him a villain even without being in costume. Harry became desperate and its what drove him over the edge to become the Goblin. Besides that, there's his relationship with Peter. Despite their awkward reunion at the start, you eventually see them as long-lost friends that pick up where they left off. Then Harry feels betrayed by Peter when he finds out he's Spider-Man, and despite taking away Peter's "hope" (I'll say more on that later), it seems like he really wants to make Peter suffer more, which explains why he would rather form the Sinister Six instead of just revealing Peter's secret to the public.
• RHINO: At first I was a little miffed when I realized Rhino would end up being the closing villain in the film, but when it actually came to that point, I realized it was necessary. I would have thought including him would have been unnecessary, but it ended up letting the film close out on a more positive note, which I see now as the best way it could have gone.

With the exception of Rhino, I really did feel some emotion for Max and Harry. In fact, I felt more for those two than any other Spidey film before. I think that's a testament to Marc Webb's directing abilities that you can feel so deeply for the villains.

Probably the most important thing about Spider-Man is that he gives people off a sense of hope. That's an aspect that really plays out in this film compared to the others, while it is touched upon at the end of the first "Amazing" film. I myself have always seen Spider-Man in that way, that even with all the crap he goes through, eventually everything will work out in the end and that you'll wind up where you need to be. There's one character in the film that isn't that big of a role, but Spider-Man really inspires him, and it leads to a great moment between them in the final scene.

Now it's time to get to the scene that really made the film for me: Gwen's death. A lot of people speculated it would happen and Sony teased the hell out of it in the previews, but even with all that, it was that scene that made my heart pound, my lungs short of breath, and almost cried, especially when Peter realized what happened. It's something that never really happened to me while watching a movie. I knew it was going to happen but it still made me emotional. And even though I knew he wouldn't, part of me still wanted to see Peter save her. It was a scene that was handled really well, especially since they added the mystery element to her death like there was in the comics. The big question: would it had mattered if Peter's web caught her, or was if the sudden stop that caused her death? It was pretty graphic too; I'll admit I looked down when she stopped. The one thing I didn't like though was that just like the first film with Uncle Ben, we have Peter listening to a speech by his lost loved one posthumously in order to help himself move on.

I did enjoy the way they wrapped up the storyline with Peter's parents. They used the traitors aspect from the comics and made it work in their own way. I didn't even mind the reason Peter's the only cross-species who's relatively normal. At least it wasn't the whole "father did something to his blood and passes it down to his son who got his powers activated later on in life" like they did in Ang Lee's "Hulk" movie. There were rumors they were going to go this route for the first "Amazing", but we should be glad they didn't go that route.

I think it's obvious that Aunt May knows that Peter's Spider-Man. She probably just doesn't want to make him worry about her worrying about him. It's kind of like what they did with Amazing Spider-Man #400. You know, before they made it so that it was an actress hired by Osborn and made up to look like May.

Much like last year with "Man of Steel", despite how much I enjoyed the film, I have been trying to figure out why many critics didn't. I have a few theories:

• When you think about it, all the other Spider-Man films have been relatively self contained and focused on one villain and critics got used to it. This time though, they took the MCU approach and wanted to help set up plans and characters for the future. While that tactic made critics think that they were using too many characters and stories, when you think about it, it's all connected and OsCorp is the focal point of it all.
• I talked about before how Spider-Man was really on with the comedy in this movie, but apparently Spidey making corny jokes through the whole movie made some critics consider it campy. Newsflash: SPIDEY IS SUPPOSED TO MAKE FREAKING JOKES. I blame the Raimi films' non-quipping Spidey affecting people's perception.
• The use of the slow motion through out the movie. Like I said before, this is the most natural moving Spider-Man than any other movie. In a way, the slow-motion was seeing things from Spidey's point of view when his Spider-Sense is activated. Let's face it, if they actually showed those scenes in real time, critics would have complained that things were moving too fast for them to understand what was happening.

I guess the overall complain from some critics was that they actually treated a comic book movie LIKE A FREAKING COMIC BOOK.

But of course, the negative reaction may lead to some repercussions for the franchise. As I've learned, Sony's goal for the film's box office was for $800 million, to make up for the $255 million budget, $180 million for marketing, and still make a good profit. By the look of things, they may not reach their goal. The last time a Spider-Man movie didn't meet expectations, it ended up leading to a reboot. But comic book movies today are different from then. Studios like to plan out the future and build a universe now. Film wise, "Amazing Spider-Man 3" may not be affected, but Sony will probably try to rework their marketing campaign. Besides that, they may have to hold off on their spin-off plans for the Sinister Six and Venom. If they can't bring in a big audience for Spider-Man himself, what hope could there be for the villains? Right now, the focus should be on making "Amazing Spider-Man 3" an overall success as the first film was. In my opinion, if Sony were able to do just one spin-off, Venom would be the best bet. He's already an anti-hero with a fanbase, and Carnage would be the perfect villain for it. Even when it was announced, I thought a movie focusing on the Sinister Six would be a tough sell. You got a team of villains, guys who are supposed to lose. What audience would be interested? While the "Superior Foes of Spider-Man" comic book has received a lot of praise and could be the basis of the film, it still may be best to put that film on the shelf for now.

Spin-offs aside, there's still a lot of potential to be done with the main Spider-Man series and the third movie. Based on the blueprints teasing the Sinister Six line-up, it will include Dr. Octopus, Vulture, Green Goblin, and Rhino for sure, as well as either Black Cat or Kraven, and Mysterio or Chameleon. I can't say for sure about the last two spots, but right now I can only speculate how Ock and Vulture will join up. For Vulture, I think they may use the younger Vulture, Blackie Drago. If Harry's building a team to take down Spider-Man, he'd probably want a young criminal and not an old man like Adrian Toomes. They could still make Drago bald too, like his Ultimate version is. As for Ock, I could see OsCorp sabotaging one of Octavius' experiments and making him believe Spider-Man was responsible, thus giving him reason to join them.
Aside from the villains, we also have Mary Jane's introduction to look forward to. Mary Jane was originally supposed to appear in this film and be played by Shailene Woodley (from "Divergent"), but ended up being cut from the film so they could focus on Peter and Gwen's relationship (which was probably the first clue she was going to die). While Woodley may not be back and the role will likely be recast, I could definitely see Peter meeting Mary Jane and developing feelings for her, but afraid to get close after what happened to Gwen.
This last idea is purely speculation. The third film should introduce the symbiote and black suit, which would lead to Venom as the main villain the fourth. Venom's supposed to get his own movie, so it only makes sense they're planning to introduce him in the main series. I mean, you can't have Venom without Spider-Man first.

So to wrap a bow on this puppy, Marc Webb has doubled down on what made the first Amazing Spider-Man film so great. For some, that means an even better Spidey than before, but for others, well they'd probably feel better watching the Tobey Maguire movies for some reason. Then again, it could probably still win over those still mad about the reboot in the first place. In my view though, to quote Saint Walker, "all will be well" when it comes to what's next for Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

RATING: 10/10

Next up will be my review for the Amazing Spider-Man 2 game, which is based on the film. It was released before the movie, but I wanted to hold off on writing about that until I could compare the two, since the game does touch on some movie details while still being its own story for the most part.

Series Review: The Superior Spider-Man - A Love Letter to Peter Parker (SPOILERS)

2012 was Spider-Man's 50th anniversary, but I don't think any fan expected how it would end. In the 700th and (then) final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, a dying Dr. Octopus switched minds with Peter Parker, and while Peter tried his best to undo the process, Ock had taken precautions to ensure his victory. However, unlike other body-swapping stories, Octavius was able to access Peter's memories, making it very easy to pose as him, and it was those memories that made the villains see the error of his ways. Before Peter died in his body, Octavius promised Peter he would carry on his legacy and be a better man than Otto Octavius and a better hero than Peter and become "the Superior Spider-Man." It was a concept that divided fans from the start, and even earned writer Dan Slott death threats. How could Marvel make Doc Ock Spider-Man? But like many things, you can't judge something without even trying it, and when it comes to the Superior Spider-Man, it was considered by many, self included, to be the best book at Marvel.

A few issues in, my thoughts on Ock as Spider-Man was that he was actually doing a good job. While Peter started using more tech in his arsenal in recent years, Ock took it even further. For one, I really liked the updates he made to the costume, including the new lenses that could have special functions like a heads-up display and the claws on his fingers that could inject enemies with nanite spider-tracers. Not only that, but for a time, the Spider-Bots patrolling the city gave Ock a real leg-up on crime in the city. And while I'm usually in line with Peter's "no kill" policy, the only time I really saw Ock killing an enemy excusable was with the psychotic mass murderer Massacre in issue 5. Given all the mass shootings in the United States in recent years, it isn't hard to feel a little happy when someone gets what they should, and Massacre did. But I think what made me like Ock as Spider-Man was that he reminded me of Lelouch Lamperouge, the main character from one of my favorite animes, Code Geass. Like Ock, he was calculating and had a goal he would stop at nothing to accomplish. Lelouch even had an army at his command like Ock would starting in issue 14.
While Ock as Spider-Man was fun to read, Ock acting as Peter was very different. To be blunt, Ock made Peter look like a douche on several occasions. The one thing that really irked me was that Ock was upset that Peter didn't have a doctorate that he went back to school to get one.

While Spider-Ock, or SpOck, made an interesting read, what really made this book so interesting is that it was really unpredictable, and even if you think something will happen, Slott turned it into something else. The best example I can think of is issue 9, which featured a mind battle between Peter and Ock for control of his body, and that ended with Ock wiping out all of Peter's memories, and essentially "killing" Peter again. You'd think that would be the point Peter would be back, but nope, it gave fans a moment that would be just as upsetting as what happened in Amazing Spider-Man #700. While fans knew Peter would have to come back at some point, this moment brought on the question of exactly how it would be done. Issue 19 brought about the first clues though.
Another favorite example was SpOck's meeting with Black Cat. The cover to issue 20 showed her trying to seduce Spidey like she always does. What actually happens in the issue though? SpOck punches her square in the face, knocking out one of her teeth, and leaving her for the cops. As you could imagine, she's pissed. That's also example of another thing though. Since we all knew Peter would be back at some point, it would be fun to see how much of a mess Ock would make for both Peter and Spider-Man, and how Peter would have to deal with the consequences of "his" actions.
Other things I didn't see coming as the series progressed were Ock setting up his own headquarters (Spider-Island II) and starting up his own company with Parker Industries.

One of the aspects of the book was the tension of whether or not someone in Peter's supporting cast would figure out something was different with him. While Ock did try to get with Mary Jane, Peter's memories of her actually brought him to call off their relationship to protect her, something Peter would probably have never done. Now MJ got a lot of flak throughout this series for not being able to figure it out, but considering how much Ock ignored her through the book, I can see how she wouldn't have been able to. Then there's Aunt May, who should know Peter best since she raised him, right? But let's not forget, that even as Otto Octavius, Ock was able to charm May into thinking he was a good person. Hell, they almost got married at one point! So, even as Peter, Ock would have been able fool her.
But those are just civilians. When it comes to the other heroes Ock would interact with, like the Avengers. Now I know this series had to last awhile, but Slott kind of made the Avengers look like idiots. I mean, the Avengers did try to find out if Spidey was under mind control or a Skrull in issue 8, but even when those proved negative, they didn't really do anything to follow up on it. Hell, they saw Spider-Man with henchman and piloting giant spider robots, and they were still like "Hmm, he's acting different but I'm sure he's the same guy." Then there was the final part of the "Darkest Hour" storyline where SpOck was using the Venom symbiote but lost control, and when he got free, he acted like the symbiote was what was making him a dick the whole time. They almost bought it, but after they tried to confront SpOck about his actions again, he decided to quit the Avengers and jumped out the window. What do the Avengers do after that? Nothing. They were basically like "Oh, he quit the team. Nothing we can do now." I mean, come on! I really hope that Peter calls them out for being such idiots for not totally realizing he was different for some big reason.

Perhaps the biggest breakout character of the series was Anna Maria Marconi, Otto's classmate at grad school and later love interest. What makes her different in this supporting cast was that she was a little person, which we don't see a lot of in comics. When I first saw her when Otto met her, I was kind of surprised. I mean, as soon as I saw her, I pretty much knew right away she would be his love interest. I'll admit, the idea kind of made me uncomfortable, not because she was little, but that she would be involved with Peter even though it wasn't really Peter. But as their relationship developed, I really started to enjoy it and she became a character I started to care about. Even so, I thought at some point in the series, she would die. Over the course of the series, Ock had experienced a lot of the Parker luck Peter usually would, like not being able to honor some commitments to loved ones or losing his job at Horizon Labs. I thought Otto losing a love interest would have been the last thing he needed to really know what it was like to be Spider-Man. By the end, Anna Maria made it through the series alive. Since Otto is gone now, he kind of leaves Peter with the ball that is the relationship with Anna Maria. It should be interesting how that goes. I'm not sure how many people spotted it, but in issue 27, Otto as Peter was seen holding a ring box, meaning he was planning to propose to her. It's a good bet that Peter doesn't know about that, and I think Anna Maria will find the ring, and that will definitely lead to an awkward moment.

While Ock as Spider-Man was the main focus, there were many moments in the series that featured the newly returned Green Goblin building an army from the remnants of criminal henchmen left unemployed after Spider-Man had taken out their bosses. It would lead to the book's final storyline, "Goblin Nation". In that story, we saw that while Otto, and to some extension I as a reader, thought he was doing a good job, he only made it easier for the Goblin to take control of the city. Besides that, the final story arc brought about a few emotional moments. There was one moment involving Don Lamaze, who was Otto's classmate back when he was actually Otto, but as Peter, he was his grad school teacher. When the Goblin had hacked into SpOck's spider legs and trying to kill him, Lamaze had gotten in the way of one of the legs and sacrificed himself to save SpOck. In his last moments, Lamaze told SpOck that he wanted to make up for his past cowardice from issue 21. In essence, Ock was able to inspire someone to be a hero, which is what Spider-Man was meant to do.
The other emotional moment from this arc, and perhaps the most emotional scene through the whole series, was what everyone expected to happen: the return of Peter Parker in mind and body. When Ock realized both that he had failed the city and that Peter was still alive in his head, he decided relinquish control back to Peter, calling him the true Superior Spider-Man. To do so, Ock wiped out all his own memories, so Peter would have all his wits about him, so that he could save the city, and Anna Maria, who had been kidnapped by the Goblin. While Ock had been trying to play the hero in this series, it was this moment that I felt brought about his true redemption. In order to save the woman he loves, Ock erased all that he was so that a true hero could do so. It was also this moment that made me realize that while I have always related to Peter Parker, it turns out I relate to Octavius in some way too. While talking to Peter, Otto described himself as knowing that he's flawed and tries to compensate (which explains all the tech he's used as Spider-Man throughout the series), and he describes Peter that while he has potential, he always sets himself up to fail. In a way, I'm like Ock because I worry that I'm not good enough for anyone so I sometimes try too hard to be a part of  something. And I'm like Peter because while I do feel like I have potential, and others see it in me too, I'm afraid to fail that I sometimes don't even try. My own life aside, it's cool to see how opposite, but similar Peter and Otto were.
Since the Goblin first reappeared in the book, there was some speculation that it may not have been Norman Osborn since we never saw him unmasked. It wasn't until the final issue that he was unmasked, and it was one of those moments where the unpredictability that always kept readers on the edge of their seats kicked in again. It turns out it was Osborn, but he got plastic surgery and became "Mason Banks" so that he could remain in the public and help set up Alchemax and create a new industrial empire to leave behind for his grandson to inherit. I really like this twist Slott used for Alchemax's creation, because it shows that even in 2099, the Osborn legacy is still a thorn in a Spider-Man's side, the future web-slinger in this case being Miguel O'Hara.

While I enjoyed Ock as Spider-Man for the first 30 issues, the final issue showing Peter back in the driver's seat and in his classic costume made me realize that I did miss Peter, his jokes, and his way of doing things. I love the fact that the instant Peter made a quip that Osborn automatically knew he was dealing with the real Spider-Man again. A lot of people may not get the point Dan Slott was trying to make with this book was that Peter Parker is the one true Spider-Man. Yes, Ock's tactics did gets results, but the final arc showed that everything fell apart because Osborn was able to use Ock's system to his advantage. I wouldn't say Peter's unpredictable, but the way he has gotten things done in story arcs like "Spider-Island" and "Goblin Nation", shows that he is a true hero that will rise to the occasion.

This whole series was the shot in the arm the Spider-Man series needed. While it divided the fan base in the beginning, it eventually won a lot of people over. I really think that anyone who says they didn't enjoy it probably didn't even give it a chance. There will be some who complain that comics rehash old ideas, but then complain when something completely different like this happens. This was the most fun I've had in a long time reading Spider-Man comics. I do kind of worry about things getting stale again with Peter totally back, but I think with everything that happened in the Superior era, it gives me two things to look forward to: 1) Peter will have learned a few things from this experience and work to become an even better Spider-Man than Ock and himself before. 2) Ock left some pretty big messes that Peter will have to deal with eventually.

With that, here are my ratings for Dan Slott's 31 issue "Superior Spider-Man":
STORY RATING: 9/10
RECOMMENDATION RATING: 10/10

Now this is the first of 3 Spider-Man related reviews I have planned for awhile. Stay tuned for my reviews for both "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" film and the video game based on it over the next week or two.

Coming soon: Superior Spider-Man series review

This week marked the end of an era, as the Superior Spider-Man comic book series, which followed Otto Octavius taking over Peter Parker and Spider-Man's body, life, and duties, finally reached its conclusion. I won't be able to get to my comic shop until next week though to pick up the final issue, but sometime after that, I will write about the whole 31 issue series in what will be the biggest review I have undertaken on my blog so far. I'm not sure how I'll go about it yet, but I'll probably take it arc by arc for the most part but will jump ahead to other points of the series for things like story and character development. Anyway, stay tuned.

Movie Review: "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" - Game Changer, Man! Game Changer! (SPOILERS)

Before trailers hit for the Super Soldier's second solo film, I was excited and hesitant at the same time. On one hand, it included the Winter Soldier, which is self-explanatory. On the other hand, it was being directed by the Russo brothers, who made "You, Me, and Dupree." I thought "Marvel's trusting these comedy guys with a serious film?" Then I started to see some footage, and it was getting me hyped. However, I was worried that this sequel may have been along the lines of the second Iron Man and Thor films, but I knew that unlike those films, Cap's sequel had more going for it: 1) It was building off something that was expected from the first film with Bucky. 2) SHIELD being involved would mean some major shit was gonna go down. And 3) It would lead into Avengers 2. Jump to a few weeks before the film hit the US and it was getting outstanding reviews saying it was even better than Avengers. Now after seeing it myself, I can safely say that in my opinion, that claim is true.

I really can't think of anything negative to say about the film. The Russo brothers pretty much nailed every aspect you'd expect from a film like this, it's no wonder they were asked back to direct the third Captain America film and that Marvel would set a release date for it before the second was even released. At the moment though, it shares the same release date for the Batman/Superman movie. I'm just saying, one of them is going to have to move, and I say Batman/Superman should, because not only did Marvel have the spot first but DC appears to need all the time they could get. Compare the reviews for "Man of Steel" and "Winter Soldier", and you would see that not everyone has been won over by our new big blue boy scout...the one with a cape that is.

Let me start with the characters and their interactions, and I think the film brought out the strongest performances in everyone compared to their past MCU appearances. Chris Evans was able to prove again that he makes an amazing Steve Rogers that can inspire hope and leadership in everyone, and I loved his partnerships with Falcon and Widow, not to mention an emotional meeting with an elderly Peggy Carter. One of the best parts in my opinion were when Steve and Natasha were undercover in the mall and acting kind of like a hipster couple, wearing glasses, hoodies and the like. It's needless to say that Samuel L. Jackson nails it once again as Nick Fury, plus he gets a little more action this time around, even though his death scene didn't really fool me. Come on, it's Nick Fury; the guy can't be killed that easily.
In some interviews, Sebastian Stan said he used Heath Ledger's Joker as inspiration for when he was the Winter Soldier. I didn't really see Joker in his performance, but Stan definitely performed well as the a ruthless brainwashed unstoppable killing machine. He didn't really say much, but he didn't need to. I only wish Marvel didn't spoil that he was Bucky in some previews and interviews. I mean, yeah you could look it up on Wikipedia, but some people do like to go in blind. This isn't the last we've seen of Bucky though, as it's been revealed Stan has a 9 picture deal with Marvel, which means he has 7 left. This means we'll see more development for him in the future, and once Chris Evans finishes his contract with Avengers 3, it's quite possible we'll see Bucky take over the mantle of his friend.
While Winter Soldier was in the film's title, he wasn't technically the main villain. No, that role went to Robert Redford as Alexander Pierce, Fury's superior at SHIELD. I'll be honest, I, and a lot of people for that matter, thought he would turn out to be Red Skull. It wouldn't be hard to think that considering they had similar goals. Skull or not, Pierce definitely played his role well.
Cobie Smulders returns to play Maria Hill, Fury's "sidekick." Like in Avengers though, she doesn't get too much character insight, but she does get some good moments in the film's climax.

Now on to the action, and there was a lot of it. While the last Iron Man and Thor films had some spectacular special effects with battles involving high-tech armors and magical artifacts, Captain America kept things more down to Earth and realistic, featuring more hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, and car chases. One could argue that Iron Man is like Batman because of the gadgets, but Captain America could definitely give Bats a run for his enormous amount of money in a straight up fight. The choreography of the fights and chases in this film were great to watch and will definitely make you cringe at some moments; I think that's what lets you know how good a film is when you actually worry what will happen to the characters.

While I knew the film would feature some uprisings and infiltrators in SHIELD, there was one thing that I didn't expect: Arnim Zola's reappearance via a computer program and HYDRA's very slow and calculating rise in SHIELD to reach their goals. Hell, it was their ultimate plan that made me believe Pierce would have been Red Skull. Plus in an "Oh shit" moment for me, it's implied that Winter Soldier was responsible for Howard Stark's death. If Tony and Bucky ever have a scene together, that could be interesting if they decide to bring it up. Although there probably wouldn't really be any evidence of Bucky's involvement in Howard's death, and Bucky wouldn't even remember doing it unless he saw some. Still, there's some potential here.

I think what really makes this film so revered is that it is definitely contemporary with society's issues at the moment, particularly privacy. With all the news of the NSA, phone taps, and drones, it really isn't hard to see the Russos play off those fears in the film and how Cap would reject to them. Plus, it shows what would happen if someone got hold of that kind of power. People want to feel safe, but some attempts to ensure safety could actually lead to a lack of safety.

As with all Marvel films, "The Winter Soldier" gives us a tease of what's to come. There were two things that really stood out to me:

• Remember the scepter Loki used in "Avengers"? Well it turns out SHIELD kept it, and now HYDRA has it. The one thing that really stood out to me about the weapon was that the blue orb in the center. My idea since "Avengers" was that it would turn out to be an Infinity Stone, the Mind stone to be exact. I mean, there had to be a reason they focused in on it while everyone was arguing in that scene.
• We saw our first appearances of the Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda, better known by their codenames, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. While in the comics they are mutants and Magneto's children, due to Fox owning the X-Men film rights, Marvel cannot call them mutants or reference Magneto in their films. No, in the mid-credits scene, the twins are referred to as "Miracles." Now if Miracles are going to be the Mutants of the MCU, it makes me wonder if there will be more showing up in the future, and if that happens, will it lead to an X-Men like team since they can't use the real deal. While I didn't have the idea at first, it did hit me later on. Kids finding out they have abilities that are unexplainable and need to learn how to control them? Can anyone say Avengers Academy? Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

Even though some will disagree, I stand by my statement that "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" exceeds "The Avengers" and all other Marvel films before it, continuing to change the landscape of the cinematic universe for years to come. Therefore, I give the film a 10/10.

My now current ranking of MCU films:

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• The Avengers
• Iron Man 3
• Thor
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Iron Man
• The Incredible Hulk
• Iron Man 2
• Thor: The Dark World