Man of Steel Review

There’s a moment during the third act of Marvel’s The Avengers where we see Hawkeye and Black Widow helping civilians out of a bus as invading aliens attack New York City. It’s a quick shot, but it did it’s purpose in showing us that even amongst all this chaos, their main mission was to save people. In a third act not worlds away from the one in Avengers, Superman does a whole lot of fighting, but not near enough saving -- unless your name is Lois Lane.

Director Zack Snyder no doubt salivated at the thought of bringing Superman to life on the big screen using all the neat tricks he learned making 300 and Watchmen, yet all that over-the-top action proves to be to the film’s detriment. Superman battles other Kryptonians in Dragon Ball Z fashion where every punch sends the opponent careening through cars, storefronts, and skyscrapers -- all of which do not appear to be fully vacated. It’s chilling to think that Superman’s body flattened a room full of people, yet he throws himself back into the fight without a thought of whose remains are on his boots.

But the movie is not all bad. There are some wonderful elements that come from Superman’s two dads, Jonathan Kent and Jor-El. They seem to talk in nothing but Life Lesson Speak, but it’s the eloquent kind that gives you feel-good goosebumps. You’d get why a guy who grew up hearing that kind of rhetoric all his life would turn out pretty super.

While Henry Cavill certainly looks the part with super pecs and super biceps --  and even at one point a super sexy beard -- he never wins the audience over with his personality. And seeing how his actions don’t prove to be entirely super when it comes to saving people, there’s not much to get behind. This Superman is touted to be an inspirational leader for the human race, yet he lacks the charm of one.

Michael Shannon proved he’s capable of turning in a Joker-level performance in Revolutionary Road, but he’s not given much to work with here as General Zod. He screams quite a bit and revels in making extreme decisions. We are told the reason for this is his genetic programming as a warrior protector, and by the end you’ll understand his motivation one-hundred percent. It’s just not the most compelling motivation, making him the greatest one-dimensional villain in superhero movie history.

His right-hand woman, Faora, steals the show from him with a few deliciously evil encounters, although, like her General, she doesn’t get much to say other than explaining why she’s superior to Superman as she beats the crap out of him. I would have liked to see her and Zod interact a bit more. A scene while they were at rest in between big action set pieces would have allowed them to talk freely and given us the opportunity to get under their skin. Still, moments where Faora lets loose with full super speed make for the film’s finest action scenes.

The visuals are generally top notch. Krypton is a beautiful alien world with weird creatures, making this more of a sci-fi epic than a superhero movie. The fights are cool to watch, although trimming each one’s length down by two-thirds would have gone a long way to keep them tight and special. When the battles go on too long, the characters start to look like slick, unfeeling cartoons. The strange liquid metal tentacle defenses of the World Engine were a nice sci-fi surprise, even if they seemed pointless by the end of that scuffle. This is a movie with a lot to see, even if it overindulges on a regular basis.

The score starts out as something truly inspiring, adding weight to the dialogue and setting the thoughtful tone of the flashback scenes, of which there are many -- and all are just about perfect. However, once the third act kicks in, the score competes with the many crashing/exploding sound effects, making for an experience so noisy and cluttered that the silence that comes with the resolution feels completely euphoric.

Super SPOILERS beyond this point!

The most heart-wrenching scene in the film was when Jonathan let himself be taken by the tornado to save Clark from revealing himself to the crowd. It showed that Jonathan trusted his adopted son to do what was right, but only when the world was ready. Now, contrast this to the end when Clark snaps Zod’s neck. The puzzle pieces just don’t seem to fit, which unravels all the hard work the filmmakers did to build up the character we know as Superman. 

That Superman killed Zod is the absolute worst moment of the film. I say this not as a Superman fan or because I’m a slave to the comics or because I think I get the guy more than you. I am saying that, within the bounds of this movie, based on everything we’ve learned from his fathers about sacrifice and inspiration, he defied the very moral fiber of the character we saw being built for two and a half hours. I can point to several moments that would show why he would not kill Zod. I can find none to show why he’d take his life, even when faced with such a terrible decision. Is this the inspiration he was supposed to provide? When things get tough -- unbelievably tough -- just kill the bad guy? Yikes.

For as brooding as the Dark Knight Trilogy could be, it had several moments of genuine humor to balance it out. No such luck here. Secondary characters such as Perry White and the hyped-but-sidelined Jenny Olsen seemed the obvious choice to provide that reprieve, but their inclusion is so superfluous it’s a wonder they were included at all. Lois had some good investigative journalist moments, but Amy Adams never so much as remotely engages the audience with even an ounce of wit, snark, or charisma. Not to mention her chemistry with Cavill wasn’t strong enough to sell that big kiss at the end. For a movie about an alien trying to find his place among humans, it was lacking the warm heart and humor that makes humanity so special.

At the end of the day, Man of Steel was not as thrilling, inspiring, or fun as it most certainly should have been. There are several elements worth enjoying, but they are all ultimately ruined by the film’s disturbing ending. As a result, kids are now forced to look up to Superman the Killer. If Batman exists in this universe as the blink-and-you-missed-it Wayne Industries satellite would suggest, then he will surely be on Superman’s doorstep tomorrow, ready to teach him his one rule about being a hero.

IGN Comics: My Review for the Final Issue of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern Run!

Reviewing comics is never work to me, but I was beyond enthused and even a little bit honored to review the final issue of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern series. Green Lantern has been the most integral part of my time as a comics reader right up there with Archie and Y: The Last Man. It is of course sad to see it go, but when an ending is this good, it's hard to complain.

"Geoff Johns ends his Green Lantern masterpiece with a resounding blockbuster bookend. Just wow! After nine years and over one hundred issues, he took a cheesy character whose weakness was the color yellow and turned him into one of the most consistently thrilling, compelling, and outright enjoyable heroes in comics. He did this by bringing the key element of the emotional spectrum into the fold. The rings now take something special to wield them – rage, avarice, fear, will, hope, compassion, love – and over the course of this series, Johns gave us plenty of reasons to feel those same emotions right along with the characters on the page. This final issue will take you on a tour of the entire emotional spectrum, and that’s exactly the point of the journey of Hal Jordan."

Check out the rest on IGN!

MTV: 'Iron Man 3' -- Where Does It Rank In The Marvel Cinematic Universe?

My friend Brett White who works over at MTV asked me to weigh in on Iron Man 3. 

"When the smoke clears and the armor is plugged in to charge, where does 'Iron Man 3' rank? Is it the best of the 'Iron Man' trilogy? Does it come close to 'The Avengers'? Do Captain America, Hulk or Thor's solo films give it a run for its money? We rounded up a panel of specialists to put 'Iron Man 3' in its place." Keep reading on MTV!

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Beware of spoilers!

Tony Stark is a wicked amalgamation of Batman and Superman. He’s a billionaire with an endless array of gadgets, and he can fly, shoot lasers, and take all sorts of damage when in his Iron Man suit. But he lacks Superman’s humble Kansas demeanor and Batman’s unbreakable No Killing Rule, so how does he get away with still calling himself a superhero? He makes us laugh.

Director Shane Black earned his name combining hard-hitting action with gut-busting comedy in Lethal Weapon, and the same formula works wonders when applied to Iron Man. The laughs come from all angles in an endless stream from Robert Downey Jr.’s quiptacular mouth. Whether he’s talking to girlfriend Pepper, best pal Rhodey, or a little boy in rural Tennessee, he’s determined to dominate the conversation with his superior witticisms, even if it means calling the kid a pussy. No zinger is off limits for the Man of Iron.

The Marvel cinematic universe continues to grow as Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian brings Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M., into the fold, not to mention Roxxon Corporation also plays a small role. With HYDRA, Hammer Industries, and other villainous organizations popping up in other Marvel movies, it’ll not be long until the cinematic universe is as fully developed and addictingly convoluted as the comics.

Not using the A.I.M. from the comics = GOOD IDEA

Through revelations big and small, we learn that Killian was wronged by Stark in the past and now he’s back with the unstable Extremis techno-virus that can regrow limbs and turn your hands into blowtorches, with the small side effect of sometimes causing you to explode. The Extremis-infused goons are a new and frankly refreshing threat to Iron Man. What use are all his weapons when the enemy can regenerate? What protection does his armor provide when they can effortlessly tear chunks out of it? Pearce exudes a brazen charm as he banters and manipulates and seduces his plan into motion. He’s certainly no Heath Ledger Joker or Alfred Molina Doc Ock, but he’s a welcome improvement over yet another guy in a robot suit.

Killian works with the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), an international terrorist with a Bin Laden beard and Unabomber shades. Given that in the comics he wields ten magic rings -- a concept that Marvel’s quasi-realistic tone might not readily accept -- the makers of this movie were faced with the challenge of how to convert the Mandarin to the big screen. Their solution? They didn’t. I’ll let you watch to find out what that means, but suffice to say that some fans will be pissed at the treatment of Iron Man’s greatest nemesis, while others will be tickled at the surprise twist that inspires a great bit of acting from Kingsley. Count me among the latter.

Now do you see why they didn't use the rings?

Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy are all back, but Tony spends most of his time away from his familiar cohorts, and that’s what gives the movie its unique feel and sense of freedom. Iron Man 3 takes a page out of The Dark Knight by having Stark use his vast array of technology to play detective. He also spends a majority of the movie out of the suit -- never mind that he’s now able to remote control it -- which lets us see firsthand what the Man is without the Iron.

The result is a fascinating look at a man with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder -- if you saw aliens pour out of a portal in NYC then you would, too -- and an extreme dependency on the machinery that gives him his identity. Watching him figure out how to live a life in a world without ready access to his limitless resources and a battle suit for every occasion is the bread and butter of the movie.

It’s unfortunate that the PTSD arc fizzles out just before the third act. Instead of an emotional climax based on the intriguing character work that invested us in Tony Stark the Man, we get the equivalent of a toddler upending his toy box on the floor and smashing together all his action figures with delight. A few dozen Iron Men descend on a shipyard full of glowy bad guys, but with the suits being pilotless and the villains being largely immune to harm, it’s hard to care about anything that transpires.

And a note about the Extremis baddies: they seem to be all but immortal, but then we see them die for random reasons that contradicted their previously demonstrated durability. The bald Extremis lived through quite a bit, but then died to a focused beam through the chest. The female Extremis that attacked Tony in the bar died in an explosion, but when Tony detonates his suit while on Killian, he survives. Yet when Pepper kicks a missle into his face and detonates it, Killian dies. I would argue that a concentrated explsion spread across one's entire body is more intense than one just next to you, but it seems like they needed Pepper to have her "moment" at the end.

This also brings to light that Pepper was relegated to being the typical girl tied to the tracks for half the film. She's shown captured and in pain as the villain salivates over her as his prize, only to then show her dangling upside down in a sports bra before falling to her "demise." With only one female on the Avengers -- one without powers, at that -- and most female Marvel leads existing as love interests and little else, it's a shame that the one woman who can verbally spar with Tony is only given half a movie's worth of compelling material.

Getting back to the robotic finale, the different armor designs are cool at first glance, but they only work to point out a glaring plot hole of the film. If Stark had a fleet of battle-ready suits ready to launch at the push of a button, then why didn’t he use them when his mansion got attacked? When he had to save thirteen people jettisoned from an exploding plane? When he had to do anything, really?

The best suit was the Hulkbuster one with its distinguishing bulkiness. The physical manifestation of heavy metal. But even that follows the trend of wasted potential when, instead of fighting, it acts as a support beam and is never seen again. I wanted to see one of its elephant-sized feet come down on an Extremis baddie, crushing them into sparks like putting out a cigarette with your shoe.

Why Hulkbuster no smash?

It also would have been nice to see it in a green color, perhaps acknowledging Tony’s bromance with the Hulk’s Bruce Banner. This would also act as a clever response as to why Tony doesn’t immediately call on the Avengers for help: he’s already built suitable replacements. But the movie does answer this question in its own way. The Avengers only assemble when a threat appears that no one hero could stand against. Clearly, Tony could handle this one all by himself.

But despite any nitpicks, the film is a win. Anything that can move me to laughter gets a bonus in my book, and this movie succeeded despite every flaw because of the effortlessly humorous RDJ. It’s better than the misguided-but-still-watchable Iron Man 2, but too overreaching in its need to dazzle to best the original. It’s certainly a solid follow up to The Avengers and the start of Marvel Phase 2. Speaking of future Marvel movies, perhaps the oddest bit comes at the start of the credits when we see: “Tony Stark will return.” Even though we just saw him all but relinquish everything that makes him Iron Man, Marvel made sure to blatantly state to audiences that there’s more coming. As if there was ever any doubt.

IGN Comic Book Reviews 2/27/13

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Review: Warlord of Mars: The Fall of Barsoom #1

Warlord of Mars: The Fall of Barsoom #1

Napton may have created a masterpiece for those familiar with John Carter, but any newcomer would be hard-pressed to see it. Castro’s art feels like a series of still photographs and lacks kinetic energy. Instead of starting this new story off in a way that would attract new fans, it relishes in political debate and scant references to the original John Carter by Edgar Rice Burroughs, making it feel unsettlingly like Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace – a death knell of a comparison. Keep readin'!

Check out my Reviews of Dark Horse Presents #2, Mystery Men #2, and The Death of Ultimate Spider-Man on Broken Frontier!

Dark Horse Presents #2 

Dark Horse Presents continues its revival in print with another 80 pages of short comics from various popular and new artists and writers. A total of ten different stories appear in this anthology; some are better than others, but a more focused, high-quality effort to bring readers an anthology of diverse titles cannot be found anywhere else in print today. Check out the rest at Broken Frontier!

Mystery Men #2 

Battling against the mysterious, disgusting General and a corrupt police force in 1932, the Operative, the Reverant, and a woman with a jetpack begrudgingly join forces for another round of pulp-inspired action. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Ultimate Spider-Man #160

Is it a spoiler to say that Spider-Man actually dies in a story titled "Death of Spider-Man"? If it is, then consider the ending to this story spoiled. After 160 issues, Bendis brings his career-making arc for Peter Parker to a close. Even though he will continue to write Ultimate Spider-Man featuring a new web-slinger in black and red duds, this issue marks the end of Peter’s story that has made for one of the best ongoing titles of the last decade. With such great stories that have built up to this moment, this particular issue encounters a few problems that stop it from being a truly iconic finish. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

See my reviews of Alpha Flight #1 and Supergirl #1 on Broken Frontier!

Alpha Flight #1

The issue has enough characters and action that it is set to burst, but that doesn’t stop it from forming a cohesive story that proves to be the best Fear Itself tie-in so far. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!

Supergirl #65

Supergirl goes undercover Never Been Kissed-style in order to help Lois Lane discover why several intelligent teenagers have disappeared. While the supporting characters shine with interesting personalities, the titular heroine’s behavior feels inconsistent. Keep reading at Broken Frontier!