So soon after seeing Captain America I just saw the sneak preview of the Avengers movie which you can take a look at here. There is a pretty big spoiler at the start of the clip if you haven't seen Captain America.
It's a blink and you'll miss it clip (Empire has screenshots) but you get a glimpse of Robert Downey Jr (Stark) , Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (The Incredible Hulk) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) who appears at the end of the Iron Man, Thor and Captain America movies.
Release is scheduled for some time in early summer 2012.
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Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Story: You know you have seen a good film with an interesting story when the first thing you do after getting home is look up the extended version of the story online.
Captain America: The First Avenger much like many other superhero movies of the last few years is based on an extensive comic book series so they aren't exactly light on stories to tell.
After repeatedly being rejected for American military service during World War II Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) catches the attention of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who inducts him into an army research project that transforms the weak and feeble Rogers into taller, fitter version of himself, with the peak of every human ability.
Initially used as a mascot to raise funding for the war, Captain America eventually finds his calling when he springs into action to help his fellow soldiers.
I'm not a big comic book fan (they never really took off in the UK when I was a kid) but I love the interweaving of other stories, movies and characters, although I have to admit the Howard Stark part took me a minute... (Story: 2/3)
The Cast: I wasn't expecting much after seeing Chris Evans in both Fantastic Four movies but I have to say he did a remarkable job of playing the feeble, weak but determined Steve Rogers in the pre Captain America portion of the movie and carried it over nicely into the rest of the film.
Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci both take to the 'mad scientist' roles well and add a nice comparison between the requirements of good and evil.
Hugo Weaving is a little dry at times, and I never found his character quite believe able for some reason. I just didn't feel like I wanted him to get beaten as much as I should.
I have to confess to not having seen any of Hayley Atwell's previous work, but I must say she adds a nice mix of beauty and intelligence to the role, and doesn't fall into the classic superhero movie female lead, due in part to the great chemistry between her and the feeble Evans pre experiment. (Cast: 2/3)
The Action: From start to finish Captain America never really stops and even the quieter moments are full of drama and suspense. The battle scenes are fast paced and gritty and although some of the moves our hero pulls are somewhat over the top, especially with the shield, overall the action is enthralling and engaging. (Action: 2/3)
Everything else: No question that Campaign America: The First Avenger is getting a bonus point for the special effects alone. Turning Chris Evans into a scrawny, short and pale man for a large portion of the movie in such a perfect and seamless way is nothing short of phenomenal. (Everything else: 1/1)
Captain America: The First Avenger: 7/10
Captain America: The First Avenger much like many other superhero movies of the last few years is based on an extensive comic book series so they aren't exactly light on stories to tell.
After repeatedly being rejected for American military service during World War II Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) catches the attention of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who inducts him into an army research project that transforms the weak and feeble Rogers into taller, fitter version of himself, with the peak of every human ability.
Initially used as a mascot to raise funding for the war, Captain America eventually finds his calling when he springs into action to help his fellow soldiers.
I'm not a big comic book fan (they never really took off in the UK when I was a kid) but I love the interweaving of other stories, movies and characters, although I have to admit the Howard Stark part took me a minute... (Story: 2/3)
The Cast: I wasn't expecting much after seeing Chris Evans in both Fantastic Four movies but I have to say he did a remarkable job of playing the feeble, weak but determined Steve Rogers in the pre Captain America portion of the movie and carried it over nicely into the rest of the film.
Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci both take to the 'mad scientist' roles well and add a nice comparison between the requirements of good and evil.
Hugo Weaving is a little dry at times, and I never found his character quite believe able for some reason. I just didn't feel like I wanted him to get beaten as much as I should.
I have to confess to not having seen any of Hayley Atwell's previous work, but I must say she adds a nice mix of beauty and intelligence to the role, and doesn't fall into the classic superhero movie female lead, due in part to the great chemistry between her and the feeble Evans pre experiment. (Cast: 2/3)
The Action: From start to finish Captain America never really stops and even the quieter moments are full of drama and suspense. The battle scenes are fast paced and gritty and although some of the moves our hero pulls are somewhat over the top, especially with the shield, overall the action is enthralling and engaging. (Action: 2/3)
Everything else: No question that Campaign America: The First Avenger is getting a bonus point for the special effects alone. Turning Chris Evans into a scrawny, short and pale man for a large portion of the movie in such a perfect and seamless way is nothing short of phenomenal. (Everything else: 1/1)
Captain America: The First Avenger: 7/10
Friday, 29 July 2011
Friday, 22 July 2011
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
I have to confess to not being a huge Transformers fan. I thought the first movie was great for the special effects but since I wasn't a fan of the story beforehand and didn't find the content particularly engaging I had all but written it off. I didn't make a special effort to see the second film and only saw it when it made its way to TV.
With this in mind Transformers: Dark of the Moon was really impressive. While the storyline may have lacked depth, this is definitely a film where the special effects and action sequences drive the movie rather than the other way around.
You have to realise that Transformers is a film about robots fighting - it really doesn't get more geeky than that. If you're expecting an intelligent plot with gripping dialogue and multiple themes you're going to be thoroughly disappointed.
The special effects in this film are absolutely phenomenal. Just at the time you start to think that the action is too fast paced and you can't actually see what's going on, they slow things down for you, adding nicely to the flow of the film.
The interweaving of the films plot with American History is a little weak and somewhat unnecessary in places, but it at least places some context on some of the events.
Shia LaBeouf does a good job in his return as Sam, and although his relationship with one of the robots is a little difficult to buy at times, his dialogue and general demeanor fit well with the rest of the cast.
The short appearances by Sam's parents are almost entirely pointless and could have easily been removed as they add practically noting to the film. You never feel like the relationship between them and Sam is genuine, and the banter about his getting a job is lost in the wider plot.
Megan Fox was always going to be a tough act to follow in the leading Lady stakes, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley makes a genuinely beautiful alternative. She's also British, so director Michael Bay scores extra points there. They do utilise her in one too many beautiful-girl-in-front-of-epic-action slow motion shots but outside of that she does as good a job as can be expected in that type of role.
Overall Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a great crack at a sequal, and the special effects make up for pretty much everything else that's lacking. If you'd like to go and see a movie about robots fighting, then you'll love this, if you're looking for an in depth, dialough based throught provoking movie, you're probably better off going to see something else.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 7/10
With this in mind Transformers: Dark of the Moon was really impressive. While the storyline may have lacked depth, this is definitely a film where the special effects and action sequences drive the movie rather than the other way around.
You have to realise that Transformers is a film about robots fighting - it really doesn't get more geeky than that. If you're expecting an intelligent plot with gripping dialogue and multiple themes you're going to be thoroughly disappointed.
The special effects in this film are absolutely phenomenal. Just at the time you start to think that the action is too fast paced and you can't actually see what's going on, they slow things down for you, adding nicely to the flow of the film.
The interweaving of the films plot with American History is a little weak and somewhat unnecessary in places, but it at least places some context on some of the events.
Shia LaBeouf does a good job in his return as Sam, and although his relationship with one of the robots is a little difficult to buy at times, his dialogue and general demeanor fit well with the rest of the cast.
The short appearances by Sam's parents are almost entirely pointless and could have easily been removed as they add practically noting to the film. You never feel like the relationship between them and Sam is genuine, and the banter about his getting a job is lost in the wider plot.
Megan Fox was always going to be a tough act to follow in the leading Lady stakes, but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley makes a genuinely beautiful alternative. She's also British, so director Michael Bay scores extra points there. They do utilise her in one too many beautiful-girl-in-front-of-epic-action slow motion shots but outside of that she does as good a job as can be expected in that type of role.
Overall Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a great crack at a sequal, and the special effects make up for pretty much everything else that's lacking. If you'd like to go and see a movie about robots fighting, then you'll love this, if you're looking for an in depth, dialough based throught provoking movie, you're probably better off going to see something else.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 7/10
Thursday, 16 June 2011
X-Men: First Class
No pressure on X-Men as the first movie to be reviewed on the blog. I'm sure director Matthew Vaughn was thinking about this day when he finished filming.
The first thing to say about this movie is that while you could easily watch it as a stand alone, it's really a good idea to have seen the other movies, or at least the first two, to get the most out of it.
The references to the original films are great, and First Class works hard to help you understand some of the relationships and dynamic in the earlier films. I'm not sure if we can class this as a sequel (or prequel) because the cast in the film is almost entirely different from the other X-Men movies, even if Wolverine does make a cameo.
The cast is absolutely phenomenal. James McAvoy makes a charming and perfectly cringe worthy young Charles Xavier and although I think if his character was based on the older version he later becomes he wouldn't be quite so playful, the role fits perfectly in this film.
Michael Fassbender plays an angry and relentless young Magneto exceptionally well, and I can see how the swagger and arrogance would translate nicely into the Bond role he's being associated with after Daniel Craig hangs up his bow tie.
I'm a Oliver Platt fan so it's nice to see him make an appearance as the 'I'm with the government but I'm on your side' man in the movie. Young British actor Nicholas Hoult, who has just about shed the 'oh he's the one from About a Boy' tag makes a great addition to the X-Men family as genius/mutant Hank McCoy and does a great job of telling the story of Beast.
Overall X-Men: First Class is a wildly entertaining action with a surprisingly well thought out story. The action flows nicely and doesn't feel forced into sections of the film. The cast do a fantastic job of telling the story behind X-Men and I hope it's box office success to date encourages them to expand on this part of the story and make a prequel sequel.
I haven't decided on a rating system yet, but I guess marks out of five is the standard apprach and X-Men: First Class gets a well deserved four stars.
X-Men: First Class: ****
Check out the official trailer on Youtube:
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The first thing to say about this movie is that while you could easily watch it as a stand alone, it's really a good idea to have seen the other movies, or at least the first two, to get the most out of it.
The references to the original films are great, and First Class works hard to help you understand some of the relationships and dynamic in the earlier films. I'm not sure if we can class this as a sequel (or prequel) because the cast in the film is almost entirely different from the other X-Men movies, even if Wolverine does make a cameo.
The cast is absolutely phenomenal. James McAvoy makes a charming and perfectly cringe worthy young Charles Xavier and although I think if his character was based on the older version he later becomes he wouldn't be quite so playful, the role fits perfectly in this film.
Michael Fassbender plays an angry and relentless young Magneto exceptionally well, and I can see how the swagger and arrogance would translate nicely into the Bond role he's being associated with after Daniel Craig hangs up his bow tie.
I'm a Oliver Platt fan so it's nice to see him make an appearance as the 'I'm with the government but I'm on your side' man in the movie. Young British actor Nicholas Hoult, who has just about shed the 'oh he's the one from About a Boy' tag makes a great addition to the X-Men family as genius/mutant Hank McCoy and does a great job of telling the story of Beast.
Overall X-Men: First Class is a wildly entertaining action with a surprisingly well thought out story. The action flows nicely and doesn't feel forced into sections of the film. The cast do a fantastic job of telling the story behind X-Men and I hope it's box office success to date encourages them to expand on this part of the story and make a prequel sequel.
I haven't decided on a rating system yet, but I guess marks out of five is the standard apprach and X-Men: First Class gets a well deserved four stars.
X-Men: First Class: ****
Check out the official trailer on Youtube:
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