Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017)

“I have sensitive nipples!”

Yes, the Guardians of the Galaxy are back. Wisely, James Gunn is also back to write and direct, and the soundtrack plays just as part a role. What we have is more of the same, which is no bad thing. This sequel may not be quite as good as the first film but it has the same humour, the same relatable characters in a very cosmic setting, and the same sense of style.

It even has a heart, with the message that men like Yondu who bother to raise children are proper fathers, whereas giant planets like Ego who bugger off to destroy all life in the universe are not. We also have a touching and hilarious romance of sorts between Drax (who gets the best lines, again: “I have famously huge turds”) and the innocent Mantis. The reconciliation between sisters Gamora and Nebula is heartwarming, and we are told the horrible truth that Thanos (Not in the film but ever- present) used to make his daughters fight and Gamora always won, and each time he would replace a part of Nebula’s body with machinery for losing- truly horrific. Baby Groot is cute. And Rocket Raccoon is everybody’s favourite arsehole.

Ego, of course, can’t always be shown as a giant planet on the screen, so Kurt Russell plays his human avatar, although we certainly get to see Ego as we know him, a living planet with a face. Mantis is as we know her from Steve Englehart. And the Stan Lee cameo is intriguing as we briefly catch him reminiscing to Uatu, suggesting that all his cameos may have seen him working undercover for the Watchers. Ego is a Celestial, apparently; they obviously look quite different in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Howard the Duck gets another cameo, played by Seth Green. And the ending seems to hint at the creation of Adam Warlock, no less.

We get a dramatic and very sad ending bringing everything to a splendid confusion, and some properly cosmic post-credit scenes. I’m glad it won’t be another three years until we see these characters again.

Ant-Man (2015)

"How's retirement?"

"How's your face?"

This is probably one of the less good Marvel films I've seen; there was a certain lack of polish and there's an unevenness that makes it very noticeable that Edgar Wright was replaced as director. And yet it shows the Marvel benchmark that we nevertheless have a thoroughly enjoyable film that isn't going to garner many negative comments. It helps that Paul Rudd is so excellent.

You can sort of tell, in spite of the different genre (a heist movie within the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and very different setting that the script is from the same source as a certain three films starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, in spite of the lowered humour quotient. But this is very much a Marvel film, complete with Stan Lee cameo and gratuitous reference to Tales to Astonish. It's interesting that Henry Pym was a superhero, as Ant-Man, back in the '80s here, but that Janet Van Dyne, a character I remember so well from Secret Wars, is dead. my Marvel comics knowledge is pretty thorough up to about 1993 and pretty hazy after that; is she dead in the comics?

It's nice to have someone released from prison (admittedly for a pretty Robin Hood crime that doesn't lose our sympathy) as a hero. This film believes in rehabilitation, which is a big reason to like it. The character stuff s good too- Scott being cruelly kept from his daughter (my own little girl is not much younger) and the dynamic between Hank and Hope. The most emotive scenes are all about fathers and daughters. It's a fun film to watch, and even has a giant Thomas the Tank Engine. It's well worth seeing, and don't be put off by the fact that there are better Marvel films. It would be a shame to skip this.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

"I don't believe that anybody could be 100% dick..."

I'm an old-fashioned Marvel geek in that I bought a ridiculous number of titles up until around 1994, when most of my favourite runs were winding down, Mark Gruenwald died and I started building up my record collection, which left less budgetary room for comic books. I know an awful lot about Marvel up to that point (I had a lot of back issues going way back) but I'm patchy thereafter. I do, however, remember Jim Valentino's run on Guardians of the Galaxy, a title set a thousand years on the future and with characters called things like Vance Astro and Charlie 27. This film isn't based on any of that, but a load of Marvel's cosmic characters, many of them associated with the great Jim Starlin.

We have fanwanky Marvel goodness aplenty. There is Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon(!), Ronan the Accuser, Thanos(!), a strange cyborg version of Nebula who hears no relation to the character as written by Roger Stern in The Avengers back in the mid-'80s, the Collector, the best Stan Lee cameo yet and even footage of a Celestial!

But this isn't a po-faced epic film; it's  witty, fun action film full of funny and charismatic rogues turned heroes, a cross between Star Wars and Firefly. Chris Pratt stars as Peter, a transplanted human with mysterious parentage and the Han Solo of the film. Karen Gillan disappoints vaguely as Nebula. But the best thing in it is Bradley Cooper's Rocket.

This is a superbly plotted and scripted sci-go action film with wit, action, top tuneage (we get Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" and the Runaways' "Cherry Bomb"!) and an amazingly realised space opera world with some of the best CGI I've ever seen. If you haven't seen it, do so now. It'll be on at cinemas for a good while. 

Oh, and remember, this is a Marvel film. Stay to the end.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: The Asset

“You forget, I saw plenty of action with the Avengers!”

“And you died…”

At last! After the introductory episode, and an episode which serves to introduce us properly to all the characters, we get a regular sort of episode. Finally, I get a chance to pass a value judgement. And this episode, while not exceptionally good, is not only the best so far, but is quietly promising for the standard we can expect.

The plot is a classic bait and switch, with our supposedly kidnapped S.H.I.E.L.D scientist having manipulated his own apparent abduction from our less-than-stellar millionaire baddie for his own ethical purposes. It also plays on the fact that we don’t quite know Skye yet and therefore have doubts as to her loyalty. I’m sure that her continued links to the Rising Tide will have real significance later, but for now her apparent conflict of loyalties is just a bit of misdirection. Another thing which will have significance later is the mysterious fact of Coulson’s resurrection, of which we are again reminded.

The episode looks good, beginning as it does with an amazing CGI sequence. But the episode is essentially about the characters. Agent Ward may be abrasive, and he may have doubts about Skye in particular, but he seems more and more to be doing this for fatherly reasons. He seems to bond a little with Skye, however, which is both surprising and a possible hint of a possible future romance between the two of them. Skye, still new to combat, shows her bravery and resourcefulness both by volunteering for her underground mission and being bloody good at it.

 
Just to round up with a word about the other characters… Fitz and Simmons continue to be comic relief with no hint of any further depths, while Agent May, interestingly, finally decides that she actually wants to become involved in combat again. Surely her backstory can’t be too far away. The baddie, tycoon Ian Quinn, is something of a Bond villain cipher, and the script mocks him for his free market, right wing views in a pleasing little example of a dig at this show’s big corporate parent. Let’s see what happens next week, though. I want more superheroes and supervillains!

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: 0-8-4

“It’s the best chocolate in the world.”

“Could use some sugar.”

“Americans!”

So far this is looking like a typical Joss Whedon show in the way the early episodes develop. As with Firefly, we have a first episode to establish the premise and a second episode to fully introduce us to the characters and get a full handle on who they are and what they are like. This was something that was lacking last episode.

We begin with some bloody good CGI of a plane and that, and Agent Coulson in grave peril. We then cut to a caption saying “19 hours earlier”, just as once happened with Mal Reynolds. Again, very Firefly. We are then introduced to this week’s McGuffin, sorry, 084. This gives us an excuse for the team to go to Peru and engage in a team building exercise, except in this case with peril instead of paintball. Along the way, we get to meet and old flame of Agent Coulson who will no doubt never be referred to again, especially as she’s now dead and that. Oh, and we end up with a cameo of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (ooooooh!). That’ll be the plot then.

But the point of this is to flesh out the characters for the benefit of us, the viewer. So let’s have a look at them. Agent Coulson is all cheery and mysterious and that, and yes, he gets a line to remind us of his recent unexplained death. Agent May is a real badass who, for some mysterious reason that will no doubt be explained in, oh, about four episodes from now, hates combat and much prefers to just fly everybody around. She is taciturn, mysterious, and so far comes across as a bit of a female Wolverine.

We have our British scientist types, Fitz and Simmons, for comic relief and to do the science bits of the plot. Presumably some background will be sketched in later. Skye, we know from the first episode. And finally there’s Ward. He’s gruff, militaristic and generally a bit like Riley from Buffy. Again, no doubt he will soon acquire a hinterland.

So that’s it. We know them all a bit better now and will know who they are next time. That was this episode’s job and it did it well.  This being a Whedon show, I confidently expect the initial set up episodes to be followed by quality. And it seems the season arc may have begun. Skye, our audience identification character, turns out to still be working for these Rising Tide people. OOOh errrr.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Pilot

“It means someone really wanted our initials to spell ‘Shield’!”

Oh dear. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve got no real excuse either. Just living and that. Home life, work, Doctor Who conventions, pod casting, and two gorgeous cats. And throughout all this time I’ve carried on making my usual blog notes for many things I’ve watched, both film and telly. There is a bit of a backlog for Dollhouse(notes completed up ‘til the end), Grimm, Buffy, Angel, and, well- how should I say this?- two entire television series right up until the end! One of them is four seasons long!

So I’d better get on with it. After all, I’m a massive Marvel geek, albeit one who stopped getting the comics with any regularity back in the 90’s, and rapidly becoming just as much of a Whedon geek. Plus, this is the first time ever that I’ve seen a Joss Whedon show on its original transmission. Well, I say original transmission, but we Limeys are seeing this a full three days after you Yanks!

SO, what to make of this first episode? Joss himself both co-writes and directs, and his fingerprints are all over both the dialogue and the general look of the thing. Of course, being a first episode, it’s a bit of a blur and it will take a bit of a while to get to know all the characters. But the supposedly late Agent Coulson is back from the dead with his dialogue made suitably snappy for him to be able to star in a Joss Whedon show. There is also a white coated scientist who is, at this point, notable only for being played by Ron Glass. More prominently, we have Agents Hill and Ward, technical British people Fitz and Simmons, and some other people. Most importantly, we have Skye, a hacker turned agent and Mike, a superhero played by none other than J. August Richards, who suddenly looks older than he did in Angel.

The opening dialogue recalls Torchwood in that it is set after the events of The Avengers and the “battle of New York” and the full outing of superheroes, and an alien invasion into the bargain. Everything has changed and we’ve got to be ready. In addition, the scenes with Mike at the beginning remind me of the first season of Heroes, but, mercifully, nowhere near as long winded.  As ever, Whedon has fun with the tropes. Mike’s story echoes that of Spider-Man’s origin and also that of many Marvel heroes. Wonderfully, Mike is quite aware of this, responding to the doctor who gave him his powers, when she tells him that it’s a disaster that “No, it’s an origin story”. Even more gloriously, Skye is set up early on as an agent of a mysterious organisation and antagonist, only to be revealed as a lone wolf hacker and captured within the first few minutes.

Skye compares Shield, while in conversation with Mike, to men in black and makes them sound sinister, but it seems that Whedon is anxious to avoid this cliché and takes pains to emphasise that they are in fact quite nice. This immediately gives the show a very different feel to Dollhouse, in spite of some superficial similarities.

Marvel Universe geekery is kept quite subtle, although there is an obligatory reference to Professor Erksine and the Super Soldier Serum. There are numerous mysteries, not the least of which is who gave Mike his powers, but for me the most pressing point is whether Mike is going to stay on and join the team. I get the impression that he isn’t dead, and Richards is far too good an actor to waste as a one off guest star.

One more thing: I had a red car called Lola way before Agent Coulson did! Just sayin’. That aside, this were well good.

Howard the Duck (1986)

"That's it. No more Mr. Nice Duck!"

It's rather odd that I haven't reviewed any superhero films so far, especially as I'm rather partial to them and there are so many of them around these days. V for Vendetta doesn't really count. It's about time that I reviewed a film starring one of the truly iconic Marvel or DC heroes. What could be a more obvious choice than Howard the Duck? (Thanks to Nick for lending it!)

Admittedly, there are reasons to go in with low expectations. The quotes on the DVD cover, which are naturally going to be the most complimentary ones they could possibly use, are all about the special effects and nothing else. The film is "presented by" George Lucas, and any film which is "presented by" someone more famous is invariably directed by someone quite obscure. Also, back in those distant days before the Star Wars prequels when George Lucas actually had a good reputation, this was generally considered one of the worst things he's put his name to.

Actually, though, I was very pleasantly surprised. It's not a particularly great film, fair enough, but it's a pleasantly nostalgic experience to watch it today. Yes, the plot is a bit plodding, the tone overly sentimental and the jokes forced, but without these things it just wouldn't be a 1980s Hollywood adaptation. And the film lays on the 1980s-ness so heavily that it's hard to accept that it's from the real 1980s and not a modern pastiche of the 1980s that thinks it was all Rubik's cubes, shoulder pads, Mr. T and Boy George. Let's do a list, shall we?

• Lea Thompson is in it, and she's one of the most 1980s people ever. Plus, her hair is looking particularly 1980s. Oh, and she's lead singer in a band that's just like the Bangles.

• We have one of those sorts of nightclubs that are only ever seen in movies from the 1980s, complete with an extraordinary array of hairstyles and probably half the world's supply of hairspray.

• Howard gets shoved all the way along a bar until he falls off the end, and then walks purposefully across it to get his revenge. This only ever happens in 1980s film and TV.

• There's some outrageous product placement for, of all things, Heinz mustard and tomato ketchup.

• There's an end of level baddie at the end as the Dark Overlord attains his true form, thus indicating that we've just entered the age of the video game, and yet this monster is a rather splendid, Ray Harryhausen style stop-motion thingy that moves just a little too quickly and awkwardly but is nevertheless the greatest thing ever. This combination could have happened in no other decade.

So, yay for all that. Of course, the duck costume looks rubbish. Of course, you have to raise an eyebrow at how easy it seems to be for a literal illegal alien to get a job. And yes, the film translates very little of Steve Gerber's absurd humour and sharpness to the screen, although Beverley does utter the phrase "trapped in a world you never made". But this is fun, nostalgic to the point where even the rubbish bits are nostalgically rubbish, and features Lea Thompson with not many clothes on. What more do you want? Although it has to be said that the film only has a 12 certificate and yet there are rather broad hints of what is technically bestiality…!