marvel – Film and stuff

Spider-Man: Far From Home – Movie Review

SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME!!! DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET!!!

Far From Home is the most recent instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and, by the looks of it, we probably won’t see much more of Spider-Man for a while after this.

I actually liked Far From Home more than Spider-Man: Homecoming, and that’s saying something because Homecoming was received extremely well by audiences when it came out. Far From Home has better pacing and a much more interesting storyline (in my opinion).

The aftermath of Infinity War and Endgame are mentioned as soon as the film starts, and people are already asking Spider-Man if he’s going to be the next Iron Man. This is all too overwhelming for Peter, which is why he’s just trying to enjoy his holiday without having to do any hero work.

Unfortunately for him, Nick Fury and the intergalactic hero Mysterio follow him on his school trip and pretty much force him into fighting two elemental giants.

Of course it was inevitable that Peter would be forced back into his Spider-Man suit, seeing as this is a Spider-Man movie; but it is quite heartbreaking to see Peter missing out on a fun holiday with his friends and the girl he likes because of it.

The impact that his hero work has on his social life is explored in much more detail here, as we see his classmates spreading rumours and talking about Peter behind his back while he’s saving their lives as Spider-Man.

There’s a lot more that I want to talk about, but I can’t because of spoilers. What I can say is that there’s a massive plot twist halfway through the movie, and you should definitely stay right until the end of the credits because there are two post-credits scenes that are totally worth the wait.

Far From Home is definitely worth watching, and it’s one of my favourite Spider-Man movies to date.

8/10

Dark Phoenix – Movie Review

The critics warned us, but we all went to see Dark Phoenix anyway. So is it really any surprise that most, if not all Marvel fans left disappointed?

Dark Phoenix is pretty much a remake of X-Men: Last Stand, following the storyline of Jean Grey’s powers taking over and turning her into an unstoppable god-like mutant. It’s been so long since I last saw Last Stand, so it’s difficult to compare the two – but I think it’s safe to say that Dark Phoenix is just as underwhelming as Last Stand was.

It’s quite obvious that the crew working on this probably wanted to get it over and done with. The writing’s lazy and the action is dull. The acting is also a bit strange – all of the actors in this film talk in a tone of voice that’s slightly above monotone, but only just. Overall, this film has such low energy that it’s actually tiring to get through it all.

I’ve heard a lot of people saying that this X-Men storyline should have ended with Logan, and I can’t help but agree. I’m actually struggling to write any more about this film and I think that says a lot. The two movies are polar opposites – Dark Phoenix could never live up to the story-rich and exceptionally acted Logan. Logan was also Hugh Jackman’s last role as Wolverine, so surely that would have been more fitting as the final instalment?

I will admit, you do have to give Dark Phoenix credit for competent filmmaking and good special effects. It is interesting to watch in that sense, at least. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t a good film overall.

4/10

Avengers: Endgame – Movie Review

At 3am I walked out of the premiere of Avengers: Endgame with my friends. We could all agree on one thing – it was the best Avengers movie we had seen so far, but it left us all absolutely devastated.

I’ll keep this review spoiler-free, as most people haven’t had the chance to see it yet.

I honestly I had no idea what to expect before this movie started. How do you start the next chapter after half of the world’s population has been destroyed in a mass genocide? Endgame starts off focusing more on the characters’ reactions to the effects of the snap as opposed to them immediately jumping into action to stop Thanos. It could be argued that this comes across as slow-paced, but I think that’s necessary in this context.

Pretty much everything you think is going to happen is probably wrong. There are quite a few characters who I was expecting to be much more important in the story who ended up getting hardly any screen time. The way the movie plays out also did not line up with what I expected at all.

There are so many important moments in the film that it’s impossible to not watch it if you’re a Marvel fan, or even a superhero/comic book fan in general. Obviously there isn’t very much that I can say without completely spoiling the movie, but there are definitely some game-changing scenes that caught everyone completely off guard.

Endgame manages to keep up a comedic atmosphere whilst also acknowledging the heaviness of the situation. The tonal shift doesn’t clash at all, and very much works to the movie’s advantage.

There isn’t much that I can say about the ending without ruining it, other than it’s probably one of the best movie endings I’ve seen in a while. The writers really knew exactly what had to happen for the story to work out, and managed to make it emotional enough whilst also making it justified.

You definitely need to see this if you’re a fan of Marvel, or even if you enjoy superheroes and comic books in general. Hell, I would even suggest this to people who aren’t huge fans of the superhero genre – but be aware that there are a lot of films that you need to watch in advance for context.

I guess there’s only one more comment I can leave in this review – I loved it 3000.

10/10

Captain Marvel – Movie Review

So, I saw Captain Marvel on Wednesday. And, honestly, it was a lot better than what I was expecting.

As this movie is still in cinemas, I’m going to keep this review spoiler-free. So, what I can tell you right now is that the story is a lot more interesting than the trailer lets on. This is partly because of spoiler territory, but also because the trailer just seems to focus on the action scenes as opposed to the actual plot (which was the best thing Marvel could have done, in my opinion).

There’s a good balance of Earth and space scenes, and the CGI is good enough to make the setting believable, as well as visually stunning. The split between the two planets makes you invested enough in both parts of the narrative, and it doesn’t take away from the plot at all.

This movie is also a lot more political than I thought it would be. This works to the movie’s advantage in some ways, as there is some great commentary on racism and the way we treat our fellow human beings. However, there are some aspects that aren’t as good – for example, the way that the US military is presented throughout the film.

Brie Larson was a great choice for Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. She’s a tough woman, but also funny and relatable enough to come across as human. Honestly, the whole cast in general was a great choice for this film. Samuel L. Jackson as young Nick Fury is also another great honourable mention (also, what did they do to make him look younger? Because damn, it worked).

Overall, I would say this movie is pretty good, and definitely worth a watch. It’s also pretty likely that you’ll need to see it for context for Avengers: Endgame anyway. My only real complaints with the movie are that some of the jokes didn’t really land (which often resulted in an awkward chuckle somewhere at the back of the cinema), and some of the characters didn’t really react in the same way that a normal person would in strange situations scattered throughout the film.

6/10

Into the Spider-Verse – Movie Review

I know that this film is still relatively new, so I’ll try to keep this review spoiler free.

This is definitely the best Spider-Man movie I’ve seen in a long time, if not ever. The pacing of the story is perfect, the character development is great, the plot is strong, and the animation style is amazing. The only thing I’m disappointed about is that I didn’t get to see it sooner.

The story focuses on Miles Morales, a high school kid who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and then discovers that he has spider powers. Here’s the kicker, though – Peter Parker is also alive in this reality, and has been Spider-Man for the past ten years. Miles finds Spider-Man/Peter in the middle of a battle with The Green Goblin. While Miles and Spidey are trying to figure things out, Kingpin turns on a reality-warping machine, messing up Brooklyn and zapping six different Spider-people into Miles’ timeline.

trio — AU!Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen, and Miles Morales

When Kingpin tries to turn his machine on again, it’s up to Miles and the other five Spider-people to stop him.

Into the Spider-Verse manages to tell a good story as well as throwing in jokes about past Spider-Man movies and superhero tropes without ruining the balance of the script. There are other storylines that play into the film as well, making the characters seem more human. Miles has only just developed his spider powers, and so a large portion of the film is dedicated to exploring that. It doesn’t take away from the main conflict at all – if anything, it adds to it.

Kingpin isn’t the only villain shown in this film. As mentioned before, The Green Goblin is seen fighting Peter Parker’s Spider-Man at the start of the film. Doctor Octopus also makes an appearance, and Kingpin sends Prowler after Miles, resulting in a chase that lasts half of the movie. This helps with the story, as it doesn’t depend on just one villain to create conflict for an entire team of Spider-people.

Conflict between Miles and his family is also prevalent throughout the movie. Miles’ dad doesn’t approve of Spider-Man, making it easier for the audience to empathize with Miles as he tries to work through his powers and the fight with Kingpin. His parents also think that he’s having trouble with school, reminding the audience that, at the end of the day, Miles is just a kid from Brooklyn.

Into the Spider-Verse is one of those charming superhero movies that I haven’t seen in a long time. I really wish more Marvel and DC movies took this tone – it makes the film so much more engaging and real.

There was also a very touching end-credits scene (I won’t ruin it for you. Go see it yourself). Oh, and fyi, there are two end-credits scenes. Stick around until the lights go back on in the cinema. It’s so worth the wait.

10/10