Ant-Man

Ant-Man has had a whole host of problems in the run up to its creation. Not only was it one of the earlier films stated by Marvel, only now being made, it also had Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright leave the project just before production. Anybody would think that Marvel's latest would be an absolute disaster but thankfully it is not, not quite anyway...

Ant-Man follows Scott Lang, an ex-con and brilliant thief, as he is recruited by scientist Hank Pym to don the Ant-Man suit and steal back the plans from Darren Cross, who looks to turn the suit into a weapon for sale.

Paul Rudd is the hero of this film and he is supported by Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Evangeline Lily as Hope Van Dyne and Corey Stroll as Darren Cross. Nobody really stands out in the film but nobody sucks either. Paul Rudd is a pretty convincing hero but it is one of his friends and fellow crooks who steals the show, Luis, played by Michael Peña. There are also a couple of great cameos that really help make the film better. 

The best thing about this film is the shrinking action, If you didn't know already, the Ant-Man suit allows the user to shrink to the size of an ant, but still retain their strength, as well as being able to talk to fellow ants and manipulate them. It sounds stupid but director Peyton Reed really uses the ability to create some really memorable awesome looking action scenes. Reed really makes the most of the power and has the action take place in a variety of comedical, but also impressive, settings such as a briefcase and a bathtub. These are the scenes that really stood out in the film but unfortunately, there is a lack of them in the first half. For me this did make the first half of the film a bit boring as I didn't care much for what else was happening.

With a premise as difficult to pull off as Ant-Man's is, I did think the film would be funnier. There were laughs but for me the comedy didn't always work and with someone as great as Paul Rudd as the lead, I was expecting a lot more. For a film that was described as a 'heist' movie, there is only really one clever heist pulled off near the start. The main big heist isn't really that interesting or clever and didn't do anything new for the genre, apart from the fact that the main guy is very small.

This is the problem with Ant-Man, the story itself is pretty formulaic and by the numbers. Many of the Marvel origin stories have been, but thankfully they have had more interesting characters to follow throughout. Ant-Man didn't have this. I didn't care for Scott Lang, he felt like a combination of other Marvel characters with his only unique trait being that he had a daughter to care for. Hank Pym was the most interesting character in the film because we haven't really seen an old hero pass down his mantle yet in this universe. Michael Douglas also brought a lot of weight to the character that never is or was a purely good hero.

Marvel yet again suffer from lacklustre villains. I really like Corey Stroll but he plays a villain that is just evil, a reason is given but it wasn't enough for me. The fact that his powers are similar to Ant-Man's does make their fights look great but like the rest of the film, the action works and everything else is pretty forgettable. Marvel really need to sort their villains out for Phase 3.

The troubled production doesn't help and you can tell the scenes which are very Edgar Wright-y. Who knows what his film would have looked like overall! The film is not a total disaster and I would like to see a sequel now that they are more confident with the character and the world. Unfortunately the first outing is a bit messy but overall there is fun to be had, especially with the awesome shrinking action! It's not astonishing but its not rubbish either, it's a bit in the middle. I am rating Ant-Man a 2.5/5.


What did you think of Ant-Man? So far it looks like I am in the minority of people who weren't overly keen on it! Let me know where you stand in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Avengers: Age of Ultron

We've already had the magic and amazement of seeing our comic book heroes team up in 2012's incredible The Avengers, and now, three years later, they're back and bigger than ever. But does their second outing hold up to the first? Read on to find out in my SPOILER FREE review of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The main Avengers are back and this time they fight off against, Ultron, an A.I set on saving the world by destroying the human race, mo-capped and voiced by James Spader. It's your usual A.I philosophical tale but this time done on huge budget with superheroes. New to the cast of the film is Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Aaron Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver and Paul Bettany as The Vision. The less you know about The Vision the better, just know that he is awesome in every way, steals the show and leaves you wanting more!

Seeing the main characters on screen in the first film truly was an experience, one that is hard to replicate in Age of Ultron. Instead, director Joss Whedon decides to just go full out and show you these characters working as a team from the offset with loads of incredible action and geeky visuals. In fact the who film is made up of insane action scenes, probably the most we have seen in a Marvel film so far. There is never a dull moment and the whole film is well structured and interwoven into a fast paced two hours and twenty minutes thrill ride. This however, is sometimes its flaw, one of the great things about this film is that you get to see these cool characters interact and engage with each other, and although we get this, for me there weren't enough moments where they slowed down and interacted in other ways rather than just fighting. I mean, we do get these scenes, but personally I just wanted more. The film basically goes from one set piece to another, and although these set pieces are incredible, I just needed some more down time every now and then to catch my breath.
There are pretty much ten main characters to deal with here and they all get their time to shine, even if it's for a small amount of said time, I felt Captain America and Thor could have been given more to do, but apart from that it works, every now and then you realise a character hasn't been seen recently but with the amount of cool stuff going on in the mean time, you can let that slide.

Like the first film, there is a lot of comedy, something I think worked better throughout this film than its predecessor. It's really funny and pretty much all the jokes land and I was laughing out loud throughout. There are a few running gags which really do work, especially one which involves most of the team winding Captain America up about a comment he makes early on in the film, it's hilarious. That's not to say that this film doesn't get dark, it's not all fun and games, but it gets the tone right and the jokes never feel out of place like they do in Iron Man 3. There are a few moments that definitely hit me right in the feels. I still think Captain America: The Winter Soldier got the tone perfect and more so than here, but this still walks the line between seriousness and comedy well, but never really packs too much of a punch.

Ultron is very cool, he looks great and is a good match for The Avengers, however I was a little disappointed at the fact that for me, he wasn't as scary or intimidating a character as the trailers made him out to be. I truly thought this would be Marvel's best villain but he didn't blow me away like I thought he would. He's still menacing but at times he just sounds like a robot Joss Whedon. The two new characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch however, did surprise me. I wasn't sure what they would be like but I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they fit into the story and their character arcs as a whole, even their Eastern European accents worked. Scarlet Witch turned out to be one of my favourite characters in the film and her powers truly looked awesome on screen, especially her mind manipulation which creates some very cool sequences for the Avengers to deal with. Talking of favourite characters, Black Widow really stood out for me in this film. I found her annoying in the first Avengers film and a little bit better in The Winter Soldier, but in this film I truly enjoyed watching her on screen and her development as a character throughout. Another character who might surprise audiences is Hawkeye, in fact he gets more character development than most and you will enjoy his character as part of the roster a lot more than previously.

There is an emphasis on saving people in this film and it was refreshing to see this within the superhero genre, which has not shown much of this recently. I definitely think the genre has learnt a lesson from the backlash to Man of Steel and I really enjoyed seeing the heroes putting civilian life first before then going to stop the villain. There are still some 9/11 looking destruction that may upset some, but the emphasis on saving civillians was something I really enjoyed about their second outing.

My last little niggle with the film was the music, there wasn't as powerful a score here and the main Avengers theme is only heard a couple of times and didn't really give me the same feeling it did when I first saw The Avengers. This film as whole didn't have that same kind of feeling you got when you first saw the characters assemble on the big screen, but it gives you enough nerdy comic book moments to forget this and just enjoy what was going on.

The film is a comic book come to life, and although it doesn't pack as big a political punch as The Winter Soldier did, it still is one heck of an enjoyable watch. Joss Whedon knows how to make a fun film and although it does lay the seeds for the next instalments, its still its own thing and not just a trailer for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will be a shame to see Whedon leave the franchise, but with The Russo Brothers helming the next instalment means we should still be in for another great ride.

It's not the best Marvel film but it sure is good still and is definitely a worthy sequel to the first Avengers. I feel it deserves a second viewing (like I did with the first film) to fully solidify my views, but for now this how I feel and I am rating Avengers: Age of Ultron a 3/5.

What did you think of the film? Do you think it was better or worse than than the first? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger is here and Marvel have finally turned what many people consider to be a 'lame' superhero into a total badass! I did enjoy the first film but felt that the final act was a bit rushed in order to get Cap to where he should be in The Avengers, the film that made him cool, but it is The Winter Soldier that proves Captain America isn't lame in the slightest! Read on to find out my verdict on the film as a whole, and as usual this review will be SPOILER FREE.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier revolves around Steve Rodgers struggling to embrace his new role in the world and who he can trust in it. At the same time he also faces a new threat from old history, a soviet agent known as the Winter Soldier.

The action is one of the best things about this film and it kicks off pretty quickly. Cap has a new style of fighting and it is brutal but also very, very cool. His iconic shield is used a lot more, and his strength is shown off a lot more during the film proving the fact that he is in fact a superhero and not just a slightly stronger guy. His new suit is also very cool and the whole design of the characters, old and new like The Falcon, is pretty much perfect in this modern day re-imagining of the comic books.

The acting is all solid and Chris Evans owns it as Steve Rodgers, along with Scarlett Johansson who surprisingly did not annoy me at all with her portrayal of Black Widow, unlike with previous appearances of her character that I have not always enjoyed. Samuel L Jackson IS Nick Fury,there is no denying it and newcomers Robert Redford and Anthony Mackie are also great additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A change of directors for this film, The Winter Soldier was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. They have done a perfect job of turning the film into an interesting and intriguing action flick that juggles around an ensemble of characters, almost perfectly, into new territory tonally and thematically for Phase 2 of the Marvel Universe. The writing is also great and has the best balance of seriousness and comedy since The Avengers. The only problem with it being that there were a lot of cliched 'saved at the last second' moments and the biggest flaw of any Marvel film, that there never seems to be too much peril. As I have mentioned before though, I think this is something that could definitely change in Age of Ultron.

My biggest gripe of the film would be the amount of screen time that the Winter Soldier character actually gets. If you have ever been interested in comics then you most likely know who the soviet agent is and know that it creates a pretty powerful storyline. Now there is no denying that he is a more memorable villain then Malekith was in Thor: The Dark World but I would have liked to have seen a lot more of him! My other gripe is with Maria Hill who occasionally just pops up in this film, I have come to terms that she most likely will never be exactly like her character in the comics, but I would have either cut her from this film or given her more to do thnn what she was given.

I have seen a lot of people criticise this film for a lack of character arc for Captain America, but I believe that if you were to change any part of what the super soldier is all about then he is no longer Captain America, that's the whole point of his character, he is and always will be a good man.

The film is a lot of fun and has a lot of great moments and very cool set pieces. The story sets up some big changes to the Marvel Universe and it is great being able to see big events from the comics be brought to life on the big screen. There are twists and turns galore, some predictable, others not as much and thankfully nothing as infuriating Iron Man 3. Keep an eye/ear out for all references including one of the best ever to Pulp Fiction, and as always make sure you stay for the post credits stinger! Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not just the best of phase 2 so far but is also one of Marvel's best films to date. I am giving it a rating of 4/5.

What did you think of the film? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Marvel Phase 2

Being a massive Marvel fan I thought it would be a good idea to voice my opinions on all the announcements from the San Diego Comic Con on the next phase of the Marvel cinematic universe. I didn't go to Comic Con so I am working off the stuff I have read from news sites and the fans who went there.

Iron Man 3 - 2013
The first Iron Man film is one of my favourite films of all time. Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect casting as Tony Stark and completely stole the show! Unfortunately Iron Man 2 was not that good, it has its good moments but was a disappointment compared to the first film. However I have much higher hopes for the third outing with the great playboy, philanthropist. This is mainly because Shane Black is on board as director. As much as I loved Jon Favreau, it will be great to see someone else take on Iron Man and hopefully keep the awesomeness of the first film and The Avengers. Shane Black's only other film is the incredible Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which also starred Robert Downey Jr. Black also penned the Lethal Weapon films.

At Comic Con, Marvel showed footage of the new film that is due out for release next year. the footage showed Tony Stark testing out new armour and then having his house blown up by an army, apparently run by the Mandarin played by Ben Kingsly. In the comics, Mandarin is Iron Mans greatest foe, the way Joker is to Batman. That is why this new villain could be awesome. Guy Pearce and James Badge Dale have also been added to the villain mix. Both great actors but I do hope this doesn't turn into Spider-Man 3! I have faith in this though, all we need know is the footage to creep onto the Internet, hopefully in the form of a trailer!

Thor: The Dark World - 2013
All that was announced of this project was the name. And what a cool name! It has been rumoured that in this film we are going to be exploring the darker gritty side of Asgard and this announcement sort of confirms that. Natalie Portman is back on board so we probably still get some Earth scenes but I cannot wait to see more of Asgard! Christopher Eccleston has come on as the villain but I bet a Thanos will be somewhere behind the scenes. I'm not a big fan of Christopher Eccleston but we still get Tom Hiddleston's Loki, so who cares?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 2014
Oh yes, you saw right! The Winter Soldier! Perhaps my favourite announcement of Comic Con is that the new Captain America movie will follow the story of the late Bucky Barnes who (SPOILER) is not dead, unless they change the story completely that is! Bucky gets brainwashed into becoming a spy for the Russians, being dosed up with anti ageing drugs and becoming just as strong as Cap. This is all speculation at the moment, but this could be awesome. Antony Mackie is also rumoured to play the Falcon, which adds another super hero to rota. The Avengers made Captain America cool so I cannot wait to see where he goes next!

Guardians of the Galaxy - 2014
This was the most disappointing news for me, although it was Marvel's worst kept secret, I was still hoping for them to announce a Black Panther movie. Instead we get this sci-fi team up of superheroes which guard the galaxy. I never really got into the comics and I dodn't know how Marvel are going to make the team work in the same universe. Hopefully it will have its own universe but either way I am interested in what comes off this, but not as much as the rest of the line up in Marvel phase 2.

Ant Man - 2014/15
I love everything that Edgar Wright has ever done and this is shaping up to stay on his record of awesome movies. Ant Man isn't my favourite Marvel character but after the reported test footage shown at Comic Con I know this will be awesome! The test footage showed off some action that was reported as a new form of fighting called size-fu. That sounds very cool! There isn't a set date but it has been rumoured it could be out as early as 2014! I look forward to casting news, which could come any day now!

The Avengers 2 - 2015/16
 It's happening! We not sure when and we don't know if Joss Whedon will direct but it is happening! The next wave of superheroes are getting ready to set it up, no solo Hulk movie yet but Mark Ruffalo is contracted to do 5 more films as Bruce Banner! Will it be as good as the first? Only time will tell, but I will be just as excited!

What are you most excited about in Marvel Phase 2? Comment below and thank you for reading!