So after going to see X-Men: First Class last night, I did a little count and realized that at least of the ones that I’m aware of, we’re officially past the halfway point of new superhero releases for this year. As such, here are my thoughts thus far…
Green Hornet
Had my doubts, but I actually really enjoyed this one – it was very slapsticky and reminiscent of the 1960’s Batman that I love so dear! And it was refreshing to see a superhero movie that took more of the lighthearted approach instead of being so heavy on special effects and the hero’s all-too-often dark past. It’s a lot easier to stand out when you try something different!
Solid A, mostly for daring to be a comedy movie in an action-dominated genre.
Thor
…and then there’s Thor. My best review for this movie – it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t terrific, either. It certainly had its bad ass moments – namely the scene when Thor finally reclaims his hammer, and basically any scene with Heimdall in it! Still, I felt that it sort of glossed over a big part of the movie – his first attempt at getting the hammer went on forever (in a cool manner, mind you), but then it sort of felt like his change of heart came about really quickly when wouldn’t you think that would take a lot longer??? Plus, I kinda thought that Loki could’ve been a little better defined as a bad guy – half the time it was hard to tell if it was all part of his ruse or if the writers simply forgot that he was the bad guy for a while…
All in all, I give it a B.
X-Men: First Class
What can I say? This movie very much so lived up to my expectations – a shining example of what a prequel should be! Honestly, I think it’s a real testament to how good the other three X-Men movies were because it was really interesting to see all of the dots connected to show relationships that I never knew existed, but they definitely make sense! It really makes me want to go back and watch the others again now to better appreciate how Magneto and Professor X interact, and even more so to see the vibe between Charles and Mystique … who knew that they used to be best friends (or more?) growing up?!
So far for me, anyways, this one is posed for best superhero movie of the year, and the only complaint that I have against it is that it so could’ve done without all of the cheesy lines that popped up at the end. I mean, it was odd, but understandable when the kids were sitting around “choosing their codenames,” but seriously, for the stars of the movie, it didn’t need to be pointed out and honestly I felt like it sort of cheapened the moment when the camera panned back to Erik in his helmet and red cloak as he said, “I prefer the name Magneto.” Same with “You’re not just men – you’re X-Men!” The movie was freaking awesome – why ruin it with lazy writing at the last minute?!
I’ve gotta dock at least a few points when one of the actors says the name of the movie … but still, an A- that would’ve been a fulfledged A (maybe A+?) had it not been for the unnecessary cheese…
Green Lantern (premieres next week)
That said, if there’s one movie that can knock X-Men out of first place for best superhero action movie, it’s this one. I’ve been loving the trailers even more having seen them on the big screen twice in the last week before Thor and X-Men, so my fingers are just crossed that this isn’t a prime example of all the awesomeness of 90 minutes fitting neatly in the 90 second trailer.
Captain America (premieres mid-July)
Frankly, I don’t have nearly as much faith in this one – I’m not too keen on the whole war story and honestly, I just don’t get the scene in the trailer where Captain America comes charging in holding a pistol and flanked by five other soldiers on each side holding identical pistols. Why does this SUPERHERO need a gun??? I guess we’ll find out in another month or so, but who knows – maybe it’ll end up surprising me.
I can tell you one thing, though – I know that we’re definitely staying through the credits to see the final teaser for The Avengers after this one! We didn’t do it for Thor and I immediately went home and scavenged around on the Internet until I could find a crappy camcorder version on YouTube to give me the gist. And it looked good!!!