Note: Spoilers MAY be present. The blatantly obvious stuff will be marked out in black and can be read when highlighted.
"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before." - Captain James T. Kirk
Star Trek: Into Darkness was released rather closely to Iron Man 3, another highly anticipated early summer blockbuster sequel. This added to the number of hurdles it had to jump in addition to the difficulties of being a sequel to a highly praised reboot of a beloved classic.
Iron man promised all of the explosive action and gratuitous one liners I have come to expect of Mr. Downey Jr. and all of the Marvel Universe mythos I have longed to see on the big screen. And in most respects, it delivered.
The premise of Star Trek, the science for the sake of science, really appeals to me as well. That's why I loved the Portal games so much; Cave Johnson's rants about "Why not?" and the melodious tunes of GLaDOS reminding me we "Must, because we can" embodies that same "Lets do some science!" spirit. The movie of course is going to incorporate a lot of action into it as well, which is of course an added bonus. I love me some phaser fights.
As a second generation Star Trek fan and an independent lover of Marvel comics, I was torn. Having seen both movies now, I can honestly say I lean a little more towards Star Trek. I know what you're thinking. "This is the COMIC CORNER," and yes, I agree with you this is a little out of character. There were a couple of things that really started to bother me after the dazzle of Robert Downey Jr.'s goatee had worn off.
Sure, they both had some great plot twists, such as how they modernized the Mandarin (a strongly stereotyped villain in the comics and animated adaptations) in IM3 and Star Trek had Benedict Cumberbatch's identity as the tantalizing carrot dangling in front of our nose.
I adored whenever they used an old Star Trek reference in STID, and the actors are playing their characters excellently in my opinion. And the casting in Iron Man is pretty darn good every single time, I mean let's face it: RDJ IS Tony Stark. As an added bonus, both movies have employed charming British actors as their lead villains.
As for IM3, they had a great opportunity they passed up in terms of the ending. Seeing as there is really only one female hero represented in the entire Marvel movie line up (Black Widow), I was hoping that Pepper Potts would become RESCUE (the deweaponized female equivalent of Iron Man). They could have tweaked it or something to make it more powerful or appealing, and with Defenders of the Galaxy coming up, I was hoping they might introduce more than one female hero. But they didn't. Pepper Potts' destiny is to be Tony Stark's gf and gf alone. So, no RESCUE for me. Guess I have to put all my money on Carol Danvers. COME ON MS. MARVEL!!!
That being said, another thing that bothers me is Pepper Potts' role overall. I honestly prefer Uhura to Potts. Uhura comes out from behind cover, looks danger right in its ugly face and says "Do your worst." Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Pepper Potts reminds me of a corporate version of Daphne from Scooby Doo, running around in couture business suits blurting out the obvious and getting captured. But this rant could be a blog post of its own, so I'll move on.
Both movies came equipped with tidy little endings, perfect for wrapping pretty bows around. The best way I can compare my feelings about them would be as thus: Imagine you're about to sit down to a meal at your new favorite restaurant. You've been there several times, and every time you go, its delicious. The service is fantastic, and when the food gets there, its in huge proportions, it smells amazing, and it looks divine. It takes you two and a half hours to eat. With IM3, you're bloated and totally done eating, you don't want any more to eat. With STID, you've got that warm with food feeling like you got exactly what you were hoping for.
So in a nutshell, if you were like me and you felt a like something wasn't quite right with IM3, go see Star Trek: Into Darkness. Hopefully it'll be as fulfilling an experience for you as it was for me.
5/29/2013
5/08/2013
Wednesday Comic Corner
Iron Man 3 Review
I'd like to preface this by stating that Iron Man isn't necessarily my favorite comic book character. I enjoy the part he plays in the Avengers comics and crossovers such as Civil War, but by no means do I seek out his individual title.
Now lets talk about the Iron Man movies. I think that Robert Downey Jr. does a fantastic Tony Stark. Although some of you might have someone in mind, I personally can't think of someone who would do a better job. And this is why I like him in the movies more than I do the comic books: movie Tony Stark can be a snarky jerky, but when you dig deep he's a good guy. Comic book Tony Stark? Not so much.
The third installation is a little different from its predecessors in that the novelty of being Iron Man has worn off. References are made to the previous incidents in New York and his time with the Avengers, and Tony Stark is much more under the radar than he has been as of yet.
There are heartwarming moments, a bucketful of one-liners, and more gratuitous explosions than you can shake a stick at. I saw it twice, and the first time I was very satisfied with the story and how everything turned out.
When I got roped into going again, I had done a little reading (see the following articles- possible spoilers- http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429, http://jalopnik.com/how-iron-man-destroyed-5-86-million-in-cars-alone-490614169, http://io9.com/iron-man-3-the-fall-and-rise-of-tony-stark-489236523) and so I went in with a new perspective and saw some plot parallels to a certain older video game title, Resident Evil 5 (Highlight to see).
With a lot of great titles coming to theaters this summer and fall, including the next installment of Thor, Iron Man 3 is a good movie to get those summer blockbuster juices going. And remember, one does not simply go to a Marvel movie without staying for the funzies after the credits.
I'd like to preface this by stating that Iron Man isn't necessarily my favorite comic book character. I enjoy the part he plays in the Avengers comics and crossovers such as Civil War, but by no means do I seek out his individual title.
Now lets talk about the Iron Man movies. I think that Robert Downey Jr. does a fantastic Tony Stark. Although some of you might have someone in mind, I personally can't think of someone who would do a better job. And this is why I like him in the movies more than I do the comic books: movie Tony Stark can be a snarky jerky, but when you dig deep he's a good guy. Comic book Tony Stark? Not so much.
The third installation is a little different from its predecessors in that the novelty of being Iron Man has worn off. References are made to the previous incidents in New York and his time with the Avengers, and Tony Stark is much more under the radar than he has been as of yet.
There are heartwarming moments, a bucketful of one-liners, and more gratuitous explosions than you can shake a stick at. I saw it twice, and the first time I was very satisfied with the story and how everything turned out.
When I got roped into going again, I had done a little reading (see the following articles- possible spoilers- http://kotaku.com/why-many-in-china-hate-iron-man-3s-chinese-version-486840429, http://jalopnik.com/how-iron-man-destroyed-5-86-million-in-cars-alone-490614169, http://io9.com/iron-man-3-the-fall-and-rise-of-tony-stark-489236523) and so I went in with a new perspective and saw some plot parallels to a certain older video game title, Resident Evil 5 (Highlight to see).
With a lot of great titles coming to theaters this summer and fall, including the next installment of Thor, Iron Man 3 is a good movie to get those summer blockbuster juices going. And remember, one does not simply go to a Marvel movie without staying for the funzies after the credits.
5/01/2013
Wednesday Comic Corner
The latest big comic book video game: Injustice: Gods Among Us. Made through collaboration with DC and NetherRealm Studios (The studio responsible for Mortal Kombat games), the story revolves around an alternate reality.
There were comics leading into the release of the game that explained the world and how it came to be, however the preceding incidents to the plot are discovered in game.
SPOILER ALERT:
Like the unstoppable cosmic destruction embodied in the legendary Phoenix Force of the Marvel Universe, one of the greatest threats to Earth in DC is the threat of a corrupted Superman. He's nearly indestructible and the roster of people smart enough and brave enough to stop him gets smaller and smaller. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, it all comes down to one question: Can anyone stop Superman?
There were comics leading into the release of the game that explained the world and how it came to be, however the preceding incidents to the plot are discovered in game.
SPOILER ALERT:
Like the unstoppable cosmic destruction embodied in the legendary Phoenix Force of the Marvel Universe, one of the greatest threats to Earth in DC is the threat of a corrupted Superman. He's nearly indestructible and the roster of people smart enough and brave enough to stop him gets smaller and smaller. In Injustice: Gods Among Us, it all comes down to one question: Can anyone stop Superman?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)