Posts Tagged ‘Spoilers’

Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – S1E01 “Pilot”

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , , , on September 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Today saw the premier of the new Marvel tv series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC which, as the title suggests, centers around a team of ‘not exactly team players’ who do the grunt work that isn’t heavy enough lifting for the Avengers to get involved.

My first thoughts were: Funny but too Self-Aware.

It was by no means a bad pilot, I did enjoy it, the dialogue was sharp, the look fantastic, and Lola… oh Lola. And I will continue to watch because it really did set up for some great adventures that this team can get into. The show isn’t afraid to directly address things seen in the movies (bonus) but there was also a bounty of comic book references to be found, meaning anything is up for grabs in the future (as long as it’s under license).

Also, Arrow needs to take notes about voice overs, cause seriously, as annoying as Sky kinda was, she nailed the voice over.

But as it got to the end, the whole thing just started to tilt on its axis with the cringe inducing moment of “It’s an Origin Story.” My friend thought that piece of dialogue was amazing and I just wanted to stab something, preferably not myself. Yes, being self-aware can be fun, which is why it’s played for laughs both straight and sardonic, but it almost never works when played for serious gravitas. I know there was the whole “the world is now full of superheroes” thing they got going on but do they really have to say it out loud like it’s the next “i’m always angry” line? No. It ain’t nowhere near that epic.

Maybe it was just me but that moment totally pulled me out of it, that and the cosplay comment, but Ward suffered for that one so all’s good.

Speaking of Ward and the rest the characters, we don’t learn a terribly lot about them as individuals for the most part, which is a good thing, you don’t want a pilot laden down with too much exposition and you want to leave stuff for later episodes, but for the moment, they all seem rather cookie-cutter, especially for a Whedon series. Like this is every spy/secret agent team ever put together on film and not in a cool juxtapose way like Firefly. But again, this is Whedon. I’m sure there is a lot more here we’re not seeing yet so I’m giving a very big benefit of the doubt on this one.

In the end, I liked it… did I love it? Not especially. I loved Coulson… but that was pre-existing. Nothing else really connected with me. Perhaps it’s the back of my mind saying “no matter what happens, there will never be mutants in this show” that is bumming me out? It’s possible, I always favored that side of Marvel. But in the end, the show just didn’t click with me. For whatever reason, these characters didn’t give me a spark or make me want to care about them on a personal level, and it’s not because they’re OCs cause I fall in love with OCs all the time, case in point, Coulson.

So, in closing, other than the two issues listed above, I don’t really have anything bad to say about the episode, structurally wise. It was a well made episode. I would recommend that everyone give it a try and see if maybe they have a different experience because I know my friend is nearly giddy over it. It’s also a bundle of opportunities and I will say I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

I wonder if it will help if I imagine Level 8 is where they keep all the files on mutants and they are never mentioned because none of the characters have clearance and mutants just kinda blend with other heroes? That… that could work…

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Review: Iron Man 3

Posted in Reviews, tagged , , , on May 5, 2013| 2 Comments »

Iron Man 3This review contains some mild to medium spoilers.

First off, you can definitely tell that this was directed by Shane Black. Anyone who has ever seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang can definitely see that fighting/directorial style here. This doesn’t really take anything away from what was set up in Favreau’s first two films. It does though lend to one of the more unique aspects of Iron Man 3 which keeps this movie from becoming a stale threepeat.

Iron Man was about Tony becoming Iron Man, Iron Man 2 was about Tony being Iron Man, Iron Man 3 was about Tony and Iron Man being the same person.

After the events of Avengers, Tony is having nightmares and anxiety attacks. He knows he’s ‘just a man in a can’ and that he is actually very vulnerable. This gets punctuated by the fact that he is separated from the three people he cares about most, Pepper, Happy, and Jarvis. Then, in two very big battles, he has to fight without the suit or with only part of it.

The ‘dungeon’ fight scene where he only has one arm and one leg is one of the best fight scenes I’ve seen in these action/comic movies just in the sheer cleverness of it. It also clearly illustrates just how much Tony and Iron Man are one. Part of him is shielded, part of him isn’t. He’s vulnerable but he is still fighting and still winning.

This is what kept this film from becoming more of the same. The action was different, the psychological aspects were more subtle, and it really brought things full circle.

The other things I liked in this is that everyone played their parts quite well and the new characters were very well casted. Ben Kingsley was both menacing and hilarious. Rebecca Hall was sympathetic in a short amount of time. Guy Pearce was the perfect amount of suave and greasy. James Badge Dale was just awesome in his distinct lack of giving a crap. Even the kid, who is starting to be called “Mini-Tony”, was good. In fact, the scenes with the kid could have been the weakest parts as the dialogue could have gotten a little too campy or Ty Simpkins could have not been able to act but overall it turned out great.

There was a lot of Audi car-porn as well but for the most part it was managed, directors are starting to get more savvy on how to deal with the continued requirement of sponsors and making sure they get their money’s worth.

The only real problem is that this is the first film since Avengers and while Iron Man 3 is more thoughtful and overall a better film, it seems to pale in comparison to the sheer hilarity and action packed roller-coaster ride that was Avengers.

This hasn’t, though, hurt its box office receipts as it’s already made half, domestically, what the two previous films made.

The question now is whether or not we’ll see another Iron Man film or will Tony Stark/Iron Man only exist in the next Avengers movies and as possible cameo fodder for the other hero films? Personally, I kinda like the idea of ending the Iron Man movies here as it’s come full circle with his character.

But as in all things… only time will tell…

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