Movie Review: Spiderman Far From Home

So first I would like to say that I am a Spiderman fan and loved what Marvel did with this iteration of Spiderman.  He seems more like the version I grew up watching on the animated show on Fox.  Since 2002 Sony has released five live-action Spiderman films.  I loved Spiderman 2 but the others were not very good.  In 2016 they handed over the reins to Marvel in which the web-slinger showed up as a friend to Ironman in Captain America Civil War.  In 2017 Marvel and Sony released Homecoming.  He also made appearances in the MCU magnum opus Avengers Infinity War and End Game.

Spiderman Homecoming picks up shortly after Spiderman has received his powers and trying to figure out how to be a friendly neighborhood Spiderman.  Most importantly, it was not an origin film because you don’t need one.  That was Sony’s mistake all along.  We meet the world of Queen NY where Peter is in school and has friends and finding his way in the world.  Far From Home picks up after the events of Avengers End Game.  We get a quick explanation of why Peter’s friends are still teens, which was a question I had.  We follow Peter as he decides he wants to take the summer to be a kid.  His high school science team is taking a trip to Italy.  His vacation is cut short when SHIELD and a new stranger from a foreign land need his help.

Critical Commentary:  Unfortunately, my biggest fear is coming true.  Marvel appears to be getting lazy.  Spiderman Far From Home was just an ok film.  Unfortunately I aw the trailer, “big mistake, Huge mistake”.  I was able to deduce the plot and I was right.  The movie was very formulaic.  No real creativity at all.  The Infinity War/End Game hangover has affected another film.  If you follow this blog you know that I was not a fan of Captain Marvel.  While not as bad as Captain Marvel, it was not great.  It felt like Marvel knew they could just make money from this film but didn’t need to try.  I was willing to let Captain Marvel be an isolated incident but this appears to be a trend.  If this lack of quality is what we should expect from Marvel moving forward, I may be moving on from Marvel.  Not sure how but I am concerned with the MCU.

Unlike Captian Marvel, there were some good parts of the film and it wasn’t all bad but not sure this will be added to the collection.  Not sure this film is worth watching a second time.

Weekend Watch

On Monday my co-workers always asked me what I watched over the weekend. I thought I might start telling you. On the weekends I typically get in four movies.

Ghostbusters 2016

Phenomenon

Spiderman Homecoming

Staten Island Summer

Fired Up

Last weekend 5/3/19

How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town

Captain America First Avenger

AVENGERS age of Ultron

Captain America Winter Soldier

Movie Review: Marvel Avengers End Game

So a little under a year ago in one of my early reviews, I talked about a little known film called Infinity War. With the moderate success of Infinity War, Marvel decided to follow that with a continuation but called this film End Game. With End Game, we close the last chapter on this era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

At the conclusion of Infinity War, Thanos loses the battle of Wakanda but wins the war. With a snap of his fingers, he eliminates half of the life in the universe. End Game picks up from that point. The remaining Avengers have to learn how to move on. Much in the way life moves on in HBO’s Leftovers. They have to figure out their purpose in life after this massive failure. Through a series of random events and the SOS message sent to an old friend, the crew believes there is a way to repair this wound and prevent Thanos’ grand plan.

Critical Commentary: this is the fourth Marvel film by Joe and Anthony Russo. If they were Charlotte a Cavatica it would be their Mangum Opus. If they were Michael Jordon this would be their sixth championship ring. If they were Jay Z this would be their Black Album or Blue Print. This is the 1972 Miami Dolphins.  While not perfect it is very close to it.  I do have to admit, didn’t like the Banner characterization.

If I had 1,000 years to figure out this storyline, I never would have succeeded. The Russo brothers created for the second year in a row the best picture of the year. Unfortunately, movies like this are not nominated although Black Panther may have broken that mold. I thought Infinity War was one of the best movies I had ever seen and it still is, but End Game is hands down the best movie I have ever seen.

The movie just like Thanos’ desire is balanced. The laughs, the cries, the wonder and mystery, all balanced. The realism and pain were tremendously balanced. The action sequences and the dialog all balanced. Josh Brolin again delivers an Academy Award performance as Thanos. Robert Downey Jr gives you the full range of Tony Starks. Chris Evans rises to the leadership role like never before. There were dozens of easter eggs. I just can’t comment enough about this film. I loved it. I am not sure if I will follow the next era of Marvel the same. This might be my End Game also.

Captain Marvel

So, the wait is over and we are ten months removed from one of the greatest films of all times, Avengers, Infinity War. Captain Marvel is the origin film of Marvel’s newest character to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Nick Furry stops his car as people are disappearing and run to the trunk. He grabs an odd piece of tech which looks like a pager. It was the logo of Captain Marvel. We had to wait 10 months to learn more about the character.

Brie Larson plays the heroine, Vere or Carol Danvers. She is a member of the Cree military and Jude Law plays her mentor and commanding officer. During a mission, Danvers is captured and ends up on earth. While trying to carry out her mission goals and learns the world is not as black and white as she thought.

So let’s get into this. First and foremost, I didn’t think the movie was great. It wasn’t bad but on a Marvel scale, it underperformed. There were good parts but I have to be honest. I figured out the movie in the first five minutes and feel like I could have written a better story. Check out this review to see the various problems.  Not sure if Marvel has bitten off more than they can chew with the two Avengers films, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Spiderman all being made around the same two-year time span. It just feels like Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios CEO, took his eye off the ball. I truly blame him.  I have enjoyed all of the previous 19 films. I have seen most of them a minimum of 3 times. I can’t see a reason to watch Captain Marvel a second time. With the success of DC comics Wonder Woman, Marvel had a blueprint for a strong female lead. I love Wonder Woman and have seen it at least four times. The good news is Marvel can learn from this hopefully and Avengers, End Game comes out in six weeks.

Now the movie was not all bad. I liked how it played off of Agents of Sheild. I have been a big fan of that show and they go into detail on the alien civilization of the Cree. This is the first time we have seen Nick Furry in a major role and not just popping in with a few good one-liners. We now have a weapon to help take on Thanos. It had a lot of funny lines like Guardians or Ragnarok.  The 90s nostalgia was fun for a few minutes but all these things were not enough to carry the film.

Critical Commentary: The movie is a commercial success but in all the people who I have talked to about the movie, only one person liked it. For me, it is one of the worst movies in the MCU. We’ll see how this movie stands over time. Maybe it will grow on me but I really didn’t like it.

 

Movie Review: Venom

So first off I have to confess. I was never really looking forward to this movie. Honestly, I have doubts about Sony’s Spiderverse. Everyone is trying to copy what Marvel is doing and it won’t work. Venom is the second release in this new Sony Spiderverse. This film while having Marvel producer credits and the customary Stan Lee cameo is not a Marvel film. Just like all the other Sony Marvel collabs, except Spiderman 2 and Spiderman Homecoming, it’s just a movie

Starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, Venom is the Origin story of what was a villain in the Spiderman world and I guess now a protagonist? For those who don’t read comics like me please refer to Spiderman 3 and Spiderman cartoon series. Venom was always a bad guy. Eddie Brock was an enemy to Peter Parker. As the movie was approaching I had a hard time rationalizing how Venom can play the protagonist in a movie and who would be the antagonist. In this version, Eddie is living in San Francisco after having been run out of NYC. Through a series of events, Eddie goes from being on top of the world to rock bottom. As he attempts to redeem himself he comes into contact with an alien entity known as Venom. Venom is a symbiote and needs Eddie’s body to survive on earth. Eddie and Venom pair up to save the day.

Critical Commentary: It is not Marvel and it is just a movie. Had this film come out before Iron Man and Avengers I might have thought it was better. Kevin Feige and Marvel have raised my standards. This was just a movie to watch when you’re just passing time. This is not must see the film. The special effects were not great. The beginning of the story was bad and I still can’t handle the hero title given to Venom. I honestly question why Sony even makes movies. This film made money and Sony tried to spin the ticket sales to compare to Marvel films from 10 years ago. Unfortunately, I have a degree in Investment Finance and I know inflation changes things. If they adjust for inflation those movies made more money. While it will not be seen as a failure, it failed. This is Jurrasic World 2 all over again. You still need to have a compelling story. Special effects can only get you so far.