Deadpool (2016) review

(9/10)

     Deadpool lives up to the hype built for it, easily earning its place as one of the best superhero movies of the year as well as one of the best comedies. With a superb screenplay, rich yet tasteless jokes and gags, a fitting lead, and a surprising amount of story, this film brings its titular hero to life and becomes a little more than your run-of-the-mill modern comedy or superhero flick.

PLOT: Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is man of little moral sense and a darker outlook on life. He works doing underground jobs as a sort of "hitman" in a shady bar. One day, things start to change for Wade when he meets the love of his life, Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), who is in every aspect like him and dedicated to pleasing him. Though things seem to look good for Wade, his "brief commercial break of happiness" ends when he's diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. Wilson, in desperation of a cure, takes a shady offer from the bar that promises a cure in the form of becoming a superhero. Wilson regrets this decision when the offer turns out to be a scam that puts him through hours of torture, disfigures him, and makes him invincible. At this moment, Wade Wilson abandons his identity, flees from Vanessa in fear of rejection, and takes on the identity of Deadpool: not a superhero, but an entity that cares about very little with an abundant sense of humor. The movie primarily takes place when Deadpool is hunting for Ajax a. k. a. Frances (Ed Skrein), the man who disfigured him. The plot and the backstory are both extremely excellent, adding a bit more personality and experience to the character of Deadpool. The backstory adds to the overall effect of the movie and establishes itself as more than just the comedy most people expected it to be. They use the story to bring Wilson's character sympathy, empathy, and depth in addition to making him the comedy relief. This adaptation fully succeeds in bringing Deadpool's character to life through story, as assisted by a dedicated lead.

ACTING: The acting in this movie is pretty fantastic and well fitting, especially with Ryan Reynolds as the titular lead, Captain Deadp- oh sorry - just Deadpool. Reynolds is a dedicated, fitting, and well-rehearsed actor for the job of Marvel's funniest superhero, or anti-hero, if you do prefer. I don't believe another actor could have shown the role more life or clever care than Reynolds. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, with the best being by Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, Ed Skrein as Ajax/Frances, and T. J. Miller as Weasel. Each part was very well done, keeping Vanessa an interesting love interest, Ajax an intimidating villain, and Weasel awkwardly comedic. All performances were great, even if overshadowed by Ryan Reynolds.

SCORE/SOUNDTRACK: The score seemed to be your standard action movie music for the most part, with the addition of a couple humorous original songs, but the soundtrack is pretty diverse. The soundtrack includes a wide variety from light stuff like Juice Newton, Chicago, and WHAM! to more modern stuff like Flo Rida, DMX, and The Black Keys. The soundtrack is just as familiar to most of the audience as in most Marvel movie soundtracks, which is always a positive in my book. If everyone knows the songs, everyone will buy them or the soundtrack!

EFFECTS: The special effects in this movie were pretty smoothly done. From the painful scene of Wade Wilson's transformation to the smooth metallic look of Colossus, these effects are high quality as they can be for something purely, heroicly fictional. They compliment the action real well too.

OTHER CONTENT: The main aspect that kept the movie afloat was its clever screenplay and script. The jokes are just clever, tasteless, and fourth-wall shattering that a film critic will comment about in on their blog in a positive way. What, can't break the fourth wall on occasion? In all seriousness, the jokes are very well written, dirty yet satisfying and clever yet silly in a way that only Deadpool could pull off. The only problem I seemed to have with the movie (which may actually be what the makers of this movie intended) is that it felt too short. The audience was delivered with a lot of backstory, but the action only last for a short time in comparison. It made the whole movie feel shorter than it should have been, even with its nearly two-hour runtime. However, the filmmakers may have done this to get the audience more ready and in anticipation of the potential next Deadpool movie. Aside from this slight malaise, the movie is a very fitting and respectable film portraying the fourth-wall breaking hero the comic book nerds all love (for the most part).

     The movie we've all been waiting for from our favorite antihero is all we have expected it to be, even though we are left wanting so much more. Ryan Reynolds plays the role better than anyone ever could have, with fantastic support from the rest of the cast. This treat was almost everything the major fans could have dreamed for. I guess we can all keep dreaming for the second one, right?

The Avengers (2012) review

(9/10)

   The superhero movie the masses had been waiting for arrived with full-force action, intelligent and humorous dialogue, top-notch acting, and a unity of amazing superhero power. From Hulk to Captain America, the movie builds a steady character and chemistry among the characters while keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats. However, if you aren't a close Marvel fan or follower, you might just be more than lost.

PLOT: Trouble begins brewing at S.H.I.E.L.D. when the Tesseract, a source of unlimited sustainable energy, is stolen by the Norse god, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). From here on, it's a war and a race between S.H.E.I.L.D. and Loki's army to keep the Tesseract and restore each own's perceptions of peace. Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) has only one idea in mind: to build the best army yet to capture it back. To do so, Fury gathers all the best strength and wits from around the globe, including superspy Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsson), brilliant scientist Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), billionaire playboy Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), ancient war hero Captain Amerca (Chris Evans), Norse god Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and pinpoint archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). These few must band up to create the powerful team known only as The Avengers to save the world, put a stop to Loki's army, and capture back the Tesseract. The plot is very basic in form but is executed brilliantly. High-energy action, intense martial arts, exciting twists, and superhero chemistry set the execution in line to make a movie as brave and bold as the heroes in this movie seem to be.



ACTING: The performances in this movie are excellently done. The heroes play their parts with emotional excellence and familiarity that makes you think they lived as that character their whole lives. The best of the superhero performances had to be from Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Captain America, and Black Widow. These performances were excellently done, putting personality into each role and making it a reality stronger than the pulp they were born from. I'm not saying, however, that the other heroes did bad; they were just as good overall. I just felt the roles mentioned earlier were the best played of them all. Tom Hiddleston also played an excellent part as the movie's central villian, Loki. I felt like he was the Joker of this hero movie, which means that he put more twisted style into the part than seen before. I was very entertained by Hiddleston's elegant yet disturbed Loki.

SCORE: The score in this movie was bold, intense, and very well done by Alan Silvestri. The intense score brought the non-stop action more life and honor than expected normally.

EFFECTS: The visual effects in this movie were excellently done as well. Explosions, alien army craft, intense fight scenes, and the Hulk transformations were all fantastically done by the visual effects team. They made everything seem more real and textured, as if you could feel Hulk's skin or Iron Man's metal suit. I was definitely impressed with how things were done.



MISC. THOUGHTS: The movie is a fun ride of action and superhero movie glory, adding in intelligent moments of humorous one-liners, dialogue seemingly written by the scientists in the movie themselves, and impressive scenes of fantastic battles. However, you're not going to be following the story very well if you haven't seen the Marvel movies to date, or if you aren't even a Marvel fan. The whole movie itself is a nodding treat to Marvel fans everywhere, which is evident in the making and execution, where the character backstories are assumed and the references of the heroes power strengths and limitations are inserted. The movie is an amazing piece in action/superhero cinema, but as a stand-alone film in story and development, it's not for everyone.

   Marvel heroes have never looked as cool and clean as they have now, popping off of the pulp comic they came from before. The nonstop action and overlapping humor add personality to the performances of the classic heroes and convincing villain. The modern re-vamp has avenged the hearts of Marvel fans all over, but it won't successfully accomplish the same for those new to the franchise.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) review

(9/10)

I honestly didn't think this could top Thor for me, but it did with all the action and retro feel it could!

PLOT:In the days of WWII, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has always been a puny weakling bullied excessively and has always wanted to enlist in the military, but they would never let him in. When a powerful scientist (Stanley Tucci) enrolls him in search of an experiment, Rogers becomes the first breed of super-soldier. He's now strong, tall, and four times the man he ever was. Now he must stop the powerful Nazi organization, Hydra, led by the evil Johann Schmidt a.k.a. Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and his new power force that can evaporate any man. However, he must prove himself a soldier and not let the government control him as either a lab rat or political propaganda. It's a well-thought plot executed very well.



ACTING:The performances in here were pretty great to say the least. Chris Evans owned the role as Steve Rodgers/Captain America; he did brilliant. Hugo Weaving played a pretty convincing villain as well. The other shiners were Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Phillips, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and Toby Jones as Dr. Zola with an honorable mention to Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (cameo).

SCORE:Not only was the score bold and heroic, but it also fit the mood very well. I enjoyed it.

EFFECTS:The effects in here I found to be cheesy at times and great at others. In the action sequences, they just looked so fake that it came off as cheesy. However, the effects used for Red Skull were pretty great, not to mention the explosions.



OTHER CONTENT:This was a pretty good Marvel film! It was exciting, creative, retro, and even emotional at times. The only problems I had with it were that it followed a familiar formula and it grew cheesy at times. Yet, the cheesiness worked along with the film to help it feel like the comic it once was.

OVERALL,an awesome Marvel film with a very well-executed plot, great acting, heroic and mood-fitting score, some cheesy effects, cool explosions and villian effects, lots of excitement, creativity, a retro feel, and some good emotion, but it had a familiar formula and a certain pulpy cheesiness.

Thor (2011) review

(8/10)

This is true summer entertainement for all Marvel fans to see.

PLOT:In the otherworldy realm of Asgard, there's a powerful hero named Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who's son of the current ruler, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Thor is chosen of Odin's two sons to be kind of Asgard, but Thor's arrogance and recklessness gets in the way when he revamps an age-old war with the Frost Giants. Due to Thor's mistake, Odin banishes him to Earth to live amongst the mortals and puts a spell over Thor's hammer making it only available to the one worthy of its power. When Thor gets to Earth, he is "run into" by star-studying Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her family. When the government gets involved on Earth and the war escalates in Asgard, it's up to Thor to find himself as a true hero and put his lesser self behind. It's a well-adapted plot executed quite well for a superhero movie.

ACTING:The acting in here was actually pretty good. Hemsworth did a worthy job as Thor, but I don't think he could have been the best person to play him. Hopkins is a great actor, and even in his old age it shows. He did a wonderful job as Odin. Portman was good too, but this wasn't her best role. The other shiners were Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Colm Feore as Laufey, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Kat Dennings as Darcy.



SCORE:The score is pretty epic and well done, but then again, the superhero films always have good score.

EFFECTS:The effects for this movie are pure eye candy. The way they made Asgard, the Rainbow Bridge, and even the Frost Giants look was great. This is one of those movies that mainly relies on effects to get through, like that of "Avatar". It works well here though.

OTHER CONTENT:This is one of the better superhero movies in my opinion. The storyline, character development, effects, and overall action work together to make a worthy hero film. The only problems I found with the movie that sealed its fate as more for entertainment are the fact that it relies a bit too much on humor and the formulaic "find your worth and then you'll be a hero" plotline. Basically, it's nothing too refreshing, but still great summer entertainment.



OVERALL,a great superhero movie with a well-adapted plot, good acting, epic score, well done effects, worthy storyline, character development, and overall action, but it relies a bit too much on humor and the formula.