Monsters

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a great movie. It is not a great movie because there are a bunch of cool action scenes, or because of the funny quips and one-liners, nor is it because of how faithful it is the comics. No, The Avengers second cinematic outing is great because it draws upon the individual installments. I don’t mean that in the sense that HYDRA were exposed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron opens with the team fighting HYDRA. Age of Ultron is great because the characters are affected by what has come before.

This is most notably true with Tony Stark. In Iron Man 3, Stark was suffering from post-traumatic stress due to the battle of New York shown in the first Avengers film. Stark had become so concerned about another attack that he’d built forty two Iron Man suits. When past demons came back to haunt him, Stark deployed all of the suits, a remote controlled army. Though he initiated the clean slate protocol at the end of that film, it’s clear from Avengers:Age of Ultron that he’s far from cured of his PTSD. Iron Man has rebuilt his army, made up of Iron Man drones, naming it Iron Legion and he’s working on an AI to protect the Earth from outside threat.

Captain America and Thor get similar treatment. Cap is still the old fish out of water, reminiscing about Agent Carter and the life he left behind in Captain America: The First Avenger when mind jacked by Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff. When also tricked, Thor receives a vision of a tainted Asgard, possibly explained by Loki’s rule and to be further explored in Thor: Ragnarok. Even in terms of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, their backstory involves being orphaned by bombs distributed by Stark Industries. And arms dealing was a lucrative business for Stark not so long ago.

Age of Ultron does avenge Hawkeye’s lack of screen time from the first film.

It’s not a retreading of past stories though. Some of the characters get completely new developments, namely Clint Barton. Hawkeye spent most of the first film unappreciated due to his brainwashing and generally just having less to do in the battle of New York. That’s been more than rectified here in Age of Ultron where we get to see a lot more of what Barton does when he’s not an Avenger. It’s a quieter moment in the film but it’s great character growth and brings a rather ‘meh’ character to life.

The main thrust of the story is that Tony Stark and Bruce Banner attempt to create an A.I. to protect Earth using information and coding extracted from Loki’s sceptre. This A.I. is called Ultron and, in true science fiction fashion, immediately assesses that the best way to save humanity is to wipe it out. He enlists the Maximoff twins to his cause but doesn’t divulge his end game. Turns out he’s quite obsessed with comets, desiring to lift a land mass out of the Earth and drop it to create an extinction level seismic blast.

Ultron does not pose much of a threat to The Avengers. They square off several times before the final battle and each time the Avengers succeed in destroying him. The problem is that he escapes using the internet, allowing him to move into a new body and continue his plans. Part of those plans are to create a better body, a more synthetic model, utilising new skin constructing technology and the mind gem. But even those plans are headed off by Tony Stark and Thor. It’s nice to see the heros being as proactive as the villain for once. The only real exception is Steve Rogers who warns that ‘everytime someone tries to win a war before it starts innocent people die’. Is that perhaps a dispute that could lead to a civil war?

Avengers: Age of Ultron goes dark but with more colour.

It’s those little character moments that make the film, whether it’s building on what has come before or feeding into the next installments. But it’s also these moments that create a darker atmosphere in the Marvel universe than fans might be use to. Iron Man 3 and Thor: Dark World (ironically) were lighter and more jokey than Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The main theme this time around is that our heros are monsters, capable of hurting the world as much as they are of saving it. Isn’t that the same theme DC were going for in their Batman V. Superman trailer? Age of Ultron does it without the gritty, dark palette and gruff garbled voices. It does so with the deep, alluring tones of one James Spader.

Is it better than the first film? That’s tough to say. The Avengers was the first of its kind. No film before it had created a shared universe and built towards an ensemble film. It was fun without being overly complex, which it needed to be in order to appeal to casual fans and not just the fanatics who watched every film and obsessed over every scene. But it did have it’s flaws, as does Age of Ultron. One thing that bothered me a lot was the CGI which was very noticeable at times. I don’t think Age of Ultron is much more CGI heavy than the first outing but it didn’t seem to blend quite right. But that’s only a slight grievance.

Even with it’s failings and comparisons to the first, Avengers: Age of Ultron is still a great film in its own right. Far too often, sequels will attempt to draw fans in with bigger and bolder stories at the expense of the characters who become stereotypes and cliches drawn with broad strokes. Not so with Age of Ultron, which moves from alien invasion to robotic uprising but remains underpinned by character development and growth throughout. Now, on to Ant-Man and phase three.

Judgement

This was a big week for television enthusiasts. Last Sunday saw the return of Mad Men, Monday brought us the finale of Better Call Saul and tonight sees the premiere of season five of Game of Thrones. Sandwiched between those blockbuster, monster shows, Netflix also released the first fruits of their partnership with Marvel Entertainment; Daredevil. By making all thirteen episodes public in the same week as the Better Call Saul finale, Netflix has managed a smooth transition from one popular show to another, keeping its subscribers hooked for another few weeks. Or at least a couple of days.

The story of Marvel’s Daredevil, in case you’ve blocked the Ben Affleck adaptation from memory, focuses on Matt Murdoch, a small time lawyer operating out of Hell’s Kitchen who was blinded by radioactive materials as a child. Borrowing from the popular myth, instead of blinding the kid, the loss of his sight elevates his other senses to the point where he can hear a person’s heartbeat just by standing nearby. His enhanced balance also allows him to execute martial arts techniques flawlessly. Murdoch, following the death of his boxer dad who refused to throw a fight, uses these newly developed abilities to fight crime and clean up Hell’s Kitchen.

So, Daredevil plays into a lot of the superhero tropes that we’re all familiar with by now; powers caused by exposure to an outside source, dead parent. But the Netflix series is very aware of that. While the show opens with a scene depicting Murdoch as a child having his sight destroyed, when we catch up to Charlie Cox as the adult superhero, he’s already fighting criminals and stopping human trafficking deals. It’s clear he has only just started but this isn’t his first outing in the costume. Which is nice. By now, viewers are getting bored with origin stories. It’s in the best interest of superhero media to show the origin in as succinct and concise as fashion as possible, which Daredevil does.

“It’s ok, I just bit my lip.”

Later episodes do develop Murdoch’s relationship with his father but in some senses this show was made for fans of the character. It doesn’t dwell much on the origin and comic book readers will recognise some of Daredevil most anti-heroic actions from Frank Miller’s run. But then it baffles me why Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin is treated as a secret for three episodes. Fans of the comics, especially those reading post-Miller, will recognise Kingpin as Daredevil’s biggest and most notorious foe. And Marvel already announced that he would be in the show. Therefore the only reason to hide his face is to make Vincent D’Onofrio’s appearance a surprise. But it’s just not. We’ve already seen D’Onofrio bald as Private Leonard Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. And Wilson Fisk just looks like Gomer Pyle stole a few too many donuts.

Along with the lack of focus on audience, there is also a lack of focus on character. While the show is predominantly about Matt Murdoch and his adventures as Daredevil, he also has to share screen time with Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson, Debrorah Ann Woll as Karen Page and Fisk’s romantic storyline with Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna. It’s good to develop supporting characters, and I actually like Foggy because he manages to be Murdoch’s partner without playing a wholly comic relief role, but at 50+ minutes, the episodes could benefit from being trimmed back slightly.

It’s not that I want the characters to be two dimensional or every scene to include Charlie Cox. However, I am sitting down to watch a show titled Daredevil so I do expect the character to be at the centre of the show. Instead I’m watching Fisk court his future wife. Yes it gives him a human side so that he’s not just evil for the sake of evil but it still detracts from the main character. Daredevil suffers from this in the same way that Fox’s Gotham devotes a lot of screen time to The Penguin and Fish Mooney as well as Jim Gordon. Gotham at least has the advantage of being about an entire city rather than just one man, but the problem is the same. I don’t want to see what the bad guys are doing. I want to see the good guy figure it out.

Not shown: a lot of recurring side characters.

Daredevil also suffers from a second structural issue but it’s one that seems to plague other Netflix original programming too. Daredevil, like House of Cards, and other shows that have all of their episodes released at once, episodes tend to lack a hook to entice the viewer to watch the next one. It doesn’t seem like a big deal if the viewer doesn’t watch another episode right away when all of the episodes will be available for months. But they’re looking at it wrong. Not watching the next episodes reflects a lack of interest. I can tell you now, if HBO released all of Game of Thrones at once tonight, I’d have the entire season watched by sunrise.

With Daredevil, I’m just not that eager and I don’t feel that the show is demanding to be watched in the same way other shows do. Even if the episode itself isn’t exciting a hook can still entice the viewer. Person of Interest does it all the time. A particular case might be dull but often the episode will end with a revelation or twist that will make me desperate to tune in next week. On demand shows are relegating this device, treating it as a remnant of weekly televised shows but its not. It’s a tool to draw the viewer into the next episode. Remember, there’s only a few seconds between episodes. The hook only has to stall them for that long and then the next episode can do the rest.

Most of the problems are structural. The acting is good, with Charlie Cox as the clear standout, and the choreography is great. It’s a joy to see a fight scene where the camera doesn’t move with every punch. I can actually see what’s happening. I like the neo-noir theme too; it fits the moral quandaries of the character. I’m hoping that the problems are due to producers or writers, as the series is created by Drew Goddard, the man who will direct the next solo Spider-Man. Otherwise I’m expecting good fight scenes but I’m a little worried that Aunt May might end up with as much screen time as our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

Deal

By now it’s common knowledge that Sony has made a deal with Marvel Entertainment to allow the Spider-Man character to be apart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This came hot off the heels the Sony hack and the leak that Sony had no idea what to do with Spider-Man. There was no overall vision or greater direction. There were even suggestions of an Aunt May film. This was fine when no one knew about it but once it was leaked public outcry ensured and Sony were forced to do something to salvage their reputation. Namely, co-chairman Amy Pascal stepping down and the leasing of Spider-Man back to Marvel.

Good news, but there is one major downside; Sony’s Spider-Man franchise will be recast and rebooted for the second time in only four years. It’s disappointing to lose Andrew Garfield, who is a fine actor regardless of your opinions of the Amazing Spider-Man series, and audiences are less than enthused about witnessing an origin story for the third time. But these are small prices to pay to see Spider-Man in the Marvel universe and play his part in Captain America: Civil War.

It’s no secret that I actually enjoyed the Amazing Spider-Man films. The films are not as bad as the detractors make them out to be. Emma Stone’s chemistry with Garfield makes the relationship between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker leaps and bounds more believable than Tobey Maguire’s awkward courting of Kristen Dunst’s M.J. Sam Raimi actually seems to struggle with the romance elements, relying on love triangles to create most of the conflict. Furthermore, Amazing Spider-Man 2’s use of multiple villains is basic layering. How likely is it that only one villain is going to have a problem with Spidey at any given time? It’s time management of villains is at least better than that of Spider-Man 3.

Spider-Man in the middle.

The biggest problem with the Amazing Spider-Man series is that the films came so soon after the previous trilogy was cut short. It was facing an uphill battle from the very beginning. It really would have benefited from an over-arching story, and no, I don’t mean the Parker parent investigation. Exploring the relationship with Gwen Stacy created a nice contrast to the original trilogy and portraying the iconic Death of Gwen Stacy on film was a great idea. Had Sony been smart though, they would have built towards the the Clone Saga, which would have allowed them to bring back Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy for a third film and possibly even replace Peter Parker with Ben Reilly if they felt Garfield was becoming stale. The plots of both films were about biogenetic research so a third film about cloning wouldn’t even have been that much of a leap.

Sony were not that smart, however, and when faced with their lack of plans for future Spider-Man films, they made the deal with Marvel. Personally, I feel that this deal benefits Marvel much more than Sony. Marvel get to do Civil War the way it was meant to be done and the combined fans of The Avengers and Spider-Man will both come to see the crossover. A crossover, it should be noted, that takes place squarely amongst Marvel’s third phase, on Marvel’s ground where Marvel has final say. Meanwhile, Sony get the expertise of Kevin Feige but all casting, directing and creative choices are still in the hands of Amy Pascal and Sony. If you didn’t like the Amazing Spider-Man series then there’s really no reason to be excited by this deal. All of the same people behind that series are behind this new reboot.

But, as I stated, I liked the Amazing films so I am, at least, interested to see how Sony tries engage audiences for a third time. Rumour is that they’re looking at a younger Parker, so we’ll be back in high school. Does that mean more Gwen Stacy or another attempt at Mary Jane? If I had to guess, I’d say Sony will go back to Mary Jane, given that she never made an appearance in the Amazing series. In terms of plot, Green Goblin has technically been done in both the original trilogy and the Amazing series, so they’ll likely give him a break. Doctor Octopus or Venom could certainly make reappearances. There are a number of smaller villains who could appear but for the initial film in the reboot, Sony will likely want to go big.

From old gods and ancient monsters to a man that does everything a spider can.

There is some news though. Sinister Six director, Drew Goddard, also known for his work on Cabin in the Woods and Cloverfield has been signed on to direct the 2017 Spider-Man reboot, rumoured to be called Spectacular Spider-Man after the comic book series of the same name. Goddard is a good choice. He can direct big set pieces and he can write both funny and intense dialogue. How well he can write romance remains to be seen though but this is definitely a positive choice.

Beyond that, there still isn’t much information to go on. Word is that Sony might be looking at Dylan O’Brien or Logan Lerman for the role of Peter Parker. Contradictory rumours also state that Sony want to go younger, and sign the actor on to a long deal. If Sony do go younger the actor will probably be an unknown, which would fall within the Marvel pattern of casting the least expected choice and turning them into massive stars. For what it’s worth, Logan Lerman would be my pick. He has the range needed for the role. No word on what Sony are looking for in the co-stars, but I still think Leslie Rose would make a fantastic M.J.

The creative potential for this deal is enormous. At the very least, it is an interesting injection into the superhero genre, just when the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have been getting tired. At most, it could be the boost that the Spider-Man franchise needed. Either way, the audience wins.

Angles

Coming out of the Marvel Entertainment vault, Disney’s new superhero flick is the animation, Big Hero Six. Having plumbed the depths of Marvel’s known works, and Marvel selling off the rights to its biggest franchises long ago, Disney is now content to adapt the more obscure teams and heroes for the big screen. Guardians of the Galaxy was obscure, sure, but at least it had vague connections to the greater Marvel universe and related works. Big Hero Six has none of those connections and is probably as out there as Disney could probably go. In all fairness, it seems to be working and Big Hero Six is no exception.

Big Hero Six follows kid genius, Hiro Hamada, and the inflatable robot carer, Baymax. Despite being a genius, Hiro doesn’t have much ambition. He’s happy to illegally battle in robot contests, that is until some brotherly motivations drives him to make something that could truly change the world. A tragic event occurs, his technology is destroyed and Hiro becomes griefstriken. Well, that’s not quite true. His technology wasn’t destroyed and when Hiro learns that it is being used for a more nefarious purpose than he intended, he, Baymax and four of his brother’s friends use their intellect to become superheroes.

Big Hero Six doesn’t revolutionise the genre, either in terms of superheroes or animation. But it is funny and it is charming. There are a lot of familiar tropes in play here, such as the loss of loved ones as a origin story, and most of the plot points and twists are easy to predict, but the writing never feels lazy. The story itself is simple but what gives it depth is the characters. These characters feel more alive than some of the characters in live action movies.

A more diversely flavoured Marvel superhero team.

It helps that the central message of the film isn’t about learning to work together as it too often is in ensemble films. At times it feels as though the film is going in that direction, especially when the team don’t communicate in one fight and end up taking out each other rather than the target. Part of the main idea of the film is that friends are good and help keep us sane but there’s also a nice echo in the film about looking at problems from another angle. This is a film that encourages creativity and innovation in the youth. That’s a refreshing point from a superhero film.

Where Big Hero Six really excels is the portrayal of Hiro’s loss. His grief and depression are depicted with tact and with the perspective that this isn’t something he can just get over or easily treat. It’s something that it really takes the entire film and a friendship with Baymax to overcome but it doesn’t come without its setbacks. Some might argue that it is unrealistic. It’s not like people who suffer with depression can simply make friends and become a superhero team. But that’s kind of missing the point. It’s not the process of becoming a superhero that helps him overcome his grief. It’s the compassion and kindness of everyone around him that eventually brings him out the other side.

Diversity is also a major plus for Big Hero Six. The majority of the team isn’t white, which is extremely progressive when you consider that The Avengers won’t officially add a black member until phase three. An argument could be made for Don Cheadle as War Machine/Iron Patriot but that’s why the word ‘official’ is in there. DC are doing a little better, with an Israeli Wonder Woman, a black Cyborg and a Hawaiian Aquaman, but we won’t see Justice League until 2017, so Big Hero Six has it beat by a solid 2-3 years. Considering the recent controversy regarding how white-washed the Oscar nominations are, I can see the diversity of its characters being a huge draw for Big Hero Six.

Yet another thing that doesn’t exist that movies have made me want.

Will Big Hero Six be a money maker like Frozen? Unlikely. It’s family friendly and Baymax is adorable though so it will definitely appeal to kids. Adults too, because I personally would love my own personal Baymax. If that technology is a bit too advanced some kind of massive plushie would be great. But most of the money will come from kids and parents of kids buying the merchandise. Fans of the comic book will likely enjoy the film because its a good film, regardless of its source material, but might be slightly disappointed. Their comic book counterparts, from what I know, are different and had connects to mutants and X-Men. Baymax for instance was not a carer and could morph into dragon-like creature. The X-Men connection was obviously cut to avoid issues with Fox but Baymax’s change into the loveable, inflatable, health care assistant was surely done to sell toys.

At this point, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Marvel and Disney can make Big Hero Six appeal to the general public. Before the superhero genre really took off in film, Marvel’s biggest cash cows were Spider-Man and Wolverine. All of the rest had their fair share of fans and readers but those two were major players. Tony Stark wasn’t even close. But Marvel and Disney have made household names out of Tony Stark, Captain America and Thor. They’ve done the same with Big Hero Six. It’s unique blend of progressiveness and charm make it a joy to watch.

American readers will already know this since they got to see Big Hero Six back in November of last year. I don’t know the reason for the delay to the UK but I’m not too bothered by it. Disney have more than made up for it by delivering Avengers: Age of Ultron to the UK a whole week before it’s due in the states.