Hail to The Wolverine

The Wolverine opens July 26th

In 2000, 20th Century Fox released X-Men and it cemented Comic Book Movies into the mainstream; making Marvel into a studio. At the center of Bryan Singer's first comic book film was the franchise's most popular character Wolverine. For the key role, Singer chose an Australian actor to play the Weapon-X subject Logan named Hugh Jackman. Many fans clamored for a bigger name to play X-Men's most colorful character. One such event was at the San Diego Comicon in 2000 where a Wolverine fan referred to Jackman as a "pipsqueak".  That said, Jackman took to the first X-Men like an actor taking on a role, but before long Wolverine acquired another huge fan- Jackman himself. In the 13 years since the claws first popped out of Jackman's hands, he has steadily improved on his performance so much so that fans cheered loudly at his cameo in X-Men: First Class. It's actually amazing how Jackman's career has flourished while perfecting his character and avoiding type-casting. While many other actors have been "perfect" for their comic book characters, Jackman has actually shaped his own performance more and more to fit the character in the books.

Jackman has refined his performance
with each film.

In an interview with TV Guide in 2000, Jackman simply referred to Logan as "the type of guy that wakes up with a cold shower", but in an X2 interview Jackman was already looking forward to a new aspect of his character, "I want to see Wolverine go berserk and really let loose." The result: Jackman nails Wolverine's berserk mindset when the mansion is invaded. By the time Jackman got his own series with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he had more ideas on how to perfect himself. Two-a-day training regimens to get all of the veins bubbling to the surface. His mannerisms and attitude was pitch perfect (and certainly less whiney than X3). It's a shame it was halfway wasted on the series second worse film, but that didn't stop Jackman from improving his flagship role. "If you don't improve each time, what's the point," Jackman said in a 60 Minutes interview.

It's impressive that Marvel
hasn't hindered Jackman's
career one bit.

What makes Jackman more impressive than Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, is the diversity of his roles since donning the claws. He won 2 Tonys for The Boy from Oz playing a gay choreographer, appeared in a handful of romantic comedies like Kate & Leopold and Someone Like You, more action films like Van Helsing and Swordfish, animated films like Happy Feet and Flushed Away, as well as Christopher Nolan's magician thriller The Prestige. When Hugh Jackman hosted the Oscars, he sang and danced around the stage concluding the opening number with "I AM WOLVERINE". There hasn't been a role Jackman has taken on without worrying about his future as Wolverine thus allowing him to grow as an actor while growing the Wolverine brand. Unlike Robert Downey Jr.'s recent comments about "overstaying his welcome", Jackman doesn't plan on retiring from the Weapon-X experiment anytime soon. Next year he will appear as Wolverine for the SEVENTH time in X-Men: Days of Future's Past.
It is a note that this blog has named Jackman as the best Comic Movie Hero in it's second post.

Can Iron Man 3 Avoid the Dreaded Third Part Comic Film?

Iron Man 3 opens Friday

 Whether or not fans want to see the truth, but Hollywood has set a template for a Comic Book Movies. It's fairly simple. Part 1 is the origin. Part 2 is the obstacle. Part 3 is the catharsis that's larger than life and over-cluttered. Several series took this  method and ALL have put out disappointing films compared to their predecessor. Look at the original Spider-Man series. Spider-Man 2 dealt with the obstacles of being Spider-Man so well that Roger Ebert called it "the best Superhero movie ever made".  Then Spider-Man 3 wedged three villains in and a two dance scenes... check please. The Dark Knight Rises was good, but again saw too many villains and several plot holes just to make a sensational ending. Both films were received well at the box office- each breaking box office records- but if you're honest each film was extremely flawed and betrayed their adaptations. Iron Man 3 will get it's shot to avoid this pattern Friday.

The Iron Patriot is WarMachine
reinvented.

Several fans weren't too happy with Iron Man 2, but it was still a good second piece of a series that extended it's story into The Avengers. In Iron Man 2, the obstacle of being Iron Man were obvious. Fame for being a public hero led to a public attack when he wasn't expecting it and a rival tycoon (Sam Rockwell) that hires his attacker to put Stark out of business. It also dealt with the government involvement in the Iron Man project and the creation of War Machine by his friend Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle). Tony falls into depression as he pushes Pepper away and fears he's dying, but finds a new energy source and staves off an attack of drones. Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) debate about their relationship and S.H.I.E.L.D. introduced Tony to the Black Widow before saying they didn't want him for the Avengers. Iron Man 2 also introduced Thor's hammer in "credits scene".

Is there anyone who could pull off the Mandarin
like Ben Kingsley will?

Iron Man 3 will continue the story from The Avengers and that's where it may change from the other series. Tony is dealing with new obstacles and new feelings like warping into a parallel world and is really feeling his mortality. It will also introduce the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a terrorist that baffles intelligence agencies and destroys Tony Stark's home. It will also be the first time we see Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce) - the founder of the Advanced Idea Mechanics. It's also one of the rare times a director has switched out of directing the franchise, but still appeared in the film. Jon Favreau directed the first two and Shane Black (Predator actor and Lethal Weapon writer) directs this edition. 

Contrary to other Comic
Stars, Downey's career has
skyrocketed since becoming
Iron Man.

Iron Man 3 will expand the Iron Man/Avengers universe, but will it be Downey's swan song as Tony Stark. Arguably, you can say this is the greatest portrayal of a Comic Book Hero. "I don't want to overstay my welcome," Downey maybe correct, but please overstay your welcome. Downey has been able to expand his career since donning the Iron Man costume. He has been nominated for an Oscar (Tropic Thunder) and was even able to star in smaller films like The Soloist. He has also starred in a new franchise (the Sherlock Holmes series). Downey has successfully avoided the type-casting that some superhero actors have gone through during their tenure.

As early reviews come say that Iron Man 3 is better than The Avengers and that's saying something. Then again, critic overlooked little things like how Bruce Wayne got from the middle of nowhere to a quarantined Gotham city with no money or no magic knee brace. Hopefully, this film will fulfill it's promises and get the Superhero genre it's best third part. 

Why Avengers Was Such an Achievement

The Avengers did more than live up to the hype, it exceeded it.

In this decade, Comic book movies have been churned out left and right, but none were able to do what the Avengers did. The Avengers is a comic book movie, but to do it right, Marvel Studios introduced audiences to them over the course of the last four years in an effort to eventually make THIS film. It was going to be a monumental task, but TV's Buffy: the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon made it happen.

In previous Comic Book films, the plots have required multiple villains, but rarely ever multiple heroes. So Marvel made five films (Iron Man 1 & 2, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor) with two of the films using the final two Avengers (Black Widow and Hawkeye) to introduce all their characters. Over the five films, only Jon Favareau of the Iron Man series directed more than one of the films. It's obvious that Marvel wanted each film to have their own style and atmosphere, but that's what made Whedon's job so much harder. Joe Johnstone's 1940 style for Captain America: The First Avenger is far different from the Favareau's rock-n-roll Iron Man, Kenneth Branagh's personal journey Thor and Louis Leterrier's chase film The Incredible Hulk. So Whedon had to make them come together and still make their style's apparent. Not only did he do that, but Whedon created the style for his super-hero team. What's interesting is whether Marvel will continue to use each series in it's own voice or constantly refer back to the their blockbuster film.

Also Whedon made a little pissy villain into a good maniacal one. Loki was a disappointing piss-ant of a villain in Thor, but in The Avengers, he was egotistical and even intimidating. So I guess it to banishment from Asgard to make him bad-ass? Throw in the legions of soldiers send from space and his ability to control the minds of SHIELD's top men helped his villainy, but just the scene opposite Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) was worth it to have the Avengers battle Loki.

Downey's Tony Stark is incredible, but the other actors weren't overshadowed by him.

Head count scene: http://youtu.be/d6ASh6vVj0k

But eventually the Avengers would have to come together. To do that, they'd never to have the wedge stuck between them, which Loki helps create. As much as this is a TEAM super-hero film, but individually this was a do-gooder film as all the heroes come together to do what's right. Whedon does all of this while seamlessly moves from one character to another in the major action sequences and every character has their own style of attacking. It's not just fluff put together for nothing and it's not like the "VS" movies earlier this decade that didn't cater to the characters well enough. Some people came out to call this "Iron Man 2 3/4", but that's wrong. It's understandable to feel that way since Downey is so dominant in his portrayal of Marvel's most dominant personality, but Chris Evans was spot-on in making a Vanilla Captain America more colorful. Chris Hemsworth showed Thor's growth from the first film, but still acted like a god. Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is not as dominant as a man who wants to be nowhere while Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson emerged from the shadows to create characters for Hawkeye and Black Widow. All of this while showing the leadership of Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and the organization of SHIELD, which was used as a joke in Iron Man. Whedon blended together all these characters, plots and told his own story about how these individuals come together.

While a sequel isn't officially set yet, it will be great to see the villain shown at the end of the film. (No spoilers) So go see The Avengers and enjoy it again...and afterwards eat shawarma.

Best Comic Book Movie Heroes

In the previous post, I talked about the villains that entertained us. In recent years, comic book films have become fashionable, drawing the top of the A-List actors and getting fine performances.  In the past, we've seen campy performances (George Clooney's Batman) to the Superhero sex scene in "The Watchmen".  There's been plenty of good ones, but here's the cream of the crop.

11) Patrick Stewart - (X-Men/X2/X3): Stewart had two franchises working at the same time (Star Trek), but his Professor Charles Xavier was the key figure in the X-Men films and always the voice of reason and tolerance in an increasingly harsh world.  But Xavier did have a super-power, he could read, communicate and even take control of multiple minds, freezing their movements.  His "death" in the third X-Men film is still not well received by many fans.

10) Jackie Earle Haley - (Watchmen): Haley's Rorschach was the most compelling character in the love-it-or-hate-it "Watchmen".  His patience is put to the test when he couldn't save a murdered little girl and turns into a darker soul as he murders a suspect by chopping his head apart with a meat cleaver.  "People go to jail! Dogs get put down!" This act sends him to prison, which ends up being bad news for the inmates as he continues to slaughter them from behind bars.

9) Tom Hanks - (Road to Perdition): The Oscar award winning actor played Michael Sullivan, a Chicago hitman outcast by his adopted family when Daniel Craig murders his wife and son.  The graphic novel was brought to life by fine acting and the direction of Sam Mendes.  For a film that saw Pep Streebeck kill people, the scene in the rain where a conflicted Hanks kills his surrogate father (Paul Newman) is worth watching over and over again.

8) Wesley Snipes - (Blade): Before Marvel could put out Spider-man, X-Men and the Hulk, Blade came to the big screen in 1998.  At this time, vampires weren't in every other film, but this provided a new twist.  A half-human/vampire hybrid, Blade spends his life hunting vampires down to kill them.  Snipes' character was unforgiving, relentless and cold.  In one of the most over-looked comic book movies, Snipes stayed memorable.

7) Michael Keaton - (Batman): Though Christian Bale appears on this list, Keaton played a good Bruce Wayne/Batman.  He didn't smile like Val Kilmer's and wasn't a victim of an awful script (Clooney), he was the distraught millionaire that Bruce Wayne had to be to dress up like a bat and stalk the streets.  He also didn't make up an annoying voice when he put on the Bat suit.

6) Ron Perlman - (Hellboy): When Guilermo Del Toro casted the 40+ year-old Perlman as Hellboy, some would have doubted that the HUGE age difference wouldn't be a problem. Instead, Perlman personified Hellboy well (twice) and spawned an animated series. Perlman had just the right amount of camp while being quite a bad ass.

5) Christian Bale - (Batman Begins/Dark Knight): Bale's Batman may not be perfect- the voice when he is Batman is pretty annoying- however, Bale is one of the better Bruce Wayne's that the franchise had.  His two-sided approach allows him to be Wayne even when he is Batman and vice-versa.  Though the villains have overshadowed his performances in these two films, Bale has been the ideal Bruce Wayne/Batman.

4) Tobey Maguire - (Spider-Man): It's hard not to see Maguire as Peter Parker, that's how perfect he was. He could be dorky and clumsy, but you can see him grow from film to film until Sam Rami had him dancing in the third film for some reason.  However, the first two films were dead on and Maguire nailed it in every way, especially in the second installment.

3) Robert Downey Jr. - (Iron Man/Iron Man 2): Tony Stark is an egotistical bastard that cares only about himself and grows to be a better person, but it still VERY much the same.  Downey doesn't nail Stark, he splits the arrow Robin Hood style.  Every emotion of Tony Stark is perfect from Downey, from his childish behavior to his noble deeds where he attempts to save the world from his own weapons.  Whether it's excusing himself from fighting with his would-be-girlfriend because he's fighting an army of drones to pretending he's jogging when being pursued by the Air Force, Downey plays this role perfectly.

2) Christopher Reeve - (Superman/Superman II/III/IV): All of these actor embodies their characters, but Reeve literally appears as if he was taken from the page.  Though Superman can be a bit of a tool, Reeve's Superman is one that is always compelling.  His internal conflict was great in the sequel, but the best part was teaching a vile trucker a lesson in a diner and paying for the damages.  Reeve captivated and charmed audiences for years and could easily be number one on this list.

1) Hugh Jackman - (X-Men/X2/X3/Wolverine): Evolution is the theme of the X-Men films, but perhaps the greatest evolution is the performances by Hugh Jackman.  It is clear that X-Men was a role that Jackman didn't know the history of the character, but as early as X2 Jackman began pleasing even the hard core fans.  Also Jackman is passionate about Wolverine.  In an interview before the X2 release, Jackman expressed how he yearned to see Wolverine go berserk and he does in X2, slicing up the invading soldiers in Xavier's mansion.  Jackman has said in interviews how he wants to constantly improve an make Wolverine MORE ICONIC of an image.  He is three times the size he was when he was originally the character in 2000.  Though Wolverine is a tough, rigid emotional character, Jackman brings a tremendous amount of heart into it often finding plenty of tear-jerker scenes.  In 2000, fans weren't pleased with the selection of him, but his cameo in X-Men:First Class received the loudest reaction on opening night.  In the 2009 Oscars, Jackman sang and danced around stage (as he did when he won a Tony Award for the "Boy From Oz"), and concluded it by singing out, "I AM WOLVERINE!!!!"  Of all the characters embraced by comic fans, who'd have thought their favorite would be a song-and-dance man.  Like Ian McKellen for villains, X-Men's Jackman is the champ of Movie Superheroes.