The Reconciliation, Part Two

It's been a while, but I've finally fleshed out my concluding thoughts when it comes to Marvel.

Again, thar be spoilers ahead. Ye Be Warned.

So, we picked up Thor 2 because I had an overwhelming urge to submerse myself back into the Marvel Universe.

Thor 2 was...good! I won't say it was the most amazing Marvel film, however, it held up very nicely in it's own right. The movie had an easier time of being integrated with the rest of Marvel Universe, as it had The Avengers preceding it. The stand out, was of course, Tom Hiddleston and the depth of character and pathos he brought to Loki this time around. Hiddleston truly owns that character. The story line was great, the action was great, and of course...well, the ending was awesome. I still have issues with Natalie Portman's existence in the Thor films, as a charter member of Team Lady Syf. Not to say I am a mindless fangirl - I do see the necessity of the changes made all the way back in the first Thor. All together, a well written tasty piece of the Marvel Universe.

Now. The movie ends, and the credits roll, and we hold our usual inclination to hit the remote. Oh, no. We wait for really, what is often at times the best parts of Marvel movies - the "teasers" at the end. These have a great history of being awesome, from simply tying up loose ends to giving tantalizing hints at what's to come. Iron Man 3 being the exception, they have all been amazing. The best, in my opinion was the one at the end of The Avengers. On the opening night,  Ed and I were leaning forward, falling out of our seats, and when we realized exactly who that was we collectively shit our pants. I grabbed on to Ed's knee and squeezed the life out of him, I was so excited, desperately containing squeals of delight. Some girl to the right and front of us asked in general, "who's that?". As if on cue, a guy in the higher up seats jumps up, both fists pumped in the air and bellowed "THANOOOOOS". It was magic.

The teaser at the end of Thor 2, while not as a magical experience, it still jazzed us up. After a fast paced conversation that included phrases such as "OH MY GOD, THIS MEANS THE GAUNTLET" and "Will Adam Warlock show up?" we simmered down. I picked up my current cross stitch as Ed played around with the Blu-Ray special features. I was feeling pretty good, if a little chagrined, considering that I had completely forgotten about August's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Derp, de derp. Ed was engrossed in watching some behind the scenes things, which I would cast covert glances at when Hiddleston was on screen.

"Hey, there's one of those one shots on here. It's called "All Hail The King". Oh! It's got Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin again." Ed says, hitting play on the short.

Ugh. Really? Now they're making shorts featuring that disaster? In spite of myself, I watched it.

It was a proverbial "I'm sorry letter". It was better than the bouquet that contained The Collector, better than the sweets box featuring two very special twins at the end of Winter Solider. For me, this was the breaking of the ice, the first apology. It wasn't complete, since to repair the damage done by Iron Man 3 would take much more than just this one particular short. But it was good, and very entertaining.

I took away an understanding that the powers that be realized that not everyone would accept or like their version of the Mandarin. Like it or not, it was the comic fans that made Iron Man so successful to begin with. This was their overture to us. It certainly doesn't make up for the other shitty things about Iron Man 3, but does start to scab the wound caused by the Mandarin. It was well acted, and actually very funny. The short also brings to bear more questions as well - what does this mean now? Are the Ten Rings going to make an appearance?  Will there be more Iron Man movies? Questions I don't know how to answer, but I like being able to ask them.

So, Marvel and I are taking it easy. Some tentative hand holding, and maybe a peck on the cheek every now and again. I'm seriously looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy - maybe we'll get to 1st base - as the theatrical trailers look very promising. Ed and I also had another pants shitting moment when we saw X-Men: Days of Future Past, at the very end. In addition to being a superb comic movie, the secret ending on THAT one was just too good, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next X-Men installment. And, of course, we  have The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Something tells me with Joss Whedon at the helm once more, Marvel and I will go on to have a happy, healthy relationship again. No relationship is without it's bumps, but with all this great content coming up, I'm not ready to throw in the towel completely.


For more info on what's going on in the Thor 2 secret ending, this video is a great resource.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer
Guardians of the Galaxy
Info on "All Hail The King"
Speculation on Captain America 2's secret ending
Marvel One Shots


Stay Frosty,

-GG

The Reconciliation, Part One.

It's not often I get to really geek out (It's also not often I actually get to blog....), but when I do I try to make it good.

WARNING. This post contains spoilers for a buncha things, but mainly Iron Man 3. If you haven't seen it yet, for the love of God, get thee to a computer and Netflix that shit.

The Reconciliation, Part One: The Break-Up.


Almost exactly a year ago, Iron Man 3 came out. This was my penultimate movie, with expectations running amok as I was coming off my high from The Avengers, this was to be the grand finale in the Iron Man saga. We had a phenomenal cast lined up - the obvious, principal players - Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle, but we also had Guy Pierce and the amazing Ben Kingsley rounding out this final installment. The trailers and posters looked amazing, leaked pictures and the media frenzy was promising. I did myself a service and took the advice from River Song and stayed away from spoilers. I wanted this to be special.  I had taken the journey, all the way from the beginning - the opening night midnight showing all those years ago to now, wearing the very same "Mrs. Tony Stark" shirt I had made up for the first occasion. I was a different person, and a different fan, but my love for shellhead was stronger than ever.

The depths of my disappointment was vast. I sat there with Ed, as the credits rolled and tried so hard to smile and say it was perfect. But I couldn't. Because it wasn't. I was let down badly because I felt the movie trashed everything that was exceptional about the comics. The Extermis story line was terribly mishandled, and the epitome of Iron Man villainy - the Mandarin - was turned into a bumbling, lecherous failed actor. A shameful misuse of the amazing talent of Ben Kingsley as well. Iron Man 3 was a nice action movie, over the top, complete with cute kid sidekick and pretty girlfriend, but it was missing heart and soul - that Marvel polish and panache - that defines not only the Iron Man movies but most Marvel movies.  It was a betrayal on a Shakespearean scale. My trust was so broken, I shied away from comics and Marvel all together, weary and leery of anything bearing that red and white logo.

I broke up with Marvel.

It wasn't a fitful break, there was no screaming, crying, gnashing of teeth. No 2 AM texts, drunkenly tapped out in a fit of despair and alcoholism. No shame spiral after realizing what it was you actually texted to the ex. It was quiet, done with a shake of the head, and a firm walking out. It still hurt, but there just wasn't any passion or desire to still be in this quasi-love affair. I was failed, terribly so, and I felt it was best to step away.

In the intervening year I have been able to extrapolate some decency from the movie, find the good things, the silver lining. The ending, and not being snarky here, was well done as it exemplified something that has happened to Tony many, many times in the comics. Losing everything, and building from the ground up. Good. Many suits of armor. Also good (but bad too, since the collection was implemented fairly lamely). Lots of tech, also good but bad too, as we've seen Iron Man up against tech and prevail. Why can't we see our technological wonder up against something he's never seen before, something he hasn't prepared for and will have to use every shred of cognitive skill that brilliant brain of his holds to overcome? Like, say, magic or the supernatural or...something not of this world. Oh, right, because that would have been the realm of The Mandarin (or Doctor Doom, a girl can dream...), and we wouldn't want to follow those silly comic books because that just wouldn't be clever enough.

That, there is the crux of my issues with Iron Man 3. The loss of The Mandarin was a heavy blow as I was really super psyched as I followed the tantalizing hints and clues laid out in the first two movies. I could happily accept The Mandarin as the head of a terrorist organization - it was perfect, really. But was left bitter, disappointed and distrustful of Marvel.

Fast forward to this past weekend.

About a month ago, I made Ed take me to see Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. I got guilty about it and decided to take Ed out to see Captain America: The Winter Solider, as he'd been dying to see it for over a month now. I had felt guilty because I was willfully ignoring the existence of a new Marvel movie, as I had done with Thor 2. Ignoring Cap was harder though, as he is Ed's main squeeze. It was a great movie, in all honesty, still working hard to tie in those threads from other Marvel movies but maintaining an identity. Also introducing The Falcon, yes! It was nice, it felt good. But my instincts were screaming to not fall into a trap, I would get hurt again.

So, instead of being cautious, I decided that instead of waiting for Netflix, we were going to pick up Thor 2 right after the movie, because I was just in that mood.

Suddenly, and in spite of everything, the game was suddenly changed because of that one Blu-Ray disc.

Continued in Part 2....

Edit:
I'm not going to expostulate further on why I thought Iron Man 3 was terrible. However, here are some articles that articulate my thoughts fairly well:
10 Reasons To Hare Iron Man 3
4 Reasons Why Iron Man 3 Was A Horrible Start to Marvel's Phase 2  (a "normal" movie-goer perspective)
Iron Man 3 Just Isn't Just Bad, It's Downright Insulting

Captain, My Captain.

Shh! Possible spoilers. Don't say I didn't warn you. See, I am being good and channeling River Song!





So, the lovely fiancee and I went to go see Captain America: First Avenger tonight. Now, I am an Iron Man fan. He's the Captain America fan. If you know anything about the Civil War story line in Marvel Comics, you can understand the amount of contention in my household. Fact still remains that I got my movie first, so....nyah.

However, unlike Ed, I am more receptive to other rival superheros. Plus, how can anyone pass up a Marvel movie? I wasn't as super excited, but I ended up feeling quite pleased with the overall effect of the movie and how it fit within the huge overarching ultimate goal that Marvel Studios seems to be working towards: The Avengers. That was the first worry of Captain America - that it would end up feeling like Marvel's first summer offering, Thor. My second worry was how was everything going to tie itself up into one neat little knot within the Avengers? Lastly, would it stand up to the beloved image of Cap in the comics?

Imagine, if you will, one of those friendship bracelets that girls made in the proverbial "back in the day". Think about how they were made, each strand getting knotted around another strand, another and another. Think about how the bracelet would look without one row of knots, with the floss just hanging there, all limp and pathetic. That was the Marvel Movie continuity before Captain America. This movie ties up the knots and makes the friendship bracelet look pretty, and now can be given to Cap's BFF Iron Man. Truly, after quite a few years, Captain America finally bridges the gap between, the highly anticipated Avengers flick and does so without feeling like this effort was tacked on (like Thor).

As a stand alone superhero movie, it was pretty damn awesome. The overall look did quite an excellent job of meshing sci-fi technology with a World War II 1940's style without camp overload. The costumes and running nods to the comics, like Cap's chevron shield, were done in a creative manner that worked fit into the story line. Speaking of which, the story was done so very well. Even though the entrance of the Cosmic Cube was set up at the very tail end of Thor, the writers took something that could have been crap but made into the movie's own possession. Plus, not only does it run with it, but sets up for what I think is going to be the main event of The Avengers Movie (Hi, who did NOT see Loki prancing around with the shiny shiny, then appearing for a split second in the Avengers trailer?). Of course, the movie was peppered with Marvel's cheeky wit and quick jibes between characters.

Also, HYDRA. (Cut off one head, two more shall take it's place.) Who cannot simply LOVE Hugo Weaving as Red Skull? I think he stole the show, with his sweeping long leather coat and sinister looming presence. As a villain, Red Skull is Cap's nemesis, and I really hope he's going to be back in all his evil glory. The final fight scene was done beautifully, with amazing fight coordination and camera angles. The very end of the movie was satisfying, with the right touch of sadness, as now we are painfully aware, Cap is a man 70 years out of his own world.

Lastly, as the Iron Man fangirl, I could not help but just love Howard Stark. Dominic Cooper brought the right amount of RDJ's Tony Stark, but without whacking you over the head with "YES, THIS IS IRON MAN'S DAD". I very much enjoyed Howard and Stark Industries' inclusion, giving a sense history to the Stark family's involvement in important events. Now, I am just wondering who I like better as Tony's dad - Dominic or John Slattery, who was in the Stark Expo short in the Iron Man 2.

In short, my worries were really for nothing. I hate to make comparisons (never mind, I can, it's my own damn blog) but between Captain America and Thor, I get the impression that more thought went into making Captain America into its own movie, not just merely a vehicle to introduce a new Marvel hero and story device for two other movies. Captain America: First Avenger was amazing, well done and thoughtful. It was a joy to watch, the acting spot on, the special effects with enough "wow factor", and action that kept my ADD riddled attention. The best Marvel movie in my opinion? That honor is reserved for Iron Man, but this ranks pretty high. I might change that opinion when The Avengers comes out, so now I wait with anticipation and bated breath.


P.S. There was some outcry over my attire by my friend Mike. He claimed I was not nerding it up enough. I wore my retro style polka dot dress (featured below), with 40's red nails and a red belt. My personal feelings on the matter are that I stayed true to the WWII theme of the movie and got my Andrews Sisters on. Wish I kinda had something with peplum though. Oh well.

P.P.S. I really don't hate Thor. I love Thor. I just think the movie was...lacking.