Thor v X-Men v Green Lantern v Captain America

Four super hero movies in the space of three months, three debuts and one prequel come reboot: how do they measure up?
Well, let’s cut to the chase: Thor, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Green Lantern – that’s my ranking in descending order.

Now let’s drill into the highs and lows. Thor is undoubtedly the best of the four, its combination of director, script (co-authored by two of the guys behind the X-Men screenplay), epic sweep, central cast taking to the roles as if their lives depended on it, a romantic vein and a rich seam of humour lift it into the hallowed realm of the first two Superman, Spider-Man, X-Men and Batman films.

The decision to put Ken Branagh in the director’s chair was as surprising then as we now know it to have been effective. Equally his decision to cast his TV and stage cohort Tom Hiddleston as Loki is utterly vindicated – Thor’s devious half-brother vies with Michael Fassbender’s Eric Lensherr for best super villain of the summer.

It’s odd now to think anyone had any qualms about putting Marvel’s take on the Norse God of Thunder on screen: not withstanding that Cap has only just opened, the hammer wielder has been the most successful of the four films at the worldwide box office, raking in $447m.

Crucial to this success was its heavy reliance on a key text: JMS’s run on Thor, which juxtaposed immortals with nowheresville Americans (bringing the delightfully unforced humour) and really beefed up the tragic father-sons relationship between Odin, Thor and Loki.

The chemistry between all the leads was a joy to behold, especially between Chris Hemsworth as the titular hero and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. Thor 2 opens on 26 July 2013.

X-Men saw another Brit at the helm: this time Kick-Ass visionary Matthew Vaughn. First time I saw it I was a little underwhelmed, but second time I really got it.

But I remain happily confused as to whether it’s a prequel or a reboot. Indeed it appears it was originally conceived as a prequel, but, once on board, Vaughn and his writer of choice Jane Goldman reworked the script in the light of the success of the Star Trek reboot.

The film has a few issues, not least its episodic structure, but the tension assuredly builds and builds and builds such that even as the story developments that you expect to occur do occur, you are nevertheless surprised and moved.

Just like Thor, the script (distilling nearly 50 years of comic and movie lore) and the final film allows time for the key characters and their motivations to develop, most enjoyably being James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier and Fassbender’s chilling master of magnetism.

Their relationship is the core of the film, but the more complex character is Lensherr, and thus the bad guy steals the acting plaudits from the good guy. Indeed Fassbender is so good, so compelling, he beats Ian McKellan’s turn in the first three X-Men films. Two outstanding scenes in particular are his training session with Charles and his showdown with his nemesis Sebastian Shaw.

Vaughn’s take on the X-Men seems a little influenced by his work on Kick-Ass: the film is one more than one occasion brutal – not all the super heroes make it out of this one alive.

There are probably too many mutants, both young and old: Jennifer Lawrence does predictably well with Mystique, as does Nicholas Hoult as Beast, but the others are just sketches by comparison – January Jones and her character, Emma Frost (perfect physical casting of course), are given little to do. The cameo appearance of a well-known movie mutant is simply gratuitous.

At times the film feels weighed by down by its own pretensions, but overall that weight is carried with honour and to great effect. The film more than comfortably serves its purpose of wiping out the memory of X-Men: The Last Stand, and sets up a whole new universe of mutants that I, for one, welcome.

Captain America, the comic book character, is one of the four key heroes that have dominated my life (the other three being Superman, Spider-Man and Wolverine).

The journey of shy, skinny, unloved, disrespected but intelligent Steve Rogers to muscular, courageous, confident, loved and respected Captain America has always chimed with me the most. When Cap died in the comics four years ago, I was absolutely gutted.

Clearly then my expectations for this film have been high since it was announced.

On the face of it, installing Joe Johnston in the director’s chair, based on the Indy Jones feel he brought to The Rocketeer (way back in 1991, lest we forget) seemed justified: after all, who’d have thought Jon Favreau would do such an outstanding job on Iron Man? Yes, Johnston hadn’t helmed a major production successfully since Jurassic Park 3 in 2001, but if he could recapture the magic touch he displayed on The Rocketeer, then Cap would be well served.

Iron Man had enjoyed perfect casting with the all-but-washed-up Robert Downey Jnr the one and only choice for the role, while the unknown Chris Hemsworth delivered in Thor, so while there have been doubts all along about Chris Evans playing Cap, there seemed sufficient evidence to suggest that no verdict could be ventured until the film was seen.

Well? Chris Evans delivers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying his brilliant; I’m not saying shower him with awards; however, I am saying that in a film that skips along relatively light-footed, Evans surprisingly brings gravitas to the role and to the film. Indeed one of the elements that had me running scared from the trailer was the CGI effects of grafting Evans' head onto a short, skinny actor; in the context of the whole film, this effect absolutely convinces, aided it must be said by Evans' own prowess. He effortlessly conjures the essence of Cap in the bullying sequence ("You don't know when to give up, do you?" chides the bully; "I could do this all day," says skinny Steve, dustbin lid for shield in hand, perfectly recalling the comic origin story) and at boot camp as he uses his brains and bravery to impress Col Phillips and the lovely Agent Carter.

While the film fails to mention the lack of a father in Rogers’ life, the film faintly sketches out his father-son relationship with Abraham Erskine (the ever-reliable Stanley Tucci). Cap’s other guiding lights are served a little better: as disbelieving Army Col. Phillips, Tommy Lee Jones does Tommy Lee Jones as only Tommy Lee Jones can, while the buxom Hayley Atwell gets just enough under the skin of Peggy Carter to have me calling for her return as Sharon Carter (Peggy’s niece) in any future Cap films.

Sebastian Stan essays Bucky Barnes well enough, and the film certainly allows for his return (and we must hope that the next film will make use of Ed Brubaker’s Winter Soldier stories).

Regrettably little room is given to develop his Howling Commandos (sans Nick Fury of course, but complete with DumDum Duggan), but at least James Montgomery Falsworth is not turned into Union Jack, simply remaining a soldier not a super hero.

One of the areas where the film falls down is the villain. When it was announced that Hugo Weaving would play the Red Skull, there was some hope for a well drawn nemesis for the hero. However, I have to report that Weaving’s Skull, while looking appropriately red and scary, does not get close to Hiddleston’s Loki nor Fassbender’s Magneto – the depth of characterisation is simply not there.

There has been much criticism of Iron Man 2 being an extended trailer for The Avengers movie: I think that’s unfair, especially in comparison with this take on Cap, which is book-ended by scenes that explicitly connect this with other Marvel film canon. And the plain truth is that Johnston doesn't recapture the spirit of The Rocketeer, but nevertheless awkwardly pitches the film as a 1940s Saturday morning flick for the kids while allowing Evans to add some heft to Cap.

Furthermore, Johnston layers the film with references to other works, notably scenes from Star Wars and A Matter of Life and Death.

The film turns over at a fair lick (but not too fast) as there is a lot of ground to cover, but it dives headlong from Cap’s first mission to his last with just a montage of missions in between, thus failing to take the time to reveal his impact on the war effort and on his country’s psyche and thus diminishing the sacrifice and meaning of his death and his subsequent (second) rebirth.

So ultimately Cap is no roaring success in the vein of Iron Man or Thor, but it’s certainly no damp squib like Green Lantern.

So finally I turn to Hal Jordan as DC’s Green Lantern. What a waste! Not for the first time, DC has watched enviously as Marvel has scored successes (in this case Iron Man), and then failed to scrutinise the roots of that success and subsequently delivered a poor effort.

There are many great Green Lantern stories I’m sure, but neither the script, nor the cast nor reboot specialist director Martin Campbell (the man who has twice relaunched Bond with Goldeneye and Casino Royale) rise to the occasion.

Ryan Reynolds comes across as a himbo rather than an emotionally damaged flyer making the ultimate hero’s journey – from the evidence of this film, you’d have to say that the Green Lantern’s ability to pick a worthy bearer is well off and needs some refining.

Any sequel, and unbelievably Warners is pushing ahead with one, will need some substantial work to create a franchise that even the comic book geeks will care about.

Best hero:
Hemsworth’s Thor just beats Evans’ Cap

Best villain:
A tie between Hiddleston’s Loki and Fassbender’s Magneto

Best redesign of the hero’s costume:
Thor

Best music:
Henry Jackman’s brilliant score for X-Men

Worldwide box office:
Thor $447m
X-Men: First Class $348m
Green Lantern $147m
Captain America $101m (after just eight days in two territories)

Scores:
Thor 8.5/10
X-Men: First Class 8/10
Green Lantern 4/10
Captain America 6.5/10

Reviews: The Big Picture, The Princess of Montpensier, and Cell 211

Lies, lies and yet more lies: that sums up the films I saw recently on a less than summery summer’s day off. The films were: The Big Picture, The Princess of Montpensier, and Cell 211.

The Big Picture
Based on a novel, this film is engrossing as you watch it, even as the lead character conjures only your revulsion. Romain Duris (surely France’s best young actor) is the rich, successful lawyer, driver of a BMW 5 Series, owner of a boat, and husband to a beautiful wife and father to two loving children – cue collapse into midlife ennui, jealousy, and unexpected violence – and the latter’s equally unexpected opportunities. To reveal any more would spoil the story.
Duris absolutely nails his character’s paranoia, and the shifts that his ensuing actions both enforce upon him while opening up new and dreamed-of vistas of opportunity.
I presume the source novel is responsible for the ‘throwing in the kitchen sink’ approach as Duris’s journey becomes ever more implausible.
And yet, and yet… Duris is so convincing that you end up forgiving the script’s ridiculous twists. Needless to say, it’s not until he finally faces death that he can emerge from his lie of life, and face the greatest adventure with renewed vigour.
Score: 7.5/10

The Princess of Montpensier
This Bertrand Travernier costume drama was one I missed at last year’s London Film Festival – and, upon reflection, I don’t regret that decision.
The film is frequently beautiful, and throughout perfectly-well acted, but it hinges on one single conceit that singularly failed to enthral me.
The conceit? That the four male leads (among them the charismatic Gaspard Ulliel, and France’s equivalent of Morgan Freeman, Lambert Wilson) in the film should all fall hopelessly in love/lust/awe of the female lead, played (again perfectly well) by Melanie Thierry as the eponymous princess, just didn’t ring true.
As all my friends know, I am a lover of French actresses – beautiful, brilliant, intelligent, complex, many-flavoured, regularly naked etc – but I’m afraid Melanie Thierry simply fails to convince as the one true love of at least two of the four male leads. While Thierry’s princess lives a lie for much of her on-screen life, so I couldn’t help but feel lied to.
Of course, this being medieval France, all manner of calamities and coincidences bedevil the key five characters. Were it not played as a tragedy, its many overly contrived coincidences mean it could be mistaken for a Shakespearean comedy.
Strictly for Francophiles, I’m afraid.
Score: 5/10

Cell 211
This Spanish prison drama is almost the anti-Shawshank, examining male friendships in group dynamics with ice-cold precision even as tempers run hot.
Alberto Amman (a deadringer for Keanu Reeves) is the ‘innocent’ caught up in a prison riot. How he ends up in this predicament hinges upon a positively Hitchcockian coincidence, but once you get passed that, Amman’s Juan Oliver is one of cinema’s born survivors, adapting to his surroundings and fellow inmates with surprising intelligence and tenancity.
The riot leader is essayed with calm charisma by Luis Tosar, a coiled spring of rage and righteous rage against the uncaring authorities. The relationship between Tosar’s Malamadre and Ammann’s Oliver is the film’s core.
The story makes many twists and turns, which are both contrived yet believable at the same time. The growing tension is founded upon the lies Oliver has told, and how long for and by whom those lies will be believed.
Director Daniel Mozon directs with panache throughout, never flinching from the script’s grittier aspects, but also delivering the emotional beats with much skill.
Some will attempt to compare this with last year’s Un Prophet, but that would be foolish – the only thing they have in common is the prison setting.
Even as I was watching Cell 211, I was thinking: “Hollywood’s going to pick this up and remake it.” I checked on imdb.com and what do you know: there’s a US remake mooted for 2013 with either Ryan Gosling or Ed Norton in the lead role…
This is muscular, bruising ‘entertainment’, and if you can live with the coincidence upon which the script entirely hangs, then be the first to sample world cinema’s new breakout star: Alberto Ammann.
Score: 8/10