Wonder Woman - in review...

What's it about?
The original superheroine finally gets her day in the realm of big budget blockbusters. This is the origin story of Diana, Princess of the Amazons, the warrior birthed of the Gods, who encounters mankind for the first time against the horrifying backdrop of World War I as she seeks to put an end to Ares, the God of War.
Who would I recognise in it?
Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielson, Lucy Davis, Ewen Bremner, and others.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
It triumphed at the box office and was a critical success story (almost predictably so after the orchestrated clickbait bullying that Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad both received, pitched like some kind of Damascene conversion for DC) - but how does Wonder Woman sit outside all of the initial media interest and flash-in-the-pan obsession with box office numbers? The answer to gaining more female superheros in the genre is to create new, female superheros, not to lazily do an arbitrary bit of stunt writing to ask "what if this guy was a gal?" - because, if you really think about it, how insulting is that to everyone?

Newcomers to comics are disappointed to find that new releases aren't reflective of the hugely popular Marvel movies, while swapping the sex of an established character is a slap in the face to everyone. Not only is it a lazy move on the part of the writers and head honchos of the franchises, it also makes the suggestion that women aren't worthy of having their own custom-made superheroes. Furthermore, the binary sex-swap makes the insulting suggestion that women are incapable of enjoying male superheroes and that men are incapable of enjoying female superheroes, and that both can't find role models in the opposite sex - quite simply, that is utter bullshit.

Wonder Woman's history is a long one that pre-dates a vast swathe of rival Marvel's line-up of household names. Gal Gadot wowed in Batman v Superman (with a spine-tingling soundtrack riff to accompany her), and with DC getting a handle on their 'Expanded Universe', it was likely that Diana Prince's solo flick would turn out to be a cracker - and it certainly is. The film finds the perfect balance between DC's ability to 'go dark' (the merciless slaughter of World War I) and a sense of humour, warmth, and compassion...

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The Trouble with Blockbuster Scores...

From the excellent YouTube channel Every Frame A Painting, here is a video that flags up a very real issue with many modern blockbusters - with particular attention paid to the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Can you recall any pieces of music from the scores for the MCU flicks?

This is well worth a watch.



However, in the video Mad Max: Fury Road is referenced, and I would disagree on that point. I thought the soundtrack to that film really stood out and that particular track referenced in the video stood out most of all. I still recall it a year or so after seeing the movie for the first time. The rest of the examples? You cannot argue with them...

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Captain America: Civil War - Marvel Goes DC?

What's it about?
Following on from the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, our gang of superheroes find themselves set against each other as 117 countries propose The Sokovia Accords to bring The Avengers under United Nations control as a result of civilian deaths and collateral damage in recent battles. Iron Man, riven with guilt, wants to sign up ... Captain America, suspicious of organised oversight in the wake of Hydra's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., wants to remain free to protect and serve. Which side will the rest of them choose?
Who would I recognise in it?
Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Daniel Bruhl, Paul Rudd, Emily Vancamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been hugely successful with critics and audiences alike, coining in the cash with gleeful abandon. They're bright, sparky, immensely fun, and the ever-widening world in which they take place is ripe with stories to tell. However, for all their successes, the Marvel movies have sometimes hewn close to pantomime villains and playing it safe with key characters. The third Captain America film, though, takes the moral greys and millennial murkiness of The Winter Soldier to new depths...

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Avengers: Age of Ultron: Mini Review...

What's it about?
Having once again got their mits on Loki's 'pokey stick' from Avengers Assemble, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner accidentally stuff themselves when they create the titular artificial intelligence, which promptly crafts itself a body, a father complex, and a plan to wipe out mankind. Perhaps Tony should have just sat on his arse and put his feet up for a change instead? Naturally the team have to fix another fine mess, while smashing the place up in grand fashion and throwing around a few quips.
Who would I recognise in it?
Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Linda Cardellini, Stellan Skarsgard.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Not quite as strong as Avengers Assemble, which had a clearer and more defined plot, or Captain America: The Winter Soldier (the preceding entry in the Marvel movies), but thoroughly enjoyable all-the-same. Bursting at the seams with superhero wow-factor and movie star wattage, the light and dark elements of the story are well balanced, and there's so much spectacle to behold that one viewing isn't enough to take it all in...

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