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Doctor Strange (2016)
Imaginative and Unique
Before I start this review, let me just say I'm sorry if I don't call everything it's proper name because I'm usually terrible at remembering stuff like that.
Doctor Strange was a movie that I had no idea what to think going in. The trailer was interesting but nothing spectacular and I knew virtually nothing about the character. By the end, I was astounded by how great this movie was and it may be one of my favorite MCU movies to date.
The movie's plot goes as such, Steven Strange, a very wealthy esteemed doctor, gets into a car crash which makes his hands basically unusable. After long amounts of time of trying to find a way to fix them, he finds a temple of sorts filled with sorcerers who tell him that they can fix his hands by teaching him there magical powers. He spends a very long time there training until a bigger threat comes that he and the rest of them have to stop.
Benedict Cumberbatch does a great job playing Doctor Strange and does an excellent job at progressively being less of jerk throughout the movie and is great considering you spend 90% of the movie with him. The rest of the cast does a good job for what they need to do such as The Ancient One and Wong. While the villain isn't very memorable like most Marvel villains (heck I don't even remember his name), it doesn't hurt this film nearly as much as a lot of other Marvel movies because the movie doesn't rely on the villain too much. Although I will say the final threat in the movie does look kind of stupid
The action and effects in this movie are phenomenal. All the action scenes are great and never overstay there welcome. As many have mentioned, seeing the buildings collide and the sorcerer's using there weird orange portals and weapons is always a treat to see. Also a lot of the spells they use are really cool such as the time bending backwards, the moving cape, and much more.
The pacing of this movie is also done very well, it wastes no time getting to his origin story and although the movie is 2 hours and 10 minutes, I didn't feel like it was overly long (unlike Civil War). I also like how they went about how Strange learns the magic over time and it isn't just done in one quick montage.
The tone and style of this movie is also one big reason why I love this movie so much. The problem I have with a lot of the Marvel movies is the sameness in how they go about (such as Ant-Man and the Thor movies). I honestly appreciate that they didn't overuse the humor in this movie. While there are still a decent amount of jokes which are well timed, such as the ending fight, the cape gag, and the Beyonce joke, it's mostly done pretty seriously which is nice change of pace. While I know some people may not appreciate the learning of spells and all the sorcerer talk, it's personally something I fondly enjoy and if your like me I highly recommend this movie.
I would like to talk about the dark world and how and the Ancient One had been using it. I really did like how they handled it as Strange kid of agreed with the villain at first that it is bad but then realizes she used it too help more people. I also think it is cool to see how Mordo deeply hated what she decided and goes of to do something bad (which is shown in the ending credits). Side note I think the other ending credits scene, the one showing that Doctor Strange will be in Thor: Ragnarok, which I think is cool because I think Doctor Strange's style compliments Thor's style (ya know with the different worlds and all).
In the end, While Doctor Strange isn't perfect I still loved this movie's style, pacing, action, and characters. It's my third favorite MCU movie (only behind Iron Man 1 and Guardians of the Galaxy) and I honestly enjoyed it much more than Civil War.
Conclusion
9/10
Fantastic!
Star Wars (1977)
The Film That Started It All
Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope is a sci-fi fantasy movie starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, James Earl Jones, and Alec Guinness. It was directed by George Lucas, produced by 20th Century Fox, has a theatrical runtime of 125minutes (2hrs5mins), and was released on May 24, 1977. How can I say what already hasn't been said, this movie is incredible, one of the best sci-fi movies to date. But I'm here to tell you my full opinion on the original Star Wars or Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope.
Now if there is one thing I can complain about it is the plot. Personally I prefer the story of the other 2 Star Wars movies in the original trilogy better simply because more happens in them. Now I know a lot of people would disagree with me and say simpler Star Wars stories are better, and that's fine, it's just my opinion that I personally am not a huge fan of how you can summarize the whole movie's plot in 3- 4 sentences and how it is kind of a generic lone town hero boy becomes hero and destroys bad thing (which I guess is kinda the plot of episode 6 but whatever).
Though what definitely makes up for the story is the characters. Luke is very likable hero with a lot of good qualities plus being acted by the great Mark Hamill certainly helps. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia is great too. Not coming off as a damsel in distress but can actually hold her own plus being an interesting character. Chewbacca is actually really funny and well made despite not saying anything. Speaking of not saying anything R2-D2 and C3-PO (yes I know C3-PO talks) are great characters despite being there basically for comedy relief it is done well. Obi-Wan Kenobi is also fantastic. Being casted by Alec Guinness who does an amazing job plus being a very well collected and calm character really shows off what being a Jedi should be. Then there is the villain of this movie Darth Vader. Being truly menacing from the start of this movie to the end. They give him just enough character to get him to be very interesting. And of course I kept the best for last, Han Solo. Completely setting a new standard for a character that's kind of a jerk but is incredibly likable, Harrison Ford may have given us one of the best movie characters of all time.
The pacing and structure of this movie is also fantastic, having great character build up while also being fast-paced and action packed.
Speaking of action let's talk about the Action, Effects, and Sound. The action and effects in this movie are truly breath-taking even to this day and it still blows my mind every time I see Alderaan blow up. Plus of course you can't forget things such as the chase away from the Stormtroopers, Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader, and of course the incredible final ship chase to destroy the Death Star. Also just to mention the sound for things such as the lightsaber and blasters sound great. Then of course there is the masterwork that is John Williams' soundtrack which is in arguably one of the most iconic soundtracks in all of movies.
Last I would like to mention a few more of my opinions. Such as personally I think he humor in this movie is just so perfect. Unlike in the prequels which are overkill in humor or Episode VII with its obvious style of humor just being 2015 humor. This movie puts the humor in just the right places subtly and doesn't include them too often. For example, the first time I saw Han run in chasing those 2 or 3 stormtroopers acting like he can do this and then running into a herd of like 100 of them is just such an iconic scene for me. Though another complaint I have about this movie is that I feel the stormtroopers are far too dumb. I mean literally 100 of them all fire at Han and THEY ALL MISS. Another thing is that some of dialogue is a bit off (Like with the now infamous "But I want to go to the Takashi Station and pick up some power-converters!"). But as far as I'm concerned these are all nitpicks and it can't change the fact (well opinion) that this movie is still one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies ever made with Fantastic characters, action, and an amazing soundtrack.
Conclusion
9/10
Fantastic
Spider-Man (2002)
Swing Into Action
Spider-Man is a comic book movie that stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, William Dafoe, was directed by Sam Raimi, was produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and has a theatrical run time of 121mins (2hrs1min).
Now first a little background, this movie came years before the superhero phenomenon that we have now. At the time there weren't very many successful superhero movies that had been released. Well that was until X-Men which had been released 2 years prior came out. Because of the success of X-Men Sony decided to finally give a superhero movie a sizable budget ($139 Million). This movie finally showed studios that you can give a very large budget to a superhero movie and have it still be successful. In fact at the time this movie was one of the most successful U.S movies ever.
Anyways, Now let's get on to the review by starting with a brief synopsis. Peter Parker is a smart, geeky high school student who is bullied by his fellow classmates. That is until he is bit by a radioactive spider which gives him super human strength. He then uses those powers to win money in wrestling. That is until someone close to him dies and teaches him an important lesson on responsibility. He then decides to fight crime and stop those who try to hurt others which includes the villainous Green Goblin.
Despite being a story almost everyone knows, It is done quite well knowing how to pace itself in terms of when to be slow and develop characters and when to get straight into the action. It's length of almost exactly 2 hours is a perfect length in which you won't feel unsatisfied or bored due to length.
In terms of characters and casting I think they choose almost perfect choices for everyone, Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker is a fantastic choice as Spider-Man because he always comes off as a believable nerd and sure he doesn't crack as many jokes as some may want but personally I prefer a less jokey spider-man to an overly jokey spider-man. Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane could have arguably been better and possibly fend for herself more but for what the story and movie needs she's fine. James Franco as Harry Osborn is a great choice, he does the role justice and knows how to feel grief later when his father dies. Speaking of which, William Dafoe is an excellent Green Goblin, not only do I think Green Goblin was a great choice of villain for this movie being just the right skill level for early spidey to face, William Dafoe does an excellent job portraying the crazy and controlled Green Goblin/Norman Osborn.
The tone of this movie is just perfect, it doesn't take itself too seriously but also doesn't overdue it. It has good serious moments such as Uncle Ben's death and the final fight fight with Goblin are great examples.
Though I will say some of the dialogue in this movie can be quite cheesy especially from Aunt May and a good amount of bad lines from Goblin as well.
Then there is the action and effects. Now given that this is from 2002 some of the effects have not aged well particularly when he's jumping from building to building. The score for this movie perfectly fits the film though and still holds up today. Also the first fight with Green Goblin can be debatable described as looking like a Power Ranger's fight. Though I will say the final fight definitely makes up for this. It's grounded, more realistic, and doesn't include much shaky cam.
Conclusion While this movie may not have aged as well as it could, it still has great casting, good action, some truly fantastic emotional moments, and overall fun tone. While I do want to give this a 9.5 from my own enjoyment some of the problems overall bogged it down a little but still this is an overall fantastic super hero movie that I will not forget any time soon.
Rating
9/10
Fantastic
Fantastic Four (2015)
Anything But Fantastic
Fantastic Four (or as many call it Fant4stic) is a comic book movie starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Directed by Josh Trank, was produced by Twenty-First Century Fox, and has the run-time of 100mins (1hr40mins).
This is the 4th movie (and 3rd theatrical one) in the Fantastic Four Franchise. Now despite the hate i actually liked the last 2 movies in the franchise (Fantastic Four 2005 and Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer, please don't kill me). Now this Movie has been out for almost a year now but has still been getting much hate. To prove my point I would just like to say the movie has a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes which is tied for the worst rated superhero movie of all time. Let me just say I am NOT a professional critic, I just go to movies to have a good time(as shown with my liking of the old Fantastic Four movies) not necessarily to look for major flaws. However this movie makes that goal rather insufferable. Anyways here it is.
A lot of people give a pass to the acting simply because these actors have done good work in other movies. Personally I find this to be a terrible excuse. All of these actors such as Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller just seem like they have no soul throughout the entire movie. It's almost as if the whole time these actors had been forced into making this movie. Also the chemistry between them is just awful.
Now let's talk about the pacing. Simply put it I have no idea what they were thinking. Why would you make a Fantastic Four movie and have them do absolutely nothing the whole time except for that horrendous fight at the end. Now let me just say Superhero movies without much action can be done well (Batman, X-Men: First Class, etc.) but if your going to do that you have to having interesting conversations and a good origin story which this movie does not have in any way.
Speaking of origin stories, am I the only one who almost hated the first half as much as the second half. I mean I know a lot of people who say that the first half is pretty good and all I have to say is how. It's just a drawn out, overly dark useless story that EVERYBODY knows.
Then there's the tone, which let my question why did they think that make a dark and gritty reboot of Fantastic Four would be a good idea. Again let me just say, a darker story of a previously existing light heart movie isn't necessarily bad. But it has to have more reason then some executive saying "Hey The Dark Knight was popular let's make this just like that."
Then there's the part I was most regretting talking (or writing) about the Action and Effects. Let's get out of the way that Dr.Doom and CGI Miles Teller Face is awful. What I wanted to talk about was the action sequences (or just the 1 action sequence). To be honest it's the most cliché, predictable fight ever. Basically what happens is that Dr.Doom makes this ray thing that shoots into earth from the planet he's in and The Fantastic Four have to stop him. So they go into the other planet and try to fight off Dr.Doom separately and fail so they decide to team up and defeat him. What I hate about this fight (aside from it's predictable nature) is that the whole scene is shot in extreme darkness plus it's all out of frame so you can barely tell what's going on.
Last, I would like to quickly mention the forgettable score, the incredible amount of plot holes such as Dr.Storm going to a science fair for some reason, Dr.Doom magically making a cape, and Dr.Doom looking at people and killing them but not doing that for the Fantastic Four. Also just to say it is incredibly obvious Fox wanted to make some sort of MCU with this movie and set up an entire expanded universe around this movie when it cannot hold it's own weight as a good movie to do something like that.
Conclusion
Now as you could probably tell I do not like this movie, it has awful pacing, terrible effects,a rehashed story,and laughably bad action. While many have pointed out that Fox took over the project and made it a generic superhero movie. I agree with that but I still don't think the part that wasn't taken over was even passable. It was just Josh Trank redoing the exact same plot as the 2005 version but slower. But the worst part is that the whole movie is just a set up for more Fantastic Four movies with a set up scene every 5mins. This movie has been called by many the worst superhero movie ever and I will personally agree with that. At least Batman and Robin had an overly joking theme and never took itself seriously unlike Fant4stic which thinks it is going to be the Next Iron Man which could never happen because Iron Man actually made a good movie before setting things up. Overall i think the movie has too many problems to count such as bad pacing, no structure, and awful effects to even be close to recommending.
Rating
1/10
Unwatchable