Film Review - The Marvels

 

Whilst The Marvels is undoubtedly a lighter entry in the ever- lengthening franchise, that’s not to say its without strong content or merit. For one thing its notable in that four of its five main characters are female which happens without any particular agenda on display and its often funny without being frivolous. 

Spoilers after the break...

 

Captain Marvel review

There have been so many superhero origin movies now that it’s becoming difficult to put a new spin on it though Captain Marvel mostly manages to do so. Even if some of the scenarios are familiar there’s a breeziness that tacks closer to Guardians of the Galaxy than to Batman. With events unfolding at quite a speed there are not many slower, quieter moments which may be why some critics have described the results as “middling” or “generic”. In terms of the Marvel canon its far better than that even if it can’t quite reach the intelligence of Black Panther or the high octane thrills of Avengers- Infinity War. Coming in their wake it instead represents a fresh start down a new road.

Warning- Spoilers past this point.

Kong Skull Island

With a King Kong movie nowadays the issue of whether the giant ape itself can be convincingly rendered is no longer relevant because of course it can. The question is – what do you do with a brilliantly realised enormous animal? Peter Jackson had a fair go at it a while back but his film was overlong and took half an hour to even set off to sea. Kong Skull Island is brasher, less arty, certainly more tongue in cheek but definitely more to the point. Our first sight of Kong is within five minutes of the start and after half an hour we’ve made landfall on the lost island after getting through the perpetual storm that surrounds it. This intensity is maintained throughout with thoughtful reverie kept to bite sized exchanges and no character safe. Ones you think will obviously make it to the end don’t and vice versa.

Raaarrghhhhh Spoilers will bite your head off after this point! 

Captain America The Winter Soldier

In cinemas now
Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson. Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford
Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Steven McFeely
Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

The first Captain America film stood out from its Marvel contemporaries by virtue of its period setting which imbued it with a different tone. Now this follow up distances itself from the many other superhero movies around by matching impressive action sequences with a contemporary political edge.  Even more so than the Iron Man films which certainly acknowledge the real world, The Winter Soldier is a political thriller of some heft for this genre managing to address an issue that sits at the heart of US foreign policy; pre-emptive intervention against perceived threats.
 

Warning- Major plot spoilers in the rest of this review