Showing posts with label Tom Holland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Holland. Show all posts

Sunday, 28 April 2019

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Spoilers ahead! I never cared much about superhero movies, but then the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened and, every year for the past eleven years, they've been the movies I was looking forward to seeing the most. No matter how disappointingly awful some were, I was still excited to see what would come next. And after Avengers: Infinity War ended with that huge cliffhanger, Avengers: Endgame became my most anticipated Marvel film ever. And boy, I was not disappointed. 

The story picks up after the devastating events of the previous film, with the remaining Avengers — Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) — joined by Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), and Nebula (Karen Gillan) to track down Thanos (Josh Brolin), steal the Infinity Stones and reverse his action. Unfortunately, they learn upon finding him that he had destroyed the stones, and Thor kills him. Five years later, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) comes back from the Quantum Realm and proposes the others to travel back in time and prevent Thanos from finding the stones in the first place.

While it's a bit convoluted and confusing, the time travel plot not only makes perfect sense — and even if it didn't, I still wouldn't get why many people are vigorously complaining about it being nonsense. Have these people forgotten its a superhero movie involving time travel they are talking about? — as it manages to combine the storylines of the twenty-two previous movies beautifully, but it pays tremendous homage to the fans who have been following the Marvel Cinematic Universe for more than ten years, and to the characters — Captain America gets to reunite with Peggy — I don't get why people are complaining about this, Cap deserves a happy ending and him staying in the past doesn't mean he changes the past/future, it simply means that he created another timeline and that at present time there are two Steve Rogers, one old and one young as he's been defrosted as he was supposed to be —, Tony Stark gets to see his father, Thor his mother and Jane, and Bruce is finally at peace with the Hulk.

As for the characters, many viewers didn't appreciate the treatment some of them got, especially Thor who, according to some people, has been reduced to a pathetic comic relief as he's now a fat alcoholic other characters, specifically Rocket, often make fun of. I, on the other hand, think that the writers wouldn't have done anything better than that with him. Sure, we are so used to seeing this muscular, powerful and confident man, it feels weird seeing him in this as he's the opposite of that. But keep in mind that he has lost everything — his father, his mother, his brother, his best friend, the woman he loved, Asgard — and on top of that, he blames himself for failing to kill Thanos when he had the chance in Infinity War. So much has happened to him, it's only natural that he has become the man he is here. And what the did with the character of Tony Stark over the years is beyond impressive — not only he's no longer the selfish, arrogant he used to be and has taken the young Peter Parker under his wing, but he gets to the point of giving up his happiness, his chance of having a family to save the universe. With Endgame, we also get to see more of those characters who either weren't in the previous film, such as Hawkeye and Ant-Man or were barely in it, such as Captain America. I was a little disappointed with how little they used Captain Marvel though.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The cast does an excellent job, from Chris Hemsworth who embodies to perfection this new Thor with an incredibly humorous performance to Scarlett Johansson who finally gives a strong, compelling performance as Black Widow to Tom Holland who is barely in the film and yet manages to still the scene as he shares a touching moment with Robert Downey Jr.. There are also many wonderful and unexpected cameos from Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Rene Russo (Frigga), Tilda Swinton (the Ancient One), John Slattery (Howard Stark), Robert Redford (Alexander Payne), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), James D'Arcy (Edwin Jarvis), Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) and, of course, Stan Lee.

The film is also filled with memorable scenes from Captain America finally grabbing Thor's hammer — the reaction of the audience was insane! — to the scene with all the Marvel women — I actually cried at this point because a boy sitting right next to me was very excited as he said, "it's all the girls".

The film is, as always with Marvel, visually spectacular, it has a killer soundtrack's and it's wonderfully paced — the three hours running time flies by — but most of all, it's rollercoaster of feelings and emotions with its homages, and the graceful combination of moments that make you laugh, moments that give you goosebumps and moments that will make you cry.

Friday, 27 April 2018

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Though I couldn't wait to see all those characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to meet in one film directed by the Russo brothers (and to see Chris Evans and his glorious beard on the big screen), I had some reservations about the Avengers: Infinity War. Instead of getting part 1 and part 2 as we were promised years ago, we got only one movie. Actually, we got two movies squeezed together and the result isn't that good.

Intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin) is determined to collect all of the Infinity Stones in order to bend reality to his will and the now-torn-apart Avengers must team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos before he puts an end to half the universe.

Without diving into plot details, that's what the Russo brothers want, I'll only say that Avengers: Inifity War's plot is simple, definitely too thin and so very thought through. It isn't always engaging nor interesting (my mind was wondering multiple times and it wasn't only when Chris Evans was on screen) and because of the way the multiple storylines are handled and the fast cuts, instead of feeling like a single story, it feels like a collection of stories, fragmented stories.

With all those main characters reunited in one movie, it was obvious that some would be left behind. Unfortunately, it feels like they all were left behind. Some characters arcs are developed --Wanda finally gets the attention she deserves-- but overall, there's not much development and no one gets enough screen time. However, the superheroes are one of the reasons I still enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War. While the merging of storylines is handled poorly, the interaction between characters from different movies --the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Wakanda-- works very well. These alone are probably worth the money as it's these moments that bring a lot of effective humour into the film. And of course, the fact that the cast has a wonderful chemistry helps a lot.

As for Thanos, I'm not sure how I feel about him. On the one hand, I appreciate that they gave him some backstory and that they showed an emotional, tender side of him; on the other hand, I don't like that he's given ridiculous motives and that we are even supposed to empathise with him. They tried to do what they did with Killmonger but I'm not sure it really worked this time. His sidekicks are terrible though. They are not even one-dimensional, they are zero-dimensional.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Other than that, I think it's safe for me to say that Avengers: Infinity War is a pretty solid film. It delivers plenty of humour, full of banters, Thor: Ragnarok-style, and you will definitely be laughing a lot during this. If you didn't like that about Thor: Ragnarok, you'll still be able to enjoy Avengers: Infinity War as the Russo brothers manage to deliver plenty of tension and suspense, and their combination of humour and drama is spot on. Yes, this is the kind of movie that you make you cry. A lot. Because, without spoiling anything, major characters you care about die in this one.

As for the action, there's a lot of it. Though its execution makes you think you're watching a Michael Bay film at some points, it's pretty good, entertaining and exciting. There's this scene with Thor that is beyond glorious. The epic battle scene from the trailer is missing though. The film is also visually beautiful and has a pretty good soundtrack --not as good as Guardians of the Galaxy's though.

And as I'm writing this, I realise Avengers: Infinity War isn't as bad as I first thought. Sure, it feels incomplete, more of a set up for the next Avengers movie than a movie, but it's still pretty fun and entertaining.

Friday, 7 July 2017

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Genres

Action, Sci-Fi

Director

Jon Watts

Country

USA

Cast

Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Jennifer Connelly, Chris Evans, Gwyneth Paltrow

Storyline

Months after Civil War, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student while fighting Vulture (Michael Keaton), a new villain that will threaten everything that is important to Peter. 

Opinion

After Logan and Wonder Woman, I think Spider-Man: Homecoming was the most hyped (superhero) film of the year. But I wasn't that excited about it probably because of what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man flicks, so it easily exceeded my expectations. Actually, it was way better than I thought. In fact, Spider-Man: Homecoming was entertaining as hell and one of the funniest MCU films made so far -and I also liked it better than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2.

After gods, androids and aliens, this is the film that (finally) brings back down to earth the MCU with another origin story that doesn't feel like an origin story at all. Rather than focusing (again) on the whole bite thing, this film focuses on teen Peter Parker as he struggles to find his place in the (Avengers) world. Although the plot could have used some more depth - it's indeed very simple - it's compelling and engaging. And it also has a nice twist.

The characters, as well as their roles in the role, were a pleasant surprise. The character of Peter Parker is well developed and Tom Holland makes for a fantastic Spidey. He beautifully captures the spirit of teen Peter Parker, a guy who is always trying to prove himself and wants to be involved in bad things. He's fun to be around and he delivers the humour.

A huge surprise was the role of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man. Because of the trailers, I was expecting him to completely steal the show. But the opposite happened. He was barely in the movie and that gave Holland the chance to really shine. And now the problems with the other characters. While I liked the idea of changing the characters races, it bothered me that all those characters were paper-thin. And the cast was uneven. I think Zendaya was great as Michelle, the quirky student who hangs around Peter, but Laura Harrier was terrible and annoying as Liz, Peter's shallow love interest.

Finally, there's the villain, Michael Keaton's Vulture. While more development would have been appreciated, Vulture and Keaton's mesmerising performance are definitely not forgettable like the majority of villains in Marvel movies. He is one of the most human villains. He's like a superhero villain, and his backstory and the reason he does what he does make you empathise with him.

Also great is the humour. Although it's pretty much the teen comedy kind of humour, it never feels forced and the timing of the actors will make you have a good time. The action is bad either. It doesn't react the spectacularity of the previous Marvel movies, but the sequences are still awesome.