Marvel

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Disney and Marvel’s union is official with their labor of love, Big Hero 6. Big Hero 6 is an excellent and highly entertaining film that far exceeded my expectations. It has hilarious, heartwarming and ultimately tragic moments that come alive beautifully on the screen, thanks to the stunning animation.

The film is based on the Marvel comics of the same name, that few may be familiar with. Remember Silver Samurai, one of Wolverine’s greatest foes? He was actually part of the team as well as the mutant Sunfire. Also Baymax was definitely not as cuddly. The film takes some slight liberties with the characters, altering their back stories just enough to add depth to the movie. With the exceptions of Silver Samurai and Sunfire being left out of the film, Big Hero 6 team members differ from the source material enough to give a fresh take on the characters (in the comics the members of Big Hero 6, besides Hero, Baymax and Honey Lemon, have super powers and not tech), without destroying the integrity of the original characters.

Big Hero 6 takes place in a futuristic American-Japanese hybrid city called San Fransokyo (I wonder how they came up with that!). Tadashi (Daniel Henney) tries to convince his teenage brother Hero (Ryan Potter) to quit wasting his genius battling bots in favor of enrolling in his Hero proclaimed “nerd” college (Hero graduated High School at 13). Tadashi takes Hero on a tour of the college, which specializes in robotics and other technologies, and Hero becomes driven to attend the school. At the science fair, Hero presents his microbots and is offered a scholarship. Disaster strikes and the school catches on fire and both his brother Tadashi and the microbots are lost.

Driven sick with grief, Hero refuses to enroll at the college. One day Hero accidentally hurts himself, alerting his brother’s creation Baymax. Tadashi created Baymax to be a caregiver, being able to scan a subject and provide the necessary care before deflating like a balloon.

Unable to deflate until he has taken care of his patient, Baymax follows up on an apathetic remark by Hero that he will feel better if Baymax finds where his microbot is trying to go; the microbot is going crazy in a petri dish.

Using the microbot as a compass, Baymax hunts down the microbots with Hero attempting to catch up with the big cuddly guy. Hero and Baymax end up in an abandoned warehouse. Inside the warehouse, Hero discovers that someone is producing hundreds of thousands of his microbots. Then we meet the villain (bum bum bum!), a man in a kabuki mask who then uses the bots to chase away Baymax and Hero.

Believing this masked man is responsible for his brother’s death, Hero assembles a group of Tadashi’s friends; GoGo, Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred to apprehend the villain using tech each student fabricated (with the exception of Fred).

The film’s plot (besides being awesomely entertaining!) has underlying themes of selflessness, self sacrifice and non-violence, illustrated by Baymax’s refusal to even harm the villain.

The animation is superb. The city of San Fransokyo, without the animated people, looks physically and astoundingly real. The characters are also rendered beautifully, a blend between manga/anime and modern American cartooning styles.

The action scenes are riveting, well choreographed, wonderfully directed and add excitement to the film without overpowering the storytelling; unlike many other comic book flicks who replace plot with action.

The voice acting is fantastic. Scott Adsit’s portrayal of Baymax is perfect, perfectly adorable! Other notable voice actors for the film are Daman Wayans Jr. as Wasabi, T.J. Miller as Fred, James Cromwell, Maya Rudolph and the always welcomed Alan Tudyk.

Big Hero 6 is the best animated and family film of 2014, hands down. It is also quite possibly one of the best films I’ve seen in 2014.

Warning: Baymax will stop your heart, and then quickly defibrillate you.

The Roman Verdict- A-

I’m high on believing,

This film is so damn good!

Guardians of the Galaxy is satisfying. Like far beyond Snickers satisfying. GOTG is one of the greatest comic book movies in the universe. It knows what it is. Guardians has equal parts action, comedy and drama interwoven through a kick ass soundtrack that features David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream, Cherry Bomb by The Runaways, Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, I Want You Back by the Jackson 5 and Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes. Did I mention Guardians may very well also have the greatest soundtrack in the universe? Cause it does.

Directed by James Gunn, known for Super, Dawn of the Dead and Movie 43, Guardians of the Galaxy was released July 31, 2014 by Marvel Studios. When it was announced in 2013 that Disney had acquired the rights to the Marvel universe, I was filled with great apprehension. I was envisioning super family friendly comic book films that would be a debauchery of the original source material. I pondered, how bad could they really do? I mean, not much can be worse than that terrible Ben Affleck Daredevil flick. But why not? Disney has the resources to gather the greatest possible directors and actors for the films and after the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Disney understands that a middle of the road approach to family friendly features allows the film to pander to both children and adult audiences. I can dig it. With the successes of The Avengers, Captain America: Winter Soldier and now Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney is kicking ass, both in the box offices and with millions of Marvel fans.

I can’t say I have read any Guardians of the Galaxy comics, besides maybe an issue I received as a child (as a kid I was mostly into Marvel) with random Quasar, Adam Warlock and Midnight Sons comics. I also can’t say I recall much of anything about the content of said comics (though they probably sit in a milk crate in my parent’s basement). However, I can say without a doubt, I love Guardians of the Galaxy.

I was first turned on to GOTG from various appearances in Marvel cartoons such as Ultimate Spider-man, Avengers Assemble and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (You can check out the cartoons and episodes on Netflix. Pretty cool, right?). My favorite characters of the space team are Rocket Raccoon and Groot, however with James Gunn’s movie adaptation casting of Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, (I love Chris Pratt in Park and Rec as well as The Lego Movie, that man is some kind of wonderful) Star-lord is not only bad ass, but hilarious and charismatic (I find most “leader” archetypes to be rather trying, I’m looking at you Leonardo… *cough*… Cyclops… *cough cough*… I understand they are a necessity, you need Luke Skywalker as much as you need Han Solo. I just personally prefer the “rogue” anti-hero archetypes). In general, the casting was pretty much spot on, Bradley Cooper as the wise cracking, gun toting Rocket Racoon, Vin Diesel (in the most tolerable role of his career), as the tree-like humanoid, Groot, who is an eloquent speaker with a large vocabulary, Zoe Saldana as the adopted daughter of Thanos, Gamora, wrestler turned actor Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, a man hellbent on murdering Ronan to avenge the deaths of his daughter and wife, and Chris Pratt as Star-lord (I already ranted enough about this guy). The supporting cast and cameos are superb, Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser, Glenn Close as Nova Prime, John C. Reilly as Corpsman Dey, Benicio Del Toro as the Collector, Seth Green as Howard the Duck and our first glimpse of the awesomeness that is Josh Brolin as Thanos.

The special effects are breathtaking, the strange humanoids in the Marvel universe are brilliantly detailed. Rocket is incredibly lifelike, from the individual hairs that comprise his fur, to the wet shine on his gum line. The various alien species look fantastic and the realism makes the universe of the Guardians of the Galaxy concrete. I saw the movie in 2D, so I have no idea if the 3D creates a greater depth to the film (like Avatar), or is merely a gimmick to hike up the cost of a movie ticket (the case with most 3D films).

So here’s the synopsis in its simplicity: After unwittingly stealing a mysterious orb with great and terrible power, Peter Quill is hunted down by bounty hunters and a ruthless Kree fanatic, Ronan the Accuser, who wants to trade the orb to Thanos, for the destruction of the planet Xandar. Realizing the universe is in grave peril, Quill forms an uneasy alliance with an assassin, Gamora, two bounty hunters, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, and a prison inmate, Drax the Destroyer, to keep the orb out of Ronan’s grasp. Much fun ensues.

Many films, when attempting to foster a team, forcibly pulls the characters together in an unnatural way, that only works in keeping up with the pace of the film. In Guardians, the character’s relationships develops organically, transforming from shaky business alliances to trusting friendships. Though the Guardians continuously bicker and fight, there is no doubt that by the climax of the film, that these characters would do anything for each other, including risk their lives. The chemistry is fantastic, the romantic tension between Gamora and Quill as well as the platonic relationships, specifically between Groot and Rocket.

Guardians rocked my world and my universe. This is the summer blockbuster you can not afford to miss out on. I just saw GOTG and I need to see this again. Definitely in 3D.

You can pretty much sum up Guardians of the Galaxy in three words, I AM GROOT!

And yes, Mr. Pratt, I have succumbed to your pelvic sorcery.

The Roman Verdict: A

In honor of Guardians of the Galaxy, let’s take a look at some other recent comic book movies

X-Men: Days of Future Past- Finally an X-Men sequel that eradicates the horrendous continuity errors of the original three flicks. Oh, and James McAvoy is fantastic as angsty Charles Xavier. (“You can’t tell me what to do Wolverine! You’re not my real Dad!”) B+

Captain America: The Winter Soldier- An action packed espionage thriller that surpasses its predecessor. B+

Amazing Spider-Man 2- Sets the stage for the Sinister Six movie, decent sequel but suffers from a similar fate as Dark Knight Rises, way too much going on. B-

Man of Steel- Far superior to Superman Returns but will never be as good as the original 1978 film. C+

Thor: The Dark World- Not bad, but not great. I had to watch it three times because I kept falling asleep. For reals. C+

The Wolverine- Thanks. All we needed was another fucking Wolverine movie. Can the next sequel actually be good? Please? C-

Kick-Ass 2- The conclusion to the first. An honest attempt at a sequel that had it’s moments… and Jim Carrey. C+

Iron Man 3- I yield. Please, no more Iron Man movies. I love you Robert Downey Jr., but not even you can save this flick or this franchise. C

The Dark Knight Rises- I want to love this movie, but there’s too much going on for any actual character development. Why are you such a bummer Bruce? B-

The Avengers- Joss Whedon if it wasn’t for you, good sir, the Avengers would have sucked the big one. But it didn’t. Well done. B+

Amazing Spider-Man- This reboot wouldn’t have been necessary if Tobey Maguire wasn’t cast as Peter Parker. Far superior Spider-Man, far inferior villain. B

Captain America: The First Avenger- Very enjoyable period piece with a lot of heart. Never be the Human Torch again. You were destined for so much more, Chris Evans. B

X-Men: First Class- Praise the lord! An actually awesome X-Men movie! B

Green Lantern- Mediocre. So goddamn mediocre. Had so much potential. But is so mediocre. Ryan Reynolds, if you must play superhero dress up, stick to Deadpool. C-

Thor- Fun times for Asgardians and Earthlings alike! B

Jonah Hex- I like Jonah Hex and I wanted to like this movie, but I don’t. Great cast besides Megan Fox. Don’t ever see this movie. It’s totally unnecessary. D

Iron Man 2- Mickey Rourke as a Russian Whiplash? Nice try Jon Favreau. Barely entertaining. C+

Kick-Ass- Firmly tethers the real world with the world constructed by the comic book industry. A film that does live up to it’s name. B

X-Men Origins: Wolverine- Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson is obviously the best thing about this movie. Too bad “Deadpool” or whatever that monstrosity totally sucked in this movie. C-

Watchmen- Watchmen is a graphic novel that CANNOT be a movie. This is as good as it gets folks. B

The Spirit- No, Frank Miller, no. Stick to comics buddy. (Please don’t ruin Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) D+

The Incredible Hulk- If Hulk watched this movie he would be angry. And you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. C+

The Dark Knight- Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight is truly a masterpiece. Heath Ledger is a revelation. A

Iron Man- I never liked Iron Man but Robert Downey Jr. made me a believer. B

Punisher: War Zone- At least the ultra-violent reboot didn’t have John Travolta in it. C

Hellboy II: The Golden Army- A decent sequel to a decent Hellboy adaptation. C+