Wonder Woman (2017)

The last DC movie I saw in theaters was Man of Steel. If you see a preview clip for the upcoming Justice League, there's this whole bit about how Superman brought hope and showcased what people could be. Man of Steel showed little of that.

Wonder Woman makes Diana Prince's entrance into theaters as someone who brings inspiration and hope to those who meet her.

A small portion is given over to how Wonder Woman is raised but it's a rather simple origin. She was given life by Zeus and is the only child on an island of adult, apparently ageless warrior women. Her regimen that she starts as a child, is learning the Amazon ways of war. The island has its own charm and beauty, outside of being a timeless tropical paradise, it's covered with ancient art and is in a timeless pristine condition.

Diana grows up learning about Ares and his terrible plot to bring an endless war to the world of Man. She's shown the sword, the God-Slayer and told this weapon will one day end the threat of Ares.

I'm not like an ancient of the world but as a comic reader since the 80s, I was there for when Crisis of Infinite Earths changed up the Wonder Woman status. I loved George Perez's incarnation of Ares. I enjoyed that version more than the even recent version in the New 52 era.

Note these stories and more are collected in the massive George Perez Wonder Woman Omnibus. If you're a comic fan or want a retelling of Wonder Woman's tale, this is a great source of said tales.

So how does Diana wind up leaving the island? Steve Trevor, being pursued by a WWI German force, crash lands in the waters directly outside Paradise Island. Diana saves him but then she and her sisters immediately have to fight off a German landing party.

While the action sequences are fantastic and showcase a lot of energy and vibrancy I felt a twinge of "The Amazons are amazingly stupid." Atop of a hill, armed with bows capable of shooting further and farther than any WWI weapon, after a quick volley, they dive right into melee with a foe they've never encountered before.

Flesh and bone versus even, by today's standards, primitive firearms, provides something that the Amazons haven't had for perhaps thousands of years; casualties.

Steve, under the duress of the lasso of truth, reveals that he is a spy and has learned of a terrible chemical weapon that is going to be used to kill millions and he must return to London and try and stop it. The Amazons have no interest in 'Man's World'. Except for Diana whose been raised that it is her duty to help. That is it the reason she exists, to stop Ares.

When Diana's mother forbids her leaving, she does what any child does. She rebels. She steals the God Slayer and other assorted Amazon artifacts grabs Steve Stevor and preps a boat for taking off on the beach. A quick meeting with her mother who blesses her but tells her she may never return to the island leads us to the second act.

Diana is able to contrast the cleanliness and beauty of Paradise Island with London. London does not fare well. It's a place of filth, of smoke, of massive crowds and fear. Diana learns the current role of women in 'man's world' and fights it tooth and nail every inch of the way.

After a shopping trip to provide Diana with some less conspicuous clothes, Diana and Steve recruit a group of individuals who act almost as Doc Savage's crew. These are individuals who bring unique or specialized talents to the mission, an actor, a scout, and a sniper. Add in Steve and Diana and you've got Doc Savage and his old crew.

For those who don't know the old Pulp era hero Doc Savage, he was one of the first near superhumans of his era. He was one of the best fighters, one of the best scientists, one of the best people. And he traveled with a group of people who each had their own specialty. But it always seemed that Doc could do everything they could and more.

But Doc couldn't' be everywhere at every time and Diana at least, unlike Doc, doesn't know 'man's world'. Her crew fits her better.

I was impressed that in a WWI film, they managed to squeeze in so much diversity without it feeling pushed or fake. The scout, 'The Chief', works for everyone and is a well-known figure on the front line. The actor, Sammar, the one with the smooth tongue, able to use his 'lowly foreigner' status to fool people into thinking he's less than he is and moves about unobserved. The sniper? A drunk who is haunted by those killed in The Great War, but also a singer and player of the piano. the group works well. A diverse lot like this over the great range of Europe with the variety of people living in the continent makes a certain amount of sense.

Diana's role? The role she believes she has? It's to kill Areas. Based on information she's found so far, she believes it to be the German Ludendorff. She's intent on killing the man, of doing so at an elite gathering, one last 'huzzah' before peace is signed over. Trevor is intent on destroying the chemical supply.

To get to Ludendorff though, they must first cross 'No-Man's Land'. It's another one of the great action sequences in the movie. Wonder Woman in full costume, with shield and bracers, with strength greater than any normal man, advances into the hail of machine gun fire, taking the attention of the Germans long enough for others to make their advance and return fire.

The struggles that follow mire Diana further in the horrors of life in wartime. Innocents, men, women, and children, dying for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. People undergoing the horrors of starvation. People, she might be able to save suffering caravan breakdown as horses become dragged down in mud and muck. She learns she cannot save everyone.

But she manages to save a  town and they celebrate the victory with dancing and even a rare photograph, the methods were far more primitive than simply pulling out a smart phone and selfie stick.

Diana manages to sneak into the party and is about to attack Lundendorff when Steve stops her and tries to bring her to his side of thinking. While that goes on, a shell of the weaponized chemicals is shot into the village Diana just saved.

Outraged, Diana blames Steve for all these peoples deaths and goes on to fight Lundendorff!

This fight was well done but such a red herring that it even had me fooled. See, Diana is far more than human. At this point in the story, she's not on Superman level or showcasing an ability to shrug off tank shells, but she's able to lift a tank, cover tremendous distances with a single leap, outfight whole rooms of trained soldiers and such.

Lundendorff is given some type of super steroid by 'Dr. Poison', the genius responsible for coming up with the chemical weapon in the first place. It's apparently enough to give him the ability to fight Diana on equal terms.

When she slays Lundendorff and the Germans don't stop loading a massive plane with the chemical weapons, learning that man is indeed monstrous even without the advent of Ares leading them on, that further breaks Diana's heart and she cannot understand why this is still happening.

Steve Trevor, a man on an almost single minded mission though, asks for her help again and she refused. Steve and his allies move on against the still loading plane and debate best on how to take down this terror weapon without activating the chemical agent in an occupied area.

A guy named Steve and a dangerous plane? Anyone see where that's going?

As Diana considers her options, the 'real' Ares shows up. There are several stages to this battle but it starts off with the simple act of truth. Diana rams the God Slayer at Ares who not only blocks it with an open hand but destroys it.

Turns out the God Slayer isn't the sword, it's Diana herself. Diana who in this incarnation, turns out to be a goddess, the last legacy of Zeus to the mortal world. This part wasn't as big a reveal to anyone paying attention to the beginning with all of the "Diana cannot know what she is!" bits but to those unfamiliar with such nods in the super hero genre, it may have come as a surprise.

Diana picks up her game considerably her. She moves faster, hits harder, and fights with more innovation.

Ares is unimpressed and thrashes her easily. At one point knocking her so far away from the battle that she falls from the sky and tumbles across the ground like a skipping stone where Steve finds her and a deafened Diana can't hear his words to her and ponder the meaning of Steve giving Diana his father's watch.

Diana returns to the conflict while Steve boards the plane.

Diana continues to suffer at the hands of Ares while Steve flies the chemicals high enough into the air that he feels confident that setting them off won't endanger millions. The explosion is seen on the ground where Diana undergoes a transformation.

Normally I hate Dragon Ball Z power ups.

1. Fight somewhat equal but villain having an edge.
2. Villain showing 'true' power and beating hero easily.
3. Hero seeing loved one slain and gaining an immediate power up.
4. Hero becoming more powerful than the villain.

In this instance, it fits the evolution of the character. An Amazon whose only learning that she's a goddess. An Amazon who as Ares asks something along the lines of "let's see what type of god you are."

Turns out she's the goddess of love. Not lusty love. Not love of self. But an unselfish love for all humanity.

As corny as it sounds, the actress pulls it off. Her defeat of Ares isn't Wonder Woman conquering Ares, it's peace, hope, love, overcoming war, despair, and hate. It fits the movie far better than say, Superman snapping Zodd's neck.

Wonder Woman has a great score. It has great scenery. It has fantastic action sequences. It is a great showcase of 'The Hero's Journey'.

In terms of super hero movies, I was impressed that they went with the Great War instead of WWII. I also enjoyed that the movie takes itself seriously. I enjoy a lot of Marvel films and appreciate that they go to great lengths to avoid 'grimdark' that DC movies seem to seep themselves in. Wonder Woman however, doesn't use needless comedy and despite the subject matter, despite the Great War background, it has a lighter hearted feel than Man of Steel. Diana is a hero because she's a hero. It works for her. It works for the audience. She's earnest in what she seeks to do.

Wonder Woman is a solid film and a great super hero film. While I don't hold a lot of hope for the upcoming Justice League, I am hopeful that others will look at the different ways that great story telling in and of itself, can be used in a super hero movie and continue to push the boundaries of the genre.

Logan Tries To Be Unforgiven Yet Falls Far Short

When I first heard about Logan and it being Hugh Jackman's last performance as Wolverine, I was intrigued. Numerous news bits indicated it might be going the way of the graphic novel, Old Man Logan.



I was dubious. It's not that Old Man Logan isn't worthy of screen adaptation, but if you've read it, it ties directly into the bones of the old Marvel Setting which the film company producing Logan have no access to.

I was hopeful and curious. When I saw the first trailer, I was impressed. The use of Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nails 'Hurt' as well as seeing the world tired and wasted and the characters tired and wasted, well, that looks like something I could get into.

The second trailer added to that hope.

And then I saw the movie.

Sigh.

So many of my movie friends were like, "It's the best super hero movie ever! It's way better than any other super hero movie that's come before!"

I wasn't impressed. It's not that the genre hasn't been done before. Unforgiven is one of my favorite movies and heck, it's not the only movie that Clint Eastwood himself has done featuring this type of tired old soldier whose got one last fight left. With the whole Expendables series, there's even a genre of sorts for it. Those who read fantasy fiction like the old David Gemmell's Legend, know it's an old series.

So there are some great stories of the old soldier, the old hero, with one last battle.

This isn't one of them.

I'll be hitting spoilers real quick and discussing some of the things I enjoyed and didn't enjoy so if you don't want to be spoiled on this movie, read no further.

SPOILERS!

First off, let's talk about the cultivated look.

It looks like it's run down not because it's a dark and broken down future. It's because those scenes that are shown are where Logan is hiding Professor X, which happens to be a rusted out junkyard in Mexico.

So that ambiance shown is a trick, a trap. It's there to create a false "bad times."

It's the year 2029 and Wolverine has not aged well. This is because his skeleton is bonded to the metal and it's poisoning him. The older he gets, the more his healing factor has to deal with the poisoning leaving less time to deal with, oh, say getting shot. 

And it's probably painful.

And this is something perhaps I take with experience as I know people who are in chronic pain and they drink not because they're bitter. They drink not because they hate everyone. They drink because they are self-medicating themselves to cover the pain. 

So that ambiance of Wolverine being all 'drunk' is another false flag.

The movie's R rating is earned. It's violent. There is swearing. There's even a brief bit of nudity. But mainly the rating is for the violence.

The theme of old and faded does have one actual point, and that's mutants aren't born anymore. This isn't a bad idea or a bad seed, but as the movie goes on, even that little bit of information has to be spoiled and spelled out. See, it's not some natural thing that happened, but bio-engineered!

Sigh. Lame.

And then there's the 'big bad.' 

From all the previews we've seen, Logan and friends are being hunted down by trained killers lead by an experienced soldier. Pierce and his Reavers. Pierce comes across as confident and sure-footed, but he is punk'd over and over. The first time being knocked out by a child from behind.

The actual 'nemesis'? The main foe that returns to hunt Wolverine and his prodigy?

It's a younger wild clone of Wolverine.

Go back and watch the videos. That's not really something that comes through right? 

They hide that because it's lame.

If someone is going to tell me how Hugh Jackman playing 'X-24' is the best movie ever when The Dark Knight gave us Health Ledger in an unforgettable performance as the Joker, I'd love to hear it.

I appreciate that memory is short. I understand that the 'now' is 'hawt.' But no, Logan, for all it's well-filmed action sequences, and it's earning of the 'R' rating, it is not better than Captain America Civil War or even Dr. Strange. 

But serious themes!

Okay folks, here's the serious theme.

From the background we get in the movie, Professor X as an older person, had some type of seizure and with vast power blew up the X-Men and killed I think they said six or seven of them. So Wolverine's big plan isn't to be a drunk and be edgy and be hateful and all alone as so many people latch onto.

It's to get Professor X to an uninhabited body of water and kill him and then blow his own brains out with an adamantium bullet.

Yea, that whole "don't show a gun in act one unless you're going to use it in the final act" are in full evidence here.

Because see for whatever reason, a bullet of adamantium can blow Wolverine's head off. Now aren't his claws made of the same metal? Wouldn't he be able to slice through the limbs of say, another Wolverine? Well, let's not go thinking that way...

There's also the problem of Wolverine being flat out stupid. To humor Charles Xavier, Logan allows Laura and Chuck to rest for the night at the home of a family who they help on the side of the road.

Which of course gives the bad guys time to catch up to Logan and wipe out the innocent family.. because, in all his years of being an X-Men, Wolverine would've never thought of that I guess?

There's also the unreliability of Professor X's own power in all situations. It's the same problem you have anytime you watch a movie where the character could easily escape if they did the most basic of things but hey, for whatever reason, they don't do it.

Using his power to communicate with the apparently 'mute' Laura? No problem. Using his power to actually do anything useful? Can't have that happen.

And then there's this weird part towards the end where it's like the film company is setting up the sequel. See, in my ramblings, while I've mentioned Laura's name a few times, I haven't actually talked about how she fits into things.

It seems instead of going with anything resembling Old Man Logan, the writers decided to make Logan old and use that to introduce X-23.

Now I like X-23. I liked the origin, I like the growth of the character, the mentorship with Logan in the comics, and the eventual replacement of Logan as the Wolverine.

This isn't a bad way to introduce a character to a series. 

But there are about another half dozen children who are clones of various characters I'll let interested readers Google.

It is these kids who help Wolverine, who in fact, wind up killing Pierce.

But apparently, all of their unique abilities are no match against X-24! Who by the way while being younger than Logan, is much older than Laura so forced growth or some other unexplained bits?

So, of course, Wolverine has to go all out against his evil younger self, and this gives Laura the opportunity to use the magical adamantium bullet because Wolverine's own claws or her own claws aren't made of the same material...

My ramblings don't even cover the theme of Cracked, and it's a bit about this being a poorly veiled rip off of Children of Men...

If Children of Men doesn't get some rentals out of Logan just to see the comparisons, I'd be surprised. It's a good movie on it's own rights and in my opinion, superior in many ways to Logan.

So do Logan have no redeeming qualities?

I know I'm hacking a lot at it here, but it's mainly in disbelieve over all the praise it's been getting. Wolverine being a loner and helping a young girl is almost literally the playbook of Logan's character growth in the very first X-Men movie with Rogue.... okay,  rambling again.

Positive bits.

Action sequences are all out and pull no punches. If you're the type who always wanted to see the Hulk punch through a man but were left hanging by the PG-13 ratings, well, limbs are severed, heads are decapitated, and action aplenty fills the film. If you're an action buff, there are several scenes to enjoy. Even the car chase scene is robust.

Professor X is played to great effect by Patrick Steward. I've loved Patrick Steward ever since seeing him in Excalibur and man, I'm not saying he's done no bad roles, but he nails it as a semi-lucid Professor X here. 

Mind you, half the time I think he's missing the point of not getting that Wolverine is literally dying with such brilliant phrases as "Logan, you still have time." but there are interactions between Professor X and X-23, as well as between Professor X and Logan that click and add much-needed humor to the film. The history between Logan and Professor X is so thick you could cut it with an adamantium knife. 

Some future bits that are coming up, seem well timed. There are trucks with no human drivers. There are drones in use. There are robotic limbs on active soldiers. I know some may feel that the last one is pushing it, but man, 3-D printing and the whole field of what can be done to replacing missing limbs has come a tremendous way since even the first X-Men movie came out.

Hugh Jackman's 'presence'. He plays an old dying Logan well. He's got a lot of gravitas in his interactions with others and comes across as someone waiting to die and does it well. In many instances, unlike some fiction works I've read, Logan is older. He's probably not a fit a fighter as Laura even. And he's sick. And he's bitter. And he's got a duty to kill one of his oldest friends before that brilliant brain goes off in a populated area and then to kill himself with his magic bullet. And he's ready for that.

But in his interactions with the world itself? Some are like, "He's a father figure! They are a family!" and I'm bliking wondering if they saw the same movie I did. Like the touching scene from the trailer where Logan violently shakes her hand off? Or where he continually tells her to get away from him? Or that he only originally helped because of money? That he knows he's dying and like a sick animal, wants to be away from others so muh that he's practially unbearable to be around and in that same vein, to be the main character of the movie?

Logan is a fun action flick that earns it's rating but all this talk of "best super hero movie" ever tells me that either the branch of best is a low held title or that Christian Bale's Dark Knight trilogy is already so out of modern memory that real villains with real actors need to make a come back.

Creed (2015)

Lately, it seems I've been on passing the torch theme.

In Kevin Smith's Green Hornet, it's from father to son.

In Project Superpowers, it's the same characters taken out of commission magically and brought to the present day where they are sorely needed.

In Creed, it's the illegitimate son of professional boxer Apollo Creed coming of age and seeking out a mentor who knew his father in a way that only professional fighters would as Adonis Johnson Creed gains tutelage under the skillful hands and eyes of none other than Rocky Balboa, whom Creed affectionately calls "Unc."

The young Creed does a great job of being both outcast and silver spoon child. His youth finds him in a prison center for children separated from others for his continuous fighting. In walks Mary Anne, wife of Apollo Creed, and offers to take in the youth.

For those, like me, who've forgotten, Mary Anne is Apollo's wife. Adonis is not her son. It turns out Apollo had an affair and this son was born after Apollo died.

Mary Anne raises Johnson in style, providing him with a good life. Life much better than Rocky himself enjoyed at the end due to those issues he suffered in Rocky V. Still, Johnson isn't happy with a desk job and spends time fighting in Mexico where his record is 15-0 with those 15 victories being knockouts.

Quitting his day job, he seeks out Rocky for "real" mentoring. Rocky's reluctance to enter the ring in any guise again quickly folds under the determination and spirit he sees in Johnson. Soon the two are working as one with Johnson gaining greater skill under his teacher's watchful eye.

The impressive thing here is how Stallone pushes himself into the background. If you've seen Stallone's other recent movies, you know that despite his age, he's in fantastic shape. In Creed, there's none of that. He's well hidden and concealed behind layers and layers of clothes. This allows actor Michael B. Jordan to shine as Creed.

After bonding with the training, the opportunity comes for young Creed to start his professional career. Boxing is, after all, a business. Adonis claims another KO victory. This prompts more attention onto him, especially when people learn that he is the son of Apollo Creed. He'd been fighting under Adonis Johnson up to that point.

His "rival" in this instance has some build up. One of the professionals that Adonis fought early in the film laid him out soundly. That professional in turn was knocked out at a weight in by the fighter that now Creed has the opportunity to fight: Pretty Colan.

I've mentioned before how showcasing the strength of an enemy can be done by destroying a formerly shown strong rival to the hero? Yeah, hook, line, and sinker here. Colan's so strong he breaks the other guy's jaw at a weigh in. Scary right?

But Colan is going to jail for gun possession. To earn extra money, a fight with a "Creed", even if he is young and untested in the professional ring, is seen as a sure thing.

And this leads into more training!

Now on some levels, there are obvious callbacks to the original Rocky movie. The unknown against the great champ. The theme of "going the distance." The idea of mentors and their values. The numerous training montages. These are all solid devices.

But the film goes a little further in character development. Adonis is no Rocky. He's had a different life. While there has been the struggle, especially in acceptance of never getting to talk to his real father, he later young life was a breeze in comparison. His training under the legendary Rocky is no small thing either.

But the film pushes further. Rocky becomes a sort of father figure for young Creed. But is also diagnosed with Cancer and after seeing the treatments fail to help his wife, Rocky declines them, prepared for death.

Adonis and Rocky decide they will fight together! It's an interesting choice as they don't shy too much from the effects of chemo and the damage it causes to both the physical aspects of a person, or the appetites of a person. Especially telling when it's an Italian who's been shown to enjoy eating rich food.

Creed has some technical bits that were off when I viewed it. The use of Green Screen is blatantly obvious in the last fight where the two boxers are clearly the only thing in the actual room and everything else has been added afterward.

But that's a minor complaint in all. I suspect as the screens get better, especially with Ultra Definition or HD 4 or whatever professionals are calling it now, those flaws in old movies will only be more obvious. It'll be like watching DVDs of old 50's horror movies and laughing at how obvious it all seems.

I'm not a sports fan but Creed is a worthy addition to the Rocky series and sets up things to move forward with or without Rocky as a contributing cast member. If you've enjoyed the original Rocky and the recent version of it where Rocky is older but still fighting, Creed is in that vein.