#IReadsYou Movie Review: THE FLASH

The Flash (2023)

Running time:  144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial nudity

DIRECTOR:  Andy Muschietti

WRITERS:  Christina Hodson; from a screen story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Joby Harold (based on the DC Comics characters)

PRODUCERS:  Barbara Muschietti and Michael Disco

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Henry Braham

EDITORS:  Jason Ballantine and Paul Machliss

COMPOSER:  Benjamin Wallfisch

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiesey Clemons, Antje Traue Temuera Morrison, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Nicolas Cage, George Clooney, Jason Momoa, and Jeremy Irons

The Flash is a 2023 superhero and action-fantasy film directed by Andy Muschietti.  The film is based on the DC Comics character, The Flash, with the two most famous versions being created by the teams of writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert and writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino.  The film is the 13th entry in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).  In The Flash, the superhero known as “the fastest man alive” uses his super-speed to change his family's tragic past, but also creates a world without superheroes.

The Flash opens at a very important time in the life of Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller).  His father, Henry Allen (Ron Livingston), has been imprisoned, wrongfully convicted for murdering his wife and Ezra's mother, Nora Allen (Maribel Verdu).  As a police forensic investigator for the Central City Police Department, Barry has been using his knowledge and connections in a bid to free his father, whose next appeal of his conviction is a day away.

However, Barry's superhero life intrudes, so he races to Gotham City where he helps Batman (Ben Affleck) stop a terrorist group.  After that, the Flash visits his childhood home.  Overcome by his emotions, Barry starts running so fast that he does not realize that his power, super-speed, has tapped into the “Speed Force” to such an extent that he has traveled back in time.  Although Batman's alter-ego, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), warns him against doing so, the Flash travels back in time, again.

He returns to the day his mother was murdered and changes events in order to save her life, and the thing about which Bruce warned Barry occurs, the unintended consequences of time travel.  Soon, Barry comes face to face with his younger self, college-age Barry (Ezra Miller).  Not long afterwards, Barry learns that his big change to the past has also created an Earth without superheroes.  As an alien threat looms, the two Barrys seek out the one superhero everyone knows exists – or at least once existed, Batman.  However, this Earth's Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) does not want to be Batman again, even if it dooms the world.

When I first heard of the premise of The Flash, I knew that Warner Bros. Pictures wanted to make its on version of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios' multiverse adventure, Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).  Unlike this very sharp Spider-Man flick, The Flash is not as crisp and as efficient.  The Flash's action scenes are always at least a minute too long and too overdone.  The drama is a bit too melodramatic, sometimes in danger of being corny.  Still, director Andy Muschietti and his editors offer a film that is often quite engaging, thrilling, and entertaining.

I believe that the persons that really carry The Flash are first, Ezra Miller as The Flash/Barry Allen and as younger Barry Allen and second, Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne.  This time around Ezra offers a superhero and alter-ego that are both far less annoying and forced than they were in Joss Whedon's 2016 superhero film, Justice League.  Miller is so good at portraying two versions of Barry that they seem like distinctly different people and personalities.  Here, Miller's Flash is more like a quirky character than in Justice League, where he seemed like bad character writing and a resulting confused and awkward performance.  Sadly, Miller's legal problems may keep them from portraying the Flash again, which is a shame.  They have finally got a bead on how to play that kind of character in a way that makes him endearing.

To a slightly lesser extent, Michael Keaton also carries this film.  His Batman/Bruce Wayne is one of the most famous iterations of the character, having appeared in director Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).  Keaton revives the beats of the way he played the character over three decades ago, while adding a lot of new flavors to his character and new engagement in his performance.  After this appearance, I would really like to see more of Keaton's Batman.

Ben Affleck also makes a really nice turn as the “DCEU Batman/Bruce Wayne.”  Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl gives a performance that makes the character seem shoe-horned into this film.  And there are some delightful cameos from other actors and characters that have appeared in DC Comics-related film and television series.  Plus, there is a surprise appearance from another cinematic Batman.  As I have said, however, Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton put a light-speed jolt into The Flash.  I found The Flash entertaining, but I'm giving it the grade I am because of Miller and Keaton.

[The Flash has one scene at the end of the credits.]

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Running time:  130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action and violence, and language

DIRECTOR:  David F. Sandberg

WRITERS:  Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan (based on the DC Comics characters)

PRODUCER:  Peter Safran

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Gyula Pados

EDITOR:  Michel Aller 

COMPOSER:  Christophe Beck

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Glazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, D.J Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Meagan Good, Rachel Zegler, Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Marta Milans, Cooper Andrews, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, and Djimon Hounsou with Gal Gadot

Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a 2023 superhero and fantasy film from director David F. Sandberg.  The film is based on the DC Comics character now called “Shazam.”  Shazam! Fury of the Gods is a direct sequel to the 2019 film, Shazam! and is also the 12th installment in “DC Extended Universe” (DCEU).  Fury of the Gods continues the story of the teenage foster kid who becomes a superhero by uttering one magic word, “SHAZAM!”

Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens in Philadelphia two years after the events depicted in the first film.  Billy Batson (Asher Angel) can still transform into an adult hero, the champion who bears the name “Shazam” (Zachary Levi).  Billy will turn 18-year-old in a few months, which he believes means that he will loose his foster parents, Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vásquez (Cooper Andrews).

Billy shared the power he got from “The Wizard” (Djimon Hounsou) with his five foster siblings.  He calls them the “Shazamily.”  His foster brother, Freddie Freeman (Jack Dylan Glazer), is an adult superhero who calls himself “Captain Everything” (Adam Brody).  His older foster sister, Mary Bromfield (Grace Caroline Currey) is trying to be an adult while also being a superhero.  The other foster kid/adult hero pairs are Eugene Choi (Ian Chen and Ross Butler), Pedro Peña (Jovan Armand and D.J. Cotrona), Darla Dudley (Faithe Herman and Meagan Good).  Billy/Shazam is desperate to keep his “Shazamily” together, but they are having a rough time being superheroes.  After doing a less than stellar job saving civilians from a collapsing bridge, Shazam and company discover that the local media refers to them as the “Philly Fiascoes.”

Bigger troubles are ahead, however.  “The Daughters of Atlas” have imprisoned The Wizard, and they want to regain the powers he stole from the gods, including their father, the Titan Atlas, and gave to his new champions – Billy and his Shazamily.  Can they survive the attack of the daughters:  Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu), and the reluctant Anthea (Rachel Zegler), and save the world from destruction and from the fury of the gods?

In the first Shazam! film, the drama was driven by Billy Batson's internal conflict.  It was built around the tension between the foster family Bill could have and did not want and the biological family he wanted but could no longer have (if he ever really had it to begin with).  In Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Billy/Shazam fears losing the foster family that he eventually embraced, and with such a theme, he must inevitably learn that one should not hold onto things too tightly – even loved ones.  The Daughters of Atlas must learn the same, concerning the things to which they cling too tightly.  Billy/Shazam's dilemmas don't resonate this time around the way they did in the original film, and, at times, Billy and Shazam's obsession with holding onto the family seems forced.  But at least this film has the requisite drama.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, like Shazam!, is a very entertaining film that is part energetic superhero movie, part charming comedy, and part heartwarming family film.  The superhero action is not as intense as that found in most superhero films, although Fury of the Gods' action is more intense than in the original.  Some of the villains' murderous intentions seem really murderous.

Except for the increase in intensity, everything about Fury of the Gods is a little down from the first film.  It is not as poignant, not quite as funny, and it seems too long, although it is a littler shorter than the original film.  Still, fans of Shazam! will likely enjoy Shazam! Fury of the Gods.  It even has a nice cameo appearance by another DC Comics superhero, and that cameo makes me wish that we could get more Shazam! Films.  It would be fun to see Billy Batson and Shazam team up with other DC  heroes and pitted against DC villains.  It is likely, however, that Shazam! Fury of the Gods is the final half of a truly unique pair of superhero movies.

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

NOTES:

Shazam! Fury of the Gods has one extra scene in the middle of the credits and one at the end of the credits.

The DC Comics character, Shazam, was the first comic book character to have the name “Captain Marvel.”  A boy named Billy Batson became Captain Marvel by uttering the word, “Shazam!”  Captain Marvel was created by comic book artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker.  He first appeared in Whiz Comics #2 (cover-dated:  February 1940) which was published by Fawcett Comics.  A legal dispute caused Fawcett to stop publishing Captain Marvel comic books in 1953.  DC Comics revived the character in 1972, but by then, Marvel Comics owned the trademark to the name “Captain Marvel.”  Thus, the original Captain Marvel is now called Shazam.

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: BLACK ADAM

Black Adam (2022)

Running time:  124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language.
DIRECTOR:  Jaume Collet-Serra
WRITERS:  Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani (based on characters created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck)
PRODUCERS:  Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Beau Flynn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lawrence Sher (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  John Lee and Michael L. Sale
COMPOSER:  Lorne Balfe

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Quintessa Swindell, Marwan Kenzari, Bodhi Sabongui, Mohammed Amer, Jalon Christian, Henry Winkler, and Djimon Hounsou with Viola Davis and Henry Cavill

Black Adam is a 2022 superhero and action-fantasy film from director Jaume Collet-Serra.  The film is based on characters created by writers Bill Parker and Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck originally for defunct publisher, Fawcett Comics, and now owned by DC Comics.  Black Adam the movie focuses on a legendary hero who returns to life after nearly 5000 years, bringing his unique form of justice to his besieged homeland.

Black Adam opens in 2600 BC.  In the city of Kahndaq, there is a legend that the tyrannical king, Anh-Kot (Marwan Kenzari), intended to create an object of dark magic, the Crown of Sabbac, which is known to give the wearer great power.  He enslaves his own people and forces them to dig in the mountains for “Eternium,” the magical crystal Anh-Kot will use to make the crown.  A legendary hero, Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson), arises and kills Anh-Kot before the hero himself is buried somewhere in the ruins of the Anh-Kot's castle – so the legends say.

Present day Kahndaq is oppressed by members of the international crime syndicate known as “Intergang.”  They are searching for university professor and resistance fighter, Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi).  She is trying to locate the Crown of Sabbac, with the help of her brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer), and some of his colleagues.  Ambushed after finding the crown, Adrianna revives Teth-Adam, and although he kills her assailants, the risen hero proves to be something much less than a hero.

Meanwhile, from the United States, the superhero Hawkman/Carter Hall (Aldis Hodge) leads a group of heroes, the Justice Society:  Doctor Fate/Kent Nelson (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone/Maxine Hunkel (Quintessa Swindell), and newcomer Atom Smasher/Albert “Al” Rothstein (Noah Centineo), into Kahndaq to take Teth-Adam into custody.  While Adrianna and her son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), watch, Teth-Adam battles the Justice Society throughout the city.  However, Teth-Adam will be forced to confront the truth about himself and about his past if he and the Justice Society are going to stop a great evil from ruling Kahndaq again.

In case you are wondering, Teth-Adam does not become “Black Adam” until the end of the film.  He is neither hero nor villain.  Black Adam, in the case of this film, is not so much an anti-hero as he is simply Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  The movie only exists because Johnson willed it into existence.  Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films' original plan was apparently to make Black Adam a supporting character/villain in the movie Shazam that was released in 2019.  Johnson wanted more for the character than to be a mere lackey, and truthfully, had he appeared in Shazam as Black Adam, Johnson, as an international movie star with a huge personality, would have dominated the film in ways that probably would have been bad for it.

In the case of Black Adam the movie, it is Johnson's will that holds this film together, otherwise, it would fall apart.  The screenplay is a disaster with a plot that is a patchwork of clumsy sub-plots.  The film's pace is uneven, being a mixture of tedious action sequences and unnecessary fighting.  The characters are either barely likable or are ridiculous.  The kid character, Amon Tomaz, is actually quite nice, but his mother, Adrianna, is really irritating.

Don't get me started on the Justice Society.  As Hawkman, actor Aldis Hodge is so intense that it makes a lot of his performance seem like overacting.  [Actor Michael B. Jordan also has a problem with being too intense.]  Pierce Brosnan is embarrassing as Doctor Fate, but Brosnan's problems could be a poorly written character and crappy dialogue.  The superhero Cyclone is … tragic.  So is Atom Smasher, but actor Noah Centineo delivers Smasher's bad dialogue in a way that sounds funny.

Twice while watching Black Adam, I wanted to walk out of the film, but I was seeing it with a friend.  Black Adam seems much longer than its 124-minute running time.  At one point, I thought the film was over, so I checked my phone and discovered that there was more than a half-hour left.  I can only recommend this films to die hard fans of superhero movies and to fans of Dwayne Johnson.  I could not recommend this film to anyone else.  I'm only giving this film a “C” grade because I am a fan of Johnson and an admirer of what he has built for himself; if not for him, I don't know how much lower I would go.  I am not sure that I could watch Black Adam again, even in bits and pieces when it becomes a cable TV staple.

C
★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: THE SUICIDE SQUAD

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Running time:  132 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for strong violence and gore, language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and brief graphic nudity
DIRECTOR:  James Gunn
WRITER:  James Gunn (based on characters appearing in DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Henry Braham (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Fred Raskin and Christian Wagner
COMPOSER:  John Murphy

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION and COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring:  Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Daniela Melchior, David Dastmalchian, Storm Reid, Sylvester Stallone (voice), Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Nathan Fillion, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Pete Davidson, Sean Gunn, Peter Capaldi, Juan Diego Botto, Joaquin Cosio, Lynne Ashe, Taika Waititi, and Viola Davis

The Suicide Squad is a 2021 superhero and action-fantasy film from writer-director James Gunn.  It is a sequel to the 2016 film, Suicide Squad, and is based on the DC Comics team of antiheroes, Suicide Squad.  The Suicide Squad the film focuses on a team of imprisoned super-villains who are forced to invade a South American island where a deadly creature supposedly resides.

As The Suicide Squad opens, intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) has activated her “Task Force X,” a team composed of dangerous criminals.  Imprisoned in Louisiana's Belle Reve penitentiary, these individuals either possess super-powers, have special abilities, or are some kind of meta-human, humanoid, animal hybrid, or mutant.  All of them are “super-villains.”  Waller chooses thirteen of these inmates and divides them into two teams (unbeknownst to the inmates) and sends them to the small island nation of Corto Maltese, off the coast of South America.

The first team is led by Army Special Forces Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) and is comprised of  former psychiatrist and Joker boy toy, Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie); Australian thief and super-boomerang thrower, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney); animal hybrid and child killer, Weasel (James Gunn), meta-human, T.D.K. (Nathan Fillion); long-haired computer hacker, Savant (Michael Rooker); overeager mercenary, Blackguard (Pete Davidson); possessor of a special javelin ... Javelin (Flula Borg); and the alien warrior, Mongal (Mayling Ng).

The second more serious team is comprised of five super-villains.  It is lead by a mercenary and hit man with an advanced technological suit and weapons, Bloodsport (Idris Elba), and is comprised of the former military officer who kills for peace, Peacemaker (John Cena); a man who can emit polka-dots, Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian); a female thief who controls rats, Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior); and a man-eating, human-shark hybrid, Nanaue a.k.a. “King Shark” (Sylvester Stallone).

Once on Corto Maltese, Task Force X has to reach a structure called “Jötunheim.”  It houses a laboratory built on the island decades ago by exiled Nazi scientists so that they could continue their monstrous experiments.  Now, Jötunheim apparently houses a secret program known as “Project Starfish.”  At the heart of this project is something referred to as “the beast,” and to destroy this project, the members of this squad will show why the nickname for Task Force X is “The Suicide Squad.”

First, I can say that The Suicide Squad is a much better film than its predecessor, Suicide Squad (2016), which was probably made problematic by Warner Bros. Pictures executives making bad decisions about it.  In The Suicide Squad, writer-director James Gunn offer his audience gleeful and extreme violence, insane set pieces, and snappy dialogue.  However, Gunn is also very good at creating engaging character drama that allows even the most troubling characters to have a journey in which he or she experiences a poignant or uplifting heroic arc.  In this case, Bloodsport (kinda) transforms from selfish, killer asshole into an anti-hero who cares … about a few things and people … and a rat.

Other characters more or less have a similar arc, although Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is as crazy, as homicidal, and as sweet as ever.  Joel Kinnaman's Rick Flag, a holdover from the first film, is a much more interesting and likable character.  Viola Davis' Amanda Waller is darker, maybe even more … evil than ever, and Storm Reid delivers a surprisingly deft turn in a small role as Tyla, Bloodsport's daughter, who appears in two scenes.  David Dastmalchian steals a few scenes as the surprisingly endearing Polka-Dot Man.  Overall, the characters are both more interesting and much more appealing and fun than the characters in the first film.  I say that although in the new film, the Suicide Squad is much more homicidal.

Gunn makes sure The Suicide Squad feels irreverent and outrageous and pours on the ultra-violence, and most of the time, it works.  Sometimes, however, it feels like Gunn is trying too hard, and the violence is either gross or is so over the top as to come across as lame.  Gunn is known for writing and directing Disney/Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy films.  However, I think Gunn was trying to make The Suicide Squad like 20th Century Fox's Deadpool films, which are gleefully violent and shameless and infused with droll humor.  However, the Deadpool movies have Ryan Reynolds, who has mastered his own brand of (sometimes) endearing comedy that is witty, sarcastic, sardonic, silly, and stupid.  There is no Ryan Reynolds om The Suicide Squad, so the film can seem a little desperate in its bid to be crazy and cool.

However, The Suicide Squad does have Idris Elba, and if not for him, James Gunn would have ended up with a Suicide Squad film that works about as well as David Ayers' Suicide Squad film.  Elba, as the world-weary, but supernaturally skilled killer, Bloodsport, plays the complicated anti-hero turned action hero with his usual understated grace and commanding screen presence.  The Suicide Squad is bonkers, inventive, and imaginative – thanks to James Gunn.  However, it is a superhero fantasy and action thrill machine because of Idris Elba.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Film Review: "AQUAMAN" is a Tsunami of Fun

Aquaman

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Running time:  143 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language
DIRECTOR:  James Wan
WRITERS:  David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall; from a story by Geoff Johns, James Wan, Will Beall (based on the character created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger and appearing DC Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Rob Cowan and Peter Safran
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess    
EDITOR:  Kirk Morri
COMPOSER:  Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Temuera Morrison, Randall Park, Michael Beach, and Nicole Kidman

Aquaman is a 2018 superhero science fiction and fantasy film from director James Wan.  It is the sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is comprised of films based upon DC Comics characters.  Aquaman was created by artist Paul Norris and editor Mort Weisinger and first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 (cover dated: November 1941).  Aquaman the film focuses on a half-breed who is heir to the throne of an underwater kingdom and his quest to prevent an all-out war between the worlds of the land and the seas.

Aquaman opens in 1985.  Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), a lighthouse keeper in Amnesty Bay, Maine, rescues Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm.  They fall in love and have a son named Arthur, who has the power to communicate with sea creatures.  Eventually, however, Atlantean soldiers arrive to retrieve Atlanna, who had fled her arranged marriage in Atlantis.

The film movies to the present day, several months after the events depicted in the film, Justice League.  Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), now also known as the “Aquaman,” attempts to live a normal life in Amnesty Bay, but his Atlantean heritage is about to intrude on his life.  Arthur has a half-brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), who is the current King of Atlantis and who is also the second son of Atlanna.  Orm is attempting to rally the undersea kingdoms to his cause.  He wants to unite and to attack the surface world for polluting the oceans.  Princess Y'Mera Xebella Challa, also known simply as Mera (Amber Heard), is betrothed to Orm, but refuses to aid him or her father, King Nerius of Xebel (Dolph Lundgren), in their plans.

Mera travels to the surface where she meets Arthur and tries to convince him to help her in stopping Orm.  She also wants Arthur to take his rightful place as King of Atlantis.  Before he does that, however, Arthur must recover a magic artifact, the lost “Sacred Trident of Atlan,” which will mark its possessor as the rightful ruler of Atlantis.  The problem is that Arthur does not want to be King of Atlantis nor anywhere else for that matter.

Watching Aquaman, I could not help but notice that many of its story points and plot elements were glaringly similar to that of Marvel Studios' Black Panther, which debuted earlier in the same year that Aquaman hit theaters, 2018.  Whereas Black Panther was edgy, philosophically in tune with Pan-Africanism, and socially relevant, Aquaman is simply a grand, old-fashioned, action-adventure fantasy film, and there is nothing wrong with that.  Aquaman is solidly entertaining.

If Aquaman must be accused of copying other films, in terms of visual concepts and world-building, Aquaman leans heavily on the Star Wars prequel films and on Tron: Legacy.  And once again, there is nothing wrong with that.  Many big-budget, tent-pole films borrow from other movies of similar to its type.  Aquaman dazzles the eyes and blows the mind.  It is such a spectacular visual effects feast for the eyes, senses, and imagination that I am surprised that it did not get any Oscar nominations in the categories of visual effects, art direction-set decoration, and costume design.  That such a visually resplendent film did not get in Oscar nominations says something about the nominating process of the Academy Awards in many areas.

I must admit that I think that this film does have a few sizable problems.  Aquaman's stiff, overly-formal, highfalutin' dialogue hampers the acting, which isn't all that good to begin with.  The character writing is also average, so it is not as if the actors have much to work with in building strong dramatic characters.  Still, I'd have to be feeling generous to say that Jason Momoa was more than average as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, although he does appear to be trying hard.  Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II overact and ham-it-up as Orm and Black Manta, respectively.  Willem Dafoe is practically a wooden idol as Vulko, and Amber Heard seems to think that she is playing Mera in a spoof of a superhero movie rather than acting in a “serious” superhero film.

I would normally give a film with such average character drama on the part of the screenplay and such awkward acting a grade of “B.”  The directing by James Wan is strong enough, however, and, once again, the film is such a visual effects orgasm that I will bump up Aquaman's final grade a little.

B+
7 of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: WONDER WOMAN

Wonder Woman (2017)

Running time:  141 minutes
MPAA – PG - 13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content
DIRECTOR:  Patty Jenkins
WRITERS:  Allan Heinberg; from a story by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg, and Jason Fuchs (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and created by William Moulton Marston)
PRODUCERS:  Charles Roven, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, and Richard Suckle
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Matthew Jensen
EDITOR:  Martin Walsh
COMPOSER:  Rupert Gregson-Williams

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/WAR/HISTORICAL

Starring:  Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya, Lilly Aspell, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ann Wolfe, Ann Ogbomo, Emily Carey, and James Cosmo

Wonder Woman is a 2017 superhero fantasy, war, and and historical film from director Patty Jenkins.  The film stars the DC Comics superhero, Wonder Woman, who first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (1941) and was created by writer William Moulton Marston (with artist Harry George Peter).  The movie takes place when Wonder Woman was only known as Diana, princess of the Amazons, a young, trained warrior who goes out into the world to discover her full powers and her true destiny.  Wonder Woman is also the fourth film in the DC (Comics) Extended Universe film series.

Wonder Woman opens in present-day Paris, in the Louvre, where Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) works as an archivist of some type.   Bruce Wayne has sent her a gift, a World War I-era photographic plate that contains an image of Diana and three men.

This image returns Diana's memories to her past, beginning when she was a child (Lily Aspell) on the hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazon race of warrior women.  Diana is the daughter of the queen, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), who does not want her daughter trained to be a warrior.  Hippolyta's sister and Diana's aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright), believes that Diana should be prepared for the eventual day when she will have to fight.

As a young woman, Diana rescues an American pilot and spy, Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), after his plane crashes off the coast of Themyscira.  The Germans pursing Trevor invade Themyscira, but are repelled by the Amazons.  Diana interprets these events as signs that she must accompany Trevor as he returns to the world of men, where Diana believes she must confront the reason for the world war that rages across Europe (World War I).  Diana believes that Ares, the god of war, is behind the so-called “War to End All Wars,” but Diana does not realize that this journey will reveal the truth about her powers, her destiny, and her identity.

Since its release to theaters in the United States (almost a month ago as of this writing) and around the world (over a month as of this writing), Wonder Woman has received rave reviews.  Women and children, especially girls, have embraced the power of this beloved female superhero who finally stars in her own feature film.

I get it; I understand the appeal and the adoration, but for me, Wonder Woman the movie is, at best, a slightly above-average superhero movie.  Gal Gadot is wonderful as Wonder Woman, which surprised me because I thought she was all wrong when I first heard about her casting.  However, here, Gadot is so good that I had trouble imagining another actress (except maybe Linda Carter) as Wonder Woman.  Gadot embodies the strength and independence of a woman raised in a society in which women do not think of themselves as subordinate or inferior to men.

In the character drama, in the film's quiet moments, in the times when Diana fights for the forgotten and ignored (the “little” people?), director Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot deliver on what Wonder Woman has meant, what she means today, and what she can mean in the future.  Jenkins and Gadot depict the ability of women to pursue the best of themselves and to pursue the best for humanity at large – with their endeavors as equal or even superior to those of men.  To nurture and to create; to defend and to take the initiative:  Wonder Woman/Diana and women can do anything men can do.

The problems with Wonder Woman the film are the men who contribute to this film.  Co-producer and co-writer Zack Snyder's handiwork is all over the cheesy, slow-motion camera fight scenes.  The fact that the last act devolves into a ridiculous supernatural battle between Diana and Ares is typical of the previous Warner/DC Comics films.  Those movies reeked with the ludicrous fights that were the climaxes of Snyder's The Man of Steel and Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, as well as last year's Suicide Squad, which is also part of the DC Extended Universe.

Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot deliver some superb movie making with Wonder Woman.  Unfortunately, the perspective of males, one of whom is a hack filmmaker, ruins it.

6 of 10
B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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