James Review -Daredevil (2003) starring Ben Affleck

 

Before the DCEU and Batfleck, there was the 2003 Daredevil film.

In the 2000s, following the success of Blade and X-Men, superhero films were pretty much all the rage even though there were plenty of non-superhero projects. 2002 saw the release of Sam Rami's Spider-Man and the following year of 2003 saw the release of Ang Lee's Hulk along with the subject of today...

Daredevil.

The Man Without Fear.

The Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

Matt Murdock was blinded by an accident with chemicals when he was a boy, but he gained the extraordinary ability of echolocation, able to hear heartbeats to tell when someone is honest or is lying. After his father, a famous boxer, was killed by goons, Matt took up crime-fighting after years of training and became Daredevil. By day, he's a lawyer. By night, he's a vigilante. Created by Stan Lee, who also made Spider-Man, Daredevil is one of the many characters who is the Batman of Marvel comics. Daredevil stories were originally light-hearted, especially in an era where comics were aimed at younger readers, but, as times changed, Daredevil became darker and aimed at an older crowd and stopped pulling punches with Daredevil's enemies, such as Bullseye, becoming sadistic and murderous.

And this is where we get to the 2003 film. Beforehand, Daredevil had shown up in 1989's Trial of The Incredible Hulk, played by Rex Smith, and cropped up in the 1990s Spider-Man animated series with his voice provided by Edward Albert. Work on the film began in 1997, but due to the project passing to different studios, Daredevil more or less had a period of development hell until 20th Century Fox got the rights. Ben Affleck was cast as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, the role of Elektra went to Jennifer Garner, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin Wilson Fisk. Fisk is usually a Spider-Man villain, but starting in the 80s, the Kingpin became a member of Daredevil's rogues gallery as well and, in his live-action appearances, has only faced the Daredevil but never Spider-Man. Long story, its due to rights stuff.

Bullseye, Daredevil's most iconic enemy, shows up in this film, played by the incredible Irish actor Collin Ferrel, who was perfectly cast in my opinion and is a heck of a scene-chewer. He's sadistic, cold-blooded and kills Elektra, even though she came back in the spin-off and 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine. Bullseye mostly serves as the film's secondary antagonist, leaving the role of the main antagonist to Duncan's Kingpin, which is the only time in a live-action Marvel project where Wilson Fisk is Black, and, every moment he is on-screen, Duncan is intimidating as the Kingpin and doesn't hold back during the final battle with Affleck's Daredevil.

The soundtrack in this film is nicely-orchestrated, setting the tone for the film's story and the action scenes, delivering an energetic vibe often expected in 2000s action films, and the movie was filmed in Los Angeles even though Hell's Kitchen in New York is actually a real place. The action scenes in Daredevil are relatively thrilling, stylized and the battle in the church between Daredevil and Bullseye is pretty epic. Matt's fight with Kingpin at the end is suspenseful and the latter doesn't hold back, nearly beating The Man Without Fear. Daredevil 2003, the theatrical version, was a flop when it released, but it is actually a fun movie despite the tonal inconsistencies. However, there is an R-rated director's cut, which I have yet to see, where the film is more serious and some scenes in the PG-13 version are left out, such as Matt and Elektra making love at one point. 

If you love superhero films and are looking for an early 2000s Marvel film that is fun, watch Daredevil on Disney Plus. Its worth the watch, worth your time and energy. 9/10.

-James M 

James' Review -Deadpool 2 (2018)

 

Happy holidays out there, folks. 

Remember Deadpool? Merc with A Mouth? Ryan Reynolds' top movie role? Sorta the Austin Powers of Marvel but R-rated? Who can forget him and his amazing first movie in 2016? Today, we're here to discuss his 2018 sequel, Deadpool 2. And, after that, no more Deadpool because I don't like Deadpool anymore. HA! KIDDING! There is no way I don't love Deadpool, you can't fall outta love with Marvel's most iconic folks. Anyways, so what is the story all about?

A while has passed since Wade "Deadpool" Wilson saved his fiancée Vanessa and killed Ajax aka Francis and the merc is killing bad guys. One night, he comes home to the girl of his dreams and plan to start a family, only for a criminal to come in and kill Vanessa despite Wade's efforts. Vanessa's death badly impacts Mr. Pool and he attempts to join her in the afterlife, but he can't die. After trying to blow himself up, Deadpool winds up at the X-Mansion when Colossus finds him. Long story short, Wade becomes an X-Man. An X-Man trainee, of course. One assignment sees him, Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead go to an orphanage where Wade meets the abused pyro mutant boy Firefist aka Russel Colins. He starts killing the staff, but ends up incarcerated at a high-security prison... with Russel, after Colossus intervenes in Deadpool's attack.

Meanwhile, a cyborg from the future, Cable (played by Josh Brolin), arrives in the present day and eventually reaches the prison where Wade and Russel are at. And when Cable attacks, Wade steps forward to protect Russel from the cyborg and their battle leads to them blowing through the prison wall and Wade has another near-death experience. Following this, Wade begins putting together a "super-team" called the X-Force in another effort to stop Cable from killing Russel, who is soon being relocated from the prison that he and the merc with the mouth were in. However, the team falls apart pretty badly during their mission and, by fall apart, I mean they die nasty deaths while only Deadpool and Domino, whose superpower is luck, survive to intercept the transport and encounter Cable.

During Wade's battle with the cyborg, Russel opens a cell and unleashes Juggernaut, a super strong mutant, who derails and smashes the transport, tears our red-black antihero in half and heads off with the pyro kid. While Wade recovers at Blind Al's place, Cable shows up and reveals why he is after Russel. As it turns out, Russel will kill the headmaster of the orphanage he was at and find enjoyment in killing people, becoming a full-blown terrorist, and goes on to kill Cable's wife and child. A nice little twist on the story this movie is parodying from Terminator. Cable is deadset on killing Russel, but is humble enough to let Wade have some time to talk down the boy.

After regrowing his legs, Wade, Cable and crew head to the orphanage right as Russel and Juggernaut are starting their rampage, leading to an intense battle. Colossus and NegaSonic Teenage Warhead arrive with the latter's companion Yukio to help and Colossus battles Juggernaut, the latter of whom is defeated with an electric shock to the backside. 

In the meantime, Russel is about to kill the headmaster until Wade talks to him. However, Cable opens fire on the boy and the merc with the mouth slaps mutant power neutralizer collar on his neck before jumping in the line of fire, making a friggin sacrifice play. Wade dies and is reunited with Vanessa, however, Cable uses his time device and rewinds time to before the start of the battle, slips a coin into Wade's Deadpool suit pocket and said coin ends up saving our, uh, protagonist's life. So Deadpool lives to kill bad guys and get into crazy stuff another day. The headmaster gets killed when he's run over by Dolpinder in his taxi, all is well, and then Wade fixes Cable's time device before going back in time to save Vanessa and one of the X-Force members named Peter Wisdom amongst other things as the movie ends.

While the first Deadpool was intense and action-packed with comedic beats, the second is more action-packed and intense while continuing to carry some comedic moments throughout. And coming out at a time when Logan had released a year prior, Deadpool 2 spoils the ending of the movie at the start with Wade commenting about how Wolverine got an R-rated movie and upped the ante by dying and this is while the regenerate degenerate is trying to, uh, find a way to die and join his dead girlfriend. However, despite the somber moments from Vanessa's death to Cable's tragic backstory, Deadpool 2 is nothing short of fun and full of charm for older Marvel fans and Ryan Reynolds' acting hits the right beats, even when some jokes fall flat. The first film made pops laugh 5 to, maybe, 6 times, this one got around 14 laughs from him. Sometimes, a sequel is better than the original. I hold this film in great regard and suggest it to anyone looking for a good R-rated action flick or an action-packed comedy movie.

See ya later.

Deadpool will return... in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

James Review -Deadpool (2016) w. Deadpool

 

Oh, hello there. So, you may be wondering who the fella in red and black is, and why he's cussing and killing bad guys with blood going everywhere. The name's Deadpool, real name Wade Wilson. Most people call me "The Merc With A Mouth", and I'm a big deal. 

You know Marvel Comics, right? Let me give you the f***ing beats, buster! I was created in the 90s with my big damn debut comin' in 1991, even though it took a while for me to develop my fourth wall-breaking $#!@, and it took longer for me to get into the movies. 2009 may have been my lucky day, BUT THEY SEWED MY DAMN MOUTH SHUT!!!

However, 2016 was the game changer, when they knocked it outta the park with my movie. And get this, that Ryan Reynolds guy who played the other me, HE PLAYED THE REAL ME! That's right, baby! My actor is THE Ryan Reynolds, and you know him from $#!* like the GREEN LANTERN movie and a bunch of others. Sooooooo, what's the story of my movie, baby?

Well, it starts with me riding with Dolpinder, high-fiving him, goin' after that bastard Francis and killin' his goons. However, the story really starts a few years prior, before my face gets real messed up, when I bust a pizza-delivering stalker. Man, the look on the other guy's face when I threatened him with a gun, and the stalker knows that if he went near his ex-girlfriend again, he will know I got some hard spots. Ok, that came out wrong.

So, after that, I hit a bar and, there, I meet the babe of my dreams. Her name's Vanessa, and she's a real hooker. So, after I pay her, off we go to put some balls in holes. Big twist: I took her to the arcade for some fun. After that, we had a hell of a lot more fun on every holiday imaginable all the way to Christmas, where I pop the big question... before cancer pops up. $#*^! Looks like that love montage is over, and crap is getting real.

News flash. Not only do I have cancer, but it's gonna kill me. So, what to do, what to do. Luckily, this guy in a suit offers a solution, and, eventually, I take it. In fact, it seems they're gonna make me a superhero. Lets hope my superhero costume isn't green and animated like Green Lantern's outfit, and that's when we meet Ajax. Oops, that's not his real name, its friggin' Francis Freeman. And it turns out, The Workshop is real %$#@ed up and makes "super slaves", and they torture me in an effort to wake up my mutant genes.

A while passes and, BOOM, they wake up, and my face gets real messed up in the process. Francis is so toast, even though I lose to him after trying to fight him naked. Don't worry, I lived to tell the tale to my buddy Weasel. One look at my face, and he compares it to an avocado who had a hate fling with an older and more disgusting avocado, then as we discuss plans on what to do with my situation, I decide to get a mask and we agree on my new name: Deadpool, Captain Deadpool

*record scratch* No, just Deadpool. Sounds like a franchise, amirite?

Makin' my costume takes some trial and error, and the suit being red came from the fact the white suit I wore got stained with my own blood at one point. Okay, so, back to the start of the film. After I kill his goons, I find Francis, and reveal my face to him. However, the studio sends two X-Men to get me, Colossus and, uh, Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead? Weird name, anyway. They try to take me to the X-Mansion, but I slice off my arm and escape, with my severed hand givin' Colossus the finger. Oh, and Francis got away. GOD FRIGGIN' DANG IT!!!

I retreat to my friend Blind Al's place so I can heal, and once my hand grows back, Weasel and I go to a, er, pole-dancer club to find Vanessa, who gets nabbed by Francis and his goons. Looks like its rescue time, but I need help, and I get it from Colossus and the Nega Sonic Warhead girl. And where is Francis holed up, the ruins of a battleship which looks like a broken down SHIELD ship for some reason. Cue his goon Angel Dust doing a superhero landing and battling it out with Colossus.

Now, we've reached the final battle with Francis, and we try to kill each other with Vanessa on the line. I am so determined to get my face fixed at this point, and here's a catch, Francis doesn't feel pain. Heck, he can't feel anything. So, I kick his ass, and Vanessa is saved. Now to get my face fixed, but this is where we run into a problem, there is no cure. Okay, looks like its time to kill Francis, but cue Colossus comin' in with some speech about being a hero and sparing your enemies.

Well, I got one thing to say with my gun.

BLAM!

Just like that, I got Francis, even though my face may never be cured. At least Vanessa is safe, and she doesn't mind how my face looks. We part ways with Colossus and Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead, and our story concludes for a time with me and Vanessa kissing like we miss each other. Good film, yeah?

Oh, trust me. DEADPOOL (2016) is fantastic, in so many imaginable ways, and it isn't every day when the world sees an R-rated "superhero" film, even though I am no superhero by a long shot. Solid 10/10, and you gotta admit there are so many funny moments throughout just as there is so much good action scenes with solid special effects, and I got a sequel a few years later... even though it took longer for my third movie to get off the ground. Ryan Reynolds was born for the role of me, amirite, folks? Oh, and Cable shows up in Deadpool 2, and we got Josh Brolin as him, but that is a story for another day. 

Catch you suckers next time!

James M's review of Fantastic Four (2005) and Rise of The Silver Surfer (2007)

 

Hi, it's me, here to review FANTASTIC FOUR from 2005.

Before we start, I have quite the interesting relationship with this movie as this was the first live-action superhero film I ever watched, the first Marvel movie I saw, and one of the first PG-13 rated movies I ever watched. Heck, the first time I watched it in 2009, I was sick and was reading the novelization for the film with my mom at the time.

Okay, so what is the story behind this film?

Starring Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman, Chris Evans (the future Captain America) as the Human Torch and Michael Chiklis as The Thing, Fantastic Four sees Reed Richards and Ben Grim preparing for a space mission with Victor Von Doom, Sue Storm, and her brother Johnny. During the mission, a solar storm hits ahead of when Reed and Victor initially predicted it and the whole crew is drastically affected by it.

After returning to Earth, everyone appears normal, until the effects of the storm kick in as Johnny bursts into flame harmlessly during a skiing trip, Sue turns invisible, Reed stretches his hand, Ben mutates into rock, and Victor starts to develop metal under his skin. The rock monster that was Ben tries to talk to his girlfriend, only to scare her off, and travels to a bridge, which becomes the site of a traffic accident.

Reed, Sue, and Johnny, who come to the bridge looking for Ben, wind up performing heroic acts along with the rocky Ben and earn the respect of the public with the group being called the Fantastic Four. Reed starts running tests on the group while trying to figure out a cure, and Victor, discovering how bad his infection is, begins a path that leads to villainy.

Usually, I go further and talk about the last act of the film, but its easier to stop in case some of you haven't seen this. Anyways. I have watched FANTASTIC FOUR multiple times and it's really incredible. Fun fact, this was the SECOND Fantastic Four movie adaptation if you count the unreleased 1994 film, which I will watch at some point. The casting for this movie was decent along with all the action, the music, and the writing. 10/10, and I will give this film more credit. Without FANTASTIC FOUR, I wouldn't be a Marvel fan.

How about we discuss RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER a little?

Okay. Firstly, at the time of this writing, this film is one of the only PG-rated live-action Marvel movies in existence. A PG-rated superhero film is rare these days, you only get either PG-13 or R-rated superhero content. And a little interesting fact, my dad asked me if I wanted to see this at one point when I was a kid and I initially objected. Usually, when I say 'no', I'm not interested, but this was also because I hadn't seen the first film yet.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is the last film in the original Fantastic Four series and the last time we saw this incarnation of the FF, until Chris Evans recently reprised his role as Johnny in a freaking Deadpool film. *spoilers* Okay, so let's talk the story of the movie here.

Taking place after the first FANTASTIC FOUR, Reed and Sue are preparing for their wedding when a cosmic entity known as the Silver Surfer appears and craters start to pop up across the world. As the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm unfolds, everything goes south when the Silver Surfer pops by. Now, the Fantastic Four have to face the new threat, unaware that there is more to the Surfer than meets the eye, and reluctantly team up with Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Now for my honest thoughts.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is an interesting and kind of fun movie. The soundtrack is wonderful to listen to, and even with the PG-rating, the stakes are high even though you have to wonder why the heck they aimed for a PG instead of a PG-13. Either way, RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER delivers something engaging and worth a watch on many levels. We may not have gotten more projects set in this continuity, despite certain plans as evidenced by a mid-credits scene, but this film was a decent send-off for Reed, Sue, and their friends, even with many loose threads like Doctor Doom's fate.

9.6/10. Fox is a fine studio, and Chris Evans is my favorite superhero movie actor.

-James M

James M's review of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

 

Greetings, Bat-fans.

Well, this is it. 

After seven years and two movies, we've reached the end of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale, the series of Batman movies that brought the Dark Knight himself back to his darker roots and reinvigorated Batman for a new generation of audiences in an era where superhero movies were on the rise in popularity. 

And THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, our movie we are covering, came out in the same year as THE AVENGERS, the very film that really ensured the superhero craze that is still going on to this day.

Following the battle with The Joker and Harvey Dent/Two Face's death in THE DARK KNIGHT, Batman faces his greatest trial yet when Bane arrives in Gotham City to destroy it. The battle pushes the Dark Knight and his allies almost to the breaking point with Bane and his goons taking control of the city and threatening it with destruction, even Batman's taken out of commission for a time.

But in the end, Batman gets back up and Gotham rises up against its oppressors. And after a long-fought battle, Bane is defeated and Gotham is saved with it's dark protector seemingly sacrificing himself until Alfred discovers later that Bruce is still alive and has hooked up with Silena Kyle aka Catwoman, a perfect ending to a decently-made trilogy.

What else can I say about the movie? 

Christian Bale's acting was the best part of the film alongside Michael Caine's portrayal of Bruce's butler, even Gary Oldman nailed it as Commissioner Gordon. And you could say this was Tom Hardy's first comic book movie role, playing Bane, almost six years before he played the role of Eddie Brock/Venom.

The action in this movie is perhaps the most well put together in any action movie, especially superhero films. You gotta love the fight choreography as well as the musical score and how well the tone is handled with the story, you can feel suspense at nearly every turn to a point where you're worried about the future of Gotham by the end. I wasn't worried, I knew that our heroes would be fine.

Is there potential for more stories set in this universe?

Maybe, but for now, let the Nolan-verse version of Batman and his crew have their happy ending. However, rumor has it that Bale's Batman may show up in THE FLASH, which is coming out in 2023 and will be about exploring the multiverse. Michael Keaton's version of Batman is coming back, so why can't Christian Bale's version of Batman make his return as well?

Overall, this trilogy, along with so many other superhero films and film trilogies, is the best one yet. This film deserves the love it got at the time and I say the score is a ten out of ten just as the entire trilogy deserves that big old 10/10. Mr. Nolan, you were amazing. And Bale, congratulations on playing your role in making Batman a dark hero again.

Now, we rest.

-James M