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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/5/16
I don’t know about you, but this was a pretty busy week for me. Work work work work work work work. I tells ya! I was able to get in a full-sized review of the first issue of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, which was pretty fun. But this week’s Henchie Bits are a little on the light side What can I say, I was morphed out.
But hey, any week with new issues of Batgirl and Iron Man is a good enough week for me! We’ve also got the first issue of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s Black Widow. I hope to stick with the title this time.
Comic Book of the Week goes to the second issue of Spider-Man. I do have a soft spot for Miles Morales, and this issue surprised me in a few interesting ways.
Too soon, Bendis
If only Donald Glover was still young enough to be cast as Spider-Man.
Comic Reviews: Batgirl #49, Black Widow #1, Invincible Iron Man #7 and Spider-Man #2.
Saturday Night Live Went Ahead and Made that Black Widow Movie
Major points to Saturday Night Live for being funny and culturally relevant! I’ll admit I haven’t watched them since reruns of the Ferrell Era, but that was pretty funny stuff. Go Age of Ultron!
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Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron is like a new episode of the biggest, most expensive TV show of all time. It’s not the event that the first movie was, and it might not be as Earth-shattering as I expected, but Age of Ultron is nonetheless a fun, exciting and action-packed movie starring all of our favorite superheroes. And therein lies my biggest complaint, which is really a non-complaint.
There’s a familiarity to Age of Ultron that leads to contentment. The movie doesn’t really give us anything new to get excited about, instead delivering just another solid chapter in this ongoing saga.
Movie Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I liken Age of Ultron to a TV show because that’s exactly what it felt like while I was watching. I may have been in a packed movie theater, and it’s been three years since the last episode, but Ultron was definitely the ‘monster-of-the-week’ in the latest episode of The Avengers. All of our favorite characters are back, their friendly, comfortable banter is exactly what we’d expect, and everything is more or less tied up in a nice, tidy bow by the end. Lessons are learned, a little romance is slipped in, and now we just sit back and wait for the next episode.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way with any movie sequel before. It’s a weird feeling.
But the episodic feel doesn’t keep the movie from being entertaining. It’s an exciting film from beginning to end. In the big picture sense, the movie is amazing. But when you step back and really think about all the moving parts, it’s not without some flaws. Director Joss Whedon juggles a few too many characters, so that some get a lot of attention — like Hawkeye, in some standout moments — while others are little more than props — like Thor, who spends most of his time dropping hints about future movies.
The new characters are a mixed bag. The titular villain, Ultron, is too entertaining to be menacing. That’s an odd way to describe a super villain, but it’s exactly how actor James Spader pulls it off.
I like Age of Ultron, a lot. It’s not as good at the first Avengers film, largely because the spectacle has worn off, but also for a lot of little reasons. Yet overall, it’s another exciting film in my favorite franchise of all time, despite those little reasons.
Join me after the jump for my full, detailed review. And there will be SPOILERS!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/7/14
Happy Birthday, mom! If it wasn’t for you, mom, none of us would be here today reading a bunch of comic book reviews. So I think we can all thank her for that. I’ll probably give her a phone call later, just to make it official. But the great thing about having a blog is using it to talk to family members! I have more conversations with my brother via the comments section of my blog than I do through any other means. Good times.
And good comics – mostly! A random smattering of books came out this week, and I read an even more random smattering of that random smattering. Of import is the fact that I finally got back to reading Black Widow and Moon Knight, two new books I didn’t want to lose track of if I could help it. On top of those classics, we’ve got new issues of All-New X-Factor, Batman Eternal and Original Sin…which is turning out to be pretty much garbage. Hopefully this will mark the death knell of the Big Event at Marvel.
Comic Book of the Week goes to newcomer Cyclops #2! I never had much intention of reading the new series starring Young Cyclops, but after the first issue got such stellar reviews, I just had to take a look, and the book is as good as everyone says!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Cyclops is the most dynamic character at Marvel right now.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Factor #9, Batman Eternal #9, Black Widow #7, Cyclops #2, Moon Knight #4 and Original Sin #3.
Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
You can’t see it right now, what with the computers in the way, but I am saluting the flag. I feel an overwhelming swell of patriotism growing inside me, having taken in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This is a damn fine country and it produces some damn fine movies about damn fine superheroes. How many does this make for Marvel? How many amazing action movies have they produced so far? The Avengers was one of the biggest movies of all time, and all three superhero follow-ups have been dynamite, with Captain America 2 probably the best of the bunch. This movie has everything. This movie is everything.
It makes me proud to be an American.
Movie Rating: 9/10 – Great.
Not that American patriotism is the driving factor of The Winter Soldier, I just needed a good opening. This movie is actually about SHIELD and the secrets it keeps, and how Steve Rogers may be the only honest man left who can get to the bottom of the mysteries that lie at the heart of the organization. SHIELD has been the glue that binds all of the Marvel movies so far. Heck, Marvel went ahead and based a whole TV show around them. But something inside SHIELD is starting to crack, and Captain America is just the sort of hero we need to save the day. He’s not flashy like Iron Man or Thor. He’s not at war with himself like the Hulk. Steve Rogers is just a man, for the most part. He’s determined and honest, and a lot tougher than most. But he’s a man who wants to do the right thing, and has the strength to stick with it when the odds seem overwhelming.
Plus he’s brought along a bunch of neat friends. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is almost as much of an ensemble film as The Avengers, and it works just as good.
In terms of sheer spectacle and excitement, The Avengers is still the best. But The Winter Soldier is of the same caliber and quality. The action and danger are very real, with ties to both The Avengers and Captain America’s first film. The characters are true to themselves, and grow beyond what we’ve seen before. And, as always, that signature Marvel wit just saturates the film. The dialogue is delightful, the banter is beautiful, and the film knows exactly when to sprinkle in the humor.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is everything we’ve come to expect from the Marvel Movie Machine. Once again, Marvel raises the bar for action movies and superhero movies everywhere.
Join me after the jump for the full review. I’m going to try to keep SPOILERS to a minimum.
Henchman-4-Hire 