Tag: Nicholas Hoult

Superman Review: Yet Another Superhero Movie.

Over the last few years, I have slowly been growing tired of the MCU formula.
I was, however, intrigued by the concept of a new DC Universe from James Gunn.
After how badly handled the last universe was, it needed new hands to shape it, and Gunn seemed like the right guy for the job with his Guardians of the Galaxy movies and The Suicide Squad.
The first film installment in the revamped DCU is Superman, starring David Corenswet as the titular hero.
The movie begins three years after Superman revealed his existence to the world.
In the aftermath of Superman preventing the invasion of another country from its hostile neighbor, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) begins deploying every scheme he can to ruin the hero’s and destroy him.
With help from various other heroes, his dog Krypto, and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Superman works to uncover Luthor’s plot and save Metropolis.

Luthor will go to any extent to destroy Superman.

In terms of quality, Superman is, well, another superhero movie.
Given that Gunn is an MCU veteran, the film feels very similar tonally to various Marvel movies, with lots of humor during serious moments.
If you are not yet sick of this formula, you will really enjoy Superman.
If, like me, you have grown tired of the formula, your experience will be more negative.
However, I think it does Superman credit that, despite me being tired of the humor and tone, I still found myself enjoying the movie. 

There are some emotional scenes that are allowed to play out seriously.

For one thing, David Corenswet is great as Superman.
As a kid, I was never really a big fan of the hero.
I was more of a Batman fan.
Superman just seemed too perfect and one dimensional.
Corenswet sold me on the character, however, with his endless optimism, and the film actually does a great job of weakening Superman, making him more relatable.
Another highlight for me was Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor.
He does an excellent job of making me hate the petty narcissist.
But the big surprise for me was Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific.
I had honestly never heard of the character before I watched this movie but, after seeing it, I am more than on board for a potential Mr. Terrific movie. 

Terrific’s constant seriousness mixes oddly well with the lighthearted tone of the film.

Along with the fun characters, the movie also has plenty of feel-good moments, most notably between Clark and his parents.
The message is also good, mixing well with Superman’s optimistic outlook on life.
“You think everyone is beautiful,” Lois tells Clark at one point, and it really shows in this movie.
However, there is also some bad with the film.
As I said, I have long since grown tired with the constant humor during serious moments.
Superman unfortunately follows this formula for the most part.
Granted, I did chuckle a couple of times, and the humor is far from aggravating, but I do wish they toned it down a bit.
The CGI is also a bit iffy at times but that is to be expected with these kinds of films.
My biggest issue though is some of the subplots.
For example, there is this subplot with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) which ties into the main storyline, and that just felt bizarre to me. 
Overall, though, Superman is still a pretty fun time.

I mean, the film has Krypto the dog. How could it be bad?

The performances are good, and it made me willing to see other superhero properities in this new universe, like the Supergirl movie which is coming next year.
I just hope the other films in this new DCU have different tones, and it’s not all just quippy humor.
We need some variation.

Dark Phoenix Review: Not a Complete Dumpster Fire but still a Fire.

two stars
I was not anticipating Dark Phoenix. 
With the lackluster trailers, which spoil the film, and the numerous stories about production problems and reshoots, it seemed that the second attempt to adapt the X-Men’s Phoenix Saga was not going to work.
Sadly, this did prove to be the case because Dark Phoenix, directed by Simon Kinberg, is definitely one of the weakest X-Men films.
However, I will say that the movie is not as terrible as I thought it was going to be.
There are some redeeming qualities about it.
For starters, all of the actors do a good job with what they are given, especially Sophie Turner as Jean Grey.
I believe she could have done a fantastic job if the story had been good.

Jean Grey.jpg
Sophie Turner does a good job as the corrupted Jean Grey, and could have been fantastic had the script made her more than a pawn. 

Then there is the action, which serves as some mindless entertainment.
Even though the final action sequence does have some atrocious CGI, it is still enjoyable to watch.
Dark Phoenix also starts out pretty promising.
For the first twenty minutes I was actually liking it.
Sure, it was not amazing or anything, but I felt like it would not be that bad.
And then the aliens showed up.
Lead by Jessica Chastain’s Vuk, these discount Skrulls should not have been in the movie.
Not only are they boring and uninteresting but the main threat of this story should have been Jean.
One of the big reasons many people find the Phoenix storyline so engaging is because the X-Men are forced to fight one of their own.
Yet, somehow, both this film, and The Last Stand, have Jean simply being a pawn for a bigger villain.

Jessica Chastain.jpg
The aliens should not have been in Dark Phoenix. People want to see the Phoenix Force being the main threat, not it being manipulated… again. 

I wish I could say these aliens are the only bad things about Dark Phoenix but they are not.
While I did like the opening twenty minutes, there is one thing I absolutely hated there that persisted for most of the film.
This being the absolute character assassination of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).
He acts nothing like the Xavier from the previous films, coming across as a complete narcissist, even after one of his close friends dies.
I get this was a part of his character arc but it does not work at all, considering how unlikable he is during the first hour and a half.

Charles Xavier resident asshole.jpg
Did a Skrull take over Charles Xavier? Well, one might as well have because this is not the Xavier we saw in the other films. 

It is also obvious that there were reshoots done because sections the film feels different from the rest of it, creating a jumbled experience.
The cinematography is also just bland, with no interesting shots to speak of.
Dark Phoenix is a mess.
It has some redeeming qualities like the performances, a few decent action sequences, and the first twenty minutes.
Other than these features though, the film falls flat on its face.
There have been two attempts at adapting this story and both have failed.
Hopefully, the third time will be the charm if Marvel decides to reboot the X-Men franchise.
In any case Dark Phoenix is a forgettable film that ends the X-Men series on a less than memorable note.