The Fourth Time’s the Charm

The fourth time’s the charm for Marvel Comics’ flagship super-team.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is in fact Hollywood’s fourth iteration of the FF (the first, produced by Roger Corman, was never even released). Lovingly directed by Matt Shakman and set in the retro-futuristic mid-century modern Manhattan of the 1960s, it’s the most satisfactory of the lot. There’s always something interesting to look at in this movie.

The summer’s other superhero blockbuster, James Gunn’s Superman, begins in the middle of the action, but this film takes a surprisingly leisurely approach to re-introducing us to these characters, presented as world-famous celebrities beloved by the public because they’ve already thwarted a string of bizarre menaces that threatened New York.

They are Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, respectively Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing (names that are rarely mentioned during the film). Playing against type, the Thing is the most sensitive of the Four. Moss-Bachrach brings an understated charm to his role that I’d like to have seen more of, but the planet Earth has to be saved, after all. 

And the threat from the gigantic, cosmic, world-devouring Galactus is particularly overwhelming. The Fantastic Four’s super powers are as nothing against it, and the situation confronts the team with a horrible moral dilemma.

Galactus is heralded by the Silver Surfer, a character who has been pointlessly gender-switched. Nevertheless, Julia Garner gives one of the best of the several good performances in the movie — as coldly alien as her shiny metal skin. 

Pedro Pascal hits just the right note as Reed Richards, the noble, worried super-genius who, admittedly, has a lot to worry about. 

I have to think that, if I had seen these Superman and FF movies as a child, I’d have fainted dead away with delight.

As in the Superman movie, these characters are pretty faithful to their comic book versions. And again as in Superman, the actors worked hard to make these characters real — not an easy task with such childish source material. But the actors do not condescend to their characters.

One great actor we don’t see in the movie is John Malkovich, who played the intangible Russian villain the Red Ghost. But his performance was cut. 

Poor Malkovich has had bad luck with Marvel movies. He was to have played the Vulture in Spider-Man 4, but that film was never made.

Someone to Look Up At (and To)

In 2013, Zack Snyder gave us a Pa Kent who seriously suggested that maybe Superman should just let children die. 

But as repellent as that moral viewpoint was, it was in keeping with the amoral American zeitgeist that has come to a boil in the 21st century.

After all, we once regarded Lord of the Flies as a horror story. But by 2013 we were treating it as comedy on Survivor, a long-running hit “reality” show designed to teach the value of deception, con-artistry and personal betrayal. Children raised on nothing but Hollywood's product might well be forgiven if they thought the two most popular professions in America were “assassin” and “prostitute.”

And in 2013, Americans were only a couple of years away from installing Donald Trump — a man who epitomizes utter indifference to suffering — into the Oval Office.

Superhero comics were born with an inherent optimism, as colorfully costumed exuberant rescue fantasies. It’s no surprise that they would be “out of step” in an era where cynicism, greed and even torture can be celebrated.

Superheroes were essentially super powers plus moral exemplars. The current corrupt culture seems determined to lose the latter, leaving us with a bunch of super-powered biker gangs cutting each other to pieces for our “amusement.” No thanks.

And thankfully, director James Gunn has joined us in that “no thanks.” His Superman 2025 is a bright, shiny answer to nihilism.

I always had every confidence that Gunn could pull this off, because he had already taken an obscure Marvel property that no one cared about — the Guardians of the Galaxy — and infused it with fun, adventure and heart, making it a major financial juggernaut for Marvel. 

Gunn is as truly as masterful a storyteller as Frank Capra, and that’s something Hollywood is woefully short of these days. He understands that Superman is really more about rescue than crimefighting, more about heart than anger.

David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult are, simply, perfectly cast as Superman, Lois and Luthor. The story rockets right along, comic-booky from the first moments. Yet the complicated moral implications of Superman’s do-gooderdom are considered, and his relationship with Lois has a realistic and appealing vibe. 

Hoult’s frighteningly evil Luthor has understandable, if completely wrong, motives. And Krypto the lovable Superdog is not just cutesy-pie, but made integral to the story.

Over and over again, Superman is placed in extreme, chair-gripping peril, and that’s not something that’s easy for storytellers to do.

“Gunn describes his take as ‘a story about kindness,’ which sounds simple until you remember how little space our culture makes for that word without irony,” wrote Charlene Badasie. “Kindness is only cool in hashtag form, while those with pure intentions are accused of being naïve or performative. But Gunn seems willing to push back against that cynicism by building a story around a man (who just happens to be an alien immigrant) navigating the messy, uncertain work of caring.”

“If Gunn sticks the landing, this version of Superman could reflect who we are becoming – not just what we’ve survived. We’re weary, distrustful of dominance, and starving for connection. We don’t want gods. We want people who fail and keep going. So this Superman might just meet us where we are. Gunn calls him ‘a kind person in a world that thinks kindness is old-fashioned.’ And in a culture built on sarcasm and self-defense, a Superman who chooses kindness anyway might just be the most radical one we’ve seen.”

Gunn underlines the fact that Superman’s fundamental kindness is out of step with our world. But let’s face it, it has been for 87 years. And that’s why, in the hands of the right storyteller, Superman is always relevant.

'Thunderbolts:' A Bolt to Cure the Blues

I’d intended to skip Marvel’s Thunderbolts, having been disappointed in several of Marvel’s lackluster movie efforts since the pinnacle that was the Avengers saga. But I went this afternoon and I’m glad I did. 

It’s terrific.

What we have here is a collection of super ne’er-do-wells under the command of winsomely evil CIA director Julia Louis-Dreyfus — until they become “inconvenient.” These broken and hunted “superheroes” must band together to face an overwhelmingly powerful being and a Jungian apocalypse that is swallowing Manhattan. 

Thunderbolts has well-paced action, wit, deadly dangers and heart-tugging heroics — just the ingredients one wants in a well-made superhero movie. 

Marvel’s comic book Thunderbolts were created in 1997 by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, and while this bunch of characters is different, they retain the same unlikely-hero, against-the-0dds appeal. 

They have a sort of Guardians of the Galaxy vibe without being in any way imitative. Some deft, convincing screenwriting and direction has placed their humanity in the dramatic forefront of their super-humanity.

Hercule Poirot Grapples with Ghosts

Hercule Poirot gets spooked! 

Bart, Paul and I just returned from A Haunting in Venice, a mystery based on the novel Hallowe'en Party. 

Sumptuous production values in a travelogue city, sufficiently satisfying surprises and a solution to the mystery that’s the best of the three Poirot whodunits Branagh has made so far. 

Tina Fey is fun as Poirot’s pal, the Agatha Christie stand-in Ariadne Oliver. And Poirot himself is more than usually tested by this one, a development that injects some atmospheric suspense into the familiar classic mystery mechanics.

Remember: “If you wake the bear, you cannot complain when he tangos.”

How Blue Was My Beetle

Back from The Blue Beetle, a back-to-basics superhero movie with a theme about family feeling (a motif it shares with the two Shazam films). 

It will remind audience members of both Iron Man and The Greatest American Hero (the idealistic young protagonist has an alien super-suit that he can’t quite operate).

I was surprised to see that the movie directly ties into the previous Charlton Comics and DC Comics incarnations of the Blue Beetle, a character that in one form or another reaches all the way back to 1939. Jack Kirby’s OMAC is in there as well. 

This makes for a richer story, yet manages to sidestep the pitfalls of too much clunky background baggage.

The film is surprisingly straightforward about the malignancy of class oppression and the military-industrial complex, a fact that works to make the climax thrilling and satisfying. Xolo Maridueña is appealing as the hero, and Susan Sarandon is effective as the cheerfully amoral, bright-as-a-poisonous-penny corporate CEO villain Victoria Kord.

Seated in a cinema with only two other people, I had virtually a private showing — an agreeable way to while away an August afternoon.

Comic book fans should be sure to stay for a post-credits surprise.

Re: The Perfect Film

I have a mental category of "perfect films," by which I mean movies in which every minute works, and every second ticks toward a satisfying conclusion. They don't have to be great art, though many of them are.

Off the top of my head: “Chinatown,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “The Apartment,” “Pillow Talk,” “Life with Father,” “I Remember Mama,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” the 1933 “King Kong,” the 1978 “Superman…”

I posted that on the TCM fan Facebook page and got an ongoing tsunami in response... hundreds of nominations from movie lovers.

'Oppenheimer:' A Breathtaking Dramatic Detonation

Bart and I just saw Oppenheimer, a staccato film composed of time-hopping vignettes that nevertheless maintains an absolutely clear narrative line. 

This is really an intellectual history, but exactly the reverse of the kind of dry didacticism that phrase suggests. Director Christopher Nolan covers the ethical, political and social implications of the creation of nuclear weapons, focused through the lens of a handful of top actors at the top of their game. 

Against the backdrop of a threat to human civilization that has never really diminished, Nolan even points us toward an ending that’s a mystery and a solution as satisfying as anything that Hercule Poirot ever showed us.

This is a movie like Chinatown, like Sunset Boulevard and a few others — a film that will live on and on.

'Across the Spider-Verse:' Kinetic Imagery

The kinetic imagery of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse feels like a natural 21st century evolution of the 20th century comic book — something as far beyond Snow White as a lunar lander is from a biplane.

Clearly someone has actually been thinking about what it would be like to have Spidey’s powers — for example, might you have a casual conversation while sitting around upside down?

The adventure element is a given, but this film contains a good deal more effective understated drama than a movie like The Flash, which is filled with “real people.” 

How ironic, as they used to say in the comic books.

But all these multiverses and mirror images, oh my… Can the multi-multiverse be far behind?

Double the Flash and a Lot More Batman

So Bart and I went to see The Flash, a movie that does a 180 tonal shift from out-and-out comedy to muted tragedy. 

But it was good fun overall, with the wonderful Michael Keaton returning as “Batman Classic” (although I also appreciated seeing Ben Affleck again as the underplayed Batman, a good angle on the character).

Sasha Calle makes a badass Supergirl (in a world — oh no! — without Superman).

And the film has a laugh-out-loud finish that Lola Burnham will particularly appreciate.

'Guardians 3:' Ya Gotta Have Heart

Bart, Paul and I just saw and enjoyed the Oz-like extravaganza Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which was full of both action and comedic fun. It’s the best Marvel movie in a good while.

This superhero movie is, without belaboring the point, even “about” something — class and cruelty, and the thing that opposes them.

'Shazam:' Quirky Charm of the Gods

Meagan Good and Ross Butler in 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods'

Bart and I went to see Shazam: Fury of the Gods, which had the same quirky charm as the original but seemed overlong to me. These superhero sagas, necessarily lacking surprise, depend on pacing and rhythm, like a familiar piece of music. 

Helen Mirren chewed the scenery like a gourmet as an evil Titan. British Shakespearean actors can handle this sort of nonsense with their eyes closed.

'Quantumania:' Let's Hear It for the Little Guy

Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) confronts Kang (Johnathan Majors)

Just back from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with Bart and William. I thoroughly enjoyed this cosmic melodrama, which establishes a family feeling among its five protagonists before sucking them down the rabbit hole into a quantum Wonderland. 

“Your building is alive?” asks the bewildered Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).

“Yours aren’t?” replies a puzzled alien being.

The film provides a proper build-up for Marvel’s next mega-supervillain, the time master Kang. Jonathan Majors underplays the role with skill, delivering his evil ultimatums casually but quite chillingly.

More entertaining than the recent Shang-Chi, Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this sequel is a roller coaster ride with a Star Wars vibe.

And as for critics who never tire of telling us how bored they are with Marvel movies, they should consider putting a sock in it. Those laughing crowds and those busy box offices really don’t care.

And speaking of worlds within worlds, did you know that the term “Quantumania” contains the words “Ant” and “Man?"

'Marlowe:' Neeson Channels Chandler

Not a parody but an homage, Marlowe has Liam Neeson as Raymond Chandler’s iconic 1930s/40s private investigator, an L.A. knight errant played previously by Dick Powell, Humphrey Bogart, James Garner, Elliott Gould and Robert Mitchum, among others. 

Bart and I saw it this afternoon, appreciating its old gold glow and sumptuous period detail. Neeson’s ironic diffidence nails Philip Marlowe’s tone. The film’s witty, erudite dialogue — worthy of Chandler — is delivered by such capable actors as Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Colm Meaney and Danny Huston. 

The pace, however, is a tad lackluster, despite some effective action scenes. It may puzzle contemporary audiences, accustomed as they are to a completely different beat (though not necessarily a superior one).

As in the ultimate private eye film, Chinatown, this fiction is stacked atop noir-ish real-life elements. Those familiar with Hollywood history will recognize that the mystery and corruption swirls around figures meant to represent Joe Kennedy and Gloria Swanson.

A Biography and a Fable

Bart and I went to see The Fabelmans, a masterly and heartfelt effort. 

The theme of filmmaking is intricately and adroitly woven into the plot about decent, ordinary people trying their best in the 1950s and 1960s. I guessed how the movie was going to end — based on a biographical anecdote I once read — and it ended exactly that way. 

The Fabelmans is by the talented Tony Kushner, and another guy who’s spent the last half a century making famous fables for us.

Black Adam, Black Adam, He’s Not Very Bad Indeed

Black Adam meets the iconic DC Comics superhero Hawkman

Well, despite all the dreadful reviews, I went to see Black Adam this afternoon. I would say it’s a movie made for comic book geeks, not the general audience, but since I fit within those parameters, I quite enjoyed it.

The stoic protagonist is an ancient, problematic champion reawakened by a familiar magic word, and the superheroic Justice Society struggles to contain his seeming omnipotence. Black Adam wades through enemies like a more compact but equally effective Godzilla.

This is the first time we’ve seen the Justice Society on the big screen, despite the fact that they were the first superhero team in comics, created in the early 1940s.

As the colorful fireworks rolled on and on, I kept wanting to see the plot take an inobvious turn, and three-quarters of the way through it did, amping up the audience’s interest.

Pierce Brosnan’s long familiarity with action-adventure shenanigans lets him handle the role of the venerable superhero Dr. Fate with ease (and no, he’s not an imitation of Dr. Strange. If anything, it’s the other way around).

I was particularly impressed by Dwayne Johnson’s vastly and I think effectively underplayed Black Adam. Johnson has a rare, odd kind of otherworldly gravitas that lends itself perfectly to a superhero role (I’ve always thought that Uma Thurman has it too). It’s why I've long wanted to see Johnson playing the pulp superhero Doc Savage in a film project that’s now apparently dead.

The film should properly be counted as the second Shazam movie, for those who are bothering to keep score. A surprise credits sequence is a crowd pleaser, and sports one subtle touch that is truly delicious.

The film references without exploring the eternal theme of superhero stories, which is power and morality. But it’s pretty interesting that the villains Black Adam crushes like annoying insects are military “contractors” occupying and oppressing a Mideast country. 

I’m guessing the Pentagon didn’t kick in any funding for this one.

Don't Look Now, Darling

I dismissed the idea of seeing Don’t Worry, Darling because the trailer made it seem to be a Stepford Wives rip-off.  But at Bart’s suggestion, we went to see it this afternoon and I enjoyed it.  

The weird mystery element remains engaging throughout, and the vivid mid-century modern design dazzles the eye. The music is an enticing blend of jazzy standards that comment on the action and effectively eerie female a cappella. Harry Styles is fine, and Chris Pine makes an insidiously creepy cult leader. You can see touches of all sorts of things here, not just Stepford Wives but Twilight Zone, Carrie, zombie apocalypse movies and more. But the blend remains tasty.

And if you’d care read it as an elaborate MAGA metaphor, you're perfectly free to.

Love in the Uncertain, Wintry World of 'Sup?'

Bart, Paul and I just saw Bros, which was in turns witty and hilarious and finally touching, just the way a romantic comedy is supposed to be. 

The heart swells in the right places.

The central conflict is emotional unavailability, which feels very 2022 to me.

There's a running joke about Debra Messing, and another one about Hallmark movies.

Thor Four Leaves Us Ready for More

I could use a sweet movie right about now, and Bart, Paul and I found one in Thor 4, a/k/a Thor: Love and Thunder, a cosmic romp whose lightheartedness was enhanced by heart. 

These cosmic capers, inherently illogical, have to surf along on the strength of the emotions they evoke, and this one has just the right actors for the job.

By this time, Chris Hemsworth wears the role as stylishly as his red cape. Natalie Portman finally gets to really do something with her role as Thor’s lady love. Jane Foster. Russell Crowe made a Marvelous a-hole Zeus. Christian Bale devoured the scenery with Hollandaise sauce as the omnipotent and cruel yet sympathetic villain.

The film had all that, plus intimidating ancient weaponry that has surprisingly touchy feelings, and goats. I loved the goats.

It's interesting to me that while the first Thor film was visibly nervous about referring to its characters as “gods,” this one is God City, literally.

Bring on Thor 5.

Dr. Strange on the Yellow Brick Road

The two Benedicts, Cumberbatch and Wong, face relentless supernatural peril.

Bart and I just watched the new Dr. Strange movie. We’re off to see the wizard in this one, with a powerful witch pursuing a vulnerable girl to destroy her and gain what she possesses. 

A friend becomes an implacable, seemingly omnipotent enemy in this multi-dimensional Marvel of marvels.

I particularly enjoyed Dr. Strange’s Superman turn at the beginning, when he leaps off a building into costume to save a girl from a one-eyed Lovecraftian leviathan. The cosmos-splintering action rarely relents after that. As the Master of the Mystic Arts, Benedict Cumberbatch takes it all in stride with his usual lightly aloof touch. Once again, his Cloak of Levitation provides subtle comic relief.

This movie does run into the problem that has always plagued magical comic book superheroes like Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate and the Spectre. When you can seemingly wave your hand and do anything, the audience doesn’t know what the ground rules are. Stories about super powers require definite rules imposing limitations that the audience clearly understands, or the suspense is undercut. 

Nevertheless, I had a great time at this movie. The invincible enemy is overcome in a clever, logical and yet surprising manner. This Sam Raimi-directed film delivers a series of surprises, in fact, including one right at the end. 

Marvel continues its merry march.

If Hitchcock did Batman...

Well, if Alfred Hitchcock directed a Batman movie, it would be something like The Batman.  Bart and I just returned from seeing it, and I like it better than any of the Christopher Nolan movies. Like the superb Daredevil TV show, it takes familiar figures from the comic books and moves them several degrees closer to reality without sacrificing their essence (the cast includes an unrecognizable Colin Farrell). 

The movie offers actual mystery and suspense, and builds in its three-hour running time to a spectacular, exciting finish. Robert Pattinson makes an excellent Batman (he certainly has the jawline for it).

As with Zorro (a name Batman is called, ironically, at one point in the movie), the film gives us a somewhat credible reason why Bruce Wayne must dress up. Virtually the entire city of Gotham is corrupt. Only a man in a mask may act freely there.