craigearl Reviews

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

So...so...wrong...

[3/10 · 6 July 2019]

To any true fan of the webslinger, this is not the Spider-Man you are looking for. He has been taken so far from his roots that he is now almost unrecognisable as the character that you fell in love with. Where is the little guy, fighting alone and using his brains as well as brawn to overcome incredible odds while having to deal with a sick Aunt May? Where is the burden of responsibility that failing to stop a burglar ending up creating? Whereas the MCU has given us some great moments (Iron Man, GOTG, Endgame etc), Sony's Homecoming and this latest effort have been rife with awful casting and ridiculous dialogue. The CGI, however, was impressive (as it should be), and the 'illusion' scenes with Mysterio (a very competent Jake G) were well staged, but this was by far the worst Spider-Man outing so far (and the worst of the MCU). The 5-year-olds may love it, but that's because they don't know any better.

He's probably too nice of a guy to say it, but Sam Raimi must wonder what the hell he did wrong...

Awful

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

What next for the MCU? Suggestions!

[8/10 · 22 June 2019]

Loved Endgame but with a lukewarm feeling for The Eternals and Shang Chi on the horizon, I wondered whether the MCU should make more logical choices for the next phase. Obviously there are development issues with the FF and X-Men franchises and DC's Aquaman may well scupper a potential Sub-Mariner movie, but perhaps these would work:

1) Captain Britain (we heard 'Braddock' mentioned by Peggy Carter in Endgame; Brian's father perhaps?) 2) Alpha Flight. With the Avengers having run their course, perhaps their Canadian counterparts could step up. It stands to reason that other countries would want to copy the Avengers model (I know they are the Earth's protectors but they pretty much belong to the USA). 3) Moon Knight. Although I would love to see Daredevil done right on the big screen, maybe Marc Spector could fill the void. 4) Silver Surfer. Norrin Radd was the best thing about the FF sequel. A space-based movie would give him room to soar. Look to GotG or the Ron Lim Thanos issues of Silver Surfer for inspiration. 5) Ka-Zar. Although often perceived as a Tarzan rip-off, Lord Kevin Plunder's exploits could open up a whole new playground with the Savage Land.

I wonder if we'll look back in 10 years and see if any of these came to pass...!

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)

Above average - far better than the 1 & 2 star ratings would have you believe

[6/10 · 8 June 2019]

I've been a huge Marvel comics fan for years, even though some of the movies have left me cold. After seeing such contrasting reviews (but generally low ones), I expected to walk out of the cinema with that feeling of disappointment again. Newsflash: I actually enjoyed XMDF. Sure, it has its faults, including an extremely basic story line, but the pacing was tight and the action sequences perfectly choreographed. The acting was solid throughout and effects were top-notch. Maybe it needed one character to rise up and be the star (with more screen time, Nightcrawler or Quicksilver could have been that star) I can only think that superhero movie malaise (and being hot on the heels of Endgame) has resulted in such poor reviews. FYI: By contrast, Black Panther garnered universally good reviews but I found it fairly tedious. Anyway, it was nice to see Alison Blaire AKA Dazzler on the big screen, if only for a minute or so.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

The Estate of Robert E Howard, take note!

[9/10 · 24 July 2017]

GOT has been consistently good from the start. It is proof positive that heroic fantasy (or Sword & Sorcery) can be mature entertainment without descending to a Xena-like result.

Midway through the third or fourth episode I suddenly realised that one of the genre's icons, none other than Conan of Cimmeria, would benefit from the GOT treatment. Conan, woefully misrepresented by a certain Mr Schwarzenegger, really needs to find a new audience and a regular show might be just the ticket.

Come on Robert E Howard's estate - make it happen.

Anyone else agree?

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Hugely disappointing

[6/10 · 24 July 2017]

As a lifelong Spidey fan I was expecting good things of Homecoming. Sadly - and I appreciate that I seem to be in the minority - it did not deliver for me.

Let's start with the positives: Michael Keaton's Vulture was everything a villain should be with an added layer of charm and depth. The high school setting and our youngest Peter so far was definitely a step in the right direction (Tom Holland is a very capable actor although though his voice did grate after a while). Even the menacing Mac Gargan, a potential 'Scorpion', was a great addition.

Now the negatives. I think the casting for Flash Thompson, Liz Allen and Ned Leeds was absolutely ridiculous. Flash is supposed to be a jock who bullies Peter - not a smaller Asian guy who is also a member of the same quiz team! And that throwaway 'M J' comment at the end - unforgivable!!!

The costume AI also didn't work for me. I appreciate that this is a tool to integrate Spidey into the MCU - but for me he works better when he is on his own, a guy in a cloth suit overcoming the odds with a mixture of bravery and science.

I can appreciate that Homecoming had some issues to get over, especially as the other movie incarnations covered his unique origin in such depth. Was it brave to avoid the origin altogether - or did it detract from really getting us onside? Maybe a 20 minute opening section with Peter narrating, recapping his origin might have helped...

I've no doubt that younger viewers would have enjoyed this movie (and maybe that was the aim), but fans of the 60's, 70's or 80's Spidey might have wondered what had happened to their favourite wallcrawler.

For me, the first 45 minutes of Raimi's 'Spider-Man' nailed it and SM2 was equally as good. My GF, who has no knowledge of the Spider- Man lore, left the cinema with me and remarked 'that was the worst one'.

Though I don't necessarily agree with that comment, I certainly wasn't ready to hail SM:Homecoming as an all conquering triumph, instead a rather weak chapter in the MCU series.

Sorry Spidey, I so wanted to love this movie! Maybe better next time...