Marvel Media Mania: Fantastic Four (1994)

The unreleased Fantastic Four movie from 1994 is literally a joke. The joke was on the cast and crew who thought they were making a serious movie when, in fact, the studio never intended to release it.

The 1994 Unreleased Fantastic Four Movie

As you might have heard, this movie is anything but fantastic. In fact, dreadful is a more fitting descriptor.

First and foremost, the entire story is horribly boring. The pacing is incredibly slow and there isn't a single genuine character moment in the entire film. The actors seem to want to act but you can actually see them acting which is never good. Not only is the plot a cure for insomnia but it is also needlessly complex. In an attempt to cram in as much stuff from the comics as possible, the story meanders from the character's college years to the rocket launch and finally over half way through the film we finally see the formation of the Fantastic Four. The inclusion of two villains, Dr. Doom and the The Jeweler (a Mole Man rip-off), demands that we spend a lot of time away from our protagonists. While at first this seems like a good thing because the protagonists are all very boring and you don't care about them you quickly learn that the villains are basically generic comic-book villain cardboard stand-ups that are even more boring than the heroes. Somehow, Alicia Masters is shoehorned into the plot as well but I doubt you'll really care or even notice.

Honestly, when I watched this my five year old son watched it as well and he was completely lost. He couldn't tell the difference between Johnny, Reed, Ben, and Victor as well as Sue and Alicia. When the can't tell the difference between Dr. Doom and the Human Torch you know there's a big problem with characterization.

Now, there are a couple of positives to pluck out of this train wreck. First, although the costumes are far worse than those that I've seen at comic book conventions, the looks are directly inspired by the original comic book designs. I've got to give the creators credit for the attempt at least. Close-ups of Dr. Doom's face actually look pretty good when he is totally obscured by shadows. Secondly, the story does attempt to be very true to the comic books. The origin of Dr. Doom, the rocket ship, even the awkward age difference between Sue and Reed all comes directly from the comics. The execution, once again, is clumsy and awkward. But they made the attempt and that counts for something... right?

I can't overstate how awfully, horribly, absolutely bad this film is though. It's like watching a very, very slow and boring car accident that isn't interesting at all. And it's boring. Very, very boring.

1LR REVIEW - 1 out of 20! A Critical Fumble!

Marvel Media Mania: Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing aired on NBC in 1979. Each episode was split between the Flintstones and The Thing. The two shows never crossed over with one another and the characters never met except in the show's opening. Each "Thing" episode contained two shorts. There were 13 episodes made.

Fred and Barney Meet the Thing

 I really thought no Marvel property would come close to touching the awfulness of Swamp Thing. I was wrong. 

The trouble starts right with the title of the show. Fred and Barney never meet the Thing, making the name a misnomer. 

The big problem with this show, however, is the very concept itself. It takes The Thing are strips him of everything except the fact that he's a big rocky monster... sometimes. See, he has to slam together two rings and say, "Thing Rings! Do your thing!" Then rocks fly at him in a flash of light and he's transformed into the Thing. Benjamin Grimm isn't an adult, instead he's replaced with teenager Benjy Grimm and his gang of friends that are Scooby-Doo clones. None of the Fantastic Four ever appear in this show. In short, this show has nothing to do with The Thing.

The Shmoo... better than the Thing?

The plots are as awesome as they can be. "A gang of thugs is causing trouble! Oh no! Let's challenge them to a balloon race!" Ugh. Yeah, it's THAT bad! The awful puns littered throughout the series and complete lack of logic make it hard to even laugh at how bad this show is. 

The animation is fair but it comes across as looking very cheap, even for 1979. This is probably the best the Thing has looked on the screen up to this point. That's about the only points this show picks up.

You want to know how bad this show was? Well, the Fred and Barney part of the show were reruns and they survived after this "thing" got cancelled. Fred and Barney then go a new partner to replace the cancelled Thing... Shmoo. Yes, this Shmoo.

1LR REVIEW - 2 out of 20! It's a Total Failure!

Marvel Media Mania: Fantastic Four (1967)

The first Fantastic Four cartoon aired on ABC from 1967 to 1970 for a total of 20 episodes.

Fantastic Four's First Cartoon in 1967

This cartoon was produced the same year as the original Spider-Man cartoon. Everyone knows the first Spider-Man television show but the first Fantastic Four television show is all but forgotten even though it is actually a better show than the Spider-Man from 1967. Why? It comes down the the theme song. Spider-Man had a very memorable theme song while Fantastic Four's is ultimately forgettable.

For its day, the animation on Fantastic Four is great. It reminds me a lot of early Scooby Doo episodes. The use of repeated stock footage is kept to an absolute minimum. Characters are expressive and faithfully adapted from the comics (except for some reason Galactus was all green...). However, some of the character designs look ridiculous in their "simplified" form. The Thing looks ridiculous because his head is a bunch of small rocks while his body is simply orange with a couple of lines drawn on it. Dr. Doom looks like a nutcracker robot with his mouth mechanically moving up and down along two tracks.

The voice acting is all fine... except for The Thing. Everyone imagines The Thing to have a deep, gravely voice but the voice they gave to him just sounds like your best friend in the ninth grade... just too normal to be coming from The Thing's body.

Generally, the show is very faithful to the comics. The villains used are mostly actual villains from the comics along with hordes of identical "henchmen" robots or lizard men or whatever is needed for that episode. Some of the series's stories are directly inspired from the comics. The series features notable characters such as Namor, The Watcher, Klaw, The Red Ghost, Blastaar, The Molecule Man, and Dr. Doom to name a few.

You can really tell that the thin plots had to be stretched to fill the thirty minute time slot. Character development for the Fantastic Four is unheard of in the show, instead you're treated to a lot of action with The Thing and Human Torch taking center stage. Frequently long sequences where the FF are beating up the aforementioned "faceless" henchmen are used as filler for the series. At one point in one episode, the action stops and several minutes is dedicated to The Thing remembering beating up henchmen from all of the previous episodes.

The plots are generally pretty campy, leaning heavily on action and eye candy while being light on logic. The dialogue is mostly exposition and can almost become laughable at times. Each episode is also riddled with bad puns such as, "Now that's what I call a real smash hit!" Still, continuity was kept from episode to episode which I appreciate.

You know, I don't want to make it sound like it's all bad with this show. For its time, the 1967 Fantastic Four show was quite successful in many ways. It is easy to point out the many deficiencies of a show like this when compared to today's big-budget, CGI-polished cartoons. Still, The Fantastic Four is deserving of a lot of credit for what it did right.

1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Marvel Anime: X-Men

Marvel Anime: X-Men was first aired in 2011 in Japan. The series has since re-aired in the United States and been released on DVD. All total there are twelve episodes.

Marvel Anime: X-Men

Of the three Marvel Anime projects that 1LR has reviewed (Blade, Wolverine, X-Men) this is clearly the best. Of course, that may not be saying much since the first two we reviewed both got "Misses!" Let's start with the positives.

First, the story slowly unrolls in an intriguing, twisting manner. Each episode ends in a cliffhanger that begs you to watch the next one. The X-Men consist of Wolverine, Cyclops, Beast, Professor X and Storm with Emma Frost and Armor being added later (a dead Jean Grey is seen in flashbacks throughout the series). The series really focuses on Armor - a flesh change after seeing the same seven mutants featured over and over again in X-Men media. The X-Men are balanced very well against one another, each given their own emotional storylines that develop across the series. Even Professor X is given a new backstory that is sure to surprise some viewers. The villains are the U-Men from Grant Morrison's New X-Men run and the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club (most notably, Mastermind).

Additionally, the show's creators make efforts to address the X-Men's long history, placing the story in a greater context. Sometimes the characters make an off-handed reference to an absent character such as Magneto. A number of other characters are shown in the final episode including Captain Britain, Deadpool, and Iron Man. These type of references are not only cool for fans but give the story a sense of connection to a larger universe, causing it to feel less isolated and meaningless.

Also, the art style is perhaps the least stereotypically-anime of the Marvel Anime shows thus far. While this may seem to defeat the purpose of the project, I, for one, appreciated this toned down anime effort. So, yes, there are still close-up shots of someone with their pupil pulsing in shock. The backgrounds are still ultra detailed. But the X-Men's character designs take much more inspiration from the original source material than Ghost in the Shell. Some of the villains suffer more from anime influence but that's to be expected.

Now, it's not all pixie dust and unicorn smiles. There are times that the animation makes it difficult to follow what's happening (in particular I'm thinking of the Wolverine fight against the bat thing on the Blackbird). Wolverine's claws are shown to be ridiculous in length (also, the characterization of Wolverine seems to be slightly too cerebral and rational as presented). The story drags a bit and becomes formulaic in at least one place.

But perhaps the biggest strike against the show is the facelessness of the villains. In the end title sequence we're shown Juggernaut, Magneto, Mystique, and many other awesome villains... none of which appear in the series. Instead, Mastermind hides behind a dozen or so mostly forgettable monsters before being revealed toward the end of the series.

Overall, Marvel Anime: X-Men is a good show and it marks the the strongest effort in the Marvel Anime line I've seen to date.

1LR REVIEW - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Marvel Anime: Wolverine

Marvel Anime: Wolverine is the second show in the Marvel Anime project. It had 12 episodes total and was released in 2011.

Marvel Anime: Wolverine

Of all of the Marvel Anime projects, this is perhaps the one that makes the most sense. Wolverine has direction connections with Japan from the comics and this show builds directly upon those roots. Instead of reinventing Wolverine as Japanese the show keeps his Canadian origin and we first see him in New York. For the most part, Wolverine is largely unchanged. He has enhanced healing, metal claws, and heightened senses. Although his berzerker rages seem tamed down (he never gets uncontrollable) and his claws don't seem to be made of adamantium (at one point steel armor deflects them).

The writers take pains to connect Wolverine to established continuity. At one point, Cyclops briefly shows up flying the Blackbird. Omega Red is the lone recognizable big-name villain (along with the organization AIM). SHIELD also makes an appearance in the show. And Wolverine ends up in Madripore a time or two.

The overall story is pretty simple: Wolverine's long time love, Mariko, is being forced into an arranged marriage by her warrior father. Wolverine sets out to free her and gets into a lot of fights along the way.

The action itself is 100% typical anime. Characters leap into the air while lines of movement zip past in the background. Still shots are held while the camera pans over them. Characters react in slow motion. You get the picture. Wolverine's claws were used a bit awkwardly, I thought, when going up against a sword. Frequently Wolverine and his opponent will stand with their blades crossed and I would wonder why his opponent just doesn't push his blade down Wolverine's claws and directly into his hand.

The content is pretty bloody and violent and it is better off for it. The creators take great advantage of Wolverine's healing powers and then mangle him every chance they get. At one point his entire chest is split open. At another point he's nearly cut in half and his half sags away from his body with an arm hanging limply at his side. After this happens battle after battle, however, you get to get the idea that Wolverine may not be a very good fighter after all.

The dialogue is absolutely atrocious. Essentially, the writers relied upon one cliche after another. This eliminates any possibility of you taking the show seriously. There are some moments that seem like they should be genuinely emotional moments but I just couldn't bring myself to care when the dialogue is incredibly predicable.

If you can actually sit through the entire series the ending provides a great twist. Frankly, the ending is the best thing about the series and not just because it is over. The ending really came as a shock to me but ultimately fails to capitalize on the twist.

1LR REVIEW - 10 out of 20! It's a Miss!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class is the fifth X-Men movie and was theatrically released in 2011.

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class is the best X-Men movie made to date. Still, it has a few self-inflicted wounds.

The first is continuity. The director publicly stated that it was a prequel. At times it takes great pains to fit into the continuity of the original X-Men and Wolverine films. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine for a brief but hilarious scene. Rebecca Romijn appears briefly as Mystique. We see Magneto acquire the helmet he wears in the original movies. But at other times it acts more like a reboot and flies in the face of previously established continuity. Xavier is paralyzed in 1962 when we see him walking in other films in 1979. Hank creates Cerebro when it has been previously demonstrated that Magneto and Professor X had. These moments are real head scratchers for the most ardent of fans. The shame of it is that they were ultimately avoidable.

The second self-inflected wound is character overload. The cast of mutant characters is quite large and two of the villains get turned into cardboard cutouts - Azazel and Riptide. In fact, I don't even think Riptide's name is said the entire movie. Darwin dies before we ever really get to know him as a person. We first see Havoc in prison but are never given a backstory on him (nor does he ever mention his brother, Cyclops). It's a shame because all of these characters have great potential and I hate to see them shortchanged on the screen.

But don't get me wrong - I loved First Class. Yes, it's not perfect. But what it did right it did right REALLY WELL.

Take characters, for example. The focal characters of Professor X, Magneto, and Mystque get the royal treatment. We see a young Charles Xavier befriend a young Mystique and they grow up almost like brother and sister. In his early 20's, Xavier uses his powers to woo women as he hangs out in pubs. We see Magneto as a youth suffering the consequences of his power stunt that opens the first X-Men film and is repeated here. The film is stuffed with character threads such as Mystique and Beast wrestling with their feelings about their mutations.

Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw makes a fantastic villain. First, he's just so evil you want to hate him. Second, he's just so cool and confident you almost think he'll succeed in his mad plan to destroy the world. In some regards, he is so similar to Magneto. You get the idea that Magneto would have gladly joined his side... if only Shaw hadn't killed his parents.

Perhaps the aspect of this movie I enjoy more than any other is the historical backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Seeing Shaw work both sides of the conflict into frothing attack dogs is mesmerizing. The climax of the film is so tense because you know that we really did come within a hair's breadth of global nuclear war in real life. Mutants don't just exist in a sanitary little mansion anymore - they are thrust into key events in history. What would be like if mutants were for real? We don't have to guess any longer.

The action in the first is top notch as well. Even familiar powers were given new presentations to make them seem fresh. Azazel is a great example of this. The sequence where he is teleporting into a CIA headquarters, grabbing a CIA agent, teleporting straight up half a mile or so and then dropping them one at a time is gruesome but fascinating. The rhythmic thumps of bodies falling illustrates how completely useless normal humans are against mutants.

Overall, First Class is first rate.

1LR REVIEW - 18 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Astonishing X-Men: Gifted

Astonishing X-Men: Gifted is Marvel's first motion comic, originally released online in iTunes and other such venues in 2009. The six episodes have since been collected on DVD.

Astonishing X-Men: Gifted

Although this motion comic was the first, in some regards it is the best of the bunch I've reviewed to date. 

First, the story is, without a doubt, the best of the motion comics. If it seems familiar to you that's because elements of this story were recreated for the third X-Men live action film such as the "cure" for mutation. 

The plot is actually thin on action and heavy on philosophy. There are plenty of scenes that just have the X-Men sitting around and talking or fighting among themselves. To me, that's a strength of the series. When the mutant "cure" is released, the X-Men don't just rush off to destroy it - they discuss the tenets behind their philosophy... who are they to deny mutants the ability to shed their mutation? But what if the government weaponizes the "cure?" Also, in the Professor's absence what remains of his philosophy and dream?   

The episodes also balance the cast out extremely well. Wolverine doesn't dominate the show and some characters that don't often get the limelight get a chance to shine. The tension between Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost is wonderful to watch. Beast's inner struggle with a personal choice weighs heavily upon him, forcing him into a confrontation with Wolverine. Cyclops and Wolverine both are still trying to get over the death of Jean Grey and everyone wonders if Emma is mind controlling Cyclops.

If I can find a fault with the plot it's that it that there are too many plot threads that either aren't introduced properly or aren't resolved. Marvel literally translates the comic panel by panel, word by word. But it would actually benefit from a little bit more explanation and backstory. Things that would shock or excite someone that's been reading X-Men for 20 years lack a punch without the proper context. For example, there's a "surprising" return of a character long thought dead... but to the viewer you don't even realize that's the case. Likewise, the tension between Kitty and Emma, while highly entertaining, isn't resolved and doesn't really have a true significance in the story. Sure, it sets up future events... that aren't on this DVD. 

This word-for-word translation lends to a few awkward moments. One is when a student says the F-word, only to have it bleeped out. In the comic, this would just be squiggles like this #$!@#^&$#! but on screen it just seems weird to have a bleep in the middle of a DVD. Then Wolverine goes on a swearing tirade that's entirely bleeped. I don't know if they were trying to be funny but it just comes across as being odd. I would have preferred that they simply substituted some words that would pass the censors on regular TV.

The music and voice acting for this series is surprisingly good. I would say the frantic music with a heavy beat is one of the strong positives for the show. 

The animation is really good... until it isn't. Mouths move much better than they do in some of the later motions comics. I thought action sequences looked very smooth and natural. They really used 3D effects to great advantage. I really liked the fact that little details were attended to (such as breathing and blinking) that make the characters seem very real. But when a character turns their heads they used some type of morphing technology where the image morphs into the turned head image. It ends up looking like a reflection in a funhouse mirror. The same effect was used for shifting emotions and it just made the faces look distorted. 

Ultimately, though, was the viewing experience enjoyable? Yes, thanks in large part to Joss Whedon's amazing story. The guy who made the Avengers a billion plus dollar movie doesn't go wrong with the X-Men either. It's worth checking out but fans will enjoy it much more because casual viewers might find themselves a little lost.

1LR REVIEW - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men is the fourth X-Men cartoon. It was released in 2009 and lasted for one season, totally 26 episodes.

Wolverine and the X-Men

After three prior X-Men cartoons, the show's creators were faced with a problem - how do you say something new about the X-Men? Their answer was to blow up the X-Mansion, put Xavier in a coma, "kill" Jean, and disband the X-Men. And that happens before the beginning of the first show!

This sets the tone for the series - the gloves are off and no holds are barred. Forget what you read in the comics - anything can happen to these X-Men. This fact makes watching the show all that more interesting. Sure, the characters are familiar but the situation isn't and the fact that these stories aren't just rehashing old comic book tales opens up a world of possibilities. 

Wolverine is the focal character of the show. He rebuilds the X-Men to fight the looming threat of the Mutant Response Division (a government program) and the Sentinels. The X-Men's roster is large with more than a dozen X-Men and includes Emma Frost. Beyond this, the show hosts another hundred or so characters that appear and reappear throughout the show such as Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Polaris, Senator Kelly, and Boliver Trask to name a few. The large X-Men roster means that besides Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Professor X, and Cyclops most of the X-Men exist as secondary characters - given a chance to shine a few times but for the most part they're in the background. I appreciate the inclusiveness of the vision but sometimes the size of the cast of characters makes remembering storylines from episode to episode somewhat difficult. 

This problem is compounded when we start seeing visions of the "Days of Future Past" world from the future. We are then introduced to alternate future versions of the same characters that exist in the present with parallel storylines between them. 

As always, time travel is messed up. Xavier can contact Wolverine from the future, appearing as a hologram. But time seems to pass at the same rate for future Xavier and current Wolverine. What would cause this? Why can't future Xavier choose when in time to contact Wolverine? And then there's the issue of the timeline correction. When the X-Men prevent the future timeline, future Xavier retains his memories of a timeline that never existed. But if that timeline never existed then future Xavier never would have contacted Wolverine in the present, thus creating a time paradox. 

Characters are designed to be very tall and sleek. The women are drawn with impossibly narrow waistlines. Overall, the art is very clean and bright with a visually interesting design style. Most of the characters either draw direct inspiration from the comics or the movies. 

Overall, the show capably blazes its own trail while keeping the familiar nearby, carefully weaving together several major X-Men storylines (Hellfire Club, Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, etc.). The complex story takes far too long to coalesce, however, and by the time the great ending comes at the end of the show many viewers will lost interest. 

1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a prequel to the original X-Men trilogy. It is the first of the X-Men Origins movies and was released in 2009.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The film opens in 1845 with a young James Howlett in a quick sequence that sees his powers develop just in time to kill a man who he discovers is his true father. This sequence is taken directly from the Wolverine: Origin comic book miniseries and it gets the film off to a great start.

The title sequence then spans across the next 130 years of history or so as we see Victor and James fight together through the Civil War, World War I, World War II and into Vietnam. Through these scenes we see Victor turning increasingly violent and James's growing unease with this development. The film opens brilliantly thanks to this quick sequence. The viewers are given everything they need to know about Victor and James and easily understand their relationship. Stryker then recruits both Victor and James for his mutant squad. I really loved the opening action here with Agent Zero and Wade Wilson. Ryan Reynolds made for a great Wilson but ultimately, the team has a few too many members and isn't on screen long enough to even learn all of their names. Ultimately, through Stryker's overly zealous search for adamantium, James leaves the team.

The film then fast forwards six years and James is living with the beautiful Kayla and working as an "axe-man" (which is really funny if you think about it). Kayla turns out to be Silver Fox, a mutant with the power to influence people's thoughts. Victor shows up and seems to kill her, prompting Wolverine to seek out Stryker and get the adamantium bonded to his skeleton. The creative team really goes through great paints to make this sequence as faithful to the glimpses we got in the first three X-Men films. In a later post I'll go through the continuity gaffs but it is clear that the creators intended to keep this film in sync with the prior X-Men films. As a fan, I really appreciated these efforts.

But then comes the boxing scene. To me, the boxing scene is the line of demarcation in this film - everything before it is really great but it somehow goes very wrong in that scene and it never gets right again. Gambit is completely wasted. He dances some cards around but then why is he pursuing a fight with Wolverine, even inadvertently saving Sabretooth? Once they get to Three Mile Island (TMI) Gambit is effectively written out of the film.

Deadpool is, likewise, mangled and wasted. He is genetically altered to have teleportation, eye lasers, healing ability, and three foot swords that can retract into his arms. But if those swords actually retracted he wouldn't be able to bend his arms!

This film does host a ton of cameo appearances by familiar characters. Most familiar are Scott Summers and Professor X. It seems that Wolverine saves a young Cyclops without Cyclops being aware of it and the Professor recruits him at this point. Other noteworthy cameos include Emma (Frost?), Quicksilver, Toad, Jason (Stryker's son), and Banshee (among many others). It's always nice to see a director work in these cameos even if the characters don't have large roles.

Like the other X-Men: Origins film, First Class, the climax of this film takes place in an identifiable historic event - the near-meltdown at TMI on March 28, 1979. This timeline is confirmed by the events and dates given in the film (Wolverine in Vietnam, which ended in 1973 and shortly after the film fast forwards six years.) This is particularly significant for me personally as I lived in that area at the time of the near-disaster. I think it's very cool how the film works mutants into already established historic events.

The effects were, for the most part, very well done. I particularly liked when Cyclops blasts the school nearly in half leaving red hot canyons in the ceiling and floor. Wolverine's claws seem to have been given more dimension and at times looked really bad. There was also some pretty bad green screen work as well.

Although this film is uneven and really drops the ball at times, there's enough good here to make the viewing experience enjoyable.

1LR REVIEW - 12 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand is the third and final X-Men film in the original trilogy, released in 2006. Instead of being directed by Bryan Singer like the first two films, it was directed by Brett Ratner.

X-Men: The Last Stand

At the time of this film's release, it was much maligned by fans. I think this is due, in large part, to a sense of betrayal when Singer jumped ship for Superman. Ratner was a hasty choice and the story does seem to suffer slightly with a substitute director being tossed onto the project at the last moment.

Perhaps the biggest criticism of this film that is justified is that it adds to many new mutants to the mix without fully developing any of them. The Beast, Archangel, Juggernaut, Multiple Man, Callisto, Psylocke, Arclight, Kid Omega, and Leech (among many others) are all new characters introduced in this film. Additionally, other characters that previously had minor roles such as Kitty Pryde and Colossus rise to prominence. Meanwhile, the mutant Nightcrawler (from the second movie) is summarily dumped without a mention.

This gives the film an overly-full feeling that gives you small glimpses into many characters but not allowing the audience to invest emotionally into any one of them. Honestly, I didn't even know Psylocke was in this film until I read the credits (she's never mentioned by name to my knowledge and doesn't demonstrate her signature psy-blades). Some of the new mutants such as Kid Omega just seemed silly - he can extend quills from his face which just seems like a worthless power when fighting, say, Wolverine or Storm. Multiple Man misses the climax of the film altogether. Archangel is the character that best exemplifies this aspect of the film. The audience is given an emotional introduction to a teenage Warren as a kid shaving off his own wings but then he pretty much disappears from the film. He saves his father from falling and quickly exits stage left.

But I find that there's a lot to love about this film.

First and foremost is the gutsiness of it. No holds were barred in this movie and the status quo certainly wasn't returned! At the beginning of the first film there are only three X-Men - Jean, Cyclops, and Storm (with the Professor as well) and the only two villains to carry through all three films are Mystique and Magneto. By the end of this film, Jean and Cyclops are dead (for good), the Professor is dead (but apparently comes back), Rogue is powerless, Magneto is all-but powerless, Mystique is powerless. In a successful franchise such as the X-Men, this type of bold change is all but unheard of. To unspoiled audience, these shocks are genuinely shocking, something that is all too rare in the movies these days.

This film also has a strong number of truly memorable scenes. When Storm and Wolverine go to investigate at Alkali Lake, the heavy fog and randomly floating rocks set a tense tone. Magneto's "rescue" of Mystique is brutal and shows how the character has evolved (in the first movie he spares cops while here he kills them without a thought). When Mystique is depowered, revealing the beautiful Rebecca Romijn, he turns his back and says it is a shame because, "She was so beautiful." Ouch! When Wolverine kills Jean it is a truly emotional moment.

Then there's the Danger Room sequence. This scene just screams to fanboys, "We're here to make you happy!" In one short scene we are give the Sentinels, the Danger Room, and the Fastball Special - all of which hadn't made themselves onto film before. There are a number of other geek-moments in the film such as when Iceman fully realizes his powers in full-on Iceman mode.

As far as acting, I'd say that Kelsey Grammer as the Beast, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Famke Janssen as the Phoenix, and Ian McKellen as Magneto all turn in great performances. Grammer was a natural choice for the Beast - his voice is perfect. Jackman shows emotional range in a number of touching moments including his final talk with Rogue. Janssen, however, rises head and heals above her compatriots and puts in her best performance in the series and solidifies her status as a Sci-Fi babe. While certainly CGI enhanced, when she slides back and forth between the Phoenix and Jean personalities, you can see the struggle for control on her face. And Ian McKellen puts in another brilliantly subtle and nuanced performance, illustrated best when he laments the murder of the Professor that he had allowed to happen.

At the end of the day, X-Men: The Last Stand is a film of great ambition. It would have been a stronger film had it pared down the cast of characters a bit but I applaud the fact that is strove to end the trilogy with a bang.

1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: X2

X2: X-Men United is the 2003 sequel to the first X-Men film.

X2

X2's opening sequence seats it in firmly on philosophical roots just like it's predecessor. Xavier muses about humanities inability to share the planet as a strange celestial being emerges from the stars (what was this? The character Eternity?). Then, a quote from Lincoln's inaugural address about unity is given, symbolizing both the divide between Xavier and Magneto and also the gap between mutants and humans. Such philosophical understructure is part of what makes these films so great.

The continuity between the first X-Men film and X2 is extremely tight. In the first movie, Xavier tells Wolverine of a base where he might finds some answers to his mysterious past so in X2, Wolverine is at the base, searching for elusive answers. There are some great moments in X2 that wouldn't make much sense if you hadn't seen the first film. At one point, Magneto makes a crack about Rogue's hair which upsets Rogue (Rogue got her white streak when Magneto almost killed her in the first film). At another point, Mystique morphs into Jean Grey and teases Wolverine. Wolverine realizes it is her when he discovers the scars he gave her in the first film.

This tight continuity lends much credibility to the second film and allows it the leisure of taking its time with its characters. So, even though the cast swells to include secondary characters such as Colossus, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, William Stryker, Jason, Nightcrawler, and Lady Deathstrike, it doesn't feel over-full. Instead, there are a fair number of character moments in this action sequence. Storm and Nightcrawler discuss faith. Wolverine finally has that kiss with Jean. Iceman's family reacts in disgust when he reveals he's a mutant. Cyclops and Wolverine sob openly when Jean dies. Putting character before action means that when the action does go down you care about the heroes involved.

Speaking of action, there are some fabulous action sequences in this movie. The opening sequence with Nightcrawler infiltrating the White House (as seen from the point of view of the guards) is frantic and punches home why humans would be afraid of mutants. Wolverine's best moment in any film is when he's defending the X-Mansion from Stryker's forces. His berserker fury is epic in its bloody, primal and violent glory.

The one black mark this film has its the death of Jean Grey/ the Phoenix. The sequence is cumbersome and leaves the audience with a lot of questions. Even the characters ask themselves, "Why didn't she get on the plane," but the answer given ("She made a choice,") is a weak one and gives no real explanation. Here we have a mutant powerful enough to energize/repair a plane but she couldn't be on the plane when it took off? It just doesn't make much sense. Still, fans loved that the Phoenix saga was being realized in film (even if the origins of the change were murky at best... there's a reference to the first X-Men film's Liberty Island sequence but an explanation of how or why this changed Jean and no other mutant present is never given).

By all standards, X2 is a fantastic film, outdoing the original.

1LR REVIEW - 18 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Mutant X

Mutant X is a 2001 television show that ran for three season, totally a whopping 66 episodes.

Mutant X

This show had problems right from the start when FOX and Marvel had a dispute about Mutant X being so similar to the X-Men, which FOX had the exclusive rights to. I'm sure this changed the trajectory of the series and it seems they went out of their way to distance themselves from the X-Men. First, Mutant X are, of course, all mutants. But they call them "new mutants" because then that's different than the X-Men. For comic book fans, this invokes THE New Mutants but Mutant X doesn't have any characters from the comics in it and the characters aren't teenagers like the New Mutants comic book. Comic book fans might also expect this show to have some link to the comic book with the same name (which featured reality jumping mutants) but, again - no.

Despite this name confusion and the creators' intentions to differ from the X-Men, Mutant X IS still remarkably similar to the X-Men. Both teams are a mutant strike team with a wise leader that stays home and doesn't go on the missions. Both teams have a super-high tech jet and a high-tech base. Both teams even have a holographic "danger room." I could go on and on but you get my drift. Basically, Mutant X is like a poor carbon copy of the X-Men - they took all of the dressings but none of the heart.

Wikipedia says that this show had good ratings but I have no idea why. It's, frankly, horrible. It's got pretty people running around punching each other and "acting" all angst-ridden about how they can't lead a normal life because they're "special." If the X-Men are a metaphor that explore's society's bigotry, Mutant X is a metaphor that explores how upset pretty people feel because everybody keeps looking at them all of the time and is jealous of them.

The acting is atrocious. Horrible. Maybe it was the dreadful scripts or the lackluster directing but none of these actors seem to be able to muster any genuine emotion at all. There's not only emotionally touching or humorous moment in the entire series. The actors deliver their lines as if they are sleepwalking.

At almost every turn, this show chooses style over substance. The base for Mutant X is this bizarre space with tilted walls and a weird, elevated red "danger room." In one episode, all of Mutant X's powers get enhanced almost at the same time and it's quickly explained away as a continued evolution. But why did it happen at the same time? And why didn't it happen for any of the rest of the mutants?

Most episodes have the same plot structure as a Power Rangers episode. There are two main bad guys throughout the series and then send their mutant henchmen (one at a time) and their legions of disposable goons into combat with Mutant X. Mutant X inevitably wins and the mutant henchmen is never seen from again. One wonders if Eckhard (the main villain) had so many mutants at his disposal why doesn't he just send them all after Mutant X at one time and wipe them out for good?

Visually, this show is a train wreck. Every episode relies heavily (and I mean HEAVILY) on color filters. I don't know if the intent was to invoke some emotion or perhaps make it look more like a comic book but the end result is that everything simply looks miserable. CGI effects are, I suppose, passable for that time and for TV but the all-CGI shots look like a Super Nintendo rendered them.

In no way, shape, manner, or form can I recommend that you watch this show. It's only redeeming quality is that the cast is easy on the eyes.

1LR REVIEW - 4 out of 20! It's a Total Failure!

2012 Summer Comic Book Movie Review

So, the books have closed on this summer's comic book movies. We had Men in Black 3, The Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight. So how do they rank? Well, #1 is, of course, a no brainer. I think EVERYONE will agree that not only was The Avengers the highest grossing of the four but it is clearly the superior film as well. So...

Summer, '12 - the Superheroes rule yet again

1) The Avengers - Duh. Nuff' Said. 1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

2) The Dark Knight - It's a fairly large step down from the Avengers but still a great film. What a great ending to the trilogy... it really left the fans wanting more (which is awesome and sucks at the same time). Did Bruce Wayne die? 1LR says... no. Clearly, the sequence where Alfred sees him is not a dream. 1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!

3) Men in Black 3 - The best of the trilogy, 1LR loved Griffin, the man who can see all potential futures and the fact that this movie actually had a heart and character development. Plus, we're suckers for time travel. But it lost some points because we hate time travel with logic errors. 1LR REVIEW - 14 out of 20! It's a Hit!

4) The Amazing Spider-Man - Coming in at last place, The Amazing Spider-Man. Not that this is a bad film! It just never escapes the gravity of the previous trilogy. We loved seeing a more "realistic" take on Spider-Man and hope the sequel will more fully explore the mystery of Spidey's parents. 1LR REVIEW - 13 out of 20! It's a Glancing Hit!

So, as you can see, there really are no losers on this list. What a great summer to be a comic book fan at the box office!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men: Evolution

X-Men: Evolution is an animated cartoon series that ran on the Kids WB! for four seasons starting in 2000. It was on the air for 52 episodes total.

The X-Men: Evolution cast of characters started small but grew quite large over the course of four seasons.

This series started in a pretty slow and formulaic way - every episode, a new mutant was introduced that was recruited by both Charles and Mystique (as an agent of Magneto). In season one, the X-Men consisted of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Wolverine, Rogue, and Storm. Most of the X-Men are high school students and much of the action happens in and around the high school such as a food fight with the Blob or Avalanche vandalizing the lockers.

Spyke is a new character developed for the show with the ability to project, well, spikes, from his body. I was a bit disappointed because they never really seemed to develop him as a character or do much with him. Because he's an African American he's simply used to make the team more diverse. It's a real shame they didn't develop the character further and take the opportunity to add to the X-Men mythos in a meaningful way.

Fortunately, the show quickly develops beyond its simple beginnings. Long term storylines develop and... well, evolve over not only the course of a storyarc or a season but the entire show. Magneto is a primary villain but a host of other threats including Apocaypse, the Brotherhood, and the Acolytes playing major roles. Throughout the season dozens of mutants are introduced including the New Mutants. The show does a great job of balancing such a large cast and giving each character moments in the limelight. X-Men fans will be very pleased to see characters such as Magma and Sunspot make reoccurring appearances.

This show was certainly not afraid to shake up the status quo. In the course of the show, the X-Mansion is blown up, the X-Men are publicly revealed, and characters shift allegiances throughout the show. This keeps the show's situations genuinely interesting, knowing that that status quo simply isn't going to be restored at the end of the episode. Like all good X-Men shows, the struggles are usually portrayed not as being between good and evil but simply between competing philosophies.

The art and animation also improve as the seasons progress. Shots often have six or more characters in them but the animation doesn't suffer because of the large cast. Action sequences are presented as smooth and easy to follow. Faces of characters easily convey emotion. "Special effects" and the use of CGI and nearly flawlessly integrated into the show.

Voice acting is fairly good. Some of the characters that should have accents such as Storm and Rogue really don't while others, such as Nightcrawler, maintained their distinctive speech patterns. They got Wolverine right which is always a good thing.

If the show has one major flaw it is that it constantly fights the "been there, done that" feeling. After the highly successful 1992 series covered so much ground, it sometimes felt like this show went a different way only because it had to create it's own identity.

Surprisingly, this show succeeds admirably at that massive task. X-Men Evolution delivers one huge, epic story that sees all of the disparate storylines introduced over four season come together in the final episode.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men (2000)

X-Men is the first theatrical X-Men movie, released in 2000 by 20th Century FOX.

The first X-Men film

This film sets the tone right away with a few short introductory sequences: One in a 1944 concentration camp with Magneto as a child and one with Rogue sending a boy into a coma for 3 weeks just by kissing him. This isn't a lighthearted superhero film where the good guys and bad guys slug it out without consequences. Bryan Singer uses the X-Men to examine society's flaws. Themes such as tolerance and bigotry are openly debated by the character in the film, giving the picture philosophical roots. So when the X-Men fight the Brotherhood of Mutants it's not just good guy vs bad guy but, much like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, a struggle between two competing philosophies.

The film does a great job of easing the viewer into the concept of mutants and a mutant team. Slowly we're introduced, one at at time, to Magneto, Rogue, Jean Grey, Professor X, and Wolverine. The X-Men team is extremely limited. Really, it only has three members - Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. Wolverine goes on one mission with the team and Rogue is really a student. But the film gives you a very real sense of the X-Mansion as a school. We see dozens of students with lots of cameos for fanboys such as Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, and Iceman.

Likewise, the "villainous" team consists of only four members. Two of them are fantastically portrayed - Magneto and Mystique. Magneto is a complex villain. Sure, he breaks the law and endangers others but he's hard to think of as a "bad guy." His goals are noble - he wants to protect his kind from the threatening human population. Even the means by which he wants to reach those goals aren't "bad," per se. He easily could have killed police officers he instead just scares them. Mystique's powers are used to the max in the film.  Rebecca Romijn Stamos in head to toe blue paint nimbly kicking and twisting her way through combat is quite stunning. But the real cherry on top is that she messes with the minds of her foes, licking her lips when fighting Wolverine and sending Rogue into an adolescent tizzy. Toad and Sabretooth, on the other hand, were treated as disposable muscle. It's too bad, to, because certainly those characters have much greater potential.

The film, although clearly in its own continuity, relies heavily on the comics. The dynamic between Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean Grey is straight from the comics and leads to some memorable moments in the film. The tension between Jean Grey and Wolverine is so real you can cut it with a knife. It was nice to see the Rogue character's journey including giving her the white streak in her hair.

Is X-Men perfect? No. But it aspires to be more than a good guy vs bad guy superhero movie. It's philosophical roots turn the film into a mirror in which humanity can examine itself. Oh yeah, and there are some awesome fight sequences.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Generation X

Generation X is a 1996 made-for-TV movie that originally aired on FOX. A slightly different version aired in the UK.

Generation X

For this TV movie the network used some characters from the Generation X comic books. Emma Frost and Banshee are the heads of the Xavier School for Gifted Children (although they never mention who this Xavier fella is...). Jubilee and Skin are the main characters, new to the school. Mondo and M are the other characters used from the comics. Refrax and Buff are two new characters. Buff is a girl who's embarrassed by her big muscles. Refrax is a mutant who's vision powers have yet to develop.

Probably because the property rights were unavailable, the X-Men are never mentioned (although an X-Men video game is shown in the background once!). The mansion used is the exact same mansion used in the X-Men films which might lead some to speculate a continuity connection... perhaps Generation X happens sometime in the future after X-Men 3? Throughout the episode mutant registration and mutant terrorism laws are cited... probable results from the fallout of X-Men 3. Remember, they both were made by FOX.

But because the issue of "Where are the X-Men is never addressed?" it hangs in the air and adds to the overall odd feeling this movie has. And it is odd. Very odd. It starts with a *yawn* dictionary definition of mutation. When you start with a dictionary definition, you know you're in for a *yawn* dull ride. Oddly, there's a scene where Jubilee, a teenage girl, has to take off all of her clothes in front of Emma, Banshee, and Skin. The scene uncomfortably lingers far too long.

At times the script tries to be funny but it just falls flat. For example, Emma Frost causes guards to see her and Banshee as "Officer Hootie and Offier Blowfish," a reference to the band "Hootie and the Blowfish." Most of its humor just comes across as crass and crude such as a "beaver" comment and a fart gag that is just plain stupid. In the British version, Jubilee shockingly uses the F-word twice with the S-word in one scene. This comes across as strange because most of the rest of the film uses almost no swear words.

The plot is almost incomprehensible and has very little to do with mutants. The bad guy is the same actor who played Max Headroom and his over-the-top performance makes him seem like a ridiculous lunatic, not a viable threat. Somehow, he wants to use a machine or mutant genes to force people to buy products by invading their dreams. At one point, when all of Generation X is fighting him, you wonder why they need superpowers at all to take on a scrawny scientist with no powers. Why didn't they use one of the many great X-Men or Generation X villains?

Now, what do you want to see more than anything in a big, team mutant movie? Superpowers being used, right? Well, perhaps for budget reasons, this film has almost none. Some of the mutants like M and Buff require very little SFX to demonstrate their abilities but they rarely do. What's more, their mutant powers are almost completely useless. Eye powers that don't work, painful skin stretching, random light bursts... all worthless.

There are a few comic book continuity references that fans will appreciate such as a Hellions reference.

Perhaps the best thing about this dud is the interaction of the teens. Somehow, they manage to create a few realistic moments when the teens are struggling to relate to one another and other teenagers from the nearby town.

As a first attempt at a big mutant team movie, Genration X failed. But perhaps it laid just enough groundwork that Marvel and FOX were able to learn from their mistakes when they took a stab at the X-Men movie.

1LR REVIEW - 6 out of 20! It's a Failure!

The Dark Tower 4.5: The Wind Through The Keyhole Review

The Wind Through The Keyhole:
The Dark Tower book #4.5

The Wind Through the Keyhole is a surprise entry into the Dark Tower series. Why? Because that series was thought to be complete and finished with seven hefty volumes. I greeted this book with mixed feelings. I love the Dark Tower world and characters so I was happy to be able to spend some more time with them and perhaps go on a new adventure or two. But I was also wary... with the series already done, what could this new book have to say that would be of value? There's also the risk of continuity flubs or adding new story elements that lessen events in the other books in some way.

On the dedication page Stephen King dedicates this book to "The Folks at Marvel Comics." It appears that Marvel's adaptations of his Dark Tower works into a chronological storyline told with graphic novels have spurred Mr. King's imagination with these characters ago.

This book, story-wise, takes place between books 4 and 5 of the Dark Tower. The structure of the novel is actually quite interesting. It's a bit like Russian Nestings Dolls... there are actually three stories in this book but one sits inside another and all of the stories have similar elements added to them. I'm pleased to report that on all fronts Stephen King avoided the outcomes that I feared and instead delivered one of his best written works in years.

The first story is, of course, about Roland has his Ka-Tet. They are on the road, traveling toward the Dark Tower and following the path of the Beam when a superstorm called a Starkblast, comes upon them and forces them to find hasty shelter. None of this is terribly interesting (as we know, having read book 5, that Jake, for example, doesn't die frozen to death in the storm, it lessens the suspense) and really it only serves the purpose of getting the characters together and still so Roland can tell a very long story - the second story.

So while the first story pauses, Roland tells his Ka-Tet (including us, the reader) the story of his youth when he investigated a cannibalistic Skin Man (a shapeshifter) in Debaria (which is where his mother once went on a healing retreat of sorts). Along the way, Roland makes the acquaintance of a young man who just lost his father. To comfort the boy, Roland tells the boy a long story about a boy named Tim.

So starts the third story-inside-the-story while both the first and second stories have been put on hold. The story of Tim is actually called The Wind Through the Keyhole, giving the entire book its name. Tim has a chance encounter with Martin Broadcloak / Roland Flagg that send him on an foolish errand to heal  his injured mother. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but Tim turns out to be quite a bit more than a foolish young boy. Along the way Tim finds himself in a truly magical place. In many regards, his story mirrors Roland's own including an encounter with the Starkblast storm. Tim's story is written as a fairy tale (as it is, in fact, a story that mothers tell their children) even though in the Dark Tower world the story is actually an historical account. Stephen King tells the best fairy tales (don't believe me? Read The Eye of the Dragon!). The story of Tim comes to a very satisfying ending. I would have been happy had the entire book ended there. But, no.

Once Tim's story is completed the reader is brought back to the story of the Skin Man. Roland solves that particular mystery and we get to see him grow as a character along the way. This Roland is young and makes careless mistakes. Once again, this story mirrors Tim's story. At one point the Skin Man changes into a large snake very similar to the one in Tim's story. Once again, the tale is brought to a very satisfying conclusion. But the satisfaction has almost nothing to do with the mystery of the Skin Man or the action at the end of it. Really all of that is just an excuse to get Roland to Debaria so he can receive his mother's last gift (Roland killed his own mother and this gift comes to him posthumously). I won't ruin it but let's just say that it's a very tender moment.

But then that tale wraps up and we're brought back to the "present" (between books 4 and book 5 of the Dark Tower series). The Ka-Tet react to Roland's story and there is perhaps the most emotionally-charged moment of the entire Dark Tower series. It brought tears to my eyes. Very powerful stuff and the entire ride is worth it for that one moment.

So along the way the reader is treated to three nestled stories, one inside the other, with parallels and echoes throughout all three. It's a very complex book with not one but three wonderful payoffs. I'd consider it in the top three or perhaps two Dark Tower books. Well done, Mr. King. Well done.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Dark Knight Rises - Midnight Movie Review - Spoiler Free!

Dark Knight Rises is, of course, the third and final installment of the Chris Nolan / Christian Bale Batman trilogy. It has been hotly anticipated. So, did it live up the hype? Was it as good as the first two? How does it stand on its own as a film? 1LR has the answers!

Dark Knight Rises

So let's answer those questions right away. The Dark Knight Rises is a good film but it doesn't live up the hype, suffering from a few serious flaws. It was not as good as the first two films in the series - I'd put it as the worst of the three movies but still a very good film. Even if you never saw the first two films I still think you'll find this movie to be enjoyable.

Let's start with the positive.

I loved how bold Christopher Nolan was with the choice to jump forward eight years in the future. Batman is retired and Bruce Wayne's broken body is hidden away from the world because he lives like a recluse. 

I thought that the main players (Batman, Bane, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon, and John Blake) all did excellent jobs. The Bruce Wayne's character arc closely mirrors the first film. His body is broken and he believes Gotham doesn't need him anymore. After a massive failure, he is at zero - he has nothing - and he has to relearn how to be Batman again. But the character with the best emotional moments in the film is Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce's butler. Michael Caine really breathes a soul into this character unlike any previous performance as this character. Anne Hathaway's Catwoman is a more practical take on the character than Michelle Pheiffer or Halley Berry's.

I also loved how far this film pushes the envelope of comic book villains. Bane actually manages to top the Joker in one category - overall mayhem caused. As a villain, he was extraordinarily successful in fulfilling his goals. Let's just say that irregardless of who wins - Batman or Bane - Gotham could never be the same ever again. Some of the things Bane does are absolutely brutal... which makes him hard to predict on the screen. You never know what he's going to do next. They also avoid the "big, dumb, muscle-bound idiot" stereotype. Bane is shrewd and he has a clever tie to Bruce Wayne's past that brings the franchise full circle.

There is one big surprise twist in the film that I don't think anybody saw coming and I hope nobody ruins it for you. At the climax of the movie there's a very suspenseful moment that just lingers on and on. Just when you think, "Nah, they couldn't have done that!" they sell you on it, leaving your mouth gaping open. The very ending of the film is very pleasing but not in a completely satisfying way. Honestly. I wanted to say, "But wait! What happens next?" which is a sure sign that the film is a good one.

The continuity between this film and the previous two is absolutely airtight. The film opens to a service honoring Harvey Dent who died in the second film. Characters are often remembering and recalling events that occurred in the previous films. We are treated to a return appearance of a prior villain (I won't spoil who). And ultimately, as all good trilogies do, this film takes Bruce Wayne back to his origins from the first movie.

And, of course, it's always a good thing when a film can be faithful to the source material it comes from - the comics. The Dark Knight Rises is perhaps the most loyal in the regard of the three films in the series. It goes so far as to use specific panels from comics almost as a storyboard in a few places (I'm thinking of one classic picture with Bane in particular).

But this film also has a few flaws, some of them somewhat serious.

The first is the pace of the film. Let's just say that it is overindulgent. The film takes way too long to get off the ground and there are several long stretches when Batman is nowhere to be seen. At one point, a little boy sings the entire Star Spangled Banner. I get why they did it - it's suppose to be a tense moment - but the payoff was spoiled by the trailers anyway. This film could have really benefited by trimming it down to two hours.

Secondly, the film is too dark. I get that it's Batman, it's Gotham and it's suppose to be dark, seedy, dirty, gritty. But I want to be able to tell what's going on. When you have both Batman and Catwoman, both dressed all in black, fighting bad guys (also dressed all in black) in near total darkness it is hard to follow what's going on.

A big problem for me was understand-ability of the dialogue. I really had a hard time hearing what was being said in quite a few places. Bane was the worst with his face-mask thing but Batman was sometimes hard to understand as well as a few minor characters. The ultimate effect of this was that I probably missed some important information that would have helped me tie the loose pieces of the somewhat murky plot together.

The combination of these three factors - the meandering plot, the dullness of the color pallet, and unintelligible dialogue - makes this film seem dull at times.

I have a good half-dozen nit-picks I could go on about as well. Such as - in the beginning of the film we see Bruce Wayne at the doctor and the doctor tells him he has no cartilage left in his knee among a wide variety of other trauma-induced ailments. Bruce gets a brace for his knee that solves the problem but there are times that he's without the brace and apparently his knee doesn't bother him anymore. Also, Batman's faith in Catwoman is without cause. Time and again he gives her the benefit of the doubt and even places himself at risk because of her... but why? Why does he treat her any differently than any other criminal? The thin answers in the film don't adequately address the issue. I could go on, but I won't.

So as I said... Ultimately, this film falls short of the first two films. But we here at 1LR review films based on their own merits, not in comparison to any other work. The Dark Knight Rises is a very enjoyable comic book movie and serves as a fitting end to this Batman trilogy.

1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: X-Men (1992)

X-Men is a 1992 cartoon that originally aired on FOX. It lasted for a total of 76 episodes across five seasons.

1992's X-Men Cartoon

This is "The" X-Men animated series. It's success has been unparalleled by any prior efforts. The show's title sequence gives us good insight into why this show was such as success. It's simple and straightforward. The music is actually fairly generic except the fact that it plays every episode during the big fight sequence. What it does excellently is introduce each character by name and demonstrate's the characters' powers. The end of the title sequence shows the X-Men charging headlong into a fray with their foes, setting up the show's mutant vs mutant conflicts. The shot where the camera zooms in through the window of the Blackbird and then further zooms in actually going into Cyclops's visor really demonstrate's the quality of the animation.

The X-Men roster for this series is very large. It includes Professor X, Gambit, Wolverine, Beast, Morph, Jubilee, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Rogue. With a main cast so large each episode feel really full as each character gets some of the spotlight to varying degrees. What's great is that the interpretation of the characters were very loyal to the essences of the characters from the comics. Dozens of other noteworthy characters (both mutant and non-mutant) make appearances throughout the series.

This show is known for its faithfulness tot he storylines from the comics. While it certainly blazes its own continuity, the story carries over from episode to episode and it wasn't uncommon for an episode to have a cliffhanger ending. Among the story arcs that are presented are The Phalanx Covenant, The Phoenix Saga, The Dark Phoenix Saga, and Days of Future Past along with original storylines such as "Beyond Good and Evil." And while in-show continuity wasn't flawlessly maintained, it really adds something to each episode that you know the stories are all interconnected and the characters are changing and developing from episode to episode. When Morph gets "killed" (he comes back) in the second episode you know that this isn't just one of those cartoons that returns to the status quo at the end of each show.

The X-Men have always been used as a vehicle to tackle controversial topics and this show didn't shy away from that and it, for the most part, managing to avoid sounding preachy as well. This show may have been the second show ever to show a female as President of the United States (after 1983's Hail to the Chief). Evolution, AIDS, religion, racism, and the Holocaust all are highlighted at various points in the series. When Morph dies, the X-Men struggle and react in very human ways to the death of their friend. The series even interjects a fair amount of poetry and philosophy through the character of the Beast such as when he ponders the question, "Are any of us really secure?" in the series opener.

The show's animation has a very clean and simple style. Very little stock footage is recycled throughout the show as it juggles its dozens of characters. As I mentioned before, the show's truly noteworthy visual accomplishment is the way characters were able to move both toward and away from the camera and changed in size to reflect this perspective change. A common camera trick was to show a close up of the Beast only to pull back, rotating the camera as it moves, to reveal that the Beast was hanging upside down. On occasion throughout the series the faces of characters appear distorted. It is worth noting that in the fifth season the animation company changed, resulting in a different animation style.

This X-Men cartoon sets the gold standard that all X-Men cartoons following it have tried to live up to.

1LR REVIEW - 17 out of 20! It's a Solid Hit!

Marvel Media Mania: Pryde of the X-Men

Pryde of the X-Men was a pilot for a television cartoon that was aired in 1989 but never picked up for an ongoing show. It was, however, eventually released on VHS.

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men VHS

This show represents the first effort to give the X-Men their own media property. Previously, they were relegated to guest starring roles in some of Spider-Man's television shows. For a first effort, this show did a lot right.

First, the animation is great. The pilot mixed some static scenes with lots of exposition with action sequences. During the scenes heavy on narration, the creators did a good job of changing "camera" angles and giving the audience cool visuals to watch. Close-ups of faces really showed a great level of detail with realistic animation of the entire face, not just the mouth.

The show also reaches for some style points. For example, in once case when Professor X is using his powers the shot zooms in on his face and eventually down to one eye. The camera continues to push in tighter and tighter until the entire screen is filled with the black of the eye's pupil. This then focuses into the distant scene where Professor X is using his mental powers. It's a pretty impressive shot and shows the show's ambitions.

The show's X-Men roster was comprised of Professor X, Cyclopes, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Dazzler, and Colossus. The exclusion of Jean Grey for Dazzler is a bit of an odd choice but it was probably made because Dazzler's powers are more action-oriented. Of course, Kitty Pryde is introduced in the episode. Some have complained that she is a sniveling wimp in the episode but I would say that that's the point. Had the show continued, I'm sure we would have seen Pryde grow and change. In this pilot, Kitty is new to the school and we learn about it as she does. Even by the end of this one episode she grows character development. She also adopts fan-favorite Lockheed by the end of the episode.

The show also hosts an impressive array of villains. Magneto leads a team of mutant terrorists including the Blob, Juggernaut, White Queen, Toad, and Pyro. Each villain is given the spotlight at different moments

In all cases, character designs, personalities, and powers are extremely faithful to the comic books. Nightcrawler even kept his characteristic black patches around his eyes.

Stan Lee does the narration - a seeming must for any Marvel cartoon.

Now, the show isn't perfect, of course.

The BIG sticking point is the voice of Wolverine. The rest of the cast has great voice acting, including Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus with their heavy accents. But Wolverine has an Australian accent when everyone knows he's Canadian. The show's creators claim that the decision was made because, at the time, it was going to be revealed in the comics that Wolvie is an expatriated Australian but I don't buy it. It just sounds plain ridiculous and ruins almost every scene Wolverine is in.

Another big problem is that the story seems a little thin. At one point, the villains decide to take on the entire X-Men team one at a time. Why not take them on all at once, mutant team vs mutant team? It felt a little bit like an old Dungeons and Dragons game - open the door, kill the monster (repeat as needed). And the big, dramatic ending somehow had Nightcrawler using his body to complete a circuit but it really didn't make much sense at all... except that it was suppose to be "dramatic."

Overall, this first effort at an X-Men cartoon is a great start.

1LR REVIEW - 15 out of 20! It's a Hit!