Fathers, Daughters, Ants, & Trainwrecks

 There's a new act under the tent holding the Marvel Cinematic Universe ("MCU") and Ant-Man is a worthy addition. While Ant-Man is a (let's face it) far less well-known character than Iron Man, Thor, or Hulk, he's been around since 1962, when he was introduced in Tales to Astonish #27. (There's actually a lovely shout-out to that title, if you listen carefully.) Now, the MCU has not been shy about tinkering with the backstories of their characters and I try not to get too incensed about that (Iron Man 3's complete mangling of the Mandarin character aside - Shane Black still owes me an apology fruit basket for that howling mess), but let's just get one thing straight. The original Ant-Man, along with Janet Van Dyne (Wasp), co-founded the Avengers, so he's a rather big deal. (The original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, is also frequently a terrible person in the comics. Let's leave it at that.) So for the movie version, the decision was made to focus on Scott Lang, who became the second Ant-Man. I've been fortunate enough to meet and correspond with the generous David Michelinie, who co-created Scott Lang with John Byrne in the late 70s, and I was glad to see his name in the film's credits. (Michelinie also created one of my all-time favorite storylines involving Tony Stark, which was carefully set up in the first two Iron Man films, only to be cast aside by the aforementioned Shane Black. Still waiting, apparently fruitlessly, for the also-aforementioned basket.)

But I don't want to catch up on years of back issues, you say. Fair enough. No need to - Ant-Man holds its own in the MCU and, as an extra treat, adds to the growing movie lore. There are several references to the events in Age of Ultron, which is fitting for the film that ends Phase 2 of the MCU. Again - watch carefully. Paul Rudd hits the right mix of funny and determined in Scott Lang, Michael Douglas carries off Hank Pym with aplomb, Evangeline Lilly nails Hope Van Dyne (although this certainly does seem to be the Summer of Women with Severe Haircuts), and Michael Pena steals Every Single Scene he appears in. It's a fun popcorn flick that also nudges the MCU along. And yes, there are "credit scenes" that you don't want to miss, so don't leave until you see the Teamsters logo.

While Ant-Man involves the often-complicated relationship between fathers and daughters (both Scott Lang and Hank Pym have issues with that), Trainwreck puts it front and center and is definitely for the adults in your movie-going group. Written by Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow (his first film to direct without also writing), Trainwreck is a four-letter rom-com. While it's usual in that genre for the man to be a cad who is tamed by the Love of a Good Woman, Trainwreck shows the gentle, refined touch of a lady. Amy Schumer's lead character (also named Amy - her real-life sister's name, her father's name and struggle with multiple sclerosis are also based in reality, so the film has more than a passing personal touch for her) is not interested in anything more than a hook-up, until (per the formula) she meets The Right Guy, played here by Bill Hader.

Make no mistake - this Amy is a mess. She drinks too much, smokes too much pot, cusses too much, has a complicated relationship with her family, mocks commitment, is not exactly discerning about who she hooks up with, and is really just a mess. It's also ridiculously refreshing to see a woman who is independent (to a fault, true), successful, and shown to be comfortable with her appearance and her sexuality, even though she's not movie star thin. And it's a rom-com, so it all works out in the end. You'll develop a new appreciation for the physical exertion of professional cheerleaders, as well.

Plus - LeBron James is funny. Who knew? Then again, Schumer gave him fantastic lines to work with.

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Snikt!

OK - let's get some disclosure out of the way.

Like many kids, I had my stash of age-appropriate comics (Archie, Richie Rich, Little Lulu) when I was a kid.  I outgrew those and moved on to Grown-Up Things, oblivious to some truly magnificent storytelling that was taking place panel by panel.  Then, through some personal dark days that need not be recounted here, I found myself in my mid-twenties angry, disillusioned, frustrated, and confused.  And I found myself with a pack of X-Men comics in my hands.

Serendipity isn't always sunbeams and flowers and at a turbulent time of my life, those misunderstood mutants threw me a lifeline.*  The names Lee (Stan and Jim), Claremont, and Byrne are ones I cherish and yes, I have a deep, abiding passion for Marvel - hence my anger at how badly Disney muffed Iron Man 3.  Yes, there are too many crossovers and alternate timelines give me indigestion.  But I will forgive much due to Claremont and Anderson's God Loves, Man Kills.

So you can see that when I go to see an X-Men movie, it's a serious thing.  The Wolverine has hit theaters and I went with my usual trepidation - I want it to be great; I fear it won't.

Actually, Wolverine isn't that bad.  Let me say upfront - it got that PG-13 rating for a reason and I'm continually gobsmacked-amazed at how many clueless parents take 6 year olds to these sorts of movies.  I suspect it's a "Well, it's based on a comic book, so how bad can it be?" attitude.  To these parents, let me just say this:  If they ever make a movie based on Ennis & Dillon's Preacher, don't take the kiddies.

Wolverine has several flaws.  Aside from some sizable historical inaccuracies and plot holes (generally speaking, if you're trying to not let people know where you are, it's a good idea to not mix with the locals), Wolverine has some rather good fight/action sequences.  It is Comic-Book Land, so I have to grant some latitude in these scenes.  And Rila Fukishima, who plays Yukio, is a breakout.  She comes across as a sharp-edged pixie, just brimming with energy and thrumming with righteous anger, but purists are going to resent the way her character is altered from the comics - and that's not the only alteration.  Some changes I can let slide, but some I can't.  Look, one of the lovely aspects to the Wolverine character has always been his depth, which includes proficiency in Japanese and a high level of comfort with Japanese customs and culture.  That's lacking here and the movie suffers for it.  Instead, we get an extremely-buff Hugh Jackman doing a Wolverine that we've seen before.  He's prickly, heals mutant-fast, has a hair trigger on those claws, and can fight really, really well.  That's great, but it's nothing new.  When I discovered that the filmmakers were apparently basing the film on the 1982 miniseries Wolverine by Claremont and Frank Miller (yes, that Frank Miller), I was excited and the "coming soon" poster above had me giggly with delight of what might be.  Unfortunately, the source material is as mutated as Wolverine's claws.  In short, Wolverine is a good movie, but it had a chance to be better than that; to give viewers something new about the character.  Instead, we get two hours of good stuff that we've seen before.  Rental.

By the way, if you're interested, try this list for well-done explorations of everyone's favorite Canadian mutant.  (No, it's not Anne Murray.)  I was also intrigued by this list of films that the director, James Mangold, claims influenced his approach to the film.

Just for fun, since Jackman's an accomplished song&dance man . . .

* Not too long thereafter, I was introduced to Gaiman's Sandman and Spiegelman's Maus.  Never attempt to argue with my position that comics can be literary, gorgeous, and game-changing.  

Iron Man 3

He's big in Asia!

With the U.S. release of Iron Man 3, the 2013 summer blockbuster season has officially kicked off.  Iron Man 3 is doing gangbusters on the international market, who got it before we here in the States did, and I predict it's going to do very well here, too.  Which isn't exactly a shame, but this movie could be better.  Much, much better.

Look, I can already tell that this is a movie I'm going to return to for a far lengthier examination in another forum (seriously - how IM3 grinds against the edges of the previous two movies in its handling of disability cries out to be discussed), but for now, I'm going to Play Nice and keep this spoiler-free (mostly) as I discuss some of the larger problems of the film.

Iron Man 3 has a lot to handle.  It's the first Marvel-which-is-now-owned-by-the-Happy-Mouse movie to come out after the juggernaut that was Avengers.  It has to acknowledge the events of that film, which fortunately, provide the characters with plenty of room to grow and develop.  Now, Marvel has said over and over that the movie universe is different from the comics universe, and boy howdy, are they right on that score in this movie!  The problem with that stance is that it's an argument I've always found cowardly to the extreme - the comics are what brought people to the movies in the first place, genius.  Accept that.  Embrace that.  And, for the love of Stan Lee, be respectful of that.

So let me say this.  Iron Man 3 is a fine action flick.  It received a huge incentive to be filmed largely in my home state of North Carolina, and I like that.  It's a fun movie for buttered popcorn.  Things blow up.  Bad guys lose.  Good guys win.  The effects are slick, Tony Stark says snarky things, and at the end of the day, the world is saved.  Yay.

I'm just disappointed that Marvel lacked the spine to carry the story down the road that it was set on oh-so-very-carefully in the first two movies.  (Just a hint - click here to look up Justin Hammer [the character played by the criminally-underrated Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2] and consider the possibilities.)  I know people will argue with me on this - which is fine, art involves differences in taste by its very nature - but this movie is the beginning of the end of the current wave of superhero movies, because with Iron Man 3, we're at #2 on this brilliant blueprint of why the superhero bubble must and will burst.  Oh, they will continue to be made - too much money is already in the pipeline - but the quality will begin to suffer, due in large part to the vicious circle at the heart of the conundrum of "it costs money to make money."  If you make your money by people buying tickets to (1) movies and (2) stuff that ties in to those movies, you want to make movies that everyone wants to go see.  So you can't offend your markets.  So you begin to tweak the story.  The problem there is that you inevitably slice out the very parts that make the stories interesting and edgy.

There was major Chinese money involved in making Iron Man 3, which meant certain things needed to be (ahem) toned down for the Chinese audience.  (Entire scenes are in the Chinese release that are not in the American release, by the way.)  That meant gutting a central character but, you know, throw in enough explosions and maybe no one will notice.  Have really cool shots of dozens of suits flying independently and maybe the fangirls won't point out that THAT NEVER HAPPENS in the original text.  Then say over and over, "Well, the movies are different from the comics" and hope people buy it.  And hope people buy the inevitable tie-in merchandise.  And when you get called on your failure to follow through, claim that you're just giving the viewers what they want.

Such a philosophy belongs to the raw, untamed capitalism of the Stark Industries of the original Iron Man.  There, Stark's strategy was simple - make it, market it, sell it, and pocket the profits without a thought about its ultimate use (or message).  Tony grew beyond such a limited worldview and, in so doing, he became a hero.  (Incidentally, he lost none of his wealth by "privatizing peace.")  Hollywood has not done the same, so tired stories get trotted out with a flashy paint job and Michael Bay seizure-inducing jump cuts and we're supposed to be breathlessly thrilled.

I'm not.  Iron Man 3 is a fine action flick.  It's nothing more, which is a shame.