AVENGERS: ENDGAME

Robert Downey, Jr.    Chris Evans    Chris Hemsworth    Paul Rudd    Jeremy Renner

Scarlett Johansson     Mark Ruffalo     Brie Larson   Bradley Cooper    Tilda Swinton    

Don Cheadle     Karen Gillan     Zoe Saldana     Tilda Swinton     Gyneth Paltrow

Chadwick Boseman     Danai Gurira     Letitia Wright     Elizabeth Olsen

     Endgame is quite the finale to Marvel Comics’ Avengers series.  The creators (Anthony and Joe Russo, directors) manage to reprise almost all the roles in previous films, and there are reunions as touching and significant as the beginning of this last season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The film starts with an eerie reminder of Thanos’ (Brolin) intentions in Infinity Wars (to destroy half the people on earth to deal with over-population) by showing Hawkeye (Renner) training a young woman in shooting arrows while his wife calls on family members for a picnic lunch.  Suddenly, everyone but Hawkeye disappears.

     Five years later, some of the Avengers are congregating to come up with a solution. But part of the problem is that some have become content; for instance, Tony Stark (Downey) is basking in family life with Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and their young daughter Morgan.  When some of the others—specifically Banner/Hulk (Ruffalo)—think they have the solution:  A time machine that will take them back to the time before Thanos stole the stones, retrieve them, and use them to get back the people destroyed and create a different world.

     They have a difficult time rousing Stark/Iron Man from his contentment and risk losing those he holds most dear; but, of course, the whiff of a challenge and an adventure reels him in.  From then on, a full contingent of the Avengers [Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America (Evans), Thor (Hemsworth), Black Widow (Johansson), Ant-Man (Rudd), and Hawkeye] test and use their knowledge of time travel to reverse Thanos’ delusional plan.  

     They are indeed able to travel back in time, but it won’t be as simple as they expect. There will be many reunions, but the Avengers will encounter some of the same challenges they thought were over. The special effects for time travel will be a highlight of this story.  The viewer experiences just exactly what we imagine it would be like if we were so privileged.  

     Then, when you get to what looks like the last big battle (and it goes go on and on), don’t settle back in your chair or get ready to leave; much more is coming to create a satisfying conclusion in terms of closure—not necessarily satisfaction with what does occur.

     As with most Marvel Comics movies, this one is overly long, bloated by the obligatory fight scene toward the end, and of course a fistfight scene is required as always.  But in its favor, the story is exciting and suspenseful; the special effects outstanding; and the humor almost always really  funny.  Also, women have stronger roles than in the past.

Endgame is a worthy conclusion to the Avengers series.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Josh Brolin   Tom Holland   Chris Pratt   Chris Evans   Chris Hemsworth   Robert Downey, Jr.   Zoe Saldana

Tom Hiddleston   Benedict Cumberbatch   Chadwick Boseman   Letitia Wright   Danai Gurira

Mark Ruffalo   Peter Dinklage   Bradley Cooper   Vin Diesel   Don Cheadle

     Marvel Comics has gone all out in seeing to it that this rendition of the Avengers franchise thrills, chills, and awes. Surprising plot turns and awesome special effects while keeping the well-known players’ characters doing their thing, are sure to seize audience attention and keep it spellbound. It’s always best to be familiar with the comic book stories, but for those who have only a foggy notion about them and haven’t kept up, there is still much to entertain.

     The essential conflict in this story is Thanos’ (Brolin) attempt to collect all the Infinity Stones so he can rule the world.  He has an agenda; and it’s another case of someone thinking they know what’s best for all mankind.  Thanos has decided that there are too many people in the world relative to the number of resources, so his simple solution is to destroy half of them. That way, the world’s limited resources won’t be depleted.  Keep in mind that he is utterly convinced that this is the only solution.

     It’s rather fun to see all the Marvel superheroes uniting together in their commitment to save the universe from a seemingly invincible monster.  And Brolin plays Thanos with just the right mix of power-hungry deluded, admiration of strength and bravery, and slight vulnerability to love and affection.  He is an ideologue who has supreme confidence in his belief of what is good for all mankind.  One of the creative twists of the writers (Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely), is in showing his deep emotional attachment to Gamora (Saldana), his adoptive daughter, whom he rescued from poverty when he was destroying her world. His love for her and subsequent disillusionment is one of the few emotional pulls in the film, which is mainly concerned with the battles among super-heroes. 

     Disillusionment is shown once again when Thanos’ forces are attacking Wakanda, the pristine realm of Black Panther (Boseman).  At one point, the Panthers’ warrior in command, Okoye (Gurira),  states, “When we opened up Wakanda, this is not what I imagined”, to which Panther asks, “What did you imagine?”  Her reply: “The Olympics, maybe a Starbucks…” illustrating the movie’s subtle references to practical and more lofty ideals.

     This is a film for action movie aficionados, and it delivers all to be expected in that sense.  The story, special effects, and cinematography meet these expectations.  But for those who prefer a more subtle, nuanced plot and refreshing character development, it will come up short.  

Action?  Adventure?  Exciting fantasy? You got it with this film. There are other choices if action and extended battle scenes are not for you.

Grade:  B                                                 By Donna R. Copeland

12 STRONG

Chris Hemsworth     Michael Shannon     William Fichtner     Taylor Sheridan     Michael Pena     Navid Negahban

     This film had potential, but the filmmakers chose instead to make it one long, two-hour gun battle nonstop.  We hear a bit about the characters in the beginning, but not really enough to feel invested in them.  We are given a bit of war planning and arguing, then the 12 committed men are sent to Afghanistan as elite special forces with the primary purpose of disempowering Al Qaeda.  They will secure the alliance of a Taliban warlord with grudges against his rivals and a mutual hatred of Al Qaeda, which has just attacked the U.S. on 9/1/1.

     If we could have been given more back story about Captain Mitch Nelson (Hemsworth) who secured undying loyalty from his team including Hal Spencer (Shannon), Sam Diller (Pena), and others, their confidence in him and his leadership would have been more gratifying.     This is even more salient for the character General Dostum (Negahban), the Taliban leader with whom Captain Nelson has an ambivalent relationship.  What a rich and illuminating history he must have.  Having some light shed on the political and historical background of these relationships would elevate the story beyond constant war skirmishes. 

I’m reminded of the jokes about American westerns’ “white” hats and “black” hats that helped us identify the warring parties.  We have no such clues in 12 Strong, where it’s often difficult to tell which fighters are American and which are which Taliban.  Some of them are robed, and we know they are Afghans, but which are General Dostum’s and which are enemies is difficult to see.  My hunch is that those who are familiar with videogames—which are fast-moving—will have an easier time than I had.

    Production designer Christopher Glass and the visual effects artists have created impressive sets and special effects.  It is thrilling to see the American bombs hitting their targets and rockets flying through the air.  These filmmakers did their jobs well; I put most of the responsibility for neglecting character development in favor of never-ending battle scenes at the feet of the director, Nicolai Fuglsig.  I believe this is his first foray into directing a feature film, and hopefully, next time he will attend more to emotional and character development to give depth to his films.

     Chris Hemsworth is effective in depicting a dedicated American war hero who is sharp and cagy in his analyses and attuned to nuances and competing agendas in his dealings with others, whether friend or foe.  We do get a better idea of what kind of person he is.  That is not the case with the characters of fine actors like Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, Taylor Sheridan, and Navid Negahban.  They were wasted in this movie, considering their intrinsic worth.

     This is a story that needs to be told, but with many more details about the circumstances and the people involved.

Knights on (not white) horses win the day (not the war) in Afghanistan post 9/11.

Grade:  D+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THOR: RAGNAROK

Chris Hemsworth     Tom Hiddleston     Cate Blanchett     Mark Ruffalo     Tessa Thompson

Anthony Hopkins     Benedict Cumberbatch     Idris Elba     Jeff Goldblum     Karl Urban

     Thor has seen rocky times in two previous versions (Thor, 2011; Thor:  The Dark World, 2013), but in the hands of the gifted director Taika Waititi, Thor:  Ragnarok is deemed much more successful.  Additional factors contributing to quality are the writers (Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, and original Marvel comics); the diverse, finely talented cast; the imaginative cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe; and the special and visual effects. 

One of the distinctions of this action film is the inclusion of emotional elements (sibling rivalry, family issues, friendship, loyalties, humor) and depth of story, along with the stronger roles given to women, more so than almost any other action film, except for Wonder Woman.  Cate Blanchett as Hela and Tessa Thompson as a Valkyrie have special powers and hold their own in physical combat with the men. 

    In searching for the Infinity Stones, a holdover from the Avengers franchise, Thor (Hemsworth) is captured by the fiery demon Surtur (voice of Clancy Brown) who prophesies the end of Asgard (Odin’s realm) in an apocalypse called Ragnarok.  Thor is not about to let that happen, and escapes the demon, thinking he has prevented Ragnarok from happening.  But his father Odin (Hopkins) is missing, so he enlists the help of Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch) in locating him, which he does with a number of flashy demonstrations.  Thor talks to his father, and learns that his sister Hela (Blanchett), who has been in prison, will be released, will be claiming the crown, and will implement Ragnarock as the Goddess of Death.  It turns out that she has higher ambitions than her father, with wishes to control the whole world.  Thor decides to take her on, and goes to Asgard.

     But the black-clad Hela with a gorgeous body and an antler headdress is formidable, and not only does Thor lose his hammer, he is banished to the world of Sakaar, ruled by the weird Grand Master (Jeff Goldblum).  He finds his brother Loki (Hiddleston) already there, and sees that he has gained the confidence of the Grand Master.  The brothers are as competitive as always, and Thor winds up being made a gladiator scheduled to fight the current champion—none other than The Hulk (Ruffalo).  Thor is delighted to see him, but soon discovers that Bruce Banner is no longer present, and The Hulk fully intends to destroy him.  Eventually, Thor, Loki, the Valkyrie, and The Hulk wriggle out of the confines of Sakaar, and rally the support and arms they will need to thwart Hela’s ambitions.

     Back on Asgard, the people are unhappy with Hela’s merciless rule and destructiveness, and under the leadership of Heimdall (Elba), attempting to avoid Hela’s soldiers and escape to a safer place.  Thor and his team of “Revengers” will be fighting the battle of their lives when they arrive.

     Balancing out the action scenes are many allusions to a wry kind of humor.  Calling their team the “Revengers” is one; the Grand Master insisting on calling Thor the “Lord” of Thunder, rather than a god, rankling Thor, is another; and key people refusing to join the Revengers because they “don’t want to get into a family squabble” still another example.  Many of these jokes were sprinkled throughout the action sequences late in production, increasing the run time twenty minutes, but Waititi considers it well worth it.  I would agree.

Thor:  Ragnarok easily entertains with adventure, challenges, family fights, and humor. 

Grade:  A                                    By Donna R. Copeland

GHOSTBUSTERS

Kristin Wiig   Melissa McCarthy   Kate McKinnon   Leslie Jones   Chris Hemsworth   Bill Murray   Cecily Strong

          For those who like slapstick comedy, sitcoms, and special effects, this movie will be a blast (literally).  It’s very much in the style of most of the Melissa McCarthy films, where she is outrageous but smart.  As Abby, she has three side-kicks here, one a legitimate scientist (Wiig as physicist Erin), one a female scientist-nerd (McKinnon as Jillion), and one a New York street-wise woman with practical connections and a vast knowledge of New York’s history (Jones as Patty).  At first, Erin is put off by Abby’s promotion of their co-authored book on parapsychology and ghosts from some years back, until….sightings of ghosts are reported throughout the city.  And when she witnesses a graphic ghost appearance, she is on board.  Unfortunately, she is fired from her university job for even being associated with such an endeavor.  Nevertheless, she goes on to form part of a team of ghostbusters who will be discredited but remain committed and valiant.

         Ghostbusters is remarkable for a number of assets that are impressive, particularly the casting and the special and visual effects.  Cinematography (Robert D. Yeoman) is likewise noteworthy.   McCarthy and Wiig have demonstrated their talent in numerous productions (Wiig:  Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins, Saturday Night Live; McCarthy:  Bridesmaids, Spy, St. Vincent), but McKinnon, new to moviedom, steals the show in her portrayal of a character not seen in most of movieland—a female nerd who is an expert in firearms.  She doesn’t just shoot them; she creates them.  McKinnon’s characterization of this odd, entertaining inventor is a rare treat, especially since, for all its female empowerment, this Ghostbusters pulls out all the tired female stereotypes we’ve seen in countless films:  Girlie shrieks and jumping up and down after a success, yammering and arguing over trivia, complete melt-down and foolishness at the sight of a handsome man, and on and on.  I’m disappointed in these actresses for this, as well as the writer Katie Dippold and director, Paul Feig, whom I thought previously was a champion of women.

      In their defense, the Hemsworth character, Kevin, who is supposed to be the receptionist for the ghostbuster group, goes against the actor’s normally heroic persona to one who is rather dim and narcissistic.  He doesn’t know how to answer the phone or respond logically to questions, and is completely preoccupied with his own interests.  He, the mayor (Andy Garcia), and other males don’t come off much better than the females.  Maybe female/male stereotypes were meant to be part of the jokes of the film.

        Other casting strengths include the number of the previous Ghostbuster actors (Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Dan Akroyd, and Annie Potts) as well as cameo appearances of notables like Ed Begley, Jr., Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Andy Garcia, and Al Roker.  These, as well as references to a host of other films add a special element of fun.

A surprising thriller teeming with goofiness.

Grade:  C+                        By Donna R. Copeland

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR

Chris Hemsworth     Emily Blunt     Jessica Chastain     Charlize Theron

            The film, loosely based on the Snow White fairy tale, is a prequel/sequel to the 2012 Snow White and the Huntsman.  It opens with a brief flashback showing Ravenna (Theron) killing her husband, the king (Robert Portal), who is also Snow White’s father.   And it gives a picture of the relationship between the two sisters Ravenna, older and dominant, and Freya (Blunt) submissive and emotionally positive.  After Ravenna destroys Freya’s chance for happiness, Freya, feeling betrayed and cynical, takes off to the north to set up her own kingdom.  Her new ability to magically create ice gives her the reputation of the “Ice Queen” and serves as a special power (Yup; think Frozen, 2013).  Her castle containing an enormous ice tower juts up into the high mountains covered with ice and snow.

            To build her army, Freya kidnaps hundreds of children and brings them to her castle to be trained for warfare by her huntsmen.  Two children are standouts for their superior combat skills:  Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain).  Unfortunately, these two eventually fall in love, which is against Freya’s law prohibiting it.  Love is a sin, the Ice Queen has decided.  What happens to them is the major action of the ensuing story.

            With such a talented cast, excellent cinematography (Phedon Papamichael), production design (Dominic Watkins), and costumes (Colleen Atwood), it’s a shame that the story lacks substance.  It’s as if the writers (Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin) put the few elements of the Grimm brothers’ Snow White into a bottle with whatever came to mind, shook it up and threw the contents out on the table, putting them back together in such a way the plot comes out rather jumbled and marked by unfortunate stereotypes of women.  Give them power and they become controlling and mean (Ravenna).  If they start out being loving, they become controlling and icy and/or they get duped (Freya).  They’re unmerciful if they’ve felt betrayed or were misled into believing it to be so (Sara).  Out of all this mishmash, the gist of the tale is “Love conquers all”, which is stated sarcastically in the beginning, but expressed genuinely by the end, as if that is the conclusion the audience is supposed to draw.  However, what transpires in between is not convincing. 

            Light moments in the film that are intended as jokes seem out of place and out of context.  When one character gets proof that her betrayer actually loves her—a tender moment she shows with tears in her eyes—the mood is broken by the question, “Are you crying?”  And we’re supposed to chuckle at this misplaced joke.  There are numerous jolts like this which are intended to be funny, but that take the focus away from a fairy tale atmosphere to present day culture.

           

A story more a jumble than a fairy tale.

Grade:  C-                        By Donna R. Copeland

VACATION

Ed Helms     Christina Applegate     Chris Hemsworth     Leslie Mann     Chevy Chase

Vacation did not seem like a vacation to me at all.  The writers/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein must have used some kind of formula in which each joke or episode has to be done at least twice and every so many minutes there will be a joke about sex, bodily functions, or physical or verbal bumbling.  At least partly, the formula is based on numerous versions of the original National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), which makes it outdated, but even so, additional sequels are planned.  Clearly, many people enjoy this kind of humor, but to do each joke and incident twice and not come up with anything close to creative makes me tired.

           Rusty (Helms) is a pilot for a small airline, and the story begins with his older co-pilot thanking him for sticking up for him in keeping his job.  Of course, the old man immediately begins showing he is too old by repeating himself three times (funny the first time, but overkill for the second and third) and doing such a bad job piloting when Rusty is away from the cockpit, the plane starts bouncing around throwing Rusty right into the boobs of an attractive passenger (this happens at least three times).  And this is only in the first five minutes of the film.

           Briefly, Rusty overhears that his wife is tired of going to the same place for vacation year after year, so he plans a trip to a theme park (Walley World) dear to his heart without consulting his family.  He rents a foreign car, which he doesn’t know how to operate, and which sets the scene for repeated jokes of the car being out of control and Rusty’s repeated bumbling in trying to operate it.  Of course, they have horrendous accidents, but they all come out unscathed.  Ah, how funny.  They’re going on a 2,000 plus mile journey, so there will be plenty of time for shenanigans, usually with Rusty being the butt of the jokes because of his ineptness.

           Aside from simply not being funny, Vacation is obnoxious in giving a high five to a young kid mouthing off, swearing, and being cruel; glorifying/making light of over-drinking; and solving problems by physical violence.  The adolescent son who has some appreciation for cultural and educational aspirations and nonviolence is poked fun at; whereas his cheeky younger brother is held up as a model.  When his older brother finally takes him down, this is presented as heroic because he did it by (mildly) beating him up. 

There is one scene in Vacation that I did find truly funny, despite its slapstick tinges.  I won’t give anything away, but it takes place at Four Corners, where four states meet and involves officers from each state quarreling, each trying to maintain his/her control of territory. 

Save your money; just rent the original National Lampoon’s Vacation, and you will have seen a better version of this.  Go only if bodily functions, stupidity, and sex make you roll over with laughter.

Grade:  F                                           By Donna R. Copeland

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Robert Downey, Jr.   Chris Hemsworth   Mark Ruffalo   Chris Evans   Scarlett Johansson   James Spader (voice)   
 Jeremy Renner   Samuel L. Jackson   Don Cheadle   Aaron Taylor-Johnson   Elizabeth Olsen   Paul Bettany   Andy Serkis

This version of the Avengers features a dizzying number of battles with characters flying at each other through the air at lightning speed.  The story opens with the Avengers in an eastern European country, Sokovia, raiding a Hydra outpost led by evil scientist Strucker who has used Loki’s scepter to create the superhuman Maximoff twins out of humans, one of whom, Pietro (Taylor-Johnson), can run at superhuman speed and the other, Wanda (Olsen), can read and manipulate minds and throw scarlet energy blasts. 

But the Avengers overcome Strucker, and when Stark (Downey) and Banner (Ruffalo) take over his lab, they discover artificial intelligence in the scepter’s gem, which Stark wants to use for his “Ultron” peacekeeping defense program.  Unbeknownst to them and to their chagrin, however, when he appears, Ultron is sentient and hatching a plan to “save” the earth from mankind because they’ve done such a bad job.  While the Avengers are celebrating their victory over Hydra and Strucker, Ultron begins to take action by eliminating Stark’s A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S., and stealing the scepter, which he plans to use to upgrade his body and construct an army of fighter drones.  In addition, he talks the Maximoff twins into joining him in his efforts.  He is persuasive, because he talks only of peace, but fails to mention his grandiose plan of extinguishing humans and populating the earth with metal creations in his own image. 

When this is discovered, another battle ensues, and Wanda is able to make chaos among the Avengers by hypnotizing them into stupors and transmitting hallucinations that relate to their personal underlying fears, resulting in undermining any sense of team spirit they had.  Now they realize they need a break for rest and teambuilding, so they head for Hawkeye’s (Renner) farmhouse to rest up.  But their recuperation is interrupted by the arrival of Nick Fury (Jackson), informing them that Ultron has forced Banner’s scientific colleague Dr. Helen Cho (Claudia Kim), to use her synthetic tissue technology to perfect his body, so they head for South Korea to foil his efforts.

In the process, allegiances shift among different characters, Stark is able to resurrect J.A.R.V.I.S., which Thor activates with lightning, resulting in a new robot called Vision (Bettany).  The ultimate battle ensues in Sokovia, where Ultron has major plans to use the city in his efforts for global extinction of humans.

Director Joss Whedon, who is also one of the writers, is known for inserting emotional elements into his action films to make them more than simply action scenes with special effects.  This is usually successful, but not so much in Avengers:  Age of Ultron.  The side stories of Romanoff and Banner, Hawkeye and Wanda, and War Machine’s repeated corny jokes, for instance, seem patched in rather than seamlessly integrated into the overall story.  He is successful, however, in making the action interesting and exciting, and by now, after so many iterations, most of the characters have depth and distinct personalities.  As an added bonus to me, Whedon is a master at inserting classical music and literature into the sci-fi action genre—e.g., operatic aria playing in a laboratory that is creating A.I.’s.

The film’s impressive cast, music (Danny Elfman and Brian Tyler), cinematography (Ben Davis), and special effects make this a movie well worth seeing for those who are fans of the superhero genre.

Can the Avengers save the planet?

GRADE:  B                      BY DONNA R. COPELAND