I would have hated to post this review during the weekend, not that I expected much traffic through my blog as I was expecting everyone to be at theatres for 1st and 2nd helpings of “The Dark Knight.” I am not surprised that the movie raked in over a $155 million in box office sales, beating out Spider-Man 3 for biggest hit. The only real question is was the movie deserving of all that money we threw into its Hollywood coffers? You all saw the movie and I think many of you will have to agree that it indeed did. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” easily jumps to the top 10 list of a lot of people’s favorite or best superhero movies of all time.

Read on, Minor Spoilers ahead…




I don’t want to be the kid in the candy shop who has got his taste and now decided to tease the others by telling them what he has tasted, but I will. I definitely don’t want to spoil the movie by any stretch of the imagination for those who have yet to go to the theatres and see the movie for themselves. I will definitely not be doing that. The dark Knight had so much going on it that there was not a moment where I felt I had been in the theatre for 2.5 hours. It was like a never-ending roller coater ride that I was happy to be on.



There is no question whose character jumped off the screen into the minds of the audience and delivered the biggest performer. Heath Ledger’s Joker easily outshined Cesar Romero’s comedic clown prince or Jack Nicholson playboy-fool. There was a deranged since of anarchy and delusion that prevailed with the character. Of course the character was written in the script like that, but Ledger delivered on what many thought he would not be able to deliver on. Many of us have read Batman titles over the years and seen the Joker played as a two bit comedy slapstick clown and we all know that isn’t the Joker. Only the Joker can count the Kill totals he has racked up, but we finally get the anarchist clown prince we have waited ages to see and in my opinion Ledger delivered on the goods.



When he appeared in the opening scene robbing the bank I wasn’t too enthused, it was a very calculating calm joker though hilarious and frightful, but not overwhelmed with the performance quite like I was when he placed a pencil on a table and told his audience he would make it disappear, before doing just that in a very sadistic way. Ledger shined in this performance. Even with the buzz about the man himself, I forgot about the actor and got into the character, I didn’t see past the make-up to Ledger, I saw past it to the Joker.



Christian Bale’s performance was Batman; stoic, calm collected, observant and intense. I think many will look at his role and put forth the notion that he just went through the process, but then you have not been reading Batman comics and you are probably more involved with the Adam West Television shows, the pass franchise crap and not into the comics, it was never exciting to see Batman work in the comics, it is exciting to see him interact with his villains and perform the feats he does. He is the Super Hero who is not super powered.



Aaron Eckhart didn’t quite sell me on the role as Two-Face though I was sold in his role as Harvey Dent. The image sold me on Eckhart as Two-Face. The realism put on the movie by Nolan who refuses to infuse CGI into every shot is what I loved most about the look and feel of the movie as a whole and the individual iconic characters.



The movie explored that sadistic relationship between the Joker and the Batman and played it up all the way to the ending credits. It’s sad we will never be graced again by the character Ledger brought to the role as Joker, but it was definitely an iconic performance. If he doesn’t get an Oscar for the role then I don’t think we will be seeing any superhero movie receive one. I will not say he deserved it posthumously; he deserved it just because his performance was that good. Go and watch the movie for the movie and when you are done tell me if you saw the Joker or if you saw Ledger. At one point in the movie when he was in the questioning room and the paint had fell from his face, I still don’t remember thinking there is Ledger, I was still seeing the demented clown prince.

This movie is Number 1 on my list, where does it place on yours?

Vote for Darkseid Revenge and/or Get The Latest on Darkseid Revenge

Last night I went to see the Incredible Hulk and I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a crappy CGI fest and a long winded Banner tale that was hardly worth following about love and all that crap in the Hulk mythology. Basically, I was expecting to see what Ang Lee directed or a pick up fro where Ang Lee left off. I don’t want to say Ang Lee’s movie was total crap, but by comparison it really was. Louis Leterrier does a fantastic job with this new start to the Hulk franchise.

I also loved the art direction they took for this Hulk over what they used in Ang Lee's version. This Hulk seemed based more on Michael Turner's work than anything ihave ever seen. The Sharp, heavily defined features all seemed similar to Turner's work. You really think of it in the terms of how Chris Nolan restarted the Batman franchise. He doesn’t act as if the mythos was not defined in the other movie and doesn’t spend the whole movie revamping what was put forward or going into agonizing detail about the origin. He just lays bread crumbs for new viewers and old viewers so no one is confused. It was a really good restart and the best super hero movie in a long time. I know some of you will disagree with that very statement and argue for other movies, but give me a chance to explain.



Hulk pulled off what most super hero movies barely are capable of or better yet unable to comprehend, and that is making the villain just as important as the hero. Defining the villain is what allows us to get into the movie. Two other franchises have successfully done this in my opinion; Batman and Spider-Man. The difference here is giving a villain that is viable and on par with the Hero, that is made even harder with a character like the Hulk, it is the same thing that plagues the Superman franchise. The hero is so big that giving an equal is just a daunting task. Hulk pulls this off magnificently with the Abomination and Emil Blonsky’s character. While watching the movie I was just enthralled in the Emil Blonsky/Abomination back story as I was the Bruce Banner/Hulk story. Tim Roth did a wonderful job as the character. I was able to let go of the frail, scrawny image of him as a soldier which did not make him very imposing as Emil Blonsky, but he managed to put forth enough machismo and aggressiveness into the character that it really sold the character. His change into the abomination was magnificent as you could see the deterioration of his mind throughout the story.



Edward Norton pulls off the perfect image of the Hulk. Sorry Eric Bana, but your pretty boy, Hollywood playboy looks is what probably didn’t sell the characters for many in the Ang Lee version. Ed Norton does a kick ass job as Bruce Banner, and changing the story flow to a Banner on the run constantly is what gave the movie that pace it was missing in the Ang Lee version. It really appeared as if Ed Norton learned the comic book, he studied the blueprint, which so many directors, ahem, Bryan Singer, seem to forget is there. You don’t have to come up with a story for these characters, you just pick one and you tailor it for the big screen. Actors don’t have to come up with ways to portray their characters you just have to be able to act. Stick to the script, is basically what I am saying, which is laid out in the comics.



All the other actors were great, especially William Hurt as the General. I loved his character. Liv Tyler was great to watch as the damsel in distress, Betty Ross. I really felt that torn lover in her portrayal of the role. Basically the acting made up for all the bad acting and casting choices in Ang Lee’s version.



The CGI is what had to sell this movie to the viewer and it absolutely sold me. Normally I will scrutinize CGI so much that I can find small collision faults and other effects that were not done justice. Hell Iron Man had some, but my eye couldn’t keep up with the action and the effects to notice any major moments where the CGI looked off. From the Hulk crushing cars, to his hand claps and shockwave attack, down to the very muscle fibers moving along with facial expressions was just on point. I loved every moment of this movie and the fight between Abomination and the Hulk in New York City was the best I have seen on the screen. It ranked right up there with Spider-Man versus Doc Ock. I loved this movie and highly suggest you go see it, it was worth the price of admission.



Lastly all of the Easter Eggs in the movie from the Hulk Smash to the Lou Ferrigno appearance were just great, even though when they played the TV series theme music all i could think of was that episode of Family Guy where Stewie is walking away to this music. The best of the Easter Eggs was the ending where we see Edward Norton grinning from ear-to-ear as he is controlling the release of the Hulk, which i took as a nod to the current status of the Hulk after the Planet Hulk series. If you haven't read that series then you should check it out.

Vote for Darkseid Revenge also join me for Comic Book Discussion on TCGplayer.

***Spoiler Alert***

Read on at the risk of being upset if you have not watched the movie yourself.

I finally went on Sunday to a very packed theatre during the opening weekend for a film that rightfully grossed nearly $105 million in ticket sales. For a director who has not churned out very many blockbuster movies if any at all, Jon Favreau does an excellent job with the Iron Man character clearly establishing the series and the character.

The Actors

Robert Downey Jr. Could not is more perfect for the role of Tony Stark. For the sequels Favreau intends to take viewers down the alcoholic, arrogant Stark we all know from the comics. This is great for Downey who has struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol in his real life. It also guarantees should he have a lapse in judgment it really won't affect the character any since that is the character. I doubt he will be having any lapses. Downey does an excellent job in bringing the arrogant billionaire we all love to hate to the big screen mixing whimsical comedy with action drama. The fact the actors were doing a lot of adlibbing says a lot as well.

Gwyneth Paltrow was magnificent as Pepper Potts, playing the role very well or as well as it takes to be a secretary swooning after he boss.

Jeff Bridges, bald and all looks like a very strong character and serves well as the enemy of Iron Man in this first entry tot he series. Obadiah Stone in the first incarnation of the Iron Man suits.

Terrence Howard joins the assemble as Rhodes whom we will more than likely see in the sequel as was hinted at in this movie as War Machine. His role in the movie was cut and his presence in the movie was minimal but still effective to build that Stark Industries Military Industrial Complex relationship.

CGI

This movie was largely CGI and that is no surprise. I was very impressed with the CGI. What is capable on the screens today is just amazing. The latest Superman movie really did make you believe a man could fly and Iron Man really did show you the way that was really going to happen for us mortals. Every aspect of the suit right down to its flight and fight capabilities seemed plausible, not over done or highly exaggerated. At no point did I think to myself, bullshit, that can't really happen. Well, okay not so true. For instance when Downey is testing the rocket boots for the first time at 10% thrust and nearly kills himself on the ceiling I was thinking that was unbelievable. When he and the Jet wing collided and he was not really worse for the wear I thought that was unbelievable, but the movie did well because it allowed me to suspend disbelief because I kept thinking, given the right technological advancements man could really accomplish exoskeleton armament in order to fight. That is where the dork in me took over and it ended just as quickly when I looked back at the screen. My female companion was asking about the armor and she is no comic book fan, but it captivated her interest enough or she feigned interest, either way we enjoyed the CGI.

Story

What can you say; the story was just an updated version of what happened in the comics. We don’t get the Mandarin and his ten rings of power unless you count the terrorist groups naming, but it was a foreshadowing that he is on his way into the films. Favreau felt like introducing such a villain in the first film would be too difficult. I thoroughly agree.

So instead of getting Mandarin we got Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane in a beefed up original Iron Man suit. This was not bad at all until we get the way the battle is resolved which was really anti-climatic and not very epic. To be truthful it was almost as bad as the Superman movies ending to the crisis averted.

Obadiah Stane thinks he is as smart as Iron Man, but he hasn't figured out the problem with icing in the suit at high altitudes, yawn of a way for a fight to end. After the credits rolled we got a preview for what looks like not the sequel to an Iron Man movie, but maybe a script being written for the Avengers? Either way it has Samuel L. Jackson in the role of Nick Fury... don't ask me who comes up with this stuff, it isn’t me!

Well till next time, Marvel Universe Previews and I think we will be getting some of that Annihilation Conquest love this week. We have a lot of reviews as well coming off the shelves so please stop on by and vote for Darkseid Revenge over of VSnetwork, its real easy just click on Darkseid in the top right column, go ahead do it, don't be shy...

PS Since i am really a DC fan and just trying to lure you all in with all these Marvel comic Reviews here is a taste of what DC will be bringing to theatres this July, Batman the Dark Knight's newest trailer http://www.whysoserious.com/happytrails/trailer.htm