Underrated Gems: Dredd (2012)

 

        Three months ago, I had an ambitious idea of doing three movies a week. That culminated with 37 reviews of classic, foreign, and recent films. I never thought it would be feasible but, I did it. To wrap up my retrospective of summer movies, I decided to look at a supremely underrated superhero film Dredd. Created for the magazine 2000 A.D. in the United Kingdom by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, Judge Dredd is a law enforcement officer for Mega-City One. As a Street Judge, he has the authority to arrest, convict, sentence, and kill criminals. Dredd from 2012 defines all those features. 

1. Not Your Standard Comic Book Film

        This wasn’t Judge Dredd’s first film. Back in the 90s, Sylvester Stallone starred as the character. Although he did his best with the material, he couldn’t save the film from being a turd. And just by seeing the images here and seeing him in Stallone’s film is that the cardinal sin that he made was taking off his helmet. This time, Karl Urban portrays the perfect Judge. He never reveals his face and has a permanent scowl that gives Batman a run for his loads of money. 

        He’s not alone in this film. A rookie shadows him named Cassandra Anderson, who is a mutant with psychic abilities. As they investigate a triple homicide in the massive 200 floor apartment building Peach Trees. An infamous gang leader “Ma-Ma” locks down the entire complex and orders her gang to find and kill Dredd. It’s about as basic as you can get in terms of what our two protagonists have going for them. Although the great thing is that the side story ties in with their predicament. 

        As Dredd gives Anderson the assessment, we get to see her character for who she is. When confronted with a gang member, she hesitates since she has the old-fashioned way to administer justice. I think my favorite scene of her is when both her and Dredd enter a civilian's apartment to hide from the gang. She has a vision that the gang member she killed was the tenant's husband. Anderson doesn't tell her as she and her mentor try to survive. 

        As Dredd is assigned to give an evaluation to Anderson if she is worthy of being a Judge. What works is that the action between the two coincide if she is good enough to be good as Dredd. Let’s hold off on the action. While the film is unique, I think it has the same structure as the foreign action film The Raid. With a cop and a rookie attempting to stop a drug gang in a tall building. Dredd is different due in large part with having the action show just how efficient Dredd is as a Judge. Okay, now we can talk about the action. 

2. Bloody Good Action

        What can I say about it? Oh lordy, it’s good for a blast ‘em up kind of movie. Since it’s rated R, it doesn’t hold back with the excessive violence. Some might think it’s a bit much. I say that it represents who Judge Dredd is and who he is supposed to be. Now, I’ll admit that I haven’t picked up or read a story of the famous authority figure, but everything is immediately set up with who he is and what he represents. 

        Anderson is a representation of us when we see her in the beginning. Dredd tells her the code of the Judge within the city. Mostly, the criminal is subject to life in prison or death. Inside the complex is where the entire action takes place. All the Judges including Dredd has a special gun where he can alternate with different bullet types and stun features. With the even fancy feature of having that gun explode if someone else pulls the trigger. 

        The main problem with any sub-standard action film is that while the action is at least tolerable, the main characters is the Achilles heel. Mostly since with the action to be good, there needs to be proper tension to at least make us care for the characters. If that’s lacking, what you’re basically going to get is what amounts to watching a video game cutscene, cool to look at, but boring or just not caring. Dredd remedies that issue by having it be that while yes, Dredd is the supreme Judge. The context is he tests Anderson to see if she can be Judge material. 

        So not only does Dredd have to contend with gang members, but also rogue Judges. Four are sent by the gang leader to hunt and kill Dredd. Not only does it amp up the action, but we get to see just how different Dredd is. From seeing the other Judges, Dredd represents who he is supposed to be and be one step above them. 

        Anderson is good too and as I mentioned earlier, she is a mutant. When the duo brings a prisoner, Dredd assigns her to use her abilities on him to extract any info. What I like is that we see the power and we think for a moment since she’s a rookie the prisoner will overpower her. The awesome part is that she gives him the illusion that he is in control. Slowly but surely be the next perfect Judge. 

3. Why Did it Bomb?

        When looking at how much it made in the box-office, it did not do well. It grossed four million dollars less than its budget. The main reason why it underperformed is that as Karl Urban points out, the studio barely marketed it. While there were commercials for the film. Not enough promotion to advertise the film may have doomed it. The good thing is that when it came out on home video, 750,000 copies were sold. Thus making it a cult classic among the Judge Dredd fans. 

4. Overall 

        Dredd is one of those underrated comic book gems that should be seen by both action and comic book film fans. Karl Urban does a great job with portraying the authority figure. And it’s a bloody good time. 

        Dredd gets a four out of five.  

Kick-Ass Review

 

        Now we are in the 2010s. Superhero films have  rebounded in popularity due to Iron Man and The Dark Knight. The former slowly establishing its interconnected cinematic universe with its sequel which debuted in 2010. In the midst of that, director Matthew Vaughn adapted one of the most creative superhero comics to film with Kick-Ass. Created by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr. for Icon Comics in 2008. Kick-Ass is a literal bloodbath while being a deconstruction of what a superhero is. 

1. Dave 

        Dave Lizewski is an ordinary guy who loves comic books. He’s the invisible guy who has his own friends and is just the outcast. With the occasional moments of him having the hots for his teacher for two reasons. After being robbed by two muggers, he decides to become a hero. Albeit his origin is literally different from the other superheroes. He only loses one parent. And the girl he likes thinks he’s gay.

        Eventually he suits up to stop the same muggers from carjacking. It goes south as one would expect. Anyways, as he was in the hospital his nerves were gone which made him invulnerable. Soon, he stops a group of crooks and decides to go by the name Kick-Ass. Building an online presence to help people in need. Meanwhile, a mob boss named Frank D’Amico tries to find someone described as “Batman” from killing his men. 

        So throughout the film, Dave is exposed to the different heroes in the film which I’ll talk about in the next segment. Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a good job of being the typical outcast in these stories. What I like about him is that he isn’t a normal hero in any stretch. He was partly inspired by the books and had enough of being mugged. I think what sold me is the narration from the beginning. Where we see a guy with a winged costume fall from a building and ironically crash onto a car. It sets up what kind of movie we’re expecting. 

2. The Deconstruction of Being a Hero

        This is one of those rare genre films where it is a deconstruction. Mostly that it means to call out how the whole situation in the movie or genre is going to be played out. It’s different from a parody movie where it goes out of its way to spoof how a film operates. This, meanwhile, shows what makes it work. While yes, show how the hero gets the suit, meet the bad guy, get the girl, and save the day. 

        With Kick-Ass the idea of being a hero is played straight alongside the hyper display of violence that is shown. Right when we see Dave fix a problem that affects his friend Katie. Dave is out of his league when trying to settle a dispute. When the new young hero Hit-Girl arrives, the level of violence is shown. Her appearance caused some controversy. Not with the violence, but when she says the forbidden “C”-word. 

        She doesn’t work alone, since she is the daughter of a former cop turned hero named Big Daddy. When the two train to have her feel what it’s like to be shot, it’s obviously supposed to represent Batman training Robin. Since, when reading the comics, no way would a grown up take a child in a potentially dangerous situation. One where Big Daddy saves her from a criminal she forgot to check. 

        The whole sequence is good too. Not too disorienting or too choreographed. Just showing how well-trained Hit-Girl is. All the while Kick-Ass just hides and is completely shocked by what he’s seeing. This becomes a real sticking point to him when he is seeing an actual crime instead of just petty thieving. He’s out of his league. More so that it makes Hit-Girl be just out of her mind. The only thing she can think of is her extensive training when she isn't the hero which altered how a regular 11-year-old is supposed to be. 

        It just builds this great moment for Dave. With everything he knows just by reading the comic books and having the actual event of being a hero be just too much for him. He feels that he’s not good enough to be in the same league as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Since the father and daughter train and have legitimate reasons as to why they’re heroes. At least it stems from Big Daddy being framed by the mob leader.

        Also, what I like is that D’Amico’s son Frank, who loves comics as well. He lives in a sheltered life and Dave wants to be friends. Chris is interesting since he wants to be like his dad. Although, much like Dave it’s too much for him to handle. Ultimately, he gets used by his father to bring in Big Daddy. I honestly thought Chris’ Red Mist was going to have a presence more. It works regardless, since he wanted to be friends with Kick-Ass when the heroes finally meet goes wrong.  

        Ultimately, the film is a superhero film. It progressively embraces itself when the film starts its individual acts. Like setting up just how ridiculous being a hero turns out to be. Dave meeting the others and realizing that it’s way too much for him too handle. Lastly, embraces the ridiculousness the only way Matthew Vaughn can show. With a jetpack with twin gatling guns, you can't say no to that. 

3. Legacy

        The film was a moderate success. With it having an R-rating showed that sub-genre of comedically violent comic book films can work given the right people to handle it. More films that had that level of violence would appear in both Deadpool films. There was a sequel, but it wasn’t as good as the first one. Matthew Vaughn continued to make comic book adaptations with his films X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel. I feel that he’s an Edgar Wright type when it comes to adapting comic books to film. He embraces the zaniness of it without ever feeling that it’s cheap.

        I find it interesting that both Aaron Taylor Johnson and Evan Peters would appear in more comic book films. With the former appearing as the hero Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Although Peters beat him by portraying the same hero in X-Men: Days of Future Past. What’s even more crazy is that he appeared in Marvel Studio’s Wandavision. Which was supposed to have Johnson as the hero, but perhaps he was too busy.  

4. Overall

        Kick-Ass ushered in a new type of superhero films where it analyzed what it means to be a hero, and it succeeded. 

        Kick-Ass gets a four out of five. 

Hellboy (2004) Review

 

        The final week of my look at superhero films is here. Let’s look at Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy. Created by writer and artist Mike Mignola in 1993, Hellboy ushered in a new decade of heroes from Dark Horse Comics. Joining other heroes from other publishers that weren’t from Marvel and DC Comics. This isn’t del Toro’s first rodeo for helming a superhero film. He directed the sequel to Blade. Although, this one fits with del Toro’s motif of monsters and macabre. This is one of del Toro’s best, since he hasn’t made anything that is terrible yet. 

1. Man or Monster

        The film begins in World War 2 with a scientist who studies the paranormal named Bruttenholm. He is referred by the Seargent as Broom. He tags along with an Allied Team of soldiers to stop the Nazis from opening a portal. They proceed to stop the portal and the main baddies Grigory, Ilsa, and Karl escape. As the Allies investigate the scene, both the young scientist and a captain discover a red creature. 

        Flash forward to the present and we follow a new Agent named John Myers, transferring to the mysterious Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense. Like most films, he starts as our eyes and ears to the weird. We then see the red creature now grown up; this time called Hellboy. Ron Perlman is the quintessential guy to play the loudmouth sarcastic devil. His voice perfectly captures who the character is. 

        So throughout the film, both Hellboy and the Bureau attempt to stop Grigory from summoning an ancient evil. Not knowing that the main character is the key to unlock the threat. I feel that del Toro learned from his mistakes from Blade 2 and really nailed the action for this film. Hellboy manages to handle the demon Samael multiple times. Due to it having the ability to resurrect itself. It’s not just him most of the time. Other agents including the aquatic Abe-Sapien and pyrokinetic Liz manage to hold their own.

        This is yet another example of the film being meta with the comic books. Meaning that the film is self-aware. We have that moment when we see reports of Hellboy, there are news articles and a comic book being shown. It was hilarious to see him comment that the comic book messed up his eyes. Now that is something that may have happened as the hero in the comics has just solid yellow eyes. Whereas we see Perlman’s pearly eyes. 

        The film has the combination of practical and special effects. The main fight where we see this is when see our hero fighting the demon in the New York subway. With the closeups when Hellboy is wrangling the creature it looks like a realistic puppet being operated. And the other shots that are somewhat far away to show that both characters are computer generated. I like that there’s a fusion of the two, since if there’s just CGI the action would look rubbery and fake. 

2. Hellboy’s Labyrinth

        What’s interesting about the film is Hellboy in general. Throughout the film, Professor Broom has picked a new agent to be a caregiver to our demonic hero. The main point of contention is could Hellboy, a figure who is demonic and key to bringing in an ancient evil, be turned good or embrace who he is. 

        More so that whenever the agency gets word on a threat, the team is dispatched. As they’re going to investigate, most of the walks have hallways or labyrinths. I think they’re supposed to symbolize just who Hellboy wants to be. There are moments where we see the hero that he is. Like when he fights the demon in the subway, he manages to rescue a woman’s box of kittens from getting crushed.  As the film progresses, we see him slowly come to terms with who he is and that he just wants to be accepted. 

        Another favorite is when we see Agent John and Liz hanging out and Hellboy following them. He’s jealous and there’s a moment where he meets a boy, and he gets life lessons from the kid to suck it up and just tell Liz how he feels. This is the thing that I will always harp on for any superhero that looks edgy. It’s by giving the hero depth to at least not make him be just a tough guy. 

3. Legacy or How The Studios Screwed Up

        The film was successful and made enough to be deemed a success. A sequel was commissioned four years later, I’ve seen parts of it but not much to really have an opinion. Actually, my first exposure to Hellboy was when he was adapted to animation when one of them was featured on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. Ron Perlman voices the character and will always be the hero. 

        There were rumors of a third movie being helmed by Guillermo del Toro with Perlman returning. Sometimes the reports would be inconsistent by saying the film was still happening or just cancelled. The director had been busy with other projects so the prospects of doing a third movie at the time was just not possible. It wasn’t until 2019 when another Hellboy movie was released. This time with David Habour being the new hero. I found it odd that the marketing focused on the R-rating, like it wanted people to know that. Ultimately, the film failed and bombed. 

One last thing is that this wouldn’t be the first time del Toro would have a film with an aquatic creature. Now I’m not saying Abe-Sapien was the basis for The Shape of Water, since the character in that film was partly inspired by Universal’s Creature From the Black Lagoon. I’m just saying maybe he was bored and wanted to explore a relationship between a woman and a sea creature, a reverse Little Mermaid if you will. What am I talking about again?

4. Overall

        Hellboy is the second del Toro film that I have seen. It’s an enjoyable film and one of the rare instances of a director doing the double duty of writing and directing. Ron Perlman is and always will be the definitive actor to portray the demonic hero. 

        Hellboy gets a four out of five. 

Unbreakable Review

 

        I was not aware that Unbreakable came out in the same year as X-Men. This is probably M. Night Shyamalan’s best film in his entire career. He made a name for himself with his horror film The Sixth Sense. Which is where he got his inspiration since the origin part of the superhero was interesting to him. It’s an opposite of the Marvel Comics adaptation, more grounded in its approach about a regular security guard coming to grips of his superhuman like gifts. As far as I know, it’s nowhere to be listed in any of the best superhero films list. It should be. 

1. David Dunn

        Bruce Willis stars as the main character of the film. Once again appearing in Shyamalan’s film, Willis plays the security guard David. We first see him boarding a train to Philadelphia. He talks to a passenger to pass the time. He notices that the train is going too fast. Within the accident, he is the only survivor with no scars or damages. 

        He is contacted by the reclusive comic art collector Elijah Price. Price asks him a series of questions about how he survived a horrific crash. It gets personal when he asks Dunn if he ever got sick. Dunn learns from him that the recluse suffers from brittle bone disease. When we start the film, Elijah’s mom had bought him some comic books for him to go outside. 

        David is an interesting character. His relationship with his wife Audrey is near tatters, due to the couple being involved in a car crash. They have a son Joseph who admires his dad. After meeting with Elijah on if something is extraordinary about David, both father and son test David’s strength. He can lift almost all the available weights including paint cans they had lying around. 

        What makes him great in the story perspective is that he doesn’t want to be the hero. Not that he’s ungrateful, but he can’t come to grips that he has a gift. We see when he goes through his old collection of articles, he quit football because of the same car crash. He’s afraid to embrace what he’s supposed to do. Whenever Elijah talks to him, he wants the security guard to be the hero.  

        The best scene is when the family is slowly coming together, his son Joseph brings out David’s gun to test if he’s bullet proof. Unbreakable is a thriller for a reason. And it’s just crazy seeing his son holding and aiming the gun to his dad to see if he’s strong. There’s tension, even David telling and raising his voice to his son to put down the colt pistol. It goes with the theme of predestination. Think of it as something that has to or will happen. David is born with a gift to help and protect people. Although, he tries to live his life believing he is normal. 

2. Imitating Comics

        This is probably the first movie to really have a deep philosophical angle to comic books. With Elijah being a curator of the medium, he has deep respect for it. So much so that when a customer wants to buy an original work, Price is offended when the customer wants to buy the artwork for his son. Another thing is that most comic book characters have names that are alliterative. Hence the main character's name David Dunn. 

        What M. Night has done so well is mirroring just how a comic book operates. When you watch the film, you see that there are so much long takes of dialogue. What a long take is when the camera keeps rolling unless there’s a cut of another angle of the moment we are seeing. For instance, when David and Audrey are having a date, the camera slowly zooms in on them. I like that scene since she basically tells him that the accident they had shows that he has a gift that David shouldn’t waste, but to use it. 

3. The Trilogy You Didn’t Know

        So, this part was a real shocker for me. Apparently, M. Night had planned this film to be part of a trilogy. 17 years after the film came out, Shyamalan released the film Split. I haven’t had a chance to see it, probably will on October. Though, I’ve heard it’s good since it’s a stand-alone film. Ultimately, it cultivated with the third film, I’m not naming it since it’s a giveaway with the twist. One thing I think was smart on Disney’s side was that they marketed Unbreakable as a supernatural thriller than what Shyamalan had in mind. 

        Had the film been marketed as a comic book film or just a superhero film. Many people would be disappointed that there isn’t a lot of action or crazy special effects. This film is very straight to the point. It’s like a what if scenario if an ordinary person has a particular gift. 

4. Overall

        Unbreakable is one of the best films that I’ve seen to be released in 2000. For being 21 years old, it’s still good. Obviously, the superhero genre has changed significantly throughout the 2000s and 2010s, this film has a very grounded and nuanced approach of making a superhero film. Also, I was not expecting the twist. 

        Unbreakable gets a four out of five.  

X-Men Review

 

        As we’ve seen in my exploration into superhero films, the genre has evolved a lot in its 20-year existence. It only seemed natural that Richard Donner and his wife would oversee the film to really create the love of the genre and put Marvel on the map. Bryan Singer’s X-Men is the superhero film to take credit of making superheroes cool. While Blade had its moments of action, this film about mutants had the drama to really resonate with the audience. 

1. War Among Mutants

        The film takes place in a hypothetical not too distant future. We follow a young mutant named Marie. She unintentionally causes her boyfriend to accidentally go in a coma when her powers start to emerge. Amid that, Jean Grey protests an anti-mutant rights bill that is led by the controversial Senator Kelly. Attending the hearing is Professor Xavier and his complicated friend Erik.

        Charles is an idealist who wants mutants to coexist with humans. While Erik is a holocaust survivor and knows that humans will reject mutants. Throughout the film, Xavier and his covert team attempt to stop Erik and his Brotherhood of Mutants from enacting their plan of mutant terrorism. Despite the film having little action, the drama is the film’s saving grace. It mirrors some aspects of the comic series the film is based on. Mostly that, the entire "X-Men" comic series is littered with drama. 

        The whole idea of mutants can be interpreted with any sub-culture that wishes to be compatible with everyday society. Honestly, any person can put in any lifestyle and the film will go along with it. I think it works since the actor who plays Magneto, Sir Ian McKellen is gay and can relate to the struggles of anyone who just wants to be normal or seeing anyone being mistreated. 

        I know that the obvious real-life counterparts for the two are the civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. I think it was made intentional because the entire series hinges on the mutants wanting to be accepted. As well as being an allusion when the series was started during the Civil Rights Movement. When we see the students in Xavier’s School, they mostly look normal and don’t look like mutants. Those moments show that they look like regular kids, but are gifted with the powers that are with them. 

  

2. The Wolverine

        This was Hugh Jackman’s first role in any film and the one he’ll always be known for. Even before the movie, The Wolverine had developed a following among comic book readers. Due to him being a rugged hero and having a mysterious background. Jackman absolutely nails the portrayal of the Canadian Mutant. He originally started as an actor in theater, he was told by his wife to not do the film. Jackman studied wolves thinking that a Wolverine was just a made-up name. 

        I feel that his story alongside Marie/Rogue is the central one in the whole movie. Both go through an arc, with Marie being a runaway and Logan being a vagabond. There’s a real father and daughter thing going on. Especially since she starts to care for the guy. My favorite scene is when she runs away, and Logan goes to get her. They are in a train, and they talk. I love it since it undresses the notion that Wolverine was tough, he’s just a big softie. 

        Basically, what hinges on him staying at Xavier’s is Marie being comfortable in his school. When Xavier shows Logan around the mansion, he sees that Marie is in a class. It confirms to him that Professor Xavier genuinely wants to help them out as he tells Marie that. He gets comfortable and is a flirt with Jean Grey. She is Scott’s/Cyclops girlfriend; it’s carried over from the comics since both Logan and Scott have a friendly rivalry and it mostly involves Jean. 

3. A Thing About the Suits

        When looking at the suits now, it looks ridiculous. To put it into context, The Matrix was already in the public’s consciousness. So I think to make the film approachable, the filmmakers decided to give the team leather suits. Obviously, they look nothing as they do in the comics. Especially Wolverine without his mask. His hair was added in when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was an associate producer and suggested to give Jackman’s character his signature look with his hair. 

        Many fans complained about how the team looks. It’s even mentioned when the team goes to rescue Marie. When Wolverine complains about the suit, Scott says to Logan, “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?”. Given that the comics have them running around in their colorful costumes, it makes sense that the team is more covert since they want their approach to be like a black ops mission.

4. 20 Year Film Series

        This film put the team on the map for the general audience. While an animated show premiered back in the 90s, the movie made an immediate impact on audiences. It made superhero films respectable again. What followed was a 2 decade long franchise that had sequels, spinoffs, and reboots. Also, influencing the comics they are based on and another animated series that reflects the films.

        Having watched nearly all the X-Men movies, they are largely inconsistent. The first two were solid and were working towards the comic series’ most famous storyline “The Dark Phoenix Saga. The third one was just a disappointment since it relied on action instead of the drama of what made the first two interesting. It was only a matter of time when Wolverine got spun off and had his own film series. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one of the worst things to have Wolverine on it. The original intent was to introduce other characters into their solo films.

        That was nixed when Fox rebooted the franchise with X-Men: First Class. It was an enjoyable film and probably one of my favorite comic book films. When word got out that Fox was developing a Deadpool movie, I was hesitant. Ryan Reynolds’ two Deadpool films are the most hilarious superhero films that I have watched. Such a gamechanger of utilizing comedy and introducing the public to the Merc with a Mouth. 

        Little did people know that the series even had two tv shows. While connected to the film series, they were mostly their own thing. FX’s Legion is the most experimental comic book show that ever came out back in the 2010s. While Fox’s The Gifted was the standard comic book show that had it slate of mutants. 

        I feel that the series was experimental in terms of giving a superhero film an R rating. Such as with the two Deadpool films and Logan. I applaud the series for at least being daring and risky with such a high-profile character. There were more spinoffs that were announced, but got shelved when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. 

5. Overall

        While some diehard fans would be turn off by Bryan Singer’s approach to Marvel’s mutants. I feel that it’s a sacrifice to show the public a unique adaptation to the most oddest teams to ever come out from the house of ideas. 

        X-Men gets a four out of five. 

Blade (1998) Review

 

        Marvel Comics was in financial ruin during the mid-90s. They were a part of the comic book speculator bubble. It resulted them printing too many comic books that weren’t good in quality.  As a result, to remain afloat Marvel sold their character’s film rights to major studios to at least bring them some sort of finance. To put it into context, while DC Comics had for the most part good films with their characters, Marvel struggled. Their first feature length film involving one of their characters was a disaster with Howard the Duck. What followed was most of their characters being made into tv films or films that were run of the mill bad. Blade was the first film with a Marvel character to make a profit. Which then started an entire slate of films that had Marvel’s superheroes of the 2000s.

1. Vampire Hunter

        Much like Batman from 1989, Blade is one of the rare superhero films that doesn’t have an origin story to begin with. Well, technically we see Blade’s mom being treated with vampire bites, but that’s neither here or there. Wesley Snipes portrays the hybrid vampire hunter. The way we see him is the coolest way to introduce a hero. 

        We begin when we see a guy being dragged to a rave with a girl. He’s supposed to be us being presented with what’s going to happen. To him it’s just a regular 90s rave with electronic dance music. Until, the whole place has blood being rained to the audience, which disgusts the guy. He realizes that he got dragged in by a vampire. That is where we see the slickest vampire hunter kill monsters who put up a fight. Well, how can you really attack when a hero brings a shotgun?

        This is really a nice transition from what came before in terms of superhero films. Mostly established superhero films had their actions being just fist to fist fights. It’s a bloodbath in Blade, probably the bloodiest movie for a Marvel character to appear in. Other than that, he meets a hematologist named Karen. She was attacked by one of the vampires that was burned by Blade. 

        He takes her to his lair, and we see that Blade tries to find a cure for himself. She is a refreshing character since she isn’t a love interest. Karen helps Blade and he even tells her what actually kills a vampire. Blade has help with an old man named Whistler. He gives Blade the ammo and gas for his car to get where he must go. And developing a temporary cure for his friend. We see why he helps him and his quest to kill vampires. Since it’s personal when he says that they killed his family.

        Meanwhile, we see that vampires have taken control of the city. The main bad guy Deacon Frost wants to bring about the rise of vampires by summoning an ancient God. He has that dude bro thing about him. Frost is not so much as a calculating villain. The way he goes about his plan is to really kill off his brethren who act like a mob gang. 

        If there was one thing that doesn’t do this film good is that it’s long. It’s a solid two hours, but I feel that it could’ve been trimmed to really be a simple action movie. More so that the story isn’t the best, and I really wish that we see more of Blade struggling to be a hybrid. There are moments where he’s struggling to get a cure to temper his want of blood. Just more of those moments would help him be more of a relatable hero. 

        Although the action is the film’s saving grace. To tell if it’s good is a couple of things, I’ll list two. When you have action that is mostly choreographed with the occasional switch in camera angles, it’s good for the most part. When it’s too eclectic with the camera shifts and just hard to read what exactly is going is when you got a bad action scene. The film uses the former and it’s just solid fun. My favorite part is when he’s chasing a vampire, cops show up and fire at our hero. To which he seems to break character and yell to the officers if they’re out of their mind.

2. The Matrix Connection

        When you look at Blade and The Matrix, you would think that one inspired the creation of the other. Well, technically when this film was about to premiere, The Matrix was done with its filming. Both films have leather, alongside the gunfights and regular fights that have become the staple of these two movies. While The Matrix was in development longer than Blade, it could be that this type of thing was popular in the time. I just wanted to bring it up to set the record straight that no film was influenced by another. It’s more of the reflection of the times. Next time, you’ll see another Marvel film that was influenced by the Wachowski’s film. 

3. Legacy

        As I mentioned from the start, Blade was successful when it came out. It made comic book films popular when it seemed that it would be another dead genre. In a matter of time, other studios would follow when they started to adapt their Marvel characters into films. With films like X-Men and Spider-Man elevating Marvel’s superheroes to the realm of respectability and making an impact in the box office and the general audience. 

        The film had two sequels. I haven’t had a chance to watch them, but I know that the sequel was directed by Guillermo del Toro. With the third film being directed by the writer David S. Goyer, which is considered the worst one of the series and one of the worst comic book films. In fact, there's a scene where Snipes is laying down, he wouldn't open his eyes when he's supposed to do. What the filmmakers did was put in CG eyes to look like he's opening his eyes. There was a tv show that was made for the then Spike TV which I haven’t watched. It only lasted for one season as far as I know. 

        For years, Wesley Snipes wanted to reprise his role as Blade. Rumors of another Blade film was circulating, but nothing would come out of it. It wasn’t until 2019 during Comic-Con that the producer of Marvel Studios announced that star Mahershala Ali was going to appear in a new Marvel film. That film would turn out to be Blade.

4. Overall

        Blade is a gem of the times. What it lacks in story makes up for is the action. And possibly the best line ever delivered. “Some mofos are always ice-skating uphill.” It doesn’t match the context of what happened prior, and that’s okay.  

        Blade gets a three out of five. 

Men in Black Review

 

        During the mid to late 90s, superhero films were already failing. Films like The Phantom, The Shadow, Barb Wire, and Tank Girl were not doing good box office wise and the subsequent Batman films with director Joel Schumacher were immediately lowering in quality. At the same time, the comic book industry was almost in financial ruin. They were a part of the comic book speculator bubble. Meaning that people would buy a first issue of a comic book, with hopes that it would be valuable in one day. Many shops would have tons of stock for books that were sitting there which caused the shops to bleed money, forcing them to shut down. Men in Black is significant since it was the first comic book movie to gross nearly a billion dollars.

1. Agents K and J

        The series was created by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers. I haven’t had a chance to read the series, but the film takes some liberties. We follow Agent Kay and his partner as they approach a man smuggling Mexicans. The two agents assure the Mexicans to go back in the van, except for one. K speaks Spanish but reveals that one isn’t who he is. The seasoned Agent reveals that the alien is using a head as a disguise. 

        Meanwhile, a spaceship crash lands on a farm. The farmer Edgar checks it out and sees that the creature is an alien. A Bug that looks like a cockroach kills Edgar and wears his skin as a disguise. I find it so odd to see Vincent D’Onofrio have extra skin to make it seem that the skin is too lose for the Bug. I really like the detail that the skin decays as the film goes forward. 

        Anyways, we then follow a police officer James Edwards pursuing a criminal. He chases the perp to an art museum but sees that the crook displays an amazing ability to crawl on top of the museum. James catches up to him and tells the officer that his world would end. When being interrogating of what happened, the officer meets Agent K. From there, we see the world that is the Men in Black. 

        James is part of the recruitment that involves highly decorated military soldiers. One of my favorite moments is when the others are attempting to finish the written test, they fidget and adjust themselves to finish the test. James decides to drag the coffee table in the middle of the room to his chair and continue his test. This whole scene really develops James to be an unorthodox person the secretive agency looks for. For example, when the recruits are put in a shooting range, and the troopers are shooting at the aliens. The officer shoots a cardboard cutout of a small girl. 

        This is the best scene to James; he explains that the aliens are merely just doing their thing and not causing problems. While the girl has in her hand a very scientific book that is way too advanced to have, especially in a shady side of town. It shows us that James isn’t a shoot now talk later person. He sees what each person is and picks out the one that is the just odd. That is enough for Agent K to pick him and to be a part of the Men in Black. 

        The whole movie is like a sci-fi approach to the Lethal Weapon films or the buddy cop films. With a seasoned vet who is partnered with a new blood. Albeit Agent K picks his partner Agent J. We then see just what exactly the agency does. 

2. One Weird Agency

        So the agency acts like a mix of Border Patrol and Homeland Security. They keep track of the aliens who are living among the humans in disguise. While they welcome aliens to become processed and be a citizen in any city. They even have aliens work for them to keep tabs on the different aliens who are significant. There’s like two aliens who look at a giant screen and it has actors and politicians who are aliens. 

        The world building is something to behold in the film. It could’ve been easy to mess up the agency to look too alien. Here, it’s a balance where it’s like an office building but it’s so odd to see the aliens and look at the weapons that Agent K shows to J. The one weapon that is always associated with the characters is the pen like neuralyzer. It acts like an eraser to one’s memory to forget about seeing an alien. The funny bit is that Agent K would come up with a lame background of what happened, which J mocks him for it and he comes up with a more lively background. 

        If there is one thing that is questionable about them is just using that Neuralyzer. When the duo meet a mortician Laurel, she talks to Agent J and says that she may have seen him. It can only be interpreted that she may have ward off the effects of the weapon. More so that Agent K is coy to J when he asks if that pen like weapon can actually hurt a person if being too utilized. It's played for laughs but it could've been one thing where the sequels touched on. Which they didn't. 

3. Marvel Connection

        When you look up this film on Wikipedia, you’ll notice that it’s associated with Marvel Comics. While Marvel didn’t publish the series during the initial release, let me explain. The series was published by Aircel Comics, which was then bought by Malibu Comics. There’s always a bigger fish, since Marvel bought out Malibu Comics. With all that being established, you could technically say that Men in Black is the first successful Marvel film. One could only imagine just how that one publisher’s characters would change the entire genre and Hollywood. 

4. Legacy

        As I mentioned earlier, the film was successful when it grossed half a billion dollars. People loved the comedy and the camaraderie of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The later was everywhere in film during the 90s, this only brightened the star’s popularity. The movie even got an animated series to milk off the film’s success. As with most things, it got a sequel. I haven’t seen it, only with snippets here and there. It’s considered a disappointment since it ruined the first movie’s ending. 

        A third was released back in 2012, it was an improvement, but I haven’t had the chance to watch it. The series was brought back with new actors such as Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. This movie has so much behind the scenes drama, no joke, both actors hired their own writers to change the script that was already written for them. One day I’ll watch it. 

5. Overall 

        Men in Black is one of the few great comic book films of the 90s. What works is the duo and the agency being completely weird. Director Barry Sonnenfeld nailed the comic book series after his hits like The Addams Family duology and Get Shorty. The film still holds up and is a relic of the 90s.

        Men in Black gets a four out of five.