Spider-Man: Far From Home - review

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the 23rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it finds itself in a similar situation to the Ant-Man films. After the overwhelming intensity and drama of the Avengers movies, the stakes for Spider-Man's European Vacation (or Magical Mysterio Tour) are smaller, the tone needs to be lighter and more hopeful but it also must nail the superhero landing and bring Phase 3 to a close whilst simultaneously addressing "The Blip".
The Blip is canonically what the MCU is calling the second snap which brought back half of the world's population following Thanos's original snap... although why they didn't call it "The Snappening" we will never know.
To be fair, Far From Home hits the ground running with a poignant but amusing high school news video bringing everyone quickly up to date with how those teenagers who disappeared would fit back into school... in short they must take their midterms again but get rewarded with a trip to Europe for a science holiday. Conveniently, all the main characters from Homecoming all got snapped at the same time so the gang is all here.
Peter is having the hardest time adjusting. Aunt May seems to be flirting with Happy Hogan. He is dealing with burgeoning feelings for MJ and he is struggling to cope the loss of Tony with the pressure of being the hero as the world looks to someone to take over the mantle of Iron Man.
That hero could just be Quentin Beck, a mysterious superhero dubbed Mysterio by a mispronunciation on Italian TV. With armour that looks like Thor, mystical green powers like Doctor Strange and the flight capabilities of Vision, he is the Avengers all rolled into one... well, at least the ones who like to wear capes!
Not only can he fill the shoes of Iron Man but he could fill the role of surrogate father that Peter has struggled to replace following the deaths of his father, Uncle Ben and now Tony.
Tom Holland has continued to grow into the role since Civil War and is now the definitive on-screen Peter Parker and Spider-Man... and Night Monkey. He is able to go from comedic one-liners to tearing your heart out at the flick of a web shooter and will undoubtedly be the heart of the MCU going forward into Phase 4.
Newcomer Gyllenhaal is excellent as Beck/Mysterio and the film truly comes alive in the second half of the film once Gyllenhaal goes, as I like to dub, "full Okja" which leads to a sequence that easily tops Doctor Strange's trippy visuals as Mysterio's demonstrates the full extent of his powers.
To discuss much more would stray too close to the deadly spoiler realm so... spider-lips are sealed.
Director Jon Watts has so far taken Spider-Man from New York to Washington in Homecoming and now on European Vacation in Far From Home so I expect the next logical step is to complete his trilogy and have the next film set at Christmas.
Phase 3 may have come to an end but the two incredible post-credit scenes, it is far to say, have flipped everything upside down and it will be very interesting and exciting to see where Spider-Man and the MCU are headed.

3 stars

Avengers: Infinity War - review

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear right off the bat. Avengers Infinity War is not just a movie. This is an event. This is the season finale of a ten year, nineteen episode comic book series that was merely the twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye back in 2008.
Disregard what the internet memes say. This *IS* the most ambitious film event of all-time. Nothing else even comes close.

Expectations are higher than they were for another fandom 19 years ago for The Phantom Menace. But can they possibly be met? 

Will it work as a film in its own right and will it work as the culmination of everything that has come before it.

The answer, Marvel fans will be happy to here... is YES.
As for the “story so far”, or “previously on Avengers Infinity War”, it would take Luis from Ant-Man’s motor mouth to take the audience on a abridged history of the MCU in five minutes to get everyone up to speed so let’s just get down to brass tacks.
Thanos, the big purple dude who has been sitting on his giant space toilet (Empire magazine’s words, not mine) since The Avengers has finally decided to claim the six Infinity Stones required to complete his Infinity Gauntlet (3 years after first claiming he would “do it myself” back at the end of Age Of Ultron). This puts him on a collision course with the Asgardians (The Tesseract), the Guardians of the Galaxy (who know where the Power and Reality stones are) and Earth’s mightiest heroes with whom the Mind and Time stones currently reside.
Straight away, from the first scene and his introduction, it is clear that this is Thanos's movie. Immediately establishing as a credible threat and the toughest challenge the Avengers have ever faced. Trust me, there will no longer be jokes about him sitting on his space toilet after this. He is built like a brick space sh*t house and knows how to throw a punch and he certainly has the stones (if you'll pardon the pun) to lay the preverbial smackdown on our beloved heroes.
Josh Brolin, pulling double comic book duty this Summer, proves the perfect choice for the Titan-ic villain. Enhanced by some stunning CGI work, he is simulataneously physically imposing, viciously cruel but also singular in his vision. As all zealots, he believes that his course of action is the correct one, no matter the cost to himself, his family or the universe.

The movie's central narrative thrust follows Thanos on his quest and it turns out to be the correct move on the part of the Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. By making Thanos the main protagonist of the story, it allows the filmmakers to delicately keep all the different plates spinning around him. And boy are there a lot of plates. There are 14 main characters who have had their name in the title of a movie, along with dozens more who make up various iterations of the Avenger rosters.
The Russo's split their cast into teams, each with a plot thread relating to a different Infinity Stone, providing some unexpected pairings that the audience wouldn't have realised they needed until now.
Following the events of Civil War, Steve Rogers (no longer Captain America) has stuck close to fellow fugitives Black Widow and Falcon who take a jaunt to Edinburgh, Scotland to rescue Scarlet Witch and Vision, who has a literal target on his forehead.
Thor, who has shown in Ragnarok that he can mine chemistry and comedy out of any pairing, teams up with Rocket Raccoon and Groot while the rest of the Guardians travel to Knowhere as Gamora's relationship to her "father" comes to the fore.
Finally back on Earth, Doctor Strange and Tony Stark battle for the position of Alpha Male with a goatee, and constantly chastise Peter Parker for his "really old" pop culture references.
Despite the over abundance of characters, every single one gets a moment to shine either with a quip or action beat. Although given the runtime, it leaves you wanting more from them all and some plot threads are left dangling, and maybe will still exist in the form of deleted scenes on the DVD i.e. Natasha and Bruce's relationship now he's returned.
The narrative switches back and forth between the groups organically so that the audience are always aware of who is where and how Thanos's plan is advancing before the various roads to Infinity War converge on Titan (Thanos's home planet) and Wakanda for the final showdown(s).
The trailers have thankfully given away very little of the main action sequences and they definitely deliver on an epic scale unlike anything seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before.
It is a cliche in superhero movies that no one ever really dies or stays dead but right from the off, the Russo's put all their chips on the table and tell the audience that all bets are off in terms of who is walking (or flying) out alive of this battle. There is a palpable level of fear and danger every time a hero goes one-on-one with Brolin's Titan, who towers over them in the same way Dwayne The Rock Johnson towers over Kevin Hart.
No more plot details will be discussed because despite all the theorising and speculating, it goes places you simply could not have predicted and thus is best enjoyed spoiler-free.
Avengers Infinity War is the event movie to end all event movies and where possible should be seen with an audience of hardcore fans. The ones at the midnight screening were invested in every single second. Resulting in bouts of laughter, squeals of joy, shocked gasps, shedded tears and moments of pure, stunned silence... and in Scotland, cheers for a sign in a window that read "We will deep fry your kebab"!
Just like someone holding a complete Infinity Gauntlet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is virtually unstoppable at this point and Avengers Infinity War is their finest hour so far... but one expects as a time stone would tell, the best is yet to come.

5 stars

The Marvel Cinematic Universe - RANKED!

With the Road to Infinity War complete, the time has come to rank the eighteen films that currently make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe... only for that ranking to change tomorrow with the release of Avengers Infinity War!

So in reverse order, here we go...

18. Thor The Dark World

Would have bottom for the Greenwich tube stop gaff alone but it is also the dullest and most dour entry in the MCU with the saga's most non-descript villain of all-time in Malekith.

Full review here.

17. The Incredible Hulk

Whilst it is an improvement on Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk, this film always seems out of place with the rest of the MCU & feels like the weird family member nobody talks about anymore.

Full review here.

16.  Iron Man 2

Suffered from being a movie setting up the Avengers and wider MCU than a true Iron Man sequel. Bonus points for Sam Rockwell.

Full review here.

15. Thor

Kenneth Branagh turned a potential Flash Gordon misfire into a thundering Shakespearean family drama boosted by the performances of Hopkins and Hiddleston. Loses points for dyeing Hemsworth's eyebrows.

Full review here.

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

Any film with The Star Spangled Man With A Plan musical number should really chart higher but Steve Rogers became a much more interesting character once he came out of the ice!

Full review here.

13. Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch goes full Hugh Laurie doing House M.D. in a straightforward but visually stunning origin story for the Sorcerer Supreme. Nice twist on solving Marvel's third act problem.

Full review here.

12. Black Panther

The biggest movie in the world at the moment until Infinity War comes out at least is a huge leap forward for Hollywood. Part Black Bond film, part Lion King. This film starts with a roar but loses its teeth during the CG heavy finale.

Full review here.

11. Ant-Man

Rudd-y hilarious and the perfect palette cleansing sorbet between the all-you-can-eat Avengers Age of Ultron buffet and the indulgent dessert of Civil War.

Full review here.

10.  Guardians Of The Galaxy

The moment that we realised Marvel Studios could do anything they wanted and succeed. A space adventure soundtracked to the Seventies featuring Andy Dwyer from Parks & Rec and a talking raccoon? More please!

Full review here.

9.  Iron Man 3

Shane Black stripped away the suit, leaving Tony Stark to rely on his skill and wit (ably assisted by Black's razor sharp dialogue) in the first film of Phase 2 that showed Marvel were willing to push the boat out and not rely on a tried and tested formula.

Full review here.

8. Avengers Age of Ultron

A better film than many give it credit for, it improves on a rewatch now seeing how it fits in to the wider MCU universe following Phase 3.

Full review here.

7. Spider-Man Homecoming

The version of Spidey we didn't know we wanted or needed until Civil War, Tom Holland is perfect in his first solo movie as part of the MCU.

Full review here.

6. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Better than the original and focused on building character than action, resulting in the most emotional instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Challenge anyone not to well up at "He may of been your father boy, but he wasn't your daddy"

Full review here.

5. Iron Man

The film that started it all and still one of the highlights of the MCU. Not only did it offer redemption to Tony Stark, it gave it to Robert Downey Jr. as well.

Full review here.

4. Thor Ragnarok

Taika Waititi reinvents Thor as the Lord of Thunder with lightning fast comic timing, bringing the Ragnarok n roll to the franchise.

Full review here.

3. Avengers Assemble

At the time it seemed impossible but Joss Whedon delivered a movie that perfectly balanced an ensemble cast of Earth's mightiest heroes, caused a billion geekgasms and showed that anything was possible in the MCU.

Full review here.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The first film to feel like a legitimately great film that broke free of the comic book genre. Also contained the MCU's best action scenes until the next film...

Full review here.

1. Captain America: Civil War

Liable to have nabbed the top spot for the airport sequence alone but this adaptation of Civil War perfectly fits into the MCU and provided an incredible story that came from the characters and not the action.

Full review here.

Road to Infinity War - Phase 3 - Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Phase 3 kicked off in style with the stealth Avengers film Captain America: Civil War aka Avengers 2.5.
Admittedly there were a few worries going into the film that this was simply going to be an Avengers ensemble film rather than a Captain America film. The Russo brothers however managed to find a way to distil the story about the breakdown of the Avengers to actually further Steve Rogers' story by making the Jenga piece that threatens to topple the whole be James Sebastian Barnes aka The Winter Soldier.
Inspired by Mark Millar's game-changing comic series that crossed over many of Marvel's titles at the time, heavily influencing future storylines, it focused on the issue of a Superhero registration act that would force heroes to reveal their secret identities and become government employees.
As this was not an issue in the MCU due to the fact that most of the heroes were not hiding their identities, the storyline had to be adapted to fit in with the movie universe.
Following the events of Age of Ultron, the Avengers find themselves subjected to legislation called the Sokovia Accords. This would make them answerable to the United Nations, something that Tony agrees with but Steve refuses to sign. The battle lines are drawn between the Avengers as everyone has a different opinion on whether or not it is a good thing. Something which in particular affects Scarlet Witch and Vision's relationship which sets things up nicely for further exploration in Infinity War.
Just as the Accords are due to be passed, Bucky Barnes bombs the UN causing the death of Wakanda's King T'Chakka. This introduces audiences to the character of Black Panther in the form of his son Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). He desires revenge and goes after Barnes but Rogers sets out to protect his friend, unwilling to believe he was behind the bombing.
Upon his capture, which sees the reintroduction of Steve Rogers' beard... no, not the one in Infinity War, Sharon Carter of course, the Winter Soldier is released by a man called Zemo (Bruhl) using a HYDRA mind control technique.
In order to solve the mystery and bring his friend back, Captain America cuts ties with the Avengers, putting him on a collision course with Stark. Something that will cause all the heroes to pick a side and lead to the MCU's most iconic and fantastic scene: the Superhero Smackdown.
This was the scene that Marvel fans had dreamed of ever since Nick Fury turned up at the end of Iron Man. The chance to find out the answers to the geeky questions like "who would win in a fight? Falcon or War Machine? Ant-Man or Spider-Man?
Yes, just one of the reasons that Civil War is so good is that it is the film that brought Spider-Man into the MCU and boy does he make a great first impression. Tom Holland is perfect as the young teenage Peter Parker and he gets some wonderful moments, particularly with Cap, Falcon and Bucky.
Every character gets their moment to shine but it is Paul Rudd's Ant-Man who steals the show here with his transformation into Giant Man. When Ant-Man was first released I thought that he would transform when returning from the Quantum Realm and burst through the house but they wisely saved it for this and it was completely worth it.
It isn't just the fight at the airport but every action sequence that cemented the Russo brothers as the kings of the Marvel castle. Even going so far as to take a page out of the Marvel TV series playbook and include a fight in a corridor and stairwell.
Ultimately, the film comes down to Cap vs Iron Man as the scheme that Zemo has been plotting turns out to be a more twisted revenge tale than Oldboy as it is revealed that Barnes was the one responsible for killing Stark's parents. This results in the most emotional fight so far (even more so than Thor vs Loki) and one that puts the final nail in the coffin of the Avengers as Steve chooses Bucky over Tony "I'm sorry, Tony but he's my friend", "So was I".
Will we see the old team back together in Infinity War, only time will tell.

Fun fact: Hawkeye calls Tony "The Futurist" which is the name of the album that Robert Downey Jr released in 2004.

Infinity Stone counter = 4

Road to Infinity War - Phase 2 - Avengers: The Age Of Ultron (2015)

You know what? Avengers Age of Ultron gets a bit of an unfairly bad rep.
A lot of that comes from Joss Whedon's split from the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the release of the film where it was revealed that he had not enjoyed the process this time round, feeling that the wider needs of the Universe were getting in the way of telling the story. It also caused him to leave Twitter when fans started hating on him for certain character choices he made (*cough* Natasha and Bruce *cough*).
It is certainly not a perfect film. For one thing it is Avengers: Age of Product Placement with featured shots of Under Armour clothing, Beats headphones, Reebok trainers and, randomly, Gillette shaving cream!
What Ultron does do well is it captures the fun and excitement of having a group of superheroes working together and the wonderful chemistry established by the group of actors who have now been working together for a number of years.
It picks up where it left off, kickstarting the film with an action sequence that features Earth's mightiest heroes in a slow mo one shot again that says "we're hitting the ground running". It also contains the wonderful "language" moment.
There is the party scene where all the Avengers (except Black Widow) attempt to pick up Thor's hammer. The look on Hemsworth's face when Cap makes it wobble ever so slightly is priceless. It also has a wonderful pay off later in the film with Vision.
One of the major criticism's from fans was the middle section where they lay low at Hawkeye's family farm but it allows the movie a chance to breathe and it is a nice, welcome character development for Renner's Clint Barton who spent most of the first film under the mind control of Loki.
Given Whedon's history for killing off characters, it pulls the perfect bait-and-switch building up "one last job", "baby on the way" sacrifice for the hero that doesn't end the way you think.
It also gives him a wonderful moment with Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch where he delivers a pep talk about becoming an Avenger and how ridiculous it all is that he is just a guy with "a bow and arrow".
It is wonderful to finally see the MCU get another female superhero to add to the mix in the form of Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (No, Maria Hill does not count!). Olsen is perfect in the role that will develop over the next phase as she struggles to deal with her enormous power and relationship to Vision, the child of Ultron.
Voiced perfectly by James Spader, Ultron is the dark mirror image of Tony Stark. Born out of a need to protect the Earth from attack but ultimately deciding the easiest way to do that is destroy humanity, he is the Monster to Stark's Doctor Frankenstein.
On reflection, now that Phase 3 is nearly complete, Age of Ultron actually fits in a lot better to the overall arching storyline. The final battle in Sokovia has huge repercussions for the group that leads into Civil War, Andy Serkis's delightfully wacky Ulysses Klaue as a plot device to introduce the notion of Wakanda (but worth it for his Cuttlefish speech) and Thor's subplot about going for a dream bath now makes a lot more sense given the events of Thor Ragnarok for example. Again it is about finding that balance between being a complete one shot film versus paving the road to Infinity War but if people were to talk a walk back down this path, they will find much more to enjoy second time around.

Infinity Stone counter = 4

Road to Infinity War - Phase 2 - Iron Man 3

The Avengers had opened to $200 million in its first weekend. It would go on to make over $1.5 billion worldwide.
It would be safe to say that Marvel Studios were feeling pretty pleased with themselves at this point. Yet instead of resting on their laurels and sticking to a tried and tested formula, they very riskily and daringly threw out the rule book with Iron Man 3 and hired Shane Black to write and direct.
Shane Black was best known for being a screenwriter in the Eighties, cranking out the screenplays for such hits as Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight, but it was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that landed him the job with Marvel.
His hilarious neo-noir directorial debut in 2005 based on his own script was the film that offered Robert Downey Jr a way back into the Hollywood elite and it was his performance in this film that persuaded Feige et all to give him a chance as Tony Stark. One he has seized with both hands and never looked back.
For any fans of Shane Black, it is clear that this has his fingerprints all over it; flashbacks, voiceover narration, whipsmart dialogue and it is set at Christmas!
It felt fresh, daring and dangerous compared to everything that Marvel had produced before. This took Tony Stark out of the Iron Man suit and forced him to show that he could be a hero in his own right.
Of course, the most controversial, and divisive, moment comes at the start of the third act when it is revealed that the villainous terrorist The Mandarin is actually a drunken, out of work British actor called Trevor Slattery, portraying a character created to take the blame for Guy Pearce's experiments gone wrong.
The twist works because The Mandarin is a racist stereotype from the Sixties and it would have been met with controversy if they had gone down that route, and it works because of Ben Kingsley, sorry Sir Ben Kingsley's performance. He is suitably menacing as the face of the Ten Rings and also hilarious as Trevor Slattery.
It sets the bar high for Phase 2 in that anything can happen. Well except the death of Iron Man that is. I mean, you have him making this potentially huge sacrifice play at the end of The Avengers but it lacked the emotional weight due to the fact that Iron Man 3 had already been announced.
Looking back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe now during Phase 2, there is so much happening within a tight time frame that this leads to some odd story choices which impact repeat viewings of some of the films. Iron Man 3 in particular.
At the end of this film, Tony Stark essentially retires as Iron Man, even going so far as to remove the arc reactor from his chest. Yet, a couple of years later, there he is back as Iron Man in Age of Ultron where Whedon seems to have ignored most of what happened to him thematically.
Still, it is difficult to be that negative about a film being narrated by Tony that you discover in the post-credit sting that is actually being told to Bruce Banner who has fallen asleep, because he is not that kind of doctor.

Infinity Stone Counter = 2

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - The Avengers

The Avengers was the film that proved dreams really do come true. They came true for Kevin Feige. For Stan Lee. For all Marvel fans.
For all the talk about "Infinity War is the most ambitious crossover film event of all-time", that would not have been possible if The Avengers.
The comic book movie had only really begun to find its feet again in 2008 following the disastrous Batman & Robin nearly destroyed the genre. Sure there was the odd success like X-Men or Spider-Man but 2008 saw both Marvel and D.C. delivering the goods with Iron Man and The Dark Knight.
Doubling down on the success of their individual movies, Marvel Studios now successfully pulled off something that seemed impossible at that stage. A superhero team up where all their heroes appeared in the same film... not only that but it totally worked and a lot of that credit must go to Joss Whedon.
Best known for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Whedon had only directed one feature film at this point but that film was Serenity. A big screen sequel to his cancelled TV show Firefly, it proved that he could perfectly balance an ensemble cast in a movie. Never losing sight on the story but also giving every character their chance to shine... and also never afraid to kill someone off if it was serving the plot!
It might not be the *best* MCU film in the series now (that title goes to Civil War) but it is probably has the highest number of "geek out", "mark out" moments that had fans cheering in the cinemas.
The first half of the film does get bogged down a little bit by having to reintroduce all the main characters into the story but once they are all aboard the Helicarrier, it is just pure comic book joy.
One of the best scenes, that shows how well Whedon understands and showcases the characters and relationships between them, is when the heroes start to argue with each other after it is revealed that Fury is using the Tesseract to build weapons, which he blames on Thor which sparks Tony and Steve to have a pissing contest, all the while threatening to set off the Hulk (played with wit and intensity by the new Bruce Banner Mark Ruffalo).
Once the film gets to the final battle, Whedon gives the fans exactly what they want with that incredible 360 degree shot of the team finally assembled; the tracking shot of them all in action against the Chitauri and the Hulk/Loki "Puny God" exchange.
It was a game changer for the genre, the first movie to take over $200 million in its opening weekend and showed just what could be achieved by Marvel Studios and the Extended Universe idea. Something that no other studio has successfully managed to replicate.

Infinity Stone Counter = 2 (Space Stone and Mind Stone)

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - Iron Man 2

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a phoenix metaphor been more personified"
It is difficult if this line was talking about Tony Stark, warmonger turned superhero, or Robert Downey Jr, troubled actor turned A-list superstar.
After the surprise success of Iron Man, the third film in the MCU was to continue the adventures of "Shellhead".
Looking back at it now, it is full of surprises such as the screenplay being written by Justin Theroux. The appearance of later Fox superheroes Kate Mara (Sue Storm) and Olivia Munn (Psylocke) in tiny roles. It is the film that brought together Hollywood couple Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb.
It also deals with the casting change of James Rhodes in a similar way to the introduction of George Lazenby as Bond with his "This never happened to the other guy". When Don Cheadle is introduced, there is the wonderful exchange between Stark and Rhodey:
"Didn't expect to see you here." "It's me. I'm here. Deal with it"
Heroes were present and correct. It's a shame that the villains didn't quite match them. Mickey Rourke's Whiplash is wasted after an entertaining action sequence in Monte Carlo. Although not a match for Iron Man physically, there is more fun to be had from Sam Rockwell's rival arms dealer Justin Hammer (love the way he refers to Stark as "Anthony") and Garry Shandling's Senator Stern.
Stern's committee hearing is one example of how Marvel is able to ground their films in reality, with a very real discussion of how Iron Man's actions on foreign soil would affect America and how he is not accountable to the government. This is something that will come round full circle in Age of Ultron and Civil War.
The issue with Iron Man 2 is not the CGI man in flying metal suit battles multiple other flying metal suits but that it was less concerned with being an Iron Man sequel as it needing to be an Avengers prequel.
Whereas the original Iron Man only had a couple of nods to the wider Marvel universe, this film burns through references faster than Tony Stark burns through palladium cores for his arc reactors.
There could have been a fantastic take on the Iron Man "Genie in a bottle" storyline from the comics where Tony descends into alcoholism to cope with the pain that his arc reactor is causing him.
Instead we get multiple references to SHIELD, Nick Fury, Captain America's shield and the introduction of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow.
Jon Favreau's direction keeps things moving at a good pace however and manages to showcase Stark's inventiveness and action credentials. He even manages to give himself a chance to use his UFC skills in a fight... even if he is upstaged by Black Widow!
Overall, it is the weakest of the Iron Man trilogy but does serve as an effective building block in the foundations of the MCU.

Infinity Stone Counter = Big Fat Zero

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - Iron Man (2008)

Has it really been ten years since it all began? It's hard to believe right Jeremy Piven?

Who would have believed that a movie directed by the guy who was Pete Becker on Friends, about a second tier Marvel hero played by a post-jail & troubles Robert Downey Jr would launch a billion dollar franchise that is still going from strength to strength 18 films down the line?
But the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit the ground running and they are forever indebted to RDJ because his performance as "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" Tony Stark is note perfect.
The film is fast, loose, full of colour, wit and boundless energy. A world away from DC and Nolan's (excellent) but "Why so serious?" Dark Knight trilogy.
The references to the comics are there for the fans (the original Mark I suit) but never at the expense of an audience entirely new to this world.
It also does a subtle job of universe building. There is Rhodey's look at the Mark II suit and quipping "Next time baby" (sadly not for Terrence Howard though!), and the introduction of SHIELD through Agent Coulson's character who would become pivotal to Phase I.
But it was the post-credit sting with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury turning up at Stark mansion to talk about the Avengers initiative that sent fanboys into meltdown.
It isn't perfect. Jeff Bridges is very "un-Dude" but ultimately won't rank highly on the list of top Marvel villains (although I would dare you to come up with a Top 5 list of truly memorable MCU villains that doesn't have to include Wilson Fisk or Kilgrave and therefore not canon).
One can also see the beginnings of the MCU's biggest criticism. You know, the one where Act 3 descends into two (or twenty) CGI men in metal suits smashing into each other.
However Downey Jr is a charisma fuelled arc reactor that powers this entry to classic comic book movie status and arguably one of the finest and most complete superhero origin stories.

Infinity Stone Counter: 0

Avengers: Age Of Ultron - Review

In 2012's The Avengers, Nick Fury and Joss Whedon were both faced with an impossible task:

How do you solve a problem like Maria Hill? Just kidding.

No, I obviously meant how do you bring together Marvel's greatest individual superheroes together into one successful and cohesive unit?

Well thanks to Whedon's writing and directing skills, the answer was... "Very easily" because it became the most successful comic book movie of all-time.

It couldn't have been easy coming back to try and achieve the impossible one more time. Particularly when Marvel Studios have really raised their game in Phase 2, with them on their best run of movies so far with Iron Man 3, Winter Soldier and Guardians Of The Galaxy (we'll skip over Thor: The Dark World).

Thankfully Joss is up to the task, delivering a film that simultaneously feels bigger in scale but more intimate in terms of character development.

Following an attack on a HYDRA base, Tony Stark is haunted by a vision of a world (and Avengers) defeated by the return of the Chitauri army.

He creates the Ultron program, designed to be "a suit of armour around the world", but as anyone who has ever seen a movie about artificial intelligence would know, it is not the best idea as any Skynet-esque defence system will soon realise the best way to protect the Earth is to rid it of its most destructive force... Humans.

And so Ultron is born. Brought to life (so to speak) by a fantastic vocal performance by James Spader who brings charisma, humour and villainy in spades.

He recruits two "Enhanced" characters, whatever you do don't call them "mutants", in the form of super fast Pietro and telekinetic Wanda Maximoff to take down the Avengers whilst preparing his masterplan.

As if that wasn't enough for them to deal with, the Avengers all have their own issues going on:

Stark is faced with the Frankenstein-esque guilt of his creation. Black Widow and Bruce Banner are getting close but the Hulk keeps getting in the way, with them sharing one particular exchange reminding us of Whedon's work in Buffy. And it nice to see Hawkeye finally get a proper story arc with a surprise reveal as to his past.

As mentioned before, the action set pieces are HUGE and while at the end it once again falls into the third act trap of people fighting metal men but interestingly there is continuous mention of how Captain America and the gang focus on saving lives and minimising damage.

Was this a deliberate middle finger to Man Of Steel? I for one like to think so.

Every single member (of the ever expanding team) gets a chance to shine with the movie's most crowd-pleasing moment going to new character Vision.

On first viewing there is just so much happening in Age Of Ultron that it seems overwhelming and certain bits can feel lost in the overall mix but it could benefit from repeat viewings.

Overall Whedon has once again assembled a great movie out of Hollywood's biggest and busiest franchise and his absence going forward will be sorely missed.

In the meantime with Marvel Studios advancing to Phase 3 and rumours of the fall-out of this film affecting the plot of Captain America: Civil War does this make Age Of Ultron technically aka Ul-Tron Legacy?

4 stars

Marvel Marathon - The Avengers Assemble during The Adventures of Agent Coulson

Ever since Samuel L. Jackson turned up at the end of Iron Man, in 2008, talking to Tony Stark about the Avenger initiative, Marvel Studios have been building towards this epic moment. The release of The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble for us "stupid Brits" who might confuse it with the TV series or terrible 1998 movie of the adventures of John Steed and Emma Peel) is a landmark moment in superhero movies as it is the first time that characters from different franchises have appeared in one movie.
To get myself in the mood for the film, I am revisiting the entire Marvel studios canon of films leading up to Avengers in a giant Marvel marathon where I'll pick out the best fanboy moments, Stan Lee cameos and how much Avenger assembling takes place in each film along, etc.
I'll also take a look at the evolution of my own personal favourite character within the series, Agent Coulson played by the fabulous Clark Gregg. Much like how you can view Star Wars through the experiences of a seemingly minor character like R2-D2, like in Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress, it is fun to view the lead up to The Avengers as the continuing adventures of The Son Of Coul.

Iron Man

Marvel Studios knocked it out of the park with their first solo production, mainly thanks to the performance of Robert Downey Jr. For far too long, comic book movies had the problem that the villains were far more interesting and entertaining than the heroes. Tony Stark changed that. This is a man who is, in his own words, "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...", and RDJ plays the role to perfection. It is easily a part that could lose the audiences sympathies but you totally buy into his characters journey into the superhero he becomes, and refreshingly one who doesn't care who knows it.
There is also excellent support from Gwyneth Paltrow, someone who I'm not normally a fan of, as Pepper Potts and Jeff Bridges being "very un-Dude" as the villain.
It is a welcome light and fun antidote to the dark and dour world of Nolan's Batman, and excellent start to the long road to The Avengers.

Marvel Canon Fodder - Rhodey gets a nice moment, looking at the Mark II suit and remarking "Next time baby", setting up his War Machine storyline. The terrorist cell is called The Ten Rings, hinting at the involvement of The Mandarin. Last time Nick Fury was on our screens, he was portrayed by David Hasselhoff (no, really!), but having Samuel L. Jackson assume the role places Iron Man and the subsequent films well and truly within the Ultimate Marvel universe as first featured in the comic series The Ultimates written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Bryan Hitch who based Fury's look on Mr Jackson.

Fanboy Geekout Moment- While the first flight in the Iron Man suit is a terrific sequence, it has to be Nick Fury's appearance at the end of the film that seemingly promises fans that we will see an Avengers movie.

Avenger Assembling - Iron Man is very much a stand alone film. Besides the introduction of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (which Coulson is repeatedly told requires a new name) there is only Samuel L. Jackson appearing in a post credit sting teasing the Avenger Initiative.

Coulson Factor - Created for the movie, Coulson acts as a liason for S.H.I.E.L.D. and is continually dismissed by Stark until he helps protect Pepper against the Iron Monger but Clark Gregg's straight-faced deadpan delivery provided enough for producers to see the potential in the character.

Loki's Fact of Fiction - The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep was originally going to feature a scene where Maggie Thatcher borrowed the suit from Tony Stark and fought the Falklands War single handed.

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - Stan 'The Man' Lee is mistaken for Hugh Heffner by Tony at a gala event thrown by Stark Industries.

Overall rating - 4/5

The Incredible Hulk

Bringing the character of the Hulk back under the full control of Marvel Studios, producers decided to largely ignore the events in Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk movie and instead start up events 5 months after the origin of the Hulk.
The film had a troubled production with director Letterier and Edward Norton delivering a 3 hour version that was a Jekyll & Hyde style meditation on trying to understand the tortured, conflicted nature of the Hulk but Marvel edited it down to a more popcorn friendly summer blockbuster featuring an epic Harlem smack down between Hulk and the Abomination.
The end result is a bit of a mess and the actual Hulk itself is still too CGI, not having the weight or personality that hopefully Ruffalo's performance capture will add in The Avengers, but personally I prefer it to Lee's version. At least there are no mutant poodles or Nick Nolte turning into a radioactive jellyfish cloud!

Marvel Canon Fodder - Going against standard Marvel canon in which Banner turns into the Hulk after exposure to Gamma radiation, in this incarnation Banner was also working on the Super Soldier serum and it was this, combined with the radiation that caused his transformation. The character of Emil Blonksy is Russian in the comics but here he is born in Russia and grew up in England so Tim Roth didn't have to put on a funny accent. It also introduces the character of Dr. Samuel Stern who would go on to become the villain known as The Leader.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - It's a toss up between composer Craig Armstrong's use of the "sad walking away music" from the Bill Bixby TV series and the moment inspired by a scene in The Ultimates comic where they induce a hulk out by dropping Banner out of a plane.

Avenger Assembling - During the opening credits, it establishes General Ross getting assistance from S.H.I.E.L.D. In his hunt for Banner along with the use of Stark weaponry. General Ross talks about the 'Super Soldier' program used in WWII i.e. the program used to create Captain America. In the post credit sting, Tony Stark approaches a drunk General Ross telling him that they are putting a team together that might be able to solve his "little problem", at this point hinting that The Avengers could be assembled to take down and subdue the Hulk.

Coulson Factor - Sadly no appearance from everyone's favourite S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent :-(

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - Stan plays the man who gets an extra kick from an energy drink contaminated with Banner's Gamma blood.

Loki's Fact of Fiction - The Hulk's fighting style was based on wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and in a deleted scene he delivers the immortal leg drop to Abomination.

Overall rating - 2/5

Iron Man 2

This is the film in the Marvel series that suffers the most from the issue of setting events in motion for The Avengers. So much so that it feels like the film is more concerned with this than providing the audience with an Iron Man sequel.
The main plot line that features rival weapon manufacturers trying to get their hands on Stark's tech and a climatic battle between CGI robot figures is just recycled from the first film. Having said that, Sam Rockwell's weasely Justin Hammer is a nice contrast to Stark and Johannson and Gregg get their moments to shine.

Marvel Canon Fodder - Continues the progress of War Machine and starts Tony down the path laid out in the 'Devil In A Bottle' storyline. Mickey Rourke's Ivan Vanko becomes a combination of villains Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - Possibly the Iron Man suit in the briefcase or Black Widow's athletic takedown of half a dozen guards.

Avenger Assembling - There is a hell of a lot going on here. Nick Fury reveals that he knew Howard Stark and he was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D. and gives Tony some of Howard's research including a case that contains a Captain America comic and an unfinished prototype of his shield.
Black Widow is sent in undercover to keep an eye on Stark and assess his viability for the program, ultimately recommending that he only be used as a consultant rather than a full team member due to his behaviour.
Post credit sting involves Agent Coulson locating Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, in the desert of New Mexico.

Coulson Factor - Agent Coulson returns to babysit Stark before heading to New Mexico on a special assignment. The two of them share a couple of great exchanges including Coulson laying the verbal smack down on Tony with "If you try to escape, or play any sort of games with me, I will taze you and watch "Supernanny" while you drool into the carpet."

Loki's Fact or Fiction - The end credit sting originally had Nick Fury approaching John Steed and Emma Peel to join the Avenger Initiative.

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - Tony Stark really needs to get his eyes tested as this time round he mistakes Stan for Larry King.

Overall Rating - 3/5 (from an Avengers setup standpoint) 2/5 (otherwise)

Marvel One Shot: The Consultant

Coulson and fellow agent Hernandez devise a scheme to sabotage plans to have The Abomination added to the Avenger Initiative. They decide send someone to annoy General Ross to the point where he will refuse to release Blonsky. This leads to the footage seen at the end of The Incredible Hulk with Ross and Stark.

Marvel Canon Fodder - Not canon at all. Instead it is a short film created to help fill in the gaps between the films and tie in all the ongoing story lines.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - Coulson wipes his mouth with a napkin after eating pancakes... OK, I admit, it's not great but it is a short film of mostly dialogue!

Avenger Assembling - No more than what we have already seen but puts a new spin on the existing footage to allow a new interpretation in keeping where the overall storyline is heading.

Coulson Factor - The short helps to establish where Coulson ranks in the grand scheme of things at S.H.I.E.L.D., he has a Level 7 clearance which probably places just under Fury in terms of authority.

Loki's Fact or Fiction - This short was filmed by David Fincher who did 111 takes of the final scene which meant Clark Gregg had to eat 111 pancakes.

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - No cameo

Overall Rating - 3/5

Thor

More than any other film in the arsenal of Marvel studios, this is the one that could have gone horribly wrong. Thor is not your typical superhero, he is a Norse God and between this hero and the direction of Luvvie Branagh, the movie could easily have become a camptastic romp like Flash Gordon (possibly one of the reasons sadly why Brian Blessed was not cast as Odin because it would have immediately drawn comparisons).
Happily the result is the best Marvel since Iron Man. As well as ticking all the boxes in terms of comic book blockbuster, Branagh puts a lot of focus on the central relationship between Odin, Thor and Loki, with the scene where Loki confronts Odin over his true heritage being the finest in the film.
Performances are terrific all round but the real star turn is Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He brings real pain and conflict to the role which makes his villain the best in the Marvel canon so far and I can't wait to see what he will bring to The Avengers.

Marvel Canon Fodder - While many of the other films have taken elements from the Ultimate universe, this incarnation of Thor is more the classic Norse God rather than a possible psychotic with delusions of grandeur and super powers.
Thor's earthbound alias Donald Blake is referred to as Jane Foster's ex boyfriend.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - It's not really a "Geekout moment" per say but I love the scene where Thor goes into the pet shop demanding a horse... or dog, cat or bird large enough to ride. That or Odin's full-on boombastic Shakespearian "you're a vain, greedy cruel boy" speech.

Avenger Assembling - We get our first glimpse at Clint Barton aka Hawkeye who is providing weapons cover for S.H.I.E.L.D. at the Mjolnir crash site. Dr Selvig (Skarsgard) mentions he knew a scientist who worked in gamma radiation who disappeared after involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. (we can safely assume he means Bruce Banner). The post credit sting sees Fury show Selvig a glowing cosmic cube and Loki appears to influence Selvig's mind and says that it is worth a look.

Coulson Factor - Coulson is running the show down in New Mexico, LIKE A BOSS, as evidenced by Hawkeye taking orders from him. He even gives Thor a dressing down during an interrogation. This also marks the origin of Clark Gregg's nickname 'Son of Coul' which is what Thor calls him when offering his assistance in protecting Earth's realm.

Loki's Fact or Fiction - Branagh actually filmed a scene where Hemsworth rode a chihuahua!

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - A New Mexico driver who attempts to pull Mjolnir out of the ground with his truck, and fails miserably.

Overall rating - 4/5

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer

Marvel Canon Fodder - not set within the existing Marvel canon.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - Coulson smacking a criminal in the face with a shotgun.

Avenger Assembling - No additional assembling takes place.

Coulson Factor - Another chance for Gregg to show a different side to Coulson, this time being a total badass and beating up two criminals who try to rob the gas station he has stopped at. Also has another chance to deliver some killer lines with that deadpan delivery we have come to love.

Loki's Fact or Fiction - Clark Gregg really can't decide between powdered and frosted donuts.

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - No cameo

Overall Rating - 4/5

Captain America: The First Avenger

The "First Avenger" and final movie in the run up to the Avengers as the final pieces of the puzzle start to slot into place. Director Joe Johnston recovers from The Wolfman disaster to rediscover the magic he worked on The Rocketeer to deliver a great old-fashioned romp but also keeping it Marvel too. Even throwing in a few nods to Raiders Of The Lost Ark along the way. The only real issue with the film is by setting it within a flashback structure, there is a lack of real tension in the film as we all know how it is going to end, even if it does have a scene that rips off Armageddon.

Marvel Canon Fodder - Initially it does appear odd to have the Human Torch playing Steve Rogers but once you get over this the film sticks fairly closely to the traditional Marvel canon and origin story (although one major character is killed off to create a more emotional edge to the story). There is also a fun spin on the original comic cover that featured Cap punching out Hitler.

Fanboy Geekout Moment - The original Captain America outfit and 'Star Spangled Man' (which should have been nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars).

Avenger Assembling - The blue cosmic cube glimpsed at the end of Thor appears here and is called The Tesseract, one of the relics from Odin's treasure room, found by the Red Skull but ultimately ending up in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession. This film seems to contradict information about the Super Soldier program mentioned in The Incredible Hulk. In Hulk, Ross says he's still working on the program and takes a vial of the serum from a tank that claims the creator was Dr. Renstein. However in this film, the creator of the formula is Dr. Erkskine and it appears the last of the formula is destroyed.
Howard Stark plays a major role in the creation of Captain America and the Stark Expo, which features in Iron Man 2, also makes an appearance.
The film ends with Rogers waking up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility to be informed by Nick Fury (in the middle of Times Square) that he's been asleep for 70 years. It is assumed due to the wee teaser trailer at the end of the credits that Rogers remain in their custody until the events of The Avengers.

Coulson Factor - Sadly this film rates a zero on the Coulson scale. Not even an appearance at the end when Steve Rogers wakes up in modern day New York.

Loki's Fact or Fiction - Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds have a running bet about who can appear as more comic book characters.

Stan Lee's Hitchcock Cameo - Lee appears as a General at a medal presentation for Steve Rogers.

Overall Rating - 4/5