reseller hosting reviews,Comic Movie Wrap-up, Part Two

Some people may prefer to post every day. But I find that the "start a topic, then abandon it for a month" strategy provides much more suspense. That being said, here's the long-unawaited conclusion to my too-late-to-be-of-any-use review of this summer's comic book movies.

I saw Hellboy II: The Golden Army while I was at Comic-Con in San Diego. You'd think that would be the perfect environment in which to watch such a film. Unfortunately, it was at 10pm on Friday night, when every other person at the Con was out partying with their friends, co-workers, or significant others. I was all alone and was getting bored with walking the streets like a homeless person, people-watching, so I decided to take in a show. The theater was almost entirely empty--not what you'd expect for a comic book movie at Comic-Con, and more than a little depressing for Mr. Lonely Guy. But the empty theater actually worked in my favor--they had movable armrests, which I pulled out of the way so I could lay across three seats like I was on my couch at home. Now you know: I have no shame.



So far, this isn't much of a review, but there's really not much to say about Hellboy II. Visually, it was wonderful. Guillermo del Toro is a visual genius--his character design is amazing, and he really knows how to frame a scene. The action in this film was well-choreographed, and his choice to use puppets over CGI in some of the scenes paid off, in that it gave the characters a weight that a lot of comic book movie characters just don't have. But as good as this film looked, the writing was awful.



For some reason, del Toro decided to position much of the film as a romantic comedy. Every scene with Liz and Hellboy came off too cutesy, and the slapstick around Abe Sapien was a little over the top. Normally, I push for more character development, but in this case, I would've liked more of the action and the primary storyline, and less of the BPRD residents. More of Prince Nuada plotting against humanity and less of Hellboy plotting to help more around the house. Also, the ending was way too abrupt. While it looked like they were trying to leave things open for a sequel, I'm not sure I care about the characters enough to stick around.



If you liked the first Hellboy film, you should give this one a try. It wasn't terrible, and was pretty too look at. But I also found it pretty disappointing, perhaps because I loved the first one so much. I thought this would be like the first film on steroids, but it was more like the first film after a few too many Rum and Cokes. Sadly, it was probably the worst comic book movie I saw this summer. Not surprising if you compare it to Dark Knight and Iron Man, but maybe a little surprising once you know I also saw Speed Racer.

Wanted, on the other hand, was in contention for the title of "Best Summer Action Movie," in my opinion. I'd read the comic book years ago, but found it to be fairly unimpressive. And knowing they'd taken the superhero elements out of the film, I thought that would be even more boring than the comic. I had no plans to see it, but started to reconsider once the reviews started pouring in from my friends and coworkers. None of them had anything bad to say about the film. Every one of them recommended I see it. And since Friday wasn't my only bored and lonely night at Comic-Con, I did go see it--the Saturday 10:30pm show, to be exact.



Put simply, my friends were right. This film was good. It's no Godfather, but it was a solid, well-directed, well-acted action film. From the first scene, they establish that the laws of physics are a bit different in this film's world, and that they're taking a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to the subject of assassination. But if you can suspend your disbelief enough to accept this universe, you're in for a fun ride.



The cast of this film was solid, from top to bottom, but I think it would've worked even better without the big name talent like Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. The writing and directing were really the stars of the film. It had the workplace humor of an Office Space perfectly balanced with the action of a Die Hard film, and shot in a style that give it some indy texture. It was pretty impressive how it all came together.



Although some people are calling this movie "gun porn" (much like Shoot Em Up and other recent "more bullets than brains" action fare), I think this movie takes a more intelligent and witty approach to the genre and can be enjoyed by people who don't necessarily attend films for the body count. It's definitely a film you should see in high def or at the theater, and you may even be able to find it at the dollar theaters soon. That way, you won't say I owe you money on the off chance you don't agree with my review.

Finally, I wanted to include a movie that's actually based more on a cartoon than a comic book--though there are now comics out based on the series. I saw Speed Racer at a sneak preview screening sponsored by the Asian-American group at my company, which meant it was free and during the workday. I have to admit that may've biased my opinion favorably toward the film. Either way, despite this being a very unpopular opinion, I have to admit I enjoyed the movie.



I've already reviewed the film here, so I won't go into more detail about it. I just wanted to throw it in this list, as I consider it one of the "comic book movies" of the summer, and can't discuss the other movies I saw this year without including it. I can understand how some people were disappointed in Speed Racer, but I think this film will have a good run on DVD. It may not have made its money back at the box office, but it will do well once in-store purchases and rentals are factored in. And I don't think history will remember it as badly as some other modernizations, like Godzilla or The Flintstones. If you can catch it at the dollar theater, you should do so. And that's the last I'll say about that.



I haven't really planned my winter movie viewing, yet. Once I saw the extra Watchmen footage at Comic-Con, I already started looking forward to 2009. That's my favorite book/series, and the footage makes me think it will soon become my favorite feature film. I'm more amped about this movie than I've ever been--this may be what Star Wars fanboys felt about The Phantom Menace. Anyway, if you have some winter/fall recommendations, let me know. Besides The Spirit and maybe Land of the Lost and The Wolfman, I'm not even that aware of what geek-oriented films will be in the market at that time.