Category: Comic book movies

Comic book movies

Captain America 4 is okay?

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Captain America 4 is okay?

Captain America 4 is finally out. Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon, officially takes up the mantle of Captain America (Cap), continuing the story set up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier—which I have not watched. From my understanding, that series already covered Sam taking on the role of Captain America, which means this film can’t rely on that storyline. This highlights the limitations of combining TV series and movies within the MCU.

So, what’s my mindset going in? My expectations are low. I’m not anticipating a major narrative push or an outstanding story—just an okay or decent movie at best. That sounds fair to me: an average film that introduces us to Captain Falcon. We’ve already had a political thriller with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, so this film needs to take a fresh approach. The question is: will they take risks, or will they play it safe? I’m not convinced they’ll do anything bold.

The original trilogy was a personal story about Steve Rogers. Here, the main character feels more like a supporting character rather than a lead. Sam’s nickname among comic book fans is Captain Falcon or Cap Falcon, but he can’t seem to shake off the feeling of being a side character. Why? He’s not the first character we see, he’s not part of the story for a while, and everybody else around him feels more important. What we get is a film that ties up loose ends, bringing together two main storylines into a very watchable but ultimately just “good” movie. It reminds me of Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—a solid 6 out of 10. It sets up plot points for the future if some writer wants to use them.

Avoiding Spoilers: My Review

This movie feels like it exists to tie up loose ends, explaining past events while attempting to push the story forward. It feels like a sequel to both The Incredible Hulk (2008) and The Winter Soldier (2014), maintaining a similar tone. However, it ends up doing both badly. The problem is that Wilson still feels like a supporting character. He performs unbelievable feats while trying to remain grounded, yet the film fails to maintain that grounded feel. MCU power levels are well above him, meaning these feats require explanations. This creates an issue: the stakes feel low when everything looks easy. While there are moments where that’s not the case, they don’t really change much.

One saving grace is Harrison Ford’s character. His storyline is well-written, to the point where he honestly feels like the main character. Meanwhile, Sam feels like he’s supporting Ford’s character rather than leading his own film. The movie ultimately feels like two separate films mashed together—a remnant of Marvel’s shift in quality during the Disney+ era. It’s a fine movie that somehow works, but it should have been a Hulk movie with Wilson getting his own standalone story. It’s fast-paced and to the point, but it just feels a bit underwhelming. Calling it a political thriller is a bit of an insult, really.

At one point, it feels like the movie has ended—only for it to keep going, giving us another ending. The big twist at the end feels rushed. You could have split the movie into two and had a better result. The action is fine but nothing groundbreaking, and it doesn’t quite suit Falcon, who feels forgotten in terms of character development. If Marvel keeps producing movies of this quality, it’s going to damage the brand. Maybe we’ve already reached that point. Personally, I would have scrapped the movie, written it off, and taken a long, hard look at the direction of the franchise. Leading up to this movie, we had plenty of reports about the production woes it faced.

Production Issues

This film had a rocky production. Writing began in 2021 following the Disney+ series, but the project faced multiple delays. Originally slated for release in May 2024, the movie was pushed back to February 2025 due to production setbacks. Filming began in March 2023 but was disrupted by the Writers’ Strike in May, which lasted until November. Despite the strike, filming continued, though additional rewrites took place after it ended. Early test screenings were poorly received, resulting in further rewrites and reshoots. These reshoots occurred from January to June 2024—and again from May to November 2024—causing even more delays. Deadpool & Wolverine started filming later yet was still released first in 2024.

I’m not sure what to think. Actors and directors claim reshoots are common practice, but one thing is clear: this movie’s production was anything but smooth. Writer strikes often lead to weaker films, which raises concerns. Then again, I don’t know the ins and outs of Hollywood, so maybe this level of reshooting is normal. Based on the timeline, it seems like a third of the movie was redone. Given Marvel’s struggles in the Disney+ era, this is a middle-of-the-pack film. Whatever the case, reshoots did have an impact here. Yet, it remains a watchable film because of them. Impressive. I’ve been pretty critical and negative so far, so how would I have done it?

My Version of This Movie

The biggest problem I have is that I never watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Falcon is the new Captain America but not officially. The government doesn’t want him around. He’s a normal guy with wings, but they aren’t high-tech. Everything he does is a challenge. His acrobatics are how he overwhelms people—not by using strength. An outsider that the president turns to. He arrives at the White House, where the president greets him. No longer representing America, Sam is a reluctant hero. The president isn’t happy about Sam taking the shield. They don’t get along at all. The meeting goes poorly, and Sam settles down to being a social worker. He’s called back to investigate an unfolding mystery—the only person the president trusts. Sam is trying to find out where Nick Fury is, who the next Avengers could be, and why somebody is trying to destabilise America. He doesn’t trust the people around him, and they are clearly hiding something. Someone is trying to create a new world order, removing Ross from the White House and causing trouble.

Sam enlists a retired Bucky Barnes to help, along with some old friends. What follows is a political thriller with Sam and the Winter Soldier at the forefront. Sam learns to lead and become his own man, while Bucky helps him grow, acting as a mentor and friend. They discover that “X” is behind the plot to destroy the White House. After learning to work within his limits, Sam emerges as the leader people need. Bucky is sidelined and does not get any credit due to his public image. Two teams are formed: the Thunderbolts and a newly restarted special Falcon forces program. Nick Fury finally appears, warning Sam that something isn’t right—heroes are disappearing, leaving only the new generation behind. Everything they need to fight off threats, like super-soldier research, has gone. Sam sets off with a wanted Nick Fury, both going underground. Bucky fully embraces his Winter Soldier persona again under the command of Thunderbolt Ross. Ross is portrayed as a morally grey character, with Nick Fury providing a counterbalance. Turns out the person behind it all is Ross, who wants new metals and resources for himself, viewing himself—not Fury—as the best hope to defend the Earth.

Closing Thoughts

What we have here is a movie that plays it safe. It feels like an earlier Marvel film, hinting at a future team-up but without an overarching narrative linking everything together. Once again, it echoes the earlier days of the MCU. A couple of solid movies have come from Phases 4 and 5, and this one slots nicely into the middle. It’s not the worst, and it’s watchable. In my opinion, The Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hold the worst spots. Captain Falcon gets a solid 6 out of 10 for me. My review is pretty negative, but it’s not a bad movie, so I can’t rate it like one. The negativity comes from the high points of the MCU being so good—yet this seems to forget the lessons of what came before. You can skip this one and just stream it on Disney+. The trailers haven’t helped either—why reveal the big twist in them?

Comic book movies, Marvel, TV

Short history of comic book movies

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Short history of comic book movies

After writing some thoughts on the Marvel cinematic universe. Wanted to give a blog post on other movies that exist. Before the MCU other superhero movies existed, wanted to reflect on that. Loads of possible films to discuss, the list is rather long. So only going to focus on the ones I consider important. Quite a few that I consider as important you’re welcome to disagree with me.

Superman 1978

Offering a template for the future of the superhero genre. Richard Donner set the blueprint that Tim Burton would follow, both contributing to the genre as we know it. Genre owes much to these two directors, the current boom started in the 2000s follows the template. Genre owes Richard Donner and everybody else a huge debt. Worth repeating just how important this movie turned out to be.

Watching this movie today it has aged a bit but overall feels similar to modern movies. Brings Superman down to earth, grounded in reality. Something nobody had tried before to do, some silly comic book moments still believable within the story.

Mario Puzo’s original script was vastly different compared to the final product. Richard did a rewrite and gave us one of Donners most important contributions to film. Starts with an origin story, and deep storytelling along with complex characters with drama. The result is creating something new and refreshing.

Attention to detail along with laying the groundwork for the man of steel to appear after 45 minutes. Sharing an adaption that is proud to tell an accurate comic book origin.  What Richard Donner did was show the world the potential, leading others to borrow from his playbook.

Batman 1989, 1992 – Tim Burton

Tim Burton directed Batman 1989, and Batman Returns 1992. Tim’s vision is darker stylised and more realistic, a take on Batman’s origin. This feels like a Burton film, his fingerprints are all over this. He is focusing on the psychology of the character over being comic book accurate. Radically different compared to what came before, focusing on darker stylised elements of the comics. Some people dislike this approach but takes very core themes from comic books.  Borrowing themes and ideas over using direct stories, new take on old stories. 

Warner Brothers took a huge interest, playing a major part in creating an action hero Batman. The biggest most obvious criticism is just how many people get murdered by him. Thus it is not a very comic book-accurate flick at all. I don’t think Burton is fully to blame for this more executives following what the 1980s looked like. Superheros are untested and the studio really wants to make it a success but not got much faith in it. Why did I include it?

Complaints often focus on it not being comic book-accurate. That was never the goal or point behind it. What you instead get are major psychological themes that underpin and form the Batman universe. Showing it in a new fresh light compared to before along with pushing the norms. Okay took a while but the modern dark version of Batman couldn’t have happened without it. Batman Returns gives you an idea of what the future could look like. 

Tim Burton had made his Batman movie but when Batman returned he would get greater creative freedom. The result was Burton agreed to do another one. Pushing his stylised horror meeting the universe of Gotham. Really digs deep into the stylised horror and, a much darker tone overall including the story. The main villain is the Gotham elite, much darker direction compared to dark last movie. The Penguin costume pushes that, opening is more like a horror movie. Still filled with action the top gadgets and everything else. Takes creative risks, Gotham is a dark, timeless alternative design that is bigger. Speaking of which that design would go on to influence modern Batman for decades to come including cartoons. 

Parents complained to McDonald’s about Batman Return’s dark nature. Mismatch in terms of the partnership with McDonald pulling the partnership. The terms for the further partnership were Tim Burton could not be the director. Warner Brothers fired him from the 3rd movie, producer in name only.

Batman & Robin

This movie was so bad it changed comic book movies for the better. Watchable but my god it is awful crap. Sadly however far strong junk compared to some of the 2000s movies that got made. So awful at times you just have to laugh at it.

Fox Xmen 2000, 2003, 2006

The Superhero genre was largely unproven, small number of successful films followed by failure. 20th-century Fox had little faith in X-Men being a major hit. The surprise commercial success of Xmen started boom times for superheroes.  Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon, using various Marvel properties film rights it owned after Marvel wanted to create movies. Unlike Batman or Superman, the studio was embarrassed by the source material. Steering away from the source material, the meta costume joke is easy to miss in X-Men. Takes important themes but the story is different from the comics. Overall style with feel is lighthearted and family-friendly with more adult tones. Borrowing the best ideas but not being shoehorned by the comic book story. Character development adds to the overall story and special effects are used as plot devices. The human vs mutant conflict is a long story arc that finally pays off in the last movie. Watchable if flawed trilogy but still important showing the genre could be a box office success. Did show that the genre had box office legs and loads of movies followed the formula.

More Batman, dark knight trilogy 2005, 2008, 2012

Christopher Nolan’s dark knight trilogy used Richard Donner’s template to refine it. Borrowing heavily from both Richard and Tim’s previous works. A modern realistic take on the character, grounded in the real world. Not limited but embraces expanding on that idea. Attention to detail here that most films don’t come close to matching. A scene with a bomb timer that is the same length as the timer.

Inspired by the comic book source material, it is a love letter full of detail. Not embarrassed telling an accurate comic book origin story, similar to Superman. Christopher’s trilogy is a story split into three parts, it was never intended to be a trilogy. Therefore each part just adds to what came before and adds what is necessary. The final chapter is a perfect ending for the story arc. Created during the middle of the comic book box office boom fanatic piece of history. Showing that when Hollywood takes risks by respecting the source material magic can happen.

Hollywood today is full of green screen computer-generated imagery (CGI) using fake backgrounds. Saving studios on production costs during shooting, don’t have to do duplicate costly reshoots. Nolan instead opted for physical locations with effects. Any CGI is limited and sparingly used. Lighting to costume design shows the benefit of this old-school approach. An excellent script with set design, and special effects that look real are rare today. Nolan treats Batman with respect and creates three of the best movies ever made. Instead of playing safe, it takes risks to explore themes nobody else considered. The mental health of Batman is the obvious one. Tim Burton’s effort can’t begin to hold a candle to this.

Iron Man 2008

The birth of the Marvel cinematic universe started long before Iron Man.  In a previous blog post, I have written a section about it along with thoughts on MCU as a whole. Following Richard Donner’s template, Marvel created its superhero formula learning from what worked and what did not. At the time this was a risky move, an unknown hero who was not like other heroes. The studio behind it created a charming flawed character that was relatable. What makes this movie so improve is what comes next. Giant massive story arc along with decade long series of hits.  Leading us to the Avengers infinity war and Endgame which pushed how many heroes you could include in one movie.

Logan 2017

Fox X-Men movies are a mixed bag, from watchable junk to rather good. I have written about Fox X-Men and my thoughts here.

Logan is a conclusion to Charles and Wolverine’s story arc. Aged extremely ill Charles Xavier and Logan. It is perfect in so many ways, in how it tackles certain issues. Gives us a bunch of vulnerable, characters with loads of emotion and development. It works as a stand-alone or part of the X-Men ecosystem. The story is an alternative take on the war between humans and mutants. More grounded darker script allows Hugh Jackman and Sir Patrick Stewart to shine. Different approach and style compared to what came before. Genre-based needed a refresh and this darker take is great. Reminds me of what Christopher Nolan did with Batman reboots 2005, 2008, 2012. Logan 2017 came out and went the darker more grounded route to.

Genre as a whole has kept to action but slowly tried to explore other ideas. Honestly, time for another risk to be taken. Deadpool is R rated action comedy gamble but not that big of a risk. Pretty much every single superhero movie is action based.

Time to expand on what I wrote and explain why Logan was included on this list. The much darker side to having superpowers is shown here, gift and curse. Old age with illness are core to the plot, Xavier illness is believable. A character that weak physically from old age, unable to control his powers. Logan acts as protector just like Xavier did. Both are written like old friends, teaching each other bringing out the best in each other. You do see Xavier darker side here pushing Logan towards helping X-32. However it only briefly shown and easy to miss what going on. Flawed character is nothing new but to see vulnerable in a different way. What we get here is two characters sharing a similar experience.

Human and mutant war takes a dystopian twist, mutant kind is killed off by private company seeking to use them as weapons. That subplot turns out be the main real plot. Logan showed a much darker side but was still family friendly filled with adult themes. Age filled with more light-hearted fewer adult themes Logan showed you could be successful with adult themes. X-Men comics are full of them.

Outside of Kickass a black comedy, the genre has largely been action movies. Deadpool is an action comedy filled with violence, Does have some black comedy elements but focuses more on action. Making a movie for adults was a huge risk. Logan was a fresh much darker but family-friendly take.