Countdown to Avengers 3: Black Panther

Can you believe that we’re doing a third installment of Countdown to Avengers? It seems like it was only yesterday that we teamed up with Nerd Lunch and Cavalcade of Awesome to tackle all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films (and then some) that lead up to The Avengers. Believe it or not, we’re back, and now we’ve got Jay from Life Vs. Film along for the ride as well. 

Marvel

And now we've come to the end. We're looking at the last film before Infinity War. That's right, Infinity War is out THIS WEEK so Jay and I are looking at the phenomenal Black Panther. Let's go back to Wakanda! Mandatory spoiler warning!

This is getting pretty ridiculous. The MCU movies are starting to change the fabric of society. I'm sure Marvel would have made four Black Panthers by now if they knew it would have been such a cultural, critical, and financial success. Black Panther serving as the final standalone film before Infinity War is an interesting choice (coincidence?). The isolated Wakanda opening up to the rest of the world is kind of a metaphor for the MCU opening up and connecting its various characters even more than they already have.

? via IMP Awards

Black Panther follows one of the newer recruits of the MCU, King T'Challa, (Chadwick Boseman) as he tries to fill the shoes of his recently departed father. T'Challa's trying to balance everything that's happening in Wakanda and fully take on the mantle of king when his long lost cousin Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (Anthony B. Jordan) comes along with plans to start a worldwide revolution.

So there's no way I can say Black Panther is a bad film. Simply due to the talent on display and behind the scenes, Black Panther is a very, very good movie. However, it's not my personal favorite MCU film for various reasons. A reason that springs to mind: the whole maglev vibranium train fight at the end sort of seemed taken out of a crummy X-Men movie.

A broader criticism I have for the film is about its villains. Or rather, how they relate to Black Panther. Kilmonger was killed off - bad move. It'd be like if they killed Loki in the first Thor movie (which I guess they sort of did and brought him back so it's possible Kilmonger could return).

It's revealed that T'Challa's father essentially killed his own brother and left his son on his own in America. I felt like this was a big controversy but wasn't handled as such. T'Challa didn't really seem to want to fix or even address this injustice. After he had essentially killed Kilmonger he thought about saving him. You would have thought there would have been one instance of T'Challa saying, "Hey, what my dad did was wrong, I want to fix this." I also don't get killing off Klaue (Andy Serkis). You killed both awesome Black Panther villains. Why? Also, I was kind of hoping T'Challa would have a cool scene where he had to prove himself and survive after his initial fight with Kilmonger. But M'Baku's (Winston Duke) people just kind of save him. And we don't even see that! They just reveal that he's alive.

Like any MCU film there are connections to other Marvel movies. Even though Black Panther is sort of an insulated film (it's literally taking place in a hidden, isolated country) we have some connective tissue. Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) plays a big role in the movie so that's a bit of a connection to Civil War. We also get to see - in a post credits scene - that Bucky (Sebastian Stan) has come out of his self-imposed cryogenic hibernation at the end of Civil War and seems to be doing better...under the care of Shuri (Letitia Wright), no less.

It's always fun to speculate how a stand alone character will fit in with the rest of the Avengers. In this case, we've already seen Black Panther side by side with a lot of the other Avengers, but it was pretty limited (even though his role was not) and in the context of fighting. I've really tried to avoid trailers for Infinity War but it looks like a large part of the movie is set in Wakanda and Black Panther is taking on a leader role. I'm looking forward to some sort of interaction between Black Panther and Bucky. The last time we saw them together they were trying to kill each other. I think Black Panther has the potential to lead the Avengers in future films. I'm not sure if that's happened before or if it's canon, but that would be cool.

Extra Thoughts from Jay:

Every time I think the title Black Panther, I can't help but flip it in my head to Plaque Bantha, so I keep imagining a film about a giant woolly horned beast from Star Wars desperately needing to see his dentist, but I highly doubt that film would be one of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time internationally, which Black Panther now is. In fact, within the MCU it's only currently being beaten by the two Avengers movies, making it the highest grossing standalone character film, which is pretty damn impressive given I'd never even heard of the eponymous character before Captain America: Civil War.

It's clear from the Infinity War trailers that the events - or at least, the locations - of Black Panther are integral to the future of the Avengers, with Wakanda presumably being the location of the Soul Stone. This decision must have been made prior to Black Panther's release, so I'm guessing Kevin Feige and the rest of the Marvel team are all giving themselves pretty smug pats on the back given how successful Black Panther was, and how many guaranteed ticket sales that'll grant them for Infinity War. Those back-pats are entirely deserved though, as BP is an awesome movie. It features many of the best antagonists of the franchise so far in the forms of Andy Serkis' Klaue, Winston Duke's M'Baku and of course Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, has some awesome action - I cannot wait to see the casino fight and ensuing chase again - incredible production design, supporting characters, music, visuals, dammit, everything is just great. To date it's the only Marvel film that I've only seen once, but that's going to change pretty damn soon, I assure you.

Countdown to Avengers 3: Doctor Strange

Can you believe that we’re doing a third installment of Countdown to Avengers? It seems like it was only yesterday that we teamed up with Nerd Lunch and Cavalcade of Awesome to tackle all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films (and then some) that lead up to The Avengers. Believe it or not, we’re back, and now we’ve got Jay from Life Vs. Film along for the ride as well.

Whereas that first series of ours was special, this one will be even more epic. It heralds the end - or, at least, the beginning of the end - of this current manifestation of the MCU. Infinity War releases in a matter of days so, without further adieu...2016’s Doctor Strange. Mandatory spoiler warning!

“...Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, anyone who’s a threat to Hydra!” - Jasper Sitwell, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

With this mention in an excellent installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the MCU's Doctor Strange was born. The character was and is exciting for me because he's among the crop of new Avengers (who doesn't want to see a New Avengers Movie featuring Ant-Man and The Wasp, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and others?). I also was (and am) a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, so I was happy with the casting.

Paul Shipper via IMP Awards

Going into Doctor Strange, I thought quite a bit about the 2007 cartoon movie, Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, which explored the character's origin story. That movie really showed me that a superhero's beginning could still be fun. Interestingly, something the live action film didn't touch on was the death of Strange's sister and how it affected him. Although I'm not sure if that's canon and it may have made the film too sad.

The plot in a nutshell: Cumberbatch's Strange is an arrogant and talented surgeon who loses his skills after a car accident essentially destroys his hands. He ultimately travels the globe and to Kamar-Taj to try to fix his hands. He winds up embroiled in a war of sorcery, however.

I do like what they tried to do with Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo vis-à-vis making him more of a heroic character, but ultimately he’s a villain and I think he’ll be the main antagonist in the sequel. Maybe they'll go with a sort of reluctant villain as opposed to a mustache twirling incarnation, but the post credits sequence would not suggest that. Put simply, he loses his mind. He just seems disillusioned and heartbroken the last time we see him in the main film, but then when we see him in the post credits scene he's essentially murderous and maniacal.

The film mostly delivered on Strange's potential. The movie in general may be a bit of a "style over substance" situation for me. It had a cool look (one of the Crown Jewels in the film has to be the sequence where The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) sends Strange on a trip through space, which is his first glimpse of magic in the film) but generic villains, for instance.

Like any MCU film, Strange is rife with connections to other Marvel films. There's a theory about the phone call Strange has just before his accident and the fact that the injuries listed might be mentions of other heroes, particularly Captain Marvel (I have a feeling this isn't the case, however). Wong mentions The Avengers and that's huge, of course. Towards the end Wong also mentions that The Eye of Agamotto is an Infinity Stone, which may be the biggest mention, particularly since Strange later meets Thor, who's been on a journey to find the stones. This scene where Strange meets Thor is great fun and would go on to become part of the immensely successful and popular Thor: Ragnarok. There was some speculation at one point that he would even join Thor and Hulk on the main adventure.

I'm really looking forward to Strange meeting the other Avengers. He wasn't in Civil War and he's only met Thor. We know via the trailers he meets Bruce Banner and Tony Stark and the three of them, along with Wong, gear up to fight someone. We see him interacting with Peter Parker (Spider-Man if you use his made-up name) and Star-Lord. It will be interesting if we get a Sherlock reference between Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch. We see him being tortured a bit in the trailer and I wonder if that leads to a cool rescue mission on his behalf. See my comments below for some very spoilers thoughts on how Doctor Strange and elements from his films might factor into Infinity War and other MCU films.

Extra Thoughts from CT:

The first time I saw this movie, I came away not overly impressed. But a second viewing really turned it around for me. Not a character I ever connected much with when reading the comics, but one I still liked when he would guest star in books I read.

Strange was mentioned in a throwaway reference during Captain America: Winter Solider which in retrospect, now seems a little odd that a surgeon would be mentioned of all people. I mean, there might be famous surgeons out there, but when you list a set of random high profile people, I would guess a surgeon would not be on your list. Still, despite his arrogance, even then, Hydra had pegged him as a threat. They saw something in him that no one else did for a few years.

As we move closer to Avengers: Infinity War and the conclusion of this phase, we know that the Time stone will certainly play a role. Speculation has suggested we will see some major time travel as a part of the plot for these next Avengers movies. I have not delved into that territory more than what I just mentioned though. Still, it wouldn't surprise me. Time travel is a major plot device that has yet to really be explored in the MCU. Dr. Strange just barely scratched the surface of it.

Also worth noting that even though we see this movie set up plot points for eventual sequels, there is no confirmation of a Dr. Strange 2 yet. Which is surprising to me, but also puts Strange on the potential chopping block as a character to get killed. Personally, I hope not. I think a nice set of three or so Dr. Strange movies would be good. I would love for him to still be active when the FF characters get grafted in (I'm speaking very hopefully) and we see the Real Defenders in a movie together: Dr. Strange, Hulk and Silver Surfer (Namor being the other prominent member but who knows what's up with him).

Spoiler Thoughts:

The Time Stone might come into play in having something to do with Captain America. Also, and I thought this was confirmed, but I think Doctor Strange will wind up being another mentor for Peter in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2.

Countdown to Avengers 3: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Can you believe that we’re doing a third installment of Countdown to Avengers? It seems like it was only yesterday that we teamed up with Nerd Lunch and Cavalcade of Awesome to tackle all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films (and then some) that lead up to The Avengers. Believe it or not, we’re back, and now we’ve got Jay from Life Vs. Film along for the ride as well. 

Whereas that first series of ours was special, this one will be even more epic. It heralds the end - or, at least, the beginning of the end - of this current manifestation of the MCU. So we’ll be looking at at least one MCU film a month until Infinity War releases in May. First up...2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Mandatory spoiler warning!

Marvel

➖➖➖

Looking back on Avengers: Age of Ultron, maybe it deserved the mixed reviews it received from critics. Let's see...it definitely suffered from sequel bloat. The plot was basically the same as the first Avengers. You could argue that the film yet again suffers from that "Marvel has a villain problem" situation. Others have definitely pointed these problems out, but the fact remains. Personally, I particularly remember some hate about how Black Widow was handled and I’m pretty sure returning director Joss Whedon quit Twitter over this whole movie. All that said, this film could have been a lot worse, and there was a lot to live up to. Considering all that, Whedon more or less pulled it off.

Basically, post The Winter Soldier, The Avengers have reunited to take down Hydra and the film opens on the team attacking Baron Von Strucker’s (Thomas Kretschmann) base in Sokovia to steal back Loki’s scepter from the first Avengers movie. This all, believe it or not, leads to the birth of the titular villain, the devious A.I. Ultron.

There was definitely a lot going on in this movie...almost too much. Consider for example that Thor goes off on his own at one point on a fact finding mission to learn more about the Infinity Stones. At the end he even actually leaves to go find the Stones. It explains why he wasn't around for Civil War. Maybe it's something that could have been emphasized a bit more, but I probably just wasn't paying attention/didn't appreciate it.

Some of the film's highlights for me were the Black Widow/Hulk stuff. It was nice to see their relationship develop past their meeting in India and their shenanigans in the first film. Speaking of the Hulk, I also enjoyed his fight with Iron Man's Hulk Buster, but I do think they could have maybe injected a little seriousness into that fight. It never really felt like Tony was in danger at any point. It would have been cool if maybe Hulk pried the suit open a little bit. The lack of danger and consequence is a bit too much.

There’s a ton of connections to the other films littered throughout this movie. Almost too many to mention (and dozens of other folks have already done it). It opens with the team trying to retrieve the scepter from the first film, which went missing after Shield fell in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Thor hits Captain America's shield to produce a shockwave like in The Avengers, but here it's like a combo attack move. Falcon shows up in this so it's another nice throwback to The Winter Soldier.

We get some action from the Iron Legion at the beginning, which are more or less an extension of all of Iron Man’s suits from Iron Man 3. Although he did blow all of those up, but I guess it was just sort of foreshadowing an Iron Man suit army. Despite their destruction, it leads to the Legion and ultimately Ultron.

This flick was not only setting up Civil War - Cap and Tony’s wood chopping scene - it also laid a lot of ground work for Infinity War. Tony has a premonition of the aftermath of the team fighting Thanos, and there’s obviously a lot of talk about the Infinity Stones - and we SEE an Infinity Stone in the form of Vision’s forehead stone.

The team now inhabits Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower. We basically saw this foreshadowed at the end of The Avengers, with all the letters of "Stark" - except for the "A" - having fallen off the building.

Traffik Cone via AMP

Now in this series of ours, we'd normally talk about how the main character from the film in question will fit into the upcoming Avengers movie. But not only is this not a stand alone film, there’s a subsequent film - Civil War - that features most of the team, so you can’t even say how the whole team will behave once they’re reunited.

But I'll speculate a little anyway. Will there be two teams in Infinity War? Iron Man's team and Cap's team from Civil War and they all have to come together? Not to mention The Revengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. They've all been scattered so it'll be interesting to see them all join up together. Although I have to wonder if there will even be a unified team in Infinity War. It may just be these different factions doing their own missions. An Avengers Army (what else can you call it if this is a war?) would truly be awesome, however. But we might have to wait for that.

There was no way Avengers: Age of Ultron was going to live up to The Avengers and the sheer joy of seeing all the characters meet up for the first time. At the end of the day, Age of Ultron is just a good MCU film, not a great one. There were better films before it, and there have been better films since. But it had a lot to accomplish, so maybe we’re unfair to the film.

Favorite Scene Friday! Jurassic Park: Petticoat Lane

Today's scene was written by Jay from Life Vs Film.

August has been a pretty horrific month for losing legendary actors, claiming Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall and, most recently, Richard Attenborough. Originally I wanted to highlight one of Attenborough’s other films I love – The Great Escape, Flight of the Phoenix or The Sand Pebbles – but I knew that there’s really only one film a guy like me can talk about when Attenborough is brought up: Jurassic Park.



As much as I love the dinosaur-based action scenes, the moments of comedy and the general badassery of many of Jurassic Park’s bigger scenes, there is something touching and eminently watchable here, with Attenborough’s John Hammond, the creator of the attraction, lamenting the failure of his project.

The key factor here is that Hammond believes the catastrophic failures endured on Isla Nubar are merely a stepping stone towards the final endgame of a successful, fully functioning park, and the mistakes made this time around are areas to improve upon within the next project. It is up to Laura Dern’s Dr. Ellie Sattler to quash these dreams, and the moment of realization upon Hammond’s face when it finally sinks in that his dreams will never be successfully brought to life is just heart-breaking, preceding the saddest, most dejected use of his “Spared no expense” catchphrase.

It’s the moments like this – the storytelling and character beats – that don’t get discussed enough in films like Jurassic Park. Even without the conversation between Hammond and Sattler, there's the sheer amount of time and effort that’s gone into preparing the scene – the pillars in the restaurant are carved with fossil designs, there are shelves upon shelves of merchandise waiting to be sold. But through it all, there is Richard Attenborough, with a twinkle in his eye as his face lights up, reminiscing on how the children thought they could really see the fleas in his circus. In the end, he’s an old man, trying to bring some happiness into the world, and that is an aim not devoid of merit.

Richard Attenborough, R.I.P.

Favorite Scene Friday! Jurassic Park: Special Delivery

This week's FSF! was written by Jay from Life vs Film!

Mondo

When Robert asked if I'd be interested in writing another Favorite Scene Friday, and during the month French Toast Sunday is celebrating the work of Steven Spielberg no less, there was only one possible film I'd be talking about. Jurassic Park is hands down my favourite movie of all time, and I talk about it as often as possible, so here I am talking about it again. I'm aware that Robert has highlighted a scene from Jurassic Park before - when Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler first clap eyes upon some dinosaurs - but that isn't my favourite scene. I could quite happily do a whole series of posts on this movie, with my top 5, 10 or maybe even 15 scenes in the film (20, if you include the rest of the franchise), but I'm going to stick just with one, the opening.



After the Universal logo, and over the opening credits, we get the start of John Williams' awesome score, but here it isn't in rousing mode, it's ominous. There's something coming, something deadly, something the crowd of hard-hat-wearing workmen are equally anticipating and dreading. I love how the trees rustle, and everyone is looking up in expectation, and we're supposed to think a T-Rex is going to come crashing through the trees. No, that's later. For now, we get a fork lift truck carrying a crate, big enough for a large horse, or a six-foot turkey, if you will. The most we see of what's in that crate is a couple of shots of its terrifying eyes through the slats in the side, yet with the use of some great sound design, terrific reactions from the men unloading the cage, and some animatronic flailing from the crate, we completely believe there's a dinosaur in that cage.

Of course, it helps when said dinosaur actually kills someone, which is what happens, less than four minutes into this film. Bearing in mind this is a movie entirely based around dinosaurs as being a theme park attraction, the concept of them killing and eating the customers or staff at said theme park may not have been forefront in the minds of the movie's audience upon that first viewing. It's understandable that the workmen in the film are apprehensive of this large, unknown creature before them, but do any of them think their lives are really at risk? Probably not, other than Muldoon, the only guy who can make tight khaki shorts look badass, even at night, but maybe these workers should have been a bit more wary, especially the gatekeeper, whose job it is to climb on top of the cage containing a live velociraptor and pull up the rather heavy-looking door, releasing it into its enclosure. I'll say that again. He gingerly mounts a cage, holding a LIVE VELOCIRAPTOR. It's not sedated (why the hell isn't it sedated? WHY?), it's not unconscious, it's a giant, carnivorous, eating machine, surrounded by a walking buffet. Of course, it all goes a little awry and we're left with Muldoon desperately trying to hold on to the man being dragged into the cage, the doomed man's arm gradually slipping through Muldoon's grasp as he bellows "Shoot her! Shoot her!" whilst the beast shrieks and screams in a blood-lusting frenzy.

If you didn't know dinosaurs were dangerous before this point, you bloody well do now.

What's your favourite scene from Jurassic Park?