The First Avenger

The last of the pre-Avengers Marvel movies has arrived, and it's a fitting entry to the current marvel universe. It doesn't reach the surprise that Iron Man had back in 2008, but it does establish it's own niche by showing us the older era of the world we know.

The film starts off in the modern day, as the Valkyrie is found, and on further exploration, Captain America's shield is discovered. We quickly cut to Norway during WWII, where Johann Schmidt finds the tesseract, also known as the cosmic cube. Observant fans would've noted the presence of said object at the end of Thor, both a nod to Captain America and a clue to The Avengers. While Schmidt works on the cube with Nazi scientist Dr. Arnim Zola (played by Doctor Who's Toby Jones), we see a physically weak/mentally strong Steve Rogers, played so believably by Chris Evans. The film moves at a fast pace; there's a lot of story to tell, and the pace is sometimes detrimental to the overall film, because we feel like we're always on the move. However, it was likely necessary, as we needed to have Cap ready in the modern day by the end, and he needed a well-established backstory.

On the last of his many attempts to recruit for the army, Rogers meets Dr. Erskine, possibly the best character in this film, played by Stanley Tucci. The first time Rogers signed up was well done, as it established that he was an orphan, his father was in the army, and he had a true desire to serve despite his physical ailments, all within a few minutes. That's what this film does well; it does a lot of explaining very efficiently and naturally, which is a credit to its director and screenwriter, as well as it's actors for making it believable. The story spans many years, and we see snippets of multiple missions with Cap and the Howling Commandos, but it just feels so fast. Perhaps because it's quite a bit of engaging fun.

Erskine eventually chooses Rogers to be the candidate for his super soldier serum. In a pre-procedure chat, Erskine describes his first accidental test subject, Schmidt, whose haste in obtaining the serum for himself led to his apt new name, Red Skull. Fortunately, things went well for Rogers's transformation; Erskine was not so lucky, as his own countrymen killed him.

Rogers then hold his breath for an impressive amount of time to drag a hydra operative from the water. After a nice montage of Cap serving the US by selling bonds, we see him eventually decide to save his buddy, Bucky Barnes, from a hydra base. The first look at Captain America in action was well done, because it was not a sponsored mission, but one Rogers did on his own, on the fly, with a prop shield and costume in place. After a successful rescue, Rogers officially becomes a US soldier, and we get a battle montage, which I suspect spans many years.

Finally, after Bucky's "death" (he's probably frozen awaiting a return as the Winter Soldier), we see Cap board the Valkyrie. We get a good, but brief battle with the Red Skull, and then he disappears into the cosmos. Hopefully he makes a return in The Avengers, or in a Captain America sequel. Rogers can't find a way to land the plane safely, so down he goes. The scene that follows, with him waking up on modern-day NYC and encountering Nick Fury, felt somewhat tacked on. It needed to be done, I suppose, to help move Avengers along that much faster, but it just didn't seem to fit quite right. Sort of like Thor's ending, which wasn't quite as tacked on, but also left something desired. These films should be seen in the context of the larger story, because as standalones, they're very good but not ideally concluded.

The casting here was excellent; everyone from Tommy Lee Jones's Colonel Phillips to Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter were truly believable. Jones and Tucci had the funniest lines. Evans was really good as Cap, but his character just naturally is not as entertaining as Tony Stark. It'll be interesting to see them all interact next year. Speaking of which, after a relatively lame post-credits sequence with Nick Fury, we got a sneak peek at next year's team-up.

The trailer moves very fast, with a rapid succession of shots. We do get a look at everyone though: Maria Hill, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor (in a new outfit), Iron Man/Tony Stark, Bruce Banner (but no Hulk), Nick Fury and Steve Rogers. There's even a shot of Loki, which makes one wonder how he's back in physical form. Other than him, no other real clue to the world-endangering threat was blatantly evident. There's a lot to cover at the start of this film. How does Cap adjust to the real world? How did Thor come back? Where's Bruce Banner been all this time, and how was he brought on board? Only Tony Stark needs little explanation, given the Avengers prequel that was Iron Man 2. I hope they pull this movie off well.... we'll see come next May.

Every Journey Has A Final Step

As a train heads off to Hogwarts, with bright, young faces on board, we look back to the first time we saw that same train. Only then, it was with a young Harry Potter, meeting Ron and Herminone for the first time, and about to begin a cinematic adventure that would last a decade. We grew along with Harry and company, but all good things must come to an end.

Not that all was good in the Potterverse. Voldemort was in charge of the ministry of magic, his trusty right-hand man Snape training the newest generation of wizards and witches at Hogwarts, and Harry and friends were all but alone in trying to find the missing pieces of Voldermort's soul. We left off at a particuarly low point; Voldemort found the elder wand, and Dobby was laid to rest. Only a few horcruxes were destroyed: the locket, the ring, and Tom Riddle's diary.

The second part start off right where we left off, even before the title card or the WB logo. Voldemort's shoots the elder wand in the air, and then we're at Dobby's grave. The rest of the movie detailed the finding of the other few horcruxes: Hufflepuff's cup, Ravenclaw's diadem, Nagini, and, of course, Harry. It was crucial that certain scenes were nailed in this movie, none more than the tale of the half-blood prince. And, by sticking to both the spirit and letter of Rowling's novel, with a certain mix of artistic license, this movie deserves to be called not only the best potter movie to date (along with part 1), but also one of the best fantasy movies ever made.

The Gringott's break-in was wonderfully done, and the dragon was wonderful. Seeing the cups multiply was a joy. However, we quickly moved on from there to Hogwarts. It's a pity we didn't get to hear more about Dumbledore's past, but some things need to be left out for the movie to flow in a reasonable amount of time. We got hints, though, so those who never read a potter book now can discover the depth of the story. Once we get to hogwarts, things get busy. Harry finds the diadem, in a scene that truly brings the book to life, broomsticks and all. And as chaos explodes all around him, we learn Snape's story and realize Harry's bravery.

I expected a huge action extravaganza in the finale. We got a lot of action, and a lot of destruction, but here's where Yates and company shine; they stayed true to the book. We see everything from Harry's point-of-view, with lots of destruction in the backgrond. One negative review I read on AICN stated that we didn't get enough time with characters like Trelawney, and we didn't see major characters death's on-screen. However, we never saw this in the book. People died on the sidelines while Harry was on his mission; we only see Tonks, Fred (or George?), and Lupin lying dead along with the others. One can argue that taking artistic license and showing this stuff would have been better, but I'm glad they stuck to the letter here.

Snape's story was also well done, with fine acting from Rickman. We saw what we needed to see: Snape's love for Lily, Dumbledore's deadly curse, and Snape's protection of Harry. I think reading the book beforehand heightened the experience; it may have been a bit fast for those unaquainted to the story beforehand. Harry's sacrifice was also well done; I could feel the sadness, and the bravery, he embodied in that scene. Radcliffe did an excellent job. There were many unexplainable emotional reactions throughout the film, and this was one of them.

Another standout was Fiennes as Voldemort. We got more screen time with him here, and despite his evil, we actually felt a bit of emotion for him. At least, I did. Each time a horcrux was destroyed, you could feel the fear in his eyes, the utter fright he had at facing mortality once again. One of the best scenes of the film was when Voldemort addressed Hogwarts after beliving he killed Potter; his mocking laugh and exuberant smiling were chillingly scary, right up there with the best of villains, including Emperor Palpatine and his horrid cackle. Voldemort is one of the classic archetypical villains, signifying pure evil. More recently, we are used to complex villains: Two-Face, Ra's al-Ghul, Magneto, Loki, and even the Joker all showed a different take on villainy. As a classic type of villain, Voldemort works well, and Fiennes more than does him justice.

The final battle between Harry and Voldemort is probably where the most artistic license was taken. We were outside Hogwarts, alone, and amid rubble. The book had the final showdown in the great hall, surrounded by the students of Hogwarts. There's a benefit to both. The movie showed that, in the end, it would always come down to those two, alone. Voldemort, the stronger and older wizard, standing amidst the destruction he caused, hoping to destroy the one person who always stood in his way. In the book, we had Harry defending himself in the place he first truly called home, surrounded by those he cared for and loved, against the one who caused so much harm. I wish Voldemort didn't crumble into thin air, but rather lay lifeless on the floor as the students walked in to see him, and cheered. This is really my only down side to the film.

The scene after Voldemort's destruction was just as anti-climactic as it was in the books. And it's as it should be; everyone is sitting, conversing, mending their wounds, and finally enjoying a moment of peace. I don't recall if Harry snapped the elder wand in the book, but it was very appropriate; it showed that he was truly a good man, and despite the good he could do with the wand, the temptation of power was something he could live without.

The epilogue was quite the fitting ending, despite the somewhat silly appearance of the gang 19 years later. They looked good close-up, but from afar, they looked just as they did as students. It felt right, though, the old generation sending off the new. I wish they mentioned Teddy Tonks, as they did in the book. However, it just felt right. The story goes on, and life moves on, even if we aren't along anymore for the wonderful ride.