But first, allow me to explain the purpose of this blog. Since the release of "Captain America: The First Avenger", I have been thinking to myself about how far comic book movies (and in particular Marvel movies) have come in the last decade or so. Not only have they become one of the most lucrative genres in Hollywood, but the general quality of the films has improved drastically with each passing year.
Based on this train of thought, I decided that I wanted to go through the history of Marvel's cinematic endeavors and review each one as both a comic book aficionado as well as a general movie-goer. How well did they capture the spirit of the printed page, and how many of them were solid, well-made movies? Sometimes these two overlap, but all too often one must be sacrificed in order to better execute the other. So I invite you to join me as I see how these two ideas have collided or cooperated throughout the years.
Each review will be split into five separate, but related, categories:
EXCELSIOR!
Each review will be split into five separate, but related, categories:
- Backstory: Background on the characters from the comics. In the case of sequels, this will only be used to cover newer characters or relevant changes to existing characters.
- Production: Background on the making of the movie. This includes information about the actors, the director, and any interesting or contributing factors from the development process.
- Continuity: How well does the movie portray the comic book it derives from? This will often be split into major and minor deviations.
- Reception: Does the movie tell a coherent story with interesting characters? This is completely independent of source material and only focuses on the merits of the movie in and of itself.
- Conclusion: A general verdict of the film, emphasizing areas (if any) the movie excels at.
- Any comic property not owned by Marvel isn't going to happen. This includes any DC based movie as well as any of the independently published series such as Hellboy or Sin City. I don't have anything against those movies necessarily, but Marvel is what I know best, so Marvel is what I'm sticking with.
- I'm starting from the year 2000. Yes, I know there were several movies made before that, but nearly all of them had really small budgets and some of them didn't even get theatrical releases. So if you're expecting a review of the original "Captain America" or "Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD," you're going to be disappointed. On that note...
- I'm also not going to be going over the Blade trilogy. Despite Blade being a Marvel property and the movies being (generally) respectable, I don't really consider them in the same category as the rest of Marvel's movies. In fact, I'm pretty sure that most people don't even realize that this series is based on a comic book character. So, with apologies to Wesley Snipes, Blade just doesn't make the cut.
EXCELSIOR!
