Men of Tomorrow: Summer 2011's Comic Book Movies

After a relatively uneventful summer for comic book adaptations last year, Hollywood is opening up the comic book stable once more, in the hopes that the newest crop of heroic steeds will carry studios to fun and profit. The big swinging dick stallions are out in force this year, lead by three massive Marvel releases. Here's a little summary of 2011's cosmic contenders and their prospects based on the material we've seen so far.

Thor (d. Kenneth Branagh; UK release 27 April)

Thor trailer HERE

Is it still weird for everyone else that Kenneth Branagh is directing a comic book movie? I guess Thor, with its melodramatic overtones and mythic inspiration, fits into Branagh's world better than most other comic books, but it was a head-swiveling choice from Marvel Studios that still feels surreal. Based on what we've been shown so far, however, Thor will be low on soliloquies and positively throbbing with undemanding mayhem.

Releasing in an almost identical slot to Iron Man 2 last year, Thor's producers will be hoping that the movie will act as the summer season's launch event, a role that Sucker Punch spectacularly failed to play on its release a couple of weeks ago. The trailer shows off the film's lushly designed Asgardian settings, but it seems clear that the majority of the story will take place in the dust of New Mexico, where our titular hero is plopped down to learn humility and fall in love with the nearest photogenic handmaiden (Natalie Portman, luckily, despite appearing borderline anaesthetised in her scenes).

Loki will plot, doom-robots will be unleashed, Thor's hammer will strike the ground to create a ripply wave of ripped-up concrete so you know he's cool and handsome and great at sex. Anthony Hopkins as Odin will chew scenery as all his recent contracts presumably insist (although at his age it might just be a light gumming). The trailer also played up the movie's fish-out-of-water comedy moments as Thor is forced to acquaint himself with his newfound limitations and learn about Midgard's culture. Women will admire his abs all the while, as is only natural. So essentially it should be like Twins, except Schwarzenneger has a hammer and Danny DeVito is a manipulative Norse god-wizard.

Get pumped for: Buff hammer-maniac vs magical robot.

Sinking feeling: Marvel's other films have been grounded in some level of reality; Thor could make for an awkward fit into the cinematic universe they're piecing together.

X-Men: First Class (d. Matthew Vaughan; UK release 2 June)

First Class trailer HERE

Less a movie and more a sobbing flight from the bloated mess that was 2007's The Last Stand, which in itself was less a movie and more of a two hour scream from the world's inner child as it was being buttfucked by a grinning Vinnie Jones. Still, with director Matthew Vaughan bathing in the afterglow of fanboy favourite Kick-Ass and breakthrough British screenwriter Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass co-writer) on board, we can be forgiven for stoking the fires of hope again.

For maximum distance from its predecessor, First Class is taking the X-Men back to their 60s roots, exploring the early friendship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr before they became implacable adversaries as Professor X and Magneto. It's a good chance to breathe some vibrancy into a franchise that always threatened to buckle under the weight of its cast, and the likes of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, January Jones and Jennifer Lawrence easily have the chops to make us excited about the X-Men again if well-directed.

The Cold War backdrop and the central plotline of a fracturing relationship makes this the most straight-faced comic book movie of the summer by some margin, but shots of Erik going all Yoda on a submarine and Nightcrawler's dad Azazel bamfing around the place suggest there will be plenty of spectacle. The plot seems to cast the Hellfire Club, led by the nefarious Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) as the puppeteer pulling the strings behind some Cuban missile crisis-type event (possibly the Cuban missile crisis) which Xavier's newly formed crew will have to avert, followed by some light high-fiving. Was the high-five invented by the 60s? This mystery, and many more, to be solved in the summer's biggest prequel.

Get pumped for: Michael Fucking Fassbender.

Sinking feeling: Nicolas Hoult has a lot to prove as a young Beast, although his performance in A Single Man should put any dodgy-accent fears to bed.

Green Lantern (d. Martin Campbell; UK release 17 June)

Green Lantern Wondercon footage HERE

After a lacklustre trailer at last year's San Diego Comic Con, the recent footage that came out of Wondercon at last gives us something interesting to latch on to. Apparently studio executives have admitted to dropping the marketing ball on this one, and it really shows. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that we got a proper glimpse into director Martin Campbell's intentions for Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) and his epic jawline, and they appear to be noble ones.

Of all the movies this summer, Green Lantern might be the biggest gamble. While Thor is smothered in fantasy, it's at least based on a mythos with which many are familiar. Green Lantern will have to forge its own cinematic canon that will resonate outside of geekdom. But with so many movie adaptations ending up bland and reductive, it's refreshing to see many of the comic's more outlandish aspects included in the footage that has been shown. The planet Oa will clearly play a big part, as will galactic police force the Green Lantern Corps (including Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar-Re), and with nebulous alien Parallax providing the main threat it's clear that Jordan won't be warming up against shoplifters and Peeping Toms.

The movie will ultimately be judged on its effects, and there is some stunning work on show, Oa's alien cityscapes chief among them (although some effects, like Jordan's strange CG mask, need work if they're to match that standard). Some of the dialogue we've seen feels a little clunky, and there's every chance, as in most comic book movies, that Green Lantern will lack a charismatic and fleshed-out female lead. But despite its potential to flop like a big green beached whale, sheer curiosity has made it the comic book movie I'm most looking forward to seeing this summer.

Get pumped for: The shot of Hal brandishing a ring-created minigun hopefully demonstrates that the film's not scared to explore the Lantern ring's more imaginative capabilities.

Sinking feeling: The look of the mask needs work, and does the Green Lantern oath sound a bit shit when spoken aloud?

Captain America: The First Avenger (d. Joe Johnston; UK release 29 July)

Captain America trailer HERE

Ah, Joe Johnston. Hollywood's workhorse. The problem with workmanlike directors is the unpredictability. When we sit down to watch Captain America, will we get the clarity and pace of The Rocketeer or Jumanji, or are we going to be lumped with another Wolfman? It's hard to know. If there's anything that we could laboriously apply to Johnston as a common theme, it's a sort of primary colour simplicity that unites a lot of his 90s blockbusters and tends to make him a bit outdated today. But Captain America's trailer seems to suggest that this day-glo optimism could actually work for America's second most-iconic comic book paragon.

Chris Evans looks great in the role, both in his digitally shrivelled form and as the super serum-enhanced shield slinger. The World War II setting is clearly played in the Indiana Jones-esque, Boy's Own vein, which is important as Hugo Weaving's Red Skull probably wouldn't do a historically authentic version any favours. It's also satisfying to see Hayley Atwell (so good in last year's TV dramas Any Human Heart and Pillars of the Earth) playing a proper fighting role rather than the powerless milksops that so often define female characters in comic book blockbusters.

The other layer bubbling under the surface is hiding in plain sight in the film's title. Cap is the first Avenger, the final link (after Iron Man, Hulk and Thor's solo hijinks) in the chain for this colossal ultra-franchise that's due to wake like some long-dormant Kraken next summer. Captain America has been designed as the last step before The Avengers, presumably through the old "frozen in ice after drone plane fall and discovered in suspended animation in modern times" chestnut that reintroduced the character for the Avengers comic books in the 60s. If that's the route the movie takes (and as the Marvel movie universe seems primarily drawn from the Ultimates comics, it's likely that it will), it'll be interesting to see how the overall tone of the movie will gel with this relatively glum denouement. We'll also get a better idea of whether Evans will be authoritative enough in the role to assert his leadership over all the A-list actors (and their A-list characters) who populate The Avengers.

Get pumped for: A technicolour blockbuster that ditches the grit and makes with the glory.

Sinking feeling: Banishing unhappy memories of The Wolfman and Jurassic Park III might be the biggest challenge here.

Cowboys & Aliens (d. Jon Favreau; UK release 12 August)

Cowboys & Aliens trailer HERE

Based on a 2006 graphic novel that does exactly what it says on the tin, Cowboys & Aliens on first inspection seems like a better idea for a videogame than a movie. It also emanates the pungent whiff of the kind of Snakes on a Plane high concept that usually crams most of its ideas into the title.

But director Jon Favreau has broken his blockbuster teeth on Zathura and two Iron Man movies, so we can at least expect some impressive effects and a well-implemented plot (assuming we can forget Iron Man 2's plot and pacing like some bad dream). The cast is impressive too, with Daniel Craig playing the mysterious stranger who wakes up in the desert with no memories and a bizarre bit of fashionwear strapped to his wrist. Harrison Ford plays the ruthless Sheriff of the nearby town of Absolution, who along with the likes of Olivia Wilde, Paul Dano and Sam Rockwell will have to band together when a whole mess of high-fallutin' extraterrestrials arrive on the scene with more than cattle-rustlin' on their minds. The trailer shows off lots of stylish action and big budget effects, along with the enjoyable anachronism of horses and shotguns sharing screen space with glowing space ships. All the ingredients for a fun time seem to be in place, but it remains to be seen whether Favreau's execution can turn a dumb concept into great popcorn entertainment.

Get pumped for: The sequel, Cowboys & Aliens & Zombies & Vampires.

Sinking feeling: Let's hope Craig and Ford don't get trapped in an infinite out-gruffing match.

All release dates are according to IMDB.

Movie Violence: What's The Point?

A few years ago I was at my parents' house extolling the virtues of The Thin Red Line at length and probably to the mild irritation of my family, who were trapped in the living room with me and unable to escape. After a couple of minutes of waxing pedestrian about the film, my gran (old school, academic, intellectually intimidating) asked me why I would want to watch a film that depicted scenes of war. The question gave me pause for thought. In a hundred years of accumulated filmmaking, violence remains one of cinema's key methods of expression and a timeless device for heightening drama.

I think my gran's question was grounded in a belief that films are, in general, entertainment rather than art, and therefore depictions of violence are morally dubious on the grounds that they are created for entertainment's sake. I would disagree with that argument; there are plenty of movies that I have found edifying and artistically valid, partly through the application of onscreen violence, whether shockingly realistic or stylised. But I also have to admit that I have enjoyed shallow movie violence as pure entertainment without any moral reservations. So I thought I'd have a think about the purpose of cinematic violence and its best and worst exponents.

In the most basic sense, violence is possibly the simplest method of heightening drama and giving urgency to a plot. In war movies like Saving Private Ryan or Platoon, the main antagonist isn't German or Viet Cong soldiers, it's the constant spectre of violence. It's the death-rattle of machine guns; the doom-hum of tanks rolling down the road or warplanes screeching across the sky. When we see medics desperately patching up their ruined comrades on the beaches of Normandy as the rounds continue to thump down around them, when we see Platoon's Sgt. Elias desperately clinging on to life despite being left behind to rot in the jungle, the lump in our throat doesn't rise through hatred of their human adversaries. The real enemy is the loss of humanity, intelligent beings reduced to meat in an instant. The physical and psychological wastage.

Violence in war movies is usually directed at putting across this soul rot in as unflinching and brutal a manner as possible. But in other genres, violence is a potent force to drive plot and character motivation. Revenge movies usually start with a despicable act of violence in order to aim the protagonist at his/her foes. Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, a gore-soaked pulp tale of Japanese schoolchildren trapped on an island and forced to kill each other off as part of a murderous government youth cull, explores the fractures between the values of two Japanese generations through the application of appalling violence. It's violence as the purest representation of a power struggle.

Some movies use onscreen brutality as a reflection on violence as a concept. David Cronenberg's A History of Violence meticulously charts the metamorphosis of main character Tom Stall, a reformed mobster who slowly re-engages his violent impulses after killing two robbers in his small town diner. Tom's mannerisms begin to shift; his relationship and sex life with his wife is affected; even his teenage son begins to assert himself violently at school. In A History of Violence, the ability to inflict pain on others is studied as a destructive, long-term condition that's incompatible with civilised life, as well as a Darwinian defence mechanism that prioritises asserting one's right to survive at all costs. Other filmmakers that have explored the idea of violence through its onscreen application include Sam Peckinpah (Straw Dogs), the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men) and Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven).

On a different level, I have no problem with admitting to enjoying cinematic violence for the thrill of it, especially when presented in a stylised and unreal manner. There's a world of difference between Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star and violence that feels believable and emotionally wearing. It's the reason we laugh rather than retch when the hulking German mechanic gets mashed up in a plane's propeller in Indiana Jones. It's the reason we suspend disbelief when Jet Li and Tony Leung are dancing their combat ballet on the surface of a gleaming lake in Zhang Yimou's Hero.

Similarly, cinematic violence can be beautiful to look at. The awesome spectacle of the battle scenes in 300 is worth revisiting for its brawny audacity, even if the story is worth forgetting. Martial arts movies only exist to impress viewers, whether kung fu enthusiasts or chop socky casuals, with the forms and movement of make-believe fighting. Hell, gruesome violence can even be funny if the tone is right. I don't know many people who didn't guffaw at Shaun and Ed lobbing old records at a couple of oncoming zombies in Shaun of the Dead, or at Team America's blonde badass Lisa blowing an Al-Qaeda puppet through a Paris store window to the immortal line, "Hey terrorist - terrorise THIS!". I find I'm able to enjoy screen violence as entertainment as long as I'm aware of the artifice, like a rollercoaster of guns and explosions.

The only movies that cross my violence line are those that seem to have been made for the sole purpose of enjoying realistic depictions of human suffering. Most of these fall into the horror category, although only an elite few do I avoid on moral grounds. Even pretty extreme horror movies like Alexandre Aja's Switchblade Romance and claustrophobic Spanish infection freakout [REC] have enough going on under the hood that the violence is about sustaining threat rather than revelling in pain.

No, it's the torture porn of the Saw sequels and the Hostel movies that put me off. The films that seem cynically designed to devalue realistic visions of pain and death, that strategically attempt to inspire voyeuristic murder-boners, often by maiming and killing attractive young women to complete the perfect circle of death/masturbation confusion. Cinematically, it makes for lumpen experiences with no sense of restraint or pacing. More importantly, they're the only movies that I wouldn't be able to explain to my gran.