X-Men (2000)

After the success of Blade (1998), Marvel went ahead with another theatrical adaptation of its comic franchise X-Men. So what have we here? Bryan Singer directs this flick, casts the right set of actors to star in their respective roles in this movie, taking their careers to a whole new level.

So the plot of the movie is comprehensive: Senator Robert Kelly is pushing forward his controversial Mutants Registration Act and Jean Gray is advocating against this as it would create widespread prejudice and conflicts. Professor Charles Xavier, Marvel's Gandhi, loses no hope in quelling this strife while Magneto, consumed with astronomical hatred, intends to drive humanity to oblivion, as he believes in the law of natural selection.

It is shown in the beginning that young Eric Lensherr has suffered in the Holocaust and has witnessed humanity's ferocious maltreatment to those born different. It is that atrocity that further deepens his anger and venom as he believes that humanity has only evolved to persecute "what it does not understand". Now he believes humanity "has seen its days" and it is 'out with the old and in with the new'.

And let us note Hugh Jackman's performance as The Wolverine a.k.a. Logan. At first he shows no compassion for anyone but himself; though this is short-lived and he turns into a guardian to one runaway teenage mutant. He has no memory of who he is or his life before. References to his past make frequent appearances as a blur and he has trouble understanding why.

Storm a.k.a. Ororo Monroe is still the character from the comics, even without her counterpart's Egyptian accent. I guess Singer did not want to force Halle Berry to fake the accent as it would be uneven and eventually end up hammy. I would not mind that at all.

And this sub-story involving Marie a.k.a. Rogue, dwells on her inability to bond with humans before she runs away and bumps into Xavier's people. It shows us how a mutant can cope with her problem and learn that she is not alone. Personally, what she goes through is what many teenage mutants pass through even before talks of the Act.

Lastly Senator Kelly: I personally believe him to be a secondary villain, since he opposes mutants alike in the name of humanity. He receives his just dessert when Toad and Mystique abduct him for an experiment carried out by Magneto himself. That treatment turns his heart around, making him acknowledge that there are good mutants and bad mutants to look out for--and that answers his question from earlier on, "Are mutants dangerous?".

With the advance of computers since The Matrix (1999), several action scenes have captivated many viewers, fans and non-fans alike, including the fight scene on the Statue of Liberty between The Wolverine and Saber-tooth. Many scenes have demonstrated smooth CGI work on Storm's weather patterns, Wolverine's retractable claws, Pyro's fire, Cyclops' fiery eyes and, of course, Magneto's manipulation of metals.

And one thing this movie would probably be remembered for is this quote:

Logan: "Do you actually go out in these things?"

Scott:"What would you prefer, yellow spandex?"

The funny feeling is that in the comics and the 1990s animated series, Wolverine wore his signature yellow suit. But Singer ruled that out from this movie, believing it would be too campy or colorful in the matters so serious. Well minor changes in the costumes of the characters would not necessarily be subject to criticism, as too much color would not reflect the seriousness of the situations at hand.

Thus this movie deserves to be among the most successful comic book movies since Blade, giving viewers’ value for their money and a run for Singer's money.

Transformers (2007)

Since the 1980s the Transformers franchise has been a craze in childhood. Toys, t-shirts, television series of various generations, and even a movie of 1986, have been a favourite to children of all ages. There were animations, from hand-drawn to CGI, so it was time to blend live action and CGI. So here we have it, Michael Bay's Transformers (2007).

On a mega budget of $150m, the robots in disguise make their appearance in our world and interact with humans. It is a marvellous sight on-screen to watch the heroic Autobots wage war against their foes the Decepticons. What is the cause of the war? As stated in the prologue, it is The Allspark--the power to turn ordinary technology into transforming robots. The Autobots want to use it to rebuild their ravaged home planet; the Decepticons want to use it to build an army, and dominate the universe. The Allspark crashes into earth and is discovered by mankind before the transformers.

With advanced computers and graphics, the robots are blended into the screen so that they appear to be as real as the human characters themselves. However, many of our well-known characters are much different to their incarnations of previous generations, including Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, Starscream and Frenzy; new Decepticons include Barricade, Warpath, Bonecrusher and Blackout. Many of them have undergone radical alterations in their patterns of transformation, like a Rubik's cube rather than that pattern from any of the animated series. But it must be noted that a great deal of computer work has been as intricate as possible to give the robots a distinctive look, so that even without their respective insigniae we can tell an Autobot from a Decepticon. If you recall the animated series of previous generations (More Than Meets The Eye, Cybertron, Armada, Energon, Robots In Disguise), you will recall that the Autobots and Decepticons look so much alike that they would need their insignias to stand out. Thus a lot of care was taken in this movie to make the Decepticons look far too intimidating and nightmarish to be mistaken for Autobots.

A problem with this movie is the large chunk of running time focused on the human characters in this film, particularly on Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. For a movie titled Transformers, we expected this movie to focus on the titular characters. Many of the fans could care less about the human characters and more about the alien robots. Besides, nobody wants to watch some kid continually stammer on the screen and scream like a sissy. One other thing, Sam's parents truly do not help matters at all, especially not Julie Witwicky.

So Michael Bay brings our robots to life; thank you for the computer animation, action, the humour and the plot. But we are not pleased with some of the human characters that take up too much screen time and spill crudeness onto us with their unwatchable acting and delivery. Work on the script so that excessive destruction to property will be averted; shorten the movie by giving less time to the human characters and focus more on the titular characters instead.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

This final sequel sums up Christopher Nolan's achievement to reboot the franchise. His ultimate task was to clean up the mess created by Joel Schumacher and his bomb Batman & Robin: Bane. In this movie, Bane is a mastermind, brutal and merciless even without the growth serum, and determined to fulfill Ra's Al Ghul's destiny.

Nolan pioneers a movie project with a mega-large budget. It appears that most of the destruction to buildings and infrastructure, including the football grounds, is real and had to be correctly executed. However, such work is computer-generated as it is obvious that real destruction is far too costly.

It has been eight years since Batman declared himself an outlaw and hid away from the public. Bruce Wayne is crippled and reclusive; Alfred is displeased with his delay to move on as he believes Gotham will need the Bat again. So it must be the case of this quote from the last movie, "You can die a hero or live long enough to be called a villain." It looks like Wayne was determined to be that hero rather than continue to live a life as a fugitive.

This movie also brings in Selina Kyle/Catwoman, even though we were already satisfied with her appearance in Batman Returns. Nevertheless it was decided that since Rachel died in the previous installment, Bruce Wayne/Batman would need a new love interest, just as is the case in the comics. And cleverly revisited is the ballroom dance scene between Wayne and Kyle, as was the case in the aforementioned movie. Just a classic reminder brought closer to the beginning rather than closer to the end.

Bane executes his role brilliantly: he not only aims to fulfill the long-standing plot to decimate Gotham, but he successfully "breaks the Bat," literally and metaphorically. He makes certain that he knows Batman's true identity is revealed, and that Bruce is ruined as a result of the raid on the stock exchange. Whoever thought he could hack into the billionaire's account with such expertise? Quite impressive, I would say myself. And let's not forget Bruce's incarceration in the "pit of Hell", where many languish and lose all hope of ever re-emerging into the light. There is no better way to break a man's spirit than to force him to watch Gotham tear itself apart in the hands of a brute, while sequestered in a deep prison.

And thank you, Commissioner Gordon, for keeping hold of that letter. Now Bane can reveal the truth about Harvey Dent, and release several inmates from Blackgate Prison, who have languished under the controversial "Dent Act". Bane can unleash the plague on Gotham before it can be decimated with a fusion core. That so-called "vanity project" has been mothballed by Wayne but rekindled by Bane and his minions.

I must admit the clever writing regarding the "child of Ra's Al Ghul". When I first watched this movie I, too, assumed that Bane was that child. But he was not, it is Miranda Tates. There is no obvious plot twist as in frequent flashbacks the child who climb out of the pit was a girl and not a boy. I thought I was completely caught off-guard and left bewildered; however, this plot point is completely logical.

"The Legend Ends." The tagline to this movie marks the summary to the movie as Nolan's final work--his tremendous assignment to revive the Batman franchise. This action director has invigorated the action, and upheld integrity with comprehensive writing and plot. Let us also note the solid acting and faithfulness to the source material. Nolan has scored a hat-trick, and has added his three movies to the list if greatest movies of all time.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Christopher Nolan reprises his role as director. This sequel presents another villain from the comics, The Joker, who already made his appearance in Tim Burton's version but chooses to adhere to his scary personality from the comics. In addition, we are given the real Two-Face who has been in need of a desperate reboot after an embarrassing screen-time on Batman Forever.

 

So what what does the Joker have in mind? He wants control of the mob of Gotham, and he wants to run crime his way. But one thing which he has been elaborately scheming all the while, is to bring down Harvey Dent. District-Attorney Harvey Dent has been scoring points rounding up mobsters, sending them to prison, and making his field day in court. The Batman thinks Dent can pull it off without a mask or cape and cowl, and wishes to retire and let Dent do the real crime-fighting. Besides, Dent is the inspiration Gotham deserves, and Batman does not accept the emergence of copycat vigilantes donning mock Bat costumes.

 

The Joker may be called a freak, but he devises his most brilliant plan. This writing sounds familiar, as though derived from the previous movies Batman Returns and Batman Forever:  the villains break the hero by turning him into the thing he hates most, and then manipulating the very thing he loves most. The Batman notes that should this scheme come to pass, "all the criminals he [Dent] put away will be released, and Lieutenant Gordon's death will be for nothing."

The brilliant writing from previous movies to adapt the story in this movie has been well implemented to reboot these villains into the ones from the comics. One other characteristic of Two-Face most radically restored, is his "game of chance". He flips his coin and accepts its outcome, as opposed to the Schumacher movie where he flips it continually until he gets the result he desires. Though unlike Burton's movie, this movie does not explicitly explain The Joker's origin: instead of falling into a vat of chemicals, The Joker is just a criminal who scarred his face due to a bad father and his impact on his adulthood. I presume that the Joker's back-story has already been adequately explained in Tim Burton's movie, and so would not be necessary for this movie. 

 

It is also tragic to hear that Bruce Wayne's one and only love interest Rachel has revealed her love for Dent, and has shocked Alfred before Wayne himself. It was a thoughtful idea to never tell Wayne yet as this could have crippled his spirit as well. Well done, Alfred, for burning that letter.

This movie also goes the length to demonstrating the Joker's near-death: similar to the climax in Batman (1989), the Joker is hung upside-down with a zip wire but does not plummet to his death. The funny thing about the Joker is that killing the Batman would be futile as he sees it as "fun". On the other hand, Batman proves himself to be the type who does not believe in vigilante justice by letting the Joker hang on for dear life, rather than letting him drop to his death.

 

So Nolan scores another distinction for redefining Harvey Dent/Two-Face and The Joker. Let's not forget the professional writing, plot, action scenes, atmosphere, solid and well-executed acting, and consistent recasting of actors from the previous movie, despite running time exceeding two and a half hours. This movie has had several memorable quotes noted and posted on various media, notably the Joker's tagline "Why So Serious?", which has been printed on his facial image on Facebook.