movie reviews

‘Masters of the Universe’ can’t find the right tone, but creates a lot of nostalgic fun

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Middle-aged men who grew up in the 1980s watching the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series and playing with the Mattel action figures sure seem like the target audience for the live-action Masters of the Universe movie. So I’ll admit I was an easy mark for this one.

Although I still hold a tight grip on the comic books, movies, books and TV shows I loved as a kid, I’m more resistant to nostalgia as I get older. But fellow Gen Xer Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) is obviously a fan of the old animated series and knew what notes to hit to trigger those childhood tingles.

Being a fan is not always a good thing for movies like this. Sometimes, filmmakers try to cram too much into one story, attempting to load everything they love about a property in their endeavor — maybe because they think it’ll be the only chance they get. Or perhaps he or she just can’t take off their fan goggles and assume audiences will enjoy the same things they did, rather than take an objective look at what works and what doesn’t, what needs to be subtracted or added.

Knight — with writers Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee and Dave Callaham —walks that line pretty well, realizing what was silly about the cartoon and toys — notably character names such as “Fisto,” “Ram Man” and “Mekaneck.” The movie actually comes up with a funny, believable conceit to explain some of the sillier, campier elements of the Masters of the Universe mythology.

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‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ is too stationary, failing to justify its existence as a movie

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Saying a movie spun out of a TV series should have stayed a TV series feels like an easy, sometimes even lazy, criticism. I thought that might apply to The Mandalorian and Grogu. Yet it’s probably a fair gripe.

The Mandalorian and Grogu doesn’t utilize what made the series special, probably because it’s limited to a two-hour running time rather than eight episodes of TV. It’s also limited by not being allowed to step outside the show’s boundaries into the larger Star Wars mythology. So yes, rather than being made into a movie, this should have been Season 4 of the series. (And hopefully, with more episodes, it would have been better.)

What made The Mandalorian series so enjoyable as a Star Wars fan is that it expanded the universe that we followed in the movies. It made the mythology feel bigger against the backdrop of the war between the Rebellion and the Empire, building on the concepts of the Jedi and the Force. It also added more to ideas that were intriguing yet not crucial to the overall story — characters such as Boba Fett, his origins, and the society in which he existed.

Yet the world of The Mandalorian could only go so far. It runs into a ceiling. We don’t see the main character, Din Djarin, in the newer Star Wars trilogy. (The series is supposed to take place between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, which allows for a whole bunch of storytelling possibilities.) Grogu, the adorable “Baby Yoda,” was not a part of the most recent films either.

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‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ feels fresh, but takes too big a first step toward the MCU

/ Ian Casselberry / 1 Comment

The Fantastic Four: First Steps appears to be the film that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs right now. It doesn’t depend on other movies to establish its world and story. Watching the dozens of other MCU films and TV shows isn’t required to follow what happens.

So it effectively serves as a necessary reset for a superhero movie universe that has felt tired and unfulfilling over the past few years. Especially when the guy with the red cape flying over Metropolis just brought a jolt of freshness to movie theaters and pop culture.

Yet The Fantastic Four feels new and exciting as well because it’s not set in the very same MCU as the familiar one occupied by the Avengers. The best decision made by Marvel and director Matt Shakman is putting these characters in a retro-future 1960s that looks unlike anything seen in an MCU film before.

There’s no cynicism here. It’s a culture full of wonder, which has also built trust between the world and these superhuman heroes who protect it. Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm are media sensations, rock stars and monoculture icons, which wouldn’t happen in a modern setting. The movie probably could have had more fun with that. But Shakman has cut a tight film and the story has to move along — which is also part of the problem.

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‘Superman’ restores a classic hero with an exciting new setting created by director James Gunn

/ Ian Casselberry / 2 Comments

James Gunn gets Superman. That’s easily the best aspect of his Superman movie. The writer-director knows the Man of Steel isn’t cool.

Superman is a dork. “The Big, Blue Boy Scout” is a nickname that’s been attached to him for years in DC Comics mythology and among comic book fans. Maybe it’s largely derisive, but it also explains what Superman is all about. He sees the good in people. He will do the right thing, even if he doesn’t always think through all of the ramifications of those actions.

What Gunn’s Superman gets right is that it doesn’t try to modernize the character for current audiences. The movie embraces what makes Superman distinct, what makes him the first superhero — maybe the only superhero — that comes to mind for many when imagining the concept.

Superman is a hero because he helps people when he could so easily hurt them. It’s not that he can catch a falling building, fly to the Arctic in minutes, or shoot lasers out of his eyes. He’s supposed to be decent and kind. To portray him otherwise is an attempt to make him cool instead of goofy.

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ successfully pays tribute, moves mythology forward

/ Ian Casselberry / Leave a comment

Director Ryan Coogler had a thin line to walk for his sequel to Black Panther.

Following up 2018’s mega-hit that was unlike any Marvel superhero we’d seen before, reaching out to audiences and cultures that previously felt underserved by blockbuster entertainment, would have been difficult enough. Coogler had an opportunity to direct a sequel to 2015’s Creed, but passed on it to jump into the Marvel sandbox and bring comic books’ first Black superhero to the big screen.

Topping himself and continuing the story of Wakanda’s King T’Challa was going to be much more difficult — logistically and emotionally — after the death of star Chadwick Boseman two years ago. How could Marvel and Coogler, along with the amazing cast and crew that brought the fictional African nation to vivid life, keep the story going without the Black Panther himself?

Out of respect to Boseman, Marvel decided that T’Challa wouldn’t be recast. That was probably the correct decision, especially so soon after the actor’s death. Asking fans — and those who worked with Boseman — to accept a new face in the role would have been difficult. (Though during the past two years, sentiment — online, anyway — has turned toward recasting and advancing a character that was so iconic, so important to audiences.)

So Coogler and writer Joe Robert Cole (who collaborated on the first film’s screenplay) embraced the real world’s intrusion on Marvel mythology and acknowledged Boseman’s death in the story by giving T’Challa much the same traffic fate. As a result, Wakanda Forever serves as a tribute to the actor, allowing fans and colleagues to mourn and perhaps find closure with the loss.

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