Superhero Media: Kick-Ass 2

I try not to do series out of order, but this one kind of ended up this way. I don't care much for Kick-Ass (the film, I've yet to read the graphic novel), it was sold to me as "the gen-y Watchmen", but I found it to be no better than a gen-y Blade. It was ok, just lacking any of the real substance that it was going for, nothing original was added to the Superhero genre and it couldn't be as postmodern as it needed to be. More on that when I get to it though. Kick-Ass 2 is better than it's predecessor, the story makes more sense, character development is more rational and the villain is... still shit actually, but shit in less annoying ways. The big problem with both films is that Kick-Ass is not the protagonist. Sure, the film is framed around him, but he doesn't undertake the major events of the plot; in the first film, Big Daddy is the hero, he as the motivation, his is the nemesis and he drives the plot. In Kick-Ass 2, it's Hit Girl that is undergoing changes and finding her place in the world; it's not always about fighting either, she has to negotiate the adolescent world that her father never prepared her for. 

If "Hit Girl vs Puberty" doesn't sound all that interesting to you, I don't blame you, I wouldn't have thought that I would enjoy it as much as I did before I saw it. However, it is the moments where Hit Girl is trying to negotiate a situation as mundane as the High School Cafeteria, with no social markers or concepts of how to do so that are not related to violence and combat that the character truly shines. Yes, some of it is played for laughs, but that fits the style of the film; the scene where Hit Girl uses a martial arts routine to audition for gymnastics is inspired and probably one of the greatest moments in the series. Also, the erstwhile mentor figure of the film, Colonel Stars and Stripes, is later revealed to be a former Mob hitter looking for redemption; yet another character more interesting that Kick-Ass. I know Jim Carey distanced himself from the film, but even without him a spin-off Colonel Stars and Stripes origin film would be great to watch.
 

I know that Kick-Ass has its fans and that I'm in the minority, but I can't say that it's won me over. The possible Kiss-Ass 3 tease at the end of this film promises something that I'm not sure I want, with the focus on Kick-As' continuing journey as a superhero, I'd rather explore the other characters in the setting and build a bigger and more interesting world. I'd rather see the origin story for Big Daddy or Colonel Stars and Stripes, or what Hit Girl ends up doing with her life and the skills she possesses. There is room to move away from the original film and I feel that the opportunity should be explored, rather than just build on Kick-Ass' lack of character. 
  

Miniatures Finished: Odd Team-ups

Steady progress on the big pile of supers to be painted. 

 Weasel, Phyla Vell and a wild Golem bulk out the roster of heroes.

 Slash, The Destroyer Armour and Purple Man make for some dangerous villains. 

Superhero Media: Tank Girl

I have rarely heard anything good about this film, it was something of a late night television staple in the late 1990s, the kind of thing you'd watch with your mates with a few drinks back before DVDs had really taken off. When I sat down to watch, I was honestly expecting another trashy and forgettable film that I would regret watching. Now, I have never actually read any Tank Girl comics, so I only had a vague inkling as to what the concept and story were about, so don't expect too much comparison to the original work. Remember my Catwoman review when I discussed the interplay between sexuality as it is perceived by a male audience and third wave feminism? Well, Tank Girl actually manages to achieve what Catwoman fails so miserably at; Tank Girl (the character, not the film) is, from the word go, pure female power fantasy. She is competent, deadly, owns her own sexuality, master of her own destiny and utterly unshakeable, even the the face of a group of armed men threatening to gang-rape her. 

Watching Tank Girl take down an entire megacorp using only her friends, a gaudy tank and her wits is a lot of fun, but it's clearly not intended to be taken seriously. The whole film is an anarchic romp with a "girl power" filter that actually works really well if taken in the spirit in which it is intended. Don't get me wrong, the film has many problems; Lori Petty can be a bit much at the best of times, running roughshod over her lines and chewing the scenery at Orson Welles levels. Malcolm McDowell is good, but never as good as he was in A Clockwork Orange, so par for the course really. Ice T and most of the other Kangaroo mutants are a lot of fun, though their origin is sidelined and the death of their creator dropped in to work as a McGuffin so that they help with the final raid on Water and Power. I really enjoyed the last vestige of government being a utilities department, such a nice spin on the traditional Post-Apoc FBI, CIA or whatever still trying to run things. There is a lot to enjoy here, despite the flaws and I'd have to recommend it for anyone who's yet to see it.

We need more punk rock, feminist superhero movies, especially now. As the world seems intent on descending into a Neo-Conservative quagmire of racism, Queer phobia and state-sanctioned misogyny. Characters like Tank Girl, Ramona Flowers, Captain Marvel and Traci-13 need to come to the fore and kick some arse so that the generation that grows up with this New World Order of intolerance learns that revolt is not only permissible, but required of them. Tank Girl is far from perfect, in fact, it's more than a bit of a mess, but it's the best example of what it is that we currently have. Definitely worthy of a look, or another look if you've seen it before. 

Meanwhile, in another universe... again...

Looks like my fellow club member has also done a report on the battle we fought, check it out here: 

http://littleleadmenofvalour.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/hunting-for-no-gooders-in-capital-city.html 

Enjoy! And follow Neil's blog, it's pretty great! 

Superhero Media: Inspector Gadget (1999)

This is a terrible film. It's a prime example of a cheap Disney cash-in on a property that they've acquired and need to squeeze some quick cash out of. The plot is basic, the acting mostly terrible and the CGI not great, even for the era. It doesn't take a great amount of experience with cinema to recognise that Inspector Gadget is trash, but when I started to research other reviews of the film, yes, I do research for these sometimes, the main complaint I could find was that it took too many liberties with the source material, the original animated series. Now, I remember having an Inspector Gadget toy, so I must have watched the programme, but I could not recall any of it, so I had to go back and watch a couple of episodes to get a feel for it; I picked a couple randomly and gave them a watch. 

The cartoon is garbage. I know it's something of a sacred cow for a certain generation, but if you're the kind of person that complains about Team Rocket "blasting off" in every episode of Pokemon, get over it, because Inspector Gadget is just as repetitive and formulaic. So, we have a garbage, but fondly remembered, kids programme from the 1980s, with a live-action Disney retreading that clearly no one cared about, even slightly. No wonder this is terrible. It's played for cheap laughs, has a cartoonish appearance and is cut poorly. Is there anything good in here, or do we have another Super Buddies on our hands? Well, the costume actually looks pretty good, even the LED ticker display on Gadget's hat, so, visually, at least, a live adaptation is workable. I like the idea of an evil imposter Gadget, even if the execution is terrible here. While watching this, one odd idea kept popping into my head that I just couldn't shake...
 

I would watch a "dark and gritty" Inspector Gadget live action reboot. Yes, I may rail against the 1990s/2000s trend to "darken" the colourful characters of superhero comics (which DC and WB still seem intent on doing), but this character, I feel, would not merely fail to be terrible with such a treatment, but may even improve slightly. I won't go into too much detail here, stay tuned for my new "The Pitch" entries, but, suffice to say, an incompetent, cyborg detective thrown into a more realistic setting, having to deal with modern crime and criminals, could make an interesting film, unlike this shit. 

 

Thinking Out Loud: Am I my Brothers Smasher?

For a number of dull reasons, I decided to pick myself up a Nintendo Wii-U for myself for my birthday this year. As well as Mario Kart 8 and Rayman Legends, I got my hands on Super Smash Bros Wii-U, which is what I've been playing mostly. I've owned every version of Smash Bros, excepting the 3DS version and I've parted with Brawl (though I may pick it up again if I see it cheap), and I love the combination of a simple combat system and a cross-brand fighting game. The Smash series can be a fun game with friends or a majorly competitive experience, depending on opponents and dedication; there is no move memorisation, combos or combo-breaking. Basically, the games can just be a bit of fun if you want, which suits my gaming mindset just fine. Getting into the new (Wii-U) version has got me thinking (of course) about just what the franchise is to me and how it really works. So, bad news, expect a few Smash related posts though the next few months, especially as my gaming time dries up whilst I finish Post-Grad. 

Now, it's probably worth mentioning that I have, essentially, no intention of playing competitively at any point. Yes, I can beat most of my friends pretty consistently, but there's something of a major gulf between that and the tournament scene. No, for me, it's just about the fun I can have beating the hell out of Charizard with a pink marshmallow named Kirby. Although I never got good at any of them, I do, conceptually, enjoy the Marvel Vs Capcom games, because the characters featured aren't limited to fighting game staples on the Capcom side; yes, it would be better if there were the occasional Exile, 2099, 1602 or Ultimate character on the Marvel side, but can't have everything can we? What's great about the Smash series is the combination of characters, especially in the latest iterations, the Mario, Kirby, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Fire Emblem and many other series are represented, some which I know or care little about, but I'm glad to have them there. Think about it like having my huge array of supers, even if no one uses Ted Kord Blue Beetle all that often, would you really be without him?
 

The one thing I feel that is missing from the latest versions of Smash is the Adventure mode, first featured in Melee, but actually perfected in Brawl, of all versions. The Brawl adventure had a gripping narrative in which all of the characters must eventually team up to battle the Master Hand and the dark power behind the games' boss; it had epic music, odd little team-ups and some very cool moments of video to lead in fights and tell the story. It was so good, and feels so lacking from the new games, that I'd be tempted to pick it up if I ever saw it cheap, just to play through again. As I've mentioned before, I'd love a range of 28mm-ish Smash Bros collectibles for gaming, but once Super Mission Force hits, I'll pick up some Amiibos to run demo games for people to learn that superhero miniature wargaming doesn't need to be about expensive lead men and huge city tables. 

 

Superhero Media: Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Maximum Overload

This is going to be a bit of a short one, for no other reason that that this "film" is around 23 minutes long, so there's not too much to cover. Loki decides that using magic snowballs to "overload" various supervillains (mostly Spider-man's) will be good for a laugh and the Lego versions of Marvel Superheroes have to stop them. It's juts a little short to keep the kids entertained, but it's fun and well executed. The entire thing can be found on YouTube if you're curious. 

The best parts involve Spider-man, who keeps getting left behind by his peers and complains about his "Spider-Angst" until Cap gives him a pep-talk at the end. The incomparable JK Simmonds appears as J Jonah Jameson, he hates Spider-Man and blames him for the Overloads, of course. Also, there's a great Iron Fist reference that gets called back when Danny turns up to help, later on. "Iron Fist isn't a fist, he's a whole guy!"

This was fun. It's not high art, or a must-see MCU tent pole, but it's damn fun and that's all it needs to be. The action will keep kids entertained and there's enough nerdy shout-outs to make it worthwhile for adult fans. Well worth taking a look at when you have a spare half-hour.