Film Review: Marvel's Avengers Assemble!

10/10

As many people know, my favourite film of all time is 'The Elephant Man'.  To me, it is cinematic perfection.  I've never seen a film, before or since, that has genuinely moved me (still the only film that's ever made me cry!) and I never ever believed that any film could come close to making me rethink my philosophy.

Until now.

As I alluded to in my previous blog, I've loved The Avengers since about 1985 so the chance of me not liking a film version would be small, but to say I was blown away by Marvel's Avengers Assemble would be like saying Siberia is a little bit nippy.  Almost from the very first scene, the film grabs you, demands your attention and refuses to let you go.  And you don't even notice.

The set up is perfect, and really you don't NEED to see any of the five previous films that lead up to it (although if you do, trust me it makes it much better.

For me, Captain America is more like himself than he was in his own movie.  Tony Stark is just sarcastic and wonderful, Thor is several kinds of awesome.  Mark Ruffalo is the best Bruce Banner ever (sorry to the fans of Bana, Norton and/or Bixby) and if he doesn't get his own Hulk film out of this then there's no justice in the world.  The other two Avengers (Black Widow and Hawkeye) are not treated as extras, as you might reasonably expect and in fact easily have about as much screen time and development as the rest.

As for SHIELD, Cobie Smulders is just smoking hot as Maria Hill and Clark Gregg continues his deadpan nothing-can-shock-me performance as Agent Coulson (and he will be missed in the future films) but Samuel L Jackson is still 'The Man' and couldn't be cooler if you dumped him in an ice bath.

But as in 'Thor', the best acting was from Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  He displays such a believable performance, going from evil to humourous and everything inbetween.  His scene with Black Widow was one of the stand out moments (plus it had the phrase 'mewling quim' - 12a rating ahoy!) and his battle with Hulk was... Short but oh so memorable.

The final scenes are perhaps the best ever seen, certainly in a superhero film and possibly in any film.  This is what Transformers WISHES it could have been.  Some real fist pumping and 'Fuck yeah' moments but you never get lost in the visuals (which are stunning throughout).

And if you don't get chills when the Avengers form the famous circle (the one we've all seen in the trailers) then you might want to check your blood flow.

I have tried and tried to think of some negative points but the only ones I can think of is just the very minor disappointment that there didn't seem to be any 'hidden' gems in the film.  Would have loved a minor cameo from Agents Danvers or Morse (Ms Marvel and Mockingbird respectively) or maybe even tracking Bruce Banner while he's hiding out with his cousin Jennifer Walters.  But nothing like that, not even a mention of "We tried the Fantastic Four but they weren't even in this dimension".  Shame, but that is a churlish criticism at best.

So, is this now my favourite film ever?  No. But it's pretty damn close. The adult 'me' is telling me that The Elephant Man is still the best film I've ever seen. But the child 'me' insists it's The Avengers. Pfft, who wants to be a grown up at the cinema anyway?

Sod it, I'm going to see it again!


Oh, and Thanos.  THANOS!.  THANOS ON THE BIG SCREEN!!  Can this Avengers sequel just hurry up already??

Avengers Assemble!

And there came a day, a day unlike any other... when Earth's mightiest heroes found themselves united against a common threat... to fight the foes no single superhero could withstand... on that day, The Avengers were born.

Not blogged in an absolute age.  Totally my fault - just not really been inspired to talk!  However, in a few hours time I will be going to see a film that I have been waiting for my entire life (and sadly, that's not a lie).

The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble for us in the UK).

As many know, I'm a comic book aficionado/nerd and the one book that I've enjoyed from the start, and still do, is The Avengers.  The teamwork, relationships, the infighting, the battles... There was something that appealed to me about this team that made me want to read more.  X-Men?  Too angsty and talk about whiney...  Spider-Man?  Yeah, he was OK.  Fantastic Four?  Often good, occasionally great but not for me.

(And I can't stand DC comics. Deal with it.)

The Avengers were a group of heroes that banded together because they wanted to make the world a better place.  That appealed to me.  They were together because they were friends.  And the film will show this too (I'm sure - my next blog will be the review of the film)

So I have decided to list my 10 favourite Avengers storylines, in no particular order.

1) Operation: Galactic Storm

A no-brainer to pick this as the first on the list.  A fantastic space war that spanned 19 issues and yet didn't feel too long, or padded out.  Bob Harras' crossover masterpiece that even now I read from time to time.  Hasn't dated.

Good stuff: All the Avengers together!  Avengers avenging!
Bad stuff: Cap's team seemed a little weak/one dimensional *shrugs*
Legacy: The Kree have never been the same and it helped bring Carol Danvers back to Earth.

2) Korvac Saga

The first Avengers graphic novel I ever bought.  Was NOT disappointed.  Avengers stories that involve god-like enemies always seem to 'work', and other than the Fantastic Four, no other Marvel team ever really battled them.  (And even the FF only seemed to win after a never-before-seen gadget created on the spot by Mr Fantastic.)

Good stuff: The ambiguous ending.  Guardians of the Galaxy are always good to see.
Bad stuff: Moondragon. Still don't like her.
Legacy: The story is screaming out for a sequel, but Korvac hasn't been seen much since this story, which is a shame.

3) Under Siege

Heartbreaking.  Utterly devastating storyline that shows sometimes you don't need more power, you need more people.  This version of the Masters of Evil are, IMO the best.  They take the Avengers to the edge and throw them over.  The Mansion is destroyed and in many ways the team are never the same again.

Good stuff: Wasp! Jarvis! Hercules! Captain America breaks down!
Bad stuff: Where were the reserve Avengers??
Legacy: In part, leads to the first Avengers break-up. And let's not forget 'The Thunderbolts'

4) Lost in Space/Time

The only West Coast Avengers storyline in the list (that doesn't mean that I didn't love WCA but they only had 100 issues to play with...)  A carefully woven story that sounds confusing and convoluted but honestly is just a brilliant read.  Can't recommend it enough.

Good stuff: The plotting is masterful.  Hank Pym is back!  Moon Knight!
Bad stuff: The sexual abuse of Mockingbird. The art isn't great.
Legacy: Phantom Rider is still around, causing strife for Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

5) Procter and the Gatherers

A good old-fashioned slow burned.  Bob Harras' other masterpiece.  The way that Procter and his team of Gatherers appeared and gradually got stronger, got more menacing...  This is what I wanted from my Avengers book after about 50 issues of (let's be honest) mainly dreck.  And I want Procter back!

Good stuff: The slow burn.  The reveal of Procter's identity.
Bad stuff: Too many unanswered questions.
Legacy: Not much, sadly. Desperately needs to be looked at and re-used by a future writer.

6) Acts of Vengeance

Perhaps a surprise to people that know Marvel that I've included this crossover.  Wasn't popular at the time and is often overlooked but I would rather read this than Inferno or any of the so-called 'worthy' X-crossovers.  A mad idea that partly worked but probably needed some tighter plotting.

Good stuff: Unique idea, putting the Avengers into the centre of the Marvel Universe.
Bad stuff: The comedy issues of the Fantastic Four.  And Daredevil beats Ultron? WTF?
Legacy: Civil War and Dark Reign must have been inspired by the story.

7) Ultron Unlimited

I've always liked Ultron. Never saw him as a thread though which is essential if you're going to be a MAJOR villain. Busiek's greatest storyline moved Ultron from a minor villain to a world-class threat.  Fantastic, fist pumping stuff.

Good stuff: Ultron is now the bad-ass he always should have been.
Bad stuff: Slight moustache twirling villainy from Ultron at points.
Legacy: Ultron is now a universe-wide threat (see: Annihilation Conquest)

8) Avengers Forever

Arguably Busiek's finest hour.  Ties up loose ends and clarifies some of the more confusing storylines in the Avengers history.  Not recommended reading unless you're a REAL Avengers fan though.

Good stuff: Songbird! Great fun for Avengers historians.
Bad stuff: Not easy reading if you're new to comics.
Legacy: Every time there's a continuity glitch, the answer is - a Space Phantom.

9) Dark Reign/Siege

The most up-to-date storyline in the list. The idea of an 'evil' leader of the Superhero community was genius and the man to do it was surprising.  Dr Doom?  Kang?  Red Skull?  No.  A Spider-man villain.  Yeah.

Good stuff: Some fantastic sub-plots, the Thunderbolts issues, and truly epic in scope.
Bad stuff: Far too big to remember everything.
Legacy: We'll see...  But the Asgardian subplot sort of lead into 'Fear Itself'.

10) Red Zone

The best story in Geoff John's short run.  The main villain was obvious from day one but the sheer amount of delicious evil involved, to do what he does... Brilliant.  And anyone that has Jack of Hearts in the team is OK by me.

Good stuff: The villain! Scarlet Witch! Great story.
Bad stuff: Shame the villain was signposted a few issues prior.
Legacy: Again, not much.  Might need to re-read it.

Also want to show some love for: The Kang Dynasty, Heroes Return, Dark Scarlet Witch Saga, The Kree/Skrull War, Fear Itself.

Feel free to comment if you've read any of these or want to suggest others I've overlooked.  But if you mention Larry Hama or Chuck Austen to me, expect bloodshed... :)

Dad

"I wasn't there that morning, when my father passed away.  I didn't get to tell him, all the things I had to say."  - "The Living Years" Mike & The Mechanics

Seven years ago, I was at work.  A normal day, up in the City; talking to customers on the phone, giving them the charm (as you do).  A very normal, ordinary day until about 9:30am: when I was told my Dad had to be rushed into hospital.

I immediately rushed out of the office and made the long, slow journey home.  It was, under normal circumstances, a rather fast journey, certainly faster than I expected.  However it felt like hours.  No-one was telling me anything.  My Dad was in hospital and no-one was giving me an update.

Eventually I got to the hospital, headed towards A&E.  I saw my family there, my two brothers, my Mum, my wife...   I knew, immediately, why my family were all outside, instead of being with Dad.  But I couldn't and wouldn't allow myself to admit it.  As I got closer, my wife approached me, crying.  She said "I'm sorry, he didn't make it".

And I cried.

I had lost my Dad.  He was more than a Dad, he was my best friend, my hero, my mentor, my guru, my inspiration...  And now he was gone.

Suddenly, I felt more alone than ever.  Yes, I was married, and had lots of family and friends, but at that moment, none of that mattered.

I went to Mum, who was sobbing and clearly had been for ages, and gave her a hug.  Told her we'd be OK.  My two brothers were also red-eyed.  Being the eldest of us three has always been a burden (one that I created, more than anything) so I felt it my responsibility to 'man-up' and take charge of things. 

We had to go back into the hospital to sign forms, then went home.  I got all the phone numbers of Dad's friends and work colleagues, gradually calling them all and telling them of his passing.

The rest of the day was a total blur.  I don't know if I even ate dinner.  Or even what time I went to bed.  I do know that we made sure Mum slept in our front room, so she wasn't alone.

I do know it was the hardest day of my life.

Why am I telling you all this?  No reason.  Dad's been gone for 7 years now, and I can honestly say that a day hasn't passed since then when I haven't thought about him.  And even now, all these years later, I miss him as much as I ever did.

Someone said today on Facebook:  "Some people in this life just leave.  Others leave gaps."  Dad, you left a gap in my heart that nothing can fill.  I wish you were here just one more minute so I could tell you just how much I love you and give you a hug.  You were the best Dad I could ever wish to have and you made all three of your sons very proud, decent members of society.

I will see you again someday, I know that.  Until then, I'll keep you in my memories and my soul.

Sleep well, Pops.  You earned your rest. x

All About Me!

"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you" - Anna (The King & I)

You know, I started writing this blog nearly 4 weeks ago.  I turned 36 at the end of July and I thought it would be a bit of a fun/lighthearted blog if I gave you all 36 'facts' about me that you might not know or maybe even care about.

Firstly, it was harder than it sounded.  Secondly I had a big distraction.  But now it's here and I'm done.  Remind me to never do this again...

36 Facts About Me!

1) I share a birthday with the following: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Daley Thompson, Kate Bush, Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy Anderson.  And I share it with the anniversary of England winning the world cup.

2) I am allergic to bananas.  And penicillin.

3) My favourite film is The Elephant Man and my favourite pop act is Pet Shop Boys.

4) I swear a lot.  Far more than is healthy...

5) My biggest fear is open water, ever since I nearly drowned when I was 10.  Even now, I hate putting my head under water (even a shower can make me panic).

6) My first ever job was a chef.  Hence my love of cooking.

7) The first car I ever drove after I passed my driving test was a Rover 600.  Company car.  Lovely.

8) I have two middle names, Stuart and George.  Named after my Grandfathers.  However, I was only meant to have ‘George’ as a middle name, as family tradition, but that would have made my initials ‘KGB’ and in the mid-70’s, that would NOT have been good…  So my parents added another middle name.

9) The first record I ever bought was ‘Hi Ho Silver’ by Jim Diamond and I have a horrid feeling that the first album I ever bought was by Chas n Dave…

10) The first song I ever performed solo at a karaoke was ‘Monster Mash’.

11) I’m still a big kid at heart, as I love seeing all the new Lego kits and other toys, wishing I could play with them without looking like a twat.

12) I’ve never been further abroad than France.  I’ve been all across Britain (and even the Channel Islands) but my ambition is to visit America and New York in particular.

13) I love my food (no really!) and I’m always up for trying new things.  Especially food from other countries.  Earlier this year I even had authentic Ethiopian lamb.

14) I chose the online ID of ‘Khaos’ back in 2000 when my life was literally chaotic, with living in London, Bristol, Cardiff and driving hundreds of miles, etc.  And I put the K in because of my real name.

15) I have a certified IQ of 136 which puts me in the top 6% of the world.

16) My best subjects at school were Computer Studies and Maths.  My favourite was Law.  Fascinating subject.

17) I’m not the biggest sports fan on the planet, and rarely watch it on the television, but I support Liverpool FC and Surrey CCC.

18) I don’t have any tattoos or piercings, and never will BUT if I were forced to, I’d have a lion or dragon tattoo, on my arm.

19) My DREAM job would either be a West End musical singer (Javert would be the role I’d KILL for) or a comedy writer.

20) I am a geek too.  I love some Sci-fi (not Star Trek, urgh) and I still read the occasional comic book (not Batman, urgh).

21) My favourite names are Bret (for a boy) and Kaitlyn (for a girl).

22) I am related to former Prime Minister Edward Heath (my Nan’s cousin) and possibly to the ‘Great Train Robber’ Ronnie Biggs.

23) I was born and raised a Catholic but now, I follow no religion.  Safer that way.

24) If I had a dream ‘dinner party’ inviting 5 people dead or alive, I’d choose Eric Morecambe, Les Dawson, Jimmy Carr, Sarah Silverman and Lisa Lampanelli.

25) My favourite actor is Anthony Hopkins.  My favourite actress is Gillian Anderson.

26) I love dogs.  Hate cats.

27) Conspiracy theorists piss me off.  Seriously.

28) I read all 7 Harry Potter books in 6 weeks.

29) My shoe size is usually 11 (depends on the shoes)

30) My best quality is my sense of humour.  My worst is that I can be very introverted and moody sometimes…

31) I’ve often thought about going on Dragon’s Den for a couple of ideas I have, but I hate rejection.  Besides, I’m no entrepreneur.  So if someone wants to team up…?

32) I’ve been to hospital twice.  Once for heatstroke, when I was a baby and the other time for an infected ingrown toenail.

33) One of my interests is reliving kids TV shows and I love talking about them, reminiscing.

34) I consider myself a late bloomer in life, so many things I didn’t do for so long, with usually one of my younger brothers getting there first.

35) I don’t have a sweet tooth and can’t say I’m a massive fan of chocolate.

36) My signature dish to cook is steak diane, with jacket potato, stuffed mushroom, and grilled tomato.

Well, that's 36.  Is there anything you want to ask me that I haven't covered?  Use my Formspring account to ask me anonymous questions.  Be nice!

:)

Aftermath

"This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect."  - Dwight D Eisenhower

A couple of weeks on and things in Croydon are largely back to normal.  Other than House of Reeves looking more like Roman ruins and the acrid smell emanating from the area, it's business as usual.  Even the trams were back in service after 3 days of being out.  The buses were back shortly after. Gotta love the British.  "Carry on regardless" stiff upper lip indomitable people we are.

And don't forget the power of a cup of tea!

Naturally the riots are still the biggest topic of conversation in pubs, clubs, cafes and offices; probably will be for a while too.  But the tide is turning from "Where were you?" and "What were you doing?" to "Why did it happen?".

To me, it's obvious.  This was purely and simply greed and jealousy on a MASSIVE scale.  What triggered it was people seeing the vandalism and looting happening in Tottenham and Enfield, and thinking "I'll have some of that."  The riots were not about class, or status, or race, or religion.  People saw that others were stealing things with impunity, with the police seemingly unable or unwilling to take action.  All they had to do was get a group together, and let them get groups together, cause a ruckus and grab whatever they wanted.

And so they did.  All over London.  And Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham, Wolverhampton and Manchester, as well as small pockets elsewhere.

Whilst I can't comment on other areas, I can say what I've seen in Croydon.  The shops that were affected were almost all ones that stocked electric goods, jewellery, clothes and/or alcohol.  These gangs knew what they wanted.

But CAN they be generalised so easily?  I don't believe so.  These rioters/looters/scumbags clearly have come from all walks of life.  Some were just caught up in the thrill, some were professional criminals and everything in between.

When you can't accurately generalise, it becomes difficult to give reasons and find solutions.  It's not all people on benefits, nor is it just 'disaffected youth' or black kids, etc.  If you want to generalise them, use one word. Scum.

They didn't care about their communities.  They didn't care about making a statement.  They didn't care about the opinions of the government.  They saw an opportunity for getting free stuff and they took it.  They knew they outnumbered the police and they'd be helpless.

The only thing that would have stopped it is the 'robust' policing that was talked about (sadly, after the event) in Tottenham.  That would have shown the looters that they would be dealt with harshly.  Instead they saw the police holding back, while the looting just went ahead.  That's why so many looters were confident that they'd just get away with it.

Whilst I generally support the police and think they did a good job under the circumstances, they really only have themselves to blame after the G20 protests, etc.  They were clearly scared of being too heavy-handed and facing criticism from the public and ministers.

Government NEEDS to make a definite ruling about the difference between a protester and a rioter.  One should be policed, one should be stopped.  What that ruling should be, I don't know;  I'm not a politician.  (I know that's the coward's way out but so what...)

There's still plenty of anger in the country, and rightly so.  This was the darkest day for England, that I can remember.  Although deaths and casualties were surprisingly low, it was the sense of sheer evil in the streets, radiating off the news reports, from the pages of the newspapers.  And worse, it was OUR evil.  No blaming terrorists or dissidents.  These were OUR kids, OUR neighbours.  And we were helpless.

I'd like to think that even from this, some good can come out of it.  We've seen lots of community projects starting up, and a spirit that I can only imagine was similar to the 'wartime spirit' talked about by our grandparents.

There's no easy solution.  Part of me thinks that there will never be one.  And the danger of complacency slowly creeps back over us all.

I just hope I'm out of town if it happens again.

Croydons Worst Day

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" - Franklin D Roosevelt

Some time in the Summer of 1995 I was seeing a girl called Charlotte.  Lovely girl, half American, met through work.  She worked at weekends at a club called Bagleys up in King's Cross and she invited me along one Saturday night.  Good club, great atmosphere but, at 3am, her Dad came to pick her up.  She lived in Hemel Hempstead, so I got a kiss goodnight.  And I decided to go home, back to Croydon.

Now, I have NO idea if any of you know the area but it was, in a word, notorious.  (Granted, it's a lot better now.)  There I was, alone, walking the streets of King's Cross in the VERY early hours.  I saw one mugging, one guy getting beaten in a phone box, three prostitutes (I think they had an equivalent number of teeth each too) and more druggies and dealers than I've ever seen or since.  Waiting nearly 40 minutes for the night bus to get me to Trafalgar Square, so I could get the next night bus home only added to the anxiety.

I got in at about 5:30am.  And it was the scariest night of my life.

Until Monday night, 8th August 2011.

Two nights before that, the Tottenham riots took place.  The following night, more riots broke out in Enfield, as well as other little pockets around London.  Then came the Croydon riots.

I left work a bit earlier than usual, as I had heard of tension mounting across London.  I got home about 6:15.  There wasn't anything different about the journey, nor anything out of the ordinary about my street.  Shops and businesses had closed early, but that was more precautionary than anything.  Or so I thought.

About 7ish, my friend Terry sent me a photo of West Croydon.  The 'battle' had begun.

Also see here and here...

My heart sank.  Croydon was better than this.  We are a multi-cultural town/city and should not be at war with ourselves.  I rapidly discovered that this was never about race, or religion, or status, or class.

At 7:30-ish I hear shouts and screams, coming from my window.  I look out and see about half a dozen hooded people milling around Church Street tram stop.  It was about this time that the bus parked by the car park behind my flat had been attacked.  Argos had been broken into and looted, as had the jewellery store and Lidl.  Yes, Lidl.

A few minutes later, while keeping people updated via my Twitter account, the flat began shaking, and a noise like a heard of stampeding animals went past my window.  About 60-odd hooded people/youths were running past, carrying boxes, bottles, etc.  One young man stopped and shouted "Hang on, there's more of us than them.  There's more of us than them!  Come on!"

That was when I knew this was only going to get worse.  I went downstairs to the front room, being careful not to get seen, when an explosion went off, behind the flat.  I went to the kitchen to see smoke pouring out from what I thought was the car park, but turned out to be the 157 bus that had been abandoned.

Lots more whooping and hollering, so I went back upstairs to observe, where it was safer.  I had no idea at the time that they were attacking House of Reeves.  I went back to my laptop to Tweet and update people on Facebook.  Then more shouting.  I looked again, saw some thing burning next to the flats over the road.  I looked down and saw Riot police moving down outside my flat.  I was relieved.  Thinking it was either a bin or a car on fire I just thought this was surely coming to an end now.  I went back to the laptop, and watching Sky News.

Then even louder shouting.  Not only was it House of Reeves on fire it was clearly starting to burn fiercely.  Minutes later, I could see the unmistakeable flickering orange light in the sky.  Whatever was burning out the back could NOT be going that high, and so I looked out the window.  That's when I saw the fire leaping out, over the roofs of the opposite flats.

This was about 9pm-ish.

Seeing a local landmark burning, one that was mere seconds away from my flat, was distressing.  But worse was the fact that, selfishly, I realised that I and my property was in imminent danger.  Thankfully, some of my friends had seen the inferno and rushed to see if things were OK.  We decided to just get the hell out.  Knocking for the girl in the flat next door, (who is Russian and speaks VERY little English) and her 7 month old baby girl, we all rushed out of the block of flats, not even stopping to lock up.  Standing at the Tram stop, watching rioters and looters laughing, running amok, scared me.  I looked down the road to the blaze.  I saw a woman jumping from her upstairs flat, the riot police using their shields to cushion her landing.  That scene has become one of the iconic pictures of the riots.  I took this picture a few seconds after it happened.  (I know it's not clear, I have a cheap shit phone, I'm still not stooping low enough to steal one.)

Decided to seek refuge with friends in South Croydon, we walked off, past the smashed windows and debris of Argos, et al.

The atmosphere can only be described as 'evil'.  I can't compare it to anything else other than imagining you're in the middle of a zombie film, just putting your head down, moving on, hoping not to be noticed, yet feeling eyes on you at all times.   Suddenly a guy next to me checks his Blackberry phone and shouts 'Richer Sounds, South Croydon' and about 20 youths and adults, all wearing hoods or masks just run past us, down the road.

Once safe, I called as many people as I could, to apologise for just leaving Facebook and Twitter without much warning.  But no laptop and very little battery on my phone meant radio silence from me.  So I spent the rest of the night watching Sky News, watching Reeves burn down, watching London Road burning down and just hoping that things would calm down in the morning.

I think I got an hour of sleep, maybe two in total that night.  Told work that I wouldn't be going in, and to their credit they were fine about it, telling me that I was to concentrate on being safe, first and foremost.  But I had to go back to the flat, to get a change of clothes, my laptop, charger, and other bits.  Then I was going to my Brother's down in Godstone and seeing if it died down during the Tuesday.  While I was in my flat (which was under Police guard - and thankfully undamaged and not looted) I took a picture of the remains of the House of Reeves.

Obviously, the trouble seemed to have dissipated but the scars will remain.

In my next blog, I will give my thoughts on what happens, why it happened, if it'll happen again and what we as a community, as a society can do to stop it.

Film Review: Captain America

9/10

And that wraps up 2011 for me.  All the films I had been waiting for this year have been released and now I have to wait until 2012.  My wallet is grateful, if nothing else...

But what about Captain America?  It's the third and final Marvel film of the year and with the first two being both critically and financially successful, it probably had much more 'pressure' to do well.  Well so far, the signs are good.

And I have to say that I agree, largely, with all the positive reviews.

The film is exactly how I wanted a Captain America film to be.  Cap is the moral compass of the Marvel Universe and Chris Evans plays Steve Rogers absolutely perfectly.  Actually, I can't think of a single bad performance from anyone in the film.  Tommy Lee Jones is solid as General Chester Phillips (with the best one-liners too); Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter is tough, yet vulnerable and sexy; Toby Jones and Sebastian Stan are great in their small-ish roles.  The biggest props go to Hugo Weaving who plays the Red Skull and I look forward to seeing him again in the next Cap film.

There are some flaws, of course.  The way Bucky 'dies' is too soon after he's been found and, to me, the Cap/Bucky relationship is not as meaningful as it is in the comic.  (And if the Winter Soldier doesn't appear in Cap 3, I'll eat my own arse.)   The Howling Commandos are nothing more than spare parts; they deserve better.  Also the final fight between Cap and Skull just seems to stop out of nowhere, but the rest of the film more than makes up for it.

The fight sequences are brilliant, the special effects are spectacular, with Chris Evan's face being put on a little guy's body being the biggest highlight and, of course, THAT scene after the credits...

So out of the three Marvel films this year, I have to put Cap just behind Thor, but ahead of X-Men: First Class.

Just roll on May 2012 for THE AVENGERS.

(ps. Ironic that 'The First Avenger' is actually the last Avenger film to be made, before the big one. Heh.)