Review - Guardians of the Galaxy

I know I'm super late to the space launch on this one, but it's not as though the Guardians of the Galaxy are going anywhere anytime soon. Having rocketed to the top of the domestic box office (and still climbing) in just one month of release, there's no arguing that Marvel Studios has yet another bona fide hit on their hands, but does the product really befit the hype?

Even if not, one can only congratulate Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige and director James Gunn (Slither) on their success. Unlike the reliably profitable Avengers universe that oils their movie-making machinery, Guardians of the Galaxy was a more commercially risky project, mining the farthest reaches of space for characters that would have anyone but comic book buffs scratching their heads.

Review - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Phase two of Marvel's ambitious superhero roll-out is well underway with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World having done great business last year, and now it's time to catch up with the nation's favourite super-powered son, Captain America. Of course, it doesn't feel so much like we're catching up with him, as it feels like he's merely passing by (“on your left”) as he runs laps around us and all box office competition.

That's how we first encounter Cpt. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) at the start of Captain America: The Winter Soldier; repeatedly outrunning and surpassing fellow morning jogger Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who comic book aficionados will recognize as the man who shall eventually become the good captain's jet-packing sidekick Falcon.

Review - The Avengers

The summer movie season officially kicks off with The Avengers, Marvel's grand culmination of its last four years of superhero movies, skillfully assembled by fanboy idol Joss Whedon from four distinct Marvel franchises into one fantastic whole.

We – that is to say, those of us who've been keeping up with Marvel's steady output of summer superhero spectacles since 2008 – already know the cast: Robert Downey Jr. as ego-maniacal billionaire Tony Stark (Iron Man), Chris Evans as quintessential soldier Steve Rogers (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth as hammer-wielding Norse god Thor, Jeremy Renner as enigmatic archer extraordinaire Clint Barton Hawkeye, Scarlet Johansson as expatriate Russian super spy Natasha Romanov (Black Widow), and Samuel L. Jackson as cycloptic S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury. Replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner is Mark Ruffalo, whose ease with playing “laid back” makes a smart juxtaposition with the green ball of rage that it The Hulk.

Review - Captain America: The First Avenger

I want YOU to go see Captain America! The final pillar upon which Marvel will rest next summer's Avengers movie is terrific fun, putting a bright Cap (pun intended) on the Superhero Summer That Kept On Giving.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) may have the right heroic attitude Uncle Sam looks for in a soldier, but his scrawny 90-pound frame – a brilliantly achieved illusion that disguises Evans' truly beefy musculature for nearly the entire first act – disqualifies him at every attempt to enlist. German expatriate Dr. Abraham Erskine (the wonderfully warm Stanley Tucci) immediately recognizes the virtue of Rogers' dedication, and makes him the prime candidate for an experimental formula that should transform this playground punching bag into an ass-kicking Adonis. It works! But no sooner does Rogers' new bodywork emerge from the chamber than the last sample of the serum is stolen by an agent of Hydra, a Nazi R. & D. department headed by the maniacal Johann Schmidt, aka: Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), the original test subject of Erskine's imperfected formula that left him grotesquely disfigured and all the more determined to personally attain Godlike power.

Review - Thor

It's hammer time! Marvel's latest cinematic installment of their extensive comic book canon stars the fabled Norse god of thunder as the superhero of the month, kicking off a summer movie season that literally features a new superhero every month. Hopefully they can match the boisterous fun of this one. The mighty Thor is a mighty good time.

Chris Hemsworth brings the thunder in the title role of Thor, doing a terrific job of selling the Asgardian prince's vain pride, and an even better job of evenly transitioning to the selfless nobility that makes him the hero on Earth we recognize from Marvel's lore. His compelling star turn is playful but not farcical, and plays a big part in defining the film's appropriately unembarrassed B-movie tone, although as much credit should go to director Kenneth Branagh. A veteran of Shakespearean stage and cinema, Branagh may not have been the intuitive choice to helm one of Paramount's precious special effect extravaganzas, but what he might lack in action savviness he makes up for in theatricality, one of Thor's winning qualities. His way with actors is a benefit for the whole cast, which includes Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Colm Feore, barely recognizable beneath a fantastic makeup job that disguises him as the menacing king of the Frost Giants.

Not everything in the picture works. It stalls whenever the romantic subplot becomes the focus of the otherwise fluent screenplay, and the glossy CG-rendered realm of Asgard seems a tad overproduced sometimes, but like a good popcorn pick should, it remains enjoyable underneath all those layers of butter.

*** out of ****