The twin apexes of the superhero genre are undeniably Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. While the former proved that a film about a costumed hero can truly be art, the latter broke the mold for how comic books can be brought to life, converging several franchises into one blockbuster event. However, one great distinction needs to be made about both films: they’re rated PG-13.
Even while some of Nolan’s trilogy strays close to extreme violence, the truth is that R-rated superhero films have yet to establish themselves as reliable box office draws. The mediocre box office performance of films like Dredd and Watchmen underscore an apparent hesitation from audiences to embrace R-rated superheroes. So the fact that Kick-Ass 2 even exists at all is a bit of an anomaly. Continue reading Review: ‘Kick-Ass 2’→
Hardcore comic book fans and casual moviegoers alike need to know one thing about The Wolverine right from the outset: the film is a hell of a lot better than the cinematic travesty that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
That 2009 release – which told the story of how Logan (Hugh Jackman) lost his memory and gained an adamantium-laced skeleton (complete with six bitchin’ razor-sharp claws) – is renowned for being the nadir of the X-Men franchise, rivaled only by Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand. Unlike either of those films, The Wolverine manages to tell a cohesive, mostly satisfying tale that sees its lead character confront his emotional demons and emerge a more fully realized, better-developed and more beloved character because of it. In short, something Ratner could only dream of achieving onscreen. Continue reading Review: ‘The Wolverine’→
