Summer 2011 is a decent attempt at comic book movie blockbusters. Nothing outstanding like the summer of 2007-8 with the release of money maker Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolan can’t be beating us over the head with his story telling tricks. Last summer, Marvel was cranking out their big league characters with movies that either promoted the Avengers or remind us of how awesome X-men could be if we forgot the first movie.
To start off the summer, Thor was released to the general public with the intentions of proving a fleshed out background to a character to the Avengers movie. Smart move on the company’s part to save time on explaining Blondie’s bio; a illogical mistake because you can sum up the whole biography in two words: Stranded God. It’s basically “Cast Away” with the role of Wilson is replaced with a Hammer. Seriously, if you haven’t seen Thor, you are not missing that much. In the beginning, Thor is stranded on Earth, and in the end, Thor is stranded in Norway Heaven. It’s a nice filler to get to the Avenger’s movie, but you don’t have to see it to understand why he is part of the team. But, if you do end up watching this space viking, you get to enjoy Thor smash shit with “Hammison”.
To follow the Marvel parade was X-men First class, a qusai-reboot to an X-men series that I wished didn’t suck (Okay, I did enjoy X2, but so do you America!). I had high hopes for X-men First Class; I like the 60’s atheistic and haven’t experience a classic Charles Xavier that could walk-and fail with the ladies. The look of the movie was great and Michael Fassbender is a amazing Magneto. (I don’t know who told him about acting in Jonax Hex’s, but man does he perform a mean Magneto). It tough to compare Magneto played by Ian McKellen; its like comparing fine whiskeys to each other. Ian McKellen is a great actor, he made X-men 3 tolerable and was the disappearing wizard in Lord of the Rings. No one can hate Gandalf. Kevin Bacon is also featured, and doesn’t play a pedophile character (at least the audience is aware). The updated look for Sebastian Shaw is good thing, no ordinary movie go-er is going to understand a colonial looking character in anything outside of a reenactment place. The only sad part of this movie is that it has to lead back to the first X-men movie and eventually the third movie.
As Marvel’s caboose for the summer, Captain American was unleashed as the most patriotic character created after The Shield was drawn and lost in comic zone. Captain America is the hometown quarter back that Americans root for and try to forget all it’s past misdeeds. This story of Captain America mixes the best parts of a Cinderella story and steroid usages to create a touching tale of fighting super Nazis and charming women. Chris Evan’s plays the odd role of Human Torch-Johhny Storm Steve Rogers, a humble, but meek man from Brooklyn that gets injected with Broscience to became the symbol of American Freedom. It is not really explained how Captain America gets promoted to rank of Captain since he first started as a private, then whatever level a baseball mascot becomes, then captain. “Captain” American like how “Dr” Pepper is technically a soda doctor. Captain America: The First Avenger explains how Captain fought his way through Nazi strongholds, met Tony Stark’s Dad, and failed to fulfill a dance promise. In every retelling of Capt, Steve Rogers is always in the mental time state of the 40’s and has to adjust life to whatever time era he is thaw in. Hooray for Capt that he gets to experience the 21st in all it’s dirty glory!