Captain America: The Winter Soldier Review

My vlog review of Captain America plus a few announcements

Final Verdict: 9/10 

The Wolverine Review

Hey everybody! I'm Ryan howitzer and you're in The Line of Fire! Remember a few years back when Fox thought they could make a hardcore Wolverine movie, but we got X-Men Origins: Wolverine instead? Well, I'm here to tell you guys that The Wolverine completely atones for the sins of Origins. This movie has all the awesome action you could want in a Wolverine movie and it has a good story too. There are no rushed cameos and pointless fan service moments to be found here (unless you count the scene after the credits, but I won't spoil that for you). This film is just good old-fashioned awesome. So let's dive right in:

Yukio, the Ronin ally of Wolverine in the comics.

The story starts with a flashback to Nagasaki in 1945. We see that Wolverine (who was a Marine at this time) is in a Japanese prison camp. Almost immediately, the bomb drops and Wolverine helps a young Japanese officer survive the blast. The movie jumps ahead to after the events of X3: The Last Stand. Wolverine has secluded himself from the world. He spends his days drinking and his nights having nightmares about Jean Grey.

After X3, Wolverine became Grizzly Adams  

 The story picks up when Wolverine tracks a group of hunters who poisoned a bear to a bar. He starts a fight, but the fight is broken up by a Japanese woman named Yukio (played by Rila Fukushima). She gives Wolverine a sword and tells him that her boss, Yashida (the officer from Nagasaki), wants him to come to Japan to say goodbye. Eventually, Wolverine agrees and they fly to Japan. From there the story spirals into an action adventure chock full of Yakuza conspiracy, samurai sword play, and wolverine being the best at what he does. The one qualm I have with the story is that some parts of it tend to drag. I personally feel like the romance between Wolverine and Yashida's granddaughter is focused on too much. Wolverine isn't the kinda guy who gets involved. I also felt like htere were one too many Jean Grey flashbacks, but it's an important part of the story. It is a solid story that focuses a lot on the themes of being a ronin (samurai without a master) and eternal life.

The acting is pretty good as well. Hugh Jackman is, as always, incredible as Wolverine. He brings all the physicality and awesomeness that you expect from him. The other actors are great too. The one who stands out to me besides Jackman is Svetlana Khodchenkova as the vixen Viper. She was sexy and dangerous all at the same time like any good female villain.

Viper loves green for some reason

 Famke Janssen did well returning as Jean Grey.  This movie didn't have a very large cast. It did showcase a lot of good Japanese actors who aren't Ken Watanabe (Chris Nolan, I hope you're watching). It's refreshing to see a major super hero movie with a cast mostly composed of foreign actors.

The movie's strongest points were its actions scenes. Whether it was a showdown with the Yakuza on board a bullet train or a battle with a giant metal samurai in the final act, Wolverine kicks some serious butt. The actions feels pretty viscous for a PG-13 movie. I wanted more blood, but, again, it's PG-13. The movie has a lot of great swordplay. It's not Lord of the Rings quality or anything, but it's still really good. I just wish there had been less shaky cam. Can we seriously stop doing that? I wanna actually see what's happening. It wasn't too bad though, so it's a nitpick. All in all the movie delivered on the action.

The end credits scene was very good. It teases the up-coming X-Men: Days of Future Past very well. It's even got cameos from Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. This time Patrick Stewart wasn't de-aged by CGI so he didn't look like an egg like he did in Origins. It's well worth staying for, though.

All in all, the movie is a great comic book film. It finally does Wolverine some justice in spite of some minor flaws in the story. I can't wait to see how it's tied in to DOFP. This movie is a solid 8/10. Go see it.  

Pacific Rim Review

The head of a Jaeger

Hey everybody! As always, I'm Ryan Howitzer and you're in The Line of Fire! The other day, my dad and I went out to see one of my most anticipated movies of the summer, Guillermo Del Toro's sci-fi mech vs monster masterpiece Pacific Rim. With this awesome movie, Del Toro once again proves that he is indeed a friend of us nerds. This movie had monsters, mechs, and Ron Perlman. What more could any self-respecting nerd ask for? Anyway, let's get into some of the details of the movie.

Believe it or not, this movie is more than just fight scenes. It actually has a well thought-out story. The main story of the movie is that humanity has been at war with a monster race called the Kaiju for years.

One of the many beautiful Kaiju

 Early on in the war, mechs were developed called Jaegers (which are piloted by two people connected by a mental bridge), but now the monsters have adapted and are able to defeat Jaegers. The defeats are so devastating that the government decides to shut down the Jaeger program. this leads Marshal Stacker Pentecost, the head of the program (played by Idris Elba) to gather the remaining Jaegers for a final assault on the Kaiju. to do this, he recruits a washed up Jaeger pilot named Raleigh Becket (played by Charlie Hunnam).

 Becket resigned five years prior after the death of his co-pilot and brother Yancy. I won't give away the rest of the story, but needless to say, it's awesome. It could have gone a bit lighter on the exposition and some of the war movie cliches, but, all in all, it was a really solid story.

There are many great characters and actors in the film. Charlie Hunnam turns in a great performance as the washed-up but awesome Raleigh Becket. Idris Elba continues to prove his amazing skill as Stacker Pentecost.

Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost

Rinko Kikuchi is both strong and smoking hot as Mako Mori, a rookie pilot and love interest for Becket.

Mako Mori is hot and awesome

Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are hysterical as the comic relief scientists. The two of them play off each other very nicely. Two other notable characters are veteran pilot Herc Hansen and his cocky son, Chuck (played by Max Martini and Robert Kazinsky respectively). Rounding out the main cast is Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau, a gangster who named himself after, and I quote, his favorite historical figure and his second-favorite Szechuan restaurant in Brooklyn. All of these actors and characters are great fun. You really do get attached to them as the movie goes.

The effects and fight scenes are straight up awesome! Both the Jaegers and the Kaiju are awesome to look at. They move really well and that makes for some epic fights. The fights that occur outside of mechs are very well-done too. It really makes me wonder what Chris Nolan's excuse for crap fight scenes was when I see fight scenes like the ones in this movie.

All in all, the movie is awesome. There are some very cliche moments here or there, but the awesome fights and entertaining story do make up for them. All in all, Del Toro proved that he is still a nerd's best friend (Well, besides Joss Wheadon of course). If only he'd hurry up and make Hellboy 3. Anyway, Pacific Rim is a solid 8/10. It's definitely worth checking out. Until next time, this is Howitzer reminding you to keep your head down, because you're in The Line of Fire!  

Man of Steel Review

Hey everybody! I'm Howitzer and you're in The Line of Fire! Before I get to the review, let me give some background here. Growing up, I loved Superman. every little boy dreams of flying and being super strong and I was no different. I watched the movies with Christopher Reeve and the 90's cartoon series which is, in my opinion, the most faithful adaptation of Superman. To this day I love Superman and see him as the ultimate symbol of truth, justice and hope in pop culture. I've suffered through the painful agony of the overly long and dramatic Smallville. I watched the boring and dull deadbeat dad version of Superman in the atrocious Superman Returns. But now, after many years of suffering and waiting, I have reached the end of the Superman purgatory. I have reached the paradise that is Man of Steel.

Henry Cavill as Superman

Man of Steel is an amazing Superman movie. In fact, it's the Superman movie we've always wanted. This movie features Superman actually using his powers and throwing punches. He isn't just flying around and asking "Who am I?" He isn't stalking his old girlfriends. He is learning to be a hero and use his powers for good. The Superman on display here is a very young and inexperienced hero. He's still learning the limits of his powers and how to control them. We also see that he has a good heart and he wants to help people and give them hope. He's the perfect balance of the two Superman extremes that we see in most modern comics. He's not the angry god running around vaporizing people because he can't control his temper, but he's no flower child either. This is a Superman who will protect Earth and its population at all costs. Henry Cavill (pictured above) gives a wonderful performance as Superman. He's very humble and warm, but he will fight if he has to. He has that perfect Superman voice that has just the right balance of authority and warmth. He gives the best performance of Superman since Reeve. 

Michael Shannon as General Zod

The story is an excellent blend of origin and super hero action. It starts with the final days of Krypton and gives us the most in-depth look at Superman's home world we've ever seen. It also introduces us to the villain of the film, General Zod. It then transitions to Earth and gives us a very deep and emotional look at Clark's youth in Smallville. It shows him travel around the world to form an opinion of the human race. Around the half way point of the movie, Clark finds an old Kryptonian exploration ship where he learns from his father Jor-El about his home world. He's given his suit and he begins to learn to use his powers. After this sequence, the conflict comes about. General Zod has come to Earth to rebuild Krypton and Superman must stop him. This all culminates in a very epic climax that features lots and lots of destruction, action, and awesome Zack Snyder special effects. 

Russel Crowe as Jor-El

Now lets move on to the other characters. Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner are both brilliant in their roles as Jor-El and Jonathan Kent respectively. Michael Shannon gives a great performance as General Zod. Zod is also given a very compelling and twisted motivation that I dare not spoil for any of you who haven't seen the movie. Amy Adams does a decent job as Lois Lane.

Amy Adams as Lois Lane

The one criticism I have of her is that she didn't bring anything new to the role as Lois Lane. If you're looking for a brand new take on Lois, you'll be disappointed, but if you just want to see traditional, tough Lois Lane, Amy Adams does just fine. The other characters are good as well. Laurence Fishburne is a very good Perry White. The military characters are heroic and interesting. Emil Hamilton is a great character too. Martha Kent and Lara are both excellent mother characters and are played very well. Faora is a very compelling villain as well. All in all, the movie is very well cast and has many great characters.

In spite of what you may have heard from the critics, Man of Steel is a very good movie with great action, acting, characters, and special effects. It's also chock full of references to everything from Wayne Enterprises and Lexcorp to Aquaman.  If I have one criticism for this movie, it's that the destruction and action go a little over the top. I know Zach Snyder loves his CGI, but do we really need to show Metropolis get half destroyed? All in all, it's a great movie and it will be a great launch pad into the DC Cinematic Universe. I give it a 9/10. Until next time, keep your head down because you're in The Line of Fire!