With the release of Justice League, Warner Bros. ended the first ‘phase’ of movies in their cinematic universe. Now, a year on, it’s time to take a look at the first film in ‘phase two’ of the rebranded ‘Worlds of DC’…
RELEASED: December 12th 2018 DIRECTED BY: James Wan WRITTEN BY: James Wan, Geoff Johns, Will Beall & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick PRODUCED BY: Peter Safran & Rob Cowan MUSIC BY: Rupert Gregson-Williams
STARRING: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison & Nicole Kidman
In an age where comic book adaptations are in part rated on how much of that magically zany comic tone they can cram in, Aquaman may not just be King of the Oceans, but King of the Comic Book Movies too.
The film follows Arthur Curry, the son of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, who is called upon by his ally Mera to help depose his half-brother, King Orm, who hopes to unite the remaining undersea kingdoms and wage war on the surface world.
It took me a bit longer to get through this game, due to various other things going on in my life, but finally, I’ve finished Uncharted 2, and I’m just going to say up top that it’s a heck of a lot better than the first entry.
RELEASED: October 13th 2009 DEVELOPED BY: Naughty Dog PUBLISHED BY: Sony Computer Entertainment
I had heard the claims that fans wanted Nathan Fillion to play Nathan Drake in an Uncharted movie, and while I saw some similarities in Drake’s Fortune, it wasn’t until the opening of this game that I really was struck by how similar they look. It’s uncanny, at times. But Tom Holland will be playing him now so I suppose that’s a moot point.
Anyway, Uncharted: Among Thieves picks up with Nathan Drake stranded in an icy tundra, wounded and close to death. From there, he recalls what lead him to this situation; reuniting with questionable former associates Harry Flynn and Chloe Frazer, as they pull him into a quest for the mythical kingdom of Shambhala – where they seek the Cintāmaṇi stone, a gem of great power that is being hunted by the brutal Serbian war criminal Zoran Lazarević. His journey takes him to Istanbul, Borneo and Nepal, bringing in old friends such as Sully and Elena Fisher along the way.
Straight out the gate, this game plays so much better than the first Uncharted. The controls are much more fluid, and the playstyles more varied, meaning that even when you’re running into waves and waves of gun fights, the different ways you can take them out feels more interesting.
Spider-Man is out of the way, so now it’s time to move onto some of the classic PlayStation exclusives. Having picked up Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, today’s review focuses on the first game in that trilogy, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
RELEASED: November 19th 2007 DEVELOPED BY: Naughty Dog PUBLISHED BY: Sony Computer Entertainment
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is the first game in the award-winning series, and tells the tale of adventurer Nathan Drake’s quest to find El Dorado. The game plays out not unlike a big blockbuster movie, with Drake seeking riches and adventure, all the while fighting off a gang of armed rogues.
At first, the game is quite fun and exciting, despite it now being over a decade old (although I am playing the remastered edition, so that could have something to do with it). It reminds me of more recent games, like the Tomb Raider series, which no doubt took some inspiration from this game. Throughout the game, you encounter vast open landscapes that look stunning and fill you with hope for what wonders you might encounter. Throughout said landscapes, you find yourself using a range of weapons and tools to navigate Drake’s world, in search of the lost gold of El Dorado. The combat system and controls are fairly simple, meaning the game is easy to get in to and get moving.
This post was originally published on my now defunct site, New to Comics.
New to Comics is a segment where I look at various comic-books, explaining their background, reviewing them, and breaking them down for readers unfamiliar to the medium. The title is an reference to a former university project that I carried on as its own site for several years before laying it to rest.
This week it’s time to head back to 2011 and check out the birth of the current DC universe. Featuring writing and artwork from one of DC’s most prolific writers and one of their co-publishers to boot, it’s Justice League: Origin.
Published by: DC Comics Written by: Geoff Johns Art by: Jim Lee Year: 2011 Pages: 192
SPOTLIGHT CHARACTER:
CYBORG
Real Name: Victor Stone Affiliation: The Justice League First Appearance:DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980)
Victor Stone was a High School football star who grew to resent his scientist father Silas Stone‘s prioritising work over his son’s future sports career. However, when Victor was caught in a terrible accident, he became Silas’ new obsession, as Silas used experimental technology to save his dying sons life. Now part-man, part-machine, the young Cyborg tried to push past his pain, standing alongside his fellow super-humans to use his new powers for good. Now amongst others who could truly understand him, Victor rose up the ranks of the superhero community, becoming a respected figure and an important member of the Justice League. As their technology specialist, Vic can summon portals using Apokoliptian technology to transport the League wherever they are needed.
RELEASED: November 17th 2017 DIRECTED BY: Zach Snyder (& Joss Whedon) WRITTEN BY: Zach Snyder, Chris Terrio & Joss Whedon PRODUCED BY: Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg & Geoff Johns STARRING: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Diane Lane & Ciarán Hinds
When Batman v Superman was announced, I was beyond excited. As we moved closer to the release date, I remained adamant that it would be THE superhero movie, regardless of what the critics had been saying; it had to be – the two most iconic characters in comic-books coming together for the first time in cinematic history.
And then I saw it, and it was garbage. Poorly conceived and poorly made; it was long, boring, depressing and worst of all, disappointing.
Fortunately, Justice League is everything that Batman v Superman isn’t. Where BvS was overlong, Justice League sits comfortably at just under two hours. Where BvS was boring, JL is full of action, excitement and adventure. Where BvS was depressing, JL is hopeful and overall, a lot of fun.
And although some critics may be dismissing the film as the mess they expected it to be, in my opinion, it’s risen above that, and as a result is far from disappointing.
Finally got round to re-watching and reviewing Wonder Woman so it can finally be retroactively fitted into my series of DCEU film reviews, completing the series. It’s about time!
RELEASED: June 2nd 2017 DIRECTED BY: Patty Jenkins WRITTEN BY: Allan Heinberg, Jason Fuchs & Zack Snyder PRODUCED BY: Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Deborah Snyder & Zack Snyder MUSIC BY: Rupert Gregson-Williams STARRING: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Brimmer, Eugene Brave Rock & Lucy Davis
Commonly known as the bright spot amongst the sea of messy, bleak superhero movies that make up the DCEU, Wonder Woman sees Diana retell the story of how she came to the world of man; meeting her first love Steve Trevor and becoming embroiled in World War I in her hunt for the Greek God of War, Ares – who she believes has corrupted humanity.
The result is a film that clearly fits within the set-up of the DCEU as we know it, but with numerous factors that make it stand out amongst the rest. Because while I love Man of Steel, I must admit that it can be bleak at times, and the two follow-up films, Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, are thoroughly depressing, in terms of content and quality, respectively. Wonder Woman, however, is a film that provides hope. It preaches about the power of love and presents an empowering lead character who grows and develops in a meaningful way that actually, unlike her peers *cough*Batman*cough*, makes sense.
I haven’t quite finished reviewing all the older Marvel films yet, although I did finish watching them, so that’s half a victory. But having seen Infinity War, I’m not sure I can hold back my thoughts and feelings, so it’s review time! [Spoiler-free]
RELEASED: April 26th 2017 DIRECTED BY: The Russo Brothers WRITTEN BY: Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely PRODUCED BY: Kevin Feige STARRING: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt, Don Cheadle, Zoe Saldana, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Benecio del Toro, Tom Hiddleston, Karen Gillen, Idris Elba, Benedict Wong, Sebastian Stan, Gwyneth Paltrow, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Letitia Wainwright, William Hurt & Josh Brolin
Wow, just wow.
Back in 2012, the world watched in awe as Joss Whedon assembled the six Avengers. In 2016, the Russo Brothers brought together twelve heroes to throw down over the Sokovia Accords, and it was even more exciting. Two years on, and the Russo Brothers now have nineteen heroes under their command (and that’s not even including the various other side-characters like Wong, Okoye and so on) and would you believe, they’ve somehow managed to pull it off again. But this time, it’s even better.
After his various lackeys fail to claim the Infinity Stones in Avengers Assemble and Guardians of the Galaxy, Thanos leads his children on a cosmic rampage towards Earth to finally complete his spiritual journey to gain ultimate power. With the Avengers shattered after the events of Captain America: Civil War, what hope do the remaining heroes have against this threat of unspeakable proportions, even with the help of Star-Lord and his Guardians of the Galaxy?
