Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (2013)

If I didn't know any better, I would think that Iron Man 3 was intended to be a satire on the hypocrisy of US foreign policy, or, possibly, a propaganda piece. Examining the protagonists and antagonists reveals many interesting similarities, as does comparing the actual US government to that in the film.

Let us consider Aldrich Killian (played by Guy Pearce), who is portrayed as the "bad guy" because he seeks to influence the vice president by offering a cure to his daughter's disabilities (as well as assassinate the president in order to put the vice president in a more powerful position). Why? He wants the US government to be involved in more conflicts so that he can make money as a military contractor. This is, indeed, evil, but how different does that make him than Tony Stark/Ironman? Stark is a rich playboy who made his billions as a...military contractor. Both Killian and Stark make money by selling weapons and other war materiel to governments that kill hundreds of thousands of people. Is there really anything that morally separates them? If there is, it seems that the film would have you believe it is the fact that Stark saves the president of the United States. I'm not sure why it is the case, but it seems that Hollywood would have us believe that the lives of government officials, above all the president, are much more important than those of the rest of us.   

Also interesting is the movie's apparent commentary on the US government. Similar to reality, the fictional government engages in various forms of euphemisms, changing the name of Col. Rhodes' armored suit from "War Machine" to "Iron Patriot" since the latter is considered better for public relations. This is all part of making war, one of the most destructive and death-inducing activities of mankind, more acceptable to the public. Likewise, the US government prefers the term "collateral damage" when the US military causes the deaths of civilians, and "enhanced interrogation techniques" for actions that used to be known as "torture."

Currently, the US government intervenes in the affairs of many countries with very little protest from Americans, even though nearly all Americans wouldn't stand for a foreign government doing something similar here. Does Iron Man 3 condone this hypocrisy? In the film, Iron Patriot breaks into the homes of foreigners, threatening them with guns. This scene is portrayed in a comedic manner as if the rights of foreigners are of no consequence. Or, when he breaks into a garment factory, the women working in it express their gratitude as if he is their great liberator, rather than a foreign invader. It almost seems like something out of a recruitment commercial, that whatever the military is, it is above all  a "global force for good."

Ultimately, though, I don't think the creators of Iron Man 3 had any intention of making any political commentary; they simply regurgitated common ideas: foreign intervention is virtuous, the military-industrial complex is an acceptable way to become rich, and the president's life being threatened creates instant drama, even if we have no other reason to care about him besides the fact that he is the president. The goal here, rather, is to milk as much money as possible from the Avengers franchise, nothing more. They will likely continue to churn out superhero movies as long as their revenues are greater than expenditures. And that's ok; not every film has to be an Oscar winner. But one would hope that movies would have at least some consciousness of the world in which they are being created and not simply acquiesce in being apologists for US foreign policy.

PS1 Review: Spider-Man (2000)

Here's another entry in our unofficial"Classic Games We Never Got Around to Reviewing" series. You may recall earlier parts of the series, including reviews of TimeSplitters 2 and NBA Street Vol. 2, two classics we never reviewed because we were lazy teenagers. But Thrasher is back at it again, taking a look at Spider-Man for PS1.

The 2D era was not kind to the wall-crawler, and at the time it probably couldn't be otherwise. To me, Spider-Man for the PS1 proved that the franchise belonged in all three polygonal, blocky dimensions. There's many commendable elements at work in this one, but first and foremost is the presentation. Though the story is a kind of comic book "greatest hits", structured as more or less a slew of cameos from villains and heroes of the Marvel Universe, it's culled together nicely as a narrative, in fact quite similar to the ways in which the recent Arkham Asylum and Arkham City have managed their respective rogues galleries. In Spider-Man, Peter Parker witnesses an impostor Spider-Man stealing one of Doc Ock's experiments: not only is Spidey framed for the theft and hunted by the police, but he must also fend off the challenges of villains such as Venom, Rhino, Scorpion, Mysterio and Carnage. It's a somewhat episodic approach that keeps the game from becoming repetitive. However, what's really worth recommending here is the superb voice-over work, particularly the voices for Spider-Man, Venom and J. Jonah Jameson. The writing is strong as well, effectively capturing the comic book's balance between humor and seriousness.

Faithful also is the translation of Spidey's powers from comic panel to Dual Shock. Playstation web-swinging was in its very infancy here, only to find a kind of perfection a few years later in Spider-Man 2 for the PS2, but the foundation built with this this game is a solid one. Unfortunately, it's not as tight as it could be: though you can manually aim when swinging from building to building, too often your web-shooters will be unresponsive when leaping out impulsively. Same goes for wall-crawling, as the controls occasionally go a bit haywire when changing direction, particularly on ceilings. Part of the problem is unquestionably the camera angles chosen by the game. You have limited control over what you see around Spider-Man, which can compromise your ability to engage in combat by obscuring your enemies with obtrusive angles. In terms of controls, Spider-Man is clearly a first try as there's quite a few kinks and glitches to work around, but there's also more than enough novelty here to keep things amusing. Also, the game is a bit short, but I suspect that's almost always the case when a game is this much fun to play. There's a shocking amount of replay value on this disc too, provided you don't just enter in the cheat codes:  vintage comic book covers collected throughout the game, unlockable costumes (each with unique abilities and enhancements), training simulators and a "What If?" mode that makes playing through the game a second time highly entertaining. Nowadays it may seem a bit crude and basic in comparison with current generation superheroes like Arkham City, or even in comparison with later games in the Spider-Man franchise, but Spider-Man for the PS1 is still a fantastic game in its own right, well worth taking out for another spin on your backwards-compatible PS3.

PS3 Review: 007 Legends (2012)

This one's a bit late. I had originally planned to review 007 Legends in tandem with my review of Skyfall last fall, but you know, things happen. Better late than never, I guess. Keep your eyes peeled for more 007 coverage from your fellow spy enthusiasts at Code Redd Net.

I liked the first Die Another Day game I played better. You know, Nightfire.

I had been hoping for a game like 007 Legends for a long time. It seems like an easy project: to collect the best action set-pieces from the best James Bond films in one game and to serve it up in a competent shooter with a few multiplayer options. From Russia With Love had the right idea, successfully converting the classic '60s spy film for PS2 in the Everything or Nothing model. It was a solid Bond game that captured the look and feel of the film while simultaneously bringing it up to speed with the more stunt-heavy recent Bond films. 007 Legends also has the right idea, as it incorporates the most spectacular scenes from five Bond films and ties them into the plot of Skyfall: those films being Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, License to Kill, Die Another Day and Moonraker. This is an excellent idea well suited for today's generation of games, but 007 Legends falters somewhat in execution.

The game has a real flimsy narrative excuse to revisit all these old missions. It begins with a cinematic adapted from the pre-credits sequence in Skyfall, where Bond is shot by another agent while fighting an adversary on the roof of a speeding train. As Bond hits the water, he is reminded of his previous encounters with Goldfinger, Blofeld, Jaws and others. The game proper begins with a scene from Goldfinger in which Bond finds that girl dead, covered in gold paint. What makes this recreation of Goldfinger odd is that you play as Daniel Craig instead of Sean Connery, and you have access to a smartphone device and other contemporary technology/weaponry.  This is in contrast to the architecture, as well as the design of the surrounding characters, virtually all of whom retain their 1960s clothing. It's an odd inconsistency in art direction spread throughout the entire game, and it never feels quite right. I would've liked to have seen a total commitment to each era, all the way down to its rudimentary gadgets, or a total process of bringing-up-to-date rather than the hybrid nostalgic-contemporary setting provided instead. That's not to say, however, that the structure of 007 Legends is without benefit: those five Bond films, bounded together, make room for considerable variety in setting and gameplay mechanics. Throughout the game, you switch between several styles of gameplay, including the straightforward shooting portions, stealth segments, sleuthing, vehicle combat, and fisticuffs. Unfortunately, these styles are highly organized and segregated in your missions. In other words, a bit of hand-to-hand combat is always bracketed by a cinematic that cues up the switch to this style, and stealth often becomes mandatory to mission completion upon entering a particular room rather than being simply a strategic choice with consequences. Nonetheless, each mission draws on particularly strong action scenes from its respective film to keep the game moving at a commendable pace.

I was also impressed by other improvements over the previous GoldenEye: Reloaded, particularly a dramatic increase in replay value. Whereas more recent Bond games have suffered from a weak single-player experience that did not invite multiple playthroughs, 007 Legends has a strong set of weapon upgrades and unlockables for multiplayer, based on finding objects and overall mission scores. Furthermore, I was impressed by Legends' customization options. Like most modern first-person shooters, on the default option health regenerates after a few seconds: thankfully, though, Legends gives you the option of switching to an old school system in which health does not regenerate and you must rely on body armor spread throughout the level. This is a nice addition that makes the game considerably more challenging, in many instances artificially so as body armor is unevenly distributed in these missions. Multiplayer support is fairly strong, though the lack of AI bots hurts this feature substantially, as online multiplayer is sparsely populated.

Overall, 007 Legends is only a fair-to-middling entry in the franchise, one that does a decent enough job with a promising idea but nothing more. It's much better than the other Bonds released in the last few years, yet nowhere near the level of PS2-era shooters like Nightfire, Everything or Nothing, or From Russia With Love. Fans of the super spy should give it a spin with a weekend rental, but this is probably not one you will want to own.

The Winback Diaries: CANCELLED

I was really looking forward to writing up this diary: unfortunately, my PS2 is getting real old, and as a result it has started to refuse those blue PS2 discs. Winback is one of them. I can get to the menu, the options, and the mutliplayer modes just fine, but my PS2 will not load up a new single-player campaign. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I must cancel The Winback Diaries. This is a sad day, as my PS2 of 10+ years has failed me for the first time. I was looking forward to the opportunity to give you a detailed account of the lasers, the gratuitous boxes, the dialogue and the fashion dos and don't of our favorite counter-terrorist unit, S.C.A.T. and their adversaries, the Crying Lions. The only solace I take is that in my research prior to starting the diary, I was able to find this image of our favorite boss character in Winback, the always colorful Leon. It's not much, but it's still a fantastic image.

And hey, you can always take another look at our retro review of Winback if you want to know what our adolescent minds loved about it back in the day.

#Sarocozia

What You Want in The World is Not Enough N64

We love TWINE for the N64, as you know, and more than that we love games with replay value. TWINE has some fairly challenging time cheats you can beat to unlock additonal characters, weapons, maps and modes for multiplayer (w/ bots or without, though we prefer with). I have managed to get through most of them, though there are still a few that have eluded my grasp. If you take a look at GameFAQs portal for TWINE, you'll find a bevvy of tasks that seem nearly impossible to complete. If you want to prioritze them, I suggest tackling the following challenges, all of which will add fantastic maps and a nice weapon set to spice up your multiplayer options:

Unlike Renard here, who obviously feels no pain, beating
 these time cheats requires a high threshold for pain (at least
for emotional pain).

• The Air Raid multiplayer map. This is by far my favorite map in TWINE. A bit small, but totally worth beating the "Masquerade" level on Agent in under 3:05. If you need help in doing this, here's a video to help out:

• There's also the "Wildfire" weapon set, which you earn by beating "City of Walkways II" on Agent in under 3:00. Now, at least this one is on Agent: had it been on double-o, that helicopter at the end would have prevented even the most seasoned agents from earning this unlockable. Take a look at this if you need a spot of help:

• Finally, you can play the excellent Forest multiplayer map by beating "Night Watch on 00 Agent in under 2:20. I know this sounds insane, and for the longest time I believed it to be impossible, but watch this video and it will, at least, seem somewhat possible. I got it eventually, but you have to keep trying because Gabor appears in random places, and usually at the most inappropriate moments. This level is one of the best for Capture the Flag matches, so it's a must-have:

Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)

I found this review by Sam Staley of Star Trek: Into Darkness to reflect my own thoughts on the film. (And, of course, there is Mr. Plinkett's video review that shows how almost all of Into Darkness was ripped off from previous Star Trek movies.) Staley begins by stating his reaction was "ho hum." Why is this? Because Into Darkness lacks what makes science fiction most appealing as a genre, specifically dealing with matters of "individual autonomy, technology, free will, and the role of the State." Classic science fiction stories, such as those by Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, and Robert Heinlein do these things, as does the Star Trek television series.

The very first episode of Star Trek explores the question of how important human freedom is when Captain Pike encounters aliens with such fantastic mental powers that they not only are telepathic but can affect humans' brains so much as to cause them to see illusions (kind of like the Holodeck). These aliens capture Captain Pike and try to pacify him with the illusion of being back home on his farm with his favorite horse, a picnic basket, and a beautiful woman. The question thus presented to the viewer is: if you could indulge in all earthly pleasures (though artificial) to your heart's content, but would physically be trapped in a cage and studied by aliens, would you? Another interesting issue that Star Trek deals with (and which Into Darkness touches upon) is the Prime Directive, which is the principle that Star Fleet should not interfere with the development of more primitive cultures. (I wrote on this issue from a libertarian perspective here.)

But, states Staley, "nothing in Into Darkness rises to the level of meaningful social, political, or philosophical commentary." At best, it is a sign of how far we have come since the '60s, when "a biracial kiss was a big deal," a racial group could be openly denied equal protections under the law, and the Cold War potentially threatened thermonuclear war. But it is certainly not the case that the Western world is problem free or that moral issues involving technology are gone. This is clearly so when one considers the surveillance state, drone warfare, crypto-currencies, and so forth. One hopes that writers and artists will create content that grapples with such issues.

And this might be the biggest issue with Star Trek: Into Darkness: it is simply an action movie held in a futuristic setting. Star Trek didn't become the phenomenon that it is by doing action sci-fi well, but by presenting and wrestling with the political and social issues of our times (as well as future and past times), and allowing us to imagine what space exploration might be like. It's not that Into Darkness is a bad movie, but that it falls short of what we hope to see from Star Trek.

PS2 Review: Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002)

My first exposure to the Hitman franchise came through the form of a demo disc that I got through a demo copy of the official Playstation magazine. In the beginning it was an experience not unlike learning to play Splinter Cell, where you gun down many enemies because to this point in your gaming career, you never learned how to be stealthy. Unlike Splinter Cell, this was a viable option in Hitman 2, at least on the easier difficulties, as Agent 47 tends to be much better armed than Sam Fisher. But this gaming experience was obviously quite different than the stealth tactics of SC: you are out in the open, wearing disguises to pass security. Also, Hitman 2 offers much more of an open-ended gameplay than the early SC titles.

This demo of the first mission of the game offered so many options of how to infiltrate the Mafia Don's Italian villa: did you want to take the clothing of the flower delivery man? How about the grocery delivery boy (which allows you to smuggle your weapons in the grocery crates)? Or you can sneak in as a bodyguard, though you'll be the only one whose bald with a bar code tattooed on his head. What then? Did you try to get to the Don's bedroom to off him with a golf club? Strangle him in his office? Snipe him with the rifle in the garage? Out of all the demos I've played, this might have been the one I played the most because of all its opportunity for experimentation.

Does the full version live up to the demo? Yes and no. Without a doubt, there are other missions in the game that have an open-ended character, where there is more than one way to skin that cat, but many of them don't. The latter group seem to have very few options, if there was, in fact, more than one, and they would be very specific and difficult to figure out. If you lack the patience to figure it out (or have too much pride to look it up online), you'll often find yourself getting a "Mass Murderer" rating for your performance (which is another issue: it often seems like there is but one method to achieve the coveted "Silent Assassin" rating for each mission). It was also disappointing that the demo offered features that didn't appear in the full version. One was actual names for the guns in the game ("Beretta" became "9mm pistol" and "Desert Eagle" became "Deagle"). Another was that 47 could punch people, which needed refinement, but was tossed out in the final release. Hand-to-hand combat skills seem like something necessary for an elite assassin, but they didn't find their way into the game until Hitman: Blood Money.

This isn't to say that Hitman 2 isn't a great game; far from it. It is a solid action game that offers an exceptionally high amount of replay value for this genre and also requires a relatively higher amount of patience to master (the very first FAQ offered on GameFAQs.com for this game literally advises the player to "Kill everyone in site [sic]."). But if the player takes the time to learn how to play the game as Agent 47 would do things, it can be a rewarding experience.

The Hitman franchise features an iconic character who isn't just a generic action star who blows up every vehicle he gets into and causes the ladies to swoon. As far as video game characters go, he is unique and one of the most recognizable with his bald head, black suit, red tie, leather gloves, and twin silver .45 pistols. He is an antihero, but one we can feel justified in supporting.

Thus, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin seems to be a complete package: an intense and interesting character, the uber-interesting world of global assassins, widely varied and open-ended gameplay, the option for 1st or 3rd person perspective, high replay value, a masterpiece of a soundtrack by Jesper Kyd, and an engaging story (if you can manage to follow it). It is a classic and deserves one of Code Redd Net's highest recommendations.

The Winback Diaries, Day 1: "Sarcozia..."

You know how much we love Winback: Covert Operations. If you don’t know how much we love Winback, please, dig in the archives and find out. There’s nothing out there that can match its wall-hugging tactical combat, its love for exploding boxes, and its beautifully awkward voice-overs. But it’s been a while since I played through it, and I can’t really remember if I ever finished the game on its hardest difficulty setting. This is my attempt to document the journey, a true labor of love, a real mission into the heart of man. Join me for a trip back to 2001, when commandos had yet to figure out the advantages of shooting and moving at the same time. I’ll try to introduce you to the story and its characters as best I can, but this mainly going to be a series of reflections on the game as I progress through its box-laden levels and its joyously absurd conversations.

Note: For those of you more familiar with the N64 version, you really missed out on something special. The Ps2 version of Winback has two things going for it: first and foremost, it has some of the best voice-overs in history; and second, PS2 has a vastly improved multiplayer component, specifically BOT mode. If you still have a PS2 hanging around, do yourself a favor and snag a copy of it immediately. I’m sure Amazon can hook you up with a cheap copy.

#Sarcozia

Day 1: "Sarcozia..."

Before you get to the start menu, Winback opens up with a lengthy video to set up the highly emotional plot. It’s a doozy, too: renegades storm a nondescript office complex – which, you’ll notice, is completely box-free (Figure 1) – and exploit the poor or nonexistent perimeter defenses. This is later referred to as the Center for Space Development, a government agency responsible for protecting a satellite weapon. They do an especially poor job at protecting it.

Figure 1: The Center for Space Development, or CSD. As yet no boxes.

As you can see (Figure 2), even in the cinematics security personnel for the CSD, as well as their as-yet-unnamed adversaries, have a hard recognizing the dangers inherent in not moving while being shot at. This will become a common theme throughout the game. Because the nameless ne’er-do-wells have superior numbers, however, they win out. Betrayals also happen, and two nattily-attired fellows, including one clad in a goddamn orange trench coat, step out from inside an army truck.

Figure 2: Perimeter defenses.

Finally, someone speaks, and it’s none other than our boy, Kenny Coleman, leader of the “Crying Lions,” a terrorist organization from the mysterious land of “Sarcozia.” Like any foreign national villain worth his salt, Kenny demands justice for his homeland for some vague atrocities. You won’t believe this, but the Secretary of Defense is upset. Thankfully, however, a bright young man named Advisor arrives to deliver some useful exposition in a voice about as confident as mine was in tenth grade Speech. With the help of his loyal Advisor, the SoD decides that he will not negotiate with terrorists and sends for the S.C.A.T. squad. The real game begins.

Stage 0: Tutorial

Now, for me playing Winback is like riding a bike, but just for fun I decided to give the Tutorial a run through. I’m glad I did. Jean-Luc’s training is conducted by fellow S.C.A.T. squad mate Steve, the first subject in a recurring feature of the Winback Diaries, and it’s called…

Winback's Fashion Faux Pas!: Steve

"That's good, Jean-Luc. You're doing well."

S.C.A.T. headquarters must have everything but a mirror. He’s already going grey up there, so why make it worse by dressing in a disastrous grey/navy blue commando gear combo too? Steve, what were you thinking?

The tutorial at S.C.A.T. headquarters is short but effective. You will find out later that the interior decorator for S.C.A.T headquarters also designed the CSD. Steve has an annoying habit of always patting you on the back, whether you managed to silently subdue an enemy from behind or you simply managed to touch you back against the wall. “That’s good Jean-Luc. You’re doing well,” he’ll say. “That’s good Jean-Luc. You’re doing well.” When you get through all the controls and weapons you’ll be using on your mission, Steve challenges you to a boss fight. He’s pretty easy to beat.

[Incidentally, as kids Chicken Man and I wanted to pen a sequel to Winback. It was an alternate universe kind of thing, where Kenny and our hero, Jean-Luc, opened a girlie club called “Honeyz” when Jean-Luc’s career as a stand-up comic had stalled. Kenny loved the ladies and tried to help a down-on-his-luck Jean-Luc figure out what he wanted in life, besides hyphens. I’m not sure it would’ve made for a particularly thrilling game, but neither did anything Winback 2, so who knows, we may have had something brilliant.]

That’s all for this edition of The Winback Diaries. Join us next time to meet the rest of the S.C.A.T. team. Little did they know that someone in their midst had plans to sabotage the mission all along. All he needed was a stick of chewing gum...

Game Boy Review: James Bond 007 (1998)

Our first Game Boy review, and no better way to do it than to take a look at one of the most curious games in the James Bond franchise. Keep your eyes on Code Redd Net for more 007 coverage in the very near future.

It's always nice to play something a little bit different. Ever since GoldenEye broke out on the N64, the 007 franchise has stuck fairly close that first-person shooter model. Sure, there were a few misfires with third-person action, such as Tomorrow Never Dies, and a few hits, such as the inimitable Everything or Nothing, but overall the series has stayed within a pretty limited range of first- and occasionally third-person shooters. James Bond 007 for the Game Boy has its fair share of action, no question, but it's much more Zelda or Pokemon than anything else, as there's far more puzzles to solve and items to collect than thugs to gun down.

008, not 006.

Most of the plot and dialogue is recycled wholesale from old Bond films, including key villains Oddjob and Jaws, and there's just enough of a simplistic gun smuggling subplot to tie it all together. On your travels to find the source of the smuggling, and to locate the missing 008, you stop in mainland China, Marrakech, the Sahara Desert, Tibet, and a super-secret final base. Most of your time in-mission will be spent in trying to track down the right people and to collect the right keycard or item. Some of the puzzles you have to solve range from absolutely dumby-proof to esoteric, and many times an ally will only hand over the proper keycard when you've spoken to him twice, which can be quite irritating to find out after spending an half hour wandering around the level once again. Too often the puzzles to be solved only require persistence and not intelligence. I found that running alongside the walls would often yield the location of secret switches much more efficiently than solving the riddles by wit. Combat is kind of odd, too: pressing the select button brings up an inventory where you can assign an item to either the A or B button, such as a pistol, a rocket launcher, a very un-suave machete, or a pair of fists. Shooting can be difficult and slow, and bullets seem to take an hour to reach their target. Though later stages require more ammunition in order to get through the levels, earlier stages have a bit more variety to recommend them. I particularly enjoy laying the fisticuffs down on the streets of Marrakech, then ducking into the casino for a game of Blackjack. For me, this is the principal appeal of James Bond 007: you don't just shoot baddies, you go undercover, you partake in a little high-stakes gambling, you have to find a way to survive without water in the Sahara. There's not much to do once you beat the game, and it won't take long to do so, but upon completing your mission the game rewards you with passwords to unlock the gambling mini-games. So, not only do you have a solid, if unspectacular, Bond experience for your next flight or bus ride, you also have the best baccarat simulator around. It's worth picking up if you're a Bond fan with a mind for something different.

Blu-rays We Love: Spider-Man (2002)

Last time we took a look at the excellent DVD for Rush Hour 2. Now we move on to the Blu-ray re-release of Spider-Man, a film we reviewed in the formative years of Code Redd Net, which at the time I boldly described as" the greatest super-hero movie I have ever had the privilege of seeing." Chicken Man said the film was "a totally rad experience if your sitting in the front row." Perhaps the movie doesn't hold up as well as  you might hope, but it's still fun to watch 11 years later, and there's plenty of bonus features on the disc to make it a worthwhile addition to your Blu-library.

The most obviously dated element in Spider-Man is CGI Spider-Man. It's not totally embarrassing or campy, at least not yet, but technological advancements in the technique have clearly come a long way since then. The blend of live-action and CGI is not terribly smooth when it comes to human imaging. For instance, the early scenes of Peter Parker's transformation into Spider-Man are particularly jarring in their transition from actor to computer avatar. Nevertheless, it's not too distracting. What I enjoyed about most about Spider-Man on this most recent viewing was its tone: a fine blend of humor and seriousness, in about equal measure. Unlike the recent Amazing Spider-Man, which unwisely hit fast-forward on the origin story, Spider-Man prolongs the first appearance of its properly-costumed crime fighter until just prior to the start of its second hour. When Amazing Spider-Man went straight to the crib sheet, it lost the emotional backbone of the story, what makes Peter Parker's personal tragedy so significant. Spider-Man does a fantastic job of  inviting sympathy for the awkward teenager, played with appropriate dorkiness by the inherently dorky Tobey Maguire. While Maguire does an admirable job in his dual role, it's the rest of the cast that really stands out. Particularly noteworthy is Willem Dafoe's turn as Norman Osbourne/Green Goblin, a role which gives the actor ample opportunity to pull faces. Even James Franco is pretty good as his spoiled son, Harry. Spider-Man may not have aged gracefully, but it's still a completely solid film that remains enjoyable on a second or third or even fourth viewing, which is why you buy something like this on Blu-ray, right?

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Lee

In terms of the Blu-ray disc, you get all of the bonus features from the initial DVD version, and there were plenty of those, plus some new things to go along with it: namely, a "Spider Sense Trivia Challenge" and the "Spider-Man Cutting Room Floor" feature, both of which add tremendous value to the disc. Most significantly, the Trivia Challenge is a game played over the film in which you must answer a series of multiple-choice questions. These questions range from plot details ("How much was the reward for lasting three minutes in the ring with Bonesaw McGraw?"), to production history, to questions regarding Spider-Man's comic book history. It's hit or miss with most of these questions, as they appear in a seemingly random order not at all tied to the plot of the film. Because the questions appear to be in a random sequence each time the trivia game is activated, I was often asked questions about plot details that had yet to be revealed (fortunately, they are not significant enough plot points to be considered spoilers). Also, since the questions are timed to appear every minute or so, they often appear over very exciting visual sequences. While this is not too much of a problem if you've seen the film before, it would've been nice if the questions were more plentiful during the film's more expository, and less spectacular, scenes and didn't distract me from a fight scene. Still, though, there's enough questions about the tensile strength of spider webs, for instance, to keep your interest while watching the film. The game keeps track of your score based on the number of correct answers and the amount of time elapsed in answering them, and rewards you with a ranking at the end of the film. I was given the rank of "Superhero-in-Training" and treated to a 15-second montage from the film of Spider-Man swinging around the city in his hokey wrestling outfit. Not much of a reward, but it's nice to be ranked based on your performance. Even though the questions do get repetitious at times, I think this is a decent first effort at integrating elements of Scene-It into a single film, something that I believe could immensely enjoyable when fully implemented.

There's also a "Cutting Room Floor" feature which allows you to clip segments of the film and re-edit them into a short sequence with new music and sound effects. I was able to splice together Spider-Man's cage match with Macho Man Randy Savage with scenes of Peter Parker crying in his room, punctuated by comical sound effects and a somber musical score. It's a lot of fun, even though the interface for cutting the scenes can be cumbersome, and making changes later in the process can be quite difficult. This is definitely a feature I would love to see on future releases of Jackie Chan or Jet Li films, for instance, so that I could cut together all the fight scenes into one montage, but it works well for Spider-Man.

Finally, as indicated above, the Blu-ray includes all the bonus features from the original Special Edition DVD release in 2002. Of the three commentary tracks, only the one featuring the VFX crew is of any interest: director Sam Raimi does too much narrating and too much talking about himself on his track, while Tobey Maguire and J.K. Simmons' track gets awfully quiet for long stretches of the film. HBO's making-of featurette and E! Entertainment's "Spider-Mania" are typical Hollywood puffery, though the "Spider-Man: Mythology of the 21st Century" piece is a nice and thorough historical look at the character's cinematic development. Besides these longer extras, there's also an archival selection of theatrical trailers, TV spots, webisodes, screen tests, cast and crew profiles, and an outtake reel. All in all, it's a swell package that's worth picking up if you, like me, somehow lost your old DVD copy of the movie.

Tony Jaa's The Protector 2 Teaser

Good news, guys: embedded below is the official teaser trailer for Tom Yum Goong 2, also known by the English title The Protector 2, sequel to one of Tony Jaa's best films (nothing, in our opinion, has topped Ong-Bak). You can learn more about the film, which is nearing completion, from those informative folks at City on Fire.

Book Review: Dexter in the Dark (2007)

This is actually a review of the first three books in Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series: Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter, and  Dexter in the Dark. In regard to their similarity to the Showtime series based on the character, the first season is loosely based on the first novel, but other than that the books and show are separate story lines with distinct canons. Is one better than the other? Without a doubt, I can easily say I prefer the TV show. The writers masterfully create a suspenseful plot that constantly builds towards a climax. But, in each of the novels that I've read, I'll find myself around 2/3 of the way through without feeling much tension at all, wondering how Lindsay is possibly going to be able to write a complete story in the remain pages. I'm frankly quite amazed at how little can happen over the course of 300 pages (now approaching 1000 pages after 3 novels).

Another difference is the character of Dexter. Though largely similar in both media, there are big differences. While Showtime Dexter seems to grow more human-like with each season, Lindsay's Dexter mostly retains his psychopathy. [Note: Let us recall that a psychopath is not "a crazy person who hurts people without remorse." Rather, a psychopath's defining characteristic is a diminished capacity to feel emotion and to empathize with others.] TV Dexter treats foster father Harry as his main guide and companion while book Dexter has a greater emphasis on the "Dark Passenger." The latter becomes a central problem in Dexter in the Dark, as the Dark Passenger leaves Dexter, essentially robbing him of his essence and making him seem rather emasculated. And in taking away that essence, Lindsay took away what is appealing about Dexter. It is reminiscent of a piece I read in Entertainment Weekly, which criticized some cop show I don't remember the name of because the main character was perhaps too flawed and not all that good at his job. The author asked the question, "Would we be as interested in a show like Breaking Bad if it was about the 6th best meth cook in Albuquerque?" Without the Dark Passenger, Dexter loses what makes him interesting. But more than that, it makes the Dexter the man simply a conduit through which the Dark Passenger operates; it seems that the title character should be about the demon rather than the possessed.

Not at all unlike the TV show, Dexter's foster sister Deborah is superbly irritating, even more so. When every one of her sentences is laden with profanity, tension is lost because at no point does she seem more excitable than any other. It is all but impossible to feel any built up tension if there is no where to build it from.

Character development in the novels also is fairly weak. While the show allows us to see the supporting characters in scenes absent Dexter, I don't recall this occurring in any of the books. We lose the richness they offer to the Dexter world and they become little greater than extras.

As such, I cannot recommend Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, even to those who are fans of the show. It strangely feels like one is reading a fan-fiction, one by the time you reach the end feel that it is not about the "real" Dexter.