Who Won The 2011 Super Hero Showdown?

Way back in February I projected that this summer would be a Super Hero Smackdown. There were four films battling it out to be the King of the heroes: "X-Men: First Class," "Green Lantern," "Thor," and "Captain America." Now they've all busted into the multiplex with their assorted powers, let's take a look back to see how they all stack up.


1. "X-Men: First Class" - Michael Fassbender dominates the summer as Magneto, it's that simple. His final kill is the biggest OSM* of the entire summer and he's doing so much badass shit in the movie it's just straight bananas. That being said James McCavoy is great as Professor X and the alternate history plot is effective and the most original of the summer. This film more than any other this summer has the most scenes that I remember and think back on and say "yeah....that was worth my loot."

2. "Captain America: The First Avenger" - While it's cool to see Magneto killing Nazi's with his magnetic mastery, Captain America is my favorite on screen hero this summer, and it's for his non-action related abilities. One of the key themes in the flick is that Cap is a "good man" and Chris Evans really sells this theme. It's great seeing a hero who isn't an asshole like Tony Stark, a psychopath like Batman, or a emo-baby freak like Superman. Also, the shield throwing was as cool as I hoped it would be. Bonus points for having the best romance of any of the flicks.

3. "Thor" - Unlike some of my pals who thought "Thor" was an abomination, I enjoyed the film. Pretty much unknown actor Chris Hemsworth brings the humor, heart, and hammer time to his performance as the Norse God. Out of all the movies this one had the best production design. I mean Asgard has rainbow bridges, galaxies flowing into waterfalls, and Stringer Bell as the gate keeper to an ancient portal involving an cosmic tree. Not for everyone. (Note...my Dad saw Thor twice and loved it)

4. "Green Lantern" - A buddy of mine who possesses the power of Comic-Book knowledge called this movie "The Frat Lantern," and he's right. I like Reynolds and he's trying hard here...but the story which involves rastafari alien cloud monsters, fighter jets, alien fish with British accents, and Blake Lively just doesn't work. Guest blogger Kosher D once said this was one to be taken seriously, and to that I say... c'mon son.

Until next summer (holy shit next summer) have a good one.

The Comic Book Joys of X-Men First Class

When I heard first heard about "X-Men - First Class" I was still recovering from the epic disappointment of "Wolverine." Was I ready to trust X-Men again? I loved "X2", shit, I kinda enjoyed "X-Men:The Last Stand" in a popcorn way, but another ensemble flick? I wasn't sure. Well, I can report that "X-Men:First Class" is ass kicking comic book film and highly effective piece of blockbuster entertainment.

Two of the integral pieces of the film are James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Professor X and Magneto. I've always dug McAvoy since the one-two punch of "Atonement" (yeah I saw it!) and "Wanted" where he was shooting holes in people's heads and using their bodies as shields. But Fassbender man, talk about living up to the hype. About I year ago I wrote about how badass he was in the under-appreciated genre film "Centurion,"and he continues to deliver with the menace/compassion combo. The combo of these two actors from across the pond are the heart and soul of the film. There climatic physical/mental/spiritual showdown (that's not a spoiler y'all) at the end is earned and awesome.

But what about everything else? The other members of team work well together, and the scenes of them hanging out and demonstrating their powers are cheesey fun. If I had to pick, I thought Lucas Til and Caleb Landry Jones as Havoc and Banshee were standouts. (Note, viewers might know Jones from this funny scene from "No Country For Old Men"). The action in the film is not as epic as director Matthew Vaughn's work in "Kick-Ass" but it's got enough Oh Shit Moments to keep me happy.

So in the super hero showdown of the summer 2011, I'm going to go ahead and put "First Class" above "Thor" if only because First Class has got the one-two punch of Fassbender and McAvoy, and "Thor" only has the hammer smash of Hemsworth. Check out "First-Class" it's high rate summer movie goodness with some decent substance and extraordinary (sorry, had to) leads at the helm.