Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) Trailer - Review/Reaction

spiderman far from home first look poster wallpaper screensaver image picture

Marvel Entertainment has released the teaser trailer for the second standalone MCU movie starring Tom Holland as Spider-Man/Peter Parker.

The newcomer to the ensemble cast including Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Samuel L. Jackson and Jon Favreau is Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck/Mysterio.

Check out the trailer:



Peter Parker is going on a vacation to Europe in the hopes of finally getting some downtime from the the responsibilities of the wall crawling titular superhero.

Trouble follows him in the form of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Reluctantly, Peter joins the fight against an as yet unnamed adversary who can seemingly grow in size by absorbing the matter around him.

Initially I thought it would be Sandman (played by Thomas Haden Church in the much maligned Spider-Man 3). But then he also took the help of water and knowing Sandman's vulnerabilities against water, Absorbing Man came to mind.


Given that Quentin Beck is in the movie and he is a master at creating illusions and special effects, it is quite possible that this villain himself could be his handiwork.

Speaking of Quentin, Jake Gyllenhaal joins Michael Keaton as the second Batman actor to play the villain in a MCU Spidey movie. Granted that Jake has not been officially cast as the The Dark Knight, he has been long been an favorite to star as the caped crusader in the movie to be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, War for the Planet of the Apes).

The other highlights of the trailer are Happy Hogan spying on Aunt May, and the growing romance between Peter and Michelle Jones.




The only minor gripe I have is that Marvel Studios is trying too hard to link these Spider-Man movies with the bigger MCU Universe. Characters compare Quentin to being a cross between Iron Man and Thor and Nick fury takes over the mentoring responsibilities from Tony Stark this time around. Perhaps the latter is because of the rumored departure of Tony from the MCU in Avengers: Endgame or may be RDJ demanded too big a paycheck.

I wish that Marvel Studios would make a stand-alone Spider-man Movie as just being a friendly neighborhood wallcrawler. Sure, there would be the inevitable cameos from one or two fellow MCU superheroes. But I would like to Peter Parker grow into his role as Spider-Man without the involvement of the Avengers/S.H.I.E.L.D. folks.

Something along the lines of Iron Man 3 or Thor: Ragnarok. Well, we can always dream...

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Image Sources: Sony Pictures Releasing, Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Polar (2019) Trailer - Review/Reaction

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Just as the Liam Neeson movie Taken inspired a slew of movies (The Equalizer, Edge of Darkness and John Wick being notable examples), now it is the turn of John Wick to return the favor.

John Wick was the world's # 1 assassin-for-hire before he retired. Trouble follows when his dog is killed and John is out for revenge. By the end of the (inevitable) sequel, John had a price on his head and it was open season.

As the saying goes: Success begets success”.


The IMDB description for Polar reads: The world's top assassin, Duncan Vizla, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger killers. 

John Wick's dog has been replaced with Duncan's cute neighbor, Camille (Vanessa Hudgens).

In addition to the obvious similarities to the John Wick movies, astute readers will notice how the description could also apply to the Jason Bourne movies, in which the titular character faced off against younger and faster opponents.

I have enjoyed Mads' performances in Casino Royale and Doctor Strange. In both these movies, Mikkelsen displayed a blend of dry wit and bad guy antics. This movie seems to be a particularly good match for Mads' track record.

The action sequences look decent and the humor is ok. But there is a been there done that  feeling  that is unavoidable, given how well received the John Wick movies were.

I still prefer John Wick to this one. Keanu Reeves' world weariness and his acting style made him a natural casting choice for the a world weary assassin.

Let us see if Mads can do one better.

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Image Sources: Netflix, Constantin Film, Dark Horse Entertainment