There's trouble in the Big Apple and Spidey may not be able to help...

The reviews for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' are starting to be published and they aren't that strong. It may be too early to call the ball on this film, as it doesn't release until next week, but there are worrying signs that Andrew Garfield's second Spider-Man outing may not be the blockbuster that is either needed or hoped for at Sony.

Throughout 2013, as more information was released about the film, commentary on leading film and comic book websites echoed at similar sentiment - the film's marketing lacked focus. After the introduction of the 'Electro' character at Comic-Con 2013, fans and commentators appeared to be excited by +Jamie Foxx  in a villain role. The look created for the character is unique and visually appealing. At the same time, fans were aware that Paul Giamatti was also going to play 'Rhino', another villain. In the second half of last year, it was revealed that +Dane DeHaan  would play Harry Osborn and take the mantle as 'The Green Goblin'. The noise around the film's unfocused marketing grew louder and comparisons started to be made between 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' and Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man 3'. Three villains all competing for equal scree time meant that 'Spider-Man 3' didn't do justice to any of them and that Peter and Mary Jane's relationship was given short shrift in the process. Even more damning for 'Spider-Man 3' was how unfavourably it compared with 'Spider-Man 2', a very highly regarded comic book film.

Seven years later and the comic book movie landscape has been changed forever. In 2008, Marvel Studios, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures, released 'Iron Man' with +Robert Downey Jr. . Today, Marvel is now owned by Disney and, if reports are to be believed, the studio has films mapped out as far as the year 2028! Between 2008 and now, Marvel has changed audience expectations of comic book movies and, like the comics themselves, have created a series of inter-connected stories that allow a broad group of characters to move in and out of each other's stories, as well as coming together every now and again in an epic story that requires all of the heroes combined powers to overcome almost insurmountable odds!

The result is that anyone else who owns a comic book property is playing catch-up. DC and Warner Bros were lucky that Christopher Nolan's singular vision and film-making skill was able to navigate 'The Dark Knight' and 'The Dark Knight Returns' through the initial Marvel onslaught and deliver two highly acclaimed and financially successful films. For Sony's 'Spider-Man' franchise and 20th Century Fox's 'X-Men' franchise, the results of their films during Marvel's rise to the top has been very mixed. Not even a rebooted 'Superman' movie with 2013's 'Man of Steel' could seriously challenge Robert Downey Jr, who was in his fourth outing as 'Iron Man'. So, we arrive at 2014 and see the problem that 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' faces...

It's a film that is being compared to worst of Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man' trilogy in terms of the number of villains Spidey is having to battle. It is being released against the second Marvel 'Captain America' film where Cap is being seen by audience members for the third time in four years. Not to mention Chris Evan's support roster for 'The Winter Soldier' that includes Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford! On top of these comparisons, 'The Amazing Sipder-Man 2' is being used as Sony's fast-track film to help expand the properties and characters they have access to as part of their comic book rights. It is no coincidence that Oscorp is being used as the focal point for the expansion of the villains will have to confront in the future and the trailers for TASM2 go to explicit lengths to inform fans of the films that more is to come. Sony has already announced that Drew Goddard is not only writing the screenplay for a 'Sinister Six' movie but is also being considered to direct it. The origins of that film, whenever its released, look like they are being established in TASM2. Why else would so many villains be crammed into one movie?

Of all the movies featured on the +Future Fantastique Facebook page over the last 12 months, 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' has had the lowest reach and received no comments. While I'm happy to accept that they may be a reflection of the FF Facebook page audience, movies like 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' have a consistently higher reach and receive more comments than 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' in posts to the page. Sony's move to expand its Marvel characters is the most ambitious of all the studios but has the least number of characters to tap into and, if early reviews are any guide, the weight of Sony's expectation may be too much for this new film to carry. Despite having three bad guys to tussle with in this film, life is only going to get harder for your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man as he not only battles fictional villains but corporate reality!

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Film Review

The lukewarm critical reception on both ‘Iron Man 3’ and ‘Thor: The Dark World’ have been put right as ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ marks a return to A+ form for Marvel Studios. As the most straight-laced of the Avengers characters Captain America was ripe for the picking, so to speak, after the events of the alien Chitauri assault on New York in 2012’s ‘The Avengers’ movie. In that film, it was revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D, represented by +Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury character, were not entirely forthcoming with information that may be important in assisting The Avengers fight the good fight.

In the aftermath of the events of ‘The Avengers’, Steve Rogers has taken a post with S.H.I.E.L.D, but he’s not happy. He knows that he’s a man out of his own time and it’s not something he’s getting used to with any great ease. The film’s writers, +Christopher Markus & +Stephen McFeely, put the Captain’s circumstance to good use and establish a dramatic tension in ‘The Winter Soldier’ that sees Rogers question the motives of the organisation he works for and his commitment to the causes he fights on behalf of to protect his country.

As Steve Rogers aka Captain America, +Chris Evans is very much at ease. The character is not an easy one to play, but the third time out proves that Evans could, if he chooses to be, a great leading man in action-adventure movies. Movie-goers should hope that Evans doesn’t follow through on his recent media comments about scaling-back his acting commitments in favour of directing. It would be a shame not to see him up on the big screen, whether as Captain America or in other roles.

In addition to Evans, +Scarlett Johansson lands an expanded role in ‘The Winter Soldier’ and her chemistry with Evans proves to be one of the film’s highlights. Since she first appeared in ‘Iron Man 2’, Johansson has shown she can easily match it with her male counterparts and in this film her character of Natasha Romanoff aka The Black Widow falls into a relaxed non-conformist rhythm that contrasts the heroic straight-as-an-arrow Rogers. Johansson’s performance in this film should ensure that she gets her own head-line movie at some time in the future.

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka 'The Black Widow'

Joining the already established Avengers in ‘The Winter Soldier’ is +Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon. While not possessed of super hero powers, The Falcon becomes an invaluable ally to Captain America in his fight against The Winter Soldier and in the Cap’s efforts to protect S.H.I.E.L.D from a larger conspiracy. Leading up to the film’s release, Mackie’s performance was the one that was going to be most analysed; being the new addition to the team. It’s safe to say that Mackie has fit right in but, as a mere mortal, has to measure heroics with real-world consequences. Sam Wilson’s background as a returned war veteran allows him to strike an immediate friendship with Steve Rogers on the basis of shared combat experience; not super hero actions and it pays dividends in the film’s climax.

The brotherly directing team of +Anthony Russo and +Joe Russo have moved from their television background to big budget feature film without any major problems. They’re assured without being masterful and their execution of the screenplay is far better than Alan Taylor’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’. Some of the close-up action, unfortunately, is too difficult for the hand-held camera work to keep up with and, as a result, the impact of some of the fight scenes is diminished. This is especially disappointing in the fight scenes between Steve Rogers and Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier. It’s not a major spoiler given Marvel’s marketing of the film, but the relationship between Steve and the man he once knew as Bucky Barnes is an important part of Captain America’s character arc in the film, but the emotional distress of having to fight Barnes as The Winter Soldier is not as powerful as it should be because of the fast-moving hand-held camera work. Director of Photography +Trent Opaloch has received critical praise for his previous work on films such as ‘District 9’ and ‘Elysium’ but, such is the frenetic pace of the storytelling; it’s hard for his camera to keep up with the action.

Co-Directing Brothers Anthony & Joe Russo

For reasons that become apparent, it is only in the film’s final act that the relationship between Captain America and The Winter Soldier is expanded and some level of emotional connection between the pair is achieved. In a show of confidence in the brothers, Marvel has already announced that the pair will return to Co-Direct the third Captain America film that is scheduled for release in May 2016. This will be a major test of the pair’s skill, as they will release the next instalment up against Zack Snyder’s ‘Batman Vs Superman’ film.

Throughout the marketing of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, the film has been referred to as part-Comic Book movie, part-action film and part-political thriller. The casting of +Robert Redford as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D – Alexander Pierce – is a very large tip of the hat to the films that have helped inform the political part of ‘The Winter Soldier’s’ story. Redford is very closely associated with this type of film having played the lead in two of the great 1970s political thrillers, ‘All the President’s Men’ and ‘Three Days of the Condor’. Unfortunately, the film’s marketing has probably over-stated how much these “political thriller” movies have informed ‘The Winter Soldier’. There is a level of intrigue involved in each set-action piece, but there is no sustained feeling of paranoia, as the action beats are far too frequent to allow for any form of slow-burn conspiracy storytelling.

Samuel L. Jackson also returns as Nick Fury, the man responsible for keeping the Avengers initiative together and under control. In ‘The Winter Soldier’, Jackson’s Fury comes off a little worse for wear and becomes a catalyst for Captain America to take less of a rose-coloured view of the people he works with and the organisation for which he works. Jackson does a good job with his scenes, as the Fury character is placed in an unfamiliar situation and is forced to improvise without the support of the S.H.I.E.L.D organisation. It will be interesting to see how Fury’s new position is written into next year’s ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’, but, if you listen to a certain piece of dialogue toward the end of the film, a clue exists.

Samuel L.Jackson as Nick Fury with Chris Evans as 'Captain America'

There is no doubt that the events of ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ will have far-reaching implications across the entire Avengers universe as every character is forced to reassess their position before the end of the film. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ is the bravest film story that Marvel have told to date and shows that they extremely confident in their grand story-telling plan. Fans of the Marvel films will not need to be encouraged to see ‘The Winter Soldier’, but this film works hard to be relevant to a broader cinema-going audience and is much more accessible than either ‘Iron Man 3’ or ‘Thor: The Dark World’. As always, the two-post credit sequences go a long way to establishing where the audiences is going to be taken in the next couple of years and, like the film itself, are A+ efforts that have the potential to pique the anticipation of even the most casual movie-goer for what happens next in the Marvel film universe!

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