Spider-man: Homecoming review and commentary.

Before I check out the podcast review of Spider-man: Homecoming done by my buddies over at Discussing Who, I figured I'd get off my duff and write my own review. I saw Spider-man: Homecoming the first showing on Thursday (because we live in a society without traditions and the midnight release has died a silent, forgotten death). Here are my thoughts....

I don't like the tech suit. At. All.

Still with me? Cool. Let me explain my love for Spider-man briefly, in way of apology to those who are already brandishing pitchforks.

Spider-man is my favorite superhero. I grew up on Spider-man. I read his Golden Books adventures and his comics when I was 3. I learned to read, in part, because of Spider-man. He was also around me in other media. The live action Spider-man from CBS was something I was exposed to through VHS and there were four different cartoon series running around Saturday morning as I was growing up. I identified with Peter Parker and his willingness to do what was right despite the odds. With Great Power comes Great Responsibility was a serious mantra to the young Nerd-storian. He worried about his family, his friends, doing the right thing. He worried a lot and it made him relatable to me. The Marvel Tales reprints of his early adventures made him feel like a kid like me. I could grow up to be like Spidey. In truth, while I have a strong moral compass I also have some neurotic tendencies to worry that have caused a lifelong battle with anxiety, so sometimes being too similar to your heroes can be a bad thing. Imagine fans of the Hulk having explosive rage issues or Batman fans being far too interested in unquenchable vengeance. Come to think of it I may have still got the better end of the deal...

Anyhoo, the short version is I love Spider-man. While I am protective of the Friendly, Neighborhood One, I am also capable of overlooking many things with his various film appearances. When something comes along that envelopes the joy center of your brain you tend to not question the few things that might not be good for you. You sit back, let your pupils dilate, and allow yourself to be washed in the magic of seeing Spidey flip around and do all the things a spider does. It gets you through things like an armored and biker helmeted Green Goblin. Or a weird looking, paintball garbed Green Goblin. Or a Green Goblin that looks like something out of Legend. Or most of the scenes of Venom in Spider-man 3. Or an emo dance number by Peter Parker. Or a spider costume that talks to you and has 500 different web combinations.

Spider-man: Homecoming was a good movie but for me, it wasn't great. That title still stands in my mind as belonging to Sam Rami's Spider-man 2. I was right there with the majority of people that gleefully wet themselves when Spider-man showed up in Captain America: Civil War. "OMG his eyes moved! Shut up and take all my money!" I was on the hype train from then on. "When will he be back? Who will he fight?" I eagerly absorbed all trailers and tv spots. I made all haste to see it opening night. However, I left the theatre (after seeing my current all time fav end credits scene) with mostly a shrug, a smile, and a sense that my time hadn't been wasted but I didn't exactly feel elated by the movie.

Tom Holland is an awesome Peter Parker and Spider-man. The guy is a great actor and damn decent athlete and fills the role well on both sides. Micheal Keaton, was fantastic as always and it was a pleasure to see that this movie gave him three dimensions and a perfectly understandable reason for being a villain. Jacob Batalon as Ned made such a great friend and sidekick in this movie and all the kids playing Peter's classmates worked great. When Zendaya had her few scenes, she stole the moment. Laura Harrier as Liz Allen could not have been better cast.

The things that impressed me most were the character moments where Peter knew the kind of hero he wanted to be and despite the influence of adults and mentors who wanted him to go a different path, he stuck to who he was and what he knew was the right thing to do. Hunting down the high tech weapons had to be done. He had to stop the Vulture, despite what he knew it would cost him. He was able to dig down in the third act and find a reservoir of inner strength we as Spider-man fans know he has but that he hasn't discovered on his own. His naivety with things really played well as a high school kid who happens to have spider powers and a scientific genius.The Homecoming "twist" (no spoilers) left my mouth agape. Didn't see it coming but was so fascinated by the turn of events. I don't want to give any spoilers to anyone who hasn't seen it though I don't know why you're reading this. Turn off your comp and go see it, then come back. Spider-man: Homecoming will give you chills and thrills, there were several times I wanted to get out of my seat and cheer, especially when Ned has his moment as "the guy behind the computer screen".

Yet when it was all said and done, I left the movie feeling like I had just read a regular issue over a special event comic. And maybe that's the point. Homecoming IS the third attempt at a Spider-man franchise. It's still trying to find itself and fit into the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe. I can't fault them for coming in for decent and not world shattering. They have time to get to that and I have no doubt they will. I just wanted a special issue. A cathartic read (view) that gave me a feeling of satisfaction that it was one of the great Spidey stories amongst the likes of The Death of Gwen Stacy. That's the only real shortfall I had with Homecoming.

Well, that and the tech suit.

Like Spidey himself says in the movie, "I just need webs!"




What did you folks think?

The second Spider-man: Homecoming trailer has arrived!

Well I'm just as ecstatic as I was when I saw the first trailer and when I saw his appearance in Civil War! What do you folks think?

Logan movie review

As the credits rolled at the end of the movie and Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around started playing I took stock of the two hour and fifteen minutes of ending I had just viewed, I mentally shrugged and thought "Eh." Now that may not sound like much, I get it, but further explanation may make it seem more positive than it seems.

Logan is the final chapter of Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Wolverine, and recently discovered it will also be the final time Patrick Stewart will play Charles Xavier. This movie serves as a very dark, troubled ending for these two characters. Both of them have made it to this point in their lives with tragedy haunting their steps on top of the fact that the mutants are dying out. There haven't been any new mutants born in 25 years and there are few that remain. More on that in the spoilers.

This movie delivers on the premise that a rated R Wolverine film will show you a lot of death. That's why I bought a ticket. Ever since I saw him running around in X-Men 2 I knew that Wolverine is one of those characters that exists in his full form beyond a PG-13 rating. In that regard, the film is a success. People die. Horribly. You get to see an old, in pain, killer do "What He Does Best" in multiple scenes. You get to see what he would have looked like in his prime going full Wolvie-berserker style." You get to see what a child with claws and insoluble rage do to people who want to attack her. And you get your fill of it. It is satisfying.

The story, not that much. It's a decent story but I don't feel like anything really hit me as emotionally consequential. There are moments of pain, regret, humor, and quick glimpses of happiness but it really feels like it is just a driving force of moments towards the finale of the movie.

Overall, the movie is worth watching. Let's be honest, a shrug and an "eh" are a sight beyond the shattered dreams of all the X movies that have come before. Every other movie has a small group of amazing scenes interspersed amongst two plus hours of crap. Logan isn't that. It never has a bad scene. It has some awesome action pieces. But the scattering of moments that are supposed to be meaningful just don't grab at you. And I REALLY wish they did. I wanted this movie to be cathartic at the end. The best version of what this movie could have been was Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood. That's the kind of send off I wanted from Logan. I wanted to close the book, so to speak, and be satisfied. I just wasn't. Hopefully you may have a different experience.



SPOILERS!



Ok, you shouldn't be looking if you don't want to know things. So here we go. Some of the things that were missed opportunities were the hinted at moments of the past that got the characters into such a broken state. Charles is succumbing to dementia or some other type of neurological degeneration, causing massively potent seizures where as many as 400 people are forcefully frozen in place and suffocated. He takes pills and injections to keep him mentally subdued lest he have a grand mal seizure and kill people or he dies from the strain. A couple of mentions are given to an event "a year ago in Westchester" but we don't know what happened. Did he kill the X-Men? Did students die? No idea.

Logan is another unanswered question. Hints are given to a specific incident where he did something terrible but nothing is revealed. Again, did he kill the X-men like in the Old Man Logan storyline? He is also dying but has no idea why other than to venture a guess that it could be the adamantium in his body finally poisoning him. He has no real idea and doesn't seem to care, either. Kinda weak sauce, if you ask me. He want's to die, that seems apparent, but with an explanation that is just as sensible as Padme dying of a broken heart there doesn't seem to be much oomph behind his decline.

And where are all the mutants you ask? Why have there not been more in 25 years? Was it the final push of sentinels that rounded them up? The Legacy Virus? The Terrigen Mists? No, the worst villain ever to confront mutants: GMOs. I shit you not. GMOs are used to basically negate the x-gene in the worldwide populace. The future of human evolution is halted by going organic and gluten free. What. The. Hell? That just makes me sad. No mention of what happened to the X-Men themselves is never revealed, though again hints that they all met violent ends are peppered into the story of Logan.

Charles Xavier dies in the film by being stabbed in the chest by a cloned version of Wolverine. Read that again for confirmation. There is a scene in the film where it is revealed the children are created from genetic material from mutants to create a personal army. In the reveal the children are considered a failure and another plan where they create the ultimate weapon without any soul or remorse is going to be the ultimate culmination of their research. There are separate body parts in bubbling water tanks and schematics. I was reminded of this:

But it was just a younger version of Logan. There are several scenes where the old and the new fight each other, and even X-23 ties into the fight too. But it reminded me of this:

Was Omega Red busy? There had to be a better option. Anyway, other than the initial shock of Professor X dying I didn't feel much about his death. The parts of the film that dealt with his invalidity meant much more too me, to be honest. The scene where Logan buries him is touching, but could have been much further developed than what it was. Logan's death at the hands of his evil doppelganger. His compromised immune system finally succumbs to the catastrophic damage he has taken and he dies. X-23 does have a touching moment by his grave where she quotes a poignant line from Shane (a western I'm sure most people have never seen but you should check it out) but that's about it. She and the rest of the escaped children then leave to Canada though we have no idea if the safe haven they are searching for actually exists.

Then the screen goes dark.

Sure, I admit these may be nitpicky complaints or observations but they are the things that stuck out to me that made me want more. Like I said above, the movie didn't disappoint me it just didn't offer me enough to tie a nice ribbon on Jackman and Stewart's involvement in the series.

Lego Batman review

As the movie poster says, be yourself unless you can be Batman. I think it should go one step further and say be Batman unless you can be Lego Batman. I have been anticipating this move since the original Lego Movie. I remember thinking to myself that I wanted more Lego Batman and was rewarded for that hope when the movie was revealed to be in production.

Let's be honest, I don't believe any of you are on the fence about this film. Likely you want to go see it but just haven't had the time and so you're reading reviews in the hopes it will tide you over. Don't worry, Lego Batman made 55.6 million over the weekend so it should be in theatres for a while.

The plot of the film, without spoilers, is Batman coming to grips with his loner nature and learning to accept friends. Batman is the perfect character to explore this, even in a kids movie, because he is a guy that became a vigilante after losing the people most important to him. He is Batman to make sure nobody has to suffer the same loss he did. As the trailer featured Alfred, Robin, and Barbara Gordon it doesn't spoil the movie to say that Batman's relationships with these characters and his need/want to be a loner is the focus of the film.

Now, as serious as all that is, and I admit it gets really touching in the third act, this movie is funny. Very funny. There are tons of jokes that go from chuckle to guffaw but the major humor for me is the TONS of references and easter eggs they dot throughout the film. So many that I want to go back and see it again just to see what I missed the first time (though I want to see it again just because I had such a good time watching it). And they dig deeeeeeeep for some of these. If you don't want these spoiled for you I will wrap up the review by saying that Lego Batman is just a good 'ol time at the movies where you will laugh and smile and enjoy being a kid and a nerd. I give it my full support as a great film and if you loved The Lego Movie you will only find more to love with Lego Batman. To me it's the best DC film since 2008's The Dark Knight.

Now scoot, I have references to list!



*Reference, plot, and Easter Egg spoilers*


This movie digs deep into Batman and popular culture to bring the funny. As I'm sure you'd suspect, most of these are going to fly right over the kids in the audience but for us older folks there is a funnier depth underneath the movie that will bring you TONS of delight.

Now first are the obligatory Batman references to the previous live-action Batman films. Lego Batman exists with the knowledge that Batman has been around and fighting crime since 1939 ("and still look fabulous"). There is a teaser trailer out there that even highlights all the films as "phases" Batman went through, from Adam West to Ben Affleck. A montage of images at one point shows the look of Batman as far back as his first appearance and even the 1940's Serials with Lewis Wilson. In scenes inside the Batcave you can quickly notice the various batmobiles that have existed through the years as another nod to Bat-history.

As you could suspect, the 60's Batman with Adam West gets a fair share of exposure in the film. Not only is there the small live action clip, but they reference the bat shark repellant from the 1966 film in what first feels like a throw away gag but comes up again in the 3rd act. References also include Egghead, King Tut, and others into the gang of Bat-villains trying to destroy Gotham. One particularly satisfying move in the third act is when Alfred puts on a Batman costume, an exact replica of the one Alfred puts on in a handful of episodes to deter people from thinking Bruce Wayne is Batman. The Alfred costume even displays a white pencil mustache on the cowl. Other notable Batman references are to the 1989 Michael Keaton movie and involve "the balloons and Prince music" and a more subtle reference to Billy Dee Williams' Harvey Dent portrayal. In Lego Batman, Two-Face is black and sounds exactly like Lando Calrissian, something that kinda made me squeal with joy because in a different universe we would have had a Keaton film fighting a Williams' Two-Face.

Other fun references include The Wonder Twins and their monkey Gleek, Apache Chief, and Samurai are present at a party Superman throws at the Fortress of Solitude. In the third act of the film the Joker breaks an assortment of villains out of the Phantom Zone, including: The kraken and Medusa from Clash of the Titans, gremlins from the movie Gremlins, Agent Smith from the Matrix, Dracula, Voldemort from Harry Potter, Jaws (whose fate clashes with the previously mentioned shark repellant), Dinosaurs from Jurassic Park, The Wicked Witch of the West and her flying moneys, King Kong, Dalek's from Dr. Who (in the movie they say "British Robots....ask your nerd friends"), and even Sauron as the black tower with the lidless eye. At one point in the epic fighting, Robin heads out onto Batman's jet to fight the Gremlins with Gymkata:

When this happened I was overwhelmed with satisfaction that the reference game was over 9,000. A real mic drop moment.

There are dozens more I could list, but these I mentioned where the highlights for me. Oh, and the film references a couple of Micheal Jackson songs (for no apparent reason, not that I minded), primarily Man in the Mirror.

All in all the film is just a fun, light-hearted, pop-culture glee fest and you will be doing yourself a major favor by going to check it out. I defy you to make it through the film and not at least smile, much less laugh. And if you have seen it, what references did I miss that you think were worth pointing out? Comment below and let me know!

John Wick Chapter 2 review

I came on to the John Wick appreciation rather late. I never saw it in theatres and, in fact, until a few months ago hadn't seen it at all until I found myself bored on Xbox One one night and rented it. I'm sure many of you will nod in agreement when I say it was a great movie. Loved it. Had to see the next one. Well, last night I did. Let me assure you that you will find the same high-octane tactical action that we see in the first movie. It's a credit not only to the director Chad Stahelski but to Keanu Reeves who does the lion's share of his own stunts. The dude is driven to make the film as grounded as possible. By now we have all seen this YouTube video of him training:

Anyhoo, the action is top notch. So much goes into how the action is presented that I am breaking my normal mega-ban on reboots by saying that the new Highlander films under Stahelski will likely be an improvement on the original. Ok, maybe not the soundtrack because nobody beats Queen.

I won't give any spoilers in my synopsis.

The movie begins with John Wick tracking down his stolen car from the first film. In the middle of the ensuing carnage some exposition is given about how dangerous Wick is to catch everyone up to speed from the first one and get the audience on board for what's about to happen in Chapter 2. After the car problem is resolved, a man from Wick's past appears at John's house to cash in a marker from his old assassin life. Though Wick considers himself retired, he is reminded that one cannot 'be out' and return without consequences. Wick continues to refuse despite his previous oath to make good on the marker, the man leaves and as you may guess things go south from there. The rest you will have to see but the film definitely delivers on presenting the strange, stylistic life of assassins the first John Wick film exposed us to. What's even better is we get more but have no further explanation. That world simply is as it is. No explanation required, which is such a smart way to deal with the mythos that the movie is creating in my opinion.

There were a couple of times towards the end of the film where I wondered if the people in this world were simply oblivious to the violence around them, like wolves fighting each other amidst a herd of sheep, or they just didn't care. That, and this will make sense after you see the movie, just how many people in this world of John Wick are assassins?! Again, not going to give spoilers, but about mid way through it begins to feel like every 3 in 4 people are assassins. Keep in mind that neither of these musings are complaints in any fashion. They were just a few musings I had.


*kinda spoilers ahead*


The way the film ends is at such a fast pace that you aren't ready for it to end. It stops just as the story is getting ramping back up into high gear as John has to deal with the consequences of actions taken in the movie. Obviously, there will be a chapter 3 but I was left with such a need to see what happened next that the only disappointment the movie gave me was that I would have to wait for resolutions on what happened during chapter 2. I think that's a good thing to have.

*end of spoilers*

All said and done, I loved John Wick Chapter 2. It gave me everything I wanted and had no let downs what so ever. Go see it! If you have, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Blade of the Immortal live-action trailer

I am so excited to see this trailer. I have been a long time fan of Hiroaki Samura's manga Blade of the Immortal. For those who don't know of it the story follows Manji, an expert swordsman who is cursed with immortality after being given kessen-chu (sacred bloodworms that heal even mortal wounds) by a mysterious woman named Yaobikuni. She promises Manji she will grant him the ability to die after he kills 1,000 evil men. Along the path to complete his quest he takes a young woman, Asano Rin, under his wing. Rin is seeking revenge on Anotsu Kagehisa, another master swordsman who is traveling Japan to bring all the sword schools under the banner of his Ittō-ryū.

The manga was distributed in America by Dark Horse Comics for years and it was the reason I was exposed to it. Samura writes and draws the comic and every page is a work of art. Here are a couple of examples:

An anime series of the same name was released in 2008 by Bee Train and it was a very faithful representation of the source material. I expect the movie will be just as high a caliber if the trailer has anything to say. One side note, I was interested to see that the live-action version of Manji will not sport his traditional swastika kimono like he wears in the manga. The manga always made a disclaimer about the original origins of the swastika as it existed long before the Nazis perverted the symbol. Even the anime kept it but it seems they have altered it slightly for the live-action, no doubts in hopes of acceptance towards a wider audience. Personally it doesn't matter to me either way, I just want to see as faithful an adaptation to Blade of the Immortal as possible. It certainly looks like that's what we are going to get. The movie will be released April 29, 2017 in Japan with an international release yet to be determined.

Are you looking forward to it?

A new Lego Batman extended clip

Let's be honest, this movie is going to be amazing. Batman was one of the best parts of the Lego Movie and now we have a whole movie about Lego Batman. The trailers have been great, Will Arnett is awesome, and the Lego take on the character is fantastic. I'm sharing this clip just to help tide us over until it's release on the 10th (technically the 9th because movies come out the night before they come out now).

You're going to enjoy this. And the song is super catchy!

The Bat-fleck signal flickers.

Today has been a flood of news about last night's revelation that Ben Affleck will no longer be directing the new solo Batman flick. In a press release statement, Affleck said:

“There are certain characters who hold a special place in the hearts of millions,” Affleck said in a statement. “Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give. It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require. Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film. I am still in this, and we are making it, but we are currently looking for a director. I remain extremely committed to this project, and look forward to bringing this to life for fans around the world.”

I have to admit that this sounds like a step in the right direction but I'm still hesitant that the trend of dark and grim DC movies could continue with a different director. Part of the hope that I had in Affleck directing is that he would have enough creative control to steer things into a different direction. Maybe not have Batman murder so many people this time around?

Who they will find to direct the mega franchise film is anyone's guess. Variety reporter Justin Kroll did post this tweet:

Hearing Matt Reeves is high on the list of directors they are looking at

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) January 31, 2017

Reeves is the director of the War for the Planet of the Apes film coming out this year as well as the previous film in that franchise. Personally I'd like to see the director of John Wick, Chad Stahelski, take on the Batman. Can you imagine the fight choreography with him in the director's chair?

Long time friend of Ben Affleck and movie director Kevin Smith made a tweet about the search for a director after fans mentioned his availability and recent directing of episodes of CW shows Flash and Supergirl:

I'm flattered. But 3 things make me directing Batman impossible: 1) Haven't spoken to Ben in years. 2) I made @YogaHosers, 3) Common sense. https://t.co/oTIhA3FtjO

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) January 31, 2017

I haven't always thought that Kevin Smith was the best comic book writer but there is no doubt that his heart is 100% towards making the best tv representations of comic book characters he can.

What do you folks think?

The first 6 minutes of Justice League Dark!

Check out the awesomeness!

Looks like this movie will be the kind of gritty and weird atmosphere fans wanted out of it with an R rating hopefully put some fears to rest. For those who don't know, Justice League Dark focuses on those 'heroes' who dwell in the seedy underbelly of the magical world in the DC universe. I would have loved to have seen this as a live action film but I'm satisfied that Matt Ryan is voicing John Constantine in this. Why Constantine's show was canceled is beyond me and though the live action Justice League Dark still has Doug Liman signed on to direct and Guillermo Del Toro is a producer there hasn't been much forward momentum for a while.

The digital release was 1/24/2017 and the DVD/Blu-ray hits shelves on 2/7/2017.

Do you like what you see so far? Comment below!

The Punisher joins The Predator!

Confirmed Monday, Thomas Jane has joined the cast of the latest Predator movie. Though he has been in many other films I feel I'll always identify him as the title character from the 2004 film The Punisher. I was even disappointed when he didn't reprise the role in season 2 of Netflix's Daredevil.

He will join other cast members Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, and Sterling K. Brown with filming expected to begin in February. The director, Shane Black, played Hawkins in the original 1987 Predator and has directed the films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys.

Fingers crossed this will be a good movie. Anyone else looking forward to it?

Green Lantern Corps. movie news!

Flying under everyone's radar was the announcement from Warner Bros. last week was that a Green Lantern Corps. movie is in the works. David Goyer, writer of Batman Beings and then Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, is set to script the new film. It is being described by several outlets as a 'Lethal Weapon in Space' so that could potentially mean a film with both Hal Jordan AND Jon Stewart, which would be epic but the recent string of movies coming from DC and the WB have been rather lackluster in my opinion. According to TheWrap.com:

'"Tom Cruise, Joel McHale, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds,Armie Hammer, and Jake Gyllenhall are on the shortlist of actors DC Entertainment is considering pursuing for the role of Hal Jordan in “Green Lantern Corps”'

 I have many hopes for this movie and potential franchise as I have always been a GL fan. Hopefully it wont be dark and depressing like the current trend in the DCMU, but more of the buddy space cop explode-a-thon the concept warrants. It should stay in space and the suits should definitely not be animated.

What do you guys think?

The Title for Episode VIII has been revealed!

I wonder what this could mean. Is it a hint at Rey's training or the death of Luke Skywalker? I can't wait to find out!

The new Logan trailer and high expectations

First, this:

Back? Cool. Though this trailer isn't as emotionally impactful as the first one, mostly thanks to The Man in Black singing a NIN song, it shows off what most Wolverine fans want out of a Wolverine movie: Wolverine running around killing people with extreme prejudice, using the foot long Ginsu knives that are his trademark. What's more, this movie apparently has TWO Wolverines running around killing people with extreme prejudice, using the foot long Ginsu knives that are their trademarks.

I have a love, disappointment, hate relationship with the all the X-Films (I'm not lumping Deadpool into it) and the Wolverine movies encapsulate all the problems I have with them. Wolverine: Origins had moments of pure character fan service that I absolutely loved but was bludgeoned to death by absolutely shitty story writing and the unmentionable last 15 or so minutes. Unbreakable metal can punch through unbreakable metal has as much logic as if I were to throw a brick through a brick wall because they shared the same physical structure.

And then there is the Ryan Reynolds laser freak:



His mouth being welded shut reminds me of the Pulp Fiction Gimp
 

The Wolverine was a significantly better movie. In fact, for my two cents, it was damn near perfect except for the last 15 minutes or so where the whole thing falls apart again. Really, really hot adamantium can cut through regular adamantium......because. It's like 20th Century Fox can't get over the fact that Logan has a metal skeleton and has to figure out some new way to make sure he's vulnerable. Who knows. In a movie where you see Wolverine vs. Ninja, it was the only downside.

I'll have to be real a moment, 'Logan' has an older, grizzled, defeated protagonist in the near future that we all want to see but he isn't going to have the same problems as Old Man Logan did in the spectacular story arc featured in Wolverine #66-72 and Wolverine: Giant Sized Old Man Logan. Movie studios and intellectual property rights will keep The Hulk, Hawkeye, and the Spider Buggy, from ever appearing on film together. The defining moment that causes Logan to step away from the world in Old Man Logan, while amazing and would be a dream come true to see in a movie, just isn't feasible because too much joy in the world can not be tolerated. And it has to be saved up for every single moment Tom Holland plays Spider-man.

Despite all that, I do have high hopes for 'Logan'. It has all the right concepts, and the right rating, to make a Wolverine movie that deserves to be the curtain call for Hugh Jackman as the man who is The Best at What He Does. Time will tell if we will be satisfied by the film or crushed by it.

Anyone want to make bets on what sort of adamantium shenanigans will happen in the 3rd act?