Completing Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy of films is Spider-Man 3. Production of Spider-Man 3 began almost immediately after the release of Spider-Man 2, which itself was a massive box office success. Raimi wanted to concentrate on the theme of 'forgiveness' and had plans to conclude the Green Goblin story and introduce Sandman as the major villain. After much protracted … [Read more...]
Batman and Robin (1997) review by That Film Guy
The second Batman outing for director Joel Schumacher after Batman Forever was Batman and Robin. It is now famous for having effectively damaged the careers of everyone involved and often found itself at the bottom of critics ˜Worst Films of 1997' lists. Commercially Batman and Robin was a disappointment only taking $238m from a budget of $125m and signalled the end of the … [Read more...]
Batman Forever (1995) review by That Film Guy
For Batman Forever, the third instalment of the Batman franchise, studio executives felt that a more mainstream approach could garner a much bigger box office. As a result they moved Tim Burton from director to producer and hired Joel Schumacher to take his place. After seeing the new direction the series was taking, Michael Keaton refused to take the role of Batman again and … [Read more...]
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) review by That Film Guy
After the phenomenal success of X-Men 2, Fox studios immediately green-lit a third instalment to complete the X-Men trilogy. Bryan Singer, director of the first two films was too busy working on Superman Returns and stepped down. Initially Darren Aronofsky and Joss Whedon were both attached to the project, but a series of clashes with other films forced their withdrawal and … [Read more...]
X-Men (2000) review by That Film Guy
Based on one of Marvel's most popular titles, X-Men directed by Bryan Singer was one of the first highly successful comic book films of the modern era. It spawned two direct sequels and a host of spin-offs and prequels having taken nearly $300m at the box office from a budget of $75m. Loosely based on the early X-Men stories shown in the 1990s cartoon it focuses on mutation as … [Read more...]
Review: Watchmen (2009)
[pullquote cite="" type="left, right"][amazon text=Amazon&template=carousel&chan=that film guy&asin=B00450AGFA][/pullquote] Generally considered one of the best and most influential comic books ever written, Watchmen was one of those things that no one ever really expected to see turned into a film, not least because it was in development hell for twenty years … [Read more...]
Review: The Avengers (2012)
Ever since Iron Man was released in 2008, Marvel have been building toward a huge ensemble film called The Avengers. Members of SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), notably Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), have appeared in all of the Marvel films involved, including Captain America: The First Avenger, The … [Read more...]
Review: Iron Man 2 (2010)
When Iron Man burst onto cinema screens in 2008, it represented a something of a gamble. Lacking the cultural popularity of Spider-Man or Batman, 'ol' shellhead' was a B-List character and casting Robert Downey Jr. in the role seemed like just as much of a gamble. Fortunately for Marvel and director Jon Favreau it paid off and Iron Man became a huge hit. Cue sequel. Reuniting … [Read more...]
Review: The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar's sixth feature film release, The Incredibles, looked to repackage the super-hero and crime-thriller genres into a family friendly offering. Riding high on the exceptional success, commercially and critically, of Finding Nemo, Pixar were obviously hoping that along with their own family fan base, they could engage the superhero demographic and have another monster hit on … [Read more...]
Review: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
The original Ghost Rider was released in 2007 and took its time to tell the origin story of the flaming skulled demon rider from Hell. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance follows on from the original, but with a few notable changes that make it almost a reboot of the character. Nicolas Cage is once again cast as daredevil motorbike jumper Johnny Blaze. This time the script and … [Read more...]