This movie is to the spy genre what Kick-Ass is to superheroes. Deconstruction, parody, and reconstruction mashed up together into an entertaining story.
It begins on a covert mission where four agents are interrogating a prisoner. A trainee agent realizes that the prisoner is rigged to blow and jumps on top of him, killing them both, but sparing the rest of them. We now learn that these men are all Kingsmen, and the trainee's sacrifice allowed the other trainee to move up. However, another agent Harry Hart, codename: Galahad (played by Colin Firth) feels guilty over the incident and offers condolences to his wife and son. The wife is too distraught to accept anything from them, so Harry simply gives the medal to the son, Gary Unwin. He tells them if they need anything to call the number on the medal and deliver a coded message "Oxfords not Brogues".
Flash forward 17 years, and we're treated to what appears to be a typical spy rescue. Kingsman agent Lancelot shoots his way into a mountain chalet to save a captured scientist (played by Mark Hamill). Then there's a knock on the door. Lancelot's about to check it out, when he's suddenly sliced in half. The killer is Gazelle, a seemingly Asian woman with sharp prosthetic feet. She covers Lancelot's body as well as the slain henchmen's bodies and then lets her boss in: Richmond Valentine, a multi-billionaire (played by Samuel L Jackson) with a lisp and an evil plan to save the world from global warming.
Harry meets with Chester King, codename: Arthur (played by Michael Caine), and discuss the necessity of filling Lancelot's vacancy as soon as possible and finding whoever was responsible.
Gary, nicknamed "Eggsy", is all grown up now. His mom has remarried to an abusive bar owner and had another kid. Eggsy may have a bit of a chip on his shoulder, but he's still got a heart, as displayed when he comforts his crying baby sister. He heads out to the bar to meet his friends, but gets harrassed by the local bullies while there. Eggsy and his friends leave, but not before swiping the lead jerk's car keys. The cops' attention is grabbed quickly and a car chase ensues...in which Eggsy is driving backwards for a good amount of it. When a fox jumps out in the road, Eggsy swerves to avoid it and crashes into another car. He then crashes into the police car to give his friends a chance to run away.
Eggsy gets arrested, but he still has that medal on his person. When he exercises his right to a phone call, he calls it and delivers the message. He gets released and finds Harry outside waiting for him. They go to the pub, and Eggsy's not completely sold on the recruitment speech, however we do learn some exposition about him through Harry's having kept track of him. He did very well in school until dropping out, completed basic military training until his mom started getting worried, and stopped training for the Olympics when his stepfather came into the picture. The bullies from earlier show up and pick a fight with Eggsy, but instead have to deal with Harry. He locks the bar doors, closes the window shutters, and a very satisfying fight ensues. He takes them all down with ease and then tranquilizes the bartender to not remember anything. Eggsy is sufficiently freaked out by this, but swears not to tell anyone about it and promptly leaves with his memory intact.
When he gets home, his mom is relieved he's alright but his stepfather is angry and ready to smack him around. Luckily, Harry placed a bug on Eggsy before he left and could hear everything. He projects his voice through the house's electronics and tells Eggsy to meet him at a tailor shop, the secret entrance for Kingsman headquarters.
Eggsy is now one of many Kingsman recruits vying for the vacancy left by Lancelot, and seemingly the only one from a lower class upbringing. Supervising their training is the agency's quartermaster and tech expert, codename: Merlin. The first test involves the barracks filling up with water. While the others search for an air supply, Eggsy makes an effort to break down the door and when that fails, break the one-way mirror in the bathroom. The only thing keeping the test from being considered passed is the fact that they didn't work as a team, seemingly resulting in the death of one of the trainees.
Meanwhile, Harry goes to interrogate Professor Arnold, who despite his kidnapping, seems to have returned to his daily life. Before Arnold can reveal anything, his face explodes, and Harry only barely escapes. This puts him out of action for a while as training continues. This incident also peaks Valentine's interest, seeing as Lancelot's name and agency could not be identified, but Harry mentioned his comrade during the attempted interrogation.
Each candidate is given a puppy that they have to care for. Eggsy chooses a pug (under the mistaken impression that it'll grow up into a big bulldog), and names it JB. We're then treated to a montage of the training. Running, firing, etc.
The next big test involves skydiving. The six remaining recruits all jump out of a plane. One of them, Roxy, is clearly agorophobic, but Eggsy helps her through it. It starts to become fun, until Merlin tasks them with what to do if one member of the team doesn't have a parachute. Eggsy immediately comes up with a plan: the trainees huddle together in pairs. This good idea is dashed when one of them panics and releases his chute. Now in an odd number, Eggsy comes up with another plan: form up in a circle and release your chutes one at a time. Nobody is able to hold onto their neighbor. With safe altitude waning, Charlie pulls his chute and again can't hold on. Only Roxy and Eggsy remain. With mere seconds left to go, Eggsy pulls her cord and her parachute comes out, allowing them to land safely. It's an amazing scene, since the skydiving aspect keeps your adrenaline up, and you see Eggsy putting everyone else's safety over his own. He doesn't seem to have much doubt that he has a chute until that last moment. The three who pulled earliest are dismissed, leaving only the two of them and Charlie. Eggsy gets into Merlin's face about making him the one without a parachute, feeling singled out. Merlin just pulls Eggsy's cord to reveal he had one the whole time.
Once Harry comes to, the Kingsmen are able to make the connection to Valentine, with a little help from Eggsy. He's a multimedia mogul passing out complementary smartphone sim cards, as well as several upper class and political figures going missing. Harry is sent to meet with Valentine under the guise of a donor. The meal consists of McDonald's takeout in a humorous reveal. The two discuss old spy movies, each expressing interest in the other man's role. Harry's wine was laced with a special gel so that Valentine could track his movements after he leaves.
The three remaining trainees are tasked with seducing a female target so they can take her to a safe point, but end up getting drugged themselves by an assailant. When Eggsy comes to, he's tied to the railroad tracks, the man demanding to know everything he can tell about the Kingsman organization. He refuses to tell him anything, even as the train is about to run him over. This turns out to be the real test, as the track is a trapdoor and the assailant is Harry in disguise. Roxy passed the same test off-screen, and now it's Charlie's turn, who spills everything to save his own skin. Arthur, taking the role of the assailant here, is extremely disappointed, and leaves him tied to the tracks.
With only Eggsy and Roxy remaining, their handlers are given 24 hours to spend with them. Harry takes the opprtunity to get Eggsy fitted for the standard issue suit, and shoes (oxfords not brogues). To their surprise, Valentine and Gazelle are in for a fitting as well. Harry recommends a top hat to go with his suit, which is bugged so they can listen in on his upcoming meeting. They also have a quiet moment in Harry's study, which is adorned with tabloid covers. Each one represents a day when Galahad completed a mission and saved lives, because as a secret organization, there is no public recognition for good deeds or accomplishments.
Arthur calls Eggsy into his study for a private meeting. He's seemingly pleased with his progress, and after a little chat, Arthur hands him a gun, and orders him to shoot JB. Eggsy can't do it. There's a tense stand-off when Arthur asks for the gun back, and then a shot is fired in another room. It seems Roxy passed her test, and Eggsy has failed. As Roxy is officially given the title of Lancelot, Eggsy storms out of the mansion, taking the Kingsman's taxi with him. He stops at home briefly to see his mom and drop off the dog, then drives out to the pub, ready to confront his stepdad once and for all. Before he can do so, the taxi steers itself back to Harry's home, where he expresses disappointment in Eggsy's failure. It's revealed that the gun was filled with blanks and the dog would have been fine. It feels like personal failure to Harry, who was doing all he could to help Eggsy in order to repay his father's sacrifice. He's suddenly called away for another mission.
A target has been determined from their surveillance of Valentine: a hate-fueled fundamentalist church in America, akin to the Westboro Baptists. Arthur sends Harry to check it out. The sermon is about as hateful as you'd expect but Valentine doesn't appear to be inside. He's using the church as testing grounds for his sim cards. Once triggered, anyone in range of them is placed in a state of anger goes on an unstoppable rampage. Just as Harry is about to leave, the test begins. A riot breaks out inside, the parishioners attacking themselves and Harry. He's just as affected as everyone else, but his training gives him the upper hand. This fight is amazing to watch as he kills everybody who gets close to him, made all that much better as "Freebird" plays in the background. It's probably the best scene in the movie. With the test over, and everyone dead, Harry straightens up and walks out of the church, to find Valentine waiting for them. This is usually the part where the villain tells the spy his plan and then has to stop him. Unfortunately for Harry, "This ain't that kind of movie, bruv." Valentine shoots him dead at point blank. Eggsy saw the whole thing through Harry's video glasses, and is devastated. (Valentine is equally taken aback by remorse over the feeling of killing someone, hence the whole point of his plan is to make people kill each other.)
Eggsy runs back to Kingsman HQ and finds Arthur there, who surprisingly offers him a seat at the table and a glass of brandy in toast to Galahad. Eggsy's keen eye for details notices the scar on Arthur's neck, just like the one on Professor Arnold, and puts together that Arthur is also in league with Valentine and that his glass was poisoned. Exactly how long this was is uncertain, but Arthur now reveals Valentine's evil plan: Comparing the earth to the human body and humanity to a virus, global warming is the fever the body uses to fight the virus. The virus must be killed to save the body, so people need to die. The sim cards send people into a rage, they kill each other, and the smaller population would calm the fever. Eggsy's slight of hand saves him from what would have likely been his demise, as he switched glasses with Arthur before the toast.
He relays what he's learned to Merlin and Roxy, and they hatch a plan to infiltrate Valentine's stronghold and stop him. The lair is located inside a mountain where his wealthy and powerful allies have amassed to keep themselves safe from the effects of the cell cards. Tricked out in a new suit Harry had made specially for him before his death, Eggsy enters Valentine's lair pretending to be Arthur while Roxy floats up above the atmosphere to shoot down one of Valentine's satellites. Eggsy borrows a computer from one of the guests upon arrival so Merlin can access the network and cut Valentine off, but Eggsy's exposed by none other than Charlie. He has to make a run for it while Merlin holds his own inside their jet.
Meanwhile, Roxy does manage to shoot down the satellite, and stop the rage briefly. Valentine makes a quick phone call to a friend so he could borrow his satellite and the plan is set back in motion.
Eventually Eggsy's surrounded with no way out, and suggests to Merlin to remotely activate the explosive chips inside all of Valentine's minions and guests. He does so, and we see hundreds of thousands of heads explode set to Pomp and Circumstance, and it is awesome.
Eggsy comes across a princess Valentine abducted earlier in the movie, and she agrees to kiss him (and more) once he saves the world. He heads back to main room, and an enraged Valentine activates his sim cards while Eggsy fights with Gazelle. It's really a treat to watch her fight, since she's incredibly graceful. He finally manages to kill her with a poisoned knife in his shoe, and then throws one of her prosthetic feet at Valentine, stabbing him in the chest and forcing his hand off the controls, stopping the rage for good. He then heads back to the princess who makes good on her promise.
The movie ends with Eggsy returning to his stepdad's pub, and offering to take his mother away from the guy now that he can afford it. The man is ready to pick a fight, and Eggsy gets ready to create Harry's bar fight from earlier.
From beginning to end, Kingsman is a blast to watch. Eggsy is easy to relate to, a young man with a lot of potential yet hasn't really found his place int he world. I'm really surprised that Roxy wasn't portrayed as his love interest, since they did have some moments of chemistry. He definitely cared about her and it was his encouragement that helped her overcome her fear of heights when she needed to. On the upside, she's never portrayed as a damsel in distress, and it is pretty refreshing that she didn't hook up with him, that maybe two people of the opposite gender can become friends, work well together, and don't necessarily have to become a couple. And thanks to the inclusion of the swedish princess, the hero still gets the girl.
There's a lot of blood, violence, and cursing, so the movie is definitely not for everyone. However, it's a great film for anyone who enjoys extreme violence and spy thrillers. The Freebird and Pomp & Circumstance scenes are definitely worth a watch.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
The Flash- Fast Enough
'Harrison Wells', the Reverse-Flash is now in custody and it's time for Barry to get some answers. He killed Barry's mother because he hates the Flash, or at least his future self. From his perspective, they had been enemies for a long time. His actual intention was to kill Barry when he was a child and thus erase him from existence, but the Flash gets in his way. He got his younger self to safety, but left the Reverse-Flash alone with his mother, who then stabbed Nora Allen in the chest. Cut off from the speed force, it then became necessary to ensure the Flash's existence so he could get his speed back and return to his own time. 'Wells' tells Barry that he's grown fond of Barry over time to the point of admiration and respect, but Barry doesn't want to hear any of it. Then he convinces Barry he could run back in time and save his mother.
Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein (the other half of Firestorm), have stuck around after the fight in the previous episode. It's determined that if Barry reaches the speed of mach 2 and collides with a particle inside the accelerator, it would open a wormhole through time. If all goes well, he could go back in time and save his mother and return to the present in just under two minutes, while 'Wells' could at the same time return to the future. However, if the wormhole is unstable, it could swallow the whole city. Not sure what to do, he asks his Joe and then his own dad. Joe says he should go for it, since it's the only chance Barry might have to save his mom, even if it means losing the paternal relationship he has with him. Barry's dad, however, is thoroughly against it. The risk is too great. Unlike when Barry changed the past last time, there's a good chance that he would have no memory of anything that's happened since that night, and there wouldn't be a Flash. The Reverse-Flash would essentially have won, and Central City would never have its hero.
Meanwhile, with some encouragement from Professor Stein, Eddie decides to keep his relationship with Iris going, and she reciprocates. Despite his apparent insignificance in the Thawne family tree, the fact that Eobard ended up in the same city as his ancestor is an incalculable coincidence. Ronnie also decides to follow through on his initial engagement to Caitlin Snow, and Professor Stein officiates their wedding. It's a beautiful moment.
As the STAR Labs team makes the calculations and adjustments for the event, Cisco also confronts 'Wells' about how he killed him in the previous timeline, and 'Wells' realizes that this is Cisco's metahuman ability: he is aware of alterations in the time-space continuum. What previously seemed to be an easy excuse to make the heroes aware of Wells' true identity is suddenly something bigger, and I'm suddenly curious if Cisco has a comic counterpart.
They build a functioning time machine with the power source from 'Harrison's' wheelchair, and the attempt begins. As Barry keeps running faster and faster, he sees glimpses of events in the past and future. The Legends of Tomorrow, the Flash museum, and other Easter Eggs not necessarily noticeable on first viewing. I was fully expecting that Barry would have to fight the Reverse-Flash himself when he arrived in the past, that he would have to let his mother die in order to save himself. Instead, the Flash is already there. He notices Barry and gestures to him not to interfere, so he stands down as his future self saves his child self and the Reverse-Flash stabs his Nora Allen. With both speedsters gone, Barry then reveals himself to his mother, assuring her that her family is safe and her son has a future, which gives her peace of mind as she passes away. It's a thoroughly heartbreaking moment.
Meanwhile in the present, 'Wells' prepares for his departure. A silver helmet with gold wings falls through the portal, which he takes as his cue to leave. (The helmet is a nod to Jay Garrick, the Flash of the comics' Golden Age/Earth-2.) But before he can leave, the Flash returns to the present, destroying the machine with a single punch. (AWESOME!!!) A fight ensues with the enraged Reverse-Flash and things don't look good for Barry...And that's when Eddie shoots himself in the chest. With his ancestor dying, the Reverse-Flash is erased from existence, his face reverting back to Eobard Thawne's to deliver one last forboding threat to the Flash before he disappears.
This also has a devastating effect on the wormhile, which turns into a giant quantum singularity that will suck up the entire city. There's only one thing they can do: the Flash has to run fast enough around the wormhole to cancel it out, just like he did with the tornado in the first episode. The odds are thoroughly stacked against him, but he has to try, and the season ends has he runs straight into it.
This is an amazing finale. I can't help but be reminded of Smallville's first season finale, when a huge twister tore through the town and had you wondering what would happen next. Another parallel is Eddie Thawne who, like Lana Lang's first season boyfriend, Whitney, was written out after the first season (later revealed killed in Afghanistan). Unlike Whitney, however, Eddie came across as a good guy the whole time, and not just a jerk jock with a few good moments. His death came as a complete shock and a true testament to his character, someone who would do what he had to to protect the people he cared about, even at the cost of his own life. I get the feeling next season is going to be huge, especially when it's sharing a universe with not one, but two connected series. This has probably been one of the best superhero shows I've ever seen, and I can't wait for what the future has in store for not only The Flash, but for (Green) Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow.
Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein (the other half of Firestorm), have stuck around after the fight in the previous episode. It's determined that if Barry reaches the speed of mach 2 and collides with a particle inside the accelerator, it would open a wormhole through time. If all goes well, he could go back in time and save his mother and return to the present in just under two minutes, while 'Wells' could at the same time return to the future. However, if the wormhole is unstable, it could swallow the whole city. Not sure what to do, he asks his Joe and then his own dad. Joe says he should go for it, since it's the only chance Barry might have to save his mom, even if it means losing the paternal relationship he has with him. Barry's dad, however, is thoroughly against it. The risk is too great. Unlike when Barry changed the past last time, there's a good chance that he would have no memory of anything that's happened since that night, and there wouldn't be a Flash. The Reverse-Flash would essentially have won, and Central City would never have its hero.
Meanwhile, with some encouragement from Professor Stein, Eddie decides to keep his relationship with Iris going, and she reciprocates. Despite his apparent insignificance in the Thawne family tree, the fact that Eobard ended up in the same city as his ancestor is an incalculable coincidence. Ronnie also decides to follow through on his initial engagement to Caitlin Snow, and Professor Stein officiates their wedding. It's a beautiful moment.
As the STAR Labs team makes the calculations and adjustments for the event, Cisco also confronts 'Wells' about how he killed him in the previous timeline, and 'Wells' realizes that this is Cisco's metahuman ability: he is aware of alterations in the time-space continuum. What previously seemed to be an easy excuse to make the heroes aware of Wells' true identity is suddenly something bigger, and I'm suddenly curious if Cisco has a comic counterpart.
They build a functioning time machine with the power source from 'Harrison's' wheelchair, and the attempt begins. As Barry keeps running faster and faster, he sees glimpses of events in the past and future. The Legends of Tomorrow, the Flash museum, and other Easter Eggs not necessarily noticeable on first viewing. I was fully expecting that Barry would have to fight the Reverse-Flash himself when he arrived in the past, that he would have to let his mother die in order to save himself. Instead, the Flash is already there. He notices Barry and gestures to him not to interfere, so he stands down as his future self saves his child self and the Reverse-Flash stabs his Nora Allen. With both speedsters gone, Barry then reveals himself to his mother, assuring her that her family is safe and her son has a future, which gives her peace of mind as she passes away. It's a thoroughly heartbreaking moment.
Meanwhile in the present, 'Wells' prepares for his departure. A silver helmet with gold wings falls through the portal, which he takes as his cue to leave. (The helmet is a nod to Jay Garrick, the Flash of the comics' Golden Age/Earth-2.) But before he can leave, the Flash returns to the present, destroying the machine with a single punch. (AWESOME!!!) A fight ensues with the enraged Reverse-Flash and things don't look good for Barry...And that's when Eddie shoots himself in the chest. With his ancestor dying, the Reverse-Flash is erased from existence, his face reverting back to Eobard Thawne's to deliver one last forboding threat to the Flash before he disappears.
This also has a devastating effect on the wormhile, which turns into a giant quantum singularity that will suck up the entire city. There's only one thing they can do: the Flash has to run fast enough around the wormhole to cancel it out, just like he did with the tornado in the first episode. The odds are thoroughly stacked against him, but he has to try, and the season ends has he runs straight into it.
This is an amazing finale. I can't help but be reminded of Smallville's first season finale, when a huge twister tore through the town and had you wondering what would happen next. Another parallel is Eddie Thawne who, like Lana Lang's first season boyfriend, Whitney, was written out after the first season (later revealed killed in Afghanistan). Unlike Whitney, however, Eddie came across as a good guy the whole time, and not just a jerk jock with a few good moments. His death came as a complete shock and a true testament to his character, someone who would do what he had to to protect the people he cared about, even at the cost of his own life. I get the feeling next season is going to be huge, especially when it's sharing a universe with not one, but two connected series. This has probably been one of the best superhero shows I've ever seen, and I can't wait for what the future has in store for not only The Flash, but for (Green) Arrow, and Legends Of Tomorrow.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Arrow- My Name Is Oliver Queen
Previously, impressed that Oliver survived their first battle to the death, Ra's Al Ghul extends the offer to be his successor. At first it seemed optional, but then the League of Assassins start killing people in Starling City, framing the Arrow in the process. His identity is revealed to Quentin Lance, who was already angry over learning Sara was dead. Roy Harper takes the fall, revealing himself as the Arrow and goes to prison in Oliver's place. ARGUS helps fake his death in prison and Roy is sent away.
The flashbacks reveal a horrible virus was unleashed in Hong Kong which resulted in the death of Akio Yamashiro, the son of Oliver's handler Maseo. He eventually joined the League of Assassins, was given the name Sarab, and handed this virus over to Ra's Al Ghul.
As added incentive to get Oliver to accept his offer, Ra's personally invades Thea's apartment and stabs her in the chest. Oliver agrees so Thea can be revived with the Lazarus Pit. Unbeknownst to the rest of Team Arrow, Oliver enters in an agreement with Malcolm Merlyn to bring down the League from the inside. To everyone else, it seems Oliver, now called Al Sahim, has truly turned evil. The team, plus the Atom and Maseo's wife Tatsu (Katana), go to Nanda Parbat to stop the plot before it can begin. Sarab's death aside, the raid fails and the team gets captured. Al Sahim maintains his cover, and Ra's Al Ghul officiates the wedding of his reluctant daughter Nyssa and Oliver, while the virus is seemingly unleashed upon Team Arrow, plus Malcolm.
Malcolm managed to stealthily inoculate the others before they were taken prisoner, so nobody dies. To everyone's surprise, the Flash zooms through Nanda Parbat, knocking out every guard and letting the team out, likely the favor Oliver asked him for earlier. Felicity begs Barry for help, but he has to get back to Central City and interrogate Wells, but assures the team that Oliver needs them. While they suit back up, Tatsu returns to her life of solitude.
Meanwhile, Ra's, Oliver, and Nyssa were on their way to Starling City when their plane starts to fail. Oliver reveals his true intentions to Ra's, and a swordfight breaks out aboard the plane. Ra's escapes, the assassins are dealt with, and Oliver and Nyssa make an emergency landing.
Everybody regroups at Palmer Technologies, Diggle still reluctant to trust Oliver after everything, but they set their differences aside for the safety of the city. It's discovered that Ra's Al Ghul's old rival, Damien Dahrk, is also in Starling City, so that when the virus is unleashed, not only is Oliver's home wiped out, but Ra's disposes of his old rival. The team hatches a plan to exchange Dahrk for the virus while Laurel appeals to her father about the bioweapon threat and Ray works on dispersing a vaccine through the air on a large scale.
Thea also decides to get in on the action, wearing the Arsenal uniform Roy left with her during a brief reunion. It's then discovered that the virus has been injected into some of the League's pawns and spreads once their blood is exposed to the outside. The police and team work to keep it contained while Oliver confronts Ra's directly. A swordfight breaks out at the dam, Captain Lance and some other cops looking on ready to snipe whoever wins.
It's an important moment for Quentin. He started out as the Inspector Javert to Oliver's Valjean. Then he became the Commissioner Gordon to his Batman. After learning Sara died and the League framed him for murders, he fell off the wagon (in more ways than one) and became Javert again. Even so, he still had some moments of looking out for our heroes in the past few episodes. He made it clear to Laurel that he would always love her but might not ever forgive her for keeping Sara's death a secret (not to mention taking up the mantle of the Black Canary), but still went out of his way to protect her once gunfire broke out at the police station. When Roy Harper went to prison in Oliver's place, Lance tried to appeal to him to come clean with the truth, not wanting an innocent kid to get locked up for someone else's crimes, not to mention the many criminals the Arrow put away. And then when Roy was attacked and (seemingly) fatally stabbed in prison, he was perfectly sympathetic to Thea. Now, with Oliver's life on the line while he's trying to save the city, he doesn't want to see Queen get himself killed, so sends a message to Felicity.
Oliver wins the fight and stabs Ra's, who in turn passes a ring indicating the title of Ra's Al Ghul is now his, and then falls down dead. Sure enough, Oliver is shot in the chest by the police and then falls off the dam. Before he can hit the water, Felicity swoops in wearing Ray's Atom armor and saves him.
The show's flashback story also comes to a close. Oliver and Maseo torture and kill General Shrieve, the corrupt military man responsible for the Hong Kong outbreak and Akio's death. Akio's ashes are split into three urns; one for Maseo, one for Oliver, and one for Tatsu. They each go their separate ways; Maseo went to join the League of Assassins, Tatsu returned to Japan, but it's not clear where Oliver went, presumably back to Lian Yu, two years remaining until he is officially rescued.
Back in the present, our heroes decide to go their separate ways. With the Arrow identity no longer allowed to him, Oliver takes the opportunity to finally be with Felicity (she and Ray already broke up a couple episodes ago). He tells everybody how proud he is of the team, Thea ready to start crimefighting as Speedy, and Laurel having come into her own as the Black Canary. Their alliance at an end, Oliver hands Ra's Al Ghul's ring over to Malcolm, apparently part of their agreement all along, and so Merlyn returns to Nanda Parbat with Nyssa as the new head of the League of Assassins.
Back at Palmer Technologies, it looks like Ray is trying to get his suit to shrink, and instead results in an explosion. It's unlikely he gets killed (thanks to a third DC show in its way to the CW), but I'm curious to see how he survives, and how this ties into his earlier promoting Felicity to vice president.
Meanwhile, Felicity is driving off into the sunset with Oliver, and it's a seemingly happy ending for them.
All of this makes for a rather satisfactory season finale (and a good way to end the series just in case), but there's one thing I still don't understand: why did Malcolm drug Thea and make her kill Sara? While it's apparent he wanted to get the League of Assassins off his back without risking his own life, it's an incredibly convoluted method. Was taking over the League always part of his endgame, or was this just a bonus for him? Will the League be better or worse now that he's in charge? I hope he takes some time away from the series and lets the dust settle before coming back.
As for Oliver, with the Arrow's mantle retired, what does this mean for next season? It seems to indicate he'll take on the friendlier persona of Green Arrow from now on (something else indicated by Wells' Flash disapparance article that kept popping up), but how he does this without further compromising his no longer secret identity remains to be seen. Also, where will the flashbacks take us? Back to Lian Yu? On missions for ARGUS with the Suicide Squad? I look forward to finding out.
The flashbacks reveal a horrible virus was unleashed in Hong Kong which resulted in the death of Akio Yamashiro, the son of Oliver's handler Maseo. He eventually joined the League of Assassins, was given the name Sarab, and handed this virus over to Ra's Al Ghul.
As added incentive to get Oliver to accept his offer, Ra's personally invades Thea's apartment and stabs her in the chest. Oliver agrees so Thea can be revived with the Lazarus Pit. Unbeknownst to the rest of Team Arrow, Oliver enters in an agreement with Malcolm Merlyn to bring down the League from the inside. To everyone else, it seems Oliver, now called Al Sahim, has truly turned evil. The team, plus the Atom and Maseo's wife Tatsu (Katana), go to Nanda Parbat to stop the plot before it can begin. Sarab's death aside, the raid fails and the team gets captured. Al Sahim maintains his cover, and Ra's Al Ghul officiates the wedding of his reluctant daughter Nyssa and Oliver, while the virus is seemingly unleashed upon Team Arrow, plus Malcolm.
Malcolm managed to stealthily inoculate the others before they were taken prisoner, so nobody dies. To everyone's surprise, the Flash zooms through Nanda Parbat, knocking out every guard and letting the team out, likely the favor Oliver asked him for earlier. Felicity begs Barry for help, but he has to get back to Central City and interrogate Wells, but assures the team that Oliver needs them. While they suit back up, Tatsu returns to her life of solitude.
Meanwhile, Ra's, Oliver, and Nyssa were on their way to Starling City when their plane starts to fail. Oliver reveals his true intentions to Ra's, and a swordfight breaks out aboard the plane. Ra's escapes, the assassins are dealt with, and Oliver and Nyssa make an emergency landing.
Everybody regroups at Palmer Technologies, Diggle still reluctant to trust Oliver after everything, but they set their differences aside for the safety of the city. It's discovered that Ra's Al Ghul's old rival, Damien Dahrk, is also in Starling City, so that when the virus is unleashed, not only is Oliver's home wiped out, but Ra's disposes of his old rival. The team hatches a plan to exchange Dahrk for the virus while Laurel appeals to her father about the bioweapon threat and Ray works on dispersing a vaccine through the air on a large scale.
Thea also decides to get in on the action, wearing the Arsenal uniform Roy left with her during a brief reunion. It's then discovered that the virus has been injected into some of the League's pawns and spreads once their blood is exposed to the outside. The police and team work to keep it contained while Oliver confronts Ra's directly. A swordfight breaks out at the dam, Captain Lance and some other cops looking on ready to snipe whoever wins.
It's an important moment for Quentin. He started out as the Inspector Javert to Oliver's Valjean. Then he became the Commissioner Gordon to his Batman. After learning Sara died and the League framed him for murders, he fell off the wagon (in more ways than one) and became Javert again. Even so, he still had some moments of looking out for our heroes in the past few episodes. He made it clear to Laurel that he would always love her but might not ever forgive her for keeping Sara's death a secret (not to mention taking up the mantle of the Black Canary), but still went out of his way to protect her once gunfire broke out at the police station. When Roy Harper went to prison in Oliver's place, Lance tried to appeal to him to come clean with the truth, not wanting an innocent kid to get locked up for someone else's crimes, not to mention the many criminals the Arrow put away. And then when Roy was attacked and (seemingly) fatally stabbed in prison, he was perfectly sympathetic to Thea. Now, with Oliver's life on the line while he's trying to save the city, he doesn't want to see Queen get himself killed, so sends a message to Felicity.
Oliver wins the fight and stabs Ra's, who in turn passes a ring indicating the title of Ra's Al Ghul is now his, and then falls down dead. Sure enough, Oliver is shot in the chest by the police and then falls off the dam. Before he can hit the water, Felicity swoops in wearing Ray's Atom armor and saves him.
The show's flashback story also comes to a close. Oliver and Maseo torture and kill General Shrieve, the corrupt military man responsible for the Hong Kong outbreak and Akio's death. Akio's ashes are split into three urns; one for Maseo, one for Oliver, and one for Tatsu. They each go their separate ways; Maseo went to join the League of Assassins, Tatsu returned to Japan, but it's not clear where Oliver went, presumably back to Lian Yu, two years remaining until he is officially rescued.
Back in the present, our heroes decide to go their separate ways. With the Arrow identity no longer allowed to him, Oliver takes the opportunity to finally be with Felicity (she and Ray already broke up a couple episodes ago). He tells everybody how proud he is of the team, Thea ready to start crimefighting as Speedy, and Laurel having come into her own as the Black Canary. Their alliance at an end, Oliver hands Ra's Al Ghul's ring over to Malcolm, apparently part of their agreement all along, and so Merlyn returns to Nanda Parbat with Nyssa as the new head of the League of Assassins.
Back at Palmer Technologies, it looks like Ray is trying to get his suit to shrink, and instead results in an explosion. It's unlikely he gets killed (thanks to a third DC show in its way to the CW), but I'm curious to see how he survives, and how this ties into his earlier promoting Felicity to vice president.
Meanwhile, Felicity is driving off into the sunset with Oliver, and it's a seemingly happy ending for them.
All of this makes for a rather satisfactory season finale (and a good way to end the series just in case), but there's one thing I still don't understand: why did Malcolm drug Thea and make her kill Sara? While it's apparent he wanted to get the League of Assassins off his back without risking his own life, it's an incredibly convoluted method. Was taking over the League always part of his endgame, or was this just a bonus for him? Will the League be better or worse now that he's in charge? I hope he takes some time away from the series and lets the dust settle before coming back.
As for Oliver, with the Arrow's mantle retired, what does this mean for next season? It seems to indicate he'll take on the friendlier persona of Green Arrow from now on (something else indicated by Wells' Flash disapparance article that kept popping up), but how he does this without further compromising his no longer secret identity remains to be seen. Also, where will the flashbacks take us? Back to Lian Yu? On missions for ARGUS with the Suicide Squad? I look forward to finding out.
The Flash- Rogue Air
Previously, Harrison Wells' cover was blown. The core characters all know he's the Reverse-Flash, he's from the future, and killed Nora Allen. Just as Eddie was about to propose to Iris, Wells kidnaps him and reveals their shared lineage and that Iris ends up marrying Barry and not him. Iris has also learned that Barry is the Flash.
After last week's fight with Grodd, our heroes uncover that Wells had been hiding Eddie in the depths of the particle accelerator, and rescue him. He's still shaken up, but reveals to them what the audience (and Cisco) already know: Wells' real name is Eobard Thawne. They also discover that the particle acelerator is going to reactivate, which would kill all the imprisoned metahumans inside.
Barry gets a call to Diggle's wife and ARGUS arranges transport to Lian Yu, (the island Oliver was stranded on, now serving as a prison for particularly dangerous people). Joe attempts to get help from the city, but the legal issues were too extensive for his friend at the DA's office to get involved. As a last resort, the Flash seeks help from Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and his sister, who Cisco reluctantly names Golden Glider.
A few episodes ago, Cold learned Barry's secret identity, making it necessary for Barry to negotiate with him. Snart agreed to keep quiet and stop killing civilians and Barry let him get away. This time, Captain Cold agrees to help the Flash move the metahumans in exchange for complete erasure of his records from the police and federal registries, and Barry reluctantly goes through with it. I'm hoping that Barry kept backups on the flash drive he had with him, but I can't be sure. Once his records are destroyed, they make their way to Ferris Air, which has been abandoned since one of their test pilots disappeared (a foreshadowing reference to Green Lantern).
Once they arrive, however, the power inhibitor in the transport truck fails, thanks to Cold's tinkering. He shoots down the ARGUS plane and the metahumans escape (except for one, who Snart kills to keep the others in line). It's a win-win for Captain Cold; he's got a blank slate in criminal databases, he pulled one over on the Flash, and the rest of the rogue's gallery owes him a favor.
Then, as the particle accelerator activates, Wells resurfaces for a showdown with Barry, but he's not alone this time. The Flash is flanked by Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), and Oliver Queen/Al Sahim (check the next Arrow review for an explanation). The three manage to take him down with some effort, Oliver ready with some nanite arrows that reduce Wells' superspeed. It's an amazing fight. When it's over, Oliver asks Barry for a favor.
While all this is going on, Eddie decides to pull the plug on his relationship with Iris. Eobard's revelations that their relationship goes nowhere is enough of a reason for him to give up on it, although Iris doesn't really want to yet still resigns to it.
There's a lot of great aspects of this episode; the easter egg references, the cameos from the two other heroes, and a seemingly final showdown with Wells. It's not over yet, tho. There's one episode left in the season, and it looks like we're going back to that night when the Reverse-Flash killed Barry's mom. I don't think Barry will be able to save her, but what if he does? What will that mean for the future? I look forward to finding out.
After last week's fight with Grodd, our heroes uncover that Wells had been hiding Eddie in the depths of the particle accelerator, and rescue him. He's still shaken up, but reveals to them what the audience (and Cisco) already know: Wells' real name is Eobard Thawne. They also discover that the particle acelerator is going to reactivate, which would kill all the imprisoned metahumans inside.
Barry gets a call to Diggle's wife and ARGUS arranges transport to Lian Yu, (the island Oliver was stranded on, now serving as a prison for particularly dangerous people). Joe attempts to get help from the city, but the legal issues were too extensive for his friend at the DA's office to get involved. As a last resort, the Flash seeks help from Leonard Snart/Captain Cold and his sister, who Cisco reluctantly names Golden Glider.
A few episodes ago, Cold learned Barry's secret identity, making it necessary for Barry to negotiate with him. Snart agreed to keep quiet and stop killing civilians and Barry let him get away. This time, Captain Cold agrees to help the Flash move the metahumans in exchange for complete erasure of his records from the police and federal registries, and Barry reluctantly goes through with it. I'm hoping that Barry kept backups on the flash drive he had with him, but I can't be sure. Once his records are destroyed, they make their way to Ferris Air, which has been abandoned since one of their test pilots disappeared (a foreshadowing reference to Green Lantern).
Once they arrive, however, the power inhibitor in the transport truck fails, thanks to Cold's tinkering. He shoots down the ARGUS plane and the metahumans escape (except for one, who Snart kills to keep the others in line). It's a win-win for Captain Cold; he's got a blank slate in criminal databases, he pulled one over on the Flash, and the rest of the rogue's gallery owes him a favor.
Then, as the particle accelerator activates, Wells resurfaces for a showdown with Barry, but he's not alone this time. The Flash is flanked by Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), and Oliver Queen/Al Sahim (check the next Arrow review for an explanation). The three manage to take him down with some effort, Oliver ready with some nanite arrows that reduce Wells' superspeed. It's an amazing fight. When it's over, Oliver asks Barry for a favor.
While all this is going on, Eddie decides to pull the plug on his relationship with Iris. Eobard's revelations that their relationship goes nowhere is enough of a reason for him to give up on it, although Iris doesn't really want to yet still resigns to it.
There's a lot of great aspects of this episode; the easter egg references, the cameos from the two other heroes, and a seemingly final showdown with Wells. It's not over yet, tho. There's one episode left in the season, and it looks like we're going back to that night when the Reverse-Flash killed Barry's mom. I don't think Barry will be able to save her, but what if he does? What will that mean for the future? I look forward to finding out.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
There is no denying that this movie is awesome. It's certainly on par with the first film, but I can't be sure if it's better or not.
Acting on intel unknowingly provided by Team Coulson (a little bonus for anyone who's been watching Agents Of SHIELD), the Avengers raid a HYDRA outpost and retrieve Loki's staff. This not only puts them up against twin adversaries Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, but Tony Stark finds the makings of an artificial intelligence that he and Bruce Banner could work into a peacekeeping program they'd been brainstorming for a while. Unfortunately for them and the rest of the team, the moment Ultron comes online, he sets events in motion that would either bring about humanity's evolution, or their extinction, and it doesn't matter which.
The team takes some pretty big hits along the way, thanks in no small part to Scarlet Witch's ability to mess with people's minds, which among other things sends the Hulk into a rampage. Luckily, Iron Man was ready with a Hulkbuster exo-suit. This fight was amazing. Tony also has to deal with the fallout from all of this as the one responsible for Ultron's creation.
Eventually Pietro and Wanda realize the error of their ways and join the Avengers to fight Ultron. Also joining them is the Vision, a techno-organic robot of Ultron's own creation. It turns out Loki's staff housed another Infinity Stone, which has now been infused into Vision along with the Jarvis program. To exemplify this, he's played by the same man who has been voicing Jarvis since the first Iron Man. (Plus he can lift Thor's hammer Mjolnir, which in and of itself is awesome.)
A definite plus is that we get some more character development to the two normal humans on the team, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Oddly enough, the film puts the kibosh on the idea that these two might have a thing going on (maybe they did in the past, but they certainly don't now). Natasha seems to have a thing going with Bruce Banner, and we learn that the Soviet program that trained her sterlized her when her training was complete. She can't have a family, in comparison to Banner who can't get close to people out of fear of Hulking out and hurting them. Speaking of which, Pepper Potts and Jane Foster are both given reasons for not being in this one, but Betty Ross hasn't been seen since The Incredible Hulk, and it wasn't until after seeing this movie that I started wondering why.
Clint is actually married with two (later three) children. He set up an arrangement with Nick Fury to keep them living off the grid, well away from any dangers of SHIELD, HYDRA, etc. The scenes with them are are really quite sweet and down to earth. All of that pathos gave me the impression that Hawkeye was going to get killed before the end of the movie. However, when the time came, Quicksilver took the bullets instead.
Ultron is a really interesting villain. He's far more human than I expected him to be, since he's a robot. He has a lot of Tony's snark and casual attitude, but he's still cold and efficient. From Iron Man to Ultron to Vision, it's like each one is a reflection of their sire. Iron Man wants to bring peace and keep humanity safe. Ultron sees that humanity can't be peaceful and so so the only way to achieve peace is to destroy it. Vision sees the destruction of humanity as inevitable, but that's all the reason he needs to defend it.
The final battle is nothing short of spectacular. Ultron raises a city into the air with the intent to send it crashing down back to the earth like a meteor. The Avengers are outnumbered by Ultron's robot legion, and need to not only fight them off, but evacuate the city's population before it either crashes down or gets destroyed before impact. Luckily, SHIELD is back with a brand new helicarrier (Theta Protocol - another Agents Of SHIELD bonus), and even War Machine gets in on the action.
I'm glad that supporting characters from the other characters' solo movies got a bit to do here. Heimdal appears in Thor's nightmare, Peggy Carter appears in Captain America's, and as stated before, Rhodey returns and is wearing his War Machine armor again. For whatever reason, Falcon doesn't take part in the final battle, even though he appears at the Avengers Tower party and again in the last scene. Why he didn't get to fight Ultron is anyone's guess. I was a bit upset that Quicksilver got killed, but at the same time relieved Hawkeye survived and made it home to his family. Also, I have a real bone to pick with Joss Whedon choosing to pull a Soprano with the last scene. Why cut to the credits in the middle of a battle cry? Just to leave us wanting more? Well, it worked, but that doesn't mean it didn't make people mad.
Any nitpicks I had with the movie were minor. It's still an excellent entry in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, setting up for bigger things to come and an ever expanding roster of superheroes.
Acting on intel unknowingly provided by Team Coulson (a little bonus for anyone who's been watching Agents Of SHIELD), the Avengers raid a HYDRA outpost and retrieve Loki's staff. This not only puts them up against twin adversaries Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, but Tony Stark finds the makings of an artificial intelligence that he and Bruce Banner could work into a peacekeeping program they'd been brainstorming for a while. Unfortunately for them and the rest of the team, the moment Ultron comes online, he sets events in motion that would either bring about humanity's evolution, or their extinction, and it doesn't matter which.
The team takes some pretty big hits along the way, thanks in no small part to Scarlet Witch's ability to mess with people's minds, which among other things sends the Hulk into a rampage. Luckily, Iron Man was ready with a Hulkbuster exo-suit. This fight was amazing. Tony also has to deal with the fallout from all of this as the one responsible for Ultron's creation.
Eventually Pietro and Wanda realize the error of their ways and join the Avengers to fight Ultron. Also joining them is the Vision, a techno-organic robot of Ultron's own creation. It turns out Loki's staff housed another Infinity Stone, which has now been infused into Vision along with the Jarvis program. To exemplify this, he's played by the same man who has been voicing Jarvis since the first Iron Man. (Plus he can lift Thor's hammer Mjolnir, which in and of itself is awesome.)
A definite plus is that we get some more character development to the two normal humans on the team, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Oddly enough, the film puts the kibosh on the idea that these two might have a thing going on (maybe they did in the past, but they certainly don't now). Natasha seems to have a thing going with Bruce Banner, and we learn that the Soviet program that trained her sterlized her when her training was complete. She can't have a family, in comparison to Banner who can't get close to people out of fear of Hulking out and hurting them. Speaking of which, Pepper Potts and Jane Foster are both given reasons for not being in this one, but Betty Ross hasn't been seen since The Incredible Hulk, and it wasn't until after seeing this movie that I started wondering why.
Clint is actually married with two (later three) children. He set up an arrangement with Nick Fury to keep them living off the grid, well away from any dangers of SHIELD, HYDRA, etc. The scenes with them are are really quite sweet and down to earth. All of that pathos gave me the impression that Hawkeye was going to get killed before the end of the movie. However, when the time came, Quicksilver took the bullets instead.
Ultron is a really interesting villain. He's far more human than I expected him to be, since he's a robot. He has a lot of Tony's snark and casual attitude, but he's still cold and efficient. From Iron Man to Ultron to Vision, it's like each one is a reflection of their sire. Iron Man wants to bring peace and keep humanity safe. Ultron sees that humanity can't be peaceful and so so the only way to achieve peace is to destroy it. Vision sees the destruction of humanity as inevitable, but that's all the reason he needs to defend it.
The final battle is nothing short of spectacular. Ultron raises a city into the air with the intent to send it crashing down back to the earth like a meteor. The Avengers are outnumbered by Ultron's robot legion, and need to not only fight them off, but evacuate the city's population before it either crashes down or gets destroyed before impact. Luckily, SHIELD is back with a brand new helicarrier (Theta Protocol - another Agents Of SHIELD bonus), and even War Machine gets in on the action.
I'm glad that supporting characters from the other characters' solo movies got a bit to do here. Heimdal appears in Thor's nightmare, Peggy Carter appears in Captain America's, and as stated before, Rhodey returns and is wearing his War Machine armor again. For whatever reason, Falcon doesn't take part in the final battle, even though he appears at the Avengers Tower party and again in the last scene. Why he didn't get to fight Ultron is anyone's guess. I was a bit upset that Quicksilver got killed, but at the same time relieved Hawkeye survived and made it home to his family. Also, I have a real bone to pick with Joss Whedon choosing to pull a Soprano with the last scene. Why cut to the credits in the middle of a battle cry? Just to leave us wanting more? Well, it worked, but that doesn't mean it didn't make people mad.
Any nitpicks I had with the movie were minor. It's still an excellent entry in Marvel's Cinematic Universe, setting up for bigger things to come and an ever expanding roster of superheroes.
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