Why Holywood needs to phase out of the deconstruction of Legacy Characters.

Some Spoilers by the way.

Why Hollywood Needs to Phase out of Deconstruction of Legacy Characters. 

After seeing Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny, I once said I didn't like how he was a broken man at the film's beginning. That is a trend from Hollywood we've seen a lot lately with Legacy characters that we grew up with. We see them broken and pathetic; they have lost all hope, and don't get me wrong, this can work with certain but not every character. 

A good example is Luke Skywalker.

When we got a new Star Wars Trilogy, fans hoped to see this happen to Luke Skywalker.

We wanted to see Grand Master Luke Skywalker, and we wanted to see him lead a new Jedi Order against the First Order. We wanted to see him as a Dumbledore-type character, as well as see him as a father and husband. 

But did we get that? No, instead, we got this...

Kennedy and Lucasfilm clearly didn't want him leading a new Jedi Order. They wanted him to be a broken old man who lost hope. We are now getting a Rey film where she will create a new Jedi Order. That should have been Luke.

Sadly, these three never got a scene together.

Star Trek Next Generation got that. The writers of Picard gave fans what they wanted all the original characters together again one last time.

This is a trait I notice from Hollywood, where they take a legacy character people love and care for, downgrade them to broken people, and have them get talked down to by new characters. The same thing happened to Han Solo. We wanted General Han Solo, but instead, he's a deadbeat dad, and Leia, in Lucas's original sequel plans, she was going to lead the new republic, and she was going to be a Jedi as well. She's also the one who saves the day at the end of the last film. That would have been so much better than Rey defeating her grandpa. 

However, I give Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Peyton Reed credit for giving us the Luke Skywalker we wanted to see in Mando season 2 despite the de-aging. Even Mark Hamill preferred this Luke over what he got in Last Jedi. He even thanked Peyton for doing this, and Peyton agreed with him that this was the Luke we should have gotten from the Disney Trilogy. 

We saw this with Indy too. He's a broken man, and his son is dead, which I didn't like. Karen Allen herself didn't like the idea of killing Mutt. She felt it didn't need to happen because, in the end, it felt forced to kill the character's son. We have Helena, whose unlikeable, and she treats Indy like crap. 

I hear James Mangold wanted to make Indy a broken man because he felt it worked for the character, but it didn't. It works for a character like Wolverine but not Indy. He shouldn't have done that to the character of Indiana Jones. We should have gotten Indy just living a retired life with his family, and something forces him to go on one last adventure. It's basically him putting away the hat to live everyday life with his wife, son, and grandkids.

Now James Mangold made Logan. It worked because Logan is the most tragic Marvel character. 

This character has gone through so much hell; he's killed people he's loved and lost his memories. Wolverine is one of my favorite comic characters, but he is also the most tragic character, even more tragic than Batman. If you made Wolverine a broken old man, it works because Mark Millar's Old Man Logan is a great story read about forgiving yourself and setting things right. 

The Old Man Logan story arc is one of my favorite Wolverine stories.

It was well written, and it felt like the character was a broken man after killing the X-Men by mistake.

In issue 7, after his family gets killed, he forgives himself and becomes Wolverine again. 

Mangold did this perfectly in Logan. We see Logan as a broken man taking care of Charles, and then we see him become a father to Laura.

This scene was sad but was a great ending to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.

Logan's ending is so beautiful that he saved his daughter and her friends. Knowing he died saving these kids is a good send-off to Wolverine. 

This storyline worked with Wolverine being a broken man and eventually becoming a hero again and is motivated to save his daughter and her friends. I especially love how he inspires his daughter in this movie and tells her, "Laura...don't be what they made you." He tells her to be a good person and help people.

However, the new character now a days talks down to the legacy character, and they are better than them. That trait is annoying and makes us hate the new characters. We want to see new characters and original ideas but make them good and relatable but don't make them unlikeable unless it's good character development. 

 

Top Gun Maverick is a great example of a movie that doesn't take a great character and break them.

What I love about this movie is that Maverick is older, but he's not a broken character or a loser now. He doesn't get talk down by any of the new characters. What I love is that he inspires a new generation of characters in this film, and he's a positive character in this film, and I just love that idea.

Maverick does have his moments in the film where he feels lost, especially working with his Goose's son Bradley aka Rooster. I love the scene with Ice Cube, played by Val Kilmer, and Ice Cube tells him it's time to let go and the Navy and Rooster need him. See, that is inspiring when the character is inspired not to give up. I feel like we don't get that anymore, and I just love how this film, we see Maverick get inspired and inspire a new generation of pilots. We need to see more of that instead of seeing Legacy characters get deconstruction for the sake of who knows what. 

Also, another example like Maverick is Michael Keaton's Batman. He's older but not a broken old man because he's kept Gotham safe for years and enjoying retirement. In the movie,

Flash tells him he needs his help in the film and returns to the cowl. Some would argue that hey Batman works as a broken old man. Look at Dark Knight Returns, and I would say yes. Batman is on the same level as Wolverine, for tragic characters do work but not characters who had a good ending, and things went to shit for them like Luke and Indy. 

When Keaton shows up in costume, he steals the show, and he's still got it at 71.

The director didn't downgrade Batman, and he made him the film's saving grace. 

I hope Andy Muschietti does a good job with Brave and the Bold despite the Flash's box office. 

Although I would have gone with Sam Raimi as director of Brave and the Bold. 

This is a trend from modern Hollywood that needs to stop. We need to phase out of this deconstruction of Legacy Characters. 

We love these characters and don't want them to be disrespected or treated like crap by some new characters. We want to see them treated with respect and not broken old men unless it fits a particular type of character like Wolverine or Batman. That's fine. However, for some, like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, it doesn't work because even if they are older, they should be wiser and still inspiring to us. We also want them to inspire the new characters in the franchise, much like Top Gun Maverick did. 

I think we need to take a break from this broken legacy character trait and give us that legacy character at their best and have them inspire and be inspired by new characters. 

So that's just my opinion on this. Let me know what you think?

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Review. Celebrating 20 years of this Classic.

 

My Review of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Celebrating 20 years of this fantastic film was a game changer for Disney because it was their first PG-13-rated film. Here's my review of it...I love this film.  It still holds up, and I enjoy watching this film a lot. It was full of adventure, comedy, epic scenes, and great visual effects. The film focus on Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, a pirate who was removed as captain of the Black Pearl, and he is one of the best characters written in this film. I also loved Will and Elizabeth, played by Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly. The film is about Jack helping Will save Elizabeth from Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffery Rush. I say the entire cast of this film did a great job, and everyone went on to do more successful roles, like Jonathan Pryce, Jack Davenport, Mackenzie Crook, Kevin McNally, and Zoe Saldana. Zoe Saldana revealed she didn't have a good time making this film, and Jerry Bruckheimer met with her and apologized to her about her experience. Which is good on his part making amends with her.  

These three worked great together in this film. 

Jack, Will, and Elizabeth are the film's best characters, including Barbossa.

The film had great action scenes, and the sea battles were great too. One of the best scenes is when we see the pirates as skeletons, and Barbosa says, "You best start believing in ghost stories...

This was nominated for best visual effects at the Oscars.

Also, the side characters were good, and I loved the scene when the Pirates invaded Port Royal. That was a great action scene. As well as the final duel between Jack and Barbossa was a swashbuckling epic duel. Also, the music score in this film is so excellent and epic to hear. Makes you want to go on an adventure out at sea or on land. 

It's hard to believe this film is now 20 years old, and I got to tell ya, it still holds up. It's a fun movie to watch. Say what you want about the sequels. I think the second and third were good, but the other two were alright. 

If I had to rank these films, it would be.

1. Curse of the Black Pearl

2. World's End

3. Deadman's Chest

4. Dead Men Tell No Tales

5. Stranger Tides.

I give this film an 8 out of 10, and this film does still hold up. I love Jack Sparrow's clever one-liners in this film. To me, this is the best Pirates film, and if we get another one, we need to have Jack Sparrow, and they need to give him a good send-off. 

Also, I got some exciting news from Johnny Depp, who once said he wouldn't return after Disney unjustly fired him, thinking he was a wife-beater. He told People Magazine that he would be down to return as Jack Sparrow if it's the right movie to send off the character. As well as he said anything was possible. I hope Disney re-hires and apologize to him for what they did. 

I would love to see Jack Sparrow get a proper send-off, but hopefully, they won't make him some broken-down old man. We need to phase out of that trait after I saw Dial of Destiny.

This will always be the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow.

So here is 20 years of Pirates of the Caribbean, and I give this film 8 out of 10 and A-.

Go watch if you want to have a fun time.

Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny Review

My Review of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

So I saw Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny over the weekend, and here's my review of it...it was pretty good. Not as good as Raiders or Last Crusade. This film I would put it on the same level as Crystal Skull. The film, I will admit, had some great action scenes and special effects, and I loved the practical effects too. The film's opening felt like Indiana Jones and that favorite part of the movie. The de raging of Indiana Jones looked good. It's like how they de-aged Mark Hamill in Mando season 2. 

The de-aging looked good. I mean, it was convincing. 

Even at 80, Harrison Ford still got it. 

This will be his final performance as Indiana Jones, and it's sad to see him go, but he's 80 years old now.

I think they did a good job ending his arc, but there are some things I think they could have done better in my opinion. You see Harrison Ford next in Captain America 4 as the Rulk.

Harrison Ford: What is Red Hulk? 

LOL

The cast of the film Harrison Ford always nails it as Indiana Jones. He will always be Indiana Jones. Like he said, when he dies, so does Indy. The other cast likes Mads Mikkelsen as the villain Jurgen Voller. He was a good villain. I also loved seeing John Rhys Davis again as Sallah. I especially love his line, "Give them hell Indy." I also loved seeing Karen Allen again in this film too. The rest of the cast was good, like Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renee Wilson, and newcomer Ethann Isidore. I will admit I feel like Short Round, played by Oscar Winner Ke Huy Quan, should have been in this film, and heck, I would have taken him as another co-lead in the movie. 

Seeing Short Round again in this film would have been great. 

Now things didn't work, and the story got wacky like Crystal Skull gave us Aliens and a fridge that can survive a nuclear bomb. This film also has similar issues, but I'll explain that in the spoilers below. Also, this film did drag on a bit too much, where it was just too long, and some things didn't make sense. Also, I wasn't too keen on Phoebe Webber's character Helena. I found her annoying in the movie, and sometimes you just wanted her to shut up. 

Instead of Phoebe Webber, I would have cast Emma Stone or Billie Lourd, Carrie's Fisher daughter, as Helena. I wouldn't have made her Indy's goddaughter; I would have made her Indy's daughter from Willie Scott. Many people have said that Helena is the worst thing about this film, and they are both right and wrong. Yes, she was annoying, but there were moments were she was pretty funny.

This film had moments that didn't make sense, but that is Indiana Jones overall. Still, I had fun with this film despite some issues I had with it. This film, again, is on the same level as Crystal Skull. In my ranking of the Indy films, this film is now tied with Crystal Skull. I give this film a 6 out of 10, and it's a fun movie, and that's all it needs to be. You may or may not have a fun time with this film. To me, Indy's last adventure is always the Last Crusade. 

This ending was perfect for him riding off to the sunset.

Last Crusade was a great ending for Indy's Adventures.

Also, if you didn't like how this movie was made and you don't consider it a proper ending.

We always got Last Crusade to serve as an excellent send-off to Indy. 

Now Spoilers! 

In the film, Indy is a broken man because his son Mutt is dead from fighting in Vietnam, and Marion Ravenwood is leaving him because he didn't know how to help her grieve over losing their son. I don't like how they did that to Indy. I can't stand this breaking down Legacy characters. I will admit the scene where he wishes he could have stopped Mutt from enlisting, I get that, but sadly, they don't go back in time and save him because, you know, Shia's personal problems, which is why he wasn't in it. Still, I don't think they needed to kill Mutt. Say what you want about the character, but they didn't have to kill him it felt forced. 

Instead, what they could have done is revealed that he is alive, married, and has two kids. 

I think the film should have had Indy adjusting to retirement life, and Antikythera pushes him back to save the day because it belongs in a museum. I didn't like seeing him being a broken-down character that was too similar to Luke Skywalker. 

I also would have ended with Marion coming home with their grandkids, and they tell him their dad's in the car waiting for them for their camping trip. Indy gets ready to go camping with his family as he spends his free time with his family. I would have done that instead because I feel like that works better.

I think that's how Mutt should have been handled. He didn't have to be killed off, or they could have just recast the character with a new actor.

Also, this film does have time travel, and Jurgen Voller wants to use it to go back in time and win the war for the nazis. I mean, I love the scenes when Indy punches nazis, and I do love that scene when Helena kills some nazis, and one of them asks her for help, but she says to them. "Sorry, but you're a nazi." that line made me laugh.

At the film's ending, they go back in time, but they end up in 213 BC during the Siege of Syracuse because Archimedes invented time travel. In the end, Indy wants to stay, but Helena punches him out, and he ends up back in his home. He is reunited with Marion, who makes amends. The film ends anti-climactic, to be honest, but it is the end, and again, if you don't like how it ended, we got Last Crusade.

This film is on the same level as Crystal Skull because, again, this film has stuff that's good but bad. 

Now this was the first Indy film not directed by Steven Spielberg, and I think James Mangold did the best job he could. This film was no Logan, though, but James did the best he could, and I'm excited to see Swamp Thing because he will have more freedom of creative control. 

Also, Disney needs to let go of Kathleen Kennedy. I don't like talking about Lucasfilm and Star Wars on my blog like I promised myself I wouldn't talk about it. But she has got to go, and they need to get someone better to run Lucasfilm. 

Let me know what you think, and if you did like this movie, that's fine, or if you didn't, that's fine too.

We can all agree nothing will beat Raiders and Last Crusade. Indy's adventures are over. Even if you like it or not, Indy is now retired. 

 

My thoughts on the casting of Superman and Lois Lane in Superman Legacy.

 

So we have our new Superman and Lois Lane for Superman Legacy. 

The new Superman is David Corenswet. 

Now I have previously cast David as Superman in some of my past fan casts, and I got to say he's a good choice. He looks the part, and he's around my age, and I have to say I think he's an excellent choice to take over as the Man of Steel. He will be the fact of the DCU, so I hope he's ready. 

I hope he does a good job and the script is good. As well, this Superman needs to be the face of the DCU. So that's all I have to say. I hope he does an excellent job as Superman. 

The most concerning topic is the story and character. That's what matters more if they get Superman done right. 

And our new Lois Lane is Rachel Brosnahan, aka Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. 

She looks the part, and she's a great actress plus, I'm happy she's only three years older than David, not ten years older like Amy was to Henry. I like this casting choice, and I think she will do a good job playing Lois Lane. She looks the part. 

So that's my thoughts on these two casting choices. I think they will do a good job. Gunn has even said they did a great job and are amazing people. Now all we need is to see who's playing Lex Luthor. So that's my thoughts. Let me know how you feel about this casting. Do you like it or not? Let's hope Superman Legacy is a good film and start for the DCU. 

My thoughts on the live action One Piece and Avatar Live Action Reboot

 

My thoughts on the One Piece Live Action Show.

(Google Image)

So this weekend, I saw the live-action One Piece trailer, and here are my thoughts on it...This show is very iffy, in my opinion. I've heard the show had an early test screen audience, and they didn't like it. So Oda apparently met with Netflix and was not happy with it either. He even told fans that he didn't want the show released until he liked it because he even admits that no one is more worried about this show than him. 

(Google Image)

Now the cast of this show all look great, and I'm sure they will do a good job playing the characters.

I will admit it depends on how they are written in the show because there is a good chance this show will suck. 

(Google Image)

However, I could be wrong, and it could be a good show, and yes, they would have to make a lot of changes and cut a lot of filler. It still could be good, but as we all know, Mangas and Anime are hard to adapt on screen because, unlike comic book projects, mangas are more crazy and filled with the impossible. Not saying they will never make a good manga adaption. It can work, but it needs to be the right one to adapt.

(Google Image)

I will admit the trailer did show some cool stuff. Buggy looks terrifying. He looks like Pennywise and the Joker mixed together. It's excellent. I'll give them credit for this; the visuals look good, and the actors look like they will do a good job. Also, the visuals in the show are pretty impressive, but it doesn't mean the show will be unique and groundbreaking. It could suck. It all depends on the show's writing and how faithful they are to the source material, even if they have to change some stuff, but sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Cowboy Bebop had a lot of potential, but in the end, it got canceled after one season. Even Hajime Yatate hated how the show was made, and the first thing he said was, "This is not my work."  

(Google Image)

So overall, I'll watch the show. I know some fans will and some won't. It all depends on what they do with the show. The show could surprise us and be good, or it will fail like most of us think it will. 

Now Avatar the Last Airbender live-action tv series.

Okay, I can only say this looks ten times better than M Night's. 

That's all I have to say. Everyone looked good except one of my friends wasn't keen on Aang's look. However, I'll just say this is way better than M Night's. I take this over that garbage movie, but I know the original creators left this project, so there is a chance this show will suck. Also, Aang looks too young in this because Katara and Sokka look like they're in their 20s, and so does Zuko. I will admit I love the scar. Thank you for a proper scar. I will say the casting looks good, and they look like their cartoon counterparts. 

However, a live-action tv show could be good or could be crap. It all depends. 

So that's my thoughts on these upcoming live-action versions of these great shows.

I don't know if they will be good or be crap like Disney live-action remakes. 

Let me know if you think you are excited about these or not. Totally understandable if you're not.