Monthly Archives: November 2012

‘Arrow’ offers good take on comics hero

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Yes, I rolled my eyes a bit when I heard that CW’s new series about the DC Comics character Green Arrow was called “Arrow.” It’s another instance of the “we’re ashamed this is based on a comic book” mentality, I thought.

“Smallville” instead of “Superboy,” “Mercy Reef” instead of “Aquaman,” and, frankly, the preponderance of “dark” in modern-day Batman movie titles. And yes, I know Batman’s called “The Dark Knight.” And Superman is “The Man of Steel.” I’m not going to be convinced that there isn’t some embarrassment at work there.

The producers constantly emphasizing that “Arrow” was a gritty, realistic world without superpowered heroes was another red flag, it seemed.

So I didn’t watch the first few weeks of “Arrow.”

But after catching up with it, I’m actually finding myself enjoying the series.

If you’re not familiar with Green Arrow the comic book character, he’s a mix of Batman and Robin Hood and he’s been a staple of the DC universe for decades. Oliver Queen is a billionaire orphan, like Bruce Wayne, who turns his thirst for revenge into nighttime vigilante work. He’s got a quiver of trick arrows that’s not unlike Batman’s utility belt and he prowls the dark alleys of Star City, protecting the innocent.

There have been two high-profile depictions of old Ollie in recent years. One was the sarcastic, liberal-leaning conscience of the “Justice League Unlimited” animated series.

The other was in live action. Justin Hartley played a good Oliver Queen/Green Arrow in “Smallville.” He was that show’s Batman substitute when Bruce Wayne couldn’t be deployed by the producers and Oliver became virtually the second lead of the show.

When the CW decided to follow “Smallville” with a Green Arrow series, a lot of people assumed the role would be filled by Hartley. But the network cast Stephen Arnell in the role and while he’s apparently become famous for his abs – he could bounce an arrow off his stomach for a three-corner trick shot – he’s actually pretty good in the role of a rich playboy/obsessed crimefighter.

The series follows Oliver Queen, back in Star (for some reason here called Starling) City after being shipwrecked for five years. In flashbacks – one of which intriguingly included a glimpse of the two-tone mask of DC villain Deathstroke – we see Oliver’s time on the island after his father, rich industrialist Robert Queen, killed another shipwreck survivor and himself so that callow young Oliver might live.

In modern-day scenes, Oliver has a list of bad guys who are taking a bite out of the city. In each episode, he confronts them, threatens them if they don’t change their ways and contribute to society, and then clashes with them when they ignore his warning.

Oliver, unlike Bruce Wayne, isn’t opposed to killing when forced to. It makes the edgy hero even edgier.

The show’s supporting cast does a good job of backing Arnell. Characters are a mix of those created for the show and others like Black Canary herself, Dinah Laurel Lance, GA’s longtime main squeeze. This Dinah is pretty quick with her fists and feet, but we’ve yet to see if she becomes the fishnets-wearing superhero.

They’re sprinkling the show with mystery and mythology and, best of all, other DC characters, including Deadshot the assassin and, in an upcoming episode, Huntress, the superhero previously seen in the “Birds of Prey” series. In that series she was the version of the character who was the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. The character here won’t have that genealogy, however.

I’ve watched the first three episodes of “Arrow” so far and I’m enjoying the show’s dark, gritty tone. Arnell is good, the other characters are at least not too annoying and the action scenes are fine.

I’ll stick with “Arrow,” even though he’s lost the colorful part of his name.

 

 

Thoughts on Disney becoming the master of jedis

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So you might have heard this a few days ago, but Disney – home in recent years to Pixar and Marvel – bought Luscasfilm. For a cool $4.05 billion.

Setting aside that staggering figure for a moment – hella big even though the price tag was probably a bargain – the announcement made the Internet freak out and produced wonderful memes like the one above by Geek Girl Diva.

It also left us wondering what happens next. Well, some of that we already know. Disney immediately announced it would make three more “Star Wars” films, with the first coming out in 2015 (the summer of the “Avengers” sequel). The films would be episodes 7, 8 and 9, the long-rumored continuation of the story that left off with “Return of the Jedi.” Will we see aging Han Solo? Luke leading a rebuilding of the Jedi order?

There was some degree of fanboy moaning about the news, but probably less than there might have been if “Star Wars” creator George Lucas hadn’t made so many mis-steps with the prequel trilogy beginning in 1999.

A lot of people – and I think I count myself in this crowd – think that it’s perfectly fine for somebody other than Lucas to oversee the fate of his creations, for a couple of reasons:

Lucas has been pretty tone-deaf about what’s wrong with the (particularly later) movies.

A billionaire many times over, he’s shown little inclination to make new “Star Wars” movies (maybe that’s not a bad thing considering the prequels).

I will say, however, that Lucas and his people made a very good decision regarding the “Clone Wars” animated series on Cartoon Network. The series has been far more adult, far more diverse and far more interesting than the prequel movies.

Most importantly, although 30- and 40- and 50-something fans don’t like to admit it, the “Clone Wars” series reached a whole new generation of fans.

I just asked my son if, when he thought of “Star Wars,” he thought of the movies or “Clone Wars.” He answered, “Clone Wars.” He’s seen the live-action movies on DVD but that didn’t have the impact on him that seeing the original trilogy had on me, as a teenager and young adult.

“Clone Wars” has kept “Star Wars” alive and relevant for a new generation.

Although a lot of people have complained about changes Lucas made to the original movies – the Han Solo/Greedo shootout comes to mind, of course – for subsequent re-releases, he has, at least, kept them in the public eye and at the top of fanboy discussions. When was the last time somebody had an Internet meltdown about “The Last Starfighter?”

Beyond the new trilogy, what are we likely to see?

More merchandising, of course. Not that there wasn’t plenty of that anyway.

Regular theatrical movies and new TV series and releases of original content on disc.

Someday, in the future, dramatic mashups and re-imaginings of the existing movies and characters. Disney based “Pirates of the Caribbean” on a Disney park ride, after all, so there’s a willingness to try new things if audiences will respond. Who’s to say we won’t see feature films or series based on minor characters and events from the familiar stories, ala “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead?”

And that’s a good thing. There’s always been debate about whether “Star Wars” was for kids or for the general moviegoing audience or for the fans who’ve kept it alive and relevant and in the public eye for decades, even during some pretty lean times.

I think the answer is that “Star Wars” has been for all of those audiences. And Disney has the power to reach all them.

Movie classic: ‘Beverly Hills Cop’

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If you weren’t around and old enough to get into an R-rated movie in 1984, I’m not sure it’s possible for me to describe to you what a game-changer “Beverly Hills Cop” was.

Eddie Murphy, then all of 23 years old, seemed to be on the brink of the hottest career in Hollywood. He’d made a name for himself as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member and appeared, to great effect, opposite Nick Nolte in the funny and violent cops-and-robbers movie “48 Hours” in 1982. “48 Hours” was profane and explosive and filled with brutal action and Murphy burst, fully-formed, on the big-screen.

“Beverly Hills Cop,” as most remember, starred Murphy as Axel Foley, a young Detroit cop – probably way too young to be believable – who goes to LA – specifically Beverly Hills – to investigate when a childhood friend is killed. He antagonizes killers and cops, although the later eventually cooperate with his unorthodox methods.

The movie’s script had been kicking around in Hollywood for years and the movie was almost made with Sylvester Stallone and, online sources now say, the role was even offered to people like Mickey Rourke and Richard Pryor. it’s hard to imagine the film with anyone else but Murphy in the lead.

If Murphy had followed this, his live in concert film, “48 Hours” and “Trading Places” with work of the same quality, he would still be among the biggest stars in the world. Instead, he ended up making substandard sequels and odd outings – “Metro?” “Holy Man?” – and is best known today for voice over work in the “Shrek” movies.

Random observations:

The movie’s $230 million-plus box office hall made it the top movie of 1984 – ahead of “Ghostbusters.”

Damon Wayans looks shockingly young as the fey young buffet line worker who gives Murphy’s character some bananas to use as sabotage tools on Judge Reinhold and John Ashton’s car.

The movie doesn’t seem as fast, funny and hard-hitting today as it did 28 years ago. Maybe that’s a consequence of the hyper filmmaking that’s become the norm since that time.

I lost track of the times characters said Murphy’s character’s name in the movie. “Axel,” “Foley,” “Axel Foley.” It’s a mark of how important a character is – and the impact that character can carry – when their name is mentioned over and over in a screenplay.

The movie’s soundtrack, including “The Heat is On” by Glenn Frey and “Axel F” by Harold Faltermeyer, was as big a hit as the movie.