It is high praise to tell an artist they’ve created something unlike you’ve ever seen. Even higher if you happen to also like what they made. The New Mutants is unlike any comic book movie I’ve seen and I’ve seen most. That alone places it in rarefied company as the comic book movie genre is nothing if not beset by homogenization. Wonder Woman 84 is a perfect example of the conveyor belt style of superhero film that brings nothing new to the table but is easily digestible and more importantly to the suits, easy to market (check out my recent review for the full picture). The arc experienced by Blu Hunt’s Danielle Moonstar in The New Mutants is as satisfying as you’ll see in any film, period. The antagonist (there are two, but you’ll know which one I am referencing) is as compelling as any in the MCU short of The Winter Soldier. The characters are exceedingly likable, even the ones that aren’t supposed to be. The visual effects are as stunning as we would expect in a Marvel-produced film. The X-Men universe is nicely expanded upon and the movie sets up several interesting potential directions for a sequel. There are of number of callbacks to X-Men: Apocalypse and Logan that point to bigger things for The New Mutants. That is, if they figure out a way to blend these characters into the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you like comic book movies, stop what you are doing and go watch it. If you don’t like comic book movies, this is still a worthy film I guarantee will stay with you long after the credits roll. The production and release were both famously muddled by the messy corporate slog of the Disney/Fox merger. Don’t let that scare you away. In a cinematic landscape flush with superhero movies content to give us the same things over and over, The New Mutants is a breath of fresh air. It’s far and away my favorite superhero movie of 2020. I won’t spoil it here, but I wrote down the final line from the film and I intend to incorporate it into my own life moving forward. Write me after you see the film and let me know if you had the same reaction.
The New Mutants receives a 9/10 for both those who do and don't typically enjoy comic book movies although it’s head-scratching that they didn’t cast an Afro-Brazilian actor to portray Sunspot.
Hellboy II – The Golden Army and Blade II have a lot in common. Both are directed by the inimitable Guillermo Del Toro inheriting an existing property boasting a good, some would say excellent, first offering. In both cases Del Toro employs his very specific, sprawling fantasy vision to create a sequel that bests the original in most every way. The connections to Blade II don’t end there. Just as Luke Goss played the physically and psychologically imposing Nomak in that film, Goss here inhabits the equally frightening Prince Nuada. Nuada, like Nomak, is no mustache twirling villain (even if the theatricality of both performances is unmistakable). Goss’ antagonist in both films is at least equally compelling to that of the protagonist. He has a knack for playing these outwardly odious but justifiably angry villains. Nuada and Nomak carry the depth and weight of character where even though you know they must be defeated, you can’t help but sympathize with their plight. This is how villains should be written. I’m the biggest Guillermo Del Toro fanboy you’ll ever meet and thus may be a bit biased, but is there another director with two sequels under their belt better than the original? Sequels where the director wasn’t even involved the first time around? It’s not like sequels are known for their quality. Hellboy II is just pure fun. Not unlike Wesley Snipes with the Blade character (in the first two movies, we won’t speak of the god-awful third film), it’s obvious that Ron Perlman is having an absolute blast. He was born to play Hellboy. The makeup and prosthetics smack of the OG 1990 TMNT film - viewers will quickly forget that the star of the film is a guy in a suit. He’s just...Hellboy. Ditto for Doug Jones’ Abe Sapien. Del Toro chose to work on this film for a reason. His eye for the weirdly beautiful and macabre lends itself, well, beautifully to films of this type that allow him to go nuts and take full advantage of his unceasing imagination. The CGI of this 2008 film also holds up quite well. It’s a shame that doubling the production budget at the box office wasn’t enough for a Hellboy III. Instead we got a Hellboy reboot that no one asked for (or went to see).
Hellboy II receives a score of 8/10 for general audiences and a 9/10 for Del Toro fans. It’s a feast for the eyes from first frame to last.