The Spectator ● June 16, 2014
Page 19
Arts and Entertainment Movie
Yuchen Jin / The Spectator
Another X-Men Movie, And Still Going Strong
By Jenny Jiang with additional reporting by Joseph Han The first scene of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” is immediately action-packed—Sentinels, futuristic robots designed to target and destroy mutants, are shown battling the mutants, seemingly the last few standing. Because of this mutant genocide, Wolverine (whose real name is Logan), played by Hugh Jackman, has to travel back to 1973 to prevent the real cause of the Sentinels’ destruction: Mystique’s capture. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is a shapeshifter who is the key to the robots’ power to adapt to each of the mutant’s powers. Time travel here is complicated; traveling to the past means jumping into one’s former body and forcing
the past and present mind to collide, and Logan is the only one physically up to the task. Occasionally, Logan’s future knowledge catches up to his past self, leading to flashbacks from some of the past movies and giving viewers some context. “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” which contains a clash of the casts of “X-Men: First Class” and the first three X-Men movies, features almost all of the characters in the aforementioned movies, though many of them have been reduced to smaller roles. I always expect the actors to faithfully portray their characters, but every time I see them in action, I am repeatedly awestruck. The cast’s smooth interactions with each other make the movie more memorable, and they really bring out the themes
in the movie, such as knowing one’s purpose in life. Lawrence, for example, clearly illustrates the identity crisis Mystique is having, on whether she should follow Charles’s path or Magneto’s path more closely. Charles grew up with her and was one of her best friends, while Magneto had more radical thoughts and held greater admiration for her mutant abilities. Lawrence easily shows the frustrated side of Mystique as well as her struggle with her choice, sometimes rejecting both of their opinions altogether or alternating between the two. I was confused, however, by new characters like Blink and Bishop. They were a couple of mutants in the brief fighting scenes against the Sentinels and were heavily advertised before the movie premiere, but none of them played a major role in the movie. Though this was a little disappointing to fans anticipating their involvement in the film, these minor characters do not deter from the plot of the film. X-Men movies always contain a few laughs, and in one particular scene, a minor character named Quicksilver, with the power of super speed, is featured as he helps Magneto escape from prison. Played by Evan Peters, this last-minute addition to the movie adds great comedic relief, probably becoming the funniest scene ever in the X-Men movies. The song “Time in a Bottle” plays in the background, and aptly cap-
tures Quicksilver’s lighthearted personality and his ease with using his powers. For the audience of people who might be watching an XMen movie for the first time, it will be hard to follow what’s happening for the first half of the movie. First, the mutants and their special abilities might not be familiar. One might accidentally confuse Sunspot with the Human Torch from Fantastic 4, for example. However, new viewers will eventually catch up, at least to the general idea behind mutants in a mostly human world, because they can try to understand the movie’s storyline. Second, the backgrounds of the characters seem to be missing important parts, which is confusing, but can be disregarded, as the plot itself is more important. Still, the action-filled scenes and complex characters may help the first time viewer gain interest in watching these movies. Every X-Men movie has its moments of confusion or continuity issues, that really only long-time fans would question, but these films stray far from the comic book storylines, so uncertainty among those familiar with the comics is understandable. Perhaps the sequel to the movie will answer questions or clear up any potential inconsistencies. In fact, the next movie in the X-Men franchise is predicted to be coming out on May 27, 2016, and is called “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Comic
Dillon Wu / The Spectator
Zero Year: A New Beginning
By Geoffrey Luu The origin of DC Comics’ flagship hero Batman has been retold many times since his creation 75 years ago. Whether it was through comics, film, or television, most people have been exposed to the basics of the hero’s beginning, including the murder of his parents and his vow to rid Gotham City of crime. In June 2013, DC decided it was time to once again update the classic story; writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo were tasked with giving their year-long take on the rewritten early days of the Dark Knight. Snyder and Capullo’s 12issue saga, “Zero Year,” is split into three distinct arcs: “Secret City,” “Dark City,” and “Savage City.” The first of the three chronicles the events immediately following the return of billionaire orphan Bruce Wayne to his home in Gotham City. Having spent years after the murder of his parents abroad to train his mind and body, Wayne feels he is ready to begin a war on Gotham’s criminal under-
world, starting with the mysterious Red Hood Gang. In “Dark City,” Bruce, having adopted the Batman persona near the end of the previous arc, is now a fugitive from the Gotham police and faces the task of evading the authorities while stopping a new enemy: the Riddler, who aims to cause a city-wide blackout and assume total control of Gotham. The story is concluded in “Savage City,” in which Gotham has fallen into ruin under the Riddler’s authority and Batman must work with police lieutenant Jim Gordon to outsmart the Riddler and free Gotham. Though “Zero Year” seems reminiscent of the 1986 Frank Miller story “Batman: Year One,” often cited as the greatest Batman tale of all, the two origin stories could not be more different. The four-part “Year One” places great emphasis on specific significant moments that lead Bruce to become Batman, including his parents’ murder, his failed first attempt at crime-fighting, and a pivotal scene in which a bat crashes through his window and inspires Bruce to create the Batman identity. These moments are among the most widely known and oft-repeated in retellings of Batman’s origin, and they form the main similarities between “Year One” and “Zero Year.” It is not surprising that Snyder reuses them in “Zero Year,” though he approaches them from a different angle: assuming that readers are already somewhat familiar with the murder, Snyder offers only brief glimpses of it, instead focusing on its aftermath and effect on Bruce’s psyche, usually through his flashbacks and nightmares. In addition, more of Bruce’s precostumed crime fighting and his experience with the bat are
shown. This alternate presentation of Bruce’s development and journey towards becoming a hero gives us greater insight into his character, allowing us to understand and connect with him to a greater extent than with Miller’s version of the character. Snyder’s choices of the Red Hood Gang and the Riddler as the major villains of “Zero Year” are also very effective, since they are a perfect bridge between Batman’s commonplace underworld enemies and the infamous and eccentric members of his rogues’ gallery, including the chemically altered Joker and the shape shifting Clayface. Snyder’s writing actually surpasses Miller’s in terms of dialogue and relationships between characters. While Miller’s “Year One” provides a short and streamlined, yet still powerful, story, the added page count of “Zero Year” allows for lengthy but gripping interactions between Batman and those around him. The Red Hood Leader’s first meeting with Batman and the two scenes in which Batman and the Riddler question and analyze each other through riddles and cryptic hints are some of the best moments in “Zero Year.” Unfortunately, its plot hits some minor snags that impact the story’s pacing. Moments like our introduction to the first Batmobile are fun and exciting, but feel somewhat out of place because they don’t amount to much. The Batmobile has not been shown or mentioned since the first issue of “Dark City.” Still, most of Snyder’s narrative is solid, and it benefits greatly from artwork by Greg Capullo and the colorist known by the pseudonym FCO Plascencia. Capullo’s design for the young Batman’s costume is an
interesting combination of elements seen throughout Batman’s history: his purple wristlength gloves are identical to the pair worn by the character in his first appearance in 1939, while the design of his cowl mirrors the one seen in the 1990s “Batman: The Animated Series.” Suit design is not the only element of “Zero Year” to pay tribute to Batman’s early stories. Entire panels and pages are made to resemble iconic images from some of the character’s best known tales. The rest of the visuals are equally impressive, with Capullo delivering jaw-dropping action scenes often without any dialogue. Plascencia’s colors enhance the look of the series, especially in distinguishing between Bruce’s flashbacks and the present day. While the flashbacks have a faded and weathered look resembling early color films, present day scenes are characterized by a wide range of bright, vibrant colors to show a newer city and a younger hero. Snyder and Capullo’s “Zero Year” plays out exactly as a modern Batman origin story should: it successfully adds many new elements to the traditional story while also paying tribute to earlier versions, taking inspiration from 75 years’ worth of history. Despite the occasional snag in pacing, Snyder’s story and writing are fantastic, providing us with more insight into the mind of Batman than many writers did before him, while Capullo and Plascencia’s art never fails to impress. At 12 issues and over 460 pages in length, “Zero Year” may seem excessively long but serves as an excellent entry point for new readers interested in knowing more about Batman, and for longtime fans looking for a new spin on a decades-old tale.
Summer Calendar • The Mostly Mozart classical music festival will premiere with an Inuit-influenced piece (July 25 – Aug 23). • Missed JProm? Visit the 1942 Grand Banks schooner “Sherman Zwicker” for free at Pier 25 (June 15 – Oct 31). • The Celebrate Brooklyn festival includes dance and music concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell (June 4 – Aug 9). • Pride Week starts with a screening of “The Wizard of Oz” and ends with a concert and dance party (June 24 – 29). • 120 dragon-boat racing teams will compete at the J=Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (Aug 9 – 10). • See blues legends live at the Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival at Brookfield Place Plaza, right by Stuy (July 16 – 17). • BAM will be hosting their own R&B festival at MetroTech Center in Brooklyn (June 5 – Aug 7). • Take a trip to Coney Island for electronic music and a Mad Decent Block Party (8/9). • Catch the exhibitions of Roberto Coughi, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Camille Henrot, which all depart the New Museum on June 29. Keep an eye out for new exhibitions as well! • See the satiric work of postwar German artist Sigmar Polke at the MoMA (through Aug 3). • Decode beautiful works of Chinese calligraphy by Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang at the Met (through Aug 17). • There will be plenty of summer action movies and sequels to choose from this year, including “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “22 Jump Street,” “Transformers 4,” and the “Godzilla” reboot. Certainly don’t watch them for brain food. • The Spectator’s Lev Akabas calls “A Million Ways to Die In the West” juvenile but especially hilarious. • Coney Island’s new rollercoaster, the Thunderbolt, includes five types of inversions, including one designed to simulate weightlessness.
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