Captain America: The First Avenger

(M) ★★★★

Director: Joe Johnston.

Cast: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci.

Military uniforms haven't been this lax since M*A*S*H*.

SUBTITLED as The First Avenger, this is in fact the last film before Marvel unleashes The Avengers, the much-anticipated superhero supergroup movie that will feature Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America (among others).

In order to do this, they needed to introduce Captain America - a prospect nearly as risky as hammer-weilding Norse god Thor. The reason for this is Cap has been seen as a jingoistic flag-waver at times in his lengthy comic book history, a problem compounded by the fact the US isn't everyone's favourite world superpower at the moment.

But at it's heart, Captain America has always been about truth and justice (to paraphrase half a line from rival comic company DC), as well as standing up to the bully and protecting freedom.

Thankfully, that's what this iteration of the shield-throwing superhero focuses on. The man who would be Cap, Steve Rogers (Evans) is a frail young man whose lack of physical prowess has seen him rejected five times by the American Army, which is fighting the Nazis in World War II.

Rogers is given a sixth-time-lucky opportunity by German-born scientist Abraham Erskine (Tucci), who fled Hitler and his henchman Johann Schmidt (Weaving) and came to America with a prototype of the Super Soldier Serum - a substance that will turn the ordinary troop into a superhuman fighting machine.

Erskine sees something unique in the spirited but scrawny Rogers and offers him the chance to take the serum and fulfill his dream of fighting for freedom... as Captain America.

In terms of big-budget spectacle, The First Avenger delivers, taking an old-school approach to create a rollicking adventure with a similar vibe to Raiders Of The Lost Ark, or one of Johnston's previous films, The Rocketeer.

Most of the effects work well, especially the much criticised "shrinking" of Evans to play the pre-serum Rogers, but don't watch this film in the poor-quality 3D that some cinemas have as it detracts from the polish of some of the action sequences.

Evans is great in what is effectively a dual-role and gets good support from Atwell, a well-accented Weaving (who is suitably menacing as Schmidt's alter-ego Red Skull), Tucci and Jones, with the latter two providing some handy comic relief.

The humourous touches are very welcome, helping to take some of the silliness out of the concept. His slightly ridiculous costume is introduced cleverly as Cap fulfills his duty selling war bonds, and the film trades well on the character's rich comic book past, including his original shield, his famous Hitler punch from issue #1, and a rag-tag team of sidekicks that is a composite of comic book units the Howling Commandos and the Invaders. (Sidenote: these sidekicks, which include a Brit, a Frenchmen, an Asian-American and an African-American, may seem like a stretch for political correctness or a way to temper the All-American nature of the hero but rest assured, they're all drawn from the original comics.)

The bonus with many of Marvel's key characters and backstories is the intriguing personality flaws and themes that come with them, and Captain America is no different. While his greater internal conflicts won't appear until The Avengers, he represents the importance of determination and integrity, as well as the ideal that power doesn't have to change a person - or a nation - for the worse.

It's not perfect - there are some unavoidably silly lines and moments - and how much you like the film will depend on how accepting you are of the character and his world, but Captain America's existing fanbase won't be disappointed.

Five movies into their new "cinematic universe" and Marvel have got a Pixar-like strike rate of four out of five (with Iron Man 2 the only disappointment). If this is only The First Avenger, then bring on the rest of them.

And don't forget to stick around after the end - the post-credits sequence will whet the appetite and make anyone looking forward to The Avengers hate even more the fact they'll have to wait 10 months to see it.

BlogalongaBond: Diamonds Are Forever

Way back in 2011, my favourite film critic The Incredible Suit figured out there were exactly the same amount of months preceding the release of Skyfall as there were Bond films. And thus BlogalongaBond was born, in which international film critics from around the world (hence the international bit) reviewed one Bond film a month until Skyfall dropped.

Being the top bloke that I am, I convinced my then-girlfriend (now wife) to take part in BlogalongaBond with me, seeing as how she hadn't seen a Bond film before, or couldn't remember having done so.

Me: Are you going to ask me why Sean Connery is back and what happened to George Lazenby?

Her: No.

Me: Go on.

Her: Ok. Why is Connery back and what happened to George?

Me: Well, Lazenby's agent told him that Bond was just a passing fad and not to sign on for an extended deal. And so the studio threw wheelbarrow-loads of money at Connery until he came back.

Her: Fascinating.

Me: You don't care, do you?

Her: Not really. I don't really care for Diamonds Are Forever. I don't care for it at all.

Me: At all?

Her: At all. That was the worst one so far... even worse than the one starring poor George. It started well and then just got progressively lamer and lamer.

Presenting Lame and Lamer.

Me: Agreed. It started so well though. The first non-Bond-like shot of a pretty Japanese table, which was soon smashed by a good fight scene, and Bond finally tracking down a fake Blofeld, and the set-up of the diamond smuggling plot - all that was really good. I was hooked in the first 10 minutes.

Her: Yes. And then it all just got incredibly silly. And stupid.

Me: True. Did the plot even make sense? I'm not sure that it did.

Her: No, I don't think so. I got lost and bored... like I was in the world's crappiest maze.

Me: Did you find any redeeming features?

Her: I really liked Mr Wint and Mr Kidd. They were good villains.

Me: Yes, they were entertaining. They were menacing but funny, even if they were perhaps a throwback to that era when homosexuals were considered scary and weird and something to be feared. One of them was named Bruce Glover and looked a bit like Crispin Glover... do you think they're related?

(A subsequent Google search revealed he's Crispin's dad.)

Her: Who cares? This movie was just rubbish. The moon buggy chase was ridiculous, the finale on the oil rig was lacklustre and Tiffany Case's outfit changed colours halfway through, and the subplot with the Howard Hughes-like guy was unnecessary and stupid. And Bambi and Thumper? Bambi and Thumper? What the hell?

Bambi and Thumper? Seriously?

Me: Yeah. Calling out who is going to attack in a fight is not tactically brilliant, is it?

Her: You know what else isn't tactically brilliant? Leading a car chase into a small carpark.

Me: I guess, but that stunt driving to get through the thin alleyway was pretty cool.

Her: Meh. I feel very underwhelmed by this film... not even vaguely whelmed.

Me: Oh come on, there were some good lines and moments amid the increasing lameness. What about the gag when they throw Plenty O'Toole out the window? Or Bond's line to O'Toole: "You must have been named after your father?"? Or the fight in the elevator?

Her: Ok, they were fine. But Plenty O'Toole was terrible, and Tiffany Case's character was much like the movie - started out being interesting and just became annoying.

Me: Fair call.

Her: Do we have to watch many more of these?

Me: Well, we've watched seven so we're about a third of the way there.

Her: Seriously?

Me: I thought you were enjoying them.

Her: I was, but the last two have been rubbish.

Me: That's no reason to write off the whole series. We've got the Roger Moore movies to come next, then Dalton, Brosnan and Craig.

Her: Fine, I'll keep watching. But they better get better than those last two.

BlogalongaBond will return in Live And Let Die.

Cars 2

(PG) ★★

Director: John Lasseter & Brad Lewis.

Cast: (voices) Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro.

Cool cars never look back at the explosion.

IT'S finally happened. Pixar's mythical run of great films is over.

Adding insult to injury is that it's come with a sequel that no one really wanted except the merchandise money counters - Cars is generally regarded as a good film, but certainly the runt of the Pixar litter.

It's hard to know where to start with this movie. It's a sequel to Cars in as much as it's set in the same alternate reality (ie. a world of inhabited entirely by vehicles) and the main characters return in varying amounts.

That's where the similarity ends. Cars 2 is a James Bond homage that focuses on first film sidekick Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) as the accidental secret agent in an environmentally fuelled tale of espionage, set against the backdrop of a tri-series car race that promotes a type of bio-diesel.

Meanwhile, some of the emotional themes fly in the face of the first film, in which NASCAR upstart Lightning McQueen is forced to slow his life down and adapt to the pace of rural life so as not to upset anyone (and learn some lessons about humility). Here the message is be yourself no matter what and don't change for anybody, even if you're being an ignorant laughing stock who's upsetting people (although there are some other lessons along the way but this is the main one).

Like an automobile, Cars 2 is cold and emotionless. It's also sadly humourless, unless your idea of a hilarious joke is "Japanese toilets are different to Western toilets" or wanting to see how far the film-makers can push the "cars do wacky human things" envelope.

With no heart to it, we're left with a so-so spy movie that bizarrely stars cars, in particular Mater. A decent sidekick and comic relief character in the first film, he becomes almost painful to endure as a lead, although the film does improve as he eventually comes into his own.

As you would expect with Pixar, Cars 2 looks spectacular, and there are some interesting ideas, such as the environmental theme and elements of the espionage parody, plus the ending is strong.

But overall it feels like three different movies welded together or - worst of all - that Pixar is running out of ideas. Even the pre-film short is a return visit from the Toy Story team (albeit a welcome comeback).

However, the presence of Woody and Buzz just serves to remind you of how good Pixar sequels can be, and how disappointing this one is.

BlogalongaBond: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Way back in 2011, my favourite film critic The Incredible Suit figured out there were exactly the same amount of months preceding the release of Skyfall as there were Bond films. And thus BlogalongaBond was born, in which international film critics from around the world (hence the international bit) reviewed one Bond film a month until Skyfall dropped.

Being the top bloke that I am, I convinced my then-girlfriend (now wife) to take part in BlogalongaBond with me, seeing as how she hadn't seen a Bond film before, or couldn't remember having done so.

Her: I want those two hours of my life back.

Me: That bad?

Her Oh yeah. So bad.

Me: Was it George? Are you just pining for Sean?

Her: No, it was nothing to do with George. He did a good job with what he had to work with. Unfortunately, what he had to work with was a steaming plate of poo. And he had to eat it.

Me: That's a horrible mental image.

Her: I know, but that movie was bad. It was a total stinking plate of poo.

Me: Oh come on, there must have been something you liked about it.

Her: That car race/chase was pretty cool. And I thought some of the fights were better. Lazenby really threw himself into those - I think you can tell he was a better fighter than Connery.

Me: Well, Lazenby would probably beat Connery in a fight, but I really disliked a lot of the early fight scenes. I thought the Bond movies had evolved past the point of speeding up footage and editing it choppily to make it look more action-packed, but obviously not.

Her: Well, either way, I've got to say - and I hate to admit this because you'll probably put it on the bloody internet - but I had no idea what the plot was and what was going on. I mean, why was Bond following Tracy around? Why was she wandering off into the water? Why did her dad want to pay Bond to marry her? And what was Bond doing for the whole film? I mean, what was the bloody point of it all?

"Has anyone found the bloody point of all this?"

Me: It did feel like the film started part-way through something and never told us explicitly what it was. As far as I can work out, Bond was keeping an eye on the suicidal/crazy Tracy in the hopes of ingratiating himself with her dad so that he would spill what he knew about Blofeld, who Bond had been trying to catch since the end of You Only Live Twice. At least I think that's what was going on.

Her: Well, I didn't get that. It was nonsensical.

Me: Yeah I don't think the script fit together very well at the start. And while that is a big problem with the film, I think the biggest problem was that it didn't feel like a Bond film. They make an effort, particularly in the rubbish opening titles, to reference the previous films, then the film-makers turn OHMSS into a quasi-reboot for the new guy. It took 90 minutes before it started to feel like a 007 adventure. I mean, the final 30 minutes are really good, but it was as if they got to the end and realised they'd forgotten they were making a Bond film and crammed all the action and Bond-ness into the final act with a ski pursuit, an avalanche, a car race, and a toboggan duel.

Her: Yeah, it's very un-Bond. I mean, what the hell was the go with that "falling in love" montage in the middle of the film? I nearly puked in my popcorn. And since when does Bond get married? That's not Bond!

Me: Agreed. His previous womanising seemed fine because he didn't have a girlfriend, but by having him fall for Tracy then go and shag a chalet of shielas just makes him a cheating bastard.

Her: Mind you, I didn't think much of Tracy... or any of Blofeld's mind-controlled hussies. Once again, the Bond girls were a disappointment.

Me: Another disappointing aspect was that they seemed to be "hazing the new guy".

Her: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I think the costume department were picking on Lazenby a lot. Connery got all these awesome outfits and he always looked great. Lazenby gets some really shabby suits, a pale blue ski suit, lots of frills, and a kilt. A freaking kilt! And the script made him act kind of gay for a bit. There's nothing wrong with being gay but that's not Bond! He's a real man's man... wait, that sounds gay too....

Her: If they were really hazing Lazenby that would have made him dress as a woman.

Me: That would have clinched it. I'm surprised they didn't.

"Well, I'm not wearing any underwear. What about you ladies?"

Her: Poor George. I liked him, but he really got dumped with a rough deal here. I would have liked to have seen him do a more traditional-style Bond film.

Me: I thought he lacked charisma. That's the one thing Bond really needs, but Lazenby didn't have it.

Her: Whatever you think about George, you have to agree at least he was better than the new Blofeld.

Me: True. Telly Savalas was way too smug and nowhere near malevolent enough.

Her: And where did his scar go? And his accent? Wait a minute - they should have recognised each other from having met during You Only Live Once... but I guess they both look different in this one... but they're supposed to be the same guy... holy crap... I think my brain is about to explode.

Me: There's a really cool fan theory that James Bond isn't so much a person but a position in MI6 - hence the different-looking Bonds over the years. And I guess Blofeld could be the same - he's just a different Number One who takes on Blofeld's name and mantle.

Her: Stop talking. My brain hurts.

Me: Okay. But did you know this is actually a really highly regarded Bond film?

Her: What? How? Why? That was rubbish - the worst one so far by a long way.

Me: I don't think it's a total waste of time, but it does feel like they've tried to get away from the over-the-top nature of the previous films and have gone too far the other way, replacing the over-the-top-ness with bland-ness.

Her: My popcorn was more interesting.

BlogalongaBond will return in Diamonds Are Forever.

X-Men: First Class

(M) ★★★★

Director: Matthew Vaughn.

Cast: James McEvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones.

"Wait, we can't all look into the middle distance in this band photo."

YET another superhero movie... but hold your groans, people - this one is pretty damned good.

One of the best things about this prequel to the Hugh Jackman-starring X-Men series is that it almost wipes away the bad memories of the dire X3 and the average X-Men Origins: Wolverine, returning the franchise to the glory days of its first two films.

But that is not what makes it great, it's just an added bonus. The important ingredients here are the same as in any film - a great cast, a well-paced script that doesn't treat its audience like idiots, some deeper ideas and themes, and a welcome amount of dramatic tension.

The key to First Class is the relationship between Charles Xavier/Professor X (McEvoy) and Erik Lersherr/Magneto (Fassbender) - something hinted at in the previous films but fleshed out further here.

While Professor X is hoping for a world where super-powered mutants can live in harmony with humans, Magneto is distrustful of humans and believes mutants to be superior beings. This dichotomy is displayed brilliantly thanks to the sharp screenplay and the skills of McEvoy and Fassbender, and even though we know where these characters end up, seeing how they get there is deeply satisfying.

Their meeting and subsequent falling out is played out against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis, orchestrated in this alternate reality by ex-Nazi mutant Sebastian Shaw (Bacon). As the CIA grapples with the revelation that mutants walk among us, it's up to a fledgling team of genetic aberrations to save the day and stop Shaw's plan of starting World War III between the US and the USSR.

As with any origin story, there is a lot to cover, and First Class sets up everything elegantly and swiftly. While many of the characters are merely powered cyphers (Azazel, Emma Frost, Havok, Darwin, Angel, Banshee and Riptide), the likes of Mystique, Beast, Shaw, Professor X and Magneto are well fleshed out, with the latter two being incredibly intriguing characters as the younger counterparts of what Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan would produce later.

X-Men's main appeal has always been its bevy of specifically souped-up humanoids, and the cast of characters on display here, along with their CG-aided powers, don't disappoint. But the comic book's underlying themes of prejudice, bigotry, civil rights and fear - so effectively used in the first two films - are the heart of these stories, and First Class doesn't forget that. While some comic fans will be disappointed by the major tweaking of the source material - Banshee isn't Irish, Mystique's backstory is altered, Moira McTaggart isn't Scottish, the original X-Men line-up differs dramatically - the best suggestion is for you to check your inner Comic Book Guy at the door and revel in the way this plays into the existing X-Men movie universe.

There are flaws - Jones' acting is sub-par, there's a weirdly edited training montage, and a few cases of bad-action-movie-style dialogue, but for the most part this is pacy, punchy, smart and filled with memorable moments - including a great two-word cameo from a much-loved mutant. First Class passes with flying colours.

BlogalongaBond: You Only Live Twice

Way back in 2011, my favourite film critic The Incredible Suit figured out there were exactly the same amount of months preceding the release of Skyfall as there were Bond films. And thus BlogalongaBond was born, in which international film critics from around the world (hence the international bit) reviewed one Bond film a month until Skyfall dropped.

Being the top bloke that I am, I convinced my then-girlfriend (now wife) to take part in BlogalongaBond with me, seeing as how she hadn't seen a Bond film before, or couldn't remember having done so.

Me: I actually hadn't seen that one before.

Her: I thought you'd seen them all.

Me: A couple may have slipped by me during my teenage years... those were crazy times.

Her: Didn't you live on a farm as a teenager and mostly sit in your room and listen to Nirvana?

Me: Crazy times....

Her: Anyway, did you like You Only Live Twice?

Me: Absolutely. I think it's up there with Thunderball and Goldfinger as being one of the best Bond films. It's got a good script in particular, written by Roald Dahl, don't you know?

Her: Yes, I knew that.

Me: Really?

Her: It was in the opening credits.

Me: Oh yeah. Were you intrigued that the guy who wrote Charlie & The Chocolate Factory wrote a Bond film?

Her: I guess... I think I did a "hmmm... interesting" nod.

Me: Ok... so, did you like You Only Live Twice?

Her: Yeah. Absolutely. What you said.

Me: What did you like about it?

Her: Well, I liked the helicopter battle and the bit where the helicopter picked up the car with a magnet and Little Nellie.

Me: They're all things to do with helicopters.

Her: Oh, and I liked the ninjas.

Me: You liked the ninjas and the helicopters? What are you - a 10-year-old boy?

Ninja attack!

Her: Ok, ok. But those bits were awesome - when the ninjas suddenly materialised on the volcano, it was a cool moment.

Me: And I have to agree the helicopter battle was quite spectacular, a few dodgy shots aside and the fact Connery looked kind of stupid with his crash helmet and his little yellow autogyro.

Her: Because a crash helmet's going to save your life when that thing falls out of the sky.

Me: True. He didn't seem to have a parachute on either.

Her: Speaking of parachutes, is it just me or was Helga's method for attempting to kill Bond incredibly stupid?

Me: Yeah, that section of the film didn't work. Helga captures Bond and threatens to peel his face off, then Bond works the mojo and she tricks him into getting on a plane with her before trapping him in the plane and parachuting out as it crashes.

Her: Trapping him with a piece of four by two, no less.

Me: Indeed. Not the most efficient way of killing a super-spy.

Her: Another thing that bugged me was the Bond girls. They were... kind of unneccessary.

Me: Obviously there has to be a love interest...

Her: ... you mean a "lust" interest...

Me: ... so the Bond girls are necessary to an extent. And Aki did save Bond's life about three times. But, agreed, Helga was pretty useless. And I don't think it was necessary for 007 to actually marry Kissy.

Her: I did like that wedding scene though. I always enjoy the culture-ish bits in the Bond movies.

A "culture-ish bit" in You Only Live Twice.

Me: What? Sumos raising their legs and showing off their notchas wasn't culture-ish enough for you?

Her: I was trying to block that from my memory. Thanks a lot.

Me: Sorry. Anyway... how about the rest of the positives? I think the script is really good - a few plot-holes aside - and the set design is fantastic. The Osato office, Blofeld's lair, the volcano rocket-launch pad, Tiger Tanaka's home... it all looked amazing.

Her: Agreed. The direction was pretty good too, as was the cinematography.

Me: I thought I was the film reviewer - aren't I supposed to say those things?

Her: Oh... sorry. Would you like to mention something movie snobbish, say about the score or something?

Me: Oh yeah. I'm not much of a fan of the theme song but I liked the bit of the soundtrack in the final rocket pre-launch sequence... it was in a really cool Propellerheads song.

Her: That didn't sound movie snobbish.

Me: Sorry. How about "the pacing of the film was excellent, particularly the opening act, and the dialogue really sizzled in places, giving the film a comedic edge that pushed it above the previous installments"?

Her: That's much better. There were some good lines... amid the groan-worthy ones. I hope it doesn't get any cheesier though.

Me: Just what until Roger Moore takes over.

Her: Oh dear. What's the next guy like?

Me: To be honest, I haven't seen all of On Her Majesty's Secret Service so I can't fully appraise George Lazenby's performance. But he's an Australian, so that's something.

Her: I've got to say I'm a bit nervous about a Bond film without Connery. But it's ok - I'm kind of hoping there's a crap one soon so these blogs will get more interesting.

PS. Can you believe we made it all the way through without mentioning how unconvincing Sean Connery is as a Japanese man?

BlogalongaBond will return in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Fast Five

(M) ★★★½

Director: Justin Lin.

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Joaquim de Almeida.

The argument about who used the last of the baby oil spilled out into the street.

THERE'S a formula to the Fast & Furious series: hot cars, hot women and... well... that's about it.

The first film succeeded because it felt fresh with its cops-versus-street-racers set-up, but interest waned until Diesel returned to re-fuel the tank for the fourth installment.

Now we have F&F5, but before you yawn, hear this: it may well be the best one of the series so far.

It picks up where F&F4 left off, with ex-cop Brian O'Conner (Walker) and his buddies freeing Dominic Toretto (Diesel) from a prison bus and going on the lam to Rio de Janiero.

Unable to resist the temptation, Brian, Dom and Dom's sister Mia take a job stealing cars from a train, which lands them in the crosshairs of Brazilian crimelord Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida) as well as some American agents (led by Dwayne "No Longer The Rock" Johnson).

Where F&F5 gets interesting is when it effectively becomes an Oceans film, embracing the heist genre to excellent effect. By bringing together a who's who of the previous four films, facing them off against two sets of antagonists, and throwing in a bank job unlike any you've ever seen before, the film-makers have found a way to re-inflate the series' tyres while giving it a new paint job at the same time.

In taking a new tack (which was starting to happen in the previous film), the F&F team have also broadened the appeal of the series. No longer just an extended piece of car porn for rev-heads, the movies are becoming broader action capers that finally put the characters and their situation ahead of the shiny automobiles.

Don't go looking for anything particularly deep beneath the sleek exterior though. A few moments saluting the importance of family - whether you're brought together by blood or a thirst for crime - are the only relief from the action, which is wall-to-wall.

But that's what you go to a film like this for - the foot-to-the-floor adrenaline - and that's why this succeeds. The final heist is a ripper, the opening car-vs-train set-piece is very cool, and the favelas of Rio once again prove to be the perfect setting for some running and gunning.

It's big, loud, dumb, over-the-top and mostly substanceless. But it works, perhaps better than ever before.