Not an NHL Story

I was going to write about the end of the NHL strike, which appears to be finally over. I woke up Sunday morning to ‘”tentative deal has been reached” so I guess that’s that. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems both sides are signing off on a deal that could have been struck months ago.

What a horrible way to treat its fan base.

So I decided to write about super hero movies instead, especially since I finally got around to watching Spider-Man 3 the other day. It was horrible, too, though not in the crappy kind of horrible that is the hockey lockout.

Watching this over-wrought, melodramatic flick (Spider-Man 3, not the NHL strike) helped me really understand why Marvel felt they needed to re-boot the franchise, though I don’t blame Tobey Maguire as much as the writers.

There are so many scenes that are cringe-worthy that it’s hard to pick out one. But I will anyway. During the movie’s climax Peter is listening to a teary-eyed Sandman explain why he shot Uncle Ben years before – “I forgive you,” Parker says – while Harry Osborne slowly dies one girder below.

The move’s ‘jump the shark’ moment may have arrived earlier, actually, with a Venom-influenced Peter Parker strutting down the street like a pimp with bad hair. Time to fire up the re-boot.

But was it the worst modern super hero movie ever made?  It’s certainly in my top three, along with Fantastic Four and Batman and Robin, with Green Lantern not far behind. Catwoman has to rank high on that list as well.

Thankfully there are enough bad comics-based movies that I don’t have to include Daredevil, which is good because there are so many brilliant Man Without Fear stories that an awesome movie is out there, waiting to be written.

Ben Affleck’s turn in the role just wasn’t one of them.

The best super hero movies list was a little more difficult, because there are quite a few excellent films.

 Just missing the top three on my list (honourable mention, let’s call them) is two Batman movies (the first, from 1989, and Batman Begins, the first Christian Bale effort); Spider-Man 1 and 2 (just to show I have nothing against Tobey Maguire) as well as the re-booted Amazing Spider-Man; and the first two X-Men movies.

But stepping on the podium at number three is Iron Man, which shows you what excellent casting (take a bow Robert Downey Jr) and great special effects can do.

At number two is The Dark Knight. What can I say? Just a brilliant, dark movie filled with strong performances. This was Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning role and his last; as the actor died six months before the film was released.

The best super hero movie ever made, however, was The Avengers. An awesome way to spend 143 minutes. Much hyped, the movie delivered on all its promises. Considering the star-studded ensemble case, that’s no easy task.

There. That was a lot more fun than writing about the NHL strike.