World Enough and Time

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a made-for-TV movie from 1998. I have in my time watched rather a lot of cheaply-made TV movies based on comics - Generation X and Doctor Strange come to mind - and this was so far the worst I couldn't believe it.

I mean, it's Nick Fury. One of my greatest childhood crushes - who grew up to be James Bond. Of course I always love him. Right?

David Hasselhof manages to make Fury half-thug and half-idiot. Not a cliche is spared in the plot or script, but that might not have been so bad if Fury had shown any depth of personality or vestige of charisma. He can't even chew a cigar convincingly.



Dum Dum Dugan had no red hair, no bowler hat, and, worst of all, no mustache. This is not a Dum Dum Dugan I can recognize.

Lisa Rinna as Countess Valentina de Allegra Fontaine was maybe the best thing about the movie - which isn't saying much, but she was nicely personable. Baron Strucker and his Nazi offspring were silly and boring.

Really, the best thing in the movie was the outer shots of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier in flight. Pretty cool. But then the interior shots were ghastly - shabby battleship interiors that made me think of the technology of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., made thirty-five years earlier.

I'm not Samuel Jackson's biggest fan, but his Nick Fury is a thousand times more interesting and admirable and believable.

And I still want to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role.

Okay, now I've had a good sleep, let me talk about The Avengers. The movie. And what a movie. You know, I really didn't think it would live up to my hopes and expectations, and it exceeded them.



My fears: that the plot would be thin, and hokey; that there'd be too many explosions and special effects, and too little storyline; that Black Widow would be marginalized.

Black Widow is not marginalized in any way, and she is wonderful, and she is true to the character in the comic - not made gentle or nice, but not demonized either. A strong, beautiful, powerful portrayal of a strong, beautiful, powerful character.

And the plot is thin, and hokey too, and that turns out to be a strength rather than a weakness. It's a sort of homage to the old aliens-conquer-Earth theme, which used to be a staple in comics but which seldom happens today. And it's combined with the "narcissistic villain who wants to rule the world" theme, and somehow Joss Whedon makes it work because he sees the joy in both themes and makes them convincing.

There are many explosions and special effects. The explosions did not bore me - I was caught up i the drama every time. And special effects? Best I've ever seen. I can't even think of a movie that comes close; the special effects in Thor were good, but not this good.

Of course I am prejudiced: I have loved these characters since childhood. But that could be a problem, too, because my Nick Fury isn't this Nick Fury, and the movie characters aren't the same as the comic book characters, and when it comes to character, a near miss can be worse than a total failure.

Not so. The characters were all what they should be. (One exception, maybe, but also not a problem.)

Okay. ( Specifics... )

I went to see The Hunger Games today with Pim and maaseru. Enjoyed it. Enjoyed it more than the book, in fact - the actors were very personable. As in the book, Cinna and Haymitch were the characters I liked best. And Rue. I liked the look they gave the universe - vaguely Nazi, vaguely Art Deco, touch of steampunk, and a convincing dollop of depression-era mining town.

Nicely done.

I also like seeing a protagonist who is a woman with a bow.

Went tonight to see the new movie version of Jane Eyre, which is and always has been one of my favourite books. There have been a lot of Jane Eyre movies now; my favourite version is the one in which Timothy Dalton plays Mr. Rochester. I like the George C. Scott version least, because the cut too much of the story - it was choppy.

Anyway, this is a good one. Moody. Mia Wasikowska really captures Jane's combination of protestant reserve and passionate heart. All the actors are fine; and Judi Dench is very loveable as Mrs. Fairfax, almost motherly; she tells Jane that Jane should have come to her instead of running away when the wedding with Rochester went bad. Some scenes seemed way too truncated, but they did succeed in making it fairly smooth while still cutting a lot. Only two bits jarred: in the scene when Jane comes back from Gateshead and Rochester is waiting for her at the style, they cut the punchline where she says "wherever you are is my home—my only home." I love that scene in the book, and I always think it her outspoken comment precipitated what followed.

I spent about half the movie trying to remember the name of the dog. (Pilot, if you're wondering.)

The did an interesting revision of the sequence of scenes. The movie starts about three quarters of the way through the book, where Jane runs away from Thornfield and finds herself at a crossroads; wanders through the moors and eventually ends at St. John Rivers' door. Then we get flashbacks. Then we get scenes of her live with the Rivers family. It worked rather well as a frame story.

The ending seemed very abrupt. No "Reader, I married him" lingering on events. It ends on a kiss. Nice. Beulah needed a kleenex.