Fear The Walking Dead: A First Look!

So Fear The Walking Dead, is it any good? Well, yes, yes it is. It's far from the finished article and it's not quite up to the standard of its parent show The Walking Dead but still, it's very good and it's still better than most other tv shows. The trouble is that The Walking Dead has set such high standards that trying rank something alongside it is near impossible. It's almost like trying to compare a footballer to Lionel Messi! Of course, there is little else to compare Fear The Walking Dead to considering a) both shows are by the same people, b) they are both about the same subject matter and c) they are both set in the same universe. Sure, the time lines are slightly different but the fact that both shows occupy the same universe is pretty much inescapable. In terms of the timeline difference, Fear is set around the time that Rick Grimes is in a coma somewhere near Atlanta. Remember those strange coma visions Rick has right at the start, where civilisation is breaking down? Well here we get to witness it in all its glory and its not pretty.

The first episode is strange in that it's not what you'd expect a premiere to be. There are no big set-pieces, no hoards of walkers tearing apart a horse, infact theres very little walker action at all. This is a continuation of The Walking Dead so it doesn't really need to start fast, it can afford to take its time especially when you consider that it's already bagged a second season order. Also, the fact that its set right at the beginning of what we already know is to come means that a certain amount of care is needed. This is an apocalypse at ground level, where rumour and conspiracy is rife. A world where shaky YouTube footage of a walker attack heralds a world to come. The world we've become accustomed to in The Walking Dead is a world where danger lurks around every corner and Fear is perhaps a victim of that, more so in the first episode. It's also strange seeing a living, breathing cityscape, Los Angeles providing the setting.

One of L.As first walkers begins to rise...

Another thing we've become accustomed to in regards to The Walking Dead is the slow burn episode. The series has utilised this tool many times and it seems like it will become a feature of Fear The Walking Dead too. While the first episode is slow, the second episode notches things up a gear as civilisation begins to break down. It's quick and it's brutal as the lights of L.A. begin to go out.

The cast is quite strong although it's perhaps too early to root for any of them just yet. They are all fairly likeable though and the seeds of character development are already being sown. It's clear that we will see a hard development with some of them. They are seeing a new world emerge with different rules where its all about survival and family. The theme of family and protecting those close to you is something which becomes evident in the second episode as Madison (the mother) prevents her daughter from helping a neighbour for fear that she will get bitten. I personally questioned the use of fear in the title but it's clear how that one word is central to the whole show. This is a world where people don't really know what they are dealing with. Fear seeps from the characters and it effects everything they do.

The two leads (Madison and Travis) attempt to find answers

All in all, despite a slow start to the series, it looks like it will be a strong companion show to The Walking Dead. Despite the different setting and different characters, this is still very much a Walking Dead series and so die hard fans should be satisfied. Because it begins at the start of the 'zombie uprising' it should also introduce new viewers to The Walking Dead universe. No prior reading of comic book source material is required here and you can actually watch it as a stand alone series as opposed to a summer Walking Dead fill in.

Ant-Man - A Spoilerish Review

Ant-Man, not the most convincing name for a superhero is it. Of course, in a universe that includes a Norse God and his psychotic brother, a super soldier from WWII and a guy who turns green when he's angry, a shrinking man should fit right in! Ant-Man was a film I personally had a lot of hopes for because he seemed like a different superhero to any we've had before. Scott Lang (brilliantly played by Paul Rudd) is a man down on his luck. He's not got money, he's a man split from his daughter and having to watch her be brought up by an unlikable cop. He's a pitiful human being with one specific skill set, he can break into places and that is why Hank Pymm (Michael Douglas) picks him to become Ant-Man. Readers of the comic book will be aware that Hank Pymm was the first Ant-Man, a brilliant scientist who creates a formula for shrinking

Scott Lang becomes Ant-Man

organic matter. He then uses the formula within a suit so he can shrink and grow at will in order to fight crime. Within the film, Hank Pymms time as Ant-Man is explored which I loved because it adds further mythos to the Marvel universe. It was also a way of linking Ant-Man with SHIELD and we were treated to a cameo by an aged Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter! Another 'cameo' within the film was Falcon (Anthony Mackie) during a fight atop the roof of the new Avengers headquarters with our titular hero. Although this scene had been rumoured, it was still a nice surprise and a great shout out to the wider Marvel universe. All in all, Ant-Man was a fine way to end to Phase 2 of the MCU and it was also up there with the best of the MCU films we've had so far (on a par with the superb Guardians of the Galaxy IMO).

CASTING

The casting was pretty much spot-on really. Paul Rudd was a great choice for Scott Lang and an inspired piece of casting in many ways. He's still best known perhaps for playing Mike Hannigan in friends (despite only staring in 18 episodes and the show ending 12 years ago) as well as mainly comedic roles since. Although the role of Scott Lang clearly isn't meant as an absolutely serious role, Rudd displays enough to make the character believable. 

Michael Douglas is...well...very Michael Douglas as Hank Pymm. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing because it's not, not in this case. Pymm is obviously only required to bring Ant-Man into a modern setting and to link elements together and he does it extremely well. It's a role which doesn't require much effort and a role which will likely be reduced as the MCU rumbles on.

As a pretty huge fan of Lost I already knew Evangeline Lilly and she is great as Hope Van Dyne (Hank Pymms daughter) here. She displays enough metal and is a welcome female character to an MCU largely dominated by the guys. It is fairly obvious that she will become a mainstay within the MCU following a mid-credits sequence that alludes to her becoming Wasp (a role previously held by her late mother).

Corey Stoll is basically a paint-by-numbers badguy as Darren Cross (Yellow Jacket). He's Ant-Mans Obadiah Stane in that he's rounded enough to make a convincing one-film baddie but that's about it. 

PLOT

Ant-Man takes on Yellow-Jacket

Ant-Man is essentially a heist movie with the plot revolving round Cross wanting to use the Ant-Man technology to build an army of Yellow Jackets. In terms of origin story, Ant-Man differs from many superhero origin tales in that it doesn't actually feel like the beginning of something. It feels like we're coming in to a story half way through which is no bad thing. The MCU is now twelve movies long so really, we shouldn't be getting any origin stories, at least not what we got in phase 1. With Ant-Man we get a film which has a history to it, a superhero who has a time long before the beginning of the film. Scott Lang may take up the Ant-Man mantle in this movie but Hank Pymm was Ant-Man long before the world had heard of Iron-Man. 

As for the actual plot, it's good and holds its own. Ant-Man is required for a specific purpose rather than a purpose being required for him to exist. If Captain America was the war movie and Thor was the fantasy epic then this is the good old heist caper and that is what Marvel does so well with its movies. Rather than adopting a one size fits all policy as could quite easily have been the case, each hero stands alone and as a consequence their solo movies are very different thematically. 

STAND OUT MOMENTS

Thomas the Tank Engine makes his entrance

The outstanding moment for me was the most unlikeliest of cameos by a certain Thomas the Tank Engine. I will never look at that blue train the same ever again without giggling to myself!

As with many of the Marvel films, Ant-Man begs you to stay seated once the credits start rolling because it features both a mid and post credits scene. The mid credits scene involves Hope Van Dyme and Hank Pymm in a touching father/daughter moment that should have comic enthusiasts squeeling with delight. The Wasp is imminent! The post credits scene features Steve Rodgers (Captain America), Sam Wilson (Falcon) and a certain Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) and is clearly designed to set up Captain America: Civil War. 

CONCLUSION

All in all Ant-Man is one of the stronger Marvel films and it's actually better than the recent Avengers: Age of Ultron. It reminded me of Guardians of the Galaxy in many ways because not many expected it to be as good as it ultimately is. Because of the lack of any real expectation, Ant-Man excels. It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and it's a film which doesn't take itself very seriously. It's clear that the main cast had a ball while making the film with Rudd obviously enjoying himself. On its own, as a solo outing, Ant-Man is brilliant and a great summer film. As part of the wider MCU it stands tall and begs to be offered the same respect as the more established franchises such as Iron Man or Captain America. A typically enjoyable romp! 

Doctor Who Rewind - Series 1 - The Last of the Timelords

On the 26th March 2005 (10 years ago) a modern audience was introduced to a very modern Doctor. Now, as we await the start of series 9, I'm going to be taking a closer look at each series since. Since Christopher Ecclestone we've had four other actors in that iconic role! Four very different Doctors. So, here to kick things off is my look at Series one and a Doctor who was presumed to be the last of the Timelords.

The Doctor

A modern Doctor for a
modern auidience

Christopher Ecclestone was an inspired choice to play The Doctor and it's perhaps questionable whether many other actors could've pulled it off. Yes, he only stayed in the TARDIS for one solitary series but still, what a Doctor he gave us. He was modern Doctor for a modern world, a Doctor as human as he'd ever been whilst still retaining that alien quality. He was a timelord not to be messed with, a Doctor with the weight of the unseen Timewar on his shoulders. Because we hadn't seen the timewar, because we hadn't seen what the Doctor did to end it, it gave him a mystery that truly begged the question Doctor who? 

The Companion

A modern series of Doctor Who required a modern companion and it got

A companion we could all relate to.

that in Rose. She was a girl brought up by a single mother on a council estate. She worked 9-5 in a department store and had a jack-the-lad boyfriend. Essentially she carried elements we all could relate to, even The Doctor! The death of her father when she was still a baby gave her a tragic side and meant she was more of an equal to The Doctor rather than just a plain old companion. 

Other Passengers in the TARDIS

Captain Jack would prove a hit. 

As well as Rose, the mysterious Captain Jack Harkness spent some time in the TARDIS. Although his morality was in question during his debut episode (Empty Child), he quickly became a well liked and heroic member of the TARDIS team. He was a character who made such an impression that he earned himself his own spin-off (Torchwood) as well as more appearances in Doctor Who! 

Another character who was invited to join the TARDIS crew was young Adam Mitchell. Apparently he was written in to show viewers how not to be a companion which is why he was quickly 'uninvited' from the TARDIS. He made poor choices but even so, he remains as a character who could've been a great companion given the chance. 

Stand Out Episode

This opening series of the modern version of Doctor Who is filled with great episodes. Rose was a great opening to the show and introduced the mysterious man in his blue box perfectly. Dalek saw the return of the Doctors biggest foe as well as revealing that now they know how to climb stairs! It also gave us more of an insight into the last great time war. In Fathers Day we learned what would happen if you could prevent a loved one from dying as Rose traveled back to save her father. The finale was a great end to the series pitting the Doctor against the Daleks as well as giving us our first regeneration of the modern era.

"Everybody Lives!"

 The standout episodes (because there are two) are The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances written by a little known writer by the name of Steven Moffat. Both episodes are fantastic in how they hail back to the 'hide behind your sofa' days of classic Who. Never before has the line "Are you my mummy?" been so scary! The storyline is fairly complicated and mysterious as you'd expect a Steven Moffat episode to be. Lets not forget that in this Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, some of the most terrifying episodes were written by Moffat (Blink anyone?). The Empty Child also introduced us to the irrepressible Captain Jack Harkness, a true fan favourite of modern Who. One of it's finest moments though comes at the end of The Doctor Dances. This is when Christopher Ecclestone truly announces himself as the Doctor when he proclaims "Everybody lives Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!". It's apparent that the Doctor needs this day, a day when he manages to save everyone and it's plain that a little of that weight on his shoulders has been lifted!

Story Arc

The overall story arc is good although it's not really plain to see until we get to the finale. Then we learn why we kept seeing BADWOLF throughout the series. Because it is the first series of modern WHO though, it's not really about the overall story arc. That's just something to tie everything together, to give some meaning behind certain events. This series is all about us, the viewer, getting to know the Doctor. For those of us who weren't really around during the classic series it was a chance for us to learn who this mysterious man was. For long time Whovians it was a chance to get reaquained with an old friend. It was new enough to appeal to a modern audience while retaining certain elements which gave it its cult following in the first place.  

Final Word

All in all this was a good introduction (or reintroduction) to Doctor Who. There was enough to get a new viewer hooked as well as retaining enough of the original to please older viewers. Christopher Eccleston proved to be an excellent choice for the Doctor and he kinda set the bar pretty high for those who have since followed. Billie Piper made the transition from cheesy pop star to actress seamlessly and there's little wonder that Rose is often charted highly in greatest companion polls.