Retrospective 2011 - Part 3

While May ushered in the summer season, things really got out of control in June and July with the release of two more Marvel movies, one from DC, the third Transformers, a direct to video movie tie in and a new live action series. 

X-Men: First Class

After X2, the X-Men franchise had been on the downward slide until X-Men: First Class attempted to reinvigorate the franchise. Even though some of the most popular mutants could not fit into the movie while maintaining series continuity, First Class still delivered an excellent story by adding depth to the characters of Magneto and Xavier. Perhaps due to ill will against previous X-Men films or because of the absence of Wolverine, the film failed to crack $150 million in the US. Still, good reviews and home video sales may be enough to ensure X-Men's second class get their deserved screen time in a sequel.

Alphas: Pilot (2011) - Quickie Review

Recommended For: TV junkies desperate for a fix of superheroes on television, in any form.

Heroes: The Alphas are a government sponsored team of ordinary people with extraordinary abilities composed of:
Dr. Rosen - Powerless Leader
Bill - Enhanced Fight or Flight Response Giving Power Surges
Hicks - Expert Marksman (Think Bullseye)
Nina- Power of Persuasion
Gary- Reads and Interprets Electromagnetic Waves (also has Asperger Syndrome)
Rachel- Enhanced Senses of Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch, Taste (and possibly Humor)

Villains: A guy with a grey suit that could hypnotize people.

Diabolical Scheme: Grey suit dude (sorry I forgot his name) basically worked for an anti-Alpha team (sorry I forgot their name, Team Omega?) who were trying to take out the Alphas.

Coolest Moment(s): Hicks made a couple of pretty remarkable shots involving firearms.

Worst Moment: Nothing too egregious.

Review in 50 Words or Less: Attempting to strip mine well-trod territory, Alphas is more grounded than Heroes, less campy than The Cape, less "ABC Family" than No Ordinary Family, and plays more like a tricked out CSI than X-Men on a budget. Good enough to sell the next episode but not season pass worthy yet.