jlwchambers

I have to start this review with the fact that I will be keeping it completely spoiler free (even more so than the irritatingly revealing trailers!). As you may have already heard, the less you know about The Cabin In The Woods, the more enjoyment you’ll get out of it and I couldn’t agree more.

I was instantly drawn to The Cabin In The Woods, simply by the idea of Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, The Avengers) and Drew Goddard (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, Cloverfield) creating an original horror movie script together. As a big fan of both Whedon and Goddard’s previous work, I’m very happy to say that their latest collaboration lives up to all expectations and proceeds to completely blow them out of the water, multiple times.

The Cabin In The Woods begins with a group of college kids, who fit the classic cliques and stereotypes we’ve come to expect, travelling to a remote cabin in the woods (see what they did there?). Fortunately, that is where the clichés stop. Almost every single time the viewer thinks they know what’s going on and predicts what’s coming next, a new and interesting twist is thrown in that changes the film entirely. This happens more than a few times throughout the 95 minutes and each twist and turn is executed perfectly. Even the brief moments that are a bit more predictable are pulled off with such great timing and pay-off that they are completely excusable and at times add to the surprise when a big change is right around the corner.

Although the film is not scary by any large degree, it’s clear that this was never the creators’ intention. It has some good jump-out-of-your-seat moments (someone not far from me in the cinema genuinely jumped and threw their popcorn in the air at one point) and I laughed out loud more times in the duration than I do in many top comedies. Joss Whedon’s signature style of offbeat humour is present and hit the marks every time. Drew Goddard’s influence is also evident but may not be obvious to viewers who are not as well acquainted with his work.

The cast performs wonderfully, certainly something that is rare in a horror movie concerning people getting stuck in the wilderness, and the chemistry between characters and actors is clear. The main group of Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Star Trek, Home & Away), Kristen Connolly (iChannel, The Guiding Light), Fran Kranz (Welcome To The Captain, Dollhouse), Anna Hutchinson (Power Rangers: Jungle Fury, Go Girls) and Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy, The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants 2), in general, exceed expectations and help to convey the more realistic side of the film via their relationships with each other. However, Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Burn After Reading, Let Me In) and Bradley Whitford (Billy Madison, The West Wing, The Mentalist) positively steal the show with every second they’re on camera and share some of the best moments I’ve seen on screen so far this year.

Overall, The Cabin In The Woods triumphs on almost every possible level and constantly exceeds itself with slick dialogue and clever storytelling. The acting is solid from everyone involved, the special effects are wonderful and just when you have a “I wish they’d have done that” thought, you’re pleasantly surprised. The fact that this is Goddard’s directorial début makes the whole thing that much more impressive.

We have an early contender for my film of the year (easily my favourite of the year so far) and even with highly anticipated titles such as The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises on the horizon, I doubt I’ll see it fall out of my top 5.

Rating: 9.5/10

All 6 issues of one my favourite miniseries of all time, Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk.

Teenagers fighting in near-future tournaments? Yet another America’s Got… title? At first glance you’d think that America’s Got Powers is just a flash in the pan idea, made to hit on a few of the current hot topics in pop culture. But once you see the two men involved in creating this project, you come to realise that it has potential to be far more than a simple cash-in.

Jonathan Ross is also well known but most likely not for comic book writing, particularly in the American comic industry. Ross is most famous in the UK for being a, somewhat controversial, radio and television host. He made his début as a comic writer in 2010 with the 5 issue series Turf and the idea was met with some contention. Many people thought he was just another celebrity trying to make a quick buck with a half-hearted comic. However, this was certainly not the case. Ross is actually a lifelong comic reader and it showed. Turf was met with both critical and financial success, proving that Jonathan Ross just might be here to stay as a comic book writer.

Bryan Hitch is a name known to almost all comic fans, from the people who only pick up books with a lot of hype to the never-miss-an-issue fans. Hitch is one of the true pioneers of comic book art in recent years, having practically single handedly invented the cinematic wide-screen comic format with his work on The Ultimates and others. He recently left Marvel, after being with them nearly 10 years, and much speculation was made as to what projects he would be moving on to next. It was announced shortly after his departure that he would be working with Jonathan Ross and the hype began to build for their collaboration.

Thankfully, America’s Got Powers lives up to the hype. The combination of well paced writing from Ross and the big action art style from Hitch works brilliantly, exceeding the already lofty expectations within the first few pages. With an introduction which boldly skips a drawn out origin story, a problem many first issues can have, AGP instantly establishes an intriguing setting with equally interesting characters. The story gives just enough information for the reader to fully engage but leaves you asking a few questions in the process. How could the women in the very early stages of pregnancy possibly give birth to healthy babies? Why would there be no rules to protect the crowd from the very dangerous nature of the competition? I trust the creators enough to assume that these questions are meant to be asked and will be expanded upon in the next 5 issues.

The characters are in a similar vein to some their contemporaries, Kick-Ass immediately sprung to my mind when the entire dialogue of 2 panels consists of four letter words, but they have enough variety and potential to not feel clichéd. The emotional connection between the main character Tommy Watts and a younger boy named Baxter was a bit obvious but it was a solid lead in to the climax of the issue. The call back to the original description of ‘the stone’ from the climactic moment was superbly executed and really helped reinforce the possibilities of Tommy’s power. The cast of mysterious super-powered teenagers to shady TV executives and government officials holds the readers attention until the last page. The characterisation, even with the high page count, does feel rushed but with so much information crammed in to a début issue, and 5 more issues to come, this is certainly excusable.

Overall, America’s Got Powers #1 is a great start to a new series. It has enormous potential to be something truly special but on the other hand could easily slip in to clichés and shallow characters. Ross and Hitch are good enough to deserve the benefit of the doubt so let’s hope that they can explore the ambitious ideas established in their first collaboration. Oh and the splash on page 21 is worth the price of admission alone, I would really quite like it as a poster.

Rating: 9/10

America’s Got Powers #1 is available in all good comic stores and on Comixology here

Hello! Welcome to my website!

Let’s hope that I can actually make this investment of time worth it.

I should be posting my first comic review later this evening.

Jack