The Legend of Luther Arkwright (review)

The Legend of Luther Arkwright

Bryan Talbot (@bryan_talbot)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

"The die is cast. The Grand Illusion has already begun. We are observers but we are also part of it..."

If you by some chance haven't had the joy of reading The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, stop reading this, get yourself a copy and read it!! Come back afterwards if you want to know if this incredible sequel lives up to following what is considered by many not only to be the first British graphic novel but also one of the very best.

Still here/back? Excellent - I had the immense pleasure of meeting the acclaimed graphic novelist, Bryan Talbot, himself at a preview event for The Legend of Luther Arkwright at the Cartoon Museum in London and I can confirm that he's every bit the legend you'd imagine him to be from reading his work. I had the chance to grab a preview copy of the new Arkwright tome and here are my thoughts on it...

The good news is that not only is Luther back, but he's still a reluctant soldier fighting across a multiverse of parallel Earths and trying to right wrongs whilst facing impossible odds. Legend jumps straight in with a heavyweight threat, Proteus, a being superior to Luther who initially wants to recruit him to their cause. Alas, this cause is to wipe the existence of petty human life and establish a utopia for those like Luther who have powers - so Luther decides to fight!!

inspiring stuff!!

This new 240-page tome works as a stand-alone story but still maintains the much-loved lore and continuity with the Arkwright mythos. There are some fun returns of other characters too, which is just as well as the battle Luther faces here seems so hard to beat, he's going to need all the help he can get.

Chapters break with quotes from Shakespeare and George Orwell, Darwin and H.G. Wells, and the black and white artwork leaps from the pages and jumps straight into your soul. 'Legend' is a staggering achievement by a guy who's been doing this since the 1970s and he's lost none of the mind-altering verve, systemic shock-value or adrenaline-pumping action which are the hallmarks of Arkwright. It's quite something coming some 40+ years after his original story first saw publication.

Luther is a comic book icon, a hero of the underclass who holds no love for fascists. Where previously the backdrop of the rise of the British extreme right influenced Talbot's earlier works (he was doing voluntary illustrative work for his local Anti-Nazi League Group). Now, it feels incredibly timely that as the extreme right seems to be on the rise again, Luther's return is a pertinent one.

Welcome to the real multiverse...

The Legend of Luther Arkwright will, as Talbot's early works be an inspiration to all free-thinking comic creators - I hope that the next Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison or indeed Bryan Talbot reads this and sees just what can be done with the ageless medium of the graphic novel.

Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö

(5 - Welcome back Luther - you are a legend indeed!)

Get your copy of The Legend of Luther Arkwright

And whilst here help support this project: Bryan Talbot: The Father of the British Graphic Novel

Check this vid from the Arkwright preview event:

Imagine a world where the earth is becoming hell?

Click below to find out about my dark sci-fi novel which is now becoming a comic too...

Darkmatters Review: RED

RED (12)

Dir. Robert Schwentke

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

Welcome to the world of Paul Moses (Bruce Willis) - a retired CIA ‘Black Ops’ agent whose days are now filled with nothing more exciting than the occasional flirty phone call to phone operator Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) about his government pension cheques.

That is until one day a ‘wet work’ hit-team is sent to take him out because Moses has been deemed R.E.D. (Retired Extremely Dangerous). But Moses is still a tough nut and after eliminating the hit-team he sets about trying to find out why he’s suddenly been deemed a target and sanctioned for execution…

Director Robert ‘The Time Traveller's Wife’ Schwentke's film takes a fun, ‘A-Team’ style reworking of the DC Comics graphic novel series which details the fight back of this old agent against a corrupt new Vice President. New to the plot – for the film – are additional R.E.D. agents who team up with Moses, there is crazy paranoid Marvin (John Malkovich), raucous cancer victim Joe (Morgan Freeman), and elegant ‘hit-woman’ Victoria (Helen Mirren). It is this stellar cast that lends the film such a great air of quality, fun and kick-ass action. It is a genius reworking and there is something quite special about seeing someone like Helen Mirren operating a heavy mounted machine gun or a ‘Call of Duty’ style sniper rifle.

"call me 'Grandma' again..."



As mentioned the tone is much lighter than recent comic book adaptations – RED is a blast of bullets, quips and outrageous action which isn’t too sadistic or grim. This is potentially the best ever family friendly shoot-em-up which rocks some great set pieces, I saw it with my family and we all came away greatly amused.

If The Expendables opened the door for this timely ‘revenge of the oldies’ tale – the common factor from both films being Bruce Willis and his still winning charisma. There are some great lines such as when Sarah meets Moses and tells him “drugged, kidnapped… not an ideal first date but I’ve had worse” – the romance / action ‘fun’ factor is high, in the same spirit as this year’s Knight and Day.

It’s a bold move to make the United States Vice President (Julian McMahon), the villain of the piece – it seems that the ‘hit list’ Moses finds himself on is part of a big cover up for some bad things that might blot the Presidential candidates record. Also ranged against the elderly heroes is Alexander Dunningpower (Richard Dreyfuss) an arms dealer who is tied into the cover up.

RED is lots of fun and is much like Frank Moses himself - hard on the outside but ‘gooey’ on the inside. Enjoy!!

UNSEEN DELETED SCENE:


Bruce Willis's Moses is hired to track down and kill the remaining Expendables as they have become a liability!!

Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (9 awesome 'old time' action scenes out of 10)

Darkmatters quick reference guide: Action 8 / Style 8 / Babes 7 / Comedy 7 / Horror 5 / Spiritual Enlightenment 3

Read the graphic novel and extended movie prequel character graphic novels on you PSP or PS3 - check here

Film Review - The Spirit

The Spirit (12a)

Dir. Frank Miller (last film 'Sin City' - DM rated 10/10)

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

First a confession – I’m a massive fan of comic books and am always naively optimistic when they hit the big screen, even though for every awesome Dark Knight there are several weak Phantoms or Ghost Riders to endure. Now the genius that is Frank Miller, writer of my favourite graphic novel ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ comes a noir knock off of Sin City (which Miller co-directed with Robert Rodriguez). Based on the comic books by Will Eisner, The Spirit tries hard to be a cool stylized crime busting riff starring Samuel L. Jackson as the villainous Octopus and Gabriel Macht, as the Spirit himself. Unfortunately where Sin City was stylish and hard boiled to the max, The Spirit isn’t half as compelling and has a jokey tongue in cheek plot that never really finds a satisfying groove. By turns campy, cool, comic, dark and sexy – it’s hard to work out quite why it isn’t a massive triumph but it really isn’t anything more than a forgettable experiment.
There are certainly some things that The Spirit does right e.g. it has an abundance of quality babes led by Eva Mendes as seductive bad girl ‘Sand Seref’ and Scarlett Johansson, as ‘Silken Floss’ – the Octopus' slinky right hand woman. You see The Spirit is a ladies man who just can’t resist the charms of an attractive femme fatale and he’s spoilt for choice here what with Jamie King, Paz Vega and Seychelle Gabriel all on hand. He might be a vengeful hero who has returned from the grave but The Spirit is a womanizer at heart.
Set in a stark black and white lit metropolis referred to as Central City, but it could just as well be Gotham City or Metropolis, contemporary technology is fused with near future and yet everything is dressed as ‘40s style glamour.
The Spirit has been mauled by many critics, one called it ‘the worst film I’ve ever seen’ which is pretty strong damnation. It doesn’t take long before you realise that director Miller seems wildly out of his depth without Robert Rodriguez to back up his stylish flair. The fantastic look of the film achieves a convincing ‘graphic novel come to life’ style but the action is so disjointed and the characters are so utterly unconvincing that it is hard to recommend to anyone other than rabid film noir comic book fans.

Arbitrary Darkmatters final rating: öööööö (6)


Darkmatters quick reference guide (new for 2009):

Action 7, Style 8, Babes 8, Comedy 6, 'Spirit'-ual Enlightenment 5

+ The Spirit features an amazing noir look and feel...

+ Babes are the best thing on offer, Seychelle Gabriel is my tip for the future...

- Frank Miller really can't direct solo, fingers crossed Rodriguez will prevent him from ballsing up Sin City 2...

- Most memorable quote: "I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead."

Film Review - Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (12a)

Dir. Guillermo del Toro

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)

Q: What’s big, red, comes from hell but might just be our only hope?
A: Hellboy…

Yes, the butt kicking demon next door who’s renounced his evil allegiance is back on the big screen. ‘Big red’ as he’s affectionately referred to is part of the weird but effective undercover U.S. Government Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence (these oddball creatures take on the cases that not even Moulder and Scully can deal with).

In this follow up to 2004’s Hellboy, Ron Perlman returns in his signature title role along with fishy empathy Abe Sapien (Doug ‘Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth’ Jones) and Liz Sherman (Selma Blair – who when I say is ‘hot’ I mean literally as she’s got the gift of pyrokinesis!). This time the team are up against Luke Goss (yes from defunct boy band Bros) who plays Prince Nuada, an elf noble who seeks to awaken an unstoppable mechanical golden army and wipe out us humans. His sister, Princess Nuala however is less keen on clockwork genocide and seeks assistance from Hellboy. The team though are in disarray though thanks to Hellboy’s somewhat less than covert media attracting antics and a new boss in the ectoplasmic German Johann Krauss (Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane) who wants everything done ‘by ze book’.

Director Guillermo del Toro (who made the excellent and equally weird Pan’s Labyrinth) brings the whole outlandish plot together with considerable style. Hellboy II manages to have real heart, top dollar action and a fabulous menagerie of seriously freaky creatures. It also has a plot that veers between soap opera (Hellboy is gonna be a dad), comedy (Hellboy and Abe singing a drunken "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow is just sublime) and tense jaw dropping big budget action scenes. Don’t come here looking for believability, you’ll just go home grumbling, this is strictly for those who like their fantasy films heavy on the ‘fantastic’.


"not sure about the make up..."

You’ll have to go a long way to find stranger or richer visuals, the working class superhero chic of Hellboy is a fantastic dose of escapism that ticks all the right boxes for a great night out.

On the strength of this, it looks like Tolkien fans can rest easy that ‘The Hobbit’ is in good hands as that is scheduled to be del Toro’s next film.

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: öööööööö (8)

+ Big Red is very watchable and personable for a demonic entity

Tasty Action: öööööööö (8)

+ Some good quality fisticuffs and smacking down...

Gratuitous Babeness: ööööö (5)

+ Anna Walton ia a cutie but looks a bit pasty here

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööööö (5)

+ Nothing too taxing unless you have low threshold for weirdness

Comedic Value: öööööööö (8)

+ Some great comedy stuff on offer here

Arbitrary final rating: öööööööö (8)

A worthwhile sequel that keeps the franchise alive!

DM Poster Quote:

“Red is the new black"

Wanted - the 'are you a wolf or a sheep' review

Wanted (18)

Dir. Timur Bekmambetov

Reviewed by Matt Adcock


It's a choice, that each of us must face:

…remain ordinary, pathetic, beat-down, coasting through a miserable existence, like sheep herded by fate…

…or take control of your own destiny and join us, releasing the caged wolf you have inside…

As a massive fan of the Mark Millar and J. G. Jones graphic novel (which really put the ‘graphic’ into the novel) upon which this is loosely based, I’ve been anticipating Wanted ever since it was announced. It’s the story of chronic loser Wesley Gibson (the excellent James McAvoy), a downtrodden hypochondriac whose girlfriend is sleeping with his best friend and whose lardy boss at his dead-end job lives to make his life hell every single day. Could this Wesley actually be the son of the world’s greatest ever assassin? Might he have an intrinsic killer instinct and be blessed with unnatural ability to curve bullets in mid flight? Yes it’s another one of those geeky heroes who get their wildest wishes fulfilled plotlines but here it is played out as the ultimate balls-to-the-wall action overload.

Wanted should be your first choice this summer for violent high octane, seriously over the top adventure. Timur ‘Daywatch’ Bekmambetov directs the insane pulse pounding action channelling the spirit of Fight Club, Die Hard and The Matrix all at the same time!

From the second that the scales fall from Wesley’s eyes and he enters a world of fast cars, big guns and a badass new girlfriend / mentor named ‘Fox’ (a stunning Angelina Jolie), you can do nothing but buckle up and enjoy the ride. The superhero / villain plot of the graphic novel has been ejected and replaced with a real world secret society of assassins who ‘kill for Fate’ back story. This actually works really well but might disappoint some fans of the Millar original. Anyway, Wesley undergoes a brutal training regime in order to hone his killing skills - his eventual target a rogue assassin named Cross (Thomas Kretschmann) who murdered his father.
Morgan Freeman is on hand as Sloan – leader of the Fraternity who employ this roster of killers and the crunching action builds up to a supremely satisfying climax.


"Jolie as 'Fox'... by name and nature!"

Scenes where the hero has two guns and takes on a host of enemies can be awesome such as in The Crow or Equilibrium but Wanted sets a new benchmark with a truly jaw dropping gunfight. And this comes hot on the heels of the spectacular fights, car chases, assassinations and general devastation delivered throughout; basically this is stupid set-piece action heaven.

Wanted puts McAvoy in the big league for leading man roles and blows the competition away in terms of hardcore action entertainment… bring on the sequel ASAP!!

DARKMATTERS RATING SYSTEM (all ratings out of maximum 10 but '-' is bad whereas '+' is good):

Endorphin Stimulation: ööööööö (8)
+ Top draw wish fulfilment on many levels

Tasty Action: öööööööööö (10)
+ You won’t see better gun action all summer!

Gratuitous Babeness: öööööööö (8)
+ Jolie has never looked better or been cooler

Mind Blight / Boredom: ööö (3)
+ Cracks along at a great pace

Comedic Value: öööööööö (8)
+ There are some decent funnies

Arbitrary final rating: öööööööööö (10)
Essential viewing for graphic gunplay action fans!!

Liable to make you:
"quit your job, become an assassin, live by your own rules…"

DM Poster Quote:
“the answer to that big fat void in your life… is WANTED"



"did I prefer the graphic novel? sure - but both are great (and different)..."

sample dialogue:

Fox: I knew your father.
Wesley: My father died, [pause]
Wesley: the week I was born.
Fox: Your father died yesterday in the rooftop of the Metropolitan Building. He was one of the greatest assassins who ever lived.

And the other one is behind you...

P.S.
Wow, just seen The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw's review - talk about a sheep, sorry, a guy with a different and obviously valid opinion...
Guardian gets the wrong end of the comic book stick_review