The Flash season one review

The Flash season one review 

 

Intro: So we have another Superhero with a tragic backstory but he isn't a brute, what are the odds of someone going through a traumatic event and still being perky? Did I just say Perky? Darn it! Now everyone is going to think I grew up watching Teletubbies. When I first learned that the CW was going to make a Flash TV show I had mixed feeling about it. On one hand, I was excited because they have a chance to make The Flash relevant outside the comics. Even though this character had a live-action TV show over twenty years ago and the general public is not familiar with him. I mean they don't know this character like they do Batman and Superman.  

Part of the reason why is because four characters took the Flash mental. With the Justice League movie coming out WB has a chance to expose these characters on the small screen instead of us having to wait three or four years for the movies to come out. On the other hand, I was worried about this series because the creators of Arrow are also working on this show, doing a show like Arrow is hard enough and I'm worried that they're taking on too much too soon. After seeing how season three of Arrow turned out my fears were justified. With that said let's get into what I think of this series.   

The Flash: This show is centered on Barry Allen/The Flash who is a forensic scientist at the Central City Police Department. One day he gets Super-Speed after being struck by lighting from an explosion at S.T.A.R lads, that explosion also created metahumans who misuse their powers. With the help of S.T.A.R. lads, Barry decides to stop the metahumans and get closure for what happened in his past.  

I'm surprised that this show was well received because I didn't think people want to see a light-hearted series, considering the lack of love Superman is getting these days. You can tell that the creators of Arrow are behind this show, I mean both shows have similar intros, same number of episodes per season, flashbacks and the public gave the Flash nicknames. OK, it wasn't as bad as Arrow they only gave him two nicknames they are the streak and the blur. Wait! The blur? Is that a Smallville reference? The pilot episode was OK, I wish the creators would make jokes about Barry learning how to control his power in the pilot but that would have been too cliche. I only like one of the crossover episodes. No! It's not the Flash vs Arrow episode. The fight between the Flash and Arrow was contrived. The mystery in this series was handled well even though we know who did what because we don't know the whole story behind his or her actions. The way this season ends will get you hooked for season two.   

Barry Allen/the flash is basically DC's version Of Peter Parker, as far as being smart, awkward and having a strong moral compass. I would like him more if he had a backbone when it comes to women or people in general but I digress. I'm I the only one who thinks it's sad that Barry can still be late even with Super-Speed?  

Cisco Ramon (one of the members of Star lad.) is the comic relief and inventor. He reminds me of one of the guys from the Big bang theory.  

Caitlin Snow ( another member of Star lads.) is cute I mean a doctor and a good supporting character due to her compassionate nature. We learn that she was affected by the explosion in an emotional way. What bugs me about her is that there is one episode that gave us the idea that she's into Barry but that went nowhere.  

Dr. Wells ( the head of star lads.) is Barry/the flash's mentor. He's also the most interesting character on the show, I say that because he's an enigma at first but we learn more about him later on. 

Iris West ( the love interest) is dead weight, besides being a Lois Lane clone I mean a reporter she's a damsel in distress. Also, her attitude rubs me the wrong way. I don't get why Barry is into her, considering that she plays with his emotions. I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole.  

Joe West is a Central City Detective and Iris Father/ Barry's Guardian. He didn't make the best impression at first but later on, you see that he care about Barry. He's Barry's voice of reason and he can be funny at times.  

I don't have much to say about Eddie Thawne ( Joe's Partner/Iris boyfriend.) because we don't know much about him. The only thing we learn about him is that he has a connection with one of the villains. He seems to be a stand-up guy. I feel sorry for him because of how he's treated in this season. I'm fond of how the love triangle between him, Iris and Barry was handled for the most part.   

Leonard Snart/ Captain Cold is the only villain that stood out to me, he's a jewel thief who's crafty, ruthless and patient. Whenever Captain Cold and the Flash face each other Captain Cold outsmarts him. He should have been the main baddie, heck he should have been the villain to stop in the Arrow and Flash crossover episodes. 

The Reverse-Flash (the main Villain) is scary and threatening. I'm impressed with the way he manipulates everyone, well almost everyone. It's hard for me to consider him a baddie because he doesn't want what villains want like power, revenge, world domination and destruction. He does want to kill someone however that's not his main objective. My gripe with him is his plan has flaws and we don't know what motivates him to do certain things. 

The problems I have with this show are the plot holes, episodes can be repetitive and the show's theme. the theme of this season is moving on, some characters in this series have lost someone or something and they have to learn how to move forward, the way this show handles that theme was hit or miss. Episode 15 made me mad, when you watch the episode you'll understand why. 

Overall this is a good first season and I'm glad that it's getting another season. I would recommend this if you like mysteries and science. You'll have fun figuring out if the science in this show is legit.     

Arrow Season Three review

Arrow Season Three review 

Intro: Mr. Guggenheim ( One of the creators of this series), what made you think catering to the Olicity fans was a good idea? If it were up to me, I would tell them to go watch Twilight if they want to see two people talk about how much they love each other. Just because this show is on a network that caters to women doesn't mean it should be like every other series on that network.  

Arrow Season Three: This season takes place five months after Team Arrow stopped Slade Wilson/ Deathstroke and his army from destroying Starling City, and things have gotten better since then. I mean, crime has dropped to the point where Oliver is considering having a life outside of being the Arrow. Well, that fantasy turns into a nightmare when an ally of Team Arrow is murdered. So Team Arrow has to figure out who did it, plus deal with the aftermath of this character's death. 

Man O man, this season was a mess. I'm not that angry about it because two of the three creators left this series to work on The Flash. Now that's not a good reason for how this season turned out; however, I knew they were biting off more than they could chew. The problem with this season is the writing. I mean, for this season to justify itself, the writers have to make the characters stupid. For example, the killer and the main villain's plan makes no sense. Sorry, I can't elaborate on that. Team Arrow trying to figure out who killed their friend wasn't a good mystery because A there weren't a lot of suspects, and B the mystery only had red herrings. The Mystery in the Flash was better than this, but I digress. 

Another issue with this season is the plot holes. For example, at the end of season two, Oliver is broke, and he's still broke, but we see him travel in some episodes. What is he doing for money? Here are four other things about this season that bothered me. First of all, episode 9 plays with my emotions and insults my intelligence. Second, we lost two more characters this season we might lose another one next season. Third, episode 20 set up a plot point that could continue in the next season, but this season rushed it. Finally, the writers are playing the hokey pokey with the world this show sets up. This series is part of a world that has superpowers and supernatural elements in it, but they still want to keep the realistic tone. Are you kidding me? Also, the way this season ends feels like a series finale.     

I want to talk about the romance between Oliver and Felicity. This bugs me. No! It's not because I'm anti-romantic, which I'm not; it's because this romance came out of nowhere with no build-up. WOW! Just like Bruce and Natasha in Avengers: Age of Ultron. I know last season teased the idea of these two having feelings for each other; however, teasing a romance is not the same as setting one up. The reason why the creators did this is because they're wimps, I mean, they saw pictures and videos from Olicity fans wanting them to be together. Plus, they don't like Laurel, the love interest Oliver was suppose to be with, don't worry, I'll talk about her later. Look I don't mind the idea of Oliver and Felicity dating, however, I don't like that the writers are dragging out this romance by making it a will they won't they situation. Whenever these two are together, this is what I hear.  

Oliver: I love you! 

Felicity: Me too!

Oliver: But we can't be together. 

Felicity: You promise me forever!  

Oliver: I can't live without you. 

Felicity: I want your Bod. 

As far as the flashbacks goes I was outraged that Oliver didn't spend the whole five years on the island. I know the series drops hints that he wasn't always on the island; however, doing this undermines how dangerous Lian Yu is or suppose to be.  

I was hoping this show would borrow elements from the show Lost. People were already comparing this to Lost, plus this show borrows Batman stories and villains. The Flashbacks focus on how Oliver knows Amanda Waller, and they're trying to find a terrorist in Hong Kong. My grievances with the flashbacks (Besides the story being contrived) are the way most of them connected to what's going on in the present; it feels convenient. Also, the lessons he learned in those flashbacks contradict what he had learned before. 

Let's talk about the characters. 

Oliver Queen/The Arrow is an idiot this season; he does things to put people in danger. Also, this season would have ended sooner if ( My editor censored me for spoiling anything.) offer and ( Censor.) is down. I don't like the way he treats Laurel. For the most part, I understand why he acts this way towards her, but it makes him look like a hypocrite. The writers did something interesting with Oliver towards the end of the season; however, they didn't pull it off well. As far as Oliver being conflicted about being the Arrow and wanting a life is problematic because this makes him look disingenuous about fighting crime. I mean, why is he doing this if his heart is not in it?      

Speaking of Laurel, I have good news and bad news about her. The good news is that she's useful this season; the bad news is that she does things that make her unlikable. Come on, guys, this is the third season, and you still can't make Laurel likable? 

I don't like the idea of Diggle having a child because it turns him into a Mr. Mom. This also creates tension between Oliver and him about whether or not he should still be a part of his crusade now that he's a father? Plus, his subplot wasn't resolved or continued in this season. 

I was annoyed with what the creators have done with Thea. I mean, what's the point of her learning how to fight if she ends up being a damsel in distress? Also, Thea looks better with long hair.  

Malcolm Merlyn/ The Dark Archer is conniving. What bugs me about him, besides the fact that he's still alive, is that his focus episode ruined his backstory.  

Roy/Arsenal is now Oliver's/The Arrow's partner in crime; they have a big brother-little brother relationship. His subplot didn't have much of a payoff.   

Quentin Lance is this show's version of James Gordon now that he's captain of the Police department. Wait! How did that happen? I mean, how did he go from detective to captain in a few months? I'm not saying it's not possible; however, that's a big leap.  

Felicity is annoying this season, besides doing what she does best, all she does is cry, complain, and second-guess Oliver. Her focus episode was pointless; however, it made us question how she go from what she was to who she is now?  

Ray Palmer/The Atom is Mr. Sunshine. My gripe with him is that he doesn't add anything to the story, besides being in this series for world-building; he's just here to give Oliver and Felicity more drama. (To be fair, them arguing over Ray is justified; however, it's not for the right reason.) Also, I think it's funny that he wants to be a hero, but he does things that are not heroic. Also, I don't buy his motivation to become the Atom because it feels lame. What can I say about his Atom suit that's already been said?     

Amanda Waller is an ice queen who is the head of A.R.G.U.S. (Argus is DC's version of Shield.)

I'm not happy with how this series handled Ra's al Ghul because the writers turned him into Dr. Seuss. I'm not kidding about that; all he does is stand around and tell stories. One would think that a man who is known as the demon's head and has an army of assassins would be a bigger threat than he was in this season, but that's not the case. To be fair, there are two moments where Ra's is intimidating; one is a scene where he kills eight assassins by himself. I would have been impressed if he did it unarmed, but I digress. I'm also fond of how Ra's manipulates Oliver. It's hard for me to consider him the main villain because the Killer manipulated the conflict between Ra's and Oliver.  

OK, here are the things I liked about this season. I like that it starts off with a mystery because doing that gives us something different. I enjoy some of the episodes, especially the team-up episode. This episode is about The Arrow and The Flash trying to stop a renegade A.R.G.U.S. agent. This show continues the theme of family. The writers tried to make identity and responsibility themes, but that didn't work. The way this season ended left some things unresolved, doing that gives us something to look forward to next season.   

The bottom line is this is a bad season; hopefully, season four will bounce back.    

My Avengers age of Ultron Review

My Avengers age of Ultron Review

Intro: If you think Iron Man 2 suffers from setups this movie wants you to hold its beer. 

Avengers Age of Ultron: The movie takes place after Winter Soldier and the Avengers come together to capture the remaining Hydra agents. Meanwhile Tony/Iron Man is working on a peacekeeping drone program called Ultron, something goes wrong and Ultron wants to eliminate the human race. So, the Avengers have to stop him before it's too late. 

This movie is disappointing, part of the reason why is because it wasn't an improvement over its predecessor. The movie tried to have a better story and an interesting adversary, but the creators wasted this movie's potential. What also hurt this movie is the world-building and advertising future marvel movies, this really ruined the ending. Two new characters have a vendetta against one of the Avengers. They had a chance to get their revenge, but they didn't take it, why!?! 

There is another scene where the Avengers saw their fears and the writers don't do much with it, this bugs me because we see that it affects them. Also, they did something that could help them stop Ultron, it was big deal and yet they don't have a strong reaction about it what gives? Other problems I have with this movie are I don't find some of the jokes funny, references to past movies, not using two other comic book characters and the conflict between Ultron and the Avengers isn't flashed out. The movie would have been better if it was longer because it lacks focus. 

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is humanized in this movie due to her relationship with Bruce Banner/The Hulk, plus we learn more about her backstory. My gripe with her is that this relationship came out of nowhere. I'm surprised that she doesn't have a romantic relationship with Hawkeye. 

Speaking of Hawkeye he's the glue of the team and he provides humor.  

Nick Fury doesn't do much in the movie until the last act, he just reassures the Avengers. 

Bruce Banner/The Hulk has embraced the idea of using the Hulk as a weapon. Because of that he's more comfortable around the team and can help them with using his brain. Despite all of that he's still timid about the idea of being with Natasha. 

Tony Stark/Iron Man Is still obsessed with protecting the world from future threats, that's understandable because he's also driven by his love for Pepper Potts. I wish the writers would set up Ultron in Iron Man 3. I don't understand why he didn't use Jarvis for the drone's A.I. instead of creating a new one. If the creators did that it would add some emotional weight to whether or not Tony should destroy him because he isn't happy with how this program turned out? 

Ultron (the main villain.) is like Tony Stark as far as having his characterization. This bugs Ultron to the point where he throws a temper tantrum. I like his motivation he wants to kill mankind because he wants it to evolve, this involves mass extinction of humans and making life artificial. Basically, the dispute between the Avengers and Ultron is emotions vs logic, like I said the Avengers didn't question his motivation or how they feel about evolution or mass extinction? What bothers me about Ultron is that his body is too fragile and he's not as dangerous as he could have been. 

Here are good things about this movie. The fighting among the Avengers is done a lot better than the last movie and their interactions are great. The last act makes the Avengers look like heroes because it involves them saving people. The movie doesn't feel like it's centered on Tony Stark/Iron man. The movie can be funny at times. All in all this movie was a missed opportunity due to the setups and promotions of other films. I can kind of forgive that because this movie had to cover a lot of ground. I would recommend this if you want to see if this movie works better than the last one or not. 

Rating = Average