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411 Movies/TV Fact or Fiction: Will Iron Fist Season Two Be an Improvement on Season One?
Welcome back to 411 Movies Fact or Fiction! We’re back for another week of movie and television debates. This week, we have two of 411’s more tenured individuals — and great people to boot — in Jeffrey Harris and Todd Vote. Let’s get right to it, shall we?
The Happytime Murders looks like it will be better than your average Melissa McCarthy comedy.
Jeffrey Harris: FICTION. I’m saying fiction here because there are plenty of Melissa McCarthy movies that I liked and thought were really well done. Now, Identity Theft? That was garbage. The Heat was a great comedy. Spy was pretty good. Bridesmaids was also very good. She’s had some obvious misses before, and I definitely like the idea of an R-rated comedy with Muppet-style characters. But the way the question is worded, I’m not feeling to put it as straight “fact.”
Todd Vote: FACT. I just love the entire premise of this movie. I wouldn’t call myself a big fan of Melissa McCarthy, but I can always count on her movies for a chuckle or two. That said, Happytime Murders looks like it might be one of her better efforts. Bring on the puppets!
Tom Cruise would be a terrible choice to play Hal Jordan in a Green Lantern Corps film.
Jeffrey Harris: FACT. Terrible, no I disagree. I mean, it could be worse. They could’ve cast Ryan Reynolds. No disrespect to Ryan Reynolds, but his energy and personality were all wrong for Hal Jordan. Cruise is a much more conventional and traditional fit for Hal Jordan. Maybe it’s not the most inspired casting choice, but I’d far from call it terrible. I think Cruise’s issue is that outside of the Mission: Impossible series, audiences struggle to take him seriously, even in blockbuster popcorn action fare such as The Mummy.
The other issue is his age. Yeah, he can still hang in the
Todd Vote: FACT. But only if the rumors of Cruise wanting the ending of the potential film changed so Hal doesn’t die. If Hal was to die in the film, I think Cruise would be good in that role. I don’t think Cruise would be the guy to build the Green Lantern franchise around. Having him play a mentor of sorts to other Lanterns and then perhaps being killed off… maybe.
You’re on board for HBO’s Watchmen series.
Jeffrey Harris: FICTION. I’m going to make this quick. Two words: Hell. No.
Todd Vote: FACT. For now. I’m willing to give anything a shot. I loved the graphic novel, and enjoyed the film. While I’m iffy on whether or not the show will be any good, I’m definitely on board with continued stories in that world.
SWITCH!
It’s unfortunate that there are no plans for an Obi-Wan Kenobi Star Wars spin-off.
Todd Vote: FICTION. While a new adventure with McGregor’s Obi Wan has potential, I’m more interested in seeing the franchise go forward. I’d rather see new stories set in the universe than more “fill in the blanks” type of movies. Let’s see the universe expanded.
Jeffrey Harris: FICTION. So many things to unpack here. First of all, an Obi-Wan Kenobi was never even officially announced by Disney or Lucasfilm in the first place. Do I believe it was one of the films they were actively developing and probably gearing up? Yes, I think that’s probable. But…why is everyone taking Ewan McGregor at his word? Haven’t actors said in the past they are usually the last to know? Also, we know for a fact that actors lie with statements like this. Let’s not forget Kit Harington with Game of Thrones. I mean lying for a living is basically what they do.
But to answer the question, is it unfortunate? My answer is no. Star Wars fandom can be especially confusing and exasperating to me. A lot of the complaints I saw pushed in the media and online were that no one asked for a young Han Solo prequel. Well, then who is asking for a McGregor Obi-Wan Kenobi movie? Why is that the prequel to make right now that will do better than Solo: A Star Wars story? I believe the argument is that McGregor as Kenobi is one of the few things a lot of fans genuinely liked about the greatly maligned Prequel Trilogy.
Honestly, I have no desire or reason at all to see a new Obi-Wan Kenobi movie. It’s problematic. For starters, what is Kenobi going to be doing the whole movie? He’s been living in exile for decades to watch over Luke Skywalker until he was ready to join the fight against the Empire. There would have to be a pretty brilliant piece of storytelling to present a valid reason to have Kenobi leave Tatooine. Where would the story even be set? Wouldn’t another story set on Tatooine be sort of redundant at this point?
Another issue is that in this movie, Obi-Wan Kenobi can’t run into all the major players. Yes, Darth Maul lives. But they already tied off that subplot in Star Wars Rebels, remember? In fact, Darth Maul trying to find and locate Kenobi on Tatooine was a major subplot in that series. So, even though that Darth Maul is an active crime lord right now, he can’t interact with Kenobi because that storyline got wasted. Darth Vader has no idea where Obi-Wan Kenobi is. Going by everything that’s been established, their confrontation in A New Hope is the first time they’ve seen each other since Revenge of the Sith.
So, what’s the major premise to do this McGregor as a slightly older Kenobi movie? It just seems like Lucasfilm has too many road blocks to make a good story out of this premise. If Disney has moved on from this idea, it’s far from unfortunate. I think it’s time to do as Kylo Ren says, “Let go of the past. Kill it if you have to. It’s the only way you can become what you were meant to be.” It’s time to let go a McGregor Kenobi movie
The new Iron Fist season two trailer gives hope that the second season will be an improvement on the first.
Todd Vote: FACT. If this is the Iron Fist that popped up in season two of Luke Cage, then bring it on. I don’t know why I felt such a disconnect with the first season. It took me so long to get through it. The new season, looks like it could be promising.
Jeffrey Harris: FACT. You know, if you remember my review the first season of Iron Fist, I did like the show. Was it flawed? Yes. Was Scott Buck a terrible choice as the showrunner? Definitely, yes. But the show started very slow. Once it got moving, it did become better. Having seen the Comic-Con panel, which showed a lot more than the trailers, it looks like the action and choreography has definitely been stepped up. I’m very excited about Alice Eve playing Mary Walker (Typhoid Mary in the comics). Not to mention, you have the amazing Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing and Simone Missick as Misty Knight. The Comic-Con panel showed this great sequence where they are both fighting together, Daughters of the Dragons style, and it looked amazing. Henwick’s attitude and body language in this fight was great, and now we finally have Misty with her bionic arm. And going by the Comic-Con panel footage, it also looks like Davos is going to be a major threat to Danny this season. That’s very exciting for Iron Fist season two.
A TV version of the video game Vampyr could be worth watching.
Todd Vote: FACT. It could definitely be good. But I’m wondering if Vampires are better off taking a bit of a break. Like zombies, there has been a lot of vampire content on the tv screens. That said, I’ll definitely watch it depending on what station it appears on. I think you need to be able to push the envelope here. When I say the show needs push the envelope, I don’t necessarily mean violence. It has to do something to stand out. Something to differentiate itself from the pack.
Jeffrey Harris: FICTION. McG’s name being attached to it sort of gives me pause. I’ve yet to play Vampyr, so I’m not really sure if this is a good idea or not. I will probably stick with Castlevania season two this fall for my vampire TV series based on a video game kick.
And there you have it. Thanks to both Jeffrey and Todd for taking part and we’ll see you all next week!
