Devil May Cry 3's Vergil v. Hero for Hire Iron Fist

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 raises a lot of questions from the get go. Are 12 new characters, additional modes and updates enough to justify a $40 disc release 10 months after its predecessor? Is this “expandalone” any different from a $60-$70 yearly sports or military FPS franchise? How will the changes to the previous characters affect the high-level tournament scene? And what the hell is a raccoon doing with a repeater cannon?

So the skinny goes something like this: UMvC3 adds 12 new characters, six each from the Marvel and Capcom sides to the 3-on-3 inter-franchise battle royale. If we were to add up each character’s worth as $5 a piece (the price for DLC fighters Jill and Shuma-Gorath last time around), we would already have broken the price tag for Ultimate. This doesn’t take into account the remixed backgrounds, updated Arcade Mode ending vignettes, menus, improved online play and tweaks for all the returning fighters.

12 characters is a big addition, and every one is substantially different from the next. The list of newcomers hits most of the right notes, from Marvel vs Capcom 2 favourite Strider Hiryu to Marvel characters enjoying some recent spotlight, like Ghost Rider and Rocket Raccoon. Each brings something different to the table – Ghost Rider feels like the an exceptional keep-away character with his *chortle* chain combos, whipping the enemy into submission from afar, while Iron Fist brings an incredibly complex ground game in stark (pun) contrast to flyers like Iron Man, Storm and Sentinel.

Phoenix Wright's "Objection!" move is the beginning of the end for the opposition.

It would be foolish to ignore newcomer Phoenix Wright, from Capcom’s Ace Attorney series of games. Wright isn’t a fighter in the literal sense: he’s a lawyer, and that philosophy carries over to his appearance here wonderfully. The dapper attorney instead searches for pieces of evidence – such as a cellphone or potted plant – hopefully gathering enough to find the opponent guilty in the most damaging “Hyper Combo” in the game. Nothing really compares to the look on Doctor Doom’s face while Wright presents the utterly mundane miscellanea to convict him of an unnamed crime, sentencing him to a penalty of 600,000 health points.

There have been numerous other changes under the hood (and including the HUD). X-factor, a last-ditch desperation mode, has been toned down making uncanny come-from-behind victories with a single character slightly less brain-dead to pull off. Every character has been tweaked, some with subtle changes to their properties while others gained new moves. The result is a mixed bag: She-Hulk moves slowly and has trouble hitting combos that she relied on before, while powerhouses Spencer and Albert Wesker have inexplicably become even stronger.

Yes, this is exactly what it looks like.

The spectator mode has been added to lobbies, so players can finally watch matches while waiting in the queue like in Super Street Fighter 4. It’s the most significant update to the online element of the game, allowing you to sit back and actually watch two other players face off, learning playstyles and strategies without actually being in the frantic thick of it.

It’s the only real way to “learn” how to play the game, though, because as usual Capcom has made an incredibly opaque fighting game here. “Training Mode” doesn’t actually teach you anything, and the simplified command lists say nothing about how or when to use a certain move while in play. The only way to really learn anything is to jump online and get your faced smashed in until you figure out how to stop it.

And make no mistake, UmvC3 online is the Wild West. For your first few hours, you will lose, you will lose quickly, there will be nothing you can do about it and you won’t understand why you lost. Complete newbies will run into 10-month veterans with clean slates, since win-loss records from MvC3 don’t carry over. At its worst, UMvC3 is 5,000-page encyclopedia written in a foreign language in invisible ink.

On the other hand, it can be one of the most fun and spectacular games this year. I can’t fully convey in words the joy it is to see your perfectly placed game plan pay off, with your assists working in just the right way to extend the murderous combos that you’ve practiced getting right in the Training Mode for hours, that you’ve lost more than a dozen ranked matches trying to get into position to attempt them in a live situation to begin with.

Hawkeye joins the game's ranks of Marvel's rotating crew of Avengers.

Perforating the opponent with smarmy newcomer Hawkeye’s his heat-seeking guided missile of an arrow, followed by Taskmaster firing a volley of more arrows, hits the enlarged pleasure centres of the gamer’s brain like no other online experience.

But despite the predilection for gandiose speeches and flashy effects that make fights look like an explosion in a fireworks factory, UMvC3 bucks the trend of over-directed, over-scripted blockbuster games by allowing the players to create their own set pieces. It’s a blank slate for players to master the combos, mix-ups and mind games used in international tournaments, or come up with your own wacky tactics.

Much like how a measure of gin transforms an old-hat Americano into a Negroni, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3‘s changes, both large and small, make a fresh experience for newcomers and veterans alike. It’s just as beautiful, manic, and painful as it was before, and is absolutely worth the price tag – especially to those who plunked down for the original.

First, a quick recap: Hope Summers was the first mutant born after the House of M event reduced the planet’s mutant population from millions to a couple hundred. A handful of other mutants, referred to as “Lights,” have surfaced since then, and spend most of their time waiting for the next time a young man or woman’s powers manifest in spectacular, unstable fashion. By GH9, there are six Lights, and despite an absence of gargantuan monsters or calculating super-villains, a young college student named Zee turns out to be in more danger than any of Hope’s other compatriots.

What’s most troubling is how normal Zee’s situation and company will appear to college students and twenty-somethings today. Luke is a familiar type of dick you find around campus. His dismissive attitude toward Zee’s short defense of mutants, loud t-shirt and obnoxious iPhone skin might remind readers of a certain big man on campus or two they’ve known. The unnamed girl says little but might have helped if she ever spoke up. They’re believable, and the believability of their actions is the most chilling thing of all. Spectators gawk and stare when Zee’s mutant gene manifests in a messy manner, not knowing what’s going on or how to react, while Luke does things in a douchebag way that causes more harm than he understands, even as it happens right in front of him.

GH9 hits you in the gut and doesn’t make it feel much better by the end. Not unlike real life, the inevitable climax hits you before you’ve steeled yourself for it. McKelvie’s art is at its best in these pages. Transonic is horrified when she reaches the scene too late. Kitty Pryde’s disgust at the “Liquid Face Boy!” online video almost distracts from her ridiculous fishbowl-head containment suit. And Hope’s look of despair as she says, “We have to be better,” is enough to make any reader crumble.

The X-metaphor in GH9 runs a little thin despite being such a powerful story in its pacing and characters. Replacing “mutant” with “queer” or “homo” makes it only slightly less obvious. Zero, the most brooding Light so far, seeks revenge on a serene sleeping Luke, but Wolverine of all people stops him and plays the big brother. On one hand, his use of platitudes like the “it gets better” anthem feels forced. Still, it’s fitting: his role in Uncanny X-Force gives him the authority on what kind of people truly deserve to die for their actions, and Luke, though dull and ignorant, isn’t one of them. Their conversation provides something resembling an ending without neatly solving the problem or punishing the guilty – we haven’t solved it in real life, and doing so in GH9 would miss the entire point.

There’s no easy way to tackle a current, sensitive issue like teenage gay suicide in a short, 20-page comic book. Gillen and McKelvie pull it off it in a powerful story reminding us that X-Men’s marginalized mutants can talk about our modern-day prejudices in ways few other titles can.

If a man in a giant bat costume can be rationalized – intensely and dramatically – then so too can a man named Captain America. The name alone makes my skin crawl; it’s filled with so much camp and pomp. When I imagined what such a film would feel like I thought of Independence Day, a movie so USA-centric that it ends with the president declaring that American Independence Day is now a holiday the whole world celebrates. I guess you can do that when you’re the president and a jet fighter pilot. Swoon! With that as my prejudice, this movie had some challenges to overcome in the battle of authenticity versus believability. However, I am happy to report that Captain America nailed it.

You’ve probably heard a rumour that some part of the movie takes place in present day. Those are just bookends and are only there to position the Captain for next year’s super hero buffet The Avengers. The meat of the movie takes place in 1943 when we find a short, thin, sickly Steve Rogers attempting to enlist in the army for the fifth time. The justification for his passion is not found in the passing reference to his parents serving/dying in the Great War and is mostly attributed to his physical feebleness. In the first act, every character who is any character will made a snide remark about getting that boy a sandwich or telling a story about Rogers getting beat up. He is so picked on – yet so determined – that you can’t wait for him to become Captain America. And, of course, that’s the whole point; he was chosen to become a super soldier because he understands the value of power.

Once Steve Rogers is transformed, he kicks Red Skull’s ass and takes home the girl, right? No, he does not! What happens next is a brilliant sequence that makes the movie work. Immediately after becoming the most powerful man on Earth, Rogers is ordered to tour with a USO variety show, performing as cheesy, cartoonish hero named Captain America. His job is to make patriotic speeches, ask for donations to the army, and fake-punch fake-Hitler for cheering fans. This sequence is interesting because Rogers is physically powerful but not mentally powerful. We are reminded that Steve Rogers was fallible as a boy and continues to be as a man, still unable to take control of his life. This sequence is also a fantastic script choice because it recognizes the cheesiness of the character. From there, his image evolves but uses those origins as explanation for why Rogers maintains the suit and shield.

He eventually manages to wrangle his way back into the army and kick some ass. Oh yes, so much ass is kicked. He’s just badass! He’s a bit of a brawler, booting Nazis out of the way, and cracking skulls with his shield. He is eventually accompanied by a team of hand picked soldiers whose brief appearances are fun and well moustachioed. There are also some great supporting performances, such as Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark, Iron Man’s father. An army technologist, Cooper’s Stark is perfectly Downey Jr. inspired. Of course, we can’t forget Chris Evans who does a really nice job. He’s subtle, he’s vulnerable, he’s powerful. He’s acting!

Technically, the movie is great. There are several great set pieces to enjoy which are well paced. The 3D doesn’t make too much of itself and the CGI somehow comes across as minimal except when necessary. The Red Skull costume is excellently monstrous, yet simple.

This is a comic movie done right. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely took the Batman Begins approach and took the time to construct a believable Steve Rogers before transforming him. Director Joe Johnston makes the whole thing shine, doing a nice job with the colours and action.

Overall, it’s one of the best comic book adaptations I’ve seen and makes me excited for The Avengers. Make sure you stay after the credits for a teaser. But if you don’t like intense giggling and slappy fights with your friends, you should probably skip it.

I should preface this review with one caveat: I’ve never read or watched — or heard of Thor at all, really — before seeing the film. As you can probably guess from the preceding sentence, I don’t even know what format of text or media from which its story originates. Was Thor a comic book? Was it a television show? Cartoon? Movie from the 1980s? Colour me uneducated and largely incurious. Instead of attempting to hide this gaping hole in my nerd credentials, I’m sure that highlighting my lack of Thor knowledge will make for a pretty interesting review.

Spoilers ahead.

After watching Shakespearean-stalwart Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation, I have come to understand that the character of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a “God of Thunder” who lives in the “Realm Eternal”, otherwise known as Asgard. The people who live there — Asgardians? — are unimportant in the long-run, assuming importance correlates with the amount of screen-time the average Asgardian citizen is provided. There are maybe three or four scenes with larger groups or crowds and almost all of them are scenes of war. I’m sure these scenes were filmed during those short moments when Branagh remembered he wasn’t directing a play and could have more people in a scene than just the essential cast.

Thor, the aforementioned God of Thunder, has a father named Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who appears to be dying, despite the Asgardian’s apparent claim to immortality. Because of this — never quite explained — confusion about supposed immortality, Thor’s father decides to abdicate the throne of Asgard, naturally choosing to give his crown to his smug first-born, Thor. Thor’s younger brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), is rebuffed by this decision but appears to accept being overlooked by his father well enough. However, Thor has blonde hair and wears red; Loki has dark hair and wears green. Any costume designer (or reader of any fantasy novel series) could tell you that, yeah, Loki is probably the villain of this piece.

Rounding off the Asgardians that you actually get to see in the movie are the all-seeing, all-hearing sentry Heimdall, Thor’s mother and his gang of ruffian warriors. These warriors include “the female one”, “the Asian one”, “the one who looks like Thor but isn’t Thor — wait, no, he’s just blonde” and “the fat one” (Ray Stevenson, in a role that made me weep for this wasted Rome talent). They fight and are loyal to their friend Thor. That’s basically it.

Because Thor isn’t content with the universal admiration of his people, his chiseled abs, (questionable) immortality, upcoming coronation and overall blondness, he decides to confront Asgard’s greatest enemies, the Frost Giants, defying both his father and logic in the process. Unsurprisingly, these Frost Giants are very large people who wield ice powers. They are a very literal people, apparently, and they live their lives on a planet of ice, spending most of their time being blue — both in colour and temperament — while hating on Asgard and its king.

The aftermath of Thor’s decision doesn’t go so well and, after some hammer-throwing and war-provoking, Thor’s father banishes him from Asgard. Thor is then teleported from their planet — and ends up on ours. Branagh, much to the audience’s probable content, decided to spend as little screen-time as possible on Earth. The film’s greatest moments — from its fantastical origins to its inevitable fight to the death — are set on Asgard. While on Earth, the banished Thor meets astrophysicist Jane (Natalie Portman) and the members of her research team, played by the horrifically underused Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings. With the exception of some “stanger in a strange land” physical humour, most of the Earth scenes are largely forgettable. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy some of the Earth scenes, but after a battle with insanely-blue, gigantic aliens, immortal gods and rainbow bridges, it’s more than a little funny to see see Thor incapacitated by an undergraduate with a taser. There is also a very memorable barbecue featuring a cameo appearance from the father of Marvel comics, Stan Lee.

Halfway through the film, Thor’s brother Loki discovers something about himself that reshapes his worldview, adding numerous layers to a character already overshadowing everyone else in regard to development and personality. This new development should have been the lynchpin of the entire narrative arc of the film, but the screenwriters pass on this opportunity. Instead, they revert the character of Loki into a caricature of the jealous usurper, depriving the audience of more screen-time with the stellar Tom Hiddleston in order to add more Natalie Portman. Sad to say it, but Hemsworth and Portman have absolutely no chemistry and share only a handful of scenes together. Thus, it appears that Thor and Jane fell in love after a trip to the hospital, a cup of coffee and a rooftop conversation about constellations. If you’re sensitive to this underdeveloped relationship, you’ll be questioning Thor’s behaviour at the end of the film much like I did.

Overall, I felt that Thor was an enjoyable and much better film than expected. It benefited from an ambitious depiction of Asgard, both in terms of scope and visuals. Unfortunately, Natalie Portman’s character and the use of 3D are largely superfluous. The film also suffers from a bland, unforgettable protagonist, Thor; as well as a deformed development of its antagonist, Loki.

For those unfamiliar with the Thor universe — like me — there will be a few moments which will pull you out of the film, as the script does a poor job establishing the rules of the universe. Examples of this include:

• How can you be immortal and potentially die?
• How can Loki duplicate himself?
• How can Loki teleport to Earth and appear suddenly invisible?
• Wait, Thor can fly?

Despite these flaws and questions, Thor is an admirable installment in the Marvel universe of films, and I would be ecstatic to see Tom Hiddleston return as Loki. Also, the bonus scene at the end of Thor with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is worth the excruciating wait through the very, very poor end-credit song choice.

Big news for you cartoon buffs out there: Marvel.com now offers many of their animated series to stream for free. This means that you can watch some classic shows to your heart’s content, provided you have a big enough bandwidth budget. Some links include:

Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-1998)
Spider-Man: Unlimited (1999-2001)
Spider-Man (1967-1970)
Over 40 episodes of the Japanese Spider-Man series
The Incredible Hulk (1996-1997)
Silver Surfer (1998)
X-Men (The Animated Series) (1992-1997)
X-Men: Evolution (2000-2003)
The Avengers: United They Stand (1999)
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightest Heroes! (2010-present)
Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes (2006-2007)
The Super Hero Squad Show (2009-Present)
Wolverine and the X-Men (2008-2009)

Enjoy!
—
Matt Demers is a Toronto write who’ll be spending his Valentine’s day watching Peter Parker yell “MARY JAAAAAANE!” You can find him on Twitter.

Marvel has released the first official trailer for Thor. The Kenneth Branagh directed action epic stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Norse god of thunder, robbed of his power and cast down to Earth by his father Odin. The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Natalie Portman as his love interest, Jane Foster.

If you saw the Thor showreel that Marvel debuted at San Diego Comic Con then you’ve already seen much of what is contained in the trailer. While the visuals are stunning, we’re still having a hard time reconciling the huge tonal differences between Thor in the heavenly kingdom of Asgard and Thor stuck on Earth in small town America. The trailer makes Thor feel like two completely different movies, hopefully director Branagh will be able to successfully balance the finished product.

We’re still cautiously optimistic given the huge talent that is involved in the film. As long as Thor can stand on its own two feet as a film and avoid the “Avengers-setupitis” that plague Iron Man 2, Marvel fans should be in for a treat.

Thor thunders into theatres May 6th 2011.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The film is directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson.

Iron Man 2 hits theatres May 7th 2010.

In what comes as surprising, but not totally unexpected news Deadline Hollywood has confirmed that Sony has scrapped Spider-Man 4. For months the film has been plagued by script problems, production delays and a May 2011 release date which was starting to look increasingly unrealistic. Sources report that director Sam Raimi told Sony Pictures that he could not “go forward creatively” with such a rushed production schedule. With Raimi’s departure Sony decided that they would rather scrap Spider-Man 4, replace Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and start fresh.

So how does Sony plan to revive the franchise? By putting Peter Parker in high school naturally. That’s how you make things young and fresh, right? From the sounds of the press release Sony’s new Spider-Man film can be likened to Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man line in which the hero was literally a 15 year old high school kid. No director or actors are currently attached. Though Anton Yelchin and Michael Cera (Jesus Christ, WHY!?) have already been mentioned as potential replacements. The Spider-Man reboot is set for a 2012 release date.

This is probably a good thing for both the Spider-Man franchise and Sam Raimi. Spider-Man 3 was awful; the studio interfered too much and Raimi lost creative control, the result was a bloated, mess of a movie. Spider-Man 4 seemed to be heading in the same direction: too many villains (Black Cat, The Vulture and The Vulturess(!?) too much going on and too many story threads needing resolution. A fresh start with a younger Peter Parker (Maguire will be 36 in June) will be a good thing. Plus now Raimi is free to work on other projects like his new Evil Dead movie… and the World of Warcraft film. On second thought, maybe Sony should reconsider Raimi and spare us all what is sure to be an awful, awful Warcraft film.

Welcome back to this week’s pull list: what comics I’m looking forward to reading in the next week, and why I’m excited about them. Last week, I explained what pull lists are, and I hope since then some of you are now happy pull-listers in your own right.

Batman and Robin #1
Spoiler Alert!  Dick Grayson and the son of Talia al ghul and Bruce Wayne are the new Batman and Robin.  Much like Bucky replacing Captain America, Robin replaces Batman; the sidekick takes over the mantle of his mentor. From the creative team that brought us All Star Superman, Frank Quietly and Grant Morrison.

Dark Avengers #5
The Sentry and Norman Osborn square off. The Sentry, whom the Dark Avengers thought dead in the previous issue, returns and is not pleased. Written by Brian Micheal Bendis and Art by Mike Deodato Jr. this is a book that will provide newcomers with a lot of enjoyment, while keeping longtime readers entertained with little nuggets of awesome.

Mighty Avengers # 25
This weeks issue includes a guest spot by the Fantastic Four, and is a great point to jump on. Written by Dan Slott, and featuring art by Khoi Pham. Khoi’s art has kept me on this book from day one. Slotts writing, while enjoyable, is not particularly my cup of tea. The Avengers roster selection seemed very mismatched, but they have brought them together rather well over the last few issues, I like where it’s going.

Ultimate Spider Man #133
Brian Micheal Bendis and Stuart Immonen bring you the second last issue in this series. With the events of Ultimatum echoing through the Ultimate Universe this book is the one that has never disappointed. The series will relaunch after Ultimatum, until then make sure you go back and pick up the trades. Great books for guys who want to get their girls into comics as well.

Ultimatum #4
Well, that happened. Jeph Loeb was tasked with ending Marvel’s Ultimate Universe as it is…. and he’s certainly doing it. In the multi-title crossover event, Loeb’s tells the story of Magneto, seeking revenge for the death of his children no matter the cost. The first three issues featured the deaths of some of the most major characters in the Ultimate Universe. More to the point several other major heroes have been amped up, in a throwback to their 1990′s Marvel universe counterparts, I’m interested in seeing how this ends. Now I’m not saying the book is bad, it’s decent. David Finch’s art grows on each page and is an incredible visual read.

Your suggestions and questions are always appreciated. Drop a comment below or email me.

Until next week, same Dork Time, same Dork Channel!

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 ,the sequel to Activision’s 2006 hit game Marvel Ultimate Alliance is due out this Fall.  The game follows the recent Civil War storyline that rocked the main Marvel universe.  The U.S. government enacts a superhuman registration act after an incident caused by a third-rate Superhero team results in the death of hundreds of innocent people.  The heroes of the Marvel universe become divided over the superhuman registration act, with those against it being led by Captain America and those that are for it led by Tony Stark/Iron Man.  Civil War changed everything in the 616 universe and is an amazing starting point for the game.

The Civil War storyline certainly has a lot of potential, and the new gameplay mechanic of combining the superpowers of multiple heroes looks promising. I thought the first Ultimate Alliance was a blast to play, all of the recent gameplay videos and trailers seem to indicate that Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 will be just as fun.

Hit the jump for a list of announced playable characters and the latest trailer for the game.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 – New York Comic-Con 2009 Trailer

List of Announced Playable Characters

* Captain America
* Daredevil
* Green Goblin
* Hulk
* Human Torch
* Iron Fist
* Iron Man
* Invisible Woman
* Luke Cage
* Mister Fantastic
* Mockingbird
* Songbird
* Spider-Man
* Storm
* Thing
* Thor
* Venom
* Wolverine

More characters will be announced as the game approaches release.  Activision announced that Spider-Man’s Aunt May would be a playable character last week, but thankfully it was an April Fool’s prank.

Latino Review has a scoop regarding the Kenneth Branagh directed Thor movie from Marvel.  At this point it is unsubstantiated, but apparently Branagh was spotted having lunch with Alexander Skarsgård(son of Stellan Skarsgård), best known for his work on HBO‘s excellent Generation Kill and so-so True Blood.  Skarsgard, long a fan favourite to play the Son of Asgard, seems perfectly suited for the role: he can act, he’s blonde, he’s 6’4 and he’s also Scandinavian.

Hopefully Branagh decides to go in the Ultimate Thor direction, where Thor is actually a male nurse who claims to be the Norse god of thunder and may or may not be insane.  Far more interesting than the regular Thor origin.  Whatever direction Branagh decides to go, I’m sure it will epic and Shakespearean in tone.

Has Kenneth Branagh found his Thor @ Latino Review

Thanks to Raj

Not satisfied with making two terrible Fantastic Four movies, 20th Century Fox is once again poised to ruin Fantastic Four: this time from scratch.  IESB.net is reporting that in addition to rebooting the Daredevil franchise(oh goody.) Fox will be going in a different direction for the next Fantastic Four.  In the wake of serious comic book films like The Dark Knight and to a lesser extent Iron Man, the studios are now convinced that darker is better.  Whether this will actually pay off by giving us a particularly good film is highly doubtful since 20th Century Fox is seemingly only interested in raping every decent Marvel franchise they can get their grubby little hands on; leaving a bloated, dead corpse of a film that only superficially resembles the source material.  Sorry for the graphic analogy, but that’s how I feel.  You saw X-Men 3, right?

I for one will pass on the new Fantastic Four film.  As much as a brooding Reed Richards and psychpathic Doctor Doom sound interesting(it doesn’t), there is no way Fox will get it right.  They’re merely riding the tide of post-Dark Knight morally ambiguous superheroes.  I didn’t see the first two Fantastic Four films, and I sure as hell am not going to give a new Daredevil film a chance if 20th Century Fox has anything to do with it.

Fantastic Four is Getting a Reboot @ IESB.net

As a side note, this new tone and direction for superhero films bodes well for the Wolverine film, also produced by Fox.  Principal photography had wrapped on Wolverine and it was pretty much in the bag, when Fox decided they needed to reshoot large portions of the film.  I guarantee this decision came from some Fox suit who stated that “Yeah it’s pretty good I guess , but it needs to be more like the Dark Knight!”

Thanks to Raj for the heads up.