No Shine From Green Lantern

Joss Whedon directs Robert Downey Jr. in superhero blowout

(NEWSER) - Sure, it's an effective moneymaking scheme: release movies about individual superheroes, then one about all of them. But with Joss Whedon at the helm, The Avengers really works. What critics are saying:

• "Even if you don't particularly like comic-book adaptations, this film just might make a believer of you," writes Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times . "Whedon is the key reason why this $220 million behemoth of a movie is smartly thought out and executed with verve and precision."

But Nicolas Cage seems to get it: critics

(NEWSER) - Critics agree: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is ridiculous. But they're divided over whether the silliness of the sequel, once again starring Nicolas Cage as the devilish superhero, is funny or just bad.

• In the Merced Sun-Star , Roger Moore calls the movie "a profoundly silly mash-up of comic book and quasi-religious 'prophecy' about a motorcyclist who sold his soul to the devil." It beats the original: "This time around, Cage and everybody else on board are in on the joke," and that makes it "almost a great bad movie."

Chris Evans stars in Joe Johnston's film

(NEWSER) - Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans, isn't exactly deserving of 50 stars, but as far as superhero flicks go, it's an enjoyable, if somewhat enhanced, period piece. Just don’t expect Dark Knight-quality stuff.

• "Captain America, like its unapologetically corny hero, is propelled by unpretentious and plucky ingenuity,” not to mention a “winningly pulpy, jaunty, earnest spirit,” writes AO Scott in the New York Times . “Enjoyably preposterous” and “occasionally touching,” “its goal seems to be refreshment rather than reinvention.”

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender star in Matthew Vaughn's film

(NEWSER) - Critics are largely impressed with the latest installment in the X-Men series: X-Men: First Class is certainly an improvement over the last few. A sampling of reviews:

• “After a close call with franchise death, the X-Men film series has bounced back to life with its fifth installment, rescued with a straight injection of pop,” writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times . The film “indulges in period nostalgia as it gazes into the future, using the backdrop of the cold war to explore how the past informs the present (while also blowing stuff up).”

(NEWSER) - Warner Bros. has finally found someone to wear its power ring. The studio has picked comic book movie veteran Ryan Reynolds to play Green Lantern, says the Hollywood Reporter. Reynolds beat out Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, and Justin Timberlake for the part. He’ll be the first actor to don the tights for both Marvel and DC; he played Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity. More»