Hulk Packs a Fun Punch

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."

Execs think buzz for June release can overwhelm stink of '03 bust

(NEWSER) - Studio executives are hoping that The Incredible Hulk, due out June 13, will roar in dollar-sign green—and not the sicklier shade of moviegoers still recovering from Ang Lee's 2003 version, the Los Angeles Times reports. Funders Universal and Marvel promise more action in the new version, and bigger names like Edward Norton and Tim Roth. More»

Reviews solid for likeable new superhero flick

(NEWSER) - Critics are mostly quite pleased with Thor, the new Marvel superhero flick about a Norse god fallen to Earth, directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film currently sports an 81% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though its positive reviews seem to be more three-star than four-star. Here's a taste of what they're saying:

• Thor “pulls off something I wouldn’t have thought possible: It restores the innocence to big-budget superhero mythmaking,” writes Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly . “The movie, though it’s often a very funny god-out-of-water origin comedy, has a stirring emotional core.”

Robert Downey Jr. saves flashy sequel, say critics

(NEWSER) - Iron Man 2 is clunkier than its predecessor and its self-destructive hero has succumbed to boozy overconfidence, but Robert Downey Jr. saves the film, not to speak of the world, say critics.

• This movie is "bigger, louder and dumber than its predecessor" but still plenty of fun, writes Bill Goodykoontz at the Arizona Republic , praising Downey's "enormously entertaining" performance as the Marvel Comics superhero.

'Brazenly funny bloodbath' wows critics

(NEWSER) - Teen superhero movie Kick-Ass is an over-the-top violent, funny, and subversive take on the genre that more than lives up to its name, say critics, many of whom make Tarantino comparisons.

• Director Matthew Vaughn's movie "soars on its central idea of matching a superhero's exploits with the grinding reality of urban teen life," writes Richard Corliss at Time.