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shanascarlett · 5 years

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Thoughts on Hasbro Universe after Revolution

Im big fan of G.I. Joe/Transformers. But when I heard that there are more than 2 franhises in one universe, it blew my mind. So I decided to check out them. One of them I heard when I was kid.

Revolution was big. For some it was epic, other think it was mess. I understand why ppl love and hate it. Personally I love it. There’s conflict and how heroes unite against evil. It was the beggining of massive universe. So, how it turned out?

To be fair.... not so good.

Its my own opinion. You can disagree with me. If you love aftermath of Revolution, thats fine. I just want to tell about the conclusion of Hasbro Comic Book Universe.

Optimus Prime.

I think the writer put a lot of his view on life: disappointment on every religion. I really didnt like how he made that Optimus Prime is always wrong. Even when he listens and he does what he was asked to do, ppl still angry at him. “You should listened to me!” and “You shouldn’t listen to me!”. I love that they put Joes, but here’s the big issue: OOC of Mainframe and Flint with his daughter look similar the same age.

Remember when Trasnformers had the mystery of their religion and mythology? Mix of Sci-Fi and Cosmic Fantasy. Yeah, forget about that. It was all Shockwave’s evil plan. Another big disappointment for me.

I like how they described the ghost of Bumblebee, but Shockwave being one of 13 Primes looks very... confusion to me.

Lost Light

Lost Light deserves to be called a weak sequel. Remember when in MTMTE was magic mystery, adventure, gore and development of characters and relationships? Here I found nothing. New characters for me are not interesting. And yes about them being “trans”. Im not transphobic and sorry if my opion might hurt you or offend. I just dont see transgenders in Transformers. I dont see transformers suffering of gender dysphoria. Hell, I doubt they suffer of homophobia, bc they are totally fine with mlm and wlw. If you dont know, hetero relationships are for the population of Earth. And Transformers managed told that they can love each other, but their love is not like Earth’s bc they dont have to have sex to create life. They have strong emotion connection to each other.

Speaking about love. I love Chromedome/Rewind love story bc it was developed. We saw the birth of connection, loss, pain, reunion, fear and happiness. Same with Cyclonus and Tailgate. To be fair I dont ship the last two as romantic couple, but as platonic couple. For me they dont have that emotional connection like Chrome/Rewind but they care each other. In Lost Light nothing. You just accept that a lot characters are couple to each other. Why and how? Just accept it. This is why I dont feel emotional connection to Lug and Anode. To be fair I thought they are friend and Lug looks a lot like a boy. If they’d develop her more better, I think I’d like her. The whole Lost Light is just comics of couples. I was thinking when they’re gonna do the Orgy like in Ancient Rome.

Also here’s another disappointment in religion. Everything was lie. As I told earlier - I didnt like it. I’d rather to rewatch TFP, Bayverse or G1. BC I felt emptiness. MTMTE is masterpiece.

G.I. Joe

Where do I begin? Was written by socialist who doesnt know anything about military, ruined Quick Kick who was nice and gentle, made Scarlett an idiot, turned charasmatic Shipwreck into fat vegan, new characters have no backstory or reasons why they joined to Joes. Also: huge hypocricy. Scarlett says that G.I. Joe is now international team, but they refuse to work with USA. I get it they tried to turn G.I. Joe into Overwatch, but OW was working with every country. Including USA, where they had one of their headquarters. American G.I. Joe was more progressive bc they were helping every country who had deal with Cobra or any threat. They even teamed up with Russian soldiers.

The huge disappointment was no explanation about Snake Eyes rebirth (and no love story of Snake/Scarlett) and Quick Kick being an ass. Just check G.I. Joe ARAH show. There Quick Kick was nice. I miss that one....

The only good stuff was about Rock n’ Roll nightmares and guilt for shooting Grand Slam, grumpy Grand Slam and Doc being half-alien. Thats alll.

Revolutionaries

It was a bit better bc its literally crossover with conflict and backstories. Here they at least tried to make story interesting. And brought a lot interesting references. Especially to 90s: KLAW, Slaugther and even to original Action Force.

M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand

At 1st they tried but then it all felt down. I wouldnt call it horrible. You can check out 1st issues. I can say that only villains were interesting. While main heroes... here’s the problem.

Original Matt Trekker was an engineer, millionaire, helped ppl and white. Why the last important? BC in reboot he became boring black guy who seeks vengeance for his father death and the main bad guy is white man. Im not racist bc I like how it was done in Spawn, but it wasnt so obvious who is the bad guy who just wants to take over the world. I get it you hate Trump. He is a clown.

Also original Trekker raises his son alone. So he is widowed. It could play in reboot: lost all, but tries to keep his son safe. So much potential for drama of lonely father. But we got what we got. I just go to rewatch Spawn animated series.

If they wanted “diverse” why they didnt put more poc characters from MASK? You know there are actual canon black man and indian man? Even native american man?

ROM

It was boring. 1st issues were interesting and brutal bc of alien invansion. You wouldnt know who is the enemy and who is the friend. But drama...

Whole Rom’s drama was about losing his humanity. At 1st we see him as cold-hearted alien. Then they all forget about it. Original Rom from Marvel was losing his humanity until he met brave girl Brandy who made him to remember his loss of homeplanet and love of his life. He was afraid to be alone and to be complete machine. And yes, in reboot his old girlfriend is alive. But I felt nothing with this. I prefer to read original comics bc I felt sorry for Rom.

Micronauts: Wrath of Karza

It was boring. The only thing I can remember is Larissa being Baron Karza’s daughter. I dont compare reboot with original series bc I havent read yet. I liked the new one bc of Baron Karza and his wife (and their fetish).

First Strike

Hoo- boy. It was bad. Preety bad. Not bc villains tried to destroy Cybertron. Not bc TF thought its gonna be war of humans and TF. No, it all was good. The main villain is Joe Colton who wants to destroy Cybertron to save Earth. And that he was bad from the beginning. His motivation sounds like Miles Mayhem from M.A.S.K.. That shock effect of surprise villain doesnt work here. It looks like disrespect to Joe fans. They managed to ruin Scarlett’s character who was turned into G.I. Joe not bc she was the best. She was in Joes bc she didnt do 50 push-ups. If you dont know, G.I. Joe is elite guard where they take the best men and women bc they do a lot dangerous work. So the whole story arc is full disrespect to Joe fan. I dont know about you, but I was offended by that.

Was there smth good? Team up of villains and the easter egg of Visionaries.

Rom vs. Transformers: Shining Armor

I almost forget about the plot bc it was boring. Rom was rude like every commander (yeah, for someone “losing humanity”). New character was boring. So everythng was boring. Even Autobots didint save the situation.

Rom & the Micronauts

Well, they at least tried with characters development. I really liked how characters interact with each other. But the whole story was “meh”

Scarlett's Strike Force

It was very short and cancelled. BC that writer Sitterson wrote offensive tweet about Nine Eleven. I get it what he was trying to do: to make comics based on cartoon G.I. Joe. This is why Quick Kick and Spirit fight against Storm Shadow. Personally I thought it was racist bc “only asian fight agains asian”. And Storm Shadow has the worst redesign I’ve ever seen. Theres nothing to talk about the comics bc its unfinished and cancelled. So theres nothing.

Transformers vs. Visionaries

This comic had potential. But the ending ruined it. The story is about colonization to save living race. But it will kill another nation. Its interesting theme. And how they managed? Nothing. For some reason everyone in peace and safe. The ending is just weird. I think writer didint know how to end that conflict so she wrote “everyone safe and in peace. Colonization is bad”. Not the ending is the problem. Main characters: Leoric and Virulina redesigned very strong. Leoric looks like total different character (why not to create new character? He looks good). And Virulina looks like student from art-school, not the villain. The redesigned I like are Cryotek and Arzon. And the art was very good.

The last 2 ones I havent finished yet. I can tell this: TAAO isnt look so bad, but I’m ready for disapointing ending, like TF Unicron.

In conclusion:

I dont tell that it was done horrible. Its just explains why IDW decided to reboot TF and G.I. Joe. Low sales. BC I’ve noticed a lot easter eggs in those comics for future story plots. I think they’d made it good if IDW would give them chance.

If you love them, thats fine. I’ll enjoy my own version of Hasbro Universe.

#review #opinion #transformers #g.i. joe #gijoe #mask #m.a.s.k.#rom #rom the spaceknight #micronauts #visionaries #comics #idw #hasbro #hasbro universe

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natsubeatsrock · 6 years

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10 Marvel Heroes Who I’d Like to See Get a Movie in the MCU

NOT Fairy Tail Month - Post #4 (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

I’ve had a lot of fun getting into the MCU with my siblings. In the process, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of the Marvel universe and am learning about its weird inner workings: the good, the bad, and the ugly. While there are two movies left in Phase 3, (I haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet) I figured that it’s about time that I talk about some of the characters I’d like to see Marvel Studios tackle next.

There’s no particular order to this list, except for a definite #1. The only qualifier is that my picks can’t already be in the MCU either in film or TV. You’d be shocked how much of a blow that was to this list. Between confirmed easter eggs in films, cameos on the Netflix-verse, and appearances on other television shows, both airing or planned, there are a lot of heroes already in the MCU. Still, here are some I’m hoping will get their chance in the next few phases.

#10. Miss Marvel

Before someone mentions how Kevin Feige has already confirmed that Kamala Khan is coming to the MCU, consider two things. First, that her arrival is dependent on the establishment of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, a character whom we haven’t actually seen on screen as of yet, as a part of the universe. If you know anything about Kamala, that’s kind of a big deal. Though, with apparent plans to make Captain Marvel the new center of the MCU, that might not be much of an issue.

Second, and most importantly, he never actually said that she was getting her own movie. She may only end up sharing the screen with another major hero. Who knows, she might even only be on TV as many of my other hopefuls have. Here’s hoping things all work out.

#9. Spider-Woman

I want to see if Marvel will be able to work their magic with Sony and get at least one character to have their own live-action movie in the MCU. The obvious issue with this is that their contract to “share” Spiderman runs out after next year’s films. Still, a guy can dream, huh?

Miles would be an interesting pick. However, he’s getting his own treatment in animation and it was hinted that he’s in the universe already in deleted scenes. (Does that still count?) Originally, I was hoping that we could get a Silk movie. But her alter-ego Cindy Moon already is a part of the MCU. Yes, this is a thing I looked up. Here’s hoping Marvel can give Jessica Drew a chance.

#8. The Mutants

This won’t be the last time I kind of cheat on this list.

With the Fox-Disney merger becoming all but a reality, the obvious next step for the MCU is to bring on the idea of mutated humans into their universe. I’ve always loved the Mutants growing up across at least three different animated series. While I haven’t exactly gotten into their recent live-action film endeavors, I've heard that’s mostly a good thing.

Of course, there’s also the matter of logistics when it comes to bringing in established franchises into the MCU. Does this deal mean we’ll get the X-Men or New Mutants in the fold? How much of the previous movies will matter in the MCU? What about stuff like Legion and the Runaways? Who will take up the mantle as the next Wolverine? Considering this company made adding Spiderman into this narrative work well after two different live action runs, I’m not too worried. As long as Ryan Reynolds gets to stay as an R-rated Deadpool, things will probably be fine.

#7. She-Hulk

And speaking of breaking the Fourth Wall, She-Hulk has made a name for herself by jumping through the panels of her own comics. It would be cool to see her come to life. Who knows, we could actually get some payoff to loose ends from The Incredible Hulk, which has been around for 10 years.

There’s a bit of an issue with her though. Technically, the rights for her and the rest of the Hulk Universe belong to Universal Pictures. Of course, that’s not as much of an issue as with the Spiderverse, considering we already have the Hulk. But it still is kind of a hurdle. But it’s not like walls should mean too much to her.

#6. Devil Dinosaur

This is a bit of an interesting pick. Current fans of Marvel comics might know about his partner Moon Girl, a young African American girl. Older fans may know of the partner Moon-Boy, the alien who stopped him from dying out with the rest of his kind. The difference between the two feels more jarring typing it out.

If Kevin Feige decides to go with this pick, I’m sure that either side of the fandom would probably be disappointed in the event that they decide to do one over the other. Still, I think it should be obvious that the most important character in this equation has to be Devil Dinosaur as the original namesake for the comic. Though, I’d like to see Star-Lord find out about Devil Dinosaur for obvious reasons.

# 5. Power Pack

Look. I talked about the Fox deal and the idea of Mutants in the MCU is really exciting to me. And I guess it would be cool to see the Fantastic Four join in as well. But I’ve never been all that hype over them, to begin with. Like, part of it is that they haven’t had good movies. But I’ve never been all too interested in the group past the concept of astronauts becoming superheroes.

While I’m interested in seeing their potential movie in the MCU, I’d also like some attention go to other groups in the Marvel Universe. My pick is one of the other sets of families in Marvel. The Power Pack is a group of four siblings with superpowers- two brothers and two sisters. Incidentally, I’ve heard that there was some talk about them getting a movie soon. Here’s hope we get to see it happen.

#4. Hawkeye

What? You didn’t think I would add Hawkeye? For those of you who think I’m breaking my rules here, obviously, Clint Barton has been in the MCU for a while now. The new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, has yet to make an appearance in the MCU. I feel like this would be a good time to introduce her. Not to mention, we could finally get some explanation for Clint’s past if he decides to stick along in order to be Kate’s mentor.

There have been a lot of shake-ups in Marvel comics. The Spider-verse gave us a ton of new versions of Spiderman. Kamala took up the mantle as Ms. Marvel from Carol. And Carol took it up after the original Captain Marvel died. That’s in addition to a bunch other things. While there are a lot of legacy characters in Marvel nowadays, with Iron Heart, Jane Foster’s Thor, and even a new Wasp, I’d like to see what Kate can do for the Hawkeye mantle.

#3. Nova

This may feel like a bit of a lame pick if your only exposure with him is the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon with Drake Bell as Peter Parker’s voice. (A concept which has forever ruined my own readings of Spidey) Still, this one actually has some weight behind it. After the events of Infinity War, Nova Prime has a great alternate reason to actually build Nova. (Originally, the reason for building him was the work of Helmut Zemo. You can see why this is a problem for the MCU.)

Not to mention that Kevin Feige has actually stated that he’s high on a hypothetical board of characters who could get a movie. If anything, this might be one of the more likely picks on this list. Who knows? He might be a part of that mythical easter egg in the Guardians films James Gunn has mentioned a few times.

#2. Namor

First, let’s get something straight. The Sub-Mariner came out a few years before Aquaman. I’m not saying that DC ripped off of Marvel (in this case). After all, the opposite is also true. Still, it’s crazy to think how unkind time has been to Marvel’s King of Atlantis. While Aquaman is getting a new film pretty soon, Namor hasn’t seen too much time to shine. It would be great to see what he can do.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear where his film rights lie. Marvel Studios thought they had control over him, but they don’t seem to anymore. And that’s if they ever did in the first place. So it’s not that they necessarily don’t want to rather than they technically can’t. With the new merger, hopefully, the other original members of the Illuminati will be able to pull something to bring their final ally into canon.

#1. A Surprise

Don’t judge me on this pick as my number one, okay? I can’t be the only one who hopes that we get something special and out of the blue as a hit. Could anyone honestly have thought Black Panther was going to end up being anywhere close to as huge as it’s become ten, or even five years ago? And I don’t just mean that it would be a really well-liked hero movie for Black people. This movie is one of the highest grossing films ever made and the only superhero films to make more than it is two of the Avengers films.

Similarly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange went from relative obscurity to household names after only a few movies. Heck, Iron Man wasn’t all too popular before his first movie more than a decade ago. Who’s to say that Marvel Studios won’t give us a movie none of us asked for but won’t end up being able to live without? Whether that be making a name from an obscure set of heroes we haven’t seen or gaining success from heroes with less than stellar comics, who can tell what will happen next in the MCU?

And that’s my list. Any heroes you’d want to see?

#not fairy tail month #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #incidentally. there are a lot of women/girls on this list #this may be because of the lack of women #with major roles #still i love the mcu #can't wait to see ant-man and the wasp #here's hoping!

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firestorm26621 · 5 years

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Top 10 of 2018

Disclaimer: The following are not what I think are the “best” movies of the year, at least not in the objective sense of the word. I’m not even entirely sure how one can judge “best” in an objective manner, or by what criteria that could be measured. Competence in composition and construction, acting, design, music; these are all only parts of what makes a film connect with an audience, and some truly great films have few of these in any great quantities, while there are a good number of movies that are practically perfect films by these gauges which had very little impact on me personally.

So, setting all that aside, what follows are my top 10 films of 2018 only in the sense that they are films I personally enjoyed the most; be that by conjuring the biggest emotional reaction, making the biggest intellectual impact, or simply inspiring the greatest sense of wonderment and appreciative awe in me. These sorts of things are not easily measurable and certainly aren’t objective, but I know what I like, and it’s these.

#10 – Free Solo

This one was a late and odd addition for me, being the most recently watched on this list (having seen it in January).�� Documentaries, by and large, are always interesting to me, but I rarely walk away thinking they are great movies, as they usually have fascinating subjects but little in the way of actual narrative. Won’t You Be My Neighbor, another great doc, is an example of this, as it is a fantastic look at a subject, but has very little narrative through-line.

Free Solo, while it starts this way as a film that investigates a free solo climber (being a style of mountain climbing done without any ropes, and which often kills its practitioners), begins to focus in as it centers itself around one specific potential climb, a massive vertical mountainside in Yosemite that has a very high likelihood of killing him in the attempt.

So, the film suddenly gains a very solid narrative, and begins exploring the questions surrounding it. Is his new girlfriend really comfortable with his death-defying lifestyle? Is the camera crew complicit is something morally questionable by filming this dangerous scenario? Is this guy really ok, mentally speaking? All of these come to a head in a breathtakingly beautiful yet terribly suspenseful climbing sequence that had me genuinely worried for a human life.

#9 – Isle of Dogs

I’ve always been fairly hit or miss on Wes Anderson, with much of his previous work heavy on deadpan twee sensibilities and light on actual deeper meaning. Which is partially why 2014′s Grand Budapest Hotel knocked my socks off so hard; it had his pastel sense of style, but it was used to tell a story that hooked me with themes that spoke to me, and it was incredibly narratively satisfying.

And while Isle of Dogs doesn’t quite hit those heights, it definitely feels like Wes Anderson is moving as a filmmaker into a place I can really dig into, where he engages the broader world and tackles heavier themes, like tribalism and alienation in this film. Yes, the film is funny, with all its voice actors giving hilarious deadpan line deliveries, and yes, the animation is both stunning and impressive, with the film somehow looking both intentionally rough around the edges and meticulously crafted at the same time.

But beyond how impressive the look and how charming the style, it’s the story that really lands it here. It uses these tools to tell a clever, touching, almost sci-fi story about our connections and the strength of relationships and full of what I read as strong allegories to our current political climate. It manages to be both cute and deep, and connected with me on both of those levels.

#8 – Searching

Yet another surprise, as I was expecting nothing out of this gimmicky looks thriller about a man whose daughter goes missing and his investigation to find her, all told through the screen of the computer he uses to do so. This isn’t a new gimmick, with a handful of bad horror movies using it previously, but Searching is by a huge margin the best film to use it yet. It starts with an immediately impacting, tragic montage, charting the evolution of a family as it progresses through a tragedy, all told through emails, computer calendars, YouTube clips, and various other computer programs. As it progresses, it continues to use its premise to great effect; we see text messages begin to be typed, then deleted, then retyped. It essentially uses these as character building tools, showing us as much about these characters as their actual words and action.

And then the mystery starts. The film becomes something of a techno-thriller detective story, with John Cho giving a fantastically evolving performance (especially considering most of the performances involve primarily staring into various webcams). The film presents the investigation with plenty of twists and turns as Cho’s character comes to learn more and more of his daughter's life, and as it does so, it builds to some surprisingly powerful emotional beats surrounding how this family has dealt with tragedy. And sure, it may cheat a bit in its final moments, expanding its scope a bit beyond what could reasonably be found on a computer screen, but by then you’re fully bought in anyway, fully engrossed in a story that delivers far more than what was expected.

#7 – Mission: Impossible - Fallout

I love this series. While the first two films waffled on what kind of films they wanted to be, starting with the third entry and onward they locked in; they were to be bombastic spy thrillers with action set pieces centered around Tom Cruise’ specific brand of almost manically enthusiastic daredevil stunt work. And here, at the sixth entry, that focus has continued to be honed and adjusted. Fallout is an entry that is defined by its set pieces; a “how did they shoot that?” one-take jump out of an airplane, a “ why did Cruise do that?” climb up a rope to a flying helicopter, a stunningly choreographed bathroom fight scene, and my personal favorite, a motorcycle chase through Paris that makes it very clear Cruise himself is putting his life on the line for these shots.

What’s crazy to me is that this isn’t even my favorite in the series; 2015′s Rogue Nation has a better story and Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust has a far better supporting role in that one than any here (and weirdly enough, Nation was only an honorable mention in 2015, but that’s because it was a much stronger year for movies I loved). Yet, while Fallout may not tell a better story, it is likely more memorable, as it presents a non-stop cavalcade of incredible action sequences and stunt work that are as thrilling as they are visually impressive.

#6 – Creed II

I had extremely high hopes for this one. Creed was one of my favorite movies of 2015 (a strange commonality between this and Mission Impossible above), and was personally my favorite in the Rocky franchise (though whether the Rockys and the Creeds are the same franchise could be debated). My excitement was tempered upon learning that Ryan Coogler wouldn’t be returning to the directors chair, and to be fair, some of that absence is evident, mostly in the boxing sequences that don’t have quite the same technical proficiency shown in the first film. But beyond that minor quibble, this film is a more than worthy successor to the first.

It has the same thematic depth; it has evolved its focus from choosing a family and letting that affect your personal identity to a focus on dedicating yourself to that family and the conflict between it and personal ambition or desire. It has the same inspirational intensity; featuring a fight that inspires fear in Rocky and a prideful vengeance in Creed, before in the classic format of these films, the characters have to rebuild themselves to rise up. And it has the same chemistry; all three leads are still fantastic, with more focus this time being given to Adonis and Bianca as they navigate building their own family alongside the inherently dangerous nature of Adonis’s profession. All this ties together into a fantastic follow-up that builds upon the first film and continues this wonderfully dramatic saga.

#5 – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

This was by far my biggest surprise of the year. I expected nothing of this film, in fact, due to a clip of the film being shown as a stinger on Venom, I was fairly certain the movie wasn’t going to be very good. It looked to be a slapstick cartoon comedy of a superhero film, and I wasn’t terribly excited for it. Happily, however, I was very wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I believe I can comfortably say this is my favorite Spider-Man film. The film is stylish in a way few animated features have managed; the animation alone is impressive with its blend of modern cg and traditional hand drawn comic book accents, but it’s also got a soundtrack that is wholly rocking and tuned in to the story and character they are backing up.

The film is also hilarious; not only does the mentor/student relationship between Miles & Peter feature charming odd couple banter, the additions of the other spider-people make up a “motley crew” comedy style helped along by some excellent voice work (and special marks for the spot-on casting of Nic Cage as a noir-detective and John Mulaney as a talking pig). Most shocking to me, however, was just how powerful the story was when it got into gear; the unusual animation style ends up working in tandem with the themes and narratives arcs the story is telling, and while yes, this is in fact another superhero origin story, Miles Morales coming into his own turned out to be one of the best coming of age stories I’ve seen in a long time.

#4 – A Quiet Place

I do love a good monster movie. Not only for the creativity in design choices and aesthetic that can be brought to make some fascinating creatures, but also in the themes, as in almost all the best monster flicks, the monster themselves are stand-ins for some other idea, something that scares us in a more abstract way. In this case, that theme is very solidly established in the first few minutes: parenthood, and more specifically, the fear and stress of a parent trying to keep their child safe in a very dangerous world.

The first step in exploring this theme is a really solid chunk of world building; presenting a decidedly post-apocalyptic landscape where few humans remain, and those who do must live in silence to avoid detection by the otherwise blind creatures that destroyed the world. To stack the deck even further, the film presents additional complications; a pregnant wife unclear how she’s going to give birth to a screaming baby without bringing danger, a deaf daughter who cannot hear when the creatures are about, and a father so focused on protecting his family that he shuts them out emotionally.

All this is built up over the first half of the film, and then starts a climax that last almost the full last half as the family has to face all these issues at once. It’s fantastically tense, riveting horror even it’s rarely outright scary, and firmly establishes itself as one of the more inventive, well told monster stories out there.

#3 – Avengers: Infinity War

It’s difficult to gauge exactly why I love this movie. Is it sheer comic-book fanboy glee that a story as iconic and beloved as Infinity War was actually adapted for the big screen? Is it the appreciation of the massive feat that this film represents, bringing together over 20 superheroes from across 18 films together into one story? Is it the fun of seeing all these superheroes actually interact with each other? Or hell, is it just a really entertaining summer blockbuster? The answer is obviously some combination of all of these, but I’m still months later having some trouble actually processing it all.

To be clear, it is a great superhero movie; despite one odd sequence aboard a space station with an odd performance choice from Peter Dinklage, the rest of the film is a propulsive journey that cleverly combines and separates its many heroes on to various paths that still interact and matter to each other narratively. It features action sequence to match, filled with more jaw dropping moments and impressive fight scenes than I can easily count.

The biggest question I still have is whether this a great movie on its own, taken out of the context of the 18 films that came before it. And while I don’t think it would be as enjoyable outside of that context, and I’m not even sure it could exist without it, I do still think the answer is yes, and that mostly comes down to its villain. Thanos is, on his own, a great character, and so much of the movie revolves around his ideology, his plan, and his motivations that it can be and has been argued that Infinity War is actually his movie, thematically speaking. He is the character with the most traditional arc, down to an ending that shockingly belongs to him as well. And while the full story may not yet be concluded, it will be tough to top this achievement of a superhero movie.

#2 – Bad Times at the El Royale

This is definitely a personal pick that I doubt will end up on anyone else’s top 10 this year, but I really did love this movie. Landing somewhere between Hitchcock and Tarantino, it’s a fantastic thriller that consistently surprises throughout. To start with, it has a fantastic cast, and they are all absolutely bringing their A-game. It features Jeff Bridges as a priest suffering from memory issues, Jon Hamm as a sleazy fast-talking salesman, Dakota Johnson as a catty and standoffish hippy, Chris Hemsworth as a maniacal cult leader, and standout newcomer (to me at least) Cynthia Erivo as a subdued but ambitious soul singer. All of these are rich, deep characters, helped along by dialogue that is witty and engrossing, sounding very Tarantino-esque. And that dialogue often plays around with the fact that all of these characters, across the board, have secrets.

Which brings us to the story, which is where the Hitchcock comparison comes in. The story at first appears to be a bottle movie, taking place almost entirely within the titular hotel The El Royale. However, at some point the story begins to shift, both showing us backstories in flashbacks and shifting whose point of view we see the events of the story from. It leads to a twisty plot that keeps us on edge throughout, sometimes unsure of just where it’s going, but it always pays out for the attention and patience it requires. And it’s all backed up by an amazing period perfect soundtrack full of soul music that really helps accentuate the narrative.

It all adds up to one of my favorite mystery thrillers in a long, long time. It’s a genre that is done very often, and more often than not quite badly, so seeing one that is not only an engrossing mystery but relentlessly entertaining counts for a whole lot, to the point where it was almost my favorite movie of the year.

#1 – Annihilation

I am a sucker for a good hard science fiction movie, and it’s a genre that has had an amazing few years. Ex Machina, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049 have been some amazing entries, and Annihilation is now another. These films are great because they are not only about deep, intellectual topics, they explore them in intriguing ways that are equally deep; they are movies that are best served by revisiting multiple times and by discussing them and reading about them afterward, worthy of further reflection and study. That said, to be a great movie, it also has to be entertaining, and all of these do that in spades as well.

Narratively, Annihilation is about a mysterious dome of energy that is causing odd biological phenomena, and the squad of ladies who go in to investigate it, despite the fact that no one else who has gone in has every come out, including our main characters husband. Thematically, however, it’s about self destruction, of the natural and biological variety as well as that within the human condition, and its cyclical relationship with creation. The film constantly presents imagery of rampant creation, including plants and animals blending, a landscape that bleeds into time and the thoughts and memories of those in it, and the most terrifying creature of the year in the rotting bear monster that seems to absorb the last moments of those it kills. It contrasts against that backdrop its characters, who are all in some way, both voluntarily and involuntarily, self-destructing, and asks what the reactions to each might be.

And while I have a distinct interpretation of what its ultimate message is, I have read and watched many other interpretations that are just as valid and just as interesting. It’s the kind of film that is far more than its face value, whose intellectual nooks can be found the more you think about it, and I have found myself thinking about it quite a bit since seeing it for the first time. And for that, I am very grateful, not only for it expanding my conceptions, but for being a touchstone of a philosophical topic I never would have given much thought to. And for all that, it is my favorite movie of the year.

Runners-Up:

Eighth Grade - A nice sister piece to Boyhood, it’s a more focused, comedic, and stylized counterpart that brilliantly gets inside the head of a girl in a near constant struggle with navigating her emotional state, her social skills, and her world shifting under her.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - An anthology film that breaks the western down into component pieces to tell masterfully constructed, beautiful, brutal, tragic, and often bizarre tales that bring as much melancholy as delight.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? - A heartfelt, impacting, poignant, powerful look at the life long mission of Fred Rogers to spread love and acceptance, and the obstacles and internal motivations that drove it.

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salarta · 7 years

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X-Men Blue #1 & #2 Thoughts

I’ve decided to start reading X-Men Blue because Polaris is going to be on it in #9. It’s for the same reason I read the Magneto solo and lead-up to Five Miles South of the Universe: I wanted to see how things were going in advance. Stories feed into each other.

In general: what I read was good. To be honest, I don’t think I’d read it if I didn’t know Polaris was going to be in it, but it’s good nonetheless. I intend to continue buying and reading issues.

Slightly deeper thoughts after the read more. Some of them can look intimidating and “bad” cause the text can be long, but I’m just being thorough. Length does not = good or bad.

Blue #1

I like the “about damn time” note for Jean being team leader. It's touches like that, emphasizing how the book intends to take black marks of the past and rectify them, that comes across to me as most promising. It helps to show this isn’t just repeating something decades old; it’s breathing new life into these stories and characters.

Why is Angel flying outside the jet? Does he like to do it? Is he acting as an advance scout? Otherwise it seems like a bad move for him to have to waste energy and attention on the way to a fight.

Cyclops noting old barber shops is a nice nod to history, but it raises questions about how the sliding timeline works. "Modern day” versions of these characters obviously aren’t in their 60s or 70s, so is history condensed in the Marvel universe? It raises questions about Captain America and Magneto’s aging compared to them, and if there’s an answer to this, I don’t think casual fans know what it is. I certainly don’t.

Why is Black Tom Cassidy cosplaying as Old Timey Batman in a Marvel comic?

(ThatsTheJoke.gif)

An old couple mistake Jean Grey for Kitty Pryde and Scarlet Witch. I find this very hard to believe. I understand the Marvel universe is not like the real world, and characters we know may not be known at all to comic book characters. I also understand that adult Jean Grey has been dead for a long time. I still find this hard to believe. I would’ve had an easier time believing they mistook her for Mary Jane Watson or similar characters (assuming MJ is a model in the comics; I don’t know what her deal is). But even if there are no redheads to compare to, I’d think the couple would sooner assume she’s a nobody Z-lister than mistake her for a couple older brunettes.

It gives me shades of “You were expectin’ maybe the Addams family” from the third TMNT film, is what I’m saying.

And to be honest, I suspect those namedrops were ordered from above to try to make X-Men Blue sell comics with the other two in them.

Page 20: And there’s Jean’s butt for some reason.

And final page: Magneto looks too jarringly evil and sinister to me. Yes, I know that’s the point, to emphasize the disparity between the team and their mentor. It’s still too jarring and dark. Rather than draw me into the story, it pulls me out. It makes me spend time thinking of what the creative team is trying to say and their style choices in saying it rather than what they’re actually doing.

Blue #2

Talk about this being mutants’ last chance for survival makes me think of Resurrexion as a last ditch effort to save the X-Men franchise from Marvel trying to kill it like they did Fantastic Four. That could be me reading what I want into it, it’s just how I read it.

Magneto with his silver hair is nice. Last time I saw him, he was bald. I don’t know if this is new since the Magneto solo or new since Uncanny X-Men. Whichever it is, it’s good to see him with hair again.

Page 14 Jean looks like she’s in a manga or anime. Kawaii desu~! Seriously though, it looks nice and the style is fine, it just felt weird cause it doesn’t fit the style elsewhere in the book. I’m used to comic books keeping a consistent style and graphic novels being the format that changes up the art style like that.

Jean talking about Magneto watching her in his mind makes me think of my theories of Polaris using her powers to act as a psychic. Electromagnetism can be used to read minds, transmit messages between minds, potentially implant images, etc.

Page 19: Oh look it’s the Power Rangers! But anyway, someone on Twitter tossed out a theory that the Sentinels could be controlled by Polaris, and that’d be why it greets the X-Men as “fellow mutants.” Noteworthy that the Sentinel saying it is green, and since it’s in text, we don’t know how the voice sounded.

The green electricity of the time device on the last page is something I also find suggestive thanks to Polaris’ green energy signature. The purpose of the machine is stated to be sending the X-Men back in time, but nothing says it couldn’t accidentally pull an X-Men member from the past into the present. It’d make sense if the device met a “hard barrier” at the moment of Mesmero “awakening” Polaris, and yanked old timeline Lorna to the present.

That’s random fan theorizing and musing though. Absolutely anything is possible.

And that’s all my thoughts!

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alright-hamilton · 7 years

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Examining Kyle Gibson’s apathy toward strikeouts

Kyle Gibson has thoughts and feelings and opinions that sound like they make sense, but they don’t. He has Reasons with a capital R that he doesn’t need strikeouts to be successful, but his Reasons don’t actually hold up. Let's look at Gibson's public statements and see if we can figure out what he's really thinking.

1. "Guys who hit .300 are making outs seven out of 10 times"

Shawon Dunston once hit .300 and made an out 6.88 out of 10 times. That’s comical and also the closest anyone has ever come to the accomplishment that Gibson believes is the norm. Guys who hit .300 also draw walks, which are not outs. Guys who have an on-base percentage of .300 are making outs seven out of 10 times, but are also probably in danger of being sent to AAA. When Gibson faces Mike Trout (315 batting avg last season, 441 on-base) I hope he doesn’t think to himself, “Hey, this guy stinks, he makes outs almost seven out of 10 times!”

2. “If I’m able to keep my hard contact rate low, ground balls are almost automatic outs for me."

Gibson is correct that ground balls turn into outs at a good clip (76% or so). That fact shouldn’t be used as an argument against strikeouts, though, since strikeouts result in an out at a much better clip - about 99.9%..

And so even though he has an above average career ground ball rate (52%), some of those balls sneak through. Even more sneak through with the Twins’ defense behind the pitcher. Gibson seems to understand this.

3. “When hitters put balls in play, they’re going to get a hit sooner or later. But if I get five ground balls in a row, I’m more than likely going to get out of the inning. Offensive numbers will tell you that. If they only get a hit three out of every ten times they put the ball in play, that’s less than two out of five, so I like my chances.”

I guess Gibson is cool with not converting batted balls into outs at an above average rate. He knows balls will drop for hits 30% of the time. And it’s comforting to him! He uses this as evidence that he has the advantage and doesn’t need to strike anyone out. Just look at Kyle’s imaginary inning - he got three outs but gave up two hits and he likes it.

Imagine a carnival game where kids shoot a basketball and win a stuffed animal if they make a basket. It’s the carnie’s job to prevent this from happening, and because this is the worst carnival game ever, he’s allowed to very easily block the shot if he so chooses. Like Mutombo against Danny DeVito or something. If it were Kyle Gibson, he’d he sit back and say, “they only make it about 30% of the time, so I like my chances. No need to block the shot.”

Front offices have reached the opposite conclusion as Gibson: why even give them a shot? Give them fewer opportunities to get lucky. In other words, try to allow fewer balls in play.

And they’ve succeeded dramatically. Balls in play are way down and strikeouts are way up and it’s become a big point in the “games are too long” debate. But from a strategic standpoint, it’s rock solid.

Putting the strategy into place involves measuring what a pitcher does apart from balls in play - homers, walks and strikeouts. But since Gibson doesn’t understand the strategy (remember, he thinks the odds are in his favor even when running a .400 BABIP), he doesn’t understand a primary measurement for putting the strategy into practice:

On succeeding with a low K-Rate: “Maybe someday someone can explain FIP and xFIP to me, and I’ll get it."

Kyle understands pitchers don’t have much control over what happens after the ball leaves the bat. And that’s the fact that was the genesis of the stat Fielding Independent Pitching, so Kyle has a great foundation for understanding it. But because he uses the same fact to arrive at a different conclusion, he can’t wrap his mind around FIP.

4. "I’d benefit from increasing my strikeout rate, but the same time, you have to know what your strengths are. Going after strikeouts for 27 out of 27 guys isn’t my strength right now. Sure, there are times where I’d like to get more strikeouts, but 27 outs are 27 outs. Whether it’s 27 strikeouts or 27 ground balls doesn’t matter to me.”

After cutting through the hyperbole, it seems that Gibson simultaneously believes the following things:

a. I can’t get more outs via strikeout (Going after strikeouts for 27 out of 27 guys isn’t my strength right now)

b. I would benefit by getting more outs via strikeout (I’d benefit from increasing my strikeout rate)

c. It doesn’t matter to me if I get more outs via strikeout (27 outs are 27 outs. Whether it’s 27 strikeouts or 27 ground balls doesn’t matter to me)

______

a. I can’t get more outs via strikeout

Let’s tackle the first one first: Is it within the realm of possibility for Kyle Gibson to increase his strikeout rate?

People who know baseball certainly seem to think so. Last year at this time, even strikeout under-rater Terry Ryan saw the K skills:

"There's a lot of talk about his strikeouts. If you evaluate that guy pitch by pitch, he's got three plus pitches in his approach, but you wouldn't know it with his strikeout ratio," Ryan said. "He's just gotta attack the strike zone more and not nitpick. He shouldn't be a finesse guy. He's got stuff with a power slider, a fastball that can sit around 92-93 [miles per hour] and a good touch and feel for a change. So there's a good chance Kyle Gibson is a guy who can take a step or two forward."

And there have been articles written by really smart people examining his strikeout upside and saying, “he’s proven himself as a quality arm. Take a quality arm and add some extra strikeouts, and you’ve got a dominant arm. And it seems like he should be getting those extra strikeouts.”

It’s not all just potential. He has the results, too.

This excel sheet sorts every career start into one of three categories: high k%, medium k% and low k%.

Take a look at the top third by K% of his career starts - every start in which he K’d more than 17.8% of the batters he faced. In those 32 starts, he struck out an average of 24.96% batters. League average since Gibson broke in is about 20.4%.

In other words, he’s had a lot of games in which he had a high k percentage. So yes, he can do it.

I suppose the quote, “going after strikeouts for 27 out of 27 guys isn’t my strength right now.” might not mean, “I literally can’t strike out more guys”, but could be read as “If I tried something that isn’t a strength, even if I succeeded in raising my K rate, it would not benefit me overall because any gains would be negated by going away from my signature strength - inducing grounders.” If that’s what he meant, he’d obviously be contradicting himself when he said that raising his K rate would be beneficial. But furthermore, he’d be presenting an either/or type situation. As in, there’s a choice between being a groundball pitcher or a strikeout pitcher, because it’s impossible to increase one rate without decreasing the other.

Being a ground ball pitcher is part of Kyle Gibson’s identity. No one wants to lose part of their identity. Especially if they also think it will hurt their performance.

The line of thinking is this - adjusting approach to go after more swings-and-misses (whiffs) and not pitching to contact means he’d be throwing his sinker less often, meaning the success in missing bats would be offset by giving up fewer grounders when they do make contact.

Luckily, we have fangraphs correlation calculator tool so we can see if ground ball rate goes down when swinging strike rate goes up.

Not so much.

For Gibson himself, it’s a little different. Looking at the top third of starts by swinging strike rate, we see that his groundball rate doesn’t change much when he gets more whiffs, but his BABIP does.

Swinging Strike Rate - Upper Third of starts - 53.08 GB% and .312 BABIP

Swinging Strike Rate - Lower Third of starts - 51.80 GB% and .294 BABIP

On the other hand, these thirds are only composed of about 35 starts, a little more than a season’s worth of games.

Inducing grounders and suppressing BABIP isn’t the only thing to worry about. Pitchers also need to avoid giving up extra base hits. Maybe Gibson is freaked out about giving up harder hit baseballs if he tries to miss bats as opposed to throwing his sinker and going for contact, which means that even if the guy gets a hit on it, at least it won't be for extra bases.

First, is this true generally? We’ve seen bright guys like Zack Greinke trade in swinging strikes for pitching to contact, so there must be something to it. Let’s go back to the correlation calculator and check if Isolated Slugging Percentage goes up when swinging strike rate goes up.

The opposite! This shows that improving whiff rate actually makes ISO go down, even though it’s an extremely weak correlation and we shouldn’t actually say that.

I don’t have Gibson’s ISO-against, but we can look at hard%. The top and bottom third of swinging strike rate games produced almost the same exact Hard% and GB%. So, it doesn't seem like he has to choose between getting swings and misses or getting grounders OR avoiding hard contact.

Swinging Strike Rate - Upper Third of starts - 29.13 Hard% and 16.50 HR/FB%

Swinging Strike Rate - Lower Third of starts - 26.66 Hard% and 11.50 HR/FB%

According to our spreadsheet, Gibson’s home run per flyball does rise slightly in games where he gets more whiffs, though. Gibson’s fears that we just invented are maybe valid. Maybe he’s right to be scared that his GB% will go down and his hard% will go up resulting in both a higher BABIP and ISO against.

That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t increase his strikeout rate though. It’s pretty clear that any losses in those departments will be more than made up for by the increase in strikeouts. And he knows this.

b. I would benefit by getting more outs via strikeout

Damn right. And the proof is right there in the results. His ERA is significantly lower in games that he strikes out a higher rate of batters, which is probably mostly because he lets fewer people on base. And when they do get on, they’re stranded more often.

c. It doesn’t matter to me if I get more outs via strikeout

If this interpretation is correct and Gibson believes both B and C, then he’s admitting that he doesn’t care about getting better.

However, the actual quote is “..27 outs are 27 outs. Whether it’s 27 strikeouts or 27 ground balls doesn’t matter to me.” Maybe he’s referencing Tom Tango’s work that shows the value of a strikeout is only marginally better than a groundout. If so, he’s correct that the way he gets the outs doesn’t matter, as long as he gets them.

However, getting outs isn’t the only goal of a baseball pitcher. It’s getting outs while not giving up runs.

It’s like if your goal was to get to the top of Mount Everest and you could use a wheelchair or a jetpack. Gibson would be like, “Getting to the top of the mountain is getting to the top of the mountain. Whether it’s with a jetpack or a wheelchair doesn’t matter to me.” But it does matter because the goal isn’t just getting there, it’s also to not get frostbite on your nose and have your nose fall off because of the frostbite. Imagine Kyle Gibson saying “yeah I chose to take a wheelchair to the top of Mt. Everest when I could have taken a jetpack but the result was exactly the same” without a nose.

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jrgarcia · 7 years

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Raptor Time

When I first heard I was getting the 2017 Ford Raptor I asked for a later date than what Ford offered. Why? Because I need time to think. To plan. To organize. To allow the hamster wheel in my head work up a sweat on how I was going to test the Ford Raptor. San Antonio isn’t Moab. It’s not a place to properly test a performance off roader and I only had 3 days in between my full time job to get the most out of this opportunity.

Two weeks prior to delivery I made plans. Plans to ask for one day off work. It would allow me to go back home to the ranch to see how the Raptor handled itself on fast dirt roads. Then I needed to find a beach. Not just any beach. One with small crowds and large dunes. A beach that could pose a challenge to the famed Raptor. North Padre Island National Park seemed like just the place. Now I needed a crew to join me. What fun is a Raptor on a beach if you’re alone? My brother and two best friends offered their weekend to help me on this adventure.

Exterior

The 2017 Ford Raptor isn’t a truck in the traditional sense. Yes, it can carry cargo and tow, but that’s not what it was engineered to do. The Ford Raptor was designed to live, love, and breathe, speed on any terrain. An F-150 born with Baja 500 ambition. An action figure you can drive, complete with kung-fu grip and an array of accessories included. Redesigned for 2017. I prefer this new body style to previous models. It has bones in its face. Chiseled cheek bones and a steel jaw. The models before it always reminded me of the face guard on a football helmet. Round and wrapping itself around the frame. The Raptor stands tall and proud. Ready to rock n roll. I also liked that the tailgate didn’t say Raptor across it. Never understood the need to give a truck a giant name tag. Because when it comes to trucks those that know, know, and those that don’t, probably don’t care.

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Interior

I spent 12 hours driving around in the Raptor. With three other people. As we drove to and from North Padre Island. The seats provided lumbar support, and were very comfortable. The infortainment screen was easy to navigate. Voice command actually understood me, and I could control almost everything from the steering wheel.

I was surprised that this hardcore off-roader felt like a regular F-150 when driving on highway, or in the city. Even driving over speed humps and pot holes, the suspension absorbed it so my spine wouldn’t. For its size and width I never felt like I was in-over-my-head trying to park it. It took minutes for me to get adjusted to the Raptor’s dimensions. Thanks in part to its array of cameras that lets you see where every inch of the Raptor is going. Once you are used to it the Ford Raptor can be as easy to maneuver as a Ford Fusion.

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Ford Raptor Specs and Performance

Ford really went all out when they created the Twin-Turbo 3.5 Liter EcoBoost V6 for the 2017 Ford Raptor. It sounds unlike any other V6 truck on the market. Not since the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX with its infamous intercooled 3.8 turbo engine has a V6 impressed so many die-hard V8 fans. The Ford Raptor comes with 450 horsepower, 510 ft-lb. of torque, and a new 10-speed automatic transmission to organize all those ponies to its maximum potential. Not only does this engine make more power than the old 6.2 V8 (411 hp). It’s also the same engine used in the Ford GT. That means you can get more out of this engine if you’re a fan of tuning.

Putting your foot down on a Raptor is a thrill. No matter the terrain. It buzzes and whooshes as the turbo kicks in and pulls the Raptor effortlessly. The EcoBoost rumbles at high RPM’s, enough to make you giggle. Most trucks of this size can be fast but they won’t take off the line like the Raptor. They lurch forward and feel heavy. The Raptor accelerates like a sprint runner. It felts light and nimble. Gives you a sense that any problem you face on the road can be solved by just moving your right foot. The one drawback is the limited top speed of 107 mph. But I understand the need for it.

The Raptor’s selling point, besides its power, is the Fox Racing suspension upgrades. Off-road you feel like a trophy truck driver. You feel the suspension working as it floats over everything. I had to retrain my brain into trusting the Raptor. I had to trust that it could handle more than the average truck. Turns I would usually slow down for were now 50 mph power slides! No body roll meant I could aim it where I wanted to go and trust that it wouldn’t sway and lose control. Even when I pushed it hard all I had to do was stay on the throttle and adjust the steering accordingly. No problem.

Don’t worry, I’am a self-proclaimed professional.

Adventure Time in the 2017 Ford Raptor

Ford gives you 6 different driving modes to choose from:

• Normal • Sport • Weather (Snow or heavy rain) • Mud/Sand • Baja • Rock Climbing

How the Raptor feels when changing drive modes is instant and noticeable. In normal mode it feels like a regular F-150 with aftermarket parts under the hood. Switch to sport mode and the truck goes on alert. Its ears stand up. The hair on its back shoots up like a cat ready to fight. The whole truck feels amped up, ready to go. Wanting to go. Like a dog waiting for you to throw the ball. Let it go by burying your right foot and brace yourself. The 10-speed kicks down and the Raptor will start running down the miles under its massive wheels.

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Baja mode is where the Raptor goes off the chain. Baja mode keeps the RPM’s high near the redline border and doesn’t change up or down until the last possible second. This is to maintain peak performance and allows you to really power through terrain like a trophy truck in the desert. However, I was never in a situation where I felt I needed Baja mode. I found Sports mode, with 4WD, more than suitable to tackle the dirt roads of Laredo. And fun. Anyone who decides to run a Raptor better be aware of their limitations as a driver. Because the Raptor can give you a false sense of confidence. Its power and driver aids can make you feel like you’re doing something right when in fact it’s the truck that’s keeping you out of trouble. Don’t push it beyond the edge unless you’re prepared, and know how, to bring it back.

Everyone took notice while driving on the beach. I imagine they were thinking we were dumb to bring a brand new truck and fill it with sand. Or maybe they were admiring the Raptor since it was the only one we saw in the sea of Jeeps, Chevys, Rams, and Subarus.

My friend asked why I didn’t just get on the beach and floor it. I was going to say no but then thought, “Why not, I’m in a Raptor?” And went for it. Blasting past a convoy of Subaru Outbacks on the left at over 50 mph. I wanted to go faster but I knew I had stuff in the bed that could go air born.

Pricing for the 2017 Ford Raptor Supercab starts at $49K, and the Supercrew at $52K. The model used for this review was the Supercab with an MSRP of $61,685.

Final Thoughts

The sum up the Ford Raptor I need to ask if anyone remembers the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes? The cartoon featuring a young boy and his stuffed animal Tiger that his imagination brought to life. Every time I was in the Raptor, or walked towards it, I felt like I was embarking on a journey. Me and the Raptor, my loyal companion that would use horsepower and ground clearance to keep me safe and smiling. The one thing I did not enjoy was the 14 mpg I averaged during my week with the Raptor.

This is a truck that brings out the kid in you while never letting you forget that you’re in a grown-up performance off-roader. The 2017 Ford Raptor is a true adventure vehicle for people who think Jeeps are too slow.