But the 2011
film, while flawed
in many ways, proved surprisingly
entertaining and teed up both its title character and his villainous brother Loki for a return
appearance in the team - up movie «The Avengers,» which turned out to be an absolute megahit.
The list of icons making
appearances was truly unprecedented: Superman soars twice — once
in the «return» and the other as Ben Affleck; Crockett and Tubbs exude cool; Ethan Hunt falls short; Captain Jack Sparrow sets the stage for the finale; Jack Black sometimes wears stretchy pants; Huey Long is resurrected and somehow over-played by Sean Penn; the mass appeal of the DaVinci Code novel fizzled onscreen; Robert Altman's amazing career ended with an excellent adaptation of a radio series starring Garrison Keillor's made for radio face; Johnny Depp tried to untrack his career with The Libertine; Nicolas Cage was front and center
in the disastrous remake of The Wicker Man, but if the preview is any indication, his sleep - walk was merely a tune - up for this year's Ghost Rider; Woody Allen (with Scarlett Johansson as his muse) re-emerged with his best comedy since Crimes and Misdemeanors; amazingly, Jen and Vince's real life break - up was more
entertaining than the
film version; and while on - set hook - ups seem to the norm, how could the dreadful You, Me and Dupree have been an aphrodisiac for Kate and Owen?