#* points to Black Panther and Thor Ragnarok and Captain America trilogy *

[qcomicsy]

I think whats been pushing me more and more to DC is the fact that I'm sick and tired of big boom movies.

Like movies that pass on the span of 1-3 days. There's no development the characters as stagnant, the writers tries to gaslight you the entire time between fight scenes and overly emotional moments that those guys are bonding and actually becoming friends when they don't even know eachother. It feels artificial and you have no moment to breath and care about those characters. But you need to care anyway because- Oh! Another boom moment OOPS the might dieee~~

Like no.

The last movie I've seen from the mcu that felt like it give a shit about it's characters and their development and their bond as human beings were The black widow AND EVEN SO. They managed to push in a stupid fighting in the middle of the air scene.

IN A BLACK WIDOW MOVIE??????????

The entirety of many super-hero movies this days feel like it's trying to distract you from the plot holes with shining explosions and shallow humor instead of, you know? Building a plot.

And I'm not going even start about how many characters are a shallow form of their comic counterparts.

And listen. I like big boom movies. I like explosions, I like big actions sequences and I love LOVE scream at my screen wondering if it all go to hell or they all will make it. It's rewarding it really is. When it has stakes about it.

I think the best example I could give is Transformers and Fast and Furious franchise and listen people can complain about it all they want. It's not perfect and it was many many early-2000's sins and flaws. But anyone who watched for not a single moment, a single minute, question how much those characters care for eachoter. The movies take time to introduce them, to care about their friendship, to stabilize their personality traits, to built and give every now and then little tips about their inner lives and relationships and the fucking world building.

The world building of those movies is insane. It has so much freedom and so little shame (confidence) on what their doing that "Yeah of course students from Tokyo spend their time out of school drifting with cool Y2k cars why wouldn't they?"

Superhero movies most of the time feel like they're ashamed of being super hero movies. They're ashamed of their characters having emotions and they're ashamed about their characters being vulnerable (if isn't for a cool inspirational fight scene that will look cool in a trailer).

We joke and all, but for not a single scene fast and furious were ashamed of showing how much Don Toretto love every single one of his friends. How he would die for each one of them. They hug, they joke, they laugh with eachother between scenes, they feel like a family.

All that mcu characters seems to do this days is be annoyed and complain about every little shit and every single person they claim to love. If you would take a shot everytime a mcu character bitch about something, I don't care how much alcohol you generally can take it, you'd probably end up in a hospital anyway.

Transformers were less pussies about showing a man bonding with a fucking car (with even music montage!), than mcu showing what is supposed to be a literal "found family".

Transformers had more patience of showing world building and show-not-tell about cars who were secretly space-aliens than MCU had for what twenty movies? They literally put an know-it-all character to infodump the shit and then somehow make the audience feel stupid if they don't get it.

for example there's this thing that the main character doesn't know so he goes to the know-it-all character (generally Strange but it used to be Tony), so the know-it-all character roll their eyes because how stupid of the main character not know about the fucking powerful magic pen or whatever who was made by a fucking titan-witch-who-cares-because-it-probably-was-made-it-up-for-this-one-and-only-movie and then get all passive aggressive while they infodump the instructions that the main character is going to fuck-up anyway, because they need a third arc.

Bro I'm tired.

They have no comic accuracy (which you know? whatever at this point. They're doing their own thing anyway), no character development, no respect for it's characters and/or their traumas, no actual interesting world building thats not "oh! look at this refereeeence!!! aren't we coool??? please please tell us were still cool!! 🥺🥺" , no interest in exploring or developing actual bonds and friendships, no terrifying villains, no original plot, no different methods of story telling, WHAT DO THEY HAVE????

COOL EXPLOSIONS??? FIGHTING SCENES????? Its 2022 babes you got that from commercials.

And I'm this pressed because I'm disappointed. Because it used to be great. It used to actually give a shit. Many characters are being introduced to their first time in FOREVER. And now they don't even feel like trying.

We used to go to a movie theater having no idea what they would adapt and how they would portray the character and be pleasant surprised in the different forms of telling a story. Like remember how people used to be friends on mcu?? Actually give a shit about eachoter, actually be pleased about being around eachother. Like-they made Tony Stark seem like a cool chill dude who genuinely cares about people.

They would take actual comic book arcs and introduce to the theaters in a way to explain why their characters are like that, what they stand for, what they represent. The story was made for it's characters not the other way around. It took time and care and innovation.

Fuck they even were better at making military propaganda (which I don't know how to feel about it).

I'm just not excited anymore to watch a movie and than think about it and realize I didn't even enjoy the time I had, because it never fucking stopped to breathe, so I was just stressed the whole time about the big boom thing that wasn't even that good in the end.

It's shallow, it's annoying and I'm not sure if I can do it anymore.

And as a queer person I'm also fucking exhausted about seen straigh people have all the fun all the fucking time, even when the- you know, the actual character? from the comics? Are not even straight in the first place, yeah I'm looking at Peter Quill.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk fuck Marvel and their constipated repressed ass.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

A big reason why I like the Black Panther films is that you can totally ignore everything else and the story works fine. You can forget Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame, just watch the first film and then its sequel. I didn’t like Captain America having his third film be changed to Avengers 2.5 just because marvel wanted to compete with Batman V Superman that same year, or Planet Hulk getting a half-assed adaptation in Thor 3, or Wanda stealing the show from Doctor Strange in his own sequel. Cameos can be fun but those were a bit much. The worst offenders are the mcu Spider-Man movies because Peter is shown being pretty dependent on characters like Iron Man, Nick Fury, Doctor Strange, and even versions of himself from older movies. And both Iron Man and Doctor Strange were responsible for the villains showing up in those films.

I will say due to the...really badly handled introduction of Skaar in She Hulk, its likely we could potentially get a Planet Hulk adaption down the line hopefully, but at the same time, as you pointed out, they already took half of that adaption in Ragnarok with Hulk landing on another planet due to leaving for space at the end of Age Of Ultron (another set up that went in weird places...at least it didn't go nowhere I guess like most MCU set ups lately). And your not wrong on the others: Civil War was basically MCU trying to compete with Batman Vs Superman (and yet somehow, Batman Vs Superman is the one getting dragged still when I'd happily rewatch it over Civil War) while also giving Captain America's film to Iron Man basically, and Wanda basically took over a film that wasn't hers to the point every character is depowered just to make her look better as remember: Doctor Strange is meant to be a powerful sorcerer as is Wong and the other sorcerers and even Miss America in the comics is pretty powerful, but they all depowered just to make Wanda this powerful villain that takes over his film that should have been him facing Mordo with the set up first Doctor Strange did, but nope I guess (and given how they planned to have Wanda kill Mordo before it was cut from film...maybe Mordo escaped being in this film...at least main universe him, anyway...).

And oh god, don't get me started on the MCU treatment of Spiderman. At least when you watch the OG trilogy and Amazing Spiderman films, you know they spidey films and you see Peter doing everything on his own with his villains having some form of connection to him. MCU???? Tony Stark caused the first two villains and Peter just happens to get caught in the messes each time and No Way Home can try all it wants: Strange should have told Peter about the spell PRIOR to doing it and therefore, if Peter did still do his stupid mistake, it would be his fault, but no, Strange doesn't, and therefore Strange's fault too. Plus its funny as hell they clearly wish they got to do Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus and Electro and Sandman, but they didn't, so they drag the prior Spiderman films versions of them into this Spiderverse rip off and force a connection between MCU peter and Spiderman films Green Goblin via fridging Aunt May, because beyond that, MCU Peter has zero connection to these villains and the other two Spidey's have more development with the villains then he does.

Like, there's fun little cameos everyone whose seen prior stuff can enjoy (Doctor Who coming to mind here along with DC's Shazam! and Black Adam), and then there's the MCU having the cameos take over the whole film somehow, meaning your forced to watch prior stuff to understand. And as much as I can agree Black Panther is easy to watch because it doesn't rely on prior stuff (with the only set up being in the end credits where we see Bucky), gonna have to sadly point out Wakanda Forever does have that stupid Valentina stuff shoved in to set up Thunderbolts, though gonna assume that was on higher up's end and not Ryan Coogler's end, since its basically apart of their pattern in the MCU at this rate.

[cogentranting]

A Comprehensive List of Viewing Prerequisites for Marvel Phase 4

Because I’ve seen complaints about how the MCU is now overcomplicated because of how many movies you need to watch to understand any new piece that comes out, I’m going to break down what is actually required for each movie or tv show. 

There are three levels:

Necessary-- This movie is a direct sequel to the one listed and/or the plot or character arcs will not fully make sense with knowledge of this movie

Helpful-   it borrows a secondary character but you can probably get by without their background; a specific plot point or character ties in but someone could explain it to you in a sentence or two and/or the movie itself gives you the pertinent details.

Bonus-  there are references or appearances that you won’t get if you haven’t watched these but they’re minor enough that you probably won’t even notice they’re there; or a character appears but the movie explains/introduces them well enough that you don’t need prior knowledge; or all references/appearances are constrained to credits scenes

Does not include She-Hulk or Wakanda Forever because I’m making this before they release.

Black Widow

Necessary: Civil War

Helpful: Endgame; Avengers; Age of Ultron

Bonus: X

Shang-chi

Necessary: X

Helpful: Iron Man 3

Bonus: Infinity War/Endgame; The Incredible Hulk

Eternals

Necessary: X

Helpful: Infinity War/Endgame

Bonus: X

Spiderman: No Way Home

Necessary: Far From Home

Helpful: Infinity War/Endgame; Homecoming; Tobey Maguire Spiderman trilogy; Andrew Garfield Spiderman Movies*

Bonus: Daredevil; Civil War; Any of the Iron Man movies; Venom

*I debated where to put the other spiderman movies but trust me this judgment is from the personal experience of taking my mother who has no memory of the AG and TM Spiderman movies to see No Way Home and she did fine. Context clues are a magical thing. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Necessary: Infinity War/Endgame; Wandavision*

Helpful: Dr. Strange 1

Bonus: Any X-Men movie; Captain Marvel; What If- Captain Carter and/or Captain America: the First Avenger; Inhumans; The Office; No Way Home

*If Sam Raimi didn’t watch it, I guess you don’t need to.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Necessary: Ragnarok; Infinity War; Endgame

Helpful: Thor 1; Thor: The Dark World

Bonus: Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and/or 2

Wandavision

Necessary: Infinity War/Endgame; Age of Ultron

Helpful: Civil War; Captain Marvel

Bonus: Thor 1 or 2; Antman and the Wasp; X-Men DOFP or Apocalypse* *although maybe you’re actually better off without having seen these… less disappointment

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Necessary: Captain America Trilogy

Helpful: Infinity War/Endgame

Bonus: The post-credit scene of Black Panther

Loki

Necessary: Thor 1; Avengers 1; Endgame

Helpful: X

Bonus:  The Dark World; Ragnarok; the first 5 minutes of Infinity War

Hawkeye

Necessary: Endgame; Black Widow

Helpful: Age of Ultron; Avengers

Bonus: Daredevil

Moon Knight

Necessary: X

Helpful: X

Bonus: TFATWS (Madripoor is mentioned in an offhand comment)

Ms. Marvel

Necessary: X

Helpful: X

Bonus: Captain Marvel; any of the Avengers movies but esp. Endgame

With a few notable exceptions you really only NEED to have watched those properties that the movie/show is a direct sequel too. For those characters that have been around in the MCU a while that adds up. But it’s far from unreasonable to think that, for instances, the fourth Thor movie would expect you to have some knowledge of the previous Thor appearances. 

On the other hand, the movies/shows on here that are about NEW characters, truly don’t require that much MCU knowledge to dive in. Eternals vaguely mentions the Blip but a 3 sentence summary of Infinity War/Endgame would suffice. Ms. Marvel expects that you know the Avengers EXIST and that Carol Danvers is a powerful superhero but really nothing else AND the show sets the stage well enough that if you had never heard of the MCU and started watching the show, there’s enough context to know what’s going on. Moon Knight truly is only connected to the MCU by ONE offhand reference to a fictional Marvel country. 

So new characters are largely being made to stand on their own, and sequels are acting... like sequels. 

The two notable exceptions are No Way Home and Multiverse of Madness which have a much higher number of references. But both of these were billed as big event movies. They’re in no way the norm. (And really MoM requires much less prior knowledge than it would have you believe.) 

And honestly I’ve seen complaints in both directions-- the MCU is TOO interconnected and the MCU is really connected at all. But I don’t really give either side much credence because they’re doing a healthy mix of it. Some are tightly woven into a bunch of different threads. Some have a few carefully chosen connections. And some are pretty standalone, building their foundation before they start to weave their way in. 

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about the MCU (Phase Three Part Two)

And here’s part two! Or, as I like to call it, my reviews of the best movies of the MCU.

Click here for part one.

5th place: Spider-Man: Far From Home (9/10)

This is probably one of the most dividing Spider-Man movies we're ever going to have. Ask someone who claims they're a hardcore Spider-Man fan, and odds are they either really hate this movie or consider it the best one yet. For me, I enjoyed Spider-Man: Far From Home, but I do have some complaints. In some ways, the movie improves upon the original. MJ is a much better love interest than Liz ever will be, the action is top-notch (note to self, do a full scene breakdown on why the fight on Tower Bridge is the best fight scene in a Spider-Man movie), and this movie better understands the struggles of being Spider-Man. There are so many times when it's clear that Peter just wants to take a break and enjoy his vacation, but because he's him, he can't just stand by when people are in danger. Because it's not in his DNA. However, despite some improvements, I still think there are other elements that Spider-Man: Homecoming does better. As that movie has better comedy, a more tightly paced story, and especially a better villain.

Don't get me wrong, I do like Mysterio (it's not a spoiler if he's one of the most popular Spider-Man villains). The writers found a great way of adapting his character into something that fits this universe while also giving a scene that is everything Spider-Man fans would and should expect when they hear, "Mysterio is the villain." The problem is that not only does Vulture have better drive his plans and a more devious personality, but the "big reveal" this movie has with Mysterio is handled very poorly. I still like Far From Home, and I highly recommend it, but I'd be lying if I'd say that there's a reason why other people are less forgiving than me when it comes to this movie.

4th place: Spider-Man: Homecoming (9.5/10)

This is my favorite Spider-Man movie. And because Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, I couldn’t just save how much I love it into one to two paragraphs. So, here’s a more complex review instead.

3rd place: Thor: Ragnarok (9.5/10)

...WHERE! THE F**K! WAS THIS THOR MOVIE?! Seriously, we had boring stories, dull love interests, forgettable villains, and subpar action and comedy in the first two Thor movies. When this entire time we could have gotten an exciting story, a strong female character, two incredible villains, and one of the funniest films in the MCU with the third most epic final fight in the franchise?

...

No. That will not stand.

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?! I demand to speak with the person who failed to give us an exciting trilogy whilst having the third movie shows us what we SHOULD HAVE gotten!

Joking aside, I really love this movie. Not only for the reasons I mentioned earlier but also because this film made me like Thor as a character. I didn't care about the guy we got in the first two movies. But the Thor in Thor: Ragnarok? This guy, I like. I would love to hang out with the guy, talk with him, get to know him...maybe even date him--The point is that Thor is ten times more interesting in this movie than he was in others.

Now, does that mean it's perfect? Pretty damn close, if you ask me. Sure, the fun comes to a grinding halt whenever we cut back to Asgard, the most boring planet in the universe. But you still get Cate Blanchett hamming it up as Hella, so what is there to complain about. It's so good that, you know what, I'm gonna do a full review of this movie. And not like a quick thoughts review like I did for Spider-Man: Homecoming. I mean a full-on analytical review, discussing everything this movie does right and wrong. And that will be coming...whenever the hell I have the time for it. Spring semester is coming up, after all.

But it will happen, and it will hopefully make it clear why Thor: Ragnarok is the best Thor movie. Period.

2nd place: Black Panther (9.5/10)

...I will never fully grasp how important this movie is. I'll come close and try as hard as I can, but by the end of the day, Black Panther wasn't made for me. It's made for a group of people that I will never be a part of, people who deal with so many more issues than me, and all I can do I feel empathy for them. And even though I'll never be the target audience for this film, I will always admit how good it is. The action is incredible, the message is more prominent now than it was back in 2018, and Killmonger is one of the best villains in the MCU, one that at times gives Thanos a run for his money. Not just because Killmonger has an understandable motive, or because he has a plan that's worthy of debate, or even because he's a great character in general. My reasoning is because Killmonger represents a perfect mirror for what T'Challa could have been if he let vengeance consume him in Captain America: Civil War. I'm not a fan of when these movies make the villain have the exact same powers as the hero because it's just a lame excuse to give both characters even ground. Here, making the hero and villain the same shows that this is what T'Challa could be if things went a little different, as they both have similar ideals and motivations but have divergent methods that their impulses drive.

There is so much this movie does right, which is why for every complaint (read: nitpick) this movie gets, I can't help but respond with, "Who cares?" Why does Killmonger getaway so effortlessly in a scene that comes immediately after the one that shows how unstoppable T'Challa can be? Who cares. Why does a movie called Black Panther barely focus on its titular character for a good chunk of the story? Who cares. Why is the CGI so butt ugly? Who...Actually, no. That I've got to give it to you. The CGI looks unfinished at times, and it becomes extra noticeable in the final fight between Black Panther and Killmonger. But still, that is nothing compared to the many, MANY, things that make this movie a damn near-masterpiece. And seeing how this might be the last great story we'll get with this character, then I'll take a damn near-masterpiece (Rest in power, Chadwick Boseman. Wherever you might be.)

1st Place: Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame (10/10)

Yeah...both of these movies are the best, in my opinion. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame is the perfect conclusion to the Infinity Saga. These movies tie up almost every loose ends in past films with a story that has been ten years in the making. Plus, ignoring that fact alone, these are both fantastic movies that balance tragedy with great comedy and character moments, a score that's music to the ears, and by far the best villain any of these flms had. While Killmonger is pretty damn good, there is no beating Thanos. Not only are his lines/monologues quotable, but he is the first villain who is close to having a point. That doesn't mean his evil plan is right like so many psychopaths claim. You see, he has reasoning that you can fully understand, but it's still a radical idea that is far from the right decision. And in Avengers: Endgame, you really see how much of a mad Titan he really is when he decides to go further with his plan. And that's barely scratching the surface of what makes him an awesome villain.

As for our heroes, both movies focus on a ton of them, each getting proper attention, with only a handful receiving the short end of the stick. This doesn't matter as the final battle has an army of superheroes--Let me repeat that: An army of superheroes going against one guy. And trust me when I say, where the battle of New York is worth watching The Avengers, the battle for the Universe is worth investing time into the MCU. Every minute is satisfying, making it all the easier to forget the valid complaints these movies have. Because despite the imperfections, everything Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame does incredibly well makes them both the best films in the MCU. Past, present, and future.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s all for now. See you soon when I rank each of these movies from worst to best. And don’t worry. I’ll keep it brief.

[belovedalittlemore]

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011) DIR. JOE JOHNSTON

june 13, 2020

topics i’m covering

movie itself

steve’s main relationships

steve + peggy (also w/ endgame!)

steve + bucky

agent carter + why she deserves more

marvel as an entity for entertainment, not the advancement of the industry

black panther at the oscars, and why it didn’t deserve to be there

the movie:

ok it’s not that bad, i definitely expected it to be worse. i didn’t really like the yellow ass color grading, like i felt like i needed to tell the movie “you can communicate 1930s without needing to make yourselves yellow”. i think my biggest two issues were the plot and natalie dormer’s character. starting with the plot, this movie was so jampacked with so many challenges i felt like i was watching 3 episodes of a tv show crammed into one. we started with the formation of steve rogers, then the rescue mission, then getting dr. zola (who played the villain in a sherlock episode and freaked me the FUCK out and now i can never look at him the same way), then killing schmidt (which didn’t even work because he ended up in iw + endgame??), then steve dying but then him not dying and waking up? there was just SO MUCH in so little time. second, what the FUCK was natalie’s character for. i love her but she was SO unnecessary. she simply served to add tension to steve and peggy’s relationship, which really only put them back like five minutes. that was never even cleared up, peggy just shot his shield and they kissed like 30 minutes later and everything was dandy.

steve and peggy:

god they’re so FUCKING CUTE and all they really care about is their country and finding the right person and i just watched the ending to endgame (a year later) and guess what? i STILL cannot handle it. thinking about how steve lived a whole life in the present but then also the 1930s but also not BAFFLES me and i don’t think about it but god that ending BROKE ME. i couldn’t listen to that song for a month without CRYING. in short, i probably will never watch endgame again.

also when i first watched it, i was BROKEN because that was a whole phase of my life; that was a DECADE of everyone’s life and it was over and it really hit me at the CREDITS. i was sobbing at the credits and thinking about how we’re never going to see steve or tony again.

anyway, back to peggy. honestly, one of the cutest, most solid relationships in the mcu. i just know that they never fight over anything and their favorite thing to do is dance and i imagine that steve makes her blush but not as much as she makes him blush and i just KNOW that steve would’ve been a huge part of the civil rights movement.

steve and bucky:

ok i’ve always heard about steve and bucky’s ~relationship~ and how they should’ve been gay but after finally watching the captain america trilogy, my only thought is REALLY???

like yeah, they’re great friends and all, and both of them are devastatingly attractive, and they love each other, but not romantically

honestly i feel like this ship really came about because in the other two movies, steve’s accepted that he’s never going to be with peggy, so the closest thing he can have from his old life is bucky and steve sees in bucky everything he ever wanted. and so, of course the audience loses sight of peggy as well and is like “stucky uwu”. but NO. peggy’s the greatest woman who ever lived and the better half of steve rogers and she DEF would’ve been able to lift mjolnir.

hot take: girls only wanted stucky to happen because they’ve never seen a real, wholesome, supportive male friendship in their lives because boys are too stuck inside their toxic masculinity bubbles to demonstrate true love for each other and so girls see stucky and think that they’re in love but really they’re just a great example of male friendship that no one sees anymore

agent peggy carter + why she deserves the world:

she’s so incredibly headstrong and marvelous and is so accountable for herself and calm and cool and collected and lovely in all of the best ways. i know she got a tv series (that lasted 2 seasons), but i feel like she should’ve gotten her own movie. she’s a great push for feminism, we would’ve gotten more steve content (maybe?), and who doesn’t love the 30s.

i just feel like the black widow movie doesn’t matter since she’s DEAD. like i don’t need to go back in time to see her origin story.

movie studios should’ve made pushes for female movies when obviously APPROPRIATE.

peggy carter? should’ve gotten her own movie after this one

black widow? needed the solo movie right before or after the first avengers; would’ve been great!

but now? it’s just unnecessary

marvel:

ever since we did our ranking, i’ve been thinking about marvel as a business and its role in the entertainment industry. the last time i watched thor: ragnarok, i remember thinking that it was a great movie, which it is(!), but it wasn’t the best. and after our ranking, i realized, it really is the best.

i guess i’m disappointed that marvel is really an entity for the blockbuster industry, and not at all for the advancement of the movie industry. i wish directors would be more creative and imaginative; take taika waititi, who took the least-liked set of movies and made it AMAZING. i feel like marvel needs to stop JUST using the russo brothers or that feige guy, whatever his name is, and try reaching out to new directors to incite creativity.

i was looking at a letterboxd list which had every mcu movie with the new releases and there’s going to be about FORTY (total) of them in the next four years, series and/or movie. at some point, we will get bored of the same formula OVER and OVER again.

look at james bond: no one really took them seriously until daniel craig, who (and of course, the abundant group of masterful moviemakers behind him) practically breathed new life and made them something to look forward to. the bond movies used to be a blockbuster, money-making venture, and now it’s taken seriously. i hope marvel does this soon, because in a couple years, their fanbase will become the diehard marvel comic-reading fans and the people who are too sucked in to let go.

black panther, and why it just doesn’t work:

don’t get me wrong, LOVED black panther. such a bold, great movie to finally(!!!) introduce black people into the mcu and done so well. HOWEVER, the movie itself fell a little flat. the whole villain plot? so eh. i thought klaue was way more interesting than killmonger, and they really just brushed him aside within five minutes.

it’s kind of like cmbyn in the fact that their visuals and sheer presence outshine EVERYTHING ELSE, especially in the first watch.

also, it got NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE. i totally understand the other awards it won (best soundtrack, costume design i think, and one other one) and that’s so amazing that marvel finally broke out of its blockbuster mold into the INDUSTRY

however, it got nominated for BEST PICTURE which is so WHAT THE FUCK (ok i’ll let the nom slide though, the 2019 picks were lowkey hella bad and this was the year that GREEN BOOK won)

if ANY marvel movie should’ve ever been nominated and/or won, i think it’s thor: ragnarok or iw; black panther just seemed like such a “look! we’re diverse, can’t you see?�� type of move and i was NOT a fan

[ussthunderquack]

On the Snubbing of Bruce Banner

“Sorry if this is a bad time, but would it be possible for me to get my two sequels, what with the original Avengers team having our whole series finale soon? Or did I just miss my shot?” 

The Main Four of the Avengers are Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk. Iron Man has 3 movies. Thor has 3 movies. Captain America has 3 movies (if only in name). Hulk has one movie, from ages ago, that didn’t even have Mark Ruffalo yet. Nothing against the previous Hulk actor, but Ruffalo is Bruce Banner, as far as most movie fans are concerned, and he deserves movies of his own. Why doesn’t he? 

Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy all got movies (all of which kick ass!), but Hulk, one of the Main Four Avengers, doesn’t get his trilogy? Ant-Man, Spider-Man and Guardians all get sequels, but Bruce doesn’t?

Not only is this weird story-wise, but I can’t figure out how it makes any sense market-wise either. Is Hulk just so unknown or unpopular that they didn’t think he’d sell a trilogy, but Captain America would? Did they think fanboys wouldn’t want to go to a movie called “Hulk 2?” Did they think fangirls wouldn’t want to see Bruce Banner or Mark Ruffalo? 

They sold a movie called “Ant-Man,” about a hero the general populace isn’t familiar with, and who is named Ant-Man. They sold a movie about a space crew that included a raccoon and a tree. They didn’t think they could sell a another Hulk movie? 

If, for some bizarre reason, they thought no, no one cares about Bruce Banner or the Hulk, did they think they wouldn’t be able to find a way to get other popular characters into a Hulk movie? With Bruce’s “Ragnarok” role originating in the comics (unless I’m mistaken), and with his friendship with Tony Stark and romance with Natasha Romanoff established in “Avengers” movies? They didn’t think any of those characters would help boost the audience for a Hulk film?  

They managed to sell two Captain America sequels, despite having to frantically emphasize better liked/known characters to do so, but they pulled it off. They really didn’t think they couldn’t sell a Hulk movie, even with some extra help from Thor or Tony Stark or Black Widow? 

Wanna tell me precisely how the fuck Bruce is not worthy to lift Thor’s hammer, but Thor and Captain Hypocrite are? 

Even after learning his lesson in humility, Thor still has traits of his previous ego, yet can still lift his hammer. 

Steve rogers can budge the hammer, even as the man whose parents’ murder he’s lying about is right there in the room with him. Even with Steve being able to later tell that man  “Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things!” Even after Steve jeopardized the lives of 20-30 hostages to prove to one insignificant henchman that he’s macho enough to win a fight without his helmet and shield. After Steve was fine leaving a regiment of fellow soldiers to their POW fates, until learning Bucky was among them. This is not to say that Steve is evil, or not allowed to be selfish or flawed. 

The point is, why are those people--especially the second one--more “worthy” than Bruce Banner? 

We know that Bruce cannot control himself when he’s the Hulk, didn’t ask to become the Hulk, and does everything to prevent himself from Hulking out unless necessary. When he’s just Bruce Banner, what bad things has he ever done? 

Let’s see.... he helped make Ultron...after Wanda trauma-fucked him and Tony pressured him. (And was the first to own up to how dumb that decision was.) Then he later told Wanda, “I could kill you without turning a shade of green.” Okay, not something a perfect saint would say, but again, I refer you to the stubborn, emotion-driven ox mentioned above. 

I’ll also note that the next time Bruce ran into the person who he “could kill without turning a shade of green,” he didn’t have one hint of animosity for her, despite her deliberately making him Hulk out and rampage a civilian town. 

Of the Main Four, if one of them is the “pure” one, it is clearly Bruce. 

Is it because Bruce stammers his opinions with real words, instead of rehearsed “heroic” cliches (that often make no sense in context)? Is it because he has gray hair and glasses, instead of a heroic chisel-chin and muscle-tits? Is it because he represents some universal side of humanity, rather than the far more important symbol of patriotism for country? 

Speaking of “Ultron,” 

Bruce and Clint’s roles in “Ultron” Should’ve Been Switched 

This is not a blast against Nat/Bruce, a pairing I always thought was cute and fine. But the more I think of it, the more I see why the Nat/Clint shippers were pissed, and the more I think about Bruce’s role, the more pissed I am as well.

As I’ve said elsewhere, Bruce should have been the one to give Wanda that pep talk at the end of the movie, and have the dad-daughter relationship with her. Nothing against Hawkeye, but the only thing giving any substance to his and Wanda’s dad/kid relationship is Hawkeye being a literal dad, which came out of nowhere. Bruce on the other hand would have a far more interesting and meaningful friendship with Wanda. Because he’d still have rage over what she made him do; because he knows a lot about having dangerous powers that are hard to control; because he knows about guilt; and because, as discussed above, he is exactly the kind of cinnamon bun who would be able to forgive her before most of the other Avengers did. 

I am certainly not saying that Bruce and Clint can’t both have this relationship with Wanda, or that Bruce can’t date Nat while also being Wanda’s surrogate dad. But if it was going to be one or the other, it would have been infinitively better to just let Clint have the romance plot with Nat, and give the bigger Wanda-bond to Bruce. 

“Sure, we’ll listen to Ross. It’s not like this fucker caused our most cinnamon-roll friend’s condition and then tried to murder him.” 

Even Team Cap never mentions this. Granted, they don’t mention any of the legit reasons to be against the Accords. And no one in the movie makes much effort to communicate the most crucial of information. And the whole movie is such a mess that this is barely worth even taking into account. But I figured I’d have to at least mention it. 

“Anyone see my family anywhere? Or my ex-girlfriend? Or anyone from my life before the Avengers? No? Just wondering.” 

So according to the Marvel Cinematic Universe wiki, there’s a brief mention of Bruce having an estranged dad he could never impress, and this is why he wanted to impress Ross, leading to the Hulk accident. And Bruce missed his dad’s funeral due to lab work or something. 

So......does Bruce have a mom? Siblings? Grandparents? Other relatives?

I suppose I could also complain about us learning virtually nothing about Steve’s family either, despite three Cap movies and him being a “lead” character in the Avengers series; but even he at least had a couple mentions of what happened to both his parents, and what their occupations were. Not to mention he has a whole handful of supporting characters specific to his own series. 

What about Betty Ross? Presumably they broke up, but her father is now back in the picture as of “Civil War,” so......where’s Betty at? Is she working at a lab with Jane Foster? (Please, yes!) Would she have anything to say to or about the Avengers? Or her father being promoted to Secretary of State? (I won’t ask how that’s possible, given real life politics at the moment.) 

Is there hope? 

“Ragnarok” gave Bruce a long overdo big role. When it comes to the movie series, the MCU is already a bit....erratic?

“Iron Man’s” trilogy is just called “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2″ and “Iron Man 3;” Cap’s movies each have their own title, while also having noticeably less of Cap in each installment;  Thor’s first movie is just “Thor,” but the sequels both have extra titles. “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” sequel is called “Volume 2.” Spider-Man’s movies are “Homecoming” and “Far from Home.” “Ant-Man,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp”... And Iron Man’s trilogy ends before the second “Avengers” movie even comes out, so it’s not exactly much of a “conclusion” to his story (especially with some of the biggest turns in his life coming after his trilogy is over). 

I am not saying that any of this is “bad.” I’m just pointing out that there isn’t much rhyme or reason going on here. So it’s entirely possible that Bruce could get two long overdue sequels, a decade after his first movie, and after his Avengers’ official “end.” 

On the other hand, these bastards might just kill him off in “Endgame.” After all the hell they’ve put him through. And without even letting him have a trilogy like the other three Avengers. If that happens I’ll kill someone without turning a shade of green. 

Fingers crossed for the best. 

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

What can we arguably learn from the Marvel Unlimited’s top 25 most read single issues/top 1-0 most read event comics?

Well mostly obvious stuff but still worth a look at. Now fair cop, it is likely a lot of these stories got pushes from Marvel.com and Marvel Unlimited boosting how often they were read. Additionally it is unknown what constitutes being ‘read’. Likely it’s just clicking on the thing. Also we dunno how many of those clicks are from the same people, different people on the same account nor from the same person on different accounts. Nor how many are from people using the service for research purposes, whether their writers and artists looking for reference material or picture researchers putting together a sticker book or something.

But for the sake of argument lets say that reading the comic is actually going cover to cover, that these comics were read once by individual people on individual accounts who actively sought them out themselves

With that in mind what does the (obviously larger than the hard copies) Marvel Unlimited audiences’ choices reflect? 

Well for starters the movies are mostly a big influence. The hype surrounding Thanos ever since 2012 has pushed stories and events surrounding him to a point where Thanos centric stories are represented a lot. Infinity Gauntlet, the storyline everyone was talking about for most of the 2010s is obviously the most read comic and event. Unsurprising there, although the Thanos ongoing’s inclusion is a little unorthodox. Infinity War’s inclusion is too when you think about it since the movie borrow nothing beyond it’s name, but I guess people might not have known that

Further movie influence is obvious in Deadpool, Planet Hulk, Old Man Logan (as opposed to ANY other Wolverine series), Civil War/Civil War II’s placement on the lists.

This might also have been a factor in Black Panther and Miles’ inclusion though I think that’s more owed to the hype surrounding Coates, Bendis as writers and their runs on both characters. Miles within comic book circles has been (deservedly or not) popular basically out the gate.

Darth Vader’s ongoing is surprising in a way. Not because Star Wars being on the list is that much of a shock but because it is the ONLY Star Wars title represented. You’d think there would be more and that it would be the main book. Jason Aaron writes for it and he’s a much bigger name than Soule, as was the original writer for the Vader ongoing. The book’s inclusion could represent how people veer towards what’s most recent in general, Vader’s standing as simply the most iconic SW character ever and it’s lone inclusion perhaps an indication of how the Marvel brand over all is now much bigger than the Star Wars brand.

Secret Empire being represented three times across the two lists is both surprising and unsurprising. Surprising because of how toxic that story became. Unsurprising because all the media coverage about it probably meant people wanted to see how bad it was.

Possibly for the same reason the Clone Saga is probably on there too. Also its so long and expensive in hard copy it likely encouraged people to read it digitally. Also also Clone Conspiracy’s buzz probably propelled people to read the original and vice-versa.

Secret Wars being on there is also weird. Maybe people read it to find out if it was really rebooting the Marvel Universe or whatever.

Probably should have mentioned this earlier but most of these comics are newer ones. Likely because they were the most current for each respective series and the ones that had the most obvious jumping on points.

Perhaps whats most surprising and pleasing depending what fandom you are in is that there is only one Avengers team ongoing on the top 25 list but there are FOUR X-Men ongoing team titles.

Could this mean that the X-Men in spite of all the push the Avengers have gotten are still ultimately more popular than the Avengers?

I certainly hope so.

Maybe not though because there are no X-events in the top 10 events list sans Old Man Logan (which isn’t an even its an arc but okay).

I guess the events are more all about the movies than even the top 25 individual books list.

The Infinity Trilogy (which is cheating cos that’s 3 massive events years apart) are the most read events because we all knew they were coming ever since 2012.

Civil War is the second most read because of Captain America Civil War and in fairness it was the absolute biggest event Marvel ever did in the 2000s, of the prior 10 years beforehand and possibly the biggest event they ever did since 2006. Dittko for Civil War II’s placement although refreshingly Old Man Logan edged it out again cos of the Logan movie. Infinity probably got onto that list because of it’s movie connection, it was an event launched basically in response to Thanos’ post cred sequence.

Secret Wars was just a huge event and properly crossed over the 616 and Ultimate universes. Secret Empire I already explained. Planet Hulk is a very famous story, had it’s own movie and was adapted into Thor Ragnarok.

  I already spoke about the Clone events but now lets talk something more topical for this blog.

If you very unscientifically combine the 2 lists so you have a total 35 positions and exclude covers, Spider-Man specific books or events are represented 7/35 times.

Unless you count Deadpool and Old Man Logan along with the X-men team titles or count Captain America, Black Panther and some of the events which mostly centre upon Avengers characters (e.g. Civil War I-II) as ‘Avengers’ stories/titles, Spider-Man actually wins out over everyone.

And unlike those examples you don’t need to fudge the details at all. After all Secret Wars and Civil War are Marvel Universe events, not Avengers events specifically. Clone Conspiracy is a Spidey event start-finish.

And it’s rather telling that 5/35 of those Spider-Man events pertain to 616 Peter Parker.

In the events list the only events that are truly start-finish centred upon solo characters are the most controversial Marvel event ever that got Marvel financially assessed in mainstream news and an arc that isn’t really an event and the direct inspiration to a major movie.

But Spider-Man cut onto the list on his own with none of that behind him.

On the 25 individual issues lists, Miles Morales was the only solo legacy character represented and only non-Peter Parker Spider book on any of the lists.

One of the 4 Peter books was the most famous 21st century individual comic book of all time launching the most famous imprint of a comic book of all time, Ultimate Spider-Man #1.

The other entries for Peter were the launch of a new run/title so little surprise there.

And the other two entries were the one two punch that launched Spider-Man wholesale.

They were also the only Silver Age stories on the list and the only classic stories sans 1990s events that movies are being based upon.

Tellingly the 2 most read Spider-Man comics were two different but iconic versions of his origin, but his actual original origin from the 616 universe was much more highly rated.

In fact it was the THIRD most read thing on Marvel unlimited.

Which considering it wasn’t the basis of a recent or highly anticipated movie, an event story or both that’s a HUGE deal.

The big takeaway.

X-Men>Avengers and Spider-Man isn’t just Marvel’s most popular character but their most popular by a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide margin. There were few other solo books in the top 25 and Spider-Man was the only guy with multiple entries.

[comingupforblair]

The MCU vs DCEU approach to world-building

Of all the complaints leveled against the DCEU, the difference in world building compared to the MCU is arguably the most prominent, to the point where it could even be said to be why other criticisms have been as intense and frequent as they have been to the point where it’s acceptable to accuse Warner Bros of being actively uncaring or disrespectful to their characters I’ve been vocal in my defense of the approach taken, not least because of how exaggerated it has been and how it ignores the numbers, and my feelings that the MCU approach, despite it’s undeniable merits, is not and shouldn’t be the only way to build a franchise nor should alternate ways be dismissed as has been the case with the DCEU.

My intention in this post is not to say advocate for one over the other but to look at both as objectively as I can and analyze the benefits and costs of each. I won’t pretend for a second that I’m nit biased as my feelings on this subject are very well documented and I don’t aim to change anyone’s minds but rather to add a sense of nuance to a discussion which has been frustratingly reduced to a narrative that there is a right way and wrong way to build a universe and Warner Bros have chosen the wrong one.

First, I’ll give a brief definition of each approach as I see it

The MCU approach - This method involves giving characters solo films prior to a team-up in the belief that it will create audience familiarity and emotional attachment so that they will care about them all in a team-up film.

The DCEU approach - This method is far more streamlined and is built around an idea that giving audiences a taste of characters first and then building upon that to build hype for a solo film will bring in audiences as well as not including backstory that is not seen as a high priority (not showing audiences a character backstory that they have already seen multiple times for example). Solo films are, in theory at least, more director driven and stand-alone.

Since the MCU method is the one most often praised as the correct one, I’ll start with that

Benefits

Audience attachment - While I don’t believe that solo films before a team-up are absolutely necessary for creating attachment, there’s no doubt that it is helpful and can make big team-up films easier as audiences will likely have at least one character they want to see in it.

World-building - The MCU approach can allow for audiences to be introduced to new parts of the universe and meet supporting characters more easily as well as add a sense of depth to the universe as a whole, making it feel more whole.

Easier film making - Introducing a lot of characters in one film can be very difficult and this approach means film makers won’t have to spend as much time on introductions and backstory and can cut right to the important stuff

Building on characters arcs - Through this method, film makers can build on what has been established already in solo films and develop the characters more efficiently in a team-up film as audiences will know their previous films

Freedom for solo directors - This approach can allow directors to set the first impression of a character, which can be critical, and put their own stamp on them. I still believe one of the best examples was the first Thor film where Kenneth Branagh was free to cast an actor of his choosing for the role and he picked Chris Hemsworth, who was perfect. Branagh was a lifelong fan of the character and it would have been unfair for him not to get a say in that element.

Downsides

The homework effect - This is starting to rear it’s head as an issue for the MCU as it can be very difficult for audience members to understand a major film if they haven’t followed all of the preceding ones so far and films outside of it can be seen as necessary and not in a good way. This also overlaps with frequent accusations of major studios, not just Disney, making things into trilogies that don’t need to be and dragging out stories for more profit.

Continuity lockout - As with the above, this is also starting to be an issue where it can be legitimately confusing to watch films if you don’t have a good knowledge of all the preceding ones. If your favorite Avenger is Captain America and you only want to see his films and skip others, you might find yourself wondering who Scarlet Witch and Vision are and why Steve and Tony are at each other’s throats. If you have no interest in any of those films but just want to watch Thor: Ragnarok because you’re a fan of Taika Waititi, you still have to at least know the plot of the last Thor film and who Doctor Strange is and other elements such as Thor’s scenes with Loki may lack weight if you haven’t seen The Avengers and first Thor film.

Investment - The aforementioned investment from the benefits is a double-edged sword. If you place your bets on a character people love, it works out brilliantly. But if you invest a lot of time and money in a failure, it can be tough to walk back from such a blunder.

This has happened in the MCU with the Inhumans. Disney spent years pushing for them in the comics and shows to take over for the X-Men. Agents of Shield was written to revolve heavily around them to create hype for a film that ended up becoming a TV series that failed spectacularly. This puts Disney in the awkward position of now trying to downplay the characters they spent years building up and Agents Of Shield is stuck being inextricably linked to a mythology no one cares about anymore.

Emphasis on luck - As noted above, this approach requires every piece to do it’s part and that requires a lot of luck. A single failed film can seriously damage future plans or overshadow them considerably. This occured with Marvel and Iron Fist which was intended to build hype for The Defenders which was seen as a crossover event similar to The Avengers. 

Unfortunately, Iron Fist was very poorly received by critics which ended up taking a lot of hype out of The Defenders, a fact not helped by Iron Fist being a fairly crucial building block which overlaps with the first downside. This ended with The Defenders, a show that once seemed like it would be one of Marvel’s defining accomplishments, getting a reception which mostly praised it in comparison to Iron Fist.

Aversion to Controversy- When you’re building such a universe, you want everything to work efficiently and that means not having any wild cards. This recently showed up with James Gunn who was dropped the instant any controversy arose about him because Disney didn’t want the bad press. The response ended up creating an even worse controversy which will have it’s own effects on the films.

Accusations of formula - The level of investment means that producers aren’t as willing to take chances. Directors seem and may feel like they are hired to set up the next big film rather than to make something unique and audiences may struggle to find a reason to see it.

Next up is the DCEU approach

Benefits

Peaking audience interest - The approach taken so far has allowed audiences to get an idea of what characters are like and build hype for a solo film from there. This worked amazingly well with Wonder Woman in BvS and there’s a strong possibility of it happening again with Aquaman and The Flash and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. On the Marvel side, it worked with Black Panther and Spider-man in Civil War, especially the latter who had to overcome the ‘’another Spider-man already?” reaction.

Less pressure on creators - Going with the above, actors in solo films don’t have as much pressure on them which is also handy if they’re relatively unknown as is increasingly the case. Creators can build upon what works and discard what doesn’t and they won’t worry as much if they appear first in a solo film. Tom Holland has said that playing Spider-man in Civil War first was extremely helpful for that exact reason. There’s also less pressure on directors to win people over to characters as that’s already happened.

Streamlined stories - I think a fact often missed out in this debate is that audiences don’t need to know or see everything. Things can only be hinted at or referenced in backstories and work just as effectively. This is especially true of characters we’ve seen a lot or whose stories we already know. I can’t give an estimation on how many people wanted another solo Batman film or rehash of his origin so soon but I reckon it was about zero. Further more, the success of the CW show means a lot of people know Flash’s backstory even if it’s another continuity. 

Other franchises such as Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings show that backstories don’t need to be seen right away or even at all. Marvel also showed this with Guardians of The Galaxy where their stories are only briefly shown or hinted in non-specific details and Spider-man’s backstory which, in the case of the latter, the average cinema goer already knows and will know exactly what Peter is talking about when he references tragedy in his past. 

Creative freedom - Warner Bros has always been a director driven studio and the DCEU has made an effort to live up to that. Whatever your feelings on them, Man Of Steel and Batman v Superman look and feel like Zack Snyder films and Aquaman looks set to follow with James Wan as hopefully will other films. This allows for films that feel unique and has the potential to attract other directors who worry about their vision being compromised for the sake of the franchise. Disney have learned this as well with films like Guardians of The Galaxy, Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok which weren’t as burdened with world building.

Easier access - Having films that are more stand alone can potentially allow for audiences who are uninterested in superhero films coming on board as they don’t have to worry as much about knowing a lot prior. Warner Bros are taking this a step further with the non-DCEU Joker film which, if it works, has the potential to raise immense possibilities for the genre as a whole which it needs to avoid the stagnation that is always being threatened as upcoming.

Downsides

Less audience investment - I said before that audiences don’t need to see characters on their own before a solo film and I stick by that but it is still a helpful tool in doing so. Not using it can be risky if you don’t know how to pull it off. 

Burden of exposition - Having a lot of characters in one film and giving each some kind of backstory can be tough and, if done poorly, can drag the film down. Justice League had mixed success with doing so, not helped by the cut running time.

Less freedom for solo directors - The DCEU approach means that directors in charge of solo films are already losing control of a major element which is casting and initial audience introductions. Sometimes, even most of the time, this can work out for the best as Patty Jenkins admitted she wouldn’t have cast Gal Gadot as Diana but it’s safe to say that the first Thor film might not have worked as well if Kenneth Brannagh hadn’t been the one to choice Chris Hemsworth for the role. 

They also don’t set the tone for the audiences’ first impression which can be critical. This can leave follow-up creators having to clean up messes more than make films and shows as was the case with Iron Fist’s appearance on The Defenders.

Less overt leadership - This can be a positive or negative depending on how you see it. On the one hand, not having a leader who sets a strict tone for films and outlines an arc can creates feelings of disjointedness. On the other, it does allow for more independence among directors even if WB have undercut that possibility with BvS and Justice League.

So that’s the benefits and downsides of the two franchises as I can see it. If I’ m missing anything, let me know.

Like I said at the start, I’m not trying to win anyone over. If you still feel like the DCEU would benefit from an approach like the MCU, that’s fine. I just wanted to outline the shades of grey in this discourse that I haven’t seen others mention. 

[iamjacsmusings]

MCU Challenge musings

18 weeks. 18 films. The MCU Challenge. In collaboration with Team #Geekstalkers. Collated musings below, all leading to Infinity War.

#1 - Iron Man

Robert Downey Jnr IS Tony Stark, Tony Stark IS Iron Man, Iron Man IS the first MCU Avenger. Without this we wouldn’t have the MCU as we know and love it. Despite that, coming soon after Batman’s triumphant return as it does, I can’t help but feel the identikit Iron Man Begins falls a little flat. The weak MCU villain problem is present and incorrect right from Mk 1 too.

#2 - The Incredible Hulk

Tonally misjudged and (latterly) at odds with the hulk as we know and love him in the shared MCU. Watching now, 15 entries later, it feels non-canon. As a standalone, inspired by the 70s show, it’s fine.

#3 - Iron Man 2

Probably [one of] the weakest #mcuchallenge entries for me as it aims for “cool” moments rather than developing character or overarching story. On the flipside, it introduces us to ScarJo’s Black Widow

#4 - Thor

In no particular order: the direction of Branagh, the realisation of the Rainbow bridge, the triple H acting of Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins, the hilarious humour, the majesty of Mjolnir, the Shakespearean plot machinations; all are Thor-some!

#5 - Captain America: The First Avenger

I (too) was predisposed to preferring this origin above all Avengers due to my predilection for Captain America as a character, so the bar was set high. Johnson, the perfectly chosen director, exceeded it by making a boys own adventure replete with echoes of his Lucasfilm roots. It’s underrated in my opinion and should be considered as the Raiders of Phase One. Joe Johnson just *got* 1940s Adventure-era Cap. As too does Evans who only continues to get better with each subsequent appearance. I could watch Cap movies all day…

#6 - Avengers Assemble

Still top 5 MCU of all-time. The Avengers characterisations are spot on in this initial assemblage; no mean feat considering the wealth of source material, the origins of Phase One and the balancing act of at least seven key roles. Come the epic Chitauri invasion finale and from the Avengers arc shot onwards there’s too many fist-pumping, geekgasm moments to mention; spine tingling each and every one of them.

#7 - Iron Man 3

As a fanboy of @BonafideBlack’s buddy banter and noir stylings, I’m on board with his Iron Man entry (noir is an anagram of Iron after all) He write characters therefore it came as no surprise that his take delves beneath the suit to the mechanic that wears it. I’m aware I’m in the minority, but the first two don’t do much for me therefore this is like a shot of extremis to Shellhead’s previously floundering solo entries. It still looks to be Stark’s swansong and, if so, it’s a fine way to finish IMO. Kiss Kiss Iron Man, if you will. The “barrel of monkeys” scene is one of the stand out scenes from the entire MCU too.

#8 - Thor: The Dark World

The tone, palette and plot of this inferior sequel is arguably more aligned with the much maligned DC(E)U rather than the rightly-lauded MCU; make of that what you will. I’d gladly watch an anthology prequel about the Lord of the Aether battle glimpsed in the prologue though…

#9 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

An espionage thriller every bit as good as the best Bourne or Bond has to offer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier just happens to have a few present and future Avengers at its centre. The undisputed leader of the Avengers as the 18-strong MCU currently stands, the more I revisit Captain America Super Soldier, the closer the film creeps towards my current cream of the big screen comic book crop, The Dark Knight.

#10 - Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is better than any film about a half-Terran cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, a walking thesaurus, a talking tree, a green-skinned warrior woman and a bad-tempered raccoon has any right to be. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen GotG already. There’s so much to admire, so much Galaxy to explore. it bears repeat viewing. Every joke still lands. Every emotional beat pulls a heart string. Every character is worthy of fronting their own galactic adventure. We. Are. Groot.

#11 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

There’s much to admire in this movie as Whedon ably juggles the ever-growing ensemble cast; each one gets their moment so, no matter who your favourite is, you should feel satisfied come the conclusion. The action scenes pay off with key moments that remain in the memory: the team line-up, “Go to sleep, go to sleep”, Black Widow on the bike, Hawkeye motivating Scarlet Witch and the arc shot around the Avengers as they end the threat of too many Ultrons. Quiet moments pay off too: the party is perfect (especially Thor’s face as Cap moves Mjolnir), the interlude at ranch Barton is a top idea and the lull in the final fight manages to move; I even welled up a little as Cap and Widow debate their fate this watch. In short, it’s endlessly rewatchable, as my SuperSon has put to the test.

#12 - Ant-Man

Easily the most underrated entry in the entirety of the MCU to date, Ant-Man is also, upon reflection, my favourite solo character origin story. Giant-sized words, I know!

#13 - Captain America: Civil War

War! What is it good for? Captain America movies!

I love Civil War. It’s edgy. It;s important. It’s epic! It truly feels like a “superhero comic book movie” ripped from the panelled page. And, Thor damn, the Russo’s sure can shoot the shit (Sorry, Cap) out of an action scene. Speaking of scenes, there’s one in Fight Club when the Narrator and Tyler mock a Gucci advertisement, asking if it’s what a real man look like. It’s not, no. What a real man looks like is Captain America holding a helicopter with one arm and a building with the other. Swoon.

I could watch this on repeat all day. 

#14 - Doctor Strange

Let’s face it, Cumberbatch was the only choice for Strange, as suited to the hyper-intelligent, egotistical, socially-awkward auteur as Downey Jr was to Stark’s genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. By this point in the MCU, Marvel can do origin with ease as this return to formula proves. Whilst Doctor Strange does remind you of movies from before (Iron Man, Batman Begins, Inception, Matrix), it patches them together into a kaleidoscopic Frankenstein of its own making.

Oh, one more thing: it goes without saying how awesome Doctor Strange’s enchanted Cloak of Levitation is – I’d argue it’s the single best cinema companion since Gromit!

#15 - Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol Two

GotG amped up to 11, Vol. 2 is less a case of difficult second volume, more Gunn locked and loaded. GotG2 is deeper, richer and cleverer than it’s predecessor, if not as instantly iconic nor anarchic in its punk rock aesthetics or impact. Ego, we’ve all got to grow up sometime. Following the near perfection of the first Volume was always going to be a tricky proposition, but this sophomore space saga soars true enough and will surely, in time, serve as a solid central entry in a worthy Guardians of the Galaxy stand-alone trilogy.

#16 - Spider-Man: Homecoming

Did I need another resuited Spider-Man movie so soon after the last aborted attempt? I didn’t think so until I saw this coming-of-age comedy that referenced Ferris Bueller, BttF: Part II and The Breakfast Club (among others)

Did I need another iteration of Spider-Man and his teen geek alter-ego Peter Parker? I didn’t think so until I saw Tom Holland’s infectiously enthusiastic and ultimately incomparable portrayal of everyone’s favourite neighbourhood webslinging wannabe Avenger.

Did I need another potentially disappointing take on a classic Spider-Man villain? I didn’t think so until Michael Keaton’s birdman soared above almost any other adapted antagonist from the entirety of comic canon – not since Loki have I feared and cheered in equal measure.

Did I need another big screen Spider-Man blockbuster? I didn’t think so until I understood what this wall-crawlers direction was under the genius creative control of chief Watcher Feige within the winning MCU. Now I need more, for thwips sake…

#17 - Thor Ragnarok

Space fantasy as its Flash(“ahh ah”)iest, Ragnarok is: Thorsome, Hela good, Full of gloriously glib Loki asides, a Hulk load of fun, great Valkyrie for money! Third time’s the charm for the God of Thunder. I can’t TaikaWaititi to see the Revengers return in Infinity War!

#18 - Black Panther

Stunning Wakanda world building. Convincing and charismatic cast performances. Strong character motivations. Serious and meaningful underlying themes. Too much CGI. MCU continuity issues. Nowhere near enough Michael B Jordan. Good not great. Middling MCU Challenge entry for me.

[redvanillabee]

Post-credit Scene – BBC Sherlock Series 4 VS Avengers: Infinity War

This is a postscript to my standalone MCU meta, Don’t Mourn - Avengers: Infinity War and the Five-Act Structure. The following piece can largely be understood without having first read the linked piece, but I do make small references back to the main meta. 

While I was unaware at first, Infinity War gives me a very strong sense of déjà vu. From the marketing to the plot to the fan reactions, it feels like something I’ve seen. And then it hit me:

Infinity War reminds me of BBC Sherlock Series 4.

Fan Theories and Reactions

The first thing about Infinity War that reminds me so much of Sherlock S4 is the fan theories and fan reactions. Both fandoms have similar expectations over what they might see in the show, but those expectations are similarly let down, and the reactions are almost identical.

1.      Character Deaths

If there is one thing that both the Sherlock fandom and the Marvel fandom are no strangers to, it is character deaths. Or more accurately, highly ambiguous character deaths that gets written over 15 minutes later, no one truly dies until they truly die, but are they really dead? Scientists can’t tell.

Prior to the release of both Infinity War and Sherlock S4, both fandoms expected character deaths – specifically, conclusive ones that will propel the story forward, launching the storyline into a new era. However, none of that happened in both fandoms.

The Marvel fandom is well aware of the impending end of the original Avengers, both in-text and outside of it. Many have expected Tony Stark to die, and pass the mantle on to Peter Parker. Another theory is that Steve Rogers would die in Infinity War, passing on the mantle of Captain America to Bucky or Sam. These theories make sense both textually and metatextually. Steve and Tony’s arcs are both mostly complete – their trilogies are complete, and they both seem to have hit rock bottom by the end of CACW. Metatextually, RDJ is ageing out of Stark, and Chris Evans’ contract with Marvel is about to expire, with the fandom well aware of his plan to not renew it. It makes sense for the story to be passed on to characters who are still fresh enough to the audience, and can carry on the MCU.

However, Infinity War does the exact opposite – it kills off anyone who could further the universe. Stephen Strange and T’Challa both only have one standalone film out; they could easily carry their own trilogies well into the 2020s.  In particular, with the critical acclaim of Black Panther, it makes no sense for T’Challa to die now. The Guardians of the Galaxy are not the most well-known Marvel characters, but they have made a name for themselves, and have an upcoming sequel. Not to mention Peter Parker, Marvel’s star superhero who has just returned to the Marvel Studios. He also has a sequel coming up in the Universe. There is no good reason why Marvel would kill him off at this point in the MCU.

Something similar happened to BBC Sherlock in Series 4. Characters who stand in the way of a story about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson just keep returning, seeming to hold back the development at every turn. Mary Morstan just will not go with a clean break.

While part of the original canon, for many, Mary Morstan is not important to the essence of the dynamics between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Many believe that for the show to continue to be about its titular character, for the story to carry on being a Sherlock Holmes story, Mary Morstan will have to literally or figuratively die, to be removed from the picture for the dynamics between John Watson and Sherlock Holmes to progress. Even Martin Freeman, who plays John Watson in the show, feeds the theory. While Mary Morstan supposedly dies in Series 4 Episode 1, much like the ash-deaths in Infinity War, her death is highly ambiguous and inconclusive. For one, her death is ostensibly the opposite of what the show says a killing shot to the chest looks like. Besides, Mary Morstan lingers in the following episodes. She still intrudes upon John’s life (The Lying Detective), and even narrates John and Sherlock’s actions (The Final Problem). Even if Mary is physically dead, narratively she is not. She retains control over John and Sherlock’s journey, leaving the story unable to move forward. I will further explore this below.

Of course, there is also Jim Moriarty. He has supposedly died six years ago, in Series 2 Episode 3 The Reichenbach Fall. However, he just keeps showing up again and again, intruding upon the story. His recurring not-dead has become so iconic that it even makes it into late night comedy shows:

2.      Suspended in Time

In both Infinity War and Sherlock, characters who should be removed from the scene to allow the story to move forward, do not get removed. These inexplicable and problematic deaths lead to the same problem: the story comes to a standstill. This applies to both the Avengers and John and Sherlock.

As explained above, Infinity War comes to an abrupt pause at the ending. Unlike past Avengers films, where the endings typically point to a general direction in the future for the team, the Avengers stand around, motionless, in the fields of Wakanda. Their fight was futile, and there is no way forward. Likewise in the Soul Realm, Thanos is condemned to live with his regret over Gamora, apparently endlessly, in a liminal space where time does not seem to exist. At the end of the film, everything freezes, and comes to a stop.

BBC Sherlock takes that to an even more literal level. With Mary Morstan and Jim Moriarty never truly dying, they maintain their control over the narrative. Mary narrates John and Sherlock’s actions at the end of The Final Problem, claiming possession of them as her ‘Baker Street boys’, and Jim coming back to round off the supposed end of a show titled Sherlock in a post-credit cameo. John and Sherlock, unable to bring their story forward, are literally suspended in a standstill:

[x]

With a freeze frame where the two are frozen mid-air, the final frame of The Final Problem highlights the issue at the end of both Sherlock S4 and Infinity War: when those who should die to move the story forward don’t die, the story cannot go on; it becomes caught in a stalemate.

3.      You’re Not Exactly Wrong, But…

The MCU and Sherlock fandoms are prolific when it comes to fan theories. Before Infinity War, there have been several jokingly made fan theories that turn out quite close to the actual plot. For instance, there is the joke headcanon that Loki will pull the ‘transform into a snake’ trick  on Thanos, when the latter comes to take the Tesseract. This is actually not a million miles off from Loki’s attempt to kill Thanos when he surrenders the Tesseract, only Loki does not live to tell the story in the film version.

Likewise, with Sherlock, many have proposed fan theories that are mostly just jokes. For instance, before S4 aired, some joked that Rosie Watson, John Watson’s baby daughter, is a bag of guns and money. While the show does show a real, human baby, the subtext also implies that the fan theory may not be entirely wrong. With the Oscar Wilde references, the show does say that, at least metaphorically, the baby is a gun.

4.       Confused, Angry, Mourning

If the plots of Infinity War and Sherlock S4 are so similar in nature, you can expect the fan reaction to be somewhat identical as well. That is precisely what happened. Following the release of the new instalments, both fandoms are caught in a state of what I call ‘confused angry mourning’.

After The Final Problem and Infinity War, both fandoms were at a loss at what they just witnessed. What just happened? Both fandoms asked. What did we just witness?  The death roll, the plotlines, they all shocked the fans. The fans also did not hesitate to tear the shows apart. Many have dressed down The Final Problem as something “filmed in a spray painted cardboard box held together with duct tape with a spare camcorder found in someone’s basement”, or a cheap Saw parody. The MCU fandom frankly aren’t any less savage when it comes to Infinity War. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen someone call Thanos a ‘giant grape’ (or other purple fruits). It would also appear that even Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok (2017), is not too kind about the Infinity Gauntlet either:

[x]

And the fans were angry. They were angry at the futility of the characters’ strife. What was the point of Thor fighting so hard to preserve the population of Asgard, to save Heimdall, to save Loki, if all are just going to be thrown away in the first five minutes of Infinity War, leaving him with ‘nothing to lose’? What is the point of proving that Thor can demonstrate his powers without the Mjolnir, only to insert a plot point about him getting a battle axe? What is the point of Steve turning on the whole world to save Bucky, only to have Bucky wiped from the world by Thanos? What is the point of everything?

The Sherlock fans were just as angry. Series 4 defeated points made by the show itself in previous series, or what the showrunners said about the show. For instance, as mentioned above, while the show made a huge point in His Last Vow about how a killing shot to the chest does not look like what one would see in a Hollywood movie, that is exactly what happens to Mary Morstan in The Six Thatchers. The show’s treatment of Doyle’s The Adventure of the Three Garridebs is also the complete opposite of what Steven Moffat, one of the show’s writers, said about the original story. Even within Series 4 itself, the episodes were contradicting each other. At the end of The Lying Detective, John Watson gives a lengthy monologue about how ‘romantic entanglement’ would complete Sherlock as a person. That is quickly overturned in The Final Problem, where the argument appears to be filial love is what Sherlock needs. The list goes on and on.  

On top of it all, the fans mourned. It is quite straightforward for the Marvel fandom – they mourned those who die or disappear. They mourn for Gamora, Bucky, Loki, Sam Wilson, and more. They mourned the futility of Thor’s struggles, and the little time Steve gets to spend with Bucky. For the Sherlock fandom, the mourning was a little more meta. They mourned the apparent descent into nonsense of their favourite show. For the Johnlockers, they mourn the apparent missed opportunity of canon Johnlock. Across the two fandoms, mourning reigned the immediate aftermath.

5.       Going Backwards

Perhaps most alarming of all, the Sherlock fandom and the MCU fandom came to the same theory following their respective shows: we need to look at the shows backwards.

For the Sherlock side, this comes quite directly from the showrunners. Mark Gatiss, one of the writers for Sherlock, said that he had the cast read the script in reverse order during the first table-reads. From there, the fandom works The Six Thatchers backwards, trying to come up with a version that makes sense. For instance, some suggest that a reverse TST could support the Alibi Theory, the theory that the messy sequence of events in the episode is a cover story for John and/or Sherlock having killed Mary, rather than Vivian Norbury.

The MCU fandom came to this theory, impressively, with less input from the showrunners. For instance, there is  the theory that ‘we’re looking at infinity war [sic] all backwards’. Their reasoning, similar to what I have argued above, is firstly that there is no sense in Infinity War killing off characters that carry future films, while letting characters played by those whose contracts are about to expire stay alive. Citing the power of the Soul Stone in the Marvel comics, the meta goes on to argue that for the universe (both in-text and the Cinematic Universe) to continue, it could depend on who got turned to ash, rather than who is remaining on earth, forming the new Avengers as they avenge themselves in the Soul Realm. Their fight against Thanos in the Soul Realm, they argue, could be the alternative Battle of New York that cemented the original Avengers.

It is interesting how in both fandoms, going backwards can explain and further both stories. The apparent finale in both Infinity War and Sherlock S4 are the beginning if we reverse the order. Incidentally, this ‘going backwards’ fits in nicely with John Yorke’s storytelling model, where to complete the story arc, you need to bring it back to the thesis, returning to the original theme, only now better negotiated and better tested.

6.       Let the Conspiracy Begin

Beyond fan theories, beyond fan reactions, if there is one thing that ties the MCU fandom to the Sherlock fandom after Infinitiy War and Series 4, it is this: the conspiracy wall.

Sherlock is famous (or notorious) for its tie to the word and the concept of conspiracy. From plans to take down the government, to discussing conspiracy theorists, the show does not shy away from the topic. Within the fandom, there is even a subset of fans known as The Johnlock Conspiracy, or TJLC for short.

TJLC is perhaps best known for their many, many metas analysing the show. From the metaphors, subtextual symbols, to the lines and the soundtrack, TJLC thoroughly examines the show to find a clear overarching theme across episodes, across the ‘crime of the week’s. The showrunners of Sherlock appear to be aware of this theorising fanbase, writing them into the show via multiple proxies throughout the seasons, and even have Sherlock directly address ‘the heart of the conspiracy’ in The Abominable Bride (2016). In Series 4, the show even parodied the conspiracy wall scene from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia in one of its promotional pictures:

[x]

It would appear, that following Infinity War, the MCU fandom has turned into something akin to TJLC:

[x]

7.       Missing Scenes

Above, I have outlined how key characters that were spotted on set of Infinity War are ostensibly missing in the final product: from the casting call for two-year-old twins, to the ostensible absence of Clint Barton and Scott Lang. In an interesting turn of events, MCU is not alone in mysterious absence of known scenes and content.

Following Sherlock S4, viewers have gone back to review known Setlock (behind the scenes) moments. They found many instances where content that were supposedly filmed for Series 4 are missing from the actual product. Most notably, during SDCC 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch said  he had 29 pages worth of a monologue in the latest series; as many viewers will have noticed, that monologue does not appear in the show at all. Even his Shakespeare soliloquy in The Lying Detective is a heavily cut-down version; it could not have been the 29-page version that he talked about at the panel. Besides, overseas Setlock, such as what they filmed at Niagara Falls, also failed to make it into the final product.

Again, as I said above, it is perfectly normal for filmed content to be cut during post-production. However, based on the information available to the fandom regarding the filming process, Infinity War and Sherlock S4 will have cut out significant chunks – AIW will have removed two key characters, one of whom is carrying his own sequel following the premiere of Infinity War; on the other hand, the Sherlock crew will have deleted a significant monologue, as well as content specially made overseas.

#ThanosDemandsYourSilence

It is natural for showrunners to protect the plot of their unaired content. However, in the age of social media, people have far more reason to fear fellow fans spoiling the show, than the showrunners or the press themselves giving away major plot points. Hence, we see efforts to curtail fan spoilers. Shortly before the global premiere of Infinity War, Marvel Studios launched one last round of marketing. With the cast locked in interrogation rooms and Tom Holland’s mouth duct-taped shut, Marvel informs the world that Thanos demands your silence.

[x]

As previously said, given the scale of the fandom and the content of Infinity War, it is no surprise that Marvel will do everything they can to ensure that everything is under wraps. However, the tone of the tweet and the hashtag reminds me of something…

On 13th and 14th January, 2017, with the premiere of Sherlock Series 4 Episode 3: The Final Problem on the horizon, the episode was leaked on a Russian website. The show, as expected, rushed to damage control on social media. In particular, there is the tweet from the official Sherlock account:

[x]

While the circumstances are different, I would argue that #KeepMeSpoilerFree is very similar to #ThanosDemandYourSilence in terms of tone.

Even though Infinity War and Sherlock S4 are hardly the final instalments, this secrecy certainly gives it an air of finality. Which leads me onto the final similarity across the two fandoms…

The End is Nigh

Thanks to what we know about the MCU, we know that Infinity War is not the final Avengers film; there is Infinity War Part II coming up. Similarly, thanks to Amy’s meta BBC Sherlock: A Drama in Five Acts, we know Sherlock Series 4 is not the final season. However, both shows did not shy away from creating a sense of finality in the promotional material.

Take, for instance, the trailers. Trailers for both Sherlock S4 and Infinity War keep hammering on the idea that this is their final chance, this is their last hope. The Sherlock trailer insists that, as opposed to the game being ‘on’, ‘it’s not a game anymore’. It reiterates that ‘everything they know will be tested, everyone they know is under threat’. Infinity War echoes these sentiments, asserting that ‘you will know what it’s like to lose’, that the fans will know what it is like ‘to feel so desperately that you’re right, but to fail all the same’. Most importantly, they ask: ‘where will you be when it all ends?’

The cast is all too keen to join in the hype. Chris Evans, when asked about Infinity War, says ‘it’s really gonna take the cake’. Which is, I would argue, very similar to what Amanda Abbington (Mary Morstan) says about Series 4 being something ‘groundbreaking’ that will make ‘television history’.

 The similarities between Infinity War and Sherlock S4 seem farfetched or cherry-picked at first. However, when you consider how Sherlock S4 is also the fourth act in a five-act structure, the shared elements seem less like inter-fandom musings, and more like something dictated by the narrative structure.

This really will not be the first time Sherlock and the MCU mirror each other, though.

Author’s Notes:

If at certain point of this piece it reads like I am explaining TJLC to those who are not in the game, it is because well, originally that was the intention. This meta was originally attached to Don’t Mourn, which I linked to at the beginning of this piece. As advised by my two betas, I published this part separately because it was not too closely related to the main meta. 

[ashleyloveslots]

Tag Game

I was tagged by @melodramatic-fratboi but I was cleaning and hanging out with my family, so no tumblr. But thank you for tagging me.

Rules: Answer 20 questions then tag 20 people you want to get to know better.

1. Name: Ashley

2. Zodiac Sign: Aries

3. Height: 4′ 11″

4. Languages Spoken: English, some French that I learned in high school, some japanese because I watch subs to often and some Korean because I got way to into kpop and k dramas

5. Nationality: Mexican American but I am really white so my mom calls me her Kentucky daughter.

6. Favorite Fruit: Strawberry, pineapple, cantaloupe, oranges, apples and grapes. But really I love a lot of different fruits.

7. Favorite Scent: Lavender and new baby smell. Best smells ever!

8. Favorite Color: Purples, blues, and black

9. Favorite Animal: Wolves, tigers, and foxes. would love to bring a cat and or dog into my home to become a part of our family.

10. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?: tea and hot chocolate. My mom gives me tea all the time and I personally love hot chocolate for my go to winter drink.

11. Favorite Fictional Character: Bucky Barnes, Serena and Darien from Sailor Moon, all the guys from Gundam Wing, Steve Rogers...really this list could go on forever hence my username.

12. Dream Trip: Japan or Hogwarts

13. When was your blog created? maybe 2 years ago.

14. Last movie you’ve seen: Captain America: The Winter Soldier because I needed to listened to all the points when the Soldiers theme came out because it gives me chills.

15. Song you have on repeat: All of Hamilton, all albums by Coheed and Cambria, The Hunchback of Notre Dame Broadway soundtrack and a lot more

16. Favorite Candy: Skittles, Starburst, Caramels, and white chocolate

17. Favorite Holiday: Halloween

18. Favorite MCU Characters: BUCKY, Steve, Sam, Natasha, Tony, Thor, and Loki.

19. Favorite MCU Movie: Captain America Trilogy, Black Panther and Thor Ragnarok. 

20. Favorite Food: Steak, Hamburger, Wendy’s Frosty, french fries and mexican food.

Now to tag the others @skymoonandstardust, @sunray-sunray, @demonspawn2468, @myterribletwenties, @mscaptainjones, @lesbianfalcon, @ihaztwohearts, @jbarnes87, @devikafernando, @donalan9, @thewintersadie, @archimedesbae, @bvcky-b     

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #320

Top Ten Things the MCU Did Right

Blimey, we’re nearly there, aren’t we? Avengers: Infinity War actually opens THIS WEEK which means I might have even seen it by the time my next Top Ten goes out next weekend.

OH MY STARS AND GARTERS.

(Sorry, that guy’s not in the MCU yet is he? Okay, how about…)

SWEET CHRISTMAS.

(I guess he’s not in the films, but the Netflix shows are allegedly canon, so it counts, it counts!)

Anyway, before everyone dies horrible deaths at Thanos’ hands this week, I wanted to celebrate Marvel’s tremendous success here. I’m not a film expert, but I just don’t think this has really been done before; not on this scale, not with this many moving parts. Ten years, nineteen films and counting, a couple of dozen principle performers, multiple directors and writers, one overall storyarc that bleeds in and out of different individual stories… it’s a remarkable, unprecedented achievement. No wonder everyone else wants a bite of the cherry, even though nobody has been successful (and, as a big DC fan, it pains me somewhat to admit that).

The MCU is a minor movie miracle and we should all be supremely grateful that it’s around, still going strong, and hopefully will be for at least another ten years. And here, for the record, are my top ten reasons why it’s been successful; what Kevin Feige and his collaborators have done right.

Read it and weep, denizens of Universal’s Dark Universe.

They walked before they could run: I believe, initially, only three or four films were announced: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Although they started out with the intention of a shared universe, they also started small: four more-or-less origin stories focused on individual characters. There was an ambition to do Avengers, an intent, sure; but they didn’t take it for granted. They didn’t block out dozens of future release dates. By focusing on getting the first batch of films right, as individual films, it created a solid bedrock on which to build the rest of the universe.

They kept it grounded: The first batch of films were mostly set on Earth with threats that weren’t entirely world-ending. Nothing was a huge, huge deal until the Avengers happened. Eschewing the stylised world of, say, the Burton/Schumacher Batman films, the heroes of the MCU lived in the “real world”, and faced more “realistic” antagonists. This grounded the more fantastical elements; nothing was too wild or wacky. There were no talking trees, no alternate dimensions, no magic; even Asgard was presented more as a European royal kingdom in space, rather than metaphysical deities. They took their time to let viewers embrace the world, before cranking up the comic book aesthetic.

The films varied in tone and genre: This has become more apparent as the MCU has evolved, for good reason; whilst the first batch – coming out at a rate of only one or two a year – were content to be variations on origin stories, subsequent films have really tried to vary the style to avoid repetition or franchise stagnation. Even in just the Captain America films, we have a World War II movie, a 70s-style conspiracy thriller, and a globe-spanning epic action movie-cum-war film. Thor always leaned towards comedy, before fully embracing the crazy with Ragnarok; the Guardians of the Galaxy films are both action comedies, and Ant-Man is probably more comedy than action. Black Panther is practically a Bond movie. Meanwhile, the Avengers movies themselves have been content to play potentially world-ending threats relatively straight, and certainly the marketing for Infinity War has suggestions of epic tragedy. This means, even as we get three films a year, they never feel like sequels or retreads. Doctor Strange was the closest we’ve gotten in recent years to a “Phase One” style of movie, and even that was visually trippy enough to stand on its own.

Using S.H.I.E.L.D. as a bridge was a masterstroke: Represented initially by Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D. served an important plot function by being the connective tissue between films; he’d go from talking to, say, Tony Stark to uncovering Thor’s hammer in the space of the same end-credit sequence. “You think you’re the only superhero in the world?” has become an iconic scene. S.H.I.E.L.D. allowed Marvel to create independent heroes in their own stand-alone stories, but similarly build a framework across the entire franchise, seeding the Avengers before the film was even a certainty.

…and destroying that bridge was an even bigger masterstroke: by the time of The Winter Soldier, we thought we knew what to expect from a Marvel movie. S.H.I.E.L.D. probably played the biggest role we’d seen at that point; Cap was working directly for them now, and they’d just saved the world in The Avengers. But by pulling the rug on the audience and the organisation – by having them infiltrated by HYDRA and then forcibly disbanded by Cap and Black Widow – it upended the apple cart. We didn’t know where they’d go from here. True, not many main characters were dying in the films, but there was now a sense that all bets were off; if they could, effectively, kill off S.H.I.E.L.D., then who knows what else they’d do? Destroy Asgard? Reveal Wakanda to the world? It also helped establish a new MCU, where they needed the Avengers, which in turn lead to a world which required the Avengers to be compliant to the UN. These decisions were made gradually, building upon past decisions, but each was a stepping stone to a more coherent and connected MCU.

They kept it light: pre-MCU – and even during their early years, really – the most successful superhero franchise was Batman, and the most successful iteration thereof was Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. The po-faced seriousness of that, coupled with the rather morose tone of the DCU at large at that point, allowed the MCU to set itself apart with a focus on optimism, friendship, and wit. True, Bale’s Batman had the odd one-liner, but all of the characters in the MCU were funny, even straight-laced ones like Steve Rogers or Nick Fury. The colourful setting and witty repartee became a hallmark of the franchise, and a refinement of the style can be seen in increasingly sophisticated ways: Civil War is really a tragedy of misguided good intentions and conflicted emotions, yet still finds room for terrific moments of comedy, whereas Ragnarok is essentially a comedy that still gives us mass slaughter, major defeats for our heroes, corrupted patriarchs, and the destruction of an entire homeland. From the trailers for Infinity War, this style looks set to continue, with T’Challa and Okoye bantering about Starbucks before (I assume) literally everyone is murdered.  

They learnt how to fly: sure, the opening films were grounded; yeah, they mostly focused on Earthbound heroes; fine, the majority of characters were either powerless or had a low-key skillset recognisable as advanced tools or peak athleticism (as opposed to a Loki skillset, which is basically great hair plus bitchy put-downs). However, as the MCU grew and became more successful, they smartly took risks, but also broadened their horizons. Guardians not only took us farther into space than was hinted at in Thor; it also gave us a talking raccoon and a living tree, multiple primary-hued aliens, a space station inside a giant head, and Peter Serafinowicz calling the good guys “A-holes”. Let’s not forget, too, that this was a full-on space opera with multiple planets, creatures, and ships, starring characters way outside the mainstream, that ended with a dance-off. Since then, the scope of the MCU has only widened, with Ant-Man giving us the Quantum Realm, Doctor Strange taking us on far-out journeys across the astral plane, and Black Panther even possibly showing us a version of the afterlife. Panther’s treatment of worldwide black history, slavery, and racism in America is also further proof of a maturing, confident, and intelligent forward momentum for the MCU.

They caught Spider-Man: seriously, however they managed it, whoever we need to thank – Disney, Marvel, Sony – bringing Spider-Man into the MCU is one of the best things to have happened. It instantly gives the character a new hook, and an identity closer to the comics: a youngster pretending to be an adult superhero, in a world where there are adult superheroes to look up to. But the scene in Civil War between Tony and Peter really epitomises all of the great ideals not just of those two characters, or the film, or the wider MCU – even though it does – but the ideals of superheroes as a fictional concept. “If you can do the things that I can do, and bad stuff happens, and you don’t do anything, then it happens because of you.” Spider-Man is utterly crucial to that film, to Tony’s arc, to the wider MCU, because he represents – in a very Superman-ish fashion, and far more Superman-ish than Superman himself has been allowed to be in movies recently – the inherent goodness of a certain breed of superhero. Having this young, vibrant, intelligent presence going forward is a tremendous achievement.

They let directors off the leash: the first few Marvels had great directors, for sure – Branagh, Favreau, Whedon – but there was a sense of sticking, more or less, to the “house style”. When Edgar Wright left Ant-Man, it was assumed his flamboyant tendancies did not fit with the tone of he MCU. But, weirdly enough, ever since then, directors have been allowed to be themselves. It seems possible for auteurs to exist within the Marvel framework, and the universe is better for it. The Guardians films are resolutely James Gunn, Black Panther is very much the vision of Ryan Coogler, and Thor: Ragnarok could not be more Taika Waititi if it was actually set in New Zealand. These more personal approaches to iconic characters have resulted in better movies, and a better franchise overall, as it allows films to shine individually and for the overall filmscape to feel less homogenous.

They cast it very, very, very well: in my opinion, above all else, the single most consistently excellent thing across the MCU is how right the casting is. RDJ is Tony Stark, in so many ways, and his casting really set the tone. Hemsworth brings so much to Thor; sure, he can play the rich royal demanding horses and drink, the self-centred swaggerer, but he brought a humour that wasn’t necessarily there on the page, and gave Thor the richness and depth he deserved. Scarlett Johannsen, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland… I could go on. Mark Ruffalo is so great as Banner you forget he was a recasting operation (ditto Don Cheadle). But far and away the best is Chris Evans. Getting Cap right was difficult, and Evans did seem like a strange choice: he played the jock-tastic Johnny Storm to a tee in Fantastic Four, but could he add the gravitas necessary for Cap? Could he make this straight-arrow guy a charismatic leader and screen presence? Yes. Yes he could. He is, in my opinion, the most perfect piece of superhero casting since Christopher Reeve, and embodies the character at least as well. He’s practically Captain America off camera, too. And he’s just one of literally dozens of well-cast roles in the series.

So there you are. My reasons why I think the MCU has been the success it is. This is my patented formula, so if any other studios want a shared universe, you’ll have to pay me. My price is a four-pack of Guinness and a Blu-ray of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

[ryanmeft]

MCU Final Battles from Worst to Best, Part Two

I hear there’s a movie coming out tomorrow that people are looking forward to. Infinity War promises to be the biggest fight in the MCU to date, but what about the other ones? Here’s part two of my list ranking every final battle in the MCU to date. The link to Part One is below.

Part One: http://ryanmeft.tumblr.com/post/173198399342/mcu-final-battles-from-worst-to-best-part-one

WARNING: THIS LIST THOROUGHLY SPOILS THE END OF EVERY MCU MOVIE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming

What Happens

Spidey and Vulture battle in the skies and on a beach over a stolen crate of Stark weaponry.

Why it’s not half bad

The battle itself is nothing special, and forgoes some opportunities to take greater advantage of Spider-Man’s powers and Vulture’s flight. The best parts involve the interactions between the two, stemming from the fact that, whereas usually the hero doesn’t want to hurt the villain, this time the villain doesn’t really want to hurt the hero, either. The big finish, with Spidey dragging Vulture from the mess he himself caused, is golden, but overall it felt like the battle itself could have been more.

9. Ant-Man

What Happens

Ant-Man and Yellowjacket battle mostly at microscopic size in AM’s daughter’s playroom, using her toys as weapons.

Why It’s Not Half Bad

The creative use of toys like Cassie’s train set pushes this one up on the list. It’s genuinely funny and creative to see the way a child’s toy world is transformed into a battleground, and highlights the fact that the movie’s greatest strength was the interplay of bite-sized powers with the real world. The stakes are lighter than in any other MCU movie, which takes some of the urgency out of it, but this is wisely made up for by the use of humor in a way that recalls older, more physical silent films.

8. Black Panther

What Happens

Amid a wider battle for Wakanda, T’Challa and Killmonger both don identical Black Panther suits and face off with each other, and a train.

Why It’s Not Half Bad

Because the big battle between competing Wakandan factions is really, really cool, to the point where even a few ridiculous rhinos can’t dampen it. You can really feel the stakes in this one, since it amount to BP’s own little civil war. Sure, it was a little bizarre that they tried to make big drama out of Killmonger offing a random, nameless extra, but whatevs.

Sadly, in a movie so full of neat new ideas, the writers fall back on the most tired trope in superhero movies: two similarly-equipped combatants in a mirror match while the environment occasionally gets in the way. They already did this in Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man, and The Incredible Hulk, and several other non-MCU films have used the concept, so it feels like something that was pulled out of Script 101 and stuck in the middle of a better fight. Killmonger’s emotional death, however, adds enough feels to boost it.

7. Thor

What Happens

Loki tries to destroy Ice Person Land to prove he’s a better son, and Thor, who has learned compassion in, like, three days because of a pretty woman, goes a few rounds with him over this.

Why it’s Not Half Bad

The internal logic of this one is really spotty---why does Loki think destroying the world Odin stopped Thor from destroying will make him daddy’s favorite? All we care about is the actual fight, though, and it has a lot of cool touches. Thor’s brute force is pitted nicely against Loki’s cunning and bag of tricks, and Thor ends their one-on-one duel by taking a page from Loki’s book and using a trick instead of a punch; the hammer-on-the-chest thing was clever. While the “consequences” of Thor destroying the Rainbow Bridge to stop Loki’s plan were wiped away with a couple lines of dialogue in subsequent films, that’s irrelevant on this list, and in the moment, it was a surprisingly ballsy move.

6. Iron Man 3

What Happens

Iron Man uses all his resources, including multiple Iron Man armors, to to combat a baddie against which no one suit would have been enough. Then Super Gwyneth Paltrow almost ruins it.

Why it’s Not Half Bad

Yes, Super Gwyneth Paltrow was bad. Real bad. There was no reason to drag out the final battle to get that in there, especially since Tony’s initial solution of wrapping Guy Pearce in armor and making the armor go boom was basically his Mortal Kombat fatality, and it was AWESOME. But the rest of the battle still has that creative thrill that the other Iron Man finales, and most superhero flicks, are missing. Tony running between platforms and jumping between armors runs the danger of making things seem too much like a video game, but the movie pulls it off and gives us a great note to go out on for what is likely the last Iron Man finale we’ll see (at least until the 2030 reboot of the universe).

5. Thor: Ragnarok

What Happens

Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Hulk and Karl Urban throw themselves against the forces of Hela, before ultimately deciding they must unleash a demon and destroy Asgard to defeat her.

Why It’s Awesome

The stakes for this one are higher than almost any other Marvel movie, and while some viewers might have been disappointed by the highly humorous tone of the film, the final fight is all business. The ultimate result---Thor and Loki have to destroy their entire world to prevent Hela gaining control over all the universe---is easily the biggest sacrifice a Marvel hero has made, and the battle has the secondary effect of justifying why Thor keeps Loki around. The battle itself is a little less impressive than the big finale. Basically, it’s another instance of the heroes throwing themselves at a clone army led by a nigh-invincible super baddie. Hulk vs. Fenris was cool, though.

4. Marvel’s The Avengers

What Happens

Loki opens a portal to the far reaches of space, allowing an alien army through to attack New York, and the newly formed Avengers, ahem, assemble to stop him and them.

Why It’s Awesome

For better or worse, this one set the tone for most of the non-solo MCU films that followed. It became predictable and, as a result, boring after a few years, but it still felt relatively fresh here. Everything about it, from the banter between the team members to the endless wealth of creative moves pulled---Hawkeye’s exploding arrow was a particular highlight---worked nearly effortlessly. And, of course, there was arguably the greatest single moment in any MCU fight to date. There’ve been few wonderfully hilarious surprises as great as “Puny God” in any superhero film, period. Like all such big fights (see the Lord of the Rings trilogy for more examples) it doesn’t quite have the same impact when you’ve seen it a few times, but it holds up better than a lot of others on repeat viewings.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

What Happens

A gigantic fleet mostly fails to stop Monotone Space General from using an Infinity Stone to wipe out his race’s rival planet, so the Guardians land and stop him using the power of friendship and sick 80’s dance moves.

Why It’s Awesome

You might be asking why this one is so high on the list. The space battle is effective but not revolutionary, and for a moment it looks like we’ll get a typical Marvel ending to a fairly atypical Marvel movie. Then it busts out what I’m fairly sure has never happened in another movie: an intergalactic, genocidal warlord gets defeated by the power of friendship and a dance-off. That a cosmic baddie who is supposed to be nigh-unstoppable gets taken down by the song “O-o-h Child” is not only a riotously funny surprise, but for a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, the remaining Guardians joining together to use the power of the, well, Power Stone is shockingly effective. In terms of group-of-heroes vs. army-of-bad-guys style showdowns, this one is hard to top.

2. Doctor Strange

What Happens

Doctor Strange and company battle Kaecelius’s zealots, before Strange ends Dormammu’s threat to earth by trapping him in a time loop.

Why It’s Awesome

Because it’s not only clever and unexpected, but it fully utilizes the trippy, LSD-ish visual style and insane plotting that typified Steve Ditko’s famous 60’s original run. Even if you don’t care about that, though, there’s little question that trapping Dormammu in a time loop that Strange will only break if he leaves is not your typical showdown. Strange dying over and over again, having volunteered himself to suffer forever in order to protect humanity, has the air of ancient mythology about it, and is just damn effective, to boot. The movie itself had a mixed reception from fans, and you don’t hear much talk about it now, but it had a lot of interesting plot beats, and this was the best.

1. Captain America: Civil War

What Happens

Zemo leads the heroes to believe he’s going to unleash an army of Winter Soldiers on the world, but when they go to stop him, they find his plan is actually to turn them against themselves.

Why It’s The Best

This one has it all. First, since this basically an Avengers film in many ways, we’re led to expect the typical Avengers ending, with the heroes squaring off against an army of personality-free super-baddies. I actually audibly groaned when the plot revealed the existence of a Winter Soldier program. “Here we go again”, I thought. I can’t overstate my satisfaction when it turned out to be deliberate feint on both the part of the filmmakers and the bad guy.

Of course, a final showdown was necessary---this is still a popcorn movie, even if it is one of the best. More than any other MCU film, though, this one needed to feel personal, and boy did it ever. On every level, from direction to writing to acting, Iron Man squaring off with Captain America one-on-one for the right to kill Cap’s best friend for assassinating Tony’s parents was perfectly executed. All the little details, from Downey’s face when the truth is revealed to the undramatic way Cap drops his shield and Stark’s despair over the whole thing, are as pitch perfect as movies like this get. This was the last movie with most of the traditional team before Infinity War promises to shuffle the deck, and if its the de facto end of an era, it could hardly have ended on a more gripping note. These movies may not be Citizen Kane, but this came as close to greatness as they get.

[rael-rider]

I do not remember what your thoughts on marvel movies are anymore. What are your favorites? What do you dislike the most? Which are the most disappointing?What do you think of Age of Ultron, Civil War, Guardians 2, Thor Ragnarok? What do you like about these movies? What would you do differently?

I’m cool with them although it does annoy me when the comics try to inexplicably turn the comic characters into the movie characters which is why I was OK with some of what Duggan did in his GotG run because he gave good explanations for them not to mention he does changes that are different from what the movies do (Groot being a good example with the recent Infinity Countdown story).

As for my favorites? I dunno I can tell you why I liked a movie and why I disliked it, but I did enjoy Black Panther a lot. I also liked Thor: Ragnarok a lot for what it was but I disliked what it did to the Warriors Three and it wasted Skurge and did a poor adaptation of his death in Simonson’s run. Also while fun I feel like it wasn’t the best Thor movie, and I don’t mean Thor and Dark World were better, but I feel like the MCU Thor Trilogy just never reached the potential of the best Thor stories in the comics.I think Age of Ultron was weak. it had good moments with the characters but overall it was weak. I’m pretty meh about MCU Ultron, I feel he should’ve been Pym’s creation and in certain aspects I feel like MCU Darren Cross was a better Ultron.Civil War I feel like Marvel Studios only did it because people over hyped the Civil War comic event. Honestly I would have preferred it if they did a self-contained movie with Cap, Sam, Sharon, and Bucky fighting Zemo or the Serpent Society or a Cap villain. The 50′s Cap idea that Markus and Mcfeely had was also more interesting to me. That said I know MCU fans would beg to differ but I’m speaking mostly as a Captain America fan and what I would want to see in a Captain America movie. I think Black Panther was probably the only non-Cap character that I really did enjoy seeing there. I also maintain that Spider-Man contributed nothing to the plot in Civil War and that he was just there to tease Homecoming and his inclusion felt really forced. I also disliked that they made Peter a blind Tony fanboy. In the comics Peter respected and admired Tony but he also questioned his actions and if Tony told him to do something he would ask why. It bothered me that Peter didn’t even know why Tony sent him after Cap but he went after Cap anyway and never cared to know why (even in Homecoming he doesn’t know why).

I will say that Civil War the movie was waaaaaaaay better than Civil War the comic event which gets way more praise than it deserves.

Guardians 2 was for the most part enjoyable, I just don’t really share a lot of James Gunn’s sense of humor.

His Taserface joke for example wasn’t that funny to begin with and after the second time it loses it’s humor. Not to mention it gets even worse when you know the character Taserface was named by the writer’s then 5 year old son, and it just makes me feel like a jerk if I laugh at that.I also didn’t think the giant turd joke was funny (I am not a big fan of potty humor)and I get what he was doing with Drax and Mantis but it felt like bullying at some points. I also don’t care about the Gamora/Peter romance but I’m pretty whatever about that.I did like the character development between Nebula and Gamora, the plotline with Ego, Rocket coming into terms that he has a family with the Guardians, I also want more about the Ravagers but mainly because I love the original Guardians (I also want Vance Astro and Nikki dammit).

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ranking the first 18 movies.

We're nearly there, the movie event of the year is nearly upon us... AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is out within the next week!

Like many, I'm ridiculously excited.  A little sad as I don't get to see it on opening day, I will have to wait until Monday 30th for my viewing... but seriously, the joygasms for this movie are pretty intense.

I've noticed many people/websites rating and ranking the existing MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies, and I couldn't help but do the same.  I'm not going to 'review' each film, although I will probably pass some sort of comment.

Whatever follows is, of course, purely my opinion.  Everyone has their own favourites, this list is just the order that'd I'd place these movies.  So let's get on with it.  The TOP 18 MCU MOVIES....

18. THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Whilst I'd rate the movie higher that Ang Lee's HULK outing, this movie doesn't quite live up to the rest of the shared universe in which it belongs.  The lasts act of the film devolves into what looks like a big budged computer game as CGI character bashes around CGI character.  It's not that I don't like the film, I just use it as the bench mark to compare all films in the franchise.  It doesn't help that I never believe that Edward Norton turns into Hulk in the same way that his successor Mark Ruffalo does. Plus that recasting really pushed the movie into being the forgotten member of the family.

17.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

It's very possible I'm being unfair to this movie, but I've just never really rated it that highly.  The cast are good, for me it easily trumps THE INCREDIBLE HULK, but I always felt it was a little dull in places.  It's got a good heart to it, and Chris Evans makes his mark of the title character.  The sequels overshadow it vastly though.

16.  ANT-MAN

Whereas a lot of the MCU entries feature humour, I'd never class them as a comedy... ANT-MAN, to me, is comedy first. Paul Rudd is good in the role, I was quite excited by his casting, but sadly the film sometimes feels to me as if it's a parody of the franchises rather than being a part of it.  I prefer Scott Lang in CIVIL WAR over a film about it. The knock on effect is that I can't muster up much excitement for the sequel... yet.

15.  THOR: THE DARK WORLD

When I first watched TDW, I thought it was better than the first, but upon rewatching the movie just doesn't quite appeal in the same way.  There are some nice moments, but I don't find the Dark Elves compelling enough, nor an I excited about Jane Foster's involvement.  Chris Hemsworth is good as the God of Thunder, naturally, but this film will always rank at the bottom end of the scale I think.

14.   THOR

I feel mean rating this film so low - I loved it when it came out, but other movies just tend to surpass it.  It introduced us to Asgard, Thor, Loki... it has a lot to offer.  Just not enough to be higher on this list!

13.   IRON MAN 3

On the slipside, I was extremely disappointed with IMIII on my first viewing, yet until THE DARK WORLD, this trilogy closer grows on me each time I see it.  Knowing what's coming actually works to this film's advantage (such as the 'Trevor Slattery twist', and director Shane Black offers some beautifully shot scenes.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if this is once film that risings up next time I do this list.

12.   IRON MAN 2

Controversial, I know.  Many would possibly rate this movie at the bottom of the pile, but I think it deserves more credit. It doesn't stand up to rewatching in the same way that the third part does but it deserves it's dues... it's the first sequel.  Every other film is sequel now, but IM2 was the first to bring back a cast (albeit with Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard).  It introduced us to Black Widow, Sam Rockwell is great as Justin Hammer, we get more Nick Fury (following on from a simple cameo in the first), we get more suits, the birth of War Machine, and whether you like Mickey Rourke's Whiplash of not, the Monaco scene is pretty cool.

11. SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Oops... another controversial decision?  Expect this movie to be a lot higher?  Don't get me wrong, it's a good film.  I believe it cements Tom Holland as the best (or at least my favourite) Spider-Man.  The humour is great, Iron Man's role adds rather that detracts, the talking suit is a great addition, I'm on board with Marisa Tomei's younger, hotter Aunt May than we're used to... but for me something's missing.  It follows in some pretty big footsteps.  I'm still of the mind that Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 3, whilst messy, wasn't a franchise killer and that the fourth movie should've gone again.  THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN was unnecessary - it did gives us Andrew Garfield's Spidey (and I believe him to be superior) and Emma Stone is a great Gwen... but the sequel was terrible, a total misfire. HOMECOMING... feels a little small.  I guess that's the point, but towards the end I found it not that well directed, and Vulture, even with Michael Keaton playing him, a weak villain.   I AM looking forward to the sequel in 2019 though - I wonder which Avenger will appear?!

Oooh, okay, here we go... we're hitting the TOP TEN!

10.  DOCTOR STRANGE

Personally, I really enjoyed Marvel's venture into the other magical realms.  I get why some don't like it (I'm actually not a massive fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent) but I thought it was a fun origin film. I'm eager to get more magical stories!  It has great visuals, and whilst I was annoyed with her casting at first, Tilda Swinton's Ancient One is a highlight.  In time, with more viewings, I might end up lowering the my position for it, but right now it makes my Top Ten.

9.  IRON MAN

Everyone needs to be thankful for IRON MAN.  If it hadn't been a great origin film for the character, then the MCU wouldn't have been built.  IRON MAN, with Robert Downey Jr's charisma and Jon Favreau's direction became the foundation for every movie that has followed.  I wish I could rate it higher as I don't ever want it to slip out of the Top Ten... but the MCU has offered us some awesome movies...

8.  THOR: RAGNAROK

Unlike the first couple, RAGNAROK finds the right balance for it's lead.  Chris Hemsworth as got comedy game, which was never utilised properly.  Under Taika Waititi's direction, Hemsworth gets to shine.  It also brings in an adaption of PLANET HULK, with Hemsworth and Ruffalo working well.  Karl Urban is welcome to any cast, as is Jeff Goldblum... but it also swaps bland Jane Foster for Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie.  A potential future female Thor?  Maybe!   Also, Cate Blanchet's Hela is probably one of the best and watchable villains in the MCU yet. Will we see her again?

7.  BLACK PANTHER

I'll admit, I have only seen this movie once... whereas I've managed a second viewing of all the others to solidify my views.  Based on one showing, BLACK PANTHER is a stand out, for an individual hero it is the only besides IRON MAN that doesn't misstep, It has all the advantages of the most up-to-date tech, and it does an amazing job of developing Wakanda, with all it's characters serviced well - Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) particular highlights. Considering the country and it's inhabitants will serve as a major part of INFINITY WAR, this film feeds towards excitement to see more.

6.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

This film changed the face of the MCU.  It destroyed SHIELD, a force that had been a thrust for the action since IRON MAN.  It's the first movie to be directed by the Russo Brothers, who are at the helm of INFINITY WAR, so it's important to see what they do here. What they do is make Chris Evans' Steve Rogers one of the most compelling and relatable heroes in the franchise.   He could've been pretty one dimensional, but this movie elevates him.  I believe until this movie came out, Robert Downey Jr/Iron Man was the symbol of the MCU, but THE WINTER SOLDIER puts Cap right up there. It also features more Scarlett Johansson, and introduces us to Falcon.  Those are good things to do.

5.  CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Like IRON MAN 3, I was disappointed with this movie the first time I saw it.  I had expectations, and it didn't live up to them.  Oddly, those expectations concerned the death of a main character.  The fact everyone got out alive (Rhodes was badly injured, but sadly this was shown in promos) was jarring as it took away the jeopardy.  it made me question, for the first time, if Marvel were just too scared to let go of a potential cash cow.  Luckily, INFINITY WAR has been confirmed to have some pretty high consequences, and what the Russo brothers do here is prove they can handle a lot of characters.  The Airport scene features twelve important characters share the same frame as they battle each other in what, ends up being quite an emotionally draining film.  Cleverly, this movie could easily have been an 'Avengers' movie, but instead is a Captain America movie, as his friendship with Iron Man is pushed to the limits.  Like IRON MAN 3, I appreciate this movie the more I see it.  The fact it has such a large ensemble brings added excitement, and pushes the film higher in my list.

4.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

VOL 2 deserved more praise than it got.  It follows on pretty closely to the Vol 1, and I think it is probably the perfect sequel to the first movie.  James Gunn expands on the relationships between the gang, deepening their friendships, love, and loyalty.  It adds great new characters (Mantis), whilst continuing to make you care about the existing ones... even the ones you may have dismissed in the first (Yondu and Nebula).  Also, I think Kurt Russell's Ego is great as Quill's father, and suitable massive for what is quite an intimate film.  It's a lot of fun, but riding on a lot of emotion.  And of course it has a kick-ass soundtrack.  Also... Baby Groot steals every scene.

Ooooh, look where we're at... the TOP THREE!!!!

3.  AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Another movie I feel is just undervalued.  I make no apologies for being a Joss Whedon fan.  BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL and FIREFLY earned me his respect, and here, following up to the first movie, I believe he manages to make another amazing outing for the super team.  It has killer robots (voiced by James Spader no less) and a city floating high in the sky, about to wipe out humanity.  It gives us Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, as well as Vision.  Sure, there are some missteps in there, I'm not going to say it's perfect, but it's damn near. There's so many things to enjoy, people should stop looking for the negatives and allow themselves to devour the humour, emotion and geekiness of the film.

2.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

When this film was first announced, I scoffed.  I didn't know about the Guardians, and I hated the idea of a talking raccoon and an Ent... but from the first trailer I was sold, and the movie didn't disappoint. The music, the action, the actors, the characters, it all comes together and works.  Director James Gunn is quickly elevating himself to Whedon status in my eyes. In many ways this movie was a risk for Marvel, they originally billed it as a stand-alone.  Two solo films featuring these characters, and now we're faced with the gang mixing with the Avengers... and really, is anyone NOT excited by that?  Thor hanging with Rocket & Groot, Star-Lord quipping with Iron Man and Spider-Man... This is the movie that made INFINITY WAR reach the scale it's going for...

And finally...

1.  THE AVENGERS

There's actually not a lot for me to say. It's my favourite movie.  It's my go-to happy place.  I've watched it more than any film.   It brings Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor together for the first time.  And it makes it work.  Joss Whedon's writing is typically electric, Loki is a great villain for the movie and it was our first introduction to a hellicarrier.

Where will INFINITY WAR fall in this list?  Every bit of me wants it to be the best.  Instantly.  No rewatching.  I think it has the potential to be.  I WILL miss Whedon's writing, but I'm glad James Gunn was on hand to help the Russo Brothers with the Guardians' scenes.   I'm predicting Top 3.  In just over a week, I'll be able to tell you. How exciting!

[milezeeblog-blog]

Black Panther

The stars aligned within Disney & Marvel Studios to give us the best MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movie to date. 

Black Panther is the eighteenth MCU movie and the sixth in the hugely impressive ‘Phase Three’ it follows the previous Thor Ragnarok movie and acts a direct sequel or side step to Captain America Civil War.

Black Panther was directed by Ryan Coogler, who’s only real credit until this point is the incredible Creed. i am telling you this guy is super talented as both films are incredible well directed.

The film stars Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up) as T’Challa/Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Chronicle) Lupita Nyong'o (The Jungle Book, Star Wars The Force Awakens, 12 Years a Slave) Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead) Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office, Love Actually) Andy Serkis (Lord Of The Rings, Planet Of The Apes, Star Wars) & Forest Whitaker (Rogue One A Star Wars Story, Good Morning Vietnam, Platoon) 

In Black Panther, T'Challa returns home from Civil War as king of Wakanda but finds himself challenged by a long-time forgotten warrior in a war that has global implications.

This film is some of the best work Marvel Studios has produced in its 10 year development of the MCU. it has a real fresh direction and gives us characters, setting and mythology that we haven’t seen in this universe on screen and outside of the comic book world. 

It’s colour pallette is rich, and feels so alive and every shot in the movie is as beautiful as the next. the costume design is something i haven’t really seen since perhaps the Star Wars prequel movies. (being one of the best things out of that trilogy) and it’s score goes hand in hand with the films beautiful vision.

The performances are faultless, every single star in the movie brings something to the table, every character here has development and instant likeability. we even finally get a Villian in the MCU that has real motivation and depth.

To me this almost feels like it’s own thing away from Marvel’s other movies, it feels like it should stand on its own too feet, and instantly made me want to travel to Wakanda and by the end of the movie and i wanted more. 

The film feels alot like a James Bond movie surprisingly, fit with gadgets and spy missions and even a poker scene. and then at times with it’s score and location it felt like The Lion King, more so the musical broadway than the original animation.

If anything i could fault, it would be Martin Freeman, he felt out of place and like he was only there to tie in some loose ends and he did not stand up against the performances of the other actors here.

The fight scenes are incredible, they are very well put together and had me at the edge of my seat all the way through, everything was exciting.

★★★★★ Marvel nailed it, the best movie in the MCU and it stands on its own, escapism at it’s very best with an incredible world, incredible character building and an amazing score.