The MCU - Marvel Cinematic Universe

[Disco Stu 15,495]

For me, all the shows except the two I mentioned, even Loki, felt like initial rough cuts of movies where they just lay out everything that was shot and then instead of editing it down to 2 - 2.5 hours, they just left it at 5 hours.

 

But I really did enjoy them all!

[crocodile 7,999]

Oh I liked Moon Knight but the final episode was realy weak. By the numbers and flat.

 

Karol

[mstrox 6,649]

It’s kind of been that way across the board since WandaVision wrapped up its tantalizing premise with the reveals and character beats in the penultimate episode and then it was time for beat-em-up and wrap-em-up.  With the exception of Loki, I think, we’ve seen very “Marvel formula” endings to each one of these series including What If?’s finale team-up episode.  Some of them were more successful than others (I think Hawkeye struck the balance very well), but it feels like there’s a definite trope now for where these series will go.

 

I really appreciated that Moon Knight is thus far completely (?) untethered to the larger MCU.  One of my IRL friend has the opposite opinion of that, and would have preferred if they at least sprinkled in some connective tissue.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

23 minutes ago, mstrox said:

I really appreciated that Moon Knight is thus far completely (?) untethered to the larger MCU.  One of my IRL friend has the opposite opinion of that, and would have preferred if they at least sprinkled in some connective tissue.

 

Yeah I would have appreciated some kind of connection, not a big one, just some acknowledgement/nod that this is concurrent with other things happening in the universe.

[Tallguy 3,381]

Is anyone talking about the ginormous head that appeared in the sky in The Eternals yet?

[GerateWohl 4,350]

5 hours ago, crocodile said:

Oh I liked Moon Knight but the final episode was realy weak. By the numbers and flat.

 

Karol

Yes, there are some of these MCU heros that appear somehow interesting as long as the action is not getting to actually super hero stuff. But then, when they in the end put on their suit and just resolve everything by doing their super hero fights, this can suddenly become quite flat and boring from one second to the other (unless this part is staged by the Russos).

[Jay 37,336]

I was disappointed by how kicky-punchy the finale was.  Aren't we at a point in the MCU yet where altercations can end without kung fu matches?

[GerateWohl 4,350]

Better that just shooting some weird energy beams or flames out of their hands against each other and suddenly the hero becomes somehow more confident and sure of himself and his or her beam or flames overwhelm the beam or the flames of the villain and strike him or her down. The probably most pathetic kind of showdown (see for example Rise of Skywalker or Wanda Vision etc.).

[mstrox 6,649]

35 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

Is anyone talking about the ginormous head that appeared in the sky in The Eternals yet?

Not talking about it.  But I’m thinking about it.

[Datameister 2,041]

Jumping on the MCU show ratings train:

1. WandaVision
2. Loki
3. Moon Knight
4. Falcon and Winter Soldier
5. Hawkeye

2 and 3 could just as easily switch places. None of them have truly stuck the landing in their finales, but they've all got things to like. Haven't seen enough of What If to rate it.

 

Also, @GerateWohl...yes. Thank you. Yes.

[Yavar Moradi 2,593]

1. Moon Knight (really enjoyed every episode, and Oscar Issac's is the most interesting Marvel debut in some time)

2. WandaVision (the ending was disappointing and by-the-numbers, though I think that was Covid's fault in large part...the rest was just wonderful)

3. Loki (aside from one so-so episode I really enjoyed it)

4. Hawkeye (a bit of fluff compared to the above ones, but it was pretty fun)

5. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (there were some really high highs, and pretty low lows...the most frustrating of the five, easily)

 

Yavar

[Tallguy 3,381]

1 hour ago, mstrox said:

Not talking about it.  But I’m thinking about it.

 

I meant actually IN the MCU.

[JNHFan2000 2,957]

14 hours ago, Stu said:

 

Yeah I would have appreciated some kind of connection, not a big one, just some acknowledgement/nod that this is concurrent with other things happening in the universe.

 

Taweret talked about the Ancestral Plane from Black Panther.

But I do believe that that was the only mention of anything else in the MCU

[Disco Stu 15,495]

18 hours ago, Jay said:

I was disappointed by how kicky-punchy the finale was.  Aren't we at a point in the MCU yet where altercations can end without kung fu matches?

 

Egyptian gods using East Asian fighting styles!

[rough cut 1,714]

I am about to finish Moon Knight. It’s good but its still kind of ’meh’ to me. I mean, it doesn’t move me.

 

The only ones that made me feel anything was Wanda and some episodes of What If. Loki and Hawkeye was on the same level as Moon = good but ‘meh’. Falcon & Co was, to me boring and entirely skipable.

 

Funny story! Well into the show, episode 3 or 4, my wife commented something about “that guy from Star Wars - is he in Marvel know?” and I responded confused with “What? Who?”

 

I hadn’t realized it was Poe… I think he’s quite good in this actually, so I write that down that one to him having - ultimately - an unremarkable role in the ST.

[Brónach 1,302]

On 10/05/2022 at 4:50 PM, Stu said:

 

I must plead ignorance about current approaches to treatment, but this doesn't strike me as the healthy outcome.  Where Marc was at the end of episode 5, where he was able to let go of Stephen because he no longer needed him seemed way healthier to me.

 

It sometimes happens by accident but it isn't usually recommended to do on purpose.

On 11/05/2022 at 11:14 AM, JNHFan2000 said:

 

Taweret talked about the Ancestral Plane from Black Panther.

But I do believe that that was the only mention of anything else in the MCU

 

Very thankful of this

 

I really enjoyed episodes 4 and 5 and I wish the rest was as cool. The pilot is cool too, nice ending.

[Edmilson 7,426]

Just finished Moon Knight yesterday. I'm late because I was prioritizing Ozark and Better Call Saul.

 

I liked the final episode, it wasn't as bad as the Wandavision or Falcon series finale. The final battle was well shot, well choreographed it with a nice score. 

 

Overall, I'd say this was one of the best MCU shows alongside Loki and WV. Marvel is at its best on TV when it goes more surrealist and fantastic.

[Datameister 2,041]

I like my MCU weird.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I enjoy the mystical side of the MCU but I’ll always want the Captain America style side too, more down-to-earth stuff.  They’ve been in a good place for several years now of having a sort of general house style that allows for quite a bit of variety within it.  Basically, they’ve successfully replicated the feel of keeping up with Marvel comics, and that’s really not as easy as it might sound.

[Jules 59]

I think Marvel have been bringing some strong content recently. This phase feels a little more unfocused I guess because of the sheer amount of projects - it's been only 2 years and we've had like 10 projects, more than Phase 1 or 2, and there hasn't been anything to bring them all together yet. Ranked em all for fun

 

Movies

 

1. Eternals (might be personal preference lol)

2. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

3. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

4. Spider-Man: No Way Home

5. Black Widow (liked this one when I saw it but it's really soured in my mind since) 

 

Shows

 

1. Moon Knight

2. Falcon and the Winter Soldier (no idea why people hate this one so much, I understand the villain complaints but I thought it was pretty well written and looked fantastic)

3. Wandavision

4. Loki

5. Hawkeye

6. What If 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

41 minutes ago, Jules said:

5. Black Widow (liked this one when I saw it but it's really soured in my mind since) 

 

The plot and antagonists are basically complete garbage, but I really enjoyed the character development of the main "family" quite a bit.

 

41 minutes ago, Jules said:

This phase feels a little more unfocused I guess because of the sheer amount of projects - it's been only 2 years and we've had like 10 projects, more than Phase 1 or 2, and there hasn't been anything to bring them all together yet.

 

I actually kind of like this about the current phase.  Like I said a couple of posts above, they finally have the budget and scope to really replicate the feeling of following the various Marvel comics.  Of course, over time, they will run into the same issues that the comics do: most notably the sheer weight of years of canon and characters bogging everything down.  But for now, it's kind of a sweet spot.

[JNHFan2000 2,957]

I think it might feel a bit unfocused because we don't have a story like the Infinity story. We worked towards Infinity War & Endgame since the first Avengers.

 

Maybe Feige has a plan like that for phase 4, 5 and 6. Who knows?

 

For me the ranking is like this:

 

Movies

1. Spider-Man: No Way Home

2. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

3. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

4. Eternals

5. Black Widow

 

Shows

1. WandaVision

2. Moon Knight

3. Loki

4. Hawkeye

5. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier

6. What If...?

 

For me the series are all pretty close to each other. I like them all very much. I put Hawkeye above Falcon because Hawkeye was just so much fun.

Moon Knight really suprised me, but I can still clearly remember what it was like watching WandaVision every week. The anticipation for that was insane. And I just love Olsen, Bettany & Hahn. They were all so great.

[Alex 2,835]

I had no idea what was going on half the time in Moon Knight. I really did not enjoy it.

[Edmilson 7,426]

Just watched the new Dr Strange movie, and now something is bothering me.

 

Why does every Stephen Strange in the Multiverse looks like Benedict Cumberbatch, every Wanda looks like Elizabeth Olsen, etc., but the Peter Parkers look like completely different people with different ages from each other?

 

I know that that Spiderman movie wouldn't have made that much money with three Tom Hollands, but now I wonder how Peter is the only person in the Multiverse with completely different appearances and backgrounds.

[Datameister 2,041]

Maybe there's another multiverse in which characters look different in every universe...except for Spider-Man, who always looks like Danny Devito.

[Tallguy 3,381]

3 hours ago, Edmilson said:

I know that that Spiderman movie wouldn't have made that much money with three Tom Hollands, but now I wonder how Peter is the only person in the Multiverse with completely different appearances and backgrounds.

 

Well... There are two Rhodeys. There are two Fandrals. There might be two Reed Richards. (Hell, there might be four.)

[Jay 37,336]

 

First pick from ECHO, coming 2023

https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/echo-alaqua-cox-maya-lopez-first-image

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I'm very disappointed it's a prequel (or at least I think that's what the press release is saying).  I liked that her "origin story" was told so succinctly through flashbacks in Hawkeye.

 

Nevermind, I see now that it says "whose ruthless behavior in New York City catches up with her in her hometown," implying that it takes place after the events of Hawkeye.  At first I saw "origin story" and assumed the worst.

[Jay 37,336]

New Thor 4 pic

 

[Edmilson 7,426]

 

[Yavar Moradi 2,593]

4 hours ago, Jay said:

New Thor 4 pic

 

 

To be honest I haven't liked anything Natalie Portman has done since The Professional (yep, that includes Black Swan). She was by far the weakest link in the cast for the first two Thor movies (shoulda just made Kat Dennings the love interest since she was a far more interesting and memorable character with far more chemistry with Hemsworth IMO), which each had their moments but are easily among my least favorite MCU films. But I gotta admit, between Taika Waititi running the show and the little glimpses of photos and video we have seen, I'm pretty jazzed for this. I've just got a good feeling, somehow, that he's going to get a good performance out of her. And she looks freakin' great (so does Tessa Thompson, of course).

 

Yavar

[Jay 37,336]

Wow, just watched that She-Hulk trailer... I was surprised by how bad it looked! The CGI was real bad too, even my wife pointed it out, who usually doesn't care about such things. 

[Andy 4,118]

Yeah I got a Princess Fiona vibe and the hair looks unfinished. Put it back in the cgi oven. 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I think it could be fine for a comedy.  My wife and I both thought it looked like fun.

 

Most interesting tidbit from this article to me is that Loki is the most watched of the Marvel D+ shows so far.  https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/kevin-feige-marvel-disney-upfront-presentation-1235270016/

[Jay 37,336]

The raw sex appeal of Owen Wilson and Richard E Grant cannot be matched

[mstrox 6,649]

I think She Hulk looks great.  
 

re: CG, I don’t think she looks any worse than any previous film versions of the Hulk which have been similarly bad.  I think across the board in movies and TV, CG character animation is unrealistic - but I’m blessed with the ability to lose myself in everything I watch to the point that it doesn’t matter at all.  Maybe it’s from growing up suspending disbelief in dozens of movies full of foam rubber puppets

[A24 4,331]

Not gonna watch, so that means there is more for you, mstrox. 

[mstrox 6,649]

If your absence means that it’s slightly more likely for a giant green Tatiana Maslany to throw me over her shoulder and take me away, I support your decision. 

[Goldfinger 59]

Effects Houses are overrun with projects right now and many cannot meet the deadlines that the studios want to hit.  Because COVID delayed so many projects, there's now a logjam of things that need to all get done in a short span of time, and with fewer effects companies than in years past due to many smaller ones shutting down there's simply not enough people to do the work effectively.  I'm sure it will look better by August, but even Spider-Man had to be touched up before it hit homes to finish the CGI in the finale after the theatrical release.

[Tallguy 3,381]

But is it America's ass?

[mstrox 6,649]

Cap’s ass is America’s ass.  Nothing more American than pumping a bunch of actors full of HGH and praising their buttcheeks.

[Jay 37,336]

28 minutes ago, Goldfinger said:

even Spider-Man had to be touched up before it hit homes to finish the CGI in the finale after the theatrical release.

 

Wait what? I didn't hear about this.  Got a link?

[Jay 37,336]

Marvel has signed a 20-year deal to license the name and likeness of Stan Lee for use in future feature films and television productions

[greenturnedblue 372]

Cant wait for 20 years of CG Stan Lee cameos

[Disco Stu 15,495]

A hearty congratulations to his heirs

[Jay 37,336]

Rumor: Live-Action Captain Carter Project in Development

 

[GerateWohl 4,350]

They should just continue Agent Carter.

[Jay 37,336]

Yes please!

[Tallguy 3,381]

7 minutes ago, GerateWohl said:

They should just continue Agent Carter.

 

Jarvis or no sale!

[Goldfinger 59]

On 18/05/2022 at 9:29 AM, Jay said:

 

Wait what? I didn't hear about this.  Got a link?

 

https://screenrant.com/spider-man-no-way-home-cgi-not-finished/

 

Here's one link I could find, though I'm sure there's a variety of Youtube and Reddit comparisons detailing how the differences.  Basically just touching up stuff, mainly from the final battle, most noticeably on Tobey's costume I'd say.