**Mastery Loadouts**
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
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The run to Endgame was epic. Several MCU movies were carried along in its wake and, even though they were not nearly as good (for example CM, AntMan), they were still enjoyable, solid fare. DC, outside of Gunn’s Suicide Squad, was pretty bad. Sony apart from Spiderverse offered mediocre to embarrassing films.
But there really are no longer any Endgame coattails, and the rabid reception for Marvel films appears to have cooled. I would watch almost anything Marvel (couldn’t finish Echo, passed on The Marvels but may catch it streaming someday). I think superhero movies need a new strategy beyond standard tropes and the cut and paste journey of a hero approach.
With that said, what I’m hearing about Web doesn’t do anything to allay my concerns. Will wait for streaming at a minimum.
Dr. Zola
People loved Winter Soldier even though in many ways it was just a classic spy thriller, just set in the MCU. It was well executed, and I think that's what mattered more. You could argue that Quantummania was far more original than Civil War, but Civil War was far better executed.
Even at the doorstep to the end of Phase three, Black Panther was a flawed but extremely successful and well-loved movie that wasn't challenging in the cinematic sense, but still fairly well executed and well acted, and had just the right amount of "message" without being preachy.
Post Infinity Saga I think Shang Chi was a good movie, Guardians 3 was a good movie, and No Way Home was of course a spectacular movie. And outside the MCU Across the Spiderverse was amazing. I think there will never be another Infinity Saga, just like I think there will never really be another Crisis on Infinite Earths, no matter how much DC comics keeps trying to recapture that feeling. But I think tropes are tropes because they work. The superhero trope isn't just a few decades old, or even a century old. They are millennia old, and we still use them because they work. But you have to use them properly. Nails have been around for thousands of years, but houses that don't use them correctly still fall down.
As the great (Dominic) Santini used to say, we still dig holes with shovels.
TL:;DR only spectacular on first watch. It absolutely falls apart even on the first rewatch when the shock and spectacle of the cameos fade, and everything after the third time, you're wondering how they greenlit most of the script.
Ah, Airwolf. Fair play @DNA3000 ...
I didn't watch Shang-chi but it has mixed reviews from what I've seen,
No way home has a simple story but the higlight there for me is Tom's incredible performance,
I never saw the Marvels but it also has mixed reviews like Shang-chi, I heard it's better than the first one, which is boring for me
I never saw WandaVision, but people said it's great but ruined by the ending,
I think Loki is fantastic, it's the best thing the MCU did from someone who didn't watch Guardians 3, because people keep mentioning it is the best,
It's universally accepted that L&T and quantumania are terrible, though I haven't seen those
Moon knight is alright, could've been way better if they didn't decide to make the mystical side be undeniably real and the kaiju fight is just not a good decision to add in
I heard a lot of good things about Werewolf by night.
So overall, a mixed bag? Not really as bad, but definitely could be better. Maybe I forgot some really bad ones though idk
Ant-Man? Heist movie.
Guardians? Smash up of space opera and dysfunctional family dramedy.
Black Panther? Royalty/birthright drama with elements of classical tragedy.
Winter Soldier? Like you observed, spy thriller.
Not saying they weren’t movies about superheroes, but they weren’t necessarily superhero movies. I think that’s one reason they worked.
Contrast, for example, Multiverse of Madness: kind of a writing mess, but where it works best is when it leans into more of the horror genre. Another script edit or two and more ghastly ghoulishness (which would fit Doc) and I think it works a lot better.
Spiderverse works because it’s singular animation style and what feels like a fresh take on the hero’s journey. It is quite simply one of my favorite sagas that’s been released period, superhero or otherwise.
Let’s see…Quantumania. I just don’t know. Visually original, but the story? Doesn’t feel original. So many things off with that film. That may be one to dissect over a beer someday.
Dr. Zola