Rewatching the MCU

[RoJoHen]

It really is just a matter of overkill. I love their enthusiasm and that they have faith in the franchise. I just wish they'd settle down a bit.

 

[DWF]

It really is just a matter of overkill. I love their enthusiasm and that they have faith in the franchise. I just wish they'd settle down a bit.

If you seperate the movies as their franchises you can see there's plenty of time between the movies. The first Iron Man movie came out in 2008, the second in 2010 and the third in 2013, the first Thor movie came out in 2011, the second in 2013 and the third is slated for 2017. I'm sure Disney would like to link all of the movies together but I do think the different characters have their set of fans.

 

[drt]

I'd say the current superhero movie trend kicked-off with X-men, it brought an element of realism to the genre that wasn't present in the more "comic-book" worlds of Burton/Schumacher Batmen.

I think the MCU will be fine for a while, as the variety of characters allows them to make films that can fit into other genres: Captain America has become more of a Borne/spy-thriller, GotG a silly space opera, Dr. Strange a magic/fantasy film, etc.

And while DC has bungled it's superhero movies, it seems to be doing OK on TV with Arrow, Flash and Gotham, of which I've heard much better things than Agents of Shield.

 

[Marsden]

I've had occasion to re-watch a few of the MCU films recently. (They're part of a free preview on Showcase.) It's been some time now since I first saw Thor, Avengers or Captain America: First Avenger. I've been surprised at which films have held up for me and which haven't.

If you've recently done a rewatch of any MCU films, would love to have your comments. Was it as good the second or third (or whatever) time around? Which movies do you think hold up in the long term, and which don't?

My take on the three above (I think the movies are old enough not to warrant spoiler tags any more):

Cool thread, BigJake! I like it. I enjoy discussing the MCU.

Captain America: First Avenger. I thought it was good fun the first time around; the over-the-top not-the-Nazis villains of HYDRA have a perfectly-pitched Golden Age comics sensibility about them, and everybody is well cast (especially the Red Skull and Arnim Zola). It has a charming B-movie feel about it; the only downside is that the action sequences are often not very memorable. Still, it seems to be quite underrated by a lot of MCU fans... maybe because the tone is so different from the other films? Still a B+ for me.

I love this movie. A+ for me. Cap has been my favorite for a long time, maybe 40 years, and this movie is almost perfect for me. I know some people complained about the montages, but they covered a lot of ground. The don't really spell it out, but I think it must cover at least 3 years, maybe more. I really can't think of any complaints and hasn't aged for me at all.

When I think back to those other previous Captain America movies, *shudder* well, I'm happy they got him right finally.

Thor. Actually improved on a re-view, I had remembered the first time around being a bit dull. Thor's arc from being an arrogant, foolish bruiser to learning a bit of wisdom and acquiring a moral centre is actually quite good. And it's fun to watch Idris Elba as Heimdall, or to see Kat Dennings -- who is a treasure -- steal Natalie Portman's scenes at every opportunity. And when it gets going, some of the action in this one is quite fun, like Thor's massive throwdown with the Frost Giants.

Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the gifted Tom Hiddleston, Loki is kind of a nothing villain whose grand plan boils down to an attention-seeking tantrum... and having Thor rescuing Jotunheim at the end (whose inhabitants have been portrayed with zero sympathy throughout) sucks a lot of interest out of the climax. B-.

Again, like this just as much as the first time, A.

I think you're right about Loki not being a great villian per say, because despite this being a "superhero" film, I don't really see any villian here. It's a family squabble. If you argue with your brother, is he the villian and you the hero? It's a character piece with some political ramifications thrown in, especially regarding the possible war between Jotunheim and Asgard. Idris Elba was great. Kat Dennings was great. Natalie Portman is a block of wood, but isn't she always? (In everything I've seen her in, yes)

My complaints in this one are: No one thinks to take the Destroyer back to Asgard, really? I just don't like how Hogun the Grim is portrayed. He was always the strongest and most deadly of the Three, and he isn't grim enough. Hogun has been a lot of bad places and fought a lot of bad things. It may not be an interesting character that way, but he's really never meant to be more than a supporting character, being perpetually part of a trio of second bananas as it is. But that one mischaracterization aside, everyone else is quite good.

Thor saving Jotunheim probably has a lot more with setting the nine realms into chaos with the destruction of one of them than any concern for the Jotuns. And I still think there's a big difference between smashing up a bunch of Jotun warriors and killing every last one of the filthy bastards. Maybe there are good giants somewhere? That was about stopping Loki, not saving them.

The Avengers. Loved it in the theatre, and was surprised to find this the one that aged the worst for me. Not that there isn't still plenty of good stuff happening; Phil Coulson is a fun secondary character, Sam Jackson of course is Sam Jackson, and the heroes mostly deliver in their roles... although ScarJo seems a lot less effective as Black Widow than I remembered her being; and while Robert Downey Jr.'s schtick as Stark was something I particularly enjoyed the first time, on a repeat it veers into annoying territory more than a few times.

The lack of suspense is a big problem. Hiddleston does his best but Loki again is a bit of a nothing villain, the moreso when we discover that his Chitauri allies are comically inept, interchangeable mooks; there's never any question of whether the heroes will pull themselves together and annihilate him. The action is sometimes fun but at other times makes no sense... like the sequence where Thor gets trapped in a cage by Loki and spends several minutes standing there, weirdly befuddled and inactive, after his hammer -- which has continent-smashing power -- barely puts a dent in a barrier it should be able to tear through like paper.

And much as I hate to say it, the movie's emotional pivot-point -- Phil Coulson's tragic death -- doesn't make sense either. I get that Coulson is likeable, but why does this ostensibly rally the heroes around him? I can see Cap feeling a connection with him owing to the guy's endearingly nerdy fannishness, but he's barely more than an acquaintance to Stark, or for that matter to Thor. He's never shown to have any kind of connection to Black Widow, but on his death she's got "red in her ledger"? And why does Banner come running back to the team right after having an "episode" that illustrates how much of a danger he potentially is to them?

It was surprising to discover that this movie has dropped to a C- for me overall.

Again, hasn't aged, Love it. A.

Why would it only veer into annoying territory how Stark acts. It jumps into a truck and plows right through it, that's how he is. Tony does occasional heroic things inbetween being annoying, and I think that was Cap's whole point when they were arguing.

I just don't know what possible suspense there really could be. The movie is named Avengers. There are Avengers in it. Did anyone really think they could lose? Oh, look the Avengers came together to save the world but lost and now we're a client of the Chitari Empire with Loki as our military govenor. Don't blame me I voted for Kodos. My understanding was this all was some ploy for Loki to get home to Asgard and Earth was just a step in that plan and he didn't give a shit about the Chitauri or Thanos.

That cage was meant to hold the Hulk. I don't think it would have kept him in, and it didn't, but then I think he didn't want to be dropped out of the carrier, didn't work out, though.

I think the only one who needed a kick in the ass is Tony, the afforemention annoying ass. Cap was on board, Thor was ready to help. Widow and Hawk are Shield, though Hawk was brainwashed most of the movie, and Banner is just a wild card. Coulson's death wasn't to get anyone moving as much as to show Loki has a callous disregard for human life. Black Widow's "red in her ledger" is clearly (partially) stated by Loki who comes off with a great line, you mewling quim! Ha! Drakov's daughter, sao paulo, the hospital fire, apparently she's murdered/assassinated a shit load of people. Now she thinks she's making up for it. True or not, you be the judge, Coulson's not even on the radar. I'm not sure why Banner came back, maybe it's because for the first time he's around people that talk to him rather than treat him as a monster. He knows what Loki is up to and where would he hide? Maybe he thought he could make a difference and actually make good use of being the Hulk instead of it being a burden on mankind.


Btw, BigJake, not saying you're wrong, I just hold a different opinion. You rank it what you like. I'm just happy because my 3 favorite comic characters are in order, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man and I'm having too damn much fun too seriously bitch about anything yet. Lot of people love Superham or Batpest or even Spidey, I do like Spidey, but I haven't seen his last two movies. I don't think I'll have superhero fatigue until "Marvel" stops making good movies. Sony is already hasn't done well for a while (Galactus is a giant fart cloud?) and Fox is pot luck also.

 

[BigJake]

Thanks for your post!