The Marvel Cinematic Universe Thread
- Thread starter Jarvis
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,014
- Reaction score
- 861
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Hong Kong
- Supports
- Crewe Alex
Thought I'd give this a bump considering Civil War just came out. Went to see the midnight release on Thursday.
Man, I never thought I'd say this about an MCU movie, but I didn't like it. Far too much going on, moved far too quickly, didn't like the plot, didn't like some of the characters. First of all, the speed at which it moves between locations is ridiculous. For a series that has traditionally always had an anchor main location(New York for Avengers, Washington for Winter Solider etc) in each movie, the way this one skipped from scene to scene started bordering on the absurd halfway through.
Makes me somewhat concerned for Infinity Wars now. Hope they slim down the roster for those films to Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America, Vision and Scarlet Witch, then they can include the GOTG crew without too many issues. Get rid of Hawkeye, Black Widow(want to see her in an origins film perhaps, given all the bad stuff she was alluded to have done in her past, but now that things are stepping up in the Infinity War, she is massively out of place), keep Ant Man, Spiderman and Black Panther in their own worlds/movies now. Hopefully Scarlet Witch and Vision get killed off at some point in the first Infinity War film, I'd assume the latter will have to be killed by Thanos because he has one of the infinity gems in his head.
The next installements of the MCU are quite stretched out now. Doctor Strange later in the year, wonder how he'll fit into everything. Do they introduce another infinity stone in that film? Then its GOTG Vol 2 next year, plus Thor: Ragnarok. Should build up nicely for the latter stages of phase 3.
Man, I never thought I'd say this about an MCU movie, but I didn't like it. Far too much going on, moved far too quickly, didn't like the plot, didn't like some of the characters. First of all, the speed at which it moves between locations is ridiculous. For a series that has traditionally always had an anchor main location(New York for Avengers, Washington for Winter Solider etc) in each movie, the way this one skipped from scene to scene started bordering on the absurd halfway through.
The plot was just ridiculous. Colonel Zemo being reduced to some whiny bloke who lost his family, so he goes out to destroy the Avengers in the most long winded, dumbest way possible. Pointless.
Didn't ever believe that Tony would buy into the registration act or that he would act under the command of General/Secretary Ross. Nor Black Widow for that matter. Didn't like the way they shoe horned in Black Panther, felt he needed a set up movie to get to know the character, his motivations, Wakandan culture and what he and his suit could do. All the others had one, so why not him? Didn't like the romance between Agent Carter and Cap. Where is that going exactly? Didn't buy that Tony Stark would go and recruit Spiderman. Why did Hawkeye have to be involved? Felt like padding out the numbers tbh. Not really sure why they semi paralysed War Machine. Felt they wasted Crossbones.
The whole thing felt jumbled and I felt we had too many characters. The twist of it being Bucky that killed Tony's parents was a bit lame. Tony turning on him was also a bit contrived.
However, I did enjoy Tom Holland's Spiderman with all the quips and jokes. Felt he meshed in nicely into the MCU. The action sequences were pretty good and the characters do work well with each other. Just felt there were too many characters and the plot had no grounding to it.
Didn't ever believe that Tony would buy into the registration act or that he would act under the command of General/Secretary Ross. Nor Black Widow for that matter. Didn't like the way they shoe horned in Black Panther, felt he needed a set up movie to get to know the character, his motivations, Wakandan culture and what he and his suit could do. All the others had one, so why not him? Didn't like the romance between Agent Carter and Cap. Where is that going exactly? Didn't buy that Tony Stark would go and recruit Spiderman. Why did Hawkeye have to be involved? Felt like padding out the numbers tbh. Not really sure why they semi paralysed War Machine. Felt they wasted Crossbones.
The whole thing felt jumbled and I felt we had too many characters. The twist of it being Bucky that killed Tony's parents was a bit lame. Tony turning on him was also a bit contrived.
However, I did enjoy Tom Holland's Spiderman with all the quips and jokes. Felt he meshed in nicely into the MCU. The action sequences were pretty good and the characters do work well with each other. Just felt there were too many characters and the plot had no grounding to it.
Makes me somewhat concerned for Infinity Wars now. Hope they slim down the roster for those films to Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America, Vision and Scarlet Witch, then they can include the GOTG crew without too many issues. Get rid of Hawkeye, Black Widow(want to see her in an origins film perhaps, given all the bad stuff she was alluded to have done in her past, but now that things are stepping up in the Infinity War, she is massively out of place), keep Ant Man, Spiderman and Black Panther in their own worlds/movies now. Hopefully Scarlet Witch and Vision get killed off at some point in the first Infinity War film, I'd assume the latter will have to be killed by Thanos because he has one of the infinity gems in his head.
The next installements of the MCU are quite stretched out now. Doctor Strange later in the year, wonder how he'll fit into everything. Do they introduce another infinity stone in that film? Then its GOTG Vol 2 next year, plus Thor: Ragnarok. Should build up nicely for the latter stages of phase 3.
Pyeman
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 750
- Reaction score
- 141
- Points
- 43
- Supports
- Burnley
Just got back from seeing Civil War. Not sure my review would be as negative as JJs, I though the film was enjoyable enough. It might help that I'm not particularly a huge Marvel fan so I'm probably more easily pleased.
There were some issues though. I'd agree with the time/location hopping issue (agent Carter gets from London to Vienna quicker than I can from my sofa to the bathroom). Some of the shitty characters weren't really needed. But overall it was entertaining.
There were some issues though. I'd agree with the time/location hopping issue (agent Carter gets from London to Vienna quicker than I can from my sofa to the bathroom). Some of the shitty characters weren't really needed. But overall it was entertaining.
Smally
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2015
- Messages
- 677
- Reaction score
- 109
- Points
- 43
- Supports
- Everton
While I enjoyed it from what the film was meant to portray, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Some things, such as who is on which side, didn't make sense to me, although Spider-man's introduction was great, and Paul Rudd as Ant Man is again fantastic.
I felt Black Panther's involvement was clear and his introduction into the MCU was fine. Knowing that there will be a solo film to follow, they will surely expand on Wakanda and, I'm guessing, the importance of Vibranium.
Overall, good film but patchy in parts. I think Dr Strange will lead towards another infinity stone, then next year we have Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2, Spider-man: homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok before infinity war. Not sure we will see too many of the existing characters before Infinity War, other than those already announced. There is a danger of having too many characters in one film, however I think they just about got away with it in this
I felt Black Panther's involvement was clear and his introduction into the MCU was fine. Knowing that there will be a solo film to follow, they will surely expand on Wakanda and, I'm guessing, the importance of Vibranium.
Overall, good film but patchy in parts. I think Dr Strange will lead towards another infinity stone, then next year we have Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2, Spider-man: homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok before infinity war. Not sure we will see too many of the existing characters before Infinity War, other than those already announced. There is a danger of having too many characters in one film, however I think they just about got away with it in this
Megaclyde
Active Member
I thought it was decent enough, I quite liked Spiderman which surprised me tbh. My only gripe is that I don't really see any reason anyone would choose the registration side. Maybe the comic did a better job of providing good arguments for both sides, but in this case it seemed as night and day as the Jedi and the Sith.
I can't wait for Doctor Strange, new GotG and the Infinity stuff, as I find the intergalactic side of things a lot more interesting. Getting quite bored of Iron Man creating problems for everyone and as JJ mentioned above, characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye ect are becoming quite irrelevant in comparison the characters like Thor or even Vision.
I can't wait for Doctor Strange, new GotG and the Infinity stuff, as I find the intergalactic side of things a lot more interesting. Getting quite bored of Iron Man creating problems for everyone and as JJ mentioned above, characters like Black Widow, Hawkeye ect are becoming quite irrelevant in comparison the characters like Thor or even Vision.
hodge
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Messages
- 4,574
- Reaction score
- 1,289
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Somerset
- Supports
- Bristol City
Not my favourite Marvel film but probably gets into my top 5 (Winter Soldier, GotG, Avengers 1, Iron Man 1) however was still a good film. For me the big point was Zemo, I actually really liked him as a villain. So far we've only seen physical villains really Zemo was a tactical mastermind who as acknowledged knew he was outmatched by the Avengers so turned them against each other, we've had a film where the villain hasn't had 1 fight scene. The new guys were excellent, Black Panther's introduction was logical with the whole UN stuff, Spider-Man also excellent, as to why Tony recruited him, short on people who could so finds who he can provided he understands Peter's motivations. His fight scenes and dialogue was brilliant, with Marvel in control for the next Spider-Man movie I'm incredibly excited for it.
I agree with what people say about some of the underpowered people, Hawkeye and Black Widow particularly, they are quickly becoming obsolete. I hope they are both given a movie about their time in SHIELD, Budapest anyone? One of my favourite things was how Sam and Bucky played off each other 'can you move your seat up?' 'Why didn't you do that earlier..... I hate you' and the look they gave Steve from in the beetle.
I agree with what people say about some of the underpowered people, Hawkeye and Black Widow particularly, they are quickly becoming obsolete. I hope they are both given a movie about their time in SHIELD, Budapest anyone? One of my favourite things was how Sam and Bucky played off each other 'can you move your seat up?' 'Why didn't you do that earlier..... I hate you' and the look they gave Steve from in the beetle.
Oaf
Maharajah
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2015
- Messages
- 4,419
- Reaction score
- 1,414
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- PLIMUFF
I saw Civil War the other night and I'm actually surprised at the reaction on here, I thought it was superb.
Before I get into it though, I just have to mention one fucking thing. You know that airport scene? As in, the highlight of the entire movie. Just as the two sides lined up and got ready to charge one another... somebody in my screen GOT UP AND WENT TO THE TOILET. How the fuck?
They got back just after the fighting was done.
That's like watching all of a Rocky movie and then turning it off just before it gets to the big fight. I know, when you gotta go you gotta go... but Jesus. Piss in a bottle or something. I genuinely struggled to enjoy that part as much as I should have purely because half of my brain was stunned by that mans actions.
Anyway, moving onto the actual film and some criticisms...
I love the Civil War storyline... as a matter of fact, it's actually the first comic book story I ever read in its entirety. The movie felt much smaller scale of course, but I thought it was a great, simplified, adaptation. As for people not understanding Tony Stark siding with the pro-registration act, it's simple, it's down to guilt. Of his own accord in Age of Ultron he nearly wiped out the entire planet... and (at some point either early in Civil War or AOU, I can't remember which as I pretty much watched them back to back
) he basically said he knows he shouldn't push the boundaries as much as he does, but he knows he's powerless to stop himself from doing so. This pro-registration thing is the perfect thing to keep himself in check and make sure that he doesn't go creating another Ultron sized problem for the world.
But even taking his own personal issues out of the way, I think there's plenty of argument to be made for registration. In fact, it probably makes more logical sense than Captain Americas own "BUT FREEEEDDDOOOOM!!!" argument on the anti-registration side.
Regarding Zemo, I'm absolutely with Hodge on that one. Thought he was very different and yeah, ok, so the plan was a bit over complex, but I liked the idea behind of knowing he can't destroy the avengers, so he wants them to destroy themselves. It's a nice change of pace and in a world where super hero movies are seemingly getting a bit fatigued now, it was a fresh new approach.
And in fact, that applies to the entire film for me. People seem to say that the genre is running out of legs (and as much as I enjoyed Deadpool, for me that movie was evidence of that in some ways) but if they keep on bringing stuff like Civil War to the table I see no reason they can't keep on going.
I liked the new dudes... Black Panther was cool enough, but, obviously, the star of the show in some ways was Spiderman. I'm reluctant to do what everybody else is doing and say he was the "best ever", because I still think that Andrew Garfield absolutely fucking nailed it and I'd rather give this new guy his own movie to judge him on that but it was still brilliant none the less. Can't wait for homecoming, now.
In the grand scheme of Marvel movies, for me it's actually in that top bracket as one of the very best. If I were to be a proper nerd and rank them all in order... wait, I am a proper nerd, so I will rank them all in order...
Avengers
Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Civil War
Iron Man (those top 5 are the absolute top tier ones for me, a fair way away from the rest of them)
Thor: The Dark World (to me, the most under rated of all Marvel films)
Ant Man
Iron Man 3
Age of Ultron
Captain America: First Avenger
Incredible Hulk
Thor
Iron Man 2 (and I don't entirely hate this film, even though it's bottom here)
Before I get into it though, I just have to mention one fucking thing. You know that airport scene? As in, the highlight of the entire movie. Just as the two sides lined up and got ready to charge one another... somebody in my screen GOT UP AND WENT TO THE TOILET. How the fuck?
They got back just after the fighting was done.
That's like watching all of a Rocky movie and then turning it off just before it gets to the big fight. I know, when you gotta go you gotta go... but Jesus. Piss in a bottle or something. I genuinely struggled to enjoy that part as much as I should have purely because half of my brain was stunned by that mans actions.
Anyway, moving onto the actual film and some criticisms...
I love the Civil War storyline... as a matter of fact, it's actually the first comic book story I ever read in its entirety. The movie felt much smaller scale of course, but I thought it was a great, simplified, adaptation. As for people not understanding Tony Stark siding with the pro-registration act, it's simple, it's down to guilt. Of his own accord in Age of Ultron he nearly wiped out the entire planet... and (at some point either early in Civil War or AOU, I can't remember which as I pretty much watched them back to back
) he basically said he knows he shouldn't push the boundaries as much as he does, but he knows he's powerless to stop himself from doing so. This pro-registration thing is the perfect thing to keep himself in check and make sure that he doesn't go creating another Ultron sized problem for the world.But even taking his own personal issues out of the way, I think there's plenty of argument to be made for registration. In fact, it probably makes more logical sense than Captain Americas own "BUT FREEEEDDDOOOOM!!!" argument on the anti-registration side.
Regarding Zemo, I'm absolutely with Hodge on that one. Thought he was very different and yeah, ok, so the plan was a bit over complex, but I liked the idea behind of knowing he can't destroy the avengers, so he wants them to destroy themselves. It's a nice change of pace and in a world where super hero movies are seemingly getting a bit fatigued now, it was a fresh new approach.
And in fact, that applies to the entire film for me. People seem to say that the genre is running out of legs (and as much as I enjoyed Deadpool, for me that movie was evidence of that in some ways) but if they keep on bringing stuff like Civil War to the table I see no reason they can't keep on going.
I liked the new dudes... Black Panther was cool enough, but, obviously, the star of the show in some ways was Spiderman. I'm reluctant to do what everybody else is doing and say he was the "best ever", because I still think that Andrew Garfield absolutely fucking nailed it and I'd rather give this new guy his own movie to judge him on that but it was still brilliant none the less. Can't wait for homecoming, now.
In the grand scheme of Marvel movies, for me it's actually in that top bracket as one of the very best. If I were to be a proper nerd and rank them all in order... wait, I am a proper nerd, so I will rank them all in order...
Avengers
Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Civil War
Iron Man (those top 5 are the absolute top tier ones for me, a fair way away from the rest of them)
Thor: The Dark World (to me, the most under rated of all Marvel films)
Ant Man
Iron Man 3
Age of Ultron
Captain America: First Avenger
Incredible Hulk
Thor
Iron Man 2 (and I don't entirely hate this film, even though it's bottom here)
hodge
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Messages
- 4,574
- Reaction score
- 1,289
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Somerset
- Supports
- Bristol City
For me Andrew Garfield was 'too cool' to be Peter Parker, he was near enough bang on with Spider-Man (as was Tom Holland) but Tom will be a better Peter Parker then Andrew Garfield by the looks of it.
Think for me the MCU films rank
Winter Soldier - clear on its own as my favourite
- Avengers
Civil War
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Iron Man (Avengers to Iron Man all of a similar quality imo and each has its own style and strengths that make it very good)
Age of Ultron
Ant Man
Captain America: First Avenger
Iron Man 2 (if only for Romanoff)
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Thor
Incredible Hulk
Think for me the MCU films rank
Winter Soldier - clear on its own as my favourite
- Avengers
Civil War
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Iron Man (Avengers to Iron Man all of a similar quality imo and each has its own style and strengths that make it very good)
Age of Ultron
Ant Man
Captain America: First Avenger
Iron Man 2 (if only for Romanoff)
Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Thor
Incredible Hulk
MSB92
Active Member
Saw it yesterday and I loved it. Winter Soldier is still my favorite of the MCU. Tom Holland was excellent as Spiderman, probably my favorite part of the movie were the scenes involving him and Tony. Can't wait for the new Spiderman movie.
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
The main problem with the Marvel films is that aside from Loki, the villains are all rather weak characters.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 1,122
- Reaction score
- 296
- Points
- 83
- Location
- Lancashire
- Supports
- Everton
- @SmudgeEFC1985
Im surprised to see so much love for Winter Soldier. I somehow managed to not see that in the cinema so watched it on Netflix before going to see Civil War. Winter Soldier just felt a bit...dull. Like they knew they had to make a film to fill in the gaps before Age of Ultron and Civil War, and it really felt like it. Watching the two back to back, thought Civil War was far better.
Agree on Zemo on the whole 'villain with a brain' thing. That whole angle was really good I thought.
Agree too on Black Widow, quite an interesting character and with a lot of alluded to background, but she always feels so underused. Considering everyone is getting their own films, and then thrown into the ensemble ones, it just feels a bit of a waste having Black Widow as pretty much an ensemble character in all the other films.
Agree on Zemo on the whole 'villain with a brain' thing. That whole angle was really good I thought.
Agree too on Black Widow, quite an interesting character and with a lot of alluded to background, but she always feels so underused. Considering everyone is getting their own films, and then thrown into the ensemble ones, it just feels a bit of a waste having Black Widow as pretty much an ensemble character in all the other films.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,014
- Reaction score
- 861
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Hong Kong
- Supports
- Crewe Alex
See, what always undermined by Maguire and Garfield as Spiderman were that they were clearly not teenagers. They both looked their age, late 20s/early 30s. They were too old to play a character that is supposed to be 17-18. Holland looks to fit both roles well, although its too early to properly tell.
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
Gladders
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,857
- Reaction score
- 1,452
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Marlow
- Supports
- Grimsby Town
- @Gladders1980
T.A
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,845
- Reaction score
- 1,635
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- Berry
Probably need to give it another try tbh, gave up after the 2nd episode.
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
This will probably raise an eyebrow or two, but the fourth season of Agents of SHIELD was genuinely very, very good. It gets better every season, which would be great had they not lost most of their audience after the first season - which was fucking dire.
Oaf
Maharajah
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2015
- Messages
- 4,419
- Reaction score
- 1,414
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- PLIMUFF
I'm somehow still yet to watch that.
Regarding the netflix series, I also consider Jessica Jones to be the best, closely followed by Daredevil season 1. Season 2 was a bit dull I thought... The Punisher was a great addition, but kind of balanced out by the awful Elektra stuff (which I understand some people see as a highlight of that season, but I personally found everything involving her to be pretty shit overall). I'm still yet to watch Iron Fist but... yeah, judging from the reactions I've seen, I've confident that it won't be contending with Jessica Jones
Regarding the netflix series, I also consider Jessica Jones to be the best, closely followed by Daredevil season 1. Season 2 was a bit dull I thought... The Punisher was a great addition, but kind of balanced out by the awful Elektra stuff (which I understand some people see as a highlight of that season, but I personally found everything involving her to be pretty shit overall). I'm still yet to watch Iron Fist but... yeah, judging from the reactions I've seen, I've confident that it won't be contending with Jessica Jones
C
Captain Scumbag
Guest
Iron Fist is a chore and lacks pretty much everything that made Jessica Jones excellent (strong lead performance, a charismatic villain, psychological depth, an adult sense of humour, subversion of various superhero tropes, etc.) but it’s still probably worth blasting through before The Defenders debuts in August.
Assuming the Hand is going to be the main threat in Defenders, Danny’s story (very Hand-focused) is probably necessary for exposition and continuity. Even if it’s not, it’s probably worth watching as an introduction to certain characters.
If you watch it expecting something like Jessica Jones then you’ll hate it. If you go in expecting something a bit more conventional, it's tolerable. In a certain frame of mind one can almost enjoy (or at least be amused by) how unmodern it is, especially in how earnestly and non-ironically it does the whole "white hero does pseudo-spiritual Asian shit while totally KICKING ASS" thing. It sometimes feels like a Steven Seagal movie from the late 1980s but with MCU production values. Not an entirely bad thing...
Assuming the Hand is going to be the main threat in Defenders, Danny’s story (very Hand-focused) is probably necessary for exposition and continuity. Even if it’s not, it’s probably worth watching as an introduction to certain characters.
If you watch it expecting something like Jessica Jones then you’ll hate it. If you go in expecting something a bit more conventional, it's tolerable. In a certain frame of mind one can almost enjoy (or at least be amused by) how unmodern it is, especially in how earnestly and non-ironically it does the whole "white hero does pseudo-spiritual Asian shit while totally KICKING ASS" thing. It sometimes feels like a Steven Seagal movie from the late 1980s but with MCU production values. Not an entirely bad thing...
Ebeneezer Goode
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2015
- Messages
- 3,657
- Reaction score
- 1,541
- Points
- 113
- Supports
- England
I wonder if Marvel are regretting hiring Iron Fist's showrunner to make (the very fucking expensive) Inhumans series too. Shot and débuts in IMAX, budget reportedly comparable to Game of Thrones - and everyone who's seen some of it seems to think it looks meh.
Benito
sadboys
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Messages
- 545
- Reaction score
- 342
- Points
- 63
- Location
- Swimming In My Own Sadness
- Supports
- The Downward Spiral Of Existential Angst
Just to wade in here about my thoughts on the film Logan its basically a shit mans Terminator 2.
