The quality produced by the MCU is astonishing. Three films a year now, and they still manage to be entertaining, creative, and (I know some will disagree) fresh. In such a short space of time, it’s an incredible achievement, and audiences are still flocking to see entries. There’s blips, for sure, but nothing ‘bad’ I’d say. I walked out of that film today thinking, this is ridiculous. 21 films and they’re still churning out stuff that good.
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Movie 22 - Avengers: Endgame
Not a breakdown of the film, simply a question.
Factoring in the events of the new film, to what extent do you see the MCU as being a success from a narrative standpoint and could it have been better?Comment
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Yes, totally a success. They've created a whole bunch of films that can stand alone and, for the most part, do stand alone while then managing to bring everything together for a huge and rewarding showpiece season ending. That's a huge achievement. Could it have been better? Anything can be made better but the chances of it being done worse massively overwhelm the chances of it being done better. Even where there are parts that didn't totally land for me over the years, the mastery of what has been done needs to be acknowledged. If this plan had been proposed right at the start, pretty much everyone would say it is doomed to fail. And for good reason - even the best writers and best directors couldn't keep up that level of quality and then bring it all together over that many movies.
But they did it.
It's an incredible achievement. One I don't think anyone will be able to match any decade soon.Comment
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Tell you what I’ve found.
Traditionally, if a new MCU entry came along and I didn’t recognise the writer or director (or of they hadn’t helmed another entry) then I’d get chewed by its potential to fail.
That’s not how it’s happened. They’ve used some experienced guys and they’ve used new guys. This has led to a distinctiveness and freshness. Yet, within the confines of the grand plan, they’ve had to ground their vision and tone inside the building mythology. It’s meant that films feel different, yet retain a comforting degree of familiarity and continuity. It’s a great strategy.Comment
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I got Disney+ and me and the wife are taking the opportunity to watch all these films. We are watching them in release order, rather than the chronological order Disney says. I wanted to watch them and see how well they gel and give an overall opinion of the series.
We have watched Iron man, Iron man 2, hulk, Thor and captain America so far.
My best to worst:
Iron man
Thor
Captain America
Hulk
Iron man 2
Ill try and keep this updated as I work through them all.Comment
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I just don't get the hate for Iron Man 2; it's probably my favourite one!Originally posted by Cassius_Smoke View Post
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I like elements of it, and I didn't hate it while I watched it. I think it's main problem is it's over long and it doesn't really have a BBEG.Originally posted by Asura View PostI just don't get the hate for Iron Man 2; it's probably my favourite one!
I liked how his reactor is killing him and I liked how another industry is trying to build an iron man. But it's not a tight film.
As I watch more marvels it may not be the worst.Comment
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A few things I love about Iron Man 2...
- I like Whiplash. I like the idea of him as an opponent, and his initial approach of realising he doesn't need to kill Tony; he just needs to show the world that he is not invincible. And he succeeds!
- I love the F1 segment. It's just so ridiculous but I think it's a great example of Tony's arrogant, dickish personality, along with the bit with War Machine when Tony's drunk at the mansion. My pre-Iron Man Movies perception of Tony is that his biggest enemy his himself, and this matched that perception.
- I love the drones. In a world where we're seeing actual drones come into warfare, I thought this was a great idea.
- I even like Justin Hammer, like I love what they did with the character. Just how ridiculously not cool the guy is.
I'm not blind to the fact that the movie covers a lot of ground in not at lot of time, but I love it regardless.Comment
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I like all of those things in Iron Man 2 as well. The problems with that film for me as mostly about shoehorning in Avengers setup, which the movie not only pauses for but loses a plot point in the process (the heart thing, I can’t remember). And then there is the knock on effect of the recasting of Rhodes - I didn’t buy that those two guys knew each other, something which they totally turned around for Iron Man 3 where the bond seemed perfect. Even with that Rhodes thing though, had they let the film just be Iron Man 2 with all that cool Whiplash and Justin Hammer stuff, I think I probably would have loved it too.Comment
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Part of me wonders if the Avengers stuff only seems to drag in retrospect. At the time, I remember it as a tantalising glimpse of Marvel's nascent future. I saw Iron Man 2 at an IMAX (may have even been in 3D?); still remember that day very fondly.Comment
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It wasn’t in retrospect for me. It seemed really distracting at the time, like there were parts of some other movie getting in the way. That’s why it was so long before I ever rewatched it.Comment
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Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 are all 2D.Originally posted by Asura View Post
The first 3D Marvel film was Thor in 2010.Comment
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Ah ok; I saw a lot of 3D films at that particular IMAX.Originally posted by QualityChimp View PostComment
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Yep, I get that they only really had Iron Man 2 that could be used to set up what was needed for Avengers but tbh even that aside IM2 was a flabby film even on release. In hindsight I find myself surprised at how little happens in IM1 too.Comment
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I think 30 minutes could have been cut from iron man 2 to tighten it up. The fight between iron man and Rhodes at the party is cringe and completely unnecessary. The idea that Rhodes becomes War Machine simply because he steals a suit doesn't sit well in the overall franchise. Instead Tony should have given him a suit in the event he dies or goes crazy.Comment
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