Canon-Strike VI: Marvel Cinematic Universe

[Brad]

Saw it. Didn't give a ****. Marvel has turned to ****. Lost interest.

[teddymeow]

I saw it and can barely remember it.

There were points where it almost felt.like a Star Wars film. And not in a good way.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 42 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Whilst the MCU has been busy trying to launch new heroes left right and centre, one film aimed to bring a journey to an end. With James Gunn stepping out of the MCU he brought to a close his trilogy of films and the current existing form of the Guardians group. With a story pinned around Rocket, we saw his backstory in detail whilst drawing a line under the Star Lord and Gamora romance arc at the same time. The film was the one real Marvel made success of the year, matching its two predecessors at the box office.

​


A Fitting End to the Trilogy and MCU Old Guard?​​​​

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 43 - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Another Phase Four year leant into another backwards addition albeit by the very thinnest of membrane. It was this years sequel that referenced aspects of the MCU making this first addition technical in nature. With that we'll focus more on simple appreciation with this addition.




To what extent does ATSV continue the Spider-Man quality bar?

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 44 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The second installment billed itself as a one-two punch with two films releasing twelve months apart. As a result the film ends open ended for the third entry that now no longer has a set release date. Meeting similar success as its predecessor, it continues the franchises strong box office performance and though very loose included several direct references to characters and incarnations in the MCU thanks to its multiversal storyline.



Not just a universe apart, also a quality standard apart?

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 45 - The Marvels
The final new fim addition for this year was the recent sequel to the $1bn franchise launcher, followed up here by a $200m earning franchise killer and the moment when the MCU finally had an outright box office failure. Causing shockwaves for all the wrong reasons, the film capped off a difficult year for Disney which has seen damage on all of its premier brands.




A Crisis Point for the MCU?

[Neon Ignition]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - The best of this years additions though not my fave of the trilogy. It was the only one to have a firm grasp on what had worked well in the MCU in the past and was all the better for it.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse - It's very backwardly included and it's goodness is well known at this point

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Still very good though not quite as much as the first one

The Marvels - Honestly, it's fine. It's mostly just the wrong pitch for a CM sequel and its failure at the box office means its one supposed 'big' reveal is now lost on its impact for audiences too.


I'd said about the need to divorce the Disney+ series ages ago and that is part of where things went wrong this year, but there's a broader issue at play where even without them Marvel isn't making the effort to make you care about its current characters.