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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2017 21:27:12 GMT -5
IT'S HAPPENING.
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Post by Prole Hole on Nov 17, 2017 3:22:03 GMT -5
Good luck, and also yay!
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Nov 18, 2017 16:17:47 GMT -5
*evacuates puppies before @patrickbatman sees the thread*
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2017 12:51:51 GMT -5
Iron Man (2008)
Where it all began!
The Plot: A dick builds a super suit.
Then: When I first saw this a decade ago, I didn't much care for it. I thought it just didn't have enough in it to make for that interesting of a movie. It didn't help that it came out the same year as The Dark Knight and Hellboy 2. This was a much different time for comic book movies. Everything was self contained, and movies went all out even if it was an origin story. I also just didn't like the Character of Tony Stark, he was a very hard guy to root for.
Now: I like it a bit more. Now within the context of a near 20 movie franchise, the better this film works. It is a quaint beginning. While it isn't the best MCU movie or really a classic in the comic book genre, the scale of this film is refreshing. Also, Tony Stark here is better than his last two appearances (Ultron and Civil War). The ending is also pretty baller(specifically the I am Iron Man scene), and is more effective when you know there definitely are more movies coming.
The Villain: The one thing that has hurt the MCU for me big time is the quality of their Villains. Most are underwitten, and a good chunk are just plain boring or forgettable in the grand scheme of things. This is very much a big sin within the context of superheroes. A hero is only as good as his adversary. While the Villain is played by none other than the wonderful Jeff Bridges, he still falls flat. Stane is just not that interesting, and they don't really dive deep into his character or his relation with Tony. The smaller side villain group that imprisoned Tony are also totally forgettable. While the movie as a whole improved on this rewatch, the Villains did not.
Random Thoughts:
I kinda like Terrance Howard in this role, as much as I do like Don Cheadle, it would have been interesting to see Howard stay as the Character.
Tony does not have good taste in music.
Tony also would not have been in a convoy vehicle with nothing but E-3's and below in the real world.
The robotic helpers in the building of the suit montage were just the best.
I still find it hard to believe that Jon Favreau is a big name hollywood director.
MCU movie rankings upon rewatch:
1. Iron Man, doesn't really have any competition as of right now.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Nov 24, 2017 13:08:20 GMT -5
A fair assessment. I remember there being some contrarian narrative that Iron Man was the "fun" comic book movie as opposed to the "too full of itself" Dark Knight, but you are correct that it is far more effective asa franchise launcher than a single movie. I also was more kind to it at the time because of some (probably unearned) nostalgia for those 90's "Marvel Action Hour" Iron Man cartoons.
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Post by oppy all along on Nov 25, 2017 20:14:25 GMT -5
Iron Man was also a movie I liked more upon rewatch. Robert Downey Jr and Tony Stark is the perfect marriage between actor and role, and Iron Man as a superhero made all the other superheroes of the time look like giant nerds. Even if it boggles the mind why anyone puts up with Tony Stark.
Also, if there's a segment on just the villain, then there's going to be a lot of 'well, the villain wasn't that interesting in this movie either'. Jeff Bridges performed well in an out of focus role, in a trend that would continue throughout the series with the many well-acted, under-writted bad guys.
Note: I'm on Iron Man 3 with my MCU watchthrough, and talk about a joyless slog. The Iron Man franchise definitely goes down from here.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 20:58:21 GMT -5
I quite liked Iron Man 3, it was really the only one I liked upon watching it initially.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Nov 25, 2017 20:58:37 GMT -5
Iron Man was also a movie I liked more upon rewatch. Robert Downey Jr and Tony Stark is the perfect marriage between actor and role, and Iron Man as a superhero made all the other superheroes of the time look like giant nerds. Even if it boggles the mind why anyone puts up with Tony Stark. Also, if there's a segment on just the villain, then there's going to be a lot of 'well, the villain wasn't that interesting in this movie either'. Jeff Bridges performed well in an out of focus role, in a trend that would continue throughout the series with the many well-acted, under-writted bad guys. Note: I'm on Iron Man 3 with my MCU watchthrough, and talk about a joyless slog. The Iron Man franchise definitely goes down from here. Oh yay! Another member of the "why did everyone like Iron Man 3 so much?!" Club!
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Nov 25, 2017 21:08:26 GMT -5
What are you going to do once you start getting to individual episodes of all the goddamned MCU shows, Matt?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2017 21:11:21 GMT -5
What are you going to do once you start getting to individual episodes of all the goddamned MCU shows, Matt? Ignore them, like the movies have done.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Nov 25, 2017 21:15:55 GMT -5
What are you going to do once you start getting to individual episodes of all the goddamned MCU shows, Matt? Ignore them, like the movies have done. But they are also moving pictures, ergo they are movies in that they are a series of still images shown rapidly in sequential order, giving the illusion of movement, and they are in the MCU, and they do not ignore the fact that they exist, insofar as they have plots and internal consistency and are not constantly changing the premise of what they are about from line to line. Ergo, they are movies in the MCU, ergo your comment is a non-sequitur. Q.E.D.
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Post by WKRP Jimmy Drop on Nov 25, 2017 23:50:02 GMT -5
Iron Man 2 Pepper Potts is the best Pepper Potts and I will fight anyone who says differently.
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Post by Nudeviking on Nov 27, 2017 19:38:37 GMT -5
Iron Man 2 Pepper Potts is the best Pepper Potts and I will fight anyone who says differently. Ironman 2 is the best Ironman movie of all, and a great deal of that has to do with Pepper Potts.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 22:44:02 GMT -5
It's back! Even though I didn't make the deadline of finishing up before Infinity War, Infinity War did inspire me to get back to it! We are skipping Incredible Hulk, because who actually counts it?
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Plot: Dick faces consequences for building a super suit.
Then: I actually watched a shitty cam rip of this a few days before it came out. I did not like it very much, I didn't buy into adaptive parts of the Demon in the Bottle comics storyline. Thought the villains were weak and the action as well.
Now: I viewed it more favorably. Seekng a good quality version of it probably helps a bit more, but other parts came off better. The Tony is close to death and kinda giving up actually works. The character interaction between the main cast is wonderful, and for the scenes Nick Fury does show up it gives a nice boost to the events.
The Villains: While I don't think the writing for Justin Hammer is anything special he is still played wonderfully by Sam Rockwell who is clearly having a blast. Rockwell is just perfect as a corrupt arms dealer sleezeball. Mickey Rourke playing russian Mickey Rourke having a midlife crisis on the other hand...... Whiplash just doesn't work at all, he is lame, has a terrible look, and the performance is just terrible. Whiplash certainly holds back the film.
Random Thoughts:
- While the monaco scene is cool in theory, it had Driven(the horrible Sty Stallone racing film) levels of idiocy. The red flag would have gone up to stop the cars, spotters certainly would have alerted drivers to a person on the track. Like there is just no way the cars would have kept coming to whiplash, especially Tony for how long it takes him.
- The suitcase suit is the best Iron Man suit in all of the MCU.
- There was a very out of place and awkward Elon Musk cameo. It was seriously lame.
- Tony was taking MMA lessons, which is a smart thing to show. It isn't just the suit that is doing all the work.
- The retcon of senator Larry Sanders being Hydra in winter soldier makes his part work a lot better. Gives him more motivation than just being a generic corrupt politician.
- That wig for Scarlett Johansson was very bad, but character wise a decent debut for Black Widow.
MCU movie rankings so far.
1. Iron Man 2. Iron Man 2
If there was a better villain than whiplash I might would have actually placed 2 over the first one.
Up next: 2011's Loki.... whoops, I mean Thor.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 22:47:32 GMT -5
Oh, one more random thought. One thing that really makes the character of Tony Stark work in his films vs the team ups. Showing montages of Tony working, whether it be on the suit in 1 or creating a new element to save him in 2. It shows he is dedicated to his craft and is more than just a dick with a super suit.
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Post by Nudeviking on May 3, 2018 1:10:30 GMT -5
How come you skipped that Hulk movie?
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2018 6:58:43 GMT -5
Because even the MCU ignores it.
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Post by oppy all along on May 3, 2018 7:04:10 GMT -5
Because even the MCU ignores it. Hey, William Hurt has come back twice now! And The Hulk's rampage in Harlem was also referenced in The Avengers.
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Post by Nudeviking on May 3, 2018 9:31:47 GMT -5
Because even the MCU ignores it. Hey, William Hurt has come back twice now! And The Hulk's rampage in Harlem was also referenced in The Avengers. Iron Man also shows up in it.
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oppy all along
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Post by oppy all along on May 3, 2018 9:51:22 GMT -5
Hey, William Hurt has come back twice now! And The Hulk's rampage in Harlem was also referenced in The Avengers. Iron Man also shows up in it. They actually explain that in an extra. The World Security Council wants SHIELD to recruit the Abomination for the Avengers, and SHIELD can't refuse a direct order but they think it's an awful idea. So they send someone who General Ross is absolutely, 100% guaranteed to hate and refuse any requests they might have.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2018 10:28:55 GMT -5
It is skipped! We are moving on to new mexico!
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2018 0:22:14 GMT -5
Thor (2011)
Plot: A great man is ruined because he had his past kept from him and has an arrogant ass for a brother.
Then: The next big step going forward for the MCU. After the success of Iron Man and the weird side adventure of the movie that must be skipped. Comes the next big stepping stone for the MCU. Iron Man worked, but could lightning hit twice with another big name comic book character but wasn't really a mainstream presence for the casual moviegoer? For me, ehhhhh. I viewed it pretty mediocre at the time. Like Loki, the comedy for the most part hit. But the action was never good, and it all looked kinda cheap for what was a big blockbuster movie.
Now: Well, once again on rewatch I view a film more favorably than I did previously. In retrospect Kenneth Branagh was the perfect person to be put in the director's chair. Bringing a very Shakespearean tone to the story, working wonders with the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston. Chris Hemmsworth has always been having lots of fun with Thor, and Jane Foster is actually a pretty decent character here.
It isn't without faults though, as perfect as Branagh was for director, he also was not good at all. He isn't an action director and it shows. This was also his first big budget heavily CG'd film. The art design is great, but the actual effects can be very middling. You will never once feel as if the actors aren't standing in front of a green screen. And even when the film isn't in asgard, new mexico doesn't get much visual love either. It looks very much like a rush job of a set was built. One can make the desert look stunning, but sadly not here. It is just a generic town in some generic ass dirt. This movie also gives Battlefield Earth a run for it's dutch angle money. Just so many dutch angles!
The Villain: Loki is truly one of the best MCU characters, especially in hindsight. In 2011 he was the nice highlight of the film, but in the following years he became a highlight of the entire MCU. Partly because it took a good long while for Marvel to even come close to another villain as good as him(Guardians 2), but also because unlike others he is a villain where the pathos and a sympathetic backstory actually fucking works! The shakespeare is strong through Loki's plotline. You can buy the resentment for Thor being the favorite, even Sif and the Warriors 3 are quick to view him as less than Thor and go straight to accusing him of working with the frost giants. You can easily sympathize when it comes to not being as well liked as that person who is always better. Then how they played his frost giant lineage was gold. That confrontation between Loki and Odin was perfect and heartbreaking. It was the final puzzle piece for Loki that went and valdiated his resentment all along(even though he is viewing odin all wrong, you can buy why he would).
In true fashion of a tragedy, it isn't his motivations that make him a villain but his actions. Lying to thor about the death of his father, taking out his jealously and resentment at the expense of the frost giants and the people of new mexico. Maybe if things were different, you could buy that Loki wouldn't have ended up this way.
Random Thoughts:
Jane is an idiot for driving straight into magical light tornado.
There was a line giving Sif's backstory that she had to prove everyone wrong that maidens could be warriors just as much as men. This seems very weird in retrospect after Thor Ragnarok, with the valkyries having been a legendary fighting force of Asgard.
Agent Coulson gets his most screentime yet, and is very welcome indeed. You can easily see why ABC would think it is a good idea to build a show around him.
Thor's hair was terrible.
Did they ever actually explain or show how the bridge from Asgard to the other realms was fixed? Iirc they never do in avengers and Thor is just always free to jump through the bifrost after that
MCU rankings
1. Thor - yep, this actually tops both Iron Man films for me. Loki is that good of a character. 2. Iron Man 3. Iron Man 2
Up next: my favorite Phase 1 film.
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Post by Nudeviking on May 4, 2018 1:11:46 GMT -5
Thor (2011) Plot: A great man is ruined because he had his past kept from him and has an arrogant ass for a brother. Then: The next big step going forward for the MCU. After the success of Iron Man and the weird side adventure of the movie that must be skipped. Comes the next big stepping stone for the MCU. Iron Man worked, but could lightning hit twice with another big name comic book character but wasn't really a mainstream presence for the casual moviegoer? For me, ehhhhh. I viewed it pretty mediocre at the time. Like Loki, the comedy for the most part hit. But the action was never good, and it all looked kinda cheap for what was a big blockbuster movie. Now: Well, once again on rewatch I view a film more favorably than I did previously. In retrospect Kenneth Branagh was the perfect person to be put in the director's chair. Bringing a very Shakespearean tone to the story, working wonders with the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston. Chris Hemmsworth has always been having lots of fun with Thor, and Jane Foster is actually a pretty decent character here. It isn't without faults though, as perfect as Branagh was for director, he also was not good at all. He isn't an action director and it shows. This was also his first big budget heavily CG'd film. The art design is great, but the actual effects can be very middling. You will never once feel as if the actors aren't standing in front of a green screen. And even when the film isn't in asgard, new mexico doesn't get much visual love either. It looks very much like a rush job of a set was built. One can make the desert look stunning, but sadly not here. It is just a generic town in some generic ass dirt. This movie also gives Battlefield Earth a run for it's dutch angle money. Just so many dutch angles! The Villain: Loki is truly one of the best MCU characters, especially in hindsight. In 2011 he was the nice highlight of the film, but in the following years he became a highlight of the entire MCU. Partly because it took a good long while for Marvel to even come close to another villain as good as him(Guardians 2), but also because unlike others he is a villain where the pathos and a sympathetic backstory actually fucking works! The shakespeare is strong through Loki's plotline. You can buy the resentment for Thor being the favorite, even Sif and the Warriors 3 are quick to view him as less than Thor and go straight to accusing him of working with the frost giants. You can easily sympathize when it comes to not being as well liked as that person who is always better. Then how they played his frost giant lineage was gold. That confrontation between Loki and Odin was perfect and heartbreaking. It was the final puzzle piece for Loki that went and valdiated his resentment all along(even though he is viewing odin all wrong, you can buy why he would). In true fashion of a tragedy, it isn't his motivations that make him a villain but his actions. Lying to thor about the death of his father, taking out his jealously and resentment at the expense of the frost giants and the people of new mexico. Maybe if things were different, you could buy that Loki wouldn't have ended up this way. Random Thoughts: Jane is an idiot for driving straight into magical light tornado. There was a line giving Sif's backstory that she had to prove everyone wrong that maidens could be warriors just as much as men. This seems very weird in retrospect after Thor Ragnarok, with the valkyries having been a legendary fighting force of Asgard. Agent Coulson gets his most screentime yet, and is very welcome indeed. You can easily see why ABC would think it is a good idea to build a show around him. Thor's hair was terrible. Did they ever actually explain or show how the bridge from Asgard to the other realms was fixed? Iirc they never do in avengers and Thor is just always free to jump through the bifrost after that MCU rankings 1. Thor - yep, this actually tops both Iron Man films for me. Loki is that good of a character. 2. Iron Man 3. Iron Man 2 Up next: my favorite Phase 1 film. They never show them repair the Bifrost in any of the movies (maybe in a deleted scene or something?) but there was a comic book series set in the Cinematic Universe titled The Dark World: Prelude that goes from the end of Thor through the end of The Avengers that showed how it happened. Here are the relevant panels. Those hands are Thor and Heimdall if you can't infer from context clues.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 8, 2018 11:11:22 GMT -5
I mentioned this when I was discussing Avengers III: SO. Much. Stuff. but the MCU really misses not having Phil Coulson in it. Quite apart from how great Clark Gregg is in the role, he's a character that really added something to these movies, even though he's rarely in them for more than about five minutes. His sincerity feels real, he gives a different perspective which isn't (just) another wisecrack or one-liner, and it's important in these movies to have representation of more ordinary folk. Epic battles between gods and monsters can feel distancing and rather cold (especially with endless CGI buildings being destroyed wholesale), but having a character like Coulson around helped emphasize not just that they were fighting, but what they're fighting for. That kind of presence goes so much further than A Big Speech About Defending The World or whatever, and he's exceedingly well used in the first Thor picture (which still only gets lukewarm praise from me, though I have tried to warm to it).
In short, the MCU really need a Coulson character these days. Ideally, Coulson.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 8, 2018 11:14:24 GMT -5
Also, "bifrost" is a shit name for a Magic Rainbow Bridge
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Post by Nudeviking on May 8, 2018 20:40:59 GMT -5
Also, "bifrost" is a shit name for a Magic Rainbow Bridge Bi-erasure....
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Post by oppy all along on May 9, 2018 0:55:50 GMT -5
Also, "bifrost" is a shit name for a Magic Rainbow Bridge Bi-erasure.... Thor shattering the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard and the 9 Realms as a visual metaphor of how bi-erasure alienates bisexuals from the queer community.
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Post by Lt. Broccoli on May 9, 2018 5:22:32 GMT -5
Bifrost is the actual term from Old Norse and it means, well, ok maybe no one is really sure, but it probably refers to the shimmering and fleeting nature of rainbows.
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Post by Prole Hole on May 10, 2018 4:29:22 GMT -5
Bifrost is the actual term from Old Norse and it means, well, ok maybe no one is really sure, but it probably refers to the shimmering and fleeting nature of rainbows. Oh I know, I studied some Norse mythology when I was at university, but we don't speak Old Norse, we speak English and it sounds stupid in English. This isn't a hill I'm going to die on or anything, I'm just pointing it out.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2018 20:53:58 GMT -5
DOUBLE FEATURE, two writeups in one post!
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Plot: Skinny kid with big heart gets big body.
Then: We were now full steam ahead in the MCU. Cap is the last building block to be put in place for the avengers. No one seemed particularly hyped about it, I wasn't either in the lead up to it. Once I saw it though it became an instant favorite of mine. It felt totally different from the previous MCU movies in a good way. It had a very particular aesthetic it was trying to nail with the WW2 trappings and it worked wonderfully. It was a throwback with a fun superhero plot. Also, Cap's character was a much needed departure from the glut of anti heroes/assholes we had got, not just from the MCU but in comic book films as a whole. Cap isn't brooding or dark, he is just a straight up hero in all the right ways. Which maybe in the 50s or 60s that could have been a dime a dozen, but in the early 2010s was very refreshing. Also made Cap super likeable being as good a guy as he was. My favorite scene in this movie if not the entire MCU was when Cap was in training for the super soldier program and before he even got the serum proved to be the right guy for the job, when he jumped on the dummy grenande showing he was willing to sacrifice himself to save his fellow team members. Seeing such a selfless act immediately puts you into his corner if you weren't already.
Now: Pretty much still feel exactly the same about this movie. I love it and it does feel like no other in the MCU. The throwback feel and bounds of optimism are still wonderful. Some of the action and CG isn't as good as what is to come from the MCU, but it doesn't get in the way of the film at all. A great movie that still holds up for the most part.
The Villain: Red Skull. One of the better MCU villains pretty much by default. He isn't a villain with lots of depth, but he doesn't need to be. They aren't setting him up to be tragic, he is just the evil psycho who wants to rule the world and is a nazi(even if the MCU is kinda afraid of really saying he is a nazi). He does what he is supposed to perfectly. Hugo Weaving gives a great slightly unhinged performance and you want to see Cap kick his ass. The movie knew exactly what red skull was and didn't try to stretch it. Sometimes all you need for a comic book movie is a bad guy you want to see punched in the face.
Random Thoughts:
- Not knowing how they were gonna handle future movies at the time, I was super pumped when they had Bucky in this film and "killed" him the way they did. The winter soldier storyline from the comics wasn't even 10 years old at this point, so there was no guarantee it was gonna be a plot in the movies. Glad they made it happen, and knowing what is to come really makes me like the scenes between bucky and steve even more.
- It is a shame though that out of all the initial movies, it was this one that had the supporting cast who wasn't really gonna reappear. Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones are fantastic in their roles, and with Peggy and Howard Stark they can be brought back for cameos but clearly only so much can be done.
- That musical montage was fantastic and something that felt out of place for MCU movies of old, but worked splendidly here.
Up next: Two dicks, a lady, arrow guy, and a green monster team up with our hero.
The Avengers (2012)
Plot: OMG TWO OR MORE SUPERHEROES IN THE SAME PLACE!
Then: This was it, this is what had been building since the first Iron Man and nothing would ever be the same for major movie studios since. We had 4(technically 5) movies of build to get to this point of the grand experiment. And it delivered whole heartedly. I wouldn't say it smashed all expectations, but it certainly met them and left everyone happy. I liked it, it was fun, had some good jokes, and some of the better action of the MCU at the time.
Now: Still fun, still a good movie, but it is probably the first film I've watched for this that I didn't like as much or more than the previous times I watched it. While I still hold the opinion that it is the best teamup movie of the MCU, it does feel very quaint compared to what has came after. MCU has been more epic, has been funnier, has definitely looked better. And the whole all these heroes in one place does just not feel as special anymore when there is now a lot of bleed over between movies. It also isn't the best structured of films. It just starts and doesn't give you much time to catch up, once it does stop the plot in the middle after they "caught loki" is probably when the movie is at it's best. Because then these characters can spend some real time interacting rather than just punching each other or loki.
The Villain: Not a lot to say here. Loki is a great character and I think a good one to bring back for the teamup film. Pretty much all the characters can bounce off his persona well, and I think the best villains for teamups are the villains that can out think the heroes rather than the ones that can just beat them with brute force. As far as the chitauri, ehhhhhh. Just kind of a let down when the marvel has the kree and skrull to work with. But I guess they work as fodder for our heroes while saving the other alien races for something better.
Random Thoughts
- That cap suit really looks bad.
- The reveal of the helicarrier is still pretty dang awesome.
- Hawkeye's popping out his bow move is super lame.
- Joss Whedon can not write Captain America all that well. Joss makes him seem like this dweebish goody two shoes. Some of the lines that just come out of Cap's mouth feel like Whedon just trying a bit too hard to make him seem like someone from the 40s. Cap can be a bit of a dork but he isn't some stick in the mud.
MCU rankings:
1. Captain America: The First Avenger 2. The Avengers 3. Thor 4. Iron Man 5. Iron Man 2
Phase 1 was a good foundation that was set, with some great characters sprinkled out. I'm now a bit more optimistic about this rewatch, even though Phase 2 might be the bumpiest part of the ride. My all time favorite MCU movie is in this phase, but also two of the very worst.
Up Next: Tony goes to therapy, and his GF gets very hot.
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