My MCU rant

My MCU rant 

  

Since Infinity War is around the corner, and it's almost ten years since the MCU started, I decided to give my thoughts on it. I'm impressed that this franchise is still going on; however, I think it gets too much credit for having different characters from different movies come together. Did people forget about Freddy vs Jason or Alien vs Predator? (Well, I can't blame you if you did.) Despite that, this hasn't been done before on a scale like this. I feel like I'm watching Marvel comics on the big screen. To be fair, this studio got lucky with the first Iron Man movie because this movie came out the same year as The Dark Knight; they could have been screwed if it came out the same month. One of the reasons why I'm surprised by the success of the MCU is because Marvel Studios is doing the same thing as the other movie studios, as far as studios not letting the directors be creative with their movies. I'll explain why this is an issue for me later. 

The MCU might not exist if people played this game; this game can help the general public become familiar with the Marvel world. 

  

Then again, the Justice League movie didn't have world-building, and look at how that movie turned out. (That's what WB gets for kissing Batman's butt so much, I mean, ignoring the other DC characters. I want a Blue Beetle or Booster Gold series on Netflix.) Don't get me wrong, I'm not against what Marvel Studios is doing, it's just that I don't like how this studio uses their solo films to set things up, I mean, they set up things when they don't need to, and they don't set up things when they should. For example, Iron Man 2 that movie was used to advertise The Avengers movie, and no one can tell me otherwise, the way it was done neglects the non-comic book readers. The same thing goes for Avengers: Age of Ultron; that movie was used to promote other films. I wish that the creators would take notes from how Arrow built its universe in season two. Whenever that show brings a comic book character in that season, they're used for the episode he or she is in, or they serve a purpose in the overall story. 

In case you haven't noticed, the standalone movies are one of the problems I have with the MCU; most of them feel the same as far as quality. The directors don't do anything edgy with these movies, I mean, we had two brief sex scenes in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. Plus, a handful of intense action scenes in the other films. This is why I consider Captain America: Winter Soldier and Thor the best MCU films. Captain America: Winter Soldier is a solid spy thriller; the movie doesn't feel like it's setting anything up. Also, it affects the rest of the MCU. Thor is a family drama story. Yes! It has world-building; however, it didn't distract me from the story. Most of the MCU movies are about the hero's origin, personal issues, set up and the main villain looking for an object that will give him or her power. Since we're on the subject of villains, the MCU didn't produce adversaries that are memorable for the most part. 


Some of them would have been better if they were like their comic book counterparts. 

 

Or if the studio didn't throw away the actor or actress's hard work on the character.

 

It's time to address the elephant in the room, and that's the comedy. The comedy in these movies is overblown to the point where it ruins certain scenes, the tone of the movie, or the overall movie. Thor Ragnarok and Iron Man 2 are prime examples of that. The Last Jedi tried to copy this, and it didn't work because it creates mood whiplash. OK, I can see why the directors would do that because it's unexpected; however, it feels like a cheap way to get us to laugh. I'm surprised that the creators didn't use the break-the-fourth-wall type of comedy with setting up the Marvel universe. This reinforces why I'm not happy about Marvel Studios getting the rights to the rest of the Marvel characters, because I want variety. Despite not being crazy about the New Mutants movie being a horror film, I'm mad that the creators want to change that to make the movie family-friendly. We haven't seen a comic book horror film yet, unless you count the Blade trilogy. We might not have this problem if Marvel Studios let the Directors have their way with their movies.       

There have been stories of directors leaving or being fired from Marvel Studios because they don't like how this studio undermines them. Heck, even actors or actresses have gripes with this studio.

        

The standalone films are also similar to each other. don't believe me, answer these questions. What's the difference between the first Avengers movie and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie? What's the difference between Black Panther and the first Thor movie? You don't really need to watch these movies to watch the Avengers films. Yes! The writers reference events that happen in the solo films; however, they don't play a role in the overall story in the Avengers movies for the most part. For example, Captain America: Civil War is going to feel like filler because we know or suspect that Tony and Steve will call a truce to deal with Thanos in Infinity War. As far as I know, Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy are the only characters that became popular due to their standalone movies. That's saying a lot considering how much trouble Tony Stark/Iron Man has caused.  

Do I really have to explain why this studio announces that more movies will be released years in advance bugs me? First of all, they're spoiling their fan base. Have they ever heard of the saying less is more? If they keep going at this rate, people might get sick of superhero/comic book movies. Second, it takes away the surprise of watching these films. I mean, what's the point in watching a Thor movie if I know he's going to be in the Avengers safe and sound? The only time Marvel Studios played with my expectations was in the second wave of Marvel films. For example, after seeing how Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Winter Soldier ended I thought Tony was going to rebuild S.H.I.L.E.D and run it. That makes sense (Not because this was in the comics.) it's because Tony became obsessed with protecting Earth from another alien invasion, plus he doesn't trust Nick Fury. Also, I thought Thanos was going to be the main baddie in the second Avengers movie because A the creators showed him in Guardians of the Galaxy. B they set up the Infinity stones. 

Am I the only one annoyed that the Hulk is not getting any more standalone movies? The dynamic between Bruce and the Hulk is interesting. I'm happy that the writers finally gave the Hulk the ability to speak in Thor Ragnarok because we can finally get inside this character's head. I just wish that this had been done sooner. So the Fantastic Four gets four movies, but you're not going to give the Hulk a third chance. What gives Universal Studios !?! Seriously, what's the point of setting the Leader if you're not going to use him? 

As far as a Black Widow movie goes, I'm not against it; however, I don't think it's needed. First of all, we learn something new about her every time she's in these films, and we see how much she has changed since Iron Man 2. Second Black Widow works better as a supporting character if you ask me. If Black Widow is going to get her own movie, it has to take place after the Thanos story, because we already know most of her backstory, so we don't need to see it. 

I wouldn't mind a Nick Fury solo film to explore his backstory of how he went from soldier to Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus, he feels like an extra rather than a character. 

I'm kind of disappointed that we didn't get a Nova movie sooner. I mean, why show us the Nova Corps if you're not going to use them?         

Before I wrap this up, I want to talk about Infinity War. I don't think that this will be a good movie. First of all, too many characters; second, how will Thanos stand out the way Loki, Ultron, and Killmonger did? He's just like most of the forgettable villains as far as wanting a MacGuffin that will give him the power to destroy everything. How much of a threat does Thanos pose without the infinity stones? This studio didn't do a good job at building him up they just have him appear in some of the films like he's a big deal, I'm going to be outraged if he isn't. Third this is one movie it's suppose to be split in two, if the creators did that it would reinforce how dangerous he is. Finally, killing off characters, if anyone dies in this movie, it's hard for me to take it seriously because this studio doesn't seem to have the guts to kill someone and keep that person dead.      

The MCU would have been better if the creators borrowed more elements from the comics for example, the infinity stones in the comics can do different things. Most of the stones are used for destruction in these movies. There is a story in the comics where Thanos killed Odin (Thor's father) to get the Infinity glove. (Sorry, I could be wrong about that.) If the writers did anything like that in the MCU we would have personal conflict on how to deal with Thanos since one of the Guardians is a family member of Thanos. That's all I have to say about the MCU for now. What do you think of it?