MCU: The Marvel Cinematic Universe Official Discussion - Part 4

[Iceman]

I think it's worth mentioning that outside this microcosm of Internet geek culture, almost every Marvel movie, Iron Man 3 and Age of Ultron especially, are pretty well regarded amongst the general public. This bears repeating since everyone in this thread is speaking as if we're going against the grain by proclaiming Age of Ultron as a good movie. Don't let the other fans in other sections of the hype fool you.

Yep. The GA (and even the critics) on the whole like every MCU film, although I'm sure they like some a fair bit more than others.

 

[TeeKay]

AOU was awesome. The only stuff that didn't work for me was Thors detour. Even then, it was still woven into the narrative of the film. It's a miracle how he pulled off everything in this film. Even Ultron goes through an arc in the film. The film is so much deeper than people give it credit for. And also Vision.

 

[Infinity9999x]

Yep. The GA (and even the critics) on the whole like every MCU film, although I'm sure they like some a fair bit more than others.

Yep. People on here talk like AOU, IM2 and 3, and TDKR were poorly received movies, but in fact all four of those films received solid to very good reviews, and the general public enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

 

[Flint Marko]

Yep. People on here talk like AOU, IM2 and 3, and TDKR were poorly received movies, but in fact all four of those films received solid to very good reviews, and the general public enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

Yup. I find it comical how dismissive certain people are towards those movies when they weren't a failure in any regard. I have problems with all of them, some far bigger than others, but generally speaking those are all good movies that went over just fine with the general audience. Hilariously, three of the four movies you just mentioned made over a billion dollars and all of them were met with critical acclaim.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Anyone got any guesses for the 2020 movies and/or beyond?

I would say GOTG 3 and Inhumans are certainties. I would guess the other spot will be filled by Spider-Man 2 or Black Widow.

 

[Flint Marko]

Anyone got any guesses for the 2020 movies and/or beyond?

I would say GOTG 3 and Inhumans are certainties. I would guess the other spot will be filled by Spider-Man 2 or Black Widow.

All good guesses. I'd assume Black Panther 2, maybe a second Dr. Strange or Captain Marvel, and maybe the Black Widow. I'd personally love a Namor movie as well as another FF reboot but both of those seem kind of unlikely.

 

[The_Manhunter]

Come on Marvel PLEASE get FF back. Kang would be the perfect follow-up to Thanos

 

[Infinity9999x]

Yup. I find it comical how dismissive certain people are towards those movies when they weren't a failure in any regard. I have problems with all of them, some far bigger than others, but generally speaking those are all good movies that went over just fine with the general audience. Hilariously, three of the four movies you just mentioned made over a billion dollars and all of them were met with critical acclaim.

Mhmm. And while I have issues with all of them as well, when some people try to say they're some of the worst comic films made, I can't help but roll my eyes, because they obviously haven't seen many comic films. They're all still in the top tier of the genre, the issue for many of them is that they weren't quite as good as the film that preceded them, or in IM3's case, that it pulled a bait and switch on us. Though, let's be real, the way some people freaked out about the Mandarin had me looking askance as well. Because I know that nobody gave crap about the Mandarin until RDJ came along and made Iron Man an A-list character. What I think really upset people was that the trailers made the film seem like it was going to have a completely different tone. It looked like we would finally get an Iron Man film where Tony had to deal with some darker issues, and what we got was very different. And Ben Kingsley's Mandarin take did seem genuinely intriguing, so I think that upset people more than anything.

Still, it aint anywhere near a bad Superhero movie. It just wasn't what people expected.

 

[Marvel Knight]

Come on Marvel PLEASE get FF back. Kang would be the perfect follow-up to Thanos

I mean, what other option is there?

They can't do a Fan4stic sequel without Michael B Jordon. Marvel Studios has signed him to BP.

Will Fox reboot again?

 

[Whatupman]

Anyone got any guesses for the 2020 movies and/or beyond?

I would say GOTG 3 and Inhumans are certainties. I would guess the other spot will be filled by Spider-Man 2 or Black Widow.

Thunderbolts, directed by James Gunn.

 

[wampa1]

Yep. People on here talk like AOU, IM2 and 3, and TDKR were poorly received movies, but in fact all four of those films received solid to very good reviews, and the general public enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

Iron Man 3 especially (which I love). The 'GA' couldn't give two ****s about the Mandarin controversy.

 

[Iceman]

Yep. People on here talk like AOU, IM2 and 3, and TDKR were poorly received movies, but in fact all four of those films received solid to very good reviews, and the general public enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

Yeah. It's more like 7s and 8s out of 10 which may not live up to expectations of 9s and 10s.

 

[Marvel Knight]

Iron Man 3 especially (which I love). The 'GA' couldn't give two ****s about the Mandarin controversy.

The great success of Iron Man 3 shows how little the fan-nerds matter.

It has solid repeat viewing during its run.

 

[Flint Marko]

On the latest Doug Loves Movies podcast Shane Black reveals that he doesn't check his own IMDB page due to all the death threats he receives because of the twist. I'd guarantee you that 95% of said users that are unhappy with the twist both there and here had no strong feelings about the Mandarin prior to Iron Man 3.

 

[OcStat]

The firestorm caused by the revelation of the Mandarin character in Iron Man 3 is funny to me. Though it is kind of sad that one of the best Marvel movies gets sidestepped for it.

Ben Kingsley was presented as this frightening, intriguing character. But it wouldn't have been any more interesting on it's own, played straight, as opposed to what the final product was. Killian flips the whole thing around and makes for a much more entertaining finale.

Two things that drive it home for me: Tony Stark's reaction to discovering the truth, as played by RDJ. It was perfect. He is as stunned as we are, you can see the confusion and frustration run through his face before he readies his gun and demands answers from Trevor. Second, the fact that Trevor's Mandarin is still Killian. People claim Guy Pierce's character was bland, that Mandarin was great until the twist, etc. But who gave the actor his script? Who created the role Trevor was cast in? How does that take away from the menace the Mandarin was in his televised threats, or take a way from the previous bombings which AIM, Killian, the Mandarin are responsible for? To me, it enhances the movies antagonist.

 

[metaphysician]

Don't forget the "fans" who claim to hate the movie for "being too afraid to make a comic-faithful Mandarin". . . and then give praise to Ben Kingsley, despite the fact that his faux-Mandarin is *far* more divergent from the comic character than Killian is.

 

[Chris B]

Anyone got any guesses for the 2020 movies and/or beyond?

I would say GOTG 3 and Inhumans are certainties. I would guess the other spot will be filled by Spider-Man 2 or Black Widow.

I'm guessing that two of those films will be sequels with the third being a new property. With the sequels being two of Spider-Man 2, Dr. Strange 2, or GOTG3. I'm rooting for the third to be a MCU FF reboot, but it's more likely it'll be something like Inhumans, Runaways, or Thunderbolts.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Any thoughts on this piece?

Film Crit Hulk Smash: Civil War, Spider-Man 2, and the dangers of assumed empathy

 

[TeeKay]

He has a point.

 

[MadVillainy]

Any thoughts on this piece?

Film Crit Hulk Smash: Civil War, Spider-Man 2, and the dangers of assumed empathy

Still reading it, and the guy is going to get a lot of hate but I agree with a lot of what he's saying (the all caps is grating though...)

WHAT'S WORSE, THE REST OF THE CHARACTERS ALL FALL IN LINE ON THIS DEBATE WITH BARELY AN IDEOLOGICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THEIR OWN, LET ALONE ONE THAT ISN'T CONSTRUCTED FROM A PLACE OF BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY. HECK, SOME CHARACTERS SIGN UP LITERALLY FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN "SOMEONE SHOWED UP AND TOLD ME TO." TO JUSTIFY IT, THEY CALL ATTENTION TO IT AND SHRUG IT OFF WITH A JOKE.

IT'S A GOOD THING PAUL RUDD IS REALLY GOOD AT JOKES!

HULK GETS THE IDEA THAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE TWO BROTHERS WRESTLING, BUT AS A RESULT IT JUST FEELS LIKE... YOU KNOW... TWO BROTHERS WRESTLING. NO ONE IS REALLY MEANING IT AND HULK'S SORRY, BUT THAT REALLY DOES UNDERCUT WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.

EDIT: This bit is golden. (Civil War spoilers)

Spoiler

CAP LEAVES TONY A PHONE AND GIVES A SPEECH ABOUT ALWAYS BEING THERE FOR HIM IN ORDER TO... PLACATE THE AUDIENCE AND LET THEM KNOW EVERYTHING IS COMPLETELY F***ING FINE? ... BLUUUUUURGH. SORRY. IT'S JUST WHEN YOU SEE THIS SORT OF HALF-DRAMATIZED NONSENSE IT CAN'T HELP BUT MAKE HULK'S HAIR STAND ON END. EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE FILMS HAS BECOME A HALF-MEASURE. AND DON'T MAKE HULK GIVE THE MIKE EHRMANTRAUT SPEECH ON HALF MEASURES.

 

[TeeKay]

I disagree on the final fight though, that **** was brutal. No one was pulling punches.

 

[Flint Marko]

Yeah I said yesterday that was the best criticism I've read of any recent MCU film even though I don't agree with all of it.

 

[TeeKay]

It's better criticism than, 'Raawwwrrrr Marvel films are for kids, raaarr.'

 

[Erzengel]

The end makes sense.

At the end, if some s' went down, the only ones available would be Iron Man, Vision and Spider-Man?

Steve may have "given up" being Captain America, but he still realizes that he has an obligation to the Avengers and Tony which is why he left a way to contact him.

 

[Flint Marko]

It's better criticism than, 'Raawwwrrrr Marvel films are for kids, raaarr.'

So many of the complaints I read on these boards in particular are reductive, intellectually dishonest, and rooted in pettiness. Often times these posters will be intelligent and rational with incredibly sharp critical faculties, but will completely turn those off when discussing their preferred films. It's blatant jealousy instead of an honest dialogue.
I will happily talk about Marvel's numerous shortcomings and ways they can improve, but the amount of people who are willing to have a levelheaded discussion without resorting to hyperbole is sadly shrinking.