Marvel Cinematic Universe Reviews — Part 1 · 7:31pm Feb 19th, 2017
Okay, so I've been meaning to watch some of these films for a while now, especially because Marvel Studios is now owned by Disney, and I looooove Disney. They're all interconnected and it was a daunting task figuring out where to start and take the plunge. But anyway, I've had quite a bit of free time this weekend, so decided to start watching them. Here are my brief thoughts on the films.
Iron Man (2008)
The only film in the universe that I've already seen. It's a solid action film, with good special effects and witty dialogue. Tony Stark is kind of a self-absorbed spoiled manchild, but he does eventually realize that being an arms dealer and profiting from death is kinda evil, and decides to do something about that. Big bad is somewhat unimaginative: just a guy with an upgraded Iron Man suit; better weapons, better power source (because reasons), so our hero has to use his not inconsiderable intelligence to defeat him.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
I've been told this film doesn't really interconnect much with the others in the franchise, and I should skip it for now. I can always come back and watch it later.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Again, Iron Man fighting upgraded versions of his own suit. The machinations of Tony's political and business rivals add a slight extra dimension, but I feel that could have been explored further. For anybody who has more than an elementary (puns!) understanding of chemistry, the idea of Stark discovering and manufacturing a new element is pretty ridiculous — kind of like me announcing I'd discovered a new integer (whole number) between one and two. Still, Greg Grunberg and Scarlett Johansson were great.
Thor (2011)
"Only one of you can ascend to the throne. Both of you were born to be kings." I mean, WTF is that, Odin?! Clearly setting up your sons for a life-long rivalry. You're not going to be winning any parent-of-the-year awards.
This film has some good comedic elements, but I don't know if it does a great job of blending the sci-fi and superhero genres. Watching it, I couldn't help but think Highlander II — I would have preferred much more of a focus on Earth.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
I didn't go into this film with very high hopes. The framing story set in the present day was unnecessary and could have been relegated to a post-credits scene. The characters were mostly pretty uninteresting. It had some good points, and I enjoyed Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones, but overall this was a weaker film than any of the above.
The Avengers (2012)
I liked this. Lots of great action sequences. Good banter, especially between Iron Man and Captain America. Thor and Loki lots of fun. Bruce Banner was great. Scarlett Johansson amazing again. Probably my favourite of the series so far. Not much else to say about it.
Gud gud. I shall make you desperate for more of these. You gotta love Stony.
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Four in one day is enough, but I'll continue the project tomorrow.
It was originally intended to be the sequel to the 2003 Hulk movie, but then they decided partway through the creation of the film that they didn't want to base it off that trash movie, so they decided to reboot it. They got a new actor for Bruce Banner, never went into detail on how he became the Hulk originally, and thought a brief sequence of clips from the 2003 movie at the beginning was all the background we needed to understand that he'd become the Hulk, had a love interest, and was hiding out in Brazil or whatever--despite this being a reboot, meaning we didn't need to see the 2003 movie for it to supposedly make sense, I'm assuming so they wouldn't have to stick to strictly the canon that had been introduced in that movie, but still borrowing background directly from the 2003 movie.
Bruce Banner's actor also changed again from The Incredible Hulk to The Avengers. So, no, I don't think you're missing a whole lot by skipping that one. It was pretty poorly conceived on all levels, and all you need to know is that there's a guy who turns green and angry sometimes and he's one of the Avengers.
Of these films, I still haven't seen Incredible Hulk and First Avenger
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Yeah, I've seen the 2003 film and can't remember being especially impressed. I thought the guy who played Bruce Banner in The Avengers was fantastic — he reminded me slightly of Miles Jupp, who played Archie the inventor in Balamory.
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You're not missing out on much.
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Absolutely. I quite enjoyed Banner's character in The Avengers. Pretty dope guy.
I liked the first Captain America well enough, but you are right in that they really didn't need to focus on the present-day stuff at all, and him going under should have been the end of the first movie, with The Avengers being him waking up and having some character development at the beginning. I don't think anyone would have griped over an extra 10 minutes dedicated to The Cap, and it would have felt like a good place for his story to pick up again.
Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier is marginally better than it's predecessor. Believe me, most of these movies only get better, save for Thor: The Dark World.
Just wait until you get to Phase Two. That's when all the hella awesome movies start coming out. Cap 2, Guardians, Age of Ultron (doesn't hold a candle to the first one, though), and Ant-Man, and an awesome buildup to Phase Three (Cap 3 is best MCU movie). It may have a rocky start, but once the series gets it's bearings, it is phenomenal. I highly recommend you stick with it until the end. You won't be disappointed.
Also, highly anticipating "Doctor Strange" on "Blu-Ray!