Current Events > The MCU is basically strangling mainstream cinema to death, right?

(+) Yeah! (+)

During the Annihilation review RedLetterMedia foreshadows a future where the cinemas only screen DCEU, MCU, Star Wars and big budget childrens animation films, and everything else has to more or less go straight to a streaming or some other wider release. For some reason this has stuck with me ever since I heard it, even though I'm aware he's basically been saying the same thing for a long long time now.

While trying to find any kind of early review or impression of Pacific Rim Uprising (first one was a guilty pleasure, I'm expecting the second to be dogshit) I stumbled across this lovely interlude from the director:

Pacific Rim Uprising is a springboard for a cinematic universe, where DeKnight revealed "If enough people show up to this, we've already talked about the plot of the third movie, and how the end of the third movie would expand the universe to a Star Wars/Star Trek-style [franchise or series] where you can go in many, many different directions", he said. "You can go main canon, you can go spin-offs, you can go one-offs. Yeah, that's the plan". DeKnight also talked about the possibility of a crossover with the MonsterVerse, of which co-writer T.S. Nowlin is a member of the writers room.

(from the Wikipedia page for the film)

MCU obviously isn't the first cinematic universe, though it is at present the second largest, with 18 released films behind James Bond's 26 (if you even can call James Bond a cinematic universe) and by far the highest grossing. It is essentially the 'gold standard' for aspiring franchises - look at the way DC has tried to mirror it.

Understandably, studios are interested in replicating their extreme financial success.

The problem is that even within MCU, the textbook shared universe franchise example, each film released is more generic than the last, and increasingly each entry feels like a placeholder/filler episode of a TV show to introduce a character, with the 'team up' films such as Avengers serving as a 'season finale'.

And now finally, my eyes are open to the fact that we're in a situation where a serviceable film that didn't in any way ask for or require a sequel (Pacific Rim) is having the next installment helmed by someone already crapping on about, not only a sequel if this film is successful, but launching off into spinoffs and universes and crossovers. I'm aware that the execrable Roland Emmerich made similar noises about Independence Day Resurgence, but I suppose reading the above so close watching the review of Annihilation has brought me to this point.

I suppose the question is whether this shared universe obsession is a bubble that will eventually burst financially, or if the success of the MCU will at some point bring about the end of the larger budget non franchised action/science fiction film?
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Superhero movies need to go away for a while

rabbi_baby posted...

RedLetterMedia

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How is the first Pacific Rim a guilty pleasure? It's a fun movie. You sound like a snob.
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knutjob posted...

Superhero movies need to go away for a while

i Agree we need to finish up the Mcu infinity Stones Storyline then take a beak for a few years.
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"each mcu film is more generic than the last" - someone that hasn't seen any phase 3 movie
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No

This is just the newest trend. They happen every decade or so.

Imagine if you had said 60 years ago that in the future, all we'd be able to watch in cinemas were westerns and bond films.

rabbi_baby posted...

a future where the cinemas only screen DCEU, MCU, Star Wars and big budget childrens animation films, and everything else has to more or less go straight to a streaming or some other wider release.

Stopped reading here. That is ridiculous. Mainstream media has existed since the beginning of media. Early films were almost entirely of the mainstream genre (to the point where actors were even basically owned by studios in the stable system). It's an obvious over-reaction looking to grab attention with some clickbait argument.

I believe the current trend of movie-making is more about technology. Making films with crazy effects and animation and big epic scenes are simply much easier and to do now. There is a system in place to make movies now....and it works. And the spectacle of these kinds of movies lends itself to cinemas.

Indie flicks and comedies take a back seat and because of the presentation, tend to fair better on smaller screens.

This turning point was around the Phantom Menace came out. George Lucas showed the world you can make epic scenes with one actor and a computer. Not saying it was good mind you, but it was successful.
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Wow, only like 6 superhero movies last year. That really outnumberes shit like rom coms.
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Only if you are bitter about them being so successful.

It will be fine.
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Like I really like Red Letter Media, but they've said things like this so much that I don't think it's a joke they're doing and it really baffles me how they could believe this.

Like, yeah, it's kind of bullshit how Annihilation was (apparently) a good film that checked off all the typical virtue signaling shit without actually virtue signaling about it and everyone seemed to ignore it. That's bullshit and should be called out.

But to say that it not doing well means only Disney movies are going to populate cinemas? Like...sci fi has a really low track record of doing well on the big screen. Why is *this* the indicator of that now?

Youngster_Joey_ posted...

But to say that it not doing well means only Disney movies are going to populate cinemas? Like...sci fi has a really low track record of doing well on the big screen. Why is *this* the indicator of that now?

Yeah, that's the crux of it. Sci-Fi has been passed over for decades. It's only performed slightly better than Horror.

Honestly no movies worth seeing have came out in the past two years. The MCU films are boring slogs, and I say that as a huge Marvel fan who grew up with the action figures and comics.
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ThePredominate posted...

Honestly no movies worth seeing have came out in the past two years. The MCU films are boring slogs, and I say that as a huge Marvel fan who grew up with the action figures and comics.

The MCU is trash. I agree.

ThePredominate posted...

Honestly no movies worth seeing have came out in the past two years.

WHAT

2017 was an incredible year for movies
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The industry has become a victim of their success. Maybe if Robert Downy Jr. didn't do such a bitchin job in the first Iron Man movie, we would be suffering under a deluge of badly made rom-coms, and Adam Sandler shitholes instead.
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2017 was an incredible year for movies

tell me more
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I mean you saw how Universal's whole Dark Universe crashed and burned before it even got off the ground.

Blame greedy suits whose only measure of success is more money than you've ever seen in your life but every single quarter and only want to put any real funding into recognizable names due to this, fearing any name people won't recognize will be successful enough to appease the shareholders.
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Lame gimmick
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CelestialVoices posted...

2017 was an incredible year for movies

tell me more

off the top of my head:

Get Out
Shape of Water
Three Billboards
Lady Bird
Call Me By Your Name
Blade Runner 2049
Coco
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rabbi_baby posted...

MCU obviously isn't the first cinematic universe, though it is at present the second largest, with 18 released films behind James Bond's 26 (if you even can call James Bond a cinematic universe)

Although neither have caught up with the Toho Cinematic Universe, been around longer and more films, always gets snubbed in these discussions. :(
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averagejoel posted...

CelestialVoices posted...

2017 was an incredible year for movies

tell me more

off the top of my head:

Get Out
Shape of Water
Three Billboards
Lady Bird
Call Me By Your Name
Blade Runner 2049
Coco

Wonder Woman
Baby Driver
Logan
Wind River
John Wick 2
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http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/

(buena vista is disney)

the answer is no
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When people say shit like "2017 was a trash year for films" and "everything back in the day was better." you get the crap remakes we've been getting.

It might be hard to understand, but there has been a shit ton of mediocre to bad movies. The only reason you think everything was so good back then is because all you can remember are the best films.

Awwww look the babies whining about successful movies that dont cater to them.

I wonder if these same people remember the era of non stop westerns, WW2, and giant monster movies.

This is the golden age of the comic book movie, no one is forcing people to see them.
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The MCU is very hit and miss. I think my issue with it really boils down to almost none of it being exceptional.

It's an upgrade from Michael Bay-esque blockbusters for sure, but it's a mainstream acceptance of mediocrity. Black Panther's a good example, because even a lot of critics bite for it: Fine movie, but it clearly had a good number of flaws that prevent it from being anything great. Still gets 95%+ on RT and people flip out when somebody gives it a negative review even though it could easily be considered below average.

I do really like the GotG movies but even they aren't perfect.
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