Board 8 > ITT I re-watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) (spoilers, obviously)

(+) Yeah! (+)

pezzicle posted...

Im interested in what else you are speaking to, as I don't think my list is all that wacky outside of a few ones

Well I guess the biggest are having Endgame so low, AoU so high, IM1 middling, FFH above HC, CA1 high as well. I feel that those definitely go against the majority. Having expectations met or not seems like a weird way to influence scores as heavily as you did although maybe that's just me.

most_games_r_ok posted...

FFH above HC,

i don't think this is necessarily an unpopular opinion. they both have the exact same score on IMDb (7.4), so it doesn't seem like there's a clear favorite between the two.

i liked homecoming better, though.

if you switch AoU and Endgame on pezzicle's list it makes more sense

Mana's Rankings Up to Phase 2

-Tier of Excellence-
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy

-Solid Tier-
The Avengers
Iron Man
Daredevil S1

-Best of Times, Blurst of Times-
Captain America: The First Avenger
Agents of SHIELD S1 & 2
Ant-Man
Iron Man 3
Avengers: Age of Ultron

-Sparknotes Tier-
Thor
Thor: The Dark World
Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2

Oh that ranking reminds me: we have two episodes left of Daredevil Season 1 also. So we should be wrapping that one up too.

most_games_r_ok posted...

Having expectations met or not seems like a weird way to influence scores as heavily as you did although maybe that's just me.

Ya I won't deny that that just doesn't work for some people, but it makes sense to me. it mostly influenced Avengers 1, AoU and Endgame I'd say.

To address some of the thing you mentioned specifically

1. Iron Man 1 vs Captain America 1 IM1 is a fine movie, don't get me wrong, and upon looking at my list a second time (it was copy/pasted from how I had initially rated them and sent to my friends who were wanting a ranking as I was doing it) it probably actually should be up under Avengers 1 in that above tier. It's a decent movie and certainly better than Endgame. It does feel a little too "brown people bad" though for my liking, but that is likely just personal preference. It FEELS like the first movie, if that makes sense. A bit juvenile. Moving it up brings it into the same tier as CA1, and honestly you could likely say the bottom 4 of that tier now (CA 1 thru IM1) are pretty easily interchangeable
2. Spiderman stuff - I found the first Spiderman to be a bit boring and the action felt really sloppy. The movement felt really artificial and I didn't think the CGI was all that great and it pulled me out of it. The first Raimi spiderman is a better looking Spiderman movie, it flows better, and for him as a character, that is really important to me. The second movie improved on that, hence more enjoyment. The case of these two movies though is top tier. Holland is the perfect casting choice for Spiderman.
3. Endgame - I honestly really didn't like this movie. It's higher placement is more a result of the movies below it being mostly bad movies instead of Endgame actually being good. The bottom tier for me is "these movies are bad" while the second last tier is "these movies are bad but has some kind of redeeming quality". (hence why I needed to move Iron Man 1, that description doesn't fit). This movie though, to me, was just a mess. The first hour is honestly dreadful, struggling to explore the strange and wonderful audacity of Infinity War's conclusion before just jumping right back into the mundane cycle of things. The cameo structure is really jarring and doesn't actually do anything other than elicit gasps from the audience as they cheer on the movie. Endgames first move is to figure out a solution to the end of Infinity War instead of actually grappling with the consequences of it. Instead of being a really interesting conclusion it ends up being warm fan service. After the awesomeness that was Infinity War, this just left a really poor taste in my mouth.
4. Age of Ultron - Honestly, I don't get the hate of this. The dialogue has some issues, but I honestly found the entire thing really captivating and refreshing. It was well paced, and was a great balance between soap opera and spectacle. The characters have personality that really help push forward the narrative of identity and responsibility as well as the ambiguity of power. I honestly felt like this was a really great movie and didn't get all the hate. Granted, I also think that The Last Jedi is the 2nd best Star Wars movie which a lot of people think is insane so maybe I just like things people don't normally like

pezzicle posted...

Age of Ultron - Honestly, I don't get the hate of this. The dialogue has some issues, but I honestly found the entire thing really captivating and refreshing. It was well paced, and was a great balance between soap opera and spectacle. The characters have personality that really help push forward the narrative of identity and responsibility as well as the ambiguity of power. I honestly felt like this was a really great movie and didn't get all the hate. Granted, I also think that The Last Jedi is the 2nd best Star Wars movie which a lot of people think is insane so maybe I just like things people don't normally like

You completely lost me at "well paced" lol

Every time I see it typed out as Spiderman I die

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

You completely lost me at "well paced" lol

ya i dunno i was never bored of Age of Ultron

ZenOfThunder posted...

Every time I see it typed out as Spiderman I die

glad to be of service. it's literally all down to general laziness with typing

that - is so far away

I would call "dialogue" a very reductive way to state the problem with Ultron's writing and there's more to pacing than not being bored. The jokes are out of place more than being poorly written in and of themselves, and I wouldn't call Age of Ultron boring either at a surface level, but it's constantly moving from thing to thing and doesn't dwell on anything long enough for you to care about what's going on (which fits the constantly quippy weightless dialogue)

Like I would argue you can't make AoU's jokes funny without outright removing a lot of them, because the reason it's not funny is you're numbed to them. To me that isn't a dialogue issue as much as changing scene objectives entirely.

I think the general problem with AoU is that it's bad.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I think the general problem with AoU is that it's bad.

I mean, yes.

But also you're forgetting that yes.

Here's my write-up from like 5 years ago:

Most of the MCU movies are watchable. I would say most are enjoyable, or at least neutral. I think two are actively bad. Depending on my mood, this is the better one.

Thats not to say a whole lot. The movie starts by forgetting everything done in previous films - people didnt go their separate ways. Tony didnt get rid of most of his suits. Banner isnt gaining control. Its like they ignored every movie between Avengers 1 and this one.

Ultron just kind of happens. His introduction sucks. His mouth is weird. Ulysses Klaw use is fun though. Why can Ultron just make bits of the road blast up? Like, what? Come on. And 4/5ths of his consciousness are uploaded into this new body (which is clearly Vision)... what does that even mean? Shouldn't the body be more conscious than Ultron at this point? He's an AI, can't he self-replicated? How does this even work? Seems kinda dumb.

They don't really sell you on the stakes. Ultron was a threat... but a very contained threat. How do you have an AI created by the Mind Stone put himself through the entire internet and end up contained to his own constructs? Is that hubris? I guess I got the part where Vision touched him and that supposedly cut him off from the greater network, but that feels kinda lame. Woulda made more sense for him to "show the Avengers what he could do" by hooking up to the network at the tower and blocking him off there.

Winter Soldier destroyed SHIELD... and Age of Ultron basically brought it back. What was the point? This movie should have been Avengers dealing with a world where the organization that created them had fallen, and how they hold up their own identity in a world where nobody trusts SHIELD, and wouldn't trust the Avengers Initiative, a part of SHIELD, anyway.

Why even do the whole HYDRA taking down SHIELD from the inside if you're going to just say "oh well that was the last of HYDRA, it was just von Strucker, they had an Infinity Stone but did nothing with it". At least throw us a curveball and show us that Strucker was behind Ultron in the first place. Make Ultron a result of HYDRA and make it be worth something. Bring back Red Skull or give us Madame HYDRA or something. Give us continuity. Not "oh here's one of the biggest bads in Marvel we can use him as a transitional villain instead of developing earth or Thanos more. Nah, you just get Ultron."

Like what the heck.

That was one hell of a rant, let's talk about some other things this movie didn't do well.

Whedon knew what he was doing. He set Clint up to die. He knew the audience would know it. Just to fakeout with Quicksilver... I guess we were supposed to have a lot of tension built up waiting on him to die... but they waited too long. The climax was already way past the tipping point... at that point, killing someone off is cheap. Avengers 1 was perfect with when it took out Coulson. This was... dumb.

And what the hell is with Banner and Widow? Who said "hey, let's go with this angle"? It wasn't natural. It made no sense when she was talking about running away with him. It was just plain dumb. And now Hulk had an opportunity to run away so that he can... randomly show up in Thor 3? Am I right? I bet he doesn't even show in Civil War. I guess we can eagerly await a stupid Planet Hulk movie, right?

The joke about Cap not liking bad language was drawn out too much. I completely get what people were saying about the humor in this movie. It didn't land. Something went wrong in the process of creating this movie, and I don't know what, but it felt so much like it was a Whedon movie that was trying to be itself and just couldn't fit the bill.

There were still some good lines, but even they felt weird and almost tone-deaf during the film.

I don't think I really got the deal with Tony this movie. They set him up, thanks to Wanda, to create Ultron... but why? Why did she do it? What was the point of her and Pietro anyway? They hated Stark, but cared about people. Why did they fuck around in the beginning of the movie? Why was she played to be weird but then wasn't that weird? Why didn't she and Pietro just kill Tony?

Let's talk about the good things:

1. Thor fucking kicked ass and saved this movie from being a complete disaster. The jokes surrounding people lifting his hammer, them returning to it at the end. His vision, him meeting with Selvig. His general combat. Him finding out that the Infinity Stones were in play and seeking that out. I am a little confused with why Thanos and the Stones would pop up in his fear vision anyway... that implies that he has some deep-set knowledge of it. But who is the purple man in the floating chair?

That's my entire list.

AoU is underrated. Avengers doing Avengers things and not been split apart during most of the movie unlike those with Thanos, Cap retaining his Winter Soldier badassery, Hulkbuster fight, party scene, no silly Guardians; probably one of the few MCU movies that stood out above from the pack IMO.

"Cap retaining his Winter Soldier badassery"

>"Language!"

Here's a dumb analogy my brain thought of earlier, but didn't post.

Ultron is like the villains in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie: should be terrible and menacing but are even hammier than the rest of the cast. I thought of Paul Ruebens and his death scene likening it to Ultron's "Aw come on" moments as Whedon characters who don't break the fourth wall but know that it's there. But Rutger Hauer as the big bsd vampire being a smug quip machine with a penchant for theatrics... yeah, Age of Ultron is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.

fair

banananor posted...

Too much marvel will fry your brain and ruin your sense of taste

By the end, we weren't sure if marvel movies were good or not

Yours, maybe. Leading up to Endgame in 2019, I watched most of them in order, mostly one film a day (2 on two occasions). Still worth it, though I doubt I do the same when Secret Wars is coming out because phase four was a slog

UltimaterializerX posted...

Regarding the Defenders saga, all you need to watch is Daredevil. Punisher is good, but unrelated to anything. Everything else is trash.

Fixed.

Top Ten casting choices through Phase 2, ranked by how little I can imagine anyone else as their character

Tom Hiddleston
Robert Downey, Jr
Bradley Cooper
Anthony Hopkins
Hayley Atwell
Dave Bautista
Jeff Bridges
Chris Evans
Stellan Skarsgrd
Sam Rockwell

Since I'm not allowed to post in the main MCU thread, I want to say here that I'm one episode away from finishing Ms. Marvel and I think it's the best MCU Disney+ series and second-best installment of Phase 4 I've seen behind Spider-Man, but I think I get why some aren't terribly fond of it even outside of BS racist and/or sexist reasons.

LinkMarioSamus posted...

Since I'm not allowed to post in the main MCU thread, I want to say here that I'm one episode away from finishing Ms. Marvel and I think it's the best MCU Disney+ series and second-best installment of Phase 4 I've seen behind Spider-Man, but I think I get why some aren't terribly fond of it even outside of BS racist and/or sexist reasons.

I'm just glad we have proof of you watching something and developing an opinion for yourself :)

Done with Ms. Marvel. The finale didn't really disappoint or blow me away, but I was very satisfied.

ZeroSignal posted...

Fixed.

Iron Fist was kinda bad, specially S2. Punisher was half boring. Other than that, Netflix Marvel > D+ Marvel.

Daredevil alone makes Netflix Marvel > D+ Marvel, but Punisher is a decent addition as well.

Lots of people not complimenting Jessica Jones season 1 enough.

ZeroSignal posted...

Daredevil alone makes Netflix Marvel > D+ Marvel, but Punisher is a decent addition as well.

That's right, Daredevil solos, but the other shows were a fun watch as well, and all of them had their moments, even Iron Fist.

PrivateBiscuit1 posted...

Lots of people not complimenting Jessica Jones season 1 enough.

It was pretty good, I'd put it right after Daredevil.

Captain America: Civil War
Release Date: May 6, 2016
Stand-Out Character: Captain America aka Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans)
Best Scene: Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man

So let's talk Captain America: Civil War which may be one of the best Marvel movies.

Everything just absolutely clicks here with this film. Watching this so close to when I watched Avengers: Age of Ultron kind of makes this feel a lot better too. They don't give you jokes constantly. They let this movie and its drama breathe, and everyone seems like they have legitimate, serious characterization that isn't just surface level garbage.

But that's enough about Avengers: Age of Ultron. Civil War brings us legitimate super powered drama with a simple premise: do we let the government hold us accountable, or do we keep fighting on our own without government inteference? When Wanda Maximoff rolls in and royally screws the pooch, it makes that idea a little bit more muddled. Personally, I'm always Team Cap. Never going to change that. But they do present a pretty compelling counter-argument and allows for some serious schism between Cap and Iron Man that, while bubbling up before, really boils over here.

I'll talk more about characters later, but let's focus on the action here. It all rules, so much. The fight choreography is off the chain and they really make good use of showing off what each character is capable of. Stand outs include Bucky/Cap/Black Panther/Falcon chase scene, the Crossbones fight, Winter Soldier escape from custody, the Cap/Bucky/Iron Man fight at the end, and of course, the airport scene.

Cap, Bucky, and Iron Man's fight was a close contender for best scene here, mostly because of how emotionally charged and creative it is. It's an intimate kind of fight where every single thing they do matters, and changes the dynamic and flow of the fight entirely. It's seriously brilliant and if you break it down moment by moment, it's even better. I didn't realize it until this most recent re-watch.

So let's talk characters from minor to major, starting with Crossbones, played by Frank Grillo. My one complaint is that you have Rumlow be a significant part of the last movie, you give him a sick ass outfit and badass weapons, and you make him fucking awesome, and then you kill him off. Come on, you couldn't have just had Crossbones set off an explosive anywhere but on himself to have Wanda heave away? Why kill off an awesome character with loads of potential? Throw his ass in jail and bring him back. Crossbones rules. Imagine if we had a character like him floating around in say Falcon & The Winter Soldier to bring some more life into that show. Would have been awesome.

Minor players also include Everett Ross played by Martin Freeman, who I completely forgot was in this movie. But he does a great job in his role. I kinda like him as a hard nosed CIA fella. Also great is Emily VanCamp's Sharon Carter, who doesn't get much, but she's also perfect in her role as Cap's inside guy, and every scene they have together is great. And to round out our government folks is William Hurt (RIP) playing Thunderbolt Ross, and he's just perfect. He makes his salient point to set up the Sokovia Accords and makes the movie simple to understand from here, and he's the guy that is hard assed enough to keep pushing for it. All respect to Harrison Ford, I'm really going to miss William Hurt in the next Cap movie.

Ant-Man played by Paul Rudd is here! They had probably expected a lot of people to skip Ant-Man, which is fine, because they absolutely made sure to really give him some giant play in the fight scene at the airport. They really push the boundaries of what was established in Ant-Man and make him do so many cool things. Him mucking up Iron Man's suit, single-handedly fighting off Iron Man's team for a while, and providing some solid levity on top of that is awesome. Love Ant-Man in this.

And then there's Hawkeye played by Jeremy Renner, who just wants to retire but the man needs to do the right thing and also pay it back to Wanda. He has a sense of urgency and doesn't sweat it all too much and I love how he opens with a trap for Vision. He just has a bunch of nice little moments too, and I particularly like his monologue with Stark in the prison.

And of course we have Spider-Man's MCU debut with Tom Holland at the helm. I cannot tell you how happy this Spider-Man makes me. I have been waiting to see Spider-Man like this in the movies forever. He's charming, cracking jokes the whole time, and just earnestly trying to do the right thing. This is the Spider-Man I absolutely needed and I loved how they introduced him here. He got so much time to kick ass in the airport fight and he looked legitimately awesome.

War Machine played by Don Cheadle is great as well. He doesn't have much, but he is a no non-sense soldier who always has Iron Man's back. I particularly enjoyed after he was crippled from the fight and he's struggling to walk, he still tells Tony he believes in the registration. It just cements that friendship so much more with a nice moment of trying to make his friend feel better.

And going forward with characters who matter just a little bit more, Vision has a nice little arc here. Vision is looking at everything super logically. There's no pushing back at that. And when it comes to listening to reason or budging, he won't have it. He's like "Yeah, you made a mistake Wanda and I'm protecting you from yourself." Unable to comprehend that Wanda shouldn't be placed under lockdown for a mistake. And then Vision blows War Machine to the ground because he got distracted by Wanda and made a mistake. Perfect little arc there to conclude it's not all that simple and logical. There's layers to this, and Vision learns that here.

Speaking of Wanda, played by Elizabeth Olsen, I think this is about the best adaptation you can get to set off her comics story which is, uh, messy to say the least. She is to be feared, she can't control her shit, and she should never truly feel sure of herself. If anyone is going to kick off Civil War, it should be her. She's public enemy number one and the thing that makes me shake a little bit of my Team Cap resolve is that Wanda IS a danger. While she shouldn't be under lock down, I think something should have been done to help her get control of her powers or be more combat ready. Regardless of that, she just wants to do the right thing. She wants to do what is legitimately right and not be a prisoner again. They also give her some sick stuff to do in the film too. Her story isn't significant here, but it plays into the future. Also, her accent is much less thick here. lol

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow needs to fight between logic and her absolute faith in Steve Rogers. She contends with it through the whole movie, being the more heart of Team Iron Man honestly. When she speaks, she's conflicted and she wishes they could all be on the same page, but it's not until the end where Natasha finally steps in to stop Black Panther from stopping Cap and Bucky does it really pay off. She believes in her friend, and despite the danger it puts her in, she can't bring herself to side against him.

Anthony Mackie playing Falcon is just cool to watch in this movie. I love seeing him fly around and do sick moves with his Falcon gear. Aside from that, Falcon is just the guy to keep it real in this movie. There's nonsense going on around him and he just wants to get to the damn point with all of these dramatic superheroes. I love his vibe and I think he's great as Cap's number two in this because he, like Black Widow, trusts him tremendously.

Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman (RIP) also gets his debut here. Just a little snippet here is enough to really sell you on the character. He's tearing things apart, showing off incredible athleticism. Man, they just really make Black Panther look great. Boseman is also able to really bring you into this character too. He's an angry, vengeful person, but he's thoughtful too. He doesn't fly off the handle, and he goes through a whole arc. He wants to kill Bucky for revenge, which is understandable. But then you see him following Iron Man to the end. He sees what is playing out with Iron Man losing his damn mind wanting vengeance. He sees the lengths that Zemo went to in order to get his vengeance, and the bodies he left in his wake. And when Zemo explains his plan and expects Black Panther to kill him, T'Challa says he's done letting vengeance rule him. Just a great moment and wonderful arc for this character.

Speaking of Zemo, he's our villain here. And he's a pretty sinister son of a bitch. He just wants to tear the Avengers apart. While the government wanted to see them be held accountable in their own way, Zemo has another way. He wants to turn them against one another, orchestrating multiple stages of a plan to do so. He knows he's not powerful enough to kill the Avengers, so he had them kill themselves. He wants vengeance, just like so many others, and he makes it happen. Zemo is awesome here, and he barely has to do much. Daniel Bruhl just does a tremendous job and I want to keep seeing more Zemo because he's honestly one of the more interesting villains.

Bucky played by Sebastian Stan is wonderful as well. He is under control again, just trying to be his own man while everyone tries to keep him held accountable for things that were not under his control. He's tortured, and that comes across so well. They make him look so badass the whole time up to the end of the movie. They really do a great job when it comes to Bucky and he's the lynchpin of this whole movie.

Captain American and Iron Man, played by Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. respectively, are at the center of this whole plot. Cap believes in freedom whereas Iron Man wants control. He's seen too many things go haywire without checks being put in place and he just doesn't want to see it fall apart. Captain America just believes in not letting an organization control the most powerful group of people in the world, and he certainly doesn't agree with locking anyone up over trying to do the right thing. It's such a wonderful dichotomy that plays out so perfectly in this movie. Ultimately, it comes to a head when Tony learns Bucky killed his parents. And then Iron Man turns into the guy without checks being put in place. He becomes an executioner, wanting to just kill Bucky. All of his ideals he stood behind thrown away in an instant so he can get revenge. Just sublimely done.

It's a tremendous movie, and I love watching it every time. When I said that Captain America: The Winter Soldier felt like real cinema rather than just a popcorn action flick, I feel the same about this movie too. These characters have layers and story arcs and feel like real, breathing people with issues. That's missing in a lot of these movies. When you look past the giant, bombastic battles here, you get people with super powers all trying to do their best, even if they don't necessarily agree on it. And that's the sort of thing I love about the MCU, is when they can take these ridiculous concepts and make something feel truly special out of them. Civil War is seriously one of the best movies they've got in the MCU, easy.

Girlfriend Thoughts: She swears she saw this movie but at every step of the way she was like "Wait Black Panther is in this!?" and "Ant-Man is in this one!?" I do not think she saw this movie before. She kept calling Zemo by Elmo for some reason. My absolute love for Baron Zemo made me consider breaking up with her. She had a moral quandary with Sharon and Steve kissing, stating "Wait, he kissed her aunt and her too!?" I explained it was like 100 years ago it's fine please don't cancel Captain America. She seemed to really love Spider-Man which who can blame her? She was Team Iron Man at first, which threatened to tear our relationship apart, but then she soon turned to Team Cap after a discussion. She thinks Falcon rules too and was amused by him. She also really enjoyed Ant-Man, in particular when he went giant. She was absolutely stunned by the reveal that Bucky killed Tony's parents and felt bad until he went ballistic.

While the Bucky/Falcon dynamic is great even at this early stage, my one issue in this movie is Buckys quick transition to quipping along with Sam in the airport scene. Maybe Spidey brought it out with his banter? I just wasnt ready to accept non-serious Winter Soldier yet

I feel like Civil War is way too busy. Really should be two separate films

I really like Civil War but the movie just does not need Spiderman or Ant Man (for instance), and the contrivances to get them both involved for the purposes of making that airport battle better came at too much of a logic cost. It's one of those times where you can see the mechanism working too much. Like you can see the need of the studio and the overall franchise taking over the individual movie. Batman vs Superman came out around the same time and did that too, but much much worse and much more obviously. Civil War never plumbs those depths, but still, after giving it some thought those contrivances do make me like it less than I did when I first watched it.

But then the airport battle is so good, and that's definitely enhanced by Spidey and Ant Man, so...

The Cap/Iron Man scene with the pen is maybe the best in the franchise. Cap and Iron Man's dynamic across the first two Avengers movies, Civil War and Endgame is a real highlight.

Civil War to me is almost Joe MCU as a movie. Which has a lot of positives but some negatives too.

Civil War is sooooo good.

Civil War is the last great MCU movie IMO, which is a bit sad considering that's already almost 7 years ago and a bunch of movies back.

I straight up take Bucky & Cap VS Iron Man over the airport fight (which was still incredible of course).

redrocket posted...

I straight up take Bucky & Cap VS Iron Man over the airport fight (which was still incredible of course).

Actually might agree with that even though I love the airport. I liked the score for that fight too.

Cap & Bucky vs Iron Man is absolutely the best scene and it's the weight behind that whole plot thread that really makes the movie great. Team Iron Man here.

Also I think Bucky being jokey quick is supported by his The First Avenger characterization so I didn't have a problem with it.

XIII_Rocks posted...

But then the airport battle is so good, and that's definitely enhanced by Spidey and Ant Man, so...

I mean, this alone justifies them being there enough for me. lol It doesn't have to be completely clean how they got there, or if it's totally logically sound to me because it made for some incredible moments there and it's easy to look past.

And I don't blame anyone for taking Becky & Cap vs. Iron Man over the airport fight. It really is brilliantly done. I'm a sucker for a lot of characters being able to show off everything they're capable of though.

I really wish they'd be able to give us a proper Thunderbolts (not this boot leg garbage one we're getting) or Masters of Evil thing. Or hell, Dark Avengers. Actual villains with tons of powers fighting heroes with powers would be so much cooler than them fighting a giant non-descript army like usual.

I'm on team Buck/Cap vs. Tony.

I mean the ending in particular, when Tony yells at Steve that he doesnt deserve the shield, and Steve responds by just dropping it. That gives me chills. Top 3 moment from the MCU overall.

We have finished Daredevil Season 1! I'm on a trip right now, but I'll have a write up when I get back.

Oop, Daredevil Season 1 write up sooooon

Daredevil (Season 1)
Release Date: April 10, 2015
Stand-Out Character: Daredevil aka Matthew Murdock (played by Charlie Cox)
Best Scene: The Hallway Fight (Episode 2)

There's something truly special about Daredevil's season 1. It kicks off the Netflix series in a huge way and was such a departure from the rest of the MCU, and I positively love every bit of it, especially as a huge Daredevil fan before this.

God, where to start? This show is just so perfectly woven together. Everything is so meticulously planned and paced out and every step feels so distinct. It's positively wonderful watching this and seeing how every piece falls together to the conclusion. It's a lot of episodes, so I can't promise to discuss too much at length. But let me just poke at our title character a bit.

Matthew Murdock played by Charlie Cox is perfect in this. I can't gush enough about how endearing Murdock is here. He wants to do what's right. He's tortured by it, but he knows he needs to push forward because everything is awful, but he needs to have balance to stop himself from going too far. And he helps you understand the gravity of it all.

What's so damn good about this is how we get to see each part of Murdock's backstory here too. They give us a focus on his father, which is so integral to his character. And then on Stick. Then a little bit of his time in college with Foggy. And it really explores Murdock so well too and manages to also fit it in with the present story.

And god, Elden Henson's Foggy Nelson is just wonderful too. What a charming son of a bitch you can't help but enjoy at every moment of the story. Absolutely love Foggy in this series, and he provides a ton of much needed comedy and heart.

Karen Page, played by Deborah Ann Woll, also manages to become another interesting part of this story. She investigates this with Ben Urich, played by Vondie Curtis-Hall. And their dynamic is just tremendous. She is vulnerable, but brave, and she wants to see justice be had after she was almost made a victim. And Ben Urich is trying to help her along as a wise mentor who knows the limitations of his job, and how dangerous it is. Ben Urich is such a wonderful part of the story too and really sends you over the edge to want to see Fisk get his.

Which, hey! Let's talk about how Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk, played by Vicent D'Onofrio, is positively amazing as a villain. He's nuanced, he has a very eccentric personality, and you can understand his twisted mind just enough to see the logic in it all. But where he's most strong is in how he is a god damn force. He's smart, but his selfishness is his downfall. He has plans on plans on plans and always seems ahead of the heroes, only to be taken down by his own arrogance in the end. But my god, he's so perfect in this. I almost gave the stand-out scene to Wilson Fisk & The Car Door, or Fisk Confronting Urich.

But what makes Kingpin so wonderful is how he's surrounded by so many wonderful villains. James Wesley, by Toby Leonard Moore, is his right hand and honestly I forgot how great he was. He's such a professional and seems like he truly, honestly cares about Fisk. His every scene is so tense and he's an awesome lackey. I definitely miss his presence in the later seasons.

Leland Owlsley is someone I remember being one of my favorite characters, played by Bob Gunton. Every time he's in a scene he chews that scenary and stands out by being the biggest ornery prick you've ever seen. He's nothing like The Owl in the comics but who honestly cares. Leland is so damn good, and if we're being honest, he's the reason that Kingpin's entire empire falls which I forgot about. If it weren't for him, Kingpin probably gets away with everything. And if Kingpin just cut his losses instead of getting his revenge on Leland's life, he would have been able to get out of this. Leland rules and I greatly enjoyed him throughout the series.

Nobu and Madame Gao are also great. Nobu is a simple character, but he's memorable for being our first introduction to The Hand, and for probably taking Matthew closest to death. Madame Gao is just... such a terrible, awful person who prides herself on seeming measured and calm. But when she sees that it's all over for her, she's a contrast to Owlsley and Fisk. She cuts her losses after failing to kill Vanessa and Daredevil taking out her operation. The Russians are also great. The episode where Matthew is trying to get information from the surviving one is really memorable to me. Just so chilling.

Vanessa, played by Ayelet Zurer, is also so good in her role too. She falls for Wilson Fisk despite him being truly awful and she manages to try balancing his fury and eccentric lifestyle and convincing him to branch out, which ends up being Fisk's downfall. He falls for her, and their love is pure, and that's just something he can't have in his line of work.

Not a villain, but Claire Temple by Rosario Dawson is great as well. Her scenes with Murdock early on are just perfect for the tone and showing us Murdock's kindness and vulnerableness. Without her, it's a lot harder to see Matthew Murdock, the guy behind the mask. It also shows the dangers of getting involved in this very well.

I need to mention Scott Glenn too, who plays Stick. I love this actor in everything he's in, but Stick in this series is so magnetic. Just a really special casting and everything he adds to his few episodes is awesome. A great character all around.

Turk also exists, and I enjoy seeing him. Bless Turk.

The action in the show is also top notch. All of the fights are brutal, gritty, and you feel every impact of them. They don't hold back and they are just intense as all hell. The choreography is off the chain.

I could talk for a while about it all, but I'll stop here. Daredevil Season 1 is easily the best of any of Marvel's TV shows, and I don't know that it will ever be topped. It just gave us something so new and special for the character and I'll always cherish that. I'm hoping they can capture some of that magic for the next series.

The Russian who gets car doored is Gideon Emery aka Balthier from FFXII and many other things.

I honestly think you have to give co-standout character to Murdock and Fisk. They are both so perfect in this show. This is my favorite season of any show Ive ever seen.

Lots of people have tried to do the parallel hero and villain before, but Ive never seen it pulled off so wonderfully as it is here. They really are two sides of the same coin, and watching them diverge and the reasons they do so is very fulfilling. The writers also weave a deep thematic religious subtext extremely well. This show is so rich and ripe for literary analysis.

I understand giving the Hallway fight the best scene, but shoutout to my personal favorite, Fisks monologue in the back of the truck in the final episode right before the final showdown. Legitimately chilling.

Didn't really enjoy Fisk in S1 that much, he was better in the other seasons.

Never seen any Marvel associated series tbh. Not something I could get into. Probably would have if I didn't get the feeling that they always felt non-canon to what was happening on MCU in general.

Doctor Strange
Release Date: November 4, 2016
Stand-Out Character: The Ancient One (played by Tilda Swinton)
Best Scene: "Open Your Eye"

God, I am so mixed on this movie. I love a ton of it, but I think ultimately it just played it too safe.

When this movie wants to be cool, it is so god damn cool. My favorite scene is just Strange going through the multiverses early on in the film. It's just a gorgeous, wild trip. Buildings folding in on themselves in the mirror dimension? THE DREAD DORMAMMU!? All of that stuff rules. But everything in between feels so dry. Kamar-Taj feels kind of dull. The Sanctum is also kinda boring. The conversations are also kinda dull as well for the most part. And Kaecilius? Man, that guy is a snore. Give Mads Mikkelsen a better character ffs.

That said, there's a lot of good storylines. Doctor Strange, in particular, has a character development that feels a bit... stilted? Like it was missing a few steps in there. I love his character. Benedict Cumberbatch plays him so damn well. He has an aptitude for this and he goes through the entire gambit of emotions. From being the cocky and sure surgeon, to being down on his luck, absolutely broken, desperate, and then being sure of himself as he begins to really learn magic. Everything Benedict Cumberbatch does is great. He's one of the best. I just think that there was something missing on his development and I can't quite pick it out.

Christine Palmer, played by Rachel McAdams, is great too. As a love interest, she works fine. She's a good character for strange to bounce off of, even if she doesn't do a ton. I enjoyed her when she's on screen and she had a few good scenes with Strange.

The stand out to me is definitely The Ancient One though, masterfully played by Tilda Swinton. I know there's issues with white washing, but looking past that, Swinton plays this role so well. She's confident, patient, understanding, and wise. You see her keep a peace within herself, and while she pushes Strange hard, she also has a kindness to her. She has guilt, but in the end she even admits she just doesn't know it all. Her final scene is tremendous, and I think without her this movie just doesn't work as well as it does.

Mordo by Chiwetel Ejiofor is... you know, he's here. He has some good scenes. I feel like he doesn't have enough good scenes though. They talk about how Mordo really won't like breaking the rules of magic and I had to stop and say... wait, where did they establish this? I really don't remember. I think they could have had a lot more of a dynamic between him and Strange. He has some cool scenes, but ultimately... he's just a disappointing presence. And they set him up for so much more for the sequel, and he's disappointingly not even involved. To be honest, what they set up seemed like a far more interesting direction, but that's another conversation.

Wong, by Benedict Wong, may as well not even be in this movie. He does nothing. He has maybe two funny scenes. He's just... there. Big who cares. Glad they managed to do some great stuff with him since this movie though.

And then there's Kaecilius, by Mads Mikkelsen, our lead villain who is just boring. He has a scene where he sheds a tear explaining how everyone is broken and it's just... nothing. Didn't hit me in the feels. He's a good character to show that off, but they just didn't go the full way to expose everything. Give me some fire and emotion from this dude, not just a calm monologue. Have him show some hate for Ancient One. He just had a poor script, poor direction, and a half-baked idea.

I want to give a small shout out to Jonathan Pangborn's actor, Benjamin Bratt, as well. He has his scene with Strange where he is his polar opposite. He tells him he's an asshole, almost blows him off, but then he explains his own philosophy that is so counter to what Strange believes. Really great scene and I loved how it played out.

And finally, Dormammu, also played by... Benedict Cumberbatch! Dormammu rules, always, and it sucks he didn't appear in the second movie. Dormammu looked badass and the take on him was great, but they could've done so much more. My issue is this movie sets up a lot of stuff and then the sequel doesn't follow up on any of it. Hindsight makes this movie more disappointing in that way.

The choreography and action is great in this film too though. I greatly enjoyed seeing every fight scene that was totally mind bending and wild. Except for maybe the ones in the actual Sanctum and the hospital. Those were... I mean, they were fine I guess. I want more bat shit magic stuff though. That's where this movie was the best, was when they explored that. Seeing two guys wrestle on an astral plane wasn't doing anything for me.

So yeah. Doctor Strange is a very disjointed movie that while it was a good introduction for the actual character, it could have been far more. It's certainly carried by the performances of Cumberbatch and Swinton, as well as the actual magic elements they went all out with. There had to be a better script for this one though. But for what we got, it's alright.

really actively dislike the first dr. strange. it might actually be my least favorite Marvel flick, even moreso than stuff like Thor 2. everyone talks up the Dormammu scene but it's not enough.

Girlfriend thoughts?