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  1. #7081
    see beauty in all things. charliehustle415's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by the illustrious mr. kenway View Post
    Her parents were not that trusting in the comics. Lol
    Yeah totally, I had to explain that some of the depictions of South Asian life in this show is downright fantastical and not even close to true life (especially first generation American life).
    Last edited by charliehustle415; 06-25-2022 at 05:08 PM.

  2. #7082

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    Quote Originally Posted by charliehustle415 View Post
    I always chuckle seeing Kamala with a white boy in her room with the door closed in a Muslim household. I remember by best friends family wouldn't even allow his sister to come out with us let alone hang out in her room.
    It really comes down to the family and culture.

    I remember going to one of my teacher's apartment very regularly. His son would often be in a room with the door closed with a female friend. Somebody close minded might assume something was going on but no, they were just hanging out.

    In another instance, I went to visit one of my co workers house after she had a kid. Her family was the more conservative type so her sisters and cousins just shuffled into another room when I entered.

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  3. #7083
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by charliehustle415 View Post
    I always chuckle seeing Kamala with a white boy in her room with the door closed in a Muslim household. I remember by best friends family wouldn't even allow his sister to come out with us let alone hang out in her room.
    Quote Originally Posted by the illustrious mr. kenway View Post
    Her parents were not that trusting in the comics. Lol
    The Khan's here and in the comics kind of treated Bruno like an honorary son (not in a son-in-law kind of way because he didn't have any chance not being the perfect Muslim boy). They're the reason Kamala even talked to Bruno in the first place.

  4. #7084
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Watched Strange 2 last night. I know I'm behind the times here, but I thought it was a great visual spectacle with a fairly good core plot, but a lot of excess that wasn't entirely needed and I am extremely conflicted on Wanda's treatment. Also highly disappointed in America Chavez.

    With America....she's younger than the comics version, so the lack of confidence is understandable but difficult to reconcile with what I expect of the character. I'm also not fond of her lack of powers, where's the flight? The strength? The durability? Maybe these are things that will develop as extensions of her portal ability and she does throw some powerful punches towards the end, but in this film all I see is someone with America's name and jacket, not America herself. Actress did fine with what she was given but I really hope Marvel does better by her next time. And I really, really hope that they don't try to make her a mage. Her training with the wizards is fine if it's about her learning focus and concentration, but I really don't need America being turned into a spellcaster.

    Wanda is a whole different thing, and I know we've got pages of debate about it already here and I don't mean to reopen that discussion, but my two cents real quick: Olsen acted her ass off and did a fantastic job as the villain. There's actually a lot here that I like; Wandavision made the "Scarlet Witch" sound terrifying (when the evil, immortal witch is scared of you that says a lot....) and this film really capitalized on that potential rather than sweep it under the rug. I love that they expanded on her mythos like this, I love the massive scope of it all. There's also the clearly stated "out" for her in the Darkhold's influence, which Marvel could use down the road to put Wanda back on the side of the heroes. And she's got a history of bad choices already so it's not like this is completely out of nowhere for her, even if it's far beyond anything she's done before with less justification. But at the same time? Real hard to walk this back. This doesn't just step over a line, it stomps the line into dust then sets the dust on fire. Westview was an accident, something she did without knowing and she fixed it willingly despite what it cost her. It's forgivable. As are her other mistakes. But it's gonna be real hard to get past the slaughter of Kamar Taj, the slaughter of the Illuminati, and possessing her own variant. Darkhold or no Darkhold, I don't know if Wanda can come back from this. Assuming she's still alive anyway.

    And while Wandavision never says that Wanda moved past her pain and loss and started healing (not that I recall?), a lot of people thought it did. All she did was release the town she had mindraped before studying the most evil book in the multiverse, nobody said she had given up on getting her kids back. But still, Darkhold or no Darkhold, this went so far beyond Wanda's actions in Westview and its conclusion where she lets her fake family die, it feels like all of Wandavision's character development never happened. Intellectually I know that's not really the case, but it doesn't feel that way.

    The introduction of the Illuminati and the incursions is both cool and somewhat pointless. It does help reinforce the idea of the multiverse, that there can be new faces, old faces in new situations, etc., but I feel like What If, Loki, and Spider-Man NWH all accomplished this already. And while I adore the idea of doing Hickman's Avengers stuff, I feel like we didn't necessarily need it introduced here. I'm glad Marvel put the idea in play as a minor element, it eases audiences into the concept, but bringing up incursions felt....premature. The film was crowded enough as it is. But still, incursions! I hope we get the White Event sometime soon....but not *too* soon.

    Speaking of the Illuminati.....what a fantastic idea to bring in, what a great way to do live-action Captain Carter.....and what a waste it turned out to be. This entire segment could have been accomplished with Mordo alone, and while I love finally getting Reed Richards into the MCU and enjoyed seeing all the other Illuminati members, they seem to be included mainly so Wanda can rack up a higher body count; if you don't know how shady and questionable this group can be in the comics you'd just assume they were another hero team here. Kind of cool to see them, but they're wasted potential kind of kills the moment.

    Other than that I loved everything else in the film. Despite being a little overcrowded the plot was solid and well paced, the effects were incredible, the characters (other than my complaints above) all came off correctly and the actors all sold their roles. Rami did what he does and did it really well. The movie was a lot of fun overall and the horror vibes made the film feel fresh and a little different. Digging Strange's new third eye, and the post-credits zinger with Clea.
    Last edited by Ascended; 06-26-2022 at 08:34 AM.
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  5. #7085
    Astonishing Member Albert1981's Avatar
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    I don't think Wanda emphasized that she was "not a monster" enough in the MoM. Her saying those words every five minutes in Strange 2 was not NEARLY adequate enough to get that message across to viewers.

    In any case, I recently read an interesting article on the Daily Beast discussing the Star Wars franchise and I thought it shared a lot my sentiments about it:

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/disney...i-used-to-love

    You could easily make the same arguments against what Disney's doing with its Marvel franchise as well. Lately, I've been more interested in documentaries, TCM, the NFL and even Maury than the MCU/Star Wars stuff. And I didn't feel this way last year AT ALL. I feel the same annoyance about the Star Trek franchise bringing back Patrick Stewart, the Law & Order franchise bringing back Sam Waterson and the Game of Thrones franchise bringing back Kit Harrington and Emilia Clark. I would really like these characters to be "laid to rest" so to speak. And I would like Marvel and Star Wars to conclude some of the storylines they've been working on (sometimes for more than a decade) and move onto new and different things. Hell, I'd rather "repeat watch" First We Feast episodes such as this one than do the same for any of the Marvel/Star Wars content that has come out in the past couple of years (and that fact actually makes me pretty sad):

    Last edited by Albert1981; 06-26-2022 at 01:07 PM.

  6. #7086
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    They just introduced another race of super humans from another universe and the sky hasn't fallen. It took 2 minutes to explain it. I don't know why people don't think they can add more. People see these races as IP/characters as opposed to just random people that are similar. Like, the shows/movies explicitly explain the difference and tell the audience who they are. Why do people think audiences will be confused?

  7. #7087
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Force de Phenix View Post
    They just introduced another race of super humans from another universe and the sky hasn't fallen. It took 2 minutes to explain it. I don't know why people don't think they can add more. People see these races as IP/characters as opposed to just random people that are similar. Like, the shows/movies explicitly explain the difference and tell the audience who they are. Why do people think audiences will be confused?
    It seems like there's always this reaction when something new comes along. People worried about how well audiences would accept a Norse god in a fledgling universe of super soldiers and iron men. They worried audiences wouldn't get a talking racoon and walking tree. They worried about audiences being confused by the multiverse, other planets and timelines.....there's always the concern that the new thing will confuse or turn away audiences.

    So far Marvel doesn't seem like it has to worry much about that. For all the complaints about the MCU becoming unwieldly, they remain stupid profitable and generally well liked. And with plenty of actors either gone or on their way out, it's not like we're being truly overburdened with characters. The MCU is definitely big and getting bigger, but to a point they actually accounted for that too. Not every film/show is made to appeal to everyone anymore. It's okay if you skip Ms. Marvel or Moon Knight or Shang Chi. It's not expected that you follow every project anymore. You skip Ms. Marvel and go watch The Marvels, you're not gonna know who Kamala is but the film will introduce her to you and tell you what you need to know about her. You'll miss some references and inside jokes from the show. Big deal.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

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  8. #7088
    Invincible Member MindofShadow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Watched Strange 2 last night. I know I'm behind the times here, but I thought it was a great visual spectacle with a fairly good core plot, but a lot of excess that wasn't entirely needed and I am extremely conflicted on Wanda's treatment. Also highly disappointed in America Chavez.

    With America....she's younger than the comics version, so the lack of confidence is understandable but difficult to reconcile with what I expect of the character. I'm also not fond of her lack of powers, where's the flight? The strength? The durability? Maybe these are things that will develop as extensions of her portal ability and she does throw some powerful punches towards the end, but in this film all I see is someone with America's name and jacket, not America herself. Actress did fine with what she was given but I really hope Marvel does better by her next time. And I really, really hope that they don't try to make her a mage. Her training with the wizards is fine if it's about her learning focus and concentration, but I really don't need America being turned into a spellcaster.

    Wanda is a whole different thing, and I know we've got pages of debate about it already here and I don't mean to reopen that discussion, but my two cents real quick: Olsen acted her ass off and did a fantastic job as the villain. There's actually a lot here that I like; Wandavision made the "Scarlet Witch" sound terrifying (when the evil, immortal witch is scared of you that says a lot....) and this film really capitalized on that potential rather than sweep it under the rug. I love that they expanded on her mythos like this, I love the massive scope of it all. There's also the clearly stated "out" for her in the Darkhold's influence, which Marvel could use down the road to put Wanda back on the side of the heroes. And she's got a history of bad choices already so it's not like this is completely out of nowhere for her, even if it's far beyond anything she's done before with less justification. But at the same time? Real hard to walk this back. This doesn't just step over a line, it stomps the line into dust then sets the dust on fire. Westview was an accident, something she did without knowing and she fixed it willingly despite what it cost her. It's forgivable. As are her other mistakes. But it's gonna be real hard to get past the slaughter of Kamar Taj, the slaughter of the Illuminati, and possessing her own variant. Darkhold or no Darkhold, I don't know if Wanda can come back from this. Assuming she's still alive anyway.

    And while Wandavision never says that Wanda moved past her pain and loss and started healing (not that I recall?), a lot of people thought it did. All she did was release the town she had mindraped before studying the most evil book in the multiverse, nobody said she had given up on getting her kids back. But still, Darkhold or no Darkhold, this went so far beyond Wanda's actions in Westview and its conclusion where she lets her fake family die, it feels like all of Wandavision's character development never happened. Intellectually I know that's not really the case, but it doesn't feel that way.

    The introduction of the Illuminati and the incursions is both cool and somewhat pointless. It does help reinforce the idea of the multiverse, that there can be new faces, old faces in new situations, etc., but I feel like What If, Loki, and Spider-Man NWH all accomplished this already. And while I adore the idea of doing Hickman's Avengers stuff, I feel like we didn't necessarily need it introduced here. I'm glad Marvel put the idea in play as a minor element, it eases audiences into the concept, but bringing up incursions felt....premature. The film was crowded enough as it is. But still, incursions! I hope we get the White Event sometime soon....but not *too* soon.

    Speaking of the Illuminati.....what a fantastic idea to bring in, what a great way to do live-action Captain Carter.....and what a waste it turned out to be. This entire segment could have been accomplished with Mordo alone, and while I love finally getting Reed Richards into the MCU and enjoyed seeing all the other Illuminati members, they seem to be included mainly so Wanda can rack up a higher body count; if you don't know how shady and questionable this group can be in the comics you'd just assume they were another hero team here. Kind of cool to see them, but they're wasted potential kind of kills the moment.

    Other than that I loved everything else in the film. Despite being a little overcrowded the plot was solid and well paced, the effects were incredible, the characters (other than my complaints above) all came off correctly and the actors all sold their roles. Rami did what he does and did it really well. The movie was a lot of fun overall and the horror vibes made the film feel fresh and a little different. Digging Strange's new third eye, and the post-credits zinger with Clea.
    I think my entire problem with the movie is the fact you just did a long review of the movie mentioning multiple elements good and bad....

    And it had nothing to do with Dr Strange lol.

    And you aren't even close to the first one to do this.
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  9. #7089
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    Yeah, I think audiences care about characters and the stories told as opposed to the minutia that comic fans have because there can be 30 comics a month every year for 60 years and we want the details so everything connects. Whereas people who watch a movie or show wants to know the story of that character for that 2 hours or so.

    On a side note, when I heard Nur, I thought of this, until I found it's real world meaning.

  10. #7090
    Astonishing Member Albert1981's Avatar
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    But in the earlier phases there were FAR fewer characters to wrap your head around. And there were FAR fewer movies too. It WAS risky to introduce the Guardians when Disney did, but they kept the team to five members in the first one (and two of them were not humanoids and one of those doesn't really have an extensive vocabulary). So I thought that was a good call at the time. The Guardians did a GREAT job of opening the way to "Cosmic Marvel". If the Guardians were introduced today, I don't think their reception would have been as enthusiastic because there is just so much **** going on right now in the MCU. I think they would be lost in the shuffle, and I would think it would be a shame to "skip" on them. And I don't understand why folks are so excited about multiple teams possibly debuting in the MCU in the future. Don't you think it was ALREADY crowded with JUST the Avengers and the Guardians? Fans are STILL mad that characters like Hulk and Drax didn't really get a chance to shine. And I believe a big reason why that is the case is because the Russo brothers couldn't handle that many characters in the last couple of Avengers movies.

    I totally accept that the MCU movies and shows have continued to be well-regarded for the most part. BUT I don't think it can be denied that several of the projects in Phase Four got some of the WORST reviews from audiences in the entire history of the MCU. That's a bit of a warning sign to me. And I do feel the success of TGM is a LITTLE bit of a backlash against the superhero stuff that Marvel is putting out. And I think it's lame that Disney supporters would point out how much more successful they are compared to other studio franchises. That's like bragging that Tom Brady-led teams are better than the Detroit Lions, Jacksonsville Jaguars and New York Jets in the past few years. Disney should be comparing its Marvel projects to previous Marvel projects. Feige said he wants to step back a bit to make sure the Fantastic Four is done right. I agree with his position. Take more time if it's needed. But he wouldn't have to step back if there weren't so many projects on the go. Say what you will about Tom Cruise and James Cameron, but those dudes are NOT gonna take "hands-off" approaches to the upcoming Mission Impossible and Avatar movies. So I think the quality of those pictures will be higher. I think Feige and his team could EASILY oversee two or three movies a year, but three shows and three movies per year is too much for them in my opinion. And this is coming from somebody who thought that Feige and his executives at Marvel Studios did a pretty good job with starting the first year of Phase Four with WandaVision and ending that same year with No Way Home.

  11. #7091
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Albert1981 View Post
    But in the earlier phases there were FAR fewer characters to wrap your head around. And there were FAR fewer movies too. It WAS risky to introduce the Guardians when Disney did, but they kept the team to five members in the first one (and two of them were not humanoids and one of those doesn't really have an extensive vocabulary). So I thought that was a good call at the time. The Guardians did a GREAT job of opening the way to "Cosmic Marvel". If the Guardians were introduced today, I don't think their reception would have been as enthusiastic because there is just so much **** going on right now in the MCU. I think they would be lost in the shuffle, and I would think it would be a shame to "skip" on them. And I don't understand why folks are so excited about multiple teams possibly debuting in the MCU in the future. Don't you think it was ALREADY crowded with JUST the Avengers and the Guardians? Fans are STILL mad that characters like Hulk and Drax didn't really get a chance to shine. And I believe a big reason why that is the case is because the Russo brothers couldn't handle that many characters in the last couple of Avengers movies.

    I totally accept that the MCU movies and shows have continued to be well-regarded for the most part. BUT I don't think it can be denied that several of the projects in Phase Four got some of the WORST reviews from audiences in the entire history of the MCU. That's a bit of a warning sign to me. And I do feel the success of TGM is a LITTLE bit of a backlash against the superhero stuff that Marvel is putting out. And I think it's lame that Disney supporters would point out how much more successful they are compared to other studio franchises. That's like bragging that Tom Brady-led teams are better than the Detroit Lions, Jacksonsville Jaguars and New York Jets in the past few years. Disney should be comparing its Marvel projects to previous Marvel projects. Feige said he wants to step back a bit to make sure the Fantastic Four is done right. I agree with his position. Take more time if it's needed. But he wouldn't have to step back if there weren't so many projects on the go. Say what you will about Tom Cruise and James Cameron, but those dudes are NOT gonna take "hands-off" approaches to the upcoming Mission Impossible and Avatar movies. So I think the quality of those pictures will be higher. I think Feige and his team could EASILY oversee two or three movies a year, but three shows and three movies per year is too much for them in my opinion. And this is coming from somebody who thought that Feige and his executives at Marvel Studios did a pretty good job with starting the first year of Phase Four with WandaVision and ending that same year with No Way Home.
    Right now Disney has 80% of the movies at movie theaters at any given time, and they have a streaming service whose only perk is having their exclusive Marvel and Star Wars shows. Their goal is to produce as much as possible. They've taken a step back since Endgame, and people accuse them of having no direction despite it being obvious that they are going to do Secret Wars and are just world building.

    People shouldn't be afraid of "fatigue" because Disney dominates media so they have much of a choice except not watching a big chunk of what's out there. And people don't take the MCU as people in the forums do. They just want to see action-comedy Hollywood blockbusters from Disney and character driven arcs.

    I think people want to see more of everything since Disney has established a multiverse and a universe of characters to choose from. There are no limits and time is endless. The problem was people thinking they shouldn't add characters because it would be too complicated. They've time traveled, had 3 Spider-Men from another company, added Netflix and ABC characters, brought in gods, had a prequel of a dead character, separated magic from sorcery, and more.

  12. #7092
    Astonishing Member Albert1981's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Force de Phenix View Post
    Right now Disney has 80% of the movies at movie theaters at any given time, and they have a streaming service whose only perk is having their exclusive Marvel and Star Wars shows. Their goal is to produce as much as possible. They've taken a step back since Endgame, and people accuse them of having no direction despite it being obvious that they are going to do Secret Wars and are just world building.

    People shouldn't be afraid of "fatigue" because Disney dominates media so they have much of a choice except not watching a big chunk of what's out there. And people don't take the MCU as people in the forums do. They just want to see action-comedy Hollywood blockbusters from Disney and character driven arcs.

    I think people want to see more of everything since Disney has established a multiverse and a universe of characters to choose from. There are no limits and time is endless. The problem was people thinking they shouldn't add characters because it would be too complicated. They've time traveled, had 3 Spider-Men from another company, added Netflix and ABC characters, brought in gods, had a prequel of a dead character, separated magic from sorcery, and more.
    I guess we'll have to see if oversaturation and fatigue will hurt the Marvel and Star Wars franchises in the next five years. It's just MY personal opinion that they will. I thought Black Widow was lifeless. Making a movie about a dead character and her "family" (which had NEVER been mentioned previously) was not a great choice in my opinion. And the Eternals was too ambitious a movie from my standpoint. To introduce TEN characters in one movie was WAY too much. And them being superpowered but not participating in previous MCU events because of "reasons" was pretty lame in my opinion. Sadly those movies were not beloved even though ScarJo and Zhao put their hearts and souls into them (which I appreciated). But to me MoM was the laziest effort by Marvel Studios to date. In my view, the premises of Black Widow and the Eternals made it hard for those movies to succeed. Strange 2 was built off of NWH and WandaVision, arguably the two biggest successes for the MCU in 2021. And they didn't advance the ball ONE INCH with that movie when they could have done so much more. And I don't feel Marvel Studios put NEARLY enough effort into it to make it at least a decent movie. As I said previously, I think TGM and EEAAO deserve more accolades because the creators of those two movies put in WAY more effort into them and I think fans understand and appreciate that.

    I feel Marvel Studios inserting cameos from the Marvel Netflix, ABC, Fox and Sony universes into their content is actually a sign of creative weakness. It's gimmicky. It feels like they're just putting them in for "fangasm" moments. How it that not like the WWE (which I also use to enjoy when it was called the WWF)? Feige and his team have stated in numerous interviews that they want fans to stand up and cheer in their movies. I think it's more appropriate to cheer when two teams score 25 points in the last two minutes of an NFL playoff game because it's not "manufactured". These cameos were LITERALLY shot and edited so people could get vocal when they happened. So yeah, I guess I'm a little bit cynical about how Marvel Studios is making their movies and shows these days. This stuff hardly ever happened between 2008-2020. I felt they were a lot more earnest and sincere during those years. And I'm not sure if Disney/Marvel getting "bigger" is a great thing for them. People often say some things are "too big" to fail. I hold the opposite opinion. I think once things get so big, they are DESTINED to fail.

    If Marvel Studios dials things back a bit, I think the quality and consistency of their content would improve greatly and almost immediately. That said I'm really looking forward to Thor 4 because I really loved Ragnarok. And I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the third Guardians movie. I think Gunn will give Drax the send-off he deserves. I like endings. Logan, Endgame and NWH were "endings" and lots of fans like them too.
    Last edited by Albert1981; 06-27-2022 at 11:50 AM.

  13. #7093
    Astonishing Member Overhazard's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    Watched Strange 2 last night. I know I'm behind the times here, but I thought it was a great visual spectacle with a fairly good core plot, but a lot of excess that wasn't entirely needed and I am extremely conflicted on Wanda's treatment. Also highly disappointed in America Chavez.

    With America....she's younger than the comics version, so the lack of confidence is understandable but difficult to reconcile with what I expect of the character. I'm also not fond of her lack of powers, where's the flight? The strength? The durability? Maybe these are things that will develop as extensions of her portal ability and she does throw some powerful punches towards the end, but in this film all I see is someone with America's name and jacket, not America herself. Actress did fine with what she was given but I really hope Marvel does better by her next time. And I really, really hope that they don't try to make her a mage. Her training with the wizards is fine if it's about her learning focus and concentration, but I really don't need America being turned into a spellcaster
    .

    Wanda is a whole different thing, and I know we've got pages of debate about it already here and I don't mean to reopen that discussion, but my two cents real quick: Olsen acted her ass off and did a fantastic job as the villain. There's actually a lot here that I like; Wandavision made the "Scarlet Witch" sound terrifying (when the evil, immortal witch is scared of you that says a lot....) and this film really capitalized on that potential rather than sweep it under the rug. I love that they expanded on her mythos like this, I love the massive scope of it all. There's also the clearly stated "out" for her in the Darkhold's influence, which Marvel could use down the road to put Wanda back on the side of the heroes. And she's got a history of bad choices already so it's not like this is completely out of nowhere for her, even if it's far beyond anything she's done before with less justification. But at the same time? Real hard to walk this back. This doesn't just step over a line, it stomps the line into dust then sets the dust on fire. Westview was an accident, something she did without knowing and she fixed it willingly despite what it cost her. It's forgivable. As are her other mistakes. But it's gonna be real hard to get past the slaughter of Kamar Taj, the slaughter of the Illuminati, and possessing her own variant. Darkhold or no Darkhold, I don't know if Wanda can come back from this. Assuming she's still alive anyway.

    And while Wandavision never says that Wanda moved past her pain and loss and started healing (not that I recall?), a lot of people thought it did. All she did was release the town she had mindraped before studying the most evil book in the multiverse, nobody said she had given up on getting her kids back. But still, Darkhold or no Darkhold, this went so far beyond Wanda's actions in Westview and its conclusion where she lets her fake family die, it feels like all of Wandavision's character development never happened. Intellectually I know that's not really the case, but it doesn't feel that way.

    The introduction of the Illuminati and the incursions is both cool and somewhat pointless. It does help reinforce the idea of the multiverse, that there can be new faces, old faces in new situations, etc., but I feel like What If, Loki, and Spider-Man NWH all accomplished this already. And while I adore the idea of doing Hickman's Avengers stuff, I feel like we didn't necessarily need it introduced here. I'm glad Marvel put the idea in play as a minor element, it eases audiences into the concept, but bringing up incursions felt....premature. The film was crowded enough as it is. But still, incursions! I hope we get the White Event sometime soon....but not *too* soon.

    Speaking of the Illuminati.....what a fantastic idea to bring in, what a great way to do live-action Captain Carter.....and what a waste it turned out to be. This entire segment could have been accomplished with Mordo alone, and while I love finally getting Reed Richards into the MCU and enjoyed seeing all the other Illuminati members, they seem to be included mainly so Wanda can rack up a higher body count; if you don't know how shady and questionable this group can be in the comics you'd just assume they were another hero team here. Kind of cool to see them, but they're wasted potential kind of kills the moment.

    Other than that I loved everything else in the film. Despite being a little overcrowded the plot was solid and well paced, the effects were incredible, the characters (other than my complaints above) all came off correctly and the actors all sold their roles. Rami did what he does and did it really well. The movie was a lot of fun overall and the horror vibes made the film feel fresh and a little different. Digging Strange's new third eye, and the post-credits zinger with Clea.
    It probably has to do with power scaling and keeping everything "grounded", the MCU is kind of stingy when it comes to superpowers, especially physical ones. Characters like Thor and the Hulk don't feel like they're as strong as they should be. Wanda, Strange, and Carol got the lion's share.

  14. #7094
    Astonishing Member Force de Phenix's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Albert1981 View Post
    I guess we'll have to see if oversaturation and fatigue will hurt the Marvel and Star Wars franchises in the next five years. It's just MY personal opinion that they will. I thought Black Widow was lifeless. Making a movie about a dead character and her "family" (which had NEVER been mentioned previously) was not a great choice in my opinion. And the Eternals was too ambitious a movie from my standpoint. To introduce TEN characters in one movie was WAY too much. And them being superpowered but not participating in previous MCU events because of "reasons" was pretty lame in my opinion. Sadly those movies were not beloved even though ScarJo and Zhao put their hearts and souls into them (which I appreciated). But to me MoM was the laziest effort by Marvel Studios to date. In my view, the premises of Black Widow and the Eternals made it hard for those movies to succeed. Strange 2 was built off of NWH and WandaVision, arguably the two biggest successes for the MCU in 2021. And they didn't advance the ball ONE INCH with that movie when they could have done so much more. And I don't feel Marvel Studios put NEARLY enough effort into it to make it at least a decent movie. As I said previously, I think TGM and EEAAO deserve more accolades because the creators of those two movies put in WAY more effort into them and I think fans understand and appreciate that.

    I feel Marvel Studios inserting cameos from the Marvel Netflix, ABC, Fox and Sony universes into their content is actually a sign of creative weakness. It's gimmicky. It feels like they're just putting them in for "fangasm" moments. How it that not like the WWE (which I also use to enjoy when it was called the WWF)? Feige and his team have stated in numerous interviews that they want fans to stand up and cheer in their movies. I think it's more appropriate to cheer when two teams score 25 points in the last two minutes of an NFL playoff game because it's not "manufactured". These cameos were LITERALLY shot and edited so people could get vocal when they happened. So yeah, I guess I'm a little bit cynical about how Marvel Studios is making their movies and shows these days. This stuff hardly ever happened between 2008-2020. I felt they were a lot more earnest and sincere during those years. And I'm not sure if Disney/Marvel getting "bigger" is a great thing for them. People often say some things are "too big" to fail. I hold the opposite opinion. I think once things get so big, they are DESTINED to fail.

    If Marvel Studios dials things back a bit, I think the quality and consistency of their content would improve greatly and almost immediately. That said I'm really looking forward to Thor 4 because I really loved Ragnarok. And I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of the third Guardians movie. I think Gunn will give Drax the send-off he deserves. I like endings. Logan, Endgame and NWH were "endings" and lots of fans like them too.
    I liked the Eternals and MoM, but understand that they misdirected a lot with the trailer and how we understood the way things were going to go. Eternals fleshed out the characters a lot, but the most important thing in my opinion were the Celestials mainly because I think by now origin stories are boring and that they should tie into other characters more. However, I understand the need for them.

    The Multiverse of Madness advanced the MCU because it showed us that there are other beings and realities out there that can influence the main universe we've been following. I think a lot of people were expecting the movie to be about an incursion since No Way Home brought other characters to the 616, and Multiverse of Madness didn't. It did the opposite.

    By the time Secret Wars comes out, we'll see how the stint in another universe in Multiverse means that they'll have to ask for help from other universes since they have heroes that could help.

    I haven't watched every solo movie or series, especially the regular action ones, but I do watch the flagship movies and series that drive the main story of this universe.

    If they do Secret Wars right, people will return and watch the shows later. Which is something they probably want to happen. Multiverse of Madness made over $900 million dollars during this inflation period without the biggest market in the world besides the US. They need those "clapping" moments because people pay to see a show. The Eternals should've had at least one legacy character appear. They had no moments, but it was obvious they didn't care to have one since they had an Oscar winning director.

    Didn't Star Ward crash with Episode 9, and that's why the movies are on hiatus? I swear, it should've been a Sith movie. They're cool and have never been explored like the Jedi. Anyway.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Force de Phenix View Post
    I liked the Eternals and MoM, but understand that they misdirected a lot with the trailer and how we understood the way things were going to go. Eternals fleshed out the characters a lot, but the most important thing in my opinion were the Celestials mainly because I think by now origin stories are boring and that they should tie into other characters more. However, I understand the need for them.

    The Multiverse of Madness advanced the MCU because it showed us that there are other beings and realities out there that can influence the main universe we've been following. I think a lot of people were expecting the movie to be about an incursion since No Way Home brought other characters to the 616, and Multiverse of Madness didn't. It did the opposite.

    By the time Secret Wars comes out, we'll see how the stint in another universe in Multiverse means that they'll have to ask for help from other universes since they have heroes that could help.

    I haven't watched every solo movie or series, especially the regular action ones, but I do watch the flagship movies and series that drive the main story of this universe.

    If they do Secret Wars right, people will return and watch the shows later. Which is something they probably want to happen. Multiverse of Madness made over $900 million dollars during this inflation period without the biggest market in the world besides the US. They need those "clapping" moments because people pay to see a show. The Eternals should've had at least one legacy character appear. They had no moments, but it was obvious they didn't care to have one since they had an Oscar winning director.

    Didn't Star Ward crash with Episode 9, and that's why the movies are on hiatus? I swear, it should've been a Sith movie. They're cool and have never been explored like the Jedi. Anyway.
    Imagine if they really would have pulled of Sith Rey instead of doing just another cliche bait and switch? But they are too afraid at this point in time to do anything else. Honestly I understand them. Star Wars fandom is probably one of the most toxic ones I have seen. Literally everything will get criticized at this point. Still they shouldn't be intimidated into trying something else instead of sticking to a decades old formula.

    It's refreshing to see that at least the MCU isn't stuck in that place and mentality. Otherwise we wouldn't have gotten things like WandaVision.
    "This is me being reasonable"

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