Yeah, I'm not sure if MoM could have NOT been messy. Lots of things going on. I knew there would be problems after the original writer and director left. I think the Disney Plus shows are fine. I think the actors and actresses in them are giving it their all, and I really appreciate that. Ten years ago most of these "thespians" would not have deigned to put in so much effort performing in superhero properties. So I think that's great. People have criticized the writing in some of the shows, but I don't really blame the writers. I blame the tight deadlines that have been forced upon them by Marvel Studios. I still think Captain Marvel could have been a MUCH better movie if they fixed some of the stuff in the first half of that movie. I thought the creators of Captain Marvel found their rhythm in the second part of that film. But since Endgame was coming out so soon after CM, they didn't have time to improve on what they had. Things worked out nicely, but there was some lost potential there.
I wasn't thrilled with the people of Westview being tortured by Wanda, but at least there was some nuance in how the whole affair went down. I think the finale could have been executed more smoothly, but Disney was really pushing for it to be released in early 2021, so things were rushed AGAIN. I'm pretty sure the end result was not exactly what Schaeffer and Shakman had in mind. Wanda "becoming" the Scarlet Witch was cool though. And the stuff about "runes" was pretty interesting as well as visually entertaining. I actually thought all the costumes in WandaVision were pretty good. I personally liked Wanda being a wife and mother. She wasn't both of those things for a very long time in the comics, but I thought her weird little family was pretty endearing. Lots of people did. Not sure if they're gonna all be reunited now because the MCU seems pretty obsessed about "following the comics" these days. What impressed me was how WandaVision balanced Wanda and Vision in a way that didn't shortchange either of them. Other Marvel movies and shows haven't really gotten that balance right in my opinion. I think Falcon & The Winter Soldier and Hawkeye were not as strong as WandaVision in that regard. I definitely feel Disney is putting out too many Marvel and Star Wars shows in the next few years, but the quality hasn't been THAT bad in my opinion. I do feel it's slipping a bit though. Feige and Kennedy must be EXHAUSTED!
I wouldn't count out Tom Cruise. People seem to really like him (whether he's jumping on couches or out of planes). I was talking to my dad the other day, and he doesn't think there's a single star in Hollywood who can draw audiences into theaters like he can. I think he's got a far wider appeal than basically ALL of the MCU's stars. I'm old enough to remember him doing pictures like Rain Man, Top Gun, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Interview with the Vampire and Jerry Maguire. To re-invent himself as an "action hero" as he got OLDER was such a risky AND great career move. It totally worked for him. I definitely respect his work ethic...Even though the Scientology stuff is extremely weird.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm personally VERY interested in how the MCU is received by the NON diehard fanbase. In the past decade, Marvel Studios has done an INCREDIBLE job of making sure their projects appeal to casual audiences as well as the nerds. But I do feel that there is a little bit of shift to favoring the geeks lately. I think you view WandaVision more from the vantage point of a comic book reader than I do (obviously that's very understandable considering we are commenting on a Scarlet Witch thread). For me, I look at how did it attract viewers who are NOT traditional followers of the superhero genre. And I think Wanda's show truly succeeded there. Plenty of people like WandaVision and many of them don't have any idea who the Avengers are (and they kind of don't have to). I KNOW for a FACT many kids wanted to learn how to play Agatha All Along in their music classes after watching WandaVision.
And the sitcom premise of WandaVision was super accessible for casual fans. I think shows like Loki, Moon Knight and even Hawkeye are a little bit harder to get into for "normies". I feel this way because I was a casual reader of the comics back in the day, so I think I have somewhat of an understanding about how casual audiences feel about the MCU. Apparently Ms. Marvel is VERY easy to get into though, and it makes me happy Feige is trying to draw in different demographics to watch the Marvel content he produces. I'm actually sort of dreading Loki 2 and Ant-Man 3. I'm just not too sure if general audiences are THAT interested in the multiversal/time travel stuff. For ME, once folks introduce "time travel" and "alternate realities" into stories, logic and stakes usually go out windows FAST. And the exposition "explaining" these concepts often is boring as hell and makes no actual sense. I'm REALLY happy Thor is probably going to be much simpler. I enjoyed Ragnarok immensely. The MoM was just too confusing and convoluted for me. Maybe comic book fans are more used to that kind of thing, but I never liked it when I was reading the comics.