Been going through the whole of the MCU. I started with Iron Man and just finished Avengers: Age of Ultron. Next up is Ant-Man. I will say, there are films, that I haven’t seen in a long time. Some that hold up better than others and some that don’t hold up well. I think Iron Man 3 has aged a lot better than some. Both of the first 2 Thor films are pretty weak, despite some great performances by Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Portman, and Hopkins. Iron Man 1 is still excellent and Captain America: The Winter Soldier might be the best film of the first 2 phases and, dare I say, one of the best spy films of the decade. Iron Man 2 was actually better than I remember, with great performances from Roberty Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, and Sam Rockwell who plays a great and forgotten villain. Looking forward to continuing the saga.
Been doing the same, I’d agree for the most part, though I think Thor 1 holds up okay. 2…well, that’s always problematic. 1’s only issue is the fact that, with Ragnarok, Taika Waititi demonstrated he had a better take on the character, and the world, than Branagh did.
Def agree on Thor 1 vs 2. I think 2 had far more potential and is definitely more important for the MCU as whole, but was just very messy in it’s execution. Thor 1’s problem was, as you said, Branagh. He just didn’t understand it at all. There was far too much melo-drama. Taika Waititi understood how to make the audience connect to Thor in a way that Branagh didn’t even try. Also, they make you hate SHIELD for some reason? I still don’t understand that.
I don´t think that was Branagh´s fault. At that time Marvel was still shaken about their tone, and what Branagh mastered with the first THOR was actually setting up the whole shebang that Waititi then years later could spoof.
It´s like saying Terence Young did not really get Bond but Lewis Gilbert finally did.
That’s something I come back to; Thor is a good film, and is actually the film that demonstrated there was more to the MCU than Iron Man, it’s only criticism is that someone else would do it better half a decade later on the first films shoulders - the fact that both Branagh and Waititi appear in the 2 part finale (Branagh in Infinity War, Waititi in Endgame) show a gratitude Marvel has for both.
All good points. As @secretagentfan pointed out, Marvel was still getting its feet wet during Phase 1 and some of those films are largely forgotten by now (especially The Forgotten Incredible Hulk). I do like Thor, but not nearly as much as some other films. Currently I’d rank Phase 1 like this:
- Iron Man
- Marvel’s The Avengers
- Captain America: The First Avenger (another severely underrated entry)
- Thor
- Iron Man 2
- The Incredible Hulk
Thank you for explaining this about The Professionals. Great show though!
I’d flip First Avenger and Thor, but other than that.
Weird to think phase 4 has brought over at least 200% more cast members from The Incredible Hulk than Captain America.
That is weird, especially as The Incredible Hulk is often viewed as the ugly stepchild of the MCU. I still wonder if we’ll ever get a Captain America 4 with Anthony Mackie as Cap.
I think the Disney+ series, Falcon and The Winter Soldier, is to test the water, as it were, on a new Captain America.
I think you’re right.
Summary
Leaked set photos have shown U.S. Agent (John Walker) as the new Captain America. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays with Falcon and Winter Soldier.
I agree that thee first two Thor films aren’t the best franchise in the MCU. However, both are integral to the Infinity Saga story. The whole reason The Avengers happen is because SHIELD starts tampering with the tesseract to do weapons research because of The Destroyer obliterating a small town in the midwest. None of that happens if Thor isn’t banished to Earth by Odin for starting a war under false pretenses against the Frost Giants. Thor The Dark World was the first to fully expand upon the concept of infinity stones onscreen and let the audience know the overarching arc of the rest of Phase 2 and 3. While each could have been a better movie, they are still integral parts of the Infinity Saga.
Oh yea, they are completely integral to the overall saga, especially Thor: The Dark World. I’m just saying they haven’t aged as well as some other films. Honestly, I can only think of maybe 2 or 3 films that could be cut out of the MCU and you wouldn’t really lose much: The Incredible Hulk, which has pretty much no bearing on the rest of the story. Both Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3, especially the latter, have almost no bearing on the over-arching story. Iron Man 3 has almost no connection to the rest of the series and would be almost completely forgotten if not for Ty Simpkins appearing at Stark’s funeral. Iron Man 2 has a few big moments, but none that are super important. You wouldn’t lose anything if you never saw Black Widow’s entrance or how Rhodey got his suit.
Over the holiday weekend, I watched the following:-
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Shaun the Sheep - Farmageddon - at the cinema, with my kids - good fun with in-jokes for adults and movie buffs
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Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back - a classic
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Diamonds are Forever - 2 Blofelds, the moon buggy, Q playing the one-armed bandits, marching band tapes, it’s crazy!
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Walkabout (1971) - beautifully shot Australian-based British classic
Finished MCU phase 2 and begun phase 3. Here is my phase 2 ranking. I will post a complete MCU ranking upon finishing phase 3.
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Iron Man 3
- Ant-Man
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Thor: The Dark World
Phase 2 is where the Infinity saga really kicks into high gear (especially after Iron Man 3). Sure, the space stone and mind stone make “appearances” in phase one, but they aren’t referred to as infinity stones until these movies. Thor: TDW, is still one of the weakest MCU films and a chore to get through, despite my neverending love of Natalie Portman. Iron Man 3 actually holds up much better than I remember it. The Mandarin twist plays very well, despite Guy Pierce’s villain being one of the MCU’s lamest and Tony Stark’s battle with PTSD really humanizes him. The Winter Soldier is one of, if not the best standalone Marvel movie. Guardians of the Galaxy is probably the first true comedy of the MCU and the best Star Wars film since Empire Strikes Back. Ant-Man is a lot of fun, despite being more or less a rehash of the first Iron Man movie. That leaves Age of Ultron as the runt of the Avengers franchise, which doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. James Spader is excellent at voicing Ultron. The problem with this particular film is that, the Age of Ultron arc in the comics is basically as big as the Infinity Saga. Ultron only being around for a week doesn’t give him enough time to become the villain he should be. He should have been the big bad of Phase 2 itself and not just one film.
Star Trek Picard’s Episode 2 had a great homage to the final scene of Clear and Present Danger, which was a topic over in the Jack Ryan thread.
More on Ep 2 later once people have had a chance to watch it.
I have it set aside, so give me the 24 hours. If it’s anything like pt1, I imagine there’s lots to discuss.
Discuss away, folks - but keep spoilers in mind for those who haven’t seen Star Trek: PICARD yet.
Romulans … “Cheeky f***ers!”
Finally saw 1917 today, was a very good film - George Mackay was great, wouldnt be surprised if he hits the Bond shortlist eventually. Deakins did a good job and the one shot was effective (though the seams are visible in parts), though it ended up feeling a bit like a old video game going from level to level. Felt quite similar to Dunkirk but maybe had a bit more heart than that.
Newman’s score had a few traces of his Bond work which was interesting.
Overall a solid 7.5 or 8/10 I thought