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Marvel's Phase Three

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1 minute ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yup. It's been a hell of a 11 years. Hard to believe we are nearly at the finish line.:bouncy:

Mid-way point :p

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1 minute ago, MindFreak said:

What about Suicide Squad 2 then??

He's still directing that and Guardians 3 will come afterwards.

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9 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Sounds like James Gunn has been reinstated as the Guardians 3 director.

Good.

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49 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Sounds like James Gunn has been reinstated as the Guardians 3 director.

Hell yes.

I'm so tired of creative people such as Gunn having their reputations torn down by their past. I'm different to the person I was yesterday, let alone the person that I was a decade ago, and I doubt it's any different for him ::shrug: I'm guessing that Feige went to bat for him with the Disney higher-ups, and rightly so, because he's a great filmmaker with an excellent vision when it comes to this set of characters. They were stupid to react as quickly and destructively as they did.

 

On the Endgame trailer: it's awesome. It's just 147 seconds of goosebumps.

Heck, I overheard someone play it waaay too loud into their headphones on the train to work this morning (seriously wondering how he hasn't permanently damaged his eardrums...) and had goosebumps all over again. 

Noticed some here talking about how it's been nearly 11 years since Iron Man, so I'm curious: does anyone here remember what they were doing roughly 11 years ago? I was in Year 4 of primary school, less than half the age that I am now :blank:

Edited by Julius

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2 minutes ago, Julius said:

Noticed some here talking about how it's been nearly 11 years since Iron Man, so I'm curious: does anyone here remember what they were doing roughly 11 years ago? I was in Year 4 of primary school, less than half the age that I am now :blank:

I was 23 and went to see it in Milton Keynes with @Goafer. I loved it and he moaned when people cheered the terrorists getting shot. We aren't friends anymore.

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1 minute ago, Julius said:

Noticed some here talking about how it's been nearly 11 years since Iron Man, so I'm curious: does anyone here remember what they were doing roughly 11 years ago? I was in Year 4 of primary school, less than half the age that I am now :blank:

 

The same thing. :p

 

I do recall Iron Man's release though and was pleased with how visually accurate it was.  There was all this talk about how it was leading towards an Avengers film with Thor, Captain America et al, and I remember thinking "I wonder if that will work...?" :) 

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The cat was the best character in Captain Marvel. I can't really say the film did enough to get me to care for Captain Marvel herself though...

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23 hours ago, Julius said:

Heck, I overheard someone play it waaay too loud into their headphones on the train to work this morning (seriously wondering how he hasn't permanently damaged his eardrums...) and had goosebumps all over again. 

Noticed some here talking about how it's been nearly 11 years since Iron Man, so I'm curious: does anyone here remember what they were doing roughly 11 years ago? I was in Year 4 of primary school, less than half the age that I am now :blank:

He probably has damaged his eardrums and that's why he needs the volume to be so high? :p

11 years ago? Hm. 21 years old and just moved away from home, started university and having fun. 

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Went to the local ODEON to watch Captain Marvel with my brother this afternoon. I've got to say, I was quite surprised by just how full our 14:00 showing on the film's second Sunday was -- can't help but wonder if the Endgame trailer has something to do with. They showed the Endgame Superbowl TV Spot during the trailers, so that was great. 

I thought that the film itself was...okay. The tributes to Stan Lee were beautiful, and I couldn't help but smile for the first few minutes of the film just thinking about his legacy.

Unfortunately, I think it only went downhill from there up until the final act, bar the occasional chuckle (mostly aimed at Fury and/or Goose -- easily the best parts of the film, and I think I could have done with some more Coulson). It felt as bland and as by-the-numbers as a superhero film could be, which is a real shame, because Brie Larson is a super talented actress and I can't help but feel that this character -- and Marvel fans, specifically younger girls -- deserved much better. There were far too many moments where my eyes rolled into the back of my skull due to how hard they were trying to beat us over the head with the whole "Women can do anything" feminist rhetoric -- while I feel like every gender and race should be represented in a positive light with their own role models, my problem is just with the way that they handled it. It felt like a marketing campaign by a marketing film director aimed directly (and very poorly) at feminists, and there's literally a scene where I had to ask myself: is this scene just a feminist ad set in the MCU? It felt like it was saying "Women can do anything" without really saying anything, and so the message completely fell flat on its face in my eyes ( @LazyBoy's sentiments on the matter, as far as I'm concerned, are spot on). 

Maybe I missed it, but I was under the impression that this film's production went smoothly, so I have to question how the film could be so poorly paced for its opening hour: it's absolutely all over the place! One minute we're here, the next we're there, then we're back in that other place but in a flashback...seriously, for me, it's probably the choppiest opening hour or so of any MCU film to date. Add to that an uninspired score (albeit, some decent songs made up for that fact), a poorly written, directed, and executed plot, and absolutely zero wow moments and you end up with what is, in my eyes, the worst Marvel Cinematic Universe entry since Thor: The Dark World. Then again, it's been a while since I've seen that film, and I'm getting the niggling feeling that it was better than what I saw today...

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7 minutes ago, Julius said:

... you end up with what is, in my eyes, the worst Marvel Cinematic Universe entry since Thor: The Dark World. Then again, it's been a while since I've seen that film, and I'm getting the niggling feeling that it was better than what I saw today...

Agreed. I made the same point to a friend of mine the other day. The Dark World is by all means a terrible movie and this is just above it. 

The "ad" you describe, is that the part where

Spoiler

the other woman's daughter convinces her to go to space with Carol? Because I absolutely hated that and it felt so out of place. No child would ever ask their mother to go to a dangerous mission like that.. and I still cannot understand why she had to go with her in the first place other than for a way to get the passengers out of the spaceship after Carol wrecked it - i.e. a stupid plot device with no logical reason.

It's funny, because normally I tend to dislike movies less the longer it's been since my viewing but this, my regard for it has just fallen and fallen since my seeing it last Wednesday.

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16 hours ago, Julius said:

There were far too many moments where my eyes rolled into the back of my skull due to how hard they were trying to beat us over the head with the whole "Women can do anything" feminist rhetoric -- while I feel like every gender and race should be represented in a positive light with their own role models, my problem is just with the way that they handled it. It felt like a marketing campaign by a marketing film director aimed directly (and very poorly) at feminists, and there's literally a scene where I had to ask myself: is this scene just a feminist ad set in the MCU? It felt like it was saying "Women can do anything" without really saying anything, and so the message completely fell flat on its face in my eyes ( @LazyBoy's sentiments on the matter, as far as I'm concerned, are spot on). 

 

Ah, so it is like that, is it?  I didn't want to pre-judge it just because it had a female lead, but I did have my doubts.  Whilst I like to see all races and both genders, I dislike identity politics - which is why I like Black Panther in Civil War and Infinity War, but not his own film.  The "women are badass" thing just feels insulting and patronising to me, and allows sexist violence that wouldn't be allowed the other way round (like women kicking men in the groin).  I know women can be great leads, which is why Alien has always been one of my favourite films, but I don't want to be beaten over the head with it.  Young girls would get a better role model by just seeing a really well-written woman in a well-scripted film.  Tony Stark, Thor and Peter Quill are amusing without the films reminding us that they're male.

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There were far too many moments where my eyes rolled into the back of my skull due to how hard they were trying to beat us over the head with the whole "Women can do anything" feminist rhetoric


I don't remember anything that particularly stood out to me that did this. Which lines/ scenes do you mean?

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7 hours ago, Grazza said:

 

Ah, so it is like that, is it?  I didn't want to pre-judge it just because it had a female lead, but I did have my doubts.  Whilst I like to see all races and both genders, I dislike identity politics - which is why I like Black Panther in Civil War and Infinity War, but not his own film.  The "women are badass" thing just feels insulting and patronising to me, and allows sexist violence that wouldn't be allowed the other way round (like women kicking men in the groin).  I know women can be great leads, which is why Alien has always been one of my favourite films, but I don't want to be beaten over the head with it.  Young girls would get a better role model by just seeing a really well-written woman in a well-scripted film.  Tony Stark, Thor and Peter Quill are amusing without the films reminding us that they're male.

I feel the need to separate out two things here, since I'm quoted in thread. This is a bad movie, but not because of the identity politics. Theres one, maybe two girl power moments that appeal to that market that really stood out to me, and of those one was a good song so I can't complain too much. 

Hell the problem with the movie was that there wasn't enough of the 'identity politics', cause that would have at least meant she had an identity. Instead she's just a bland generic superhero. They hint at a possible arc of her throwing off other people's expectations of her, of her not restricting herself a role someone else has determined for her (a positive message which fits nicely into the Zeitgeist), but it's a fart in the wind in terms of what you see on screen.

Also, and sorry if this come across as an attack on you Grazza, I assure you it's not, but I don't get the victimisation thing with men and this movie. A lot of us on this board are English right? Well we've been the villains in every Hollywood movie for as long as I can remember. And they're normally white males. Does that not bother you (the royal you)? Why now with a movie quite obviously meant to make little girls feel good about being who they are? Surely our self-esteems can survive such a strike, play the villain if it teaches heroic values to the next generation.

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1 hour ago, LazyBoy said:

Also, and sorry if this come across as an attack on you Grazza, I assure you it's not, but I don't get the victimisation thing with men and this movie. A lot of us on this board are English right? Well we've been the villains in every Hollywood movie for as long as I can remember. And they're normally white males. Does that not bother you (the royal you)? Why now with a movie quite obviously meant to make little girls feel good about being who they are? Surely our self-esteems can survive such a strike, play the villain if it teaches heroic values to the next generation.

 

Nah, not at all - I thought about removing your "mention" from the quote, but didn't want to tinker with what @Julius said.  I'm still open-minded about this film (honestly) - I was just going off what he said.  I wouldn't want to be lumped in with those who opposed this film either - I'm all for female leads and totally against trolling actresses.  But I do think there's an identity politics thing going on at the moment compared to classic female characters such as Ripley, Sarah Connor or even Princess Leia.

 

All I'm saying is that female characters won't be up there with the male ones until they let them be a bit less badass.  Male characters are allowed to be flawed - weak, cowardly, idiotic - and that's why we like them all the more when they come through.  Like how Gamora is OK in Guardians 1 and 2, but doesn't really shine until Infinity War when she cracks and allows Thanos to get the Soul Stone.

 

And no, I've never been offended by white, English men being the villains.  They love casting us because we're the best actors!

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14 hours ago, Grazza said:

All I'm saying is that female characters won't be up there with the male ones until they let them be a bit less badass.  Male characters are allowed to be flawed - weak, cowardly, idiotic - and that's why we like them all the more when they come through.  Like how Gamora is OK in Guardians 1 and 2, but doesn't really shine until Infinity War when she cracks and allows Thanos to get the Soul Stone.

And here we are in total agreement. With this movie in particular it seems Marcel forget what has given their Marvel heroes such an edge over the DC attempts over the past 10 years - that they are flawed, and therefore human. When they come together in Avengers or civil war it's these character flaws that create the drama. Captain Marvel in particular needed that grounding of humanity since the whole film centers around the curious alien nature of her backstory. 

Anyway, an easily forgotten bridge film and deserving of far less of our time than we've already given it. On to Endgame, which cannot possibly live up to the expectations I'm placing on it.

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6 hours ago, LazyBoy said:

On to Endgame, which cannot possibly live up to the expectations I'm placing on it.

 

Going by the past, you're probably right!  There are many Doctor Who season finales where I really loved part 1, but not part 2.  And I remember Back to the Future Part 1 and 2 were filmed back-to-back - I loved the complexity of the 2nd, but found the 3rd one a bit simple.  I just think there's something about part 1 of a 2-part story that allows it to have more plot twists and a dramatic cliffhanger.

 

But then again, this is Marvel.  If Cap gets his shield, Thor gets Mjolnir and Banner transforms into the Hulk, the whole cinema's going to cheer!

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Just got back from seeing Captain Marvel and I thought it was great. No issues at all with her depiction in the movie or any supposed feminist message. 

Edited by Happenstance
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Also wanted to mention that I loved the tribute to Stan Lee at the beginning. Almost had me welling up.

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I too was also underwhelmed by Captain Marvel. I don't think the "badass woman" vibe was really anywhere, except when they mention how females couldn't be pilots back in the day. Black Panther flogged that horse to death in its glorified gang war film.

I just felt... meh... all the way through. As soon as they said "tesseract" I borderline switched off. It's been in about... 3-4 other Marvel films before, and these were set after this. I don't need to know its exact location throughout the timeline. They could've fisted one of the other Infinity Stones we didn't hear much about, which Thanos got his mitts on later.

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