Marvel's Phase 4

[Happenstance]

 

[MindFreak]

Looks good. Looking forward to seeing it. 

[Happenstance]

 

[bob]

Looks good. Looking forward to seeing it.

[MindFreak]

1 hour ago, bob said:

Looks good. Looking forward to seeing it.

 

[Happenstance]

 

[Julius]

First trailer for Shang-Chi:

 

[MindFreak]

Looks like any other kung fu movie with good action and a weak story. Not going to watch it unless reviews are rally good. 

[Sméagol]

I don't think it looks good. The combination of wire fu and marvel action and visuals bothers me.

That said, I am going to give it a chance, like I did with all the previous Marvel franchises I had never heard of.

And Awkwafina is in it, so at least there'll be some laughs.

[bob]

I like a good Kung Fu movie, so I'll watch it, but it really doesn't look like it fits into the MCU at all.

Also is his superpower that he's just really really good at fighting?

[Happenstance]

21 minutes ago, bob said:

I like a good Kung Fu movie, so I'll watch it, but it really doesn't look like it fits into the MCU at all.

Also is his superpower that he's just really really good at fighting?

Basically yeah.

It should fit into the MCU pretty well, this will have the real Mandarin in (the guy Ben Kingsley’s character was impersonating in Iron Man 3). I quite like the fact that it doesn’t seem to be the usual superhero stuff, there are different sides to the Marvel Universe that need exploring, like with Winter Soldier feeling like a spy movie.

[Happenstance]

Just finished watching the last episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I thought it was a good show overall. Few pacing issues maybe and a character or two that could have used a bit more fleshing out but a really solid addition to the MCU story. One thing I was really impressed with though was how they tackled the race issues. I'd expect it from Marvel as they have a long history in the comics but Disney allowing them to go as deep into it as they did was a pleasant surprise.

Can't wait for Loki next.

[Hero-of-Time]

Just finished it myself. Really enjoyed it. Totally agree with you, Happenstance in regards to how they handled the race issue.  

Spoiler

I was chuffed to bits when Sam put on the suit. I was worried they wouldn’t be faithful to the comics but I’m happy that they remained faithful to the design. 

When Sam used his booster and charged with the shield all I could think was Marvel vs Capcom...

 

Sam’s speech at the end was fantastic as was Bucky finally getting rid of his demons. 

Very interested to see how things play out in the future. Lots of things have been setup.

[MindFreak]

I haven't started Falcon and the Winter Soldier as I want to watch Civil War with my wife again before starting it. However, our baby (three months old now) isn't really treating us with a long evening and thus, we are too tired when he finally falls asleep. But I have stayed completely spoiler free, in fact, I haven't heard anything about the show, how it is received and such. Kinda funny as WandaVision was impossible to avoid.

[nightwolf]

Just finished WandaVision and wow. 

It was a fairly bold direction, but I really enjoyed it. My heart is a bit shattered, but I highly enjoyed that. Which leads us to watch Winter Soldier next. Phew! 

[LazyBoy]

Just finished F&WS - thought it was crap. Boring, tensionless, insubstantial. No fault on the actors, just substandard direction and a wet fart of a script. Shame because for it all its faults Wandavision was at least bold. Thats maybe the reason - a Vanilla palate cleanser to follow Wanda. On to Loki then.

[Julius]

10 hours ago, LazyBoy said:

Just finished F&WS - thought it was crap. Boring, tensionless, insubstantial. No fault on the actors, just substandard direction and a wet fart of a script. Shame because for it all its faults Wandavision was at least bold. Thats maybe the reason - a Vanilla palate cleanser to follow Wanda. On to Loki then.

Oh man, to each their own I guess, but I'm not sure that I agree. Definitely some pacing issues, some character arcs weren't nearly as fleshed out as others, but it felt very much in line with The Winter Soldier and Civil War in a lot of ways, both of which I really enjoyed. It endeared me much more to the returning characters in the main cast, an advantage longer form entertainment has over films. 

Add me to the camp also surprised by just how much freedom Disney clearly let them have when it came to things like how race was handled, I wasn't at all expecting it, but the fact that it's 2021 and things like this are still happening means that it's absolutely a message that we need to see more taking up the opportunity to clamp down on. What made this more substantial to me was that it clearly wasn't the only thing the show shined a light on. 

Spoiler

And that speech from Sam in the final episode went a long way in making me go from dubious of him taking up the shield, to instantly being on his side. So many important things touched on in that speech other than just race, which by itself would have already been a massive risk. The atrocities of war, immigrant issues, the powers that be having the empathetic capabilities of blu tack, etc. 

I really enjoyed it, but again, the risk it took to say something actually meanwhile - in a show which, let's be honest, didn't have to for it to be a success or get eyes on it - really boosted it in my mind.

@Happenstance rightly mentioned that Marvel has a history of doing this in the comics and animated shows, but them doing it here almost shines a light on how little that opportunity has been taken elsewhere, even elsewhere across the Mouse's empire. 

Also, loved the music, especially the callbacks (both direct and subtle) to the Cap films. Henry Jackman is great! But I've got to highlight my favourite scene in the show, because the music plays such a massive part in it...

Spoiler

The Zemo reveal at the end of Episode 2. 

I was absolutely freaking out when I heard the first note of Lacrimosa, had a massive smile on my face. It's a terrifyingly powerful piece of music, and having it tied in my mind to one of my favourite scenes from Hunter x Hunter, it's not hard to see why this scene instantly hooked me 

While I enjoyed WandaVision, it fell off hard for me in the latter episodes, so I'm just glad this show was pretty consistent in quality from start to finish. Look forward to seeing how Loki turns out! 

[LazyBoy]

You see I felt a little let down by the race issue. I don't think in the current media climate making the - "the world ain't ready for a black cap" statement is particularly bold. Instead what the series needed to do was show, don't tell. Where do we see the push back? We're given new white Cap, but we're not shown why. We're told about Isiah Bradley's struggle, but its second hand. What form does the institutional/structural racism that prevents a black cap take, and how does it manifest itself? Compare for example with The Boys, where institutional biases are presented brilliantly by the marketing side of the business - how Starlight is asked certain questions in interviews and how A-train is sold to certain audiences. F&WS could of at least given Falcon the shield initially, and then had some push back so we could see what that was like. Instead we're just told - nah, USA too racist. I agree, but prove it.

I'd need more time to consider why this is so inferior to Civil War and Winter Soldier (which I love), but I will say Chris Evans is a big miss. Also the pacing is a lot tighter in those movies, the set pieces are superb, the tension is felt strongly. 

Anyway I'll think on it a little more.

[bob]

I enjoyed it, but felt there were a few issues.

 

Spoiler

The flag smashers were really crap antagonists. The main girl Karli was just a really limp fish baddie, who lurched from trying to be a relatable, misunderstood character, to casually murdering a load of innocent people.

I was also disappointed, because I thought the show would explore more of what happened to the world after the blip, but it didn't really do that. They kept saying that the world was in turmoil, but never really showed any examples. It made the Flag Smashers plight hard to care about as they never showed you any of the injustice that the refugees faced.

The Captain Falcon suit looked pretty bad to me. I realise that they were trying to recreate something from the comics, but what the hell was going on with his mask? 

Why does it cover his neck and ears, but leave the top of his head exposed? Is the whole thing just to keep his specs on? What's with the 80s shoulder pads?

Still I really enjoyed the rest of the show. Loved the pairing of Sam and Bucky, and of course, Zemo was great. Need more of him.

 

[Happenstance]

37 minutes ago, bob said:

I enjoyed it, but felt there were a few issues.

 

  Spoilers (Reveal hidden contents)

The flag smashers were really crap antagonists. The main girl Karli was just a really limp fish baddie, who lurched from trying to be a relatable, misunderstood character, to casually murdering a load of innocent people.

I was also disappointed, because I thought the show would explore more of what happened to the world after the blip, but it didn't really do that. They kept saying that the world was in turmoil, but never really showed any examples. It made the Flag Smashers plight hard to care about as they never showed you any of the injustice that the refugees faced.

The Captain Falcon suit looked pretty bad to me. I realise that they were trying to recreate something from the comics, but what the hell was going on with his mask? 

Why does it cover his neck and ears, but leave the top of his head exposed? Is the whole thing just to keep his specs on? What's with the 80s shoulder pads?

Still I really enjoyed the rest of the show. Loved the pairing of Sam and Bucky, and of course, Zemo was great. Need more of him.

 

Spoiler

Little known fact, Falcon/Captain America is actually bald and the "hairs" you see on the top of his head are tiny little wind collectors so when in flight it powers the suit. Cover them up and he would just drop from the sky.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Fantastic (4) trailer.

[Happenstance]

God dammit Marvel knows how to put together a video

[LazyBoy]

I did fear that some owners of the big streaming services wouldn't bother going back to the cinemas, so it's nice to see that message being put out. 

[Julius]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Fantastic (4) trailer.

imnotcryingyourcrying.gif

Well, guess I'm not avoiding the cinemas this summer like I was planning to after all! Had me tearing up, boy have I missed the cinema 

(ahem, Lucasfilm, it's your turn to put something like this out tomorrow)

[Julius]

Episodes of Loki will be releasing on Wednesdays, meaning the show has been bumped up to start on June 9th. 

Have to imagine that's them wanting to spread their biggest IP throughout the week, no point cannibalising your viewer numbers by having this and The Bad Batch in direct competition on Fridays.