An Honest Look Back at MCU Phase 4...
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- Опубліковано 6 кві 2023
- The Fan Reaction to MCU Phase 4 has been Divisive to say the least, but while everyone else on the internet seems to want to focus on how The MCU is Dying and all the Problems with Phase 4, I'd like to take a more nuanced approach.
Rather than complain about everything wrong with modern MCU movies, I think it's more productive to address the flaws of every Phase 4 film in the MCU with the goal of seeing how we can improve upon them, leaning into the strengths of each project.
Just to be Clear, I like Marvel Phase 4. I think it gets an unfair amount of hate, and I take a lot of problem with how people seem to suddenly dogpile on the MCU now that The Infinity Saga has concluded. Phase 4 and The Multiverse Saga has plenty of flaws, sure, but I fundamentally disagree with the assertion that its a huge decline in quality. The Marvel Films and Marvel TV Shows now just come in a wider array of genres and have different audiences. So let this video act as a critique of Marvel Phase 4, while also being me coming to defend the latest chapter in Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
I'm Dylan, and THIS is The Writer's Block
Music Credits:
Music by Slip.stream - chief. "new space" - slip.stream/tracks/ad8b1404-b...
Music by Slip.stream - Purrple Cat "Fake Mustache" - slip.stream/tracks/cb1dbdb2-1...
Music by Slip.stream - Kupla "Afterglow" - slip.stream/tracks/21508c7a-4...
Music by Slip.stream - Purrple Cat "Lullaby" - slip.stream/tracks/e0481ea4-0...
Music by Slip.stream - Purrple Cat "Nocturne" - slip.stream/tracks/ad616474-c...
Music by Slip.stream - Mu'gambi "Sunset in Ipanema (Por do sol em Ipanema)" - slip.stream/tracks/0563f1e3-d...
#Howtofixthemcuphase4 #Ilikethmcuphase4 #themcuisnotdying #thedeathofthemcu #howtofixmarvelphase4 #theproblemwithmcuphase4 #mcuphase4analysis #mcuphase4videoessay #thewritersblock - Фільми й анімація
What did you think of Phase 4 of the MCU? Is Marvel's Cinematic Universe doomed? Or do you still have hope?
It’s a mix bag, but I like the new concepts and I definitely like the new addition to the cast. This is definitely a rebuilding season.
would you say the new avengers require some... ASSEMBLING???🤔
LOL. Good one, @@TheWritersBlockOfficial
Thank you. Thank you. It only took my team of writers a few hours to come up with that one.
I found the writing of the shows, in general, very good and the films mediocre. WandaVision, Loki and Moon Knight were exceptional. Love and Thunder suffered from too many convenient plot devices ("However will we find him? Oh this way I guess", "Oh no he's got us! Nvm he's let us go"). Multiverse of Madness and the Eternals similarly felt "almost" good. But that being said, they were all enjoyable and IMO better than the average movie produced today.
I think the Ralph Bohner joke could have worked if he was actually Evan Peter’s. If they made him the real actor then it would have worked
There's a rumour Ralph Bohner is going to be revealed to actually be Chthon.
@@Relugus Ahah what? 😂
Like breaking the fourth wall.
To hear someone on UA-cam say positive things about Eternals and negative things about No Way Home is honestly the biggest breath air I've ever heard among MCU fans. While I still do love Eternals for what it is, I can't agree enough than it should have been a TV show, and part of me still hopes that it could still get one, or at least a sequel movie.
Ayyyeeee we'll see how this video does but Imma need you to comment this more if it blows up lol. Feel like I gotta keep my head on a swivel whenever I admit to not hating Marvel post endgame. Such is life on the internet. Glad I could voice an underserved opinion and thanks for commenting. Really helps me know that the content is going in the right direction
The Eternals Webtoon is a step in the right direction in my opinion! More pepple should read it to have an idea on what an episodic storytelling could have been!
@@toryplays7776 it has a Webtoon?
Imagine a No Way Home with Kraven as a villain hunting Spider-Man after his identity got exposed. While his loved ones will still support him for his superhero antics, he is forced to be with them as Peter has to protect them from Kraven before he can threaten his loved ones as a bait to lure Spider-Man out of his webs and fight him alone. The film then, may end on Peter leaving his friends but Ned and MJ is the one who leaves New York for their own safety.
Your take on the mcu phase 4 is critical but also imforative and thanks for not acting like its a mistake if you watch those movies.
Yes, phase 4 is not the best but that doesn't mean it didn’t have good traits. If evil exists then so does Good.
Thank you! This channel is all about adding nuance to the critique of media online, so even if some of the titles or thumbnails are a bit clickbaity, I always try to deliver a quality discussion that gives people new ways to look at the subject
Yeah I like that his video isn't just "woke bad" cause that is what most videos on phase 4 are. Not all shows are for everyone, and including characters from different races, genders, beliefs isn't bad.
I like moon knight
@@bubblegunsoldier7484 same
WandaVision was the only show that worked in long terms. Charted from January 2021 to December 2021 without dropping top15 not even once, and in January of 2022 it was still charting at weekly stream views. Kept the conversation going, added new people to the Marvel fanbase, won 3 Emmys and it's the most awarded comic book media of all time, surpasing Black Panther. Loki did well, but it vanished fast.
I'm just gonna call out the main problem that's true to all of it all at once: the writing
Just listen to the dialogues. They just exist for mandated (so unconvincing) character development and plot. Thin, lacks subtext. MCU was never on Sorkin or Gilroy level but man, they were not dull either. Just listen to Strange's talk with Thanos in IW.
And this is just dialogue. I haven't got to the plot and themes yet.
Every phase has or miss writing acting likes it was perfect in phase 4 is stupid.
My biggest gripe with MCU phase 4 is actually the grounding of it all. Seeing as the universe is so big, each director that comes on board introduces a new dimensions or realm or multiverse and it all gets a bit confusing. We have the realms of Asgard, the Quantum Realm, the Galaxies, each of the realms introduced in Dr Strange, the realm introduced in Ms Marvel, etc. etc. etc. Are these realms connected? Which ones are realms and which ones are universes and which ones are planets? Its all getting a bit too macro and that makes the audience lose track of everything
I took Monica Rambeau saying "they'll never know..." not as framing Wanda as a hero, but sympathising with the fact that this grieving wife was giving up her family a second time.
I thought WandaVision was especially good, and a good example of what some of the mcu films, and films in general, were missing. Firstly (Proairetic code), the characters were very nuanced and had clear drives and values. Their actions they would take became very clear. When they were at cross purposes, like Wanda, Vision and White Vision, you could see the conflict coming a mile away. This built a lot of dramatic anticipation. And when things fell into place they felt like Chekhov guns, not Deus Ex Machina.
Secondly (Hermeneutic code), all of this is slowly revealed in pieces, building suspense and mystery. From the first episode it stokes your curiosity. Unlike "mystery boxes" they don't generally leave you unsatisfied because they aren't arbitrary and were designed from the start to piece together. Both these aspects work together to keep the audience engaged. Like Robert DeNiro explaining the movies in The Last Tycoon, it's the way the story is told that makes it compelling. For instance, think how much more impactful a Palpatine reveal would have been if they had built to a discovery at the end, rather than a throwaway line of exposition at the beginning. They wouldn't have needed a single mcguffin chase.
In the Multiverse of Madness you don't get characters with drives and values. Only flat characters, driven by necessity but not motive. Wanda is just a villain. You don't see her desperate deal with the devil to rescue her beloved children from a fever dream. She is just cold, calculating and vacant.
In Eternals you don't get any mystery, just set pieces. They don't hint at magic and secrets, they show you magic and answers. Even the big plot twists have no impact because they've invested no time building anticipation. I don't think they needed a whole series, they just needed to use their 3 hours better.
That said, I still enjoyed all of these movies despite my perceived flaws.
I get that. And I love Wandavision overall. I agree Monica isn't excusing her actions, but I feel like the show is if that makes sense. Like I think the show ends a little too cleanly, and I would have loved just a bit more of a gut punch ending. One that leaves you really conflicted how to feel.
Eternals is not an underbaked movie with great potential. It is horrible in nearly every way. Wooden acting, boring characters, terrible fight scenes. Yes, beaches are pretty, but that isn’t enough to save a movie like that.
Ok then
The way she says it feels like she is just excusing Wanda’s actions and never once did they show someone sympathise with all those people imprisoned by her. Monica just kept making excuses for Wanda and said that line as if these people who did nothing wrong to her to deserve any of that to just understand her. No she needs to gain forgiveness from them for her actions and make up for all the wrong she has done.
@@captainmarvelwilson508 Agreed 100%. Nothing wrong with having a main character do horrible things, it can make for a great story, but to do so without consequence or notice from other characters is super off putting and weird.
As someone who is more of the demographic and did watch ms marvel,, i really enjoyed it,,, it was a fun character and a cool concept exploring her circumstances as a person and superhero fan, and with her coming into her powers,,, i wouldnt say it was a magnum opus or anything,,, but it was certainly enjoyable and at minimum tied with hawkeye, maybe even beat it out in my list of fav phase 4 properties
No way home is one of my favorite movies
Yes it’s flawed and not perfect but to me it doesn’t need to be
While a spider chase arc could’ve been cool i am personally fine with what we got
At the end of the day this movie makes me feel all good inside I can straight up watch it whenever
And to answer some question yes the spell makes you completly forget about a person it even erases the person from photos and such
Also I think Peter not telling mj about him was for the best FOR NOW i feel like he will come back to her later but for now he needs to find himself and take the lessons from the other spider-men to heart
That’s just me tho
I'm so excited to see Spiderman 4 because it will hopefully explore Peter's new life of fighting crime alone and show the moral dilemma he is faced with when he has to either start a relationship with MJ or not bring her into his life because of what he thinks is the greater good.
Not enough fat horns. Please add more in future vids
On it
No way home was a perfect setup for Spider-Hunt arc .
Tobey still never reached his prime as Spider-Man or he was just downgraded to be at the level of Tom’ s Spider-Man and Andrew just fell apart as man which makes no sense since he changed at the end of ASM 2 .
Mind you , I was very excited to see them but I expected way more of them
I think a big mistake with love and thunder was opening the film with gorrs origin cause we already know what gorr was like while the characters in the movie dont find oit till late and see him as this evil monster. It would have been better if we got his origin later in the movie similar to how it was revealed in the middle of the two arcs he was in godbutcher and godbomb. Where at the beginning with thor we see him as this deranged monster but then learn he was just a man brought to the breaking point because he was wronged.
I agree on She Hulk. I think the big 4th wall break finale is ballsy, it took guts, so I can't really be mad or as much as others are. That said, it still unearned. It just feels like the 4th wall breaks are there because the writers want to be seen as clever without really being clever.
How about instead of Jen addressing us aware being on a TV show, Jen address us like we're her journal? More personal that way. Like in Clueless.
And yeah, that big of 4th wall break would be better off for Deadpool.
She hulk broke the 4th wall in the comics before deadpool.
@@mutalemwananshiku4098 So what? He still did it better.
@@ThePrinceofHisOwnKingdom its faithful to the source material. If they did the journal thing u suggest fans would have called it a cop out.
@@mutalemwananshiku4098 Fans still called the show out as bad and compared it negatively to the comics. I never read them anyway, my priority is with the story on the show/movie.
@@ThePrinceofHisOwnKingdom some fans also praised and compared it favorably to the comics. Dan Slott one of the writers of a run of she-hulk praised it. Even if the 4th wall wasnt handled great that doesnt mean throw it away it just means handle it better.
Can't believe you brought up Michael Giacchino and didn't play his most famous (arguably, of course) works from Up and, more importantly, the Mission: Impossible theme (I understand the desire to prove your point about phat horns)
I agree with a lot of what you have to say, but also have a few points of contention, so I think I'm going to have to go project by project and share my opinion. Strap in for a longboi comment! (4 comments, 3 in replies because UA-cam's being stupid, or I'm really testing the limits.)
So first, I haven't really rewatched many of these things, in fact, all of the shows, if I ever rewatched them, it was right after they concluded so I could see how the whole show played out altogether than as individual episodes, the movies I definitely rewatched after home releases, but again, not very frequently, so I don't know how well I will remember everything.
*WandaVision:* Still one of the strongest entries in the Phase, and one of the few times the TV shows were actually treated like TV shows because that's how it was designed. I will agree though that their ambiguity on Wanda's hero status is a problem. I like that perhaps her regression represses memories and she's just as confused about some things, but then she is also aware enough to just make cuts or make alternate takes in the shows Darcey is watching, so yeah, pick a lane. I don't like that the Darkhold just being in proximity can change her, but I'll touch on that with Multiverse of Madness. As for Quicksilver, well, that is contractual because somewhere it was made known that up to and through 2024, any Mutant characters had to be portrayed on screen by their Fox counterparts who still had contracts in place (or something like that), but it is odd that they didn't go the Multiversal route with it.
*The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:* First off, "Drop the, 'The,'" because that is just tedious, and we all just say Falcon and Winter Soldier anyway. It lost me in the Finale. It was an okay show, although really more just a stretched out movie, and the 5th episode is good, but then that forces everything to be in that final episode, so either you need more episodes or you need to condense everything into a 2.5 hour movie. It also doesn't help that the Flag Smashers were originally wanting to unleash a virus to reduce the population because they were a bunch of Thanos was Righters, but then Big Time Coroni stepped in and made everyone flinch. (And maybe it's with some hindsight, but maybe don't let the pandemic affect your story because people will not really care upon rewatches now that it's over, they just want good stories, and while some may feel triggered, would we have to go back and censor it had the pandemic not occurred until 2021?) I also don't get what's going on with Sharron Carter as the Power Broker and I doubt that will be resolved as part of Secret Invasion since I'm not aware that she's in that show, nor did she pop up in the trailer, but making her a Skrull would help since I just can't see someone loyal to Captain America and what SHIELD stood for and continued on to the CIA would just give everything up for the black market because times got hard during the Blip.
*Loki:* You know, I can't really remember much of this show. The best stuff is Loki with the TVA, so the middle is a bit bland for me when he's on the run with Silvie, but then the stuff at the end of time with all the Lokis and the Citadel are fun. I remember really liking the show, but I have never really felt the desire to go back and rewatch it until I know when Season 2 is, and even then, the TVA got reset so I really only have Loki to work with.
*Black Widow:* It's the best movie from 2016 that did not happen thanks to Ike Perlmutter. Honestly, it probably should have happened back in 2014, but you know, gotta make sure that movies staring women won't sell toys by never giving such things a chance to begin with to show just how unsuccessful they are. And then it got delayed a year! (Fs in the chat for not only Black Widow, but also her movie all because the world got the sniffles^.) The movie is fine, but I think you're right with where it is placed in the lineup of stories, it should have really been Yelena's movie and not just introduce her.
^This is just a joke to anyone other than Dylan reading this, Coronavirus is an important issue that's still ongoing, I'm not that insensitive. But if you read earlier, I do like referring to it as Big Time Coroni because UA-cam used to be all persnickety about saying/typing it early on in the breakout and it does add a bit of levity to a dour situation.
*What If...?:* This is easily one of my favorite things about Phase Four because it played with what we know and what should be, but gave us fun stories and then brought them all together for a Multiversal Avengers episode, which was awesome (even though that's not how the Infinity McGuffins should work since they left their universe). It could have looked a bit better, but I've been spoiled by Star Wars with Clone Wars and Bad Batch having a very unique and gritty visual design, and even Rebels and certainly Resistance were better looking than this despite being clear downgrades, although matching their respective tones. As for the voices... yeah, I don't care if they couldn't get everyone back just so long as the voices sound good because not having Chris Evans as Steve Rogers cannot possibly be worse than Sebastian Stan voicing Bucky. Some folks are better on screen, some are better behind the mic, and some can do both, and we learned that Sebastian Stan is primarily a screen actor. Lake Bell, perfect for voicing Black Widow and Poison Ivy, even acting in a live action sitcom or a comedy movie, I wouldn't have picked her for that character in Wakanda Forever as short-lived as she was, but maybe that was a consolation prize for going niche in the MCU with voicing for What If...? and people overlooking her part in that because they don't look at credits, I don't know. What's up with Val being played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus? I don't get that either, but clearly Sarah Halley Finn's got some inclination so I won't judge to harshly. Anyway, I greatly anticipate Season 2 because it should still be happening.
*Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:* Excellent retconning of the Iron Man stuff, but yeah, didn't need the big battle at the end, it needed to remain a personal one. It still works because Shang-Chi has to reconcile with the fact that his father will always be part of him, and the only way for him to succeed in defeating the Dweller in Darkness is to accept himself fully in order to control the Rings, but it became more spectacle over story, which doesn't work. Also screw the comedy bit on the airplane, it was serious narrative backstory time, and we got interrupted twice for bad comedy. There was pretty decent comedy everywhere else, but that is classic MCU overdependence on comedy. Also yeah, same v same final battle, kind of sucks how often that has happened, but it would have worked here since the powersets are just Martial Arts and Magic Rings that are mostly treated like a whip.
*Eternals:* It's good, I like it, I'm terrible at interpreting the question it asks though because I'm stupid, moving on. Actually, while a show would have probably worked for this one, I kind of like it being just a movie. I am kind of left with a "But why did we need this?" vibe despite having liked it as a movie, and I don't want to have that happen for 9 hours as a show. And don't mind me as I lean against this Caldron of the Cosmos, but did you seriously just say, "Hitherto unseen," at 14:08?
*Hawkeye:* This is a great MCU show that's actually a show while also having an ongoing narrative throughout that I wouldn't want as a movie. My biggest issue is that with each episode, it adds more and more characters, which then make the Finale a bit bloated. There's Eleanor, Echo, the red harring of Jack, Yelena getting revenge against Clint, and then Kingpin. Now it doesn't help that this was my introduction to the character, perhaps it would have hit better when in three months I finally saw the Netflix shows once they moved on over to Disney+, but even still, his presence isn't really felt throughout the series until he actually shows up, and there was a deleted scene where he would have popped up in the third episode, which perhaps could have really helped, I don't know. Still, I love that Clint just can't seem to stop having things go from bad to worse all because he did the right thing in helping Cate, and it's preventing everyone from just having a nice Christmas.
Continued in replies...
...Continued... (Part 2 of 4)
*Spider-Man: No Way Home:* Yeah, I have my issues with this movie, too. I like your take that it should have just been Spider-Man mostly on his own and dealing with the problems of his world. Having Scorpion, and maybe even introducing Kraven to hunt him down would have been cool, and then you do your multiversal stuff in a Fourth movie. My biggest issue though is that while it's nostalgia done well, all of it is very inconsistent with how it should make you feel because these are not the same characters from before, they all act differently, and one of them is here despite one of the prerequisites being that they are all characters that know Peter Parker is Spider-Man, meaning Electro should not be here. I also wish that Vulture or Mysterio (screw it, even throw Scorpion in list, too) was a threat in the movie just so that Tobey and Andrew would have to contend with Tom's villains, but Tom hasn't faced any mutated or corrupted beings, you can only break their toys and give them a stern talking to in order to redeem them instead of enforcing cures upon them. It all still works toward Tom's character journey in the end, but I don't know, it probably should have just been him, and him alone with villains of his own to face.
As for MJ, I think he did the right thing. The problem is that because she has no memories of him, they can never have the same relationship as before, and he realizes that. He can't start from scratch, and she can't regain what was lost. It's in character for Michelle to never believe him if he were to tell her, and he has no way to prove it without looking really creepy, and even if she gave him a chance at a relationship, he can't fake not knowing what happened forever, which would jeopardize the relationship because he'd be lying, which is a poor foundation to build the relationship on. And even though it's not romantic, it's even worse with Ned because they had years of friendship that has been completely changed. I think you have to think of the spell as like going to an entirely new universe. It's like Kingpin trying to steal another universe's Venessa in Into the Spider-Verse because he thinks it will make him happy. Even though it's what MJ asked for before the spell, it could become more of a selfish thing for Peter to try and keep this relationship going when there's always going to be something that doesn't feel quite right. I suppose that the worst thing that happens is that she just doesn't believe him, but that might start an addiction of trying to win her over, but that will just make both of them miserable. He can tell that she's happy, and while it may not be right of him to keep this big thing secret, it will complicate her life more than necessary and potentially ruin that happiness. And even though we're dealing with magic and Doctor Strange probably also knows what happened, there's no guarantee that the spell can be undone safely for a specific group of people, and then we're dealing with a lot of problematic ethical issues here. Also, I doubt Doctor Strange is really going to be willing to help. He acknowledged that Peter screwed up and made it right, to then return with more requests will again make things more complicated and they could almost break the multiverse again. It's already bad enough that Peter Parker effectively does not exist and it forced everyone's memories to change in some capacity, but it's another to then attempt to undo all that reconditioning and having a collection of people know that things are wrong. Unless you were to do so with magic (Which would probably be nonconsensual because who would realistically volunteer to have their brains scrambled?), there's no way it doesn't cause more problems, even if it's not worldbreaking, it will psychologically affect people. Let's say that even if Peter told her, the relationship is restored, maybe even her memories are, too, but they break up for some reason; well now she's isolated, which isn't fair. She was already a bit of a loner, but to also be alone in a world she knows has been corrupted from what she knew, like, that's not very ethical either. There's just no winning whichever way you spin it, and Spider-Man has to take the brunt of the damage for the greater good because that's what's needed of him, not because he wanted it. His wants created all these problems in the first place, and he took responsibility for it, and that means living with the consequences, even if it means having to break his promise.
*Moon Knight:* This show is frustrating because there's not really any Moon Knight in this show about Moon Knight. I'm not an expert, but this really should have just been a guy pummeling people in the middle of the night and using his personas to fight crime in the underworld of New York. Save your big end of the world Egyptian goddess resurrection plot for Season 2. That doesn't mean this story doesn't have merit, it works, but it's also just another movie stretched out over about five hours. Had they also changed the psych ward location to being something mysterious throughout the series, it would have left us wondering what was and wasn't real, but since it was saved for episode 5, there's no way you're going to pull the rug out from under us this far into the story with what had been set up. You restructure it as this guy living in London and having moments where he can't remember what's happening, and then at the end of the first episode, you have him wake up in the psych ward, and now you can let everything play out for the most part with little moments that are mirrored in the psych ward, only for you to realize that all those flashes of the psych ward happen after his adventures in London and Egypt, only to find that he's actually on the boat to the afterlife because he's been shot, and then you have the exploration of his childhood and escaping to the realm of the living for 5 and 6. But if we had gotten a normal Moon Knight story, or rather a collection of stories in a more episodic series for a Season 1, you could have thrown Blade in there. Like what if this actually introduced us to the world of ghosts and werewolves and vampires in Marvel? It's still pretty unconnected to everything else, but you have some criminal element comprised of these supernatural beings, and only Moon Knight's on the case because he's the only one crazy enough to do it until he finds that Blade and Jack Russel and Black Knight (Sersi's boyfriend from Eternals) are also trying to do the same thing, and you get a surprise Midnight Suns thing. Maybe this will happen in Season 2. Moon Knight's connected to the moon, maybe he and Khonshu can work together to make the moon full for a Werewolf to come out and help them protect the travelers of the night when things need to get serious with the criminal threat. All I know is that I really liked the 4th episode of Moon Knight, and the tag at the end of the Season where it was actually Moon Knight because he killed a guy and wasn't just fumbling about and screaming.
*Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness:* I agree, this is Wanda's movie, which is why I liked it because I kind of caught on to that pretty quick, but I still don't like that she's evil purely because of the Darkhold. Also I probably wouldn't have had a clue what was going on if I hadn't seen WandaVision, I feel like she just kind of pops up out of nowhere with this movie. And to make up for the Doctor Strangeness of this movie, or lack thereof, I'd have had Nightmare be the secret badguy running the show. Have him incept Wanda's mind, she wants her kids back, she has the means to do it with the Darkhold, maybe even Nightmare wants it, but he'll allow Wanda to use it because she has what's necessary to access whatever he wants much more easily, and then when Doctor Strange learns of who's actually behind this, he can stop Wanda, redeem her, and then you have a fun battle through the multiverse against Nightmare as he is also a multiversal being. It feels like we were on the cusp of something really good, but there's just something missing. The movie's got characters dreaming of other versions of themselves in other universes, like, come on, it's right there! With that said though, the horror action in this movie, and how it looks is spectacular. There's a lot of personality in this movie, it just needed another punchup in the story.
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...Continued... (Part 3 of 4)
*Ms. Marvel:* Dude, you did yourself a disservice by not sticking with Ms. Marvel. Absolutely, it's aimed at a younger demographic, it's got some Disney sitcom energy, but actually better, and the characters were really likable. I think were it ultimately fails is when it forgets that this is a show about teens in Jersey City, and one of them gets superpowers and is trying to learn how to use them. This show has a great first three and sixth episode, but four and five spin the wheels and set our street level hero on an adventure that deals with saving the whole world. That's something that became very frustrating at this point in the MCU. Everything is a worldending event, and it's all being taken on by relatively low-level characters.
Falcon and Winter Soldier, gotta stop people from poisoning the world with a virus. (Well, that was going to be part of the plot)
Shang-Chi, gotta stop the demon dragon in Ta Lo so it doesn't suck out everyone's souls in the real world.
Eternals, gotta kill a baby in the center of the Earth or else we're all gonna die.
Spider-Man, oops, I broke the multiverse.
Moon Knight, gotta stop the other big reptile from sucking out everyone's souls.
Ms. Marvel, gotta stop the Djin's from opening a portal to their world or it will consume ours.
Other than the Eternals, and Doctor Strange's involvement with Spider-Man, these are supposed to be normal folks with their boots on the ground for the most part. The Avengers literally just saved the entire universe from being reset in a battle with Thanos on Earth, how come Earth keeps trying to die? You're telling me that all these people couldn't just have some small personal stories where they were also just trying to keep someone from taking over a city? It's why I really liked Hawkeye because that was just a nice small scale story about a man trying to right his wrongs and get home in time for Christmas, but a plucky teen keeps making things worse, it's awesome. Ms. Marvel started off very small, but her first superhero work where she's really needed involves having to save the world when it could have just been her trying to protect Jersey City from smalltime crime like Spider-Man did in Homecoming. But seriously, Ms. Marvel had a great first episode where a number of the other's left me wanting more, I'm shocked that you gave up after it because it was pretty good.
*Thor: Love and Thunder:* Before I get started, I just want to say, that was a phenomenal transition from Ms. Marvel to Thor. Yeah, this movie's not great. It works, but it's rough. I loved it the first time in the theater, got really bored watching at home. It's ultimately a comedy first and foremost, and I think too many people were expecting it not to be, but that also doesn't lend to too much rewatchability. When I watched the behind the scenes stuff on it, it was clear they were going for the finding comedy in tragedy route and trying to mask your pain and ignore your feelings with insecure jokes, but the trailers conveyed a bit more of an epic tale than what we got. Great marketing, just poor in accuracy. As for Gorr, I get the feeling he's fully committed to killing all the gods, but the sword more or less just gives him the power to do so, I don't really get the sense that he's possessed, even if that's actually how it works. Also Eternity granting wishes... I like seeing Eternity, but Eternity is not a cosmic cube, which is all Gorr actually needs in order to get his daughter back. I also thought perhaps Jane Foster was going to become Eternity in order to avoid death, not really sure how that would work or make sense with the lore, but whatever. Also, she's totally gonna try to bargain her way out of Valhalla. Mighty Thor was the best thing about the movie to me, and I was fully expecting her to carry the Thor franchise forward, but now I don't know what they're doing since Chris Hemsworth is going to call it quits for a bit. Didn't even know that Thor was going to return, so he's in for one last movie and that's it, but Mighty Thor could continue, if she wasn't dead. I'm sure they'll resurrect her, but you know, not anytime soon I imagine.
*I Am Groot:* I am Groot, indeed. I'm honestly just happy to see it mentioned her because nobody remembers it exists when talking about Phase 4, at least from the videos I've seen. Totally harmless and inconsequential, but that's okay. I never found it a waste of time, but there wasn't much to gain from it either, it's just there to be fun.
*She-Hulk: Attorney at Law* It's a sitcom set in the MCU, and to anyone upset about that, I say get over it. Is it perfect? Nope. Is it good? Well that's very subjective. Did I enjoy it? Yep. I will say that the final episode was jarring. I don't need an explanation as to why she breaks the fourth wall, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't happen before she gets the accidental blood, which doesn't take long to get to, but it implies that she obtained a bit of omniversal awareness as part of her hulk powers, and it's a nice homage to the classic comics. If I have anything to complain about from the Finale, it's that she never really resolves the plot by removing the elements that don't make sense, she just completely changes the story, so it makes the gradual buildup from the eight episodes prior feel wasted. Like, she doesn't stop Todd and then find the lab that reworked her blood into a serum, he's just arrested now. What? Sure, avoid all the big fights, that's ridiculous, but at least have her take back what was stolen from her. Another critique of the show in general is that there isn't much work being done with her as a lawyer, and anytime she is, she's kind of fumbling at it when she supposedly made such a rock solid case that it got her hired by the law firm she was fighting against in the very first episode. And of course, it's not really possible to do with the budget, but Jen is supposed to be so at peace were her hulk form that she just stays that way, and the show kind of worked her into being in that place over the course of the Season, but then she's just not at the end, it's weird. So if there is a Season 2, I agree, make the metacommentary really mean some things to the message of the show, and then also have her be a lawyer for crying out loud. She's supposed to be one of the best, so get some writers that actually know about law and actually make a sitcom in the world of law.
Continued...
...Continued... (Part 4 of 4)
*Werewolf by Night:* Great. We need more genre pieces in the MCU. If there is one thing, I'd say make Man-Thing more puppet and less CGI in the black and white portions, and maybe a little less CGI blood splatter. You want to evoke 50s and 60s underground horror, you have to go as practical as possible, so that means puppets and bladders and janky stopmotion. If you're adding film grain and reel markers, you have to go all in on everything else to evoke the period, and they did great with the corpse, and contrast, and most of the camera movements, but it could have been a bit more authentic for me. In color, go full CGI and show how things would actually look, play with the camera in more unique ways, but in black and white, keep it simpler. If you haven't seen the Behind the Scenes, Director by Night, you have to watch it because it's not even really about the special, it's a documentary about Michael and his journey as a filmmaker.
*The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special:* I was hoping for more Star Wars Holiday Special than what we got, but what we got was so much better. Could have absolutely done without the poorly done rotoscoped animation. You'd have actually been better off getting an actual animation crew and just having interpretations of the characters like the Nelvana stuff from the Star Wars Holiday Special than doing what they did. But the story was really fun. Kidnapping Kevin Bacon to be a gift to bring Peter some joy at Christmas is delightful fun and quirky. I didn't see the half sibling reveal coming, so that was interesting, although I guess there was a deleted scene from Vol. 2 that heavily implied it, and I just don't remember that. I'm curious if that will actually play a factor in Vol. 3 or if it's just there because warm happy feelings it Christmas.
*Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:* I love this movie. It's so good. It sucks what happened to bring us to this point, but it's better than the first one in my opinion. Namor is the breakout star for me. I don't really get why we can't see Talokan in the movie though. It doesn't make him any less threatening because he's going out on the frontlines and seemingly can't be killed. The Talokanil have stronger skin to deal with the pressures of the ocean and have rather alien technology that even the Wakandans can't withstand later on. Seeing a peaceful nation doesn't really negate their strength, and it allows Namor and Shuri a chance to talk and have an understanding before everything falls apart again. Without that understanding, Shuri doesn't get the bracelet, can't recreate the heart-shaped herb, can't become the Black Panther in order to give Wakanda a fighting chance, and get Namor in a compromised state to negotiate peace with Shuri remembering that he has a kingdom of people that revere him and will avenge his death just like how Wakanda was avenging Ramonda's death. Presumably, nobody wants to listen to Shuri about what she's seen either, she can only suggest that everyone fortify defenses despite wanting to still try to find a peacful resolution when Nakia rescues her. Shuri is terrified of what Namor is capable of and just how many people he has instilled with the ideology of revenge, but you can't get that if the audience also doesn't get to see. I just can't see how you don't have Talokan halfway through the movie, it's just that tight.
Ending the Phase with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania wouldn't really change much. While it does have Kang and sets that up somewhat, Phase Two ends with Ant-Man, Phase Three ends with Spider-Man: Far From Home. There's no logic or reason that I can really tell as to why because it's really not the Avengers movies that close them out. However, Phase Two begins with Iron Man 3, which heavily focuses on the fallout from Avengers, and the other movies in that Phase kind of show just how different the world has become because of it. There's more anomalies on Earth, there's paranoia of what the future could hold, and some really insane stuff exists out in space that Earth just isn't ready for. Phase Three begins with Civil War, which kind of sets up the stakes of how Infinity War won't work to the heroes' advantages because nobody can seem to unite afterward, even when there are solo pictures. Phase Five beginning with Quantumania does say that maybe things are about to get more serious with the stakes than they have been during Phase Four. Phase Four is the testbed for a lot of things and sorting out where stories can go, Phase Five is where we start to get more serious again (a bit ironic given how it started with a very bad comedy and lukewarm action piece) and make all the pieces start to fit together for the future and make the Multiverse Saga a more satisfying adventure to go on when you reach the end. Phase 4 was a necessary process that probably had too many things happening in too many directions to give people a clear idea of what's happening, but the first two Phases aren't exactly clear either. It's all a process and you need something like Phase Three that's a bit more streamlined to get everyone excited, but the MCU still needed to find a direction to go after Endgame.
There was once something about a Cosmic and a Street Level of parallel storytelling that would eventually converge, but I'm not so sure about that anymore, and the pandemic also really messed with a couple things. Disney+ didn't help in so much as the quantity of material it demanded, but it also resulted in some very fun experiments, particularly early on with WandaVision, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki, and What If...?, doing things in ways Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and the Netflix shows didn't or couldn't. With that said, those shows that may or may not be canon, I'm still not sure, also have plenty of good and bad about them, too, that the Disney+ shows could have learned more from. In a bit of an unfortunate way, those old shows never really affected the movies, but in a way the Disney+ shows may affect the movies more than they should because even though it's been said you don't need them to watch the movies, it would have been weirder to watch Multiverse of Madness without WandaVision, and whatever's going on with Kang is going to be helped greatly by Loki Season 2 if the Quantumania post-credit scene is anything to go by. If Moon Knight or She-Hulk ever show up in a movie and there's just no explanation as to why, it'll matter more to the fans of those shows. We got Matt Murdock representing Peter Parker, and there's no telling if that's Netflix Matt or Disney+ Matt, it depends on what's canon and what would technically be their first appearance, but he's only there for one scene and makes no impact on the rest of the movie, him catching a brick changes nothing because Daredevil never shows up later since Spider-Man's not trying to fight organized crime or ninjas, he's fighting a bunch of mutated freaks from other Earths. That movie is nothing but other people from other things you may or may not have seen playing characters with the same names. Same thing with Multiverse of Madness's Illuminati where they went so bold as to have a fancast be one of the members, so you had to be in the zeitgeist to have any intended reaction.
So anyway, I'm really curious how things go from here and I'm equally excited and nervous for where the Multiverse Saga leads on the way to Secret Wars.
Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
Dude, so glad you caught the hitherto line. I was initially going to insert that clip, but I couldn't get it to flow right, so I'm glad the connection was still made!
Great point about the inconsistency of some of the characters in No Way Home. Electro being there also bugged me, even though I loved how he was utilized in this film.
Also Nightmare would have been a super cool addition, and helped alleviate some of the ambiguity
I guess Werewolf by Night is fresh by Phase 4's standards but I don't see what's special. People like to say the violence new ground, despite MoM's was far crunchier.
Also, the reveal that it was present day at the end feels like a copout, which is funny to say since I feel like never truly feels like period piece in the 1st place (the practical effect is nice but the black and white really feels like a filter).
Regarding She Hulk, I will say, the fourth wall breaking has always been a part of the She Hulk character. Now, I’m not going to claim that She Hulk is the most comic accurate MCU thing, (because it isn’t), but it is worth noting that she’s always been one of those characters that would break the fourth wall every now and then.
That’s really about the only thing I’ll somewhat defend about it, because in general, I’m really not a fan of the show.
Oh dope. Just to be clear, I enjoy the fourth wallbreaks, I just think they weren't utilized to their full potential, whereas the use of fourth wall breaking in something like the Deadpool movies is more connected and cohesive with the story at large
@@TheWritersBlockOfficial Oh I agree, I just wanted to mention that.
Who knows? Maybe season two will utilize it better?
@@Wolf_Dominic Hopefully. There's so much great potential in that series, and I really love all the characters. It's a super fun change of pace especially in the midst of a Multiverse spanning saga
@@TheWritersBlockOfficial Yeah
Honestly, I thing the CW Arrowverse explained the concept of the multiverse and explored it better than the MCU
Imo, the MCU is doomed if it stays as is. In Phase 4, it really branched out. Many of those branches are badly executed. The real problem, however, is that they don't fit together anymore, at all. Yet, they want them to stay connected. An MCU with the Eternals, Pantheons of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse Origin as well as all those other extraplanar entities and so on simply makes no sense anymore. Characters should work together to face the world-ending threats. All the shows and movies are connected, yet the stories themselves are more disconnected than ever. If they actually want to branch out, they need overarching goals that tie certain parts of the MCU together, and they need to be willing to let certain parts die, in the best case by the hero killing the villain but dying doing so. And, what they need to learn is that they need to make the Villains count. They already went through dozens of villains that should have gotten a whole phase or even multiple ones, like Thanos. Villains die in the MCU is if it was nothing, and it's starting to get unbelievable and boring. The biggest problem is that they seem unable to learn from both their mistakes and successes. They already have so much data on what has worked in all the comics, if they actually used that knowledge, they'd make movies so great that even if you don't like them, you have to acknowledge how good they are.
Marvel is in a rough and a hard place.
Wandavision should have started off with Wanda's magic making her a house, then as people started to get suspicious as to why there was just, a house there now, and Agatha showed up to investigate, have Wanda slowly start to leach power off the dark hold, without realizing, and taking people into her her, untill it started to grow and engulf the whole town.
TV is for further character exploration, an large cast and world building and politics.
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Well made and thought out video man. For the most part agree with em.
No doubt though, Moon Knight, WandaVision, Loki, Werewolf by Night, Wakanda Forever, (honestly) Multiverse of Madness, No Way Home, and Shang-Chi showed the best of Phase 4.
I’ll do may add and point out things regarding some of the Phase 4 projects (it's definitely gonna be loads of paragraphs I won't lie LMAO):
- I probably said this before, but I’ll say it again if ever, Moon Knight and Loki are the only shows that worked well as shows and used the 6-episode format really well (WandaVision, What If, and She-Hulk also worked as shows, but that’s only cause WandaVision and She-Hulk were formatted as sitcoms and What If was basically an anthology show). Every episode in both Moon Knight and Loki mattered in what each of those shows are about. Hawkeye did feel slow at the start, but technically it was a 5-episode show since the first 2 episodes premiered on the same day, so it’s basically episode 1 split as a 2-parter. Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Ms. Marvel on the other hand, definitely should’ve been films given the kind of stories they were going for, Falcon and the Winter Soldier looked it should’ve been like a nice Rush Hour film, but if it did want to commit to delving in on other themes as well as flesh out characters more, this should’ve been more than 6 episodes as 6 episodes was only be cramming things in given what they were attempting to accomplish. Similar case with Ms. Marvel, looks like it would’ve been better off like a Shazam film of sorts as this is a coming-of-age story, but it also was trying to capture that quirky teen comedy show that you’d see in Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which unfortunately looked like it doesn’t know which one it wants to commit or hasn’t really properly blend well together with.. The episodes were an on and off on how it focuses its main plot, episodes 1, 3, and 5 were very relevant whereas episodes 2 and 4 were basically not much of value, but is more centric to Kamala’s social life and family heritage. Again, there’s too much it was trying to accomplish like with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So, what Ms. Marvel should’ve been, it should’ve either be like a Shazam coming-of-age film or fully commit to a teen comedy Disney Channel show. If a Ms. Marvel film, the Clandestines would’ve worked with Damage Control. If a Ms. Marvel show, drop the Clandestines completely and let Damage Control be the looming antagonistic force that hinders and even threatens Kamala’s life and her loved ones. Nevertheless, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Ms. Marvel should’ve either be films with the kind of story they wanted to tell or have more than 6-episodes to allow characters to be fleshed out more and delve into the themes deeper. It’s pretty much why Moon Knight and Loki manage to work with the 6-episode format. However, they should never limit themselves to only 6-episodes in the end. Least let the shows have more freedom into how many episodes it needs to accomplish what kind of show they’re trying to be and what they’re trying to accomplish
- As for Moon Knight, understandable with the last episode’s blackout and Jake Lockley being introduced only by the end. However, the show was focused on Marc and Steven and fleshing them out as characters and it is challenging to introduced and flesh out a complex and weird character like Moon Knight and the show was produced way before Disney+ had introduced parental controls and added the Netflix Marvel shows like Daredevil. So, the show did feel limited on how far it can go to being violent and graphic (Multiverse of Madness was being filmed and released in theaters, so there’s a bigger audience and not really limited to Disney+ at the time and Werewolf by Night started filming right when Disney+ had introduced parental controls and added the Netflix Marvel shows). Though, Falcon and Winter Soldier did feature some graphic brutality with Sam & Bucky vs. John Walker. But the show did great with what it got and, in the end, introduced the best Phase 4 newcomer in the MCU and Oscar Isaac already among the best MCU actors. The one criticism that’s completely understandable is its Jewish representation as Moon Knight’s Jewish heritage ties into the character, which while it’s still ties into Moon Knight’s character in the MCU show, it was very done subtly and minimal. Doesn’t really hinder the story, but again is very subtle to the point it isn’t easy to notice. Moon Knight is actually the first Jewish superhero to be introduced in the MCU, but it could’ve been Wanda and Pietro as they’re both Romani in the comics, however they were not established to be Romani and are instead Sokovian, it’s unknown if they are indeed Jewish since Sokovia is fictional. So understandably, Jewish representation is non-existent in the MCU and the closest to a proper representation in a Marvel film or show was Magneto in the Fox X-Men films. However, Moon Knight is a step in the right direction of finally doing at least Jewish representation in the MCU. There just should’ve been more instances in the MCU show of tackling Moon Knight’s Jewish heritage and how it shaped the character’s behavior and personality. It’s a shame cause this is Oscar Isaac’s 4th time playing a Jewish character (the others were Joseph, basically the Jewish father of Jesus Christ, in The Nativity Story, Peter Malkin, a Mossad agent attempting to capture a Nazi WWI criminal, in Operation Finale, and Jonathan Levy, a philosophy professor who was once a practicing Orthodox Jew, in Scenes from a Marriage) and the previous 3 Jewish characters he played tied to their Jewish heritage a lot more than Moon Knight did in the show, which you can really tell when Matthew Orton, who wrote Operation Finale, only got to co-wrote episode 5 of Moon Knight, the only episode where we got to see that ounce of Jewish representation. Basically, Matthew Orton should’ve been more involve as he most likely was the only one in the writers’ room who care of Moon Knight’s Jewish heritage. Nevertheless, Moon Knight is one of the best MCU shows and introduced Moon Knight really well into the MCU, again best Phase 4 newcomer of all and love Oscar Isaac ever since, even ended up watching a lot of Oscar Isaac’s works since Moon Knight and it made me love Oscar Isaac even more (which in turn also made me angry at Star Wars for wasting such a phenomenal actor like Oscar Isaac and Marvel had to slap Star Wars for that by doing Moon Knight LOL).
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- Regarding Wanda, very much understand the criticism with regards to WandaVision, though it’s worth note to point out that Multiverse of Madness acknowledged the criticism and basically did went for the tragic hero to villain arc. In terms of logic and understanding of Wanda, this all actually makes sense. Starting with WandaVision, while she did run away scot free after freeing Westview, it is in line with her character. She knew she messed up by trapping all of the civilians in Westview and she knew what she did is unjustifiable, but she’d rather not be brought back to the Raft given her experience, most especially she has no one who can REALLY help her, throw her a lifeline like Vision did. By the end, Wanda was all alone and with no one to really help her, not even Monica could. So, she was pretty much placed in a really bad and dark spot and, unfortunately, the Darkhold is the only thing she had to turn to in order to help and understand herself. Obviously, the Darkhold has done a terrible toll on Wanda. And if you take out all of the tragic framing and elements of WandaVision, the whole story is pretty much a villain origin story for Wanda, most especially with the post credit scene of the show, which is where we go to Multiverse of Madness. The real issue was the execution and presentation on how they transitioned Wanda from WandaVision to Multiverse of Madness as Wanda revealing herself to be the culprit of kidnapping America Chavez was at the very start of the film, which was a sweep under the rug. No build up, no gradual hints, it’s just “it was Wanda all along!”. It was basically the whole 180 turn that Luke Skywalker did in The Last Jedi, albeit less extreme since we did last her reading the Darkhold and the post credit scene of WandaVision gave off a very dark and sinister endnote of what’s to come with Wanda, so there was a hint that something bad will happen with Wanda to an extent. It just felt very jarring in the end cause, again, it was revealed straight away and no presentation of how far had Wanda fallen and been corrupted by the Darkhold since WandaVision. So basically, Multiverse of Madness was attempting to correct the mistake WandaVision made in letting Wanda go scot free without properly being framed as a hero having fallen from grace and become a villain. There’s a video surrounding Wanda that pretty much makes the entire journey Wanda from Age of Ultron to Multiverse of Madness all sense, definitely check it out: ua-cam.com/video/iyZu07r6MzA/v-deo.html
- For Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, it is after all a Christmas special and it’s supposed to be fluff and full on wholesome. If anything, it’ll only add to how emotional Guardians Vol. 3 will be as the Holiday Special is the one time, we get to see the Guardians chill and have a great time together without any worry of a universal, cosmic, or even personal threat to them. Also, the Holiday Special is the very last Phase 4 project, not Wakanda Forever, so Guardians Holiday Special is what closes Phase 4 off lol.
- Lastly in regards to She-Hulk’s 4th wall breaking, given the kind of character She-Hulk is, there’s no need for an explanation as to how she’s doing all the 4th wall breaking. IT WAS NEVER NEEDED TO BE EXPLAINED. Not even the comics really explains that, She-Hulk’s really supposed to be wacky and bizarre. If there’s a good way to deal with She-Hulk’s 4th wall breaking, just keep it limited to her own show or project, basically if the project’s title has “She-Hulk” in it, she’ll more than likely do 4th wall breaking. Otherwise, She-Hulk won’t really be doing any 4th wall breaks where it’s not really her own project. It’s practically the best way to work around the wacky and nonsensible side of She-Hulk in the rest of the MCU without needing explanation and taking it away. She-Hulk already has other qualities that stand her out from other characters other than her ability to break the 4th wall like how very charismatic and witty she is around her peers and the kind of energy she can bring with other established MCU characters as well as being a notorious player like Daredevil.
Yeah, there's a lot I said here, but very worth to say it here and this channel is such a good place for discussion, so I can't help it lol
But indeed, Phase 4 is a mixed bag, basically Phase 1 and 2 quality (when Phase 1 had Iron Man, it also had The Incredible Hulk 2008 film. And when Phase 2 had Winter Soldier, it also had The Dark World), but there's loads of projects that it is hard to get into cause of how mixed Phase 4 is (you'd get awesome projects like Moon Knight, WandaVision, and No Way Home, but then you also get iffy projects like Eternals, She-Hulk, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier). So it's a good thing Marvel is taking it easy and delaying the projects and do things better. Though I'll say (and I may also already said this), Quantumania definitely feels so lacking when compared to pretty much almost all of Phase 4. Flaws and all, Phase 4 had depth, which is what Quantumania lacked. Quantumania, again, could've been like Dark World had it not been for Kang, Janet, and the visuals as well as certain moments like the probability storm scene, carrying Quantumania hard.
(...yeah I'm so passionate to the point I talked about a lot what I was talking about, especially when I like something hahahaha)
5:51 My thoughts exactly! Why DIDN’T they do that!?
Its anyone's guess
@@TheWritersBlockOfficial I still call it “Captain America and the White Wolf” anyway, but yeah, would’ve been nice if it was official the title by the end. You were so close yet so far away, Marvel…
Did you really just say hither to unseen??
Big fat disagree on L&T, after more or less agreeing with you on the previous P4 projects.
"There are definitely some things they could improve on", to call that an understatement is a massive understatement. L&T was sitting on piles of gold and they took the dirt instead.
You get a far superior 80s comedy fantasy adventure from Ragnarok. Hell, I thought L&T would follow up on that. But the movie is only 80s at the start. The rest of the movie felt like a mediocre mid 2000s comedies.
Russell Crowe's Zeus is just a poor man's Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster. Really³ poor.
Waititi described raganrok as a 70s space fantasy and love and thunder as the fun 80s adventure movie. And he said himself he didnt want to just to make ragnarok again and do something different. I think if it was a little longer and fleshed its ideas more and toned some of the silliness a little bit it would have been better. Cause its obvious alot of stuff was cut.
@@ThePrinceofHisOwnKingdom i think crow was funny as zeus.
To me, MoM was still Strange's movie. Yeah, Wanda kickstarted the plot but he at least had an arc.
I agree with you on Wanda. In WV, the writers were too cowardly to portray her villain turn. So I thought her being full on villain of MoM is the only natural way.
And yeah, I DO love Wanda as villain, with Olsen and Raimi making her all Sister Ruth. EXCEPT Mike Waldron was the opposite of WV writers, making Wanda too much of a villain right out the gate. It's like he never even considered her an Avenger before. And this is the weirdest part, _Waldron also got cowardly and made the Darkhold the real villain_ .
This trope is so dead (and they even used it again on Gorr. Bruh). They should've started out slow with Wanda but then committed in making her a full blown villain at the end.
This is my cousin's pitch so credit goes to him
Picture Dr. Strange 2 as just a battle of magic between the Sorcerer and the Witch? No multiverse stuff.
Wanda starting out as this person in grief and despair before as conflict rise, she spirals into mad villainy. Strange starts out as the more steady but as the stakes climb, he grows more and more extreme.
At the center is the McGuffin person, Chavez (or not since her shtick is multiverse). Strange still had to choose to spare or sacrifice her at the end, but this conflict would be more pronounced. Also at the center is Wong, who appeals to the wiser side of Strange.
This pitch would also suit Raimi better because multiverse is hard science and that's not his style. Witchcraft tho? He started his career on it. MoM is literally at best whem it went full Evil Dead and you could literally spot which part is Disney's.
The end of wandavision clearly showed the darkhold being the the thing that was corrupting wanda so it isnt cowardly. Also its actually a trope for sam raimis spider-man films to have the villian be under the some bad influence like norman osborn in spider-man 1 and doc ock with the arms controlling him and sacrificing himself at the end of the film.
@@ThePrinceofHisOwnKingdom also multiverse was first brought up in the first doctor strange so its is a natural progression for this film to do the multiverse.
@@mutalemwananshiku4098 It's still too jarring for Wanda. I know Raimi did the trope for Doc Ock and Green Goblin but those guys earned it. Their arc permitted it. Wanda didn't.
@@mutalemwananshiku4098 A small mention don't make it a natural progression.
I am a woman, and i hate she Hulk. Absolutely nothing in it spoke to me or made sense. Also, it is a horrible lawyer show.
I love your ideas about everything I do think Falcon and the winter soldier is underrated thought and needed a little more tweaks and should’ve been a 2 and half hour movie instead but I do disagree with the Loki part I loved everything about Loki
"They'll never know what you sacrificed for them" was one of the worst parts of that series. The best series that tripped and stumbled the last two episodes (the final one particularly).
I'm probably way too old to enjoy it, but I really liked Ms Marvel. You don't have to be a 15 year old girl to find value in the show
Oh yeah I by no means meant to imply that. Its Moreso that people who didn't gel with it were whining about not having EVERY piece of mcu content targeted specifically at their demographic. Im excited to go back and watch the whole series when time permits
I would argue that the "problems" with Phase 4 are more a reflection on how improbably good phases 1-3 were.
Despite a couple of duff films, The Infinity Saga was an insanely successful piece of work. They made a series of 23 films that vary in tone, style and genre, and made their eventual culmination work well, such that there were deep emotional reactions from fans. Many others have attempted this in the last decade or so, but no others have succeeded - DCEU is a mess, Monsterverse has hardly moved, and The Dark Universe was aborted as soon as it left the gate.
Perhaps the Inifinity Saga was just lightning in a bottle and will never be repeated. And I can live with that.
About your critique of the Eternals: I don't personally think a movie has to answer the big questions it raises, he fact that it raises the questions gives you something to think about, and its not really a movie's place to tell you how to feel about God.
DAMN... i love your idea for no way home with Peter on the run. It would def explore new stuff but isnt the tone of spiderman movies a bit to light hearted for a "on the run" movie. Maybe im wrong.
Thanks
This is a treasure and a balm
Honest and Nuanced are a little buzzy. For critique; the video is critiquing, but not critical. Good job though finding the positive spin where others have done little to venture that way. Understandably so why they have. Sure the direction might be a bit different what people want for phase4, but it is also the quality that is driving people away. Haha, and the politics.
You make many good points in your essay. Marvel lost my viewership a quarter of the way through, so now I only pick onsie twosies of P4 I watch. For me, the positives and the energy worth to find them in each show/movie isn't worth it. Keep enjoying what you enjoy and keep working at your craft. I mentioned the honest and nuanced and critique (for me) because those mean fair and balanced, which I believe was skewed to only the positive side here. Even noted early on that other videos show the problems, a fair review and a fair shake still needs the balance of both, but I guess that all is up to you and your intent and my view on the title vs the content. To each their own.
Thats worth watching and supporting just from the captions. There is WAY too much 'woke hate' on Marvel movies. However, I disagree that they aren't a drop in quality, I would argue they most certainly are. I'd even argue its becaues of the way they address gender issues. Where I draw the line is that a lot of people use that as a crutch for their own societal complaints and personal beliefs.
Disneys takeover had a HUGE effect. What happened in phase four was a 'dumbing down' of plots and characters to fit a younger audience and more international audience. I take as my 'control group' The Winter Soldier which is a 'buddy action movie' but whose plot was practically a mirror image of what was going on politically at the time. Almost LITERALLY at that time they were reporting the security apparatus in the US was unconstitutionally gathering data on americans. The CIA and FBI are pretty secretive as it is, but with those reports seemed to be 'going rogue' as American expansionism into Iraq had just gone full steam into Libya as well. Now, even if you disagree with that, I can point to all kinds of themes, dialogue, etc that have close parrallels. My arguement has always been it was SO close to american politics that they HAD to go 'into space' and dial it back to the 'cartoon villain'.
In other words, that was an ADULT movie. It was like watching Three Days of the Condor, it even had Robert Redford in it, likely for that very reason. AFTER that we started to go into space and the plots were more abstract. But when Disney took over just after, OK, I forget which, but Disney is known for KIDS movies. And BAD kids movies. Women have always been disneys biggest critics. They do ALL genders poorly, but the women especially are, well, cartoon characters. Now ALL the superhero movies are cartoon characters. NOW Captain Marvel looks like a damn good movie. Dr. Strange, Eternals, Thor, and Ant Man are just 'kids movies'. Which is why they are even REQUIRED to have kids. That america kid, Ant mans kids, the kids in Thor. Disney and their damn kid obsession, at the same time, agreed, I should have grown up past superhero movies, but dammit, they're the only thing where people DO something besides talk. I don't mind talk, but when thats ALL you do, its freaking boring. How much actually needs to be said? Thats another issue but Marvel was never 'dark adn personal' like DC, but they were at least ADULT stories. Not 'big monster comes, colourful superhero beats them up....go buy our happy meal".
I really agree with most of your opinions, but I think your view on No Way Home is wrong. Well, actually, I think your suggested revision of it is wrong.
I do agree the movie has its problems, but I think that's more of an attribute of the trilogy and writing of Tom Holland's character as a whole rather than the actual writing of the third film. See, I think Tom Holland's Spider-Man falls into the same hole as Andrew Garfield's, where there is not a very consistent character arc for the character, at least not as strong as Toby's. I think forcing Tom Holland into being alone for most of the third film would not be the correct choice simply because it would not support the story of the character in the trilogy. Furthermore, I think the story set up throughout the trilogy may not be satisfying as a trilogy simply because Marvel is intending for Tom Holland's story to extend further then just a three film feature.
Tom Holland's story seems to revolve around his struggle around becoming a superhero. He is eager to save, but reckless, and the first film captures that struggle. The second film, again, captures his hesitance and inability, as Iron Man is no longer there for him, but he rises to the challenge and establishes his ability to be Spider-Man once more. If the third film focused on him being alone and on the run, I think it would have diminished the eventual sacrifice that Tom makes. I think the most key element of No Way Home is that sacrifice he makes at the end, deciding to give up his relationship with MJ and Ned in order to keep them safe. I understand it may not be his choice to make, but it certainly captures the theme of Spider-Man, that being sacrifice and responsibility and satisfyingly concludes his own character arc.
If instead the film followed him being alone and on the run, unable to contact his friends and family, it may have served as a more satisfying conclusion to a trilogy, but fail to set-up a interesting future for the character. If they still decided to follow that story with him sacrificing his relationships, the effect wouldn't be as poignant, as the original film depicted just how much Ned, MJ, and Aunt May meant to him, and how that loss is crippling emotionally.
The third film is a great conclusion to a trilogy, in my opinion, because it settles the conclusion of Tom's arc. He has grown to be a super hero and, more importantly, Spider-Man. As such, he has accepted the notion that being a super hero has its disadvantages, and has accepted the sacrifice of limiting his interpersonal relationships, as he has been granted great power, and thus has a greater responsibility to serve those with his power than serve himself. The build-up of his relationship with MJ throughout the trilogy, his friendship with Ned, and his relationships with all those that know him as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man all serve to make his ultimate sacrifice that much more powerful, and, correctly, demonstrates the sacrifice that comes with being a super hero.
I don't see how drastically changing the tone and style of a series will benefit the show in regards to She Hulk...I watched it but I was extremely detached from what it felt like to watch a Marvel property. If you're going to those lengths to separate yourself then why not just make a different character. Plus Jessica Gao and the cast were open about antagonizing the male fan base which, let's face it, made Marvel what it is. Not liking this series can't be solely attributed to thinly veiled misogyny.
Great video I totally agree with these opinions!
A) thank you!
B) even if you didn't that would be fine. Its important to discuss ideas and listen to others, but never feel like an opinion only has value if its agreed with
Just wanted to say thanks for a great video. I would recommend you get a bit further into Ms Marvel, I absolutely loved it and I don’t think it’s just for young girls to watch!
A) thank you!
B) yeah I definitely will especially after seeing the Marvel's trailer. I know some people didn't react well too it but super hero freaky Friday is kind of my exact jam as long as they do it well
I agree with some of your points but i think everything that you want in spiderman no way home is horrendous and wouldve have made it way worse
Marvel’s worst phase. TFATWS, Secret Invasion, Black Panther 2, Black Widow and DS2 were alright. What the ‘Loki’ show became and ‘Thor’ disappointed me *GREATLY* they were my favourites! 😢
It was a bit disappointing this to see you didn't watch the whole of Ms. Marvel! Maybe it's because I'm in the target demographic, but I thoroughly enjoyed a tv show that avoided Marvel's main pitfalls, that being
a) run of the mill characters that die by the end of the series/movie
b) being on too large of a scale for what the story needs
c) not feeling as if it is part of the marvel universe OR being too reliant on other marvel properties
Ms Marvel felt like such a delicate mixture of all of these things and I believe it was really beautifully done, way better than Multiverse of Madness even imo
Im going to watch it very soon. Kamala was my favorite part of the marvels
I am so sick of people saying “well the previous movies you loved had flaws, so why are you judging these later movies for having them? blah, blah, blah”. Just because the best movies of the previous phases have flaws, for the most part they were not so bad that they ruined the stories of those films. Most of them were merely nitpicks. Phase 4 on the other hand is just filled to the brim with ample amounts of flaws including some plot holes, overuse of comedy, lame villains, and CGI that everyone can make fun of. I am not saying earlier movies didn’t have these problems, like Ronan being a generic villain in Guardians 1, some parts of the comedy in Civil War, which weren’t funny and the laughable CGI in Black Panther’s final fight, but they didn’t overshadow the many good things those films had. In these recent films those problems are far more prevalent than ever including Black Widow’s underwhelming script made with one of the worst villains in the franchise, the various moments of bad CGI like Yelena in front of a green screen, the floating CGI head in Love and Thunder and MODOK from Quantumania as well as the many unfunny jokes in Love and Thunder and Quantumania. The only films that were good were No Way Home and Guardians 3, which were still funny, had mostly good CGI and had great dramatic scenes to balance that comedy out. Those two movies had their problems for sure and are not masterpieces, but they had plenty of that fun mixed with drama that most of the phase was missing.
Ok
Subscribed for constructive criticism :)
Thanks!
I completely agree with you on No Way Home. It’s a good fan service film, but the multiverse happens in the wrong story. Once the villains are there it’s like a new movie just begun. Also, what’s weird is that it’s simultaneously the most and the least Spider-Man movie of the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy. Spider-Man is alone and relies on himself and the friend he made during the trilogy, and deals with Spider-Man villains and not disguised Iron Man villains. But it’s also the movie where the villains are the less personal to MCU’s Spider-Man, and the story is clearly a Doctor Strange story, where the objective is to correct the mess Doctor Strange made, and in the end it’s Doctor Strange who casts the spell to send back everybody.
Great points
She Hulk really hammed on the narrative that women are oppressed and that all men are bad. People didn’t hate the show because of “misogyny” but instead from its misandry and bad writing.
No. Dude, no, you do not compare Thor L&T to Neverending Story... Like, I disagree with many of your opinions but I can see where you're coming from, but this... Just no.
“The MCU is not dying, if you don’t want don’t look at it anymore”, it’s funny because the latter is happening and it’s the indication that the MCU is dying.
I’m sorry but I completely disagree with your entire video essay.
All good. What points do you take issue with?
@@TheWritersBlockOfficialbro won’t respond lol he’s a troll
Haha fair. I just like to give them a chance not to be
Yeah, No.... Phase 4 sucked
I (mostly) enjoyed phase 4 my biggest problem with it was if you had anything bad to say about it people were armed and ready to jump at you for it
That's really interesting. My experience was kind of the opposite. Any acknowledgement of positivity was met with disbelief and insults. Why does the internet so often only show us the worst parts of itself when there are so many good people/communities out there???
You can't fix woke and stupid.
good job missing the entire point of balanced and thoughtful criticism