Real Talk: The Marvel Problem
Even when it’s different, it’s always more of the same
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To start things off, I won’t make this a DC vs Marvel argument. I won’t even bring up my popularly controversial Batman v Superman vs any Marvel movie (or any movie in general) argument. In fact, I will leave DC out of this conversation as much as humanly possible and I will stick to the main problem at hand, and that problem is that Marvel, while always undoubtedly charming, is churning out the same movies; the literal identical shit over and again.
Now when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or the MCU for short) I will say, these movies do a phenomenal job at being fun and shiny but if you read between the lines, all they’re doing is dressing up their formula in different looks.
By being either standalone pictures or irrelevant bridges to the next movie, each new Marvel entry has proven that, post Phase One, no one has any clear vision for the future of this franchise. After the first Avengers (2012), each film has tediously limped from one baton to the other all leading to a one-day showdown between the series’ big bad Thanos; a finale that regardless of it being split into two parts, will be inevitably impossible to satisfy.
There’s just too much hype. By the time all is said and done, there will have been over ten years and more than twenty films and with it seemingly all closing in on Thanos, the post Phase One films have proven that this is a franchise that doesn’t want to take itself seriously as an overall building story or character arc. Each film is far too settled on being a two hour fluff filler. It’s all big and shiny and goes for far too many laughs, that ultimately there’s no way it’s going to amount to anything when it’s all over.
If you were to ask me my opinions on the MCU even four years ago, I would so blindly defend these movies that I’d even write up a positive review of Thor: The Dark World, which is ironic considering that the film is arguably the lowest point of the entire Marvel series. Since then I have grown resentful towards this franchise that even when it shines (Guardians being the only truly shiny example), it never weighs enough to truly make me care after it’s over.
And honestly, you might think “if you don’t like it, don’t watch it, simple as that,” and normally, I wouldn’t speak up on this sorta thing, but there was a time where I truly loved what this universe had to offer.
By the time we reached the first Avengers film, I actually felt like these stories and characters were actually evolving and building to something bigger and greater. Even at the lowest points of Phase One (Iron Man 2) and even when it may have felt a little TOO ambitious (Thor, CA: First Avenger); even when Ed Norton’s Incredible Hulk felt incredibly outdated (knowing Ruffalo fits the part so well hinders a rewatch), Joss Whedon STILL made The Avengers feel like a worthwhile payoff that would be the beginning of something extravagant, never before seen on film before.
Because no other film franchise has ever woven together so many characters and stories and on paper it all sounds remarkable, but if Phase Two taught us anything it’s that this franchise is afraid to take risks.
Phase Two was where everything started to become problematic. It had good intentions but it was doomed to fail as it didn’t amount to much. Essentially Phase Two tried to disband the heroes from their sense of nobility; it attempted to strip them of their inhibitions and throw each Avenger through a personal ringer. Naturally this should be the next phase of progression for the hero’s journey but the final product shows anything but progress.
Iron Man 3 kicked off Phase Two and while it arguably contains the most clever script of the trilogy and is directed to astute attention thanks to Shane Black leaving a lasting impression, the folks who hate on IM3 only remember it for the Mandarin twist when in all actuality the film’s loud, bland finale suffers more than anything else.
Thor: The Dark World was next and it just proved to be so much of an irrelevant building bridge that I can barely remember anything about the actual movie beyond the plot’s highlights, which if memory serves correctly, Natalie Portman gets possessed by red smoke, Loki “dies” but not really and there’s a giant CGI monster that threatens to destroy all of mankind (a would-be trope for the future of the entire MCU).
Captain America: Winter Soldier proved to be the most worthwhile sequel because it worked as a political thriller and much more. It didn’t have a cookie-cutter villain and it stuck to a tight, twisty script. It was more standalone but it worked and is arguably the best Captain America movie we’ll ever see.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the singular highlight of Phase Two if only for the film’s rebellious ability at going against the MCU workflow (AKA the main formula) if you will. The characters were goofy but they knew it. The film featured a meta sense of self aware humor and a pop 1970s soundtrack that was backed up by legitimate character development; character development featuring a snarky talking raccoon and a noble tree voiced by Vin Diesel. The film is easily the most snark, cynical and sarcastic of any Marvel movie and perhaps that’s why it works so much better than it deserves.
And finally we have the one-two punch of Age of Ultron and Ant-Man and honestly most days I can’t decide which one is more frustrating.
Just when it seemed like Phase Two was rocky but leading to something big, we get slammed with Avengers: AOU and honestly, it’s not as bad as some folks say but it’s arguably Marvel’s sloppiest and most irrelevant entry (possibly being bested only by Iron Man 2). Joss Whedon returned and you can tell he truly tried his hardest to make it work. In the end, it’s far too overstuffed with too many characters and Whedon’s clash with Kevin Feige definitely shows, the main dispute being a decision to ax the Hawkeye farm scene or the Thor cave-pool scene (the film contains both scenes - the farm is too long, the cave-pool is too forced). The end result of the film boils down to a giant CGI cluster f**k of a final battle and the whole thing is super sloppy Joe. It serves no purpose to exist as a standalone story because it’s so focused on connecting all these dots. That said, Ultron wasn't bad but it was easily the first sign of this massive bridge not being able to hold water.
Then we have Ant-Man... I understand the decision to take the focus away from something as gigantic and as insufferable as Ultron and most people applaud Ant-Man for being a "sweet little heist film," but this was the first movie in the MCU that I can say is outright bad. Edgar Wright should have stayed on board (he dropped out due to creative differences - Seeing a trend here?). It's not even that Ant-Man doesn't have much going for it (it doesn't); it's not even that it's an incredibly silly movie (the fight with Falcon demonstrates as such); I'll even go as far as to say the problem isn't that the filmmakers made the vastly impressive feat of producing a Paul Rudd that isn't funny; it's the incredibly tiresome, predictable, formulaic way the film chugs along that makes it as forgettable as it is.
Sure, the shrink-technology looks cool and it's all zany and entertaining for the audience but honestly, strip away all the details of the story, pepper the character motivation, and the bare bones of the script is Iron Man. Think about it. Rebellious, stubborn funny guy gets in a bad situation that involves the discovery of a tricked out suit. Rebellious man learns how to use the suit as a force for good and changes his ways. MEANWHILE (cue the evil billionaire's lair)... Some corporate man who works for the company that created the special suit designs one for himself. The finale is a showdown of good vs. evil, both characters fighting in their super suits. Good guy beats bad guy. The once prior rebel is now deemed a hero in the eyes of the public. It's MARVEL FORMULA 101.
And honestly, sure there aren't many Ant-Man haters out there but it's not even that I hate the movie itself, I hate just how formulaic it is and just how blind people have become to the formula. The end of Phase Two left such a sour taste in my mouth because I realized this is a franchise that has plans to go literally no where. And if Ultron proved to be an irrelevantly overstuffed bridge to "the next one," and Ant-Man was a silly clone of previous comic book movies, it wouldn't be until the following Spring when Phase Three would unveil the pretentious notion of fanboy wars.
When Captain America: Civil War was released so closely to Batman v Superman, an inevitable line was drawn (I said I wouldn't make this about DC and I won't) and honestly, all commentary on BvS aside, the backlash that came from fanboys; all the blind praising and wanking to Civil War made by critics and fans alike made me resent what Marvel has become. The fact that folks raved about CW, calling it the next big thing; hailing it as a masterpiece and the best entry in the MCU thus far, showed me that most Marvel fans are 100% blinded by the formula.
The Russo brothers do a remarkable job at crafting their action sequences, but much like Ultron, the movie serves no purpose to actually exist.
JUDGE ME ALL YOU WANT
Civil War is a 2+ hour argument of "my dad can beat up your dad," and by the time we reach the airport fight (which is at once the most exciting and obnoxious part of the movie), we realize none of it matters. Characters throw CONSTANT zingers at each other during their childish banter (to the point where Falcon mutters to Spider-Man, "Ya know kid, during a fight there's usually not this much talking.") Sure it's meta, but it's too cute and creates no impact for the franchise. Even for a moment that's oh-so devastating as Don Cheadle getting shot of the sky, he's not even killed or majorly injured.
Worst of all, the finale boils down to an emotionally charged fight between Iron Man and Captain America and where the film heads towards a divided split, the film actually has the audacity to patch things up in the very end. I get it; Russo's wanted to set the stage back to square one so that when people tune into Infinity War without having seen Civil War (it will inevitably happen), they won't be confused. It infuriates me to no end because it shows zero efforts in making a lasting impact on the franchise. For a little while, CW showed signs of making a difference. Save for the all-time low villains (Zemo is forgettable, even while watching the film), CW only proved that no one at Marvel actually wants to break the formula. Sure, they let James Gunn and Shane Black have a creative voice but what impact does it serve in the end?
I became so resentful towards the immaturity of Marvel f**k boys that I actually lost all interest in seeing the next entry, Doctor Strange; a flick I legitimately had initial desire to take in.
*INSERT IRRELEVANT COMPLAINT HERE*
Flash forward to 2017 and we continue Phase Three with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and honestly, at this point Guardians are the only entries I'm legitimately invested in. Folks knock the film for going too far with the slapstick but all jokes aside, at least the movie had character development and an ACTUAL villain that didn’t completely suck. With those aspects alone, it achieves more than almost any other entry in Phase Two or Three (my love for Guardians is definitely strong but hey, it really hits home).
And save for my unabashedly stubborn affection for Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, Homecoming just looks silly. I know, I know, I've heard great things and I love Michael Keaton but I'm not ready to dive into another PG-level kid-friendly flick... Or so I thought.
This last weekend finally rolled out Thor: Ragnarok and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it (hence the novella) and honestly, this MIGHT be Marvel's most obnoxious movie yet.
Without spoiling or turning this into a full fledged review, I will say that I can't think of the last movie in the MCU that felt so reliant on its gimmicks than Ragnarok. When I kept reading early reviews that kept praising the film for its humor, I never actually expected a two-hour joke fest.
That's no exaggeration either. Every scene from open to close is filled with jokes, many of which are not funny. Each frame is suffocated with forced humor and it really makes me question how much ground this entire franchise truly has to stand on.
This is coming from the guy who actually dug the initial Thor movie. It may seem a bit weak but at least Kenneth Branagh was able to infuse the Shakespearean world of Asgard with the Hercules themes of gods amongst mortal men. It was small but at least it balanced the elements needed to make Thor a believable and not an outrageously ridiculous character.
Ragnarok is a frustrating experience if only because all jokes aside, it’s literally the same shit we’ve seen repeatedly in comic book movies. The plot points are utterly predictable, the action sequences are loud and bombarded with overbearing CGI, the villain was one of the worst yet (Cate Blanchett does her best but she can’t outweigh the one dimensional aspects). I mean, how many times is some cardboard villain gonna threaten to take over the world with no believable motivation? And I literally cannot emphasize enough how much humor is thrust upon the audience.
Although this guy is pretty great.
I get that it’s difficult to take the bodacious realm of gods in Asgard seriously, and the humor does help outweigh the whole thing from feeling absurd, but even the smallest moments of actual drama (like the three minutes of screen time Anthony Hopkins has) are not only emotionless, but they’re completely overshadowed by lazy punch lines that go for belly laughs. This is no longer a sci-fi comic book adaptation; it’s a straight up comedy that happens to star Hulk and Thor. You almost feel like no one has the confidence to make a Thor movie feel like Thor anymore.
It’s as if Taika Waititi (whose films I adore by the way) watched Guardians and was like “We need to do this,” and doubled the comedy and silly self aware antics. Waititi cranks the dial up to eleven and much of it is superbly obnoxious. For one, the Ragnarok previews were plagued with Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song,’ but to play it in the actual movie? TWICE? Its not even a Thor movie; it’s a Guardians movie dressed up in Thor’s clothing.
It’s as if Taika Waititi (whose films I adore by the way) watched Guardians and was like “We need to do this,” and doubled the comedy and silly self aware antics. Waititi cranks the dial up to eleven and much of it is superbly obnoxious. For one, the Ragnarok previews were plagued with Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song,’ but to play it in the actual movie? TWICE? Its not even a Thor movie; it’s a Guardians movie dressed up in Thor’s clothing.
And that’s my point folks; We’ve seen it ALL. If most of the Marvel movies leading up to Ragnarok have been imitators of other generic comic book movies, Ragnarok is an imitator of Guardians; a BLIND imitator.
And sure, you could argue many different aspects against this notion; that it’s hard to come up with original material these days; that every film is influenced by other films; that all these stories are based on existing comic books that have been around for over 50 years so we should give them the benefit of the doubt; that’s all true. But when the narrative and the personality of the films become so routine; so silly and so painfully predictable, it makes me wonder how anyone beyond a child can eat these movies up and take them seriously.
That's no disrespect to the adults out there either. I think it's great that adults can still get something out of these movies. I get that it’s the childlike sense of wonder that keeps grown-ass adults trekking back to the theater for each new Marvel installment; I understand the intimate, nostalgic connection fans keep with these movies no matter what age; it’s magical. Sure. But if anyone has watched a movie in their life, especially a movie from the MCU, they should know exactly what to expect by now. Every beat of the script in Ragnarok is unbearably predictable. Even when you don’t know what joke is coming, you know there’s going to be a joke.
It’s ridiculous; It’s childish. I get that these are certainly supposed to be kid friendly pictures but an end result like Ragnarok’s is one that feels more like an insult to the intelligence of adults who try and get anything new out of this franchise, and perhaps that's my error for misconstruing the end-goal of all these movies. There’s nothing new to take in. Even the funniest moments of Ragnarok (most of which go to Jeff Goldblum) are trumped by almost any joke in a Guardians movie. Because at least Guardians fit the cynical, sarcastic self aware world they live in. Ragnarok is a poor imitator. I truly don’t hate it but I hate how no one can see right through the repetitive antics.
It’s ridiculous; It’s childish. I get that these are certainly supposed to be kid friendly pictures but an end result like Ragnarok’s is one that feels more like an insult to the intelligence of adults who try and get anything new out of this franchise, and perhaps that's my error for misconstruing the end-goal of all these movies. There’s nothing new to take in. Even the funniest moments of Ragnarok (most of which go to Jeff Goldblum) are trumped by almost any joke in a Guardians movie. Because at least Guardians fit the cynical, sarcastic self aware world they live in. Ragnarok is a poor imitator. I truly don’t hate it but I hate how no one can see right through the repetitive antics.
And moving forward? Good Lord, how can anyone look forward to the finale of this bloated franchise? By the end of this run, ten years and twenty films later, there’s no chance the galactic showdown with Thanos will live up to the hype. Not only because the franchise has proven it doesn’t want to evolve much but because it’s literally going to be impossible to truly appreciate it.
Really holding out for Brolin, here.
Civil War was overstuffed to all hell and that juggled what, sixteen characters? Reports on Infinity War have marketed the movie with over 60 main characters (SIXTY) and honestly, people need to get honest with themselves. Even with two feature length parts to the finale, there’s no chance that even a quarter of those characters will get the recognition they deserve in order to fulfill any legitimate character development. Expect lots and lots of cameos to meet the record breaking quota but with that many characters stuffed into even two films, there’s no shot at these characters meeting a worthwhile finale.
Josh Brolin’s teases and even his small scenes as the mad titan Thanos has proven him to be no different than the worst villains to disgrace the franchise. I mean, a large, angry CGI purple alien that’s inevitably gonna get mad and cause lots of animated destruction with a minion of computerized aliens, all because of some silly motivation in wanting to gain ultimate power over the universe? I pray that I'm wrong but unless the Russo bros. find a way to express Thanos’ character development in a believable manner, there’s literally no way this finale will live up to any hype. It’s just not going to happen.
Josh Brolin’s teases and even his small scenes as the mad titan Thanos has proven him to be no different than the worst villains to disgrace the franchise. I mean, a large, angry CGI purple alien that’s inevitably gonna get mad and cause lots of animated destruction with a minion of computerized aliens, all because of some silly motivation in wanting to gain ultimate power over the universe? I pray that I'm wrong but unless the Russo bros. find a way to express Thanos’ character development in a believable manner, there’s literally no way this finale will live up to any hype. It’s just not going to happen.
Listen. I’m no Grinch. These movies are fun for sure, and sometimes that’s all you need when you go to the movies but there's nothing new to take in; We've said it ALL. If you've seen one movie in the MCU you've seen 'em all. With the repetitive scale of churning out the same filtered crap, these movies are nothing more than easily digestible, forgettable fluff. These movies are in a sense truly no different than the Fast & Furious franchise or the Transformers movies. Honestly, take each formulaic sequel and dress it up to look and feel different and folks will eat it up.
In the end, could I be wasting my time on so, SO many more important things in the world? OF COURSE. And sure, maybe a year or two from now I will be floored by Infinity War and the seeming end of this once charming, now insufferable franchise, and when that day comes, remind me to eat my own words (and Odin knows there are a LOT of words). But for now, as a comic book fan, I just want some originality in my comic book movies. That’s all I ask for.
I don't want a bad future for Marvel. I LOVE Marvel. LOOK AT MY LAUNDRY LIST OF COMPLAINTS. I wouldn't cry about it if I didn't have a heart for it. C'mon now.
Anyway, that's my hot take. Here's to a brighter future.
Doors are open. Fight me. I accept all consequences.
THANK YOU, ALL.
I don't want a bad future for Marvel. I LOVE Marvel. LOOK AT MY LAUNDRY LIST OF COMPLAINTS. I wouldn't cry about it if I didn't have a heart for it. C'mon now.
Anyway, that's my hot take. Here's to a brighter future.
Doors are open. Fight me. I accept all consequences.
THANK YOU, ALL.
CHEERS TO IRRELEVANT OPINIONS
