Here’s the thing, I think Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are McDonald’s, similar to a McDonald’s meal; you can eat it, but once you finish the meal, you forget it. It is not a savory meal that you can talk about weeks later. I can tell you about the Umami Burger meal that I ate days and others months ago. This is the current crop of Marvel movies with the exception of Black Panther. I don’t remember Doctor Strange, I can tell you the basic plot, but nothing stands out. I don’t remember Spider-Man except that he has a Filipino friend. I don’t remember Avengers: Infinity War.
The MCU is incredibly popular, I don’t need to fuel that machine, but I would like to have an emotionally strong movie. What do I mean by emotion? I mean that the character or story has to connect with me. The MCU connection is hollow. In Civil War, I get the division, breaking of a friendship, but I didn’t feel Tony Stark’s pain. I understand he is in pain, but I didn’t connect with it. This is strange because I was impressed by the Russo Bros. with Winter Soldier. What I also mean by memorable is that I can run the entire movie from first scene to last in my head. I can do this with Winter Soldier, love it!, and that it exceeded the genre by bringing in the political thriller. It made me think that comic book films can be any genre.
MCU films do have moments, the airport battle in Civil War, but to be honest the dialogue scenes are boring. So it all action scenes and not character scenes. It is all cheese and special sauce, MCU movies are cheesy?, but a savory meal is in the cooking. There are strong moments in Black Panther; the visuals are so stunning, not the effects, the costumes and the world building. Still, I wasn’t emotional in that movie. I think it is that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a factory. The problem is in the story. A memorable film has not just good action scenes, but may also be something important in its themes.
One of the criticisms against the MCU is the villains. Killmonger is a great villain. I hear fans say Thanos is a good villain, but I don’t connect to a cosmic bad guy. I liked Josh Brolin more as Cable in Deadpool 2. I actually connect to the Jim Starlin comic book Thanos because comic books are a very personal experience. I separate the comic book from the film and what is presented in Infinity War I see as more development for the villain, but I don’t connect with him. The problem there is that he doesn’t have a character moment with his henchmen. It is all orders like a classic James Bond villain. I need background, the why? of the villain, his homeworld of Titan, there is his relationship with Gamora, but again I'm not connecting to it.
I’m going to contrast this with the DC movies. Wonder Woman stands out as one of the most memorable super hero movies in the recent crop. It is not an emotional connection. It is the story. The most impressive thing about the film is that they throw away the comic book story, but provide a movie that takes bits and pieces from the comics and goes its own way. The other part of it is that the story structure is basically Superman: The Movie, the innocent hero gets tested in the real world, there’s romance, even the bullet catching scene which now uses the bracelet. Topping all of it is that there is a message in the movie similar to Winter Soldier which had the message that if the system, government, is oppressive and broken, then you need to start over. Wonder Woman’s message is set in the worst wars in modern history, has Wonder Woman fight for peace with love at the center, it is not just her message, the message is meant for you.
I’m going to contrast it with Justice League. Considered a disappointment, it is directed by a weak filmmaker, but I still like it. No emotional connection, not a strong story, it is imperfect, but for me, there are certain scenes I remember vividly; Batman telling Flash just save one person, Aquaman’s magic lasso scene, and Wonder Woman’s bank rescue. I caught it on cable and watched it all the way through. I also watched Civil War on cable up to the airport scene and then switched channels. I have hope for Captain Marvel, but at this point, it is distant. I usually buy my opening night ticket in advance, but ever since Infinity War, I’m going to wait until the night of the preview to buy a ticket. Maybe this film will be different, maybe it will have more than action movie characterization, maybe it will have something important to say.
#MarvelCinematicUniverse, #AvengersInfinityWar, #WonderWoman, #CaptainMarvel
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