Topic: The Marvel Thread

@Th3solution I'm increasingly convinced that I'll be happier with my MCU experience if I just forget about keeping up with the whole enchilada (with my head canon ending with the climax of "Infinity War") and just pick and choose which films to see based on who's involved. To that end I do want to see (as I mentioned) the next "Dr.Strange" because of Raimi, the next "Thor" because of Waititi and the next "Guardians" because of Gunn. I just don't have the energy to care about the rest.

@LN78 Same here. I really want to watch Dr Strange, but I've not seen any of Wandavison or any of the Marvel TV shows on Disney+. And I have zero interest in them either. So it is easier for me to skip one movie than watch 8 or so episodes of aTV season. It was bad enough trying to keep up with all the strands for the films, but now TV shows too? Yeah, no thanks.

I was at the end of my tether with the MCU after Endgame anyway, but anything that is interconnected with the TV shows I'm gonna miss out going forward. I'll still watch the odd movie like Shang-Chi (which I've seen) and Far From Home though.

@JohnnyShoulder I'm glad it's not just me. As soon as keeping tabs on the interconnected-ness (can't think of the right word) of all this stuff starts feeling more like homework than entertainment is when I tune out. It'll get to the point where I'll go to a movie and have no bloody idea who half the characters are or why the plot beats are significant and that, to my mind, isn't really a film at all - which I think is the point Scorsese was trying to make a while back. [Insert gif of old man shouting at cloud here.]

@LN78 @JohnnyShoulder I certainly understand. I’ve been a fan of the MCU since the beginning and have followed each movie and have watched most of them more than once and have watched all D+ shows. But I look at all the Netflix series and it just seems insurmountable to tackle them. Thankfully the Netflix series to this point have been kept separate from the MCU but now that Disney has the rights to those too we are starting to see cross-over.

I have a similar feeling with certain game series. Yakuza is the best example. It’s just such a huge barrier to entry for someone who hasn’t kept up with it for several years. Similar feeling recently with Destiny 2, and GaaS in general. It’s easy to get lost unless you make a full time job of keeping up with all the scattered content.

I saw the latest Spider Man movie recently and to be frank I was just disappointed. Still on the subject of Marvel I decided to go back to playing The Avengers on PS5 to check out Spider Man and surprisingly enough I find myself actually enjoying the game a lot more this time.

The ones I'm most forward to watching are both Thor: Love and Thunder and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One). Followed by Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Just have to wait for them to become available on TV or Blu-ray, though.

I've watched all of MCU's series so far except for Moon Knight and this is how I rate them.

1. Hawkeye
2. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
3. What If...?
4. Loki
5. WandaVision

Haven't watched Spider-Man: No Way Home, yet. Is Netflix's Daredevil considered part of the MCU now?

@WanderingBullet As far as I'm aware the Netflix shows were in the MCU (there are references to the battle of New York in "Daredevil" for example) then they were de-canonised but now they're back again. I think. It's all very complicated, but in any case "Daredevil" is my favourite live action Marvel production of any kind. I'm not really fussed if it's part of the official timeline or not - it's excellent. Well mostly.

@RubyCarbuncle Same. I watched it last night and I was looking at news updates on my phone by about the halfway point. I just wasn't interested. "Into the Spider-Verse" remains my favourite Spidey movie and it's not even close.

@LN78 I see... Would definitely love to some of the characters from the Netflix series make an appearance in the MCU like Colleen Wing for example. Read that Jessica Henwick turn down the offer to play Shang-Chi's sister Xialing to be in the Matrix: Resurrections instead. Which is great since now there's a possibility she could reprised her role as Colleen Wing in future MCU movies.

Thought was Netflix's Daredevil series was great especially Seasons 1 and 3. Definitely the best Marvel TV series in my opinion.

@WanderingBullet Jessica made the right choice (at least in creative terms) because "The Matrix Resurrections" is a fascinating movie unlike "Shang-Chi" which is a complete nothing-burger that I forgot about even as I was watching it. This next bit is a big spoiler for the recent "Spider-Man" movie so proceed with caution but Matt Murdock (played by Charlie Cox) is Peter Parker's lawyer. Which was a nice touch.

@WanderingBullet Like LN78 says, it’s a bit confusing, but based on some of the output lately which based on your watch history you know that Kingpin shows up as the major villain in Hawkeye and they use the same actor, Vincent D’Onofrio. What an awesome reveal that was!, we can safely say they are the folding Netflix shows into the MCU. I think they shut down the Marvel TV division that was making the Netflix shows and just moved the team over into the Disney Marvel Studios if I understand correctly.

I really need to watch the Netflix shows but there are just so many and so little time.

On a related note, I’d rand the D+ shows as:
1 - WandaVision
2 - Hawkeye
3 - Loki
4 - What If…
5 - Falcon and the WS

😂 So almost the complete opposite of yours. But I’ve enjoyed them all. It’s just that Falcon felt a bit slow to ramp up and the season seemed to drag. I did like the chemistry between the two characters though.

@LN78 Oh, I see you’ve had a chance to watch it! So, what did you think of No Way Home?

@Th3solution Like I said to @RudyCarbuncle, I'd completely lost interest by the point that Aunt May died., My expectations weren't very high to begin with so I can't pretend to be hugely disappointed or anything. Another dust magnet for my 4K shelf.

@LN78 Personally, I thought The Matrix Resurrections was terrible. Story was way too meta and convoluted. It had some pretty poor visual effects as well as underwhelming fight sequences. Not too mention relies heavily on nostalgia to drive its narrative.

As for Shang-Chi, I thought it was pretty good and would probably give it a 7 out of 10. Would’ve been even better though if he was only fighting his dad at the end and not another computer generated giant monster. Tony Leung’s a great actor and his performance really stole the show for me, making Wenwu one the best MCU villains in my opinion.

@Th3solution 😂 Pacing wise, I liked Hawkeye best.

Whilst not all the shows are great, the Netflix shows really does have some of the best live action supervillains. Like Kingpin (Daredevil), Cottonmouth (Luke Cage), Bushmaster (Luke Cage), and Jigsaw (Punisher).

@WanderingBullet Oh I don't think "The Matrix Resurrections" is very good either - but it's completely fascinating. I heard somebody the other day say that "it's a film that was made to lament its own existence". Which could be true. Or it could be a $150M "screw you" from Lana Wachowski to the WB executives who basically twisted her arm into making it. I've heard or read at least half a dozen interpretations of what the movie actually is or what its trying to say. It's endlessly interesting as a cultural artifact. "Shang-Chi" is a completely inoffensive movie that exists. There's nothing else to say about it.

@LN78 Yeah, I suspected based on previous conversations that it was going to probably grate on you. Since the whole thing is basically powered by nostalgia for all the prior Spidey movies. I know you’re not a fan of rehashing old material and cashing in on nostalgia. Still, I think the way they pull in the other versions of Peter and all the villains actually fits with the multiverse idea. A lot of the multiverse is just weird cross-over, but this took the idea and sort of explained how these different Peter Parkers could exist. Granted, it was all just pandering and not something that was planned 20 years ago to get to this point, but it was pretty fun to see all these actors reprise their roles. And it was great to see Daredevil show up amongst all the Easter eggs.

@Th3solution I think the Charlie Cox cameo was probably my favourite part. I also liked how AG Spidey saved MJ at the end to atone for his not having rescued Gwen in his universe. That was nice. Other than that, your assessment of my reaction was precisely correct. A lot of it seemed like it was pretty much custom designed to get on my nerves! Also, total nitpick but are we really expected to believe that a genius IQ level kid like Peter wouldn't know that college admissions boards have appeals procedures? I guess so.

@LN78 I also had a hard time with how cavalier Dr. Strange was with the spells he was casting. Although he was always a maverick and strong willed, he never came across as foolish, unwieldy, or short-sighted before and so it just seemed hard to believe the characterization. But it had to fit the narrative place they were going.

@Th3solution It's a hallmark of bad (or at least lazy) writing to twist established characters in order to serve the plot. Both instances definitely fit the bill.

@Th3solution Dr Strange 2 was supposed to come out before No Way Home, but since Dr Strange 2 was delayed they had to rewrite parts of No Way Home. So that may be why Dr Strange is so inept in No Way Home. He has to mess up the spells to introduce the multiverse because his movie that was supposed to do that hasn't come out yet.