@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Have you watched any of the Marvel Disney+ shows yet? Namely Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and WandaVision?
With some of the points you bring up about the characters, I’m wondering how you’ll get along with those shows, which in some really delve deeper into side content and characterization of these people. I especially think you’ll like Loki and WandaVision, based on what you said above. I don’t know though. I also thought you’d like NieR Automata and you hated that 😂. Falcon and the WS might be harder to take because you like Chris Evans as Cap. But I think it carries on the storyline pretty nicely.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
Personally, IMO, Captain America. The Winter Soldier is the best MCU film. It plays more as a thriller than a superhero film. I don't include Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor Ragnorak, as they are a different superhero (comedy/action) genre.
Far from Home was my least liked film. It was all pretty pointless and gave me very little to care about. Plus Spider-Man is incongruent with big monsters/threats. He's a friendly neighbourhood guy and fits in best with real, physical 'no-bigger than a truck' dangers. Having a grieving Peter Parker, Skrulls settling in, and Parker outed as a villain could have been done in an one of 14,000,0605 ways that didn't include meta sfx and cgi.
I don’t know though. I also thought you’d like NieR Automata and you hated that 😂.
... I knew it was only a matter of time before you brought that up again Sol
Nah I haven't seen any of the Marvel Disney+ shows... yet. I have seen both seasons of Agent Carter though and rather enjoyed those!
I do actually really like Sam and Bucky as characters though so Falco and WS is not as hard as a sell as you might think despite not having Chris Evans around.
After I finish Castlevania those might be the next things I'll take a look at.... We'll see
Yeah Anthony Hopkins was a great bit of casting as Odin... It's a shame we didn't get more of him @RogerRoger!
And fair enough in regards to Loki... The fact the show made you come around on him kinda makes me wanna see it more.
Aside from the ridiculous glorious fishbowl helmet that Mysterio has I like that he's otherwise a normal human and not super powered or enhanced in anyway (At least as far as I'm aware... I'm sure the comics have done something with him over the years).
Plus like Scarecrow from DC I'm all for illusionary and trickery like that rather then just brawn. I really need to get on watching Far From Home
Also I swear I saw Keaton in a trailer for another Marvel film... I think Morbius the Living Vampire might've been it? Not bloody sure why though!
The Avengers/Avengers Assemble
All flash, very little substance.
It's my least favourite phase 1 film (Not including The Hulk film (Cus I'm not really a fan of The Hulk and haven't actually seen it) or Iron Man 2 which I've seen once and didn't think much of).
However despite saying I don't like Hulk... I really do like Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner?
Hawkeye gets a bit of a bad rap but Jeremy Renner plays him well in my opinion and honestly seems to do more then most that aren't called Iron Man in this film.
Loki is Loki and we get Cobie Smulders as Agent Hill who's always nice to see.
It also has Ashley Johnson (Elly from the last of us etc) as the waitress Cap saves towards the end so... that's something! 😄
It may've been something special at the time but we have MUCH better team ups now.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Cap gets limber!
... Seriously whilst in Avengers and the first film all he really does is punch, kick and throw his shield in thd most basic of manners he gets a lot more acrobatic in his fighting style in this one and it's good to see him being a lot more versatile as it naturally makes the fights more visually interesting!
I really like the addition of Sam/Falcon who is wholly different and unique compared to Cap (Unlike War Machine for example who's just... Iron man with more firepower and a bland as hell character to boot).
The Winter Soldier is a neat villain with nice emotinal ties to our main protagonist.
Black Widow and Cap have great chemistry together and the movie as a whole is simply a great thriller and easily one of the best films the MCU has to offer.
Also I really like the score for this and the animated credits sequence before the mid credits teaser is really nicely done too!
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Haha, you know I have to give you a hard time. 😛 Well I’ll keep trying nonetheless - I can always fall back on luckily pointing you into the direction of DOS2, which was a home run I think. 😄
As far as your Avengers and CA Winter Soldier thoughts, I’d mostly agree — although I quite enjoyed The Avengers. I think some of it is nostalgia because it was the first successful mash-up of its kind, and was such a genius idea at the time. Like you say, subsequently the cross over movies have been done multiple times over, and to greater effect and higher quality. But it was the first big step into this larger assemblage of multiple isolated characters and their stories into one overarching interchanging universe. The fact they pulled it off to the degree of quality they did was impressive.
And I did not know that is Ashley Johnson! Wow, even the Marvel nerd that I am, you taught me something new! (…Ever the teacher 😄) I knew she seemed a little familiar, but somehow I just whiffed on making the connection.
And spot on with CA: WS. Somehow that movie just works so well, despite (or maybe because of) the change in tone to the more spy thriller / realistic style. Redford is great in it and I really enjoyed the twist. I always love it when a movie or game throws me a twist I wasn’t expecting. Just like we were talking about with Squid Game.
Ha ha Divinity more then makes up for it @Th3solution... Only problem is I'll have to keep pestering you to finally get round to playing it yourself
I liked The Avengers quite a bit when it first came out but I dunno, every time I've seen it I've enjoyed it less and less.
Fun little fact I actually recognised Ashley in The Avengers (When it first came out) from a one off role in a tv show I'd seen her in not too long before going to see it. Had no idea she was a voice actress at the time (Though ironically it was her voice that made me make the connection) 😄
Yeah it being a grounded spy thriller which just so happens to feature Captain America & Black Widow really makes it standout in the MCU.
I agree with Redford being a delight The twist with Hydra having been reborn in S.H.I.E.L.D with Zola's reapperance as the million or so databanks is neat and Sam Jackson puts in a nice performance as Nick Fury too
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I keep forgetting that you haven't seen Far From Home yet. Apologies if I ever inadvertently spoil anything before you get there (or if I already have)!
Michael Keaton needs to be in everything, as far as I'm concerned. The more, the merrier!
Also, I completely agree with you about the Hulk, in that he's a boring superhero but that Mark Ruffalo absolutely nails Bruce Banner. He's one of those rare superhero cases where I love one side of the whole "hero / alter ego" coin, but not the other. Usually I think both are essential components of one another, but I would totally be happy with a green-free Bruce Banner movie.
And yeah, Henry Jackman's music for The Winter Soldier and Civil War is pretty great. I really dig his slightly more "thematic" theme from the end credits of the latter.
Skip to 1:42 for the good bit.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Lol no worries @RogerRoger I've already been spoiled on the main spoilery things in it anyway!
That's very true in regards to Keaton rog... But other then Morbius being a spidey villain (I think?) I'm not quite sure exactly how Vulture ties into "Jared Leto becoming a vampire" shenanigans 😅
... I'd be down for a pure Bruce Banner film for sure. I actually don't remember a whole lot of Avengers Endgame but wasn't "Professor" Hulk part of it and actually kind of ok?
Oh he did the music to Civil War too? I remember quite liking the score to that too so in hindsight that makes a whole lotta sense. I agree on that being a rather nice piece of music! 😄
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
So I just read that the upcoming Insomniac Wolverine game's lead writer also wrote Spec Ops: The Line. Now although I havent played it (it's in what remains of my PS3 backlog), I have heard a lot about how great the game is... particularly its gritty narrative and adult themes. Seems like a real nice marriage of project and talent to me 😁
So I finally was able to take the time to watch Black Widow. I don’t have much to add to what other people have said, and I’d consider it mostly a middling affair for the MCU — which is not a bad thing, considering the usual quality of their output.
I know we harp on it a lot, but for me the main thing that dragged the experience down was the consistency of the Russian accents. The side characters had more believable accents, Ray Winstone being the best, imo. But most of the main character actors and actresses were all over the place. Which is too bad, because the script was good and had that sharp humor the MCU is known for, and the comedic timing was spot on, but the way the accents sounded often pulled me out of the moment. It’s the same issue that exists with Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch with her drift in and out of accents, but here it was several characters putting on an accent so it seemed to stick out more if someone had a lazy line delivery.
The same basic principle applied to the action sequences. They were really good for the most part and I think the underlying choreography for the fights scenes was right up there almost as good as Captain America: Winter Soldier. What held it back was the occasional obvious stunt doubling and a couple of the actors not quite being able to pull off a believable looking flashy and ornate acrobatic move set. In other words, there were times when I could tell the exact moment that the action switched from a stunt double to the actual actor, which is something I hadn’t noticed before in the Marvel movies. I wonder how much the filming and editing process was effected and hampered by the pandemic.
As for the story, it turned out to be pretty good, although I had a hard time really investing myself in the plight of Natasha and Yelena. Their chemistry didn’t really hit its stride until late in the movie. And even then, I’m not sure how I feel about the clear indication that we’ll be seeing more of Yelena in future TV and movies. The post-credits scene with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss was a great nod to what’s to come, but I just wish it was another actress taking on the role. With all due respect to Florence Pugh, the role seems a tad too big for her. But I hope I’m proved wrong
Perhaps some of the lack of my investment in the movie was subliminally related to my knowledge that not only is Natasha dead in the regular MCU timeline but also the lawsuit and souring of relationships between Scarlett Johannsen and Marvel/Disney. It shouldn’t affect my feeings in the movie, but I think it was in the back of my mind.
And that’s a lot of negativity up there for a movie that I’d say was a solid good time and I would recommend to anyone who likes the MCU and these characters. 😄. And it’s also ironic that I started out saying I didn’t have a lot to add and then followed it up with a wall of text. 😂
@Foxy-Goddess-ScotchyYou're right, Professor Hulk was pretty cool, but I suspect that's because, other than physical appearance, he was basically Bruce in every way. Thinking about it, we did get an almost-Hulk-free movie after the first five minutes of Infinity War. That often slips my mind because he's just one tiny part of such a vast, sweeping chain of events, but he was good in that.
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@Th3solution Agreed; even an average MCU movie makes for an enjoyable popcorn affair. I'm with you on all of your points, particularly regarding the stunt doubles (something I forgot to mention before). There are moments where you can forgive a CGI stand-in, and I think I caught a couple of digital double shots during the finale, but the "real" hand-to-hand choreography was way more obvious than it ever has been before. Such movies are usually pretty good at CGI facial replacement in such circumstances so I think you're right, I think pandemic post-production might've made them miss a few things.
Regarding what's to come, will you be watching Hawkeye over the holidays?
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger The way I’ve been lagging behind on things, I’m not sure when I’ll watch Hawkeye, but I’m definitely going to. I haven’t even watched all the What If..? episodes. Need to see Shang-Chi and Eternals too. And I think the next Spidey movie isn’t too far away either.
But yeah, I really liked the chemistry between Hawkeye and Widow and so I’ll be curious how it transitions over to his own show. The fact that Natasha’s sister has been assigned to take a hit out on him makes for a compelling storyline, but there’s got to be more to it than that to hold the public interest.
@Th3solution Yeah, I haven't even started What If...? yet myself, either. I did catch the Hawkeye trailer and its festive tone made me determined to at least watch it during the season, if not weekly as each episode drops, but, as you say, there's a lot of competition.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Hey folks. I only have a PS4. Planning on getting a PS5 in the future but clearly there isn't a timeline for when I could possibly get one because, well, you know lol. (and even if I could easily grab one, I'm not in a rush).
Anyway, with that being my situation...
1. Could any of you guys speak to whether I should buy & play
Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PS4 or just wait til I get a PS5 (whenever that may be).
2. Marvel's Avengers is worth the single player story right? I was thinking of buying it when it goes on sale anywhere between $15-$20 (or your local equivalent). It dropped to $20 before but I missed it and didn't pull the trigger.
3. I hope the X-Men get a new game. Perhaps this Wolverine game in 202X will drop hints of the team when it releases.
Yeah I like this film. It's a nice more comedic space faring adventure. I like Chris Pratt in this (Though I will say otherwise in an upcoming film...) as Star-Lord and the rest of the guardians are great too with Dave Bautista & Bradley Cooper are my personal standouts but Zoe Saldana is good as the only sane person on the team and Groot is Groot.
Michael Rooker is fantastic as Yondu and despite having only 3 scenes Benico Del Toro milks those for all they're worth.
I do like the final showdown with Ronan (Whom I actually quite like as the villain) and the selflessness they all show in joining Quill holding the Power infinity stone is neat (Yeah we know they aren't going to die... But they don't)
Not the best thing ever as some characters are a bit underutilised (Nebula for one) and some gags don't lampnd but it does have heart.
WE are Groot after all!
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
It's a messy film and I don't have a whole lot to say about it... But I like this more then the first avengers film?
It's mainly thanks to there being more to work with storywise. I like Ultron, I like Scarlet Witch, I like Vision, Klaue gets revealed and yes I'm still annoyed he got bumped off in Black Panther by boring ass Killmonger 😩
It's messy mind you with stuff like the Banner/Black widow... thing, this version of quick silver is not very good, the general eastern european accents are a bit iffy and it can get a bit long in the tooth for runtime... S'alright!
Just went to see Eternals in my first Imax screen. Wow. That was one of the best movies I've watched this year. I did feel like a wrinkly old man by the end of it considering how long it was but it was action packed, gorgeous, diverse, and different from any other Marvel film. Please go and see this movie (plus, stay for the 2 post credit scenes. you won't regret it)!
Went to see Eternals. Not good. Not good at all. Like if Jupiter Ascending was MCU-adjacent. It’s ok to be exposition heavy but dear me, there’s not even a good payoff. My disappointment with the MCU movies post-Endgame continues.
I’ve watched 6/9 of What If?… at this point and I do enjoy it. Of the first 6 episodes, there are definitely some that are better than others. It’s a fun concept, and really only enjoyable for the Uber-fans of the MCU; it’s clever the way they re-enact exact scenes from the movies and then start to change things. Sure, it’s a little fan-fictiony at times, but it’s all made a little more grounded due to the mutliverse concept that Marvel seems to be doubling down on. I have not idea whether these episodes will build on one another to create a whole new cohesive narrative, or whether each episode will just remain a “Well that was fun…” diversion by itself.
Having just watched the Killmonger episode, I will also say that the voice acting is pretty impressive — in the sense they really got some good sound-alikes when needed alongside the original character actors. Some are better than others, but shout-out to the actors for Tony Stark and Red Skull, who mimicked the original actors well.
In a related arena, I was surprised to see that Shang-Chi is already set to come to Disney+. I think it releases on Nov 12th. It feels like I was just considering going to see it in the theater 2 weeks ago.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution yeah I actually think I enjoyed What if... more than any of the other Marvel projects this year (closely followed by Shang Chi). Glad you're getting a lot out of it also.
@Voltan let's just say it's quite appropriate given the overarcing plot of Loki, Spider-man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. It also 'felt' the most MCU out of the various D+ shows to me.
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