Since I may never get around to reviewing the Marvel
Cinematic Universe, here’s a brief overview of my thoughts on it.
Iron Man
Iron Man is the one Marvel movie that I’ve already reviewed,
and it’s excellent. Robert Downey Jr. nails the role of Iron Man, and the movie
itself just feels fresh and new. The score is fantastic, the acting is
fantastic, the directing is fantastic… Basically, this movie is a fantastic
start to a legendary franchise, and it manages to avoid feeling like a cliché superhero
film. 4.3/5 stars.
The Incredible Hulk
I have a lot of thoughts about The Incredible Hulk, but I’ll
try to keep it brief. It’s a good movie, but I feel like it wasted quite a bit
of its potential. This movie thrives in its more emotional moments, and when it
focuses on Bruce Banner instead of The Hulk, it excels. However, on the more
negative side, it has a weak villain, its final act just feels a bit tired and
poorly written, and some parts of the movie feel forced. However, it ultimately doesn’t feel like a
Marvel movie, and that’s a good thing. It’s different. 3.5/5 stars.
Iron Man 2
I’m gonna be honest. Iron Man 2 is garbage. Utter garbage.
Robert Downey Jr. is still fine as Tony Stark, but even he just has no
direction in this movie. I’ve heard that this movie was made just to make money
until The Avengers could come out, and I’m convinced it’s true. There are 23
minutes of action in this movie. Three are at the beginning and twenty at the
end. But sadly even the finale is boring. Both villains in the film are
atrociously dull and weak, and the movie is about 2 hours too long. It drags on
and on and on. It tries to be a drama in some places and meaningful in others,
and it ends up as just nothing. The actors do their best, but they’re given
nothing. The script is simply terrible. Nothing significant whatsoever happens
in this film. I’m begging you, skip it. If not for your sake then mine. 2/5
stars.
Thor
Thor is a decent movie. It’s not fantastic, but it’s decent.
To be honest, I’m not sure there’s much you can do with a Viking god from
space, but the Marvel team seems to do the best they can. The story and tone is
kind of all over the place, and some plot points seem a little rushed. Thor’s
greatest fault is its third act. It feels so rushed and so fake that it takes
away a lot from the movie. Aside from this, Thor is a decent movie. The actors
do a fine job, and in the end, Thor isn’t the worst movie that Marvel has ever
made. 3.4/5 stars.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America manages to successfully capture its titular
star’s spirit, but on most other levels it does not succeed entirely. Perhaps
its greatest problem is that it is completely unambitious and goes only places
that we expect it to. Even when it tries to be emotional, these scenes are
rushed in an attempt to get back to montage sequences. For some, these
sequences work. For me, they didn’t. The movie already felt a bit unbalanced,
and while it feels too slow in some parts, it feels rushed in others. This isn’t
to say that this movie is a complete loss. It’s not. Despite an extremely weak
third act, Captain America: The First Avenger still manages to be an
entertaining film, and a solid start to the legendary hero’s story. 3.5/5
stars.
The Avengers
To some people, The Avengers is not just the greatest
superhero movie ever made, but one of the greatest movies of all time. I
personally have never understood this. Let me explain why. I find The Avengers
to be an entertaining film, but that’s all. It’s neither immensely entertaining
nor emotionally rewarding. It tries to be both, and this is its main weakness.
All attempts at emotion are rushed and feel forced, and action sequences
quickly give way to more talking and deliberating. People go to a movie about the
Avengers to see them fight, and we get about 15-20 minutes of that, and at the
very end. The Avengers tries to be too much, and in some ways falls on its
face. Nevertheless, it has excellent dialogue, some of which will be as
immortal as that of Star Wars, its few action sequences are very rewarding, and
it manages to be entertaining. 3.5/5 stars.
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 is a significant improvement over Iron Man 2, but
that could be said of nearly any movie. Thankfully, Iron Man 3 is a good movie.
This time we get to see Tony Stark out of the suit, and consequently this movie
has more emotional depth. It does have a few flaws in the plot, and the villain
reveal at the end is rather disappointing. However, Iron Man 3 ultimately
overcomes a few weaknesses to be a satisfying action movie, and one of the more
solid entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 3.7/5 stars.
Thor: The Dark World
To be honest right from the start, Thor: The Dark World is a
complete mess. Nevertheless, it’s vastly entertaining. While it is a disaster
tonally, the pacing is atrociously off, and it has a rather weak villain, it
has what the first Thor was missing: Entertainment. Whereas the first Thor
movie tried to be too many things, its sequel knows exactly what it is. For
every boring scene we get, we receive two of Thor demolishing something. Perhaps
the greatest disappointment of this movie is that it has an excellent plot, but
it is wasted in execution. It tries to be dark, but just ends up feeling weird.
Ultimately though, Thor: The Dark World is an entertaining movie, if one of the
lesser entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 3.6/5 stars.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I most certainly never expected a Marvel movie to be this
excellent on so many levels. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not only a
tremendously satisfying action film, it’s easily one of the best superhero
movies ever made. Whereas the last few Marvel films tried to be too many things
and failed at most of them, this film tries to be many things and succeeds at
all of them. It’s a spy movie, a thriller, and an excellent action movie, while
throwing in excellent political commentary. It never slows down, and not one
single scene feels unnecessary. Even its emotional aspects succeed immensely. Captain
America: The Winter Soldier is a rewarding and absolutely satisfying entry in
the Marvel universe. 4.5/5 stars.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Ah, and now we come to the film that absolutely nobody expected to succeed. Guardians of the Galaxy manages to span several genres, and it succeeds in spectacular fashion. Many thought this movie managed to be a masterpiece, but for me it falls just short. While it is hilarious, some of the jokes fall a bit flat in places, and some of the tonal shifts can be slightly jarring. Nevertheless, I’m mostly nitpicking, and Guardians of the Galaxy is ultimately a sheer delight. One of Marvel's very best. 4.25/5 stars.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
While I didn’t think that this film was perfect, I found it
to be a large improvement over the first Avengers movie in many ways. Its
action sequences are far more rewarding and entertaining, and there are many
more of them. However, it is missing many of the things that I liked about the
first movie. The excellent dialogue is missing, and the dark tone never quite
catches on. While the movie tries to be terrifying and depressing, it just
doesn’t succeed in this area. However, the character development in this film
is far better, even though there are more characters. Still, the film feels
overlong and overpopulated, and its attempted detours into darker environments
often fail. Nevertheless, it does succeed in being more entertaining than its
predecessor, and it is in many ways an improvement over it. 3.6/5 stars.
Ant-Man
People expected even less from this movie than they did from
Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s not hard to see why. The premise is
absolutely absurd, but the strength of the movie is that it recognizes this.
Ant-Man is often hilarious and always entertaining. Its only weakness is that
its first hour or so is a bit slow, but it manages to keep us interested with
various plot developments. And once the action starts, it doesn’t stop, and it
is some of the most inventive and entertaining action I’ve ever seen. The third
act is one of the most consistently thrilling and genuinely funny that I’ve
ever seen. Though it certainly has flaws, Ant-Man manages to distract us from
them, and it more than makes up for them eventually. 4.1/5 stars.
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