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vergilsama922 · 1 year

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My completely unnecessary Marvel Phase 4 Review

Right so I been spending the past 2 weeks thinking about the MCU phase 4 and my thoughts on all the projects and also perceptions towards it. Is it worth writing out a college-level essay? Nope. But hey I'm a super fan so here we are XP I don't expect this to get more than 2-3 likes anyhow :P Let's begin. I'll even throw in pictures since I'm so nice ;D

WandaVision (8/10):

A really great, unique piece of subtle and poignant storytelling with great writing, acting, and directing.. until the final episode which felt rushed, and formulaic and didn't utilize Agatha to her full potential compared to the mystery that surrounded her the entire series. Also rushed Wanda's journey into acceptance when instead, that should have been saved for MoM with WV setting up the Darkhold and its corruption better to lead into MoM more smoothly. Still, I absolutely adored the sitcom aspects of the show and the ongoing week-to-week mystery. Mephisto memes were born here!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (8.75/10):

What this series does well, it does extremely well, but what it also suffers from some severe problems. Thankfully the good things are more than the bad and that makes the series enjoyable. The racism aspect, Sam's arc, Isaiah's story, and the symbolism and subtext about the faults of America were all done amazingly! Bucky and John Walker felt a tiny bit underused and not as developed as they could have been, but still were incredible. The Flag-smashers and Sharon needed a lot more time and better writing to make the audience care about them. In general, the series tried to do A LOT with little time, which also made the finale a bit underwhelming. It needed at least 2 more episodes and better pacing/editing to make it feel more serialized rather than a movie sliced in parts, as well as some better writing for its villains and it could have been one of Marvel's best projects yet. Still, it's easily my favorite Disney plus show and let's not forget how incredible Zemo is and his awesome dance skills

Loki (9/10):

One of Marvel Studios' best storytelling endeavours yet. Amazing character development, some of the most philosophical themes that Marvel has touched on, and a very well-built world that feels both grounded and fantastical at the same time. Also some of the most visually beautiful cinematography, production design, and directing as well Marvel's best original score. This series truly felt and was epic and still stands as Marvel Studios' best D+ show. That said, it needed a bit tighter pacing and a meatier, less lenient story with more layers. Episodes 3, 4, and especially 5 felt quite empty and repetitive from a story and character progression standpoint and could have been compressed in 1.5/2 episodes. But I love the overall tone of it feeling like a Doctor Who show and the aesthetics of the TVA. And let's not forget Jonathan Majors insane performance as He Who Remains. Not to mention Loki falling in love with Loki, Our Loki getting a ton of character development, and Sylvie effectively ruining the multiverse. Thanks, Sylvie. (人◕ω◕)******

Black Widow (7.25/10):

The movie was just fine. Nothing more than that. It also came out too late (Thanks Perlmutter) and that coupled with its flat storytelling, especially surrounding the Red Room, and the truly unnecessarily extreme action made the movie feel like it had zero stakes and it ended up being forgettable and uninteresting. I have rewatched it since it first came out though and I actually enjoyed it more the second time around. I especially loved the first half with Natasha and Yelena. Unfortunately, the second half struggles to balance the Red Room threat and the family arc, making the catharsis and arc completion in the final act lacking and not-as-climactic. But at least we got Yelena who is one of my favorite new characters introduced!

What if...? (6.5/10):

A great concept with some great ideas, but it ultimately felt like 20 minutes to each episode wasn't nearly enough to properly tell most of these stories. That said, the animation was amazing and for an MCU fan, the series is still enjoyable enough to get through once. I mean there were some bangers like the zombies episode (@pyropsychiccollector loves it alot (人◕ω◕) ) and the Ultron episode at the very end. I also enjoyed the Captain Carter stuff and when Killmonger betrayed Iron-man but it definitely was the studio's first step into animation so they're going to be unrefined. Hopefully, by season 2 they have a better idea of what to work with.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (8.5/10):

A good, but rather formulaic origin story that was elevated to a great movie due to its strong lead, its beautiful and smooth cinematography and action choreography, its culturally unique story, and its great use of flashbacks that made for very compelling storytelling, tied to the cultural themes of memory that the film so gracefully explores. Not to mention that Wenwu is INCREDIBLE! One of the best MCU villains so far and his love/grief is strong storytelling. Honorable mentions of Katie and Xialing as well. Definitely, a strong start for a new character on the big screens even though it has issues to iron out

Eternals (7.75/10):

Much like TFATWS, this is a movie that tried to do too much. Too many characters, too many plotlines, and too many themes. And its runtime didn't allow it to reach the great potential that it had, making the ending fall flat and not really all that satisfying, especially with its cliffhanger, making this feel like a part 1 to a 2-part story narrative that may not even get concluded in this saga. That said, even with the time they had, Zhao and the Firpos made almost all the characters really well-rounded and realized and each with their own unique personality, struggles, and character arc, making them instantly iconic and likable, investing the audience in an otherwise quite long-winded story. But I will say the cinematography is absolutely stunning and Ikarus's dilemma at the end was textbook Shakespearean. And yes Tiamut WILL be a core thing moving forward in Phase 5, don't you worry. Also, Black Knight and Blade tease at the end~

Hawkeye (8.5/10):

A really fun, entertaining, heartfelt, emotional, and genuine Christmas action/adventure that knows what it is and doesn't try to outdo itself. My only complaint is that, like Eternals and TFATWS, they tried to do a lot and failed to give the appropriate weight to all of it. Yelena and Kingpin needed to appear earlier and they needed to better establish Kingpin's character and his relationships with Maya and Eleanor. Other than that, the show is the project that made me tear up the third most and it is a testament to Renner and Steinfeld's outstanding acting and the writers' simple, yet incredible exploration of their characters and their relationships with their families. It's funny though because originally I would've rated this a 6/10 when I first went through it but on the rewatch it was a lot stronger than I gave it credit. Also, Jack is a treat. And that damn musical LMAO

Spider-Man: No Way Home (9.25/10):

An almost perfect movie all around. Great writing, direction, cinematography, action, plot, structure, pacing, and a satisfying and very emotional conclusion to decades of storytelling. That said, the plot during the first half of the first act felt very convenient and sloppily-written, and was there just for the film to happen. It is completely understandable due to COVID reshuffling the release dates of this and Dr. Strange: In The Multiverse of Madness, but it still takes you a bit out of the narrative HOWEVER let's be fair. We ALL lost our shit when we saw Tobey and Andrew show up again! Even William as Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx as a MUCH better Electro. And Aunt May's death was the second movie in Phase 4 that made me cry like a baby. This movie was simply the perfect way to end Peter's prequel trilogy and now he will truly be Spider-Man moving forward.

Moon Knight (8.5/10):

An amazing, refreshing character piece with some of the best acting the MCU has seen with Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. Really interesting and compelling storytelling, but with a mediocre and rehashed story. Also the different tones: the horror mystery of Episodes 1 and 2 and the adventure of episodes 3 and 4, the more serious psychological deep dive of episode 5, and the over-the-top super-hero action of episode 6 felt like they were colliding with each other, often making the series feel a little unfocused and not knowing what it wanted to do. That said, the plotting and structure were actually really good and they utilized the 6-episode structure really well unlike most of the shows. The pacing felt great and the slow character exploration of both Marc and Steven until the climax of their story in episodes 5 and 6 was remarkable. And I won't be remiss to bring up "It's your turn to lose". @pyropsychiccollector won't let that go XDD But seriously, Oscar Isaac absolutely gave an Oscar-level performance as Marc, Steven, and Jake. Check out Assembled: Moon Knight on Disney plus to see the insane work put into this show!

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (8/10):

A very good story with great themes, ideas, and character arcs with.. some problems admittedly. Michael Waldron's slow, character-focused, introspective script and thematical ideas are jumbled and don't get as much focus and gravitas in Sam Raimi's unnecessarily frantically-paced, intense, action-packed, slasher horror. The writer and director are both amazing on their own, but they didn't work well together. That said, they each held each other back too. Without Waldron's interesting and nuanced script, Sam would have a made semi-mindless slasher, and without Raimi, Michael would have made a very long and potentially boring and slow-paced movie. With that out the way, I REALLY enjoy Strange character arc and realization that he had to be the one to not hold the knife, unlike his variants. Wanda was also brilliant and her descent into madness made perfect sense if you've seen WandaVision but also how Wanda had a moment of clarity at the end and did the right thing. Of course, there's the Illuminati with Patrick Stewart back as Professor Xavier, Anson Mount as Black Bolt, and John Krasinski as Reed Richards. And of course, those death scenes were freaking brutal! Also honorable mention to America Chavez, yes I can hear some of you moan about another mentor relationship but I really did enjoy her energy on screen.

Ms. Marvel (7.25/10):

Just like Hawkeye, this is a more low-stakes, slice-of-life, fun, and genuine piece that showcases teenage struggle and Muslim and Desi culture in a realistic, down-to-earth and authentic, albeit sometimes simplistic way. It doesn't try to be more than that and it does really well with what it is. It is elevated A LOT by the unique and beautiful direction and art direction, especially in episodes 1,2,3, and 6 as well as the great and vibrant cast, particularly the passionate newcomer, Iman Velani who brought Kamala Khan to life better than anyone else could and is a bigger MCU nerd than me! But it is also severely brought down by the VERY underdeveloped and rushed villains and the odd pacing of episodes 4 and 5. That said, the series is good enough to be entertaining, even with its mishaps, and its surface-level "for kids/teens" aesthetic betrays the amount of passion and subtext put into the show. Also, I personally learned a little about the partition from this wonderful series.

Thor: Love and Thunder (7.5/10):

Despite the hate this has gotten online, I genuinely believe that this film is great, but definitely not perfect. The movie knows what it is and what it wants to do and spends no minute wasted. It is slow, ponderous, serious, mature, and emotional when it needs to be and that is not undercut by humor, unlike Ragnarok, but it's also funny, passionate, genuine, heartfelt, and tender when it needs to be and it nails both tones perfectly with a great balance between the 2, again unlike Ragnarok.

The somber and serious moments in Love and Thunder (every scene with Gorr, the entire Shadow Realm sequence, Thor and Jane's relationship building and flashbacks, Jane's scene at the hospital and then her death, the last scene with "Love and Thunder") were executed much better than Ragnarok's (there's no somber moment after Odin dies as Hela immediately comes and throws Thor into the zany Sakaar, and we barely see Thor mourne as Loki immediately appears and ruins Thor's prayer, Surtur is treated like a complete joke, 2 of the warriors 3 die a "non-warrior-y" death, Asgard's destruction is literally made into one of the worst jokes in the MCU).

In my opinion, Ragnarok treats itself much less seriously when its stakes feel much larger and more daunting and depressing, causing a tonal divide, while Love and Thunder are supposed to be a fun adventure because Jane is hiding her pain and suffering as she is TRYING to spend the last few days of her life on a crazy, fun, zany adventure on purpose. Jane is being silly because she CHOOSES to be silly and have fun in her last moments and Thor feels silly because he is falling in love all over again and is at a point in his character arc where he feels comfortable to let himself be silly and mess around.

On the other hand, Ragnarok makes its characters silly for no apparent reason, making that movie more like a stand-up comedy than an actual story unfolding in front of our eyes. That said, most of Ragnarok's jokes are better and feel more organically inserted in the dialogue, while most of Love and Thunder's jokes don't land as well and sometimes may even feel SNL-level, taking you away from the story. Once the rate of jokes significantly decreases and their quality increases in the second half of the movie, the story really shines and gets you much more invested.

Cast was all at the top of their game and holy shit Bale just poured his heart and soul so much into this, although he did need quite more time, both to live up to his name, but also to be established as a serious and multi-layered threat and make the plot meatier. The opening and the ending were so, so, so well done! Soundtrack and cinematography were top notch, it elevated the movie so much! If someone asks me what the meaning of life is, I will show them this movie. Find love and do what makes you happy every single day like it's the last. Don't wait, don't sit around and ponder what the meaning of life is, just go out there and live it with the people you love the most! The ending was so good and solidified this theme so well, that any flaws mostly go away for me, because of how much it hit me emotionally.

She-Hulk (8/10):

Let's start with what this show ISN'T.

Despite it seeming like a superhero show, it is not. It is a comic book show and it definitely has a lot of comic-bookiness and weirdness, but it doesn't really belong in the super-hero genre (even Jen herself doesn't want to be a hero until near the end) and it definitely doesn't belong in the action genre that Marvel Studios is known for. And I like that it actively turns the superhero genre on its head at the end and subverts people's expectations of the Marvel formula.

It is also not a show with a big, twisty, overarching story or deep characters. That's not what She-Hulk ever was or what it was striving to be. Both in the comics and in the MCU, She-Hulk was a silly, completely episodic, slice-of-life sitcom/courtroom comedy that tries to showcase and embrace the absurdity, weirdness, vibrance, and flamboyance of comic books, but also make fun of the flaws, repetitiveness and general silliness of the medium through meta-commentary.

It was also a progressive comic book that contrasted the timid life that a female lawyer lives, being unnoticed by her male counterparts and society in general, and her suppressing those problems to appease to societal norms, with the exuberant and confident She-Hulk that empowered Jen Walters to be the person she wants to be.

And Jessica Gao along with the whole team of writers and the 2 directors, Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, truly understood that and did an absolutely amazing job of translating it to screen in the best way possible.

What makes the show stand out is Tatiana Maslany's irresistible charm and great comedic performance along with the funny, witty and meta writing which allows the show to fully embrace its absurd and weird setting as well as expand the MCU's lore and world-building through the POV of semi-regular MCU citizens as well as the eyes of the law, but also the unique, quirky supporting characters and cameos (Hulk, Pug, Nikki, Madisynn, Wong, Abomination and his crew and of course Daredevil) and their relationship with each other and with Jen.

On the other hand, Titania, despite being marketed as the main villain, felt like a nothing character. Especially in the wedding episode which was a weak episode in general. She was just a nuisance and it was frustrating that the show made her feel like a bigger deal than she was. Much of it though definitely came from the promotional. Jameela Jamil had second billing and was often called the primary antagonist of the series and there was a whole Titania marketing campaign with her getting her own Twitter account.

Most of the stories (apart from the wedding) were really interesting and, as I have said above, really expanded the world of the MCU and showed us another side of it that I personally have always wanted to see. The finale was the boldest, most inventive, most insane thing Marvel Studios has done and I don't think it can be topped. It was just the number 1 "WTF" moment by a mile!

Werewolf by Night (8.5/10):

A short, great piece of storytelling and action with its own unique style. Where this 54-minute film really excels is in its stellar production design. First-time director Michael Giacchino makes this project in a throwback to the classic '30s horror films that first put Universal on the map. And the film takes advantage of it. Everything from its black-and-white aesthetic to its clever use of lighting and camera angles makes it one of the best singular-produced projects Marvel has done in all of Phase Four so far.

Werewolf By Night’s use of violence and horror also proves to be a standout. While not the most violent or bloody thing in the world, it’s definitely heavier than most of Marvel’s more family-friendly fare. And it bares its teeth (literally in this case) with a brutal final act that will leave unaccustomed viewers in shock.

Lastly, the film takes full advantage of its two lead actors. Gael Garcia Bernal is brilliant as the titular character and once his ferocious transformation occurs he physically owns every scene. Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone also contributes a stellar performance in her limited screen time but she chews up the scenery.

For all its greatness, and there is quite a bit, there is still one glaring problem that left me dissatisfied at the end of it. Clocking in at 54 minutes, it tells a lot of story for such a short period of time. It’s a blessing considering the previous 15 minutes shorts we used to get in the MCU, but I still wish with this level of a concept and high of production quality, we could have spent a little more time in this new corner of the Marvel Multiverse. And of course, as with every aspect of the MCU, this film does mostly stand out on its own without much, if any, connecting tissue. While that is a negative to some, I was glad we were able to focus on these characters instead of constantly trying to focus on where this short places in the wider universe. Ted is also one of the greatest new characters introduced in the MCU. Easily top 3 for me.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (10/10):

Easily my most favorite MCU movie of all time. My definition of what I consider a "Perfect" movie. An outstanding movie from whatever aspect you look at it. Writing, directing, cinematography, music, costume design, production design, cast performances, story, plot, pacing, editing, and storytelling. It just felt like the Phase 4 project with the most love and passion poured into it. So much so that Ryan Coogler didn't let one aspect of the movie be "mediocre" and didn't let one moment of screen time go to waste. It felt genuine, serious, mature, deep and it succeeded in the monumental task of continuing the narrative of the Black Panther franchise without its lead character, while also giving its ensemble cast the time to shine and develop other corners of Wakanda.

What was particularly strong apart from Shuri's acting and character arc was the villain, Tenoch Huerta's Namor, and the worldbuilding of Talokan as well as the geopolitical worldbuilding of the film that sets up the future of the MCU. As a sucker for the geopolitical and sociopolitical aspects of the MCU, this was the movie that fully met my needs and expectations. And the last point I'll make here is that this movie made me cry 5 times when I first watched and three times on the rewatch. The amount of emotion poured into this movie and it's themes and trauma that black people experience daily and generationally means this film has a very special place in my heart. This movie taught me it's okay to be angry and in pain but also taught me *HOW* to heal and move on. For this reason and the others I listed above easily makes this the best MCU movie for me. Honorable mention also goes to Riri who was incredibly charismatic and energetic from her first shot. Some people may see Riri as unnecessary but these people fail to recognize how Riri serves as an allegory to black americans and the energy/personality we have. And on top of just being a very likable person, she's also a super-genius? Let's gooooo~ Can't wait for her show and separating her from Tony Stark was a genius idea for the MCU.

Guardians of the Galaxy: A Holiday Special (8.75/10):

Just pure, unfiltered fun with great music and finally a good character arc for Mantis who had been left to the side in the previous MCU installments. Nothing more else I have to say other than watching this will become a Holiday tradition for me, just like Hawkeye became last year. Actually no. I do have to say that I was originally planning on skipping this but I'm SO SO glad I didn't. All I'll say is this. "YOU'LL NEVER ESCAPE ME BACON!!!!"

I would also like to talk a little bit about the Phase 4 unnecessary overhating and the toxic nitpicking.

Partially, it is definitely caused by nostalgia clouding the flaws of the Infinity Saga and thus making the flaws of Phase 4 stand out more.Another part is also the desensitization to the genre and the formula and that is even more amplified by 2 bonus facts:

the audience that grew up with the MCU and felt that magic that it brought in their pre-teen/teen/young adult years has grown up now and that same magic will never be brought back.

The age you experience a stimulus plays a VERY important role about whether that becomes a positive or negative stimulus, not only because of the difference in your comprehensive capacity, but also because young brains experience things under a completely different light. What might seem magical, world-shattering and insane to a young brain might seem pretty neutral and dull by an adult mind.

2. Marvel Studios has oversaturated the market with superhero stuff and Disney's other company, Lucasfilm, is also oversaturating the sci-fi/fantasy/action/adventure megagenre that most blockbusters belong into as well. And because there's this notion that's been ingrained in MCU fans' brains that they NEED to watch everything Marvel Studios puts out otherwise they will be lost in the next installment, people have gotten tired of trying to catch up with the MCU and to some it may seem more like a chore or homework.

Back on the nostalgia bit, Phase 3 also imbued people with this emotion that comes with finality and with culmination. Marvel Studios offered its fans a drug that's called hype and build-up and during IW and EG, everybody got so high on it that people feel the need for an overarching threat and plot to be established right away and for every project to lead into the next event.

They can't wait for Marvel Studios to take a breath, rebuild and expand the universe, deal with the consequences of IW and EG and slowly set up all the new players, the new threats, the new corners, the new teams and the new rules that will be important in building up the next event properly.

That's why cameos and post-credits scenes and spoilers and connections have become so important now. Sometimes so much so that some fans forget to see the projects for what they are.

However Marvel Studios themselves are not completely hands-off on this turn-off for the MCU. They have made many flaws this Phase, many of them attributed to COVID changing the filming schedules and the release dates and thus the stories to some extent and how these are told, but also many of them attributed to Marvel Studios not choosing the right people for some projects or not giving them enough time to tell the stories they wanted to tell. And when there are many consecutive projects that didn't live up to their own potentials as stories, there's this sour aftertaste that's left in people's mouths. And of course, Bob Chapek being an absolutely AWFUL leader and restricting/overworking Feige.

On top of that, toxicity and negativity has gotten off the charts in the world the last couple of years, and especially on the internet of course. COVID created and gave light to many conspiracy nuts and made people angry at each other and I'm not even gonna mention how the political state of the world deteriorating every moment is contributing to that as well as to people's edginess. So these flaws and mistakes get more amplified on the internet now than they were before.

I also think the fans amplify them on purpose, because the lack of an overarching plot made them less and less interested in these projects, so the general lack of interest in the MCU made them see some of the projects with a more negative bias.

For example, Thor: The Dark World was a meh movie but it introduce the reality stone and the Collector, all stuff that people knew were gonna play a bigger role in the future and that made them see the movie under a different light because they were interested in the universe that it was part of and how it's going to affect it. That's also why the reception to AoU has changed over the years once more and more of its world-building and set-ups started paying off and proved really important.

But the MCU is different now. It's not following that same structure where each movie is a very important episode with all the episodes following the same story that leads to the finale. Before, the MCU felt like an Avengers TV show with 2-hour episodes. It legitimately felt very, very similar to Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and I think Feige took a lot of inspiration from that show and still is considering The Kang Dynasty was literally the name of one of its episode.

Now, we've entered the era of the actual Marvel Cinematic UNIVERSE. A web of stories with an insane amount of characters doing very different things in their own little corners of the universe with some of these corners occasionally overalapping and interacting. That's the structure of storytelling that the comics followed from the 60s till the early 00s.

It was only after ca. 2005 that Marvel Comics started its obsession with events that brought literally the entire universe together every few months with all solo runs in-between acting as pre-ludes and interludes for these events. And that's what the MCU fans have come to know now, which makes this new structure of individual, self-contained, "filler" stories something odd and unnatural for MCU fans.

And of course, since all these "episodes" of the Infinity Saga TV show were part of the same story, they also felt much more cut of the same cloth. Similar tone and style, similar stories. And that tone and style was designed to appeal to the widest audience possible. The MCU has diversified its style, tone, types of stories and the target audiences for each of its projects are now very, very different.

Finally, there are some people who saw the MCU as "Cap and Tony". They were the much of the audiences' anchors in this universe and without them, it just feels like all these are side-stories. For these people, the MCU ended with Endgame. For these people, the MCU was a TV-show with 22 2-hour episodes and now everything post-Phase 3 is just spin-offs; post-game campaigns.

And they are the players who close the game once the main story is done.

All in all, it was a good, enjoyable, fun, but also heartbreaking and emotional 2 years and while nowhere near perfect, Phase 4 introduced some great characters, had some great stories and some great threads for Phase 5 and 6 to explore. Will definitely look back with fond memories and nostalgia when the Multiverse Saga eventually comes to a close and I beliebe some stories will become retroactively better.

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