Tag Archives: MCU

Hidden Message in the Title of the Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel?

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It’s been revealed by Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, that the title of the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel will be Spider-Man: Far From Home.

And I genuinely have a problem with that because one way I interpreted the title of the first movie was as a return of Spider-Man back to where he belongs (never mind that the more obvious meaning was that it literally revolved around the preparation for Peter Parker’s first Homecoming dance).

Now, it’s rumored that the sequel takes place during a class trip to Europe, making ‘Far From Home’ a fitting subtitle.

But let’s look a little deeper. Just as Spider-Man: Homecoming could be interpreted as the return of Spidey to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) could Spider-Man: Far From Home be read as an end of Spider-Man in the MCU?

The nature of the deal between Marvel Studios and Sony has always been a temporary one, though there has always been a bit of uncertainty around when it ends exactly.

As far as I’m aware, Spider-Man is a part of the MCU through Avengers 4 and the Spider-Man sequel, which makes me wonder if the subtitle of the Spider-Man sequel is a cagey way of Feige saying that Spidey’s tour of duty in the MCU is at an end?

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You Can’t Be Missed If You Won’t Go Away

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I just read an article about how Zach Snyder’s plans for the DCEU were supposedly so “epic, grand, emotional, joyful and unforgettable” which bothers me more than a little bit because we’re hearing more about Snyder’s plans for this and intentions for that now than when Justice League was actually in theaters.

As I have said before, Zach Snyder is a talented director, but his vision left A LOT to be desired and was by no means fitting for the characters he was developing.

And his greatest problem was an attempt to apply a ‘one size fits all’ esthetic to DC characters (inspired by Christopher Nolan’s work on the Dark Knight trilogy).

A dark, gloomy feel works fine for Batman–though the constant murdering? Not so much–but the problems start when you try to apply the same esthetic to apparently EVERY character in the DCEU.

Superman is–virtually by design–the polar opposite of Batman. He exudes optimism and hope, and while Batman–who isn’t necessarily nihilistic or pessimistic–does embody a world weariness of sorts, a feeling that the individual is constantly fighting against the tide.

So Zach Snyder–either by design or accident–misread the essential nature of the characters he was working with, and made them look like those most of us have been familiar with and instead twisted them into weird, strange versions of themselves.

And the worse thing is, all Snyder and the executives at DC Films had to do is follow the example of what Marvel Studios did with Captain America, namely double-down on those traits (his honesty, forthrightness and a relatively ‘simple,’ black and white worldview) that were defining traits for the character for most of their existence.

in other words, Superman changed to fit the world we live in today, while Captain America stayed pretty much as he was in 1941, in all his squarish glory and was witness to the world changing around him to a time when his values and (relative) moral simplicity once again came back into vogue.

So Zach Snyder essentially ruined Batman and Superman as millions of people knew them so we need time to forget his funhouse mirror interpretations of our much loved superheroes, which won’t stand a chance of happening if he (or those in his orbit) keep implying that the only that was wrong with movies like Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad was that we just weren’t clever enough to get it or maybe if we were just a bit more patient the wonderfulness infrequently seen would somehow make an overdue appearance.

Avengers: Infinity War – Review 

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The less said aboutthe particulars of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War the better but know it rewards fans over casual viewers.  That’s not to say that if you haven’t seen all 18 of the prior MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) movies you won’t enjoy it, though if you haven’t seen any Infinity War isn’t a great place to start.

This is because Infinity War assumes you’re familiar with the adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and so on and if you’re not you’re likely going to be a mite confused going forward.  Avengers: Infinity War is an epic, sprawling story that somehow manages to not only make sense, but feel significantly shorter than it’s 2 hour and 29 minute running time would lead one to assume.

Some people accuse the Marvel movies or being formulaic–and there’s a point to that in the sense that they tend to follow a particular pattern–but Infinity War turns that formula on it’s head because the movie revolves entirely around the villain, Thanos, and his efforts to procure–by hook or by crook–the five Infinity Stones that will enable him to remake reality in any way he feels necessary.

The heroes are delegated to deal with Thanos’ mechanizations though they’re almost entirely on the offensive, mainly due to the Black Order (like Gamora and Nebula, ‘children’ of Thanos) who are dispatched to obtain the Infinity Stones.

The movie is at turns funny and tragic and has one of the most somber endings of any movie in recent memory, never mind a MCU one.

Avengers: Infinity War is likely unlike any major tentpole movie you’ve ever seen and you’ll likely have a great time doing so.

Though if you’ve seen it already, what do you think?  Let me know down below.

Venom – Official Teaser Trailer

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Screenshot 2018-02-08 01.31.48Have I mentioned I really hope Ruben Fleicher’s Venom fails?

Why so negative, you might ask?  Well, I’ll tell you.  Fleisher (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) is a competent director, so my issue isn’t with him.

And it’s certainly not with Tom Hardy, who appears to be an actor that willing to do his best for a role despite apprehensions to the contrary.

No, my problem is Sony, who’s creating their own little offramp of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) using characters from the Spiderverse (Silver Sable, Black Cat, the Scorpion) though if that weren’t bad enough, they have to exist–as far as I am aware–apart from Spider-Man (who’s currently being managed by Marvel Studios).

That’s right!  We’re going to have a series of movies that revolve around characters that were introduced to readers via Spider-Man’s comic, only without Spider-Man.

Yeah, it makes no sense to me either.

 

Avengers: Infinity War Teaser Trailer Tomorrow!

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If Justice League left you a bit underwhelmed, Marvel Studios has the perfect holiday gift!  The teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War premieres tomorrow (and while I still think a teaser for a trailer is a dopey idea the trend didn’t start with this movie, and isn’t likely to end anytime soon)!

Avengers: Infinity War (and it’s so far unnamed sequel) are the culmination of  Phase Three of the MCU, or Marvel Cinematic  Universe, and supposedly revolves around Thanos taking a more active role in retrieving the Infinity Stones, which when he gets them would make him a god with the power to make–or unmake–the universe.

Standing against him and his Black Order (I hope they go by their name in the comics, the Cull Obsidian) are every hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as old greviances are forgotten in the face of the greatest threat the world, and the universe has ever known.

Sony’s Bug Problem

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And while spiders are arachnids, not bugs, bear with me and all come clear.

Spider-Man: Homecoming makes its North American debut today, and some pundits believe that it will ensnare an opening somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million.  If this bears out it would make the movie the fourth of 2017–joining Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2 and Wonder Woman–to reach that milestone.

Though–at least at the moment–Sony only plans to work with Marvel Studios on Homecoming and its sequel, and that’s problematic not only for that reason, but because they’re also planning movies based on Venom, Silver Sable and the Black Cat, all outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe (known as the MCU).

This is a terrible idea because one of the reasons Spider-Man: Honecoming is projected to do as well as it is is because Spider-Man is returning to the MCU, which people are interested in seeing, while Sony’s upcoming movies will likely not have this version of Spider-Man, if any at all.

As I said, it’s a problem because you’re not only taking away the context that Venom currently exists in–which is the MCU–you’re potentially taking away the reason Venom himself exists (the symbiont originally chose to bond with Spider-Man.  Only when it was rejected by him did it turn its attentions to Eddie Brock).

So Venom (as well as Silver Sable, Black Cat and whichever other Spiderverse characters they intend to use) existing outside the MCU is problematic.

Though without Spider-Man?

That’s more than a problem; that’s a disaster for Sony.  For Marvel?

Not so much, especially when you take into account that while they never actually needed Spider-Man he’s back (albeit temporarily) and the MCU version has appeared in Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming and with three movies on the way (Avengers: Infinity War, an untitled Avengers movie as well as a sequel to Homecoming).

If Sony were smart–or smarter, after all they did have the foresight to cut this deal with Marvel Studios–they would ensure that the Spiderverse remain in the MCU with a deal a similar to that that they reached with Spider-Man (which would probably have Marvel Studios getting a cut of the box office, perhaps in exchange for contributing to the costs of production).

It’s certainly worth a thought.

Marvel’s Daredevil S2:E10 – The Man In The Box

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IMG_1990.jpgFor awhile, despite my serious love for everything that was unfolding in Daredevil, I was wondering how they were going to manage to embrace the more fantastical aspects of the Marvel Universe.

In the world that exists in Marvel Televised Universe, the heroes are much more grounded than they are in its cinematic brethren so for awhile I was thinking that those fantastical elements would be gone (or at the very least minimized).

And while a part of me was okay with that, I would have liked to see them here as well.

Though it looks like I might be getting my wish.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, the First Season introduced the idea of a ‘Black Sky’ for a few episodes, then pretty much ignored it, which made me think that it was an abandoned plot thread.

Boy, was I wrong because it’s seriously bearing fruit as we see Daredevil embrace not only the brutally realistic, but the ritualistic and hopefully, the magical as well.

And it might be just me, but it looks like the budget must have gone up significantly because this episode features at least two helicopter shots, and they’re not cheap.