Marvel Cinematic Universe

[3GenClone]

I'm not really a fan of adding the Kingpin to the MCU. I think the Kingpin worked very well in the Daredevil series, but I don't consider Donofrio's version a physical threat for Tom Holland's Spider-Man. A physical confrontation wouldn't make sense anyways, and a kid battling an underground crime organization doesn't really seem to be what the MCU is missing. I like the idea that the Kingpin is able to take advantage of the wreckage that the Avengers leave behind in their wake and I'm almost hoping for a similar situation after the events of Infinity War. With Spider-Man being positioned to take on a more significant role in a potential "Avenger's 2.0" lineup, I think it makes sense to continue to have Spider-Man take on more significant villains in the standalone series that are a greater threats and leave the Kingpin to square off against the Defenders.

I think it's pretty much a given that Venom/Carnage are going to be teased as future Spider-Man/MCU villains anyway. There is too much outerspace content in the MCU to NOT include Venom at this point.

I have also always liked the idea of Spider-Man movie with Hobgoblin as the villain, played similarly to Heath Ledger's Joker. The identity of Hobgoblin wasn't revealed initially, and instead you had this character that inflicted chaos just to prove that he could. Hobgoblin could just go running around New York and nobody has a clue who he is. I think that would play very well in the MCU, because Spider-Man is also the only character in the MCU that hides his secret identity - think about it. That could be a very interesting film that explores the conscious choices Peter Parker makes to protect himself.

 

[Triggermv]

I'm not really a fan of adding the Kingpin to the MCU. I think the Kingpin worked very well in the Daredevil series, but I don't consider Donofrio's version a physical threat for Tom Holland's Spider-Man. A physical confrontation wouldn't make sense anyways, and a kid battling an underground crime organization doesn't really seem to be what the MCU is missing. I like the idea that the Kingpin is able to take advantage of the wreckage that the Avengers leave behind in their wake and I'm almost hoping for a similar situation after the events of Infinity War. With Spider-Man being positioned to take on a more significant role in a potential "Avenger's 2.0" lineup, I think it makes sense to continue to have Spider-Man take on more significant villains in the standalone series that are a greater threats and leave the Kingpin to square off against the Defenders.

I think it's pretty much a given that Venom/Carnage are going to be teased as future Spider-Man/MCU villains anyway. There is too much outerspace content in the MCU to NOT include Venom at this point.

I have also always liked the idea of Spider-Man movie with Hobgoblin as the villain, played similarly to Heath Ledger's Joker. The identity of Hobgoblin wasn't revealed initially, and instead you had this character that inflicted chaos just to prove that he could. Hobgoblin could just go running around New York and nobody has a clue who he is. I think that would play very well in the MCU, because Spider-Man is also the only character in the MCU that hides his secret identity - think about it. That could be a very interesting film that explores the conscious choices Peter Parker makes to protect himself.

I get where you are coming from that Kingpin is "not a physical threat" right now to Spider-Man, but that is where the creativity comes in, similar to Lex Luthor and Superman. It isn't that Lex Luthor is a physical match to Superman, but rather his ability to twist and work stuff behind the scenes does pose a threat. Consequently, sometimes guys like Kingpin tend to work well with pairing them with someone who is a physical threat (poor example is Doomsday in Batman v Superman). That way you get the physical/strategical threat combo. Regardless, good villains don't always have to trade blows one for one with our heroes to make them effective. More or less, many of the best ones do it more by being one step ahead of our heroes at every point in time. Take Heath Ledger as the Joker for instance, he is never really set up as a physical threat to Batman, but rather is more of a genius orchestrator in the background.

However, I do get where you are coming from in not wanting to go the organized crime direction. I'm not 100% sure of it myself. I'd like to see where Spider-Man sets up after this next movie, then I'll be able to judge. Regardless, if they were to go the Kingpin route, the violence would definitely have to be tamed down quite a bit, which I don't think is impossible, but they would have to do it correctly. It really doesn't help that the MCU Spider-Man is currently set up as a wise-cracking teenager, aimed at connecting to kids. So, if they go too much that route, I do agree Kingpin might not fit the mix. With that said, I do believe Kingpin can be equally menacing without the violence if done right, but he still has to fit tonally with what they are doing.

 

[Triggermv]

RIP Bill Paxton

While most know him as an alum from many major films like Aliens, Twister, True Lies, Apollo 13... etc, the man was also a great part of the MCU (Shield/Sleeper-Hydra Agent John Garrett). In fact, he was probably one of the better characters to come out of Agents of Shield. He will be missed.

 

[Triggermv]

RIP Bill Paxton

While most know his as an alum from many major films like Aliens, Twister, True Lies, Apollo 13... etc, the man was also a great part of the MCU (Shield/Sleeper-Hydra Agent John Garrett). In fact, he was probably one of the better characters to come out of Agents of Shield. He will be missed.

<<<<<<<<<Spoiler-Alert>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm pretty sure his run in the MCU had already come to a close, so it doesn't exactly leave anything open-ended. Lets just say he went out with a bang in the MCU, which is very Bill Paxton style, and the way he seems to like it. (Example: Aliens)

 

[Triggermv]

 

[Triggermv]

I think the big question is whether or not we'll see his costume at all in this season. I'm going to say yes, but not until the very end, kind of like Daredevil, and I'm guessing they alter his mask a bit to make it more practical. Just my two cents.

 

[Triggermv]

So, I've always been soso on both of Daredevil's costumes (Season 1 & 2; Season 2 was the better one), and then I saw this generic Daredevil Hot Toy figurine today, and thought WOW. I love it.

How cool would it be if Daredevil's costume eventually evolved into this, not to mention it would finally show of the DD logo. It really wouldn't be that much of a stretch either as this costume isn't that dissimilar to the one he currently has. Here is his current costume for comparison sake:

 

[Triggermv]

For anyone still holding out hope that Vin Diesel would stick with playing Black Bolt in the MCU, even as the story has been moved from movie to a TV/IMAX format..... sorry. Marvel has officially casted Anson Mount in the role. Personally, I know nothing about this new dude, but after doing a simple google pictures search, I'll say he at least looks the part. I guess I'll hope for the best.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/inhu...heels-actor-anson-mount-as-black-bolt-a149282

 

[Triggermv]

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 just dropped their next full-length trailer last night:



I'm going to abstain from watching this one personally. I've already seen enough and don't want to spoil and more of the actual movie for myself.

 

[bos]

For anyone still holding out hope that Vin Diesel would stick with playing Black Bolt in the MCU, even as the story has been moved from movie to a TV/IMAX format..... sorry. Marvel has officially casted Anson Mount in the role. Personally, I know nothing about this new dude, but after doing a simple google pictures search, I'll say he at least looks the part. I guess I'll hope for the best.

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/inhu...heels-actor-anson-mount-as-black-bolt-a149282

Anson is great. Loved him in Hell On Wheels.

 

[3GenClone]

I finally saw Doctor Strange - I would rate that movie as "pretty good" nowhere near as great as Civil War, Iron Man 1 or GotG but it's probably in the upper-half of my MCU rankings.

Things I liked:
* The visuals were amazing - hands-down the best cinematography the MCU has ever done.
* Baron Mordo - I thought he was the best written character and also had the strongest performance onscreen. The cast was generally good, but I felt some of the dialogue was a little weak in places. Chiwetel Ejiofer is a great actor and would be a great recurring villain in the MCU to fill the void if Loki is done with the MCU after Infinity War.
* Pacing of the story - for an origin story, that was pretty well done. The movie was just under 2 hours and they were able to concisely tell the heroes journey without making things too overly complicated and keeping it entertaining throughout.

I'm looking forward to Doctor Strange's appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, as well as the eventual sequel. I think Scott Derrickson has done a great job as director for this film and I think he compliments this character well.

 

[Triggermv]

So, I recently picked up Dr. Strange on blu-ray and subsequently watched it again for the first time since I saw it in theaters. With that said, I thought that movie was decently better the second time around. Keep in mind, I was one who liked it the first time, but really didn't love it. In fact, when I threw it in my MCU rankings, I ranked it relatively low. A lot of the reasons why it ranked it so low was lots of plot holes where I didn't know how or why things were happening. Anyway, after the second viewing, many of those holes were filled, which made for my greater satisfaction with the movie the second time around, while some still remained. I think the first viewing of the movie is just so visually crazy, which kind of mezmerized me to the point where i missed certain things. Regardless, here are a few of the things that still bug me.

1. How quick of a time period Strange developed his skills and how that timeline fits into the MCU canon
2. With all the crazy magic all the sorcerers can do, literally all their fighting still involves punching and hand to hand combat. I mean, where the heck are the actual spells????
3. Why was the New York Sanctum only protected by one guy???
4. Why did Strange leave the portal open in the New York Sanctorum when he was hurt???
5. Why would an Infinity Stone be so flippantly placed in the library where Strange would have such easy access to it and nobody seemed to care???
6. Why does Dormamu want desire earth most of all???

With all that said, my in-home viewing was in 2D whereas I saw this movie in 3D in the movie theater and wow, talk about a difference. While I'm not the biggest 3D fan, I'd say this movie is at least twice as impressive in 3D than it is in 2D. In fact, I'd say this movie is one of the few must sees in 3D. It is almost a completely different movie.

 

[Triggermv]

Colleen Wing. Not gonna lie, she is pretty cute.

 

[3GenClone]

One of the problems I had with Doctor Strange was with Benjamin Bratt's character. He went to all that trouble just so he could play pick-up basketball? I was almost hoping that he would have turned out to be The Ancient One, as he was the one that put Doctor Strange on that path to Kamar-Taj in the first place. To find out that he was just a sorcerer who gave up once he achieved what he wanted almost de-valued what Doctor Strange accomplished. In fact, wouldn't you assume that Benjamin Bratt would have to be one of the more-powerful sorcerers in order to sustain the dimensional power for him to use his arms and legs?

 

[bos]

One of the problems I had with Doctor Strange was with Benjamin Bratt's character. He went to all that trouble just so he could play pick-up basketball? I was almost hoping that he would have turned out to be The Ancient One, as he was the one that put Doctor Strange on that path to Kamar-Taj in the first place. To find out that he was just a sorcerer who gave up once he achieved what he wanted almost de-valued what Doctor Strange accomplished. In fact, wouldn't you assume that Benjamin Bratt would have to be one of the more-powerful sorcerers in order to sustain the dimensional power for him to use his arms and legs?

Well in the credits, he got called out on his bull ****. Im almost curious if he will appear in a sequel.

 

[Triggermv]

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/tv/m...ly-iron-fist-reviews-indicate-a-rough-a149477

First reviews are out for the upcoming Marvel's Iron Fist series on Netflix, and they unfortunately don't look very good, which is kind of a bummer, especially beings how this is probably the Netflix series I've most looked forward to watching since Daredevil Season 1. I guess I'll just hope for the best and that I won't agree with the reviews and like it. I mean, while I tend to agree with critics on stuff, critics did LOVE Luke Cage, and I really didn't necessarily share their enthusiasm, so we weren't on the same page there. In fact, I thought it was by far the worst Netflix series yet. I was actually digging it until the big twist in the middle (trying not to spoil), but then thought it went downhill from there. Cottonmouth was great, Maria Hill was so-so, and Diamondback was terrible.

 

[3GenClone]

I thought Luke Cage was pretty good until Diamondback was introduced. That storyline was absolutely terrible and stings even more that they went that route rather than pursue Cottonmouth, which was a great character and was played by Mahershala Ali who happened to win an Oscar this year for Best Supporting Actor.

This quote from Uproxx sticks out to me the most:

why would anyone but the most devout, masochistic Marvel completist want to watch?

Not a ringing endorsement. I'll still watch it. Maybe I'll space out the episodes rather than try to knock them out in a few days like I did the other Marvel shows. It sounds like the issue may be that the critics are trying to watch all the episodes as quickly as possible. Maybe leaving time to digest each episode makes it more tolerable?

 

[Triggermv]

Through six episodes, in addition to failing to introduce a main character I care about at all, Iron Fist hasn't given me any season-long arc/objective that I could describe for you, much less one I'm curious to see resolved — and that's before it hits that wall between episodes 7 and 12 that none of the Marvel shows has been immune to.

I didn't like seeing this quote above either, as my biggest criticism of the Marvel Netflix shows has been what I'd call that episode 7-11 wall of every series so far, where it seems writers are being forced to stretch an 8 episode story line into a 13 episode series. This is why I'm a big advocate of shortening all these series to 8 episodes, which is what it seems they are doing with both The Punisher series and The Defenders, so that is good. Give me less episodes, but go balls to the wall in every episode.

 

[bos]

I rarely care what critics say. Some are often trying too hard to find something wrong with it.

 

[Triggermv]

I thought Luke Cage was pretty good until Diamondback was introduced. That storyline was absolutely terrible and stings even more that they went that route rather than pursue Cottonmouth, which was a great character and was played by Mahershala Ali who happened to win an Oscar this year for Best Supporting Actor.

This quote from Uproxx sticks out to me the most:

Not a ringing endorsement. I'll still watch it. Maybe I'll space out the episodes rather than try to knock them out in a few days like I did the other Marvel shows. It sounds like the issue may be that the critics are trying to watch all the episodes as quickly as possible. Maybe leaving time to digest each episode makes it more tolerable?

Yeah, that Cottonmouth thing stings, especially when you consider Mahershala Ali as being probably one of the best actors in the entire MCU. I can only image a future series now which would bring him together with the Kingpin somehow. That could have been electric.