 Quickly becoming a personal favourite of mine in the "Multiverse Saga," 'Thunderbolts*' brings together a handful of underdog, second-fiddle anti-heroes in a way that not only refreshes our memories on things a bit but does so in a way that seems to advance things in the MCU finally, as well as making connections to upcoming MCU projects, which so many stingers have failed to do since the "Multiverse Saga" began, with a few exceptions. Thankfully, however, Marvel has listened to us again.
'Thunderbolts*' offered something slightly different for the MCU, although one could easily compare them to DC's 'Suicide Squad,' conceptually. Either way, it's nice to see some familiar, likeable faces again in their roles as mercenaries, working for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who is involved with the O.X.E. Group's "Sentry" project. The film opens with one of Valentina's mercs, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), destroying a lab in Malaysia to cover up Valentina's involvement. Yelena, wanting change in her life, communicates this to Valentina, who, in turn, sends her on a final mission to take out a target. Here, however, Yelena runs into John Walker, a.k.a. U.S Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), all of whom find a new enemy in Valentina, as she sent them all there to destroy each other. They also meet a guy named Bob Reynolds (Lewis Pullman), who is hiding in the facility, and they take him with them while attempting to escape the facility. But some notice that there's something just a little strange about Bob. In the meantime, Alexei Shostakov, a.k.a. Red Guardian (David Harbour), is living as a freelance chauffeur, who, one day, overhears Valentina's plans as he's driving her, realizing Yelena (his daughter) is in over her head, and he soon sets out to find her. Eventually, they all cross paths with Congressman Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. (ex-) Winter Soldier, who plans to use them to testify at Valentina's impeachment. But it's not long before this rag-tag team finds themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation that would regularly call for the Mighty Avengers, who are all preoccupied in one way or another. It's safe to say that when a teetering MCU fan watches a 'Thunderbolts*' trailer, they might wonder about some characters they may not have seen yet. But I feel there's enough here, either subtly mentioned or said outright, that gives a bit of a recap on things, at least as much as one would need to know. With a film like this, that's necessary because to play true "catch-up" with this, you're looking at a ton of viewing material. Not only does it do a good job of recapping things on a need-to-know basis, but it also fuels the desire to go back and watch some of these things again to see if we get more out of it. Something I always appreciate is the film's take on what could be considered dark mental health problems, not in a way that feels particularly "woke," but in a way that genuinely flows with the character(s) involved. It's a story about overcoming hopelessness and fighting to find the light in any dark situation. I must further give the movie kudos for the secret behind the astrix in the film's title, which IS revealed but will not be here. And to top it all off, the stinger here feels much closer to how things used to be, as it's simple, to the point, and doesn't provide a whole bunch of question marks with it as so many have since 'Endgame.' In many ways, I agree with other reviews I've read and seen online that something about 'Thunderbolts*' feels right again, as if they've gone back to basics. I have a bit of a bias towards the film and some of its subject matter, namely the good old underdog concept, but I can honestly say something about this movie felt more "at home." This movie has an all-around human relatability that hasn't felt quite present in a while - maybe that's just me. However, as far as the Multiverse Saga goes, this is easily one of the most pleasant surprises the MCU has to offer. 5/5
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Edit Coming 08/31/26  Superhero fatigue is a very real and widespread thing nowadays, even going so far as to effect genuine fans of this material. I've brought it up in previous superhero movie reviews, and at this point in the game, speaking personally, I'm right smack dab in the middle of it all. To some degree, I am tired of it being so overdone, even outside of the MCU, and a lot of it is redundant at this point. But at the same time, I love my heroes, and every now and then there is still a pleasant surprise here and there.
Unfortunately, 'Brave New World' here is a good example of your average run-of-the-mill superhero flick, with no real razzle-dazzle to make it stand out. It could have stood out with the appearance of Red Hulk, but that was shown too quickly in the trailers. I certainly didn't leave the movie thinking it was a waste of my time or even thinking it was that bad, despite what so many critics are saying about it. In fact, some of the criticisms about it are exactly what I enjoyed about it. Steve Rogers handed over Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) the mantle of Captain America in 'Endgame.' Sam has since been on some adventures with Bucky Barnes, AKA Winter Soldier, establishing himself as the new Cap in the series 'Falcon & The Winter Soldier.' Meanwhile, Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (Harrison Ford, formerly William Hurt, RIP) has been elected President of the United States. He seeks to better himself politically and for his estranged daughter, Betty Ross, who was last seen about sixteen years ago in 'Incredible Hulk.' Despite some past friction, Ross sends Sam and his new sidekick, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), to Oaxaca, Mexico, to prevent the illegal sale of something classified, stolen by the Serpent Society, a spec-ops team led by a guy named Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito). The mission is a success, and the classified item Sam and Joaquin recover ends up being the precious metal adamantium found on Celestial Island: the gigantic Celestial whose emergence from the Indian Ocean got disrupted back in 'The Eternals' and hasn't been mentioned since. The President and some of his colleagues soon find themselves under fire from unknown sources. However, one of the attackers is Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), a long-forgotten super soldier introduced to us in 'Falcon & The Winter Soldier.' Knowing Isiah's innocence, Sam and Joaquin set out to find the real mastermind behind the attacks. At the same time, Joaquin goes through a crash course to learn what it means to be Captain America's right-hand man and the risks involved with neither of them having abilities like Steve did. The film comes across as a little bit of three different stories to make up one all-around sequel to no 'Cap' movie as much as 2008's 'Incredible Hulk.' As much as I appreciate that they are reaching back into time to connect things (along with 'The Eternals'), I get why not everyone will be thrilled with such a thing. It's one part the introduction of adamantium to tease some upcoming 'X-Men' movie, one part Joaquin's training and camaraderie with Sam, and one part the spark of reforming the Avengers: a team I wasn't sure was even "broken" at this point. Quality-wise, I would compare this to something like 'Black Widow.' It's not without some charm, but it's one of the weaker titles that feels like it belongs a little more in a different time. While I can enjoy the filmmakers reaching back so far, not everyone can say the same, and that's understandable. On top of that, the post-credit scene doesn't exactly set up anything we don't already know and have known for quite some time. At best, this is an average "bridge" movie, leading to something bigger, like some prologue. It's "fine," nothing special, but the MCU has delivered worse. POST-CREDIT SCENE: No spoilers until the release of 'Fantastic 4: The First Steps' 3/5 Edit Coming 08/24/26  Before we get into it, I will warn that while I will try to keep this completely spoiler-free, there may very well still be aspects to the plot that one might not want given to them. I would recommend that the reader sees the movie first, and then reads my review. Marvel and Disney have been doing a fantastic job of keeping things under their hat as far as things go, and in this review things will probably be revealed such as why we see a '20th Century Fox' logo that seems to have fallen into a desert. But I promise NO cameo spoilers, as that's kind of the big one.
This all kicks off with Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) back in 2018, using the time travelling device he got from Cable in the last film. Not only is he able to use it to travel back and forth in time, but he can also use it to jump timelines altogether, and thus, dimensions. This is illustrated as he leaves Earth-10005 (the Fox universe) to Earth-616 (the MCU), meeting Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and interviewing to become an Avenger, ultimately being rejected, but ultimately showing us exactly where this crosses over into MCU territory. Several years later, Wade has decided to hang up the costume. He has since broken up with his Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), although still on friendly terms, and gotten a job as a used car salesman with Peter (Rob Delaney). His now normal, if a bit depressing life, however, is quickly interrupted by the TVA (Time Variance Authority), made famous through the series 'Loki'. They kidnap him, and drag him to their base of operations where he meets Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen), who offers him a chance to become part of Earth-616. Although at first, Deadpool is ready to be a part of something much bigger, Paradox informs him that his wolrd is deteriorating due to the loss of what is referred to as its anchor being; the character that keeps it all together. In Earth-10005's case, that being is Logan (Hugh Jackman). Now, in order to try to save his world, Deadpool has to find a new Wolverine to bring to his world to re-establish an anchor being, and hopefully bring things back to normal. Unfortunately, however, Wade ends up with the "worst" Wolvie in the multiverse. This is where I'm gonna stop with explanation of the plot, because it takes us a while to get to where the fans watching will start going crazy, and that's pretty much the gist of the plot anyway. The only real thing to add is that we are eventually introduced to the film's villain, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin), who, when it comes right down to it, she's a pretty typical power-hungry villain, and I still feel like I'd be giving far too much away if I got into her motivations. She wants to take control of everything in the multiverse, let's put it that way. Understandably, my readers might be a little miffed at how much I actually have been holding back, but as I said from the get-go, despite my heads-up about it, I do want this to be spoiler-free, so I don't really want to give anyone more than the trailers already have. One thing I can say about it, however, is that if you've ever been a comic book/superhero movie fan of any calibre, I can highly recommend it. Not only are the cameos awesome and even somewhat unexpected, but there's some nostalgia to this in Easter egg form that reaches back to the 90s. This movie was a hell of a lot of fun, and it works very well as both a fond farewell to the Fox universe (yet again), and acts as a solid MCU bridge movie between 'The Marvels' and 'Cap: BNW'. This is the breather that MCU fans have needed for a while now. It steps outside of the typical, and like both 'DP' films before this, the filmmakers just kept an ear up to the fans, and there feels like a lot of "FINALLY!" to this movie, not the least of which involves Wolvie's yellow and blue, comic-accurate outfit. So if you've ever wanted to see a Marvel fan's dream come true with cameos and crossovers aplenty, definitely check it out! POST-CREDIT SCENE: Deadpool gives his audience video footage of what exactly Johnny Storm said about Cassandra Nova to prove he didn't make any of it up. 5/5 Edit Coming 08/17/25  I'm sure plenty of people will once again disagree with my overall opinions on this movie, but it's almost to be expected when it comes to 'Captain Marvel.' I won't get into all the details about it, but even though I did think the first film was one of the weaker 'Infinity Saga films, I felt like the character got way too much hate even though her last-minute appearance in 'Endgame' felt incredibly cheap. I don't love her, but I certainly don't hate her, and I can accept that she's essentially the big "invincible" MCU character compared to Superman.
Having said that, they did a better job here with how the film ends. I'd be spoiling too much if I mentioned much else, but let's say that they were able to somewhat humanize Carol Danvers'/Captain Marvel's (Brie Larson) character in a few different ways. She's no longer just "the invincible one" here, and bringing in both Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) helps with her character, as she has been a hero to both of them, but in very different ways. She also has to deal with the pressures of her intergalactic superhero job, which includes literally causing the near-complete destruction of the Kree homeworld of Hala after she defies the influence of the Supreme Intelligence (as seen in the previous film). New Kree leader, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) plans to restore the complete lack of water, air and sunlight by using the power of a Quantum Band she digs up. One can almost see its power as that of an Infinity Stone, as she uses it to tear open a jump point in space and intends on using more of these jump points to be able to collect the resources the Kree home planet needs from other sources. To simplify, imagine breaking through your wall to get to a water pitcher to fill your glass. Now think of the empty glass as Hala, the pitcher as the planet it needs water from, and the wall as space, which makes much more sense if you watch the movie. However, Dar-Benn seeks the other Quantum Band for more power, and who should have it but Kamala Khan, a.k.a. "Ms. Marvel". It gets a little confusing here, but just to cut to the chase, the anomaly caused by Dar-Benn ripping open that first space hole makes it so that whenever Carol, Monica or Kamala use their powers, they body-swap. Eventually, they have to get together to figure out how they can work together while constantly body-swapping to put a stop to Dar-Benn's theft of planetary elements, which is to ultimately end with the draining of the sun. That may raise a few questions about explanation, but it is still the bottom line. While I came out of this with the thought of it being a fun time, it's not at all without several flaws, some of which are heavy. For example, there's a scene here that I had to make myself accept, essentially making a Disney Princess out of Carol, complete with a magical costume change and a musical number. It's excused by singing being the planet's native form of communication. It's also downright confusing when the body-swap stuff starts up, and while it's explained later, the beginning of this body-swapping also involves a crazy fight sequence that looks really cool but adds to the confusion of it all at the same time. Another nitpick here is our villain. I enjoy the idea of having the Kree see Captain Marvel as the villain, as they call her "The Annihilator." I further enjoy the idea of the villain technically trying to do good for her world. Her motivation is to save her planet, making her a roundabout hero in a way. But her villainy comes from how she's going about it. With that in mind, the character is incredibly stiff and altogether just unlikable. I might compare her to Malekith of 'Thor 2' regarding her overall forgettability. I can get behind her motivations; she's a solid villain in that regard. But she needed more emphasis on any sort of personality. She was just kinda "there." This is a solid example of the "girl power" concept done well, in my humble opinion. There's nothing forced here, and they don't do anything about making men any level of "dumb" or "enemy" in the process. This is a team of three strong women fighting another strong woman, and Nick Fury is essentially "The Guy in the Chair," which suits him fine. So, I wouldn't see this as any sort of feministic power move so much as a decent all-female flick with brilliant fight choreography involving body-swapping, a sense of humour and charm. Flawed? Most definitely. But I still had fun with this. MID-CREDIT SCENE: Monica Rambeau awakens in a parallel universe, where Beast (Kelsey Grammar) is watching over her, along with Binary - an alternate version of her mother, Maria. 3/5 Edit Coming 08/10/25  Up to this point, the 'Guardians' movies have been a place to go to let loose and have a lot of fun. They had a somewhat serious edge to them at times, but for the most part, they have been flashy action sci-fi comedies complete with amazing retro soundtracks. While this is still all of that, however, this one has a much darker side to it. The main story behind 'Vol 3' here is built around Rocket and his past, and we finally get a glimpse into what exactly happened to him. But admittedly, some of it can be a bit tough to watch, bringing the movie's dark side to the front.
To kick this off, I suggest watching the 'Guardians Christmas Special' before going into this, or at least brushing up on what happened and what was revealed. It's not a huge deal; it just covers a few details that are mentioned sort of out of left field here. Anyway, the film opens with a brief flashback to the beginning of the creation of Rocket (Bradley Cooper/Noa Raskin), then brings us to the present day where, at the Guardians HQ in Knowhere, Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is dwelling on the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The others, now including Rocket, Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista), are constantly taking care of him. However, this little bridge-over scene is suddenly interrupted when Knowhere is attacked by Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), a Sovereign warrior created by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), as seen in an end-credit scene in 'Vol 2'. Adam doesn't quite get to his target but seriously wounds him - Rocket. As the Guardians tend to his wounds, they can't, as there has been a kill switch implanted inside him from a company called OrgoCorp, specifically by a being known as the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), whom we eventually learn is after Rocket for his brilliant brain. The Guardians soon head to OrgoCorp to infiltrate it and get their hands on an override code for their furry friend. Eventually, the crew is joined by Gamora, now a Ravager, and still has no recollection of Quill since the brief events shared with him in 'Endgame.' This provides us with our essential B-story involving Quill is heartache, knowing his Gamora is now dead, yet another version of her is standing right in front of him, who seemingly wants no part of him. She's essentially the Gamora we remember from the beginning of all this. The film does a good job of carrying this out by making it the B-story to this and making the A-story about Rocket's past, which is something any 'Guardians' fan has been curious about since day one. Speaking of Rocket's backstory, in a series of flashbacks, we learn that he was created by the High Evolutionary in an attempt to make a perfect species to bring to a new, perfect world he calls "Counter Earth." Here, we also meet the somewhat creepy but very kind friends Rocket once had, each with their own self-proclaimed name: an otter named Lylla (Linda Cardellini), a walrus named Teefs (Asim Chaudhry) and a bunny named Floor (Mikaela Hoover). As the High Evolutionary is still after this perfect world, he's after Rocket's brilliant, techie brain and sent the almighty Adam Warlock to find him. One of my favourite parts of the movie actually also ends up being my biggest criticism. Adam Warlock and his relationship with his Mother are a good chunk of this comedy. Adam is damn near a God, but he does act like a bit of a bumblebutt in this. He's not necessarily on a Drax level (which is still hilarious here), but at the very least, he's naive. So what's the problem? Well, there's no REAL reason for him to be here other than to fulfill the teaser we were left with several years ago. Ultimately, he just destroys a bunch of stuff and has some funny dialogue. I feel like if they made him too serious, this movie would have lost points. He's a risk who will pay off for some but not others. With all that said, however, I came out of it very happy with the end result. The 'Guardians' are still a lot of fun to watch, as they always have been, with great visuals, lovable characters and a killer soundtrack (although I may put this one on the bottom of the list). The best use of the soundtrack here is the Beastie Boys: "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn." There's a scene involving it that might be the most kick-ass 'Guardians' scene they've ever filmed. The film's flaws are pretty easy for me to overlook, considering the comedy and heart put into it seems to cancel out anything particularly "bad" about it. I could sit here and get nitpicky, but I simply can't when this is the third in a series of films that rounds out an incredible trilogy. It's easily one of the best titles since 'Endgame'! MID-CREDITS SCENE: A new 'Guardians of the Galaxy' team is formed, which includes Rocket and Groot along with Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam Warlock and his pet Blurp, and one of the rescued Star Children named Phyla. 5/5 Edit Coming 08/03/25  This is a fine example of a movie I look forward to reviewing, as from my perspective, I am going completely against the grain of so many critics. Movies like this make me so happy to have a blog to post my opinions on. I'm no film school graduate, nor am I a pro at what "good film" is. I'm just an average guy who believes one can read my reviews at one's discretion. I do this for a general audience of viewers and fans of film, so I'm always happy to find something to love in something everyone else seems to dislike, or even hate.
To begin with, this is an MCU film with an astonishingly low rating of 48% by critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It was initially said to be a "new record," but by technicality, 'Eternals' is actually at 47%. The difference is that I felt no surprise upon reading that about 'Eternals.' But for this one, ultimately, it comes across as a bit of a shocker. This is just me talking, but this MCU film gives us a better glimpse into an intriguing dimension, expanding Marvel lore even further with strange creatures and environments. And I understand how this could irk some, but I appreciated the fact that this film took place almost entirely in the Quantum Realm, with very little Earth-level material to be had. Sadly, having said that, this also means no Luis (Michael Peña from the previous films) with his hilariously visual storytelling, but there's also something to be said for change. Until now, 'Ant-Man' has always been more of a "fun-time" title than a "serious" title. You wouldn't compare them to 'Captain America' or 'Black Panther' films so much as something like 'Spider-Man' or 'Guardians.' So, at least speaking for myself, this one is almost refreshing. Although it still has its sense of humour, there's also a darker side to this than we've otherwise become used to. It's a solid balance of material. After helping the rest of the Avengers and friends to defeat Thanos in the Battle of Earth, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has become a successful author and lives happily with his main squeeze, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). It's not all sunshine and rainbows, however, as his now teenage daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), has become a political activist in support of those who have lost their homes after the "Blip" (or "Snap"). We get the rebellious teenager vs Dad trying to set a good example here. But almost instantly, Cassie reveals that she, along with a bit of assistance from Hope and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), has been devising something to establish contact with the Quantum Realm. The whole undertaking is altogether impressive, but when it's said that she has been sending a signal down to the Quantum Realm, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) panics about shutting it down. But when it's too late, Scott, Cassie, Hope, Hank and Janet are sucked into the Quantum Realm against their wills. Separated into two small groups, Scott and Cassie find themselves amid a group of bizarre freedom fighters. At the same time, Hope, Janet and Hank seek answers about arriving in this realm. It's soon revealed that Janet's reason for panicking about Cassie's device involves a trapped but all-powerful being named Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors). If he gets out of the Quantum Realm, that means pure destruction of the multiverse. In other words, this is our "Thanos Version 2.0", ladies & gentlemen. So, "Can our heroes stop him?" If you've looked at the release order of the rest of the Multiverse Saga, it won't be too hard to figure out based on titles. Anyway, there are a few things here that I can understand some criticism on. A few more things may include some heavy comparisons to 'Star Wars,' and some actors here seem to be phoning it in a little bit. There is also the question of time distortion and how that all works down there. Scott once mentioned in 'Endgame' that he was down there for five years, but it felt like five hours. So will a few more years have passed on the other side of this? I suppose time will tell. But it does get quite confusing. The final thing I should cover is the appearance of M.O.D.O.K. I can't spoil the face under the mask for anyone, but it is a familiar face, and it looks about as ridiculous as one might assume (as M.O.D.O.K. has always looked ridiculous) However, he does end up being a sort of comedy relief, and I feel like if you're gonna bring a character as silly as M.O.D.O.K. into things, this is a pretty good place to put him. Between M.O.D.O.K., the freedom fighters, and Kang himself, there's a pretty interesting contrast of characters going on here. We even get a cameo from Mr. Bill Murray as Lord Krylar. I had a good time with the humour, strange environments and creatures here, as well as the expansion of the MCU into new worlds. It's not at the top of the list, but I still think critics were too harsh on this one. MID-CREDIT SCENE: The Council of Kangs, led by Immortus are shown planning their multiversal uprising and takeover. POST-CREDI SCENE: Loki and Mobius M. Mobius have an encounter with Victor Timely; another Kang variant, at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. 3/5 Edit Coming 07/27/26  Let's take a second to talk about the late, great Chadwick Boseman. This guy has received the respect of so many MCU fans, as it was discovered that he was actually quite sick while filming 'Black Panther.' Diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, the man carried on, not mentioning his illness to many more than a few close family members. It is admirable that he kept going to film something like 'Black Panther,' a film that has gone down in cinematic history for black culture. Boseman was a fighter and an inspiration, and he will be missed.
Boseman's T'challa also marks (I think) the only MCU character not to be recast but to have a story worked around his real-life death instead. Names that come to mind are Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle as Rhodes/War Machine, Ed Norton with Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, and recently, the puzzle of casting that went to Cassie Lang, first by Abby Ryder Fortson, then by Emma Fuhrmann, and now portrayed by Kathryn Newton. One can simply argue that none of these are posthumous replacements - but look at the fact that Harrison Ford is to replace the recently deceased William Hurt as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. There seems to be a certain heavy respect for Boseman - but does it hinder the final product? The film quite literally opens with T'challa's off-screen death due to an unspecified illness. While Shuri (Letitia Wright) tries like hell to synthesize a cure from the heart-shaped herb (the thing that gives the Black Panther power). To no one's surprise, it all fails, and Shuri is soon left with a broken heart, having lost her brother and probably best friend. A year passes, and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is pressured by other nations to share their vibranium. The Queen refuses and even makes some examples of people with the knowledge that so many of these nations are bound to weaponize it. This soon leads the CIA and US Navy SEALs to use a vibranium detector to find another potential deposit underwater. This is where Namor (Tenoch Huerta) attacks the highly trained professionals, leading a group of blue aquatic superhumans. Recognizing a vibranium race at hand, Namor easily blames Wakanda for the interference of their underwater realm. Namor offers an ultimatum - deliver the scientist who created the vibranium detector or begin a war with Namor and his overpowering underwater race. Soon enough, Shuri and Okoye (Danai Gurira) discover from Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) that this inventor is Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), an MIT genius, nothing short of Tony Stark, himself - in many ways, actually. And this is where the film turns into a bit of an "escort mission" movie, which is actually a criticism of mine. Don't get me wrong, it all makes sense in its execution. However, going through this, I definitely got reflections of 'Multiverse of Madness' because the film is mostly about protecting a brand-spanking-new character. There, we had America Chavez; here, we have Riri Williams, aka Ironheart. I theorize at the point of writing this that they will eventually assemble a new, all-female team of "Young Avengers," who will include no less than Iron Heart, Chavez, Bishop (New Hawkeye), Ms. Marvel and maybe Yelena Belova (New Black Widow). It's just a theory, but we'll see what happens with all of that. Anyway, perhaps the "escort mission" aspect is a bit of a nitpick on my part, as it all makes sense in both stories. I just don't wanna see a whole bunch of it start happening now. Overall, the film is decent and enjoyable, but I have to admit that I didn't appreciate it nearly as much as I did the first film. The film's cleverness is the idea of a precious resource that people are willing to go to war over and all that comes with that. When it comes to something like vibranium in the MCU, that makes perfect sense, and I appreciate that whole aspect. However, there were just too many nitpicks about the film I had along the way. In some cases, the film ends up being predictable - especially the answer to "Who is this new female Black Panther we see in the trailers?" I never understood how that was such a mystery - but that's just me. Further to that, I wasn't too big on our villain here, thinking Killmonger left a hell of a lot more of an impact in the first film. I also liked Shuri herself way more in the first film. She was much more fun and charming then. And I GET why she has an air of super seriousness here now - it all makes perfect sense, but as I mentioned, this is me nitpicking. A lot of this was just me saying, "I might have done that differently", not so much, "That was dumb," or anything so negative. I think it's a decent watch, but it has nothing on the first 'Black Panther' film. With this, we bring "Phase 4" to a close, and I must admit it's done so in a pretty sweet way instead of a brutal cliff-hanger. The film is clearly dedicated to Boseman, and its heart is definitely in the right place. If I was to use a term to describe its overall execution: "bittersweet". MID-CREDITS SCENE: Shuri learns that Nakia has been raising a child she had with T'Challa named Toussaint, who reveals his Wakandan name to be T'Challa. 3/5 Edit Coming 07/20/26  I'm going to come right out of the gates here saying that my opinion on this will probably differ greatly from most. Critically, this didn't seem to turn out entirely bad, but it's not what we'd call "top of the list" when it comes to MCU films. I went in there expecting pretty much exactly what I got... well, almost. I'm not gonna say this wasn't without a few stand-out problems, but I still look at this one in a positive light, and I'll get to everything I think makes this movie good.
We open by meeting our (somewhat) sympathetic villain-to-be, Gorr (Christian Bale) and his daughter (India Rose Hemsworth) crawling through a desert in dire need of shelter and sustenance. Although Gorr prays many times to their God, Rapu, his daughter doesn't make it. While mourning his loss, Gorr hears the Necrosword (a God-killing blade) calling to him. Eventually, circumstances bring them together, and he is tasked by the Necrosword to kill all of the Gods. He then gets a gift/curse placed on him with which he can manipulate shadows, creating nightmarish creatures from them. However, like a Cancer, the sword spells impending doom for Gorr with corruption and eventual death. On the lighter side of things, we get a bit of a recap of events that we didn't see, told through Korg (Taika Waititi), giving us a brief history of Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) time with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), their breakup, and his post-'End Game' adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy (sans Gamora). The Guardians get a short amount of screen-time, so if this is what you came to see, don't get your hopes up too high. During one adventure, we see how they all function together to pretty funny results. However, once Thor receives a distress signal from Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Thor, along with Korg, parts ways with the Guardians to find Sif and learn that New Asgard is about to be levelled by this "God Butcher" fellow. Thor heads to New Asgard to help defend it against Gorr and his shadow creatures and happens to come across an interesting surprise - Dr. Jane Foster as a whole new Thor. Jane, now in the midst of a battle against Cancer, has been called and chosen by the now shattered (after 'Ragnarok') and on-display in New Asgard, Mjolnir (Thor's old hammer). This is corny, but it's all based on Thor's love for Jane while Mjolnir was still in Thor's life. Like this sort of accidental love spell that allows Jane the power of the Mighty Thor. Soon, the group learns that Gorr is after Thor's new fancy weapon, Stormbreaker, which will allow him access to powers that will assist him in his mission to kill all of the Gods, Kratos style. So let me get into the rest of the review by pointing out what I didn't enjoy. I think, first and foremost, is the Guns 'n Roses drilling. this film did. Don't get me wrong, I love this music - it suits the overall style of this flick, and there's a great nostalgic factor to some early Guns 'n Roses for me. Hell, I even appreciated where they used all of these songs. But then there's other hints of it, like Heimdall's son wanting to be called Axl, a GnR poster seen in the background, and I'm almost positive I'm missing a few other references. It's to the point of me rolling my eyes after a while saying "okay, we get it, you love Guns 'n Roses". On top of that, we also have one of these awkward situations where Jane as Thor is incredibly awkward in how she talks - however, she is written that way, as a sort of self-aware joke. And I have to say, Valkyrie wasn't nearly as entertaining as she was in 'Ragnarok'. However, let's not take away any highlights this film has. In particular, I loved Christian Bale's performance as Gorr here. I sincerely don't know enough about the character, but what I saw here, I really enjoyed. I further appreciated how, like in 'Ragnarok', they too the outlandishness of it all and twisted it into a little more of a comedic, sci-fi premise than a perpetual fish-out-of-water thing. I think that if you enjoy the MCU's more fun titles that don't take themselves too seriously, then this can be a fun time. It has a few things here and there that irk me throughout, but none of it is enough to claim the movie is even really "bad". In truth, I might say it's my second fave in the 'Thor' series, behind 'Ragnarok'. Even with all of the corniness that lies within, I still had a lot of fun with this one, and I found it fairly easy to overlook a lot of the ridiculousness of it. People are bound to be very split on this one, and they may say Waititi can do much better. That may be true, but this also had a very Waititi feeling, regardless of any bad writing. It's not top-list material, but I was definitely entertained! MID-CREDIT SCENE: We revisit Omnipotence City, where Zeus (Russell Crowe) is recuperating in the aftermath of a previous fight scene Thor was the cause of. He then asks of his son, Hercules (Brett Goldstein), to find and kill Thor. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Jane Foster arrives at the gates of Valhalla, where Heimdall (Idris Elba) welcomes her. 3/5 Edit Coming 07/13/26  At first, I wondered if one might have to go through 'WandaVision' to really appreciate this. I might not deem it 100% necessary, but I might say you'll get more of a connection to this in watching that, as opposed to just the first 'Doctor Strange'. I'm also gonna go ahead and say, straight up, that this is one that was made for Raimi fans. We take the fun of his original 'Spider-Man' trilogy, mash it up with the oddity that is his 'Evil Dead' trilogy, allow Raimi full creative control this time, and this is the product.
The biggest takeaway I got from this was that it was a lot of fun in the same ways the 'Guardians' and the latest 'Thor' movies are. The only difference is that this is, as advertised, quite a bit darker. This was originally advertised as being Marvel's first horror movie, but we're talking about the "horror" we see in a movie like 'Army of Darkness' - it's a bunch of cornball elements blended with a jump scare here and there and out of this world (literally) ideas and effects. The only real downside to it is that at its core, the story is basically a simple "escort mission" meant to introduce a powerful new character in Ms. Chavez - a girl with the ability to "dimension-hop". The film opens up with a chase, as we see America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and an alternate Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) being pursued between dimensions by some sort of demon. In Chavez's fear, she inadvertently triggers a gate to Earth Dimension 616 (which is where our MCU stuff takes place) where she runs into our Strange and Sorcerer Supreme, Wong (Benedict Wong) who both rescue her from the creature. It's here where her powers are divulged, and her interdimensional-hopping ability is what these demons are after. A set of witchcraft runes then leads Strange to Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) who he, despite recent events involving hurting innocent people (aka 'WandaVision'), still considers an Avenger. Soon enough, we realize that Wanda is actually the one behind these attacks. If she can use the Darkhold (think a sort of "Book of the Dead" for the MCU) to aid her in capturing Chavez, she can further use it to harness her abilities, and finally live a life of peace alongside her children, Billy and Tommy (Julian Hilliard and Jett Klyne, respectively). If you're wondering where her kids came from, all of those answers are presented in 'WandaVision', which again gives you a reason to maybe check that out beforehand. In the meantime, it's all about Strange and Wong doing what they can to protect Chavez, as they search for the mythical "Book of Vishanti" (a sort of counter to the Darkhold) and fight a new, formidable foe in the form of their former Avenger teammate. While the plot is actually quite simple, this is another case of the execution being that thing that truly sticks out. One bit about this I truly appreciate is how the multiverse comes across. We do get a cool scene where Strange and Chavez do a bit of dimension-hopping all at once, and a lot of the creativity behind these dimensions lends itself to the idea of infinite realities. Without giving too much of the scene away, we see, for example, a reality where they are both animated. What makes this so much cooler is the concept of "dream walking". We learn that our dreams are, apparently, us seeing other versions of ourselves in other dimensions. Regardless of what science says dreams actually are, I quite honestly love this idea. Beyond some cool ideas and concepts, however, I thought it was cool to see Wanda go full-villain here, and her purpose wasn't to "take over the multiverse" or anything like that. Her motives are simple - she just wants a happy life with a happy family. Although she was never really my favourite MCU character, I have to admit that she is probably one of the best developed (especially when she "outgrew" her Russian accent). In many ways, this is actually kind of her movie - it just needed a hero, and Strange makes the most sense for it. Having said that, there was no real disappointment in watching this unfold. This is a Marvel movie full of cool things. It's probably worth seeing more than once, just to pick up on the things you missed, scattered throughout the film. Perhaps the most intriguing is the introduction of a Marvel-based Illuminati, featuring a handful of cool, new Marvel characters as well as a Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart - who basically everyone knows is a part of this by now) that's probably done better and more accurately than any 'X-Men' movie in the past has done him. With everything involved in this, there's still a few minor but neat things I haven't touched on, worth seeing. Of the "Beyond Infinity" films released so far, this is easily one of the most fun. MID-CREDIT SCENE: Strange is approached by a sorceress named Clea (Charlize Theron) who warns him that his actions have triggered some kind of attack. He then follows her into the Dark Dimension. 4/5 Edit Coming 07/06/26  Okay, so I'm gonna start this one off with a bit of the film's development history. During the production of 'Homecoming', a third MCU 'Spidey' film was already being looked at. Sony and Marvel were negotiating to work on this film together, but by August, 2019, Marvel ultimately left the project. Fans found out how they can't play nice, and once again, we kinda sorta won with our voices - like that time we needed 'Deadpool' to have a hard R rating.
Just one month later, a new deal was struck, and they said "look, we have fans, and fans actually equal money, and we'd be stupid not to hear what they're saying." On top of that, they actually had a solid opportunity to deliver something really good, and make yet more cinematic history by combining their efforts. And with 'Spider-Man: No Way Home', it all seems to mean two things. One, the tug-of-war is finally over, and two, it leaves quite a bit of possibility open for the upcoming three new movies Holland has signed on for. It's my hope that he'll eventually pass the torch to a young Miles Morales, but we'll see. I'm going to keep this review spoiler free, as this is still quite fresh, and absolutely riddled with spoilers. By the way, do yourselves a favour if you haven't seen this yet and avoid doing any research on IMDb or Wiki, as a lot of these spoilers are revealed. It's like trying to navigate a minefield at this point, so I say, see it ASAP - but please be safe about it! Anyway, the short of the plot, you already know with the spoiler. In the last movie, MJ (Zendaya) found out that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is Spider-Man, but then by the end, so did everyone else because of J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) and his big mouth. This movie picks up immediately after that final scene. As a result of this, Parker locates Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and tries to get him to cast a spell that will make people forget that he's Spider-Man. However, during the casting of the spell, Parker causes a distraction, and causes Strange to accidentally open up the multiverse, sending in several characters from the "Raimi-verse" and the "Webb-verse". It's not long before Spidey finds himself facing off against some strange characters that he doesn't know, but they somehow know him. Can Parker take on a multiverse, hopefully with some help from Doctor Strange? There's plenty more to it, but again, the spoilers are so much that I've even left several names out of the "Character Appearances" list. But all you really need to know here is that this is probably the 'Spider-Man' movie that 'Spidey' fans have been waiting for. This one is another piece of MCU history, in which Sony and Marvel actually made peace and said "let's work together, because fans deserve more than our rivalry". I don't pretend to know what this means for the future, entirely, but by the end of the movie you get a pretty good idea. It's hard to believe, but we're up to MCU title #27 now - already fourth in the series that follows 'The Infinity Saga'. I will admit that 'Black Widow' and 'Eternals' were a bit underwhelming, and 'Shang-Chi' was really good, but still playing with an "unknown". As soon as any aspect of this leaked, it was about getting the other ones out of the way - especially 'Eternals'; speaking for myself, there was never any real draw for that. But as soon as a trailer dropped showing us Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), we were discussing all of the possibilities that could be in this movie. Excitement for an MCU flick hadn't hit me that hard since 'Endgame'. There's honestly so much more I want to say about this, but still want to keep it as spoiler-free as possible. So, I'll say a few little things I appreciated about it that round the film out into sheer awesomesauce were use of effects and camerawork that add to the excitement of a story that is, indeed, very on-par with 'Spider-Man' comics we all know and love. I also really have to give it to the performances here! Things end up getting pretty damn dramatic, and I really think that some of these characters are absolutely in love with their respective roles. And the costume design here? *chef's kiss* BEAUTIFULLY DONE! Anyway, instead of rambling on and on about everything I loved about it, what about some criticism? I think any real criticism I do have about this movie amounts to personal nitpicks, and things I might have done differently if I were in charge. But I honestly went into this figuring there would be things I might not like about it. Again, sheer nitpicks on my part. As far as I'm concerned, this movie took the past 20 years of 'Spider-Man' and made a small 'Endgame' out of them. I had an amazing time with this, and sort of consider it an early Christmas present for us holding onto hope in these hard times. I have to sit on it for a little while, but we have a potential new personal fave as far as MCU movies go... MID-CREDIT SCENE: We see Sonyverse's Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) having a drink and chatting with a bartender about the MCU's events involving Thanos. This is briefly before he's sent back to his home dimension - without leaving the bartender a tip. POST-CREDIT SCENE: First look at 'Multiverse of Madness' 5/5 Edit Coming 06/29/26  It might be kind of lame, but I have a tendency to keep track of this Marvel franchise as far as interests are concerned. For example - trailer that successfully got me the most hyped, 'Guardians 2', or 'Black Widow' being the only MCU movie I've missed on the big screen (thanks, Covid, ya dink). 'Eternals' here holds a personal record as well - longest I've waited to watch an MCU movie. I mean, here I am finally getting around to it two weeks after its release.
Personally, this one never really grabbed me with its trailers. It certainly doesn't help that 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' released its trailers that overshadowed this so hard that it practically disappeared. You might think because it's new, unfamiliar territory, but 'Guardians' definitely pulled me in with it's trailer, and it was the same deal. It also didn't really help that the Eternals all seemed to have some sort of ability I've seen before. For example, Ikaris is so Superman that they even have a gag about it in the movie. The basic difference is that Ikaris doesn't wear a cape. Anyway, we open this up by getting to know who the Eternals are. In 5000 BC, ten of them are sent to Earth to exterminate the "Deviants" - an invasive species that the Eternals are meant to protect humankind from in order for them to advance. Among the Eternals are *deep breath* leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek), star of the show, Sersi (Gemma Chan), the super powerful, flight-enabled Ikaris (Richard Madden), our (sort of) comedy relief, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (Lia McHugh), who looks like Peter Pan and Tinkerbell's love child, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), a technological helper for humankind, the super speedy and deaf Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), the mind-controlling Druig (Barry Keoghan), the super strong Gilgamesh (Don Lee), and master fighter, Thena (Angelina Jolie). Sent by a Celestial named Arishem (David Kaye), the Eternals eventually carry out their mission of elimination by the year 1521. After that, they await Arishem's return for the next 500 years, divided on what exactly their role is now, especially with humankind. They all separate over varying opinions, but we soon find Sersi and Sprite living together in London, Sersi dating a human named Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) who... well, no spoilers, but if you wanna know, hit up that Google. The trio end up getting attacked by a Deviant named Kro (Bill Skarsgård... eventually), which ultimately brings Ikaris back into play, saving the trio. Now that Sersi, Ikaris and Sprite all know about the Deviants returning, they spend a good chunk of the movie "getting the band back together". Eventually we learn about the purpose behind the Eternals and Deviants constantly battling. This ends up dividing the Eternals even further over their differing beliefs and morals. All in all, it really does end up being a bit of a repeat of... "Thanosism?" and I think that's where the film really falters. The threat of Thanos and what he was gonna do was built up over so many movies while this provides a threat that's almost as big, and it does have to do with "thinning the numbers for the greater good". I don't think I minded this one as much as others, seeing as it's basically the lowest rated MCU movie out there right now. But I'm not trying to be in the 1% either. I liked a lot about this, including some of the action sequences, and visuals. As a spectacle, it worked very nicely in IMAX 3D, and it provided a sort of feast for the eyes, giving us things we may not have ever thought possible. Ever wonder what Galactus SHOULD have looked like in 'Rise of the Silver Surfer' way back when? Well, doors are certainly opening up here, and things are getting way more comic book-like. There actually was something I appreciated about it. But for me, the characters and overall story were all kind of weak. Character-wise, there wasn't really anyone here I totally got behind. I can say that I wasn't a fan of Sprite at all, but to say who I DID like is a bit beyond me. All of the good from this movie, at least for yours truly, came visually. It's a movie that makes a lot of things look really cool. But there's something so stiff about the acting here, and, as mentioned, I think the story is almost too much for a one-off movie. This felt more like something that should have been built up to. But with that said, if this AND 'Spidey' are any indication, we're probably about to get into some real superhero overload... yeah, even more than we already are. But I do feel like we're shifting from stale to fresh again. MID-CREDIT SCENE: We, along with Eternals Thena, Makkari and Druig, are Introduced to Eros, aka "Star Fox" and Pip the Troll, who offer their services. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Dane Whitman discovers the Ebony Blade, which hints at the Black Knight coming soon. Off-screen, we hear an unfamiliar voice ask if he's "really ready for it". 3/5 Edit Coming 06/22/26  While 'Black Widow' is the film that officially launches "Phase 4" of the MCU, I tend to see it as a bit of a Prologue to Phase 4, just as 'Far From Home' was something I saw as an epilogue to 'End Game', which wrapped up what was pretty much a long, ten year-plus experiment where they kept coming out with history-making material for the cinema. It was a long journey, but it makes very little sense to stop when there's so much more to explore with Marvel's heroes.
'Shang-Chi' is where I would consider the official beginning of Phase 4, as 'Black Widow' acts as a flashback. Here again we have a wonderful example of Marvel introducing us to a pretty tertiary Marvel character, overall, and doing it really well. In my humble opinion, perhaps the best job they've done with an "unknown" since 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. Not to knock the others in the category, especially titles like 'Black Panther', but this is the most strongly I've felt personally about the introduction of a new hero (or group of heroes) in the MCU since then. I wasn't really hyped for this, due to unfamiliarity, and the trailers had me curious, but not chomping at the bit. This was especially due to the latest 'Spider-Man' trailer, which honestly made me want to skip over this and 'Eternals' and just get to it. Upon watching it, however, I am VERY happy that I didn't hold off. I can say with full confidence that this is easily one of my favourites of 2021, and it completely rinsed out any bad taste left behind by 'Black Widow' - a passable film, but perhaps too little too late, and underwhelming due to the overwhelming Covid problems surrounding it; including push-backs and, if you live where I live, it was Disney Plus only (for a cost) for quite a while. It now marks the only Marvel movie I have missed in theaters. By the way, if you have the means, and remain careful about it, this is definitely an experience for the big screen if you can manage it. Our story starts ages ago, a man named Xu Wenwu (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) happens upon the Ten Rings - ten bracelet-like rings that give their user Godly abilities, and immortality. He soon establishes the Ten Rings organization, who spend time throughout history toppling governments and kingdoms. Come 1996, Wenwu begins searching for a village of mythical beasts known as Ta Lo where he would have the potential to expand his powers. He is, however, held back by the village guardian, Ying Li (Fala Chen) and the pair fall for each other; Li running off with Wenwu upon his rejection from the village. They eventually have Shang-Chi (Jayden Zhang, as a child) together, and soon Wenwu raises him as a fighter to eventually do battle with the Iron Gang. However, with other plans at 14, Shang-Chi (Arnold Sun, as teenager) runs off to San Francisco to live an average life, adopting the name "Shaun" (Simu Liu, as adult). When we first meet "Shaun", he's working a job, parking cars with his friend, Katy (Awkwafina). I give a massive kudos to the film for not making these two a couple, or romantic item in any way - just best friends. We get hints that there might be something there, but it's only what our imagination allows. It's always a breath of fresh air to see a man and a woman play our main protagonists and not have to think about anything lovey-dovey. They simply work and hang out together. But I digress. The bottom line is that we see them get attacked by the Iron Gang on a bus (during an amazing fight sequence, by the way). It seems they are after a pendant, given to him by his mother in the past. What they want with it, Shang-Chi doesn't know, but his sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang) has one too, so Shang-Chi and Katy travel to Macau in order to protect her. I already feel like I'm saying too much, so I'll cut to the chase. We do eventually learn what is wanted with these pendants, who exactly is after them and why. As things unfold, we are given some incredibly well-rendered mythical creatures, amazing fight sequences in interesting settings, a taste of Chinese culture, including a lot of use of the language. The whole thing is beautifully filmed, and things just sort of flow as it all unfolds. There was a certain sort of enchantment the film had on me. It really managed to "take me away" from my reality, and it was cool to be somewhat immersed in the culture. This was the most pleasant of surprises in recent film viewings, and I can only hope that 'Eternals' has some kind of similar effect... though for some reason I'm not holding my breath. MID-CREDIT SCENE: Shang-Chi and Katy follow Wong through a portal, in the middle of a meal out with friends. There, they are introduced to Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers who examine the Ten Rings' origin. Evidently, they act as some sort of beacon, but to what, remains a mystery. The pair are then told that their lives are about to be forever changed. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Xialing is shown as the new leader of the Ten Rings, despite having told Shang-Chi that she would disband the organization. Here, she treats men and women as equals in their training. 5/5 Edit Coming 06/15/26  After a long year of waiting, 'Black Widow' finally has her own movie. But is this too little too late? After all, Marvel seemed to reach its peak with 'Endgame', add a nice epilogue with 'Far from Home', and it feels a bit like it's time to move on. Not to mention, the idea of a 'Black Widow' movie has been on Marvel fans minds since her first appearance in 'Iron Man 2'. Personally, I was actually fine with the film's timing due to a few things in the film, but I can also see the point when people claim it should have come right after 'Civil War' - which is incidentally when it takes place.
That's not before we delve into the past, and the intro to the film is a slice of origin, taking us back to 1995. In Ohio, we meet a surrogate family, starting with two young girls, Natasha Romanov (Ever Anderson) and Yelena Belova (Violet McGraw) who are enjoying their lives, having fun etc. That is until super soldier father figure, Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) enters the scene to warn his Black Widow wife, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) that their time is short. The parental units take the girls on an "adventure" to escape the scene with some SHIELD intel successfully stolen. Arriving in Cuba, they rendezvous with their boss, General Dreykov (Ray Winstone) who then has Natasha and Yelena sent to the "Red Room" to be trained. The credits start, and the opening is actually pretty damn disturbing. As years pass, Romanoff eventually becomes an Avenger with a checkered history, as we all know, and we do get some answers as to what she did so wrong in her past. To add to that, the year is now 2016, and she is a fugitive on the run for violating the Sokovia Accords (see 'Civil War'). Meanwhile, Yelena stays a Black Widow, and discovers that the Red Room holds a pretty significant dark secret, while Shostakov is in a secluded Russian prison, and Vostokoff is living on a farm somewhere. Once discovering the Red Room's secret, Yelena attempts to coax Natasha to help in her own subtle way, which will ultimately mean helping other Widows and hopefully bringing down Dreykov and his Red Room antics. Meanwhile still, a villain known as the Taskmaster (uncredited) is sent onto the scene to retrieve something Natasha and Yelena are carrying. The idea for Taskmaster is really neat - he can simply mimic anything he sees. So for instance, watching a newsfeed of Captain America fighting allows him to use a shield as a weapon very efficiently. The thing is, if anyone has a problem with any part of the movie, it's probably going to be Taskmaster fans being wronged. From my perspective, I'm very unfamiliar with the character comic-wise, so didn't see a big problem with the character. But for fans? I can definitely seeing this being the equivalent of Deadpool showing up in 'Wolverine' looking like Baraka. All that aside, it's time to get down to my personal opinion on this. There was actually a lot I liked about it, but first let's mention the negatives. First, I find it a touch odd that they actually brought in a few horror elements to this with the opening credits. It's creepy enough, but soon you find out just what they did to these girls in the Red Room and it sounds like a living nightmare. To be fair, that is the point, but I wasn't sure I expected it to get that dark. I expected a bit more of a 'Dark Angel' scenario. But that's just being nit-picky on my part. Sometimes the action is a bit over the top for something you'd think would be more grounded, and going back to Taskmaster, I can see that being the biggest disappointment of the film. Like I said, however, I did like a lot about this. It's a solid girl power theme without being so in your face. I liked the introduction of some new characters, namely Yelena and Red Guardian. I thought that the performances were good, and despite some of the action being over the top, I enjoyed that it was a Marvel take on a bit more of a spy/espionage movie, which really hasn't been done yet. To me, this is Marvel's answer to the 'Mission: Impossible' films - very similar in style. In the end, I definitely liked it more than I disliked it, but I will admit that it's one of Marvel's lesser films. I might suggest continuing the wait and not feeding Disney that extra cash. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Set after Romanoff's death in 'Endgame', Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) shows Yuleena Belova her next target; Clint Barton, who she claims to be Natasha's killer. 3/5 Edit Coming 06/08/26  Following the events of Marvel's cinematic epic, 'Avengers: Endgame', 'Far from Home' provides us with a nice epilogue to this series, after its final chapter. It sets some things up for what's to come, it's provides us with a nice breather after such an epic event, and Stark is able to pass the torch to Spidey as Marvel's cinematic poster boy.
Taking place after "The Snap", which had much of Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) high school fade away for a full five years (although to anyone who got dusted, it felt more like five minutes), Parker is getting ready for a school trip. After everything that went down between 'Infinity War' and 'Endgame', he's ready to take it easy, and head to Venice, Italy with his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), love interest whom he plans to romance, MJ (Zendaya), and of course, Flash Thomspon (Tony Revolori). The trip is headed by comic relief teachers, Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (JB Smoove). While the trip is happening, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) frantically tries to get a hold of Peter for a mission. Feeling out of his element, Peter "ghosts" Fury for a bit, until he's caught "ghosting" in Venice. He's then brought in to work alongside newcomer, Quentin Beck, a.k.a "Mysterio" (Jake Gyllenhaal) to try to put a stop what are apparently interdimensional elementals before they destroy the world. After the events of the past two films, we're told that an interdimensional portal opened, making Quentin a newfound superhero who came out of it, along with these elementals. However, if we know anything about Mysterio from comics or TV in the past, it's that he's not to be trusted, as a master trickster. As far as that goes, I won't get too deep into it, but it gets interesting. Anyway, Peter is more or less pulled from his vacation, hanging out with his best friend and trying to charm MJ to do some Avengers work, which provides us with a further look into how an average teenager might handle the responsibilities of being an Avenger. He's there to do his job, but expressively doesn't wanna be there doing it as opposed to taking it easy. But as we all know by now, "with great power comes great responsibility". The film serves as a sort of pivot point for the MCU. It marks the very end of everything we've seen since May of 2008 - a long time for anything to keep going unless it's 80's horror. There's a couple of good stingers here, and both of them open up a whole bunch of possibilities for what's to come for the MCU. It's my understanding that things are to split into "cosmic" (Captain Marvel, Guardians, Thor) and "urban" (Spidey, Doctor Strange, Blade) storylines. I believe Spider-Man is to more or less head the urban story while Captain Marvel does the cosmic side of things, giving us our new (spoiler alert but not really, at this point) Iron Man and Captain America for what's to come. I very much look forward to whatever else is gonna be coming out of the MCU over the next span of ten years. Marvel has already announced a few intriguing titles for the first few. Once again, I can't help but admire this incarnation of Spider-Man. He's by far the Peter Parker I've always wanted to see, combining perfectly with the Spider-Man I've always wanted to see (as far as character). The catch is that they needed to do something new with him, while keeping everything we know and love about him in there, but subtly. To me, Stark becoming Parker's mentor makes perfect sense for this particular incarnation. Tony was always the mastermind scientist among them, Parker's brilliant, but he's still a teenager, so Stark makes all his suits, gizmos and gadgets for him. I'm only speaking for myself here, but it's juts a bit more exciting for him to have a super-intelligent suit as opposed to just something with web shooters. Stark's inventions also give way to the idea that Spidey can have a variety of suits, and not just his ever-popular blue and red. Anyway, much like with 'Homecoming', I came out of this loving it, thinking they are making all the right moves with this series within a series. There's even one particular move this makes with one of its stingers that one might not see coming from a mile away. Someone comes back, and someone comes back in a way that just might make you cheer a bit. Not a major character, but no one can play this character quite like this guy. Curious? Get over to the theater and check it out! 5/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: J. Jonah Jameson (once again played by J.K. Smmons) is revealed on a big screen, revealing the identity of Spider-Man as Peter Parker to the city of New York. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Nick Fury and Mariah Hill are revealed to be Talos and Soren (Skrulls from 'Captain Marvel') in disguise, taking orders from the real Fury, seen commanding a Skrull ship. Edit Coming 06/01/26  Well, here it is! Eleven long years in the making, this is the final chapter in the 'Infinity War' saga, all starting with 'Iron Man' back in 2008. The results are well-established. People are saying things like "best Marvel movie in the MCU" and "One of the greatest achievements in cinematic history" and "I laughed, I cried, I cheered". IMDb already has it as #5 on their 250 Top Rated Movies, sandwiched between 'The Dark Knight' and '12 Angry Men'. Rotten Tomatoes currently rates it with a whopping 96%, and it's set to be the #1 Box Office opening weekend of all time, only behind its predecessor. Needless to say, it's a massive hit! But is it REALLY that good?
Of course we know that this covers the events that occur after "The Snap", which decimated half of the population of the universe. And honestly, if that's a spoiler for you, go away, you shouldn't be here. Anyway, this film largely covers how the remaining Avengers deal with their losses, deal with Thanos, and deal with trying to set everything right, and that's ALL I'm gonna say about that with the risk of entering spoiler territory at the drop of a hat. I'm happy to say that, at least speaking for myself, I can pretty much agree with what everyone else has to say about it. At best, it's probably the all time greatest superhero movie I've seen in my entire life, and I am not just kissing its ass. At worst, it's three hours of a lot of fun. This really is the coming together of all 21 of its predecessors, and it does it beautifully. Callback after callback is executed, and it wraps it all up in a nice, neat, little package. The performances are everything they need to be, with characters like Cap (Chris Evans) and Widow (Scarlett Johannsen) being the heart and soul of the movie while characters like Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) provide the comic relief and characters like Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) are given some great development on their respective characters. I'm telling you, every character serves a purpose here, and no one completely gets pushed to the background. The action sequences feel as if the sudio just said "You know all that money we made over the past 11 years? Let's make it into something awesome!" I feel like the climax of this film ends up being well worth the wait, and the way the film ends puts a nice, solid lid on the contents of the past decade. The action is also beautifully balanced with the drama and comedy alike. There really is something here for everyone, and my inner geek was thoroughly satisfied. Any criticism I actually have for this movie is what I would call a nitpick, and I just can't bring myself to do it because this still gave me more than I expected - an I expected a LOT. I laughed often, I teared up a few times, I even clapped and cheered along with the rest of the audience, sporting a massive smile on my face the whole time. For me, it's a damn near perfect execution of a superhero movie, even though even I can admit that it's not an all-around perfect film. But again, I just can't bring myself to start nitpicking. I had the most fun in the theater that I've had in a very long time with this, and the cheering audience really added to my experience. I will most definitely be seeing it again, and I can't wait to own this on blu-ray so I can watch it and rewatch it time and time again. This may very well be my new all-time favourite superhero movie - a bold statement, but seriously, watch it. It's a Marvel geek's dream come true! POST-CREDIT SEQUENCE: As the credits finish rolling, you can hear the sound of hammering metal. Presumably, this is a call-back to 'Iron Man', fashioning his first suit, symbolizing the beginning of this saga. 5/5 Edit Coming 05/25/26  In the battle between DC and Marvel, DC has mostly been losing. However, 'Wonder Woman' is a film that stands out among the rest in the DC library, largely for having a strong female protagonist in a mainstream superhero movie. So the real question before Marvel over the past couple of years has been "can we do it better"? Whether they pull it off or not, is really up to the viewer to decide. Some love it, some are kinda "meh" on it, but I have yet to hear someone say anything very scathing about it.
'Captain Marvel' brings us back in time to the mid-90s, where we meet Vers, a.k.a Carol Danvers (Brie Larson); a Starforce member, suffering from amnesia and bad nightmares that involve an unknown older woman. We learn about some of her abilities as she trains with Yon-Rigg (Jude Law), and converses with Supreme Intelligence - an AI who rules the Kree (Carol's race), and convinces her to keep her emotions in check, as her powers can be unstable. During a mission, Carol is captured by the Skrulls; a shape shifting alien race, and public enemy number one for the Kree. She's subject to a memory probe, but manages to escape with her memories, and crash land on Earth, somewhere in L.A., attracting the attention of SHIELD and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). The Skrulls follow, lead by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). From there, I'll just say that we learn certain things about the Skrulls that some of the more hardcore Marvel fans may not like. However, if you're unfamiliar altogether, the whole circumstance can add an element of humor. However, with that last bit said, I gotta say that I expected something at least a little bit different. It made me laugh, but cringe while laughing, wondering if my laughter was warranted. I think I expected a sort of 'Captain America' with a sci-fi twist, but it's almost more like 'Cap' and 'Guardians' had a baby here. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't NOT entertained by this film. There are actually a few aspects of this film that put it above more of its kind. First and foremost - no love interest for a female lead! Not even a close friendship that could lead to it. It's actually much more like a buddy cop movie between Carol and Fury, and that IS a great leap forward for this kind of film. Secondly, Carol isn't sexualized in any way. She comes across very much as that casual girl next door - another great step forward for this kind of movie. Finally, characters aside, this just has a great and fitting soundtrack to it. Again, taking an idea from 'Guardians' and redoing it, but more subtly. The music isn't a character in this like it is in 'Guardians'. Taking all of that into account, it's great to see that Marvel caught some of the more routine aspects of films like this and kinda shut them down, subtly. BUT, there's enough circling the overall plot and even some of the stuff acting that isn't so great, so it takes away from the overall experience. I may chalk that up to direction though, since I KNOW Brie Larson can act her ass off, be it Ma from 'Room' or Envy Adams from 'Scott Pilgrim', she has some flexibility. So while this film certainly carries its weight, and appears to be a big enough deal (being in the #18 spot for best box office opening weekend), it's most definitely NOT without a handful of flaws. In the grand scheme of the Marvel library, I'd place this one somewhere near the lower middle - my admirations aside. Progress is progress, but I guess I just wish this took itself a tad more seriously. It's well worth a watch though, most seem to think differently that I do on the subject, so don't let this review sway you too much. 3/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: Carol Danvers enters the Avengers compound after the snap happens, answering Nick Fury's pager from the post-credit scene in 'Infinity War' POST-CREDIT SCENE: Goose (the cat) is scene regurgitating the Tesseract (calling back to a moment with the Tesseract from earlier. Edit Coming 05/18/26  Okay, so we all know what Thanos did at this point. It's really not much of a secret anymore, and if you don't know, please do feel free to exit the rock you've been hiding under for the past couple of months. It was an intense film, so we needed a fun palette cleanser to follow it up with. What more fun can you have with a Marvel franchise than... 'Guardians of the Galaxy'... but certainly still within the fun Marvel vein as opposed to the super serious Marvel vein lies 'Ant-Man'. As one would probably imagine, this takes place before the events of 'Infinity War', and the post credit scene can pretty much be guessed at easily if you've seen 'Infinity War'.
The film opens with a recap of an explanation of what happened to the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). For those who don't recall, basically she had to shrink down to enter the quantum realm in order to get between the molecules of a bomb in order to disarm it. After the events of the first 'Ant-Man', in which Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) figures out a way out of the quantum realm, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) begin work on a device that may be able to allow them into the quantum realm in order to see if Janet is still alive or not. Scott, on the other hand, finds himself under house arrest, playing the role of amazing father when he gets the chance to spend time with his daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). You see, by helping out Cap in 'Civil War', he essentially became a criminal. Hank and Hope even cut ties with him because of how serious things got. However, when Scott seems to have some kind of strange dream about Janet, who he's never met, he contacts Hank about it. One thing leads to another, and the three team up, despite Scott's house arrest, to get into the quantum realm. As for this big bad villain known as "Ghost", I have to admit that there's a very lackluster aspect to her. She's kinda broken in the sense that she "quantum phases" in and out. Kinda like an appearing/disappearing act that you don't really have control over, and apparently it's kinda painful as well. She's after Pym's tech in order to save herself from eventually getting ripped apart. And though she's not a villain just for the sake of being a villain, she's really just more of an obstacle that stands in the team's way. It ends up being a sort of race. Anyway, all things considered, it was a nice chunk of stupid, silly fun, but doesn't really compare to the first one. There's just a lot more unbelievable and WTF moments here, whereas the first one did things a bit more subtle. It got silly too, but it didn't go overboard with some of it. This one, I felt at times did. There's plenty going for this if you just want a bit of fun, because that's kinda exactly what you get. But it's almost TOO fun, if that makes any sense at all. It's more comedy than action, much like the first one, and often times just crosses the line of ridiculousness to where it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But I suppose that's to be expected when talking about things like the "quantum realm" and such. It's kinda fun, but certainly one of the weaker titles to the MCU. Also, I'd suggest ONLY staying for the mid-credit scene unless you wanna see more of the drumming ant from the trailer. 3/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: A plan to harvest quantum energy to help Ava remain stable is put into action. Lang enters the quantum realm in order to accomplish this. Whilst in the quantum realm, unbeknownst to Lang, Pym, Hope, and Janet become victims of the Snap. Edit Coming 05/11/26  This was probably the movie I was looking forward to this year the most, and I'm happy to say it delivered on all fronts. It surprised me, it even downright shocked me at times, and as far as my predictions went, I can honestly say that I got maybe none or some of them perhaps wrong or right. HA, spoiler-free review, guys. So spoiler-free that even those who know what my predictions were aren't getting cut any slack. Just go see it, guys, it's so worth it.
Basic spoiler-free plot, Thanos (Josh Brolin) is in search of the Inifinity Stones we've all come to know in our marathons of playing catch-up for this movie... Okay, so I'm speaking for myself, but I KNOW that still applies to some of you out there. Anyway, long story short, it's up to the Avengers to try to stop him from getting his hands on these stones, and practically everybody is there for this grand-scale event. Yes, some get more screen-time than others, but the balance was really well done from my perspective. One has to bear in mind that with a cast this huge, some characters are just gonna have to get pushed a bit into the background. That said, I have no complaints as to screen time for any character. In fact, there were actually a few pleasant surprises. Thanos, I have to say, is an interesting character. This is gonna sound super weird, but this is definitely one of Brolin's more dramatic and powerful roles. Thanos was a villain I really paid attention to, but at the same time routed against. He had an interesting point of view, but at the same time, you didn't like that point of view. In many ways, he's actually kinda scary. He has certainly gained my respect as one of the best on-screen comic book villains of all time. Now, one also has to understand that this is pretty much my introduction to Thanos, so as far as accuracy is concerned, I'm not sure how well they nailed it. All I know is I liked what I got from him enough to consider him well within my top 5 list of comic book movie villains. The one thing I will forewarn about is that it ends on what is probably the most suspenseful cliffhanger I've ever seen in a movie franchise. That's all I'll say on the subject, but I feel the need to address it because some people just can't stand that kind of thing, and this one is pretty huge. The fact that it does end on a cliffhanger, though, can't come as much of a surprise considering the next 'Avengers' movie is due next year, and this was always gonna be a two-parter. Anyway, personally speaking, I love a good cliffhanger. It warrants all sorts of discussion and predictions for what's to come, and it gets you more excited to see how things will unfold. For me, it this was an all around great roller coaster ride of fun, tension, drama, and a surprising amount of comedy encompassing it all. It was a fantastic experience, and it managed to deliver more than I expected. Like, way more. Now, that's just me, and perhaps opinions will differ, but for everything it was, I loved every minute of it! 5/5 POST-CREDIT SCENE: Nick Fury and Maria Hill are seen driving around New York, when accidents and destruction start happening around them. They both become victims of the Snap, but not before Fury gets a message out to who appears to be Captain Marvel Edit Coming 05/04/26  Well, once again Marvel has accomplished a hell of a feat, now holding five of the ten titles in the top ten all-time opening weekend list. This comes in at #5, right in between the first two 'Avengers' movies. Oh, and it's now a higher grossing movie than 'The Avengers', so... I think T'Challa here will be ultimately the safest character in 'Infinity War'.
The film begins with an origin story involving the creation of the Black Panther, and how the powers and suit have been handed down through the generations to a royal African family. In the spotlight now, is T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), and the film tasks him with stopping a lethal thief named Klaue (Andy Serkis who has seemingly found his way to Wakandan technology, and intends to steal it. However this leads the Black Panther to an even bigger challenge involving Klaue's parnter in crime, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Serkis, as Klaue, has this twisted craziness to his personality that wasn't quite as abundant in 'Age of Ultron', so for me, he was the more enjoyable villain. Killmonger, for whatever reason, didn't strike me as quite as much a threat. It also just showed in their respective acting skills. Not that Jordan was bad, but he struck me as more of a jockish bully whereas Serkis was relishing his every second of screen time as this crazy dude. Shades of The Joker came through, for me. Not a direct comparison, mind, just shades. The favorite character in this for me was probably Shuri (Latitia Wright), who is T'Challa's sister, and essentially his "Q" - making the gadgets for him to go out and fight with. She brings a very charming sense of humor to it all as the bratty but fun little sister figure. That said, everyone does a good job here with their respective roles, and this movie kinda knocked it out of the park with what it was all about. The studio definitely knew what the hell they were doing with this. While DC did a great job with the big female superhero, Marvel got it right with the black superhero - released throughout Black History Month, no less. But the movie transcends racial boundaries with it's audience, and that's the real beauty of this movie. It brings ALL the Marvel fans together for a great story, no matter their skin color. I'll repeat, this is now a higher grossing movie than 'The Avengers'! It's so far the most successful Marvel film of all time. 'Infinity War' is bound to be hot on it's heals, but for now, an impressive feat for a solo title! It may not be at the tip-top of my Marvel hero list, personally, but all in all I still enjoyed it quite a bit. In the end, it represents a nice piece of cinematic history, and it's something I really think everyone should check out if only to get a different, forward-thinking perspective on things. 4/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: T'Challa appears before the UN to reveal Wakanda's technology to the rest of the world. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Shuri is seen helping Bucky Barnes with his recuperation, after having gone back under the ice in 'Civil War' Edit Coming 04/27/26  In the third 'Thor' film, things take place two years after the events of 'Age of Ultron'. Thor and Loki find themselves at the mercy of the Goddess of Death, Hela (Cate Blanchett), who is seemingly infinitely more powerful than Thor and Loki combined.
During their first showdown, in an attempt to use the Bifröst, Thor and Loki find themselves knocked off course and thrown onto a junk planet called Sakaar. This is where they are met by Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) who holds a fight competition in which various opponents he chooses must face off against The Incredible Hulk. It's also here that Thor meets the likes of Korg (director, Taika Waititi) - a big, greyish rock creature whose very reminiscent of The Thing ('Fantastic 4' version) and probably the funniest part of the whole movie. I'm simply not gonna give away more than that 'cause he already acts as a pleasant surprise to those seeing this for the first time, and at this point, this movie's still kinda fresh. Meanwhile, Hela is at Asgard, attempting to take things over. Now it's up to Thor and Loki to team up with some unlikely companions to get off Sakaar, get home to Asgard, and put a stop to things. But the big question always remains; can Loki REALLY be trusted THIS time? Well, I won't say about the outcome of that, specifically. You'll just have to find out for yourself if it's something different or more of the same. As for the movie as a whole, I'm VERY pleased to report that it's a far cry from the 'Thor' films we're used to. Thank God, Earth finally took a back seat as a setting, and the whole love interest between Thor and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). It's not that I didn't like Jane, it's just that this is "Thor, the God of Thunder" we're talking about, and he deserves better treatment than a fish-out-of-water love story. Here, it gets to be an epic off-world adventure that feels much closer to being a 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie as opposed to the past two 'Thor' movies. This adds a whole dimension to these movies that frankly fits the characters much, much better. We're given the fun and stylish version of 'Thor' that we've sincerely wanted since the beginning. That's not to say the first 'Thor' was no good. As a matter of fact, they did a good job with something that had been done a bout a million times before. But 'The Dark World' did end up dragging a lot of the Earth-focused stuff out, and it ended up being kinda forgettable by the end. The film pulls no punches when it comes to showing off that it's gonna be pretty out of this world with the opening scene alone. It's another great example of breaking those chains comic book movies have had in the past. "Keep it realistic" or "Keep it grounded" can be overrated rules. I (and most comic book fans) would rather say, as long as your story and characters are well done, go all out. It can be done well, taking the time to deliver a bit of everything ('Guardians of the Galaxy' / 'Wonder Woman') or badly, lacking something in plot or character development, but looking really good ('X-Men: Apocalypse' / Batman v Superman'). 'Ragnarok' thankfully gets closer to the former. While still a bit goofy, it understands that it's goofy and just goes for it. It's self-aware, in a way. 5/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: Thor, taking his fellow Asgardians to Earth aboard the Grandmaster's ship, is intercepted by a larger spacecraft. POST-CREDIT SCENE: The Grandmaster encounters a group of his former subjects, still rebelling. Edit Coming 04/20/26  May this film serve as a perpetual reminder to "never say never" when it comes to Hollywood. Not only did Marvel get the rights to Spidey's name, but they rebooted the character for the second time, making his third time a hugely successful charm.
Immediately following the events of 'The Avengers', we meet Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) who is part of a clean-up crew, gathering alien parts from the Battle of New York. When the task is taken over by Stark's Department of Damage Control, he is put out of work. Enraged by this, he persuades his employees to keep whatever they have collected in order to make some high tech weaponry to sell on the black market. Eight years later, we are introduced to Peter Parker by way of phone video, recapping his cameo in 'Civil War'. When Tony Stark drops him off at his aunt May's apartment in Queens afterward, Peter becomes very excited about potentially becoming an Avenger. However, Stark and his assistant, Happy, are very insistent that he's not quite ready for the "big leagues" yet, and he should stick to being a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" for the time being. Eventually, Peter learns of the high tech weaponry being sold on the black market, and tries to take matters into his own hands, especially after he learns that a major heist is to take place during the move from Avengers Tower to a more secluded facility. To say that this is the greatest 'Spider-Man' film to date, all depends on what you're after. I would say if you want the origin story done well, stick to the first 'Spider-Man' starring Tobey Maguire. All the right pieces are there, and it's better than 'The Amazing Spider-Man' in my opinion. BUT if you're looking for a new, fresh take on the character without the need for a full origin story, I'd have to say this is the film for you. This IS still an origin film, to be sure, but it's about how Spidey gets to be an Avenger as opposed to how he becomes Spider-Man in the first place. Anyway, back to THIS movie. For some of the big fans out there, some alterations were made to the character so he could fit into this universe a little better. A few examples include the lack of the portrayal of his "Spidey Sense", his Stark technology suit that talks to him much like a Jarvis (he calls it "Karen"), and even a few character changes might be irksome to some (Flash Thompson is portrayed as more of a jerky teen than the classic muscle-bound bully). But I have to say, personally speaking, I came to let these things slide very easily. It's important to remember that up until this point, a handful of very powerful heroes has emerged, including Iron Man, Cap, Hulk and Thor (to name a few). Some have literally just gone through the events of 'Civil War', which gave the Avengers a lot to think about when it comes to great power and great responsibility. This, in turn, effects Parker, as Stark is very adamant about him using his powers lightly and when necessary, hence the scene from the trailer where Stark talks to Pete, saying "if you're nothing without the suit, you shouldn't have it at all". I like this, 'cause it's the "with great power comes great responsibility" concept without having to be those exact words from Uncle Ben. It's a neat, more subtle way to do portray that aspect of Spider-Man. Going back to the details of the Spidey suit tech along with his lack of abilities, I have my own theories as to why they did this. It's my opinion that the movie is trying to make Parker feel like a total superhero rookie. With everyone else, they got their powers, and they could just be heroes right away. With Peter Parker, this is still a 15-year-old boy in high school, and with that should come a bit of irresponsibility (trust me, I know how that sounds) as well. But we're never shown Uncle Ben giving him that famous quote we all know and love, so for all we know, in this adaptation, this is just a kid who found out he could do some awesome stuff. He's super thrilled about it like any teenager discovering he or she had super powers SHOULD be, and with that comes the lesson that he should be more responsible with his abilities, and this goes back to Stark sort of being his mentor, and what he tells him about the suit. As I said before, whether you enjoy this incarnation of the character or not will largely depend on what you're after. I personally find that this is the best way they could have gone about it for this particular universe. Despite anything changed or lacking, I can honestly say none of it hurt my feelings, being a huge Spider-Fan. The portrayal of the character himself was far more than what I could have hoped for from either Maguire or Garfield (each in their late 20s at the time of their respective portrayals). Here we have an honest-to-God teenager playing a teenager, and he's totally solid as both identities. This was only my second viewing of this, but I still loved every minute of it, not changing my mind on a thing. I wondered if the whole lack of Spidey-sense would get me this time around, but not really. You kinda have to look for it, but it's seemingly there at several points. Plus, we ought to know he has them by default, even if they aren't shown, because in 'Civil War' he tells Stark "it's like my senses have been cranked to eleven". Combine that with the 'Infinity War' trailer that literally shows it, and we have a problem patched up, in my opinion. 5/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: Toomes is approached by one of his former buyers in prison, who Spidey caught earlier. He questions Toomes about Spider-Man's real identity, but he denies that he knows anything. POST-CREDIT SCENE: A Captain America video comes on, and it turns out to be a gag about being patient only to have what you're waiting for lead to a disappointment - a self-jab at Marvel's post-credit sequences. Edit Coming 04/13/26  This chapter picks up shortly after the events of the first 'Guardians' film, with Groot still in baby form. It's placed before the events of 'Age of Ultron', and meant to give us some more background and development into Peter Quill's character.
It hits the ground running when Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), leader of the Sovereign race, hires the Guardians to protect some batteries from an inter-dimensional being in exchange for Nebula. A chase soon ensues after Rocket takes it upon himself to steal some of these valuable batteries for himself. Forced to crash land on a planet, they are soon introduced to Ego (Kurt Russell), a celestial and Peter's actual birth father, which gives way to explaining how Quill was able to hold the Power Stone for as long as he did. Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is also introduced here; a being with unusual abilities that can manipulate and feel emotion nown as an Empath. Ego invites them to his home planet where all about Quill's origin is pretty much revealed, and Drax and Gamora tag along for the ride, leaving Rocket to repair the crashed ship, and watch Groot. While Quill and the others are off doing their thing, Rocket is ambushed by a team of Ravagers, lead by Yondu, who have been offered a generous reward for turning in the Guardians to the Sovereign. However when Yondu has a sudden change of heart, the Ravagers end up doing a mutiny and take things over while both Rocket and Yondu's characters develop when they find more in common with each other than they could have imagined. Though perhaps not quite as good as the first 'Guardians', 'Vol. 2' definitely holds it's own, and ends up being a very good sequel to it's predecessor all the same. The characters and overall feel of things between the amazing visual effects and the old school soundtrack pretty much remain the same, and the connection between the two films remains solid. Really, one could watch these back to back if following the Timeline closely. Part of the charm of 'Guardians' certainly lies in it's overall cheesiness. It's one of those things where if it's done too seriously, the audience for it might dwindle. That cheesiness needs to be there to some extent as it's part of the film's character. Which is not to say that there's no amount of things to be taken seriously, but it does make the fun of it all more plausible. I think as far as sequels go, it's safe to say that this is a strong one. They're close enough in quality when comparing them that when saying the first is probably better, it's simply because the first was the introduction to it all, and several Marvel fans found a whole new, not only property, but team they could latch on to. This basically just continues that idea, and does so smoothly. Although I will say the arcade machine ships might throw some people off. But again, that sort of adds to the spirit of what 'Guardians' is; our love of nostalgia blending with our love of present-day stories. To cap it all off, there were more credit scenes here than you could shake a stick at, making for a bit more of a fun time with the credits instead of just sitting and waiting for them to come on. Some of them jokey, some of them attaching to upcoming films, but all 'Guardians' related 4/5 PRE-CREDIT SCENE: Kraglin tests out his skills on Yondu's arrow, only to hit Drax in the chest. MID-CREDIT SCENE: Ravager leader, Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone) is seen reuniting with his ex-teammates; a team of unknowns who may return at some point for another 'Guardians' film. MID-CREDIT SCENE: A defeated Ayesha creates a new artificial being, naming him Adam, whit whom she plans to bring down the Guardians. This hints to the creation of Adam Warlock. MID-CREDIT SCENE: After some apparent time has passed, Groot is seen as an ignorant teenager who gives Quill a bit of attitude POST-CREDIT SCENE: After having done one of his most interesting cameos, Stan Lee is abandoned by a group of Watchers who leave him, uninterested in his stories. Edit Coming 04/06/26  Timeline-wise, this is an interesting chapter. It is said by some of the writers, themselves, that this essentially takes place after the events of 'Civil War'. However, Stephen Strange is mentioned as someone with abilities in 'Winter Soldier', which suggests he already exists. However, I have my own theory.
I place this as a long-scale movie, beginning at some point before 'Winter Soldier', as in the movie he mentions "study and practice, years of it", and we're lead to believe he's studying his new abilities for a gracious period of time. By the time he's got it down, and becomes Doctor Strange, there's no reason to believe the second half of this movie could be a few years later. The other theory, of course, is that I'm just way off, and they tinkered with continuity a bit more than I suspect here. I just think it fits better when you pay attention to the idea that he could have been studying for more than just a little while. It makes sense too, considering he's a full-tilt rookie in the beginning. But on with the review, shall we? Dr. Steven Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant neurosurgeon who, one day, gets into a horrible car accident. A lot of his body gets wrecked, but most importantly, his hands become pretty much useless. After a long stay, trying everything he knows about western medicine, he approaches a young man who claims to have been healed by a place in Kathmandu, Nepal. Desperate to get his hands working again and continue his life as a great surgeon, Strange travels to Kathmandu in search of aid. There, he meets The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) who is able to open Strange's mind to the ideas of real magic, claiming that he won't need his hands. After getting his first solid taste of this idea, he decides to stay and learn everything he can. Even to the point of going beyond what he may be ready to know. Meanwhile, a powerful sorcerer by the name of Kaecilius is on a mission, along with his men, to bring the Dark Dimension to Earth, and unleash Dormammu on the world, claiming that time will be irrelevant and that all can live forever if this happens. Long story short, it sounds better than it really would be. The film itself was very entertaining for me! Bearing in mind, however, that films with trippy imagery are something I'm a bit of a sucker for. For example 'Inception' is an all-time favourite... but the effects in this make 'Inception' look like a game of 'Snakes & Ladders'. It gets pretty freakin' psychedelic! I love that Marvel studios don't pull any punches with their sci-fi and supernatural imagery. Why keep it in the real world when you have a whole big, amazing universe to build from and the technology to do it with? 'Doctor Strange' opens this whole idea up just about as much as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' did, but in more of a fantasy/spiritual way than a science fiction way, thus branching ideas out, and expanding this wonderful universe full of 31 flavours of awesome! 4/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: Doctor Strange speaks to Thor about his job of interdimensional protection. Thor, bringing Loki to Earth realm, is in search of their father, Odin. Strange decides to assist in the matter, as once Odin is found, it's promised that Thor would return Loki back to Asgard promptly. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Mordo confronts Pangborn, the man who gave Strange the idea of repairing his hands, and steals the mystical energy that he uses to walk, declaring that Earth has "too many sorcerers". Edit Coming 03/30/26  Although this is slated basically as 'Captain America 3', one could totally see this as 'The Avengers 3' in that basically, everyone makes an appearance, save Hulk and Thor, and it does have quite a balance going on between Cap and Stark. In fact, it even got to the point where before this was released, the internet blew up with the whole "Team Cap or Team Stark?" question. Of course, most of us went with "Team Stark" for the sole reason that the one and only Spider-Man was actually making an appearance this time around, and he was on that side of things.
'Civil War' starts out with Stark being confronted by a woman who tells him that because of the Avengers, her son is now dead. This is something a lot of action hero films don't address incredibly well - the destruction they leave behind. And yes, before the DC fans jump down my throat, 'Batman v Superman' did it pretty well too. Anyway, Stark brings in Thadeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, now U.S. Secretary of State to discuss the "Sokovia Accords", which is essentially meant to keep our heroes in-check by the U.N., only bringing them in if absolutely necessary. And this is where it gets rather interesting. While Stark feels a tremendous guilt about what has happened, and more than willing to sign the Accords, Cap sees it as disruptive to their right to choose. For example, what if something bad is going down but it's not "important enough" for the Avengers to help. Cap's biggest personality trait IS that he wants to do what's right, no matter the cost. It gets to be this whole moral compass thing. On top of all of it, Bucky returns and is blamed for an attack in Vienna where the Accords are to be ratified. The attack kills King T'Chaka of Wakanda, and ends up bringing in T'Challa, his son, as the Black Panther, seeking revenge for his father's murder. With seemingly everyone after Bucky, Cap's old friend, he finds the need to protect him, knowing that whatever he's done in the past had everything to do with being brainwashed. Of course, this all leads up to one hell of an Avengers vs Avengers fight scene that features everyone who has been introduced so far. The idea behind the fight being "Team Stark" trying to bring "Team Cap" in safely and securely for going against the Accords, while "Team Cap" stands against it all, putting more trust in themselves than a government with a possible agenda. The Russo Brothers do a fantastic job here, not only in the sense of giving the audience what they wanna see, but working with such a large cast. It's sincerely no wonder why they were chosen to direct 'Infinity War', as they kinda managed to bump Joss Whedon off as THE ensemble cast directors. On top of everything, it's interesting to see a film in which you can see the positives and negatives regarding each side. As a superhero, would you trust your government to do the right thing at the right time? Could you just sit there and let others take care of something you could take care of much faster? or on the flip side, could you live with the guilt of knowing that in order to save a majority, some casualties may need to occur? It's the first time an MCU movie has come along with that sort of deep thinking attached to it, where one CAN see both sides of the argument quite clearly. This one is a personal favorite of the MCU for me because it triggers that kind of thinking. 5/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: In the aftermath of these events, Bucky chooses to freeze himself again until a cure for his brainwashing - which caused most of the trouble in this, is found. This loosely teases to 'Black Panther'. POST-CREDIT SCENE: Peter Parker, licking his wounds after the big fight, tests out a spider signal in his room, compliments of Tony Stark, loosely teasing 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'. Edit Coming 03/23/26  At this point, we are between two of the more epic MCU movies, being 'Age of Ultron' and the upcoming 'Civil War' - a 'Captain America' movie by name only. Otherwise it's very much 'Avengers' with it's cast. Enter fun-loving Marvel movie 'Ant-Man', partially written by personal hero, Edgar Wright. Unfortunately, he was originally slated to direct this as well, but due to differences in creative opinion, Wright had to stand down and hand it over to Peyton Reed, a guy otherwise known for movies like 'Bring it On' and 'The Break-Up'. So yeah, I went into this originally dreading how bad it might turn out, especially being an overall unfamiliar character. However, to my joy, Wright and Cornish's writing shone through, and it turns out they made a pretty good team.
The film opens in the past (early 80s) as Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) resigns from S.H.I.E.L.D. upon learning that they are trying to replicate his shrinking technology. Believing it to be dangerous, Pym vows to hide it from them. This catches up with him in present day (timeline-wise apparently just after the events of 'Age of Ultron') when his estranged daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and old protégé, Darren Cross (Corey Stole) show that Cross has been working on his own shrinking suit he calls the "Yellowjacket", and aims to use it as a military weapon... a pretty common theme in these movies, come to think of it. With the idea to pass the Ant-Man suit down to a new bearer (as Pym was Ant-Man in secret back in WWII), he seeks out Scott Lang - an incredibly gifted burglar who needs one big score so he can get the money he needs to the child support payments to see his daughter. The idea, to use the shrinking technology of the suit and an army of talented ants to break in and steal the Yellowjacket so it never gets to see the light of day. In some ways, it could be said that the movie drags a little while it keeps so much focus on characters. However, when the action does take off, the movie has this tendency to give you a 180, and throw you into the fun of it all. It's definitely one of the more light-hearted, good times you can have with the MCU, and Paul Rudd actually does a surprisingly good job here when no one ever pegged him as the superhero type. But for a character like Ant-Man, it's not like the dude has to look like Thor or Cap. Perhaps most impressive is the way the movie plays with size, and delivers a lot of comedy while doing so. For example, one may remember the big dramatic scene from the trailer where Yellowjacket is about to get run down by a toy Thomas the Tank Engine. It looks kinda intense, but then the camera shows you regular perspective and it's just a toy train falling off it's tracks. What more can be said? 'Ant-Man' is just a fun time sandwiched between two otherwise rather dark and dramatic ensemble cast films. It's like coming up for a breath of air before diving back down again. Nothing truly epic, but it's a damn good time. 4/5 MID-CREDIT SCENE: Hank Pym shows Hope the Wasp uniform that he and her mother were perfecting, suggesting that Hope will become The Wasp while teasing 'Ant-Man and The Wasp' POST-CREDIT SCENE: In what is essentially a tease for 'Civil War', Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers have Bucky Barnes in their custody. Sam mentions "the Accords" making them unable to contact Stark. Sam mentions that despite that, he knows someone who might be able to help, referring to Lang. As far as what it all involves teases to how 'Civil War' may go down. |
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