Looking back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe

[The Curmudgeon]

So with Civil War pretty much chewing up and spitting out the box office, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to look back at the batch of films that came before it.

That's actually what we're doing in the Curmudgeon household right now, re-watching every Marvel movie in order, from Iron Man right up to Age of Ultron. The Incredible Hulk remains an irritant; a movie with potential for a sequel we'll never see, with a Bruce Banner that shouldn't be. Ruffalo's Banner is a far more quiet and interesting character over Norton's, and Scarlett Johannson is way more appealing (in many ways) than the dull, mousy Betty Ross.

Watching Iron Man 2, pretty forgettable in it's own right, it's fun to watch Scarlett steal the show as, lets face it, the fucking gorgeous Black Widow. That fight scene in the corridor ranks up there with the best fights in the MCU.

I'd actually forgotten how enjoyable Thor actually is. When I first saw it I didn't really make too much of it, but I'd now put it up there with the best of the bunch. The guys who made Batman and Superman such crushing shoe-gazing bores should take Thor as a masterclass in how to make what could be an unlikable (and un-filmable) character relatable and likeable, cos Chris Hemsworth is both here.

So we're moving onto Captain America on our next movie night, and I remember enjoying it more than I thought I would. It'll be interesting to see what a second watch does to it.

So the MCU. Thirteen movies so far, thirteen more in production. What's been your highlight? Lowlight? What TV shows have been of the same standard?

Go.

[trashcanman]

I think the first Iron Man was an atomic bomb that almost single-handedly woke up the box office, Avengers was an impossible dream come true, and the Captain America movies have emerged as the strongest of them all in the long run. And yeah, no more Hulk movies is so fucking weird. How do you not do World War hulk at this point? Is there any possible downside? Anyone in the world who wouldn't pay to see Big Green take on the whole MCU? And no Black Widow/Hawkeye movie is bullshit too. As for lowlights, Iron Man 3 was kind of lame, Age of Ultron was a shell of what it should have been (although it had an amazing take on the title villain), and Ant-Man was just okay. From this point onward I am most looking forward to new Spidey, though. Not quite sold on Dr. Strange yet, but Black Panther seems really promising.

[The Curmudgeon]

First of all, apologies for the lack of Curmudgeon over the last week. I was away at a wedding, between two women as it happens, because I'm so forward thinking and right-on and stuff.

Anyway, we made our way through the MCU, and I loved Age of Ultron when I went to the cinema, and yet I've read nothing but negative comments since. So I was expecting to find maybe it wasn't so great, but I still really rate it. Ultron is an odd, eccentric villain, but a completely engaging and menacing one. Yeah, I'm still a fan of this movie.

Iron Man 3 is actually...OK. I was really turned off on the first view because of what they did to the Mandarin (and his scenes are even worse a second time around, just fucking terrible), but all in all it's a fun movie. I read somewhere last week that the villain was supposed to be a woman (no idea who) but the idea was nixed at the last minute because they wouldn't sell enough toys with a female villain. Just.. that is depressing in many ways.

I think what Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy proved (both number one movies, GotG was an especially enormous hit) was that there's an appetite for Marvel movies outside of the standard Avengers but still in the same MCU. I think the viewing public have really bought into this whole connecting movies idea, and the fact comic book movies starring characters no-one has ever heard of are still sizable box office hits is a feat indeed.