BEWARE! THERE ARE SPOILERS ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OVER THE PLACE. GO OUT THERE AND WATCH THE FILMS!
Along with doing my own historical research and improving both my writing and fitness, I have accomplished many great things, but there is one accomplishment that takes precedence over all else. In the space of around two weeks, I watched all 19 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Please, calm down, there's no need to shower me with all of your praise.
The diehard MCU fans would roll their eyes and tut, complaining that any true fan of the franchise would have shut themselves away from the outside world and done them all in one go. Having watched the extended version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I'm used to sitting around for long periods of time and immersing myself in a beautifully crafted universe. But that was young Ben; his older self has things to do and errands to run, and however much I would have loved to build a blanket fort and create the perfect viewing space, time is not on my side. Regardless, I made my way through the films in order to re-educate myself on the MCU and prepare for the 'most ambitious crossover event in history' that was Avengers: Infinity War. When you make $257,698,183 on opening weekend, then you know that it has some sort of credibility.
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| So... many... characters |
CASTING DONE RIGHT
When embarking on such an ambitious cinematic problem, you need the talent to back it up. Casting is crucial to not only make a profitable movie, but also a film that is actually good. Familiar faces draw in fans from the actor/ actresses' other ventures, while showcasing young new talent gives these budding new players an massive audience to perform to (no pressure). Look at something like
Game of Thrones, for example. Eddard Stark was played by Sean Bean, an actor known for his jaunt as Boromir in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy and for always dying in the majority of his films. He was the big star, and was flanked by other well-established talent such as Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Lena Headley (Cersei Lannister). A baby faced Kit Harington was everyone's favourite 'bastard' Jon Snow, and Sophie Turner was the stroppy and ambitious Sansa Stark. Unknown back then, Kit is now a global heart-throb and Sophie has made her own way into the superhero world by portraying Jean Grey in the latest
X-Men reboots.
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| I have a dangerous addiction |
Before my mind is filled with Kit, and Sophie too as she is gorgeous, I need to focus back on the MCU. When
Iron Man came out in 2008, the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark was a masterful stroke as not only was he a well-known actor back then, but his general demeanour was similar to the billionaire playboy flying around saving the day. His cool attitude and glamorous lifestyle made him a perfect choice to portray Tony Stark, not to mention the shared stories between the two. Robert and Tony have had to go through hell (whether it's a drug addiction or being captured by terrorists) due to their fame and nature of work, with a new sense of direction allowing themselves to become better human beings. Robert Downey Jr. has escaped his addiction through therapy and hard work, while Tony Stark wants to make weapons to help people, rather than ship them off to the highest bidder. What a good guy.
The young and upcoming talent of the MCU can be best shown, in my opinion, by our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man Tom Holland, who introduced himself to the Marvel fans as Peter Parker in
Captain America: Civil War. The Spider-Man franchise in itself is a strange beast, as this is now the third reboot in the 21st century alone and we are now on our third Spider-Man after the nerdy Spider-Man of Tobey Maguire and the more serious and brooding Andrew Garfield. When your first appearance in the MCU is alongside the likes of Downey Jr. and Chris Evans' Captain America, it would be understandable if Holland faded into the background in the wake of these Marvel and acting juggernauts. But Tom was the star, with his first meeting with Tony Stark introducing him as someone who is just a bit too eager to be a hero, but can't seem to find the right words to sum up his ambitions. When Team Stark and Team Cap duke it out in Leipzig, with heroes such as Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) on show, it's Spider-Man who steals the show by awkwardly but gracefully brawling with the rogues of Team Cap (it helps that he played Billy Elliot on the West End, meaning his stunts seemed a tad more realistic). Young Peter Parker knows that he has a gift that must be utilised to help people, but he has homework to do. Get your priorities in order, Parker!
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| Neeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrddddddddddddd |
Marvel knew they struck gold with Holland, and granting him his own standalone film,
Spider-Man: Homecoming, just heaped more praise on young, double-life juggling Parker. He has put a spring back in Spider-Man's step, and we will surely see him in roles outside of his web- slinging alter ego. Marvel do a fantastic job in bringing in big names to perfectly fill roles due to previous acting experiences; Chris Pratt (Star-Lord/ Peter Quill for the
Guardians of the Galaxy franchise) first came to my attention as the adorable and idiotic Andy Dwyer in
Parks and Recreation, and the personality is very much on show as Quill flies across the galaxy with his Walkman and awesome playlist. Both can be real jerks at time, but when they find something they love they will do anything to protect them. Chris Hemsworth as Thor was also a good choice, as bringing a mythological son of Odin into a sleepy town in New Mexico in
Thor was quite the challenge. But the fact that Hemsworth needed no special effects to demonstrate how strong and powerful Thor was ('You know, for a crazy homeless person, he's pretty cut'), it made it easier to market Thor. Better still, and I will cover this in more detail later, Thor's character development is excellent by moving from the arrogant Prince of Asgard to a superhero with the wit and humour to match. Marvel truly excels with casting... but there are always problems.
WAIT, YOU WANT HIM TO PLAY THE PART?!
There will always be bad casting, and even the most loyal of fans of any fandom will rage will all of their energy and passion through drawn out speeches to friends or dramatic blog posts on the Internet. It surely all began with Edward Norton as the Hulk in
The Incredible Hulk, whose portrayal of our large green friend was one in which he tried to make him a very serious character. But that doesn't really go along with what the MCU is about. The universe is fun, and while some drama and seriousness is needed to make the films more balanced with the comedic moments, there's no need to take a sudden change in direction in just the second film of the entire franchise.
Iron Man was great fun because there was plenty of action and screen time for Robert Downey Jr. and his spot on performance as Tony Stark. Edward Norton just wasn't that good, and thankfully Mark Ruffalo stepped up to the plate to give us a Hulk that was humble and much more comfortable with his powers. He also managed to strut his comedic stuff alongside Thor in
Thor: Ragnarok, and Norton wouldn't have been able to do this crazy piece of movie magic justice.
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| 'Look Bruce, there's some character development on the horizon' |
I've strayed back into good casting, so let's go back to the bad side of Marvel casting. It's the adversaries of to our heroes that perhaps pose the biggest problems, and we will cover the villains themselves later. But for now, let's heavily criticise the actors who played them. Mickey Rourke, for me, stands out as the shining example of awfulness. Playing Ivan Vanko/ Whiplash in
Iron Man 2, Rourke didn't appear very evil and his Russian accent was so poor that it became painful to listen to. I would cover my ears and beg all of the divinities to just get back to Tony Stark and his deteriorating life. When you wish to see that above the main villain, then you know it's bad. Mickey Rourke has put in some pretty stellar performances across his career, such as in
The Wrestler when he was nominated for an Oscar, and his very aura should make him perfect to play the role of a Russian rogue driven by revenge. But no, it really didn't.
The good guys can't just be represented by Edward Norton though. Terrence Howard played Tony Stark's best buddy James Rhodes in
Iron Man, and his performance was so lacklustre that when I re watched the film for the first time in ages last month I was taken aback by completely forgetting that Don Cheadle wasn't in the MCU until
Iron Man 2. For a Lieutenant Colonel, there was a clear lack of authority and order, and once again the desire to be more serious didn't work in Howard's favour, even if you are supposed to be Tony Stark's anchor. Elizabeth Olson, playing Scarlet Witch, puts on such a strong accent in
Avengers: Age of Ultron that I wasn't entirely sure whether she was actually from the war torn Eastern European nation Sokovia or was just mocking their accent entirely. I know it's not a real country, but even then that doesn't give you an excuse to talk in such an odd accent. Her on screen brother Aaron Taylor-Johnson, playing Quicksilver, doesn't fare much better in the glorious mess that was
Age of Ultron. He was just plain boring, and his noble sacrifice in the final battle with Ultron's drone army didn't reduce me to the tears that Marvel wanted to stream out of my eyes. Rather, I shrugged my shoulders and mumbled 'shit happens'. I know this was our first proper dose of Quicksilver, but I knew that I wouldn't get too attached to him. Sorry dude.
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| Stick to X-Men, bro |
Casting is hard, and with the Marvel villains being so bad at times that even the established figures like Mickey Rourke can't save them. Christopher Eccleston as Malekith in
Thor: The Dark World and Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin in
Iron Man 3 just couldn't save these characters. We've seen Eccleston act his socks off as Doctor Who, and we know that he can emote vigorously whatever the situation. Yet no passion was there, and while that may be down to Malekith just being a boring villain in
The Dark World may have limited dear old Chris severely, it would have been satisfying to see one of my favourite actors growing up to engage Thor in a battle for supremacy. Kingsley, having won an Oscar for his role as Gandhi in the 1982 film
Gandhi, was not at his best as the mysterious villain threatening to destroy Tony Stark, and it's perhaps made worse by the fact that Kingsley is playing the role of a hired actor playing a Chinese villain. You may call it another example of Hollywood white-washing casts, but the real crime is making Ben Kingsley play this role.
HEROES WORTH CELEBRATING, EVEN IF THEY'RE FLAWED, ANNOYING AND LACK ORIGIN STORIES AT TIMES
If the MCU started churning out films with superheroes that didn't get audiences excited, then the franchise would be dead in the water before it could happily announce it will be releasing 25 new films in the space of 1 week. Thankfully, with good casting and some solid enough storytelling, we have a collection of heroes
that audiences can get behind. We can idolise Superman for being a hero with little flaws, but we want to relate to them. Someone like Iron Man, for example, is littered with flaws, and is just a rich nerd with major ego problems. Scott Lang (alias Ant-Man, played by Paul Rudd) proves that you can do something with a degree, in this case a master's in electrical engineering, by going from convict to tiny hero. Much like Spider-Man in Civil War, Scott is totally overwhelmed by meeting some of The Avengers, much like how any normal guy would be when face to face with Earth's mightiest heroes. It makes him more relatable, and when you throw in the fact that he has a daughter and has to contend with his ex-wife's fiancée, then Ant-Man gets that little but more awesome. Hawkeye has a family too, and he can use a bow and arrow, so he's cool too, right? Well, that can be debated...
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| He knows |
With someone like Captain America and Thor, they've had 3 standalone films to allow themselves to grow and allow the audiences to get to know them a bit perfect. I will talk about their relationships and character development soon, but when you have that many standalone films then people start to forget about the others. Hawkeye/ Clint Barton, who first appeared in
Thor, is never cited as the best Avenger since the hype over archery created by the likes of Katniss Everdeen in
The Hunger Games and Merida in
Brave has since subsided. Clint is a family man like Scott Lang, but we know so little about him that when he's in danger we have to feign interest. Likewise, Black Widow is somewhat shoved into
Iron Man 2 to build up the whole Avengers stuff (same with Hawkeye, actually, in
Thor) and fans still demand a more fleshed out origin story. After witnessing Tony Stark's in
Iron Man and Doctor Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) in his own film
Doctor Strange, Marvel has proved that it can do origin stories well by building them up over a long period of time, rather than shove them into the opening credits- *cough*
Incredible Hulk *cough*. Although they follow the same vein, i.e. arrogant jerk does something stupid, seeks redemption with new powers, becomes responsible etc., these two examples are great examples of what the studio can do.
The traits of the characters themselves are also ones to be admired. This is where Captain America comes into his own, as
The First Avenger depicts him as a weedy guy with so much spirit that he dives on a grenade to protect his comrades (it was a dud, but that's still pretty brave) and is never deterred from joining the fight against the Nazis when he constantly fails his army medical exams. Even when he spends the majority of the war promoting war bonds and becoming a celebrity rather than a war hero, he does it because it's his duty, and also because he doesn't want to spend his time being experimented on. A loyal super soldier to his friends, even if they are brainwashed killers who murdered one of your co-workers' parents (R.I.P. Tony Stark's parents), we can all learn from Captain America and his odd but charming PSAs. He's not scared of his emotions, and can control them if the situation requires it (unlike a certain Mr. Quill in
Infinity War which basically doomed everyone). While the whole 'duty before everything' stuff may get annoying and put him in some very tough situations, he's still my favourite Avenger. He did help get me through the London 2 Brighton Challenge, after all.
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| All for you, Captain Rogers |
King T'Challa/ Black Panther has become an icon after his own film was released earlier in 2018, with Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo approaching Chadwick Boseman in the stands of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. After the King of Wakanda gave him a Black Panther mask and a Wakanda salute, Oladipo performed his second dunk much to the joy of the NBA/ Marvel fans watching the contest. I was one of those people, and I loved every minute of Oladipo's performance, even if he didn't make it to the next round. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) has celebrated his goals with a Wakanda salute, and it just shows how much this one hero means nowadays. T'Challa is the leader of a nation that keeps itself separate from the outside world, and it's supply of vibranium has been kept away from pesky European colonists. It's a defiant stand to the political climate of the world we live in, and thanks to the MCU, those who are being persecuted have a voice and a person to rally behind- turns out it's an African noble running around wearing a cat costume. Might be a little bit of a jump to call Black Panther a defining figure in the stand against racial discrimination, but come on,
Black Panther is a pretty decent film on its own. Man, if the heroes are that awesome, then the villains must be pretty good too!
OH GOD, THE VILLAINS
Villains should be feared. They are the evil force that threatens to annihilate our heroes and enact their own devilish schemes for their own benefit, no matter what stands in their way. Darth Vader from the
Star Wars universe is always cited as the greatest movie villain since he just screams 'bad guy'; the clothes (cape and all), the booming voice of James Earl Jones and the fact that he is the menacing face of the Galactic Empire that rules the galaxy with an iron fist. Heath Ledger's Joker in
The Dark Knight fit in perfectly with this new gritty Batman of Christian Bale, as he was just a straight up maniac bent on destruction. Jack Nicholson had turned in his own dark performance of the Clown Prince of Crime in
Batman, starting the move away from the more comedic portrayal of Cesar Romero in the extraordinary Batman of the 1960s. I could go on all day about other great movie villains, such as the smooth German Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in
Die Hard and the psychotic but oddly charming Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) in
Inglorious Bastards. Perhaps I want to since the MCU villains, most of them anyway, are just so... meh.
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| So evil, but so damn charming |
Take Malekith, for example. From the start, he's just presented as the bad guy since he's the leader of the Dark Elves and wants to shroud the world in darkness. That's pretty threatening, but that's it. There's no tragic backstory, or epic struggle to gain power- he's just shoved in from the start to make audiences realise that his plan is the reason why the film is titled
Thor: The Dark World. Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace in
Guardians of the Galaxy, should all be a very threatening presence. He's a radical member of the Kree Empire and desires to eradicate Xandar, with the help of Thanos, due to his racial beliefs and desire to avenge the death of various relations in the Kree-Nova War. Ronan is bad news, but even with Pace executing the monologues well, the whole threat is very hollow since there just isn't that much behind his character. It becomes even more frustrating when going back to
Iron Man and the first villain Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). He starts as a good guy and mentor to Tony, but has been working behind the scenes to take control of his company, going to the lengths of hiring the Ten Rings to kidnap him in Afghanistan. Marvel got off to a good start, and when The Abomination was introduced in
The Incredible Hulk then it should have been a warning sign to fans.
Thankfully, Marvel did solve the problem with Loki in
Thor. Tom Hiddleston not only plays the role well, but has been given so much character development that it feels like we know him better than his brother Thor. We can relate to Loki since there are times when we have all felt like we're the second-best, and sibling rivalry is a common theme in all families. With director Kenneth Brannagh casting him alongside Anthony Hopkins as Odin in
Thor, Brannagh used his Shakespearean talent to good use by perfectly creating this scenario of a family squabble. Loki just wants to prove he is worth it, and loves his brother deeply, even though he betrays him so many times that it becomes funny rather than a vital plot point. But Loki, for so long, was the diamond in the rough, as Hydra. The leader, Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), was made to fit in with the cartoonish feel of
The First Avenger by being the generic evil Nazi bent on conquest through the occult. Red Skull isn't an awful villain by any means, but he's just the generic villain from the pages of a comic book. The majority are just so unforgettable, and they're motivation usually comes from trying to make money (Darren Cross/ Yellowjacket, Corey Stoll,
Ant-Man), get revenge on the main character (Aldrich Killian, Guy Pearce,
Iron Man 3) or just have an army of faceless drones and wreck everything (Ultron, James Spader,
Avengers: Age of Ultron). It's in 'Phase 3' of the MCU that they seem to get the villains right.
Suddenly, the villains become bearable. Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl,
Civil War) seeks to destroy The Avengers not by fighting them, but by them fighting themselves; hence, Civil War. Sokovia's destruction and the loss of his family during the battle in
Age of Ultron was his driving force, and was an excellent example of the damage done by these superhero capers. Same with Adrian Toomes/ Vulture (Michael Keeton) when pitted against Spider-Man, as his cleanup company was shut down by the Department of Damage Control, so uses some stray tech to begin a life of crime- all for the good of his family, of course. Doing something for the good of the family is also a key theme in the second
Guardians film. Ego (Kurt Russell), father to Peter Quill, turns out to be a mass-murderer bent on wiping out life for the good of perfection, who slept with multiple women just to achieve his evil goals (what a snake) and, to top it all off, gave Meredith Quill the brain tumour that killed her. Oh, and how can we not mention Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) in
Black Panther! Not only does he match T'Challa in combat skills, but opposes him in his very ideals of what Wakanda should be. Erik desires Wakanda to be a force of change and arm his operatives around the world with vibranium weapons to begin a global revolution. It makes the audience question their own views on society, as Erik has grown up in a harsh environment (Oakland, California) and is resentful of Wakanda's isolation when those suffering needed their help the most.
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| Brutal, complex and ambitious- an excellent villain |
There is, however, one villain who has made multiple appearances like Loki yet until
Infinity War has remained largely unknown. Thanks to the MCU and their power of character development, we have ourselves a very serious baddie...
DRAWN OUT BUT WORTHWHILE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
When some big blue guy appeared at the end of
Avengers, you would have to be a big fan of the Marvel comics to even know who that was. This was Thanos (Damion Poitier and Josh Brolin), and his name has popped up so much throughout the franchise that the hype around his full debut in
Infinity War was astronomical in scale. Fans were not disappointed; Thanos posed a real threat to the life in the universe, and the emotional rollercoaster that was
Infinity War proved just that. Within the first 10 minutes, Loki was dead, and before he had even reached Earth his adopted daughter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) had been sacrificed in order to obtain the Soul Stone. By the end, a lot of heroes were dead, among them Black Panther, Peter Quill and, worst of all, Peter Parker. The character development was so simple that I never really noticed it. We all knew he was the adopted father of Gamora and Nebula (Karen Gillan), has some cool glove called The Infinity Gauntlet and wanted the Infinity Stones to fulfil his desire of eradicating life, albeit to preserve resources and lessen waiting times in your local Costa. Thanos solved the MCU problem of not killing off main characters, and as soon as Vision (Paul Bettany) had the Mind Stone ripped from his forehead, you knew something bad was about to happen.
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| Thanos, I respect your cause, but genocide solves nothing |
While the villain character development has usually been weak and some heroes, such as Black Widow, are still waiting for their own standalone film to flesh out their character, Thanos was a triumph. But this wasn't the first time that the MCU have succeeded in saving a seemingly bland character, as Thanos was always joked to be the worst villain in the franchise since he wasn't really doing anything. Captain America could have easily been eternally seen as the 'do your duty, don't swear, eat your vegetables' hero that would get on everyone's nerves and add on to the cartoonish feel of
The First Avenger. Over time, Cap realises that blindly following orders can be destructive, and the ruling power may not be as great as initially thought, as was shown in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier by Hydra controlling S.H.I.E.L.D. behind the scenes for decades. Once
Civil War comes about, his loyalties are tested to the max with Sokovia Accords threatening to regulate superhero activities and Bucky Barnes, the 'Winter Soldier' (Sebastian Stan) being blamed for killing T'Challa's father in a terrorist attack. We can see Captain America taking a darker tone as his suit in
The First Avenger is bright and screams 'I Love America!', but by
Infinity War that plucky young Captain from Brooklyn is now sporting a beard and eyes opened the true hostile nature of the world.
Iron Man, having appeared in 9 of the MCU films (including his post-credit appearance in
The Incredible Hulk, is the most developed character of the MCU. After being captured by terrorists with his own weapons, Tony is humbled and has to learn how to be morally good after causing so much destruction through his genius and business ventures. His ego remains inflated (who else can stare down Loki in
The Avengers while knocking back wine) but is now more receptive to working with others and being in touch with his personal feelings after his arc reactor had been slowly poisoning him throughout
Iron Man 2. Would you have guessed that he would fly through a wormhole with a nuclear missile to save New York, having already acknowledged Captain America's leadership qualities by saying 'Call it, Captain' as the final battle begins?
Iron Man 3 stripped him of his suits, and he had to deal with the panic attacks and flashbacks of flying though a freaking wormhole not through building suits, but by relying on his instincts. His desire to help the world basically causes the events of
Age of Ultron by creating an A.I. to protect Earth, who turns out to be pretty evil and concludes that humanity has to die for the planet to survive. Once
Civil War comes around, Tony is still determined to keep the world safe, agreeing with the Sokovia Accords in order to deal with his guilty conscience, even if it means ruining friendships. When he meets Doctor Strange in
Infinity War, who shares Tony's origin story in the sense that both were the top dogs before tragedy struck (in this case, texting while driving causing a crash), whose ego was on par with Stark. It's another humbling experience, as the Master of the Mystic Arts wields the Time Stone with ease. That's power Tony cannot wield.
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| You can't keep running away from your problems, Tony |
Then there's Thor. Humour from the Asgardian God of Thunder derived from his old-timey vocabulary and inability to understand Earth's customs, which seemed like cheap gags to be honest. Yet when director Taika Waititi got his hands on
Ragnarok, we got a new Thor. This is one who is relaxed, even with all the responsibilities on his shoulders. In
Thor, he is arrogant and only through a forced exile on Earth is he able to see the error of his ways, even though a time out may have helped as well. Thor turns down the claim for the Asgardian throne in
The Dark World to focus on the more important things in his life i.e. his girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and defending Earth. Apocalyptic visions of 'Ragnarok' destroying Asgard fill the demi-god's mind, but once
Ragnarok comes around, Waititi presented a Thor that was more than good looks and bulging muscles. He utilised Hemsworth's natural comedic talents, and made him even more powerful even though his hammer was crushed by his sister Hela (Cate Blanchett). Just Like Tony Stark and Steven Strange before him, Thor had hit rock bottom and now had to rely on his own instincts to thrive and survive on Sakaar, fighting Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) and defying the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Again, the opening of
Infinity War puts Thor in a position where he questions his place in the universe, with his brother dead and Thanos boasting godly powers that dwarf his. Obtaining Stormbreaker showed his devotion to being a hero, taking on the full power of a sun which could kill him, the mighty Thor. Would that arrogant prince who strolled into the main hall of the Asgardian Palace at the beginning of
Thor have done that?
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| Anyone else guess that Thor and Hulk would have a gladiator fight? |
Character development usually derives from personal tragedies, and through friendship and romance our heroes are able to become better people. Yet relationships, especially in the MCU, sometimes fall a bit flat.
ROMANCES AND BROMANCES
We never go into a Marvel film just to see whether they will do well with the romantic elements of the film, since it's all about fight scenes and all that. But the flaws of the romantic relationships are hard to ignore, and are key points of criticism for the whole franchise. For example, Bruce and Natasha had a fling during
Ultron, which seemed totally random since Natasha appeared far closer to Clint or Captain Rogers, and it ended pretty quickly by the end of the film. Bruce's troubled romantic record continues as his relationship with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) in his own film causes more harm than good, especially as Betty was in a stable relationship after Bruce ran off to Brazil. The adorable Peter Parker falls for the smart popular Liv (Laura Harrier) in
Homecoming, and was better than having another Mary Jane/ Gwen Stacey shoved down our throats. It was obvious that the relationship was doomed from the start since she isn't one of Parker's main love interests (not to mention the fact that her Dad is the main villain), taking away the impact the relationship would have on the story. Jane and Thor, the pinnacle of bad MCU relationships, was so boring that the lack of Portman in
Ragnarok was of no great disappointment. The fact she loses her cool edge and becomes a giggling schoolgirl when her eyes lock on to Thor makes her lose her steely persona, but when faced with the God of Thunder, you have permission to break protocol. Long-distance just doesn't work, and while it was cute to have Thor keep an eye on Jane after the
Bifröst is destroyed, you could tell it was doomed from the start. Just because it works in the comics doesn't mean it can transfer to the silver screen.
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| From demi-gods to Sith Lords- Natalie has some very scary ex-boyfriends |
There have been some triumphs though, with T'Challa and Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) being so gloriously subtle. They had broken up before the events of Black Panther, as Nakia wanted to see the world and not be confined to the isolationist Wakanda. Once king, he rescues her in Nigeria in order for her to witness his ascendancy to the throne, but constant action stops them from properly rekindling their romance. T'Challa has a country to run, and Nakia is still focused on the outside world- it feels like a very adult relationship, and one we can relate to in our hectic modern lives. Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter's relationship is tragic, especially as Peggy has feelings for Steve before he takes the serum that turns him into a super soldier. Even with Cap on ice, she keeps his legacy alive, and once he is defrosted Steve still visits the ailing Peggy, with both knowing full well that they should have spent their entire lives together (ooohhhh, the feels). Peter Quill and Gamora's relationship is full of slow dancing and love-hate banter, and they're very much an item once we get to Infinity War. With Peter promising to kill Gamora if captured by Thanos (which he abides by, only for Thanos to turn bullets to bubbles) and then going crazy once told she was dead, it was a love that ran deep for the two that moved from hatred, to Mum and Dad of the weird Guardians family, to long-term lovers. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts is of course the best example of the MCU doing romance well, as it has endured so much. Pepper is the one person Tony can rely on the most, and she knows that he would be totally lost without her. She is fully committed to their relationship, and Tony blowing up his suits in Iron Man 3 shows his devotion too. Indeed, her absence in Civil War is an important part of his character development since it's just another problem for the billionaire to deal with.
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| Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Martin... the choice is obvious |
When talking about relationships, it should be worth mentioning the friendships as well. James Rhodes, along with Pepper, acts as Tony Stark's conscience, and wants to make sure his billionaire bestie stays safe. Their fight in Iron Man 2 was necessary; it was tough love, for Tony had to be made to realise he was going down a destructive path and the suits that made him so powerful were now a dangerous tool in his drunken hands. When Rhodes went down injured in Civil War, Tony not only breaks down (as any good friend should) but does everything in his power to make him walk again (as any good billionaire genius friend should). Cap and Bucky have a very long and complicated friendship, as Bucky's demise in The First Avenger turned out to be false as he was turned into the cold killer that is the Winter Soldier. Rogers chooses friendship over duty, and is determined to make sure Bucky's innocence is known to the world, even if it means defying duty and newly made friendships with the likes of Tony Stark. Sam Wilson/ Falcon (Anthony Mackie) is sadly nothing more than a sidekick to Cap, and no matter how hard he tries he will never be able to take over the role as best friend to Captain America. At least Chris Evans, Mackie and Sebastian Stan are good friends in real life though.
The relationships and friendships made in the MCU range from the forced to the sneakily beautiful. These friendships usually emerge from coincidence and being drawn together due to random circumstances, as is clearly evidenced with the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is a mismatched group of a half-human, half-alien bandit (Quill), the adopted daughter of Thanos (Gamora), a rude raccoon (Rocket), a talking tree (Groot), an unintentionally hilarious intergalactic criminal (Drax, Dave Bautista) and an empathetic insectoid (Mantis, Pom Klementieff). It works perfectly, and they move from reluctant friends to dysfunctional family in no time at all. The second Guardians movie is probably the best example of finding friendship and love in the strangest places. Indeed, Peter finally realises that Yondu (Michael Rooker), the guy who kidnapped you when you were a kid and is now happily going around shouting 'I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!', is the father he was looking for the whole time. Yondu saved Quill from the possibility of Ego killing him if he was unable to use the Celestial power, and became the father figure he needed without either ever admitting it until the very end. While I'm tearing up just thinking about it, the MCU has still done a poor job with the majority of their relationships. Nice try Marvel, you're not getting away that easily.
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| Best part of the film |
My extensive rambling review of the Marvel Cinematic Universe now reaches the final point, and it is the most important one of all. The MCU is full of plot holes, such as The Avengers assembling only when they feel like it rather than teaming-up more often. It would have made so many problems go away so easily; I mean, did no other Avenger see Tony Stark's house get blown up in
Iron Man 3 and think they should spring into action? The addiction to CGI is now in the stage where an intervention is needed, with the opening of
Ultron looking so fake I'm doubting the film even existed in the first place. Films are made that don't add anything to the overall story, and are just setting up sequels and team-ups to satisfy the fans e.g. all the films before
The Avengers. Consistent villain and romance problems threaten to undermine the MCU, and fans have a sneaky feeling that everything that happened in
Infinity War will somehow be reversed, as this is the third time that Loki has dropped dead. Yet with all of these faults, and
Ant-Man and the Wasp on the horizon for film number 20, the franchise is as strong as ever.
I love these films- well, most of them anyway. They range from the bizarreness of
Ant-Man and
Ragnarok to the epic team-ups of
The Avengers,
Civil War and
Infinity War. From super soldiers to demi-gods, the heroes have qualities and ideals that fans can relate to, with their ideas of duty and doing what is right. Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch and Chris Evans are just some of the major stars of the MCU- they even have Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Fury! Villains may be poorly written and acted at times, yet with Thanos and Loki on the scene, we have genuine villains who we love for their wit and antics, or fear for their destructive capabilities. These films are fun; they're not supposed to be taken seriously. If they were made to be serious, then they would fail miserably. That's why movies based on video games fall flat, as drama rules over lore, and fans feel cheated when they change the design of the Animus, for example... dammit Michael Fassbender, play the bloody games and wise up! Ranting aside, when the new MCU film is dropped on 6 July, expect more box office records to be broken, or at the very least see Marvel's profits excel greatly. See fans take to Reddit to propose theories and write reviews on why Paul Rudd is actually the darling of the entire franchise; people love these films, and there's a good reason for it.
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| I know what mine is |
Ben G 😁xo
P.S. On Thursday, I finally reached my fundraising goal for Battersea and the London 2 Brighton Challenge, so thank you for everyone who donated! The page will stay open until 23 June, so let's keep going.
Follow the link and be as generous as you want.
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| I have a hankering for charitable donations |
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