Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies and Streaming Series Discussion

[Ru1977]

we're all just armchair quarterbacking

Well sure, if you just wanna shut it all down!

Spoiler: Meanwhile, FF reviews

Rotten Tomatoes: 88 from 99 reviews

Critics Consensus: Benefitting from rock-solid cast chemistry and clad in appealingly retro 1960s design, this crack at The Fantastic Four does Marvel's First Family justice.

Metacritic: 65 rom 35 reviews

The Mary Sue (4.5/5): The Fantastic Four: First Steps brings a lightness back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that both feels like returning home while being entirely unique to Shakman’s MCU style. It is what I wanted from this movie and so much more.

Empire Magazine (4/5): With an exemplary cast and shiny new alt-universe to enjoy, this is the best Fantastic Four yet. And if that bar’s too low for you, then it’s also the best Marvel movie in years.

IGN (7/10): With The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Matt Shakman directs a film that’s for sure interesting to look at even if it doesn’t quite rise to the scale of its planet-eating antagonist, a force of cosmic nature that doubles as a metaphor for parenting in a way that makes me feel seen as a father. These First Steps might not be the great strides I was hoping for, but they are sure footing for the Fantastic Four to officially leap into the MCU.

ScreenDaily: Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby head underwhelming Marvel superhero reboot

Dexerto (4/5): Fantastic Four is… fantastic. It’ll leave you excited for Avengers: Doomsday, but more importantly, you might just believe in the MCU again. To borrow the word of a legend, excelsior!

AwardsRadar (6/10): The Fantastic Four: First Steps is good, and even very good at times, it just falls shy of being great. There’s a special sauce that’s just not quite here. I never could put my finger on it, but in the same way that Superman managed to thrill me just by being unabashedly itself, this one had me humming the more it resisted generic MCU moments. I’d be very excited to see more installments in this unique looking world, though it seems like they have a date with our other heroes coming up first. Still, Marvel’s First Family is back, and this is undeniably their best on-screen outing, by far.

Nexus Point News (5/5): What makes The Fantastic Four: First Steps so special is that it finally gets the tone, cast, and story right while giving the Fantastic Four the respect they deserve. They're a family of explorers, thinkers, and dreamers. And this film lets them be exactly that. It's a celebration of everything that makes this team special. After years of false starts, missed opportunities, and skeptical fans, Marvel has finally delivered a version of this iconic team that feels authentic, vibrant, and full of life.

ScreenRant (7/10): The Fantastic Four: First Steps is entertaining, and I have no doubt that Marvel fans will enjoy it. Even general audiences who have fallen off the MCU are sure to have a fun-filled good time with this summer blockbuster. But, although Pascal, Kirby, Moss-Bachrach and Quinn are all confirmed to appear in next year's Avengers: Doomsday, it still doesn't feel like essential viewing.

The Hollywood Reporter: Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby lead appealing new crew to break Marvel property's six-decade curse

Rolling Stone: Yes, ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ brings Marvel’s O.G.s into the MCU. No, the best screen version to date of the Fantastic Four doesn't fully break the curse regarding the first family of superheroes and the movie

USA Today (3/4): 'First Steps' makes Marvel groovy again

Slant Magazine (3.5/4): Marvel gives its first family the expansive and heartfelt big-screen treatment it deserves.

Awards Watch (B): Marvel’s first family finally finds an enjoyable stride in their fourth portrayal

 

[fac]

From @Ru1977 post:

Screen Rant: "It still doesn't feel like essential viewing."

I feel like I have read this by some reviewer for almost every post Endgame show or film, which is not reviewing the film as is, but as part of a larger story. I don't think that does the recent films any favors but is an issued where more casual fans want to know when the big stories are happening - which to some extent Marvel trained them to focus on - and by involving so many characters and so many new characters since Endgame that are taking a while to resolve, things seem "miss-able".

 

[Ru1977]

Yeah. Fuck screen rant for other reasons as well, but even as someone who puts effort into keeping as many strands and such in my head when watching these movies, I appreciate a nice jumping on point like this.

 

[TheSameIdiot]

We produced 50 hours of stories between 2007 and 2019, but in the six years since 'Avengers: Endgame,' we've had well over 100 hours of stories — in half the time. That's too much.

This number is hyper-inflated by their Disney+ shows, but I'm glad to hear they're thinking this way.

We didn’t want to simply just put a leather outfit on [Ali] and have him start killing vampires, it had to be unique and it fell right into the time when we started pulling back and saying 'only accept insanely great' and it wasn’t insanely great at the time.

I saw this one the other day. It's not like the Snipes movies have much more going on than a leather outfit and killing vampires. If it works, it works.

Reboot is a scary word. Reboot can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline — we’re thinking along those lines. 'X-Men' is where that will happen next.

Fucking finally. The Fox X-Men actors punched way above the material, but all due respect, I never want to see them play those parts again.

 

[Ru1977]

I saw this one the other day. It's not like the Snipes movies have much more going on than a leather outfit and killing vampires. If it works, it works.

Yeah true. Blade was always funny to me because no one I knew was even aware it was a CBM. But yeah, if the MCU can get away with doing a simple, shallow plot action movie, its gotta be on Blade.

Fucking finally. The Fox X-Men actors punched way above the material, but all due respect, I never want to see them play those parts again.

So yeah, recast after, or even for, Secret Wars with comic accurate costumes. Exactly what I asked for.

 

[docsilence]

Fucking finally. The Fox X-Men actors punched way above the material, but all due respect, I never want to see them play those parts again.

I never had any nostalgia at all for the Fox X-Men. I liked them well enough, but they always felt like fan fic. My last gret interest in Marvel films at this point, assuming F4 is well-crafted, is a set of X-Men movies that can stand up to the comics that made me love the X-Men in the first place.

 

[Ru1977]

I never had any nostalgia at all for the Fox X-Men. I liked them well enough, but they always felt like fan fic. My last gret interest in Marvel films at this point, assuming F4 is well-crafted, is a set of X-Men movies that can stand up to the comics that made me love the X-Men in the first place.

I assume it's an age thing because I think we're the same age and I feel the exact same way. They were sorta neat at the time, even if trying to hide how ashamed they were of being superhero movies. I'm sure the MCU version is going to be so much better.

Also why Pedro had facial hair as Reed:

I Was So Appalled by the Way I Look in ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ That I’ve Never Gone Back’ to Being Clean Shaven for an Acting Role​

I don't blame him. I have always had a baby face, my wife wondered who this teenager hitting on her was when we first met, and when I grew a van dyke she said I finally looked my age, and I have NEVER shaved it since, and have actually refused to for work even heh.

 

[docsilence]

I assume it's an age thing because I think we're the same age and I feel the exact same way. They were sorta neat at the time, even if trying to hide how ashamed they were of being superhero movies. I'm sure the MCU version is going to be so much better.

Also why Pedro had facial hair as Reed:

I don't blame him. I have always had a baby face, my wife wondered who this teenager hitting on her was when we first met, and when I grew a van dyke she said I finally looked my age, and I have NEVER shaved it since, and have actually refused to for work even heh.

It might be an age thing. Wonder what everyone else our age thinks. I remember thinking the movies were pretty neat because they didn't treat our favorite characters as a joke and really tried to make it work. And they "got" it in some ways, the Charles and Erik push and pull, that stuff. But by the time the movies came out I'd been reading X-Men for years. We'd seen Wolverine nailed to a cross in the desert and Jean die to save the universe and Ororo knife-fight in the sewer to save her friends and Warren have his wings ripped from his back in brutal torture. Claremont and Byrne and Hama and Miller and Lee had told too many wild stories for a movie in that era to match what was already riding around in my imagination. (My first X-Men comic was Uncanny 268 and if there's a single bottle episode that makes you say wait, you can DO this shit? It's LEGAL? it's that one.)

I think the reason I keep holding out hope for the MCU X-Men is when these guys are firing on all cylinders, they could pull it off. They could also catastrophically screw it up, but I think they know what they have in the IP and they're afraid of screwing it up, and they really should approach it with a one-two punch of balls and fear. Before I shuffle off this mortal coil I want to see one ugly, hairy, and unloved Logan and one Jean that scares the shit out of us and one Beast who is made lonely by genius and mutation and one Scott who finds himself in the position of accepting being hated because he's actually right and one Colossus who isn't a Ryan Reynolds joke but a soft heart wrapped in bands of iron and one Storm who makes pulses rumble like thunder and one Kurt who wrestles with faith and love in a a world that can't look at him. One Kitty whose childhood is stolen from her just for being different. All that great stuff.

I guess I don't want a clever movie, I want the fuckin' X-Men as they've always been.

 

[Ru1977]

It might be an age thing. Wonder what everyone else our age thinks. I remember thinking the movies were pretty neat because they didn't treat our favorite characters as a joke and really tried to make it work.

Yeah, definitely. Thinking back to when rogue first meets logan and such. Even though it wasn't what I wanted (X-Men was definitely a lesson in not expecting exact page to screen translation for me)

And they "got" it in some ways, the Charles and Erik push and pull, that stuff.

Agreed. The parts were more or less there. And I remember at the time being excited they went with the Holocaust origin, and even having Magneto as the villain. For some reason that surprised me when the movie came out. I don't realize the movies would have a hard time not using Magneto.

But by the time the movies came out I'd been reading X-Men for years. We'd seen Wolverine nailed to a cross in the desert and Jean die to save the universe and Ororo knife-fight in the sewer to save her friends and Warren have his wings ripped from his back in brutal torture. Claremont and Byrne and Hama and Miller and Lee had told too many wild stories for a movie in that era to match what was already riding around in my imagination.

Absolutely, and that is why I always push for X-Men to be a series rather than movies. As low a budget as you can get, but to really delve into these characters you're gonna want that time. It's also a way to differentiate from the movies, though I admit I never saw Gifted and Legion was so far removed from comic continuity.

(My first X-Men comic was Uncanny 268 and if there's a single bottle episode that makes you say wait, you can DO this shit? It's LEGAL? it's that one.)

Actually yeah that issue was pretty sweet.
I knew X-Men from an episode of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (if Sadie Sink is Firestar in Brand New Day, I will flip out) and Secret Wars, but didn't try collecting them until I saw an issue with Wolverine fighting Sabertooth (that guy with the claws I have a figure of fighting the guy with the claws who showed up in a few Spiderman comics!) and I kept up with it until just after Claremont left. The reset they did when they split the titles was kinda cool but also not where I wanted the story to go at that point. As much ss I liked Lee's art.

I think the reason I keep holding out hope for the MCU X-Men is when these guys are firing on all cylinders, they could pull it off. They could also catastrophically screw it up, but I think they know what they have in the IP and they're afraid of screwing it up, and they really should approach it with a one-two punch of balls and fear.

And I may be completely misattributing but I really feel like Feige had a big hand in how much the Singer movies did feel like the comics.

Before I shuffle off this mortal coil I want to see one ugly, hairy, and unloved Logan and one Jean that scares the shit out of us and one Beast who is made lonely by genius and mutation and one Scott who finds himself in the position of accepting being hated because he's actually right and one Colossus who isn't a Ryan Reynolds joke but a soft heart wrapped in bands of iron and one Storm who makes pulses rumble like thunder and one Kurt who wrestles with faith and love in a a world that can't look at him. One Kitty whose childhood is stolen from her just for being different. All that great stuff.

I guess I don't want a clever movie, I want the fuckin' X-Men as they've always been.

Ah man I really hope we get it. Even if just pretty close to what you described.

 

[fac]

First 5 minutes (probably) of FF are on Disney+ now as a "special look".

Spoiler: Details

Montage of their origin being narrated by the host of the TV show we have seen in the trailers. Some good shots of the team in action, I liked it...

 

[Ru1977]

@fac thanks for posting that, I had a big dumb smile the entire time.

 

[joshsquash729]

Haven't watched it yet, and probably won't- wanna see it all on the big screen for the first time, but I like that idea a lot- narrating an in-universe TV special as a way to bring the audience up to speed on their origin. So stoked for this one- only 2 more days!

 

[Ru1977]

We're probably going Sunday so I may drop out of this thread for a few days heh.

 

[fac]

Haven't watched it yet, and probably won't- wanna see it all on the big screen for the first time

I have no such self-control.

Spoiler: A little bit about the first 5 minutes

Since we know that Malkovich has been cut, but his character is referenced in the documentary montage, I am wondering if there was enough of that so it might get reinstated for home media? Like a bonus feature that is more in the documentary style? Wondering now where Mole Man fits in.

If you are reading this Disney, an FF show with maybe 6 short episodes set before the film of the FF fighting classic, yet absurd, villains - think 15-20 min episodes - is exactly what you should be using D+ for. Kind of like the old One Shots from the DVDs early on.

 

[Ru1977]

If you are reading this Disney, an FF show with maybe 6 short episodes set before the film of the FF fighting classic, yet absurd, villains - think 15-20 min episodes - is exactly what you should be using D+ for. Kind of like the old One Shots from the DVDs early on

Fawk yes!

The thing Feige is saying about making the shows and movie connect less (because of Thunderbolts) really doesn't sit well with me. People didn't watch the shows so they didn't care about ... US Agent I guess? Because everyone else was introduced in a movie.

But anyway, WandaVision seems like one of their more popular shows and it was essentially spun off from the movies, so I really think supplementing the movies while not being required viewing is a great idea.