What do you think of Marvel post-Endgame?

[Zaukrie]

I liked all of them except The Eternals.

 

[pukunui]

I liked all of them except The Eternals.

I've now seen every MCU film (and Disney+ show) except for Eternals, and that's because it's been so universally panned that none of my children even want to watch it. I would like to say I enjoyed them all, although there were definitely some that I liked more and others that I have no desire to watch again.

As for Phase 4, so far it feels more like an in-between phase, where they've been busy filling in gaps (e.g. Black Widow), sorting out the in-universe messes left behind by Endgame and painstakingly slowly setting up the Next Big Thing.

It's possible that I wouldn't be so impatient if I had been following the MCU from the beginning. Instead I came late, after Endgame had already come out, and so I was more or less able to binge all of Phases 1-3 in a short span of time, so now Phase 4 just feels like it's taking forever to sort itself out. I suppose COVID hasn't helped in that regard either.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I've now seen every MCU film (and Disney+ show) except for Eternals, and that's because it's been so universally panned that none of my children even want to watch it. I would like to say I enjoyed them all, although there were definitely some that I liked more and others that I have no desire to watch again.

I'll note I didn't dislike the Eternals--there were elements of it I liked quite a bit--but it just felt weaker than the other offerings. I think part of that might just because it seems disconnected in a way even Shang-Chi didn't feel from the rest of the MCU, and part of it was too large a cast introduced all at once.

It's possible that I wouldn't be so impatient if I had been following the MCU from the beginning. Instead I came late, after Endgame had already come out, and so I was more or less able to binge all of Phases 1-3 in a short span of time, so now Phase 4 just feels like it's taking forever to sort itself out. I suppose COVID hasn't helped in that regard either.

It absolutely hasn't. I know of at least one movie and two TV shows that were significantly delayed because of it.

 

[Argyle King]

Some of it has been really good, but some of it has been a mess.

Personally, I think the MCU is starting to care too much about flashy powers and is starting to forget about having a coherent story. The early movies worked well because (for the most part) they would have been enjoyable movies even without super powers.

I also think that more recent movies appear to be making an effort (whether intentional or not) to downplay the importance of earlier characters and events. Part of that also comes from haphazard management of powers.

Certainly, comic books have flashy powers, but the MCU is starting to run into the 'Superman Problem' of constantly needing to stack more powers into contemporary versions of characters so as to keep up with the introduction of characters like MCU Captain Marvel, Hela*, and the growing powers of Scarlet Witch.

(*Hela at least had some caveat of saying her powers were stronger the longer she was in Asgard.)

It gets harder to write a coherent story when so many characters seem limitless in what they can do.

 

[Argyle King]

Side Note: I actually enjoyed Black Widow.

A lot of people say they didn't like it. While there were aspects of it which I think could have been better, I enjoyed it. It felt more like Mission Impossible than Marvel, but I think that's how a Black Widow movie should be.

 

[Zaukrie]

Side Note: I actually enjoyed Black Widow.

A lot of people say they didn't like it. While there were aspects of it which I think could have been better, I enjoyed it. It felt more like Mission Impossible than Marvel, but I think that's how a Black Widow movie should be.

We really liked it also

 

[Rabulias]

I enjoyed Black Widow. It did feel late, and I would have preferred to see it released in its chronologically accurate spot after Captain America: Civil War. And I really would have liked to have also seen a Black Widow / Hawkeye team-up espionage flick. Maybe a prequel from their SHIELD days? Maybe even a full story about Budapest? Ah well, not to be...

 

[DeviousQuail]

I've now seen every MCU film (and Disney+ show) except for Eternals, and that's because it's been so universally panned that none of my children even want to watch it. I would like to say I enjoyed them all, although there were definitely some that I liked more and others that I have no desire to watch again.

As for Phase 4, so far it feels more like an in-between phase, where they've been busy filling in gaps (e.g. Black Widow), sorting out the in-universe messes left behind by Endgame and painstakingly slowly setting up the Next Big Thing.

It's possible that I wouldn't be so impatient if I had been following the MCU from the beginning. Instead I came late, after Endgame had already come out, and so I was more or less able to binge all of Phases 1-3 in a short span of time, so now Phase 4 just feels like it's taking forever to sort itself out. I suppose COVID hasn't helped in that regard either.

I'd suggest giving Eternals a try. I know I'm in a small group but I liked it enough to see it in theaters and again on D+. It has faults, there is no denying that, but there are some really fun parts and visuals to it as well. If you sat through Hulk, Thor: The Dark World, or Iron Man 2 then you've already seen the worst the MCU has to offer.

If nothing else, Eternals seems to set the stage for a lot of stuff to come.

 

[Older Beholder]

I'm enjoying phase 4,
They're taking more and more risks, and it feels like the directors are getting more of a voice to express they're own style with each film.
Although this began with James Gunn and Taika Waititi.

Black Widow I didn't see in cinema, (due to Covid), and while I was a little underwhelmed the first time I watched it, I've probably re-watched it more than any other MCU film, enjoying it more with each viewing.

I loved Eternals too, just filming on location with natural light made this one of the best looking movies in the superhero genre for me.
I read that Chloe Zhao was asked if she wanted to direct Black Widow, but pitched an idea she had for an Eternals movie instead, which is interesting.

 

[Hussar]

Personally, I think the MCU is starting to care too much about flashy powers and is starting to forget about having a coherent story. The early movies worked well because (for the most part) they would have been enjoyable movies even without super powers.

Which ones did you have in mind? The first five MCU movies were:

• Iron Man (2008) - Great
• The Incredible Hulk (2008) - Not great
• Iron Man 2 (2010) - Not great
• Thor (2011) - fun, but, not exactly rocking the world
• Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - Great

So, to me, the first movies before Avengers were mostly pretty meh. I did just do an MCU rewatch (mostly because I just got Disney+ and spent a couple of months on it ) and none of the movies were bad. But, that being said, most of them are fun, popcorn movies and not a whole lot else.

Which, to me, is fine. They're popcorn, big tent movies. It's what it says on the tin, and that's what you get.