MARVEL Cinematic Universe

I'm not sure how I feel about Doctor Strange. I saw it earlier this week and I'll probably have to watch it a second time to formulate a more solid conclusion.

From what I remember:

Positives:

• Humour
• Action
• Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel McAdams performances and chemistry.
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, and Benedict Wong.

Negatives:

• Kaecilius - Very little backstory and motivation. His defeat is very anti-climatic as well.
• Humour - out of place at some points.
• Story - felt too rushed. Certain sequences should have been extended to help further the storyline.

 

I pretty much agree, except for the rushed story aspect, I thought it handled that just fine.

As usual, the lackluster villains continue to be a problem for the MCU. It is almost forgivable in this case due to them seeding a proper future villain with Mordo however. I actually think one of the biggest problems with villains in the MCU is that they tend to kill them off too quickly. All three Iron Man movies, Winter Soldier, Thor 2, Ant Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Age of Ultron and now Doctor Strange killed of their primary villain in their first film appearance.

A big thing that sets Loki apart is the fact that he has had the chance to develop over multiple films at this point. He was actually handled pretty well in the first Thor movie, but he didn't fully come into his own as a villain until The Avengers.

As of right now, for surviving Villains, we have Abomination(who I doubt we will see again), Red Skull(could be dead, but I doubt it), Loki(of course), Zemo and now Baron Mordo. Of course there is Thanos lurking in the background, and we also have Dormamu to worry about, but they have yet to come into play in a major way(although we don't have any doubt that they will, especially with Thanos and Infinity War).

Mordo definitely has the potential to be the next Loki at this point. The same goes for Zemo, provided that they don't forget about him going forward. More character development for the villains is definitely something that would help them fix their villain issue going forward.

 

Yeah, little villain character development is hurting the franchise's overall quality. The TV shows are an exception, but they don't count because they have whole seasons to develop characters compared to two hours.

• Daniel Bruhl said Civil War was meant to be Zemo's introduction into the MCU. I can definitely see something like an Avengers film involving the Masters of Evil in the future. It really is a shame Crossbones got killed off so quickly. A Masters of Evil film could easily re-introduce Abomination and Red Skull, plus add some new villains to the roster.
• Abomination was originally meant to be the villain of Avengers 2, so I could see him reappearing at some point in the future.
• Red Skull is the trickiest one. He seemed to be teleported away to elsewhere in the galaxy. I doubt we'll see him in Infinity War, so I'm not sure how he'll get back to Earth. It also depends on whether Hugo Weaving wants to return to the role (he seems to be on the fence), or whether Marvel Studios want to recast the role.
• I know some people disliked him, but I enjoyed AOU's Ultron, and he could easily return in the future.

 

I have a feeling that zemo won't be ever introduced in the way he was in the comics based on the way he was captured. Abomination seems most likely since he's already transformed and so does the red skull. Ultron was awesome, too, but didn't he "die"
?

 

Yeah, Ultron died, but he's an AI programme. There's literally thousands of ways he could come back: backup copy, dormant drone etc.

 

Or even one of those clones like everyone thought coulson was initially.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 5, 2016, Original Post Date: Nov 5, 2016 ---

LMD

 

Yeah, Mel Gibson really should shut up. He's such a hypocrite.

 

Yeah I know that's why they never call him for a role, he doesn't have a conscience to play it with full potential or fit the description of a character likeness. I still enjoy him in Lethal Weapon etc but that's it. Marvel movies are beyond him.

 

Many other films he's been a part of are full of glorified violence and no conscience. Gibson's just salty that Marvel's films are receiving more praise than his.

Oh, and that's a promo for a video game. It's a clickbait title.

 

Ooookay I finally got a day off last night to see the movie. Imax. Crowd was cold, no laughing.
My TLDR: Doctor Strange will swear to you that he is legitimately a good movie; even show you the green card Obama gave it saying so. But it's terrified that Trump will deport it back to the land of average movies.
Okay, so I went into this movie pretty pumped. I did not leave impressed. First let's a dress the good: superb acting by everyone, 'Marvel standard' pfx/cgi blend, great directing and cinematography.
Now let's get to the problems. DS has the exact opposite problem of BvS. In a movie with guys that can teleport anywhere in a universe filled with active characters.. a shot of Tony Stark's tower is the best they can pull off in the movie. A post credit scene with Thor. That's it. At least deadpool managed to make some wisecracking about it. Speaking of humour.. don't look for it in this film. Like Ghostbusters, they attempted humor but much of it fell flat. I did like the 'gift shop' and "well don't stop now" jokes. The Cape was a surprise comic character. But when it comes to humor, this film can't hold a candle to Ant-Man, which is what this movie felt like: an unfunny version of Ant-Man.
But while this film is running on an Ant-Man template, the filler is what I had the biggest bone to pick. To put it bluntly, I just watched The Matrix Trilogy. Strange is Neo, Muroda is Morpheus, guided by our Oracle/Spoonboy chick, Mads is a poorly developed Agent Smith--Oh, lookie, the NY Sanctum looks just like the Marovingian's pad, complete with backdoor teleporter.
Then comes the ending. We skimp on what could have been a good fight scene for.. A mishmash of The Matrix Revolutions and Edge of Tomorrow. These four films they ripped stuff out of to make this film are all Warner Brothers IPs.. not Disney's.
Now, this film has got some plot holes too. Why Oracle/Spoonboy is feeding off the poorly developed BBG is never explained. How our bad guy never read the warnings despite having years of unhindered access is inexcusable. But it's nothing compared to the 'Save Martha' plot killer that came in the very first scene. Did you miss it? The library is in the same room that holds the Eye. An Infinty Stone. Now, what the eye does is in THE SAME BOOK that the ritual to bring Mumford or whatever the BBG'S name is.. and is written PRIOR to the ritual. And how did strange beat Momomoo (plinkett moment)?? Used the instructions for the eye to manipulate time itself. TLDR, the LBG ignores the eye in favor of a handful of pages that can easily be reread by reversing time itself! And with enough practice he could easily reverse his own aging, effectively neutering any need for him to make a deal with MumuWhatshisface. Heck, you can apply the same logic argument to Spoongirl. Why isn't she using the Eye!? And where are her goth eyes from making this dark deal?
All and all, the film is okay. Serviceable to what Marvel needs. I will say that I never looked at my watch, as I did with BvS. I was entertained. But if this was a DC film.. you'd never hear the end of the rant about the defibrillators. Just saying..
Recommended viewing: IMAX, because the R1 trailer is in 3D yippee!!
Hey, we are Star Wars fans after all..

 

If he's that critical then he should be making a marvel movie to make them "right" in his eyes .

 

I really like Mel's art but I think he's wrong there. Marvel flicks usually do have some conscience.

Why do you think he' s a hypocrite if I may ask?

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 10, 2016, Original Post Date: Nov 10, 2016 ---

Its seems I'm not the only one who got a strong M:R vibe from the ending. It was actually the first thing I thought after the ending. Not so much about Edge of Tomorrow. Yes, its the same idea, but entirely different context both story,- and visual wise imo.

 

Because he's trying to say Marvel's films are violent and have little story, when his films have excessive violence to the point where it detracts from the story.

The Inception and Matrix like CGI scenes from the Doctor Strange film have been in the Doctor Strange comics for decades. So, I would hardly call it a rip-off.

 

I would agree because the context is M:R

And yeah, visuals are different as would be expected in a genre switch. But the mechanics is pure EoT. Strange is aware he's in the time loop as is the BBG, just like EoT. When TNG did their episode it required multiple loops for the crew to create a synthetic awareness of the loop. The gist is, they're ripping off a movie that's only two years old in favor of doing something more creative, which this film is seriously lacking.

 

Since Wong will be in Infinity War, I'd put my money on Mordo appearing in that film as well.

 

Interesting, I never noticed that. Perhaps you are crazy?!