The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Avengers, etc.

[Chyromaniac]

7 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I thought Vulture's "dad talk" was part of the schtick of him knowing that Peter is Spider-Man.  I think it was supposed to be cheesy and was the character's way of just buying time to figure out if he was right or not.  Did I read too much in to it?

The actual “dad talk” moment was just a ruse to get Liz out of the car- he had essentially figured it out on the drive over, and needed to have Peter alone so he could threaten him.  He does wrap up with the dad schtick, but at that point it’s just a button on the threat.  Of course, he also makes a point of gesturing with a kitchen knife at their home before he knows any of this, so maybe he is just one of those dads.  He is a bad guy - being overprotective is just one of his faults.

[Spartan Girl]

Am I the only one that thinks Quill getting kicked in the balls by Past Gamora was karma for screwing everything up in Infinity War? I get why he let his rage and grief get the better of him, but come on, they nearly had the gauntlet off! Just wait a few more seconds and then you can punch Thanos as many times as you want!

Plus he acted like a jackass when he was copying Thor’s voice and mocking him.

[Starfish35]

Yeah, Quill was nearly intolerable in Infinity War.  I wasn’t a big fan of the character before, but I really couldn’t stand him here.  I know his jealousy of Thor was supposed to be funny, but ugh.  Thor’s scenes with Rocket and Groot were so much better without him there.  

[swanpride]

Yeah, the Dad Talk was a ruse, but I hated how accepted his possessiv behaviour was by the females around. And no, it is not understandable when fathers act this way. (it is even LESS understandable when Selvig acts this way regarding Jane, btw). Just to make this clear, this kind of behaviour is not "cute" it is patronizing.

[Danny Franks]

6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Am I the only one that thinks Quill getting kicked in the balls by Past Gamora was karma for screwing everything up in Infinity War? I get why he let his rage and grief get the better of him, but come on, they nearly had the gauntlet off! Just wait a few more seconds and then you can punch Thanos as many times as you want!

Plus he acted like a jackass when he was copying Thor’s voice and mocking him.

Quill getting beaten up is almost always deserved. I was listening to a podcast the other day that drew an interesting comparison between Carol Danvers and Quill - that her snarky attitude comes from being completely confident and secure in herself and her abilities, while Peter's comes from being insecure and always feeling like he has something to prove.

I don't know that it's completely accurate when it comes to Carol, but it definitely is with Quill. He's a raging ball of insecurities, hidden under a jokey exterior and while that's understandable, it can be tiresome. We see it again with Thor who, even when he's out of shape and slovenly, is just light years ahead of Quill on the emotional maturity scale.

I'm all for the next Guardians movie elevating Nebula further and giving Rocket more time, while Peter gets pushed to the background. It probably won't happen, and his search for Gamora will be painted as some grand, romantic quest, but I can dream.

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Quill getting beaten up is almost always deserved. I was listening to a podcast the other day that drew an interesting comparison between Carol Danvers and Quill - that her snarky attitude comes from being completely confident and secure in herself and her abilities, while Peter's comes from being insecure and always feeling like he has something to prove.

I don't know that it's completely accurate when it comes to Carol, but it definitely is with Quill. He's a raging ball of insecurities, hidden under a jokey exterior and while that's understandable, it can be tiresome. We see it again with Thor who, even when he's out of shape and slovenly, is just light years ahead of Quill on the emotional maturity scale.

I'm all for the next Guardians movie elevating Nebula further and giving Rocket more time, while Peter gets pushed to the background. It probably won't happen, and his search for Gamora will be painted as some grand, romantic quest, but I can dream.

Well, it would be a good opportunity to mature his character. Maybe the fact that he got half the universe dusted taught him a lesson. Like you said, I can dream.

I mean his one good moment in the movie was when Gamora made him promise to kill her if Thanos got her. When she said "swear on your mother" he knew that this was stone-cold serious. And the fight on Knowhere he wasn't too terrible. But everything else in IW he was a jackass. Not that I didn't get a kick out of the Guardians with Iron Man, Spiderman, and Strange. Those moments were a riot

[festivus]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I'm all for the next Guardians movie elevating Nebula further and giving Rocket more time, while Peter gets pushed to the background. It probably won't happen, and his search for Gamora will be painted as some grand, romantic quest, but I can dream.

Yes to the first, and then ugh. Rocket and Nebula are the most interesting characters and Quill already had his story in Vol. 2. 

We just watched Infinity War a couple of nights ago, and the only part I hate is the Quill and Thor part. I didn't hate him at all in his own movies but man, that shit irritates me. 

[FnkyChkn34]

Quill has irritated me in every movie that he's in, and I couldn't figure out if it was the character of Quill or Chris Pratt, or both.  I'm thinking it's only a little bit of both - mostly the character.  Chris Pratt hasn't annoyed me as much in other movies.  I don't mind self-deprecating humor and he has some good moments, but the overall cockiness schtick gets old.  As with all of you, I hope he has some real character growth in GOTG3.

ETA:  And yes, why do so few people acknowledge that the whole dusting could have been avoided if it wasn't for Quill??  I noticed that immediately on my first watch of the movie.  "Oh, Quill screwed the world!  They had it, if it weren't for Quill!"

Edited April 15, 2021 by FnkyChkn34

[Starfish35]

24 minutes ago, festivus said:

Rocket and Nebula are the most interesting characters

Totally agree with this.  Drax.... I’m sorry, but while Drax certainly has his hilarious moments, there are also moments when I dislike him nearly as much as Quill.  And Mantis is just kind of....there. I don’t have any strong feelings on her one way or the other.  

Edited April 15, 2021 by Starfish35

[festivus]

Mantis is adorable, like I get the giggles from the cute things she does, but she doesn't really need her own story. Drax is funny, but his story was getting revenge for his wife and daughter. Better to just leave those two as the comic relief. 

[Kel Varnsen]

11 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Am I the only one that thinks Quill getting kicked in the balls by Past Gamora was karma for screwing everything up in Infinity War? I get why he let his rage and grief get the better of him, but come on, they nearly had the gauntlet off! Just wait a few more seconds and then you can punch Thanos as many times as you want!

I still just want to know why on Titan didn't Dr. Strange just use one of his portals as an arm chopper to get the gauntlet off. We already see that happen once earlier in the movie.

[anna0852]

29 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I still just want to know why on Titan didn't Dr. Strange just use one of his portals as an arm chopper to get the gauntlet off. We already see that happen once earlier in the movie.

Seriously! Strange could have removed all of Thanos's limbs in an instant and ended the whole thing.

[Raja]

36 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I still just want to know why on Titan didn't Dr. Strange just use one of his portals as an arm chopper to get the gauntlet off. We already see that happen once earlier in the movie.

Besides Iron Man when he went terrorist hunting in the first movie and  a picture or two of Captain Rogers firing a pistol during WWII our heroes take the Batman ethic of no killing. Even child soldier Peter Parker  had the actual killing taken out of his hand by Stark tech's kill mode in his suit  in the war for the galaxy after the blip back. Trying to set up a perfect amputation in battle is up there with shooting guns out of hands

[swanpride]

While Rocket is certainly my fav of the GotG, I like Quill, too. I think the hatred towards him reacting in a moment of grief is overblown. And yeah, his manchild tendencies are irritating my sometimes, but not more so than they did in Tony, Scott and Steven.

[benteen]

I like Quill although it annoyed me that he was written in Infinity War like the events of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 never occurred.  You would think the whole thing with his father and Yondu would have sobered him up a little (and I'm not talking about turning him into the absolute killjoy Thor was in The Dark World) and made him understand what Gamora was going through with Thanos a little better but he seems just as immature as ever.  He knows a lot of what Gamora is going through and he literally never brings it up or thinks back to it.

It also annoys me that these movies have never had Quill go back to his grandfather and tell him that he's all right.  His grandfather lost his daughter to cancer the same night his grandson disappears forever without a trace.  Seriously, he might be the most tragic character in all the MCU.

Edited April 15, 2021 by benteen

[swanpride]

Not as long as Bucky and Wanda are around.

I suspect that they wanted to save the Grandfather for the last movie. Hopefully.

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, benteen said:

It also annoys me that these movies have never had Quill go back to his grandfather and tell him that he's all right.  His grandfather lost his daughter to cancer the same night his grandson disappears forever without a trace.  Seriously, he might be the most tragic character in all the MCU.

I agree with you that he should do that, but it wouldn't have fit in with any of these movies so far.  Maybe he'll return to Earth in GOTG3 and can do that.  I got the impression that Infinity War is the first time he's been back to Earth since he was abducted, and they were all a bit preoccupied.

[Kel Varnsen]

4 hours ago, Raja said:

Besides Iron Man when he went terrorist hunting in the first movie and  a picture or two of Captain Rogers firing a pistol during WWII our heroes take the Batman ethic of no killing. Even child soldier Peter Parker  had the actual killing taken out of his hand by Stark tech's kill mode in his suit  in the war for the galaxy after the blip back. Trying to set up a perfect amputation in battle is up there with shooting guns out of hands

They killed Thanos twice in Endgame. They "killed" Ultron. They killed a shitload of Chitauri. Killing Thanos as he is trying to kill them doesn't seem much different.

As far as the precision needed for an amputation, it doesn't need to be that precise as long as it incapacitated him. Plus Strange was opening up all kinds of portals during that attack and they were precise enough that no one got injured.

[Bruinsfan]

I suspect that already having the Space and Reality Stones in his possession, Thanos would have been a lot harder to use that tactic on than Black Dwarf.

[Morrigan2575]

10 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

As far as the precision needed for an amputation, it doesn't need to be that precise as long as it incapacitated him. Plus Strange was opening up all kinds of portals during that attack and they were precise enough that no one got injured.

HISHE

 

 

[Captain Carrot]

2 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

They killed Thanos twice in Endgame. They "killed" Ultron. They killed a shitload of Chitauri. Killing Thanos as he is trying to kill them doesn't seem much different.

It makes sense that different characters have different views on killing. Captain America is a soldier, Iron Man used to make weapons...Stephen Strange is a doctor that got extremely upset when forced to kill someone in his movie.

[ICantDoThatDave]

I don't think the Dr. Strange portals can be created in the middle of solid matter. At least, we never see any of the Sorcerers do it. It always appears in thin air, also never bisecting any solid object at the destination. It may be a precaution in the spell so they don't accidently slice a passerby at their destination in half.

Now, if somebody pokes their arm or head through the portal, the Sorcerer can clearly close it on then &... slice!

But also, Strange had already looked into the future at that point & knew how things had to play out.

[SeanC]

Alfred Molina talks his return:

Spoiler

“It was wonderful,” he said. “It was very interesting going back after 17 years to play the same role, given that in the intervening years, I now have two chins, a wattle, crow’s feet and a slightly a slightly dodgy lower back.”

When the actor asked Jon Watts, the director of “No Way Home,” how the movie would bring Doc Ock back — since, as he pointed out, “I died” — Molina said the director told him, “In this universe, no one really dies.”

In “Spider-Man 2,” Molina played scientist Otto Octavius, who was poised to be a mentor to Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker when a lab accident turns him into the the murderous Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock for short — so named for the four mechanical arms fused into his back. On the orders Harry Osborn (James Franco), the tentacled, unhinged Doc Ock’s obsession with perfecting his experimental fusion reactor sets him against Peter/Spider-Man and Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), and endangers all of New York City. In the movie’s climactic scene, Peter appeals to Otto’s good side, and he drowns himself and his reactor in the East River before the city is destroyed.

In their early conversations, Molina said, Watts told him that the movie will pick up Doc Ock’s story from “that moment” in the river, which in a franchise that include multiverses, time-travel and diverging timelines seems…plausible enough.

 

[frenchtoast]

I'm not sure I understand what's going on at all, but I am so looking forward to seeing some spectacle in the theater. Sept 3!! 

 

[AimingforYoko]

28 minutes ago, frenchtoast said:

I'm not sure I understand what's going on at all, but I am so looking forward to seeing some spectacle in the theater. Sept 3!! 

 

Yeah, that was a teaser all right.

[angora]

Oh my god, I've been waiting so long for this. It looks amazing! Loved that shot with all the water, the fighting looks delicious, and I'm so intrigued by the scenes that appear to be from different eras. (Is the Mandarin immortal/ancient? Are they flashbacks to Shang-Chi's ancestors? What's going on??) Also, Tony Leung sounds so good! Hollywood, you could've been making movies with him this whole time! Don't you feel dumb now?

For pure trailer-wow factor, the Black Panther teaser is still my favorite (I felt a nerdish thrill EVERY single time I saw it,) and I remember my utter love for the Civil War and GotG Vol. 2 trailers, but this one has me pretty amped. Bring on September 3rd!

Edited April 19, 2021 by angora
Forgot the hyphen in Shang-Chi's name.

[AimingforYoko]

And the MCU news continues: Olivia Colman it talks to join Samuel L. Jackson in Secret Invasion.

[FnkyChkn34]

3 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

And the MCU news continues: Olivia Colman it talks to join Samuel L. Jackson in Secret Invasion.

I don't watch The Crown but I loved her in Broadchurch.  She'd be a great addition.

[Starfish35]

3 hours ago, frenchtoast said:

I'm not sure I understand what's going on at all, but I am so looking forward to seeing some spectacle in the theater. Sept 3!! 

 

That looks amazing. 😄  I’m here for it. 

[Bruinsfan]

So it looks like the MCU is consolidating Marvel's Yellow Peril antagonists and making Shang-Chi the son of the Mandarin rather than Fu Manchu/Zheng Zu.

[tennisgurl]

That teaser looks awesome, so much going on. It looks beautiful, and the fights super creative, well choreographed and shot. I am so ready! 

[Morrigan2575]

Damnit why did they have to cast Aquafina? I find her so annoying. Everything else was brilliant, I really hope she doesn't have a big role.

Secret Invasion looks interesting but, I only vaguely remember the comics storyline. 

[thuganomics85]

Damn, that Shang-Chi trailers looks pretty awesome.  Sure, some of it might be me just happy to finally see some Marvel films again, but even looking past that, it really looks unique, fun, and beautiful.  September normally would be an odd month to release it, but with the way this year has been movie wise, I can see it working for it.

Also helps that; while I'm not familiar with Simu Liu too much; I've stumbled upon some of his Twitter stuff during all of this, and seems like a pretty cool guy, so I'd like to see this work for him.  I'm also been hearing a lot of good stuff about that Kim's Convenience show he was on, so I might try and check that out at some point.

[arc]

9 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

So it looks like the MCU is consolidating Marvel's Yellow Peril antagonists and making Shang-Chi the son of the Mandarin rather than Fu Manchu/Zheng Zu.

Fu Manchu is actually owned by someone else (go figure, I thought he was public domain too). Marvel Comics licensed him for the Shang-Chi comic in the 1970s but has since let the license lapse and in any case I bet the studio wouldn’t have wanted to pay any unnecessary money to make this movie, even leaving aside the problematic nature of the character.

[swanpride]

It's maybe a strange gripe, but I think the actor for Shang Chi looks too old for my taste. Somehow I always have someone in the late teens/early twenties in my mind regarding the character, but this guy looks like he is in his thirteens. 

Otherwise it looks good, like always. 

[Starfish35]

The actor is 32.  I’m not sure how old the character is supposed to be; I was trying to work that out while watching the trailer.  The father says “I gave you 10 years”, so judging by how old he seemed to be in the training montages and then adding 10 years, I’m guessing...mid-to-late 20s?  Assuming he was 16-18 when he left?

[Morrigan2575]

4 hours ago, Starfish35 said:

The actor is 32.  I’m not sure how old the character is supposed to be; I was trying to work that out while watching the trailer.

The character is supposed to be a 20 something...looks like mid-20s based on the training montage. I think the actor looks fine to play a 20 something

[FnkyChkn34]

3 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

The character is supposed to be a 20 something...looks like mid-20s based on the training montage. I think the actor looks fine to play a 20 something

Also, if they are planning on this becoming a long-running franchise, the actor should be a mid-range age so that he can play both older and younger than his real age as the story progresses.  Chris Evans did Captain America when he was 29ish, and wasn't Steve Rogers supposed to be a 20ish-year-old recruit?

[swanpride]

Steve Rogers is 25 in The First Avenger, Chris Evans was 29 when the movie was shot. And the character always had a "manly" quality to it. Shang Chi tends to read younger (in some versions of the character he is an outright teenager), but this actor looks older than Chris Evans to me for a character which should look younger than Captain America. 

[scarynikki12]

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/emilia-clarke-secret-invasion-marvel-1234955746/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
 

Emilia Clarke joins the MCU. 

[Morrigan2575]

31 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/emilia-clarke-secret-invasion-marvel-1234955746/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
 

Emilia Clarke joins the MCU. 

Why? Couldn't they find anyone else to stare vaguely into the distance and deliver lines in a monotone? 😂

Sorry, she's a pretty crappy actress that keeps getting cast no matter how many failures she has (Terminator, Solo, Last Christmas)

[Anduin]

35 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/emilia-clarke-secret-invasion-marvel-1234955746/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
 

Emilia Clarke joins the MCU. 

I've complained before that GOT, the MCU, and Star Wars all share half the cast. This is further proof.

[FnkyChkn34]

27 minutes ago, Anduin said:

I've complained before that GOT, the MCU, and Star Wars all share half the cast. This is further proof.

Peter Dinklage was massively underused, but I am looking forward to see how Richard Madden and Kit Harington do.  RM was excellent in Bodyguard and Rocketman.  KH in his other roles... meh.  

[benteen]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Why? Couldn't they find anyone else to stare vaguely into the distance and deliver lines in a monotone? 😂

Sorry, she's a pretty crappy actress that keeps getting cast no matter how many failures she has (Terminator, Solo, Last Christmas)

Yeah, her four Emmy nominations while better actors of the cast got fewer or none at all.remains baffling to this day.  Though she certainly did better work on the show than Kit Harrington.

[Danny Franks]

19 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Why? Couldn't they find anyone else to stare vaguely into the distance and deliver lines in a monotone? 😂

Sorry, she's a pretty crappy actress that keeps getting cast no matter how many failures she has (Terminator, Solo, Last Christmas)

Not sure any of those failures can be considered her fault, but she does seem to have a bit of a problem in choosing projects that aren't great. 

Terminator was clearly a bad idea, and everyone knew it. Solo was bad timing and a movie that didn't need to be made (though it's really not a bad film) and Last Christmas was a weird movie that was marketed completely wrong.

Anyway, I like Emilia Clarke a lot. She seems lovely, she does a lot for charity and uses her own health issues as a way to raise awareness, and I don't think she's a bad actor at all. As for why she keeps getting cast, a lot of people have done well in their careers simply because they're good people to have on set and really fun to work with - Keanu Reeves, for example.

I just hope they aren't planning on casting her as the Skrull Queen, which would be a further step in her being typecast.

I don't really know what they're planning for Secret Invasion, because not many of the parts from the comic book story are in place in the MCU, and the Skrulls aren't even villains in the MCU at the moment.

[swanpride]

I still haven't seen Terminator, because I know that it would be a clusterfuck, but honestly, the trailers nearly convinced me to, mainly because of her. (And I am not a Game of Thrones fan, btw). Granted, due to my lack of interest in both properties I haven't really seen a lot of her, certainly not enough to judge her acting. 

[RedElf]

23 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Peter Dinklage was massively underused, but I am looking forward to see how Richard Madden and Kit Harington do.  RM was excellent in Bodyguard and Rocketman.  KH in his other roles... meh.  

Kit Harrington was horrible in Pompeii (plus, he came across as really short.  I don't know how tall he really is).

 

[RedElf]

4 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I don't really know what they're planning for Secret Invasion, because not many of the parts from the comic book story are in place in the MCU, and the Skrulls aren't even villains in the MCU at the moment.

Maybe there are Krull factions.  Nick Fury is up there with them in outer space, and presumably Captain Marvel is friends with them.  

[Morrigan2575]

9 minutes ago, RedElf said:

Kit Harrington was horrible in Pompeii (plus, he came across as really short.  I don't know how tall he really is).

 

He claims 5'8 so probably 5'6 😂 In Hollywood actors always lie about height.

[AimingforYoko]

Hawkeye has wrapped. Probably will air sometime this fall.