The scene of the comic book movie heading into 2008 was, in a word, “nah.” The latest installment in the X-Men franchise was terrible. X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006 year. Spiderman 3 gave the world emo Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), and the world couldn’t bring it back. Batman Begins did course-correct for the character after George Clooney basically killed the franchise with Batman and RobinBut The Dark Knight, the movie that took Batman to a whole other level has yet to come out. There was daredevil… enough said. So when iron Man was released in May of that year, it was a welcome breath of fresh air for a genre that had gone astray, an ambitious film that promised something more: the MCU. Now, 15 years later, a multi-billion dollar franchise that iron Man helped run lost what made it special in the first place. What’s happened?
Iron Man set the standard for the MCU
Marvel films before iron Man wavered from the bottomlessHoward the duck) to the critically acclaimed Spiderman 2, and all points in between. But iron Man was something else, a Marvel movie made exclusively by Marvel Studios, which gave them the ability to manage its production, and it showed. Movie felt a grand, unimpeded spectacle at no extra cost that had the full support of all who stood behind it. The effects were a seamless blend of CGI and practice, and the easy-to-follow good guy versus bad guy plot contained an enviable balance between comedy, action, and drama. Iron Man was also a character that had never been seen on screen before, at least not in live action. This was a character no one had thought of, a B tier hero that didn’t shoot webs or have adamantium claws. The undoubted main factor in the success of the film lay on the shoulders of Robert Downey Jr., an actor who has only recently returned to the public spotlight after years of battling addiction. This man radiated charisma and wit, turning Tony Stark into a fully realized figure, and not just a two-dimensional means to an end. Marvel wisely didn’t invest in the MCU with the movie, just presenting the concept without bombarding the viewer with what’s to come. iron Man launched the MCU at a high level, and despite iron Man 2 almost completely stopping him, a new world of interconnected MCU took over.
The MCU is starting to expand
The MCU’s “Phase 1” made things easier by introducing new heroes like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) before bringing them all together in 2012 Avengersexploding minds of nerds everywhere. The film brought an intergalactic menace to Earth, but the concept was still largely white/black hat, ending with the first glimpse of the big evil that would haunt the MCU from now on: Thanos (Josh Brolin). “Phase 2” began to push the boundaries of the MCU, starting with the quantum realm. Ant-Man to the ends of the universe guardians of the galaxy. Marvel continued to play to the strengths of the MCU, keeping the storylines straight in the films, keeping it fresh, introducing characters that were not known outside of comic book circles, and releasing their films at a reasonable pace.
MCU starts to crack
The “third phase” of the Infinity saga further expanded the world of the MCU. Doctor Strange bringing into the magical realm and Black Panther diving deep into the nation of Wakanda as represented in the epic Captain America: Civil War. This is also when Thanos’ plan is fully implemented, collecting all the Infinity Stones to destroy half of all living beings for a better tomorrow. Avengers: Endgame brought the Infinity Saga to a perfect ending, the culmination of all the planning done since then iron Man culminates in a battle scene that exceeds any fan’s expectations. However, it is at this stage that signs become apparent that the MCU is starting to lose connectivity. Movies were released at the box office, MCU movies hit theaters a few weeks apart from each other. Captain MarvelMarch 8, 2019 issue and April 26, 2019 issue Avengers: Endgame being the most egregious. This was very stressful for the average moviegoer, especially since skipping one issue meant lagging behind in key parts of the overall story. The concept of timelines and time travel through the Quantum Realm began to take away from the simplicity of early MCU films. Then came the loss of the character that became the undisputed face of the franchise, Tony Stark. It is thanks to his sacrifice that the ending of The Infinity Saga really means something, an emotional depth largely absent in this genre. It was an inevitable end, but now the MCU was moving forward without a character to bring what Stark Downey did.
MCU left Iron Man far behind
Looking at the present, there are inevitable signs that the franchise is getting tired. The movie posters for the MCU films are similar to each other, not fundamentally different from each other. The high standard of quality that prevailed in the first series of films was undermined with the release of Eternalthe first MCU film to be labeled “rotten” on the website Rotten Tomatoes, followed by the second, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania, released just under a year and a half later. The multiverse element has taken away what used to be a fairly simple understanding of the overall story, adding a convoluted plot that is not easy for the average moviegoer to understand. This moves on to another issue: the Disney+ series. Since then WandaVisionIt’s not enough for the casual fan to watch the MCU episodes in theaters, but now it’s up to the same viewer to follow all the MCU episodes on TV to understand what’s going on (video seeing quantum mania not knowing about Kang (Jonathan Majors) from Loki).
The MCU’s biggest sin right now is how complex it is, an issue that will become increasingly difficult to control with the addition of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. What made the MCU special since iron Man, was an easy-to-follow storytelling with top-notch visuals. The narrative is no longer simple, and the quality of the visuals has clearly deteriorated. The MCU may have lost the luster of its debut, but it’s not too late to bring back the magic. For the future of the franchise, they have to do this.
Source: Collider
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