I don’t wanna feel Blue anymore...
This post is way overdue but my soul won't rest until I write all about the two Marvel's latest movies.
The Civil War left me very confused. I wasn't expecting much, really but I couldn't expect it would be so... boring? That's definitely the last thing you'd expect a superhero movie to be. The movie was very commercially and critically successful and I was really surprised just how much I didn't like it. It left me with a strong sense of injustice, especially with the way Apocalypse was bashed.
I just really honestly don't get what is so good about it. The plot was very complicated and very unnecessarily so. Besides, it just doesn't add up. When you try to rationalize it, most of the event in the movie don't make sense. I haven't read the comic version but I know some parts of it (like the whole Secret Avangers thing, Cap's relationship with Agent 13) make a lot more sense in it. Iron Man being the brooding and responsible? Angsting over the death of some kid? Highly unconvincing. Cap stubbornly and foolishly sacrificing everything for Bucky. Okay, that part was ok, not gonna lie.
The movie is supposed to be the entry into MCU's Phase 3 but I think that's a real mess. I liked the 1st phase, especially the Captain America and the Iron Man. They were good solid plots and character developments, you could watch them with 0 comic knowledge and enjoy them.
But now it's gotten confusing as hell. The movie are so fused together you won't get shit unless you watch them in a row. I mean even I was confused af and I consider myself a fan. I understand that it gets harder to keep it interesting and live up with the expectations every time but I still very strongly feel it could be done better. Rather than saying the movie lacked something I'd say it had too much of many things. Too much plot, too many characters, it was all a blur. It certainly felt like the movie was trying too hard.
The number of characters made it hard for them to have any real character development. The two teams didn't make much sense, most characters seemed to be just tokens and randomly chosen. I mean, c'mon, main white dude leads, best black friends, one white chick on a team. Also the insect men were just really unnecessary. I know it's a comic thing but still. But I have to admit the newest Spidey felt very authentic.
Cap's romance with Agent 13 days after Peggy's death? Really? That's wrong on so many levels. I guess the fandom just sighed and agreed that it was a desperate attempt to make the movie less gay.
I also enjoyed this trailer, it pinpointed everything wrong with the movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ3VQkK6Upo
PS: I rewatched the movie after watching Utron and I had a bit of a change of heart. I was left with a strong feeling that 1) Ultron is really crap on every single level and 2) Civil War is not that bad after all in comparison. Though everything I wrote still stands of course.
I suppose X-men will always be more of outsiders and stay in the shadow of Avengers. And I'm ok with that but this time, this round I felt like X-Men should have been the winners. It's enough that they get ignored in the game, with massive Avengers events every movie as well as minor ones for Netflix series and even the Agents of SHIELD. But anyway, let's talk about the movie.
First of all, I loved the origins stories, not all of them were close to the books but they were all vivid and fun. Angel's very alternate character was cool too, especially his transformation into Achangel. I also liked the scene that emphasized Jean's connection to Xavier, it was a really important part of the early X-Men dynamic. I loved the young cast. Jean Grey is flawless, Scott is awkward and lovable, Storm is cool af and why is there so little Jubilee? She's so cute. Psylocke was so authentic but I feel bad about her latex costume. And then there's Quicksilver who is simply perfect. His rescue scene was awesome.
However, as many noted, Magneto and Raven didn't even have to be in this movie. Mangeto's backstory looked too dramatic but alright, at least it was canon. As for Raven... for me the character is ruined. As much as I like Jennifer Lawrence, she's this Katniss character and nothing like the original Mystique. Mystique is like 200 years old, she's mean and vicious and ruthless and that makes her interesting. J.Law's Mystique is so pointless.
Of course, there were things that could have been better. The plot was very generic but that was ok with me. I thought DOFP was way too complicated and messy. The villain and his agenda was a little boring too but still way better than Ultron.
Apocalypse was a visual experience more than anything. Of course, it helped that I watched it in a theater in 3D, that was one of this year's highlights, really. But I really think the movie was well-balanced and fun.
At the end of the day, plots and characters are fairly subjective. What really matters is if you enjoyed the movie. I think superhero movies' primary objective is to be entertaining. It's good if they are more than that but they certainly don't need to be dramas. That is why I am rooting for X-Men Apocalypse.
The Civil War left me very confused. I wasn't expecting much, really but I couldn't expect it would be so... boring? That's definitely the last thing you'd expect a superhero movie to be. The movie was very commercially and critically successful and I was really surprised just how much I didn't like it. It left me with a strong sense of injustice, especially with the way Apocalypse was bashed.
I just really honestly don't get what is so good about it. The plot was very complicated and very unnecessarily so. Besides, it just doesn't add up. When you try to rationalize it, most of the event in the movie don't make sense. I haven't read the comic version but I know some parts of it (like the whole Secret Avangers thing, Cap's relationship with Agent 13) make a lot more sense in it. Iron Man being the brooding and responsible? Angsting over the death of some kid? Highly unconvincing. Cap stubbornly and foolishly sacrificing everything for Bucky. Okay, that part was ok, not gonna lie.
The movie is supposed to be the entry into MCU's Phase 3 but I think that's a real mess. I liked the 1st phase, especially the Captain America and the Iron Man. They were good solid plots and character developments, you could watch them with 0 comic knowledge and enjoy them.
But now it's gotten confusing as hell. The movie are so fused together you won't get shit unless you watch them in a row. I mean even I was confused af and I consider myself a fan. I understand that it gets harder to keep it interesting and live up with the expectations every time but I still very strongly feel it could be done better. Rather than saying the movie lacked something I'd say it had too much of many things. Too much plot, too many characters, it was all a blur. It certainly felt like the movie was trying too hard.
The number of characters made it hard for them to have any real character development. The two teams didn't make much sense, most characters seemed to be just tokens and randomly chosen. I mean, c'mon, main white dude leads, best black friends, one white chick on a team. Also the insect men were just really unnecessary. I know it's a comic thing but still. But I have to admit the newest Spidey felt very authentic.
Cap's romance with Agent 13 days after Peggy's death? Really? That's wrong on so many levels. I guess the fandom just sighed and agreed that it was a desperate attempt to make the movie less gay.
I also enjoyed this trailer, it pinpointed everything wrong with the movie: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ3VQkK6Upo
PS: I rewatched the movie after watching Utron and I had a bit of a change of heart. I was left with a strong feeling that 1) Ultron is really crap on every single level and 2) Civil War is not that bad after all in comparison. Though everything I wrote still stands of course.
I suppose X-men will always be more of outsiders and stay in the shadow of Avengers. And I'm ok with that but this time, this round I felt like X-Men should have been the winners. It's enough that they get ignored in the game, with massive Avengers events every movie as well as minor ones for Netflix series and even the Agents of SHIELD. But anyway, let's talk about the movie.
First of all, I loved the origins stories, not all of them were close to the books but they were all vivid and fun. Angel's very alternate character was cool too, especially his transformation into Achangel. I also liked the scene that emphasized Jean's connection to Xavier, it was a really important part of the early X-Men dynamic. I loved the young cast. Jean Grey is flawless, Scott is awkward and lovable, Storm is cool af and why is there so little Jubilee? She's so cute. Psylocke was so authentic but I feel bad about her latex costume. And then there's Quicksilver who is simply perfect. His rescue scene was awesome.
However, as many noted, Magneto and Raven didn't even have to be in this movie. Mangeto's backstory looked too dramatic but alright, at least it was canon. As for Raven... for me the character is ruined. As much as I like Jennifer Lawrence, she's this Katniss character and nothing like the original Mystique. Mystique is like 200 years old, she's mean and vicious and ruthless and that makes her interesting. J.Law's Mystique is so pointless.
Of course, there were things that could have been better. The plot was very generic but that was ok with me. I thought DOFP was way too complicated and messy. The villain and his agenda was a little boring too but still way better than Ultron.
Apocalypse was a visual experience more than anything. Of course, it helped that I watched it in a theater in 3D, that was one of this year's highlights, really. But I really think the movie was well-balanced and fun.
At the end of the day, plots and characters are fairly subjective. What really matters is if you enjoyed the movie. I think superhero movies' primary objective is to be entertaining. It's good if they are more than that but they certainly don't need to be dramas. That is why I am rooting for X-Men Apocalypse.