Red Mosquito

B wrote:

theplatypus wrote:I really didn't like this movie very much.

Some good gags (especially near the end; that Cure sequence was awesome), and some of the effects were cool in a Honey I Shrunk the Kids kind of way, but overall a rather bland, lightweight superhero movie. Some distracting editing choices, and very little in the sense of cinematic style. Very "boxy". Loaded with so much exposition it felt like listening to an audiobook. Everything tying it in to the MCU felt haphazardly shoehorned in.

The Hispanic sidekick was funny.

Wow, exact opposite of your review here: https://youtu.be/GfZ_eR_bTv8

The main thing we disagree on is how Ant Man ties in to the MCU. The cameos and shared-universe references do feel tacked-on to me, particularly this one sequence where they go after a McGuffin that is barely even referenced for the rest of the movie, because the real purpose of the scene is to have another gratuitous cameo. And it's an okay scene, but it adds nothing to the story we're watching. All the elements that are important to this story are already in place; this little excursion is only there to further set up the next Marvel installment.

I wish they didn't feel like they had to do that, not to this extent. I know the thrill of continuity nods, it's part of why Marvel's model has been so successful. But when we start sacrificing the integrity of each movie's story for the larger picture by throwing in pointless cameos and setups to yet another setup, it muddles the narrative and weighs on the overall quality of the film. At some point Marvel has to ask themselves if this "shared universe" thing is a means or an end.

A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house and someone said they hadn't seen Guardians of the Galaxy. Someone else responded with (something to the effect of) "eh, you can skip it, it doesn't really have anything to do with the other movies, and no Avengers are in it." I hate that.

theplatypus wrote:A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house and someone said they hadn't seen Guardians of the Galaxy. Someone else responded with (something to the effect of) "eh, you can skip it, it doesn't really have anything to do with the other movies, and no Avengers are in it." I hate that.

I've seen Guardians but have no interest in any of the Avengers movies. I collected Marvel comics for a long time; those characters didn't interest me then and they definitely don't interest me now.

zeb wrote:

theplatypus wrote:A few weeks ago I was at a friend's house and someone said they hadn't seen Guardians of the Galaxy. Someone else responded with (something to the effect of) "eh, you can skip it, it doesn't really have anything to do with the other movies, and no Avengers are in it." I hate that.

I've seen Guardians but have no interest in any of the Avengers movies. I collected Marvel comics for a long time; those characters didn't interest me then and they definitely don't interest me now.

I was never particularly interested in Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk or Hawkeye before the Avengers movies and the first one changed my opinion on the first 3 and the 2nd changed my opinion on Hawkeye. If you haven't seen them, they're worth a watch. I've heard some comic geeks like Kevin Smith express some of the same sentiment.

Same here. Almost all the marvel characters I cared about were X-men prior to the films

stip wrote:Same here. Almost all the marvel characters I cared about were X-men prior to the films

Me too. Too bad the X-Men movies pale in comparison to the Marvel films.

doone wrote:

stip wrote:Same here. Almost all the marvel characters I cared about were X-men prior to the films

Me too. Too bad the X-Men movies pale in comparison to the Marvel films.

I like X-Men, X-Men 2 and First Class more than Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man 2, Thor and The Avengers.

X-2 and the two movies with the new class are as good as anything but the top top marvel movies.

X-Men was really cool at the time, but I've watched that in the last year or two, and it hasn't aged that well.

stip wrote:X-2 and the two movies with the new class are as good as anything but the top top marvel movies.

X-Men was really cool at the time, but I've watched that in the last year or two, and it hasn't aged that well.

That's fair. I haven't seen X-Men in a long, long time. So maybe I'd feel the same way. And I haven't seen Days of Future Past yet. So I have no opinion on that.

The first X-Men is a hundred times better than any Marvel movie since Iron Man. I really have no idea what people like about all the empty, formulaic iconography porn they're pumping out now.

I'm kinda with you, Verm. Not totally. I still like a lot of what Marvel is doing. But, like I said, I'd rank X-Men above a good many of the Marvel films. And the first Iron Man is outstanding.

LoathedVermin72 wrote:The first X-Men is a hundred times better than any Marvel movie since Iron Man. I really have no idea what people like about all the empty, formulaic iconography porn they're pumping out now.

Did you see Guardians of the Galaxy? Outside of that one and the first Iron Man I haven't been blown away by any of the Marvel films either.

One of the youtube reviews I watched referred to Phase II movies as genre experiments (this one is the "heist movie") and chapters in a larger story. Anyone who views them this way probably enjoys them all a little bit more.

Monkey_Driven wrote:

LoathedVermin72 wrote:The first X-Men is a hundred times better than any Marvel movie since Iron Man. I really have no idea what people like about all the empty, formulaic iconography porn they're pumping out now.

Did you see Guardians of the Galaxy? Outside of that one and the first Iron Man I haven't been blown away by any of the Marvel films either.

Yeah, I didn't like GOTG. I mean, it's a lot better than The Avengers, The Dark World, or The Winter Soldier, but that's not saying much.

Iron Man, Avengers, Avengers II, Cap 1, Cap 2, and Guardians are all very very good. Iron Man 3 is very close. And even the weaker moments are still enjoyable. These are all extremely watchable movies--the best ones compulsively so.



It's moments like this. These films are so good at creating them

The Avengers movies and Cap 2 are some of the most boring shit I've ever seen. There's so much goddamn exposition in these. That is not interesting.

B wrote:One of the youtube reviews I watched referred to Phase II movies as genre experiments (this one is the "heist movie") and chapters in a larger story. Anyone who views them this way probably enjoys them all a little bit more.

I think at this point marvel is clearly running with the 'chapters in a larger story' going forward. Multi-title serialized movie story telling is something new, I believe. Although each movie can/should be judged as a stand alone entity (it's not like if I want to sit down and watch one film I HAVE to watch the other 11), that element shouldn't be ignored, and may be an important part of how 'successful' the film is. You may have to make tradeoffs between what makes the film slightly better as a film, and what works to deepen your attachment to the larger project.

LoathedVermin72 wrote:The Avengers movies and Cap 2 are some of the most boring shit I've ever seen. There's so much goddamn exposition in these. That is not interesting.

they need some jar jar style comic action

stip wrote:

LoathedVermin72 wrote:The Avengers movies and Cap 2 are some of the most boring shit I've ever seen. There's so much goddamn exposition in these. That is not interesting.

they need some jar jar style comic action

There's no way any of those movies would have anything with as much wacko personality as Jar-Jar

LoathedVermin72 wrote:

Monkey_Driven wrote:

LoathedVermin72 wrote:The first X-Men is a hundred times better than any Marvel movie since Iron Man. I really have no idea what people like about all the empty, formulaic iconography porn they're pumping out now.

Did you see Guardians of the Galaxy? Outside of that one and the first Iron Man I haven't been blown away by any of the Marvel films either.

Yeah, I didn't like GOTG. I mean, it's a lot better than The Avengers, The Dark World, or The Winter Soldier, but that's not saying much.

I didn't see those other two, but Winter Soldier was pretty solid. Not genre defining or anything. But a really fun and tense movie.