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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
8
7.8 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Great SFX (1 more)
Funny and full of Action
Better than the 2nd GotG
Glad to say this is much better than the 2nd film in my opinion. Been a good 6 years since Volume 2 was released. A good story with a back story to Rocket's character. Lots of action and with all Marvel films great SFX, and plenty to laugh at as well. Definitely one for the big screen.
  
Marvel's Daredevil  - Season 2
Marvel's Daredevil - Season 2
2016 | Action
Brilliant writing (1 more)
Fantastic performances
Down and Dirty Crimefighting
These shows are fantastic. The Netflix/Marvel TV universe that has been built off of the back of these shows is awesome. If you are a fan of the Marvel Max comic books, then these shows have been made for you. Marvel reintroduces Daredevil (and Punisher in Daredevil Season 2,) in epic fashion. This is a world where the events of the Avengers movies have taken place, but these are gritty, street level stories that tell tales of a more personal, visceral kind of battle. If you like your Marvel superheroes, but find the Avengers too tame, then wade right in. These heroes are foul mouthed, real people who happen to have some amazing abilities. Charlie Cox is a fantastic Matt Murdock and Krysten Ritter is a brilliant Jessica Jones, the supporting characters are also well implemented, such as Elektra, Stick, Foggy Nelson, Karen Paige, Night Nurse, Nuke, Luke Cage and Trish. The villains in each show are also some of the best the Marvel have had so far, Vincent D’Onofrio plays a tragic, but still scheming and suitably evil version of Kingpin, which gives the character a depth that hasn’t yet been explored. I really hope that they use the character in the solo Spiderman movie. David Tennant plays Killgrave or The Purple Man in Jessica Jones and he also kills it, you can tell he really had fun with the role too, which makes him even more entertaining whenever he is onscreen. Season 2 of Daredevil just recently finished up and during it we were introduced to the new Punisher, played by Jon Bernthal, who again gives us the chance to explore the character and his psyche to a level that we haven’t seen before. He is still the hardcore badass that you would expect, but his mentality in this universe goes deeper than that and that is something that is very cool to see. Overall I have loved every episode of these shows to date and as long as they carry on the tone and the overall production standard that they have set themselves so far, I can’t wait to see what else this universe has to offer. There is also exciting rumours stating that they could appear in the Avengers Infinity War films. I can’t wait to see all of this and I really feel that all of these characters show great potential. Keep doing what you are doing Marvel, because it is truly awesome. Doing these character’s origin stories in an R rated TV show setting was a great idea and the writing and performances on Netflix stand up to any show on HBO or AMC. If you haven’t seen the entirety of these shows yet, stop what you are doing and go marathon them right now, you will not regret it.
  
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Robert Downey Jr (0 more)
Hulk and Thor (1 more)
Little screen time for many favourite characters
Solid end to an epic series.
So back in 2008 (which is 11 years ago at the time of writing - where did the time go!) the film Iron Man came out starring Robert Downey Jr. I loved that film but little did I know at the time that over the course of the next 11 years we’d have such a huge universe created for us by Marvel over a plethora of films culminating in one 3 hour epic film (no consideration for my bladder.) The whole scale of this movie is mind blowing in that context.

This film has plenty of action and lots of homage to the films in the franchise. It does a solid job of tying things off. It's just not going to be one of my favourites (although an improvement on Infinity war.)

Now the Marvel universe has built up a heck of a lot of characters, some I love, some less so but fundamentally we just have too many characters. Trying to cram them into one film is just unwieldy and we lose the sharpness many of the films had. For me, unfortunately this film focuses more of the characters I’m less keen on. The ones I do love, that were front and centre, seemed to have all undergone personality changes to make them terrible. OK I get it seeing half the life in the universe wiped out is going to ruin anyone's mood but the changes we saw in Hulk and Thor were just way off for me. Downey fortunately manages to carry a lot of the film, with some great revisiting of tension between Stark and Cpt. America. Only Rocket seemed vaguely recognisable as a character I love. Many barely get a line in when they do turn up.

The fun that is so evident in most of the best marvel films didn’t feel as present, I just needed more of that Marvel feel before a big huge battle to save the day.
  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Writing, dialogue, tone (0 more)
Pacing, Mirrored villain, (0 more)
Black Panther was a great movie with very few negatives to it. Marvel movies being what they are, there are definitely similarities to be drawn between BP and other recent MCU entries, mostly along the lines of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok.

Ryan Coogler very adeptly introduces a brand new culture, a brand new nation, to the Marvel Universe, finally pulling back the veil on Wakanda itself after many hints and Easter eggs.


Fresh from his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, which is recapped very briefly in the beginning of the film, Black Panther comes home to be declared King after a quick action scene that shows Black Panther in action, shot VERY well while maintaining the Marvel humor shown in Ragnarok. "Don't freeze."


As the movie progresses and we're introduced to Michael B. Jordan's villain of the film, we are given an empathetic villain we can eventually sympathize with, albeit knowing full and well that he is still the bad guy who needs to be foiled.


Some character highlights of the film include Princess Shuri, a welcome addition to the MCU, the return of Ulysses Claue from Avengers: Age of Ultron and Everett Ross from Captain America: Civil War, and newcomer M'Baku, who was very tastefully adapted for the film without calling him Man-Ape.


The action scenes were well done, Wakanda showed cultural depth, the plot was well-developed and every scene that wasn't self-explained was eventually paid off later on.


This being a comic book film, it translated Wakanda well, and shows Marvel has found their groove. The distractions I have are few and far between, mostly just stemming from Killmonger's use of a Black Panther suit (Iron Monger, The Abomination, The Red Skull, and Kaecillius all come to mind as mirrored versions of the heroes) and some spotty pacing between some scenes.


Also.
Didn't expect it, didn't see it in trailers, so mild spoilers, but.
Battle Rhinos.
Awesome.
  
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
2011 | Action, Adventure
Captain America: The First Avenger is a return to form for the Marvel comic-book film universe, and a solid final lead-up to the multi-hero film The Avengers, coming next year.

Chris Evans does a fantastic job of introducing us to the wiry little guy with guts who eventually becomes Captain America. Such unashamed, honest virtue is different from the typical superhero movie we’ve come to see over the last few years, and for good reason: internal conflicts often make for dramatic films. However, I don’t think such unwavering idealism would have worked with any other comic-book character than Captain America. Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones add heart to the movie, but the soul of this movie really is the Captain. Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull plays a satisfying villain here, but his motives aren’t clarified enough to warrant his fervor for evil. Hayley Atwell, playing love interest and British agent Peggy Carter does a more convincing job in her role than Hugo Weaving does in his.

The plot of the film was pretty standard fare. Hero battles villain. The ending was more climactic and earnest than I had expected walking into the theater, and it gracefully sets up the Avengers movie. Like many of the other Marvel movies of recent note, there is a decent amount of self-deprecating comic book humor that helps break up the slower parts between action scenes.

The effects of the film were solid. They were pulpy enough to feel like a Marvel universe, rather than our own, but they still carried the action to an exciting level. The art department and cinematographer did a good job recreating the 40’s asthetic throughout the film, though there was enough exotic comic book elements to bring you back into a world where superheroes really do exist.

Despite its own flaws, this is one of the better Marvel films to come out since Iron Man, and count me in to watch The Avengers next year.
  
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
The MCU delivers again!
Tom Holland reprises his role as the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman in this enjoyable final entry in the MCU's third phase.

Picking up where Avengers: Endgame left off, the world is slowly getting back on its feet after Thanos' handiwork was reversed. Peter Parker is on a school trip across Europe when huge Elemental enemies attack. He's unprepared, but the day is saved by Mysterio - a superhero from an alternate universe.

So far, so Marvel.

Twists and turns follow, with plenty of action throughout. The storyline reminded me of Iron Man 3 in some ways, in terms of it's structure and style. The visuals were impressive as always. The acting was spot-on, with Happy returning in a comic relief/mentor role that worked really well alongside the hero.

The great thing about all the Marvel movies is how they distinguish themselves from each other. Aside from being just comic book movies, each individual series has its own themes and genre. Guardians of the Galaxy is sci-fi/action/comedy, Captain America is more political/action, Thor is fantasy, etc... Spiderman fills the gap for a teen drama, appealing to the younger audience by giving them the angst and romance they crave and relate to. The relationship between Peter and MJ is explored in greater detail here, and their on-screen awkward is fun to watch, but also believable - largely, I suspect, due to the pair's off-screen friendship. Their chemistry is brilliant and really adds to the movie.

As with all Marvel movies, it ain't over 'til it's over. The mid-credits scene does a truly fantastic job of setting up the third movie in the series, while the post-credits scene teases at the future of the wider MCU.

Marvel has had numerous hits with only a small handful of near-misses. Spiderman: Far From Home is a resounding hit and not to be missed!