Reviewing - The MCU: Phase Three (Part 1)
The Infinity Saga comes to an epic conclusion as Phase Three takes the MCU to new heights. Spawning four new superhero franchises and continuing four others, this phase never forgets what keeps the audience coming back: stunning action scenes, hilarious gags, and a commitment to character beneath it all.
The Best: Captain America Civil War
The Worst: Doctor Strange
This is Part 1 of a two-post series reviewing the entire Third Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To read about Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame, find "Reviewing - The MCU: Phase Three (2)".
Captain America: Civil War (*****)
In which the ex-skinny guy continues ticking people off and the rich weapons-crazed billionaire decides to step in
This is it – the pinnacle of the MCU, in my opinion. Jokingly referred to by many as “Avengers 2.5”, this film is jam-packed with heroes, action, and a game-changing reveal. Captain America has always been my favourite Avenger, and we see him pushed to new dramatic limits as he chooses between old friends and new ones, people and policies, and accountability and duty.
Here’s what I love about this movie. First off, it’s a Captain America film. Steve Rogers is always trying to do the right thing. Even though he’s arguably being selfish in his desire to protect Bucky Barnes, he believes that the alternative is injustice, and he can’t have that. I admire his determination and how he’s unwilling to compromise on his beliefs. The following line spoken at Peggy Carter’s funeral is actually a line spoken by Rogers in the comics: “Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right...when the whole world tells you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree, and tell the whole world - - ‘No, YOU move’.” Man, that’s awesome. And it’s exactly what makes his conflict with Tony so fascinating.
Tony Stark is back and pushing for accountability. And that makes total sense. Iron Man effectively created all of his own villains – Iron Monger, Whiplash, Mandarin, and most recently (and most importantly) Ultron. If anyone needs to be put in check, it’s him. And the more Rogers takes matters into his own hands, the more we see the value in Stark’s perspective. There’s been tension between these two ever since they met in “Avengers” back in 2012 – Rogers’s old-school approach and Stark’s contemporary snarkiness didn’t mesh well. But they’ve had each other’s backs where it counted. So that’s why the big reveal at the end of this film hits so hard.
What’s exciting about this big reveal is how it shows the changing nature of narrative in film. We’ve had three Iron Man movies, and none of them showed us who killed his parents. We’ve known about his parent’s death since 2008, but it’s not until now – 2016 – eight years later – in someone else’s movie – that we finally learn the truth. That’s not how movies used to work. This is more like a television show, where major climactic moments are left for season finales and slow buildups are more common. If you were watching Captain America: Civil War as your very first MCU film, you’d still understand the betrayal. But as a committed follower of the franchise, the dramatic weight is at its heaviest. Man. All this time, Steve was keeping a terrible secret from his greatest ally. That’s good storytelling.
And hey, how can we not talk about Black Panther and Spider-Man showing up?! With everything else going on in this film, Marvel figured out a way to shoe-horn in two brand-new characters without weighing down the movie. We only get a taste of each of their personalities, but it’s great to see them. It’s especially great to see Spider-Man, who’s essentially been locked in a battle of film rights ever since the Raimi Trilogy ended. But we’re not here to talk about that.
This is my favourite MCU film because it pits the moral weaknesses of our favourite characters against each other, and does it in a grand-slamming heart-wrenching action-packed way. My only complaint is that this is the final Captain America film. He’s the last one I want to say goodbye to.
Doctor Strange (**1/2)
In which a cocky doc suffers a traumatic accident before becoming a cocky doc with a cape
There’s a lot of cool parts to this movie, but it’s not my favourite from the MCU.
Let’s start with the cool parts. The visuals are incredible. Fans of “Inception” will feel right at home as Doctor Strange battles his foes in fluctuating, writhing, unstable cityscapes. The spells Strange uses and the ways they’re put to use are fun and imaginative. There’s a fight that happens in a hospital room that comes to mind. The ending is also really cool – Strange doesn’t win in the way that most heroes win. There’s no “and then the bad guy got locked up” or “and then the bad guy fell off a cliff”. I won’t spoil it, but again, it’s very imaginative.
Here’s what I didn’t love. Strange felt very similar to Tony Stark: snarky, presumptuous, and impossibly smart. And it was just a bit too similar. This next part is highly specific to my own tastes, but I don’t really have an interest in Eastern mysticism. That subject matter and content doesn’t really appeal to me. Thirdly, although Rachel McAdams is great, I didn’t really find myself caring about her relationship with Strange at all during the film. She felt like “the token girlfriend”. She didn’t play a particularly important role in the plot.
That said, I liked Strange’s role in Infinity War down the road, so I shouldn’t write him off just yet. This was a good movie, just not one that I cared about too much.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 (**1/2)
In which a raccoon, a tree, and a few more weirdos with swords find out the one kinda-regular guy was never regular to begin with
The first time I saw this movie, I walked away a bit disappointed. I thought a lot of the humor was overly childish, in much the same way that I thought the first one overdid it a bit. But after giving this film a second chance during my MCU-watch-through, I think I might have been a bit too hard on it the first time around.
I actually think the humor improved from the first movie. Whereas last time I felt that a few of the jokes in the first film kind of collapsed on themselves, this time the actors did a much better consistent job of delivering them in a funny way. Drax and Groot were still the comedic highlights by far, but “Tazerface” and Nebula were fun as well. The small throw-away lines to Thanos were also exciting – especially given that “Avengers: Endgame” is coming out in less than two months from the time of this review. Nebula’s vow to tear Thanos apart is particularly intriguing because I don’t currently know how Thanos is going to be defeated. Will it be Nebula who lands the final blow?
One of the most interesting aspects of watching through the MCU is following plot threads over the course of several movies. This movie on its own might have been one that I wouldn’t go to see, but because I knew it would be significant in the long run, I didn’t hesitate to shell out the price of a ticket. Even if this movie didn’t knock my socks off, I’d still get to witness this cinematic universe take one step closer to the “Infinity War” that was promised.
At this point the future of the Guardians is unclear. James Gunn, who was the vision behind the first two films, has been booted from Disney, and it’s anyone’s guess what the next step will be – if there is a next step at all. If nothing else, fans of the Guardians will get to see them again in Infinity War and Endgame.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (****1/2)
In which the rich weapons-crazed billionaire gives a lower-class orphan one of his weapons, then takes it away, then gives it back
I sat on the couch watching Tom Holland yell “Come on, Spider-Man!”, desperately trying to remind myself: Tobey Maguire will always be my Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire will always be my Spider-Man. But I couldn’t help but admit that the Spider-Man of the MCU beats Raimi’s Spider-Man in a category that Raimi himself emphasized in Spider-Man 2. Back in 2004 when Spider-Man saved the runaway train and passed out, a bunch of New York citizens saw him unmasked. One of the riders looked at Peter Parker’s face and remarked, “He’s...just a kid!” Tobey Maguire was nearly 30 at this point, whereas Tom Holland was only 21 when Homecoming came out – and he looks even younger. Of the two, Holland really is “just a kid”, and this point gets hammered home time and time again as he tries to prove to the world that he’s a hero worth his salt. He’s dorky without being a total loser, which is the perfect middle ground between Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the previous Spider-Man. Maguire was awkward beyond belief (and I love him for that), and Garfield was too charming to be the laughingstock of the school. Holland is the perfect mix of fun and ineptitude.
I love that they didn’t waste time giving us a third origin story. We all know how Spider-Man became Spider-Man. Instead, this film focuses on how Spider-Man became a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, and I thought this was a great approach. Peter Parker grew as a character over the course of the movie and became more sure of himself, and that was really great. This movie was filled with heartwarming moments just as much as it was filled with jokes...and an unexpected twist towards the climax really raised the stakes in an exciting way. I never expected to be surprised by a Spider-Man film, but they got me good.
Tobey Maguire will always be the Spider-Man of my childhood, but I have to say that Tom Holland is the perfect Spider-Man for the MCU. I can’t wait to see where they take him next.
Thor: Ragnarok (****)
In which the heir to the Asgardian throne ensures the destruction of Asgard because he thinks that'll save Asgard
Thor Ragnarok is both a triumph and a tragedy in my opinion. It’s a triumph because this is without a doubt the best Thor film in the MCU by a significant margin. It’s a tragedy because this is likely the last Thor film in the MCU – and it’s taken them this long to figure out how to make a Thor film succeed.
All along I’ve said that Thor is supposed to be a fish out of water. When he’s anywhere people don’t recognize him as “The God of Thunder”, his character really shines. That’s why putting him in a small backwater American town or pairing him with Tony Snark is so effective. The previous movies failed by grounding him in Asgard. This film gets Asgard out of the picture in a big way, which is just what Thor needs. With new characters who don’t know or care about Thor in the slightest, Thor is at his funniest – and most interesting.
Loki is just as great as always – but he doesn’t steal the show this time because there’s so many other fantastic characters to enjoy. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is dripping with charisma, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie is a lot of fun…and then there’s the Hulk to contend with. The Hulk does so much more than smash in this film – he’s not simply the muscle of the Avengers team. Here, he’s a character who’s found a home away from home, where his unbridled rage earns him praise instead of panic from the public.
As happy as I was to see a dramatic change of pace, some things are done away with a bit too quickly – for example, we find out that Thor and Jane have broken up through two lines of dialogue. Sure, I didn’t care for her much in the past, but narratively this was a bit of a dud of an end. Thor’s friends “the Warriors Three” also died unceremoniously and if you didn’t know who they were, you might not even have noticed. It’s hard to complain about this too much though – if these characters had been given more fitting ends to their stories, the movie likely would have suffered as a result.
It’s heartbreaking to me that it had to be Thor’s final standalone film to finally hit a home run. On the plus side, we get to see him in action at least twice more – in Infinity War and Endgame. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess.
Black Panther (****1/2)
Wakanda music do you like
This was the first MCU film to win any Academy Awards, let alone three: Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. This was a majestic introduction into the world of Wakanda. Though we first met T’Challa five movies ago in Captain America: Civil War, this was our first up-close look at the secretive nation, and it did not disappoint. The world is just mesmerizing. The way they blended traditional African-inspired design with futuristic technology was incredibly creative – there were so many outfits in particular that made me think, “Man, that looks awesome. I wish I could pull that off.” I don’t usually consider the costumes in a film to the degree that this movie inspired me to.
Story-wise, T’Challa was interesting enough on his own. What sets this film apart from the bulk of the MCU is the quality of its villain, Killmonger. Instead of a villain who just wants to take over the world or kill the hero in an act of revenge, Killmonger wants to rectify the injustices committed against black people worldwide. Sure, he wants to take over the world and kill our hero in an act of revenge TOO, but his primary objective is interestingly one that we as an audience can get behind. Black people have had unspeakable crimes committed against them by Europeans and North Americans for centuries. That’s a real-world issue, and Killmonger wants to do something about it. Of course, our hero has to try and stop him because Killmonger’s plan involves world domination, but I was really hoping Killmonger would survive to the end of the movie so that we could see him again in the future. To that end, I was sad to see him go. His final line had more depth to it than most Marvel villains have in their entire movies – so it was a shame that he had to go so soon.
Of the four newest heroes of the MCU (Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel), T’Challa and Peter Parker are the two that came in with the biggest bang. In particular with Wakanda, I’m so excited to return to this world again and see some more war-rhinos. Seriously – what’s cooler than a war-rhino??
This was post was originally published on March 16, 2019.