Marvel Cinematic Universe

I have enjoyed the Marvel movies for the most part but have avoided writing about them until now because the task seemed daunting with over 20 films out to date even though I have seen them all.  A series this established can afford an occasional misfire but while there are some films I enjoy more than others I think each Marvel film is a strong experience.  Also the series has used a lot of directors of different sensibilities.  For example a Russo brothers film is very unique to a Shane Black or Kenneth Branagh film but they all fit into the series the way a family has different types of members.

Marvel films each tell its own story while fitting into the whole.  An example would be Thor Ragnarok, which tells a comic yet cosmic tale of a battle for the throne of Asgard and has an ending that sets up the beginning of Avengers Infinity War, which is a very different story with a much darker tone.  The individual films in particular spend time developing each character and his or her foibles so we care more about the character than the superhero persona.  Tony Stark has a memorable transformation into Iron Man in each film in which he appears but in several of the films (Iron Man 3, Civil War, Avengers Endgame) he spends relatively little time in the suit but is so fascinating that it does not matter.  The team up films then put the characters together often against a common threat but sometimes against each other.

I have started re-watching the series with my children and are viewing the series a little out of order but with a loose chronology of the events occurring and want to create some small postings of the films with immediate impressions.  Prior to watching this my kids had already seen the two Ant Man, the two Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider Man Homecoming so my impressions of those films will be more on memory.  More entries will follow this first batch.  

Spoilers below:

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Joe Johnston, the director of the 1940s set The Rocketeer, which featured a square hero fighting Nazis, was a good choice to introduce Captain America, a similar character in the same period.  Steve Rogers is almost too good to be true with his values set in stone early on but it is recognized when he is given the opportunity to become a super solider.  Throughout the series like Christopher Reeves did with Superman, Chris Evans made Captain America’s nobility cool, which makes him my favorite character in this series over the more outwardly entertaining Iron Man and Thor. 

Rogers looks a little out of proportion in the first act of the film, seemingly due to Evans’ longer head on top of a short thin body.  However this section is crucial as it establishes his series’ long relationship with Bucky and Peggy Carter.  The second act gave me an opportunity to explain the public’s role in war bonds to my kids.  The third act is when we really get to see Captain America adjust to his new heroic role and use it to help his country.  Tommy Lee Jones brings his usual energetic motor-mouthed persona as a general and Hayley Atwell as very impressive as the strong willed Peggy Carter, a character who Marvel gave her own TV series to (which I have not seen). 

The only element of the film I did not like as much as Hugo Weaving as Red Skull.  Even though I usually like Weaving’s depth, especially in the film Hacksaw Ridge, his German accent sounded fake and the makeup for Red Skull looked like a mask to me. 

Overall I am fond of this adventure.  The period is unique to a super hero film and I appreciated meeting the young Howard Stark.  The film takes time to set up the relationship between Steve and Peggy which works for both the poignant conclusion and for the rest of the series.  ***

Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel borrows elements of The Bourne Identity as Carol Danvers (the name always reminds me of the Hitchcock film Rebecca) is first shown with most of her powers intact but with little memory of her past.  The story is about her discovering it and learning that she has been manipulated by Jude Law’s emotionally manipulative Yon-Rogg.  The 1990s setting allows for some time capsule and Marvel series prequel jokes (we are constantly wondering when Fury’s left eye is going to be hurt) and it allows Samuel L Jackson to play a younger, more active Nick Fury (with digital technology that makes him look like Jackson did at the time). 

The banter between Danvers and Fury is fun and I especially like the friendship between Danvers and Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau.  Annette Bening has a brief dual role (clearly relishing the evil one more) and Ben Mendelsohn never allows a green mask to make him look too silly.  Larson plays the Danvers seriously but Danvers does not take herself too seriously.  Refreshingly the filmmakers resist giving Danvers a love interest as she has plenty of important people in her life to live for.

I have two small gripes.  One is that in the third act Captain Marvel seems almost too powerful.  Second, SHIELD was clearly named as such in Iron Man, which takes place in 2008, leading me to wonder why people already are calling it by name in 1995.

Nonetheless Captain Marvel is a fun ride.  ***

Iron Man (2008)

Although I prefer Captain America the character over Iron Man, if it had been the first film I doubt the series would have been spawned as it was.  The series needed a bigger spark to light the Marvel fuse and director Jon Favreaux’s Iron Man, personified by the inimitable Robert Downey, Jr. is the perfect launching pad.  Downey has a ball playing the fast talking Tony Stark who lost his parents when he was young and lives to excess as a result, shamelessly making weapons for profit.  The early sections of the film effectively establish Stark as a self-centered jerk who is then put in a situation outside his control.  I find this part of the film fascinating as Start goes from a place where people always react to him to the dynamics of his captivity where he seems powerless and does not have the training that a solider would.  Stark’s decision to build an early version of the iron man suit to escape his captors is ingenuous especially as he does so without any diagrams.  The friendship Stark develops with Yinsen is key to Stark’s turn.   Favreux’s decision to dedicate a large portion of the time to this portion of the story and to keep us fixated on Stark’s perspective and not on rescue attempts gives it more weight and shows that he was not playing to an audience which may have wanted more action beats. By the time Stark escapes and has seen the damage his weapons have wrought, we are clearly in his head.

Stark’s return to the U.S. (in which due to an obvious corporate deal his first American cheeseburger is from Burger King) kicks off the story as he becomes more altruistic and redirects his company’s goals, fighting his own board and develops a higher tech version of the Iron Man suit.  I admit I was a little surprised that Obadiah Stane (a fantastic name) turns out to be the villain.  Bridges so rarely plays that type of role that his presence threw me off the scent though on a re-watch it is fairly obvious.  Bridges truly seems to relish the part and his bald look somehow makes his seem more imposing.  Gwyneth Paltrow is solid as Pepper Potts, a modern sort of Girl Friday who takes no gruff from Tony.  The filmmakers were wise to take a couple of films to Tony put the two of them together given where Tony starts this one.   I was surprised that Terence Howard was not cast in the sequel but would agree that he does not seem much like a military man.

The final scene which closes with the immortal line “I am Iron Man”, which is fitting for the impulsive Stark who despite all of his faults, is not much of a liar and is more likely to force the world to take him at his own terms.  It also sends a message that this superhero series is not going to waste much time on secret identities. ****

Incredible Hulk (2008)

I am a big fan of both the movie The Fugitive and the little seen 2000-2001 series based on it (I have only seen a few episodes of the 1960s show but liked them as well).  The Incredible Hulk is like a comic book version of the Fugitive.  Bruce Banner is also a well-intentioned doctor like Richard Kimble and General Ross, obsessed with capturing Banner, is an effective stand in for Gerard (himself inspired by Inspector Javert from Les Miserables). 

Marvel fans often speak poorly of this movie.  I respectfully wholeheartedly disagree.  While I am no fan of Ang Lee’s boring 2003 Hulk, this film has a quick pace, an intelligent lead character in over his head, a touching love story, a strong score, and two committed antagonists.  Due to the extended origin of the earlier film (of which this film is pointedly NOT a sequel though I think audiences may sometimes confuse the two) Incredible Hulk picks up after Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner has been on the run for a few years and is trying to cure his Hulk problem.  General Ross is trying to track him down because he wants to use the radiation inside Banner to make super soldiers.  The method by which Ross finds Banner hiding in Brazil is a clever accident.  The gradual drug addiction that Tim Roth’s Blonsky develops is intriguing and builds to a strong climax.

Edward Norton always excels at playing smart men and Banner is well within his wheelhouse.  Although I also like Mark Ruffalo, I prefer Norton’s more focused interpretation of Banner.  Liv Tyler is sweet as Betty, and their reunion in the rain is touching (though in the theatrical version she seems to forget about her new boyfriend).  William Hurt uses his stillness and disaffected voice to great effect as Ross, a man whose ambition has sapped his humanity.  Director Louis Leterrier delivers a virtuoso chase through a favela (in which Bruce has to both escape and keep his heart rate down) and a literal monster showdown in Harlem for the climax.  This is the second film with Edward Norton in which a lead character rails against the driving habits of NYC taxi drivers (25^th Hour directed by Spike Lee was the other).  ****

Iron Man 2

The second Tony Stark story is an uninspired film that seems to exist because of a huge demand for the character after Iron Man.  Iron Man 2 has some interesting ideas and an existential crisis for Stark who has to contend with his even greater fame and being slowly poisoned but seems to have been scripted on the fly.  The film opens strongly with the introduction of Whiplash observing Tony going public with his identity from living conditions that contrast greatly from Tony’s posh life.  However after a well-staged attack on a race track in Monte Carlo the film does not know where to go.  Mickey Rourke’s potentially fascinating Whiplash is sidelined in favor of Sam Rockwell’s less interesting weasel Justin Hammer.   The film is never unwatchable, just unmemorable.  I did enjoy Garry Shandling’s sniveling performance, the Senate Committee scene, Black Widow’s debut and the additional screen-time of director Favreaux’s Happy Hogan. ***

Thor (2011)

The first Thor film could have been the biggest risk in using a character with godlike powers from another planet.  The film hedges its bets by bringing Thor to Earth for the bulk of the story and thus showing us Thor from Earth’s point of view.  The opening introduces Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster and Stellan Skarsgaard’s Erik Selvig in the moments leading up to Thor’s arrival before flashing back to Asgard and introducing us to the kingdom and his hammer, Mjolnir.  Uniquely in the series Thor’s stories involve his immediate family.  Kenneth Branagh is an inspired choice as director of this intergalactic Shakespearean tale and I would not have been surprised if Branagh himself had played Odin though am even happier that he gave the role to Anthony Hopkins, even if he spends half the film in a coma.

The most important dynamic in the Thor series is the love hate relationship with brother Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston.  Notably Hiddleston plays Loki far more seriously in this film than others, until the end credits scene, which was probably directed by Joss Whedon.  Loki’s wounded pride becomes dangerous when he finds out that he is adopted and takes advantage of Thor’s absence to take over the kingdom when Odin goes to Odinsleep.  Thor and Loki clearly do care for each other and the history that begins with this film plays out in a fascinating yet fun way in the rest of the series. Thor is more powerful a la Mufasa but Loki is more cunning a la Scar yet Loki has more redemptive qualities than Scar.

Hemsworth, who has branched out to other comedic and fantasy work in between Marvel movies, has Thor’s height, imposing figure and voice and strength as well as the depth to carry the action and dramatic moments.  However he looks most comfortable in the Earth sequences when he is playing the fish out of water (aka addressing SHIELD Agent Coulson as “Son of Coul”).  Portman, who does her best work in dramas seems far more engaged than in the similarly fantastical Star Wars films.  Kat Dennings, a comic actress, plays her role as Jane intern fairly straight and Rene Russo as Frigga has far too little to do.  Skarsgaard as Erik Selvig is solid and paternal toward Jane.   The ever charismatic Idris Elba is unfortunately hidden behind a mask as Heimdall.  Branagh manages the tone between comedy, fantasy and action adeptly and offers some innovative visuals in Asgard’s production design.  ***

The Avengers (2012)

For the much anticipated first team up producer Kevin Feige wisely turned to Joss Whedon whose colorful dialogue and love of offbeat characters make for a team that spends the first two acts of the film learning to work together and a third act fighting off an alien invasion in New York.   I never saw the show Buffy, the Vampire Slayer Whedon created but years ago enjoyed the Kristy Swanson film the series was based on, which Whedon wrote.  Loki is the main antagonist, using the Tesseract containing the Mind Stone to turn Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Selvig against the Avengers as a setup for an invasion of Earth by one of Thanos’ armies.  Hiddleston has longer hair and a devilish glint.  It is a wise move for the antagonist to be someone who has a connection both with the audience and one of the main characters.  Ruffalo debuts as Banner, a man who has accepted his fate and is trying to help others across the world.   Captain America is gradually getting over the shock of his displacement and struggles to adapt to this new unit who are each used to being in solo adventures.  Downey as Stark as always is the most vibrant as he does not trust SHIELD and is trying to rock the boat.  His immediate bond with fellow scientist Banner is fitting, as is his constant attempts to provoke him.  Stark gets a lot of the meta humor (regarding Coulson, “His first name is Agent”) and gets the big hero moment at the end nearly making a gigantic sacrifice. Thor’s frustration that his brother is causing this damage brings both comedy and pathos (“He my brother” “He killed 80 people” “He’s adopted”).  Whedon has a clear affection for Natasha, a character somewhat similar to Buffy, who gets the best introduction.  Natasha’s empathy for Banner and Clint’s scenarios get the Avengers to eventually work together and her understanding of Loki turns the tables on him at a crucial moment.  Natasha of course as always uses tremendous fighting skills and displays incredible bravery despite not being super-powered as her colleagues are.

The finale in New York is bookended by two standout scenes with Loki in the Stark (soon to be Avengers after every letter but the “A” falls off) Tower.  It is preceded by a fun scene that makes little scenes between Stark and Loki.  I do not know why Stark, a mere mortal without the suit, would dare confront Loki without it, but it does have some fun dialogue and allows for a great moment when the Iron Man suit saves Tony in mid air.  Afterwards it makes use of the set-up line in the earlier scene (“We have a Hulk!) when Loki insults and is subsequently slammed into the ceiling and the floor by Hulk as if he were a dog with a toy.  The moment is both cathartic and hilarious due to the staging.

The battle itself between the invading Chitauri and the Avengers is large scale and more effective due to the familiarity of the New York locations.  It does run a little long but gives each hero several memorable moments.  Three that stand out for me are Natasha getting a lift, Clint firing an arrow behind his back (a similar moment occurs with Han Solo in The Force Awakens), and Captain America earning the trust of the skeptical NYPD.   ****

In conclusion the first batch of Marvel movies gets the series off to a strong start and made me excited for more.