Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-3291355-20140813233204

I made a similar post regarding issues of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, but I felt like pointing out the flaws of the critically-acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe:

1) Disney buying Marvel (duh!): After seeing Iron Man, I was excited that it was going to expand into one whole universe and that they were going to incorporate some important story lines in later Iron Man films like "Demon in a Bottle." When I heard that Disney acquired Marvel for $4 million dollars, I didn't think it was a big deal. But later on, I realized how it screwed up the maturity of superhero films to be meant more for much younger audiences, and how the filmmakers threw away their original ideas and replaced them with bad jokes.

2) Badly setup universe: The Avengers movie was great, with the other films at the time building up into one whole movie with awesome action. The way they revamped the characters though, like Thor and Captain America, was disappointing. They turned Thor into a Shakespeare archetype and turned Cap's history was reduced to an underdog story cliché.

3) Too much comedy: During 2008, Iron Man knew what kind of atmosphere was necessary for each scene and didn’t try to craft a single dominant feeling over the entire movie. Disney was always revolved around adventure and comedy, and thanks to Disney, later films of the MCU came out really campy with an infinite pile of jokes and not enough intense action.

4) Producers’ vision over the Directors’: The producers don’t care about the development of the characters in the MCU in contrast to the directors, and instead want to throw them in to make a great, adventurous movie without giving a thought about the characters’ complexity. I think things like this would’ve been different if Marvel was still independent.

5) Plot inconsistencies: Another thing I failed to recognize in the movies was that they’re mostly crammed with plot holes that they don’t have a clear explanation on things like how Loki survived the fall of the Bifrost in Thor. It’s like the producers are either deaf or blind at what they’re doing, or both. Instead, they want us to figure it out while they make him the central villain in the Avengers.

6) The characters are inconsistent: It seems like super powers don’t matter in the movies: Iron Man was able to make his first suit of armor in a cave with scraps and defeated terrorists with missile launchers, while in Iron Man 3 he didn’t even defend his own home. It’s like the characters get weaker as more movies come out.

7) The critics live in a bubble: Only one out of a hundred critics recognizes what’s wrong with the movies, like Thor: The Dark World, and be able to retain the memories of older movies like Iron Man and Spider-Man. But apparently, one critic’s view isn’t enough. Other critics praise newer movies of the MCU, probably because of how they somehow connect to upcoming movies like the Avengers 3. 8) Separation between comic book fans and non-comic book fans: Movies like Spider-Man, which grossed $8 million dollars, appealed to people unfamiliar with comics besides just comic book fans. Directors try their best to combine multiple elements from the comics into one whole story while also trying to stay true to the original source material. Disney, however, ruined that. Characters like Thor and Captain America were loosely based on their original counterparts, among others, to please the dominant non-familiar group, while comic book fans are reduced to rubble. Don’t forget the Mandarin hoax in Iron Man 3.

9) The Villains are lame: Villains obviously play an important role in a superhero’s journey. It doesn’t mean, however, that they should be under-developed to the point where they’re given a simple motivation. The Red Skull in Captain America barely appeared to constitute a real threat, and Aldrich Killian was obviously a rip-off of Syndrome from the Incredibles. Ironically, they’re played be well-known actors.

10) Plot-induced stupidity: The producers never keep their promises on making a good movie in the MCU. They make powerful narratives for the characters, and all of a sudden, they’re ignored by the producers, never to be heard of again, in favor of their own contrived ideas, instead trying to make them more dramatic than the last. Bruce Banner in the Avengers, for example, claims to have control over the Hulk after years of isolation and meditating, even though easily loses control and goes on a rampage after SHIELD was attacked, yet somehow he regains control in time of the Chitauri invasion, leaving us to assume it’s unpredictable and that he was lying for dramatic effect.

So, anyways, this is my own personal review. If you would like to share your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree, feel free to comment. 