She-Hulk: Is This Not Real Magic

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jen, played by Tatiana Maslany, hits the dating game and Wong, played by Benedict Wong, is brought back for yet another cameo, as the show is clearly not strong enough to stand on its own.

My word this show is a mess. I was writing on Twitter the other day that I think that this show is the worst MCU project yet, it is certainly the most misjudged. Where to begin with why this was an awful episode? Maybe the dating montage that is cringe as hell and feels like it was written by a middle-aged person who doesn’t understand modern dating, worse yet by constantly stressing how the safe guy Jen brings home is so hot, she just comes across as totally shallow and unlikeable. In a modern context if a male character in a TV show did the same thing people would complain. I understand that She-Hulk dating in the comics is a funny side to her character but the humour of this storyline really didn’t work for me.

Yet another terrible decision this episode made was having Titania, played by Jameela Jamil, be an influencer. Just no. I am not even going to make a comics accuracy argument, but what I will say is again it reeks of a middle-aged person trying to write characters that the kids of today can relate to whilst being totally out of touch. It adds heaps to the bad cringe of the show.

Finally lets talk about Wong and Madisynn, played by Patty Guggenheim. I think the whole Wong magic storyline is naff as hell and was only done to keep Wong in the show as the creators know he is a fan favourite and people will keep watching for him, it is a crutch the show is using as it knows She-Hulk isn’t interesting without cameos. The budding relationship between Wong and Madisynn does feel gimmicky and I am not as on board with them as other people are, but I do think there is promise there if the show or wider MCU wants to develop them further.

Overall, I may stop watching this show as I truly believe it is the worst MCU content thus far.

Pros.

Madisynn and Wong have potential

It is unintentionally hilarious

Cons.

The dating storyline feels like a relic of network TV

Jen is creepy, forceful and shallow during the house dating scenes

The magic storyline is boring and stupid

It is painfully unfunny throughout

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She Hulk: What The Hell Is This? Is It An Advert?

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Megan Thee Stallion shows up and She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany, twerks.

I will review this episode in two parts, the first part will focus on the good and the second on the bad. The bad here is fairly extreme but I like Wong, played by Benedict Wong, so there is some good here.

In the Abomination, played by Tim Roth, storyline we get a fun cameo from everyone’s favourite Sorcerer Supreme and it is played up enough that every second we get with him is pure gold. The comedy in this part of the episode also really landed for me.

That said onto some of the worse stuff I have seen from Marvel possibly to date. Everyone hates the Simpsons episode Lisa Goes Gaga because all it exists to do is blow smoke up the guest stars rear end and say how great they are, clearly the She-Hulk team aren’t familiar with this as they do exactly the same thing here. Not only is the Megan Thee Stallion subplot not at all funny in any way but it gets really repetitive with how many times they have to say her name over and over again as though they are trying to force us to think it is a big deal. Moreover, I know a lot of people complain that the MCU has gotten too silly and want things to return to a more serious tone, however, normally I don’t mind the humour of the MCU, but I would say this show is pushing it too far. The post credits twerking scene is something that has no business in the MCU it feels like something you might see from a tie-in advert but not a scene from a film or TV show, in addition it is also all kinds of cringe.

I really do think She-Hulk as a show needs to get its tone right because right now it is all over the place and feels like a bad parody.

Overall, other than Wong this episode was made entirely to suck up to the guest star.

Pros.

Wong

A few funny jokes

Cons.

Everything to do with Megan Thee Stallion

The twerking scene

It feels like bad parody at times

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She-Hulk: Superhuman Law

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany, is fired from her job after getting into a superhuman show down in the courtroom and must now look for other work.

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the first and thought that it was a noticeable improvement. I thought the comedy landed a lot more and made me laugh a few times and I also like that they are quite clearly setting up the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk comics storylines, as we see Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo leave on a space ship in the episode. I also thought bringing back Tim Roth’s villain character from The Incredible Hulk was a smart move especially because it puts Jen in a morally questionable spot and also develops out the character more beyond just being a mindless evil Hulk creature.

However, this episode still has some noticeable issues. The worst of these is how this episode just moves on from the Titania, played by Jameela Jamil, introduction last week and doesn’t even bother to bring her character up again which gives that final interaction in the first episode an air of pointlessness and I think that whole sequence was a poor fit. Moreover, the lines at the start of the episode in the bar when Jen says how much she doesn’t want to be a superhero and how bad her super hero name is are irritating, worse yet is the line about billionaires and orphans which feels like they are dumping on what has gone before which isn’t a winning strategy.

Overall, certainly better but the writing still needs a lot of work.

Pros.

The humour is starting to land more

World War Hulk

Bringing back Tim Roth

Cons.

The early bar scene

Ignoring Titania

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She Hulk: A Normal Amount Of Rage

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jennifer Walters, played by Tatiana Maslany, gets into a car accident with her giant green cousin and accidentally becomes a Hulk.

Yikes, I think of all the Marvel series thus far that this was the worst opening episode. This first episode really doesn’t seem to understand the Marvel beat, whilst being so try hard in its almost parody of Fleabag it presents a very confused identity.

To add to this there is some really quite jarring editing choices that make the episode feel choppy and not quite right. The choice of flashbacks taking place just before and then in the middle of a trial which then features a random fight, all without much explanation at all, makes things difficult to follow.

In addition this first episode is very heavy handed on the social commentary, far more so then anything else we have seen from Marvel to this point. I have no issue with films and TV shows making comments on political/social issues as long as they have a fresh take and don’t feel like they are just repeating talking points, this does the latter.

Finally, I understand needing to shorten things for the sake of the episode’s narrative, but having She-Hulk immediately being able to control her powers and not needing to train much at all, beyond one montage, again feels unearned.

Overall, I had heard the first episode was rough and that things get better, let’s all hope that’s true.

Pros.

The Hulk fight was cool

Maslany is trying

It is watchable

Cons.

It is preachy

The CGI still looks bad

She-Hulk immediately being great is bad story telling

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Ms Marvel: No Normal

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, and her friends face off against the forces of Damage Control and a character I have named Agent Karen, played by Alysia Reiner.

So let’s get the big talking point out of the way first, do I like the fact that Kamala is the MCU’s first mutant? Not really, I am one of the few people who actually like the Inhumans, at least in the comics, and I think that this would have been the best time to have brought them into the fore. However, the author of the original run and creator of Ms Marvel as a character has said that she always wanted Kamala to be a mutant so I guess that it makes sense to make her one here.

Moving on, for the most part I really enjoyed this season finale I thought it was a smart move to focus on tying up emotional arcs rather than trying to shove in a huge CGI fest final battle, we do sort of get one but it is over with pretty quickly. I believe focusing on the characters is far more in-keeping with the type of show this is, which fundamentally is coming of age.

I also liked the fact that Kamala finally got her comics accurate costume and that we got a big time MCU cameo in the post credits, I thought that both things helped to give this finale episode a satisfying sense of payoff.

My two small complaints about this final episode would be that it entirely ignores the Nor dimension for the most part and that it brings back the incredibly bland Damage Control baddies that feel painfully uninteresting, I would have much preferred them to have brought back the Clandestines for one final scrap.

Overall, this series has proven itself to be the best Marvel Disney + show so far.

Pros.

The feeling of satisfaction

The emotions

The costume and the cameo

The teases for the future

Vellani

Cons.

Generic baddies

Ignoring the Nor dimension

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Ms Marvel: Time And Again

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, learns about her family’s history with the Djinn and the Nor dimension.

Despite this being one of the shortest episodes of the season I also thought it was one of the best. I really enjoyed the interpersonal family relationships here, such as between Aisha, played by Mehwish Hayat, and Hasan, played by Fawad Khan, as well as between Kamala and her mother, played by Zenobia Shroff. I thought in the case of the former their love story was incredibly sweet and effecting and in the case of the latter their mother daughter relationship finally felt satisfying as the two come to an understanding.

I thought the ending of the Clandestines, was perhaps a little premature as their final battle with Kamala felt a little rushed. However, I am sure the ending will right this and might even bring them back once again. I am still resolute that the weakest part of this otherwise great TV show is its villains, as they continue to be woefully underdeveloped, but that is par for the course with Marvel Studios productions.

Finally, I just want to once again say what a great job Vellani is doing in the lead role. She radiates charm and genuine enthusiasm throughout and it is almost impossible to not instantly warm to her character, she may be the best new character Marvel has introduced anywhere in the last two phases.

Overall, another strong episode.

Pros.

The history

The relationships

The ending and tease for the finale

Vellani

Cons.

The Clandestines continue to be weak villains

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Thor Love And Thunder: Thor Gets Paternal

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, is forced out of semi-retirement when Gorr The God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, goes on a killing spree. Along the way he runs into his old flame Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, who is now the Mighty Thor.

I have to say a lot of the early responses to this film that I saw were quite negative and so I went in with pretty low expectations, thinking to myself surely it can’t be worse than Dark World, however, in the end I found myself really enjoying the film, and think though it has a few minor issues it is on the whole a strong Marvel outing.

Straight off the bat I think this film really does some great character work with Thor, having him get the chance to see Jane again, then losing her, then having to raise a kid on his own- he goes on a journey. Some out there on the more incely sides of the culture war will say that Thor is humiliated and ruined, however, their toxic masculinity is showing. I think it is possible for Thor to be both a badass action hero, which this film shows off on multiple occasions, as well as a sensitive guy who can be open and also poke fun at himself. At no point did I find he was being dominated or out done by the female characters and I think such takes usually arise from those we insecure masculinities themselves.

I thought the supporting cast all had their moments to shine especially Port, Thompson and Waititi, the latter especially had a lot of great lines. However, I will say that I would have liked Sif, played by Jamie Alexander, who makes a big return here, to have been given more to do. I think for me the stand out performance of the whole film was Russell Crowe as Zeus who instantly became my favourite character of the picture.

In terms of the humour, which has proven quite divisive, I think it is peak Waititi and if you enjoy his style of comedy, which I do, you will find it funny and if you don’t you won’t. Personally I found this film had me laughing more often than not. Moreover, again in rebuke to some of the criticism I have seen out there about the humour of this film, I found that it didn’t take away from the dramatic moments at all, and I think the film has a very strong emotional core. If you aren’t tearing up as Jane dies in Thor’s arms then I question whether you are even human.

Finally onto the few minor things I didn’t like about the film. The CGI in the post credits scene with Hercules, played by Brett Goldstein, was quite poor and possibly on a par with the Pip scene from Eternals. Moreover, the film’s pacing was quite noticeably off and the film as a whole felt very rushed with a lot of big things happening in a short space of time without much room for you to take them in. In addition, Christian Bale’s Gorr performance was all over the place, sometimes being quite frightening and sullen and other times being almost camp, this mismatch created quite a jarring viewing experience. Lastly the ‘Lady Thor’ line was horribly cringe and felt far too meta and on the nose, it really didn’t need to be included.

Overall, though it is not perfect there is a lot to like about this film.

Pros.

Thor’s journey

The ending

Zeus

The supporting cast all get their time to shine

Cons.

The pacing

The ‘Lady Thor’ line

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Ms Marvel: Destined

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, learns the origin of her powers, and is forced to make some difficult decisions.

I would say this was the worst episode of Ms Marvel yet, which shows how good the rest of the show is as this still isn’t a bad episode just far weaker than the previous two episodes. The reason for my thinking is twofold, firstly I don’t like the new Djinn origin for her powers and would have much preferred they stuck with her being an Inhuman. We knew for a while the show was taking the character in this direction but I was hoping that they would stick the landing with his new origin for her powers and they really don’t. Secondly, the villains of this show are, so far, incredibly poor and written as cliches in almost every possible way. The DODC agent, played by Alysia Reiner feels like a karen and has all the hallmarks of that character type, I hope the series does something more with her as right now she feels downright cartoonish. Moreover, the Clandestine group really highlights the poor writing, as they go from friendly to villainous in the space of about 5 minutes because Kamala won’t help them immediately, this seems like incredibly dumb villain writing as it would make more sense for them to let her have her time to try and gain her trust before using her.

However, despite these issues the episode is not bad and has more than a few redeemable moments. The entirety of the wedding scene is terrific, all of the characters we have come to know over the past two episodes get to have sweet little moments, and the dance sequence towards the end is one of the most pure and joyous things I have seen out of the MCU in a long while. I also like that Nakia, played by Yasmin Fletcher, now knows about Kamala’s powers as I feel like it will lead to some interesting interactions in the coming episodes between the two of them.

Overall, the villains need improvement otherwise a lot of people are going to say that this is yet another example of Marvel’s villain problem whereby they are all paper thin and forgettable.

Pros.

The wedding scene

Nakia finding out about Kamala’s powers

The ending

Cons.

The villains

The new powers origins

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Ms. Marvel: Crushed

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Kamala, played by Iman Vellani, starts to use her powers whilst also crushing on the new boy at school.

This show continues to be excellent.

So many times I criticise films and TV shows for not understanding the youth of today and for not being able to write for it, however, this show proves that it can be done and gives me hope for the future. I really enjoyed all of the teen angst of this episode, and thought that once again Vellani was just excellent in the role.

It was fun to see Kamala learning more about her powers, it is interesting to note that in the episode they make a point to say how her powers are a product of her and not the bangles, which means her being an Inhuman might still be on the table. I also thought the sequence of her saving the kid was really well done and I liked that it did not go perfectly first time, it feels like good character progression.

Moreover, I thought the scenes with Kamala’s friend Nakia, played by Yasmeen Fletcher, about her Muslim identity and fitting in were really powerful and well written. It also serves to highlight the importance of good well written representation as it can take someone’s innermost thought or struggle and showcase it on screen showing others who might have the same issue that they are not alone.

My one criticism of the episode is that the clearly villainous DODC agent, played by Alysia Reiner, feels incredibly on the nose. I am fine with it if she is just going to be a throw away villain of the early part of the series, but it would really be a disserve to the show if she were to stick around until the end or serve as the shows main villain and she feels like a cliché walking.

Overall, this continues to be one of Marvel’s best TV shows.

Pros.

Vellani

The music

The representation

The teen voice

It is a lot of fun

Cons.

The DODC agent feels almost cartoonishly evil

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Ms. Marvel: Generation Why

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Teenager Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani, dreams of breaking away from her strict parents and being like her hero Captain Marvel, sadly that seems like a faraway dream when we first meet her. However, all of that changes when she receives a magical accessory that allows her to have superhuman abilities.

I will open this review by saying two things that need saying before I get into a wider discussion on the episode. Obviously this series should be heralded from bringing in Marvel’s first grouping of Muslim characters, representation is very important and hopefully this show will allow new groups of people to look towards the MCU and see a hero that is like them; and that is a powerful thing. Additionally, my review for this episode and the coming ones in the series will be from someone who is fairly unfamiliar with Ms. Marvel as a character, I have read a few stories featuring her here and there but for the most part I am going in blind.

Now onto the review proper.

I thought that this may be the best episode of any of the Disney + Marvel shows thus far. I really liked the tone and the Edgar Wright esque cinematography and graphic blendings/ transitions, I thought this helped the show to feel fresh and different to both the other Disney + shows as well as the wider MCU.

Moreover, I also really liked the family focus here and thought it was done much better than in Hawkeye. Though I thought having Kamala’s mum, played by Zenobia Shroff, be a low key baddie, or at least an antagonist figure in her life is a little trite and played out, I thought her wider family dynamic was a lot of fun. Furthermore, the family actually felt like a family, whereas with the Bishops in Hawkeye, the mother and daughter felt more like estranged business associates rather than how I personally would view family, though again everyone’s family is different.

I also thought Vellani was terrific and instantly super likeable and warm, she sank into the world and character really well and I am excited to see more from her both in this show and the wider universe.

Overall, I enjoyed this first episode a lot.

Pros.

Vellani

The humour

The visual style

The family dynamics

Giving us a wider look into the MCU

Cons.

The mother daughter stuff felt a little cliché to me

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