The Marvels: Make Iman Vellani The Face Of The MCU And Do It Now

Summary

Captain Marvel, Brie Larson, is back and this time she is more human than before. I am going to catch some hate for this one.

I am one of the few people who loved this film, genuinely I think its great. Now I am not arguing its perfect there are a couple of major things wrong with it, but for the most part it is a lot of fun, the leads have great chemistry together, it is funny and I actually liked the singing world thing.

I think this film did a lot to make Larson’s character a lot more fun and interesting, I warmed to her more here than I did in the first film. I think however, that a big part of what made Larson more likeable and the film as a whole better was Kamala Khan, Iman Vellani, who was a scene stealer here and easily the best part of the whole film. Vellani’s energy is infectious and she is the most compelling member of the team by a country mile. Sadly, the third member of the team who’s name escapes me, the one from Wandavision, is but boring they do nothing with her until the very end and for the rest of the time she is just kind of there.

The singing world won’t be for everyone and I actually liked it for two reasons, firstly Brie Larson is a good singer, and secondly I thought again it made the character more fun and whacky after being overly serious in the first film to the point of being emotionless. Before a range of angry comments come in think about this Tony and Steve in their films made jokes they weren’t stoic all the way throughout, but they did that with Larson in the first film. I didn’t really think the whole oh she is secretly married thing was a good set up for the musical number however and I thought that was a needless detour.

My final point for the film is that the villain was weak as hell, Zawe Ashton, is a good actor and is capable of so much more than this. I don’t blame her though I think an actor is only ever as good as the director and the writer, but still there character was so generic she fades from memory before even the first post credits scene rolls around, which by the way is an odd way to introduce the X-Men but hey.

Overall, maybe Marvel’s best film of last year not perfect but better than Antman and everything they put out on Disney +

4.5/5

Pros.

Brie Larson

Iman Vellani

It is a lot of fun

It is a better sequel in nearly every way

Cons.

The third team member and villain are both incredibly forgettable

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Blue Beetle: Another Flop For The DCEU

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Jamie Reyes, played by Xolo Maridueňa, gets the power of the scarab in the latest troubled chapter in the DCEU.

So I will give this film props Maridueňa makes for a likeable lead and his goofy sort of nerdy energy does help this film to avoid a lot of the issues that some of the other DCEU films have with being overly serious. Again I found Jamie as a character to be very relatable, his journey was one I feel a lot of the audience could be on board with: trying to find your place in the world, get your crush to like you, be seen well in the eyes of your family etc, all of these things made the character work.

The wider focus on family as a theme also added a lot to the film, and it is humorous that in the same year we had Shazam Fury Of The Gods a film that wants to be all about family but that forgets what it means pretty early on and instead takes things in a much more obnoxious direction. Here I felt like the family Reyes felt real they felt like a normal family and I bought there interactions a lot more than in the Shazam sequel.

The superhero stuff was where this film fell down for me, this is an origin story you have all seen before sure not in the context of Blue Beetle but with other superheroes and it just came off to me at least like a knock off Spider-Man. Regular guy gets powers and then finds himself in over his head and having to protect his loved ones, the only difference is a spider bite to a sort of technological symbiote.

The evil villain being some blood thirsty corporate shark/arms dealer was again incredibly cliché, there might have been some supposed commentary in this decision but honestly I just didn’t care about this section of the film at all, and it was pretty clear Susan Sarandon was only there for the money.

Overall, it was okay Jamie and his family worked well and I would like to see more of their world but none of it matters as it will all be cleaned away by the reboot, and yes they said oh Blue Beetle is a part of the new DCU, but after the box office it pulled it is as dead as the dodos.

3.5/5

Pros.

Jamie

His family

The relatability

The humour

Cons.

The superhero stuff is boring

The villain is super weak

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The Flash: Racing Your Way Out Of The Cinema

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, has to contend with the multiverse and a massive wave of fan hate.

Honestly, I wrote in an earlier post about the MCU carrying out acts of self-harm against itself but something has to be said here for the DCEU trying to reach out and top it. There was so so much going against this film, but WBD and the higher ups over there seemed oblivious to it, with all the real world controversy surrounding Miller they should have been recast long before this film was even close to shooting, but Warner Brothers doesn’t like or bother listening to their fans hence they got this massive flop.

Now outside of that the film itself isn’t good. My main issue with it, setting to one side Miller’s involvement, is the fact that the CGI looks badly unfinished. Now the director thought it was a good idea to come out and defend the film’s shockingly bad CGI and say it was a creative decision on his part, if that was the case he should have been fired along with Miller. The CGI isn’t just bad it is distractingly so, there can be a somewhat decent scene entirely derailed as in the corner of the shot there is a CGI effect that is looking Mummy Returns levels of bad and you just can’t look away.

Furthermore, I don’t like how the DCEU’s version of the flash is portrayed, I think the geeky loser sort of works in a large ensemble but when two of the lead characters are played the same and are the central focus it becomes irritating quickly, quirky only usually works in small doses.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the cameos feel incredibly forced, I understand that maybe I am in the minority here in not liking the growing trend of multiverses but seeing them bring characters back from previous films or fan casts only really works for me if there is a plot reason for it. To give you an example of what I mean, No Way Home works because the coming together of the Spider-Men is required by the story and feels organic, whereas here I guess you can justify Michael Keaton’s returning Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl but the section near the end where it is just as many different cameos as they can just feels forced. Moreover, the George Clooney appearance at the end is the most infuriating of the bunch, not only is it a come on really sort of moment but also it immediately made me think Christian Bale said no. Why bring back one of the most disliked Batmen, arguably on a par with Kilmer?

Overall, this is what WBD gets for ignoring fans, burying their head in the sand about backlash and real world controversy, and fundamentally misusing the multiverse concept.

1/5

Pros.

Micheal Keaton is having fun

Cons.

It waste Calle’s Supergirl

Miller should have been recast

The CGI

The aggressive and never justified running time

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Across The Spider-Verse: Spider-People Overkill

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Miles Morales returns to the Spider-Verse.

I was very excited for this film going in, but have to say I was a little disappointed with what we got.

First the positives, I thought the character work was great particularly as it applied to parent child dynamics and the idea of finding a home/family, in this regard the film really nailed some deep emotional scenes that were genuinely moving. I also liked the addition of all the new Spider-People especially Spider-Man India, I did think they went a little cameo mad especially when they got to the clubhouse near the end of the film, but for the most part I liked seeing all the different variants I remember from the comics. Of course another pro of the film was the animation, which was incredible and a real feat to behold, the fact that the animators were able to blend so many different styles of animation so seamlessly together in one film highlights the artistry of Sony Animation and is really a big boon for them.

Now despite all of that, this wasn’t a perfect film. I disliked the act structure and thought it felt like one of the Hobbit films, this was mainly due to the fact that it didn’t have an ending or third act but rather one long second act that will then lead into the next film. I understand this film was written to end on a cliff-hanger, but I think that it could have had a degree of resolution within its own narrative as well as doing this rather than just abruptly cutting away. Due to this structure decision the film feels like it has quite bad pacing issues. I also didn’t like what they did to Miguel O’Hara, and admittedly this one hit me harder than most as outside of Peter Parker Miguel O’Hara is my favourite other spider-person, I think making him a villain was a bad call. I understand that in the third film it will be revealed that he was taking orders from/ coerced to work for Morlun and the Inheritors and he will redeem himself, but I just think that by making him so outwardly villainous here it takes away from a lot of his heroic potential in the future.

3.5/5

Pros.

Spider-Man India

Miles

The animation

The emotional beats

Cons.

The pacing issues

The ending

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Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3: And You Thought Toy Story 3 Was Sad, You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The Guardian’s gather for one final journey together.

Buckle up this is going to be a long one. To give you a peak behind the curtain usually the first thing I do when writing a review is to decide on a score, but this is the first film where even as I am writing this sentence I am not quite sure what I want to give the film.

In one regard, this film gave us conclusions to some of the best character arcs in the MCU and did the best character work I have ever seen in one of these films. It was perfectly balanced in terms of every character having their moment to shine and each one had a satisfying ending, be that retirement or new calls to leadership. Moreover, I thought this film perfectly encapsulated the family bond of the Guardians as a team and showed in a very earnest way just how much they care about each other.

I must say before going further I was very surprised no one died and that instead the characters were just retired, as I thought for sure someone was going to die. I think in a sense if someone had died the film would have been more effecting, but I think the reason no one did is because the film couldn’t take any more darkness, I’ll get to that in a minute.

Also I enjoyed how Adam Warlock, played by Will Poulter, was done. Yes I know I am in the minority on that but I thought it was a different side to him then what the comics usually show and had him instead be more vulnerable. He definitely needs to come back in the future especially if it is a space bound story. Although I will say that I thought it was a little contrived how they switched Adam from being a baddie to a goodie, and I thought that the Sovereign were largely wasted. It would have been very interesting to have seen their society realise the man they thought was a God was in fact a monster.

Now back to the other regard, in many ways I didn’t enjoy this film. I thought it was a good character piece but not a fun time at the cinema or a film I would ever want to watch again. When I next do my Marvel rewatch this film will be left out. The reason for that is because of the bleak, distressing and deeply upsetting scenes of animal abuse that pepper the film. Yes, I know that a, they are not real animals and that it is just CGI and b, that Rocket’s backstory from the comics is twisted and depressing so they had to do the adaption justice. However, my counter to both of those points would be that it doesn’t make the film any less depressing and unhappy of a watch. They could have shown Rocket’s backstory without going as hard as they did, even if it was just off screen or implied, they didn’t need to show some of the things they did. I think the perfect encapsulation of what I am talking about comes during the destruction of Counter-Earth, in which Adam Warlock’s pet urinates in fear as it thinks it is going to die on the Guardian’s ship. Perhaps to some that scene may have been a joke, but to me I found it to be the icing on the cake of horrible treatment towards animals which I found very distressing. Also don’t get me started on the Holocaust parallels in the final section of the film wherein the children on the ship are about to be killed before being liberated by the Guardians.

PS. If you are considering taking your kids to see this then hear me now, don’t do it this isn’t a happy go lucky Marvel romp this film goes to incredibly dark places and frankly I don’t think it is suitable for kids

Overall, great character work but honestly a very miserable film to watch.

3/5

Pros.

The ending

The character work

It perfectly balances every character and gives everyone their moment

Cons.

It isn’t a fun watch and is deeply depressing and upsetting at times

It has major pacing issues

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Shazam Fury Of The Gods: Gal Gadot’s Best Performance Yet

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, and his family do battle with evil Greek Gods.

So this film has got quite a mixed response from audiences but honestly I don’t think it is all that bad. Yes there are some obvious issues with the film such as the dialogue, which is nothing short of appalling at times, and of course the skittles product placement sequence, but there are also things to enjoy.

I liked the wider moral lesson of letting go that this film went for, I thought it was quite deep and inspired. Moreover, though this film didn’t tug on my heartstrings in the same way the first film did there was a number of moments wherein I found myself caring about these characters and feeling things.

The cast across the board was very good, Zachery Levi was a clear standout for praise as he once again manages to capture that childhood naivety whilst also seemingly like a capable superhero force. However, I would say he is outshined very, very surprisingly by Gal Gadot. Now you all know my thoughts on Gadot’s acting ability, she can’t, but here her brief scene at the end of the film is a complete scene stealer and quite probably the best of the film.

One thing I will note is that this film much like Ant-Man last month made me miss street level heroes and superhero films that weren’t so CGI heavy. There were a number of moments in this film that reminded me of the classic early Raimi Spider-Man films, which whilst having CGI in them, were no where near the total CGI overload of today’s superhero films and therein lies the problem, I was being reminded of these better less CGI heavy films whilst watching and that went against the film.

Overall, fun but certainly not a must see.

3/5

Pros.

It’s fun

A few good jokes

Gadot

Cons.

The dialogue

Too much CGI

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Batman and Robin: The Bat Suit Always Did Need Nipples

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film that put nipples on the bat suit

Many people would tell you that this is the worst Batman film, and whilst it certainly isn’t good I don’t know if I would call it the worst, maybe I have softened on it with time, but I do think there is some campy charm to this film that after the decade + of overly serious Batman we have had I wouldn’t mind seeing again.

The performances admittedly are a mixed bag, with some being good, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, some passable, George Clooney as Batman and Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, and some being terrible Chris O’ Donnell as Robin. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze has a special place in my heart as he is almost symbolic of the cocaine fuelled madness, which I imagine was the entire films production. His ice puns are a particular highlight.

I do think that this is one of the those films that reaches the point of being so bad it is good, and think if you view it as a love letter to the Adam West Batman series of yore then there is a lot this film gets right. However, if the only Batman for you is the incredibly dark brooding one then yes you probably won’t like this film.

Overall, not a good Batman film but certainly one that exists within the so bad it is good range.

2/5

Pros.

The ice puns

The campy silliness

Cons.

Some of the performances are woeful

It is one for way too long

It is mind-numbingly stupid

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A Comic Readers Guide To The MCU: Where Are The Inhumans?

Written by Luke Barnes

Hi folks, in this new series of articles I am trying to merge two of my main passions into one easy to read piece, a true labor of love. I am currently in my mid-twenties and have been reading Marvel comics since I was young, I have read others besides but I know Marvel well and so decided to make a series of posts wherein I talk about concepts, ideas, and possibly upcoming stuff from or to the MCU and try and give you a bit of a comics background and explain my own thoughts on where these things are going. I hope you enjoy.

Where are the Inhumans?

Within the pages of Marvel comics the Inhumans are second only to Mutants in terms of importance, remember that as it will come back around later. The Inhumans and the Royal Family in particular have featured in a number of different stories and runs over the years, some incredibly important to the comics that are inspiring where the MCU is heading, so the question I want to explore today is where are they in the MCU? Are they coming or have they been replaced?

As it stands a number of elements which would seemingly herald the arrival of the Inhumans are set up in the MCU, namely the Kree, and Black Bolt, played by Anson Mount, did appear in last year’s Doctor Strange film as a member of the Illuminati before getting offed. However, Kamala Khan, played by Iman Vellani, a key Inhuman figure in the comics was made a mutant for her show so this then begs the question are the Inhumans being replaced by mutants within the MCU? This wouldn’t be outside of the realms of possibilities as one of the main reasons the Inhumans have been pushed so much in the comics over the last decade was as a replacement to the X-Men due to Marvel not wanting to push properties they didn’t own, bar Spider-Man, too much in the comics department, allegedly. I also think the creatives at Marvel are still keenly aware of how much of a disaster the Inhumans show was for them and are wanting to distance themselves from it, but with the return of Mount’s Black Bolt this suggests that maybe the door is open to the Inhumans in the future. I think it would be very foolish to not have the Inhumans show up somewhere down the line, be that for the eventual main timeline Illuminati or for Secret Wars. If I am being real with you I think the Inhumans could be said to be existing in the world of the MCU currently but just that we don’t find out about them till later. So to sum up the question I think they will come eventually but that for now mutants are the MCU’s main focus.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this third edition of the Comic Readers Guide To The MCU if you have any suggestions for future topics then please get in touch.

If you enjoyed this edition of The Comic Readers Guide To The MCU then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

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A Comic Readers Guide To The MCU: Exploring The Unknown Regions

Written by Luke Barnes

Unexplored Locations In The MCU

I was recently watching a Youtube video about the MCU and it struck me that it is very America centric. Yes there has been some recent exploration, with Wakanda, Talokan and London, but for the most part there are a lot of well known comic locations that still remain undiscovered in the MCU and this article of the Comic Readers Guide To The MCU wants to be the first to plant their flag in these locations and talk about how they may come into the MCU in the near future. For the most part this will be specific to the Earth of Marvel comics and not talk about space stuff and different dimensions.

The first two locations I want to talk about are tied into the Fantastic Four and will likely arrive along with them, the first is Ancient Egypt, which we have a link to through the Moon Knight show, but we haven’t seen a film set there yet or dealing with those sort of characters. This is where I think the Fantastic Four film will be set, I think it will have the team travel back in time to Ancient Egypt, with their powers as it isn’t an origin movie, and fight Rama-Tut, the Kang variant, no doubt beating him but also somehow getting stuck there which will then provide a reason for their absence thus far.

The next location is Latveria, which as many of you will know is the homeland of Victor Von Doom. Now we know that Doom is coming to the MCU as he kind of has to if the Fantastic Four exist and everything is building to battleworld as seems to be the hinted destination. Latveria is a nation ruled for vast points in the comics by Doom as a sort of God Emperor/protector somewhat like Black Adam in DC comics, and it is a very important location for the MCU to include. I would guess that Latveria will either appear as a sort of neighbour to Sokovia or perhaps it will be ignored entirely and Sokovia will become a direct stand-in for Latveria, though I don’t think this would be a popular choice.

Our next stop is The Savage Lands, which for those unaware is somewhat of a land time forget in Marvel comics. It has dinosaurs and the people who reside there have a caveman/cave woman sort of dress sense. Famously it is the domain of Ka-Zar, the Tarzan of Marvel comics, and has links to the Eternals. There are rumours that the Thunderbolts film next year may take place, at least partially, there and may introduce this location into the MCU but as for now its dinosaurs remain undiscovered.

Finally there is Arthurian Britain. Yes, I will be the first to admit this is somewhat of a deep cut and I only decided to include it as I am a big fan of Black Knight and Captain Britain. This one is the most obvious and the one that will require the least description as most of you reading this will have seen at least one King Arthur film in your time. Anyway, if the MCU decides to give Dane Whitman’s Black Knight his own spinoff series, as it should, then it may be interested in showing the origins of his sword The Ebony Blade which was forged by Merlin out of a meteorite and was wielded by the original Black Knight from Arthurian legend.

So there we have it four possible Marvel comics locations that may soon be coming to the movies. I hope you have enjoyed reading this second edition of the Comic Readers Guide To The MCU if you have any suggestions for future topics then please get in touch.

If you enjoyed this edition of the Comic Reader Guide To The MCU, then please head over to my Patreon to support me, I offer personalized shoutouts, the ability for you to pick what I review next and full access to my Patreon exclusive game reviews. Check it out!

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A Comic Readers Guide To The MCU: The Council Of Kangs

Written by Luke Barnes

Spoilers for the end of Ant Man and The Wasp Quantomania

Okay so at the end of the film we see a lot of different variants of Jonathan Majors’ Kang, in what comics readers will know as the Council of Kangs, these are a group of different Kang variants that work together and that at least in the comics was lead by Prime Kang, though really it was Immortus who was calling the shots, having Prime Kang kill off all the divergent versions of Kang so that he would become Immortus down the line. Fairly confusing time travel nonsense. As it pertains to the MCU the Council of Kangs will effectively be a source of villains for the various upcoming films and will no doubt be further explored and have its origins and members better explained as time goes on. It is important to note that not all of the Kangs are alike and also that they don’t always work together, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see one break off and help out the Avengers a little down the line.

Some fairly big questions and theories for the MCU going forward.

Now we know that the Council Of Kangs is the direction the MCU is heading in a few things are fairly certain. One, Iron Lad the kid version of Kang that doesn’t want to grow up to be a villain and who is a member of the Young Avengers in the comics is a lock. Two, I would not be surprised to see Rama-Tut, the ancient Egyptian Kang, be the villain for the upcoming Fantastic Four film. It would make sense to kick Doctor Doom down the road for a sequel, especially as we know the film won’t be an origin for the group so he doesn’t need to feature.

My question for you all that I will leave this article on is how do the Council of Kangs and Victor Timely, another version of Kang, relate to He Who Remains, who many people thought was Immortus, and why didn’t he mention the Council to Sylvie or Loki in that show. Was he another rogue variant on the run from the council?

I hope you enjoyed this new idea for my blog that mixes my twin muses of films and comics together, if you have any ideas for future topics or things you would like me to talk about please do write to me and let me know.