Photo courtesy of Unsplash.
(General Spoiler Warning for a bunch of movies and shows you’ve probably already seen)
There was an idea… called The Avengers initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable characters, in a shared cinematic universe, to see if they could become something more. To see if they could bring in audiences together in a way that solo films never could. Eli Christopher left the theater after seeing Avengers: Endgame still believing in that idea.
Now don’t worry Marvel, this isn’t a breakup. It’s just a chat for now. But to be honest, we’ve maybe been seeing too much of each other lately and I’m getting a little tired of the same s**t, different day type of drill. After all we’ve been through this year, and not all of it was so bad, I’m really feeling like you’re only bringing the same formulaic stuff to the table. So, let’s talk. It really sucks feeling yourself get tired of something that you once enjoyed.In a year where there are scheduled to be eight live action Marvel Cinematic Universe properties of four TV shows and four movies (three and two of which have already come out respectively), now is the time more than ever to make sure that we’re on the right path going forward. Because, recently it’s been feeling kinda monotonous, if not a little stale.
Basically, Marvel movies and TV shows are beginning to weigh heavily one me, due to feeling overly formulaic, lacking real stakes and individual personality, and feeling more like they are made by a studio machine rather than actual filmmakers. This sentiment has really set in after movies and shows like Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and major portions of Wandavision.
What’s odd is that the MCU didn’t start this way. People may not remember, but way back in 2008, the first MCU project was Iron Man and it was actually a risky venture. Even the casting of Robert Downey Jr., which we can now look back on in hindsight as perhaps the best decision Marvel has made, was a shocking call. The Marvel of today would never cast a former convict who had a major fall out from Hollywood to lead one of their blockbusters. The Marvel of today doesn’t really take any risks. Even as they were kicking off, the idea of a shared cinematic universe was basically unheard of at this level, which seems kind of funny now considering how many franchises and studios have tried to copy this format’s unparalleled success to varying degrees of their own. Marvel was still trying to prove themselves up until the first Avengers in 2012, and even for some time after that. While some of their more generic projects were certainly there, they didn’t feel like they were quite the standard yet. Guardians of the Galaxy is a movie starring a tree, a raccoon and the schlubby guy from Parks and Rec. It was already a risk, so artistically it could be treated a little like one.
So what traits actually distinguish the best Marvel movies? I think there are two camps: The first are the ones that actually feel like they have stakes. People can die. The action has weight. People are injured when they should be, and said injuries may not magically be fixed by the end of the film. They’re not completely predictable and not every action scene or genuine emotional beat has to end in a joke. These are basically limited to just Infinity War and Endgame. The second are the ones that have a unique personality. They feel like they were made by an individual filmmaker; a director with a unique vision, not a hired gun to do the bidding of a corporation. These movies have effective, authentic character writing and arcs. They have unique traits, vision and styles. They’re weird in the best ways. Or, they actually manage to integrate engaging themes or relevant issues. These would be the Ragnarok’s and namely the Guardians movies doing this best. I’ll happily give a shout out to movies like Iron Man, the first Avengers, Winter Soldier, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther and maybe Civil War for fitting somewhere in these camps as well. You all are excused, and you kids stay out of trouble. Meanwhile, most of the other properties, and certainly most of the ones as of late, have been falling flat in these departments. Shows like Wandavision and even The Falcon and the Winter Soldier start to have some and then backtrack. Movies like Black Widow and even Shang Chi have neither.
I’m really dying up here with how much I’m needing actual stakes in these movies again. The shared universe, serialized format used to be what made the MCU unique. Now it’s beginning to hold it back. Seriously, it’s impossible to think there are real stakes or the characters matter or could die when we’re aware of the next dozen films that will be released over the next several years. But on an individual level, let’s look at Black Widow. There are multiple instances in this movie I felt were almost a parody of themselves as they pertained to the vulnerability of characters. Characters fall off of buildings, have their cars flipped and flung down flights of stairs, stand directly next to large explosions and fall from exploding aircraft carriers thousands of feet in the air, and yet are completely fine. In fact, not only are they simply alive, but they continue about their action hero business mere seconds later. At one point a character is brutally stabbed and there is no blood. The lack of consequence or reverence for violence and injury is distracting. If I can easily infer that there is no threat to the characters, because they’re functionally invulnerable, then I have no reason to care about the events on screen.
And for my second requirement, I don’t see any individuality among the movies and shows at this point at all. They’re all shot, edited and structured the same in order to abide by a formula. The ones that begin to make an effort to escape this are all pulled back to formula. The best parts of Wandavision are when it starts as something truly weird, feeling like a scary fever dream and unfamiliar territory. But naturally by the end there’s an underdeveloped surprise villain to have a laser battle with for the fate of the world. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s strongest points are when they actually touch on the complications of historic and contemporary racial issues or the muddled nature of U.S foreign policy. This isn’t a show that should end with the oh so daring resolution of “You need to do better, Senator”, instead of something actually challenging, nuanced or at least taking a stronger stance. Whenever we begin to touch on something unique or of substance, I just get frustrated when we’re forced to return to something more generic. Black Panther is great because it actually has the courage to discuss complex issues unapologetically, and without talking down to the audience or compromising its message. Black Panther’s biggest weaknesses are the ones wrapped in the Marvel formula like bad CGI, awkward humor, and unnecessary dialogue so that the seven year old in the audience can understand what’s happening and still have a good birthday.
Outside of their surface level topics, they all feel mostly the same as well. All of the jokes have the same kind of rhythm and delivery regardless of which character is saying them or which movie they appear in. Not only that, but they’re said all the time. I’d like to be able to watch a fight sequence that seems to have strong choreography without the movie either cutting to slow motion or some random a**hole making a joke about his vlog. Having a cringe worthy, pace killing joke in the middle of an action sequence that should be intense is tragically standard fare at this point for the MCU, but I genuinely groaned “Oh, Jesus Christ” in Shang Chi when in the middle of an expository scene with at least potential to have emotional poignancy, they deliberately interrupted it for no other reason than to have an awful joke that took too long, had no purpose and slaughtered any emotion besides “fun.”
And perhaps that’s the fundamental issue here. Marvel movies are at this point meant to only be the most accessible source of cinematic fun at all times. They are a fun machine, and anything that could compromise this mission is not a risk worth taking. Artistry is now coming second to accessibility.
I’ll elaborate on this point as well as the challenges the MCU faces in the future in Part 2.
