Marvel's Movie/TV Universe v2 (SPOILERS)

[Samsara]

The Affleck Daredevil was decent.  Pretty good for that era, but suffers in comparison to the MCU.  As I recall, the movie was originally a pretty low-budget affair, but after the box office success of the first Spider-Man movie, the studio threw a bunch more money in for the FX.   

The Director's Cut is better, IMO.

Watched the Director's Cut on Saturday night. I enjoyed it. It had its cringe-worthy moments, and the soundtrack was total nu-metal, but I thought it was pretty decent actually. I ended up not owning it like I thought I had, so I went and bought the Director's Cut after renting it to add to my collection.

re: Captain Marvel - we're going next weekend. Looking forward to it.

[bosk1]

Interesting take on the "feminist" aspect:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-captain-marvel-feminism-women-superhero-wilhelm-0311-20190308-story.html

[ariich]

Interesting take on the "feminist" aspect:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-captain-marvel-feminism-women-superhero-wilhelm-0311-20190308-story.html

So interesting, Europeans aren't allowed to read it.

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

[The Walrus]

I've heard a lot of people (not just here) worry about Carol being a deus ex-machina for Endgame. I get that. At the same time, I highly doubt the Russo's made a 3 hour movie where Carol just punches Thanos and wins. You know?

I've never read the comics and do not know the 'story' behind all of this.....are the movies following the comics/story closely or are they taking liberties and just using them as a reference or blue print?

Captain Marvel isn't even involved in the Infinity Gauntlet story.  Adam Warlock plays a big role, but he's MIA in the MCU other than the brief appearance of his cocoon in Guardians 2. The films are using the Gauntlet, Thanos, and the stones, but they're not following the comics at all really.

[bosk1]

Interesting take on the "feminist" aspect:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-captain-marvel-feminism-women-superhero-wilhelm-0311-20190308-story.html

So interesting, Europeans aren't allowed to read it.

Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.

Oh, sorry.  Here's the text of it:

Commentary: 'Captain Marvel' and today’s exhausting feminism

By Heather Wilhelm

Gird your loins, America, for I have a bone-rattlingly powerful tale to tell: In case you haven’t heard, there is a new movie in theaters, and it will reportedly change the way you look at the world forever. It is called “Captain Marvel,” and it is based on a comic book superhero, and the superhero is played by ... here, you might grab your smelling salts, because this is super groundbreaking and wildly controversial in the year 2019 ... A WOMAN.

Whoa! I know! It’s mind-boggling! This has never happened before, except when it happened two years ago, when “Wonder Woman” came out, which was also when an impressively large press cohort collectively and conveniently forgot the countless strong female leads that had occurred even before then! Remember those fevered days? Remember when an alarming number of movie critics simultaneously lost their minds over the sheer raw feminism of “Wonder Woman,” documenting how they cried at the theater and declaring that viewing “Wonder Woman” might have been the most powerful experience of their life, which should deeply worry us all if that is indeed really true?

It’s OK if you don’t remember: The internet appears to be melting all of our brains. Anyway, I liked “Wonder Woman,” and I’m sure “Captain Marvel” is fine, despite the web of semi-hysterical press surrounding its release. The women in the film, intones one review at Forbes, “are pilots, they are scientists, they are warriors, and while some of the men around them might not understand that or accept it, the women don't frankly need them to and aren't going to wait around for the myopic men to catch up to the facts.”

Ah, yes! Those daft, myopic men, always fouling things up! But wait, there’s more: “That's not to say, however, that ‘Captain Marvel’ doesn't remind us of the sorts of daily frustrations, struggles, and inequalities women face in society — being told to smile more ...”

Wait. What? Let’s stop here, shall we? Out of the world’s massive crab bucket of problems, let us stop and consider the modern scourge among American women of being told to smile more. Has it been two seconds? OK, that’s probably enough time — although if you google “Captain Marvel” and “smile more,” you will discover that many people fervently disagree.

For the record, I have never been told to smile more. This deeply worries me, because perhaps it means I am smiling too much. Truly, it keeps me up at night, brooding like a superhero in anguish! Just kidding. It doesn’t worry me at all, because it doesn’t matter. I don’t care, and neither should you, and nobody should be in a tizzy about this particular subject in general, because life is precious and very short.

With that in mind, here’s what does worry me a bit, even if it is a bit tangential: “Captain Marvel,” or at least the reception to it, might be a subtle indicator of how suffocating modern feminism has become.

At a base level, the very idea of a superhero is innately goofy or farcical, or at least it should be. But “Captain Marvel,” by most accounts, is almost perfect: Strong. Beautiful. Driven. Ultra-powerful. According to Slate, she is a “serious, stolid type whose steel will and laser-focused commitment to her mission make her a formidable foe even when her fists aren’t glowing orange with photon-blasting superpowers,” which is impressive indeed.

But what does it say about our culture that influential people take a movie like this — and similar so-called representations of women, which, as a reminder, are based on fictional comic book characters with alien superpowers — so seriously? Perhaps it’s because modern feminism has morphed into a crazed culture of unforgiving, humorless and ultimately atomized workaholism. But hey, that’s just my theory.

On Feb. 24, The Atlantic published a fascinating essay by Derek Thompson on the rise of American “workism,” which he describes as a “kind of religion” that promises “identity, transcendence and community” by centering one’s life around work. While traditional religious faith has declined in America, Thompson notes, “everybody worships something. And workism is among the most potent of the new religions competing for congregants.” Morph workism with feminism and boy, oh boy, you’ve got something to behold.

I have a fairly old-school view when it comes to female empowerment: Women should be free to pursue their dreams, whether that involves being an astronaut or an accountant or a farmer or a stay-at-home mom. I’ve also been around long enough to see that American culture relentlessly pushes high-achieving young women to obsessively put their careers first in their lives, no matter what their ultimate personal goals might be — even if those goals involve having a family.

As Thompson notes in The Atlantic, “having a job or career they enjoy” is noted as “extremely or very important” for 95 percent of teens. Only 47 percent rank getting married with the same importance. Between men and women, guess who loses more from this cultural phenomenon? (Hint: It’s the half with the shorter biological clock.)

Don’t get me wrong: Work can be very good! I’ve done a lot of it myself. I’m as big a fan of free-market capitalism as the next red-blooded American who grew up during the Reagan administration, trust me. Unfortunately, the modern feminist vision somehow morphs that capitalism into its worst caricature, or a Hobbesian war of all against all. Weirdly, it also simultaneously suggests that we all should be getting up at 5 a.m. daily to prep for, say, three Ironman races a year — or, even better, as the Los Angeles Times recently put it, “train like a noble Kree warrior hero” based on “Captain Marvel” star Brie Larson’s nine-month pre-movie workout plan. Right.

Alternatively, you could just go running a few times a week and call it a day. Forget “leaning in,” America — lean out with me! Let’s start a movement together! You won’t get to be a proverbial “Captain Marvel,” but that’s OK. Like much of today’s pop feminism, that sounds kind of exhausting and not very fun.

Heather Wilhelm is a National Review Online columnist.

[gmillerdrake]

how suffocating modern feminism has become.

This sentiment was the gist of my comment. Not that I don't believe that there is still headway to be made or that I'm a raging sexist pig who thinks women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.....but the major 'issues' of today like 'girl power', LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter.....all of them IMO are suffering the same type of 'suffocating' fate. It's the equivalent of the Loud, overzealous Bible thumping preachers or Evangelists trying to 'spread the word' in a tone deaf manner that people complain about. There is a way to go about it to where if anything....the people you desire to reach or have listen will actually do that rather than be immediately turned off by your tactics. That's where I'm at. I'm turned off by the tactics at this point. Some of the tone of Captain Marvel was just a very...very tiny straw placed on the camels back for me.

[bosk1]

One other aspect of the film that I forgot to mention:  At the outset of the movie, I choked up a little bit at the Stan Lee montage.  Toward the end of it, I wanted to applaud.  I hesitated for a second because the theater was completely silent save for the film.  Then somebody else started clapping, and a lot of us enthusiastically joined it.  It was  cool moment.

Also, the cameo was just brilliant.  I missed what he was reading, so the significance of it escaped me in the moment.  I read a brief article about it after the fact.  Really well done.

[jammindude]

Bosk:

Can’t see why #2 would be an issue. It just means she can control exactly how much power she releases. As little, or as much as she sees fit. It actually implies MORE strength that she has that much control instead of just letting a nuclear size blast every time she proverbially “pulls the trigger”

And I’ve been thinking about the song a lot, and I’ve decided that I think the 90s hit Supernova by Liz Phair would have been perfect for that scene. They would have to do the radio version that deleted one f-bomb from the original, but that’s common practice. But the mood of the music and the chorus especially would have been a great fit.

'Cause you're a human supernova
A solar superman
You're an angel with wings of fire
A flying, giant friction blast

[bosk1]

Can’t see why #2 would be an issue. It just means she can control exactly how much power she releases. As little, or as much as she sees fit. It actually implies MORE strength that she has that much control instead of just letting a nuclear size blast every time she proverbially “pulls the trigger”

Well, sure.  Except that there were plenty of moments in the film where she wasn't trying to hold back, and just ended up knocking people down. 

[lonestar]

I kind of noticed that, but just wrote it of as conveniently lazy writing. Just like I could imagine a bazillion ways Thanos with most of the stones could have had his way with any of the Avengers but still just threw punches, it'd be rather anti climactic if he just ripped open Iron Man with a thought.

[Adami]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j0gsV9J7Ts

A video by Kevin Smith talking about the Stan Lee cameo in Captain Marvel. Not necessary, but just a really sweet video about how meaningful it was to him and just to show how great of a guy Kevin Smith seems to be.

[jingle.boy]

One other aspect of the film that I forgot to mention:  At the outset of the movie, I choked up a little bit at the Stan Lee montage.  Toward the end of it, I wanted to applaud.  I hesitated for a second because the theater was completely silent save for the film.  Then somebody else started clapping,

If you were in my theater, that was me.

If not, well... it was still me.

[Lonk]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r2BfC8VfsZw

Best pitch meeting video imo

[jammindude]

My theater broke out in spontaneous applause at the dedication screen at the beginning.

[The Walrus]

Just saw Captain Marvel, have to get these thoughts out. First off: Brie Larson is so f&*%ing attractive it makes my soul hurt. Jesus. Finally some eye candy for the dudes (and unlike how they emphasize Scarlet Witch's cleavage, they don't have to do so for Cap'n Marvelous Holy Shit She's Got It Going On).

Ahem.

- Dedication to Stan Lee immediately got me. Beautifully done.
- I thought Young Fury was a great addition to the movie and Sam Jackson did wonderfully as always.
- The story was surprisingly entertaining. I enjoyed being surprised by the twist between the Kree and Skrulls. Good stuff.
- Goose rules. Biggest laughs came from that little flerker.
- It's so freaking awesome that the MCU finally has their own Super Saiyan. I got goosebumps watching her 'come to life' at the end and just whoop ass left and right like the mortal demigod she is.
- All the complaints about Brie Larson's emotional range. WTF??? She showed plenty of emotion throughout the film and the film makes absolutely no bones about her being an alien super-soldier and Yon-Rogg CONSTANTLY tells her to keep her emotions in check so it's not like there's no reason for her to be stone-faced sometimes, but even then, she's not wooden at all. She did an awesome job all around.
- Loved the suit-changing gimmick, the Tron-like suit was really cool.

And I think I got an even bigger crush watching her dance in a bandanna, Aviators, and a GnR shirt. Be still, my heart.

Overall, awesome film, upper tier MCU flick for me even as an origin story, I don't think it's top 5 but it's certainly close. That said it has thrown my rankings into a frenzy because Spider-man was in my top 5 or 6 and I think I liked this a lot more.

Oh, and the song people have referenced: I liked it actually. I thought it was a nice change from a dramatic score that most of the other films have and it paired well with the action. This film rocks.

Okay... diarrhea of the post over, got all my gut reactions out there. 

[Zantera]

For me it wasn't so much the emotional range but rather the personality traits of the character that seemed a bit off, and I think that's more on the writers than Brie, because she is a great actress. But for example, in some scenes she was quipping like Peter Quill and having fun witty banter with the bad guys, then in a few scenes she had that Dr. Strange arrogance (kinda) like when she meets Nick Fury initially, and then in other scenes she came off as more of that stoic captain america/superman hero when it came down to "taking care of business". You could also add some elements of Thor when it came to the fish out of water stuff on earth.

In some ways the characters before her have been written a bit more as very specific characters with one or two defining traits and I think in the case of the MCU it has worked really well because when you put the characters together on the screen, it's the differences between them that makes the scenes pop. And I think that's also why it's hard to judge Brie Larson yet because we haven't seen her with the Avengers and how she fits into that puzzle. Her character was a bit all over the place in this movie (though some of it is because of the journey she takes) but seeing as she "settles" into her new life at the end of the movie, I would imagine for future appearances that we get a more clear cut character out of her.

[lordxizor]

I think my biggest "problem" with Captain Marvel is her overwhelming power compared to the other current "good guys". She blows them all out of the water. If she can't kill Thanos with one blow, then the rest of them together couldn't have given him a scratch and never had any hope of stopping him. I fear that her power is going to be very inconsistent. Blow up on entire ship with ease, but fight fight a baddy for a minute before knocking him out.

[The Walrus]

I think my biggest "problem" with Captain Marvel is her overwhelming power compared to the other current "good guys". She blows them all out of the water. If she can't kill Thanos with one blow, then the rest of them together couldn't have given him a scratch and never had any hope of stopping him. I fear that her power is going to be very inconsistent. Blow up on entire ship with ease, but fight fight a baddy for a minute before knocking him out.

But she's a cosmic level character. And Thanos is a hulking behemoth, a natural warrior. She's not going to be able to just waltz in without breaking a sweat. Don't fear, they got this.

[jingle.boy]

I think my biggest "problem" with Captain Marvel is her overwhelming power compared to the other current "good guys". She blows them all out of the water. If she can't kill Thanos with one blow, then the rest of them together couldn't have given him a scratch and never had any hope of stopping him. I fear that her power is going to be very inconsistent. Blow up on entire ship with ease, but fight fight a baddy for a minute before knocking him out.

I believe that Hulk and Thor are just as 'strong' as Captain Marvel.  Thor was laying waste to the Outrider landing ships; Hulk took out the Chitauri 'whale' ships.  I'm not concerned that they've made Captain Marvel 'too' powerful.  Hell, in the comics, Hulk once destroyed a planet (or what it a moon) with a single punch.  He's more who I'd be worried about as one of the characters that could be made to be "too" powerful.

The way I see it, CM got her powers (essentially) from the Tesseract/Space Stone.  That's just 1 of the Infinity Stones.  Much like how Vision had his power from the Mind Stone, Thanos dismissed him no problem.  I can see him handling CM without being easily overwhelmed as well.

[Adami]

Jingle's right. Thor, Hulk, and Vision were all overpowered too and Thanos didn't even blink taking them out.


In the comics, Thanos is actually quite more powerful than he was in the movie (not even counting the Infinity Stones). So there might still be considerable depth to his powers that we haven't seen yet.

[The Walrus]

Plus, he didn't just kill Vision, he killed him TWICE!   

[Dream Team]

Just saw Captain Marvel, have to get these thoughts out. First off: Brie Larson is so f&*%ing attractive it makes my soul hurt. Jesus. Finally some eye candy for the dudes (and unlike how they emphasize Scarlet Witch's cleavage, they don't have to do so for Cap'n Marvelous Holy Shit She's Got It Going On).

Ahem.

- Dedication to Stan Lee immediately got me. Beautifully done.
- I thought Young Fury was a great addition to the movie and Sam Jackson did wonderfully as always.
- The story was surprisingly entertaining. I enjoyed being surprised by the twist between the Kree and Skrulls. Good stuff.
- Goose rules. Biggest laughs came from that little flerker.
- It's so freaking awesome that the MCU finally has their own Super Saiyan. I got goosebumps watching her 'come to life' at the end and just whoop ass left and right like the mortal demigod she is.
- All the complaints about Brie Larson's emotional range. WTF??? She showed plenty of emotion throughout the film and the film makes absolutely no bones about her being an alien super-soldier and Yon-Rogg CONSTANTLY tells her to keep her emotions in check so it's not like there's no reason for her to be stone-faced sometimes, but even then, she's not wooden at all. She did an awesome job all around.
- Loved the suit-changing gimmick, the Tron-like suit was really cool.

And I think I got an even bigger crush watching her dance in a bandanna, Aviators, and a GnR shirt. Be still, my heart.

Overall, awesome film, upper tier MCU flick for me even as an origin story, I don't think it's top 5 but it's certainly close. That said it has thrown my rankings into a frenzy because Spider-man was in my top 5 or 6 and I think I liked this a lot more.

Oh, and the song people have referenced: I liked it actually. I thought it was a nice change from a dramatic score that most of the other films have and it paired well with the action. This film rocks.

Okay... diarrhea of the post over, got all my gut reactions out there. 

ScarJo provides plenty of eye candy, especially in IM2 and Winter Soldier.

[jammindude]

I think my biggest "problem" with Captain Marvel is her overwhelming power compared to the other current "good guys". She blows them all out of the water. If she can't kill Thanos with one blow, then the rest of them together couldn't have given him a scratch and never had any hope of stopping him. I fear that her power is going to be very inconsistent. Blow up on entire ship with ease, but fight fight a baddy for a minute before knocking him out.

I believe that Hulk and Thor are just as 'strong' as Captain Marvel.  Thor was laying waste to the Outrider landing ships; Hulk took out the Chitauri 'whale' ships.  I'm not concerned that they've made Captain Marvel 'too' powerful.  Hell, in the comics, Hulk once destroyed a planet (or what it a moon) with a single punch.  He's more who I'd be worried about as one of the characters that could be made to be "too" powerful.

The way I see it, CM got her powers (essentially) from the Tesseract/Space Stone.  That's just 1 of the Infinity Stones.  Much like how Vision had his power from the Mind Stone, Thanos dismissed him no problem.  I can see him handling CM without being easily overwhelmed as well.

Except Thor and Hulk got their asses handed to them already.

[bosk1]

I kinda of resent the narrative I see in the vast majority of articles about CM saying that the box office numbers now finally PROVE that people will turn out for a female led movie.  I don't think that any but a small minority needed any "proof."  Sure, there is a small vocal minority that will hate on any female led movie and try to write it off as radical feminism.  And sure, there is a vocal minority on the other side that screams that we "need" female-led movies because girls can't possibly look at guys as positive role models.  But in the middle, I think the vast majority of us just want a good movie and could not care less whether the primary protagonist is a man or a woman.  We'll go see it because the MCU continues to gain momentum by putting out fun movies that, 21 films in, continue to weave together as part of a huge tapestry.  And we'll enjoy it, not because CM is a woman, but because it's a good film.  I think it insults the integrity of Larson's performance and insults the intelligence of most moviegoers to make it about her being a woman rather than the movie being a good movie.

/rant

[jingle.boy]

I think my biggest "problem" with Captain Marvel is her overwhelming power compared to the other current "good guys". She blows them all out of the water. If she can't kill Thanos with one blow, then the rest of them together couldn't have given him a scratch and never had any hope of stopping him. I fear that her power is going to be very inconsistent. Blow up on entire ship with ease, but fight fight a baddy for a minute before knocking him out.

I believe that Hulk and Thor are just as 'strong' as Captain Marvel.  Thor was laying waste to the Outrider landing ships; Hulk took out the Chitauri 'whale' ships.  I'm not concerned that they've made Captain Marvel 'too' powerful.  Hell, in the comics, Hulk once destroyed a planet (or what it a moon) with a single punch.  He's more who I'd be worried about as one of the characters that could be made to be "too" powerful.

The way I see it, CM got her powers (essentially) from the Tesseract/Space Stone.  That's just 1 of the Infinity Stones.  Much like how Vision had his power from the Mind Stone, Thanos dismissed him no problem.  I can see him handling CM without being easily overwhelmed as well.

Except Thor and Hulk got their asses handed to them already.

Exactly... so what happened in CM that makes anyone think she is SOOOOOO much more powerful than Hulk/Thor that she could one-punch/blast Thanos and end him?

[The Walrus]

I mean she did go Super Saiyan and also floated in literal space without a helmet. But yeah.

[The Walrus]

Snip

ScarJo provides plenty of eye candy, especially in IM2 and Winter Soldier.

Gotta say, I don't think she's all that. When she appeared in the mid credits scene that just made it obvious to me. Good thing it ended on Larson

[Lonk]

I mean she did go Super Saiyan and also floated in literal space without a helmet. But yeah.

So did thor (and he did some damage to Thanos too).

[The Walrus]

I mean she did go Super Saiyan and also floated in literal space without a helmet. But yeah.

So did thor (and he did some damage to Thanos too).

Oh yeah. D'oh.

[Jay T]

I enjoyed it pretty well, and it was certainly better than I thought it'd be. Fury was my favorite character of the film.

[ariich]

I kinda of resent the narrative I see in the vast majority of articles about CM saying that the box office numbers now finally PROVE that people will turn out for a female led movie.  I don't think that any but a small minority needed any "proof."  Sure, there is a small vocal minority that will hate on any female led movie and try to write it off as radical feminism.  And sure, there is a vocal minority on the other side that screams that we "need" female-led movies because girls can't possibly look at guys as positive role models.  But in the middle, I think the vast majority of us just want a good movie and could not care less whether the primary protagonist is a man or a woman.  We'll go see it because the MCU continues to gain momentum by putting out fun movies that, 21 films in, continue to weave together as part of a huge tapestry.  And we'll enjoy it, not because CM is a woman, but because it's a good film.  I think it insults the integrity of Larson's performance and insults the intelligence of most moviegoers to make it about her being a woman rather than the movie being a good movie.

/rant

As I understand it, the proof isn't for audiences but for film studio execs who have typically been reluctant to invest in big budget female-led films on the basis that they wouldn't attract such big audiences. I agree that the general public (notwithstanding a minority of trolls) know this already but studio execs are still catching up.

[Adami]

Continuing my re-watch, just did Iron Man last night.

What a fantastic movie. I forgot how charming Jeff Bridges was before he went all crazy villain at the end.

Also it's amazing how tight and well made this movie is, considering they were making it up as they went and didn't even have a finished script.

[bosk1]

I kinda of resent the narrative I see in the vast majority of articles about CM saying that the box office numbers now finally PROVE that people will turn out for a female led movie.  I don't think that any but a small minority needed any "proof."  Sure, there is a small vocal minority that will hate on any female led movie and try to write it off as radical feminism.  And sure, there is a vocal minority on the other side that screams that we "need" female-led movies because girls can't possibly look at guys as positive role models.  But in the middle, I think the vast majority of us just want a good movie and could not care less whether the primary protagonist is a man or a woman.  We'll go see it because the MCU continues to gain momentum by putting out fun movies that, 21 films in, continue to weave together as part of a huge tapestry.  And we'll enjoy it, not because CM is a woman, but because it's a good film.  I think it insults the integrity of Larson's performance and insults the intelligence of most moviegoers to make it about her being a woman rather than the movie being a good movie.

/rant

As I understand it, the proof isn't for audiences but for film studio execs who have typically been reluctant to invest in big budget female-led films on the basis that they wouldn't attract such big audiences. I agree that the general public (notwithstanding a minority of trolls) know this already but studio execs are still catching up.

OK, but studio execs aren't some alien species from another planet.  They are human too and should know what the rest of us know, which is that we don't care.  Give us a good film, and we don't care if the star is man, woman, or cat.

[King Postwhore]

I kinda of resent the narrative I see in the vast majority of articles about CM saying that the box office numbers now finally PROVE that people will turn out for a female led movie.  I don't think that any but a small minority needed any "proof."  Sure, there is a small vocal minority that will hate on any female led movie and try to write it off as radical feminism.  And sure, there is a vocal minority on the other side that screams that we "need" female-led movies because girls can't possibly look at guys as positive role models.  But in the middle, I think the vast majority of us just want a good movie and could not care less whether the primary protagonist is a man or a woman.  We'll go see it because the MCU continues to gain momentum by putting out fun movies that, 21 films in, continue to weave together as part of a huge tapestry.  And we'll enjoy it, not because CM is a woman, but because it's a good film.  I think it insults the integrity of Larson's performance and insults the intelligence of most moviegoers to make it about her being a woman rather than the movie being a good movie.

/rant

As I understand it, the proof isn't for audiences but for film studio execs who have typically been reluctant to invest in big budget female-led films on the basis that they wouldn't attract such big audiences. I agree that the general public (notwithstanding a minority of trolls) know this already but studio execs are still catching up.

OK, but studio execs aren't some alien species from another planet.  They are human too and should know what the rest of us know, which is that we don't care.  Give us a good film, and we don't care if the star is man, woman, or Raccoon.

FTFY 

[Adami]

I kinda of resent the narrative I see in the vast majority of articles about CM saying that the box office numbers now finally PROVE that people will turn out for a female led movie.  I don't think that any but a small minority needed any "proof."  Sure, there is a small vocal minority that will hate on any female led movie and try to write it off as radical feminism.  And sure, there is a vocal minority on the other side that screams that we "need" female-led movies because girls can't possibly look at guys as positive role models.  But in the middle, I think the vast majority of us just want a good movie and could not care less whether the primary protagonist is a man or a woman.  We'll go see it because the MCU continues to gain momentum by putting out fun movies that, 21 films in, continue to weave together as part of a huge tapestry.  And we'll enjoy it, not because CM is a woman, but because it's a good film.  I think it insults the integrity of Larson's performance and insults the intelligence of most moviegoers to make it about her being a woman rather than the movie being a good movie.

/rant

As I understand it, the proof isn't for audiences but for film studio execs who have typically been reluctant to invest in big budget female-led films on the basis that they wouldn't attract such big audiences. I agree that the general public (notwithstanding a minority of trolls) know this already but studio execs are still catching up.

OK, but studio execs aren't some alien species from another planet.  They are human too and should know what the rest of us know, which is that we don't care.  Give us a good film, and we don't care if the star is man, woman, or cat.

Agreed, sadly it's been on record that, in the past, they did not feel that way. Glad they are moving away from that.