So last night was my rewatch of Multiverse of Madness.
Yea...it's...not good. And I think it's the most frustrating MCU movie for me. I actually might consider this the most unintentionally dumb MCU movie ever (though I can stand to be corrected). Other MCU movies have been worse, or more boring, or whatever, and some (like Love and Thunder) are much much dumber, but intentionally so.
But this movie? It has so many amazing ideas and moments sprinkled throughout. So let's start with those, off the top of my head.
1) America Chavez is just super likeable. While there isn't really much to her character, her powers are inventive and unique, and the actress portraying her is doing a fantastic job and is oozing charisma. I'd love to see her and Ms. Marvel team up.
2) The entire intro until he goes to see Wanda is actually well done and a lot of fun. It has some good character set up (which was sadly ignored until the end) and really gave us the only look into where Dr. Strange is as a character. Plus the action was well done (even if the monsters themselves were meh) and the humor was on point.
3) The 10 second multiverse scene really should've been most of the movie, but it was a great 10 seconds.
4) Aspects of the Illuminati were cool. Loved seeing Captain Carter, the return of Black Bolt (not his demise, that's on the next list), obviously neat seeing Charles, and I loved the idea of how they handled Captain Marvel.
5) Elizabeth Olson is just so god damn good. While I did not like what they did with her character, she still brought her A game and sold a bad character insanely well.
6) Other really cool moments like the cloak of demons, the music fight, etc. all great
7) WONG!
Now....there's probably more, but that's all I can really come up with that isn't a tiny aspect. However, the movie is just a huge mess.
1) The script is bad. It's just bad,. Not 100% of it, by any stretch, but enough that I consider it (as I said above) the unintentionally dumbest MCU movie to date.
2) Wanda's turn from 1-11 all happened off screen. Can I buy that Wanda was corrupted by the Dark Hold and turned her into a villain? Sure. In abstract. But from a story telling perspective, it's poorly done. The last time we see Wanda, she sacrificed her happy life and children because she was healing from her trauma and better able to accept reality, as harsh as it was for her. Then blah blah happens off screen and she's willing to murder ANYONE in the most brutal fashion, and torture people, to get her kids back. Not buying it. Maybe if they had shown that development over the course of a few movies/shows? But not like this.
3) There's a scene where she takes control of America and can control her portals...............JUST DO THAT! If you so desperately want to go to a universe where you have kids (and I guess plan on killing that Wanda, or better yet, finding one where they lost their mom) then just briefly take control of America, open up that portal, and move on through. But no, she has to go full Hitler mode.
4) Dr. Strange just has no real arc or growth other than the bookend. Starts off with "are you happy?" and then ignores it the whole movie, and then ends with "...maybe?" I dunno. It wasn't super clear. He was mostly just present for the movie, not doing a ton.
5) The humor during the Illuminati scene was just poorly done. No way is Strange THAT jokey in that moment.
6) No way the Illuminati is THAT dumb and arrogant. "Oh we can handle your little witch" Oh? Can you? Not even to mention how they all died. But the dumbest? Tie between Mordo and Reed. Reed's stupidity has been discussed, but Mordo? He's gonna sit there and wait till the dead people return to cast their vote? REALLY?!? He's going to put his (newly found) hatred of Strange above all? ALSO THE DUDE CAN"T GET OUT OF THAT LITTLE PIT?!?
7) Yea, the Illuminati stuff was just me rolling my eyes for for 5-10 minutes straight. I've just never seen such a colossal train wreck in the MCU to my memory. All that potential. Wasted.
Eh, I mean that list can go on and on. America's tragedy is a bee sting? There's a god damn exposition company to show us the necessary memories for free while talking about how they charge? The chick who stabbed the dark hold couldn't stab a vulnerable and incapacitated Wanda instead? The Dark hold is a copy and though no one can possibly go there, Wong just kind of goes there no problem? Eh, it's annoying me just thinking about it.
I loved the directing, the acting, etc. But the god damn writing. I retract my statement that editing would've helped. They needed 2-3 re-writes by better writers. The movie just lacked focus or had any idea what it wanted to be and felt like it was in a hurry to end itself.
Ugh.
Well since Thor 4 isn't on streaming/DVD yet, that concludes my phase 4 movie rewatch for now. Half good (Spider-Man and Shang Chi), a quarter bad/boring (Eternals) and a quarter dumb as all hell (MoM).
I have high hopes for Wakanda Forever though. So much so that I'm making sure my fiancée go see it a few days before our wedding, despite all the work we need to do.
Topic: Marvel Cinematic Universe thread v3 (no recent spoilers) (Read 70903 times)
