Current Events > Biscuit watches, briefly reviews, and eventually ranks the MCU *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

No MCU movie is below a 6. Even though they have some problems or are meh, they're not bad. Thor 2 and Iron Man 2 are at the bottom of my list, so you got a whole buncha good ahead of ya.
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Mr_Biscuit posted...

P.S. Was that a boxed up Aether at the end? Think thats the first mention of infinity stones, cool to hear the Tesseract is one too. If the Aether is basically an infinity stone, Im... confused but intrigued.

Simple answer is yes.
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GameGodOfAll posted...

No MCU movie is below a 6. Thor 2 and Iron Man 2 are at the bottom of my list, so you got a whole buncha good ahead of ya.

Noice

IM2 is still probably bottom for me. Itd be a little higher if you couldnt get everything good about it in better movies (1 and 3). I do think I liked Dark World a little better than Thor 1 though. Both are on the lower end.
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What's next?
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I think Winter Soldier is right after Thor 2
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DarthAragorn posted...

I think Winter Soldier is right after Thor 2

oh baby
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Yup. Winter Solider and then Guardians.
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Congrats shred, you made it through what is essentially the Breaking Bad seasons 1 and 2 of the MCU. Thor 2 is the launching point for the rest of the series with how they hide the Aether the reality stone with the Collector. Everything else from here on out matters in the grand scheme of things. I'd say that Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange are maaaaaybe the weakest remaining entries, but like above posters mentioned, they're all still really good.
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Von_Miller posted...

I'd say that Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange are maaaaaybe the weakest remaining entries

Yeah and the lowest of any of these is like a 7.5/10 lmfao

it's all uphill from here
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Damn

You guys are getting me hyped. Thats crazy to think that what Ive been watching is the least impressive stuff.

WS tonight, probably
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Last thing I'd want to see happen is you getting overhyped for WS and the MCU movies that follow, and end up being let down. In my personal experience, I enjoyed Phase 1 well enough, but the movies never really grabbed me and I was losing interest after Avengers 1. Then about a year after WS came out I decided to watch it, having heard such good things about it, and it blessedly surpassed my expectations. That and Guardians of the Galaxy majorly reignited my interest in the MCU, and so far there hasn't been a post-WS movie that's done anything to diminish that feeling.
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I don't think I'll get overhyped just by people saying "oh I love this one," no worries. While I like to analyze films on at least a base level and really get a kick out of discussing them with others, I'm very much not a guy who actively looks for flaws. Hence why, sure, I can see why some of these are weaker than others, but I've still had fun with every one of them.

As a person, I'm generally predisposed to try to enjoy things. Simultaneously, though, I don't think anyone can say anything at this point about Winter Soldier, Infinity War, etc that would overhype me beyond expecting it to be near the top of my list.
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wait so aside from the ones in this watchthrough, which ones have you also already seen?
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Muffinz0rz posted...

wait so aside from the ones in this watchthrough, which ones have you also already seen?

See the OP
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Mr_Biscuit posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

wait so aside from the ones in this watchthrough, which ones have you also already seen?

See the OP

ooo
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Sorry to disappoint you, but Natalie Portman's contract ran out, and that was her last movies. We won't see her again.
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Good topic so far. You've already seen what I consider five of the bottom six movies and still enjoyed them all. The only stinker you have left is Ultron IMO.
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DarkChozoGhost posted...

Sorry to disappoint you, but Natalie Portman's contract ran out, and that was her last movies. We won't see her again.

Damn! Thats a bummer.

Honestly its mostly because shes cute af, though. Not like Jane is such a tremendous presence.
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TheBiggerWiggle posted...

Good topic so far. You've already seen what I consider five of the bottom six movies and still enjoyed them all. The only stinker you have left is Ultron IMO.

which, honestly, IMO, isn't even a stinker. I don't get the hate-boner people have for that one.
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Muffinz0rz posted...

TheBiggerWiggle posted...

Good topic so far. You've already seen what I consider five of the bottom six movies and still enjoyed them all. The only stinker you have left is Ultron IMO.

which, honestly, IMO, isn't even a stinker. I don't get the hate-boner people have for that one.

If nothing else, Age of Ultron introduces us to Vision, Scarlet Witch and Klaue (AKA Klaw).
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People LOVE to hate on AoU. It became cool to do at some point. I think it's great. It's got problems but the highs are quite high. It's really good.
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I know that it's an unpopular opinion, but I prefer AoU to the original Avengers
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AoU kinda undermines the impact of IM3 and I don't like what they did with Natasha. But the juxtaposition of their camaraderie compared to how splintered they are in Civil War is really good.
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I like reading this.

Tag
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boxington posted...

I know that it's an unpopular opinion, but I prefer AoU to the original Avengers

Objectively I recognize that A1 is a better put-together movie, but personally I too prefer AoU. I think it's simply the fact that they're past the getting-to-know-you phase that puts AoU above A1 for me.

A lot of people rode the hype train and were disappointed, but the biggest criticisms seem to be Ultron's portrayal and the Hulk-Widow romance; I actually quite like Ultron and the fact that he's basically an internet troll run amok, and am pretty indifferent towards the romance.
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Regarding Ultron (and some talk regarding Thanos):

People wanted him to be the super serious deadly threat to humanity. Instead they got a villain that was a spin off of Tony's personality. He was still menacing, but was not the be all end all. He couldn't be that because that was Thanos. Ultron was a fine antagonist for the Avengers and if people got what they wanted out of him it would have lessened Thanos' importance.
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Must

Not

Read

Spoiler bars
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Be strong. Just revisit them when you're done.
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James Spader KILLS it as Ultron
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Winter Soldier time
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Nice. I wont spoil too much but it feels like a spy thriller set in the MCU.
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Probably what I loved about Winter Soldier the most is how it managed to take Captain America and modernize him and his place in the MCU without forgetting his past.
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Well, damn. That was really, really good. Going in, I was a little worried that my general pop culture awareness that the Winter Soldier was Bucky would ruin it for me a little bit, but honestly, that was far from what truly made this movie great anyway.

So much about this movie works. I think the biggest thing that jumps out to me is that it dips a toe in Bioshock-esque waters regarding questioning who we implicitly trust and why, although its less blatant about it. It is amazing how we can hear Fury describe Insight and think okay, a little extreme but I get it, and then when we hear a villain describe exactly the same thing, its obvious world domination villainy. The same goes for the Senator describing how sometimes you have to burn the old world down a little bit to let the new world grow; you understand what hes saying when you think hes a good guy, and its Evil Nazi-speak when hes a bad guy. Really quite brilliant, and it mostly works because Hydra has evolved from zombie nazis to hey, things sure would be cleaner if we just eliminated everyone who would oppose a world order. One big purge and then peace and prosperity for ages. It almost makes sense, pragmatically, as monstrous as it is. Beyond that, it was really fascinating to watch Fury preach to Cap about living in the real world and not trusting everyone, immediately before being duped himself. Definitely the most thought-provoking MCU film so far.

I was also a little surprised to see Hydra resurface as having infiltrated SHIELD, but outright stunned by the ultimate decision that it was beyond saving and to burn the whole thing down. I really thought SHIELD and Fury at the helm would be a franchise staple, and its awesome, bold, and surprising to shift course so radically, demolish SHIELD, and establish Hydra as a potential overarching Big Bad. I had a suspicion Fury had faked his death, but I was even more glad to see it because Fury dying as SHIELD is dismantled would be super easy. Its more intriguing to see what his character does without the agency.

I love digging deep on this stuff, but I also just gotta say, holy SHIT were the action sequences in this movie spectacular. Just breathtaking. @Von_Miller had mentioned wondering if a certain scene would catch my eye, and Im not sure which he was referring to because there was a goddamned surplus of eye candy. The boat scene in the beginning, the elevator fight, Furys car chase, Cap demolishing the plane and flipping over it, literally everything Falcon does, ugh, just SO much stuff that was incredibly fun to watch. Theyve done an amazing job making Caps shield so freaking satisfying with every thud, reverberation, and ricochet. Its an audiovisual feast. Not to mention how visceral and crunchy every fight with Bucky was. You could feel that shit. I could gush for hours.

Speaking of, lets talk Bucky. Like I mentioned, I knew it was him unfortunately, but that barely impacted me. The thought of him being an assassin on ice for 50+ years is haunting, and the implication that he also may have killed Tonys parents is really alarming and I hope that is explored. Either way, its a fun element to inject into the universe, and the ultimate Im with you to the end of the line (or whatever it is) was heartbreaking. Cant wait for more of that. Special shoutout to his terrifying music cues. Really disturbing.

Okay, critiques... umm, Ill try. I still dont honestly love Natasha, though she got a little more depth in this movie, which was welcome. The Nazi scientist in the computer was effectively creepy but a little goofy. I wasnt totally sure where Natasha got face-impersonating tech, but I can let that go. Thats... kinda it. Damn. This was really good.

I almost forgot Alzheimers Peggy. That was heartbreaking. Hope we see more of her, I wish wed gotten a little more.

Whew.
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Damn, now you got me wanting to rewatch WS. Also if you want more Peggy watch Agent Carter.
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Mr_Biscuit posted...

The thought of him being an assassin on ice for 50+ years is haunting, and the implication that he also may have killed Tonys parents is really alarming and I hope that is explored.

........
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_MorningStar posted...

Mr_Biscuit posted...

The thought of him being an assassin on ice for 50+ years is haunting, and the implication that he also may have killed Tonys parents is really alarming and I hope that is explored.

........

...good
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Just caught up reading these, thanks for doing this TC!

One question -- are you being sure to catch the mid- and post-credits scenes? (Sometimes there are both I think.) These started out just as fun easter eggs and things for the comic book fans, but they started to actually put in some exposition in them, so they're important for linking things together.

I would recommend checking those out if you haven't. Anyway, Tag...This is fun! My girlfriend and I actually did this over the course of a few months. We started with Iron Man 1 on the first Sunday of this year, and watched one per week (more or less) until the release of Avengers IW.

It was mostly a review for me since I've already watched them, mostly in theaters, but it was definitely a worthwhile endeavour to do so.
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Yeah, Ive been watching the credits stuff
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The elevator scene is trash
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Von_Miller posted...

The elevator scene is trash

Literally a wrong opinion.
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Von_Miller posted...

The elevator scene is trash

One of the best scenes in the movie boy hush
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@Von_Miller posted...

The elevator scene is trash

1) garb opinion... but why
2) What scene were you hoping Id catch?
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That one!

And to everyone who thinks its good, go watch John Wick and see how cqc choreography should look on screen. Too many quick cuts hide the fact that hits arent really landing; its jarring and disorientating.
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Anyway, WS is the best MCU movie by a mile but my major gripe was that after Fury is shown to be not dead afterall the movie reverts to a generic action flick.
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This topic reminds me I need to get off my ass and watch Cap 1, Ant-Man and both GotG's already. Meant to do it before Infinity War, but never got around to it.
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Anyway, youre on to GotG, right? Get ready for a breath of fresh air. Plus youre a music guy so you might really enjoy it
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Mr_Biscuit posted...

I almost forgot Alzheimers Peggy. That was heartbreaking. Hope we see more of her, I wish wed gotten a little more.

She's done with the movies. She had 2 seasons if her own show though that I think is among The stronger MCU material about how she rose from an agent in the 50s to creating SHIELD.

Here's a trailer though I'll be surprised if you actually dive into it. Debuted in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VZRbNAajII" data-time="

And here's a 15 minute one time thing she did before she got her own show, circa 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZIThEI-52I" data-time="
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Von_Miller posted...

That one!

And to everyone who thinks its good, go watch John Wick and see how cqc choreography should look on screen. Too many quick cuts hide the fact that hits arent really landing; its jarring and disorientating.

Ah, ok. I was thinking I was looking out for something good, not something bad.
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And yes Id heard of Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD but Im not super likely to do either. All these movies are enough of an undertaking.
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