Tag: MCU

  • Spider-Man: Brand New Day

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day

    5 outta 5 Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the 4th Spider-Man film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is probably more of a character drama than previous MCU Spider-Man movies. Considering that Homecoming is a high school coming-of-age comedy, Far From Home is a full-on sitcom road trip movie and No Way Home is a…

  • Spider-Man: Far From Home (’19 review)

    Spider-Man: Far From Home (’19 review)

    4 outta 5 Spider-Man: Far From Home is technically the 8th Spider-Man film (or 9th, give or take a Venom) and Far From Home proves he is still a viable character. By film rights owner Sony lending the character to Marvel Studios, it has allowed Spider-Man to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

  • Spider-Man: Homecoming (’17 review)

    Spider-Man: Homecoming (’17 review)

    4 outta 5 There have been numerous attempts at Spider-Man since 2002. After diminishing returns on the (unjustly maligned) The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Sony, who holds the movie rights to Spider-Man, came to an agreement with Marvel to restart the character (again) and integrate him into the creatively fertile, and mega box office earning, Marvel…

  • Iron Man Three (2013 review)

    Iron Man Three (2013 review)

    4 outta 5 The thing with Marvel’s The Avengers was that it was an uber-superhero movie that blew the genre wide open by being 6 superhero flicks. Iron Man 3 is singular but ambitious since this is kind of indie action thriller with flying robot suits.  At times the movie’s determination to strip Iron Man…

  • Fantastic Four: First Steps

    Fantastic Four: First Steps

    5 outta 5 After three 20th Century Fox movies and one buried Roger Corman film, the 4th version of Marvel’s First Family in Fantastic Four: First Steps absolutely nails it. It is fairly disconnected from the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (despite that teaser at the end of Thunderbolts*) and has its own unique vibe. This…

  • Fant4stic (2015 review)

    Fant4stic (2015 review)

    2 outta 5 In the long, long ago of the early 1990s, there was a movie called The Fantastic Four that was made simply so a studio could hang onto the license.  Now history repeats itself.  The primary reason the most recent Fantastic Four film exists is so another movie studio, 20th Century Fox, can…

  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (’07 review)

    Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (’07 review)

    1 outta 5 When I sat down to watch Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I thought “Okay, Director Tim Story, try and wow me.”  This was a cynical response to having suffered through the original Fantastic Four movie.  However, shockingly, the opening of this sequel immediately wowed me.  The first shot involves a…

  • Thunderbolts*

    Thunderbolts*

    4 outta 5 Thunderbolts* is a sturdy entry into the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it works surprisingly well as a standalone adventure, which is quite the trick as it’s part of an ongoing saga and a significant chunk of characters here were introduced in Disney Plus exclusive releases. It is also funny and madcap…

  • Captain America: Brave New World

    Captain America: Brave New World

    4 outta 5 Captain America: Brave New World is the 4th Captain America movie, coming almost 9 years after the superlative Captain America: Civil War, with this one featuring a new character as Cap. The trade was in Avengers: Endgame, when Steve Rogers gave Sam Wilson the shield, so probably everyone knows why Sam is…

  • Eternals (2021 review)

    Eternals (2021 review)

    3 outta 5 Newly minted best picture writer/director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) is the latest filmmaker to take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Eternals. The MCU has always mashed up different genres with a superhero twist and Eternals turns out to be the MCU’s attempt at a picturesque art-house indie with a lush visual tapestry…