Marvel Media (Spoiler Thread)

Super curious how Shang Chi does in theaters. I think I would have actually spent the 30 bucks to watch it on Disney Plus, but if the box office numbers aren't great and they cave and release it on streaming in say two weeks, I probably wont be willing to pay half that.

Sorbicol wrote:

f*ck me that last episode of What If is really dark.

Rat Boy wrote:

More like Marvel's What If Cartoons Made You Feel Sad.

This and this.

Brizahd wrote:

So did he turn that universe into a purple power stone?

Also maybe instead of changing his reality he should have jumped into one where she didn’t die?

Looks like.

And the Watcher said that the first time he talked to us, and Strange thought he heard something. Said what he should really be doing was something else but that the Watcher needed to protect all other realities. Imagine if this unhinged Strange went and stole a Christine...

Also for Strange What If, this is the first episode they got everyone back from their MCU roles. Yes everyone, even Leslie Bibb from Iron Man. She did a few lines as reporter Christine Everhart, in the montage of failed attempts. Awesome.

And I see why every one wanted to sign on for that one. Wow.

Badferret wrote:

Super curious how Shang Chi does in theaters. I think I would have actually spent the 30 bucks to watch it on Disney Plus, but if the box office numbers aren't great and they cave and release it on streaming in say two weeks, I probably wont be willing to pay half that.

My wife really wanted to see Black Widow in a theater, so we did. But neither of has much interest in Shang Chi, so we’re going to wait the 45 days and watch it at home later next month. Not sure if we’re losing interest in the next phase of movies, being careful of Corovirus, or are spoiled by Disney+.

Probably a bit of all three.

My youngest son (17) and I saw Shang-Chi last night and really enjoyed it. I'd place it quite high among Marvel movies, better than most of the next phase films. It's a mystical fantasy along the lines of the original Thor, with world-threatening high stakes. It raises new questions about dimensions and the multi-verse, and promises more interesting stories to be told.

The fight scenes evoke Jackie Chan in the city and Crouching Tiger in the village of Ta Lo, especially when Michelle Yeoh shows up to steal the show. The acting, action, and humor were all well-done and the cinematography was gorgeous. We felt well-rewarded at the conclusion.

Missed opportunity: Showing Danny Rand/Iron Fist in the martial arts tournament. Poor Danny will likely never see screen time again after Shang-Chi is recognized as the clearly-superior martial arts character and story.

My only complaints are you can tell much of the movie is on a couple contained sets and they go way overkill on the chi for the later part of the movie.
But it also comes with one of the best sort of twists Marvel has ever done.

He's actually a ghost only the boy can see?

I really really liked Shang-Chi. Awkwafina was funny as hell. Her chemistry with Simu Liu was tangible and fun.

JLS wrote:

Missed opportunity: Showing Danny Rand/Iron Fist in the martial arts tournament. Poor Danny will likely never see screen time again after Shang-Chi is recognized as the clearly-superior martial arts character and story.

They might if they recast him with an actor that shows up for fight and stunt training.

Liked Shang-Chi. Solidly mid-tier Marvel for me, which is decidedly not a bad thing. Maybe a bit more fun than Black Widow, which I also had as mid-tier.

Almost wished it has kept the conflict at street level through the first film, and kept the Tao Lo realm to the future. But at this point in the MCU, I'm feeling like they're having to power up these new characters fairly quickly to support the overall MCU world. They need Shang-Chi ready to fight at the Avenger level sooner rather than later.

Part of the reason for my preference for the street level fights is that I really liked the choreography and stunts of the first couple of fights. Shame the stunt coordinator (Brad Allen) died after the film.

I loved the Bus Boy nickname that came from the bus fight, because why wouldn't that stream go viral. And the Trevor Planet of the Apes gag was great.

I feel like they missed somehow with Shang-Chi's sister Xialing. Don't know if it was the actor or the writing, but she didn't bring much personality. I think I'm contrasting the character to Shuri.

Just like being able to see these big movies on the IMAX again.

Just got back from Shang-Chi and loved it. I liked it far more than anything since probably Ragnarok. Probably because this felt smaller in scale.

If they can keep up this level of quality I will be their customer forever.

Shang Chi was crazypants good. Not that the MCU ever felt "restrained" exactly, but I just love how much more off-the-leash they're willing to be with their comic book bullsh*t post-Snap. This is 100% a comic book universe now, it no longer has to bother trying to be like the real world for verisimilitude purposes. Yes, there is an underground superhuman fighting ring and yes, Wong sometimes fights a giant lizard-person there. Do you want an explanation for that, or do you want to see Wong fight a giant lizard-person? Okay, good, me too. Glad we're on the same page.

This is one of those movies where you get the sense that everyone working on it was having fun, and that's infectious.

hbi2k wrote:

Yes, there is an underground superhuman fighting ring and yes, Wong sometimes fights a giant lizard-person there. Do you want an explanation for that, or do you want to see Wong fight a giant lizard-person? Okay, good, me too. Glad we're on the same page.

That's been confirmed as the Abomination from Hulk by Feige.

Wong fights Abomination? Oh damn now I have to see this.

Stele wrote:

Wong fights Abomination? Oh damn now I have to see this.

There was a bit of it the trailers.

Also I was more annoyed they didn't explain it more. No one noticed Abomination is not in the Raft or wherever?
I did like how the two of them seemed friendly as competitors.

lunchbox12682 wrote:

Also I was more annoyed they didn't explain it more. No one noticed Abomination is not in the Raft or wherever?

If you take Agents of SHIELD as cannon, Abomination was actually being held in a SHIELD facility in Alaska. Presumably he was released/escaped somewhere in the mess after Winter Solder.

lunchbox12682 wrote:

Also I was more annoyed they didn't explain it more. No one noticed Abomination is not in the Raft or wherever?
I did like how the two of them seemed friendly as competitors.

I thought the room they jumped back into looked like a cell of some type. Or am I misremembering?

Anyway, I think Tim Roth is confirmed for She-Hulk.

I imagine a lot of things changed after half the population blipped and then blipped back down the road.

karmajay wrote:

I imagine a lot of things changed after half the population blipped and then blipped back down the road.

Que the Eternals.

Hmmmm. What If…. has certainly taken a real change of direction the last couple of episodes. Another really dark show, although this time with a slightly more ambivalent ending.

I’m not saying the last two episodes haven’t been good but I really hope the next one lightens the mood a little.

Sorbicol wrote:

Hmmmm. What If…. has certainly taken a real change of direction the last couple of episodes. Another really dark show, although this time with a slightly more ambivalent ending.

I’m not saying the last two episodes haven’t been good but I really hope the next one lightens the mood a little.

This was the 1st time where the ending felt abrupt to me.

The bus scene in Shang Chi

Rat Boy wrote:

More like Marvel's What If Cartoons Made You Feel Sad.

AGAIN.

It was pretty common in the What if? comic for the stories to tell a bleaker version of the original.

Yeah who wants to believe that our timeline is the dark one and that a better one would have happened if just a couple things had been different?

So Vision's love for Wanda goes evil just like Wanda's love for Vision did in WandaVision.

Wanda enslaved people to bring Vision back.
Vision fed former allies to Wanda to keep her alive in a zombie state.

Most Selfish. Couple. Ever.

The last 2 episodes were super dark and really good. More like this please.

Agent 86 wrote:

It was pretty common in the What if? comic for the stories to tell a bleaker version of the original.

That is what I always loved about those. They were pretty dang dark. It was a breath of fresh air to see some really bleak, upsetting, Twilight Zone-style stories.

MannishBoy wrote:

Wanda enslaved people to bring Vision back.

But MannishBoy, they'll never know what she sacrificed.

They'll never know.

What she sacrificed.

Never.