 Marvel/Disney, 2025. Things have never been worse for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as so-called "superhero fatigue" has seemingly taken over the moviegoing audience. That is, until earlier this month when rival DC Studios rejuvenated the box office with James Gunn's take on "Superman," a movie that has gotten raves from critics and audiences alike, and has grossed (at the time of this writing) nearly half a billion dollars at the box office.
Maybe it wasn't "superhero fatigue," but Marvel burnout instead? With the odds stacked against them, Marvel relies on one of their oldest superhero groups to finally right the ship...and wouldn't you know, the Fantastic Four save the day.
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 Marvel Studios/Disney, 2025. There's little question that "Thunderbolts*" is one of the better Marvel films of the past few years...but that's a very low bar to clear.
Taking a cue from the legendary film critic Roger Ebert, all movies should be judged "relative to genre," meaning we shouldn't, say, put "The Minecraft Movie" on the same grading scale as "The Godfather." With that in mind, "Thunderbolts*" may feel a bit more inspired than recent Marvel movies. But even accepting it for what it is - a teen-targeted superhero team movie - any praise quickly crumbles when you hold up against nearly any other film in the same category. I'll explain.  Marvel Studios, 2023. Despite my first-ever job being in a comic book store, I am by no means a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) slappy. Don't believe me? I gave less-than stellar reviews of each of the last three installments - "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," "Thor: Love and Thunder" and "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."
And with "Ant-Man" in particular, I haven't necessarily been a fan (read my reviews of the first "Ant-Man" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" here). That's why I'm happy - more like pleasantly surprised - to report that I really liked "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," the 31st MCU film overall and the first of the so-called "Phase Five" of Marvel movies. There has been a huge void in the "quality" department ever since "Avengers: End Game" wrapped up the Thanos saga in 2019. Sure, the pandemic had something to do with the MCU feeling completely stalled out in recent years, but it isn't an excuse that makes up for the mediocrity we've been served up - with a few exceptions - over the past few years. And this newest movie is imperfect to be sure, but FINALLY - after years of subpar films and countless Marvel series on Disney+ since 2019 - the MCU finally gets some forward traction, with one of it's most compelling villains yet, Kang the Conqueror. And suddenly, I'm interested again in where the MCU is headed. ***Mild Spoilers Ahead - Read With Caution!*** |
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