anyone worried for the future of the Marvel movies?

[The Laughing Fish]

A writer on YouTube uploaded this video on how Wonder Woman embraced pathos perfectly, while Marvel's latest films have gone opposite - full on bathos.

Totally spot on about uneven tone in Civil War's airport scene. Sums up the trend with Marvel lately rather well, although I do enjoy Doctor Strange.

[riddler]

I'd rather both franchises do their own thing independently rather than copy each other. Marvel wont be copying DC too heavily, they feel they are further ahead with their shared universe and I'm pleased to see DC not doing the same. There's plenty of precedence that what DC is doing could work out;
-several superhero films have started out without an origin story and our hero already suited up. The incredible hulk did it, our beloved Batman did it, marvel is now doing it with spider-man.
-in cases of characters who showed up in ensemble films prior to solo films, it helps thinking of the solo film as a spin-off than a sequel to the ensemble film. -eventually after a few years the order the films came out wont matter. Once you own them at home you can watch them in any order you want, so far the only major continuity established is that BvS is a sequel to MOS but otherwise you could watch the 4 in existence in any order you like. I'm sure eventually I will be watching Wonder Woman before BvS and likely end with the JLA. The great thing about wonder woman is that because most of it takes place before Batman vs superman, you could watch the two in either order. Both add on to plot points established in the other
-one advantage DC has over Marvel is that Batman, superman, the flash, and green lantern are established enough that they don't need extensive origin stories. Marvel did take advantage of that for the two characters they do have whos backstories are well established within pop culture (Hulk and spidey)

[The Laughing Fish]

Taika Waititi said the other week that he never liked or read anything about Thor, he directed the films for the money. I'm not surprised, a couple of years ago he swore that he would "destroy the Thor mythos" on social media. He already did that, from what I could tell of Ragnarok, but it seems many people said he went too far with Love and Thunder.

I reckon it's a damn shame that the original movie directed by Kenneth Branagh isn't held in higher regard. I'm not saying it's a masterpiece, but it had that classic hero's journey about an arrogant heir to the throne being banished and stripped of everything to live as a mortal to learn humility. It was a good introduction to Loki, where his sense of jealousy led him to become the manipulative villain he's known for. You look at that scene where Odin tells Loki he was Laufey's son and was adopted as one of Odin's children, and you don't often get to see such tension and emotion in the MCU nowadays, with some exceptions. Even the humour was done much better as a fish-out-of-water scenario which contrasted the more serious moments on Asgard.

Sadly, that wasn't enough for the mainstream crowd, Thor was deemed "too boring" until they got that stupid Ragnarok nonsense. Well, the jokes on them, because even Hemsworth went on record saying they went too far with Love and Thunder and would only come back for a fifth film if it did something different. But I think the damage has already been done. After The Marvels bombing even harder than The Flash, Disney surely has to reconsider plans for unmade MCU projects going forward. Sadly, I think the first movie by Branagh is as good as we'll ever get for this character. The same can be said for the vast majority of the MCU films. First film tends to be good, and then it's diminishing returns afterwards.

[thecolorsblend]

Thor was never one of the MCU's big hitters. None of those films ever even came close to $1 billion. And Ragnarok arguably only did as well as it did because it was known to be the direct lead-in for Infinity War. But even that one fell $135 million short of the billion dollar mark. Aside from Ragnarok, Thor has always been a fair to middlin' MCU series.

Personally, I think if Love & Thunder had come out this year, it would be listed among the other MCU flops. Maybe not as bad as The Marvels or Dr. Strange. But still a pretty big thud.

[The Joker]

Thor was deemed "too boring" until they got that stupid Ragnarok nonsense.  Sadly, I think the first movie by Branagh is as good as we'll ever get for this character.

I think the same with Captain America. With the 2011 "First Avenger" film being the best out of the bunch thanks in large part to Johnston's directorial efforts with a period piece set during WW2. The second one gets much praise, but I personally don't find it very rewatchable, and the third one feels more like Avengers 2.1 than a sequel rounding out a trilogy at the time.

Course, I think Cap as a character sincerely needs a reboot, along with a new actor to get a fresh spin out of the Captain America character and property, but that's me.

[The Dark Knight]

Marvel and DC are overexposed and boring, but cinema in general is on the nose with lacklustre offerings and box office earnings. I was somewhat looking forward to seeing Napoleon, but as the release date neared my enthusiasm all but vanished. I just couldn't be bothered, and by all accounts the movie wasn't worth seeing anyway. Cinema has become something that continues because it's expected to, not because it has anything meaningful to say. It's going through the motions, treading water before it gets sucked down a whirlpool.

The Marvel franchise needs a good rest and once enough time has passed go for a hard reboot. If James Bond gets a solid casting I think it's on track to again outlast the field and continue its longevity by doing just that. Have a good break, create real hunger for more and then launch with energy and excitement similar to 2006's Casino Royale. Think hard about what you're going to do and only move forward when there's genuine enthusiasm to do so. Outlining huge film slates like Marvel and DC can't help but make each film feel less special and like a chore. Brazen pyramid scheme attempts at grabbing cash that come and go.

I'm seriously wondering what film in the next couple of years will be considered a real event that sends shockwaves through the general public, and I can't think of any. To tell you the truth, I'm more interested in reading and music right now. Artists like Cobain who sing with pain in their voice and express something real. Cinema needs that same energy but it's completely lacking. I can't see it returning for a good while either, and the current crop of actors just don't do anything for me.