X-Men 13: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
With the buyout of Fox by Disney, who also has already acquired Marvel, Deadpool and the X-Men franchise has officially merged into the Avengers universe, to the point that it is the source of several pointed comments in the film and we even see Deadpool actively trying to join the Avengers. Of course, being a Deadpool film, there's a high level of comedy, though the crudeness and profanity levels have gone up in this sequel from previous iterations, along with the level of gore seen in the fight scenes. What plays well though, is this merger with Wolverine, especially as both have regenerative abilities so they are much harder to kill, and both have a rather crude sense of humor. This may also be the closest to an in depth level of the multiverse that we've seen in live action so far, or may see to date, with the entrance of so many Deadpools (similar to the Spider-Man headquarters in Across the Spider-Verse). An additional nice touch, aside from many of the characters being more true to their original comic book creations, was the inclusion of cameos from several past Marvel live-action performers reprising their same roles, including Sabertooth, Toad, Elektra, and even Blade. A nice touch of nostalgia, especially with all of the TVA. Fans that have been around since the early movie days are also of an age they may get an extra kick out of the soundtrack for this film, complete with copying some of the original music video dance moves.
July 27, 2024
X-Men 13: Deadpool & Wolverine
February 24, 2024
Marvel Cinematic Universe 33: Captain Marvel 2 [The Marvels]
MCU 33: Captain Marvel 2 [The Marvels] (2023)
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Nick Fury is rather relaxed in his role with this new space research currently, a far cry from the all black, always armed, and ready for action Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. Carol as usual means well, but doesn't always seem to hit the mark. She's especially a bit of a fish out of water when it comes to family ties and anything outside of her "work" as a superhero, largely due to her own guilt and mixed up emotions. She's forced to face more than a few things she actually can remember about her past when the Kree try to fix their homeland, resulting in literal tears in space. At the same time, Carol's powers are temporarily linked with both Monica's and Kamala's, resulting in more than a little bit of confusion and some forced family reunions. We see some tie ins to the X-Men universe a result of this installment as well, though it's very clear that this is a parallel universe and not the same one, so if more mutants will enter the Avengers current timeline remains to be seen. Monica, for her part, is still very hurt by her mother's death and Carol's disappearance, as this topic comes up frequently throughout the film. Kamala, meanwhile, hero worships Carol to an extreme, even going as far as to copy her alias as Ms. Marvel. They never do seem to come up with what Monica's name would be as a Marvel, especially as she insists she doesn't need one.
August 11, 2023
The Avengers: Storybook Collection
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Honestly thought this would be a bigger hit with the kids just getting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this was one that they were happy for a once through and move on. Stories in this collection include:
1. Hulk SMASH!
2. Black Widow Bites Back!
3. Friend or Foe?
4. Falcon Earns His Wings
5. Party Crashers
6. Battle for Earth!
7. Arctic Attack!
8. Kang - Conqueror of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
9. Call for Backup
10. Hail, Hydra!
11. Attack of Count Nefaria
12. Play Ball!
13. Thor Versus the Avengers
14. Double Take
15. Jurassic Central Park
16. The Avengers' Day Off
17. Undercover Agents
18. What Goes Up Must Come Down
19. An Unexpected Hero
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July 23, 2023
5-Minute: Avengers Stories
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Daybreak
While the other Avengers are referenced briefly, this is largely a showdown between Captain America and the Red Skull, with Nick Fury coordinating the backup and confirming intel.
Small Hero, Big Thrills!
This is a cute story focusing on Ant-Man and how he not only helps the Avengers, but recognizes being a good dad is just as important, if not more so, than being a good hero.
No I in Team
Sometimes a little friendly competition is all fun and games, but at the end of the day, there's nothing that really beats some good teamwork.
Practice Makes Perfect
Tony may be a genius, but that doesn't mean he's perfect - far from it truthfully. What he can say though, is that when it counts, he usually learns from his mistakes and comes out on top.
Dino Time
Messing with time went much better in the MCU. This time they accidentally reintroduce dinosaurs to the current era.... directly into Central Park. Rather than learning to not mess with time however, Tony and Bruce want to dive into a new time experiment. Maybe it's time to let time rest instead of trying to rest themselves.
Not Easy Being Big & Green
In some ways, the Hulk's thought process and responses can be considered childlike. In truth, he really just wants to be a good guy and doesn't like being seen as being mean - except that it can come in really handy when he's working with his friends to beat the bad guys.
Lending a Wing
This short is all about teamwork once again, and perhaps learning a bit of grace. Falcon's original plans may not have panned out exactly as he thought they would, but he really does work with one of the best teams out there.
Calling All Avengers!
Sometimes a changing of the guard can be difficult. In this case though, it's about new recruits learning to fit in with those already out in the field, and those who are out and used to working together learning to trust those they've trained to help them.
Freaky Thor Day
It's said that only those worthy of ruling Asgaard could wield Mjolnir, yet here we have a child tossing around her backpack with it's power as if it's nothing. Tiring, perhaps, but certainly not nearly impossible as implied by Thor in other conversations. Of course Fury wouldn't miss a chance to attempt to recruit a new potential agent either.
Robin Hawk
Hawkeye is feeling a little inferior.... until he accidentally is mistaken for the infamous Robin Hood when he and Iron Man end up back in the middle ages. Perhaps being an archer isn't so bad at all, even if they may have accidentally altered history a bit.
Friends for Life
Vision learns how to be a friend and a few lucky humans learn that meeting someone who is different doesn't mean they are scary or dangerous.
The Rise of a New Team
Ultron is at it again, this time holding the original Avengers hostage to become his pawns, resulting in Fury calling in the new recruits. It's a little confusing how it can be implied multiple times that the new recruits are called out for the first time, resulting in the full team learning to work together, when realistically there can only be one first mission where they all work together. Regardless, teamwork is always the way the day is won in the end.
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April 28, 2021
WandaVision
WandaVision (2021)
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This takes place after the events of Endgame when everyone is returned from the "blip". If you don't pay attention, you might not catch the references to Captain Marvel, especially as she's only really had one major film in the series so far and small cameos otherwise. Wanda has never really been very sure of herself, especially when it comes to her power. After everything she's survived, it's a small wonder she clings to her little bubble of peace as hard as she does, even though her denial is ultimately hurting a lot of other people around her. As usual, once faced with undeniable truth of her reality, her assessment and actions change. There are a lot of laughs in this series though for all that it stems from such emotional pain, as it's formatted like an old sitcom. Older fans may recognize the old spandex costumes for the Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Quicksilver in the Halloween episode. Ultimately though, Wanda has to come to some hard realizations and learn to own her power a bit more, finally earning her title as the Scarlet Witch (and a fairly fantastic modern rendition of her traditional costume to go with it).
April 25, 2021
The Falcon & the Winter Soldier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This picks up just after Endgame when Captain America has chosen a different life and passed his shield onto Sam, aka The Falcon. He has some hard choices ahead of him, and ends up butting heads with Bucky (previously the Winter Soldier) about as often as they end up working together. They make an odd team, with the lingering ghost of Steve lingering between them. Takes awhile to sort things out, especially with a new Super Soldier serum in the mix and a "new Captain America" who does not live up to the name.... until the successor Steve meant to take up his mantel is ready to take on the world in his own way.
April 28, 2020
Marvel Cinematic Universe 22: Captain Marvel 1
MCU 22: Captain Marvel 1 (2019)
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
I can't say Carol Danvers has ever been my favorite character, and this isn't the most thrilling movie out of the series, but they do have some interesting scenes and it's a good story to build up her character introducing her to this reality. Perhaps my favorite character though is actually Goose, the cat, and Fury's interactions with it. Can't help but feel bad for some of the Skrulls this round, though that hasn't always been the case for any of the old comic followers. For now at least, they appear to be on the side of the "good guys" as Fury would put it.
May 11, 2019
Marvel Cinematic Universe 22: Avengers 4 [Endgame]
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I knew this movie was long going in, but it was long. It felt long, and yet it was good enough, I didn't particularly care. There are things that could have been shortened, simplified, or even left out to cut it down, but everything that was left was enjoyable. There is definitely the most time heavy emphasis on the battle, which makes sense as it is essentially the final point of everything this series has been working towards up to now. It will be interesting to see what new arc is determined to take over the story line now that some of the cast has officially moved on. All in all, they probably played this out about the best they could have hoped for with a changing of the guard. Have to say, Captain America's ending was the best.
May 4, 2018
Marvel Cinematic Universe 19: Avengers 3 [Infinity War]
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As an individual movie, this is very well made. It pulls and incorporates aspects of all the previous MCU movies very well. I really am not a fan of the ending however. I'm withholding final judgment on that until I see how it plays out in next year's Avengers movie. For now, however, unless they decide to take all the alternate roles they've subtly laid in place for many of the characters in the most recent films, there will be a lot of rewinding time and/or resurrection going on. Kind of interesting that it's back to the original Avengers plus War Machine going into this next phase unless some of the others who were missing this round decide to join back in. These characters are portrayed so well, it's hard to think about them changing to new actors or being replaced by different characters if they remain deceased in the main arc. On the flip side, that's what happens to movies. Hopefully it will all be for the best as the last few installments have been very well done. I mean, this is the only series I can think of with 19 films interlocking, plus an increasing number of TV shows, and still going strong. That has to say something for their work that it's still doing so well.
May 9, 2015
Marvel Cinematic Universe 11: The Avengers 2 [Age of Ultron]
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not as good as the original movie, but still highly entertaining. There are some parts to the series that may not make sense if you've missed some of the stand alone movies that tie into this series (including Guardians of the Galaxy). I expected both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to be continuing roles, though one of them will be an Avenger going forward. Interesting that they are both labeled as man-made "specials" instead of the mutants they originally were in the comics, though it follows essentially how all of the Avengers have been made so far. I'd hoped to see Falcon in action when War Machine joined the scene, though it does appear both are joining the roster for the next film (which will actually be the 2016 Captain America film before another Avengers is released). As a stand alone, it can be a little confusing, but as part of a continuing series building up to the Infinity Gauntlet, it's enjoyable. Curious to see what they do with The Vision since he's already a little different from the comics on top of having one of the Infinity stones this time around. He makes an interesting counterpart to Ultron at least, who is a bit of a maniac for essentially being a cyborg. Next up on the roster is apparently Ant-Man.
May 6, 2012
Marvel Cinematic Universe 06: The Avengers 1
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Easily the best Marvel film to date. They brought the team together beautifully with just enough comic relief in the mix to make it thoroughly enjoyable. The only tweak that struck me wrong was Hulk being out of control on the ship, but a focused team player able and willing to take orders in the final battle. Another nice sequel set up with extra scenes during the end credits. Would really like to see something good come of that potential.