Topic: Marvel Musings. Now with Spidey Spoilers.

[RedSince86]

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/peter-travers-black-panther-is-a-marvel-movie-masterpiece-w516361

[Something Worse]

Here's what I am wondering... they have probably made most of the two Infinity War movies or at least completed the first one before finding out how the new Thor and Black Panther movie turned out and what elements were best received.  So how do they incorporate any character shifts in the Avengers movie now? Will Thor be the 'comedian' he was in Ragnarok or will he go back to the pre Civil War version of Thor?

They're all Tony Stark now

[Redcap]

Black Panther has got good reviews apparently.

It has arguably the best Director of any Marvel film, so it always had promise.

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

[killer-heels]

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Indeed. Unlike many comic book films ill probably go watch this though and see if its any good.

[Schmidt]

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

I read a couple of reviews and there wasn't much mention of the story, I'll still be going to see it I just won't be letting the reviews build my expectations too much.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Oh come on, you're being a bit flippant here. Are you really dismissing that politics plays a part in how reviewers rate movies?! Many reviewers obsess over it!

This is Slant Magazine's take on Darkest Hour, which it rated 38/100:

The film reinforces only the most simplistic and patriotic vision of Churchill, its closed-off view of the man reminiscent of the many tracking shots that wind through the underground tunnels of the U.K.‘s war command, constantly peeking into rooms with classified meetings as doors are abruptly closed to keep them secret

So it basically rates the film negatively as a 4/10 because it doesn't tell the entire story of Churchill, something the film (as far as I know - I'm seeing it tonight) doesn't aim to do.

That's politics, not film reviewing.

[Redcap]

Oh come on, you're being a bit flippant here. Are you really dismissing that politics plays a part in how reviewers rate movies?! Many reviewers obsess over it!

This is Slant Magazine's take on Darkest Hour, which it rated 38/100:

So it basically rates the film negatively as a 4/10 because it doesn't tell the entire story of Churchill, something the film (as far as I know - I'm seeing it tonight) doesn't aim to do.

That's politics, not film reviewing.

I think a movie that aims to tell a story of the psychology of Churchill that doesn't get into his depression and alcoholism, is probably a bit simplistic, no?

I don't disagree that critics are people and people have politics that they carry into the things they do. But a bad movie is a bad movie, and a good movie is a good movie. I consider myself a feminist and I thought Wonder Woman was extremely overrated. If I were to write a review, I would not be pulling any punches, on account of it featuring a female superhero. I don't expect many other critics would, either.

[AndyMuller]

I found Moonlight to be reviewed politically.

It was decent but I won’t be watching it a second time.


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[lobsterboy]

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Pretty sure no critic will dare give it a bad review.
For me it looks like just more marvel meh. There are too many marvel movies, its oversaturated.
I've got marvel fatigue.  I'll watch infinity war but didn't bother with ragnarok and won't bother with this.

[gazzalfc]

New Deadpool 2 trailer (NSFW obvs)

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/961239824194666496

[clinical]

Terry Crews!

What a guy haha.

[Macphisto80]

Oh come on, you're being a bit flippant here. Are you really dismissing that politics plays a part in how reviewers rate movies?! Many reviewers obsess over it!

This is Slant Magazine's take on Darkest Hour, which it rated 38/100:

So it basically rates the film negatively as a 4/10 because it doesn't tell the entire story of Churchill, something the film (as far as I know - I'm seeing it tonight) doesn't aim to do.

That's politics, not film reviewing.

You're right in what you're saying, but that's a poor choice to pick from. It's a film about a politician, so politics, and specific views on it, will invariably come into factoring an overall opinion on such a film for some. You can forgive those for that. Stuff like Ghostbusters, though...

Anyway, I'm not sure where this debate came from in the first place, but I can only assume it's to do with Black Panther. I'm not really interested in that film, but only because it reminds me of something shit, like The Phantom or Spawn. I'll give it a watch, though. Might be alright.

[LallanaInPyjamas]

You're right in what you're saying, but that's a poor choice to pick from. It's a film about a politician, so politics, and specific views on it, will invariably come into factoring an overall opinion on such a film for some. You can forgive those for that. Stuff like Ghostbusters, though...

That's fair, and I'll be much better placed to comment after I've seen the film tonight, but equally the film is called "The Darkest Hour" and I'm under the impression it's heavily focused on those few daunting weeks during WWII and how Churchill led the nation through those times, rather than trying to paint an overall picture of Churchill (as the film released last year may have been more akin to?).

[lionel_messias]

I'm sure it's just political though. You want to treat positive reviews of a movie with a diverse cast with a healthy dose of skepticism.

I treat everything in this world with skepticism but the reviews I've read are by good writers. True, they all tend to mention the diversity and Black power angle and culture but they are saying it is a good film, for all the traditional reasons, only enhanced by this Afro-futurism, the less cool cats are calling it.

[Macphisto80]

That's fair, and I'll be much better placed to comment after I've seen the film tonight, but equally the film is called "The Darkest Hour" and I'm under the impression it's heavily focused on those few daunting weeks during WWII and how Churchill led the nation through those times, rather than trying to paint an overall picture of Churchill (as the film released last year may have been more akin to?).

Just so you know, I'm more inclined on agreeing with that reviewer who gave the film a 4. Sure, it might be a film about one particular aspect of his life in a moment of time, but it's an airbrushed representation of the man, historically at least. Corkboy started a thread in the news section, presumably thinking the same as myself about it.

[Schmidt]

New Deadpool 2 trailer (NSFW obvs)

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/961239824194666496

Did I spot the kid from Hunt for the Wilderpeople in there?

[John_P]

Did I spot the kid from Hunt for the Wilderpeople in there?

Yeah he's in it. Hopefully this matches the quality of the first film.

[Redcap]

I treat everything in this world with skepticism but the reviews I've read are by good writers. True, they all tend to mention the diversity and Black power angle and culture but they are saying it is a good film, for all the traditional reasons, only enhanced by this Afro-futurism, the less cool cats are calling it.

My comment was firmly tongue in cheek. That's been my take from the reviews I've read as well. My comment was a response to this idea that movie reviewers are somehow not capable of assessing movies without letting politics come into it. For me, a bad movie is a bad movie. A good movie is a good movie.

At least, I think it's fairly easy to say this about movies like Black Panther, which are distinguished only by having a black cast. It doesn't seem rational or fair to treat positive reviews about a movie with a diverse cast with suspicion.

What I would say is an example of how 'politics' comes into reviewing a movie is something like a Woody Allen movie. The public furor is such right now that it's difficult to give a positive review of the art without at least acknowledging what's going on publicly about the artist. But I wouldn't think something similar would apply to a Marvel superhero movie with black characters.

What might be more interesting in terms of politics influencing reviews is how critics respond to A Wrinkle in Time, which looks like an absolute mess, but features a mostly black cast and another major black director, Ava Duvernay.

[Brian Blessed]

If critics did rate films with a black cast higher than deserved why are rating for Tyler Perry's Medea films so low?

While Black Panther may be getting generally higher ratings for the all black cast, I think it's getting a bigger boost simply by being MCU. Critics do tend to follow general public opinion on a lot of these big franchises.

[tubby]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/dzxFdtWmjto" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/dzxFdtWmjto</a>

[AndyMuller]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/dzxFdtWmjto" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/dzxFdtWmjto</a>

Well that was boring.

The only thing making me want to watch this is that it has a strong cast.


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[Ultimate Bromance]

It's kind of funny they've released that right after the Deadpool trailer, as you have to assume the reason we don't see Venom is they haven't finished the CGI yet.

[gazzalfc]

10 years of the MCU

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/GjwjzIFcX7U" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/GjwjzIFcX7U</a>

[whtwht]

Pretty sure no critic will dare give it a bad review.
For me it looks like just more marvel meh. There are too many marvel movies, its oversaturated.
I've got marvel fatigue.  I'll watch infinity war but didn't bother with ragnarok and won't bother with this.

Nah bring more on i say !! Infinity War and even Antman will be decent



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[Nessy76]

Depends on how interested you are in the overarching story leading into Infinity war. Most of the links come in the post film credits anyway

If you're not all the interested then any order is fine. They do a good job in keeping each film as an individual piece.

If you are interesting in catching up for Infinity War then best watch them as the following

Ant Man
Civil War

Then these in any order as it doesn't matter

Guardians 2
Spider Man homecoming

Ending with

Doctor Strange
Thor Ragnarok

Yep. Ideally Doctor Strange before Thor Ragnarok, as you say, but I expect it would still make sense the other way around. The others are pretty much unconnected, aside from Ant Man being before Civil War and Spidey coming after.

[Dingus]

just back from Black Panther, really enjoyed it!
strong turns from Boseman and Jordan, supporting cast excellent, felt like a grown-up movie than the usual superhero fare.
the Panther costume might be the best in the MCU, looks amazing!
without spoliering it, there are two end-credits extras to look out for, one just into the credits, and one right after they finish, second one probably more interesting than the first!
roll on to May and Avengers:Infinity War!

[sambhi92]

Saw Black Panther yesterday and its a great film!

Not like your normal Marvel film, some very strong themes but still had that Marvel feel. Michael B Jordan character is a very good villain, so good that you wouldn't even call him a villain, just a man with a different idea.

Defo recommend checking this one out.

[John_P]

Yeah I really enjoyed it, Boseman is great and the supporting cast all do their bits well.

Seemed a bit of a risk them putting this out right before Infinity bWar instead of a safer choice like Thor:Ragnorok but it's great as a stand alone film whilst adding to the larger MCU.

[Clayton Bigsby]

It was good but nothing amazing. Doesnt touch The Captain America films for me

[Schmidt]

Enjoyed Black Panther, though it didn't quite match the hype.

Spoiler

It had some really good stuff but also felt overly long despite not a huge amount actually happening. They definitely took a lot of liberties with the powers of vibranium too, what was just a tough metal in the previous films is now basically capable of anything. A lot of the BP fights tend to fall a bit flat too when his suit is impenetrable.

The villain was good, he wasn't just evil for the sake of it, though his big plan seemed a stretch.

His sister was pretty awesome though, hopefully she's in some of the next films.

[close]

[AndyMuller]

Black Panther was decent but a bit too long.

Martin Freeman’s American accent was jarring.


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[Frank Becton]

Black Panther was decent but a bit too long.

Martin Freeman’s American accent was jarring.


[You may have an iPhone but you are still using the free version of Tapatalk and spamming us with that knowledge]

It was in Civil War also, not sure why they even cast him for the role.

[Ray K]

Black Panther was really good.

It's a proper film, and it did two things properly that most Marvel movies don't do: Have a proper villain with proper motivation, and it kept it small scale. No worlds are blown up, and it stands alone, without any tie-ins with other movies, no cameos from other superheroes, and no stupid fucking infinity stones shite.  You've no idea how little I care about whether Thanos has two or three infinity stones. Or about Thanos, generally.

Boseman is decent, Michael B Jordan is excellent, and the CGI at the end is kinda ropey.  The costumes are pretty spectacular.  I've no idea why people are talking about pacing - it flew by for me.

[AndyMuller]

It was in Civil War also, not sure why they even cast him for the role.

I’m hoping it’s because he will eventually bump into Doctor Strange and we have a Sherlock and John reunion but with hilarious American accents.


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[killer-heels]

Watched Black Panther and really enjoyed it. Plus it helps that in Boseman and Michael B Jordan you have the fittest hero and villain combo ever.

[stevieG786]

I really enjoyed it, much better then The Justice League

[stevieG786]

Also, it is just me or does Michael B Jordan look like Shawn Wayan from the Wayans brothers? 

[killer-heels]

Also, it is just me or does Michael B Jordan look like Shawn Wayan from the Wayans brothers? 

Racist.

[Schmidt]

Black Panther was really good.

It's a proper film, and it did two things properly that most Marvel movies don't do: Have a proper villain with proper motivation, and it kept it small scale. No worlds are blown up, and it stands alone, without any tie-ins with other movies, no cameos from other superheroes, and no stupid fucking infinity stones shite.  You've no idea how little I care about whether Thanos has two or three infinity stones. Or about Thanos, generally.

Boseman is decent, Michael B Jordan is excellent, and the CGI at the end is kinda ropey.  The costumes are pretty spectacular.  I've no idea why people are talking about pacing - it flew by for me.

The villain is the best part of the film for me, genuine character with genuine motivations and as horrible as he was the audience is left with some sympathy for him. I don't know about pacing issues but for such a long movie it felt like there was very little of actual importance that happened.

[AndyMuller]

Marvel have turned it around lately in regards to villains. Ego, Hela and Killmonger have all been great villains IMO.


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