I'm fairly certain that the recently quite negative sentiment toward the MCU will not significantly improve following the release of "The Marvels." The film isn't exactly visually appealing, and at times it's downright ugly. The CGI effects in particular are laughably bad in some moments. The story is rather generic overall, and there's nothing exciting to discover here on the villain level either. Zawe Ashton's Dar-Benn does hint at a deeper motivation for her actions in a few brief moments, but in the end, none of that matters.
However, I also see a huge problem with the state of the MCU as a whole. I've read a few reviews that say you need to have seen projects like "Ms. Marvel", "Wandavision" or "Secret Invasion" to understand "The Marvels". As someone who has seen it all, I would disagree. Quite the opposite: I would even say that you explicitly don't need to have seen these things, which is not a particularly encouraging statement for such a "connected universe". I really don't know who exactly Marvel Studios is trying to appeal to with their films and shows anymore. Neither the "completionists" nor the "casuals" are being drawn in. A return to former glory is not going to happen this way.
Despite all these negative points, I didn't really hate "The Marvels" as a superhero movie. This is mainly due to the chemistry between the trio at the heart of the plot. Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani work well together. Vellani is the MVP; her hyperactive energy is infectious, as it was in "Ms. Marvel". In terms of humor, the family of Vellani's Kamala also provides plenty of laughs. In the end, the interplay between the main characters is also what lifts "The Marvels" above recent MCU projects like "Quantumania" or "Secret Invasion" for me. But I seriously doubt that these low points should serve as the benchmark for this billion-dollar franchise.
Review by ToralfVIP 3BlockedParent2023-11-08T21:47:32Z
I'm fairly certain that the recently quite negative sentiment toward the MCU will not significantly improve following the release of "The Marvels." The film isn't exactly visually appealing, and at times it's downright ugly. The CGI effects in particular are laughably bad in some moments. The story is rather generic overall, and there's nothing exciting to discover here on the villain level either. Zawe Ashton's Dar-Benn does hint at a deeper motivation for her actions in a few brief moments, but in the end, none of that matters.
However, I also see a huge problem with the state of the MCU as a whole. I've read a few reviews that say you need to have seen projects like "Ms. Marvel", "Wandavision" or "Secret Invasion" to understand "The Marvels". As someone who has seen it all, I would disagree. Quite the opposite: I would even say that you explicitly don't need to have seen these things, which is not a particularly encouraging statement for such a "connected universe". I really don't know who exactly Marvel Studios is trying to appeal to with their films and shows anymore. Neither the "completionists" nor the "casuals" are being drawn in. A return to former glory is not going to happen this way.
Despite all these negative points, I didn't really hate "The Marvels" as a superhero movie. This is mainly due to the chemistry between the trio at the heart of the plot. Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani work well together. Vellani is the MVP; her hyperactive energy is infectious, as it was in "Ms. Marvel". In terms of humor, the family of Vellani's Kamala also provides plenty of laughs. In the end, the interplay between the main characters is also what lifts "The Marvels" above recent MCU projects like "Quantumania" or "Secret Invasion" for me. But I seriously doubt that these low points should serve as the benchmark for this billion-dollar franchise.