I could write an entire article featuring my thoughts on the MCU. I’ll try to keep this close to “comment length.” edit- I have failed.
The early MCU films were aimed squarely at comic book fans. They featured C- and D-list characters that no one outside of the most ardent comic book readers knew existed. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow were not household names at all. Had you asked random passerby on the street if they had heard of any of them, most would have answered "no” to all but one. The Hulk was the only famous hero among the bunch.
However, Marvel made an excellent film with Iron Man, and an above-average film, with a popular movie star in the lead role, with The Incredible Hulk. Suddenly, non-comic book fans wanted to see comic book movies, specifically these new MCU films. The MCU had captured the zeitgeist This interest built up to the release of The Avengers.
There had never been a film like The Avengers before. No studio had ever had four franchises running simultaneously that were each very different from each other, yet at the same time so tightly interwoven that they told one seamless story that meshed perfectly into an ensemble film that is to this day, in my mind and the minds of many, the single greatest superhero film ever made.
Suddenly the entire world was watching. The franchise faltered a bit with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, but reached new heights with the 2nd Captain America film, lauded by many as a masterpiece that transcends the superhero genre.
The Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like a crazy choice to follow that up— even I’d never heard of them!— and it was agreed that the MCU was about to jump the shark. Yet, to this day that film is many people’s choice as the best MCU film of all time. That cemented it. Everyone and their mother HAD to see the next MCU film. And the one after that.
It kept building up to Infinity War/Endgame, and then it all fell apart. I don’t think the scripting or shooting method had much to do with this, as it seems to have been the norm from day one. Rather, the MCU had become star-driven, with fans lining up to see Downey, Hemsworth, Evans, Pratt, Boseman, Cumberbatch, Holland, and even, to an extent, Paul Rudd have adventures as superheroes. When they killed the two biggest stars of the bunch, and Boseman sadly passed away, that killed a lot of the fan interest.
Worse, Marvel seems hellbent on shoehorning in actors to replace them with actors who seem to have been chosen entirely for their gender and/or skin color. When the older, well-liked heroes do show up, they are reprimanded and humiliated, and usually left playing second fiddle.
The MCU had been exciting adventures undertaken by beloved actors, but it has shifted to lessons in feminism and Marxism, taught primarily by actors who check diversity boxes. The decline in audience interest is not surprising. While I believe nearly no one cares about the race or gender of the stars in movies they see, most people don’t want politics shoved down their throat.
I could write an entire article featuring my thoughts on the MCU. I’ll try to keep this close to “comment length.” edit- I have failed.
The early MCU films were aimed squarely at comic book fans. They featured C- and D-list characters that no one outside of the most ardent comic book readers knew existed. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow were not household names at all. Had you asked random passerby on the street if they had heard of any of them, most would have answered "no” to all but one. The Hulk was the only famous hero among the bunch.
However, Marvel made an excellent film with Iron Man, and an above-average film, with a popular movie star in the lead role, with The Incredible Hulk. Suddenly, non-comic book fans wanted to see comic book movies, specifically these new MCU films. The MCU had captured the zeitgeist This interest built up to the release of The Avengers.
There had never been a film like The Avengers before. No studio had ever had four franchises running simultaneously that were each very different from each other, yet at the same time so tightly interwoven that they told one seamless story that meshed perfectly into an ensemble film that is to this day, in my mind and the minds of many, the single greatest superhero film ever made.
Suddenly the entire world was watching. The franchise faltered a bit with Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, but reached new heights with the 2nd Captain America film, lauded by many as a masterpiece that transcends the superhero genre.
The Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like a crazy choice to follow that up— even I’d never heard of them!— and it was agreed that the MCU was about to jump the shark. Yet, to this day that film is many people’s choice as the best MCU film of all time. That cemented it. Everyone and their mother HAD to see the next MCU film. And the one after that.
It kept building up to Infinity War/Endgame, and then it all fell apart. I don’t think the scripting or shooting method had much to do with this, as it seems to have been the norm from day one. Rather, the MCU had become star-driven, with fans lining up to see Downey, Hemsworth, Evans, Pratt, Boseman, Cumberbatch, Holland, and even, to an extent, Paul Rudd have adventures as superheroes. When they killed the two biggest stars of the bunch, and Boseman sadly passed away, that killed a lot of the fan interest.
Worse, Marvel seems hellbent on shoehorning in actors to replace them with actors who seem to have been chosen entirely for their gender and/or skin color. When the older, well-liked heroes do show up, they are reprimanded and humiliated, and usually left playing second fiddle.
The MCU had been exciting adventures undertaken by beloved actors, but it has shifted to lessons in feminism and Marxism, taught primarily by actors who check diversity boxes. The decline in audience interest is not surprising. While I believe nearly no one cares about the race or gender of the stars in movies they see, most people don’t want politics shoved down their throat.