Gotcha. I just know it was called Shang Chi.

 

for awhile it was the working name but during their last big dump of reveals with the (as of then) release timeline shang chi and the legend of the ten rings is the official title.

 

Well it's that time again, time for The Winter Soldier. I know I just watched this 3 weeks ago, but it was before my TV was properly calibrated and I hadn't planned on just buying the entire MCU in 4K at the time. But who freaking cares because is the god damn Winter Soldier, the best MCU film to date and perhaps the greatest super hero movie to date. It's just so damn good, so suspense, tense, the soundtrack is top notch, especially the Winter Soldier theme music. Love the scream that occurs during it. This is the movie that really elevated the MCU for me as it goes above and beyond being a super hero movie and feels like a Cold War era Thriller. Oh, and I really hope they find away to bring Zola back because I want more Zola.

 

I've always wondered about the Winter Soldier, whether it was okay to let Hydra take over.

Hydra was targeting people who were dangerous to Earth, and as future events point out, the Avengers pretty much brought down doom on Earth, even though they were able to fix the mess that was their making.


So would it be worth letting the bad guy win in CAP 2, to enable the worse event in the future to be stopped/prevented?

 

ever since it came out winter solider has been my favorite MCU movie. it's hard to top for me. everything about it hit all the right notes.

 

Yeah, no... Thanos was coming for those stones whether the Avengers were there or not. Do you think Hydra could have protected the Earth any better than the Avengers while they're basically taking away everyone's freedom? Hell, I imagine Hydra probably would have handed the stones to Thanos and agreed with him wiping out half the population.

 

I remember I was really disappointed in Phase 2 that at first I had absolutely no hype for Winter Soldier. Saw it in theaters after I heard the hype and it made up for Ironman 3 and Thor 2. I personally think 2014 was the best year for MCU releases. 2018 comes close.

 

yea i mean the events leading up to infinity war was already playing out on the cosmic stage. his plans were already in motion whether the avengers, hydra, or shield existed or not. his first 'invasion' in the first movie was probably softening up things so he could waltz in and grab the rest of the stones at his leisure.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy - This was the movie that proved Marvel could turn anything into a movie and make it good. It's fun, it has a lot of kick ass fight scenes enhanced by a rockin' soundtrack. I had no idea I would actually like any of this music beforehand. The comedy is spot on and you really feel sorry for the guys. On the downside, Ronan sucks major balls. He's got maybe an extra page of screen time over Malekeith, but that doesn't make him out to be any sort of threat. I also have no idea why he is upset about a peace treaty between his emperor and the Nova Corp. Regardless, everything else is near perfect, making it one of the best of the MCU.

That is a really interesting point. Maybe they wouldn't have been able to stop Thanos himself, but I'm betting they could have easily made mincemeat of his cultists.

 

Eh, I doubt it. Even if they'd have disposed of Strange - the one guy who would ultimately become powerful enough to foresee the One Outcome where that doom could actually be undone - just on the assumption that he'd be powerful enough to be a potential threat, that still wouldn't have changed the fact that as of 2014 Thanos was already looking for the Stones. Even if it took longer to get some of them, the Snap was ALWAYS going to happen regardless.

 

Rick and Morty Just Took Shots at Avengers: Endgame's Time Travel

Damn that was fucking cruel.

 

Avengers Age of Ultron - Is there a lost movie or something that comes before this one? Because I still have no fucking clue what the hell is going on in the beginning. The Avengers are all back together as a team and they know where Strucker is. We get like 20 minutes of non-stop action without any context as to what is happening. No flashback showing us how they learned about Strucker to begin with, nor how they know what "The Enhanced" are. Adding to this utter nonsense is that Bruce and Black Widow have a random romance together that makes Anakin and Padme look high class. The only thing missing was someone whining about sand with how poorly written their scenes together are. The best thing about this movie is Ultron, who goes crazy after surfing the internet for one minute. Oh, and the guy that voiced him sounds awesome. Fortunately though, there is some good stuff going on inbetween the mess that does at least make it an entertaining watch compared to that lifeless drivel that is Dark World.

 

I actually think that Age of Ultron is the second best Avengers movie.

 

Ya Age of Ultron has issues and is the weakest of the 4. Civil War is a better Avengers movie. Age of Ultron is to bloated more bloated than Ironman 2. But the set up helps Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame benefits the most from Age of Ultron.

 

Ant-Man - Just a top notch heist movie that happens to have super heroes in it. It's funny, it's engaging, the main characters are a joy to watch on screen, and all of the scenes when Scott is in the suit and tiny are hysterical. I also love how the movie keeps everything on a small scale instead of having an army of generic cannonfodder for Scott to fend off against. Unfortunately, we have another lackluster businessman who is jealous of someone else's success as the villain, but I guess at least he isn't bad because of Tony.

With that said, we are now done with Phase 2, and my rankings of this phase are as follows:

1. The Winter Soldier
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Ant-Man
4. Iron Man 3
5. Avengers Age of Ultron
6. Thor Dark World

It's easily the weakest in my book. Which is your favorite?

 

The knowledge of Strucker and "enhanced" came from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (and the fact that Cap may qualify as "enhanced", anyway  ). The unfortunate side effect of having an interconnected universe across multiple media is that people that only follow one of the forms, get them out of sequence (I think the relevant AoS came out after the film here), or just plain forget (I had to check my details before posting this as I only vaguely remembered...) is that you may not get all of the information you feel important   I think they were going for the Bond-style "previous mission in progress" cold open just to get a cool action sequence and to introduce the new toysIron Legion without too much exposition.

Hulk and Nat did seem to come out of nowhere, but hey... things can happen in three years of working together  

 

for me it's Endgame but i didn't like Avengers 2012 and Infinity War.

 

Civil War - The grand finale to the greatest super hero trilogy thus far and what a fine ass climax it is. It brings the Steve/Bucky conflict to a conclusion, reuniting their relationship after 75 years while also ending the one between Steve and Peggy. The pacing is top notch, the action scenes are grandiose, and the story yet again goes above and beyond being just a super hero film. Not to mention Black Panther is given a superb introduction and subplot. Oh, and who can forget finally getting an MCU version of Spider-Man? What a way to bring in my favorite super hero overall through my favorite MCU hero's film. My only complaints with the movie really deal with Zemo not being anything like his comic counterpart and the huge location text as if the movie is screaming at your where that scene takes place in. Those nitpicks aside, it may not top The Winter Soldier, but that doesn't detract from its quality one bit.

BTW, I can't believe I didn't realize this before, but Friday is voiced by Mike's daughter in law from Better Call Saul. Oh shit! Although, it is funny how her accent changed from the last movie.

 

Doctor Strange - I feel like a half hour should have been added to this one to flesh a few things out and to give the villain some actual development. As is, it's a good movie that could have been exceptional. Visually, it is stunning, but from a narrative point of view, it's just Iron Man with magic. Cumberbatch is spot on for Stephen Strange and there is a lot to love here. Sadly, Mikkelson was utterly wasted almost as badly as Eccleston was in Dark World, which is a real shame. The way Strange beats Dormammu is hilariously badass. My biggest gripe is not having a Tibetan play The Ancient One. Don't get me wrong, Swinton was fine, but I would have rathered they gotten The Ancient One accurate. Still, it's a nice addition to the MCU and adds a new layer of... well... magic into it.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - This is another one that seems to improve after each viewing as I wasn't crazy about it the first time I saw it, but it has grown on me. There is a lot to love here, a lot of funny scenes, the cast remains great, but there are little tidbits that don't work as well. For example, I feel like the scene of Rocket, Yondu, and gang going through the warps and having their faces distorted overstays its welcome. The opening credits sequence is superb though and while the soundtrack isn't as good as the first movie's, it's still cool. Kurt Russell is awesome as Ego and a massive step up from Ronan. Plus, the mythology they built with Ego is quite intriguing.