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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
He also made the point that part of the issue is how competitive things have gotten with stuff like Rotten Tomatoes scores and box office numbers. Or more specifically, people looking at those numbers to validate their decision to watch a movie as opposed to simply appreciating the movie.
Disgusted, but not surprisedImportant thing to note: Hawke seems to be good friends with Scott Derrickson, who directed Doctor Strange, as he starred in Derrickson's Sinister and is set to star in his upcoming The Black Phone (ironically, the film that got Derrickson the Strange gig and the film that Derrickson made after leaving Doctor Strange 2, respectively). So his perspective is probably coloured by that.
Edited by Gaon on Jun 20th 2022 at 11:10:09 AM
"All you Fascists bound to lose."I've actually grown softer on the first Doctor Strange (admittedly part of that is because I wound up preferring it to Multigrain of Madrid).
Yeah it's got the same plot beats as Iron Man (arrogant genius is made to eat humble pie, uses invention/magic to climb back up, starts using his new powers for superheroics and learns a lesson in humility despite being more powerful than ever), they absolutely wasted Mikkelsen as Kaecillius, and the fight scenes were too much punchy-kicky and not enough actual magic, but it also has some strong writing, I appreciate the lack of a romantic interest, the special effects are really cool and trippy, Strange's character arc itself is really strong, and the final "battle" with Dormammu is legit my favorite scene in the entire MCU for a multitude of reasons (including it being an excellent culmination of Strange's aforementioned arc).
You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!I think Strange's twist was that he was still proud of his origins after become a superhero and wanted to keep the 'do no harm' aspect of being a doctor. And was genuinely torn up when he heard people which is a rarity among movie heroes. (Spideys the only other big example I can think off the top and that was played more for laughs in Homecoming)
As
says this leads to the creative time loop solution rather than a traditional mirror match punch up as the final battle.
Kind of sad that that's lost in subsequent appearances though not surprising giving IW's stakes,
Even in IW, Strange realized that the only way to win would involve losing first. And in a way that would get him dusted for years too.
"It was the only way."
It's not that different from what he pulled against Dormammu. He realized the only way to beat Dormammu would be to lose to Dormammu an untold number of times first.
Edited by M84 on Jun 21st 2022 at 10:35:14 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedHe has to be, considering how often he's pitted against far more powerful magical beings. He has no chance in a straight fight against the likes of Dormammu, Shuma-Gorath, or Zom the Living Weapon. So he has to get creative, and usually in a way that takes its toll on him.
Disgusted, but not surprisedThe main difference is that against Dormammu, Strange had to live through one failure and death after another before Dormammu finally relented. To everyone else, it was a blink of an eye, but for Strange, it was untold eons of repeating the same horrific fate until one of their wills broke.
Against Thanos, Strange got to let the Avengers spend five years doing the heavy labor, while he got to blink five years forward, skipping everything between the two battles.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I must admit I wasn't thinking of IW exactly but Endgame where he's casually massacring a bunch of mook in the final battle before having to stop the flood.
I was going to say there's no indication he wouldn't have used lethal force against Thanos in IW if he thought it would work but it would hilarious if the odds were so long because Strange was like 'portalling off his head would involve me killing someone and I'm a doctor, can't do that'.
A lot of stuff treats Thanos’ foot soldiers as practically non sentient or a robot army
Or at best like feral animals
Edited by Bocaj on Jun 21st 2022 at 10:55:12 AM
Forever liveblogging the AvengersThe point of the Endgame battle was to have a cool high-spectacle battle where all the MCU's recognizable characters fight the Battle of Pelennor Fields against a never-ending onslaught of space orcs. I don't think the Russos really considered how any given moment was supposed to tie into the established stories of individual characters. It was just a prolonged Rule of Cool sequence.
In fact, I know they didn't because they have Spider-Man out there killing people. They also put Pepper Potts in an Iron Man suit when her abject loathing of this side of Tony's life has been her single most consistent character trait; Hell, the previous film literally had her talking shit about how Tony wouldn't still be making Iron Man tech if he was serious about starting a family with her.
So. Yeah. Strange's involvement in the Endgame battle itself probably wasn't supposed to be any sort of statement about his character. It was just there to look cool and make audiences go "WOOHOO!" The commentary on his character was his "Just one timeline" machinations.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 21st 2022 at 8:37:07 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Yes and No.
The Spider-man thing is a last resort and a pay off of a gag from Homecoming. The creatures he kills are the most animalistic non-sapient ones.
And Pepper is the one who convinces Tony to go back into action in Endgame, admitting she never can get him to give it up and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try and bring anyone back.
In the comics isn’t Corvus just Batman strong with a super magic space glaive?
Edited by Bocaj on Jun 21st 2022 at 12:34:51 PM
Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Said glaive also does give him Resurrective Immortality as long as it remains intact wich is deffinitly not the case in the MCU.
Edited by uncertanSearcher on Jun 21st 2022 at 6:41:58 PM
With the benefit of hindsight— (punched by Hulk)
Okay, rephrasing. Looking back, it might have been a good idea to introduce the Black Order over time as well; Not just the Infinity Gems. Put one of them with Loki in Avengers, for example. Maybe fit one or two into Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe rope one into Thor: Ragnarok?
That way, it feels more punchy when they're all together for Infinity War. As it is, they just come across as elite mooks.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 21st 2022 at 9:54:16 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.

For what it's worth Ethan Hawke
had a good take on the whole matter where he argued the question of the question of whether superhero movies are true art or not is a stupid question altogether because of the way it drowns out smaller films.
I personally disagree with his considering the first Doctor Strange to be among the most passion-driven films as I felt it was one of the least distinct ones in Phase 3, but I digress.