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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
I think the competition argument is fallacious.
If anything, competition would increase the executive pressure to include certain things because they're popular and we'll end up with more things like Spider-Man 3 where Venom got shoved in because the higher ups said.
Its probably the lack of competitive pressure that lets Marvel go for more obscure stuff like Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man
edited 25th Apr '16 11:14:45 PM by Bocaj
Forever liveblogging the AvengersI like monster movies but still thought TIH was average at best. I think First Avenger isn't GREAT but I would lump it with Guardians of the Galaxy in terms of being above-average/good, it's certainly much better than Thor or TIH.
Of course it's perfectly understandable for people to disagree with me since it's not like I'm the ultimate arbiter of quality or anything, I just personally am hesitant to praise Marvel too much when I don't think most of their movies have been that good. I don't think them being "entertaining" is enough.
If Winter Soldier hadn't impressed me the way it did I wouldn't even be posting in this thread because all of their movies after Iron Man 1 consistently failed to wow me (I thought TFA was alright when I first saw it, I only enjoy it more now in retrospect). Of course, I am a person who tends to prefer more serious/dramatic works so stuff like Winter Soldier is going to be more appealing to me than something like Thor (I appreciate good comedy when I see it but Marvel's usually isn't gut-bustingly hilarious or anything), which is why I want more of those kinds of movies to be made.
Not really sure that I buy that argument either. It's certainly possible, but I think it just depends on the executives. I don't think Sony had that much competition either and that still ended up happening to Spider-Man 3. Bad executives are gonna make bad calls either way.
I still don't think it is healthy for Marvel to basically remain unchallenged and we need more and different kinds of superhero offerings.
edited 25th Apr '16 11:34:22 PM by wehrmacht
They're unchallenged in comic book movies but challenged with every other action thing in the box office
Forever liveblogging the AvengersSee, for me, Comic book movies has tended to be a disappointment for years. Neither the Spider-man Trilogy, nor the X-men movies nor the Batman movies really worked for me. They were okay, but I always felt that the studios could do much better. And then Marvel came around and actually did better by taking their characters seriously. Because, even though I didn't realize it in the beginning, that was my main problem with all those movies. It was always about the visuals and the big action set-piece (the Nolan trilogy is the exception since it tried to be about "bigger themes" in a typical Nolan fashion, which is one of the reasons why I don't argue with people who think that they are the best since sliced bread), but it was never really about embracing the characters. And when it comes to the visuals, well, unpopular opinion, but I think the Dick Tracy movie is more interesting to look at than any of those movies (not that I think that the movie is good, but I enjoy at least the visuals in it).
What makes the MCU different for me is that they, unlike all the other studios, decided to do a character driven approach. That's why I like TIH the least, because I think the characters in it don't work at all.
When it comes to "challenging" Marvel: I don't think that it works that way when it comes to movies. This is not a sports game. People who want to watch the Marvel movies will watch the Marvel movies, they won't suddenly stop doing so because someone else is in town who does just as well. It is always about the quality of the movies itself and not about what someone else does.
edited 25th Apr '16 11:51:04 PM by Swanpride
I like character-driven movies too but the problem is I think the only main characters they have that I really like are Tony, Steve and Natasha (and I suppose I could count the Got G if I was being generous, I enjoyed the movie more for its quirkiness although the characters were certainly likable), I was not impressed with TIH's characters or Thor (barring Loki), and that was the big reason why I didn't care for Avengers, because all I saw was a premise that hinged on me being excited for a teamup which was over 50% composed of characters I had no real reason to be invested in.
And well, your character-driven movie still has to be good. Tony is a charismatic main character but that didn't stop IM 2 and 3 from being a weak movie and a mixed movie (I know some people like IM 3, I don't and I feel we've exhausted arguments about it as it stands).
There's a lot you can criticize about previous superhero franchises, and I feel the same way about the MCU, I would be really hesitant to say they were overall better than other movies that have come before them as a whole. Ultimately it's about what you personally prioritize and how you view the strengths and weaknesses of each franchise relative to what's most important for you. I'm not trying to be overly negative about it and I apologize if I'm coming off that way, since I understand why people like the movies I am harsher on, but I'm not gonna refrain from being critical either.
edited 26th Apr '16 12:02:13 AM by wehrmacht
I pleased the Captain America robot.
Going through the Twitter page
, and there's actually a surprising amount of unique responses. Some of them even mention the posters by name. Surprising. Is this live? Pretty fast for a live response.
edited 26th Apr '16 12:24:59 AM by Tuckerscreator
I'd suggest a Kate Bishop show because Kate Bishop with Renner as supporting cast/extended cameo but Marvel probably doesn't want to do anything even superficially like Arrow
Forever liveblogging the AvengersWinter Soldier is now the Worf of Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Which is ironic because:
"Everyone who goes against him who isn't named Steve is easily dealt with, in order to show how dangerous he himself is. Even Natasha, who put up the best fight after Steve, is quickly overwhelmed by the Winter Soldier's combat ability, while the Falcon, in his wing suit, suffered a very brief Curb-Stomp Battle. "
And now is a victim of this trope.
edited 26th Apr '16 11:27:21 AM by dantecito
Looking like a big international opening for Civil War
.
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And we've already seen him demolish Black Widow, Tony, and Sharon.
Not really. Spider-Man punches and kicks normal humans all the time. I'm sure at this point he knows how to pull his punches.
edited 26th Apr '16 12:31:49 PM by comicwriter

While I do have a preference towards Marvel's heroes in general (how's them video games and toys) despite enjoying the DC animated shows and having read more of their comics in the 00's, most of my current preference for Marvel Studios has less to do with brand loyalty and more because of my problems with the approaches the other companies take towards their heroes.
Even the "average" Marvel movies to still be pretty entertaining while incorporating a lot of great Mythology Gags, whereas Fox is very hit-or-miss and even the good films tends to severely underuse most of the great X-Men in their stable, and DC's overall strategy reeks of copying Marvel in all the wrong ways, compounded by its Feige analogue Snyder's seeming inability to understand the source material. Not to mention Marvel's upcoming slate is a lot more robust and diverse than DC's which primarily consists of throwing all the big names out there regardless of their movies being too similar or not.
edited 25th Apr '16 11:22:44 PM by AlleyOop