Let the Captain Marvel trailers commence!

Started by JasonPratt, September 19, 2018, 06:36:29 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

JasonPratt

Review embargo is lifted. RT "top critics" currently stand a bare fraction over 60% -- practically the absolute minimum enough to be rated as Fresh.

Jeremy Jahns: CM is "the Star Trek Insurrection of the MCU". :o (Qualification, he doesn't hate that film, just finds it meh.)

Stuckman: similarly meh.






The reviews when they're talking about the actual film, tend to be disappointing. I hope it's better than that; I'm on record as liking all the MCU films, even the Hulk and Iron Man 2 and both earlier Thor films (1 and 2). The only one I'm truly meh about is Black Panther, where I kept cringing through a very meh film experience with an aggressively stupid plot structure (i.e. dozens of dumb things must keep happening all the time, in lieu of entertainment: an experience I loathed in Dark Knight Rises and Godzilla 14, and the more recent Bond films, too.) At least that film is skippable.

All things considered this doesn't bode well when/if I get to see it this weekend, but with Niecemus Prime's birthday party Sunday and the likelihood she and some friends may see it Friday or Saturday first (without me!  :'( ), I hope to get to it Saturday anyway.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Sir Slash

The first Marvel movie in years I'm not on fire to see Day 1. Hope I'm wrong.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

acctingman

Did anyone like this?

For me, it's bottom 25% of the Marvel movies.

JasonPratt

Stormy weather kept me from traveling to see it Saturday; but loosely planning Thursday or Friday (with Dad and Bro -- nieces are off to the Gulf Coast, but we want to scout films before they see them anyway.)
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

JasonPratt

Finally saw it Saturday afternoon with Dad and Bro. It was.... aggressively mediocre? Sometimes verging into insultingly mediocre.

Remember in Winter Soldier when Fury stated grimly, "Last time I trusted someone... I lost an eye"? My mind boggled and then shut down in protest when the circumstances are revealed. He loses his eye as a joke. I genuinely thought at first, no, no that isn't possible, they're just being funny in a tease, like with the stitch-crimp over his eye for most of the movie (thanks to a cut). But nope. Final scenes, he has totally lost the eye.

I'll put the spoilers here, for those who don't know already. I had heard beforehand how it happened, but I was hoping people were just misunderstanding the circumstances. Nope!

[spoiler]Goose the cat scratches it out, thanks to Fury acting too cute with him. There is no betrayal, Fury is already fully well aware that Goose is a dangerous alien monster who has been faithful to the team -- for no clearly established reason by the way -- throughout the whole film. (Presumably Goose was Mar-vell's pet, and hung around the secret base after Mar-vell's death six years prior.) It is purely a case of a joke based on cats losing patience with humans being cute to them.[/spoiler]

I could rant about every tiresome eyerolling cringey thing in this film, but there's no need: every negative review you've read probably has a significant amount of truth in it, in this case. You can completely skip this film before watching Endgame. Dad thought it was "okay", Bro and I were actively amazed at how awful it often was.

Was there anything I liked? Some of the fx were competent. (Some of them. Agent Coulsen's character seems to have been added in, late into production, and the actor's de-aging tech was so undercooked that all three of us often thought we were looking at a different character sometimes on screen. I assume this will be fixed before the film goes to video.) The amazing satire of Hillary Clinton should be memeworthy, although I'd bet a Coke it was unintentional since Trump was the obvious target, so I don't know if I can credit the film exactly for being truly clever and subversive. I do have nothing but admiration for Larson's insistence on doing her own stunts and fights as much as possible, although in the film it's sometimes hard to tell whether a stunt double isn't being used after all. Um.... it's nice to see Coulsen briefly, even if his interactions with the film are minimal. Jackson is fun to watch even though he's playing what might as well be a completely different character. Larson's acting is supposed to reflect the mind-screwed condition of the character, so I don't hate it as much as some people do, although the goal does seem to be outside her skill range currently. (Okay, not really a thing I liked, but I'm willing to excuse it within context.) ...uh. The Skrull leader does a great job, despite the Skrulls themselves being totally revised to be innocent victims of genocide. But I don't mind that change, since it doesn't actually change anything in the MCU per se (except that the filmmakers milk the change for their agenda points).

...I liked Goose the cat in almost every one of his scenes? (Except one.  ::) )

.......the film makes Black Panther look a lot better by comparison?  :-\
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

JudgeDredd

I liked it  :-"

Saw it for a second time and enjoyed it more than the first time. Certainly not MCUs best movie, but it went up from a 6.5 to a 7.5 on second viewing. We'll be going to see it again.

I don't agree with your take on the eye thing. Whilst not what I was expecting, there was trust there.

I thought Larson played the part very well. Loved her little facial goings on. Jokes were mostly on form and at the right times.

I would agree there was some ropey CGI - very unusual for an MCU flick.

There was some political stuff in there, but I go to be entertained not watch a party political broadcast so I can look past them most of the time. For example (of me looking past them) I don't recall anything "relating" to Trump or Clinton. I did see the Skrull as victims/refugees and linked it to Syria and...but then I went Nope and carried on watching. Nothing new in that.
Alba gu' brath

DoctorQuest

I'm with JD. If I can lose track of time watching a movie that is a good thing and that's what happened when I saw CM.

I agree that the CGI "de-aging" of Coulsen was a little wonky. I can live with that.

"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.

Sir Slash

I wonder if they could, 'de-age' me? I'd take wonky in a heartbeat.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

JasonPratt

Quote from: JudgeDredd on March 18, 2019, 10:53:02 AM
I don't agree with your take on the eye thing. Whilst not what I was expecting, there was trust there.

Not the kind of betrayal of trust that was implied by what was said in Winter Soldier. Also, obviously trust remained afterward -- not only with the character that took his eye, but with shapeshifting aliens and everyone else on the team. So there was no betrayal involved at all, and the loss was treated very calmly afterward like an inconvenience. There was no harsh lesson that made him paranoid and suspicious afterward. It was more like, ah, my bad, I was fooling around with the cute little pussy too much and should have been more respectful, so I deserve it, no big deal if I got my eye scratched out, we're good now...

....wait, did I just decode the 'message' of this joke?!? Was this a visual pun the whole time!???

#:-) :hide:
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Staggerwing

I just saw it this afternoon. I had taken time off for a doctor's appointment that got cancelled so I thought, 'why not? I don't feel like working anyway.'

The movie wasn't bad, entertaining enough if a little long in the middle. It would have been better if it had been made a few years ago and not suffered comparisons to the more recent MCU movies such as the last two Avengers flicks as well as Thor:Ragnarok, Black Panther, and the two GOTG films. Someone online made the argument that CM should actually be the first movie in the MCU's recommended watching list, not just for the timeline (90's) but also for the progression of movies in their complexity and content.

AFA the cat- likable enough though it's big 'reveal' (not the eye, you know what I mean...) seemed more appropriate to Galaxy Quest or an episode of the Orville than an MCU flick.

All in all, still worth watching without a doubt, though seeing it at home on a big TV with a beer or two might have been better. I should have saved the cinema experience for A:Endgame. 
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

JasonPratt

#40
The other thing about the cat I actually like, because it's a cute piece of canon they managed to keep for the story! (Sort of.)

I'm a cat guy anyway, so not gonna lie, the cat (per se) was by far my favorite thing about the film, but I'm biased.  :bd:

Talos was probably my second favorite thing. Which is a little weird because they borrowed his name and literally nothing else (other than being a Skrull) from a one-shot Skrull character, also written pretty well, created by Peter David for his epic canon-redefining run on the Incredible Hulk, appearing just after the wedding of Rick Jones (an old sidekick of the original Captain Marvel, as well as the Hulk and even Captain America) and Las Vegas showgirl Marlo.

To be honest, I had forgotten exactly where I had heard of Talos the Skrull before, and had to look it up. The wedding was rather more important storywise, but PD did a good job writing a Skrull warrior who couldn't shapeshift but who had nevertheless earned a great reputation in the Skrull Empire as a crazy-ass warrior despite his handicap. After being captured and broken by the Kree, he wanted to earn a noble death for the Empire by challenging the Hulk himself -- back during his days as the Unified Hulk, no less, when he was at arguably his most fully dangerous fighting capability! Coincidentally the Unified Hulk, aka Professor Hulk, aka Doc Green, will apparently featured heavily in the Endgame film. (The Hulk refused to be goaded into a murderous rage and tried to talk him down despite Talos' insults, so that Banner could try to restart his marriage with his ex-wife Betty Ross.)

He's had a very modest career as a more-or-less heroic Skrull on occasion since then, crossing paths with Gamora, Ronan the Accuser, and the Nova Corps (sort of), to give some MCU references. He didn't have anything to do with the Secret Invasion, though he was popular enough among his fellow Skrulls (despite his disability) that they always hoped he would join the fight. (The Skrulll Queen refused to deploy him.) He also fought Howard the Duck in a (very lame) attempt to enslave the Earth, which seems to be the last time he has appeared in comics. All I knew him from was the suicide-by-Hulk attempt (the other things I found out when trying to remember who he was.)
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

JasonPratt

If you're meandering around the net and see various videos badmouthing the film's sales performance...?

Well, some things could be badmouthed, but sales performance failures area myth. That's just wishful thinking by some people wishing the film would fail.

ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

airboy

We go to movies on cheapo Tuesday.  My wife was finally in town on a Tuesday so we saw Captain Marvel this afternoon.  It was meh.

Much better than:
Any of the Hulk Movies
Iron Man 2 or 3
First 2 Thor Movies

and worse than almost all other Marvel movies controlled by this studio.  Captain Marvel herself was boring.  I did not feel much of a connection with her one way or another.
I've never liked Jude Law in anything - and this movie did not change that.  The Kree-Scrull conflict in this movie was boring.

I did appreciate the Stan Lee tribute at the start of the film.  I liked the music (We saw three of the bands play songs used in the movie when they were supporting the album with that song).  A de-aged Nick Fury looked weird in places. 

I liked Aquaman a lot better than Captain Marvel.  I would give this a "C" and would not have been upset seeing it at home instead of the theater.

airboy

Quote from: JasonPratt on March 20, 2019, 03:33:59 PM
If you're meandering around the net and see various videos badmouthing the film's sales performance...?

Well, some things could be badmouthed, but sales performance failures area myth. That's just wishful thinking by some people wishing the film would fail.



I disagree with one point on his box office analysis.  He is using dollar numbers for films released a decade or more apart.  You must adjust the dollar box for inflation, or at least look at number of tickets sold, to do any sort of rational analysis of box office take.  Captain Marvel was a money maker - but not as much as some of the other Marvel Movies when you adjust the box office for inflation.

Sir Slash

I saw it Saturday and thought it was good but not great. It had a few genuine great moments but overall fell short of most of the other films. I liked the CGI Colson and Fury as well as Larson as the Captain. Didn't care for the whole, 'girls can do anything boys can do better' theme or the over-powered, Supergirl knock-off effect. I'd go 6 outta 10. My 2 cents.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.