The cinematic event of the younger generation took place in the summer of 2019. Audiences ate it up like a big, fat turkey on Thanksgiving Day, after 11 years of world-building and 22 films. No other franchise has been able to pull off the feat of delivering spectacular thrills and unforgettable moments while tying all its loose ends in a messy bow.
Even if the declaration made some film fans cringe, it wouldn't be an overstatement to call the movie the event of a lifetime. The movie was a collection of jokes, characters, and stories so ambitious that they changed the way we consume cinema. The film was an undertaking of Herculean proportions, and it was successfully pulled off, dazzling audiences and leaving them in shock and awe.
The landscape after the game is vastly different. Maybe it was the Pandemic that made us more cynical and unforgiving. Maybe it is the studio setting all this up. The MCU is now more boring than ever. The massive franchise is lifeless and boring like the once-delicious meal that becomes tasteless after eating it too many times. The thrills and surprises of the past have been replaced with meaningless post-credit scenes meant to set up the next chapter in the book.
Audiences are feeling restless because of the post-Endgame landscape. Those who feel betrayed by the once-mighty franchise and those who defend it against any criticism are now split down the middle. Critics are less willing to overlook Marvel's mistakes because they are more glaring than ever and they are daring us to call them out. Call them out, we have done that.
Eternals, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Black Widow have all received mixed reviews. The consensus of these films on Rotten Tomatoes shows that critics are bored to the point of indifference. The reviews will always say that the movie is not great but it is ok for the group.
These projects are being judged as part of a larger machine by critics. They are sentences meant to build a paragraph, which will then make a page, and so on. It is not a matter of whether Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is enjoyable in and of itself, but if it succeeds in setting up the Young Avenger or not. After the introduction of the Disney+ shows, the formula is already straining.
The Disney+ shows accelerated the decline of the MCU. Six-hour stories focusing on important characters in the movies seemed to be a genius idea. Take our money and shut up. When they arrived, we saw them for what they were: small machines to help with the large machines in the factory.
The characters were never explored or developed by either Disney orMarvel. The main purpose of WandaVision was to introduce two of the Young Avenger, Wiccan and Speed, and set up Wanda for the Multiverse of Madness. Similarly, The Winter Soldier and The Falcon were used to turn Sam into the new Captain America for the upcoming Captain America 4. No one remembers Hawkeye and What/If because they have no real purpose.
A two-and-a-half-hour film that only has a 20-second post-credit scene is not a good thing. People are used to it. They don't want to spend 8 hours on a story and only get a post-credit scene. It should have known better than to try to duplicate its formula on screen. Television and film are not the same and what works on one won't work on the other.
The MCU went into a trap by introducing its streaming content. It tried to cut corners and replicate its big-screen success on the small screen without putting in the work or creating content suited for this new medium. It became the DCEU's worst foe.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the director introduced three Justice League members via 10-second video clips from security camera footage. The scenes were clumsy, rushed, superficial, and laughable. The Justice League was supposed to be the way the DCEU introduced it. The DCEU built its Justice League by using security footage, rather than by introducing each prominent Avenger character via a separate project. The DCEU was ridiculed and put on a pedestal by fans, who praised it for taking a long time to build its universe.
The result was the same after six years as the same thing was done by the DCEU. How did the mighty fall?
The MCU has been around for nearly 15 years, and we can tell that it's in a midlife crisis. It doesn't seem to have a clear path anymore. It seems like it is throwing a lot of ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. It's bringing auteurs to direct some of its major blockbusters but limiting their efforts and resulting in films that please no one. To the delight of some and the anger of others, the MCU is doubling down on humor.
Its biggest mistake is how ugly its movies are now. The teams have criticized their tight schedules and unrealistic expectations for the worst client they have ever worked for. It's not unusual for artists to rush against the clock to finish their work on a project and deliver subpar results. Workers can only do so much when everything is against them. The first ones to throw the team under the bus for cheap laughs were Vanity Fair.
The MCU is all about cheap laughs, cheap plots, and cheap thrills. A film with a $200 million budget can be made cheaply. It is still a pioneer in some respects. Audiences are fed up with cheap products and can no longer be ignored. The internet has become bitter and angry due to the fact that these films no longer seem impressive or striking. How long before they stop liking them?
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is close to the $1 billion mark, but it is not struggling at the box office. Audiences still enjoy their content, but they no longer love it. It used to be unthinkable for fans to not be excited about the next project. It is ridiculous to think that the glory days of the MCU are behind it.
The MCU is going in a different direction. Recently, Kevin Feige and his team went on a retreat to plan the next 10 years of content. It isn't like the MCU can't continue, it can and most definitely will The reputation of the franchise is at stake. The battle for the soul of the MCU is something we are discussing.
As it reaches the lower tier of characters, the franchise's problems become even more glaring. Iron Man and Star-Lord were C-list characters before Feige and company turned them into superstars. The MCU was full of promise and originality and had audiences eating from the palm of its huge hand.
The MCU is not exciting at the moment. Can we really say we are looking forward to She-Hulk's debut? Can you tell me about any of the Disney+ shows that are coming soon? The internet is silent as Hercules makes his debut in the middle of thecredit scene. Is anyone familiar with Black Bolt? He made his MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a film that was released just two months ago and already seems forgotten about.
Secret Wars is an event that pits multiple versions of multiple characters in a Super Smash Bros.-style tournament and is being built towards the Secret Wars storyline. The comic book storyline was a character study of the rivalry between two of the most intriguing and complicated figures in the universe, Mr. Fantastic and Doctor Doom.
It is difficult to be excited about something when we know it is not going to be very good. We were trained to expect a lot from the films of the MCU. We are being trained to expect fan service and stupid jokes about how ridiculous superhero names are. The next movie will be just as bad, you just wait and see. It's time for the company to start living up to its reputation as a game-changer. The audience that used to put it on a pedestal will tear it down if it isn't changed. One thing that everyone loves is ripping a fallen idol apart.
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