A Bridge Too Far: Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Review

Director: Julius Onah

Notable Cast: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Tim Blake Nelson, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Xosha Roquemore, Johannes Haukur Johannesson

 

Although many fans seem to have been burned by the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) at this point, the series' transition in the wake of waning audience interest and a relatively public meltdown over its future makes the current slate perhaps more fascinating than the last half-decade. Attempting to soft reboot the MCU with a new Captain America film certainly seems like gold on paper, but the fourth film in this series within the grander franchise is far more fascinating in the larger context than “good” as a film.

 

Captain America: Brave New World is heavily focused on bridging the past and the future. Even the title, although perhaps hard to swallow when compared to the iconic book that shares it, seems to indicate a strange relationship between what has happened before and where it wants to be.  That’s not to say that every MCU film hasn’t been aggressively obsessed with callbacks and flashforwards, but the relationship here in Brave New World is one of the most unusual.

 

In the wake of Avengers: Endgame, the world changed. That applies to both the film itself and the fictionalized reality its characters inhabit. There was no more Captain America. Or Chris Evans. No more Iron Man. Or Robert Downey Jr. (…at the time of its release). Disney was struggling to find their voice and plot with new heroes, despite some genuine successes in films like Shang-Chi or misfires like The Eternals. The meteoric descent of Jonathon Majors left the new era without its Kang the Conqueror and a gap for a new major villain. And while the series was retooled, pulling away from a variety of increasingly ignored Disney+ shows, they needed a breather.

 

That’s where Captain America: Brave New World falls into place.

 

Everything Seems to Work Out: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Director: Taika Waititi

Notable Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch

 

Even within the now-rather-infamous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Thor series represents a fascinating part of it. While Iron Man set the tone for the series, the initial run of films was meant to represent various genres within the franchise. Sure, there was a common thread of spectacle, humor, and just enough heart; the Thor series felt so much more serious than the rest. For Thor’s first two films, the Shakespearean tones that blended with the fantasy elements of gods and monsters were initially met with mixed results from audiences and critics. While Thor represented a key cornerstone of the MCU, the character’s adventures were the weakest part of the initial ‘Avengers Initiative.’ 

 

However, during the ‘second phase,’ the MCU found a way to get the more cosmic aspects of the Marvel world to resonate with audiences: by making them funnier, brighter, and more entertaining. It worked for James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, so it could work for Thor, right?

 

Universes of Future Past - The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Review

Director: Matt Shakman

Notable Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles

 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is gorgeously designed to look like it's caught in a time vortex between "the future" and 1960s New York City. It's the kind of production design that ought to catch some Oscar buzz early next year, and it's a shining example of some of the intriguing aspects of this "first" film of the new phase of the MCU. Right away from the trailers, one could tell that there was going to be a little more thought and effort thrown into the mix for this latest adaptation of Marvel’s First Family. To be fair, there was no way it could be worse than Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four (2015).

 

However, First Steps is also a film that seems to be caught in a time vortex between moving the MCU forward in refreshing ways and maintaining the status quo. For every progressive choice it makes for the franchise, it seemingly takes a step or two back out of fear of moving too far away from the blueprint that has made the MCU a movie juggernaut. It's an unfortunate balancing act that never seemingly manages to find its momentum and leaves one wondering what First Steps might have been with just a smidge more courage.

 

With Our Powers Combined: The Marvels (2023) Review

Director: Nia DaCosta

Notable Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Lewis, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Park Seo-jun, Lashana Lynch

 

Although I was overly optimistic about Captain Marvel initially, I’ve cooled quite a bit on the film since its release. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has struggled to figure out how to use the character in any kind of exciting way outside of being a deus ex machina-esque plot device in Avengers: Endgame. Yet, the Disney-led Marvel machine seemed intent on creating more layers around the character by introducing two other Marvel-style characters, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan, introduced in the Disney+ Marvel series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, respectively. 

 

Thus, powered by the synchronicity of the MCU, we are now delivered with Captain Marvel 2. Oh, I’m sorry, it’s called The Marvels and not Captain Marvel 2. A film where Ms. Rambeau and Ms. Khan join Captain Marvel to take on the latest threat of world-ending sky beams powered by a villain with a semi-relatable cause in a spectacle-driven blockbuster. You know, it’s a post-Avengers MCU film through and through. 

 

Yet, don’t let my inherent sarcasm in that last statement dissuade you from this one. While the MCU has undoubtedly struggled to be consistent in recent years, The Marvels is a shockingly fun and loose ride that moves like lightning, warts and all. After the abysmal garbage fire that Marvel released under the title Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, maybe The Marvels feels like it's worth its weight in gold, but it’s a film that finds a pop and energy that makes it move like it has places to be. 

 

Say No More, Namor: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) Review

Director: Ryan Coogler

Notable Cast: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Angela Bassett, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena

 

With a smoldering look in his eye and a defiant and yet somehow caring lilt to his voice, Tenoch Huerta Mejia’s Namor, the antagonist of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, practically purrs when he’s speaking to Shuri, played by Letitia Wright. His presence is a massive burning sun in the film even as he sits having a heart-to-heart with the big hero. Yet, when he makes his big request to the Princess of Wakanda, he states it as a matter of fact. He asks her to burn the world with him. 

 

You know what? Say no more, Namor. I’m with you. Burn this piece of shit planet to the ground. 

 

Granted, his request in the film is far more loaded with contextual matter than his simple line of dialogue. This isn’t a young man passing a folded-up note to his crush in study hall. Or sending a text message. Or whatever kids do these days. Maybe TikTok. This is a man burdened with the knowledge and memories of a people driven to the sea by Spanish conquerors as they plundered his land for resources. And plundered his people as resources. Once again, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever proves that director and co-writer Ryan Coogler is far more interested in the gray areas of emotional and social commentary provided by the villains than the heroes in his Marvel movies. 

 

Gonna Take More Than Killing Me to Kill Me: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Review

Director: Sam Raimi

Notable Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Xochitl Gomez, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Jett Klyne, Julian Hilliard

 

Although I am not the biggest fan of the first Doctor Strange, a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film that continually seems to garner and convert fans year after year, even I was hyped for its sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The combination of director Sam Raimi at the helm and the fact that it was reportedly a direct continuation of the events from WandaVision (a show that easily ranks as one of the most fascinating and best uses of the MCU formula to retcon characters that were horrifically misused or underused in previous films), made this sequel a must see for me. Not that I would have skipped an MCU movie in theaters, but the stars seemed to align with this one. The question remained, how much would Disney and Marvel try to water down the film to get it to mix with general audiences?

 

Fortunately, for this reviewer, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will just be referred to as Doctor Strange 2 from this point on - although I am tempted to call it 2 Strange 2 Multiverse for the sake of being ‘that guy’, is one that hits its mark. It’s not necessarily the best film for MCU fans, but it might be one of the more entertaining ones in the franchise and it delivers in some surprising ways that allow it to overcome its faults. Although the film requires some stretching and formula establishment to get moving, the latter moments of the film Doctor Strange 2 have so much energy and oddities under its cloak that it does find its voice. 

 

The Complications of the Interwebs - Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Review

Director: Jon Watts

Notable Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Wong, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Haden Church, JK Simmons

 

The final of four Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films in 2021 just happens to be one of the safest ones. In a year filled with giant question marks around new heroes like Shang-Chi and Eternals or the long-awaited, and still very mediocre, Black Widow, Spider-Man: No Way Home seemed like the one that audiences could devour with the most ease. It was a hero in his third solo film of the franchise, one with a deep history in pop culture, and audiences were craving a bit of comfort food in the wake of a new wave of pandemic after a long and tumultuous year. 

 

Marvel understood the need and so did Sony, considering it was a cooperative effort between the two studios in the most obvious ways possible. 

 

The box office numbers reflect this choice as audiences still repeatedly flock to theaters to see this third Spider-Man solo flick.  It’s not shocking. That’s what No Way Home is built to be as a film. It’s pure crowd-pleasing popcorn material through and through, almost to a fault. Nonetheless, through its dynamic action and charming performances, it’s hard not to love Spider-Man: No Way Home to some degree even if its reliance on nostalgia overpowers so much of its run-time and material. 

 

Eternals (2021)

Director: Chloe Zhao

Notable Cast: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Ma Dong-seok, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Bill Skarsgard, Harish Patel

 

Disney and Marvel have always been very particular with how they expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The introduction of mysticism was in a wholly generic and formulaic origin film with Doctor Strange, the leap with Thor into the cosmos happens mostly on Earth, and the introduction of the multi-verse took two entire Avengers films to pull off. The latter is a choice that will now seemingly dominate the entirety of the franchise for the foreseeable future and allow for MCU to exist until mankind burns to the ground.

 

For Eternals, a full-on expansion of the MCU into epic cosmos insanity, Marvel and Academy Award-winning director Chloe Zhao attempt to ride that fine balance once again by introducing an entire new squad of Space Avengers. They are not the Guardians, for the record, but they do ask the hard questions to each other like “who will lead the Avengers now?” to make sure we don’t forget the film is part of the franchise, I guess. These Eternals have been patiently waiting on Earth to receive the call from Space Dad, a six-eyed stone-looking red space god named Arishem, to go back home. Naturally, not all is what it seems and the Eternals’ natural enemy, animal-like bundles of tendrils named Deviants, arise on Earth once more as a pending disaster looms on the horizon. 

 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Notable Cast: Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Wah, Florian Munteanu, Andy Le

 

As a fan of martial arts cinema since I was, oh I don’t know, born, the recent obsession with the genre has been a roller coaster ride for me. A large part of me never expected that Hollywood or the American TV market would embrace the genre as it has in the last half of a decade. Whether it is shows like Warrior and the reimagined Kung Fu or Hollywood blockbusters like Snake Eyes and Raya and the Last Dragon, this latest boom is a welcome change of pace and to see mainstream audiences cheer for and consume one of my favorite and oft-maligned styles of filmmaking couldn’t make me happier. 

 

It’s not that cinematic martial arts on the screen doesn’t go in waves, it does. Anyone old enough to remember will note that it usually pops up every 20 years or so, with the last pop coming in the late 90s and early 00s with the arrival of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and The Matrix (fight choreographer Yuen Woo Ping) in Hollywood. What makes this latest boom so fascinating is the arrival of the latest Marvel film, their 25th of the MCU if I’m counting properly, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. 

 

Not only is Shang-Chi a film that attempts to bring the newest kung fu craze to the world’s biggest franchise, but it’s one that sincerely wants to adapt - and sell, this is Disney after all - Chinese martial arts, culture, and their cinematic history to a wider western audience. It’s a film that often tries to rectify so many of the mistakes made by the original Shang-Chi comic, a cringe-worthy series at best, and thrust its audience into a mystical world of Chinese lore (made up or adapting popular elements) while retaining that now formulaic Marvel brand. The combination is thrilling, fun, dynamic, and most importantly heartfelt. I might be biased thanks to my love of kung fu cinema, but this is easily the best Marvel film to date. 

 

Black Widow (2021)

Black Widow promises a highly demanded espionage solo film, but delivers a bland half-servicing Avengers formula six years too late. 

 

Director: Cate Shortland

Notable Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, David Harbour, Ray Winstone

 

Over ten years and dozens of films later, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has finally unleashed its Black Widow film, un-enticingly titled Black Widow, for the masses. Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, the titular Black Widow, was introduced back in Iron Man 2 (only the second film in the MCU for those counting) and fans have been clamoring for her solo film since. Yet, time and time again Marvel/Disney has negated the fans and stumbled over their excuses of why they couldn’t crack the film. Most of which sounded like tripe. However, the scientists and algorithms have finally done it and the film is now out in theaters, it’s thrilling fans, and it’s raking in the cash in the box office and over on Disney+. 

 

It’s too bad that Disney and Marvel seem intent on continually following the same patterns with the character because, once again, Black Widow is a mishandled “could have been great” experience. One where the character takes a back seat to her own story and Feige and company are terrified to deviate too far from the established formula to have anything unique to say about anything related to the character.  

 

Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019)

Director: Jon Watts

Notable cast: Tom Holland, Samuel L Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei

In a way, Spider-Man has always been the perfect superhero. He’s relatable in a lot of ways. Granted, most of us couldn’t have invented web fluid and shooters in high school… but we’ve all been a day late and a dollar short in our real lives, and that’s the thing that’s made him so endearing. He’s kind of a sad sack. For every success, something must go terribly wrong. As our third “Spider-Man 2” in twenty years, this accidentally proves true for the franchise. Again.

Getting out of the way immediately that Spider-Man: Far From Home is not actually a bad movie, especially in comparison to either of the “Amazing Spider-Man” movies, it is lacking a certain something. And I believe that ‘something’ is a fundamental misunderstanding of the character’s strength.

Captain Marvel (2019)

Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Notable Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace

It’s that time of year again. That’s right, it’s the first Marvel film to hit the big screen for the year (with two more on the way by the time July rolls around) and with it comes the usual banter about the substance and quality of the superhero genre takeover of the box office. This first film of 2019 belongs to Captain Marvel, a film that Disney and Marvel seemingly pushed forward as scrutiny from its dedicated fanbase began to criticize the juggernaut company for taking so long to produce a female lead superhero flick. It’s not often that the live action DC films beat Marvel to the punch, but in this case they did. Still, there was a lot of momentum going into Captain Marvel. Not only was this their first female lead film, but it was riding on the coat tails of a highlight year for the company. In 2018, both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War came out blazing to massive box office numbers and incredible critic and fan praise. Hell, the former even won a couple of Oscars and was nominated for one in the best picture category. Ant-Man and the Wasp aside, which came and went with little in the way of punch and pizzazz, that’s some huge momentum going into Captain Marvel and it was going to have a lot to live up to in terms of quality and expectation.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Director: Peyton Reed

Notable Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michael Peña, Hannah John-Kamen, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, TI, David Dastmalchian, Abby Ryder Fortson, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer

As much as I thought the first Ant-Man film was, you know, ‘just fine,’ the choice to drop the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, after Avengers: Infinity War was inspired. The last Avengers film inherently took the Marvel formula and undercut it by inverting the role of the protagonist and taking the series into some shockingly serious and darker territory, but Ant-Man and the Wasp represents the polar opposite. This is a film that doubles down on the Marvel formula instead of trying to subvert it and the film changes the pace from the last MCU film. It's a welcome maneuver after the impact of the last film. Like the first Ant-Man film though, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a mixed bag of execution, once again being a film that’s certainly enjoyable, entertaining, and easy to consume, but it’s also a film that falters from some of the same problems that prevented its predecessor from hitting its potential heights. Fans will definitely find plenty of things to love in the light-hearted demeanor and outlandishly silly premise, but compared to some of the more intriguing paths of the MCU in the last handful of films it does pale in comparison.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Directors: The Russo Brothers

Notable Cast: Um...everyone?

Ten years. The established Marvel Cinematic Universe has been running for ten years and while the quality of the material has seen its fair share of ups and downs over that period, one cannot deny the impact that these films have made on the industry as they have only continually garnered momentum. Eighteen films in this series and after the last handful reached heavy critical and box offices successes, it has all culminated in Avengers: Infinity War, the first of a two-part mega film that gathers all of our heroes into one massive epic against a villain they have been hinting at for the majority of the series. After Avengers: Age of Ultron was a massive misfire and Civil War doesn’t hold up nearly as well with repeated viewings, I found myself skeptical that a film with roughly 2 million characters (estimated) was going to be able to pull anything off worthy of the hype that was surrounding Infinity War. However, this film is not to be trifled with. Not only is it an efficient crossing of the entire series of films, powered by the development of the characters in other films, but it takes a lot of chances that betray the general formulas of the MCU thus far that will leave fans both perplexed and intrigued. It’s both consumable in its nature and occasionally bold for a blockbuster.

Black Panther (2018)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Notable Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis

As the Marvel machine continues to march on, there were plenty of questions to whether a) it could survive a saturation of the market as superhero films became blockbuster tentpoles in damn near every quarter and dominate the summer release schedule and b) whether the continuation of these entries could maintain the high quality of mainstream appeal. As the hype around Black Panther continued to skyrocket in the weeks leading to its release, it would seem that the answers to both of these questions would be answered. Not only is Black Panther one of the biggest releases of Marvel’s slate according to box office figures (with a February release and not a blockbuster summer release date nonetheless), but it’s one of their highest rated films from both fans and critics. The film is bold by Marvel standards, adapting the formula of another massive franchise to help differentiate itself from the normal Marvel machine, and its balance between action/comic book mainstream appeal and its social/political commentary is damn near perfect. Not only is Black Panther a film to dismiss the initial questions posed, but it’s handedly one of Marvel’s best.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Director: Jon Watts

Notable Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey, Jr, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Donald Glover, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Evans

Third time’s a charm right? As the third version of Spider-Man that mainstream audiences have seen in recent memory (with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man being one of the films to truly kick off the box office obsession with superhero films back in 2002), Spider-Man: Homecoming had a lot of things that could have gone horrifically wrong with it. Could is meld the Sony and Disney/Marvel production concepts? Would audiences accept another new cast and “soft reboot” of the hero when both of the previous incarnations crashed and burned with fans and critics in some weird ways? Yet, as surprisingly unsurprising as it is, Homecoming not only looks to dominate the box office, but it’s a remarkably good Spider-Man film that strikes a great balance and manages to fix so many of the issues that were bogging down the last series of films. It’s light-hearted, fun, and ultimately stripped down of the melodramatic densities that this figure had accrued over the last decade and a half. Enough so that it, even compared to other MCU properties, seems a bit refreshing if not occasionally too consumable. With a few flaws in tow, it’s hard not to appreciate the execution and intent of Homecoming for what it is and how it succeeds in that manner.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Director: James Gunn

Notable Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone

After the disappointing leap into the mystic and psychedelic realms of Marvel with last year’s uninspired (but still fun) run at Doctor Strange, it is a much needed boost for my moral for this shared cinematic universe to be returning to James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy for Vol. 2. Initial reviews and reports seemed generally favorable, but with my sheer delight in the Ice Pirates-esque humor, heart, and spectacle of the film first film I was ready for whatever this film was going to throw at me. Truthfully, it throws A LOT at the audience too. Not only does this film attempt to rekindle the kind of action, drama, and silliness that made the first one a sleeper hit for Marvel, but it also goes by it in the classic blockbuster sequel approach: more is more. More jokes, more drama, more plots, and more characters. It even adds in more than that. It runs with the psychedelic nature that Doctor Strange used and gives it grounding, being bombastic in its designs and color schemes all the while delivering the fun movie that people want to see. The execution is not quite as efficient as the original Guardians was, but for a sequel that was attempting to find the same balance and figure out why the original one worked so well, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still a major Marvel success and one that pushes the franchise within the franchise into new territory while still retaining its core.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Director: Scott Derrickson

Notable Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Scott Adkins, Benjamin Bratt

There were a lot of mixed feelings I had when Doctor Strange finished. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is already a series of films that has given me some mixed feelings as a cinephile lately because there is most certainly a formula that they use and it’s made to appeal to the great common denominator of cinema goers. Yes, finally, the MCU is starting to experiment within the reach of the formula and it has garnered some fun films. Guardians of the Galaxy utilized the quirk and charm of director/writer James Gunn to sell its space opera. Ant-Man attempted the Marvel heist flick to mild success. So really, when Disney and the Marvel movie machine decided to attack the realm of mysticism with Doctor Strange, perhaps I got my hopes up a bit too high that they would try to jump the proven track. Instead of a truly unique cinematic Marvel experience, Doctor Strange is the usual MCU fair that garners the same successes and failures of many of the previous films and it generally adheres to the formula pretty strictly – which is kind of sad considering the potential. The film does have a lot of great trippy, psychedelic visuals to go with it and it has that great Marvel sense of fun to go with it, but it’s hard to not be at least slightly disappointed that the film didn’t go further with its concepts. Then again, the film has a 90+% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A Cinemascore, so the people have already generally spoken for the film.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Director: The Russo Brothers

Notable Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Bruhl

At this point, Marvel is a force of almost untouchable power when it comes to the summer blockbuster season. They are a cornerstone of modern cinema that earns praise and money in regular intervals. Whether you think they are overrated, underrated, or whatever, one cannot deny the powerhouse that the MCU has become in the cinema world. In a way, the Disney/Marvel money machine has made an interesting move to continually deliver what the audience wants (fun, action packed popcorn flicks), while pushing the boundaries of the franchise just enough to secure continued critic praise by occasionally fringing on new territory like space operas, political espionage, and heist tales. However, their latest entry into the MCU might be one of their most ambitious yet – taking the much praised comic book story of Civil War and translating it for their movie universe. It’s ambitious, dare I say impressively so at times, but it’s also not too far off from the proven formula to alienate the mainstream audience that earns the big bucks for them. While Captain America: Civil War isn’t quite as perfect as one might have hoped, it is mostly certainly a strong film in an already impressive series that earns its merits with charm, effective moments, and plenty of fan service.

Fantastic Four (2015)

Director: Josh Trank
Notable Cast: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson

It takes a lot of faith and execution to bring the Fantastic Four to the live action screen. It requires a lot of special effects, there has to be impeccable chemistry, and the story has to be one that will appease fans of the cosmic comic values, but be mainstream enough to sell to a bigger audience. This latest incarnation of Fantastic Four has essentially none of these things. The film’s horrific behind the scenes issues and the subsequent box office failure are both well documented in the logs of cinema history at this point, but it didn’t stop me from taking a gander at just what went wrong with this summer blockbuster. To be honest, it’s probably more precise to talk about what went…okay, more than just what went wrong, but needless to say Fantastic Four is a massive fantastic flop and worthy of a lot of the hate sent its way despite some intriguing concepts.