The Marvel cinematic universe, MCU, is known for being a goldmine of superhero movies since the release of “Iron Man” in 2008. In reality, the MCU has become an overmined goldmine that only rarely produces gems of entertainment.
This does not mean the franchise was terrible from the start. Looking back, it is clear that there was more care and thought put into the storylines of the older films compared to the recent ones.
Take “Iron Man” for example, the first of the MCU releases before Disney bought the rights. Originally, the studio expected the film to flop, so those who were part of the making of the film were left alone to do as they wished for the most part.
According to Business Insider, “Jeff Bridges was surprised by how much “Iron Man” felt like an expensive independent movie.”
The first movie of the franchise, although not predicted to be successful in the box office, went on to make $585 million worldwide. Yet, when compared to the numbers of “Avengers: Endgame”, which made $2.8 billion world wide, in my opinion “Iron Man” is still the better film.
To put it simply, this is because the team behind the movie cared. It was not about the money, it was not about fulfilling pointless fanservice to fill up theater seats, it was about telling a story and doing the characters justice. “Less is more” perfectly describes the beginning of the MCU. With the pressure to one-up the previous film from fans, they go more extravagant with every movie but unfortunately lose sight of how to create a decent plot in the process.
The most recent Avengers movies, “Endgame” and “Infinity War”, are perfect examples of this. The stories had an overwhelming amount of characters, too many contrasting personalities, and underdeveloped storylines by default of these issues. All of this put into one movie was a stimulus overload.
Looking back, it is hard to take such a film seriously when a cheap joke is thrown every five seconds to get rid of tensions or cover up the awkwardness between characters that were never meant to interact. In an action movie, comedy relief should not play the main role.
Another downfall of the MCU is the overuse of CGI, although it can be a great element, often leads to feeling more like you are watching a video game instead of a film. Additionally, CGI takes away the bit of magic that comes with superhero films. Gone are the detailed superhero costumes and instead are replaced by what looks like pajamas, if not worse.
The MCU has a habit of erasing canon facts and events that took place in the comics. This is to be expected, but one would think an already developed character will not be rewritten. Look at Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye. Not many fans would know he is unmarried and childless in the comics because of the interpretation of his character in films and movies.
Although used as a side character until recently, he has now taken on a bigger role, but his character remains uninteresting due to being in the background for so long and having nothing in common-besides his name-with his comic self.
Despite these recurring issues, there have been good films from the MCU within recent years. What makes them and the first movies of the MCU different is that they are standalones. When about one hero or one team, things do not get overly complicated. Movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” or “Black Widow” are proof that the MCU could make good movies if they truly wanted to.
The MCU should not be about the abundance of twists and turns in a plot, the money, or even the popularity of a character. Instead, the films need to keep to the original story, follow a tight-knit band of superheros, and take the time necessary to create a film worthy of calling itself a “Marvel Movie”.
