Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 1

 

I started the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no background knowledge of the series, and thus no expectations. I knew the series was wildly popular, and was essentially looking to fill a void left once I finished the Star Wars movies and shows. I have now finished phase 1 of the MCU (Except for The Incredible Hulk, which I don't have access to. I have heard it wasn't very good, so I'm not too disappointed, but I will circle around back to it if it becomes available.), and I will say that to me the movies range from OK to pretty good. There is lots of action, somewhat shallow plots at times, look fantastic, and have big name actors. Being new to the series, I am sure that certain references fly right over my head, but that's OK. I started out watching the movies in MCU chronologic order by movie release, but it was recommended by Sarah and a buddy of mine who is a big MCU fan, to watch in order of real-world movie release. This is the better idea, as characters are introduced in a logical order. I plan to release a post for each phase of the MCU, highlighting my favorite parts of each movie. Below are my thoughts on phase 1.

 The Iron Man movies are my favorite movies from phase 1. This is solely because of Tony Stark, who is a totally awesome character despite being completely unrelatable. His liking of technology is appealing, as is his celebrity lifestyle and Malibu home. If I could be anyone in the MCU, it would be Tony Stark. Naturally, I like his choice of cars too, driving the fantastic Audi R8 (and I heard later he drives an e-tron GT). Movie-wise, I thought Iron Man was pretty good. I enjoyed the introduction to Tony, as he is imprisoned in a military take-over and uses previously developed but rough around the edges technology to create the first generation Iron Man suit. While it was predictable that an employee from his company would turn out to be his biggest enemy, it was entertaining none the less as the antagonist was played by none other than Jeff Bridges.  No matter how hard I try, I cannot separate Jeff from the Dude character, and he was being very un-Dude in this movie. I didn't think Iron Man 2 was quite as good, but remained decent, mostly because of Tony's character. I also enjoyed Jon Favreau's appearances in the movies. 

Overall I enjoyed Thor. It is probably my third favorite movie in phase 1. I liked the mix of sci-fi worlds and people mixing with mortals on Earth.  I knew nothing about the character beyond the basics (big guy with a hammer). I was interested to find out his character is actually from Norse mythology. I would've assumed he was a Marvel character otherwise. I actually wasn't aware Norse or Germanic mythology was a thing. The Greeks get all of the headlines in this topic. The movie has a fantastic cast. Chris Hemsworth is the perfect actor for Thor, and Tom Hiddleston plays a perfect smarmy villain in Loki. And who doesn't enjoy a Natalie Portman appearance? For some odd reason, I also got enjoyment out of the Gatekeeper and Bifrost scenes. They were fantastically strange. I thought the last 30 minutes of the movie were a bit rushed and over the top, but otherwise the film was enjoyable.

Captain America: The First Avenger was my second favorite movie in phase 1. To begin with, I have always enjoyed period pieces, especially from any time period in the 20th century.  I have always found the World War II era and beyond into the 1990s fascinating, and this movie taking place in this era appeals to me. As far as superhero movies go, this one has the classic government science project gone wrong plot, and the acting and scenery are fantastic. This is the first MCU movie I watched and thus far it has been one of my favorites.

Marvel's The Avengers was my least favorite movie of phase 1. For lack of a better example, the movie played like an orgy of Marvel characters, focusing heavily on them and not at all on the plot. The film looked spectacular but quite frankly was boring. The highlight of this movie for me was Scarlett Johansson's performance of Black Widow. Her character originally appeared in Iron Man 2, but was more prominently featured in The Avengers. Honestly, her character is actually a bit flat (maybe because she's Russian?), but Scarlett herself is certainly not flat. I always enjoy seeing her on screen. I also enjoyed seeing the Hulk "Hulk-out" in rage. That was fun as well. But overall this movie didn't do much for me. It was big budget Hollywood without much substance.