Ideaforge

The MCU has entered Phase 4 in 2021, and many of its movies and shows have spent time fixing mistakes made in Avengers: Age of Ultron. 2015’s Age of Ultron served as the partial conclusion to the MCU’s Phase 2, and though the film was a financial success, it was a somewhat polarizing installment in the Avengers franchise, with many viewers and critics feeling that its choices in characterization and story were questionable. The following films, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame had far better reception, leaving Age of Ultron the closest thing the MCU had to an audience failure and the subject of in-universe maintenance for years to come.

For a film franchise that began in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been remarkably well-received. Supervised by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, the MCU films are spiritually faithful adaptations of their Marvel comic source material and simultaneously crowd-pleasing blockbusters. 2012’s The Avengers changed the pop culture landscape almost instantly by proving the marketability and success of comic book-style shared universe crossovers. Since then, the franchise has grown in recognition and prestige, with Black Panther even winning multiple Academy Awards. The MCU has dominated pop culture for years, but not all of its installments are complete successes.

Some MCU films are considered adequate, at best, especially during Phase 1, where the franchise was trying to find its footing and experiment in making shared universe superhero films. The Incredible Hulk is considered forgettable by some, and the larger MCU has rarely referenced Incredible Hulk in canon until recently. Iron Man 2 had a similarly lukewarm reception, with many seeing its overabundance of characters and storylines as the result of focusing too much on setting up The Avengers and not focusing enough on its title character. 2011’s Thor, while a success, ended with the destruction of the Bifrost Rainbow Bridge, which audiences had little interest in exploring further, so the plotline was quickly resolved offscreen with few mentions afterward. Age of Ultron, however, had many farther-reaching missteps, which 2021’s Phase 4 has recently begun to clean up.

atOptions = { ‘key’ : ’05a47ba863f62ec113e14b51b976d14a’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);

Age of Ultron was not strictly a failure, and could hardly be considered the worst film in the MCU, but it was nevertheless underwhelming compared to its predecessor. In both financial success and critical reception, Age of Ultron couldn’t beat 2012’s The Avengers, and the film was plagued by behind-the-scenes conflicts between writer-director Joss Whedon and the Marvel Studios executives regarding its story decisions. Many of Whedon’s choices were criticized by viewers, ultimately resulting in Age of Ultron being one of the MCU’s weaker installments and the departure of Joss Whedon from future MCU projects.

Some of the key points of criticism among viewers were Thor’s Infinity Stone premonition scene (which many felt was out of place), Hawkeye secretly having a shoehorned in family on a Midwestern farm (a departure from the comic source material), and the romance between Black Widow and Bruce Banner (which was seen as forced by many). Moreover, Black Widow describing herself as “a monster” for her unwilling sterilization by the Red Room was understandably seen by man as a line and overall characterization that disrespected Natasha while being in poor taste. In subtle and overt ways, the MCU has gradually worked to rectify Age of Ultron’s shortcomings and controversies, especially in Phase 4.

The two Phase 4 properties that have done the most cleanup work for Age of Ultron are the Disney+ miniseries WandaVision and the feature film Black Widow. For example, Hydra, the Nazi-affiliated terrorist group from the Captain America films, was seen as lacking in menace in Age of Ultron, but WandaVision succinctly fixed this via flashbacks of Wanda Maximoff’s torturous experiences as their test subject, having her latent magical abilities awakened by exposure to the Mind Stone.

Age of Ultron also glossed over the death of Pietro Maximoff, a devastating loss for his twin sister, by hurriedly moving Wanda into her role as a new member of the Avengers. WandaVision took time to go back and highlight Wanda’s anguish over her brother’s Age of Ultron death, showing that, while she found some semblance of comfort in her Avengers teammates, she didn’t have time to properly work through her grief. Black Widow, correctly, fixes Natasha’s controversial “monster” line in regard to her unwilling hysterectomy. While Age of Ultron framed Natasha as feeling shame for her sterilization, Black Widow reframes the situation to highlight the horrors inflicted on Natasha and all of the other Red Room Widows in training. Ultimately, the only real monster was General Dreykov.

Another criticism of Age of Ultron was that its titular villain was lacking in threat level, especially when compared to other MCU villains and Ultron’s comic counterpart. Ultron was one of the greatest threats to the Avengers in the comics, and adaptations like Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes properly reflected this. The MCU’s Ultron was by no means weak, but his doomsday plot in Age of Ultron was thwarted by the Avengers within a week. Marvel’s What If…? fixes this mistake by introducing a new iteration of Ultron who successfully inhabits his vibranium Vision body, acquires the Infinity Stones, kills Thanos with ease, and threatens the entire multiverse to the shock and horror of the cosmic being known as The Watcher. What If…? creates a far more threatening version of Ultron than the second Avengers film.

atOptions = { ‘key’ : ’05a47ba863f62ec113e14b51b976d14a’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);

Age of Ultron is one of the rare instances of a problematic MCU film, and while future properties mitigated much of the damage it did, the fixes only affect the MCU as a franchise. Retroactive changes, while more than welcome for fixing Marvel’s MCU movie mistakes, won’t change the original films themselves. Age of Ultron still failed to properly make a mainstream MCU Ultron a superlative threat, it still rushed through important characterization for Wanda, and it still mischaracterized Black Widow on multiple levels. 2021’s MCU movies and shows have been enjoyable installments that have repaired much of Avengers: Age of Ultron’s shortcomings, but they ultimately don’t make it a better movie.

Source: Tech Crunch

Warning! SPOILERS for The Many Saints Of Newark

In The Many Saints of Newark, Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.) has a commanding presence throughout the story as Dickie Moltisanti’s (Alessandro Nivaro) increasingly troublesome frenemy — but is Harold in the original Sopranos HBO TV show? As a pivotal character in the events portrayed in The Many Saints of Newark, his future activities between the prequel movie and the hit TV show of the 2000’s naturally draw intrigue, as it’s made clear at the end of the film that Harold not only survives but seems to be on the rise in the world of organized crime.

During the introduction of Harold’s character, it’s clear that there’s history between Harold and Dickie, the leading mobster protagonist of The Many Saints of Newark. Throughout the movie, especially as racial tensions reach a boiling point in ’60s and ’70s New Jersey, Harold goes from being one of Dickie’s close associates to a rival mob boss — one who takes out several of Dickie’s fellow mobsters and henchmen while also having an affair with Dickie’s Italian mistress. No doubt, the schism between Harold and Dickie is intended to represent a greater shift between white and black America following the culture-shifting Civil Rights Movements of the ’60s. With the reconfiguration of polite society, regarding new attitudes towards race, also comes a reconfiguration of the criminal underworld, as manifested in Harold and Dickie’s violent arch-rivalry.

Related: Why Junior Soprano Has [SPOILER] Killed

However, despite being an impactful character in The Many Saints of Newark, Harold is completely new to the franchise, having zero appearances or mentions in The Sopranos. While the Newark riots in The Many Saints of Newark‘s opening that serve as the tumultuous backdrop for much of the prequel film’s first act were based on real-life historical events, these riots feel contemporary and reflective of today’s race-related riots and protests. Certainly, the introduction of Harold to The Sopranos‘ mythology was intended to reflect both post-Civil Rights Newark and today’s post-BLM America.

While The Many Saints of Newark directly confronts race issues in the United States, The Sopranos tackled race from an inverse angle: “deracination,” or the removal from one’s native environment or culture. This theme of deracination played out mostly in The Sopranos with the Italian-American mobsters’ insecurities surrounding their own heritage, or Italian authenticity — an insecurity that became perhaps most apparent in “Commendatori” (season 2, episode 4), when Tony and his henchman visit Italy, which only leaves them feeling like vulgar, culturally uprooted Americans.

Should creator and producer David Chase continue The Sopranos timeline beyond The Many Saints of Newark, namely with Harold’s character, it’d be interesting to see how he connects the explicit racial tension of the prequel to the turn-of-the-millennium’s conditions of deracination that seemingly preoccupied Chase during the 2000s. For now, without any mention of Harold in The Sopranos, audiences will have to rely on pure speculation for Harold’s narrative trajectory following the events of The Many Saints of Newark.

Next: Many Saints Of Newark: Every Scene Christopher Narrates (& Why)

from ScreenRant – Feed https://ift.tt/2Y7uUhH https://ift.tt/3FoIQoO
Source: Tech Crunch

Marvel’s latest hit show What If…? has confirmed once and for all exactly why The Avengers really are the most powerful heroes in the MCU. Ironically, this elevated status doesn’t necessarily come from extraordinary abilities or physical prowess – although those, clearly, are also in ready supply. Instead, the supergroup’s definitive ranking is actually down to something much more intangible that ultimately causes their opponents to underestimate them time and time again.

Throughout the MCU, Earth’s mightiest heroes have developed a happy habit of overcoming overwhelming odds in almost impossible circumstances. Whether it’s repelling an invading Chitauri army as a team during the events of the very first Avengers film, or acting alone during their various solo projects, the six original superheroes have, without a doubt, an impressive track record. Ultimately, as seen during the climax of the Infinity Saga, the crew is even capable of defeating an intergalactic titan capable of wiping out half of existence.

atOptions = { ‘key’ : ’05a47ba863f62ec113e14b51b976d14a’, ‘format’ : ‘iframe’, ‘height’ : 250, ‘width’ : 300, ‘params’ : {} }; document.write(”);

Given the long list of enemies who have fallen foul of The Avengers, their reputation is clearly well-earned. However, for all their firepower, What If…? makes it clear that the real key to The Avengers success actually lies in their humanity. As Jeffrey Wright’s omniscient Watcher explains while watching Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov search for the key to defeating Ultron, “You’re human you keep hope against the best of odds.” This highlights a consistent theme running throughout the MCU – that it is the optimism, determination and refusal to be beaten that defines humanity that ultimately makes The Avengers such a dangerous prospect for Earth’s would-be conquerors.

This argument is evident as far back as Phase 1 of the MCU, and is most obviously on display during the first Avengers movie. For example, Tony Stark’s iconic “you can be damn sure we’ll avenge it” quip to Loki is far more than a call-back to the movie’s title – it also highlights his indomitable spirit, flying in the face of Loki’s belief that humans are “made to be ruled”. Similarly, one of the movie’s most powerful moments comes when an old man stands up to Loki in the face of imminent destruction. This serves as a reminder that, even without any superpowers, humanity is capable of extraordinary bravery. It is this quality that ultimately makes The Avengers capable of their most extraordinary feats.

In many ways, the plot of What If…? episode 8 really emphasizes the point that humanity is the greatest power in the MCU. It is extremely telling that, in the aftermath of Ultron’s assault, it is Barton and Romanov – on paper the team’s most under-powered human characters – that are the last two left standing. It is their human spirit, shared with the likes of Stark, Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner that allows them to unlock the key to saving the universe. Although the MCU is inhabited with innumerable fantastically powered superbeings, time and time again it is those who have a close connection to humanity who emerge victorious.

Source: Tech Crunch