Hawkeye, series premiere - Nov 25

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about ‘Hawkeye’ instead.

…Ok, this is actually not such a good idea, since the show itself has quite some issues going on for itself, with most prominent being the supposedly clever double entendre, (or whatever it is called), as the show’s title is the legitimate moniker for both Clint and Kate, and now the duo have to cooperate with each other, (technically speaking), in order to- but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Let us begin again. The problem of ‘Hawkeye’ is that both Clint and Kate each have their own issues, and they do not like to share. Kate wants to find herself, and hates her up and coming stepfather; Clint wants to spend time with his family, but cannot – because of the tracksuit mafia. And-?

And it has been a running gag for a while now that Clint is the least of all the Avengers; the ‘Endgame’ film and the penultimate episode of the ‘What If?’ s1 tried to change this perception, but not enough, and right now, his opponents are a group of criminals, organized or not, completely mundane, not very competent, and not very intimidating – clearly members of the shallow end of the MCU pool. The fact that Clint has not whipped them yet is not a mark in his favor either.

On the other hand we got Kate, who wants to be like the Avengers – perhaps even an Avenger herself – and, possibly, to avenge her late true father, who died during the battle of NYC in 2012. Sadly, because she is a young and unexperienced vigilante, so far she is underperforming herself, and the fact that her nemesis – so far – is her stepfather is also underwhelming; good thing that Kate’s attitude, charm, and charisma compensate for that lack in spades.

…Of course, the same can be said of Barton, albeit to a lesser extent, but the fact is that by the TV series’ standards, ‘Hawkeye’ delivers a much more balanced and equal act than ‘WandaVision’ did. No offence to the team WV, but in that TV show, Wanda had the lion’s share of the plot development, while Vision developed an identity crisis instead, and by now, there’s no Wanda & Vision, since the show’s Vision was either a construct that Wanda made from her memories with magic… or a completely different synthezoid who has no relationship with Wanda whatsoever, and had actually almost killed her at one point… Where were we?

Right, the transitions. MCU’s Phase 4 is all about them; for example, in the already-mentioned ‘WandaVision’, the titular characters transitioned from a couple into complete strangers, starting their entire relationship – professional, familial, and otherwise – anew. In ‘Black Widow’, the titular title passed from Natasha to Yelena. And in ‘Hawkeye’, the plan is something similar – the titular title will pass from Clint to Kate, especially since the latter is willing and almost ready already. So, what else?

Aside from the issues of underwhelming and duality, (not quite necessary)… no, not quite. The issue of duality is quite necessary, it permeates the first two episodes of ‘Hawkeye’ at least: on one hand, we have Kate, her issues with her new stepfamily, and also the stepfamily’s own issues, (just who did kill Armand III?). On the other, we got the tracksuit mafia, who, clearly, are not a part of that process, but instead seem to be working for, or with, Maya Lopez instead.

The latter was only introduced in the episode’s 1x02 finale, but she’s an important character in the Marvel comics already, and since she wears the title of Ronin, (cough), in one of Marvel’s video games, the odds of her being a rival to Kate’s claim of being the next Hawkeye, are good enough.

Of course, though both ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Ronin’ were Clint Barton’s alter-egos, they’re also quite different from each other, so maybe Maya and Kate will learn to get along – but for now Kate and Clint should survive the tracksuit mafia and etc. Given how Hawkeye was underplayed among the Avengers that is not very encouraging, actually. What else?

Well, there is also the ‘Encanto’ film that also came out this week. It is the latest Disney movie, and it is underwhelming; less ‘CATS-2019’ and more ‘Doolittle-2020’ done right. As it is the rule with the Disney animated films, there is no villain per se, (as there are in MCU or SW movies), rather the film’s main character (and her family, to a lesser extent), and so the result is… a musical. Yes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, I am looking at you. ‘In the heights’, the movie version, was simply overwhelming, with such qualities as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ not applicable to it; that was an epic movie, and ‘Encanto’ attempts to do a liter version of it. The result are overwhelming musical numbers set in an underwhelming, by the numbers, Disney animated movie. With a lack of an antagonist, and with a less extended message than the one in ‘Frozen 2’, ‘Encanto’ leans into more flash than substance easily; it does have a message – about family and family values – but it tends to get buried under all the glitz and glammer of Disney’s animation instead. Anything else?

Yes, the first 5 and a half minutes of the ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ movie. Whereas Disney has apparently removed most of the concept of ‘conflict’ from its’ animated movies, this film has not, however this conflict is changed – rather than humans, (or other sentient beings), so far we got dinosaur vs. dinosaur, (though dinosaur vs. human conflict is close second). Indeed, given what we have seen in all of the previous films of the franchise, there will be some conflict between humans regardless, so it will be interesting to watch…but that is a story for another time.

For now, though, this is it. See you all soon!

Hit-Monkey - Nov 17

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, (though lately it seems to be evening out, admittedly), so let us talk about Marvel’s Hit-Monkey series that had come out today, (Nov 17, 2021). What can be said about it?

It is actually a tough one to describe. On one hand, the combined Marvel team seems to be more withdrawn about it than it did about its’ M.O.D.O.K. cartoon, though it must be pointed out that the two cartoon series are very different on practically every level; M.O.D.O.K. was all about the universe, if not the multiverse, while Hit-Monkey is more restrained, with strong overtones not just of Deadpool, but also of the Kill Bill franchise, (which is owned neither by MCU nor by Disney, thank God). More precisely, whereas M.O.D.O.K. tried to encompass everything but the kitchen sink, ignoring the fact that most of it just unnecessarily cluttered the main story line – the titular character’s attempts to balance out his job and his family life, cough – Hit-Monkey doesn’t do that; it is actually about the titular character avenging his monkey tribe, while meeting all sorts of new people – such as Fat Cobra and Lady Bullseye – in the process of doing this. …Yes, it is an overly simplified synopsis, but it still works; while MCU seems to be getting into the multiverse aspect of itself, Hit-Monkey, well, does not – it got plenty of drama as it is. Of course, WV and TFAAWS did as well, not to mention the ‘Black Widow’ movie, (and I have my doubts about the upcoming ‘Hawkeye’ series too), but, again, this might be a part of the MCU Phase 4 plan.

Let us elaborate. The first three phases were about ‘the sacred timeline’, to use a quote from ‘Loki’, (the show, not its’ titular character). That is good, but in the same show, we saw Sylvie killing off He-Who-Remains, who was one of the Kangs, and so ‘the sacred timeline’ is now just ‘one face in the crowd’ instead. ‘Loki’ also had another Kang taking over the TVA now that HWR is gone, (for the foreseeable future), and so the TVA aren’t about to interfere once Spider-Man, (the Tom Holland version) and Dr. Strange cast the spell that we saw in the trailers – one that was supposed to change the reality…but because Peter Parker began to lose his nerve at the last minute, everything has went wrong, and the latest trailer showed us, among other things, the multiverse of madness beginning to manifest, and Dr. Strange being caught in the middle of it as well. Now what?

Well, firstly, this movie is going to be about Spider-Man, as he tries to save a lot of people at once, while Dr. Strange – well, this version of Dr. Strange, as opposed to the one that we’ve met in the episode 1x04 of ‘What If?’ – is trying to actually repair the damage by returning everything to the status-quo, i.e. how it was before the spell was cast; as the latest trailer shows, the good doctor apparently fails. Back to Spider-Man?

Well, aside from MJ doing the swan done as done by Gwen Stacy in the ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ movie series, (Earth-120703, if anyone cares), there’s the fact that maybe not all of the villains will go after Spider-Man at once; Dr. Octopus in particular seems to have a change of heart, (while Electro appears to have been re-designed instead). It will be interesting to see as to how Peter will deal with all of this, (to say nothing of MJ, you know?).

This, in turn, brings us to the ‘Venom’ films as well as the upcoming ‘Morbius’ movie – by now, the fans are wondering, just what is going on with them? The trailer for ‘Morbius’ in particular seems to be incorporating elements from all three Spider-Man franchises – and it does. Odds are that after the dust of ‘No Way Home’ settles, the world of this Spider-Man and his cohorts will be transferred from MCU to the ‘Sony Universe of Marvel Characters’, which is an entirely different situation and a universe as well. There, Peter Parker, (in whichever incarnation of his), and his friends, (the ones that will survive, anyhow), will try to make their new lives, with no way of returning home, (since the relationship between Sony and Disney/MCU isn’t all that friendly still), while Dr. Strange will have his own hands full, (as depicted in his own upcoming ‘multiverse of madness’ movie, remember?). Moreover, this sort of a situation will fit well into the MCU’s Phase 4 theme of transitions; even the upcoming ‘Hawkeye’ series fit into this theme, as the titular…title will pass from Clint to Kate. Is there anything else?

Ah yes, getting back to Hit-Monkey, this particular Hulu series doesn’t fit MCU’s phase 4 at all, and we’re not talking about the depiction styles either. Then again, ever since the Helstrom series, Hulu’s Marvel shows and series tended not to be part of MCU at all, so Hit-Monkey’s ‘nonconformism’ is not too surprising either, to be honest. It is still fun to watch though, but that opinion is subjective…

Well, this is it for now. See you all soon.

Eternals - Nov 10

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, those last few weeks had been taxing, therefore let us talk about the latest Marvel movie, the ‘Eternals’ (2021), instead.

Where to begin with them? With ‘Shang-Chi and the legend of the 10 rings’, of course. Both movies are simply different, but both differ from the rest of the Phase 4 MCU, (so far), by being not transitioning, (as the ‘Black Widow’ film was, for example), but introductory, they introduced the titular characters (and a few others) from – a blank slate. Yes, this was how the Iron Man, Thor, and the rest of the initial characters got their start, but the situation back then was different, even by the standards of the MCU mechanics.

…Does this state of affairs relate to the mixed reception that the ‘Eternals’ got from the critics and the audience? Good question. The movie itself is not very different from the standard MCU fare, though the difference is that the Eternals, the Celestials and the Deviants are not usually associated with the Avengers in the Marvel comics; in fact, I remember that when the Marvel comics restarted the Avengers sometime before the COVID-19 outbreak, they actually killed-off the Eternals because of reasons… Well, actually, because the Celestials went insane and had their own civil war instead, and part of the fallout was that the Avengers’ new HQ became a corpse of the one of the Celestials – and now look at MCU, where Earth now has a frozen Celestial stuck in it for real. What is that point?

…The point is that the ‘Eternals’ have not deviated all that much from the Marvel comic baseline, no more so than the ‘What if?’ cartoon series have, no matter what the critics say, or Ms. Chloe Zhao, who made the movie says. Yes, the ‘Eternals’ have social minorities – there’s a gay InHuman, and a deaf one – and there’s a sex on the beach scene – but, uh, what is the point?

…Oh, that this is a milestone for the Marvel movies, whose lack of a variety got rather obvious by now and then there is the entire sex on the beach situation? How wonderful, Disney/MCU is first in Hollywood to reach those milestones and to come out ahead in connecting with the little people in the real world. Yay!..

However, seriously, at the end of the line, there are two types of movies and co. – fiction and non-fiction. Movies, just as TV series, comics, books, and etc. can be either one or another, and the ‘Eternals’ are clearly fictional. Of course, so was ‘Nomadland’ and the rest of Ms. Zhao’s films, so what is exactly the difference between the ‘Eternals’ and the rest of her films?

Well, Captain Obvious points out that the ‘Eternals’ are her MCU debut, and that while the rest of her works were realistic, the ‘Eternals’ are not. Everything else is a matter of taste, opinion and prejudice, something that the reviews and critiques of the ‘Eternals’ have shown. Some people claim that Ms. Zhao have sold-out to Disney/MCU, others deny it, but the fact is that she did get paid for the ‘Eternals’, and a good amount of money – but that is between her and her employers, may her professional relationship with them be of a better sort than what ScarJo has had. Anything else?

To – regretfully – beat a dead horse, let’s get back to AoS, for the ‘Eternals’ are a movie that would’ve benefitted better by being a TV series that the AoS had been, i.e. – a soap opera that disguises itself as an action flick. Sersi – don’t confuse her with GoT’s Cersei, please – is rather reminiscent of Chloe Bennet’s Daisy/Quake, while her main man Ikaris has traits of both MCU’s Grant Ward, (currently deceased), and of Marvel Comics’ Hyperion, (I don’t know his current status, admittedly). Indeed, Ikaris seems to be reminiscent of both DC’s Superman and of the Homelander from ‘The Boys’ Franchise. So what?

So nothing – this only shows that despite their pedigree, the ‘Eternals’ are still a MCU movie, however atypical one at this stage. The movie’s details might be (mostly) unique to it, but the basis is still the same, nothing more. Ms. Zhao’s movie-making skills are unquestionable, and so she delivered once again, creating a very enjoyable spectacle – and the fact that she was able to multitask, i.e. create an enjoyable movie that also checks all of the ‘correct’ politically progressive marks only reinforces her formidability. That is all. Feel free to enjoy the ‘Eternals’ if you like Disney/MCU movies, and if you do not – then no. That is the bottom line.

In addition, this is also it, for now. See you all soon.