Deadpool/Wolverine - July 24

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about the ‘Deadpool 3’ film instead – spoilers alert ahead!

…As it was written before, this is a redemption story, and hence a monotheistic, rather than a polytheistic one. Both of the titular characters of the film are down on their luck and are not handling it too well, so enter the TVA to shake the situation for them up even more. The TVA is also supposed to tie them into the MCU multiverse, but as the events of ‘Loki’ S2 showed, MCU has largely shoved the TVA itself to the sidelines, so this aspect of the movie is kin of doubtful – even for the movie.

No, seriously, the main element of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ are the titular characters, as they get their bearings in gear, (or whatever the phrase is), and have to defeat both Dr. Cassandra Nova, and deal with the TVA, which still has its’ own problems, reminiscent of ‘Loki’ S2 once more. The TVA, however, quickly becomes sidelined (until the end of the film, and even then it is not too important any longer), and we are left with an X-Rated MCU mutant movie instead.

The plot is straightforward: Wade needs to save his world by fixing the whatever problems his world’s Wolverine has made. Logan – from this universe – also needs to save his problems, and save their world in the process of doing so. Logan, however, has lost his mojo, and Wade is trying – in several meanings of the word – to help Logan recover it. Pause.

The fact that both of those characters have very tangled timelines from the RL perspective does not help. Therefore, D&W has relocated itself largely to the Void from ‘Loki’, (introduced in S1), where they encounter various mutants and several other characters, both from MCU and otherwise. Mind, that the movie’s plot is a straight-out redemption story, seen through an equally straight-out RPG plotline, where the titular characters have to defeat tougher and tougher opponents until the final boss – Dr. Cassandra Nova in this case. Moreover, since the end of Phase 3, MCU did not really go for in-depth, rounded villains, (the situation with Kang and his actor had not helped things either), and so, Dr. Nova is rather forgettable, as is Paradox, (who gets arrested in the film’s end too, as part of TVA’s cleaning up its’ house at the end of ‘Loki’ S2. Isn’t interconnectivity clever, cough?). What next?

The movie is carried by emotions rather than logic, and by visuals rather than anything too in-depth – R-rated or not, D&W is still a Marvel comic film, and as such the next ‘Gawain and the Green Knight’ movie it is not. Thank goodness for that, too. What else?

Ah yes, the extra mutant variants of the films. Guess MCU has not yet given up on the Multiverse concept, and RR is doing a better job in fixing it than the Rock did with DCEU… before it ended. In addition, Wade broke up with Vanessa (at the beginning of the film)? Seriously? After the emotional wrangler, that was their second film? Well, weirder things have happened…  The point is that D&W film has delivered a good story, and it is good, even if it isn’t seminal, semiotic, or anything else high-brow. It has not recharged me per se, but it did bring something of a smile to my face after all.

This is it for now. See you all soon!

FH: Sohei - July 24

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, but at least there is entertainment, on the other hand.

First, there is the ‘Despicable Me 4’ film. It… is not bad, but it is still apocrypha: see, the first three films were about Gru changing from an anti-social villain into a more social anti-hero. Then there were the Minions’ movies, which acted as something like a prequel to those first three films, explaining the Minions’ general history and their shared history with Gru. Now, the DM4 film seeks to reset the timeline, by introducing Gru’s new son, by introducing Gru’s history with him, and by rebooting the Minions and their new employers, (cough). It is not a bad strategy, just a weird one, and given that the DM4 is a less than a successful film, (by the critics’ standards, anyhow), I guess we know as to which side the coin has landed.

Second, there is, well, the second season of Hulu’s ‘Hit-Monkey’ series. It is based on a Marvel comic line, but it is not a part of MCU, which might be why such sites as the Marvel comic database are downplaying it in favor of the D3 film, which we will discuss at another time. ‘Hit-Monkey’ S2, meanwhile, might not be something epic, but it is still worthwhile to watch, you know?

Finally, we come to FH (‘For Honor’) newest hero, the Sohei. In RL, they were warrior monks of the Buddhist variety, so GM has never utilized them in his ASOIAF, at least not in the canon, or even the GoT, versions. FH, again, created something, or someone else entirely, armed with seven different weapons of all things, and the primary one appears to be some sort of a glaive – aka a variant lance. Again, FH’s PC has little in common with their RL counterpart other than their name, but that is par for the FH’s course. Pause.

Now, here is probably when you expect me to rant about something or other, but the truth is I have no energy to do so, no motivation. I watched recently a YouTube personality rant about the Megalodon of all things, how is has most definitely not surprised. Now, I agree – the Megalodon has died out, if only quite recently, but ranting about this fact? It will not affect anything at all, by now there are two Megalodon, in a manner of speaking – the RL fish that died out, and the imaginary sea monster that continues to exist, and the two entities are both separate and combined at the same time… The point here is that ranting about things is never helpful; fun, but never helpful, and besides, I just do not have the energy, given how things are going on in my RL: yes, Marvel’s treatment of its’ not-MCU-properties is bad, and FH is something else, but it does not matter – things will change soon… or they will not.

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