Captain Marvel (2019), dir. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

sounds sick

the real answer is that the action sequences in MCU movies seem to be outsourced to Disney/Marvel's....in-house crew, whoever that entails. I'm still waiting for a decent tell-all on how their production process works.

Do you have a source for that? I've definitely seen Ryan Coogler geek out about all the small intentional stuff he put into one of Black Panther's fight scenes.

I think it depends on the director

But Lucrecia Martel said this recently

I received an e-mail from Marvel for a meeting,” Martel said. “So I went to the [Marvel 10th Anniversary] reunion. I actually signed this thing where I can’t talk about that reunion. Marvel and other such production houses are trying to involve more female filmmakers…What they told me in the meeting was ‘we need a female director because we need someone who is mostly concerned with the development of Scarlett Johansson’s character.'”

Martel continued, “They also told me, ‘Don’t worry about the action scenes, we will take care of that.’ I was thinking, well I would love to meet Scarlett Johansson but also I would love to make the action sequences.”

Yeah that's the intvw I was thinking of. (also, I'm quite sure she wasn't supposed to disclose that, but gives zero fucks)

I remember reading, or discussing here, around the time of Iron Man 3, that they send the directors to some intensive CGI action sequence boot camp. Certainly at the time there was no indication Shane Black was capable of an over-the-top CGI spectacle, for example. I do think the quality of the action sequences in these movies boils down to the quality of the writing, and that a lot of them are driven by quips and personal interactions and that is what sticks out. It's why the airport fight in Civil War stands out as a highlight, or for that matter why Spider-Man Homecoming worked so well.

and this is the relevant Coogler piece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNHc2PxY8lY

oh shit i didn't know this was the condorman thread

i too was enthusiastic about condorman as a child, though admittedly it was more the concept of condorman then the actual movie, which was fairly unwatchable (though there are, i am certain, many worse films in the world)

character of maria rambeau clearly inspired by arthur rimbaud, i don't know how chaw missed this

I am glad for this Condorman appreciation.

Anyway, just got back from seeing CM and yeah, solid midrange Marvel film with some sharp moments. Came in with lowballed expectations and it all turned out fine.

I enjoyed it a lot, I was wondering if there was a bit of "Okay, we're going to have the first female lead in a Marvel film, we should make sure that Samuel L Jackson is on screen for 85% of the film" - which is progress I suppose!

I thought it was pretty great. Started slow & I was concerned that it would be alien-world nonsense at first but that was only momentary

Solid fun

This was better than I was expecting, although it suffered a bit from clunky pacing. Larsen was just kinda ok (although she played off of Jackson well), Annette Bening was wasted, Sam Jackson more or less carried the movie. Mendelsohn has some fun. Jude Law is Jude Law.

Of course the real MVP was Goose the “cat”.

Liked the *spoiler*villain reversal*end spoiler* which I should have seen coming but somehow didn’t.

Despite their house visual style being pretty bland and uninspired (with a few notable exceptions), for the most part Marvel has established a fairly consistent baseline of entertainment value that is pretty impressive.

i think it's high time we moved on from having spaceships be varying shades of brown and bronze and shadow inside. it's very annoying and you can't fkn see anything that's going on

^yes

I kinda don't get the backlash. I don't mean the "incel" backlash but the backlash from everyone else who is like "ok we can admit this isn't very good".

I can get how Marvel fatigue could negatively impact a viewing, since by now, these things have familiar beats, pacing, and occasionally homogeneity sets in. But I can't grok how someone who likes other Marvel origin flicks would find this one a cut below.

Yes, the 90's refs were very smack-you-in-the-face, but were mostly innocuous. I felt like they kept the scope appropriate, the ties to Endgame were managed well, and I enjoyed Brie as a sassy but grounded hero.

I really hated this. Felt like unending exposition and then uninteresting action sequences even by Marvel standards. Had no interest in the plot, such as it was.

I usually like Larson a lot but she's miscast in this. Her flat affect just comes across as bored/boring here.

The 90s stuff is such a red herring too because this could have taken place at literally any time at all...it's like *cue 30 seconds of Come As You Are...oh yeah this is the 90s...cool*

A full on 90s homage would have been preferable, I think, because there might have been some attempt at establishing a definite time/place which isn't some anonymous spaceship.

Also....(last one I promise)...this felt so weirdly underpopulated. All the settings were so empty and bland and boring.

But other than that you loved it.

A full on 90s homage would have been preferable

No

Also it's not like they drove wind-up cars in the 90s and houses were made of mud

It didn’t fully hit me until later at how reasonably self-contained it was. Everything that’s a direct connective element to all the other films functions just as is in this one; only the mid-credits scene acts as a direct tie-in. Otherwise they’re just Easter eggs and the like if you’re looking for them.

This was pretty good + fun. Mid-tier MCU but that's nothing to shake a stick at (scroll upthread and review the laundry list of past comic movies which were almost uniformly Not Good). I do think we've reached a point, though, where going all-in with this franchise pays way more dividends than just sampling here and there. Everyone I saw it with (my gf and her fam) enjoyed it but there was some confusion among the older folks.

I havent formulated a full thought on this but maybe Guardians & Ragnarok pushed the bar too high & now everyone’s disappointed if it’s not wall to wall crazy fun timez?

i love both those movies (and this movie) so idk maybe i am barking up the wrong tree

or maybe just

captain marvel going 🚀 $1B pic.twitter.com/M4W1EHyS3t

— saddy 🚀 (@sapphicaptain) March 11, 2019

marvel fatigue is definitely a thing. the later ones that dont suffer from it have taken steps to avoid the generic mood/message of the general run

ppl who raved about efforts as poor as black panther and dr strange should also perhaps not rush to judge the reasons behind audiences not turning up for more of the same just sayin

I do think we've reached a point, though, where going all-in with this franchise pays way more dividends than just sampling here and there. Everyone I saw it with (my gf and her fam) enjoyed it but there was some confusion among the older folks.

I'm curious about this, because I'm definitely with Ned - apart from the scene at the end, this was a very self-contained movie.

eh? nobody liked Dr Strange. everyone liked Black Panther. there's a major difference on those two. not aaaall of these films get loved.

Y'all just straight-up inventing reality itt. 'Nobody liked Dr. Strange', gtfo.

happy to go on record and say that dr strange was absolutely adequate

The problem, I think, isn't that this film isn't mostly self-contained (which it is) but rather that if your engagement with the MCU is somewhat casual it's probably a little confusing to figure out how this fits into the larger tapestry.

I have to hope that they at least tried to get 'Supernova' on the soundtrack.

Dr. Strange was the rare Marvel movie all four of us saw at the same time in the theaters, and all four of us were like eh. Black Panther, my wife and one kid loved, but that might have been opening weekend excitement, while me and the other one thought it was fine. Kids and I thought both Ant Man movies were meh, but enjoyed the last Thor. Half of us saw the last Avengers, half of us had no interest at all. Everyone loved Spider-verse. Which is to say, yeah, for being so consistent and occupying very similar ground these movies definitely exist in some sort of hierarchy, and just first person anecdotally some degree of Marvel fatigue has def. affected my family. For example, my two girls haven't said a word about Captain Marvel.

both were bad

one was lazy and didnt get great hype in the longer run but plenty of first takes were zomgggg amazing

one was ambitious but messy and fell apart after an amazing setup and the ongoing consensus was that it was robbed of an oscar of best picture which i mean

xp response to jamiesummerz

Which is to say, yeah, for being so consistent and occupying very similar ground these movies definitely exist in some sort of hierarchy, and just first person anecdotally some degree of Marvel fatigue has def. affected my family.

think meself that marvel fatigue impacts a lot less on those that strive for different ground, in particular the stakes and scope not being yet another alien-threatens-continent/govt shut down supergang repliplot

it's probably a little confusing to figure out how this fits into the larger tapestry.

Okay, I thought you meant were confused at the movie.

Look, I'm all for youse guys declaring favorites and bombs and ranking however you see fit but declarative statements about everybody agreeing that this particular movie is garbage or that everybody thought BP was a BP lock makes me wonder what planet you're living on. Hala? Tarnax IV?

xpost I will never be the one saying that, at the very least, as I'm always the one explaining everything to everyone. I think it's just understood at this point that I'm an acceptable facsimile of a walking Marvel Handbook.

I'm assuming that, second only to the film's themes of female empowerment (which are way more understated than one might've been led to believe), the shut-ins will be largely up in arms about the revelation of how Fury lost his eye. But it was kinda hilarious and perfect imo.

I don't know if I'd call them understated (I was expecting a "Nevertheless, she persisted" chyron at a crucial point), but they are fairly specific to her.

HEAVY fucking lol at the "Nah man, I won't be seeing this, I don't dig films that glorify the military-industrial complex" 'critique'

tbf the promo material was pretty heavy on US Air Force tie-ins, unusually so even for a contemporary action movie

Also tbf that is extremely in keeping with the character in general (note: not in any way a fan of the military-industrial complex but facts is facts) but also she isn't even an Air Force pilot in this movie.

was not a big fan of the usage of i'm just a girl in that particular fight scene. seemed kinda tacked on.

I get that they wanted to use that song, and they wanted to do it with an action scene to drive the point, but it seemed like a really bad mismatch in that particular scene

It was on the nose but I think it fit the fight choreography nicely.

Tbf I didn't think the female empower ment was over the top. Other than the "you know why they call it the COCKpit montages, most of the rest of the film seems focused on her amnesia, an Ender's Game-ish misdirection, and a commentary on the uncomfortable relationship between jingoistic patriotism and militaristic imperialism (so basically Kree-Skrulls is Israel-Palestine)

Yeah, the Skrulls came out of this very well, considering that they're also a dangerous group of mad bastards.

The Kree have been painted pretty unequivocally as intergalactic shits of the highest order for years on Agents of SHIELD so it was nice to feel, even if just for a moment, that the TV side of the MCU actually had some relevance.

Quite enjoyed it but it did seem like a somewhat lesser Marvel film.

Wondered about when the Kree became seen to be bad. & the Skrulls to be victims.
BUt Nazis do tend to portray themselves as being heroic, virtuous meritocrats who deserve to rule the universe don't they?

Looking forward to the next Avengers, funny to see the retrofit origin of the group name.

Also need to look up what else was retrofit in this. Carol Danvers seems to have taken on some of the iconography of the male Captain Marvel along the way.