It's been a while since I watched this movie and I was genuinely surprised that I thought I liked it. I mean, I'm also the first to admit to be easily distracted by beautiful cinematography, music scores and actors I enjoy seeing (Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson really are exceptional and hold at least half of the movie together with their acting!) and I think those three aspects are what I remember liking, because the plot is.. questionable on many different levels.
For me personally this is also a great example for how much I learned in the past couple of years about portrayal of violence against women or how rape/murder of women are used as plot devices - and frankly, I don't want to see it anymore, especially when it's done in such a glorifying, male-gazey and sexualized way.
The most infuriating thing in this movie though, is the fact that it implies Susan (Amy Adams) deserves to be punished and unhappy because she divorced her husband (Jake Gyllenhaal) and unknowingly to him aborted their child. And then nineteen years later her then ex-husband sends her the manuscript for his novel in which he shows how her choices/decisions back then made him feel by comparig it to the rape and murder of his fictional wife and daughter?
Anyway, I'm kind of curious to read the 1993 novel this movie is based on ("Tony and Susan" by Austin Wright), just to see how everything is handled in there..
"I am the Watcher. I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me, and dare to face the unknown, and ponder the question: what if?"
The MCU's first attempt at an animated show, and it is a great first step. The animation may look a little awkward at first, but I think they hit their stride near the end of the season. Given this an anthology show, with each episode exploring a different universe within the MCU multiverse, you have to judge this by an episode by episode basis.
What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?
The first episode is the introduction of Captain Carter (Peggy Carter as Captain Am... er... Britain :wink:) and this was basically a retelling of Captain America: The First Avenger but instead of Steve Rogers it's Peggy Carter. While some people didn't like this episode, I understand why they started with this episode. They wanted to ease you into this concept of the multiverse, and this was a perfect way to do so.
What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?
This episode was an absolute blast to watch. Seeing Chadwick Boseman one last time in this series was great. Seeing him interact with the cosmic side of the MCU was a delight to me. Another great thing about this was seeing that T'Challa convinced Thanos not to snap away half the universe, which says a lot about T'Challa's character.
What If... The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?
This episode is set up like a murder mystery, as a unseen killer is killing off the Avengers candidates before Nick Fury could get to them. One great thing about this episode was we got to revisit the locales of The Incredible Hulk movie and see Betty Ross again. This episode also show how easy it is to push Hank Pym into insanity.
What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?
The strongest episode of the season without a doubt. Instead of Stephen Strange losing his hands in the car crash, his girlfriend Christine Palmer dies in the car crash. A time duplicate reverses time over and over again trying to save her, but the original Doctor Strange tries to stop him. "Demon Strange" at this point absorbs the original and is able to save Christine, but at this point his whole universe was being destroyed. It is a really heartbreaking and tragic episode.
What If... Zombies?!
A rather fun episode after the emotional weight of the previous episode. Hank Pym, after trying to save his wife from the Quantam Realm, ends up transmiting a zombie-like virus that spreads to the rest of the world. Like I said it was a lot of fun to see Zombie Hunter Spider-Man as well as Hulk vs Zombie Scarlet Witch.
What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?
This episode was a bit of a downer in my opinion. Having the villian kill Black Panther (to soon man) just made me have mixed feelings on this episode. Although it was cool to see T'Challa in the afterlife realm, consoling Killmonger.
What If... Thor Were an Only Child?
Yet another fun episode, since Thor didn't grow up with Loki as his brother, he ends up being a spoiled brat. This episode is just hilarious and fun having a great world spanning battle between Thor and Captain Marvel. There is even a funny moment where Thor quips at her "Why don't you smile more?" and Captain Marvel beats the crap out of him as punishment. Also the ending reveal of Ultron in posession of the Infinity Stones is great.
What If... Ultron Won?
I absolutely loved this episode! We really get to see the full power of Ultron and the Infinity Stones. We also get to see The Watcher for the first time, and he's pushed to his limit, being tested to interfere or not. Also, a great Hawkeye moment, sacrificing himself to save Natasha from the Ultron drones (nice reversal of the situation from Avengers Endgame). This episode also ends with Uatu asking for "Demon Strange's" help.
What If... The Watcher Broke His Oath?
This brings the main characters from each episode together to form a "Guardians of the Multiverse" to take on Ultron. Unfortunatley this season we didn't get an episode focusing on Gamora (with Thanos's armor), but despite that, they put on an epic finale to this season. With an awesome fight between the Guardians and Ultron.
Overall, impressively good for their first outing in animation. I just can't wait for more of this. With this concept, the skys the limit, so I think it's going to get crazier from here.
Glad I take Trakt.tv comments with a grain of salt because this movie was quite literally a work of art. I’m a sucker for anything that toes the line of cosmic horror and Jordan did this beautifully.
Even without listing off metaphors or “you just don’t get it” statements this film stands alone as a slow burn tension building horror/scifi epic. As long as you’re willing to accept not every question needs an answer, and not every “otherworldly thing” needs an origin story, this should be a fun ride for you. This checked all the boxes of what I want in an alien movie for me.
Rated it a 9, but so close to a perfect 10. There were some odd character choices and I do think it’s about 30 minutes too long but I found myself not wanting it to end by the final act anyhow. SO GOOD!
It's such a sweet show. I really don't know how people can hate it cause it's so adorable. I was watching this with my little siblings and they were hooked. I just wish that there was more of it.
