[7.8/10] My favorite episode of the show so far. “Partners, Am I Right?” finally delivers the lived-in, layered dynamic between Clint and Kate that I’ve been wanting, while also delivering some top flight action, and making Kate’s family situation compelling for the first time in the series.
I’ll confess, I abhor the schmuck bait from the end of the last episode. If you’re going to have Jack hold a sword to Clint’s neck, it’s pretty cheap to immediately deflect into one big misunderstanding when you start this one.
Still, I’m willing to forgive it because the interactions between the assmeled are legitimately good here. I don’t know what the cinch is exactly, but Tony Dalton’s Jack is more recognizable as someone wearing the masque of the genteel bumbler while hiding a sinister side beneath. Likewise, I initially thought Eleanor took her daughter teaming up with an Avenger a little too much in stride (maybe it was just being starstruck.) And yet, the show assuaged my fears, having her take Clint aside and basically tell him “Don’t get my daughter mixed up i this dangerous shit.” There’s a patina of realism in this heightened reality in that. I’m increasingly suspicious that Eleanor herself may be involved in some malfeasance, rather than being hoodwinked by Jack, but it’s still nice to see her responding to all of this the way a mother might.
If that weren’t enough, II love love love the scene of Kate showing up to Clint’s place to spend the holiday together. It gives us a reason to like Kate a little more -- she has empathy for her would-be partner, knowing he’s been through a lot and wanting to make sure he’s not alone at a difficult time. In the same way, it makes us like the two of them together more too. The way they banter about trick shots and trick arrows, shuffle through holidays movies, and come up with plans using what turn out to not be dry erase markers is funny and endearing.
Things get serious too though. I’ll admit I forgot that, in the right hands, Jeremy Renner can be a damn good actor. As much as I enjoy the MCU, he hasn’t always had the chance to show that. But hearing him talk about sparing Natasha when he found her, processing what he’s lost and the depths he fell into when he became Ronin is powerful. Some of that’s thanks to the writing, which is better across the board here. But a lot of it comes down to Renner’s performance, which makes Clint an open wound who’s still living with his pain and trying to warn Kate off from it. Seeing him confide in her a bit, open up to her a little, helps cement the partnership in the episode’s title.
After indulging in some of the slack tide hangout vibe that, vitally, let’s us get to know these characters and see them together when they’re not adventuring, the episode also provides them each with solid missions and objectives. Clint strongarms Echo’s lieutenant, Kazi, with a persuasive argument that Maya’s personal vendetta against Ronin is a losing battle that’s going to lose both her and Kazi standing in the eyes of “the Boss.” For her part, Kate gets her own amusing set of interactions with the Larpers, using the connection to retrieve the trick arrows and secure themselves the studio/merchandise-mandated new costumes. One is dramatic and convincing, the other is fun and light, and it’s a good balance. (Hello Thanos fans!)
But the climax of the episode pays things off in a big way. Snooping through Maya’s apartment and discovering that she’s after Clint’s family ups the stakes here. There’s a threat here that goes beyond Clint himself putting his life on the line. The set piece itself is strong, with too many quick cuts for my taste, as usual, but a lot of hard-hitting action and neat wrinkles like Kate's ziplining adventure to liven things up.
There’s the added benefit of making this a four-way fight where who’s on whose side isn’t necessarily clear. Clint and Kate are a team, of course, but Echo has her own agenda, as does the Widow sent after our hero. The shifting alliances, coupled with Clint’s efforts to keep Kate out of harm’s way, makes for a unique dynamic to the fight.
Plus hey! Yelena! It’s nice to see Hawkeye paying off the tag from Black Widow. The debut is well-handled, with the masked assassin fighting like a widow and giving hints of who she is before the reveal happens. At the same, Yelena’s presence is a complicating factor, in a good way. She’s the sister of someone Clint is still mourning, and as he tells Kate, her mere presence means business has picked up. If Clint’s going to keep his word to Eleanor and stop Kate from falling into serious danger, then he has to dissolve their partnership almost as soon as it truly begins. That’s good stuff, which serves both the plot and the characters.
Overall, this is a winner of an outing which kicks things into gear. The dynamic between Kate and clint has never been clearer or more compelling or more endearing, and with connections to other events across the MCU, we’re getting meaningful developments for Clint as he processes the events of Endgame, while orienting Kate within a wider world.
[7.5/10[ In hindsight, it was probably inevitable that Rafa and Trace would intersect with the Bad Batch. They’re both a set of characters introduced in season 7 of The Clone Wars, and so since this crop of Bad Batch episodes feel as much like a sequel to those TCW episodes as anything, it makes sense that we’d see the Martez sister make an appearance here. While they aren’t my favorite characters in the franchise, I like positioning them as helping out the burgeoning rebellion (I assume?) and running into conflict with the Bad Batch who’s on the same mission for purely mercenary reasons.
There’s also some good setups and payoffs. The show isn’t exactly shy about Omega working on her bow-firing prowess. But there’s a tidy little arc to here inability to consistently hit a target, to her stand-off with Rafa leading to the dangerous situation at the Corellian droid disposal facility, to her good aim and ability to block out distractions to save Rafa’s Gammorrean bacon.
I'll admit that the action didn’t wow me here. The direction was largely indifferent and, while appropriate to the situation, most of the goings on at the droid disposal looked like one big gray mess. But there were some nicely staged set pieces even if I didn’t love the framing and editing of them. Omega getting trapped on a conveyor belt of doom is an old trick to build tension, but it still works. Wrecker’s big damn heroes moment while Tech is tinkering offers some minor excitement. And the combination of the Bad BAtchers and the Martez sisters figuring out how to use the vaunted strategy droid head to turn their old enemies against their immediate threat is a clever way to extricate everyone from the situation.
The game of hot potato between our heroes and the Martez sisters is a little rote, but it gives the two groups something to fight over and chase after, which serves the narrative’s purposes. We don’t get much in the way of ideological differences between the two sides, just ction, but it at least provides a means to show them working against one another when their interests in possessing the head conflict, and then the two groups working together when it’s a necessity to escape eh facility’s security droids.
In terms of little mmets, it’s troubling to see Wrecker’s headaches continue, to the point ath now he’s even briefly using the “good soldiers follow order” line. The poor lummox is a ticking time bomb, and I hope the Bad Batch (or somebody) figures out how to neutralize the chip (thereby giving them the knowledge and motivation to do the same for Crosshair) before it’s too late. On a different note, it’s a cheap gag, but I got a kick out of Rafa stealing Trace’s distraction idea, Rafa saying “Is there an echo here?”, only for Echo to respond, “Yes, I’m Echo.” Dumb, but funny.
Otherwise, the peak of this one is the end. I like picking back up the theme that Hnter and his comrades aren’t exactly sure what to do now that the war is over. Fighting for the Empire doesn’t seem right to them, and the notoriously transactional Rafa even admits that sooner or later you have to take sides, a late-breaking sign of character growth from her arc in TCW, and a hint that Hunter and company may eventually make the same choice. The conflict between protecting themselves and staying out of sight versus fighting against the successor organization to the one that trained and deployed them is an intriguing one. Hunter taking the head for himself, but giving the data download to Rafa is a nice middle ground on Hunter’s And I’m also curious as to who Rafa and Trace are working for. (My money’s on Bail Organa, but I’d like to be surprised!)
Overall, another good outing of The Bad Batch that once again connects the series to other Star Wars projects, but feeds back into the clones’ central story of finding their place in a post-Empire galaxy.
I don't get nearly as excited about the MCU as I used to (mostly because they're churning out movies and TV shows at a rate that I just can't keep up with), but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Definitely worth watching.
Some loose thoughts/things I enjoyed below (spoilers are marked):
- the story is good, the 2nd act is kind of slow, but it picks up towards the end
- the fight scenes are super cool and creative (especially the one on the bus and the one on the scaffolding)
- I liked the way they utilized the rings in fights, it felt really fresh and like something we haven't seen before
- the final battle is actually awesome (monkey brain loves big monsters and explosions)
- the cast is excellent (I'm particularly thrilled to see Awkwafina getting more recognition)
- the soundtrack is beautiful and I love the way they used traditional Chinese melodies
- badass women all around (Michelle Yeoh my beloved)
- impeccable CGI
- some gorgeous scenery
- MORRIS
- loved the callback to the Mandarin mess from Iron Man 3
- Brie Larson cameo (I know the fandom has collectively decided to hate her, but I don't care, that was a treat for me and me only)
- Xialing effectively utilizing girl power by taking over her father's crime empire (I feel like there was definitely some comic book reference flying over my head there but who cares). My friend and I joked that she'll be getting a Disney+ series shortly
Overall, it was a treat. Strongly recommend.
Ahhhhhh i’m so happy they are not shying away from the tough conversations on what it means to be Captain America in this decade. I love symbolism in storytelling and there’s no stronger symbol than that shield, and the way they have used it as a vehicle and representative of the different American identities (good and (really) bad) has been incredible.
Steve Rogers, John Walker, Sam Wilson and Isaiah Bradley all represent sides of the US that co-exist, and John Walker being the effective Captain America for most of this show isn’t accidental - he’s the side of America that’s most present and salient right now (in the world off the screen), but ending the show with Sam Wilson carrying that shield - and going through all the issues that that might bring up - is as powerful a message as any - one of hope and of what the US should aspire to be. Steve Rogers is no longer enough, Steve Rogers is the American Dream - Isaiah Bradley the American Reality - and Sam Wilson is both. This show, and all of Captain America’s storyline, is about so much more than just men in spandex and they’ve done a fantastic job taking it even further here. Glad Marvel is still delivering after so many years, makes me proud to be a fan!
Bloodsport: “Nobody likes a showoff.”
Peacemaker: “Unless what they showing off is dope as fuck.”
James Gunn recently said in an interview that he finds superhero movies “mostly boring” right now. Anything ranging from safe and boring or technically well-made but disposable, at best. Gunn received at bit of heat from fans for those remarks, but in some sense, he’s not wrong. Because sometimes following the same formula will eventually wear fin and more risk taking needs to happen.
And here we have ‘The Suicide Squad’, the soft reboot to the 2016 film, but this time directed by Gunn himself, where he delivers a highly entertaining movie that is bursting with creativity and ultra-violence. James Gunn once again shakes up the superhero formula with a slick style. I’m just glad DC is finally letting directors have a voice and a vision, and I hope it stays like that.
The first 10-15 minutes tells you exactly what the movie is going to be.
I just can't believe we got something like this. It's 2 hours and 12 minutes long, but it's always on the move. It’s bonkers from start till finish, and I enjoyed every minute of it. This is probably one of the best shot movies in the DCU. The soundtrack is great as well and used effectively. The action scenes were insane and made the overall experience one of the most fun I had at the cinema in a long time.
A massive improvement over the 2016 film, AKA ‘the studio cut’, is that the movie doesn’t look ugly and isn’t chopped together by trailer editors. The movie is vibrant in colours that made it look pleasing to the eye. The structure at times is messy, and yet strangely well-paced, as there’s a lot going on.
Did I mention the movie is very gory? It’s cartoonish violence, or what people call "adult superhero movie", so it's not for kiddies or for the faint of heart. You would probably guess that not everybody on the team is going to make it to the end credits, so deaths are to be expected, but how certain characters “bite the dust” are so unexpectedly gruesome and brutal, it took me by surprise each time. The marketing for the movie was right, don’t get too attached. As I said before, James Gunn had complete creative control over the movie, and he doesn’t hold back on what he wrote and show on screen. But then again, it's a movie, it's not real, the actors who die on screen are fine in real life...I think.
All the cast members have equal amount of time to shine, and you like these super villains this time around, as each character had wonderful chemistry with each other. John Cena plays Peacemaker, who can be best described as a “douchebag version of Captain America”. An extreme patriot who will do the most horrific things for liberty. John Cena excels in the deadpan line delivery for comedic effect, but surprisingly enough, worked well in the serious moments. Looking forward to the spin-off show ‘Peacemaker’.
Margot Robbie once again nails the role of the chaotic but gleeful Harley Quinn. While the character isn’t front and centre this time around, more of a side character, but whenever the character is on screen, it’s instantly memorable.
Idris Elba plays Bloodsport, a contract killer who’s doing time in prison after failing to kill Superman with a kryptonite bullet, while also dealing with family issues, especially with his daughter. While the character may sound like Will Smith’s Deadshot from the 2016 film, but trust me, the execution here is much stronger. This is by far Elba’s best work in a while. Charismatic and a strong leading presence.
Polka Dot Man, played by character actor David Dastmalchian, a socially awkward, weird, and lame sounding character that has some serious mummy issues, which has a funny running visual gag throughout. However, because of Gunn’s writing and Dastmalchian's performance, the character is more than a joke, but a unique character to watch.
Ratcatcher 2, played wonderfully by Daniela Melchior, who brought so much warmth and heart to the film. I loved how they tied in her tragic backstory into the finale, as it honestly made me cry. And let’s not forget the king himself, King Shark, voiced by Sylvester Stallone. He stole every scene he’s in, because he’s so adorable and has such kind eyes, but when he’s hungry, he can be a killing machine.
The rest of the supporting cast, even in the smaller roles, still manage to stand out amidst all the chaos. I liked Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag a lot more this time around, because the actor was given more to work with in terms of good material. Viola Davis is brilliant as the cold and ruthless Amanda Waller. And Peter Capaldi is always a pleasure to see. Also, I like the character of Weasel, who I can describe as a unholy offspring of Shin Godzilla and Rocket Racoon. He may not be beautiful to look at, but he's beautiful to me.
Like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, the movie has a lot of heart and I like how they took certain characters, who on page sound stupid and ridiculous but are handled with such love and depth, while also being self-aware of its own characterization.
You can literally watch this as a standalone movie and you won’t be lost or confused, as you don’t need to watch 22 other movies to understand it. This is by far the strongest entry in this jumbled mess of a cinematic universe.
Overall rating: Nom-nom!
[7.7/10] I was so pleasantly surprised by this! I didn’t really know what to expect, with this being Marvel Studios’ first foray into animation and the high concept premise of the show. But I really enjoyed what we got.
For a while, I expected that this was really just going to be the plot of Captain America: The First Avenger except with Peggy slotted in rather than Steve. And that would still have been perfectly fun! Watching this show hit the same beats of that film, except with small but significant difference thanks to Captain Carter being in the role rather than Steve Rogers would have been worthwhile on its own.
For one thing, I like how this episode, as Agent Carter did, focuses on how even with her accomplsuhments, Peggy faces discrimination because of her gender. Of all the people for the MCU to bring back, it’s funny that it’s Bradley Whitford’s returning from the all-but forgotten Agent Carter one-shot. But he makes sense as someone who always thought too little of Peggy, stepping into a leadership role after Col. Phillips is shot, and creating an internal impediment.
To the same end, I like how the episode flips the dynamic with Peggy and Steve, but tshowing how they still understood one another and would bond with one another, even if their situations were changed. The two still falling in love, only to have Peggy making the heroic civilization-saving sacrifice play instead, is still heart-rending, and a nice sign that even as major things change, some things stay the same.
But I also liked the places where this episode goes off the reservation! Howard Stark building a proto-Iron Man suit for Steve Rogers called “The Hydra Stomper”? Yes please! Captain Carter saving Bucky, thereby avoiding the Winter Soldier situation (at least with him)? Hell yes. Her finding the tesseract and bringing it back to the good guys on an early mission? Awesome!
The further along the plot of First Avenger that this episode gets, the more it diverges and makes its own rules and own story, and I really appreciated that. Her team’s attack on Red Skull’s stronghold made for a rolokcing conclusion. I don’t know who Red Skull’s “champion” was. (Hive? A Chithuri?) But watching Peggy fight a giant squid monster while the Howling Commandos rescue Steve made for a killer conclusion.
I was especially impressed by the fight sequences here. I have to admit that I had some reticence about the cell-shaded graphics. In truth, the vocal tracks didn’t always sink perfectly. But the action was surprisingly fluid and well-staged. The show uses the freedom of animation to add greater flow to Captain Carter’s badassery, and some of the combat has a more impressionsitic style that makes it top tier MCU fisticuffs. Even the use of lighting and color in these fights stand out. Going into What If...? my biggest concern was the visuals, but they came through like gangbusters.
Overall, this was an exciting start to this new show and raised my expectations for What If...? to be more than a shiny lark, and instead be a meaningful exploration of what these changes in the path might look like.
This episode is alright. Not as strong as the others, but it's still fun. The action scenes are cool, and Loki and Sylvia's banter is fun to watch. Although I enjoyed them venturing down this planet , some scenes seem either too easy or like a waste of time. They could pay stuff off later, but I'm unsure.
Anyway, I'm still invested, but I'm not in as much suspense as I was in the previous two episodes. Wondering "who is this variant Loki?" and "where did they go?" is a lot more intriguing than "how will they survive?!" Like, I don't believe they'll die, or that they'll use character instead of plot convenience to get them out. We'll see.
SCORE: 7/10
[8.0/10] Now that’s more like it! This episode felt fresher, more endearing, funnier, more pointed, and a better harbinger for interesting things to come than anything we got in the first episode. I wish Disney had released the first two at the same time, because it would have left me much more enthused about the show’s potential than the relatively staid first outing we got.
Let’s start with the easiest improvement. Sam and Bucky play off one another really well. The sheer fun and combativeness of their dynamic buoys every scene they share. Chemistry is a tricky thing. You can’t manufacture it. It just has to happen. And the repartee between Sam and Bucky shows that it’s there. Their playful banter, their brotherly spats with one another, the way each knows what the other’s deal is with neither of them having to say it, plays really well in this episode.
And it also has to be said -- the show is strongly hinting at them as a couple, which is intriguing. I don’t think Disney has the stones to go through with it, which tempers my expectations a bit. But the two of them have a cool-down scene mid-fight where one lands on top of the other. (Something the MCU did with Banner and Natasha in Age of Ultron, among the umpteen other places that trope has shown up.) They literally go through couples counseling together, at one point even doing the “gaze into each other’s eyes” exercise.
It’d be really interesting to see if part of the answer for Sam and Bucky coping with the void that Steve’s departure left in both of their lives would involve filling it in with one another romantically, not just platonically. But I imagine these coy hints will be as far as a Disney show is willing to go.
That said, even if the queer-bating is questionable, their back-and-forth is still enjoyable, and the substance behind it is strong. Bucky is frustrated that Sam gave the shield away. Sam wishes Bucky understood why he did what he thought was right. The former is freighted with Bucky’s guilt over his past actions and Steve seeing the good in him despite that, a good that’s jeopardized if Steve was wrong about Sam. And Sam’s choice is freighted with both the pressure to live up to a public figure like Captain America and the episode’s racial undertones.
That’s the next most interesting thing about “Star-Spangled Man.” I assumed that John Walker’s replacement Captain America would be a straightforward baddie, or at least a dope. Instead, the show adds real nuance to him as a foil for Sam and Bucky. The episode opens with things that endear him to us. He understands the moral responsibility of stepping in for Steve Rogers. He didn’t ask for this, but rather is the good soldier who just tried his best and wants to help people. He’s not explicitly racist himself, with a best friend who’s Black and a wife or girlfriend who’s a person of color. The episode paints him as a decent guy, trying to do his best, who’s not plainly a baddie.
And yet, he centers himself in the narrative. He wants to commandeer Falcon and The Winter Soldier not as partners, but as his wingmen. He thinks he’s doing them a favor, not simply helping them because assistance is what’s needed, when he leaps in for the fight with the Flagsmashers or he springs Bucky from prison. He asks them to follow his lead, expecting that they’ll owe him and act accordingly, and then tells them to stay out of his way when they refuse.
There’s some real nuance to that. John Walker is not a cross-burning racist. He may not even be racially-prejudiced in a meaningful sense. But he views himself as the center of this, instantly assumes leadership and expects deference, in a way that not only makes Sam and especially Bucky bristle, but which leaves him lacking in the collegial spirit that Steve Rogers embodied.
At the same time, there’s more explicit racism at play in the episode. Sam gets hassled by the cops until they realize he’s an Avenger, an interesting intersection between the hero worship that’s been a part of the MCU from the beginning and the whiff of respectability politics that’s only recently come to the fore. Bucky introduces Sam to Isiah, a black super soldier (Black Marvel?) who Winter Soldier tangled with, whose complaints of imprisonment, experimentation, and deception carry the air of Tuskegee. “The Star-Spangled Man” is subtle about these things, gesturing toward them rather than making them explicit, but that gives them more power than grand speeches or more ham-fisted dramatizations of these ideas would.
That just leaves the Flagsmashers, who are far more interesting this week than they were the last week. I still have some questions about the show positioning the villains as proponents of open borders last week, and this week they’re in favor of the conspiracy theorist’s worst fear/wet dream -- a one world government. But their wants and motivations feel way more compelling here than they did in the prior installment.
For one thing, their position isn’t as reductive as “We want things to be the way they were when half the world was effectively dead.” Instead, they feel like the government is favoring the people who returned at the expense of the people who survived. Some view them as modern day Robinhoods, reallocating vital resources to people who feel, ironically, left behind after the end of The Blip. Their sense of combatting the “GRC” -- a vague quasi-governmental organization to help refugees whose decisions and actions they disagree with -- is far more compelling as an M.O. than generic dudes in masks punching things in a flash mob.
But hey, the punching isn’t bad here! While you can see the seams in the CGI, and the action isn’t exactly smooth, the fight aboard two big rigs running in parallel at least makes for a creative and exciting set piece. The indications that the erstwhile villains are supersoldiers, with strength founded on the same formula that Steve and Isiah received, is a nice lead for Sam and Bucky to follow, and along with banter about the “Big Three” (Aliens, Androids, and Wizards), sets up plenty of interesting threads for the Falcon and the Winter Soldier to follow. (And that’s all before the Zemo tease.)
All in all, “The Star-Spangled Man” feels like an episode from a much more confident, entertaining, and depth-filled show. I hope the series continues that trajectory, and instead of reverting to the generics of last week, maintains this far more interesting course.
After some of the big emotional beats that permeated all of last episode, Hawkeye decides to step back and focus on another character in particular this time around - specifically that of Yelena Belova, the standout from Black Widow this past summer and her experiences during and after The Blip. In fact, Natasha's ghost is felt throughout this entire episode, and while it's called "Ronin" it's clear that Jonathan Igla and his writing staff is more interested in how somebody like Barton became the Ronin rather then the persona itself. Grief has been a consistent theme throughout Phase 4 and here it's clear that grief, once again, is what propelled Clint to do what he did and continues to rule over his entire life. Both him and Maya are two sides of the same coin in that regard and their scene together (plus a great action beat) is an easy highlight here.
But yeah, this is Yelena's episode to lose, and her interactions with Kate are the easy standout here. Florence Pugh is great as per expected, and while this episode doesn't shine visually or even camerawork wise like some of the prior episodes it's got some strong writing. Really love Yelena's almost nonchalant attitude towards talking to somebody who was fighting her just a couple of hours prior, and her comedic timing is impeccable here. The reveal at the end is also a gamechanger, not just for the show itself with our new mastermind unveiled but also for the rest of the MCU as the possibilities of who can show up and when has officially changed - let me tell you, I nearly screamed. Top tier stuff once again from Marvel.
[9.5/10] Holy hell. This was incredible. I love that after A New Hope pulled a lot from classic Japanese films like Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress, the franchise is coming full circle. Japanese artists are now translating the tropes of Star Wars back into a feudal Japan setting, and it could hardly be cooler.
The art here is just gorgeous. This is the most beautiful blend of 3D animation with 2D flourishes since Klaus. The choice to go black and white, with only electronic things like lightsabers, droid lights, and whistling birds appear in color creates a striking aesthetic. And the design choices are downright stunning, from straw-covered R2 units, to the force-sensitive combatants and their artistically-conceived hair and clothing, to vehicles, weapons, and whole species reimagined with an ancient Japanese flair.
The basic premise works just as well. The notion of a Sith warlord coming to harass a humble village, while a calm ronin springs into action to save the innocent from their oppressors, fits wonderfully into this new rendition of Star Wars. That’s no shock. Episode IV reinterpreted a number of standard ronin tropes into a space setting, and watching those tropes reabsorbed and remixed back into a feudal setting is a thrill.
The action here is top notch. This is one of the best lightsaber battles we’ve seen in ages, with stellar choices in the blocking, shot-selection, and choreography. I love the little choices like letting the “camera” focus on the Sith’s hood floating away in the wind while we only hear the sound of her clashing with the hero. There’s a real mood and atmosphere which adds to the epicness of the confrontation. Intensity in the pace, eye-catching poses, and clever shifts and ruses to get the upper hand all make this a stand out among Star Wars skirmishes.
I’m also a big fan of the texture to this one: little moments that don’t contribute that much to the fairly simple “story” but which add color and intrigue to the world the characters inhabit. A ten-year-old being the chief because his dad’s asleep or ran-off, the hunched tea-maker fixing the droid, the bounty hunters fighting back against the Sith are all little details, but make this world feel more alive and lived-in beyond the immediate story.
On the whole, this is one hell of a coming out party for Star Wars: Visions. I’ll confess, I’m not much of an anime afficionado. But “The Duel” is enough for even a relative neophyte like me to sit up and take notice.
The reaction to this movie has been a “love it” or “hate it” outcry. I think the dividing line of responses is whether or not it fits the Marvel mega-action template and if that is okay or not. Just to deal with that question out of the gate, this does not fit the Marvel cookie cutter. There are a variety of differences. It is diverse in both casting and subject matter. The cast is international, multinational and multi-ethnic. We have our first openly gay superhero. We have our first hero who is deaf. We have our first hero to struggles with their mental health. All artfully and beautifully presented, in my opinion. This is not a single character’s origin story. It is 10 characters’ origin story spanning over 7,000 years, plus the introduction of 3 distinct and new species: Celestials, Eternals and Deviants. It also acknowledges superheroes from other universes, like the potshots at DC’s Superman. There are also some Marvel staple components, humour, brilliant CGI, fight scenes and world weaving. This film is also beautiful, in its casting, cinematography, graphics and music. The story is rich and the immense timeline is artfully woven into small bites. There is also a deeper treatment of relationships and some mature but tasteful scenes. The draw for me was Marvel and the stellar cast, especially Gemma Chan, whose career I’ve been following for a long time, now (do yourself a favour and binge her filmography). I have to confess that when I left the theatre I wasn’t sure how I felt about the movie. Then, I heard Rotten Tomatoes gave it the lowest of all ratings for a Marvel movie (49%) and the critics who saw early releases were brutal. But, I also read the positive reviews by ordinary theatre goers and in writing this, I’ve decided to give this film an 8 (great) out of 10 and, personally, I look forward to seeing it again. [Superhero Action Adventure]
Oh wow, that was an epic one!
I'm glad there was more to that rockhopper(?). It's nice that the bird mother is fine, although it didn't look that healthy/strong yet. Cara seems a bit naive though :D "It's fixed"... That's good but I'd be quite unsettled about the fact that something on that planet could fix their drone. I guess this is due to the protomolecules? Anyway, I guess in the next episode we'll learn more about it and how they'll likely revive Cara's little brother.
The message from Prax was great as well. I'd love an increased focus on such scientific aspects if there was more time.
Monica is in quite a lucky position. She certainly has a lot of impact and reach. That soldier was concerning though... :o Hopefully that explosion at Ceres wasn't caused by the inners! Luckily it seems very unlikely that they would hurt their own but one never knows...
That battle at the end was amazing! The railgun shots were epic and I'm glad their genius plan worked out. Marco did take a huge hit there. I wouldn't want to be him, loosing a 3v1 battle to a small ship... xD I'm also really glad that Bobbie took the shot but Holden disarming the missile sucked (but not that much since it would've been over too fast - however, if that gets out, Holden (that idiot!) will be in really really deep trouble... :o).
This whole crossover made absolutely zero sense. Look at my comment on 8x04 for everything wrong up until that point, but this episode just keeps adding to the mess.
First off, nobody supposedly remembers Despero, because of the timeline shift in the last episode. Yet somehow, everyone seems to be very acutely aware of who he is, what he can do, and more importantly, how badly Flash got his ass handed to him on a silver platter the last time they fought (they even literally talk about this fight).
Second, Joe acts completely out of character in this entire episode. Threatening to "break up" the family if they let Thawne die, THE arch-nemesis of the entire show, the person who killed Barry's parents, who has consistently proven time and time again he is a giant threat, the guy who caused Armageddon in the first place. Suddenly Joe thinks his life is more important than the safety of his whole family? The hell?
Third, Damien Darhk's interaction with Nora. In 8x01, Ray literally says Nora is fine and is out doing her fairy godmother thing. 8x01 was already happening in the manipulated timeline that Thawne set up (because Joe is gone already and Despero shows up). Yet somehow, Nora is magically dead all of a sudden because Damien's alive, and later on Damien and Nora meet in "the land before time"? That makes zero sense.
Expanding on that, are you trying to tell me that the timeline, something that has no conscious thought, kept Damien outside of his own timeline long enough so he could give Joe a present? Again, makes no sense.
Expanding further on the timeline nonsense... Thawne is dying because the timeline got reset, so he technically doesn't exist anymore. Time's just catching up with that fact. Great. Ignoring everything that was wrong during the previous episodes, I get that premise. But how does taking away Thawne's speed change any of that premise? They don't explain this at all, they just... say that it'll work, so it works. But regardless whether he keeps his speed or not, Thawne's timeline still got erased. Again, no sense.
Also, Flash's "Wizard of Oz" go-go boots that make him able to beat Despero all of a sudden. Hilariously bad.
Also, Mia Queen's completely pointless cameo, which basically was only there to tell the audience that, no, they totally didn't forget about the cliffhanger they ended Arrow on two years ago. The audience forgot about it, though, because no one cares about Mia friggin Queen. There's a reason her spin-off got canceled.
And I might be remembering this wrong, but did Cavanagh always have such puffy cheeks in his suit? It looked ridiculous. I swear that wasn't the case way back when.
Wow. There's a lot to unpack here. What a penultimate episode! Season 3 renewal announcement, come through!
First off...
• LOL at whoever wanted to use their super soldier (Raelle) for a recruitment tour... our very own witch Captain America, love it :joy:
• Goosebumps at the mycelium origin story scene! Way to turn things around, and I think anyone still questioning Alder's intentions especially after the doubts planted by this season would be swayed back into her corner after that (very Season 1 finale feels, actually, so I guess she will always be a complex character); Raelle, of all people, sympathized with her!
• Morrigan's whisper, holy sh---!!!
• And the Rite of Proxy scene. God damn, that was intense!
• No offense to Victor Webster (guy who plays the VP), but I have seen him on a couple of other shows as the bad guy or an unlikeable one, or so I can't help but think that his character here is shady lmao (he has been to me since day 1 lolol). The way he's been all season about his daughter being a witch is sketchy to me. "He's actually a pretty good guy" my ass — if you have to say that about a character, it's almost guaranteed to backfire eventually lol. If the guy that stays behind turns out to be a means to distract or keep tabs from within the Fort, I wouldn't be surprised.
I've seen some reactions where people are genuinely worried that Alder is getting killed off in the next episode but I really don't think so, because if they stick with the decision made here (Petra replacing Alder), I think it would definitely be interesting to see Alder as a "regular" witch/soldier who isn't the Army General (and if there's one thing I've gleaned from Eliot's interviews, this seems right up his alley (hopefully).
In Petra and Alder's words, Alder has lived as the General for so long she's forgotten how to deal with consequences like a human and has made some... questionable decisions to protect the witches (and to some extent, her position). After her dismissal, she would be watching the new General eventually make similar big decisions, and possibly similar mistakes, like she did, but this time as a spectator... either making her introspective and see what she could do differently, or just smug and satisfied like "I told you it wasn't easy" (I wouldn't mind her being petty like that, I probably would be too lol).
I don't doubt that she would eventually try to scramble back into the seat of power (and that she might succeed at one point), but this should be a good arc for her... if she survives. This whole comment would be for naught if she ends up actually dying like people think and I'm a fool lol.
[7.1/10] Pick an ending, am I right? First it’s having to remove the soul stone from Mega-Ultron. Then it’s removing all the stones. Then it’s getting them in the infinity smasher. Then it’s using Hawkeye’s Zola arrow on Ultron. Then it’s Zola and Killmonger having an uber showdown. Then it’s Cosmic Dr. Strange trapping them in a pocket universe. Then it’s The Watcher having planned it all this way from the beginning.
It’s a little exhausting, making it feel like we didn’t really build to any of this, but rather, it just happened by fiat. The best you can say is that The Watcher picked these folks knowing the progression and so saw the parts they would play, but it’s not especially clear how and why this was the necessary path or that these were the necessary people to walk it.
(As an aside, why Gamora? I know there was one episode of What If? that didn’t get made because of COVID and other timing constraints. Was it hers?)
Still, some of the interactions are fun. Thor-as-Sterling-Archer is still a hoot, and his happy-go-lucky dopeyness around the other “Guardians of the Multiverse” made me laugh. I also loved the bond between Captain Carter and Black Widow. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the MCU’s better films, and I wouldn’t want to trade it, but this finale definitely made me want to see more adventures of Peggy and Natasha as a team.
And there’s some solid emotional stuff here. Cosmic Strange getting a little redemption after his early mishap is a nice beat. The stinger with Captain Carter getting to see her lost love again much as Steve did is a nice touch too. And I like Black Widow returning to the Avengers-less timeline from episode 3, finding a new home and place to belong, with that being the abiding moral of the series. The overall themes and character beats work well.
It’s just the big climactic battle -- which in fairness, is most of the episode -- that falls flat for me. There’s some cool visual moments, mostly in the way of Cosmic Dr. Strange channeling the dark forces with some multicolored splendor and turns into a tentacle monster. For the most part, though, it’s just a bunch of undifferentiated fireworks and fisticuffs without even the imaginative fun of The Watcher and Ultron’s smash-tour through the multiverse. It wasn’t bad by any means, but nothing we haven’t seen before, without any new twists or wrinkles to set it apart despite the advantages of working in an animated medium.
Overall, I still enjoyed What If? quite a bit as an entertaining lark. The anthology format is a good one for a comic book universe, and several of the remixes were inventive and clever. It’s just the attempt to put them all together, and leave several of the stories unfinished so that they could be concluded in the grand finale, that I’d count as a misfire.
Continuing to confirm my theory that everything involving Wakanda is leagues above everything else in the MCU, this is a big improvement over last week's disappointing outing, even if the show continues having problems pacing itself. This is a big concept to do in 30 minutes - one that involves literally removing one of the MCU's biggest characters from the equation entirely - and while it does a great job in setting the stage, once the stage is set, it just... stops. This is a shame too cause the concepts explored here are really cool and fascinating, and like some prior episodes clearly needed more time to breathe.
Still, the good stuff is damn good here. Killmonger is one of the MCU's best villains and here we get another glimpse into just how good his planning, manipulation, and intelligence is. And just like in Black Panther, you can't help but root for him despite his obvious lust for power here, even if it's with extremely noble intentions. I do wish we got a more interesting, longer conversation between him and Rhodey about their differences in ideology, but the short runtime is once again to blame there. Still though, enjoyed this quite a bit.
That was an interesting episode for sure.
First things first, what the hell happened to the animation? After stepping up the game last episode, this one took a serious nosedive in quality up the point where some movements and facial expressions just look motionless and ugly. Disney has a huge budget for this show, make use of it.
Again, many former (and current) MCU actors return to voice their characters, with notable exceptions of Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Liv Tyler and Brie Larson.
The replacements did a solid job, especially since their parts where not that big, with the unfortunate exception of Lake Bell, who tried her best impression of Johansson but made Natasha come off as robotic and emotionless (didn’t Laura Bailey, who can do no wrong voice her in Ultimate Spider-Man? How about that instead?)
The concept was interesting. What if the Avengers where killed off one by one before even coming together? What other options would Fury have?
The snippets of the OG Avengers were something to say the least. Most of their deaths felt (unintentionally?) funny and the episode didn’t really seem to know what tone to aim for. Or maybe by focusing mostly on Nick Fury they took the more emotional element out of purpose. Who knows? I believe that could have been made clearer.
Loki is the best part of this episode, because he is Loki and always the best part in anything he shows up in. It was fantastic seeing him as a respected leader among Asgardians, leading his people, fighting our main villain and wrecking absolute havoc on Earth in the most dramatic way possible to avenge his brother. He is Loki, of course he goes over the top.
I admit, despite Loki being awesome and the concept being interesting, I almost rated this episode down, if it weren’t for the twist villain in the end.
I should have seen this coming and it makes so much sense in retrospective, but in the moment it caught me off guard. Tragic and well-executed, it actually deserved more attention.
In other news, it was nice seeing Betty Ross again and since she plays such a huge part in Bruce‘s life, I‘m still puzzled Marvel never brought her back before (either with Liv Tyler or another recast).
Some funny tidbits are actually delivered by Coulson and his man crush on Thor and his overall gorgeousness. And his password.
It’s a solid episode. Definitely better than the mostly dull first one, but not nearly as great as the second one.
"He's dead." — Black Widow
Natasha just killed Tony Stark
Fury: "They look like they're from Earth?"
Coulson: "Maybe Middle-earth?"
Loki: "We are not allies."
Fury: "Then let me help you."Uh... Fury... that's how this works
Coulson: [Sighs] "Hashtag-Steve-Steve-Steve-I-heart-Steve-0-7-0-4."
Same.
Fury: "I'm not the only Avenger left."
Ouch, that hurt
Best one yet? Best one yet.
This one is the most interesting by far. Like, while Captain Carter hits the same beats as TFA and T'Challa's is original, I like this one because of its scale. It meets all the Avengers and kills them all! Like, that's an insane number of changes compared to the "sacred timeline". Anyway, this show is getting better with each episode.
7/10
I don't like dream sequences at all. Like any tool, I guess they're neutral, and dependent on the hands that wield them, but I can honestly count the number of dream (or vision) sequences I've seen that have felt narratively and/or artistically engaging on two hands. Which makes it even more impressive that this teen super hero show just did an episode that was at least 50% dream sequence and managed to knock it out of the park to a degree that's honestly a bit scary.
I'd enjoyed the parts of the previous episodes where we got a taste of Tyrone and Tandy's empathy powers, and in hindsight, I really appreciate the way those glimpses built towards what this episode did. The creative team manages to lend a weight of emotion and purpose to these abstract happenings that made them feel both moving, scary and consequential. I think the most important part is, that even if these powers are rooted in trauma, the prevailing mood in the dream sequence is one of empathy, sympathy and connection. Tandy and Tyrone recognise each other's pain, they recognise the pain and joy in the people they're channeling, and the show manages to make that connection feel comforting and uplifting for me as a viewer, even if I'm intermittently (and deliberately) unsettled by the imagery and trauma involved.
I'm honestly a bit flabbergasted at how well the show does these things, and I'm really happy it exists.
Side note: Still a bit on the fence when it comes to Olivia Holt; the directors/producers don't quite seem to have cracked how to get the same level of performances out of her compared to those of the rest of the ensemble. It's not like she's bad or anything, it's just that the level of the rest of the cast have been such that her perfectly competent-but-nothing-more performance sticks out a bit.
Just like the other three finales, Hawkeye's final episode turns out to be more personal and less focused on big reveals, much to it's benefit. This is a blast of an episode, and manages to find it's footing in the midst of all of the moving parts to find a grand unifying theme of found family and shared loss. All of our major players here save Clint - Kate, Yelena, Maya, and even the LARPers to an extent - all have found their homes not in their blood relatives but in those they come to find to be family. Kate's ultimate rejection of her mother in their final moments together cements that theme and I really love how messy that is. Not every family is good, some just kind of suck and unfournately Kate's isn't really that great. As for Clint's side, his confrontation with Yelena is one of his best scenes in the entirety of the MCU, mainly for how much you really get to see Jeremy Renner showcase his acting chops. This is a tired, tired man who is sick of the fighting, and seeing him only restrain Yelena as he is nearly beaten to death is hard to watch - and it only makes their subsequent talk over the impact that Natasha had all the more impactful.
Oh, and how could I forget about Vincent D'Onofrio as our favourite crime lord himself? While certainly not here for long, he slips right back into the role like he never left, and while certainly toned down from his Daredevil days (an impossible to avoid side effect of being in a more lighthearted, family friendly show like Hawkeye), he's still the Kingpin we know and love, and his physical acting is impeccable. Especially love how beefier he is like in the comics, beefy Kingpin is best Kingpin. Excellent finale!
I'm tired of stories that tell and don't show. Yet none of this rubs me the wrong way as much as character arcs. You see, in many MCU media, there are character arcs where the writers are only concerned with moving from Point A to Point B. The problem is that they disregard the middle part, the journey from Point A to B. And if you've heard the saying "it's about the journey, not the destination", you might understand what I mean.
Well, this episode went against this trend!
After a fun montage with Clint and Kate, Clint starts opening up to Kate for the first time—it's beautiful. Not only does he call himself a weapon, but he reveals that he doesn't want anyone else to die because of him.
"He doesn't bend over backwards to see himself as 'defending' anything. He knows what he's done and what he can do. There are no illusions to cling to. But what I like about this attitude is that it actually extends to his actions afterward." — Film Crit Hulk
For Clint, this episode has some great character work! Not only is his previous screen time reincorporated in this series, but it becomes his motivation and goal.
"There’s this clean clarity in that he knows his Ronin past will haunt him, but he’s not going to ever put that guilt ahead of a future with his family. He’s simply taking responsibility for it." — Film Crit Hulk
Anyway, this is a solid episode! Hopefully, the show keeps this up!
Clint: "I really appreciate what you did tonight,"
feels like an earned line and
Clint: "Prioritize a quick exit over a quick entrance,"
is great advice! Thanks, Clint!
Re: boomerang trick arrow: "You'd have to dodge." Oh, Kate.
Why can't I take happy Vera Farmiga seriously?
Nat is such a crucial part of Clint and the show despite everything. And I am all for it. The talk about Clint's "best shot"/the one he didn't take had me tearing up. It also took me a while to realize that that pause Clint had when reaching down for Kate was a call out to their Endgame scene, but when I did, god damn it.
Yelena's BW moves, oh yeah! Wish it didn't end there. I wanted her to beat their asses lol. I do like that Yelena zipped Kate up before dropping her off the side of the building (that was homicidally sweet of her) because she was there just for Clint.
I'd really like for Clint to at least know of Yelena, like when she finally tells him why she's after him, that she's doing it for her sister, he'll know and just go "Yelena?" or something. She's supposed to be one of the most important people to Nat, next to her found fam Avengers, and since Clint's her bff and she knew about his family, it would make sense that he would know about hers. Since there was never really any allusion to Yelena before the BW movie, I feel like we need this for some continuity.
We were gonna reach a boiling point for Clint and Kate at some point, and having it here is probably the smartest choice they could have made. While not a lot of progress is made on the overarching mystery (outside of confirming some small details), the real treat is all of the strong, strong character work being done here for pretty much the entire cast. Clint in particular I think stands out here as the real treat - the PTSD of his time as Ronin, as well as the death of Natasha, still cast a shadow over the entire series and I love how the show is making that the main emotional hook for him to overcome here.
Just as interesting too is how the show continues to handle Kate, whose naive attitude towards crimefighting and lack of planning is starting to really backfire. The final argument that occurs, a hot kettle of these two opposing arcs clashing with each other, really works because of that, and the action scene that proceeds it - which features a wonderful four way battle including a really great surprise - uses that backdrop for strong emotional beats and great choreography. Cinematography is aces as well here. Still absolutely in love with Hawkeye, and with two episodes left to go I'm eagerly awaiting what they have next.
That was a good, no-nonsense episode! Instead of plot, we get more character! And what better way to start the episode with a villain's backstory? Plus, this villain shows the struggles of a deaf person with a prosthetic leg. I'm not deaf or don't have any prosthetic limbs, but the representation seemed tact and sympathetic.
This representation continues with Clint after the villain destroys his hearing aid; the sound design only puts you in the characters' shoes even further. And when Clint has that conversation with his son while Kate helps him, it's bittersweet. The irony of
Clint: “So happy to hear your voice.”
hits particularly hard. And his
Clint: "Thank you.”
to Kate feels vulnerable and genuine. And it's great since these characters have had the time to bond (the attack on Hawkeye in the previous episode was too soon).
But it's not all character stuff; there's plenty of fun to be had, too! The long take—reminiscent of "Children of Men" is thrilling as Kate uses more trick arrows, while trying to communicate with a handicapped Clint. The Christmas tree moment was hilarious. But when Kate hits that one Russian guy freaks out over the USB arrow, my parents and I burst out laughing.
But personally, I got a little kick out of Hailee Steinfeld's burn on Imagine Dragons, considering they created the theme song for another series she's in, "Arcane".
Anyway, this episode is a step-up from the previous two. I just hope they can keep it up in future episodes!
Also, Clint better wear that comic book costume, I swear.
A much action heavier episode then the prior outings, but now that we are into the full swing of things we can really let loose. The Fraction/Aja influences are still on display, maybe now more then ever, as Kate and Clint's banter is almost directly taken from the pages here mixed in with a clear adherence to it's tone and themes. Kate's naive yet optimistic outlook on life and superheroism contrasts directly with Clint's world-weary, cynical viewpoints, and seeing that dynamic in full swing here is clearly the highlight. Or at least, a highlight, as this episode has much to adore beyond that.
Of course the action scenes are among them, continuing Phase 4's trend of having much stronger action then prior Phases (with maybe the exception of Loki, but that didn't focus on action as much and was pretty much stellar otherwise). Echo's introduction is a standout as well and I love what they are doing with her character thematically - having her be a direct foil to Clint is an inspired choice. And the emotional stuff worked as well despite the lighthearted tone of the rest of the show, with Clint's talk to his son being one of my favourite scenes of the entire show thus far. Another stellar episode for a show, and Phase, that keeps on delivering the goods.
Just knew that it was gonna get goooood the minute Clint pulled off his flip and shoot (when he shot at Kate's binds). And I loved that shot of Kate shooting the first trick arrow with the camera right in front of her. That was probably my favorite, but I loved the rest of that chase scene. All the trick arrows were so fun! ... it reminded me of how not fun Arrow became when this was the kind of buffoonery I wanted from that show. * nervous laughter * And that Pym trick, daaang! Plus the dongle arrow! ;)
And Clint and Kate finally communicating.... just not going very well at the moment. :laughing: I did like seeing a glimpse of Kate realizing how she kind of messed up Clint's Christmas plans. But alas, thus is the life of a superhero. One optimistic Kate doesn't quite get yet.
Kate's line about her father... when someone says a certain character's "all about helping people", it makes me think the exact opposite. Maybe whoever his father was in business with (Uncle?), her mom took over it, thus today's dilemma.
LOL at the classic Hawkeye suit nod. And Pizza Dog! :heart:
And I guess I take back my comment from the previous episode. I guess we're getting introduced to a lighter, somewhat still new to the scene, Tracksuit Mafia-leading Maya, not ninja Echo whose dad got murdered then got raised by Fisk (Uncle!! hand cameo) when she was a kid, given how she almost throttled Kate here (Star-Lord flashbacks), and I'm okay with that. Realized we don't really need all our badass heroines to be sulky, be level-headed, or have unlimited resources lol. Also remembering that this is supposed to be fun and lighthearted (I honestly forgot, the wait for this was long). And since they're planning a spin-off for her already, it makes sense to not introduce her as a fully-developed character immediately.
AAAAHHHHH!
"How did you find me, Kevin?"
"I went through the machine"
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW EPIC THAT WOULD'VE BEEN?? And it was like the perfect setting, it looked very heavenly, and everyone was at peace and happy, there was a wedding and everyone seemed to have a good time, I was sure that was the afterlife/heaven/the beyond the machine.
I would give every cent I have (which it's not much but it's very worthy to me) to watch Nora's odyssey instead of those 35 minutes of pigeon madness, don't get me wrong, Nora's narration was beautiful and mesmerizing and I do believe her, but still I WANT TO WATCH IT, I'll never known satisfation in life until I get to see it, and I think 35 minutes would've been great to fit that. And it makes sense cause we know Nora went through, how else would we explain she being here? and also if the scientist is there he would be able to build the machine and probably he never thought about building/using it cause being reunited with the person you are missing you don't have that need, but I wonder if those in the 2% can also use the machine to pass through dimensions?
I went in not expecting an explanation of what happened, cause I thought it was a fact that we were never gonna get one, and I was ok w it cause I thought no explanation would be good enough until Nora said "FOR US A FEW OF THEM ARE MISSING, FOR THEM ALL OF US ARE MISSING" WHAT... that was so perfect! better than anything I could've dreamed about, it makes sense and it doesn't use a religious non-sense and I think that also gives a lot of answers to other supernatural stuff that happened, like if science allows for interdimensional travel, it can be that a man has a round ticket to the afterlife, so it was just so satisfying.
And reading all the comments, you guys are right, IT IS A LOVE STORY, it was all about Nora and Kevin letting go of everything other than life and to find each other over and over again, so this is a love story for the ages, but Kevin was so wrong for pretending not to know Nora, it was so trippy!
I'm so glad Laurie is still alive and most importantly LIVING HER LIFE!
I still have a lot of questions and I think this show needed a couple more seasons, it's just amazing, I'm gonna check out the books and blogs to see if any of those can answer my questions. I think my main question is what did maggie's mom was supposed to tell her? was Wayne for real? is Lily a magic baby? What was Kevin's wish? what the fck was going on w Evie? what happened to the kids' shoes? and that's just on the top of my head.
SAME TIME NEXT WEEK?!
Lots of great stuff again, and this time it's mostly centered around Clint as well meaning we get to see him in the spotlight as the show explores what it's like to be the most human Avenger. Clint Barton, despite his limited screentime in the movies, as always struck a cord with me as one of the most relatable and ultimately likable characters in the roster, and this episode plays that to it's advantage story wise. The LARPing subplot, while also very funny, is a great example on how Clint's sensibilities are far more grounded then something like a Tony Stark or Carol Danvers, and seeing him extremely uncomfortable with his own fame feels very real and human.
But honestly, this series is leaning more into being an origin story for Kate, which isn't a bad thing in the slightest when her stuff is just as excellent. The direction is kind of obvious where it's going but I see a couple of curveballs coming in true Fraction fashion. The fact that each major beat is a "one bad thing after the next" kind of setpiece makes this even better, as those kinds of narratives are an absolute delight. Another winner.
Watching Hawkeye makes you realize that outside of the Netflix and Hulu installments (whose canonicity is debatable at this point), the MCU really hasn't delved into the street level heroics of the franchise all that much. Spider-Man and Ant-Man are the closest characters to that end, but their respective sequel went for bigger scale, and even then only Spider-Man: Homecoming kept the stakes relatively small. As such, Hawkeye feels like such a genuine breathe of fresh air - the rare superhero show that keeps it's stakes as small as possible, with it's tone light on it's feet while also focusing squarely on being character driven first and foremost.
Seeing as this is based on the rightfully acclaimed Matt Fraction run, this isn't a shocker. Kate Bishop is an instantly likable character, and Hailee Steinfeld absolutely nails her in a way where it's clear why she was the only one ever looked at for the role. Jeremy Renner, while noticeably in less of the first episode then you would think, is also predictably great and gives the character his trademark humanity and wit in spades - plus the depiction of his hearing loss is extremely well done and realistic in a way that's poignant and understanding. Combine that with killer action scenes (seriously, the shot work here is exceptional) and you have yet the fourth winning pilot in a row for the live action side of the MCU. They simply just do not miss - pun intended.
[8.6/10] A wonderful little Star Wars fable. This one consciously gives us three major characters in three different stages of life. Dan, the padawan, young and hungry. The master, in his prime, possessing calm and perspective. And the titular elder, a former Sith, wild and looking for a challenge.
The episode’s constructed beautifully. We get plenty of time with Dan and his master before the excitement starts. While slower and talkier than some of Star Wars, that downtime lets us understand their different deanors and establishes their bond. Despite his experience and skill, the Jedi master is very sanguine, slow to act and one apt to consider well before he does. Dan, by contrast, is anxious for the thrill of adventure, and bristles a bit at his master’s calmer ways.
So by the time the master senses a disturbance in the Force amid the planets of the outer rim, the relationship between master and apprentice is a familiar one. And we see the differences and merits in their approaches.
The former Sith is a pip. He’s old, wily, threatening, and even playful. His wrinkled look, devilish smile, and twin short lightsaber blades gives him a distinctive look versus the padawan. Their fight is a thrill, if only for the sense that the Elder is toying with his young foe. He uses Dan as a means to an end, and Dan sees how far his spoiling for a fight nature gets him. Here too, the combat is measured, with downbeats before crescendos, but that just adds to the tension.
And it adds motivation for the master, who senses his learner’s near-death experience while he’s far away. We see what would spur the normally reserved Jedi to action. His fight with the ex-Sith is just as exciting, with a particularly cool method of execution, as the master places his unlit blade to his opponent’s abdomen and then penetrates his torso with it.
But what puts this one over the top is the closing moments of compassion and understanding between Dan and his master. The master lays bare the lesson here: Dan is ascending, the Elder was diminishing, and even the power of the master himself is fleeting. The nature of the things in this universe is impermanent, and but for a shift of the clock, the outcome in both fights might have been different. Power can be used to protect people, but it must be wielded hubly, with the knowledge that it too will fade, and must be used judiciously and with kindness.
The tone, archetypal relationships, and action here are all top notch. Another winner for Star Wars: Visions, with a vignette that feels like it could belong to any era of Star Wars, given how it embodies the solemn spirit that runs through all of this galaxy’s best stories.
2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021-12-31T23:59:59Z