The premise is clever: John Hughes-ish teens (goth, jock, etc.) discover their parents are supervillains and work to counter them. Mighta been your prototypical TV Western on a Sunday afternoon in February when you don’t want to leave the couch. The rest is a lumbering franchise checklist.Ĥ1. And Kurt Russell plays a planet who is also Chris Pratt’s father. Groot’s oblivious dance through a battle is fun. 2″ (2017): I remember wondering if I should leave the theater, not because it was miserable - it wasn’t - but because it felt like a highlight reel of the first film. Jon Bernthal is mostly good, but his self-pitying lunatic with a heart of gold never achieves those subversive aims.Ĥ2. Ironically, the Punisher hates extremists, and as this earnest but eh Netflix series barely got across, he’s a stand-in for how badly we treat our war veterans. You know his logo (a skull) from widebody pickup truck windows. “The Punisher” (2017-2019): The Punisher - created in the ‘70s to capitalize on Dirty Harry-like antiheroes - was never interesting. Jon Bernthal stars as Frank Castle in Netflix's "The Punisher." (Netflix / Marvel)Ĥ3. But also, lots to admire, a few gems, and many thoughtful moments. Considering that scale and scheme, there’s lots of mediocrity. Or the Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man any Deadpool, Fantastic Four, X-Men film - all of which were made before the formal MCU or by other studios.) The MCU began formally with “Iron Man” in 2008, and for a lumbering corporate beast, it’s been an achievement, an adaptation of an entire medium. My criteria for inclusion here is simple: Was it intended as a part of the MCU? That means ranking TV and film together. Part of the unease with the MCU (beyond its unending flood of stuff) is that it created a third species, neither TV nor film, but an ongoing, interconnected narrative that requires both. But facts are facts: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” now playing, is the 50th live-action installment of the MCU juggernaut, which includes streaming TV series on multiple networks.
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