[theCMG]

Iron Man 2 (review)

On to the Iron Man sequel. This one promotes Pepper and switches Rhodey on us. Howard Stark features more heavily and there seem to be echoes of Walt in the way he’s presented here with the tache, the whiskey, models of parks and promises of a bright future. I’d confuse it for the Imagineering Story if he wasn’t an occasional arms dealer.

Disney+
I enjoyed the Mickey Rourke character
Some more key introductions, Paul Bettany starts to feature as the voice of Jarvis and Black Widow plays a supporting role

Disney-
Tony being allowed to drive in the Monaco grand prix on a moment's notice and being competitive is just so ludicrous. Americans you didn’t dare put him into the Superbowl as a QB did you?
The shift from the original Rhodey actor to Don Cheadle is jarring, a rare casting mistake in the MCU to not have this one sorted (it was a pay dispute). Original Rhodey surely regrets it now.

Rating 6.5/10 Middling/okay to good. Definitely a lesser film than the original for me


The next MCU film chronologically was The Incredible Hulk but it’s not on Disney+ I’ve seen it before and rated it probably a 5, it’s one of the weakest of the series IMHO. Not because of Ed Norton’s Hulk (although Mark Ruffalo is better) but it’s just not that great.


Thor (review)

Here with the first of the semi-serious Thor films with a heavyweight director and impressive cast. I may have over-favoured this because I do like the character and the effects are good.

Disney+
The awesomeness of Asgard, the Bifrost etc. is beautifully rendered here, everything looks great
Adds some heavyweight thespage to the series with Kneth Brnargh directing and Tony Hopkins playing yet another big name mythology/history character plus Idris Elba, Natalie Portman etc.
While I’m not a huge Tom Hiddlestone fan the Loki character is essential IMO to keeping these early MCU films from being completely predictable

Disney-
The Ice Giants are a bit of a rubbish foe (still better than the Dark Elves though, assuming I can remember which is which)
Natalie Portman brings a touch of class here to the cast but her character comes across weak and simpering which is disappointing
Thor’s friends ‘the Comic Con 4’ are pretty uninteresting (compare for example with Valkyrie)

Rating 7/10 of a similar level to the origin stories for Captains Marvel and America with CA being my least favourite of the 3.