Taika Waititi’s previous instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarök was, at least for a while, a strikingly odd experience and refreshingly different flavour in what had become the bland cinematic equivalent of a fast-food franchise. Suddenly, droll, pisstaking Kiwi humour had entered the overblown Wagnerian Marvel superhero fantasy universe. At first, it felt quite subversive but the film
Read moreThe seemingly endless Marvel movie parade careens ahead with the latest cgi-drenched action extravaganza, Dr Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. While as visually inventive and eyeball pummelling as any film in the various Marvel universes (MCU, Spiderverse) this movie seriously lacks the energy and fun of the best Marvel movies such as the recent Spider-Man No Way Home and
Read moreMorbius The latest in the apparently never-ending procession of marvel films, Morbius (although this one is Spiderverse rather than MCU) is more like a DC Batman film than a typical Marvel movie. Not only does the title character have an obsession with and the powers of a bat but this film at least attempts to be as dark and intense
Read moreOnly a Marvel Comics scholar could keep up with all the phases and ages off the Marvel universe and its equivalent cinematic incarnations. Even non-superfans, however, will have probably heard that Spiderman: No Way Home is the first film in what’s known as the Marvel multi-verse. Yes, there’s now multiple universes of Marvel films coming at us. While that might
Read moreAs we emerge from the lockdown bunker we might be thinking we’re entering a brave new world but just to prove little has changed, there’s a Marvel film waiting for us, namely Eternals. The advanced word was that Eternals was the worst reviewed film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) so far. Given that the Marvel films have mostly been fast
Read moreAfter 11 years and a seemingly endless procession of ear drum and eyeball pummelling films, the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to a close with the three-hour behemoth Avengers: Endgame. This collision of superhero action flick, high-tech sci-fi film, Tolkienesque fantasy epic and pompous Wagnerian myth has so far received reviews verging on the orgasmic with some
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