You know, it would have been nice if a proper setup for Anthony Mackie's Captain America had happened in the Captain America films and not in one of the many extra-homework Marvel shows.
Tbh, I have no interest (yet) in Falcon/New Cap because the character was a total nothing in the movies... It's so easy to forget he exists.
I don't really know what their plan is to get people who didn't watch the shows excited to go see a totally new Captain America who, again—if you didn't do extra-curricular work—has been basically a non-character up to this point.
Are people who didn't watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier excited for this and I'm just being a wet blanket?
In general I just feel like the MCU is asking me to care about a lot of characters they aren't willing to give me *reasons* to care about.
I'm not being a die-hard "it's Chris Evans or no one!" person over here or anything. Chris Evans' Cap was...fine. I enjoyed the character okay. I'm not about to say that I don't think anyone else could be Cap or something silly like that.
I'm just curious if I'm supposed to be excited for this movie as the continuation of something I already liked, because it doesn't seem to be that, but I also haven't seen anything that would make me interested in this story as a stand-alone.
I guess my real question is...are MCU movies *supposed* to be just for people who watch the shows?
Do they just not care whether people who don't watch the shows watch the movies? Because it is bizarrely starting to feel that way...which doesn't seem to make sense for them financially.
Maybe I'm just a grump.
I just could not tell you a thing about Falcon from the Captain America & Avengers movies other than he's got some wings and he's Cap's friend, and I think maybe he sometimes gets to say little quips?
I could not tell you what his personality is or his motivations or anything other than "Cap's friend."
Maybe that's on me? I just don't remember him ever doing anything in the movies that couldn't have as easily been done by any other bland, under-characterized character.
@artemis I think I'm actually less interested in the new movie because I watched the show. There's a reason they switched up the schedule so Wandavision was their inaugural show instead of the Falcon one. Mackie has so much charisma I was kinda on board until they made me slog through that bullshit.
Also, though, "we've got em hooked on the MCU so obviously we can force them to watch the shows too" seems like classic House of Mouse thinking.
@humanadverb
Yeah, I am starting to get the vibe from Disney that they feel that I literally owe them my viewership...like "we own the properties you love, so now you *will* watch everything we do with them!"
@artemis Weirdly, their biggest misses lately feel like they delivered something bespoke to my tastes, and I don't know why I hated it.
"We're giving the Russian Doll lady like $200 million to do a vaguely queer Star Wars show that introduces the High Republic, force witches, and stellar lightsaber battles."
"Here's your Agatha sequel, motherfucker, and we're throwing Patti Lupone and Aubrey Plaza into the mix. Slurp it up piggie."
And for the life of me I don't understand why I'm bored.
@humanadverb
It's like they give us the things we technically wanted but with the soul surgically removed.
@artemis I've been sitting here wondering what's wrong with me, but... Yeah. Something is off.
Like it triggers an Uncanny Valley response but for something sinister masquerading as art instead of something sinister masquerading as people.
@humanadverb @artemis
That description makes me wonder if it's "AI" slop that got pushed into production...
@pteryx I don't know if AI is involved but it feels like a similar thing... Whatever artist's intention might have been there is normed out to look like the model, and nothing interesting is left?
I wonder, too, if they can still get people involved who are there to do anything beside cash a check. Like, I think people used to show up to franchise movies with ideas, and they'll compromise to get the budget, but they had a vision. I don't think that's happening anymore.
@pteryx Cuz like:
- Aquaman and Captain Marvel and Last Jedi were all awesome and financially successful, but got fucked with for bullshit reasons. Message: success doesn't matter.
- If you even are given a chance to succeed (Batgirl).
- Or you're allowed to do something different and small (Mandalorian) but if successful, it's taken away and now rubber-face de-aged Luke Skywalker is here for some reason. (Really curious to see if Andor 2 goes through this.)
Why play in that sandbox?