Thor: Love and Thunder | July 8, 2022 | Directed by Oscar Winner Taika Waititi | Ninth most profitable movie of 2022

[Darth Lehnsherr]

Regardless of quality (though I agree Phase 4 has been a big step down from Phase 3) it's getting used to the idea that there's no real end point or end goal or (ahem endgame) atm for the current MCU story. 

 

Things will change very quickly whenever the next major crossover movie is announced (whether Avengers 5 or something else).

[CloneWars]

36 minutes ago, Darth Lehnsherr said:

Regardless of quality (though I agree Phase 4 has been a big step down from Phase 3) it's getting used to the idea that there's no real end point or end goal or (ahem endgame) atm for the current MCU story. 

 

Things will change very quickly whenever the next major crossover movie is announced (whether Avengers 5 or something else).

Regardless of quality, I do think an endpoint is crucial. It gives people a sense of where things are going and gives them a reason to keep watching. 

[Legion Again]

The endgame of saga 1 wasn’t announced until late 2014, ~6.5 years after it started (though, from another perspective, only 10 projects after it started and we are now 12 projects in to the next saga). Sure there was a Thanos tease in the TA post-credits but that’s obviously not what was driving the GA to like, IM3, TWS, gotg1. 
 

The movies before TA were just set up that mostly sank or swam on their own, then from IM3 to AoU things were boosted in the comedown of fighting Loki rather than the anticipation of fighting Thanos. Phase 3 was really the only with a heavy “it’s all building up to a specific huge climax” factor. And, it was the best, so maybe that’s helpful —but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to rush.    
 

Cap and Thor were basically nobodies to GA before TA (and even kind of after, until TWS/rag) so I agree it’s hard to get a sense of much until A5.

 

tl;dr Culminating mode is useful, but the mcu has also had lots of success in “set up without a clear larger end goal” mode, and you can’t be culminating all the time. I think some people are just having difficulty going from a culminating period back to a more scattered set up.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Legion and Thunder

[eddyxx]

21 hours ago, Liiviig 1998 said:

Disagree .phase 4 is dead last for me. Phase 1 and 2 were rough around the ages but the universe was being built unlike phase 4 for the most part  is just all rushed esp the shows to get that sweet D+ content 

 

Avengers, winter soldier,GOTG ,antman ,ironman 1 put phase 4 to shame in terms of quality .

 

T&LT is the last phase 4 movie last I checked unless that was changed. 

It's had a few  bright spots but as a whole phase 4 has been messy and mediocre and has even created cracks in the mcu  continuity.

 

Phase 3

Phase 2

Phase 1

Phase 4.

I don’t think it’s the last one? Then again we all thought Endgame and Age of Ultron would be the end of their phases and Feige was like “nah it has a palmette cleanser/epilogue too”.

[eddyxx]

16 hours ago, Daxtreme said:

 

It isn't the last. We're about halfway through the phase. Captain Marvel 2 is currently the furthest Phase 4 movie that actually has a release date, but normally Phase 4 will also include Blade and a Fantastic Four movie which still don't have a release date as of today.

 

So yeah... we're not even close to the end here.

Yeah I’m pretty sure Fantastic Four will be the end of phase 4 in 2024 and then phase 5 will start in 2025 and probably introduce X-Men characters at some point. I bet Secret Wars is in 2028.

[eddyxx]

15 hours ago, Liiviig 1998 said:

Ok then .Guess I had wrong info.

 

T&LT should be another win.

 

BP depends how they handle t'challa and this whole leticia wright anti vaxx shit.

 

Quantumania looks interesting.

 

The Marvel's feels meh for now.

 

As for blade and F4 we shall how things progress but excited for both.

 

Gotg vol 3 is next year too.

[IceFire9yt]

Even in phase 2 there was an overall sense of direction.  Thor 2, GOTG, and AoU all introduced Infinity Stones.  GOTG, and the Avengers and AoU after credit scenes teased Thanos.  It wasn't like there was a relentless drive towards Infinity War, but it was something in the background.  I think having that sense of structure for the larger universe is important.  Something that turns the cinematic universe into something that feels like a story rather than just one thing happening after another.

 

I do think that Phase 4 has felt directionless.  With Loki, What If, NWH, and MoM, people were starting to latch on to the multiverse as the new source for that story, which I think partially explains why people where disappointed the the Multiverse wasn't that big a focus of MoM.  Frankly, I have no idea what they're planning for the future of the MCU.  There are many other possibilities, but they just haven't been explored as much as the multiverse has.

[Valonqar]

I don't mind lack of direction cause I'm not intent to watch everything anymore. At some point, you just want the story to end. And that happened with Endgame. I take everything that comes after as optional but not must-see. I like Thor so I'm interested in seeing the new movie. But there's a number of new characters that I really don't care about so I won't continue to watch their adventures. And that's OK. I think freedom to ignore as opposed to "relentless drive" to catch everything is better for the franchise in a long run. It shouldn't become an obligation.

[Rebeccas]

2 hours ago, Valonqar said:

I don't mind lack of direction cause I'm not intent to watch everything anymore. At some point, you just want the story to end. And that happened with Endgame. I take everything that comes after as optional but not must-see. I like Thor so I'm interested in seeing the new movie. But there's a number of new characters that I really don't care about so I won't continue to watch their adventures. And that's OK. I think freedom to ignore as opposed to "relentless drive" to catch everything is better for the franchise in a long run. It shouldn't become an obligation.

same,  I def don’t watch most of the shows and I don’t plan to unless something really catches my eye. They’re just way too much time commitment. 
 

Also there’s another round of press screenings happening now so should get new wave is reactions in 2hr-ish. 

[Valonqar]

Yep, I think MCU counts on that. They are expanding fandom with "something for everyone at your own pace and selection" rather than "everyone must watch everything".

 

Bring on more reactions! So far, everything sounds very good.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Valonqar

[Rebeccas]

 

 

 

 

i think more screenings tonight as well 

[Lucas]

Yeah some more screenings have been happening.

[Old Spice]

15 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Yeah some more screenings have been happening.

I'm going to be really bummed if L&T is worse than Strange. I didn't think MOM was bad, but it was definitely less than I was expecting. Other than the sheet music battle, which was brilliant, and a few moments of genuine emotion at the end before they wrecked it with that dumb eye thing (Seriously, can Marvel ever just let a story end??), there's nothing about that movie I'll remember a year from now.

[Maggie]

Just now, A Star is Orm said:

I'm going to be really bummed if L&T is worse than Strange. I didn't think MOM was bad, but it was definitely less than I was expecting. Other than the sheet music battle, which was brilliant, and a few moments of genuine emotion at the end before they wrecked it with that dumb eye thing (Seriously, can Marvel ever just let a story end??), there's nothing about that movie I'll remember a year from now.

That guy is to be ignored. He gave 2.5 stars to TG2

[Old Spice]

1 minute ago, Maggie said:

That guy is to be ignored. He gave 2.5 stars to TG2

Good to know. 👍 We definitely don't have the same taste in movies then. 

[Rebeccas]

I have a hard time believing any movie is more over stuffed than MoM. I love the vibe and the Raimi camp but plot wise it had way too much going on lol. 

[IceFire9yt]

I'm not going in expecting to like L&T more than MoM (not discounting it, though!), but I loved MoM so I'm coming at it from a different direction.

 

Anyway, I'm fully expecting L&T to be a bit chaotic and overstuffed.  Ragnarok definitely rushed through stuff (like Odin's death) and had a pretty brisk pace.  I love it, but it's clear that the movie had it's priorities and having a properly paced plot wasn't one.  So if Taika is leaning in on his style I can definitely see it rubbing some the wrong way.

Edited June 29, 2022 by IceFire9yt

[Legion Again]

If L&T is somehow worse than MoM that will be the worst mcu movie record being set twice back to back, an irrecoverable blow.

 

Luckily I think that is ~impossible.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Legion and Thunder

[Fox20]

I love how it takes one single negative to people talk as if it's a recurrent problem.

[dudalb]

3 minutes ago, Fox20 said:

I love how it takes one single negative to people talk as if it's a recurrent problem.

You noticied that too?

People totally lose it over one..repeat..one post. It happens a lot here.