I’ve Seen Every Marvel Movie. Here’s How The MCU Can Be Saved – SlashFilm

When “Iron Man” hit the theaters in 2008, I was just like every other jaded comic book superhero movie adaptation fan in the ticket line: hopeful, because of the good reviews, but not too sure of what to expect from noted troublemaker Robert Downey Jr. playing a C-list hero like Tony Stark.

Fast forward 18 years, and that whole sentence reads like nonsense. Iron Man’s now one of the most recognizable superheroes out there, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest mega-franchise around, and Downey’s about to start his second round as its overarching face. Over just short of two decades, I’ve watched all 37 MCU films released to date at least twice each (though my second “Thor: Love and Thunder” viewing was purely for work purposes). Add in all those Disney+ shows, one-shots, and assorted supplementary material, and I’d say that I’m in a reasonably good place to say this: The MCU, as it currently stands, can kick rocks.

I say this from a place of love and fondness. I haven’t spent weeks of my life watching all that stuff just for my job. There’s still a kid in me who gets genuinely excited to see how badass James Marsden’s Cyclops looks in that “Avengers: Doomsday” X-Men trailer and who willingly watched the much-maligned outlier “Iron Fist” in case the guy from “Game of Thrones” was able to make it good. (He did not.) Because of this, I’m not standing on a soapbox lecturing about how the MCU can be saved — I’m screaming in the middle of the mob that really wants it to be better. And the way to do it is simple: All the franchise needs to do is learn to go consistently up close and personal once again.

When you look at /Film’s ranking of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, there are no truly small films in the franchise, of course. However, the absolute best MCU projects have one thing in common: Their stakes are personal rather than universal. Sure, “Avengers: Endgame” is great, but if I have to pick an MCU movie for a rewatch, I’ll go to bat for the personal discovery story of “Iron Man,” the compelling antagonist-protagonist interplay of “Black Panther,” or the sheer emotional gut punch of “Thunderbolts*.” They all have big stakes, but they’re also intensely personal movies that aren’t afraid to explore their characters’ flaws.

That’s the one thing the MCU has always excelled at … when it remembers to, which has become less and less common in recent years. The unfocused posturing of “Captain America: Brave New World,” the joyless going-through-the-motions adventure of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” and everything in “The Marvels” that isn’t the “Cats” scene feel like the equivalent of going through a list of chores, as opposed to watching a fun superhero movie. “Got to watch this one to prepare for the next one,” you tell yourself. And don’t forget to wait for the post-credits scene to see the guy from “Ted Lasso” decked out as a character who’s five times his size in Marvel’s comics.

The overall bloat has been getting worse, and as the stakes keep getting bigger, the characters keep getting more and more detached. The MCU still hits the mark on occasion, like it did with “Thunderbolts*.” But all too often, that personal touch has been forgotten, and the audience is left watching strings of action scenes and forced banter that seem like they were designed by committee.

As it happens, another franchise has recently done the exact same thing I’d like the MCU to do. For me, at least, the increasingly swooping space opera plots and huge stakes of “Star Trek: Discovery” distracted from the fun, philosophical core of “Star Trek,” leading to a visually impressive feast of empty calorie storytelling. Thankfully, though, the show’s successor, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” fixes this with its more personal storylines and mundane threats. I recently wrote about the way “Starfleet Academy” episode 6 reveals that Paul Giamatti’s Nus Braka is motivated by petty revenge instead of some massive galactic scheme. This is what I’d love to see the MCU do as well: dial down on the big swings and go all in on compelling characters who interact with other compelling characters.

Perhaps the MCU is starting to get this. The recently released “Wonder Man” does a great job at telling a story that focuses on character interplay and low stakes. Similarly, on the movie front, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” effectively soft rebooted the MCU’s Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into a more DIY street-level hero, and I have hopes that “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will stay true to that aspect of Spidey’s spirit. Moreover, the X-Men are coming to the MCU in a big way after the Multiverse Saga finally wraps up, and Marvel’s resident shorthand for oppressed minorities is built for personal stakes stuff.

Before all that, however, we’ll need to survive two major “more is more” Marvel Studios movies. The Russos’ “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” are virtually guaranteed to be overstuffed cameo machines, and their reception may determine how the MCU is developed going forward. I’ll be watching either way, but I know which direction I’d prefer.