In other news, the
Black Widow solo movie is rumored to be R-rated.
Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Internet.
Disney. Black Widow. R-rated. Uh huh.
Gotta love the rumor mill.
Anyway, it's a disappointment that Marvel Netflix's days are numbered, because I've decided to catch up with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen (and probably renew my subscription pf Netflix), and as I'm watching, I remember just how good this show was, being an exceptional form of superhero entertainment we haven't seen since the saturated MCU began.
Now, don't get me wrong - I love
Black Panther and
Winter Soldier, both of which were great examples of Marvel telling mature and relatable stories without being edgy. But then you get stuff like
Ant-Man and the boring yawn-fest that's
Dr. Strange (AKA
Iron Man With Magic). I don't like the idea of a single corporation deciding the kind of entertainment Marvel should produce, especially a company like Disney (of which its very values involve nothing more than making as much profit with as many franchises as possible since the day they stole
Kimba the White Lion from the guy who wrote
Astro Boy without giving proper credit). Fair enough,
Infinity War was a hit because of a cheap gimmick I got over in a matter of months and realized that the heroes were going to come back - but what happens after that?
Personally, I'm not all that excited about
Captain Marvel because it looks like another piece of advertisement where Disney's trying to sell us another product. Regardless of whether if it's an origin story or something more creative, the initial trailer (and the one after that) still haven't won me over, and I'm just not sold on the idea that the MCU can be anything more than just mainstream merchandise that's predictable and contrived.
Infinity War merely "surprised" us with some magic trick, and the world just suddenly bent over and submit.
My personal frustrations with Disney aside, I do admit that Thanos was an excellent villain and the strongest part about the movie. Not that gimmicky ending.
Anyway, I hope people don't misinterpret this as a rant against
Infinity War and the upcoming sequel,
Endgame. Rather, it's just me throwing a tantrum, bashing against the wall against the inevitable outcome that something with so much storytelling potential is dying, and will probably be snuffed out very soon. It's just so annoying. I wanted to see Spider-Man teaming up with DD in a grittier TV series. I want Moon Knight. I want the more personal stories you could only tell without Disney's obsession with mass-merchandising with the most globally-appealing kind of movies.
Quickly, name me THREE MCU movies that aren't action comedy movies. Even
Winter Soldier was an action movie. Now, I love my share of action movies now and then, but I'm sure you folks are wise enough to notice that MCU films tend to have a kind of... pattern. A tone. They crank the jokes up when the drama's heavy, and then fill the rest of the screentime with action.
Daredevil on Netflix, on the other hand, while also having action scenes, proved well enough even in the lackluster second season that superhero stories could be something more than just punches and bad jokes. DD was practically a groundbreaking and revolutionary take on the superhero "genre" since
Watchmen and
The Dark Knight reinvented the face of superheroes. That is something I just couldn't see on something branded with "Walt Disney Pictures" (outside of maybe the
Captain America movies, but you can't rely on Cap forever, just like how DC can't always be making Batman movies only). And now, Netflix Marvel is almost out the door. Two steps forward, three steps back.
It doesn't even have anything to do with having an R-rating, and everything to do with the Disney brand. I'm just not very convinced that Disney isn't somehow withholding certain creative rights within Marvel, especially when Edgar Wright was fired from
Ant-Man not that long ago. I wanted to see
his version of that movie that's not a disappointing product catering to the widest demographic, the mainstream crowd.
I digress. What was I saying again? Oh, right, the female assassin that kills people for a living is probably going to get a PG-13 movie that teaches little six year old girls to be independent... or something. You know, like the other 15 or so Disney movies?