Category: Marvel

Film review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I wasn’t going to watch this but it came highly recommended by some comic-loving friends so I checked it out.

This is visually stunning, has a great story, has a vibrancy and energy all of its own and must instantly go down as one of the great superhero movies.

I was completely blown away.

• Spare Cycles: Marvel Cinematic Universe: movie reviews Assembled

Film review: Captain Marvel

I’ve managed to catch this at the cinema before it leaves the big screen – I was surprised to still find showings after a few months on release – but I guess there are still people like me who wanted to catch up after seeing Avengers: Endgame.

In my review of Avengers: Endgame I said:

The character Captain Marvel played a significant part in this film and I was disappointed that I hadn’t been able to see her own film before Endgame came out. Not knowing Captain Marvel’s background story did not affect my enjoyment of Endgame but it would have been better to have seen it beforehand. Bear in mind that the Captain Marvel film came out less than 2 months before Endgame and was not getting stellar reviews so I did not rush to see it (opportunity is also a factor). Contrast that to the release of Black Panther, which was also released only a couple of months before Infinity War, where the reviews were excellent and I made sure that I saw it in the cinema.

A lack of buzz around the film meant that I overlooked it. I also thought that it was really late in the MCU series to introduce a major character.

However, after a bit of a muddled start, I really enjoyed the film. For staunch MCU fans there is a lot to recommend the film – it is as much a film about Nick Fury as Captain Marvel and answers a number of questions that I didn’t realise I had, such as how Fury lost his eye and how the Avengers got their name.

If you haven’t seen it – and especially if you haven’t seen Endgame yet – it is well worth checking out (it’s always best to see the series in order of release and, as ever, stick around for the credits). Is it up there with your “Iron Man”, “Infinity War” or “Black Panther”? No. Does it feature in the second rung of very solid episodes like “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”? Yes indeed.

Film review: Black Panther

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Without doubt this is up there with the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Good science fiction can allow you to reflect on the real world in new ways. This ties in some of America’s past sins whilst also offering some parallels with our current political climate.

The film has received glowing reviews everywhere, is a huge financial success (this could be the highest-grossing film of the year, out-earning even Avengers – Infinity War) and has elevated a little-known comic book character into the public consciousness.

If someone wanted to find out what all the fuss is about with these Marvel films, I’d recommend that they start here.

• Spare Cycles: Marvel Cinematic Universe: movie reviews Assembled

• Empire: Black Panther review

• The Guardian:  Black Panther review – Marvel’s thrilling vision of the afrofuture

• The Atlantic: The Game-Changing Success of Black Panther

• The Numbers: Top Grossing Movies of 2018