Byte Size: Post-Infinity Blues
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Byte Size: Post-Infinity Blues
The high and lows of Marvel's endless Phase Four content machine.
With the release of Thor: Love and Thunder this week—the fourth stand-alone Thor film in Disney’s global cinematic juggernaut, the follow-up sequel to director Taika Waititi’s wildly successful Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the 29th (!) film in the MCU—I thought it might be pertinent to check in on how the neverending franchise’s Phase Four, post-Infinity Saga content cycle was going.
Mild spoilers ahead for the following films and TV spin-off series. (But also, it’s Marvel-Disney shit, so I’m sure you either already know, don’t care, or have a sustained level of casual indifference that’s suitable for spoiler warnings.) Enjoy!
Black Widow (2021)
Synopsis: “Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”
As one of the first victims of the Plague Year and the following months of rolling delays, I didn’t get around to seeing Black Widow until a good year or so after watching the trailer back in the Before Times.
And look, it’s fine. The family dynamic between ScarJo’s Romanoff and her Russian spy family was fun and bubbly, aided by good cast selection and dialogue that wasn’t 100% soy bants quips. However, the film’s third act is another predictably shithouse, MCU CGI slog, and it absolutely deserved the ruthless Twitter meme fodder it received. Not essential, but certainly passable.
Overall MCU Ranking: #19 / 28
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Synopsis: “Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.”
Not sure what else I need to say about this one, except that it has great Asian actors doing sick-ass wuxia stunts and, at one point, there’s also a giant dragon fucking shit up. So yeah, pretty dope.
Overall MCU Ranking: #14 / 28
WandaVision (2021)
Synopsis: “Blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision — two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives — begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.”
Considering this was the Mouse House’s first attempt at spinning their wildly successful MCU slate of live-action characters into yet more commodified slop for their streaming platform, this show was actually a decent watch.
When it’s riffing on TV sitcoms of yore and slowly revealing Maximoff’s downward spiral into outright villainy through cerebral horror-esque surrealism, it totally works. The B-plot stuff about the town and new side characters and nebulous threads to other films and a super dumb final showdown… eh, not so much. Definitely worth a watch to see something ‘different’ in this universe.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Synopsis: “Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.”
Okay, so, I don’t think I’m giving too much away at this point to say that this film is one big slice of nostalgia bait and it absolutely knows it. When it’s doing its own version of the pointing Spider-Man meme, it’s a lot of fun—particularly for someone like me (read: old) who wistfully remembers a day when superhero films were self-contained in a quaint, non-irony-pilled fashion.
But yeah, don’t think too hard about the rest of it, because the plot is super dumb and the multi-verse shenanigans are there purely as a plot contrivance. Oh, the post-COVID green screen also makes everything looks flat and awful. Not a fan.
Overall MCU Ranking: #11 / 28
Loki (2021)
Synopsis: “The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame.”
Much like Wandavision, this series felt like the MCU flexing some stylistic muscles and trying on different aesthetics. The central conceit is smart and engaging with fun little nods to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) and other sci-fi classics.
I’ve always enjoyed Hiddleston’s charming Loki and he totally chews up the screen here, alongside a moustachioed Owen Wilson and cheeky Sophia Di Martino as his gender-flipped timeline doppelganger. It’s a good time and fresh addition to the MCU’s largely rote attempts at meaningful redemption arcs.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Synopsis: “Doctor Strange, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.”
You would think that having someone like Sam Raimi—a man with a proven talent for superhero craftmanship on the big screen (Sony’s original Spider-Man trilogy) and a keen eye for horror aestheticism and bonkers sight gags (Evil Dead)—at the helm of a $200 million budget would make for arresting, groundbreaking filmmaking. Sadly, this mostly unremarkable entry only hints at the glimmers of potentiality in such a concept.
There’s simply too much shit going on here and almost none of it feels impactful or purposeful. Without the Wandavision backstory, the basic plot comes out of nowhere and the title certainly leads one to believe that two hours of interdimensional shenanigans are contained within. False advertising!
Overall MCU Ranking: #18 / 28
Eternals (2021)
Synopsis: “The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.”
“The paternalistic purpose of the Eternals appears to hinge on ethical questions of loyalty, agency and determinism, yet [director Chloe] Zhao ultimately fails to confront or subvert these ideas in a way that feels compelling or earned, instead choosing to rush into a clumsy third act resolution that (surprise!) only serves to set up more film entries to follow.
Overall, Eternals is a muddled misfire of cosmic proportions and a welcome reminder that Feige & Co are only human after all. In future, Marvel would do well to acknowledge that ambition does not always equate to adoration, and even sure things can struggle from problems of scale.” (FilmBunker)
Overall MCU Ranking: #25 / 28
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Synopsis: “Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience.”
This was a weird one. On the one hand, I appreciated the post-Endgame worldbuilding and how the world’s government would deal with the sudden loss and re-appearance of billions of people. That’s good writing! However, a lot of the procedural stuff and character moments felt forced and trite, despite the obvious chemistry between Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as the titular leads.
The real reason to bother with this show at all comes down to Wyatt Russell as a gun-ho, psychopathic Captain America 2.0 with a raging bald eagle hard-on for skirting the rules and curb-stomping the globe as Mr World Police. Great stuff, no notes. Bring him back!
Check out my MCU Rewatch list over on Letterboxd.