Hacker News Reader

Comment by TulliusCicero | Hacker News Reader

Because they're high quality and there's a fair amount of variety; three MCU TV shows out this year are all quite different from each other, for example.

Shang Chi just came out, and while there are some familiar Marvel beats, it still manages to feel moderately different from any of the previous MCU films. People go to see even an obscure character like Shang Chi because Marvel has done a good job of building trust that even their crappy movies are still okay.

It's apparent that many of the critics only watched the early movies that were more same-y -- by the time you hit phase 3 they're doing a much better job on average differentiating the films. Thor 1/2 vs Thor 3 is a perfect example of this, with the first two being competent but rote, and then Ragnarok being wildly different (and simply better).

View on HN

I am going to admit I rarely go see Marvel movies but I have seen at least two from phase 1 and two from phase 2 and they were all quite formulaic. The plot follows generally the same trops. Music mostly was the same. Easy jokes came counterbalancing heavy moment of gravitas. The overall editing was close with comparable duration of takes and timing. They really calibrated products.

Then again, I think it's why people go see them massively. These movies can be consumed with zero intellectual effort and are built to give you a dopamine rush while never challenging your world view in any way.

I personally believe this is where cinema goes to die but both the indie scene and foreign industries are producing more movies than ever so I don't really care.

This is exactly the kind of take I'm talking about.

"I haven't seen the movies you're talking about, but I'm not gonna let that stop me from getting up on my high horse and telling you how it is."

I have seen Iron Man 2, both Guardians of the Galaxy, the fist Captain America and the second Avengers movie. So it's actually five movies (one more than I thought).I might have seen part of the first Hulk on TV but I'm not entirely sure, could have been any of the other ones. I stand by my opinion.

When you consider that Hollywood produced movies like The Deer Hunter, Chinatown or even the first Jurassic Park if you want to talk about blockbusters (not the new ones they could be Marvel movies), it makes me a bit sad.

I mean, don't get me wrong. I enjoy going from McDonald's from time to time. Nothing like a bunch nuggets when you had too much to drink. I just don't go around pretending it's good food.

> Easy jokes came counterbalancing heavy moment of gravitas

Another writer who uses similar techniques? Shakespeare.

I mean certainly and Shakespeare plays are known for having a somewhat formulaic plot structure.

Of course, Shakespeare plays also tackle issues which had never been tackled before, throw unconventional elements into conventional structures and use literary devices which are ahead of their time. All things I wish could be said of Marvel movies.

I respectfully disagree. The Marvel films still follow the same formula as they always did. Not that it is wrong, to each its own. But it's obvious that the films are not driven by vision but by maximising mass audience appeal. That's why they are all the same. They need to have x amount of jokes, x minutes of action, the dialogue needs to be simple, etc

Reply on news.ycombinator.com